唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
长恨歌
Song of Everlasting Regret
汉皇重色思倾国，御宇多年求不得。
杨家有女初长成，养在深闺人未识。
天生丽质难自弃，一朝选在君王侧。
回眸一笑百媚生，六宫粉黛无颜色。
春寒赐浴华清池，温泉水滑洗凝脂。
侍儿扶起娇无力，始是新承恩泽时。
云鬓花颜金步摇，芙蓉帐暖度春宵。
春宵苦短日高起，从此君王不早朝。
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汉皇重色思倾国，御宇多年求不得。
杨家有女初长成，养在深闺人未识。
天生丽质难自弃，一朝选在君王侧。
回眸一笑百媚生，六宫粉黛无颜色。
春寒赐浴华清池，温泉水滑洗凝脂。
侍儿扶起娇无力，始是新承恩泽时。
云鬓花颜金步摇，芙蓉帐暖度春宵。
春宵苦短日高起，从此君王不早朝。
承欢侍宴无闲暇，春从春游夜专夜。
后宫佳丽三千人，三千宠爱在一身。
金屋妆成娇侍夜，玉楼宴罢醉和春。
姊妹弟兄皆列土，可怜光彩生门户。
遂令天下父母心，不重生男重生女。
骊宫高处入青云，仙乐风飘处处闻。
缓歌慢舞凝丝竹，尽日君王看不足。
渔阳鼙鼓动地来，惊破霓裳羽衣曲。
九重城阙烟尘生，千乘万骑西南行。
翠华摇摇行复止，西出都门百余里。
六军不发无奈何，宛转蛾眉马前死。
花钿委地无人收，翠翘金雀玉搔头。
君王掩面救不得，回看血泪相和流。
黄埃散漫风萧索，云栈萦纡登剑阁。
峨嵋山下少人行，旌旗无光日色薄。
蜀江水碧蜀山青，圣主朝朝暮暮情。
行宫见月伤心色，夜雨闻铃肠断声。
天旋地转回龙驭，到此踌躇不能去。
马嵬坡下泥土中，不见玉颜空死处。
君臣相顾尽沾衣，东望都门信马归。
归来池苑皆依旧，太液芙蓉未央柳。
芙蓉如面柳如眉，对此如何不泪垂。
春风桃李花开日，秋雨梧桐叶落时。
西宫南内多秋草，落叶满阶红不扫。
梨园弟子白发新，椒房阿监青娥老。
夕殿萤飞思悄然，孤灯挑尽未成眠。
迟迟钟鼓初长夜，耿耿星河欲曙天。
鸳鸯瓦冷霜华重，翡翠衾寒谁与共。
悠悠生死别经年，魂魄不曾来入梦。
临邛道士鸿都客，能以精诚致魂魄。
为感君王辗转思，遂教方士殷勤觅。
排空驭气奔如电，升天入地求之遍。
上穷碧落下黄泉，两处茫茫皆不见。
忽闻海上有仙山，山在虚无缥渺间。
楼阁玲珑五云起，其中绰约多仙子。
中有一人字太真，雪肤花貌参差是。
金阙西厢叩玉扃，转教小玉报双成。
闻道汉家天子使，九华帐里梦魂惊。
揽衣推枕起徘徊，珠箔银屏迤逦开。
云鬓半偏新睡觉，花冠不整下堂来。
风吹仙袂飘飘举，犹似霓裳羽衣舞。
玉容寂寞泪阑干，梨花一枝春带雨。
含情凝睇谢君王，一别音容两渺茫。
昭阳殿里恩爱绝，蓬莱宫中日月长。
回头下望人寰处，不见长安见尘雾。
惟将旧物表深情，钿合金钗寄将去。
钗留一股合一扇，钗擘黄金合分钿。
但教心似金钿坚，天上人间会相见。
临别殷勤重寄词，词中有誓两心知。
七月七日长生殿，夜半无人私语时。
在天愿作比翼鸟，在地愿为连理枝。
天长地久有时尽，此恨绵绵无绝期。
For years he searched without success.
