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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

宿王昌龄隐居

Staying Overnight at the Hermitage of Wang Changling

常建

Chang Jian

清溪深不测，隐处惟孤云。
松际露微月，清光犹为君。
茅亭宿花影，药院滋苔纹。
余亦谢时去，西山鸾鹤群。

The clear stream runs deep beyond measure,
And at the hermit's dwelling, only a lone white cloud.
A faint moon slips through the pine branches —
Its pure light still seems to shine for you.
Flower-shadows lodge in the thatched pavilion,
Moss creeps in patterns through the herb garden.
I too shall take leave of this worldly age
And join the luan birds and cranes of the Western Hill.

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Meaning

Spending a night at the deserted hermitage of his friend Wang Changling, Chang Jian finds the place deepened by solitude — a fathomless clear stream, a single cloud, a slip of moon between the pines — and the pure moonlight seems, he feels, to shine still for the absent friend. The quiet scene awakens in the poet a wish to leave the world as Wang has done, and to keep company with the immortal cranes of the Western Hill.

清溪深得难以测度，隐居之处唯有孤云。松际露出微月，清光仿佛还为你而照。茅亭中栖着花影，药院里滋长青苔纹路。我也将辞谢时世而去，与西山的鸾鹤为群。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Chang Jian spends a night at the old hermitage of Wang Changling: the stream runs deep beyond measure, a lone cloud drifts over the retreat, a faint moon rises between the pines — and its clear light seems, the poet feels, to shine still for the absent master. Flower-shadows rest in the thatched pavilion; moss creeps through the herb garden. The scene is so pure that the poet resolves to quit the world and join the cranes and luan birds of the Western Hill. [Structure] The poem opens with six couplets of scenery and closes with two lines of resolve, following the classic 'from scene to aspiration' pattern. The first couplet sets depth and solitude; the second turns the moonlight toward the absent friend; the third settles into stillness; the final couplet lifts into resolve. [Imagery] Deep stream, lone cloud, faint moon, flower-shadows, moss — each image strips away one more trace of the worldly, until the scene is emptiness itself, and emptiness naturally suggests transcendence. Chang Jian's famed 'pure and remote' style is fully realized here.

【白话串讲】常建写《宿王昌龄隐居》：“清溪深不测，隐处惟孤云”——“松际露微月，清光犹为君”——“茅亭宿花影，药院滋苔纹”——“余亦谢时去，西山鸾鹤群”——他宿王昌龄隐居——清光犹为君。【意象与手法】清溪深不测、隐处惟孤云，写隐居处之幽深；松际露微月、清光犹为君，写月下之景，犹念故人；茅亭宿花影、药院滋苔纹，写隐居处之清寂；结以“余亦谢时去，西山鸾鹤群”写归隐之志。清幽淡远。【情感与主旨】常建夜宿王昌龄隐居之处所作，写隐居之清幽与归隐之志，是唐人写隐逸诗中的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“清溪深不测，隐处惟孤云”写隐居幽深；“松际露微月，清光犹为君”写月下之景犹念故人。

Background

Chang Jian (c. 708–c. 765) was a Tang poet who passed the jinshi examination in the Kaiyuan era yet never rose high in office; disappointed in official life, he wandered among mountains and waters, and his poems are known for a 'pure and remote' flavor. Wang Changling (698–757), his friend, was one of the most celebrated poets of the High Tang, famous for frontier and quatrain poetry. The poem was written when Chang Jian spent a night at Wang Changling's retreat, then in the Chang'an area. The place seems already deserted — moss and flower-shadows suggest long absence — so the night is both a vigil for a friend and a temptation to the hermit life.

