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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

杜司勋

Du Sixun

李商隐

Li Shangyin

怀人Thinking of a friend 感慨Lament

高楼风雨感斯文，短翼差池不及群。
刻意伤春复伤别，人间惟有杜司勋。

A high tower, wind and rain, stirred by what this literature is;
Short wings, badly matched, cannot keep up with the flock.
A studied grief of spring, and a grief of parting;
On this earth there is only Du Sixun.

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Meaning

A four-line poem about another poet. Du Si-xun is Du Mu, then serving as minister of revenue, whose verse is full of late spring and of farewells. Li Shangyin first places himself: in a high tower in wind and rain, conscious of the weight which literature carries, and conscious too that his own wings are too short to fly with the crowd. Then he turns and names one other person who shares this sensibility. In twenty-eight characters the praise of another poet turns out to be a definition of the poet himself, and an argument about what poetry is for.

高楼风雨感斯文，短翼差池不及群。刻意伤春复伤别，人间惟有杜司勋。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The first line sets a scene — a tower, a storm — and attaches a feeling to it: to be moved by what the written tradition is. The second line turns the feeling into a self-judgement, using the image of a bird with short, uneven wings that cannot fly with the rest. The third line describes the other poet's work, and only then does the fourth draw the conclusion: of all the people alive, there is one who understands. [Structure] The poem is built on a single turn: two lines of self-deprecation, and then two lines which lift another man to a unique place. The depth of the self-abasement is what gives the praise its force. [Imagery] There are only two images in the poem — a storm on a tower, and a bird's wings — and both are small; the whole weight of the feeling rests on them.

【白话串讲】李商隐写《杜司勋》：“高楼风雨感斯文，短翼差池不及群”——“刻意伤春复伤别，人间惟有杜司勋”——他写杜牧——刻意伤春又伤别，人间只有杜司勋。【意象与手法】此诗咏杜牧，以论诗写知己，是李商隐的名篇。前二句写自己：「高楼风雨感斯文，短翼差池不及群」写高楼风雨感斯文、短翼差池不及群——写尽风雨中的自感；后二句写杜牧：「刻意伤春复伤别，人间惟有杜司勋」写刻意伤春复伤别、人间惟有杜司勋——写尽对杜牧的推崇。全诗以论诗写知己，写尽李商隐对杜牧的知音之情，是李商隐的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗咏杜牧，以论诗写知己，是李商隐的名篇。杜司勋即杜牧，杜牧曾任司勋员外郎。李商隐与杜牧交好，此诗盛赞杜牧之诗，兼写自己身世之感。此诗写自己：高楼风雨感斯文，短翼差池不及群——写高楼风雨感斯文、短翼差池不及群，写尽风雨中的自感；刻意伤春复伤别，人间惟有杜司勋——写刻意伤春复伤别、人间惟有杜司勋，写尽对杜牧的推崇。全诗以论诗写知己——那「刻意伤春复伤别」写尽杜牧诗的特色，「人间惟有杜司勋」写尽对杜牧的推崇，写尽李商隐对杜牧的知音之情，是理解李商隐怀人诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「高楼风雨感斯文，短翼差池不及群」写风雨中的自感；「刻意伤春复伤别，人间惟有杜司勋」写对杜牧的推崇；以及全诗以论诗写知己、以自谦衬推崇的手法。

Background

Li Shangyin (about 813-858) and Du Mu (803-about 852) are the two late-Tang poets usually paired as the youngerLi and Du. Du Mu served as minister of revenue at the court of Chang'an, an office he held for a time about the middle of the century, which is why Li Shangyin calls him Du Sixun. The two admired each other's work; Li Shangyin wrote at least one poem in praise of Du Mu and this is the best known. It belongs to the years when Li Shangyin was working in the capital and had for a time fallen out of favour, and it is best read as the letter of introduction the two poets would have written for each other, were letters of this kind written aloud.

