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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

独坐敬亭山

Sitting Alone in Face of Mount Jingting

李白

Li Bai

山水Landscape 孤寂Loneliness

众鸟高飞尽，孤云独去闲。
相看两不厌，只有敬亭山。

Flocks of birds have flown high and away;
A lonely cloud drifts on without delay.
We gaze at each other and never tire,
Only Mount Jingting remains to admire.

Listen

Meaning

The poet describes a scene where all birds and clouds have departed, leaving him alone in the vast world. He then personifies Mount Jingting, imagining a mutual understanding and companionship with the mountain, expressing his profound loneliness and proud self-reliance.

群鸟高高飞尽，无影无踪；一片孤云也悠然独自飘去。此刻天地间仿佛只剩我与敬亭山默默相对，彼此相望永不厌倦，世间能懂我的，只有这座敬亭山了。诗人以极简笔墨写独处之境，于孤寂中见旷达，将山人格化，寄托了怀才不遇而傲然自守的襟怀。

Appreciation

The first two lines use dynamic imagery to create stillness—birds vanish and clouds drift away, leaving emptiness. The last two lines turn to personification: the mountain becomes a friend, embodying the poet's spiritual communion with nature. The poem achieves a serene and lofty realm with minimal words, typical of Li Bai's plain yet profound style.

【白话串讲】众鸟飞尽，孤云飘走，李白独自坐在敬亭山上。“相看两不厌，只有敬亭山”——他把山当成了朋友，因为人间已经没有懂他的人。【意象与手法】全诗二十字，却境界空明。前两句以“尽”“去”写万物离席、唯余孤寂，以动景衬静境【情感与主旨】此诗为唐李白之作，精要赏析详见下方深度赏析。【名句点睛】此诗为唐李白之作，精要赏析详见下方深度赏析。

Background

Mount Jingting is in Xuancheng, Anhui. Li Bai traveled extensively and lived there in his later years. This poem was written around 753 AD after he left Chang'an, frustrated and wandering. Sitting alone on the mountain, with everything gone, he found solace in the mountain, reflecting his pride and Daoist ideal of unity with nature.

敬亭山在今安徽宣城北，本名昭亭山，晋初避司马昭讳改称敬亭山，是皖南名山，南齐谢朓任宣城太守时曾登临并作《游敬亭山》诗，此后敬亭山遂成为江南山水诗的重要意象。李白一生对谢朓服膺备至，多次游历宣城，晚年尤频繁往来于此。此诗的具体作年难以确考，学界多系于天宝末至安史之乱后李白漂泊江南的晚年阶段——天宝三载（744年）李白被玄宗「赐金放还」，离开长安，此后长期漫游；安史之乱中又因入永王李璘幕府而获罪，流放夜郎，遇赦东归，晚年贫病交加，往来于宣城、当涂一带，最终病逝于当涂。此诗正写于这样一个人生阶段：诗人历经仕途的挫折、战乱的流离、政治理想的幻灭，心境由早年的豪迈转为晚年的孤寂，却又于孤寂中葆有一份傲然自守的旷达。版本方面，此诗收入《李太白集》，文字诸本一致，无重大异文。题中「独坐」二字是全诗的眼目——不是登临游览，而是独坐对山，这种姿态本身就昭示了诗人遗世独立、唯与山水为伴的晚年心境。

Art

The poem uses only twenty characters but creates a spacious and clear realm. The first two lines describe the departure of birds and cloud, setting a quiet stage. The last two lines use personification to fuse subject and object, expressing emotional identification. The language is simple but the meaning profound, showcasing Li Bai's natural and unadorned quatrain style.

此诗仅二十字，却以极简的笔墨写出了极深的孤独与极广的慰藉，是五言绝句中「以少总多」的典范。前两句「众鸟高飞尽，孤云独去闲」纯写景物，妙在以动写静：众鸟高飞，直至散尽；孤云飘去，悠然自闲。一个「尽」字写鸟之散尽，一个「闲」字写云之悠然，万物仿佛都在离诗人而去，天地间遂被淘洗得一尘不染，只剩下「空」与「静」。这两句的「动」，恰恰是为了衬托后面的「静」——鸟飞尽、云去远，世界从喧嚣归于寂灭，诗人的孤独便在这寂灭中被无限放大。后两句「相看两不厌，只有敬亭山」笔锋陡转，由写景转入写情，且用拟人手法，把敬亭山当作一个有情的伴侣：诗人和山彼此对望，怎么看都不厌倦。这里「相看」是双向的，「两不厌」是平等的，山在李白笔下不再是客观的景物，而成了唯一能理解他、陪伴他的知己。末句「只有」二字收束得极有力——天地之间，众鸟飞尽、孤云散去，能与我默默相对的，唯有这座敬亭山。全诗四句，由动入静、由景入情、由孤独入慰藉，一气流转，言有尽而意无穷，历来被视为李白五绝中格调最高的一首。

