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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

寄全椒山中道士

Sent to the Daoist Priest in the Quanjiao Mountains

韦应物

Wei Yingwu

隐逸reclusion 友情friendship

今朝郡斋冷，忽念山中客。
涧底束荆薪，归来煮白石。
欲持一瓢酒，远慰风雨夕。
落叶满空山，何处寻行迹。

This morning the lodge is cold;
Suddenly I think of the guest in the hills.
He binds brushwood at the stream's foot,
Returns to boil the white stones.
I would bear a gourd of wine
To comfort him on this windy, rainy eve.
But fallen leaves fill the empty mountain—
Where to seek his trace?

Listen

Meaning

Today the official lodge is cold; suddenly I think of the guest in the mountains. He should be binding brushwood at the stream's foot, returning to boil white stones for food. I would take a gourd of wine to comfort him far off on this windy, rainy evening. But fallen leaves fill the empty mountain—where to seek his trace?

今日官舍中清冷，忽然想念山中那位道士。想他该在涧底捆扎荆柴，归来煎煮白石为粮。我想携一瓢酒，远去慰藉这风雨之夕。可落叶铺满空山，又到何处去寻他的踪迹。

Appreciation

A five-character ancient poem of quiet feeling, it moves from the cold lodge to a sudden thought of the mountain priest, then imagines his pure life of binding brushwood and boiling white stones, and would carry wine to comfort him on a windy eve. But the empty mountain is full of fallen leaves, and the friend's trace cannot be found. The poem closes on scene rather than statement, leaving the longing implicit and far. Plain in language, clear in mood, it inherits the ease of Tao Yuanming and Wang Wei.

【白话串讲】 “今朝郡斋冷，忽念山中客”——韦应物在冷清的郡斋，想起山中的道士。“欲持一瓢酒，远慰风雨夕”——他想带一瓢酒，去风雨夜安慰他。“落叶满空山，何处寻行迹”——可落叶满山，到哪里找他？【意象与手法】全诗五言八句，由实入虚：首联“郡斋冷”实景起兴，念及山中客；颔联悬想道士“束荆薪”“煮白石”的清修【情感与主旨】韦应物晚年历任滁州、江州、苏州刺史，此诗约作于滁州任上（783年后）。全椒今属安徽，县有山中道士，与韦有方外交【名句点睛】重点在“以景结情”与淡远风格。常考尾联“落叶满空山，何处寻行迹”的意境与情感效果；亦考“冷”“欲持”等词的表现力

Background

Wei Yingwu in his late years served in turn as prefect of Chuzhou, Jiangzhou, and Suzhou; this poem was likely written during his Chuzhou post (after 783). Quanjiao is in today's Anhui; the county had a Daoist priest in the mountains, with whom Wei had a lay friendship. On an autumn day the lodge was cold; the poet suddenly thought of him, would have gone to visit but could not find him, so wrote this to send his feeling—showing his love of the Way and closeness to recluses, his calm and contented mind.

《寄全椒山中道士》为唐代韦应物所作，是写怀念山中道士的诗。韦应物（737—792），字义博，京兆万年人，唐代山水田园诗人。此诗：今朝郡斋冷，忽念山中客。涧底束荆薪，归来煮白石。欲持一瓢酒，远慰风雨夕。落叶满空山，何处寻行迹。全诗写郡斋怀想山中道士，是韦应物诗的名篇。

Art

Five-character, eight lines, moving from the real to the empty: the first couplet "This morning the lodge is cold; suddenly I think of the guest in the hills" opens on the real scene, stirring the thought of the mountain guest; the second couplet imagines the priest "binding brushwood" and "boiling white stones," his pure cultivation; the third couplet "I would bear a gourd of wine" turns to the real intent to comfort; the last couplet "But fallen leaves fill the empty mountain" closes on the scene, the trace not found, clear and far. The language is plain and mild, gaining the ease of Tao Yuanming and Wang Wei.