The Yang family had a daughter just grown up,
Kept in the inner chamber unknown to the world.
Endowed with natural beauty hard to conceal,
She was chosen to serve at the emperor's side.
Turning her head, she smiled a hundred charms,
The six palace powdered females lost their luster.
In cold spring she was bathed in Huaqing Pool,
The warm water smoothed her creamy skin.
A maid supported her, too delicate to rise,
It was then she first received the emperor's favor.
Her cloudy hair and flowery face, with gold headdress,
Warmed by lotus curtains, they spent the spring night.
The spring night was too short, the sun rose high,
From then on the emperor no longer held court.
Feasting and entertainment left no time for rest,
She went with him in spring, was alone with him at night.
Three thousand beauties in the rear palace,
All the favors were heaped upon her alone.
In the golden chamber she dressed to wait on him at night,
In the jade tower they feasted, drunk with spring.
Her brothers and sisters all got fiefs,
How glorious was her family!
Thus every parent wished for a daughter instead of a son.
The Li Palace rose high into the clouds,
Fairy music floated with the wind everywhere.
Slow songs and dances mingled with strings and bamboo,
The emperor could never tire of watching them.
Then war drums came from Yuyang, shaking the earth,
Startling the Rainbow and Feather Garments Dance.
The smoke and dust rose over the capital's ninefold gates,
A thousand chariots and horses fled southwest.
The imperial carriage swayed, then stopped,
Over a hundred miles from the capital.
The six armies would not advance – what could be done?
The beautiful Yang had to die before the horses.
Her flowerlike hairpin fell to the ground, unclaimed,
The emerald and gold ornaments left behind.
The emperor covered his face, unable to save her,
Turning back, blood and tears flowed together.
The yellow dust scattered, the wind bleak,
Cloudy winding paths led to the Sword Pavilion.
Beneath the Eyebrow Mountains few travelers,
The banners dim, the sun pale.
The rivers of Shu were green, the mountains blue,
The emperor's grief from morning to night.
He saw the moon in the palace, saddening color,
He heard rain on the bells, heartbroken sounds.
Heaven and earth turned, the imperial carriage returned,
But at the spot he lingered, unable to leave.
In the soil of Mawei Slope,
No trace of her jade face, only an empty death place.
The emperor and his ministers looked at each other, tears wet their clothes,
They rode eastward back to the capital, letting the horses go.
Returning, the ponds and gardens remained the same,
The lotus in Taiye Pond, the willows in Weiyang Palace.
The lotus seemed her face, the willow her brows,
How could he not shed tears at the sight?
When spring wind blew, peach and plum bloomed,
When autumn rain fell, parasol leaves dropped.
The Western Palace and Southern Hall were overgrown with autumn grass,
Fallen leaves covered the steps, red but unswept.
The musicians of the Pear Garden had new white hair,
The eunuchs in the pepper chamber were aging.
Fireflies flitted in the evening hall, lost in thought,
The lamp burned out, he could not sleep.
The slow bell of the long night began,
The Milky Way gleamed, dawn was about to break.
The mandarin duck tiles were cold with heavy frost,
The kingfisher quilt was cold, with whom to share?
Life and death parted forever years ago,
Her soul never came to him in dreams.
A Taoist priest from Lintong came to the capital,
Able to summon spirits with his sincerity.
Moved by the emperor's sleepless longing,
He was asked to seek her everywhere.
Riding the air, he sped like lightning,
Ascended heaven, descended earth, searched all.
Above the blue sky, below the Yellow Springs,
Nowhere could he find her.
Then he heard of a fairy mountain on the sea,
Shrouded in the unreal and misty.
Intricate towers and pavilions rise in five-colored clouds,
Inhabited by many graceful fairies.
One of them was called Taizhen,
With snow-white skin and flowerlike face, she seemed the one.
He knocked at the golden gate's jade door in the west,
Then asked the fairy messenger to report.
Hearing of the Han emperor's envoy,
She was startled from her dream in the nine-curtained bed.
