唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
江有枫一篇十章 五
The Maple by the River, Ten Chapters (V)
粤东可居，彼吴之墟。
有田有庭，有朋有书。
有莼有鱼，君子居焉。
惟以宴醑，其乐徐徐。
There in the old land of Wu.
There are fields and there a court,
There are friends and there are books.
There is water-shield and there is fish—
The gentleman dwells there.
Only at ease with wine and feast,
His joy comes slow and soft.
Meaning
The fifth chapter of Xiao Yingshi's 'The Maple by the River, Ten Chapters,' a set of poems in imitation of the Book of Songs. The chapter writes the livability of the region east of Yue (Wu, the south of the river): there are fields to till and a court to dwell in, friends to keep and books to read, and water-shield and fish to eat—the gentleman dwells there, at ease with wine and feast, his joy coming slow and soft. The whole chapter, without a single word of 'reclusion,' is steeped in the joy of reclusion, the leisure of a scholar settled in the south of the river.
那东边的粤地（越地）可以安居，那是吴国的故墟。有田地，有庭院；有朋友，有诗书。只以设宴饮酒为事，那快乐舒缓而悠长。
Appreciation
The art of the chapter lies wholly in the Book of Songs' four-character method of repetition, writing the abundance of 'there are... there are...'. The whole poem is eight lines in four layers. The first two lines, 'east of Yue one may dwell, there in the old land of Wu,' fix the space—the old land of Wu, a place to dwell. The second pair, 'there are fields and there a court, there are friends and there are books,' writes the fullness of the dwelling and the elegance of the company in two parallel 'there are' clauses—fields and court the comfort of the body, friends and books the delight of the spirit. The third pair, 'there is water-shield and there is fish—the gentleman dwells there,' advances the 'there is' to the fitness of food (water-shield and fish, both the produce of the south), and closes with 'the gentleman dwells there,' pointing out that the dweller is the gentleman. The last pair, 'only at ease with wine and feast, his joy comes slow and soft,' turns from 'there is' to 'joy,' writing the gentleman's only business of feasting and his slow, soft joy.
【白话串讲】 萧颖士写《江有枫》：“粤东可居，彼吴之墟。有田有庭，有朋有书”。“有莼有鱼，君子居焉”——“惟以宴醑，其乐徐徐”——他写隐居之乐。 【意象与手法】以六个「有」字层累罗列，承《诗经》复沓之法写丰乐，清空简古。 【情感与主旨】不着一个「隐」字而隐趣盎然，是盛唐士人江南化、兼济无门而独善其身的安然写照。 【名句点睛】「其乐徐徐」最传神——把所有的「有」凝为一种不躁不竞的生活节奏，以徐徐反衬世用之汲汲。
Background
Xiao Yingshi (717–768), courtesy name Maoting, a native of Lanling (present-day Yixian, Shandong), passed the jinshi in the twenty-third year of Kaiyuan and rose to Collator of the Jixian Academy; he was a pioneer of the Tang classical prose movement, paired with Li Hua as 'Xiao and Li,' but his official career was thwarted and he long remained in the south of the river. 'The Maple by the River, Ten Chapters' is a set of poems in imitation of the Book of Songs, its title visibly modeled on the 'The River Has Its Branch' of the Airs of Shao; mostly in four-character lines, they use the scenery of the south of the river to write the thought of reclusion among friends and the admonition of the age. This fifth chapter, 'east of Yue one may dwell,' is devoted to the livability of the south: fields to till, a court to dwell in, friends and books, water-shield and fish, and the gentleman's slow joy. Without a word of 'reclusion,' the delight of reclusion pervades the whole—the spiritual silhouette of the High Tang turning from service to self-cultivation and of the scholar-official's move to the south of the river.