此诗咏杜牧，以论诗写知己，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，晚唐伟大的诗人，与杜牧并称「小李杜」。杜司勋即杜牧（803—约852），曾任司勋员外郎。李商隐与杜牧同为晚唐大家而互致倾慕，李商隐另有《赠司勋杜十三员外》诗。此诗写于杜牧任司勋员外郎期间，时值李商隐亦在长安。「高楼风雨感斯文，短翼差池不及群」写高楼风雨感斯文、短翼差池不及群——写尽风雨中的自感（高楼之上风雨凄凄，感念斯文；我如短翼之鸟，差池而不及群）；「刻意伤春复伤别，人间惟有杜司勋」写刻意伤春复伤别、人间惟有杜司勋——写尽对杜牧的推崇（刻意写伤春又写伤别，人间唯有杜司勋）。全诗以论诗写知己，写尽李商隐对杜牧的知音之情，是理解李商隐怀人诗的重要篇章。还应辨析「短翼差池」的出处与寓意：语出《诗经·邶风·燕燕》「燕燕于飞，差池其羽」，原写燕子参差飞羽、送别之悲。李商隐以「短翼差池」自况，既是谦辞（才短力弱、不及于群），又暗含《燕燕》送别与失群之悲的底色——在风雨高楼之上，诗人自感如短翼之燕，难与群飞，正是其一生陷于牛李党争、仕途蹭蹬的身世写照。而以「不及群」衬托「惟有杜司勋」，更见其对杜牧的推崇发自肺腑。

Art

The poem is a lesson in economy. Nothing is explained, and no comparison is drawn: it simply places two men in one frame and lets the reader do the rest. The most important device is the shift of register between the two couplets — the first is a confession of inadequacy, the second is a judgement on someone else — and the silence between them is where the friendship lies. The single character 惟 in the closing line does all the work: it is a claim about the whole world, made in one word. The poem also turns on a borrowed image: the short wings are from the Book of Songs, where swallows fly with unevenly set feathers, and the borrowing is what lets Li Shangyin be modest without being vague.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以写景写自感。「高楼风雨感斯文」以写景写自感——那「高楼风雨」写尽风雨的高楼，以写景写尽风雨中的自感。其二，以比喻写自谦。「短翼差池不及群」以比喻写自谦——那「短翼差池」写尽短翼之鸟，以比喻写尽自己的不群。其三，以概括写杜牧。「刻意伤春复伤别」以概括写杜牧——那「伤春复伤别」写尽杜牧诗的两大主题，以概括写尽杜牧诗的特色。其四，以独尊写推崇。「人间惟有杜司勋」以独尊写推崇——那「惟有」写尽独一无二，以独尊写尽对杜牧的推崇。此外，此诗前二句写自己，后二句写杜牧，由己及人，正是怀人诗「以自况衬他人」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以论诗写知己，写尽李商隐对杜牧的知音之情，是李商隐的代表作。此诗结构上由己及人、以抑扬作转：前二句极力自抑——高楼风雨、短翼差池，写尽自己的困顿；后二句陡然扬人——刻意伤春复伤别，人间惟有杜司勋，将杜牧推至独一无二之境。自抑愈深，则推崇愈显，正是「欲扬先抑」的经典结构；而「人间惟有」四字斩钉截铁，以断语作结，更见推许之诚，是绝句以论断收束的范例。

Allusions

Three classical traces. 斯文 — 'this literature' — comes from the Analects, where Confucius says that heaven will destroy this culture; the phrase carries the weight of a tradition under threat, and Li Shangyin's use of it turns a tower in a storm into a scene of cultural anxiety. 差池 comes from the Shijing, '燕燕于飞，差池其羽', where the swallows fly with feathers unevenly set; Li Shangyin takes the image of a short-winged, ill-matched bird to describe himself as a poet who cannot fly with the crowd. And the whole poem belongs to a long tradition of poets writing poems about other poets — Du Fu praising Li Bai, Li Shangyin praising Du Mu — in which the praise of the other is a way of stating a standard.

