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明 Ming · 诗 Poem

登岳阳楼望君山

Climbing Yueyang Tower to Gaze at Junshan Island

杨基

Yang Ji

山水landscape 岳阳楼Yueyang Tower 明诗Ming poetry

洞庭无烟晚风定，春水平铺如练净。
君山一点望中青，湘女梳头向明镜。
却忆君山旧时路，碧桃花落无人处。
重来又是十年余，独立苍茫看云树。

No mist lies on Lake Dongting, and the evening wind has died,
The spring water is spread out flat, clean as a bolt of white silk.
Junshan is a single dot of green far off in the view,
Like the goddess of the Xiang combing her hair before a bright mirror.
Then I remember the old road that ran across Junshan,
Where jade-green peach blossoms fell in a place with no one there.
I have come again, and more than ten years have gone by,
Standing alone in the vast dusk, watching the clouds and the trees.

Listen

Meaning

Standing on Yueyang Tower at dusk, the poet watches a windless Lake Dongting and the small green island of Junshan mirrored in it. The clear beauty of the scene draws him back to a visit made more than ten years earlier, and the poem closes with a solitary figure measuring how much time has passed.

洞庭湖上没有烟波，晚风静止，春水平平铺开如白练般明净。君山一点在望中青翠，像湘水女神对着明镜梳头。却忆起君山旧时的路，碧桃花落在无人之处。重来又已过十余年，独立苍茫中看着云树。

Appreciation

The poem is built in two halves that answer each other: the first is all light and surface, the second all memory and distance. Yang Ji sets the scene with two quiet facts, no mist and no wind, so that the lake can lie perfectly flat and take the island's reflection. The image of the river goddess combing her hair before a mirror is the poem's finest stroke, turning a motionless reflection into a living gesture. When the poem then turns inward, the fallen peach blossoms in an empty place prepare for the last line's loneliness. Ending on a man standing still while the clouds and trees blur into distance, the poet lets landscape carry the weight of a decade.

【白话串讲】 “洞庭无烟晚风定，春水平铺如练净”——杨基登岳阳楼：洞庭无烟，春水平铺。“君山一点望中青，湘女梳头向明镜”——“重来又是十年余，独立苍茫看云树”——他重来，已是十年后。【意象与手法】以如练春水、青翠君山设色清丽，湘女梳头之喻灵动。由景入忆、由忆入叹，结以独立苍茫，情景相生。杨基诗称'五采''六朝初唐风致'。【情感与主旨】写岳阳楼上望君山的清丽之景，兼抒重来异地、十年流光、独立苍茫的身世之慨。【名句点睛】君山一点望中青，湘女梳头向明镜——以奇喻写君山倒影，生动空灵，最见杨基才思。

Background

Yang Ji was an early Ming poet, counted with Gao Qi and others among the Four Talents of Wu. He served and travelled in the Chu region, and this poem appears to come from a return visit to Yueyang, where he had been years before. Critics of the period praised his verse for its coloring and for a manner recalling the Six Dynasties and the early Tang, qualities visible in this piece.

杨基，字孟载，号眉庵，原籍嘉州，生长于吴中，明初诗人，与高启、张羽、徐贲并称吴中四杰。元末曾入张士诚幕，明初被迁谪临濠，后放归，又曾掌山西按察使，终因党祸被逮，卒于途。杨基诗风清丽婉约，尤擅设色写景，论者谓其诗如「五采」、「初唐风致」。《登岳阳楼望君山》写诗人登岳阳楼远望洞庭君山之景，岳阳楼踞洞庭湖东岸，北通长江，自古为登临胜概；君山又名湘山，在洞庭湖中，传为湘君所居，湘女梳头之喻即本此。此诗当为诗人晚年重游岳阳时作，距初来已逾十载，故诗中既有清丽之景，复有流年之叹。更须留意者，杨基身经元明易代、数遭贬徙，其山水之作每于明丽设色中暗藏身世飘零之悲，此诗以重来十年收束，正是一生播迁的缩影，是明初吴中诗派以秀笔写山水、以景语寓身世的代表作，亦可见易代文人于江山胜处低头自伤的普遍心境。杨基以此种身世之感入山水，故景愈明丽而情愈苍凉，是吴中诗派由元入明特有的一段沉郁。

Art

The coloring is clear rather than heavy: white silk for the water, a dot of green for the island, fallen blossoms for the past. The central comparison, a goddess combing her hair at a mirror, is fresh enough to carry the whole poem, and it works because the flat lake has already been established as a mirror. The structure moves from what is seen to what is remembered and then to what is felt, so that scene and feeling generate each other. The loose seven-character ancient style gives the poet room to change pace when the poem turns from description to recollection.

