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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

宿建德江

Mooring on the River at Jiande

孟浩然

Meng Haoran

羁旅Traveling 山水Mountains and Waters 愁思sorrow

移舟泊烟渚，日暮客愁新。
野旷天低树，江清月近人。

I move my boat to moor by a misty islet;
At dusk the traveler's sorrow freshens anew.
The wilds so wide, the sky seems lower than trees;
The stream so clear, the moon seems closer to me.

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Meaning

The poet moves his boat to moor by a misty islet at dusk, and his traveler's sorrow is renewed. The vast wilds make the sky seem to lower upon the trees, while the clear stream brings the moon's reflection close, offering a bittersweet companionship.

把小船移近，停泊在烟雾朦胧的小洲边；日暮时分，作为客居之人的愁绪又增添了几分。原野空旷辽远，天幕仿佛低垂到树梢之下；江水清澈平静，水中的明月好像与人格外亲近。

Appreciation

In plain language, the poet moors on a misty isle at dusk, old sorrows compounded by new ones. The open fields make the sky appear to press down on the trees, and the clear river brings the moon near—a scene of clarity and solitude reflecting a lonely heart. Meng Haoran excels at white sketching; the couplet 'Wilds so wide, the sky seems lower than trees; / Stream so clear, the moon seems closer to me' uses perfect parallelism to depict a vast landscape, with 'lower' and 'closer' emerging from 'wide' and 'clear,' embodying emotion in scenery without overt expression.

【白话串讲】 “野旷天低树，江清月近人”——孟浩然把船停在江上，看天比树还低，月影就在水边。一个人的旅途，孤独却被他写得很美。【意象与手法】全诗仅二十字，层次分明。前两句叙事，「移舟泊烟渚」点题，「日暮客愁新」直抒羁旅之愁，一个「新」字见愁之绵续；后两句写景，以「野旷」对「江清」、「天低树」对「月近人」，对仗工稳而自然，以景结情，将无形之愁融入空明之景，含蓄不尽，体现孟诗「淡而味永」的特质。【情感与主旨】孟浩然一生多漫游求仕而不得志，长年客居在外。此诗约作于开元年间诗人漫游吴越、夜泊建德江（今浙江新安江上游）时，写日暮孤舟、羁旅添愁的寞落情怀，于清旷夜景中寄寓客中孤寂，景中寓情，含蓄隽永。【名句点睛】常考「野旷天低树，江清月近人」以景结情、情景交融的手法，及「低」「近」二字的炼字之妙；「日暮客愁新」中「新」字的意蕴；孟浩然清淡诗风在五绝中的体现。

Background

Meng Haoran spent much of his life traveling in search of official appointment but never succeeded. This poem was likely written during the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong, while the poet roamed Wu and Yue and moored overnight on the Jiande River (in present-day Xin'an River, Zhejiang). At dusk on a solitary boat, he was stirred by the scene and wrote this poem about the sorrow of travel. The clear, open nightscape of Jiande echoed the traveler's solitude, creating a masterpiece of blended scene and feeling.

孟浩然（689—740），襄阳人，盛唐山水田园诗派的代表诗人，一生漫游求仕而不得志，长年客居在外，足迹遍及吴越荆楚。此诗约作于唐玄宗开元年间诗人漫游吴越、夜泊建德江（今浙江新安江上游，建德境内的一段江水）之时。时值日暮，孤舟野宿于烟雾迷蒙的江渚之畔，诗人触景生情，写下这首抒写羁旅之愁的小诗。建德江畔的清旷夜景与游子孤怀恰相契合，遂成情景交融的千古绝唱。孟浩然早年隐居襄阳鹿门山，四十岁始游京师求仕，应进士不第，复归故里，其后长期漫游江淮吴越，诗中屡见舟行江上的身影。此诗写于漂泊途中，既有行旅的疲惫，亦含求仕无成的落寞，而诗人并不直吐悲苦，只以疏淡的笔致将愁思化入江天月色之中，正是其清淡诗风的典范。全诗二十字，写尽日暮江泊的瞬间心境，与《宿桐庐江寄广陵旧游》《早寒江上有怀》等篇同属其羁旅题材的精品，而此首尤以空灵含蓄著称，历来被视为盛唐五绝中「以少胜多」的极致。此外，此诗亦见孟浩然一生「隐」与「仕」矛盾的心态：他既慕隐逸之清，又怀用世之志，故诗中孤舟客愁，不独是行旅之苦，更含士人失意的深味。历代论孟诗者，每以其「遇景入咏，不拘奇抉异」相许，此诗正是其「遇景入咏」的典范——寻常泊舟、日暮、旷野、江月，一经点化，遂成千古绝唱。

