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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

菊

Chrysanthemums

郑谷

Zheng Gu

王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日枝枝近鬓毛。
露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高。

Do not, young lords, liken them to the brambles and wormwood;
On the Double Ninth Day, branch after branch brushes our temples.
Dew wets their autumn fragrance all along the pool's banks;
Chrysanthemums have never envied the rooftop pine's height.
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Meaning

Zheng Gu's quatrain defends the chrysanthemum's dignity: worn in the hair at the Double Ninth festival, its branches are no vulgar weeds, and its autumn fragrance fills the riverbank. The closing line is the point: the flower never covets the rooftop pine that grows high on the tiles. The poem praises the chrysanthemum's purity and humility while quietly asserting the poet's own refusal to chase high office without substance.

王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日枝枝近鬓毛。露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Young lords, do not compare the chrysanthemum with brambles and wormwood: on the Double Ninth Day its branches are pressed into everyone's hair. Dewdrops soak its autumn fragrance along the whole bank of the pool; it has never once envied the height of the pine that grows on the rooftops. [Structure] Four lines in two movements: the first couplet establishes the flower's worth, it adorns the festival rather than the weed heap; the second couplet moves from its fragrance to its character. The turn is saved for the last line, where the rooftop pine appears and the whole poem's moral becomes visible. [Imagery] The poem opposes two kinds of height: the weed's lowness, which is vulgar, and the rooftop pine's height, which is precarious and without fragrance. The chrysanthemum stands between, low, fragrant, and unmoved. Branch after branch brushes our temples draws the flower close to human life, while dew wets the autumn fragrance fuses sight, touch, and smell into one cool, clean sensation.

【白话串讲】 郑谷写《菊》：“王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日枝枝近鬓毛”——“露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高”——他写菊——露湿秋香满池岸。 【意象与手法】 “王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日枝枝近鬓毛”写菊不比荆蒿；“露湿秋香满池岸”写秋香满池；结以“由来不羡瓦松高”以瓦松写菊不羡高位。清雅高洁。 【情感与主旨】 郑谷咏菊之作，写菊重阳簪鬓、露湿秋香满池岸与不羡瓦松高的品格，是咏菊言志的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高”写菊之高洁；“王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日枝枝近鬓毛”写菊重阳簪鬓。

Background

Zheng Gu (c. 851-910), courtesy name Shouyu, was a late-Tang poet from Yichun in Yuanzhou (present-day Jiangxi). He served in minor court posts and won fame for verses on spring and for his quickness in composition; contemporaries named him after his famous sparrow-tail verse. Written in the twilight of the Tang, when court careers grew treacherous and integrity often meant staying out of the scramble for power, this chrysanthemum quatrain became his best-known work, prized for its clean elegance.

《菊》为唐代诗人郑谷所作诗。郑谷（约851—约910），字守愚，袁州宜春（今江西宜春）人，唐代诗人。此诗写咏物言志，为咏菊之作。诗中「王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日枝枝近鬓毛」写王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日枝枝近鬓毛；「露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高」写露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高。郑谷此诗以咏物言志、由来不羡瓦松高写其言志之情，清雅高洁，是郑谷诗中的名篇。此篇《菊》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《菊》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《菊》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。

Art

The poem's art is writing character through a flower. The opening Do not liken it to brambles defends the flower's worth with a touch of sharpness, as though the poet himself resents a slight. Branch after branch brushes our temples places the flower at the Double Ninth festival, close to human life and full of warmth. Dew wets their autumn fragrance welds sight, touch, and smell into one cool line. The stroke of genius is the last line: the rooftop pine grows high on the tiles yet is rootless and scentless; the chrysanthemum, low by the pool, fills the air with fragrance and has never envied that height. Praise of the flower becomes praise of a character, content in lowliness, disdainful of high but hollow position, and the poem ends with the weight of a moral judgment.