此诗八句，前四句写登楼望山之清丽实景，后四句由景入忆、由忆入叹，章法由实转虚，情景相生。首联「洞庭无烟晚风定，春水平铺如练净」以无烟、风定、水平如练写洞庭之静谧澄明，设色清雅，已见画家手腕。颔联「君山一点望中青，湘女梳头向明镜」尤为奇绝，以一点写君山于浩渺中所占比之微，以湘女对镜梳头喻君山倒影碧波如美人临镜，灵动空灵，化静为活。颈联「却忆君山旧时路，碧桃花落无人处」陡然折入回忆，旧路、落花、无人，于明丽中忽生寂寥。尾联「重来又是十年余，独立苍茫看云树」以重来十年收束，独立苍茫，将清景与流年、山水与身世熔为一炉。全诗以清丽之笔写苍茫之思，明秀中见沉郁。其结构由望而忆、由忆而叹，如湖面由静生动、由明转暗，章法疏密相生，是明初七律中少有的以秀润藏沉痛之作，亦见杨基融画法入诗法的独到造诣。其以望、忆、叹三层结构全篇，脉络分明而气韵流转，于明初七律中自成一清远格局。

Allusions

Junshan is the island in Lake Dongting traditionally held to be the dwelling of the Lord of the Xiang. The goddess of the Xiang refers to the river deities identified with E Huang and Nü Ying, the legendary consorts who were said to have drowned in these waters. The bright mirror is not an object in the scene but a figure for the surface of Lake Dongting itself, which is what allows the goddess to be imagined combing her hair over it.

诗中用典多与湘水神话及岳阳地理相关。「君山」在洞庭湖中，相传为舜妃湘君、湘夫人之所居，故又名湘山，屈原《九歌》有《湘君》《湘夫人》篇，湘水女神之传说自此绵亘文脉。「湘女梳头向明镜」即以湘夫人对镜梳妆喻君山倒映湖中如美人临镜，明镜指洞庭春水，此喻既本于湘妃传说，又化用李白「淡扫明湖开玉镜」之句，灵动而典雅。「碧桃花落」暗用刘晨阮肇天台遇仙故事之余韵，以花落无人写旧游之寂与仙踪之渺。「苍茫」一词则承自唐诗，杜甫《乐游园歌》有「独立苍茫自咏诗」，杨基结句独立苍茫看云树，正遥接少陵独立苍茫之境，将个人重游之慨纳入千古登临传统。如此以神话、唐诗、地理交织为典，使一首写景小诗获得悠远的文脉支撑，是明人学唐而能自具面目的显证。诗中神话、地理、唐诗三相交织，使君山一景获得从楚辞到盛唐的悠远文脉支撑。景因典而厚，典因景而活，二者相生。

Commentary

Yang Ji's usual manner is rich and highly colored, close to early Tang taste, but this piece is gentler and more limpid. That difference matters: it sets him apart from the later Archaist poets around Li Mengyang, whose ambitions ran toward force rather than grace. Among early Ming poems on Yueyang Tower, this one is remembered chiefly for the freshness of its central image.

杨基为明初吴中四杰之一，诗以清丽擅场，此诗尤见其设色写景之能。清人沈德潜《明诗别裁集》称其「景界清华，时带初唐风调」。与高启之雄阔、张羽之清峭并峙，杨基独以秀润胜。就登岳阳楼题材而言，自杜甫《登岳阳楼》写「吴楚东南坼，乾坤日夜浮」之沉雄，至宋人多篇写湖山之旷，杨基此诗别开清丽一途，以湘女梳头之奇喻写君山，空灵处近李白而秀润过之。近人钱仲联谓明初诗人多沿元季纤巧，杨基能以唐调行之，此诗可证。其以重来十年收束，淡语中藏身世流转之悲，与杜甫「昔闻今上」之慨异代同怀，足见登临之作虽景物各异而苍茫一也。要之，此诗以清丽之笔写沉郁之思，在明初诗坛别立一格，实为吴中诗派由元入明承前启后的关键标本，其秀润中藏身世之痛的取向，下开明中叶七子之前江南诗人的抒情传统。其以清丽之笔写沉郁之思，实为明初诗坛别立一格的抒情典范，足与高启之雄阔并峙吴中。

Prosody

Form Seven-character ancient-style poem七言律诗（明诗）

Rhyme The source does not record a fixed rhyme scheme; in the ancient style the rhyme may change as the poem turns.押平声韵，定、净、镜、树依次押韵（处为仄收不入韵，作换意之顿）

Tone pattern Tonal patterning follows ancient-style practice, and rhyme changes come naturally with the shifts of feeling.平起首句入韵，中二联略对仗，格律稍宽

Reading note A seven-character ancient-style poem: the first half gives the lake like white silk and the goddess at her mirror, the second the vastness of return and recollection. Bright scenery with distant feeling, it is a well-known early Ming poem on Yueyang Tower.此诗八句五十六字，体近七律而格律稍宽。首句洞庭无烟晚风定为平仄平平仄平仄，次句春水平铺如练净为平平仄平平仄仄，起手便以如练静景定调。中二联君山一点对湘女梳头、却忆君山对碧桃花落，虽非严对而意脉相贯，明人律诗每于初唐风致中略放松严整，杨基此篇正具其态。用韵方面，定、净、镜、树同属庚青部，一韵清亮，与清丽诗境相得。整体音节舒缓、设色明净，结以苍茫振起，是明初七律以秀润写沉郁的声律样本。其声情如展江南春水图卷，舒徐中见低回，读来有唐调遗韵而自饶明人秀润，足证吴中诗派在七律声律上融唐宋为一的取法取向。

Line by line

君山一点望中青，湘女梳头向明镜。

Junshan is one green dot in the distance, like the river goddess combing her hair at a mirror; the reflection becomes a living gesture.