《江有枫一篇十章》为唐代文学家萧颖士的拟《诗经》组诗，此为其第五章。萧颖士（717—768），字茂挺，兰陵（今山东峄县）人，开元二十三年进士，官至集贤校理，为唐代古文运动先驱，与李华并称「萧李」，然一生偃蹇，久滞江南。《江有枫》十章，题名显拟《诗经·召南·江有汜》，多为四言，托江南风物以写隐居友朋、讽谕时世之思。此第五章「粤东可居，彼吴之墟」专写江南（古称「粤」通「越」，「吴之墟」即吴地故墟）宜居之宜：有田可耕、有庭可居、有朋可侣、有书可读，兼有莼羹鲈鱼之味，君子居此，唯以宴饮为乐，其乐徐徐。通章不着一「隐」字，而隐逸之趣盎然，正是盛唐由兼济转向独善、士人江南化过程中的精神侧影。萧颖士久居吴越，其诗文多江左清音，此章以四言简古之体写江南定居之乐，既承《诗经》雅颂之遗，又开中唐以后「江南隐居诗」的先声，是研究唐代拟经诗与地域隐逸心态的值得重视的一篇。（萧颖士宗经拟诗，此章以四言写江南隐居，承风雅之遗。）其以四言存盛唐士人江南化之精神切片，诗史可征，未可等闲视之。
Art
The art lies wholly in the four-character method of repetition, writing the abundance of 'there are... there are...'. The whole is eight lines in four layers: the first pair fixes the space; the second writes the fullness of the dwelling and the elegance of the company in two parallel 'there are' clauses, fields and court the comfort of the body, friends and books the delight of the spirit; the third advances the 'there is' to the fitness of food and closes with 'the gentleman dwells there'; the last turns from 'there is' to 'joy,' the gentleman's slow, soft joy. The wonder of the structure is the layering of the 'there is' clauses: fields, court, friends, books, water-shield, fish, one after another, the wealth of the dwelling piling up, and the close turning it all into the joy of the gentleman.
此章艺术，全在以《诗经》四言复沓之法，写「有……有……」的富乐。全诗八句，分四层推进：首二句「粤东可居，彼吴之墟」先定空间——吴地故墟，可居之乡；次二句「有田有庭，有朋有书」以两组「有」字排比，写居处之丰与交游之雅，田庭为物质之安，朋书为精神之娱；三二句「有莼有鱼，君子居焉」再以「有」字递进至饮食之适（莼、鱼皆江南特产），而以「君子居焉」收束前三层，点出宜居者乃君子；末二句「惟以宴醑，其乐徐徐」由「有」转「乐」，写君子唯以宴饮为事、其乐舒缓。其章法之妙，在「有」字的层累堆叠：田、庭、朋、书、莼、鱼，六「有」如数家珍，构成一种质朴的满足感，恰似《诗经·斯干》《诗经·无羊》以罗列写丰饶的笔法。结尾「徐徐」二字，把前面所有的「有」凝为一种不迫不躁的生活节奏，清空简古，是唐人拟诗经体中最得「风雅」神髓的小品之一。（以有字层累写丰乐，质朴满足，最得诗经罗列之趣。）以有田有庭有朋有书有莼有鱼六有层累，写隐居之丰乐质朴满足，最得诗经罗列丰饶之笔法。
Allusions
The names and allusions of the chapter are grounded in the culture of the south's reclusion. 'Yue' is here 'Wu' (the two characters were interchangeable in antiquity), the region of the Spring and Autumn kingdoms of Wu and Yue; 'the old land of Wu' is the old capital of the state of Wu, the word 'old' carrying the sense of the passage of ages, fitting the historical depth of 'the old trees of the fallen state' of the south. 'Water-shield' (chun) alludes to the History of the Jin, the biography of Zhang Han: Zhang Han, in Luoyang, seeing the autumn wind rise, longed for the water-shield soup, the perch, and the salted fish of Wu, and said 'what is precious in life is to follow one's own heart,' and ordered his carriage home; later 'the water-shield and perch longing' became the allusion for giving up office for reclusion. The poem's 'there is water-shield and there is fish' covertly uses this allusion, writing that the produce of the south is enough to settle the heart of the recluse. 'Books,' set against 'friends,' shows the elegance of the company.
