清 Qing · 诗 Poem
出都留别诸公
Leaving the Capital, Bidding Farewell to Friends
沧海惊波百怪横，唐衢痛哭万人惊。
高峰突出诸山妒，上帝无言百鬼狞。
敢为丹心回白日，独将孤剑指长鲸。
抚编圣武经营地，忍使神州付劫灰。
Like Tang Qu's wailing that startles a thousand souls.
The lonely peak stands high, envied by all hills,
Heaven is mute, while a hundred demons scowl.
I dare with true heart to turn back the setting sun,
Alone with my sword I point at the giant whale.
Tracing the maps of sacred martial reigns,
How can I bear the Divine Land turned to ashes and dust?
Meaning
The poet depicts a chaotic world of monstrous forces, his own anguish at being ignored, and his unwavering resolve to reform the nation. He expresses loyalty and a desperate determination to prevent China's destruction.
沧海掀起惊涛骇浪，百般怪异横行其间；唐衢般的痛哭，令万人为之惊心。高峰突出于群山之上，便招来群山的嫉妒；上帝沉默无言，而百鬼狰狞肆虐。我敢凭一片丹心，挽回那将落的白日；独自举起孤剑，直指那海上的长鲸。抚读先圣先王经营的江山版图，怎忍心让神州大地付之一炬，化为劫灰！
Appreciation
This poem captures Kang Youwei's frustration after his first reform memorial was rejected. The imagery is powerful: 'sea surges' and 'monsters' symbolize political chaos; 'peak envied by hills' hints at jealousy toward reformers. The couplet 'dare with true heart to turn back the sun' shows his heroic ambition, while the closing line reveals deep sorrow for China's fate.
【白话串讲】 康有为变法失败，离开北京。“独将孤剑指长鲸”——他一个人，要挑战巨大的势力。“忍使神州付劫灰”——他不能看着神州陷入灾难。 【意象与手法】 全诗气象宏伟，意象瑰奇。首联以惊涛百怪喻世局混浊、以唐衢痛哭写上书不达之孤愤；颔联以拟人写奸邪妒贤、暗主失聪；颈联「敢为丹心回白日，独将孤剑指长鲸」对仗精严，孤忠与豪气并见；尾联抚念神州，收以沉痛。浪漫与现实交融，开近代诗新境。 【情感与主旨】 光绪十四年（1888），康有为赴京应试，首次上书光绪帝倡言变法，为守旧大臣所阻，书不达而南归。离都时作《出都留别诸公》五首，此为其一。诗中写尽上书受阻的悲愤与救国救民的壮志，是维新志士早期心声的真实记录。 【名句点睛】 常考：①「敢为丹心回白日」「独将孤剑指长鲸」的用典与情感；②「高峰突出诸山妒」的拟人手法与隐喻；③「忍使神州付劫灰」的反诘与爱国之情。
Background
In 1888, Kang Youwei traveled to Beijing for the civil exams and submitted his first memorial to Emperor Guangxu advocating reform, but it was blocked by conservative officials. He left the capital in disappointment and wrote this poem as a farewell to friends. It reflects the turbulent political climate and his early aspirations as a reformist.
康有为（1858—1927），字广厦，号长素，广东南海人，清末维新派领袖，近代著名思想家、政治家、文学家。此诗作于光绪十四年（1888）。是年，康有为赴京参加顺天乡试，正值中法战争（1883—1885）之后，清政府不败而败，签订《中法新约》，国势日蹙；又逢黄河决口、水灾频仍，民生凋敝。康有为目睹时艰，遂以布衣之身首次上书光绪帝，痛陈「变成法、通下情、慎左右」三条建议，倡言变法维新，然为守旧派大臣所阻，奏折未能上达，上书失败。乡试亦未中，遂于冬日离京南归。临行之际，作《出都留别诸公》五首留别京中友人，此诗即其一。时清廷积弱、外患交迫、内政腐败：朝中守旧势力盘踞，视变法如洪水猛兽；列强环伺，瓜分之祸迫在眉睫。诗人身处此境，上书救国而书不达，满怀孤愤，却志气不衰——诗中「敢为丹心回白日，独将孤剑指长鲸」的宣言，正是维新志士以天下为己任、明知不可为而为之的悲壮心迹。此诗记录了康有为早期政治思想与人格风骨，是研究维新运动与近代诗歌的重要文献，也是近代诗坛「新派诗」的代表作。
Art
The poem is grand in scale with striking imagery. The first couplet uses 'sea surges' and 'monsters' to portray a world in chaos. Personification in 'peak envied by hills' and 'Heaven mute' criticizes court factions and the emperor's inaction. The middle couplet uses bold mythological allusions, and the final line ends with a poignant rhetorical question. The style blends romantic intensity with realistic grief, characteristic of modern Chinese poetry.
