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清 Qing · 诗 Poem

题竹

On Bamboo

郑燮

Zheng Xie

咏物object-chant 品格character 言志Theme

咬定青山不放松，立根原在破岩中。
千磨万击还坚劲，任尔东西南北风。

Biting fast the green hill, never loosening;
Its roots were set in the broken rock.
A thousand grindings, ten thousand blows, still firm and strong;
Let be the east, west, south, north wind.

Listen

Meaning

The bamboo bites fast the green hill and never relaxes; its roots were originally planted in the broken rock. Through a thousand grindings and ten thousand strikes it stays firm and resilient; let the wind blow from east, west, south or north as it will.

竹紧紧咬住青山绝不放松，原来它的根扎在破碎的岩石之中。经历千万次折磨打击依旧坚韧挺拔，任凭你从东西南北任意吹来的狂风。

Appreciation

Zheng Xie's little poem is pure personification, turning the bamboo into a man of will and bone. The two words 'biting fast' are strange and bold, using a beast's gnawing to state the bamboo-root's hold, force through the paper. 'Its roots were set in the broken rock' supplies why it can bite fast - in a hard place. The latter two lines move from stillness to motion: 'a thousand grindings, ten thousand blows' speaks the multitude of setbacks, 'still firm and strong' turns to show the unremovable; 'let be' is especially proud, treating the wild wind as nothing. The whole poem preaches no 'bamboo' by sermon, yet its firm joint shows itself; the language is decisive as nails, in keeping with his artistic creed 'cut the superfluous, simplify, an autumn tree' - most representing Banqiao's stern, hardy style.

【白话串讲】 “咬定青山不放松，立根原在破岩中”——郑板桥写竹：咬定青山不放松，根扎在破岩里。“千磨万击还坚劲，任尔东西南北风”——千磨万击还坚韧。他写竹，写的是自己。【意象与手法】此诗纯用拟人，将竹化为有意志、有筋骨之人。「咬定」二字奇崛，以兽之啮住状竹根之牢，力透纸背；「立根原在破岩中」补出所以能咬定者，在处境之艰。后两句由静转动，「千磨万击」极言挫折之多，「还坚劲」一转见其不可夺；「任尔」二字尤傲，将狂风视若无物。全诗无一「竹」字说教，而劲节自见，语言斩钉截铁，与其「删繁就简三秋树」之艺术主张相表里，最能代表板桥诗风之峭健。【情感与主旨】郑燮（1693—1765），字克柔，号板桥，江苏兴化人，乾隆元年进士，「扬州八怪」之一。《题竹》为其题画之作，与其《竹石》同旨，约写于中年宦游或罢官前后。板桥一生爱竹画竹，以竹之「虚心劲节」自况。此诗写竹扎根破岩、傲立风雨，实则其任潍县令时赈灾忤上、终遭罢归的孤耿生涯之投影。清中叶吏治苟且，板桥不肯随俗，借竹明「千磨万击」不改其志之节，是其「难得糊涂」之外刚介一面的写照，亦见文人以物自托的传统。【名句点睛】本诗为小升初、中考常见咏物言志篇目。考点一：托物言志，须点明竹象征坚韧执着、不畏艰险的品格，寄托诗人刚正不阿之志；考点二：「咬定」「任尔」等词的拟人炼字之妙；考点三：「千磨万击」与「东西南北风」的象征意义。

Background

Zheng Xie (1693-1765), courtesy Kerou, style Banqiao, of Xinghua in Jiangsu, a Qianlong first-year graduate, was one of the 'Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou'. 'On Bamboo' is a painting-inscription, of one intent with his 'Bamboo and Rock', likely written in his middle years of official wandering or about the time of his dismissal. Banqiao loved bamboo and painted it all his life, figuring himself by the bamboo's 'hollow heart and firm joint'. This poem writes the bamboo rooting in broken rock, standing proud in wind and rain - in truth a projection of his own lone, upright career: as magistrate of Weixian he relief-fed the disaster-stricken and offended his superiors, finally dismissed and sent home. In mid-Qing, with lax officialdom, Banqiao would not follow the crowd; through the bamboo he declares the principle of 'a thousand grindings' never changing his will - a portrait of his 'rarely confused' exterior's firm, upright side, and shows the literati's tradition of lodging the self in the object.

