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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

椒园

Pepper Grove

王维

Wang Wei

辋川Wangchuan Villa 写景Scenery Writing

桂尊迎帝子，杜若赠佳人。
椒浆奠瑶席，欲下云中君。

A cup of jade to greet the daughter of the emperor;
Sweet rush given as a gift to the lovely lady.
Pepper wine is poured upon the jade mat;
The Lord of the Clouds is on the point of descending.

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Meaning

The fourth of the Wangchuan quatrains turns from landscape to ritual. Offering jade cups to an imperial daughter and sweet grass to a lady, pouring pepper wine on a jade mat, the poet describes an offering made to the cloud deity, whose descent he awaits. Read within the Wangchuan collection, the poem treats a shrine on the estate as a scene: the objects are set out, and the god is imagined arriving among them.

桂尊迎帝子，杜若赠佳人。椒浆奠瑶席，欲下云中君。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Jade cups are set out to welcome the daughter of the emperor, and sweet-scented rush is handed to the fair lady; pepper wine is poured on the jade mat, and the Lord of the Clouds is about to come down into the place. [Structure] Two parallel lines of offering, then two of expectation. The repetition of the objects - jade, wine, grass, mat - builds an inventory, and the last line breaks it by introducing the deity, who changes the scene from property to presence. [Imagery] Every image is an offering: jade, wine, aromatic grass. Nothing else is described, and therefore the poem's picture is assembled out of sacred furniture rather than out of nature, which is a different kind of picture from the rest of the Wangchuanji. [Sentiment] There is no human voice at all. Where the other Wangchuan quatrains have a walker or a watcher, this one has a priest's patience, and the feeling it leaves is quiet expectation rather than solitude.

【白话串讲】王维写《椒园》：“桂尊迎帝子，杜若赠佳人”——“椒浆奠瑶席，欲下云中君”——他写椒园的祭祀。【意象与手法】此诗写山水，以祭祀写山水，是王维的名篇。前二句写迎神：「桂尊迎帝子，杜若赠佳人」写桂尊迎帝子、杜若赠佳人——写尽迎神的供奉；后二句写祭椒：「椒浆奠瑶席，欲下云中君」写椒浆奠瑶席、欲下云中君——写尽祭椒的虔诚。全诗以祭祀写山水，写尽迎神的供奉与祭椒的虔诚，是王维的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写山水，以祭祀写山水，是王维的名篇。此诗为《辋川集》二十首之一，写辋川别业中的椒园。椒园为辋川别业中种椒之地，椒（花椒）为香料，古以椒酒、椒浆祭神。此诗写以桂尊（桂酒之樽）迎帝子（湘夫人），以杜若（香草）赠佳人（湘夫人）；以椒浆（椒酒）奠瑶席（美玉之席），欲迎云中君（云神）下降。此诗以祭椒写山水：桂尊迎帝子，杜若赠佳人——写桂尊迎帝子、杜若赠佳人，写尽迎神的供奉；椒浆奠瑶席，欲下云中君——写椒浆奠瑶席、欲下云中君，写尽祭椒的虔诚。全诗以祭祀写山水——那「桂尊迎帝子」写尽迎神的供奉，「欲下云中君」写尽祭椒的虔诚，写尽迎神的供奉与祭椒的虔诚，是理解王维山水诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「桂尊迎帝子，杜若赠佳人」写迎神的供奉；「椒浆奠瑶席，欲下云中君」写祭椒的虔诚；以及全诗以祭祀写山水、以用典写祭神的手法。

Background

Wang Wei (c. 701-761) composed the twenty Wangchuan quatrains with Pei Di, each on a scene of his estate north of Chang'an. The collection is usually read as pure landscape, but several of the pieces, and this one above all, revive the language of the Chu sacramental songs in a setting of private property: jade, wine and aromatic plants before a shrine. Wang Wei's late verse is full of this kind of half-religious feeling, shaped by his interest in Chan practice and by the age's taste for the old southern repertoire.

