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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

题破山寺后禅院

Inscribed on the Rear Meditation Court of Poshan Temple

常建

Chang Jian

禅意Zen 山水Landscape

清晨入古寺，初日照高林。
曲径通幽处，禅房花木深。
山光悦鸟性，潭影空人心。
万籁此都寂，但余钟磬音。

At dawn I enter the old temple; the first sun lights the tall woods.
A winding path leads to a secluded place; the meditation chamber lies deep in flowers and trees.
Mountain light gladdens the birds' nature; pool shadow empties the human heart.
All sounds here are now still; only the bell and chime remain.

Listen

Meaning

Chang Jian, early on a morning, visits Poshan Temple (today's Xingfu Temple in Changshu) and meets its quiet Zen realm. From the winding path to the deep chamber, from mountain light gladdening birds to pool shadow emptying the heart, the poem moves from scene into Zen without doctrine, ending in the bell's sound that sets off the silence. A fine specimen of Tang temple-and-Zen verse.

清晨步入古老的寺院，初升的太阳照耀着高高的树林。曲折的小径通向幽寂的深处，禅房掩映在花木的浓荫里。山光使飞鸟的天性欢悦，潭影使人心中的尘念皆空。此时万物声响都归于寂静，只余下钟磬清越的余音。

Appreciation

The poem follows the visit's order. The first couplet's 'dawn' and 'first sun' mark the hour; 'old temple' and 'tall woods' make a distant realm. The second couplet's 'winding path leads to a secluded place; the meditation chamber lies deep in flowers and trees' is the famous line, using 'secluded' and 'deep' for the path and court's stillness. The third couplet's 'mountain light gladdens the birds' nature; pool shadow empties the human heart' uses 'gladden' and 'empty' to give the scene Zen import — birds glad through mountain light, the heart emptied through pool shadow. The last couplet sets off silence with sound; the 'bell and chime' reverse-highlights all sounds' stillness. From scene to Zen, seamless.

【白话串讲】 “曲径通幽处，禅房花木深”——常建清晨进古寺，沿着小径走到禅房。“万籁此都寂，但余钟磬音”——中国山水诗里最空灵的一刻。【意象与手法】诗以游踪为序。首联清晨初日点时分，古寺高林造境幽远；颔联曲径通幽处，禅房花木深为千古名句，以幽深写禅院之静谧；颈联山光悦鸟性，潭影空人心以悦空二字使景物具禅机——鸟性因山光而悦，人心因潭影而空；尾联以声衬寂，钟磬音反显万籁之静。由景入禅，浑然天成。【情感与主旨】常建开元十五年（727）进士，一生仕途失意，漫游山林，诗多写山水禅意。破山寺即今江苏常熟兴福寺。此诗以境写禅，不涉理路而禅意自出，是唐人题寺诗中的逸品。【名句点睛】曲径通幽处，禅房花木深一联为欧阳修叹赏，谓欲效其语而不可得；山光悦鸟性，潭影空人心以悦空二字使动，景中寓禅，是理解此诗禅意的钥匙。

Background

Chang Jian passed the jinshi in 727 (Kaiyuan 15). His career frustrated, he roamed hills and woods; his poems often write landscape and Zen. Poshan Temple is today's Xingfu Temple in Changshu, Jiangsu. The poet visits at dawn, meets the quiet Zen realm, and writes this. As Buddhism blended into scholars' lives, this poem writes Zen through realm, not doctrine, yet Zen meaning emerges; a gem among Tang temple poems.

常建，盛唐诗人，开元十五年（727）进士，与王昌龄同榜，然仕途蹇涩，仅做过盱眙尉一类微官，后放浪琴酒、隐于鄂渚西山，诗多写山水田园与禅意幽境。殷璠《河岳英灵集》以常建冠于卷首，置于李白之前，评其诗其旨远、其兴僻、佳句辄来、唯论意表，可见其在盛唐诗坛的分量。破山寺即今江苏常熟虞山北麓的兴福寺，始建于南朝齐，为郴州刺史倪德光舍宅所建，初名大悲寺，梁大同年间改名兴福寺，因寺临破龙涧、后有破山，俗称破山寺，唐咸通九年懿宗赐额兴福寺，寺至今尚存空心潭、空心亭诸胜，即由此诗潭影空人心一句得名。诗人清晨入寺，领略山光潭影、钟磬梵音之境，遂以五律记之。盛唐佛道并盛，士人好与僧侣交游、以诗写禅成风（王维、孟浩然皆然），常建此诗不直说禅理，而以幽深之境通于空寂之禅，正是以境写禅的上乘之作，故被誉为唐人题寺诗的逸品。

