All poems

唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

山居秋暝

Autumn Evening in the Mountains

王维

Wang Wei

山水Landscape 隐居Reclusion

空山新雨后，天气晚来秋。
明月松间照，清泉石上流。
竹喧归浣女，莲动下渔舟。
随意春芳歇，王孙自可留。

After fresh rain in empty mountains bare,
Evening air feels autumn's cool and fair.
Moonlight shines among pine trees so bright,
Clear springs flow over stones with crystal light.
Bamboos stir with noise of maidens washing clothes,
Lotus leaves move as fishing boat goes.
Let spring fragrance fade away at will,
This mountain retreat is fit for people still.

Listen

Meaning

After a fresh rain in the quiet mountains, the autumn evening brings coolness. Moonlight filters through pines, clear streams flow over rocks. The sound of bamboo suggests returning washerwomen, and moving lotus leaves indicate a fishing boat. The poet declares that even if spring scents fade, one can still stay in this beautiful mountain retreat.

空寂的终南山刚下过一场秋雨，傍晚的天气透出阵阵秋凉。皎洁的明月在松林间洒下清辉，清澈的泉水在石上淙淙流淌。竹林里传来阵阵喧笑，是浣衣的女子结伴归来；莲叶轻轻摇动，是顺流而下的渔舟。任凭春天的芳华就此逝去吧，这山中的清景，自可教人长留。

Appreciation

This poem paints a vivid picture of an autumn evening in the mountains, using dynamic and sensory details to convey tranquility. The middle couplets contrast stillness (moonlight, clear stream) with motion (washerwomen's voices, fishing boat), a hallmark of Wang Wei's 'poetry in painting'. The final couplet subverts a famous Chu Ci line to assert the poet's desire to remain in seclusion.

【白话串讲】一场秋雨过后，山里干净得能听见月光落在松针上的声音。王维把终南山当作自己的后半生，也把这首山居秋暝写成了中国山水诗里最清亮的一页。【意象与手法】全诗起承转合自然，艺术上最见功力处在“动静相生、以动衬静” 【情感与主旨】王维晚年官至尚书右丞，却长期隐居终南山辋川别业，亦官亦隐，笃信佛教，诗多禅意，世称“诗佛” 【名句点睛】常考“明月松间照，清泉石上流”的动静结合、以动衬静与视听结合手法；“诗中有画”的艺术特色

Background

Wang Wei, a high-ranking official in his later years, spent much time in retreat at his Wangchuan Villa in the Zhongnan Mountains, practicing Buddhism. This poem, likely written during his semi-reclusive period in the Kaiyuan era, reflects his inner peace and love for nature after experiencing political turmoil.

王维《山居秋暝》约作于唐玄宗天宝年间，是诗人在终南山辋川别业亦官亦隐时期的代表作。王维早年即有经世之志，二十一岁状元及第，却历经张九龄罢相、李林甫专权、安史乱中陷贼被迫署职等政治挫折，晚年更信佛教，自号摩诘，取《维摩诘经》居士之意，于蓝田辋川购得宋之问旧墅，优游林泉，与裴迪唱和，作《辋川集》二十首。此诗正是辋川生活的写照：一场秋雨洗过空山，草木澄鲜，诗人于傍晚徜徉林间，耳闻目接皆是清景。所谓“山居”并非真隐，而是“吏隐”——王维官至尚书右丞，却长期不在朝，僦居辋川，朝会则出，余日则隐，这种身份使他的山水诗既有禅者空静，又不脱士大夫雅致。诗中“空山”二字最堪玩味：终南山林木蓊郁，本非真“空”，王维善用“空”字写心境之澄明虚静，正如《鹿柴》“空山不见人”同调。版本方面，今传诸本文字基本一致，唯“竹喧归浣女”一作“竹喧归浣女”，异文罕见；苏轼谓“味摩诘之诗，诗中有画”，此诗即其“画”之最佳注脚。秋暝点明时令与时刻，新雨则暗示山气之润，三者叠加，已构成一幅可入画的终南秋晚图。

Art

The poem is a regulated pentasyllabic verse with a clear structure: the first couplet sets the scene, the second couplet depicts static natural beauty, the third adds human activity to contrast the stillness, and the fourth expresses the poet's emotion. The use of verbs like 'shines' (照) and 'flows' (流), 'stir' (喧) and 'move' (动) creates a dynamic rhythm. This exemplifies Wang Wei's style of 'poetry in painting, painting in poetry'.

