唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
歌舞
Singing and Dancing
秦中岁云暮，大雪满皇州。
雪中退朝者，朱紫尽公侯。
贵有风雪兴，富无饥寒忧。
所营唯第宅，所务在追游。
朱门车马客，红烛歌舞楼。
欢酣促密坐，醉暖脱重裘。
秋官为主人，廷尉居上头。
日中为一乐，夜半不能休。
岂知阌乡狱，中有冻死囚。
Those who leave court in the snow, in crimson and purple, are all dukes and marquises.
The noble have an appetite for wind and snow; the rich know no hunger or cold.
What they build is only mansions; what they care for is chasing after pleasures.
At vermilion gates the guests of horses and carriages; in red-candled towers of song and dance.
In high delight they press close together to sit; drunken and warm they strip off their many furs.
The Minister of Justice is the host, and the Lord High Executive sits at the head.
From midday they make one revel, and at midnight they cannot stop.
Do they know that in the prison of Wenxiang there are prisoners who freeze to death?
Meaning
It is the end of the year in Chang'an and snow covers the capital, but the great lords are unaffected: they leave court in crimson and purple, build mansions, chase pleasures, hold a house full of guests and candle-lit singing, sit close and warm and take off their furs, with the Minister of Justice as host. Then the last line cuts across everything — do they know that in a prison a few miles away men are freezing to death? Bai Juyi's poem is one brutal contrast, staged at the very moment of the year when cold is shared by everyone.
秦中岁云暮，大雪满皇州。 雪中退朝者，朱紫尽公侯。 贵有风雪兴，富无饥寒忧。 所营唯第宅，所务在追游。 朱门车马客，红烛歌舞楼。 欢酣促密坐，醉暖脱重裘。 秋官为主人，廷尉居上头。 日中为一乐，夜半不能休。 岂知阌乡狱，中有冻死囚。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] The first eight couplets are a single scene of warmth, and they are deliberately boring in the way luxury is boring: snow, carriages, mansions, furs, a host with two high officials, a revel from midday to midnight. The poem's whole power is that the ninth couplet interrupts it with one question and a prison. [Structure] The poem accumulates without a turn of its own, which is why the final two lines arrive like a blow. Everything before the close is preparation; nothing in the first half is needed except to be as full as possible. [Imagery] Every image in the first half is a temperature — wind and snow outside, red candles and taken-off furs inside — and the last two lines are cold again, in the worst possible way.
【白话串讲】 白居易写《歌舞》：“秦中岁云暮，大雪满皇州”——“雪中退朝者，朱紫尽公侯”——“贵有风雪兴，富无饥寒忧”——“朱门车马客，红烛歌舞楼”——“岂知阌乡狱，中有冻死囚”——他写朱门歌舞——中有冻死囚。 【意象与手法】 此诗写讽刺，以民生写讽刺，是白居易的名篇。前八句写贵游：「秦中岁云暮，大雪满皇州。雪中退朝者，朱紫尽公侯。贵有风雪兴，富无饥寒忧。所营唯第宅，所务在追游」写秦中岁云暮、大雪满皇州——写尽贵游的享乐；后八句写歌舞：「朱门车马客，红烛歌舞楼。欢酣促密坐，醉暖脱重裘。秋官为主人，廷尉居上头。日中为一乐，夜半不能休。岂知阌乡狱，中有冻死囚」写朱门车马客、红烛歌舞楼——写尽歌舞的对比。全诗以民生写讽刺，写尽贵游的享乐与歌舞的对比，是白居易的代表作。 【情感与主旨】 此诗写讽刺，以民生写讽刺，是白居易的名篇。此诗为《秦中吟》十首之一。元和五年（810）前后，白居易居秦中（关中），见权贵奢侈、民生疾苦，作《秦中吟》十首。