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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

三日寻李九庄

Seeking Li Jiu's Villa on the Third Day

常建

Chang Jian

雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟。
故人家在桃花岸，直到门前溪水流。

The rain has cleared at the eastern ferry beyond the poplar grove;
On this third day of the third month I drift in a light boat.
My old friend's home stands on the peach-blossom bank —
And the stream flows on and on until it reaches his door.
Listen

Meaning

On the third day of the third month, the old Shangsi festival of spring purification, the speaker sets out in a light boat to visit an old friend. The rain has just ended, and the journey carries him through fresh poplar groves to a bank bright with peach blossom. The closing image of the stream flowing to the friend's door suggests that the way itself is guided by nature, and that the visit is as natural and welcome as flowing water. A simple errand becomes a bright, spontaneous celebration of friendship and spring.

雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟。故人家在桃花岸，直到门前溪水流。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The rain has just ended; at the eastern ferry past the poplar grove the poet launches a light boat, for it is the third day of the third month, the old spring festival. His friend lives on a bank of peach blossom, and the stream runs right to his gate. [Structure] The quatrain divides neatly: two lines for the journey, two for the arrival, the center of gravity quietly shifting from the poet's motion to the friend's still, flowering home. [Imagery] Cleared rain, poplars, a light boat, peach blossom, flowing water — every image is bright, cool, and clean, the very color of early spring. The closing stream is the masterstroke: the water seems to know the way, welcoming the visitor and fusing landscape with friendship. The poem's fame rests on its naturalness — no word strains, yet a whole spring day of ease and affection is preserved in twenty-eight characters.

【白话串讲】 常建写《三日寻李九庄》：“雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟”——“故人家在桃花岸，直到门前溪水流”——他上巳寻李九庄——故人家在桃花岸。 【意象与手法】 “雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟”写上巳荡舟；“故人家在桃花岸”写桃花岸；结以“直到门前溪水流”写溪水流。清丽自然。 【情感与主旨】 常建写上巳寻访友人之作，写雨歇杨林、荡轻舟至桃花岸故人家，是访友诗中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟”写上巳荡舟；“故人家在桃花岸，直到门前溪水流”写桃花岸故人家。

Background

Chang Jian (ca. 708–ca. 765), a native of Chang'an, was a High Tang poet counted among the friends of Wang Changling and Chu Guangxi. Only a small body of his verse survives, chiefly temple and landscape poems admired for their cool, spare elegance. 'A Visit to Li Jiu's Villa on the Third Day' belongs to the subgenre of poems on visiting friends, written for the Shangsi festival on the third day of the third lunar month, when people traditionally went out to the water to welcome spring. Little is known of Li Jiu himself, which hardly matters: the 'old friend' is as much a function of the landscape as a person, and the piece has been treasured in anthologies for centuries as a model of the fresh, natural visit poem.

《三日寻李九庄》为唐代诗人常建所作诗。常建（约708—约765），长安人，盛唐诗人，与王昌龄、储光羲等友善。此诗写景访友，为三月三日访友之作。诗中「雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟」写雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟；「故人家在桃花岸，直到门前溪水流」写故人家在桃花岸，直到门前溪水流。常建此诗以写景访友、直到门前溪水流写其访友之情，清丽自然，是常建诗中的名篇。此篇《三日寻李九庄》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《三日寻李九庄》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 craft lies in movement and progression. It opens mid-journey — rain ceasing, ferry, poplars, boat — and the reader is swept along without a single explanatory word; by line three the motion resolves at the peach-blossom bank, and by line four at the friend's very door. The two allusive phrases do double duty: 'the third day of Yonghe' recalls the Orchid Pavilion gathering, giving a private outing literary dignity, while the 'peach-blossom bank' borrows a faint echo of the lost paradise, making the friend's home an ideal retreat. Most original is the closing stream: water becomes a guide, a host, and a symbol of unobstructed friendship at once. Restraint is the method throughout — four images, one journey, no direct statement of feeling, yet warmth suffuses every line.

