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清 Qing · 诗 Poem

题画竹石

On a Painting of Bamboo and Rock

郑燮

Zheng Xie

题画诗poetry 托物言志Theme 咏竹Theme

咬定青山不放松，立根原在破岩中。
千磨万击还坚劲，任尔东西南北风。

It bites fast the green mountain and will not let go; its roots were set from the first within the broken cliff.
Through a thousand grindings and ten thousand blows it stays yet unyielding—let the east, west, north, or south wind do its worst.

Listen

Meaning

Zheng Xie's bamboo, rooted in broken rock, stands firm against every wind that blows.

竹子紧紧咬住青山绝不放松，原本深深扎根在破裂的岩石缝隙之中。历尽成千上万次的折磨与打击，它依然坚韧挺拔，任凭你刮的是东风西风还是南北风。

Appreciation

Zheng Xie (Zheng Banqiao), one of the 'Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou,' turned a still-life painting into a creed of integrity. As a poem-on-a-painting (ti hua shi), its art is to animate the bamboo with will: it 'bites' the green mountain and will not let go, its roots fixed in broken cliff rock from the start. The first couplet states this rootedness; the second meets every assault--'a thousand grindings and ten thousand blows'--with indifference, and the closing line summons all four winds (east, west, north, south) only to answer with a single unshakable 'let it.' The technique is plain speech charged with defiance, the small plant standing for the upright man who will not bend to power or poverty. Bamboo, the Confucian gentleman's emblem--straight, hollow, jointed, green through winter--here becomes a self-portrait: Zheng resigned his magistracy rather than oppress the poor. Perhaps the most famous ti hua shi in Chinese literature, its democratic moral appeal and vigorous, colloquial calm have made it a textbook lesson in 'entrusting things with one's intent' (tuo wu yan zhi).

【白话串讲】 “咬定青山不放松，立根原在破岩中”——郑板桥题竹石：竹子咬定青山。“千磨万击还坚劲，任尔东西南北风”——千磨万击还坚劲。他写竹，是写自己的骨气。【意象与手法】落笔一“咬”字将竹根扎石写得如猛兽衔物般执拗奇崛；后两句由静态扎根转入动态淬炼，“千磨万击”写环境之酷烈，“任尔”二字见蔑视劫难的风神。语言斩钉截铁、不假雕饰而自有金石之声。【情感与主旨】题写于《竹石图》上的咏物名篇，通篇借岩竹以自况，把士大夫在浊世中守节不阿、宁折不弯的气骨写得淋漓尽致，是托物言志的典范。【名句点睛】常考“咬定青山不放松，立根原在破岩中”以一“咬”字写执着；“千磨万击还坚劲，任尔东西南北风”以坚劲写宁折不弯。

Background

Zheng Xie (1693–1765), better known as Zheng Banqiao, was a Qing painter, calligrapher, and one of the 'Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou.' A magistrate who resigned rather than oppress the poor, he painted bamboo as a moral self-portrait. This quatrain is inscribed on a painting of bamboo rooted in a cleft rock—his answer to adversity in the form of a plant.

郑燮，字克柔，号板桥，江苏兴化人，康熙秀才、雍正举人、乾隆进士，曾任范县、潍县知县，后因请赈忤大吏而辞官，长期客居扬州卖画，为扬州八怪之首。他一生爱竹、画竹、咏竹，自谓四十年来画竹枝，日间挥写夜间思，竹已成为其人格的化身。此诗题于其《竹石图》上，是其晚年历经宦海浮沉、看透官场倾轧之后的抒怀之作。板桥为官时体恤民瘼，曾因开仓赈灾得罪权贵，那种咬定青山、任尔风的倔强，正是他不随时俗、不媚上官的写照。诗与画互为表里，画中几竿瘦竹立于破岩，诗则补足了画的言外之志，共同构成一幅士人风骨的自我塑像。板桥论诗主真率，恶描头画角、习气谄媚，此诗无一字无风骨，正其人格之外化，故能于二十八字中见千钧之力。板桥曾自述画竹之法以草书之中竖长撇运之，故其竹瘦劲孤峭，诗亦如其画。此诗不假典故堆垛，纯以白描见骨，正见其黜虚文、崇真气的主张，亦是其久历宦途、终厌簿书而归于质朴的晚年心画，故二十八字中自有一段不可摧折的丈夫之气。其诗书画世称三绝，此诗恰是以书入诗、以画立意之代表，故读其诗如见其竹、如睹其人，三绝之妙于此一首尽显。

