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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

岁暮归南山

At Year's End, Returning to South Mountain

孟浩然

Meng Haoran

感怀reflection 隐逸reclusion

北阙休上书，南山归敝庐。
不才明主弃，多病故人疏。
白发催年老，青阳逼岁除。
永怀愁不寐，松月夜窗虚。

To the northern gate, no more memorials;
To South Mountain, my broken hut I return.
Unworthy, by the bright lord cast aside;
Often sick, old friends grow sparse.
White hair hurries the years to age;
Green spring presses the old year away.
Long I brood, sorrow keeps me wakeful;
Pine and moon—the night window empty.

Listen

Meaning

No more will I send memorials to the court (the northern gate); I will return to my broken hut on South Mountain. Untalented, I am cast aside by the wise lord; often sick, even old friends grow distant. White hair hurries me toward age; the green spring presses the old year away. Long I brood, sorrow keeps me from sleep; in pine-shadow and moonlight the window stands empty.

不再向朝廷上奏章了，还是回终南山我的破草庐去吧。没有才干被圣明的君主弃置，身体多病连老朋友也疏远了。白发催人渐渐年老，春光逼近逼走了旧岁。长怀愁绪夜不能寐，松影月光下窗扉一片空寂。

Appreciation

The poem writes deep disappointment in the plainest words, its wonder in 'complaint without anger, grief without hurt.' The first couplet's 'no more memorials; to South Mountain my broken hut' sets the leaving and the returning in parallel. The second, 'Unworthy, by the bright lord cast aside; often sick, old friends grow sparse,' on the surface blames 'unworthy' and sighs 'often sick,' yet truly hides the complaint 'the bright lord casts me off, old friends grow sparse'—irony, heavy. The third, 'White hair hurries the years to age; green spring presses the old year away,' uses 'hurries' and 'presses' for age's coming and the year's passing. The close, 'Long I brood, sorrow keeps me wakeful,' ends on scene, the pine-moon window empty writing the loneliness. Clear and far yet a gloom coils within.

【白话串讲】 “不才明主弃，多病故人疏”——孟浩然到长安求官失败，回南山隐居。他自嘲：不是才被明主弃，是病多朋友疏。“永怀愁不寐”，他其实一直没放下。【意象与手法】此诗以极平淡的语言写极深沉的失意，妙在「怨而不怒、哀而不伤」。首联「北阙休上书，南山归敝庐」以对举写去就之决；颔联「不才明主弃，多病故人疏」表面自责，实则怨悱，反语沉痛；颈联「催」「逼」炼字精警；尾联以景结情，松月窗虚写孤寂。通篇清空淡远而郁气盘旋。【情感与主旨】《岁暮归南山》约作于开元十七年（729）孟浩然长安应举不第、求仕无门之后。诗人将科举落第后的典型心境写得真切深沉，表面是告别仕途、归老南山的决绝，实则满含怀才不遇的怨悱与岁暮年催的焦虑，是盛唐隐逸诗中「怨而不怒」的范例。【名句点睛】中高考要点：其一，「不才明主弃，多病故人疏」的反语与情感，要求答出表面自责、实则怨悱（怀才不遇）；其二，「催」「逼」二字的炼字效果；其三，尾联以景结情的写法；其四，此诗与玄宗见「不才明主弃」而不悦的典故。

Background

At Year's End, Returning to South Mountain was likely written in the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan (729), after Meng Haoran failed the Chang'an exam and found no office. By the New Tang History, Meng once met the Xuanzong by chance in Wang Wei's office and recited this line; the emperor was displeased. The poem was written at this disappointed homecoming: on the surface a resolute farewell to office and return to South Mountain, in truth full of the grievance of unspent talent and the anxiety of year's end. 'Northern gate' is the court's memorial gate; 'no more memorials' means giving up the suit. The poem writes the typical mind of a failed scholar with truth and depth—a model of High-Tang reclusion 'complaining yet not angry.'

