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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

画

Painting

王维

Wang Wei

唐Theme 王维Theme 五绝Theme 题画Theme 禅意Theme

远看山有色，近听水无声。
春去花还在，人来鸟不惊。

From afar the hills show color; near at hand the stream makes no sound.
Spring departs yet the flowers remain; a visitor comes but the bird is not startled.

Listen

Meaning

A painted landscape so lifelike it seems to outlast the living world.

远望山峦似有颜色，走近听水却寂然无声。春已归去花仍绽放，人走过来鸟也不惊。

Appreciation

The quatrain turns a painted scene into a small metaphysics: what is depicted outlasts what it depicts. Distance yields color, proximity yields silence, and the unmoving bird becomes a quiet emblem of art's immunity to time.

【白话串讲】 “远看山有色，近听水无声”——王维写《画》：远看山有色，近听水无声。“春去花还在，人来鸟不惊”——春天去了花还在，人来鸟不惊。一首诗写一幅画，禅意十足。【意象与手法】以极浅白的语言道出画境之奇妙，“远看山有色，近听水无声”正反相生，于矛盾中见真趣；“春去花还在，人来鸟不惊”写画中花鸟超然于四时与人事之外。短短二十字，白描朴素。【情感与主旨】旧题王维的画诗，用最朴素的白描揭示艺术对自然的凝定与超越，体现“诗中有画”的意境，是古典题画诗中最脍炙人口、最具童趣的一首。【名句点睛】常考“远看山有色，近听水无声”以看听对照写画中幻境；“春去花还在，人来鸟不惊”以花不落鸟不惊写画之凝定。

Background

A short quatrain long attributed to Wang Wei (though its authorship is debated). It plays on the paradox that a painting can hold what nature cannot: perennial flowers and silent water, seeming more lasting than life itself.

这首五绝以极浅白的语言，写一幅山水画的奇妙：画里的山可远看而「有色」，画里的水可「想」却「无声」；画里的花不随春去而谢，画里的鸟不因人来而惊。它表面是题画，内里却在玩一个哲学小把戏——艺术如何既模仿自然、又悬置自然。此诗旧题王维，但学者对其归属早有怀疑，或以为宋人作品、或以为童蒙读物，难以确考。有趣的是，无论是否王维手笔，它都深得「诗中有画、画中有诗」的意趣，与前人论王维的定评若合符契，故历来仍挂在王维名下流传。这也说明，一首好诗的生命，常常大于它的作者考证。把此诗放回「题画诗」传统里看，它的位置很特别。题画诗自杜甫「早朝诗思在丹青」一脉，到苏轼「味摩诘之诗，诗中有画」定调，多是诗人面对名画发雅兴；而这一首不写谁画的、不写画多好，只写「画与真的不同」——远看有色、近听无声、春去花在、人来鸟不惊。它用一个孩子的眼睛，把艺术最本质的「似与不似」点破了。正因其浅，反而深；正因其像童谣，反而成了中国人理解「画」的第一课。

Art

Built on contrasts - far versus near, sound versus silence, passing spring versus permanent painted blossom, the approaching viewer versus the untroubled bird. Four plain lines quietly overturn expectation.

此诗的艺术，在于「以矛盾写真趣」，二十字里布下四组对立，却无一字说理。首句「远看山有色，近听水无声」，远与近对、山与水对、有色与无声对：山在画里本无真色，却「远看」似有；水在画里本无真声，却「近听」仍无。一个「看」字给色，一个「听」字夺声，把观画时「视觉的满足」与「听觉的落空」并置，矛盾里冒出趣味。后二句「春去花还在，人来鸟不惊」，把矛盾推到时间与生命：春真去了，画花却还在；人真来了，画鸟却不惊。花违四时、鸟违常性，正是画之所以为画——它把一瞬凝成永恒，把活物变成静物，却因此超越了枯荣与惊惧。四句两联，每联都是「实—虚」的结构：看是实、听是虚；春去是实、花在是虚。语言全用白描，不用一个典、不著一个形容词（除「有色」），却把「艺术对自然的凝定与超越」说尽。它是题画诗里最朴素的，也是最具童心的；不靠学问，靠一双新鲜的眼睛。这种「以浅寓深」，恰是其千年不腻的原因。

