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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

大林寺桃花

Peach Blossoms at Daling Temple

白居易

Bai Juyi

写景Landscape 哲理Philosophy 早春Early Spring

人间四月芳菲尽，山寺桃花始盛开。
长恨春归无觅处，不知转入此中来。

Within the world in April flowers fade away;
In the mountain temple peach blossoms just hold sway.
I often grieve that spring has gone without a trace;
How could I know it's come into this very place?

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Meaning

In the lowland world, by April all flowers have withered; but in this high mountain temple, peach blossoms are just bursting into bloom. The poet often laments that spring has gone and cannot be found, unaware that it has quietly moved into these deep mountains. Encountering late spring during his exile, he is filled with surprise and delight.

在平地上的人间，四月里百花早已凋谢殆尽；而这高山古寺之中，桃花才刚刚绽放盛开。我常常遗憾春天归去后无处寻觅，却不知它竟悄悄地转移到了这深山之中。

Appreciation

The first two lines contrast the human world with the mountain temple: flowers have faded in the lowlands, but peach blossoms are just opening in the mountains. The last two lines move from scene to sentiment: the poet laments spring's departure, only to find it hidden in the temple. Techniques include contrast and personification, turning the abstract season into something vivid. The poem expresses love for spring and a cheerful embrace of exile, with an underlying philosophy of unexpected hope.

【白话串讲】 “人间四月芳菲尽，山寺桃花始盛开”——白居易在山上发现春天还没走，桃花正开。他高兴得像找到了失而复得的春天——“长恨春归无觅处，不知转入此中来”。【意象与手法】全诗以反差立骨：人间芳菲尽与山寺始盛开形成强烈对比，一尽一始、一衰一荣，突出地势造成的物候差异，未著议论而理趣自生。后两句将春拟人化，仿佛春有意躲藏转移，化静为动，构思新颖。由叙事写景自然过渡到抒情悟理，欲扬先抑、顿挫生姿，浅白中见奇趣，体现白诗意到笔随之妙。【情感与主旨】此诗作于唐宪宗元和十二年（817）四月，白居易任江州司马期间，于贬谪闲游中偶遇高山晚春，由惜春之憾转而为见春之喜，既见其乐观旷达的胸襟，亦暗含身处逆境而不失生机、自守其志的身世之感。【名句点睛】默写易错：芳菲易误作芳非；始盛开易误作使盛开；长恨易误作常恨（长表深久，非经常）。高频考点：人间与山寺的对比手法、尽与始的炼字对照、转入此中来一句的拟人与理趣。

Background

This poem was written in the fourth month of the 12th year of Yuanhe (817 AD) during Bai Juyi's exile as Sima of Jiangzhou. He visited Daling Temple on Mount Lu with friends and saw that due to high altitude, peach blossoms were still in full bloom, as if another spring existed. Inspired by this shift, he wrote the poem, showing his open-mindedness and hinting at his personal circumstances.

此诗作于唐宪宗元和十二年（817）四月，时白居易因上疏言事、越职言事遭贬，任江州司马已历数载，远离长安政治中心，心境颇为落寞。诗人于贬所闲游庐山，与友人同登牯岭，访大林寺。大林寺地处庐山之巅，山高地深，节候绝晚，平地早已入夏，而寺中桃花方始盛开，恍如另有一番天地。诗人既惊且喜，遂作此绝句以记之。据白居易《游大林寺序》自述，当时同游者十余人，见山桃盛开、草短犹青，皆叹此地气候殊异，故有是作。诗人自元和十年（815）遭贬以来，心情抑郁，然此诗于闲游之中不露愁苦，反以旷达之笔写春光转移之趣，实为诗人排遣贬谪之情的自我宽解。诗中那移入深山、不肯随众凋零的春光，亦可视为诗人自守其志、不为时势所移的心象写照，于浅白句子里暗藏身世之感，耐人寻味。这一创作契机，既出于高山物候带给诗人的意外发现，也融入了诗人贬谪生活中以山水自娱、以理趣自遣的精神寄托。

Art

The poem is built on contrast: fading lowland flowers versus blooming mountain peach blossoms, highlighting phenological differences. The last two lines personify spring, making it seem to hide and move, turning stillness into motion. It transitions smoothly from description to reflection, revealing charm in simplicity and showcasing Bai Juyi's effortless style.

