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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

山村咏怀

Chanting in the Mountain Village

邵雍

Shao Yong

一去二三里，烟村四五家。
亭台六七座，八九十枝花。

Going along for two or three li,
A misty village of four or five houses.
Pavilions and terraces, six or seven,
Eight, nine, ten branches of flowers.
Listen

Meaning

A counting-song of the mountain village, written by the Song philosopher Shao Yong. Going along for two or three li, he passes a misty village of four or five houses; pavilions and terraces, six or seven; and eight, nine, ten branches of flowers. The quatrain is built entirely on the numbers one to ten: the distance, the houses, the terraces, and the flowers — the plain enumeration of the little journey that is also the pure pleasure of the counting. It is one of the most famous children's poems of the Chinese tradition.

一去二三里，烟村四五家。亭台六七座，八九十枝花。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Going along for two or three li, a misty village of four or five houses. Pavilions and terraces, six or seven, eight, nine, ten branches of flowers. [Structure and Thought] The quatrain follows the journey by the numbers: the distance of two or three li, the four or five houses of the misty village, the six or seven pavilions and terraces, and the eight, nine, ten branches of flowers. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the counting: the numbers one to ten are distributed through the four lines, each number naming an element of the village — the enumeration is the whole of the poem, and the plain counting becomes the charm. [Emotional Tone] Plain, light, and delighted: the quatrain is the record of the journey's pure pleasure, the village counted off in its houses and terraces and flowers.

【白话串讲】 邵雍写《山村咏怀》：“一去二三里，烟村四五家”——“亭台六七座，八九十枝花”——他把数字写进山村——八九十枝花。 【意象与手法】 “一去二三里，烟村四五家”以数字写路途村舍；“亭台六七座，八九十枝花”以数字写亭台花木。语言清新明快，以数字入诗别具巧思。 【情感与主旨】 以数字串联山村景物，寥寥数笔勾勒一幅宁静的山村图景，是理学家邵雍“以俗为雅”的代表，语言浅白而意趣盎然。 【名句点睛】 常考“一去二三里，烟村四五家”以数字写山村；“亭台六七座，八九十枝花”以数字写花木。

Background

Shao Yong (1011–1077), styled the Master of the Happy Nest, was one of the great philosophers of the Northern Song, the founder of the 'numerology' school of the Cheng brothers' circle — a man of the mountains and the villages, famous for his plain, philosophical ease. This quatrain, a counting-song of the mountain village, is his most famous poem, quoted in every school as the model of the children's verse: the numbers one to ten distributed through the four lines in the plainest delight. The poem's philosophy is the same ease that made Shao Yong a legend of the Song — the world counted and delighted in.

《山村咏怀》为北宋理学家邵雍所作诗。邵雍（1011—1077），字尧夫，号安乐先生，祖籍范阳（今河北涿州），北宋理学家，为「北宋五子」之一。此诗写景田园，为山村咏怀之作。诗中「一去二三里，烟村四五家」写一去二三里，烟村四五家；「亭台六七座，八九十枝花」写亭台六七座，八九十枝花。邵雍此诗以写景田园、八九十枝花写其田园之情，清新明快，是邵雍诗中的名篇。此篇《山村咏怀》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《山村咏怀》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《山村咏怀》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。

Art

The quatrain's art is the art of the pure enumeration. The numbers one to ten are distributed through the four lines: two or three li of the distance, four or five houses of the village, six or seven pavilions and terraces, eight, nine, ten branches of flowers. Each number names an element of the journey, and the elements are the plainest — the distance, the houses, the terraces, the flowers. The poem's art is the refusal of the ornament: the counting is the whole, and the charm of the quatrain is the pure pleasure of the enumeration — the world reduced to its simple numbers, and the numbers loved for their own sake.

此诗艺术上以「清新明快、以数写景」见长。全诗共四句，由一去二三里而烟村四五家而亭台六七座。起「一去二三里，烟村四五家」写一去二三里：一去二三里，烟村四五家；「亭台六七座，八九十枝花」写八九十枝花：亭台六七座，八九十枝花。全诗以数写景，由一去二三里而八九十枝花，清新明快，是邵雍诗中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。

Allusions

The quatrain carries no learned allusion; its art is the plain counting of the journey. The 'misty village' (yancun) is the village seen through the haze — the classic phrase of the rustic scene; the 'pavilions and terraces' (tingtai) are the buildings of the village; and the 'branches of flowers' (zhihua) are the flowers counted off at the close — the elements of the little world, each given its number.

