唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
书事
A Record of the Scene
轻阴阁小雨，深院昼慵开。
坐看苍苔色，欲上人衣来。
I sit and watch the color of the gray moss — it seems about to climb onto my clothes.
Meaning
A twenty-character miniature of Wang Wei's leisure at his Wangchuan retreat. After a drizzle under pale clouds, the sealed courtyard invites stillness; sitting, the poet watches the moss until its green seems to rise onto his robe. The poem records not an event but a quality of attention — the self dissolved into quiet observation.
轻阴笼住小雨（雨初停，天色轻阴），深院里白昼慵懒地开着门。闲坐细看那苍苔的颜色，仿佛要染到人的衣上来。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] Pale clouds hold the last of the drizzle; in the deep courtyard the doors hang idly open at noon. Sitting, I watch the gray-green moss — its color seems about to rise onto my clothes. [Structure] The first couplet sets the stillness (weather, courtyard, door); the second enacts it (sitting, watching, and the impossible touch of moss-color on cloth). [Imagery and Voice] The marvel is the final phrase: color treated as a substance that can move and stain. It is the signature of Wang Wei's painting within poetry — and of his Buddhist calm, in which watcher and watched quietly merge.
【白话串讲】 王维写《书事》：“轻阴阁小雨，深院昼慵开”——“坐看苍苔色，欲上人衣来”——他坐着看青苔，青苔仿佛要爬上衣来——他写雨后深院的静。 【意象与手法】 此诗是王维写深院闲适的名篇，写雨后半晴时坐看苍苔的情趣，是王维山水田园诗的名篇。首句「轻阴阁小雨」写雨后的轻阴——那「轻阴」写轻微的阴天，「阁小雨」写雨意被拦住了（「阁」通「搁」，写小雨停歇、雨意被搁住），写雨后初停的天色；次句「深院昼慵开」写深院的慵懒——那「深院」写幽深的庭院，「昼慵开」写白昼慵懒地开着门（门慵开，写无人来访的闲静）；三句「坐看苍苔色」写坐看苍苔——那「坐看」写闲坐静观，那「苍苔色」写苍苔的颜色；末句「欲上人衣来」写苍苔欲染人衣——那「欲上人衣来」写苍苔的绿色仿佛要染到人的衣上来，是千古名句。全诗以「轻阴」「小雨」写雨后的天色，以「深院」「昼慵开」写院中的闲静，以「坐看苍苔色，欲上人衣来」写坐看苍苔的情趣——那苍苔的颜色鲜绿欲滴，仿佛要染上人衣，以「欲上」写尽苍苔的生机与静观的情趣，是王维山水田园诗「诗中有画」的名篇。 【情感与主旨】 此诗是王维《辋川集》外写闲适的名篇，作于唐玄宗开元末年至天宝年间，时王维隐居辋川别业（一说晚年居蓝田）。王维晚年笃信佛教，隐居辋川，过着半官半隐的闲适生活。此诗写其雨后半晴时坐看深院苍苔的情趣——那「轻阴阁小雨」写雨后初停的天色，那「深院昼慵开」写深院的闲静（门慵开，写无人来访），那「坐看苍苔色，欲上人衣来」写坐看苍苔的生机——那苍苔的颜色鲜绿欲滴，仿佛要染上人衣，写尽静观万物的情趣。全诗以「慵开」「坐看」「欲上」写尽闲适的意趣——那「慵」写心境的慵懒闲适，那「坐看」写静观的专注，那「欲上人衣来」写物我相融的妙趣，正是王维晚年「行到水穷处，坐看云起时」的闲适心境，是王维山水田园诗的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“轻阴阁小雨，深院昼慵开”写雨后深院的闲静；“坐看苍苔色，欲上人衣来”写苍苔仿佛欲染人衣，是千古名句。
Background
Wang Wei (c. 701–761), courtesy name Mojie, was the foremost poet of the High Tang landscape-and-pastoral tradition, later called the Poet Buddha for the Chan calm of his verse. In his later years he bought the Wangchuan villa at Lantian, south of Changan, and roamed it with his friend Pei Di, producing the famous Wangchuan collection. This quatrain, though not part of that cycle, belongs to the same world: the retired, rain-washed courtyard where the poet sits and lets the world come to him.
