All poems

唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

题贾巡官林亭

Inscribed on Master Jia's Forest Pavilion

杨巨源

Yang Juyuan

题咏Inscription on a Place 闲适Leisure and Content 中唐Mid-Tang 园林Garden Retreat 隐逸Reclusion

白鸟闲栖亭树枝，绿樽仍对菊花篱。
许询本爱交禅侣，门前长者无虚辙，一片寒光动水池。

White birds rest idly on the pavilion's boughs,
While the green wine cup still faces the chrysanthemum hedge.
Xu Xun by nature loved to befriend Chan companions;
Before the gate the elders' wheel-tracks are never empty—
A sheet of cold light shimmers across the garden pool.

Listen

Meaning

Yang Juyuan inscribes a poem for the forest pavilion of his friend, Commander Jia, a mid-Tang military official who delighted in a refined, reclusive life. White birds perch idly on the trees, a green wine cup faces the chrysanthemum hedge, Chan-loving friends call regularly, and a sheet of cold light trembles over the pond. The poem celebrates a life of official ease — a 'recluse within the city' who combines Confucian duty, Daoist leisure, and Buddhist fellowship.

白鸟悠闲地栖在亭边树枝上，绿色的酒樽依旧正对着菊花篱笆。门前长者的车辙从没有空过，一片清寒的光影在池中微微荡动。

Appreciation

The poem moves from scenery to the man to his circle: the opening couplet paints a crisp autumnal scene (white birds, green wine cup, chrysanthemum hedge) in careful parallel; the third line introduces Xu Xun, a famous Eastern Jin recluse who loved Buddhist friends, to cast Commander Jia as a like-minded spirit; the closing couplet returns to the scene, using 'no empty wheel-tracks' to suggest constant worthy visitors and 'cold light moving on the pool' to close on quiet, lingering beauty. Its steady, elegant diction and allusive restraint are hallmarks of Yang Juyuan's 'plain but correct' mid-Tang style.

【白话串讲】杨巨源写贾巡官的林亭：“白鸟闲栖亭树枝，绿樽仍对菊花篱”。“许询本爱交禅侣”——“门前长者无虚辙，一片寒光动水池”——他写林亭的幽雅。【意象与手法】以「白鸟」「菊花篱」写清雅，「寒光动水池」收束，动静相生，淡而有味。【情感与主旨】写武僚园亭的吏隐之趣，折射中唐士大夫儒玄兼修、市隐相兼的心态。【名句点睛】「门前长者无虚辙」见主交方外德友，市隐之风悠然可感。

Background

Yang Juyuan (c. 755–c. 832), courtesy name Jingshan, was a mid-Tang poet from Hezhong (modern Yongji, Shanxi). He passed the jinshi examination in 789 and rose to Director of the Imperial Academy, befriending Bai Juyi, Yuan Zhen, and Liu Yuxi. This poem inscribes the forest pavilion of his friend, a certain Commander Jia, a minor military aide of a regional governor. The composition dates to roughly the Yuanhe/Changqing era (806–824), when literati gatherings and villa inscriptions were in vogue. The poem reflects the mid-Tang ideal of 'both Confucian and Buddhist, both official and recluse' — a commander who keeps a graceful garden and befriends monks and elders, embodying the 'urban hermit' ideal of the age.

杨巨源（约七五五—约八三二），字景山，河中（今山西永济）人，中唐诗人，贞元五年进士，官至国子司业，与白居易、元稹、刘禹锡交好，《全唐诗》卷三三三存诗。此诗题「题贾巡官林亭」，写诗人题咏友人贾姓巡官（州郡武官属吏）的园林亭榭。作年难确考，约在中唐元和、长庆间，时文人雅集题咏别业成风。值得注意的是，诗中「许询本爱交禅侣」「门前长者无虚辙」写林亭主人既慕禅悦、又多德友，折射中唐士大夫「儒玄佛兼修、吏隐相兼」的普遍心态——贾巡官身为武僚而园亭清雅、交皆方外长者，正是其时「市隐」理想的写照。可参看《唐诗纪事》卷三五杨巨源条载其「诗韵不为新语，体律务实」，及《旧唐书》相关记载，知杨诗以稳练雅正见称；亦可与白居易《草堂记》、王维《辋川集》同观，见唐人题咏别业由盛唐之山水清远转向中唐之禅悦交游的微妙变化。又杨巨源大历、元和间与白居易、元稹、刘禹锡交游，其诗「体律务实」，不务奇险而自见雅正，此篇即其题咏之常态。《唐才子传》称其「诗韵不为新语」，正指此种稳练。中唐别业题咏蔚为风气，自王维《辋川集》导夫先路，至中唐白、刘、杨诸家各擅，贾巡官林亭不过其中之一页，而由此可觑当时「吏隐」生活的普遍与制度化——园亭非独居，更是交游、谈禅、雅集的公共空间，折射出士大夫身在魏阙、心寄林泉的常态化生存策略。

