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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

书愤·其二

Written in Fury, No. 2

陆游

Lu You

报国Patriotism 感慨Lament

白发萧萧卧泽中，只凭天地鉴孤忠。
厄穷苏武餐毡久，忧愤张巡嚼齿空。
细雨春芜上林苑，颓垣夜月洛阳宫。
壮心未与年俱老，死去犹能作鬼雄。

White hair streaming, I lie in the marshes;
only Heaven and Earth can witness my solitary loyalty.
In dire extremity Su Wu long ate his felt blanket;
in grief and fury Zhang Xun ground his teeth in vain.
Fine rain and spring weeds choke the Shanglin Park;
the moon shines on the ruined walls of the Luoyang palace.
My brave heart has not grown old along with my years;
dead, I could still be a champion among ghosts.

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Meaning

Lying old and idle in his marshy homeland, the poet feels that only Heaven and Earth can see his undivided loyalty. He measures himself against Su Wu, who endured nineteen years of captivity, and Zhang Xun, who died defending a city; then he pictures the occupied northern capitals overrun with weeds. The poem closes with an unbreakable vow: though aged, his will is undimmed, and even death could not silence it.

白发萧萧卧泽中，只凭天地鉴孤忠。厄穷苏武餐毡久，忧愤张巡嚼齿空。细雨春芜上林苑，颓垣夜月洛阳宫。壮心未与年俱老，死去犹能作鬼雄。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] With white hair drifting loose, the poet lies in retirement in the watery south; no one understands his loyalty, so he can only ask Heaven and Earth to witness it. He measures his suffering against Su Wu, who chewed felt among the Xiongnu, and his fury against Zhang Xun, who ground his teeth to bits cursing the rebels. Turning his eyes north, he sees the Han dynasty's Shanglin Park and the Tang capital Luoyang as imagined ruins, spring weeds growing over broken palace walls. Yet none of this bends him: his heart is not old, and he swears that even as a ghost he would remain a hero. [Structure] The eight-line regulated verse divides into two movements: the first four lines turn inward, establishing his lonely loyalty through historical self-comparison; the last four turn outward, first to the lost capitals of the north, then to the vow that closes the poem. The progression runs from self, to nation, to eternity. [Imagery] The poem works by contrast: the green spring weeds of Jiangnan against the imagined ruined walls of Luoyang; the white hair of an old man against the unaging 'brave heart'; life's futility (teeth ground in vain) against death's triumph (a champion among ghosts). This tension between decay and resolve gives the poem its solemn, stirring power.

【白话串讲】陆游写《书愤·其二》：“白发萧萧卧泽中，只凭天地鉴孤忠”——“厄穷苏武餐毡久，忧愤张巡嚼齿空”——“细雨春芜上林苑，颓垣夜月洛阳宫”——“壮心未与年俱老，死去犹能作鬼雄”——他写孤忠——壮心未与年俱老，死去犹能作鬼雄。【意象与手法】此诗写书愤，以壮志写爱国，是陆游的名篇。前四句写身世：「白发萧萧卧泽中，只凭天地鉴孤忠」写白发萧萧卧泽中、只凭天地鉴孤忠——写尽老病的孤忠；「厄穷苏武餐毡久，忧愤张巡嚼齿空」写厄穷苏武餐毡久、忧愤张巡嚼齿空——写尽以古自况；后四句写感慨：「细雨春芜上林苑，颓垣夜月洛阳宫」写细雨春芜上林苑、颓垣夜月洛阳宫——写尽故都的沦陷；「壮心未与年俱老，死去犹能作鬼雄」写壮心未与年俱老、死去犹能作鬼雄——写尽至死不渝的壮志。全诗以壮志写爱国，写尽陆游老病之中的孤忠与至死不渝的壮志，是陆游的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写书愤，以壮志写爱国，是陆游的名篇。此诗作于陆游晚年退居山阴（今浙江绍兴）时，为《书愤》组诗之一。此诗写身世：白发萧萧卧泽中，只凭天地鉴孤忠——写白发萧萧卧泽中、只凭天地鉴孤忠，写尽老病的孤忠；厄穷苏武餐毡久，忧愤张巡嚼齿空——写厄穷苏武餐毡久、忧愤张巡嚼齿空，写尽以古自况；细雨春芜上林苑，颓垣夜月洛阳宫——写细雨春芜上林苑、颓垣夜月洛阳宫，写尽故都的沦陷；壮心未与年俱老，死去犹能作鬼雄——写壮心未与年俱老、死去犹能作鬼雄，写尽至死不渝的壮志。全诗以壮志写爱国——那「只凭天地鉴孤忠」写尽老病的孤忠，「死去犹能作鬼雄」写尽至死不渝的壮志，写尽陆游老病之中的孤忠与至死不渝的壮志，是理解陆游爱国诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「厄穷苏武餐毡久，忧愤张巡嚼齿空」写以古自况；「细雨春芜上林苑，颓垣夜月洛阳宫」写故都的沦陷；「壮心未与年俱老，死去犹能作鬼雄」写至死不渝的壮志；以及全诗以壮志写爱国、以古人事迹自况的手法。

