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题诗后

Written After the Poem

贾岛

Jia Dao

两句三年得，一吟双泪流。
知音如不赏，归卧故山秋。

Two lines — three years to win them;
one recital, and tears fall from both eyes.
If no true listener prizes them,
I'll go home and sleep among the autumn hills.
Listen

Meaning

The poet boasts of the agony of composition — two lines, three years of labor, tears at the reciting. Then he sets a condition: without a discerning reader who values the lines, he will withdraw to his native hills. It is the manifesto of the 'bitter chanting' poet: art born of suffering, offered to a world that may not care.

两句三年得，一吟双泪流。知音如不赏，归卧故山秋。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Two lines cost three years of work; chanting them once, tears run down both cheeks. If no kindred spirit appreciates them, the poet will return and lie down in the autumn of his old mountains. [Technique] The poem's power is its plainness: numbers and acts, no ornament. 'Three years' for 'two lines' is a disproportion that makes labor visible; 'tears from both eyes' at 'one chant' turns the finishing touch into an involuntary spasm. The closing couplet turns from craft to fate: the Bo Ya–Ziqi allusion behind 'one who knows the tone' raises the reader to the level of necessity — no listener, no poet. [Feeling] Jia Dao, famous for fretting over single words, compresses his entire poetics into twenty characters: suffering, exactness, and the hunger for recognition, ending in the proud threat of retirement. The tone is half confession, half challenge.

【白话串讲】 贾岛写《题诗后》：“两句三年得，一吟双泪流”——“知音如不赏，归卧故山秋”——他写题诗后——两句三年得。 【意象与手法】 “两句三年得，一吟双泪流”写苦吟；“知音如不赏”写知音不赏；结以“归卧故山秋”写归卧故山。含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 贾岛写苦吟之作，以“两句三年得，一吟双泪流”写作诗之艰辛与知音难觅，是苦吟诗人的自白。 【名句点睛】 常考“两句三年得，一吟双泪流”写苦吟；“知音如不赏，归卧故山秋”写知音难觅。

Background

Jia Dao (779–843), courtesy name Langxian, was a native of Fanyang (present-day Zhuozhou, Hebei). A former monk turned poet, he was famous for his agonized craftsmanship — the story of his 'push' versus 'knock' deliberation with Han Yu on the Chang'an road is the classic legend of Tang poetic revision. Paired with Meng Jiao as 'Meng's cold, Jia's lean,' he led the mid-Tang school of 'bitter chanting' poetry. This brief quatrain, written on the back of a finished poem, is his poetic credo — a self-portrait of the poet as ascetic laborer.

《题诗后》为中唐诗人贾岛所作诗。贾岛（779—843），字阆仙，范阳（今河北涿州）人，中唐诗人，以苦吟著称，与孟郊并称「郊寒岛瘦」。此诗写言志苦吟，为题诗后所作。诗中「两句三年得，一吟双泪流」写两句三年得，一吟双泪流；「知音如不赏，归卧故山秋」写知音如不赏，归卧故山秋。贾岛此诗以言志苦吟、归卧故山秋写其苦吟之情，含蓄深婉，是贾岛诗中的名篇。此篇《题诗后》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《题诗后》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《题诗后》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 is deliberately plain — four statements, no imagery, no scene. Its craft is disproportion and understatement. 'Two lines' against 'three years' measures labor against product until the labor itself becomes the spectacle. 'One chant' against 'tears from both eyes' releases the accumulated three years in a single physical spasm; the tears are not sentimental but the overflow of exacting work. The poem then pivots on 'if': the conditional turns a personal boast into a wager with the world. The closing image — returning to lie down in the autumn hills of home — converts retreat into landscape, and the autumn season, the season of ending, quietly confirms the seriousness of the threat. Twenty characters contain a whole aesthetics: suffering, precision, and the demand for a true listener.

此诗艺术上以「含蓄深婉、以吟写志」见长。全诗共四句，由两句三年得而一吟双泪流而知音如不赏。起「两句三年得，一吟双泪流」写两句三年得：两句三年得，一吟双泪流；「知音如不赏，归卧故山秋」写知音如不赏：知音如不赏，归卧故山秋。全诗以吟写志，由两句三年得而知音如不赏，含蓄深婉，是贾岛诗中的名篇。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

The key allusion is in 'one who knows the tone' (zhiyin): the story of Bo Ya and Ziqi. Bo Ya played the qin with his mind on high mountains, and Ziqi understood; when Ziqi died, Bo Ya broke his instrument and never played again. A zhiyin is therefore the listener without whom music — and by extension the poet's art — has no reason to exist. 'Return and lie down' draws on the tradition of reclusion and homecoming, and the 'old mountains' evoke the native hills of the classical 'return' topos. The poem thus stakes itself on the friendliest possible reading by its audience: prize these lines, or the poet disappears into the autumn mountains.

