All poems

魏晋 Wei-Jin · 诗 Poem

咏贫士·其一

On Poor Scholars, No. 1 (Yong Pin Shi · Qi Yi)

陶渊明

Tao Yuanming

咏怀Poems on Personal Grief / Songs of the Heart 贫士The Poor Gentleman

万族各有托，孤云独无依。
暧暧空中灭，何时见余晖。
朝霞开宿雾，众鸟相与飞。
迟迟出林翮，未夕复来归。
量力守故辙，岂不寒与饥。
知音苟不存，已矣何所悲。

All ten thousand kinds have something to lean on;
I am a lone cloud with nothing to rest on.
Dimly, dimly it vanishes in the sky -
when, oh when, may I see its parting light?
The morning haze dissolves the night fog, and the flocks of birds fly off together;
Slowly they leave the grove, the plumed wings, and return before evening.
I keep to the old track because it measures my strength -
can I not know cold and hunger?
If there is no one who understands me, then it is all over - what is there to grieve for?

Listen

Meaning

Tao Yuanming identifies with a single cloud adrift in a sky where every other thing has a root to hold it. The cloud fades and no light returns; birds leave the grove at dawn and flock home before dusk. Turning from these to himself, the poet says he follows the old path because it is the one his strength can bear - and he does not deny that this means cold and hunger. The poem closes without bitterness: if no one understands him, he simply says it is over and asks what there is left to weep over. Its theme is not poverty but the calm acceptance of a chosen poverty.

万族各有托，孤云独无依。暧暧空中灭，何时见余晖。朝霞开宿雾，众鸟相与飞。迟迟出林翮，未夕复来归。量力守故辙，岂不寒与饥。知音苟不存，已矣何所悲。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The poem moves in three movements: a lonely cloud, then the birds, then the poet's own resolution. [Imagery] The opening couplet is the core image of the whole piece. 'All ten thousand kinds have something to lean on' is stated as a fact of the natural world; 'I am a lone cloud with nothing to rest on' then converts that fact into a judgement on the self. The cloud is not torn by storm but merely unanchored, and that is exactly the kind of poverty the poet has chosen. [Structure] The central couplet, with the morning haze scattering the frost fog and the birds flying out together and returning before dark, supplies a bright counterpart to the fading cloud, and only half a beat later the poet turns from birds to himself. [Imagery] The last four lines are plain speech: keeping the old track, knowing cold and hunger, missing a listener, and then - quietly, without complaint - the conclusion that nothing is left to grieve for. [Language] Tao's vocabulary is deliberately common; there is not one allusion in the final tercet. That plainness is what makes the closing line so unresolved-feeling: the poet refuses to be pitied, and so the poem ends on a note of dry resolution rather than grief.

【白话串讲】陶渊明写《咏贫士·其一》：“万族各有托，孤云独无依”——“朝霞开宿雾，众鸟相与飞”——“量力守故辙，岂不寒与饥”——“知音苟不存，已矣何所悲”——他自比孤云，写贫士的孤高。【意象与手法】此诗写安贫，以咏怀写安贫，是陶渊明的名篇。前段写孤云：「万族各有托，孤云独无依。暧暧空中灭，何时见余晖」写万族各有托、孤云独无依——写尽何时见余的一晖；中段写归鸟：「朝霞开宿雾，众鸟相与飞。迟迟出林翮，未夕复来归」写朝霞开宿雾、众鸟相与飞——写尽未夕复来的一归；后段写安贫：「量力守故辙，岂不寒与饥。知音苟不存，已矣何所悲」写量力守故辙、岂不寒与饥——写尽已矣何所的悲。全诗以咏怀写安贫，写尽何时见余的一晖与已矣何所的悲，是陶渊明的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写安贫，以咏怀写安贫，是陶渊明的名篇。此诗为陶渊明咏贫士之一，写其安贫守志与咏怀之思。陶渊明此诗写其守贫的咏怀。此诗写万族各有托，孤云独无依；暧暧空中灭，何时见余晖；朝霞开宿雾，众鸟相与飞；迟迟出林翮，未夕复来归；量力守故辙，岂不寒与饥；知音苟不存，已矣何所悲。此诗写孤云：万族各有托，孤云独无依——写万族各有托、孤云独无依，写尽孤云独无的一依；暧暧空中灭，何时见余晖——写暧暧空中灭、何时见余晖，写尽何时见余的一晖；朝霞开宿雾，众鸟相与飞——写朝霞开宿雾、众鸟相与飞，写尽众鸟相与的一飞；迟迟出林翮，未夕复来归——写迟迟出林翮、未夕复来归，写尽未夕复来的一归；量力守故辙，岂不寒与饥——写量力守故辙、岂不寒与饥，写尽岂不寒与的一饥；知音苟不存，已矣何所悲——写知音苟不存、已矣何所悲，写尽已矣何所的悲。全诗以咏怀写安贫——那「何时见余晖」写尽何时见余的一晖，「已矣何所悲」写尽已矣何所的悲，写尽何时见余的一晖与已矣何所的悲，是理解陶渊明安贫诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「万族各有托，孤云独无依」写孤云独无的一依；「量力守故辙，岂不寒与饥」写岂不寒与的一饥；以及全诗以咏怀写安贫、以比兴写安贫的手法。

