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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

清明日宴梅道士房

A Feast at Taoist Mei's Chamber on Qingming Day

孟浩然

Meng Haoran

林卧愁春尽开轩览物华忽逢青鸟使邀入赤松家丹灶初开火仙桃正落花童颜若可驻何惜醉流霞

Lying in the woods, I grieve that spring is ending;
I open my window to gaze on the splendor of all things.
Suddenly I meet the messenger of the Blue Bird,
who invites me into the house of Master Redpine.
The elixir stove has just been kindled afresh,
and the immortal peaches are shedding their blossoms.
If a child's face could be kept forever young,
why begrudge getting drunk on the streaming rosy light?

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Meaning

On Qingming day, as spring draws to a close, Meng Haoran is invited to a banquet at the dwelling of a Daoist named Mei. Through the imagery of the Blue Bird, the immortal Redpine, the alchemist's stove and the peaches of immortality, the poet recasts a simple spring visit into a fairy-tale feast, closing with a toast to the wine that preserves youth. It is a perfect expression of the pastoral poet's delight in retirement and leisure.

林间闲卧，愁那春尽，开轩远望，览这物华。忽逢青鸟使者，邀我入赤松子家。丹灶初升炉火，仙桃正落繁花。童颜若可留住，何惜醉饮流霞。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Lying in the forest, the poet mourns the passing of spring; opening his window, he rejoices in the brilliance of the season. Then, as if from a legend, the Blue Bird's messenger arrives and leads him to the abode of an immortal, where the alchemist's fire has just been lit and the fairy peach trees are in blossom. If such a place can keep a face forever young, why refuse the cup of streaming rosy light? [Structure] The poem moves in four clear steps: from lament to delight, from delight to wonder, from wonder to rapture. Each couplet lifts the mood one degree higher, until the final toast releases it. [Imagery] The blue bird, Redpine's house, the alchemy stove and the flowing rosy clouds: everyday reality is quietly transfigured by fairy imagery. [Tone] Throughout runs Meng Haoran's characteristic clarity and leisure; the fairy-tale setting never feels forced, because the poet's own unworldliness makes him at home among immortals.

【白话串讲】孟浩然写《清明日宴梅道士房》：“林卧愁春尽，开轩览物华”——“忽逢青鸟使，邀入赤松家”——“丹灶初开火，仙桃正落花”——“童颜若可驻，何惜醉流霞”——他清明宴梅道士——童颜若可驻。【意象与手法】首联“林卧愁春尽，开轩览物华”写林卧愁春、开轩览景；颔联“忽逢青鸟使，邀入赤松家”写青鸟传信、邀入仙家；颈联“丹灶初开火，仙桃正落花”写丹灶仙桃的仙家景象；尾联“童颜若可驻，何惜醉流霞”写求驻颜、醉流霞的陶然。逸趣盎然。【情感与主旨】孟浩然写清明赴道士家宴饮的仙家之乐，以青鸟、赤松、丹灶、仙桃写仙家景象，是孟浩然山水田园诗的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“忽逢青鸟使，邀入赤松家”以青鸟赤松写仙家；“丹灶初开火，仙桃正落花”写仙家景象。

Background

Meng Haoran (689-740), a native of Xiangyang in modern Hubei, was the foremost poet of the High Tang pastoral-and-landscape school, paired with Wang Wei as 'Wang and Meng.' He never held office, living instead in retirement on Mount Lumen and wandering among friends, mountains and waters. This poem records a feast on the Qingming festival, in early April, at the dwelling of a Daoist named Mei, a friend of the poet. The piece belongs to the more fairy-tale-tinted side of Meng Haoran's work: where his famous 'Visiting an Old Friend's Village' celebrates a chicken-and-millet farmhouse, this poem transfigures a Daoist friend's chamber into the palace of immortals. It remains one of the most beloved examples of the poet's clear and leisurely style.

