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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

蜀中九日

The Ninth Day in Shu

王勃

Wang Bo

重阳Double Ninth Festival 思乡Homesickness

九月九日望乡台，他席他乡送客杯。
人情已厌南中苦，鸿雁那从北地来。

On the ninth day of the ninth month I climb Wangxiang Terrace to gaze toward home;
On another's seat, in another land, I lift the cup to speed a parting guest.
Worldly feeling already wearies of the South's bitter exile;
Why should the wild geese come from the northern lands?

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Meaning

On the Double Ninth Festival, the poet climbs a terrace to look homeward while drinking a farewell cup in a strange land. Tired of his long exile in Shu, he envies the wild geese flying north from their homeland. The quatrain compresses a wanderer's autumn homesickness into twenty-eight characters.

九月九日望乡台，他席他乡送客杯。人情已厌南中苦，鸿雁那从北地来。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The poet climbs Wangxiang ('gazing-home') Terrace on the ninth of the ninth and toasts a departing friend in a foreign place; then he sighs that his heart already loathes the bitterness of the South, and asks why the northward geese must appear to stir his longing. [Structure] The first couplet sets the festival and the foreign feast; the second turns inward to exile and homeward geese, moving from outer scene to inner ache. [Imagery] 'Wangxiang Terrace' names the very act of looking home; the repeated 'other' (in 'other seat, other land') doubles the loneliness of a stranger's seat on stranger's soil. The northern geese, natural messengers of return, sharpen the poet's inability to go home. Wang Bo's lofty and polished manner shows in the calm surface that hides deep feeling.

【白话串讲】王勃写《蜀中九日》：“九月九日望乡台，他席他乡送客杯”——“人情已厌南中苦，鸿雁那从北地来”——重阳节他在异乡登高望乡——他怨鸿雁从北地飞来，勾起乡愁。【意象与手法】此诗写重阳在蜀中思乡，是王勃的名篇。前两句「九月九日望乡台，他席他乡送客杯」写重阳望乡——「九月九日望乡台」写重阳日登望乡台望乡，「他席他乡送客杯」写在他乡的宴席上送客饮酒；后两句「人情已厌南中苦，鸿雁那从北地来」写厌南思北——「人情已厌南中苦」写人情已厌倦蜀中的苦，「鸿雁那从北地来」写鸿雁为何从北方飞来。全诗以重阳思乡，以鸿雁写归思，写尽客居蜀中的乡愁，正是王勃「高华」诗风的本领。【情感与主旨】此诗作于王勃客居蜀中（今四川）期间。王勃因仕途失意客居蜀中，重阳节登高望乡，写下此诗。重阳节本有登高、饮酒、赏菊之俗，王勃于九月九日登望乡台望乡，在他乡的宴席上送客饮酒；人情已厌倦蜀中的苦，那鸿雁为何从北方（故乡方向）飞来。诗人以「九月九日望乡台」写重阳登台望乡，「他席他乡送客杯」写在他乡的宴席上送客——那「他席」「他乡」写尽身在异乡的孤独；「人情已厌南中苦」写厌倦蜀中的客居之苦，「鸿雁那从北地来」以反问写鸿雁从北方飞来——鸿雁尚知北归，自己却滞留蜀中，那「那从」写尽思乡的急切与无奈。全诗以重阳思乡，以鸿雁写归思，写尽客居蜀中的乡愁，正是王勃羁旅诗的本领。【名句点睛】常考「人情已厌南中苦，鸿雁那从北地来」以反问写思乡，鸿雁尚知北归而自己不能归；「他席他乡送客杯」写身在异乡的孤独；「九月九日望乡台」写重阳望乡；以及全诗以重阳思乡、以鸿雁写归思的手法。

Background

Wang Bo (c. 650-676), courtesy name Zi'an, of Longmen (modern Hejin, Shanxi), was the foremost of the Four Paragons of the Early Tang. After a satirical piece cost him his post in the Prince of Pei's household, he drifted through Shu (modern Sichuan). This poem was written during that exile, on the Double Ninth Festival, when he climbed a terrace to look toward home and drank a parting cup. The ninth day, with its customs of ascent, wine, and chrysanthemums, traditionally intensified thoughts of home, which gives the poem its occasion and its ache.

