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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

王安石·钟山即事

Impromptu Verse on Mount Zhong

王安石

Wang Anshi

山水Landscape 闲适Leisure

涧水无声绕竹流，竹西花草弄春柔。
茅檐相对坐终日，一鸟不鸣山更幽。

Stream water silently flows around bamboo,
West of bamboo, flowers and grass play with spring's softness.
Facing the thatched eaves, I sit all day long,
Not a bird sings, the mountain is more serene.

Listen

Meaning

The stream flows silently around the bamboo; west of the bamboo, flowers and grass sway gently in the spring breeze. I sit all day long under the thatched eaves; not even a bird sings, making the mountain even more serene.

山涧的水悄然无声，绕过翠竹静静流淌；竹丛西畔的花草在春风里轻柔地摇曳。在茅屋檐下终日相对闲坐，连一声鸟鸣也没有，山色更显得幽静。

Appreciation

This poem was written in Wang Anshi's later years when he retired to Jinling and built his Half-Mountain Villa at Mount Zhong. The first two lines depict the stream and flowers, using movement to highlight stillness; the last two lines describe sitting all day under the eaves, with no birdsong, emphasizing the profound silence. The word '弄' personifies the spring softness, and the line 'not a bird sings, the mountain is more serene' creatively reverses the famous line 'birds sing, the mountain is more serene' to express extreme quiet through silence. The poem is plain yet flavorful, embodying the leisurely and clear realm of the Half-Mountain style.

【白话串讲】王安石晚年退居钟山，涧水无声，花草弄春。他在茅檐下坐一整天，“一鸟不鸣山更幽”——一个退出官场的人，把安静过成了日子。【意象与手法】全诗四句皆写景而闲适自见：首句「涧水无声绕竹流」以无声写静，次句「花草弄春柔」以「弄」字拟人，写春之轻柔；后两句「茅檐相对坐终日，一鸟不鸣山更幽」由景及人，以人坐终日、鸟寂山幽收束。善用以动衬静、以无声写极静，语言省净，意境澄淡。【情感与主旨】此诗约作于宋神宗元丰年间王安石罢相退居金陵、营半山园于钟山（今南京紫金山）时期。历经变法挫折，晚年的王安石寄情山水，诗风由早年锋芒渐归平淡，此作写钟山居处的幽静闲适，折射出卸去政事重负后的澄明心境。【名句点睛】「一鸟不鸣山更幽」翻用王籍「蝉噪林逾静，鸟鸣山更幽」成句，反其意而以「不鸣」写极幽，属反用典故之法，为常考重点；「弄」字的炼字之妙亦为高频考点。

Background

This poem was written around the Yuanfeng period of Emperor Shenzong of Song, when Wang Anshi resigned as prime minister and retired to Jinling, building his Half-Mountain Garden at Mount Zhong (now Purple Mountain in Nanjing). After the setbacks of the New Policies, he turned to nature, and his poetic style shifted from sharpness to plainness. This poem depicts the peaceful solitude of his Mount Zhong dwelling, reflecting his clear and serene state of mind after shedding political burdens. It is a representative work of his later 'Half-Mountain style', known for its natural purity.

此诗约作于宋神宗元丰年间，时王安石已罢相，退居金陵（今南京），于钟山南麓营建半山园，过起半隐半居的生活。王安石一生以变法著称，熙宁年间两度拜相，推行新法，晚年变法受挫、爱子早逝，遂辞相归隐，寄情山水。钟山即今南京紫金山，山清水秀，古木参天，王安石晚年居此，写下一批描写山水闲居的诗作，世称「半山体」或「荆公体」，此诗即其中代表。历经变法挫折，晚年的王安石诗风由早年的锋芒毕露渐归平淡，然平淡中自有深致：此作写钟山居处的幽静闲适，以「涧水无声」「一鸟不鸣」等意象折射出诗人卸去政事重负后的澄明心境，表面写景，实则是其晚年生命状态的诗化呈现，是理解王安石后期思想与诗风的重要文本。又，半山园之得名，因园址在钟山与白下门之间半道之处，王安石晚年即于此度过生命最后十年，诗酒自适，与山水为伴，其《北山》《泊船瓜洲》等作皆写钟山风物，此诗正是其半山时期心境的缩影，读此诗可知荆公晚年并非一味消沉，而是于山水间寻得了精神的安顿。

