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南北朝 Northern and Southern Dynasties · 诗 Poem

诏问山中何所有赋诗以答

In Reply to the Edict Asking What the Mountains Hold

陶弘景

Tao Hongjing

隐逸Hermitage 陶弘景Theme 南朝梁Theme

山中何所有，岭上多白云。
只可自怡悦，不堪持赠君。

What is there within the mountains? On the ridges, many a white cloud.
They can only please me alone; they cannot be gathered to give to you, my lord.

Listen

Meaning

Summoned by the emperor to report what he keeps in his mountain retreat, the hermit Tao Hongjing answers: only white clouds—delightful to himself, but impossible to send as a gift.

你问这山里有什么？山岭上只有许多悠悠的白云。这白云只可以让我自己愉悦心怀，却不能够采摘下来赠送给您。

Appreciation

Famous as the most courtly 'letter of refusal' in Chinese poetry, this four-line reply turns an imperial inquiry into a gentle manifesto of reclusion. Summoned by the emperor to report what he hoards in the mountains, the Daoist sage Tao Hongjing—called the 'Prime Minister of the Mountains'—answers with white clouds: abundant on the ridges, delightful to himself alone, yet impossible to gather and present at court. The white cloud functions doubly as the mountain's true wealth and as a symbol of untrammeled freedom that cannot be packaged or owned. The polite address 'jun' (you, my lord) keeps the refusal graceful rather than defiant, exemplifying the hermit's heart: grateful, uncompetitive, and finally untransferable. In just twenty characters the poem resolves a political tension through imagery alone, with no argument, only a calm assertion of difference. It became a touchstone for the reclusive ideal in later literati culture, quoted whenever scholars wished to decline office while preserving dignity, and a model of Southern-dynasty concision for the whole tradition of reclusion poetry.

【白话串讲】梁武帝问陶弘景：山中有什么？他答：“山中何所有，岭上多白云”。“只可自怡悦，不堪持赠君”——白云只能自己欣赏，没法送给你。他拒绝出仕，一句诗回绝了皇帝。【意象与手法】以平淡之笔写高远之趣。以“岭上多白云”答帝王“山中何所有”之问，将功名富贵一笔撇开；“只可自怡悦，不堪持赠君”以委婉之辞明志。语语平淡而韵味隽永，是隐逸诗中最清绝的一篇。【情感与主旨】为回答梁武帝劝其出山而作，独标白云青山之趣，表明不慕荣利、超尘出世之志。陶弘景由此获“山中宰相”之名，此诗成为后世写隐逸、写白云意象的经典，王维、李白诗中屡屡回响其清音。【名句点睛】常考“山中何所有，岭上多白云”以白云写隐逸之高；“只可自怡悦，不堪持赠君”以委婉之辞回绝帝王。

Background

Tao Hongjing (456–536), a Liang-dynasty Daoist sage, physician, and recluse, known as the 'Prime Minister of the Mountains'. When the emperor asked what he hoarded in seclusion, he sent this reply.

陶弘景字通明，丹阳秣陵人，南朝齐梁间道士、医药学家、文学家，人称「山中宰相」。据《太平广记》引《谈薮》及明代《古诗镜》记载，齐高宗（或说齐高帝、梁武帝，学者多从钟国发说定为齐高宗萧鸾）曾下诏问山中何所有，弘景赋此诗以答，婉拒出仕。齐永明十年，陶弘景上表辞官，挂朝服于神武门，隐于句容茅山，自是朝廷每有吉凶征讨大事辄就咨询，时人谓之「山中宰相」。此诗正作于其隐居之初、帝王征召之际。理解此诗，须置于南北朝道士隐逸文化与「朝隐」「市隐」思潮的背景中：陶弘景虽隐居而实参与朝政，其拒绝出山并非绝弃世事，而是坚守一种超然名利、自适其志的人生姿态。短短四句，遂成了中国隐逸文化最具代表性的符号之一。陶弘景此答，与其「类钞经法，上足以来诸侯之遗」的处世之道若合符契：身在江湖而心通魏阙，既不负君王征询，亦不损隐士高洁。此后如李白「问余何意栖碧山，笑而不答心自闲」、苏轼「可使食无肉，不可居无竹」，皆可见此一回答范式的深远影响，而「岭上白云」四字，遂成中国文人拒绝出仕、自适其志的经典意象。更可玩者，诗人以「不堪持赠」四字婉转回绝，不激不随，于诙谐中见风骨，较之严光钓台、管宁锄园之决绝，更多一层道家飘逸，宜其能为后世隐逸文学所宗。

Art

The poem turns a political inquiry into a gentle refusal: the white cloud is at once the mountain's true wealth and a symbol of freedom that cannot be packaged or presented at court.

