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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

新沙

The New Sandbank

陆龟蒙

Lu Guimeng

渤澥声中涨小隄，官家知后海鸥知。
蓬莱有路教人到，应亦年年税紫芝。

Amid the roaring of the Bohai Sea a new sandbank rises;
The tax-officials know of it before the seagulls do.
If there were a road that led to Penglai,
They would levy yearly taxes on the purple magic fungus too.
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Meaning

A satirical quatrain on the rapacity of taxation. A new sandbank rises in the Bohai Sea — the seagulls, the natural inhabitants of the shore, have not yet discovered it, but the tax officials already know. The poet imagines: if a road could lead to Penglai, the fairy isle of the immortals, the officials would levy yearly taxes on the purple magic fungus (zhizhi) that grows there. The poem exposes the reach of the tax system: no place, not even the legendary isle of the blessed, would be beyond its grasp.

渤澥声中涨小隄，官家知后海鸥知。蓬莱有路教人到，应亦年年税紫芝。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Amid the sound of the Bohai Sea a little embankment rises; the officials know of it before the seagulls do. If there were a road that let men reach Penglai, they should also tax the purple fungus year by year. [Structure and Thought] The quatrain moves from a real event (the new sandbank) to a satirical comparison (the officials outknow the seagulls), and from there to the fantastic conclusion (taxes on Penglai's magic fungus). Each step pushes the satire further into absurdity. [Key Technique] The poem's sting is in the disproportion: the seagulls are the rightful inhabitants of the shore, yet the tax officials, who have no claim at all, know of the sandbank first — because for them it is merely a new object to tax. The final couplet completes the satire by removing all limits: even the fairy isle would be taxed. [Emotional Tone] Dry, witty, and indignant beneath its humor: the poem is a satire on the tax system's insatiable reach, delivered with the lightest possible touch.

【白话串讲】 陆龟蒙写《新沙》：“渤澥声中涨小隄，官家知后海鸥知”——“蓬莱有路教人到，应亦年年税紫芝”——他写新沙——官家知后海鸥知。 【意象与手法】 “渤澥声中涨小隄、官家知后海鸥知”写新沙涨出；“蓬莱有路教人到”写蓬莱有路；结以“应亦年年税紫芝”以税紫芝写讽刺。诙谐感慨。 【情感与主旨】 陆龟蒙写讽喻之作，写新涨沙洲官家征税之快，以蓬莱税紫芝讽刺苛政无孔不入，是讽喻诗中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“渤澥声中涨小隄，官家知后海鸥知”写官家征税之快；“蓬莱有路教人到，应亦年年税紫芝”以蓬莱税紫芝写讽刺。

Background

Lu Guimeng (d. c. 881), courtesy name Luwang, styled himself the Hermit of the Furong Lake, was a late Tang writer of prose and verse, famous for his sharp wit and his satires on the abuses of his age. The late Tang was a period of crushing taxation, as the failing dynasty multiplied levies to support its wars and extravagance. This quatrain is one of the most famous satirical poems of the age, using the rise of a new sandbank in the sea as the occasion for a general indictment of the tax collector's greed.

《新沙》为唐代诗人陆龟蒙所作诗。陆龟蒙（约830—约881），字鲁望，苏州吴县人，唐代诗人。此诗写讽喻感慨，为咏新沙之作。诗中「渤澥声中涨小隄，官家知后海鸥知」写渤澥声中涨小隄，官家知后海鸥知；「蓬莱有路教人到，应亦年年税紫芝」写蓬莱有路教人到，应亦年年税紫芝。陆龟蒙此诗以讽喻感慨、应亦年年税紫芝写其感慨之情，诙谐感慨，是陆龟蒙诗中的名篇。此篇《新沙》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《新沙》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《新沙》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 art of the satirical absurdity. The first line states the plain fact — a new sandbank rises in the sea — and the second delivers the shock: the officials know before the seagulls. The inversion of natural priority (the birds should know their own shore first) is the satire's pivot: the officials' knowledge is not innocent curiosity but the swift scenting of a new tax base. The third and fourth lines then complete the fantasy: Penglai, the isle of the immortals, would be taxed for its magic fungus. The poem never raises its voice; the absurdity is allowed to make the point.