Lifting her clothes, pushing the pillow, she rose and lingered,
The pearl curtains and silver screen opened gracefully.
Her cloudy hair half sideways, just woken,
Her flowered headdress askew, she came down the hall.
The wind lifted her celestial sleeves, fluttering,
As if she danced the Rainbow and Feather Garment Dance.
Her jade face was sad with tears,
Like a sprig of pear blossom in spring rain.
With passion she gazed and thanked the emperor,
Since their parting, voice and face were lost.
Their love ended in Zhaoyang Hall,
Her days dragged long in Penglai Palace.
Turning her head, she looked down at the human world,
Could not see Chang'an, only dust and mist.
She gave him the old tokens to express her love,
The jeweled box and golden hairpin she sent back.
She kept one part of the hairpin and one half of the box,
Breaking the golden hairpin and splitting the box.
But she hoped their hearts would be as firm as gold,
In heaven or earth, they would meet again.
Before parting, she gave him a message,
A vow known only to their two hearts.
On the seventh day of the seventh month, in the Hall of Everlasting Life,
When no one else was around at midnight,
He whispered: 'In heaven we will be two birds flying side by side,
On earth we will be two trees with branches entwined.'
Heaven lasts, earth endures, but sometimes ends,
This regret lasts forever, never ending.
Meaning
A narrative poem depicting the tragic love story of Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei, from their passionate affair to her death during the An Lushan rebellion, and the emperor's everlasting regret and fantasy reunion on a fairy island.
汉皇贪恋美色思得倾国之貌，御临天下多年求而不得。杨家有个女儿初长成，养在深闺无人识。天生丽质难以自弃，一朝选入君王身侧。回眸一笑百般娇媚生，六宫粉黛都黯然失色。春寒赐浴华清池，温泉水滑洗凝脂。侍女扶起娇弱无力，正是新承恩泽之时。云鬓花颜金步摇，芙蓉帐暖度春宵。春宵苦短日高起，从此君王不早朝。承欢侍宴无闲暇，春从春游夜专夜。后宫佳丽三千人，三千宠爱集一身。金屋妆成娇侍夜，玉楼宴罢醉和春。姊妹兄弟皆封爵土，可怜光彩生门户。遂令天下父母心，不重生男重生女。骊宫高耸入青云，仙乐风飘处处闻。缓歌慢舞凝丝竹，尽日君王看不足。渔阳鼙鼓动地来，惊破霓裳羽衣曲。九重城阙烟尘生，千乘万骑向西南行。翠华摇摇行又止，西出都门百余里。六军不肯发无奈何，宛转蛾眉马前死。花钿委地无人收，翠翘金雀玉搔头。君王掩面救不得，回看血泪相和流。黄埃散漫风萧索，云栈萦纡登剑阁。峨嵋山下少人行，旌旗无光日色薄。蜀江水碧蜀山青，圣主朝朝暮暮情。行宫见月伤心色，夜雨闻铃肠断声。天旋地转回龙驭，到此踌躇不能去。马嵬坡下泥土中，不见玉颜空死处。君臣相顾尽沾衣，东望都门信马归。归来池苑皆依旧，太液芙蓉未央柳。芙蓉如面柳如眉，对此如何不泪垂。春风桃李花开日，秋雨梧桐叶落时。西宫南内多秋草，落叶满阶红不扫。梨园弟子白发新，椒房阿监青娥老。夕殿萤飞思悄然，孤灯挑尽未成眠。迟迟钟鼓初长夜，耿耿星河欲曙天。鸳鸯瓦冷霜华重，翡翠衾寒谁与共。悠悠生死别经年，魂魄不曾来入梦。临邛道士鸿都客，能以精诚召魂魄。为感君王辗转思，遂教方士殷勤觅。排空驭气奔如电，升天入地求之遍。上穷碧落下黄泉，两处茫茫皆不见。忽闻海上有仙山，山在虚无缥渺间。楼阁玲珑五云起，其中绰约多仙子。中有一人字太真，雪肤花貌参差似。金阙西厢叩玉扃，转教小玉报双成。闻道汉家天子使，九华帐里梦魂惊。揽衣推枕起徘徊，珠箔银屏迤逦开。云鬓半偏新睡觉，花冠不整下堂来。风吹仙袂飘飘举，犹似霓裳羽衣舞。玉容寂寞泪阑干，梨花一枝春带雨。含情凝睇谢君王，一别音容两渺茫。昭阳殿里恩爱绝，蓬莱宫中日月长。回头下望人寰处，不见长安见尘雾。惟将旧物表深情，钿合金钗寄将去。钗留一股合一扇，钗擘黄金合分钿。但教心似金钿坚，天上人间会相见。临别殷勤重寄词，词中有誓两心知。七月七日长生殿，夜半无人私语时。在天愿作比翼鸟，在地愿为连理枝。天长地久有时尽，此恨绵绵无绝期。
Appreciation
Bai Juyi's masterpiece combines historical narrative with romantic fantasy, using vivid imagery and emotional contrast to portray a love that transcends life and death. The poem shifts from realistic detail to magical realism, culminating in the immortal vow that turns political tragedy into a universal lament for lost love.
