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唐 Tang · 文 Prose

陋室铭·版本二

Inscription on the Humble Chamber · Version 2

刘禹锡

Liu Yuxi

名篇famous work 托物言志expressing aspiration through objects 铭inscription 安贫乐道content in poverty, devoted to the Way

苔痕上阶绿，草色入帘青。
谈笑有鸿儒，往来无白丁。
可以调素琴，阅金经。
无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形。

Green moss creeps up the steps; the hue of grass enters the curtain, blue. Our talk and laughter are with great scholars; none who come and go are unlettered men. Here one may play the plain zither and read the golden scriptures. No strings and pipes to confuse the ear, no official documents to weary the frame.

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Meaning

The passage describes a humble dwelling: moss climbs the steps and grass tints the curtain, the company consists only of learned men, and the host plays a plain zither and reads Buddhist scriptures. Free from worldly music and official toil, the chamber is 'not humble' because of the master's virtuous spirit. It is a compact statement of contentment in poverty and devotion to the Way.

苔藓的痕迹蔓延到台阶上，一片碧绿；草色映入竹帘里，满目青翠。在这里谈笑的都是饱学之士，来来往往的没有无功名学问的平庸之人。可以弹奏素朴的琴，阅读佛家经书。没有嘈杂的音乐扰乱耳朵，没有繁忙的公文劳损身体。

Appreciation

This middle section of 'Inscription on the Humble Chamber' unfolds in three layers — scene, people, and affairs — to demonstrate that the chamber is not humble. Three antithetical couplets give it orderly beauty, while a loose sentence breaks the regularity, and double negation reveals the author's aspiration. Written during Liu Yuxi's exile, it is a self-portrait of a lofty, self-possessed character who finds sufficiency in virtue rather than circumstance.

【白话串讲】刘禹锡写《陋室铭》的核心：“苔痕上阶绿，草色入帘青”——陋室虽简陋，却绿意盎然。“谈笑有鸿儒，往来无白丁”——来往的都是有学问的人。“可以调素琴，阅金经”——“无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形”——他说“斯是陋室，惟吾德馨”——屋子简陋，品德高尚就行。【意象与手法】全段以对偶句为主体：「苔痕上阶绿，草色入帘青」写景之对，「谈笑有鸿儒，往来无白丁」写人之对，「无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形」写志之对，三组对句工整流转；「可以调素琴，阅金经」以散句穿插其间，骈散相济。由景而人、由人而志，层层递进，托物言志。【情感与主旨】刘禹锡因参与「永贞革新」失败被贬，此铭借陋室自明其志：居所虽陋，而德馨自足——无求于声色的喧嚣，无累于官场的文书，与鸿儒为友、以经书为伴，正是安贫乐道、高洁自守的人格写照。【名句点睛】常考「苔痕上阶绿，草色入帘青」的写景之妙与「无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形」的对偶之美：前者以色彩写幽静，后者以否定写超脱，皆是「陋室不陋」的具象化表达。

Background

'Inscription on the Humble Chamber' is a famous prose piece by the Tang poet Liu Yuxi (772-842). Liu Yuxi, styled Mengde, was a native of Luoyang, claiming descent from the Prince of Jing of Zhongshan; a jinshi of the ninth year of the Zhenyuan era, he passed the examination in the same year as Liu Zongyuan, and rose to Household Companion to the Crown Prince. In his youth he joined the 'Yongzhen Reform' led by Wang Shuzhen, serving as Investigating Censor; within barely a hundred days the reform was crushed by eunuchs and regional warlords, and he was exiled as Military Advisor of Langzhou, and thereafter exiled in turn to Lianzhou, Kuizhou, and Hezhou, for over twenty years wandering the southern wilds. The most widespread account of the background is: when Liu Yuxi was exiled as governor of Hezhou, the local magistrate Ce repeatedly made things difficult, forcing him to move houses, each time smaller and meaner, until the last held only one bed, one table, one chair; Liu Yuxi angrily wrote this piece and had it carved on stone to inscribe his own aspiration. Though this tale may not be wholly reliable, the plainness of 'No strings and pipes to confuse the ear, no official documents to weary the frame' indeed fits the troubled state of mind of exile. The inscription is a genre of ancient prose carved on objects for self-warning and self-encouragement, mostly brief and forceful, often in rhymed language; this piece uses the humble chamber to speak of aspiration, with 'This is a humble chamber, but my virtue makes it fragrant' as its backbone. The passage recorded here is the middle section, writing the chamber's scene, its people, its affairs — the concrete unfolding of 'virtue's fragrance,' and the core evidence for the argument 'What is there humble about it?'

