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魏晋 Wei-Jin · 诗 Poem

杂诗十二首·其一

Miscellaneous Poems, No. 1

陶渊明

Tao Yuanming

哲理Philosophy 人生Life 劝勉Exhortation 五言古诗Five-character Ancient Verse

人生无根蒂，飘如陌上尘。
分散逐风转，此已非常身。
落地为兄弟，何必骨肉亲！
得欢当作乐，斗酒聚比邻。
盛年不重来，一日难再晨。
及时当勉励，岁月不待人。

Life has no root or stem,
Drifting like dust upon the road.
Scattered, turning with the wind—
This is no longer the body I once knew.
Having set foot on earth, we are brothers—
Why must we be of the same flesh and bone?
When joy is found, we should make merry;
With a jug of wine, gather our neighbors.
The prime of life never comes again;
No day has a second morning.
Seize the hour and strive—
Years and months wait for no one.

Listen

Meaning

Life is rootless and transient, like dust blown along the road. Since all people are equally adrift, we should treat everyone as brothers, find joy in simple pleasures with our neighbors, and diligently make the most of the time that never returns.

人生在世没有根蒂，飘荡如路边的飞尘。随风离散流转，此身已不再是当初的常身。人一落地便如兄弟，何必非要骨肉至亲！遇到欢欣当作乐事，斟酒邀聚近邻。壮年时光一去不返，一日之中难有两个清晨。应当及时相互勉励，岁月是不会等待人的。

Appreciation

The poem opens with a stark image of human life as rootless dust, evoking a deep sense of loss and impermanence. It then turns outward to an ideal of universal brotherhood and the warmth of neighborly conviviality. Finally, it rises to a stirring call to action, reminding us that prime years do not return and time waits for no one. In three emotional movements—from sorrow, to openness, to resolve—Tao transforms the common Han-Wei lament over life's brevity into a calm yet passionate wisdom.

【白话串讲】 “人生无根蒂，飘如陌上尘”——陶渊明写人生：像路上的尘土。“落地为兄弟，何必骨肉亲”——四海之内皆兄弟。“得欢当作乐，斗酒聚比邻”——“盛年不重来，一日难再晨。及时当勉励，岁月不待人”——盛年不再来，要珍惜时光。【意象与手法】以“人生无根蒂，飘如陌上尘”起笔，将生命喻为无根之花、陌上之尘；继而由悲转旷，提出“落地为兄弟，何必骨肉亲”的泛爱理想；末四句落脚于“盛年不重来”“岁月不待人”的惜时勉力。三层转折，由悲而旷、由旷而励，语虽平易而情极深挚。【情感与主旨】陶渊明五十岁左右的感怀之作，飘泊之悲与相聚之欢相纠缠，旷达中藏着沉痛。“盛年不重来”已成千古惜阴之箴，既见汉魏“人生无常”主题的余响，又透出陶渊明特有的豁达与温热。【名句点睛】常考“人生无根蒂，飘如陌上尘”以尘土喻生命飘泊无定；“盛年不重来，一日难再晨。及时当勉励，岁月不待人”以惜时写勉励。

Background

This is the first of Tao Yuanming's 'Twelve Miscellaneous Poems,' written around 414 CE, when the poet was about fifty, eight years after he had left official life and returned to farming. In an era of turbulence and violence, Tao felt keenly the fragility of human existence. While many contemporary poets merely sighed over the brevity of life, Tao responded with both compassion for others and a call to inner diligence, making this poem a distilled expression of his mature, hard-won serenity.

陶渊明《杂诗》共十二首，约作于晋安帝义熙十年（414）前后，时诗人年约五十，归隐田园已八载。王瑶先生据其六『奈何五十年，忽已亲此事』，推断组诗当作于同年。此时的陶渊明，早已辞彭泽令归田，少年『猛志逸四海』的豪情在战乱与困顿中消磨，转而直面生命短暂、壮志难酬的真实处境。魏晋以来，『人生无常』『生命须臾』是诗中常见基调，从《古诗十九首》到三曹、竹林七贤，慨叹弥深。陶渊明此组诗正承此时代音调，然却能于悲慨中开出旷达与温热。本诗为第一首，主题在劝人相处和睦、惜时自勉，看似说理，实则是诗人饱经离乱、深味人生之后的经验结晶，字里行间既有对生命飘泊的无奈，更有对人间温情的执着。陶渊明晚年闲居柴桑，贫病相仍，而志节愈坚。《杂诗十二首》多写时光流逝、壮志难酬与孤怀自守，约作于其五十岁前后。其一为组诗开篇，由良夜惊秋写起，引出对华年已逝、壮志无成的深沉慨叹。其时渊明已告别仕途，躬耕自给，然「猛志逸四海」之豪情并未尽泯，故诗于闲淡中时露慷慨，是理解陶渊明复杂内心的重要篇什。

