明 Ming · 诗 Poem
杪秋登太华山绝顶
Climbing Mount Hua's Summit at Late Autumn
缥缈真探白帝宫，三峰此日为谁雄。
苍龙半挂秦川雨，石马长嘶汉苑风。
地敞中原秋色尽，天开万里夕阳空。
平生突兀看人意，容尔深知造化功。
The Azure Dragon half-hangs the Qin plains' rain; the Stone Horse forever neighs the Han park's wind.
The earth opens wide, the Central Plain's autumn colors exhausted; the sky unrolls, ten thousand miles of empty sunset.
All my life, towering and aloof, I read men's hearts; only then may you deeply know Creation's work.
Meaning
A seven-character regulated poem on climbing Mount Hua's summit at late autumn, celebrating the mountain's sublime vastness and, in the closing couplet, claiming that only a lofty, world-detached spirit can truly grasp nature's creative power.
缥缈间真像探入了白帝之宫，华山三峰今日为谁称雄？苍龙岭半挂着秦川的雨，石马峰长啸着汉苑的风。大地敞开，中原秋色一览无余；长天开朗，万里夕阳空阔。平生特立独行、看透人情，方容你深知这造化的神功。
Appreciation
The poet climbs Hua's summit at late autumn: in misty vastness like entering the White Emperor's palace, the three peaks vying for supremacy; the Azure Dragon ridge half-hangs the Qin plains' rain, the Stone Horse peak neighs the Han park's wind; looking down the Central Plain's autumn colors exhaust, looking up ten thousand miles of empty sunset. The closing couplet sighs: only one who all life stands towering and aloof, reading men's hearts, may deserve to deeply understand Creation's work. The neck couplet looks down then up, its realm vast; the second couplet uses Hua's real scenes—Azure Dragon, Stone Horse—in antithesis, august in stature. The whole poem has heroic, strong lines, adept at spreading space with a great brush, embodying Li Panlong's broad, High-Tang-studying manner.
【白话串讲】 “缥缈真探白帝宫，三峰此日为谁雄”——李攀龙秋末登华山绝顶：缥缈白帝宫。“苍龙半挂秦川雨，石马长嘶汉苑风”——“地敞中原秋色尽，天开万里夕阳空”——他站在华山之巅，天地辽阔。 【意象与手法】颈联“地敞中原秋色尽，天开万里夕阳空”一俯一仰，境界宏阔；颔联“苍龙”“石马”以华山实景入对，气象森严。全诗句雄语健，善用大笔铺排空间，体现李攀龙宗法盛唐的宏阔诗风。 【情感与主旨】写登临之壮与悟道之慨。景之阔大实为胸襟之阔大，末联将自然造化与人生突兀并提，既赞华山之神功，也自许一种不随流俗、孤高独往的精神姿态。 【名句点睛】“地敞中原秋色尽，天开万里夕阳空。”——一俯中原、一仰万里，秋色与夕阳尽收眼底，境界的开阔正对应诗人胸次之开阔，是明诗中难得的盛唐气象句。
Background
Li Panlong (1514–1570), styled Yu Lin, also known as Cang Ming, was a leader of the Ming Later Seven Masters, paired with Wang Shizhen as Wang-Li, advocating 'poetry must be High Tang.' Climbing Mount Hua's Summit at Late Autumn was written on climbing Hua's peak at late autumn, probably during his vigorous traveling years.
《杪秋登太华山绝顶》为明代李攀龙所作，是写秋日登华山绝顶、观造化之功的诗。李攀龙（1514—1570），字于鳞，号沧溟，历城人，明代诗人。此诗：缥缈真探白帝宫，三峰此日为谁雄。苍龙半挂秦川雨，石马长嘶汉苑风。地敞中原秋色尽，天开万里夕阳空。平生突兀看人意，容尔深知造化功。全诗写秋日登华山绝顶、观造化之功，是李攀龙诗的名篇。
Art
The whole poem has heroic, strong lines, studying High Tang. The second couplet uses Hua's real scenes (Azure Dragon Ridge, Stone Horse Peak) in antithesis, august in stature; the neck couplet spreads space looking down then up, with free, dripping brush—most showing his broad manner.
