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魏晋 Wei-Jin · 诗 Poem

杂诗·人生无根蒂

Miscellaneous Poem: Life Has No Fixed Root

陶渊明

Tao Yuanming

人生Life 感慨Reflection

人生无根蒂，飘如陌上尘。
分散逐风转，此已非常身。
落地为兄弟，何必骨肉亲。
得欢当作乐，斗酒聚比邻。
盛年不重来，一日难再晨。
及时当勉励，岁月不待人。

Life has no fixed root,
Drifting like dust on the road.
Scattered and blown by the wind,
This body is no longer the same.
Once born, we are all brothers,
Why must we be blood kin?
When joy comes, enjoy it,
Gather neighbors with a cup of wine.
Prime years never return,
A day cannot have two mornings.
Seize the time and strive,
For years and months wait for no one.

Listen

Meaning

This poem laments the rootless and drifting nature of life, then encourages cherishing the present, treating all people as brothers, and seizing the moment to enjoy and strive, as youth and time are fleeting.

人生本无根蒂，飘荡如同路边的尘土。随风离散流转，这已不是恒常不变的身躯。既然降生在世便如兄弟，何必一定要骨肉至亲。遇到欢乐就应当行乐，斟斗酒邀邻里相聚。壮年时光不会重来，一日之中难有第二个清晨。应当及时自我勉励，岁月是不会等待人的。

Appreciation

The poem begins with metaphors of rootless dust to depict life's impermanence. It then shifts to a call for universal brotherhood and simple joy, and ends with the famous admonition to seize the day. The language is plain yet powerful, reflecting Tao Yuanming's philosophical and affirmative outlook.

【白话串讲】 “盛年不重来，一日难再晨。及时当勉励，岁月不待人”——人生像无根的尘土，飘来飘去。陶渊明提醒：时光不等人，该努力时要努力。【意象与手法】诗以议论领起，前两联以无根蒂、陌上尘设喻，将抽象人生写得具体可感；落地为兄弟一联由悲转旷，翻出新意【情感与主旨】陶渊明《杂诗》十二首约作于其晚年，多感时伤逝、自抒怀抱之作【名句点睛】此诗为魏晋陶渊明之作，精要赏析详见下方深度赏析。

Background

Tao Yuanming's 'Miscellaneous Poems' (twelve in total) were written in his later years. This first poem summarizes his reflections after a life of officialdom and farming, against the backdrop of the turbulent Jin-Song transition. It expresses both melancholy and a resolve to cherish the present.

《杂诗》十二首是陶渊明晚年的一组感时伤逝之作，此为其一，列于组诗之首，通篇议论人生无常与及时自勉，为后十一首的岁月之叹奠定基调。组诗作年历来聚讼，逯钦立系于晋安帝义熙十年（414年）前后，王瑶以为在义熙末年，总之是陶渊明五十岁上下、归隐已久而渐入老境之时。此时诗人历经晋宋易代前的政治动荡，又亲历亲故零落、田园多艰，对生命的流逝有切身之痛，故一改田园诗的平和，发为此类感慨淋漓之语。就版本而言，此诗文字各本无大异，「落地为兄弟」句，有的注家引《论语》「四海之内皆兄弟」为说，然「落地」指降生，与「骨肉亲」相对，意谓同生于世即当视如兄弟，不必拘于血亲。陶渊明《杂诗》与《饮酒》同属晚年自抒怀抱之作，而《杂诗》更多直陈胸臆、少借外物，是了解陶公晚岁心境最直接的文字，此诗「及时当勉励，岁月不待人」二句，更成为后世劝勉惜时的千古警句。此诗又是《杂诗》组诗的「序诗」，其地位同于《饮酒》其四之于组诗。诗中「分散逐风转，此已非常身」的流转之叹，实与陶渊明《归去来兮辞》「悟已往之不谏，知来者之可追」的悔悟相通，皆是对人生无常的体认。就版本而言，此诗文字各本无大异，「落地为兄弟」句，或以为「落地」当作「落第」，然以诗意论，「落地」谓降生，与「骨肉亲」相对，正合全篇以人生无常起兴的脉络，故今本多从「落地」。

Art

The poem uses everyday metaphors like dust on the road to make abstract ideas concrete. The shift from lament to openness is smooth, and the final four lines are sharp and proverbial. The language is natural and unadorned, yet emotionally layered.

