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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

望洞庭湖赠张丞相

Gazing at Lake Dongting, Presented to the Chancellor Zhang

孟浩然

Meng Haoran

山水Landscape 抒情Emotion

八月湖水平，涵虚混太清。
气蒸云梦泽，波撼岳阳城。
欲济无舟楫，端居耻圣明。
坐观垂钓者，空有羡鱼情。

In the eighth month, the lake's water is level —
It contains the void and blends with the great clarity.
The vapor steams the marsh of Yunmeng,
The waves shake the city of Yueyang.I wish to cross, but there are no oars and no boat —
In the idle dwelling I am ashamed before the bright sage. Sitting, I watch the anglers on the bank —
In vain I have the longing of the fish.

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Meaning

The most famous poem of Meng Haoran's request for office, written to the chancellor Zhang. In the eighth month, the lake's water is level — it contains the void and blends with the great clarity, the lake and the sky one. The vapor steams the marsh of Yunmeng; the waves shake the city of Yueyang — the vast power of the autumn lake. Then the request: I wish to cross, but there are no oars and no boat — in the idle dwelling I am ashamed before the bright sage — the wish to cross the water of the office, without the boat of the introduction, ashamed to be idle in the bright reign. And the close: sitting, he watches the anglers on the bank — in vain he has the longing of the fish. The poem is the request veiled in the scene: the vast lake that he wishes to cross, and the longing of the fish without the boat.

八月时节，洞庭湖水涨得与堤岸齐平，水天相接，浑然一体，仿佛包容了整个天空。蒸腾的水气笼罩着云梦大泽，澎湃的波涛仿佛撼动了岳阳古城。我想渡过湖去，却没有船桨；闲居不仕，又有愧于圣明的朝廷。坐在湖边看着垂钓的人，只能空怀一腔羡慕鱼儿上钩的心情。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] In the eighth month, the lake's water is level — it contains the void and blends with the great clarity. The vapor steams the marsh of Yunmeng, the waves shake the city of Yueyang. I wish to cross, but there are no oars and no boat — in the idle dwelling I am ashamed before the bright sage. Sitting, I watch the anglers on the bank — in vain I have the longing of the fish. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the vast scene of the autumn lake, through the wish to cross without the boat and the shame of the idle dwelling, to the close's sitting and the vain longing of the fish. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the veiled request: the lake that he wishes to cross is the office, the oars and the boat are the introduction, the anglers are the officials — and the close's longing of the fish is the wish veiled in the scene. [Emotional Tone] Vast, dignified, and veiled: the poem is the request of the poet, the shame of the idle dwelling veiled in the vast lake and the longing of the fish.

【白话串讲】孟浩然想入仕，写诗给张丞相：“八月湖水平，涵虚混太清”。“气蒸云梦泽，波撼岳阳城”——“欲济无舟楫，端居耻圣明”——“坐观垂钓者，空有羡鱼情”——他自比想渡湖却没有船的人。【意象与手法】前四句以「混」「蒸」「撼」三字炼就洞庭气象，由远及近、由静到动；后四句用比兴，以「济」「舟楫」喻仕进，以「垂钓者」喻已居高位者，全篇情景交融，干谒而不失身份。【情感与主旨】写孟浩然四十岁求仕之心与守拙之志的矛盾：既以「端居耻圣明」自剖用世之志，又以「空有羡鱼情」自嘲无路可进，是干谒诗的典范。【名句点睛】「气蒸云梦泽，波撼岳阳城」与杜甫「吴楚东南坼，乾坤日夜浮」并称咏洞庭双璧。

Background

Meng Haoran (689–740) was one of the great poets of the High Tang, famous for the clarity of his landscape poems. This poem was written to the chancellor Zhang — perhaps Zhang Jiuling — as the request for the office: the poet, idle in the bright reign, wishes to cross the water of the office without the boat of the introduction. The vast scene of the autumn lake — the vapor steaming the marsh of Yunmeng, the waves shaking the city of Yueyang — is among the most famous couplets of the Tang, the power of the lake matched by the dignity of the request. The close — 'in vain I have the longing of the fish' — alludes to the ancient saying: standing by the pool, longing for the fish, better to return and weave the net.