Allusions

This quatrain uses no obscure allusion, yet it stands at the end of a long tradition of 'the sameness of poetry and painting.' Su Shi's verdict on Wang Wei -- 'taste Mojie's poems: there is painting in the poetry; look at Mojie's paintings: there is poetry in the painting' -- is the readiest gloss on it: the poem is itself a demonstration of 'painting within poetry,' twenty characters in which mountain, water, flower, and bird are all four present, each pointing to the difference between the painted and the real. 'Viewed from afar the mountain has color' also reaches back to Zong Bing's 'Preface on Painting Landscapes' -- 'clarify the mind to behold the Way, recline and travel through it': landscape painting lets one roam the hills without leaving home, and it depends on just such a distant gaze. 'When spring goes the flower remains' quietly accords with the ideal of flower-and-bird painting, 'sketching from life yet seizing creation' -- the painted flower does not die because the painter has made spring permanent. The deepest provenance is in 'the bird not startled.' A real bird would fly at the sight of a man; the painted bird does not move. This detail is the very 'flaw that is the wonder' which all poems on paintings love to point out: because it does not startle, you know it is a painting; because it does not startle, it is more worth looking at than a real bird. From the Six Dynasties to the Tang-Song age, poems on paintings wrote of 'startled sparrows' and 'soaring hawks' by the dozen; this poem instead writes 'not startled' -- an ingenious inversion, stillness breaking motion, and a singular feel for the quiet beauty of a painting. The ordering of its four lines is itself a progression in 'how to view a painting': from viewing afar (distance in space) to listening near (discrimination of the senses), from spring's passing (loss in time) to the man's coming (the advent of life) -- matching the customary sequence of Chinese connoisseurship, 'first view its momentum from afar, then examine its substance close by, finally savor its vital resonance.' It compresses that whole procedure into a chain of twenty characters, so that the reader, in reciting, unconsciously rehearses 'how to look at a painting.' And because it lodges the fundamental question of painting -- 'seeming real yet not real' -- in four moments anyone can feel (seeing, hearing, time, life), this poem is not merely about some particular picture: it becomes the meta-text through which the Chinese understand 'what makes a painting a painting' -- children recite it and learn the principles of painting, men of letters savor it and find a hint of Chan; each gains according to his depth.

此诗虽无生字僻典，却站在「诗画同性」的漫长传统末端。苏轼评王维「味摩诘之诗，诗中有画；观摩诘之画，画中有诗」，为此诗提供了最现成的注脚——它本身就是一句「画中有诗」的示范：二十字，山、水、花、鸟四样画材齐全，且每样都点出「画」与「真」的差异。「远看山有色」亦遥接宗炳《画山水序》「澄怀观道，卧以游之」的观画观：山水画让人足不出户而卧游山川，本就依赖「远看」的凝眸。而「春去花还在」则暗合中国花鸟画「写生而夺造化」的理想——画花不死，正因画家长住了春。更深的来历在「鸟不惊」。真鸟见人必惊，画鸟见人不动，这个细节其实是所有题画诗最爱点破的「破绽即妙处」：正是因为它不惊，你才知它是画；正因为它不惊，它才比真鸟更耐看。从六朝到唐宋，题画诗写「雀惊」「鹰扬」者众，此诗反写「不惊」，是以静破动的巧思，亦见出它对「画之静美」的独到体贴。此外，此诗四句的排列本身也暗含「观画法」的递进：由远看（空间之距）到近听（感官之辨），由春去（时间之逝）到人来（生命之临），恰恰对应中国赏画「先远观其势、再近察其质、终体其气韵」的常规次序。它把一套观画程式，凝练成二十字的动作链，使读者吟诵之际，不自觉地完成了一次「如何看画」的演练。也正因它把「似真非真」这一画学根本命题，落到了人人可感的看、听、时、生四个瞬间，这首诗才不止是题某幅画，而是成了中国人理解「画之所以为画」的元文本——童蒙诵之而识画理，文人味之而得禅机，深浅各得其宜。

Commentary

Read as a Zen-flavored riddle, the poem suggests the still image captures an essence beyond change. Its limpid clarity has made it a favorite first poem for children in China.

