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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

寻陆鸿渐不遇

Calling on Lu Hongjian and Not Finding Him In

皎然

Jiaoran

移家虽带郭，野径入桑麻。
近种篱边菊，秋来未著花。
扣门无犬吠，欲去问西家。
报道山中去，归时每日斜。

His new home lies beside the city wall,
Yet a wild lane leads into mulberry and hemp.
Chrysanthemums newly planted by the fence —
Autumn has come, and they have not yet flowered.
I knock at the gate: no dog barks in reply,
And about to leave, I ask the neighbor to the west.
He tells me: he has gone into the mountains,
And rarely returns before the sun is low.

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Meaning

A poem of a failed visit and a discovered life. The poet calls on Lu Hongjian — the celebrated tea sage — at his home just outside the city, where a wild lane runs into the mulberry and hemp fields. The fence-side chrysanthemums, newly planted, have not yet flowered though autumn is come. Knocking at the gate, the poet hears no dog bark; about to leave, he asks the western neighbor, who says: he has gone into the mountains, and rarely comes back before sunset. The missed meeting becomes the fullest portrait of the recluse: the wild lane, the unflowered chrysanthemums, the empty gate, and the mountain wanderings that keep him away until evening.

你移家虽在城郭附近，野径却伸入桑麻之中。篱边新种的菊花，秋天到了还未开花。扣门无人应答，连犬吠声都没有，想离开时便去问西边的邻居。邻居说：他到山中去了，每次归来常常已是日斜时分。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Though he has moved near the city, a wild path leads into mulberry and hemp. By the fence he has newly planted chrysanthemums, but autumn has come and they have not bloomed. I knock at the gate — there is no dog's bark; about to go, I ask the neighbor to the west. He reports: he has gone into the mountains, and usually returns only when the sun is slanting. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the approach (the wild lane, the unflowered chrysanthemums) through the empty gate to the neighbor's answer, and the answer completes the portrait — the recluse who is always in the mountains until evening. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the art of indirection: the man is never seen, yet everything — the lane, the flowers, the silent gate, the neighbor's report — tells who he is. The unflowered chrysanthemums are the poem's most delicate stroke: the Tao Yuanming flower, planted but not yet in bloom, as if waiting for its master. [Emotional Tone] Quiet, admiring, and serene: the missed visit leaves no disappointment, only the calm satisfaction of having understood the man through his place.

【白话串讲】皎然写《寻陆鸿渐不遇》：“移家虽带郭，野径入桑麻”——“近种篱边菊，秋来未著花”——“扣门无犬吠，欲去问西家”——“报道山中去，归时每日斜”——他寻陆羽不遇——归时每日斜。【意象与手法】移家带郭、野径桑麻、篱边菊未著花，写友人居处之幽雅；扣门无犬吠、问西家、报山中，写访而不遇之况；结以“归时每日斜”以邻人之语写友人寄情山水之疏放。冲淡自然。【情感与主旨】皎然写访友人陆鸿渐（陆羽）不遇的经过，不着访友之情而访友之情自见，是唐人访友不遇诗中的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“近种篱边菊，秋来未著花”写居处幽雅；“报道山中去，归时每日斜”写友人寄情山水。

Background

Jiaoran (c. 730–c. 799) was a Buddhist monk-poet of the Tang and one of the most important poetic theorists of the age, the author of the influential 'Models of the Poetic Style.' Lu Hongjian (733–804), better known as Lu Yu, was his friend and the author of the 'Classic of Tea,' the founder of the Chinese tea culture, who lived as a recluse near Huzhou. This poem records a failed visit to the tea sage's retreat; it is one of the most famous 'calling and not finding' poems in the language, and a classic portrait of the recluse's life through the traces he leaves.

