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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

哀江头

Lament by the River

杜甫

Du Fu

乱离Turmoil and displacement 感时Mourning the times

少陵野老吞声哭，春日潜行曲江曲。
江头宫殿锁千门，细柳新蒲为谁绿？
忆昔霓旌下南苑，苑中万物生颜色。
昭阳殿里第一人，同辇随君侍君侧。
辇前才人带弓箭，白马嚼啮黄金勒。
翻身向天仰射云，一笑正坠双飞翼。
明眸皓齿今何在？
血污游魂归不得。
清渭东流剑阁深，去住彼此无消息。
人生有情泪沾臆，江水江花岂终极！
黄昏胡骑尘满城，欲往城南望城北。

Old Master Shaoling chokes back his sobs and weeps;
on a spring day he steals through the bends of the Qu River.
By the river the palaces are locked, a thousand gates;
the slender willows and fresh rushes—for whom do they grow green?
I recall when the rainbow banners descended on the Southern Park,
and all things in the garden took on living color.
The foremost one within the Zhaoyang Hall,
rode the same carriage with the sovereign, attending at his side.
Before the carriage the ladies-in-waiting bore bow and arrow;
white horses champed at golden bits.
Whirling, they faced the sky and shot upward at the clouds;
with a smile a pair of wings came tumbling down.
Those bright eyes and white teeth—where are they now?
A blood-stained wandering soul can never return.
The clear Wei flows east, the Sword Pavilion lies deep;
those who left and those who stayed have no news of each other.
Life has feeling—tears soak the breast;
the river's waters and the river's flowers—do they ever end?
At dusk the barbarian cavalry fill the city with dust;
I would go south of the wall but gaze toward the north.

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Meaning

Composed in 757 while Du Fu was trapped in rebel-occupied Chang'an, the poem contrasts the former splendor of the Qu River pleasure grounds with their present desolation, and mourns the violent death of Yang Guifei. Through the contrast of past glory and present ruin it voices the poet's grief at the catastrophe of the An Lushan Rebellion and the impermanence of fortune.

少陵野老吞声哭，春日潜行曲江曲。江头宫殿锁千门，细柳新蒲为谁绿？忆昔霓旌下南苑，苑中万物生颜色。昭阳殿里第一人，同辇随君侍君侧。辇前才人带弓箭，白马嚼啮黄金勒。翻身向天仰射云，一笑正坠双飞翼。明眸皓齿今何在？血污游魂归不得。清渭东流剑阁深，去住彼此无消息。人生有情泪沾臆，江水江花岂终极！黄昏胡骑尘满城，欲往城南望城北。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The old poet weeps silently, stealing along the Qu River's bends; its palaces are locked, the willows green for no one. He remembers the emperor's rainbow banners at the Southern Park, the favored lady in the Zhaoyang Hall, the hunt where a smile brought down a pair of birds—then asks where those bright eyes are now, a blood-stained soul unable to return. The Wei flows east, the Sword Pavilion is deep, the parted have no news; tears soak his breast as the river flowers never end, and at dusk the barbarian cavalry fill the city. [Structure] The poem moves in three movements: present desolation (lines 1–4), remembered glory (lines 5–12), and returned lament (lines 13–20). This past-present-past oscillation is the engine of its grief. [Imagery] 'Locked, a thousand gates' and 'for whom do they grow green' condense the ruin of a capital; 'bright eyes and white teeth' against 'blood-stained wandering soul' is the poem's sharpest contrast. With his 'deep, restrained, and halting' (chen-yu dun-cuo) manner, Du Fu made this a definitive poem of the rebellion.