孟浩然（689—740），襄阳人，一生在隐逸与仕进之间徘徊，早年隐居鹿门山，四十岁方游京师求仕，应进士不第，曾于太学赋诗，名动公卿，然终未得官，后入张九龄荆州幕府。此诗一般认为是孟浩然入长安求仕期间（约开元十六年至二十一年间）投赠当朝执政者之作，所赠对象旧说或指张说，今人多主张为张九龄——张九龄于开元二十一年拜中书侍郎同中书门下平章事（即宰相），次年迁中书令，正是能引荐后进的权要。诗题明言「赠张丞相」，可知为干谒（以求引荐）之作。全诗前半极力摹写洞庭湖的浩渺气象，后半由「欲济无舟楫」自然转出求荐之意，把咏洞庭与求仕进绾合得天衣无缝，遂成唐诗干谒诗中最著名的一首，也是孟浩然「红颜弃轩冕，白首卧松云」的隐逸生涯中，用世之志的一次集中流露。此诗历来被视为干谒诗之冠，其所以能冠绝千古，正在于把一己之求荐写得如此气象堂堂，读之但见湖光，不见乞怜之态。

Art

The poem's art is the art of the veiled request. The vast scene is given first: in the eighth month, the lake's water is level — it contains the void and blends with the great clarity, the lake and the sky one. The power follows: the vapor steams the marsh of Yunmeng; the waves shake the city of Yueyang — the vast, shaking power of the autumn lake. Then the turn to the request: I wish to cross, but there are no oars and no boat — in the idle dwelling I am ashamed before the bright sage — the wish to cross and the shame of the idle. And the close veils the request in the scene: sitting, he watches the anglers on the bank — in vain he has the longing of the fish. The lake, the boat, the anglers, and the fish — the whole request veiled in the scene of the water.

全诗章法为「前四句写景、后四句言志」，以「渡湖」为关捩，把洞庭之景与求仕之情绾合得天衣无缝。「八月湖水平，涵虚混太清」起笔写湖面与天空混成一片，「混」字写水天一色、浑沦无界，气象先声夺人；「气蒸云梦泽，波撼岳阳城」一「蒸」一「撼」，由静转动、由虚入实——「蒸」写水气弥漫，笼罩千里云梦，是空间之广；「撼」写波涛汹涌，摇撼岳阳古城，是力度之强，两句把洞庭写得铺天盖地。后四句转折自然：面对如此浩渺的湖水，诗人油然而生「欲济」之思，却苦无「舟楫」，遂以「端居耻圣明」直剖心迹——闲居无所事事，愧对圣明之世；最后以「坐观垂钓者，空有羡鱼情」作结，以旁观者自嘲，把求荐之意藏在「羡鱼」的比喻里，含蓄委婉、不卑不亢。全篇比兴贯穿，景为情设，情借景发，是「因物起兴、借物言志」的典范。此诗结构之妙，正在于写景与言志的接榫处了无痕迹：湖水引动渡湖之想，渡湖之想引出求荐之思，环环相生，如行云流水。

Allusions

'The marsh of Yunmeng' (Yunmengze) is the great marsh of the ancient south, steamed by the vapor of the lake; 'the city of Yueyang' (Yueyangcheng) is the city on the lake, shaken by the waves. 'The bright sage' (shengming) is the bright reign — the sage ruler; 'to be ashamed before the bright sage' is the shame of the idle in the bright reign. 'The longing of the fish' (xiyu qing) alludes to the ancient saying of the Han: standing by the pool, longing for the fish, better to return and weave the net — the wish veiled, the longing of the fish without the boat.

「云梦泽」为古代著名大泽，跨今湖北湖南之境，春秋战国时为楚王游猎之所，司马相如《子虚赋》即盛言其广；「岳阳城」即今湖南岳阳，临洞庭湖而建。二地名连用，极言湖面之广袤无垠。「欲济无舟楫」化用《尚书·说命》「若济巨川，用汝作舟楫」——殷高宗以舟楫喻辅佐之贤臣，此处反用其意，自叹欲渡无舟、无人援引；「舟楫」遂成干谒诗中求荐的经典喻体。「坐观垂钓者，空有羡鱼情」暗用《淮南子·说林训》「临河而羡鱼，不如归家织网」之语意，说与其空自羡慕别人能「钓」到功名，不如有人给一根钓竿——把求仕之心写得又含蓄又迫切；同时「垂钓」又暗含姜太公渭水垂钓、遇周文王而兴的典故，暗示自己也如太公一样在等待识者。整首诗几乎句句有来历而浑然不觉，是「用典使人不觉」的高境。此外「涵虚混太清」之「虚」与「太清」皆指天空，写水天相接，暗含道家「太清」之境，气象空灵，亦为全诗雄浑中的一点清气。

Commentary

This poem is one of the most famous request poems of the Tang, quoted for the vastness of its scene and the dignity of its request. The vapor steaming the marsh of Yunmeng and the waves shaking the city of Yueyang are among the most quoted couplets of the tradition; the close's longing of the fish is the model of the veiled request. Critics praise the poem's art: the power of the lake matched by the dignity of the wish, the request veiled in the scene.

