宋 Song · 诗 Poem
西斋睡起 其一
Waking, from, the Nap, in, the West Study, No. 1
避雨燕儿晴又去，趁衙蜂子晚还归。
西轩一枕无人唤，零落桃花绕梦飞。
The bees, of, the court, in, the evening, again, returning.
The west window, one, pillow, no, one, calling,
The scattered, peach blossoms, around, the dream, flying.
Meaning
A poem of the nap and the leisure, written by Li Xin. The swallows dodging the rain at the clearing again going, the bees of the court in the evening again returning — the scenes of the opening. The west window one pillow no one calling, the scattered peach blossoms around the dream flying — the leisure of the close. The poem is the nap and the leisure: the swallows, the bees, and the close's dream of the blossoms.
避雨的燕子趁天晴又飞走了，赶赴蜂衙的蜂儿到傍晚才归来。在西窗下枕卧小憩，无人来唤醒，只有零落的桃花绕着梦境翩翩飞旋。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] The swallows, dodging, the rain, at, the clearing, again, going, the bees, of, the court, in, the evening, again, returning. The west window, one, pillow, no, one, calling, the scattered, peach blossoms, around, the dream, flying. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the scenes of the swallows and the bees, through the west window one pillow no one calling, to the close's the peach blossoms flying around the dream. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the close of the dream: the west window one pillow no one calling, and the close's the peach blossoms flying around the dream — the leisure gathered in the solitude and the close's dream. [Emotional Tone] Quiet, leisurely, and dreamlike: the poem is the swallows, the pillow and the close's blossoms.
【白话串讲】 李新写西斋睡起：“避雨燕儿晴又去，趁衙蜂子晚还归”。“西轩一枕无人唤，零落桃花绕梦飞”——他睡醒，桃花落满梦境。写闲居的清趣。 【意象与手法】首联燕蜂对仗工巧，「趁衙」拟人谑巧；后联由外景转梦境，以「绕」字化静为动、化实为虚。 【情感与主旨】写书斋春睡的闲适自得，于燕蜂动静、落花梦回之间见北宋士大夫从容闲雅的胸次。 【名句点睛】「零落桃花绕梦飞」的「绕」字最妙——把无形之梦写成可绕行之境，结于一片空灵，非寻常即目小诗所能到。
Background
Li Xin (c. 12th century), the poet of the Northern Song, wrote this 'Waking, from, the Nap, in, the West Study, No. 1' of the nap and the leisure — the quiet afternoon of the study. The swallows dodging the rain with the bees of the court, and the close's the west window one pillow with the dream of the blossoms — the poem gathers the leisure of the poet, the quietness of the nap. The poem is one of the works of the poet's poems of the daily scenes.
此诗为北宋诗人李新《西斋睡起》组诗其一。李新（约一〇六二年—？）字元应，仙井（今四川仁寿）人，哲宗元祐间尝官南郑丞，后坐党籍废锢，生平坎坷而诗笔清丽。其诗集《跨鳌集》今存，多闲适、题咏、酬答之作，时露幽峭之趣。此诗写西斋午睡初醒时所见所感，燕避雨而晴去，蜂趁衙而晚归，俱是春日庭院中极微细的物候；及至诗人一枕梦回，唯见零落桃花绕梦飞旋，闲寂之境跃然纸上。北宋士大夫于政务之暇多营小斋读书习静，西斋者即其读书偃息之所，此类即目小诗正见宋人「格物」般观察日常、于琐屑中寻诗的生活美学。清代厉鹗《宋诗纪事》采录李新诗多首，于此等清婉小品亦加甄录，可见其品目所重。全诗不作穷通感慨，唯以静眼观物、以闲心会春，是属于太平士大夫书斋里的「活泼泼」之诗，亦可见宋人如何将寻常庭院风光点化为轻盈的诗意。李新此等小诗，置于北宋诗坛观之，尤见其不傍门户的清醒。当时江西诗派方张，主张夺胎换骨、点铁成金，末流每流于瘦硬枯涩；西昆一体则绮密典重，亦渐失清新。李新独以清倩闲适自守，于书斋一隅写燕蜂桃李，不逞才、不使事，转得陶渊明田园之真趣与王维禅静之余韵。此种小品虽不为时风所重，却正保存了宋诗另一副面目——即在重理尚学的主流之外，仍有以性灵、以闲眼观物的轻盈一脉。后之论宋诗者，若仅据大家名篇立说，便易忽略此类藏于《跨鳌集》中的清音。要之，西斋睡起之诗，不必有兴观群怨之大义，而其于日常琐细中抉出诗意的能力，恰是宋人生活美学最真切的注脚，亦足为后世闲适诗之先声。
Art
The poem's art is the art of the leisure. The scenes open: the swallows, dodging, the rain, at, the clearing, again, going — the swallows of the clearing; the bees, of, the court, in, the evening, again, returning — the bees of the evening. The leisure follows: the west window, one, pillow, no, one, calling — the pillow of the no one calling; the scattered, peach blossoms, around, the dream, flying — the peach blossoms of the dream — the scenes, the leisure and the close's dream, gathered in the poem.
