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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

堂成

The Hall Completed

杜甫

Du Fu

草堂cottage 闲适leisure 生活daily life

背郭堂成荫白茅，缘江路熟俯青郊。
桤林碍日吟风叶，笼竹和烟滴露梢。
暂止飞乌将数子，频来语燕定新巢。
旁人错比扬雄宅，懒惰无心作解嘲。

Leaning on the city wall, the hall is done, roofed with white thatch,
The riverside path, now familiar, looks down on the green outskirts.
Alder woods block the sun; leaves sing in the wind,
Caged bamboo blends with mist; dew drips from the tips.
For a while a flying crow rests with its several young,
Swallows come often and settle a new nest.
Others wrongly compare it to Yang Xiong's dwelling,
But lazy at heart, I have no mind to write a 'Jie Chao.'

Listen

Meaning

Having just finished building his thatched cottage near Chengdu, Du Fu describes its quiet surroundings and, comparing himself to the scholar Yang Xiong, declares he is too lazy to answer those who misjudge him.

背靠城郭的草堂已落成，覆盖着白茅；沿江小路走熟了，俯瞰青青的郊野。桤树林遮天蔽日，风吹树叶沙沙作响；竹林笼在烟雾里，露水从叶尖滴下。乌鸦带着几只雏鸟暂且栖息，燕子频频飞来在这里搭定新巢。旁人误把这草堂比作扬雄的宅第，可我生性懒散，懒得像扬雄那样写《解嘲》为自己辩解。

Appreciation

The poem writes the peaceful days after the cottage's completion — white thatch, alder woods, caged bamboo, flying crows, chattering swallows, all common things of the Chengdu outskirts given a pastoral charm. 'Leaves sing in the wind' and 'dew drips from the tips' write the visual through hearing and the static through motion, with delicate craft. The last couplet compares him to Yang Xiong, who answered his mockers with an essay; Du Fu says he is too lazy — on the surface self-mocking, underneath 'I don't care what you say.'

【白话串讲】杜甫在成都建好草堂：“背郭堂成荫白茅，缘江路熟俯青郊”。“暂止飞乌将数子，频来语燕定新巢”——燕子来筑巢。“旁人错比扬雄宅，懒惰无心作解嘲”——别人把我的草堂比作扬雄的宅子。杜甫终于在乱世里有了家。【意象与手法】全诗以工笔描绘草堂环境——白茅、桤林、笼竹、飞乌、语燕，皆是成都郊野常见之物，在杜甫笔下却有了田园诗的韵味。“吟风叶”“滴露梢”以听觉写视觉，以动态写静态，手法细腻。“暂止”“频来”“定新巢”三个动词写出草堂从“暂且落脚”到“安定成家”的心路历程。【情感与主旨】此诗作于乾元三年（760年），杜甫在友人严武等人的帮助下建起了成都草堂。经过安史之乱后数年的颠沛流离，他终于有了一个可以栖身的“家”。全诗洋溢的是一种劫后余生的庆幸与安于淡泊的心境——不是不想回长安、不是不想济世，而是在目前能有一方清水茅檐，已是莫大的慰藉。【名句点睛】 “桤林碍日吟风叶，笼竹和烟滴露梢”——最静谧处写最细腻的感受。风吹桤叶如低吟，露滴竹梢如计时，杜甫在安史之乱后第一次拥有了“静下来听风声”的奢侈。

Background

In the third year of Qianyuan (760), aided by his friend Yan Wu, military governor of Jiannan, and his cousin Wang Shiwu, Du Fu built a cottage on the banks of Huanhua Creek in the western outskirts of Chengdu. This poem was written soon after completion, one of the opening works of his Chengdu cottage period. The cottage was the longest he lived in during his wandering life (about four years) and his most productive phase.

