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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

逢雪宿芙蓉山主人

Seeking Shelter at Lotus Hill on a Snowy Night

刘长卿

Liu Changqing

羁旅travel 雪夜snowy night 山村mountain village

日暮苍山远，天寒白屋贫。
柴门闻犬吠，风雪夜归人。

At dusk the distant green hills stretch far away,
In bitter cold the white thatched cottage looks poor.
Outside the wicker gate I hear a dog bark,
A man returns home on this snowy night.

Listen

Meaning

As dusk falls, the green hills seem more distant; in bitter cold, the white thatched cottage appears poor. A dog barks outside the wicker gate, and the host returns home on this snowy night.

暮色四合，苍茫的远山在暮色中显得更加遥远；天气严寒，那座覆着白茅的屋舍更显贫寒。柴门外忽然传来几声犬吠，原来是顶着漫天风雪、在深夜里归来的人。

Appreciation

This poem captures a moment of seeking shelter in a mountain village on a snowy night. The first two lines paint a cold, distant scene; the last two lines bring sudden sound and motion with a dog's bark and the return of the host. It conveys both the hardship of travel and the comfort of finding lodging, with a subtle warmth beneath the cold surface.

【白话串讲】日暮苍山，风雪夜归。刘长卿借宿山村，听见柴门外的狗叫——“风雪夜归人”五个字，让一千多年后的我们，也感到了那盏灯火的暖。【意象与手法】全诗二十字，白描如画，层次井然。前两句写远景与静景，以「苍山远」「白屋贫」层层推进，由远及近；后两句以「犬吠」破静、以「归人」点题，由声入画、由静转动，于极简处见深厚。【情感与主旨】刘长卿一生屡遭贬谪、长年漂泊，此诗当为行旅途中雪夜投宿山村之作。诗中既有旅途的艰辛与荒寒，更有雪夜投宿、闻犬归人的温暖慰藉，于困顿飘零中见出对平淡人情的珍视，含蓄而深永。【名句点睛】常考：①「日暮苍山远，天寒白屋贫」如何以远近、明暗对比营造冷寂氛围；②「柴门闻犬吠」以声写静、以动破寂的作用；③「风雪夜归人」的丰富意味——既是投宿所见，亦是诗人自况。

Background

Liu Changqing suffered repeated exiles and long years of wandering. This poem is thought to be written during a journey when he sought lodging in a mountain village. The location of Lotus Hill is uncertain (maybe in Guiyang, Hunan). It captures what he saw and heard on a snowy night, representative of his 'five-character great wall' plain style. Despite his hardships, he shows composure and appreciation for simple scenes—simple words but profound imagery.

刘长卿，字文房，中唐诗人，以五言诗著称，自许「五言长城」，与钱起并称「钱刘」。他一生仕途坎坷，屡遭贬谪——肃宗至德年间因事下狱，后被贬南巴（今广东茂名一带）；代宗大历年间又因刚直忤上，再贬睦州司马。长年漂泊、辗转各地的贬谪生涯，使他写下了大量羁旅行役之作。此诗《逢雪宿芙蓉山主人》即为其行旅途中遇雪、投宿山村时所作。芙蓉山其地说法不一，或以为在湖南桂阳一带，或以为在湖南长沙附近，难以确指，然就诗中荒寒清寂之境而言，当为诗人贬谪或行旅途中的真实经历。诗题「逢雪宿芙蓉山主人」，「逢」字点出偶遇，「宿」字点出投宿，全诗所写正是雪夜暮色中投宿山村的一个断面：日暮、苍山、天寒、白屋、柴门、犬吠、风雪、归人，二十个字串起一幅完整的雪夜投宿图。诗人不写投宿后的人情细节，只摄取临门瞬间的视听感受，留白之处，正是其冲淡含蓄风格的精髓所在。

Art

The poem has only 20 characters but is well structured: the first line depicts the difficulty of travel and distance, the second shifts to a close-up of the humble lodging, and the last two lines introduce sound and movement, from stillness to motion. In extreme simplicity lies depth, with the blank space filled by the snowy night scene—subtle and meaningful.