【白话串讲】杜甫写《哀江头》：“少陵野老吞声哭，春日潜行曲江曲”——“江头宫殿锁千门，细柳新蒲为谁绿”——“明眸皓齿今何在？血污游魂归不得”——他春日潜行曲江，想起杨贵妃与盛世——他写国破之痛。【意象与手法】此诗写曲江的今昔盛衰与国难的悲痛，以今昔对比写国难，是杜甫的名篇。前六句写曲江的今景：「少陵野老吞声哭」写少陵野老吞声哭，「春日潜行曲江曲」写春日潜行曲江曲，「江头宫殿锁千门」写江头宫殿锁千门，「细柳新蒲为谁绿」写细柳新蒲为谁绿；中八句写曲江的昔景：「忆昔霓旌下南苑」写忆昔霓旌下南苑，「苑中万物生颜色」写苑中万物生颜色，「昭阳殿里第一人」写昭阳殿里第一人，「同辇随君侍君侧」写同辇随君侍君侧，「辇前才人带弓箭」写辇前才人带弓箭，「白马嚼啮黄金勒」写白马嚼啮黄金勒，「翻身向天仰射云」写翻身向天仰射云，「一笑正坠双飞翼」写一笑正坠双飞翼；后八句写今昔的感慨：「明眸皓齿今何在」写明眸皓齿今何在，「血污游魂归不得」写血污游魂归不得，「清渭东流剑阁深」写清渭东流剑阁深，「去住彼此无消息」写去住彼此无消息，「人生有情泪沾臆」写人生有情泪沾臆，「江水江花岂终极」写江水江花岂终极，「黄昏胡骑尘满城」写黄昏胡骑尘满城，「欲往城南望城北」写欲往城南望城北。全诗以今昔对比写国难，写尽国难的悲痛，是杜甫的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写曲江的今昔盛衰与国难的悲痛，以今昔对比写国难，是杜甫的名篇。此诗作于至德二载（757）春，杜甫陷贼长安时。安史之乱中，叛军攻陷长安，曲江（长安游览胜地）荒废，杨贵妃已死于马嵬坡。此诗写曲江：少陵野老（杜甫自号少陵野老）吞声哭，春日潜行曲江曲——写春日潜行曲江、吞声而哭；江头宫殿锁千门，细柳新蒲为谁绿——写江头宫殿千门紧锁，细柳新蒲为谁而绿；忆昔霓旌（彩旗）下南苑，苑中万物生颜色——回忆当年皇帝霓旌游南苑；昭阳殿里第一人，同辇随君侍君侧——写杨贵妃（昭阳殿里第一人）同辇随君；辇前才人带弓箭，白马嚼啮黄金勒——写辇前才人带弓箭、白马黄金勒；翻身向天仰射云，一笑正坠双飞翼——写才人仰射云天、双鸟坠落的场景；明眸皓齿今何在？血污游魂归不得——写明眸皓齿的杨贵妃今何在？血污的游魂归不得；清渭东流剑阁深，去住彼此无消息——写渭水东流、剑阁深远，去者住者彼此无消息；人生有情泪沾臆，江水江花岂终极——写人生有情泪沾衣襟，江水江花岂有终极；黄昏胡骑尘满城，欲往城南望城北——写黄昏胡骑、尘满长安，欲往城南却望城北。全诗以今昔对比写国难——那「江头宫殿锁千门」写尽曲江的荒废，「明眸皓齿今何在？血污游魂归不得」写尽杨贵妃的惨死，「人生有情泪沾臆」写尽国难的悲痛，写尽国难的悲痛，是理解杜甫陷贼时期诗歌的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「江头宫殿锁千门，细柳新蒲为谁绿」写曲江的荒废；「明眸皓齿今何在？血污游魂归不得」写杨贵妃的惨死；「人生有情泪沾臆，江水江花岂终极」写国难的悲痛；「少陵野老吞声哭」写吞声而哭的沉痛；以及全诗以今昔对比写国难、沉郁顿挫的手法。

Background

Du Fu (712–770), courtesy name Zimei, of Gongxian (Henan), is the Tang dynasty's great realist poet, called the 'Poet Sage' (shi sheng), paired with Li Bai as 'Li-Du.' Lament by the River was written in spring 757, when Du Fu, having fled the capital, was captured and held in Chang'an during the An Lushan Rebellion; the rebel army had taken the city, the Qu River pleasure grounds lay abandoned, and Yang Guifei had been killed at Mawei the previous year. The poem moves from the poet's furtive spring walk, through the locked palaces, to recollection of the emperor's Southern Park excursions and Yang Guifei's favor, then to her bloody death and the separation of the fleeing emperor (to Shu) from the dead concubine, closing in the occupied, dust-filled city. It is a key work for understanding Du Fu's 'captive-period' poetry.