诗中「一去二三里烟村四五家」「亭台六七座八九十枝花」等语，皆含典故故实。「一去二三里烟村四五家」写一去二三里烟村四五家；「亭台六七座八九十枝花」写亭台六七座八九十枝花。诗人以一二三四五、六七八九十等数入诗，不着痕迹，而把写景田园之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。

Commentary

This quatrain is one of the most famous children's poems of the Chinese tradition, quoted in every school as the model of the counting-song. The numbers one to ten distributed through the four lines are the poem's signature — the plainest enumeration, and the purest delight. Critics note the poem's philosophical depth beneath its simplicity: the world counted and delighted in is the world of Shao Yong's happy ease, the philosopher's contentment with the simple and the numbered.

这首《山村咏怀》，是邵雍写景田园之作，写一去二三里、烟村四五家、亭台六七座、八九十枝花之情，清新明快。起「一去二三里，烟村四五家」——一去二三里，烟村四五家。写一去二三里：一去二三里、烟村四五家——一去二三里、烟村四五家；「亭台六七座，八九十枝花」——亭台六七座，八九十枝花。写八九十枝花：亭台六七座、八九十枝花——六七座亭台、九十枝花。这「亭台六七座，八九十枝花」，是全诗之结：以八九十枝花写其田园。全诗清新明快，以数写景，正是邵雍诗中的名篇。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。全诗以「一去二三里」起笔，写行路二三里、烟村四五家；以「亭台六七座，八九十枝花」作结，写亭台六七座、八九十枝花。四句由一二三而四五六、而七八九、而十，以数写景，由远及近、由村而花，清新明快，正是写景田园、以数入诗的妙笔。全诗清新明快，以数写景，寥寥二十字而山村如在目前，为历代选本所常收。

Prosody

Form A five-character quatrain (wujue)诗（五言绝句）
Rhyme The quatrain rhymes on the level-tone words jia and hua — the plain, level rhyme of the counting-song, carrying the poem's light tone.此诗为五言绝句，共四句，两句一联。押平声韵：「家」「花」押麻部韵。诗体依绝句而定，句式整齐，音节随情起伏，正与写写景田园的清新明快相称，也见其以绝句写田园的自然。
Tone pattern The cadence is that of the walk and the count: the even progress of the distance, the level naming of the houses, and the light, enumerating fall of the close — the branches of flowers counted off.句式上，「一去二三里，烟村四五家」写一去二三里，音节明快；「亭台六七座，八九十枝花」写八九十枝花，音节轻快。全诗音节随情起伏，由明快而轻快，正合绝句「含蓄」之妙，读来如写景田园、八九十枝花之音，清新而动人。
Reading note The quatrain's sound matches its plain charm: the level rhymes of the jia group carry the counting in the evenest cadence, and the final line — 'ba jiu shi zhi hua' — falls with the three numbers in the lightest enumeration, the sound of the counting-song's pure delight.此诗为五言绝句，是邵雍写景田园之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「清新明快、以数写景」：「一去二三里，烟村四五家」写一去二三里、「亭台六七座，八九十枝花」写八九十枝花。全诗清新明快，以数写景。尤为精妙者，是「一去二三里，烟村四五家」以数写村景；而「亭台六七座，八九十枝花」以数写花，正是邵雍诗「清新明快」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《山村咏怀》一诗之所以读来声情并茂，正在于诗人以声韵配合情思、以节奏烘托意境，音节之长短、平仄之起伏，皆与诗意相为表里，此亦可见中国古典诗歌声律之美与匠心之工。

Line by line

一去二三里，烟村四五家。

Going along for two or three li, a misty village of four or five houses.

一去二三里，烟村四五家。

A mile or two out, a misty hamlet of four or five homes.

首二句写一去二三里，起笔即见其景。「一去二三里」写一去二三里，「一去」写一去、「二三里」写二三里；「烟村四五家」写烟村四五家，「烟村」写烟村、「四五家」写四五家。两句一写一去二三里、一写烟村四五家，以一去二三里写去二三里、以烟村四五家写烟村四五家，写尽一去二三里、烟村四五家之情。以数起兴，清新而明快，是「以数起兴」的妙笔。

The opening two lines write the one-or-two-mile, the scene present at the first stroke. A mile or two out writes the going and the mile-or-two; a misty hamlet of four or five homes writes the misty village and the four-five homes. Two lines, the going-two-three-li through the mile-or-two, the misty hamlet through the misty village, exhausting the going and the misty hamlet. Rising on number, fresh and bright, a wondrous brush of rising-on-number.

亭台六七座，八九十枝花。

Pavilions and terraces, six or seven, eight, nine, ten branches of flowers.

