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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

北齐二首·其二

Two Poems on the Northern Qi, No. 2

李商隐

Li Shangyin

咏史Historical Satire 讽刺Satire

巧笑知堪敌万机，倾城最在著戎衣。
晋阳已陷休回顾，更请君王猎一围。

Her artful smile could match ten thousand affairs of state; her city-toppling beauty shows best in martial dress.
Jinyang has already fallen—no need to look back; she begs the prince to hunt one more round.

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Meaning

Li Shangyin satirizes the fall of the Northern Qi through Consort Feng, whose charm outweighed affairs of state while the realm collapsed. As Jinyang falls she still begs one more hunt—exposing the ruler's folly through cold irony. A four-line jab at beautiful women who ruin kingdoms, classic of his historical satire.

巧笑知堪敌万机，倾城最在著戎衣。晋阳已陷休回顾，更请君王猎一围。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Her artful smile could match ten thousand affairs of state; her city-toppling beauty shows best in martial dress. Jinyang has already fallen—no need to look back; she only begs the prince to hunt one more round. [Structure] The first couplet sets the satire of profligacy through the smiling consort; the second punctures it as Jinyang falls and she begs another hunt. [Imagery] 'Artful smile' and 'martial dress' mock the consort's misplaced allure; 'Jinyang fallen' and 'one more hunt' deliver the cold punch. [Famous Lines] 'Her artful smile could match ten thousand affairs' mocks profligacy; 'beg the prince to hunt one more round' is the cold puncturing of the satire.

【白话串讲】李商隐写《北齐二首·其二》：“巧笑知堪敌万机，倾城最在著戎衣”——“晋阳已陷休回顾，更请君王猎一围”——晋阳已陷，冯小怜还请君王再猎一场——他讽刺昏君。【意象与手法】此诗写咏史，以讽刺写咏史，是李商隐的名篇。前二句写讽喻：「巧笑知堪敌万机，倾城最在著戎衣」写巧笑知堪敌万机、倾城最在著戎衣——写尽讽喻的荒淫；后二句写点破：「晋阳已陷休回顾，更请君王猎一围」写晋阳已陷休回顾、更请君王猎一围——写尽点破的讽刺。全诗以讽刺写咏史，写尽讽喻的荒淫与点破的讽刺，是李商隐的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写咏史，以讽刺写咏史，是李商隐的名篇。此诗为《北齐二首》之二，咏北齐后主高纬宠幸冯淑妃而亡国之史。北齐后主高纬宠爱冯淑妃，性喜游猎。周师攻晋阳，军情危急，高纬与冯淑妃犹在外游猎；及至晋阳将陷，冯淑妃犹请再猎一围。此诗写巧笑知堪敌万机（冯淑妃的巧笑足以胜过万机之政），倾城最在著戎衣（其倾城之貌最美在穿戎装之时）；晋阳已陷休回顾（晋阳已陷，不必回顾），更请君王猎一围（冯淑妃更请君王再猎一围）。此诗写讽喻：巧笑知堪敌万机，倾城最在著戎衣——写巧笑知堪敌万机、倾城最在著戎衣，写尽讽喻的荒淫；晋阳已陷休回顾，更请君王猎一围——写晋阳已陷休回顾、更请君王猎一围，写尽点破的讽刺。全诗以讽刺写咏史——那「倾城最在著戎衣」写尽讽喻的荒淫，「更请君王猎一围」写尽点破的讽刺，写尽讽喻的荒淫与点破的讽刺，是理解李商隐咏史诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「巧笑知堪敌万机，倾城最在著戎衣」写讽喻的荒淫；「晋阳已陷休回顾，更请君王猎一围」写点破的讽刺；以及全诗以讽刺写咏史、以点破写讽刺的手法。

Background

Li Shangyin (c. 813–c. 858), style Yishan, called Yuxi Sheng, of Henei in Huaizhou, was a Tang poet paired with Du Mu as the 'Lesser Li and Du,' and with Wen Tingyun as 'Wen and Li.' This is the second of 'Two Poems on the Northern Qi,' on the fall of the Northern Qi under the last ruler Gao Wei and his favorite Consort Feng. Gao Wei loved hunting; as the Zhou army took Jinyang he was still out hunting, and as the city neared fall Consort Feng begged one more round. The first couplet mocks her smile outweighing state affairs and her beauty in martial dress; the second punctures with Jinyang fallen and one more hunt. A key to Li Shangyin's historical satire.