此诗艺术上以「诙谐感慨、以沙写情」见长。全诗共四句两联，由渤澥声中涨小隄而蓬莱有路教人到。起「渤澥声中涨小隄，官家知后海鸥知」写渤澥声中涨小隄：渤澥声中涨小隄，官家知后海鸥知；结「蓬莱有路教人到，应亦年年税紫芝」写蓬莱有路教人到：蓬莱有路教人到，应亦年年税紫芝。全诗以沙写情，由渤澥声中涨小隄而应亦年年税紫芝，诙谐感慨，是陆龟蒙诗中的名篇。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

'Penglai' is the legendary island of the immortals in the Eastern Sea, the home of the blessed; 'the purple magic fungus' (zhizhi) is the immortal-plant said to grow there, the food of the immortals. To say that the tax officials would reach even Penglai and tax the very fungus of immortality is to charge the tax system with a greed that spares neither gods nor immortals. 'The seagulls' are the natural inhabitants of the shore — their priority over the officials marks the unnatural intrusion of the state into the natural world.

诗中「渤澥声中涨小隄官家知后海鸥知」「蓬莱有路教人到应亦年年税紫芝」等语，皆含典故故实。「渤澥声中涨小隄官家知后海鸥知」写渤澥声中涨小隄官家知后海鸥知；「蓬莱有路教人到应亦年年税紫芝」用蓬莱、紫芝之典（蓬莱写海上仙山，紫芝写仙草），写蓬莱有路教人到应亦年年税紫芝。诗人用蓬莱、紫芝之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把讽喻感慨之情写得真切可感，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

This quatrain is one of the most quoted satires of the late Tang, admired for a millennium as the perfect compression of a political protest into four lines. The image of the tax officials outrunning the seagulls to a new sandbank has become proverbial for the insatiable reach of the state, and the fantasy of taxing Penglai's magic fungus is often cited as the supreme example of Tang satirical wit.

这首《新沙》，是陆龟蒙写讽喻感慨之作，写渤澥声中涨小隄、蓬莱有路教人到、应亦年年税紫芝之情，诙谐感慨。起「渤澥声中涨小隄，官家知后海鸥知」——渤澥声中涨小隄，官家知后海鸥知。写渤澥声中涨小隄：渤澥声中涨小隄、官家知后海鸥知——涨小隄、海鸥知；结「蓬莱有路教人到，应亦年年税紫芝」——蓬莱有路教人到，应亦年年税紫芝。写蓬莱有路教人到：蓬莱有路教人到、应亦年年税紫芝——教人到、税紫芝。这「蓬莱有路教人到，应亦年年税紫芝」，是全诗之结：以应亦年年税紫芝写其感慨。全诗诙谐感慨，以沙写情，正是陆龟蒙诗中的名篇。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 Seven-character quatrain (qijue)诗（七言绝句）
Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level-tone words 'di' (embankment) and 'zhi' (fungus) in the qi rhyme group, in the standard second and fourth line pattern.此诗为七言绝句，共四句两联。押韵：「知」「芝」押支部韵。前两句起、后两句转合，平仄相间，正与写讽喻感慨的诙谐感慨相称，也见其以七绝写感慨的凝练。
Tone pattern The first line is flat and factual; the second delivers the shock of the officials' priority; the third opens the fantasy with a condition; the fourth completes the absurdity in the flat, matter-of-fact 'tax the purple fungus yearly.'句式上，「渤澥声中涨小隄，官家知后海鸥知」写渤澥声中涨小隄，音节诙谐；结「蓬莱有路教人到，应亦年年税紫芝」写蓬莱有路教人到，音节悠长。全诗音节随情起伏，由诙谐而悠长，正合七绝「凝练」之妙，读来如讽喻感慨、应亦年年税紫芝之音，诙谐而动人。
Reading note This is a seven-character quatrain by Lu Guimeng, the late Tang satirist. The new sandbank rises amid the roaring Bohai; the tax-officials know of it before the seagulls — the government's appetite outstripping nature's own messengers. The close extends the satire to the impossible: even if a road led to Penglai, the isle of the immortals, they would tax the purple magic fungus yearly. The quatrain's irony is the poem's whole force.此诗为七言绝句，是陆龟蒙写讽喻感慨之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「诙谐感慨、以沙写情」：「渤澥声中涨小隄，官家知后海鸥知」写渤澥声中涨小隄、「蓬莱有路教人到，应亦年年税紫芝」写蓬莱有路教人到。全诗诙谐感慨，以沙写情。尤为精妙者，是「渤澥声中涨小隄」写尽涨小隄；而「应亦年年税紫芝」用紫芝之典，正是陆龟蒙诗「诙谐感慨」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《新沙》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

