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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

山园小梅

Small Plum Trees in Mountain Garden

林逋

Lin Bu

咏物Object-chanting 梅花Plum Blossom 隐逸Seclusion 托物言志Theme

众芳摇落独暄妍，占尽风情向小园。
疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏。
霜禽欲下先偷眼，粉蝶如知合断魂。
幸有微吟可相狎，不须檀板共金尊。

When all flowers fade, you alone bloom bright,
Claiming the garden's beauty outright.
Sparse shadows slant across water clear,
Faint fragrance floats in moonlight drear.
Frost birds steal glances before they perch,
Butterflies would break if they could search.
Lucky I can whisper with you near,
No need for wine and music here.

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Meaning

The poem depicts plum blossoms blooming alone in a garden after other flowers have withered. Their sparse shadows and subtle fragrance are enhanced by the clear water and moonlight. Even birds and butterflies are captivated. The poet enjoys intimate companionship with the plums through quiet chanting, rejecting lavish entertainment.

百花凋零之后唯有梅花明媚盛开，在小园中占尽风情。稀疏的枝影横斜在清浅的水面上，清幽的香气在黄昏月色下浮动。霜中的飞鸟想落下先偷眼相望，粉蝶若知此景定会销魂。幸而有低声吟咏可与梅花亲近，不必借助檀板金杯来凑热闹。

Appreciation

The poem paints a vivid picture of plum blossoms in isolation, using the second couplet as a masterpiece: 'sparse shadows' and 'faint fragrance' capture both form and spirit without naming the plum. The third couplet uses birds and butterflies as side glimpses, while the final couplet reveals the poet's personal joy in simple communion. The poem expresses the hermit's love for purity and detachment from worldly pursuits.

【白话串讲】 “疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏”——林逋隐居孤山，梅妻鹤子。这两句写梅，被推为千古咏梅之冠。他一生不娶不仕，把梅花当成了伴侣。【意象与手法】颔联「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」以「疏」「暗」二字炼形炼神，动静相生，水月互映，营造清空澄淡之境；颈联「霜禽偷眼」「粉蝶断魂」以侧笔烘托；尾联「微吟相狎」直抒幽情，章法圆融，托物言志。【情感与主旨】林逋隐居杭州孤山，终生不仕不娶，喜植梅养鹤，世称「梅妻鹤子」。此诗咏其山园之梅，借梅花孤芳自赏之态，写隐士清高绝俗、不与时俗同流的人格写照。【名句点睛】必考颔联「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」的炼字与意境，为咏梅千古绝唱；亦考托物言志、侧面烘托手法及隐逸高洁的主旨。

Background

Lin Bu lived in seclusion on Solitary Hill in Hangzhou, never taking office or marrying. He loved planting plum trees and raising cranes, earning the reputation of having 'plums as his wife and cranes as children.' This poem was likely written during his seclusion, using the plum blossoms as a metaphor for his lofty, unsullied character.

林逋（967—1028），字君复，钱塘（今浙江杭州）人，北宋著名隐逸诗人。他早年漫游江淮，后归隐杭州西湖孤山，二十余年足不及城市，终生不仕不娶，唯喜植梅养鹤，人称「梅妻鹤子」。宋真宗闻其名，赐粟帛，仁宗赐谥「和靖先生」，故世称林和靖。此诗咏其孤山山园中的梅花，约作于隐居期间，是林逋咏梅组诗中的代表作（原题《山园小梅》共二首，此其一）。诗中梅花之孤标傲世、清幽绝俗，正是林逋本人隐逸人格的写照：他不慕荣利、不入流俗，如梅于众芳摇落之际独放，于小园之中自占风情。此诗将咏物与言志合一，借梅写人，是宋代托物言志诗中的典范，也体现了宋初士人由进取转向内敛、崇尚清高人格的时代风气。宋初承五代乱离之后，士人渐由功名进取转向内心修养，林逋以布衣终老、梅妻鹤子的选择，正是这一风气的人格化体现；此诗虽写山园一隅之梅，实为一代士人精神取向的缩影，故其意义不限于林逋一人，而具有时代的普遍性。

Art

The second couplet uses the words 'sparse' (shu) and 'faint' (an) to refine the plum's form and spirit, blending movement and stillness, water and moonlight, creating a pure, ethereal atmosphere. The third couplet uses birds and butterflies as indirect foils. The final couplet directly expresses personal feeling, forming a well-rounded structure.