此诗的用语深植于诗歌与自况的传统。「高楼风雨」令人想到「高楼风雨」写高楼的意象——「高楼风雨感斯文」正是李商隐的名句，也令人想到「登楼」写登楼的意象——王粲《登楼赋》的怀乡；「感斯文」令人想到「斯文」写文教的意象——「感斯文」正是李商隐的名句，也令人想到「斯文在兹」的文统；「短翼差池」令人想到「短翼差池」写燕羽参差的意象——「短翼差池不及群」正是李商隐的名句，也令人想到《诗经·邶风·燕燕》「燕燕于飞，差池其羽」的意象；「伤春复伤别」令人想到「伤春」「伤别」写伤春伤别的意象——「刻意伤春复伤别」正是李商隐的名句，也令人想到杜牧「伤春伤别」的诗风；「杜司勋」令人想到「杜司勋」写杜牧的称谓——「人间惟有杜司勋」正是李商隐的名句，也令人想到杜牧晚年居司勋员外郎之职。全诗化用斯文、差池、伤春伤别的意象，以论诗写知己，正是李商隐「深情绵邈」而善用典、承论诗传统写知音的本领。

Commentary

The poem is one of the most quoted of Li Shangyin's short pieces, and its fame has rested on the intimacy it implies: two men who never needed to explain their work to each other. Later readers have found in it something more — a definition of what poetry is for. To be 'moved by this literature' in a storm, to know that one's wings are unequal to the age, and to recognise in another man the same sensibility: this is a poet's account of his own vocation, disguised as a tribute. The final line's absolute, 'there is only Du Sixun', is what makes the poem a small masterpiece: four lines, one allusion, and a friendship stated as a judgement about the world.

此诗历来被推为李商隐怀人诗的名篇，也是唐人论杜牧诗的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以论诗写知己，推许备至」；近人更指出「刻意伤春复伤别，人间惟有杜司勋」概括杜牧诗风，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李商隐对杜牧的知音之情——那风雨的高楼，那感斯文的自感，那短翼差池的自谦，那伤春伤别的概括，那惟有杜司勋的推崇，都写尽了李商隐对杜牧的倾慕；那「人间惟有杜司勋」更以独尊写尽对杜牧的推崇。此诗与杜甫《春日忆李白》（「白也诗无敌」）同为论诗名篇，一写「白也诗无敌」的推许（春日忆李白），一写「人间惟有杜司勋」的推崇（杜司勋）；又与韩愈《调张籍》论诗的传统一脉相承，可见中国诗人以诗论诗的知己情怀。对于今日读者，此诗是理解李商隐怀人诗的窗口，也是中国诗论杜牧的经典——那伤春伤别的杜司勋，穿越千年，仍在诉说着小李杜的知音之情。

Prosody

Form Poem in the seven-character quatrain (heptasyllabic jue-ju)诗·七言绝句

Rhyme A four-line poem rhyming on wen, qun and xun — the 'wen' group of level tones — with the same vowel held throughout. The resonance of the rhyme is what makes the closing line sound like a verdict rather than a remark.七绝，押「文」「群」「勋」韵（上平十二文），一韵到底，音节峭健

Tone pattern The quatrain keeps the quick, even measure of the heptasyllabic jue-ju: seven characters a line, no parallelism, and — unusually for the form — the two rhymes falling on the second and fourth lines, with the first line left unrhymed to make the last line stand alone. The cadence is level and unhurried, which allows the abrupt turn at the third line to register.此诗为七言绝句，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节峭健，正合论诗的峭健。

Reading note The poem is a demonstration of the quatrain's power to conclude with a judgement. Its whole structure is a rise: two lines of collapse, one line of description, and then a single-word claim about the world. Because the form is so short, nothing can be spent on explanation, and the reader is obliged to supply the connection himself. That the poem has been memorised for a thousand years is due less to its beauty than to this economy: four lines, and a friendship stated as an assertion about all humanity.此诗为七言绝句，四句——「高楼风雨感斯文，短翼差池不及群。刻意伤春复伤别，人间惟有杜司勋」，押「文」韵（文、群、勋），一韵到底，音节峭健。全诗以论诗写知己：前二句写风雨中的自感（高楼风雨感斯文，短翼差池不及群），后二句写对杜牧的推崇（刻意伤春复伤别，人间惟有杜司勋）。四句短章，前写自况，后写推崇，以「人间惟有杜司勋」写尽知音之情，正见李商隐「深情绵邈」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以峭健的语调读「高楼风雨感斯文」的自感，以推崇的语调读「人间惟有杜司勋」的推崇，结句要读得斩截而有余韵，方能传达出李商隐的深情绵邈。李商隐绝句以「深情绵邈」著称，此诗正是其论诗绝句的典范。