此诗写咏史，以讽刺写咏史，是李商隐的名篇。李商隐（约813—约858），字义山，号玉谿生，怀州河内（今河南沁阳）人，唐代诗人，与杜牧并称「小李杜」，与温庭筠合称「温李」。此诗为《北齐二首》之二，咏北齐后主高纬宠幸冯淑妃而亡国之史。北齐后主高纬宠爱冯淑妃，性喜游猎。周师攻晋阳，军情危急，高纬与冯淑妃犹在外游猎；及至晋阳将陷，冯淑妃犹请再猎一围。此诗写巧笑知堪敌万机（冯淑妃的巧笑足以胜过万机之政），倾城最在著戎衣（其倾城之貌最美在穿戎装之时）；晋阳已陷休回顾（晋阳已陷，不必回顾），更请君王猎一围（冯淑妃更请君王再猎一围）。此诗写讽喻：「巧笑知堪敌万机，倾城最在著戎衣」写巧笑知堪敌万机、倾城最在著戎衣——写尽讽喻的荒淫（巧笑知堪敌万机，倾城最在著戎衣）；「晋阳已陷休回顾，更请君王猎一围」写晋阳已陷休回顾、更请君王猎一围——写尽点破的讽刺（晋阳已陷休回顾，更请君王猎一围）。全诗以讽刺写咏史，写尽讽喻的荒淫与点破的讽刺，是理解李商隐咏史诗的重要篇章。

Art

The art has four facets. First, irony for satire: 'her artful smile could match ten thousand affairs' says the smile outweighs government—ironic profligacy. Second, hyperbole for dress: 'her city-toppling beauty shows best in martial dress' exaggerates her allure in armor. Third, cold speech for the puncture: 'Jinyang has already fallen—no need to look back' states the loss with chill. Fourth, satire in the hunt: 'she begs the prince to hunt one more round' delivers the jab. The first two lines mock profligacy, the last two puncture it—from mockery to exposure, the yuefu method of 'writing history through satire.'

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以反语写讽喻。「巧笑知堪敌万机」以反语写讽喻——那「知堪敌万机」写尽巧笑的敌机，以反语写尽讽喻的荒淫。其二，以夸张写戎衣。「倾城最在著戎衣」以夸张写戎衣——那「倾城最在」写尽倾城的戎装，以夸张写尽讽喻的荒淫。其三，以冷语写点破。「晋阳已陷休回顾」以冷语写点破——那「休回顾」写尽已陷的晋阳，以冷语写尽点破的讽刺。其四，以讽刺写猎围。「更请君王猎一围」以讽刺写猎围——那「更请」写尽更请的猎围，以讽刺写尽点破的讽刺。此外，此诗前二句写讽喻的荒淫，后二句写点破的讽刺，由讽及破，正是咏史诗「以讽写史」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以讽刺写咏史，写尽讽喻的荒淫与点破的讽刺，是李商隐的代表作。此诗还善于以「巧笑知堪敌万机」的「知堪」写反语之肯定——那「知堪敌万机」写尽以笑敌政的反语，正是以反写讽，以「知堪」写尽讽喻的荒淫。又善以「晋阳已陷休回顾」的「休回顾」写劝止之冷语——晋阳已陷休回顾，正见事已至此的冷峭，以「休回顾」写尽点破的讽刺。

Allusions

The language rests on the satire and historical tradition. 'Artful smile' echoes the 'Classic of Poetry's' 'artful smile so sweet'; 'city-toppling' the Han line 'a glance overturns a city'; 'ten thousand affairs' the emperor's daily business; 'martial dress' the war garb; 'Jinyang' the Northern Qi stronghold (its secondary capital); 'hunt one round' the bout of hunting. Melting these into smile, city-toppling, affairs, dress, Jinyang, and hunt, the poem is Li Shangyin's deep, allusion-rich satire on fallen states—'city-toppling' tying to the Han odes, 'Jinyang' to the realm's peril.

