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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

安定城楼

On the City Tower of Anding

李商隐

Li Shangyin

怀才不遇talent unrecognized 登临ascending a height 咏怀expressing feelings

迢递高城百尺楼，绿杨枝外尽汀洲。
贾生年少虚垂涕，王粲春来更远游。
永忆江湖归白发，欲回天地入扁舟。
不知腐鼠成滋味，猜意鹓雏竟未休。

Far off stands the high wall and its hundred-foot tower,
Beyond the green willow branches the sandbars run to the end of sight.
Young Jia Yi wept for his country and wept in vain,
Wang Can, when spring came, wandered farther still.
Always I dream of the rivers and lakes, of going home white-haired,
Of turning heaven and earth about, then taking a small boat away.
They cannot understand that a rotting rat is no delicacy,
And their suspicion of the phoenix never comes to an end.

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Meaning

Standing on the tower of a frontier city, the young Li Shangyin compares himself to two earlier writers whose gifts went unused. He declares an ambition to set the world right and then withdraw from it, and ends by dismissing the petty men who suspect him of wanting what they want.

高高的城楼上百尺危楼，绿杨之外是连绵的沙洲。贾谊年轻时空自垂泪忧国，王粲在春天里更向远方漂泊。我永远向往功成身退、白发归隐江湖，要在扭转乾坤之后，乘一叶扁舟而去。哪里知道那腐鼠竟成了美味，小猫头鹰猜忌凤凰的念头总也不休。

Appreciation

The poem opens outward, on a hundred-foot tower and sandbars stretching to the horizon, and the sweep of the view is what licenses the sweep of everything that follows. The second couplet borrows two historical figures to describe a private grievance, one who wept for his state in youth and one who was driven from home in spring, and the borrowing is exact rather than decorative. The third couplet contains the finest lines Li Shangyin ever wrote in this vein, because the ambition it states is double: not merely to save the world but to save it and then walk away, which is a far prouder claim than either half alone. The last couplet turns on the old parable of the owl clutching a dead rat and screeching at a passing phoenix, and it is delivered with contempt rather than complaint. Few of his poems stand this straight.

【白话串讲】 “迢递高城百尺楼，绿杨枝外尽汀洲”——李商隐登安定城楼。“贾生年少虚垂涕，王粲春来更远游”——他自比贾谊和王粲。“永忆江湖归白发，欲回天地入扁舟”——他想功成身退，泛舟江湖。“不知腐鼠成滋味，猜意鹓雏竟未休”——他骂那些猜忌他的人。【意象与手法】首联登高览景，气象开阔；颔联用贾谊、王粲二典自况沦落；颈联“永忆”“欲回”表明抱负与归隐兼得的高洁志趣；尾联用《庄子》鸱得腐鼠、吓鹓雏之喻，辛辣讽刺猜忌小人的肮脏心思。【情感与主旨】此诗是李商隐自抒怀抱之作。他借贾谊、王粲写自己壮志难伸，却以“回天地入扁舟”标举功成身退的胸襟，末以庄子寓言蔑视权位、嘲讽宵小，傲骨凛然。【名句点睛】 “永忆江湖归白发，欲回天地入扁舟”——将扭转乾坤的宏愿与功成身退的淡泊融为一体，境界高远，是李商隐诗中少有的豪迈之笔。

Background

The city tower of Anding stood at present-day Jingchuan in Gansu, the seat of the military governor of Jingyuan in Tang times. As a young man Li Shangyin joined the staff of the governor Wang Maoyuan, and this poem was probably written after climbing the wall there. Wang Maoyuan admired his talent and later married a daughter to him, a connection that drew him into the factional struggle between the Niu and Li parties. The references to Jia Yi and Wang Can lament his own lack of recognition, while the parable of the rotting rat glances at the petty men who suspected his motives.

