Tang poem · five-character old-style poem唐诗 · 五言古诗

gǎn感yù遇shí十èr二shǒu首·qí其qī七

zhāng张jiǔ九líng龄Zhang Jiuling · Tang唐

Stirred by What I Meet, No. 7 of 12

jiāng江nán南yǒu有dān丹jú橘

jīng经dōng冬yóu犹lǜ绿lín林

qǐ岂yī伊dì地qì气nuǎn暖

zì自yǒu有suì岁hán寒xīn心

kě可yǐ以jiàn荐jiā嘉kè客

nài奈hé何zǔ阻chóng重shēn深

yùn运mìng命wéi惟suǒ所yù遇

xún循huán环bù不kě可xún寻

tú徒yán言shù树táo桃lǐ李

cǐ此mù木qǐ岂wú无yīn阴

Underlined words have notes: tap one. The Pinyin button below shows or hides all pinyin. 一 and 不 are marked with the tone you actually say.字下有虚线的，点开有注释。下方的“拼音”按钮可以显示或隐藏全部拼音。“一”“不”标的是实际读出来的变调。

In line seven, the commonly taught text and the old corpus write the word wei (only) with two different characters. They sound the same and mean the same thing here: "only".

通行本第七句作“运命惟所遇”，用“惟”字；这里的古籍文本作“唯”。两个字在这里意思一样，都是“只、只是”。

Line by line逐句翻译

江南有丹橘In the south of the Yangtze grow trees of red tangerines,江南长着红红的橘子树，
经冬犹绿林and all through the winter the grove stays green.过了整个冬天，树林依然是绿的。
岂伊地气暖Is it only because the land there is warm?难道只是因为那里的天气暖和吗？
自有岁寒心No, it is because they have a heart that does not fear the cold.不，是因为它们本来就有不怕严寒的品格。
可以荐嘉客Such fruit could be offered to honored guests,这样好的橘子，本可以献给尊贵的客人，
奈何阻重深but alas, layer upon layer of mountains and rivers stand in the way.可是怎么办呢，一重重山水把它挡在了远方。
运命惟所遇Fate depends only on the chances one happens to meet,一个人的命运，只看他碰上什么样的机会，
循环不可寻and its turns go round and round with no reason to be found.命运变来变去，其中的道理没法找到。
徒言树桃李People only talk of planting peach and plum trees,人们只知道说要种桃树和李树，
此木岂无阴but does this tree not give shade as well?难道这橘树就不能给人一片树荫吗？

Words字词注释

丹橘dān jú: dān jú: red tangerines. Dān means red.丹橘：红色的橘子。丹，红色。
经冬jīng dōng: jīng dōng: through the whole winter.经冬：经过整个冬天。
犹yóu: yóu: still.犹：仍然、还是。
绿林lǜ lín: lǜ lín: a green grove. The tangerine trees stay green even in winter.绿林：绿色的树林。这里说橘树到了冬天叶子还是绿的。
岂伊qǐ yī: qǐ yī: could it be because. Qǐ means "could it be"; yī is a filler word with no real meaning.岂伊：难道是因为。岂，难道；伊，语气词，没有实际意思。
地气暖dì qì nuǎn: dì qì nuǎn: the local climate is warm.地气暖：当地的天气暖和。
岁寒心suì hán xīn: suì hán xīn: a heart that does not fear the cold. Suì hán means the coldest time of the year. Confucius said that only when the year turns cold do we see that pines and cypresses are the last to wither.岁寒心：不怕寒冷的品格。岁寒，一年里最冷的时候。孔子说过：天冷了，才知道松柏是最后凋谢的。
荐jiàn: jiàn: to offer, to present.荐：献上、送给。
嘉客jiā kè: jiā kè: an honored guest.嘉客：尊贵的客人。
奈何nài hé: nài hé: but what can be done; alas.奈何：无奈、可是怎么办呢。
阻重深zǔ chóng shēn: zǔ chóng shēn: blocked by layer after layer of mountains and rivers.阻重深：被一重重的山水阻隔，路又远又深。
运命yùn mìng: yùn mìng: fate, luck.运命：命运、运气。
惟所遇wéi suǒ yù: wéi suǒ yù: depends only on what chance each one meets.惟所遇：只看各自碰上什么样的机会。
循环不可寻xún huán bù kě xún: xún huán bù kě xún: fate turns round and round, and no one can find the reason in it.循环不可寻：命运像转圈一样变来变去，没法弄清楚其中的道理。
徒言tú yán: tú yán: people only talk about.徒言：只是说、白白地说。
树shù: shù: to plant. Here it is a verb.树：种植、栽培。这里是动词。
桃李táo lǐ: táo lǐ: peach and plum trees. Their flowers are pretty and everyone likes to plant them.桃李：桃树和李树。它们开花好看，结的果子也常见，人们都喜欢种。
阴yīn: yīn: shade, the cool place under a tree.阴：树荫，树下遮挡阳光的地方。