郑燮（1693—1765），字克柔，号板桥，江苏兴化人，清代著名书画家、文学家，「扬州八怪」之一。他早年家贫，屡试不第，至乾隆元年（1736）四十四岁方中进士，历任山东范县、潍县知县，为官清廉刚直；乾隆十八年（1753）因办理赈灾事忤逆上官，愤而辞官归里，以卖画为生。板桥一生爱竹、画竹、咏竹，其画竹「四十年来画竹枝，日间挥写夜间思」，以竹之「虚心」「劲节」「耐寒」自况，其诗题画咏竹者甚多，《题竹》（又名《竹石》）是其中最著名的一首。此诗约写于其中年宦游或罢官前后——任潍县令时，山东大饥，板桥开仓赈贷，令民具券借给，活人无数，然因此忤逆上官，终遭罢归；诗中「千磨万击还坚劲，任尔东西南北风」的竹，正是板桥自己：处破岩之艰（家贫官艰）、历千磨万击（仕途坎坷、赈灾忤上）而不改其节，任尔狂风（宦海风波、世俗压力）而傲然独立。清中叶吏治苟且、世风浇薄，板桥不肯随俗同流，故借竹明志——这是其「难得糊涂」的处世智慧之外，刚介耿直的另一面，也是中国文人「以物自托」传统的延续（屈原之橘、周敦颐之莲、郑燮之竹，一脉相承）。

Art

This poem is pure personification, turning the bamboo into a man of will and bone. The two words 'biting fast' are strange and bold, using a beast's gnawing to state the bamboo-root's hold, force through the paper; 'its roots were set in the broken rock' supplies why it can bite fast - in a hard place. The latter two lines move from stillness to motion: 'a thousand grindings, ten thousand blows' speaks the multitude of setbacks, 'still firm and strong' turns to show the unremovable; 'let be' is especially proud, treating the wild wind as nothing. The whole poem preaches no 'bamboo' by sermon, yet its firm joint shows itself; the language decisive as nails, in keeping with his creed 'cut the superfluous, simplify, an autumn tree' - most representing Banqiao's stern, hardy style.

此诗艺术之妙，在「纯用拟人、句句言志」的咏物与「斩钉截铁」的语言风格。起句「咬定青山不放松」以奇崛之笔破题：「咬定」二字，以兽之啮物状竹根之牢——竹不是「扎根」（静态的），而是「咬定」（动态的、用力的、不肯松口的），一个「咬」字把竹写成了有意志、有筋骨的生灵，力透纸背；「不放松」三字更以口语写其执著——咬定了，就绝不放松，如誓言，如决绝。次句「立根原在破岩中」补出根由：「立根」写竹之立足，「原在」写本来如此（原来根就扎在破碎的岩石之中），「破岩」写处境之艰——竹不是长在沃土，而是长在破碎的岩石缝中，正因处境的艰险，才更见其咬定青山的分量——「原在」二字尤妙：不是偶然，不是无奈，而是「本来就在」——竹选择了破岩，正如志士选择了艰险。三句「千磨万击还坚劲」由静转动：「千磨万击」极言挫折之多（千次磨折，万次打击），「还坚劲」一转写其不可夺——经历千磨万击，反而更加坚韧劲拔，「还」字写其不折不挠（越磨越坚）。结句「任尔东西南北风」以傲语收束：「任尔」写任凭你（狂风）——把东西南北的狂风视若无物，「尔」字把风写成可以轻蔑的对手，「任」字写尽傲岸——你有你的狂风，我有我的坚劲，各不相干。全诗二十八字，无一「竹」字说教，而竹之劲节、人之刚直，尽在其中，语言斩钉截铁、掷地有声，正是板桥「删繁就简三秋树，领异标新二月花」艺术主张的体现。

Allusions

This poem uses no obvious allusion, purely personifying the bamboo's natural principle to speak intent, citing no history or set phrase. 'Broken rock' may recall Du Fu's 'a life of suffering', 'biting fast' is also near folk speech - neither is a textual allusion, but an on-the-object comparison. The bamboo's 'firm joint' and 'hollow heart' are themselves traditional symbols of Chinese literati (from Wang Xizhi, Wang Wei down to Wen Tong, Su Shi); Banqiao inherits this collective image yet brings forth the bold words 'biting fast' and 'let be', turning the elegant into the plain-strong. As a whole it wins by plain description and personification, needing no note yet meaning self-complete - exactly his clear, lone, proud poetic heart beneath the 'confused' exterior.

