汉 Han · 古诗 Ancient poem
明月皎夜光
Bright Moon Gleams in the Night
明月皎夜光，促织鸣东壁。
玉衡指孟冬，众星何历历。
白露沾野草，时节忽复易。
秋蝉鸣树间，玄鸟逝安适。
昔我同门友，高举振六翮。
不念携手好，弃我如遗迹。
南箕北有斗，牵牛不负轭。
良无盘石固，虚名复何益。
The Jade Balance points to early winter; how bright and countless the stars!
White dew wets the wild grass; the season has suddenly turned again.
The autumn cicada sings among the trees; where has the swallow flown?
My friend of old, from the same gate, has soared and spread his six wings;
He forgets our hand-in-hand friendship, and casts me off like a worn track.
South is the Winnowing Basket, north the Ladle — the Ox cannot bear the yoke.
Truly our bond has no the firmness of bedrock; of what use is an empty name?
Meaning
The bright moon shines with night's clear light, and the cricket sings by the eastern wall. The Jade Balance star points to the early-winter quarter, and the stars in heaven are so distinct. White dew wets the wild grass, and the season has suddenly changed again. The autumn cicada wails among the trees; where does the swallow go to rest? I think of a friend from the same gate of old, who now soars high and shakes his six wings. He does not remember our friendship of joined hands, but abandons me like a relic. South there is the Winnowing Basket and north the Ladle, yet the Ox star cannot draw the cart's yoke. There is truly no firmness like bedrock in our bond; of what use is that empty name?
明月皎洁，洒下一夜的清光，蟋蟀在东墙下鸣唱。北斗的玉衡星指向孟冬的方位，天上众星何等分明。白露沾湿了野草，时节忽然又已变更。秋蝉在树间哀鸣，燕子飞向何处栖身？回想往昔同门的友人，如今高飞远举，振起六翮。他们不念当年携手的情谊，把我抛弃如同路边的遗迹。南边有箕星、北边有斗星，徒有其名；牵牛星也拉不动车轭。实在没有磐石般坚固的交情，那虚名又有什么益处？
Appreciation
This is the seventh of the Nineteen Old Poems preserved in the Wen Xuan, generally taken as the work of an anonymous man of letters of the late Eastern Han. The opening eight lines lay out an autumn night — bright moon, cricket, the Jade Balance marking winter, white dew, autumn cicada, the departing swallow — a cold scene that quietly foreshadows the passing of seasons and the drifting of life. The middle four turn from scene to event: the 'friend of the same gate' soars high yet 'casts me off like a relic', told sparely yet painfully. The last four draw on constellations as reverse metaphor — the southern Basket and northern Ladle are names only, the Ox cannot bear the yoke — using the 'emptiness' of the heavens to sting the thinness of human feeling. Scene, allusion, and feeling merge; it complains yet is not angry, gaining the grace of the airs' comparison-and-extension, and it is a frequent test piece for its grief of friendships fallen and the world's coldness.