Art

Artistically the poem proceeds 'from scene, to man, to atmosphere.' The opening couplet establishes the pavilion's clear beauty through balanced imagery: white birds, green cup, chrysanthemums — colors and objects set against each other, one 'idle' word for the bird's ease and one 'still' word for enduring companionship. The third line turns from scene to host, comparing Jia to the Eastern Jin recluse Xu Xun, who loved to discuss Buddhist philosophy; this lifts the pavilion from a physical place to a spiritual space. The closing couplet joins society and scene: 'no empty wheel-tracks' shows how many worthy visitors call, while 'a sheet of cold light moves across the pool' draws the bustling human world back into the garden's quiet, ending on lingering, cool resonance — 'concluding with scenery' in the classic manner.

此诗艺术上以「由景及人、由人及境」为脉络，于短章中写尽林亭之雅与主人之高。其一，起联「白鸟闲栖亭树枝，绿樽仍对菊花篱」以工笔对句立林亭清景：白鸟、亭树、绿樽、菊花、篱落，色彩（白、绿）与物象（鸟、樽、菊、篱）错落，一「闲」字写鸟之悠然，一「仍」字写人之长对，动静相生，清雅可掬，俨然一幅秋日林亭小景。其二，次句「许询本爱交禅侣」用典入题，由景转入主人：以东晋高士许询（好佛理、交僧侣）比况贾巡官，点出其慕禅之趣，使林亭不止于景，更成精神空间。其三，末联「门前长者无虚辙，一片寒光动水池」由人及境作结：上句写门前车辙常满、长者频至，言交游之盛、德望之重；下句以「寒光动水池」的清景收束，光与水的微妙颤动，将前面的人事喧阗拉回林亭的幽寂，以景结情，余韵冷然。全篇章法：景（起）—人（转）—交游与景（合），疏密有致；语言稳练雅正，对仗工致而自然，正合杨巨源「体律务实」的主体风格，亦具中唐题咏诗「清雅有典」的体性。再论其以「典」写人，通常题亭多写景，此诗却以「许询」一句将景升格为精神空间，使林亭不止于物理之亭，而成本主人的精神肖像。且「门前长者无虚辙」用「车辙」之密写交游之盛，与起联「白鸟闲栖」之静形成内松外紧的对照：亭内鸟闲人闲，门外车马喧阗，动静之间见主人「和而不同」的处身之道。结以「寒光动水池」收归清景，由盛转清，章法如书法之「无垂不缩」，是中唐题咏稳中见法的范例。

Allusions

Xu Xun, an Eastern Jin literatus recorded in the Book of Jin, delighted in Buddhist discussion with monks such as Zhi Dun; the poem borrows him to suggest Commander Jia's Chan-loving refinement. 'Chan companions' (Chanlu) refers to fellow practitioners of Buddhist meditation, a common presence in Tang villa life, as in Wang Wei's Wangchuan circle. 'Elders' (changzhe) carries both the Confucian sense of aged virtue and the Buddhist honorific for a pious layman. 'Chrysanthemum hedge' alludes to Tao Yuanming's 'picking chrysanthemums by the eastern hedge' and the Double Ninth custom, marking the garden's reclusive undertone, while 'cold light on the pool' echoes the cool clarity of Xie Lingyun's landscape poetry and the Chan sense of 'emptiness within forms.'

诗中用典皆取高士与交游传统。其一，「许询」为东晋名士，《晋书·隐逸传》附载其与支遁、王羲之等交游，尤好佛理，「每共支道林（遁）谈辨」，许询本玄言诗人而兼慕释氏，后世以之喻「士之好禅悦者」；杨巨源以许询比贾巡官，既美其风雅，亦点出林亭「交禅侣」的精神取向。其二，「禅侣」语本佛教，指同修禅法之僧友，唐人别业多延僧谈禅（如王维辋川、裴迪唱和），此典坐实林亭的方外之趣。其三，「长者」本《孟子》《史记》称年德俱高之人，佛经亦以「长者」尊居士善信（如《维摩诘经》长者维摩诘），此处「门前长者无虚辙」化用「门无虚士」「车辙常满」之意，写贾巡官德望所归、高朋满座。其四，「菊花篱」暗用陶渊明「采菊东篱下」，及九日赏菊古俗，点出林亭的隐逸底色；「寒光动水池」则近谢灵运山水之清冷。诸典融化无痕，使一首题亭小诗兼具晋贤风度与唐宋禅悦，文化厚度远逾其篇幅。又「贾巡官」之「巡官」为唐节度使、刺史僚属，掌巡逻纠察，位卑而亲民，贾某以武僚而园亭文雅、交皆方外长者，正见中唐「文武交融、吏隐无间」的士风。「菊花篱」除陶潜典，亦通重阳赏菊之俗，唐人重九宴集、采菊东篱，已成节令雅事。「寒光」意象则近常建「潭影空人心」、柳宗元「寒江雪」的清冷一脉，写池水反光之微，含禅家「即色即空」之趣。诸典皆取晋贤风度与唐宋禅悦，使短章兼具历史厚度与方外之思。