此诗用典极淡，纯以竹之物理拟人言志，而意象皆有深厚的文化渊源。竹在中国文化中是「虚心」「劲节」「耐寒」的象征——自《诗经·卫风·淇奥》「瞻彼淇奥，绿竹猗猗。有匪君子，如切如磋」以竹喻君子之德起，经东晋王徽之「何可一日无此君」、唐王维《竹里馆》「独坐幽篁里」、宋苏轼「宁可食无肉，不可居无竹」、文同「胸有成竹」，竹已成为中国文人品格的第一象征物；郑燮承此集体意象，而别出「咬定」「任尔」之悍语，化典雅为俚健——「咬定青山」以俚语写竹根之牢，「任尔东西南北风」以口语写竹之傲岸，把文人咏竹的雅致传统注入了民间口语的生命力。「破岩」写竹之生根于破岩，暗含「处艰而不移」的品格（竹不择沃土，正如君子不避艰险）；「千磨万击」以数字极言磨难之多，暗承「玉不琢不成器」的磨砺传统；「东西南北风」以四方之风吹尽人生之磨折，暗合「八面来风」的处境。全诗不引经据典而句句有典之精神，正是板桥「以俗为雅、以俚为健」诗风的体现——它把千年的文人竹意象，锻造成了一句斩钉截铁的人生宣言。

Commentary

This poem, of one work with 'Bamboo and Rock', has long been a Banqiao representative, anthologists often listing them together. The modern Fu Baoshi says of it 'a word a thousand catties, writing out the Chinese literati's backbone'. Today's language textbooks widely take it in, honored as 'a model of lodge-intent-in-the-object', praising that 'in plain words one sees bone; children can recite yet profit for life' - enough to prove it writes national spirit with a firm brush, through the ages becoming a spiritual sign.

此诗与《竹石》同工，向为板桥代表作，历代选家必录，至今仍为语文教材的常选篇目，被誉为「托物言志的范本」。近人评板桥此诗，多称其「一字千钧，写尽中国文人脊梁」——「咬定青山」的执著、「千磨万击还坚劲」的不屈、「任尔东西南北风」的傲岸，正是中国士人「贫贱不能移，威武不能屈」精神的诗化表达。傅抱石论板桥画竹，谓其「以书入画，以诗题画，诗书画三绝」——此诗作为题画诗，与画中竹石相映成趣：画以形写竹之姿，诗以神写竹之骨，诗画合一，正是板桥艺术「三绝」的缩影。此诗在文学史上的价值，在于它把「咏物诗」写成了「人格宣言」：自屈原《橘颂》「苏世独立，横而不流兮」、于谦《石灰吟》「粉骨碎身浑不怕，要留清白在人间」以来，中国咏物诗有「以物自况」的传统，而板桥此诗以最通俗的语言、最倔强的姿态，把这一传统推向了极致——它不仅是竹的赞歌，更是中国文人风骨的象征，其「千磨万击还坚劲」的精神，激励了无数身处逆境而不改其志的中国人，从晚清志士到现代青年，皆从中汲取力量，堪称中国诗歌史上流传最广、影响最深的咏物言志之作之一。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain七言绝句（题画诗）

Rhyme Ping-shui rhyme, upper-level two dong group (loosen, rock, wind)平水韵·上平二冬（松、中、风），首句入韵，一韵到底，韵部洪亮开阔，正合竹之劲健刚直。

Tone pattern First-line-enters-rhyme, level-onset level-close平起首句入韵式，平仄合律：仄仄平平仄仄平（咬定青山不放松）……「千磨万击还坚劲」以「平平仄仄平平仄」的拗峭之句突起，音节如铁石相击，正合「千磨万击」之力；「任尔东西南北风」以「仄仄平平平仄平」收束，音节舒展，如傲然长啸。

Reading note A painting-inscription poem, natural antithesis, firm and plain.此诗为七言绝句，题画诗（题于《竹石图》），是板桥「诗书画三绝」中诗的代表，格律严整而语言峭健。七绝体制短小，最忌直说，而板桥此诗以「斩钉截铁」的直说取胜——二十八字，句句是誓言，字字是风骨：起句「咬定青山不放松」破空而来，如雷贯耳；次句「立根原在破岩中」补足根由；三句「千磨万击还坚劲」由静转动，写磨难中之坚劲；结句「任尔东西南北风」以傲语收束，如长啸震天。用韵上，全诗押上平二冬韵（松、中、风），音色洪亮开阔，与竹之劲健刚直相谐；平仄上，平起首句入韵，句句合律，而「千磨万击还坚劲」以「平平仄仄平平仄」的拗峭音节突起，如铁石相击，正合「千磨万击」的力度，「任尔东西南北风」以「仄仄平平平仄平」的拗句收束（「东」字拗而「南」字救），音节舒展拗峭，如傲然长啸——板桥诗「峭健」的风格，正是通过这种拗峭的音节体现的。此诗在格律上的特色，在于「以拗峭写倔强」：内容的倔强（咬定、任尔）与音节的拗峭（拗句、峭音）相表里，形式与内容高度统一，是七绝中「以气胜」的典范，也是研究题画诗与板桥诗风的重要文本。

Line by line

咬定青山不放松，立根原在破岩中。

Biting fast the green hill, never loosening; its roots were set in the broken rock.

