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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

登太白峰

Ascending Mount Taibai

李白

Li Bai

山水landscape 抒情lyrical

西上太白峰，夕阳穷登攀。
太白与我语，为我开天关。
愿乘泠风去，直出浮云间。
举手可近月，前行若无山。
一别武功去，何时复见还。

From the west I climb Mount Taibai, climbing till the sunset, spent.
The star Taibai speaks with me, and opens heaven's gate for me.
I would ride the cool wind away, straight out beyond the floating clouds.
I lift my hand and near the moon; pressing forward, as if no mountains stood.
Once I leave Mount Wugong, when shall I ever return?

Listen

Meaning

The poet climbs Mount Taibai at sunset and, in a lofty vision, converses with the star Taibai and rides the cool wind beyond the clouds. Surface narrative of climbing, the poem is really about the spirit's ascent—scorning the dusty world (clouds) for the heavens (the gate, the moon), yet with a last-line longing for the mortal mountains.

从西边攀登太白山峰，直到夕阳西下、穷尽气力才登上峰顶。太白星仿佛与我亲切对话，为我打开了通往天上的天门。我愿乘着清凉的秋风飘然离去，径直飞出层层浮云之间。举起手来几乎可以触到月亮，向前走去仿佛面前再没有山峦阻隔。只是一旦告别这武功山离去，不知何时才能再见、再回来。

Appreciation

Beginning in real climbing, the poem rises higher and more ethereal: first line factual (west climb, sunset, ascent), then man-star dialogue, then a wind-borne journey beyond clouds, then 'lift hand near the moon, press forward as if no mountains' for ultimate height, closing with a parting question. Personifying the star, using hyperbole (near the moon) and illusion (no mountains), it brims with High Tang heroism and transcendence.

【白话串讲】李白登太白峰：“西上太白峰，夕阳穷登攀”。“太白与我语，为我开天关”——太白星跟他说话。“举手可近月，前行若无山”——“一别武功去，何时复见还”——他写登天的奇幻。【意象与手法】此诗以登临起笔，却越写越高、越写越虚：首句写实（西上、夕阳、登攀），三四句转入人山对话（太白与我语），五六句化为乘风出云的天外之游，七八句以举手近月、前行无山极言所在之高，末二句以别山问归收束，全诗由实入虚、由登临入游仙，想象奇崛、境界飞动。诗人以拟人赋予太白星以生命，以夸张（举手可近月）与错觉（前行若无山）写绝顶之观，字里行间充满盛唐人特有的豪迈与超逸。【情感与主旨】此诗表面写登山，实写诗人的精神高蹈。李白自号太白，与太白山、太白星暗相呼应，故山、星、人三位一体，登山即登仙、登仙即遇知己。诗中厌弃尘俗（浮云）而向往天外（天关、月），透出诗人对自由与永恒的追求；末句何时复见还，又于豪迈中见出一丝对人间山水的眷恋与飘零的惆怅。【名句点睛】举手可近月，前行若无山两句，以极度的夸张写登顶后如在天上的感觉：前句以手近月写高，后句以无山写高，高到连山都阻隔不了去路，最能见出李白吞吐宇宙的胸襟，与《蜀道难》中扪参历井同出一辙。

Background

This is a famous five-character ancient poem of Li Bai, written during his wandering in Qin and Long around the Kaiyuan–Tianbao years of Emperor Xuanzong. Mount Taibai, in present Mei and Taibai counties of Shaanxi, is the main peak of the Qinling, lofty and snow-capped year-round, anciently called Mount Taiyi, named for its correspondence with the star Taibai (Venus). Li Bai left Shu at twenty-four to roam, and several times passed through the Guanzhong and Qin-Long region; this poem is from his climbing Mount Taibai. Notably, Li Bai styled himself Taibai, so mountain, star, and poet's name secretly coincide; climbing Mount Taibai and meeting the star Taibai feels like meeting a soulmate, hence 'the star Taibai speaks with me' is no mere personification but a deep 'meeting a friend in a strange land.' In era, the High Tang honored Daoism; the Tang imperial house claimed descent from Laozi, and seeking immortals was rife. Li Bai loved the study of immortals early, befriending Daoists like Sima Chengzhen and Yuan Dancqiu; the 'riding the cool wind away, straight out beyond the floating clouds' is the projection of the High Tang scholar's spirit of transcending the worldly and pursuing freedom. Textually the poem is consistent across editions; 'cool wind' is also written 'soaring wind,' but 'cool wind' is correct, from Zhuangzi's 'Free and Easy Wandering.' Mount Wugong, a branch of Mount Taibai in present Wugong county, Shaanxi—leaving it, he closes with 'when shall I ever return,' showing his conflicted heart of wanting to leave yet linger.