诗中名物典故，多本江南隐逸文化。「粤」通「越」，古「粤」「越」通用，此指春秋吴越之地；「吴之墟」即吴国故都旧墟，用「墟」字带沧桑之意，暗合江南「旧国乔木」的历史感。「莼」即莼菜，典出《晋书·张翰传》：张翰在洛，见秋风起，思吴中菰菜、莼羹、鲈鱼脍，曰「人生贵得适意尔」，遂命驾归，后世以「莼鲈之思」为弃官归隐的典故；诗中「有莼有鱼」正暗用此典，写江南风物足以安顿隐者之心。「书」指诗书，与「朋」对举，见君子「友朋讲习、诗书自娱」的儒隐传统。「宴醑」谓设宴饮酒，醑为美酒，《诗经·小雅·鹿鸣》「我有旨酒」可参，写君子燕乐而不涉淫靡。凡此皆中国隐逸文学的公共语汇，萧颖士以四言简体熔铸，使「莼鱼」「朋书」「宴醑」成为江南隐居的标准意象组合，是「熟典入古体」的稳妥用事。（粤、莼、徐徐皆江南隐逸语汇，熟典入古体而稳妥。）粤通越为古字通假，莼暗用张翰莼鲈之思，徐徐状宴乐之舒缓，皆江南隐逸语汇，熟典入四言古体而稳妥。萧颖士宗经拟诗，此章罗列丰乐最得风雅平淡之趣，古体之雅在焉。
Commentary
Xiao Yingshi was a pioneer of the Tang classical prose movement; the New Book of Tang records that he 'delighted to hear of others' good, taking as his duty the recommendation of the young,' and his literary writing, 'modeling the ancient forms' and striving against the ornamental extravagance of the Six Dynasties, finds its poetic practice in this set of ten chapters imitating the Book of Songs in four-character lines. The Old Book of Tang says his collected works 'are largely scattered,' yet the ten chapters survive entire in the Complete Tang Poetry, a proof that their transmission has its source. The Record of Tang Poetry of the Southern Song Ji Yougong and the Complete Tang Poetry of the Qing Kangxi reign both include them. This fifth chapter, a four-character short piece of plain archaic grace, is one of the rare Tang poems in the line of the Book of Songs.
萧颖士为唐代古文先驱，《新唐书·文艺传》载其「乐闻人善，以推引后进为己任」，而其文学创作「宪章古式」、力矫六朝绮靡，此《江有枫》十章以四言拟《诗经》，正其「宗经」主张的诗学实践。五代刘昫《旧唐书·文苑传》称萧颖士「文集多离散」，然《江有枫》十章赖以《全唐诗》卷一百五十四（萧颖士名下）完整存世，足见其源有自。南宋计有功《唐诗纪事》、清康熙《全唐诗》皆据以收录，列于萧氏拟古诸作之中。近人论萧颖士，每重其古文而轻其诗，然如《江有枫》此章，以「有田有庭、有朋有书、有莼有鱼」的质朴罗列写君子之居，最得《诗经》「风雅」平淡之趣，恰可补其文名掩盖诗名之憾。要之，此章虽非唐诗主流，却以「拟经」之体保存了盛唐士人江南化的精神切片——在兼济无门时，以「吴之墟」的一方田庭、一席宴醑，安顿其独善之心，是研究唐代隐逸诗「江南转向」不可忽视的标本。（其以拟经存盛唐士人江南化精神切片，价值在诗史可征。）近人论其文名掩诗，此章恰可补萧颖士诗名之憾，拟经一体足珍。
Prosody
Line by line
粤东可居，彼吴之墟。
East of Yue one may dwell, there in the old land of Wu. (The first pair fixes the space: the old land of Wu, a place to dwell, the 'old' carrying the sense of the passage of ages.)
那东边的粤地（越地）可以安居，那是吴国的故墟。
The east of Yue is habitable - there, the ruins of Wu.
此二句为全章起手，先定隐居的空间坐标。「粤」通「越」，古字通用，指春秋吴越之地；「吴之墟」即吴国旧都故墟，一个「墟」字带出历史的沧桑感——吴宫花草埋幽径，而故墟之上仍可人居，暗含「兴废有时、而江山长宜君子」的达观。其艺术之要，在以极简的地理交代，撑起全诗的「可居」主题：不写山水如何秀、风物如何美，只说「可居」二字，已把评判标准从「观赏」转为「生活」，是隐逸诗「宜居主义」的典型开篇。与《诗经·召南·江有汜》的题名呼应（江有枫、江有汜皆以水起兴江南），萧颖士于此把《诗经》的江南想象，落实为唐人具体的吴地定居构想。二句四言对起，古质简净，不着丽藻而气象从容，已立定全章「拟风雅以写隐」的基调。
These two lines are the whole chapter's opening, first setting the reclusion's spatial coordinates. Yue connects with Yue, ancient characters interchangeable, referring to Spring-and-Autumn Wu-Yue land. Wu's ruins means the Wu old capital's remains; one ruins character brings out historical vicissitude - Wu palace flowers and grass buried the hidden path, yet on the old ruins one can still dwell, secretly holding the rise-and-fall-has-its-time-yet-rivers-and-mountains-long-fitting-for-the-gentleman open-mindedness. Its artistic key lies in using the most minimal geographic statement to prop up the whole poem's habitable theme: not writing how fair the hills, how beautiful the scenery, only saying habitable two characters, already converting the judgment standard from viewing to living; the recluse poem's livability-doctrine typical opening. Echoing the Book of Songs's Zhaonan, The Jiang Has Floods title (jiang has maple, jiang has floods both using water to bi-xing the southland); Xiao Yingshi here落实 the Book of Songs's southland imagination into Tang people's concrete Wu-land settlement conception. Two lines four-character parallel opening, ancient-plain spare, no ornate diction yet the air composed, already establishing the whole chapter's imitating-elegance-to-write-seclusion keynote.
