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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

冬夜读书示子聿·其一

Reading at Night, Written for Zi Yu: No. 1

陆游

Lu You

读书Reading 教子Teaching One's Son

韦编屡绝铁砚穿，口诵手钞那计年。
不是爱书即欲死，任从人笑作书颠。

The silk cord breaks again, the iron inkstone wears through,
Reciting aloud, copying out by hand, and no count of the years.
It is not that I love books enough to die for them —
Let people laugh and call me a madman for books.

Listen

Meaning

Lu You opens his instruction to his son with his own record: the cord of the bamboo scrolls has broken so many times that it wears out, and the iron inkstone has been ground through, years counted not in great matters but in recitations and copies. He then disclaims the pious motive — it is not that he loves books to the point of death — and ends by saying he lets people call him a book-madman. The poem teaches by showing a life of study declared by its own worn instruments.

韦编屡绝铁砚穿，口诵手钞那计年。不是爱书即欲死，任从人笑作书颠。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The poem describes labour and then dismantles the usual pieties about that labour. [Structure] Two lines of evidence, two lines of self-description; the second couplet is a turn disguised as a concession. [Imagery] The two objects — the silk cord and the inkstone — carry the whole first couplet, and both are chosen for being consumed. [Turn] 'It is not that I love books enough to die for them' begins as a demurral and ends as a stronger statement, because the poet denies the pious motive and keeps the obsessive one. [Tone] The final line is the poem's joke, and the poem's best quality is that the joke is not a dismissal: he is not defending his study, he is admitting the charge with pleasure.

【白话串讲】陆游写《冬夜读书示子聿·其一》：“韦编屡绝铁砚穿，口诵手钞那计年”——“不是爱书即欲死，任从人笑作书颠”——他说读书不是爱书到死，任人笑他书颠——他示儿子。【意象与手法】此诗写读书，以教子写读书，是陆游的名篇。前二句写读书之勤：「韦编屡绝铁砚穿，口诵手钞那计年」写韦编屡绝铁砚穿、口诵手钞那计年——写尽读书的勤奋；后二句写爱书之痴：「不是爱书即欲死，任从人笑作书颠」写不是爱书即欲死、任从人笑作书颠——写尽爱书的痴狂。全诗以教子写读书，写尽读书的勤奋与爱书的痴狂，是陆游的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写读书，以教子写读书，是陆游的名篇。此诗为陆游冬夜读书时写给儿子子聿的示儿诗。陆游以自身读书的经历教子：韦编屡绝铁砚穿，口诵手钞那计年——写韦编屡绝铁砚穿、口诵手钞那计年，写尽读书的勤奋；不是爱书即欲死，任从人笑作书颠——写不是爱书即欲死、任从人笑作书颠，写尽爱书的痴狂。全诗以教子写读书——那「韦编屡绝铁砚穿」写尽读书的勤奋，「任从人笑作书颠」写尽爱书的痴狂，写尽读书的勤奋与爱书的痴狂，是理解陆游读书诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「韦编屡绝铁砚穿，口诵手钞那计年」写读书的勤奋；「不是爱书即欲死，任从人笑作书颠」写爱书的痴狂；以及全诗以教子写读书、以典写勤奋的手法。

Background

Lu You (1125–1210), courtesy name Wuguan, styled Fangweng, was the greatest of the Southern Song poets, a native of Shan Yin, and the author of some nine thousand surviving poems. He loved reading all his life, and called his later study the Old Study; he wrote of books, when he saw them, that he was nearly frantic with delight. The group of poems of winter reading written for his son Zi Yu belongs to these later years, and this first poem of the set describes the father's own labour rather than the son's task.