此诗地位特殊：它未必是王维真笔，却是题画诗里流传最广、也最被童蒙诵读的一首。明人编唐诗选本多收之，清人《唐诗三百首》亦录，蘅塘退士大概看中它「浅切而易晓，可入蒙养」。近人俞平伯等论唐诗，虽指出作者疑案，仍肯定其「以矛盾揭画理」的巧思。学者考证方面，陈寅恪等曾疑此诗非唐人作，或出自后世绝句总集的依托；然无论作者谁属，它都已沉淀为「中国画观念」的母语级文本——中国人解释「什么是画」，常不自觉地引这四句。这也是文学史上有趣的现象：一首小诗的价值，可以越过作者归属，成为文化的公共常识。还有一点值得玩味：它写「无声」「不惊」，恰与王维「鸟鸣山更幽」一路以声写静的禅趣暗通。画里水无声、鸟不惊，不是死寂，而是一种被艺术「定格」的静，静得从容、静得永恒。这种静，正是中国艺术最珍视的境界。故虽寥寥二十字，却能与摩诘「空山不见人」的精神遥相呼应。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain (wujue)五言绝句（五绝，题画即景，仄起首句不入韵式）

Rhyme Rhymes on 'sound' (sheng) and 'startled' (jing), both in the level-tone group.押平声庚韵：声、惊（平水韵下平八庚）。首句末字「色」为入声职韵，首句不入韵，与后二句庚韵相协；庚韵清亮，与浅白明快的语调相称。

Tone pattern Strict five-character regulated form with neat level-oblique alternation.远看山有色（仄仄平仄仄），近听水无声（仄平仄平平）；春去花还在（平仄平平仄），人来鸟不惊（平平仄仄平）。后二句平仄合律，前二句「山有色」仄平仄、「水无声」仄平平，略有古绝本色，读来自然如口语，正合童谣般的浅切。

Reading note Deceptively simple; its paradox rewards rereading.五绝最短，最宜写「一念即悟」的小景小理。此诗二十字，两联各写一组矛盾，声律上不求严整而求自然——首句不入韵，以入声「色」顿住，像先把「看」的结果轻轻摁一下，再放开写「无声」；后二句归到庚韵平声「声」「惊」，开口清亮，把「不惊」的安然拖得悠悠。它的节奏也像童谣：二三停顿（远看—山有色，近听—水无声），每句先给一个动作，再给一个发现，稳而不促，像一个孩子指着画一句句地说。这种「不事雕琢而自合音节」的调子，正是古绝（非严格律绝）的可爱处：它不要你敬，只要你懂。值得留意的是，此诗虽短，却以「看—听—时—生」四个维度（视觉、听觉、时间、生命）层层递进，声律的轻浅与内容的递进形成反差——形式愈简易，包裹的画理愈深。这恰是五绝「小制大含」的极致：二十字，够一个孩子念，也够一个哲人想一辈子。

Line by line

远看山有色，近听水无声。

From afar the hills show color; near at hand the stream makes no sound.

远望山峦似有颜色，走近听水却寂然无声。

From afar, the mountains show their colors; near at hand, the water is silent.

这一联是全诗的第一组矛盾，也是「观画」这件事的精微拆穿。「远看山有色」写视觉：隔着距离看画上山峦，墨色丹青竟似真有山色——一个「似」字（译文作「似有」）最关键，它承认那是错觉，却又享受这错觉。画画的高明，正在让人「远看」时信以为真。「近听水无声」写听觉：你凑近去听画里的水，当然听不到声。这个「听」字很孩子气——明知是画，还去听，听不到也不失望，反而把「听不到」当成妙处说出来。有声是真水，无声是画水；正是这无声，提醒你它在画中，也提醒你画把真水的喧腾「收」住了。远与近、看与听、有色与无声，三组对立在一联里完成。它不评判画好坏，只描述人面对画时的真实反应：眼睛被满足，耳朵被落空，而落空本身成了乐趣。这是只有题画诗才写得出的悖论式愉悦，二十字便把「似真非真」的观画心理写活了。

This couplet is the first set of contradictions, the subtle exposure of 'viewing a painting'. 'From afar, the mountains show their colors' is sight: at a distance the painted peaks seem truly to have color, the word 'seem' acknowledging the illusion yet enjoying it. 'Near at hand, the water is silent' is hearing: you lean close to listen to the painted water and hear nothing. The word 'listen' is childlike — knowing it is a painting, he still listens, and the silence becomes the pleasure. Far and near, sight and hearing, color and silence, three opposites in one couplet.