乾元二年（七五九）岁暮，杜甫携家入蜀，于成都西郊浣花溪畔觅得营地。次年春，赖表弟王十五司马及萧实、韦班诸友人相赠钱帛木料，营建草堂，至暮春粗成。此诗作于草堂落成后不久，是杜甫成都草堂时期的开篇之作之一。杜甫自同谷入蜀，一岁四行役，全家寄居古寺，至此始有属于自己的居所。草堂是杜甫漂泊一生中居住最久的一处住所（前后约四年），也是他创作上最丰产的阶段，此诗所咏虽只一屋之成，在杜甫生平与杜诗谱系中却是一个重要的坐标。考杜甫营草堂，始于上元元年春，卜居之初，有王十五司马出郭相访兼遗营堂资之作纪其事，又有凭韦班觅松子、觅绵竹诸诗，一文一木，皆朋友之助。堂在万里桥西、百花潭北，背成都郭，面浣花溪，即此诗背郭缘江所咏。此后诗人居此凡四年，为生平安居最久之地，一篇堂成，实为其后半生行止的起点。

Art

The second couplet 'alder woods block the sun; leaves sing in the wind / caged bamboo blends with mist; dew drips from the tips' is the poem's finest antithesis — alder vs bamboo (tree vs bamboo), block sun vs blend with mist (shade vs haze), leaves sing in wind vs dew drips from tips (singing in wind vs dripping dew), weaving sight, sound, and touch, typical of Du Fu's late 'language not startling, never stops' principle.

此诗章法以「成」字为骨：首联叙堂之位置与形制（背郭、荫茅、俯郊），颔联写堂外之景（桤林碍日、笼竹和烟），颈联借物写堂中生机（乌止、燕巢），尾联以典收束自明心迹。颔联「桤林碍日吟风叶，笼竹和烟滴露梢」是全诗最精妙的对仗——「桤林」对「笼竹」（树对竹），「碍日」对「和烟」（遮光对含雾），「吟风叶」对「滴露梢」（风中吟唱对露水滴淌），视觉、听觉、触觉三重交织；且用倒装句法，「吟风叶」即「叶吟风」，「滴露梢」即「梢滴露」，倒置后「吟」「滴」成为句眼，动作感极强，是杜甫晚年「语不惊人死不休」的典型代表。颈联以禽鸟的「暂止」「频来」「定新巢」暗写自家的由漂泊而定居，物我相照，用意极深而不露。又颈联之妙，在以禽鸟之止与巢暗写堂之新成：乌将数子是避乱之象，燕定新巢是安宅之象，二鸟并写，则乱离与安顿俱在一句之中，语淡而意厚。尾联引扬雄作结，遂使一间茅屋接上了千年文脉，自嘲之中自有身份，收束极有余势。

Allusions

Yang Xiong was a Western Han fu writer and philosopher who in late life shut his door to write the 'Canon of Supreme Mystery'; when mocked, he wrote the essay 'Jie Chao' (Answering Ridicule) in self-defense. Du Fu compares himself to Yang Xiong — both had dwellings (Yang in Chengdu, Du his cottage); Yang answered mockers with an essay, but Du says 'too lazy to' — both self-mockery and self-confidence.

尾联用扬雄事。扬雄字子云，西汉辞赋家、哲学家，蜀郡成都人，有宅在少城西南，世称扬雄宅（后为洗墨池遗迹）。扬雄晚年闭门草《太玄》，有人嘲讽他以玄自苦，他便作《解嘲》一文自辩，谓「默然独守吾《太玄》」。杜甫以扬雄自比——扬雄是蜀中前贤、有宅成都，杜甫亦有草堂；扬雄被人嘲笑后作文回击，杜甫却说「懒惰无心作解嘲」，懒得辩解。这既是自谦（我哪比得上扬雄），也是自傲（我才不在乎你们怎么比），更是漂泊之后对一切身外评说的释然。此外「白茅」为屋顶所覆之茅草，「桤」「笼竹」皆蜀中习见草木，吴中引来桤木植于溪畔，见杜甫经营草堂的用心。扬雄事另详：雄少而好学，口吃不能剧谈，默而好深湛之思，尝草太玄以拟易，或嘲之以玄尚白，雄作解嘲以答；其宅在成都少城，后世称子云亭，刘禹锡陋室铭所谓西蜀子云亭即其地。杜甫以之自比，则草堂虽陋，亦隐然有望于文章之传——此层深意，不可不察。