【白话串讲】 明月照亮夜晚，蟋蟀在墙根叫。诗人感叹：“昔我同门友，高举振六翮”——当年的同窗都高升了，却“弃我如遗迹”，把我像脚印一样扔掉。人走茶凉，汉代就有。 【意象与手法】 本诗结构以「景—事—情」三层递转为佳。前八句铺陈秋夜：明月、促织、玉衡指冬、白露、秋蝉、玄鸟，清冷之景暗伏节序推移与生命飘零之叹；中四句由景入事，「同门友」高翔而「弃我如遗迹」，叙事简净而沉痛；末四句引星宿反喻——「南箕北有斗」徒有其名、「牵牛不负轭」有名无实，化用《诗经·小雅·大东》之典，以天象之「虚名」刺人情之寡薄。景、典、情浑融，怨而不怒，得风人比兴之妙。 【情感与主旨】 《明月皎夜光》为《文选》所录《古诗十九首》之七，一般认为是东汉后期无名氏文人之作。东汉末叶士人交游结党成风，而世易时移、门第升沉无常，显达者每弃故交。诗人借秋夜之景发孤愤之慨：故交青云直上而不念同门之谊，弃我如遗，正如箕斗牵牛之虚名无实。诗于怨愤中透出清醒，是汉末失路文人于绝望中的苍凉自白，亦「世态炎凉」主题诗的开山之作。 【名句点睛】 中高考考点：①主旨——借秋景抒交游零落、世态炎凉之慨；②「弃我如遗迹」的比喻之沉痛；③「南箕北有斗，牵牛不负轭」化用《诗经·大东》星宿之典，以虚名刺交情之伪。
Background
This is the seventh of the Nineteen Old Poems in the Wen Xuan, generally held to be by an anonymous literatus of the late Eastern Han. In the late Han, recommendation and recruitment and the forming of cliques among scholars were the fashion; between men of the same gate (classmates at the Imperial Academy or a patron's disciples) there was a bond of patronage. But times changed, and the rise and fall of families was fickle; the exalted often cast off old friends. The lines 'my friend of the same gate has soared his six wings; he forgets our joined-hand friendship and casts me off like a relic' are precisely a portrait of this chilly ecology among the learned. The poet voices solitary indignation through an autumn night, typical of the Nineteen Old Poems' 'lament for friendships fallen apart'.
《明月皎夜光》是《文选》所录《古诗十九首》之七，一般认为作于东汉后期，作者为失意的无名文人。东汉末叶，察举征辟与太学游学之风盛行，士人之间以同门（太学同窗、举主门生）相结，本有提携援引之谊；然桓灵之世，党锢祸起，宦竖弄权，门第升沉无常，仕途翻覆如弈，显达者每弃故交。诗中所写「昔我同门友，高举振六翮；不念携手好，弃我如遗迹」，正是这一士林炎凉生态的写真——当年同窗携手、相期共济，一旦有人飞黄腾达，便视旧友如敝履。《古诗十九首》多写游子思妇、人生短促、交游零落三大主题，此诗属「感慨交游零落」一类，与《青青陵上柏》之叹世态、《驱车上东门》之悟人生并立。诗人于秋夜独醒，见明月促织、白露秋蝉、众星历历，节候忽易而故交见弃，遂借秋景之萧瑟发孤愤之慨，以星宿之虚名刺人情之凉薄，怨而不怒、悲而能自解，正见汉末失路文人于绝望中的清醒与苍凉，是研究汉末士人心态与五言诗成熟过程的重要文本。
Art
The poem's structure turns in three layers — scene, event, feeling. The first eight lines spread an autumn night: bright moon, cricket, the Jade Balance pointing to winter, white dew, autumn cicada, the departing swallow — a cold scene that quietly plants the sigh of shifting seasons and drifting life. The middle four move from scene to event: the 'friend of the same gate' soars while 'casting me off like a relic', told sparely yet heavily. The last four draw on constellations as reverse metaphor — the southern Basket and northern Ladle are names in vain, the Ox 'cannot bear the yoke' — using the 'empty name' of the heavens to stab at the thinness of human ties. Scene, allusion, and feeling blend; it complains yet is not angry, gaining the wonder of the airs' comparison-and-extension.
