唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
渭川田家
Fields by the Wei River
斜光照墟落，穷巷牛羊归。
野老念牧童，倚杖候荆扉。
雉雊麦苗秀，蚕眠桑叶稀。
田夫荷锄至，相见语依依。
即此羡闲逸，怅然吟式微。
An old countryman thinks of the herding boy, leans on his staff to wait by the thorn gate.
Pheasants call where the wheat shoots thrive; the silkworms doze, the mulberry leaves grow sparse.
The fieldman comes shouldering his hoe; they meet and talk, reluctant to part.
Seeing this I envy such ease and leisure, and with a sigh chant the 'Shi Wei'.
Meaning
The last light of the sun spills on the village; in the deep lane the sheep and cattle slowly return to their pens. An old man of the fields worries for the herding boy, leaning on his staff to wait by the brushwood gate. Pheasants call among the thriving wheat shoots; the silkworms are asleep and the mulberry leaves grow sparse. The farmer comes shouldering his hoe, and when they meet they speak with lingering warmth. Facing this scene I envy such leisure and ease, and with a sigh chant the 'Shi Wei', feeling the wish to retire to the countryside.
夕阳的余晖斜斜地照在村落上，偏僻的深巷里，牛羊正缓缓归来。村中的老翁惦念着放牧的孙儿，拄着拐杖在柴门前等候。野鸡在麦苗秀拔的田垄间啼鸣，春蚕进入休眠，桑叶已经稀疏。农夫扛着锄头归来，路上相见，依依不舍地交谈。面对这样的情景，我不禁羡慕这闲适安逸的生活，怅然吟起《式微》之诗，归隐之心油然而生。
Appreciation
The poem opens with 'Slanting light falls on the village', giving time, space and light at once, like unrolling a scroll. Then sheep and cattle return, the old man waits, pheasants call, silkworms doze, the fieldman speaks — from far to near, from things to men, plain description in good order. The word 'return' is the eye of the piece (the cattle return, the boy returns, the fieldman returns), answering the poet's own heart that 'would return'. 'They talk, reluctant to part' writes warm human feeling; 'thinks' and 'waits' write the warmth of kin. The last two lines name the theme and close, moving from scene to feeling, deep yet plain — a model of 'painting in poetry'.
【白话串讲】 夕阳照着村落，牛羊归来，老人拄杖等放牛的孙儿。田夫扛着锄头相见，聊得舍不得走。王维看着这一切，“怅然吟式微”——他也想归隐了。 【意象与手法】 全诗以归字为眼，写田家薄暮万物归家的图景，由远及近、由物及人、由景入情，层层收拢。首联「斜光照墟落」以斜光点明薄暮时分，为全画敷上暖融融的色调，「穷巷牛羊归」为全篇立下归的第一重意象；颔联「野老念牧童，倚杖候荆扉」，以念候两个动词写天伦温情；颈联「雉雊麦苗秀，蚕眠桑叶稀」，以农事之景写田园生机；「田夫荷锄至，相见语依依」，写乡邻之淳厚。牛羊归、牧童归、田夫归三重归意层层叠加，皆反衬诗人身不能归之怅惘；末二句由景入情，点明归隐主旨。全诗白描如画，平淡自然，诚诗中有画之范作。 【情感与主旨】 王维亦官亦隐，身在朝堂而心向田园。此诗写渭水之滨农家薄暮，字里行间充满对田家闲逸生活的欣羡；「即此羡闲逸，怅然吟式微」，以《诗经》式微胡不归之辞点破归隐之志。前八句无一字言己，末二句方以羡与怅然收束，写出亦官亦隐者徘徊于仕隐之间的复杂心境：羡慕万物皆归，怅然于己不得归。全诗于平淡的田园描摹中寄寓深沉的归隐之思，含蓄而真挚，与陶渊明归园田居一脉相承而更富时代气息。 【名句点睛】 「穷巷牛羊归」之归字为全篇诗眼，统摄牛羊归、牧童归、田夫归三重归意，反衬诗人欲归而不得；「即此羡闲逸，怅然吟式微」为全诗点睛之笔，式微典出《诗经·邶风》，以胡不归之问自抒归隐之志，典切而自然，是常考的名句，也是理解王维隐逸情怀的钥匙。
Background
Wang Wei in youth sought office eagerly, both serving and retiring, and in late life loved the Wangchuan hills. This poem writes the dusk scene of a village by the Wei River (in today's Shaanxi), likely written in his retired or half-retired period. 'Shi Wei' at the end comes from the Shi Jing, 'Bei Feng · Shi Wei': 'Shi Wei, shi wei, why not return', originally a retainer's urging his lord to come home, later a standby for 'retire to the country'. Wang Wei borrows it to voice his weariness of official life and longing for the pastoral. The High Tang pastoral school, led by Wang and Meng, finds in this piece the perfect practice of 'painting in poetry, poetry in painting', with a chan mood richer than Tao Qian's.