Art

The entire poem, only twenty characters, is layered. The first two lines narrate: 'I move my boat to moor by a misty islet' sets the scene, and 'At dusk the traveler's sorrow freshens anew' directly expresses the sorrow of travel, the word 'new' suggesting its continuity. The last two lines depict scenery with parallelism: 'wilds so wide' versus 'stream so clear,' 'sky seems lower than trees' versus 'moon seems closer to me,' balanced and natural. The scene closes with emotion, blending intangible sorrow into the clear landscape, subtle and profound, representing Meng's 'plain yet lasting' style.

全诗仅二十字，却层次分明、章法天成。前两句叙事点题，「移舟泊烟渚」写行旅暂歇，动作舒缓，已见从容；「日暮客愁新」直抒羁旅之愁，一个「新」字见愁之绵续——旧愁未去，日暮又添，层层叠加，精警异常。后两句转笔写景：「野旷天低树」以极目所见写原野之空旷，天幕低垂似与树梢相接，以「旷」衬「低」，写出天地苍茫、人无托依的孤寂；「江清月近人」由远及近，回写泊舟之畔，江水澄澈，月影临人，仿佛与人亲近。两句对仗工稳而自然，「野旷」对「江清」、「天低树」对「月近人」，不事雕琢而意趣天成。全诗以景结情，将无形之愁融入空明之景：前两句之「愁」与后两句之「景」互为表里，正因客愁萦怀，方觉天低月近；而旷野明月之清景，又反过来映照孤舟羁客之寂寥。情景交融，含蓄不尽，体现孟诗「淡而味永」「清空如话」的特质，为盛唐五绝中境界最浑成者之一。同时，全诗以「愁」字立骨，而「愁」不着痕迹地融入四句之中：前两句直说愁，后两句不说愁而愁自在景中，一显一隐，一露一藏，正是绝句「以景结情」的至高法度。孟浩然于二十字中经营起承转合，而浑然不觉其经营，故论者谓其诗「一味自然」，实则大巧若拙，此诗可为明证。

Allusions

'Misty islet' (烟渚) alludes to Xie Tiao's 'misty vapors spreading wide' and the Six Dynasties landscape tradition; 'traveler's sorrow' continues Xie Tiao's 'guest heart's unending grief' from his poem 'On a Temporary Trip to the Capital'; 'moon seems closer' subtly echoes Xie Zhuang's 'Though a thousand miles apart, we share the same moon' in 'Fu on the Moon' and Zhang Ruoxu's 'The moon over the river has shone on people for ages,' using classical references to convey the sorrow of travel with an elegant pedigree.

此诗用典皆融化于写景之中，渊源有自而不见痕迹。「烟渚」承六朝山水诗传统而来，谢朓《之宣城郡出新林浦向板桥》有「天际识归舟，云中辨江树」的江行写景，其烟水迷离的意象正是孟浩然「烟渚」之所本，写出一片朦胧凄迷的暮色氛围。「客愁」则承谢朓《暂使下都夜发新林至京邑赠西府同僚》「客心悲未央」的客中悲怀，六朝行旅诗中「客子」「客心」一脉，至此凝为「客愁」二字。「月近人」暗合谢庄《月赋》「隔千里兮共明月」及张若虚《春江花月夜》「江月年年望相似」的孤月伴人之意，以清典写羁愁，化用无痕。孟浩然本为六朝诗风的继承者，其山水诗多得谢灵运、谢朓清丽之致，而更趋平淡自然，此诗正见其融会古意、自出机杼的本领，于二十字中纳千载诗脉而不见堆垛之痕。再就诗脉而言，「月近人」之「近」，暗承六朝人「目送归鸿，手挥五弦」以自然为友的传统，诗人将明月引为知己，正是中国山水诗中「物我同游」精神的体现。其渊源虽可远溯《诗经·陈风·月出》「月出皎兮，佼人僚兮」，而孟浩然独以江月之清写客愁之淡，遂使旧典翻出新境，于二十字中融会千载诗脉。

Commentary

Liu Chenweng of the Song Dynasty remarked: 'Wilds so wide, the sky seems lower than trees; / Stream so clear, the moon seems closer to me—such lines are truly unreachable.' Shen Deqian of the Qing Dynasty wrote in 'Tang Shi Bie Cai': 'The words 'lower' and 'closer' arise from 'wide' and 'clear'; the scene is painted as a picture.' Among Meng's five-character quatrains, this poem and 'Spring Morning' are representative of his light, clear style.

