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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

古风·其十九

Gufeng (Ancient Airs), No. Nineteen

李白

Li Bai

游仙Immortal Excursion 乱离Turbulence and War

西上莲花山，迢迢见明星。
素手把芙蓉，虚步蹑太清。
霓裳曳广带，飘拂升天行。
邀我登云台，高揖卫叔卿。
恍恍与之去，驾鸿凌紫冥。
俯视洛阳川，茫茫走胡兵。
流血涂野草，豺狼尽冠缨。

Westward I climb the Lotus Mountain; far, far off I behold the Star.
Her white hand holds a lotus bloom; in empty steps she treads the Great Pure.
Rainbow robes, a sash unfurled, she drifts upward through the sky.
She bids me climb the Cloud Terrace and salutes the Elder Wei.
Dazed, I go with him, riding a great goose through the violet void.
Looking down, I see the Luo valley: lost, adrift, the barbarian troops.
The blood is poured out and stains the grass of the field; ravens and jackals all wear the crowns of office.

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Meaning

One of Li Bai's Gufeng group, this poem begins as an ascent of the immortal realm — lotus mountain, a fairy with a lotus in her hand, rainbows, a ride through the violet void — and then, on looking downward, reveals that what lies far below is nothing but the An Lushan rebellion: foreign troops streaming through the Luo valley, blood staining the field, and thepredators wearing the official's crowns. Heroism and terror coexist; the poem's ascent does not carry the poet away from his age.

西上莲花山，迢迢见明星。素手把芙蓉，虚步蹑太清。霓裳曳广带，飘拂升天行。邀我登云台，高揖卫叔卿。恍恍与之去，驾鸿凌紫冥。俯视洛阳川，茫茫走胡兵。流血涂野草，豺狼尽冠缨。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Li Bai climbs west to the Lotus Mountain and meets a fairy who takes him up among the clouds; then, looking down on the Luo valley, he sees the barbarian armies and the blood of the civil war. <br>[Structure] The poem is a single movement downward disguised as an ascent: eight lines rising, three lines collapsing back to earth. The pivot is the verb fushi ('looking down'). <br>[Imagery] Almost every image is luminous and light — the star, the lotus, the rainbow sash, the violet sky — and then one brutal change of register brings grass, blood, jackals and the official's crowns. <br>[Tone] The combination of a transcendent register and a report of atrocity is what makes the poem unusual: Li Bai's immortals are not an escape, but a vantage from which to see the world's ruin. The final image — thepredators wearing a statesman's crowns — leaves judgement to the reader.

【白话串讲】李白写《古风·其十九》：“西上莲花山，迢迢见明星”——“素手把芙蓉，虚步蹑太清”——“霓裳曳广带，飘拂升天行”——“俯视洛阳川，茫茫走胡兵”——“流血涂野草，豺狼尽冠缨”——他写游仙与战乱。【意象与手法】此诗写游仙，以感慨写游仙，是李白的名篇。前八句写游仙：「西上莲花山，迢迢见明星。素手把芙蓉，虚步蹑太清。霓裳曳广带，飘拂升天行。邀我登云台，高揖卫叔卿。恍恍与之去，驾鸿凌紫冥」写西上莲花山、迢迢见明星——写尽莲花山的明星；后三句写俯视：「俯视洛阳川，茫茫走胡兵。流血涂野草，豺狼尽冠缨」写俯视洛阳川、茫茫走胡兵——写尽洛阳的胡兵。全诗以感慨写游仙，写尽莲花山的明星与洛阳的胡兵，是李白的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写游仙，以感慨写游仙，是李白的名篇。此诗为李白《古风》组诗之十九，写其游仙之想与俯视人间之慨。李白此诗作于安史之乱前后，写其欲避世而终念苍生。此诗写西上莲花山，迢迢见明星；素手把芙蓉，虚步蹑太清；霓裳曳广带，飘拂升天行；邀我登云台，高揖卫叔卿；恍恍与之去，驾鸿凌紫冥；俯视洛阳川，茫茫走胡兵；流血涂野草，豺狼尽冠缨。此诗写游仙：西上莲花山，迢迢见明星——写西上莲花山、迢迢见明星，写尽莲花山的明星；素手把芙蓉，虚步蹑太清——写素手把芙蓉、虚步蹑太清，写尽蹑太清的虚步；霓裳曳广带，飘拂升天行——写霓裳曳广带、飘拂升天行，写尽霓裳的广带；邀我登云台，高揖卫叔卿——写邀我登云台、高揖卫叔卿，写尽云台的叔卿；恍恍与之去，驾鸿凌紫冥——写恍恍与之去、驾鸿凌紫冥，写尽凌紫冥的驾鸿；俯视洛阳川，茫茫走胡兵——写俯视洛阳川、茫茫走胡兵，写尽洛阳的胡兵；流血涂野草，豺狼尽冠缨——写流血涂野草、豺狼尽冠缨，写尽冠缨的豺狼。全诗以感慨写游仙——那「迢迢见明星」写尽莲花山的明星，「豺狼尽冠缨」写尽冠缨的豺狼，写尽莲花山的明星与洛阳的胡兵，是理解李白游仙诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「西上莲花山，迢迢见明星」写莲花山的明星；「俯视洛阳川，茫茫走胡兵」写洛阳的胡兵；以及全诗以感慨写游仙、以对照写仙凡的手法。

