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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

宿业师山房期丁大不至

Lodging, at, the, Mountain, Lodge, of, the, Master, Ye, Waiting, for, Ding, the, Elder, Who, Does, Not, Come

孟浩然

Meng Haoran

山水Landscape 隐逸Hermitage 待友friendship

夕阳度西岭，群壑倏已暝。
松月生夜凉，风泉满清听。
樵人归欲尽，烟鸟栖初定。
之子期宿来，孤琴候萝迳。

The, setting, sun, crosses, the, western, ridge,
The, ravines, suddenly, already, dark.
The, pine, and, the, moon, give, the, night, cool,
The, wind, and, the, spring, fill, the, clear, hearing.
The, woodcutters, returning, almost, all, gone,
The, misty, birds, roosting, just, now, settled.
That, one, I, expected, to, come, for, the, night,
The, lone, zither, waiting, by, the, path, of, the, creepers.

Listen

Meaning

A poem of the night and the waiting, written by Meng Haoran. The setting sun crosses the western ridge, the ravines suddenly already dark — the evening of the opening. The pine and the moon give the night cool, the wind and the spring fill the clear hearing — the night of the middle. The woodcutters returning almost all gone, the misty birds roosting just now settled — the quiet of the middle. And the close's that one I expected to come for the night, the lone zither waiting by the path of the creepers — the close's waiting. The poem is the night and the waiting: the dark, the quiet, and the close's zither.

月光从松林间升起,夜凉随之而生;风声泉响,充满耳际,一片清绝。打柴的人差不多都归去了,暮烟中的鸟儿也刚刚安栖。这位友人约好今夜来宿,我抱着孤琴,在藤萝小径上等候。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The, setting, sun, crosses, the, western, ridge, the, ravines, suddenly, already, dark. The, pine, and, the, moon, give, the, night, cool, the, wind, and, the, spring, fill, the, clear, hearing. The, woodcutters, returning, almost, all, gone, the, misty, birds, roosting, just, now, settled. That, one, I, expected, to, come, for, the, night, the, lone, zither, waiting, by, the, path, of, the, creepers. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the evening of the setting sun and the dark ravines, through the night of the pine and the moon with the quiet of the woodcutters and the birds, to the close's the waiting of the lone zither. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the close of the waiting: the pine and the moon give the night cool, and the close's the lone zither waiting by the path of the creepers — the night gathered in the quiet and the close's waiting. [Emotional Tone] Quiet, cool, and expectant: the poem is the dark, the zither and the close's waiting.

【白话串讲】孟浩然在业师的僧房里等丁大来：“夕阳度西岭，群壑倏已暝”——“松月生夜凉，风泉满清听”——“之子期宿来，孤琴候萝迳”——他抱着琴，在藤萝小径上等朋友。等了一夜，朋友没来。【意象与手法】全诗以景运情、以静写待，通篇不着一「待」字而期待之情无处不在。「度」「倏」二字写暮色由缓而疾，「生」「满」以通感写松月夜凉、风泉满耳；樵人归尽、烟鸟栖定，以万籁俱寂反衬候人独醒；末以「孤琴候萝迳」点题，「孤」字轻轻一点，物我交融，含蓄清绝，是盛唐山水诗「不著一字，尽得风流」的典型。【情感与主旨】孟浩然夜宿僧舍，静候好友丁大不至，遂记所见山夜之景。诗中无一语言愁，而孤琴之「孤」、萝迳之冷，已把等待的笃诚与淡淡的怅惘尽数托出。清幽之境里有人情的温度，隐逸之趣中见知音的期盼，正是诗人山林隐居生活的一个宁静而真实的侧影。【名句点睛】「松月生夜凉，风泉满清听」以「生」「满」二字通感写景：月自松间生，凉意随之，泉响盈耳，十字之间光、声、凉兼备，空灵澄澈，历来与王维「明月松间照，清泉石上流」并称盛唐山水名句。

Background

Meng Haoran (689-740), the poet of the mountains and the fields of the Tang, wrote this 'Lodging, at, the, Mountain, Lodge, of, the, Master, Ye' of the night and the waiting — the expectation of the friend. The evening of the setting sun with the night of the pine and the moon, the quiet of the woodcutters and the birds, and the close's the waiting of the lone zither — the poem gathers the quiet of the poet, the charm of the mountain night. The poem is one of the famous works of the poet's poems of the mountains.