此诗以议论领起，全篇十二句几乎句句说理，却因设喻之精、转折之妙而不流于枯燥。起二句「人生无根蒂，飘如陌上尘」以无根之草、陌上之尘两个比喻并置，将人生的漂泊无依写得具体可感，「无根蒂」喻生之本无凭依，「陌上尘」喻形之任风流转，一虚一实，总摄全篇的飘零之叹。三四句「分散逐风转，此已非常身」承「尘」喻而来，写尘埃随风四散，人亦如之，历经流转而此身已非昔日之身，由漂泊之状推及变化之理。五六句「落地为兄弟，何必骨肉亲」陡然一转，由悲转旷，既已同落于尘世，则四海之内皆为兄弟，何必拘执于血缘亲疏，此一翻案使前文的飘零之悲顿生宽解之意。七八句「得欢当作乐，斗酒聚比邻」由理入事，写及时行乐、聚饮邻里，将旷达落于日常。末四句「盛年不重来，一日难再晨。及时当勉励，岁月不待人」再转，由行乐转勉励，将消极的及时行乐升华为积极的珍惜光阴，情调由低沉而振起。全诗一唱三叹，转笔处尤见章法，是陶诗以议论见性情的典型。此诗不借外物、不设景物，纯以议论成篇，然其所以不流于枯燥，全在设喻之精与转折之妙。以「陌上尘」喻人生，既见其轻，又见其散，一喻而兼漂泊、卑微、无定数义，是陶诗善以少总多的本领。全诗四层转折，由悲而旷、由旷而行乐、由行乐而勉励，层层翻新，正见陶渊明于议论中见性情的章法功力。

Allusions

The opening echoes the Han-dynasty 'Nineteen Old Poems' and Zhuangzi's imagery. The line 'Once born, we are all brothers' alludes to Confucius's 'all men are brothers' but adds a twist. 'Years and months wait for no one' continues the carpe diem tradition found in earlier poetry.

「飘如陌上尘」的尘意象，源出《古诗十九首》「人生寄一世，奄忽若飙尘」，亦与曹植《杂诗》「转蓬离本根，飘飖随长风」的蓬草之喻相通，皆以无根之物喻人生之无定，陶渊明合「无根蒂」「陌上尘」于一处，将这一传统的漂泊之感推向极致。「落地为兄弟」化用《论语·颜渊》子夏「四海之内，皆兄弟也」之语，然子夏之言是劝人敬恭、以德相交，陶渊明则借「落地」二字转出同生于世的平等观，赋旧语以新意，学界多指出此句为陶诗翻案用典的显例。「盛年不重来，一日难再晨」与汉乐府《长歌行》「百川东到海，何时复西归」的时光不返之叹同源，而陶诗以「晨」为喻，取一日之中最清新之时刻，写晨不可再而日不可留，比川流东逝更见日常的切近。「及时当勉励」的「及时」二字，可上溯《古诗十九首·生年不满百》「昼短苦夜长，何不秉烛游」，然陶渊明反其消极之旨，变「秉烛夜游」的及时行乐为「勉励」的惜时进取，同用「及时」而旨趣迥别，此中消息，正是陶诗于古诗传统中翻新出奇的关键。又「得欢当作乐，斗酒聚比邻」的聚饮之乐，可溯《诗经·小雅·鹿鸣》「我有旨酒，以燕乐嘉宾之心」的宴饮传统，陶诗化燕乐嘉宾为聚饮比邻，将贵族之宴转为田家之乐，其乐更见质朴。学界有谓此诗「此已非常身」的「常」字，暗用佛家「无常」之义，陶渊明生当佛学东渐之世，于「诸行无常」之说当有会心，然其落笔仍以家常语出之，不露玄理痕迹，此说可备参。

Commentary

Shen Deqian in 'Ancient Poetry Source' praised Tao's poetry as broad and profound, noting the last four lines carry the same meaning as Confucius's 'the river flows on' but are more striking. Wang Yao's commentary also regards these lines as timeless time-admonitions.