全诗以反差立骨，结构精巧，仅四句二十八字而章法完足。前两句平地与山寺对举：人间四月已是芳菲落尽，山寺桃花却始盛开，一尽一开、一衰一荣，以强烈的空间对照写出因海拔高下而产生的物候差异，未著议论而理趣自在其中。后两句由写景转入抒情悟理，将春天拟人化，仿佛春是一位有情的旅人，有意避开尘世的热闹，悄悄转入深山古寺之中；长恨春归无觅处先以遗憾之情作一顿挫，不知转入此中来又以恍然大悟之惊喜翻转全局，欲扬先抑，顿挫生姿。全诗化静为动，使抽象的季候流转具象为春的迁徙；化实为虚，使眼前桃花之景升华为对春光常在、生机不绝的哲理领悟。语言浅白如话，不事雕琢，而意蕴层出，正是白居易意到笔随、以俗为雅的本色所在。四句之间由恨转喜、由抑转扬，情感脉络清晰，章法浑成，足见诗人举重若轻的驾驭功力。

Allusions

'Fangfei' (fragrance) originates from the Chu Ci. Daling Temple on Mount Lu was built by the Jin monk Tan Shen. 'Spring's departure with no trace' draws on the tradition of cherishing spring, seen in Ouyang Xiu's poems. The idea of spring 'turning' personifies the season, a common Tang technique.

诗中芳菲一语指花草的芳香与繁茂，语出《楚辞·九歌·少司命》芳菲菲兮满堂，后世遂以芳菲代指春花，白居易用以写平地四月百花凋谢殆尽之状，既雅且切。山寺指庐山大林寺，相传为东晋高僧昙诜所建，位于庐山牯岭之上，地势高峻，为庐山三大名寺之一。桃花在古典诗词中常为春之使者，《诗经·周南·桃夭》桃之夭夭，灼灼其华已开其端，而此诗以深山桃花之晚开写春光之转移，别出新意。长恨春归无觅处化用惜春伤春的传统母题，欧阳修《蝶恋花》泪眼问花花不语，乱红飞过秋千去同写觅春不得之怅惘，然欧词终归于无奈，白诗却以转入此中来翻转之，变伤感为惊喜。转入二字将春拟作可迁徙之人，承唐人拟人写季候之风，化抽象之时间为有情之生命。全诗用典不着痕迹，典故与眼前之景、心中之情浑然一体，浅处见深，正是白诗熔铸古典、以故为新的高明之处。

Commentary

Shen Kuo of the Song Dynasty quoted this poem in 'Dream Pool Essays', noting the delayed climate in mountains causes late peach blossoms. Modern scholar Yu Biyun commented: 'From the blooming and fading of flowers, one perceives the coming and going of spring—full of philosophical interest, not merely scenic description.'

此诗历来评价甚高。宋人沈括《梦溪笔谈》引此诗并为之作注，谓山中地气偏迟，故桃花开晚，乐天游大林寺而后知之，指出此诗之妙在如实写出山地物候，是诗人亲历所得的真切感受。近人俞陛云《诗境浅说》评曰：由花之开落悟春之去来，理趣盎然，非徒写景也，点出全诗由景入理、情景理交融的品格。此诗之价值，一在观察之细，以短短四句写出常人忽略的高山物候现象；二在立意之新，将自然现象升华为春光无私、生机不灭的哲理；三在情感之真，于贬谪困顿之中仍能发现并歌咏生命之美，见出诗人超然物外的胸襟。白居易主张文章合为时而著，歌诗合为事而作，然其闲适诗亦自成一格，此诗即闲适诗中的上品。今人读之，既能领略庐山春色之美，又能体味诗人身处逆境而不失乐观的人生态度，故千百年来传诵不衰，入选多种教材，成为白居易七绝中最脍炙人口的名篇之一。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (qijue)七言绝句（七绝）

Rhyme kai, lai (level tone, Shangping Ten Huai rhyme)开、来（平声·上平十灰韵）

Tone pattern Even tone starting with first line rhymed平起首句入韵式。

Reading note Written while serving as Sima of Jiangzhou, using late-blooming mountain peach blossoms to express lingering love for spring and unexpected joy, containing philosophical interest.此诗为七言绝句，平起首句入韵式，押上平十灰韵，开、来二字为韵脚，韵脚均为平声，读来舒展悠扬，与全诗由怅惘转惊喜的轻快情调相谐。七绝体制短小，最宜于捕捉瞬间情思，诗人以二十八字写一次登山访寺的意外发现，起承转合完备：首句起于平地春尽，次句承以山寺花开，三句转出觅春不得之憾，末句合于春光转入之喜，章法谨严而流转自然。诗中尽与始、恨与喜、无觅处与此中来，前后呼应，跌宕生姿。语言上全用口语化的浅白词句，不事典故堆砌，然平仄合律、声调浏亮，诵之琅琅上口，正体现白居易老妪能解而意蕴深长的语言理想。此诗作于江州司马任上，借山地晚开的桃花抒发对春光的眷恋与意外之喜，于自然物候的描摹中寄寓理趣，是七绝中情景理交融的典范之作。

Line by line

人间四月芳菲尽

By April, all flowers have withered on the plains, implying regret for spring's passing.

