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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

题李凝幽居

Inscribed at Li Ning's Secluded Dwelling

贾岛

Jia Dao

访隐visiting a recluse 幽居secluded dwelling 苦吟painstaking craft

闲居少邻并，草径入荒园。
鸟宿池边树，僧敲月下门。
过桥分野色，移石动云根。
暂去还来此，幽期不负言。

In this quiet dwelling few neighbors stand nearby,
A grassy path leads into an overgrown garden.
Birds roost in the trees beside the pond,
A monk knocks at a gate beneath the moon.
Crossing the bridge, the colors of the wilds divide,
Moving a stone seems to stir the roots of the clouds.
I leave for now, but I will come again,
And not break my word to this secluded tryst.

Listen

Meaning

The poet visits a friend's hermitage outside the capital and records what he finds: few neighbors, a weedy path, roosting birds, and a monk knocking at a moonlit gate. He leaves promising to return.

幽居闲静，邻里稀少，一条草径通向荒芜的园门。鸟儿栖在池边树上，僧人在月下轻敲院门。走过小桥，野色分作两半，挪动山石，仿佛惊动了云根。暂且离去，终还要再来，不负那幽隐之约的诺言。

Appreciation

Everything in the poem is plainly reported, and the plainness is the point. The second couplet has become one of the most quoted in Chinese poetry because it defines stillness by a single sound: a bird already asleep, and then a knock that the silence absorbs. The third couplet moves the visitor through space, dividing the wild colors at the bridge and touching stones that seem attached to the clouds, so the hermitage feels genuinely remote. The closing promise is quiet and firm, and gives the whole a moral shape beyond the scenery. Cold, spare, and finely cut, it is Jia Dao at his most characteristic.

【白话串讲】贾岛访友不遇，写下《题李凝幽居》：“鸟宿池边树，僧敲月下门”——他为了用“推”还是“敲”，想了很久，这就是“推敲”的由来。“过桥分野色，移石动云根”——“暂去还来此，幽期不负言”——他说还会再来。【意象与手法】颔联“鸟宿池边树，僧敲月下门”以动衬静，于幽寂中见生机，是千古名句（即“推敲”典故所出）；颈联“分野色”“动云根”写幽居之远离尘嚣。全诗清幽淡远，典型的贾岛“清奇”诗风。【情感与主旨】此诗写夜访幽居、流连忘返，表达了对隐逸生活的向往与对幽人高洁的倾慕，也暗含诗人自身甘于清寂的性情。末联“幽期不负言”更见重然诺的雅怀。【名句点睛】 “鸟宿池边树，僧敲月下门”——以“敲”字之有声反衬月夜之无声，幽静中见灵动，遂成“推敲”千古佳话。

Background

Li Ning was a friend of Jia Dao who lived in seclusion in the outskirts of Chang'an. Jia Dao called on him and wrote this poem, either finding him absent or inscribing it after the visit. Tradition holds that while riding a donkey the poet weighed changing 'the monk pushes at a gate beneath the moon' to 'knocks', collided with Han Yu's procession, and was advised by Han Yu to keep 'knocks'; the incident gave the language its standing phrase for weighing one's words.

贾岛的《题李凝幽居》是一首访隐题壁之作，约作于其早年为僧（法名无本）或初返儒冠之际。李凝是贾岛的友人，其幽居在长安郊外，荒园草径、池树云石，一派远离尘嚣的隐逸气象。贾岛一生潦倒，屡试不第，性好苦吟，其诗多写幽寂清苦之境，与孟郊并称郊寒岛瘦。此诗正是他夜访幽居、流连忘返的记录，末联「暂去还来此，幽期不负言」更见其重然诺的雅怀。尤为后世津津乐道的是，诗中「僧敲月下门」的「敲」字，传说贾岛曾于驴上斟酌用「推」还是「敲」，冲撞京兆尹韩愈，韩愈建议用「敲」，遂成「推敲」千古佳话。这一典故不仅成就了诗句，也成了中国诗学苦吟炼字精神的象征，使此诗在文学史上的地位远超其篇幅。此诗约作于贾岛早年为僧（法名无本）或初返儒冠之际。李凝是其友人，幽居在长安郊外，荒园草径、池树云石，一派远离尘嚣的隐逸气象。贾岛一生潦倒，屡试不第，性好苦吟，诗多幽寂清苦之境。此诗记夜访流连，末联幽期不负言更见其重然诺的雅怀。

Art

The seclusion is rendered in unadorned description. The first couplet marks how remote the place is, the second uses sight and sound to catch movement within stillness, the third opens the space outward to the countryside, and the fourth closes on a promise. Every line is cool to the touch, and within that coolness there is real charm; the poem is a model of Jia Dao's spare, austere, hard-won manner.