此诗艺术之妙，在炼字传神、虚实相生、托物言志。首联「众芳摇落独暄妍，占尽风情向小园」以众芳反衬梅之独秀，一个「独」字立骨，既写梅花于百花凋零之际独自盛开，又暗喻隐士孤标傲世的人格。颔联「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」是全诗之魂：上句以「疏影横斜」写梅枝之形，清瘦横斜，倒映于清浅之水；下句以「暗香浮动」写梅香之气，幽微飘荡于黄昏之月，「疏」「暗」二字炼形炼神，水月映衬，动静相生，营造出清空澄淡之境，无一「梅」字而梅之神韵毕现。颈联「霜禽欲下先偷眼，粉蝶如知合断魂」以霜禽偷眼、粉蝶断魂的侧笔烘托梅之迷人，虚写（如知）更添空灵。尾联「幸有微吟可相狎，不须檀板共金尊」由物及人，以清淡自赏收束，人格与梅合一。全诗章法圆融，咏物而不滞于物。尤须品味者，全诗由众芳、小园、水、月、禽、蝶一路写来，景物不断变换，而梅之神韵一以贯之；末联以「微吟」与「檀板金尊」对举，把隐逸之清与世俗之喧作最后的分判，章法由物及人、由景及志，收束得极有力量，咏物言志至此浑然无迹。

Allusions

The phrases 'sparse shadows' and 'faint fragrance' were Lin Bu's original creations, though 'faint fragrance' echoes a line by Su Shi. Later, Jiang Kui used 'Sparse Shadows' and 'Faint Fragrance' as titles for his ci poems, cementing this couplet as a source of allusion and a model for later plum blossom poetry.

「疏影」「暗香」一联虽为林逋独创，却融铸了深厚的文化传统。「疏影」取意于前人对梅枝清瘦疏朗之姿的审美，「横斜」二字暗合唐人咏梅写影之趣；「暗香」承南朝以来以香写梅的传统，「浮动」写香之若有若无，化实为虚。此联一出，遂成咏梅典故之渊薮：南宋姜夔自度曲《暗香》《疏影》二调，即取林逋此联为调名，历代咏梅诗词引用「疏影暗香」者不可胜计。「梅妻鹤子」本为林逋生活之实录，后亦成为隐逸文化的经典符号；「檀板金尊」指歌舞宴饮之乐，与「微吟」之清雅相对，暗含对世俗繁华的疏离。诗中以梅拟隐士、以隐士喻梅，梅之品格即人之品格，将咏物与言志熔铸为一，是宋人「格物致知」精神在诗歌中的体现。尤可注意者，此联既出，「暗香疏影」四字遂成梅花之代称，元明清咏梅之作几无不用之者；林逋以一联之力，为整个民族铸造了梅的审美范式，其文化影响力已远超一首咏物诗的范畴，这正是经典的力量所在。

Commentary

Sima Guang praised the poem for 'fully capturing the plum's form and posture.' Wang Shizhen called the 'sparse shadows and faint fragrance' couplet a 'unique masterpiece through the ages.' Lin Bu's plum blossoms became a symbol of the hermit personality, and later poems about plum blossoms all draw from this realm.

