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

xún寻xī西shān山yǐn隐zhě者bú不yù遇

qiū丘wéi为Qiu Wei · Tang唐

Looking for the Hermit of the Western Hills and Not Finding Him

jué绝dǐng顶yì一máo茅cí茨

zhí直shàng上sān三shí十lǐ里

kòu扣guān关wú无tóng僮pú仆

kuī窥shì室wéi唯àn案jī几

ruò若fēi非jīn巾chái柴chē车

yīng应shì是diào钓qiū秋shuǐ水

cī差chí池bù不xiāng相jiàn见

mǐn黾miǎn勉kōng空yǎng仰zhǐ止

cǎo草sè色xīn新yǔ雨zhōng中

sōng松shēng声wǎn晚chuāng窗lǐ里

jí及zī兹qì契yōu幽jué绝

zì自zú足dàng荡xīn心ěr耳

suī虽wú无bīn宾zhǔ主yì意

pō颇dé得qīng清jìng净lǐ理

xìng兴jìn尽fāng方xià下shān山

hé何bì必dài待zhī之zǐ子

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 two the corpus puts one character in brackets, marking it as added by editors; the common text simply has it. In line ten the corpus uses an old variant form of the character for window. Some editions write wéi in line four with a different character of the same meaning.

语料库第二句写作“直[上]三十里”，方括号是整理时补的字，通行本就是“直上三十里”。第十句语料库作“牕”，是“窗”的异体字。“唯案几”有的本子作“惟案几”，意思一样。

Line by line逐句翻译

绝顶一茅茨At the very top of the mountain stands a thatched hut.山的最高处有一间茅草屋，
直上三十里I climb straight up for thirty li to reach it.我一直往上爬了三十里路。
扣关无僮仆I knock, but not even a servant comes to the door.敲门，连个开门的仆人也没有；
窥室唯案几I peep inside and see only a desk and a little table.往屋里看，只有桌子和小几。
若非巾柴车If the master has not gone out in his covered cart,主人如果不是坐着篷车出去了，
应是钓秋水he must have gone fishing by the autumn water.那就应该是到秋水边钓鱼去了。
差池不相见We have missed each other and did not meet.我们错开了，没有见到面，
黾勉空仰止I came all this way, and can only admire him from afar.我辛辛苦苦赶来，只能白白地仰慕他。
草色新雨中After the fresh rain, the grass is bright green.新雨过后，草色青青；
松声晚窗里At dusk, the sound of the pines drifts in through the window.傍晚，松涛声传进窗户里。
及兹契幽绝Coming here, my heart feels at one with this deep, quiet place.来到这里，我的心和这幽静的地方相合，
自足荡心耳It is enough to wash my heart and ears clean.足够让我的心灵和耳朵都洗得干干净净。
虽无宾主意Though there was no meeting of host and guest,虽然没有主人和客人相见的欢聚，
颇得清净理I have learned something about a calm and quiet life.却领会了清静生活的道理。
兴尽方下山When my good mood is complete, I go back down the mountain.兴致满足了，我才下山去，
何必待之子Why must I wait for him to return?又何必非要等到这位隐者回来呢？

Words字词注释

绝顶jué dǐng: jué dǐng: the very top of the mountain.绝顶：山的最高处。
茅茨máo cí: máo cí: a hut with a thatched roof.茅茨：茅草盖的屋子。
直上zhí shàng: zhí shàng: climbing straight up.直上：一直往上走。
扣关kòu guān: kòu guān: knocking at the door. Guān is the door bar, standing for the door.扣关：敲门。关，门闩，代指门。
僮仆tóng pú: tóng pú: a boy servant or a helper.僮仆：小书童和仆人。
窥kuī: kuī: to peep through a gap.窥：从缝隙里偷偷看。
案几àn jī: àn jī: a desk and a small side table.案几：桌子和小桌。
巾柴车jīn chái chē: jīn chái chē: going out in a plain wooden cart with a cloth cover. Jīn means to put a cover on a cart. The poet Tao Yuanming once wrote of ordering a covered cart.巾柴车：坐着有篷布的简陋木车出去了。巾，给车盖上篷布；柴车，简陋的车。陶渊明写过“或命巾车”。
钓秋水diào qiū shuǐ: diào qiū shuǐ: fishing by the autumn water.钓秋水：在秋天的水边钓鱼。
差池cī chí: cī chí: out of step, missing each other.差池：错开了，没碰上。
黾勉mǐn miǎn: mǐn miǎn: with great effort, here meaning he took such trouble to come.黾勉：努力、费力地，这里指辛辛苦苦地赶来。
仰止yǎng zhǐ: yǎng zhǐ: to look up to someone. It comes from the Book of Songs, in a line about looking up at a high mountain.仰止：仰慕。出自《诗经》“高山仰止”，表示敬仰。
及兹jí zī: jí zī: having come here.及兹：到了这里。
契幽绝qì yōu jué: qì yōu jué: feeling at one with this deep, quiet place. Qì means to fit together.契幽绝：和这极其幽静的地方心意相合。契，相合。
荡心耳dàng xīn ěr: dàng xīn ěr: washing clean the heart and the ears.荡心耳：洗净心灵和耳朵。
宾主意bīn zhǔ yì: bīn zhǔ yì: the friendly feeling of host and guest meeting.宾主意：客人和主人见面相聚的情意。
清净理qīng jìng lǐ: qīng jìng lǐ: the truth of a calm, quiet life, free from worries.清净理：清静无为、远离烦恼的道理。
兴尽xìng jìn: xìng jìn: when the good mood is used up. In the Jin dynasty, Wang Ziyou sailed through a snowy night to visit his friend Dai, reached the door, then turned home without going in. He said he came because he felt like it, and left when the feeling was done, so why must he see Dai?兴尽：兴致满足了。东晋王子猷雪夜坐船去看朋友戴逵，到了门口却不进去就回来了，说“乘兴而行，兴尽而返，何必见戴”。
之子zhī zǐ: zhī zǐ: this person, meaning the hermit.之子：这个人，指那位隐者。