此诗作于王勃客居蜀中（今四川）期间。王勃（约650—676），字子安，绛州龙门（今山西河津）人，初唐四杰之首。王勃因戏作《斗鸡檄》被逐出沛王府后，客居蜀中，漂泊异乡，重阳节登高望乡，写下此诗。重阳节（九月九日）本有登高、饮酒、赏菊之俗，古人于重阳登高，亦有思乡怀人之情。此诗写于蜀中：九月九日，王勃登望乡台望乡，在他乡的宴席上送客饮酒；人情已厌倦蜀中的客居之苦，那鸿雁为何从北方（故乡方向）飞来。诗人以「九月九日望乡台」写重阳登台望乡，「他席他乡送客杯」写在他乡的宴席上送客——那「他席」「他乡」连用，写尽身在异乡的孤独；「人情已厌南中苦」写厌倦蜀中的客居之苦，「鸿雁那从北地来」以反问写鸿雁从北方飞来——鸿雁尚知北归，自己却滞留蜀中，那「那从」写尽思乡的急切与无奈。全诗以重阳思乡，以鸿雁写归思，写尽客居蜀中的乡愁，正是王勃羁旅诗「以景写情」的本领，也是理解王勃客居蜀中心境的重要篇章。

Art

The art works on four levels. First, festival as feeling: 'the ninth day' and 'Wangxiang Terrace' name both the holiday and the act of gazing home, so the very place carries homesickness. Second, repetition as loneliness: 'other seat, other land' repeats the word 'other' to stack the sense of estrangement. Third, weariness as exile: 'already weary of the South's bitterness' states the long-borne pain of displacement. Fourth, the rhetorical question as longing: 'why should the geese come from the north?' sets the birds' instinctive return against the poet's stuck exile, and the question voices helpless urgency. Together they make a twenty-eight-character vignette of Shu-exile longing, ending on a question that lifts the whole poem.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以节令写思乡。首句「九月九日望乡台」写重阳登望乡台望乡——那「九月九日」写重阳节令，「望乡台」写登台望乡，以重阳的节令与望乡台的地名写尽思乡之情，重阳登高本思乡，望乡台更点明望乡。其二，以重复写孤独。「他席他乡送客杯」写在他乡的宴席上送客饮酒——那「他席」「他乡」连用，以「他」字的重复写尽身在异乡的孤独。其三，以厌苦写客居。「人情已厌南中苦」写人情已厌倦蜀中的苦——那「已厌」写厌倦已久，「南中苦」写蜀中的客居之苦，写尽客居的苦闷。其四，以反问写归思。「鸿雁那从北地来」以反问写鸿雁从北方飞来——那「那从」写为何从北方飞来，鸿雁尚知北归，自己却滞留蜀中，以反问写尽思乡的急切与无奈。四重手法，使此诗以重阳思乡，以鸿雁写归思，写尽客居蜀中的乡愁，正是王勃「高华」诗风的本领。尤其值得注意者，此诗以「他席他乡」的连用写异乡之孤独，「送客杯」更写在他乡的宴席上送客——重阳本是家人团聚、登高饮酒之节，诗人却在他乡的席上送客，佳节送客，更添一层凄凉；而「人情已厌南中苦」的「已厌」二字，写尽客居蜀中时日之久、厌倦之深，为结句「鸿雁那从北地来」的反问蓄足了情势——正因厌南之苦苦，才见北来之雁而思归更切。

Allusions

The language rests on the traditions of the Double Ninth and of longing. 'The ninth day' evokes the holiday's climbing, wine, and chrysanthemums, and Wang Wei's 'on every festival I miss my kin the more.' 'Wangxiang Terrace' draws on the topos of a high place for gazing home, akin to Li Bai's 'raise my head to the bright moon, bow to think of home.' 'Other seat, other land' echoes 'alone, a stranger in a strange land' (Wang Wei). 'Send-off cup' recalls 'urge one more cup' (Wang Wei). 'South's bitterness' nods to the hardship of Shu, while 'wild geese' belong to the 'swan-goose carries the letter' motif of home - geese come north, the poet cannot. The poem weaves these inherited images into a fresh, question-shaped homesickness.

