南北朝 Northern and Southern Dynasties · 诗 Poem
关山月
Moon over the Pass and Mountains
关山三五月，客子忆秦川。
思妇高楼上，当窗应未眠。
星旗映疏勒，云阵上祁连。
战气今如此，从军复几年。
His wife on the high tower, by the window, surely not yet asleep.
Star-like banners mirror Shule; cloud-banks ascend the Qilian.
So heavy the war-cloud now—how many more years of service?
Meaning
Over the passes and mountains hangs the full moon of the fifteenth; the traveller remembers Qinchuan, his homeland. His wife upon the tall tower, facing the window, should still be awake. Battle-flags like stars are mirrored at Shule; cloud-formations rise over the Qilian range. With the war-cloud so heavy now, how many more years must he serve in the army?
关山之上十五的圆月，客子遥忆秦川故乡。家中的思妇在高楼之上，正对着窗儿应该还未入眠。战旗如星映照疏勒，云阵如兵涌上祁连。战云如今这般浓重，从军又要熬过几年。
Appreciation
This poem is neatly built, addressing both the frontier soldier and his wife in two directions. The first couplet 'On pass and mountain the fifteenth-night moon; the wanderer recalls Qinchuan' sets the scene and the feeling; the second couplet 'His wife on the high tower, by the window, surely not yet asleep' imagines the wife at home gazing at the moon, answering the wanderer's longing and opening the Tang technique of writing the other side. The neck couplet 'Star-like banners mirror Shule; cloud-banks ascend the Qilian' turns to the border scene, broad and open; the closing 'So heavy the war-cloud now—how many more years of service?' ends on a question, its grief of endless service implied beyond the words.
【白话串讲】 徐陵写关山月：“关山三五月，客子忆秦川”——征人望着关山的月亮，想念家乡。“思妇高楼上，当窗应未眠”——他猜，妻子此时也在楼上望着月亮。 【意象与手法】 全诗八句以月贯串，采用双向对写法：客子忆乡与思妇未眠两线并写，一实一虚，倍增思念。首联点题设景，颔联悬想对面，颈联宕开边塞，尾联以问收束，章法开合有致。对仗精严，气象沉雄，已具唐人律诗规模，是南北朝乐府向唐诗过渡的佳构。 【情感与主旨】 徐陵身经侯景之乱与梁陈易代，诗中既有乐府旧题所固有的征人思妇之愁，又暗含对征戍无已、战乱频仍的深沉感慨。客子之忆、思妇之望、战云之浓，层层逼出从军无期的悲慨，哀而不怨，沉郁有骨。 【名句点睛】 常考「思妇高楼上，当窗应未眠」的对写法（悬想对方、以彼写己）与「战气今如此，从军复几年」的反诘收束，前者开杜甫「今夜鄜州月」之先声，后者见征戍无期的悲凉。
Background
Xu Ling (507–583) was a literatus of the Chen dynasty of the Southern Dynasties, famed as compiler of the anthology New Songs from the Jade Terrace, his style ornate and pretty. 'Moon over the Pass and Mountains' is an old yuefu title under the Bravery Songs, often treating the soldier and his wife. This poem was likely written in the Liang–Chen transition, using the traditional border-and-boudoir theme to picture the wanderer's homesickness, the wife's sleeplessness, and the years of frontier war. Xu Ling lived through the Hou Jing rebellion and dynastic change; the line 'how many more years of service' also hints at his real feeling over the constant warfare of the age, not mere imitation of antiquity.
徐陵（507—583），字孝穆，东海郯（今山东郯城）人，南朝陈著名文学家、诗人，历仕梁、陈两朝，官至尚书左仆射、太子少傅，以编选诗歌总集《玉台新咏》闻名后世，与庾信并称「徐庾」，骈文与宫体诗风靡当世，为南朝后期文坛领袖之一。《关山月》本为汉乐府《鼓角横吹曲》旧题，多写征戍离别、关山月夜之思，南北朝诗人多有拟作。此篇约作于梁陈之际，徐陵身经侯景之乱、梁室倾覆、陈氏代立等巨变，目睹干戈扰攘、生灵涂炭，故借传统乐府题材写客子思妇之情，而「战气今如此，从军复几年」一问，实寓其对战乱频仍、征戍无已的现实感慨，非仅拟古而已。诗题「关山月」点明边塞背景，「三五月」点出中秋月圆之时，月圆而人不圆，团圆佳节倍增离愁，题材、时令、情感三者契合紧密，正见徐陵「缉裁巧密」的创作个性，也折射出乱世文人借古题写今慨的普遍心态。史载徐陵出使东魏、魏人设宴折辱，徐陵以言辞折服对方，其风骨气节见称一时，故其笔下边塞诗亦自有刚健之气，不徒以绮丽为工。
Art
This poem is neatly constructed, writing both the frontier soldier and the wife in two directions. The first couplet 'On pass and mountain the fifteenth-night moon; the wanderer recalls Qinchuan' sets the place and the feeling; the second couplet 'His wife on the high tower, by the window, surely not yet asleep' uses the device of imagining the other side, writing the wife at home gazing at the moon unsleeping, echoing the wanderer's longing and opening the Tang 'facing the other side' method (as in Du Fu's 'Tonight the moon at Fuzhou'); the third couplet 'Star-like banners mirror Shule; cloud-banks ascend the Qilian' turns aside to the border scene, with star-flags and cloud-formations, Shule and Qilian, an open and grand air; the last couplet 'So heavy the war-cloud now—how many more years of service?' closes on a question, the suffering of service and the dimness of return read between the lines. The antithesis is tight, already assuming the shape of a regulated poem.
