唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
夏日南亭怀辛大
Summer Evening in the South Pavilion, Longing for Xin the Eldest
山光忽西落，池月渐东上。
散发乘夕凉，开轩卧闲敞。
荷风送香气，竹露滴清响。
欲取鸣琴弹，恨无知音赏。
感此怀故人，中宵劳梦想。
With loosened hair I take the evening cool; I open the window and lie at ease in the wide, still room.
The lotus breeze sends its fragrance; bamboo dew drips with a clear sound.
I would take my zither and play, but regret none is there to appreciate the tune.
Moved, I think of my old friend; at midnight I labour in dream of him.
Meaning
The light on the hills suddenly sinks in the west; the moon above the pool gradually rises in the east. With loosened hair I take the evening cool, opening the window to lie at ease in the spacious room. The lotus breeze carries its fragrance; bamboo dew drips with a clear sound. I would take my zither and play, but regret there is no kindred spirit to appreciate it. Moved by this I think of my old friend, and at midnight still toil in dreams of him.
山间的夕光忽然向西沉落，池塘上的明月渐渐从东方升起。披散头发乘着晚凉，打开窗扉闲卧在宽敞之处。荷风送来清香，竹上露珠滴落发出清响。正想取琴弹奏，却遗憾没有知音欣赏。感念于此而怀念故人，夜半时分还在梦中劳神相思。
Appreciation
The first couplet 'The mountain light suddenly sinks in the west; the pool moon gradually rises in the east' uses 'suddenly' and 'gradually' to write the natural turn of dusk, the antithesis neat yet the language very fluent. 'With loosened hair I take the evening cool; I open the window and lie at ease' writes the man's ease, 'loosened hair' showing the unbound manner of a recluse. 'The lotus breeze sends its fragrance; bamboo dew drips with a clear sound' — one by smell, one by ear, motion and stillness breeding, secluded and fine, the finest couplet of the whole. The last four move from 'I would take my zither' to 'but regret none is there to appreciate', naturally turning to the friend-longing; 'at midnight I labour in dream' closes feeling with a dream, the echo long. The whole reads like household talk, yet clear scene and deep feeling both suffice.
【白话串讲】 “荷风送香气，竹露滴清响”——孟浩然在夏夜的南亭乘凉：荷风送香，竹露滴响。“欲取鸣琴弹，恨无知音赏”——想弹琴，可惜没有知音。于是他想起老朋友辛大。 【意象与手法】 首联「山光忽西落，池月渐东上」以「忽」「渐」二字写出夕暮交替之自然流转，对仗工稳而语极流畅；「荷风送香气，竹露滴清响」一嗅觉一听觉，动静相生，幽细清绝，为全诗最工之联；后四句由「欲取鸣琴」而「恨无知音」，顺理成章转入怀友，以梦结情，余韵悠长。 【情感与主旨】 孟浩然一生隐逸，此诗约作于其隐居襄阳鹿门山或南园时期。「辛大」名不详，当为诗人挚友（唐人排行称「大」）。夏日傍晚，诗人于南亭纳凉，面对清景忽生知音之叹，遂怀故人，既见隐逸之趣，又见友情之笃。 【名句点睛】 中考常考「忽」「渐」二字对时间推移的准确表现——「忽」写夕光骤沉之迅，「渐」写明月东升之缓，一快一慢写出夏夜降临的完整过程；又考「荷风送香气，竹露滴清响」感官并写的妙处，以及「恨无知音赏」所寓的知音之叹。
Background
Meng Haoran lived as a recluse all his life; this poem was likely written in his retirement at Lumen Mountain or the South Garden in Xiangyang. 'Xin the Eldest' (Xin Da) — his name lost, surely a close friend (Tang men called fellows by birth order, 'Eldest'). On a summer evening by the South Pavilion taking the cool, facing the clear scene he suddenly sighs for a kindred ear, and so thinks of the old friend. High Tang pastoral, with Wang and Meng named together; Meng's verse prizes clear, open, natural, unworked. This writes ease at leisure and friendship's depth — a representative of his five-character ancient ease, akin to Wang's pastoral yet nearer Tao's plainness.