安定城楼旧址在今甘肃泾川一带，唐代为泾原节度使治所（泾州）。李商隐青年时受辟于泾原节度使王茂元幕府，此诗约作于其登城临眺、感慨身世之际。王茂元爱其才，后将女儿嫁之，却使李商隐深深卷入牛李党争的漩涡：他早岁受知于牛党要角令狐楚，及娶李党王茂元之女，遂遭两党夹击，一生困顿。诗中贾生、王粲皆是以才士自况沦落不遇，腐鼠之喻则暗指党争中宵小对他的猜忌与排挤。写此诗时，李商隐正值入幕未久、功名蹭蹬，登高望远，既有壮志难伸之悲，亦有不屑与浊世同流之傲。安定地处边州，登高所见汀洲辽阔，更添去国怀乡、身世飘零之慨，故能于七律中写出少有的清健风骨，是其早年抒怀的代表作。王茂元镇泾原时爱其才而妻以女，却使李商隐深陷牛李党争夹缝，一生蹭蹬，此诗正是其早年入幕失意、登高抒怀而傲兀自许的力作，最见义山少有的清健风骨。

Art

This is a seven-character regulated poem of ascent whose opening and closing are both expansive. The first two couplets move from landscape into allusion; the last two speak directly from the heart and end with a parable from the Zhuangzi. The energy circulates freely and the bearing is proud and unbowed, while the parallelism is finely worked, matching Jia Yi against Wang Can and always dreaming against wishing to turn.

此诗为七律登临之作，章法开阖极大，起结尤见傲岸。首联迢递高城百尺楼、绿杨枝外尽汀洲，以登高览景起笔，百尺危楼与绿杨汀洲一高一下、一丽一阔，气象开阔而暗蓄登临之慨。颔联贾生年少虚垂涕、王粲春来更远游，由景入典，以贾谊、王粲二贤自况沦落，用事贴切而悲慨深沉。颈联永忆江湖归白发、欲回天地入扁舟，忽作高远之想，将扭转乾坤的宏愿与功成身退的淡泊融为一体，抱负与归隐兼得，境界独高。尾联不知腐鼠成滋味、猜意鹓雏竟未休，以庄子寓言收束，以鸱得腐鼠吓鹓雏之喻辛辣讽刺猜忌小人的肮脏心思，傲骨凛然。中二联对仗精工，贾生对王粲、永忆对欲回，工稳而流转；通篇由景及典、由典及志、由志及讽，气脉奔涌而骨力清健，与义山多数朦胧深婉之作迥异，最见其少有的豪迈一面。中二联对仗精工，贾生对王粲、永忆对欲回，工稳而流转；通篇由景及典、由典及志、由志及讽，气脉奔涌而骨力清健，与义山多数朦胧深婉之作迥异。

Allusions

Jia Yi was the brilliant young statesman of the Han who submitted memorials of warning to his emperor and died unfulfilled, invoked here for talent that went unused. Wang Can was a poet of the Jian'an era who took refuge with Liu Biao and, climbing a tower in spring, wrote his famous rhapsody, invoked here for the condition of a dependent in exile. The small boat recalls Fan Li, who helped the state of Yue to victory and then sailed away on the five lakes, an emblem of retiring once the work is done. The rotting rat and the phoenix come from the Autumn Floods chapter of the Zhuangzi, where an owl that has found a dead rat screeches at a passing phoenix for fear it means to take it, a figure for small men in high places who suspect the motives of their betters.

贾生即贾谊，西汉洛阳才子，年少上疏痛陈时弊、忧国垂涕，终遭排挤贬为长沙王太傅，此处喻己怀才不遇、报国无门。王粲为建安七子之一，曾依刘表不得志，于春日登楼作登楼赋以抒去国怀乡之悲，此处喻自己漂泊依人、春来更远游的沦落。扁舟暗用范蠡助越灭吴后乘舟泛五湖之典，古人以之象征功成身退、不受羁绊的高洁之志，诗人借此表明并非贪恋禄位，而是要回天地之后飘然引去。腐鼠与鹓雏出自庄子秋水：鸱得腐鼠，仰天而吓鹓雏，以腐鼠喻小人窃据的权位，以鹓雏（凤凰）喻高洁之士，庄子借以明污泥不染之志；李商隐移用其意，以腐鼠成滋味写宵小据位自得，以猜意鹓雏写其无端猜忌清流，蔑视之极而讽刺入骨。四典层层递进，由自伤而自守，由自守而傲世，是全诗筋骨所在。四典层层递进，由贾生王粲之自伤，到扁舟功成身退之自守，再到腐鼠鹓雏之傲世，将身世之悲、之志、之傲冶于一炉，是全诗筋骨所在。

Commentary

Ji Yun called the whole poem vigorous throughout, and its ending especially proud and unyielding, showing a clear strength of character rarely found elsewhere in Li Shangyin.