王维（701—761），字摩诘，蒲州（今山西永济）人，盛唐山水田园诗派的代表诗人。此诗写渭水之滨农家薄暮景象，渭川即渭水流域，在今陕西关中一带。王维早年热衷仕进，中年以后亦官亦隐，先后隐居终南、辋川，晚年更笃志奉佛；此诗约作于其任职朝中而心怀归隐之际，故诗中于田家晚归之景的欣羡之中，别有一番身居樊笼的怅惘。全诗以式微二字收束，语出《诗经·邶风·式微》：式微式微，胡不归，本为黎侯臣下劝其归国之辞，后世遂以式微为归隐的代语。王维借以直陈归隐之志，正是其田园诗承陶渊明一脉的明证。从诗人生平看，此诗所写的渭川即在长安附近，诗人任职朝中时屡经其地，对田家生活多有真切体察，故写来笔笔皆是实景，无一毫隔膜；诗中念牧童、候荆扉、语依依诸细节，非亲历田家者不能道，亦可见王维观察之细、感受之深。盛唐山水田园诗派以王维、孟浩然为代表，此诗白描如画、平淡自然，是诗中有画主张的完美实践，亦为后世田园诗树立了以景写情、以情化景的典范。
Art
The poem opens with 'Slanting light falls on the village', giving time, space and light at once, like a scroll unrolled. Then sheep and cattle return, the old man waits, pheasants call, silkworms doze, the fieldman speaks — from far to near, from things to men, plain description in order. 'Return' is the eye of the whole (cattle, boy, fieldman all return), answering the poet's own wish to return. 'They talk, reluctant to part' writes human warmth; 'thinks' and 'waits' write the warmth of family. The last two name the theme and close, from scene into feeling, plain yet deep — truly a model of 'painting in poetry'.
全诗以归字为眼，写田家薄暮万物归家的图景，章法上由远及近、由物及人、由景入情，层层收拢。首联斜光照墟落，穷巷牛羊归，斜光二字既点明薄暮时分，又为全画敷上暖融融的色调，墟落、穷巷由远及近，牛羊归则为全篇之归立下第一重意象。颔联野老念牧童，倚杖候荆扉，由物转入人，念与候两个动词写尽老翁倚门盼孙的天伦温情，画面由空旷转为温馨。颈联雉雊麦苗秀，蚕眠桑叶稀，以野鸡啼鸣、春蚕休眠写田家生计之安宁，麦秀蚕眠正是农事将熟的时节，静中有声，生机内蕴。田夫荷锄至，相见语依依，写农夫归家路上相遇相谈，依依二字写尽乡邻之淳厚。至此，牛羊归、牧童归、田夫归三重归意层层叠加，皆反衬诗人身不能归之怅惘；末二句即此羡闲逸，怅然吟式微，由景入情，点明主旨，以羡与怅然收束，平淡之语中含深挚之思，正是王维田园诗以白描写深情、以淡语见真味的典型手法。
Allusions
The last line 'with a sigh chant the Shi Wei' uses the Shi Jing, 'Bei Feng · Shi Wei': 'Shi Wei, shi wei, why not return? But for my lord's sake, why should I be in the dew!' Originally a retainer's grievance at toil urging his lord home, later extended to mean 'retire to the country'. Wang Wei takes its 'why not return' to declare his wish to leave office for the fields. 'Silkworm's sleep' is a farming term (the silkworm sheds and lies still, called sleep), not an allusion but with a farm flavour. The poem uses almost no allusion, only a touch at the close, hinting the theme of retirement, deeply catching Tao's faint distance.