此诗写读书，以教子写读书，是陆游的名篇。陆游（1125—1210），字务观，号放翁，越州山阴（今浙江绍兴）人，南宋爱国诗人。此诗为陆游冬夜读书时写给儿子子聿的示儿诗。陆游一生好学，晚年居家仍勤于读书，常以读书教子。子聿为陆游之子，名子虡，陆游有《冬夜读书示子聿》绝句多首，其一即此诗，其二即「古人学问无遗力」之篇。此诗写读书：「韦编屡绝铁砚穿，口诵手钞那计年」写韦编屡绝铁砚穿、口诵手钞那计年——写尽读书的勤奋（韦编屡绝铁砚穿，口诵手钞那计年）；「不是爱书即欲死，任从人笑作书颠」写不是爱书即欲死、任从人笑作书颠——写尽爱书的痴狂（不是爱书即欲死，任从人笑作书颠）。全诗以教子写读书，写尽读书的勤奋与爱书的痴狂，是理解陆游读书诗的重要篇章。陆游一生酷爱读书，自称「老学庵」，晚年居山阴老学庵，仍日以读书为乐，其《抄书》诗云「书生习气重，见书喜欲狂」。此诗写于陆游教子读书之时，以自身「韦编屡绝铁砚穿」的苦读经历示子，正见其「少壮工夫老始成」的读书观。陆游教子诗甚多，《冬夜读书示子聿》组诗即其一，另如《示儿》「王师北定中原日」亦为名篇。

Art

The technique of the first couplet is to state wear and tear rather than effort: the cord breaks, the stone wears, and the years are counted by what was copied rather than by what was learned. This frugality of speech is what makes the third line possible, since the poet can then refuse the pious reading of his own life. 'No count of the years' is plain speech at its most effective; it places an incalculable number in a single unemphatic line. The closing line releases the poem's tension with a laugh, and Lu You's habit of mixing a serious subject with a self-deprecating joke is what keeps the poem from turning into an exhortation.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以典故写勤奋。「韦编屡绝铁砚穿」以典故写勤奋——那「韦编屡绝」「铁砚穿」用孔子韦编三绝、桑维翰铁砚磨穿之典，以典故写尽读书的勤奋。其二，以白描写勤读。「口诵手钞那计年」以白描写勤读——那「口诵手钞」「那计年」写尽口诵手抄的苦读，以白描写尽读书的勤奋。其三，以夸张写痴狂。「不是爱书即欲死」以夸张写痴狂——那「即欲死」写尽爱书如命的夸张，以夸张写尽爱书的痴狂。其四，以直抒写旷达。「任从人笑作书颠」以直抒写旷达——那「任从人笑」写尽任人笑的自得，以直抒写尽读书的旷达。此外，此诗前二句写读书的勤奋，后二句写爱书的痴狂，由勤及痴，正是示儿诗「以身作则」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以教子写读书，写尽读书的勤奋与爱书的痴狂，是陆游的代表作。此诗还善于以「那计年」三字写不计岁月的痴读——那「口诵手钞那计年」写口诵手抄不计年月，正见读书的持久与忘我，一个「那」字写尽不计的坦然。又善以「任从人笑」四字写自得——那「任从人笑作书颠」写任人笑其为书颠而不改其乐，正见其以痴自得的旷达，使教子之诗于恳切中见风趣。

Allusions

' silk cord' refers to the custom of binding bamboo-scrolls with a cord of hide, which wear out from repeated handling; the Weizi story of 'threading a cord three times through the Yi' made it the classic emblem of study. 'Iron inkstone' alludes to Sang Weihan, who cast an iron inkstone to prove he would not abandon his studies, and its being worn through is a variation on that vow. 'Book-madman' is not a title Lu You invented; the painting and poetry of the era liked the figure of the book-madman, and Lu You here claims the role for himself with obvious relish. The whole first couplet is written as evidence rather than as praise, which is the poem's quiet originality.

