All poems

清 Qing · 诗 Poem

灵隐寺月夜

Lingyin Temple Moonlit Night

厉鹗

Li E

山水landscape 隐逸reclusion

夜寒香界白，涧曲寺门通。
月在众峰顶，泉流乱叶中。
一灯群动息，孤磬四天空。
归卧僧房静，影摇波底松。

Cold night, the incense realm is white; by the winding stream the temple gate opens through.
The moon rests atop the throng of peaks; the spring flows amid the scattered leaves.
One lamp, and all motion rests; a lone chime empties the four-skied void.
Returning, I lie in the monk's cell, still; a pine's shadow rocks in the wave's depth.

Listen

Meaning

In the cold night the Buddha's incense realm is all white; beside the winding ravine the temple gate quietly opens through. The bright moon hangs atop the throng of peaks; the spring flows amid the falling leaves. One lone lamp lit, all the world's stir comes to rest; one clear chime rings, and the four-skied void seems empty and vast. Returning, I lie in the monk's chamber, deeply still; a pine's shadow rocks in the pool's wave-depth.

夜寒中佛寺香界一片清白，曲折山涧旁寺门悄然相通。明月高悬在群峰之顶，泉水流淌在纷纷落叶之中。一盏孤灯亮起，万物喧嚣俱归沉寂，一声清磬回荡，四方天空显得空明辽阔。归来卧于僧房分外静谧，只见松影摇曳，倒映在池水波底。

Appreciation

This poem is pure white-description of scene, yet a secluded, still realm emerges of itself. The first couplet, 'Cold night, the incense realm is white; by the winding stream the temple gate opens through', uses the word 'white' to write the moonlight's clarity, already setting a clear-void tone. The second couplet, 'The moon rests atop the throng of peaks; the spring flows amid the scattered leaves', one look up, one look down, one still, one moving, its antithesis neat yet natural. The third, 'One lamp, and all motion rests; a lone chime empties the four-skied void', gathers all sound with the lone lamp and clear chime, using sound to set off silence. The last, 'a pine's shadow rocks in the wave's depth', closes feeling in scene, the aftertaste inexhaustible, deeply catching the Tang poets' chan mood.

【白话串讲】 “夜寒香界白，涧曲寺门通”——厉鹗写灵隐寺月夜。“月在众峰顶，泉流乱叶中”——月亮在群峰顶上，泉水在落叶间流。“一灯群动息，孤磬四天空”——一盏灯，一声磬，万籁俱寂。【意象与手法】此诗纯以白描写景，而幽静之境自出。首联「夜寒香界白，涧曲寺门通」，以「白」字写月色空明，已定清空基调。颔联「月在众峰顶，泉流乱叶中」，一仰一俯、一静一动，对仗工稳而天然。颈联「一灯群动息，孤磬四天空」，以孤灯、清磬收束万籁，以有声衬无声。尾联「影摇波底松」以景结情，余味不尽，深得唐人禅意。【情感与主旨】厉鹗（1692—1752），字太鸿，号樊榭，浙江钱塘人，清代浙派诗领袖。他性耽闲静，一生屡试不第，长期隐居杭州，徜徉于西湖诸寺山水之间，以布衣终老。灵隐寺为杭州名刹，厉鹗常游息于此。此诗当作于其秋夜宿寺之时，借月夜清景抒写幽寂淡泊之心境，亦可见其宗尚王维、柳宗元清远诗风之取向。【名句点睛】本诗为中高考山水诗典型篇目。命题常聚焦：一、颔联「月在众峰顶，泉流乱叶中」的动静与空间安排；二、「一灯群动息，孤磬四天空」以动衬静的手法；三、「香界」「孤磬」等佛寺意象的意味；四、结句「影摇波底松」以景结情的余韵。

Background

Li E (1692-1752), style Taihong, name Fanxie, of Qiantang in Zhejiang, leader of the Qing Zhe-school of poetry. He loved leisure and quiet; failing the exams again and again, he long dwelt in retirement in Hangzhou, wandering the hills, temples and waters of West Lake, ending as a commoner. Lingyin Temple is a famed Hangzhou monastery Li E often visited. This poem was likely written when he lodged there on an autumn night, using the clear moonlit scene to voice a secluded, tranquil heart; it also shows his orientation toward the clear, far styles of Wang Wei and Liu Zongyuan.