《寻陆鸿渐不遇》为唐代诗僧皎然所作五言律诗。皎然（约720—约800），俗姓谢，字清昼，湖州（今浙江湖州）人，谢灵运十世孙，中唐著名诗僧，诗风清逸，论诗主张「真于情性，尚于作用」，有《诗式》传世。陆鸿渐即陆羽（733—约804），字鸿渐，竟陵人，以著《茶经》闻名，世称「茶圣」，与皎然为挚友，皎然诗集中多有与陆羽唱和之作。此诗写诗人造访陆羽不遇。诗中「移家虽带郭，野径入桑麻」写陆羽新居之幽静；「近种篱边菊，秋来未著花」写新居之菊；「扣门无犬吠，欲去问西家」写访而不遇；「报道山中去，归时每日斜」写邻人之语，点出陆羽常游山中、寄情山水。陆羽一生隐居不仕，嗜茶好游，此诗以访而不遇之况，侧面写出陆羽的隐逸之趣与疏放之性，冲淡自然，不着访友之情而情自见，是唐人访友不遇诗中的名篇，也是研究皎然与陆羽交谊的重要诗作。此篇《寻陆鸿渐不遇》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 art is the art of the portrait by absence. Every detail is a clue to the man: the house near the city but reached by a wild lane; the mulberry and hemp of a working retreat; the chrysanthemums by the fence, planted but unflowered — the Taoist-Confucian flower of the recluse, not yet ready; the gate that gives no answer, not even a dog's bark; the neighbor's report of the mountain wanderings that end only at sunset. The poet never says what Lu Hongjian is like; the reader sees him through the lane, the flowers, the silence, and the absent presence. The final line — 'rarely returns before the sun is low' — completes the portrait with the one trait that governs all the others: the man is a wanderer of the mountains.

此诗艺术上以「白描叙事、不着情而情自见」见长。全诗八句，前四句写居处之景，后四句写访而不遇之况，通篇白描，不着一字抒情。首联「移家虽带郭，野径入桑麻」写居处之幽静：移家虽在城郭附近，野径却伸入桑麻之中，「虽带郭」写其近城而居，「野径入桑麻」写其居处之幽静田园。颔联「近种篱边菊，秋来未著花」写新居之菊：篱边新种的菊花，秋天到了还未开花，「近种」见其移居未久，「未著花」写菊未开，淡淡写来，愈见居处之清寂。颈联「扣门无犬吠，欲去问西家」写访而不遇：扣门无人应答，连犬吠声都没有，想离开时便去问西边的邻居，「无犬吠」写门庭之寂静，「问西家」写诗人访友之殷切。尾联「报道山中去，归时每日斜」以邻人之语作结：邻居说，他到山中去了，每次归来常常已是日斜时分，「山中去」点出陆羽之踪迹，「每日斜」写其游山之常、归山之晚。全诗通篇叙事白描，不着访友之情而访友之情自见，冲淡自然，是五律中「以白描见性情」的典范。

Allusions

'The chrysanthemums by the fence' carry the whole Tao Yuanming tradition: the fence-side chrysanthemum is the flower of the great recluse of the Eastern Jin, the emblem of the hermit's life and the object of his famous 'plucking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence.' That Lu Hongjian's chrysanthemums have not yet flowered is doubly apt: the flower of the recluse is not yet in bloom, as if waiting for its master to return from the mountains. 'The mulberry and hemp' are the fields of the working recluse, the pastoral scene of Tao Yuanming's 'Returning to the Fields' poems.

诗中「桑麻」「菊花」等物，皆含隐逸田园之文化意涵。「桑麻」为田园农事之象，陶渊明《归园田居》「开荒南野际，守拙归园田」，孟浩然《过故人庄》「开轩面场圃，把酒话桑麻」，皆以桑麻写田园之趣；「菊花」更与隐逸相连，陶渊明「采菊东篱下，悠然见南山」，使菊成为隐逸高洁之象征。皎然「野径入桑麻」「近种篱边菊」，写陆羽居处之田园幽静、篱边种菊，正是以陶渊明之典写其隐逸之趣，不着痕迹。此外，「归时每日斜」写陆羽每游山中、日斜方归，暗含其疏放不羁、寄情山水之性。诗人以桑麻、菊花等隐逸意象入诗，写尽陆羽居处之幽静与志趣之高洁，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

This poem is one of the most famous 'calling and not finding' poems in the language, admired for a millennium as a model of the portrait by indirection. The neighbor's report — 'he has gone into the mountains, and rarely returns before the sun is low' — has become a classic sentence of Chinese biography, saying more of the recluse than any direct description could. Critics praise above all the poem's economy and its serene acceptance of the missed meeting.

