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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

天门谣

The Ballad of the Heavenly Gate

贺铸

He Zhu

牛渚天门险。
限南北、七雄豪占。
清雾敛。
与闲人登览。
待月上潮平波滟滟。
塞管轻吹新《阿滥》。
风满槛。
历历数、西州更点。

The Niuzhu, the Heavenly Gate, the peril.
Limiting the south and the north,
The seven heroes proudly occupied.
The clear mist gathers.
With the idle man, I climb and look.
Waiting for the moon to rise, the tide to level, the waves to glitter, glitter,
The frontier pipes softly blow the new 'A-lan.'
The wind fills the railing.
Clearly, clearly, I count the night watches of the Western Province.
Listen

Meaning

A lyric of the climb and the history, written by He Zhu. The Niuzhu, the Heavenly Gate, the peril — limiting the south and the north, the seven heroes proudly occupied — the perilous gate of the river, the heroes of the past. The clear mist gathers — with the idle man, he climbs and looks — the gathered mist and the idle climb. Waiting for the moon to rise, the tide to level, the waves to glitter, glitter — the rising moon and the leveled tide. The frontier pipes softly blow the new 'A-lan' — the wind fills the railing — the pipes of the frontier and the filling wind. Clearly, clearly, he counts the night watches of the Western Province — the night watches counted, the deep night. The lyric is the climb of the idle man at the Heavenly Gate: the perilous heroes of the past, the moon and the tide, and the night watches counted at the deep night.

牛渚天门险。限南北、七雄豪占。清雾敛。与闲人登览。待月上潮平波滟滟。塞管轻吹新《阿滥》。风满槛。历历数、西州更点。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The Niuzhu, the Heavenly Gate, the peril. Limiting the south and the north, the seven heroes proudly occupied. The clear mist gathers. With the idle man, I climb and look. Waiting for the moon to rise, the tide to level, the waves to glitter, glitter, the frontier pipes softly blow the new 'A-lan.' The wind fills the railing. Clearly, clearly, I count the night watches of the Western Province. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the perilous gate and the heroes of the past, through the gathered mist and the idle climb, to the rising moon and the leveled tide, and the close's counting of the night watches at the deep night. [Key Technique] The lyric's art is the contrast of the history and the present: the seven heroes of the perilous past against the idle man of the climb; and the close's counting of the night watches — the deep night of the present over the heroes of the past, the climb of the idle man. [Emotional Tone] Heroic, detached, and quiet: the lyric is the climb of the idle man, the perilous history and the quiet counting of the watches.

【白话串讲】 贺铸写《天门谣》：“牛渚天门险。限南北、七雄豪占”——“清雾敛。与闲人登览”——“待月上潮平波滟滟”——“塞管轻吹新《阿滥》”——他登天门——牛渚天门险。 【意象与手法】 “牛渚天门险。限南北、七雄豪占”写天门之险；“清雾敛。与闲人登览”写清雾登览；“待月上潮平波滟滟”写月上潮平；“塞管轻吹新《阿滥》”写塞管轻吹；结以“风满槛。历历数、西州更点”写西州更点。豪放旷达。 【情感与主旨】 贺铸写怀古登览之作，写牛渚天门的雄险与登临之乐，于怀古中见旷达，体现贺铸词豪放与清丽兼备的风格。 【名句点睛】 常考“牛渚天门险。限南北、七雄豪占”以牛渚天门写险；“待月上潮平波滟滟”以月上潮平写登览之景。

Background

He Zhu (1052–1125), the lyric master of the Song, wrote this 'Ballad of the Heavenly Gate' at the climb of the Heavenly Gate and the Niuzhu — the perilous gate of the Yangtze. The seven heroes proudly occupied — the heroes of the past who held the gate; the clear mist gathering and the idle climb of the poet; the rising moon, the leveled tide, the frontier pipes and the wind filling the railing; and the close's clear counting of the night watches of the Western Province — the lyric gathers the climb and the history, the perilous past and the quiet present of the idle man.

