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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

秋浦途中

On the Road at Qiupu

杜牧

Du Mu

羁旅Travel and Exile 秋景Autumn Scenery

萧萧山路穷秋雨，淅淅溪风一岸蒲。
为问寒沙新到雁，来时还下杜陵无。

Soughing on the mountain road, the last rain of autumn;
Whispering by the stream, a bank of reeds in the wind.
I would ask the geese newly arrived on the cold sand:
On your way here, did you pass over Duling or not?

Listen

Meaning

Travelling through Qiupu in late autumn, Du Mu records a road of soughing rain and a stream whose wind stirs a bank of reeds. Turning to geese that have just settled on the cold sand, he asks whether, on their flight south, they passed over Duling. Duling, south of Chang'an, was his family home, so the question is really about home and about the capital he has been sent away from. The poem withholds all direct statement of longing and places the entire emotion into a single question put to birds.

萧萧山路穷秋雨，淅淅溪风一岸蒲。为问寒沙新到雁，来时还下杜陵无。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Late autumn rain sighs along the mountain road; the wind from the stream whispers through reeds on the far bank. The traveller turns to the geese newly landed on the cold sand and asks whether they passed over Duling on their way. [Structure] Two couplets, scene then question. The first couplet is entirely descriptive and contains no word of feeling; the second releases that feeling in a single interrogative. [Imagery] Sound dominates the opening: paired onomatopoeias for rain and wind create a bleak acoustic landscape, while the reeds, pliant and rooted at the water's edge, quietly suggest the traveller's own tossed and unsettled state. [Significance] The art lies in displacement. Nothing is said about homesickness; instead the poet interrogates the geese, who fly where he cannot. The closing particle turns the question into a hesitant hope, leaving 'meaning beyond the words' — the classic virtue of the Tang quatrain.

【白话串讲】杜牧写《秋浦途中》：“萧萧山路穷秋雨，淅淅溪风一岸蒲”——“为问寒沙新到雁，来时还下杜陵无”——他在秋雨中赶路，问南飞的新雁：你们路过杜陵吗——他写旅途的思乡。【意象与手法】此诗写秋浦途中，以羁旅写思归，是杜牧的名篇。前二句写途中所见：「萧萧山路穷秋雨，淅淅溪风一岸蒲」写萧萧山路穷秋雨、淅淅溪风一岸蒲——写尽秋途的萧瑟；后二句写思归：「为问寒沙新到雁，来时还下杜陵无」写为问寒沙新到雁、来时还下杜陵无——写尽对长安的思念。全诗以羁旅写思归，写尽秋浦途中的萧瑟与思归之情，是杜牧的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写秋浦途中，以羁旅写思归，是杜牧的名篇。此诗当为杜牧任池州刺史时（或往来途中）所作，秋浦在池州（今安徽贵池），因秋浦河得名。此诗写途中所见：萧萧山路穷秋雨，淅淅溪风一岸蒲——写萧萧山路穷秋雨、淅淅溪风一岸蒲，写尽秋途的萧瑟；为问寒沙新到雁，来时还下杜陵无——写为问寒沙新到雁、来时还下杜陵无，写尽对长安的思念。全诗以羁旅写思归——那「萧萧山路穷秋雨」写尽秋途的萧瑟，「来时还下杜陵无」写尽对长安的思念，写尽秋浦途中的萧瑟与思归之情，是理解杜牧羁旅诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「萧萧山路穷秋雨，淅淅溪风一岸蒲」写秋途的萧瑟；「为问寒沙新到雁，来时还下杜陵无」写对长安的思念；以及全诗以羁旅写思归、以问雁写乡思的手法。

Background

Du Mu (803-852), courtesy name Muzhi, was a native of Wannian in the capital region and, with Li Shangyin, forms the pairing of the Little Li and Du of the late Tang. Qiupu, named for the Qiupu River and located in present-day Guichi in Anhui, belonged to the Xuanzhou and Chizhou region; the poem was probably written while Du Mu served as prefect of Chizhou or while travelling to and from that post. His family, the Du clan of the capital region, was among the great houses of the Tang, and his home stood at Duling south of Chang'an — a proverb of the day said that the Wei and Du families south of the city were but a foot and a half from heaven. Ambitious yet repeatedly posted far from court, Du Mu makes Duling in this poem both a literal home and a symbol of family honour and political hope.

