唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
曲江
Qujiang
望断平时翠辇过，空闻子夜鬼悲歌。
金舆不返倾城色，玉殿犹分下苑波。
死忆华亭闻唳鹤，老忧王室泣铜驼。
天荒地变心虽折，若比伤春意未多。
now I only hear, in the midnight hour, the mournful singing of ghosts.
The golden chariot returns no more, nor does that city-toppling beauty;
yet the jade palace still catches the ripples of the lower garden's waves.
In death one remembers hearing cranes cry at Huating;
in old age one fears for the royal house and weeps before the bronze camels.
Heaven and earth are laid waste and my heart is broken,
yet set against the sorrow of spring's passing, this grief is still the lesser.
Meaning
The poem mourns the ruined glory of the Tang through the derelict Qujiang pleasure grounds of Chang'an. Li Shangyin uses historical allusion and spring-autumn imagery to weigh public catastrophe against a private, unending grief at the passing of spring. It is a late-Tang lament in which political ruin and personal sorrow become inseparable.
望断平时翠辇过，空闻子夜鬼悲歌。 金舆不返倾城色，玉殿犹分下苑波。 死忆华亭闻唳鹤，老忧王室泣铜驼。 天荒地变心虽折，若比伤春意未多。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] The poet stares into the empty Qujiang park: where the emperor's emerald carriage once glided in peacetime, only ghosts now sing at midnight; the golden coach and the city-toppling beauty are gone, yet the jade halls still share the garden's ripples. He recalls Lu Ji dying with a crane's cry at Huating, and in old age weeps for the royal house before the bronze camels. Even when heaven and earth are overturned, his heartbreak is less than his grief for spring. [Structure] The first four lines paint the ruined park at night; the last four turn to allusion and feeling. The movement is from outer desolation to inner sorrow. [Imagery] 'Emerald carriage' versus 'ghost-song', 'golden chariot' versus 'bronze camels' bind imperial splendour to its absence. The closing contrast—cosmic ruin versus spring-grief—lifts a private mood above history. The poem's power lies in deep, restrained allusion: each image is a funeral for a dynasty, and the final line quietly crowns personal loss as the greater sorrow.
