清 Qing · 诗 Poem
论诗·江山代有才人出
On Poetry: Each Age Brings Forth Its Men of Talent
李杜诗篇万口传，至今已觉不新鲜。
江山代有才人出，各领风骚数百年。
The rivers and hills each age bring forth men of talent; each leads the wind-and-sao for several hundred years.
Meaning
The poems of Li Bai and Du Fu are recited by thousands, yet by now they already feel not so fresh. The land through the ages ever brings forth men of talent, each leading the poetic forefront for several hundred years.
李白杜甫的诗篇被千万人传诵，可到如今已让人觉得不那么新鲜了。国家山河代代都有才华之人涌现，各自引领诗坛风骚达数百年。全诗以李杜为靶，反对盲目崇古，主张文学随时代演进、各领风骚。
Appreciation
Zhao Yi, a 1761 jinshi, with Yuan Mei and Jiang Shiquan is named among the 'Three Masters of Jiangyou' (or the 'Three Great Qianlong Masters'). His 'Oubei Poetry Talks' urged that 'the rivers and hills each age bring forth men of talent' — a literary-history view. This set of 'On Poetry' quatrains was written in the Qianlong era against the court's worship of Tang and Song and its imitative fashion, holding that literature evolves with the age, each leading its time. This poem takes Li and Du as its target, stressing that later ages need not be bound by the ancients, that new men open new realms — a condensed statement of his evolutionary literary view, also in line with his historical idea of 'change.'
【白话串讲】 “李杜诗篇万口传，至今已觉不新鲜。江山代有才人出，各领风骚数百年”——赵翼的论诗：李白杜甫再伟大，时代也一直在变。每个时代都有自己的诗人和声音。 【意象与手法】 前二句以「万口传」极写李杜之崇，却以「不新鲜」陡转，破世人对古人的盲目迷信，语带诙谐而力重千钧；后二句正面立论，「江山」二字气象开阔，「代有」「各领」将文学发展史写为长江后浪推前浪的必然。全诗以绝句体发理论，浅近如话而警策绝伦，议论而不失诗味，先破后立，是论诗绝句之典范。 【情感与主旨】 赵翼，乾隆二十六年进士，与袁枚、蒋士铨并称「江右三大家」（或「乾隆三大家」）。其《瓯北诗话》倡「江山代有才人出」之文学史观。这组《论诗》绝句约作于乾隆年间，针对当时诗坛尊唐宗宋、竞相摹拟之风，主张文学随时代演进、各领风骚，是其进化文学观的凝练表达。 【名句点睛】 考点一：主旨——理解「代有才人」「各领风骚」的文学进化观，反对盲目崇古。考点二：「风骚」一词的本义与引申义。考点三：「不新鲜」以俗语入诗的表达效果。
Background
Zhao Yi, a 1761 jinshi, with Yuan Mei and Jiang Shiquan is named among the 'Three Masters of Jiangyou' (or the 'Three Great Qianlong Masters'). His 'Oubei Poetry Talks' urged that 'the rivers and hills each age bring forth men of talent' — a literary-history view. This set of 'On Poetry' quatrains was written in the Qianlong era against the court's worship of Tang and Song and its imitative fashion, holding that literature evolves with the age, each leading its time. This poem takes Li and Du as its target, stressing that later ages need not be bound by the ancients, that new men open new realms — a condensed statement of his evolutionary literary view, also in line with his historical idea of 'change.'