Background

Tao Yuanming (c. 365-427), courtesy name Yuanliang, later changed to Yuanming, posthumously titled靖节 (Jingjie) and commonly known as 靖节先生, was born in Chaisang, Xunyang (modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi), and is counted the first landscape poet in Chinese literature and 'the ancestor of hermit poets through the ages'. He served in a few short official posts and then, after some forty years of alternating poverty and office, retired for good to his fields. The 'Yong Pin Shi' group of nine poems, of which this is the first, is generally dated to his later, impoverished years. It belongs with works like 'Drinking Wine No. 5' and records the poet's refusal to treat want as a misfortune to be escaped.

此诗写安贫，以咏怀写安贫，是陶渊明的名篇。陶渊明（约365—427），字元亮，又名潜，字渊明，私谥靖节，世称靖节先生，浔阳柴桑（今江西九江）人，东晋末至南朝宋初诗人，中国第一位田园诗人，被称为「古今隐逸诗人之宗」。此诗为陶渊明咏贫士之一，写其安贫守志与咏怀之思。陶渊明此诗写其守贫的咏怀。此诗写万族各有托，孤云独无依；暧暧空中灭，何时见余晖；朝霞开宿雾，众鸟相与飞；迟迟出林翮，未夕复来归；量力守故辙，岂不寒与饥；知音苟不存，已矣何所悲。此诗写孤云：「万族各有托，孤云独无依」写万族各有托、孤云独无依——写尽孤云独无的一依（万族各有托，孤云独无依）；「暧暧空中灭，何时见余晖」写暧暧空中灭、何时见余晖——写尽何时见余的一晖（暧暧空中灭，何时见余晖）；「朝霞开宿雾，众鸟相与飞」写朝霞开宿雾、众鸟相与飞——写尽众鸟相与的一飞（朝霞开宿雾，众鸟相与飞）；「迟迟出林翮，未夕复来归」写迟迟出林翮、未夕复来归——写尽未夕复来的一归（迟迟出林翮，未夕复来归）；「量力守故辙，岂不寒与饥」写量力守故辙、岂不寒与饥——写尽岂不寒与的一饥（量力守故辙，岂不寒与饥）；「知音苟不存，已矣何所悲」写知音苟不存、已矣何所悲——写尽已矣何所的悲（知音苟不存，已矣何所悲）。全诗以咏怀写安贫，写尽何时见余的一晖与已矣何所的悲，是理解陶渊明安贫诗的重要篇章。