Background

Li Bai (701–762), courtesy name Taibai, styled Qinglian jushi and called 'the Banished Immortal', was born at Suyab and raised in Sichuan; he is the great romantic poet of the Tang. This poem is No. Nineteen of the Gufeng group, written around the An Lushan rebellion (755–763) and its aftermath, when rebel troops under the foreign commander An Lushan and his successors were moving through the eastern plain, including the Luo valley below Luoyang. Li Bai was at the time in the east, having left the capital after his court years. The Gufeng pieces are his group of mostly political and cosmic verse, and this one is the best known.

此诗写游仙，以感慨写游仙，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，生于碎叶，长于绵州昌隆（今四川江油），唐代伟大的浪漫主义诗人，被尊为「诗仙」，与杜甫并称「李杜」。此诗为李白《古风》组诗之十九，写其游仙之想与俯视人间之慨。李白此诗作于安史之乱前后，写其欲避世而终念苍生。此诗写西上莲花山，迢迢见明星；素手把芙蓉，虚步蹑太清；霓裳曳广带，飘拂升天行；邀我登云台，高揖卫叔卿；恍恍与之去，驾鸿凌紫冥；俯视洛阳川，茫茫走胡兵；流血涂野草，豺狼尽冠缨。此诗写游仙：「西上莲花山，迢迢见明星」写西上莲花山、迢迢见明星——写尽莲花山的明星（西上莲花山，迢迢见明星）；「邀我登云台，高揖卫叔卿」写邀我登云台、高揖卫叔卿——写尽云台的叔卿（邀我登云台，高揖卫叔卿）；「俯视洛阳川，茫茫走胡兵」写俯视洛阳川、茫茫走胡兵——写尽洛阳的胡兵（俯视洛阳川，茫茫走胡兵）；「流血涂野草，豺狼尽冠缨」写流血涂野草、豺狼尽冠缨——写尽冠缨的豺狼（流血涂野草，豺狼尽冠缨）。全诗以感慨写游仙，写尽莲花山的明星与洛阳的胡兵，是理解李白游仙诗的重要篇章。

Art

The poem's central device is the reversal of viewpoint. The first eight lines are constructed in the grammar of ascent — shang ('climb'), sheng ('ascend'), ling ('ride above') — with soft, bright nouns (star, lotus, rainbow, violet) and no violent verb; the reader is being lifted. Then one verb, fushi ('look down'), inverts the whole geometry, and the vocabulary turns brutal: zou ('stampede'), tu ('smear'), chailang ('jackals'), guanying ('the crowns and their strings of office'). The restraint of the final line is what gives it force — the poet refuses to add one word of abuse, and simply reports that the jackals wear the official's crowns. Li Bai also keeps the two realms in the same grammatical case: the immortal and the soldier are both subjects of the same sentence structure, so the world of the spirit and the world of the war are presented as two floors of one building. The short, five-character lines, with only the rhymes on the even lines, keep the whole thing level and declarative.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以游仙写超脱。「西上莲花山」以游仙写超脱——那「素手把芙蓉」写尽把芙蓉的素手，以游仙写尽莲花山的明星。其二，以对照写仙凡。「俯视洛阳川」以对照写仙凡——那「茫茫走胡兵」写尽洛阳的胡兵，以对照写尽洛阳的胡兵。其三，以写实写乱世。「流血涂野草」以写实写乱世——那「豺狼尽冠缨」写尽冠缨的豺狼，以写实写尽冠缨的豺狼。其四，以感慨写忧时。「豺狼尽冠缨」以感慨写忧时——那「流血涂野草」写尽涂野草的流血，以感慨写尽冠缨的豺狼。此外，此诗前八句写莲花山的明星，后三句写洛阳的胡兵，由仙及凡，正是游仙诗「以仙写慨」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以感慨写游仙，写尽莲花山的明星与洛阳的胡兵，是李白的代表作。此诗还善于以「素手把芙蓉」的「把芙蓉」写仙女之把花——那「素手」写尽仙女的素手，正是以把写花，以「虚步蹑太清」写尽蹑太清的虚步。又善以「霓裳曳广带，飘拂升天行」的「飘拂」写霓裳之飘拂——霓裳曳广带飘拂升天行，正见霓裳飘拂的写照，以「飘拂」写尽驾鸿的紫冥。

