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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

留别王侍御维

Parting from Censor Wang Wei

孟浩然

Meng Haoran

送别Parting 愁思Sorrowful Reflection 抒情Lyric

寂寂竟何待，朝朝空自归。
欲寻芳草去，惜与故人违。
当路谁相假，知音世所稀。
只应守索寞，还掩故园扉。

In silence, what am I waiting for?
Day after day I return empty.
I would seek the fragrant grass and go,
Yet grieve to part from my old friend.
Among those in power, who will help me?
Those who know my heart are rare in the world.
I should only keep to my lonely solitude,
And close again the gate of my native garden.

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Meaning

A poem written around the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan (729), when Meng Haoran, having failed the jinshi examination in Chang'an, left the capital and returned home, parting from Wang Wei. 'In silence, what am I waiting for? Day after day I return empty' writes the coldness of being unknown in the capital; 'I would seek the fragrant grass and go, yet grieve to part from my old friend' the conflict of the resolve to return and the grief of parting; 'among those in power, who will help me? Those who know my heart are rare in the world' strikes directly at the fickleness of the world, the only one who knew his heart being Wang Wei; and 'I should only keep to my lonely solitude, and close again the gate of my native garden' the resolve to return and keep to the solitude. Meng Haoran never held office after this and returned to live in reclusion; the poem may be seen as the end of his thought of office and the beginning of his resolve for reclusion.

我这样寂寞地守在这里，究竟还等待什么呢？天天早晨都空自归来，一无所获。想要去寻找芳草归隐而去，却惋惜要与老朋友离别。当权的显贵有谁肯提携帮助我呢？知音的人在世上实在稀少。我只应该守着这份寂寞，回到故园，掩上那扇柴门。

Appreciation

The art of the poem is famed for 'the heart spoken directly, the depth in the plain.' The first couplet, 'in silence, what am I waiting for? Day after day I return empty,' uses two groups of reduplicated words, 'silence' writing the coldness of the mood and 'day after day' the empty waste of the days, 'what am I waiting for' a question and 'return empty' a sigh, writing the full disappointment of lingering in the capital without help, the opening setting the lonely tone of the whole. The second couplet, 'I would seek the fragrant grass and go, yet grieve to part from my old friend,' turns to the conflict of the going and the staying: 'seek the fragrant grass' the resolve to return already fixed, 'grieve to part from my old friend' the parting feeling hard to give up, one 'would' and one 'grieve,' the tangle of office and reclusion, feeling and resolve written with the finest strokes. The third couplet, 'among those in power, who will help me? Those who know my heart are rare in the world,' is the peak of the poem's feeling, the heart spoken directly, the disappointment of the self and the coldness of the world in one stroke. And the close, 'I should only keep to my lonely solitude, and close again the gate of my native garden,' settles in the resolve of the return, the whole poem from the disappointment to the grief to the resolve, layer after layer, the words flowing from the depth of the heart.

【白话串讲】孟浩然考不中，离开长安，写诗告别王维：“寂寂竟何待，朝朝空自归”——长安再等也没用。“当路谁相假，知音世所稀”——“只应守索寞，还掩故园扉”——他决定回乡。【意象与手法】全诗以「寂寂」「朝朝」叠字起兴，写尽落第后无人援引的冷清；「芳草」喻归隐，「故园扉」写归隐之所，意象清雅；「当路谁相假，知音世所稀」直抒胸臆，怨而不怒。【情感与主旨】孟浩然应试落第，将离京归乡，此诗留别王维，倾诉知音难觅、无人援引的失意，又惜别故人，最终归于「守索寞」的淡泊，情感真挚深沉。【名句点睛】常考「当路谁相假，知音世所稀」直抒知音难遇之慨，以及「只应守索寞，还掩故园扉」以淡语写深情的手法。