诗中「两句三年得一吟双泪流」「知音如不赏归卧故山秋」等语，皆含典故故实。「两句三年得一吟双泪流」写两句三年得一吟双泪流；「知音如不赏归卧故山秋」写知音如不赏归卧故山秋（知音用伯牙子期之典）。诗人以知音之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把言志苦吟之情写得真切可感，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。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

This tiny poem is the classic statement of 'bitter chanting' poetics. Critics have noted its double face: it is at once a boast — three years for two lines! — and a complaint, the artist's lifelong negotiation with an indifferent public. The line 'two lines, three years' became proverbial for painstaking revision, and the closing threat to 'sleep in the autumn hills' gave later poets the archetype of talent withdrawing in wounded pride. What makes it endure is its honesty: Jia Dao does not decorate the labor of art — he exhibits it, tears and all, and asks only for one reader who understands.

这首《题诗后》，是贾岛写言志苦吟之作，写两句三年得、知音如不赏、归卧故山秋之情，含蓄深婉。起「两句三年得，一吟双泪流」——两句三年得，一吟双泪流。写两句三年得：两句三年得、一吟双泪流——两句三年得、一吟双泪流；「知音如不赏，归卧故山秋」——知音如不赏（用知音之典），归卧故山秋。写知音如不赏：知音如不赏、归卧故山秋——知音不赏、归卧故山秋。这「知音如不赏，归卧故山秋」，是全诗之结：以归卧故山秋写其苦吟。全诗含蓄深婉，以吟写志，正是贾岛诗中的名篇。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。全诗以「两句三年得」起笔，写苦吟两句竟费三年、一吟诵便双泪交流；以「知音如不赏，归卧故山秋」作结，写若无知音赏识，便归卧故山。两句由吟及志，以苦吟自况，含蓄而深挚，正是言志苦吟、渴望知音的妙笔。全诗含蓄深婉，以吟写志，寥寥二十字而情真意切，为历代选本所常收。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain (wujue)诗（五言绝句）
Rhyme Four five-character lines; the second and fourth lines rhyme on liu ('flow') and qiu ('autumn'), both in the level-tone you rhyme group. The rhyme is low and drawn out, like a long sigh after labor.此诗为五言绝句，共四句，两句一联。押平声韵：「流」「秋」押尤部韵。诗体依绝句而定，句式整齐，音节随情起伏，正与写言志苦吟的含蓄深婉相称，也见其以绝句写苦吟的自然。
Tone pattern The first couplet is a hard statement of fact — numbers hammered out; the second couplet lengthens into the conditional 'if' and the closing image of autumn hills. The rhythm falls from clipped accounting to a slow, fading cadence.句式上，「两句三年得，一吟双泪流」写两句三年得，音节低回；「知音如不赏，归卧故山秋」写知音如不赏，音节绵长。全诗音节随情起伏，由低回而绵长，正合绝句「含蓄」之妙，读来如言志苦吟、归卧故山秋之音，含蓄而动人。
Reading note A plain five-character quatrain without ornamental imagery: its music lies in the contrast between the clipped counting of the first couplet and the lengthening sigh of the close. The low, prolonged you rhyme carries the weariness of the 'bitter chanting' poet — the sound of the verse is the sound of exhausted labor.此诗为五言绝句，是贾岛写言志苦吟之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「含蓄深婉、以吟写志」：「两句三年得，一吟双泪流」写两句三年得、「知音如不赏，归卧故山秋」写知音如不赏。全诗含蓄深婉，以吟写志。尤为精妙者，是「两句三年得，一吟双泪流」为苦吟的绝唱；而「知音如不赏，归卧故山秋」用知音之典，正是贾岛诗「苦吟深婉」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《题诗后》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

两句三年得，一吟双泪流。

Two lines — three years to win them; one recital, and tears fall from both eyes.

两句三年得，一吟双泪流。

Two lines took three years to come; once recited, two streams of tears flow.

首二句写两句三年得，起笔即见其苦吟。「两句三年得」写两句三年得，「两句」写两句诗、「三年得」写三年才得；「一吟双泪流」写一吟双泪流，「一吟」写一吟诵、「双泪流」写双泪流。两句一写两句三年得、一写一吟双泪流，以两句三年得写苦吟之久、以一吟双泪流写吟之泪流，写尽两句三年得、一吟双泪流之情。以吟起兴，含蓄而深挚，是「以吟起兴」的妙笔。

The first two lines write two lines took three years, the苦吟 from the opening. Two lines took three years: two verses, three years to attain. Once recited, two streams of tears flow: one recitation, two tears. One line writes the long grinding of苦吟, the other the tears at recitation, exhausting the feeling of the verse. Raising imagery through the recitation, reserved and deep - Jia Dao's own art of laboring words: the years spent on two lines, the tears called forth by one reading, write the whole tragedy of the poet who chases perfection. The understatement of three years and the bodily fact of tears bind craft and suffering into one, so that the reader feels the price of each line.

知音如不赏，归卧故山秋。

If no true listener prizes them, I'll go home and sleep among the autumn hills.

知音如不赏，归卧故山秋。

If the understanding heart does not prize them, I shall go home and lie down among the autumn hills.

