All poems

唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

山中问答

A Reply in the Mountains

李白

Li Bai

山水landscape 哲理philosophy 田园pastoral

问余何意栖碧山，笑而不荅心自闲。
桃花流水窅然去，别有天地非人间。

One asks me why I dwell in the green mountains; I smile and do not answer, my heart at ease.
Peach blossoms drift on the stream and vanish far away; here is another world, not of mortal men.

Listen

Meaning

A worldly visitor asks the poet why he lives in the mountains; he only smiles without answering, at peace. Peach blossoms on the flowing water fade into the distance, revealing a realm apart from the human world. The poem voices his hermit contentment and transcendence of fame and worldly striving.

有人问我为什么栖居在这碧山之中，我笑而不答，心里自在悠闲。桃花随着流水杳然飘向远方，这里别有一番天地，仿佛不是人间所有。

Appreciation

The art lies in answering without words, substituting scene for reply. The opening question is met not by explanation but by a smile; the later lines paint peach blossom and stream, then 'another world not of men,' turning real scene into ideal realm. Plain language, deep resonance — among restrained verse it bears Li Bai's lofty, untrammeled spirit.

【白话串讲】李白在山中：“问余何意栖碧山，笑而不荅心自闲”——有人问他为什么住在山里，他笑而不答。“桃花流水窅然去，别有天地非人间”——桃花随流水去，别有天地。这首诗的谜底，就是李白自己。【意象与手法】全诗以问答开篇，却不正面作答，而以「笑而不荅」留白，再以桃花流水、别有天地之景作答，是为「不答之答」。桃花流水用陶渊明《桃花源记》之典，暗示碧山即世外桃源；「别有天地非人间」由实景翻入虚境，将山水升华为理想世界。语言明白如话，而韵味深长，于冲淡中含俊逸疏狂之气。【情感与主旨】诗写隐逸之志与超然之趣：栖碧山非为形迹，而在「心自闲」；笑而不答，正因真意不足为外人道。全诗既是太白隐逸情怀的自白，亦见其蔑视功名、神游物外的「谪仙」气质。【名句点睛】「桃花流水窅然去，别有天地非人间」为全诗神髓：桃花流水一去杳然，别有一方天地超乎人间，以景作答，将隐逸境界写得空灵邈远，是太白「以景结情」的绝唱。

Background

'A Reply in the Mountains' (also titled 'Reply to a Worldly Man in the Mountains') is a seven-character quatrain in which Li Bai, via question-and-answer form, expresses hermit feeling. Li Bai (701–762), styled Taibai, hao Qinglian Jushi, the pinnacle romantic poet of High Tang. Exact date unknown, generally written during his early hermit years. Gifted and ambitious yet wild and Daoist-influenced, he often longed for withdrawal. The poem may have been written when he lived in seclusion at Baizhao Mountain in Anlu, Hubei (some say 'green mountains' refers to Baizhao). The questioner is a worldly man who cannot understand the hermit; 'smile and not answer' is the poet's wordless response to worldly fame. Beginning with question, ending with scene, it answers in effect with 'peach blossom and stream, another world,' showing both Li Bai's pride and his transcendent 'banished immortal' air. It is key to studying Li Bai's view of service versus retreat.

《山中问答》一题又作《山中答俗人》，是李白以问答体抒写隐逸情怀的七言绝句。李白（701—762），字太白，号青莲居士，盛唐浪漫主义诗歌的巅峰诗人。此诗具体作年已不可确考，一般认为写于李白早年隐居山林期间。李白少负奇才，「十五好剑术，遍干诸侯；三十成文章，历抵卿相」，一生怀济世之志，然其性格狂放不羁，又深受道家思想浸润，时时向往出世逍遥。据传此诗或作于其隐居湖北安陆白兆山一带之时（一说碧山即指白兆山），诗中「问余」者当为不解隐者心事的俗人，「笑而不荅」正是诗人对世俗功名的无言回应。诗以问答起、以写景结，表面上答非所问，实则已用「桃花流水」「别有天地」两句画境作答：碧山之中别有仙境，何必再问栖居之意。此诗既见李白「平交王侯」的傲岸，亦见其「谪仙」气质的超逸，是研究李白出处观（出仕与归隐之矛盾）的重要篇章。全诗二十八字一气浑成：有问答、有神态、有山水、有境界，言外之意无穷，千载之下读之，犹见太白笑对青山、自得于碧山桃花流水之间的风神。