Art

The poem's four layers can be separated. First, the opening couplet uses 比兴 - the lonely cloud stands for the poor scholar, and the contrast is drawn from the mere existence of other things that have something to lean on. Second, 'the morning haze dissolves the night fog' is plain description, but the plainness is deliberate: the poet is not decorating, he is stating. Third, 'slowly they leave the grove , the plumed wings, and return before evening' moves from the cloud to the birds, using the birds' returning home as a silent mirror of the poet's non-return. Fourth, 'I keep to the old track because it measures my strength' turns abruptly from observation to decision, and the following 'can I not know cold and hunger?' refuses to pretend the cost is zero. What holds the poem together is the movement from cloud to bird to man - 由物及人 - with each stage sharpening the sense of isolation. The diction stays at the level of ordinary speech from the fifth couplet onward, and this verbal lowliness is the poet's point: a life kept on an old track needs no修辞 to recommend it.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以比兴写孤云。「万族各有托」以比兴写孤云——那「孤云独无依」写尽孤云独无的一依，以比兴写尽孤云独无的一依。其二，以白描写朝霞。「朝霞开宿雾」以白描写朝霞——那「众鸟相与飞」写尽众鸟相与的一飞，以白描写尽众鸟相与的一飞。其三，以写景写归鸟。「迟迟出林翮」以写景写归鸟——那「未夕复来归」写尽未夕复来的一归，以写景写尽未夕复来的一归。其四，以直抒写安贫。「量力守故辙」以直抒写安贫——那「岂不寒与饥」写尽岂不寒与的一饥，以直抒写尽岂不寒与的一饥。此外，此诗前写何时见余的一晖，后写已矣何所的悲，由云及志，正是安贫诗「以云写志」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以咏怀写安贫，写尽何时见余的一晖与已矣何所的悲，是陶渊明的代表作。又，此诗以比兴自喻、层层递进：起笔「万族各有托，孤云独无依」以孤云自况，万物有托而孤云无依，写尽贫士之孤介；「暧暧空中灭，何时见余晖」以云灭不见其晖，暗喻高洁之质无人识赏；「朝霞开宿雾，众鸟相与飞」一转，写朝霞破雾、众鸟齐飞，万物皆得其所；「迟迟出林翮，未夕复来归」以众鸟之迟出早归，反衬孤云之独往独来，物我相形，孤云之孤愈显；「量力守故辙，岂不寒与饥」由物及人，点出守贫之志，明知饥寒而不改其守；末以「知音苟不存，已矣何所悲」作结，无悲无怨，唯见其坚，正是陶渊明「不戚戚于贫贱，不汲汲于富贵」的本色。

Allusions

Several words carry inherited weight. 孤云, the lone cloud, recurs in Chinese poetry - Li Bai's line 'the lone cloud drifts off on its own' - and here it evokes the whole tradition of the hermit as unattached spirit. 暧暧, dimly, is the language of Tao's own '暧暧远人村', the hazy far village; the word links this poem to the 'Drinking Wine' cycle. 来归, returning, recalls the same poet's 'the tired bird knows when to come home' - the returning bird is a favorite emblem in his work for the retiree. 量力, measuring one's strength, comes from the common idiom 量力而行 and gives the poet's decision a tone of practical judgment rather than heroic resolve. 知音, a知己 who understands, points to the Bo Ya-ZiQi friendship of the Zhuangzi and the Liezi, the standard Chinese figure for a listener who matters. 已矣, 'it is all over', is Tao's own formula, as in his '已矣乎' of the 'Return to the Fields', where it marks the end of striving.

