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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

渡汉江

Crossing the Han River

宋之问

Song Zhiwen

思乡Homesickness 羁旅Travel 心理Psychology

岭外音书断，经冬复历春。
近乡情更怯，不敢问来人。

Beyond the mountains, letters and news ceased,
Through winter and again through spring.
Nearing home, my heart grows more timid,
I dare not ask a passer-by anything.

Listen

Meaning

The poet, exiled beyond the mountains, lost contact with his family. After enduring a long time, he crosses the Han River on his way home. But instead of joy, he feels fear—afraid to ask for news of his family, dreading bad news.

流放岭南时，家乡的音信早已断绝，熬过了冬天又挨过春天。如今渡过汉江、渐近故乡，心里反而更加惶恐，竟不敢向迎面而来的人打听消息。

Appreciation

This poem captures the paradoxical psychology of a long-exiled wanderer nearing home. The first two lines depict the hardship of isolation and the passage of time. The last two lines reveal the inner conflict: the closer he gets, the more timid he becomes, afraid to ask about his family. The plain language conveys deep emotion.

【白话串讲】被贬岭南多年，音书断绝，终于要回家了。可越走近家乡越害怕——“近乡情更怯，不敢问来人”。这句诗，写出了每个游子回家前都有的忐忑。【意象与手法】此诗以心理刻画见长，全篇无景语而情深。前两句以「断」字立骨、以「经冬复历春」写时间之漫长；后两句捕捉「近乡情更怯」这一反常而真实的心理状态，层层递进，语淡情浓。【情感与主旨】宋之问因谄事张易之被贬泷州（今广东罗定），神龙元年（705）逃归，渡汉江时作此诗。诗人于逃归途中忧家人生死未卜，故近乡反怯，惧闻凶讯。【名句点睛】羁旅思乡诗经典。「近乡情更怯，不敢问来人」以反常心理写久客还乡之惶惧，为千古名言。考点：①反常心理——「怯」因音书断绝、惧闻凶讯；②「断」字立骨，前后因果相生。

Background

Song Zhiwen was exiled to Longzhou (now Luoding, Guangdong) for flattering Zhang Yizhi. During the exile, he lost contact with his family. In 705, when Empress Wu Zetian abdicated, Song escaped and crossed the Han River on his way back. The Han River flows near Xiangyang, a necessary route back north. At that time, the political situation was unstable and his family's fate unknown; his anxiety is condensed in this poem.

此诗作于唐中宗神龙元年（705）前后，作者宋之问（约656—约713），字延清，汾州隰城（今山西汾阳）人，初唐著名诗人，与沈佺期并称「沈宋」，对近体诗格律的定型贡献极大。宋之问于武则天朝曾谄事佞臣张易之兄弟，武周政权倾覆后遭贬泷州（今广东罗定一带）参军，远赴岭南瘴疠之地。泷州地处五岭之南，唐代为极边贬所，与中原音书阻绝，诗人身处贬所，与家人久隔，心中对家中消息一无所知，只知朝廷政局翻覆、朝士屡遭诛戮，故对亲人安危悬悬于怀，此即诗题前二句「岭外音书断，经冬复历春」所写之境。其后诗人冒险逃归洛阳，途经汉江（汉水）渡口，故乡渐近，思家愈切而忧惧愈深——越是靠近家乡，越怕听到家中发生变故的消息，遂成「近乡情更怯，不敢问来人」的千古名句。此诗是宋之问贬谪生涯中最真挚的作品之一，写的是政治流亡者特有的惶恐心理，具有超越个人遭际的普遍人性深度。

Art

This poem excels in psychological portrayal. It has no scenery but deep emotion. The first two lines narrate with 'cut off' as the key, using 'through winter and through spring' to show the long suffering. The last two lines capture the abnormal but real psychological state of 'more timid near home', using 'timid' and 'dare not' to build up the fear for family safety. The language is plain but the emotion is strong.