Commentary

Critics consistently praise Yang Juyuan's verse as steady, elegant, and allusive. Hu Yinglin in his Shisou praised Yang's regulated verse as 'dense and well-structured'; this poem's careful parallelism and cool conclusion match that judgment. Modern anthologists note that 'using Xu Xun to compare the host and closing with cold light on water' captures the poem's refined depth. Read alongside Bai Juyi's 'Record of the Thatched Hall' and Wang Wei's 'Wangchuan Collection,' it illustrates the mid-Tang shift from the High-Tang landscape of vast clarity toward an ideal of Chan fellowship and cultured society.

杨巨源诗风稳练雅正，此篇虽非其最显，论者亦多许其「清雅有典」。宋人欧阳修《六一诗话》虽未评此，然论中唐律「稳顺声势」，移评此诗「白鸟闲栖」「绿樽仍对」正合。明人胡应麟《诗薮》论杨巨源「七言缜密有体」，虽指其七律，然五律之工亦可见；此篇对仗之稳正合其评。清人编《全唐诗》卷三三三录杨诗，于此篇未详笺，然同卷《题表丈三大夫书斋》诸作可见其题咏多清雅语。近人撰《唐五代诗鉴赏》谓此诗「以许询比主人，雅人深致，结以寒光动水，冷韵悠然」，点出「体律务实而不失清远」的特质。今人《杨巨源诗集校注》诸本亦多肯定其题咏之工。综之，诸家虽详略不一，而于其「稳练雅正、清典有致」的判断则基本一致，视其为中唐题咏别业诗中「以典写人、以景结情」的代表小品。今人《唐五代诗鉴赏》论此诗，谓「以许询比主人，雅人深致，结以寒光动水，冷韵悠然」，最得肯綮。胡应麟《诗薮》论杨巨源「七言缜密有体」，虽指七律，而五律之稳亦可见；此篇对仗之工、结句之冷，正合其评。袁行霈《中国文学史》述中唐诗，以「尚实尚雅」括之，移评杨巨源尤当。综合而论，此诗在题咏别业传统中，以「用典写人、以景收情」自立一格，宜与白居易《草堂记》、王维《辋川集》并读，以见盛中唐题咏由山水清远向禅悦交游的微妙转捩。

Prosody

Form Seven-character ancient verse (six-line short piece, not strict regulated verse)七言古诗（六句短古，非严格律绝）

Rhyme Level-tone neighboring rhymes: zhi, wei, jia (zhi, li, chi in modern reading)支、微、佳等平声邻韵（枝、篱、池）通押

Tone pattern Mostly seven-character lines with free tonal patterning and a relaxed rhyme scheme, giving an ancient, leisurely manner句式以七言为主，平仄较自由，转韵宽松，古体气息

Reading note The piece opens with a standard seven-character parallel couplet, then relaxes into looser lines, leaning toward an ancient-style short piece rather than a strict jueju. Rhymes run continuously through 'zhi' (branch), 'li' (hedge), and 'chi' (pool). The steady, unhurried sound matches the poem's elegant, meditative content.此诗体制略特殊，起联为规范七言对句，后幅「许询本爱交禅侣」及结尾「门前长者无虚辙，一片寒光动水池」在传本中句式错落，整体偏向古体短章而非严整律绝，故平仄不拘、用韵宽松，正宜其清雅从容的题咏抒情。用韵方面，「枝」「篱」「池」押支、微、佳平声邻韵（唐音支脂之微相通），一韵贯通，声情温润而微带悠远，与内容之清典相称。句法上，「白鸟闲栖亭树枝」为「仄仄平平平平平」（亭、树、枝皆平，略显古调），「绿樽仍对菊花篱」为「仄平平仄仄平平」，起联近律而对仗工稳；后幅「许询本爱交禅侣」为散句折入，「门前长者无虚辙，一片寒光动水池」以宽对收束，打破绝句起承转合之常格，显出古淡不拘的体性。中唐题咏诗，大历以还尚清雅，杨巨源此作以短章、典丽、自由体式写林亭之趣，正合其时「稳练而不僵」的风会。清人论诗多重格调，然此类小诗贵在「天然雅正」，不宜以严律绳之，当据《唐诗品汇》「接武」诸品之宽格视之。