此诗之妙，在气象宏伟、意象瑰奇，以浪漫主义的想象写现实主义的忧愤。首联「沧海惊波百怪横，唐衢痛哭万人惊」开篇即挟风雷之气：以「沧海惊波」喻时局之动荡，以「百怪横」喻奸佞之横行，以「唐衢痛哭」写自己上书不达的悲愤，四层意象叠加，把光绪年间国势危殆、奸邪当道的乱世图景，一笔写尽。颔联「高峰突出诸山妒，上帝无言百鬼狞」以拟人写政治生态：「高峰突出诸山妒」以高耸的山峰喻自己卓然不群的才志，以「诸山妒」喻守旧群小的妒贤嫉能；「上帝无言百鬼狞」以「上帝」（天帝）喻君上，以「百鬼狞」喻宵小狰狞——皇帝受蒙蔽而沉默无言，奸邪却狞笑横行，十字写尽「贤者被妒、君门难叩、群小当道」的悲凉处境，沉郁顿挫。颈联「敢为丹心回白日，独将孤剑指长鲸」是全诗情感的高潮，对仗精严：丹心对孤剑，回白日对指长鲸，一「回」一「指」，写出诗人挽回国运、抗击外侮的雄心，「敢」「独」二字更见孤往直前、不惧群小的志士风骨。尾联「抚编圣武经营地，忍使神州付劫灰」以抚念先辈经营之山河收束，反诘作结——怎忍心让神州大地付之一炬？由激昂转入沉痛，爱国之忱如暮鼓晨钟。全诗以浪漫主义笔法写现实忧愤，想象奇崛而情感真挚，正是康有为「新派诗」开近代诗风的标志。
Allusions
'Tang Qu's wailing' refers to a Tang dynasty poet known for weeping when reading imperial decrees, symbolizing Kang's sorrow over his rejected memorial. 'Turn back the setting sun' alludes to the myth of Lu Yang waving his spear to halt the sun, representing an attempt to reverse national decline. 'Giant whale' from classical texts signifies foreign invaders or evil forces. 'Ashes and dust' comes from Buddhist kalpa fire, meaning total destruction.
此诗用典宏丽而寄慨遥深，充分体现康有为「以经史为诗」的新派诗风。「唐衢痛哭」用唐代唐衢之典：据《旧唐书·唐衢传》载，唐衢善哭，每读文章、闻人遭遇不幸，便痛哭流涕，声闻于外，时人谓之「善哭」；韩愈、白居易皆与之交，白居易有《寄唐生》诗赞之。康有为以唐衢自况，写自己上书不达、忧国忧民而痛哭流涕的孤愤——唐衢之哭是文人感时之哭，康氏之哭是志士忧国之哭，用典而情真。「回白日」化用「鲁阳挥戈」的神话：据《淮南子·览冥训》载，鲁阳公与韩构战酣，日暮，鲁阳援戈而挥之，日为之反三舍；「回白日」即挽回白日，喻以丹心挽回国运、力挽狂澜，气魄极大。「长鲸」出木华《海赋》「鱼则横海之鲸……吞舟之鲸」，本写海中巨兽，后世以「长鲸」喻凶恶的侵略者或奸恶势力（如李白「长鲸喷涌不可涉」）；「独将孤剑指长鲸」以孤剑直指长鲸，喻独力抗击列强侵略，孤忠与豪气并见。「劫灰」用佛家劫火之余灰之典：佛经以世界经历成、住、坏、空四劫，坏劫之时大火焚尽一切，余灰谓之「劫灰」；「忍使神州付劫灰」以劫灰喻神州沦丧、文明毁灭，沉痛之极。四典皆取宏丽之辞、壮烈之事，正合诗人救国救民的高亢情怀，典实与情志浑然一体。
Commentary
Kang Youwei's poetry is known for its vigor and grandeur. Liang Qichao praised his 'vital energy'. This poem is an early masterpiece, showing his bold vision. Modern critics note that lines like 'alone with my sword I point at the giant whale' reveal the reformist 's sense of mission and courage.
