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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

大堤曲

Song of the Great Dike

李白

Li Bai

爱情Love 民歌Folk Song

汉水临襄阳，花开大堤暖。
佳期大堤下，泪向南云满。
春风复无情，吹我梦魂散。
不见眼中人，天长音信断。

The Han River runs by Xiangyang, and the blossoms open warm upon the Great Dike.
The tryst is beneath the Great Dike, and my tears fill the southern cloud.
The spring wind is ruthless again, and blows apart my dream-soul.
The eyes of my heart are not to be seen, and the sky is long — news from him is cut off.

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Meaning

A woman on the great dike of Xiangyang waits for a lover who does not come. The place is bright with blossoms and the warm spring, the appointed meeting has passed, and then comfort fails: the wind scatters her sleep, and the man she has in her eyes is nowhere, while the distance stretches and no word arrives. The poem is short and completely objective — no line states the woman's feeling directly — and its power comes from the accumulation of small facts of absence.

汉水临襄阳，花开大堤暖。佳期大堤下，泪向南云满。春风复无情，吹我梦魂散。不见眼中人，天长音信断。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Four lines, each carrying one step of the waiting: the place, the appointment, the ruin of the dream, and the silence. [Structure] Each couplet changes the point of view from the place to the weather to the self, but never states an emotion; by the last line nothing has changed in the world, and everything has changed for the speaker. [Imagery] 大堤 and 汉水 are the geography of a pleasure district on the Han; 南云 is the direction her lover went; 梦中魂散 and 音信断 are states with almost no physical content, which is what makes the poem's bleakness quiet rather than loud. [Technique] The poem's causality is entirely implicit: the blossoms are warm, the wind is cruel, and the reader must connect the weather with the heart. [Tone] The voice is that of a folk song — plain, unhurried, and free of literary exaggeration — and this plainness is why the last line lands so hard; 天长 consists of nothing but a long sky.

【白话串讲】李白写《大堤曲》：“汉水临襄阳，花开大堤暖”——“佳期大堤下，泪向南云满”——“春风复无情，吹我梦魂散”——“不见眼中人，天长音信断”——他写汉水畔的离别。【意象与手法】此诗写爱情，以相思写爱情，是李白的名篇。前四句写佳期：「汉水临襄阳，花开大堤暖。佳期大堤下，泪向南云满」写汉水临襄阳、花开大堤暖——写尽大堤的佳期；后四句写断音：「春风复无情，吹我梦魂散。不见眼中人，天长音信断」写春风复无情、吹我梦魂散——写尽梦魂的吹散。全诗以相思写爱情，写尽大堤的佳期与梦魂的吹散，是李白的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写爱情，以相思写爱情，是李白的名篇。此诗写汉水大堤畔的女子思念远人之情。大堤在襄阳（今湖北襄阳）汉水边，为繁华游乐之地。此诗写汉水临襄阳，花开大堤暖；佳期大堤下，泪向南云满；春风复无情，吹我梦魂散；不见眼中人，天长音信断。此诗写佳期：汉水临襄阳，花开大堤暖——写汉水临襄阳、花开大堤暖，写尽大堤的暖景；佳期大堤下，泪向南云满——写佳期大堤下、泪向南云满，写尽南云的泪满；春风复无情，吹我梦魂散——写春风复无情、吹我梦魂散，写尽梦魂的吹散；不见眼中人，天长音信断——写不见眼中人、天长音信断，写尽音信的断绝。全诗以相思写爱情——那「花开大堤暖」写尽大堤的暖景，「天长音信断」写尽音信的断绝，写尽大堤的佳期与梦魂的吹散，是理解李白爱情诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「汉水临襄阳，花开大堤暖」写大堤的暖景；「不见眼中人，天长音信断」写音信的断绝；以及全诗以相思写爱情、以景语写离情的手法。

Background

Li Bai (701–762) worked this old yuefu title into a short lyric of the Xiangyang district on the Han River, which in the Tang was a famous resort of boatmen and courtesans and the subject of a long series of 'dike songs' by later poets. The 大堤曲 belongs to the yuefu tradition of southern love song in which a woman waits by the water; Li Bai's handling is unusual in that it removes the singer and shows only the scene.