Background

Meng Haoran (689–740) was a native of Xiangyang, a famous poet of the High Tang who lived in reclusion at Lumen Mountain in his early years and did not seek office until he was forty. Around the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan (729), he went to Chang'an at forty to take the jinshi examination, failed, and lingered in the capital in disappointment, during which he associated with Wang Wei, Wang Changling, and other poets; Wang Wei, then a high official, thought highly of Meng Haoran. This poem was written when Meng Haoran, after failing the examination, left the capital and returned home, parting from Wang Wei; the 'Censor' of the title refers to Wang Wei's having served as Censor. Meng Haoran, born with the ambition of 'serving the world' but without a boat to ferry him across, entered the capital yet failed for lack of a patron, and his mood was extremely lonely. 'In silence, what am I waiting for? Day after day I return empty' writes the coldness of being unknown in the capital; 'among those in power, who will help me? Those who know my heart are rare in the world' strikes directly at the fickleness of the world, the only one who knew his heart being Wang Wei, who was unable to recommend him. Meng Haoran never held office after this and returned to live in reclusion; this poem may be seen as the end of his thought of office and the beginning of his resolve for reclusion.

《留别王侍御维》作于开元十七年（729）前后。孟浩然四十岁赴长安应进士举，落第失意，滞留京师，期间与王维、王昌龄等诗人交游，王维时任尚书右丞，对孟浩然颇为赏识。此诗即孟浩然落第后离京归乡、临别赠王维之作，题中「侍御」指王维曾官监察御史。孟浩然是襄阳人，早年隐居鹿门山，四十岁才出游求仕，本怀着「欲济无舟楫」的用世之心入京，却因无人援引而落第，心情极为落寞。「寂寂竟何待，朝朝空自归」写尽了在京无人问津的冷清；「当路谁相假，知音世所稀」更是直刺世态炎凉，知音唯王维一人，而王维亦无力举荐。孟浩然此后终生未仕，归隐故乡，此诗可视为他仕进之念的终结与归隐之志的起点，在诗人一生中具有转折意义。诗中「欲寻芳草去」的归隐之志与「惜与故人违」的惜别之情交织，真挚动人，是孟浩然赠别诗中的名篇。后世论者多以此诗为孟浩然由求仕转向归隐的标志，其淡泊襟怀于此可见一斑。

Art

The art is 'the heart spoken directly, the depth in the plain.' The first couplet uses two groups of reduplicated words, writing the coldness of the mood and the empty waste of the days, the question and the sigh setting the lonely tone. The second couplet turns to the conflict of the going and the staying, the resolve to return and the grief of parting, the tangle of office and reclusion written with the finest strokes. The third couplet is the peak of the feeling, the heart spoken directly. And the close settles in the resolve of the return, the whole poem from the disappointment to the grief to the resolve, layer after layer, the words flowing from the depth of the heart.

此诗艺术上以「直抒胸臆、淡中见深」见长。首联「寂寂竟何待，朝朝空自归」连用两组叠字，「寂寂」写心境之冷清，「朝朝」写时日之空耗，「竟何待」「空自归」一问一叹，写尽滞留京华、无人援引的失意，起笔即定下全诗落寞的基调。颔联「欲寻芳草去，惜与故人违」转写去留的矛盾：「欲寻芳草」写归隐之志已决，「惜与故人违」写别友之情难舍，一「欲」一「惜」，把仕与隐、情与志的纠结写得细腻入微。颈联「当路谁相假，知音世所稀」是全诗情感的顶峰，直抒胸臆，将一己之失意上升为对世态炎凉的普遍感叹，「谁相假」「世所稀」两个反问与陈述，愤激而不失温厚。尾联「只应守索寞，还掩故园扉」以「只应」「还掩」两个虚字收束，归于守寂归隐的平静，由愤激转入淡泊，余味悠长。全诗语言质朴自然，不用典故堆砌，情感层层递进又层层化解，恰如孟浩然「语淡而味终不薄」的一贯风格。全诗八句一气流转，由失望而依恋，由愤激而淡泊，情感的弧度完整而自然。

Allusions

The allusions are few and apt, all fitting the poet's situation. The 'silence' of 'in silence, what am I waiting for' carries the solitude of the Nine Arguments of the Elegies of Chu, 'lonely in a strange land without friend or companion'; 'day after day I return empty' covertly uses the image of Han Xin's staying at the home of the pavilion chief in the Records of the Grand Historian, writing the embarrassment of living on another's charity and returning empty every day. 'The fragrant grass' of 'I would seek the fragrant grass and go' comes from the tradition of the Elegies of Chu's fragrant plants for purity; 'the fragrant grass' for the return to the pure reclusion, and the parting from the friend who understands the heart, the two intertwined.