此诗的用语深植于重阳与思乡的传统。「九月九日」令人想到重阳节登高、饮酒、赏菊的习俗，也令人想到「每逢佳节倍思亲」（王维《九月九日忆山东兄弟》）的重阳思亲传统；「望乡台」令人想到「望乡台」作为遥望故乡的高台意象，也令人想到「孤客最先闻」的望乡传统，更令人想到「举头望明月，低头思故乡」（李白《静夜思》）的望乡思乡；「他席他乡」令人想到「独在异乡为异客」（王维）的异乡传统，也令人想到「客居他乡」的羁旅意象；「送客杯」令人想到「劝君更尽一杯酒」（王维《送元二使安西》）的送别酒杯意象，也令人想到「樽酒」的送别传统；「南中苦」令人想到「蜀道之难，难于上青天」（李白《蜀道难》）的蜀中意象，也令人想到「南荒」的贬谪边地意象；「鸿雁」令人想到「雁足传书」的思乡传统，也令人想到「乡书不可寄，秋雁又南回」的鸿雁意象，更令人想到「雁阵惊寒，声断衡阳之浦」（王勃《滕王阁序》）的雁意象——鸿雁从北地来，正是北归故乡的方向，诗人见鸿雁北来而思乡更切；「那从北地来」令人想到「鸿雁」尚知北归而人不能归的反衬。全诗化用重阳、望乡台、他乡、鸿雁的传统意象，以重阳思乡、以鸿雁写归思，正是王勃承思乡传统、以反问写乡愁的本领。

Commentary

Long praised as a signature Wang Bo piece and a representative Tang Double Ninth homesick poem, it drew the Qing verdict 'festival homesickness, true feeling, exact words,' and modern note that the northward-geese question is its finishing stroke. Its value lies in saying so much exile-ache in so few words - the terrace, the parting cup, the worn Southern pain, the northern geese. Read beside Wang Wei's 'Ninth Day' (missing brothers) and Wang Bo's own 'In the Mountains' (autumn longing), it shows his exile poetry from several angles. For today's reader it is a window onto an Early Tang wanderer's heart, and a classic of Chinese festival homesickness.

此诗历来被推为王勃的名篇，也是唐人重阳思乡诗的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以重阳思乡，情真语切」；近人更指出「鸿雁那从北地来」以反问写思乡，是此诗的点睛之笔。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以二十八字的短章写尽客居蜀中的乡愁——那重阳的望乡台，那他席他乡的送客杯，那厌倦的南中苦，那从北地飞来的鸿雁，都写尽了这位初唐天才客居蜀中的思乡之情；那「鸿雁那从北地来」更以反问写尽思乡的急切与无奈。此诗与王维《九月九日忆山东兄弟》同为重阳思乡名篇，一写忆兄弟，一写望故乡；又与王勃《山中》（「长江悲已滞」）同为客居蜀中的思乡名篇，可见王勃羁旅诗的多面。对于今日读者，此诗是理解王勃客居蜀中心境与初唐羁旅诗的窗口，也是中国诗写重阳思乡的经典——那从北地飞来的鸿雁，穿越千年，仍在诉说着游子思乡的无奈。

Prosody

Form Poem - seven-character quatrain (qijue)诗·七言绝句

Rhyme Rhymes with the level-tone Hui category (the rhyme words tai, bei, lai); all three lines rhyme, the level tone long and lingering, fitting the drawn-out homesickness.押平声灰韵（台、杯、来），三句皆押韵，平韵悠长，正合乡愁的悠长

Tone pattern A seven-character quatrain of four lines: festival first, homeward thought after. Oblique-opening, level-closing; measured rhythm that is deep though plain.此诗为七言绝句，四句，前写重阳，后写归思。全诗仄起平收，节奏从容，于平易中见深婉。