《宿王昌龄隐居》为盛唐诗人常建所作五言律诗。常建（约708—约765），盛唐诗人，开元年间进士，仕途不得意，常游历山水，寄情山水，其诗多写山水田园与隐逸之趣。王昌龄为常建之友，盛唐著名诗人。此诗写常建夜宿王昌龄隐居之处（在今陕西长安一带）所作。诗中「清溪深不测，隐处惟孤云」写隐居处之幽深；「松际露微月，清光犹为君」写月下之景；「茅亭宿花影，药院滋苔纹」写隐居处之清寂；「余亦谢时去，西山鸾鹤群」写归隐之志。王昌龄时或隐居于此，常建夜宿其居，感其清幽，遂生归隐之思。此诗以夜宿隐居之处写隐逸之趣与归隐之志，清幽淡远，是唐人写隐逸诗中的名篇，也是常建「清幽淡远」诗风的典型体现。此篇《宿王昌龄隐居》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 its 'from scene to aspiration' movement and its economy of means. The first couplet, 'The clear stream is deep beyond measure; at the hermit's dwelling, only a lone white cloud,' measures seclusion in two negatives — unfathomable water, solitary cloud. The second couplet is the emotional center: moonlight, impersonal in itself, is made to 'still' shine for you, a personification that carries the whole weight of remembrance in one word. The third couplet is pure still life, and the verbs do the work: flower-shadows 'lodge' as travelers, moss 'creeps' like slow time. Then the last couplet pivots — having breathed the air of retreat, the poet claims it for himself ('I too shall take leave'), and the luan birds and cranes of the Western Hill translate his wish into an immortal landscape.

此诗艺术上以「由景生志、清幽淡远」见长。全诗八句，前六句写隐居处之景，后两句写归隐之志。首联「清溪深不测，隐处惟孤云」写隐居处之幽深：清溪深得难以测度，隐居之处唯有孤云，「清溪深不测」写溪之幽深，「隐处惟孤云」写隐居处之清幽，唯孤云相伴。颔联「松际露微月，清光犹为君」写月下之景：松际露出微月，清光仿佛还为你而照，「松际露微月」写月出松间之景，「清光犹为君」以月照写对王昌龄的怀想。颈联「茅亭宿花影，药院滋苔纹」写隐居处之清寂：茅亭中栖着花影，药院里滋长青苔纹路，「茅亭宿花影」写亭中之花影，「药院滋苔纹」写院中之苔纹，一片清寂。尾联「余亦谢时去，西山鸾鹤群」写归隐之志：我也将辞谢时世而去，与西山的鸾鹤为群，「谢时去」写辞世归隐，「鸾鹤群」以鸾鹤写归隐之仙境。全诗由景生志，前六句写隐居之清幽，后两句写归隐之志，清幽淡远，是唐人写隐逸诗中的名篇。

Allusions

Two images carry classical weight. 'Luan birds and cranes' are the mounts of Daoist immortals; in Chinese poetry they conventionally mark the realm beyond the dusty world, so to 'join the cranes of the Western Hill' is to choose the immortal's life. 'Western Hill' resonates with the geography of reclusion: Bo Yi and Shu Qi starved on Mount Shouyang, Xu You washed his ears at Mount Ji — the western hills are where recluses dwell. 'To take leave of the age' (xie shi) means retiring from the world of titles and salary. 'You' (jun) in the second couplet is Wang Changling himself: the moon's clear light seems to remember him and to shine for him still. None of this is flaunted; the allusions dissolve into the landscape, which is precisely the poem's elegance.

诗中「鸾鹤」「西山」等语，皆含隐逸典故。「鸾鹤」为仙人坐骑，古代传说仙人乘鸾驾鹤，后世以「鸾鹤」写仙境与隐逸高蹈，「西山鸾鹤群」写与西山鸾鹤为群，即隐于山林、与仙禽为伴，写归隐之志；「西山」亦暗含隐逸之地，如伯夷叔齐隐于首阳山、许由隐于箕山，西山为隐逸者所居之地。「清光犹为君」之「君」，指王昌龄，月之清光仿佛还为其人而照，写对故人的怀想。「谢时去」写辞谢时世而去，即辞官归隐。诗人以鸾鹤、西山等隐逸意象入诗，不着痕迹，而把隐居处之清幽与归隐之志写得真切可感，是善于熔铸隐逸文化传统的体现。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

Critics have long ranked this among the finest Tang poems on the recluse life; Ming anthologists praised its ending as rising beyond the scene itself. What strikes readers most is the second couplet's tact: to remember a friend by crediting the moonlight with remembering him is more moving than any direct lament, because the feeling is inferred, not declared. The poem's influence lies in its crystallization of Chang Jian's 'pure and remote' style — later writers on hermit poetry, from Wei Yingwu to the Song landscape poets, inherit this restraint, in which the wish to withdraw is never announced until the scene has already made it inevitable.

