魏晋 Wei-Jin · 诗 Poem
招隐诗
Summoning the Recluse
杖策招隐士，荒涂横古今。
岩穴无结构，丘中有鸣琴。
白雪停阴冈，丹葩曜阳林。
石泉漱琼瑶，纤鳞亦浮沉。
非必丝与竹，山水有清音。
何事待啸歌，灌木自悲吟。
秋菊兼糇粮，幽兰间重襟。
踌躇足力烦，聊欲投吾簪。
No structures in the rocky caves, but from the hills comes the sound of a zither.
White snow rests on the shady ridge, red blossoms shine in the sunny wood.
Rock springs wash jade-like stones, tiny fish float and sink.
Not necessary are strings and bamboo, mountains and waters have pure sounds.
Why wait for songs and cries, the bushes themselves moan in sorrow.
Autumn chrysanthemums serve as dry provisions, secluded orchids hang on folded lapels.
Hesitant, my feet are weary, I wish to throw away my official cap.
Meaning
The poet sets out with a staff to summon a hermit, describing the pristine beauty of the mountain forest—snow and blossoms, spring and fish—and arguing that nature's sounds surpass artificial music. He ends with a desire to abandon officialdom and retire.
我拄着手杖前去招寻隐士，那荒僻的道路横亘古今，仿佛久无人迹。走进山林，岩洞之中虽然没有屋舍殿堂，山丘之间却传来悠悠的琴声。皑皑白雪积停在背阴的山冈，红艳的花朵照亮了向阳的树林。石间的清泉冲刷着美玉般的石块，细小的游鱼在水中时浮时沉。何必一定要有丝弦竹管之乐，山水之间自有清越的音响。又何必等待长啸高歌，灌木丛中自会发出悲凉的吟唱。秋菊可以兼作干粮，幽兰点缀在层叠的衣襟之间。我徘徊踌躇，双脚已经疲惫，姑且就想弃掷冠簪、归隐山林了。
Appreciation
Zuo Si, though talented, was of humble birth and long frustrated in his career. This poem expresses his admiration for reclusion and his wish to escape worldly troubles. The vivid descriptions of nature and the philosophical turn in the middle section mark an early development in landscape poetry.
【白话串讲】 “非必丝与竹，山水有清音”——左思说，不必有琴有瑟，山水本身就是最美的音乐。隐居，不是逃避，是换一种活法。 【意象与手法】 全诗以行踪为线，由荒涂入岩穴，层层展现隐居高趣：岩穴鸣琴写居处之简而精神之富，白雪丹葩设色明丽，石泉纤鳞动静相生，山水清音、灌木悲吟以声写静，秋菊幽兰见服食之洁。手法上最著者为以声写静与拟人化物：非必丝与竹，山水有清音一联将自然之声置于人工之乐上，翻出新意，遂成山水诗经典命题；灌木自悲吟以悲字赋物以情；石泉漱琼瑶之漱字化静为动，清峻传神。全诗炼字精当，语言简劲古朴，力去繁缛，景、理、情熔于一炉，开谢灵运、王维山水诗之先声。 【情感与主旨】 左思出身寒微，才高而久沉下僚，郁郁不得志。《招隐诗》二首写招邀隐士、企慕栖遁，约作于其厌倦宦途、向往自然之时，与《咏史》八首同为其忧愤之作。诗中由杖策招隐到聊欲投吾簪，实为自招自警，招的正是被尘网牵绊的自我；山水清音、菊粮兰襟既是山林之乐，亦是寒士在门阀压抑下求解脱的精神寄托，归隐之志与山水之美在此合一，见出西晋士人借自然安顿身心的时代心态。 【名句点睛】 常考非必丝与竹，山水有清音一联的哲理意蕴与山水诗史地位，自然之声胜于人工之乐，开以自然为审美对象之先声；又考石泉漱琼瑶，纤鳞亦浮沉的画面美与漱字之妙；聊欲投吾簪以投簪代弃官，卒章显志，见归隐之决意。全诗由招而游、由游而悟、由悟而投，章法谨严，为西晋隐逸诗之精品。
Background
Zuo Si was of humble birth and long frustrated in his official career. 'Summoning the Recluse' was written when he grew tired of bureaucracy and longed for nature, reflecting the mentality of Western Jin scholars seeking relief in landscape under the oppression of the aristocratic clan system.