竹紧紧咬住青山绝不放松，原来它的根扎在破碎的岩石之中。

It bites fast into the green mountain and will not let go; its roots are set, after all, in the cracked rock.

前两句写竹之根，是全诗「以根写节」的开端。「咬定青山不放松」以奇崛之笔破题：「咬定」二字是全诗最著力处——以兽之啮物状竹根之牢，竹不是「扎根」（静态的、自然的），而是「咬定」（动态的、用力的、拼命的），一个「咬」字把竹写成了有意志、有筋骨、甚至带几分倔强的生灵，力透纸背；「不放松」三字以口语写其执著——咬定了，就绝不放松，如誓言，如决绝，如钉子钉进石头。「立根原在破岩中」补出根由：「立根」写竹之立足（根立于此），「原在」写本来如此——不是偶然，不是无奈，而是「原来就在」：竹选择了破岩，正如志士选择了艰险；「破岩」写处境之艰——破碎的岩石，贫瘠的缝隙，本非草木宜居之地，而竹偏立根于此，正因处境的艰险，才更见其「咬定」的分量。两句一写「咬」之牢，一写「立」之艰，牢与艰相生：唯其处艰，故咬得更牢；唯其咬牢，故能处艰不惧。

The first two lines write the bamboo's root, the opening of writing integrity through the root. It bites fast into the green mountain and will not let go opens with a strange, vigorous brush: the words bite fast are the point of greatest force — figuring the bamboo's roothold with the beast's gripping; the bamboo is not rooted (static, natural) but bites (dynamic, straining, desperate), and the single bite writes the bamboo as a creature of will and sinew, even of stubbornness. Will not let go writes the fixation in plain speech — once bitten, never to be relaxed, like an oath, like a resolve, like a nail driven into stone. Its roots are set, after all, in the cracked rock gives the reason: roots set writes the bamboo's standing, after all writes that it was so from the start — not by chance, not from helplessness, but originally there: the bamboo chose the cracked rock, as the resolute man chose the hardship; cracked rock writes the harshness of the lot — the fractured stone, the barren crevice, no place for plants to dwell, yet the bamboo roots itself here, and precisely because the lot is harsh, the biting the more weighted. One line of the grip, one of the hardship: grip and hardship beget each other — only in hardship does it bite the faster; only by the fast bite can it face the hardship without fear.

千磨万击还坚劲，任尔东西南北风。

A thousand grindings, ten thousand blows, still firm and strong; let be the east, west, south, north wind.

经历千万次折磨打击依旧坚韧挺拔，任凭你从东西南北任意吹来的狂风。

A thousand grindings, ten thousand blows — still tough and upright; let the wind come from east, west, north or south.

后两句写竹之节，是全诗「以节言志」的高潮。「千磨万击还坚劲」由静转动：「千磨万击」极言挫折之多——千次磨折，万次打击，磨难不是一次两次，而是无穷无尽，「千」「万」以数字极言其多；「还坚劲」一转写其不可夺——经历千磨万击，反而更加坚韧劲拔：「还」字是全句的枢纽——不是「虽坚劲」（条件式），而是「还坚劲」（结果式）：越磨越坚，越击越劲，磨难成了锤炼，打击成了砥砺，这正是「玉不琢不成器」的磨砺哲学。「任尔东西南北风」以傲语收束：「任尔」写任凭你——把东西南北的狂风视若无物，「尔」字把风写成可以轻蔑的对手（你算什么），「任」字写尽傲岸——你有你的狂风，我有我的坚劲，风从东来我不动，风从西来我不摇，四面八方，我自岿然；「东西南北」以四方之风吹尽人生之磨折——仕途的风波、世俗的毁誉、命运的打击，尽在这四面来风之中，而竹（人）屹立如初。两句一写「磨」之烈，一写「傲」之极，把竹的品格写到了极致，也把人的志节写到了极致。