此诗为李白五言古诗名篇，当作于唐玄宗开元、天宝年间漫游秦陇之际。太白山在今陕西眉县、太白县一带，为秦岭主峰，山势高峻，终年积雪，古称太乙山，因传说与太白金星相应而得名。李白幼年入蜀，二十四岁出蜀远游，仗剑去国、辞亲远游，遍览名山大川，开元年间曾数度往来于关中、秦陇之间，此诗即其登太白山而作。值得注意的是，李白自号太白，此山、此星与诗人姓名暗相契合，诗人登太白山而遇太白星，实有他乡遇知己的亲切感，故诗中太白与我语，非泛泛拟人，而有以星为友、以山为家的深意。就时代而言，盛唐崇道，唐皇室自认老子后裔，求仙访道之风盛行，李白早年即好神仙之学，曾与道士司马承祯、元丹丘等交游，诗中愿乘泠风去、直出浮云间的天外之游，正是盛唐士人超越尘俗、追求精神自由的时代风气在诗中的投影。版本方面，此诗文字各本基本一致，泠风一作凌风，然以泠风为是，语出《庄子·逍遥游》。武功山在今陕西武功县境，为太白山支脉，诗人别此而去，复以何时复见还的问句收束，可见其欲去还留的复杂心绪。

Art

The poem's structure takes climbing as warp and soaring as weft, from real to void, from earth to heaven, layer upon layer. The opening couplet 'from the west I climb Mount Taibai, climbing till the sunset, spent' writes the climb's reality: 'west' marks direction, 'sunset' time, 'spent' exhausts strength, 'climb' the peril, already lifting the mountain's height and the climb's toil. The second couplet 'the star Taibai speaks with me, and opens heaven's gate for me' moves from real to void; man and star converse, the gate opens, the realm suddenly turns—the climb's end becomes the immortal's beginning. The third couplet 'I would ride the cool wind away, straight out beyond the floating clouds' moves from the gate to the wind, from wind to beyond clouds; space pushes from peak to beyond the clouds—clouds are both the mountain's mist and a figure for worldly care. Then 'I lift my hand and near the moon; pressing forward, as if no mountains stood' writes the height from touch (hand near moon) and sight (no mountains): lifting the head to grasp the moon, looking out with no mountains, as if walking the sky, a magnitude swallowing the cosmos. The last two lines 'once I leave Mount Wugong, when shall I ever return' suddenly draw back from heaven to the human, closing on a question, feeling lingering. Eight five-character lines, the language flowing, not one stagnant word, using personification (speaks with me), hyperbole (near moon, no mountains), illusion (as if no mountains)—all governed by a single breath of heroism, typical of Li Bai's using qi to command scene and feeling to transform realm.

此诗章法以登临为经、以飞升为纬，由实入虚、由地而天，层层递进。首联西上太白峰，夕阳穷登攀，写登山之实：西字点方位，夕阳点时间，穷字写竭尽全力，登攀二字写其艰险，两句已将登山之辛苦与峰顶之高托出。颔联太白与我语，为我开天关，由实入虚，人与星对话，天关一开，境界陡转，登山的终点忽然变成飞仙的起点。颈联愿乘泠风去，直出浮云间，由天关而乘风，由乘风而出浮云，空间由山巅推向云外，浮云既实写山间云气，亦暗喻尘世烦恼。继之诗人更以举手可近月、前行若无山两句，从触觉（手近月）与视觉（无山）两面极写所在之高：举首可揽月，放眼更无山，仿佛凌空而行，气象之大，直欲吞并宇宙。末二句一别武功去，何时复见还，突然从天上收回人间，以问句作结，余情袅袅。全诗五言八句，语势流走，无一滞字，善用拟人（与我语）、夸张（近月、无山）、错觉（若无山）诸法，而以一气贯注的豪情统摄之，正是太白诗以气驭景、以情化境的典型。