此诗艺术上以「清雅高洁、以菊写志」见长。全诗共四句，由王孙莫把比荆蒿而九日枝枝近鬓毛而露湿秋香满池岸。起「王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日枝枝近鬓毛」写王孙莫把比荆蒿：王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日枝枝近鬓毛；「露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高」写露湿秋香满池岸：露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高。全诗以菊写志，由王孙莫把比荆蒿而由来不羡瓦松高，清雅高洁，是郑谷诗中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。

Allusions

The Double Ninth Day (jiuri) is the ninth day of the ninth month, when chrysanthemums are worn in the hair and chrysanthemum wine is drunk to ward off ill luck, a custom going back to Han times and celebrated by Tao Yuanming and many later poets. The rooftop pine (wasong) is a fleshy succulent that sprouts between roof tiles: it occupies the highest place in a house yet is rootless and worthless, a traditional foil for worthless men in high office. By having the chrysanthemum refuse to envy it, Zheng Gu turns two pieces of botanical lore into a statement of values: true worth lies in fragrance, not in altitude.

诗中「王孙莫把比荆蒿九日枝枝近鬓毛」「露湿秋香满池岸由来不羡瓦松高」等语，皆含典故故实。「王孙莫把比荆蒿九日枝枝近鬓毛」用九日之典（九月九日重阳簪菊），写王孙莫把比荆蒿九日枝枝近鬓毛；「露湿秋香满池岸由来不羡瓦松高」用瓦松之典（瓦松为生于屋瓦之草），写露湿秋香满池岸由来不羡瓦松高。诗人以九日、瓦松等典入诗，不着痕迹，而把咏物言志之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。

Commentary

This is Zheng Gu's most anthologized poem. Its surface is a small festival scene, but its force lies in the last line's refusal: it has never envied the rooftop pine's height. The rooftop pine, perched on the tiles, is the perfect emblem of the man who climbs high without roots; the chrysanthemum, dripping with dew by the pool, is the man who keeps his fragrance in a humble place. Written in the late Tang, when office was treacherous and integrity often meant staying out of the scramble, the quatrain reads as a quiet declaration of independence. Critics have long prized it for its pure elegance: twenty-eight characters that defend a flower's dignity and, in the same breath, a way of life.

这首《菊》，是郑谷写咏物言志之作，写王孙莫把比荆蒿、九日枝枝近鬓毛、由来不羡瓦松高之情，清雅高洁。起「王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日枝枝近鬓毛」——王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日（用九日之典）枝枝近鬓毛。写王孙莫把比荆蒿：王孙莫把比荆蒿、九日枝枝近鬓毛——莫把比荆蒿、枝枝近鬓毛；「露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高」——露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松（用瓦松之典）高。写露湿秋香满池岸：露湿秋香满池岸、由来不羡瓦松高——秋香满池岸、不羡瓦松高。这「露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高」，是全诗之结：以由来不羡瓦松高写其言志。全诗清雅高洁，以菊写志，正是郑谷诗中的名篇。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (qijue), four lines of seven characters, two couplets.诗（七言绝句）
Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level-tone hao category: hao, mao, gao, the first line unrhymed, then a single rhyme to the close. The broad, level sound of the rhyme suits the poem's pure, relaxed elegance.此诗为七言绝句，共四句，两句一联。押平声韵：「蒿」「毛」「高」押豪部韵。诗体依绝句而定，句式整齐，音节随情起伏，正与写咏物言志的清雅高洁相称，也见其以绝句写言志的自然。
Tone pattern The first couplet, with its abrupt do not, speaks in a tone of earnest defense; the second couplet slows into cool description (dew wets the autumn fragrance), then the final line lifts and settles on height, the rhyme word carrying the poem's moral weight. The movement is from defense, to description, to judgment, the arc of a quatrain in miniature.句式上，「王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日枝枝近鬓毛」写王孙莫把比荆蒿，音节清雅；「露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高」写露湿秋香满池岸，音节高洁。全诗音节随情起伏，由清雅而高洁，正合绝句「含蓄」之妙，读来如咏物言志、由来不羡瓦松高之音，清雅而动人。
Reading note A seven-character quatrain in Zheng Gu's pure, elegant manner. Its feature is writing character through a flower: the first couplet defends the chrysanthemum's dignity, not a weed but the flower of the Double Ninth worn in the hair; the second couplet turns from fragrance to character, ending on never envied the rooftop pine's height, so the flower's contentment in lowliness becomes the poet's own stance toward high office. Read aloud, the first couplet should sound almost argumentative, the second cool and fragrant, the last line firm and final.此诗为七言绝句，是郑谷写咏物言志之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「清雅高洁、以菊写志」：「王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日枝枝近鬓毛」写王孙莫把比荆蒿、「露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高」写露湿秋香满池岸。全诗清雅高洁，以菊写志。尤为精妙者，是「九日枝枝近鬓毛」用九日之典；而「露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高」用瓦松之典，正是郑谷诗「清雅高洁」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《菊》一诗之所以读来声情并茂，正在于诗人以声韵配合情思、以节奏烘托意境，音节之长短、平仄之起伏，皆与诗意相为表里，此亦可见中国古典诗歌声律之美与匠心之工。

