Author of the Famous Push-Knock Couplet | Generated by AI
Question: Who is the author of the line “鸟宿池边树，僧推（或敲）月下门”?
Answer:
The correct answer is B. 贾岛 (Jia Dao).
This famous couplet comes from the Tang Dynasty poem 《题李凝幽居》 (Inscription on Li Ning’s Secluded Residence) by the poet 贾岛 (Jia Dao).
The well-known story behind “推” (push) vs “敲” (knock) is that Jia Dao was originally undecided between the two words and, while riding on a donkey and repeatedly gesturing “push” and “knock,” accidentally bumped into the carriage of 韩愈 (Han Yu). Han Yu suggested that “敲” (knock) sounded better, which is why the phrase “推敲” (tūi qiāo) later became a Chinese idiom meaning “to weigh one’s words carefully” or “to polish/refine wording.”
- 韩愈 (Han Yu) was a great prose writer and poet, but not the author of this line.
- 柳宗元 (Liu Zongyuan) and 白居易 (Bai Juyi) were also major Tang poets, but this couplet belongs to Jia Dao.
So the correct choice is B.
References:
- Classical Chinese poetry records and literary histories (widely documented in Chinese literature textbooks and reference books)