Art

The poem follows the visit's order. First couplet 'dawn' and 'first sun' mark the hour; 'old temple' and 'tall woods' make a distant realm. Second couplet is the famous line, 'secluded' and 'deep' for stillness. Third couplet 'gladden' and 'empty' give the scene Zen import. Last couplet sets off silence with sound; 'bell and chime' reverse-highlights stillness. From scene to Zen, seamless.

诗以游踪为序，移步换景，八句层层深入。首联清晨入古寺，初日照高林，入字领起全篇游踪，清晨、初日点明时分，古寺、高林造境幽远，阳光初照、林木高耸，画面清朗而气象庄严。颔联曲径通幽处，禅房花木深，以幽写径之曲折、以深写花木之浓密，路径愈幽，禅房愈深，读者如随诗人穿行于曲径花木之间，静谧之意扑面而来，是千古传诵的名句。颈联山光悦鸟性，潭影空人心，是全诗禅意的核心：悦、空二字皆为使动——山光使鸟性欢悦，潭影使人心空明，物我交融，景中寓禅，将自然之景与心灵之境打成一片。尾联万籁此都寂，但余钟磬音，以声衬寂，钟磬之音反显万籁之静，禅院之幽静至此凝定，而余音袅袅，令人回味。全诗由外而内、由景入禅，首联之明与尾联之寂形成对照，章法谨严而气韵浑然，无一处说禅而禅意自满，正是盛唐五律以境写意的典范。全诗以入字为眼、以游踪为线，由寺外而寺内、由径而房、由物而心、由声而寂，一步一景，一景一进，层次井然。尤为难得者，八句皆写眼前实景，无一语谈玄说妙，而读之自觉尘虑尽涤，正是盛唐诗人以境写心、不落言诠的高境。

Allusions

'Meditation chamber' is the monks' quiet practice place, from Buddhist usage. 'Bell and chime' are temple instruments, figures of pure practice sound. 'Empties the human heart' echoes the Buddhist 'form is emptiness,' but rests in the 'pool shadow' image, not falling into doctrine. No direct Buddhist allusion; the landscape's 'secluded, deep' reaches Zen's 'empty, still,' what is called 'no words set up yet Zen meaning abounds,' in Wang Wei's line 'painting in poetry, Zen in painting.'

诗中意象多本于佛教语汇与山水禅传统。禅房即僧徒静修之所，禅为梵语禅那之略，义为静虑，禅房二字一出，佛门气息自生。钟磬为佛寺法器——钟以警晨昏、集僧众，磬以节诵念、和梵音，此处但余钟磬音，以法器之声写清修之境，音声入耳而尘心自净。空人心化用佛家空观之理（《心经》色即是空、空即是色），却不着理语，而以潭影这一具体物象出之——潭水澄明，映照天光云影，人心临之，杂念尽涤，如潭之空，禅理尽在景中，不落言筌。山光悦鸟性之鸟性，暗合禅宗明心见性之旨：鸟之天性本自欢悦，只因山光澄明而得以呈现，人之处世亦然。此诗全篇不径用佛典，而以山水之幽深通于禅之空寂，深得王维诗中有画、画中有禅一脉，而又能自出机杼；后世寺观园林题咏，每以此为宗，破山寺空心潭之名即由此诗而来，可见其影响之深。常建诗多写幽隐之趣，其咏西山、咏仙谷之作皆与禅道相通；此诗承其旨而归于佛寺之景，禅意更为纯粹。诗中高林、曲径、花木、山光、潭影，一一皆眼前物，而一经点染便成禅境，可见盛唐诗人善于即物明心、不假外求。

Commentary

Yin Fan's River and Mountain Heroes anthology said Chang Jian's poems 'far in intent, eccentric in rise, fine lines come of themselves.' Ouyang Xiu greatly admired 'winding path leads to a secluded place; the meditation chamber lies deep in flowers and trees,' saying 'I wished to imitate it but could not.' This couplet relates to the idiom 'winding path to a secluded place'; later held as the model for temple-and-Zen verse, with Wang Wei's 'Passing Xiangji Temple.'