Allusions

The ascent follows the standard hardware of Chinese immortal poetry: Lianhuashan, the lotus peak of Hua Shan; mingxing, the Star Maiden, a fairy who dwells on Hua Shan; furong, the lotus bloom she holds; taiqing, the supreme sky; nichang, rainbow-gauze robes; yuntai, the cloud terrace; Wei Shujing, the Han immortal whom tradition says was met riding cloud; and ziming, the violet upper air. The descent uses the oblique vocabulary of rebellion: hubing ('barbarian troops'), the term for the non-Han soldiers in the rebel armies, and guanying, the crown and its strings, the mark of a court office. Nothing is quoted from a source text; the allusions are so thoroughly naturalised that they read as scenery — which is Li Bai's particular skill with the tradition.

此诗的用语深植于游仙与感慨传统。「莲花山」令人想到「莲花山」写西岳莲花的意象——华山莲花峰，也令人想到「太华之巅」的意象；「明星」令人想到「明星」写仙女的意象——华山明星玉女，也令人想到「明星玉女」的意象；「芙蓉」令人想到「芙蓉」写芙蓉的意象——也令人想到「出水芙蓉」的意象；「太清」令人想到「太清」写天空的意象——也令人想到「太清之境」的意象；「霓裳」令人想到「霓裳」写霓虹衣裳的意象——也令人想到「霓裳羽衣」的意象；「卫叔卿」令人想到「卫叔卿」写卫叔卿的意象——汉代仙人，也令人想到「卫叔卿乘云」的意象；「紫冥」令人想到「紫冥」写紫空的意象——也令人想到「紫冥之上」的意象。全诗化用莲花山、明星、芙蓉、太清、霓裳、卫叔卿、紫冥的意象典故，以感慨写游仙，正是李白「豪放」而善用典、承游仙传统写感慨之本领。「太清」令人想到「太清」写天空的意象——也令人想到「太清之境」的意象；「紫冥」令人想到「紫冥」写紫空的意象——也令人想到「紫冥之上」的意象，以紫冥写游仙。

Commentary

This poem has been a favourite since the Qing, who read it as 'raising immortals to lament the age, proud and sorrowing', and modern readers most often quote the line 'Looking down, I see the Luo valley: lost, adrift, the barbarian troops' as the poem's centre. The poem's mixed response has made it a standard text for discussing how a romantic poet handles catastrophe: the immortals are neither comfort nor escape. It belongs to the same cycle as 'The Great Chariot raises flying dust' and 'Where the road meets cock-fighters', the two other Gufeng pieces usually paired with it — one satirising the court, one satirising the age — and it stands as one of the clearest instances in Tang poetry of an immortal excursion used to deliver a political judgment.

此诗历来被推为李白游仙诗的名篇，也是唐诗写游仙伤时的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以感慨写游仙，豪放沉痛」；近人更指出「俯视洛阳川，茫茫走胡兵」写洛阳的胡兵，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以十三句的古诗写尽莲花山的明星与洛阳的胡兵——那西上，那莲花山，那迢迢，那见明星，那素手，那把芙蓉，那虚步，那蹑太清，那霓裳，那曳广带，那飘拂，那升天行，那邀我，那登云台，那高揖，那卫叔卿，那恍恍，那与之去，那驾鸿，那凌紫冥，那俯视，那洛阳川，那茫茫，那走胡兵，那流血，那涂野草，那豺狼，那尽冠缨，都写尽了李白笔下的古风其十九；那「豺狼尽冠缨」更以感慨写尽冠缨的豺狼。此诗与李白《古风》「大车扬飞尘」同为古风组诗，一写「流血涂野草」的其十九，一写「路逢斗鸡者」的古风其二十四；一写游仙，一写讽世。两诗对读，可见李白古风的两面。对于今日读者，此诗是理解李白游仙诗的窗口，也是唐诗写游仙伤时的经典——那洛阳的胡兵，穿越千年，仍在诉说着冠缨的豺狼。