全诗用典极省，惟结句怅然吟式微一处化用经语，却收四两拨千斤之效。式微语出《诗经·邶风·式微》：式微式微，胡不归？微君之故，胡为乎中露！式微式微，胡不归？微君之躬，胡为乎泥中！原为黎侯流亡在外，其臣子劝其归国之辞，式微谓天将暮、势将衰，胡不归即为何不归去；后世文人遂以式微为思归、归隐的代语。王维于目睹田家晚归之后怅然吟式微，正是借古人之辞自抒其志——万物皆归，而我独不得归，归隐之念油然而生。其余诸句皆白描直写，不假典故：雉雊本《诗经·小雅·小弁》雉之朝雊，尚求其雌之语，此处但取野鸡啼鸣之实景，不必坐实用典；蚕眠为农事术语，指蚕蜕皮时静止不动之态，麦苗秀、桑叶稀皆为田家实景。且看此诗用典之妙：前八句只字未及归隐，而牛羊归、牧童归、田夫归的归意已在景中蓄满，末句方以式微之典轻轻一点，如画龙点睛，典与景、典与情浑然一体；若将式微二字换成直白的归去之叹，便索然无味，正因借经语出之，方显得含蓄深婉、余味悠长。全诗以经语一点、以白描为主，正体现王维山水田园诗取法陶渊明而归于平淡自然的用典观：典不在多，在切，在能翻出新意。
Commentary
Song Su Shi said of Wang Wei 'there is painting in his poetry, poetry in his painting' (on Wang Wei's Lantian misty-rain scroll) — this poem proves it. Qing Shen Deqian's Tang Shi Bie Cai notes 'the poem uses "return", from the Shi Wei; the sense too is from it'. Ming Zhong Xing's Tang Shi Gui says 'a stretch of true rustic simplicity, written in stillness'. Modern Yu Bixian's Shi Jing Qian Shuo praises 'writing the village's evening return, men speaking in the scene, livelier than life' — enough to show its plain-description wonder and reclusive charm.
苏轼《书摩诘蓝田烟雨图》评王维诗中有画，画中有诗，此诗正是其最直观的例证：斜光照墟落如着色之油画，野老倚杖如人物之剪影，雉雊蚕眠如写生之静物，全诗确如一轴徐徐展开的田家晚归图。清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》评此诗云：诗中用归字，从式微来，意亦本此，指出归字与式微的呼应关系，可谓深得诗心。明人钟惺《唐诗归》谓田家一段真朴，在静中写出，近人俞陛云《诗境浅说》赞其写田家晚归，景中人语，栩栩欲活。历代评家皆重其白描真朴，实因王维于此诗中洗净铅华，以最素淡的语言写最寻常的农家生活，而于平淡处见醇厚，于静穆中含深挚。在艺术接受上，此诗历来是王维田园诗的代表作，入选各类选本与教材，成为读者认识盛唐田园诗的第一窗口；其魅力正在于以最少的语言写最真的生活：斜光、牛羊、老翁、柴扉、雉雊、蚕眠、荷锄、语依依，皆寻常之物，一经组合，便成不朽之画，足证白描与真朴才是田园诗的生命所在。在田园诗史上，此诗上承陶渊明归园田居之传统，下开中晚唐及宋代田园诗（如范成大《四时田园杂兴》）之先声，其以归字立意、以式微点题的结构，更为后世隐逸诗提供了范本。
Prosody
Line by line
斜光照墟落，穷巷牛羊归。
The slanting sun shines on the village; down the lanes, oxen and sheep come home.
夕阳的余晖斜斜地照在村落上，偏僻的深巷里，牛羊正缓缓归来。
The setting sun slants over the hamlet; down the narrow lanes, cattle and sheep are wandering home.