君山一点在望中青翠，像湘水女神对着明镜梳头。

Jun Mountain, a single dot of green seen afar; like the Xiang goddess combing her hair before a bright mirror.

此联为全诗最灵动点睛之笔。一点写君山在浩渺洞庭中占地之微，青字写其色，望中二字写自岳阳楼远眺的视距与迷蒙；下句以湘女对镜梳头喻君山倒影碧波，将静止的山化为临镜的美人，化静为动、化实为活。明镜指洞庭春水，既切地望，又添柔润光泽。此喻本于湘妃传说而能自出清新，空灵小巧中见大巧，是杨基秀笔设色、以初唐风致写山水的最具代表性的一联。更可玩味者，一点与明镜一大一小、一实一虚，构成立体的湖山透视，使读者如立楼头亲见其景，而后文忆旧与苍茫之叹皆由此清丽底色反衬而出，愈显流年之痛。

The isle. Jun Mountain, a single dot of green seen afar; like the Xiang goddess combing her hair before a bright mirror. The one-dot green in the vast lake and the goddess-combing-her-hair image are the fresh turn. To have pictured the isle as a goddess at her mirror would be a metaphor; the Jun-Mountain-a-single-dot-of-green-seen-afar against the Xiang-goddess-combing-her-hair-before-a-bright-mirror is the metaphor.

重来又是十年余，独立苍茫看云树。

Come again after more than ten years, he stands alone in the vast dusk watching clouds and trees; distance in space becomes distance in time.

重来又已过十余年，独立苍茫中看着云树。

Coming again, more than ten years have passed; alone I stand in the vastness, watching clouds and trees.

尾联由景与忆收束为身世之叹，重来又是十年余即点出距初游已逾十载，时间之流逝与人事之迁改尽在此数字。独立苍茫四字承杜甫登临传统，将个人的重游之慨接入千古登楼者的共有心境；看云树以景语作结，云树苍茫，既写眼前景，亦喻往事如烟、前路迷蒙。清丽之景至此转为沉郁，淡语中藏流年之悲与身世之寥，与首联无烟风定的澄静恰成对照。最为动人处，在于独立二字写尽播迁文人的孤孑，而苍茫又不着悲字，一切怅惘皆付云树迷茫之中，愈见明初诗人以秀笔写沉郁的深厚功力，亦使此诗超越寻常山水之作而具抒情深度。

The return. Coming again, more than ten years have passed; alone I stand in the vastness, watching clouds and trees. The ten years and the solitary standing in the vastness are the close. To have said he returned after ten years would be a fact; the coming-again-more-than-ten-years-passed against the alone-I-stand-in-the-vastness-watching-clouds-and-trees is the fact.

Study

Word focus

一点 'A single dot' shrinks the island to a speck, which measures the width of the lake and makes the peak look delicate rather than grand. 一点写君山在洞庭浩渺中所占比之微，以极小之量词状极大之水面中的孤峙之山，空间对比强烈。望中青与之相配，于远眺的迷蒙中见山色青翠，既写距离之遥，亦写山形之秀。二字举重若轻，将宏阔洞庭收束为一抹青影，为下句湘女梳头奇喻预设了远观的视角，是小中见大、以虚写实的关键。更妙在一点不仅是空间之小，亦暗含人在天地间的渺小与孤孑，与尾联独立苍茫遥相呼应，使量词的选用暗藏了身世之感，可见杨基炼字之细。

如练净 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 练指白色丝绢，以练喻春水，本于谢朓「澄江静如练」之千古名句，杨基化用之写洞庭水平如洗净白绢，既状水色之清白，亦状水势之平静止息。净字尤工，点出风定无烟后的澄明无滓，为全诗清丽基调设色。用典而能融化无迹，见吴中诗派以唐调为宗的雅正。且净不仅写水，更暗喻诗人此刻心境之澄明暂得，与后文重来十年的扰攘悲慨形成对照，一字双关，是明人学唐而能于平淡处见匠心的范例。

苍茫 'Vast and dim' sets the closing key, blurring the far view until it feels like the blur of elapsed years. 苍茫写暮色或空间之空阔无涯，置于结句独立苍茫看云树，既状云树迷茫的视觉辽远，亦染一层时间上与身世上的茫漠之感。此词遥接杜甫独立苍茫之境，将一次具体的重游升华为对岁月流转、往事难追的怅惘。二字收束有力，使前六句的清丽明秀陡然沉郁，以景涵情，余韵苍然。尤为可取者，苍茫既收束空间之阔，又开启时间之远，使全诗的湖山之景与十年之忆在此交汇，是杨基以秀润之笔写沉郁之思的最终落点，亦见其融唐人格调与身世悲慨于一炉的本领。