Art

The wonder is answering by not-answering, scene substituting for reply. The opening question is abrupt; the second line avoids direct answer, using 'smile and not answer' to deflect — a smile of mystery, confidence, disdain to explain to the vulgar, an 'answer by not answering.' The last two lines turn to scene: peach blossom on water vanishing hints time and world receding; 'another world not of men' elevates to a higher realm. Structure: question at start, answer at end, 'smile' and 'scene' between, echoing with unbroken thread. The imagery moves solid-to-void, raising real mountains to ideal. Language plain, twenty-eight characters none abstruse, yet deep — 'shallow words, deep thought.' Unlike typical hermit poems of lonely solitude, this bears heroic ease within tranquility.

此诗艺术之妙，在以不答为答、以景代答。起句「问余何意栖碧山」以俗人之问开篇，突兀而起，引人入胜；次句却不正面作答，而以「笑而不荅」四字轻轻宕开——这一笑，有玄妙、有自信、有不屑与俗人分说的疏狂，是为「不答之答」。后二句转入写景，「桃花流水窅然去」以桃花逐水、杳然而逝的动态画面暗示时光与尘俗的远去，「别有天地非人间」则陡翻一层，点出碧山实为另一世界。全诗结构上「问」在首句、「答」在末句，中间以「笑」与「景」过渡，首尾照应而意脉不断。手法上最见功力者是意象的虚实相生：桃花流水是实景，别有天地的「非人间」之境是虚写，由实入虚，将眼前山水升华为理想境界。语言上明白如话，二十八字无一字生涩，而韵味深长，正如前人所谓「言浅而思深」。与一般隐逸诗多写幽独不同，此诗于冲淡中含豪宕之气，笑而不答的神情、别有天地的断语，都透出李白特有的俊逸不群，是盛唐绝句「无意于工而无不工」的典范。

Allusions

Though short, its allusions hide in imagery. 'Green mountains' carries Daoist immortal-mountain implication; Li called himself 'banished immortal,' loving Daoism. 'Peach blossom and stream' directly uses Tao Yuanming's 'Peach Blossom Spring': the fisherman following the stream to a hidden paradise — those four characters already contain 'another world not of men,' allusion without trace. 'Smile and not answer' has Zhuangzi's flavor: Nan-guo Ziqi sitting limp, 'as if he had lost his counterpart,' the forget-self state beyond words, hence answered by a smile; also recalling the hermit tradition of Xu You washing his ears — when Yao offered the throne, Xu washed his ears in the Ying River, disdaining to argue; Li's smile continues this noble air. 'Yaoran' (yaoran) describes deep, remote appearance, near Zhuangzi's describing the Dao-body, giving the fading blossoms an immortal air. 'Da' is the ancient form of 'answer' (da), showing Li's freedom. Four layers of allusion fuse Tao Qian, Zhuangzi, and hermit tales into naturalness — Li's 'lotus from clear water, natural without adornment.'

此诗虽短，而用事隐于意象之间。其一，「碧山」二字非泛言青山，暗含道教仙山意味。李白自称「谪仙人」，一生好道求仙，碧山在其笔下常与栖真炼丹之境相连。其二，「桃花流水」直用陶渊明《桃花源记》之典：武陵渔人缘溪行，夹岸桃花，遂入世外桃源，「桃花流水」四字一出，别有天地、非人间之意已在其中，可谓用典而不见痕。其三，「笑而不荅」有《庄子》之趣，《庄子·齐物论》记南郭子綦隐机而坐、「荅焉似丧其耦」，忘我之境本难言传，故以笑对之；亦令人想起许由洗耳、巢父饮犊的隐者传统——尧让天下于许由，许由闻之洗耳于颍水，不屑置辩，李白之「笑而不荅」正承此高士风致。其四，「窅然」一词状深远幽眇之貌，语近《庄子》形容道体之「窅然」，写桃花流水之逝杳不可追，顿生仙气。此外「荅」为「答」之古字，诗中用古字，亦见太白不拘一格处。四重典故与意象交融，熔陶潜、庄周、高士传说于一炉，而归于自然天成，正是李白「清水出芙蓉，天然去雕饰」的本色。