此诗一名《宿业师山房待丁大不至》,为孟浩然夜宿僧人业师之山房、静候友人丁大不至时所作。丁大即丁凤,与孟浩然交谊深厚,同隐襄阳一带山林,孟浩然集中尚有《送丁大凤进士赴举呈张九龄》诸作,可见二人相契。业师当是一位名「业」的僧人,山房即僧舍或山间精舍。全诗以时间为线索,写黄昏入夜、月上松梢、泉声满耳、樵人归尽、烟鸟栖定,而友人音信杳然,惟以孤琴相候。这种「待人不至」的题材,自谢灵运《石门岩上宿》以来即为山水诗常格,孟浩然却能于寻常境中写出清绝之致。据《旧唐书·文苑传》及《唐才子传》所载,孟浩然「少好节义,喜振人患难,隐居鹿门山」,平生徜徉山水,与禅僧游侣往来频繁,此诗即其山居生活中一个真实而宁静的片段。全诗无一句写「待」字,而期待之情无处不在,正见其运笔之空灵。此诗被《唐诗三百首》等历代选本广泛收录,历来被视为孟浩然「清幽淡远」一格的代表作,与《夜归鹿门歌》并为其山林隐逸生活的真实投影。又,此诗题中「期丁大不至」,后人或以为题作《宿业师山房待丁大不至》,「待」字更直白地点出题旨,版本异文亦可参看。全诗以时间为线索,写黄昏入夜、月上松梢、泉声满耳、樵人归尽、烟鸟栖定,而友人音信杳然,惟以孤琴相候,这种「待人不至」的题材自谢灵运《石门岩上宿》以来即为山水诗常格,孟浩然却能于寻常境中写出清绝之致,其高处在情淡而味永,故历来为选家所重。又,诗人自小隐逸,与佛道方外之游颇多,业师既为僧,则山房实兼禅居之趣,诗中「松月」「风泉」之景,亦在在有禅意流转,而无一丝说教之痕,这正是孟浩然将禅趣化入山水的高明处。

Art

The poem's art is the art of the waiting. The evening opens: the, setting, sun, crosses, the, western, ridge — the setting sun of the western ridge; the, ravines, suddenly, already, dark — the ravines of the already dark. The night follows: the, pine, and, the, moon, give, the, night, cool — the night cool of the pine and the moon; the, wind, and, the, spring, fill, the, clear, hearing — the clear hearing of the wind and the spring; the, woodcutters, returning, almost, all, gone — the woodcutters of the gone; the, misty, birds, roosting, just, now, settled — the misty birds of the settled. And the close gathers the waiting: that, one, I, expected, to, come, for, the, night — the expected of the night; the, lone, zither, waiting, by, the, path, of, the, creepers — the lone zither of the creepers — the evening, the night and the close's waiting, gathered in the poem.

此诗之妙,在于以景运情、以静写待。首联「夕阳度西岭,群壑倏已暝」,从大处落笔,一个「度」字写出夕阳缓缓越过山岭的动态,「倏」字则极言暮色降临之速,光色明暗的转换于一联之内完成,境界顿开。颔联「松月生夜凉,风泉满清听」是全诗最见功力的名句:月自松间「生」出,凉意随之而「生」,着一「生」字,便觉月光、夜凉皆自松林间自然流出,极富动态与通感;「满」字则写风声泉响盈溢于耳,以听觉写景,直逼王维「泉声咽危石」之境。颈联「樵人归欲尽,烟鸟栖初定」,视角由物及人、由远及近,写出山中人烟俱静、鸟雀安眠的安详氛围,而「欲尽」「初定」二语又暗逗夜色渐深、等待渐久。尾联「之子期宿来,孤琴候萝迳」,点出题旨,「期宿来」三字明言有约在先,「孤琴」「萝迳」则于清冷中见出主人公的闲雅与笃诚。全诗不着一「愁」字,而「候」字之孤单、夜深之企盼,皆从景物与道具中隐隐透出,所谓「不著一字,尽得风流」,此诗近之。尤可注意者,此诗写「待」而始终不着一「待」字,纯以景物的推移暗示时间的流逝与期待的绵延,这正是盛唐山水诗「不著一字,尽得风流」的典型手法。诗人以「孤琴」这一道具点出人物,以「萝迳」这一场景点出等候,人物与情境相互生发,使全诗的意境在清冷中透出温润的人情味,较之王维纯写禅境的空寂,别有一番含蓄的情致。

Allusions

'The pine and the moon' (song yue) are the pine and the moon — the pine and the moon, the cool of the night; 'the wind and the spring' (feng quan) are the wind and the spring — the wind and the spring, the filling of the hearing; 'the path of the creepers' (luo jing) is the path of the creepers — the path of the creepers, the waiting of the close.