本诗结构以「景—事—情」三层递转为佳，章法严整而转接无痕。前八句铺陈秋夜之景：明月、促织、玉衡指冬、众星历历、白露野草、秋蝉玄鸟，清冷之景如卷轴次第展开，暗伏节序推移与生命飘零之叹——「时节忽复易」五字为前六句点睛，是景转向情的枢纽；「秋蝉鸣树间，玄鸟逝安适」以秋蝉之鸣写生命将尽，以玄鸟之逝写故交之去，比兴已启下段。中四句由景入事：「昔我同门友，高举振六翮」先扬——故交青云直上，振翅高飞；「不念携手好，弃我如遗迹」后抑——不念旧谊，弃我如遗，一扬一抑之间，沉痛自见，叙事简净而情感烈度极高。末四句引星宿作反喻：「南箕北有斗」徒有其名，「牵牛不负轭」有名无实，以天象之「虚名」刺人情之寡薄，将一己之怨提升为对普遍人情的冷峻审视；结句「良无盘石固，虚名复何益」以议论收束，点破「同门之谊」本无磐石之固，虚名何益？是怨愤之极的清醒语。全诗景、事、情、理浑融，怨而不怒，得风人比兴之妙，正是《十九首》「深衷浅貌、短语长情」的典范。
Allusions
In 'the Jade Balance points to early winter' the poem uses the celestial marker of the seventh star of the Dipper's handle to tell the season. 'South is the Winnowing Basket, north the Ladle' comes from the Xiao Ya hymn 'Great Eastern' — 'south there is the Winnowing Basket, that cannot winnow; north there is the Ladle, that cannot ladle wine' — originally stinging the stars' emptiness, here borrowed to hint that friendship is hollow. 'The Ox cannot bear the yoke' also derives from 'Great Eastern' — 'bright is the Ox, that cannot draw the cart' — saying the Ox star cannot pull a wagon, a metaphor that the friend bears the name of friendship in vain. All three allusions are softened from the Xiao Ya, using the stars' 'name without substance' to set off cold human feeling, with no trace of the borrowing.
此诗用典集中而皆化用无痕，其核心在《诗经·小雅·大东》一典。「南箕北有斗」出《大东》「维南有箕，不可以簸扬；维北有斗，不可以挹酒浆」——箕星、斗星徒有簸扬挹注之名而无其实，诗人借以喻同门之谊有名无实；「牵牛不负轭」亦本《大东》「睆彼牵牛，不以服箱」——牵牛星徒有其名，不能拉车载箱，喻友人空负「同门」之交契之名。三句连用星宿之典，皆取「有名无实」之意，以天上之星宿反衬人间之交情，构想奇绝。此外，「玉衡指孟冬」用天文知识写时令：玉衡为北斗七星斗柄第五星，北斗斗柄所指即季节所在，玉衡指孟冬，点明时近初冬，与「明月皎夜光」的秋夜、与「时节忽复易」的慨叹相印证，是「以星纪时」的古天文习俗入诗；「玄鸟」出《诗经·商颂·玄鸟》「天命玄鸟」，玄鸟即燕子，秋去春归，此处问「玄鸟逝安适」，以燕去喻友去，暗用《月令》「玄鸟归」的物候记载；「振六翮」以鸟之六翮（翅上六根大翎）喻人之高飞，源自《庄子》大鹏「扶摇而上」的传统，写故交青云直上。三典皆熔铸于秋夜星天的意境之中，用事不着痕迹，正见《十九首》「不雕琢而自然高妙」的本色。
Commentary
Li Shan's commentary to the Wen Xuan, citing the intent of the old poems, says this piece 'mourns the breaking of the way of friends'. The Ming critic Hu Yinglin in 'Poetry Criticism' says: 'The Nineteen Old Poems must be known for the wonder of following the word to its rhyme and the rhyme to its interest; this piece with its stars, moon, insects and birds is all heavenly music.' The Qing critic Shen Deqian in 'Source of Ancient Poetry' says: 'Using the constellations in succession, it subtly fits the intent of Great Eastern, complaining yet not angry.' Modern readers call it 'using the constancy of heaven to set off the change of human feeling', a representative work of the lost-scholar's grief in late-Han turmoil.