Line by line

白鸟闲栖亭树枝，绿樽仍对菊花篱。

White birds rest idly on the pavilion's boughs; the green wine cup still faces the chrysanthemum hedge. (The opening couplet: a crisp autumnal scene in careful parallel, where the birds' idleness mirrors the host's tranquil mind.)

白鸟悠闲地栖在亭边树枝上，绿色的酒樽依旧正对着菊花篱笆。

White birds idly roost in the pavilion's branches; the green cup still faces the chrysanthemum fence.

此联为全诗起手，以工致对句铺写林亭秋日清景，堪称「未识主人先见其境」。上句「白鸟闲栖亭树枝」写鸟之闲栖，「闲」字炼得极活，鸟之悠然即亭之悠然，亦暗喻主人心境之闲适，物我同此清寂；「亭树枝」三字点出林亭空间，朴直而有画意。下句「绿樽仍对菊花篱」由鸟转入人：绿樽（酒杯）对菊篱，写出主人独酌或待客的闲雅，「仍」字最可玩味——「仍旧」之意，暗示此种对菊持樽的生活是日常而非偶一为之，坐实林亭主人的隐逸常态。对仗上，「白鸟」对「绿樽」（色对色）、「闲栖」对「仍对」（动对静）、「亭树枝」对「菊花篱」（植物对植物），工而致密，体现中唐律诗隶事精严的法度。更深一层，白鸟、菊篱皆陶渊明式意象，诗人以最经典的隐逸符号写林亭，已为先写主人风骨埋下伏笔——景之清雅，实因人而清雅。短短十四字，色彩、动静、物我俱到，是杨巨源「体律务实」风格的 opener，亦见中唐题咏「由景立格」的章法自觉。

This couplet is the whole poem's opening, using refined parallel to lay out the forest pavilion's autumn clear scene, worthy of seeing its realm before knowing the host. The upper line white birds idly roost in the pavilion's branches writes the bird's idle roosting; idle is most refined and lively - the bird's leisure is the pavilion's leisure, also secretly metaphorizing the host's mind leisure, thing and self sharing this clear quiet. Pavilion branches three characters name the forest pavilion space, plain yet picture-rich. The lower line the green cup still faces the chrysanthemum fence turns from bird to person: green cup (wine cup) facing chrysanthemum fence, writes the host's solitary drinking or guest-receiving elegance; still is most savor-worthy - the still meaning, hinting this chrysanthemum-facing cup-holding life is daily not occasional, grounding the forest pavilion host's recluse norm. In parallel, white birds against green cup (color against color), idly roost against still faces (motion against stillness), pavilion branches against chrysanthemum fence (plant against plant), refined and dense, showing mid-Tang regulated verse's allusion-and-parallel strictness law. One layer deeper, white birds, chrysanthemum fence are both Tao Yuanming-style images; the poet using the most classic recluse symbols to write the forest pavilion, already planting the host's bone-spirit伏笔 - the scenery's elegance actually comes from the person's elegance. Within a mere fourteen characters, color, motion-still, thing-self all arrived; Yang Juyuan's regulating-verse-real-craft style opener, also showing mid-Tang theme-poetry's establishing-style-from-scenery craft consciousness.

门前长者无虚辙，一片寒光动水池。

Before the gate the elders' wheel-tracks are never empty; a sheet of cold light shimmers across the garden pool. (The closing couplet: 'never-empty wheel-tracks' shows the constant visits of worthy men, then the cold light on the water draws the scene back to quiet, ending on cool lingering beauty.)

门前长者的车辙从没有空过，一片清寒的光影在池中微微荡动。

Before the gate, the elders' tracks never lie empty; a sheet of cold light stirs on the pool.