《陋室铭》是唐代诗人刘禹锡（772—842）的散文名篇。刘禹锡字梦得，洛阳人，自称中山靖王之后，贞元九年进士，与柳宗元同榜，官至太子宾客，世称刘宾客。他早年参加王叔文领导的「永贞革新」，任监察御史，锐意改革弊政，仅百余日即遭宦官与藩镇势力的反扑，革新失败，被贬为朗州（今湖南常德）司马，此后又历贬连州、夔州、和州等地，二十余年间辗转南荒，直至晚年方得北归。关于《陋室铭》的写作背景，流传最广的说法是：刘禹锡贬任和州（今安徽和县）刺史时，遭当地策知县刁难，屡次强迫他搬家，居所一次比一次狭小简陋，最后一次仅容一床一桌一椅，刘禹锡愤然写下此文，请人刻于石上以自铭其志。此说虽出自后世方志笔记，未必全然可信，然铭中「无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形」的直白，确与贬谪生涯的困顿心境若合符契。铭，是古代刻于器物以自警自励的文体，多短小精悍、多用韵语；《陋室铭》借陋室以言志，以「斯是陋室，惟吾德馨」立骨，是铭体文中托物言志的典范。本段所录为铭文的中段，写陋室之景、之人、之事，是「德馨」的具体展开，也是「何陋之有」论点的核心论据。

Art

The artistic craft of this passage may be analyzed as three points: 'three layers presented together, parallel and loose blended, negation revealing aspiration.' First, the structure of three layers presented together: first the scene — using moss and grass to write the chamber's quiet elegance; next the people — using the company to write the master's virtue; then the affairs — using daily activity to write his spiritual life. Scene, people, affairs advance layer by layer, from outer to inner, making the truth 'the humble chamber is not humble' concrete and lived. Second, the language of parallel and loose blended: three antithetical couplets are neat and fluent, the skeleton of the whole; 'Here one may play the plain zither and read the golden scriptures' inserts a loose sentence, breaking the rigidity of the antithesis. The parallel lines are like brocade, the loose like flow; parallel and loose combined, it reads smoothly yet naturally. Third, the technique of negation revealing aspiration: 'No strings and pipes to confuse the ear, no official documents to weary the frame' writes the chamber's 'good' through double negation — on the surface it writes 'none,' but at the bone it writes 'having': having quiet, having freedom, having the loftiness of spirit. This 'writing having through none' technique, together with the positive thesis 'my virtue makes it fragrant,' makes the aspiration of contentment in poverty and devotion to the Way leap from the page.

此段的艺术匠心，可析为「三层并举、骈散相济、否定见志」三端。其一，三层并举的章法：先写景——「苔痕上阶绿，草色入帘青」，以苔痕草色写陋室之幽静清雅；次写人——「谈笑有鸿儒，往来无白丁」，以交往对象写主人之德；再写事——「可以调素琴，阅金经。无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形」，以日常活动写其精神生活。景、人、事层层推进，由外而内、由物而人、由人而志，把「陋室不陋」的道理具象化、生活化。其二，骈散相济的语言：三组对偶句（苔痕/草色、谈笑/往来、丝竹/案牍）工整流畅，是全文的骨架；「可以调素琴，阅金经」以散句穿插其间，打破对偶的板滞，使文气疏宕。对句如锦，散句如流，骈散结合，读来朗朗上口而不失自然。其三，否定见志的手法：「无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形」以双重否定写出陋室的「好处」——没有世俗音乐的纷扰，没有官场公文的劳顿，字面上写「无」，骨子里写「有」：有清静，有自由，有精神的高蹈。这种「以无写有」的笔法，与「惟吾德馨」的正面立论互为表里，使安贫乐道之志跃然纸上。