《天门谣》为北宋词人贺铸所作词。贺铸（1052—1125），字方回，号庆湖遗老，卫州（今河南卫辉）人，北宋词人，词风兼婉约豪放，人称「贺梅子」。此词写怀古登览。牛渚（今安徽马鞍山采石矶）、天门山（今安徽当涂东西梁山）为长江天险、兵家必争之地。词中「牛渚天门险。限南北、七雄豪占」写天门之险；「清雾敛。与闲人登览」写清雾登览；「待月上潮平波滟滟。塞管轻吹新《阿滥》」写月上潮平；「风满槛。历历数、西州更点」写西州更点。贺铸此词以牛渚天门之险、清雾登览写怀古之情，豪放旷达，是贺铸词中的名篇。此篇《天门谣》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《天门谣》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。

Art

The lyric's art is the art of the history and the present. The peril opens: the Niuzhu, the Heavenly Gate, the peril — limiting the south and the north, the seven heroes proudly occupied — the perilous gate and the heroes of the past. The climb follows: the clear mist gathers — with the idle man, he climbs and looks — the gathered mist and the idle climb, the poet as the idle man over the heroes. The scene: waiting for the moon to rise, the tide to level, the waves to glitter, glitter — the rising moon and the leveled tide; the frontier pipes softly blow the new 'A-lan' — the wind fills the railing — the pipes and the wind of the night. And the close gathers the deep night: clearly, clearly, he counts the night watches of the Western Province — the watches counted, the deep night of the present — the climb of the idle man over the perilous history, the quiet close of the lyric.

此词艺术上以「豪放旷达、以景写古」见长。全词上片写天门之险与清雾登览，下片写月上潮平与西州更点。上片「牛渚天门险。限南北、七雄豪占」写天门之险：牛渚天门险，限南北、七雄豪占；「清雾敛。与闲人登览」写清雾登览：清雾敛，与闲人登览。下片「待月上潮平波滟滟。塞管轻吹新《阿滥》」写月上潮平：待月上潮平波滟滟，塞管轻吹新《阿滥》；「风满槛。历历数、西州更点」写西州更点：风满槛，历历数、西州更点。全词豪放旷达，以景写古，是贺铸词中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。

Allusions

'The Niuzhu' (Niuzhu) is the Niuzhu of the Yangtze — the famous perilous place; 'the Heavenly Gate' (Tianmen) is the Heavenly Gate of the river — the perilous gate; 'the seven heroes' (qi xiong) are the heroes of the past — the seven heroes who held the gate; 'the idle man' (xian ren) is the idle man of the climb — the poet himself; 'the A-lan' (A-lan) is the tune of the frontier pipes — the new tune; 'the Western Province' (Xizhou) is the province of the west — the night watches of the region, counted at the deep night.

词中「牛渚」「天门」「七雄」「清雾敛」「潮平」「塞管」「《阿滥》」「风满槛」「西州」「更点」等语，皆含典故故实。「牛渚」为采石矶，相传温峤燃犀于此，「牛渚天门险」写牛渚、天门之险要；「七雄」写魏晋南北朝以来南北争雄（六朝及吴等），「限南北、七雄豪占」写以长江限南北、为七雄所争占；「清雾敛」写清雾收敛；「潮平」写潮水平，「月上潮平波滟滟」写月上潮平波光滟滟；「塞管」写边塞之管乐；「《阿滥》」为笛曲名（唐《阿滥堆》）；「西州」为金陵（南京）之别称，「西州更点」写金陵之更鼓。词人以牛渚、天门、七雄、塞管、西州更点等语入词，不着痕迹，而把怀古登览之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。

Commentary

This lyric is one of the famous works of He Zhu, quoted for the quiet depth of its close. The perilous gate and the seven heroes, and the clear counting of the night watches, are among the admired passages of the master's lyrics. Critics praise the lyric's depth: the perilous history and the idle climb, the quiet close of the counted watches.

