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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

寻南溪常道士

Calling on the Daoist Priest of South Creek

刘长卿

Liu Changqing

一路经行处，莓苔见履痕。
白云依静渚，春草闭闲门。
过雨看松色，随山到水源。
溪花与禅意，相对亦忘言。

Along the whole road of my coming,
On the moss I see the traces of your shoes.
White clouds rest by the silent isle,
Spring grass closes the idle gate.
After the rain I look at the pines' color,
Following the hills I reach the water's source.
The flowers by the creek, and this Chan-meaning —
Facing each other, we have forgotten speech.

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Meaning

A poem of a visit to a Daoist priest that becomes a meditation. Following the road, the poet sees the priest's shoe-prints on the moss; white clouds rest by the silent sandbank, spring grass closes the idle gate — the priest is not in. But the walk itself becomes the meeting: after the rain the pines are greener, following the hills he reaches the water's source, and by the creek the flowers and the Chan (Zen) meaning face each other until speech is forgotten. The failed visit is transformed into the very enlightenment it sought: the trace of the priest is everywhere, and the silence of the empty retreat is itself the teaching.

一路走过的地方，莓苔上只见你的足迹。白云依傍着寂静的沙洲，春草掩闭着闲静的柴门。雨后看那松色更显苍翠，沿着山势走到水的源头。溪边的花与这禅意相对，相对之间亦忘了言语。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] All along the road I have come, on the moss I see traces of your shoes. White clouds rest by the quiet islet; spring grass closes the idle gate. After the rain I look at the color of the pines; following the hills I reach the source of the water. The flowers by the creek and this Chan meaning — facing each other, we forget all speech. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the approach (the shoe-prints) through the empty retreat (the clouds, the grass, the closed gate) to the walk that replaces the meeting (the pines, the water source) and the final enlightenment (the flowers and the forgotten speech). [Key Technique] The poem's art is the progressive dissolution of the visit: the priest is absent, but his trace is present in the moss; the retreat is empty, but the whole landscape teaches. The final couplet makes the visit and the teaching one: 'the flowers by the creek, and this Chan-meaning — facing each other, we have forgotten speech.' [Emotional Tone] Serene and luminous: the poem moves from quiet expectation to quiet fulfillment, and the missed meeting ends as the deepest meeting of all.

【白话串讲】刘长卿写《寻南溪常道士》：“一路经行处，莓苔见履痕”——“白云依静渚，春草闭闲门”——“过雨看松色，随山到水源”——“溪花与禅意，相对亦忘言”——他寻南溪道士——相对亦忘言。【意象与手法】莓苔见履痕、白云依静渚、春草闭闲门，写沿途之景与道士居处之幽静；过雨看松色、随山到水源，写寻访之行的渐入佳境；结以“溪花与禅意，相对亦忘言”于寻访所感中点出禅意。冲淡幽静、禅意盎然。【情感与主旨】刘长卿写寻访南溪常道士的经过与所感，是刘长卿山水诗中的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“白云依静渚，春草闭闲门”写居处幽静；“溪花与禅意，相对亦忘言”点出禅意。

Background

Liu Changqing (c. 709–c. 786) was one of the most important poets of the mid-Tang, whose exile to the south placed him among the monasteries and Daoist retreats of the region; he wrote many poems of visits to priests and monks, in which the landscape of the retreat becomes the vehicle of religious insight. This poem, one of his most famous, records a failed visit to a Daoist priest at South Creek; the walk, the empty gate, and the creek-side flowers supply the enlightenment that the meeting itself was meant to provide.

