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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

感遇·其一

Reflections · I

张九龄

Zhang Jiuling

咏怀meditation on the heart 哲理philosophy

兰叶春葳蕤，桂华秋皎洁。
欣欣此生意，自尔为佳节。
谁知林栖者，闻风坐相悦。
草木有本心，何求美人折。

Orchid leaves in spring are lush and green;
Cassia blooms in autumn, pure and bright.
Thriving, this is the intent of life;
Of itself it makes the fine season.
Who knows the forest-dweller,
Who smells the wind and sits, delighted?
Plants have their native heart—
Why seek the beauty's pluck?

Listen

Meaning

The orchid's leaves are lush and verdant in spring, the cassia bright and pure in autumn. Full of life, they naturally make a beautiful season. Who would know the recluse who dwells in the woods, who smells the breeze and is moved to love? Plants have their own native nature—why should they seek the beauty's plucking and admiration?

兰草的叶子在春天繁盛葱茏，桂花在秋日里明净皎洁。它们生机勃勃，自然便成就了美好的季节。谁知那隐居林间的人，闻到清风中的芬芳便油然生爱。草木自有其本来的天性，又何须企求美人的攀折欣赏呢？

Appreciation

This poem excels at comparison-and-elicitation and at speaking through an object. It never states the poet's own will directly but speaks through the orchid and the cassia. The first two couplets write the orchid and cassia each excelling in its season, flourishing in due time; the latter two couplets move from object to person, from outside to inside, using the 'forest-dweller' to hint at the hidden worthy, and the 'beauty's pluck' to set off a will that flatters no vulgar world. The closing line is the poem's watchword, natural and unforced, with lofty bone.

【白话串讲】 “兰叶春葳蕤，桂华秋皎洁”——张九龄写兰和桂：春天兰叶繁茂，秋天桂花皎洁。“草木有本心，何求美人折”——草木有自己的本心，不求别人来折。他写的是自己的品格。【意象与手法】此诗艺术上以比兴托物见长，通篇不直说己志，而借兰桂立言。前二联'兰叶春葳蕤，桂华秋皎洁【情感与主旨】张九龄《感遇》十二首约作于开元二十五年（737）遭宰相李林甫排挤、贬为荆州长史之后【名句点睛】中高考常考托物言志与名句。考点一：'草木有本心，何求美人折'蕴含怎样的思想？答

Background

Zhang Jiuling's twelve 'Reflections' were written about 737, after he was edged out by the chancellor Li Linfu and demoted to governor of Jingzhou. The poet fell from a great court minister to a distant prefect, his political ideals thwarted, and he used orchid and cassia to voice his lone, upright, self-keeping heart. The first uses spring orchid and autumn cassia as elicitation, writing plants flourishing in season by themselves, in truth the poet speaking of his own pure, lofty, power-flattering-free nature. The group inherits Ruan Ji's 'Yong Huai' and Chen Zi'ang's 'Gan Yu,' a model of High-Tang object-utterance five-character ancient poetry.

此诗为张九龄《感遇》十二首其一，约作于唐玄宗开元二十五年（737）。是年，张九龄因直言敢谏、与权臣李林甫政见不合，遭排挤，罢中书令、贬荆州长史。张九龄是开元盛世的最后一位贤相，风度高雅、直言守正，其被贬标志着朝政由清明转向昏暗。身处谪所，他写下《感遇》组诗，以香草美人自况，寄托身世之感与守正之志。本首以兰、桂起兴：春兰葳蕤、秋桂皎洁，各因时节而发其芬芳；“草木有本心，何求美人折”更直揭主旨——君子修养德行，本是天性使然，并非为了邀宠取悦。这既是对李林甫辈谗毁的回应，也是对自己洁身自好、不媚权贵的明志。张九龄身处逆境而不改其度，此诗正是其人格的写照，故后世以“九龄风度”称之。

Art

This poem excels at comparison-and-elicitation and at speaking through an object. It never states the poet's own will directly but speaks through the orchid and the cassia. The first two couplets 'Orchid leaves in spring are lush and green; cassia blooms in autumn, pure and bright. Thriving, this is the intent of life; of itself it makes the fine season' are neat in antithesis, writing the orchid and cassia each excelling in its time, flourishing in season; the latter two couplets 'Who knows the forest-dweller, who smells the wind and sits, delighted? Plants have their native heart—why seek the beauty's pluck?' move from object to person, from outside to inside, using the 'forest-dweller' to hint at the hidden worthy and the 'beauty's pluck' to set off a will that flatters no vulgar world. The closing line is the poem's watchword, whole and natural, with lofty bone.