Allusions

The poem uses allusion invisibly. Foremost, 'Taibai' serves three roles at once: Mount Taibai is a place, the star Taibai (Venus) a star, Li Bai's style Taibai a name—mountain, star, man one body; hence 'the star Taibai speaks with me' is both personification and a soulmate's confession, its wonder in fortuitous heaven-made coincidence. 'Cool wind' comes from Zhuangzi's 'Free and Easy Wandering': 'Liezi rode the wind, lingran (cool and light) and good'—the poet would ride the cool wind away, exactly inheriting Zhuangzi's wind-riding thought, taking transcendence as high. 'Heaven's gate' is the gate of heaven; astrologers took the heaven-gate star as the gate of heaven, or the door of the sky; 'opens heaven's gate for me' says the gate of heaven opens for me—tremendous aura. 'Lift hand near the moon' shares the method of 'touching the constellations' in Shu Dao Nan—both use hand touching moon and stars to write the mountain piercing clouds, Li Bai's signature hyperbole. Mount Wugong is a branch of Mount Taibai, yet 'Wugong' (martial achievement) also hints at retiring after success; leaving Wugong, resolved yet asking return, hovering between immortal and mortal, exactly his constant conflict between serving and hiding. In the wandering-immortal tradition since Qu Yuan's Yuan You, such poems write spiritual freedom through ascending to heaven; Li Bai's poem makes the real mountain the gate of heaven, joining real landscape and mythic world, opening the way for later 'Dreaming of the Tianmu Mountain.'

此诗用典入化，不露痕迹。首当其冲者，太白二字一身三用：太白山为地名，太白星（金星）为星名，李白自号太白，山、星、人三位一体，故太白与我语一句，既是拟人，又是知己相逢的告白，其妙处全在巧合天成。泠风出《庄子·逍遥游》列子御风而行，泠然善也，泠然即轻妙清凉之貌，诗人愿乘泠风而去，正承庄周御风之想，以超尘绝世为高。天关为天门，星象家以为天关即天门星，亦指天上之门，为我开天关，言天门为我而开，气魄极大。举手可近月，则与《蜀道难》扪参历井仰胁息同一机杼，皆以手触星月写山高入云，是李白夸张的招牌笔法。武功山本为太白山支脉，然武功二字亦暗含功成身退之思，诗人一别武功而去，去意已决而问归，于仙凡之际徘徊，正见其徘徊于出仕与归隐之间的一贯矛盾。就游仙传统而言，自屈原《远游》以降，游仙诗多以升天远逝写精神自由，李白此诗以登高为游仙，以山巅为天关，将现实山水与神话世界打通，开后来《梦游天姥吟留别》等作之先声。

Commentary

This poem is distinctive among Li Bai's landscape poems, not winning by grand peril but by soaring transcendence. The Qing Wang Qi's annotated Li Taibai Quan Ji records it, praising its 'lingling (floating) aura of mounting the clouds'; modern readers of Li's landscape poetry often set 'Shu Dao Nan's peril, 'Viewing the Lu Mountain Waterfall's grandeur, and this poem's transcendence side by side, to see the whole of Li's landscape poetry. The lines 'I lift my hand and near the moon; pressing forward, as if no mountains stood' share the object-feeling fusion of 'gazing at each other, never tired' from Sitting Alone on Jingting Mountain, yet Jingting is feeling in stillness, this poem is transcendence in motion—one calm, one soaring, a fine contrast. In thought, the poem shows both the High Tang scholar's confident era-spirit and Li Bai's personal temperament of loving Daoism and seeking immortals; yet the last line 'when shall I ever return' hides, within heroism, a parting dilemma, showing that even wandering the heavens Li Bai never truly forgot the human world—exactly what makes his poem chewable. Later Su Shi's 'height is too cold to bear' (Shui Diao Ge Tou) writing the moon palace's cold directly descends from Li's riding the wind beyond clouds, showing this poem's deep influence on later climb-and-ask-heaven works.