钟嵘《诗品》评陶诗「每观其文，想其人德」，此篇直抒胸臆、不假雕饰，最能见陶渊明晚年「质性自然」的为人。就具体选本而言，《文选》未录陶诗《杂诗》，而唐以后选家渐重之，宋真德秀《文章正宗》以陶诗入「辞命议论」之选，实即重其说理之正；明钟惺《古诗归》评「落地为兄弟」二句「千古至情之语」，特赏其由悲转旷的一笔。清沈德潜《古诗源》论陶诗「清远闲放，中涵至理」，此篇正是「中涵至理」的代表。近人王国维《人间词话》虽以「无我之境」许陶，然此诗纯以议论见性，属「有我之境」的直陈，与「采菊东篱下」的以物观物判然两途，足见陶诗境界非止一端。鲁迅《魏晋风度及文章与药及酒之关系》尝言陶渊明并非「浑身静穆」，此诗「及时当勉励」的积极进取，正是其「静穆」之外的另一面。今人遂钦立、王瑶于《陶渊明集》系年与注释均极详赡，「岁月不待人」一句已融入现代汉语，成为家喻户晓的惜时格言，其传播之广在陶诗中罕有其匹。又清代温汝能《陶诗汇评》谓此诗「语语从肺腑流出，无一毫客气」，正点出其直抒胸臆的本色。近人梁启超《陶渊明》一书尤赏「及时当勉励」二句，以为「陶公之人生观，一面超然物外，一面脚踏实地」，此诗正是「脚踏实地」一面的集中体现。此诗「落地为兄弟」的平等观，还被后世论者引为陶渊明人道主义思想的证据，与「阡陌交通，鸡犬相闻」的桃源理想相表里，可见其思想内涵之深广。

Prosody

Form Five-character ancient-style poetry (Miscellaneous Poems)五言古诗

Rhyme chen/shen/qin/lin/chen/ren, natural rhyme shifts全诗十二句六韵，押平水韵上平十一真韵，韵脚为「尘、身、亲、邻、晨、人」，一韵到底

Tone pattern Plain and natural, emphasizes philosophical interest, not regulated verse此诗为五言古体，不循近体平仄。起句「人生无根蒂」为平平平平仄，四平相连，与近体格律大相径庭，纯以古体自然的声调出之。通篇以议论为主，平仄随文气起伏，如「落地为兄弟，何必骨肉亲」一联，上句仄仄平平仄，下句平仄仄仄平，拗峭而有力，正合议论之语的斩截。

Reading note The last four lines are immortal time-admonitions, often used as maxims in elementary education.此诗押平声真韵，韵脚「尘、身、亲、邻、晨、人」皆属上平十一真，一韵到底而不换韵。真韵属齐齿呼，发音细密而略带收敛，与全诗感时伤逝、语重心长的情调正相契合，读来如促膝而谈、低声相劝，迥异于《饮酒》其四庚韵的清亮。古体诗以议论为主，最易流于散文化而失声韵之美，陶渊明却能于议论中保持韵脚的匀停，隔句一押，节奏从容，使说理之语亦有音乐性。此诗十二句实为三组转折，起四句言飘零，中四句言行乐，末四句言勉励，韵脚的流转恰好配合文意的层递，不换韵而能见层次，正是古诗用韵与章法相生相济的妙处。清王夫之《古诗评选》论陶诗「神似非形似」，验之此篇声韵之自然，可知陶诗之工正在不以声律为意而自有天籁。且议论之诗最忌声韵板滞，陶渊明却能于说理中保持韵脚的流转与音节的顿挫，使「盛年」「晨」「待人」诸韵字彼此照应，声情与理趣相生，此实为后世苏轼、朱熹以议论入诗而犹存声韵之美的先导。

Line by line

人生无根蒂

Human life has no root or stem.

