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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

和陶归园田居

Matching Tao Yuanming's 'Return to Garden and Field'

苏轼

Su Shi

田园Pastoral life 和陶Theme 贬谪Theme 闲适Leisure 惠州Theme

环州多白水,际海皆苍山。
以彼无尽景,寓我有限年。
东家著孔丘,西家著颜渊。
市为不二价,农为不争田。
周公与管蔡,恨不茅三间。
我饱一饭足,薇蕨补食前。
门生馈薪米,救我厨无烟。
斗酒与只鸡,酣歌饯华颠。
禽鱼岂知道,我适物自闲。
悠悠未必尔,聊乐我所然。

Around the isle are many white streams; the sea-bound hills are all dark green.
In that endless scenery I lodge my finite years.
To the east dwells a Confucius, to the west a Yan Yuan.
The market keeps a single fair price; the farmers quarrel not over fields.
Duke Zhou and his kin the Guan and Cai - how I wish for but three humble rooms of thatch.
One full meal suffices me; ferns supplement the food before me.
My disciples bring firewood and rice, saving my kitchen from smoke.
A cup of wine and a chicken, I sing drunk to speed the white-haired elder on his way.
How should birds and fish know the Way? I am at ease, and things are naturally still.
The world need not be as it is - I simply delight in what I have made my own.
Listen

Meaning

In exile at Huizhou, Su Shi finds a rustic paradise where neighbors are sages and a single meal suffices.

环绕城郭的多是清澈的流水,临海的一面尽是苍翠的青山。 凭着那里无穷无尽的风景,寄托我有限的一生岁月。 东边邻家尊崇孔丘,西边邻家仰慕颜渊。 集市上买卖不讲两种价钱,农夫们不为田地争执。 周公与管叔蔡叔那样的人,也遗憾不能来这里盖三间茅屋。 我只要一顿饭吃饱便已满足,薇菜蕨菜在饭前足以补充。 学生们送来柴火与米粮,解救我家厨房断炊的困窘。 斗酒加上一只鸡,放声高歌为白发老友饯行。 飞禽游鱼哪里懂得这个道理,我安适了万物自然就悠闲。 悠悠尘事未必都像人们说的那样,姑且以我心之所安为然。

Appreciation

Banished to the far south, Su Shi peoples his village with sages and calls one meal enough. The poem is less description than a discipline of happiness.

【白话串讲】 苏轼被贬惠州(环州),和陶渊明《归园田居》:“环州多白水,际海皆苍山”。“以彼无尽景,寓我有限年”——用无尽的美景,安顿有限的人生。“我饱一饭足,薇蕨补食前”——他吃野菜也满足。贬谪中的苏轼,活成了陶渊明。 【意象与手法】 以“环州多白水,际海皆苍山”起笔铺开惠州旷远明净的山水画卷;用孔丘颜渊写乡邻淳厚,用不二价不争田写民风质朴,用周公管蔡典故反衬此地消弭争斗;“一饭自足、薇蕨补前”写安贫,“门生馈薪、斗酒只鸡”写人情温暖。语言看似平易,把贬谪的艰辛化作田园的丰足。 【情感与主旨】 苏轼六旬贬居惠州所作,于白水青山间写出一派冲淡欣然。既和了陶渊明归田之韵,又保留东坡特有的旷达诙谐,是晚年将儒家安贫、道家齐物、陶渊明自然三者融而为一的佳作,最见人生小满的智慧。 【名句点睛】 常考“以彼无尽景,寓我有限年”以无尽之景安顿有限之生的旷达;“我饱一饭足,薇蕨补食前”以安贫写随遇而安。

Background

One of Su Shi's 'matching Tao Yuanming' poems written during his far southern exile in Huizhou. He recreates Tao's pastoral serenity amid strange hills.