有田有庭，有朋有书。
There are fields and there a court, there are friends and there are books. (The fullness of the dwelling and the elegance of the company in two parallel 'there are' clauses: fields and court the comfort of the body, friends and books the delight of the spirit.)
有田地，有庭院；有朋友，有诗书。
There are fields, there is a hall; there are friends, there are books.
此二句为全章核心，以两组「有」字排比，写君子隐居之丰乐。「田」「庭」属物质之安——有田可耕、有庭可居，是耕读生活的基本保障；「朋」「书」属精神之娱——有朋可侣、有书可读，是儒隐「以文会友、以友辅仁」的常态。其妙在「有」字的层累：不夸豪奢、不状清贫，只平平数出田庭朋书四事，如数家珍，构成一种质朴而稳固的满足感，恰似《诗经·斯干》罗列「有觉其楹、有秩斯祜」的丰饶笔法。两组「有」又暗含内外之辨：田庭是外境之宜，朋书是内心之富，外内俱足，方称「君子居焉」。宋人以后每好以「闲适」写隐，而萧颖士此二句已先以四言古体奠定了「田庭朋书」的隐居标配意象，是中唐江南隐逸诗「物质—精神双安」母题的较早范本，清空而有骨。
These two lines are the whole chapter's core, using two there-is parallel groups to write the gentleman recluse's abundance and joy. Fields and hall belong to material peace - fields to plow, hall to dwell, the basic guarantee of the farming-reading life. Friends and books belong to spiritual delight - friends to keep company, books to read; Confucian recluse's gathering-friends-through-literature, aiding-virtue-through-friends norm. Its subtlety lies in there-is's accumulation: not boasting luxury, not describing poverty, only plainly listing four things - field, hall, friend, book - as if treasuring them; forming a simple, stable satisfaction, precisely like the Book of Songs, The Sweet Pear's listing it has its pillars tall, it has its blessings abundant brush. Two there-is groups also secretly hold the inner-outer distinction: field and hall are the outer environment's fit; friend and book are the inner heart's wealth; outer and inner both sufficient, then one can call the gentleman dwells there. Song people later each loved writing seclusion through leisure, yet Xiao Yingshi these two lines already first used four-character ancient form to establish the field-hall-friend-book recluse standard image; mid-Tang Jiangnan recluse poetry's material-spiritual-double-peace motif's earlier model, clear yet with bone.
惟以宴醑，其乐徐徐。
Only at ease with wine and feast, his joy comes slow and soft. (The close turns from 'there is' to 'joy': the gentleman's only business of feasting and his slow, soft joy, the whole chapter's reclusion written without the word.)
只以设宴饮酒为事，那快乐舒缓而悠长。
Only with feast and wine - its joy, slow and long.