此诗的用语深植于咏史与讽刺传统。「巧笑」令人想到「巧笑」写巧笑的意象——《诗经·硕人》「巧笑倩兮」，也令人想到「巧笑嫣然」的意象；「倾城」令人想到「倾城」写倾国美人的意象——《汉书》「北方有佳人，绝世而独立，一顾倾人城」，也令人想到「倾国倾城」的意象；「万机」令人想到「万机」写皇帝政务的意象——也令人想到「日理万机」的意象；「戎衣」令人想到「戎衣」写军装的意象——也令人想到「戎装」的意象；「晋阳」令人想到「晋阳」写北齐重镇的意象——北齐都城邺之屏障，也令人想到「晋阳宫」的意象；「猎一围」令人想到「猎一围」写打猎一周的意象——也令人想到「围猎」的意象。全诗化用巧笑、倾城、万机、戎衣、晋阳、猎一围的意象典故，以讽刺写咏史，正是李商隐「沉博」而善用典、承咏史传统写讽刺之本领。「倾城」令人想到「倾城」写倾国美人的意象——《汉书·外戚传》李延年歌「一顾倾人城」，也令人想到「倾国倾城」的意象；「晋阳」令人想到「晋阳」写北齐重镇的意象——北齐以晋阳为别都，也令人想到「晋阳之甲」的意象，以晋阳写国势之危。

Commentary

Long praised as a master historical satire of Li Shangyin and a Tang model on the Northern Qi's fall, it is admired for 'writing history through satire, cold to the bone.' 'Jinyang has already fallen—she begs one more hunt' is its famous line of puncturing. Its special value: in four lines it exhausts the profligacy and the puncture—the smile, the matching of affairs, the city-toppling, the martial dress, Jinyang, the fall, the no-looking-back, the beg, the prince, the hunt. With 'The Sui Palace' it is a twin of his historical satires; with the Han 'city-toppling' ode it shares the fallen-state line. For readers it is a window onto Li Shangyin's historical verse and the Tang classic of beautiful-ruin.

此诗历来被推为李商隐咏史诗的名篇，也是唐诗写北齐亡国的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以讽刺写咏史，冷峭入骨」；近人更指出「晋阳已陷休回顾，更请君王猎一围」写点破的讽刺，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以四句的绝句写尽讽喻的荒淫与点破的讽刺——那巧笑，那知堪敌万机，那倾城，那最在著戎衣，那晋阳，那已陷，那休回顾，那更请，那君王，那猎一围，都写尽了李商隐笔下的北齐二首；那「更请君王猎一围」更以冷语写尽点破的讽刺。此诗与李商隐《隋宫》（「乘兴南游不戒严」）同为咏史名篇，一写「地下若逢陈后主」的隋宫（隋宫），一写「更请君王猎一围」的北齐（北齐二首）；又与《汉书》倾国倾城之典一脉相承，可见中国诗写咏史讽刺的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解李商隐咏史诗的窗口，也是唐诗写荒淫误国的经典——那再猎一围的冯淑妃，穿越千年，仍在诉说着点破的讽刺。

Prosody

Form Poem (seven-character quatrain)诗·七言绝句

Rhyme A seven-character quatrain rhyming on 'dress' (yi) and 'round' (wei), the Shang-ping 'Wei' rhyme, one rhyme throughout; the chilly syllables suit the cold satire.七绝，押「衣」「围」韵（上平五微），一韵到底，音节冷峭

Tone pattern Four seven-character lines, level-toned rhyme throughout, one rhyme to the end; the syllables are cold and cutting, fitting the satirical antiquity.此诗为七言绝句，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节冷峭，正合咏史的冷峭。