《寻南溪常道士》为唐代诗人刘长卿所作五言律诗。刘长卿（约726—约786），字文房，河间（今河北河间）人，中唐著名诗人，工五言，自诩「五言长城」，诗风清雅冲淡。此诗写寻访南溪常道士（一作常炼师）。题中「南溪」为地名，「常道士」即姓常的道士。诗中「一路经行处，莓苔见履痕」写寻访途中只见莓苔上的足迹；「白云依静渚，春草闭闲门」写道士居处之幽静；「过雨看松色，随山到水源」写沿途之景与寻访之行；「溪花与禅意，相对亦忘言」写寻访所感之禅意。中唐时期，士人多好佛道，刘长卿亦与方外之士多有交游。此诗写寻访道士不遇（或虽遇而意不在遇），而于山水之中悟得禅意，冲淡幽静，是刘长卿山水诗中的名篇，也是中唐「禅意入诗」的典范。此篇《寻南溪常道士》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 spiritual progress made through landscape. The first couplet sets the mode: the road is walked, and the shoe-prints on the moss are the first sign of the man — a trace, not a presence. The second couplet completes the portrait of the empty retreat: white clouds by the silent isle, spring grass closing the idle gate — nature has taken over the house of the absent priest. The third couplet turns the walk into enlightenment: after the rain the pines are seen fresh, and the path is followed to the water's source, the origin of things. The fourth couplet states the result: the creek flowers and the Chan meaning face each other, and speech is forgotten — the state of non-duality that is the goal of Chan. The poem's structure is thus the progress of the Chan practitioner: trace, emptiness, walking, source, and silence.

此诗艺术上以「以景写禅、冲淡幽静」见长。全诗八句，前六句写寻访之行与沿途之景，后两句写寻访所感。首联「一路经行处，莓苔见履痕」写寻访途中：一路走过的地方，莓苔上只见你的足迹，「经行处」写一路之行，「莓苔见履痕」写人迹之罕至，莓苔上唯有足迹，见居处之幽僻。颔联「白云依静渚，春草闭闲门」写道士居处之幽静：白云依傍着寂静的沙洲，春草掩闭着闲静的柴门，「白云」「静渚」「春草」「闲门」，写尽居处之幽静出尘。颈联「过雨看松色，随山到水源」写沿途之景：雨后看那松色更显苍翠，沿着山势走到水的源头，「过雨看松色」写雨后的松色，「随山到水源」写寻访之行的渐入佳境。尾联「溪花与禅意，相对亦忘言」写寻访所感：溪边的花与这禅意相对，相对之间亦忘了言语，「忘言」出《庄子》，写默契无言之意。全诗由行而景、由景而感，层层深入，冲淡幽静，禅意盎然，是五律中「以景写禅」的典范。

Allusions

The poem is steeped in the vocabulary of Daoist and Chan retreats. The 'shoe-prints on the moss' (lühen) is the classic sign of the absent sage, from the legend of the yellow-robed old man of the river — and more directly, the trace of the Daoist master in his mountain walks. 'White clouds' are the conventional companions of the hermit, the sign of his high retreat. 'The idle gate closed by spring grass' is the emblem of the empty hermitage, the door that nature has taken over. 'The flowers by the creek' and the 'forgotten speech' evoke the Chan doctrine of the inexpressible — the truth that is seen, not said; the same wordlessness appears in the 'drunk in wine, no words need pass' of the earlier poets.

诗中「忘言」一词，出《庄子·外物》「言者所以在意，得意而忘言」，《庄子·齐物论》亦有「大辩不言」之论，后世以「忘言」写默契于心、无须言语之境，陶渊明《饮酒》「此中有真意，欲辨已忘言」即用此意。刘长卿「溪花与禅意，相对亦忘言」，以溪花与禅意相对、相对而忘言，写其于山水之中悟得禅意、默契于心之境，正是陶渊明「忘言」之境的承续。「白云」「春草」「溪花」等意象，亦含隐逸禅意之传统——白云写闲逸，陶弘景「山中何所有，岭上多白云」；春草写幽寂；溪花写自然之趣。诗人以这些意象与「忘言」之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把寻访道士所悟之禅意写得冲淡幽静，是善于熔铸禅意意象传统的体现。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 admired Chan-influenced poems of the Tang, quoted for a millennium as the perfect union of the failed visit and the achieved insight. The final couplet — 'the flowers by the creek, and this Chan-meaning — facing each other, we have forgotten speech' — is often cited as one of the clearest statements of the inexpressible in Chinese poetry. Critics note how the poem quietly replaces the absent priest with the whole teaching landscape, making the emptiness itself the master.