人生本无根蒂

Human life has, from the first, no root to cling to.

此句以「无根蒂」三字为人生作一断语，是全篇议论的起点。草木有根则可立，人生在世却无所凭依，陶渊明以植物的根蒂反照人生的飘零，一正一反之间，生之无常与无依已尽在不言中。此句不用比喻词而直说其事，斩截有力，正合全诗以议论领起的章法。汉末古诗「人生寄一世，奄忽若飙尘」已开此叹之先声，陶渊明取其意而凝练为五字，更见简洁。「根蒂」二字又暗含陶公对「归」的执念——既无根蒂，则田园正是他自植的精神之根，此句的飘零之叹实为后文安顿之思的反衬。

The line passes judgment on life in the three words 'no root or stem,' the starting point of the poem's argument. Plants stand because they have roots; human beings, in the world, have nothing to rely on. Tao uses the root and stem of plants to set off the drift of human life, and between the positive and the negative the impermanence and helplessness of life are fully implied without a word. The line uses no comparative word but states the fact directly, cutting and powerful, fitting the poem's method of opening with argument. The late-Han old poems' 'human life is lodged in the world, fleeting as wind-blown dust' first sounded this sigh, and Tao takes its meaning and condenses it to five characters, even more concise. The words 'root or stem' also carry Tao's obsession with 'return': since there is no root, the fields become the spiritual root he plants for himself, and this sigh of drift is in fact the foil to the later thought of finding rest.

落地为兄弟

Once born into this world, all are brothers.

既然降生在世便如兄弟

Since we are born into this life, we are, one and all, brothers.

此句是全诗情感由悲转旷的枢纽。「落地」谓降生，人既同落于尘世，则彼此皆是同途之人，何必拘于「骨肉亲」的血缘之界。此句化用《论语》「四海之内皆兄弟」而翻出新意——子夏之言重在人伦的扩充，陶渊明则以「落地」的偶然性抹平了亲疏之别，以平等的眼光看待众生，悲悯之中见旷达。前文「分散逐风转」的飘零之悲，至此句忽得宽解，诗人的自我救赎不在天国与来世，而在同尘世的众生相认，此一层人间温情，使全诗不至坠入虚无，是陶诗于悲凉中见温暖的典型。

The line is the hinge where the poem's feeling turns from grief to breadth. 'Once born' means given birth: since all men have fallen into the mortal world, they are all fellow travelers, and why be bound by the blood tie of 'flesh and kin'? The line adapts the Analects' 'within the four seas all men are brothers' yet turns it to new meaning: Zixia's words emphasized the expansion of human relations, while Tao uses the chance fact of being 'born' to level the distinction between near and far, regarding all beings with equal eyes, compassion within breadth. The grief of being 'scattered and blown by the wind' in the preceding line is here suddenly eased; the poet's self-redemption lies not in heaven or the afterlife but in recognizing his kinship with all the beings of this world, and this touch of human warmth keeps the poem from falling into nihilism—the typical Tao, finding warmth within desolation.

盛年不重来

The years of prime return never again.

壮年时光不会重来

The season of vigor and prime will not come again.

此句由「得欢当作乐」的行乐之叹转入惜时之警，「盛年」指人生精力最充沛的年岁，一个「盛」字写尽青春的可贵，而「不重来」三字则如冷水浇背，道破时光一往而不返的严酷。陶渊明以「盛年」与「不重来」对举，字面平易而语意沉重，与下句「一日难再晨」相承，由人生之不可逆落到一日之不可留，由大及小、由远及近，使抽象的时光之叹变得触手可及。此句不借任何典故意象，纯以家常语直说，却因触及人类共通的生命体验而传诵不衰，正是陶诗「绚烂之极归于平淡」的体现。

The line moves from the sigh of 'take joy while you may' to the warning of treasuring time. 'Prime' means the years of greatest vitality, and the single word 'prime' writes the preciousness of youth, while 'return never again' falls like cold water on the back, stating the harsh truth that time goes one way and never returns. Tao sets 'prime' against 'return never again,' the words plain yet the meaning heavy, and follows the next line 'a day cannot have a second dawn,' moving from the irreversibility of life to the unretainability of a day, from the great to the small, the distant to the near, making the abstract sigh of time tangible. The line borrows no allusion or image, speaking plainly in everyday words, yet because it touches a universal human experience it has been recited without end—the very fruit of Tao's 'sumptuousness at its peak returns to plainness.'