此诗是王维写深院闲适的名篇，作于唐玄宗开元末年至天宝年间，时王维隐居蓝田辋川别业。王维（约701—761），字摩诘，蒲州（今山西永济）人，唐代山水田园诗派的代表诗人，有「诗佛」之称。王维晚年（约四十岁后）笃信佛教，购得宋之问的辋川别业（在蓝田），与好友裴迪等徜徉其间，过着半官半隐的生活，写下大量山水田园诗。此诗写雨后闲坐深院的情趣。诗中「轻阴阁小雨」写轻微的阴天、小雨被搁住——「轻阴」写轻微的阴天（雨后初晴，天色仍阴），「阁小雨」写小雨停歇（「阁」通「搁」，写雨意被搁住、雨止）；「深院昼慵开」写深院白昼慵懒地开着门——「深院」写幽深的庭院，「昼慵开」写门在白昼慵懒地开着（「慵」写慵懒，门慵开写无人来访、少人走动）；「坐看苍苔色」写闲坐细看苍苔的颜色——「坐看」写闲坐静观，「苍苔」写青苔（雨后苍苔鲜绿）；「欲上人衣来」写苍苔的颜色仿佛要染到人衣上来——「欲上」写将要染上，写苍苔鲜绿欲滴、仿佛要染上人衣。全诗以「轻阴」「小雨」「深院」「苍苔」写雨后半晴的闲静景致，以「欲上人衣来」写静观的情趣，是王维山水田园诗「诗中有画」的名篇。
Art
The quatrain's craft is economy of means. The first couplet establishes stillness through negation — clouds that only hold the rain, doors that idly stay shut — so the scene is defined by what does not happen. The second couplet then performs one small miracle: the verb of climbing, applied to mere color, animates the moss until green seems to move toward the observer. Between the couplets sits the unremarked pivot of sitting and watching: the poet's motionless body is the hinge on which the whole still world turns. Nothing is described at length; everything is implied by two or three perfectly placed words.
此诗的艺术特色可从四个层面解析。其一，以「阁」写雨止。首句「轻阴阁小雨」以「阁」字写小雨停歇——那「阁」通「搁」，写雨意被搁住、雨止，一个「阁」字写尽雨后初停的天色与雨意将尽的动态，炼字精妙。其二，以「慵」写闲静。次句「深院昼慵开」以「慵」字写深院的慵懒——那「深院」写庭院之幽深，「昼慵开」写门在白昼慵懒地开着，「慵」字写尽院中的闲静（无人来访、少人走动），也写尽诗人闲适的心境。其三，以「坐看」写静观。三句「坐看苍苔色」以「坐看」写闲坐静观——那「坐看」写静坐细看（不急于起身、专注于观），写尽静观万物的闲适。其四，以「欲上」写妙趣。末句「欲上人衣来」以「欲上」写苍苔欲染人衣——那「欲上人衣来」写苍苔的鲜绿仿佛要染到人衣上来，以「欲上」写尽苍苔的生机与静观的情趣，物我相融，是千古名句。四重手法层层递进，使这首五绝写尽雨后坐看苍苔的情趣，正是王维「诗中有画」与「以静写趣」的本领。
Allusions
The poem needs no narrative allusion, but it is dense with echoes of the pastoral tradition. The posture of sitting and watching recalls Wang Wei's own line about walking to where the water ends and sitting to watch the clouds rise, from his poem on the Zhongnan retreat — the same contemplative leisure. Moss climbing toward the observer answers Liu Yuxi's line about moss marks climbing the steps green, and the sealed courtyard that welcomes no visitor stands in gentle contrast to Du Fu's poem of welcome, where the thatched gate at last opens for an arriving guest.