此诗艺术上最见工巧者，在于双向对写、虚实相生的章法。首联「关山三五月，客子忆秦川」以乐府题面起笔，点出边关、月夜、客子、乡思四层，一人一事立于纸上，简净有力；颔联「思妇高楼上，当窗应未眠」笔锋陡转，不写客子如何思归，而悬想家中思妇倚楼望月、当窗不眠，以彼写己、对面落笔，思念之情由此加倍，此法上承《诗经》「陟彼崔嵬」的悬想传统，下开杜甫《月夜》「今夜鄜州月」之先声，是此诗最受称道之处。颈联「星旗映疏勒，云阵上祁连」宕开一笔，由闺阁转写边塞战云，星旗、云阵、疏勒、祁连四词并置，气象陡然开阔，将个人离愁放入浩瀚战局之中，愁绪因之愈见深重；尾联「战气今如此，从军复几年」以反诘收束，不答而答，归期无望、征戍无期之意尽在言外。全诗八句四联，前四句写人、后四句写境，情景互发，对仗精严，于乐府古体中已具律诗规模，正见南北朝后期诗歌由古趋律的过渡特征，亦为唐人边塞诗奠定了章法范式。
Allusions
'Moon over the Pass and Mountains' is itself a Han yuefu Bravery Song treating parting in service; 'the fifteenth moon' is the full moon of mid-autumn, fixing the night; 'Qinchuan' denotes the Guanzhong plain, standing for home; 'Shule' and 'Qilian' are both Western-Region border place-names (Shule was under the Han Western Regions Protectorate, Qilian is the Tian Shan), used broadly for the frontier; 'star-banners' means battle-flags like stars, 'cloud-formation' describes troop arrays like clouds, borrowing the military term 'cloud formation'. The allusions stay within the yuefu and frontier tradition, elegant yet not obscure, showing the blend of Xu Ling's 'tidy and intricate' palace-style manner with the border theme.
诗中典实多取自乐府与边塞传统，用典典雅而不僻。「关山月」本汉乐府鼓角横吹曲名，崔豹《古今注》谓「关山月，乐府横吹曲也」，后世多以之写征人戍边、望月思归，「关山」二字本身亦含道路险阻、关隘难越之意；「三五月」即农历十五之满月，暗点中秋，圆月与离人对照，倍增乡思。「秦川」指关中八百里秦川，为汉唐京畿所在，诗中代指客子故乡，与「关山」一远一近、一塞一乡，构成空间张力。「疏勒」「祁连」皆西域边地名：疏勒为汉西域三十六国之一，唐设疏勒都督府，祁连山即匈奴语所谓天山，皆汉唐西北边防要地，用以泛写征戍之域。「星旗」指军旗如繁星罗列，「云阵」本兵书阵法之名，此处状军阵如云屯，二词皆以天象喻军容，气象森然。此外「思妇高楼」「当窗」暗承《古诗十九首》「盈盈楼上女，皎皎当窗牖」的闺楼意象与《诗经·王风·君子于役》的思夫传统，使乐府旧题与汉魏古诗的抒情资源在此交汇，尤见徐陵博学善熔的功力。
Commentary
Xu Ling, compiler of New Songs from the Jade Terrace, was known for ornate verse, yet this 'Moon over the Pass and Mountains' is grave and bony; Shen Deqian's Source of Ancient Poetry records it, saying 'here one may observe the meeting of North and South styles'. Ming critic Hu Yinglin, in Poetry Confidences, pairs this with Lu Sidao's 'Ballad of the Army' as a forerunner of early-Tang frontier poetry. Modern scholars on the yuefu 'Moon over the Pass and Mountains' always cite Xu Ling and Li Bai together as 'imitating antiquity yet renewing it'. Wang Fuzhi praised its 'addressing both sides, doubling the feeling', opening the Tang method of twin boudoir-and-frontier address.