历代评家对此诗前半写景推崇备至。宋人论唐诗，多以「气蒸云梦泽，波撼岳阳城」与杜甫「吴楚东南坼，乾坤日夜浮」并举，推为咏洞庭的双璧；杜甫《登岳阳楼》正是受孟浩然此诗启发而作，可见其沾丐后人。清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》评此诗谓「起法高浑」，「气蒸」一联「何等响亮」。全诗妙在以咏洞庭之雄笔写干谒之私情，而毫无寒乞之态，故后人推为干谒诗第一：求人之诗最难，太卑则失格，太傲则失礼，孟浩然以一片湖光水色托起求荐之意，气魄既雄、措辞得体，正合「温柔敦厚」的诗教。此诗也展现了孟浩然在山水隐逸之外的另一面：他并非纯然隐者，诗中自有「端居耻圣明」的用世之志，这正是盛唐士人普遍进取精神的写照。后人或赏孟浩然之山水田园，而此诗证明：当求仕之志灌注笔端时，孟浩然的才力亦足以吞吐江湖；一诗之中，可见一个盛唐士人的全部抱负与心事。

Prosody

Form Pentasyllabic regulated verse (wuyan lüshi)五言律诗

Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level-tone qing, cheng, ming and qing — the even, level rhyme that carries the dignity of the request.押下平八庚韵（平、清、城、情），首句入韵，一韵到底。

Tone pattern The cadence is that of the dignified request: the level opening with the lake's level water, the rising with the vapor and the waves, the turning with the wish to cross, and the close's even fall with the longing of the fish.首句「八月湖水平」为拗句（第四字「水」应平而仄，作仄仄平仄平），以拗句发端、声势突兀，后文仍归常律；中二联对仗工整，以入声字（八、月、泽、岳）入句，声调短促劲健，正与湖波撼城之势相称。

Reading note The poem's sound matches its dignity: the level rhymes of the qing group carry the even cadence of the request, and the close — 'zuo guan chuidiao zhe, kong you xianyu qing' — falls with the longing, the sound of the veiled wish.此诗为五言律诗，格律精严而不失灵动。首句「八月湖水平」是著名的拗句：按仄起平收式应为「仄仄仄平平」，而实为「仄仄平仄平」，第四字「水」应平而仄，形成拗峭之音，如巨石横空、突兀而来，正与「湖水平」的突兀气象相合；而自第二句起仍归常律，可见盛唐人「以拗取峭」的手段——在谨严中求变化，是盛唐律诗成熟的标志。中二联对仗精工：「气蒸」对「波撼」、「云梦泽」对「岳阳城」，名词对名词、动词对动词，工稳中见壮阔；「欲济」对「端居」、「无舟楫」对「耻圣明」，属流水对，语气连贯而下。用韵上首句入韵（平、清、城、情同押下平八庚），韵字响亮开阔，正合洞庭之雄浑；全诗以入声字（八、月、泽、岳）起调，音节短促劲健，与「波撼岳阳城」的力度相称。作为干谒诗，格调庄重而不谄媚，声律与身份、与景物高度统一，正合「应制干谒得体」的要求。

Line by line

八月湖水平，涵虚混太清。

In the eighth month, the lake's water is level — it contains the void and blends with the great clarity.

八月时节，洞庭湖水涨得与堤岸齐平，水天一色，仿佛包容了整个天空。

In the eighth month Dongting swells level with its banks, holding the sky and mingling with the firmament.

起笔两句写洞庭湖总体气象，是全诗立境之句。「八月」点季节——秋汛水涨，正是洞庭最浩渺之时；「湖水平」写水与岸平，湖面开阔如镜，不见边际。「涵虚混太清」五字写水天一色：虚者天空也，太清者亦天空也，湖水仿佛把整个天空都涵容进来，与天色混成一体，分不清哪是水、哪是天。着一「混」字，水天浑沦、上下莫辨之状如在目前，为全诗先声夺人地写出一片苍茫浩瀚。两句由近及远、由实入虚，起笔即气象不凡，难怪沈德潜评其「起法高浑」——洞庭的雄阔，从第一句起就扑面而来。