Commentary

The Ming critic Wang Sishi, in 'Du's Essence,' said this poem 'sings the cottage's scenery, every word a pearl.' The Qing Qiu Zhao'ao noted the second couplet 'inverts word order, a poet's subtle trick' — 'leaves sing in wind' is 'leaves sing of wind,' 'dew drips from tips' is 'tips drip dew,' inversion making rhythm tighter and image sharper.

明人王嗣奭《杜臆》评此诗咏草堂景物，一字一珠，又说末联自比扬雄，正见诗人本色。清人仇兆鳌《杜诗详注》指出颔联句法倒装乃诗家妙诀，并以蜀中桤木来由注之。浦起龙《读杜心解》谓此诗结处萧然自远，不堕解嘲一障。今人论杜甫草堂诗，多以《堂成》为定庵之作——由「背郭堂成」到「定新巢」，字面上完成了从流浪到定居的叙事，情感上却暗含此地终究不是长安的怅惘。各家评骘虽异，于颔联之工、结句之达则无间言，故此诗久为选家所重。至于此诗在杜诗编年中的位置，论者多视为草堂诗之发端。自卜居、营建至堂成，杜甫接连有诗，如纪录家事的编年史；堂成一咏，尤具标志意义。后来去蜀之日，犹不能忘情于此屋。一间茅屋，牵动诗人半生行止，亦牵动后世千万读者的凭吊，堂成二字遂为文学史上一个温暖的地名。而草堂之为地名，亦因此诗而愈重：后人过成都者，必访百花潭，必诵此篇，屋以诗传，诗以屋传，千载相守，此又文学地理之一段佳话，杜集闲适诸作，当以此为发端。要之，此诗以小制而具大义，读者宜细参焉。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated poem七言律诗（仄起首句入韵）。

Rhyme Rhymes on mao, jiao, shao, chao, chao (level tone, rhyme group 3 Xiao), one rhyme throughout.押茅、郊、梢、巢、嘲五韵（平水韵下平三肴），首句入韵，一韵到底。肴韵音色幽细圆转，与此诗清润的景物描写正相熨帖，五个韵脚如露滴依次落盘，声情摇曳。

Tone pattern First couplet opens loosely (location of the hall), second is a tight antithesis (scene), third is a flowing antithesis (feeling), last closes with an allusion — standard four-layer structure of a seven-character lu shi. The second couplet's inversion breaks normal order for a more sonorous syllable.首联散起（交代建堂位置），语调平稳如述家事；颔联工对（景），「吟风叶」「滴露梢」两个三字尾使音节在倒装中见铿锵；颈联流水对（情），「暂止」「频来」一缓一促，如鸟飞之起落；尾联以典收束，语气萧散。标准的七律四层结构，而通篇无一处吃力于声律。

Reading note This is Du Fu's first 'settling' work after entering Shu; from 'leaning on the wall the hall is done' to 'settle a new nest,' it completes the narrative from wandering to settling, yet emotionally hints the regret that 'this place is after all not Chang'an.'这首诗是杜甫入蜀后第一篇「安家之作」，从「背郭堂成」到「定新巢」，字面上完成了从流浪到定居的叙事，情感上却暗含「此地终究不是长安」的怅惘。论律法，此诗最可学处在中二联：颔联写景而用倒装炼句眼，颈联写情而假物于禽鸟，景中含情、情中带景，声律与对仗纯熟之至而全无痕迹。以诗史言之，草堂的落成标志着杜诗进入一个新阶段——此后四年，将是杜甫创作中最丰饶的时段之一，而《堂成》正是这一时段的序曲。诵此诗，宜取从容自得之节：首联如述家事，颔联稍加镂刻，颈联转轻快，尾联放平淡宕，四层速度的微变，正与落成之喜、安居之意相副，得其节奏则得其性情。

Line by line

背郭堂成荫白茅，缘江路熟俯青郊。

Leaning on the city wall, the cottage is done, roofed in white thatch; the riverside path now known looks down on the green outskirts.