赵翼，字耘松，号瓯北，乾隆二十六年进士，清代史学家、文学家，与袁枚、蒋士铨并称「江右三大家」（或「乾隆三大家」）。其《瓯北诗话》论诗力主「诗随世运」，倡「江山代有才人出」之文学史观。这组《论诗》绝句约作于乾隆年间，针对当时诗坛尊唐宗宋、竞相摹拟之风，主张文学随时代演进、各领风骚。清代诗坛自康乾以来，宗唐宗宋之争不绝，或主格调、或主性灵，赵翼以史学家的眼光论诗，主张「诗文随世运，无日不趋新」，此首以李杜为靶，强调后世不必囿于古人，新人自能开创新境，是其进化文学观的凝练表达，亦与其史学「变迁」思想一脉相承。赵翼本人工诗，诗风清新明快，此诗正是其诗学主张的自我实践，是清代诗话「以诗论诗」的典范。赵翼与袁枚、蒋士铨交厚，三人论诗主张相近，皆主性灵、重创新；袁枚《随园诗话》亦言「诗随世运」，与赵翼此诗旨趣相合，可见「性灵」诗学在乾隆年间的声势，此诗正是这一诗学思潮的结晶。赵翼为乾嘉考据学大师，著《廿二史札记》，其史学重「变」、重「势」，此诗以「代有才人」「各领风骚」论文学，正是其史学思想在诗学上的投影，史家论诗，眼光自别。
Art
The first two lines 'the poems of Li and Du are on ten thousand lips; yet now they already feel not so fresh' use 'ten thousand lips' to state Li and Du's reverence, yet turn sharply with 'not so fresh,' breaking the blind faith in the ancients, playful yet weighty. The last two lines 'the rivers and hills each age bring forth men of talent; each leads the wind-and-sao for several hundred years' state the thesis positively; 'rivers and hills' opens a broad air, 'each age' and 'each leads' writes literary history as the inevitable rear-wave overtaking the front. The whole uses the quatrain form to voice theory, plain as talk yet supremely alert; argument without losing poetic flavour — a model of poetry-on-poetry.
前二句「李杜诗篇万口传，至今已觉不新鲜」，以「万口传」极写李杜之崇，却以「不新鲜」陡转，破世人对古人的盲目迷信，语带诙谐而力重千钧；「至今已觉」四字尤见分寸，不是否定李杜，而是说时代变了，审美当随世运。后二句「江山代有才人出，各领风骚数百年」正面立论：「江山」二字气象开阔，将文学史置于历史长河之中；「代有」「各领」写文学发展如长江后浪推前浪，新旧更替是必然规律。全诗以绝句体发理论，浅近如话而警策绝伦，议论而不失诗味；先破后立、由抑而扬，起于质疑而归于肯定，章法谨严，正是论诗绝句之典范，也是「以议论为诗」而能不失诗味的佳作。此诗妙在以「新陈代谢」的自然之理说文学之变：先以「不新鲜」立论，再以「代有才人」立据，终以「各领风骚」立言，三段递进，逻辑谨严；而「江山」「风骚」之宏大意象，又使说理不堕抽象，正是「以诗说理而不失诗味」的典范。此诗以「不新鲜」起、以「数百年」结，一俗一雅、一抑一扬，首尾对照，章法圆融；二十八字如一篇微型文学史，起承转合俱全，是论诗绝句中的精品。
Allusions
'Wind-and-sao' originally means the 'Airs' of the Shi Jing and the 'Li Sao' of the Chu Ci, later standing for the literary tradition and the dominant seat of poetry. Zhao Yi uses 'each leads the wind-and-sao' to mean each age's outstanding poets dominate the literary world. 'Li and Du' are Li Bai and Du Fu, the representatives of High Tang poetry, long revered as models. The poem takes Li and Du as the extreme of the 'ancient' to set off the inevitability of 'each age brings forth men of talent' — not to belittle Li and Du, but to stress literature's change and the folly of mere imitation. It forms a contrast with Han Yu's 'Li and Du's writings abide, their light ten thousand zhang' — showing the Qing literary-historical view's new turn.