徐陵向以宫体绮靡见称，然此篇《关山月》却沉雄有骨，迥异其一般艳体，可见大家笔力之不拘一格。沈德潜《古诗源》录此诗，谓「南北风会，于此可觇」，以为可见南北朝诗风交汇之势。明人胡应麟《诗薮》论南北朝边塞之作，以徐陵此篇与卢思道《从军行》并称，许为初唐边塞诗之先声；近人治乐府者论《关山月》此题，必及徐陵与李白二作，以为一清绮、一雄阔，皆「拟古而能出新」。王夫之论诗重「对写」之法，谓悬想对面「情乃加倍」，徐陵此诗实开其端，杜甫、李商隐闺怨征怨双关之作皆承此脉。就文体而言，此诗八句四联、对仗渐工、平仄渐谐，是五言古体向律诗过渡的标本，于中国诗歌形式演进有标志意义。后世拟《关山月》者甚众，然多失其简劲，徐陵此篇以寥寥数语写尽征人思妇与战局苍茫，言近旨远，在南北朝乐府拟作中允称上乘，其历史纵深与人文关怀，亦使此诗超越一般闺怨而具边塞诗之气象。
Prosody
Line by line
关山三五月，客子忆秦川。
At the mountain pass, on the fifteenth night, the traveler thinks of the Qin River plain.
关山之上正是十五月圆之夜，远行的客子遥忆起秦川故乡。
At the mountain pass on the full-moon night, the traveler longs for the Qin River plain.
首联点题设景，十字立起全篇纲领。「关山」与「月」扣住乐府题面，点明空间在边塞、时令在中秋；「三五月」之满月偏照离人，月圆人缺，团圆佳节反而更添乡愁。「客子忆秦川」将镜头由月转向人，一个「忆」字点出全诗情感之根，而「秦川」代指故乡，与「关山」对举，一远一近、一塞一乡，空间张力顿生。此联看似平直，实则已为后文思妇悬想、战局宕开埋下伏线，起笔简净而不单薄，是乐府「赋题法」的典范，亦为全诗确立了月照关山、人隔天涯的基本格局。
The moon. At the mountain pass, on the fifteenth night, the traveler thinks of the Qin River plain. The pass-fifteenth-night and the traveler-thinking-Qin-plain are the opening. To have thought of the plain would be a thinking; the at-the-mountain-pass-on-the-fifteenth-night-the-traveler-thinks-of-the-qin-river-plain is the thinking.
思妇高楼上，当窗应未眠。
His wife in the high tower, by the window, must still be awake.
家中的思妇此刻应正倚在高楼之上，对着窗儿还未入眠。
The longing wife in the high tower, by the window, must still be awake.
此联是全诗对写法的核心，历来最受称道。诗人不写客子如何愁苦思归，而忽然悬想千里之外家中思妇倚楼望月、当窗不眠的情景，以彼写己、对面落笔，将单方的乡思化为双向的牵挂，思念之情由此翻倍。「应」字最妙，是揣想之词，正因相隔万里、音信难通，故只能以「应」字悬拟对方情状，虚实之间，怅惘自见；「高楼上」「当窗」暗承《古诗十九首》「盈盈楼上女，皎皎当窗牖」的闺楼传统，意象典丽而不隔。此联上开杜甫《月夜》「今夜鄜州月，闺中只独看」之先声，下启李商隐无题诸作的双写手法，是中国诗歌「对面写来」传统的奠基之笔。
The wife. His wife in the high tower, by the window, must still be awake. The wife-in-high-tower and the by-window-still-awake are the imagined scene. To have been awake would be an awaking; the his-wife-in-the-high-tower-by-the-window-must-still-be-awake is the awaking.
星旗映疏勒，云阵上祁连。
Star-banners shine on Shule; cloud-phalanxes climb the Qilian range.
军旗如繁星映照着疏勒边地，军阵如云屯涌上祁连山。
Star-banners shine on Shule; cloud-like battle lines rise toward the Qilian Mountains.