春去花还在，人来鸟不惊。

Spring departs yet the flowers remain; a visitor comes but the bird is not startled.

春已归去花仍绽放，人走过来鸟也不惊。

Spring has gone, yet the flowers remain; a man comes, and the birds are not startled.

这一联是第二组矛盾，把「画超越自然」写到时间与生命上。「春去花还在」：外面的春真走了，画里的花却永远开着。花违了四时，可这「违背」正是艺术的功能——它把易逝的美钉在纸上，让春常驻。一个「还」字，写出了画对时间的傲慢：你流你的逝，我留我的在。「人来鸟不惊」：真鸟见人必惊飞，画鸟见人纹丝不动。不惊，不是笨，是画把「惊」这个动作删掉了，留下一种永恒的安然。人来了，鸟不躲，仿佛在说「我已不在那个会惊的世界里」。这就把花鸟从「活物」升格为「静物」，从「自然」升格为「艺术」。两句合看，画成了一个「春不去、惊不发生」的平行宇宙。它比真自然更安静、更恒久，也因此更让人眷恋。一首二十字的小诗，借花与鸟，把艺术最迷人的特权——战胜时间、悬置惊惧——轻轻点破。童言般浅，哲理般深，正是此诗的不二法门。

This couplet is the second set of contradictions, raising 'the painting transcends nature' to time and life. 'Spring has gone, yet the flowers remain' — outside, spring has truly left, but in the painting the flowers bloom forever; the word 'still' gives the painting's arrogance toward time. 'A man comes, and the birds are not startled' — real birds would fly, painted birds do not; the painting has deleted the startle, leaving an eternal calm. Together, the painting becomes a parallel universe where spring does not depart and fright does not happen, quieter and more permanent than real nature.

Study

Word focus

有色 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「远看山有色」的「有色」，是全诗第一个落点，也是观画错觉的总开关。山在画中本无真色，墨与彩只是符号；可人一「远看」，符号便活成山色。这个「有」字妙在它不说是「似」而说「有」，把艺术制造的逼真感直接当成事实来陈述，读者的眼睛先于理智被骗、也甘愿被骗。一个词，道尽绘画「以假乱真」的魔力，也道尽观画人「宁信其真」的温柔。

无声 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「近听水无声」的「无声」，是与「有色」对举的静。水本有声，画水无声；正是这无声，成了辨认「这是画」的破绽，也成了画独有的静美。有趣的是诗人不惋惜无声，反把它当妙处写——因为无声，画里的水才不被湍急带走，才被永远「定」住。无声不是缺，是艺术替自然做的减法，减掉喧腾，留下悠然。一个词，把「画的静」写成了比真水更高的境界。

花还在 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「春去花还在」的「还」字，是艺术战胜时间的宣言。春真去、花真谢，是自然的铁律；画花「还在」，是艺术的僭越。这个「还」带着一种从容的固执：你节气再怎么流转，我这一朵偏不开谢。它写出了中国画「写生而夺造化」的理想——不是留住真花，而是留住「花该有的样子」。一个字，把易逝之美凝成永恒，是全诗最见「画之特权」的一笔。

鸟不惊 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「人来鸟不惊」的「不惊」，把矛盾推到生命的反应上。真鸟见人必惊，画鸟见人不动——不惊，意味着「惊」这个属于活物的应激被艺术删除了，鸟停留在一种超越惊惧的安然里。这个「不惊」与前句「花还在」呼应：花不因春去而谢，鸟不因人来而飞，画中万物都活在「不被外界改变」的永恒态。一个词，写出了画对变动不居的现实的豁免权，静得近乎禅。

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