《岁暮归南山》约作于唐玄宗开元十七年（729）孟浩然长安应举不第、求仕无门之后。孟浩然（689—740），襄阳人，盛唐著名山水田园诗人，一生未曾入仕。开元十六年（728）前后，四十岁的孟浩然入京求仕，应进士举不第，滞留长安，欲干谒求官而不得。据《新唐书·孟浩然传》记载，孟浩然曾于王维内署偶遇唐玄宗，玄宗命其诵诗，孟浩然诵及「不才明主弃，多病故人疏」两句，玄宗不悦，曰：「卿不求仕，而朕未尝弃卿，奈何诬我？」遂放还。此说虽未必尽实，然足见此两句在当时之影响。此诗即写于失意归隐之际，时值岁暮，诗人自长安归襄阳南山（一说终南山）。表面是告别仕途、归老南山的决绝，实则满含怀才不遇的怨悱与岁暮年催的焦虑。「北阙」指朝廷奏事之所，「休上书」即放弃干谒，二字写尽十年求仕的疲惫与绝望。全诗将士人科举落第后的典型心境写得真切深沉，是盛唐隐逸诗中「怨而不怒」的范例。

Art

The poem writes deep disappointment in the plainest language, its wonder in 'complaint without anger, grief without hurt.' The first couplet sets leaving and returning in parallel; the second on the surface blames 'unworthy' and sighs 'often sick,' yet hides the complaint 'the bright lord casts me off'—irony, heavy; the third uses 'hurries' and 'presses' for age and the year's passing; the close ends on scene, the pine-moon window empty writing loneliness. Clear and far, yet a gloom coils within.

此诗艺术上以「平淡中见沉郁」为最大特色，妙在「怨而不怒、哀而不伤」。首联「北阙休上书，南山归敝庐」以对举写去就之决：「北阙」与「南山」空间相对，「上书」与「归」动作相对，「休」字写尽绝望，起笔即定下全诗的基调。颔联「不才明主弃，多病故人疏」是千古名联：表面自责「不才」、自叹「多病」，实则暗含「明主弃我」「故人疏我」的怨悱，反语沉痛，字字含刺而不露锋芒。颈联「白发催年老，青阳逼岁除」以「催」「逼」两个动词写老之将至、岁之不待，拟人化的炼字将时光的无情写得触目惊心。尾联「永怀愁不寐，松月夜窗虚」转写夜境：长怀愁绪，彻夜难眠，唯见松影月色洒落空窗，以景结情，孤寂之境如在目前。全诗由白日的决绝到夜间的无眠，由明写的去就之思到暗写的愁怀之深，层层深入，清空淡远而郁气盘旋。尤妙者，全诗由「休上书」的决绝起，至「愁不寐」的深愁结，表面愈是决绝，内里愈见不甘，这种「言与心违」的张力，正是此诗最耐人寻味处。

Allusions

The allusions and sources are all proper. 'Northern gate' from the Han Shu (Gaozu): 'east gate, north gate raised,' later the general name for the court's memorial gate. 'Bright lord' from the Shi Ji (Qu Yuan Jia Sheng): 'the bright lord does not seize another's fault,' here reversed in meaning. 'Green spring' from the Er Ya (Shi Tian): 'spring is green spring,' meaning spring light; 'year's end' the year's close. 'Pine and moon' adapts the recluse poets Tao Yuanming and Ji Kang, writing lofty, lone clarity. The words drawn from classics and the recluse line, no angry word yet the grievance shows—his style 'spirit clear and open' yet inwardly deep.

此诗用典与语源皆雅正精当。「北阙」典出《汉书·高帝纪》「萧何治未央宫，立东阙、北阙」，后泛指朝廷奏事之所，唐人诗中常用以代指朝廷与君王。「明主」语出《史记·屈原贾生列传》「明主不乘人之过」等，此处反用其意，表面称颂明主，实则暗含「明主弃我」的怨悱。「青阳」出《尔雅·释天》「春为青阳」，指春天的阳光，即春光；「岁除」指年终岁暮。二词合用，写春光逼近、旧岁将尽，时光流转之紧迫。「松月」化用陶渊明《归去来兮辞》「抚孤松而盘桓」及嵇康《游仙诗》等隐逸诗中的松月意象，写高洁孤清之境。全诗诸词皆取自经史与隐逸传统，不着愤激之词而失意之慨自见，正是孟浩然「风神散朗」而内蕴沉郁的诗格，也是其「遇思入咏、不钩奇抉异」诗风的体现。又「敝庐」二字化用陶渊明《归去来兮辞》「审容膝之易安」之意，以茅屋之陋写心安之境，然孟浩然之「敝庐」终非陶潜之「易安」，其间「归」之不得已与「安」之未可得，正见其徘徊于仕隐之间的真实心境，用典之中暗含对陶渊明式的超越的向往与不能。

Commentary

The New Tang History (Meng Haoran Biography) records the Xuanzong displeasure at 'Unworthy, by the bright lord cast aside,' proving the line's weight. The Song critic Liu Chenweng judged the 'unworthy' couplet 'grievance yet not angry, most catching the poet's intent.' The Ming critic Hu Yinglin, in Shi Sou, called Meng's poems 'clear and elegant, far above the world.' Shen Deqian, in Tang Shi Biecai, said 'Meng's strength is in clarity and ease.' The modern Wen Yiduo named Meng Haoran 'chief of High-Tang recluse poets.' All prize this poem's plain words for deep gloom, complaint without anger—a master's air.

