陶诗“道狭草木长”之“长”音义辨正——兼释“孟夏草木长”之“长”

Discriminating the Sound and Meaning of Zhang in “Vegetation Growing on Narrow Roads”

一些译本、教材等对于陶渊明诗歌《归园田居》其三"道狭草木长"一句中的"长"字注音释义颇有分歧,意见有两种,一是应读cháng,作形容词,义为"长短"之长;一是应读zhǎng,作动词,义为生长旺盛,丛生。孰是孰非?从词语"草"、"木"及"草木"与其后词语的搭配情况,以及诗句意义、陶诗用语规律等角度来看,陶诗"道狭草木长"之"长"应为动词,读zhǎng,义为"滋长"或"丛生"。另外,陶诗《读〈山海经〉》其一"孟夏草木长"中的"长"也应为动词,读zhǎng,义同"道狭草木长"中之"长"。

The character zhang in ＂vegetation growing on narrow roads＂ of the third poem of Tao Yuanming＇ Return to a Pastoral Life can read as ＂chang＂ as an adjective meaning ＂long＇ or ＂zhang＂ as a verb meaning ＂vigorous growth＂. Which is right and which is wrong？ The zhang in ＂vegetation growing narrow roads＂ should be a verb pronounced as ＂zhang＂ and defined as ＂grow＂ or ＂clusters＂. In addition, the zhang in ＂vegetation growing in Meng Xia＂ in the Tao＇ s first poem of Reading ＂Book of Mountains and Seas＂ should be also a verb pronounced as ＂zhang＂, with the same meaning.