Allusions

'Lonely cloud' alludes to Tao Yuanming's poem on the solitary cloud, symbolizing a pure and aloof hermit. 'We look at each other' echoes Zhuangzi's idea of mutual resonance between self and world, similar to Wang Wei's Buddhist tranquility. Mount Jingting was famous since Xie Tiao, whom Li Bai admired, giving the poem layers of cultural memory.

此诗虽无显性用典，然「孤云」与「敬亭山」皆有深厚的文学渊源。「孤云」一象，可上溯陶渊明——陶氏《咏贫士》其一有「万族各有托，孤云独无依」之句，以孤云喻贫士之独立无依；《归去来兮辞》又有「云无心以出岫」之语，写云之悠然自在。李白「孤云独去闲」兼取二意：既写云之孤独（独去），又写云之闲适（闲），实是诗人自我人格的投射。「敬亭山」则与谢朓紧密相连，谢朓《游敬亭山》有「兹山亘百里，合沓与云齐」之句，开敬亭山入诗之先；李白「一生低首谢宣城」，其《宣州谢朓楼饯别校书叔云》「弃我去者昨日之日不可留」即作于宣城谢朓楼，此诗之敬亭山亦是对谢朓的一种精神追慕。「相看两不厌」的拟人之法，远承《诗经》「昔我往矣，杨柳依依」以物比人的传统，近承陶诗「山气日夕佳，飞鸟相与还」的物我浑融。学界歧说：一为此诗系年——或以为作于天宝年间初次游宣城时，或以为作于晚年，尚无定论；二为「众鸟」「孤云」是否有所寄托——或谓鸟、云皆喻趋附世俗之人，其散尽、去远反衬诗人与山的相守，此说可备一解，然不必坐实。

Commentary

Song poet Lu You noted that Mount Jingting became famous because of Li Bai's poem. Ming critic Hu Yinglin called it 'the most plain and extraordinary' of Li's pentasyllabic quatrains. Qing critic Liu Xizai praised its 'lonely and proud spirit' derived from Zhuangzi and Qu Yuan. The mountain is thus known as the 'Poem Mountain'.

《独坐敬亭山》是李白五绝中最受推重的一首，历代选本几乎无不收录。《唐诗三百首》五言绝句卷选此诗，使其成为妇孺皆知的启蒙名篇。沈德潜《唐诗别裁集》选入此诗，谓其「传独坐之神」。王尧衢《古唐诗合解》评此诗，称「二十字写出无限身世之感」。俞陛云《诗境浅说》谓此诗「以淡远之笔，写孤高之致」。历代评家多着眼于两点：一是「相看两不厌」的拟人手法的妙用，将山写得有情有义，人与山浑然一体；二是「只有」二字的收束力，于最平易的语言中藏最深的身世之感。在传播史上，此诗因语言极简、意境极高，成为写「孤独」与「知己」的经典文本，「相看两不厌」更成为后世形容情意相投、久处不厌的成语。现代学者对此诗的解读，多结合李白晚年的人生际遇，认为其写的不只是游山的闲情，更是政治失意后傲然自守、以山水为知己的精神写照。此诗的影响亦超越诗歌本身，敬亭山因此诗而与谢朓的旧迹叠加，成为江南著名的文化地标，后世文人登临题咏者代不乏人。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain五言绝句

Rhyme Lines 2 and 4 rhyme on 'xian' and 'shan', using the even tone (level tone) in the fifteen shan rhyme category of Pingshui rhyme; line 1 ends with a deflected tone and does not rhyme.押平水韵上平十五删韵，韵脚为「闲」「山」，首句不入韵

Tone pattern Deflected tone at the beginning, no rhyme in the first line. Language is extremely simple but the realm is profound; no parallelism yet highly elevated.仄起仄收式五绝，首句「众鸟高飞尽」仄仄平平仄，全诗平仄合律，声调流转自然。

