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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

岁暮归南山

Returning to the Southern Mountain at Year's End

孟浩然

Meng Haoran

田园Fields and Gardens 山水Landscape 愁思Sorrowful Reflection

北阙辞天子，南山隐薜萝。
（见《吟窗杂录》卷十四正字王玄《诗中旨格》引）（按：此二句疑为浩然《归故园作》「北阙休上书，南山归弊庐」之异文。
）。

At the northern gate of the palace I take leave of the Son of Heaven,
And to the Southern Mountain I return, to hide among the creepers.

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Meaning

Two lines of a variant text of Meng Haoran's poem on returning to reclusion at the end of the year. The poet bids farewell to the Son of Heaven at the palace's northern gate and returns to the Southern Mountain to hide among the climbing creepers—the classic image of the hermit dressed in bili (creepers) and nüluo (dodder vines), from the 'Mountain Spirit' of the Nine Songs. The lines capture the decisive turn from official life to reclusion, leaving the court behind with calm resolution.

在朝廷的北阙辞别天子而去，回到南山隐居，与薜荔、女萝为伴。（按：此为见于《吟窗杂录》所引《诗中旨格》的异文，疑即孟浩然《归故园作》中「北阙休上书，南山归弊庐」二句之异文。）

Appreciation

Though only two lines, they show fine craft. One word 'leave' and one 'hide,' one 'north' and one 'south,' one 'Son of Heaven' and one 'creepers'—the lines move from court to mountain, from minister to hermit, completing the whole turn of a life in the briefest space. In strict parallel, the 'northern gate' faces the 'Southern Mountain,' 'leave' faces 'hide,' and the 'Son of Heaven' faces the 'creepers,' the dignity of the court set against the wildness of the hills. Compared with the received text's 'no more petitions at the northern gate, returning to my poor cottage in the Southern Mountain,' this variant's 'taking leave of the Son of Heaven' is more decisive and serene—not rejection but self-chosen departure, more transcendent and less aggrieved.

【白话串讲】孟浩然晚年归南山，这首诗只剩残句：“北阙辞天子，南山隐薜萝”——他辞别天子，隐居南山。另有异文“北阙休上书，南山归弊庐”——他不再上书求仕，回南山守茅庐。残句记录了诗人的晚年选择。【意象与手法】「北阙」代朝廷，「南山」「薜萝」指隐逸，两句对仗精工：方位对（北阙对南山）、动作对（辞对隐）、人事对物象（天子对薜萝），不加议论而褒贬自在。语极淡而意极永，正是孟浩然「遇景入咏、不钩奇抉异」的本色。【情感与主旨】诗写岁暮辞阙归隐之志：求仕无望，遂决意归山，与薜萝为伴。「辞」见去就之分明，「隐」见归宿之自得，于淡泊中自含失意的况味。【名句点睛】「北阙辞天子，南山隐薜萝」十字，一离一归、一尊一野，朝廷与山林对照，将弃仕归隐的抉择写得斩截从容，是隐逸诗中辞阙归山主题的凝练表达。

Background

Meng Haoran (689–740), a native of Xiangyang, was the leading poet of the High-Tang landscape and pastoral school, paired with Wang Wei as 'Wang and Meng.' He spent most of his life in reclusion in the Lumen and Southern mountains of Xiangyang, and though he cherished ambitions of service, his official career never succeeded: his journey to Chang'an in the Kaiyuan era ended in disappointment, and he returned to his native hills. This poem, also titled 'Returning to the Old Garden,' records his resolve at year's end to give up the court and return to the hills. The two lines quoted here are a variant text preserved in the Shizhong Zhige, attributed to Wang Xuan, in the Yinchuang Zalu.

孟浩然（689—740），襄阳人，盛唐山水田园诗派之代表，与王维并称「王孟」。其一生大部分时光隐居襄阳鹿门山、南山一带，虽怀济世之志，却仕途偃蹇：早年隐于鹿门，开元年间尝西入长安求仕，终无所遇，遂归隐故乡。这首《岁暮归南山》（一题《归故园作》）所写，正是诗人于岁暮时决意辞阙归山的心境。全诗通行本共八句：「北阙休上书，南山归弊庐。不才明主弃，多病故人疏。白发催年老，青阳逼岁除。永怀愁不寐，松月夜窗虚。」本组所录「北阙辞天子，南山隐薜萝」二句，不见于通行本，而出自《吟窗杂录》卷十四所引王玄《诗中旨格》，按语以为疑即「北阙休上书，南山归弊庐」之异文——文字虽异而「辞阙归山」之旨相同，可视为同一诗心的两种表达。相传孟浩然在玄宗前诵「不才明主弃」句触怒龙颜，遂绝仕进之念，此说虽为小说家言，未必可据，然可见时人对他归隐事迹的附会与记忆。归隐之山称「南山」，当指襄阳城南诸山（岘山、鹿门山一带），与陶渊明「悠然见南山」的隐逸传统遥相呼应。