此诗写山水，以祭祀写山水，是王维的名篇。王维（701—761），字摩诘，号摩诘居士，河东蒲州（今山西运城）人，唐代诗人、画家，与孟浩然并称「王孟」，被苏轼誉为「诗中有画，画中有诗」。此诗为《辋川集》二十首之一，写辋川别业中的椒园。辋川别业在陕西蓝田，王维晚年隐居于此，与裴迪唱和，成《辋川集》二十首。椒园为辋川别业中种椒之地，椒（花椒）为香料，古以椒酒、椒浆祭神。此诗写以桂尊（桂酒之樽）迎帝子（湘夫人），以杜若（香草）赠佳人（湘夫人）；以椒浆（椒酒）奠瑶席（美玉之席），欲迎云中君（云神）下降。此诗以祭椒写山水：「桂尊迎帝子，杜若赠佳人」写桂尊迎帝子、杜若赠佳人——写尽迎神的供奉（桂尊迎帝子，杜若赠佳人）；「椒浆奠瑶席，欲下云中君」写椒浆奠瑶席、欲下云中君——写尽祭椒的虔诚（椒浆奠瑶席，欲下云中君）。全诗以祭祀写山水，写尽迎神的供奉与祭椒的虔诚，是理解王维山水诗的重要篇章。此诗以楚辞《九歌》笔法写椒园祭神。椒园为辋川别业中种椒之地，椒（花椒）为古代祭祀的重要香料，《九歌·东皇太一》有「奠桂酒兮椒浆」。王维过椒园，借祭神之典写椒园之祭，以桂尊迎帝子（湘夫人）、杜若赠佳人（湘夫人）、椒浆奠瑶席、欲下云中君（云神），写尽祭椒之虔诚。

Art

The poem is made almost entirely of nouns in sequence: cup, daughter, sweet grass, lady, wine, mat, cloud lord. Wang Wei allows himself two verbs, gives and descends, and both are almost liturgical. The effect is a slow accumulation of paraphernalia, followed by one small interpretive word, 'about to,' which suddenly fills the empty grove with a presence. The choice of a religious register for what is in fact a garden walk is the poem's joke and its seriousness at once; the incense and the wine are genuine, but the god is a literary guest. The rhyme on the 'un' sound holds the inventory on one level note, and the last line, with its single verb, is the loudest line in the collection.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以用典写迎神。「桂尊迎帝子」以用典写迎神——那「帝子」用湘夫人典写迎神，以用典写尽迎神的供奉。其二，以香草写佳人。「杜若赠佳人」以香草写佳人——那「杜若」写尽香草的赠佳，以香草写尽迎神的供奉。其三，以祭品写虔诚。「椒浆奠瑶席」以祭品写虔诚——那「椒浆」「瑶席」写尽祭品的丰盛，以祭品写尽祭椒的虔诚。其四，以想象写降神。「欲下云中君」以想象写降神——那「欲下」写尽云神的将降，以想象写尽祭椒的虔诚。此外，此诗前二句写迎神的供奉，后二句写祭椒的虔诚，由迎及祭，正是山水诗「以祭写神」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以祭祀写山水，写尽迎神的供奉与祭椒的虔诚，是王维的代表作。此诗还善于以「桂尊迎帝子」的「桂尊」写祭器之贵——那「桂尊」「瑶席」写尽祭器的华贵，正是以器写诚，以「桂尊」写尽迎神的供奉。又善以「欲下云中君」的「欲下」写降神之将至——欲下云中君，正见云神将降的期盼，以「欲下」写尽祭椒的虔诚。

Allusions

The poem belongs to the lineage of the Chu elegy, and the specific models are close at hand. The image of a deity arriving on cloud and wind comes from the old songs of the south, where the lords of the cloud are invited to descend; the jade table and the wine of pepper are the standard offering furniture of those rites; and the sweet-scented rush and other aromatic plants are the older vocabulary of worship from which the whole tradition of the herb altar was built. By borrowing this whole apparatus for a walk in his own garden, Wang Wei gives a private place the gravity of a temple.