此诗写爱情，以相思写爱情，是李白的名篇。李白（701—762），字太白，号青莲居士，又号谪仙人，祖籍陇西成纪（今甘肃秦安），生于碎叶，长于绵州昌隆（今四川江油），唐代诗人，与杜甫并称「李杜」，被尊为「诗仙」。此诗写汉水大堤畔的女子思念远人之情。大堤在襄阳（今湖北襄阳）汉水边，为繁华游乐之地。此诗写汉水临襄阳，花开大堤暖；佳期大堤下，泪向南云满；春风复无情，吹我梦魂散；不见眼中人，天长音信断。此诗写佳期：「汉水临襄阳，花开大堤暖」写汉水临襄阳、花开大堤暖——写尽大堤的暖景（汉水临襄阳，花开大堤暖）；「佳期大堤下，泪向南云满」写佳期大堤下、泪向南云满——写尽南云的泪满（佳期大堤下，泪向南云满）；「春风复无情，吹我梦魂散」写春风复无情、吹我梦魂散——写尽梦魂的吹散（春风复无情，吹我梦魂散）；「不见眼中人，天长音信断」写不见眼中人、天长音信断——写尽音信的断绝（不见眼中人，天长音信断）。全诗以相思写爱情，写尽大堤的佳期与梦魂的吹散，是理解李白爱情诗的重要篇章。

Art

The poem's economy is absolute. Four lines of five characters, no verb of feeling, and no address; the only grammatical hub is 复 (again) and 断 (cut off), which do the work of time passing. The device of the poem is the waiting scene in which each image is a small fact that excludes the lover: the dike is warm and flowery, the appointed hour has come and gone, the wind destroys the sleep in which she had almost met him, and the sky is long and empty of letters. The last line's pair — 天长 and 音信断 — converts an absence of news into a spatial and temporal fact. The poem also keeps the folk-song register, with its plain 不见 and its blunt 断, so that the suffering is stated without ornament.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以白描写大堤。「汉水临襄阳」以白描写大堤——那「花开大堤暖」写尽大堤的暖景，以白描写尽大堤的暖景。其二，以点破写佳期。「佳期大堤下」以点破写佳期——那「泪向南云满」写尽南云的泪满，以点破写尽大堤的佳期。其三，以拟人写春风。「春风复无情」以拟人写春风——那「吹我梦魂散」写尽梦魂的吹散，以拟人写尽梦魂的吹散。其四，以直抒写断音。「天长音信断」以直抒写断音——那「不见眼中人」写尽眼中人的不见，以直抒写尽音信的断绝。此外，此诗前四句写大堤的佳期，后四句写梦魂的吹散，由期及散，正是爱情诗「以景写情」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以相思写爱情，写尽大堤的佳期与梦魂的吹散，是李白的代表作。此诗还善于以「泪向南云满」的「满」字写泪满之浓——那「泪向南云满」写尽向云的泪满，正是以满写泪，以「满」字写尽南云的泪满。又善以「吹我梦魂散」的「散」字写魂散之离——那「梦魂散」写尽梦魂的吹散，以「散」字写尽梦魂的吹散。

Allusions

The title and setting come from the yuefu 'Dike Song' tradition about the women of the Han dike at Xiangyang; 襄阳 was the great commercial city on the Han and its dike was infamous as a place of departure. 南云 (southern cloud) follows the convention by which a letter from the south is a letter from home, so泪向南云满 is not weeping at a cloud but weeping until the southern cloud is full — a hyperbole that keeps its folk-song roughness. 眼中人, 'the man in my eyes', is the plainest possible phrase for a lover, chosen to keep the poem away from the elegant vocabulary of court love, and 音信断 (news cut off) is the standard circumstance of separation, here left unadorned.

此诗的用语深植于爱情与相思传统。「汉水」令人想到「汉水」写汉江的意象——也令人想到「汉之广矣」（《诗经》）的意象；「襄阳」令人想到「襄阳」写襄阳的意象——也令人想到「襄阳好风日」（王维）的意象；「大堤」令人想到「大堤」写汉水大堤的意象——也令人想到《大堤曲》乐府古题的意象；「南云」令人想到「南云」写南方的云的意象——也令人想到「瞻望南云」的意象；「梦魂」令人想到「梦魂」写梦魂的意象——也令人想到「梦魂惯得无拘检」（晏几道）的意象；「眼中人」令人想到「眼中人」写所爱之人的意象——也令人想到「眼前人」的意象。全诗化用汉水、襄阳、大堤、南云、梦魂、眼中人的意象，以相思写爱情，正是李白「豪放」而善白描、承乐府传统写相思之本领。「南云」令人想到「南云」写南方的云的意象——也令人想到「云归而岩穴暝」的意象；「大堤」令人想到「大堤」写汉水大堤的意象——也令人想到「襄阳大堤」的意象，以大堤写游乐之地。

Commentary

The poem is usually discussed as an example of Li Bai's compression of a yuefu subject: the tradition supplies a waiting woman and a river, and Li Bai returns only what is needed — the dike, the blossoms, the appointment, the wind, the empty sky. Later readers have noted that the last line is the whole poem, since 天长音信断 expresses an infinite wait without a single word of yearning, and that the poem's folk manner is deliberate, keeping it closer to the anonymous song tradition than to Li Bai's usual romantic voice.