左思，字太冲，西晋齐国临淄人，出身寒微，貌寝口讷而才学冠世，曾以十年之功写成《三都赋》，一时洛阳纸贵。然因门第低微，仕途颇为坎坷，久沉下僚，仅官至秘书郎，郁郁不得志。《招隐诗》二首约作于其厌倦宦途、向往栖遁之时，与《咏史》八首同为其忧愤之作的姊妹篇。西晋太康年间，门阀士族垄断仕途，寒门之士出路狭窄，左思空负才华而难展抱负，遂借招隐之题以抒怀。诗中所谓招隐士，实为自招自警，招的正是那个被尘网牵绊的自我。全诗以行踪为线索，由荒涂入岩穴，历写山林清景、隐者高趣，末以聊欲投吾簪收束，点出弃官归隐之志，是西晋寒士在门阀压抑下借山水田园求解脱心态的典型写照，亦开后世招隐归隐题材之先河。此诗与《咏史》诸篇并观，可见左思志在有为而终于自放的心路，其人其诗，皆西晋寒士命运的缩影。此诗写于左思壮年失意之时，诗中荒涂横古今的苍茫之感，与当年洛阳纸贵、名动一时的荣耀恰成对照，愈见其胸中块垒与急欲抽身的决绝。
Art
The poem follows the poet's journey, revealing the hermit's lofty life layer by layer. The contrasting colors of white snow and red blossoms, the vivid verb 'wash' in 'stone fountain washes jade', and the innovative line 'mountains and waters have clear sounds' all demonstrate Zuo Si's refined language. The ending directly expresses his wish to discard his official cap. This poem anticipates the landscape poetry of Xie Lingyun and Wang Wei.
此诗章法以行踪为经、以声色为纬，由外入内、由景及志，层层递进。起笔杖策招隐士，荒涂横古今，点出招隐之题，横古今三字将荒路的幽邃与隐逸传统之悠远一并写出。以下各联皆围绕山林展开：岩穴鸣琴写居处之简而精神之富，白雪丹葩写色彩之明，石泉纤鳞写动静之态，山水清音、灌木悲吟写天籁之声，秋菊幽兰写服食之洁，景物由近及远、由视觉而听觉、由外物而身心，井然有序。手法上最可称道者有二：一是以声写静，非必丝与竹，山水有清音，将自然之声与人工之乐对举，翻出新意，山水清音四字遂成山水诗经典命题；二是拟人化物、化静为动，灌木自悲吟以悲字赋予灌木以人情，石泉漱琼瑶之漱字状泉水漱洗美玉，清峻传神。全诗景、理、情熔于一炉，语言简劲古朴，力去繁缛，与太康诗坛雕琢绮靡之风判然有别，开谢灵运、王维山水诗之先声。
Allusions
The phrase 'summoning the recluse' paradoxically reverses the original Han dynasty poem by Huainan Xiaoshan, which called the hermit back to the world. Here Zuo Si wants to call people into reclusion. 'Throw away my official cap' uses the classical allusion of abandoning one's official headdress to indicate resignation.
此诗用典自然贴切，熔铸无痕。题目招隐二字，化用淮南小山《招隐士》王孙兮归来，山中兮不可以久留之意而反其旨用之：淮南小山是招王孙出山，左思则是招隐士入山、实为自招归隐，一出一入之间，见出时代精神的转移。丘中有鸣琴暗用琴意象写隐者之雅，使人想见嵇康手挥五弦、目送归鸿一类魏晋名士风流。秋菊兼糇粮，幽兰间重襟，上承《楚辞》香草传统：屈原《离骚》有夕餐秋菊之落英、纫秋兰以为佩，左思以菊为粮、以兰为饰，正承屈子香草美人之遗意，以饮食服饰之洁写隐者品格之高。投吾簪典出《古乐府》投簪辞去之说，以弃掷冠簪代指弃官归隐，后世遂以投簪为辞官之代称。白雪停阴冈，丹葩曜阳林之设色，上承《诗经》桃之夭夭与楚辞绿叶素荣的色泽传统，下启谢灵运山水设色之经营。全诗用典皆化为眼前景物与当下情怀，不见斧凿之痕。
Commentary
Zhong Rong's 'Shipin' ranked Zuo Si's poetry in the top grade, praising it as 'elegant and sorrowful'. The line 'mountains and waters have clear sounds' became a classic statement of landscape poetry. Ming critic Hu Yinglin called Zuo Si's 'Summoning the Recluse' poems 'sufficient to be the model of mountain forest recluses'.