首联是全诗的开卷之景，十一个字写尽田家薄暮的气象。斜光二字最见画意：斜字点明夕阳西下、光线偏斜的时刻，为整个画面定下暖融融的色调；光字写余晖，墟落则点出村落，斜光照墟落，如一笔晕染，把夕照铺满村庄。穷巷牛羊归，由远景推到近景：穷巷是偏僻的深巷，牛羊归则写牲口归栏，一个归字为全篇立骨，此后野老候牧童之归、田夫荷锄之归，皆由此归字领起。牛羊结伴归来，正是农家一天劳作的收束，画面安宁而富生机。两句一静一动：斜光是静的光影，牛羊是动的生命，动静相谐，田园之趣扑面而来，也为全诗定下闲适安宁的基调。
The opening couplet is the poem's opening scene, eleven characters exhausting the farming village at dusk. Slanting light shows most painterly: slanting fixes the westward sun, the moment of angled light, setting the whole picture's warm tone; light writes the afterglow; hamlet names the village - the slanting sun on the hamlet, like one wash of color, spreading sunset over the village. Down the lanes, oxen and sheep come home pushes from far to near: the narrow lanes the remote alleys; cattle and sheep returning the beasts to their pens - one word returning is the poem's bone, and the old man waiting for the shepherd, the farmer coming home with his hoe, all follow this returning. Oxen and sheep trooping home close the village day, the picture peaceful yet alive. Two lines: one still light-shadow, one moving life; motion and stillness harmonized, the pastoral charm pressing in, setting the poem's leisurely, peaceful keynote.
野老念牧童，倚杖候荆扉。
An old countryman thinks of the herding boy, leans on his staff to wait by the thorn gate.
村中的老翁惦念着放牧的孙儿，拄着拐杖在柴门前等候。
The old herdsman, thinking of the shepherd boy, leans on his staff waiting at the wattle gate.
颔联由景及人，写野老候孙的天伦温情，是全诗最动人的一笔。念与候两个动词写尽老翁的心理与动作：念是心中的牵挂，候是门前的等待，先念后候，由内而外，把一位老人倚门盼孙的神态写得栩栩如生。倚杖写出老翁的年迈，荆扉写出村居的简朴，二者相合，正是田家本色的写照。这一联承上启下：牛羊归是物之归，牧童归则是人之归，野老所候者正是那放牧未归的孙儿，动物的归、人的归在此汇合，画面由空旷转向温馨，田园不再是旁观者眼中的风景，而成了有人情、有温度的生活。以最平常的细节写最深厚的情感，不着一字议论而天伦之乐自见，正是王维白描手法的精髓。
The second couplet moves from scene to person, writing the old man waiting for his grandchild, the poem's most moving stroke. Thinks of and waits exhaust the old man's mind and action: thinks is the longing in the heart, waits the waiting at the gate - first thinks, then waits, within to without, rendering the old man at the gate in wait for the boy vividly. Leaning on his staff writes his age; wattle gate the rustic simplicity - together the farming village's native aspect. The couplet links above and below: cattle and sheep return as things returning, the shepherd boy returns as man returning; what the old man waits for is the grandson not yet home - beasts' return and man's return converge, the picture turns from open to warm, the pastoral no longer a spectator's landscape but lived, human warmth. Writing deepest feeling in the most ordinary detail, not one word of argument, yet the joy of family life self-evident - the essence of Wang Wei's plain line drawing.
雉雊麦苗秀，蚕眠桑叶稀。
Pheasants call as the wheat ripens; silkworms sleep, and the mulberry leaves thin.
野鸡在麦苗秀拔的田垄间啼鸣，春蚕进入休眠，桑叶已经稀疏。
Pheasants cry among the ripening wheat; the silkworms are dormant, and mulberry leaves grow sparse.