「之子」一词源出《诗经》,「之子于归」(《周南·桃夭》)、「之子于狩」(《小雅·车攻》)等屡见,「之子」本指「那个人」,后世诗中多用以指称所期所思之人,孟浩然以「之子期宿来」称丁大,语出经籍而了无痕迹,自有古朴之味。「期」即约期,《诗经·鄘风·桑中》「期我乎桑中」已用此义,孟浩然用此字写待友有约,亦有所本。至于「松月」「风泉」之景,则远绍谢灵运《登池上楼》「池塘生春草」以来即景会心的传统,近承王维《山居秋暝》「明月松间照,清泉石上流」的清幽境界,孟浩然于此再铸新境,可见其取法渊源。末句「孤琴」意象,令人想起《列子·汤问》伯牙善琴、钟子期善听的知音故事,孟浩然抱琴候友,正是以琴待知音之意,与其《留别王侍御维》「知音世所稀」之叹遥相呼应。山中待友、候而不至的题材可溯至谢灵运《石门岩上宿》「美人竟不来,阳阿徒晞发」,化用《楚辞·九歌·少司命》「与女沐兮咸池,晞女发兮阳之阿」句意,此后历代不绝,孟浩然此作正是这一母题在盛唐的又一次精彩呈现。再就「烟鸟」言之,「烟」字写暮霭初合、山气微茫之景,「烟鸟栖初定」五字把禽鸟归巢的安详与山间薄暮的静谧融合一体,暗合陶渊明「山气日夕佳,飞鸟相与还」的诗境,孟浩然虽未明引而意境自通。又,「萝迳」之「萝」可参《楚辞·九歌·山鬼》「被薜荔兮带女萝」之语,以女萝缠绕之径写隐者所居之地,清幽绝俗之意自在其中。

Commentary

This poem is one of the famous works of Meng Haoran's poems of the mountains, quoted for the quiet of its night and the waiting of its close. The pine and the moon with the night cool, and the lone zither by the path of the creepers, are among the admired passages of the poet's poems. Critics praise the poem's quiet: the night gathered in the hearing, to the close's waiting.

孟浩然此诗向以清幽见赏于历代评家。沈德潜《唐诗别裁集》论孟浩然诗「语淡而味终不薄」,此诗写山房夜候,无一语道及愁闷,而孤琴萝径之间情味自足,正可当之。严羽《沧浪诗话》以「兴趣」论盛唐之诗,谓「羚羊挂角,无迹可求」,此诗情含景中、理寓象外,亦是其例。王士禛论诗主「神韵」,于有唐一代最推王孟,其《渔洋诗话》历举清幽之作,孟浩然此类山居诗正是神韵说所标举的典范。至于「松月生夜凉,风泉满清听」一联,自来传诵,评家多赏其「生」「满」二字炼得精妙,将视觉、触觉、听觉融于一体,视为盛唐山水名句,与王维「明月松间照,清泉石上流」并称。近代俞陛云《诗境浅说》亦评此诗,谓其写景清绝,结句悠然,以待友不至作收,余韵不绝。凡此诸评,皆着眼于其淡、其静、其清,说明此诗在传统批评中已被牢固地安放在「清幽」一格,成为孟浩然诗风的标志性文本,也是后世理解盛唐山水田园诗派的重要参照。又,清人编《唐诗三百首》以《宿业师山房期丁大不至》入五律卷,与《夜归鹿门歌》并置,可见其在清代诗学中的典范位置。今人论盛唐山水诗亦常以此诗与王维《山居秋暝》、常建《题破山寺后禅院》并举,以为同属「清幽」一格,而孟浩然之清,清在情味,尤为贴近人间烟火。要之,此诗虽短,而于「待友」这一寻常题材中写出了不寻常的诗境,足见孟浩然以小见大的艺术功力。又,《唐诗三百首》选诗以「得其性情之正」为宗,此诗入选五律卷,说明编者视其为温柔敦厚之音。今人研治王孟诗派,亦每以此诗与《过故人庄》《夏日南亭怀辛大》并举,以为可见孟浩然写「待」而不迫、写「寂」而不悲的特长。要之,全诗以山房之夜为舞台,以孤琴候友为线索,于极静的境界中写出极深的情致,是孟浩然山水诗中意境最浑成、声情最谐和的名篇之一。