这首《寻南溪常道士》，写的是寻访南溪道士的经过与所感，冲淡幽静，禅意盎然。首联「一路经行处，莓苔见履痕」，写寻访途中：一路走过的地方，莓苔上只见你的足迹。莓苔生于人迹罕至之处，「莓苔见履痕」，见此处唯有寻访者的足迹，人迹之罕至、居处之幽僻，尽在其中。颔联「白云依静渚，春草闭闲门」，写道士居处之幽静：白云依傍着寂静的沙洲，春草掩闭着闲静的柴门。「白云」「静渚」，写出世之象；「春草」「闲门」，见居处之清寂。这「闭」字用得尤好——春草掩闭柴门，见主人不在，亦见居处之幽静，门虽闭而意自闲。颈联「过雨看松色，随山到水源」，写沿途之景：雨后看那松色更显苍翠，沿着山势走到水的源头。「过雨看松色」，写雨后的松色，苍翠欲滴；「随山到水源」，写寻访之行的渐入佳境，随山而行，直到水之源。两句写景清丽，也写出诗人寻访途中悠然自得的心境。尾联「溪花与禅意，相对亦忘言」，写寻访所感：溪边的花与这禅意相对，相对之间亦忘了言语。「忘言」出《庄子》，写默契于心、无须言语之境。溪花自在，禅意自存，诗人于山水之间与之相对，心领神会，无须言语。这「忘言」二字，既是写寻访道士所得之禅意，亦是写诗人于山水之间所悟之境。全诗由行而景、由景而感，冲淡幽静，正是刘长卿山水诗中禅意入诗的典范，读之令人心静。

Prosody

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

Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level-tone words 'hen' (trace), 'men' (gate), 'yuan' (source) and 'yan' (speech) in the yuan rhyme group, in the standard regulated-verse pattern.全诗押平声韵「痕」「门」「源」「言」，韵脚同属元魂类（痕、门、源、言），一韵到底，韵部宽舒而音调悠长。五律以平韵谐畅为常，此诗「痕」「门」「源」「言」四韵音色绵长，正与寻访幽隐的冲淡情调相称；「言」字收束全篇，与「相对亦忘言」之句相映，韵脚亦含禅意，声情与辞情相凑。

Tone pattern The opening is level and questing; the second couplet is still and empty; the third moves with the walk and clears with the rain; the final couplet falls into the long, luminous silence of the forgotten speech.句式上，首联「一路经行处，莓苔见履痕」平起，以「痕」收句，写寻访途中，音节舒缓；颔联「白云依静渚，春草闭闲门」对仗工整，「白云」「春草」「静渚」「闲门」相映，写居处幽静，音节恬淡；颈联「过雨看松色，随山到水源」写沿途之景，音节清丽；尾联「溪花与禅意，相对亦忘言」以「言」字平收，音节转舒，情调由写景归于悟禅。全诗平仄相间、音节随情起伏，读来如诗人随山寻源、溪花相对之音，冲淡而悠长。

Reading note This is a five-character regulated verse by Liu Changqing. The search moves from the mossy traces of the priest's shoes, through the white clouds and the idle gate closed by spring grass, to the rain-washed pines and the water's source; and the close reaches the poem's meaning — the creek flowers and the Chan-meaning, facing each other in forgotten speech. The regulated-verse grid holds the quiet progress of the search.此诗为五言律诗，是刘长卿山水诗中的名篇，也是中唐「禅意入诗」的典范。全诗的艺术特色在于「以景写禅、冲淡幽静」：首联「一路经行处，莓苔见履痕」写寻访途中莓苔上的足迹，见居处之幽僻；颔联「白云依静渚，春草闭闲门」以白云、静渚、春草、闲门写尽居处之幽静出尘；颈联「过雨看松色，随山到水源」写沿途之景与随缘之行，清丽幽静；尾联「溪花与禅意，相对亦忘言」以「忘言」写默契无言之禅境，是全诗立意之所在。全诗由行而景、由景而感，层层深入，冲淡幽静，禅意盎然。尤为精妙者，是「白云依静渚，春草闭闲门」一联，以四个清寂意象写尽居处之幽静，而「溪花与禅意，相对亦忘言」一结，以庄子的「忘言」之境写寻访所悟，含蓄深远，正是刘长卿「五言长城」清雅冲淡诗风的体现，为历代选本所常收。

Line by line

一路经行处，莓苔见履痕。

Along the whole road of my coming, on the moss I see the traces of your shoes.