《出都留别诸公》是康有为诗歌的代表作，也是近代诗坛「新派诗」的名篇。康有为论诗主张「意境几于无李杜，眼中何处着元明」，力主以诗写新世、抒壮志，其诗气势恢张、想象奇崛，梁启超称其「元气淋漓，卓然称大家」。《出都留别诸公》五首作于康有为首次上书失败之时，此诗尤为激越沉痛，是其早期政治激情的集中喷发。汪国垣《光宣诗坛点将录》以「神龙夭矫」许南海诗，正谓其气势夭矫不群；近人钱基博《现代中国文学史》亦谓康有为诗「以恢闳胜」。就诗史而言，此诗上承龚自珍「剑气箫心」的忧患诗风，下启黄遵宪、梁启超等「诗界革命」诸家，是近代诗歌由传统向新变过渡的关键作品——诗中「沧海惊波百怪横」「上帝无言百鬼狞」的奇崛意象，「丹心回白日」「孤剑指长鲸」的壮阔宣言，皆以传统诗体写近代救亡主题，开「新派诗」之先声。就思想而言，此诗集中体现了维新志士「以天下为己任」的担当与「明知不可为而为之」的悲壮：上书虽败而志气不衰，离京之际犹宣言「独将孤剑指长鲸」，这种孤忠豪气，正是近代中国民族觉醒的精神先声。
Prosody
Line by line
沧海惊波百怪横， 唐衢痛哭万人惊。
The wide sea starts up in monstrous waves, and a hundred prodigies run rampant; the weeping of Tang Qu startles ten thousand men.
沧海掀起惊涛骇浪，百般怪异横行其间；唐衢般的痛哭，令万人为之惊心。
The deep sea heaves with terrifying waves, and monstrous things run riot across it; the bitter weeping of a Tang Qu startles ten thousand people.
首联开篇即挟风雷之气，为全诗定下悲壮基调。「沧海惊波」以沧海掀起惊涛骇浪，喻时局之动荡——中法战后，国势日蹙，内忧外患如惊涛骇浪，扑面而来；「百怪横」以百般怪异横行，喻朝中奸佞当道、魑魅横行，乱象丛生，四字写尽光绪年间政治生态的污浊与怪异。「唐衢痛哭」用唐衢善哭之典自况：唐衢每闻人遭遇不幸便痛哭流涕，诗人以之比自己上书不达、忧国忧民而痛哭——这哭不是私情之哭，而是志士忧国之哭；「万人惊」写痛哭之声响动四方，令万人为之惊心，亦暗含「举世皆醉我独醒」的孤独——众人只觉震惊，却未必懂得这哭声中的忧愤。首联以沧海、百怪、痛哭、万人惊四组意象，把动荡的时局、横行的奸邪、孤愤的自我、麻木的世人，一笔写尽，开篇便见出诗人苍凉悲壮的胸襟。
The opening couplet bears the force of wind and thunder, setting the poem's tragic, impassioned tone. The wide sea starts up in monstrous waves figures the turbulent age: after the Sino-French war, the nation's fortunes shrink, and internal trouble and external threat beat down like monstrous waves. A hundred prodigies run rampant figures the corrupt court, ghosts and goblins running wild, four words that exhaust the filth and perversity of Guangxu-era politics. The weeping of Tang Qu uses the allusion to Tang Qu, who wept bitterly whenever he heard of another's misfortune, as the poet's self-figure: this is no private weeping, but the weeping of a patriot for his country. Startles ten thousand men writes the cry that shakes the region, and secretly holds the loneliness of all the world is drunk, I alone am sober: the crowd is startled, yet may not understand the grief in the cry. The opening packs the turbulent age, the rampant evil, the indignant self, and the numb world into four images, and from the first stroke reveals the poet's vast, desolate heart.
高峰突出诸山妒， 上帝无言百鬼狞。
A peak that towers above the range draws the envy of all the hills; the God on high is silent, while a hundred demons glare and rage.
高峰突出于群山之上，便招来群山的嫉妒；上帝沉默无言，而百鬼狰狞肆虐。
A high peak rising alone above the hills draws the envy of the whole range; the God above is silent and speechless, while the hundred demons glare in fury.