《和陶归园田居六首》作于宋哲宗绍圣二年,苏轼时年约六十,因新党再度得势,以宁远军节度副使贬安置惠州,等于投荒岭南。惠州在今广东,当时属偏远之地,苏轼生活拮据,需门生馈薪米方能举火,却仍能于山水间自得其乐。据诗前小引,三月四日他游白水山佛迹岩,浴汤泉,归途过水北荔枝浦,遇八十五岁父老约他携酒同游;归来闻儿子苏过诵读陶渊明《归园田居》六首,便依次原韵和作六首,并说要尽和陶诗乃已。此其一即写惠州风土与心境。北宋贬官岭南,在时人眼中几同绝域,苏轼却以寓我有限年化解惶惧,以市为不二价、农为不争田美化当地民风,足见其随物赋形、无可无不可的胸襟。理解这一贬谪背景,方能读懂诗中白水苍山背后的倔强与温柔:那不是隐逸的闲适,而是困顿中主动选择的安然。惠州当地虽僻,苏轼却于荔枝浦遇老、于白水山得趣,把贬所风物一一收进诗里,这种将困顿点化为清欢的本领,正是东坡晚年最动人的地方。

Art

Piles plain images - white streams, green hills, a Confucius and a Yan Yuan as neighbors, fair markets - into a picture of effortless contentment, closing on a Taoist 'delight in what is.'

此诗艺术上最值得称道者,是以陶诗之淡写东坡之旷,和韵而不夺本色。形式上它严守陶渊明五言古体原韵,十二句一气舒卷,不用典丽的辞藻,全以白描叙事,如环州多白水、门生馈薪米,语皆家常,却自具风调。结构上由景及人、由人及己、由己及理:前四句写山水与寓年之志,中四句写邻曲淳古、民风不争,后四句写自身安贫与物我两忘,层层递进展现贬所中的精神安居。手法上善用对照与反衬:以周公管蔡的 historical 争斗,反衬惠州无争的恬淡;以禽鱼岂知道的物之无知,衬出我适物自闲的主客相宜。最妙在尾联悠悠未必尔,聊乐我所然,以议论收束,把前面所有写景写人都提炼为一套自适哲学,看似平淡,实则举重若轻。这种以理节情、以诙化苦的笔法,正属东坡晚年绝调。全诗不用一个哀字,却处处是安顿;不摹陶之隐,而写己之适,和韵之中自见东坡面目,足证苏轼和陶非徒拟古,乃借题自道。

Allusions

Tao Yuanming (365-427) is the hermit-poet whose 'Return' Su Shi imitates. Duke Zhou and the Guan-Cai brothers are Zhou royal kin; 'three thatched rooms' evokes humble retirement. Ferns recall the loyalists who ate wild plants.

诗中典故与意象都围绕田园传统展开。归园田居一题本身即承陶渊明,写躬耕田园、返归自然;苏轼和之,是宋人对陶渊明的隔代唱和,苏辙谓之如其本色。东家著孔丘,西家著颜渊,以孔颜代指乡邻的淳德,化用《论语》中孔子与颜回安贫乐道之典,把寻常农人写得如圣贤比邻。市为不二价暗用《孟子》《汉书》中市无二价、童叟无欺的治世意象,借以美化惠州风俗。周公与管蔡用西周初管叔蔡叔叛、周公东征之典,以古之兄弟相争反衬今之农不争田,寓有消解权力纷争的退守之思。薇蕨出自《诗经·采薇》与伯夷叔齐隐于首阳采薇之典,写贬所蔬食的清苦与高洁。华颠即白发,指年老。禽鱼我适则化用《庄子》与陶渊明众鸟相与之意,写物我两忘。这些典故经苏轼点化,皆入田园日用之境,不见堆垛,只见天然。薇蕨、华颠、所然等词皆浅近而意远,苏轼把庄周齐物与陶诗自然揉进岭南烟火,使田园意象在宋人手中由隐逸转为日常,开南宋范成大田园组诗之先声。

Commentary

Su Shi's genius is to be exiled and yet write as if he has found Eden. The poem is a lesson in voluntary contentment.