此诗在李白山水诗中别具一格，不以雄奇险峻取胜，而以飞动超逸见长。清人王琦注《李太白全集》录此诗，评其飘飘然有凌云之气；近人论李白山水诗，每以《蜀道难》之险、《望庐山瀑布》之壮与此诗之逸并举，以为三者合观，方见太白山水诗之全貌。诗中举手可近月，前行若无山二句，与《独坐敬亭山》相看两不厌同为物我交融，然敬亭山是静中见情，此诗是动中见逸，一沉静一飞动，恰成对照。就思想而言，此诗既见盛唐士人昂扬自信的时代精神，又见李白本人好道求仙的个人气质；然末句何时复见还，于豪迈中暗含去留两难的惆怅，说明李白即使在神游天外之际，也未曾真正忘情于人世，这正是他异于一般游仙诗之处，也是其诗耐人咀嚼的根源。后世苏轼高处不胜寒（《水调歌头》）写月宫之寒，正是从太白乘风出云一脉化出，可见此诗对后代登高问天之作的深远影响。

Prosody

Form Five-character ancient poem (wugu)五言古诗

Rhyme Eight lines, level-tone shan rhyme; climb, gate, between, mountain, return one rhyme throughout—all open, bright level-tone words, spacious and open, matching the realm of ascending and gazing far, heaven high and earth wide.全诗八句，押平声删韵，攀、关、间、山、还一韵到底，韵脚皆开口响亮的平声字，疏朗开阔，与登高望远、天高地迥之境相称。

Tone pattern The five-character ancient does not bind near-style level-oblique or middle-couplet antithesis, yet this poem's rhythm is bright, mostly two-two-one and two-one-two phrasing, with three-character closings interspersed, read in one breath; empty words like 'would,' 'straight,' 'pressing' weave through, sound and feeling flowing without stiffness.五古不拘近体平仄，然此诗节奏明快，多二二一与二一二句式，间以三字收尾，读来一气贯注；愿、直、前等虚字穿插其间，声情流走，无板滞之感。

Reading note This poem is a five-character ancient poem, of the old-style (guti), wholly different from the near-style lü and jue: it does not require level-oblique adhesion or middle-couplet antithesis, winning by natural flowing aura. Eight lines one rhyme throughout, level-tone shan rhyme; climb, gate, between, mountain, return are all open bright sounds, spacious in tone, exactly harmonious with the realm of ascending and gazing far. In phrasing mainly five characters, rhythm mostly two-two-one ('west climb / Mount Taibai') and two-one-two ('sunset / spent / climb'), the three-character closing a pause, read with the feeling of climbing step by step, rising higher; though the second and third couplets do not strictly demand antithesis, yet 'the star Taibai speaks with me' answers 'opens heaven's gate for me,' 'I lift my hand and near the moon' answers 'pressing forward, as if no mountains stood,' naturally paired—between antithesis and non-antithesis lies the free, spacious weather of the ancient form. Empty words like 'would,' 'straight,' 'pressing' weave through, making the lines varied within regularity, sound and feeling flowing as if riding the wind. Recite with heroic breath in one go, pause at 'climbing till spent,' rise at 'near the moon, as if no mountains,' to see Li's five-ancient nature of commanding sound with qi.此诗为五言古诗，属古体诗，体制上与近体律绝迥异：不要求平仄黏对与中间两联对仗，而以自然流走的气韵取胜。全诗八句一韵到底，押平声删韵，攀、关、间、山、还皆开口响亮之音，声调开阔，正与登高望远的境界相谐。句式上以五言为主，节奏多为二二一（西上／太白峰）与二一二（夕阳／穷／登攀），三字收尾处一顿，读来有登阶而上、步步升高之感；颔联、颈联虽不严求对仗，然太白与我语对为我开天关，举手可近月对前行若无山，天然成对，对仗与不对仗之间，正是古体诗自由疏朗的气象。全诗领字愿、直、前等虚字穿插，使句子在齐整中见错落，声情流走如御风而行。诵读此诗，宜以豪迈之气一气读下，于穷登攀处顿挫，于可近月、若无山处扬高，方见太白五古以气驭声的本色。

Line by line

西上太白峰，夕阳穷登攀。

From the west I climb Mount Taibai, climbing till the sunset, spent.

我从西面攀登太白山峰，一路直登到夕阳西沉、气力穷尽，方才攀上高高的峰顶。

Westward I climb the Peak of Great White; at sunset I have exhausted the ascent.

