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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

题张应之县斋

Inscribed on Zhang Yingzhi's County Office

欧阳修

Ouyang Xiu

题咏inscribed celebration 隐逸reclusion 友情friendship 闲适leisure

小官叹簿领，夫子卧高斋。
五斗未能去，一丘真所怀。
绿苔长秋雨，黄叶堆空阶。
县古仍无柳，池清尚有蛙。
琴觞开月幌，窗户对云崖。
嵩少亦堪老，行当与子偕。

A petty official sighs over the ledger; you, my friend, lie at ease in the high studio.
Five pecks I could not yet leave; a single hill is what my heart truly holds.
Green moss grows in the autumn rain; yellow leaves pile the empty steps.
The old county still has no willows; the clear pool yet has its frogs.
Qin and cup open the moonlit blind; windows face the cloud-cliff.
Even Song-Shao would do for growing old; soon I shall go there with you.

Listen

Meaning

Ouyang Xiu inscribes the humble county office of his friend Zhang Yingzhi, contrasting the toil of petty office with Zhang's ease and contentment. Through moss, fallen leaves, a frog-filled pool, and moonlit qin-drinking before a cloud-cliff, he praises his friend's pure retirement-in-office and declares his own longing to withdraw. The poem affirms both Zhang's integrity and the poet's shared aspiration to retire together at Song Mountain.

身为小官常为案牍文书而叹息,你却卧居高斋,从容自若。秋雨之后,台阶上绿苔滋长,空寂的阶前堆满了枯黄的落叶。月下敞开窗幌,弹琴饮酒;窗扉之外,正对着白云缭绕的山崖。嵩山少室那样林壑幽美的地方也足以终老,不久我当与你一同前往。

Appreciation

A pentasyllabic regulated poem, it writes the host's nobility through the office's plainness, using entirely oblique brush—without a word of praise, the man's character shows. The contrast of 'sigh' and 'lie at ease,' the verbs 'grow' and 'pile' rendering desolation, and the ethereal couplet of qin, cup, moon-blind and cloud-cliff, all embody a leisurely, lofty realm. The closing pledge to grow old together at Song-Shao opens the vista, typical of Ouyang's plain yet enduring verse.

【白话串讲】欧阳修写张应之的县斋：“小官叹簿领，夫子卧高斋”——他叹小官辛苦。“绿苔长秋雨，黄叶堆空阶”——“琴觞开月幌，窗户对云崖”——“嵩少亦堪老，行当与子偕”——他愿和朋友同隐嵩山。【意象与手法】此诗以县斋之陋写主人之高,通篇用侧笔,无一字赞人而人品自见。首联「小官叹簿领,夫子卧高斋」,叹与卧相对,一累一逸;「绿苔长秋雨,黄叶堆空阶」以长、堆二字写荒僻,景物越荒,人的高致越显;「琴觞开月幌,窗户对云崖」室内琴酒、窗外云山,浑然一体;末联「嵩少亦堪老,行当与子偕」以归隐之约宕开,境界顿开。【情感与主旨】此诗为欧阳修题咏友人张应之县斋之作。荒斋苔叶、古县池蛙,写尽主人安贫守静的人格;「五斗未能去,一丘真所怀」,道出身为斗禄所系、心向丘壑的出处之慨。琴觞云崖之乐与嵩少终老之约,既是赞美友人的清节,亦是自明心志。全诗语淡而味永,把荒斋之景统摄于一片归心之中,见友情之笃、隐志之坚。【名句点睛】「琴觞开月幌,窗户对云崖」:月下窗幌,弹琴饮酒,窗外正对白云山崖,室内琴酒与窗外云山相接,主人胸次与居处浑然如一。对仗空灵,无一字及于名利,是写吏隐自处境界的圆融一联。