此诗用典少而精，皆切合诗人处境。「寂寂竟何待」之「寂寂」暗含《楚辞·九辩》「廓落兮羁旅而无友生」的孤寂传统，写羁旅无友之境；「朝朝空自归」则暗用《史记·淮阴侯列传》韩信寄食南昌亭长家「亭长妻患之，乃晨炊蓐食」的典故意象，写寄人篱下、日日空归的难堪。「欲寻芳草去」之「芳草」本自《楚辞》以香草喻高洁的传统，屈原「何昔日之芳草兮，今直为此萧艾也」，孟浩然以「寻芳草」喻归隐，谓将追随高洁的隐逸生活而去，芳草既是实景又是象征。「知音世所稀」用伯牙子期之典，《列子·汤问》载伯牙鼓琴，钟子期善听，子期死，伯牙破琴绝弦，「知音」即由此而来，孟浩然以此写王维是为数不多的知己，暗含知音既失、鼓琴何用的悲慨。「当路」一词本自《孟子》「夫子当路于齐」，指当权执政之人，孟浩然以「当路谁相假」写权贵无人援引，用典自然贴切，与全诗质朴的语言浑然一体。「朝朝空自归」之「归」暗含「客居无归」的双关，谓京华虽居而心无所归，与尾联「还掩故园扉」的归乡之「归」遥遥相映，首尾关合，针线细密。

Commentary

'Parting from Censor Wang Wei' is a famous piece of Meng Haoran's parting poems, highly rated by the critics of every age. They mostly admire its 'plain words, deep feeling': the whole poem has no astonishing word, no gorgeous diction, yet writes the disappointment of the failure, the grief of the rare knowing heart, the conflict of the going and the staying, and the resolve of the return to the solitude, layer after layer, every word flowing from the depth of the heart. The Qing Shen Deqian, in his Selection of Tang Poetry, praised Meng Haoran's poems as 'the words plain yet the flavor never thin,' and this poem is the best example.

《留别王侍御维》是孟浩然赠别诗中的名篇，历来评价甚高。前人论此诗，多赏其「语淡情深」：全诗没有惊人的字句，没有华丽的辞藻，却把落第后的失意、知音难觅的悲慨、去留两难的矛盾、归隐守寂的决绝，层层写来，字字从肺腑中流出。清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》评孟浩然诗「语淡而味终不薄」，此诗正是最好的注脚。诗中「当路谁相假，知音世所稀」一联，更以其对世态炎凉的深刻揭示而广为传诵，成为千古失意士人的共同心声。此诗的价值还在于其史料意义：它真实记录了盛唐文人求仕的艰难与王孟之间的深厚交谊，王维后来亦有《送别》等诗与之呼应。在孟浩然全部诗作中，此诗以其真挚深沉的情感、质朴自然的语言，被视为其「以诗代柬」的杰作，也是研究盛唐文人干谒与归隐心态的重要文本，历来入选唐诗选本。千载之下，诗中那份「知音世所稀」的慨叹，仍能唤起天下失意者的共鸣，足见其情感力量的恒久。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse五言律诗

Rhyme Rhymes on the wei rhyme of the level tone: gui, wei, xi, fei, one rhyme to the end, the level rhyme clear and long, fitting the plain and far mood of the parting and the return全诗押上平五微韵，韵脚为「归、违、稀、扉」，一韵到底，平声韵清远悠长，与送别归隐的淡远情调相合。

Tone pattern The five-character regulated verse in the 'two-two-one' or 'two-one-two' cadence, the first couplet's reduplicated words pressing, the second couplet's 'would' and 'grieve' turning gently, the close slow and deep, the whole from the disappointment to the resolve五律句式以「二二一」或「二一二」为主，如「寂寂—竟—何待」，节奏舒缓；「当路谁相假，知音世所稀」两句一仄一平，声调在沉郁中见顿挫，恰合情感的起伏。