「风骚」本指《诗经》之《国风》与《楚辞》之《离骚》，后泛指文学传统与诗坛主导地位，赵翼以「各领风骚」喻各时代杰出诗人主导文坛，将「风骚」由专名引为通名，凝练传神。「李杜」即李白、杜甫，唐诗中兴之代表，历来被奉为典范，赵翼以李杜为「古」之极致，反衬「代有才人」之必然，并非贬低李杜，而是强调文学代变、不可一味摹古。其与韩愈「李杜文章在，光焰万丈长」的崇杜传统形成对照，又暗合杜甫「不薄今人爱古人，清词丽句必为邻」的通达，彰显清人文学史观的新变，是清代「性灵」诗学「诗随世运」主张的诗化表达。「江山」一词，兼有国土与文学天地双重意蕴，暗含「江山代改而文运常新」之理；以「江山」领起，气象顿开，正是赵翼以史家眼光观文学的体现。「风骚」之「骚」，本指《离骚》，屈原以骚体开中国抒情诗之先，赵翼以「领风骚」言诗坛主导，暗含对楚骚传统的遥承，一词而贯通诗史。「江山」与「才人」并举，写人才之生于国土、国土之赖人才，天、地、人三才相济，气象宏阔，正是史家「知人论世」眼光的诗意表达。
Commentary
Zhao Yi's poetry view echoes Yuan Mei's Natural-Spirit theory; his 'Oubei Poetry Talks' strongly holds that 'poetry follows the age.' This quatrain has long been a famous piece on poetry; the Qing critic Shang Rong, in his 'Three Masters' Poetry Talks,' called it 'eyes like a torch.' The modern Qian Zhonglian says it 'sweeps away the error of honouring the old and abusing the new.' Modern literary histories often cite it as the Qing evolutionary literary view's representative; in twenty-eight characters it embraces a whole history of poetry's succession — plain words, deep insight, the foremost of poetry-on-poetry.
赵翼论诗与袁枚性灵说相呼应，其《瓯北诗话》力主「诗随世运」；此绝句向为论诗名篇，清人尚镕《三家诗话》称其「眼光如炬」。近人钱仲联谓此诗「扫尽荣古虐今之见」。当代文学史多引为清代文学进化观代表，与「李杜诗篇万口传」并称论诗双璧。其以二十八字包举一部诗史更替，浅语见深识，足称以诗论诗之翘楚；「江山代有才人出，各领风骚数百年」二句，更成为激励后进、肯定创新的千古名言，至今为人们广泛引用，足见其超越时代的生命力。作为清代「性灵」诗学的代表作，此诗的意义已超出诗论本身，成为中国文化中「推陈出新」精神的经典表达。此诗与袁枚「不依古法但横行，自有云雷绕膝生」的论诗主张相呼应，同为乾隆诗坛「性灵」说的宣言；「江山代有才人出」一句，百年来激励无数后来者，其影响已由诗坛渗入教育、科学诸领域，成为汉语中「推陈出新」精神的经典表达。此诗历来为中学教材所选，是清代诗歌进入课堂的代表篇目；「江山代有才人出」一句，更成为考试与日常言说中的高频名句，其「推陈出新」之理，早已超出诗学而成为民族文化心理的一部分。
Prosody
Line by line
李杜诗篇万口传，至今已觉不新鲜
The poems of Li and Du are on ten thousand lips; yet now they already feel not so fresh
李白杜甫的诗篇被千万人传诵，可到如今已让人觉得不那么新鲜了。
The poems of Li Bai and Du Fu are on ten thousand lips, yet to this day they no longer feel fresh.
以「万口传」与「不新鲜」对撞，破崇古迷信，先破后立。「万口传」极写李杜诗篇流传之广、地位之崇，无人可以否认；「至今已觉不新鲜」陡转一笔，以「不新鲜」的日常语写审美疲劳，语带诙谐而力重千钧。「至今已觉」四字尤见分寸——不是否定李杜，而是说时代变迁，审美当随世运；以最平易的话说最惊世之理，先立靶而后破之，正是论诗绝句「语浅理深」的典范。「万口传」极写其崇，「不新鲜」陡转其议，先立后破，语带诙谐而力重千钧。
Set against each other, on ten thousand lips and no longer feel fresh break the superstition of antiquity, first breaking, then building. On ten thousand lips writes to the utmost the spread and standing of Li Bai and Du Fu, beyond denial; yet to this day they no longer feel fresh turns abruptly, writing aesthetic fatigue in the everyday words no longer fresh, the diction playful yet the weight a thousand jun. The four words yet to this day show the measure — not denying Li and Du, but saying that the age has turned, and taste should follow the times; saying the startling truth in the plainest words, first setting up the target then breaking it, is the model of the poem-on-poetry quatrain, plain in speech and deep in reason. On ten thousand lips writing their glory to the utmost, no longer feel fresh turning the argument abruptly; first lifted, then broken, playful in diction, weighty in force.