渤澥声中涨小隄，官家知后海鸥知。

Amid the roaring of the Bohai Sea a new sandbank rises; the tax-officials know of it before the seagulls do.

渤澥声中涨小隄，官家知后海鸥知。

Amid the Bohai's roar, a small dyke rises; the official houses know it before the seagulls do.

起句写渤澥声中涨小隄，起笔即见其小隄。「渤澥声中涨小隄」写渤澥声中涨小隄，「渤澥声中」写渤澥声中、「涨小隄」写涨小隄；「官家知后海鸥知」写官家知后海鸥知，「官家知后」写官家知后、「海鸥知」写海鸥知。一句写渤澥声中涨小隄官家知后海鸥知，以渤澥声中涨小隄写涨小隄、以官家知后海鸥知写海鸥知，写尽渤澥声中涨小隄、官家知后海鸥知之情。以隄起兴，诙谐而感慨，是「以隄起兴」的妙笔。

The opening writes the small dyke rising amid the Bohai's roar, the dyke named at the first stroke. Amid the Bohai's roar, a small dyke rises: the sea's roar, the new silt dyke growing. The official houses know it before the seagulls do: the tax officials know the new land even before the gulls. One line writes the rising dyke in the sea's roar, the other the officials knowing sooner than the gulls - Lu Guimeng's starting point for the new sandbank: dyke rising, yet the taxman arrives first. The line opens with the dyke as bi-xing, satirical yet indignant: the joke is that officials reach new land before nature's own creatures do, ready to tax it.

蓬莱有路教人到，

If there were a road that led to Penglai,

蓬莱有路教人到，

If Penglai had a road by which men could reach it,

此句写蓬莱有路教人到，是全诗写蓬莱之态的关键。「蓬莱有路」用蓬莱之典写蓬莱有路，「蓬莱」写蓬莱、「有路」写有路；「教人到」写教人到，「教人」写教人、「到」写到。一句写蓬莱有路教人到，以蓬莱有路写有路、以教人到写教人到，写尽蓬莱有路教人到之情。以仙写情，诙谐而感慨，是「以仙写情」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 if Penglai had a road by which men could reach it, the key to the poem's immortal. Penglai had a road: the immortal isle accessible. By which men could reach it: inviting mortals in. One line writes the accessible Penglai road - if the immortal isle could be reached, men would surely get there. The line uses immortals to write feeling, satirical yet indignant, hiding waves within plain words: the supposition prepares the killing stroke below.

应亦年年税紫芝。

They would levy yearly taxes on the purple magic fungus too.

应亦年年税紫芝。

they would surely tax the purple fungus there, year after year.

结句写应亦年年税紫芝，是全诗立意的落点。「应亦年年」写应亦年年，「应亦」写应亦、「年年」写年年；「税紫芝」用紫芝之典写税紫芝，「税」写税、「紫芝」写紫芝。一句写应亦年年税紫芝，以应亦年年写年年、以税紫芝写税紫芝，写尽应亦年年税紫芝之情。以芝写情，诙谐而感慨，是全诗最动人处，也是「以芝写情」的点睛之笔。

The closing writes they would surely tax the purple fungus there, year after year, the poem's landing. They would surely: surely, year after year. Tax the purple fungus: taxing even the immortal fungus. One line writes the annual tax on the immortal's purple fungus - the punchline: even the isle of immortals would not escape the tax collector. The line uses the fungus to write feeling, satirical yet indignant, the poem's most moving point: there is no corner of heaven or earth the official houses have not reached with the tax scroll.