全诗十二句可视为苏轼惠州精神生活的缩影。起首环州多白水,际海皆苍山,先以大笔勾勒贬所山水,白水苍山一清一苍,色彩明净,已暗含洗尽尘嚣之意。以彼无尽景,寓我有限年,由景转入生命态度:以无穷风景安顿有限余生,是旷达也是妥协中的智慧。东家著孔丘至农为不争田四句,写理想化的邻里与市井,孔颜比邻、市不二价、农不争田,把惠州写成无争的桃花源,实则是诗人主观安顿的外射。周公与管蔡,恨不茅三间,以古代权争人物也愿来此三间茅屋,反衬此地足以平息人间纠纷,幽默中见胸襟。我饱一饭足至救我厨无烟,写自身清贫却有门生接济,一饭自足、薇蕨补前是安贫,馈薪救无烟是人情温暖。斗酒与只鸡,酣歌饯华颠,写白发老友间朴素的欢聚,陶渊明田家气味十足。禽鱼岂知道,我适物自闲,由人事升到物我关系:我心安适,则禽鱼自然悠闲,暗合庄子。结以悠悠未必尔,聊乐我所然,总束全篇,声明不必尽信世俗悠悠之论,但求自心以为然,是东坡一生随遇而安的夫子自道。

Prosody

Reading note A luminous example of Su Shi's 'matching the ancients' while sounding wholly himself.《和陶归园田居》为五言古诗,依陶渊明《归园田居》原韵次韵而作,通首押平声先韵(山、年、渊、田、间、前、烟、颠、闲、然),一韵到底,用韵宽缓,符合陶诗古淡之风。句式以六句一对、两两相承为主,如环州多白水,际海皆苍山为严整五言对句,东家著孔丘,西家著颜渊、市为不二价,农为不争田皆工对,周公与管蔡,恨不茅三间则为流水对之意。全诗不用律诗式的黏对苛求,而求气脉舒卷,句末多用平声收,读来从容和缓,与闲适从容的内容相表里。节奏上以二、三顿为主(环州—多白水),间以二、一、二之变(恨不—茅—三间),并不板滞。仄声字如白、著、不、馈、救、斗、岂错落其间,使平韵不致浮滑。整体而言,这是一首以陶韵写苏意的五古,韵调清苍而语气诙散,最能体现宋人和陶诗外枯中膏的韵味。

Line by line

以彼无尽景,寓我有限年。

In that endless scenery I lodge my finite years.

To lodge my finite years within that endless landscape.

这是全诗的精神总纲,也是苏轼贬谪哲学的凝练表达。彼指惠州白水苍山的无尽风景,有限年则是诗人自知渐老的剩余岁月。寓字极妙,有寄托、安顿之意,等于说把剩下的生命安放在这无穷的山水里。它既是对地理流放的逆顺受,也是对生命限度的坦然接受:既然年寿有限,便不以占有功名为务,而以享用风景为足。这与前赋共适造物同一机杼,只是更平易近人。七字对仗工稳,景对年、无尽对有限,把宏大的存在之思压缩在一联之中,读来举重若轻,最见东坡举重若轻、以俗为雅的本领,也是后来读者于困顿中常取以自慰的名句。

This is the spiritual thesis of the whole poem, the compressed statement of Su Shi's exile philosophy. That refers to the endless scenery of Baishui and Cangshan in Huizhou; finite years the poet's own remaining days, knowing he is aging. The word lodge is exquisite — to entrust, to settle, meaning to set the rest of his life down in this boundless landscape. It is at once the accepting turn of geographical exile and the calm acceptance of life's limit: since the years are finite, let the pursuit of fame be laid aside, and the enjoyment of scenery be enough. The couplet's balance — scenery against years, endless against finite — compresses a grand meditation on existence into two lines, read with the light touch that moves the heavy, the typical skill of Su Shi's turning the common to the elegant, and a line later readers in adversity have taken for consolation.