此诗艺术最著者，在“动静相生、以动衬静”与“诗中有画”的章法。首联“空山新雨后，天气晚来秋”总起，以“空”定调，以“新雨”润色，写静态之境与节候之感；颔联“明月松间照，清泉石上流”则于静中布动——明月是静光，松是静物，而“照”使光有了落点，清泉是活水，“流”使石上有了声响，光与声、上（松间）与下（石上）交错，构成一幅明暗有声的秋山夜景图。颈联“竹喧归浣女，莲动下渔舟”更进一步：不直接写人，先写竹喧、莲动，由声与形反推人事，浣女之归、渔舟之下的动态，恰是“空山”不空、有人间烟火的证明，亦以喧闹反衬山林之幽。尾联“随意春芳歇，王孙自可留”用《楚辞》典而反其意，收束于归隐之志。四联由景及人、由物及心，空间上天地（空山、明月、清泉）到人事（浣女、渔舟）再到主体（王孙），层次井然；色彩上青（松）、白（石、清泉）、绿（竹、莲）与月之素辉映带，确如画卷。苏轼“诗中有画，画中有诗”的评语，于此最为贴切。

Allusions

The final line '王孙自可留' alludes to the Chu Ci poem 'Summons for a Recluse', which says 'Prince, return! In the mountains you cannot stay long.' Wang Wei reverses this meaning, declaring that one can indeed stay in the mountains, expressing his contentment with reclusive life.

此诗用典虽少，却有两处渊源可溯。其一是尾联“随意春芳歇，王孙自可留”，明显反用《楚辞·招隐士》“王孙兮归来，山中兮不可久留”。淮南小山作《招隐士》，意在召唤隐士出山，故说山中不可久留；王维偏说春芳虽歇、王孙尽可长留，翻案用典，将招隐之意化为留隐之志，态度截然相反而字面遥相呼应，是“反用其事”的范例。其二是“空山”意象，可溯至佛家《维摩诘经》不二法门之“空”观，亦与陶渊明“结庐在人境，而无车马喧”的虚静一脉相通；王维以“空山”开篇，已先立禅意之境。至于“清泉石上流”一类的自然清音，承谢灵运山水诗“林壑敛暝色，云霞收夕霏”的体物传统，而更趋玲珑。浣女、渔舟的田园人物，则近陶渊明《桃花源记》与《归园田居》的淳朴气息。王维融禅理、楚辞、陶谢于一炉，却不着痕迹，故沈德潜《唐诗别裁》谓其“不着一字，尽得风流”，正指此种化典为景、以景藏意的工夫。

Commentary

Su Shi praised Wang Wei: 'In tasting Wang Wei's poetry, there is painting within poetry; in observing Wang Wei's painting, there is poetry within painting.' This poem, especially the couplet 'Moonlight shines...', is a classic example. Hu Yinglin of the Ming dynasty called it 'pure and natural, without artificial decoration'.

历代评家于此诗推崇备至，尤以苏轼“味摩诘之诗，诗中有画，观摩诘之画，画中有诗”最为脍炙人口，几成王维诗的定评。此语虽泛论摩诘整体，而《山居秋暝》恰是最佳例证——颔联光色声响俱备，真可入画。清代沈德潜《唐诗别裁》选此诗并评其“清远一派”，与孟浩然同列盛唐山水田园正宗。王士禛标举“神韵说”，亦以此诗为空山明月一派的典型。近人俞陛云《诗境浅说》云：“此诗写山居秋暝之景，如见其澄鲜之致。”叶嘉莹论王维，特重其“任运随缘”的禅悦，以为“随意春芳歇，王孙自可留”正见诗人对自然节候与人生际遇的随顺，不抗争、不执著的从容。亦有论者指出，此诗之“空”并非死寂，而因有浣女渔舟的点缀，方显出活泼的生机，这正是王维高于一般寂灭诗之处。在传播史上，此诗与《相思》《九月九日忆山东兄弟》同为童蒙必诵之王维代表作，历代诗话、选本无不收录，其“以动衬静”的手法更成为后世山水诗写作的范式。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse (oblique tone pattern, first line rhymed)五言律诗（山水田园诗代表作）

Rhyme End rhyme on the level tone 'iou' group: 秋, 流, 舟, 留平水韵下平十一尤韵，押“秋”“流”“舟”“留”四韵，首句不入韵（首句末字“后”为上声，不押韵）