Line by line

王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日枝枝近鬓毛。

Young lords, do not liken it to the brambles and wormwood; on the Double Ninth Day, branch after branch brushes our temples.

王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日枝枝近鬓毛。

You young nobles, do not compare it to bramble or weed; on the Double Ninth, spray by spray, it is worn at the temples.

首二句写王孙莫把比荆蒿，起笔即见其志。「王孙莫把比荆蒿」写王孙莫把比荆蒿，「王孙莫把」写王孙莫把、「比荆蒿」写比荆蒿；「九日枝枝近鬓毛」用九日之典写九日枝枝近鬓毛，「九日枝枝」写九日枝枝、「近鬓毛」写近鬓毛。两句一写王孙莫把比荆蒿、一写九日枝枝近鬓毛，以王孙莫把比荆蒿写莫把比荆蒿、以九日枝枝近鬓毛写枝枝近鬓毛，写尽王孙莫把比荆蒿、九日枝枝近鬓毛之情。以菊起兴，清雅而高洁，是「以菊起兴」的妙笔。

The first two lines write 'do not compare it to bramble or weed', the start of its spirit. 'You young nobles, do not compare it to bramble or weed' — warning the noble youths not to rank the chrysanthemum with worthless weeds; 'on the Double Ninth, spray by spray, it is worn at the temples' uses the festival custom of wearing chrysanthemum. Rising through the flower, pure and lofty, the start of the poem's praise.

露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高。

Dew wets its autumn fragrance all along the pool's banks; it has never envied the height of the rooftop pine.

露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高。

Dew-wet, its autumn scent fills the pool's edge; it has never envied the high rosette that grows on the roof tiles.

尾二句写露湿秋香满池岸，是全诗立意的落点。「露湿秋香满池岸」写露湿秋香满池岸，「露湿秋香」写露湿秋香、「满池岸」写满池岸；「由来不羡瓦松高」用瓦松之典写由来不羡瓦松高，「由来不羡」写由来不羡、「瓦松高」写瓦松高。两句一写露湿秋香满池岸、一写由来不羡瓦松高，以露湿秋香满池岸写秋香满池岸、以由来不羡瓦松高写不羡瓦松高，写尽露湿秋香满池岸、由来不羡瓦松高之情。以菊写志，清雅而高洁，是全诗最动人处，也是「以菊写志」的点睛之笔。

The last two lines write 'its autumn scent fills the pool's edge', the poem's landing. 'Dew-wet, its autumn scent fills the pool's edge' — the dew-wet autumn fragrance; 'it has never envied the high rosette that grows on the roof tiles' uses the allusion to the roof-tile rosette, a weed of the eaves rising high yet worthless. Through the chrysanthemum it writes the will, pure and lofty, the poem's most moving point: the flower's lowly fragrant place, and its refusal to envy the high-but-empty growth of power.

