唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
山亭夏日
Summer at a Mountain Pavilion
绿树阴浓夏日长,楼台倒影入池塘。
水精帘动微风起,满架蔷薇一院香。
The towers and pavilions pour their reflections into the pond.
A breeze springs up and the crystal curtain stirs;
The trellis is full of roses, and their fragrance fills the courtyard.
Meaning
This quatrain captures a summer afternoon at a mountain pavilion: dense green shade and lengthening days, mirrored towers in a still pond, and finally a faint breeze that stirs a crystal curtain and releases the perfume of roses. Through fresh, bright scenery the poet conveys quiet delight in a secluded summer retreat.
绿树阴浓夏日长,楼台倒影入池塘。水精帘动微风起,满架蔷薇一院香。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] A mountain pavilion in high summer: dense green shade, long days; towers and terraces mirrored in the pond below. A breeze springs up, making the crystal curtain tremble; the rose trellis is in full bloom, and the whole yard breathes its scent. [Structure] The four lines move from stillness to motion: the first two paint a static scene of shade and reflections, the third reveals the breeze indirectly through the moving curtain, and the fourth crowns the picture with fragrance. [Imagery] Vision (green shade, mirrored towers) gives way to touch (the stirring curtain) and finally smell (roses), so the poem quietly traverses the senses. Nothing is stated about the poet's feelings, yet the freshness of the scene conveys complete contentment.
【白话串讲】 高骈写《山亭夏日》:“绿树阴浓夏日长,楼台倒影入池塘”——“水精帘动微风起,满架蔷薇一院香”——他写山亭夏日——满架蔷薇一院香。 【意象与手法】 “绿树阴浓夏日长,楼台倒影入池塘”写绿树楼台倒影;“水精帘动微风起”写微风动帘;结以“满架蔷薇一院香”以蔷薇写一院香。清新明丽。 【情感与主旨】 高骈写山亭夏日之作,写绿树阴浓、楼台倒影与满架蔷薇一院香的夏日景致,是写夏日风光的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“绿树阴浓夏日长,楼台倒影入池塘”写夏日景致;“水精帘动微风起,满架蔷薇一院香”写蔷薇一院香。
Background
Gao Pian (821-887), styled Qianli, was a late Tang military commander and poet from Youzhou, near modern Beijing. Though famous as a general who governed the Huainan region, he wrote poetry of surprising delicacy. 'Summer at a Mountain Pavilion' is his best-known poem and one of the most beloved summer quatrains in the Tang repertoire, admired for its bright, unforced beauty.
《山亭夏日》为唐代诗人高骈所作诗。高骈(821—887),字千里,幽州(今北京西南)人,唐代将领、诗人。此诗写景田园,为咏夏日山亭之作。诗中「绿树阴浓夏日长,楼台倒影入池塘」写绿树阴浓夏日长,楼台倒影入池塘;「水精帘动微风起,满架蔷薇一院香」写水精帘动微风起,满架蔷薇一院香。高骈此诗以写景田园、满架蔷薇一院香写其田园之情,清新明丽,是高骈诗中的名篇。此篇《山亭夏日》在历代选本中多被收录,其艺术价值与流传之广,正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事,遂使此作历千载而犹有生气,为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《山亭夏日》在历代选本中多被收录,其艺术价值与流传之广,正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事,遂使此作历千载而犹有生气,为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《山亭夏日》在历代选本中多被收录,其艺术价值与流传之广,正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事,遂使此作历千载而犹有生气,为后人所称赏不绝。
Art
The poem's craft lies in its economy and sensory layering. In just twenty-eight characters the poet moves from shade to reflection to breeze to scent. The breeze is never shown directly; it is inferred from the trembling crystal curtain, a luxurious detail that also hints at the pavilion's refinement. The closing line turns the visual into the olfactory, ending on the image of one courtyard filled with fragrance, an expansive, pervasive picture that lets the scent spill beyond the trellis into the reader's imagination. The tone throughout is fresh and luminous.