Art

The art of these two lines lies in the contrast of the court and the hills. 'Northern gate' against 'Southern Mountain' is a parallel of direction; 'leave' against 'hide' a parallel of action; 'Son of Heaven' against 'creepers' a parallel of human dignity against wild nature—the weight of the throne and the freedom of the hills set in even balance without a word of comment. The word 'leave' (ci) carries resolution and ease; 'hide' (yin) carries settled contentment. Compared with the received text's 'no more petitions' and 'returning to my poor cottage,' this variant is loftier and more transcendent—writing the clarity of departure rather than the weariness of failure.

所录二句虽短，而章法、对仗、意象俱见匠心。两句一「辞」一「隐」，一「北」一「南」，一「天子」一「薜萝」，空间上由朝廷转向山林，身份上由臣子转向隐士，笔力极简而转折极明，恰好完成「出仕—归隐」的人生转向叙事。对仗上，「北阙」对「南山」是方位对，「辞」对「隐」是动作对，「天子」对「薜萝」是人事对物象，虚实相映——朝廷之尊贵与山林之野逸，于工整对偶中形成鲜明对照，不加议论而褒贬自在。用字上，「辞」字见决绝从容，「隐」字见安顿自得，两字即写出辞官归隐的完整姿态。若与通行本「北阙休上书，南山归弊庐」相较：异文以「辞天子」写主动告别（更见去就之分明），通行本以「休上书」写停止干谒（更多无奈之意味）；「隐薜萝」写归隐之清高，「归弊庐」写归家之平实——两种文本，一超逸一质朴，正可见同一情怀的两种声口。二句语淡而味永，正是孟浩然「遇景入咏、不钩奇抉异」的本色。若就诗味言，异文二句以「辞天子」「隐薜萝」的对照写去就之分明，较通行本更为超逸，正可见孟诗「清」之一字在不同文本中的一贯。

Allusions

'Northern gate' is the palace gate where ministers presented petitions since Han times; hence it stands for the court and official life. 'Southern Mountain,' since Tao Yuanming's 'picking chrysanthemums by the eastern hedge, calmly gazing at the Southern Mountain,' has become the emblem of the mountain of reclusion, and Meng Haoran uses it with an echo of Tao. 'Creepers' (bili and nüluo) come from Qu Yuan's 'Mountain Spirit' in the Nine Songs, where the mountain goddess wears bili as her garment and nüluo as her girdle—the attire of the lofty recluse; to 'hide among the creepers' is to live as a hermit in the mountains, a phrase rich in meaning. The title 'year's end' also carries weight: the year is ending, achievement has failed, and it is time to return and keep oneself—the lateness of the season and of the career mirroring each other.

「北阙」与「薜萝」是此二句两大典故意象。其一，「北阙」：皇宫北面的门楼，汉代以来为臣子上书奏事之所，《汉书·高帝纪》载萧何治未央宫「立东阙、北阙」，后世遂以北阙代指朝廷。孟浩然「北阙休上书」的通行文本，正是以「上书北阙」写干谒求仕；此异文作「辞天子」，则直写辞别天子而去，与「阙」字相映，朝廷气象宛然。其二，「南山」：自陶渊明「采菊东篱下，悠然见南山」之后，「南山」已成隐逸之山的代名词，孟浩然用之，隐然有陶令风致。其三，「薜萝」：薜荔与女萝，皆攀援藤蔓之属，屈原《九歌·山鬼》「若有人兮山之阿，被薜荔兮带女萝」，以薜荔为衣、女萝为带，是山鬼（高洁隐者）的装束，后世遂以「薜萝」指代隐者之服、隐者之境；「隐薜萝」三字，即以薜萝为伴，写出归隐山林、披萝带荔的隐士形象，语约而意丰。此外「岁暮」之题亦含深意：岁暮是岁末，一年将尽，而功业无成，正宜归隐自守——时序之晚与仕途之晚互相映照，惆怅与决绝并见。

Commentary

Meng Haoran's poetry is famous for its clear, natural style, 'entering a poem upon seeing a scene' without artifice. These two lines, though a fragment of a variant text, show in eight characters his resolve to abandon office and his lofty self-regard. Compared with the received text's aggrieved 'an unworthy talent abandoned by an enlightened lord, many illnesses make old friends few,' this variant is more tranquil: taking leave of the Son of Heaven is an active choice, hiding among the creepers a chosen end—more magnanimous, less resentful. The Southern Mountain and the creepers became the spiritual home of countless disappointed literati after him, and this poem stands at the head of that tradition.