The opening two lines write the total bearing of Dongting, the realm-establishing lines. The eighth month fixes the season - autumn flood, the time of Dongting's vastness. The lake lies level writes water meeting bank, the expanse wide as a mirror, no edge. Holding the sky and mingling with the firmament: void is sky, firmament is sky; the lake seems to contain the whole heaven, blending with it, water and sky indistinguishable. One word mingles makes the water and sky blurred, above and below undifferentiated, present to the eyes - the first stroke striking out a vast, misty expanse. Two lines move from near to far, the real to the void; the bearing is imposing from the opening - no wonder Shen Deqian praised the high, deep manner of the opening: Dongting's grandeur meets the reader face to face from the first line.

气蒸云梦泽，波撼岳阳城。

The vapor steams the marsh of Yunmeng, the waves shake the city of Yueyang.

蒸腾的水气笼罩着云梦大泽，澎湃的波涛仿佛撼动了岳阳古城。

Its vapor shrouded the Yunmeng marshes; its waves seemed to shake the old city of Yueyang.

此联是咏洞庭的千古名句，写湖之广与湖之威。「气蒸云梦泽」写水气蒸腾，弥漫千里，连古云梦泽都被笼罩——这是以空间之广写湖，是虚写、是弥漫；「波撼岳阳城」写波涛汹涌，摇撼湖畔的岳阳城——这是以力量之强写湖，是实写、是冲击。一「蒸」一「撼」，由静转动、由远及近，把洞庭湖写得既有吞吐天地之气，又有摇撼城郭之力。「云梦泽」「岳阳城」皆以地名入句，扩大了画面的空间纵深；「蒸」「撼」二字力重千钧，皆是百炼而成的动词。此联历来与杜甫「吴楚东南坼，乾坤日夜浮」并称，足见其艺术分量。

This couplet is the famous line on Dongting, writing the lake's breadth and its might. Its vapor shrouded the Yunmeng marshes: vapor steaming and spreading a thousand li, shrouding the ancient Yunmeng marsh - writing the lake through spatial breadth, the shadowed, diffused. Its waves seemed to shake the old city of Yueyang: surging waves rocking the lakeside city - writing the lake through force, the solid, the impact. Steam and shake: from still to motion, from far to near; Dongting given both the breath to swallow heaven and earth and the power to rock cities. Yunmeng Marshes and Yueyang City enter as place-names, extending the picture's depth; steam and shake are thousand-catty verbs, each forged a hundred times. The couplet ranks with Du Fu's for ages, showing its artistic weight.

欲济无舟楫，端居耻圣明。

I wish to cross, but there are no oars and no boat — in the idle dwelling I am ashamed before the bright sage.

我想渡过湖去，却没有船桨；闲居不仕，又有愧于圣明的朝廷。

I would cross, yet have no boat or oar; dwelling idle, I am ashamed before this enlightened court.

此联是全诗由写景转入言志的枢纽，干谒之意自此渐显。「欲济无舟楫」承接前文的汪洋大水：面对如此浩渺的湖水，诗人油然而生渡湖之想，却苦无舟楫可乘——舟楫之喻暗指引荐之人（化用《尚书》「若济巨川，用汝作舟楫」），表面写渡湖，实写求荐无门，比兴自然，不露痕迹。「端居耻圣明」再进一层：闲居无事，愧对圣明之世——「耻」字见出用世之心与守拙之志的矛盾，既自谦（不敢称贤），又自剖（不甘闲居），分寸拿捏得恰到好处。两句一欲一耻，把求仕的心情写得既迫切又不失身份，是干谒诗中分寸感最好的笔墨。

This couplet is the pivot from scenery to resolve, where the干谒 intent gradually appears. I would cross, yet have no boat or oar continues the vast waters above: facing such a lake, the poet naturally thinks of crossing, yet has no boat - boat and oar secretly alludes to the Book of Documents, the boat-and-oar meaning a recommending patron; on the surface crossing the lake, in truth no door to recommendation, the metaphor natural, untraced. Dwelling idle, I am ashamed before this enlightened court goes one step further: idle in retirement, ashamed before the wise age - shame writes the tension between the wish to serve and the resolve to keep plainness; at once self-deprecating (not claiming worth) and self-revealing (unwilling to dwell idle), the measure perfectly kept. One desire, one shame: the feeling of seeking office written at once urgent and station-keeping - the best-calibrated brush in干谒 verse.

坐观垂钓者，空有羡鱼情。

Sitting, I watch the anglers on the bank — in vain I have the longing of the fish.