左思《招隐诗》二首在文学史上地位重要。钟嵘《诗品》列左思于上品，评其诗文典以怨，颇为精切，得讽喻之致，虽就《咏史》而言，亦足移评《招隐》：其文辞典雅而情含怨望，用事精切而讽喻自见。此诗最著者，厥为非必丝与竹，山水有清音一联，将自然之声置于人工音乐之上，高扬山水本身的美学价值，后成为山水田园诗之经典命题，谢灵运山水含清晖、王维明月松间照皆可视为其回响。清人沈德潜《古诗源》评此诗旷然有高人之致，胡应麟亦谓左思招隐诸作，足为山泽之臞。从诗史脉络看，《招隐诗》承《楚辞》隐逸传统与汉末仲长统《乐志论》之山林之想，下开陶渊明《归园田居》、谢灵运山水诗及唐代王孟田园诗派，是隐逸文学由仕隐之辨走向山水审美的重要一环。诗中辞采清峻、风力遒上，与太康诗坛之绮靡形成对照，正见建安风骨之余响。近代学者论中国山水诗之发生，多以左思此诗为滥觞之一，可见其在诗史上的坐标位置。
Prosody
Line by line
杖策招隐士，荒涂横古今。
Staff in hand, I go to seek the recluse; the wild road stretches from of old until now.
我拄着手杖前去招寻隐士，那荒僻的道路横亘古今，仿佛久无人迹。
Leaning on my staff, I set out to summon the hermit; the desolate road runs on, spanning past and present, as if untrodden for ages.
起笔点题，总摄全篇。杖策二字写诗人拄杖而行、亲往寻访之态，见出诚意与决心；招隐士三字直揭题旨，而所招何人，下文一一铺写。尤妙者在荒涂横古今一句：荒涂指荒僻之路，横古今三字将眼前之路与古今隐逸传统接通，荒路之所以荒，正因少有人行，而隐者自古便栖身于这样的人迹罕至之境，故横古今既写路途之荒远幽邃，亦暗写隐逸传统之绵长悠久。由杖策而行到荒涂横路，人物与道路一同进入深山，章法上为下文历写山林清景预作铺垫，语气也由招邀的主动转为对隐者居处的寻访与惊叹。
The opening names the theme and governs the whole. 'Staff in hand' writes the poet leaning on his staff and going in person, showing sincerity and resolve; 'seek the recluse' names the purpose directly, and who is sought will be laid out below. The exquisite touch is 'the wild road stretches from of old until now': the 'wild road' is the desolate path, and 'spans past and present' connects the road before him with the whole tradition of reclusion—the reason the wild road is wild is precisely that few walk it, and recluses have always dwelled in such untrodden places. Thus 'spans past and present' writes both the remoteness of the road and the length of the reclusive tradition. From leaning on his staff to the wild road stretching, man and path enter the deep hills together, preparing the detailed description of the mountain scenes that follows, and the tone turns from the active summons to the wonder of the recluse's dwelling.
白雪停阴冈，丹葩曜阳林。
White snow lies still on the shaded ridge; red flowers blaze in the sunlit wood.
皑皑白雪积停在背阴的山冈，红艳的花朵照亮了向阳的树林。
Pure white snow rests upon the north-facing ridge, while red blossoms light up the sunlit forest.
