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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

题西施石

On the Rock of Xi Shi

王轩

Wang Xuan

岭上千峰秀，江边细草春。
今逢浣纱石，不见浣纱人。

A thousand peaks stand fair upon the ridge;
by the river, fine grass in spring.
Today I meet the stone where she washed silk —
but the silk-washing girl is gone.
Listen

Meaning

Standing at the stone where, legend says, the beauty Xi Shi once washed her silk, the poet sees only peaks and spring grass — nature eternally fresh, the maiden eternally gone. The tiny poem turns a local landmark into a meditation on beauty, time, and the silence of history.

岭上千峰秀，江边细草春。今逢浣纱石，不见浣纱人。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] A thousand peaks rise lovely on the ridge; by the river the fine grass is spring-green. Today the poet comes upon the silk-washing stone — but the girl who washed silk here is nowhere to be seen. [Imagery] The first couplet paints the scene in fresh, light colors: a thousand peaks in bloom, river grass in spring — beauty without a viewer. The second couplet turns the landscape personal: the stone is present, the girl is not. The emphasis on 'today' makes the absence physical. [Feeling] The poem is a meditation on historical absence: the same spring returns, the same stone remains, but Xi Shi — beauty, glory, and tragedy — exists only in memory. The restraint is complete: no sigh is uttered, yet the final four characters carry the whole weight of the past.

【白话串讲】 王轩写《题西施石》：“岭上千峰秀，江边细草春”——“今逢浣纱石，不见浣纱人”——他题西施石——今逢浣纱石。 【意象与手法】 “岭上千峰秀，江边细草春”写千峰秀；“今逢浣纱石”写逢浣纱石；结以“不见浣纱人”写不见浣纱人。空灵咏史。 【情感与主旨】 王轩写题西施石之作，写千峰秀、细草春而浣纱石在、浣纱人不见的怀古之思，是咏史小诗中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“岭上千峰秀，江边细草春”写千峰秀；“今逢浣纱石，不见浣纱人”写不见浣纱人。

Background

Wang Xuan, courtesy name Gongyuan, was a Tang poet about whom little is recorded; this quatrain is his one widely anthologized piece. It was written at the 'Rock of Xi Shi' by the Wu river (in present-day Zhejiang), where according to legend Xi Shi — the great beauty of the Spring and Autumn period, sent as an instrument of Wu's destruction — washed silk before her fateful summons to the court of Wu. The poem survives in Tang anthologies as a model of the small 'inscription on a site': a landmark, a legend, and twenty characters of melancholy.

《题西施石》为唐代诗人王轩所作诗。王轩，字公远，唐代诗人。此诗写怀古咏史，为题西施石之作。诗中「岭上千峰秀，江边细草春」写岭上千峰秀，江边细草春；「今逢浣纱石，不见浣纱人」写今逢浣纱石，不见浣纱人。王轩此诗以怀古咏史、不见浣纱人写其咏史之情，空灵咏史，是王轩诗中的名篇。此篇《题西施石》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《题西施石》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《题西施石》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。

Art

The poem's art is the management of presence and absence. The first couplet fills the scene with spring — a thousand peaks 'fair,' river grass 'fine' — yet every word of abundance prepares the void of the second: the more vividly spring lives, the more final the girl's disappearance. The pivot is the single word 'today': by marking the present moment, the poet makes the past unbridgeable. The stone remains, solid and visitable; the girl — the whole romance of beauty and destiny — is reduced to an absence before a rock. Two parallel phrases, 'silk-washing stone' and 'silk-washing girl,' set thing against person until the echo between them aches. Nothing is explained, nothing mourned outright; the poem ends by leaving the reader alone with the stone.

此诗艺术上以「空灵咏史、以石写情」见长。全诗共四句两联，由岭上千峰秀而今逢浣纱石。起「岭上千峰秀，江边细草春」写岭上千峰秀：岭上千峰秀，江边细草春；结「今逢浣纱石，不见浣纱人」写今逢浣纱石：今逢浣纱石，不见浣纱人。全诗以石写情，由岭上千峰秀而不见浣纱人，空灵咏史，是王轩诗中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。

Allusions

The whole poem rests on the legend of Xi Shi (5th–6th century BCE), the beauty of Yue whom King Goujian sent to King Fuchai of Wu; Fuchai's infatuation ruined Wu, and Goujian's revenge was complete. Tradition placed her home by the Wu river, where she washed silk (huan sha) with her companions — hence the 'silk-washing stone' and the later phrase 'silk-washing girl' for Xi Shi herself. From Li Bai and Wang Wei onward, poets turned her into the archetype of beauty, fate, and historical caprice. Wang Xuan's poem enters that long conversation with a single gesture: he brings spring peaks and river grass to the stone, and finds only what the stone can tell him — that she is gone.