市为不二价,农为不争田。

The market keeps a single fair price; the farmers quarrel not over fields.

The market asks one price, no haggling; the farmers do not quarrel over fields.

这两句写惠州民风,是全诗最见理想色彩的一笔。不二价用古语市无二价,指买卖童叟无欺;不争田写农夫不为土地起纠纷。表面写风俗淳朴,实则苏轼借以构筑一个无争夺、无算计的小小乌托邦,与官场党争、兄弟相夷形成鲜明对照。它承陶渊明《桃花源诗》春蚕收长丝,秋熟靡王税式的田园想象,却以更具体的市井与田亩写出。值得注意的是,苏轼此时正因党争远谪,这两句与其说是纪实,不如说是以美化风俗来疗治政治创伤,是把对外在世界的失望转化为对眼前人情的珍惜。平淡十字里,藏着贬谪文人重建意义世界的努力,也显出他总能于最不堪处寻出可爱。

The two lines write the manners of Huizhou, the poem's most idealizing stroke. One price in the market uses the old saying of no double price, meaning buyers and sellers, old and young, dealt honestly; the farmers do not quarrel over fields writes the plowmen's no disputes over land. On the surface the rustic simplicity, in truth a small utopia built by Su Shi of no strife, no scheming, set against the party struggles of the court, brother against brother. It inherits Tao Yuanming's peach-blossom spring imagination, the spring silkworm's long silk gathered, the autumn harvest without royal tax, and yet writes it in the concrete market and fields. It is worth noting that Su Shi was at this moment exiled far away through party strife, so these lines are less record than the healing of political wounds through idealized manners, the turning of disappointment with the outer world into the cherishing of the human warmth before his eyes. In the plain ten characters lies the exiled scholar's effort to rebuild a world of meaning, and his habit of finding the lovable even where it is hardest.

悠悠未必尔,聊乐我所然。

The world need not be as it is - I simply delight in what I have made my own.

The world's clamor is not necessarily so; I take pleasure in what my own heart approves.

这是全诗的收束与诗眼。悠悠指世间的纷纷扰扰、众说纷纭,未必尔即未必真如人们所说那般可怕或可悲;聊乐我所然意谓姑且以我心之所安为然,不必外求认同。两句把前面所有写景写人统统收归主体的安顿:风景再好、民风再淳,终究要回到我是否乐于此。这与陶渊明衣沾不足惜,但使愿无违同一精神结构,却更具辩证的清醒——东坡知道悠悠未必,是看破世论后的主动选择,而非天真逃避。五字聊乐我所然,把儒家求其放心、庄子自适其适融为一体,是全诗的点睛,也是苏轼晚年随遇而安人生态度最凝练的宣言,千载下仍能予困顿者以力量。

This is the close and the eye of the poem. The world's clamor means the world's hurly-burly, the many voices; is not necessarily so means not necessarily as terrible or as pitiable as men say; I take pleasure in what my own heart approves means to rest in what my heart holds to be right, without seeking the world's agreement. The two lines gather all the scenery and the people above into the settlement of the self: however fair the scenery, however simple the people, it comes at last to whether I am glad to be here. This shares the spiritual structure of Tao Yuanming's the robe stained matters not, so long as the wish is not betrayed, and yet adds a dialectical lucidity — Su Shi knows the world's clamor is not necessarily what it seems, an active choice after seeing through the world's opinions, not a naive escape. The five characters I take pleasure in what my own heart approves fuse the Confucian seeking of the lost mind and the Zhuangzi's self-conforming contentment, the eye of the poem, and the most compressed declaration of Su Shi's late-life taking things as they come, still giving strength to those in hardship a thousand years on.