颔联以拟人写政治生态，是全诗最沉痛的句子。「高峰突出诸山妒」以高峰自喻——高耸突出的山峰，卓然不群，却招来周围群山（诸山）的嫉妒；隐喻诗人才志超群、上书言变，反而招致守旧群小的嫉妒排挤。「突出」二字写尽卓立不群的姿态，「妒」字写尽群小阴暗的心理，十字写尽「木秀于林，风必摧之」的千古悲剧。「上帝无言百鬼狞」以「上帝」喻君上，以「百鬼」喻宵小：皇帝高高在上却沉默无言（被蒙蔽、不纳忠言），而奸邪却如百鬼狰狞、横行肆虐。「无言」与「狞」对照极妙：君上之无言，正是群小之狞的原因——正是由于朝廷失聪失明，奸邪才敢如此嚣张。十字写尽贤者被妒、君门难叩、群小当道的悲凉处境，沉郁顿挫，是康有为对光绪朝政治最凝练的概括，也是全诗思想最深刻处。
The second couplet writes the political ecology through personification, the most sorrowful lines of the poem. A peak that towers above the range draws the envy of all the hills is the poet's self-figure: the high peak stands alone above the range, only to draw the envy of the surrounding hills; a figure for the poet, whose surpassing talent and memorials of reform draw the jealousy and exclusion of the reactionary rabble. The word towers exhausts the posture of standing apart; the word envy exhausts the dark psychology of the petty men; ten characters write the age-old tragedy of the tree that rises above the forest, only to be struck by the wind. The God on high is silent, while a hundred demons glare and rage: God figures the ruler, the hundred demons the scoundrels. The emperor sits on high yet is silent, blinded, deaf to loyal words, while the wicked glare and rage like demons. The contrast between silent and glaring is exquisite: the ruler's silence is precisely the cause of the demons' fury; because the court has lost sight and hearing, the wicked dare to be so insolent. Ten characters write the desolation of the envied worthy, the inaccessible royal gate, the rabble in power; somber and thrusting, it is Kang Youwei's most condensed summary of Guangxu-era politics, and the deepest thought of the poem.
敢为丹心回白日， 独将孤剑指长鲸。
I dare, with this loyal heart, to turn back the setting sun; alone I raise my solitary sword and point it at the great whale.
我敢凭一片丹心，挽回那将落的白日；独自举起孤剑，直指那海上的长鲸。
I dare, with a loyal heart, to turn back the failing sun; alone I raise my lone sword and point it straight at the great whale of the seas.
颈联是全诗情感的高潮，也是康有为志士精神的宣言，对仗精严而气势磅礴。「敢为丹心回白日」化用鲁阳挥戈回日的神话：鲁阳公援戈挥日，日为之反三舍——诗人以「回白日」喻挽回国运，以「丹心」自誓忠心，一个「敢」字，写出明知其难而敢为之的胆魄：国势日颓如白日将落，而诗人偏要凭一片丹心力挽狂澜！「独将孤剑指长鲸」以孤剑直指长鲸，「长鲸」喻列强侵略者（木华《海赋》「吞舟之鲸」），「孤剑」写独力御侮——「独」字写其孤往直前、不随流俗，「指」字写其直指敌寇、毫不退缩，十字写尽以一己之力抗击外侮的悲壮。一「回」一「指」，丹心对孤剑、白日对长鲸，对仗工稳而气魄宏大，孤忠与豪气并见，是近代诗歌中写志士襟怀最有力的句子，至今读来犹令人热血沸腾。
The third couplet is the emotional climax, the declaration of Kang Youwei's patriot spirit, tightly matched yet grand in sweep. I dare, with this loyal heart, to turn back the setting sun transforms the myth of Lu Yang waving his halberd to turn the sun back three leagues: turning back the sun figures saving the nation's fortunes; loyal heart swears his devotion; the word dare writes the nerve of knowing it hard and daring it anyway. The nation declines like a setting sun, yet the poet would, with one loyal heart, turn the tide. Alone I raise my solitary sword and point it at the great whale: the great whale figures the invading powers, from Mu Hua's sea rhapsody the whale that swallows ships; the solitary sword writes resisting the foreign foe with single strength; the word alone writes his straight, unswerving course against the current, the word point his straight aim at the enemy without flinching; ten characters write the tragedy of one man withstanding foreign aggression. Turn against point, loyal heart against solitary sword, setting sun against great whale: matched with grandeur, lone devotion and boldness together, it is the most powerful line in modern poetry on the patriot's heart, still making the blood boil when read today.
抚编圣武经营地， 忍使神州付劫灰。
I touch the records of the lands our sacred martial fathers won; how can I bear to see the whole of Shenzhou turned to ashes of the kalpa?
抚读先圣先王经营的江山版图，怎忍心让神州大地付之一炬，化为劫灰！
As I stroke the chronicles of the realm our sacred emperors built, how can I endure to see China given over to the ashes of destruction?