Art

The art lies in its plain yet layered structure. The first four lines confront the instability of life; the middle four propose universal brotherhood and communal joy; the last four exhort the reader to strive. The metaphors of rootless flowers and roadside dust turn abstract grief into a concrete, visible image. The language is colloquial and warm, yet the rhetorical questions and imperative phrases give it force. The final couplet, with its unadorned directness, strikes like a gentle but irrevocable warning, showing the power of Tao's 'seemingly dry, actually rich' style.

本诗在艺术上以『平易中见波澜』取胜。结构上可分为三层：前四句写人生飘泊之无常，中四句写当以兄弟相待、及时行乐，末四句写盛年不再、当及时勉励。层层递转，由悲而旷、由旷而励，情感如波浪推进，毫无说教之平板。其最大特色是用比与说理的水乳交融：起笔『无根蒂』『陌上尘』两个比喻，化用《古诗》『人生寄一世，奄忽若飙尘』而更通俗形象，将抽象的生命无常写得触目可及。全诗语言浅近如话，多用虚字（『为』『何必』『当作』『及时』）斡旋语气，使议论不失诗的温润。尤其末二句『及时当勉励，岁月不待人』，以直白警策收束，如禅家当头棒喝，将前面的感伤一笔提起，转为积极，足见陶诗『似枯实腴』的白话力量。起句「人生无根蒂，飘如陌上尘」以两个比喻劈空而来，将人生无着之悲写到极致；「分散逐风转，此已非常身」续以飘转之态，由形及神，层层推入。后半「落地为兄弟，何必骨肉亲」忽作旷达语，转悲为通；然结以「得欢当作乐，斗酒聚比邻」「盛年不重来」云云，旷达中复含及时行乐之无奈。全诗于悲慨与旷达间往复，语淡情浓，最见陶诗「化愤懑为和平」的成熟笔力。

Allusions

The opening image is indebted to the 'Nineteen Old Poems' (especially 'Life is a sojourn, sudden as whirlwind dust'), and the idea of universal brotherhood echoes Zixia's saying in Analects XII.5: 'All within the four seas are brothers.' The admonition against wasting time recalls Han yuefu lines such as 'When the hundred rivers go east to the sea, when will they return west?' Yet Tao condenses these traditional topoi into a distinctly personal idiom, recasting them with a warmth and directness that make them feel new.

诗中意象与典故多有渊源。『人生无根蒂，飘如陌上尘』明显脱胎于《古诗十九首·今日良宴会》『人生寄一世，奄忽若飙尘』及《驱车上东门》『浩浩阴阳移，年命如朝露』，然陶渊明以『无根蒂』『陌上尘』更易为日常物象，化典雅为平易。『落地为兄弟』则本于《论语·颜渊》子夏曰『四海之内，皆兄弟也』，又暗合《诗人序》『岂无他人，不如我同父』的亲族之理而翻进一层，主张超越骨肉的血缘之亲，建立普遍的人间友爱，呈现出陶渊明在乱世中对『泛爱』『和平』的理想追求。至于『盛年不重来，一日难再晨』，则是对汉乐府『百川东到海，何时复西归』『少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲』惜时主题的继承与凝练。这些渊源经陶渊明点化，皆融入其独有的冲淡气象，成为新的经典表达。「人生无根蒂」化用《古诗十九首》「人生寄一世，奄忽若飙尘」之意，而更以「无根蒂」「陌上尘」加倍写其飘零。「落地为兄弟」则遥接《论语》「四海之内皆兄弟」及陶渊明自身「相知何必旧」的交友观。又「盛年不重来，一日难再晨」，与《古诗》「昼短苦夜长，何不秉烛游」同属惜时之叹，然陶诗不堕颓放，而以「及时当勉励」收束，于旷达中见警策，已开后世惜阴诗之先声。

Commentary

The twelve lines move in four distinct units. The first couplet sets the existential stage: human life has no root and is blown like dust. The second couplet deepens this by noting that we are already changed, no longer the original self. The third couplet then makes a sudden turn: since we are all drifters, all people are our brothers, not merely our blood kin. The fourth couplet urges us to share wine with neighbors and enjoy the present. The final two couplets raise the poem to its highest pitch: prime years cannot come again, and time waits for no one, so we must strive while we can. Every line carries weight despite its simple words, reflecting Tao's habit of 'turning grief into peace'.

