Jia Dao
Jia Dao was born near modern Beijing; after a period as a Buddhist monk, he went to Chang'an.
His works were criticised as "thin" by Su Shi, and some other commentators have considered them limited and artificial.
Liu (1926–1986), a professor of Chinese and comparative literature, Jia's poem The Swordsman (劍客) "seems...to sum up the spirit of knight errantry in four lines.
"[2][3] "The Swordsman" reads in Liu's translation as follows: For ten years I have been polishing this sword; Its frosty edge[4] has never been put to the test.
The opening line of The Swordsman is often used as a proverb to refer to a long and arduous undertaking.
賈島
松下問童子
言師採藥去
只在此山中
雲深不知處
Seeking the Master but not Meeting by Jia Dao
Beneath a pine I asked a little child. / He said the Master went to gather herbs. / Alone was he upon this mountainside, / The clouds so deep he knew not where he was.