Art

The poem animates the bamboo with will: it 'bites' and 'will not let go,' as if clinging on purpose. The first couplet states the rootedness; the second meets every assault with indifference. The closing wind—east, west, north, south—stands for all hostile circumstance, answered by a single, unshakable 'let it.' Plain words carry a charged, defiant calm.

此诗艺术上最突出者在于拟人化与力度感。首句咬定二字以猛禽搏兔之势写竹根，化静为动，把植物生根这一自然现象写成有意识的生命抗争，可谓奇警。立根原在破岩中补出生长环境之险恶，与后文磨击呼应。第三句千磨万击以叠数极言摧残之频仍，还坚劲的还字作仍、依然解，愈显不可动摇。结句任尔东西南北风，以第二人称直斥逆境，把风人格化为对手，全诗遂成一场无声的较量。四句皆以实词撑起骨架，不用一个虚浮的形容，节奏短促如刀斫斧截，与所咏之竹的瘦硬恰相吻合。全诗不著一个情字而句句是情，不写竹之形貌而写竹之筋骨，所谓不似之似，深得文人写意画之三昧。其语言斩钉截铁，不假雕饰，却自有金石之声，与板桥其人其画其书三绝合一，读来令人凛然生敬。板桥作诗如作字，最忌描头画角、纠缠枝叶，此诗通体劲直、无一笔侧媚，正是其书法入诗之证。其以议论为诗而不失诗味，以俚俗为雅而不伤雅格，在清代宗唐宗宋的门户之外独标一格，足见性灵之说非徒便易，实有其峻洁的标高在内。后人论板桥诗，谓其恶俗恶熟、独尚真气，此诗正其注脚；二十八字无一句陈言，而句句可镂金石，是晚年炉火纯青之证。

Allusions

Bamboo is the Confucian gentleman's emblem: straight, hollow (humble), jointed (steadfast), and green through winter. 'Broken rock' (po yan) signals hardship; the four winds are the standard figure for trials from every quarter. The inscription turns a still life into a creed of integrity.

竹在中国文化中是君子之象，其渊源极深。卫人王子猷爱竹，云何可一日无此君，开文人以竹为友之风；白居易作《养竹记》，以竹之本固、性直、心空、节贞比德君子，确立了竹的伦理意象。板桥此诗正承此传统而加以烈化：前人以虚静写竹之清，板桥以咬定、坚劲写竹之悍，是文人竹意象从隐逸向抗争的转关。破岩一语暗合杜甫《古柏行》正直原因造化功之艰，东西南北风则脱胎于古诗《艳歌行》催生狂风发，亦与佛教八风吹不动之典可相参。咏物至此，已非单纯写物，而是把一部中国士大夫的气节谱系凝于一帧竹石小景之中。后世画竹题竹者众，然能如板桥以一字之咬写尽千古士人之骨者，实为罕见，足见其托物之独绝。自竹谱详载画竹之法，而文人咏竹多尚清标高寄，板桥独以悍笔写竹之骨，遂开有清一代写意墨竹之新境。郑氏亦工兰石，然竹石一题最足代表其人格。后之画师每题板桥句于竹图，可知此诗早已溢出纸面，成为士人立身之箴，其影响远在文学作品之上。竹之入诗，自《卫风》淇奥以绿竹比君子，至板桥而极于风骨，可谓一部以小见大的文脉缩影，亦见写意精神在清代之回澜。

Commentary

This is perhaps the most famous of all 'poem-on-a-painting' (ti hua shi) verses. Its appeal is moral and democratic at once: a lowly plant in a crack becomes the image of the upright man. Zheng's own life—honest magistrate, unbought artist—gave the words the weight of example, not mere boast.