历代评家于此诗推崇备至。殷璠《河岳英灵集》以常建居卷首，评其诗其旨远、其兴僻、佳句辄来、唯论意表，此诗正合此评——意不在山水，而在山水之外的禅境。欧阳修《六一诗话》自谓生平最爱常建曲径通幽处、禅房花木深一联，欲效其语而不可得，直至晚年犹时时诵之，可见此联魅力；清人吴乔《围炉诗话》亦谓常建破山寺诗皆景外之景、言外之意。此诗与王维《过香积寺》并称唐人题寺诗双璧，同为以境写禅的绝唱；曲径通幽一语更由诗句凝为成语，通行于后世口语，成为探幽访胜、渐入佳境的代名词，足见其生命力。宋人洪迈《容斋随笔》、清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》皆录此诗，《唐诗三百首》亦选入，千载之下，家弦户诵，是盛唐山水禅意诗中最具代表性的一篇。明人钟惺、谭元春《唐诗归》评其幽深之旨，独见其妙；清人王士禛《渔洋诗话》亦谓常建诗清微淡远，此篇尤胜。尤可注意者，潭影空人心一句，后世题咏常熟兴福寺者多所化用，寺中空心潭、空心亭之名即由此而来，诗人以一字传寺名于千载，亦诗史佳话；曲径通幽四字更脱离诗句而独立成词，其生命力已远超一首诗本身。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse (wulü)五言律诗（五律）

Rhyme Pingshui rhyme, lower-level twelfth Qin (林, 深, 心, 音)押平水韵下平十二侵韵：林、深、心、音

Tone pattern Oblique-onset, first line no rhyme平起首句不入韵式，中间两联对仗工稳，句式二二一为主，节奏舒缓。

Reading note Two middle couplets antithesize; uses sound to set off stillness, writing the Zen realm五律八句，首联点题、颔联颈联对仗、尾联收束，章法完密，此诗正合正格而能自出机杼。声律上属平起首句不入韵式，首句清晨入古寺以仄声收束，不入韵，二四六八句押下平十二侵韵，林、深、心、音皆平声闭口韵，韵脚低沉幽远，正合禅院幽静之境——闭口韵收束内敛，诵读时余音在口，如钟磬之袅袅，声情与禅境相谐。中间两联曲径对禅房、山光对潭影，对仗精工而不见斧凿，颔联以幽深写景、颈联以悦空写心，一实一虚，章法变化。句式以二二一为主（山光悦鸟性、潭影空人心），节奏舒缓从容，与游寺寻幽的步履相合。首句三仄尾（清晨入古寺为平平仄仄仄），是盛唐律诗尚未完全定型时留下的痕迹，然不害其自然天成，反见古拙之趣，可见常建不以声律害意、以气韵为主的创作态度。

Line by line

清晨入古寺，初日照高林

At dawn I enter the old temple; the first sun lights the tall woods.

清晨步入古老的寺院，初升的太阳照耀着高高的树林。

In clear dawn I enter the ancient temple; the rising sun shines on the tall trees.

首联点明时地与游踪，入字领起全篇。清晨写进寺之时，古寺写所入之地，初日写朝阳初升，高林写林木参天，四个名词意象次第铺展，画面清朗而气象庄严。此联妙在以光写境：初日斜照高林，光影斑驳，古寺在晨光中愈显幽深，为全诗奠定明净而静谧的基调。入字尤可玩味——诗人不是游、不是访，而是入，有渐入佳境之意，暗伏下文曲径通幽的深入；古寺之高林、初日之晨光，又与尾联的万籁俱寂形成首尾照应：晨光既明，何以终归于寂？正是由入寺而渐入禅境的自然推移。