How to read it读音

几jī: In àn jī, a small table, this character is read jī, not jǐ.“案几”的“几”是小桌子，读 jī，不读 jǐ。
差cī: Cī chí means uneven, out of step, so the first character is read cī.“差池”是参差不齐、错开的意思，读 cī chí。
黾mǐn: Mǐn miǎn means to try hard; the first character is read mǐn.“黾勉”是勤勉、努力的意思，“黾”读 mǐn。
颇pō: This character means quite, rather, and is read pō.“颇”是很、相当，读 pō。
兴xìng: Xìng jìn means the mood has run its course, so this character is read xìng.“兴尽”是兴致没了，“兴”读 xìng。

Background创作背景

A hermit is someone who stays away from government work and lives a simple life in the hills and woods. In this poem the poet goes to visit a hermit in the Western Hills. He climbs thirty li of mountain path, but the master is not at home. He does not leave disappointed. Instead he enjoys the green grass after rain and the wind in the pines, his heart grows calm, and in the end he goes back down the mountain happy. We do not know exactly where these hills were or who the hermit was.

隐者是不做官、躲到山林里过简单生活的人。这首诗写诗人去西山拜访一位隐者，爬了三十里山路，结果主人不在家。他没有失望地离开，而是在山里欣赏雨后的青草和松林的风声，心情变得很平静，最后高高兴兴地下了山。西山具体在什么地方、隐者是谁，现在都不清楚。

The poet作者

Qiu Wei came from Jiaxing, in today's Zhejiang. He was a Tang poet; his exact birth and death years are not known, but records say he lived to a great age. He took the top exam several times before he passed, and later served as an official in the crown prince's household. He was very devoted to his stepmother and was praised for it. He was a good friend of Wang Wei and Liu Changqing, and he wrote fresh, gentle poems about hills, streams and country life.

丘为，嘉兴（今浙江嘉兴）人，唐代诗人，具体生卒年不详，据记载非常长寿。他考了好几次才中进士，后来做到太子右庶子。他对继母非常孝顺，很受人称赞。他和王维、刘长卿是好朋友，擅长写山水田园诗，风格清新淡雅。

The mood意境

Going to visit someone and finding them out is usually a letdown. The first eight lines are about that letdown. He climbs thirty li, knocks and no one answers, the room is empty, and he can only guess whether the master went out in his cart or went fishing. But from the lines about the grass after rain and the pines at the window, the poem changes. The grass shines green after the rain. The evening wind in the pines blows in through the window. These sights wash his heart clean. He never meets the master, yet he understands why the master lives here. The poem ends with the old story of Wang Ziyou, who turned back once his mood was done. Enjoying himself was enough, so why must he meet the hermit at all? This easy, free spirit fits the hermit's way of life perfectly.

访人不遇，本来是件扫兴的事。前八句写的就是这份失落：爬了三十里，敲门没人应，屋里空空的，只好猜主人是坐车出去了，还是去钓鱼了。可是从“草色新雨中，松声晚窗里”开始，诗的味道变了。雨后的草绿得发亮，傍晚的松风吹进窗来，这些景色把他的心洗干净了。虽然没见到主人，却懂得了主人为什么要住在这里。最后用王子猷“兴尽而返”的故事收尾：玩得尽兴就够了，何必一定要见到他呢？这份洒脱，和隐者的生活正好相合。