Background

Zhang Yingzhi, i.e., Zhang Gu, styled Yingzhi, was a close friend of Ouyang Xiu from their early studies; Ouyang's collected works contain a 'Preface to Zhang Yingzhi's Style-Name' and many farewell poems. Zhang served as a county magistrate, keeping integrity in poverty. This poem inscribed his county office, depicting its simplicity and the host's nobility. Beyond the office, green moss grows in autumn rain, yellow leaves pile empty steps, the old county has no willows, the clear pool has frogs—its desolation imaginable; yet the host within plays qin and drinks, leaning by the window on the mountain, content. Ouyang thus ends with 'Even Song-Shao would do for growing old; soon I shall go there with you,' pledging to retire together at Song-Shao (Song Mountain's Shaoshi peak). Ouyang Xiu, poor in youth yet studious, after placing in the jinshi at twenty-four served in various local posts and was close with Zhang; the poem was likely written in his early or middle local-official years. The lines 'Five pecks I could not yet leave; a single hill is what my heart truly holds' reflect his own situation—tied by salary yet minded toward hills—a common sentiment of early-Song literati at the boundary of service and retirement. Inscribing a county office was a common Song literati genre for conveying friendship through a room's scene; this is among its most graceful, leisurely examples.

张应之即张谷,字应之,欧阳修挚友,早年同学,欧集有《张应之字序》及送别诗多首,张谷曾官县令,清贫自守。此诗题其县斋,即写其居官处所的简陋与主人的高致。县斋之外,绿苔长于秋雨,黄叶堆积空阶,古县无柳,池清有蛙,荒僻可想;而斋中主人弹琴斟酒、凭窗对山,悠然自得,欧阳修故以嵩少亦堪老,行当与子偕作结,许以同隐嵩山少室之约。欧阳修早岁随叔父宦游,家贫力学,二十四岁中进士后宦游四方,与张谷交谊甚笃,此诗当作于其早年或中岁任地方官时期。诗中以五斗未能去,一丘真所怀自况,一面向往一丘一壑的隐逸,一面又叹身系斗禄不能遽去,正是宋初士大夫出处之际的普遍心曲。县斋题咏是宋代文人交往中的常见题材,多借一室之景写主人才德,此诗即此类作品中气象闲雅的一篇。张谷事迹散见《欧阳修全集》诗文及《宋史·张存传》附载,可参洪本健《欧阳修资料汇编》(中华书局)。又按,宋初士大夫于州县之任,每以吏隐自处,县斋题咏遂成为交友寄意的常见文体,欧阳修此诗于荒斋景物的铺写中,将张应之的清节与二人的归隐之约一并托出,既见友情,亦见己志,是此类文字中情韵最胜的一篇。

Art

A pentasyllabic regulated poem, it writes the host's nobility through the office's plainness, using entirely oblique brush—without a word of praise, the man's character shows. The opening 'A petty official sighs over the ledger; you, my friend, lie at ease in the high studio' sets the pattern with antithetical opening: petty official vs. friend, ledger vs. high studio, sighing his toil and writing his leisure. 'Five pecks I could not yet leave; a single hill is what my heart truly holds' states his heart directly—'could not leave' is honest, 'truly holds' is frank, the choice between service and retirement shown without pretense. 'Green moss grows in the autumn rain; yellow leaves pile the empty steps' and 'The old county still has no willows; the clear pool yet has its frogs' are two scenic couplets: moss grows by rain, leaves pile by autumn, the old county lacks willows yet the clear pool keeps frogs—the rustic plainness of objects exactly mirrors the host's shedding of splendor; the words 'pile' and 'yet' make desolation graceful, stillness not withered. 'Qin and cup open the moonlit blind; windows face the cloud-cliff' writes his studio life, moon-blind and cloud-cliff, ethereal antithesis, qin-drinking's joy and mountain-view's wonder answering each other. The closing 'Even Song-Shao would do for growing old; soon I shall go there with you' opens from the office to Song-Shao, saying retirement lightly yet firmly, showing deep friendship, the ending leisurely endless. The whole poem is plain yet enduring, writing plainness with plainness—Ouyang's own path learning from Han and Tao.