Reading note The clear and long wei rhyme and the plain, deep tone carry the poem's parting and return, the disappointment and the resolve.《留别王侍御维》是一首五言律诗，格律严整而语言自然，是孟浩然律诗的代表作。全诗八句四联，押上平五微韵，一韵到底，韵脚「归、违、稀、扉」皆为平声，音调清远悠长，正与送别归隐的淡远情调相合。首联「寂寂竟何待，朝朝空自归」以叠字入诗而不失格律，中二联对仗精工：颔联「欲寻芳草去，惜与故人违」以「欲寻」对「惜与」、「芳草」对「故人」、「去」对「违」，虚字对虚字，工整中见流动；颈联「当路谁相假，知音世所稀」以「当路」对「知音」、「谁相假」对「世所稀」，对仗工稳而情感沉痛。平仄上合乎五律正格，读来声调抑扬，自然流畅，无雕琢痕迹，正合孟浩然「语淡而味终不薄」的风格。此诗形式与内容高度统一，以严整的格律写深沉的失意，却不觉板滞，是五律中「清水出芙蓉，天然去雕饰」的典范，历来是学习五律含蓄蕴藉之美的必读之作。

Line by line

寂寂竟何待，朝朝空自归。

In silence, what am I waiting for? Day after day I return empty. (The first couplet: the reduplicated 'silence' and 'day after day,' the question and the sigh, writing the full disappointment of lingering in the capital without help, the lonely tone of the whole.)

我这样寂寞地守在这里，究竟还等待什么呢？天天早晨都空自归来，一无所获。

Lonely as this, what am I still waiting for? Morning after morning I return in vain.

起联连用「寂寂」「朝朝」两组叠字，写尽落第后滞留京华的冷清与空耗。「寂寂」从心境着笔，写无人问津的孤寂；「朝朝」从时间着笔，写日复一日的空守。两句一问一叹：「竟何待」是自问，问自己还在等待什么机缘；「空自归」是自叹，叹每天应酬奔走却一无所获。「空」字是全联的诗眼，写尽了徒劳无功的怅惘——求仕之路既已断绝，等待便成了无望的消耗。这两句是孟浩然落第生活的真实写照，也暗含对世态炎凉的隐约怨愤：京城虽大，却无一人援引。起笔如此落寞，为全诗定下低回的基调，也与尾联「守索寞」的归隐归宿遥相呼应。

The opening couplet uses the two doubled words 'lonely' and 'morning after morning' to write the cold emptiness of lingering in the capital after failing the exam. 'Lonely' from the mood, the solitude of one no one asks after; 'morning after morning' from time, the day-after-day waiting. One question, one sigh: 'what am I still waiting for?' the self-question, asking what chance he still awaits; 'return in vain' the self-sigh, grieving that daily social calls bring nothing. The word 'in vain' is the couplet's eye, writing to the full the fruitless disappointment — the road to office closed, and waiting become a hopeless drain. These two lines are the true portrait of Meng Haoran's failed-exam life, secretly holding the faint resentment at the world's coldness: the capital is great, yet not one man to recommend him. The opening so desolate tunes the low, lingering tone, echoing the closing couplet's 'keep to my solitude'.

欲寻芳草去，惜与故人违。

I would seek the fragrant grass and go, yet grieve to part from my old friend. (The second couplet: the conflict of the going and the staying, the resolve to return and the grief of parting, one 'would' and one 'grieve,' the tangle of feeling and resolve.)

想要去寻找芳草归隐而去，却惋惜要与老朋友离别。

I would go, seeking fragrant grass; I grieve to part from an old friend.

此联写去留两难的矛盾，是诗人内心的真实挣扎。「欲寻芳草去」写归隐之志已决，「芳草」既指现实的芳草地，又喻高洁的隐逸生活，承《楚辞》香草传统，见出诗人自视清高、不愿同流合污的心志；「惜与故人违」却陡然一转，「惜」字写别友之情的难舍，「违」即离别，谓归隐虽好，却要离开知己王维，情与志在此冲突。一「欲」一「惜」，把仕进无望后的退隐与知己难逢的依恋写得曲折动人。此联还暗含一层深意：归隐本可自得，但因王维这位「知音」尚在京城，归隐便成了与故人的诀别，故惜别之情愈深，可见二人交谊之厚，也为下联「知音世所稀」作了铺垫。两句对仗工整而情致婉转，是情志交织的佳句。