Commentary

Long recited, this is the crown of Li Bai's mountain poems. Twenty-eight characters, question without answer, ending feeling through scene — its charm lies between sayable and unsayable. 'Another world not of men' is both realistic of the mountains and a confession of transcendent mind, making it the most concise poetic gloss on 'hermitage' in the Chinese heart. Later critics, when discussing Li's quatrains, cite 'Quiet Night Thought,' 'View of Mount Lu Waterfall,' 'Departure from Baidi City' — but this one stands apart by restraint. Compared with Wang Wei's clarity and Meng Haoran's distance, Li adds lofty ease within tranquility. Its influence reaches Lin Bu's 'sparse shadows,' Ming hermit poets, and later borrowings. In craft it shows the quatrain's 'small sees large': question, expression, motion, elevation — a perpetual model. Reading it today we still feel his pride of 'the emperor's call cannot rouse me to board the boat' — what he smiles at is not only the mountain-dwelling question but the whole world's fame.

此诗历代传诵，为李白山中诗之冠冕。全诗二十八字，问而不答、以景结情，其神韵正在可言与不可言之间——「别有天地非人间」七字，既是对碧山景色的写实，更是对超然心境的自白，遂使此诗成为中国人心中「隐逸」一词最凝练的诗化注脚。后世评家论太白绝句，多举《静夜思》《望庐山瀑布》《早发白帝城》，而《山中问答》以含蓄蕴藉别树一帜：同是写山居，王维清寂，孟浩然淡远，李白则于淡远中含俊逸疏狂之气。此诗对后世影响深远，宋人林逋「疏影横斜水清浅」的孤高，明代隐逸诗人之作，乃至后人对「别有天地非人间」的化用，皆可见其遗响。就诗学价值言，此诗示范了绝句「以小见大」的极致：二十八字中，有问答、有人物神态、有景物动态、有境界升华，章法之精、韵味之永，足为千古法式。今日读之，仍能感受到太白「天子呼来不上船」的那份傲岸与从容——笑而不答的，岂止是栖居碧山之问，更是对整个人间功名的无言超越。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (regulated form, yet with irregular tones, close to ancient-quatrain manner)七言绝句（近体，然有拗句，近于古绝风致）

Rhyme Rhymes in level-tone 'shan' (shan) rhyme; first line enters rhyme, one rhyme to end. Rhyme feet 'mountain' (shan), 'leisure' (xian), 'between' (jian), all in Pingshui upper-level 15 'shan' — open and spacious, suiting the transcendent content.押平声「删」韵，首句入韵，一韵到底。韵脚为「山」「闲」「间」，皆属《平水韵》上平十五删部，韵腹开阔舒朗，声情悠远，与山水超逸之内容相称。

Tone pattern Seven-character four lines, mostly oblique-start level-end, yet tones often not strict. E.g. line 1 'wen yu he yi qi bi shan' is 'oblique-level-level-oblique-level-oblique-level'; line 3 'tao hua liu shui yao ran qu' similarly irregular. The poem wins by meaning not rule, hence often called 'ancient quatrain' for its archaic ease.七言四句，以仄起平收为主，然平仄多有不拘，如首句「问余何意栖碧山」为「仄平平仄平仄平」，第二字「余」处当仄而平，第三句「桃花流水窅然去」亦然，全诗以意胜而不以律胜，故前人常以「古绝」目之，谓其得古体之疏宕。

Reading note This poem's form is a seven-character quatrain, yet checking its level-oblique pattern, many lines do not fit regulated verse: line 1 (oblique-level-level-oblique-level-oblique-level) by rule should be 'oblique-oblique-level-level-oblique-oblique-level,' the second character should be oblique but is level, the fourth should be level but is oblique; line 3 (level-level-level-oblique-oblique-level-oblique) also irregular. Thus critics view it as 'ancient quatrain,' saying Li does not fuss over tonal rules, achieving archaic ease in irregularity, matching the wild 'smile and not answer.' Yet its rhyme is strict: first line enters rhyme, 'mountain, leisure, between' all in upper-level 15 'shan,' one rhyme to end, open resonance, sung leisurely, harmonizing with the green-mountain stream mood. Li's quatrains have both 'regulated' and 'ancient' paths: 'Departure from Baidi City' is tonal-harmonious, near regulated quatrain; this takes ancient manner, showing irregularity's wild ease. Thus High Tang poets moved freely within rules, sound serving meaning — that is their subtlety.此诗体制上属七言绝句，然细按其平仄，多有不合近体之处：首句「问余何意栖碧山」（仄平平仄平仄平）按律当为仄仄平平仄仄平，第二字「余」处应仄而平，第四字「意」处应平而仄；第三句「桃花流水窅然去」（平平平仄仄平仄）亦不合常格。故历来论者或以「古绝」视之，谓太白此诗不斤斤于声律，而能于拗峭中见疏宕之气，恰与「笑而不荅」的狂放神情相表里。然其用韵则严整：首句入韵，「山」「闲」「间」三韵皆属上平十五删，一韵到底，韵腹开阔，读来悠扬舒缓，与碧山流水的意境相谐。李白绝句向有「律」与「古」两路：如《早发白帝城》平仄谐和，近于律绝；此诗则取古体风致，以拗句见疏狂。可见盛唐诗人于格律出入自由，声律为情意服务，此正其高妙处。