Prosody

Form An old poem of the mountains (wu yan gu shi)五言律诗

Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level of the group — the cadence of the old poem that carries the quiet waiting.平水韵去声二十五径,韵脚为「暝、听、定、迳」

Tone pattern The cadence is that of the waiting: the level opening with the evening, the turning with the night, and the close's fall with the zither.仄韵通体,句中多拗峭,以古拙入律

Reading note The poem's sound matches its quiet: the cadences of the old poem, and the close — 'gu qin hou luo jing' — falls with the creepers, the sound of the waiting of the expectant poet.此诗为仄韵五言律诗,通押平水韵去声二十五径,韵脚为「暝、听、定、迳」。全诗不用平声韵而押仄韵,在近体诗中较为少见,仄声韵短促低沉,恰好呼应诗中暮色四合、泉声清冷之境,声情相谐。句中平仄亦多拗峭之处,如「夕阳度西岭」(平平仄仄仄)已具三仄之尾,「群壑倏已暝」(平仄仄仄仄)连续仄声,五言诗「一三五不论」之说于此并不适用,诗人随情遣声,不拘常格,反得古拙之趣。颔联「松月生夜凉,风泉满清听」中「生夜凉」(平仄平)与「满清听」(仄平仄)平仄交替,诵读时自有清亮激越之声。其中「清听」之「听」读去声,为名词义,正协韵部。通篇以景语、清语为主,少用虚字转折,句法简洁,音节疏朗,与其幽寂之境天然相合,可视为孟浩然五律中以韵求境、声情并茂的别调,也反映出盛唐五律成熟期中尚存的古体余韵。

Line by line

松月生夜凉，风泉满清听。

The, pine, and, the, moon, give, the, night, cool, the, wind, and, the, spring, fill, the, clear, hearing.

月光从松林间升起,夜凉随之而生;风声泉响,充满耳际,一片清绝。

Moonlight through pines brings night coolness; wind and spring fill my clear hearing.

此联以通感写景,为全诗最胜处。「生」字赋予月光、凉意以生命,仿佛它们自松林深处自然涌现,时间感与视觉、触觉浑然一体;「满」字则以听觉收摄风声泉响,写足山夜之清越。十字之中,光、声、凉兼而有之,而意境空灵澄澈。此句不写「待友」而待友之心境自见——正因为心神专一,才能如此细密地体察天籁,这是以景写情的极高手法,历来被誉为盛唐山水名句。且「松月」与「风泉」一静一动,一明一暗,两种天籁交相辉映,使山夜的清寂不流于死寂,反而生机流动,正见诗人以清景写闲情的独得之妙。

This couplet writes scenery through synesthesia, the whole poem's finest place. Bring gives moonlight and coolness life, as if they naturally well up from the pine grove's depth; time sense and sight, touch浑然 one. Fill then uses hearing to capture wind and spring, fully writing the mountain night's clear resonance. Within ten characters, light, sound, coolness all present, yet the realm ethereal and limpid. This line not writes awaiting-friend yet the awaiting-friend mood self-shows - precisely because the heart is single-minded, one can so minutely observe the sounds of nature; this is scenery-writes-feeling's highest method, through the ages praised as High-Tang landscape famous line. And pine-moon against wind-spring, one still one motion, one bright one dark; two kinds of nature-sound shine together, making the mountain night's quiet not fall into dead stillness, but instead life flowing; precisely showing the poet's using-clear-scenery-for-idle-feeling's unique subtlety.

樵人归欲尽，烟鸟栖初定。

Woodcutters nearly all gone home; misty birds have just settled to roost.

打柴的人差不多都归去了,暮烟中的鸟儿也刚刚安栖。

Woodcutters are nearly all returned home; misty birds have just settled to roost.

视角由山景转向人事与禽鸟,以「欲尽」「初定」两个虚点,暗示夜色已深、等候已久。樵人尽归、烟鸟栖定,天地万物各得其所,而「我」独在山房候人,喧静对照之间,孤寂之情便从画面的罅隙中悄然溢出。此联无一字写情,而情在景中,正是孟浩然「语淡味厚」的典型笔法,也为尾联「孤琴候萝迳」的出场铺设了万籁俱寂的背景。换言之,此联妙在以「欲尽」「初定」写出时间的刻度,读者循此可以想见诗人在山房中久候的光景,而那份孤独的期待便在这静默的画面中自然浮现,不言愁而愁自见。