Art

All four lines depict scenery while conveying leisure: the first line uses silence to describe stillness, the second line personifies the spring's softness with '弄'; the last two lines shift from scene to person, ending with the person sitting all day and the birds silent. Skillfully using motion to contrast stillness, and silence to express extreme quiet, the language is concise and the imagery clear and light, deeply reminiscent of Wang Wei's Wangchuan style.

全诗四句皆写景而闲适自见，章法极为省净。首句「涧水无声绕竹流」以无声写静，涧水本有声，诗人偏以「无声」二字着意点破，又以「绕竹流」写其曲折流转，静中有动；次句「竹西花草弄春柔」以「弄」字拟人，写花草在春风中轻柔摇曳，于静中添一丝生机，一「弄」字使全句皆活。后两句「茅檐相对坐终日，一鸟不鸣山更幽」由景及人，前句写人终日静坐、与山相对，后句以「一鸟不鸣」写极静，「山更幽」三字以递进之笔收束全篇。全诗善用以动衬静、以无声写极静，语言省净，意境澄淡，深得王维辋川山水诗之趣，又自具荆公「雅丽精绝」的特色，四句二十八字，无一赘字，是宋绝句中以少胜多的典范。尤可注意者，此诗「以静写静」的功夫：涧水无声、花草弄柔、茅檐终日、一鸟不鸣，四句皆写静，而静境层层加深，由水之静到花之柔，由坐之久之到山之更幽，动静相生、静中见活，正是「以禅心观物」的写法，与王维「行到水穷处，坐看云起时」的禅境一脉相通。

Allusions

The line 'not a bird sings, the mountain is more serene' reverses the famous line 'birds sing, the mountain is more serene' from Wang Ji's 'Entering Ruoye Creek' (Southern Dynasties), using the opposite meaning to express extreme quiet through silence, a technique of 'inverting allusions'. The word '弄' in 'flowers and grass play with spring's softness' continues the tradition of using '弄' to depict lively states, seen in Xie Tiao's works. This shows Wang Anshi's skill in creating new meanings from old sources.

「一鸟不鸣山更幽」一句，翻用南朝王籍《入若耶溪》「蝉噪林逾静，鸟鸣山更幽」的成句，是「反用典故」的典型。王籍以鸟鸣衬山幽，以有声写无声；王安石反其意，以「不鸣」写极幽，以为鸟不鸣则山更幽静。两说各有妙处：王籍以动衬静，愈见其静；荆公以静写静，更见其寂。此种反用，正是宋人「夺胎换骨」「点铁成金」诗法的一种，黄庭坚所谓「不易其意而造其语」是也。「弄春柔」暗承谢朓「金石弄泉流」及古来「弄」字写物态的传统，以「弄」写花草之态，亦是锤炼之笔。全诗用典仅此一处，而反用出新，正体现荆公「翻新出奇」的炼句功力，是其晚年诗风由博返约、以简驭繁的缩影。另，「茅檐」一词亦暗含隐者居所之意，杜甫「安得广厦千万间」写茅屋之愿，王安石「茅檐相对坐终日」则写茅檐之乐，一忧天下、一乐山林，皆以茅檐寄志；「终日」写坐之久，暗合庄子「坐忘」之境，人坐终日而物我两忘，正是其晚年心境的最佳注脚。

Commentary

This poem is a famous example of Wang Anshi's leisurely style in his later years. Modern critics praise the Half-Mountain style as 'elegant, exquisite, and free from vulgarity'. This poem inverts Wang Ji's line to create novelty. Qing critics said it is 'plain yet enduring', and the final line expresses extreme quiet through silence, showcasing Wang Anshi's clear state of mind and his skill in refining lines.

