All poems

唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

栾家濑

Luanjia Rapids

王维

Wang Wei

山水Landscape 禅意Zen

飒飒秋雨中，浅浅石溜泻。
跳波自相溅，白鹭惊复下。

Through the soughing autumn rain
the shallow stream races swift over the stones.
Leaping waves splash into one another;
the white egret, startled, takes flight—and settles again.

Listen

Meaning

In twenty characters Wang Wei paints an autumn shower at the Luanjia Shoal: the stream racing over stones, waves splashing, an egret startled into flight and settling back. There is no human figure and no stated feeling, yet the scene pulses with life and quiet joy, showing the poet's late-life serenity and his Zen-like way of seeing nature as self-sufficient.

飒飒的秋雨洒落，浅浅的溪水在石间流淌。奔跳的浪花互相溅射，白鹭受惊飞起，又落下。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Autumn rain soughs; a shallow stream races over the stones; leaping waves splash one another; a white egret, startled, flies up and settles again. [Imagery] Sound and sight interweave—the onomatopoeic sough of rain, the shallow flash of water, the splash and the bird's flight—so the twenty characters form a complete painting of autumn rain and stones. [Zen] No 'I' appears in the poem, yet the poet is dissolved into the scene. The splashing waves and the startled egret are nature's own activity, seen with the object's eyes rather than the poet's, which is the mark of Wang Wei's late Zen landscape art.

【白话串讲】王维写《栾家濑》：“飒飒秋雨中，浅浅石溜泻”——“跳波自相溅，白鹭惊复下”——秋雨中，溪水跳过石头溅起水花，白鹭受惊飞起又落下——他写秋雨中的小景。【意象与手法】此诗是王维《辋川集》二十首之一，写辋川别业中栾家濑（濑，湍急的浅水）的秋景，是王维山水诗中最空灵的小品之一。前两句写景：「飒飒秋雨中，浅浅石溜泻」，秋雨飒飒、溪水浅浅，一个「泻」字写溪水在石间奔流的动态，视听并作，写出秋雨中的山溪之景；后两句写物：「跳波自相溅，白鹭惊复下」，浪花跳跃相溅，白鹭受惊飞起又复落下，一个「惊」字、一个「下」字，写出白鹭的动态与溪水的生机。全诗二十字，写尽栾家濑的声色动静：雨声、水声、跳波、白鹭，有静有动、有声有色，是一幅清新灵动的山水小品。值得注意的是，诗中无人而自然自足——那跳溅的浪花、惊飞的白鹭，都是自然自身的天机活动，正是王维「以物观物」的禅意写照。【情感与主旨】此诗是王维晚年隐居蓝田辋川别业时所作，为《辋川集》组诗之一。王维中年以后，厌倦官场的倾轧，隐居辋川，与裴迪等友人在山水间优游，写下了四十首辋川诗（王维二十首、裴迪二十首），此诗即其一。栾家濑是辋川二十景之一，濑即湍急的浅水滩，诗中写秋雨中的栾家濑：溪水在石间奔流，浪花跳跃，白鹭惊飞复落。这二十字的小景，透露出王维此时的心境——那是一种与山水为友、与自然同化的闲适与超然。诗中没有一个「我」字，而王维就融在那跳波、白鹭的生机中；没有一句抒情，而闲适自得之情已在景中。这种「无我」的境界，正是王维晚年禅意诗的最高追求，也是中国山水诗「以物观物」美学的典范。全诗写秋雨山溪之景，却毫无悲秋之感，反而充满生机与趣味，可见王维隐居辋川后心境的宁静与欣悦，是其「晚年惟好静，万事不关心」生活的生动写照。【名句点睛】常考“飒飒秋雨中，浅浅石溜泻”写秋雨山溪的声色；“跳波自相溅，白鹭惊复下”写白鹭惊起飞落，空灵而富生机。

Background

The poem is one of twenty in the Wangchuan Collection, written around the Tianbao era (741-756) when Wang Wei, past fifty, had retired to his Wangchuan villa in Lantian, south of Chang'an. There he and his friend Pei Di each wrote twenty poems on twenty scenic spots of the valley. Luanjia Rapids was a shallow, stony stretch of the stream. Living the life of 'walking till the water ends, sitting to watch the clouds rise,' Wang Wei captured the subtlest moments of the landscape in the fewest strokes. Though it rains in autumn, the poem has no autumn sadness—only the delight of a mind at peace.