这首《天门谣》，是贺铸写怀古登览之作，写牛渚天门之险、清雾登览、月上潮平之情，豪放旷达。上片写天门之险与清雾登览：「牛渚天门险。限南北、七雄豪占」——牛渚天门险，限南北、七雄豪占。写天门之险：牛渚、天门，其险绝伦，以长江限南北、为七雄所争占——写尽天门之险要、古来争战之地；「清雾敛。与闲人登览」——清雾敛，与闲人登览。写清雾登览：清雾收敛，与闲人登临览胜——清雾既敛，正好登览，以「闲人」自许，见其超然。下片写月上潮平与西州更点：「待月上潮平波滟滟。塞管轻吹新《阿滥》」——待月上潮平波滟滟，塞管轻吹新《阿滥》。写月上潮平：待月上山头、潮平波滟滟，塞管轻吹新《阿滥》之曲——月、潮、笛曲，写尽登览之乐；「风满槛。历历数、西州更点」——风满槛，历历数、西州更点。写西州更点：风满槛，历历可数西州之更点——凭栏临风，数金陵更点，以更点写夜之深、览之久。这「历历数、西州更点」，是全词之结：以数更点写其登览之久、怀古之深。全词豪放旷达，以景写古，正是贺铸词中的名篇。

Prosody

Form Tianmenyao (The Ballad of the Heavenly Gate), a short lyric词（天门谣，小令）
Rhyme The lyric rhymes on the oblique-tone words of the group — the turning, oblique rhyme that carries the peril and the deep night.此词为《天门谣》调，小令三十六字。押仄声韵：「险」「占」「览」「滟」「滥」「槛」「点」押俭勘部韵。词体依词谱而定，句式长短错落，音节随情起伏，正与写怀古登览的豪放旷达相称，也见其以词写登览的自然。
Tone pattern The cadence is that of the climb: the rising with the peril and the heroes, the turning with the idle climb and the rising moon, and the close's fall with the counted watches of the deep night.句式上，上片「牛渚天门险。限南北、七雄豪占」写天门之险，音节雄浑；「清雾敛。与闲人登览」写清雾登览，音节疏宕；下片「待月上潮平波滟滟。塞管轻吹新《阿滥》」写月上潮平，音节清亮；「风满槛。历历数、西州更点」写西州更点，音节悠远。全词音节由雄浑而疏宕、由清亮而悠远，正合词体「长短句」之妙，读来如登临怀古、月上潮平之音，豪放而动人。
Reading note The lyric's sound matches its depth: the short, turning cadence of the climb, and the close — 'feng man jian, lili shu, Xizhou geng dian' — falls with the counted watches, the sound of the deep night of the present.此词为《天门谣》调，是贺铸写怀古登览之作，也是其词中的名篇。全词的艺术特色在于「豪放旷达、以景写古」：上片「牛渚天门险。限南北、七雄豪占」写天门之险、「清雾敛。与闲人登览」写清雾登览；下片「待月上潮平波滟滟。塞管轻吹新《阿滥》」写月上潮平、「风满槛。历历数、西州更点」写西州更点。全词豪放旷达，以景写古。尤为精妙者，是「牛渚天门险。限南北、七雄豪占」以七雄豪占写古来争战，雄浑有力；而「历历数、西州更点」以数更点写登览之久，正是贺铸词「豪放旷达」的典范，为历代词选所常收。《天门谣》一诗之所以读来声情并茂，正在于诗人以声韵配合情思、以节奏烘托意境，音节之长短、平仄之起伏，皆与诗意相为表里，此亦可见中国古典诗歌声律之美与匠心之工。

Line by line

牛渚天门险。

The Niuzhu, the Heavenly Gate, the peril.

牛渚天门险。

Niuzhu and Tianmen are a perilous pass.