此诗历来被推为咏梅诗之冠，评家赞誉不绝。司马光《温公续诗话》谓此诗「曲尽梅之体态」；欧阳修《归田录》称颔联为「前世咏梅者未有其工」；清代王士禛《带经堂诗话》更推「疏影暗香」一联为「千古绝调」。就咏梅史而言，唐人咏梅多写其色香之实，至林逋此诗始以「疏影」「暗香」写梅之清神逸韵，开宋人咏梅「以韵胜」之先河，苏轼、陆游、姜夔咏梅之作皆承此脉。而此诗之价值又不只在咏梅：林逋以隐士之身、孤山之梅，铸就了「梅妻鹤子」的文化符号，梅花从此与隐逸高洁之人格结下不解之缘，成为中国文化中清高品格的象征。一首小诗而兼具咏物之工、言志之深、文化之远，故能千古传诵，成为宋诗乃至整个中国咏物诗史上的巅峰之作。今日读此诗，仍能感到梅之清影与隐者之风扑面而来；在急功近利的时代，林逋「不须檀板共金尊」的从容自守，尤能给人精神的涤荡，此诗之价值，亦将随中国文化的传承而历久弥新。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated verse七言律诗（首句入韵）

Rhyme Rhymes in the seventh rhyme group of Ci rhyme (Pingshui rhyme: yuan, han, shan, xian): yan, yuan, hun, hun, zun押平声韵，韵脚为「妍」（下平一先）、「园」「昏」「魂」「尊」（上平十三元），首句借邻韵，或依词韵视为元寒删先通押。

Tone pattern Standard regulated verse with parallel couplets in the middle sections; begins with scene, ends with commentary; well-structured.七律常格，平仄严整；中间两联「疏影—暗香」「霜禽—粉蝶」对仗工巧，前两联写景、后两联言志，章法由物及人。

Reading note The second couplet is considered the ultimate depiction of plum blossoms, praised by Ouyang Xiu as 'never matched by previous poems on plum blossoms.'从格律看，此诗为标准的七言律诗，八句四联，中间两联对仗。首联「众芳摇落独暄妍，占尽风情向小园」以流水之势直起，总写梅花；颔联「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」以工对写形神，是千古名联；颈联「霜禽欲下先偷眼，粉蝶如知合断魂」以侧笔烘托；尾联「幸有微吟可相狎，不须檀板共金尊」以议论收束，由咏物转入言志。全诗对仗之妙尤在颔联：「疏影」对「暗香」是偏正相对，「横斜」对「浮动」是状物相对，「水清浅」对「月黄昏」是环境相对，工整而不板滞，音节清朗，正与梅花清空绝俗的格调相配。此诗以景起、以议结，章法圆融，是宋代七律中以咏物言志见长的典范，其声律之美与意境之清相得益彰。

Line by line

众芳摇落独暄妍，占尽风情向小园。

After all flowers fade, only the plum blossoms bloom brightly, monopolizing the charm of the small garden. The character 'du' (alone) highlights its uniqueness and suggests the hermit's solitary purity.

百花凋零之后唯有梅花明媚盛开，在小园中占尽风情。

When all flowers fall, alone the plum blooms bright; it has taken over all the little garden's grace.

首联以众芳反衬梅花，一个「独」字立起全篇之骨。「众芳摇落」写百花凋零——秋天过后，万木萧疏，群芳摇落殆尽，这正是梅花开放的环境；「独暄妍」写梅花独自明媚盛开，「暄妍」二字写其鲜明妍丽，与「摇落」的众芳形成强烈的对照，梅花之孤标傲世、卓然不群于此立见。第二句「占尽风情向小园」更进一层：不只开放，还要占尽小园的全部风情——「占尽」写其独占，「向小园」写其自得，仿佛这小小的山园，尽为梅花的风姿所笼罩。两句一写外部环境的严酷（众芳摇落），一写梅花自身的自信（占尽风情），梅之高洁、梅之傲岸，以及暗含其中的隐士人格，于此已呼之欲出。