Allusions

The allusions and imagery of this passage are deep in the spiritual tradition of Chinese literati. First, the allusion of the 'plain zither': the plain zither is an unadorned zither; Tao Yuanming 'did not understand music, yet kept one plain zither, without strings or markers; at every gathering with wine, he would stroke it in accompaniment, saying: just know the zither's delight — why labor over the sound on the strings' — Liu Yuxi's 'Here one may play the plain zither' quietly inherits Tao Qian's delight; the zither's plainness exactly shows the mind's indifference. Second, the meaning of 'golden scriptures': the golden scriptures refer to Buddhist scriptures (written in gold dust, or the Diamond Sutra); Liu Yuxi had deep ties with Buddhism, styled himself 'the Disabled Old Man,' and in his late years 'roamed with monks' — this line shows that beyond his Confucian identity he also cultivated Buddhist teachings; though the chamber is narrow, his spiritual world reaches through both Confucianism and Buddhism. Third, the cultural stratification of 'great scholars' and 'unlettered men': 'great scholars' comes from Wang Chong's Lunheng — 'those who can think deeply and write, joining chapters, are great scholars' — meaning learned men; 'unlettered men' originally meant commoners without rank. Fourth, the imagery contrast of 'strings and pipes' and 'official documents': strings and pipes stand for worldly sensual pleasure, official documents stand for the toil of officialdom — both negated with 'no,' hinting at a detachment from the world of chasing fame and profit, in one line with the Confucian spirit of 'the gentleman plans for the Way, not for food.'

此段的用典与意象，深植于中国士人的精神传统。其一，「素琴」之典：素琴即不加装饰的琴，陶渊明「性不解音，而蓄素琴一张，弦徽不具，每朋酒之会，则抚而和之，曰：但识琴中趣，何劳弦上声」——刘禹锡「可以调素琴」暗承陶潜之趣，琴之素朴正见心之淡泊，是魏晋名士「得意忘言」精神在唐人的回响。其二，「金经」之义：金经指佛经（以金泥写经或指《金刚经》），刘禹锡与佛教渊源甚深，自号「支离叟」，晚年更「与桑门游」，此句见其于儒者身份之外兼修佛理，陋室虽窄而精神世界通达儒释，是唐代士人「外儒内佛」文化生态的写照。其三，「鸿儒」「白丁」的文化分层：「鸿儒」出王充《论衡》「能精思著文，连结篇章者为鸿儒」，指博学之士；「白丁」本指无功名之平民，此对句见出士人以学问交游、以德业自高的价值取向。其四，「丝竹」「案牍」的意象对照：丝竹（管弦乐器）指代世俗享乐之乐，案牍（官府文书）指代官场劳形之苦，一为「乱耳」，一为「劳形」，皆加「无」字以否之，暗含对追名逐利、蝇营狗苟之世的疏离，与《论语》「君子谋道不谋食」的安贫精神一脉相通。

Commentary

'Inscription on the Humble Chamber' is a model of Chinese classical prose for expressing aspiration through objects, its influence reaching literature, thought, and culture. In literature, the whole is only eighty-one characters, yet with arouse-and-backbone-and-closing structure, complete in composition, brief and forceful, a timeless masterpiece that 'achieves much with little'; its fine antithesis, elegant allusion, and wonderful blend of parallel and loose have been praised by anthologists through the ages, and with 'On the Love of the Lotus' and 'On the Horse' is counted among the three great object-expressing essays. In thought, the proposition 'the humble chamber is not humble' fuses the Confucian spirit of 'contentment in poverty and devotion to the Way' and the openness of Wei-Jin famous scholars: the chamber's meanness cannot diminish the aspiration; the fragrance of virtuous conduct suffices to triumph over circumstance — this idea has given spiritual support to countless Chinese literati in adversity. In culture, the word 'humble chamber' because of this essay became a cultural symbol of 'dwelling mean yet virtuous in fragrance'; later study names and studio titles often took 'humble chamber' or 'virtue's fragrance.' Liu Yuxi himself was known as the 'Poet Hero,' his poetic style vigorous and bright, and this essay shows the economy and elegance of his prose; poem and prose reflecting each other attest his consistent character that 'writing is as the man.'