此诗的用语深植于山水田园与闲适传统。「轻阴阁小雨」写雨后的轻阴——那「轻阴」令人想到「漠漠轻阴晚自开，青天白日映楼台」（韩愈《同水部张员外籍曲江春游寄白二十二舍人》）的轻阴意象，那「阁小雨」令人想到「江雨霏霏江草齐」（韦庄《台城》）的雨意象，也令人想到「空山新雨后，天气晚来秋」（王维《山居秋暝》）的雨后意象；「深院昼慵开」写深院慵开——那「深院」令人想到「庭院深深深几许」（欧阳修《蝶恋花》）的深院意象，那「昼慵开」令人想到「蓬门今始为君开」（杜甫《客至》）的门意象——王维的门「慵开」写无人来访，杜甫的门「为君开」写客来，正是一闲一迎的对照，也令人想到「花径不曾缘客扫」（杜甫《客至》）的客至传统；「坐看苍苔色」写坐看苍苔——那「坐看」令人想到「行到水穷处，坐看云起时」（王维《终南别业》）的「坐看」意象——王维的「坐看云起」与「坐看苍苔」正是同一静观传统，那「苍苔」令人想到「苔痕上阶绿，草色入帘青」（刘禹锡《陋室铭》）的青苔意象；「欲上人衣来」写苍苔欲染人衣——那「欲上人衣」令人想到「客舍青青柳色新」（王维《送元二使安西》）的柳色意象，也令人想到「春来江水绿如蓝」（白居易《忆江南》）的绿意象，以「欲上」写绿意欲染人衣，正是写绿色的妙法。全诗化用王维《终南别业》、杜甫《客至》、刘禹锡《陋室铭》等山水闲适的意象，以「欲上人衣来」写尽静观的情趣，正是王维「以静写趣」的本领。
Commentary
Critics have always prized this quatrain as the essence of Wang Wei. Su Shi's judgment that Wang Wei has painting within his poetry and poetry within his painting is most easily demonstrated here: the poem is a monochrome ink-wash — pale cloud, fine rain, deep courtyard, gray moss. Commentators single out the closing phrase, about to climb onto my clothes, as a stroke of genius that makes color tangible and the observer part of the scene. It is read as a miniature of the Wangchuan spirit: stillness so complete that the boundary between self and world begins to dissolve.
此诗历来被推为王维写闲适情趣的名篇，也是中国山水田园诗写静观之趣的经典。历代论者对此诗评价极高：苏轼评王维「诗中有画，画中有诗」，此诗正是「诗中有画」的代表；清人评此诗「以静写趣，物我相融」；近人更指出「欲上人衣来」以「欲上」写苍苔的鲜绿欲滴、仿佛要染上人衣，是写景的千古名句。在文学史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以二十字写尽雨后坐看深院苍苔的情趣——那「轻阴阁小雨」写雨后初停的天色（「阁」字写雨止），那「深院昼慵开」写深院的闲静（「慵」字写门慵开、无人来访），那「坐看苍苔色，欲上人衣来」写坐看苍苔的生机——那苍苔的颜色鲜绿欲滴，仿佛要染上人的衣来，以「欲上」写尽苍苔的生机与静观的情趣，物我相融；那「坐看」正是王维「行到水穷处，坐看云起时」的静观传统的延续，那「欲上人衣来」更写尽诗人与物的相融——静观到极致，物我合一。此诗是王维晚年隐逸生活的写照——那深院的慵开、苍苔的欲上，正是「诗佛」静观万物的心境。此诗与《终南别业》（「行到水穷处，坐看云起时」）同为王维写闲适的名篇，一写「坐看云起」的旷达，一写「坐看苍苔」的静趣；又与《白石滩》（「浣纱明月下」）同为王维山水田园诗的小品。对于今日读者，此诗是理解王维「静观」美学的窗口，也是中国山水田园诗写闲适情趣的经典——那轻阴的小雨、慵开的深院、欲染人衣的苍苔，穿越千年，仍在诉说着静观万物的闲适与物我相融的妙趣。
Prosody
Line by line
轻阴阁小雨，深院昼慵开。
Light cloud holds back the light rain; in the deep courtyard, the doors stay shut in midday idleness.
轻阴笼住小雨，深院里白昼慵懒地开着门。
Light clouds stay the light rain; in the deep court, the door at noon stands idly open.