此诗写秋浦途中，以羁旅写思归，是杜牧的名篇。杜牧（803—约852），字牧之，京兆万年（今陕西西安）人，晚唐伟大的诗人，与李商隐并称「小李杜」。秋浦在池州（今安徽贵池），因秋浦河得名，唐时属宣州、池州一带。此诗当为杜牧任池州刺史或往返途中所作。杜牧出身京兆杜氏，家在长安杜陵（长安城南），身在江南而心系长安。此诗写途中所见：「萧萧山路穷秋雨，淅淅溪风一岸蒲」写萧萧山路穷秋雨、淅淅溪风一岸蒲——写尽秋途的萧瑟（萧萧山路上穷秋之雨，淅淅溪风中一岸的蒲苇）；「为问寒沙新到雁，来时还下杜陵无」写为问寒沙新到雁、来时还下杜陵无——写尽对长安的思念（试问寒沙上新到的雁，你飞来时可曾经过杜陵？）。全诗以羁旅写思归，写尽秋浦途中的萧瑟与思归之情，是理解杜牧羁旅诗的重要篇章。还应从「杜陵」探其家世：杜牧为京兆杜陵人，杜氏乃唐代高门望族，「城南韦杜，去天尺五」即言其贵盛。杜牧一生抱负宏大而屡遭外放，诗中「杜陵」既是地理上的故乡，更是政治理想与家族荣耀的象征。此诗于萧瑟秋途中忽问杜陵之雁，正是将一己之羁愁与家国之思融为一体，使「思归」不止于思乡，更含对庙堂的眷恋，可见其羁旅诗中深藏的政治情怀。

Art

Four techniques carry the quatrain. First, reduplicatives: the paired words for the soughing rain and the whispering wind give the opening an acoustic texture that makes the bleakness audible before it is visual. Second, the journey itself — mountain road, stream, reeds — conveys fatigue and solitude without comment. Third, the question to the geese: instead of declaring longing, the poet delegates it, and because geese migrate south past the capital, they become the only possible messengers. Fourth, the closing is a question ending in a negative particle, so the poem stops on uncertainty; the expected answer is probably no, and the reader supplies the disappointment. The reeds deserve notice too: pliant, water-side plants, they quietly figure a man swayed by every wind of official transfer.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以叠字写萧瑟。「萧萧山路穷秋雨，淅淅溪风一岸蒲」以叠字写萧瑟——那「萧萧」「淅淅」写尽风雨的声响，以叠字写尽秋途的萧瑟。其二，以旅途写孤寂。「萧萧山路穷秋雨，淅淅溪风一岸蒲」以旅途写孤寂——那「山路」「溪风」写尽旅途的艰辛，以旅途写尽羁旅的孤寂。其三，以问雁写乡思。「为问寒沙新到雁，来时还下杜陵无」以问雁写乡思——那「问寒沙新到雁」写尽对雁的问讯，以问雁写尽对长安的思念。其四，以托物写归心。全诗不直说思归，而以问雁托出，以托物写尽思归的情怀。此外，此诗前二句写途中所见的萧瑟，后二句写问雁的乡思，由景入情，正是羁旅诗「即景生情」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以羁旅写思归，写尽秋浦途中的萧瑟与思归之情，是杜牧的代表作。此诗尤妙在以问句收束：前二句纯写秋景，声（萧萧、淅淅）、色（蒲）、势（一岸）毕具，而无一字及情；后二句忽转问雁，以「无」字问句收束，将满腹乡思尽付一问之中，不言思而思愈深，正是「含不尽之意见于言外」的含蓄之境，也是绝句以问作结的经典手法。

Allusions

The soughing of wind belongs to the ancient vocabulary of bleak departure. Late autumn, the season's end, recalls the tradition of sorrow at autumn's breath. The whispering of wind and rain is a common song-image of restless weather. Duling is the real topos here: the Du family seat south of Chang'an, and by extension the capital and the court. Reeds carry a literary history as well, figuring in the old poem where a wife declares herself a reed, supple but unbreaking — an apt emblem for a traveller bent but not snapped. Asking questions of those who come from one's home region is likewise an inherited gesture, found in the famous line about a man arriving from one's village.