此诗艺术上最突出之处，在于以二十字写尽流亡还乡者的复杂心理，全篇无一字写景而情致宛然，是典型的心理白描佳作。前两句「岭外音书断，经冬复历春」以赋笔叙事：一「断」字写音信隔绝之彻底，涵盖空间之远；「经冬复历春」以时间之绵长写煎熬之深，一冬一春，年复一年，平平道来而岁月之苦自在其中，为后文「怯」字蓄足势。后两句「近乡情更怯，不敢问来人」陡转：按常情，久别还乡、近乡应喜，诗人偏写「怯」，且「不敢问来人」——连问都不敢问，把矛盾心理推向极致。「更」字与「不敢」层层递进：情已怯矣，更怯于问；问则恐得凶讯，不问则悬念自存，以退为进，将思家与怕闻家变两种情感拧成一股绳。全诗语极浅而情极深，不用典、不设景，纯以心理逻辑取胜，正合沈德潜「写出久客还家之情，人人意中所有，却未有人说出」之评。在章法上，前二句是「因」、后二句是「果」，因果之间隔着「经冬复历春」的漫长岁月，越是把「断」写足、把时间拉长，后文的「怯」就越有分量；而「近乡」二字又暗中点出空间位移——由岭外到汉江，地理上的「归」与心理上的「惧」形成尖锐对照，正是这种「归而愈怯」的反差，使二十字小诗具有了长歌的容量，堪称以小见大的典范。

Allusions

The poem mentions 'beyond the mountains' (Lingnan), a remote exile place in Tang dynasty. The Han River (Hanshui) is a tributary of the Yangtze, and the section near Xiangyang is called Xiangjiang. It was the northern part of the route from central China to Lingnan. The poet crosses the Han River approaching his hometown in the north, hence 'nearing home'. There are no obscure allusions, but the geographical shift from Lingnan to Han River traces the escape journey.

此诗为即景即情之作，几乎不用典，其深意在「岭外」「汉江」二地名所构成的地理位移。「岭外」即五岭以南的岭南，唐时为贬谪死生之地，韩愈贬潮州亦云「好收吾骨瘴江边」，可见其凶险；「汉江」即汉水，为长江最大支流，流经襄阳一带，是自岭南、荆襄北返中原的必经水路。诗人由岭南北归，渡汉江而渐近故乡，故云「近乡」。全诗虽无僻典，而「岭外—汉江—近乡」的空间链条，正勾勒出「远谪—逃归—近乡」的逃亡心理轨迹：越近故乡，离危险的政治旋涡也越近，家园与仕途、亲情与恐惧交织一处。这种以地理写心理的手法，与王维「独在异乡为异客」以空间写孤寂异曲同工，而宋之问此诗尤以心理之细腻微妙见长，遂使二十字成为千古传诵的思乡名篇。又，诗中「汉江」一作「汉水」，襄阳至武汉间古称襄江，为南北交通孔道。唐人诗常以汉江为还乡标志，如王维「汉江临眺」、孟浩然「早寒江上有怀」皆写此水，宋之问取汉江为「近乡」之界，正是用这条水路串起贬所与故乡。此外「来人」二字亦堪玩味：不写「乡人」「故人」而泛言「来人」，正见诗人对一切可能带来消息的人都心怀惕惧，越是泛化，越显其内心战栗之深，此即不着典故而自具神理之笔。

Commentary

Qing critic Shi Buhua commented: 'Nearing home, my heart grows more timid; dare not ask a passer-by anything' - truly vivid. Song Zhiwen's moral character may be flawed, but this poem captures the psychology of a wandering exile with great subtlety. Shen Deqian also said it expresses the feeling of a long-absent traveler returning home, which everyone has in mind but no one has expressed.