平地上到了四月，百花已经凋谢殆尽。

On earth, in the fourth month, the blossoms are all gone,

起句写平地晚春之景，一个尽字总括百花凋谢之状，芳菲代指春花，尽则言其凋零得干干净净，毫无保留，为全诗铺下春去无多的怅惘底色。此句之妙在时间点选择四月，正是春末夏初、芳华将歇之际，又与下句山寺桃花始盛开形成鲜明的物候反差；人间二字看似寻常，实暗含尘世之意，为下句转入山寺、远离尘嚣埋下伏笔。诗人不直说惜春，而惜春之情已从芳菲尽三字中自然流出，起笔平实而意蕴渐生，为后文的转折蓄足气势。

The opening line writes the plainland's late-spring scene, the single word all gone summing the fading of the hundred flowers; blossoms standing for the spring flowers, all gone writing their falling clean, without reserve, laying the ground of the regret that spring is nearly over. The beauty of the line lies in the chosen time point of the fourth month, exactly the turn from late spring to early summer, the splendor about to fade, and forming a sharp phenological contrast with the next line's the mountain temple peach flowers have just begun to bloom. The two words on earth seem plain, yet secretly holding the worldly meaning, laying a ground for the next line's turning to the mountain temple, far from the dust. The poet writes not directly of pitying spring, yet the pity already flows of itself from the three words blossoms all gone, the opening plain yet the meaning growing, gathering force for the later turn.

山寺桃花始盛开

In the mountain temple, peach blossoms are just beginning to bloom; the character '始' emphasizes the delayed season, creating contrast.

高山古寺里的桃花才刚刚绽放盛开。

yet in the mountain temple the peach flowers have just begun to bloom.

此句陡转，由平地转入山寺，一个始字点出桃花开放的时间差，与上句尽字对举，一尽一始、一衰一荣，对比极为鲜明。山寺二字既点明地点，又暗含地势高峻之意，因山高地寒、气候迟暖，故桃花晚开，诗人于不经意的对举中写出山地物候的真切规律。桃花盛开本是寻常春景，然置于平地芳菲尽的背景之下，便显得格外珍贵动人，仿佛天地间独此一处仍留春光。此句以客观写景之笔托出惊喜之情，由对举而生奇趣，为后两句将春拟人、悟出春光转移之理提供了形象的依据。

This line turns abruptly, from the plainland to the mountain temple, the single word just pointing the time lag of the peach bloom, set against the last line's all gone, one all gone one just, one decay one glory, the contrast most sharp. The two words mountain temple at once point the place and secretly hold the meaning of the high and steep ground, because the mountain is high and cold and the warmth late, hence the peach flowers late; the poet, in an unstudied opposition, writes the true law of the mountain phenology. The peach flowers in full bloom are originally an ordinary spring scene, yet set against the plainland's blossoms all gone, they appear the more precious and moving, as if of all heaven and earth only this one place still keeps the spring. This line uses the objective scenery brush to bring out the surprise, the wonder born of the opposition, providing the concrete basis for the later two lines' personifying spring and discovering the principle of spring's transference.

长恨春归无觅处

I often lament that spring returns with no trace, directly expressing the melancholy of seeking spring in vain.

常常遗憾春天归去之后无处寻觅。

I have long grieved that spring has gone nowhere to be found,

此句由景入情，直抒胸臆。恨字此处意为遗憾、惋惜，而非怨恨，写出诗人对春归的无限怅惘；长字则言此恨非一时之感，而是长久以来每逢春归便生出的深长遗憾，将个人的惜春之情扩为普遍的人生况味。春归无觅处以春拟人，仿佛春天归去时有意躲藏，教人遍寻不得，化抽象的季候更替为可感的失落。此句承上启下：承上，芳菲尽而春已去，故觉归去无觅；启下，正因为无觅处，下文转入此中来的发现才格外令人惊喜。一恨一觅，为全诗蓄足情感张力，是全篇转折的关键枢纽。

This line moves from scenery to feeling, directly uttering the breast. The word long grieved here means regret and pity, not resentment, writing the poet's infinite longing at spring's going; the word long writes that this regret is not a moment's feeling, but the deep regret arising every spring through the years, expanding the personal pity for spring into the universal savor of life. Spring has gone nowhere to be found personifies spring, as if spring, on going, purposely hid, making the seeker search everywhere in vain, turning the abstract turn of seasons into a palpable loss. This line carries above and opens below: carrying above, the blossoms gone and spring departed, hence the sense that spring is gone and unfound; opening below, precisely because nowhere to be found, the later discovery of it had turned aside in here is the more surprising. One grief one search, gathering the emotional tension of the whole, the key hinge of the turn.