此诗为王安石晚年闲适诗的名篇，历代论者评价颇高。近人评「半山体」诗风「雅丽精绝，脱去流俗」，此诗正可当之：二十八字写尽钟山幽静，无一字及于政治，而闲适澄明之趣自见。清人论其诗「淡而弥永」，以为愈淡愈有味，此诗结句「一鸟不鸣山更幽」于无声处写极幽，最见荆公晚年澄澈心境与炼句之奇。论者多注意此句翻用王籍成句而反用出新，以为这是宋诗善用典故、翻新出奇精神的代表。此诗的价值，一在其以极省净的语言写出极高的意境，是宋绝句艺术的精品；二在其折射出王安石晚年卸下政事重负后的精神世界，是研究其后期思想心态的珍贵材料；三在其「反用典故」的技法，为后世论诗者提供了经典范例。另，此诗与王维《辋川绝句》并读，可见宋人写山水闲适诗对唐人的承袭与超越：王维以空寂写禅意，王安石以闲适写心境，其诗风之转，正与其人生际遇相应，是研究宋代士大夫「进退观」与「闲适诗」传统的重要材料，也是理解荆公晚年人格的窗口。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain七言绝句

Rhyme Pingshui rhymes, Lower level tone 11 You (liu, rou, you)流、柔、幽，属平水韵下平十一尤韵，首句入韵，一韵到底

Tone pattern First line rhymed, level-tone starting with first line rhymed pattern平起首句入韵式，四句三韵，音节疏淡，与闲适澄澈之境相协

Reading note Three rhymes in four lines, sparse rhythm matching the leisurely clear mood.此诗为七言绝句，首句入韵，押下平十一尤韵，韵脚「流」「柔」「幽」皆为平声悠长之音，音韵疏淡悠扬，与诗中幽静闲适的意境相谐。平仄上为平起首句入韵式，全诗平仄合律，四句三韵、音节疏朗，读来不疾不徐，正如诗人静坐钟山的从容情态。绝句体制短小，此诗二十八字而写尽山水之静与心境之闲：前两句写景，一水一竹一花草，动静相生；后两句写人，坐终日而山更幽，人景合一。章法上由外而内、由景及人，层层深入，起承转合极为精炼。全诗语言省净，无一赘字，音节与意境高度统一，是王安石晚年「半山体」诗风在格律与内容上完美结合的典范，正见其由早年经世致用的激越转为晚年澄淡闲适的审美转向。

Line by line

涧水无声绕竹流

The stream flows silently around the bamboo. 'Silent' creates a still atmosphere, entering a light and clear realm, showing the quiet charm of Mount Zhong.

山涧的水悄然无声，绕过翠竹静静流淌。

The mountain stream flows soundlessly, winding around the bamboos.

首句以「无声」写静，起笔即入澄淡之境。涧水本有潺潺之声，诗人偏以「无声」二字着意点破，是主观感受的强化——心静则闻水无声；「绕竹流」三字写水流之态，一个「绕」字写出涧水曲折盘桓、依竹而行的动态，静中有动、动而愈静。此句五字，前二字「涧水」点物，中二字「无声」写境，后三字「绕竹流」绘形，由静入动、由听入视，层次分明。以无声写静，正是王维「空山不见人」一路的写法，王安石晚年深得其中三昧，起笔即定下全诗澄淡闲静的基调，也透出诗人静观万物的澄明心境。

The opening line using the soundless for the stillness, the first stroke at once entering the clear-plain realm. The mountain-stream originally the gurgling sound, the poet's precisely using the soundless two words' deliberate breaking-through, the subjective-feeling's strengthening — the mind's still and yet the water's soundless heard; the winding-around-the-bamboos-flow three words writing the water's pose, the one rao word writing the stream's winding-and-leaning-on-the-bamboo motion, the stillness's within motion and the motion's the more still. This line's five characters, the first two characters mountain-stream's naming the thing, the middle two soundless's writing the realm, the last three winding-around-the-bamboos-flow's depicting the form, from the stillness to the motion and from the hearing to the sight, the layers' clear. Using the soundless for the stillness, precisely Wang Wei's empty-mountain-no-person school's writing, Wang Anshi's late life's deeply grasping the essence, the opening's establishing the whole poem's clear-plain-leisure tone, andreveals the poet's all-things-watched-with-quietude's clear mind.

