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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

春中田园作

Farm Work in Mid-Spring

王维

Wang Wei

田园Pastoral Life 春景Spring Scene

屋上春鸠鸣，村边杏花白。
持斧伐远扬，荷锄觇泉脉。
归燕识故巢，旧人看新历。
临觞忽不御，惆怅远行客。

On the roof, a spring turtle-dove calls;
Beside the village, apricot blossom whitens.
With axe he cuts the long and upward shoots,
Shouldering the hoe, he probes the veins of spring.
The returned swallow knows its old nest;
The old villagers read the new almanac.
The cup is at his lips, and suddenly he will not drink —
And thinks with a pang of the traveller far away.

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Meaning

Wang Wei sets a scene of mid-spring in the countryside: birds sing, the apricots whiten, farmers cut the strong shoots of the mulberry and feel the course of the spring water. The returning swallows and the villagers reading the new almanac speak of settled, repeated life. Then the poet stops at his own cup and thinks of a friend or kinsman who is far away on the road, and the bright scene is shadowed by pity.

屋上春鸠鸣，村边杏花白。持斧伐远扬，荷锄觇泉脉。归燕识故巢，旧人看新历。临觞忽不御，惆怅远行客。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The poem describes a spring morning in a village and then turns, without warning, toward a man who has left it. [Structure] Two quatrains of scene, one couplet of feeling: the first four lines gather the sights and sounds, the fifth and sixth stay with the order of returning things, and the last two break that order. [Imagery] The apricot and the dove are the news of spring; the axe and the hoe are the labour of spring; the swallow and the almanac are the Learning of return. [Turn] 'And suddenly he will not drink' is the hinge of the whole poem: the ease of the scene is interrupted by an awareness of someone who cannot share it, and Wang Wei leaves the reader with that unfinished, unstated pang.

【白话串讲】王维写《春中田园作》：“屋上春鸠鸣，村边杏花白”——“持斧伐远扬，荷锄觇泉脉”——“归燕识故巢，旧人看新历”——“临觞忽不御，惆怅远行客”——他写春日的田园。【意象与手法】此诗写春日田园，以春景写田园，是王维的名篇。前六句写春景：「屋上春鸠鸣，村边杏花白」写屋上春鸠鸣、村边杏花白——写尽春日的生机；「持斧伐远扬，荷锄觇泉脉」写持斧伐远扬、荷锄觇泉脉——写尽春日的劳作；「归燕识故巢，旧人看新历」写归燕识故巢、旧人看新历——写尽春日的安居；后二句写惆怅：「临觞忽不御，惆怅远行客」写临觞忽不御、惆怅远行客——写尽对远行客的惆怅。全诗以春景写田园，写尽春日田园的生机与对远行客的惆怅，是王维的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写春日田园，以春景写田园，是王维的名篇。此诗写春日田园的景色与农家的劳作。此诗写春景：屋上春鸠鸣，村边杏花白——写屋上春鸠鸣、村边杏花白，写尽春日的生机；持斧伐远扬，荷锄觇泉脉——写持斧伐远扬、荷锄觇泉脉，写尽春日的劳作；归燕识故巢，旧人看新历——写归燕识故巢、旧人看新历，写尽春日的安居；临觞忽不御，惆怅远行客——写临觞忽不御、惆怅远行客，写尽对远行客的惆怅。全诗以春景写田园——那「屋上春鸠鸣」写尽春日的生机，「惆怅远行客」写尽对远行客的惆怅，写尽春日田园的生机与对远行客的惆怅，是理解王维田园诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「屋上春鸠鸣，村边杏花白」写春日的生机；「持斧伐远扬，荷锄觇泉脉」写春日的劳作；「归燕识故巢，旧人看新历」写春日的安居；以及全诗以春景写田园、以乐景写惆怅的手法。

Background

Wang Wei (701–761), courtesy name Mo Jie, was a great landscape and pastoral poet of the Tang, later honoured as the Poetry Buddha. He retired in his later years to the village of Wangchuan, north of Chang'an, where he bought the estate of a friend, divided it into twenty scenes, and wrote poems and painted them. This poem belongs to that late, quiet period, in which the daily labour of the farm became, for him, a subject worth a whole verse rather than a backdrop.