此诗写曲江的今昔盛衰与国难的悲痛，以今昔对比写国难，是杜甫的名篇。杜甫（712—770），字子美，巩县（今河南巩义）人，唐代伟大的现实主义诗人，人称「诗圣」，与李白并称「李杜」。此诗作于至德二载（757）春，杜甫陷贼长安时。安史之乱中，叛军攻陷长安，曲江（长安游览胜地）荒废，杨贵妃已于前一年死于马嵬坡（马嵬驿兵变）。此诗写曲江：「少陵野老吞声哭，春日潜行曲江曲」写少陵野老（杜甫自号）吞声而哭、春日潜行曲江之曲——写国难中的潜行与吞声；「江头宫殿锁千门，细柳新蒲为谁绿」写江头宫殿千门紧锁，细柳新蒲为谁而绿——写曲江的荒废；「忆昔霓旌下南苑，苑中万物生颜色」回忆当年皇帝霓旌游南苑、万物生色——写昔日的繁华；「昭阳殿里第一人，同辇随君侍君侧」写杨贵妃（昭阳殿里第一人）同辇随君——写杨贵妃的得宠；「辇前才人带弓箭，白马嚼啮黄金勒」写辇前才人带弓箭、白马黄金勒——写游猎的盛况；「翻身向天仰射云，一笑正坠双飞翼」写才人翻身仰射云天、双鸟坠落——写游猎的场景；「明眸皓齿今何在？血污游魂归不得」写明眸皓齿的杨贵妃今何在？血污的游魂归不得——写杨贵妃的惨死；「清渭东流剑阁深，去住彼此无消息」写渭水东流、剑阁深远，去者（玄宗入蜀）住者（贵妃已死）彼此无消息；「人生有情泪沾臆，江水江花岂终极」写人生有情泪沾衣襟，江水江花岂有终极——写国难的悲痛；「黄昏胡骑尘满城，欲往城南望城北」写黄昏胡骑、尘满长安，欲往城南却望城北——写长安沦陷的慌乱。全诗以今昔对比写国难，写尽国难的悲痛，是理解杜甫陷贼时期诗歌的重要篇章。

Art

The poem's art unfolds in four moves. First, present desolation: the opening six lines—'Old Master Shaoling chokes back his sobs... for whom do they grow green'—use the present scene to show ruin, 'locked, a thousand gates' exhausting the palaces' closure and 'for whom green' the rushes'无人. Second, remembered glory: the middle eight lines evoke the rainbow banners, Zhaoyang Hall, ladies with bows, white horses with golden bits, the whirling shot—recreating past splendor. Third, the contrast of violent death: 'bright eyes and white teeth—where are they now? / a blood-stained wandering soul' sets beauty against atrocity, exhausting the sudden fall. Fourth, the emotional close: 'life has feeling—tears soak the breast' and 'I would go south but gaze north' end in feeling and confusion. These four layers make the contrast of past and present carry the grief of a national catastrophe—a representative masterpiece of Du Fu.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以今景写荒废。起六句「少陵野老吞声哭，春日潜行曲江曲。江头宫殿锁千门，细柳新蒲为谁绿」以今景写荒废——那「江头宫殿锁千门」写尽宫殿的紧锁，「细柳新蒲为谁绿」写尽新蒲的无人，以今景写尽曲江的荒废。其二，以回忆写繁华。中八句「忆昔霓旌下南苑，苑中万物生颜色。昭阳殿里第一人，同辇随君侍君侧。辇前才人带弓箭，白马嚼啮黄金勒。翻身向天仰射云，一笑正坠双飞翼」以回忆写繁华——那霓旌、昭阳殿、才人、白马、仰射云写尽昔日的繁华盛况，以回忆写尽盛世的繁华。其三，以对照写惨死。「明眸皓齿今何在？血污游魂归不得」以对照写惨死——那「明眸皓齿」写尽贵妃的美貌，「血污游魂」写尽贵妃的惨死，以对照写尽盛衰的巨变。其四，以情语收束。「人生有情泪沾臆，江水江花岂终极！黄昏胡骑尘满城，欲往城南望城北」以情语收束——那「人生有情泪沾臆」写尽有情的泪，「欲往城南望城北」写尽慌乱，以情语收束，写尽国难的悲痛。四重手法，使此诗以今昔对比写国难，写尽国难的悲痛，是杜甫的代表作。