一路走过的地方，莓苔上只见你的足迹。

Along the road I have traveled, only your footprints show on the moss.

首联写寻访途中，起笔即见居处之幽僻。「一路经行处」写一路走过的地方，「经行处」见其寻访之行已历一路；「莓苔见履痕」写莓苔上只见足迹，「莓苔」生于人迹罕至之处，「见履痕」写莓苔上唯有寻访者的足迹。两句以「莓苔见履痕」写尽此处人迹之罕至、居处之幽僻——莓苔满地，唯见履痕，是此间少有人至的明证。诗人不写道士居处如何，而以此沿途之景写之，含蓄蕴藉，为全诗寻访幽隐、渐入禅境作了铺垫，是「以景写幽」的妙笔。

The opening couplet writes the way of the visit, the dwelling's seclusion present at the first stroke. Along the road I have traveled: the path followed; the traveled road shows the visit already spanning the way. Only your footprints show on the moss: moss growing where men seldom pass; footprints on the moss, the seeker's trace alone. The two lines use only footprints on the moss to exhaust the place's rarity of human trace, the dwelling's seclusion - moss everywhere, only footprints, the proof that few come here. The poet does not write the Daoist dwelling, but through this along-the-way scenery - reserved and pregnant, preparing the poem's seeking the recluse's gradual entry into Zen, the exquisite stroke of writing seclusion through scenery.

白云依静渚，春草闭闲门。

White clouds rest by the silent isle; spring grass closes the idle gate.

白云依傍着寂静的沙洲，春草掩闭着闲静的柴门。

White clouds lean on the quiet islet; spring grass seals the idle gate.

颔联写道士居处之幽静，是全诗最见意境处。「白云依静渚」写白云依傍着寂静的沙洲，「白云」写出世之象，「静渚」见沙洲之寂静，白云依渚，一片闲适出尘；「春草闭闲门」写春草掩闭着闲静的柴门，「春草」见居处之幽寂，「闲门」见其门虽设而常关，「闭」字写春草掩门，见主人不在、门庭冷落，亦见其居处之清寂自适。两句以「白云」「静渚」「春草」「闲门」四个意象，写尽道士居处的幽静出尘，景中含禅意，是「以景写禅」的典范之笔。

The second couplet writes the Daoist dwelling's quiet, the poem's most atmospheric place. White clouds lean on the quiet islet: white clouds the image of the unworldly; quiet islet the sandbar's silence; clouds leaning on the islet, all leisure and transcendence. Spring grass seals the idle gate: spring grass the dwelling's quietness; idle gate the door set yet always closed; seals writes spring grass covering the gate, showing the master absent, the gate deserted, and the dwelling's clear, contented quiet. The two lines use four images - white clouds, quiet islet, spring grass, idle gate - to exhaust the Daoist dwelling's quiet transcendence, Zen meaning within scenery - the model of writing Zen through scenery.

过雨看松色，随山到水源。

After the rain I look at the pines' color; following the hills I reach the water's source.

雨后看那松色更显苍翠，沿着山势走到水的源头。

After rain, I watch the pines' hue; following the hills, I reach the spring's source.

颈联写沿途之景与寻访之行，是全诗最见清丽处。「过雨看松色」写雨后看那松色更显苍翠，「过雨」写新雨方过，「看松色」写雨后的松色苍翠欲滴，着一「看」字，见诗人驻足欣赏之态；「随山到水源」写沿着山势走到水的源头，「随山」见其沿山而行，「到水源」见寻访之行的渐入佳境、直至水之源头。两句一写雨后松色之清丽、一写随山寻源之行，既写沿途之景，亦写诗人悠然自得、渐入佳境的心境，清丽幽静，是「以行写禅」的妙笔。

The third couplet writes the along-the-way scenery and the visit, the poem's most limpid place. After rain, I watch the pines' hue: just after rain; the pines' green after rain, dripping; one watch shows the poet's stopping to admire. Following the hills, I reach the spring's source: following the ridge; reaching the source, the visit's gradual entry into beauty, to the water's head. The two lines one write the post-rain pines' limpid green, the other the following-the-hills journey to the source; writing both the along-the-way scenery and the poet's leisurely, gradually-beautifying mood - limpid and quiet, the exquisite stroke of writing Zen through walking.