首句写天门之险，起笔即见其险。「牛渚天门险」写牛渚天门险，「牛渚」为采石矶、「天门」为天门山（东西梁山），「险」写其险要。一句以牛渚天门写其地、以「险」写其险要，写尽牛渚天门之险——长江天险、兵家必争。起笔写其险，为全词写怀古登览作铺垫，是「以景起兴」的妙笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

The opening line writes the Tianmen peril, the first stroke at once seeing the danger. The Niuzhu-Tianmen-peril writing the Caishi Crag and the East-West Liang Mountains, the peril word writing their strategic danger, exhausting the Yangtze's natural barrier and the military must-contend place. The first stroke writing the danger, storing the ground for the whole ci's ancient-gazing ascent, the scene-uprising wondrous brush.

限南北、七雄豪占。

Limiting the south and the north, the seven heroes proudly occupied.

限南北、七雄豪占。

It divides north and south, and the seven powers contended for it.

此二句写天门之险要，是全词写怀古的关键。「限南北」写限南北，「限」写隔绝、限断，「南北」写南北之地；「七雄豪占」写七雄豪占，「七雄」写古来南北争雄之群雄，「豪占」写豪强争占。两句一写以江限南北、一写七雄豪占，写尽牛渚天门为南北争战之险——天险限南北，古来七雄豪占。以古写险，含蓄而雄浑，是「以古写景」的点睛之笔。

These two lines write the Tianmen peril, the whole ci's ancient-gazing key. The divides-north-and-south writing the river's severance; the seven-powers-contended writing the rival heroes' contention. Two lines one writing the north-south division, one the powers' occupation, exhausting the Niuzhu-Tianmen north-south war's danger — the natural barrier's division and the ancient powers' strife. Using the ancient for the danger-writing, reserved and vigorous, the ancient-writes-scene telling stroke.

待月上潮平波滟滟。

Waiting for the moon to rise, the tide to level, the waves to glitter, glitter.

待月上潮平波滟滟。

Wait for the moon to rise and the tide to settle, the waves sparkling.

此句写月上潮平，是全词写登览之乐的关键。「待月上潮平波滟滟」写待月上潮平波滟滟，「待月上」写等月上、「潮平」写潮水平、「波滟滟」写波光滟滟。一句以「待月上」写其待月、以「潮平波滟滟」写月上潮平波光之滟滟，写尽登览待月、月上潮平波光滟滟之美景。以景写乐，含蓄而明快，是「以景写乐」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

This line writes the moon-rise-tide-settle, the whole ci's ascent-joy key. The wait-for-the-moon-to-rise-and-the-tide-to-settle-the-waves-sparkling writing the moon's waiting, the tide's settling, and the sparkling waves, exhausting the ascent's moon-waiting and the moon-rise-tide-sparkling beauty. Using the scene for the joy-writing, reserved and bright, the scene-writes-joy telling stroke.

历历数、西州更点。

Clearly, clearly, I count the night watches of the Western Province.

历历数、西州更点。

Counting, one by one, the watch-drum beats of Xizhou.

尾二句写西州更点，是全词立意的落点。「历历数」写历历可数，「历历」写清晰可数、「数」写计数；「西州更点」写西州之更点，「西州」为金陵别称、「更点」写更鼓之点。二句以「历历数」写其数更点、以「西州更点」写金陵更鼓，写其凭栏临风、历历数西州之更点——夜渐深而览之久。以更点写夜，含蓄而深远，是全词最动人处，也是「以声写境」的点睛之笔。

The closing two lines write the Xizhou watch-drum beats, the whole ci's intention landing. The counting-one-by-one writing the clear count; the Xizhou-watch-drum-beats writing Jinling's watch drum. Two lines using the counting for the drum-counting and the Xizhou for Jinling's watch, writing the railing's wind and the count of the night's beats — the night's deepening and the lingering's long. Using the watch-beats for the night-writing, reserved and far, the whole ci's most moving place, the sound-writes-realm telling stroke.