Allusions

The poem is steeped in the tradition of national catastrophe and rise-and-fall. 'Old Master Shaoling' is Du Fu's own self-designation (he lived at Shaoling); 'chokes back sobs' echoes Bao Zhao's 'choking, I linger, dare not speak.' 'Qu River' is the famous Chang'an pleasure ground; 'locked, a thousand gates' recalls 'the great house, once entered, deep as the sea.' 'For whom green' reverses the 'three thousand beauties' trope into无人. 'Rainbow banners' echoes 'robed in rainbow, riding the wind'; 'Zhaoyang Hall' invokes Han's Zhaoyang (Bai Juyi: 'love severed in the Zhaoyang Hall') to stand for Yang Guifei; 'same carriage' recalls her favor. 'Blood-stained wandering soul' answers Bai Juyi's 'gentle brows die before the horse.' 'Clear Wei' and 'Sword Pavilion' echo Li Bai's 'the Sword Pavilion towers sheer'; 'those who left and stayed' and 'no news' state the separation. 'Life has feeling' and 'river flowers never end' are Du Fu's famous lines. Fusing these allusions and images of Zhaoyang, bright eyes, blood-stained soul, Wei and Sword Pavilion, the poem exemplifies Du Fu's 'deep, restrained' mastery of contrast within the catastrophe tradition.

此诗的用语深植于国难与今昔盛衰的传统。「少陵野老吞声哭」令人想到「少陵野老」写杜甫自号的意象——杜甫居长安少陵，自称少陵野老，也令人想到「吞声哭」写忍声哭泣的意象——「吞声踯躅不敢言」（鲍照）；「春日潜行曲江曲」令人想到「潜行」写偷偷行走的意象，也令人想到「曲江」写长安名胜曲江池的意象；「江头宫殿锁千门」令人想到「宫殿锁千门」写宫门紧锁的意象——「侯门一入深如海」，也令人想到「千门」写宫门众多的意象；「细柳新蒲为谁绿」令人想到「细柳新蒲」写曲江春色的意象，也令人想到「为谁绿」写无人观赏的意象——「后宫佳丽三千人」的对照；「霓旌下南苑」令人想到「霓旌」写彩旗的意象——「霓为衣兮风为马」，也令人想到「南苑」写芙蓉苑的意象；「昭阳殿里第一人」令人想到「昭阳殿」写汉宫昭阳殿的意象——「昭阳殿里恩爱绝」（白居易《长恨歌》），以昭阳殿指代杨贵妃，也令人想到「第一人」写最受宠之人的意象；「同辇随君侍君侧」令人想到「同辇」写同乘帝辇的意象——「同辇随君」正是写杨贵妃的得宠；「辇前才人带弓箭」令人想到「才人」写宫中女官的意象，也令人想到「带弓箭」写佩弓箭的意象；「白马嚼啮黄金勒」令人想到「黄金勒」写黄金马勒的意象，也令人想到「嚼啮」写马嚼的意象；「翻身向天仰射云」令人想到「仰射云」写仰天射云（射鸟）的意象——「翻身向天仰射云」正是杜甫的名句；「一笑正坠双飞翼」令人想到「双飞翼」写双鸟的意象——「身无彩凤双飞翼」（李商隐），也令人想到「正坠」写坠落的意象；「明眸皓齿今何在」令人想到「明眸皓齿」写美人的意象——「明眸皓齿」写杨贵妃的美貌，也令人想到「今何在」写如今何在的意象；「血污游魂归不得」令人想到「血污」写血污的意象——「宛转蛾眉马前死」（白居易《长恨歌》），也令人想到「游魂归不得」写魂归不得的意象；「清渭东流剑阁深」令人想到「清渭」写渭水的意象，也令人想到「剑阁」写蜀道剑阁的意象——「剑阁峥嵘而崔嵬」（李白《蜀道难》）；「去住彼此无消息」令人想到「去住」写去者住者的意象，也令人想到「无消息」写音信全无的意象；「人生有情泪沾臆」令人想到「人生有情」写人生有情的意象，也令人想到「泪沾臆」写泪沾胸臆的意象；「江水江花岂终极」令人想到「江水江花」写江水的意象，也令人想到「岂终极」写岂有终极的意象——「人生有情泪沾臆，江水江花岂终极」正是杜甫的名句；「黄昏胡骑尘满城」令人想到「胡骑」写胡人骑兵的意象——「胡马窥江」，也令人想到「尘满城」写尘土满城的意象；「欲往城南望城北」令人想到「城南望城北」写慌乱无措的意象——「欲往城南望城北」正是杜甫的名句。全诗化用昭阳殿、明眸皓齿、血污游魂、清渭剑阁、江水江花的典故与意象，以今昔对比写国难，正是杜甫「沉郁顿挫」而善用对照、承国难盛衰传统写悲痛的本领。