这首《宿王昌龄隐居》，是常建夜宿王昌龄隐居之处所作，写隐居之清幽与归隐之志，清幽淡远，读之令人神往。首联「清溪深不测，隐处惟孤云」，写隐居处之幽深：清溪深得难以测度，隐居之处唯有孤云相伴。「清溪深不测」，写溪水之幽深，深不可测；「隐处惟孤云」，写隐居处之清幽，唯孤云缭绕。两句写尽隐居处的幽深清寂，正是隐者所居之境。颔联「松际露微月，清光犹为君」，写月下之景：松际露出微月，清光仿佛还为你而照。夜宿于此，月上松间，清光洒落，诗人觉得这清光仿佛还在为王昌龄而照——「犹为君」三字，含蓄地写出对故人的怀想：这隐居处曾是他的居处，这月这光，仿佛还记着他。颈联「茅亭宿花影，药院滋苔纹」，写隐居处之清寂：茅亭中栖着花影，药院里滋长青苔纹路。「茅亭宿花影」，写亭中之花影，仿佛栖息于亭中；「药院滋苔纹」，写药院里青苔滋生，纹路斑驳。花影苔纹，写尽隐居处的清寂幽静，人迹罕至，岁月静好。尾联「余亦谢时去，西山鸾鹤群」，写归隐之志：我也将辞谢时世而去，与西山的鸾鹤为群。夜宿于此清幽之境，诗人不禁生出归隐之志——不愿再羁于时世，愿与西山鸾鹤为群，隐于山林。这归隐之志，正是由隐居处的清幽所触发。全诗由景生志，前六句写隐居之清幽，后两句写归隐之志，清幽淡远，正是常建「清幽淡远」诗风的体现，也是唐人写隐逸诗的典范，读之令人心静。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse (wulü), with a level-tone opening line五言律诗（近体，平起式）

Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level-tone words yun (cloud), jun (you), wen (pattern), and qun (flock), all from the wen-zhen rhyme group, one rhyme sustained throughout; the broad, drawn-out vowel sounds match the hush of the retreat.全诗押平声韵「云」「君」「纹」「群」，韵脚同属文真类（云、君、纹、群），一韵到底，韵部宽舒而音调清远。五律以平韵谐畅为常，此诗「云」「君」「纹」「群」四韵音色悠长，正与隐居清幽的情调相称；「群」字收束全篇，与「西山鸾鹤群」之句相映，韵脚亦含归隐高蹈之意，声情与辞情相凑。

Tone pattern Each couplet follows the five-character regulated pattern with level and oblique tones alternating. The opening couplet begins level and ends on the soft 'yun'; the middle couplets are strict antithesis, tightening the verse as the scene stills; the close opens level and breathes out on 'qun', letting the mood rise into distance.句式上，首联「清溪深不测，隐处惟孤云」平起，以「云」收句，写隐居处之幽深，音节清远；颔联「松际露微月，清光犹为君」写月下怀人之景，音节清幽；颈联「茅亭宿花影，药院滋苔纹」对仗工整，「宿花影」「滋苔纹」相映，写清寂之景，音节静谧；尾联「余亦谢时去，西山鸾鹤群」以「群」字平收，音节转舒，情调由清寂归于高远。全诗平仄相间、音节随情起伏，读来如夜宿幽居、月下怀人之音，清幽而淡远。

Reading note This is the classic hermit form of the High Tang: the five-character regulated verse, whose capacity for quiet accumulation Chang Jian fully exploits — six couplets of almost silent observation, then a two-line elevation of feeling. The sustained single rhyme acts like a held breath; when 'qun' finally releases it, the reader understands that the poet's resolve has been forming in the dark.此诗为五言律诗，是唐人写隐逸诗中的名篇，也是常建「清幽淡远」诗风的典型体现。全诗的艺术特色在于「由景生志、清幽淡远」：首联「清溪深不测，隐处惟孤云」写隐居处之幽深，以「惟孤云」写其清幽；颔联「松际露微月，清光犹为君」写月下怀人之景，「犹为君」含蓄写对故人的怀想；颈联「茅亭宿花影，药院滋苔纹」以「宿」「滋」写隐居处之清寂，是全诗写景最清幽处；尾联「余亦谢时去，西山鸾鹤群」写归隐之志。全诗由景生志，前六句写隐居之清幽，后两句写归隐之志，清幽淡远。尤为精妙者，是「清光犹为君」以月写怀，含蓄写夜宿故人旧居之情思；而「余亦谢时去，西山鸾鹤群」一结，由隐居清幽之境生归隐之志，以鸾鹤写高蹈，正是常建「清幽淡远」的典范，为历代选本所常收。

Line by line

清溪深不测，隐处惟孤云。

The clear stream runs deep beyond measure; at the hermit's dwelling, only a lone white cloud.