此联为全诗收束，由前面的人事（许询交禅侣、长者满门）转入以景结情，是章法的「合」而兼「余韵」。上句「门前长者无虚辙」写贾巡官德望所归、高朋常至，「无虚辙」化用「车辙常满」「门无虚士」之意，以车迹之密写交游之盛，补足次句「许询本爱交禅侣」的主客相得；「长者」兼含年德与佛经居士双重尊称，呼应禅悦主题。下句「一片寒光动水池」陡转清景收束：以池水寒光之微动，将前面的人事喧阗轻轻拉回林亭的幽寂，「寒」字写秋气与清格，「动」字写光水相激的微妙颤动，静中有动，冷韵悠然。艺术上，此联上实（人事）下虚（光影），由盛转清，形成情绪与声调的双回落，使全诗止于余味而非尽于铺陈。较之起联的明丽对仗，结联以散句（或宽对）出之，疏密相济。一片寒光动水池，恰如王维「清泉石上流」的清冷余响，是杨巨源「稳练」中难得的一缕空灵，足见中唐题咏诗由实入虚、以景收情的高明。

This couplet is the whole poem's close, from the previous human affairs (Xu Xun making Zen companions, elders filling the gate) turning to close-feeling-in-scenery, the craft's closing-and-afterture. The upper line before the gate, the elders' tracks never lie empty writes Jia the inspector's virtue-fame-attracting, high friends constantly coming; never-empty-tracks transforms the ruts-constant-full, gate-no-empty-scholars meaning, using the ruts' density to write the visiting abundance, supplementing the second line's Xu Xun loved Zen companions' host-guest fitting. Elders holds both age-virtue and Buddhist layman double honorific, echoing the Zen-delight theme. The lower line a sheet of cold light stirs on the pool abruptly turns to clear-scene close: using the pool water's cold light's slight stirring, pulling the previous human-affairs noise gently back to the forest pavilion's quiet; cold writes autumn air and clear style; stirs writes the light-water striking subtle vibration; within stillness motion, cold aftertaste leisurely. Artistically, this couplet upper solid (human affairs) lower void (light-shadow), from prosperity turning to clearness, forming emotion-and-rhythm double descent, making the whole poem end on aftertaste rather than exhaust on laying-out. Compared with the opening couplet's bright parallel, the closing couplet comes in loose lines (or broad parallel), density-and-sparing mutually balanced. A sheet of cold light stirs on the pool, precisely like Wang Wei's clear spring flows on stones's cold after-echo; Yang Juyuan's steady-practice's rare wisp of etherealness, fully showing mid-Tang theme-poetry's entering-void-from-solid, closing-feeling-in-scenery mastery.

Study

Word focus

闲 Idle, at ease. The poem's most lively word: the bird's idleness betrays the ease of the place and of its master, setting the tone of refined leisure. 「白鸟闲栖亭树枝」之「闲」字，是全诗炼字最活处，亦为林亭定调之眼。「闲」本义为安闲、无事，此处写白鸟栖息枝头之悠然，一字而具三重意涵：一在写出鸟之自在——不惊不躁，安栖于亭树，是林亭无扰的物候证据；二在暗喻主人之闲——鸟之闲实因境之闲、人之闲，物我同此清寂，以鸟之闲衬人之隐；三在营造氛围——「闲」字为全诗奠定清雅从容的基调，与尾联「寒光动水池」的清冷一脉相承。自修辞观之，「闲」以形容词作状语，置于动词「栖」前，简劲而精准，较之「静栖」「安栖」更具时间性的悠然感。溯其渊源，陶渊明「众鸟欣有托」已开以鸟写居之安，至唐人别业诗多以「闲鸟」「幽禽」点缀，杨巨源此「闲」字承其绪而更见稳练。一字之炼，使起联未写人先写鸟，而鸟之闲已透出主人之格，正是中唐题咏「以物写人」的含蓄手法，亦见杨诗「体律务实」中藏着的清远匠心。

动 To move, to stir. The finishing touch of the last line: cold light falling on the pool stirs a faint ripple, animating the stillness and quietly closing the bustling human world back into the garden's calm. 「一片寒光动水池」之「动」字，是全诗收束处的炼字点睛，亦最具中唐题咏的冷韵。「动」本义为摇动、兴起，此处写寒光（秋月或天光）映入水池、与水相激而生微澜，一字而具三妙：一在化静为活——池水本静，寒光投之而「动」，静景顿生微妙生气，避免了死寂；二在以小见大——「一片」光影的「动」，写尽林亭深夜或清晨的幽寂中的一丝灵动，以微动反衬大静，近王维「月出惊山鸟」的反衬法；三在收束情绪——前面「长者无虚辙」是人事之盛，到此「动水池」的清景一收，由喧归寂，由实入虚，「动」字正标记这情绪回落的拐点。自修辞观之，「动」与「寒光」「一片」搭配，以单字动词撑起整个结句的空间与光影，简净而有力。较之起联「闲栖」的明丽，此「动」字清冷内敛，是杨巨源「稳练」风格中难得的空灵一笔，亦使全诗在雅正之外余出一缕禅家「动静不二」的幽趣。