Background

Lu You (1125–1210), courtesy name Wuguan, studio name Fangweng, was born in Shanyin (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang). The dominant poet of the Southern Song, he wrote some ten thousand poems, overwhelmingly driven by one obsession: the recovery of the northern heartland, lost to the Jurchen Jin since 1127. Though he repeatedly held minor posts and once served on military staff in Sichuan, he was passed over for the high offices his ambition demanded and spent his final decades in retirement at Shanyin. 'Written in Fury' is a series composed in his later years; this second poem looks back on a life of loyalty unrewarded and forward to a will that age cannot touch.

此诗写书愤，以壮志写爱国，是陆游的名篇。陆游（1125—1210），字务观，号放翁，越州山阴（今浙江绍兴）人，南宋伟大的爱国诗人。此诗作于陆游晚年退居山阴时，为《书愤》组诗之一。陆游一生主张抗金收复中原，然屡遭排挤，壮志难酬。此诗写身世：「白发萧萧卧泽中，只凭天地鉴孤忠」写白发萧萧卧泽中、只凭天地鉴孤忠——写尽老病的孤忠（白发萧萧卧于泽中，只凭天地鉴我孤忠）；「厄穷苏武餐毡久，忧愤张巡嚼齿空」写厄穷苏武餐毡久、忧愤张巡嚼齿空——写尽以古自况（厄穷如苏武餐毡已久，忧愤如张巡嚼齿成空）；「细雨春芜上林苑，颓垣夜月洛阳宫」写细雨春芜上林苑、颓垣夜月洛阳宫——写尽故都的沦陷（细雨春芜满上林苑，颓垣夜月照洛阳宫）；「壮心未与年俱老，死去犹能作鬼雄」写壮心未与年俱老、死去犹能作鬼雄——写尽至死不渝的壮志（壮心未与年岁俱老，死去犹能作鬼雄）。全诗以壮志写爱国，写尽陆游老病之中的孤忠与至死不渝的壮志，是理解陆游爱国诗的重要篇章。