首句点题，西字标出登山方位，太白峰点出所登之山，两句已将登山的起点与终点交代清楚。夕阳穷登攀一句极见锤炼：夕阳写登攀历时之久，从早到晚，一登竟日；穷字写竭尽全力，筋疲力尽方到峰顶，一字写出攀登之艰险与意志之坚韧；登攀二字连用，动作感极强。两句写实，为全诗奠定了登山者辛劳而豪迈的基调，也正因为穷登攀的辛苦，下文太白与我语、为我开天关的天外之遇才显得格外可贵，苦尽而甘来，实境引出虚境，章法上开合有致。夕阳意象还暗含日暮天晚、峰顶苍茫的视觉感受，为后文天关、浮云、明月铺下幽邃的背景。此句平实而不平淡，是李白天才笔下的起笔功夫。

The opening line points the title, the word west marking the climbing direction, the Peak of Great White the peak climbed, the two lines already clear the start and end of the ascent. The line at sunset I have exhausted the ascent is the most polished: at sunset writes the climbing's long duration, from dawn to dusk, a whole day; the word exhausted writes the spending of the last strength, not until spent reaching the summit, one word writing the climb's peril and the will's toughness; the two words climb and ascent together, the action's force very strong. The two lines write the real, fixing the whole's toiling yet heroic key of the climber; and precisely because of the exhausted ascent's toil, the later Star of Great White speaks to me and throws open the gate of heaven is the more precious, the bitter done and the sweet come, the real leading to the void, the structure opening and closing with grace. The sunset image also secretly holds the dusk and the summit's vastness, laying the deep background for the later gate of heaven, floating clouds, and bright moon. The line plain yet not flat, the opening craft of Li Bai's genius.

太白与我语，为我开天关。

The star Taibai speaks with me, and opens heaven's gate for me.

太白星仿佛与我亲切交谈，特意为我打开了通向天上的大门，引我登临仙境。

The Star of Great White speaks to me, and for my sake throws open the gate of heaven.

这是全诗由实入虚的关键转折。太白与我语，以拟人写人星对话，奇思妙想，而妙处尤在太白二字的巧合：太白山、太白星、李白自号太白，山星人三位一体，故太白与我语既像是星语，又像是山语，更像是另一个自我在说话，人星相得，知己之感油然而生。为我开天关，天关即天门，天门为我而开，何等自负，何等豪迈，盛唐士人的自信与李白个人的狂放尽在此六字之中。两句以对话写登顶后的感受，把登山的终点写成飞仙的起点，天关一开，下文乘泠风、出浮云、近月无山便都有了着落，结构上承上启下。语言上，与语、为我一气流转，口语般的亲切，更显得与星为友的真率自然。

This is the key turn of the whole from the real to the void. The Star of Great White speaks to me personifies the man-star dialogue, the thought wondrous; the beauty especially in the coincidence of the two words Great White: Mount Taibai, the Star of Great White, and Li Bai's own style name Taibai, the mountain, the star, and the man as one; hence the Star of Great White speaks to me seems at once the star speaking, the mountain speaking, and another self speaking, the man and the star at one, the feeling of a kindred spirit arising of itself. Throws open the gate of heaven for my sake, the gate of heaven the heavenly gate, the heavenly gate opened for my sake, how self-assured, how heroic, the high Tang scholar's self-confidence and Li Bai's individual wildness all within these six words. The two lines write the summit's feeling in dialogue, writing the climb's end as the flying-immortal's start, once the gate opens, the later riding the cool wind, issuing from the floating clouds, and nearing the moon with no more mountains all have their place, the structure carrying above and opening below. In language, speaks to me and for my sake flow as one, the spoken-like intimacy, the more showing the straightforward ease of making a friend of the star.

愿乘泠风去，直出浮云间。

I would ride the cool wind away, straight out beyond the floating clouds.

我愿乘着清凉的秋风飘然离去，径直飞出层层浮云之间，直上九霄云外，去追寻那天外的仙境。

I would ride the cool light wind away, straight out between the floating clouds.