此诗的用语深植于山水与祭祀传统。「桂尊」令人想到「桂尊」写桂酒之樽的意象——也令人想到「桂酒椒浆」的意象；「帝子」令人想到「帝子」写湘夫人的意象——《九歌·湘夫人》「帝子降兮北渚」，也令人想到「帝子乘风下翠微」（毛泽东）的意象；「杜若」令人想到「杜若」写香草的意象——《九歌》「采芳洲兮杜若」，也令人想到「杜若洲」的意象；「椒浆」令人想到「椒浆」写椒酒的意象——《九歌·东皇太一》「奠桂酒兮椒浆」，也令人想到「椒浆祭祀」的意象；「瑶席」令人想到「瑶席」写玉席的意象——《九歌》「瑶席兮玉瑱」，也令人想到「瑶台」的意象；「云中君」令人想到「云中君」写云神的意象——《九歌·云中君》，也令人想到「云中君兮纷纷而来下」的意象。全诗化用桂尊、帝子、杜若、椒浆、瑶席、云中君的意象典故，以祭祀写山水，正是王维「诗中有画」而善用典、承《九歌》传统写祭神之本领。「椒浆」令人想到「椒浆」写椒酒的意象——《九歌·东皇太一》「奠桂酒兮椒浆」，也令人想到「椒浆兮瑶席」的意象；「云中君」令人想到「云中君」写云神的意象——《九歌·云中君》，也令人想到「神君不见」的意象，以云中君写祭神之虔诚。

Commentary

This quatrain has always been the odd one out in the Wangchuanji, and readers go on quoting it because of that oddness. The favourite observation is that the poet describes an rite with complete seriousness and never confirms that anyone arrived, so the god remains a matter of style. It is also compared with Deer Fence and Huazigang as the three Wangchuan pieces that carry a voice, and with the Chu songs as the one that carries a whole tradition. In an age that valued plainness, the poem's ritual vocabulary sounded deliberately archaic, and that archaism is the point.

此诗历来被推为王维山水诗的名篇，也是《辋川集》写祭神的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以祭祀写山水，古雅自然」；近人更指出「椒浆奠瑶席，欲下云中君」写祭椒的虔诚，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以四句的五绝写尽迎神的供奉与祭椒的虔诚——那桂尊，那迎帝子，那杜若，那赠佳人，那椒浆，那奠瑶席，那欲下，那云中君，都写尽了王维笔下的椒园；那「欲下云中君」更以想象写尽祭椒的虔诚。此诗与王维《竹里馆》（「独坐幽篁里」）同为辋川集名篇，一写「深林人不知」的独坐（竹里馆），一写「椒浆奠瑶席」的祭神（椒园）；又与屈原《九歌》「奠桂酒兮椒浆」的祭神传统一脉相承，可见中国诗写祭神的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解王维山水诗的窗口，也是《辋川集》写祭神的经典——那欲降的云中君，穿越千年，仍在诉说着祭椒的虔诚。此诗与王维《竹里馆》（「独坐幽篁里」）同为辋川集名篇，一写「深林人不知」的独坐（竹里馆），一写「椒浆奠瑶席」的祭神（椒园）；又与屈原《九歌》「奠桂酒兮椒浆」的祭神传统一脉相承，可见中国诗写祭神的传统。王维以《九歌》笔法入五绝，正见其取径之高。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain (wujue)诗·五言绝句

Rhyme Rhymes on the upper ping sheng 'un' and 'en' group throughout: 'ren' (lady) and 'jun' ( lord).五绝，押「人」「君」韵（上平十一真/十二文），一韵到底，音节古雅

Tone pattern A five-character quatrain on a single even rhyme, in an even, reciting voice.此诗为五言绝句，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节古雅，正合祭祀的古雅。