Reading note A seven-character quatrain, four lines: the first two write the festival (ninth day on Wangxiang Terrace; other seat, other land, parting cup), the last two write the homeward thought (weary of the South's bitterness; why geese from the north). Level-tone Hui rhyme, tai/bei/lai all level and sustained, matching the lingering sorrow. Opening, development, turning, closing flow in one breath; the geese question ends on urgency with an echo. Wang Bo's quatrains are known for lofty polish, and this is his festival-homesickness model.此诗为七言绝句，四句：前两句写重阳（九月九日望乡台，他席他乡送客杯），后两句写归思（人情已厌南中苦，鸿雁那从北地来）。押平声灰韵，韵脚「台、杯、来」皆平声，悠长舒缓，正合乡愁的悠长。全诗以重阳思乡——首句「九月九日望乡台」写重阳登台望乡，次句「他席他乡送客杯」写异乡送客，三句「人情已厌南中苦」写厌倦客居，结句「鸿雁那从北地来」以反问写归思，起承转合，一气呵成。此诗最见王勃七绝的「高华凝练」：前写重阳、后写归思，以反问写乡愁。诵读此诗，宜以低回的语调读「他席他乡送客杯」的异乡，以感慨的语调读「人情已厌南中苦」的客居，结句「鸿雁那从北地来」要读得急切而有余韵，方能传达出王勃的乡愁。王勃七绝以「高华」著称，此诗正是其重阳思乡七绝的典范。

Line by line

九月九日望乡台，他席他乡送客杯

On the ninth day of the ninth month I climb Wangxiang Terrace to gaze toward home; on another's seat, in another land, I lift the cup to speed a parting guest.

九月九日登望乡台望乡，在他乡的宴席上送客饮酒。

On the Double Ninth I climb the Home-Gazing Terrace; in another land, at another feast, I raise the farewell cup.

此联写重阳望乡与异乡送客，以节令写思乡，以重复写孤独。「九月九日望乡台」写九月九日登望乡台望乡——那「九月九日」写重阳节令，「望乡台」写登台望乡，写尽重阳登台望乡的深情；「他席他乡送客杯」写在他乡的宴席上送客饮酒——那「他席他乡」写他乡的宴席与处境，「送客杯」写送客饮酒，写尽身在异乡送客的孤独。这句的深意在于：它以「九月九日望乡台」的节令与「他席他乡送客杯」的异乡，写尽重阳望乡的深情与孤独——重阳本是登高思乡之时，诗人登望乡台望乡，那「望乡台」写尽望乡的深情；然身处他乡的宴席，还在送客饮酒，那「他席」「他乡」连用写尽身在异乡的孤独，佳节送客，更添一层凄凉；望乡而不得归，他乡而送客，正写尽客居蜀中、重阳思乡的孤寂。若换作直说「重阳节我想家」，则失其含蓄；唯以「九月九日望乡台」写望乡、「他席他乡送客杯」写异乡，写尽重阳望乡的深情与孤独，也让此联成为全诗思乡氛围的开篇。

The couplet writes the Double Ninth homesickness and the foreign farewell, writing homesickness through the season and solitude through the repetition. On the Double Ninth I climb the Home-Gazing Terrace writes the Chongyang season and the terrace; in another land, at another feast, I raise the farewell cup writes the foreign feast and the farewell wine. The deep meaning: the season and the foreign land exhausting the Double Ninth homesickness and solitude — Chongyang is the season of climbing and longing; the poet on the Home-Gazing Terrace, yet at a foreign feast seeing off a guest, the other land and other feast set together writing the solitude of the stranger, the festival farewell adding another layer of desolation. Were it said plainly on Chongyang I miss home, the restraint would be lost; only through the terrace and the foreign cup is the longing exhausted, making the couplet the opening of the poem's atmosphere.

人情已厌南中苦，鸿雁那从北地来

Worldly feeling already wearies of the South's bitter exile; why should the wild geese come from the northern lands?

人情已厌倦蜀中的客居之苦，鸿雁为何从北方飞来。

My heart is weary of the hardships of the south; why, oh why, do the wild geese come from the north?

