112. A Feast at the Mountain Lodge of the Daoist Mei | Meng Haoran

这首诗写给一位姓梅的道士，通篇用道教典故：青鸟、赤松、丹灶、仙桃、流霞。这些意象的作用不只是应景，也是把一次普通的宴饮提升到「神仙境界」。这种做法在唐代很常见，因为道教在唐代地位很高，文人与道士往来频繁，写这类诗既是对主人的尊重，也是一种风雅的社交。读的时候要留意，这些意象有的是实指（丹灶），有的只是比喻（赤松）。

This poem is for a Daoist named Mei and uses Daoist lore throughout: the bluebird, Master Red Pine, the cinnabar stove, the immortal peach, flowing-cloud wine. The images do more than fit the occasion; they lift an ordinary feast to an immortal plane. The practice was common in the Tang, when Daoism held high standing and literati and Daoists mingled often, and writing such a poem honored the host and served as elegant social currency. Note that some of these images are literal (the stove) and some only figures (Master Red Pine).

首联说愁春天过去，末联说何惜一醉。两句之间的呼应很清楚：因为春天留不住，才要趁现在痛饮。中间两联的仙家意象，正好把「留不住」暂时化解——如果真有仙桃、仙酒、可以驻颜的仙术，那春光和青春是不是就能留住？当然不能，所以这个化解只是暂时的、带着玩笑的。整首诗因此有一点淡淡的怅惘，藏在热闹的宴饮之下。

The opening grieves that spring passes; the close asks why begrudge getting drunk. The answer is clear: because spring cannot be kept, one must drink while one can. The immortal imagery between them temporarily dissolves the cannot-keep — if there really were immortal peaches, immortal wine, an art to hold a face young, could spring and youth be kept? Of course not, so the dissolution is temporary and half jesting. The poem thus carries a faint ache beneath the festive drinking.

孟浩然一生未仕，隐居鹿门山，但他并不孤僻，与当时的官员、道士、僧人多有往来，写过不少宴会、送别、寄赠的诗。这首诗就是在一场宴会上写的。理解这一点，可以避免把他的隐居想成与世隔绝——唐代的隐士往往活在一个人际网络里，隐逸与交际并不矛盾。「宴梅道士山房」这类诗，正是这个网络的一部分。

Meng Haoran never took office, living in retreat at Deer Gate Mountain, but he was not solitary; he associated with officials, Daoists, and monks of his day and wrote many poems of feasting, farewell, and gift. This one was written at a feast. Keeping this in mind avoids picturing his retreat as total seclusion — Tang recluses often lived within a social web, and withdrawal and sociability were not at odds. A poem like this one is part of that web.