清 Qing · 文 Prose
聊斋·山市节选
Liao Zhai · The Mountain Market (excerpt)
奂山山市，邑八景之一也，然数年恒不一见。
孙公子禹年与同人饮楼上，忽见山头有孤塔耸起，高插青冥，相顾惊疑，念近中无此禅院。
无何，见宫殿数十所，碧瓦飞甍，始悟为山市。
未几，高垣睥睨，连亘六七里，居然城郭矣。
中有楼若者，堂若者，坊若者，历历在目，以亿万计。
忽大风起，尘气莽莽然，城市依稀而已。
既而风定天清，一切乌有，惟危楼一座，直接霄汉。
楼五架，窗扉皆洞开；
一行有五点明处，楼外天也。
层层指数，楼愈高，则明渐少。
数至八层，裁如星点。
又其上，则黯然缥缈，不可计其层次矣。
而楼上人往来屑屑，或凭或立，不一状。
逾时，楼渐低，可见其顶；
又渐如常楼；
又渐如高舍；
倏忽如拳如豆，遂不可见。
Meaning
The mountain-market of Huan Mountain is one of the eight local sights, but for years it is rarely seen even once. Master Sun Yu-nian and his friends were drinking in a tower when suddenly they saw a lone pagoda rise atop the hill, piercing into the blue; surprised and doubtful, they thought no such temple stood nearby. Before long dozens of palaces appeared, with green tiles and flying eaves, and only then did they realize it was a mountain-market. Soon high walls and battlements stretched six or seven li, and it was a walled city indeed. Within were towers, halls and gateways, clear to the eye, numbering in the tens of thousands. Suddenly a great wind blew, dust filling the air, and the city grew faint. Then the wind settled and the sky cleared, and everything vanished, leaving only one tall tower straight to the heavens. The tower had five bays, its windows all open; a row of five bright spots was the sky beyond the tower. Counting story by story, the higher the tower, the fewer the bright spots; at the eighth story they were only like starpoints; above that, dim and faint, beyond counting. On the tower people came and went, some leaning, some standing, in varied postures. After a while the tower sank lower, its top visible; then it looked like an ordinary tower; then like a tall house; in a flash like a fist, like a bean, and then it disappeared.
奂山的'山市'是当地八大景之一，但多年往往难得一见。孙禹年公子与友人在楼上饮酒，忽然看见山头孤零零耸起一座宝塔，高插云霄，大家又惊又疑，心想附近并没有这样的寺院。不一会儿，又见数十座宫殿，碧瓦飞檐，这才恍然明白是山市。过了些时候，高墙连绵六七里，竟是一座城郭。城中有楼、有堂、有牌坊，清晰在目，数目成千上万。忽然刮起大风，尘土弥漫，城市也变得模糊。继而风停天清，一切都没有了，只剩一座高楼直插云霄。楼分五间，门窗全开；一行有五个亮处，那是楼外的天空。层层数去，楼越高亮点越少。数到第八层，仅如星点。再往上则暗淡缥缈，数不清层次。楼上的人来来往往，有的靠栏有的站立，形态各异。过了许久，楼渐渐变低，能看见楼顶；又渐渐像普通楼；又像高房；忽然间如拳如豆，终于消失不见。
Appreciation
The whole piece follows the order of time, in turn writing 'a lone pagoda rises — dozens of palaces — a walled city stretches — one tall tower — suddenly gone', with a clear thread yet rising and falling. The description is extremely fine: 'green tiles and flying eaves' and 'high walls and battlements' write the splendour of the buildings; 'dim and faint' and 'like a fist, like a bean' write the state of dissolution — all in plain description that conveys spirit. Especially fine is the line 'The tower had five bays, its windows all thrown open; in a row were five bright spots — the sky beyond the tower', which measures the tower from the viewer's perspective, true and picture-like. The real and the unreal breed together; in the plain and spare there is strange delight.