此诗的用语深植于读书与教子的传统。「韦编屡绝」令人想到「韦编屡绝」用孔子韦编三绝之典——《史记·孔子世家》载孔子读《易》「韦编三绝」，韦编为穿竹简的皮绳，也令人想到「韦编三绝」的成语；「铁砚穿」令人想到「铁砚穿」用桑维翰之典——《旧五代史》载桑维翰「铸铁砚以示人曰：砚弊则改而他仕」，后以铁砚磨穿写苦学，也令人想到「铁杵磨成针」的意象；「口诵手钞」令人想到「口诵手钞」写苦读的意象——也令人想到「三更灯火五更鸡」（颜真卿）的意象；「书颠」令人想到「书颠」写书痴的意象——也令人想到「诗狂」「画颠」的意象；「爱书即欲死」令人想到「爱书」写爱书的意象——也令人想到「白发无情侵老境，青灯有味似儿时」（陆游）的意象。全诗化用韦编三绝、铁砚磨穿、口诵手钞、书颠的意象典故，以教子写读书，正是陆游「善学」而承读书传统写勤奋的本领。「韦编三绝」典出《史记·孔子世家》——孔子晚年读《易》，韦编三绝，即穿竹简的皮绳多次磨断，后以此写读书勤奋；「铁砚磨穿」典出《新五代史》——桑维翰铸铁砚示志，砚穿不改其志。陆游以一诗而并用两典，正见其读书之勤、立志之坚，也使示儿之诗更有分量。

Commentary

Long ranked among Lu You's best poems of instruction and among the best short poems in Chinese on reading. Qing readers commented on the poem's 'earnest and simple' manner. Modern readers single out the first couplet, in which study is described through what it consumes. The poem's special quality is its humor: it will not let the reader treat study as a virtue stated in the abstract, and instead offers a worn cord, a grind stone and a man who does not deny being called mad. Read beside the third of the group, which ends on verifying learning by action, this poem supplies the patience that the other assumes; between them they cover the whole of Lu You's reading life.

此诗历来被推为陆游示儿诗的名篇，也是中国诗写读书的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以教子写读书，恳切真挚」；近人更指出「韦编屡绝铁砚穿」写读书的勤奋，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以四句的绝句写尽读书的勤奋与爱书的痴狂——那韦编，那铁砚，那口诵，那手钞，那计年，那爱书，那欲死，那书颠，都写尽了陆游笔下的冬夜读书；那「任从人笑作书颠」更以直抒写尽爱书的痴狂。此诗与陆游《冬夜读书示子聿·其二》（「古人学问无遗力」）同为示儿读书名篇，一写「韦编屡绝铁砚穿」的勤奋（其一），一写「纸上得来终觉浅」的躬行（其二）；又与颜真卿《劝学》、朱熹《观书有感》的读书传统一脉相承，可见中国诗写读书的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解陆游教子诗的窗口，也是中国诗写读书的经典——那屡绝的韦编，穿越千年，仍在诉说着读书的勤奋。

Prosody

Form Chinese poetry — seven-character quatrain (Qi Yan Jue Ju)诗·七言绝句

Rhyme Quatrain on the 'Xian' rhyme (下平一先): nian, dian — one rhyme maintained to the end, in the open, free tone of the level voice七绝，押「年」「颠」韵（下平一先），一韵到底，音节豪放

Tone pattern A seven-character quatrain on level-tone rhymes, single rhyme throughout, in a quick and breezy rhythm that matches the poem's wit.此诗为七言绝句，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节豪放，正合爱书的豪放。