【白话串讲】 “回眸一笑百媚生，六宫粉黛无颜色”——白居易写杨贵妃的美，也用整整一首《长恨歌》写了唐明皇与她的生死之恋。“天长地久有时尽，此恨绵绵无绝期”，写尽了帝王家的遗憾。 【意象与手法】 叙事婉转、抒情淋漓，情节波澜起伏而情致缠绵。铺叙工丽，心理刻画细腻入微；由实入虚，以临邛道士觅魂、蓬莱重逢将历史悲剧升华为永恒爱的誓言。语言浅易流转而哀婉动人，章法巨细相生，是唐人长篇歌行的巅峰之作。 【情感与主旨】 此诗作于元和元年（806），白居易任盩厔尉，与友人陈鸿、王质夫游仙游寺，话及唐玄宗杨贵妃故事，相与感慨，白居易遂作此诗，陈鸿并撰《长恨歌传》以佐之。诗人借古事以讽谕，亦寄寓对爱情与人生无常的深沉慨叹。 【名句点睛】 常考主题的双重性（讽谕与爱情）；「在天愿作比翼鸟，在地愿为连理枝」的名句意蕴；叙事与抒情结合的特点；「天长地久有时尽，此恨绵绵无绝期」的收束艺术。
Background
Written in 806 AD when Bai Juyi was a county official in Zhouzhi, after discussing the story of Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei with friends Chen Hong and Wang Zhifu. The poem blends historical facts with Taoist fantasy to explore themes of imperial excess, tragic love, and eternal regret.
《长恨歌》作于唐宪宗元和元年（806），时白居易三十五岁，任盩厔（今陕西周至）县尉。据陈鸿《长恨歌传》记载，白居易与友人王质夫、陈鸿同游仙游寺，谈及唐玄宗与杨贵妃故事，王质夫举酒相劝：玄宗与贵妃之事，世间罕有，若不以世间罕有的文笔加以传写，将会随岁月湮灭，于是白居易作歌，陈鸿作传。此诗所咏本事发生于半个世纪之前的天宝末年：玄宗晚年沉溺声色，纳杨玉环为贵妃，「后宫佳丽三千人，三千宠爱在一身」，杨氏一门鸡犬升天；天宝十四载（755）安史之乱爆发，次年六月玄宗仓皇奔蜀，至马嵬坡（今陕西兴平）六军不发，玄宗被迫赐贵妃自缢。白居易以歌行体将这段宫廷悲剧写成千古传诵的爱情史诗，诗中既有「汉皇重色思倾国」的讽谕之笔，更有对生死不渝之爱的深切同情，主题的双重性历来为论者所重。此诗作于白居易早年，正当其「文章合为时而著，歌诗合为事而作」的讽谕诗创作期，然《长恨歌》却超越了单纯的讽谕，成为情与理交织的千古绝唱。
Art
The poem uses a loose seven-character line structure (歌行体) with frequent rhyme changes that mirror the emotional shifts. It excels in detailed psychological portrayal and scenic description, moving from courtly splendor to desolate mourning, then to ethereal fantasy. The language is smooth and musical, making it one of the most popular Tang narrative poems.
