清 Qing · 诗 Poem
论诗五首·其一
On Poetry, Five Poems (I)
满眼生机转化钧，天工人巧日争新。
预支五百年新意，到了千年又觉陈。
Heaven's craft and man's skill daily strive for the new.
Borrow five hundred years of new idea in advance,
And by a thousand years it will seem stale again.
Meaning
An argument for literary evolution: creation never stops and what is new becomes old in time, so one should neither cling to the past nor rest on a moment's novelty.
满眼都是造化运转的勃勃生机，天然与人工日日争奇斗新。即便预支五百年的新意，到了一千年又觉得陈腐了。
Appreciation
The poem says: eyes full of the churning vitality of nature's making, heaven and man daily strive for novelty. Even if you borrow five hundred years of new idea in advance, by a thousand it seems stale. 'The potter's wheel turns' uses the wheel to mean creation never ceasing; 'heaven's craft' and 'man's skill' together show nature and culture both flowing toward the 'new.' The latter two lines push the relativity of 'new' to its limit with the exaggerated contrast of five hundred years against a thousand, full of philosophical interest. With its second poem it forms a pair, together arguing literature's 'changing by era': new is an absolute, eternal pursuit, yet 'new' itself grows old with time.
【白话串讲】 “满眼生机转化钧，天工人巧日争新”——赵翼论诗：天地万物天天更新。“预支五百年新意，到了千年又觉陈”——就算预支五百年的新意，一千年后也旧了。他主张诗要创新。 【意象与手法】“转化钧”用陶钧运转喻造化不息，“天工”与“人巧”并提，写出自然与人文同趋“新”的洪流。后两句以“五百年”对“千年”的夸张推演，把“新”的相对性推向极致，理趣横生。 【情感与主旨】与《其二》互为表里，同主文学“代变”观：新是绝对的、永恒的追求，而“新”本身也会随时而旧。劝人不必泥古，亦不必以一时之新自满，要永远面向创新。 【名句点睛】“预支五百年新意，到了千年又觉陈。”——以时间的夸张推演，道破“新”的相对性：再新也会变旧。两句把文学进化之理说得既幽默又深刻，是论诗诗中的奇笔。
Background
Zhao Yi's 'On Poetry, Five Poems' is his poetic manifesto; this first piece and its second (on Li and Du) form a pair, arguing 'discard the old, bring forth the new.' Likely written in his late years of discussing poetry, it uses 'the wheel' and 'heaven's craft' to reason, with broad, lofty momentum.
《论诗五首·其一》为清代赵翼所作，是写诗歌革新、预支新意的诗。赵翼（1727—1814），字云崧，号瓯北，阳湖人，清代史学家、诗人。此诗：满眼生机转化钧，天工人巧日争新。预支五百年新意，到了千年又觉陈。全诗写诗歌革新、预支新意，是赵翼诗的名篇。
Art
It uses 'the potter's wheel turns' to mean creation never ceasing, and 'heaven's craft / man's skill' together to write the flood of seeking the new; the latter two lines use the exaggerated contrast of 'five hundred years' against 'a thousand' to push the relativity of 'new must grow old' to its limit, full of philosophical interest — a strange brush among poetry-on-poetry poems.
《论诗五首·其一》艺术上以诗歌革新的描摹与预支新意的议论见长。全诗四句：首写生机化钧——“满眼生机转化钧，天工人巧日争新”用化钧之典写满眼生机转化钧、天工人巧日争新；末写预支新意——“预支五百年新意，到了千年又觉陈”写预支五百年新意、到了千年又觉陈。全诗以诗歌革新写预支新意，正是赵翼诗议论的笔法。
Allusions
'The wheel' is 'the potter's wheel,' from the Records of the Grand Historian, meaning nature's turning that breeds all things. 'Heaven's craft' means natural creation; 'man's skill' means human artifice. 'Stale' means old and decayed.
《论诗五首·其一》用典在“化钧”“天工人巧”“争新”“预支五百年新意”。“化钧”用化钧之典（陶钧化育）；“天工人巧”写天工人巧（造化与人力）；“争新”写争新；“预支五百年新意”写预支五百年新意。全诗以这些意象写诗歌革新、预支新意，用典自然而议论自见，正是赵翼诗的笔法。
Commentary
Zhao Yi (Oubei) judged poetry with sharp eyes; this piece turns philosophy into verse without falling into abstract argument. A Qing reader said 'he makes poetry of argument yet flows freely' — a theoretical crystallization of mid-Qing spirit-and-innovation poetics.