此诗写秦中岁暮大雪满皇州，雪中退朝者朱紫尽公侯；贵者兴于风雪，富者无忧饥寒；所营唯第宅，所务在追游；朱门车马客，红烛歌舞楼；欢酣促密坐，醉暖脱重裘；秋官（刑部官）为主人，廷尉居上头；日中为一乐，夜半不能休；岂知阌乡狱，中有冻死囚。此诗写贵游：秦中岁云暮，大雪满皇州——写秦中岁云暮、大雪满皇州，写尽岁暮的大雪；雪中退朝者，朱紫尽公侯——写雪中退朝者、朱紫尽公侯，写尽退朝的公侯；贵有风雪兴，富无饥寒忧——写贵有风雪兴、富无饥寒忧，写尽贵者的享乐；所营唯第宅，所务在追游——写所营唯第宅、所务在追游，写尽第宅的营谋；朱门车马客，红烛歌舞楼——写朱门车马客、红烛歌舞楼，写尽歌舞的红烛；欢酣促密坐，醉暖脱重裘——写欢酣促密坐、醉暖脱重裘，写尽醉暖的欢酣；秋官为主人，廷尉居上头——写秋官为主人、廷尉居上头，写尽宴饮的宾客；日中为一乐，夜半不能休——写日中为一乐、夜半不能休，写尽夜半的歌舞；岂知阌乡狱，中有冻死囚——写岂知阌乡狱、中有冻死囚，写尽冻死的囚。全诗以民生写讽刺——那「朱门车马客」写尽贵游的享乐，「中有冻死囚」写尽歌舞的对比，写尽贵游的享乐与歌舞的对比，是理解白居易讽刺诗的重要篇章。 【名句点睛】 常考「朱门车马客，红烛歌舞楼」写贵游的享乐；「岂知阌乡狱，中有冻死囚」写歌舞的对比；以及全诗以民生写讽刺、以对比写民瘼的手法。
Background
Bai Juyi (772–846) wrote the Qin series during his years in Chang'an, when he was serving in the central administration and observing the households of the great clans at first hand. His satirical poems of this period, collected in the tradition of the new yuefu, exposed soldiers left unpaid, peasants taxed to the bone, and the wealthy indifferent to both; this piece belongs to the group. The prison of Wenxiang is in the province of the capital, and the reference is to prisoners held in custody through the winter. Bai Juyi's knack was to write these poems in plain, almost conversational language so that the contrast could not be dodged.
此诗写讽刺，以民生写讽刺，是白居易的名篇。白居易（772—846），字乐天，号香山居士，又号醉吟先生，下邽（今陕西渭南）人，唐代诗人，与元稹并称「元白」，为新乐府运动代表，为唐代存诗最多的诗人。此诗为《秦中吟》十首之一。元和五年（810）前后，白居易居秦中（关中），见权贵奢侈、民生疾苦，作《秦中吟》十首。此诗写秦中岁暮大雪满皇州，雪中退朝者朱紫尽公侯；贵者兴于风雪，富者无忧饥寒；所营唯第宅，所务在追游；朱门车马客，红烛歌舞楼；欢酣促密坐，醉暖脱重裘；秋官（刑部官）为主人，廷尉居上头；日中为一乐，夜半不能休；岂知阌乡狱，中有冻死囚。此诗写贵游：「秦中岁云暮，大雪满皇州」写秦中岁云暮、大雪满皇州——写尽岁暮的大雪（秦中岁云暮，大雪满皇州）；「雪中退朝者，朱紫尽公侯」写雪中退朝者、朱紫尽公侯——写尽退朝的公侯（雪中退朝者，朱紫尽公侯）；「贵有风雪兴，富无饥寒忧」写贵有风雪兴、富无饥寒忧——写尽贵者的享乐（贵有风雪兴，富无饥寒忧）；「所营唯第宅，所务在追游」写所营唯第宅、所务在追游——写尽第宅的营谋（所营唯第宅，所务在追游）；「朱门车马客，红烛歌舞楼」写朱门车马客、红烛歌舞楼——写尽歌舞的红烛（朱门车马客，红烛歌舞楼）；「欢酣促密坐，醉暖脱重裘」写欢酣促密坐、醉暖脱重裘——写尽醉暖的欢酣（欢酣促密坐，醉暖脱重裘）；「秋官为主人，廷尉居上头」写秋官为主人、廷尉居上头——写尽宴饮的宾客（秋官为主人，廷尉居上头）；「日中为一乐，夜半不能休」写日中为一乐、夜半不能休——写尽夜半的歌舞（日中为一乐，夜半不能休）；「岂知阌乡狱，中有冻死囚」写岂知阌乡狱、中有冻死囚——写尽冻死的囚（岂知阌乡狱，中有冻死囚）。全诗以民生写讽刺，写尽贵游的享乐与歌舞的对比，是理解白居易讽刺诗的重要篇章。
Art
Three techniques carry the poem. First, accumulation without comment: for most of its length the poem never forms a sentence of judgement, so the reader is convinced by being shown the same luxury again and again. Second, the temperature motif — the wind and snow of the opening line, the red candles and stripped furs of the middle, then the death by cold at the end — so that the poem is built as a contrast of heat and frost. Third, the placement of the question at the very end: 'Do they know that in the prison of Wenxiang there are prisoners who freeze to death?' is not a rhetorical flourish but the only sentence of plain statement in the whole poem, and putting it last means the last thing the reader hears is the cold. The plainness of the language is part of the method — there is no elegant image to admire, only a scene and a question.