The opening couplet setting off the plum through the hundred-flowers' falling, the one word alone establishing the whole piece's bone. When all flowers fall writes the hundred flowers' withering — after the autumn, the myriad trees' bleakness, the fragrant flowers' falling to the last, precisely the plum's opening environment; alone-the-bright-blooming writes the plum's alone bright blooming, the bright-and-fair two words writing the vivid beauty, forming the sharp contrast with the falling hundred flowers, the plum's lone high mark and the outstanding-from-the-crowd here at once seen. The second line it-has-taken-over-all-the-little-garden's-grace one layer further: not only blooming, but taking over the little garden's all charm — the taken-over writing the exclusive, the toward-the-little-garden writing the self-content, as if this small mountain garden wholly enveloped by the plum's bearing. Two lines, one the outer environment's harshness (the hundred flowers' falling), one the plum's own confidence (taking-all-the-grace), the plum's loftiness, the plum's pride, and the hidden recluse personality, here already at hand.

疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏。

Sparse shadows slant across the clear shallow water; faint fragrance floats in the twilight moonlight. This couplet is praised as the ultimate depiction: 'sparse' captures form, 'faint' captures scent, without mentioning 'plum' yet fully conveying its spirit.

稀疏的枝影横斜在清浅的水面上，清幽的香气在黄昏月色下浮动。

Sparse shadows slant across the clear shallow water; faint fragrance drifts in the moonlit dusk.

此联是咏梅千古绝唱，写尽梅之形神。上句写形：「疏影横斜」写梅枝之态——枝条清瘦稀疏，横逸斜出，绝无繁密之态；「水清浅」写梅影之所映——清澈浅淡的水面，正宜映出疏影的玲珑剔透。梅枝横斜之姿与清浅之水相映，疏影倒映水中，虚实相生，清空如画。下句写神：「暗香浮动」写梅香之质——香不浓烈而幽微，若有若无，随风浮动；「月黄昏」写梅香之所托——黄昏月色朦胧，正宜暗香之氤氲。「疏」「暗」二字炼形炼神：疏写枝之清瘦，暗写香之幽微，皆取神遗貌。水之清浅、月之黄昏，皆为疏影暗香设置了最恰当的背景，静动相生、色香互映，无一「梅」字而梅魂毕现，故千年传诵不衰。

This couplet is the plum-ode's through-the-ages swan song, exhausting the plum's form and spirit. The upper line writes form: sparse shadows slant writes the plum branch's pose — the boughs thin and sparse, slanting and outreaching, no dense state; the clear shallow water writes the plum shadow's reflecting place — the clear shallow water surface, precisely fitting the sparse shadow's crystal clarity. The plum branch's slanting pose and the clear shallow water set together, the sparse shadow's reflection in the water, the void-and-real mutually born, the clear and void like a picture. The lower line writes spirit: faint fragrance drifts writes the plum fragrance's quality — the fragrance not dense and yet faint, the as-if-there-and-yet-not, drifting with the wind; the moonlit dusk writes the plum fragrance's lodging place — the dusk moonlight's dimness, precisely the faint fragrance's fog. The sparse and faint two words craft the form and spirit: the sparse writing the bough's thinness, the faint writing the fragrance's subtlety, both taking the spirit and leaving the look. The water's clearness, the moon's dusk, all setting the sparse-shadow-faint-fragrance's most fitting background, the still-and-motion mutually born, the color-and-fragrance's mutual reflection, not one plum character and yet the plum soul fully present, hence the thousand years' recital.

霜禽欲下先偷眼，粉蝶如知合断魂。

Frost birds want to land but first steal a glance; butterflies, if they knew, would be broken-hearted. This uses birds and butterflies to indirectly highlight the plum's allure, avoiding direct description.

霜中的飞鸟想落下先偷眼相望，粉蝶若知此景定会销魂。

The frost bird, about to alight, steals a glance first; the pink butterfly, could it know, would lose its soul.