The opening couplet fixes time, place, and the wanderer's track, the word enter leading the whole poem. Clear dawn writes the hour of entering; ancient temple the place entered; rising sun the newly risen sun; tall trees the soaring woods - four noun images unfold in sequence, the picture clear and the bearing solemn. The couplet's art lies in writing realm through light: morning sun slanting on tall trees, light and shade mottled, the ancient temple growing more secluded in the dawn, setting the poem's luminous, quiet keynote. Enter is worth savoring - the poet does not visit or tour but enters, carrying the sense of gradually entering a better realm, secretly foreshadowing the winding path's depth below. The ancient temple's tall trees and the dawn's light also answer the closing all sounds hushed: bright in the morning, why end in silence? It is the natural movement from entering the temple to entering the Chan realm.

曲径通幽处，禅房花木深

A winding path leads to a secluded place; the meditation chamber lies deep in flowers and trees.

曲折的小径通向幽寂的深处，禅房掩映在花木的浓荫里。

A winding path leads to a hidden place; the meditation hut lies deep among flowers and trees.

此联是千古名句，以幽深二字写禅院之静谧。曲径写路径之盘折，通幽处写方向之深入，花木深写禅房之掩映，诗人不写禅房之形制，只写其在曲径尽头、花木深处，幽邃之意扑面而来。径愈曲则幽愈甚，木愈深则房愈隐，一字一层，层层递进，将禅房置于可望而不可即的深幽之中，正暗合禅门不立文字、直指本心的旨趣——真境不在径之尽头，而在寻径的过程本身。欧阳修谓欲效其语而不可得，盖此联不以奇字取胜，而以寻常字写出不可言传的幽深之境，浑然天成，非刻意可到，故千百年来传诵不衰，曲径通幽更凝为成语。

This couplet, famous for a thousand years, writes the stillness of the monastery through the two words hidden and deep. A winding path writes the coiling way; leads to a hidden place writes the direction's depth; the meditation hut lies deep among flowers and trees writes the hut's seclusion. The poet does not describe the hut's form, only its place at the path's end, deep among flowers - the seclusion presses at the face. The more winding the path, the deeper the seclusion; the denser the wood, the more hidden the hut: one character one layer, layer upon layer, placing the hut in a depth half-seen, half-unreachable - secretly fitting the Chan truth that the real realm lies not at the path's end but in the seeking itself. Ouyang Xiu said he tried to imitate this line and could not: it wins not through rare words but through ordinary words rendering the inexpressible depth, seamless as nature, unattainable by design - hence its fame through the ages, and winding path leading to seclusion has itself become an idiom.

山光悦鸟性，潭影空人心

Mountain light gladdens the birds' nature; pool shadow empties the human heart.

山光使飞鸟的天性欢悦，潭影使人心中的尘念皆空。

The mountain light gladdens the birds' nature; the pool's reflection empties the human heart.

此联是全诗禅意的核心，悦、空二字皆为使动用法，是炼字的典范。山光悦鸟性——山光澄明，鸟性本悦，此处却言山光使鸟性悦，将自然之景化为主动的力量，物我交融；潭影空人心——潭影澄澈，人心本染，此处却言潭影使人心空，将空明之景化为洗心的法门，境与心会。一悦一空，一物一人，对仗工整而禅意盎然：鸟因山光而见其天性，人因潭影而涤其尘念，众生与诗人同在此清景中得其所哉。此联不着一个禅字、一个理字，而色即是空的佛理尽在景中，正是以境写禅、化理入景的上乘笔法。

This couplet is the core of the poem's Chan feeling; gladden and empty are both causative uses, models of refined diction. The mountain light gladdens the birds' nature: the mountain light is limpid, the birds' nature joyful; yet the line says the light makes the birds joyful, turning natural scenery into an active power, thing and self fused. The pool's reflection empties the human heart: the pool is clear, the heart is stained; yet the line says the reflection empties the heart, turning the limpid scene into a method of washing it clean, realm meeting mind. One gladden, one empty; one thing, one person - parallel yet brimming with Chan: birds find their nature in the mountain light; the heart washes its dust in the pool; all beings and the poet alike find their rest in this clear scene. The couplet uses not one word of Chan or of doctrine, yet the Buddhist truth of form as emptiness is all in the scene - the supreme manner of writing Chan through realm and dissolving doctrine into scenery.