此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以对比写民瘼。「岂知阌乡狱」以对比写民瘼——那「岂知」写尽歌舞与冻死的对比，以对比写尽民生的疾苦。其二，以白描写贵游。「朱门车马客」以白描写贵游——那「朱门车马」写尽车马的宾客，以白描写尽贵游的享乐。其三，以铺陈写歌舞。「红烛歌舞楼」以铺陈写歌舞——那「红烛歌舞」写尽歌舞的楼阁，以铺陈写尽歌舞的对比。其四，以点破写讽刺。「中有冻死囚」以点破写讽刺——那「冻死囚」写尽冻死的囚徒，以点破写尽民生的疾苦。此外，此诗前八句写贵游的享乐，后八句写歌舞的对比，由乐及苦，正是新乐府「以乐写苦」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以民生写讽刺，写尽贵游的享乐与歌舞的对比，是白居易的代表作。此诗还善于以「雪中退朝者，朱紫尽公侯」的「雪中」「朱紫」写退朝之贵——那「雪中退朝」写尽雪天的退朝，正是以朱紫写贵者，以「朱紫」写尽贵游的享乐。又善以「欢酣促密坐，醉暖脱重裘」的「脱重裘」写醉暖之态——醉暖脱重裘，正见酒酣脱裘的放浪，以「脱重裘」写尽歌舞的对比。
Allusions
Crimson and purple were the colours of the highest ranks, so the line 'in crimson and purple' simply means the whole assembly of great officials. The 'Minister of Justice' and the 'Lord High Executive' are the actual titles of the two highest judicial and military officers of the Tang cabinet, named here because the poet is describing an actual gathering. 'Vermilion gates' is the standard phrase for a great house. The prison of Wenxiang stood near the capital and held detainees who could not be released in winter; the poet's point is that its cold is the same cold as the snow that falls on the revelers, so the suffering is not distant in kind, only unseen.
此诗的用语深植于讽刺与民生传统。「秦中」令人想到「秦中」写关中的意象——也令人想到「秦中吟」的意象；「朱紫」令人想到「朱紫」写朱衣紫绶的意象——唐制三品以上服紫，五品以上服朱，也令人想到「朱紫尽公侯」的意象；「朱门」令人想到「朱门」写富贵之家的意象——也令人想到「朱门酒肉臭，路有冻死骨」（杜甫）的意象；「秋官」令人想到「秋官」写刑部的意象——唐武后时以刑部为秋官，也令人想到「秋官郎」的意象；「廷尉」令人想到「廷尉」写大理卿的意象——也令人想到「廷尉平」的意象；「阌乡狱」令人想到「阌乡狱」写阌乡的意象——阌乡在河南，也令人想到「冻死囚」的意象。全诗化用秦中、朱紫、朱门、秋官、廷尉、阌乡狱的意象，以民生写讽刺，正是白居易「平易」而善铺陈、承新乐府传统写民瘼之本领。「朱门」令人想到「朱门」写朱门的意象——也令人想到「朱门酒肉臭」（杜甫）的意象；「阌乡狱」令人想到「阌乡」写阌乡的意象——也令人想到「囹圄」的意象，以阌乡狱写狱中冻死的惨状。
Commentary
This is one of the most cited of Bai Juyi's Qin poems, and its closing couplet was admired from the Tang onward for the plainness with which it delivers its judgement — no metaphor, no complaint about the rich, only a question. Song critics placed it in the tradition that runs through Du Fu's 'Vermilion gates dispense wine and meat that spoil, while the road has the bones of those who froze to death', and it is still the poem most often used to show that Tang satire was at its strongest when it simply showed rather than argued.