《古诗十九首》自梁昭明太子萧统收入《文选》以来，历代评家推尊备至。刘勰《文心雕龙·明诗》称其「观其结体散文，直而不野，婉转附物，怊怅切情，实五言之冠冕也」；钟嵘《诗品》列十九首所代表的「古诗」为上品，谓其「文温以丽，意悲而远，惊心动魄，可谓几乎一字千金」。《文选》李善注引旧说，谓此篇「伤朋友道绝」，已揭其主旨。明人胡应麟《诗薮》极赏十九首「随语成韵、随韵成趣」之妙，谓「如此篇星月虫鸣，一片天籁，绝无雕琢之痕」；清人沈德潜《古诗源》评此诗「连用星宿，妙合《大东》之旨，怨而不怒」，既点其用典之妙，又赞其情感之节制。近人朱自清《古诗十九首释》称十九首为「我们文学史上最早的抒情诗的一例」，其成就正在于把汉乐府的叙事转为文人化的抒情，把民歌的直白升华为蕴藉的含蓄。就文学史价值言，《明月皎夜光》以秋夜星天为背景写交游炎凉，比兴深婉、情理交融，是汉末士人精神危机的诗化记录，亦开后世「世态炎凉」主题诗之先声，其「以星宿写虚名」的比兴构思，更为后世讽世诗提供了典范的取喻方式。
Prosody
Line by line
明月皎夜光，促织鸣东壁
The bright moon sheds the night's clear light; the cricket chirps by the eastern wall.
明月皎洁，洒下一夜的清光，蟋蟀在东墙下鸣唱。
The bright moon lights the night; the crickets chirp by the eastern wall.
起句即定全诗孤寂清冷的基调。「明月皎夜光」写视觉之明：皎皎明月，遍洒清光，一个「皎」字写月之洁白明亮，而夜愈明、人愈醒，月光的澄澈反衬出独醒者的孤寂；「促织鸣东壁」写听觉之闹：促织（蟋蟀）在东墙下鸣唱，秋夜虫声本多，而诗人独独听到东壁之声，可见其静夜不寐、侧耳倾听之态。明月照夜、促织鸣壁，一明一响，视觉与听觉并起，秋夜的清冷与生命的骚动同时呈现。值得注意的是方位词「东壁」：东为日出之方、生发之方，蟋蟀鸣于东壁而人独居其室，一内一外、一生一寂，物我对照。以虫声起兴亦承《诗经·豳风·七月》「十月蟋蟀入我床下」的传统，物候之变暗藏时节推移之叹，为下文「时节忽复易」埋下伏笔，起笔已见章法之密。
The opening night. The bright moon lights the night; the crickets chirp by the eastern wall. The moonlight and the cricket's song are the sleepless listener's two senses. The eastern wall (the sunrise direction) against the sleepless interior is the contrast. To have described a moonlit autumn night would be weather; the bright moon and the cricket by the eastern wall are the weather.
白露沾野草，时节忽复易
White dew wets the wild grass; the season has suddenly turned again.
白露沾湿了野草，时节忽然又已变更。
White dew wets the wild grass; the season has suddenly changed again.
「白露沾野草」五字，以最经济的笔墨写秋深之象：白露为秋之极盛之露，沾湿野草，草色由青转枯只在旦夕之间，一个「沾」字写出露重霜浓、野草不胜其寒的质感；「时节忽复易」五字，是前六句景物描写的总括与点睛，「忽」字写出时节变迁之倏忽——仿佛只是一夜之间，明月还在，虫声还响，而节候已悄悄换了季候，玉衡指孟冬、白露沾野草、秋蝉将死、玄鸟将去，一切都在「忽复易」的流转之中。此句由景入情的关键在于「忽」字：时节之易本自然之理，而诗人以「忽」字写之，正见其对时光飞逝的敏感与心惊——节候之易如斯，人事之变（同门见弃）不亦如斯乎？时序的感伤与交游的慨叹在此交汇，为下文「昔我同门友」的转折预作铺垫，是全诗承上启下的枢纽。
The turning. White dew wets the wild grass; the season has suddenly changed again. The suddenly is the poem's alarm: one night, and the year has turned. The dew on the grass is the visible proof. To have said the seasons turned quickly would be a saying; the dew-wet grass and the sudden turning of the season are the saying.
昔我同门友，高举振六翮
Once my fellow students, they have soared high, beating their six strong wings.
回想往昔同门的友人，如今高飞远举，振起六翮。
Once my fellow students, they have soared high, spreading their six strong pinions.