此诗为王维《辋川集》二十首之一，约作于唐玄宗天宝年间（741-756），时王维已年过半百，隐居蓝田辋川别业。辋川在今陕西蓝田县南，是一条南北走向的山谷，王维在此购得宋之问的别墅，依山傍水加以修葺，命名为辋川别业，与好友裴迪同游共赋，各写二十首咏辋川二十景的小诗，合为《辋川集》。栾家濑是辋川二十景之一，濑（lài）是湍急的浅水滩，栾家濑当是辋川中一段多石的水濑。此诗写秋雨中栾家濑的景象：秋雨飒飒，溪水在石间浅浅流过，奔跳的浪花互相溅射，白鹭受惊飞起又复落下。王维隐居辋川期间，过着「行到水穷处，坐看云起时」的闲适生活，其《辋川集》诸诗，皆以极简的笔触捕捉辋川山水中最微妙的瞬间，此诗正是其中「以静观动」的代表。值得注意的是，王维此诗虽写秋雨，却毫无悲秋的感伤，反而充满生机与趣味——那跳溅的浪花、惊飞复落的白鹭，都是自然天机的自然流露，可见王维此时心境之宁静。此诗也是中国山水诗「无我之境」的典范：全诗没有一个「我」字，而诗人就融在那跳波白鹭的生机之中，正是「以物观物」的最高境界，也是王维「诗中有画、诗中有禅」的最好注脚。

Art

Four devices deserve note. First, a small scene made whole: rain, shoal, leaping waves, and egret—four images compose an entire picture with foreground, background, motion, and stillness. Second, motion within motion: the rain's sough, the racing stream, the splashing waves are all movement, while the egret's startle and settling give the poem its breathing rhythm, an arc from action back to calm. Third, the senses together: soughing is heard, the shallow stones and white bird are seen, so the twenty characters are at once audible and visible. Fourth, the selfless realm: nothing is written of the poet, yet his ease is present in everything; the waves splash of themselves and the egret settles as it will—nature observed without the observer's interference, the Zen quality that distinguishes Wang Wei's landscape art.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个层面解析。其一，以小见大的构图。全诗只写秋雨、石濑、跳波、白鹭四个意象，是极小的景，却构成一幅完整的山水画面：秋雨为背景，石濑为主景，跳波与白鹭为点缀，近景远景、动态静态俱全，二十字便是一幅《秋雨石濑图》。其二，动静相生的节奏。全诗动静交错：「飒飒秋雨中」是雨声的动态（飒飒为拟声），「浅浅石溜泻」是溪水的动态（泻为奔流），「跳波自相溅」是浪花的动态（溅为迸射），三句皆动，而「白鹭惊复下」以「惊」（飞起）与「下」（落下）写出白鹭的一飞一落，动态中又有间歇——那鹭鸶飞起又落下的节奏，正是全诗从动到静、复归宁静的呼吸。其三，视听并作的感官。「飒飒」是听觉（雨声），「浅浅」「石溜」「跳波」是视觉（水态），「惊」「下」是动作，听觉、视觉、动觉交织，使这二十字的画面有声有色、有静有动。其四，无我之境与禅意。全诗无一处写「我」，而诗人的闲适自得已融于景中；秋雨中的石濑，浪花的自相溅射，白鹭的惊而复下，都是自然自身的天机，诗人以「以物观物」的视角静观这一切，正是禅宗「无我」「观照」的境界。四重手法相得益彰，使这首二十字的小诗成为中国山水诗中最空灵、最见禅意的作品之一。

Allusions

The poem is almost free of allusion; its imagery belongs to the landscape and Zen tradition. 'Soughing' echoes the gusts in the Nine Songs of the Songs of Chu ('the wind soughs through the trees'), but where those are bleak, here the sound is the light patter of autumn rain. 'Shallow' recalls the Air of the Valley Wind and old verses on clear, shallow streams, while the stony shoal continues the line Xie Lingyun opened at Seven-Mile Rapids. The egret, startled and settling, is seen with Zen eyes: not an object described but part of nature's own working, as in Du Fu's egrets in flight. Wang Wei melts all these into fresh immediacy—allusion dissolved into the scene itself.