此诗自唐代以来评价极高，为孟浩然诗中的名篇。《新唐书·孟浩然传》载玄宗闻「不才明主弃」不悦之事，足见此句在当时的分量。宋人刘辰翁评「不才」一联「怨悱不怒，最得风人之旨」，指出其怨而不怒、合乎《诗经》温柔敦厚之教。明代胡应麟《诗薮》称孟诗「清空雅淡，迥出尘表」，清代沈德潜《唐诗别裁》谓「孟诗胜人处，在清空自在」。近人闻一多推孟浩然为「盛唐隐逸诗人之宗」，认为其诗以淡语写深情，正是此诗之所长。从诗史角度看，此诗将「归隐」这一传统母题写入了个人科举失意的现实内容，使隐逸诗由陶渊明式的田园理想转向士人失意后的现实处境，对后世「落第诗」「归隐诗」影响深远。此诗与《过故人庄》《宿建德江》并称孟浩然诗的代表作，充分展示了其「淡而有味、怨而不怒」的大家气象。今人读此诗，犹能从中感受到一代才士在科举制度下的集体命运，其「不才明主弃」的千古之叹，至今仍能引发知识分子的深切共鸣。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated poem (five-character lü)五言律诗

Rhyme Ping-shui rhyme, upper-level six yu group (memorials, hut, sparse, away, empty); first line enters rhyme平水韵·上平六鱼韵：书、庐、疏、除、虚相押，首句入韵。

Tone pattern Oblique-onset, first-line-enters-rhyme form; level-oblique per rule仄起首句入韵式：「北阙休上书」为仄仄平平仄，「南山归敝庐」为平平仄仄平，平仄合律，音律工整。

Reading note Meng Haoran's reclusion poem; clear and far, yet gloom within.此诗为五言律诗，仄起首句入韵式，押平水韵上平六鱼韵，「书」「庐」「疏」「除」「虚」五字一韵到底。六鱼韵字音较为沉郁收敛，与全诗失意归隐的基调相谐。全诗八句四联，首联写去就之决，颔联写失意之怨，颈联写年华之叹，尾联写夜境之寂，起承转合自然，结构严谨。颔联「不才明主弃，多病故人疏」对仗工整，为千古名联；颈联「白发催年老，青阳逼岁除」以「催」「逼」炼字，精警传神。孟浩然五律向以「清空雅淡」著称，此诗虽写失意，却用语淡雅、不露锋芒，音节谐婉，正合「怨而不怒」之旨，是盛唐五律中以平淡写沉郁的典范，沈德潜所谓「孟诗胜人处，在清空自在」即指此类。

Line by line

北阙休上书，南山归敝庐。

No more memorials to the northern gate; I return to my humble cottage among the southern hills.

不再向朝廷上奏章了，还是回终南山我的破草庐去吧。

I will send no more memorials to the court; rather, I return to my thatched hut on Zhongnan Mountain.

「北阙休上书，南山归敝庐」为全诗首联，以对举之笔写去就之决。「北阙」代指朝廷，「南山」代指归隐之地，一北一南，空间对照，象征仕与隐两种人生道路的选择。「休上书」三字力重千钧：「休」是放弃、停止，一个「休」字写出十年求仕无果后的彻底绝望，不是不想上书，而是知道上书无用；「归敝庐」写归隐，一个「敝」字既写草庐之破旧，更写诗人自嘲自解的酸楚——仕既无门，唯有归守敝庐。此联先言去，后言归，去得决绝，归得无奈，表面平静的语气下暗涌着巨大的失意，为全诗定下「怨而不怒」的基调。

The opening couplet states the poet's final decision in parallel: the northern gate stands for the court, the southern mountain for the life of retirement; north and south, an antithesis of space, symbolize the two roads of official service and withdrawal. "No more memorials" weighs a thousand catties: "no more" means giving up, ceasing - one word speaks of total despair after ten fruitless years of seeking office. It is not that he does not wish to petition, but that he knows petitioning is useless. "Return to my humble cottage" writes the withdrawal, and "humble" does double duty: the hut is shabby, and the poet mocks and consoles himself - since office has no door for him, he can only keep his wretched cottage. The couplet first announces departure, then return: gone decisively, returned resignedly. Beneath a calm surface surges vast disappointment - the keynote of grieving without anger.