《陋室铭》是中国古代托物言志散文的典范，其影响遍及文学、思想与文化诸层面。文学上，全文仅八十一字，却以「山不在高，有仙则名」起兴、「斯是陋室，惟吾德馨」立骨、景人三层展开、「何陋之有」反诘收束，章法完备、短小精悍，是「以少胜多」的千古名篇；其对偶之工、用典之雅、骈散之妙，为历代文选家所激赏，清代《古文观止》虽未收录，而历来入选各类古文选本与教材，与《爱莲说》《马说》并称托物言志的三大名文。思想上，「陋室不陋」的命题，把「安贫乐道」「德馨自足」的儒家精神与魏晋名士的旷达融为一体：居所之陋不足以损志，德行之馨足以胜境，这一观念为无数身处逆境的中国文人提供了精神支撑——从苏轼「一蓑烟雨任平生」到现代知识分子的清贫自守，「惟吾德馨」始终是中国士人安顿身心的重要信条。文化上，「陋室」一词因本文而成为「居陋而德馨」的文化符号，后世书房斋号多取「陋室」「德馨」之意，楷书、篆刻、书法作品中此铭更是长盛不衰的题材。刘禹锡本人亦以「诗豪」著称，其诗风雄健爽朗（《秋词》「自古逢秋悲寂寥」），本文则见其散文的凝练典雅，诗文相映，足证其「文如其人」的一贯风骨。

Prosody

Form Tang 'inscription' rhymed prose (mainly four- and five-character lines, parallel and loose intermingled, expressing aspiration through objects)唐代「铭」体韵文（骈散相间的四言、五言为主，托物言志）

Rhyme This passage is generally rhymed with a sparse rhyme scheme: 'blue' (qing), 'men' (ding), 'scriptures' (jing), 'frame' (xing) all belong to the Geng/Qing rhyme group, level tone, one rhyme running through, reading smoothly; where 'green' (lü) and 'scholars' (ru) do not rhyme, the neatness of the antithesis maintains the rhythm. The density and rise-fall of the rhyme, matched with the undulation of the parallel lines, form the inscription's rhythm of 'one couplet a pair, one rhyme a close.'本段大体押韵而韵脚疏朗：「青」「丁」「经」「形」同属庚、青韵部（青、丁、经、形），平声相押，一韵贯串，读来朗朗上口；「绿」「儒」不押韵处，以对偶的工整维持节奏。韵脚的疏密与对句的起伏相配合，形成「两句一对、一韵一收」的铭体韵律。

Tone pattern The sentence pattern is mainly five-character antithesis, as regular as a regulated verse; 'Here one may play the plain zither and read the golden scriptures' breaks the antithesis with a loose sentence, the rhythm relaxed; the final couplet uses the particle 'of' (zhi) to lift and pause, the tone gentle yet firm, moving from regular to loose, from tight to slow, the sound and feeling matching the aspiration of 'transcendence.'句式以五言对偶为主体（苔痕上阶绿，草色入帘青；谈笑有鸿儒，往来无白丁），音节整齐如律诗；「可以调素琴，阅金经」以散句破对，节奏疏宕；末联「无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形」以「之」字提顿，语气舒缓而坚决，由整入散、由紧入缓，声情与「超脱」之志相合。