此诗以工巧的对仗与灵动的意象取胜。首两句「避雨燕儿晴又去，趁衙蜂子晚还归」以燕、蜂对举，一避雨一趁衙，一晴去一晚归，不仅字面铢两悉称，更写出禽虫各循其性的天然节律，暗含「万物自得」的理趣。「趁衙」一词尤新隽，将蜂群朝王比作官吏赴衙参，拟人而谑，见宋人咏物好作巧思的习气。后两句「西轩一枕无人唤，零落桃花绕梦飞」由外景转入内境，由实入虚，午睡无人惊扰的闲适与落花绕梦的惝恍交织，境界清绝。通篇四句两截：前叙物态，后写梦境，以「西轩一枕」为枢纽，物我由此打通。用笔轻倩而不浮弱，于细景中见恬淡心胸，是宋人绝句「以巧入雅」的佳例。其结构之妙，尤在前后景物的动静相生：燕蜂之动反衬梦中之静，而梦中之「绕」又是一种更轻盈的动，全诗遂在动与静的回旋中完成意境的升华，非率意偶得者可到。若细究其章法，前联燕蜂之对仗实为全诗骨力所在，而此骨力不靠雕琢，全赖观察之真。宋人绝句每患于以议论伤韵、以隶事代景，李新则反其道而行，纯以眼中所见、心中所闲落笔，故对仗虽工而气息流动，读来但觉春日生香，绝无馆阁排联之板重。至若后联由外入内、由实转虚，以一枕梦回收束前尘物态，其结构之圆融，直可与唐人韦应物、宋人杨万里之小景诗同参。尤其落花绕梦一句，于二十八字中别开一重空灵之境，使全诗不止于即目写生，更得象外之象。论者或以巧之一字尽之，然巧而不纤、巧而能韵，正是此诗高出寻常率笔处，亦可见宋人绝句以巧入雅之旨，非徒逞小巧者可同年而语。
Allusions
'The swallows, dodging, the rain' (bi yu yan) are the swallows, dodging, the rain — the swallows of the rain, the clearing of the going; 'the bees of the court' (ya ya feng zi) are the bees of the court — the bees of the office, the evening of the returning; 'the peach blossoms' (tao hua) are the peach blossoms — the blossoms of the peach, the dream of the close.
诗中「趁衙」一语最见宋人巧思，其源盖出蜂群朝王之象。古人谓蜂有「蜂衙」，群蜂每日朝其王如吏胥赴衙参，唐宋诗文中每以「衙」状蜂，如陆游诗「蜂争粉蕊蝶分香」虽未用衙字，而宋人咏蜂多取此喻，李新以「趁衙蜂子」缩龙成寸，正承此传统。「西轩」之「轩」本指有窗长廊，士大夫书斋多以西向为清静之居，故曰西轩，非专指某典而含文人筑室取向。「桃花」自来为春之符号，陶渊明《桃花源记》以桃为避世之境，此处「零落桃花绕梦飞」暗承其闲逸之绪，落花意象又遥接晚唐「落花人独立」的婉约余风。诸典皆融化无痕，与清巧之体相称。更可注意者，蜂衙之喻本带一丝对宦途的调侃，诗人以之入闲适小景，遂使「官」的联想在「隐」的语境中被轻轻化去，用典之妙正在于此一转之间。更进一层言之，蜂衙之喻在宋代实为时人共喻之象，不独李新用之。观《东京梦华录》及宋人笔记，每以蜂之朝王比附人间衙参，已成一时之熟语，李新之巧，在能于闲适小景中信手拈来，使俗谚化为诗材，而非生僻地掉书袋。至于桃源之绪，自陶潜以后已成隐逸书写之原型，此处零落桃花绕梦，虽非明写避世，而其闲逸萧散之致，实遥承桃花源中不知魏晋的悠然。西轩之称，亦非偶然，宋人营斋多重方位朝向，以西轩为纳凉习静之所，of文人筑室取向之积习，李新用之一如其分。诸如此类，皆可见诗人用事之浅深得宜：典不重而意已足，事不繁而趣自生，是所谓不隔之境，读者于清巧之外，亦当识其融化之工。
Commentary
This poem is one of the works of Li Xin's poems of the daily scenes, quoted for the quietness of its scene and the dream of its close. The swallows dodging the rain, and the peach blossoms around the dream, are among the admired passages of the poet's poems. Critics praise the poem's quietness: the scenes gathered in the solitude, to the close's dream.
