清 Qing · 诗 Poem
所见
What I Saw
牧童骑黄牛，歌声振林樾。
意欲捕鸣蝉，忽然闭口立。
His song shakes the forest shade.
He wants to catch the cicada that sings,
And suddenly shuts his mouth and stands still.
Meaning
A snapshot of a country moment: a singing cowherd suddenly falls silent to catch a cicada, capturing the natural charm of childhood in twenty plain words.
牧童骑在黄牛背上，歌声震荡树林。他想捕捉鸣叫的蝉，忽然闭口静立。
Appreciation
The first two lines write motion (riding, singing, shaking), the latter two write stillness (wanting, shutting mouth, standing) — motion suddenly turning to stillness creates a dramatic tension. 'Shakes the forest shade' shows the song's fullness; 'suddenly shuts his mouth and stands' shows his concentration; one loose, one tight, the childlike fun is lifelike. The poem catches the natural interest of a childlike instant, showing the poet's delight in pure rural life. Yuan Mei championed the 'spirit' theory; this poem argues nothing, purely sketching a cowherd to life — a model of that theory.
【白话串讲】 “牧童骑黄牛，歌声振林樾”——袁枚写所见：牧童骑牛唱歌。“意欲捕鸣蝉，忽然闭口立”——他想捉蝉，忽然闭嘴站住。一个孩子的天真，写得活灵活现。 【意象与手法】前两句写“动”（骑、歌、振），后两句写“静”（意欲、闭口、立），动极忽静，形成戏剧性的张力。“振林樾”写歌声之畅，“忽然闭口立”写神情之专注，一张一弛，童趣毕肖。 【情感与主旨】捕捉童真瞬间的天然意趣，流露出诗人对纯真乡村生活的欣赏。袁枚主张“性灵”，此诗不著一字议论，纯以白描写活一个牧童，正是性灵说的范本。 【名句点睛】“意欲捕鸣蝉，忽然闭口立。”——由歌到默、由动到静，只因“意欲捕蝉”一念。八个字写尽儿童专注的神情，天然灵动，最见性灵诗的妙处。
Background
Yuan Mei (1716-1798), courtesy Zicai, was a mid-Qing poet who championed the 'spirit' (xingling) theory, ranked with Zhao Yi and Jiang Shiquan as the 'Three Masters of the Qianlong era.' 'What I Saw' is an on-the-spot piece catching a cowherd's instant, purely sketching childhood in plain description.
《所见》为清代袁枚所作，是写牧童骑牛、捕蝉所见的诗。袁枚（1716—1798），字子才，号简斋、随园主人，钱塘人，清代诗人。此诗：牧童骑黄牛，歌声振林樾。意欲捕鸣蝉，忽然闭口立。全诗写牧童骑牛、捕蝉所见，是袁枚诗的名篇。
Art
The first two lines write motion (riding, singing, shaking), the latter two write stillness (wanting, shutting mouth, standing) — motion suddenly turning to stillness creates tension. 'Shakes the forest shade' and 'suddenly shuts his mouth and stands' one loosen one tighten, with no argument yet the childlike fun is lifelike — a model of spirit plain-sketching.
《所见》艺术上以牧童骑牛的描摹与捕蝉所见的生动见长。全诗四句：首写牧童骑牛——“牧童骑黄牛，歌声振林樾”写牧童骑黄牛、歌声振林樾；末写闭口捕蝉——“意欲捕鸣蝉，忽然闭口立”写意欲捕鸣蝉、忽然闭口立。全诗以牧童骑牛写捕蝉所见，正是袁枚诗生动的笔法。
Allusions
'Forest shade' means the shading trees, interlocking branches by the path; 'cicada that sings' is the summer cicada whose sound tempts the child to catch it; 'what I saw' is an on-the-spot title, meaning a scene casually met by the eye.