【白话串讲】 李商隐写《曲江》：“望断平时翠辇过，空闻子夜鬼悲歌”——“金舆不返倾城色，玉殿犹分下苑波”——“死忆华亭闻唳鹤，老忧王室泣铜驼”——“天荒地变心虽折，若比伤春意未多”——他写曲江的荒凉与国事。 【意象与手法】 此诗写感慨，以伤时写感慨，是李商隐的名篇。前四句写兴废：「望断平时翠辇过，空闻子夜鬼悲歌。金舆不返倾城色，玉殿犹分下苑波」写望断平时翠辇过、空闻子夜鬼悲歌——写尽子夜的鬼悲歌；后四句写伤春：「死忆华亭闻唳鹤，老忧王室泣铜驼。天荒地变心虽折，若比伤春意未多」写死忆华亭闻唳鹤、老忧王室泣铜驼——写尽王室的铜驼。全诗以伤时写感慨，写尽子夜的鬼悲歌与王室的铜驼，是李商隐的代表作。 【情感与主旨】 此诗写感慨，以伤时写感慨，是李商隐的名篇。此诗为李商隐咏曲江而作，写唐王朝兴废的感慨与伤春之意。曲江为长安名胜，安史之乱后荒废，此诗写其荒废之景与盛衰之感。此诗写望断平时翠辇过，空闻子夜鬼悲歌；金舆不返倾城色，玉殿犹分下苑波；死忆华亭闻唳鹤，老忧王室泣铜驼；天荒地变心虽折，若比伤春意未多。此诗写兴废：望断平时翠辇过，空闻子夜鬼悲歌——写望断平时翠辇过、空闻子夜鬼悲歌，写尽子夜的鬼悲歌；金舆不返倾城色，玉殿犹分下苑波——写金舆不返倾城色、玉殿犹分下苑波，写尽不返的倾城色；死忆华亭闻唳鹤，老忧王室泣铜驼——写死忆华亭闻唳鹤、老忧王室泣铜驼，写尽王室的铜驼；天荒地变心虽折，若比伤春意未多——写天荒地变心虽折、若比伤春意未多，写尽伤春的意未多。全诗以伤时写感慨——那「空闻子夜鬼悲歌」写尽子夜的鬼悲歌，「若比伤春意未多」写尽伤春的意未多，写尽子夜的鬼悲歌与王室的铜驼，是理解李商隐感慨诗的重要篇章。 【名句点睛】 常考「望断平时翠辇过，空闻子夜鬼悲歌」写子夜的鬼悲歌；「死忆华亭闻唳鹤，老忧王室泣铜驼」写王室的铜驼；以及全诗以伤时写感慨、以用典写兴废的手法。
Background
Li Shangyin (c. 813–c. 858), courtesy name Yishan, style name Yuxisheng, was a late-Tang poet ranked with Du Mu as the 'Lesser Li and Du' and with Wen Tingyun as 'Wen and Li'. Qujiang, the Winding River park of Chang'an, was a Tang pleasure ground abandoned after the An Lushan Rebellion. Writing in a time of court intrigue and decline, Li used its ruins as a screen for historical reflection and unspoken grief. The poem belongs to a group of Qujiang lyrics that mourn the fallen house through a derelict landscape, merging public catastrophe with the poet's own melancholy.
此诗写感慨，以伤时写感慨，是李商隐的名篇。李商隐（约813—约858），字义山，号玉谿生，又号樊南生，怀州河内（今河南沁阳）人，晚唐著名诗人，与杜牧并称「小李杜」，与温庭筠并称「温李」。此诗为李商隐咏曲江而作，写唐王朝兴废的感慨与伤春之意。曲江为长安名胜，安史之乱后荒废，此诗写其荒废之景与盛衰之感。此诗写望断平时翠辇过，空闻子夜鬼悲歌；金舆不返倾城色，玉殿犹分下苑波；死忆华亭闻唳鹤，老忧王室泣铜驼；天荒地变心虽折，若比伤春意未多。此诗写兴废：「望断平时翠辇过，空闻子夜鬼悲歌」写望断平时翠辇过、空闻子夜鬼悲歌——写尽子夜的鬼悲歌（望断平时翠辇过，空闻子夜鬼悲歌）；「金舆不返倾城色，玉殿犹分下苑波」写金舆不返倾城色、玉殿犹分下苑波——写尽不返的倾城色（金舆不返倾城色，玉殿犹分下苑波）；「死忆华亭闻唳鹤，老忧王室泣铜驼」写死忆华亭闻唳鹤、老忧王室泣铜驼——写尽王室的铜驼（死忆华亭闻唳鹤，老忧王室泣铜驼）；「天荒地变心虽折，若比伤春意未多」写天荒地变心虽折、若比伤春意未多——写尽伤春的意未多（天荒地变心虽折，若比伤春意未多）。全诗以伤时写感慨，写尽子夜的鬼悲歌与王室的铜驼，是理解李商隐感慨诗的重要篇章。
Art
The art of the poem works on four levels. First, contrast: 'the emerald carriage of peaceful times' against 'midnight ghost-song' sets past glory against present ruin. Second, real-and-imagined space: 'the golden chariot returns no more' is loss made concrete, while 'the jade halls still share the lower garden's waves' keeps the palace present only as reflection—absence rendered as a lingering image. Third, allusion: 'crane-cries at Huating' and 'weeping bronze camels' compress whole histories of fallen houses into two lines. Fourth, culmination by contrast: 'if weighed against grief at spring's passing, this sorrow is still the lesser' subordinates political ruin to private feeling. The first four lines evoke the park; the last four turn to allusion and surpassing grief, a model of late-Tang 'deep and indirect' (shenwan) writing.