Reading note Four five-character lines on one even 'un' rhyme, which gives the poem a slow, ceremonial recitation rather than a song. The lines are almost end-stopped, each presenting its own object, and the only break in the rhythm is the final verb, which is introduced late and lands on the rhyme. Because the rhyme vowel is rounded and closing, the verse never gathers speed, and that permanence is the effect the poet wanted. It is the most archaic sound in the Wangchuan collection.此诗为五言绝句，四句——「桂尊迎帝子，杜若赠佳人。椒浆奠瑶席，欲下云中君」，押平韵（人、君），一韵到底，音节古雅。全诗以祭祀写山水：前二句写迎神的供奉（桂尊迎帝子、杜若赠佳人），后二句写祭椒的虔诚（椒浆奠瑶席、欲下云中君）。四句短章，前写迎神，后写祭椒，以「欲下云中君」写尽祭椒的虔诚，正见王维「诗中有画」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以古雅的语调读「桂尊迎帝子」的迎神，以虔诚的语调读「欲下云中君」的祭椒，结句要读得古雅而有余韵，方能传达出王维的古雅自然。王维绝句以「空灵」著称，此诗正是其祭神诗的典范。

Line by line

椒浆奠瑶席，欲下云中君

Pepper wine is poured upon the jade mat; the Lord of the Clouds is on the point of descending.

椒浆奠瑶席，欲下云中君。

Pepper wine is offered on the jade mat, invoking the Lord of Clouds to descend.

此二句是全诗写虔诚的核心，以椒浆奠瑶席写奠瑶席，以欲下云中君写云中君，写尽祭椒的虔诚，是千古名句。「椒浆奠瑶席」写椒浆奠瑶席——那「椒浆奠」写椒浆奠，「瑶席」写瑶席，写尽椒浆的奠席；「欲下云中君」写欲下云中君——那「欲下」写欲下，「云中君」写云中君，写尽云神的将降。这句的深意在于：它以「椒浆奠瑶席」的奠瑶席与「欲下云中君」的云中君，写尽祭椒的虔诚——椒浆奠瑶席，那「椒浆奠瑶席」写尽椒浆的奠席——椒浆奠瑶席，正是椒酒奠席的写照，那「奠瑶席」写尽祭椒的虔诚；欲下云中君，那「欲下云中君」写尽云神的将降——欲下云中君，正是云神将降的写照，那「云中君」写尽祭椒的虔诚；那「椒浆奠瑶席」写尽椒浆的奠席，那「欲下云中君」写尽云神的将降，一写奠席，一写降神，写尽祭椒的虔诚——椒浆奠席而云神欲降，正是祭神的写照；此二句以奠席、降神写尽祭椒的虔诚，也让此二句成为全诗写虔诚的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「用椒酒摆上祭品，等云中君降临」，则失其古雅；唯以「椒浆奠瑶席」写奠瑶席、「欲下云中君」写云中君，写尽祭椒的虔诚，也让此二句成为全诗写虔诚的核心。

The offering. Pepper wine is offered on the jade mat, invoking the Lord of Clouds to descend. The pepper wine and jade mat, and the invoked cloud god, are Wang Wei's Chuci-style piety. To have described the offering to the cloud god would be a ritual; the pepper-wine-offered-on-the-jade-mat against the invoking-cloud-lord-to-descend is the ritual.

桂尊迎帝子，杜若赠佳人

A cup of jade is set out to greet the daughter of the emperor; sweet rush is given as a gift to the lovely lady.

桂尊迎帝子，杜若赠佳人。

Cassion cups welcome the Di Daughter; duofu grass is given to the beautiful lady.