厉鹗（1692—1752），字太鸿，号樊榭，浙江钱塘（今杭州）人，清代浙派诗领袖。他生性耽于闲静，一生屡试不第，以布衣终老，长期隐居杭州，徜徉于西湖山水与寺院之间，与僧侣交游，其诗多写山水清景、闲适幽趣，风格清幽淡雅，为浙派诗的代表。灵隐寺在杭州西湖西北的灵隐山麓，背靠北高峰、面对飞来峰，为东晋咸和年间印度僧人慧理所建，是杭州最著名的古刹，历千年而不衰。厉鹗居杭，常游息于此，或探幽访古，或夜宿听钟，此诗当作于其秋夜宿寺之时：寒夜漫步寺中，见月色空明、泉水穿叶，闻孤灯清磬、万籁俱寂，归卧僧房而松影摇波，遂成此五律。诗中句句写月夜、句句写静境，抒写诗人幽寂淡泊的心境，也可见其宗尚王维、柳宗元清远诗风、于禅境中寻求精神安顿的取向，是浙派山水诗的代表作。又厉鹗诗宗南宋姜夔、史达祖，以清空骚雅见长，其《樊榭山房集》中多写西湖、灵隐之景，此诗正是其「以禅入诗」的代表；且其一生布衣，不事科举功名，诗中所写的清寂之境，正是其淡泊人生态度的自然流露；又厉鹗与杭州僧侣交游频繁，曾为灵隐寺题咏，其诗与佛门因缘之深，于此可见，亦是清代中期浙派诗风与江南文人生活方式的生动写照。

Art

This poem is pure white-description of scene, yet a secluded, still realm emerges of itself. The first couplet, 'Cold night, the incense realm is white...', uses 'white' to write the moonlight's clarity, already setting a clear-void tone. The second couplet, 'The moon rests atop the throng of peaks; the spring flows amid the scattered leaves', one upward, one downward, one still, one moving, its antithesis neat and natural. The third, 'One lamp, and all motion rests; a lone chime empties the four-skied void', gathers all sound with the lone lamp and clear chime, using sound to set off silence. The last, 'a pine's shadow rocks in the wave's depth', closes feeling in scene, the aftertaste inexhaustible, deeply catching the Tang chan mood.

此诗纯以白描写景，章法井然，幽静之境自出。首联「夜寒香界白，涧曲寺门通」点题起笔：「夜寒」点明时令，「香界」借佛典写寺，「白」字写月色之下寺院一片清白，已定清空基调；「涧曲寺门通」写山涧曲折、寺门隐现，以景引出寺院。颔联「月在众峰顶，泉流乱叶中」是全诗警策：一仰写月悬群峰之顶，一俯写泉流落叶之中，一静一动、一高一低，对仗工稳而天然，明月之静与泉水之动相映，画面清绝。颈联「一灯群动息，孤磬四天空」由景入声：一盏孤灯亮起，万物喧嚣俱归沉寂；一声清磬回荡，四方天空显得空明辽阔——以「一灯」「孤磬」两个细小的意象收束万籁，以有声衬无声，愈见夜之静、境之空。尾联「归卧僧房静，影摇波底松」以景结情：归卧僧房，唯见松影摇曳、倒映波底，静中之动，余味不尽，深得唐人「以景结情」之妙与禅意。全诗四联，由外而内、由动而静，句句写月夜而无一字说禅，禅意自见。

Allusions

'Incense realm' comes from the Buddhist canon, originally meaning the Buddha's realm, the realm of many fragrances; here it names Lingyin Temple, quietly pointing to the monastery's pure, solemn ground. The 'chime' of 'lone chime' is a Buddhist instrument whose sound is clear and far; old poetry often uses 'chime' to write a temple night's stillness. The whole poem uses no obscure allusion, only the common imagery of a Buddhist temple to build its mood - a white-description brush that 'uses affair yet is not stalled by it', so it reads clear and natural, free of the fault of piling.