Line by line

刻意伤春复伤别，人间惟有杜司勋

A studied grief of spring, and a grief of parting; On this earth there is only Du Sixun.

刻意写伤春又写伤别，人间唯有杜司勋。

He deliberately writes of wounded spring and wounded parting; in all the human world, there is only Du the Adjutant.

此二句是全诗写推崇的核心，以刻意伤春复伤别写杜牧诗风，以人间惟有杜司勋写独尊，写尽对杜牧的推崇，是千古名句。「刻意伤春复伤别」写刻意写伤春又写伤别——那「刻意」写刻意，「伤春复伤别」写伤春又伤别，写尽杜牧诗的两大主题；「人间惟有杜司勋」写人间唯有杜司勋——那「人间惟有」写人间唯有，「杜司勋」写杜司勋，写尽对杜牧的独尊。这句的深意在于：它以「刻意伤春复伤别」的概括与「人间惟有杜司勋」的独尊，写尽对杜牧的推崇——刻意写伤春又写伤别，那「刻意伤春复伤别」写尽杜牧诗风——刻意写伤春伤别，正是杜牧诗的两大主题，那「刻意」写尽杜牧的用心；人间唯有杜司勋，那「人间惟有杜司勋」写尽对杜牧的独尊——人间唯有杜牧能当此评，正是独一无二的推崇，那「惟有」写尽独尊的推崇；那「刻意伤春复伤别」写尽杜牧诗风，那「人间惟有杜司勋」写尽对杜牧的独尊，一写概括，一写推崇，写尽对杜牧的推崇——伤春伤别而人间唯有，正是小李杜的知音；此二句以概括、推崇写尽对杜牧的推崇，也让此二句成为全诗写推崇的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「杜牧的诗写得最好」，则失其凝练；唯以「刻意伤春复伤别」写杜牧诗风、「人间惟有杜司勋」写独尊，写尽对杜牧的推崇，也让此二句成为全诗写推崇的核心。

Li Shangyin on Du Mu. He deliberately writes of wounded spring and wounded parting—the two themes, and the word deliberately flags that this is not accidental mood but chosen art; in all the human world, there is only Du the Adjutant. The only is the highest praise: the two themes, once chosen, are Du Mu's alone. Li Shangyin, who writes exactly such poetry himself, is also praising his own lineage. To have said Du Mu was the best poet of spring and parting would be a review; the deliberate wounded spring and parting with the only man in the world is the praise.

高楼风雨感斯文，短翼差池不及群

A high tower, wind and rain, stirred by what this literature is; Short wings, badly matched, cannot keep up with the flock.

高楼之上风雨凄凄，感念斯文；我如短翼之鸟，差池而不及群。

In the high tower, in wind and rain, I grieve for this literature; like a short-winged bird, I falter and cannot keep pace with the flock.