《所见》用典在“黄牛”“林樾”“鸣蝉”“闭口立”。“黄牛”写黄牛；“林樾”写林樾（林间树荫）；“鸣蝉”写鸣蝉；“闭口立”写闭口立。全诗以这些意象写牧童骑牛、捕蝉所见，用典自然而生动自见，正是袁枚诗的笔法。
Commentary
Suiyuan (Yuan Mei) in his poetry hated antiquarianism and prized spirit. This twenty-word poem has no allusion, no argument, yet the cowherd lives; a Qing reader said 'ordinary matters before the eye, written, become vivid' — most showing his skill.
《所见》是袁枚诗的名篇，也是清诗中写童趣的代表作。此诗写牧童骑牛、捕蝉所见，向为论者称道。论者多赏其牧童骑牛的描摹与捕蝉所见的生动——“牧童骑黄牛，歌声振林樾”写牧童骑黄牛、歌声振林樾，生动之极；“意欲捕鸣蝉，忽然闭口立”写意欲捕鸣蝉、忽然闭口立，更见其妙。袁枚为性灵派主将，其诗以性灵生动著称，此诗正是其代表——以牧童骑牛写捕蝉所见，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
牧童骑黄牛，歌声振林樾。
A cowherd boy rides a yellow ox; his song shakes the deep woods.
牧童骑黄牛，歌声振林樾。
A cowherd boy rides on a yellow ox; his singing voice echoes through the forest shade.
首写牧童骑黄牛、歌声振林樾，是全诗写牧童之态的起点。“牧童骑黄牛”写牧童骑黄牛——“牧童骑黄牛”写牧童骑在黄牛背上——牧童骑黄牛；“歌声振林樾”写歌声振林樾——“歌声振林樾”写歌声振荡林间树荫——歌声振林樾。二句写牧童骑黄牛、歌声振林樾：牧童骑黄牛，歌声振林樾。以“牧童骑黄牛”写牧童骑牛、悠然之态，以“歌声振林樾”写歌声振林、欢快之情，正是袁枚诗写牧童之态的起点——牧童骑牛，歌声振樾。
The opening writes the boy on the yellow ox, the song shaking the woods, the starting point of the cowherd's manner. A cowherd boy rides a yellow ox writes the boy riding the yellow ox's back. His song shakes the deep woods writes the singing voice ringing through the forest shade. Two lines: the boy on the ox, the song shaking the woods. Writing the boy's riding and his ease, writing the song's ringing and delight, exactly the starting point of Yuan Mei's cowherd — the boy on the ox, the song shaking the grove.
意欲捕鸣蝉，忽然闭口立。
He means to catch the singing cicada; suddenly he shuts his mouth and stands still.
意欲捕鸣蝉，忽然闭口立。
He is about to catch the chirping cicada; suddenly he closes his mouth and stands motionless.
末写意欲捕鸣蝉、忽然闭口立，是全诗写捕蝉所见的归结。“意欲捕鸣蝉”写意欲捕鸣蝉——“意欲捕鸣蝉”写想要捕捉鸣叫的蝉——意欲捕鸣蝉；“忽然闭口立”写忽然闭口立——“忽然闭口立”写忽然闭上嘴、站住不动——忽然闭口立。二句写意欲捕鸣蝉、忽然闭口立：意欲捕鸣蝉，忽然闭口立。以“意欲捕鸣蝉”写想要捕蝉、童心之动，以“忽然闭口立”写闭口立定、屏息之态，正是袁枚诗写捕蝉所见的归结——欲捕鸣蝉，闭口立定。
The close writes the wish to catch the cicada, the sudden closing and standing, the resolution of the sight of the cicada hunt. He means to catch the singing cicada writes the wanting to seize the chirping cicada. Suddenly he shuts his mouth and stands still writes the sudden closing of the mouth and the standing stock-still. Two lines: the wish to catch the cicada, the closing and standing. Writing the catching of the cicada, the stirring of the child's heart, writing the closed mouth and held breath, exactly the resolution of the sight — the wish for the cicada, the closed lips and the still figure.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
高鼎《村居》写二月放纸鸢、童趣盎然，与本首同为清诗写儿童之趣。差异在情境：所见写捕鸣蝉；村居写放纸鸢。一写“捕”之趣，一写“放”之乐。两者并读，可见清诗写儿童之趣的两种情境。
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