Commentary

Long esteemed as a masterpiece of Du Fu's captive period and a definitive Tang poem of the An Lushan Rebellion, the poem is praised for its past-present contrast and 'deep, restrained' manner. Critics single out 'bright eyes and white teeth—where are they now? / a blood-stained wandering soul' for Yang Guifei's violent death and 'life has feeling—tears soak the breast / river flowers never end' for the grief of catastrophe. Its special value lies in twenty lines that encompass the Qu River's rise-and-fall and the rebellion's sorrow—the weeping Shaoling, the locked palaces, the green rushes, the rainbow banners, the Zhaoyang favorite, the shot birds, the blood-stained soul, the flowing Wei, the deep Sword Pavilion, the soaked breast, the dust-filled city—all compressing national grief. With Bai Juyi's 'Song of Everlasting Sorrow' it is a twin masterpiece on Yang Guifei—one on the river's rise-and-fall, one on everlasting regret; with 'Spring View' it shares the captive-period greatness. For modern readers it is a window onto Du Fu's captive poetry and a classic of Chinese rebellion verse—those green rushes still speak, across a thousand years, of catastrophe.

此诗历来被推为杜甫陷贼时期的名篇，也是唐人写安史之乱的代表作。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以今昔对比写国难，沉郁顿挫」；近人更指出「明眸皓齿今何在？血污游魂归不得」写杨贵妃的惨死，「人生有情泪沾臆，江水江花岂终极」写国难的悲痛，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以二十句的长歌写尽曲江的今昔盛衰与国难的悲痛——那吞声哭的少陵野老，那潜行曲江的春日，那锁千门的宫殿，那为谁绿的细柳新蒲，那下南苑的霓旌，那生颜色的万物，那昭阳殿里第一人，那同辇随君的侍侧，那带弓箭的才人，那嚼啮黄金勒的白马，那仰射云的翻身，那坠双飞翼的一笑，那明眸皓齿的今何在，那血污的游魂，那东流的清渭，那深远的剑阁，那泪沾臆的人生，那岂终极的江水江花，那尘满城的胡骑，那望城北的欲往，都写尽了曲江的今昔盛衰与国难的悲痛；那「人生有情泪沾臆，江水江花岂终极」更写尽国难的悲痛。此诗与白居易《长恨歌》（写杨贵妃与玄宗）同为写杨贵妃的名篇，一写曲江的今昔，一写长恨的缠绵；又与杜甫《春望》（「国破山河在」）同为陷贼长安时期的名篇，可见杜甫陷贼时期诗歌的深沉。对于今日读者，此诗是理解杜甫陷贼时期诗歌的窗口，也是中国诗写安史之乱的经典——那为谁绿的细柳新蒲，穿越千年，仍在诉说着国难的悲痛。