江山代有才人出
The rivers and hills each age bring forth men of talent
国家山河代代都有才华之人涌现。
Every age brings forth its own men of genius.
「江山」拓开气象，立文学代变之史观。「江山」一语双关，既指国土山河，亦暗含「江山如画」「半壁江山」的文学江山之意，气象开阔；「代有」写每一时代自有其才人，不是古人独擅胜场；「才人出」写人才之不断涌现，如江河后浪推前浪。此句由对李杜的质疑转入正面立论，把文学史写为代代相传、生生不息的长河，一扫崇古之习，正是赵翼「诗随世运」史观的凝练表达。「江山」双关，气象开阔，把文学史写入历史长河。
The word rivers and hills opens the atmosphere, establishing the historical view of literature's change with the ages. Rivers and hills is double-edged: at once the land and mountains, and secretly the literary realm of picturesque land and half the realm; the atmosphere open. Every age brings forth its own men of genius writes that each age has its own gifted men, not the ancients alone monopolizing excellence. Men of genius arise writes the unceasing emergence of talent, like the river's later waves pushing the earlier. The line moves from the questioning of Li and Du to the positive thesis, writing literary history as a long river passed on age after age, endlessly renewing, sweeping away the habit of antiquity; it is the condensed expression of Zhao Yi's view that poetry follows the times. Rivers and hills double-edged, the atmosphere open, writing literary history into the long river of time.
各领风骚数百年
Each leads the wind-and-sao for several hundred years
各自引领诗坛风骚达数百年。
Each leads the fashion of poetry for several hundred years.
「各领」点明新旧更替必然，警策有力，收束雄健。「各领风骚」以《国风》《离骚》代指诗坛主导地位，言每一时代的杰出诗人各有其引领风骚的百年；「各领」二字，既肯定李杜曾领风骚，亦预示后来者必代而起之，新旧更替是文学史的必然规律。以「数百年」言其有时限，正见「各领」非永恒，暗含对当代诗人自开新境的期待，收束雄健，理趣盎然，是千古传诵的警句。「各领」言其有时限，正见新旧更替之必然，警策有力。
The word each leads points out the necessity of the new displacing the old, incisive and forceful, the close vigorous. Each leads the feng-sao takes the Airs of States and the Li Sao as standing for the dominant position in poetry, saying the outstanding poets of each age each lead the fashion for their hundred years; the words each lead at once affirm that Li and Du once led the fashion, and foretell that later comers must take their place — the new displacing the old is the law of literary history. Speaking of several hundred years gives the term, showing each leads is not eternal, secretly lodging the expectation that the poets of today open their own new realm; the close vigorous, thought playful, an aphorism read through the ages. The several hundred years gives the term, showing precisely the necessity of the new displacing the old, incisive and forceful.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both from Zhao Yi's 'On Poetry' sequence; read together for his literary view and technique.
同为赵翼《论诗》组诗，皆以诗论诗、主张文学代变；「李杜诗篇万口传」首开其端，此首「江山代有才人出」收束其意，一破一立、一疑一信，可互参赵翼文学史观的完整表述，亦可比较组诗各首「以诗论诗」手法的异同。一破一立、一疑一信，可互参赵翼文学史观的完整表述。组诗各首皆以诗论诗，可比较其手法的同中之异。
绮怀 Tender Heart 黄景仁 · 一为诗歌理论，一为抒情感怀，可见清诗多样面貌 Difference (one is poetic theory, one is lyric feeling)Both famous Qing poems; one wins by reason, one by feeling — showing Qing poetry's varied face.
黄景仁《绮怀》以「似此星辰非昨夜，为谁风露立中宵」写缠绵情思，以情胜；赵翼《论诗》以「江山代有才人出」写文学史观，以理胜。同属清诗名篇，一主情、一主理，正可见清代诗坛「性灵」与「格调」、「言情」与「说理」的多样面貌，亦可体会清诗在唐诗宋词之后的自觉求新。一主情、一主理，可见清诗「性灵」与「格调」的多样面貌。黄诗之缠绵与赵诗之警策，正见清诗言情、说理的两极。