孟浩然一生隐逸，早年隐居襄阳鹿门山，后又隐居南园，此诗约作于其隐居时期。题中「辛大」名不详，唐人兄弟排行称「大」，当为诗人挚友。盛唐山水田园诗以王维、孟浩然并称，而孟诗尤尚清旷自然、不事雕琢，多写襄阳山水的明秀与隐逸生活的闲适。此诗写夏日傍晚南亭纳凉的一段光景：山光西落、池月东升之际，诗人散发闲卧，荷风竹露，清景可人；正欲抚琴自遣，却忽生「恨无知音赏」之叹，遂由眼前清景转入对故人辛大的怀念，中宵不寐，形于梦寐。全诗由景入情、由闲入思，既见隐逸之趣，又见友情之笃，是孟浩然五古闲适一类中的代表作，与王维田园诗异曲同工而更近陶潜之朴，历代推为「清旷」一格的标准范本。孟浩然一生求仕不成，四十岁长安应试落第后，遂绝意仕进，归隐襄阳，故其诗多写隐居的闲适与山水的情趣，人称『孟襄阳』。此诗写夏夜纳凉，本是日常琐事，诗人却能从中写出清景、清趣与深情，正见其善于从平凡生活中发现诗意的本领。辛大其人虽不可考，然从诗中可知，他必是能共赏清景、同听琴音的知己，故诗人于纳凉之际忽忆及之，遂有『中宵劳梦想』的深致，这正体现了孟浩然隐而不孤、闲而有情的特点——隐逸并非绝交于人世，而是以更纯粹的方式珍视友情。
Art
The first couplet uses 'suddenly' and 'gradually' to write dusk's turn, antithesis neat yet fluent. 'With loosened hair I take the evening cool; I open the window and lie at ease' writes ease, 'loosened hair' the unbound recluse manner. 'The lotus breeze sends its fragrance; bamboo dew drips with a clear sound' — smell and ear together, motion and stillness breeding, secluded and fine, the poem's finest couplet. The last four move from 'I would take my zither' to 'but regret none is there to appreciate', naturally turning to friend-longing; 'at midnight I labour in dream' closes with a dream, echo long. Like household talk, yet clear scene and deep feeling both suffice.
此诗章法由景及情、层层转进。首联「山光忽西落，池月渐东上」写夕暮交替：「忽」写夕光骤沉之迅，「渐」写明月东升之缓，一快一慢，把夏夜降临的完整过程写得准确而自然，对仗工稳而语极流畅。颔联「散发乘夕凉，开轩卧闲敞」写人之闲适：「散发」见不受拘检的隐士风度，「开轩卧闲敞」写敞轩高卧的惬意，境与人相得。颈联「荷风送香气，竹露滴清响」是全诗最工之联：荷香入鼻、竹露入耳，一嗅觉一听觉，动静相生，幽细清绝，把夏夜的清美写到极致。后四句由「欲取鸣琴弹」而「恨无知音赏」，由闲适陡转孤寂，顺理成章引出怀友；「感此怀故人，中宵劳梦想」以梦结情，把一怀相思托付夜梦，余韵悠长。通篇如话家常，而清景深情并足，正是孟诗「淡而有味」的本色。此诗在炼字上亦见功力：『忽』『渐』写时间之流转，『送』『滴』写感觉之细密，『欲』『恨』写情思之转折，全篇无一字着力而处处妥帖，正是孟诗冲淡中有浑成的体现。又全诗以五古为体，不斤斤于对仗平仄，却于自然中暗藏章法：由黄昏而夜晚、由室外而室内、由景而情而梦，时间线索分明，情感步步加深，读来如行云流水，浑然天成，可见其『语淡而味终不薄』的审美理想。
Allusions
'Kindred spirit' uses the Bo Ya and Zhong Ziqi tale (Lü Shi Chun Qiu: Bo Ya played, only Zhong Ziqi knew his mind; when Ziqi died, Bo Ya broke his zither and cut the strings, none left to play for). Meng Haoran by 'regret none is there to appreciate' writes both the regret that none shares the zither's pleasure and hints that Xin is just his kindred spirit, hence the longing. 'Loosened hair' hints the unbonded air of Ji Kang's 'Letter in Breaking with Shan Tao' ('my head and face unwashed for a fortnight... loosened hair'), showing the recluse's free manner. The allusions are natural and traceless, fitting the ease.
