宋 Song · 诗 Poem
暮春即事
An Incident at Late Spring
双双瓦雀行书案，点点杨花入砚池。
闲坐小窗读周易，不知春去几多时。
Dot by dot the willow catkins drift into the inkstone;
Idly I sit by the small window reading the Zhouyi,
Unaware how long the spring has been gone.
Meaning
The poem sketches a scholar reading at ease in late spring: sparrows and willow fluff enter his study, and he is so absorbed in the Zhouyi that he loses track of the season.
成对的小雀在书案上跳跃走动，点点杨花飘落进砚台池里。我闲坐窗前诵读《周易》，竟不知春天已悄悄去了多久。
Appreciation
The first two lines use tiny livings — paired sparrows, drifting catkins — to set motion within stillness, quietly mirroring the scholar's concentration. The outer scene naturally joins his reading: the catkins fall into the inkstone as he studies. The last lines name the Zhouyi and the forgetting of spring, blending scene, feeling, and principle. It shows the leisurely self-possession of a Neo-Confucian immersed in books. Calm and understated, it belongs to the Song line of 'leisurely, principled' verse.
【白话串讲】 “双双瓦雀行书案，点点杨花入砚池”——叶采写暮春：瓦雀在书案上走，杨花落进砚台。“闲坐小窗读周易，不知春去几多时”——他读书入迷，春天过去都不知道。最专注的读书人。 【意象与手法】以“双双瓦雀”“点点杨花”的细微动静反衬书斋之静与读书之专；“行书案”“入砚池”将外景与读书之事自然绾合，闲雅有致。 【情感与主旨】写暮春读书的悠然自得，于燕雀杨花、春光暗逝中见出超然物外、耽于典籍的闲适情怀。 【名句点睛】“不知春去几多时”——以忘却时序写读书之醉，闲适之极。
Background
Ye Cai was a Southern-Song Neo-Confucian, a second-generation disciple of Zhu Xi. 'An Incident at Late Spring' writes of the pleasure of reading in his study, likely composed while lecturing on famous mountains and keeping a calm, self-possessed life, showing the Neo-Confucian cultivation of temperament.
《暮春即事》为宋代叶采所作，是写瓦雀杨花、小窗读易的诗。叶采（生卒年不详），字仲圭，建安人，宋代学者、诗人。此诗：双双瓦雀行书案，点点杨花入砚池。闲坐小窗读周易，不知春去几多时。全诗写瓦雀杨花、小窗读易，是叶采诗的名篇。
Art
The first two lines use the fine sights of 'paired' sparrows and 'dotted' catkins to write motion within stillness, setting off the focus of reading; the last lines name reading the Zhouyi and forgetting spring, blending scene, feeling, and principle.
《暮春即事》艺术上以瓦雀杨花的描摹与闲坐读易的理趣见长。全诗四句：首写瓦雀杨花——“双双瓦雀行书案，点点杨花入砚池”写双双瓦雀行书案、点点杨花入砚池；末写小窗读易——“闲坐小窗读周易，不知春去几多时”写闲坐小窗读周易、不知春去几多时。全诗以瓦雀杨花写闲坐读易，正是叶采诗理趣的笔法。
Allusions
'Zhouyi' is the Book of Changes, a Confucian classic; 'eaves sparrows' are ordinary birds, unadorned imagery.
《暮春即事》用典在“瓦雀”“行书案”“杨花”“入砚池”“闲坐小窗”“读周易”“不知春去”。“瓦雀”写瓦雀（檐雀）；“行书案”写行书案；“杨花”写杨花；“入砚池”写入砚池；“闲坐小窗”写闲坐小窗；“读周易”用周易之典（周易）；“不知春去”写不知春去。全诗以这些意象写瓦雀杨花、闲坐读易，用典自然而理趣自见，正是叶采诗的笔法。
Commentary
The poem writes a Neo-Confucian's ordinary breast in calm tones, showing principled delight within leisure, in keeping with the Song 'leisurely, reasoned' vein.
《暮春即事》是叶采诗的名篇，也是宋诗中写读书理趣的代表作。此诗写瓦雀杨花、闲坐读易，向为论者称道。论者多赏其瓦雀杨花的描摹与闲坐读易的理趣——“双双瓦雀行书案，点点杨花入砚池”写双双瓦雀行书案、点点杨花入砚池，理趣之极；“闲坐小窗读周易，不知春去几多时”用周易之典写闲坐小窗读周易、不知春去几多时，更见其乐。叶采为南宋理学家，此诗正是其代表——以瓦雀杨花写闲坐读易，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
双双瓦雀行书案，点点杨花入砚池。
Pair by pair, roof sparrows pace the desk; dot by dot, willow catkins drift into the inkstone pool.