Study

Word focus

渤澥 'The Bohai Sea' — the great northern sea, whose roaring frames the new sandbank. 「渤澥」写渤澥声中涨小隄，是写渤澥之态的关键。「渤澥声中涨小隄」着一「渤澥」，写渤澥——着一「渤澥」，写渤澥声中涨小隄，见其澥之渤。两字写尽渤澥之态，是「以词写澥」的妙笔。「渤澥」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。
官家 'The tax-officials, the government' — the officials who know of the new land before the seagulls. 「官家」写官家知后海鸥知，是写官家之态的关键。「官家知后海鸥知」着一「官家」，写官家——着一「官家」，写官家知后海鸥知，见其家之官。两字写尽官家之态，是「以词写官」的点睛之词。「官家」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。
蓬莱 'Penglai' — the island of the immortals, the farthest shore of the imagination. 「蓬莱」写蓬莱有路教人到，是写蓬莱之态的关键。「蓬莱有路教人到」着一「蓬莱」，写蓬莱——着一「蓬莱」，写蓬莱有路教人到，见其莱之蓬。两字写尽蓬莱之态，是「以词写莱」的点睛之词。「蓬莱」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。
紫芝 'The purple magic fungus' — the fungus of immortality, which even the immortals' isle could not keep from the tax. 「紫芝」写应亦年年税紫芝，是写紫芝之态的关键。「应亦年年税紫芝」着一「紫芝」，写紫芝——着一「紫芝」，写应亦年年税紫芝，见其芝之紫。两字写尽紫芝之态，是「以词写芝」的点睛之词。「紫芝」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 Prelude to Water Melody: When Did the Bright Moon Begin? 苏轼 · 同写感慨讽喻、诙谐旷达，一写人有悲欢离合、一写渤澥声中涨小隄官家知后海鸥知，皆于感慨之中见诙谐 Both touch the world of the immortals — Su Shi's moonlit palace of the jade firmament, Lu Guimeng's taxed island of Penglai.

Su Shi's 'Prelude to Water Melody' ascends in imagination to the palace of the moon; Lu Guimeng's 'New Sandbank' drags the immortal isle of Penglai down to the tax-roll — the one an escape, the other a satire.

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」，写感慨讽喻、诙谐旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；陆龟蒙《新沙》则以「渤澥声中涨小隄，官家知后海鸥知」「应亦年年税紫芝」写海鸥知、税紫芝。两诗同写感慨讽喻、诙谐旷达：一写人有悲欢离合、以悲欢写离合，一写渤澥声中涨小隄官家知后海鸥知、以小隄写感慨；一为苏轼之旷达、一为陆龟蒙之诙谐，并读正可见诗写「感慨讽喻」的两种笔法，皆于感慨之中见诙谐。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Eight Beats of Ganzhou: Facing the Evening Rain That Spatters the Long River 柳永 · 同写仙山凝望、诙谐清丽，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写蓬莱有路教人到应亦年年税紫芝，皆于仙山之中见凝望 Both are the late Tang and Song views of the world's reach — Liu Yong's far gaze of longing, Lu Guimeng's satiric reach of the tax.

Liu Yong's 'Eight Beats of Ganzhou' gazes far over the river in longing; Lu Guimeng's 'New Sandbank' imagines the tax following the settlers to the ends of the earth — the reach of the world seen as longing and as satire.

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」，写仙山凝望、诙谐清丽，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；陆龟蒙《新沙》则以「蓬莱有路教人到，应亦年年税紫芝」「渤澥声中涨小隄」写教人到、涨小隄。两诗同写仙山凝望、诙谐清丽：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写蓬莱有路教人到应亦年年税紫芝、以蓬莱写感慨；一为柳永之清丽、一为陆龟蒙之诙谐，并读正可见诗写「仙山凝望」的两种笔法，皆于仙山之中见凝望。