Reading note This poem describes the poet's spiritual dialogue while alone, treating the mountain as a friend, reflecting Li Bai's proud and broad-minded character. The phrase 'two never tire' is always praised.此诗为五言绝句正格，仄起仄收式。用韵上，韵脚「闲」「山」同属上平十五删韵，删韵开口而带悠远之致，与「独坐」「相看」的闲远意境声情相合。首句「尽」为仄声，不入韵，故全诗仅二、四句押韵，是五绝首句不入韵的常格。平仄方面，全诗四句严格合律：首句「众鸟高飞尽」为仄仄平平仄，次句「孤云独去闲」为平平仄仄平，三句「相看两不厌」为平平仄仄仄，末句「只有敬亭山」为仄仄仄平平，除第三句三仄尾属五绝常见变格外，余皆工稳。这种严整的格律，与内容的空灵悠远形成奇妙的平衡——形式上的收敛，反衬出意境的旷达，正所谓「于规矩中见自在」。李白五绝素以自然天成著称，此诗声律之工，与其「清水出芙蓉」的风格并不矛盾，反见其「从心所欲不逾矩」的本领。读此诗，韵脚的删韵余音绵长，恰似诗人与山的无言相望，声尽而意不尽。

Line by line

众鸟高飞尽

Flocks of birds fly high and vanish, leaving no trace of life or movement.

群鸟高高飞尽，无影无踪

All the birds have flown high and gone.

「众鸟」是群鸟，是喧闹的、扰攘的生命；「高飞」是鸟的本性；「尽」字则是关键——群鸟越飞越高，越飞越远，直至消失于天际，无影无踪。这一个「尽」字，写的不只是鸟的离去，更是整个世界的退场。李白不写「鸟飞」，而写「高飞尽」，三个字层层递进，把从有到无、从喧闹到寂静的过程浓缩其中。群鸟散尽之后，天地为之空阔，也为下文的「孤云」和「敬亭山」腾出了空间。此句以「众」与「尽」相对，愈显其后之「独」——鸟越众，散尽后的孤寂便越深。

'All the birds' is the flock, the noisy, bustling life; 'flown high' the birds' nature; the word 'gone' is the key — the flock flies higher, farther, until it vanishes into the sky without trace. This 'gone' writes not only the birds' departure, but the exit of the whole world. Li Bai does not write 'birds fly', but 'flown high and gone', three words layered, compressing the process from being to nothing, from clamor to silence. After the flock has dispersed, heaven and earth are emptied, making room for the 'lone cloud' and 'Jingting Mountain' below. The pair of 'all' and 'gone' sets off the 'alone' to come: the more the birds, the deeper the solitude after they scatter.

孤云独去闲

A lonely cloud drifts away leisurely, free and unhurried, emphasizing the emptiness.

一片孤云也悠然独自飘去

One lone cloud drifts off, at ease.

「孤云」承接上句的孤寂，鸟已飞尽，此刻天边只剩下一片孤云。但李白用「独去闲」三字，写出了这片云的情态——它不慌不忙、悠然自得地独自飘去，仿佛对这纷扰的人世毫无留恋。「闲」字是此句的诗眼，它既状云之舒缓从容，又透出诗人的心境：世人都离我而去，我却并不戚戚，反而如这孤云一般悠闲自适。此句上承「众鸟高飞尽」的寂灭，下启「相看两不厌」的相守，是一片孤云、也是一个孤人的自我写照，孤独之中见出几分洒脱与傲岸。

'One lone cloud' follows the solitude above: the birds gone, now only a single cloud at the edge of the sky. Yet Li Bai uses 'drifts off, at ease' to draw its bearing — unhurried, self-possessed, drifting away alone, as if with no longing for this busy human world. The word 'at ease' is the line's eye: it describes the cloud's leisure and breathes the poet's mood — all the world has left me, yet I am not grieved, but as free and content as this lone cloud. Above it carries the dead stillness after the birds vanish, below it opens 'we gaze at each other, never weary'; it is the self-portrait of a lone cloud and a lone man, within solitude showing a certain freedom and pride.

相看两不厌

We look at each other and never grow tired—personifying the mountain as a kindred spirit.

此刻天地间仿佛只剩我与敬亭山默默相对，彼此相望永不厌倦

We gaze at each other, never weary.