不才明主弃，多病故人疏。

Untalented, I am cast off by an enlightened ruler; often ill, old friends grow distant.

没有才干被圣明的君主弃置，身体多病连老朋友也疏远了。

Lacking talent, I am cast aside by the enlightened ruler; ailing in body, old friends have grown distant.

「不才明主弃，多病故人疏」为全诗颔联，也是千古传诵的名联。此联字面是自责之语：自己「不才」故被「明主」弃，自己「多病」故为「故人」疏。然细品其意，怨悱自在言外：「明主弃」三字连用，暗含质问——既是明主，何故弃才？表面称颂明主圣明，实则暗示君主不明、贤才被弃；「故人疏」暗含世态炎凉之叹，所谓「多病」，实则是仕途失意后无人问津的托辞。此联以「不才」对「多病」、「明主」对「故人」、「弃」对「疏」，对仗工整，反语沉痛，表面自责而实含怨愤，最得「风人之旨」，是唐诗中以反语写失意的典范。

The second couplet is the famous, thousand-year-quoted line. On the surface it is self-blame: untalented, therefore cast off by the enlightened ruler; often ill, therefore neglected by old friends. Yet read closely, resentment breathes between the lines. The phrase "enlightened ruler casts off" carries a hidden question - if he is indeed enlightened, why cast off talent? Praising sageliness outwardly, it hints inwardly that the ruler is not enlightened and worth is discarded. "Old friends grow distant" sighs at the world's cold warmth; the frequent illness is a pretext after career ruin, when no one inquires after him. The parallel - untalented against often ill, enlightened ruler against old friends, cast off against grow distant - is impeccably wrought; the irony cuts deep. Apparent self-reproach hides indignation, the very spirit of the ancient odes; a model of writing disappointment through irony in Tang verse.

白发催年老，青阳逼岁除。

White hairs hasten old age; the bright spring presses out the dying year.

白发催人渐渐年老，春光逼近逼走了旧岁。

White hairs hasten me toward old age; the bright spring presses the old year out.

「白发催年老，青阳逼岁除」为全诗颈联，转写岁暮年催之悲，是全诗情感的转折与深化。「白发催年老」写人：白发渐生，催促着人走向衰老，「催」字以白发为主语，拟人化地写出时光对生命的催逼，仿佛白发在身后步步紧逼；「青阳逼岁除」写岁：春光（青阳）逼近，逼走了旧岁，「逼」字写新旧交替之迫，岁将除而春将至，时光不等人。一「催」一「逼」，两个动词将无形的时光写得有形有力，句句惊心。此联上承「归南山」的决绝，下启「愁不寐」的深夜，由仕途之失意转入生命之焦虑——功业未成而岁月已老，正是失意士人最深沉的悲哀。

The third couplet turns to the grief of advancing age at year's end, deepening the poem's emotion. "White hairs hasten old age" writes of the person: hairs multiply and urge him toward decline; "hasten" makes white hairs the subject, personifying time as a pursuer treading at his heels. "Bright spring presses out the year" writes of the season: spring draws near and drives out the old year; "presses" renders the urgency of turnover - the year ending, spring arriving, time waiting for no one. Hasten and press alone give invisible time weight and force, each sentence a shock. This couplet rises from the resolve of returning to the southern hills and descends toward the sleepless night of the last line, shifting from career frustration to existential anxiety: achievement unaccomplished while years grow old - the deepest sorrow of the disappointed scholar.

永怀愁不寐，松月夜窗虚。

Long sorrows keep me awake; in moonlit pines the night window lies empty.

长怀愁绪夜不能寐，松影月光下窗扉一片空寂。

Holding endless sorrow I cannot sleep; in pines and moonlight my night window lies empty.

