Han-Shan ("Kanzan" in Japanese) was a legendary Chinese poet who lived in the 8th or 9th Century. The facts of his life are as elusive as the figure himself. He wrote hundreds of poems in Chinese during the Tang Dynasty, and his themes are considered primarily in the Taoist and Chan traditions. Han-Shan He is considered by many in the Zen tradition to be an incarnation of the Bodhisattva Manjushri. The poems of Han-Shan utilize scenes from the natural world, as do these three translated here by Peter Hobson, with images of mountains, mists, and clouds setting the scene for observations on the nature of the spirit of man.