此诗艺术上以「清丽自然、以舟写情」见长。全诗共四句两联，由雨歇杨林东渡头而故人家在桃花岸。起「雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟」写雨歇杨林东渡头：雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟；结「故人家在桃花岸，直到门前溪水流」写故人家在桃花岸：故人家在桃花岸，直到门前溪水流。全诗以舟写情，由雨歇杨林东渡头而直到门前溪水流，清丽自然，是常建诗中的名篇。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

Two allusions govern the poem. 'The third day of Yonghe' points to the year 353 CE in the Eastern Jin, when Wang Xizhi and forty-one literati gathered at the Orchid Pavilion on the third day of the third month for the spring purification rite, floating wine cups down a winding stream — the most famous spring outing in Chinese literary history. By naming the Yonghe era rather than his own, Chang Jian folds his small boat trip into that tradition. The 'peach-blossom bank' evokes Tao Yuanming's fabled Peach Blossom Spring, the hidden utopia entered along a streambed strewn with petals; the friend's home on such a bank becomes a miniature paradise. Neither allusion is announced; both simply color the scene — the mark of allusive writing done with a light hand.

诗中「雨歇杨林东渡头永和三日荡轻舟」「故人家在桃花岸直到门前溪水流」等语，皆含典故故实。「雨歇杨林东渡头永和三日荡轻舟」用永和之典（永和为上巳节年号，写修禊），写雨歇杨林东渡头永和三日荡轻舟；「故人家在桃花岸直到门前溪水流」用桃花岸之典（桃花岸写桃源），写故人家在桃花岸直到门前溪水流。诗人以永和、桃花岸之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把写景访友之情写得真切可感，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。

Commentary

Later critics have consistently classed this quatrain among the finest Tang poems on visiting friends, praising what they call its clear, natural charm. Its reputation rests on a paradox: the poem records nothing — no conversation, no wine, not even the friend's face — yet the visit feels more fully present than in many longer poems. The old friend never appears; his world of blossom bank and flowing stream appears instead, and that indirection has been read as tact, modesty, and artistic confidence. In the long lineage of spring-outing poems, Chang Jian's four lines remain a touchstone of understatement: a whole day of ease, affection, and spring light held in a single, unforced breath.

这首《三日寻李九庄》，是常建写写景访友之作，写雨歇杨林东渡头、故人家在桃花岸、直到门前溪水流之情，清丽自然。起「雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟」——雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟。写雨歇杨林东渡头：雨歇杨林东渡头、永和三日荡轻舟——东渡头、荡轻舟；结「故人家在桃花岸，直到门前溪水流」——故人家在桃花岸，直到门前溪水流。写故人家在桃花岸：故人家在桃花岸、直到门前溪水流——桃花岸、溪水流。这「故人家在桃花岸，直到门前溪水流」，是全诗之结：以直到门前溪水流写其访友。全诗清丽自然，以舟写情，正是常建诗中的名篇。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 each, in the short regulated form.诗（七言绝句）
Rhyme The poem rhymes on the even lines in the you group of finals: zhou (boat) and liu (stream), both level-tone rhymes that give the piece its smooth, murmuring close.此诗为七言绝句，共四句两联。押韵：「舟」「流」押尤部韵。前两句起、后两句转合，平仄相间，正与写写景访友的清丽自然相称，也见其以七绝写访友的凝练。
Tone pattern Level and oblique tones alternate through the quatrain pattern; the first couplet moves quickly with the outing, the second lengthens into a slower cadence, so the music mirrors the journey from bustle to arrival.句式上，「雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟」写雨歇杨林东渡头，音节轻快；结「故人家在桃花岸，直到门前溪水流」写故人家在桃花岸，音节悠长。全诗音节随情起伏，由轻快而悠长，正合七绝「凝练」之妙，读来如写景访友、直到门前溪水流之音，清丽而动人。
Reading note A qijue demands maximum compression. Chang Jian spends two lines on the journey and two on the arrival, letting the rhyming pair zhou–liu carry the sound of flowing water itself; the ear hears a gentle, continuous current — the very sound of the stream that leads to the friend's door.此诗为七言绝句，是常建写写景访友之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「清丽自然、以舟写情」：「雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟」写雨歇杨林东渡头、「故人家在桃花岸，直到门前溪水流」写故人家在桃花岸。全诗清丽自然，以舟写情。尤为精妙者，是「永和三日荡轻舟」用永和之典；而「直到门前溪水流」写尽溪水流之情，正是常建诗「清丽自然」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《三日寻李九庄》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

雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟。

The rain has cleared at the eastern ferry beyond the poplar grove; on this third day of the third month I drift in a light boat.

雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟。

The rain has stopped, at the willow grove, the east ferryhead; on the third day of the Yonghe era, we drift a light boat.

起句写雨歇杨林东渡头，起笔即见其渡。「雨歇杨林东渡头」写雨歇杨林东渡头，「雨歇杨林」写雨歇杨林、「东渡头」写东渡头；「永和三日荡轻舟」用永和之典写永和三日荡轻舟，「永和三日」写永和三日、「荡轻舟」写荡轻舟。一句写雨歇杨林东渡头永和三日荡轻舟，以雨歇杨林东渡头写东渡头、以永和三日荡轻舟写荡轻舟，写尽雨歇杨林东渡头、永和三日荡轻舟之情。以渡起兴，清丽而自然，是「以渡起兴」的妙笔。

The opening line writes 'the rain has stopped, at the willow grove, the east ferryhead', the start. 'The rain has stopped, at the willow grove, the east ferryhead' — the rain stopped, the willow grove, the east ferryhead; 'on the third day of the Yonghe era, we drift a light boat' uses the Yonghe allusion. Rising through the ferry, clear and natural, the start of the visit verse.

故人家在桃花岸，

My old friend's home stands on the peach-blossom bank,

故人家在桃花岸，

My old friend's home lies on the peach-blossom bank,

此句写故人家在桃花岸，是全诗写桃花之态的关键。「故人家在」写故人家在，「故人」写故人、「家在」写家在；「桃花岸」用桃花岸之典写桃花岸，「桃花」写桃花、「岸」写岸。一句写故人家在桃花岸，以故人家在写家在、以桃花岸写桃花岸，写尽故人家在桃花岸之情。以桃写景，清丽而自然，是「以桃写景」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

This line writes 'my old friend's home lies on the peach-blossom bank', the key image. 'My old friend's home lies' — the old friend, the home lies; 'the peach-blossom bank' uses the peach-blossom-bank allusion, the peach blossoms, the bank. Through the peach it writes the scene, clear and natural, the point where the destination draws near: the friend's home lies on the bank of peach blossoms, a hint of the Peach Blossom Spring.

直到门前溪水流。

And the stream flows on and on until it reaches his door.

直到门前溪水流。

until, before his door, the stream water flows.

结句写直到门前溪水流，是全诗立意的落点。「直到门前」写直到门前，「直到」写直到、「门前」写门前；「溪水流」写溪水流，「溪水」写溪水、「流」写流。一句写直到门前溪水流，以直到门前写门前、以溪水流写溪水流，写尽直到门前溪水流之情。以水写情，清丽而自然，是全诗最动人处，也是「以水写情」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

The closing line writes 'until, before his door, the stream water flows', the poem's landing. 'Until, before his door' — until, the door; 'the stream water flows' — the stream, the flow. Through the water it writes the feeling, clear and natural, the poem's most moving point: the boat drifts with the current, and suddenly the stream flows right before the friend's door — the journey's end, effortless, as if guided by the stream itself.