Prosody

Form Poem — seven-character ancient-style verse (qiyan guti)诗·七言古诗

Rhyme A seven-character ancient-style poem of twenty lines that shifts rhyme with the feeling: weep/bends; green/color/side/bits/wings; return/news/end/north—rhymes change as emotion turns, with a deep, restrained music suited to grief.七言古体，转韵（哭/曲、绿/色/侧/勒/翼、得/息/极/北），随情转韵

Tone pattern As seven-character ancient verse of twenty lines with shifting rhymes and a deep, restrained music, the syllable pattern matches the grief's weight—proper to a lament of catastrophe.此诗为七言古诗，二十句，随情转韵，音节沉郁，正合悲痛的沉郁。

Reading note A twenty-line seven-character ancient poem with shifting rhymes: 'weep' with 'bends,' 'green' with 'color,' 'side,' 'bits,' 'wings,' 'return' with 'news,' 'end,' 'north'—the music turns with feeling, deep and restrained. The poem contrasts past and present: first six lines present (weeping Shaoling, stealing along Qu River, locked palaces, green rushes), middle eight recollection (rainbow banners, living color, Zhaoyang favorite, same carriage, ladies with bows, golden bits, whirling shot, smile felling wings), last eight lament. Read the present lines with heavy grief, the 'bright eyes' line with tragic force, and end 'gaze north' in confusion with lingering resonance to convey Du Fu's deep, restrained manner—his definitive catastrophe ancient-verse model.此诗为七言古诗，二十句，随情转韵——「吞声哭」的「哭」与「曲江曲」的「曲」，「为谁绿」的「绿」与「生颜色」的「色」、「侍君侧」的「侧」、「黄金勒」的「勒」、「双飞翼」的「翼」，「归不得」的「得」与「无消息」的「息」、「岂终极」的「极」、「望城北」的「北」，随情转韵，音节沉郁。全诗以今昔对比写国难：前六句写今景（少陵野老吞声哭，春日潜行曲江曲；江头宫殿锁千门，细柳新蒲为谁绿），中八句写回忆（忆昔霓旌下南苑，苑中万物生颜色；昭阳殿里第一人，同辇随君侍君侧；辇前才人带弓箭，白马嚼啮黄金勒；翻身向天仰射云，一笑正坠双飞翼），后八句写感慨。诵读此诗，宜以沉痛的语调读「少陵野老吞声哭」的今景，以悲怆的语调读「明眸皓齿今何在」的惨变，结句「欲往城南望城北」要读得慌乱而有余韵，方能传达出杜甫的沉郁顿挫。杜甫古体以「沉郁顿挫」著称，此诗正是其国难古体的典范。

Line by line

明眸皓齿今何在？血污游魂归不得

Those bright eyes and white teeth—where are they now? A blood-stained wandering soul can never return.

明眸皓齿的杨贵妃如今何在？血污的游魂归不得。

Where is she now, that bright-eyed, gleaming-toothed Yang Guifei? Her blood-stained wandering spirit can never return.