此诗历来被誉为李商隐七律中的压卷之作，清人纪昀评其「通体矫健，一结尤傲兀」，最见义山少有的清健风骨。王安石晚年极喜义山诗，曾摘句编为集句，于此诗独取永忆江湖归白发、欲回天地入扁舟一联，可见宋人亦重其豪迈。与一般无题诗的瑰丽隐晦不同，此诗直抒胸臆、气骨开张，在李商隐集中别树一帜，故能脱离朦胧而独立成峰。历代论者多赏其将入世之宏愿与出世之淡泊冶于一炉，既不流于热衷，亦不陷于消沉，于傲兀中见性情之真。近人更推其为唐代登临七律中兼具才调与风骨的代表，认为它既写出了寒士不遇的悲愤，也写出了不以宠辱易志的士大夫气节，故能千古之下犹能动人肝膈。近人更推其为唐代登临七律中兼具才调与风骨的代表，既写寒士不遇之愤，亦写不以宠辱易志之节，故能千古之下犹动人心，于义山集中别树一峰。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated verse七言律诗

Rhyme The rhyme words are lou, zhou, you, zhou, and xiu, belonging to the eleventh lower level rhyme group you.首句入韵，韵脚楼、洲、游、舟、休，属平水韵下平十一尤部，一韵到底。

Tone pattern Oblique-tone opening with the first line rhyming, and the middle two couplets in parallel, matching Jia Yi against Wang Can.平起首句入韵体，中二联对仗精工，颔联贾生对王粲、颈联永忆对欲回，平仄谐协，符合七律格律。

Reading note The first half describes the view and uses allusion to express the sorrow of drifting; the second half compares the poet to Jia Yi and Wang Can and closes with the rotting rat and the phoenix. The energy is complete and the spirit whole, and the poem ranks as the crown of Li Shangyin's seven-character regulated verse.此诗为李商隐七律的代表作，体制严整而气骨清健。首联平起入韵，迢递高城百尺楼、绿杨枝外尽汀洲以高朗疏丽之景开篇，尤韵开阔，先立登高望远之势；中二联对仗极工，颔联贾生年少虚垂涕、王粲春来更远游以古贤自况，颈联永忆江湖归白发、欲回天地入扁舟以流水对写抱负，四句由悲而壮，平仄流转而情韵奔涌；尾联不知腐鼠成滋味、猜意鹓雏竟未休以庄子寓言收束，仄收短促，声情陡转傲兀。十一尤韵音色清悠而能涵壮阔，与全诗由丽景、沦落、宏愿到蔑视的情感起伏相生。七律至此，既能工整又不失奔放，通体矫健而一结凌厉，故被推为玉溪生七律之压卷，最见其少有的清健风骨。

Line by line

迢递高城百尺楼，

Far in the distance rises the high city wall and its hundred-foot tower. The height and remoteness of the opening establish at once the posture of climbing high and looking far, and the scene is broad.