竹西花草弄春柔

West of bamboo, flowers and grass play with spring's softness. '弄' personifies, showing the gentle movement of flowers and grass, adding slight vitality to the stillness.

竹丛西畔的花草在春风里轻柔地摇曳。

West of the bamboos, flowers and plants toy with spring's softness.

次句以「弄」字拟人，写花草在春风中轻柔摇曳的姿态。「竹西」点出方位，与首句的「竹」字相勾连，两竹相映，境愈幽深；「花草」为寻常物象，「弄春柔」三字则使全句皆活：「弄」字将花草写成有情的生命，仿佛它们在春风中自我欣赏、轻盈戏耍，写出春之温软柔媚；「柔」字既写花草枝条之柔，亦写春天气息之柔。此句于首句的幽静中添上一丝活泼的生机，动静相济，却不破坏全诗的静境，反而使静中见活、静不枯寂。一「弄」字最见炼字功力，是宋人写景诗中拟人手法的典范，也可见王安石晚年静观万物时那种物我两忘的闲适情味。

The second line using the nong word's personification, writing the flowers-and-grass's spring-wind soft swaying pose. The west-of-the-bamboos pointing out the direction, with the opening's bamboo word's linkage, the two bamboos' mirror, the realm the more secluded; the flowers-and-grass the common object, the toys-with-spring's-softness three words and yet the whole line's living: the nong word turning the flowers-and-grass into the feeling life, as if their spring-wind self-admiration and light play, writing the spring's warm-and-soft; the rou word at once writing the branches' softness and the spring air's softness. This line in the opening's stillness's adding one thread of lively vitality, the motion-and-stillness's mutual aid, and yet not breaking the whole poem's stillness, instead within the stillness seeing the living and the stillness's not-withered. The one nong word's the most seeing the character-refining craft, the Song's scene-poem's personification-method model, and seeing Wang Anshi's late-life all-things-watched-with-quietude's thing-and-self both-forgotten leisure flavor.

茅檐相对坐终日

Facing the thatched eaves, I sit all day long. Shifts from scene to person, expressing the ease of leisure life, where person and scene merge.

在茅屋檐下终日相对闲坐。

Beneath the thatched eave, I sit facing it all day.

此句由景及人，是全诗由写景转入心境的关键。「茅檐」点出居所之简朴，是诗人晚年退居生活的写照；「相对」二字最堪玩味——与谁相对？与山相对、与竹相对、与涧水花草相对，亦是与自己的内心相对；「坐终日」写静坐之久，从早到晚，无欲无求，唯与山水相对，正是「无事此静坐」的闲适境界。此句以人入景，将前两句的山水之静与人的心境之静合而为一，人景相忘，物我两冥，写出诗人罢相退居后卸下政事重负、心无挂碍的生命状态。一个「坐」字，看似平常，却是全诗由外景转向内境的枢纽，为结句「一鸟不鸣山更幽」的境界作了铺垫。

This line from the scene to the person, the whole poem's scene-to-mind turning key. The thatched-eave pointing out the dwelling's simplicity, the poet's late-life retirement portrait; the facing-it two words the most worthy of pondering — facing whom? Facing the hill, facing the bamboo, facing the stream-and-flowers, also facing one's own inner mind; the sit-all-day writing the long quiet sitting, from dawn to dusk, no desire no seeking, only with the mountains-and-waters' facing, precisely the idle-this-quiet-sitting leisure realm. This line using the person's entering the scene, turning the above two lines' mountains-and-waters stillness and the human mind's stillness into one, the person-and-scene's mutual forgetting and the thing-and-self's both-dark, writing the poet's chancellor-resignation-and-retirement's shedding the office-burden and the mind's no-hindrance life state. The one zuo word, seeming common, and yet the whole poem's outer-scene-to-inner-realm hinge, storing the ground for the closing's not-one-bird-calls-the-mountain's-the-more-secluded realm.