此诗的用语深植于羁旅与思归的传统。「萧萧」令人想到「萧萧」写风声的意象——「萧萧山路穷秋雨」正是杜牧的名句，也令人想到「风萧萧兮易水寒」的萧瑟；「穷秋」令人想到「穷秋」写深秋的意象——「穷秋雨」正是杜牧的名句，也令人想到「悲哉秋之为气也」（宋玉）的悲秋传统；「淅淅」令人想到「淅淅」写雨声的意象——「淅淅溪风一岸蒲」正是杜牧的名句，也令人想到「潇潇暮雨子规啼」（苏轼）的风雨意象；「杜陵」令人想到「杜陵」写长安的意象——「来时还下杜陵无」正是杜牧的名句，也令人想到「杜陵秋草没」的思乡意象，杜牧家在长安杜陵。全诗化用萧萧、穷秋、杜陵的意象，以羁旅写思归，正是杜牧「俊爽峭健」而善写景、承羁旅传统写乡思的本领。又「蒲」之意象可深味：蒲苇柔韧丛生水边，《孔雀东南飞》有「君当作磐石，妾当作蒲苇」之喻，蒲苇自喻虽柔而韧。杜牧于此「淅淅溪风一岸蒲」写风吹蒲苇之态，既是眼前实景，又暗含羁旅之身如蒲苇般飘摇于风中的自况，使写景之句兼有寄托，可见其写景诗中暗藏的机杼。

Commentary

The poem is counted among Du Mu's finest travel pieces and a representative Tang quatrain of the autumn road. Qing critics praised it as fresh and spirited; modern readers single out the second couplet, the question to the geese, as its memorable lines. Its value lies in what it withholds: the homesickness is never named, only displaced onto a question that cannot be answered satisfactorily. Read with Du Mu's 'Autumn Evening,' which watches a palace woman lie back to look at the weaving stars, it shows the range of his autumn writing. It also continues the older convention of putting one's longing into a question addressed to someone who has come from home.

此诗历来被推为杜牧羁旅诗的名篇，也是唐人写秋途的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以羁旅写思归，清新俊逸」；近人更指出「为问寒沙新到雁，来时还下杜陵无」以问雁写乡思，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以四句的绝句写尽秋浦途中的萧瑟与思归之情——那萧萧的山路，那穷秋的雨，那淅淅的溪风，那一岸的蒲苇，那寒沙的新雁，那杜陵，都写尽了杜牧笔下的秋浦途中；那「来时还下杜陵无」更以问雁写尽对长安的思念。此诗与杜牧《秋夕》（「天阶夜色凉如水」）同为秋日名篇，一写「卧看牵牛织女星」的秋夕（秋夕），一写「萧萧山路穷秋雨」的秋途（秋浦途中）；又与王维「君自故乡来」的问讯传统一脉相承，可见中国诗以问托思的深婉。对于今日读者，此诗是理解杜牧羁旅诗的窗口，也是中国诗写秋途的经典——那杜陵的雁，穿越千年，仍在诉说着羁旅的乡思。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain诗·七言绝句

Rhyme Lines one, two and four rhyme in a single level-tone rhyme.七绝，押「蒲」「无」韵（上平七虞），一韵到底，音节清扬

Tone pattern A seven-character quatrain in a level rhyme; the cadence is light and clear, carrying the poem from bleak description to a lingering question.此诗为七言绝句，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节清扬，正合羁旅的清扬。

Reading note The quatrain divides into a descriptive couplet and an interrogative couplet, with the third line breaking the rhyme to set up the turn. Read the first couplet in a low, even tone to suggest rain and wind, and let the question rise and then fall away, since the poem ends on an uncertainty rather than an answer.此诗为七言绝句，四句——「萧萧山路穷秋雨，淅淅溪风一岸蒲。为问寒沙新到雁，来时还下杜陵无」，押「虞」韵（蒲、无），一韵到底，音节清扬。全诗以羁旅写思归：前二句写秋途的萧瑟（萧萧山路穷秋雨，淅淅溪风一岸蒲），后二句写问雁的乡思（为问寒沙新到雁，来时还下杜陵无）。四句短章，前写萧瑟，后写乡思，以「来时还下杜陵无」写尽思归之情，正见杜牧「俊爽峭健」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以清扬的语调读「萧萧山路穷秋雨」的萧瑟，以深婉的语调读「来时还下杜陵无」的乡思，结句要读得悠远而有余韵，方能传达出杜牧的俊爽峭健。杜牧绝句以「俊爽峭健」著称，此诗正是其羁旅绝句的典范。

Line by line

为问寒沙新到雁，来时还下杜陵无

I would ask the geese newly arrived on the cold sand: on your way here, did you pass over Duling or not?