全诗一百二十句，八百四十字，叙事与抒情水乳交融，章法上可析为四层：第一层写玄宗重色求美、杨妃入宫承宠，至「尽日君王看不足」止，极写欢乐之盛；第二层写安史乱起、马嵬兵变、贵妃殒命，至「魂魄不曾来入梦」止，极写死别之痛；第三层写道士觅魂、蓬莱重逢、寄物传词，至「词中有誓两心知」止，由实入虚，托仙界以续情缘；第四层以「天长地久有时尽，此恨绵绵无绝期」收束全篇，将政治悲剧升华为普世之爱。艺术上最突出者有两点：一是铺叙工丽而节奏分明，前段写欢爱辞采秾艳（「回眸一笑百媚生，六宫粉黛无颜色」），中段写悲苦惨切逼真（「宛转蛾眉马前死」），后段写相思缠绵悱恻，随情节转韵换境，声情与辞情相应；二是心理刻画细腻入微，「行宫见月伤心色，夜雨闻铃肠断声」「夕殿萤飞思悄然，孤灯挑尽未成眠」诸句，以景写情，将帝王之悲写得如常人一般深挚。全诗由实入虚、由欢入悲、由悲入幻，结构回环，是唐人长篇歌行的巅峰之作。
Allusions
The allusions include the Han emperor disguise, the 'tilt the country' beauty reference, and the Taoist fantasy of fairy islands. The 'Rainbow and Feather Garment' dance was a real court performance, and Mawei is the historical site of Yang's death.
此诗虽以叙事为主，用典却精切而自然，构成了深沉的历史与神话背景。其一，「汉皇」借汉喻唐，这是唐代诗文避直斥本朝的通例，同时暗含以汉武帝宠李夫人比玄宗宠贵妃之意；「倾国」本李延年歌「北方有佳人，绝世而独立，一顾倾人城，再顾倾人国」，既写绝色，又伏下祸国之虞。其二，「金屋」用汉武帝「金屋藏娇」典，写玄宗对贵妃的专宠；「姊妹弟兄皆列土」暗用杨国忠专权事，点出宠极生乱之由。其三，「霓裳羽衣曲」为唐代大曲名，相传玄宗月宫闻仙乐而作，此处以仙乐之惊破写盛世之崩裂，意象奇警。其四，「比翼鸟」「连理枝」本《尔雅》及民间传说，喻夫妻恩爱、生死不离，出自七夕长生殿私语，遂成爱情誓言的经典。其五，后半写蓬莱仙山、太真仙子，用海上仙山传说与道教仙境意象，将人间的死别托于仙界的重逢，「梨花一枝春带雨」以花喻人，化哀为美。全诗熔史实、乐府、神话于一炉，用典而不伤其情，正见白居易「言浅思深，意微词显」的本领。
Commentary
Critics hail this poem as the peak of Tang ballads. Hong Mai of Song dynasty noted its powerful emotion. Modern scholars see it as transforming a political disaster into a universal love story. The ending lines are among the most quoted in Chinese literature, capturing the essence of eternal longing.
《长恨歌》问世后即传诵不衰，唐人陈鸿《长恨歌传》称「世人读之，莫不掩卷而叹」；唐宣宗吊白居易诗云「童子解吟长恨曲，胡儿能唱琵琶篇」，可见其流布之广。历代论者多围绕其主题立说：或主讽谕，谓「汉皇重色思倾国」开篇即寓惩戒，洪迈《容斋随笔》称其「一段好议论」；或主爱情，谓诗人寄慨于李杨生死之恋，情致缠绵处直欲忘其为帝王家事。实则二义并存：前段讽其「重色」之失，后段哀其「长恨」之痛，讽与哀相反而相成，正是此诗超越一般宫闱艳诗处。宋人论诗重理，往往讥白诗「俗」，而《长恨歌》以俗语写深情，恰成其胜场。近人陈寅恪《元白诗笺证稿》考其本事与史实异同，以为白居易有意将史事诗化；今人则多从「情」的普世性立论，谓「天长地久有时尽，此恨绵绵无绝期」已将帝王之悲化为人类共有的生死之憾，遂成千古绝唱，与《琵琶行》并列为白居易长篇歌行的双璧。
Prosody
Line by line
汉皇重色思倾国，御宇多年求不得
The emperor, obsessed with beauty, sought a beauty to topple a kingdom; after years of ruling, he had not found one.