颈联以侧笔烘托，不正面写梅而梅之动人自见。「霜禽欲下先偷眼」写霜天的飞鸟想落在梅枝上，却先偷偷地看上一眼——「偷眼」二字极妙，写鸟之爱梅而不敢唐突，欲下又止、先窥其色，鸟的迟疑正衬出梅的圣洁动人，不敢轻易亵渎。这是实写。「粉蝶如知合断魂」写粉蝶若知道有如此梅花，定会销魂——「如知」二字纯是虚写：此时是寒冬，粉蝶本不存在，诗人却设想它若知此景当会魂销，以虚拟之笔写梅之魅力，空灵之至。一实一虚，一鸟一蝶，皆从旁侧着笔，避开正面直赋，梅之绝俗超尘、令人倾慕，尽在禽蝶的艳羡之中烘托而出，正是咏物诗「不着一字，尽得风流」的写法。

The neck couplet in the side brush's setting off, not directly writing the plum and the plum's moving power self-seen. The frost bird, about to alight, steals a glance first writes the frost-day bird's wanting to alight on the plum bough, and yet first the furtive glance — the furtive-glance two words the most wondrous, writing the bird's plum-love and the un-daring-to-be-rude, the about-to-alight-and-yet-stop and the first peeping, the bird's hesitation precisely setting off the plum's sacred moving power, the un-daring-to-profane. This the real writing. The pink butterfly, could it know, would lose its soul writes the pink butterfly's if-knowing-such-a-plum and yet the soul-lost — the if-knowing two words purely the void writing: this time the deep winter, the pink butterfly by nature nonexistent, and the poet imagining its if-knowing-this-scene-and-yet-the-soul-lost, using the virtual brush for the plum's charm, the ethereality the extreme. One real one void, one bird one butterfly, all from the side writing, avoiding the direct ode, the plum's otherworldly-out-of-the-dust and the making-admire, all set off within the birds-and-butterflies' envy, precisely the thing-ode poem's not-one-word-and-yet-all-the-grace writing.

幸有微吟可相狎，不须檀板共金尊。

Fortunately, I can whisper verses to be intimate with the plum, no need for ivory clappers and golden cups. The final couplet expresses the poet's contentment with quiet companionship, rejecting worldly entertainment.

幸而有低声吟咏可与梅花亲近，不必借助檀板金杯来凑热闹。

Happily, a low chant can keep me company; no need for sandalwood clappers and golden cups.

尾联由物及人，以人梅相得收束全诗，点明托物言志之旨。「幸有微吟可相狎」写诗人与梅的亲近方式——不是折枝赏玩，不是宴饮喧哗，而是「微吟」，即低声吟咏：以诗心会梅心，以清吟与梅语，这才配得上梅花的高洁，故曰「幸有」——庆幸自己还能以微吟与梅相亲。「不须檀板共金尊」反衬一笔：不需要歌板金杯的歌舞宴饮来凑热闹——那种世俗的热闹，与梅的孤高、与隐者的清寂本不相干。两句一正一反，把梅之人格化与人之梅格化合而为一：梅之清高即人之清高，人之疏离世俗即梅之不屑繁华。林逋「梅妻鹤子」的孤高情怀于此尽现，咏物言志，浑然无迹，是全诗主旨的最终点明。

The tail couplet from the thing to the man, closing the poem in the man-and-plum's meeting, naming the thing-odes-will theme. Happily, a low chant can keep me company writes the poet-and-plum's way of closeness — not the branch-breaking admiration, not the feast's bustle, but the low chant, i.e. the quiet reciting: meeting the plum heart with the poetic heart, speaking with the plum through the clear chant, this alone worthy of the plum's loftiness, hence the happily — the gratitude of still being able to draw near the plum through the low chant. No need for sandalwood clappers and golden cups the side-setting stroke: no need for the song-board-and-gold-cup song-and-dance feast's bustle — that worldly bustle, with the plum's loftiness and the recluse's quietude by nature unrelated. Two lines, one positive one reverse, fusing the plum's personification and the man's plum-grade into one: the plum's lofty i.e. the man's lofty, the man's worldly aloofness i.e. the plum's disdain for splendor. Lin Bu's plum-wife-and-crane-son lone loftiness here fully present, the thing-ode-and-will, fused without trace, the poem's theme's final naming.