Study

Word focus

寓 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 寓本义为寄居、寄托,如寓公、寓意。苏轼以彼无尽景,寓我有限年,把寓字用得极活:有限的生命不再是漂泊无依的负担,而是被安放进无穷风景里的寄居者。这个字透露出两层意思,一是生命如寄的苍凉,二是寄得其所的安然。它上承《庄子》人生天地之间若白驹之过隙的暂寄感,下开共适造物的享用观。一字而兼悲喜,正是东坡诗看似平易实则沉厚的秘密。若换作安或度,便寡味许多;唯寓字有托身山水、与造物同游的潇洒,最见其晚年化逆境为行旅的文字功力。
华颠 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 华颠即花白头发,指年老,出于《后汉书》华颠齿缺之语。苏轼斗酒与只鸡,酣歌饯华颠,写自己白发之年与门生故旧斗酒高歌、相与饯别,把衰老写得热闹而温暖。这个词的选用很见分寸:不云老态、不云衰朽,而云华颠,便把白发点染成一种可亲的仪容,与酣歌的放纵相映成趣。它既如实写出诗人年已耳顺,又毫无衰飒之气,反显出白发犹能纵饮高歌的生命力。陶诗多写桑榆,东坡则以华颠入田园,使和陶之作在冲淡之外多了一层俳谐旷达,恰是东坡本色,非徒摹陶者所能到。
所然 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 所然犹言以为然、所认定者,聊乐我所然即姑且以我心之所安为是。然字在此作意动,承《论语》子谓颜渊曰:吾与点也之气象,也近陶渊明称心而言、任性而行的态度。苏轼用所然收束全篇,等于把价值判断的权柄交还主体:外界悠悠之论不足凭,唯有内在的安适才是准的。这二字极简却极重,是整首和陶诗从写景、写人最终收归写心的枢纽。它使前面白水苍山、不二价、斗酒鸡都不再是客观描写,而成了所然之心的外化,显示出宋诗以理摄情、以议结尾的典型风貌。

Related Reading

归园田居(其一) 归园田居(其一) 陶渊明 · 同题原唱,苏和陶而各极其妙 Related reading

Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.

陶潜《归园田居》写少无适俗韵、守拙归园田,以摆脱尘网、返自然为首唱;苏轼此首和之,却不写归隐,而写贬所惠州的风土自安。陶诗重在挣脱官场、回归田园的痛与喜,苏诗重在流落岭南仍乐其所然的旷与适。张孝先评陶诗天然不可及,东坡所和仍是东坡本色,正点出二者差异:陶以拙朴胜,苏以理趣胜。比较可见,苏轼并非简单模仿,而是借陶题抒写自己随遇而安的贬谪哲学,是隔代唱和中最见个性的一种。

和陶归园田居(同组其六) Matching Tao Yuanming's 'Return to Garden and Field' 苏轼 · 同组呼应,一写居处一写志业 Related reading

Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.

组诗其六昔我在广陵,怅望柴桑陌追忆早年扬州便向往陶渊明,结以诗成竟何为,六博本无益,写尽和其诗之痴与超然;此其一则写初到惠州即安于白水苍山。两首一总一分、一昔一今,合观可知苏轼和陶非一时兴到,而是贬迹流转中持续的精神依托。其六偏于对陶之认同,其一偏于对境之安顿,互为表里,共同构成惠州时期的田园书写。

四时田园杂兴(其一) Miscellaneous Rural Poems of the Four Seasons 范成大 · 皆写田园农家,一写闲适一写劳作 Related reading

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范成大《四时田园杂兴》昼出耘田夜绩麻写农家儿女各当家、童孙学种瓜的劳作场景,朴质鲜活;苏轼此首则写贬所邻曲不二价、不争田的淳古风气与自身一饭自足的闲适。二者都属宋诗田园一路,但范诗重客观白描、有民生温度,苏诗重主观安顿、有理趣自适。比较可见宋人田园诗的两途:一向外写农事之真,一向内写贬心之安,恰可互补。