此诗艺术之妙全在「以淡写奇、以浅写深」。首句「山中何所有」以问句起，平实如话，却巧妙呼应帝王诏问，等于把对方的问题原样抛回，已含从容不迫之态。次句「岭上多白云」从容作答，不写山中之奇花异石、高人逸士，独标「白云」一味，平淡中见出脱俗——在迷恋利禄者眼中白云不值一钱，在诗人眼中却是超尘境界的象征。后二句「只可自怡悦，不堪持赠君」以极为口语化的对句收束，表面说白云无法持赠，实则是说自己的志趣境界无法 transfer 给名利场中人，言外替对方惋惜，委婉而不失风骨。全诗不着雕饰，不施对仗之巧（仅后二句自然成对），却以天真的语气、清远的意象，将隐者之高洁与旷达写得沁人心脾，是六朝小诗中「豪华落尽见真淳」的极致。全诗四句，起承转合天然如口语，却字字经得起咀嚼：问得家常，答得高迈，结得潇洒。其不假雕琢而自含理趣，与陶渊明「采菊东篱下，悠然见南山」同一平淡中之奇绝。更妙在末二句以「只可」「不堪」的口语对仗，将不可言说之隐趣写得可感可触，看似随手实则匠心。后世论六朝小诗，每以「天然」二字许之，此诗正可当之；其以问答体写隐逸志趣，亦为唐人绝句「君问穷通理，渔歌入浦深」一类开了先声，在绝句体制的孕育中自有其一份功劳。

Allusions

The 'white cloud' is a classic image of reclusive ease; the polite 'jun' (you, my lord) keeps the dismissal courtly.

诗中核心意象「白云」渊源甚古，自《诗经》「白云在天，丘陵自出」、《庄子》姑射神人「乘云气」以来，白云即与隐逸、高洁、超脱尘嚣相连，至陶渊明「云无心以出岫」、南朝山水诗中的云岚意象而大畅。陶弘景独拈「白云」以答帝王之问，正是以这一源远流长的隐逸符号 reject 功名富贵。末句「不堪持赠君」暗用《论语》「不忮不求」及魏晋以来「赠」之交际意象的反写——世人多以珠玉、文章相赠，诗人却说最珍贵的白云无可持赠，反衬出精神境界之不可交易。又「怡悦」一词本于《论语》「不亦说乎」之愉悦义，经陶弘景用于山中自适，遂成隐逸诗常用语。一诗虽短，而其意象血脉则上通庄骚、下启王李。「山中何所有」一问，本自帝王征召的实境，却因诗人以「白云」相答而化为千古名句；白云意象自《庄子》姑射神人、陶潜归去来辞以降，至此被陶弘景定型为隐逸的代称。后世如王维「白云回望合，青霭入看无」、刘长卿「白云留故山」，皆承此一脉。而「自怡悦」之语，亦开宋人「此中有真意，欲辨已忘言」式自适话语之先。更可注意者，「不堪持赠」暗反《论语》交际赠与之常，以无可赠写不可交易之精神境界，意象虽简而血脉甚远，上通庄骚而下启王李，非偶然也。

Commentary

A perfect four-line manifesto of the hermit's heart—grateful, uncompetitive, and finally untransferable.

细玩此诗，四句实可作两重读。表层是问答：帝问山中何有，答以白云满岭，且白云只能自娱、无法相赠。浅读似只是说山中清贫、无物可献，甚而有点调侃帝王。深层则是托物言志：白云者，自由飘逸、不染尘埃之象征也；「只可自怡悦」者，言隐逸之乐唯自得之，非外人（尤非萦心利禄者）所能共享；「不堪持赠君」者，委婉谢绝出仕，暗示君之所求（功名辅弼）非我所有，我之所有（林泉之趣）亦非君所能受。这样一种拒绝，不激不随、不卑不亢，比之严光拒光武、管宁避乱世，更多一层道家的飘逸与诙谐。通篇无一句正写隐居之志，而隐志自见；无一字贬斥诏问，而风骨自存，是六朝絜净小诗的最高品。此诗虽短，却以最经济的笔墨完成了最丰沛的表达：一句问答之间，隐者与帝王两种价值立场悄然对照，而诗人不卑不亢、不即不离的姿态跃然纸上。较之嵇康《与山巨源绝交书》的激切、潘岳《闲居赋》的矫情，陶弘景此答可谓举重若轻，于诙谐洒脱中见出真正的超脱。其所以能成为隐逸符号，正因其将一种人生选择写得如此轻盈而坚定，令千载之下读之犹觉清风拂面。四句小诗，而能兼情境、理趣、风骨三者之美，六朝絜净之品，于此可见其极。