泠风出自《庄子·逍遥游》列子御风而行，泠然善也，指清凉轻妙之风，诗人愿乘泠风而去，正是承庄周御风之想，以超尘绝世为高，脱略形骸、自由无待，是道家理想在诗中的具象化。直出浮云间，浮云既实写太白山间缭绕的云气，又暗喻尘世间的烦恼与羁绊，直字写得一往无前、毫无挂碍，愿字则表明这是诗人的自觉追求。两句将乘风的飘逸与出云的决绝合写，空间由山巅推向云外，天外之游就此展开，境界空灵飞动。此联句式如行云流水，乘、去、出、间四字动词与方位词连用，读来有御风而行之感，正是盛唐游仙诗中最具自由精神的一笔，也是李白个性最鲜明的投影。

The cool light wind comes from Zhuangzi's Enjoyment in Untroubled Ease, Liezi riding the wind, light and wonderful, meaning the cool light wind; the poet wishing to ride it away is precisely inheriting Zhuangzi's riding the wind, exalting the beyond-the-world, the free and unbound, the Daoist ideal concretized in poetry. Straight out between the floating clouds, the floating clouds at once the real mist about Mount Taibai, and secretly meta-phoring the worldly cares and bonds; the word straight writes the forward push without hindrance, the word would shows this the poet's conscious pursuit. The two lines write together the riding wind's lightness and the issuing from clouds' resolve, the space pushed from the summit to beyond the clouds, the beyond-heaven tour unfolding, the realm void and flying. The couplet's syntax like flowing water, the four verbs and direction words ride, go, out, and among together, reading as if riding the wind, exactly the freest stroke of the high Tang immortal-tour poetry, and the clearest projection of Li Bai's character.

举手可近月，前行若无山。

I lift my hand and near the moon; pressing forward, as if no mountains stood.

举起手来几乎可以触到月亮，向前走去仿佛面前再没有任何山峦阻隔，如行天上。

Lifting my hand I can almost touch the moon; walking on, there seem to be no more mountains.

这是全诗最著名的两句，以极度夸张写绝顶之高，气魄之大，直欲吞吐宇宙。举手可近月，不说摸到月亮，而说可近，分寸拿捏极妙，既写峰高离月之近，又保留一分天人之际的距离感，可望而可及，正是登顶者真实的错觉；前行若无山，以若无写眼前众山皆在脚下、再也挡不住去路的感觉，仿佛凌空而行、一马平川。两句一从触觉（手近月）着笔，一从视觉（无山）着笔，将高度写得可触可感，与《蜀道难》扪参历井仰胁息同一机杼，而气象更为开阔。这里月与山并置，月光如洗、群山俯伏，诗人昂然立于峰顶的形象呼之欲出，豪迈超逸的盛唐气象与李白吞吐宇宙的胸襟，尽在此十字之中。

These are the whole's two most famous lines, writing the summit's height in the extreme hyperbole, the grandeur as if to swallow the universe. Lifting my hand I can almost touch the moon, not saying touching the moon, but almost near, the measure most subtly judged, at once writing the peak's nearness to the moon and keeping a touch of distance between man and heaven, within sight yet within reach, exactly the climber's real illusion. Walking on, there seem to be no more mountains, using seem to write the sense of the hundred peaks below the feet, no longer blocking the way, as if walking in the void over a plain. The two lines, one from touch (the hand near the moon), one from sight (no mountains), writing the height palpable, of the same craft as the Hard Roads of Shu's touching the Shen and Jing stars, yet the air the more open. Here the moon and the mountains set together, the moonlight washed clean, the ranges prostrate, the poet standing erect on the summit as if about to step forth, the heroic untrammeled high Tang air and Li Bai's universe-swallowing breast all within these ten characters.