唐皇贪恋美色想得到倾国佳人，在位多年却求而不得。
The Han emperor loved beauty and longed for a kingdom-felling girl; reigning years, he sought and found her not.
开篇两句总挈全诗纲领，笔力雄劲。「汉皇」借汉喻唐，是避讳亦是映照，暗以汉武帝喻唐玄宗；「重色」二字直揭祸源，是史家式的冷峻定评，为全诗讽谕一面的根基。「思倾国」用李延年歌典，既写绝色之求，又暗示倾国之祸，一语双关。「御宇多年求不得」先作一顿，写求之不得的悬念，为下文杨妃之出蓄势——越是求不得，越见其后来专宠之骤、溺之深。两句起得堂皇而含蓄，叙事之中已寓褒贬，史笔与诗笔兼而有之。全诗一百二十句，从此处层层展开，一「重色」字直贯到底，是纲领，也是伏笔。
The opening two lines carry the whole's program, the brush strong. The Han emperor uses Han to shadow Tang, both avoidance and mirror, secretly shadowing Emperor Xuanzong with Emperor Wu of Han. The words loved beauty directly uncover the source of trouble, a historian's cold judgment, the foundation of the whole's satirical side. Longed for a kingdom-felling girl uses the Li Yannian song allusion, at once writing the quest for peerless beauty and hinting the kingdom-felling calamity, one word double. Reigning years, he sought and found her not first pauses, writing the suspense of the seeking, gathering force for Yang Guifei's coming - the more she is not found, the more sudden her later exclusive favor. The two lines open grand and reserved, praise and blame lodged within the narrative, the historian's brush and the poet's brush both. The whole's hundred and twenty lines unfold layer by layer from here, the word loved beauty running straight through, the program and the ground.
回眸一笑百媚生，六宫粉黛无颜色
Turning her head, she smiled with a hundred charms; all the powdered ladies of the six palaces lost their color.
回头一笑生出百般妩媚，六宫的美人都黯然失色。
She turned her head and smiled, and a hundred charms were born; the powder and paint of the six palaces lost their color.
此二句是写杨妃之美的千古名句，妙在以虚写实、以衬写主。不写眉目具体如何，只写「回眸一笑」之态与「六宫粉黛无颜色」之效，美之绝伦自见。「百媚生」的「生」字最活：媚态不是摆出来的，而是顾盼之间自然生出，仿佛有生命的流光。「六宫粉黛无颜色」以众美之失色衬一人之美，是「烘云托月」手法的极致——不说杨妃如何美，而说三千佳丽在她面前都失了颜色，对比之下，倾国之色跃然纸上。此句一出，杨妃之美便成为后世文学中的典范形象，其艺术魅力正在于把不可名状之美写得可感可惊。
These two lines are the peerless sentences writing Yang Guifei's beauty through the ages, the beauty in writing the real through the void and setting off the main through the foil. Not writing the features in detail, but only writing the posture of turned her head and smiled and the effect of the six palaces' powder and paint lost their color, the peerless beauty of itself appears. The word born in a hundred charms were born is the liveliest: the charms are not posed, but born of themselves in the glance, as if living light. The six palaces' powder and paint lost their color sets the many beauties' paling against the one woman's beauty, the peak of cloud-raising-to-sustain-the-moon - not saying how beautiful Yang is, but saying the three thousand beauties lose color before her, the kingdom-felling beauty leaping on the paper by contrast. Once this line appeared, Yang's beauty became the model image in later literature, its artistic charm lying exactly in writing the indescribable beauty as palpable and startling.