孟浩然以山水田园诗名世，其诗风清淡自然，如「遇景入咏」，不假雕饰。此二句虽属异文断章，然「辞天子」「隐薜萝」八字，已足见其弃仕归隐之志与清高自守之节，与通行本「不才明主弃，多病故人疏」的愤懑牢骚相比，异文之语气更为平和从容：辞别天子是主动的去就，隐于薜萝是自觉的归宿，多一分旷达，少一分怨尤。历代论孟浩然，或赏其「韵高」（陈师道《后山诗话》载苏轼语），或叹其「才短」与「不遇」，而无论何说，皆承认其诗有一种「语淡情真」的韵致——两句之中，朝廷之远、山林之亲、身世之感，皆以淡语出之，而味之愈永。从文学史看，此诗上承陶渊明「归园田居」的隐逸传统，下开王维「晚家南山陲」、李白「问余何意栖碧山」的南山意象系列；而孟浩然一生「隐而未仕」的遭际，也使「南山」「薜萝」成为后世失意文人最常用的精神栖所。二句虽短，其在中国隐逸诗脉中的地位却不可轻忽。

Prosody

Form Five-character verse (two-line fragment; the received poem is regulated verse)五言古诗（二句断章，节选；通行本为五言律诗）

Rhyme The variant's 'luo' belongs to the ge rhyme-group, differing from the received line's 'lu' of the yu rhyme-group, showing it is not a couplet matching the original rhyme scheme异文「薜萝」之「萝」属《平水韵》下平五歌部，与通行本「北阙休上书，南山归弊庐」一联（「庐」属上平六鱼部）韵部不同，可见此二句并非协原诗之韵的联句，其异文性质于此亦可窥一斑。

Tone pattern A five-character couplet in exact tonal contrast: 'at the northern gate, taking leave of the Son of Heaven' (oblique-oblique-level-level-oblique) against 'to the Southern Mountain, hiding among the creepers' (level-level-oblique-oblique-level)—clear and resonant, fitting the poem's clear, distant tone二句为五言对句：「北阙辞天子」（仄仄平平仄），「南山隐薜萝」（平平仄仄平），平仄完全相对，是标准的律句对偶，音节清朗和婉，正合五言诗「清」而「远」的声情。

Reading note In terms of prosody the two lines form a perfectly balanced five-character couplet, the tones of the two lines exactly opposed—a standard regulated couplet, clear and melodious, matching the 'clear' and 'distant' quality of five-character verse.所录二句「北阙辞天子，南山隐薜萝」，就声律而言，是一组极为工整的五言对句：上句「仄仄平平仄」，下句「平平仄仄平」，平仄一一相对，无一处失粘；词性上「北阙」对「南山」（方位名词对）、「辞」对「隐」（动词对）、「天子」对「薜萝」（人伦对物类），工对之中又见虚实相济，音节清朗，读之琅琅上口，具有近体五言的声律美。然就文献而言，此二句出自《吟窗杂录》卷十四所引王玄《诗中旨格》，与孟浩然《岁暮归南山》（《归故园作》）通行本首联「北阙休上书，南山归弊庐」为异文关系。细按韵部：「萝」属五歌，「庐」属六鱼，韵部不同，且「薜萝」二字为连绵偏正结构，与「弊庐」之声韵词性皆异，足证此二句非通行本之联句，而或是别本所传之改作，或是《诗中旨格》引书时之异文。此例正可见唐诗流传过程中文本的流动性：同一诗意，可以有多种文字表达，而声律、用韵、用字各有其匠心。校勘与格律合观，方能得其全貌。

Line by line

北阙辞天子

At the northern gate of the palace I take leave of the Son of Heaven. (The decisive moment of the poet's life: 'northern gate' and 'Son of Heaven' together summon the court, while the word 'leave' shows a calm, self-chosen departure—not driven out, but walking away with dignity.)

在皇宫的北阙辞别天子，意即离开京城、告别仕途。

At the northern gate of the palace I take leave of the Son of Heaven - that is, leaving the capital and bidding farewell to official life.