此诗以白描写景为主，几乎不用典，其意象却深植于中国山水诗与禅宗的审美传统。「飒飒」一词是拟声词，写雨声，令人想到《楚辞·九歌·山鬼》「风飒飒兮木萧萧」的苍凉，但王维此诗却无《山鬼》的凄厉，而以「飒飒」写秋雨的轻快，化悲为喜。「浅浅」写水清，语出《诗经·邶风·谷风》「就其浅矣，泳之游之」与古诗「河汉清且浅」，写水之清浅，「石溜」则写溪水在石间奔流（谢灵运《七里濑》「石浅水潺湲」即写此类景致）。「濑」作为地名，更令人想到南朝山水诗人谢灵运的《七里濑》《石壁精舍还湖中作》等诗——谢灵运以「濑」写水石相激之景，王维此诗正是这一山水传统的延续。「白鹭」的意象则清新可爱，令人想到杜甫「两个黄鹂鸣翠柳，一行白鹭上青天」，而王维笔下的白鹭是「惊复下」——受惊飞起又落下，写出溪水的生机与鹭鸟的灵性，这正是禅宗「观物」的眼光：白鹭不是被描写的对象，而是与跳波一样，是自然天机的一部分。全诗几乎不用典，而以白描、拟声、禅观写出一方山水的小景，正是王维「化典于无形、以自然为诗」的高妙，也是其辋川诗「句句入画、字字见禅」的体现。

Commentary

The poem has long been prized as one of the finest of the Wangchuan Collection and one of the most ethereal small pieces in Chinese landscape poetry. Critics praise the couplet of leaping waves and the egret above all: Wang Shizhen of the Qing said the Wangchuan poems are 'every word entering Zen.' Its special value is the selfless realm: before Wang Wei, landscape poets like Xie Lingyun wrote with the poet at the center; here the scene is nature's own event. With 'Deer Enclosure' and 'Birdsong Valley' it forms the trio of Wang Wei's selfless masterpieces. For readers today it is the shortest road into Wang Wei's Zen world—twenty characters in which autumn rain soughs, an egret startles, and the poet has vanished into the life of the scene.

此诗历来被推为王维《辋川集》中的名篇，也是中国山水诗中最空灵的小品之一。历代论者对「跳波自相溅，白鹭惊复下」二句赞赏备至：清人王士祯评辋川诸诗「字字入禅」，近人更指出此诗以二十字写出秋雨石濑的声色动静，尤其「白鹭惊复下」五字，把鹭鸟受惊飞起又复落下的瞬间写得如在目前，是「以静观动」的极致。在辋川诗史上，此诗的独特价值在于：它是「无我之境」的典范——全诗无一处写「我」，而诗人融于景中；无一句抒情，而闲适之情自在。王维之前的山水诗（如谢灵运）多「以我观物」，景物是「我」眼中的景物；王维此诗则「以物观物」，景物是自然自身的天机活动，这种「无我」的境界，正是王维山水诗（尤其辋川诗）区别于前人的关键，也是其「诗中有禅」的最高体现。此诗与《鹿柴》（空山不见人）、《鸟鸣涧》（人闲桂花落）等，共同构成了王维「无我之境」的代表作。对于今日读者，此诗是进入王维禅意世界的钥匙，也是理解中国山水诗「天人合一」美学的绝佳范本——二十字间，秋雨飒飒，白鹭惊飞，天地间自有生机，而诗人已与这生机同在。

Prosody

Form A five-character quatrain with oblique-tone opening and first line unrhymed.五言绝句（仄起首句入韵）

Rhyme It rhymes in the falling-tone Ma group on 'pour' (xie) and 'descend' (xia); the first line ends on the level word 'middle' (zhong), so the opening line does not rhyme. Rhyming on falling tones is rare in five-character quatrains, and here the falling cadence matches the stream's rush and the egret's descent, sound and sense in one.押去声二十二祃韵，韵脚为「泻」「下」。首句「中」字平声不入韵，属首句不入韵之格。押仄韵在五绝中较罕见，此诗以仄声「泻」「下」收束，正合水流之奔泻与白鹭之落下，声韵与内容浑然一体。

Tone pattern The lines are dominated by oblique tones, giving a quick, light meter that matches the racing stream; the final line closes on falling tones, ending as suddenly as the egret alighting.飒飒秋雨中，仄仄平平平；浅浅石溜泻，仄仄仄仄仄；跳波自相溅，平平仄平仄；白鹭惊复下，仄仄平仄仄。全诗以仄声为主，音节急促轻快，正合秋雨溪水跳波溅射的动感；末句「白鹭惊复下」以仄声收束，戛然而止，恰如白鹭的落下。