Art

The poem's chief technique is self-comparison through historical exemplars. Su Wu, who held his Han mission's staff for nineteen years among the Xiongnu, embodies endurance; Zhang Xun, who defended Suiyang to the death and ground his teeth cursing rebels, embodies indomitable fury. By placing both in a single parallel couplet, Lu You measures his own exile and rage against the gold standard of loyalty. The third couplet shifts to imagined landscape — the southern spring rain and weeds made to stand for the occupied capitals' Shanglin Park and Luoyang palace — a 'writing of sorrow through joyful scene' in which the fresher the spring, the deeper the grief. The closing couplet discards imagery for direct declaration, and the phrase 'champion among ghosts,' drawn from Qu Yuan's 'Lament for the Fallen,' gives personal resolve the authority of a national literary tradition.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以自况写孤忠。「厄穷苏武餐毡久，忧愤张巡嚼齿空」以自况写孤忠——那「苏武餐毡」「张巡嚼齿」写尽古人坚守之事，以自况写尽自身的孤忠。其二，以对照写沦陷。「细雨春芜上林苑，颓垣夜月洛阳宫」以对照写沦陷——那「上林苑」「洛阳宫」写尽汉唐故都，以对照写尽故都的沦陷。其三，以直抒写壮志。「壮心未与年俱老」以直抒写壮志——那「壮心未老」写尽壮心不老，以直抒写尽老而弥坚的壮志。其四，以夸张写决心。「死去犹能作鬼雄」以夸张写决心——那「鬼雄」写尽死后为雄，以夸张写尽至死不渝的决心。此外，此诗前四句写身世的孤忠，后四句写故都的沦陷与壮志的坚定，由己及国，正是爱国诗「以个人写国家」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以壮志写爱国，写尽陆游老病之中的孤忠与至死不渝的壮志，是陆游的代表作。此诗尤可注意颈联的设色与时空：「细雨春芜上林苑」写江南春日的细雨春芜，而「上林苑」是汉唐长安之苑囿，眼前江南之景与梦中所忆故都之景叠合；「颓垣夜月洛阳宫」写洛阳宫阙之颓垣夜月，是想象中故都沦陷的残景。一春一秋、一新一颓，以江南之春色衬故都之荒凉，正是「以乐景写哀」的深化——春色愈浓，故都之痛愈深。

Allusions

Su Wu was the Han envoy detained by the Xiongnu for nineteen years; he refused to surrender, surviving by eating snow and the felt of his blanket, and returned still holding his insignia staff. Zhang Xun defended Suiyang against the An Lushan rebels in 757; captured and brought before the rebel commander, he ground his teeth to pieces rather than submit. Shanglin Park was the imperial hunting preserve of the Han outside Chang'an; Luoyang was the eastern capital of Han and Tang. 'Champion among ghosts' echoes Qu Yuan's 'Nine Songs — Lament for the Fallen,' which salutes the fallen: 'Your souls have become heroes among the dead.' The line also anticipates Li Qingzhao's 'To be a hero among men while living, to be a champion among ghosts when dead.'

此诗的用语深植于爱国与典故的传统。「苏武餐毡」令人想到「苏武」写苏武牧羊的典故——苏武出使匈奴被拘十九年，餐毡吞雪而不降，也令人想到「节旄尽落」的苏武意象；「张巡嚼齿」令人想到「张巡」写张巡守城的典故——安史之乱中张巡守睢阳，城破被执，骂贼嚼齿皆碎，也令人想到「嚼齿」写忠愤的意象；「上林苑」令人想到「上林苑」写汉苑的意象——汉上林苑为皇家苑囿，也令人想到「上林」写故都宫苑的意象；「洛阳宫」令人想到「洛阳宫」写洛阳宫阙的意象——洛阳为汉唐东都，也令人想到「洛阳宫殿烧焚尽」的沦陷意象；「鬼雄」令人想到「鬼雄」写死后之雄的典故——屈原《国殇》「身既死兮神以灵，子魂魄兮为鬼雄」，也令人想到「生当作人杰，死亦为鬼雄」（李清照）的鬼雄意象。全诗化用苏武、张巡、上林苑、洛阳宫、鬼雄的典故，以壮志写爱国，正是陆游「雄浑悲壮」而善用典、承爱国传统写孤忠的本领。

Commentary

This is among the most quoted of Lu You's patriotic poems, and its closing couplet — 'My brave heart has not grown old along with my years; dead, I could still be a champion among ghosts' — has become a proverb of unyielding integrity. Critics from the Qing dynasty onward have singled out its solemn, stirring power. Its place in tradition is secured by the 'champion among ghosts' motif: by linking his personal resolve to Qu Yuan's elegy for dead soldiers, Lu You folded private frustration into the national myth of loyal self-sacrifice, a line that runs through Chinese poetry down to Li Qingzhao and beyond.