这首《寻陆鸿渐不遇》，写的是诗人造访友人陆羽而不遇的经过，通篇白描，不着一字抒情，而访友之情自见，是访友不遇诗中的名篇。首联「移家虽带郭，野径入桑麻」，写陆羽新居之幽静：移家虽在城郭附近，野径却伸入桑麻之中。「虽带郭」写其近城而居，未远离尘嚣；「野径入桑麻」写其居处之幽静，野径通入桑麻深处，一派田园气象。颔联「近种篱边菊，秋来未著花」，写新居之菊：篱边新种的菊花，秋天到了还未开花。「近种」见其移居未久，「未著花」见其菊犹未放，淡淡两笔，写出居处的清寂，也透出诗人来访时的一丝期待。颈联「扣门无犬吠，欲去问西家」，写访而不遇之况：扣门无人应答，连犬吠声都没有——门庭如此寂静，主人显然不在；诗人欲去又不甘，便去问西边的邻居。这「欲去问西家」五字，把诗人访友的殷切与不遇的怅惘，写得含蓄而真切。尾联「报道山中去，归时每日斜」，以邻人之语作结：邻居说，他到山中去了，每次归来常常已是日斜时分。「山中去」点出陆羽的踪迹，好游山林、寄情山水；「每日斜」写其游山之常、归山之晚。邻人的这一句话，把陆羽疏放不羁、寄情山水的性情，写得如在目前。全诗由景而事、由事而语，通篇白描，不着访友之情而情自见，冲淡自然，正是中唐诗僧「清逸淡远」诗风的典范，读之令人神往。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse (wuyan lüshi)五言律诗（近体，仄起式）

Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level-tone words 'ma' (hemp), 'hua' (flower), 'jia' (neighbor) and 'xie' (slant) in the ma rhyme group, in the standard regulated-verse pattern.全诗押平声韵「麻」「花」「家」「斜」，韵脚同属麻佳类（麻、花、家、斜），一韵到底，韵部宽舒而音调清扬。五律以平韵谐畅为常，此诗「麻」「花」「家」「斜」四韵音色明朗，正与访友田园的冲淡情调相称；「斜」字收束全篇，与「归时每日斜」之句相映，韵脚亦含闲适之意，声情与辞情相凑。

Tone pattern The opening is level and quiet, following the wild lane; the middle is plain and factual with the gate and the neighbor; the final line trails off into the long, easy cadence of the sun going down — the tone of a calm afternoon.句式上，首联「移家虽带郭，野径入桑麻」仄起，以「麻」收句，写居处之幽静，音节舒缓；颔联「近种篱边菊，秋来未著花」写篱菊未开，音节平缓；颈联「扣门无犬吠，欲去问西家」写访而不遇，音节顿挫含情；尾联「报道山中去，归时每日斜」以「斜」字平收，音节转舒，情调由记事归于闲适。全诗平仄相间、音节随情起伏，读来如诗人访友不遇、循野径而归之音，冲淡而自然。

Reading note This is a five-character regulated verse by the monk Jiao Ran. The approach is all revelation: the home beside the wall with the wild lane into the mulberry and hemp, the unflowered chrysanthemums by the fence, the dogless gate, the neighbor's report of the mountains and the late returns. The poem's art is the absence that reveals the man — every detail of the failed visit is the portrait of the recluse.此诗为五言律诗，是唐人访友不遇诗中的名篇，也是中唐诗僧皎然「清逸淡远」诗风的典型体现。全诗的艺术特色在于「白描叙事、不着情而情自见」：首联「移家虽带郭，野径入桑麻」写陆羽新居之幽静；颔联「近种篱边菊，秋来未著花」写篱菊未开、居处清寂；颈联「扣门无犬吠，欲去问西家」写访而不遇之情状；尾联「报道山中去，归时每日斜」以邻人之语点出陆羽之踪迹与性情。全诗通篇白描，不着一字抒情，而访友之情、友人真性情皆自见。尤为精妙者，是尾联以邻人之语「报道山中去，归时每日斜」作结，把陆羽好游山水、疏放不羁的性情写得如在目前，正是「不写之写」的妙笔。全诗冲淡自然，情致闲远，为历代选本所常收。

Line by line

移家虽带郭，野径入桑麻。

His new home lies beside the city wall, yet a wild lane leads into mulberry and hemp.