Reading note The poem rhymes in the oblique Ma group, unusual among quatrains, and its quick, light syllables suit the autumn stream. The reduplications 'soughing' and 'shallow' flow like running water; the closing line's falling cadence mimics the splash and the bird's drop. Read the first two lines briskly for rain and water, the last two with a slight lift before the fall at 'startled—then settles.' Wang Wei's quatrains are famed for serene distance; this one is admired for its liveliness, a single camera frame of the Wangchuan world.此诗是仄起首句不入韵的五言绝句，押仄声祃韵，在五绝中别具一格。全诗以仄声为多，音节急促轻快，与秋雨溪水的动感相合：前两句「飒飒」「浅浅」两个叠字，音节流利，如溪水淙淙；后两句「跳波自相溅」「白鹭惊复下」以仄声收束，节奏急促，如浪花的迸溅与白鹭的起落。全诗二十字，一句一景，句句有动感，音节也随景物的动态而起伏。诵读此诗，宜以轻快的节奏读前两句的雨声水态，以顿挫的节奏读后两句的跳波白鹭，尤其「惊复下」三字，要读得先扬后抑，恰如白鹭惊起又落下的姿态。王维五绝以「淡远」著称，此诗却以「灵动」见长，正是其辋川诗「每一首都是一个镜头」的体现，二十字间，秋雨石濑，生机无限。

Line by line

飒飒秋雨中，浅浅石溜泻。

Through the soughing autumn rain the shallow stream races swift over the stones.

飒飒的秋雨洒落，浅浅的溪水在石间流淌。

In the soughing autumn rain, the shallow stream pours over the stones.

起句以对仗写秋雨中的石濑，视听并作，画面清新。「飒飒秋雨中」写雨声——「飒飒」是拟声词，写秋雨洒落的声响，一个「飒飒」便让雨声如在耳畔；「浅浅石溜泻」写水态——「浅浅」写溪水的清浅，「石溜」写溪水在石间奔流，「泻」字写水流之快，一个「泻」字让溪水的动态如在目前。两句一写雨、一写水，一闻一见、一声一态，秋雨与溪水交织，构成一幅秋雨石濑图。值得注意的是，「飒飒」与「浅浅」两个叠字的使用：前者拟声、后者状形，声形并茂，音节也轻快流畅，正合秋雨溪水的清新。而「浅」字与「泻」字的搭配尤妙——正因为水浅，才显出「石溜」的奔流，才引出下文的「跳波」；一个「浅」字，为全诗的动态埋下了伏笔。两句二十字，无一字写人，而秋雨石濑的生机已扑面而来，正是王维「以景写境」的高妙。

The opening line writes the stony rapids in autumn rain in couplet form, sight and sound together, the picture fresh. 'In the soughing autumn rain' the rain sound — 'soughing' the onomatopoeia for the falling autumn rain, the one word bringing the sound of rain to the ear; 'the shallow stream pours over the stones' the water's look — 'shallow' the stream's clearness, 'stones' the water running among the rocks, 'pours' the speed of the current, the one word bringing the water's movement before the eyes. One line rain, one water, one sound one sight, rain and stream woven into a picture of the autumn stony rapids. Notable: the two doubled words 'soughing' and 'shallow' — the first imitating sound, the second shape, sound and form together, the rhythm light and fluent, fitting the freshness of the rain and stream. And the pairing of 'shallow' and 'pours' is exquisite: precisely because the water is shallow, the 'stones' current shows its rushing, leading to the 'leaping waves' below; the one word 'shallow' plants the foreshadowing of the whole poem's movement. Twenty words, not one of person, yet the life of the autumn rapids breathes on the face, Wang Wei's high art of 'writing the realm through scene'.

跳波自相溅，白鹭惊复下。

Leaping waves splash into one another; the white egret, startled, takes flight and settles again.

奔跳的浪花互相溅射，白鹭受惊飞起，又落下。

Leaping waves splash of themselves; a white egret, startled, flies up and settles again.