此诗为五言律诗,以县斋之陋写主人之高,通篇用侧笔,无一字赞人而人品自见。首联小官叹簿领,夫子卧高斋,以对起之笔立定格局,小官与夫子、簿领与高斋相对,叹其劳而写其闲,开篇即见主人超然于案牍之外的风神。五斗未能去,一丘真所怀,直写其心,未能去是真话,真所怀更是实话,两句之中,仕隐去就的取舍坦然相示,毫无伪饰。绿苔长秋雨,黄叶堆空阶,县古仍无柳,池清尚有蛙,两联写景,苔因雨而长,叶因秋而积,县既古而柳木不存,池虽清而蛙声自在,物象之荒寒朴拙,恰是主人脱略繁华的写照,着一堆字、一尚字,荒而有致,寂而不枯。琴觞开月幌,窗户对云崖,写其斋中生活,月幌云崖,对仗空灵,琴酒之乐与山水之观相映成趣。末联嵩少亦堪老,行当与子偕,由县斋推开,嵩少指嵩山少室山,为天下隐者所向,亦堪老三字把归隐之志说得很淡、很笃,行当与子偕则见友情之深,结句悠然不尽。全诗语淡而味永,以朴写朴,是欧阳修学韩学陶而自出机杼的一路。又全诗以简驭繁,县斋不过数椽,而苔叶琴觞、月幌云崖,一一写来,境界顿觉宽远,是于小处见大、于实处见虚的笔法;末联更以嵩少之约宕开,使一县之斋通于名山之隐,格局由此打开,是宋诗以理致胜的好例。

Allusions

'Ledger' refers to government documents and archives, from Liu Zhen's 'Miscellaneous Poem' ('sunk in ledger books, I grow muddled again and again'); later poets wrote the toil of office with 'ledger,' seen in Bai Juyi and Han Yu. 'Five pecks' uses Tao Yuanming's refusal to bow for five pecks of rice, from the Jin History 'Biography of Tao Qian,' here meaning tied by salary, unable to leave office. 'A single hill' comes from the Han History 'Narrative' ('lingering by a single hill, the world cannot change his joy') and the Huainanzi; later 'a hill and a gully' means the recluse's dwelling—Ouyang's 'truly holds' exactly voices this yearning. 'Qin and cup' hints at the Lanting elegance of Wang Xizhi's 'Preface to the Orchid Pavilion' (flowing cups along winding water, a cup and a poem enough to unfold feeling), qin and wine together being the traditional image of literati随心 among mountains and waters. 'Song-Shao' is the joint name of Song Mountain and its Shaoshi peak in Dengfeng, Henan, where ancients often retired—Tang hermits like Lu Hong and Yuan Dangui were tied to Song-Shao; the poet's pledge to grow old there shows his reclusion intent. The moon-blind and cloud-cliff, though not fixed allusions, belong to the settled imagery of reclusion (white clouds, lone mountain, pine wind, qin and wine).

簿领指官府文书案牍,语出刘桢《杂诗》沉迷簿领书,回回自昏乱,后人以簿领之叹写为吏之劳,白居易、韩愈诗中屡见。五斗用陶渊明不为五斗米折腰事,见《晋书·陶潜传》,诗人借以言俸禄所系,去官不能。一丘出《汉书·叙传》栖迟于一丘,则天下不易其乐,又《淮南子·俶真训》亦有一丘一壑之说,后以一丘一壑指隐居之境,欧阳修真所怀三字,正是向慕此境。琴觞暗含兰亭风雅,王羲之《兰亭集序》流觞曲水,列坐其次,一觞一咏,亦足以畅叙幽情,琴酒相随,是文人任情山水的传统意象。嵩少为嵩山与少室山的合称,嵩山在河南登封,少室山为其西峰,古来隐者多栖其中,唐代隐士卢鸿一、元丹丘辈皆与嵩少有关,诗人许此以老,归隐之志昭然。月幌即月光下敞开的窗幌,云崖即白云缭绕的崖壁,虽非成典,然白云孤山、松风琴酒之类意象早已凝为隐逸符号。诸典皆习见,参《汉书》颜师古注本、《晋书·陶潜传》及《兰亭集序》通行本。又此诗用事,多取陶、谢与老杜意脉,而浑化无迹,如卧高斋之卧,暗含谢安高卧东山之志,一丘之怀,直承渊明归去之思,琴觞之乐,上接兰亭流觞之雅,故句句如家常语,而句句有出处,此正是学养深厚者诗中所见的从容。