【白话串讲】 蒲松龄写奂山的“山市”海市蜃楼：“忽见山头有孤塔耸起，高插青冥”。“无何，见宫殿数十所，碧瓦飞甍”——忽然宫殿一片。“高垣睥睨，连亘六七里”——“又闻有早行者，见山上人烟市肆，与世无别”——聊斋里最奇妙的幻景。 【意象与手法】 全文以时间先后为序，依次写'孤塔耸起—宫殿数十—城郭连亘—危楼一座—倏忽不见'，线索分明而波澜起伏。状物极工 【情感与主旨】 《山市》选自清蒲松龄（1640—1715）《聊斋志异》，记淄川奂山出现的'山市'奇景 【名句点睛】 本篇常入中高考文言文阅读。考点：一、重点实词如'恒''无何''未几''既而''逾时''倏忽'等时间副词的准确理解
Background
'The Mountain Market' is excerpted from 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio' (Liao Zhai Zhi Yi) by Pu Songling (1640–1715) of the Qing, recording the strange 'mountain-market' sight at Huan Mountain in Zichuan. The mountain-market is a mirage formed by light refraction in the mountains; the ancients, not understanding it, sometimes called it a 'ghost market'. Pu Songling recorded in notebook style what his friend Sun Yu-nian saw, keeping the supernatural colour yet already showing the first shape of scientific observation. This piece shows the prose power of 'Liao Zhai' — 'recording events and writing people, exhausting their form and likeness' — and also the author's care for landscape and physical principle, not confined to gods and ghosts.
《聊斋志异·山市节选》为清代蒲松龄所作，是写奂山山市（海市蜃楼）之奇景的志怪小品。蒲松龄（1640—1715），字留仙，号柳泉居士，淄川人，清代小说家。此文：奂山山市，邑八景之一也，然数年恒不一见。孙公子禹年与同人饮楼上，忽见山头有孤塔耸起，高插青冥，相顾惊疑。……既而风定天清，一切乌有，惟危楼一座，直接霄汉。楼五架，窗扉皆洞开；一行有五点明处，楼外天也。……又闻有早行者，见山上人烟市肆，与世无别，故又名“鬼市”云。全文写奂山山市之奇景，是蒲松龄志怪小品的名篇。
Art
The whole piece follows the order of time, in turn writing 'a lone pagoda rises — dozens of palaces — a walled city stretches — one tall tower — suddenly gone', with a clear thread yet rising and falling. The description is extremely fine: 'green tiles and flying eaves' and 'high walls and battlements' write the splendour of the buildings; 'dim and faint' and 'like a fist, like a bean' write the state of dissolution — all in plain description that conveys spirit. Especially fine is the line 'The tower had five bays, its windows all thrown open; in a row were five bright spots — the sky beyond the tower', which measures the tower from the viewer's perspective, true and picture-like. The real and the unreal breed together; in the plain and spare there is strange delight.
《聊斋志异·山市节选》艺术上以山市幻景的描摹与志怪之趣的奇幻见长。全文层层写来：首写奂山山市——“奂山山市，邑八景之一也，然数年恒不一见”写奂山山市、数年不一见；中写孤塔高楼——“忽见山头有孤塔耸起，高插青冥”写孤塔耸起、高插青冥，“既而风定天清，一切乌有，惟危楼一座，直接霄汉”写风定天清、危楼直接霄汉，“楼五架，窗扉皆洞开；一行有五点明处，楼外天也”写楼五架、窗扉洞开；末写鬼市——“又闻有早行者，见山上人烟市肆，与世无别，故又名鬼市”写早行见市肆、名为鬼市。全文以山市幻景写志怪之趣，正是蒲松龄志怪小品奇幻的笔法。
Allusions
This piece is a small notebook sketch with no obvious piling of allusions, yet two points show cultural roots. 'Mountain-market' was anciently called a 'ghost market', and the closing 'hence also named ghost market' exactly takes up this folk saying, reflecting the ancients' supernatural explanation of the mirage. Words like 'blue' (qing ming) and 'heavens' (xiao han) come from the poetic tradition (as Li Bai's 'the blue vast and boundless, no bottom seen'), used to describe the high, far sky. 'Battlements' (bi ni) originally means the parapet on a city wall, also seen in 'Zhuang Zi' and other classics. Overall it writes a strange scene in plain literary Chinese without borrowing old tales, yet with its own antique grace — the notebook brush of 'allusion without allusion'.