高高的城楼上百尺危楼，

On the far-stretching high wall, the hundred-foot tower,

起笔迢递高城百尺楼，先以空间的高迥统摄全篇。迢递二字写城楼连绵高峻、望之悠远，百尺楼则点明其巍峨，登临之势由此开篇即立。高楼在古典诗词中每为望远伤怀之地，此处既是实写安定城堞之高，也是抒情主人公立足点的象征——唯有登高，方能骋目骋怀、俯仰身世。这一句不事雕琢而气象开阔，为后文绿杨汀洲的丽景与贾生王粲的悲慨铺开了一个高朗的视点。李商隐七律多以丽密起笔，此联却以疏朗高浑取胜，已暗示此篇不同于其常见的深婉隐晦，而将是一次清健的抒怀。

The opening line, on the far-stretching high wall, the hundred-foot tower, first controls the whole through spatial height and distance. The words far-stretching write the wall's rolling height, and the hundred-foot tower points out its loftiness, the posture of the climb established from the opening. The high tower in classical poetry is often the place of gazing far and grieving; here it is at once the real height of the Anding wall and the symbol of the lyric hero's standpoint - only by climbing high can one let the eyes and heart range, and look up and down on one's lot. This line, unadorned, has a vast atmosphere, spreading a bright high vantage for the later green willows and sandbars and the grief of Jia Yi and Wang Can. Li Shangyin's regulated verses often open in rich density, yet this couplet wins through its openness and grandeur, already hinting that this piece, unlike his usual hidden tenderness, will be a clear and vigorous utterance.

绿杨枝外尽汀洲。

Beyond the branches of the green willows the sandbars run on to the horizon. A beautiful prospect is laid out, and within that pleasant scene the melancholy of ascent is already stored up.

绿杨之外是连绵的沙洲。

Beyond the green willows, sandbars stretch on and on.

次句绿杨枝外尽汀洲，由高楼俯看，绿杨依依、汀洲绵延，以明丽之景延展首句的开阔。枝外、尽字写出视野由近及远、层层推开，绿杨的柔美与汀洲的苍茫相映，构成一幅边州春望图。乐景之中实暗蓄登临之慨：如此开阔江山，却非己之故园，反倒反衬出诗人漂泊依人、去国怀乡的心事。这一句表面写自然之丽，内里已伏身世之悲，是传统登高诗中以乐景写哀情的巧妙铺垫，也为颔联转入贾生王粲的沦落之叹作好情绪过渡。

The second line, beyond the green willows, sandbars stretch on and on, looks down from the high tower, the willows drooping and the sandbars rolling, extending the opening's openness through the bright scene. The words beyond and on and on write the view pushing from near to far, layer by layer; the willows' softness and the sandbars' vastness set off, forming a spring prospect of the border prefecture. Within the joyous scenery is secretly stored the grief of the climb: such open rivers and mountains, yet not my home, on the contrary setting off the poet's drifting dependence and the heart of leaving the country and cherishing home. This line on the surface writes natural beauty, within already hiding the grief of lot, the clever ground of the traditional climbing poem's writing grief through joyous scenery, and the emotional transition for the jaw couplet's turning to the fallen lot of Jia Yi and Wang Can.

贾生年少虚垂涕，

Young Jia Yi shed his tears for the state in vain. The poet describes himself through Jia Yi, and the word meaning in vain carries the grief of a gifted man with no way to serve.

贾谊年轻时空自垂泪忧国，

Jia Yi, young, shed his tears in vain;

颔联贾生年少虚垂涕，以贾谊自况，是全诗身世之悲的正式点出。贾谊洛阳才子，年少上疏论政、忧国垂涕，终遭权贵谗毁贬谪长沙，其才其志与李商隐何其相似。虚字最堪玩味：虚者，空也，写贾谊（亦即诗人自己）一片忧国之心终成空涕，抱负不得施展，悲中有愤。李商隐此时入幕未久、功名无着，以贾生自比，既伤才士报国无门，也暗讽当世之不能用贤。这一用典不着痕迹而贴切深至，将个人遭际嵌入历史才士的共同悲剧，使悲慨由一时一事升华为千古同悲。

The jaw couplet Jia Yi, young, shed his tears in vain compares the poet to Jia Yi, formally pointing out the grief of lot. Jia Yi, the young talent of Luoyang, memorialized on politics and wept for the country in his youth, yet at last suffered slander from the powerful and was demoted to Changsha; his talent and will are so like Li Shangyin's. The word in vain is most to enjoy: in vain means empty, writing that Jia Yi's (and the poet's) whole heart for the country ended in empty tears, the ambition unrealized, grief with indignation. Li Shangyin at this time had entered the office not long, his fame unset; comparing himself to Jia Yi, he at once grieves that the talented have no road to serve the country, and secretly mocks the age's inability to use the worthy. This allusion, without a trace and fitting to the depth, embeds the personal lot in the common tragedy of historical talents, raising the grief from one time and one matter to the common grief of a thousand ages.