宋末刘辰翁评此诗：「『野旷天低树，江清月近人』，此等句真不可及。」清沈德潜《唐诗别裁》谓：「『低』字、『近』字，从『旷』字、『清』字生出，写景如画。」二家皆赏其炼字之精与写景之神。清王士祯倡「神韵」之说，特标举孟浩然与王维为神韵诗宗，此诗以极淡之笔写极深之愁，正合「羚羊挂角，无迹可求」之旨，遂为神韵说的典范例证。孟浩然五绝以清空胜，此诗与《春晓》并为其清淡诗风之代表：《春晓》写晨光鸟啼之生意，此首写日暮江月之清寂，一明一幽，皆以少少许胜多多许。历代选本无不收录此诗，今人更奉为五绝压卷之作，与王之涣《登鹳雀楼》、王维《相思》同列唐诗启蒙必读，其艺术生命力历千余年而不衰，足证「淡而味永」实为诗中最高之境。今人论唐诗，多将孟浩然与王维并称「王孟」，谓其同开盛唐山水田园一派；而二人面目有别：王维之诗，静中见禅，色相空明；孟浩然之诗，淡中见味，情韵悠长。此诗「江清月近人」之句，正以淡笔写深情，与王维「明月松间照，清泉石上流」之空寂不同，而各臻其妙，共为盛唐山水诗之双璧，亦为后世神韵说、性灵说共同推崇的典范文本。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain (五言绝句)五言绝句

Rhyme The rhyme words are 'new' (新) and 'me' (人, substituted for actual rhyme in English; original Chinese rhyme is 真韻 of ping shui yun); the first line's last character 'islet' (渚) is a oblique tone and does not rhyme, a common pattern.新、人，押平声真韵（平水韵上平十一真）；首句「渚」为仄声不入韵，属五绝首句不入韵之常格。

Tone pattern Oblique-tone opening with no rhyme in the first line; the last two lines 'Wilds so wide, the sky seems lower than trees; / Stream so clear, the moon seems closer to me' form a couplet, with a natural and rounded artistic conception.仄起首句不入韵式：首句「移舟泊烟渚」为平平仄平仄，次句「日暮客愁新」为仄仄仄平平，后两句「野旷天低树，江清月近人」为仄仄平平仄、平平仄仄平，声律严整；后两句为工对，一远一近，意境浑成。

Reading note The final couplet uses parallelism to depict the scene; the words 'lower' and 'closer' are refined and highly praised. The entire poem is clear, spacious, and distant, a representative work of Meng Haoran's landscape poetry.此诗为五言绝句，仄起首句不入韵式：首句末字「渚」为仄声（上声语韵），故不入韵，属五绝首句不入韵之常格；二、四句「新」「人」押平声真韵（平水韵上平十一真），一韵到底，韵脚疏朗，正合五绝「以少驭多」的体性。声调上，全诗四句皆为律句，平仄相间，读来清畅悦耳：前两句散行叙事，声调平缓，如行舟之徐进；后两句骈偶写景，声调开阔，如远眺之舒展。章法上，前两句叙事点题，后两句写景结情，一情一景、一虚一实，将二十字经营得浑然一体。声情与辞情相凑，故历来选家多标举此诗为五绝中「以景结情」的典范，其声律之精、对仗之工、炼字之妙，浑然一体，无迹可求，为孟浩然山水诗代表作。

Line by line

移舟泊烟渚

I move my boat to moor by a misty islet — the poem begins with narration, 'move' and 'moor' indicating a temporary rest during travel, while 'misty islet' creates a hazy, dreary twilight atmosphere.

把小船移近，停泊在烟雾朦胧的小洲边。

I move my boat to moor by a mist-shrouded islet.