此诗用典极少而意象多本佛典与传统。「香界」出自佛典：佛家以「香」为诸根清净之相，称佛国为「众香国」，寺院为「香界」「香刹」，此处借称灵隐寺，暗点寺院清净庄严的佛门气象；「孤磬」之「磬」为佛门法器，其声清越，古诗中每以「磬」写寺夜之寂（如常建《题破山寺后禅院》「万籁此都寂，但余钟磬音」），厉鹗以「孤磬四天空」写磬声回荡、天空为之一空的禅境，正承此传统而更进一层；「四天」出佛家「四天王天」之语，泛指佛家所说的诸天，此处写磬声上达九天、天空空明，暗含佛国清净之意。全诗无生僻典故，唯借佛寺常用意象（香界、孤磬）与山水传统意象（月、泉、松）营造氛围，属「用事而不滞于事」的白描手笔，故读来清透自然，不见堆垛之病，正合浙派诗「清真雅正」的审美。又「月在众峰顶」之「众峰」，暗合飞来峰、北高峰诸峰罗列之景，而「顶」字写月出峰巅、俯临万物的气象，与王维「明月松间照」的平视取景不同，更多一分高远；「泉流乱叶中」之「乱」字，写秋叶纷落、泉流其间，以「乱」写秋意之深，炼字精警，正见厉鹗取法王孟而能自铸新词；「一灯」「孤磬」与「群动」「四天」的对照，数字相对，禅理暗寓其中。

Commentary

The modern Chen Yan's Shi Yi Shi Shi Hua calls Li E's poetry 'secluded, elegant, solitary, pale', best catching landscape's pure sound. This 'Lingyin Temple Moonlit Night' has long been valued by anthologists, who judge it 'every line writes the moonlit night, every line writes the still realm', able to find a clear-void interest in ordinary temple scene; placed among the Tang poets it is almost indistinguishable, showing he learned from Wang and Meng yet could strike his own note.

此诗历来为选家所重。近人陈衍《石遗室诗话》称厉鹗诗「幽秀孤淡」，最得山水清音，此诗正是其「幽秀孤淡」风格的典型：全诗无一字言情而情在其中，无一字说禅而禅意自现，把秋夜宿寺的清寂之境写得如在目前。论者谓此诗「句句写月夜，句句写静境」，尤其「月在众峰顶，泉流乱叶中」「一灯群动息，孤磬四天空」两联，动静相生、声色并作，置之唐人五律集中几乎不可辨，足见厉鹗宗尚王维、柳宗元而能自出机杼的功力。厉鹗作为浙派诗领袖，其诗以「冷隽」见长，此诗正是浙派「清真雅正」诗风的代表；而其一生以布衣终老、独居湖山的生活方式，也与诗中清寂之境互为表里，是理解厉鹗其人其诗的重要文本。清诗多宗唐宋，厉鹗此作学王孟而得其清远，是清诗中「以禅入诗」的佳作。又清诗论者或以「幽隽」评厉鹗，或谓其「太冷」，然此诗之妙正在于冷中见真：不假雕饰而清景自呈，不言禅理而禅意自现，正是「羚羊挂角，无迹可求」的境界；与王维《山居秋暝》、常建《题破山寺后禅院》一脉相承，为清代山水诗中的上品；又此诗在清代选本中屡被收录，民国以来亦入各级教材，其「以白描写静境」的手法，为后世山水诗提供了范本，是研究浙派诗风与清代禅诗的重要文本。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated poem (five-character lü)五言律诗（仄起首句不入韵式）

Rhyme Ping-shui rhyme, upper-level first dong group (through, leaves, void, pine)押平水韵上平一东韵：通、中、空、松，一韵到底。

Tone pattern First line not entering rhyme, oblique-onset oblique-close首句「夜寒香界白」为仄平平仄仄，「涧曲寺门通」为仄仄仄平平；颔联「月在众峰顶」为仄仄仄平仄，「泉流乱叶中」为平平仄仄平；颈联「一灯群动息」为仄平平仄仄，「孤磬四天空」为平仄仄平平；尾联「归卧僧房静」为平仄平平仄，「影摇波底松」为仄平平仄平。