此联写山林之色，是全诗设色最明丽处。白雪与丹葩、阴冈与阳林，两两对举：白与红是冷色与暖色的对比，阴与阳是背阴与向阳的方位对比，色彩冷暖、明暗交织，画面层次极为丰富。停字写积雪静止不动之态，着一停字而山冈之幽静立现；曜字写红花在阳光下的鲜亮夺目，着一曜字而阳林之生气顿生。一静一动、一白一红、一阴一阳，于工整对偶中见出自然界的和谐与生机，也暗示隐者所处之境既清且丽、既幽且明，非荒凉苦寒之地，而是可以怡情养性的福地。此联上承楚辞绿叶素荣的色泽传统，下启谢灵运山水诗的色彩经营，是晋人山水审美意识觉醒的鲜明标志。
The couplet writes the colors of the hills and forests, the most brightly colored passage of the poem. White snow and red flowers, shaded ridge and sunlit wood, paired against each other: white against red is cold against warm, shaded against sunlit is the contrast of aspect, and the cold and warmth of color, the light and dark, interweave into a richly layered picture. The word 'lies still' writes the unmoving snow, and with it the quiet of the ridge appears at once; the word 'blaze' writes the vivid flowers in the sun, and with it the life of the sunlit wood leaps forth. One still, one moving; one white, one red; one shaded, one sunlit—within the polished parallelism appears the harmony and life of nature, suggesting that the recluse's place is at once clear and lovely, secluded and bright, no barren waste but a land where one may nourish the spirit. The couplet inherits the Songs of Chu's tradition of green leaves and pure blossoms and prepares the color art of Xie Lingyun's landscape verse, a clear sign of the awakening of Jin aesthetic sense.
石泉漱琼瑶，纤鳞亦浮沉。
The spring among the stones rinses the jade-like rocks; the tiny fish now rise, now sink.
石间的清泉冲刷着美玉般的石块，细小的游鱼在水中时浮时沉。
The rocky spring washes over stones like jade, and small fish drift up and down in the water.
此联以动写景，声色兼备。漱字本是漱口之意，移以写泉水冲刷石上，将无生命的泉水写得如人漱口般从容自在，拟人化物，清峻传神；琼瑶喻洁白如玉的山石，以美玉状石，正见隐者眼中山水皆美。纤鳞指细小的游鱼，亦字轻轻带出，写鱼之优游自在、时浮时沉，全无惊惧之态，恰与尘世中人的焦虑奔波形成对照。水声潺潺、游鱼戏水，一写声、一写形，动中有静、静中有动，将山林之清趣写得如在目前。此联炼字之精、体物之细，已具六朝山水诗描摹自然的功力，而语言仍简劲古朴，不事雕琢，正见左思风力。
The couplet writes motion within scenery, with sound and form both. The word 'rinse' originally means to rinse the mouth, and moved to the spring washing the stones, it makes the lifeless water as composed and easy as a man rinsing his mouth, personifying and making the inanimate vivid, clear and sharp. 'Jade' compares the white stones to fine jade, showing that in the recluse's eyes all mountain and water are beautiful. 'Tiny fish' means the small swimmers, brought in lightly by the word 'now,' writing their free drifting, rising and sinking, with no fear at all, a contrast to the anxious running of men in the world. The gurgling water and the playing fish, one sound, one form, motion within stillness and stillness within motion, write the clear delight of the hills as before the eyes. The refined diction and close observation already show the power of Six Dynasties landscape poetry, yet the language remains spare and plain, unadorned—the force of Zuo Si.
非必丝与竹，山水有清音。
It is not necessarily the strings and bamboo pipes; the hills and streams have their own clear music.
何必一定要有丝弦与竹管之乐，山水之间自有清越的音响。
What need is there for strings and flutes? The mountains and waters themselves make a clear, pure sound.