「知音」用伯牙子期典故：据《吕氏春秋·本味》，伯牙鼓琴，唯钟子期能知其志趣，子期死后，伯牙破琴绝弦，终身不复鼓琴，以为世无足为鼓琴者。孟浩然借「恨无知音赏」既写眼前无人共赏琴趣之憾，亦暗点辛大正是其知音，故于弹琴之际忽而思之——欲弹琴而恨无知音，怀人之情便从这「恨」中自然生出，用典不着痕迹。「散发」暗含嵇康《与山巨源绝交书》「头面常一月十五日不洗……每常小便而忍不起」的疏放自任之意，嵇康以「散发」写不受礼法拘束的隐者风度，孟浩然取以写乘凉时的自在，见其隐逸不羁之态。二典一显一隐，皆化入日常情境，贴合闲适之情，全无掉书袋之嫌。『鸣琴』亦暗含古典意象：古人以琴写志，伯牙鼓琴而子期知音，是知音之典的源头；陶渊明蓄无弦琴一张，抚之寄意，是隐者以琴自适的传统。孟浩然『欲取鸣琴弹』，既承知音之典，又合隐者之趣：琴在手中而无人共赏，遂转念思人，琴声未起而情思已深，典故意象与当下情境水乳交融，正是其用典不露痕迹的例证，也见出盛唐诗人融化经典的娴熟。
Commentary
Ming Zhong Xing's Tang Shi Gui praises 'The lotus breeze sends its fragrance; bamboo dew drips with a clear sound' as 'the utmost of secluded fineness', and says the four words 'regret none is there to appreciate' 'in a clear scene suddenly turn, feeling born'. Qing Shen Deqian's Tang Shi Bie Cai calls Meng's verse 'warm within clear openness' — near this. Modern Yu Bixian's Shi Jing Qian Shuo says 'the first half paints the summer night like a picture, the second half from scene to friend, naturally wonderful'. Meng wins by clear nature; this shows ease and deep feeling together, enough as his five-character ancient representative.
钟惺《唐诗归》评「荷风送香气，竹露滴清响」为「幽细之极」，又谓「恨无知音」四字「清境中忽作一折，情致顿生」，拈出全诗由闲入愁的转折之妙。沈德潜《唐诗别裁》称孟浩然诗「清旷中含温厚」，此作近之。俞陛云《诗境浅说》谓「前半写夏夜清景如画，后半因景怀人，自然入妙」，正指其章法之天衣无缝。孟浩然以五言古诗见长，风格以「清」为骨：清景、清思、清语，而于此清中自有一种深情，故其诗不事雕琢而韵味悠长。此诗将隐逸的闲适与怀友的深情熔于一炉，闲淡处见真情，正是孟诗「冲淡中有浑成」的典范，也是理解盛唐山水田园诗「情景交融」传统的绝好样本。清人评孟浩然『遇景入咏，不拘奇抉异』，此诗正是其遇景入咏的典型：不过是夏夜纳凉的一件小事，诗人随手写来，便成千古名篇。今人选唐诗，多以此诗与《过故人庄》并读，一写夏夜怀人、一写秋日访友，同是孟诗写友情的代表作，可见其友情诗题材之富、笔法之熟。此诗在文学史上的意义，在于它以最平易的题材写出了最隽永的情味，证明了好诗不必奇崛，唯在情真、景真、语真而已。
Prosody
Line by line
山光忽西落，池月渐东上
The mountain light suddenly sinks in the west; the pool moon gradually rises in the east.
山间的夕光忽然向西沉落，池塘上的明月渐渐从东方升起。
The mountain glow suddenly sinks in the west; the pool's moon slowly rises in the east.
起联写夏夜降临的过程，是全诗时间的起点。「山光」指映照山峦的夕晖，「忽」写其骤沉之迅，仿佛一眨眼便天色向晚；「池月」指映在池塘上的月亮，「渐」写其东升之缓，仿佛慢镜头般一寸寸浮起。「忽」「渐」二字一快一慢，把夕落月升的天象变化写得既准确又生动，也暗含诗人静坐南亭、凝神看景之久——正因为闲卧忘时，才格外分明地感到光阴的流转。此联对仗工稳而语极流畅，境界由明入暗、由动入静，为下文乘凉、卧闲、怀人预作了时间与心境的铺垫。
The opening couplet writes the coming of the summer night, the poem's time-point of origin. Mountain glow means the sunset on the hills; suddenly writes its rapid sinking, as if a blink and dusk arrives. Pool's moon means the moon mirrored on the pond; slowly writes its slow eastward rise, as if floating up inch by inch in slow motion. Suddenly and slowly: one fast one slow, writing the sky's change - sunset and moonrise - accurately and vividly, and secretly implying the poet's long still sitting in the south pavilion, gazing: precisely because he lay idle and forgot time, he feels the flow of hours so distinctly. The couplet's parallelism refined yet language fluent, the realm moving from bright to dark, motion to stillness, preparing the time and mood for enjoying the cool, lying idle, and missing the friend below.
散发乘夕凉，开轩卧闲敞
With loosened hair I take the evening cool; I open the window and lie at ease in the wide, still room.
披散头发乘着晚凉，打开窗扉闲卧在宽敞之处。
With hair unbound I enjoy the evening cool; opening the window, I lie at leisure in the open.