颈联写田家生计，是观察最细、最见农事功夫的一联。雉雊即野鸡啼鸣，秀指麦苗抽穗开花，蚕眠指蚕蜕皮时静止不食之态，桑叶稀则写桑叶已被采得稀疏，四样农事，两两相对，写尽春末夏初田野的生机与农家劳作的节奏。雉雊是田野之声，蚕眠是室内之事，一外一内、一动一静；麦秀预示丰收在望，蚕眠标志养蚕将成，皆含收获的喜悦。这两句纯是白描，无一字写人，而田家勤苦自足的生活已在其中：麦要锄、蚕要养、桑要采，正是这些日复一日的农事，构成了田家安宁而充实的生活。在章法上，此联由人之情转入物之景，为下联田夫归来作铺垫，使全诗的画面由村口深入到田野，层次更加丰富。
The third couplet writes the farming livelihood, the most observant, most agricultural couplet. Pheasants call is the pheasant's cry; wheat ripens means the wheat heading and flowering; silkworms sleep the silkworms' resting, skin-shedding state; mulberry leaves thin the leaves already picked sparse - four farm tasks, two-two paired, exhausting late spring, early summer's fields and the farmers' labor rhythm. Pheasant call is the field's sound, silkworm sleep the indoors affair - one outside one inside, one moving one still; wheat heading promises the harvest in view, silkworm sleep marks the rearing near done - both carry the joy of gathering. The two lines are pure line drawing, not one word of person, yet the farmers' toil and self-sufficiency are in it: wheat to hoe, silkworms to rear, mulberry to pick - precisely these day-to-day farm tasks compose the village's peaceful, full life. Structurally the couplet turns from human feeling to thing-scenery, preparing the farmers' return below, deepening the picture from the village gate into the fields, layers richer.
田夫荷锄至，相见语依依。
Farmers come home carrying their hoes, greeting one another in lingering talk.
农夫扛着锄头归来，路上相见，依依不舍地交谈。
Farmers return shouldering their hoes, and pause to exchange a word, loath to part.
此联写田夫归家之景，是全诗归意的高潮。荷锄写农夫肩扛农具的劳作形象，至字写其收工归来，一个至字，与首联牛羊归的归字遥相呼应，人畜皆归，暮色四合，田家一日之事至此圆满收束。相见语依依，写归途相遇的农夫们驻足交谈，依依二字写出谈兴之浓、情谊之厚：依依本是形容依恋不舍之态，此处用于乡邻间寻常的攀谈，便见出田家生活的淳朴与人情的温暖。两句不写农夫的言语内容，只写其相遇交谈的情态，言有尽而意无穷。诗人正是以田夫之归、田夫之谈，反衬自己宦海浮沉、身不由己的处境，他人皆可归，唯我不得归，为末二句的欣羡与怅然蓄足情势。
This couplet writes farmers coming home, the climax of the returning theme. Shouldering the hoe writes the laborer with his tool; comes writes the end of work - one word comes echoing the opening's returning; beast and man all return, dusk closing in, the village day rounded off. Greeting one another in lingering talk writes farmers meeting on the way home, stopping to talk; lingering writes the warmth of the chat, the depth of neighborly feeling - lingering properly describes reluctance, here used for ordinary neighborly chat, showing the village life's simplicity and warmth. The two lines do not write what the farmers say, only how they meet and talk - words ended, meaning unspent. The poet precisely uses the farmers' return and talk to set off his own official drifting, his unfreedom: all others can return, only I cannot - storing full force for the closing envy and wistfulness.
即此羡闲逸，怅然吟式微。
Seeing this I envy such ease and leisure, and with a sigh chant the 'Shi Wei'.
面对这样的情景，我不禁羡慕这闲适安逸的生活，怅然吟起《式微》之诗。
Watching this, I envy their ease; with a sigh I chant 'Why not return?'