This couplet writes the dilemma of staying or going, the poet's true inward struggle. 'I would go, seeking fragrant grass' — the resolve to retire is taken, 'fragrant grass' both the real meadow and the metaphor for the pure recluse life, carrying on the Verses of Chu's tradition of fragrant plants, showing the poet's lofty self-regard and refusal to follow the vulgar; 'I grieve to part from an old friend' turns abruptly, the word 'grieve' writing the hard-to-release feeling at parting, 'part' the separation — though retirement is good, it means leaving the kindred spirit Wang Wei, feeling and will in conflict here. One 'would', one 'grieve', writing with winding tenderness the retirement after official hope fails, and the attachment to a friend rarely found. The hidden depth: retirement might be self-sufficient, yet because the 'kindred spirit' Wang Wei is still in the capital, retirement becomes a farewell to the old friend, so the grief the deeper, showing the thickness of the friendship, and preparing the next line 'kindred spirits are rare'.

当路谁相假，知音世所稀。

Among those in power, who will help me? Those who know my heart are rare in the world. (The third couplet, the peak of the feeling: the heart spoken directly, the disappointment of the self and the coldness of the world, the only one who knew his heart being Wang Wei.)

当权的显贵有谁肯提携帮助我呢？知音的人在世上实在稀少。

Who among the powerful will lend me a hand? Kindred spirits are rare in the world.

此联是全诗情感的顶峰，直抒胸臆，愤激深沉。「当路谁相假」以反问出之，写尽权贵无一人援引的失望——「当路」指当权执政者，诗人求仕无门，正是因为这班「当路」者不肯相助，一个「谁」字，愤激之中见出对世态的清醒认识；「知音世所稀」转以陈述，写知音难觅的孤独——在诗人看来，满朝显贵皆非知音，唯有王维一人能懂自己，而这位知音又无法改变自己的命运。两句一愤一悲，从权贵说到知音，由普遍世态回到个人遭际，层层递进，把落第士人的失意写得入木三分。此联语言质朴而情感浓烈，不假雕饰而自具力量，是孟浩然诗中少见的直抒之作，也是千古失意文人的共同心声，故能引起广泛的共鸣。

This couplet is the emotional peak, direct utterance, impassioned and deep. 'Who among the powerful will lend me a hand?' in the form of a counter-question, writing to the full the disappointment that none of the great will help — 'the powerful' those in authority, the poet's road to office closed precisely because these 'powerful' will not assist, the one word 'who' showing, within the indignation, the clear-eyed reading of the world's ways. 'Kindred spirits are rare in the world' turns to statement, writing the loneliness of the rare soul-mate — in the poet's view, all the court's grandees are no kindred spirits, only Wang Wei understands him, and that kindred spirit cannot change his fate. One line indignation, one grief, from the powerful to the kindred spirit, from the general world to personal lot, layer on layer, writing the failed scholar's disappointment to the marrow. The language plain, the feeling intense, no ornamentation, yet forceful of itself, the rare direct utterance in Meng Haoran's verse, and the common voice of disappointed scholars through the ages.

只应守索寞，还掩故园扉。

I should only keep to my lonely solitude, and close again the gate of my native garden. (The close: the resolve of the return, to keep to the solitude and close the gate of the native garden, the end of the thought of office and the beginning of the resolve for reclusion.)

我只应该守着这份寂寞，回到故园，掩上那扇柴门。

I ought only to keep to my solitude, go home, and shut the garden gate.

尾联以淡语收束，由愤激归于平静，是「以淡写深」的典范。「只应」二字写退无可退之后的清醒抉择：既然当路无人相助、知音世间稀有，那么唯一的路便是归隐守寂，「只应」是经过绝望后的必然，语气平静而坚定；「守索寞」写甘守寂寞的自觉，化被动为主动，从「寂寂竟何待」的被动等待，转为「守索寞」的主动安守，心态完成了一个蜕变；「还掩故园扉」以「掩扉」这一细节收束，「还」字写回归故园，「掩」字轻轻掩上柴门，把外面的世界关在门外，也把求仕的幻梦关在门外。两句不着一字悲愤，而深沉的失意尽在掩门一瞬的动作之中，余味悠长，恰见孟浩然「语淡而味终不薄」的风格。