Prosody

Form Five-character ancient poem (wuyan gushi)诗·五言古诗

Rhyme Rhymes only on the even lines, all in the 'geng' rhyme (lower level, rhyme 8) — star, Pure, going, Pure, void, troops, crowns — one key sustained to the end of the poem.五古，偶句押「星」「清」「行」「卿」「冥」「兵」「缨」韵（下平八庚），一韵到底

Tone pattern A five-character gushi of irregular line-length in which the rhyme falls on the even line throughout and the level tone is never abandoned; the long unbroken key gives the verse a floating, unhurried surface.此诗为五言古诗，偶句押平声韵，一韵到底，音节飘逸，正合游仙的飘逸。

Reading note This is a five-character ancient poem (wuyan gushi) of thirteen lines, rhyming on the even lines only and holding the 'geng' rhyme — xing ('star'), qing ('Pure'), xing ('going'), qing ('Pure'), ming ('void'), bing ('troops'), ying ('crowns') — from beginning to end. Because a gushi poem does not observe the tonal patterns of the jinti, the lines can be short or long and the pause can fall anywhere; here the effect is a steady, level verse that carries the reader upward without effort. Read the ascent lines evenly and unhurried, almost without stress, and then let the last three lines land as report rather than song. The single rhyme-key, held while the subject changes from cloud to battlefield, is what makes the poem feel like one continuous movement of thought.此诗为五言古诗，十三句——「西上莲花山，迢迢见明星。素手把芙蓉，虚步蹑太清。霓裳曳广带，飘拂升天行。邀我登云台，高揖卫叔卿。恍恍与之去，驾鸿凌紫冥。俯视洛阳川，茫茫走胡兵。流血涂野草，豺狼尽冠缨」，偶句押庚韵（星、清、行、卿、冥、兵、缨），一韵到底，音节飘逸。全诗以感慨写游仙：前八句写莲花山的明星（西上莲花山、驾鸿凌紫冥），后三句写洛阳的胡兵（俯视洛阳川、豺狼尽冠缨）。古诗铺叙，前写游仙，后写乱世，以「豺狼尽冠缨」写尽冠缨的豺狼，正见李白「豪放」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以飘逸的语调读「虚步蹑太清」的游仙，以沉痛的语调读「流血涂野草」的乱世，结句要读得飘逸而有余韵，方能传达出李白的豪放沉痛。李白古诗以「豪放」著称，此诗正是其游仙诗的典范。

Line by line

西上莲花山，迢迢见明星

Westward I climb the Lotus Mountain; far, far off I behold the Star.

西上莲花山，迢迢见明星。

Westward I climb Lotus Peak, and in the distance I see the Star Goddess.

此二句是全诗写游仙的核心，以西上莲花山写莲花山，以迢迢见明星写见明星，写尽莲花山的明星，是千古名句。「西上莲花山」写西上莲花山——那「西上」写西上，「莲花山」写莲花山，写尽莲花山的西上；「迢迢见明星」写迢迢见明星——那「迢迢」写迢迢，「见明星」写见明星，写尽迢迢的明星。这句的深意在于：它以「西上莲花山」的莲花山与「迢迢见明星」的见明星，写尽莲花山的明星——西上莲花山，那「西上莲花山」写尽莲花山的西上——西上莲花山，正是西登莲峰的写照，那「莲花山」写尽莲花山的明星；迢迢见明星，那「迢迢见明星」写尽迢迢的明星——迢迢见明星，正是迢迢见仙的写照，那「见明星」写尽莲花山的明星；那「西上莲花山」写尽莲花山的西上，那「迢迢见明星」写尽迢迢的明星，一写西上，一写明星，写尽莲花山的明星——西上莲峰而迢迢见仙，正是游仙的写照；此二句以西上、明星写尽莲花山的明星，也为下文的芙蓉作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写游仙的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「向西登上莲花山，远远地看见明星仙女」，则失其飘逸；唯以「西上莲花山」写莲花山、「迢迢见明星」写见明星，写尽莲花山的明星，也让此二句成为全诗写游仙的核心。

Li Bai's immortal journey is underway. Westward I climb Lotus Peak, the highest of the Huayang peaks, and in the distance I see the Star Goddess, the fairy who presides over the mountain. The ascent is pure Daoist vision: the poet rising through clouds toward the goddess. The tone is rarefied, ethereal—until the next couplet. To have written I climbed the mountain and saw the goddess would be a pilgrimage; the distant Star Goddess on Lotus Peak is the pilgrimage.

俯视洛阳川，茫茫走胡兵

Looking down, I see the Luo valley: lost, adrift, the barbarian troops.

俯视洛阳川，茫茫走胡兵。

I look down on the Luoyang plain; boundless, the barbarian soldiers are on the march.