此诗历来被推为白居易讽刺诗的名篇，也是新乐府写民生疾苦的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以民生写讽刺，深切著明」；近人更指出「岂知阌乡狱，中有冻死囚」写歌舞的对比，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以十六句的古体写尽贵游的享乐与歌舞的对比——那秦中，那岁云暮，那大雪满皇州，那雪中，那退朝者，那朱紫尽公侯，那贵有，那风雪兴，那富无，那饥寒忧，那所营，那唯第宅，那所务，那在追游，那朱门，那车马客，那红烛，那歌舞楼，那欢酣，那促密坐，那醉暖，那脱重裘，那秋官，那为主人，那廷尉，那居上头，那日中，那为一乐，那夜半，那不能休，那岂知，那阌乡狱，那中有冻死囚，都写尽了白居易笔下的歌舞；那「中有冻死囚」更以点破写尽民生的疾苦。此诗与白居易《卖炭翁》（「卖炭翁，伐薪烧炭南山中」）同为民生名篇，一写「心忧炭贱愿天寒」的卖炭翁（卖炭翁），一写「中有冻死囚」的歌舞（歌舞）；又与杜甫《自京赴奉先县咏怀五百字》「朱门酒肉臭，路有冻死骨」的民生传统一脉相承，可见中国诗写民瘼的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解白居易讽刺诗的窗口，也是新乐府写民生的经典——那冻死的囚徒，穿越千年，仍在诉说着歌舞的对比。
Prosody
Line by line
岂知阌乡狱，中有冻死囚
Do they know that in the prison of Wenxiang there are prisoners who freeze to death?
岂知阌乡狱，中有冻死囚。
Who knew that in the Wenxiang prison there were prisoners frozen to death?
此二句是全诗写对比的核心，以岂知阌乡狱写阌乡狱，以中有冻死囚写冻死囚，写尽民生的疾苦，是千古名句。「岂知阌乡狱」写岂知阌乡狱——那「岂知阌乡」写岂知阌乡，「狱」写狱，写尽阌乡的狱；「中有冻死囚」写中有冻死囚——那「中有」写中有，「冻死囚」写冻死囚，写尽冻死的囚。这句的深意在于：它以「岂知阌乡狱」的阌乡狱与「中有冻死囚」的冻死囚，写尽民生的疾苦——岂知阌乡狱，那「岂知阌乡狱」写尽阌乡的狱——岂知阌乡，正是谁知狱中的写照，那「阌乡狱」写尽民生的疾苦；中有冻死囚，那「中有冻死囚」写尽冻死的囚——中有冻死，正是狱中冻死的写照，那「冻死囚」写尽民生的疾苦；那「岂知阌乡狱」写尽阌乡的狱，那「中有冻死囚」写尽冻死的囚，一写歌舞，一写冻死，写尽民生的疾苦——朱门歌舞而狱中冻死，正是贫富的对照；此二句以狱、冻死写尽民生的疾苦，也让此二句成为全诗写对比的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「谁知道监狱里还有冻死的囚犯呢」，则失其点破；唯以「岂知阌乡狱」写阌乡狱、「中有冻死囚」写冻死囚，写尽民生的疾苦，也让此二句成为全诗写对比的核心。
The two lines are the core of the poem's contrast, writing the Wenxiang prison through who knew that in the Wenxiang prison and the frozen prisoner through there were prisoners frozen to death, exhausting the people's suffering. Who knew that in the Wenxiang prison is precisely the picture of the prison's unguessable; there were prisoners frozen to death precisely the picture of the prison's frozen dead. The deep meaning: song and dance at the vermilion gates and the frozen dead in prison, precisely the contrast of rich and poor. One writes the prison, one the frozen death, exhausting the people's suffering. Were it said plainly who knew there were prisoners frozen to death in jail, the point of revelation would be lost; only through the Wenxiang prison and the frozen prisoner is the people's suffering exhausted, making the lines the core of the poem's contrast.
朱门车马客，红烛歌舞楼
At vermilion gates the guests of horses and carriages; in red-candled towers of song and dance.