诗中「岭上千峰秀江边细草春」「今逢浣纱石不见浣纱人」等语，皆含典故故实。「岭上千峰秀江边细草春」写岭上千峰秀江边细草春；「今逢浣纱石不见浣纱人」用浣纱之典（浣纱写西施浣纱），写今逢浣纱石不见浣纱人。诗人用浣纱之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把怀古咏史之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。

Commentary

Though Wang Xuan is a minor name, this quatrain has been anthologized since the Tang as a perfect little 'site poem.' Critics praise its emptiness and spirit: four sentences, two present, one absent — the landscape is all present tense, the beauty all past. The parallel of 'silk-washing stone' against 'silk-washing girl' has been singled out as the poem's whole emotional machinery: a rock named after a girl outlasts the girl, and the visitor's 'today I meet' measures the centuries in one word. Within the Xi Shi tradition it is remarkable for saying nothing — no moralizing on vanity or power, only the hush of standing where beauty once was.

这首《题西施石》，是王轩写怀古咏史之作，写岭上千峰秀、今逢浣纱石、不见浣纱人之情，空灵咏史。起「岭上千峰秀，江边细草春」——岭上千峰秀，江边细草春。写岭上千峰秀：岭上千峰秀、江边细草春——千峰秀、细草春；结「今逢浣纱石，不见浣纱人」——今逢浣纱石，不见浣纱人。写今逢浣纱石：今逢浣纱石、不见浣纱人——浣纱石、浣纱人。这「今逢浣纱石，不见浣纱人」，是全诗之结：以不见浣纱人写其咏史。全诗空灵咏史，以石写情，正是王轩诗中的名篇。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain (wujue)诗（五言绝句）
Rhyme Four five-character lines rhyming on chun ('spring') and ren ('person'), both in the level-tone zhen rhyme group. The light, clear rhyme suits the fresh spring scene.此诗为五言绝句，共四句两联。押韵：「春」「人」押真部韵。前两句起、后两句转合，平仄相间，正与写怀古咏史的空灵咏史相称，也见其以五绝写咏史的凝练。
Tone pattern The first couplet opens with the broad sweep of a thousand peaks and settles into the small detail of river grass; the second couplet shortens — the stone, then the absence — closing on the single syllable ren ('person').句式上，「岭上千峰秀，江边细草春」写岭上千峰秀，音节空灵；结「今逢浣纱石，不见浣纱人」写今逢浣纱石，音节悠长。全诗音节随情起伏，由空灵而悠长，正合五绝「凝练」之妙，读来如怀古咏史、不见浣纱人之音，空灵而动人。
Reading note A five-character quatrain in the zhen rhyme, bright and light in sound to match its spring landscape. The verse moves from wide scene (peaks, river) to narrow focus (the stone), and finally to absence; the even cadence of the first couplet makes the flat statement of the second — she is not here — land like a door closing.此诗为五言绝句，是王轩写怀古咏史之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「空灵咏史、以石写情」：「岭上千峰秀，江边细草春」写岭上千峰秀、「今逢浣纱石，不见浣纱人」写今逢浣纱石。全诗空灵咏史，以石写情。尤为精妙者，是「今逢浣纱石」用浣纱之典；而「不见浣纱人」写尽浣纱人，正是王轩诗「空灵咏史」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《题西施石》一诗之所以读来声情并茂，正在于诗人以声韵配合情思、以节奏烘托意境，音节之长短、平仄之起伏，皆与诗意相为表里，此亦可见中国古典诗歌声律之美与匠心之工。

Line by line

岭上千峰秀，江边细草春。

A thousand peaks stand fair upon the ridge; by the river, fine grass in spring.

岭上千峰秀，江边细草春。

A thousand peaks stand lovely on the ridge; by the river bank, fine grass is green with spring.

起句写岭上千峰秀，起笔即见其千峰。「岭上千峰秀」写岭上千峰秀，「岭上」写岭上、「千峰秀」写千峰秀；「江边细草春」写江边细草春，「江边」写江边、「细草春」写细草春。一句写岭上千峰秀江边细草春，以岭上千峰秀写千峰秀、以江边细草春写细草春，写尽岭上千峰秀、江边细草春之情。以峰起兴，空灵而咏史，是「以峰起兴」的妙笔。

The opening line writes a thousand peaks lovely on the ridge, the peaks appearing from the first stroke. A thousand peaks stand lovely on the ridge: on the ridge, a thousand lovely peaks. By the river bank, fine grass is green with spring: by the waterside, fine grass in spring. One line writes the lovely peaks and the spring grass: the peaks' loveliness, the grass's spring. Raising imagery through the peak, ethereal and historical - a masterly raising of feeling through scenery before the historical reference appears: the spring landscape is the setting for the stone where Xi Shi once washed silk, beauty and spring set side by side.

今逢浣纱石，

Today I meet the stone where she washed silk —

今逢浣纱石，

Today I come upon the stone where she washed silk,

此句写今逢浣纱石，是全诗写浣纱之态的关键。「今逢浣纱」用浣纱之典写今逢浣纱，「今逢」写今逢、「浣纱」写浣纱；「石」写石，「石」写石。一句写今逢浣纱石，以今逢浣纱写浣纱、以石写石，写尽今逢浣纱石之情。以纱写情，空灵而咏史，是「以纱写情」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

This line writes today I come upon the stone where she washed silk, the key to the scene. Today I come upon uses the silk-washing allusion: the stone where Xi Shi, the legendary beauty of Yue, washed silk by the stream. Today writes the meeting now; the stone writes the relic. One line writes the silk-washing through the meeting, and the relic through the stone. Writing feeling through the silk, ethereal and historical - the consummate stroke. The few characters hold deep meaning, feeling and imagery both excellent, the poem's eye; hidden undercurrents between the words, winding art within the plainness - to be savored again and again.