全诗十二句，意脉清晰。首联『人生无根蒂，飘如陌上尘』，劈空而起，以两个比喻总写生命之无凭与飘泊；颔联『分散逐风转，此已非常身』承上，言个体随风离散、历尽变故而『非常身』——已非本初之我，悲慨更深一层。腹联『落地为兄弟，何必骨肉亲』陡然转折，由叹己之飘转而及人之相处：既皆飘泊之身，则四海皆可为兄弟，何必拘于血缘？此乃乱世中的泛爱理想。『得欢当作乐，斗酒聚比邻』承此，写以酒聚邻、及时行乐的现世安顿，温厚可喜。末联『盛年不重来，一日难再晨。及时当勉励，岁月不待人』再翻一层，由『相处之和』升华为『自勉之励』：壮岁难再、晨光难留，故当惜时奋进。四层意思，由个体命运而及人际交往，由人际交往而及自我修养，收束于积极惜时，章法浑成，余味深长。此诗之佳，在以极寻常之语写极深沉之情。「飘如陌上尘」五字，道尽乱世文人漂泊无依的普遍命运；而「何必骨肉亲」一句，既是对家族离散的补偿，亦是对儒家宗法羁绊的某种疏离。尤其结末四句，由人生飘泊之悲翻作斗酒相聚之劝，看似消解，实则更深一层：既然盛年难再，便当于有限之中珍惜眼前之欢。这种将悲慨化为温厚人情的艺术转化，正是陶渊明高于一般颓唐文士之处。

Prosody

Reading note The poem is unregulated, permitting colloquial particles and flowing syntax that echo spoken language. The even rhyme and generally level tones create a gentle, meditative voice, entirely suited to the poem's warm yet earnest exhortation.本诗为五言古诗，依汉魏古调，不受近体声律约束，以气运词、以意役韵。押韵方面，首句入韵，『尘』『身』『亲』『邻』『晨』『人』皆属真韵（平声），一韵到底，声情温厚而从容，恰配其劝勉温和的语调。句式上多用散文化虚字斡旋，如『无……飘如……』『何必……』『当作……』『及时……』，使齐言五字中见出议论的呼吸与停顿，避免了骈偶的板滞。章法上四句一层，三层次第展开（无常—泛爱—惜时），层与层之间以意脉暗转，不靠黏连而自贯。两句一顿的节奏，如『盛年不重来，一日难再晨；及时当勉励，岁月不待人』，前偶后对、前叹后勖，读来先抑后扬，于平易中见出跌宕。整体音律不事雕琢而自然谐畅，正合陶渊明『质性自然，非矫厉所得』的诗学主张。

Line by line

人生无根蒂，飘如陌上尘。

Life has no root or stem—no firm anchor in the world.

Human life has no root or stem, drifting like dust on the road.

起笔二句为全诗的感情基调与哲学起点。『根蒂』本指草木与土地相连的根本，『无根蒂』即言人生如草木失土，无所依凭；『陌上尘』则状其随风飘转、聚散无常。两个比喻叠加，将抽象的『生命无常』具象为眼前可感的物象，比《古诗》『奄忽若飙尘』更通俗、更刺心。尤为深刻的是『无根蒂』暗含一种存在论的无奈：人来到世间本无凭借，一切荣枯皆系于偶然。这种体认源于汉末魏晋的『人的觉醒』——当外在的功业、门第、天命都不再可靠，个体便直面自身的漂泊。陶渊明以此开篇，并非单纯伤感，而是为后文『落地为兄弟』的泛爱主张张本：正因为人人皆飘泊无根，才更应以温情相待，足见悲悯之深。