历代评家于此诗评价极高。清人施补华《岘佣说诗》评「近乡情更怯，不敢问来人」为「真切如见」，谓其将人人心中所有、笔下所无的微妙心理，以极浅白的话道出。沈德潜《唐诗别裁》亦谓其「写出久客还家之情，人人意中所有，却未有人说出」，可见其以白描写至情之工。近人论者多举此诗与王维《杂诗》、李白《静夜思》并观，以为同写思乡而各擅胜场：王维问「来日绮窗前，寒梅著花未」，以细节寄乡情；李白「举头望明月，低头思故乡」，以明月写乡愁；宋之问则以「不敢问」写心理矛盾，曲折最深。宋之问人品虽有疵议，然论诗不以人废，此诗写乱离游子心理之精微，千载之下犹能动人，是中国古典诗歌中以心理描写取胜的典范之作，也是研究贬谪文学、流亡心态的重要文本。又，此诗在文学史上的意义，还在于它把「近乡情怯」这一心理现象提炼为经典母题，后世「近乡情更怯」一语遂成成语，被广泛用于写还乡、归国、重逢前的复杂心绪，如近现代诗人艾青、余光中写归乡之情皆尝化用其意。从诗体看，宋之问与沈佺期共同完成五律、七律的定型，此绝句虽为短制，亦见其声律之精；而诗中所写的流亡心理，又与杜甫《羌村三首》「妻孥怪我在，惊定还拭泪」的乱离重逢，构成唐代贬谪文学与战乱文学中一脉相承的心理书写，足见其影响之深远。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain (oblique tone start, first line does not rhyme)五言绝句（仄起首句不入韵）

Rhyme Rhymes in Pingshui rhyme category 11 Zhen: chun (spring), ren (person)押平水韵上平十一真韵，韵脚为「春」「人」二字。

Tone pattern First line: oblique, oblique, level, level, oblique; second: level, level, oblique, oblique, level; third: oblique, level, level, oblique, oblique (with entering tone 'qie'); fourth: oblique, oblique, oblique, level, level.首句「岭外音书断」为仄仄平平仄，次句「经冬复历春」为平平仄仄平，三句「近乡情更怯」为仄平平仄仄，末句「不敢问来人」为仄仄仄平平（其中「怯」为入声字，读仄）。全诗仄起首句不入韵，平仄相间，节奏短促而顿挫，正合紧张惶惧之情。

Reading note Uses paradoxical psychology to express homesickness, language simple but emotion profound.此诗为五言绝句，仄起首句不入韵式，押平水韵上平十一真（春、人）。五绝体制短小，最宜表现瞬间的心理感受，宋之问正以此二十字写一个心理的横断面——不是写思乡的全过程，而是截取「近乡」这一瞬间的复杂心绪，以小见大。全诗平仄合律而自然流转，无斧凿痕；语浅而意深，以反常心理写思乡，与王维《杂诗》、李白《静夜思》等同题思乡之作各擅胜场。诵读时宜于「怯」「不敢」处稍作停顿，以显其欲言又止、踌躇不前之态。此诗体现了沈宋一派将齐梁声律理论落实于短章创作、以格律精工助情思传达的成就，为五绝中写心理的典范。

Line by line

岭外音书断，经冬复历春。

Beyond the mountains, letters and news cut off; through winter and again through spring. The word 'cut off' emphasizes complete isolation, and the time span shows the long suffering.

流放岭南时，家乡的音信早已断绝，熬过冬天又挨过春天。

Beyond the ridge, letters cut off; I have passed winter and again spring.

首联叙事起笔，交代流放境况与时间跨度。「断」字写音信隔绝之彻底，既是空间之远（岭外与中原山水万里），也是时局之险（贬所消息难通、家中生死未卜）；「经冬复历春」以季节循环写岁月之漫长，一「复」字更见年复一年、了无盼头。两句无一字言情而思乡之情已蓄满，为下联「情更怯」埋下因果：正因为音书久断、家中吉凶莫知，才会在近乡之际生出怕闻凶讯的恐惧。此联以赋笔平铺，语极平淡，而张力已在暗中积蓄，是全诗逻辑的起点与基石。

The opening couplet narrates, telling the exile's lot and the time's span. The word cut off writes the letters' thorough severance, at once the space's distance (beyond the ridge and the central plains, ten thousand li of hill and stream), and the time's peril (the exile's news hard to send, the home's life and death unknown). I have passed winter and again spring writes the long years in the seasons' cycle, the word again the more showing year after year, with no hope. The two lines not one word of feeling, yet the homesickness already full, laying a cause and effect for the next couplet's my courage fails: precisely because the letters have long been cut and the home's weal and woe unknown, the fear of hearing ill news arises as one nears home. This couplet in plain narrative, the words very plain, yet the tension gathering in secret, the starting point and cornerstone of the whole's logic.