此诗的用语深植于安贫与咏怀传统。「万族」令人想到「万族」写万物的意象——也令人想到「万族咸若」的意象；「各有托」令人想到「各有托」写有所依托的意象——也令人想到「万物各有所托」的意象；「孤云」令人想到「孤云」写孤云的意象——也令人想到「孤云独去闲」（李白）的意象；「无依」令人想到「无依」写无依的意象——也令人想到「茕茕无依」的意象；「暧暧」令人想到「暧暧」写昏暗的意象——也令人想到「暧暧远人村」（陶渊明）的意象；「空中灭」令人想到「空中灭」写消散的意象——也令人想到「烟消云散」的意象；「余晖」令人想到「余晖」写夕照的意象——也令人想到「余晖散绮」的意象；「朝霞」令人想到「朝霞」写朝霞的意象——也令人想到「朝霞似锦」的意象；「宿雾」令人想到「宿雾」写晨雾的意象——也令人想到「宿雾未消」的意象；「众鸟」令人想到「众鸟」写群鸟的意象——也令人想到「众鸟高飞尽」（李白）的意象；「相与飞」令人想到「相与飞」写齐飞的意象——也令人想到「比翼齐飞」的意象；「出林翮」令人想到「出林翮」写出林的意象——也令人想到「振翅出林」的意象；「迟迟」令人想到「迟迟」写迟缓的意象——也令人想到「迟迟春日」（《诗经》）的意象；「来归」令人想到「来归」写归来的意象——也令人想到「鸟倦飞而知还」（陶渊明）的意象；「量力」令人想到「量力」写量力的意象——也令人想到「量力而行」的意象；「故辙」令人想到「故辙」写旧辙的意象——也令人想到「循故辙」的意象；「寒与饥」令人想到「寒与饥」写饥寒的意象——也令人想到「饥寒交迫」的意象；「知音」令人想到「知音」写知音的意象——《列子》伯牙子期，也令人想到「高山流水遇知音」的意象；「已矣」令人想到「已矣」写已矣的意象——也令人想到「已矣乎」（陶渊明）的意象；「何所悲」令人想到「何所悲」写何悲的意象——也令人想到「达人知命」的意象。全诗化用万族、各有托、孤云、无依、暧暧、空中灭、余晖、朝霞、宿雾、众鸟、相与飞、出林翮、迟迟、来归、量力、故辙、寒与饥、知音、已矣、何所悲的意象典故，以咏怀写安贫，正是陶渊明「冲淡」而善比兴、承古诗十九首传统写咏怀之本领。

Commentary

This poem has long been ranked among the finest of Tao's poems on poverty, and it stands as the classic of the subgenre in which a poet sings of contentment while actually being hungry. Later critics speak of its '冲淡' - its dilution rather than its strength - and of the plainness of its language, seeing in it the poet's own doctrine that he does not sorrow over poverty nor rush after wealth. It is commonly read beside 'Drinking Wine No. 5': where that poem finds calm in leaning on a chrysanthemum and the southern mountain, this one keeps its calm by keeping to an old track and denying that it minds the cold. For a modern reader the poem's quietness is also its difficulty - the poet would not accept commiseration, and the closing 'what is there to grieve for?' has puzzled readers into arguing endlessly over whether the tone is serene or proud.

此诗历来被推为陶渊明安贫诗的名篇，也是咏怀诗写安贫乐道的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：梁萧统评陶渊明「文章不群，词采精拔」，清人更评此诗「以咏怀写安贫，冲淡自然」；近人指出「万族各有托，孤云独无依」写孤云独无的一依，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以五言写尽何时见余的一晖与已矣何所的悲——那万族，那各有托，那孤云，那独无依，那暧暧，那空中灭，那何时，那见余晖，那朝霞，那开宿雾，那众鸟，那相与飞，那迟迟，那出林翮，那未夕，那复来归，那量力，那守故辙，那岂不，那寒与饥，那知音，那苟不存，那已矣，那何所悲，都写尽了陶渊明笔下的咏贫士其一；那「量力守故辙，岂不寒与饥」更以直抒写尽岂不寒与的一饥。此诗与陶渊明《饮酒·其五》「结庐在人境」同为咏怀名篇，一写「采菊东篱下，悠然见南山」的饮酒，一写「量力守故辙」的咏贫士；一写闲适，一写安贫。两诗对读，可见陶渊明咏怀诗的两面。对于今日读者，此诗是理解陶渊明安贫诗的窗口，也是咏怀诗写安贫乐道的经典——那已矣何所的悲，穿越千年，仍在诉说着孤云独无的一依。

Prosody

Form Old-style five-syllable poem (Wuyan Gu Shi)五言古诗

Rhyme A five-character ancient poem rhyming on the flat 微/支 range - yi (依), hui (晖), fei (飞), gui (归), ji (饥), bei (悲) - all in one sustained rhyme, which keeps the voice level and unhurried.五古押「依」「晖」「飞」「归」「饥」「悲」（平声微支韵），一韵到底

Tone pattern Flat-voiced, even, and slow. Unlike Tao's more emotional verse, this poem keeps one register to the end, so that the poet's resolution never sounds like a struggle. The lines are short and the caesura after the second syllable is constant, giving the verse the pace of a statement rather than a song.此诗为五言古诗，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节冲淡，正合安贫的冲淡。