此联为全篇之眼，以议论入诗，翻出新意。丝与竹指弦乐与管乐，是人工之乐；清音指山水自然之声，是天籁之音。诗人以非必二字先否人工，以有字后立天籁，将自然之声置于人工音乐之上，高扬山水本身的美学价值。山水有清音五字，遂成千古名句：泉水漱石、松风过林、鸟鸣涧中，皆造化之乐章，胜于庙堂之丝竹。此联由写景转入说理，景中含理、理中见趣，是晋人玄学思辨入诗的结果，亦开后世山水诗以自然为审美对象的先声。谢灵运山水含清晖、王维明月松间照，皆可视为此联之回响，故论山水诗者必称此句。
The couplet is the eye of the poem, bringing argument into verse and turning a new idea. 'Strings and bamboo' are string and wind instruments, artificial music; 'clear music' is the natural sound of hills and streams, the music of heaven. The poet first denies the artificial with 'not necessarily,' then establishes the heavenly with 'have,' placing natural sound above human music and exalting the aesthetic value of landscape itself. The five characters 'the hills and streams have their own clear music' became a timeless line: the spring rinsing stones, the wind through pines, the bird in the ravine are all the music of creation, better than the court's strings and pipes. The couplet moves from scenery to argument, principle within scenery and delight within principle, the fruit of Jin metaphysical thinking entering poetry, and the opening of later landscape verse that takes nature as its aesthetic object. Xie Lingyun's 'landscape holds a clear radiance' and Wang Wei's 'moonlight among the pines' are its echoes, and writers on landscape poetry always cite this line.
秋菊兼糇粮，幽兰间重襟。
The autumn chrysanthemum serves me for food, and the orchid twines between my folded lapels.
秋菊可以兼作干粮充饥，幽兰点缀在重叠的衣襟之间。
The autumn chrysanthemum ekes out my dry rations, and the faint orchid is tucked among my layered lapels.
此联写隐者的饮食服饰，以物喻人，见品格之高洁。糇粮指干粮，秋菊兼糇粮，谓以秋菊佐粮，暗用屈原夕餐秋菊之落英之典，以菊之高洁写隐者之清贫自守；幽兰间重襟，谓幽兰缀于衣襟之间，暗用纫秋兰以为佩之典，以兰之芬芳写隐者之德馨。饮食以菊、佩饰以兰，皆是楚辞香草美人传统的延续，将隐者的一饮一佩都写得高洁脱俗。兼字写菊粮之简朴实用，间字写兰佩之错落有致，炼字精当。由外景转入内修，由山水之乐转入身心之养，章法上已从观赏山林过渡到体味隐逸生活本身，为末句投簪之决意蓄势。
The couplet writes the recluse's food and dress, using objects to image the man and show the loftiness of his character. 'Dry rations' means provisions; 'the autumn chrysanthemum serves me for food' means taking the chrysanthemum with the grain, covertly alluding to Qu Yuan's 'at evening I dine on the fallen petals of the autumn chrysanthemum,' writing the recluse's poor integrity through the flower's purity. 'The orchid twines between my folded lapels' means the orchid set among the lapels, covertly alluding to 'twining autumn orchids for a girdle,' writing the fragrance of his virtue through the orchid's scent. Food of chrysanthemum, girdle of orchid, both continuing the Songs of Chu tradition of fragrant plants and fair beings, make the recluse's every meal and every ornament pure and unworldly. The word 'serves' writes the plain usefulness of the chrysanthemum fare, the word 'twines' the graceful arrangement of the orchid girdle, both precisely chosen. Moving from outer scenery to inner cultivation, from the joy of landscape to the nourishing of body and mind, the poem has passed from observing the hills to tasting the reclusive life itself, preparing the resolve to cast aside the official pin.
踌躇足力烦，聊欲投吾簪。
I linger in doubt, my feet and strength grown weary; for now I would cast aside my official pin.
我徘徊踌躇，双脚已经疲惫，姑且就想弃掷冠簪、归隐山林了。
I linger on, my feet worn and weary, and at last I long to fling away my official's hairpin.