《寄全椒山中道士》艺术上以清冷的气氛与怀想的悠远见长。全诗八句，层层写来：前四句写郡斋念客——“今朝郡斋冷，忽念山中客”写郡斋冷、念山中客，“涧底束荆薪，归来煮白石”写涧底束薪、煮白石；后四句写持酒相慰——“欲持一瓢酒，远慰风雨夕”写持酒远慰，“落叶满空山，何处寻行迹”写落叶空山、何处寻迹。全诗以清冷写怀想，正是韦应物诗冲淡的笔法。

Allusions

"Boil the white stones" uses the "Biography of Immortals" of Ge Hong and the tale of Bao Jing "boiling stones," meaning the Daoist eats the white stones to seek immortality; it also quietly uses the "White Stone Gentleman" legend, writing the recluse's plain, true cultivation. "Brushwood" echoes the Book of Songs line of tall brushwood by the river, picturing the gathering of wood in the hills. The two lines write the priest's reclusion as clear and absolute, with no immortal air yet the immortal air far of itself.

《寄全椒山中道士》用典在“煮白石”“风雨夕”。“煮白石”用葛洪《神仙传》白石先生煮白石为粮之典，写道士之清修；“风雨夕”写风雨之夕。全诗以这些典故写道士之清修、己之怀想，用典自然而冲淡自见，正是韦应物诗的笔法。

Commentary

The Song critic Liu Chenweng said "not only does it escape the trite, it is clear and absolute." Shen Deqian, in "Tang Poems Cut Anew," called it "the brush of nature's craft, needing no carving." Su Shi greatly admired this poem and wrote a matching piece; critics hold that Wei's five-character ancients are pale yet ever lasting, and this one especially gains the clear sound of hill and stream.

《寄全椒山中道士》是韦应物诗的名篇，也是唐代写怀想隐者、清冷悠远的代表作。此诗写郡斋怀想山中道士，向为论者称道。论者多赏其清冷的气氛与怀想的悠远——“今朝郡斋冷，忽念山中客”写郡斋冷而忽念山中客，清冷之极；“落叶满空山，何处寻行迹”写落叶空山、何处寻迹，更见悠远。苏轼曾叹此诗“清绝如秋空”，正是其代表——以清冷写怀想，正是韦应物诗冲淡的风格。

Prosody

Form Five-character ancient poem (five-character gu)五言古诗

Rhyme Ping-shui rhyme, entering-tone mo, xi, zhi groups mixed (guest, stones, eve, trace)《寄全椒山中道士》为五言古诗，八句，押仄声韵。此诗用韵：冷、客（陌部）、石、夕（锡部）、迹（锡部），音节清冷。

Tone pattern Ancient form, not bound to level and oblique五言古诗以音节清冷、情致冲淡见长。此诗写怀念山中道士，音节清冷而冲淡。全诗以五言贯底，声调与清冷怀想的内容相合，是韦应物诗中冲淡清冷的一路。

Reading note Wei Yingwu's five-character ancient, pale and far, clear and absolute, gaining the ease of Tao and Wang.《寄全椒山中道士》为唐代韦应物所作，是写怀念山中道士的诗。此诗以“今朝郡斋冷，忽念山中客”写郡斋清冷、忽念隐者，以“涧底束荆薪，归来煮白石”写道士清修，以“欲持一瓢酒，远慰风雨夕”写持酒远慰，以“落叶满空山，何处寻行迹”写空山寻迹。以清冷写怀想，正是韦应物诗的名篇。

Line by line

今朝郡斋冷，忽念山中客。涧底束荆薪，归来煮白石。

This morning the county lodge is chill; suddenly I think of the guest in the hills. At the ravine's bottom he ties thorn-brush for fuel, and returns to cook white stones.

今朝郡斋清冷，忽然想念山中的客人。他在涧底束荆为薪，归来煮白石为粮。

This morning the county lodge is cold, and I suddenly think of the hermit in the hills. He binds thorn-brush for fuel at the bottom of the ravine, and comes home to cook white stones.

前四句写郡斋念客，是全诗怀想的起点。“今朝郡斋冷，忽念山中客”写郡斋冷、念客——“今朝郡斋冷”写今朝郡斋清冷，“忽念山中客”写忽然想念山中的客人——郡斋冷，念山中客；“涧底束荆薪，归来煮白石”写道士之清修——“涧底束荆薪”写在涧底束荆为薪，“归来煮白石”用白石先生煮白石之典写归来煮白石为粮——涧底束薪，归来煮石。四句写郡斋念客：今朝郡斋冷、忽念山中客，涧底束荆薪、归来煮白石。以“今朝郡斋冷，忽念山中客”写郡斋清冷、忽念山中隐者，以“涧底束荆薪，归来煮白石”写其清修之况，正是韦应物诗写怀想隐者的起点——郡斋冷而念客，客煮石而清修。

The first four lines write the cold lodge and the thought of the guest, the start of the longing. 'This morning the county lodge is chill; suddenly I think of the guest in the hills' — the chill of the lodge, the sudden thought of the hermit; 'at the ravine's bottom he ties thorn-brush for fuel, and returns to cook white stones' the Taoist's austere practice — the allusion to Master White Stone, who cooked stones for food. Four lines: the cold lodge, the thought of the guest, the thorn fuel at the ravine, the cooked stones at his return. Through the chill lodge and the hermit's austere life, it is the start of Wei Yingwu's longing for the recluse.