Study

Word focus

王孙 Literally descendants of princes, here a polite address to aristocratic young men, as though the poet is correcting their taste: do not class this flower with weeds. The word gives the poem its slightly argumentative opening. 「王孙」写王孙莫把比荆蒿，是写王孙之态的关键。「王孙莫把比荆蒿」着一「王孙」，写王孙——着一「王孙」，写王孙莫把比荆蒿，见其人之王孙。两字写尽王孙之态，是「以词写孙」的妙笔。「王孙」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
荆蒿 Jing (thorny bramble) and hao (wormwood), wild, useless, bitter plants. Their lowness is vulgar; comparing the chrysanthemum to them insults its dignity, which is why the poem begins by forbidding the comparison. 「荆蒿」写王孙莫把比荆蒿，是写荆蒿之态的关键。「王孙莫把比荆蒿」着一「荆蒿」，写荆蒿——着一「荆蒿」，写王孙莫把比荆蒿，见其蒿之荆。两字写尽荆蒿之态，是「以词写蒿」的点睛之词。「荆蒿」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
秋香 The chrysanthemum's autumn fragrance. Wet with dew, the scent fills the whole riverbank; the flower's true nobility, in contrast to the scentless rooftop pine, lies in this fragrance. 「秋香」写露湿秋香满池岸，是写秋香之态的关键。「露湿秋香满池岸」着一「秋香」，写秋香——着一「秋香」，写露湿秋香满池岸，见其香之秋。两字写尽秋香之态，是「以词写香」的点睛之词。「秋香」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
瓦松 The rooftop pine, a fleshy succulent sprouting between roof tiles. It occupies the highest place yet is rootless and scentless, a traditional image of men in high office without worth. The chrysanthemum never envies its height: the moral center of the poem. 「瓦松」写由来不羡瓦松高，是写瓦松之态的关键。「由来不羡瓦松高」着一「瓦松」，写瓦松——着一「瓦松」，写由来不羡瓦松高，见其松之瓦。两字写尽瓦松之态，是「以词写松」的点睛之词。「瓦松」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

山园小梅 Little Plums of the Mountain Garden 林逋 · 同写咏物言志、清雅高洁，一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、一写露湿秋香满池岸由来不羡瓦松高，皆于咏物之中见言志 Both praise an object to express the poet's character: Lin Bu's plum is sparse-shadowed and secretly fragrant; Zheng Gu's chrysanthemum is dew-washed and unwilling to envy the rooftops. Two modes of the yongwu tradition, one ethereal, one pure and firm.

Lin Bu's Little Plums of the Mountain Garden (Sparse shadows slant across the clear shallow water; hidden fragrance floats in the twilight moon) set the Song standard for writing the plum as a portrait of the recluse's purity; Zheng Gu's chrysanthemum quatrain (Dew wets their autumn fragrance, never envied the rooftop pine's height) achieves the same through contrast and refusal. One writes purity as atmosphere, the other as moral judgment; read together, they map two poles of the tradition of praising objects to express intent.

林逋《山园小梅》「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」，写梅之清雅、言志，是宋诗咏物的绝唱；郑谷《菊》则以「露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高」「王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日枝枝近鬓毛」写秋香满池岸、不羡瓦松高。两诗同写咏物言志、清雅高洁：一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、以梅写清雅，一写露湿秋香满池岸由来不羡瓦松高、以菊写高洁；一为林逋之清逸、一为郑谷之清雅，并读正可见诗写「咏物言志」的两种笔法，皆于咏物之中见言志。

 浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯 Huanxisha, A Cup of Wine for a New Song 晏殊 · 同写感怀惜时、无可奈何，一写无可奈何花落去、一写王孙莫把比荆蒿九日枝枝近鬓毛，皆于感怀之中见惜时 Both touch the passage of time: Yan Shu sighs that the flowers fall helplessly and the swallows return as if familiar; Zheng Gu meets autumn with chrysanthemums in the hair. One mourns time's passing, the other keeps autumn's dignity, two registers of melancholy and consolation.

Yan Shu's Huanxisha (Helplessly the flowers fall away; the swallows return as if we knew them) mourns time's passage with a warm, wounded grace; Zheng Gu's Chrysanthemums answers the same autumn with a flower that perfumes the bank and scorns the rooftops. Where Yan Shu yields to time, Zheng Gu stands firm within it: two ways of meeting the season, two faces of the Chinese lyric's meditation on impermanence.

晏殊《浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯》「无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来」，写感怀惜时，是宋词小令的名篇；郑谷《菊》则以「王孙莫把比荆蒿，九日枝枝近鬓毛」「露湿秋香满池岸，由来不羡瓦松高」写枝枝近鬓毛、不羡瓦松高。两诗同写感怀惜时、无可奈何：一写无可奈何花落去、以花落燕归写惜时，一写王孙莫把比荆蒿九日枝枝近鬓毛、以九日簪菊写惜时；一为晏殊之温润、一为郑谷之清雅，并读正可见诗写「感怀惜时」的两种笔法，皆于感怀之中见惜时。