Study

Word focus

穷 In 'climbing till the sunset, spent,' the word 'spent' (穷) is the most accomplished character in the poem's realist part. 'Spent' originally means exhausted, to the end; here it writes the climb's strength used to the utmost, holding both 'exhausting strength' and 'reaching the summit' in one word, with 'sunset' writing a climb from morn to eve. Its weight is that it writes both the climb's toil and joy: toil in spent strength, joy in the summit in sight; precisely because of this spent climb, the later 'star speaks with me, opens heaven's gate' heavenly encounter feels deserved, bitterness then sweetness, the real realm paving the way for the void—the structure turns on this word. Change it to 'climb' or 'ascend' and you write only motion, not heart's strength; 'spent' writes the climber's will and persistence, one word showing the whole man. Li's poems often write heroism and transcendence, yet this word shows his honest, deep brush—proving Li's poetry is not all emptiness, but also exact where it is real. 夕阳穷登攀之穷，是全诗写实部分最见功力的字。穷本义为尽、到尽头，此处写登攀之力用到极处，一字兼有耗尽气力与登到顶巅两层含义，与夕阳配合，写出从早到晚一登竟日的艰辛。穷字的分量在于它把登山的苦与乐一齐写出：苦在筋疲力尽，乐在峰顶在望，正因为穷登攀的辛苦，下文太白与我语、为我开天关的天外之遇才显得顺理成章，苦尽甘来，实境为虚境铺路，章法上由此字而转。若易以攀、上等字，则只写动作，不见心力；穷字则写尽登攀者的意志与坚持，一字而见全人。李白诗多写豪情逸气，此字却见其下笔的老实与深沉，足见太白诗并非一味空灵，实处着力处亦极精到。

直 In 'straight out beyond the floating clouds,' the word 'straight' (直) writes the unhesitating wind-borne departure, the most spirited word of the whole poem. 'Straight' originally means not bent, directly; here it writes the posture of bursting through the clouds without doubt or clinging, paired with 'would'—'would' is the subjective longing, 'straight' the resolute act, one word writing the will as decisive. 'Straight' plays against the floating clouds: the clouds layer on layer, a symbol of bondage, yet 'straight' pierces them like a sword, showing the resolve to break the dusty world. Change it to 'fly' or 'drift' and you write only posture, not will; 'straight' writes the clean decisiveness of transcending the world, the High Tang man's confidence and Li Bai's wildness both in this word. It flows with the later 'lift hand near the moon, press forward as if no mountains'—straight up, straight out, straight on; Li's ascensions are always thus unimpeded, in one breath. 直出浮云间之直，写乘风而去的一往无前，是全诗最见精神的一个字。直字本义为不弯曲、径直，此处写冲出浮云时毫无犹疑、无所挂碍的姿态，与愿字配合，愿是主观的向往，直是行动的果决，一字将诗人的意志写得斩钉截铁。直与浮云相对成趣：浮云层层叠叠、绵绵不断，是羁绊的象征，而直字如利剑般穿透云层，愈见其冲破尘俗的决心。若易以飞、飘等字，则只写姿态，不见心志；直字则写出超脱尘世时的干脆利落，盛唐人特有的自信与李白特有的狂放，尽在此字之中。此字与后文举手可近月、前行若无山的气势一脉相承，直上、直出、直往，李白笔下的飞升总是这般毫无挂碍、一气呵成。

近 In 'I lift my hand and near the moon,' the word 'near' (近) writes height through nearness, a wonderful refinement of Li Bai. Writing height, one usually says 'high,' 'lofty,' 'absolute,' but Li will not say directly; instead 'lift hand and near the moon' implies: not that the peak is high enough to touch the moon, but that lifting the hand one may approach it—'near' writes the man-moon distance as if touching yet reachable, more measured and lingering than直接 saying touch. 'Near' also hints a climber's special illusion and delight: at the absolute summit, looking out into emptiness, the moonlight seems within reach—a moment of object-feeling union only the experienced can tell. Writing height through near, lifting the heavy as if light, it plays with 'pressing forward, as if no mountains stood'—one writes heaven near, one writes mountains gone, thoroughly writing the summit's heaven-high, earth-wide visual feel, exactly Li's house skill of writing the real through the void, the form through the spirit. 举手可近月之近，以近写高，是李白炼字的妙笔。登高写高，一般多用高、峻、绝等字直说，李白偏不直说，而以举手可近月来暗示：不说峰高到摸得着月亮，而说手一举便可接近月亮，近字把人与月的距离写得若即若离、可望可及，比直接写摸到更见分寸与余味。近字还暗含一种登顶者特有的错觉与惊喜：人在绝顶，四望皆空，月光仿佛触手可及，这种物我相得的瞬间感受，非亲历者不能道。以近写高，举重若轻，与前行若无山一句相映成趣，一写天近，一写山无，将绝顶之上天高地迥的视觉感受写得透彻淋漓，正是李白以虚写实、以神写形的看家本领。