这两句是全诗的点睛之笔，写石濑的生机与白鹭的灵性，以静观动，妙趣横生。「跳波自相溅」写浪花——溪水在石间奔流，激起一朵朵浪花，跳跃着互相溅射，「自相溅」三字尤妙：浪花不是被什么击溅，而是「自相」溅射，写出溪水自身的天机活动，仿佛那浪花有生命、有兴致，在秋雨中自得其乐；「白鹭惊复下」写白鹭——一只白鹭被溅起的水花或声响惊动，扑棱棱飞起，又复落下，「惊」字写飞起的突然，「下」字写落下的从容，一飞一落之间，写出鹭鸟的灵性与溪水的生机。两句一写水、一写鸟，一写「自相溅」的自动，一写「惊复下」的应机，水鸟相应，正是自然天机的生动写照。而这一切，都是诗人在静观中捕捉到的瞬间——秋雨中石濑的跳动、白鹭的惊飞，本是极细小的景致，王维却以禅者的眼光，把它写得趣味盎然。二十字间，无一处写「我」，而诗人已在景中，正是「无我之境」的极致。

These two lines are the eye of the poem, writing the rapids' life and the egret's spirit, watching stillness to set off motion, exquisite in delight. 'Leaping waves splash of themselves' the waves — the stream running among the stones, leaping up in spray, splashing of themselves; the words 'of themselves' are the finest: the spray is not splashed by anything, but 'of themselves', writing the stream's own spontaneous play, as if the waves had life and delight, enjoying themselves in the autumn rain; 'a white egret, startled, flies up and settles again' the egret — one egret, startled by the splashed spray or the sound, flutters up and settles again, 'startled' the sudden flight, 'settles' the calm return, between flight and settling writing the egret's spirit and the stream's life. One line water, one bird, one 'of themselves' the self-motion, one 'startled' the answering movement, water and bird answering each other, the living portrait of nature's spontaneous play. And all of this is the instant the poet catches in quiet observation — the leaping rapids and the startled egret in the autumn rain, the smallest scenes, yet Wang Wei, with a Zen eye, writes them full of delight. Twenty words, nowhere writing 'I', yet the poet is already within the scene, the extreme of the 'realm without self'.

Study

Word focus

泻 'To pour, to race.' The verb gives the shallow stream its speed and sound: clear yet swift, it pours over the stones with a rush that both carries the picture and, by the sound it implies, answers the soughing rain—and prepares the leaping waves that follow. 「泻」字是写溪水的点睛之字，一个动词写出石濑的动态，气势生动。泻者，倾泻、奔流也。王维以「浅浅石溜泻」写溪水在石间奔流，一个「泻」字，至少写出三层意味：其一，写水之快——溪水在石间急速流过，如倾泻一般，「泻」字写出水势的湍急；其二，写水之态——「浅浅」写水之清浅，而「泻」写水之急流，清浅而湍急，正是石濑（多石的浅水滩）独有的水态；其三，写水之声——「泻」字暗含水声的哗哗，与上句「飒飒」的雨声相应，声景并作。若换作「流」「淌」等字，则或失其湍急的势头，或失其倾泻的动态；唯「泻」字，既写水流的快速，又暗含水声的喧响，正是石濑之水的传神写照。这一个「泻」字，让秋雨中的溪水奔流在读者眼前，也为下文「跳波自相溅」的浪花蓄了势——正因为水流湍急，才有浪花的跳跃溅射。王维炼字，常于一字见精神，「泻」字正是其例。

惊 'Startled.' The word fixes the instant the egret bursts into flight: sudden, involuntary, alive. Far from spoiling the calm, the startle reveals the vitality of the shoal, and paired with 'again settles' it turns a moment of alarm into a return of perfect stillness. 「惊」字是全诗最传神的一个字，写白鹭受惊飞起的瞬间，以一字写尽鸟的灵性。惊者，受惊、惊起也。王维以「白鹭惊复下」写白鹭，一个「惊」字，至少写出三层意味：其一，写飞起的突然——白鹭本在水边栖息，被溅起的水花或声响惊动，猝然飞起，「惊」字写出这一瞬间的突然与慌乱；其二，写鸟的灵性——白鹭的「惊」，不是呆滞的，而是机敏的，它察觉到水中的动静便立刻飞起，正见其灵性；其三，写景的生机——这「惊」不是破坏画面的杂音，而是石濑生机的点睛之笔——正因为溪水跳波，才有白鹭的惊飞，水鸟相应，正是自然天机的生动写照。而「惊复下」的「复」字更妙：白鹭惊起后又落下，不是远飞而去，而是又回到原处，这一惊一落之间，溪水的生机与鹭鸟的从容，都在这「复」字中写尽。若换作「飞」「起」等字，则或失其突然的动感，或失其灵性的意味；唯「惊」字，以一字写尽白鹭的机敏与石濑的生机，正是王维「以静观动」的神来之笔。

栾家濑