Commentary

Ouyang Xiu's views on poetry, stated in his 'Record of the Six-One Studio Poetry Talk,' prize meaning beyond the words and depicting the hard-to-write scene as if before the eyes—a standard for Song critics; this poem is exactly that practice, not writing the office's ruin but letting moss, leaves, willows, and frogs naturally reveal its desolation. Song critics praised Ouyang's late poetry as simple yet deep, bland yet rich, to be sought in its unintended places—the wonder of this poem lies in just such unintentional brush. With Mei Yaochen he championed the plain style; this poem's elegance resembles Mei's manner, showing their mutual influence. Qing critic Fang Dongshu said Ouyang's poetry deeply grasped Du Fu's vigor yet joined it with plainness and principle; though this poem shows little vigor, its plainness is sure. The Complete Library catalogue also calls his collected works pure, sparse, elegant, and correct—borne out by this poem. It appears in various anthologies and modern annotated editions (e.g., Li Zhiliang's 'Annotations of Ouyang Xiu's Poetry and Prose'), valued both for its record of Ouyang's friendships and for its evidence of his plain poetic realm.

欧阳修论诗见于《六一诗话》,其重意在言外、状难写之景如在目前之语,为宋人论诗之圭臬,此诗正是其诗学主张的实践,不写县斋之破败,而苔、叶、柳、蛙诸物象自然托出荒僻之境。宋人评欧诗,叶梦得《石林诗话》谓其晚年诗语简而深,味淡而腴,学者当于无意处求之,此诗之妙即在无意的闲笔。又欧阳修与梅尧臣并倡平淡,《六一诗话》载其盛推梅诗,而此诗之淡雅,亦与梅尧臣风调相近,可见二人相摩之迹。清人方东树《昭昧詹言》论欧诗,谓其深得老杜之雄健,又参以平淡,归之以理,此诗雄健虽少,平淡则是。《四库全书总目·文忠集提要》亦称其集清疏雅正,以此诗观之,信然。此诗历代选本偶见著录,近人笺欧集者(如李之亮《欧阳修诗文集校笺》上海古籍出版社)皆存之,盖以其于欧公交游与心境考订皆有史料价值,诗格亦足为欧诗淡境一证。又此诗在欧集诸题咏中,写景不尚奇峭,言情不事刻露,深得平淡二字之旨,与《啼鸟》《春日西湖寄谢法曹歌》等畅达之作异趣,可见欧诗风格之多样,读欧诗者于此类闲淡小诗尤宜着意。

Prosody

Form Pentasyllabic regulated poem (wu-lu)五言律诗

Rhyme Ping-shui rhyme, upper-level tone, the 'jia' rhyme (studio, holds, steps, frogs, cliff, with).平水韵上平九佳(斋、怀、阶、蛙、崖、偕)

Tone pattern First line does not take a rhyme; the middle two couplets are tightly antithetical, with plain, unadorned phrasing entering the regulation.首句不入韵,中二联对仗工稳,以朴拙句法入律