逐句读来，首句咬定青山不放松，表面言竹根紧抓山石，实则是诗人对理想与操守的死死抱持，不放松三字见其执拗。次句立根原在破岩中，点明这坚守并非温室中的从容，而是生于裂缝、赖石缝一撮土以存身的险境，愈见其难能。第三句千磨万击还坚劲，由静转动，写外在打击之密与内在回应之定，磨击本为损毁之力，竹却以坚劲消纳之，物我于此合一。末句任尔东西南北风，气脉最为酣畅，尔字直指风暴如对面之敌，东西南北四字穷尽方位，写尽世间摧折之无所不至，而竹之不动如山恰由此反衬到极致。四句层层递转，由根而境、由境而劫、由劫而胜，终成一尊不可撼动的精神雕像。全诗仅二十八字，无一字写人而句句写人，把士大夫在浊世中守节不阿、宁折不弯的气骨写得淋漓尽致。通观四句，起以咬定立其根，承以破岩状其境，转以千磨万击极其厄，合以任尔风写其定，起承转合一气贯注。短短二十八字，有起有伏、有物有人、有节有势，已是完满一首之局。读者但觉其刚，不知其刚正从柔处即那一点不肯放松的痴处生出，此即板桥诗所以耐读。此诗看似明白如话，实则字字经心：咬是起手之奇，破是立足之险，千磨万击是历劫之实，任尔是定力之终，四者相生，不可移易。

Prosody

Reading note Seven-character quatrain on a painting; the repeated 'east-west-north-south wind' breaks the even line for emphasis, a spoken, almost colloquial close that suits Zheng's plain, vigorous manner.此诗为七言绝句，四句二十八字，押平声东韵（松、中、风，中古音分属钟韵与东韵，近体诗中通押亦可，此处松中同韵、风属东韵，皆平声开口呼，读来响亮）。句式为典型七绝，首句入韵。平仄大致合于仄起首句入韵体：仄仄平平仄仄平，仄平平仄仄平平；平平仄仄平平仄，仄仄平平仄仄平（咬、不、立、不、千、击、尔、北等字为仄声，整体协调）。绝句本贵含蓄，此诗却以议论见骨，于严整格律中注入散文化的斩截气力，是清人论诗主性灵、不局格调的体现。其韵脚三平声连绵收束，恰如竹竿直起直落，声情与辞意高度统一。

Line by line

咬定青山不放松，立根原在破岩中。

It bites fast the green mountain and will not let go; its roots were set from the first within the broken cliff.

It bites fast into the green mountain and will not let go; its roots are set, after all, in the cracked rock.

这两句写竹之扎根，是全诗的立足点。咬定二字极奇，把无知的植物根须写成有意志的搏击，仿佛翠竹以齿衔山、死不松口，这种拟人化的狠劲正是板桥独特的笔墨精神。破岩中三字尤重，它交代了竹子并非生于膏壤，而是从嶙峋石缝里讨生活，环境的险恶反衬出生命力的倔强。由咬到立，由动到静，诗人先以动态出奇，再以静态扎根收束，为后文的千磨万击预设了不可动摇的根基。读此二句，已不仅见竹，更见一种择善固执、处困而不移其志的人格姿态。

The two lines write the bamboo's rooting, the foothold of the whole poem. The words bite fast are strange to the utmost, turning the senseless root of a plant into a willed struggle, as if the green bamboo gripped the mountain with its teeth and would not loosen; this personified ferocity is precisely Banqiao's unique brush-spirit. The three words in the cracked rock carry the most weight: they tell that the bamboo grows not in rich soil, but wrings a living from jagged stone crevices, the harshness of the setting setting off the stubbornness of its life. From bite to stand, from motion to stillness: the poet first makes the unexpected in motion, then closes in the stillness of rooting, pre-setting the unshakable foundation for the thousand grindings below. Reading the two lines, one sees not only bamboo, but the bearing of a man who chooses the good and holds fast, unmoved in hardship.

千磨万击还坚劲，任尔东西南北风。

Through a thousand grindings and ten thousand blows it stays yet unyielding—let the east, west, north, or south wind do its worst.