此联由闺阁宕开，转写边塞战局，是全诗气象最开阔处。「星旗」喻军旗罗列如繁星，「云阵」状军阵屯聚如层云，皆以天象喻军容，化实为虚、以静写动，边地大军压境的肃杀之气扑面而来；「疏勒」「祁连」两个西域地名并置，将空间推至绝远，与首联之「关山」呼应，构成苍茫的边塞版图。此联在章法上是「蓄」与「转」：前面四句写人事之愁，至此忽然宕开写战云之浓，看似离题，实则正以战局的浩瀚反衬个人离愁之深重——征人不是不想归，而是战事未息、归期难料，愁绪因之有了时代的重量，也为尾联的沉痛一问蓄足气势。
The banners. Star-banners shine on Shule; cloud-phalanxes climb the Qilian range. The star-banners-on-Shule and the cloud-phalanxes-on-Qilian are the war. To have climbed the range would be a climbing; the star-banners-shine-on-shule-cloud-phalanxes-climb-the-qilian-range is the climbing.
战气今如此，从军复几年。
The war-spirit is as it is now—how many more years of campaigning?
战云如今这般浓重，从军戍边又要熬过多少年呢。
The war-fever is as it is now; how many more years of service?
尾联以反诘收束，是全诗情感的爆发点。「战气今如此」总括前文星旗云阵的边塞景象，「今如此」三字点出战云浓重非止一日、至今未歇；「从军复几年」陡然发问，不答而答——从军之期渺茫无望，「复」字更见其一延再延、永无尽期之意。此问既是客子自问，亦是思妇心中之间，更是诗人代天下征人发出的悲慨，一问而双关，思妇征夫之情、忧时悯乱之怀尽在其中。全诗以问作结，哀而不怨、怨而不怒，将征戍之苦归于无解的怅惘，沉郁顿挫，正见徐陵于绮丽之外沉雄有骨的一面。
The question. The war-spirit is as it is now—how many more years of campaigning? The war-spirit-as-it-is and the how-many-more-years are the close. To have asked how many years would be an asking; the the-war-spirit-is-as-it-is-now-how-many-more-years-of-campaigning is the asking.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both adapt the old 'Moon over the Pass and Mountains' yuefu; compare the Southern-Dynasty delicacy with the High-Tang grandeur.
李白《关山月》（明月出天山，苍茫云海间）与徐陵此篇同拟《关山月》乐府旧题，同写边关明月下的征人思乡与两地相思，然风貌迥异：徐陵诗清绮工整，五言八句、对仗渐工，以「应未眠」的悬想写情，含蓄婉转，犹存南朝文人之气；李白诗雄阔奔放，以「明月出天山，苍茫云海间」「长风几万里，吹度玉门关」的巨笔写景，大开大合，气吞万里，尽显盛唐气象。二诗并观，可见同一乐府题由南北朝到盛唐的演变轨迹：题材一脉相承，而格局由收敛而恢弘、情调由婉约而雄浑，恰是唐诗超越六朝、自立高格的生动注脚。
敕勒歌 Chile Song 北朝民歌 · 同出南北朝，一边塞闺怨一草原牧歌，文人乐府与民歌对照 Different (same Northern-and-Southern age / one border-boudoir, one grassland pastoral)Both from the Northern-Dynasty milieu; compare the literati yuefu with the folk pastoral song.
《敕勒歌》「敕勒川，阴山下，天似穹庐，笼盖四野」为北朝民歌，以质朴口语写草原辽阔、牛羊肥壮，格调高亢欢快，洋溢着游牧民族对家园的热爱；徐陵《关山月》为南朝文人拟乐府，以工整对仗写征人思妇之愁，格调清丽沉郁。二者同出南北朝、同涉北方边地，而一民歌一文士、一欢快一悲愁，恰成鲜明对照：民歌之浑朴天真见北朝文学的元气，文人拟作之精工含蓄见南朝文风的绵密，合观正可体味南北朝文学刚柔相济、南北交融的总体风貌。
折杨柳歌辞 Lyric on Breaking the Willow Branch 北朝民歌 · 同涉离别征戍，南北朝离别书写互参 Different (same Northern-and-Southern age / both touch parting and service)Both write parting and service; compare the two treatments of leave-taking in the age.
《折杨柳歌辞》「上马不捉鞭，反折杨柳枝。蹀座吹长笛，愁杀行客儿」为北朝民歌，以马上折柳、笛声愁杀的细节写征人离别，语言粗犷直白，情感奔放外露；徐陵《关山月》则以「思妇高楼上，当窗应未眠」的悬想笔法写两地相思，委婉含蓄，重在以彼写己的深曲。同写征戍离情，北歌直而南诗曲、北歌质而南诗文，正可见南北朝民歌与文人诗在抒情方式上的根本差异，亦见徐陵将乐府旧题文人化的努力，为后世边塞闺怨诗提供了典雅化的范式。