此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以对照写兴废。「翠辇过」与「鬼悲歌」以对照写兴废——那「望断平时」写尽平时的翠辇，以对照写尽子夜的鬼悲歌。其二，以虚实写宫苑。「金舆不返倾城色」以虚实写宫苑——那「玉殿犹分下苑波」写尽玉殿的下苑波，以虚实写尽不返的倾城色。其三，以用典写忧时。「死忆华亭闻唳鹤」以用典写忧时——那「华亭唳鹤」用陆机典写忧时，以用典写尽王室的铜驼。其四，以衬托写伤春。「若比伤春意未多」以衬托写伤春——那「天荒地变心虽折」写尽天荒地变的心折，以衬托写尽伤春的意未多。此外，此诗前四句写子夜的鬼悲歌，后四句写王室的铜驼，由景及情，正是感慨诗「以废写慨」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以伤时写感慨，写尽子夜的鬼悲歌与王室的铜驼，是李商隐的代表作。此诗还善于以「金舆不返倾城色」的「不返」写倾城之不返——那「金舆不返」写尽不返的金舆，正是以不写返，以「倾城色」写尽不返的倾城色。又善以「玉殿犹分下苑波」的「犹分」写玉殿之犹分——玉殿犹分下苑波，正见玉殿犹分的写照，以「犹分」写尽李商隐的感慨。
Allusions
'Emerald carriage' (cuinian) evokes the imperial train; 'midnight' (ziye) recalls the Yuefu song 'Ziye Ge'. 'City-toppling beauty' (qingcheng) comes from the Han shu phrase 'one glance topples a city'. 'Crane-cries at Huating' cites Lu Ji, who before execution regretted he would never again hear cranes at Huating (Shishuo Xinyu); 'weeping bronze camels' cites Suo Jing, who predicted the Luoyang bronze camels would stand among thorns (Jinshu). By weaving these allusions, Li aligns his private grief with a long tradition of lamenting ruined houses, turning Qujiang into a symbol of dynastic fall.
此诗的用语深植于感慨与伤时传统。「翠辇」令人想到「翠辇」写翠羽车辇的意象——也令人想到「翠辇龙旗」的意象；「子夜」令人想到「子夜」写半夜的意象——乐府《子夜歌》，也令人想到「子夜吴歌」的意象；「鬼悲歌」令人想到「鬼悲歌」写鬼歌的意象——也令人想到「鬼哭」的意象；「倾城色」令人想到「倾城色」写美人的意象——《汉书》「一顾倾人城」，也令人想到「倾国倾城」的意象；「华亭唳鹤」令人想到「华亭唳鹤」写陆机临刑之叹的意象——《世说新语》「华亭鹤唳」，也令人想到「鹤唳华亭」的意象；「泣铜驼」令人想到「泣铜驼」写铜驼荆棘的意象——《晋书》索靖指洛阳铜驼「会见汝在荆棘中」，也令人想到「铜驼荆棘」的意象。全诗化用翠辇、子夜、鬼悲歌、倾城色、华亭唳鹤、泣铜驼的意象典故，以伤时写感慨，正是李商隐「深婉」而善用典、承感慨传统写伤时之本领。「翠辇」令人想到「翠辇」写翠羽车辇的意象——也令人想到「翠辇龙旗」的意象；「鬼悲歌」令人想到「鬼悲歌」写鬼歌的意象——也令人想到「鬼哭」的意象，以鬼歌写兴废。
Commentary
The poem is widely praised as a masterpiece of Li Shangyin's historical laments and a representative Tang treatment of Qujiang's ruin. Qing critics called it 'grief at the times expressed through lament, heavy and deep'. Modern readers single out 'death recalls Huating's cranes, old age fears the bronze camels' as its famous couplet. Alongside Du Fu's 'Lament by the River' (Ai Jiangtou), it forms a paired reading of Qujiang as a site of dynastic memory: Du Fu as witness, Li Shangyin as reflective heir. For today's reader it opens a window onto late-Tang historical poetry, where a ruined park still 'sings' the fall of a house.