Reading note The poem is a 五古 in the plain manner of the 古诗十九首, with no evidence of tonal subtlety and no gradient of rich sound. Its effect comes instead from the sustained single rhyme: because every line returns to the same vowel, the poem sounds calm and unchanging, and that fixedness is what the poet's conclusion - that there is nothing left to grieve for - sounds like. In recitation the two decisive couplets should be spoken slowly and level, neither rising into complaint nor dropping into weariness; the closing line should end on a note that almost stops, so that the silence after it does the work. Tao's old-style poems are usually described as '冲淡' - diluted, unforced - and this piece is a good instance of that quality achieved purely through prosody.此诗为五言古诗——「万族各有托，孤云独无依。暧暧空中灭，何时见余晖。朝霞开宿雾，众鸟相与飞。迟迟出林翮，未夕复来归。量力守故辙，岂不寒与饥。知音苟不存，已矣何所悲」，押平韵（依、晖、飞、归、饥、悲），一韵到底，音节冲淡。全诗以咏怀写安贫：前写何时见余的一晖（万族各有托、暧暧空中灭），中写未夕复来的一归（朝霞开宿雾、迟迟出林翮），后写已矣何所的悲（量力守故辙、知音苟不存）。古诗铺叙，前写孤云，中写归鸟，后写安贫，以「已矣何所悲」写尽已矣何所的悲，正见陶渊明「冲淡」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以冲淡的语调读「孤云独无依」的孤云，以恬淡的语调读「已矣何所悲」的安贫，结句要读得冲淡而有余韵，方能传达出陶渊明的冲淡自然。陶渊明古诗以「冲淡」著称，此诗正是其安贫诗的典范。

Line by line

万族各有托，孤云独无依

All ten thousand kinds have something to lean on; I am a lone cloud with nothing to rest on.

万族各有托，孤云独无依。

All living things have their support; the lone cloud alone has none to lean on.

此二句是全诗写孤云的核心，以万族各有托写各有托，以孤云独无依写独无依，写尽孤云独无的一依，是千古名句。「万族各有托」写万族各有托——那「万族」写万族，「各有托」写各有托，写尽万族的各有托；「孤云独无依」写孤云独无依——那「孤云」写孤云，「独无依」写独无依，写尽孤云的独无依。这句的深意在于：它以「万族各有托」的各有托与「孤云独无依」的独无依，写尽孤云独无的一依——万族各有托，那「万族各有托」写尽万族的各有托——万族各有托，正是万物有托的写照，那「各有托」写尽孤云独无的一依；孤云独无依，那「孤云独无依」写尽孤云的独无依——孤云独无依，正是孤云无依的写照，那「独无依」写尽孤云独无的一依；那「万族各有托」写尽万族的各有托，那「孤云独无依」写尽孤云的独无依，一写各有托，一写独无依，写尽孤云独无的一依——万物有托而孤云无依，正是安贫的写照；此二句以各有托、独无依写尽孤云独无的一依，也为下文的空中灭作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写孤云的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「万物各有依托，只有孤云独自无依」，则失其冲淡；唯以「万族各有托」写各有托、「孤云独无依」写独无依，写尽孤云独无的一依，也让此二句成为全诗写孤云的核心。

These lines are the lone-cloud heart of the poem, all things supported and the lone cloud without hold. 'All living things have their support' sets the general order of the world—each creature its place; 'the lone cloud alone has no hold' isolates the drifting cloud as the image of the poor scholar. The contrast of 'all' and 'alone' is the whole poem's stance: everything has its perch, only the virtuous poor man floats unanchored. The cloud becomes Tao Yuanming's self-portrait. If stated as 'everything has a home but the lone cloud,' the detachment would vanish; only through 'all have support' set against 'alone, no hold' does the poverty become allegorical.

量力守故辙，岂不寒与饥

I keep to the old track because it measures my strength - can I not know cold and hunger?

量力守故辙，岂不寒与饥。

Measuring my strength, I keep to the old track; is it any wonder I suffer cold and hunger?