不知转入此中来

Little did I know that spring has turned into this place; a sudden turn, revealing joy and philosophical insight.

却不知春天竟悄悄转移到了这深山古寺之中。

not knowing it had turned aside in here.

结句峰回路转，以恍然大悟的惊喜口吻收束全篇。不知二字写诗人此前寻觅之茫然，转入此中来则点出春天并未真正归去，只是悄悄转移到了高山古寺之中；转字将春天写得如人般会迁徙躲藏，化静为动，妙趣横生。此句既回应了长恨春归无觅处的怅惘，将遗憾化为惊喜，又于浅白语句中包蕴理趣：春光并未消逝，只是换了一处所在，生机不灭，美在人间常存。全诗由恨转喜、由抑转扬，至此豁然开朗，意蕴全出，戛然而止而余味无穷，是七绝收束的典范。

The closing line turns the peak path, closing the whole in the surprised tone of sudden understanding. The two words not knowing write the poet's earlier blind searching; it had turned aside in here points that spring has not truly gone, but has quietly moved into the high mountain temple; the word turned writes spring as a man who can migrate and hide, turning stillness to motion, the wonder abundant. This line at once answers the long grief that spring has gone nowhere to be found, turning the regret into surprise, and within the plain words holds the rational charm: spring's light has not vanished, but only changed its place, the life unextinguished, beauty enduring in the world. The whole turns from grief to joy, from suppression to rise, here opening clear, the meaning all out, stopping short yet the aftertaste endless, the model of the seven-character quatrain's close.

Study

Word focus

尽 completely; emphasizes thorough withering, contrasting with 'just begin'. 尽字写平地百花凋谢之彻底，是全诗立骨的关键字之一。四月本是春末夏初，人间芳菲已了无踪影，一个尽字将百花凋零殆尽、春色毫无保留地消逝的状态写足，为下句山寺桃花始盛开的反差蓄势。此字妙在与下句始字对举：尽言旧春之终结，始言新春之方生，一尽一始，平地与山寺的物候差异立现，空间的对照转化为时间的错位，理趣油然而生。若换作落、谢等字，则只写花之凋零，缺乏尽字那种断然了结、毫无余地的意味，也便难以衬出山寺桃花迟开的珍贵。诗人炼此一字，看似寻常，实则精心，正是以最平易的字眼写出最强烈的对比，足见白诗语言锤炼的功力。

始 just; emphasizes the beginning, highlighting delay. 始字为副词，强调山寺桃花刚刚开放、方才盛开之意，与上句尽字形成一衰一荣的鲜明对照，是全诗反差手法得以成立的关键。山寺地处高寒，气候迟暖，故桃花比平地晚开月余，始字准确点出这一时间差，既写出山地物候的真实规律，又凸显诗人初见山桃盛开时的意外与惊喜。此字之妙还在于赋予全诗以动态：尽写春之终结，始写春之起始，仿佛春天在人间谢幕之后，又在山寺重新登场，为后两句将春拟人、写出春光转移之理作了形象的铺垫。一个始字，使前两句由静态的并置变为动态的承接，全诗顿生波澜，足见诗人炼字之精。

恨 regret, not hate; expresses sorrow for spring's departure. 恨字此处意为遗憾、惋惜，而非怨恨，是全诗由写景转入抒情的关键字眼。诗人于平地见芳菲尽，遂生春归之叹，长恨二字直抒胸臆，写出对春光逝去的深长怅惘；长字修饰恨字，言此恨由来已久、年年如是，将个人的惜春之情扩为普遍的人生况味，使抒情超越一时一地而具有深广的感染力。此字之妙在欲扬先抑：正因为恨春之归去、觅春而不得，下句不知转入此中来的恍然大悟才格外动人，遗憾愈深，惊喜愈烈。若将恨作怨恨解，则失之过重，与全诗旷达理趣的基调不合；解作遗憾惋惜，方见诗人惜春而不伤春、怅惘而不沉沦的乐观底色。

转 turn; personifies spring as moving, implying unexpected shift. 转字是结句的诗眼，将春天拟人化，写得如人般会迁徙、躲藏，化静为动，妙趣横生。春本是无形的季候，归去与来驻皆属自然现象，诗人却以转入此中来写春的转移，仿佛春天是一位有情的旅人，有意避开尘世的热闹，悄悄躲进深山古寺，与桃花同住。此字既回应了上句春归无觅处的怅惘，又翻出春光未逝、只是移居他处的全新境界，使全诗由遗憾陡然转为惊喜，理趣全出。转字之妙还在以小见大：一个寻常的动作，写出春之无私，人间春尽，山中犹春，生机不绝，美在人间常存，使二十八字的小诗包蕴了耐人寻味的哲理，正是白诗以俗为雅、举重若轻的体现。