「昔我同门友」五字，由秋景陡转入人事，是全诗情感转折的起点。「昔」字点出回忆的追溯，「同门」点明关系之深——同门同窗，同受业于师门，本有手足般的情谊，一个「同」字见当年之亲密；「高举振六翮」五字写故交今日之得意：「高举」写其青云直上、官位显赫，「振六翮」以鸟之振翅高飞喻其展翅腾达，六翮为鸟翅上六根大翎，《庄子》谓大鹏「翼若垂天之云」，此以鹏鸟之飞喻同门之友的飞黄腾达。两句一「昔」一「今」，以「同门」之亲与「高举」之显对举，愈见二人今日地位之悬殊。值得注意的是，诗人写故交之得意并不含酸忌，而只是客观叙出「高举振六翮」的事实，越是这样冷静的叙述，越见下文「弃我如遗迹」的沉痛——昔日同门，今日霄壤，岂不悲乎？
The friends. Once my fellow students, they have soared high, spreading their six strong pinions. The bird image (the great wings of the Zhuangzi peng) is their success. The plainness of the account—no envy in the telling—makes the later betrayal worse. To have said my old classmates succeeded would be a fact; the once-fellow-students now beating their six great wings are the fact.
弃我如遗迹
He casts me off like a worn track.
把我抛弃，如同抛弃路边的遗迹。
They cast me off like a footprint left on the road.
「弃我如遗迹」五字，是全诗情感最沉痛处，写尽故交翻脸之凉薄。「遗迹」有二解：一为行路遗落的足迹、痕迹——弃我如遗迹，即如走路时留下的脚印，人过去便不再回头；一为古代遗留的废墟遗迹——弃我如遗迹，即如遗弃荒废的古迹，任其荒芜无人问津。无论何解，皆写「弃」之决绝与彻底：同门之谊，一朝弃尽，如脚印之留于路，如古迹之弃于野，连正眼也不再一顾。五字与上句「高举振六翮」形成剧烈的对比：友既高举，我如遗迹，一飞一弃，霄壤之隔。此句不加议论、不作控诉，只以「如遗迹」一个比喻写被弃之实，愈冷静愈沉痛，怨而不怒，正是《十九首》「深衷浅貌」的笔法——千般委屈、万种心寒，尽在此五字之中，读之令人扼腕。
The abandonment. They cast me off like a footprint left on the road. The footprint is the image: once I served my purpose, I was left behind without a backward glance. The single simile carries the whole grievance. To have said my friends abandoned me would be a complaint; the casting-off like a footprint on the road is the complaint.
南箕北有斗，牵牛不负轭
South is the Winnowing Basket, north the Ladle — the Ox cannot bear the yoke.
南边有箕星、北边有斗星，徒有其名；牵牛星也拉不动车轭。
South is the Winnower, north the Dipper; the Herdsman ox does not pull the yoke.
此二句连用星宿作比，是全诗用典最精、寄意最深的句子，直接化用《诗经·小雅·大东》「维南有箕，不可以簸扬；维北有斗，不可以挹酒浆」与「睆彼牵牛，不以服箱」。箕星形似簸箕而不能簸扬，斗星形似酒斗而不能挹酒，牵牛星徒有其名而不能拉车负重——三颗星宿皆「有名无实」，诗人借以讽刺所谓「同门之谊」：口称同门、实无援手，如箕斗之虚名、牵牛之不任轭。妙在诗人不直说友人负义，而把怨愤寄托于天上星宿，以星之虚名刺人情之伪，构想奇崛、讽刺冷峻；且此二句置于明月众星（玉衡指孟冬，众星何历历）的秋夜背景之中，天上的星正是诗人夜中所见，由见星而思《大东》，由思《大东》而刺友，用典与眼前之景、心中之情浑然一体，化典无痕，正是「用事不为事使」的典范，亦可见汉末文人以学问入诗而不掩真情的本领。
The stars. South is the Winnower, north the Dipper; the Herdsman ox does not pull the yoke. The allusion to the Book of Songs (the Big East) uses the three constellations that look like useful tools but cannot be used: the friends bear the names of old comrades but give no help. To have said the stars were useless namesakes would be an image; the Winnower that cannot winnow, the Dipper that cannot ladle, the Herdsman that cannot pull the yoke are the image.