此诗艺术上以比兴托物见长，通篇不直说己志，而借兰桂立言，是《感遇》组诗的典型写法。首联“兰叶春葳蕤，桂华秋皎洁”以工对起：春兰之叶、秋桂之花，各于其时繁盛皎洁，一写生机、一写高洁，两句即画出两种君子品格。颔联“欣欣此生意，自尔为佳节”进一层：兰桂生机勃勃，自然成就美好时节——“自尔”二字强调其独立自足，不待外求。颈联“谁知林栖者，闻风坐相悦”忽然转出“人”：那隐居林间的高士，闻其芬芳而坐生爱慕。“谁知”含意外之意，仿佛兰桂之美本非为招人。尾联“草木有本心，何求美人折”揭出主旨：草木自有本心，何须求美人攀折？以“本心”对“折”，以“何求”对“谁知”，层层逼进，把兰桂的自足升华为人格的自守。全诗以物喻人、由物及理，前六句写物之神，后二句明物之理，托物言志而不著痕迹，是初唐五古中比兴诗的上乘之作。

Allusions

The 'beauty' comes from the Chu Ci 'Nine Songs' and 'Li Sao,' originally the ideal lord or worthy, later any appreciator. 'Pluck' uses the ancient poem and the Chu Ci, a metaphor for gaining appreciation. Zhang Jiuling reverses its sense—plants have their own heart, need no beauty's pluck—turning the trope fresh and showing a lone loftiness. 'Native heart' nears Mencius' 'innate good,' blending Confucian and Daoist.

此诗用典源于屈原《离骚》的香草美人传统。“兰”与“桂”自《离骚》“扈江离与辟芷兮，纫秋兰以为佩”以来，即为君子高洁的象征；“草木有本心”遥承《离骚》以香草喻德行、以采摘喻赏识的比兴系统；“美人”在《离骚》中或指君王、或指理想，张九龄此处以“美人折”喻权贵之赏识、时人之赏识。全诗化用香草美人传统而不拘泥：屈原以香草喻己之被弃，张九龄却转出一层——“何求美人折”，不被赏识亦无憾，其自足超然较屈原的怨而不怒更进一层。此外，“林栖者”暗指隐逸高士，承《楚辞》以来隐者意象。张九龄以宰相之尊而能得香草之神，正是“托物言志”传统在盛唐的继承与升华。

Commentary

The Ming critic Hu Zhenheng in 'Tang Yin Gui Qian' says Zhang Jiuling 'first founded the clear-and-plain school.' The Qing critic Shen Deqian in 'Tang Shi Bie Cai' praises this poem: 'orchid-and-cassia and beauty all become common gorgeousness, only the Duke of Qujiang (Zhang) conducts them by the way of feng-ya,' raised as a representative of the clean, strong line between early and High Tang, deeply influencing Li Bai and Wang Wei. His twelve 'Reflections' take from Ruan Ji and Chen Zi'ang above and open to Li and Du below, holding a pivotal function as High-Tang poetry turned from ornate to clear.

《感遇》十二首为张九龄被贬后的言志之作，历来推为初唐五古的殿军。陈子昂《感遇》三十八首以风骨见长，张九龄此作则于风骨中见温厚，《唐诗别裁》谓其“正而能婉，婉而能深”。本首“草木有本心，何求美人折”二句，向为论者激赏，以为得《离骚》之神而不露怨怼。清人吴乔《围炉诗话》谓张九龄《感遇》“和平温厚，得风人之旨”，正指其托物言志而不失雍容。与陈子昂《感遇》的激愤慷慨不同，张九龄此诗以兰桂自比，语意温婉而气骨自见——不怨不怒、不卑不亢，正是“盛唐气象”在人格上的体现。后世以“九龄风度”许之，此诗可为其注脚。

Prosody

Form Five-character ancient poem (ten lines, Southern-Dynasty 'Reflections' form)五言古诗

Rhyme Ancient-form, rhyme shifts (bright, season, delighted, pluck; level and departing alternate)全诗押仄声韵，韵脚为“洁、节、悦、折”，属入声屑韵（或兼月韵），仄韵短促顿挫，宜于言志之坚。五古一韵到底，音节舒缓而气脉贯通，与比兴言志的内容相称。