The perspective turns from mountain scenery to people and birds, using nearly-all and just-settled two void points to hint the night already deep, the wait already long. Woodcutters all returned, misty birds settled; heaven and earth all things each in their place, yet I alone in the mountain lodge awaiting a person; within the noise-stillness contrast, loneliness feeling quietly overflows from the picture's cracks. This couplet not one word of feeling, yet feeling in scenery; precisely Meng Haoran's words-plain-taste-thick typical brush, also preparing the closing couplet's lone lute awaiting the vine path's stage, laying the ten-thousand-quiet background. In other words, this couplet's subtlety lies in using nearly-all and just-settled to write time's marks; the reader following this can imagine the poet's long wait in the mountain lodge, and that lonely expectation naturally emerges in this silent picture; not speaking sorrow yet sorrow self-shows.

之子期宿来，孤琴候萝迳。

This friend was to come and stay; alone with my lute I wait on the vine path.

这位友人约好今夜来宿,我抱着孤琴,在藤萝小径上等候。

This friend was expected to lodge; alone with my lute I wait by the vine path.

尾联点题,却不直说「不至」,而以「孤琴候萝迳」的画面收束。「孤琴」与「期宿」对读,更见出等待者的笃诚与寂寞:琴以待知音,径以迎良友,而友人未至,惟有夜风相伴。「孤」字轻轻一点,情味全出,全诗也便在无尽的期待与淡淡的怅惘中悄然收住,含蓄之极,言尽而意不尽,是孟浩然结句艺术的典范。因此尾联虽无一字言及「不至」,而「孤琴候萝迳」的画面本身已是一种沉默的回答:等候的执著与失约的怅惘都被融入这清冷的画面之中,含蓄隽永,正是孟诗结句的独得之秘。

The closing couplet names the theme, yet does not directly say not-come, but closes in the picture of alone with my lute I wait by the vine path. Alone lute set against expected-to-lodge for reading, all the more showing the waiter's devotion and loneliness: the lute for the soulmate, the path to welcome the good friend; yet the friend not arrived, only the night wind as companion. Alone lightly tipped, the full feeling emerges; the whole poem then quietly closes in endless expectation and faint disappointment, reserved to the utmost, words ended yet meaning not ended; Meng Haoran's closing-art model. Hence the closing couplet though not one word referring to not-arrived, yet alone with my lute I wait by the vine path's picture itself is already a silent answer: the waiting's persistence and the missed-appointment's disappointment both fused into this cold-clear picture; reserved and meaningful, precisely Meng poetry's closing unique secret.

Study

Word focus

度 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「夕阳度西岭」之「度」,本写夕阳缓缓越岭而落的动态,着一「度」字,便觉光影移动如画,较「下」「落」更见从容与时间感;且「度」字与下句「倏」字对举,一缓一疾,共同写出了从黄昏到入暮的光色变化过程,为全诗设置了流动的时间背景。这个动词的选择,显示出孟浩然炼字不求奇险而重在传神的特点,与谢灵运「池塘生春草」之「生」字同为即景会心的字眼。故「度」字看似平常,实为全诗时间运动的起点,与「倏」「生」「满」「初定」诸字连成一气,共同织就暮夜由明入暗、由动入静的完整过程,足见诗人炼字的全局眼光。

生 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「松月生夜凉」之「生」是全诗诗眼。月非「照」地而来,凉非「袭」人而至,而曰「生」,仿佛月光与凉意皆自松林间自然孕育、悄然滋长,极富生命感与动态,将视觉之月、触觉之凉通感为一,又为下句「满」字蓄势。此字平易而境界全出,历来为评家所称赏,可与谢灵运「池塘生春草」之「生」并观,同属以一字写活一片境界的典范。要之,「生」字之妙在于以最朴素的字眼写最微妙的自然变化,不假雕琢而意境自现,正是「清水出芙蓉,天然去雕饰」的境界。

满 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「风泉满清听」之「满」,写风声与泉声充盈耳际。不用「闻」「入」而用「满」,是以听觉写景的极致:泉鸣风语,非止一响,而是弥漫山夜、无所不在,听者凝神入境之态宛然。此「满」与「生」字相映,一写凉意之滋生,一写天籁之充溢,共同构筑起「清听」的澄净境界,也为尾联候友不遇的宁静氛围作了铺垫,炼字之精于此可见。故「满」字非止写声,更写听声之人的澄明心境,景与情在「清听」二字中融为一体,这是孟浩然炼字最见功力的地方。