坐在湖边看着垂钓的人，只能空怀一腔羡慕鱼儿上钩的心情。

Sitting watching those who angle, I can only harbor in vain the longing for the catch.

结联以「垂钓」与「羡鱼」收束全诗，把求荐之意化作一幅闲闲的图景。「垂钓者」暗指身居要位、手握用人之权的张丞相（亦暗含姜太公渭水垂钓的典故）；「羡鱼情」化用《淮南子》「临河而羡鱼，不如归家织网」——与其空自羡慕别人钓得功名，不如得到一根钓竿。「空有」二字是自嘲：眼看着别人在朝堂上各得其位，自己只能坐在湖边徒然羡慕，求仕而不得的怅惘尽在其中。两句以旁观之态写迫切之心，含蓄得体、不卑不亢，把「赠张丞相」的干谒之意托得又明白又委婉，正符合「诗可以怨，怨而不怒」的温柔敦厚之旨，遂成干谒诗收束的典范。

The closing couplet ends in angler and fish-longing, turning the plea into a casual picture. Those who angle secretly refers to Zhang Chengxiang, who holds high office and the power to appoint (and secretly to Jiang Taigong, who angled by the Wei River). Longing for the catch adapts the Huainanzi: rather than standing by the river coveting fish, go home and weave a net - rather than envying others their success, obtain a rod. In vain is self-mockery: watching others each take their place at court, he can only sit by the lake envying; all the disappointment of seeking office is in it. Two lines write an urgent heart through a bystander's pose: reserved, proper, neither humble nor arrogant - the干谒 intent of the gift to Zhang Chengxiang rendered at once clear and tactful, fitting the gentle doctrine that poetry may complain, yet complain without anger; the model close of干egd verse.

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蒸 'To steam' — the vapor steaming the marsh of Yunmeng, the power of the lake's breath. 「气蒸云梦泽」之「蒸」字，是咏洞庭的第一力字。蒸本指水气升腾，此处写洞庭湖面上蒸腾弥漫的水气，笼罩了千里云梦大泽——着一「蒸」字，湖水的浩渺便不再停留于平面，而是有了向上的弥漫之势：水气如蒸如煮，升腾而上，把整片古泽都包在里面。此字妙在写「虚」：湖面之广可写（如「涵虚混太清」），而水气之盛只能凭「蒸」字传达，它把无形的湿气写得可感可触，是化抽象为具象的典型。与下句「撼」字相配，一蒸一撼、一弥漫一冲击，一虚一实，把洞庭湖的「气」与「力」两面都写足了。后来杜甫「吴楚东南坼」虽更雄奇，而「蒸」字之精，仍不可及。

撼 'To shake' — the waves shaking the city of Yueyang, the power of the lake's motion. 「波撼岳阳城」之「撼」字，写洞庭之威，力重千钧。撼者，摇动、震动也，本用于写巨人摇树、雷震屋宇之类的大力量，此处以之写波浪冲击岳阳城墙，波涛的汹涌澎湃、拍岸有声之状立现。妙处有三：其一，以「城」之重衬「波」之猛——岳阳城巍然临湖，尚且被撼动，湖力之大可知；其二，以动词写静物——岳阳城本为静止之景，着一「撼」字，城郭仿佛在波涛中摇动，化静为动；其三，「撼」字声调响亮（去声），音节上正与波涛轰鸣相应。此字与「蒸」字一虚一实、一柔一刚，构成此联的两大支点，遂使「气蒸云梦泽，波撼岳阳城」成为咏洞庭乃至咏大水的千古绝唱。

济 'To cross' — the wish to cross the water, the crossing of the office, the request veiled. 「欲济无舟楫」之「济」字，是全诗由写景转言志的枢纽字，一字双关，妙不可言。济之本义为渡水（如「同舟共济」），此处表面写渡洞庭湖；而其引申义为成就、救助（如「济世」「济苍生」），暗指仕进用世、救济天下——「欲济」二字，既是欲渡湖，更是欲济世，一语双关。下接「无舟楫」，则舟楫既指渡水之船桨，又暗指援引之贤者（化用《尚书·说命》「若济巨川，用汝作舟楫」），比兴浑然。诗人不直言「欲仕而无门」，而说「欲济而无舟」，把求荐之意藏进渡湖之想，含蓄蕴藉；一个「济」字，使写景与言志两大板块自然衔接，无丝毫转接之痕，是孟浩然炼字融情的得意之笔。