此诗艺术上以「清新明丽、以景写夏」见长。全诗共四句,由绿树阴浓夏日长而楼台倒影入池塘而水精帘动微风起。起「绿树阴浓夏日长,楼台倒影入池塘」写绿树阴浓夏日长:绿树阴浓夏日长,楼台倒影入池塘;「水精帘动微风起,满架蔷薇一院香」写满架蔷薇一院香:水精帘动微风起,满架蔷薇一院香。全诗以景写夏,由绿树阴浓夏日长而满架蔷薇一院香,清新明丽,是高骈诗中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之,章法严谨而用意深曲,意象凝练而情韵悠长,读之愈久,愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健,堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇,足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之,章法严谨而用意深曲,意象凝练而情韵悠长,读之愈久,愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健,堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇,足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之,章法严谨而用意深曲,意象凝练而情韵悠长,读之愈久,愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健,堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇,足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。
Allusions
The poem is not densely allusive. The crystal curtain of translucent stone or mica is a conventional marker of aristocratic refinement in Tang poetry; the rose trellis and the mountain pavilion belong to the established repertoire of garden and retreat verse. Rather than quoting classics, the poem draws on the tradition of pastoral retreat poetry and filters it into a scene so immediate that it reads like spontaneous observation.
诗中「绿树阴浓夏日长楼台倒影入池塘」「水精帘动微风起满架蔷薇一院香」等语,皆含典故故实。「绿树阴浓夏日长楼台倒影入池塘」写绿树阴浓夏日长楼台倒影入池塘;「水精帘动微风起满架蔷薇一院香」写水精帘动微风起满架蔷薇一院香。诗人以蔷薇、池塘等语入诗,不着痕迹,而把写景田园之情写得真切可感,是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法,熔铸古今而不着痕迹,既不炫博以示学,亦不拘泥于旧解,正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味,方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法,熔铸古今而不着痕迹,既不炫博以示学,亦不拘泥于旧解,正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味,方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法,熔铸古今而不着痕迹,既不炫博以示学,亦不拘泥于旧解,正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味,方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。
Commentary
This quatrain has been a staple of anthologies since the Song dynasty, prized especially for its final couplet. Critics have singled out the line about the breeze stirring the crystal curtain as a model of describing the invisible through the visible, and the rose fragrance filling the courtyard as a perfect closing image of summer. Its fresh, bright manner has made it a favorite first introduction to Tang landscape quatrains.
这首《山亭夏日》,是高骈写写景田园之作,写绿树阴浓夏日长、楼台倒影入池塘、满架蔷薇一院香之情,清新明丽。起「绿树阴浓夏日长,楼台倒影入池塘」——绿树阴浓夏日长,楼台倒影入池塘。写绿树阴浓夏日长:绿树阴浓夏日长、楼台倒影入池塘——绿树阴浓、倒影入池塘;「水精帘动微风起,满架蔷薇一院香」——水精帘动微风起,满架蔷薇一院香。写满架蔷薇一院香:水精帘动微风起、满架蔷薇一院香——帘动微风起、蔷薇一院香。这「水精帘动微风起,满架蔷薇一院香」,是全诗之结:以满架蔷薇一院香写其田园。全诗清新明丽,以景写夏,正是高骈诗中的名篇。综观全诗,情真、景切、理深,三者浑融无迹,故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意,令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处,正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。综观全诗,情真、景切、理深,三者浑融无迹,故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意,令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处,正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。
Prosody
Line by line
绿树阴浓夏日长,楼台倒影入池塘。
Green trees cast a dense shade, and the summer day is long; towers and pavilions pour their reflections into the pond.
绿树阴浓夏日长,楼台倒影入池塘。
Green trees cast thick shade, the summer day long; the towers' reflections enter the pool.