渔阳鼙鼓动地来，惊破霓裳羽衣曲
War drums from Yuyang shook the earth, startling the 'Rainbow and Feather Garment' dance.
渔阳的战鼓声震天动地而来，惊破了霓裳羽衣曲的歌舞。
The war drums of Yuyang shook the earth, crashing through the Rainbow Feather Dress dance.
此二句是全篇情节的枢纽，乐极哀来的陡转处。「渔阳」用安禄山起兵地，实指安史之乱；「鼙鼓」代战鼓，与「霓裳羽衣曲」的仙乐形成强烈对照——一个是动地而来的杀伐之声，一个是缠绵入云的升平之乐，「惊破」二字将两种声音硬生生撞在一起，仿佛一只玉瓶摔碎，繁华与安宁在瞬间崩裂。「动地来」极写叛乱声势之猛，「惊破」极写惊醒之猝然，一鼓一乐、一实一虚，将天宝盛世到战乱骤起的时代巨变浓缩于两句之中。前人评此二句「乐极哀来，其来无端」，正是全诗由欢入悲的分水岭，此后笔调一转，急管繁弦尽化呜咽。
These two lines are the hinge of the whole's plot, the abrupt turn where joy's extreme gives way to grief. Yuyang uses An Lushan's rising place, actually meaning the Anshi Rebellion; the war drums stand for the battle drums, set in strong contrast with the Rainbow Feather Dress music - one the slaughter sound shaking the earth, the other the cloud-entwined peace music, the two words crashing through forcing the two sounds together, as if a jade vase smashed, splendor and peace cracking in an instant. The words shook the earth write to the utmost the rebellion's fury; crashing through writes to the utmost the sudden waking. One drum one music, one real one void, condensing the age's great change from the Tianbao golden age to the sudden war in two lines. Earlier critics say of these lines joy's extreme gives way to grief, coming from nowhere, exactly the watershed of the whole's moving from joy to grief, after which the tone turns, the swift pipes and tangled strings all turning to sobs.
在天愿作比翼鸟，在地愿为连理枝
In heaven, we wish to be two birds flying as one; on earth, we wish to be two trees with branches entwined.
在天上愿作比翼双飞的鸟，在地下愿为枝叶相连的树。
In heaven may we be birds flying wing to wing; on earth, two trees with branches interlocked.
此二句出自七月七日长生殿夜半无人时的私语，是全诗情感的顶点，也是中国爱情文学中流传最广的誓言。比翼鸟、连理枝本为民间喻夫妻恩爱的传统意象，此处借玄宗贵妃七夕私语道出，既写出二人「两心知」的深情密誓，又暗以天上人间之遥寄托生生世世不离的痴愿。从艺术功能看，这两句是「长恨」之「恨」的根源与反衬：誓愿越坚贞，死别越惨痛；誓言越是永恒，恨越是无绝期。此二句以通俗之语写极致之情，妇孺能解而哀感顽艳，遂成千古名句，至今仍被用于讴歌爱情，其感染力早已超出李杨本事而成为普世的情感符号。
These two lines come from the whispered words at midnight on the seventh night in the Long Life Hall, the emotional peak of the whole and the most widely spread vow in Chinese love literature. The wing-to-wing birds and the interlocked branches are the traditional folk images of wedded love, here spoken through Xuanzong and Guifei's Qixi whisper, at once writing the deep secret vow known to two hearts and secretly lodging through the heaven-earth distance the lifelong wish never to part. In artistic function, these two lines are the root and foil of the everlasting grief's grief: the firmer the vow, the more painful the death parting; the more eternal the oath, the more endless the grief. Writing the extreme feeling in plain words, understood by woman and child yet mournful and gorgeous, they became the peerless lines of the ages, still used today to praise love, their appeal long outgrowing the Li-Yang story into a universal emotional symbol.