李新诗名不显，然其闲适小品自有清致。清代厉鹗《宋诗纪事》于《跨鳌集》中甄录若干，称其诗「清丽有致」。近人陈衍《宋诗精华录》论宋人绝句，谓「小景诗以巧思胜，不当以厚拙求之」，移评此诗最为切当：首联燕蜂对仗之工、拟人巧譬之新，正其「巧思」所在，而后联梦回花落之淡，又济巧以韵，巧不伤雅。论者或谓北宋小诗每失之枯，李新此作却能于枯淡中回甘，燕蜂之动与梦花之静相生，深得王维「人闲桂花落」以动写静之三昧。要之，此诗虽篇幅短小，而观察之细、设色之雅、结境之远，皆足使其于宋人万千绝句中卓然自立。其以匠巧运闲心，于北宋诗坛江西、西昆之外别开清倩一途，亦不可因作者名微而轻之。要而论之，李新此诗虽列名不显，却在宋人绝句中自成一格。其价值不在气象之宏大，而在观察之精微与设色之雅洁，能以二十八字写尽书斋春睡的一段闲适，使读者于燕蜂动静、落花梦回之间，想见北宋士大夫从容自得的精神世界。陈衍所谓小景诗以巧思胜，正为此类作品张目；而厉鹗采入《宋诗纪事》，亦见乾嘉学者对清婉小品之推重。今人读宋诗，目光多集于苏黄江西、务观剑南，于李新之俦每轻轻放过，实则宋诗之广大，正赖此类清倩之作以见其多元。一首西斋睡起，篇幅虽短而意趣悠长，其以闲心运匠笔、于枯淡中回甘的本领，足使其与众多名篇并传而不愧，亦可为学诗者示以小景经营之法度。
Prosody
Line by line
避雨燕儿晴又去，趁衙蜂子晚还归。
The swallows, dodging, the rain, at, the clearing, again, going, the bees, of, the court, in, the evening, again, returning.
避雨的燕子趁天晴又飞走了，赶赴蜂衙的蜂儿到傍晚才归来。
The swallows that sheltered from the rain are gone again in the clear; the bees that hastened to their levee return at dusk.
首联以极工致的对仗铺写庭院小景，而句中也藏着时间的推移与物性的各殊。燕儿因雨暂避、晴即飞去，是候鸟对天时的敏感；蜂子趁衙晚归，是群虫对秩序的恪守——一灵动一勤笃，一晴去一晚归，对照之间「万物各得其时」的意趣自然流出。尤妙在「趁衙」二字，以人间官府衙参拟蜂群朝王，既是宋人咏物常见的拟人巧譬，又暗含对世俗宦途的轻微调侃：蜂犹知赴衙，人何以堪？然诗人仅作客观白描，不著褒贬，俏皮中见闲适。两句以纤悉的观察支撑，若无静心体会书斋光阴者不能道，已为后文「西轩一枕」的恬淡埋下伏笔。更可玩味者，燕之「去」与蜂之「归」方向相反而各得其所，这种对举中暗含的「万物各有其务」的理趣，正是宋人小诗以巧思载理趣的典型笔法，于不经意处见出诗人对自然节律的会心。
The opening couplet spreads the small courtyard scenery in the most exquisite parallel, and within the lines hides the passage of time and the differences of things. The swallows shelter from the rain and, when it clears, fly off, the migratory bird's sensitivity to the weather; the bees hasten to their levee and return at dusk, the swarm's keeping of order - one nimble one diligent, one gone in the clear one returned at dusk, and between the contrasts the delight of each thing winning its time flows of itself. What is more fine is the two words hastened to their levee, using the human official levee to meta-phor the swarm's waiting on their king, at once the common Song personifying simile in object-singing and secretly a light mockery of the worldly official road: the bees still know to go to the levee, how can man bear it? Yet the poet only makes an objective unadorned drawing, no praise or blame, leisure within the wit. The two lines are supported by the finest observation, which no one who has not quietly savored the study's time can speak, already laying a ground for the later west window one pillow's plainness. What is more to enjoy is that the swallows' going and the bees' returning are opposite in direction yet each winning its place; the rational delight hidden in this pairing of each thing having its task is exactly the typical Song way of the short poem carrying reason through wit, seeing the poet's understanding of the natural rhythm in the unguarded place.
西轩一枕无人唤，零落桃花绕梦飞。
The west window, one, pillow, no, one, calling, the scattered, peach blossoms, around, the dream, flying.