亭台六七座，八九十枝花。

Six or seven pavilions and terraces, and eight, nine, ten branches of flowers.

尾二句写八九十枝花，是全诗立意的落点。「亭台六七座」写亭台六七座，「亭台」写亭台、「六七座」写六七座；「八九十枝花」写八九十枝花，「八九十枝」写八九十枝、「花」写花。两句一写亭台六七座、一写八九十枝花，以亭台六七座写亭台六七座、以八九十枝花写八九十枝花，写尽亭台六七座、八九十枝花之情。以数写景，清新而明快，是全诗最动人处，也是「以数写景」的点睛之笔。

The closing two lines write the eight-nine-ten flowers, the landing of the poem's theme. Six or seven pavilions and terraces writes the pavilions and the six-seven; eight, nine, ten branches of flowers writes the eight-nine-ten branches and the flowers. Two lines, the six-seven pavilions through the six-seven, the eight-nine-ten flowers through the eight-nine-ten, exhausting the pavilions and the flowers. Writing scene through number, fresh and bright, the poem's most moving place.

Study

Word focus

一去 'Going along' — the opening of the journey, the walk begun. 「一去」写一去二三里，是写一去之态的关键。「一去二三里」着一「一去」，写一去——着一「一去」，写一去二三里，见其行之远。两字写尽一去之态，是「以词写行」的妙笔。「一去」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
烟村 'The misty village' — the village seen through the haze, the classic phrase of the rustic scene. 「烟村」写烟村四五家，是写烟村之态的关键。「烟村四五家」着一「烟村」，写烟村——着一「烟村」，写烟村四五家，见其村之烟。两字写尽烟村之态，是「以词写村」的点睛之词。「烟村」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
亭台 'Pavilions and terraces' — the buildings of the village, counted off in the third line. 「亭台」写亭台六七座，是写亭台之态的关键。「亭台六七座」着一「亭台」，写亭台——着一「亭台」，写亭台六七座，见其台之众。两字写尽亭台之态，是「以词写台」的点睛之词。「亭台」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
花 'Flowers' — the branches of flowers of the close, the last element of the numbered world. 「花」字写八九十枝花，是写花枝之态的关键。「八九十枝花」着一「花」，写花——着一「花」字，写八九十枝花，见其花之盛。一字写尽花枝之态，是「以一字写花」的点睛之词。「花」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯 Silk-Washing Stream: A New Song and a Cup of Wine 晏殊 · 同写小令写景、清新蕴藉，一写无可奈何花落去、一写一去二三里烟村四五家，皆于小令之中见清新蕴藉 Both are the poems of the plain pleasure of the moment — Yan Shu's new song and the falling flowers, Shao Yong's numbered village.

Yan Shu's 'Silk-Washing Stream' — 'a new song and a cup of wine' — is the philosophical lyric of the passing moment; Shao Yong's quatrain is the plainest version of the same contentment — the village counted off in its houses and flowers, the moment loved for its simple elements.

晏殊《浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯》「无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来」，写景感怀，是宋词小令的名篇；邵雍《山村咏怀》则以「一去二三里，烟村四五家」「亭台六七座，八九十枝花」写一去二三里、八九十枝花。两诗同写小令写景、清新蕴藉：一写无可奈何花落去、以花落燕归写惜时，一写一去二三里烟村四五家、以数写村景；一为晏殊之温润、一为邵雍之明快，并读正可见诗写「小令写景」的两种笔法，皆于小令之中见清新蕴藉。

 山园小梅 The Small Plum of the Mountain Garden 林逋 · 同写田园清雅、以景寄情，一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、一写亭台六七座八九十枝花，皆于田园之中见清雅 Both are the poems of the plain, delighted observation — Lin Bu's plum of the garden, Shao Yong's flowers of the village — the Song masters of the small scene.

Lin Bu's 'Small Plum of the Mountain Garden' — 'the hidden fragrance floats, the shadow is sparse' — is the refined delight of the plum; Shao Yong's quatrain is the plain delight of the numbered flowers — the two Song ways of loving the small, natural world.

林逋《山园小梅》「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」，写梅之清雅、田园之趣，是宋诗咏物的绝唱；邵雍《山村咏怀》则以「亭台六七座，八九十枝花」「一去二三里，烟村四五家」写亭台六七座、八九十枝花。两诗同写田园清雅、以景寄情：一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、以梅写清雅，一写亭台六七座八九十枝花、以数写村景；一为林逋之清逸、一为邵雍之明快，并读正可见诗写「田园清雅」的两种笔法，皆于田园之中见清雅。