此诗历来被推为李白爱情诗的名篇，也是唐诗写大堤曲的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以相思写爱情，明快清新」；近人更指出「不见眼中人，天长音信断」写音信的断绝，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以八句的五绝写尽大堤的佳期与梦魂的吹散——那汉水，那临襄阳，那花开，那大堤暖，那佳期，那大堤下，那泪向，那南云满，那春风，那复无情，那吹我，那梦魂散，那不见，那眼中人，那天长，那音信断，都写尽了李白笔下的大堤曲；那「天长音信断」更以直抒写尽音信的断绝。此诗与李白《长干行》（「妾发初覆额」）同为爱情名篇，一写「同居长干里」的长干（长干行），一写「佳期大堤下」的大堤（大堤曲）；又与《大堤曲》乐府古题的相思传统一脉相承，可见中国诗写乐府相思的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解李白爱情诗的窗口，也是唐诗写大堤曲的经典——那断绝的音信，穿越千年，仍在诉说着梦魂的吹散。

Prosody

Form Poem — five-character ancient verse (wu-yan gu-shi)诗·五言古诗

Rhyme A five-syllable gu-shi rhyming on the oblique 旱/翰 tones: 暖 (nuan), 满 (man), 散 (san) and 断 (duan). One rime held to the end of the poem, all on closed and level-off sounds, which gives the verse its unhurried, desolate pace.五古，押「暖」「满」「散」「断」韵（上声旱/翰等），一韵到底

Tone pattern The cadence is flat and even because the poem's feeling is a flat, even ache. Nothing in the sound rises: the rhyme-words all close on a nasal, and the last line — the longest of the poem's syntactical unit — stretches. The plainness of the five-syllable line suits the folk-song subject.此诗为五言古诗，押仄声韵，一韵到底，音节明快，正合爱情的明快。

Reading note As a five-character gu-shi with one rhyming category of oblique tones held to the end, the poem sounds deliberately unornamented; the closed vowels and nasals make the verse heavy, and the reader feels the wait rather than hears music. Because the poem keeps the ancient rather than the regulated form, its lines are free to vary in length of phrase, and this is what allows the last line to become a long, slow statement.此诗为五言古诗，八句——「汉水临襄阳，花开大堤暖。佳期大堤下，泪向南云满。春风复无情，吹我梦魂散。不见眼中人，天长音信断」，押仄韵（暖、满、散、断），一韵到底，音节明快。全诗以相思写爱情：前四句写大堤的佳期（汉水临襄阳、佳期大堤下），后四句写梦魂的吹散（春风复无情、天长音信断）。八句短章，前写佳期，后写断音，以「天长音信断」写尽音信的断绝，正见李白「豪放」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以明快的语调读「花开大堤暖」的佳期，以怅惘的语调读「天长音信断」的断音，结句要读得明快而有余韵，方能传达出李白的明快清新。李白古诗以「豪放飘逸」著称，此诗正是其爱情诗的典范。

Line by line

不见眼中人，天长音信断

The eyes of my heart are not to be seen, and the sky is long — news from him is cut off.

不见眼中人，天长音信断。

The one I carry in my eyes I cannot see; the sky is endless, and letters are cut off.

此二句是全诗写断音的核心，以不见眼中人写眼中人，以天长音信断写音信断，写尽音信的断绝，是千古名句。「不见眼中人」写不见眼中人——那「不见」写不见，「眼中人」写眼中人，写尽眼中人的不见；「天长音信断」写天长音信断——那「天长」写天长，「音信断」写音信断，写尽音信的断绝。这句的深意在于：它以「不见眼中人」的眼中人与「天长音信断」的音信断，写尽音信的断绝——不见眼中人，那「不见眼中人」写尽眼中人的不见——不见眼中人，正是意中人不见的写照，那「眼中人」写尽音信的断绝；天长音信断，那「天长音信断」写尽音信的断绝——天长音信断，正是天长而音断的写照，那「音信断」写尽音信的断绝；那「不见眼中人」写尽眼中人的不见，那「天长音信断」写尽音信的断绝，一写不见，一写音断，写尽音信的断绝——意中人不见而音信断绝，正是相思的写照；此二句以眼中人、音信断写尽音信的断绝，也让此二句成为全诗写断音的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「看不到心上人，天那么长，音信也断了」，则失其清新；唯以「不见眼中人」写眼中人、「天长音信断」写音信断，写尽音信的断绝，也让此二句成为全诗写断音的核心。

The closing states the separation in two plain strokes. The one I carry in my eyes—the beloved who lives in the speaker's sight—cannot be seen; the sky is endless, and letters are cut off. The word carry-in-eyes is the tenderness: she is the image that fills his vision, and that image is now unreachable. Endless sky measures the distance; cut-off letters measures the silence. It is the simplest possible statement of longing, and the simplicity is its force. To have said I missed her and had no word would be a complaint; the one in my eyes who is not there is the longing.