此诗历来被推为陆游爱国诗的名篇，也是宋代书愤诗的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以壮志写爱国，悲壮沉郁」；近人更指出「壮心未与年俱老，死去犹能作鬼雄」写至死不渝的壮志，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陆游老病之中的孤忠与至死不渝的壮志——那萧萧的白发，那泽中，那孤忠，那苏武，那张巡，那上林苑，那洛阳宫，那鬼雄，都写尽了陆游笔下的书愤；那「死去犹能作鬼雄」更以夸张写尽至死不渝的决心。此诗与陆游《书愤·其一》（「楼船夜雪瓜洲渡」）同为书愤名篇，一写「铁马秋风大散关」的回忆（其一），一写「死去犹能作鬼雄」的决心（其二）；又与屈原《国殇》「魂魄毅兮为鬼雄」的爱国传统一脉相承，可见中国诗以鬼雄写忠魂的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解陆游爱国诗的窗口，也是中国诗写书愤的经典——那至死不渝的壮心，穿越千年，仍在诉说着孤忠与爱国。

Prosody

Form A seven-character regulated verse (qiyan lüshi): eight lines in four couplets.诗·七言律诗

Rhyme The poem rhymes on zhong, zhong, kong, gong, xiong — all from the dong rhyme group of the level tone — a single rhyme sustained to the end, giving the poem its unified, sonorous solemnity.七律，押「中」「忠」「空」「宫」「雄」韵（上平一东），一韵到底，音节悲壮

Tone pattern The regulated level-oblique alternation is used with force: the first couplet drags with white hair and retirement, the middle couplets tighten with historical exemplars and ruined capitals, and the closing couplet strikes out level and decisive.此诗为七言律诗，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节悲壮，正合书愤的悲壮。

Reading note The regulated structure mirrors the argument: the first couplet states the situation (old and unrecognized), the second supports it with exemplars, the third widens to the lost capitals, and the fourth resolves in a vow. Read aloud, 'white hair streaming' should fall slow and low, and 'champion among ghosts' should drive out like a hammer stroke.此诗为七言律诗，八句——「白发萧萧卧泽中，只凭天地鉴孤忠。厄穷苏武餐毡久，忧愤张巡嚼齿空。细雨春芜上林苑，颓垣夜月洛阳宫。壮心未与年俱老，死去犹能作鬼雄」，押「东」韵（中、忠、空、宫、雄），一韵到底，音节悲壮。全诗以壮志写爱国：首联写老病的孤忠（白发萧萧卧泽中，只凭天地鉴孤忠），颔联写以古自况（厄穷苏武餐毡久，忧愤张巡嚼齿空），颈联写故都的沦陷（细雨春芜上林苑，颓垣夜月洛阳宫），尾联写至死不渝的壮志（壮心未与年俱老，死去犹能作鬼雄）。四联由身世写到自况，再到故都，最后落到壮志，层层递进，正是陆游书愤诗的典型结构。诵读此诗，宜以悲壮的语调读「白发萧萧卧泽中」的孤忠，以激昂的语调读「死去犹能作鬼雄」的壮志，结句要读得斩截而有余韵，方能传达出陆游的雄浑悲壮。陆游七律以「雄浑悲壮」著称，此诗正是其书愤七律的典范。

Line by line

壮心未与年俱老，死去犹能作鬼雄

My brave heart has not grown old along with my years; dead, I could still be a champion among ghosts.

壮心未与年岁俱老，死去犹能作鬼雄。

My stout heart has not grown old with the years; dead, I can still be a hero among ghosts.