「北阙辞天子」五字，写尽人生去就之关键一瞬。「北阙」是朝廷之象征，汉以来臣子上书奏事皆诣北阙，故「北阙」即功名仕途之代称；「天子」更直指最高权力。以此二词并置，朝廷之气象赫赫如在目前。而着一「辞」字，则诗人主动辞别而去——不是被逐，不是乞退，而是从容自决地告别。这个「辞」字的分量在于：它写的是「去」，却不见仓皇狼狈，反见气度安闲，仿佛放下功名正如脱去一袭旧衣。与通行本「北阙休上书」相较，「休上书」是停止求仕，还有一分不甘与无奈；「辞天子」则是主动告别，多一分决绝与尊严。五字之中，朝廷、天子、去就，三者并陈，而诗人超然物外的身影已在其中。

These five characters capture the decisive moment of a life's choice. "Northern gate" symbolizes the court - since Han, officials submitted memorials at the northern gate, so it stands for fame and career; "Son of Heaven" points straight at supreme power. Set side by side, the court's aura stands vividly before the eyes. Yet the word "take leave" makes departure the poet's own act: not driven out, not begging to resign, but calmly, freely saying goodbye. The weight of take leave lies in this: it writes departure without a trace of panic, rather an air of ease, as if laying down official rank were as simple as slipping off an old robe. Compare the received text's "no more memorials": that merely stops seeking office, with a residue of unwillingness; "take leave of the Son of Heaven" is an active farewell, carrying one degree more resolve and dignity. In five characters, court, sovereign, and the choice between going and staying are all laid out - and the detached figure of the poet already stands among them.

南山隐薜萝

To the Southern Mountain I return, to hide among the creepers. (The poetic end of reclusion: 'Southern Mountain' echoes Tao Yuanming's calm gaze, and 'creepers' from the Nine Songs dress the poet as the lofty hermit—plain words, rich meaning.)

回到南山隐居，与薜荔、女萝为伴，过隐士的生活。

I return to the southern hills to dwell in seclusion, making companions of the climbing fig and the dodder vine, living the life of a hermit.

「南山隐薜萝」五字，是归隐之志的诗化表达。「南山」承陶渊明「悠然见南山」而来，早已不只是地理之山，而是隐逸精神之山——隐居南山，即归入中国隐士传统的精神谱系。「隐」字点题：隐于山，隐于薜萝，隐于尘世之外。「薜萝」即薜荔与女萝，屈原《九歌·山鬼》以「被薜荔兮带女萝」写山鬼之装束，后世遂以薜萝为隐者之服、之高洁的象征；「隐薜萝」三字，不说归隐山林，而说与薜萝相伴为隐，则隐者披萝带荔、栖身岩壑的形象宛然在目，清高绝俗之意自在其中。五字一气而下，由南山而薜萝，由境而物，归隐之志、隐逸之趣、高洁之节，尽在一句之中，语极淡而意极永。

"Southern hills, hidden among fig and vine" is the poetic expression of the will to withdraw. "Southern hills" descends from Tao Yuanming's "leisurely I gaze upon the southern mountains"; it is no longer merely a geographical mountain but the mountain of reclusive spirit - to dwell there is to enter the spiritual lineage of the Chinese hermit. "Hidden" states the theme: hidden in the hills, hidden among fig and vine, hidden beyond the dust of the world. Fig and vine - bixi and niluo - come from the Mountain Spirit in the Nine Songs, who is clad in fig and girdled with dodder; later ages took them as the hermit's garb and the emblem of purity. "Hidden among fig and vine" does not say retiring to the mountains, but living hidden in the company of vines; the hermit clad in trailing green, lodging in rocky ravines, stands before the eyes, his loftiness self-evident. The five characters flow on - from southern hill to fig and vine, from setting to thing - holding in one line the will, the delight, and the integrity of withdrawal: language most plain, meaning most enduring.

北阙辞天子，南山隐薜萝。

At the northern gate of the palace I take leave of the Son of Heaven; to the Southern Mountain I return, to hide among the creepers. (The two lines read together make a complete picture of departure and return: the one writes the going—leaving the northern gate and the Son of Heaven, bidding farewell to rank and office; the other the return—hiding in the Southern Mountain among the creepers, settling body and spirit. North against south, leave against hide, the dignity of the throne against the wildness of the hills.)

在朝廷辞别天子而去，归隐南山与薜萝为伴——两句一离一归，写尽弃仕归隐的决绝与淡泊。

Leaving court I take my farewell of the Son of Heaven; retiring, I dwell in the southern hills among fig and vine - two lines, one departure, one return, exhausting the resolve and detachment of abandoning office for the hermit's life.