你移家虽在城郭附近，野径却伸入桑麻之中。

Your new home, though near the city wall, has a wild path leading into the mulberry and hemp.

首联写陆羽新居之幽静，起笔即见隐逸之趣。「移家虽带郭」写移家虽在城郭附近，「虽带郭」见其近城而居、未离人境；「野径入桑麻」写野径伸入桑麻之中，「野径」见其居处之幽僻，「桑麻」见其田园之趣。两句一写近城、一写入野，以「虽」字转折，写尽居处虽近城郭而其趣在田园桑麻之间。诗人不写陆羽之为人，而以此居处之景写之，含蓄蕴藉，为全诗访而不遇、而见其隐逸之趣的写法作了铺垫，是「以景写人」的妙笔。

The opening couplet writes Lu Yu's new home's quiet, the recluse's interest present at the first stroke. Your new home, though near the city wall: though near the wall, not yet cut off from the world. A wild path leading into the mulberry and hemp: the path's seclusion, and the fields' pastoral charm. The two lines one writes near the city, the other entering the wild; one though turns, exhausting the home's being near the wall yet finding its interest in mulberry and hemp. The poet does not write Lu Yu's character, but through this dwelling's scenery - reserved and pregnant, preparing the poem's method of visiting and missing him yet seeing his recluse interest. The exquisite stroke of writing man through scenery.

近种篱边菊，秋来未著花。

Chrysanthemums newly planted by the fence — autumn has come, and they have not yet flowered.

篱边新种的菊花，秋天到了还未开花。

Chrysanthemums newly planted by the hedge have not yet bloomed though autumn has come.

颔联写新居之菊，淡淡写来，愈见居处之清寂。「近种篱边菊」写篱边新种的菊花，「近种」见其移居未久、菊犹新栽；「秋来未著花」写秋天到了菊花还未开放，「未著花」见其菊犹含苞、花信未至。两句写篱菊未开，既见居处之清寂，亦暗含诗人来访时的一丝期待——若菊已开，主人或在篱边赏菊，而菊未开，主人亦不在家。着一「未」字，于平淡中见微意，含蓄蕴藉，是「以景写情」的妙笔，为下文的访而不遇作了铺垫。

The second couplet writes the new home's chrysanthemums, written plainly, the home's quiet all the more visible. Chrysanthemums newly planted by the hedge: recently planted, not long moved, the chrysanthemums fresh-set. Have not yet bloomed though autumn has come: autumn arrived, yet no flower opened; not bloomed shows the buds still tight, the season not yet come. The two lines write the hedge chrysanthemums unopened, at once showing the home's quiet and secretly a thread of the poet's expectation at the visit - had the flowers bloomed, the master might be by the hedge enjoying them; since the flowers are not open, the master is not at home either. One not, showing a subtle meaning within plainness, reserved and pregnant - the exquisite stroke of writing feeling through scenery, preparing the missed visit below.

扣门无犬吠，欲去问西家。

I knock at the gate: no dog barks in reply, and about to leave, I ask the neighbor to the west.

扣门无人应答，连犬吠声都没有，想离开时便去问西边的邻居。

I knock - no dog barks; about to leave, I ask the neighbor to the west.

颈联写访而不遇之况，是全诗最见情致处。「扣门无犬吠」写扣门无人应答，连犬吠声都没有，「无犬吠」见门庭之寂静——主人不在，连看门的犬亦寂然无声，一片幽静；「欲去问西家」写欲离开又不甘，便去问西边的邻居，「欲去」见其本欲离去，「问西家」见其对访友之殷切、不遇之不甘。两句一写门庭之静、一写问邻之切，把诗人造访不遇的情状写得真切而含蓄。诗人不直写怅惘，而以此扣门问邻之细节写之，冲淡自然，正是「以白描见性情」的典范之笔。

The third couplet writes the visit and the missing, the poem's most feeling-rich point. I knock - no dog barks: knocking, no answer, not even a dog's bark; no dog's bark shows the gate's silence - master absent, even the watch-dog silent, all quiet. About to leave, I ask the neighbor to the west: about to go yet unwilling, so he asks the west neighbor; about to leave shows his original intent, asks the west neighbor his eagerness in visiting, his unwillingness to miss. The two lines one write the gate's stillness, the other the neighbor question's earnestness, writing the poet's calling and missing him truly and reservedly. The poet does not directly write the wistfulness, but through the details of knocking and asking the neighbor - plain and natural, precisely the model of plain drawing showing character.