Reading note This is a pentasyllabic regulated poem rhyming with the Ping-shui upper-level 'jia' rhyme—studio, holds, steps, frogs, cliff, with, six rhyme words. The 'jia' rhyme is a narrow rhyme, few and obscure characters, yet Ouyang carries it through without strain, showing his rhyming skill. In level-oblique pattern, the first line 'A petty official sighs over the ledger' is oblique-level-oblique-oblique-oblique, the first character defiant in oblique; the second 'you, my friend, lie at ease in the high studio' follows level-oblique-oblique-level-level, the opening already with a defiant, rugged feel suiting the plain flavor. The chin couplet 'Green moss grows in the autumn rain; yellow leaves pile the empty steps' is oblique-level-level-level-oblique, level tones continuous, slow to read, fitting the leisurely scene; the neck couplet 'Qin and cup open the moonlit blind; windows face the cloud-cliff' is level-level-level-oblique-oblique, level-oblique-oblique-level-level, gradually entering correct regulation. The tail 'Even Song-Shao would do for growing old; soon I shall go there with you' has 'Song-Shao' level-oblique, 'would do for growing old' also defiant, yet closes on the regular 'level-level-oblique-oblique-level,' defiance and correctness mutually arising, the breath from strange to stable. Throughout the five-character regulation it moves freely, not forcing harmony, only seeking sound-feeling to match the poem's plainness—an example of Ouyang using literary energy to carry regulation, not bound by it.此诗为五言律诗,押平水韵上平九佳,斋、怀、阶、蛙、崖、偕六韵字,佳韵本属窄韵,字少而僻,欧阳修能一韵到底而不觉局促,正见其押韵之功。平仄上首句小官叹簿领为仄平仄仄仄,首字拗而用仄,二句夫子卧高斋为平仄仄平平相承,起调便带拗峭之感,与全诗朴拙的风味相合。颔联绿苔长秋雨,黄叶堆空阶,为仄平平平仄、平仄平平平,平声连绵,读来舒缓,恰宜于闲淡的景物铺写;颈联琴觞开月幌,窗户对云崖,为平平平仄仄、平仄仄平平,渐入律正之调。尾联嵩少亦堪老,行当与子偕,嵩少二字平仄作平仄,亦堪老三字亦为拗句,而结于平平仄仄平的常调,拗正相生,气韵由奇趋稳。全诗于五律格律之中出入自如意,不刻意谐婉,唯求声情与诗境之朴淡相称,是欧公以文气运律、不为声律所缚的一例。又此诗不事雕琢而音节自然,仄声入声字之运用,如绿苔、黄叶、五斗、一丘,皆于平声绵邈中时见顿挫,读来如老僧谈禅,语语平实而字字有骨,是律诗声律中的淡中之味。

Line by line

小官叹簿领，夫子卧高斋。

A petty official sighs over the ledger; you, my friend, lie at ease in the high studio.

身为小官常为案牍文书而叹息,你却卧居高斋,从容自若。

A petty official grieves over his files; you, sir, lie in your lofty study.

两句以对起之笔写两种处境,小官叹簿领的劳与夫子卧高斋的闲并置,反对出主人脱略尘务的风神。叹字见世情之累,卧字见襟怀之逸,一累一逸,尽在不言中,开篇八字便为全诗立定宾主,笔意从容。起联以叹与卧相对,已见主人之为吏有道,劳于簿领而心在高斋,人物之品格,不待赞辞而自见,是题咏诗开篇立骨的上乘手段,八句中一生受用。

These two lines write two lots in a paired opening: the petty official grieves over his files' toil and you, sir, lie in your lofty study's leisure are set side by side, the opposition bringing out the host's freedom from dusty affairs. The word grieves shows the burden of the world's affairs, the word lie shows the ease of the breast; one burden one ease, all in the unspoken, the opening eight characters at once establishing the guest and host of the whole poem, the brush unhurried. The opening couplet pairs grieves and lies, already showing the host's way in office - toiling at the files yet the heart in the lofty study; the character's integrity appears without waiting for praise, the first-class means of an inscribed poem's opening establishing the bone, to be used through eight lines of a lifetime.

绿苔长秋雨，黄叶堆空阶。

Green moss grows in the autumn rain; yellow leaves pile the empty steps.

秋雨之后,台阶上绿苔滋长,空寂的阶前堆满了枯黄的落叶。

Green moss grows in the autumn rain; yellow leaves heap on the empty steps.