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Both from the Nineteen Old Poems; one mourns friendships fallen, one writes a woman's complaint at delay — both natural and seamless.
《冉冉孤生竹》与《明月皎夜光》同出《古诗十九首》，一写思妇之怨（「冉冉孤生竹，结根泰山阿。与君为新婚，兔丝附女萝」），一写交游之慨，题材迥异而情调相通。二诗皆以自然物起兴——孤生竹结根泰山、兔丝附女萝，明月皎夜光、促织鸣东壁，皆托物起情，比兴深婉；皆写「弃」之主题——思妇恐被新欢所弃（「伤彼蕙兰花，含英扬光辉。过时而不采，将随秋草萎」），士人已被故交所弃，一恐弃一已弃，悲情同源。二诗又皆以秋为背景、以时节推移写人事之变，章法上都由景物转入人事、由比兴转入抒情，可见《十九首》虽众手成篇，而其「深衷浅貌、短语长情」的风格是统一的，堪为五言抒情诗成熟期的双璧。
凛凛岁云暮 Cold, Cold, the Year Draws to Its End 古诗十九首（无名氏） · 同以岁暮起兴写孤寂，一写游子思归一写故交见弃 Same (Nineteen Old Poems / grief at year's end)Both rise from the year's end to write loneliness; 'Cold, Cold' writes the wanderer's homesick return, 'Bright Moon' writes being cast off by an old friend — compare the pathos.
《凛凛岁云暮》「凛凛岁云暮，蝼蛄夕鸣悲。凉风率已厉，游子寒无衣」与《明月皎夜光》同以岁暮秋深起兴，同写孤寂之境。二诗前段皆铺陈寒凉之景：凛凛岁暮、蝼蛄夕鸣、凉风厉厉，明月皎夜、促织东壁、白露野草，皆以虫声、风声、月色写岁寒，皆由物候之变引出人事之叹。然《凛凛》之悲在游子思归（「锦衾遗洛浦，同袍与我违」），是对远人的牵挂与思念，情虽苦而爱未断；《明月》之悲在故交见弃，是对友情的幻灭与怨愤，情虽怨而谊已绝。一思一怨、一热一冷，正见《十九首》写「岁暮之悲」的两种变奏：或以相思暖岁寒，或以怨愤抗世凉，而皆以节候之推移为抒情框架，可见汉末文人对时间之敏感实为一代之共同心境。
驱车上东门 I Drive to the East Gate 古诗十九首（无名氏） · 同含汉末失路文人之慨，一写交绝一写旷达 Same (Nineteen Old Poems / life's grievance)Both hold the late-Han lost-scholar's lament; one writes broken friendship, one writes detachment — compare the outlook on the world.
《驱车上东门》「驱车上东门，遥望郭北墓。白杨何萧萧，松柏夹广路」与《明月皎夜光》同出《古诗十九首》，同为汉末失路文人的忧愤之作，而一怨一达。二诗皆以「时节」为痛感之源：《明月》叹「时节忽复易」，惊节候之倏忽；《驱车》见「下有陈死人，杳杳即长暮」，悟人生之必朽。然面对时间的悲感，《明月》落于对故交的怨愤（「虚名复何益」），是把人生的失意归咎于人情；《驱车》则落于「服食求神仙，多为药所误。不如饮美酒，被服纨与素」的及时行乐，是把人生的无奈消解于感官之乐。一执着于情、一超脱于物，可见《十九首》作者虽皆困于乱世，而心境或怨或达、或痴或醒，各各不同，恰反映了东汉末年士人在绝望中寻求出路的多元姿态，亦为后世「世态炎凉」与「及时行乐」两大主题的开山。