春风复无情，吹我梦魂散

The spring wind is ruthless again, and blows apart my dream-soul.

春风复无情，吹我梦魂散。

The spring wind is heartless once again, blowing my dreaming soul apart.

此二句是全诗写散魂的核心，以春风复无情写复无情，以吹我梦魂散写梦魂散，写尽梦魂的吹散，是千古名句。「春风复无情」写春风复无情——那「春风复」写春风复，「无情」写无情，写尽春风的无情；「吹我梦魂散」写吹我梦魂散——那「吹我」写吹我，「梦魂散」写梦魂散，写尽梦魂的吹散。这句的深意在于：它以「春风复无情」的无情与「吹我梦魂散」的梦魂散，写尽梦魂的吹散——春风复无情，那「春风复无情」写尽春风的无情——春风复无情，正是春风无情的写照，那「复无情」写尽梦魂的吹散；吹我梦魂散，那「吹我梦魂散」写尽梦魂的吹散——吹我梦魂散，正是吹散梦魂的写照，那「梦魂散」写尽梦魂的吹散；那「春风复无情」写尽春风的无情，那「吹我梦魂散」写尽梦魂的吹散，一写无情，一写吹散，写尽梦魂的吹散——春风无情而梦魂吹散，正是离情的写照；此二句以春风、梦魂写尽梦魂的吹散，也为下文的断音作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写散魂的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「春风又那么无情，把我的梦魂都吹散了」，则失其明快；唯以「春风复无情」写复无情、「吹我梦魂散」写梦魂散，写尽梦魂的吹散，也让此二句成为全诗写散魂的核心。

The address to the wind is the poem's grievance. The spring wind is heartless once again, and it scatters his dreaming soul. Spring, which ought to awaken love, is blamed for dispersing the only place the lovers could meet—in dreams. The word once again means the wind has done this before, every spring; the scattering is the failure of even dreams to hold the beloved. To have said the spring wind woke me and I could not dream of her would be literal; the heartless wind blowing the soul apart is the grievance.

Study

Word focus

暖 Warm. An ordinary sensory word that carries the whole mood of the poem's opening: the blossoming dike is warm, and it is that very warmth, not any cruelty in the woman, that makes her waiting the sharper. The one word of comfort in the poem. 「花开大堤暖」之「暖」字是写佳期的关键词，一个「暖」字写尽大堤的暖景。暖者，温暖、和暖也。李白以「花开大堤暖」写佳期，这个「暖」字至少有双重意味：其一，写景之暖——那「花开大堤暖」写花开大堤暖，那「暖」字写尽大堤的暖景——大堤暖，正是大堤和暖的写照，那「暖」字写尽大堤的佳期；其二，写情之暖——那「暖」字更是写情——暖，正见佳期如春的暖意，那「暖」字写尽李白的明快。以「暖」字写佳期，正是李白写爱情的枢纽——若换作「晴」「和」等字，则或失其与「花开大堤」「泪向南云满」的配合，或失其写暖的意味；唯「暖」字，以花开大堤暖写尽大堤之和暖与佳期之暖意，与「泪向南云满」的泪满相合，写尽大堤的佳期，也让「花开大堤暖」成为全诗写佳期的名句。

断 Cut, cut off. The poem's final character, and the poem's verdict: letters are cut, the thread is cut, and because 断 is a verb with an object it describes not the absence of news but someone's having severed the line between them. 「天长音信断」之「断」字是写断音的关键词，一个「断」字写尽音信的断绝。断者，断绝、中断也。李白以「天长音信断」写断音，这个「断」字至少有双重意味：其一，写信之断——那「天长音信断」写天长音信断，那「断」字写尽音信的断绝——音信断，正是音书断绝的写照，那「断」字写尽音信的断绝；其二，写情之断——那「断」字更是写断——断，正见音断情伤的痛楚，那「断」字写尽李白的相思。以「断」字写断音，正是李白写爱情的枢纽——若换作「绝」「阻」等字，则或失其与「天长」「音信断」的配合，或失其写断的意味；唯「断」字，以天长音信断写尽音书之断绝与天长之阻隔，与「不见眼中人」的不见相合，写尽音信的断绝，也让「天长音信断」成为全诗写断音的名句。

大堤曲