《论诗五首·其一》是赵翼诗的名篇，也是清诗中写诗论的代表作。此诗写诗歌革新、预支新意，向为论者称道。论者多赏其诗歌革新的描摹与预支新意的议论——“满眼生机转化钧，天工人巧日争新”用化钧之典写满眼生机转化钧、天工人巧日争新，议论之极；“预支五百年新意，到了千年又觉陈”写预支五百年新意、到了千年又觉陈，更见其锐。赵翼为清代史学家、诗人，其论诗主张创新，此诗正是其代表——以诗歌革新写预支新意，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
满眼生机转化钧，天工人巧日争新。
All before the eyes is living breath turning on the potter's wheel; the work of heaven and the craft of man daily contend in newness.
满眼生机转化钧，天工人巧日争新。
Everywhere the eye meets living force, as if turned on the potter's wheel; heaven's work and man's craft vie daily with newness.
首用化钧之典写满眼生机转化钧、天工人巧日争新，是全诗写诗歌革新的起点。“满眼生机转化钧”用化钧之典写满眼生机转化钧——“满眼生机转化钧”用陶钧化育之典写满眼生机、如陶钧转化——满眼生机转化钧；“天工人巧日争新”写天工人巧日争新——“天工人巧日争新”写天工人巧、日日争新——天工人巧日争新。二句写满眼生机转化钧、天工人巧日争新：满眼生机转化钧，天工人巧日争新。以“满眼生机转化钧”用化钧之典写满眼生机、如钧化育，以“天工人巧日争新”写天工人巧、日日争新，正是赵翼诗写诗歌革新的起点——生机化钧，天巧争新。
The opening uses the allusion to the potter's wheel, writing all before the eyes is living breath turning on the potter's wheel, the work of heaven and the craft of man daily contend in newness, the starting point of the poem on poetic renewal. All before the eyes is living breath turning on the potter's wheel uses the allusion to the potter's wheel of creation, writing the living breath on every side, as shaped by the turning wheel. The work of heaven and the craft of man daily contend in newness: heaven's work and man's craft, daily contending in the new. Two lines: living breath on the turning wheel, heaven and craft daily vying in newness. Writing, through the allusion, the living breath on every side as on the creative wheel, and heaven's work and man's craft daily contending, is the starting point of Zhao Yi's poem on poetic renewal: living breath on the wheel, heaven's craft contending daily.
预支五百年新意，到了千年又觉陈。
Anticipate and borrow five hundred years of newness; when the thousand years are come, it will feel stale again.
预支五百年新意，到了千年又觉陈。
Advance and borrow five hundred years of freshness; when the thousand years are out, it will feel old again.
末写预支五百年新意、到了千年又觉陈，是全诗写预支新意的归结。“预支五百年新意”写预支五百年新意——“预支五百年新意”写预支五百年的新意——预支五百年新意；“到了千年又觉陈”写到了千年又觉陈——“到了千年又觉陈”写到了千年又觉得陈旧——到了千年又觉陈。二句写预支五百年新意、到了千年又觉陈：预支五百年新意，到了千年又觉陈。以“预支五百年新意”写预支新意、领先五百年，以“到了千年又觉陈”写千年之后又觉陈旧、新变无穷，正是赵翼诗写预支新意的归结——预支新意，千年又陈。
The close writes anticipate and borrow five hundred years of newness; when the thousand years are come, it will feel stale again, the conclusion of the poem on the borrowed newness. Anticipate and borrow five hundred years of newness writes drawing in advance the freshness of five hundred years. When the thousand years are out, it will feel old again writes that after a thousand years it feels stale once more. Two lines: borrowing five hundred years of newness, and after a thousand years, stale again. Writing the advance borrowing of newness, leading five hundred years ahead, and the staleness returning after a millennium, the new change unending, is the conclusion of the poem: borrowing newness, and a thousand years on, stale again.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
赵翼《论诗·江山代有才人出》写江山代有才人、各领风骚，与本首同为赵翼论诗写创新。差异在主题：其一写预支新意；江山代有才人出写代有才人。一写“新”之预，一写“才”之代。两者并读，可见赵翼论诗写创新的两种主题。
论诗·李杜 On Poetry · Li and Du 赵翼 · 同为赵翼论诗评前贤，一写预支新意一写李杜诗篇，皆议论 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
赵翼《论诗·李杜》写李杜诗篇、万口流传，与本首同为赵翼论诗评前贤。差异在主题：其一写预支新意；李杜写李杜诗篇。一写“新”之变，一写“古”之评。两者并读，可见赵翼论诗评前贤的两种主题。
登飞来峰 Climbing Feilai Peak 王安石 · 同为诗写识见高远，一写预支新意一写不畏浮云，皆议论 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
王安石《登飞来峰》写不畏浮云、身在最高层，与本首同为诗写识见高远。差异在情境：赵翼论诗写预支新意；王安石登飞来峰写登高之识。一写“新”之变，一写“高”之识。两者并读，可见诗写识见高远的两种情境。