Line by line

问余何意栖碧山，笑而不荅心自闲。

One asks me why I dwell in the green mountains; I smile and do not answer, my heart at leisure.

有人问我为什么栖居在这碧山之中，我笑而不答，心里自在悠闲。

They ask why I dwell in these green hills; I smile and answer not, my heart of itself at leisure.

起句以问开篇，突兀而引人。「问余」之问者，自是为俗世功名奔忙、不解隐者心事的俗人；「何意栖碧山」一问，正问出世俗对隐逸的普遍困惑。次句「笑而不荅」是全诗神理所在：不以言语辩解，只以一笑回应，这一笑里有不屑、有自得、更有「不足为外人道」的玄妙——真意本难言传，答了反落言筌。末三字「心自闲」点明主旨：所谓栖碧山之「意」，不在山水形胜，而在心之闲适自得，与陶渊明「心远地自偏」同一机杼。二十八字中，问者之惑、答者之笑、心中之闲，三层写来，神情毕现，为后二句「别有天地」之境预作铺垫，亦为全诗定下超然自适的基调。

The opening line opens with the question, abrupt and arresting. The one who 'asks me' is the vulgar man, busy for worldly fame and office, not understanding the recluse's heart; the question 'why dwell in the green hills' speaks the common worldly puzzle about reclusion. The next line, 'I smile and answer not', is the poem's spirit: no defense in words, only the answer of a smile, and in this smile there is disdain, self-delight, and the mystery of 'not worth telling the outsider' — the true meaning is hard to speak, and answering would fall into the trap of words. The last three words, 'my heart of itself at leisure', name the theme: the so-called 'meaning' of dwelling in the green hills lies not in the landscape's beauty, but in the heart's own ease, the same working as Tao Yuanming's 'my heart is far, and the place of itself is remote'. Twenty-eight words, the asker's puzzle, the answerer's smile, the heart's leisure, three layers written, the expression to the life, the groundwork for the later 'another world' realm, tuning the poem's detached, self-content keynote.

桃花流水窅然去，别有天地非人间。

Peach blossoms drift on the stream and vanish into the far distance; here is another realm, not of the mortal world.

桃花随着流水杳然飘向远方，这里别有一番天地，仿佛不是人间所有。

Peach blossoms follow the flowing water, drifting far and vague; here is another world, as if not of the human world.

此二句以景作答，是全诗画龙点睛处。桃花逐水、杳然而逝，既是碧山实景，又暗用陶渊明《桃花源记》「缘溪行，忘路之远近，忽逢桃花林」之典——桃花流水所通向的，正是武陵桃源般的别一世界。「窅然去」三字尤妙：桃花流水一去杳然，暗示尘俗与时光皆随流远去，唯余此山此境。「别有天地非人间」陡翻一层，将眼前景升华为境界语：所谓「非人间」，不是说真的离开人世，而是说心境已超脱于功名是非之外，自成一方天地。两句一实一虚、一景一境，与首二句的问答遥遥呼应——诗人终于作答了，却不是用言语，而是用一幅画境。全诗至此，问答、神态、景物、境界浑然一体，余韵袅袅，令人读罢犹觉身在碧山桃花流水之间。

These two lines answer through scene, the painting-eye of the poem. Peach blossoms following the water, drifting far away, are both the green hills' real scene and secretly use the allusion from Tao Yuanming's Peach Blossom Spring, 'walking along the stream, forgetful of the distance, suddenly meeting the grove of peach trees' — what the peach blossoms and flowing water lead to is precisely another world like the Wuling spring. The words 'drifting far away' are exquisite: the peach blossoms and the water gone far and vague, hinting that the mortal world and time drift away with the current, leaving only this hill, this realm. 'Another world entirely, not of the human world' turns up one layer, raising the scene before the eyes into the language of realm: the so-called 'not of the human world' does not mean truly leaving the world, but that the mind is already beyond fame, gain, and judgment, of itself forming one world. Two lines, one real one imagined, one scene one realm, echoing from afar the opening question and answer — the poet has finally answered, not in words, but with a painted scene. The poem here, question and answer, expression, scenery, and realm one, the aftertaste curling, the reader lingering as if himself among the green hills' peach blossoms and flowing water.