此诗为盛唐诗人孟浩然的《清明日宴梅道士房》之作，是山水田园诗的名篇。孟浩然（689—740），字浩然，襄阳（今湖北襄阳）人，盛唐田园山水诗派代表，与王维并称「王孟」。他一生未仕，隐于襄阳鹿门山，其诗多写山水田园、隐逸之趣。清明日，梅道士（梅姓道士）设宴相邀，孟浩然赴宴，写此诗记仙家之乐：「林卧愁春尽」，写林间闲卧，愁那春尽——诗人本在林间闲卧，愁春将尽；「开轩览物华」，写开轩远望，览这物华——开窗远望，览这春日的物华（万物之精华）；「忽逢青鸟使」，写忽逢青鸟使者——用青鸟之典，青鸟为西王母之使，传信之鸟，「忽逢青鸟使」写忽然逢着青鸟使者（传信相邀）；「邀入赤松家」，写邀入赤松子家——用赤松子之典，赤松子为上古仙人，「邀入赤松家」写邀入仙家（梅道士房）；「丹灶初开火」，写丹灶初升炉火——丹灶为道士炼丹之灶，「初开火」写炉火初升，正是炼丹之景；「仙桃正落花」，写仙桃正落繁花——仙桃为仙家之桃，「正落花」写桃花正落，正是清明春景；「童颜若可驻」，写童颜若可留住——童颜写青春之颜，「若可驻」写若可留住，正是求驻颜之愿；「何惜醉流霞」，写何惜醉饮流霞——用流霞之典，流霞为仙家之酒，饮之可长生，「醉流霞」写醉饮仙酒。全诗以仙家之乐写清明宴饮，逸趣盎然，是孟浩然田园诗「清旷闲逸」的代表作。

Art

The poem's central device is the transfiguration of the ordinary: a friend's invitation becomes the summons of the Blue Bird, a Daoist's chamber becomes Redpine's house, an alchemist's fire and blossoming peach trees become the scenery of the immortal realm. The two middle couplets are in strict parallel, the Blue Bird's messenger against Redpine's house, the elixir stove against the immortal peaches, yet the parallelism feels effortless because the images themselves belong to a single coherent mythology. The closing couplet effects a graceful turn: instead of ending on description, it poses a rhetorical question, 'why begrudge a cup,' which converts the entire fairy-tale setting into the poet's toast. The result is a short poem of perfect poise, in which Daoist fantasy and pastoral ease reinforce rather than compete with each other.

此诗艺术上以「仙凡相映」与「逸趣盎然」为特色，在清明宴饮的仙家之乐中写尽隐逸的逸趣。首联「林卧愁春尽，开轩览物华」，以「林卧愁春尽」写林间闲卧、愁春将尽，以「开轩览物华」写开轩览景——「愁春尽」写对春的留恋，「览物华」写对春的欣赏，一愁一览，正是清明之际的惜春之情；颔联「忽逢青鸟使，邀入赤松家」，以「青鸟使」写传信之鸟，以「赤松家」写仙家之居——「忽逢」「邀入」，一写相邀之奇、一写赴宴之乐，正是仙凡之间的逸趣；颈联「丹灶初开火，仙桃正落花」，以「丹灶初开火」写炼丹之景，以「仙桃正落花」写仙桃之春——「丹灶」「仙桃」，一写仙家之丹、一写仙家之桃，正是仙家景象；尾联「童颜若可驻，何惜醉流霞」，以「童颜若可驻」写求驻颜之愿，以「何惜醉流霞」写醉饮仙酒——那求驻颜的愿望，以醉流霞来实现，正是「何惜」的洒脱。全诗由惜春写起，经青鸟相邀、丹灶仙桃的仙家之景，而归于「醉流霞」的陶然，仙凡相映、逸趣盎然，正是孟浩然田园诗「清旷闲逸」的极致。

Allusions

The poem is woven from Daoist lore. The Blue Bird is the three-legged spirit bird of the Queen Mother of the West in the Classic of Mountains and Seas; as her messenger it became the stock image for the bearer of good news. Redpine, or Chi Songzi, was a rain-master in the time of the legendary emperor Shennong who later attained immortality, and his name stands for the world of the transcendent. The elixir stove is the furnace in which Daoist adepts compounded the pill of immortality. The immortal peaches are those of the Queen Mother's orchard, ripening once every three thousand years. Finally, 'streaming rosy light' names the celestial wine of Wang Chong's Lunheng, given to the immortal-in-training Xiang Mandu; to be drunk on it was to taste long life. Together these allusions turn a Qingming banquet into a fairy feast.