《聊斋志异·山市节选》用典在“山市”“鬼市”“青冥”。“山市”写山中海市（海市蜃楼）；“鬼市”写鬼市之名（俗名）；“青冥”写青天（李白“青冥浩荡不见底”意）。全文以这些意象写山市幻景，用典自然而奇幻自见，正是蒲松龄志怪小品的笔法。
Commentary
'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio' is famed for its fiction, yet its notebook sketches are also fine. This piece is included in many classical readers; critics say 'it writes the mirage like a picture, clear to the eye'. The modern Qian Zhongshu, on 'Liao Zhai' prose, said 'spare and measured, good at embodying the feelings of things'; this piece exactly shows its plain-description skill. Though a stray supernatural piece, it already has the eye of modern scientific observation, worthy to be a model of classical descriptive prose.
《聊斋志异·山市节选》是蒲松龄志怪小品的名篇，也是清人笔记中写海市蜃楼景物的代表作。此文写奂山山市之奇景，向为论者称道。论者多赏其山市幻景的描摹与志怪之趣的奇幻——“奂山山市，邑八景之一也，然数年恒不一见”写山市罕见，奇幻之极；“既而风定天清，一切乌有，惟危楼一座，直接霄汉”写危楼直接霄汉，更见其幻；“又闻有早行者，见山上人烟市肆，与世无别，故又名鬼市”写鬼市之名，尤见其趣。蒲松龄以《聊斋志异》著称，此文正以奇幻之笔写山市幻景，是清人志怪小品的代表作。
Prosody
Line by line
奂山山市，邑八景之一也，然数年恒不一见。
The mountain vision of Mount Huan is one of the eight sights of the district, yet for years on end it is hardly ever seen.
奂山山市，邑八景之一也，然数年恒不一见。
The mountain mirage of Mount Huan is counted one of the eight sights of the district, yet for years together it is scarcely seen once.
首写奂山山市、数年不一见，是全文写山市之奇的起点。“奂山山市”写奂山山市——“奂山山市”写奂山之山市（海市蜃楼）——奂山山市；“邑八景之一也，然数年恒不一见”写邑八景之一、数年不一见——“邑八景之一也”写是本邑八景之一，“然数年恒不一见”写然而数年恒不一见——邑八景之一，数年不一见。三句写奂山山市、数年不一见：奂山山市，邑八景之一也，然数年恒不一见。以“奂山山市”点出山市之地，以“邑八景之一也，然数年恒不一见”写其为八景之一、数年难逢，正是蒲松龄写山市之奇的起点——山市之奇，数年难逢。
The opening writes the mountain vision of Mount Huan, seen once in years, the starting point of the tale's wonder. The mountain vision of Mount Huan names the mirage of Mount Huan, the looming city seen above the mountain. One of the eight sights of the district, yet for years on end it is hardly ever seen: one of the eight sights of the local scenery, and yet for years rarely glimpsed. Three lines: the mountain vision of Mount Huan, one of the eight sights, rarely seen for years. Naming the place of the vision, and writing its standing as one of the eight yet hard to meet, is the starting point of Pu Songling's wonder at the mountain vision: the vision is wondrous, and rare beyond years.
忽见山头有孤塔耸起，高插青冥，相顾惊疑。
Suddenly, on the hilltop, a lone pagoda rose, soaring high into the blue vault; we looked at each other, startled and perplexed.
忽见山头有孤塔耸起，高插青冥，相顾惊疑。
Suddenly, a lone pagoda sprang up on the hilltop, thrusting high into the blue sky; the onlookers exchanged glances, startled and doubting.
此三句写孤塔耸起、高插青冥，是全文写山市幻景的深化。“忽见山头有孤塔耸起”写孤塔耸起——“忽见山头有孤塔耸起”写忽然看见山头有孤塔耸起——忽见孤塔耸起；“高插青冥，相顾惊疑”写高插青冥、相顾惊疑——“高插青冥”写高插青天（青冥），“相顾惊疑”写相顾惊疑——高插青冥，相顾惊疑。三句写孤塔耸起、高插青冥：忽见山头有孤塔耸起，高插青冥，相顾惊疑。以“忽见山头有孤塔耸起”写忽然孤塔耸起之幻，以“高插青冥，相顾惊疑”写高插青天、相顾惊疑之奇，正是蒲松龄写山市幻景的深化——孤塔突起，插天惊人。
The three lines write the lone pagoda rising, thrusting into the blue vault, the deepening of the vision. Suddenly, on the hilltop, a lone pagoda rose writes the sudden seeing of the pagoda springing up. Soaring high into the blue vault; we looked at each other, startled and perplexed: thrusting into the azure sky, the onlookers exchanging glances in wonder. Three lines: the lone pagoda suddenly rising on the hilltop, thrusting into the sky, the onlookers startled. Writing the sudden fantasy of the rising pagoda, and the marvel of it piercing the heavens and the mutual wonder of the beholders, is the deepening of the mirage: the lone tower starts up, striking the sky and the eye.