Tone pattern First couplet: oblique-oblique-level-level-oblique, level-level-oblique-oblique-level; the second and third couplets are antithetical in tone and sense.首联“空山新雨后，天气晚来秋”仄平平仄仄，平仄仄平平；颔联“明月松间照，清泉石上流”平仄平平仄，平平仄仄平；颈联“竹喧归浣女，莲动下渔舟”仄平平仄仄，平仄仄平平；尾联“随意春芳歇，王孙自可留”平仄平平仄，平平仄仄平。中二联对仗工稳，符合律诗正格。

Reading note The middle couplets contrast motion and stillness, typical of Wang Wei's refined regulation.此诗为五律正格，八句四联，中二联（明月松间照，清泉石上流；竹喧归浣女，莲动下渔舟）对仗精严而自然，几不见斧凿痕。颔联“明月”对“清泉”（偏正名词），“松间”对“石上”（方位），“照”对“流”（动词），词性、平仄、空间方位无不相对；颈联“竹喧”对“莲动”，“归浣女”对“下渔舟”，亦工亦活，且“归浣女”“下渔舟”为倒装句法，于严整中见摇曳之姿。首联与尾联不对仗，起结从容，正是律诗“中联对、首尾散”的通例。声韵上，所押“秋”“流”“舟”“留”皆属下平十一尤，韵腹开口圆融，音色清远悠长，与空山明月、清泉渔舟的澄淡意境声情相恰。王力《汉语诗律学》常以王维五律为盛唐清远一格的标本，此诗首句不入韵、通篇平仄合度而气息疏朗，恰可见摩诘“诗中有画”之外，于格律亦从容中矩、不尚奇险的资深风貌。

Line by line

空山新雨后，天气晚来秋。

After a fresh rain in the empty mountains, the evening air feels like autumn. The 'empty' suggests both physical seclusion and the poet's serene mind.

空寂的终南山刚下过一场秋雨，傍晚的天气透出阵阵秋凉。

In the empty hills, after the new rain; the evening air turns to autumn.

首联为全篇定调，起笔“空山”二字最见王维手段。终南山林木葱郁，本非真“空”，诗人以“空”写心境之澄明虚静，亦暗伏佛家“色即是空”之旨，与《鹿柴》“空山不见人”同一机杼。“新雨”二字既点出雨后山气之润泽清新，又暗示万物刚被洗涤过的明净，为下文明月、清泉的清辉作铺垫。“天气晚来秋”写时令与时刻，一个“晚”字将秋凉徐徐推来，不着“寒”字而凉意自生。两句一写空间（空山）一写时间（晚来秋），一写物境（新雨）一写气候（秋），看似平淡叙事，实则已把读者引入一个远离尘嚣、清寂澄明的审美空间，为后文由静生动、由景及人铺设了从容的基调。

The opening couplet tunes the whole, and the two words 'empty hills' best show Wang Wei's hand. The Zhongnan Mountains are lush, not truly 'empty'; the poet uses 'empty' to write the clarity and stillness of his own mind, secretly holding the Buddhist 'form is emptiness', the same working as 'empty hills, no man seen' in Deer Park. 'The new rain' both names the mountain air's freshness after rain, and hints the world just washed clean, the groundwork for the bright moon and clear spring below. 'The evening air turns to autumn' the season and hour, the one word 'evening' bringing the autumn cool slowly on, no word 'cold' and the cold of itself. Two lines, one space (empty hills) one time (evening turns to autumn), one world (new rain) one climate (autumn), plain narrative in seeming, yet already leading the reader into a quiet, clear, dust-far aesthetic space, laying the unhurried keynote for the later motion-within-stillness and the turn from scene to man.

明月松间照，清泉石上流。

Bright moonlight shines among the pine trees; clear spring water flows over the stones. This couplet pairs still and dynamic imagery, visual and auditory (the sound of flowing water), quintessential of 'painting in poetry'.

皎洁的明月在松林间洒下清辉，清澈的泉水在石上淙淙流淌。

The bright moon shines through the pines; the clear spring flows over the stones.