此诗之妙，在尺幅千里、以小见大。全诗仅二十字，却以「远—近—声—人」四层推进，章法井然。首句「日暮苍山远」写远景：暮色四合，苍茫的群山在昏暗的暮光中显得更加遥远，一个「远」字既写空间之遥，亦暗含行旅之艰——天将黑而山尚远，投宿的心情自然急切。次句「天寒白屋贫」转近景：天寒地冻中，一座覆着白茅的屋舍出现在眼前，「白屋」写屋之简陋，「贫」写主家之清寒，白茅覆顶的贫屋与漫天风雪互为映衬，色调清冷而意味深厚——诗人对贫寒山民的体察与同情，尽在不言中。第三句「柴门闻犬吠」由视觉转入听觉：行至柴门前，忽闻犬吠之声，一声犬吠划破雪夜的死寂，画面骤然生动，「闻」字先闻其声，见出夜色之深、来者之晚。末句「风雪夜归人」以人收束：犬吠惊动了屋中人，原来是顶着风雪夜归的人——此「归人」既是归来的主人，亦是投宿的诗人自己，主客合一，情景交融。全诗由静转动、由外入内，留白极多而意蕴无穷，正是刘长卿五绝「清雅疏淡」一格的代表。

Allusions

'White house' refers to a poor person's home covered with white thatch, from the Book of Han, describing the host's poverty and the poet's empathy. 'Lotus Hill' is a common mountain name, used here to indicate a remote mountain village, not a specific allusion, but to create a sense of desolate travel and actual lodging.

此诗不尚用典，而意象皆有渊源。「白屋」一词，指以白茅覆盖屋顶、不加彩饰的贫者之居，语出《汉书·王莽传》「白屋之士」，后世遂以「白屋」代指寒门贫士；诗中着一「白屋」，既实写山民清贫之居，亦暗含对寒士处境的体认，与诗人自身贬谪漂泊的寒士身份暗相呼应。「芙蓉山」为常见山名，或本于《楚辞》「采薜荔兮水中，搴芙蓉兮木末」的芙蓉意象传统，刘诗借此泛指荒远山乡，非特指某一典故，重在写行旅之荒寒与投宿之实感。「柴门」出自《荀子》「柴门」之语及陶渊明「翳翳桑麻日，掩我柴门扉」的隐逸意象，柴门成为贫士之家与隐逸生活的标志。「犬吠」则承陶渊明「狗吠深巷中，鸡鸣桑树颠」的田园意象——陶诗以犬吠写田园之安乐，刘诗以犬吠写雪夜之寂寥，同一意象而情味迥异。「风雪夜归人」一句，化用《诗经·邶风·北风》「北风其凉，雨雪其雱」的风雪意象，以风雪写行路之难，而「归人」之「归」字尤耐寻味。诸意象皆取自常见典籍而化用无痕，正是盛中唐诗人「以常语写深情」的高境。

Commentary

Tang Shi Zheng Sheng (Proper Voice of Tang Poetry) comments: 'Half a painting, a travel essay.' Liu's five-character quatrain shows its 'clear and subtle' style. Modern scholar Yu Biyun says: 'In twenty words, there is the momentum of a thousand li within a foot of silk,' highlighting the poem's vast capacity in a small form.

《逢雪宿芙蓉山主人》是刘长卿最负盛名的五绝之一，历代评家多致赞赏。明人《唐诗正声》评此诗「半幅画图，一篇游记」，谓二十字如一幅水墨小品，构图完整而意境悠远。清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》将其选入，视为五绝典范。近人俞陛云《诗境浅说》称其「二十字中，有尺幅千里之势」，正谓其以极短篇幅写尽行旅、风雪、投宿、归人诸境，容量之大，出人意表。刘长卿自诩「五言长城」，其五言诗以冲淡雅洁著称，此诗正是这一风格的代表：语言洗练到无可再减，意境却含蓄不尽。值得注意者，此诗写的是寒夜投宿的寻常琐事，却因诗人贬谪漂泊的身世，于字里行间透出深沉的羁旅之感——「风雪夜归人」中的「归人」，既是山间主人，又何尝不是天涯倦客的自我写照？诗无达诂，正因这层若隐若现的自况，使短短二十字获得了超越题材本身的感染力，千载之下犹能唤起每一个风雪夜行者的共鸣。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain (仄起 with first line not rhyming)五言绝句（仄起首句不入韵）

Rhyme Rhymes in Upper Level 11 True of Pingshui rhyme: 贫 and 人; first line ends with oblique tone 远押平水韵上平十一真韵，韵脚为「贫」「人」；首句「远」字仄收，不押韵，属首句不入韵式。

Tone pattern First two lines set a quiet scene, last two introduce sound and motion, from far to near, stillness to movement, the short piece has a sweeping momentum.首句「日暮苍山远」仄仄平平仄，为仄起首句不入韵式；全诗平仄合律，前两句仄收顿挫，后两句平收舒缓，声情随景流转。