Tone pattern Ancient form, ignores level-oblique此诗为五言古诗，不斤斤于平仄对偶，唯首联“兰叶春葳蕤，桂华秋皎洁”为工整对句，其余皆散行，古体风味醇厚。五古以气为主，此诗八句四联，起承转合分明：起（兰桂）—承（自足）—转（知音）—合（本心），层层递进，语势平稳而气骨内敛，正是“正而能婉”的盛唐五古本色。

Reading note Crown of Zhang Jiuling's twelve 'Reflections'; opens High-Tang clear poetry, one line with Chen Zi'ang's 'Reflections.'此诗体制为五言古诗，是《感遇》组诗的统一体式。五古不同于律诗的雕琢，以古朴自然、气韵流动为宗。张九龄此诗首联对仗工整，然全篇以散行出之，古体的浑融与比兴的含蓄相得益彰。押仄声韵（入声），音调短促而有力度，恰与“何求美人折”的刚决相应。相较陈子昂《感遇》的苍劲激楚，张九龄此作于古体中见温厚，是盛唐五古由陈子昂之“变”转向王孟之“雅”的过渡之作，在初盛唐五古诗史上居承前启后之位。

Line by line

兰叶春葳蕤，桂华秋皎洁。

Orchid leaves luxuriate in spring; cassia flowers gleam bright in autumn.

兰草的叶子在春天繁盛葱茏，桂花在秋日里明净皎洁。

The orchid's foliage spreads lush in spring; cassia blossoms shine pure and clear in autumn.

首联以工对起兴，写兰桂各因时令而发其美。“兰叶春葳蕤”取兰之叶，“葳蕤”写其繁茂葱茏，是一派春的生机；“桂华秋皎洁”取桂之花，“皎洁”写其明净高洁，是一脉秋的清光。兰取叶、桂取花，春取其盛、秋取其洁，两句即画出两种君子品格：一是蓬勃的生命力，一是高洁的操守。对仗工整而意象清明，为全诗奠定了比兴的基调——所咏虽是草木，所寄已见人格。

The opening couplet rises on a matched pair, writing orchid and cassia each blooming in its own season. 'Orchid leaves luxuriate in spring' takes the leaf, 'luxuriant' the fullness of spring; 'cassia flowers gleam bright in autumn' takes the bloom, 'pure and clear' the autumn's clarity. Leaf for the orchid, flower for the cassia; fullness for spring, purity for autumn — two gentlemanly natures at once: one of vigorous life, one of unsullied conduct. The couplet is matched yet clear in imagery, laying the allegorical ground of the poem: though plants are sung, human character is already present.

欣欣此生意，自尔为佳节。

Alive and joyous in their life, they make their own fine season.

它们生机勃勃、欣欣向荣，自然便成就了美好的季节。

Thriving, brimming with life, they naturally bring their own fair season to pass.

此联承上写兰桂之自足。“欣欣”叠字写生机盎然，“此生意”总束前联的葳蕤与皎洁；“自尔为佳节”着一“自”字，是全诗的关键——兰桂的芬芳并不为了取悦谁，它自然便成就了自己的美好时节。“自尔”二字强调独立自足、不假外求，已暗伏尾联“何求美人折”的主旨。兰桂之美，本是与生俱来、自足圆满的，这是君子德行的写照：修养不是为了邀宠，芬芳自在其时。

This couplet carries the thought of the orchid's and cassia's self-sufficiency. 'Thriving' doubles the word for overflowing life, 'in their life' gathering the luxuriance and purity above; 'they make their own fine season' — the word 'own' is the poem's key: the fragrance of orchid and cassia is not meant to please anyone; of itself it makes its season fair. 'Of itself' stresses independence, needing nothing from outside, and already foreshadows the closing 'why seek the fair one's plucking'. The beauty of the plants is innate and complete, the likeness of virtuous character: cultivation is not to court favor, fragrance belongs to its own time.

谁知林栖者，闻风坐相悦。

Who would have thought that forest dwellers, catching the scent, sit and take delight.

谁知那隐居林间的高士，闻到清风中的芬芳便安然生起爱慕之心。

Yet a hermit dwelling in the woods, catching fragrance on the breeze, sits quietly in delight.