Study

Word focus

险 'The peril' — the peril of the Heavenly Gate, the perilous gate of the river. 「险」字写牛渚天门险，是写天门之险要的关键。「牛渚天门险」着一「险」，写其险要——着一「险」字，写牛渚天门之险要绝伦，见其地为天险。一字写尽天门之险，是「以一字写景」的妙笔。「险」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
豪占 'Proudly occupied' — the heroes proudly occupying the gate, the history of the past. 「豪占」写七雄豪占，是写怀古的关键。「七雄豪占」着一「豪占」，写豪强争占——着一「豪占」，写古来群雄豪强争占此地，见其地为争战之地。两字写尽争占之烈，是「以词写古」的点睛之词。「豪占」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
闲 'Idle' — the idle man of the climb, the poet detached from the history. 「闲」字写闲人登览，是写其超然的关键。「与闲人登览」着一「闲」，写闲人——着一「闲」字，以闲人自许，见其超然于争战之外。一字写尽其超然，是「以一字写人」的点睛之词。「闲」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
历历 'Clearly, clearly' — the clear counting of the night watches, the deep night of the present. 「历历」写历历可数，是写夜之深的关键。「历历数、西州更点」着一「历历」，写清晰可数——叠字写更点之清晰可数，见其凭栏之久、夜之深。两字写尽数更点之久，是「以叠字写夜」的点睛之词。「历历」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

枫桥夜泊 Mooring at Night by Maple Bridge 张继 · 同写登临夜泊、以声写境，一写夜半钟声到客船、一写历历数西州更点，皆于更鼓钟声之中见夜之深 Both are the works of the night and the sound — the midnight bell of the bridge, the counted watches of the gate — the two sounds of the deep night.

Zhang Ji's 'Mooring at Night by Maple Bridge' — 'the midnight bell of the Cold Mountain Temple reaches the traveler's boat' — is the sound of the deep night at the bridge; He Zhu's 'Ballad of the Heavenly Gate' — 'clearly, clearly, I count the night watches' — is the sound of the deep night at the gate — the two sounds of the deep night, the one of the bell, the other of the watches.

张继《枫桥夜泊》「月落乌啼霜满天，江枫渔火对愁眠。姑苏城外寒山寺，夜半钟声到客船」，写客船夜泊、夜半钟声，是唐诗写羁旅的名篇；贺铸《天门谣》则以「风满槛。历历数、西州更点」写凭栏数更点。两篇同写登临夜泊、以声写境：一写夜半钟声到客船、以钟声写客愁，一写历历数西州更点、以更点写夜深；一为唐诗之清寂、一为宋词之疏宕，并读正可见诗与词写「夜声」的两种笔法，皆于更鼓钟声之中见夜之深。

 登高 Climbing High 杜甫 · 同写登高览胜、感慨身世，一写无边落木不尽长江、一写牛渚天门七雄豪占，皆于登览之中见感慨 Both are the works of the climb and the view — the boundless falling wood of Du Fu, the perilous gate of He Zhu — the two climbs of the view and the feeling.

Du Fu's 'Climbing High' — 'the boundless falling wood rustles, rustles down' — is the climb of the sorrow, the view of the autumn; He Zhu's 'Ballad of the Heavenly Gate' — 'the Niuzhu, the Heavenly Gate, the peril' — is the climb of the history, the view of the gate — the two climbs of the view and the feeling, the one of the autumn, the other of the heroes.

杜甫《登高》「无边落木萧萧下，不尽长江滚滚来」「万里悲秋常作客，百年多病独登台」，写登高所见秋景与身世之悲，是唐诗登高诗最著名者；贺铸《天门谣》则以「牛渚天门险。限南北、七雄豪占」「历历数、西州更点」写登临怀古。两篇同写登高览胜、感慨身世：一写无边落木不尽长江、以秋景写悲，一写牛渚天门七雄豪占、以怀古写慨；一为杜甫之沉郁、一为贺铸之疏宕，并读正可见诗与词写「登高」的两种情致，皆于登览之中见感慨。