此联写诗人乘凉闲卧的情态，是全诗「闲」字的落实。「散发」写解开发髻、任发披散，是卸去冠带礼服的松弛自在，见出隐者不受拘检的风度；「开轩卧闲敞」写打开窗扉，仰卧于轩敞的亭中，晚风穿堂，凉意满怀，何等惬意。「乘夕凉」「卧闲敞」皆口语般的家常语，却把夏夜纳凉的情境写得如在目前。此联由写景转入写人，人与景相得：唯有这般闲散之人，方配得上如此清幽之景；而「闲敞」的卧处，又暗暗引出下联荷风竹露的清赏，章法上承上启下，流转自然。
This couplet writes the poet enjoying the cool at leisure, the落实 of the poem's idle. With hair unbound writes untying the hairpin, letting hair fall loose - the relaxation of removing cap and ceremonial dress, showing the recluse's unconstrained bearing. Opening the window, I lie at leisure in the open writes opening the casement, lying back in the airy pavilion, evening wind through the hall, coolness filling the breast; what contentment. Enjoy the evening cool and lie at leisure in the open are both household phrases, yet the summer-evening cool-seeking is as if before the eyes. The couplet turns from scenery to person, person and scenery matching: only such an idle man deserves such a clear scene; and the open lying place secretly leads to the lotus wind and bamboo dew below - structurally continuing above and opening below, flowing naturally.
荷风送香气，竹露滴清响
The lotus breeze sends its fragrance; bamboo dew drips with a clear sound.
荷风送来清香，竹上露珠滴落发出清响。
Wind from the lotus sends fragrance; dew on the bamboo drops with a clear sound.
此联是全诗最工、最著名的一联，写夏夜清景的极致。「荷风送香气」写嗅觉：晚风从荷塘吹来，送来缕缕清香，「送」字写出香气之主动、之弥漫；「竹露滴清响」写听觉：竹叶上凝结的露珠滴落，发出清脆的声响，「滴」字写露珠之晶莹，「清响」写其声之清越。一香一响、一风一露，动静相生，把夏夜的静谧写得可感可闻；正因万籁俱寂，荷香竹露才如此分明，此联以最细微的感觉写最幽静的境界，历来被誉为「幽细之极」，也是「以动衬静」的绝妙范例。清景如此，遂引出下文「欲取鸣琴弹」的雅兴。
This couplet is the poem's most crafted, most famous line, the extreme of the summer night's clear scene. Wind from the lotus sends fragrance writes smell: evening wind from the lotus pond, sending threads of fragrance; sends writes the fragrance's activity and diffusion. Dew on the bamboo drops with a clear sound writes hearing: dew condensed on bamboo leaves falling, making a crisp sound; drops writes the dewdrop's crystal, clear sound its limpid ring. One fragrance one sound, one wind one dew, motion and stillness born together, making the summer night's silence sensible and audible; precisely because all sound is hushed, the lotus fragrance and bamboo dew are so distinct. The couplet uses the finest sensation to write the quietest realm, since ages praised as extreme delicacy, the superb model of setting off stillness through motion. So clear a scene leads to the refined impulse of I long to take up my zither below.
欲取鸣琴弹，恨无知音赏
I would take my zither and play, but regret none is there to appreciate the tune.
正想取琴弹奏，却遗憾没有知音欣赏。
I long to take up my zither and play, yet regret no understanding ear is here to enjoy it.
此联是全诗由景入情的转折，也是情感的一折。「欲取鸣琴弹」承上联的清景而来：面对荷风竹露的良宵，诗人逸兴遄飞，正欲取琴一弹，以抒雅怀；「恨无知音赏」却陡然一折：琴为谁弹？弹与谁听？无人在侧，更无知音，于是兴致顿消，转生孤寂之叹。「恨」字此处非仇恨，而是遗憾、怅惘，是知音难觅的千古之叹；「知音」暗用伯牙子期之典，含而不露。由闲适清景忽转孤寂之情，一折之间，怀友之思已呼之欲出，章法转折自然，情致顿生。
This couplet is the poem's turn from scenery to feeling, the emotional fold. I long to take up my zither and play continues the clear scene above: facing the lotus wind and bamboo dew of a fine night, the poet's fancy soars, ready to take up the zither and play out his refined heart. Yet regret no understanding ear is here turns abruptly: for whom to play? To whom to listen? No one at hand, still less an understanding friend - the impulse instantly dies, turning to solitary sigh. Regret here is not hatred but regret, wistfulness, the age-old sigh at the hard-to-find understanding ear. Understanding ear secretly uses Boya and Zhong Ziqi, hidden and unspoken. From idle clear scene suddenly to solitary feeling: in one fold, the thought of the friend is already at hand; the turn natural, the feeling instant.