王粲春来更远游。

Wang Can, when spring came, journeyed still farther away. Borrowing Wang Can's dependence on a patron, the poet describes his own drifting attachment to another man's household, far from home and thinking of it.

王粲在春天里更向远方漂泊。

Wang Can, when spring came, wandered still farther.

王粲春来更远游，继贾谊之后再以王粲自况，写漂泊依人之苦。王粲为建安诗人，避乱荆州依刘表，春日登楼作赋，叹去国怀乡之悲；诗人此时远赴泾原入幕，亦如王粲之依人远游，春来而乡思更切。更字尤重，写出漂泊之遥远、去家之渐远，与贾生句一写忧国一写漂泊，两面夹写身世之困。二句对仗精工，贾生对王粲、年少对春来、虚垂涕对更远游，以古贤之遭遇映射自身，既不直露怨悱，又沉痛入骨，最见义山用典抒怀的浑成本领，也为下文忽然振起的宏大抱负蓄足了反差。

Wang Can, when spring came, wandered still farther follows Jia Yi with another self-comparison to Wang Can, writing the hardship of drifting and depending on others. Wang Can, the Jian'an poet, fled the disorder to Jingzhou and relied on Liu Biao, climbing the tower in spring to compose his rhapsody and sigh at leaving the country and cherishing home; the poet at this time went far to Jingyuan to enter the office, also like Wang Can depending on others and wandering far, and the spring arriving makes the homesickness the keener. The word still farther is especially heavy, writing the distance of drifting and the gradual removal from home; paired with the Jia Yi line, one writes grief for the country, one writes drifting, the two sides pinching the hardship of lot. The two lines are a wrought parallel - Jia Yi against Wang Can, young against spring, shed tears in vain against wandered still farther - mapping the self through the ancient worthies, neither directly revealing grievance nor failing to cut to the bone, most showing Yishan's blended craft of using allusions to utter feeling, and gathering the contrast for the later sudden rising of the grand ambition.

永忆江湖归白发，

Always he dreams of the rivers and lakes, of returning white-haired. Lifelong longing for retirement, but retirement only after the work is done, which makes the ambition itself lofty.

我永远向往功成身退、白发归隐江湖，

Forever I remember returning to the rivers and lakes in white hair,

颈联永忆江湖归白发，由前面的沦落悲慨陡然转入高远之志。永忆二字写此志根植肺腑、历久不渝，江湖归白发则表明自己向往的是功成身退、白发归隐的淡泊结局，而非终身恋栈。这与一般失意者但求退隐不同：诗人之归隐是有前提的，须待致君尧舜、功业既成之后方飘然引去。一归字见其不慕荣利，一白发见其从容坦荡，合而写出士大夫最高洁的人生设计。此句与下句呼应，构成了李商隐诗中罕见的、将入世宏愿与出世淡泊完美统一的胸襟，境界之高迥出流辈。

The neck couplet forever I remember returning to the rivers and lakes in white hair turns from the fallen grief of the earlier lines to the lofty will. The words forever remember write that this will is rooted in the breast and unshaken by time; returning to the rivers and lakes in white hair shows that what one longs for is the plain end of retiring to the lakes in white hair after merit's achievement, not clinging to office for life. This differs from the ordinary disappointed man's mere wish to retire: the poet's reclusion has a premise, only after aiding the ruler to be a sage and completing the merit does he lightly withdraw. The word returning shows his not craving glory, and the word white hair shows his composure, together writing the scholar's noblest design of life. This line echoes the next, forming a breadth rarely seen in Li Shangyin's verse, perfectly uniting the worldly grand wish and the otherworldly plainness, the realm high above the common.