清溪深得难以测度，隐居之处唯有孤云相伴。

The clear stream is deep past telling; where the hermit dwells, only a lone cloud keeps him company.

首联写隐居处之幽深，起笔即见隐逸之境。「清溪深不测」写清溪深得难以测度，「清溪」写溪水之清澈，「深不测」写溪之幽深，深不可测；「隐处惟孤云」写隐居之处唯有孤云相伴，「隐处」点出隐居之处，「惟孤云」写其清幽，唯孤云缭绕。两句一写溪之幽深、一写隐处之清幽，以「深不测」「惟孤云」写尽隐居处的幽深清寂，正是隐者所居之境，为全诗定下了清幽的基调，也为后文归隐之志作了铺垫。

The opening couplet writes the depth of the hermitage, entering the reclusive mood at once. Clear stream deep past telling - the water translucent, its depth fathomless. Where the hermit dwells, only a lone cloud - the dwelling marked by seclusion, nothing but a solitary cloud drifting. One line sounds the stream's depth, the other the hermitage's quiet; with deep past telling and only a lone cloud the poem exhausts the sequestered stillness of the place - exactly the setting a hermit inhabits - setting its clear, cool keynote and preparing the closing resolve to withdraw.

松际露微月，清光犹为君。

A faint moon slips through the pine branches; its pure light still seems to shine for you.

松际露出微月，清光仿佛还为你而照。

A slender moon emerges among the pines; its pure light still shines for you.

颔联写月下之景，是全诗最见情致处。「松际露微月」写松际露出微月，「松际」写月出松间，「露微月」写微月从松际露出，一片清幽；「清光犹为君」写清光仿佛还为你而照，「犹为君」以月照写对王昌龄的怀想——这隐居处曾是他的居处，这月这清光，仿佛还记着他、还为他而照。两句一写月出松间之景、一写清光为君之想，夜宿故人旧居，月下怀人，含蓄而深婉，是「以月写怀」的妙笔，也使全诗的写景带上了对故人的情思。

The second couplet writes the moonlit scene, the poem's most expressive moment. A slender moon emerges among the pines - the moon rising through the pine grove, a faint glow breaking from the boughs, all purity. Its pure light still shines for you - still for you turns moonlight into remembrance of Wang Changling: this hermitage was once his home; this moon, this clear light, seems still to remember him, still to shine for him. One line writes the moon rising through pines, the other the thought that the light shines for a friend - lodging at night in an old comrade's dwelling, remembering him beneath the moon: reserved and deep, a masterly writing remembrance through the moon, lending all the poem's scenery the feeling for an absent friend.

茅亭宿花影，药院滋苔纹。

Flower-shadows lodge in the thatched pavilion; moss creeps in patterns through the herb garden.

茅亭中栖着花影，药院里滋长青苔纹路。

In the thatched pavilion the shadows of flowers lodge; in the herb courtyard, mossy patterns spread.

颈联写隐居处之清寂，是全诗写景最清幽处。「茅亭宿花影」写茅亭中栖着花影，「茅亭」写隐居处的茅亭，「宿花影」写花影栖于亭中，着一「宿」字，使花影有了栖息之意，静美之至；「药院滋苔纹」写药院里滋长青苔纹路，「药院」写种药之院，「滋苔纹」写青苔滋生、纹路斑驳，人迹罕至。两句一写亭中花影之静美、一写院中苔纹之清寂，以「宿」「滋」二字写花影之栖、苔纹之生，写尽隐居处的清寂幽静、岁月静好，是「以静写幽」的典范之笔。

The third couplet writes the hermitage's stillness, its most secluded scenery. In the thatched pavilion the shadows of flowers lodge - lodge gives the flower-shadows a resting place, perfectly still. In the herb courtyard, mossy patterns spread - the medicinal garden where moss grows, mottled, untrodden. One line writes the still beauty of flower-shadows in the pavilion; the other the quiet of moss in the courtyard. The two verbs lodge and spread - the lodging of shadows, the growth of moss - exhaust the hermitage's tranquil peace, writing seclusion through stillness: a model brush.