感此怀故人，中宵劳梦想
Moved by this, I think of my old friend; at midnight my dreams are troubled with longing.
感念于此而怀念故人，夜半时分还在梦中劳神相思。
Moved by this, I miss my old friend; in the middle of the night my dreams are troubled with longing.
尾联点明题旨，收束全诗。「感此」绾合上文：感此清景、感此孤寂，遂「怀故人」——辛大正是那能共赏清景、同听琴音的知音，今夜他不在，遂生怀念。「中宵劳梦想」以梦结情：夜半时分，相思入梦，连梦中也劳神牵念，把怀友之情写到极深极细。「劳」字见相思之重，连做梦都不得安宁；「梦想」即梦中想念，与《古诗十九首》「梦想见容辉」同义。全诗由黄昏的清景写到夜半的梦境，时间流转、情感渐深，结句余韵悠长，令人想见诗人辗转反侧的怀人之姿。
The closing couplet names the theme, resolving the poem. Moved by this gathers all above: moved by this clear scene, this solitude, I miss my old friend - Xin Da is precisely the understanding friend who could share the clear scene and hear the zither; tonight he is absent, and longing arises. In the middle of the night my dreams are troubled with longing closes feeling in dream: midnight, longing entering dreams, even in sleep the mind toiling with the thought - writing the missing to the deepest, finest degree. Troubled writes the weight of longing, even dreaming no rest; dreams means missing in dreams, same as the Nineteen Old Poems' dreams of seeing your face. The poem moves from dusk's clear scene to midnight's dream, time flowing, feeling deepening; the closing's savor long, making the reader imagine the poet tossing in his longing.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both from Meng Haoran — one longing for Xin the Eldest on a summer night, one for Zhang the Fifth on an autumn day; both clear scene and friend-longing, proving his ease-and-friendship verse.
《秋登兰山寄张五》「北山白云里，隐者自怡悦」与《夏日南亭怀辛大》同出孟浩然之手，同以清景写怀友之情，可以互证其「闲适友情诗」的一贯作风：前者写秋日登高所见，「天边树若荠，江畔洲如月」，境界高远清旷，末以「何当载酒来，共醉重阳节」邀友共醉；后者写夏夜纳凉所感，荷风竹露，清景宜人，末以「中宵劳梦想」寄怀。二诗一秋一夏、一登高一纳凉，而皆以冲淡之笔写笃厚之情，正可见孟浩然怀友诗「不事雕琢、情味自长」的整体风貌，是理解其诗风的两面明镜。
江南春 Spring on the River South 杜牧 · 异体比较，同为景中寓情而情旨不同 Different (both scenery / different subject)Though not the same kind, one may compare the method of 'feeling lodged in scene' — Meng writes ease, Du implies satire.
杜牧《江南春》「千里莺啼绿映红，水村山郭酒旗风」与孟浩然此诗同为写景名篇，而「景中寓情」的取向迥异：孟诗写夏夜清景，情是个人化的知音之叹、怀友之思，闲适恬淡；杜诗写江南春色，末以「南朝四百八十寺，多少楼台烟雨中」寄寓历史兴亡的讽喻，感慨遥深。同是即景抒情，一抒个人之情、一寓家国之思，一闲淡、一深沉，正可见唐诗写景诗由「情」到「志」、由「闲」到「讽」的多种面相。比较二诗，有助于理解「景中寓情」这一手法的丰富内涵与不同层次。
沧浪亭 Canglang Pavilion 苏舜钦 · 异代比较，宋人隐逸诗承孟风而自具面目 Different (Song writer on seclusion / inherits Meng's manner)Su's Canglang Pavilion inherits Meng Haoran's ease-and-seclusion line; compare Tang and Song seclusion verse.
苏舜钦《沧浪亭》「一径抱幽山，居然城市间」写其贬谪苏州后筑亭自适、寄情山水的心境，与孟浩然此诗同属隐逸闲适一脉，而时代与处境不同：孟浩然是终身未仕的隐者，其闲适出于本性，冲淡自然；苏舜钦是遭贬的士人，其闲适带着「迹与豺狼远，心随鱼鸟闲」的避世意味，旷达中含愤激。由孟到苏，可见隐逸诗由「隐于山」到「隐于市」、由「天性之闲」到「失意之闲」的演变，唐宋隐逸诗人不同的精神世界，正在这同中有异的闲适里显影。