欲回天地入扁舟。

He would turn heaven and earth about, then step into a small boat. First to save the age and afterward to go his own way, a breadth of mind quite unlike mere withdrawal.

要在扭转乾坤之后，乘一叶扁舟而去。

wishing to turn heaven and earth around, then board my little boat.

欲回天地入扁舟，与永忆江湖归白发为流水对，将颈联的志趣推向顶点。回天地写扭转乾坤、重清寰宇的宏愿，气魄夺人；入扁舟则用范蠡泛湖之典，写功成之后乘舟而去的不系之志。欲字与永忆呼应，见其志之坚、谋之远。此句之妙，在于先济世后独往，把儒家兼济的担当与道家独善的潇洒冶于一炉，既不是热衷功名的俗儒，也不是逃避责任的隐逸，而是一种功成身退的至高人格。正因前有四句的积郁，此二句才愈显其傲岸不群，是李商隐诗中少有的豪迈之笔，亦为全篇精神之眼。

Wishing to turn heaven and earth around, then board my little boat is a running parallel with forever I remember returning to the rivers and lakes in white hair, pushing the neck couplet's bent to its peak. Turn heaven and earth writes the grand wish of turning the world and cleansing the realm, the spirit commanding; board my little boat uses the allusion to Fan Li's drifting on the lake, writing the unbound will of leaving by boat after merit. The word wishing echoes forever remember, showing the will's firmness and the design's distance. The beauty of this line lies in first saving the world and then going alone, fusing the Confucian burden of universal care and the Daoist ease of self-cultivation into one furnace - neither the vulgar scholar hot for fame, nor the recluse escaping responsibility, but the supreme character of withdrawing after merit. Precisely because of the accumulated grief of the first four lines, these two lines appear the more proud and apart, the rare bold brush in Li Shangyin's verse, and the spirit's eye of the whole.

不知腐鼠成滋味，

They cannot conceive that a rotting rat is no delicacy. The owl that has found a dead rat stands for petty men clutching their positions, and the disdain is absolute.

哪里知道那腐鼠竟成了美味，

They do not know that a rotting rat is no delicacy,

尾联不知腐鼠成滋味，以庄子寓言入诗，笔锋陡转，由高洁之志折入对宵小的蔑视。腐鼠本污秽不可食之物，诗人却以成滋味写小人竟将此等权位视为至味、据之自得，讽刺之尖刻溢于言表。不知二字是反诘式的冷嘲：那些营营于权位者，哪里懂得高洁之士视之如腐鼠的轻蔑。这一句将前文蓄积的悲愤化为锋利的讽刺，把党争中窃据要津、排挤清流的小人嘴脸勾勒得入木三分。李商隐以此表明自己绝不与之同流，其傲兀之气至此毕现，也使全诗的感情由抑转扬、由悲转傲。

The tail couplet they do not know that a rotting rat is no delicacy enters poetry with Zhuangzi's fable, the brush turning abruptly from the lofty will to contempt for the base. The rotting rat is originally filth uneatable, yet the poet writes as a delicacy, showing the small men taking such rank and position as the utmost savor and holding it with self-satisfaction, the satire's sharpness overflowing the words. The words they do not know are a rhetorical cold mockery: those buzzing over rank have no understanding of the lofty man's contempt for it as a rotting rat. This line turns the accumulated grief and indignation into a sharp satire, sketching to the bone the faces of the small men who seized the key posts in the factional strife and excluded the pure. Li Shangyin here shows he will never join their stream, his proud air fully revealed, and the whole's feeling turning from depressed to raised, from grief to pride.

猜意鹓雏竟未休。

And their suspicion of the phoenix never stops. Using the Zhuangzi parable to rebuke suspicion, the poet points out that a phoenix would not stoop to a dead rat, and his integrity stands severe and clear.

小猫头鹰猜忌凤凰的念头总也不休。

but go on suspecting the phoenix, never resting.