此联是全诗写惨变的核心，以明眸皓齿写美貌，以血污游魂写惨死，写尽盛衰的巨变，是千古名句。「明眸皓齿今何在」写明眸皓齿的杨贵妃如今何在——那「明眸皓齿」写尽杨贵妃的美貌，「今何在」以反问写如今何在，写尽美貌的消逝；「血污游魂归不得」写血污的游魂归不得——那「血污游魂」写血污的游魂，「归不得」写归不得，写尽杨贵妃的惨死。这句的深意在于：它以「明眸皓齿今何在」的反问与「血污游魂归不得」的惨死，写尽盛衰的巨变——明眸皓齿的杨贵妃如今何在？那「明眸皓齿」写尽杨贵妃当年的美貌——昭阳殿里第一人，同辇随君，明眸皓齿，何等荣宠；如今何在？那「今何在」以反问写尽美貌的消逝——盛时已过，美人已亡；血污的游魂归不得，那「血污游魂归不得」写尽杨贵妃的惨死——马嵬坡前，宛转蛾眉，血污游魂，归不得长安，那「血污游魂」写尽惨死的惨烈，「归不得」写尽魂归不得的悲怆；那「明眸皓齿今何在」写尽盛时的美貌，那「血污游魂归不得」写尽惨死的悲怆，一盛一惨，写尽盛衰的巨变——这正是安史之乱中盛唐由盛转衰的缩影，也是杜甫以杨贵妃之死写国难之痛的深意；此联上承昔日的繁华，下启「清渭东流剑阁深」的感慨，是全诗由回忆转入感慨的枢纽。若换作直说「杨贵妃已经死了」，则失其对照；唯以「明眸皓齿今何在」写美貌、「血污游魂归不得」写惨死，写尽盛衰的巨变，也让此联成为全诗写惨变的核心与千古名句。

This couplet stands at the tragic heart of the poem, pairing the remembered beauty of Yang Guifei with her horrific end. "Bright eyes and gleaming teeth" once set down her loveliest self—the favored consort who rode beside the emperor in the same carriage; the rhetorical "where is she now?" turns that beauty into mere absence, for its hour has passed and the woman is gone. Against it, "blood-stained wandering spirit" fixes the scene at Mawei Slope, where the fair eyebrows turned to gore and the soul was denied its way back to Chang'an. One line evokes the height of glory, the other the depth of ruin; the contrast condenses the whole turning of High Tang during the An Lushan rebellion, and it is precisely how Du Fu makes the consort's death bear the pain of a fallen age. The couplet carries the reader from past splendor into the later lament of the clear Wei River and the deep Jian Gorge, the hinge on which memory gives way to sorrow. To have stated flatly that Yang Guifei was dead would lose the confrontation; by setting beauty against butchery, the line became one of the most famous in Chinese poetry.

人生有情泪沾臆，江水江花岂终极

Life has feeling—tears soak the breast; the river's waters and the river's flowers—do they ever end?

人生有情，泪沾胸臆；江水江花，岂有终极？

Mortals are feeling creatures, and tears wet my breast; but the river's waters and the riverside flowers—can they ever end?

此联是全诗写悲痛的核心，以人生有情写泪，以江水江花写永恒，写尽国难的悲痛，是千古名句。「人生有情泪沾臆」写人生有情，泪沾胸臆——那「人生有情」写人生有情，「泪沾臆」写泪沾胸臆，写尽有情人泪沾衣襟的悲痛；「江水江花岂终极」写江水江花岂有终极——那「江水江花」写江水江花，「岂终极」以反问写岂有终极，写尽江水的永恒与悲痛的绵长。这句的深意在于：它以「人生有情泪沾臆」的有情与「江水江花岂终极」的永恒，写尽国难的悲痛——人生有情，那「人生有情」写尽有情人面对盛衰巨变的深情——正因有情，才泪沾胸臆；泪沾胸臆，那「泪沾臆」写尽泪沾衣襟的悲痛——面对明眸皓齿的血污游魂、国破家亡的巨变，有情之人，泪沾胸臆；江水江花岂有终极？那「江水江花岂终极」写尽江水江花的永恒——江水东流，江花自开，岂有终极？而人事盛衰、国难悲痛，却在这永恒的自然中显得尤为深切；那「人生有情泪沾臆」写尽有情的泪，那「江水江花岂终极」写尽永恒的江，一写有情，一写永恒，写尽国难的悲痛——有情者泪沾臆，无情者江水江花自流自开，正见悲痛之深；此联上承杨贵妃的惨死，以有情与永恒对照写尽国难的悲痛，也让此联成为全诗写悲痛的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我很难过」，则失其对照；唯以「人生有情泪沾臆」写有情的泪、「江水江花岂终极」写永恒的江，写尽国难的悲痛，也让此联成为全诗写悲痛的核心。

