李白：笑而不答心自闲 Libai's Poem: Conversation in the Mountains

今天读一读李白这首诗意淡远的七言绝句：山中问答。

问余何意栖碧山， 笑而不答心自闲。

桃花流水杳然去， 别有天地非人间。

李白 (701—762年)，唐代伟大的诗人。是中国史上最伟大的诗人之一，又称为“诗仙”。他善于从民歌、神话中汲取营养素材，构成其特有的瑰丽绚烂的色彩，是屈原以来积极浪漫主义诗歌的新高峰。

这首诗虽只四句，但是有问、有答，有叙述、有描绘、有议论，其间转接轻灵，活泼流利。用笔有虚有实，实处形象可感，虚处一触即止，虚实对比，蕴意幽邃。

问余何意栖碧山，笑而不答心自闲：有人问我为什么要居住在碧山呢？我笑而不答。其实，我心里清楚，而且是悠然自得的。

诗以提问的形式领起，突出题旨，唤起读者的注意，当人们正要倾听答案时，诗人笔锋却故意一晃，“笑而不答”。“笑”字值得玩味，它不仅表现出诗人喜悦而矜持的神态，造成了轻松愉快的气氛；而且这“笑而不答”，还带有几分神秘的色彩，造成悬念，以诱发人们思索的兴味。“心自闲”三个字，既是山居心境的写照，更表明这“何意栖碧山”的问题，对于诗人来说，既不觉得新鲜，也不感到困惑，只不过是“悠然心会，妙处难与君说”罢了。第二句接得迷离，妙在不答，使诗增添了变幻曲折，自有摇曳生姿、引人入胜的魅力。
桃花流水杳然去，别有天地非人间：这是写“碧山”之景，其实也就是“何意栖碧山”的答案。这种“不答”而答、似断实连的结构，加深了诗的韵味。“碧山”之中这种不汲汲于荣、不寂寂于逝，充满着天然、宁静之美的“天地”，实非“人间”所能比！那么“人间”究竟怎样呢？这一回诗人真的不说了。

据说中国国民党主席连战曾用这首诗来形容一个人交卸了工作后的心境。

Li Bai (701-762) was a Chinese poet. He is best known for the extravagant imagination and striking Daoist imagery in his poetry, as well as for his great love for liquor. He spent much of his life travelling. He is said to have drowned in the Yangzi River, having fallen from his boat while drunkenly trying to embrace the reflection of the moon.

His ability to create extraordinary out of ordinary was an unusual gift among his contemporaries, and was most likely the reason why he was considered the "Poem-God". The fact that his Chinese nickname was "詩仙" (shīxiān, which translates literally into god of poetry) should itself prove it. The spontaneity of his language combined with the extravagance of his imagination distinguished Li Bai from any other poets in the Chinese history.
The following is the English translation of his poem 'Conversation in the Maintains".

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If you were to ask me why I dwell among green mountains

I should laugh silently. My heart is serene.

The peach blossom follows the moving water.

There is another heaven and earth beyond this world of men.

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