此诗用典皆围绕仙家与逸趣展开。「林卧」，写林间闲卧——暗含隐逸之意，诗人隐于襄阳鹿门山，林卧写隐居山林。「青鸟使」，用「青鸟」之典——《山海经》记西王母有三青鸟，为西王母之使，后以「青鸟」写传信之鸟，「忽逢青鸟使」写忽然逢着传信之鸟。「赤松家」，用「赤松子」之典——赤松子为上古仙人，神农时雨师，服水玉以教神农，后以「赤松子」写仙人，「邀入赤松家」写邀入仙家。「丹灶」，写道士炼丹之灶——丹灶为道教炼丹之具，后以「丹灶」写仙家炼丹之处，「丹灶初开火」写炉火初升。「仙桃」，写仙家之桃——西王母瑶池有蟠桃，三千年一熟，仙桃为仙家之桃，「仙桃正落花」写仙桃落花。「童颜」，写青春之颜——「童颜」写如孩童般的容颜，正是求驻颜之愿。「流霞」，用「流霞」之典——王充《论衡》记项曼都学仙，仙人以流霞一杯饮之，「流霞」为仙家之酒，饮之可长生，「何惜醉流霞」写醉饮仙酒。这些典故，或写青鸟、或写赤松子、或写丹灶、或写仙桃、或写流霞，皆围绕仙家与逸趣这一核心，织成一张仙气盎然的网，正是孟浩然诗「用典自然」的特点，也是「山水田园」之外的「仙家逸趣」。

Commentary

Critics have particularly prized the couplet 'Suddenly I meet the messenger of the Blue Bird, who invites me into the house of Master Redpine,' for the way it lifts a village visit into legend: the invitation of a Daoist friend is recast as the summons of the Queen Mother's bird. Read beside Meng Haoran's 'Visiting an Old Friend's Village,' the poem shows the two faces of his pastoral art, the farmhouse of chicken and millet and the fairy palace of Blue Bird and Redpine, both facets of the same unworldly retirement. The final toast, 'why begrudge getting drunk on the streaming rosy light,' has become a classic expression of the High Tang pleasure in wine and long life, unburdened by any hint of anxiety. It is precisely this ease, the fairy-tale setting held with a light hand, that later anthologists singled out as the purest example of Meng Haoran's clear and leisurely charm.

读此诗，最值得注意的是「忽逢青鸟使，邀入赤松家」所写出的「仙凡相映的逸趣」。那清明之日，诗人本在林间闲卧，愁春将尽；开轩览景之际，忽然逢着青鸟使者，邀入赤松子家——那青鸟，是西王母的使者；那赤松子，是上古仙人。以青鸟、赤松子写梅道士之邀，正是把凡人的宴饮，写成了仙家的邀约：那梅道士房，便是赤松子家；那道士设宴，便是仙家之会。这种「以仙写凡」的笔法，正是此诗的逸趣所在——把一次清明的赴宴，写得仙气盎然。而「童颜若可驻，何惜醉流霞」更把这逸趣推向高潮：若童颜可驻，何惜醉饮流霞？那求驻颜之愿，以醉仙酒来实现，正是「何惜」的洒脱——不为别的，只为那一醉的陶然。这「醉流霞」的洒脱，正是孟浩然的性格：他一生未仕，隐于鹿门山，与道士交游，饮酒赋诗，那「何惜醉流霞」的旷达，正是「把酒话桑麻」的田园逸趣。至于「愁春尽」与「览物华」，一愁一览，正是清明之际的惜春与赏春：那「物华」，是春日的万物之华，也是仙家的桃花流霞。全诗以仙家之乐写清明宴饮，逸趣盎然，正是孟浩然田园诗「清旷闲逸」的写照，那青鸟、赤松、丹灶、流霞的仙家意象，正是他隐逸生活的一部分。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse (wulü)诗（五言律诗）