《题李凝幽居》的艺术妙处在于以动衬静、以幽写高，营造出清空淡远的意境。首联「闲居少邻并，草径入荒园」以草径荒园点出幽居的寂寥；颔联「鸟宿池边树，僧敲月下门」是千古名句，以鸟之已宿反衬夜之深静，以僧之敲门写出有声之动，于无声的月夜中投下一声响，动静相生，幽静中见灵动，正是以动衬静的极则。颈联「过桥分野色，移石动云根」写幽居周遭的野趣，分字、动字炼得鲜活，仿佛连云根都因移石而惊动。尾联由景及情，写暂去还来、不负幽期，收束全篇而余韵悠然。全诗不用丽辞，纯以白描写幽境，是贾岛清奇诗风的代表，也是唐人写隐逸生活的典范小品。首联草径荒园点出幽居寂寥；颔联鸟宿僧敲以动衬静，于无声月夜投下一声响，幽静中见灵动，是以动衬静的极则；颈联过桥分野色、移石动云根写野趣，分字动字炼得鲜活；尾联由景及情，写暂去还来、不负幽期，收束余韵悠然。纯以白描写幽境，清奇淡远。

Allusions

The 'secluded dwelling' is a hermit's residence. The phrase for weighing one's diction comes from this very poem, since Jia Dao hesitated between 'push' and 'knock' until Han Yu settled on 'knock', after which the two words together came to mean the careful choosing of language. 'Roots of the clouds' names the place where clouds are thought to rise, meaning the rocks of the hills. The 'secluded tryst' is an appointment made in the spirit of retirement.

诗中「推敲」一事，是中国诗学最著名的炼字典故。据《苕溪渔隐丛话》等载，贾岛骑驴赋诗，得「鸟宿池边树，僧敲月下门」，初欲用「推」字，又欲用「敲」字，引手作推敲之势，不觉冲撞韩愈仪仗。韩愈驻马久之，谓「敲」字佳，遂并辔论诗，结为忘年交。这一故事使「推敲」成为斟酌字句的代称。「幽期」则本于隐逸传统，指隐者之间清雅的期约，陶渊明、谢灵运诗中多有幽期之约的写法。「云根」指山石，古人认为云自山石生，故以云根称石，六朝以来诗中常用。贾岛调动这些意象与典故，使一首纪游小诗获得了深厚的隐逸文化积淀与诗学象征意义，其影响远远溢出文本本身。推敲为此诗最著之典：贾岛驴上斟酌推敲，冲撞韩愈，韩定敲字佳，遂成苦吟象征。幽期本于隐逸传统，指隐者间清雅期约；云根指山石，古人谓云自石生故名。诗人调动这些意象典故，使纪游小诗获深厚隐逸积淀与诗学象征意义，影响远出文本之外。

Commentary

The story of weighing 'push' against 'knock' has made this poem especially famous. Su Shi's remark contrasting the chill of Meng Jiao with the leanness of Jia Dao applies here: this is exactly that leanness, sharp and cold and long in the aftertaste.

《题李凝幽居》虽仅八句，却在文学史上占有一席要地，关键全在「推敲」二字所承载的诗学精神。苏轼谓「郊寒岛瘦」，贾岛之瘦，正在于这种一字不肯放松的苦吟与清空孤峭的境界。此诗的颔联以「敲」字之有声反衬月夜之无声，遂成千古不可移易之句，若易以「推」，则失却那份有声的幽寂与礼数之感。后世论诗者多以此联为以动衬静的范本。尾联「幽期不负言」更见唐人重然诺的雅人深致，使访隐的纪游升华为人格的写照。读此诗，既可见贾岛清奇诗风的真面目，也可触摸到中国古典诗歌炼字传统中最动人的一处精神现场。题李凝幽居虽仅八句，却在文学史占要地，关键全在推敲所承载的诗学精神。苏轼谓郊寒岛瘦，贾岛之瘦正在一字不肯放松的苦吟与清空孤峭。颔联以敲字反衬月夜无声，遂成千古不可移易之句。尾联幽期不负言更见唐人重然诺的雅致，使访隐升华为人格写照。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse五言律诗