此二句是全诗写壮志的核心，以壮心未与年俱老写未老，以死去犹能作鬼雄写决心，写尽至死不渝的壮志，是千古名句。「壮心未与年俱老」写壮心未与年岁俱老——那「壮心」写壮心，「未与年俱老」写未与年岁俱老，写尽壮心的不老；「死去犹能作鬼雄」写死去犹能作鬼雄——那「死去」写死去，「犹能作鬼雄」写犹能作鬼雄，写尽至死不渝的决心。这句的深意在于：它以「壮心未与年俱老」的不老与「死去犹能作鬼雄」的决心，写尽至死不渝的壮志——壮心未与年岁俱老，那「壮心未与年俱老」写尽壮心的不老——白发虽老而壮心未老，正是老而弥坚的写照，那「未与年俱老」写尽壮心的不老；死去犹能作鬼雄，那「死去犹能作鬼雄」写尽至死不渝的决心——即使死去，犹能作鬼雄，正是至死不忘报国的写照，那「鬼雄」写尽死后的雄心；那「壮心未与年俱老」写尽壮心的不老，那「死去犹能作鬼雄」写尽至死不渝的决心，一写未老，一写死后，写尽至死不渝的壮志——生而壮心不老，死而犹作鬼雄，正是爱国志士的极致；此二句以未老、死后写尽至死不渝的壮志，也让此二句成为全诗写壮志的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我老了还是很想报国」，则失其悲壮；唯以「壮心未与年俱老」写未老、「死去犹能作鬼雄」写死后，写尽至死不渝的壮志，也让此二句成为全诗写壮志的核心。

The two lines are the core of the poem's stout will, writing the not-old through my stout heart has not grown old with the years and the resolve through dead, I can still be a hero among ghosts, exhausting the unyielding will to death, an immortal line. My stout heart has not grown old with the years is precisely the picture of the older yet firmer; dead, I can still be a hero among ghosts precisely the picture of the death-defying resolve. One writes the not-old, one the death, exhausting the patriot's extreme. Were it said plainly I am old and still want to serve the country, the pathos would be softened; only through the not-old and the death is the unyielding will exhausted, making the lines the core of the poem.

厄穷苏武餐毡久，忧愤张巡嚼齿空

In dire extremity Su Wu long ate his felt blanket; in grief and fury Zhang Xun ground his teeth in vain.

厄穷如苏武餐毡已久，忧愤如张巡嚼齿成空。

In hardship, like Su Wu eating felt for years; in grief and wrath, like Zhang Xun grinding his teeth to nothing.

此二句是全诗写自况的核心，以苏武餐毡写坚守，以张巡嚼齿写忧愤，写尽以古自况的孤忠，是千古名句。「厄穷苏武餐毡久」写厄穷如苏武餐毡已久——那「厄穷」写厄穷，「苏武餐毡久」写苏武餐毡已久，写尽坚守之久；「忧愤张巡嚼齿空」写忧愤如张巡嚼齿成空——那「忧愤」写忧愤，「张巡嚼齿空」写张巡嚼齿成空，写尽忧愤之深。这句的深意在于：它以「厄穷苏武餐毡久」的坚守与「忧愤张巡嚼齿空」的忧愤，写尽以古自况的孤忠——厄穷如苏武餐毡已久，那「厄穷苏武餐毡久」写尽坚守之久——苏武餐毡十九年而不降，正是厄穷坚守的写照，那「餐毡久」写尽坚守的久长；忧愤如张巡嚼齿成空，那「忧愤张巡嚼齿空」写尽忧愤之深——张巡嚼齿而骂贼，正是忧愤之深的写照，那「嚼齿空」写尽忧愤的激越；那「厄穷苏武餐毡久」写尽坚守之久，那「忧愤张巡嚼齿空」写尽忧愤之深，一写坚守，一写忧愤，写尽以古自况的孤忠——苏武之坚守、张巡之忧愤，正是陆游的自况；此二句以坚守、忧愤写尽以古自况的孤忠，也为后二句的故都作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写自况的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我像古人一样坚守」，则失其具体；唯以「厄穷苏武餐毡久」写坚守、「忧愤张巡嚼齿空」写忧愤，写尽以古自况的孤忠，也让此二句成为全诗写自况的核心。