此二句是全诗写安贫的核心，以量力守故辙写守故辙，以岂不寒与饥写寒与饥，写尽岂不寒与的一饥，是千古名句。「量力守故辙」写量力守故辙——那「量力」写量力，「守故辙」写守故辙，写尽量力的守故辙；「岂不寒与饥」写岂不寒与饥——那「岂不」写岂不，「寒与饥」写寒与饥，写尽岂不的寒与饥。这句的深意在于：它以「量力守故辙」的守故辙与「岂不寒与饥」的寒与饥，写尽岂不寒与的一饥——量力守故辙，那「量力守故辙」写尽量力的守故辙——量力守故辙，正是守辙不迁的写照，那「守故辙」写尽岂不寒与的一饥；岂不寒与饥，那「岂不寒与饥」写尽岂不的寒与饥——岂不寒与饥，正是饥寒交迫的写照，那「寒与饥」写尽岂不寒与的一饥；那「量力守故辙」写尽量力的守故辙，那「岂不寒与饥」写尽岂不的寒与饥，一写守故辙，一写寒与饥，写尽岂不寒与的一饥——守辙不迁而饥寒交迫，正是安贫的写照；此二句以守故辙、寒与饥写尽岂不寒与的一饥，也为下文的知音作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写安贫的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「量力守着旧辙，难道不挨冻受饿」，则失其冲淡；唯以「量力守故辙」写守故辙、「岂不寒与饥」写寒与饥，写尽岂不寒与的一饥，也让此二句成为全诗写安贫的核心。

These lines are the contented-poverty heart of the poem, keeping the old track and the cold and hunger it brings. 'Measuring my strength, I keep the old track' writes the choice to hold to the virtuous way; 'is it any wonder I suffer cold and hunger' answers honestly that the choice costs its hardships. The rhetorical question accepts the hunger without complaint—the cost of integrity is seen and paid. If stated as 'I keep to my principles and go hungry,' the calm would vanish; only through 'measuring my strength' and 'is it any wonder' does the contented poverty become measured.

Study

Word focus

孤 In 'I am a lone cloud', the character 孤 carries two meanings at once: the cloud's solitariness and the poet's chosen aloneness. Tao could have written 浮 (floating) or 闲 (idle), but those words describe a cloud without committing the poet; 孤 adds the note of orphanhood and indignity that makes the self-portrait honest. 「孤云独无依」之「孤」字是写孤云关键词，一个「孤」字写尽孤云的独无依。孤者，孤独、孤寂也。陶渊明以「孤云独无依」写孤云，这个「孤」字至少有双重意味：其一，写云之孤——那「孤云独无依」写孤云独无依，那「孤」字写尽孤云的独无依——孤云，正是孤独无依的写照，那「孤」字写尽孤云的独无依；其二，写人之独——那「孤」字更是写独——孤，正见守贫独处的意味，那「孤」字写尽陶渊明的安贫。以「孤」字写孤云，正是陶渊明写咏怀的枢纽——若换作「浮」「闲」等字，则或失其与「孤云独无依」「万族各有托」的配合，或失其写孤的意味；唯「孤」字，以孤云独无依写尽孤云之孤独与守志之孤介，与「万族各有托」的各有托相合，写尽孤云的独无依，也让「孤云独无依」成为全诗写孤云的名句。

守 In 'I keep to the old track', the verb 守 means to hold, guard or keep - not merely to follow. It conveys continuing activity and continuous effort, which is why the following admission of hunger carries weight: the poet is not remembering a past decision but repeating it each day. 「量力守故辙」之「守」字是写安贫关键词，一个「守」字写尽量力的守故辙。守者，坚守、守持也。陶渊明以「量力守故辙」写安贫，这个「守」字至少有双重意味：其一，写辙之守——那「量力守故辙」写量力守故辙，那「守」字写尽量力的守故辙——守故辙，正是守辙不迁的写照，那「守」字写尽量力的守故辙；其二，写志之坚——那「守」字更是写坚——守，正见守志不移的意味，那「守」字写尽陶渊明的安贫。以「守」字写安贫，正是陶渊明写咏怀的枢纽——若换作「循」「蹈」等字，则或失其与「量力守故辙」「岂不寒与饥」的配合，或失其写守的意味；唯「守」字，以量力守故辙写尽守辙之坚守与守志之坚贞，与「岂不寒与饥」的寒与饥相合，写尽量力的守故辙，也让「量力守故辙」成为全诗写安贫的名句。