此诗写春日田园，以春景写田园，是王维的名篇。王维（701—761），字摩诘，河东蒲州（今山西永济）人，唐代伟大的山水田园诗人，人称「诗佛」。此诗写春日田园的景色与农家的劳作。王维晚年隐居辋川，对田园生活有深切的体验，其田园诗多写农家景物与闲适生活，此诗即其一。此诗写春景：「屋上春鸠鸣，村边杏花白」写屋上春鸠鸣、村边杏花白——写尽春日的生机（屋上春鸠鸣叫，村边杏花洁白）；「持斧伐远扬，荷锄觇泉脉」写持斧伐远扬、荷锄觇泉脉——写尽春日的劳作（持斧伐去高扬的枝条，荷锄察看泉水的脉络）；「归燕识故巢，旧人看新历」写归燕识故巢、旧人看新历——写尽春日的安居（归燕识得故巢，旧人看着新历）；「临觞忽不御，惆怅远行客」写临觞忽不御、惆怅远行客——写尽对远行客的惆怅（临杯忽而不饮，惆怅起远行之人）。全诗以春景写田园，写尽春日田园的生机与对远行客的惆怅，是理解王维田园诗的重要篇章。

Art

The technique is accumulation rather than amplification: six concrete particulars — dove, apricot, axe, hoe, swallow, almanac — placed side by side until the village is present without a single general statement. The verb choice is unusually exact: 'probes' for feeling one's way along the veins of the spring water, 'knows' for the swallow's unhesitating return to its old nest. The polished parallel of the middle couplets is maintained without ever becoming showy. The final turn is managed by withholding — the poet never names the traveller, only reports that the drinker stopped, and the reader supplies the rest.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以写景写春景。「屋上春鸠鸣，村边杏花白」以写景写春景——那「春鸠鸣」「杏花白」写尽春鸠鸣叫与杏花洁白，以写景写尽春日的生机。其二，以细节写劳作。「持斧伐远扬，荷锄觇泉脉」以细节写劳作——那「伐远扬」「觇泉脉」写尽持斧伐枝与荷锄察泉，以细节写尽春日的劳作。其三，以安居写闲适。「归燕识故巢，旧人看新历」以安居写闲适——那「识故巢」「看新历」写尽归燕识巢与旧人看历，以安居写尽春日的闲适。其四，以转折写惆怅。「临觞忽不御，惆怅远行客」以转折写惆怅——那「忽不御」写尽临杯忽而不饮、「惆怅远行客」写尽对远行客的惆怅，以转折写尽乐景中的惆怅。此外，此诗前六句写春日田园之乐，末二句忽然转到远行客，由乐而怅，正是「以乐景写哀」的笔法。四重手法，使此诗以春景写田园，写尽春日田园的生机与对远行客的惆怅，是王维的代表作。

Allusions

'Spring turtle-dove' (chun jiu) is also an agricultural almanac bird of the old calendars, so its song announces the day for the farm work; 'apricot blossom' is the standard sign of mid-spring. 'Long and upward shoots' refers specifically to the long shoots of the mulberry, which are cut back early in the year in the Odes' song of the silkworm season, where the axe and the hatchet are taken to the mulberry tree. 'Shouldering the hoe' recalls Tao Yuanming returning home under the moon. 'Old nest' and 'new almanac' are the poem's quietest allusions: the first says that a creature returns to where it began, the second that a human begins again with a fresh year.