The opening two lines give the emotional keynote and philosophical starting point of the poem. 'Root or stem' originally means the plant's connection to the soil; 'no root or stem' says human life is like a plant deprived of earth, with nothing to rely on. 'Dust on the road' renders its being blown about by the wind, gathering and scattering without fixed order. The two metaphors overlay each other, making abstract 'life's impermanence' into a palpable sight before the eyes, more plain and more piercing than the old poem's 'fleeting as wind-blown dust.' What is deeper is the existential helplessness hidden in 'no root or stem': man comes into the world with no support, and all his glory and decline hang on chance. This understanding springs from the 'awakening of the individual' in the late Han and Wei-Jin: when outer achievement, family rank, and fate are no longer reliable, the individual faces his own drift. Tao opens thus not merely to grieve but to prepare the claim that 'once born, all are brothers'—precisely because all men drift rootless, they should treat one another with warmth, showing the depth of his compassion.

及时当勉励，岁月不待人。

It drifts like dust along the road.

While there is time, stir yourself and strive; the years and months do not wait for man.

此二句为全诗结穴，也是传诵千古的励志名言。『及时』呼应前文『得欢当作乐』的『当』字，将『行乐』升华为『勉励』——不仅仅是享受当下，更包含珍惜光阴、奋发自任的积极内涵。『岁月不待人』五字，以最朴白的口语道出最不可辩驳的客观规律：时间对所有人一视同仁地流逝，从不因人的留恋或悔恨而稍作停留。这句看似平淡，实则力重千钧，它将前面所有的飘泊之悲、兄弟之劝，最终凝缩为一种清醒的行动召唤。与曹操『烈士暮年，壮心不已』的雄浑、李白『天生我材必有用』的豪宕不同，陶渊明的勉励是温厚的、贴近日常的，却因其真切入心而更具普世力量，至今仍是劝学惜时的常用箴言。

These two lines are the poem's conclusion and a timeless maxim of encouragement. 'In its time' answers the 'should' of the earlier 'take joy when you may,' raising 'enjoyment' into 'striving'—not merely seizing the present but treasuring time and rousing oneself. The five characters 'the years and months do not wait for man' state, in the plainest speech, the most incontrovertible law: time flows equally for all, never pausing for a man's longing or regret. The line seems plain yet weighs a thousand catties, condensing all the preceding grief of drift and admonition of brotherhood into a clear call to action. Unlike Cao Cao's grandeur of 'in his old age the hero's heart does not cease,' or Li Bai's dash of 'Heaven bore me, surely for some use,' Tao's encouragement is warm and close to daily life, yet precisely because it is true and close to the heart it has a universal force, remaining to this day a common maxim for study and for treasuring time.

Study

Word focus

根蒂 Root and stem; foundation. Metaphor for the native anchorage of life. 『根蒂』本指植物的根与蒂（瓜果与枝茎相连处），引申为事物的本原与依凭。陶渊明以『人生无根蒂』起句，用一个极寻常的农事词汇，道出了存在论层面的深刻体认：人不同于草木有土可依，生命本质上是无凭无靠的飘泊。这个词的妙处在于『以熟为生』——读者熟知的农事意象，被赋予全新的人生哲理重量。它与下句『陌上尘』构成根—尘、植物—微物的对举，共同编织出汉魏之际文人特有的生命苍凉感。值得注意的是，陶渊明晚年躬耕，对『根蒂』『苗稼』自有切身体认，故用之不仅贴切，更见出他能将田园经验升华为哲思的能力，这正是其诗『农事即哲理』的独特处。

盛年 The prime or flower of life; the years of greatest vigor. 『盛年』指壮年、人生的鼎盛时期，与『暮年』『衰年』相对。陶渊明言『盛年不重来，一日难再晨』，以『盛年』与『一日』对举，将人生尺度（年）与一日尺度（晨）叠合，强调『不可再得』的普遍性与紧迫性。这个词在惜时主题中极具分量：它不笼统地说『时光』，而特指人最可有为的青壮年阶段，暗含『此时不勉，更待何时』的潜台词。与汉乐府『少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲』相比，陶渊明不说『少壮』而说『盛年』，语更温厚、指向更明确；与『一日难再晨』配合，又以自然日序的不可逆，喻人生阶段的不可复返，层层逼近，使『及时』之劝具有无可推托的说服力。