此二句是全诗写自感的核心，以高楼风雨写环境，以短翼差池写自谦，写尽风雨中的自感，是千古名句。「高楼风雨感斯文」写高楼之上风雨凄凄感念斯文——那「高楼风雨」写风雨的高楼，「感斯文」写感念斯文，写尽风雨中的自感；「短翼差池不及群」写我如短翼之鸟差池而不及群——那「短翼差池」写短翼之鸟羽翼参差，「不及群」写不及于群，写尽自谦的不群。这句的深意在于：它以「高楼风雨感斯文」的环境与「短翼差池不及群」的自谦，写尽风雨中的自感——高楼之上风雨凄凄感念斯文，那「高楼风雨感斯文」写尽风雨中的自感——风雨高楼，感念斯文，正是诗人身世的写照，那「感斯文」写尽对文运的感慨；我如短翼之鸟差池而不及群，那「短翼差池不及群」写尽自谦的不群——短翼之鸟，羽翼参差而不及群，正是诗人自谦身世的写照，那「不及群」写尽自谦的孤寂；那「高楼风雨感斯文」写尽风雨中的自感，那「短翼差池不及群」写尽自谦的不群，一写环境，一写自况，写尽风雨中的自感——风雨高楼而短翼差池，正是诗人身世的写照；此二句以环境、自况写尽风雨中的自感，也为后二句的推崇作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写自感的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我处境不好」，则失其比喻；唯以「高楼风雨感斯文」写环境、「短翼差池不及群」写自况，写尽风雨中的自感，也让此二句成为全诗写自感的核心。

Then Li Shangyin turns on himself. In the high tower, in wind and rain, I grieve for this literature; like a short-winged bird, I falter and cannot keep pace with the flock. The high tower in the rain is the fellowship of poets weathering the age; the short-winged bird is self-deprecation—Li Shangyin comparing his own inadequate wings to Du Mu's flight. The humility is a form of admiration. To have said I felt small next to Du Mu would be modesty; the short-winged faltering bird under the rainy tower is the modesty.

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Word focus

斯文 'This literature', a phrase whose weight comes from the Analects, where Confucius says that heaven will bring about the end of this culture. Li Shangyin uses it to mean not his own poems but the tradition that outlives him, and to say that in a storm he is moved by it — so the tower becomes a place where a poet stands before something larger than himself. 「高楼风雨感斯文」之「斯文」是写文运的关键词，一个「斯文」写尽对文道的感慨。斯文者，此道、文教也，语出《论语》「天之将丧斯文也」。李商隐以「高楼风雨感斯文」写自感，这个「斯文」至少有双重意味：其一，写文道之重——那「高楼风雨感斯文」写高楼风雨感念斯文，那「斯文」写尽文道之重——斯文，正是文教道统，那「斯文」写尽对文道的尊重；其二，写身世之寄——那「斯文」更是写身世——风雨中感斯文，正是以文自命，那「斯文」写尽身世的寄托。以「斯文」写自感，正是李商隐写感慨的枢纽——若换作「文章」「诗文」等词，则或失其写斯文的典重，或失其与「感」的配合；唯「斯文」二字，以高楼风雨感斯文写尽文道之重与身世的寄托，与「短翼差池」的自谦相合，写尽风雨中的自感，也让「高楼风雨感斯文」成为全诗写自感的名句。

短翼 Short wings: a self-deprecating image, a bird too small to fly with the flock. It comes from the Book of Songs, where the swallows' feathers are set unevenly, and it lets Li Shangyin describe his insufficiency to his age without ever using the word 'failure' — which is why the praise of Du Mu afterwards sounds like a discovery. 「短翼差池不及群」之「短翼」是写自谦的关键词，一个「短翼」写尽自己的不群。短翼者，短小之翼也，喻才短力弱。李商隐以「短翼差池不及群」写自况，这个「短翼」至少有双重意味：其一，写自谦之才——那「短翼差池不及群」写短翼之鸟差池不及群，那「短翼」写尽自谦之才——短翼，正是自谦才短，那「短翼」写尽自谦的谦抑；其二，写身世之孤——那「短翼」更是写孤——短翼不及群，正见身世的孤寂，那「短翼」写尽身世的孤寂。以「短翼」写自况，正是李商隐写自谦的枢纽——若换作「弱翼」「折翼」等词，则或失其与「差池」的配合，或失其写短翼的意味；唯「短翼」二字，以短翼差池不及群写尽自谦之才与身世的孤寂，与「高楼风雨」的风雨相合，写尽风雨中的自感，也让「短翼差池不及群」成为全诗写自谦的名句。

杜司勋