一鸟不鸣山更幽

Not a bird sings, the mountain is more serene. Reverses Wang Ji's line, using silence to express extreme quiet, a novel and striking conception.

连一声鸟鸣也没有，山色更显得幽静。

Not one bird calls; the mountain is the more secluded.

结句翻用王籍「蝉噪林逾静，鸟鸣山更幽」成句，反其意而以「不鸣」写极幽，是全诗的点睛之笔。王籍以鸟鸣衬山幽，以有声写无声；王安石反用其意，以为「一鸟不鸣」则「山更幽」——鸟鸣固可衬幽，而万籁俱寂、连鸟也不鸣，才是幽的极致。「更」字以递进之笔，将幽静推至顶点，也写出诗人静坐终日、凝神倾听的专注，正因为心静，方能察觉鸟之不鸣、山之更幽。此句翻案见奇，既是宋人「夺胎换骨」诗法的典范，也写出王安石晚年那种寂静澄明、与天地同息的精神境界，历来为论者所称道，是理解全诗意境的钥匙。

The closing line's reverse-using Wang Ji's cicada's-cries-the-wood's-quieter-and-bird's-call-the-mountain's-secluded established line, reversing the meaning and using the no-call for the extreme seclusion, the whole poem's telling stroke. Wang Ji using the bird's call for the mountain's seclusion, using the sound for the soundless; Wang Anshi's reverse-using the meaning, considering the not-one-bird-calls's then the mountain's-the-more-secluded — the bird's call's fittingly setting off the seclusion, and yet the ten-thousand-sounds'-silent and even the bird's not-calling, the seclusion's extreme. The geng word using the progressive brush, pushing the seclusion to the peak, and writing the poet's all-day quiet sitting's rapt listening, precisely because of the mind's still, then able to perceive the bird's not-calling and the mountain's the-more-secluded. This line's reversal's seeing the wonder, at once the Song's fetus-stealing-and-bone-swapping poem-method model, and writing Wang Anshi's late life's silence-and-clearness and heaven-and-earth's shared-breath spiritual realm, through-the-ages critics' praise, the whole poem's mood-understanding key.

Study

Word focus

弄 From '花草弄春柔' - personifies the gentle swaying of flowers and grass in the spring breeze, adding vitality and vividness. 「竹西花草弄春柔」之「弄」字，是全诗炼字之眼，拟人写花草在春风中轻柔摇曳之态。一个「弄」字，将无情的花草写成有情的生命，仿佛它们在春风中自我欣赏、轻盈戏耍，既写出春之温软柔媚，又添一丝灵动活泼，炼字鲜活，全句因之一振。此字源出谢朓「金石弄泉流」及古来以「弄」写物态的传统，王安石化用而自出新意。更妙在「弄」字与全诗的静境相谐：花草之「弄」并非喧闹，而是静中微动、动而愈静，正如「鸟鸣山更幽」之以动衬静。若换作「摇」「舞」则或嫌直露、或失之粗放，「弄」字兼含戏耍、欣赏、抚弄之意，最能写出春日花草那种娇柔自得的情态，是宋人炼字「一字活全句」的典范。

更 From '一鸟不鸣山更幽' - intensifies, showing that without any bird sound, the mountain is even more serene. Inverts the original allusion, creating novelty. 「一鸟不鸣山更幽」之「更」字，以递进之笔写极静，是结句翻案见奇的关键。王籍原句「鸟鸣山更幽」已有「更」字，以鸟鸣衬幽；王安石反用其意，以「不鸣」衬幽，而「更」字将这种幽静推至顶点：鸟鸣之时，山已见幽；鸟亦不鸣、万籁俱寂，则山幽更甚。「更」字既写幽静程度的递进，也写出诗人静坐终日、凝神倾听的专注——正因为心静如水，方能察觉鸟之不鸣、山幽之更甚。此字与「不鸣」配合，将「反用典故」的手法落到实处，翻案见奇而新警有味，正是荆公「翻新出奇」炼句功力的集中体现，也是理解此句何以成为千古名句的关键所在。