Reading note This seven-character quatrain of four lines—'her artful smile could match ten thousand affairs; her city-toppling beauty shows best in martial dress. Jinyang has already fallen—no need to look back; she begs the prince to hunt one more round'—rhymes on 'Wei' (dress, round), one rhyme to the end, cold in syllable. It writes history through satire: the first two lines mock profligacy (smile, martial dress), the last two puncture it (Jinyang fallen, one more hunt). Four short lines, mock then puncture, 'she begs one more hunt' delivering the sting—Li Shangyin's deep, cutting manner. Read the martial-dress line coldly, the 'one more hunt' with sarcasm and lingering chill.此诗为七言绝句，四句——「巧笑知堪敌万机，倾城最在著戎衣。晋阳已陷休回顾，更请君王猎一围」，押「微」韵（衣、围），一韵到底，音节冷峭。全诗以讽刺写咏史：前二句写讽喻的荒淫（巧笑知堪敌万机、倾城最在著戎衣），后二句写点破的讽刺（晋阳已陷休回顾、更请君王猎一围）。四句短章，前写讽喻，后写点破，以「更请君王猎一围」写尽点破的讽刺，正见李商隐「沉博」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以冷峭的语调读「倾城最在著戎衣」的讽喻，以讽刺的语调读「更请君王猎一围」的点破，结句要读得冷峭而有余韵，方能传达出李商隐的冷峭入骨。李商隐绝句以「沉博绝丽」著称，此诗正是其咏史诗的典范。

Line by line

晋阳已陷休回顾，更请君王猎一围

Jinyang has already fallen—no need to look back; she begs the prince to hunt one more round.

晋阳已陷休回顾，更请君王猎一围。

Jinyang has already fallen—look back no more; yet again the Consort begs the King to hunt one more ring.

此二句是全诗写讽刺的核心，以晋阳已陷休回顾写休回顾，以更请君王猎一围写猎一围，写尽点破的讽刺，是千古名句。「晋阳已陷休回顾」写晋阳已陷休回顾——那「晋阳已陷」写晋阳已陷，「休回顾」写休回顾，写尽已陷的晋阳；「更请君王猎一围」写更请君王猎一围——那「更请君王」写更请君王，「猎一围」写猎一围，写尽更请的猎围。这句的深意在于：它以「晋阳已陷休回顾」的休回顾与「更请君王猎一围」的猎一围，写尽点破的讽刺——晋阳已陷休回顾，那「晋阳已陷休回顾」写尽已陷的晋阳——晋阳已陷，正是晋阳陷落的写照，那「休回顾」写尽点破的讽刺；更请君王猎一围，那「更请君王猎一围」写尽更请的猎围——更请君王猎一围，正是再请猎围的写照，那「猎一围」写尽点破的讽刺；那「晋阳已陷休回顾」写尽已陷的晋阳，那「更请君王猎一围」写尽更请的猎围，一写已陷，一写更请，写尽点破的讽刺——晋阳已陷而犹请猎围，正是亡国之君的写照；此二句以晋阳、猎围写尽点破的讽刺，也让此二句成为全诗写讽刺的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「晋阳已经陷落了，冯淑妃却还求君王再打猎一圈」，则失其冷峭；唯以「晋阳已陷休回顾」写休回顾、「更请君王猎一围」写猎一围，写尽点破的讽刺，也让此二句成为全诗写讽刺的核心。

Li Shangyin's historical satire is ice-cold. The city of Jinyang has fallen to the Zhou army—everything is lost—and the emperor Gao Wei's favorite, Consort Feng, responds by asking him not to turn back and to hunt one more ring instead. "Look back no more" sounds almost courtly until the next line exposes it: she is urging him not to break the pleasure for the bad news. The atrocity is delivered as a request, and that polite word begs is where the satire lives. The couplet anatomizes the last hours of a doomed court, where a lover's whim outruns empire. To have narrated that the city fell while the emperor hunted would be reportage; the reported request is the judgment.

巧笑知堪敌万机，倾城最在著戎衣

Her artful smile could match ten thousand affairs of state; her city-toppling beauty shows best in martial dress.

巧笑知堪敌万机，倾城最在著戎衣。

Her clever smile, I think, is worth ten thousand affairs of state; the city-toppling beauty looks finest in battle dress.