此联写县斋的荒僻,苔因雨而滋,叶因秋而积,久无人扫,荒寂可知。着长字见物之自生,着堆字见积之既久,空阶二字更点出门可罗雀之境。然荒而雅、寂而清,正与主人安贫守静的人格相映,景物越荒,人的高致越显,是侧笔写人的上乘手段。苔因雨而长,叶因秋而积,久无人扫,荒寂可知;然荒而雅、寂而清,正与主人安贫守静的人格相映,景物越荒,人的高致越显,是侧笔写人的上乘手段,此联看似写景,实为写照。

This couplet writes the county study's wild remoteness: the moss grows because of the rain, the leaves accumulate because of the autumn, long unswept, the wild solitude evident. The word grows shows the things' self-birth, the word heap shows the accumulation's long duration, and the two words empty steps further point out the realm where the gate could net sparrows. Yet wild yet elegant, solitary yet clear, exactly setting off the host's character of being content in poverty and keeping still; the wilder the scenery, the more the man's high delight appears, the first-class means of writing the man through the side brush. The moss grows because of the rain, the leaves accumulate because of the autumn, long unswept, the wild solitude evident; yet wild yet elegant, solitary yet clear, exactly setting off the host's character, the wilder the scenery the more the high delight appears, the side brush's first-class means; this couplet seems to write scenery, really a portrait.

琴觞开月幌，窗户对云崖。

Qin and cup open the moonlit blind; windows face the cloud-cliff.

月下敞开窗幌,弹琴饮酒;窗扉之外,正对着白云缭绕的山崖。

Lute and wine unroll the moonlit curtain; the windows face the cloud-capped crags.

此联写斋中清事,琴与觞是文人风雅的两件道具,月幌则渲染出明净的氛围;窗户对云崖,更把县斋与青山相连,室内琴酒、窗外云山,一片超然。两句对仗空灵,无一字及于名利,主人的胸次与居处浑然如一,是全诗意境最圆融的一联。琴酒是文人风雅的两件道具,月幌则渲染出明净的氛围,窗户对云崖,更把县斋与青山相连,室内琴酒、窗外云山,一片超然,主人的胸次与居处浑然如一,是全诗意境最圆融的一联。

This couplet writes the clear affairs of the study: the lute and the wine are the two props of the scholar's elegance, the moonlit curtain spreads a bright pure atmosphere, and the windows face the cloud-capped crags further connects the county study with the green hills, the lute and wine within, the cloud hills without, a whole transcendence. The two lines are parallel and empty, not a word touching fame and gain, the host's breast and dwelling blended as one, the roundest couplet of the whole poem's realm. The lute and wine are the two props of the scholar's elegance, the moonlit curtain spreads a bright pure atmosphere, and the windows face the cloud-capped crags further connects the county study with the green hills, the lute and wine within, the cloud hills without, a whole transcendence, the host's breast and dwelling blended as one, the roundest couplet of the whole poem's realm.

嵩少亦堪老，行当与子偕。

Even Song-Shao would do for growing old; soon I shall go there with you.

嵩山少室那样林壑幽美的地方也足以终老,不久我当与你一同前往。

Mount Song and Mount Shao are fit to grow old in; soon I shall go there with you.

尾联以归隐之约收束,嵩少亦堪老,语气平淡而主意坚决,是商量更是许诺;行当与子偕,则见二人友情的笃厚,隐逸之志与知己之情合而为一。结句不事藻饰,如家常语而余味不尽,把前文荒斋闲景统摄于一片归心之中,是欧诗淡而有致的典型结尾。亦堪老三字,把隐逸说得极轻、极笃,不作激昂之态而志意已坚,行当与子偕,又见友情之深与期许之真,结句如话家常而余味不尽,把前文荒斋闲景统摄于一片归心之中。

The closing couplet gathers in the appointment to return to reclusion: Mount Song and Mount Shao are fit to grow old in, the tone plain yet the main bent resolute, at once discussion and promise; soon I shall go there with you, shows the depth of the two men's friendship, the will to reclusion and the feeling of understanding blended into one. The closing line no adornment, like household words yet the aftertone unending, gathering the earlier wild study's leisure scenery into one heart of return, the typical Ouyang closing of plain yet delightful. The three words fit to grow old speak reclusion most lightly and most firmly, no heroic posture yet the will already firm; soon I shall go there with you, further shows the depth of friendship and the truth of the expectation, the closing line like household talk yet the aftertone unending, gathering the earlier wild study's leisure scenery into one heart of return.