试问寒沙上新到的雁，你飞来时可曾经过杜陵？

I ask the new-arrived geese on the cold sand: when you flew here, did you pass by Duling?

此二句是全诗写乡思的核心，以问寒沙新到雁写问讯，以来时还下杜陵写思念，写尽对长安的思念，是千古名句。「为问寒沙新到雁」写试问寒沙上新到的雁——那「为问」写试问，「寒沙新到雁」写寒沙上新到的雁，写尽对雁的问讯；「来时还下杜陵无」写你飞来时可曾经过杜陵——那「来时」写飞来之时，「还下杜陵无」写可曾经过杜陵，写尽对长安的思念。这句的深意在于：它以「为问寒沙新到雁」的问讯与「来时还下杜陵无」的思念，写尽对长安的思念——试问寒沙上新到的雁，那「为问寒沙新到雁」写尽对雁的问讯——寒沙上新到的雁，正是秋日南飞的候鸟，那「新到雁」写尽秋雁的新来；你飞来时可曾经过杜陵，那「来时还下杜陵无」写尽对长安的思念——杜陵，正是诗人家乡所在，问雁可曾经过杜陵，正是以雁寄托乡思，那「还下杜陵无」写尽对长安的牵挂；那「为问寒沙新到雁」写尽对雁的问讯，那「来时还下杜陵无」写尽对长安的思念，一写问讯，一写思念，写尽对长安的思念——雁能南来北往，而诗人滞留江南，正是人不如雁的乡思；此二句以问讯、思念写尽对长安的思念，也让此二句成为全诗写乡思的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我很想念长安」，则失其深婉；唯以「为问寒沙新到雁」写问讯、「来时还下杜陵无」写思念，写尽对长安的思念，也让此二句成为全诗写乡思的核心。

The two lines are the core of the poem's homesickness, writing the inquiry through I ask the new-arrived geese on the cold sand and the longing through when you flew here, did you pass by Duling?, exhausting the longing for Chang'an. I ask the new-arrived geese on the cold sand is precisely the picture of the inquiry of the geese; when you flew here, did you pass by Duling? precisely the picture of the longing — Duling is the poet's home, and asking the geese if they passed Duling commits the homesickness to the birds. The deep meaning: the geese may come and go, while the poet lingers in the south, precisely the homesickness of the man who is less than the goose. One writes the inquiry, one the longing, exhausting the Chang'an longing. Were it said plainly I miss Chang'an greatly, the tact would be lost; only through the inquiry of the geese and the question of Duling is the longing exhausted, making the lines the core of the poem.

萧萧山路穷秋雨，淅淅溪风一岸蒲

Soughing on the mountain road, the last rain of autumn; whispering by the stream, a bank of reeds in the wind.

萧萧山路上是穷秋的雨，淅淅溪风中是一岸的蒲苇。

Soughing, the mountain road in the deep-autumn rain; sighing, the stream-wind over the bulrushes on one bank.

此二句是全诗写萧瑟的核心，以萧萧写雨声，以淅淅写风声，写尽秋途的萧瑟，是千古名句。「萧萧山路穷秋雨」写萧萧山路上是穷秋的雨——那「萧萧」写雨声萧萧，「穷秋雨」写深秋的雨，写尽秋雨的萧瑟；「淅淅溪风一岸蒲」写淅淅溪风中是一岸的蒲苇——那「淅淅」写风声淅淅，「一岸蒲」写一岸的蒲苇，写尽溪风的萧瑟。这句的深意在于：它以「萧萧山路穷秋雨」的雨声与「淅淅溪风一岸蒲」的风声，写尽秋途的萧瑟——萧萧山路上是穷秋的雨，那「萧萧山路穷秋雨」写尽秋雨的萧瑟——萧萧的雨声，落在穷秋的山路，正是秋雨萧瑟的写照，那「穷秋雨」写尽深秋的萧瑟；淅淅溪风中是一岸的蒲苇，那「淅淅溪风一岸蒲」写尽溪风的萧瑟——淅淅的风声，吹着一岸的蒲苇，正是秋风萧瑟的写照，那「一岸蒲」写尽秋野的萧瑟；那「萧萧山路穷秋雨」写尽秋雨的萧瑟，那「淅淅溪风一岸蒲」写尽溪风的萧瑟，一写雨，一写风，写尽秋途的萧瑟——萧萧的雨、淅淅的风，正是羁旅秋途的写照；此二句以雨声、风声写尽秋途的萧瑟，也为后二句的问雁作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写萧瑟的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「秋天的路上刮风下雨」，则失其声响；唯以「萧萧山路穷秋雨」写雨声、「淅淅溪风一岸蒲」写风声，写尽秋途的萧瑟，也让此二句成为全诗写萧瑟的核心。