这句是写雨后闲静的名句，以「阁」写雨止、以「慵」写闲静，写尽深院的闲适与诗人的心境。「轻阴阁小雨」写轻阴笼住小雨——那「轻阴」写轻微的阴天（雨后初晴，天色仍阴），那「阁小雨」写小雨被搁住（「阁」通「搁」，写雨意被搁住、雨止），那「阁」字写尽雨后的天色与雨止的动态；「深院昼慵开」写深院白昼慵懒地开着门——那「深院」写幽深的庭院，那「昼慵开」写门在白昼慵懒地开着（「慵」写慵懒），写尽院中的闲静。这句的深意在于：它以「轻阴阁小雨」写雨后初停的天色——那「轻阴」写雨后仍阴的天色（不是晴空，而是轻阴），那「阁」字写雨意将尽的动态——小雨被搁住了，雨止了，正是「雨后半晴」的时刻；以「深院昼慵开」写深院的闲静——那「深院」写庭院之幽深（深院无人，故静），那「昼慵开」以「慵」字写门慵懒地开着——门慵开，正写无人来访、少人走动，那「慵」字既写门的慵懒，也写诗人心境的慵懒闲适；那「轻阴」「小雨」「深院」「慵开」相连，写尽雨后深院的闲静与闲适。以「阁」写雨止、以「慵」写闲静，正是王维炼字的本领，也让这句成为写雨后闲静的名句。
This line is a famous writing of the post-rain ease, through 'stay' writing the rain's stopping, through 'idly' writing the stillness, to the full the deep court's leisure and the poet's mood. 'Light clouds stay the light rain' — 'light clouds' the slight overcast (after rain, the sky still cloudy), 'stay the light rain' the rain held (the 'stay' read as 'hold', the rain's will held, the rain stopped), the word 'stay' writing the post-rain sky and the motion of the rain's stopping; 'in the deep court, the door at noon stands idly open' — 'deep court' the secluded courtyard, 'idly open' the door idly open in the daylight (the 'idly' the languor), writing the court's stillness. The depth: through 'light clouds stay the light rain' the sky just after rain — the 'light clouds' the still-cloudy sky (not clear sky, but light cloud), the word 'stay' the motion of the rain's will nearly spent — the light rain held, the rain stopped, precisely the moment of 'half-clear after rain'; through 'in the deep court, the door at noon stands idly open' the deep court's stillness — 'deep court' the seclusion (the deep court no man, hence still), 'idly open' through the word 'idly' the door's lazy opening — the door idly open, precisely no visitor, few passers; the word 'idly' both the door's languor and the poet's leisurely mood; 'light clouds', 'light rain', 'deep court', 'idly open' linked, writing to the full the post-rain deep court's ease. Writing the rain's stop through 'stay', writing the stillness through 'idly', precisely Wang Wei's word-craft, and the reason this line became a famous line of the post-rain ease.
坐看苍苔色，欲上人衣来。
I sit and watch the color of the gray moss — it seems about to climb onto my clothes.
闲坐细看那苍苔的颜色，仿佛要染到人的衣上来。
I sit and watch the dark moss; it seems about to climb upon my robe.
这句是全诗的点睛之笔，也是千古名句，以「欲上」写苍苔的鲜绿欲滴、仿佛要染上人衣，写尽静观的情趣与物我相融的妙趣。「坐看苍苔色」写闲坐细看苍苔的颜色——那「坐看」写闲坐静观（不急于起身、专注于观），那「苍苔色」写雨后苍苔鲜绿的颜色；「欲上人衣来」写苍苔的颜色仿佛要染到人衣上来——那「欲上」写将要染上，那「人衣」写人的衣裳，写尽苍苔鲜绿欲滴、仿佛要染上人衣的生动。这句的深意在于：它以「坐看苍苔色」写静观的专注——那「坐看」写闲坐静观（正因「深院昼慵开」的闲静，才有「坐看苍苔色」的闲情），那「苍苔色」写雨后苍苔的鲜绿——雨后苍苔，颜色格外鲜绿；以「欲上人衣来」写苍苔的生机——那「欲上」写苍苔的绿色仿佛要染到人的衣上来，以「欲上」写尽苍苔鲜绿欲滴的生机——那绿色浓得仿佛要流淌、要染上人衣；那「欲上人衣来」更写尽物我相融的妙趣——静观到极致，苍苔与诗人相融，那绿色仿佛要染上诗人的衣。以「坐看」写静观、以「欲上人衣来」写物我相融，正是王维「以静写趣」的本领，也让这句成为写静观情趣与苍苔的千古名句。