起笔叙事，点明题目。「移舟」写行舟暂驻，动作舒缓从容，见出诗人不急于赶路的闲淡；「泊」字落实停泊之态，交代夜宿之地；「烟渚」指暮色中烟雾笼罩的水中小洲，一个「烟」字渲染出朦胧凄迷的黄昏氛围，为全诗定下迷离的底色。三字平平叙来，无一处用力，而江天暮色、孤舟暂泊的画面已宛然在目，正见孟浩然叙事写景不着痕迹的功力。此句为后文「日暮客愁新」张本：正因泊舟烟渚、日暮未行，客愁方油然而生。

The opening narrates, naming the title. Move the boat writes the traveling craft momentarily halting, its motion unhurried - the poet's leisure, no haste. Moor fixes the anchorage and names the night's lodging. Mist-shrouded islet is a small islet veiled in dusk haze; the single word mist renders a dim, forlorn twilight, setting the poem's hazy ground. All plain statement, nowhere forced, yet the river-sky at dusk and the lone boat at anchor stand vivid before the eyes - Meng Haoran's untraceable mastery of narrative and scene. The line prepares at sunset, the traveler's sorrow grows new: only because the boat is moored in mist while the day declines does traveler's sorrow well up.

日暮客愁新

At dusk the traveler's sorrow freshens anew — dusk triggers emotion; 'traveler's sorrow' directly points to the grief of travel, and the word 'new' conveys the layering of sorrow upon sorrow.

黄昏时分，作为客旅之人的愁绪又增添了几分。

At sunset, the traveler's sorrow grows new.

「日暮」点明时间，亦是触发愁绪的媒介——暮色四合，旅人无归，最容易牵动思乡之情，故古诗多以日暮写愁。「客」字点明身份，诗人是漂泊在外的游子，一个「客」字已含身世之感。「愁新」是全句乃至全诗的诗眼：「新」字有两层妙处，一是旧愁之上更添新愁，写出羁旅愁思的绵延不绝、层层叠加；二是日暮之景触发的愁乃当下新起，如暮色般弥漫开来。五字直抒胸臆，毫不掩饰，与后两句的含蓄写景形成对照，先直后曲，先情后景，章法顿挫有致，愁之真切、之绵长尽在五字之中。

Sunset fixes the time and is the trigger of sorrow - as dusk closes in and the traveler has no home to turn to, homesickness is most easily stirred; classical verse repeatedly uses sunset for grief. Traveler fixes identity: a wanderer far from home, the word already carrying the sense of his lot. Sorrow grows new is the eye of the line and poem: new has two virtues. First, new sorrow added upon old - travel grief endless, layer upon layer. Second, the sorrow kindled by the dusk scene arises now, spreading like the twilight. Five characters speak the heart directly, unhidden, contrasting with the reserved scenery of the last two lines: first straight, then winding; first feeling, then scene - the structure modulated, and the truth and length of sorrow all lie in five characters.

野旷天低树

The wilds so wide, the sky seems lower than trees — 'wide' sets off 'lower,' depicting the vastness of heaven and earth with no one to rely on; the wider the scene, the smaller the person.

原野空旷辽远，天幕仿佛低垂到树梢之下。

The wilds stretch vast; the sky hangs lower than the trees.

此句写极目远望之景。「野旷」写原野之空旷无垠，是远望所见的空间背景；「天低树」写远天与树梢相接的视觉错觉——原野愈旷，天际线愈低，天幕仿佛低垂到树梢之下，以「低」字反写「旷」字，一虚一实，相映成趣。这是典型的「以大衬小、以远衬近」的写法：天地愈苍茫，孤舟愈渺小；天愈低垂，人愈觉无依。炼字奇警处在于「低」字，本写天，实则写望天之人极目远眺时的心境，景中寓情，苍茫孤寂之感溢于言表，为结句「月近人」的温情作势，也是全诗由「愁」入「景」的枢纽。

This line writes the far gaze. Wilds stretch vast is the open background of distance. Sky hangs lower than the trees is the optical illusion of far sky meeting tree-tops - the vaster the plain, the lower the horizon, the sky seeming to droop beneath the branches; low writes vast in reverse, one shadow one substance, answering each other. It is the classic large sets off small, far sets off near: the more boundless the heaven and earth, the smaller the lone boat; the lower the sky, the more rootless the man. The startling craft is low: nominally of sky, it truly writes the mood of the man gazing into the distance - feeling lodged in scene, vast loneliness overflowing, preparing the warmth of the closing moon draws near, and serving as the hinge from sorrow into scene.