Rhyme The ma rhyme group; the rhymes are hua, jia, hua and xia, all level-tone words in the xiama rhymes. The bright, prolonged sound of the ma rhymes matches the poem's atmosphere of fairy-tale leisure.此诗为五言律诗，押平声「麻」部韵，「华」「家」「花」「霞」等字皆属下平六麻韵，韵脚清亮而悠长，正合诗情「仙家逸趣」的声调。首联「林卧愁春尽，开轩览物华」以「愁春尽」「览物华」起，写惜春赏春；颔联「忽逢青鸟使，邀入赤松家」，以「青鸟使」「赤松家」相对，工对而见仙家；颈联「丹灶初开火，仙桃正落花」，以「丹灶初开火」「仙桃正落花」相对，工对而见仙景；尾联「童颜若可驻，何惜醉流霞」，以「若可驻」「醉流霞」收束，写陶然。整体声调由首联的惜春，到尾联的陶然，清亮而悠长，正合田园诗「清旷闲逸」的诗情。

Tone pattern Eight five-character lines in strict regulated form, with the middle two couplets in parallel. The basic rhythms are 2-2-1 and 2-1-2; the poem's mood climbs steadily from lament to delight through these balanced cadences, the parallelism of the middle couplets giving the fairy imagery a musical symmetry.句式上，此诗善用对仗与虚字：「林卧愁春尽，开轩览物华」，以「林卧」「开轩」相对，一闲一望，对仗自然；「忽逢青鸟使，邀入赤松家」，以「忽逢」「邀入」写相邀之奇，对仗精工；「丹灶初开火，仙桃正落花」，以「丹灶」「仙桃」相对，一丹一桃，对仗整饬而见仙景；「童颜若可驻，何惜醉流霞」，以「若可驻」「醉流霞」写求驻颜之愿，转折而见洒脱。全诗由惜春入赏春、由赏春入仙家、由仙家入陶然，对仗整饬而句法多变，正是孟浩然田园诗「清旷闲逸」的节奏美学。

Reading note As a High Tang five-character regulated verse, the poem's musical beauty lies in its bright ma rhymes and natural parallelism. The first couplet pairs the lament for spring with the delight in it; the second sets the Blue Bird against Redpine's house; the third the elixir stove against the immortal peaches; the fourth closes with the toast. The mood rises step by step from lament to rapture, and sound and feeling move in harmony, the very model of Meng Haoran's clear, leisurely pastoral art.作为盛唐五律，《清明日宴梅道士房》的声律之美，在于以清亮的麻韵与自然对仗的句式，写出清明宴饮的仙家逸趣情思。全诗首联「林卧愁春尽」以林卧写隐逸之闲，开轩览物华写赏春之情，惜春与赏春并举；颔联「忽逢青鸟使，邀入赤松家」以青鸟传信、邀入赤松写仙家的邀约，「以仙写凡」；颈联「丹灶初开火，仙桃正落花」以丹灶仙桃写仙家的景象，一丹一桃，清旷而逸趣；尾联「童颜若可驻，何惜醉流霞」以求驻颜、醉流霞写陶然的洒脱，收束而见逸趣。全诗由惜春入赏春、由赏春入仙家、由仙家入陶然，层层递进而声情相谐，正是孟浩然「清旷闲逸」的体现。就全诗而言，此诗以清明宴饮写仙家之乐，用典自然、逸趣盎然，是田园诗的名篇，与孟浩然《过故人庄》同为田园宴饮之作，而一写「故人具鸡黍」的田家之乐，一写「邀入赤松家」的仙家之趣，可见孟浩然田园诗的两副面目——田家与仙家，也可见其隐逸生活的清旷闲逸。

Line by line

开轩览物华

Opening my window to gaze on the splendor of all things.

开轩远望，览这物华。

I open the window and gaze on the glory of spring.