此二句合观，恰是一幅完整的「去就图」：上句写「去」，辞别北阙天子，告别功名仕途；下句写「归」，归隐南山薜萝，安顿身心性命。一北一南，空间上完成由朝廷到山林的迁移；一辞一隐，行为上完成由出仕到归隐的转换；一尊一野，身份上完成由臣子到隐士的蜕变。两句对仗精工而不见斧凿，意象对照而褒贬自明：朝廷之巍峨与薜萝之野逸，天子之至尊与隐者之自得，两两相映，诗人不屑与功名纠缠的孤高之气油然而生。若以此二句证诸孟浩然生平——早年求仕不遇、终老于襄阳山林——则可知这不仅是诗，更是他一生的写照。二句虽短，而志向、节操、风度俱全，堪称隐逸文学的浓缩精品。

Read together, the two lines form a complete picture of going and staying. The upper line writes going: farewell at the northern gate to the Son of Heaven, bidding off fame and rank. The lower writes returning: withdrawal to fig and vine in the southern hills, settling body and soul. North and south complete, in space, the migration from court to woodland; take leave and hide complete, in action, the conversion from office to reclusion; sovereign and wilds complete, in identity, the transformation from minister to hermit. The couplet is exquisitely matched without a trace of craft; the images contrast, and praise and blame declare themselves: the towering court against the wild fig and vine, the Son of Heaven's supremacy against the hermit's contentment - each pair calls forth the poet's lofty refusal to be entangled with official glory. Set beside Meng Haoran's life - early seeking of office unrewarded, old age spent in the woodlands of Xiangyang - these lines are not merely poetry but the portrait of a lifetime. Short as they are, will, integrity, and bearing are all there: a concentrated gem of reclusive literature.

Study

Word focus

辞 To take leave. The key word of the first line: it makes the return to reclusion an active choice, not a rejection—the poet walks away from the court with dignity, as if laying down office like an old garment. 「北阙辞天子」之「辞」字，是全句着力之字。辞，告别也。此字之妙，在写出归隐之「主动」：不是罢官、不是被弃，而是从容自决地告别朝廷。孟浩然此行本为求仕，不遇而归，然着一「辞」字，便化被动为主动、化失意为气度——仿佛不是仕途弃我，而是我弃仕途。与「别」「去」「离」诸字相较，「辞」多一分郑重与礼貌，合于臣子辞君之礼，然郑重之中又自含决绝，正是「去就分明」四字的注脚。唐人写归隐多用此字，如王维「中岁颇好道」之转向、李白「笑而不荅」之超然，皆不及此「辞」字之干脆。一字而见胸襟：能从容辞天子者，方能安闲隐薜萝。

隐 To hide, to live in reclusion. The key word of the second line, summing up Meng Haoran's life: hiding among the creepers is the settled, self-chosen end of the hermit, calm and without regret. 「南山隐薜萝」之「隐」字，点明全诗主旨，亦是孟浩然一生行事的概括。隐者，藏而不见也；此处用作动词，谓隐于南山、隐于薜萝之中。此字有三层意味：其一，栖身之隐——隐居山林，与麋鹿为友；其二，心迹之隐——不求出仕，绝意功名；其三，道德之隐——以隐为高，守志自洁。孟浩然一生「隐而未仕」，其隐不是消极避世，而是「红颜弃轩冕，白首卧松云」（李白《赠孟浩然》）的自觉选择。着一「隐」字，则上句「辞天子」的意义得以完成：辞官是为了归隐，归隐则是辞官之归宿。一字而绾结上下，笔力极简而意脉极完。

薜萝 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「薜萝」即薜荔与女萝，是此句最见文化意蕴的意象词。薜荔、女萝皆攀援藤蔓植物，屈原《九歌·山鬼》「若有人兮山之阿，被薜荔兮带女萝」，以薜荔为衣、女萝为带，描绘山鬼（山林之灵）的装束；自《楚辞》以后，「薜萝」「薜荔女萝」遂成隐者之服与隐逸之境的固定意象，如孔稚圭《北山移文》之讥假隐士，即以「薜萝」代隐士所居。孟浩然不直言「隐于山林」，而说「隐薜萝」，正是以物代人、以微物见高节：以薜萝为伴，则其人披藤挂萝、栖身岩壑的隐士形象宛然可见，清高绝俗之意自在言外。二字虽微，而《楚辞》以降的隐逸美学尽在其中。