此句是全诗最精彩的一笔，妙在拟人与双向。「相看」是彼此对望，不是人看山，而是人与山互看；「两不厌」是双方都不觉得厌倦，把敬亭山写成了一个有情感、有生命的伴侣。在众鸟飞尽、孤云散去的寂寥天地间，诗人与山相对而坐，彼此凝视，怎么看都看不厌。这种「两不厌」，暗含的是一种深沉的知己之感——人间的知己难求，反不如一座沉默的山，能与我无言相守、久处不厌。李白把「孤独」写成了「相守」，把「寂寞」写成了「慰藉」，这一翻转，正是此诗高出一般写孤独之作的地方。

This is the poem's finest stroke, the art of personification and the two-way gaze. 'We gaze' is mutual looking — not the man looking at the mountain, but man and mountain gazing at each other; 'never weary' means neither is tired of the other, making Jingting Mountain a companion with feeling and life. In the silent world after the birds have vanished and the cloud has gone, the poet sits facing the mountain, gazing, never tired of it. This 'never weary' implies a deep sense of kindred spirits: true friends are hard to find among men, yet a silent mountain can keep wordless company and never tire. Li Bai turns 'solitude' into 'companionship', 'loneliness' into 'solace'; this reversal is where the poem rises above the usual writing of solitude.

只有敬亭山

Only Mount Jingting remains, suggesting that only this mountain truly understands and accompanies me.

世间能懂我的，只有这座敬亭山了

Only Jingting Mountain.

「只有」二字收束全篇，力重千钧。它是对前三句的总结——众鸟飞尽了，孤云去远了，茫茫天地间，能与我相看两不厌的，就只剩下这座敬亭山了。「只有」既写出了孤独的极致（除山之外，一无所有），又写出了慰藉的极致（虽一无所有，尚有此山）。山的沉默、山的恒定、山的不离不弃，正与世人的趋炎附势、世事的变幻无常形成对照。诗人把一座山当作最后的知己，于孤寂中见旷达，于失意中见傲骨，这是李白晚年心境最凝练、最深沉的表达，也是全诗「独坐」主题的最终完成。

The words 'only' gather the whole poem, weighty as a thousand catties. It sums the three lines above: the birds have flown, the cloud has drifted away, and in all the vast world, the one who can gaze with him, never weary, is only Jingting Mountain. 'Only' writes the extreme of solitude (nothing but the mountain) and the extreme of solace (with nothing, still there is the mountain). The mountain's silence, constancy, and refusal to leave stand against the world's time-serving and the times' mutability. The poet takes a mountain as his last confidant, showing breadth within solitude and bone within disappointment, the most condensed and deep expression of Li Bai's old age, the final completion of the poem's theme of 'sitting alone'.

Study

Word focus

尽 Vanish completely; emphasizes the total disappearance of birds, leaving a void. 「尽」字是全诗的第一个诗眼，写群鸟高飞直至散尽的过程与结果。它不只是一个表示完结的动词，更暗含时间与空间的意味——鸟从近处飞向远处，从有到无，用了「尽」字，便写出了一段逐渐消逝的动态过程。群鸟散尽之后，天地归于空寂，为诗人「独坐」的孤独感作了铺垫。更重要的是，「尽」与下句的「独」、末句的「只有」形成逻辑上的递进：鸟之「尽」、云之「独」、山之「只有」，一步步把世界淘洗到只剩诗人与山两两相对。一个「尽」字，奠定了全诗由动入静、由繁入简、由热闹入孤寂的基本走向。

闲 Leisurely; portrays the cloud's calm departure, contrasting with the poet's inner restlessness. 「闲」字用在「孤云独去闲」，是写云、更是写人。云本无所谓闲忙，「闲」是诗人赋予云的情态——这片孤云独自飘去，从容不迫、悠然自得，仿佛超然于尘世之外。李白用「闲」字，既描摹了云飘动的舒缓之态，又投射了自己的人格理想：纵使众鸟散尽、孤云独去，我亦如这云一般悠闲自适，不为世俗所累。「闲」与「独」相配，孤独之中见出洒脱，是李白晚年「遗世独立」心境的点睛之笔。此字也暗承陶渊明「云无心以出岫」的意境，于不经意间接通了隐逸的传统。

厌 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「厌」字是全诗情感的落点。李白不说「看不厌」，而说「两不厌」，把单向的观赏翻转为双向的相守——不仅诗人看不厌山，山也看不厌诗人。「厌」本是表示倦怠、嫌弃的否定性字眼，用「不厌」加以否定，反而把情感的浓度推到极致：一个人与一座山，彼此凝视，久而不倦，这是怎样的一种相知与相守？在众鸟飞尽、孤云散去的寂寥中，「两不厌」三字成了唯一的温暖，它把孤独写成了知己之情，把「独坐」写成了「相守」。一字之差，境界全出，这正是李白炼字的功力所在。