Rhyme The rhyme words are bing ('nearby'), yuan ('garden'), men ('gate'), gen ('root'), and yan ('word'), in the level-tone 'yuan' group of the Pingshui rhyme tables.上平十三元韵（园、门、根、言押韵，一韵到底）

Tone pattern Level-tone opening, with strict parallelism in the two middle couplets, as in 'birds roost' answered by 'a monk knocks'.仄起首句不入韵式，平仄合律，中间两联对仗工整

Reading note A five-character regulated poem in which the middle couplets set 'birds roost' against 'a monk knocks' and 'crossing the bridge' against 'moving a stone'; the single verb 'knock' has been admired for centuries, and the cold, sharp clarity is the model of this poet's painstaking method.《题李凝幽居》是一首标准的五言律诗，全篇八句四十字，格律严整。首联「闲居少邻并，草径入荒园」中，并字为去声（仄），园字属上平十三元韵，首句不入韵，故为仄起首句不入韵式；自次句「草径入荒园」起，园、门、根、言同属元韵，一韵到底，韵脚清圆，与诗境的清空淡远相称。中间两联「鸟宿池边树，僧敲月下门」「过桥分野色，移石动云根」工于对仗：以名词对名词、动词对动词、方位对方位，既精切又自然流动，尤以颔联的推敲之句声色兼备。全诗平仄遵循律诗粘对之法，读来朗朗上口。贾岛虽以苦吟著称，此律却矩矱森然而不见斧凿，是其五律中最为人传诵之作，亦可见其律法之熟与炼字之精。

Line by line

鸟宿池边树，

Birds roosting in the trees by the pond give movement inside stillness and establish the depth of the night.

鸟儿栖在池边树上，

Birds roost in the trees by the pond;

「鸟宿池边树」是「推敲」名联的上句，以鸟之已栖反衬夜之深静，是营造幽境的关键一笔。宿字写鸟归巢安眠，暗示时已夜深、万籁将寂；池边树则点出幽居旁的水石之景，与下句僧敲月下门构成完整的月夜访隐画面。此句之妙，在于先以静态（鸟宿）铺垫，为下句之动态（敲门）留出反衬的空间——正因为万物已静，那一声敲门才格外清越。贾岛炼字于此极见苦心，宿字平淡而精确，不着一闲字而闲静自出。它与下句共同构成中国诗史上以动衬静的典范句式，千年来被无数论诗者奉为圭臬，其价值早已超出一联之巧。

Birds roost in the trees by the pond is the upper line of the famous deliberated couplet, using the birds' settled roost to set off the night's deep stillness, the key stroke of the secluded setting. Roost writes the birds returned to their nests and at rest, hinting the hour is late, all sounds fading. Trees by the pond names the water and stone scenery beside the hermitage, completing with the next line the whole picture of the night visit. The line's craft lies in first laying stillness (birds roosting) as foil for the coming motion (the knocking) - precisely because all things are still, that one knock rings out so clear. Jia Dao's labor on the single character is evident: roost is plain yet exact, and without one idle word the leisure and stillness emerge. Together with the next line it forms, in the history of Chinese poetry, the model instance of setting motion against stillness, held up as a canon by critics for a thousand years - its value long outgrowing the cleverness of a single couplet.

僧敲月下门。

A monk knocks at a gate beneath the moon; the verb was refined into permanence, and sound is used to make silence audible, so that the whole hermitage rises before the eye.

僧人在月下轻敲院门。

a monk knocks at the gate in the moonlight.