Reading note The inscription genre is rooted in 'recording merit and stating intent, rhymed self-warning'; this piece strictly keeps the inscription's rhymed tradition while beautifying it with parallel-loose blending. The rhyme-words — 'blue,' 'men,' 'scriptures,' 'frame' — all belong to the level-tone Geng-Qing rhyme, one rhyme to the end, clear and long, harmonizing with the chamber's elegant quiet; 'Green moss creeps up the steps, the hue of grass enters the curtain blue' closes with the color words 'green' and 'blue,' level and oblique opposite, syllables like jade striking jade; 'Our talk and laughter are with great scholars, none who come and go are unlettered men' opposes 'have' and 'none,' level and oblique alternating, reading with rising and falling cadence; 'Here one may play the plain zither and read the golden scriptures' pauses in threes, closes in fours, breaking the antithesis's rigidity like a clear spring into a stream; 'No strings and pipes to confuse the ear, no official documents to weary the frame' lifts with 'of' and closes with 'confuse the ear' and 'weary the frame,' the tone falling from rising to lowering, with lingering resonance. The whole passage takes antithesis as warp, rhyme as weft, and loose sentences as the breath's eye — parallel and loose blended, sound and feeling both present. Reading it is like entering a chamber with moss-full steps and grass-light curtains, hearing zither and scripture-sound, without strings-and-pipes' clamor or documents' disturbance — the inscription's rhythm is the externalization of the master's mind.铭体文以「记功立言、韵语自警」为本色，《陋室铭》严守铭体的韵语传统而化以骈散之美。本段韵脚「青」「丁」「经」「形」四字，同属平声庚青韵，一韵到底，声调清亮悠长，与陋室清雅之境相谐；「苔痕上阶绿，草色入帘青」以「绿」「青」的色彩词收句，平仄相对，音节如珠玉相击；「谈笑有鸿儒，往来无白丁」以「有」「无」对举、平仄相间，读来抑扬顿挫；「可以调素琴，阅金经」三字一顿、四字一收，以散句破开对偶的板滞，如清泉入溪；「无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形」以「之」字提顿、「乱耳」「劳形」收束，语气由扬而抑，余韵袅袅。全段以对偶为经、以韵脚为纬、以散句为气眼，骈散相济、声情并茂：对句处见其整饬之美，散句处见其疏宕之气，韵脚处见其铭体之古。读之如入青苔满阶、草色盈帘的陋室，闻琴声经诵之音，无丝竹之喧、无案牍之扰——铭文的节奏，正是主人心境的外化。此铭所以传诵千古，格律之声情与志趣之超然，实相得益彰。

Line by line

苔痕上阶绿，草色入帘青。

Green moss creeps up the steps, a spreading green; the hue of grass enters the curtain, all blue. — The couplet writes the chamber's scene through color and stillness: 'creeps up' animates static moss, 'enters' makes the grass color active; together they show quiet elegance, revealing that the master's virtuous mind makes even humble scenery poetic.

苔藓的痕迹蔓延到台阶上，一片碧绿；草的颜色映入竹帘里，满目青翠。

Moss traces creep up the steps, green; grass color shines through the curtain, blue.

此联写陋室之景，以色彩写幽静，是全段写景的警句。「苔痕上阶绿」写阶前之苔——「上」字以动写静，苔痕仿佛沿阶而上、渐次蔓延，画面鲜活；「绿」字点色，青苔满阶见出人迹罕至、居处幽僻。「草色入帘青」写帘外之草——「入」字写草色透帘而入，化静为动，青翠之色仿佛主动登堂入室，与室中人相亲；「青」与「绿」对举，一阶一帘、一上一下，色彩呼应，满目清辉。两句的深意在于「以景衬人」：苔痕草色本是荒僻之景，此处却写得清雅可喜，正因主人心无俗念、德馨自足，故见苔草皆成诗境——不是室因景而雅，而是人因德而使景生辉。色彩词的运用尤见功力：全联不见一个「幽」字「静」字，而绿意青光的静谧扑面而来，是「不著一字，尽得风流」的典型笔法，也为「谈笑有鸿儒」由静转动作了铺垫。

This couplet writes the scene of the humble room, writing seclusion through color, the famous scenic line. 'Moss traces climb the steps, green' the moss before the steps — the word 'climb' writes stillness as motion, the moss seeming to creep up the steps, spreading by degrees, the picture alive; 'green' the color, the mossy steps showing the place rarely trodden, the dwelling's seclusion. 'Grass color enters the curtain, blue' the grass beyond the curtain — 'enter' writing the color threading through the curtain, stillness turned to motion, the green seeming to enter the hall of itself, friendly to the man within; 'blue' paired with 'green', one step one curtain, one up one in, the colors answering, a clear radiance everywhere. The depth is 'setting scene against person': moss and grass are the scenery of the wild and lonely, yet here written as elegant and delightful, precisely because the master's heart is free of vulgar thoughts, 'virtue fragrant' of itself, so that moss and grass become poetic ground — not the room grown elegant through scenery, but the person making the scene shine through virtue. The color words are the craft's proof: not one word 'secluded' or 'still' in the couplet, yet the quiet of green and blue breathes on the face, the typical brush of 'not writing one word, yet carrying all the charm'.

谈笑有鸿儒，往来无白丁。

In our talk and laughter are great scholars; of those who come and go, none are unlettered men. — The couplet writes the chamber's people through company: 'have' and 'none' oppose, showing that the host's lofty associates prove his own refinement — a guest proves the host.