既而风定天清，一切乌有，惟危楼一座，直接霄汉。
Presently the wind fell, the sky cleared, and all had vanished; only a towering building remained, reaching straight to the Milky Way.
既而风定天清，一切乌有，惟危楼一座，直接霄汉。
Then the wind died, the sky grew clear, and everything was gone; there remained but one lofty tower, rising straight to the clouds and heavens.
此四句写风定天清、危楼直接霄汉，是全文写山市变幻的深化。“既而风定天清，一切乌有”写风定天清、一切乌有——“既而风定天清”写既而风定天清，“一切乌有”写一切乌有（幻景消散）——风定天清，一切乌有；“惟危楼一座，直接霄汉”写危楼直接霄汉——“惟危楼一座”写只有危楼一座，“直接霄汉”写直接霄汉（高接云霄）——惟危楼一座，直接霄汉。四句写风定天清、危楼直接霄汉：既而风定天清，一切乌有，惟危楼一座，直接霄汉。以“既而风定天清，一切乌有”写风定天清、幻景尽散，以“惟危楼一座，直接霄汉”写唯余危楼、高接霄汉，正是蒲松龄写山市变幻的深化——幻景既散，危楼独存。
The four lines write the wind fallen, the sky cleared, the lofty tower reaching the heavens, the deepening of the vision's transformation. Presently the wind fell, the sky cleared, and all had vanished: the wind settled and the sky purified, the whole illusion dissolved. Only a towering building remained, reaching straight to the Milky Way: but one high tower, rising to the clouds. Four lines: the wind fallen and the sky clear, all vanished, the single lofty tower alone reaching heaven. Writing the dispersion of the illusion when the wind died, and the lone tower left high in the clouds, is the deepening of the transformations: the vision dispersed, the perilous tower alone standing.
又闻有早行者，见山上人烟市肆，与世无别，故又名“鬼市”云。
And some say that early travelers have seen smoke and market stalls on the mountain, no different from the world of men; hence it is also called the ghost market.
又闻有早行者，见山上人烟市肆，与世无别，故又名“鬼市”云。
And I have heard that early walkers have seen smoke and shops up on the mountain, no different from those of the human world; therefore it is also called the Ghost Market.
末写早行见市肆、名为鬼市，是全文写山市之趣的归结。“又闻有早行者，见山上人烟市肆”写早行见市肆——“又闻有早行者”写又听说有早行之人，“见山上人烟市肆”写看见山上人烟市肆——早行者见山上市肆；“与世无别，故又名鬼市云”写与世无别、名为鬼市——“与世无别”写与人世无别，“故又名鬼市云”写所以又名鬼市——与世无别，名为鬼市。四句写早行见市肆、名为鬼市：又闻有早行者，见山上人烟市肆，与世无别，故又名鬼市云。以“又闻有早行者，见山上人烟市肆”写早行之人见山上市肆如人间，以“与世无别，故又名鬼市云”写与人世无别、故称鬼市，正是蒲松龄写山市之趣的归结——山市如市，名为鬼市。
The close writes early walkers seeing the market, called the ghost market, the conclusion of the tale's charm. And some say that early travelers have seen smoke and market stalls on the mountain: further hearing of early walkers who saw the mountain's smoke and shops. No different from the world of men; hence it is also called the ghost market: no difference from the human world, hence the name ghost market. Four lines: early walkers see the mountain market, no different from the world, hence the ghost market. Writing how early travelers found on the mountain a market like the world of men, and how, no different from the world, it was called the ghost market, is the conclusion of the charm: a market like a market, named the ghost market.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
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