颔联是千古名句，也是“诗中有画”的最佳注脚。两句于静境中布置动态：明月本静，松亦静物，而“照”字使无形之光有了具体的落点与范围；清泉是活水，“流”字则令石上有了淙淙声响。光与声、上（松间）与下（石上）、明（月）与清（泉）交错映带，构成一幅有影有声、明暗相生的秋山夜景图。尤为精妙的是“照”与“流”两个动词的选用：一静一动，一上一下，既写出月光倾泻之态，又写出泉水滑过石面之形，体物之细令人如临其境。苏轼谓摩诘诗中有画，此联正可悬之素壁——松针筛月、泉咽危石，岂非一幅设色清远的立轴？后人常以“明月”对“清泉”、“松间”对“石上”、“照”对“流”，赞其工对自然，而工对之中不见雕琢，正是盛唐气象。

The neck couplet is a famous line through the ages, and the best footnote to 'poetry within painting'. The two lines arrange motion within the still scene: the bright moon still, the pines still, and the word 'shines' gives the formless light a concrete place and range; the clear spring living water, and the word 'flows' giving the stones its gurgle. Light and sound, above (through the pines) and below (over the stones), bright (the moon) and clear (the spring), interwoven, forming a night picture of the autumn mountain with shadow and sound, light and dark giving birth. Especially fine are the two verbs 'shines' and 'flows': one still one moving, one above one below, both the pouring moon and the spring gliding over stone, the observation so fine the reader seems to be there. Su Shi said Wang Wei's poetry holds painting; this couplet might be hung on a white wall — moonlight sifted through pine needles, the spring murmuring over perilous stones, is it not a vertical scroll of clear, pale coloring? Later critics praise the 'bright moon' against 'clear spring', 'through the pines' against 'over the stones', 'shines' against 'flows', the craft exact and natural, no sign of the chisel, the very air of the High Tang.

竹喧归浣女，莲动下渔舟。

Bamboos stir with the sound of washerwomen returning; lotus leaves move as a fishing boat goes downstream. The noise and motion contrast with the quiet scene, creating a lively tranquility.

竹林里传来阵阵喧笑，是浣衣的女子结伴归来；莲叶轻轻摇动，是顺流而下的渔舟。

Bamboo stirs with the wash women returning; lotus moves as the fishing boat descends.

颈联由自然转入人事，手法更为巧妙：诗人不直接写浣女渔舟，而是先写“竹喧”“莲动”的声与形，由效果反推原因，读者循声见人、因动识舟，这种“藏主于宾”的写法倍增亲切。竹喧是听觉，莲动是视觉，二者共同打破首联颔联的幽静，以人间喧闹反衬山林之空寂——“空山”因有浣女渔舟而“不空”，恰证王维之“空”是心境而非死寂。更可玩味的是句法：“归浣女”“下渔舟”均为倒装，正常语序当为“浣女归”“渔舟下”，倒装后“归”“下”两个动词置于句末，读来更有悠扬不尽之韵，且“浣女”与“渔舟”一女一男、一劳作一归棹，写出山居生活的自足与温情。此联与上联一写物一写人，静景与动态互为表里，章法圆融。

The following couplet turns from nature to human affairs, the craft the cleverer: the poet writes not the wash women and the fishing boat directly, but first the sound and shape of 'bamboo stirs' and 'lotus moves', inferring the cause from the effect, the reader following the sound to the men and knowing the boat by the motion, this 'hiding the master in the guest' the more intimate. The bamboo stir the hearing, the lotus move the sight, both together breaking the stillness of the first couplets, setting off the mountain's emptiness with human bustle — the 'empty hills' become 'not empty' because of the wash women and the boat, precisely proving that Wang Wei's 'emptiness' is the mind, not dead silence. The syntax the more savoring: 'returning wash women' and 'descending fishing boat' are inverted, the normal order being 'wash women return' and 'fishing boat descends', and inverted the verbs 'return' and 'descend' placed at the line's end, the reading the more lingering; and 'wash women' and 'fishing boat', one woman one boat, one labor one return, writing the self-sufficiency and warmth of mountain dwelling. This couplet, the last writing thing, this writing man, still scene and dynamic as inside and out, the craft rounded.

随意春芳歇，王孙自可留。

Let the spring fragrance fade as it will; the prince (or the recluse) can stay here. This reverses the Chu Ci allusion to express contentment with seclusion.

任凭春天的芳华就此逝去吧，这山中的清景，自可教人长留。

Let the spring flowers fade as they will; in these hills the wanderer may well stay.