此诗历来被推为李商隐感慨诗的名篇，也是唐诗写曲江兴废的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以伤时写感慨，沉痛深婉」；近人更指出「死忆华亭闻唳鹤，老忧王室泣铜驼」写王室的铜驼，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以八句的七律写尽子夜的鬼悲歌与王室的铜驼——那望断，那平时，那翠辇过，那空闻，那子夜，那鬼悲歌，那金舆，那不返，那倾城色，那玉殿，那犹分，那下苑波，那死忆，那华亭，那闻唳鹤，那老忧，那王室，那泣铜驼，那天荒地变，那心虽折，那若比，那伤春，那意未多，都写尽了李商隐笔下的曲江；那「若比伤春意未多」更以衬托写尽伤春的意未多。此诗与杜甫《哀江头》「少陵野老吞声哭」同为曲江名篇，一写「春日潜行曲江曲」的杜甫（哀江头），一写「若比伤春意未多」的李商隐（曲江）；一写杜甫，一写李商隐。两诗对读，可见唐诗写曲江兴废的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解李商隐感慨诗的窗口，也是唐诗写曲江兴废的经典——那王室的铜驼，穿越千年，仍在诉说着子夜的鬼悲歌。
Prosody
Line by line
死忆华亭闻唳鹤，老忧王室泣铜驼
In death one remembers hearing cranes cry at Huating;<br>in old age one fears for the royal house and weeps before the bronze camels.
死忆华亭闻唳鹤，老忧王室泣铜驼。
Dying, he remembered the cranes calling at Huating; old, grieving for the royal house, he wept for the bronze camels.
此二句是全诗写忧时的核心，以死忆华亭闻唳鹤写闻唳鹤，以老忧王室泣铜驼写泣铜驼，写尽王室的铜驼，是千古名句。「死忆华亭闻唳鹤」写死忆华亭闻唳鹤——那「死忆华亭」写死忆华亭，「闻唳鹤」写闻唳鹤，写尽华亭的唳鹤；「老忧王室泣铜驼」写老忧王室泣铜驼——那「老忧王室」写老忧王室，「泣铜驼」写泣铜驼，写尽王室的铜驼。这句的深意在于：它以「死忆华亭闻唳鹤」的闻唳鹤与「老忧王室泣铜驼」的泣铜驼，写尽王室的铜驼——死忆华亭闻唳鹤，那「死忆华亭闻唳鹤」写尽华亭的唳鹤——死忆华亭闻唳鹤，正是死前忆鹤的写照，那「闻唳鹤」写尽王室的铜驼；老忧王室泣铜驼，那「老忧王室泣铜驼」写尽王室的铜驼——老忧王室泣铜驼，正是老忧铜驼的写照，那「泣铜驼」写尽王室的铜驼；那「死忆华亭闻唳鹤」写尽华亭的唳鹤，那「老忧王室泣铜驼」写尽王室的铜驼，一写死忆，一写老忧，写尽王室的铜驼——死忆唳鹤而老泣铜驼，正是伤时的写照；此二句以死忆、老忧写尽王室的铜驼，也为下文的伤春作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写忧时的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「死时回忆华亭的鹤唳，老了为王室担忧而哭铜驼」，则失其用典；唯以「死忆华亭闻唳鹤」写闻唳鹤、「老忧王室泣铜驼」写泣铜驼，写尽王室的铜驼，也让此二句成为全诗写忧时的核心。
The two lines are the core of the poem's grief for the times, writing the crane's call through dying, he remembered the cranes calling at Huating and the bronze camel through old, grieving for the royal house, he wept for the bronze camels, exhausting the royal house's bronze camel. Dying, he remembered the cranes calling at Huating is precisely the picture of the dying remembering the cranes; old, grieving for the royal house, he wept for the bronze camels precisely the picture of the old grief over the camels. The deep meaning: the dying crane-memory and the old camel-weeping, precisely the picture of grief for the age. One writes the dying memory, one the old grief, exhausting the bronze camel. Were it said plainly at death remembering the cranes of Huating, old and grieving for the royal house weeping over the bronze camels, the allusive grace would be lost; only through the crane and the camel is the grief exhausted, preparing the later spring grief and making the lines the core of the poem.
望断平时翠辇过，空闻子夜鬼悲歌
I gaze until my eyes fail, watching for the jewelled carriage of peaceful days that once passed by;<br>now I only hear, in the midnight hour, the mournful singing of ghosts.
望断平时翠辇过，空闻子夜鬼悲歌。
Gazing till sight fails where the imperial green carriage used to pass; empty-hearing, at midnight, ghosts singing their grief.