《杪秋登太华山绝顶》艺术上以登顶之景的描摹与造化之功的雄浑见长。全诗八句：首写登顶探宫——“缥缈真探白帝宫，三峰此日为谁雄”写缥缈真探白帝宫、三峰此日为谁雄，“苍龙半挂秦川雨，石马长嘶汉苑风”用苍龙石马之喻写苍龙半挂秦川雨、石马长嘶汉苑风；中写中原秋色——“地敞中原秋色尽，天开万里夕阳空”写地敞中原秋色尽、天开万里夕阳空；末写造化之功——“平生突兀看人意，容尔深知造化功”写平生突兀看人意、容尔深知造化功。全诗以登顶之景写造化之功，正是李攀龙诗雄浑的笔法。
Allusions
White Emperor's palace refers to Mount Hua (the Western Marchmount belongs to the White Emperor); three peaks are Hua's Lotus, Wild Goose, and Morning Sun peaks; Azure Dragon is Azure Dragon Ridge, Stone Horse is Stone Horse Peak, both real Hua scenes; Qin plains and Han park borrow to mean the Guanzhong landscape, using Qin-Han grandeur to glorify Hua's majesty.
《杪秋登太华山绝顶》用典在“白帝宫”“三峰”“苍龙”“石马”“秦川”“汉苑”。“白帝宫”用白帝之典（西岳白帝）；“三峰”写三峰（华山三峰）；“苍龙”写苍龙（喻山形如苍龙）；“石马”用石马之典（汉苑石马）；“秦川”写秦川；“汉苑”写汉苑。全诗以这些典故写秋日登太华绝顶、观造化之功，用典自然而雄浑自见，正是李攀龙诗的笔法。
Commentary
The Later Seven Masters led by Li Panlong and Wang Shizhen upheld High Tang. This poem's scenery is open, its close holds philosophical interest; the Qing said of it 'amid heroism and breadth it has distant spirit'—a Ming work that studied Tang yet owned its own stature.
《杪秋登太华山绝顶》是李攀龙诗的名篇，也是明诗中写登临览胜的代表作。此诗写秋日登华山绝顶、观造化之功，向为论者称道。论者多赏其登顶之景的描摹与造化之功的雄浑——“缥缈真探白帝宫，三峰此日为谁雄”用白帝之典写缥缈真探白帝宫、三峰此日为谁雄，雄浑之极；“苍龙半挂秦川雨，石马长嘶汉苑风”用苍龙石马之喻写苍龙半挂秦川雨、石马长嘶汉苑风，更见其壮；“地敞中原秋色尽，天开万里夕阳空”写地敞中原秋色尽、天开万里夕阳空，尤见其阔；“平生突兀看人意，容尔深知造化功”写平生突兀看人意、容尔深知造化功，尤见其深。李攀龙为后七子领袖，其诗以高华雄浑著称，此诗正是其代表——以登顶之景写造化之功，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
缥缈真探白帝宫，三峰此日为谁雄。
Dimly, indeed, I have reached the White Emperor's palace; for whom do the Three Peaks stand proud today?
缥缈真探白帝宫，三峰此日为谁雄。
Dim and indistinct, I have indeed reached the White Emperor's palace; for whom are the Three Peaks majestic today?
首用白帝之典写缥缈真探白帝宫、三峰此日为谁雄，是全诗写登顶之境的起点。“缥缈真探白帝宫”用白帝之典写缥缈真探白帝宫——“缥缈真探白帝宫”用西岳白帝之典写缥缈间真探得白帝之宫——缥缈真探白帝宫；“三峰此日为谁雄”写三峰此日为谁雄——“三峰此日为谁雄”写华山三峰此日为谁称雄——三峰此日为谁雄。二句写缥缈真探白帝宫、三峰此日为谁雄：缥缈真探白帝宫，三峰此日为谁雄。以“缥缈真探白帝宫”用白帝之典写缥缈探宫、登临绝顶，以“三峰此日为谁雄”写三峰雄峙、此日为谁而雄，正是李攀龙诗写登顶之境的起点——缥缈白帝宫，三峰为谁雄。
The ascent. Dimly, indeed, I have reached the White Emperor's palace; for whom do the Three Peaks stand proud today? The White Emperor (the western peak's god) and the Three Peaks standing proud are the summit opening. To have reached the god's palace would be a pilgrimage; the dimly-indeed-I-have-reached-the-White-Emperor's-palace against the for-whom-do-the-Three-Peaks-stand-proud-today is the pilgrimage.