双双瓦雀行书案，点点杨花入砚池。
Pairs of roof sparrows pace the desk; dots of willow catkins drift into the inkstone pool.
首写双双瓦雀行书案、点点杨花入砚池，是全诗写瓦雀杨花的起点。“双双瓦雀行书案”写双双瓦雀行书案——“双双瓦雀行书案”写双双瓦雀、行于书案——双双瓦雀行书案；“点点杨花入砚池”写点点杨花入砚池——“点点杨花入砚池”写点点杨花、飘入砚池——点点杨花入砚池。二句写双双瓦雀行书案、点点杨花入砚池：双双瓦雀行书案，点点杨花入砚池。以“双双瓦雀行书案”写瓦雀双双、行于书案，以“点点杨花入砚池”写杨花点点、飘入砚池，正是叶采诗写瓦雀杨花的起点——瓦雀行案，杨花入砚。
The opening writes the paired-roof-sparrows'-pacing-the-desk and dotted-willow-catkins'-drifting-into-the-inkstone, the whole poem's roof-sparrow-and-willow-catkin start. The pairs-of-roof-sparrows-pace-the-desk writing the paired sparrows on the desk; the dots-of-willow-catkins-drift-into-the-inkstone writing the dotted catkins entering the inkstone. Two lines writing the paired sparrows on the desk and the dotted catkins in the inkstone: pairs of sparrows pace the desk, dots of catkins drift into the inkstone. Using the paired-sparrows'-pacing for the sparrows' pairing and desk-pacing, and the dotted-catkins'-drifting for the catkins' dots and inkstone-entry, precisely Ye Cai's roof-sparrow-and-willow-catkin start — the sparrow on the desk, the catkin in the inkstone.
闲坐小窗读周易，不知春去几多时。
Idly I sit by the small window reading the Book of Changes; I know not how long spring has gone.
闲坐小窗读周易，不知春去几多时。
Idly sitting by the small window reading the Book of Changes; I know not how long spring has been gone.
末用周易之典写闲坐小窗读周易、不知春去几多时，是全诗写闲坐读易的归结。“闲坐小窗读周易”用周易之典写闲坐小窗读周易——“闲坐小窗读周易”用周易之典写闲坐小窗、读着周易——闲坐小窗读周易；“不知春去几多时”写不知春去几多时——“不知春去几多时”写不知春去、已经几时——不知春去几多时。二句写闲坐小窗读周易、不知春去几多时：闲坐小窗读周易，不知春去几多时。以“闲坐小窗读周易”用周易之典写闲坐小窗、静读周易，以“不知春去几多时”写不知春去、专注忘时，正是叶采诗写闲坐读易的归结——小窗读易，不知春去。
The close uses the Book-of-Changes allusion for the idly-sitting-by-the-small-window-reading and knows-not-how-long-spring-has-been-gone, the whole poem's idle-sitting-and-Changes-reading close. The idly-sitting-by-the-small-window-reading-the-Book-of-Changes using the Changes allusion for the small-window-sitting and Changes-reading; the I-know-not-how-long-spring-has-been-gone writing the spring's gone and the time's passed. Two lines writing the small-window reading and the unknown spring: idly by the small window reading the Changes, I know not how long spring has gone. Using the Changes allusion for the quiet reading, and the unknown spring's gone for the absorption's forgetting time, precisely Ye Cai's idle-sitting-Changes-reading close — the small window reading, the spring gone unnoticed.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
王淇《春暮游小园》写开到荼蘼花事了、丝丝天棘出莓墙，与本诗同为宋诗写暮春之景。差异在情境：暮春即事写窗内读书；春暮游小园写园中花事。一写“读”之静，一写“花”之慨。两者并读，可见宋诗写暮春之景的两种情境。
晚春 Late Spring 韩愈 · 同为诗写暮春之景，一写小窗读易一写草木知春，一静一趣 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
韩愈《晚春》写草树知春不久归、百般红紫斗芳菲，与本诗同为诗写暮春之景。差异在情境：暮春即事写窗内读书之静；晚春写园中花木之闹。一写“读”之静，一写“斗”之趣。两者并读，可见诗写暮春之景的两种情境。
观书有感 Thoughts on Reading 朱熹 · 同为宋诗写读书之理，一写小窗读易一写源头活水，一静一理 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
朱熹《观书有感》写问渠那得清如许、为有源头活水来，与本诗同为宋诗写读书之理。差异在情境：暮春即事写闲坐读易之静；观书有感写读书悟理之明。一写“读”之静，一写“悟”之理。两者并读，可见宋诗写读书之理的两种情境。