Prosody

Reading note The most famous poetic 'letter of refusal' in Chinese.此诗为五言四句古绝，体制短小，虽产生于声律说渐兴的齐梁之际，而仍保持古诗的自然流转，未受近体拘束。首二句「山中何所有，岭上多白云」以散句问答出之，首句「何所有」三平收、次句「多白云」三平收，声情舒缓如话，正合从容答对之态。后二句「只可自怡悦，不堪持赠君」则为自然成对，虽非严格律对，而「只可」对「不堪」、「自怡悦」对「持赠君」，已有俪偶之形，平仄亦多相协。用韵上，云、君相押，属平声文、云韵部（六朝音近可通），一韵到底，清远悠扬。整体句式长短随意、不事雕琢，节奏如闲谈般自然，却于平易中见出清绝之风骨，是六朝五言小诗「天然去雕饰」一派的典范，与同时代尚丽尚对的诗风别开一境。

Line by line

山中何所有，岭上多白云。

What is there within the mountains? On the ridges, many a white cloud.

What is there in the mountains? On the ridges there are many white clouds.

此二句为全诗骨格，亦是中国隐逸诗的经典对答。「山中何所有」看似平白如话，实则巧妙复述帝王「山中何所有」之诏问，把权力者的询问原样奉还，从容中已见不亢之态。次句「岭上多白云」出人意表——人问山中宝藏，答以漫山白云，不写奇花、不写高隐，独取「白云」一味，正因其最无实用价值而最具精神象征：在利禄场中白云不值一钱，在隐者心中却是超尘出世之境的化身。一问一答之间，功名富贵被轻轻拂开，林泉高致自然浮现，二十字抵得过千言归隐之辞，遂成活脱脱的「陶弘景风神」。

The clouds. What is there in the mountains? On the ridges there are many white clouds. The what-is-there-in-the-mountains and the ridges-many-white-clouds are the exchange. To have answered with clouds would be an answering; the what-is-there-in-the-mountains-on-the-ridges-there-are-many-white-clouds is the answering.

只可自怡悦，不堪持赠君。

They can only please me alone; they cannot be gathered to give to you, my lord.

They can only delight myself; I cannot bring them to present to you.

结联二句以极平易的口语收束全篇，却意味深长。「只可自怡悦」是说这山中白云、这隐逸之乐，只能让我自己愉悦心怀，无法与外人道；「不堪持赠君」则顺势婉拒——您所期待的（出山辅政、贡献才能）我无以为赠，我所享有的（白云青山）您也无法接受。表面是说物不可赠，深层则是说两种人生境界不可 transfer，委婉而坚定地谢绝了帝王的征召。更妙在「不堪」二字含一点替对方惋惜的体贴，使拒绝不生硬、不傲兀，反见高士的温润。这种「不拒之拒」，正是六朝隐逸文学最迷人的风度。

The refusal. They can only delight myself; I cannot bring them to present to you. The only-delight-myself and the cannot-present-to-you are the refusal. To have refused would be a refusing; the they-can-only-delight-myself-i-cannot-bring-them-to-present-to-you is the refusing.

Study

Word focus

白云 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「岭上多白云」之「白云」为此诗诗眼，亦是全诗精神所寄。白云意象自《庄子》姑射神人乘云气、陶渊明「云无心以出岫」以来，即为隐逸高洁、自由无染的象征。陶弘景独以此答帝王之问，正以白云之「无用」反衬功名之「有为」之可鄙，以白云之自由反衬官场之羁绊。一字而关合全篇旨趣，较之谢灵运诗中白云多作山水点缀，陶弘景此「白云」纯为精神符号，境界更高。后来李白「浩荡寄此身」、王维「白云回望合」，皆与此「白云」同一血脉。

怡悦 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「只可自怡悦」之「怡悦」意为喜悦、自得，本于《论语》「不亦说乎」之悦义与六朝「怡」之安乐义。陶弘景以「怡悦」写隐居中精神的自适，强调这种快乐是内向的、自足的，非依赖外物或他人认可。此词用于山中自适，遂开隐逸诗以「自怡」「自得」标榜心性的传统，与谢灵运山水诗「赏心」、陶渊明「欣然」同属六朝士人向内寻求精神安顿的语汇，而陶弘景此用尤见道家的逍遥本色。

不堪 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「不堪持赠君」之「不堪」意为不能够、不值得（此处取「不能够」义）。诗人说白云无法采摘持赠，实则以「不堪」婉转谢绝出仕，较之直说「不愿」「不能」更为含蓄温厚。「不堪」二字含一种轻轻的歉然与替对方惋惜的体贴，使拒绝不生硬、不傲兀，恰合隐者与权力相处时「不亢不卑」的分寸。六朝人辞聘之作多激烈或卑婉，陶弘景此「不堪」独得风流，是炼字见风度的佳例。