The two lines are the core of the poem's desolation, writing the rain's sound through soughing, the mountain road in the deep-autumn rain and the wind's sound through sighing, the stream-wind over the bulrushes on one bank, exhausting the desolation of the autumn road. Soughing, the mountain road in the deep-autumn rain is precisely the picture of the soughing autumn rain; sighing, the stream-wind over the bulrushes on one bank precisely the picture of the sighing autumn wind. The deep meaning: the soughing rain and the sighing wind, precisely the picture of the journey through autumn. One writes the rain, one the wind, exhausting the desolation. Were it said plainly on the autumn road it is windy and rainy, the sound would be lost; only through the soughing and the sighing is the autumn road's desolation exhausted, preparing the inquiry of the geese below and making the lines the core of the poem.

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Word focus

萧萧 A reduplicative for the soughing of wind or rain. Paired with the whispering of the stream wind in the next line, it makes the whole opening couplet an acoustic landscape, so that bleakness is heard before anything in the scene is clearly seen. 「萧萧山路穷秋雨」之「萧萧」是写秋雨的关键词，一个「萧萧」写尽秋雨的萧瑟。萧萧者，风雨之声也。杜牧以「萧萧山路穷秋雨」写秋雨，这个「萧萧」至少有双重意味：其一，写雨声之瑟——那「萧萧山路穷秋雨」写萧萧的山路上是穷秋的雨，那「萧萧」写尽秋雨的声响——萧萧之声，正是秋雨落山的声响，那「萧萧」写尽秋雨的萧瑟；其二，写心境之愁——那「萧萧」更是写心境——萧萧之声，正添羁旅之愁，那「萧萧」写尽羁旅的愁绪。以「萧萧」写秋雨，正是杜牧写萧瑟的枢纽——若换作「凄凄」「瑟瑟」等词，则或失其写雨声的意味，或失其与「淅淅」的呼应；唯「萧萧」二字，以萧萧山路穷秋雨写尽秋雨的声响与羁旅的愁绪，与「淅淅溪风」的淅淅相合，写尽秋途的萧瑟，也让「萧萧山路穷秋雨」成为全诗写萧瑟的名句。

新到雁 The geese that have just arrived on the cold sand. Because they have flown south past the capital, they can plausibly have passed the poet's home, and this is what makes them the only available messengers for his unspoken longing. 「为问寒沙新到雁」之「新到雁」是写问讯的关键词，一个「新到雁」写尽秋雁的新来。新到雁者，新近飞到的雁也。杜牧以「为问寒沙新到雁」写问雁，这个「新到雁」至少有双重意味：其一，写秋雁之来——那「为问寒沙新到雁」写试问寒沙上新到的雁，那「新到雁」写尽秋雁的新来——寒沙新到之雁，正是秋日南飞的候鸟，那「新到雁」写尽秋雁的新至；其二，写乡思之托——那「新到雁」更是写乡思——新到之雁自北而来，正可问其长安消息，那「新到雁」写尽以雁托思的深意。以「新到雁」写问讯，正是杜牧写乡思的枢纽——若换作「南来雁」「北来雁」等词，则或失其写新到的意味，或失其与「寒沙」的配合；唯「新到雁」三字，以为问寒沙新到雁写尽秋雁的新来与以雁托思的深意，与「来时还下杜陵无」的杜陵相合，写尽对长安的思念，也让「为问寒沙新到雁」成为全诗写乡思的名句。