江清月近人

The stream so clear, the moon seems closer to me — 'clear' and 'closer' express the comfort of having only the moon for company, a touch of warmth in solitude, blending scene and feeling.

江水清澈平静，水中的明月仿佛与人格外亲近。

The river is clear; the moon draws near to the man.

此句回写泊舟近处之景，是全诗情感的落点。「江清」写江水澄澈见底，与「野旷」相对，一远一近，一阔一清；「月近人」写水中月影仿佛向人靠近，与「天低树」相对，天远而月近，愈衬人之孤寂。三字以「近」字写月之有情，将无生命的月影写得温存亲切——在旷野无人、孤舟独泊的境地中，唯有这轮水中明月与人相伴，孤寂中透出一丝慰藉。以景结情，将前文直抒之「愁」化入空明澄澈之境，愁而不悲，寂而不哀，正是孟诗淡远含蓄的极致，令人回味无穷。

This line returns to the scene beside the moored boat, the emotional landing of the poem. River is clear writes the water translucent, answering wilds stretch vast - one far one near, one broad one clear. Moon draws near to the man writes the reflected moon seeming to approach, answering sky hangs low - sky far, moon near, all the more setting off human solitude. Three characters use near to give the moon feeling, making the lifeless reflection warm and intimate: in the empty wild, the lone boat at anchor, only this mirrored moon keeps the man company - a glimmer of comfort within solitude. Ending in scene, the previously spoken sorrow dissolves into limpid clarity: sorrowful but not tragic, lonely but not lamenting - the extreme of Meng's distant reserve, inexhaustible aftertaste.

Study

Word focus

新 "New" (新) in 'traveler's sorrow freshens anew' is exquisite: old sorrow lingering, new sorrow added, capturing the endless continuum of travel grief triggered by dusk. 「日暮客愁新」之「新」字是全诗炼字之冠。愁本无形，而着一「新」字，遂使抽象的愁绪有了层次与动态：旧愁未消，日暮又添，愁上叠愁，绵延不绝；「新」又暗含触发之意，暮色、烟渚、孤舟皆为新愁之媒，日暮而愁生，景随时转，情随景生。若用「深」「重」等字，只写愁之分量，不如「新」字写出愁之发生、之叠加、之无穷。一字而含多层意蕴，正是孟浩然「淡而味永」的典型笔法——用语极淡，含意极深，故刘辰翁、沈德潜诸家皆特赏此字，以为五绝炼字的典范。

低 "Lower" (低) in 'sky seems lower than trees' reverses the expression of the wild's vastness, creating an illusion of the sky pressing down, highlighting immense solitude and the poet's refined word choice. 「野旷天低树」之「低」字，是写景炼字的神来之笔。「低」本写天，实写视错觉：原野空旷无垠，天地相接处，远天似乎压到树梢之下，以「低」写天，反衬出「旷」之无极。此字的好处有三：一是准确，极目远眺时天低树杪的视觉真实被一字捉住；二是传情，天愈低，人愈小，天地苍茫而孤舟无依，孤寂之感油然而生；三是生景，由「旷」生出「低」，由「低」显出「近」，前后照应，炼字而不露痕迹。故沈德潜谓「『低』字从『旷』字生出，写景如画」，一字之工，遂使全句境界全出。

近 "Closer" (近) in 'moon seems closer to me' echoes 'lower,' depicting the comfort of the moon's company in the clear river—solitude with a touch of warmth. 「江清月近人」之「近」字，是全诗点晴之笔，与「天低树」的「低」字遥相呼应。天远而月近，愈写天地之远，愈见月之可亲；「近」字以拟人之笔写月，使无情之月影具有人的温情——孤舟独泊、四顾无人的境地中，唯有水中明月与人相伴相亲。此字一出，前文直抒的「客愁」得到空明景色的抚慰，愁而不悲，寂而不哀，境界顿生暖意。炼字之妙在于以一字写尽人与月、情与景的双向交流，物我相得，含蓄隽永，为全诗画上最圆满的句点，故历来与「低」字并称，视为孟浩然五绝双璧。