此二句为全章收束，由前面的「有」转写为「乐」，是隐居之乐的最终落点。「宴醑」即设宴饮美酒，呼应《诗经·小雅·鹿鸣》「我有旨酒，以燕乐嘉宾」的燕乐传统，写君子与朋书相伴、以酒自娱，而不涉声色犬马；「惟以」二字极重，示其生活之简、所务之专——不为外物役、唯此宴醑乐，一种「弱水三千只取一瓢」的定力。「其乐徐徐」以叠字收束，最为传神：徐徐者，舒缓不迫、悠长无尽也，把前面所有的田庭朋书莼鱼之「有」，最终凝为一种不躁不竞的生活节奏与心境。其艺术之要，在以「徐徐」反衬世用之「汲汲」——世人奔竞于朝市，君子徐徐于宴醑，一徐一汲，隐逸之价值立见。四言短章以此清句收尾，余味悠长，是唐人拟《诗经》体得「风雅」平淡之趣的绝佳例证。
These two lines are the whole chapter's close, turning from the previous there-is to joy, the recluse joy's final landing. Feast and fine wine means setting out wine, echoing Book of Songs, Xiaoya, The Deer Call's I have good wine, to feast and delight honored guests' banquet-joy tradition; writing the gentleman with friend-and-book company, amusing himself with wine, without sound-and-waste. Only with two characters most weighty, showing his life's simplicity, his pursuit's singleness - not enslaved by external things, only this feast-wine joy; a three-thousand-waters-take-one-dipper steadiness. Its joy slow and long closes in reduplication, most spirit-transmitting: slow means unhurried, long-endless; condensing all the previous field-hall-friend-book water-shield's there-is into ultimately an unhurried, uncompetitive life rhythm and mind. Its artistic key lies in using slow to set off worldly-utility's rushing - the world rushing in court and market, the gentleman slow in feast-wine; one slow one rush, the recluse's value at once shown. The four-character short piece closing in this clear line, aftertaste long; Tang people's imitating Book of Songs form's getting-elegance-plain-delight superb example.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
《召南·江有汜》与萧颖士《江有枫》在题名与江南意象上明显有承袭关系。《江有汜》「江有汜，之子归，不我以」，以江水支流起兴写弃妇之叹，是《诗经》中少见的长江（江南）题材篇章；萧颖士取「江有」二字为组诗总题（江有枫），显系拟《召南》之体以写唐人江南情怀。二诗同以「江有某」的地理起兴框定江南空间，而异在题旨：《江有汜》是情诗之怨，《江有枫》此章是隐逸之乐；一为民间风诗、一为文人拟经。并观之，可见《诗经》江南题材如何在唐代被文人「转用」——从弃妇的哀怨，变为士大夫的隐居畅想，而「江有」这一语式则跨越千年，成为江南书写的遗传密码，萧颖士正是这密码的唐代传递者。
渭川田家 Fields by the Wei River 王维（唐） · 同写田园隐居之乐，一四言拟古一五古写意 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
王维《渭川田家》与萧颖士《江有枫》此章，皆唐人写田园隐居之乐的佳作，而体式风调各异。王维「斜光照墟落，穷巷牛羊归……田夫荷锄至，相见语依依」，以五言古诗写关中田园的暮归意境，重在其「悠然」的写意；萧颖士则此章以四言拟《诗经》体，罗列「有田有庭、有朋有书、有莼有鱼」，重在其「富乐」的质朴。二诗同把隐居之乐写得不涉孤峭、平和丰足，同以「墟」（王维「墟落」、萧「吴之墟」）为空间标记；差异在：王诗是以画入诗、情景交融的盛唐田园正宗，萧章则是以经入诗、罗列成趣的拟古别调。并观之，可见盛唐隐居诗的两副笔墨——一写意一拟古，而「江南—关中」的地域分野亦隐然其中，萧颖士此章恰补王诗所未及的「四言宗经」一脉。
饮酒·其五 Drinking Wine (V) 陶渊明（东晋） · 同写隐逸之乐于宴饮自然，一四言简古一五言悠然 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
陶渊明《饮酒·其五》（结庐在人境）与萧颖士《江有枫》此章，皆写隐士安贫乐道、宴饮自适之趣，而时代与体式遥相呼应。陶诗「采菊东篱下，悠然见南山」「此中有真意，欲辨已忘言」，以五言写隐居的「悠然」之境；萧章「惟以宴醑，其乐徐徐」则以四言写隐居的「徐徐」之乐，二诗同以「宴饮—乐」收束，同把隐逸价值落在一种不迫的心境（悠然/徐徐）上。差异在：陶诗是个体生命哲学的浑然流露，萧章是拟经体的范式罗列；一重「忘言」之玄，一重「有……」之实。并观之，可见中国隐逸诗从陶渊明「写意」到萧颖士「拟古」的流变——唐人写隐，往往回到《诗经》的简古范式以为雅正，而萧颖士此章正是这「以古写隐」倾向中清通可读的一篇，与陶诗并读，可尽见隐逸书写「玄」与「实」的两极。