报道山中去，归时每日斜。

He tells me: he has gone into the mountains, and rarely returns before the sun is low.

邻居说：他到山中去了，每次归来常常已是日斜时分。

They tell me he has gone to the hills; when he returns, the sun is always slanting.

尾联以邻人之语作结，是全诗的点睛之笔。「报道山中去」写邻居告知，陆羽到山中去了，「山中去」三字，点出陆羽之踪迹——好游山林、寄情山水；「归时每日斜」写其每次归来常常已是日斜时分，「每日斜」见其游山之常、归山之晚、乐而忘返。两句以邻人之口，把陆羽疏放不羁、寄情山水的性情写得如在目前——虽是访而不遇，诗人却借邻人之语，写出了友人的真性情，那「每日斜」的归晚，正是其悠然自得之写照。以语作结，含蓄蕴藉，是五律「以叙事结情」的典范之笔。

The closing couplet resolves in the neighbor's words, the poem's eye. They tell me he has gone to the hills: the neighbor reports, Lu Yu has gone to the mountains; gone to the hills names Lu Yu's trace - fond of wandering the hills, lodging his feeling in water and mountain. When he returns, the sun is always slanting: each return, the sun already slanting; always slanting shows the frequency of his mountain wandering, the lateness of return, the joy of forgetting the way back. The two lines through the neighbor's mouth write Lu Yu's free, untrammeled character and his lodging in mountains and waters as if before the eyes - though the visit missed him, the poet through the neighbor's words writes the friend's true character; the sun-always-slanting lateness is precisely his image of悠然 contentment. Closing in speech, reserved and pregnant - the five-character regulated verse's model of resolving feeling in narrative.

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Word focus

野径 'The wild lane' — the untended path into the mulberry and hemp, the approach to the recluse's world. 「野径」写通向陆羽居处的荒野小径，「野」字见其径之幽僻、未经修整，亦见居处之远离尘嚣。野径伸入桑麻之中，一派田园气象，「野径入桑麻」着一「野」字，写尽居处之幽静与隐逸之趣，是首联写景的关键词，为全诗定下了冲淡自然的基调。「野径」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。

未著花 'Not yet flowered' — the chrysanthemums unflowered, the autumn without the expected bloom. 「未著花」写篱边菊秋来未开，「未」字是此句的关键，见菊花未放、花信未至。着一「未」字，既写居处之清寂（菊未开，无人赏），亦暗含诗人来访时的一丝期待（若菊已开，主人或在家）。于平淡中见微意，含蓄蕴藉，是「以一字写尽含蓄」的妙笔，为下文的访而不遇作了铺垫。「未著花」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。

无犬吠 'No dog barks' — the silence of the gate, the absence that answers the knock. 「无犬吠」写扣门而门庭寂静、连犬吠都无，「无」字见其门庭之幽寂——主人不在，看门之犬亦寂然无声。着一「无」字，以犬吠之无声写居处之寂静，愈见其清幽；而扣门无应、犬吠无闻，也正是主人不在的明证。三字于白描中见情致，是「以静写寂」的妙笔。「无犬吠」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。

每日斜 'The sun low each day' — the recluse's late returns from the mountains, the pattern of his life. 「每日斜」写陆羽每次游山归来常已日斜，「每」字见其游山之常、非偶然为之，「日斜」见其归山之晚、乐而忘返。三字以邻人之语写出，把陆羽疏放不羁、寄情山水的性情写得如在目前，是全诗写友人真性情的点睛之笔，亦暗含诗人对友人这种悠然生活的向往。「每日斜」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。