「僧敲月下门」是全书点题之句，也是中国诗学「推敲」典故的所在。敲字之妙，在于以有声写无声：在鸟已宿、万籁寂的月夜，这一记敲门声非但不破坏幽静，反而以细微的声响反衬出环境的更加空寂，是为以动衬静的极则。若用「推」，则门户自开、悄无声息，虽亦合幽人之境，却少了那份有声的清寂与访客的礼数感。韩愈之所以定「敲」为佳，正因它既合平仄（敲为平声，与下句门平声相协），又使画面获得声音的层次。这一个字，使整联获得不朽的生命力，也成为后世诗人斟酌字句、苦吟求工的精神图腾，其文化意义远超诗句本身。

A monk knocks at the gate in the moonlight is the poem's naming line and the very seat of the deliberated knock-and-push allusion in Chinese poetics. The word knock is exquisite because it writes silence through sound: in a moonlit night when birds are roosted and all is still, this single knock far from breaking the quiet sets off the emptiness all the more clearly through its faint sound - the ultimate rule of motion setting off stillness. Had he used push, the gate would open of itself without a sound; fitting the hermit's temper, it would lack, however, the audible clarity and the courtesy of a visitor. Han Yu's judgment in favor of knock rests on this: it fits the tone pattern (knock is level tone, matching the level of the next line's gate) and gives the picture a layer of sound. That one character gave the couplet immortal life, and became the totem of later poets weighing words, groaning over craft - its cultural meaning far exceeding the line itself.

过桥分野色，

Crossing the bridge divides the colors of the wilds; the view changes as the visitor moves.

走过小桥，野色分作两半，

Crossing the bridge, the wild scenery falls apart;

「过桥分野色」是颈联的上句，写诗人步过溪桥时所见野地景色被桥身分作两半的微妙视觉。分字炼得极活，把原本连绵一体的郊野之色，因小桥横亘而呈现出的左右割断之感写得如在目前，仿佛自然也被人的行迹所「分」。这一笔承颔联的幽静而来，由近处池树门月转入更开阔的野色，拓展了幽居的空间维度。它与下句「移石动云根」一写桥、一写石，一写色、一写云，动静相参，共同铺写出幽居周遭远离尘嚣的野趣。贾岛于此以寻常小景见出不寻常的观察力，分字之巧，正见其「郊寒岛瘦」中瘦劲清奇的炼字本色。

Crossing the bridge, the wild scenery falls apart is the upper line of the third couplet, writing the subtle sight when the poet crosses the stream-bridge: the wild colors divided in two by the bridge's body. Divide is wrought most vividly: the continuous countryside, cut left and right by the small bridge, stands before the eyes as if nature itself were divided by the traveler's passing. This line continues the stillness of the second couplet, moving from the nearby pond, tree, gate, and moon into the wider wild colors, extending the space of the hermitage. With the next line, moving a stone, one stirs the roots of clouds - one writes bridge, the other stone; one color, the other cloud - motion and stillness interweave, spreading the wild delight around the dwelling, far from dust. Jia Dao shows uncommon observation in a common small scene; the cleverness of divide reveals, in his cold-island thinness, the lean and奇 craftsmanship of the island style.

Study

Word focus

敲 'Knock' breaks the silence with sound and shows the poet's craft most clearly. 「敲」字是《题李凝幽居》乃至整个中国诗史中最负盛名的诗眼，其分量无论如何估计都不为过。从技法看，敲为动词、平声，与「门」字平仄相协，且与上句「宿」（入声）形成仄平呼应的节奏；从意境看，它以一声轻叩反衬月夜之无声，是以动衬静的化境，较之「推」字更富声响层次与礼数之感。从文化看，贾岛驴上推敲、冲撞韩愈的传说，使这个字升华为苦吟炼字精神的象征，「推敲」一词由此进入汉语，成为斟酌字句的通用代称。一个字成就一则千年佳话、一个成语、一种诗学传统，敲字的价值早已超越诗句本身，是古典诗歌炼字典范的巅峰。

幽期 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「幽期不负言」中的「幽期」二字，凝练地收束了全诗的隐逸主题与人格光泽。幽期本指隐逸高士之间清雅脱俗的期约，渊源于陶渊明、谢灵运一脉的隐逸传统，与世俗的交游应酬截然不同。不负言则写诗人重然诺、守约定的雅人深致——虽暂且离去，终还要再来，绝不辜负这幽隐之约的诺言。幽字既写环境之幽（幽居），也写交情之幽（清雅脱俗），一字双关；期字则点出人与幽居、与人（李凝）之间的精神契约。贾岛以寒士之笔写出如此温厚重诺的结尾，使访隐的纪游获得人格的高度，幽期二字正是全篇精神落脚之处，余韵悠然。