朱门车马客，红烛歌舞楼。
The vermilion gates, guests with carriages and horses; the red candles, the tower of song and dance.
此二句是全诗写享乐的核心，以朱门车马客写车马客，以红烛歌舞楼写歌舞楼，写尽贵游的享乐，是千古名句。「朱门车马客」写朱门车马客——那「朱门」写朱门，「车马客」写车马客，写尽车马的宾客；「红烛歌舞楼」写红烛歌舞楼——那「红烛」写红烛，「歌舞楼」写歌舞楼，写尽歌舞的红烛。这句的深意在于：它以「朱门车马客」的车马客与「红烛歌舞楼」的歌舞楼，写尽贵游的享乐——朱门车马客，那「朱门车马客」写尽车马的宾客——朱门车马，正是朱门车马的写照，那「车马客」写尽贵游的享乐；红烛歌舞楼，那「红烛歌舞楼」写尽歌舞的红烛——红烛歌舞，正是红烛高烧的写照，那「歌舞楼」写尽贵游的享乐；那「朱门车马客」写尽车马的宾客，那「红烛歌舞楼」写尽歌舞的红烛，一写朱门，一写红烛，写尽贵游的享乐——朱门车马而红烛歌舞，正是贵者享乐的写照；此二句以朱门、红烛写尽贵游的享乐，也为下文的对比作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写享乐的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「有钱人家车马来往，红烛下歌舞不断」，则失其铺陈；唯以「朱门车马客」写车马客、「红烛歌舞楼」写歌舞楼，写尽贵游的享乐，也让此二句成为全诗写享乐的核心。
The two lines are the core of the poem's luxury, writing the carriage guests through the vermilion gates, guests with carriages and horses and the song-dance tower through the red candles, the tower of song and dance, exhausting the revelry of the great. The vermilion gates, guests with carriages and horses is precisely the picture of the grand gates' traffic; the red candles, the tower of song and dance precisely the picture of the red candles' blaze. The deep meaning: the vermilion gates' carriages and the red candles' revelry, precisely the picture of the powerful' luxury. One writes the vermilion gate, one the red candle, exhausting the revelry. Were it said plainly the wealthy have carriages coming and going and song and dance by red candles, the elaboration would be lost; only through the vermilion gates and the red candles is the revelry exhausted, preparing the contrast below and making the lines the core of the poem.
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'The Old Man Who Sells Charcoal' follows one man from the mountains to the city gate and shows his motive inverted — he hopes the weather will grow colder so that the charcoal sells for more — and it ends with the official's cloak and a cart taken by force. Here the poet never follows a single poor man; the suffering appears for one line at the end. The earlier poem is a story, this one is a contrast, and the difference in kind shows how Bai Juyi varied the same subject.
白居易《卖炭翁》「卖炭翁，伐薪烧炭南山中」写民生，是白居易的名篇。此诗《歌舞》则「中有冻死囚」写民生。同为白居易民生诗，一写「心忧炭贱愿天寒」的卖炭翁（卖炭翁），一写「朱门车马客」的歌舞（歌舞）；一写底层，一写权贵。两诗对读，可见白居易写民生的两种角度。
自京赴奉先县咏怀五百字 Five Hundred Words on My Errand from the Capital to Fengxian 杜甫 · 同写朱门冻死，一酒肉臭一车马客 Both poems set the rich man's table beside the poor man's death, and both quote or echo Du Fu's line on the vermilion gates.Du Fu's long poem carries the same contrast — 'vermilion gates dispense wine and meat that spoil, while the road has the bones of those who froze' — inside a much larger meditation on the state of the empire, and it reaches the poor by describing a journey. Bai Juyi keeps only the contrast and puts it in one couplet at the end, so the poem is twice as short and half as complicated. Du Fu's version is the origin; this one shows the public poem become a plain protest.
杜甫《自京赴奉先县咏怀五百字》「朱门酒肉臭，路有冻死骨」写民生，是杜甫的名篇。此诗《歌舞》则「朱门车马客，红烛歌舞楼」写民生。同为写朱门与冻死，一写「朱门酒肉臭」的咏怀（自京赴奉先），一写「岂知阌乡狱」的歌舞（歌舞）；一写杜甫，一写白居易。两诗对读，可见中国诗写贫富对立的传统。