在这里谈笑往来的都是博学之士，从来没有无功名学问的平庸之人。

Here, talking and laughing, are learned scholars; no common men come and go.

此联写陋室之人，以交往对象侧写主人之德，是全段由景入人的枢纽。「谈笑有鸿儒」写「有」——室中往来谈笑的皆是鸿儒硕学，「鸿儒」出王充《论衡》，指博学精思之士；「往来无白丁」写「无」——出入皆无白丁，「白丁」指无功名之平民。「有」「无」对举，一正一反，工整而有力，既写主人交游之雅，更见主人身份之高——谈笑皆鸿儒，则主人必非俗士，此是以宾衬主、以人显人的笔法。此联的深意有二：其一，写「陋室不陋」的核心论据——室陋而人不陋，居停皆鸿儒，则陋室亦成雅集之所，正如「山不在高，有仙则名」；其二，暗含刘禹锡的交际圈与人格定位——他与柳宗元、白居易、韩愈等皆为挚友，诗酒往还皆一时俊彦，「无白丁」的自信正是其清高自许、不随流俗的写照。对偶之工（谈笑/往来、有/无、鸿儒/白丁）、声韵之谐（儒、丁平声相对），使此联成为全文流传最广的警句之一。

This couplet writes the people of the humble room, sketching the master's virtue through the company, the pivot from scene to person. 'Talking and laughing, are learned scholars' writes 'are' — those who talk and laugh in the room are all profound scholars, 'learned scholars' from Wang Chong's Lunheng, meaning the deeply learned; 'no common men come and go' writes 'no' — no common men among the comings and goings, 'common men' the untitled. 'Are' against 'no', one positive one negative, exact and forceful, writing both the elegance of the master's company and the height of his station — if the laughter is all scholars, the master must be no vulgar man, the method of setting off the host through guests, showing the man through others. Two depths: first, the core evidence that 'the humble room is not humble' — the room humble, yet the men not; if the guests are all scholars, the humble room becomes a gathering of refinement, as 'if the mountain is not high, it is famous only for the immortals'; second, it secretly carries Liu Yuxi's circle and his self-estimate — his friends are Liu Zongyuan, Bai Juyi, Han Yu and others, the poets and wits of the age, and the confidence of 'no common men' is the portrait of his lofty, unworldly self. The couplet's craft (talking/laughing, are/no, scholars/common men), the harmony of tone (scholars and common men both level tone), made it one of the most quoted lines of the essay.

可以调素琴，阅金经。

Here one may play the plain zither and read the golden scriptures. — A loose sentence writing the chamber's affairs: the plain zither (alluding to Tao Yuanming's stringless delight) and Buddhist scriptures show the host's self-sufficient spiritual life beyond worldly noise.

闲暇的时候可以弹奏素朴无华的琴，翻阅佛家的经书，自得其乐，精神有所寄托。

One may tune the plain qin, read the gold-leaf sutras.

此句以散句写陋室之事，是全段由「人」入「志」的过渡，也是主人精神生活的直接呈现。「可以」二字带出日常的自得——陋室虽陋，而可做的事皆是雅事；「调素琴」暗用陶渊明「但识琴中趣，何劳弦上声」之典——素琴是不加华饰的琴，以素琴为伴，见其不尚浮华、只求琴中真趣；「阅金经」写读佛经——金经或指以金泥写就的经卷、或指《金刚经》，刘禹锡深于佛学，晚年与僧人交往尤密，此句见其于儒业之外兼修佛理，精神世界通达儒释。两句以「可以」领起，语气从容自得，节奏舒缓，与前后的对偶句形成骈散对比：对句如锦缎铺陈，此句如清泉流淌，文气由此疏宕。其深意在于「乐在其中」：调琴阅经，皆是自得其乐之事，无需丝竹之喧、案牍之劳，陋室之内自有天地，安贫乐道之志已跃然纸上，为下句「无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形」的否定作好了正面铺垫。