Study

Word focus

卧 In 'you, my friend, lie at ease in the high studio,' the word 'lie' (wo) is the one-character eye writing the man. 'Lie' is not sickbed nor sleep, but 'lie high'—resting at ease, carefree, covertly using Xie An's 'lying high on East Mountain.' With one 'lie,' the host's composure beyond the ledger turmoil appears at once, contrasting with the previous 'sigh' as toil vs. ease; without praising character, character stands high. The word also hints a self-aware 'retirement-in-office'—body in the official residence yet spirit roaming beyond, echoing the later qin, cup, cloud-cliff; one word reveals the man and the poet's evaluation of his friend. 夫子卧高斋的卧字,是此诗写人的一字之眼。卧非病卧、非睡卧,而是高卧,即安卧无事、逍遥自得之态,暗用谢安高卧东山之意。着一卧字,主人于簿领纷扰之外从容自处的风神立现,与上句叹字构成劳逸的反衬,不言品格而品格自高,用字极省而意蕴极丰。卧字还暗含吏隐的自觉,身居官舍而神游物外,与下文琴觞、云崖遥遥相应,一字而见主人之为人,亦见诗人对友人的评价,用字省而意蕴丰。

堆 In 'yellow leaves pile the empty steps,' the word 'pile' (dui) writes fallen leaves accumulating unswept; with one 'pile,' one sees their long, many, unattended state, desolation arising. 'Pile' is a heavy stroke yet placed in an extremely plain scene—heavy yet not stagnant, contrasting with 'grow' (long) in 'green moss grows' as vertical-horizontal, painting the autumn-rain county office's decline vividly, and reflecting the host's ease unburdened by things. The wonder of scene-words lies exactly here. 黄叶堆空阶的堆字,写落叶堆积无人扫除之状,着一堆字,可见其久、其多、其无人过问,荒寂之感油然而生。堆字是重笔,却放在极素淡的诗境里,重而不滞,与绿苔长的长字一纵一横,把秋雨后县斋的衰飒写得历历在目,又反衬出主人不为物役的安闲。堆字是重笔,却放在极素淡的诗境里,重而不滞,与绿苔长的长字一纵一横,把秋雨后县斋的衰飒写得历历在目,又反衬出主人不为物役的安闲,景语之妙,正在于此。

尚 In 'the clear pool yet has its frogs,' the word 'yet' (shang) means still, remaining. The old county has no willows, yet the pool is clear and still has frogs; with one 'yet,' a bit of life and self-contentment shows through the desolation. Frog-sound is no elegant tone, yet answers the host's lying-in-studio and qin-cup leisure, covertly using Kong Zhigui's 'frog-song better than two bands' allusion—rustic interest revealing a refined mind. 'Yet' enters the poem as common speech yet yields natural feeling; the clear pool still with frogs is the only remaining life in the荒 county, also the bit of innocence in the host's heart not worn away by dust—one word revealing his temperament and realm, a fine example of plain words conveying spirit. 池清尚有蛙的尚字,作还、仍然解。古县无柳,池却依然清冽,而且还有蛙声,着一尚字,于荒寂中透出一点生意与自得。蛙声非雅音,却与主人卧斋、琴觞的闲趣相应,暗用《南史·孔稚珪传》孔稚珪庭中蛙鸣,谓此殊胜两部鼓吹之典意,荒趣之中见雅人深致。尚字以常语入诗而情味自生,池清尚蛙,是荒县中仅存的一点生意,也是主人胸中未被尘俗消磨的一点天真,一字而主人的性情境界皆见,是淡字传神的佳例。