This line is the poem's eye, and a famous line through the ages, through 'seems about to climb' writing the moss's fresh green as if it would dye the robe, to the full the charm of quiet watching and the wonder of self-and-world merged. 'I sit and watch the dark moss' — 'sit and watch' the quiet, still watching (not rising in haste, rapt in observing), 'the dark moss' the post-rain moss's fresh green color; 'it seems about to climb upon my robe' — the moss's color as if it would dye the man's robe, 'seems about to climb' the about-to-dye, 'my robe' the garment, writing to the full the moss's vivid green as if it would climb upon the robe. The depth: through 'I sit and watch the dark moss' the raptness of quiet watching — 'sit and watch' the quiet still watching (precisely because of the 'idly open' ease of the deep court, there is the idle fancy of 'watching the dark moss'), 'the dark moss' the post-rain fresh green — the moss after rain, the color the more vivid; through 'it seems about to climb upon my robe' the moss's life — 'seems about to climb' the moss's green as if it would dye the man's robe, writing to the full the vivid green life of the moss — the green so thick it seems to flow, to dye the robe; and 'it seems about to climb upon my robe' further writes the wonder of self-and-world merged — watching to the extreme, the moss and the poet merged, the green as if it would dye the poet's robe. Writing the quiet watching through 'sit and watch', writing the self-world merge through 'climb upon my robe', precisely Wang Wei's craft of 'writing charm through stillness', and the reason this line became a famous line of quiet-watching charm and the moss through the ages.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
My Retreat at Zhongnan roams — walking to where the water ends and sitting to watch the clouds rise — its leisure as broad as the mountain. This quatrain shrinks the same posture to a courtyard: sitting to watch the color of the gray moss. Both poems turn on sitting and watching, showing that for Wang Wei leisure is not rest but a mode of attention.
《终南别业》「中岁颇好道，晚家南山陲」「行到水穷处，坐看云起时」写隐居终南的闲适，是王维写闲适的名篇。此诗《书事》则「轻阴阁小雨，深院昼慵开」「坐看苍苔色，欲上人衣来」写雨后坐看苍苔的情趣，是王维写闲适情趣的名篇。同为王维写闲适，一写「行到水穷处，坐看云起时」的旷达（终南别业），一写「坐看苍苔色，欲上人衣来」的静趣（书事）；一以「坐看云起」写闲适，一以「坐看苍苔」写静观。两诗对读，可见王维「坐看」的静观传统——云起与苍苔都是他静观的对象。
白石滩 White Stone Beach 王维 · 同王维山水田园诗小品 Both are small Wangchuan-style sketches; one is moonlit and clear, the other rain-hushed and still.White Stone Beach glitters — girls washing silk in the moonlight over the pale shoal — brightness and movement. This quatrain absorbs — pale cloud, fine rain, gray moss — softness and stillness. Together they show the two registers of Wang Wei's miniatures: clear radiance and hushed green.
《白石滩》「清浅白石滩，绿蒲向堪把」「浣纱明月下」写白石滩月夜浣纱的景象，是王维山水田园诗的小品。此诗《书事》则「轻阴阁小雨，深院昼慵开」「坐看苍苔色，欲上人衣来」写雨后坐看苍苔的情趣，是王维山水田园诗的另一小品。同为王维山水田园诗小品，一写「浣纱明月下」的明净（白石滩），一写「欲上人衣来」的静趣（书事）；一以月夜浣纱写田园，一以雨后苍苔写闲适。两诗对读，可见王维山水田园诗的两副笔墨——明净与闲适。
山居秋暝 Autumn Dusk in My Mountain Abode 王维 · 同王维山水田园名篇 Both are Wang Wei's rain-and-calm masterpieces; the one after mountain rain, the other after a courtyard drizzle.Autumn Dusk in My Mountain Abode opens on empty mountains after fresh rain and moves through moonlight and spring stones — rain as refreshment in an open landscape. This quatrain holds the same moment in a closed courtyard, rain as hush. Where one poem expands, the other contracts; both end in perfect quiet.
《山居秋暝》「空山新雨后，天气晚来秋。明月松间照，清泉石上流」写山居秋日的清幽，是王维山水诗的名篇。此诗《书事》则「轻阴阁小雨，深院昼慵开」「坐看苍苔色，欲上人衣来」写雨后深院的闲适，是王维山水田园诗的名篇。同为王维山水田园诗，一写「空山新雨后」的山居（山居秋暝），一写「轻阴阁小雨」的深院（书事）；一以「明月松间照」写清幽，一以「欲上人衣来」写静趣。两诗对读，可见王维写雨后的两种画面——山中的清幽与院中的闲静。