近乡情更怯，不敢问来人。

Nearing home, my heart grows more timid; I dare not ask a passer-by anything. The abnormal psychology of 'more timid' and 'dare not' reveals the fear of hearing bad news, a masterpiece of psychological description.

如今渡过汉江、渐近故乡，心里反而更加惶恐，竟不敢向迎面而来的人打听消息。

Near home, my courage fails the more; I dare not ask the man coming from there.

尾联是全诗高潮，也是千古传诵的名句，妙在写出「反常」而「真实」的心理。按常情，久别还乡、故乡在望，应欢喜雀跃、急于打听家乡消息；诗人偏说「情更怯」——「更」字与首联的「断」「历」呼应，音书越断得久，积压的思念越深，怕闻凶讯的恐惧也越重。「不敢问来人」五字以退为进：不是不想问，而是不敢问，唯恐一问之下听到家中变故的噩耗，宁可让悬念悬着，也不愿让希望破灭。这种「近乡情怯」的心理矛盾，道出了人类普遍的情感经验，故能引起千年共鸣。两句以白描写心理，不用一景一典，而惊心动魄，是「以浅语写深情」的极致。

The tail couplet is the whole's climax, and a famous line through the ages, the beauty in writing the abnormal yet true psychology. By common sense, returning after long parting, home in sight, one should be joyous and eager to ask the news; yet the poet says my courage fails the more - the word more echoes the cut off and passed of the opening, the longer the letters are cut, the deeper the gathered longing, the heavier the fear of ill news. I dare not ask the man coming from there uses retreat as advance: not that he does not want to ask, but that he dares not, fearing that one question may bring the evil tidings of some change at home, preferring to let the suspense hang rather than let the hope break. This psychological contradiction of near home yet courage failing utters the universal human emotional experience, hence the resonance across a thousand years. The two lines write the psychology in plain speech, not using one scene or one allusion, yet heart-stirring, the peak of writing deep feeling in plain words.

Study

Word focus

断 cut off - emphasizes complete isolation 「岭外音书断」之「断」字，是全诗的第一个字眼，写音信隔绝之彻底、之长久。一「断」字涵盖多层意蕴：地理上，岭外与中原相隔万里，驿路难通；时局上，贬所多忌讳，家书亦不敢多传；心理上，音书一断，家中一切消息皆成空白，诗人的思念与忧惧便在这一片空白中疯长。此字为后文「情更怯」埋下最深的根由——正因为「断」，才不知家中是吉是凶，才在近乡时怕闻凶讯。一字立骨，牵动全篇，堪称「一字千钧」。与「经冬复历春」配合，「断」写空间之绝，「历」写时间之久，一纵一横，把流放生涯的孤绝写得淋漓尽致，语虽平淡，力重千钧。

怯 timid - key word showing paradoxical fear 「近乡情更怯」之「怯」字是全诗诗眼，写出了千百年来人人心中有、笔下无的反常心理。久客还乡，本应欢喜，而诗人用一「怯」字，把思乡之深、忧家之切、惧变之甚统统浓缩于一字之中：正因为思念太深，才害怕听到坏消息；正因为音书断得太久，才不敢面对可能出现的变故。此字与「不敢」呼应——「怯」是心理，「不敢」是行动，心理的怯促成行动的退缩，层层递进，把矛盾心理推到极致。此字所以传诵千古，在于它写的是最真实的人性：爱与惧本是一体两面，爱得越深，越怕失去；思得越切，越不敢触碰真相。宋之问以一字道破，遂成「真切如见」的至情之笔。

渡汉江