「永怀愁不寐，松月夜窗虚」为全诗尾联，以景结情，余韵悠长。「永怀」写愁绪之长，绵绵不绝；「不寐」写愁绪之深，彻夜难眠；「松月夜窗虚」转写眼前之景：松影扶疏，月色清冷，洒落空窗。「虚」字是全联诗眼，既写窗扉之空、室内之寂，更写诗人心境之空落——归隐南山之后，仕途既失，故人渐疏，唯余松月相伴，万般心事尽付空窗。此联由抒情转为写景，将「愁不寐」的内心状态外化为「松月夜窗」的静寂画面，情景交融，含蓄不尽。全诗以决绝起，以空寂终，起于白日的去就之思，终于深夜的孤寂之境，首尾呼应，怨而不怒，哀而不伤。

The closing couplet ends in scenery, with lingering echoes. "Long sorrow" writes the duration of grief, unceasing; "cannot sleep" writes its depth, a night awake; "pines, moonlight, an empty night window" turns to the scene before him - pines branching, moon cold, light falling on an empty casement. "Empty" is the line's eye: the window is empty, the room silent, and more, the poet's heart is vacant. Having withdrawn to the southern hills, office lost, friends drifted away, only pines and moon remain; every care is left to the empty window. From lyrical statement to scene, the inner state of sleepless sorrow is externalized into the still image of pines and moonlight, feeling and landscape fused, reserve inexhaustible. The poem opens in resolve and closes in emptiness: from daytime's deliberation of going or staying to midnight's solitude; beginning and end answer each other, grieving without anger, sorrowful without breaking.

Study

Word focus

弃 Means 'cast aside, abandon'; 'by the bright lord cast aside' on the surface accepts blame, yet the word 'cast aside' betrays the grievance of talent unspent—irony's edge. 「不才明主弃」之「弃」字，是全诗情感的焦点，一字见失意士人的隐痛与反语之妙。「弃」即弃置、抛弃，字面谓自己因不才而被明主弃置，是自责之辞；然细加推敲，「明主」而「弃」才，本身即是矛盾——既是明主，何能弃贤？诗人以「不才」自谦，反衬「明主」之明，实则暗含质问：若君真明，何故遗才？此字有双重指向：表面上，是诗人自认不才、接受被弃的命运；深层次，是诗人对君主用人不明的隐怨与对自身怀才不遇的不平。孟浩然一生求仕不果，此「弃」字凝聚了他半生的辛酸。据载玄宗闻此句而不悦，正因听出了其中暗含的怨悱。一字之中，自责与怨人并存，谦卑与不平交织，正是反语艺术的极致。

逼 Means 'press, force'; 'green spring presses the old year away' writes the new spring crowding out the old year, the year's passing felt as a pressing near, heightening the year's-end anxiety. 「青阳逼岁除」之「逼」字，炼字精警，写尽时光流转之迫。「逼」即逼近、逼迫，此处写春光（青阳）逼近，逼走旧岁，新旧交替之际，时光之迫不容喘息。此字之妙有三：其一，以动写时，「逼」字将抽象的岁月更替写得如人相逼，春光仿佛一个步步紧逼的追赶者，旧岁在其逼迫下仓皇辞去，时光的紧迫感跃然纸上；其二，以景写情，诗人岁暮归山，功业未成而年华已老，「逼」字正是其内心焦灼的外化——不是岁月在流，而是岁月在逼；其三，与上句「催」字相对，上句「白发催年老」写生命之催，此句「青阳逼岁除」写岁月之逼，一「催」一「逼」，将老之将至、时不我待的双重焦虑写得淋漓尽致，是孟浩然炼字最精的一处。

虚 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「松月夜窗虚」之「虚」字，是全诗以景结情的关键，写尽归隐后的孤寂与空落。「虚」即空虚、空寂，此处既写窗之空——夜窗之下，无人无物，唯松月之影；更写心之虚——仕途既失，故人渐疏，胸中愁绪无可排遣，唯余一片空落。此字之妙有三层：其一，状景之实，松影月色洒落窗上，窗内空空如也，「虚」字是夜境的写实；其二，传情之深，「虚」字将「愁不寐」的内心状态化为可感的画面，愁到深处，人便如空窗一般，一无所有，万籁俱寂；其三，蕴味之远，全诗以「虚」字收束，言尽而意不尽，归隐的决绝、失意的怨悱、年老的焦虑，尽沉淀在这空寂的月色里。一个「虚」字，为全诗画上淡远而沉郁的句号，是孟浩然「清空」诗风的典型体现。