首二句写绿树阴浓夏日长,起笔即见其景。「绿树阴浓夏日长」写绿树阴浓夏日长,「绿树阴浓」写绿树阴浓、「夏日长」写夏日长;「楼台倒影入池塘」写楼台倒影入池塘,「楼台倒影」写楼台倒影、「入池塘」写入池塘。两句一写绿树阴浓夏日长、一写楼台倒影入池塘,以绿树阴浓夏日长写绿树阴浓、以楼台倒影入池塘写倒影入池,写尽绿树阴浓夏日长、楼台倒影入池塘之情。以景起兴,清新而明丽,是「以景起兴」的妙笔。
The first two lines write 'green trees cast thick shade, the summer day long', the start. 'Green trees cast thick shade, the summer day long' — the thick shade, the long summer; 'the towers' reflections enter the pool' — the reflections, entering the pool. Rising in scene, fresh and bright, the start of the summer verse.
水精帘动微风起,满架蔷薇一院香。
A breeze springs up and the crystal curtain stirs; the trellis is full of roses, and their fragrance fills the courtyard.
水精帘动微风起,满架蔷薇一院香。
The crystal curtain stirs as the light breeze rises; roses over the trellis fill the court with fragrance.
尾二句写满架蔷薇一院香,是全诗立意的落点。「水精帘动微风起」写水精帘动微风起,「水精帘动」写水精帘动、「微风起」写微风起;「满架蔷薇一院香」写满架蔷薇一院香,「满架蔷薇」写满架蔷薇、「一院香」写一院香。两句一写水精帘动微风起、一写满架蔷薇一院香,以水精帘动微风起写帘动风起、以满架蔷薇一院香写蔷薇一院香,写尽水精帘动微风起、满架蔷薇一院香之情。以景写情,清新而明丽,是全诗最动人处,也是「以景写情」的点睛之笔。
The last two lines write 'roses over the trellis fill the court with fragrance', the poem's landing. 'The crystal curtain stirs as the light breeze rises' — the curtain stirs, the breeze rises; 'roses over the trellis fill the court with fragrance' — the roses, the court of fragrance. Writing feeling through scene, fresh and bright, the poem's most moving point: the summer noon's stillness stirred by a breath of wind, the fragrance drifting through the court — the peace of the mountain pavilion at its height.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Yan Shu's lines about the falling flowers and the seemingly familiar swallows meditate on passing time, while Gao Pian's couplets celebrate summer shade and rose fragrance. Where Yan Shu is warm and rueful, Gao Pian is bright and clear; read together they show two ways of writing feeling into landscape.
晏殊《浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯》「无可奈何花落去,似曾相识燕归来」,写田园感怀,是宋词小令的名篇;高骈《山亭夏日》则以「绿树阴浓夏日长,楼台倒影入池塘」「水精帘动微风起,满架蔷薇一院香」写绿树阴浓、蔷薇一院香。两诗同写田园写景、清新蕴藉:一写无可奈何花落去、以花落燕归写惜时,一写绿树阴浓夏日长楼台倒影入池塘、以倒影写夏日;一为晏殊之温润、一为高骈之明丽,并读正可见诗写「田园写景」的两种笔法,皆于田园之中见清新蕴藉。
山园小梅 Little Plum Blossoms of the Mountain Garden 林逋 · 同写田园清雅、以景寄情,一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、一写绿树阴浓夏日长楼台倒影入池塘,皆于田园之中见清雅 Both write pastoral elegance and find feeling in scenery, one through plum blossoms, the other through summer shade and roses.Lin Bu's couplet about sparse shadows and the hidden floating fragrance is the Song masterpiece of refined description, while Gao Pian writes summer with equal freshness but more luminous brightness. Read together, they show two modes of pastoral elegance across the Tang and Song.
林逋《山园小梅》「疏影横斜水清浅,暗香浮动月黄昏」,写梅之清雅、田园之趣,是宋诗咏物的绝唱;高骈《山亭夏日》则以「绿树阴浓夏日长,楼台倒影入池塘」「满架蔷薇一院香」写绿树阴浓、蔷薇一院香。两诗同写田园清雅、以景寄情:一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、以梅写清雅,一写绿树阴浓夏日长楼台倒影入池塘、以倒影写夏日;一为林逋之清逸、一为高骈之明丽,并读正可见诗写「田园清雅」的两种笔法,皆于田园之中见清雅。