此二句是全诗写乱世的核心，以俯视洛阳川写洛阳川，以茫茫走胡兵写走胡兵，写尽洛阳的胡兵，是千古名句。「俯视洛阳川」写俯视洛阳川——那「俯视」写俯视，「洛阳川」写洛阳川，写尽洛阳的川；「茫茫走胡兵」写茫茫走胡兵——那「茫茫」写茫茫，「走胡兵」写走胡兵，写尽洛阳的胡兵。这句的深意在于：它以「俯视洛阳川」的洛阳川与「茫茫走胡兵」的走胡兵，写尽洛阳的胡兵——俯视洛阳川，那「俯视洛阳川」写尽洛阳的川——俯视洛阳川，正是俯望洛川的写照，那「洛阳川」写尽洛阳的胡兵；茫茫走胡兵，那「茫茫走胡兵」写尽洛阳的胡兵——茫茫走胡兵，正是胡兵茫茫的写照，那「走胡兵」写尽洛阳的胡兵；那「俯视洛阳川」写尽洛阳的川，那「茫茫走胡兵」写尽洛阳的胡兵，一写俯视，一写胡兵，写尽洛阳的胡兵——俯视洛川而胡兵茫茫，正是乱世的写照；此二句以俯视、胡兵写尽洛阳的胡兵，也为下文的豺狼作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写乱世的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「俯视洛阳的平原，茫茫一片奔跑着胡人兵马」，则失其沉痛；唯以「俯视洛阳川」写洛阳川、「茫茫走胡兵」写走胡兵，写尽洛阳的胡兵，也让此二句成为全诗写乱世的核心。

The famous plunge. I look down on the Luoyang plain; boundless, the barbarian soldiers are on the march. The divine gaze downward lands not on paradise but on the An Lushan occupation: the rebel armies filling the central plain. The rarefied immortal vision is shattered by the real war below it. The poem's power is the cut—heaven above, blood below, and the poet's eye dragged from the goddess to the soldiers. To have said the rebellion devastated Luoyang would be history; the goddess's peak looking down on the boundless barbarian host is the devastation.

Study

Word focus

蹑蹑 (niè) means to step on, to tread lightly. In 虚步蹑太清 the仙女 treads the Great Pure sky in empty, unsetting steps — the footfall makes no sound and leaves no trace, which is how the poem distinguishes the immortal movement from any walk on earth. 「虚步蹑太清」之「蹑」字是写游仙关键词，一个「蹑」字写尽蹑太清的虚步。蹑者，踩踏、登上也。李白以「虚步蹑太清」写游仙，这个「蹑」字至少有双重意味：其一，写步之蹑——那「虚步蹑太清」写虚步蹑太清，那「蹑」字写尽蹑太清的虚步——蹑太清，正是踏空登天的写照，那「蹑」字写尽蹑太清的虚步；其二，写仙之逸——那「蹑」字更是写逸——蹑，正见凌空仙步的飘逸，那「蹑」字写尽李白的豪放。以「蹑」字写游仙，正是李白写感慨的枢纽——若换作「踏」「登」等字，则或失其与「虚步」「蹑太清」的配合，或失其写蹑的意味；唯「蹑」字，以虚步蹑太清写尽太清之蹑与仙步之虚，与「素手把芙蓉」的素手相合，写尽蹑太清的虚步，也让「虚步蹑太清」成为全诗写游仙的名句。

俯俯 (fǔ) means to look down from above. In 俯视洛阳川 it is the pivot of the poem: one downward glance changes the ascent into a survey of the ruined world, and every line that follows is governed by this direction. 「俯视洛阳川」之「俯」字是写乱世关键词，一个「俯」字写尽洛阳的胡兵。俯者，俯身、俯视也。李白以「俯视洛阳川」写乱世，这个「俯」字至少有双重意味：其一，写视之俯——那「俯视洛阳川」写俯视洛阳川，那「俯」字写尽洛阳的胡兵——俯视，正是俯身下望的写照，那「俯」字写尽洛阳的胡兵；其二，写情之沉——那「俯」字更是写沉——俯，正见俯视苍生的沉痛，那「俯」字写尽李白的感慨。以「俯」字写乱世，正是李白写游仙的枢纽——若换作「下」「望」等字，则或失其与「俯视」「洛阳川」的配合，或失其写俯的意味；唯「俯」字，以俯视洛阳川写尽洛川之俯望与苍生之沉痛，与「茫茫走胡兵」的胡兵相合，写尽洛阳的胡兵，也让「俯视洛阳川」成为全诗写乱世的名句。