Reading note Four lines of seven characters, rhyming on the Xian rhyme (nian, dian) and held to the end. The rhyme is a wide one, and the short lines of the last couplet break the normal cadence, so the poem's rhythm stumbles happily at the turn and then settles. This is unusual for a poem on study, where the Chinese tradition usually prefers the closed, narrow rhyme; the open rhyme here is part of the poem's good humour. Read line 1 with a bounce, and let the closing line decline all ceremonies.此诗为七言绝句，四句——「韦编屡绝铁砚穿，口诵手钞那计年。不是爱书即欲死，任从人笑作书颠」，押「先」韵（年、颠），一韵到底，音节豪放。全诗以教子写读书：前二句写读书的勤奋（韦编屡绝铁砚穿、口诵手钞那计年），后二句写爱书的痴狂（不是爱书即欲死、任从人笑作书颠）。四句短章，前写勤奋，后写痴狂，以「任从人笑作书颠」写尽爱书的痴狂，正见陆游「豪放」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以豪放的语调读「韦编屡绝铁砚穿」的勤奋，以旷达的语调读「任从人笑作书颠」的痴狂，结句要读得豪放而有余韵，方能传达出陆游的恳切真挚。陆游绝句以「豪放沉郁」著称，此诗正是其示儿绝句的典范。

Line by line

韦编屡绝铁砚穿，口诵手钞那计年

The silk cord breaks again, the iron inkstone wears through, reciting aloud, copying out by hand, and no count of the years.

韦编屡绝铁砚穿，口诵手钞那计年。

The leather thongs of the bamboo slips have snapped again and again, the iron inkstone is worn through; reciting aloud and copying by hand, what count do I keep of the years?

此二句是全诗写勤奋的核心，以韦编屡绝铁砚穿写韦编，以口诵手钞那计年写苦读，写尽读书的勤奋，是千古名句。「韦编屡绝铁砚穿」写韦编屡绝铁砚穿——那「韦编屡绝」写韦编屡绝，「铁砚穿」写铁砚穿，写尽韦编的铁砚；「口诵手钞那计年」写口诵手钞那计年——那「口诵手钞」写口诵手钞，「那计年」写那计年，写尽口诵的苦读。这句的深意在于：它以「韦编屡绝铁砚穿」的韦编与「口诵手钞那计年」的苦读，写尽读书的勤奋——韦编屡绝铁砚穿，那「韦编屡绝铁砚穿」写尽韦编的铁砚——韦编屡绝，铁砚磨穿，正是苦读的写照，那「铁砚穿」写尽读书的勤奋；口诵手钞那计年，那「口诵手钞那计年」写尽口诵的苦读——口诵手抄，哪计岁月，正是日积月累的写照，那「那计年」写尽读书的持久；那「韦编屡绝铁砚穿」写尽韦编的铁砚，那「口诵手钞那计年」写尽口诵的苦读，一写韦编，一写苦读，写尽读书的勤奋——韦编铁砚而口诵手抄，正是苦学的写照；此二句以韦编、苦读写尽读书的勤奋，也为后二句的痴狂作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写勤奋的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我读书很用功」，则失其分量；唯以「韦编屡绝铁砚穿」写韦编、「口诵手钞那计年」写苦读，写尽读书的勤奋，也让此二句成为全诗写勤奋的核心。

Lu You describes his own study. The leather thongs of the bamboo slips have snapped again and again—the allusion to Confucius, who wore through the thongs on his copies of the Book of Changes—and the iron inkstone is worn through from grinding. Reciting aloud and copying by hand, what count do I keep of the years? The two worn objects (thongs, ironstone) are the evidence; the question about the years is the passion. To have said I studied very hard would be a claim; the snapped thongs and the worn ironstone are the hard study.

不是爱书即欲死，任从人笑作书颠

It is not that I love books enough to die for them — let people laugh and call me a madman for books.

不是爱书即欲死，任从人笑作书颠。

If I did not love books, I should be ready to die; let men laugh and call me a book-madman.