This line writes the affairs of the humble room in free prose, the transition from 'person' to 'will', the direct presentation of the master's inner life. 'One may' brings out the daily ease — humble as the room is, what can be done in it are all elegant things; 'tune the plain qin' secretly uses Tao Yuanming's allusion, 'if only one knows the qin's delight, why trouble with the strings' — the plain qin is the unadorned instrument, the plain qin as companion showing his disregard for splendor, his seeking only the qin's true delight; 'read the gold-leaf sutras' reading the Buddhist scriptures — the gold-leaf sutra, or the Diamond Sutra; Liu Yuxi was deep in Buddhism, close to monks in his later years, this line showing that beyond Confucian study he cultivated Buddhist truth, his spiritual world reaching through Confucian and Buddhist. The two lines are led by 'one may', the tone easy and self-contained, the rhythm unhurried, forming a prose-rhythm contrast with the couplets before and after: the couplets like brocade spread, this line like a clear spring flowing, the literary breath at ease. The depth is 'joy within': tuning the qin and reading the sutra are both self-delighting, no need for noisy strings or the toil of documents, the humble room holds its own world, the will to find contentment in poverty leaping from the page, preparing the positive ground for the next line's negation.

无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形。

No strings and pipes to confuse the ear, no official documents to weary the frame. — The spiritual climax: double negation writes freedom from worldly clamor and official toil, the strongest proof of 'my virtue makes it fragrant' — writing 'having' through 'none.'

没有嘈杂的管弦音乐扰乱耳朵，没有繁忙的官府文书劳累身体。

No noisy strings to disturb the ear; no official documents to tire the body.

此联是全段的精神升华，以双重否定写出陋室生活的超脱，是「惟吾德馨」的最强注脚。「无丝竹之乱耳」写听觉之清——「丝竹」指管弦乐器，代指世俗宴乐，「乱耳」言其纷扰，一个「无」字，将灯红酒绿的喧闹尽行屏除；「无案牍之劳形」写身体之逸——「案牍」指官府文书，「劳形」言其劳损，一个「无」字，把案牍劳形的官场生涯全然解脱。两句对偶精工（丝竹/案牍、乱耳/劳形），「之」字提顿，语气舒缓而坚决，读来如清风过耳。其深意有三：其一，「以无写有」——表面写「无」丝竹案牍，骨子里写「有」清静自由，字面的否定正是精神上对世俗的超越；其二，暗含身世之感——刘禹锡久历贬谪，案牍之劳形、世态之炎凉，皆所亲尝，此联正是历尽风波后的彻悟；其三，呼应「何陋之有」的结句——室之所以不陋，正因无俗事之扰，有雅趣之乐，此联是全段由景、人、事归于志的完成，也是「德馨」由内而外的自然流露。

This couplet is the spiritual elevation, writing the detachment of the humble room's life through double negation, the strongest footnote to 'only my virtue makes it fragrant'. 'No noisy strings to disturb the ear' the hearing's purity — 'strings and winds' the wind and string instruments, byword for worldly feasts, 'disturb the ear' their clamor, the one word 'no' barring out all the lamps and wine's uproar; 'no official documents to tire the body' the body's ease — 'documents' the official papers, 'tire the body' their wear, the one word 'no' releasing him entirely from the office-bound life of ledgers and fatigue. The couplet is well matched (strings and winds / documents, disturb the ear / tire the body), the word 'of' giving the pause, the tone unhurried and resolute, reading like a clear wind through the ear. Three depths: first, 'writing being through nonbeing' — on the surface writing the nonbeing of strings and documents, at heart the being of quiet freedom, the literal negation exactly the spiritual transcendence of the worldly; second, it carries the personal lot — Liu Yuxi long exiled, the fatigue of documents and the world's coldness both tasted, this couplet the clear enlightenment after the storms; third, it echoes the closing 'what is humble about it' — the room not humble precisely because no vulgar affairs disturb, only elegant delights, this couplet the completion of the movement from scene, person, affair to will, the outward natural flow of 'virtue fragrant'.