此诗的用语深植于田园与春日农事传统。「屋上春鸠鸣」令人想到「春鸠」写春鸠的意象——「屋上春鸠鸣」正是王维的名句，也令人想到「鸠鸣」写鸠鸟鸣叫的意象——「鸣鸠拂其羽」的农候；「村边杏花白」令人想到「杏花」写杏花的意象——「村边杏花白」正是王维的名句，也令人想到「杏花白」写杏花洁白的意象——「杏花疏影里」；「持斧伐远扬」令人想到「伐远扬」写修剪枝条的意象——「持斧伐远扬」正是王维的名句，也令人想到《诗经·豳风·七月》「蚕月条桑，取彼斧斨，以伐远扬」的农事；「荷锄觇泉脉」令人想到「荷锄」写荷锄的意象——「带月荷锄归」（陶渊明），也令人想到「觇泉脉」写察看泉脉的意象；「归燕识故巢」令人想到「归燕」写归燕的意象——「归燕识故巢」正是王维的名句，也令人想到「旧人看新历」写看新历的意象；「临觞忽不御」令人想到「临觞」写临杯的意象——「临觞忽不御」正是王维的名句。全诗化用春鸠、杏花、归燕的意象与《诗经》农事的传统，以春景写田园，正是王维「诗中有画」而兼善农事、承田园传统写春日的本领。

Commentary

Long ranked among Wang Wei's best pastoral poems and as the representative Tang poem of spring in the fields. Qing readers valued the poem's 'clear and natural' plainness. Modern readers single out the last two lines, in which the joy of the scene is broken by a thought of the man who has left it. Its special place is the restraint of that closing: the poem never tells us who the traveller is or where he has gone, so the reader's own alienation from the settled scene is what the poem finally stages. Compared with 'Autumn Dusk in the Mountains', which is entirely content, this poem shows that the same eye could not long rest on an unbroken ease.

此诗历来被推为王维田园诗的名篇，也是唐人写春日田园的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以春景写田园，明净自然」；近人更指出「屋上春鸠鸣，村边杏花白」写春日的生机，「临觞忽不御，惆怅远行客」写对远行客的惆怅，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以八句的五言古诗写尽春日田园的生机与对远行客的惆怅——那屋上鸣叫的春鸠，那村边洁白的杏花，那持斧伐的远扬，那荷锄觇的泉脉，那识故巢的归燕，那看新历的旧人，那忽不御的临觞，那惆怅的远行客，都写尽了王维笔下的春日田园；那「归燕识故巢，旧人看新历」更写尽春日的安居。此诗与王维《春中田园作》同题之作不多，然与《山居秋暝》（「明月松间照」）同为田园名篇，一写「空山新雨后」的秋日（山居秋暝），一写「屋上春鸠鸣」的春日（春中田园作）；又与《诗经·豳风·七月》的农事传统一脉相承，可见王维田园诗对上古农事诗的继承。对于今日读者，此诗是理解王维田园诗的窗口，也是中国诗写春日田园的经典——那识巢的归燕，穿越千年，仍在诉说着春日的田园。

Prosody

Form Chinese poetry — five-character ancient verse (Wu Yan Gu Shi), eight lines诗·五言古诗（八句）

Rhyme Ancient verse on the entering 'Mo' rhyme (入声十一陌): bai, mai, li, ke — one rhyme maintained to the end, in the abrupt, compact tone of the entering voice五古，押「白」「脉」「历」「客」韵（入声十一陌），一韵到底，音节明净

Tone pattern A five-character poem in the ancient style, eight lines, rhyming on the entering-tone 'Mo' rhyme (bai, mai, li, ke) and held to the end; the checked syllable gives the poem its close, unadorned plainness.此诗为五言古诗，八句，押入声韵，一韵到底，音节明净，正合田园的明净。