欲持一瓢酒，远慰风雨夕。落叶满空山，何处寻行迹。

I would carry a gourd of wine, far to comfort him on this evening of wind and rain. Fallen leaves fill the empty hills — where can I find his traces?

想要持着一瓢酒，远去安慰风雨之夕的他。落叶满空山，到哪里去寻找他的行迹。

I would take a gourd of wine far to comfort him in this windy, rainy evening. Fallen leaves fill the empty hills — where can I seek his footprints?

后四句写持酒相慰而不可寻，是全诗怀想的归结。“欲持一瓢酒，远慰风雨夕”写持酒远慰——“欲持一瓢酒”写想要持着一瓢酒，“远慰风雨夕”写远去安慰风雨之夕——持一瓢酒，远慰风雨夕；“落叶满空山，何处寻行迹”写空山寻迹——“落叶满空山”写落叶满空山，“何处寻行迹”写到哪里去寻找他的行迹——落叶空山，何处寻迹。四句写持酒相慰而不可寻：欲持一瓢酒、远慰风雨夕，落叶满空山、何处寻行迹。以“欲持一瓢酒，远慰风雨夕”写其持酒相慰之愿，以“落叶满空山，何处寻行迹”写空山落叶、行迹难寻，正是韦应物诗写怀想的归结——欲慰而不可寻，情致悠远。

The last four lines write the wish to bring wine, yet the search is hopeless, the close of the longing. 'I would carry a gourd of wine, far to comfort him on this evening of wind and rain' — the wish to bear wine and comfort him; 'fallen leaves fill the empty hills — where can I find his traces?' the search through the bare hills. Four lines: the gourd of wine, the rainy evening, the leaves in the empty hills, the nowhere footprints. Through the wish and the fruitless search, it is the close of Wei Yingwu's longing — the comfort he would give, and the trace he cannot find, the feeling distant and far-reaching.

Study

Word focus

郡斋冷 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “今朝郡斋冷”之“郡斋冷”，写郡斋清冷，是全诗写清冷气氛的关键词。“郡斋”写官署之斋，“冷”写清冷——今朝郡斋清冷。这一词写郡斋之冷：不是热闹之署，而郡斋冷；不是可暖之境，而清冷之斋。以“今朝郡斋冷”写清冷气氛，正是韦应物诗写怀想之冷寂气氛的笔法。

煮白石 Writes the Daoist priest eating and refining the white stones; pale language shows the height of reclusion, the immortal air far of itself. “归来煮白石”之“煮白石”，用白石先生之典，写煮白石为粮，是全诗写道士清修的关键词。“煮白石”写以白石煮食——归来煮白石为粮。这一词写道士之清修：不是寻常之食，而煮白石；不是尘世之餐，而神仙之粮。以“涧底束荆薪，归来煮白石”写道士清修之况，正是韦应物诗写隐者之清修的笔法。

一瓢酒 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “欲持一瓢酒”之“一瓢酒”，写一瓢之酒，是全诗写相慰之意的关键词。“一瓢”写一瓢之量，“酒”写酒——想要持着一瓢酒。这一词写相慰之酒：不是盛大的酒宴，而一瓢酒；不是寻常之饮，而远慰之酒。以“欲持一瓢酒，远慰风雨夕”写持酒远慰之愿，正是韦应物诗写怀想隐者的笔法。

落叶满空山 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “落叶满空山”之“落叶满空山”，写落叶满空山，是全诗写空寂悠远的归结词。“落叶满”写落叶满地，“空山”写空旷之山——落叶满空山。这一词写空山之景：不是繁华之山，而空山；不是可寻之地，而落叶满山之幽。以“落叶满空山，何处寻行迹”写空山落叶、行迹难寻，正是韦应物诗写空寂悠远、怀想难及的归结。