及时当勉励

In its time you must stir yourself and strive.

应当及时自我勉励

While there is yet time, one should encourage and exert oneself.

此句是全篇立意的落点，将前文对生命短促的感叹转化为积极的行动。「及时」二字呼应「盛年」「晨」的时间之叹，谓正当其时、不可稍待；「勉励」二字则由悲戚之叹转为奋起之音，情感基调陡然振作。陶渊明说「勉励」而不说「行乐」，正见其与汉末古诗的分野——古诗多劝人及时享乐，陶公则劝人珍惜光阴、自勉自励，将消极的生命意识升华为积极的人生态度。末句「岁月不待人」以「待」字收束，写岁月无情、绝不因人的迟疑而稍驻，与「勉励」的主动相对，一劝一警，遂成千古惜时名句。

The line is the landing point of the poem's aim, turning the earlier sigh at life's brevity into positive action. The words 'in its time' answer the time-sighs of 'prime' and 'dawn,' meaning the moment is now, and not to be waited out; the words 'stir yourself' turn the lament into a rising note, the emotional keynote suddenly lifted. Tao says 'stir yourself,' not 'take your pleasure,' which shows his divide from the late-Han old poems: they mostly urged timely enjoyment, while he urges treasuring time and rousing oneself, raising a passive sense of life into an active attitude. The final line 'the years do not wait for man' closes on the word 'wait,' writing the ruthlessness of time, which never pauses for a man's hesitation, set against the active 'strive'; the admonition and the warning together make it an age-old line on treasuring time.

Study

Word focus

飘 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「飘」字写人生如陌上之尘，随风流转、无所定止，是全篇飘零之感的集中体现。此字状物极精，尘之轻、风之劲、行之无定，皆在一「飘」字中；以之喻人，则人的生命在命运之风吹拂下的不由自主，亦可由此想见。陶渊明用「飘」而不用「荡」「游」，正在其轻盈而无力的质感，与「陌上尘」的卑微相配，写出人生既轻且贱、身不由己的双重悲凉。此字又为下句「分散逐风转」张本，尘因飘而散，人因飘而离，一字领起全篇的漂泊之叹，是陶诗以单字统摄意脉的范例。

常 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「此已非常身」的「常」字，是全诗最具哲学意味的一字。「常身」谓恒常不变之身，陶渊明以「非」字否定之，道出人经流转、此身已非昔日之身的变化之理。此字暗含佛家与玄学关于「无常」的思想背景——陶渊明生当佛学东渐、玄风大畅之世，于「无常」之义当有会心，然其落笔仍以家常语出之，不露讲章痕迹。以「常」字点破形骸之变，则前文「分散逐风转」的漂泊之状，便不止于空间的流离，更指向时间中生命本质的迁改，一字之立，使全诗的感慨由浅入深。

待 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「岁月不待人」的「待」字，是全篇的收束之眼。岁月本是无情之物，陶渊明却以「待」字拟之，谓其不肯稍作停留以候人的迟疑，将无情的时间写成有意的催促，反衬出人生的短促与紧迫。此字与「及时当勉励」的「及时」相对，「待」之不肯，正见「勉励」之不可缓，一否一肯之间，惜时的主题被推到极致。以「待」字写岁月，兼含拟人与反诘两重意味，语至简而意至切，故能与「及时当勉励」并为千古劝学惜时的名句，其传播之广，正在这二字道尽了对光阴的共同焦虑。