Reading note Eight lines of five characters, rhyming on the entering Mo rhyme and shaped like an ancient rather than a regulated poem, so the lines are allowed to run on without the tight pauses of the Lü. The rhyme words are all concrete things — white, vein, calendar, guest — and the entering tone closes each of them abruptly, which is why the poem reads as speech rather than as song. Read the first six lines evenly and unhurried; on the seventh let the beat drop, and let the last line carry the poem out slowly.此诗为五言古诗，八句——「屋上春鸠鸣，村边杏花白。持斧伐远扬，荷锄觇泉脉。归燕识故巢，旧人看新历。临觞忽不御，惆怅远行客」，押「陌」韵（白、脉、历、客），一韵到底，音节明净。全诗以春景写田园：前六句写春日的生机、劳作与安居（屋上春鸠鸣……旧人看新历），后二句写对远行客的惆怅（临觞忽不御，惆怅远行客）。八句短章，前写春景，后写惆怅，正见王维田园诗「明净自然」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以明净的语调读「屋上春鸠鸣」的春景，以低回的语调读「临觞忽不御」的顿住，结句「惆怅远行客」要读得惆怅而有余韵，方能传达出王维的淡远深永。王维古诗以「诗中有画」著称，此诗正是其田园五古的典范。

Line by line

归燕识故巢，旧人看新历

The returned swallow knows its old nest; the old villagers read the new almanac.

归来的燕子认得故巢，旧居的人看着新的历书。

The returning swallows know their old nest; the long-settled household consults the new almanac.

此二句是全诗写安居的核心，以归燕识故巢写燕归，以旧人看新历写人安，写尽春日的安居，是千古名句。「归燕识故巢」写归来的燕子认得故巢——那「归燕」写归来的燕子，「识故巢」写认得故巢，写尽燕子归巢的安居；「旧人看新历」写旧居的人看着新的历书——那「旧人」写旧居之人，「看新历」写看着新历，写尽人的安居。这句的深意在于：它以「归燕识故巢」的燕归与「旧人看新历」的人安，写尽春日的安居——归来的燕子认得故巢，那「归燕识故巢」写尽燕子归巢的安居——春燕归来，认得故巢，正是燕归旧巢的安居，那「识故巢」写尽燕子的恋旧；旧居的人看着新的历书，那「旧人看新历」写尽人的安居——旧居之人看着新历，正是安于春日的农事，那「看新历」写尽人的安居；那「归燕识故巢」写尽燕子归巢的安居，那「旧人看新历」写尽人的安居，一写燕归，一写人安，写尽春日的安居——燕归故巢、人看新历，正是春日田园的安居乐业；而「旧人」与「新历」相对，「故巢」与「新历」相映，一旧一新，写尽岁月更迭中的安居；此二句以燕归、人安写尽春日的安居，也让此二句成为全诗写安居的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「春天来了大家安居乐业」，则失其含蓄；唯以「归燕识故巢」写燕归、「旧人看新历」写人安，写尽春日的安居，也让此二句成为全诗写安居的核心。

Wang Wei's spring farming poem opens with two quiet signs of settled life. The returning swallows know their old nest—the birds come back to the same eave, recognizing what was theirs. The long-settled household consults the new almanac—old residents, turning the fresh calendar to plan the year's work. The matched old and new is the poem's secret: old nest and new almanac, old household and new season, the village turning within itself. The swallows' fidelity and the family's routine make a picture of spring order. To have said spring had come and everyone was busy would be generic; the recognizing bird and the new calendar are the settlement.

临觞忽不御，惆怅远行客

The cup is at his lips, and suddenly he will not drink — and thinks with a pang of the traveller far away.

临杯忽而不饮，惆怅起远行的客。

Raising the cup, he suddenly stops drinking; a melancholy for the traveler far away comes over him.