这一句写开窗远望览春景，是此诗由惜春转入赏春的关键。「开轩」，写开窗——「轩」写窗，「开轩」写开窗远望，正是「开轩面场圃」的田园之境；「览物华」，写览这物华——「物华」写万物的精华，正是春日的物华，那清明之际的春花春草。以「开轩览物华」写赏春，比直写「看春」更见闲适与欣赏——那开轩远望，览这物华，正是隐者的闲趣；「物华」二字，写春日之万物精华，正是「览」的对象。这一句，是此诗由惜春转入赏春的关键，与「林卧愁春尽」相对，一愁一览，正是清明之际的惜春与赏春，也是「忽逢青鸟使」的铺垫——那开轩览物华之际，才逢着青鸟使者。

This line writes opening the window and gazing on the spring scene, the key of the poem's turn from grieving spring to enjoying it. 'I open the window' — 'the window' the casement, 'open the window' opening it to gaze afar, precisely the pastoral realm of 'opening the casement to face the fields'; 'gaze on the glory of spring' — 'the glory of spring' the essence of all things, precisely the spring's bloom of flowers and grass on the day of Qingming. Writing the spring enjoyment through 'open the window and gaze on the glory of spring', the ease and appreciation the more than a plain 'watching spring' — the opening to gaze afar, the recluse's idle charm; the words 'glory of spring', the spring's essence of all things, precisely the object of the gaze. This line is the key of the turn from grieving to enjoying, set against 'worrying in the grove that spring is done', one grief one gaze, precisely the Qingming grief and enjoyment, and the groundwork for the later 'suddenly meeting the blue-bird messenger' — precisely as he opens the window and gazes, he meets the blue bird.

忽逢青鸟使

Suddenly I meet the messenger of the Blue Bird.

忽逢青鸟使者。

Suddenly I meet the blue-bird messenger.

这一句用青鸟之典，写忽然逢着传信之鸟，是此诗由赏春转入仙家的枢纽。「忽逢」，写忽然逢着——「忽」写偶然、「逢」写逢着，那青鸟使者，忽然逢着，正是「不期而遇」的奇趣；「青鸟使」，用「青鸟」之典——《山海经》记西王母有三青鸟，为西王母之使，后以「青鸟」写传信之鸟。以「青鸟使」写传信，比直写「相邀」更见仙气与奇趣——那传信的青鸟，本是西王母之使，忽然逢着，正是仙家的邀约；「忽逢」二字，写相邀之奇，正是「仙凡相映」的逸趣。这一句，是此诗由赏春转入仙家的枢纽，也是「邀入赤松家」的铺垫——那青鸟使者相邀，正是赴仙家之宴的由头。

This line uses the blue-bird allusion, writing the sudden meeting of the message bird, the pivot of the poem's turn from enjoying spring to the immortal's house. 'Suddenly I meet' — 'suddenly' the accident, 'meet' the meeting; the blue-bird messenger, suddenly met, precisely the wonder of the unforeseen encounter; 'the blue-bird messenger' uses the blue-bird allusion — the Classic of Mountains and Seas records the Queen Mother of the West has three blue birds, her messengers, and later 'blue bird' means the message-bearing bird. Writing the message through 'the blue-bird messenger', the immortal charm and wonder the more than a plain 'invited' — the message-bearing blue bird, the Queen Mother's messenger, suddenly met, precisely the immortal's invitation; 'suddenly I meet' the wonder of the invitation, precisely the ethereal charm of immortal and mortal in foil. This line is the pivot of the turn from enjoying spring to the immortal's house, and the groundwork for the later 'invited into Chisong's home' — the blue bird's invitation, precisely the cause of going to the immortal's feast.

何惜醉流霞

Why begrudge getting drunk on the streaming rosy light?

何惜醉饮流霞。

Why grudge to be drunken on the flowing dusk?

这一句是全诗的结穴，用流霞之典写醉饮仙酒，是此诗陶然逸趣的最高点。「何惜」，写何足惜——「何惜」写何足可惜，那「醉流霞」的沉醉，何足可惜，正是洒脱；「醉流霞」，用「流霞」之典——王充《论衡》记项曼都学仙，仙人以流霞一杯饮之，「流霞」为仙家之酒，饮之可长生，「醉流霞」写醉饮仙酒。以「醉流霞」写醉饮，比直写「饮酒」更见仙气与陶然——那流霞，是仙家之酒，醉饮流霞，正是求驻颜之愿的实现；「何惜」二字，写「醉流霞」之洒脱，正是「童颜若可驻」的归趣。这一结句，陶然洒脱，是此诗陶然逸趣的最高点，也是清明宴饮的深衷——那求驻颜之愿，以醉饮仙酒来实现，何惜一醉。