Reading note The second couplet 'moon atop peaks, spring amid leaves' and third 'one lamp, lone chime' are neat antitheses, the structure strict.此诗为五言律诗，仄起首句不入韵，押上平一东韵，通、中、空、松四字一韵到底，韵脚皆平声阳韵，声调开阔悠长，正合月夜空山、清寂悠远的境界。全诗对仗精严而天然无痕：颔联「月在众峰顶，泉流乱叶中」以「月」对「泉」、「众峰」对「乱叶」、「顶」对「中」，方位相对、动静相生，为全诗警策；颈联「一灯群动息，孤磬四天空」以「一」对「孤」、「灯」对「磬」、「群动」对「四天」，数字、意象、境界层层相对，工稳绝伦。首联「夜寒香界白」以仄声起，音节清冷，正合寒夜之景；末联「影摇波底松」以平声收，余音低回。全诗四联：起联写寺、颔联写景、颈联写声、尾联写归，起承转合井然，由外而内、由动而静，音节与意境相为表里，句句写月夜而无一字说禅，禅意自见，是清代五律中宗尚王孟而自出机杼的典范，也是浙派诗「清真雅正」诗风在格律上的完美体现。

Line by line

夜寒香界白，涧曲寺门通。

The night is cold, and the fragrant precinct lies white; along the winding gully, the temple gate opens.

夜寒中佛寺香界一片清白，曲折山涧旁寺门悄然相通。

In the cold night the Buddha's realm lies all white; the winding gully leads through to the temple gate.

首联点题起笔，以「白」字定全诗清空基调。「夜寒香界白」写寒夜之中，寺院一片清白——「夜寒」点明时令与体感，「香界」借佛典称寺，暗点佛门清净，「白」字是全句诗眼：月色照在寺院上，一片清白，既写月色之明、寺色之素，又暗写心境之澄澈，一字而境界全出；「涧曲寺门通」写山涧曲折、寺门隐现——「曲」写涧之蜿蜒，「通」写门之可入，以景引出行走之迹，也为全诗的空间展开定位。两句一写寺院之貌，一写入寺之路，由远及近、由景及门，起笔平实而含蕴深厚，为颔联的「月在众峰顶」仰望张本，清空淡远的基调已定。

The opening couplet names the theme and fixes the clear, empty tone of the whole through the word white. The night is cold, and the fragrant precinct lies white writes the monastery in the cold night, all white and pure: the night cold names the season and the bodily feeling; the fragrant realm borrows the Buddhist term for the temple, secretly pointing to the purity of the Buddha's gate; the word white is the poetic eye of the line — moonlight on the temple, all white, writing at once the brightness of the moon, the plainness of the temple, and secretly the clarity of the mind; one character and the realm is complete. Along the winding gully, the temple gate opens writes the gully's twist and the gate's hidden presence: the winding writes the gully's sinuous course, the opens the gate's access, leading from scene to the trace of walking, and locating the spatial unfolding of the poem. Two lines: one the temple's face, one the road into the temple; from far to near, from scene to gate, the opening plain yet deeply suggestive, preparing for the looking-up of the moon hangs over all the peaks in the second couplet, the clear, distant tone already fixed.

月在众峰顶，泉流乱叶中。

The moon hangs over all the peaks; a spring flows among the scattered leaves.

明月高悬在群峰之顶，泉水流淌在纷纷落叶之中。

The bright moon rests above the clustered peaks; a spring trickles through the fallen leaves.

颔联是全诗警策，一仰一俯、一静一动，对仗工稳而天然。「月在众峰顶」写仰望：明月高悬于群峰之上——「众峰」写峰峦之众，「顶」写月之高，月出群峰之上，清辉遍洒，境界空阔高远；「泉流乱叶中」写俯视：泉水在纷纷落叶之间流淌——「乱叶」写秋叶纷落之状，「泉流」写秋水穿叶之声，与上句的静月相对，一静一动，有声有色。两句以空间的一高一低写尽寺前景致：上有明月如镜，下有流泉落叶，天地之间，清绝之景如在目前。对仗上「月」对「泉」、「众峰」对「乱叶」、「顶」对「中」，方位词相对，工稳而不板滞，正合五律颔联之法，是全诗写景最见功力处。