Here the poem's grief reaches its core, set against the permanence of nature. Because human beings are feeling creatures, they weep; confronted with the bloodied ghost and the collapse of a dynasty, the breast is soaked through. Yet the river flows east and the riverside flowers open on their own, never coming to an end, and in that indifference the human tragedy strikes all the deeper. The tear-wet breast of the feeling man is set against the mindless, endless river: the more impassioned the weeping, the more heartless the flowing water, and that contrast measures the depth of national mourning. Following the consort's death, the couplet pits mortal feeling against eternal nature to compress the sorrow of a ruined age, and it became one of the immortal lines of this elegy. To have said "I am deeply grieved" would lose the foil; only by setting a mortal's tears against an everlasting river does the lament take its full weight.

Study

Word focus

锁 'Lock'—the key word for desolation in 'By the river the palaces are locked, a thousand gates.' It means sealed shut; Du Fu uses it doubly: to picture the closed palace doors and to signify the silence of ruin. Unlike 'close' or 'seal,' 'lock' with 'a thousand gates' compresses the abandoned splendor of the rebellion-era Qu River, pairing with 'for whom green' to make the line a present-scene hallmark. 「江头宫殿锁千门」之「锁」字是写荒废的关键字，一个「锁」字写尽宫殿的紧锁与荒废。锁者，锁闭、紧锁也。杜甫以「锁千门」写江头宫殿，这个「锁」字至少有双重意味：其一，写宫门之锁——那「江头宫殿锁千门」写江头宫殿千门紧锁，那「锁」字写尽宫门的紧锁——昔日繁华的宫殿，如今千门紧锁；其二，写荒废之寂——那「锁」字更是写荒废——宫殿锁千门，正见曲江的荒废，那「锁」字写尽国难中曲江的荒寂。以「锁」字写荒废，正是杜甫写今景的枢纽——若换作「闭」「封」等字，则或失其与「千门」的配合，或失其写荒废的凝练；唯「锁」字，以一字写尽宫殿千门紧锁的荒废与国难中的寂寥，与「细柳新蒲为谁绿」的无人相合，写尽曲江的荒废，也让「江头宫殿锁千门」成为全诗写今景的名句。

岂 'How can / can it be that'—the key word for grief in 'the river's waters and flowers—do they ever end?' It is a rhetorical question; Du Fu uses it doubly: to intensify the endlessness of river and flower, and to deepen the grief's length. Unlike 'what' or 'who,' 'how can' with 'life has feeling' sets human feeling against nature's permanence, condensing the catastrophe's sorrow and making the line a grief hallmark. 「江水江花岂终极」之「岂」字是写悲痛的关键字，一个「岂」字写尽江水江花无终极的反问与悲痛的绵长。岂者，岂有、难道也，反问之辞。杜甫以「岂终极」写江水江花，这个「岂」字至少有双重意味：其一，写反问之烈——那「江水江花岂终极」写江水江花岂有终极，那「岂」以反问写尽江水江花无终极的永恒；其二，写悲痛之深——那「岂」字更是写悲痛——江水江花岂终极，而人间的悲痛却绵长无尽，那「岂」字写尽国难悲痛的绵长。以「岂」字写悲痛，正是杜甫写感慨的枢纽——若换作「何」「谁」等字，则或失其反问的力度，或失其与「人生有情泪沾臆」的对照；唯「岂」字，以一字写尽江水江花岂有终极的反问与悲痛的绵长，与「人生有情泪沾臆」的有情相对照，写尽国难的悲痛，也让「江水江花岂终极」成为全诗写悲痛的名句。

哀江头