此二句是全诗写惆怅的核心，以临觞忽不御写顿悟，以惆怅远行客写牵挂，写尽对远行客的惆怅，是千古名句。「临觞忽不御」写临杯忽而不饮——那「临觞」写临杯，「忽不御」写忽而不饮，写尽临杯的顿住；「惆怅远行客」写惆怅起远行的客——那「惆怅」写惆怅，「远行客」写远行的客，写尽对远行客的惆怅。这句的深意在于：它以「临觞忽不御」的顿住与「惆怅远行客」的牵挂，写尽对远行客的惆怅——临杯忽而不饮，那「临觞忽不御」写尽临杯的顿住——正要举杯，忽然停住不饮，那「忽不御」写尽因何而顿的悬念；惆怅起远行的客，那「惆怅远行客」写尽对远行客的惆怅——举杯之际，忽念远行的客，那「惆怅」写尽对远行客的牵挂；那「临觞忽不御」写尽临杯的顿住，那「惆怅远行客」写尽对远行客的惆怅，一写顿住，一写惆怅，写尽对远行客的惆怅——田园安乐之际，忽念远行之客未能同乐，正是乐中见悲；此二句以顿住、惆怅写尽对远行客的惆怅，也让此二句成为全诗写惆怅的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「想起了远方的朋友很挂念」，则失其含蓄；唯以「临觞忽不御」写顿住、「惆怅远行客」写牵挂，写尽对远行客的惆怅，也让此二句成为全诗写惆怅的核心。

In the middle of the quiet contentment, a wrench. Raising the cup, he suddenly stops—the untranslated pause, the cup halfway to the lips—because a melancholy for the traveler far away comes over him. The suddenness is the point: the feast is happy, the fields are ready, but someone he loves is out on the road, with whom none of this can be shared. The poem turns from the village's good order to the one person missing from it. To have said I thought of a friend far away would be a note; the halted cup is the thought arriving unbidden.

Study

Word focus

识 In 'the returned swallow knows its old nest,' shi means to recognise, and is given to a bird, so the return is presented as memory rather than chance; it is the word that raises a homecoming from instinct to feeling, and it is the pivot of the couplet. (About 30 words) 「归燕识故巢」之「识」字是写燕归的字眼，一个「识」字写尽燕子归巢的恋旧。识者，认得也。王维以「归燕识故巢」写燕归，这个「识」字至少有双重意味：其一，写燕之恋旧——那「归燕识故巢」写归来的燕子认得故巢，那「识」字写尽燕子的恋旧——燕子认得故巢，正是恋旧，那「识」字写尽燕子的深情；其二，写人之安居——那「识」字更是写人——燕识故巢，正见人亦安于故土，那「识」字写尽人的安居。以「识」字写燕归，正是王维写安居的枢纽——若换作「寻」「觅」等字，则或失其写认得的意味，或失其与「故巢」的配合；唯「识」字，以归燕识故巢写尽燕子的恋旧与人的安居，与「旧人看新历」的看相合，写尽春日的安居，也让「归燕识故巢」成为全诗写安居的名句。

忽 In 'the cup is at his lips, and suddenly he will not drink,' hu means suddenly, and marks the poem's turn: nothing in the preceding six lines has prepared the refusal, and the brevity of the word makes the interruption as unexpected as the pang itself. (About 30 words) 「临觞忽不御」之「忽」字是写转折的字眼，一个「忽」字写尽临杯的顿住。忽者，忽然也。王维以「临觞忽不御」写临杯，这个「忽」字至少有双重意味：其一，写顿住之态——那「临觞忽不御」写正要举杯忽然停住不饮，那「忽」字写尽临杯的顿住——忽然停杯，正是顿然生情，那「忽」字写尽转折的突兀；其二，写惆怅之生——那「忽」字更是写惆怅——忽然不御，正见惆怅忽生，那「忽」字写尽惆怅的突然。以「忽」字写临杯，正是王维写惆怅的枢纽——若换作「遂」「乃」等字，则或失其写忽然的意味，或失其与「不御」的配合；唯「忽」字，以临觞忽不御写尽临杯的顿住与惆怅的忽生，与「惆怅远行客」的惆怅相合，写尽对远行客的惆怅，也让「临觞忽不御」成为全诗写转折的名句。