末二句是全诗的点睛之笔，由写景转入抒情，由他人转入自我。即此二字总收前八句：正是眼前牛羊归、牧童归、田夫归的种种闲逸之景，触动了诗人的心怀，羡闲逸三字直白道出对田家生活的向往；怅然吟式微则以《诗经·邶风·式微》胡不归之辞自问自答，归隐之志含蓄而坚定。前八句无一字言己，至此方以羡与怅然点破，全诗的情感如水到渠成，沛然而出。羡是明写，怅然是暗写：羡慕田家之能归，怅然于自己之不得归，一羡一怅，道尽亦官亦隐者徘徊于仕隐之间的复杂心境。以吟式微收束，典出经书而化用无痕，言已尽而意无穷，正是王维田园诗含蓄蕴藉的收束典范。
The last two lines are the poem's eye, turning from scenery to feeling, from others to self. Seeing this gathers the first eight lines: precisely the scenes before his eyes - cattle and sheep returning, shepherd returning, farmer returning, all the leisurely ease - stir the poet's heart; envy of such ease plainly states the longing for village life; with a sigh I chant Shi Wei uses the Book of Songs's Shi Wei, why not return, as self-question and self-answer, the will to retire reserved yet firm. The first eight lines say not one word of self; here at last envy and sigh break through, the poem's feelings flowing like water to its channel. Envy is written openly, sighing darkly: envy of the village's ability to return, sigh at his own inability to return - one envy, one sigh, exhausting the half-official, half-recluse's wavering mind between office and retreat. Closing in chanting Shi Wei, allusion from the classics used without seam, words ended, meaning unspent - the model close of Wang Wei's pastoral poetry.
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Both are Wang Wei's landscape works — one of countryside at dusk, one of Zhongnan's grand scene; see his two hands at landscape and farm.
《渭川田家》与《终南山》同出王维之手而气象迥异：前者写渭水之滨农家薄暮，斜光照墟落，穷巷牛羊归，以白描细笔写寻常生活的安宁，归于怅然吟式微的归隐之思；后者写终南山之雄浑，太乙近天都，连山接海隅，白云回望合，青霭入看无，以大开大合之笔写山势之磅礴，兼含游仙问道之趣。一为田园，一为山水，一平淡一雄奇，一近人一凌空，恰可见王维兼擅田园、山水两种题材的大家手笔。而两诗又同归于对自然与隐逸的向往，只是渭川之归是身居人间之归，终南之归是神游物外之归，合观正见摩诘亦官亦隐的完整精神世界。
竹里馆 Bamboo Lodge 王维 · 同写隐逸闲适，一热闹有人情，一孤静有禅意 Same (Wang Wei / reclusion and chan mood)Both write the ease of seclusion; this poem is warm with human feeling, Bamboo Lodge is lone and still with chan — compare different states of his retreat.
《渭川田家》与《竹里馆》同写隐逸之趣而境界各异：前者写田家薄暮，牛羊归、牧童归、田夫归，野老倚杖候荆扉，田夫相见语依依，处处是人情、是天伦、是烟火气，是置身人间而心羡其闲逸；后者写独坐幽篁里，弹琴复长啸，深林人不知，明月来相照，独坐、弹琴、长啸，无一人相伴，唯明月相照，是离群索居、物我两忘的神境。一热一冷、一俗一禅、一在人间一在物外，正见王维隐逸诗的两极：渭川之隐，隐而有归心未遂的怅惘；竹里之隐，隐而无挂碍的澄明。两诗合观，可以窥见诗人由欣羡田园到安顿于山林的精神历程，其淡远之境一脉相承。
归园田居·其一 Returning to Live in the Countryside (No. 1) 陶渊明 · 异代同旨，田园诗传统之源与流 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
陶渊明《归园田居·其一》是田园诗的开山之作：少无适俗韵，性本爱丘山，方宅十余亩，草屋八九间，榆柳荫后檐，桃李罗堂前，久在樊笼里，复得返自然，写弃官归田后的自得之乐，平淡自然，直写胸臆。王维《渭川田家》深得其神：斜光照墟落，穷巷牛羊归的田园暮景，即此羡闲逸，怅然吟式微的归隐之思，与陶诗久在樊笼里的喟叹一脉相承。差异亦分明：陶渊明已归，故其诗乐在归后，是身已在田园的安恬；王维未归，故其诗怅于归前，是身在朝堂而心向田园的徘徊。一已得之，一欲得之，一自足，一怅惘，恰见田园诗由晋入唐的演进，也见王维对陶渊明精神传统的隔代继承与时代化改造。