万籁此都寂，但余钟磬音

All sounds here are now still; only the bell and chime remain.

此时万物声响都归于寂静，只余下钟磬清越的余音。

All sounds are now hushed; only the bell and the wooden fish ring on.

尾联以声衬寂，是禅境的最终凝定。万籁此都寂，写天地间一切声响俱已消歇；但余钟磬音，写唯余佛寺钟磬之声悠悠回荡。以有声写无声，以钟磬之清越反衬万籁之沉寂，寂者愈寂，静者愈静，正是唐人写静境的惯技而此处用得最为浑成。钟磬为佛寺法器，其声清越悠长，与梵音晨课相连，诗人闻之，尘心尽涤——前文空人心的悟境，至此以一声钟磬落实收束。都字与但字对举，将万籁之寂与一音之清推向极致；余音袅袅，诗尽而意不尽，读者仿佛仍能听到那一声钟磬在空山古寺中回荡，禅意悠远，回味无穷。

The closing couplet sets stillness off against sound, the final settling of the Chan realm. All sounds are now hushed: every sound between heaven and earth has faded. Only the bell and the wooden fish ring on: the temple's bell and qing alone echoing. Writing silence through sound, the clear bell sets off the silence of all sounds - the more silent, the quieter; a common Tang device, yet here used most seamlessly. The bell and qing are temple instruments, their tone clear and long, linked to the chanting office; hearing them, the poet's dust-drowned heart is washed clean - the emptiness of the heart above is now fulfilled in one stroke. All and only are set against each other, pushing the silence of all sounds and the clarity of one note to the extreme; the lingering sound, poem ended, meaning unspent - the reader seems still to hear that bell echoing in the empty mountain and ancient temple, Chan feeling remote and inexhaustible.

Study

Word focus

空 Causative: pool shadow empties the dust from the human heart, blending the Buddhist 'empty' truth into scene; Zen meaning emerges. 空字是全诗的禅眼，使动用法——潭影使人心中尘念皆空，一字将佛家空观之理化入眼前景致。空本为佛门要义（色即是空、万法皆空），诗人却不说理，而以潭影立象：潭水澄明如镜，映照天光云影，人心临潭，杂念尽涤，如潭之空明，禅理尽在无言之中。此字又收束前文：曲径之幽、花木之深、山光之悦，层层铺垫，皆为此空字蓄势——人心既空，则万籁之寂、钟磬之音自然入耳，全诗的禅境至此豁然贯通。若作潭影清人心则只写景，作潭影静人心则只言情，唯空字兼摄佛理与景致，使景语即禅语，炼字之精，尽在于此。

悦 'Mountain light gladdens the birds' nature' gladdens the birds' nature; the creature's gladness counters the human who may awaken; exact wording. 悦字与空字对举，同为使动用法，写山光使鸟性欢悦，是全诗由景入禅的过渡之笔。鸟性本自欢悦，此处却言山光使之悦，将自然景物拟为主动的力量——山光澄明，鸟鸣其间，天性舒展，物我无间。此字暗合禅宗明心见性的旨趣：鸟之欢悦不在山光，而在山光使其本有之性得以显现；人之悟道亦然，本心澄明，遇境而发。悦字又反衬下句之空：鸟性因悦而生动，人心因空而澄澈，一物一人，一动一静，对仗天成。以物之悦写人之可悟，不言禅而禅意自出，正是常建以境写禅的典型笔法。

深 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 深字写禅房花木之浓密幽邃，与曲径之幽相映成趣，是千古名句的支点。花木深不是花木高大之意，而是花木繁茂浓密、层层掩映，将禅房深藏其间，可望而不可即。深字又兼写空间与心境：路径愈深，禅房愈隐，读者的目光与诗人心境一同向幽深处探入，静谧之意随花木之深而愈浓。此字与通字配合，一横一纵——曲径横向盘折，花木纵向掩映，禅房便在这曲与深的交叉处隐现，如禅境之不可径取。欧阳修叹此联欲效而不可得，正在深字以寻常字写出不可言传的幽邃，浑然天成，非人力可到。