Study

Word focus

杨林 Poplar grove: the trees lining the ferry after the rain, their fresh green signaling early spring and opening the poem's bright landscape. 「杨林」写雨歇杨林东渡头，是写杨林之态的关键。「雨歇杨林东渡头」着一「杨林」，写杨林——着一「杨林」，写雨歇杨林东渡头，见其林之杨。两字写尽杨林之态，是「以词写林」的妙笔。「杨林」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。
轻舟 Light boat: the small skiff the poet rows on the outing; 'light' conveys both the boat's ease and the poet's unhurried, buoyant mood. 「轻舟」写永和三日荡轻舟，是写轻舟之态的关键。「永和三日荡轻舟」着一「轻舟」，写轻舟——着一「轻舟」，写永和三日荡轻舟，见其舟之轻。两字写尽轻舟之态，是「以词写舟」的点睛之词。「轻舟」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。
桃花岸 Peach-blossom bank: the riverside where the friend lives, strewn with pink blossom; it also faintly evokes the lost Peach Blossom Spring of Tao Yuanming. 「桃花岸」写故人家在桃花岸，是写桃花岸之态的关键。「故人家在桃花岸」着一「桃花岸」，写桃花岸——着一「桃花岸」，写故人家在桃花岸，见其岸之桃花。三字写尽桃花岸之态，是「以词写岸」的点睛之词。「桃花岸」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。
溪水 Stream water: the brook flowing past the friend's gate; it both guides the visitor and symbolizes the natural, flowing warmth of their friendship. 「溪水」写直到门前溪水流，是写溪水之态的关键。「直到门前溪水流」着一「溪水」，写溪水——着一「溪水」，写直到门前溪水流，见其水之溪。两字写尽溪水之态，是「以词写水」的点睛之词。「溪水」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

水调歌头·明月几时有 Prelude to Water Melody — Thinking of Ziqu on the Mid-Autumn Festival 苏轼 · 同写访友感怀、清丽旷达，一写但愿人长久、一写故人家在桃花岸直到门前溪水流，皆于访友之中见清丽 Both cherish friendship in a clear, open mood — Su Shi's 'may we be long together, though a thousand li apart' beside Chang Jian's peach-blossom bank and flowing stream.

Su Shi's famous lyric turns thoughts of his brother into a cosmic blessing of shared moonlight — expansive, philosophical, public. Chang Jian's quatrain keeps friendship inside a single landscape: a boat, a peach bank, a stream to the door. Where Su Shi consoles distance with the moon, Chang Jian dissolves distance with the stream; both celebrate friendship, one philosophically and one lyrically.

苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「但愿人长久，千里共婵娟」，写访友感怀、清丽旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；常建《三日寻李九庄》则以「故人家在桃花岸，直到门前溪水流」「雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟」写桃花岸、荡轻舟。两诗同写访友感怀、清丽旷达：一写但愿人长久、以千里共婵娟写思亲，一写故人家在桃花岸直到门前溪水流、以桃花写访友；一为苏轼之旷达、一为常建之清丽，并读正可见诗写「访友感怀」的两种笔法，皆于访友之中见清丽。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Eight Tunes of Ganzhou — Against the Drizzling Evening Rain over the River 柳永 · 同写溪上凝望、清丽悠远，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写雨歇杨林东渡头永和三日荡轻舟，皆于溪上之中见凝望 Both open from a river scene after rain — Liu Yong's evening rain 'washing the autumn clear' beside Chang Jian's rain-ceased ferry and drifting boat.

Liu Yong's long ci lingers over misty rivers and the sorrow of parting; Chang Jian's quatrain uses the same after-rain riverbank for a visit that is joyful. The shared imagery — rain-ceased river, drifting boat, distant bank — leads to opposite moods, showing how one landscape motif can carry homesick longing or the simple delight of arrival.

柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「对潇潇暮雨洒江天，一番洗清秋」，写溪上凝望、清丽悠远，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；常建《三日寻李九庄》则以「雨歇杨林东渡头，永和三日荡轻舟」「故人家在桃花岸」写荡轻舟、桃花岸。两诗同写溪上凝望、清丽悠远：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写雨歇杨林东渡头永和三日荡轻舟、以轻舟写访友；一为柳永之清丽、一为常建之自然，并读正可见诗写「溪上凝望」的两种笔法，皆于溪上之中见凝望。