此二句是全诗写痴狂的核心，以不是爱书即欲死写爱书，以任从人笑作书颠写书颠，写尽爱书的痴狂，是千古名句。「不是爱书即欲死」写不是爱书即欲死——那「不是爱书」写不是爱书，「即欲死」写即欲死，写尽爱书的如命；「任从人笑作书颠」写任从人笑作书颠——那「任从人笑」写任从人笑，「作书颠」写作书颠，写尽任笑的自得。这句的深意在于：它以「不是爱书即欲死」的爱书与「任从人笑作书颠」的书颠，写尽爱书的痴狂——不是爱书即欲死，那「不是爱书即欲死」写尽爱书的如命——不是爱书就要死，正是爱书如命的写照，那「即欲死」写尽爱书的痴狂；任从人笑作书颠，那「任从人笑作书颠」写尽任笑的自得——任从人笑，作个书颠，正是痴而不悔的写照，那「书颠」写尽爱书的痴狂；那「不是爱书即欲死」写尽爱书的如命，那「任从人笑作书颠」写尽任笑的自得，一写如命，一写任笑，写尽爱书的痴狂——爱书如命而任人笑颠，正是书痴的写照；此二句以爱书、书颠写尽爱书的痴狂，也让此二句成为全诗写痴狂的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我特别爱读书」，则失其痴狂；唯以「不是爱书即欲死」写爱书、「任从人笑作书颠」写书颠，写尽爱书的痴狂，也让此二句成为全诗写痴狂的核心。

The second couplet is self-caricature. If I did not love books, I should be ready to die—book-loving as a condition of life; let men laugh and call me a book-madman. The admission invites the mockery he has already decided not to care about. The word book-madman is the proud name he gives himself. To have said I am devoted to books and don't care what people think would be a statement; love of books on pain of death and the self-chosen title of book-madman are the devotion.

Study

Word focus

穿 In 'the iron inkstone wears through,' chuan means to pierce or wear a hole through, and applies to the ground stone being worn to its base; the word is doing the work of a whole biography in one syllable, since only the man who copies out books enough can wear an inkstone out. (About 30 words) 「韦编屡绝铁砚穿」之「穿」字是写勤奋的关键词，一个「穿」字写尽铁砚的磨穿。穿者，穿透、磨穿也。陆游以「韦编屡绝铁砚穿」写勤奋，这个「穿」字至少有双重意味：其一，写砚之磨——那「韦编屡绝铁砚穿」写韦编屡绝铁砚穿，那「穿」字写尽铁砚的磨穿——铁砚磨穿，正是苦读的写照，那「穿」字写尽读书的勤奋；其二，写志之坚——那「穿」字更是写坚——穿，正见意志的坚韧，那「穿」字写尽读书的恒心。以「穿」字写勤奋，正是陆游写读书的枢纽——若换作「破」「损」等字，则或失其与「铁砚」「韦编」的配合，或失其写穿的意味；唯「穿」字，以韦编屡绝铁砚穿写尽铁砚的磨穿与意志的坚韧，与「口诵手钞那计年」的那计年相合，写尽读书的勤奋，也让「韦编屡绝铁砚穿」成为全诗写勤奋的名句。

颠 In 'let people laugh and call me a book-madman,' dian means mad or crazed, and is used for a harmless obsession; the poet takes back a word of blame and turns it into a title of honour, which is the poem's joke and its whole conclusion in one character. (About 30 words) 「任从人笑作书颠」之「颠」字是写痴狂的关键词，一个「颠」字写尽书颠的自得。颠者，疯颠、痴狂也。陆游以「任从人笑作书颠」写痴狂，这个「颠」字至少有双重意味：其一，写书之痴——那「任从人笑作书颠」写任从人笑作书颠，那「颠」字写尽读书的痴狂——作个书颠，正是以颠自况的写照，那「颠」字写尽爱书的痴狂；其二，写情之乐——那「颠」字更是写乐——书颠，正见痴读之乐，那「颠」字写尽读书的乐趣。以「颠」字写痴狂，正是陆游写读书的枢纽——若换作「痴」「狂」等字，则或失其与「任从人笑」「书」的配合，或失其写颠的意味；唯「颠」字，以任从人笑作书颠写尽读书的痴狂与痴读的乐趣，与「不是爱书即欲死」的欲死相合，写尽爱书的痴狂，也让「任从人笑作书颠」成为全诗写痴狂的名句。