The second couplet is the incisive point of the poem, one looking up and one down, one still and one moving, matched with natural craft. The moon hangs over all the peaks writes the upward gaze: the bright moon hung above the clustered peaks — the clustered peaks the multitude of ridges, the peaks the moon's height; the moon rising above the peaks, its clear light shed everywhere, the realm vast and lofty. A spring flows among the scattered leaves writes the downward gaze: the spring trickling through the falling leaves — the scattered leaves the state of autumn leaves falling thick, the spring flowing the sound of autumn water threading the leaves; set against the still moon of the upper line, one still, one moving, sound and color. Two lines write the temple's foreground through the height and depth of space: above, the bright moon like a mirror; below, the flowing spring and fallen leaves; between heaven and earth, the utterly clear scene as before the eyes. In matching, moon against spring, clustered peaks against scattered leaves, peaks against among, the direction words matched, tight yet not rigid, exactly the manner of the five-character regulated verse's second couplet, the poem's most masterful scene-writing.

一灯群动息，孤磬四天空。

One lamp, and all stirrings are stilled; a lone chime, and the four skies lie empty.

一盏孤灯亮起，万物喧嚣俱归沉寂，一声清磬回荡，四方天空显得空明辽阔。

A single lamp — all the world's stirrings are hushed; a solitary chime — the four quarters of sky lie vast and empty.

颈联由景入声，以有声衬无声，是全诗写静境的最高境界。「一灯群动息」写一盏孤灯亮起，万物喧嚣俱归沉寂——「一灯」与「群动」对举，以「一」对「群」，写一盏微灯竟使群动俱息，实非灯之能息，而是夜之深、心之静使万籁俱寂，以小见大；「孤磬四天空」写一声清磬回荡，四方天空为之空明——「孤磬」与「四天」对举，以「孤」对「四」，写一声磬响竟使天地皆空，磬声清越，回荡于空山，愈见山空人寂。两句以「一灯」「孤磬」两个细小意象写极静的境界，灯愈微、磬愈孤，而静愈深、空愈甚，以动写静、以声写寂，正是王维「空山不见人，但闻人语响」的禅境笔法，禅意盎然。

The third couplet moves from scene to sound, setting off silence with sound, the highest realm of the poem's writing of stillness. One lamp, and all stirrings are stilled: a single lamp lit, and all the world's uproar hushed — one lamp set against all stirrings, one against the many, writing how one tiny lamp stills the whole stir of things; in truth it is not the lamp that stills them, but the depth of the night and the quiet of the heart that make all sounds fall silent, the small revealing the great. A lone chime, and the four skies lie empty: a single clear chime echoing, and the four quarters of sky made void — the lone chime against the four skies, lone against four, writing how one note of the chime makes heaven and earth void; the chime clear and high, echoing in the empty hills, the more the mountain's emptiness and the man's silence. Two lines write the realm of utmost stillness through the two tiny images of the one lamp and the lone chime: the smaller the lamp, the lonelier the chime, the deeper the stillness, the greater the emptiness; writing stillness through motion, silence through sound, precisely the Zen brush of Wang Wei's empty hills where no man is seen, yet the sound of voices heard, Zen feeling overflowing.

归卧僧房静，影摇波底松。

I return to lie in the quiet monk's cell; the pine's shadow trembles at the bottom of the pool.

归来卧于僧房分外静谧，只见松影摇曳，倒映在池水波底。

I return to lie in the quiet monks' quarters, where the shadow of the pine sways, mirrored at the bottom of the pool.

尾联以景结情，余韵悠然，是全诗收束的妙笔。「归卧僧房静」写游赏既毕，归卧僧房，万籁俱寂——「静」字承颈联的「息」「空」而下，写身静、心亦静，是游寺之后的安顿；「影摇波底松」写卧于僧房，犹见窗外松影摇曳，倒映在池水波底——「波底」写水之清，「摇」写影之动，静中有动，动中愈静。此句之妙，在以景结情而不说破：诗人归卧的安然、心境的澄澈，皆在松影摇波的一瞬之间，如水月镜花，可望而不可即，禅意与诗意交融。全诗由夜寒入寺、月悬泉流、灯磬俱寂，至此归于僧房一卧、松影一摇，戛然而止而余味不尽，深得唐人「以景结情」之妙，是清诗中以禅入诗的典范。