The last two lines write the bamboo's integrity, the climax of using the bamboo to speak resolve. A thousand grindings, ten thousand blows — still tough and upright moves from stillness to motion: a thousand grindings, ten thousand blows press the multitude of trials to the utmost — trials not once or twice, but endless; the numbers thousand and ten thousand press it. Still tough and upright turns and writes the unshakable: through a thousand grindings and ten thousand blows, it grows the tougher and the firmer; the word still is the hinge of the line — not though tough (conditional) but still tough (consequential): the more ground, the firmer; the more struck, the stiffer; trials become tempering, blows become whetstones, precisely the philosophy of the uncarved jade never becoming a vessel. Let the wind come from east, west, north or south closes in proud words: let you writes treating the four-direction gale as nothing; the word you turns the wind into a rival to be scorned (what are you?); the word let writes the pride to the utmost — you have your gale, I have my toughness; wind from east, I stir not; wind from west, I sway not; the four directions, and I stand as ever; east, west, north, south exhaust all the trials of life — the storms of office, the praise and blame of the world, the blows of fate, all in these four winds, and the bamboo (the man) stands as before. One line of the ordeal's fierceness, one of pride's extremity, writing the bamboo's character to the utmost, and the man's resolve to the utmost.

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Word focus

咬定 Uses a beast's gnawing to figure the bamboo-root, force through the paper, showing the firm hold and will. 「咬定青山不放松」之「咬定」，是全诗最奇崛的炼字，写竹根之牢与意志之坚。「咬」本写兽之啮物——犬之咬、虎之噬，以口用力，死死不放；板桥以「咬」写竹之根，将植物生长的「扎根」写成了生灵拼命的「咬啮」——竹不是安安静静地长在山上，而是死死「咬」住青山，如兽之攫物，如钉之入木，力透纸背。此字的妙处有三：一是「化静为动」——「咬」字赋予静态的竹根以动态的力量，竹仿佛在用力，在使劲，在与山岩搏斗；二是「以俚为健」——「咬」是民间口语，板桥以口语入诗，把咏物诗的典雅传统注入了俚健的生命力，正是其「以俗为雅」的诗风；三是「由物及人」——「咬定」写的是竹，更是人：志士立身处世，正如竹之咬定青山——认定了志向，就绝不放松，生死以之。「咬定」与「不放松」相连，誓言般斩钉截铁，是全诗精神的起点，也是「千磨万击还坚劲」的根由——唯其咬定，故能坚劲。

任尔 Let you be - treats the wild wind as nothing, showing fully the unyielding, proud air. 「任尔东西南北风」之「任尔」，意为「任凭你」，是全诗最傲岸的炼字。「任」写听任、任凭——随你怎样，我不在乎；「尔」是第二人称代词（你），把「东西南北风」写成一个可以当面轻蔑的对手——「任尔」二字，如对狂风说：你尽管来，我自岿然。此字的妙处有三：一是「以傲写坚」——「任尔」的轻蔑，正是「坚劲」的外化：正因为千磨万击还坚劲，才敢于对四面来风说「任尔」——傲是坚的底气，坚是傲的资本；二是「以人称写风」——「尔」字把无情的狂风写成了有意的对手，风仿佛真的在从东西南北轮番进攻，而竹（人）凛然以对，画面感极强；三是「以口语写志」——「任尔」是口语，脱口而出，如怒喝，如宣言，斩钉截铁，掷地有声，正是板桥「以俚为健」诗风的极致。此字与「咬定」首尾呼应：起句「咬定」写守之坚，结句「任尔」写傲之极，一守一傲，全诗的竹格与人格在两个字中完成。

坚劲 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「千磨万击还坚劲」之「坚劲」，意为「坚韧劲拔」，是全诗品格的核心词。「坚」写其质——坚硬、坚定、不可摧折（如「坚不可摧」）；「劲」写其力——劲健、遒劲、充满力量（如「苍劲」「劲节」）——「坚」是内在的质地，「劲」是外在的风骨，二字连用，把竹的品格写得既坚且劲、内外兼修。此词的妙处有三：一是「以磨写坚」——「坚劲」不是天生的，而是在「千磨万击」中磨出来的：千磨而不折，万击而不弯，磨难成了坚劲的淬炼，正合「生于忧患」的哲理；二是「以坚写节」——「坚劲」正是竹之「劲节」的人格化：竹有节，人有节，「坚劲」二字写尽竹节之硬、人节之坚；三是「以劲写傲」——「坚劲」是「任尔东西南北风」的底气：正因坚劲，才能任尔狂风——「还」字（千磨万击还坚劲）更写出其「越磨越坚」的倔强。二字凝练而有力，是全诗品格的支点，也是中国咏物诗中写「节」的典范词汇。

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