苍龙半挂秦川雨，石马长嘶汉苑风。
The Blue Dragon hangs half in the Qin-chuan rain; stone horses neigh long in the Han-park wind.
苍龙半挂秦川雨，石马长嘶汉苑风。
The blue-dragon ridge hangs half-hidden in the Qin plain rain; stone horses neigh long in the Han park wind.
中用苍龙石马之喻写苍龙半挂秦川雨、石马长嘶汉苑风，是全诗写登高所见的深化。“苍龙半挂秦川雨”用苍龙之喻写苍龙半挂秦川雨——“苍龙半挂秦川雨”用苍龙（山势如龙）之喻写苍龙半挂、秦川之雨——苍龙半挂秦川雨；“石马长嘶汉苑风”用石马之典写石马长嘶汉苑风——“石马长嘶汉苑风”用汉苑石马之典写石马长嘶、汉苑之风——石马长嘶汉苑风。二句写苍龙半挂秦川雨、石马长嘶汉苑风：苍龙半挂秦川雨，石马长嘶汉苑风。以“苍龙半挂秦川雨”用苍龙之喻写山如苍龙、秦川雨至，以“石马长嘶汉苑风”用石马之典写石马长嘶、汉苑风来，正是李攀龙诗写登高所见的深化——苍龙挂雨，石马嘶风。
The dragon. The Blue Dragon hangs half in the Qin-chuan rain; stone horses neigh long in the Han-park wind. The Blue Dragon ridge in the Qin rain and the stone horses in the Han wind are the Li Panlong grandeur. To have set the dragon ridge against the stone horses would be a couplet; the blue-dragon-hangs-half-in-the-Qin-chuan-rain against the stone-horses-neigh-long-in-the-Han-park-wind is the couplet.
地敞中原秋色尽，天开万里夕阳空。
The land opens on the central plain, autumn colors spent; the sky unrolls ten thousand li, empty in the setting sun.
地敞中原秋色尽，天开万里夕阳空。
The ground opens on the central plain, autumn splendor at its end; the sky spreads ten thousand li, empty in the setting sun.
中写地敞中原秋色尽、天开万里夕阳空，是全诗写登临之阔的深化。“地敞中原秋色尽”写地敞中原秋色尽——“地敞中原秋色尽”写大地敞开、中原秋色已尽——地敞中原秋色尽；“天开万里夕阳空”写天开万里夕阳空——“天开万里夕阳空”写天空开豁、万里夕阳已空——天开万里夕阳空。二句写地敞中原秋色尽、天开万里夕阳空：地敞中原秋色尽，天开万里夕阳空。以“地敞中原秋色尽”写地敞中原、秋色已尽，以“天开万里夕阳空”写天开万里、夕阳已空，正是李攀龙诗写登临之阔的深化——地敞中原，天开万里。
The opening. The land opens on the central plain, autumn colors spent; the sky unrolls ten thousand li, empty in the setting sun. The opened plain and the ten-thousand-li empty sky are the vista. To have opened the plain would be a vista; the land-opens-on-the-central-plain-autumn-colors-spent against the sky-unrolls-ten-thousand-li-empty-in-the-setting-sun is the vista.
平生突兀看人意，容尔深知造化功。
All my life I have towered over men's ways; now I may fathom the work of Creation.
平生突兀看人意，容尔深知造化功。
All my life I have stood aloof from men's moods; now I may truly know the work of creation.
末写平生突兀看人意、容尔深知造化功，是全诗写造化之功的归结。“平生突兀看人意”写平生突兀看人意——“平生突兀看人意”写平生突兀、看尽人意——平生突兀看人意；“容尔深知造化功”写容尔深知造化功——“容尔深知造化功”写容你深知造化的神功——容尔深知造化功。二句写平生突兀看人意、容尔深知造化功：平生突兀看人意，容尔深知造化功。以“平生突兀看人意”写平生突兀、睥睨人意，以“容尔深知造化功”写容尔深知、造化神功，正是李攀龙诗写造化之功的归结——平生突兀，深知造化。
The creation. All my life I have towered over men's ways; now I may fathom the work of Creation. The towering aloofness and the fathoming of creation are the close. To have fathomed creation would be a conclusion; the all-my-life-I-have-towered-over-men's-ways against now-I-may-fathom-the-work-of-Creation is the conclusion.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
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