此二句是全诗写兴废的核心，以望断平时翠辇过写翠辇过，以空闻子夜鬼悲歌写鬼悲歌，写尽子夜的鬼悲歌，是千古名句。「望断平时翠辇过」写望断平时翠辇过——那「望断平时」写望断平时，「翠辇过」写翠辇过，写尽平时的翠辇；「空闻子夜鬼悲歌」写空闻子夜鬼悲歌——那「空闻子夜」写空闻子夜，「鬼悲歌」写鬼悲歌，写尽子夜的鬼悲歌。这句的深意在于：它以「望断平时翠辇过」的翠辇过与「空闻子夜鬼悲歌」的鬼悲歌，写尽子夜的鬼悲歌——望断平时翠辇过，那「望断平时翠辇过」写尽平时的翠辇——望断平时翠辇过，正是翠辇已过的写照，那「翠辇过」写尽子夜的鬼悲歌；空闻子夜鬼悲歌，那「空闻子夜鬼悲歌」写尽子夜的鬼悲歌——空闻子夜鬼悲歌，正是鬼歌子夜的写照，那「鬼悲歌」写尽子夜的鬼悲歌；那「望断平时翠辇过」写尽平时的翠辇，那「空闻子夜鬼悲歌」写尽子夜的鬼悲歌，一写翠辇，一写鬼歌，写尽子夜的鬼悲歌——翠辇已过而鬼歌子夜，正是兴废的写照；此二句以翠辇、鬼歌写尽子夜的鬼悲歌，也为下文的倾城色作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写兴废的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「望断平日的翠辇经过之处，只听到半夜鬼的悲歌」，则失其对照；唯以「望断平时翠辇过」写翠辇过、「空闻子夜鬼悲歌」写鬼悲歌，写尽子夜的鬼悲歌，也让此二句成为全诗写兴废的核心。
The two lines are the core of the poem's rise and fall, writing the green carriage through gazing till sight fails where the imperial green carriage used to pass and the ghost song through empty-hearing, at midnight, ghosts singing their grief, exhausting the midnight ghost song. Gazing till sight fails where the imperial green carriage used to pass is precisely the picture of the carriage long gone; empty-hearing, at midnight, ghosts singing their grief precisely the picture of the midnight ghost-song. The deep meaning: the carriage passed and gone, ghosts singing at midnight, precisely the picture of rise and fall. One writes the carriage, one the ghost song, exhausting the midnight grief. Were it said plainly gazing until sight fails at the place where the imperial carriage once passed, hearing only ghosts singing grief at midnight, the contrast would be softened; only through the carriage and the ghost song is the rise and fall exhausted, preparing the later beauty and making the lines the core of the poem.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Du Fu's Ai Jiangtou and this Qujiang both mourn the abandoned park after the An Lushan Rebellion. Read together they show the Tang tradition of writing Qujiang as a symbol of dynastic fall: Du Fu as witness, Li Shangyin as reflective heir.
杜甫《哀江头》「少陵野老吞声哭，春日潜行曲江曲」写曲江，是杜甫的名篇。此诗《曲江》则「空闻子夜鬼悲歌」写曲江。同为写曲江兴废，一写「明眸皓齿今何在」的杜甫（哀江头），一写「若比伤春意未多」的李商隐（曲江）；一写杜甫，一写李商隐。两诗对读，可见唐诗写曲江兴废的传统。
春望 Spring View (Chun Wang) 杜甫 · 同写伤春忧时，一感时花溅泪一若比伤春意未多 Both voice grief at spring and the times—Du Fu's 'flowers shed tears' versus Li's 'grief at spring not yet enough'.Du Fu's Chun Wang and this poem both fuse spring sorrow with concern for the realm. Du Fu externalises feeling onto nature; Li Shangyin weighs public ruin against private spring-grief and finds the latter greater.
杜甫《春望》「感时花溅泪，恨别鸟惊心」写伤春，是杜甫的名篇。此诗《曲江》则「若比伤春意未多」写伤春。同为写伤春忧时，一写「国破山河在」的杜甫（春望），一写「死忆华亭闻唳鹤」的李商隐（曲江）；一写杜甫，一写李商隐。两诗对读，可见伤春传统的两种表达。