此二句是全诗写讽喻的核心，以巧笑知堪敌万机写敌万机，以倾城最在著戎衣写著戎衣，写尽讽喻的荒淫，是千古名句。「巧笑知堪敌万机」写巧笑知堪敌万机——那「巧笑知堪」写巧笑知堪，「敌万机」写敌万机，写尽巧笑的敌机；「倾城最在著戎衣」写倾城最在著戎衣——那「倾城最在」写倾城最在，「著戎衣」写著戎衣，写尽倾城的戎装。这句的深意在于：它以「巧笑知堪敌万机」的敌万机与「倾城最在著戎衣」的著戎衣，写尽讽喻的荒淫——巧笑知堪敌万机，那「巧笑知堪敌万机」写尽巧笑的敌机——巧笑知堪敌万机，正是巧笑胜政的写照，那「敌万机」写尽讽喻的荒淫；倾城最在著戎衣，那「倾城最在著戎衣」写尽倾城的戎装——倾城最在著戎衣，正是倾城着戎的写照，那「著戎衣」写尽讽喻的荒淫；那「巧笑知堪敌万机」写尽巧笑的敌机，那「倾城最在著戎衣」写尽倾城的戎装，一写巧笑，一写倾城，写尽讽喻的荒淫——巧笑敌政而倾城着戎，正是昏君的写照；此二句以巧笑、倾城写尽讽喻的荒淫，也为下文的晋阳作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写讽喻的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「冯淑妃的巧笑比国政还重要，她穿戎装最漂亮」，则失其反讽；唯以「巧笑知堪敌万机」写敌万机、「倾城最在著戎衣」写著戎衣，写尽讽喻的荒淫，也让此二句成为全诗写讽喻的核心。

The satirical logic runs inverted. If a smile is worth ten thousand affairs of state—if one woman's glance outweighs the whole business of empire—then the state has already handed itself over. The second image, Consort Feng at her most beautiful in battle dress, twists the knife: she dressed as a warrior to watch the siege-drills that were supposed to defend the realm, and the emperor found her lovelier thus. The classical trope of the city-toppling beauty is invoked not to excuse the woman but to indict the man who preferred her costume to his capital. "Worth ten thousand" is the terrible arithmetic. To have said the emperor neglected state affairs for his favorite would be moralizing; the inversion itself is the satire.

Study

Word focus

敌 'Match / outdo.' In 'her artful smile could match ten thousand affairs,' the word means the smile rivals or surpasses the affairs of state—a sarcastic measure of misplaced charm. It exposes the ruler's neglect: a consort's smile outweighing government, the poem's ironic pivot of profligacy. 「巧笑知堪敌万机」之「敌」字是写讽喻的关键词，一个「敌」字写尽巧笑的敌机。敌者，匹敌、胜过也。李商隐以「巧笑知堪敌万机」写讽喻，这个「敌」字至少有双重意味：其一，写笑之敌——那「巧笑知堪敌万机」写巧笑知堪敌万机，那「敌」字写尽巧笑的敌机——敌万机，正是胜过万机的写照，那「敌」字写尽讽喻的荒淫；其二，写政之荒——那「敌」字更是写荒——敌，正见以笑敌政的荒淫，那「敌」字写尽李商隐的讽刺。以「敌」字写讽喻，正是李商隐写咏史的枢纽——若换作「胜」「比」等字，则或失其与「巧笑知堪」「万机」的配合，或失其写敌的意味；唯「敌」字，以巧笑知堪敌万机写尽巧笑之胜政与以笑敌政之荒淫，与「倾城最在著戎衣」的倾城相合，写尽讽喻的荒淫，也让「巧笑知堪敌万机」成为全诗写讽喻的名句。

更 'Again / further.' In 'she begs the prince to hunt one more round,' it means yet another; as the city falls she asks to hunt again, deepening the folly. The word delivers the satire's sting—ruin approached, and still one more hunt. 「更请君王猎一围」之「更」字是写讽刺的关键词，一个「更」字写尽更请的猎围。更者，再、又也。李商隐以「更请君王猎一围」写讽刺，这个「更」字至少有双重意味：其一，写请之更——那「更请君王猎一围」写更请君王猎一围，那「更」字写尽更请的猎围——更请君王，正是再请君王的写照，那「更」字写尽点破的讽刺；其二，写祸之深——那「更」字更是写深——更，正见国危犹猎的深祸，那「更」字写尽李商隐的讽刺。以「更」字写讽刺，正是李商隐写咏史的枢纽——若换作「再」「又」等字，则或失其与「晋阳已陷休回顾」「猎一围」的配合，或失其写更的意味；唯「更」字，以更请君王猎一围写尽再请之猎围与国危之深祸，与「晋阳已陷休回顾」的晋阳相合，写尽点破的讽刺，也让「更请君王猎一围」成为全诗写讽刺的名句。