余亦谢时去，西山鸾鹤群。

I too shall take leave of this worldly age, and join the luan birds and cranes of the Western Hill.

我也将辞谢时世而去，与西山的鸾鹤为群。

I too will take my leave of the age, to flock with the luan and cranes of the western hills.

尾联写归隐之志，是全诗立意的落点。「余亦谢时去」写我也将辞谢时世而去，「谢时」写辞谢时世、辞官归隐，「亦」字见其与王昌龄隐居之志相同；「西山鸾鹤群」写与西山的鸾鹤为群，「鸾鹤」为仙人坐骑，以鸾鹤写仙境与隐逸高蹈，「西山鸾鹤群」写隐于西山、与仙禽为伴。两句一写辞世之志、一写归隐之境，夜宿于王昌龄隐居处的清幽之境，诗人不禁生出归隐之志——不愿再羁于时世，愿与西山鸾鹤为群。这归隐之志，正是由隐居处的清幽所触发，以「鸾鹤群」写归隐之愿，含蓄而高远，是全诗境界最高的收束之笔。

The closing couplet writes the will to withdraw, the poem's point. I too will take my leave of the age - take leave of the age means resign office and withdraw; too shows his resolve one with Wang Changling's. To flock with the luan and cranes of the western hills - the luan and crane are mounts of immortals; to dwell in the western hills among such supernatural birds is the way of lofty reclusion. One line states the resolve to leave the age, the other the realm of withdrawal. Lodging overnight in Wang Changling's serene hermitage, the poet is stirred to the same wish: no longer bound by the world's affairs, he would flock with the western hills' luan and cranes. Triggered by the place's stillness, the closing image of the luan and crane is reserved and soaring - the loftiest note of the poem.

Study

Word focus

惟 'Only' — the single word wei is the key to the couplet's purity: the hermit's dwelling has nothing for company but a lone cloud. One character conveys utter solitude and sets the poem's hushed tone from the very first couplet. 「惟」字写隐居处唯有孤云相伴，是写清幽的关键。「隐处惟孤云」着一「惟」，写隐居之处唯有孤云缭绕，别无他物——着一「惟」字，见其清幽之至，唯孤云为伴，人迹罕至。一字写尽隐居处的清寂幽深，为全诗定下了清幽的基调，是「以一字写尽幽静」的妙笔。「惟」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。

犹 'Still' — you personifies the moonlight, suggesting the clear radiance remembers the absent friend and still shines for him; the word lends the scene a lingering tenderness and lets remembrance be felt rather than stated. 「犹」字写清光仿佛还为你而照，是写月下怀人的关键。「清光犹为君」着一「犹」，写这清光仿佛还记着故人、还为他而照——着一「犹」字，把月拟人化，使清光带上了情意，也含蓄写出夜宿故人旧居、月下怀人的情思。一字写尽物在人去而情意犹存的深婉，是「以月写怀」的点睛之笔。「犹」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。

宿 'Lodge, roost' — su gives lifeless flower-shadows a resting presence, as if they too spend the night in the pavilion like travelers; the verb makes stillness itself visible. 「宿」字写花影栖于茅亭，是写隐居处清寂的关键。「茅亭宿花影」着一「宿」，写花影栖宿于亭中——着一「宿」字，使本无生命的花影有了栖息之意，静美之至，仿佛花影也如人般夜宿于此。一字写尽隐居处的幽静与岁月之静好，是「以静写幽」的妙笔。「宿」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。

滋 'Grow, spread' — zi writes the moss creeping and thickening through the herb garden, its very growth marking how seldom a human footstep comes, and pairing with 'lodge' to complete the night's stillness. 「滋」字写药院里青苔滋生，是写隐居处人迹罕至的关键。「药院滋苔纹」着一「滋」，写青苔滋生、纹路斑驳——着一「滋」字，写青苔之滋生蔓延，见其人迹罕至、岁月久长，也见隐居处之幽静。一字写尽清寂之境，与「宿花影」之「宿」相对，一栖一滋，写尽隐居处的静谧，是炼字传神之笔。「滋」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。