天长地久有时尽，此恨绵绵无绝期
Heaven and earth may endure, but they sometimes end; this regret will last forever, unending.
天地的长久也有穷尽的时候，这遗恨却绵绵不断永无绝期。
Heaven and earth, long though they be, shall end; this sorrow goes on and on, without an end.
结句是全诗的点题之笔，也是「长恨歌」三字的最终注脚。诗人以「天长地久」的永恒反衬「此恨」的无尽：天地尚有时尽，而恨却绵绵无绝，将恨推到超越时间、超越空间的极致，情感浓度达到顶点。「绵绵」叠字写恨之悠长不断，音感上余韵袅袅，恰如恨之不绝；「有时尽」与「无绝期」对举，一有一无，一尽一永，形成不可逆转的绝望之美。前人谓此句「收得尽，放得开」：就李杨本事言，恨在死别；就普世人情言，恨在无常。一个「恨」字将政治的悲剧（重色误国）、爱情的悲剧（生离死别）、人生的悲剧（好物不坚）熔于一炉，遂使全诗由叙事升华为咏叹，余音绕梁，千古不绝。
The closing line is the title-pointing brush of the whole, and the final footnote to the three words everlasting grief song. The poet uses the eternity of heaven and earth to set off the endlessness of this sorrow: heaven and earth shall yet end, but the sorrow goes on without end, pushing the grief to the extreme beyond time and space, the emotional intensity at its peak. The reduplicated word endless writes the grief's long continuance, the sound's aftertone lingering, exactly like the grief's unceasing; shall have an end set against without an end, one having one not, one ending one eternal, forming an irreversible beauty of despair. Earlier critics say this line closes fully yet opens wide: in the Li-Yang story, the grief is in the death parting; in universal human feeling, the grief is in impermanence. The single word grief fuses the political tragedy (love of beauty ruining the state), the love tragedy (parting by death), and the life tragedy (fair things not lasting) into one furnace, raising the whole from narrative to lament, the aftertone winding about the beams, unending through the ages.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Bai Juyi's poem is emotional and romantic, while Li Shangyin's is satirical and critical. Comparing them shows different treatments of the same historical tragedy.
李商隐《马嵬·其二》「海外徒闻更九州，他生未卜此生休」同咏马嵬之变，却与白居易《长恨歌》取径迥异。白诗以情胜，重在写李杨之恋的缠绵与长恨，后半托仙山重逢，哀婉动人，讽谕隐于深情之中；李诗以议论胜，冷峻讥刺「此日六军同驻马，当时七夕笑牵牛」，指斥玄宗重色误国、临难弃妃，讽刺入骨而不留情。一者同情多于批判，一者批判多于同情；一者由实入虚、升华爱情，一者以史为鉴、揭破幻象。二诗同题而异趣，正可对照阅读，以见中晚唐诗人面对同一历史题材时的不同精神姿态与艺术选择。
琵琶行 Song of the Pipa Player 白居易 · 同为白居易长篇歌行，一写情恨一写迁谪 Same author and narrative styleBoth are famous narrative poems by Bai Juyi. 'Song of Everlasting Regret' deals with love, while 'Song of the Pipa' deals with exile and musical lament. Compare their poetic structure and emotional tone.
《琵琶行》与《长恨歌》并称白居易长篇歌行的双璧，皆为元和年间所作，同以「同是天涯沦落人」的共情为核心。差异在于：《长恨歌》写帝王之恋，以叙事铺陈见长，时空宏阔，由人间写到仙界，是史诗式的浪漫；《琵琶行》写迁谪之感，以声情描写见长，聚焦江头夜月的一夕之会，借琵琶女的沦落写自己的贬谪，「同是天涯沦落人，相逢何必曾相识」一联，将个体的身世之感升华为普世的人生况味。一写爱情的永恒之恨，一写人生的知遇之慨；一浓丽，一苍凉；一由欢入悲，一由乐入哀，恰成对照，合观可见白居易长篇歌行叙事抒情兼备、雅俗共赏的全副本领。