尾联以抚念山河、反诘作结，由激昂转入沉痛，是全诗爱国之情的总收束。「抚编」写抚读编简——抚读先圣先王经营江山的史册典籍；「圣武经营地」写祖先圣君经营开辟的神州大地——从秦皇汉武到明清先帝，无数先人浴血经营的疆土，如今却面临被列强瓜分、付之一炬的危局。抚读之下，诗人心中翻涌的，是「守土有责」的历史责任感与「山河破碎」的切肤之痛。「忍使神州付劫灰」以反诘作结：「忍使」即怎忍心让——明知不忍而危局将至，反诘句写出无力回天却又绝不甘心的悲愤；「劫灰」用佛家劫火余灰之典，指神州沦丧、文明毁灭——若神州真付劫灰，则列祖列宗经营之地、五千年文明，将毁于一旦，这是诗人最深的恐惧与最痛的不忍。全诗以惊涛起、以劫灰结，由悲而壮、由壮而痛，千钧之问收束全篇，爱国之忱如暮鼓晨钟，久久回响。
The closing couplet ends in touching the records of the rivers and hills and a rhetorical question, moving from ardor to sorrow, the total close of the patriotic feeling. Touch the records reads the chronicles of the lands our sacred emperors won: touching the records means reading the history books of the realm built by sage kings. The lands our sacred martial fathers won figures the Shenzhou carved out by holy emperors, from Qin Shihuang and Han Wudi to the Ming and Qing ancestors, the soil won in blood by countless forebears, now facing partition by the powers and destruction by fire. As he reads, the poet's heart surges with the historical duty of guarding the soil and the intimate pain of a broken land. How can I bear to see the whole of Shenzhou turned to ashes of the kalpa? closes in a challenge: how can I bear means knowing he cannot bear, yet the crisis comes; the challenge writes the grief of powerlessness to turn the tide and yet absolute refusal to submit. Ashes of the kalpa uses the Buddhist allusion to the ashes left after the world-consuming fire, figureing the fall of Shenzhou and the destruction of civilization: if Shenzhou truly becomes ash, the lands won by the ancestors and five thousand years of culture will perish in a day, the poet's deepest fear and most intolerable grief. The poem opens on monstrous waves and closes on kalpa ash, from grief to grandeur to sorrow; a question of a thousand jun weighs the close, and the patriotic devotion rings like an evening drum and morning bell, long echoing.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both are farewell poems written upon leaving the capital. Li Bai's style is ethereal and romantic, while Kang Youwei's is tragic and heroic, showing different poetic eras and personal temperaments.
李白《渡荆门送别》「渡远荆门外，来从楚国游……仍怜故乡水，万里送行舟」与康有为此诗同为离乡（离都）赠别之作，而时代、心境、风格迥异。李诗作于李白青年出蜀、仗剑远游之时，写故乡水送行，是离乡者的意气风发与淡淡乡愁，风格飘逸俊朗，「山随平野尽，江入大荒流」写景开阔而心境明朗；康诗作于康有为上书失败、离京南归之际，写离都留别，是失败者的悲愤与志士的宣言，风格悲壮沉郁，「沧海惊波百怪横」「独将孤剑指长鲸」意象奇崛而气魄宏大。比较可见，同为留别，盛唐诗人写的是「去国还乡」的个人情怀，近代诗人写的是「救国无门」的时代忧愤；李白之离是奔赴前程，康氏之离是暂退待时。一飘逸一悲壮，一明朗一沉郁，正是盛世之音与衰世之音的分野，亦可见中国留别诗由个人抒情走向家国忧患的嬗变。
己亥杂诗 己亥杂诗 龚自珍 · 同为晚清志士忧患诗，同以奇崛意象写救世情怀 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
龚自珍《己亥杂诗》「九州生气恃风雷，万马齐喑究可哀。我劝天公重抖擞，不拘一格降人才」与康有为此诗同属晚清志士的忧患之作，同以奇崛的意象（风雷、天公、惊波、百鬼）写救世的怀抱，而风格有异。龚诗以「风雷」喻变革之势，以「天公重抖擞」的呼告写对人才的渴望，想象瑰奇而偏于期望；康诗以「沧海惊波」「百鬼狞」写时局之危，以「孤剑指长鲸」写抗争之志，意象狰狞而偏于悲壮。龚自珍是近代改革的先声——「九州生气恃风雷」已开变法思想的先河；康有为则是变法的实践者——上书不成而诗以明志。两诗并读，可见晚清志士诗歌由「呼唤变革」到「亲历失败」的精神历程，亦可见近代诗风由「瑰奇」转向「悲壮」的轨迹。