How to read it读音

绿lǜ: Read lǜ, meaning green.读 lǜ，绿色的意思。
重chóng: Read chóng, meaning "layer upon layer", not zhòng (heavy).读 chóng，是“一层又一层”的意思，不读 zhòng。

Background创作背景

Zhang Jiuling was a famous chief minister under Emperor Xuanzong. He was honest and dared to speak the truth. Later he was pushed aside by the scheming minister Li Linfu. In 736 he lost his post as chief minister, and the next year he was sent away to serve in Jingzhou, in today's Hubei. The twelve poems called "Stirred by What I Meet" are usually thought to have been written there. Through the tangerine trees of the south, he tells how he keeps his good character even when he is pushed aside.

张九龄是唐玄宗开元年间有名的宰相，为人正直，敢说真话。后来他受到奸臣李林甫的排挤，在开元二十四年（736年）被罢去宰相的职位，第二年又被贬到荆州（今湖北荆州）做官。《感遇》十二首一般认为就是他在荆州时写的。他借写江南的橘树，说出自己虽被冷落、却不改变品格的心情。

The poet作者

Zhang Jiuling (678–740) came from Qujiang in Shaozhou, today's Shaoguan in Guangdong. He was a famous chief minister of the Kaiyuan years and also a well-known poet. His poems are plain and sincere. He often used flowers and trees to stand for his own character. He also wrote the famous lines about the bright moon rising over the sea, shared by friends far apart.

张九龄（678—740），字子寿，韶州曲江（今广东韶关）人，是唐代开元年间的名相，也是很有名的诗人。他的诗清淡、真诚，常用花草树木来比喻自己的品格。名句“海上生明月，天涯共此时”也是他写的。

The mood意境

On the surface this poem is about a tangerine tree, but really it is about a person. Picture it: winter has come, and other trees have lost their leaves. But the tangerine trees of the south are still bright green, with red fruit on the branches. The poet says this is not only because the weather is warm. The trees have a heart that does not fear the cold, like a person who stays true however hard life gets. Such good fruit should go to honored guests, but mountains and rivers block the way. This is like a talented person who never gets the chance to serve. The poet does not complain loudly. He only says that fate is hard to understand. The last line asks gently: everyone praises peach and plum trees, but does this tree not give shade too? The tone is calm, but there is hurt underneath.

这首诗表面写橘树，其实写人。先想象一下：冬天到了，别的树都掉光了叶子，江南的橘树却还是绿油油的，枝头挂着红红的果子。诗人说，这不只是因为天气暖和，而是橘树自己有“岁寒心”，就像一个人不管环境多难都不变心。好橘子本该送给贵客，却被重重山水挡住，这就像有才能的人没有机会被重用。诗人没有大声抱怨，只说命运难以捉摸。最后一句轻轻反问：大家都夸桃李，难道橘树就不能给人一片树荫吗？语气平和，心里却有不平。