尾联用典收束，翻《楚辞·招隐士》“王孙兮归来，山中兮不可久留”之案。《招隐士》劝隐士出山，故言山中不可久留；王维反其意而用之，说春芳虽随秋至而凋歇，山中清景却足可长留，将招隐化为留隐，态度迥异而字面遥应，是“反用其事”的典范。“随意”二字最见禅悦——任运随缘，不执不留，芳歇便歇，何须惋惜；“自可留”的“自”字含肯定与安然，写出诗人对山居生活的由衷认同。至此，首联之“空山”、颔联之清景、颈联之人情，皆汇归于主体的归隐之志，全诗由景及心，圆融收束。沈德潜谓王维“不着一字，尽得风流”，此联以议论作结却不落理障，正得其神。

The closing couplet closes in allusion, turning the case of 'Summons to the Recluse', 'O wanderer, return; in the hills you may not long remain'. The 'Summons to the Recluse' urges the recluse to come out, hence says the hills may not be long stayed; Wang Wei uses it against its grain, saying though the spring flowers fade with the coming of autumn, the mountain's clear scene is enough for a long stay, turning the summoning out of reclusion into keeping within it, the attitude opposite and the words answering from afar, the model of 'using the matter reversed'. The words 'let' best show the Buddhist joy — following things as they come, no grasping, no keeping, the flowers fade and fade, why grieve; the 'may well stay' 'well' holds affirmation and peace, writing the poet's heartfelt assent to mountain life. Here, the opening's 'empty hills', the neck's clear scene, the following's human warmth, all gather into the subject's will to retire; the poem from scene to heart, rounded. Shen Deqian said Wang Wei 'not one word, and the charm all his own'; this couplet closes in argument without falling into the net of doctrine, precisely its spirit.

Study

Word focus

空 Empty, vacant; here implies a state of mind free from worldly concerns. “空山”之“空”是全诗诗眼，亦王维诗中最具标识性的字。终南山林木蓊郁、人迹可至，本非物理之“空”，王维以“空”写主体心境的澄明虚静，既承佛家《维摩诘经》“色即是空”之旨，又与《鹿柴》“空山不见人，但闻人语响”同一机杼。这个“空”不是死寂，而是涤尽尘嚣后的通透，是诗人以禅眼观物的结果。全诗因首句立“空”，以下明月、清泉、竹喧、莲动皆在此“空”境中展开，形成以空纳万境的张力——正因山“空”，方能容下松间月、石上泉、浣女笑、渔舟归。后人评王维诗“空灵”，此“空”字即其根柢。一字而定全篇之调，足见炼字之功。

照 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “明月松间照”之“照”字，写月光而非写月形，是化视觉为动作的妙笔。月光无形，若言“明月松间挂”则呆，“生”则妄，“照”则恰切——既写出月光自上倾泻、穿松针而落的具体形态，又暗含光与松的互动（松筛月影）。“照”与下句“流”遥对：一静一动，一上一下，一写天光一写地水，构成工整而自然的流水对。更妙在“照”字使静物（明月、松）生出动态与温度，读者仿佛见月光如练泻于松枝，与“清泉石上流”的粼粼波光相映。王维体物之细，于此一字见之。较之谢灵运“明月照积雪”之“照”，此处“松间”限定更有画意，空间层次更分明。

喧 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “竹喧归浣女”之“喧”字，是全诗由静转动的关键一笔。上两联写空山、明月、清泉，一片幽寂；此处“喧”字忽作裂帛之声，以浣衣女子的笑语打破山林的静默。这个“喧”并非噪杂，而是带着生活暖意的喧腾，恰反衬出“空山”之幽——以有声写无声，以有人写无人，正是“以动衬静”的核心手法。且“喧”先于人出，诗人循声而想见竹后归来的浣女，藏主于宾，意味更永。一个“喧”字，使整幅秋山图有了人间烟火，也证明王维的“空”是活物的空、含生的空，而非枯寂之空。与下句“莲动”之“动”呼应，声形并茂，山居生机跃然纸上。

留 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “王孙自可留”之“留”字，是全诗归隐主题的落点，亦反用《楚辞·招隐士》“山中兮不可久留”的翻案之笔。《招隐士》劝隐士出山，王维偏说“可留”，一字之反，态度全变。“留”字承“随意春芳歇”而来：春芳虽歇不足惜，山中清景自足留人，写出诗人对辋川生活的由衷眷恋与随缘自适。“自”字修饰“可留”，含一种不需外证的安然与肯定，仿佛山居之乐不待辩说而自明。这个“留”既是留于山中，也是留于禅悦、留于当下，收束了首联的空寂、颔联的清景、颈联的人情，使全诗的景、人、心三者浑然归一。炼字之妙，在结句尤见分量。