This line is the poem's knot, using the flowing-dusk allusion to write the drunken draught of the immortal wine, the highest point of the poem'scontented ease. 'Why grudge' — what is there to grudge, the drunkenness of 'the flowing dusk' worth no regret, precisely the free ease; 'the flowing dusk' uses the flowing-dusk allusion — Wang Chong's Discourse Weighs records Xiang Mandu studying immortality, and the immortal gave him a cup of flowing dusk to drink, 'flowing dusk' the immortal wine, drinking it gives long life, 'drunken on the flowing dusk' the drunken draught of the immortal wine. Writing the drunken draught through 'drunken on the flowing dusk', the immortal charm andcontented the more than a plain 'drinking wine' — the flowing dusk, the immortal wine, the drunken draught, precisely the fulfillment of the wish for a lasting face; 'why grudge' the free ease of 'the flowing dusk', precisely the return of 'the boy's face, could it but stay'. This closing line,contented and free, the highest point of the poem'scontented charm, and the deep heart of the Qingming feast — the wish for a lasting face, fulfilled through the drunken immortal wine, why grudge one drunk.

Study

Word focus

物华 Wu hua, 'the splendor of all things,' the flowering brilliance of the natural world in spring. The word elevates a simple view of the season into a vision of nature at its finest, and its tone of appreciative gazing sets the leisurely mood that carries the whole poem. 「开轩览物华」之「物华」，写万物的精华，是此诗赏春意象的核心语。「物华」即万物的精华——「物」写万物，「华」写精华，「物华」写春日的万物之华，正是清明之际的春花春草；「开轩览物华」，写开轩远望，览这物华。以「物华」写春景，比直写「春景」更见精华与欣赏——那清明之际的物华，是春日万物的精华，正是「览」的对象；「览物华」三字，写赏春之情，正是隐者的闲趣。这一词，是此诗赏春意象的核心，与「林卧愁春尽」相对，一愁一览，正是清明之际的惜春与赏春，也是「忽逢青鸟使」的铺垫——那开轩览物华之际，才逢着青鸟使者，正是此诗由赏春入仙家的关键。

青鸟 Qingniao, the 'blue bird.' In the Classic of Mountains and Seas it is the three-legged spirit bird of the Queen Mother of the West, serving as her messenger; in poetry it became the standard image for a bearer of welcome news. Here it casts the friend's invitation as a fairy-tale summons. 「忽逢青鸟使」之「青鸟」，用西王母之使的典故，是此诗仙家意象的核心语。「青鸟」即西王母之使——《山海经》记西王母有三青鸟，为西王母之使，后以「青鸟」写传信之鸟；「忽逢青鸟使」，写忽然逢着传信之鸟。以「青鸟」写传信，比直写「使者」更见仙气与古典——那青鸟，本是西王母之使，忽然逢着，正是仙家的邀约；「青鸟使」三字，写传信之鸟，正是「仙凡相映」的逸趣。这一词，是此诗仙家意象的核心，与「赤松家」相连，一写传信之鸟，一写仙家之居，正是「青鸟传信、邀入仙家」的仙凡之会，也是此诗「以仙写凡」的笔法。

流霞 Liuxia, 'streaming rosy light,' the name of the celestial wine in Wang Chong's Lunheng, given to the immortal-in-training Xiang Mandu; to drink it was to share in immortal life. The word lends the closing toast an air of fairy revelry while naming a quite real cup of wine. 「何惜醉流霞」之「流霞」，用仙家之酒的典故，是此诗陶然意象的核心语。「流霞」为仙家之酒——王充《论衡》记项曼都学仙，仙人以流霞一杯饮之，「流霞」为仙家之酒，饮之可长生；「何惜醉流霞」，写何惜醉饮流霞。以「流霞」写仙酒，比直写「美酒」更见仙气与长生——那流霞，是仙家之酒，饮之可驻颜长生，正是「童颜若可驻」的实现；「醉流霞」三字，写醉饮仙酒，正是清明宴饮的陶然。这一词，是此诗陶然意象的核心，与「童颜若可驻」相连，一写求驻颜之愿，一写醉流霞之饮，正是「何惜」的洒脱，也是此诗「仙家逸趣」的所在。