Study

Word focus

闲 The word 'leisure/ease' (xian) is the bone of the whole poem: not idleness but spiritual freedom, unenslaved by things. Dwelling in green mountains is the trace of ease; the heart being at ease is its root — like Tao Yuanming's 'the heart distant, the place naturally secluded.' Li's life was ambitious, but this poem captures his true state when he set aside fame to face the woods. The 'self' (zi) shows ease arises naturally, not forced. 「笑而不荅心自闲」之「闲」字，是全诗立骨之字。此「闲」非无所事事之闲，而是精神超脱、不为外物所役的闲适——身栖碧山是闲之迹，心自闲才是闲之本。与陶渊明「心远地自偏」、王维「行到水穷处，坐看云起时」同一境界：闲不在境而在心，心有闲则无处不闲。李白一生「奋其智能，愿为辅弼」，汲汲于功名之时并不闲；此诗所写，正是他卸下功名之想、与山林独对时的本真状态。「自」字亦不可轻轻放过：闲是自然而然、从心而生的，非强求可得，故笑而不答、悠然自得。一个「闲」字，写尽隐逸生活的精神内核，亦见太白于放浪豪宕之外，本有深沉的淡泊一面。

笑 The word 'smile' (xiao) is the eye of the poem's expression, showing the poet's spirit. Facing the worldly question, he smiles without answer — a smile of disdain to explain, of contentment in the mountain's true delight, of 'not to be told to outsiders' mystery. The smile is the expression of 'not answering'; together they are Zhuangzi's 'gain the meaning, forget the words.' Li often uses such spirit: 'laughing to heaven I go out the gate' is a proud laugh; this smile is a faint, transcendent one. One laugh makes the whole poem alive. 「笑而不荅」之「笑」字，是全诗神态之眼，最见诗人风神。此笑非寻常之笑：面对俗人之问，笑而不答，笑里含着一分不屑与俗人分说的疏狂、一分对碧山真趣的自得、一分「不足为外人道也」的玄妙。笑是「不荅」的表情，不荅是笑的内容，二字合看，恰是《庄子》所谓「得意忘言」的姿态——真意既已得之于心，又何须以言筌示人。李白诗中屡见此类神情：「仰天大笑出门去，我辈岂是蓬蒿人」是大笑，是志得意满之笑；此诗之笑则是浅笑、微笑，是超然物外的会心之笑。同一「笑」字，一豪一淡，正见诗人人格之丰富。此笑一出，全诗皆活，问者、答者、青山、流水，尽在那一笑的神情笼罩之下。

窅然 The word 'yaoran' (yaoran) describes deep, remote, obscure appearance — the most refined diction here. If replaced by 'youran' (leisurely) or 'yaoran' (vanished), those lack its triple sense of deep, empty, far. Peach blossom and stream vanish not merely away but into an unfathomable realm, as if toward another world. The word comes from Daoist language describing the Dao-body's subtlety; Li shifts it to the flowing blossoms, giving the scene an immortal, metaphysical air, setting up 'another world not of men.' Many Tang poets wrote peach-blossom streams, but with 'yaoran' this line becomes unique. 「桃花流水窅然去」之「窅然」，状深远幽眇之貌，是此句最见炼字功力处。若换作「悠然」「杳然」，虽亦通，然「悠然」近闲适、「杳然」近消失，皆不如「窅然」兼有幽深、空寂、邈远三重意味——桃花流水一去，不只是离去，而是没入幽深难测之境，仿佛通向另一个世界。此词本自道家语，形容道体之幽微难测，李白移以状流水桃花之逝，顿使眼前实景染上仙气与玄思，为下句「别有天地非人间」作势。唐人写桃花流水多矣，而「窅然」二字一出，此句遂成绝唱。可见炼字不在奇僻，而在字与境、与情的精确契合——一个恰到好处的古雅之词，便足以让整句生出烟霞之气。