此二句是全诗写迎神的核心，以桂尊迎帝子写迎帝子，以杜若赠佳人写赠佳人，写尽迎神的供奉，是千古名句。「桂尊迎帝子」写桂尊迎帝子——那「桂尊迎」写桂尊迎，「帝子」写帝子，写尽桂酒的迎神；「杜若赠佳人」写杜若赠佳人——那「杜若赠」写杜若赠，「佳人」写佳人，写尽杜若的赠神。这句的深意在于：它以「桂尊迎帝子」的迎帝子与「杜若赠佳人」的赠佳人，写尽迎神的供奉——桂尊迎帝子，那「桂尊迎帝子」写尽桂酒的迎神——桂尊迎帝子，正是桂酒迎神的写照，那「迎帝子」写尽迎神的供奉；杜若赠佳人，那「杜若赠佳人」写尽杜若的赠神——杜若赠佳人，正是香草赠神的写照，那「赠佳人」写尽迎神的供奉；那「桂尊迎帝子」写尽桂酒的迎神，那「杜若赠佳人」写尽杜若的赠神，一写桂尊，一写杜若，写尽迎神的供奉——桂酒迎神而香草赠神，正是迎神的写照；此二句以桂尊、杜若写尽迎神的供奉，也为下文的祭椒作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写迎神的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「摆上桂酒迎接神女，拿杜若香草赠给她」，则失其古雅；唯以「桂尊迎帝子」写迎帝子、「杜若赠佳人」写赠佳人，写尽迎神的供奉，也让此二句成为全诗写迎神的核心。

The welcome. Cassia cups welcome the Di Daughter; duofu grass is given to the beautiful lady. The cassia cups and the duofu offering are the Chuci welcome. To have described welcoming the goddess would be a ritual; the cassia-cups-welcoming-the-Di-Daughter against the duofu-grass-given-to-the-beauty is the ritual.

Study

Word focus

奠 'Dian,' to set forth an offering, to pour a libation. Strictly it means to arrange the offering on the mat, and by that plain, procedural sense it gives the whole poem its unhurried, priestly tone. 「椒浆奠瑶席」之「奠」字是写虔诚的关键词，一个「奠」字写尽椒浆的奠席。奠者，祭奠、陈设也。王维以「椒浆奠瑶席」写虔诚，这个「奠」字至少有双重意味：其一，写祭之奠——那「椒浆奠瑶席」写椒浆奠瑶席，那「奠」字写尽椒浆的奠席——奠瑶席，正是陈席祭神的写照，那「奠」字写尽祭椒的虔诚；其二，写敬之诚——那「奠」字更是写诚——奠，正见祭神之虔诚，那「奠」字写尽王维的禅意。以「奠」字写虔诚，正是王维写山水的枢纽——若换作「陈」「设」等字，则或失其与「椒浆」「瑶席」的配合，或失其写奠的意味；唯「奠」字，以椒浆奠瑶席写尽椒浆之奠席与祭神之虔诚，与「欲下云中君」的云中君相合，写尽祭椒的虔诚，也让「椒浆奠瑶席」成为全诗写虔诚的名句。

欲 'Yu,' about to, intending to. Here it marks the instant before arrival rather than the arrival, so the poem closes on expectation instead of on presence, which is what keeps the imagery from turning into description. 「欲下云中君」之「欲」字是写降神的关键词，一个「欲」字写尽云神的将降。欲者，将要、想要也。王维以「欲下云中君」写降神，这个「欲」字至少有双重意味：其一，写降之欲——那「欲下云中君」写欲下云中君，那「欲」字写尽云神的将降——欲下云中君，正是云神将降的写照，那「欲」字写尽祭椒的虔诚；其二，写神之灵——那「欲」字更是写灵——欲，正见神灵将降的灵动，那「欲」字写尽王维的想象。以「欲」字写降神，正是王维写山水的枢纽——若换作「将」「拟」等字，则或失其与「椒浆奠瑶席」「云中君」的配合，或失其写欲的意味；唯「欲」字，以欲下云中君写尽云神之将降与神灵之灵动，与「椒浆奠瑶席」的奠席相合，写尽祭椒的虔诚，也让「欲下云中君」成为全诗写降神的名句。

椒园