此联是全诗的点睛之笔，以厌苦写客居，以反问写归思。「人情已厌南中苦」写人情已厌倦蜀中的客居之苦——那「人情」写人的情思，「已厌」写已经厌倦，「南中苦」写蜀中的客居之苦，写尽客居的苦闷；「鸿雁那从北地来」写鸿雁为何从北方飞来——那「鸿雁」写北来的大雁，「那从」以反问写为何从北方来，写尽思乡的急切。这句的深意在于：它以「已厌南中苦」的直陈与「鸿雁那从北地来」的反问，写尽客居蜀中的乡愁——诗人客居蜀中，厌倦了蜀中的客居之苦，那「已厌」写尽客居的久苦，那「南中苦」写尽蜀中生活的艰辛；就在这厌倦中，鸿雁从北方（故乡方向）飞来，那「那从」以反问写尽思乡的急切——鸿雁尚知北归，自己却滞留蜀中，连鸿雁都从故乡方向飞来，自己却不能归去，那「那从」写尽思乡的无奈与急切；以鸿雁北来反衬己之不能归，写尽客居蜀中的乡愁。若换作直说「我很想回北方」，则失其含蓄；唯以「已厌南中苦」写客居之苦、「鸿雁那从北地来」的反问写归思，写尽乡愁的无奈，也让此联成为全诗的点睛之笔。

The couplet is the pointed stroke of the poem, writing the weary exile through my heart is weary of the hardships of the south and the return-longing through the rhetorical why, oh why, do the wild geese come from the north? My heart is weary of the hardships of the south writes the long hardship of the exile; why, oh why, do the wild geese come from the north? writes the northern geese and the rhetorical question. The deep meaning: the plain weariness and the rhetorical question exhausting the Sichuan exile's homesickness — the geese know to return north, while he lingers in Shu; even the geese come from the homeward direction, and he cannot return. Were it said plainly I want to go back to the north, the restraint would be lost; only through the weary south and the rhetorical geese-question is the homesickness exhausted, making the couplet the pointed stroke of the poem.

Study

Word focus

厌 Weary / loathe. In 'already weary of the South's bitterness,' the single 'weary' carries both the long-borne pain of exile in Shu and the yearning to return - the hinge of the poem's homesickness, answering the northward-geese question that follows. 「人情已厌南中苦」之「厌」字是写客居的关键字，一个「厌」字写尽客居的久苦。厌者，厌倦、厌恶也。王勃以「已厌」写蜀中客居，这个「厌」字至少有双重意味：其一，写客居之久的苦——那「已厌」写已经厌倦，那「厌」字写尽客居蜀中的久苦，厌倦之情油然而生；其二，写归思之切——那「厌」字更是写归思——厌倦蜀中的苦，正因思念故乡，那「厌」字写尽厌苦思归的心理。以「厌」字写客居，正是王勃写乡愁的枢纽——若换作「畏」「知」等字，则或失其厌倦的力度，或失其与「鸿雁那从北地来」的呼应；唯「厌」字，以一字写尽客居蜀中的厌倦与归思的深切，与鸿雁北来的反问相合，写尽乡愁，也让「人情已厌南中苦」成为全诗乡愁的关键。

那 Why / from where (a rhetorical particle). In 'why should they come from the north,' 'na' voices the poet's sudden question at the sight of homeward geese, expressing both the stir of longing and the helplessness of one who cannot return - the finishing stroke of the poem. 「鸿雁那从北地来」之「那」字是写反问的关键字，一个「那」字写尽思乡的急切。那者，哪、为何也，反问之辞。王勃以「那从」写鸿雁北来，这个「那」字至少有双重意味：其一，写疑问之辞——那「那从北地来」写鸿雁为何从北方飞来，那「那」字写诗人见鸿雁北来而生的疑问，写尽思乡的触动；其二，写无奈之慨——那「那」字更是写感慨——鸿雁尚知北归，自己却不能归，那「那」字写尽思乡的急切与无奈。以「那」字写反问，正是王勃收束全诗的枢纽——若换作「何」「因」等字，则或失其口语的灵动，或失其与「人情已厌」的呼应；唯「那」字，以一字写尽见鸿雁北来而思乡的反问与无奈，与「已厌南中苦」相合，写尽乡愁的急切，也让「鸿雁那从北地来」成为全诗的点睛之笔。