末联卒章显志，直抒归隐之志。踌躇写内心之徘徊，足力烦写身体之疲惫，身心交困，正见其在仕与隐之间长期的矛盾与挣扎；聊欲二字语气轻淡，似不经意，实则将多年的郁积尽数托出。投吾簪以弃冠簪代指弃官，用典凝练，决意已见。由杖策招隐士起，经荒涂、岩穴、白雪、丹葩、石泉、纤鳞、清音、悲吟、菊粮、兰襟，一路写来皆是为最后这一投蓄势；而投字一落，全篇精神顿现，归隐之志与山林之美在此合而为一。全诗由招而游、由游而悟、由悟而投，章法谨严，一气贯注，是西晋隐逸诗中的精品。
The closing couplet states the purpose at the end, directly voicing the will to withdraw. 'I linger in doubt' writes the wavering within, 'my feet and strength grown weary' the exhaustion of the body, and the body and mind together worn through show the long struggle between office and reclusion. The words 'for now I would' are light and casual, yet in fact bring out the accumulation of years. 'Cast aside my official pin' uses the casting off of the hairpin to mean resigning office, the allusion economical and the resolve plain. Beginning with 'staff in hand, seek the recluse,' through the wild road, the crags, the white snow, the red flowers, the stony spring, the small fish, the clear music, the chrysanthemum fare, and the orchid lapels, every step has stored momentum for this final casting; and the moment the word 'cast' falls, the whole poem's spirit appears, the will to withdraw and the beauty of the hills as one. The poem moves from seeking to wandering, from wandering to awakening, from awakening to casting, its craft tight and its breath continuous, a finest work of Western Jin reclusion poetry.
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Both by Zuo Si, one summons recluse, one chants history, both reveal the poet's discontent as a humble scholar.
左思《咏史》八首与《招隐诗》二首同为其郁郁不得志之时的抒怀之作，可视为一枚硬币的两面。咏史借古人古事抒写寒士之愤，冯唐易老、李广难封，直揭门阀社会对寒门的压抑；招隐则转向山林，以山水清音、菊粮兰襟安顿失意之身心。前者是入世而不得的激愤，后者是出世而自得的解脱，一刚健一清峻，一咏史一写景，而忧愤之根一也。合观二组诗，可见左思由抗争到超越的心路历程，亦见西晋寒士在仕隐之间的普遍挣扎，是理解太康诗风与魏晋士人心态的绝佳入口。
归园田居 归园田居 陶渊明 · 同写弃官归隐，隐逸田园诗之先后双璧 Same theme of reclusionZuo Si's 'throw away the cap' and Tao Qian's 'return to the fields' both write about abandoning office for nature, but Zuo's style is more vigorous while Tao's is more tranquil.
左思《招隐诗》聊欲投吾簪与陶渊明《归园田居》少无适俗韵、性本爱丘山，同写弃官归隐、回归自然，而风味迥异：左思之归是激于宦途之烦，踌躇足力烦，投簪仍带怨望之气，笔调清峻而情含不平；陶渊明之归是发于天性之爱，久在樊笼里、复得返自然，冲淡平和，如见其人。左思笔下的山林是审美的山林，白雪丹葩、山水清音，如画如乐；陶渊明笔下的田园是生活的田园，暧暧远人村、依依墟里烟，亲切家常。由左思的招隐到陶渊明的归田，正见隐逸文学由理想化走向日常化的演进，而陶诗之自然，实有赖左思辈的先行开拓。
过始宁墅 过始宁墅 谢灵运 · 山水诗之承续，由隐逸之景到独立山水审美 Same landscape themeZuo Si's 'clear sounds of mountains and waters' inspired Xie Lingyun's landscape poetry, showing the evolution from Wei-Jin to Liu-Song.
左思《招隐诗》开魏晋文人山水书写之先声，谢灵运《过始宁墅》则标志着山水由背景走向独立的审美对象，二诗正可辨魏晋至刘宋山水诗的演进轨迹。左思笔下的白雪阴冈、丹葩阳林、石泉琼瑶，仍是隐逸理想的布景，山水之美从属于归隐之志，景为情设；谢灵运笔下的岩峭岭稠叠、洲萦渚连绵，则纯以描摹山水本身为务，精雕细琢、穷形尽相，情退居其次。左思之景简劲清峻、以意驭景，谢灵运之景繁富精工、以景为主，一为山水诗之滥觞，一为山水诗之定型。而山水有清音一联所开启的以自然为美的观念，正是谢灵运辈得以尽情模山范水的思想前提。