背靠城郭的草堂落成、覆着白茅；沿江小路走熟了，低头俯瞰青青郊野。

The thatched hall rises behind the city, roofed with white rush; the riverside path is familiar now, and I look down on the green countryside.

「荫白茅」三字写尽草堂的朴素——不是朱门大院，就是一间白茅覆顶的小屋，但这是杜甫自己的家。「路熟」二字尤有分量：走熟，是往返既多，是一天一天实实在在住下来了；漂泊十年的人，对「熟」字的体会深于任何人。堂成二字初看平淡，置于杜甫一生看则极重：自安史乱起，数年之间，挈妻将子，几易其地，至此始有一屋之成，成字下得郑重，非泛泛落成之辞。

Roofed with white rush exhausts the plainness of the thatched hall: no crimson doors and grand courts, only a small hut crowned with white rush - but it is Du Fu's own home. The familiar path weighs even more: to have walked the way so often, to have settled in day by day, is a depth of feeling no wanderer of ten years knows better than he. Hall rises looks plain at first; set against Du Fu's whole life it is grave: since the An Lushan rebellion, through years of carrying wife and children from place to place, only now has a house been truly his. The verb rises is deliberate, no casual word for completion. The riverside path, worn familiar, and the green outskirts below, give the first settled prospect in a life of flight.

桤林碍日吟风叶，笼竹和烟滴露梢。

Alder woods block the sun; leaves sing in the wind; bamboo caged in mist; dew drips from the tips.

桤树林遮住日光、风吹树叶沙沙作响；竹丛笼在烟雾里、露水从叶梢滴下。

Alder woods screen the sun, their leaves murmuring in the wind; bamboo groves veiled in mist drip dew from their tips.

倒装句——本是「叶吟风」「梢滴露」，倒置后「吟」「滴」成为句眼，动作感极强。风吹桤叶如低吟，露滴竹梢如计时，杜甫在安史之乱后第一次拥有了「静下来听风声、听露水落下来」的奢侈；一联之中，视觉（碍日、和烟）、听觉（吟）、乃至时间的知觉（滴）俱备。碍日二字又见树之密、堂之幽：桤木速生而枝叶已能遮日，可见栽植有时；此联所咏，是新居周围日夕之常景，非一时之观，常景中出佳句，尤见功力。

This is inverted syntax - leaves murmuring in the wind, dew dripping from the tips; inverted, murmuring and dripping become the eyes of the lines, action vivid. Wind in alder leaves is like low chanting; dew on bamboo tips marks time. After the An Lushan catastrophe, Du Fu for the first time can afford the luxury of sitting still to hear wind and falling dew. Within one couplet: sight (screened sun, veiled bamboo), sound (murmuring), even the sense of time (dripping) are all present. Screen the sun shows the density of the grove and the seclusion of the hall: alders grow fast, yet their boughs already hide the daylight, so planting was some time ago. The couplet sings of the ordinary day-and-night scene about the new home, not a single moment; fine lines rising from common scenery show the poet's mastery.

暂止飞乌将数子，频来语燕定新巢。

A flying crow rests a while with its several young; swallows come often and settle a new nest.

乌鸦带着几只小乌鸦暂时栖息，燕子频频飞来在这里筑定新巢。

A passing crow rests here with its young; chattering swallows come again and again to settle their new nest.