Study

Word focus

疏 / 暗 Sparse / Faint — In the second couplet, 'sparse' describes the branches' lean shape, 'faint' the subtle fragrance, perfectly capturing the plum's form and essence. 「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」中「疏」「暗」二字，是此联乃至全诗炼字的核心，写尽梅之形神。「疏」写枝之清瘦：梅枝本就不以繁密取胜，而以横斜疏朗为美，「疏」字既写枝条之稀、之瘦，又暗含一种清峻的品格——不枝不蔓，独立不倚，正是隐士风骨的写照。「暗」写香之幽微：梅香不同于牡丹之浓、桂花之烈，而是若有若无、暗里浮动，「暗」字化实为虚，把香写得含蓄蕴藉，如月下幽人，不事张扬而气韵自远。二字皆取神遗貌，避实就虚：不写梅之颜色，而写影之疏、香之暗，梅的格调便从这「疏」「暗」之间透出。后代评家极赏此二字，正因它以最少的笔墨写尽梅花清空绝俗的神韵，是炼字的至高境界。

独 Alone — In the first line, 'du' contrasts the plum with fading flowers, highlighting its solitary pride and the poet's own character. 「众芳摇落独暄妍」之「独」字，是全篇诗眼，托物言志的枢纽。「独」写梅花与众芳的关系：百花摇落，唯有梅花独自盛开——这个「独」字有双重意蕴。其一写时间之独：梅花开于岁寒之际，众芳已尽而梅独放，是时序上的特立独行，故有「独占风情」之说；其二写品格之独：梅花不与百花争春，不屑随俗俯仰，只在众芳摇落之时卓然开放，是品格上的孤标傲世。正因「独」，梅之「暄妍」才格外动人——不是群芳竞艳中的一枝，而是万木萧疏中的唯一。而林逋以隐士之身咏此「独」梅，正是自写其「独」：隐居孤山、不仕不娶、梅妻鹤子，何尝不是众芳摇落中的一枝独放？梅之独即人之独，一字而咏物言志双关，堪称诗眼。

偷眼 Steal a glance — In the third couplet, this personification of the bird's fondness for the plum vividly suggests the plum's enchanting beauty without direct description. 「霜禽欲下先偷眼」之「偷眼」，以拟人写禽鸟爱梅之态，生动空灵，是侧面烘托的妙笔。「偷眼」本写人暗中窥看、不敢正视的情态，移以写鸟，便赋予霜禽以人的心理：它想落在梅枝上，却又迟疑，先偷偷地望上一眼——这一「偷」字，写尽鸟对梅的艳羡与敬畏：既被梅之美吸引，急欲亲近，又觉得如此高洁之物不可唐突，故只敢偷窥。欲下先偷眼，动作的迟疑正是心理的倾慕，梅之超凡绝俗、令人神往，全在这偷偷的一眼中烘托而出。若直写「霜禽欲下」，则无此情致；一「偷眼」，「以物观物」的移情手法便活了，禽鸟之痴态、梅品之清高，俱在二字之间，是咏物诗侧面烘托的典范用例。

不须 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「不须檀板共金尊」之「不须」，是点明隐逸旨趣的关键字，语轻而意重。「不须」即用不着、不需要：赏梅不需要歌板的伴奏，不需要金杯的助兴，不需要世俗宴饮的那套热闹。二字一出，把世俗的繁华享受轻轻推开——不是不能，而是不屑、不必，梅之高洁本不需以声色犬马相衬，隐者之清雅本不以富贵荣华为荣。「不须」与上句「幸有」对举：幸有微吟可相狎——有清吟便足矣；不须檀板共金尊——无俗乐亦无憾。一取一舍之间，隐士的取舍分明：所取者，诗心、清吟、与梅的默然相得；所舍者，歌板、金杯、世俗的热闹。二字轻轻带过，而「梅妻鹤子」的孤高情怀、不慕荣利的隐逸人格，尽在其中，是以轻御重、举重若轻的典型。