尾二句写知音如不赏，是全诗立意的落点。「知音如不赏」写知音如不赏，用知音之典写知音如不赏；「归卧故山秋」写归卧故山秋，「归卧」写归卧、「故山秋」写故山秋。两句一写知音如不赏、一写归卧故山秋，以知音如不赏写知音不赏、以归卧故山秋写归卧故山，写尽知音如不赏、归卧故山秋之情。以吟写志，含蓄而深挚，是全诗最动人处，也是「以吟写志」的点睛之笔。

The last two lines write if the understanding heart does not prize them, the poem's point. If the understanding heart does not prize them uses the Zhiyin allusion - the kindred spirit who truly hears music; if such a one does not value these verses. I shall go home and lie down among the autumn hills: return and lie down, the home hills in autumn. One line writes the unappreciated kindred spirit, the other the return to autumn hills. Writing resolve through the recitation, reserved and deep - the poem's most moving point, the consummate stroke of declaring will through the verse. Having paid for two lines with three years and tears, the poet stakes everything on recognition; denied it, his answer is not to force the world but to withdraw - to lie in the autumn of his old hills. The autumn of the home hills is both season and the late autumn of a life spent on words.

Study

Word focus

三年 Three years — the span of labor condensed into two characters; the disproportion between time spent and lines won is the measure of the poet's perfectionist agony. 「三年」写两句三年得，是写苦吟之久的关键。「两句三年得」着一「三年」，写三年——着一「三年」，写两句三年得，见其得之难。两字写尽三年之久，是「以词写久」的妙笔。「三年」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。
泪流 Tears flowing — the involuntary release of years of suppressed effort at the moment the lines are finally spoken; candor made physical. 「泪流」写一吟双泪流，是写泪流之态的关键。「一吟双泪流」着一「泪流」，写流泪——着一「泪流」，写一吟双泪流，见其吟之深。两字写尽泪流之情，是「以词写泪」的点睛之词。「泪流」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。
知音 One who knows the tone — from the Bo Ya and Ziqi story: the friend who alone understood the qin player's music, and without whom art has no witness. 「知音」写知音如不赏，是写知音之问的关键。「知音如不赏」着一「知音」，写知音——着一「知音」，写知音如不赏，见其求知音之情。两字写尽知音之态，是「以词写友」的点睛之词。「知音」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。
归卧 Return and lie down — to retire to one's native hills; a proud withdrawal from an uncomprehending world into the landscape of autumn. 「归卧」写归卧故山秋，是写归卧之态的关键。「归卧故山秋」着一「归卧」，写归隐——着一「归卧」，写归卧故山秋，见其归隐之志。两字写尽归卧之情，是「以词写志」的点睛之词。「归卧」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

山园小梅 Little Plum Trees in the Mountain Garden 林逋 · 同写咏物寄志、苦吟孤高，一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、一写两句三年得一吟双泪流，皆于咏物之中见苦吟孤高 Both lodge a solitary integrity in a scene: Lin Bu's plum blossoms, Jia Dao's chanted lines.

Lin Bu's 'sparse shadows slant, the water clear and shallow; a hidden fragrance floats in the moonlit dusk' enshrines reclusive purity in a flower; Jia Dao's 'two lines, three years' stakes his purity on labor and a single listener. Two modes of the lone artist's self-portrait: one at ease in nature, one wounded before the public.

林逋《山园小梅》「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」，写梅之清雅、孤高，是宋诗咏物的绝唱；贾岛《题诗后》则以「两句三年得，一吟双泪流」「知音如不赏，归卧故山秋」写两句三年得、归卧故山秋。两诗同写咏物寄志、苦吟孤高：一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、以梅写孤高，一写两句三年得一吟双泪流、以吟写苦志；一为林逋之清逸、一为贾岛之苦吟，并读正可见诗写「苦吟孤高」的两种笔法，皆于咏物之中见苦吟孤高。

 浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯 Huanxi Sha (A Cup of Wine with a New Song) 晏殊 · 同写感怀言志、无可奈何，一写无可奈何花落去、一写知音如不赏归卧故山秋，皆于感怀之中见无可奈何 Both muse on what cannot be kept: falling flowers for Yan Shu, unappreciated lines for Jia Dao.

Yan Shu's 'Helpless, the flowers fall away; the swallows return as if half-known' accepts loss with elegant resignation; Jia Dao's 'if no one prizes them, I'll sleep in the autumn hills' answers neglect with wounded retreat. The same helplessness — one borne gracefully, one clenched in pain.

晏殊《浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯》「无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来」，写感怀言志，是宋词小令的名篇；贾岛《题诗后》则以「知音如不赏，归卧故山秋」「两句三年得，一吟双泪流」写归卧故山秋、一吟双泪流。两诗同写感怀言志、无可奈何：一写无可奈何花落去、以花落燕归写惜时，一写知音如不赏归卧故山秋、以知音写感慨；一为晏殊之温润、一为贾岛之苦吟，并读正可见诗写「感怀无可奈何」的两种笔法，皆于感怀之中见无可奈何。