在西窗下枕卧小憩，无人来唤醒，只有零落的桃花绕着梦境翩翩飞旋。
At the west window, one pillow, no one to wake me; scattered peach blossoms fly about my dream.
后联由庭院外景折入书斋内境，完成由实到虚的跃升。「西轩一枕无人唤」写午睡之闲适自在，一个「无人唤」道尽脱离尘嚣、与世相忘的惬意，是宋人书斋文化中「习静」理想的小影。「零落桃花绕梦飞」则于将醒未醒之际，把窗外实景与梦中幻境打成一片：落花既在眼前飘零，亦在梦中旋飞，物我界限于此消融。桃花零落本易生伤春之叹，诗人却以「绕梦飞」写其轻盈缠绵，不悲不怨，反见惜花之柔情与任运之旷达。两句以虚境收束全篇，余韵悠长，恰如一幅设色淡雅的春睡图，于无声处见诗人从容闲雅的胸次。这一个「绕」字尤见炼虚之工，将无形之梦化为可绕行之境，使结句由静转动、由实转空，全诗遂在燕蜂之动、梦花之绕的回旋中完成意境的圆融，非寻常即目小诗所能企及。
The closing couplet turns from the outer courtyard scenery to the inner study realm, completing the leap from solid to void. At the west window, one pillow, no one to wake me writes the ease and freedom of the midday nap; the words no one to wake me write to the full the delight of leaving the dusty clamor and forgetting the world, the small image of the ideal of cultivating stillness in Song study culture. Scattered peach blossoms fly about my dream, at the moment of about to wake and not yet awake, beats the outer scenery and the inner dream into one: the falling blossoms at once drift before the eyes and wheel in the dream, and the boundary of object and self here dissolves. The peach blossoms' scattering is originally apt to breed a grief-for-spring sigh, yet the poet writes their light and clinging in fly about my dream, no grief no resentment, on the contrary showing the tender feeling for flowers and the openness of acting as one wills. The two lines close the whole in a void realm, the aftertone long, exactly like a spring-sleep picture in plain color, showing the poet's composed and elegant breast in the silent place. The single word about is most fine in working the void, turning the formless dream into a realm to circle, making the closing line turn from stillness to motion and from solid to void; the whole poem then completes the roundness of its realm in the circling of the swallows' and bees' motion and the dream-flower's winding, beyond the reach of the ordinary poem of the moment.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
王安石《书湖阴先生壁》「茅檐长扫净无苔，花木成畦手自栽。一水护田将绿绕，两山排闼送青来」，亦写士大夫庭院清景，且善以拟人巧思（护田、排闼）活化景物，与李新此诗「趁衙蜂子」的拟人巧譬同一机杼。差异在王诗格局开阔、理趣外显，李诗则篇幅更小、韵致更婉，由燕蜂动景归于梦花虚境，偏于闲雅而非雄阔。二诗并读，可见北宋书斋题材的两副笔墨：荆公以议论魄力驱遣小景，李新以清倩巧思点染闲情，皆能于庭院寸地中见出诗人胸次，亦显示宋人题咏书斋之作的丰富面目。
鸟鸣涧 The Dale of Singing Birds 王维 · 以动写静、物我相忘之境的隔代呼应 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
王维《鸟鸣涧》「人闲桂花落，夜静春山空。月出惊山鸟，时鸣春涧中」，以极细微的物动反衬极深沉的静境，开创「动中写静」的禅意范式。李新此诗首联写燕飞蜂归之动，后联写西轩梦回之静，落花绕梦亦是以微动写大闲，精神正与右丞相通。所不同者，王维之静通向空寂禅境，李新之静则归于书斋文人的闲适自得，时代与身份使然。合观之，可见唐人禅静与宋人闲静的一脉相承：皆赖对万物细故的敏感观察，方能于琐屑中抉出一片澄明，李新此作正宋人承唐而自出新意的清倩代表。
春晓 Spring Dawn 孟浩然 · 同写春睡初醒、落花萦怀，而一浑成一天真 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
孟浩然《春晓》「春眠不觉晓，处处闻啼鸟。夜来风雨声，花落知多少」，亦从春睡写起，以鸟啼、风雨、落花构成春日将醒的朦胧感受，与李新「西轩一枕无人唤，零落桃花绕梦飞」机杼相近：皆以眠起为经、落花为纬，于不经意间逗出对春光的怜惜。区别在孟诗浑然天成、不假雕琢，李诗则于首联特意炼成对仗巧句，意象更纤悉工致，带宋调「以巧入雅」的痕迹。并读可窥同一春睡主题在唐之自然与宋之精雅间的风格迁流，亦见李新虽学唐调而自有宋人格法。