The two lines are the core of the poem's self-comparison, writing the steadfastness through in hardship, like Su Wu eating felt for years and the grief-wrath through in grief and wrath, like Zhang Xun grinding his teeth to nothing, exhausting the lonely loyalty of the ancient self-comparison, an immortal line. Su Wu ate felt for nineteen years and would not surrender, precisely the picture of the hardship's steadfastness; Zhang Xun ground his teeth reviling the rebels, precisely the picture of the grief-wrath's depth. One writes the steadfastness, one the wrath, exhausting Lu You's self-comparison. Were it said plainly I stand firm like the ancients, the concreteness would be lost; only through Su Wu's felt and Zhang Xun's grinding teeth is the lonely loyalty exhausted, preparing the old capital below and making the lines the core of the poem.

Study

Word focus

孤忠 Solitary loyalty — loyalty that no one at court recognizes or rewards. The word carries both the loneliness of the unrecognized loyalist and the unshakable quality of a fidelity witnessed only by Heaven and Earth. 「只凭天地鉴孤忠」之「孤忠」是写身世的关键词，一个「孤忠」写尽老病的孤忠。孤忠者，孤独之忠也。陆游以「只凭天地鉴孤忠」写身世，这个「孤忠」至少有双重意味：其一，写忠之孤——那「只凭天地鉴孤忠」写只凭天地鉴我孤忠，那「孤忠」写尽忠之孤独——孤忠，正是无人理解的忠诚，那「孤忠」写尽忠心的孤独；其二，写忠之坚——那「孤忠」更是写坚——孤忠不改，正见忠心的坚定，那「孤忠」写尽忠心的坚定。以「孤忠」写身世，正是陆游写孤忠的枢纽——若换作「丹心」「忠心」等词，则或失其与「天地鉴」的配合，或失其写孤的意味；唯「孤忠」二字，以只凭天地鉴孤忠写尽忠之孤独与忠心的坚定，与「白发萧萧卧泽中」的老病相合，写尽老病的孤忠，也让「只凭天地鉴孤忠」成为全诗写孤忠的名句。

鬼雄 A champion among ghosts. From Qu Yuan's 'Guo shang' ('your souls became heroes among the dead'), the phrase swears that the poet's fighting spirit will survive death; Li Qingzhao later echoed it in 'To be a hero among men while living, to be a champion among ghosts when dead.' 「死去犹能作鬼雄」之「鬼雄」是写壮志的关键词，一个「鬼雄」写尽至死不渝的雄心。鬼雄者，鬼中之雄也，语出屈原《国殇》「魂魄毅兮为鬼雄」。陆游以「死去犹能作鬼雄」写决心，这个「鬼雄」至少有双重意味：其一，写死后之雄——那「死去犹能作鬼雄」写死去犹能作鬼雄，那「鬼雄」写尽死后的雄心——身死而魂为鬼雄，正是至死不渝的写照，那「鬼雄」写尽死后的雄心；其二，写忠魂之烈——那「鬼雄」更是写烈——鬼雄，正是忠魂的英烈，那「鬼雄」写尽忠魂的英烈。以「鬼雄」写决心，正是陆游写壮志的枢纽——若换作「英魂」「忠魂」等词，则或失其与「死去犹能」的配合，或失其写鬼雄的典故；唯「鬼雄」二字，以死去犹能作鬼雄写尽死后的雄心与忠魂的英烈，与「壮心未与年俱老」的壮心相合，写尽至死不渝的壮志，也让「死去犹能作鬼雄」成为全诗写壮志的名句。