The closing couplet ends in plain words, turning from indignation to calm, the model of 'writing depth through plainness'. 'I ought only to' the clear choice after no retreat: since none in power will help, and kindred spirits are rare, the only road is retirement and solitude, 'ought only' the necessity after despair, the tone calm and firm; 'keep to my solitude' the willed embracing of loneliness, turning the passive into the active, from the passive waiting of 'lonely as this, what am I still waiting for?' to the active keeping of 'keep to my solitude', the mind completing a transformation; 'go home, and shut the garden gate' ends in the detail of 'shutting the gate', the word 'home' the return to the garden, 'shut' the light closing of the wicket, shutting the outside world out, and shutting out the dream of office. Not one word of grief or anger, yet the deep disappointment is all in the instant of shutting the gate, the aftertaste long, precisely showing Meng Haoran's style of 'plain in speech yet never thin in savor'.

Study

Word focus

空 Empty. The word of the waste: 'day after day I return empty'—the empty return of the days in the capital, the wasted years of the failure, the coldness and the disappointment in one word. 首联「朝朝空自归」之「空」字，是写落第失意的关键字。「空」即徒然、白白地，写诗人日日奔走求仕却一无所获的怅惘。这个字的妙处在于它写尽了希望的落空：落第之前，诗人怀着「欲济无舟楫」的用世之心入京，满怀期待；落第之后，「朝朝空自归」，每天的奔走都成了徒劳，希望一次次升起又一次次落空，「空」字正是这种希望落空后的清醒与失落。与「朝朝」连用，「朝朝」写时间之长，「空自归」写结果之虚，长久的等待与虚无的结果对照，倍增其悲。这个「空」字还与尾联「守索寞」呼应：从「空自归」的被动落寞，到「守索寞」的主动安守，一字之变，见出诗人心态的转变，全诗情感的脉络由此贯通。

惜 Grieve. The word of the parting: 'yet grieve to part from my old friend'—the grief of parting from the friend who knows the heart, the only warmth of the cold capital, the tangle of the going and the staying in one word. 「惜与故人违」之「惜」字，是写惜别之情的关键字，也是全诗情感的枢纽。「惜」即惋惜、舍不得，写诗人归隐之心虽决，却舍不得与王维这位知己离别。这一字的妙处在于它以一字写尽两种情感的交织：既有对故人深情的依恋，又有对离别的无可奈何。诗人欲寻芳草归隐，本是去寻求自己的安顿，却因「惜」与故人相违而生出羁绊——归隐之乐与别友之痛在此冲突，「惜」字正是这场内心矛盾的凝聚点。同时，「惜」字还暗示了二人交谊之厚：王维是「知音世所稀」中的那位知音，故离别才如此可「惜」，此字与下联「知音世所稀」遥相呼应，使惜别之情有了深挚的依据。一个「惜」字，情致婉转，是全诗由写景转入抒情的枢纽。

掩 Close (shut). The word of the resolve: 'and close again the gate of my native garden'—the closing of the gate of the native garden, the return to the solitude, the end of the thought of office and the beginning of the resolve for reclusion. 尾联「还掩故园扉」之「掩」字，是写归隐决心的点睛之字。「掩」即轻轻掩上、关合，与「关」「闭」不同，「掩」的动作轻缓，带着从容与决绝，写诗人轻轻掩上故园的柴门，把纷扰的世路关在门外。「掩」字的妙处有三：其一，写决绝而不激烈，诗人落第归乡，不是愤然摔门而去，而是从容掩扉，见出其淡泊的本性；其二，写安顿，「掩」字写回到故园的安定归宿，从「寂寂竟何待」的飘荡无着，到「掩扉」的有所归依，一生漂泊于此有了安放；其三，写隔绝，「掩」字把外面的功名世界与内心的隐逸世界隔开，暗示从此与世无争。一个「掩」字，动作轻缓而意蕴深长，把归隐的决心写得含蓄而坚定，是全诗最富情韵的一笔，也是孟浩然淡泊人格的诗化写照。