Study

Word focus

上 The character 'creeps up' (shang) in 'Green moss creeps up the steps' is the most vigorous verb in the scene-writing, animating the still through motion. Moss is static, clinging to the step-stone, yet with 'creeps up' it seems alive, spreading upward — one character gives the picture movement and a sense of time. It echoes 'enters' in the next line: 'up' from low to high, 'enters' from outer to inner, drawing moss and grass toward the dweller, hinting at the master's approachable virtue. Unlike 'fills' or 'grows,' 'creeps up' alone captures the quiet, creeping spread — a model of character-craft revealing realm. 「苔痕上阶绿」之「上」字，是全段写景最见功力的动词，以动写静、化静为动。苔痕本为静止之物，附于阶石之上，而着一「上」字，仿佛苔痕有了生命，正沿阶而上、渐次蔓延，把静态的景物写得生机盎然——不是苔生于阶，而是苔「上」于阶，一字之间，画面的动感与时间的流逝俱出。此字与下句「草色入帘青」之「入」呼应：「上」由低而高，「入」由外而内，一阶一帘，一上一下，两个动词将苔与草分别引向人的居处，仿佛满院青翠皆欲亲近主人，正暗写主人「德馨」之可亲。若作「满」「生」「侵」，则或嫌板滞、或失方向感；「上」字独得「不知不觉、悄然蔓延」之神，与刘禹锡「沉舟侧畔千帆过」的「过」字一样，是炼字见境界的范例。这一字还暗含时间的积累——苔能上阶，必主人迹罕至、居处久静，陋室之「陋」与主人之「静」，皆由一字托出。

鸿儒 'Great scholars' (hong ru) means erudite, deeply thinking great Confucians, from Wang Chong's Lunheng: 'those who can think deeply and write, joining chapters, are great scholars.' Liu Yuxi opposes it to 'unlettered men': one 'have,' one 'none,' writing the elegance of the chamber's company. The word choice is deliberate — 'great scholars' specifically means learned men, matching the reading of scriptures below, emphasizing that what the chamber values is learning and virtue, not power or wealth. The term's cultural meaning as a byword for the learned was largely fixed by this essay. 「谈笑有鸿儒」之「鸿儒」指博学精思的大儒，语出王充《论衡·超奇》：「能精思著文，连结篇章者为鸿儒。」「鸿」有大、盛之义，与「儒」连用，极言学问之深、德望之高。刘禹锡以「鸿儒」与「白丁」对举，一「有」一「无」，写尽陋室交游之雅：往来谈笑的皆是精思著文的鸿儒硕学，而绝无庸碌无知的白丁——主人的身份与品味，正由宾从之雅而自然显现。此词的选择颇见匠心：若用「名士」「贤达」，则偏于社会地位；「鸿儒」特指学问之士，正与下文「阅金经」的读书生活相应，陋室之中，所重者唯学问德业，而非权势富贵。以「鸿儒」自况其交，实亦自许其学——刘禹锡与柳宗元、韩愈、白居易诸人皆一时鸿儒，此句非虚语。后世「鸿儒」一词成为博学之士的代称，其文化意涵的定型，本文之力居多。

劳形 'Weary the frame' (lao xing) means to tire the body, a key phrase for 'transcendence.' 'Weary' means to tire; 'frame' means the body, opposed to 'spirit.' Liu Yuxi uses it for the toil of documents, subtly implying both bodily and mental exhaustion — official papers weary not just the body but bind the spirit. The phrase echoes Daoist 'the frame toils,' and with 'confuse the ear' forms a neat antithesis: one disturbs the sense, one wearies the body. The double 'none' cuts decisively, condensing weariness of official trifles and love of quiet life into eight negative characters. 「无案牍之劳形」之「劳形」义为劳累身体，是全段写「超脱」的关键词组。「劳」训劳累，《孟子》「劳其筋骨」同此；「形」指身体，与「神」相对，先秦以来「形神」并提（《庄子》「形固可使如槁木」），「劳形」即役使形体、使其疲顿。刘禹锡以「劳形」写案牍之苦，妙在以「形」代「身」，兼含形体受役、精神亦疲的双重意味——官府文书不仅耗损体力，更束缚精神，是「形劳」而「神困」；一个「无」字，将这种劳顿尽行解脱。此词的文化渊源可溯至道家「形劳神倦」之说（《庄子·天道》「形劳而不休则弊」），刘禹锡于此暗用道家语汇，写陋室生活的清闲自在，与「调素琴，阅金经」的静养相呼应。与「乱耳」对举，「乱」写感官之扰，「劳」写形体之役，一耳一身，对偶精工；「无」字双起，斩截有力，把对官场俗务的厌倦与对清静生活的珍爱，凝于八字的否定之中。