A thousand grindings, ten thousand blows — still tough and upright; let the wind come from east, west, north or south.

这两句是全诗的骨力所在。千磨万击以叠数极写摧残之频仍酷烈，还坚劲的还字作仍然解，意思是即便受尽磨难，竹的刚劲依旧如初，一个还字写尽了反覆淬炼后的不改其度。结句任尔东西南北风，忽然换用第二人称呼告风暴，把无形的逆境拟作面前的对手，东西南北四字穷尽一切来向，写尽世间打压之无所不至。而竹之岿然，正由此反衬到极致。这两句由承受转为蔑视，气脉酣畅，是整首托物言志诗的灵魂，也是板桥一生风骨的缩影。

The two lines are the bone and sinew of the poem. A thousand grindings, ten thousand blows repeats numbers to press the frequency and cruelty of the battering; still tough and upright reads still as after all — even through every ordeal, the bamboo's hardness is as before, the single still writing the unchanging measure after repeated tempering. The closing let the wind come from east, west, north or south suddenly turns to address the storm in the second person, figuring the intangible adversity as a rival before the face; the four directions exhaust every quarter from which the onslaught may come, writing how far the world's oppression reaches. And the bamboo's calm is thereby set off to the utmost. The two lines turn from endurance to defiance, the breath full and flowing, the soul of the whole object-versing-resolve poem, and the miniature of Banqiao's lifelong integrity.

任尔东西南北风。

Let the east, west, north, or south wind do its worst.

Let the wind come from east, west, north or south.

只此一句七字，已足见全诗风神。尔字以第二人称直斥风暴，仿佛诗人与逆境当面对峙、凛然相诘；东西南北四字罗列方位，意味着无论从哪一个方向袭来的摧折，都在这竹的轻蔑之下失去了威力。这种把苦难对象化、对手化的写法，使诗歌从咏物跃升为人格宣言。它之所以动人，正在于不躲不怨、不诉苦不乞怜，而是以一种近乎挑衅的从容面对一切倾轧。后世常引此句以励志，正是因为其中那股不以物喜不以己悲、任凭风浪起稳坐钓鱼船的定力，具有穿越时代的普遍力量。

In this single seven-character line, the spirit of the whole poem is already present. The word you addresses the storm in the second person, as if the poet stood face to face with adversity, challenging it sternly; the listing of the four directions means that no matter from which quarter the battering comes, it loses all force beneath the bamboo's scorn. This way of objectifying the suffering, turning it into a rival, lifts the poem from the ode of an object to a declaration of character. What moves lies precisely in its not hiding, not complaining, not pleading, but facing all oppression with a calm that is almost a challenge. Later men often quote the line for encouragement, precisely because the steadfastness within — unmoved by things, unmoved by self, sitting steady in the fishing boat whatever the winds — carries a universal power that crosses the ages.

Study

Word focus

咬定 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 咬定二字是全诗的诗眼与起手奇笔。竹本无齿，根须扎石乃自然之理，诗人却偏用一咬字，将植物生根写为猛兽衔物、死不松口的生命抗争，使静物骤生动势与意志。这一炼字脱胎于板桥书画中瘦硬通神的审美，一字之间既有视觉上的凌厉，又有精神上的执拗。它奠定了全诗不随时俗、择善固执的基调，与末句任尔形成首尾呼应的力量结构。若无咬定，则此诗只是寻常咏竹；正因有咬定，竹才成了一位虽处破岩而绝不妥协的君子缩影。

坚劲 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 坚劲一词凝练了竹乃至君子最核心的品格。坚言其不可摧，劲言其不可屈，二字叠用，既写竹竿的物理属性，更写人在厄运中挺立的操守。它出现在千磨万击之后，作还坚劲，表明一切外在的摧毁之力非但不能折之，反而验证并砥砺了其内在的刚。相较前人以清、瘦、虚心写竹，板桥独取坚劲，是竹意象从隐逸清雅向抗争刚毅的关键一转。这一词也因此成为后世形容民族气节的高频语汇，足见其概括力之强。