The closing couplet ends emotion in scene, the aftertone leisurely, the exquisite close of the poem. I return to lie in the quiet monk's cell writes the wanderer's tour done, returning to lie in the monk's quarters, all sounds hushed — the word quiet follows the stilled and empty of the third couplet, writing the body still and the mind still, the settling after visiting the temple. The pine's shadow trembles at the bottom of the pool writes how, lying in the monk's cell, he still sees the pine's shadow outside the window swaying, mirrored at the pool's bottom — the bottom of the pool the water's clarity, the trembles the shadow's motion; stillness within motion, and the more still within motion. The beauty of the line lies in ending emotion in scene without spelling it out: the peace of the returning lie, the clarity of the mind, all within the instant of the pine-shadow trembling on the waves, like moon in water and flower in the mirror, to be gazed on yet never grasped, Zen feeling and poetic feeling fused. The whole poem, from the cold night entering the temple, the moon hung and the spring flowing, the lamp and chime hushed, comes at last to the one lie in the monk's cell, the one tremor of the pine's shadow, stopping short with an unspent aftertaste; it has grasped precisely the Tang art of ending emotion in scene, and is the model of Qing poetry that brings Zen into verse.

Study

Word focus

白 'The incense realm is white' - 'white' writes the moonlight's clear, vast brightness, setting the whole poem's clear-void tone at the very opening, a single word that determines the mood. 「夜寒香界白」之「白」，是全诗炼字最精的一字，以颜色写月色之澄澈空明。月光本无色，诗人着一「白」字，便写出月华如霜、遍洒寺院的清辉：寺院本为黛瓦黄墙，月色之下竟一片清白，如雪如练，纤尘不染——「白」字既写月色之明，又写寺色之素，更暗写心境之澄澈，一字而境界全出。此字之妙，在以最寻常的颜色词写最不寻常的意境：不写「明」不写「寒」，唯写「白」，把寒夜月下的寺院写成一幅水墨画，清空淡远，正为全诗定下基调。若易作「明」「清」则失其色相，唯「白」字以色写光、以光写境、以境写心，是「一字千金」式的诗眼，也是厉鹗「幽秀孤淡」诗风的典型笔法。

孤磬 'A lone chime' - the lone temple chime, its clear sound used to set off the surrounding silence; the word 'lone' deepens the seclusion, sound and stillness answering each other. 「孤磬四天空」之「孤磬」，是全诗写静境的关键意象，「孤」字尤见功力。「磬」为佛门法器，其声清越悠长，古诗中每以磬声写寺夜之寂；诗人着一「孤」字，写磬声之孤：夜阑人静，唯闻一声磬响，清越孤绝，回荡于空山之间——「孤」既写磬声之稀少（万籁俱寂中唯此一声），又写磬声之清绝（孤高不群、清越入云），更暗写闻磬者心境之孤寂澄明。以「孤磬」对「一灯」，一灯写视觉之微，孤磬写听觉之清，灯微磬孤，而静愈深、空愈甚，以两个细小的意象写极空的境界，正是「以小写大」的手法，也是此诗禅意最浓的一笔，与常建「但余钟磬音」一脉相承而更见孤峭。

摇 'A pine's shadow rocks' - 'rocks' gives the still water a faint, living motion, closing feeling in scene; the tiny tremor of the shadow writes the depth of the night's quiet. 「影摇波底松」之「摇」，是全诗结句的画龙点睛之字，使静景生动、余韵悠长。「摇」本写物之摆动，此处写松影摇曳：归卧僧房，夜风微动，窗外松影在池水中摇曳，倒映波底——一个「摇」字，使静止的画面活了起来：松影本静，因风而摇；波本无痕，因影而漾，静中有动，动中愈静。此字更妙在余韵：全诗至此，灯磬俱寂、万籁无声，唯余松影一摇，如夜之呼吸、境之微澜，把极静的境界写得微妙生动——若易作「映」「照」则板滞，唯「摇」字于静中写出微动，于微动中愈见其静，正是「鸟鸣山更幽」的笔法，以景结情，余味不尽，为全诗收束得一片悠然禅意。