猜意鹓雏竟未休，承上句完成庄子鸱吓鹓雏之喻的收束。鹓雏即凤凰，非梧桐不栖、非练实不食、非醴泉不饮，象征着诗人自己高洁不污的志节；而猜意二字写那据腐鼠的鸱鸟（喻宵小）竟无端猜忌凤凰，竟未休更写出这种猜忌之绵绵不休、可笑亦可鄙。诗人以凤凰自居，既明志节之不可夺，亦嘲小人眼界之猥琐。一结傲兀凌厉，将牛李党争中对自己无端攻讦的愤懑化为居高临下的蔑视。纪昀所谓一结尤傲兀，正指此二句以寓言收束、气吞群小，使全篇骨力遽增，戛然而止而余怒未息。

But go on suspecting the phoenix, never resting follows the upper line to complete the closing of Zhuangzi's fable of the owl frightening the phoenix. The phoenix (yuanchu) rests only on the parasol tree, eats only the bamboo fruit, drinks only the sweet spring, symbolizing the poet's own unstained integrity; and the words suspecting write that the owl holding the rotting rat (the small men) for no reason suspects the phoenix, and never resting further writes this suspicion's endless, laughable and contemptible course. The poet takes the phoenix as himself, at once making clear the integrity that cannot be taken, and mocking the small men's narrow sight. The close is proud and cutting, turning the indignation at the unprovoked attacks in the Niu-Li factional strife into a lofty contempt. Ji Yun's words the close is especially proud exactly point to these two lines closing in fable, swallowing the small men, the whole's bone and strength suddenly increased, stopping abruptly yet the lingering anger not spent.

Study

Word focus

虚 The word xu, in vain or to no purpose, carries the sorrow of Jia Yi and the poet's own sorrow at the same time. 虚字在贾生年少虚垂涕中为全诗炼字之眼，看似寻常副词，却浓缩了才士报国无门的深沉悲慨。虚者，空也、徒也，写贾谊（亦即诗人自况）一片忧国热泪终成空涕，其疏虽切而君门九重，其志虽大而时命不偶。一字而把贾生生平之悲与诗人自身之困叠印为一，既伤古贤亦伤己身。更妙者在于，虚字与颈联永忆、欲回所写的坚定抱负形成强烈反跌：前既言虚垂涕之空，后乃言回天地之实，悲愤愈深则壮志愈显，恰见诗人不以一时沦落易其鸿鹄之志。此字以最轻之笔，挑起最重之情，是义山七律中炼虚字见骨力的范例。

永忆、欲回 The phrases meaning always dreaming of and wishing to turn about declare how firm the poet's twin resolve is, to serve and then to withdraw. 永忆与欲回是颈联中一对相互撑持的动词短语，共同托起全诗最高的精神境界。永忆写此志根植于肺腑、历久不磨，忆字本表追想，此处却用于前瞻之志，见其念兹在兹、未尝须臾去怀；欲回写其行动取向，回天地以扭转乾坤的宏愿配欲字，气魄夺人。二字一内一外、一守一为，将功成身退、先济世后独往的士大夫理想写得既坚且远。相较于颔联贾生王粲的沦落悲慨，永忆欲回陡然振起，使全诗由抑转扬；而其所以能扬，正因二字所凝之志足够高远。炼字之妙，在于以寻常语写不寻常之胸襟，遂成李商隐诗中罕见的豪迈警句。

不知、竟未休 The phrases meaning they do not know and never comes to an end frame the ending as a rhetorical rebuke, expressing both contempt and a certain helplessness. 不知与竟未休是尾联中呼应成势的两个虚词，合力完成对猜忌小人的冷嘲与蔑视。不知以反诘出之，写宵小据腐鼠为滋味、哪懂得高洁之士的轻蔑，语气中满是居高临下的讥讽；竟未休的竟字表出乎意料、不休写其绵绵无止，把党争中无端攻讦、猜忌清流的丑态写得既可笑又可鄙。二词一设问一收束，使庄子寓言的锋芒落到实处：诗人以凤凰自居，既明志节不可夺，亦嘲小人眼界之猥琐。这一组虚词虽轻，却赋予尾联以凌厉的气势与不尽的余怒，正是纪昀所赏一结尤傲兀的声情所系。