不见浣纱人。

but the silk-washing girl is gone.

不见浣纱人。

but the silk-washer herself is gone.

结句写不见浣纱人，是全诗立意的落点。「不见浣纱」用浣纱之典写不见浣纱，「不见」写不见、「浣纱」写浣纱；「人」写人，「人」写人。一句写不见浣纱人，以不见浣纱写浣纱、以人写人，写尽不见浣纱人之情。以人写情，空灵而咏史，是全诗最动人处，也是「以人写情」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

The closing line writes but the silk-washer herself is gone, the poem's point. But the silk-washer herself is gone: the allusion of washing silk, and the person gone. One line writes the absence through the allusion, the person through the absence. Writing feeling through the person, ethereal and historical - the poem's most moving point, the consummate stroke. The stone remains, the spring returns, but Xi Shi is nowhere; the few characters hold deep meaning, feeling and imagery both excellent, the eye of the poem. Relic without person, spring without beauty - the historical regret is complete in five characters.

Study

Word focus

千峰 A thousand peaks — the hyperbolic 'thousand' sweeps the eye across the whole ridge, filling the scene with abounding spring beauty. 「千峰」写岭上千峰秀，是写千峰之态的关键。「岭上千峰秀」着一「千峰」，写千峰——着一「千峰」，写岭上千峰秀，见其峰之千。两字写尽千峰之态，是「以词写峰」的妙笔。「千峰」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
细草 Fine grass — the tender riverbank grass of early spring, small and delicate against the thousand peaks, adding softness to the landscape. 「细草」写江边细草春，是写细草之态的关键。「江边细草春」着一「细草」，写细草——着一「细草」，写江边细草春，见其草之细。两字写尽细草之态，是「以词写草」的点睛之词。「细草」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
浣纱 Washing silk — Xi Shi's legendary occupation by the Wu river; the phrase names both the stone and the girl, the hinge between place and memory. 「浣纱」写今逢浣纱石，是写浣纱之态的关键。「今逢浣纱石」着一「浣纱」，写浣纱——着一「浣纱」，写今逢浣纱石，见其纱之浣。两字写尽浣纱之态，是「以词写纱」的点睛之词。「浣纱」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
不见 Not seen — two plain characters that empty the scene; the absence of the silk-washing girl is the whole point of the pilgrimage. 「不见」写不见浣纱人，是写不见之态的关键。「不见浣纱人」着一「不见」，写不见——着一「不见」，写不见浣纱人，见其见之不。两字写尽不见之态，是「以词写见」的点睛之词。「不见」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

水调歌头·明月几时有 Shuidiao Getou (When Will the Moon Be Clear and Round?) 苏轼 · 同写咏史感怀、空灵旷达，一写人有悲欢离合、一写岭上千峰秀江边细草春，皆于咏史之中见空灵 Both face the past with open heart: Su Shi's cosmic acceptance, Wang Xuan's site-specific absence.

Su Shi's 'Men have sorrow and joy, parting and reunion; the moon has its dark and clear phases — this has been hard since ancient times' reconciles change with philosophy; Wang Xuan's 'the stone is here, the girl is gone' simply stands in the silence of a spring afternoon. Two ways of carrying history: one consoled, one quietly bereft.

苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全」，写咏史感怀、空灵旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；王轩《题西施石》则以「岭上千峰秀，江边细草春」「不见浣纱人」写细草春、浣纱人。两诗同写咏史感怀、空灵旷达：一写人有悲欢离合、以悲欢写离合，一写岭上千峰秀江边细草春、以浣纱写咏史；一为苏轼之旷达、一为王轩之空灵，并读正可见诗写「咏史感怀」的两种笔法，皆于咏史之中见空灵。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Basheng Ganzhou (Facing the Dusk Rain over the River) 柳永 · 同写江边凝望、空灵清丽，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写岭上千峰秀江边细草春，皆于江边之中见凝望 Both gaze from a river scene into distance: Liu Yong's autumn homeward gaze, Wang Xuan's spring search for the vanished girl.

Liu Yong's 'facing the pattering dusk rain spilling over the sky of the river, washing a stretch of clear autumn' turns the river into homesickness; Wang Xuan's 'by the river, fine spring grass' turns it into the place where a beauty vanished. The same riverbank: one longing to go home, one finding only a stone.

柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「对潇潇暮雨洒江天，一番洗清秋」，写江边凝望、空灵清丽，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；王轩《题西施石》则以「岭上千峰秀，江边细草春」「今逢浣纱石」写细草春、浣纱石。两诗同写江边凝望、空灵清丽：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写岭上千峰秀江边细草春、以浣纱写咏史；一为柳永之清丽、一为王轩之空灵，并读正可见诗写「江边凝望」的两种笔法，皆于江边之中见凝望。