溪花与禅意，相对亦忘言。

The flowers by the creek, and this Chan-meaning — facing each other, we have forgotten speech.

溪边的花与这禅意相对，相对之间亦忘了言语。

The stream flowers and the Zen mood, facing each other, make me forget words.

尾联写寻访所感，是全诗立意的点睛之笔。「溪花与禅意」写溪边的花与这禅意，「溪花」见眼前之自然物，「禅意」见心中之所悟，溪花自在，禅意自存；「相对亦忘言」写相对之间亦忘了言语，「忘言」出《庄子》，写默契于心、无须言语之境。两句以溪花与禅意相对，写诗人于山水之间与之相对、心领神会、无须言语之境——寻访道士，虽不必遇，而于溪花禅意之间，已得其所寻。这「忘言」二字，既是写寻访所悟之禅意，亦是写诗人于自然之间所契之境，含蓄蕴藉，禅意盎然，是全诗境界最高的收束之笔。

The closing couplet writes the visit's insight, the poem's eye. The stream flowers and the Zen mood: stream flowers the natural thing before him; Zen mood the insight in the heart; the stream flowers at ease, the Zen mood self-existent. Facing each other, make me forget words: forget words comes from Zhuangzi, writing the默契 in heart, the realm beyond words. The two lines use stream flowers and Zen mood facing each other to write the poet facing them in mountains and waters, heart understood, words unneeded - seeking the Daoist, though not meeting, yet between stream flowers and Zen mood, already finding what he sought. These forget words at once write the Zen insight gained in visiting and the realm the poet契s with in nature; reserved and pregnant, Zen abundant - the poem's highest-realm close.

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Word focus

莓苔 'The moss' — the moss bearing the traces of the priest's shoes, the sign of the untrodden way. 「莓苔」即青苔，生于人迹罕至、幽湿之处，是写居处幽僻的关键意象。「莓苔见履痕」着一「莓苔」，见此处莓苔满地，人迹罕至；而莓苔上唯见履痕，更见寻访之行的孤寂与居处之幽僻。两字写尽幽静清寂之境，为全诗定下了冲淡幽静的基调，是首联「以景写幽」的点睛之词。「莓苔」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。

闭 'To close' — the spring grass closing the idle gate, the seclusion of the priest. 「闭」字写春草掩闭柴门，是颔联写居处幽静的关键。「春草闭闲门」着一「闭」，写春草掩闭着闲静的柴门——春草生至门前，仿佛将门掩闭，见主人不在、门庭冷落，亦见其居处之清寂自适。着一「闭」字，门虽设而常关，春草掩之，愈见幽静出尘，是「以一字写尽闲寂」的妙笔。「闭」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。

随 'Following' — following the hills to the water's source, the way of the search. 「随」字写沿着山势而行，是颈联写寻访之行的关键。「随山到水源」着一「随」，写随山而行、不刻意不执著，一路随着山势走到水的源头。「随」字见其寻访之行任自然而行，无意强求，正合禅家「随缘」之旨，也是诗人悠然自得心境的写照，是「以一字见禅意」的妙笔。「随」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。

忘言 'Forgotten speech' — the silence before the creek flowers and the Chan-meaning, the poem's resolution. 「忘言」出《庄子·外物》「得意而忘言」，是尾联写禅意的点睛之词。溪花与禅意相对，相对之间亦忘了言语，「忘言」写默契于心、无须言语之境——溪花自在，禅意自存，心领神会，何必多言。两字承陶渊明「此中有真意，欲辨已忘言」之境，把寻访所悟之禅意与山水所契之境写得含蓄深远，是全诗立意的关键。「忘言」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。