「暂止」与「定新巢」对举——乌鸦是过客，燕子却要安家。杜甫借鸟写自己：从漂泊到定居，从「暂止」到「定巢」，正是他一家的写照；「将数子」三字尤亲切，携儿带女的乌鸦，就是携妻挈子的杜甫。物我相照，妙在不点破。将字亦妙：乌携数子而来，如避乱之一家；暂止之暂，与频来之频相形，则去留之际，正是杜甫自家行藏的影子，物我相照而不点破，含蓄之至。

Temporary rest and settle a new nest are set against each other: the crow is a passer-by, the swallows intend to stay. Du Fu writes of himself through birds: from wandering to settlement, from temporary rest to settling the nest, is the portrait of his whole household. Bringing its young is especially intimate - the crow with its brood is Du Fu with wife and children. Thing and self mirror each other, the mirror never named. The verb bring is fine too: the crow leads its young, like a family fleeing disorder. Temporary against frequent, the between going and staying, is precisely the shadow of Du Fu's own comings and goings; the mirror is held without a word, reserve to the utmost.

旁人错比扬雄宅，懒惰无心作解嘲。

Others wrongly compare it to Yang Xiong's dwelling; lazy at heart, I have no mind to write a 'Jie Chao.'

旁人误把草堂比作扬雄的宅第，我懒散无心像扬雄那样写《解嘲》来辩解。

Others wrongly compare my hall to Yang Xiong's lodge; I am too idle and indifferent to write a Defensive Apology.

「错比」二字妙——既是自谦（我哪比得上扬雄），也是自傲（我才不在乎你们怎么比）。扬雄遭嘲而作《解嘲》，杜甫连《解嘲》也懒得作，这一「懒」字里，有历尽丧乱后对虚名的释然，也有志无所施的深悲，达语与苦语融成一片。懒惰二字，与西郊诗疏懒意何长相呼应：皆以自嘲写自适，亦皆以自适掩自伤——扬雄犹作解嘲，杜甫并解嘲亦懒作，其于世味之淡，又进一层。

Wrongly compare is exquisite: at once self-deprecation (how could I compare to Yang Xiong) and self-possession (I care nothing how you compare). Yang Xiong, mocked, wrote his Defensive Apology; Du Fu cannot even be bothered to write a Defensive Apology. In this laziness lies both relief after survived catastrophe - vanity no longer stirs - and the deep grief of ambition with no outlet; magnanimous words and bitter words melt into one. Idle echoes the lazy, what care the western suburbs poem: both use self-mockery to write contentment, and both use contentment to hide wound. Yang Xiong still wrote his apology; Du Fu is too lazy even for that - his indifference to the world's savor has grown one degree deeper.

Study

Word focus

吟 'Leaves sing in the wind' is not 'wind sings in leaves' — Du Fu lets the leaves themselves 'sing.' The word 'sing' gives the alder leaves life; the sound of wind through leaves is not the wind ringing but the leaves singing. 「吟风叶」不是「风吟叶」——杜甫让叶子自己「吟唱」。一个吟字赋予桤叶以生命，风吹过树叶的声音不是风在响，而是叶子在歌。倒装的句法把「吟」字推到句腰的位置，如乐句的重音。惟其心境闲定，方能听出叶之吟；此字与下句「滴」字相配，一耳一目，皆是劫后之人重新获得的感官奢侈。吟字又与下联语燕之语相映：一联之内，叶能吟，燕能语，物物有言，而堂中之人独默然领之，愈见其适。

滴 'Dew drips from the tips' captures the instant dew falls from the bamboo tip. Only in the stillest morning can one hear dew drip; this word writes the cottage dawn's silence, and Du Fu's mood of 'finally having time to hear the dew fall.' 「滴露梢」——露水从竹梢滴落的瞬间被捕捉。极静的早晨才能听到露滴的声音，这一个字写出了草堂清晨的宁静，也写出了杜甫「终于有时间听露水落下来」的心境。与「吟」同为倒装所得的句眼，二字使全联于静景中生出微妙的动，静者愈静，是炼字服务于意境的典范。滴字之细，亦由上句吟字之势反衬而出：先闻风声之广，后闻露声之微，听觉由阔入细，正是清晨时光的推移，一字之中有时间。

堂成