此联由物转人，是全诗的转折。“谁知”含意外之叹：兰桂本无意邀人，却有那“林栖者”（隐居的高士）闻风坐悦。“闻风”一语双关，既闻草木之芬芳，亦闻君子之风范——“风”字暗含《论语》“君子之德风”之意；“坐相悦”着一“坐”字，写其安然自适地欣赏，非趋附、非强求。隐者之悦，是知音之悦，是兰桂高洁的自然感召。此联以“谁知”领起，将兰桂的自足与知音的到来连为一体，为尾联的“何求”作势。

This couplet turns from object to person, the poem's turn. 'Who would have thought' carries a sigh of surprise: orchid and cassia never meant to attract, yet a 'forest dweller', a recluse, catches the scent and sits in delight. 'Catching the scent' works two ways — the fragrance of plants and the aura of the gentleman, the 'wind' quietly echoing the Analects, 'the gentleman's virtue is the wind'. 'Sits in delight' — the word 'sits' shows quiet, unforced appreciation, not fawning, not demanded. The recluse's delight is that of a kindred spirit, the natural response to purity. 'Who would have thought' links the plants' self-sufficiency to the arrival of one who understands, setting up the closing 'why seek'.

草木有本心，何求美人折。

Grass and trees have their own inner nature; why ask that the fair one pluck them?

草木自有其本来的天性，又何必企求美人的攀折欣赏呢？

Plants and trees have their own innate nature; what need have they to seek the fair one's plucking?

尾联揭出全诗主旨，是千古名句。“草木有本心”以草木自喻，言德行美好乃是天性使然——“本心”二字点出内在的自足，非由外饰；“何求美人折”以反诘作结，言既自有本心，何须求人赏识攀折？一个“何求”，把兰桂的孤高、君子的自守写得斩截有力。此联由前文的物之神、物之理，升华为人格之志：不慕荣利、不媚权贵，守其本心、尽其芬芳。张九龄被贬而不失其度，正以此“本心”自持。两句十字，理足气盛，是托物言志的千古典范。

The closing couplet unveils the poem's theme, a line for the ages. 'Grass and trees have their own inner nature' figures the self through the plant, saying that virtue is innate — 'inner nature' marks an inward sufficiency, not external adornment; 'what need have they to seek the fair one's plucking' ends in a rhetorical question: if the nature is already whole, why crave the world's notice? One 'why seek' states the orchid's and cassia's proud isolation, the gentleman's self-keeping, with cutting force. From the spirit and law of things above, the couplet rises to the will of character: no craving for rank, no bowing to power, keeping one's own nature, giving out one's own fragrance. Zhang Jiuling, demoted yet unbowed, held to this 'inner nature'. Ten words, reason full and breath strong, the classic of uttering one's will through things.

Study

Word focus

自 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “自尔为佳节”之“自”，是全诗的精神枢纽。它强调兰桂之美是天然的、自足的——不待春风催促，不因他人赏识而生，自然便成就美好时节。这一个字把兰桂从“被欣赏的对象”提升为“自我完成的主体”，暗含君子德行“不假外求”的深意。与尾联“何求美人折”呼应：正因为“自”足，所以“何求”。一字立骨，全诗的气格自此而出。

谁知 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “谁知林栖者”之“谁知”，含意外的慨叹，是全诗由物转人的枢纽。“谁知”不是简单的设问，而是带着对世事的洞察——兰桂本无意邀赏，却偏有知音闻风而来；反过来说，世人多不识兰桂，唯有“林栖者”能识其芬芳。“谁知”二字，既见知音之难得，也暗含对“不识者”的淡淡遗憾。在结构上，它把前文的自足转向后文的相悦，又为“何求”的反诘蓄势，是承接转折的关键字。

本心 The phrase 'native heart' (benxin) is the poem's watchword—the plant's innate nature standing for the gentleman's uncorrupted self, near Mencius' 'innate good,' the moral core of the whole utterance. “草木有本心”之“本心”，是点题之字。本心即本性、天性，是草木（君子）内在固有的美好，与“折”（外在的攀折、赏识）相对。这一对举揭示全诗的核心：德行的价值在其自身，不在他人的评价。张九龄以宰相之身遭贬，仍能持守“本心”，正是此诗的立身之本。“本心”二字，遥承孟子“不失其本心”之义，把草木之比兴提升到人格哲学的高度，是“托物言志”的升华点。

何求 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “何求美人折”之“何求”，以反诘写不屑与自足，是全诗情感的最后爆发。何求者，何须求也——既然“草木有本心”，芬芳自足，又何必企求美人的攀折赏识？这一反诘看似轻淡，实则斩截：把“被赏识”的期待彻底放下，把“被弃置”的处境全然超越。相较屈原“恐美人之迟暮”的期盼与幽怨，张九龄以“何求”作结，正见其人格的超然与旷达。一个反诘，写尽不媚权贵、不慕荣利的君子气骨。