Reading note Liu Changqing's poem uses plain description of seeking lodging on a snowy night, finding human warmth in the cold, representative of the 'sparse and plain' style of Tang five-character quatrains.此诗为五言绝句，属近体诗仄起首句不入韵一格。首句「日暮苍山远」以仄起，仄收于「远」，不入韵；次句「天寒白屋贫」、末句「风雪夜归人」押上平十一真韵，「贫」「人」二字韵脚疏朗，一韵到底。平仄上，全诗以「仄仄平平仄」起式，第三句「柴门闻犬吠」拗而能救，音节在平仄交替中略有顿挫，正与雪夜行旅的艰辛声情相凑。五绝体短，贵在含蓄凝练，此诗二十字写尽日暮、苍山、天寒、白屋、柴门、犬吠、风雪、归人八种景致，由远及近、由静转动、由景入人，完全符合五绝「以小见大、以少总多」的审美要求。尤为难得者，全诗白描如话，不事雕琢而意境自远，音节亦如风雪中的跫音，清冷而有人情温度，是唐人五绝中「疏淡」一格的代表作，对后世羁旅小诗影响深远。

Line by line

日暮苍山远，

As dusk falls, the green hills appear more remote, implying the hardship of travel and the urgency to find lodging.

暮色四合，苍茫的远山在暮色中显得更加遥远。

Day declines, the blue hills stretch far,

首句写远景，为全诗布下苍茫暮色。「日暮」点明时间——天将入夜，行旅之人最怕天黑路远；「苍山」写山色之苍茫，暮霭四合中，山色由青转苍，一片混沌；「远」字是全句诗眼，既写空间之遥——暮色中群山显得更加遥远，亦暗含行旅之艰——天将黑而宿处尚不可见。一个「远」字，把行路人急于投宿的心情、跋涉的疲惫、前途的渺茫，尽数收摄其中。此句以淡笔写远景，不着情感之字而情感自见，正是刘长卿五绝「语近情遥、含吐不露」的典型笔法，也为次句「白屋贫」的出现作了空间上的蓄势——山越远，屋越近，由远及近的镜头推进中，投宿的主题悄然展开。

The opening line writes the far view, spreading the whole's vast dusk. Day declines points the time - night drawing near, the traveler most fearing the dark and the long road; the blue hills writes the hills' vastness, the dusk gathering, the hills turning from blue to gray, one blur. The word far is the line's eye, at once writing the space's distance - in the dusk the mountains the more distant, and secretly the journey's hardship - night drawing near yet the lodging still unseen. The single word far gathers the traveler's eagerness to find shelter, the trudging weariness, and the road's vagueness. This line uses the pale brush for the far view, not one word of feeling yet the feeling showing of itself, exactly Liu Changqing's five-character quatrain's typical brush of words near yet feeling far, held and unshowing, and gathering the spatial force for the next line's the thatched cottage poor - the farther the hills, the nearer the cottage, the lens pushing from far to near, the theme of seeking shelter quietly unfolding.

天寒白屋贫。

In bitter cold, the white thatched cottage looks poor, describing the host's poverty and the poet's empathy.

天气严寒，那座覆着白茅的屋舍显得格外贫寒。

the air is cold, the thatched cottage poor.

次句由远及近，转写投宿之所。「天寒」点明气候——风雪将至，寒气砭骨；「白屋」指以白茅覆顶的贫者之居，屋顶的白色与漫天风雪、苍茫暮色浑然一色，画面清冷而统一；「贫」字是全句之眼，写主家之清寒——茅屋简陋、家徒四壁，一个「贫」字，既是实写屋之简陋，亦暗含诗人对山民处境的体察与同情。尤为值得注意的是「白屋贫」三字的组合：白屋已言其贫，再加一「贫」字，层层渲染，把贫寒写得淋漓尽致，却无一字诉苦，冷峻的笔触下藏着温暖的人情。此句与首句一远一近、一山一屋，两幅画面叠印，构成完整的雪夜投宿图的前景，为下文犬吠人归的热闹一瞬蓄足了势。

The second line moves from far to near, turning to the lodging. The air is cold points the weather - wind and snow to come, the cold cutting. The thatched cottage means the poor man's dwelling roofed with white thatch, the roof's white fusing with the sky-filling snow and the vast dusk, the picture cold and clear and unified. The word poor is the line's eye, writing the host's poor simplicity - the cottage mean, the walls bare, the single word poor at once the real writing of the cottage's meanness, and secretly the poet's understanding and sympathy for the mountain folk's lot. Especially to note the combination of the three words the thatched cottage poor: the thatched cottage already says its poverty, yet adding the word poor, layer on layer rendering the poverty to the utmost, not one word complaining, the cold brush hiding warm human feeling. This line with the opening one far one near, one hill one cottage, two pictures overprinted, forming the foreground of the complete snow-night seeking-shelter picture, gathering force for the later bark and homecoming's lively instant.

柴门闻犬吠，

Hearing a dog bark outside the wicker gate—the sound breaks the silence, bringing movement.

柴门外忽然传来几声犬吠。

At the wicket gate I hear a dog bark,

第三句是全诗的转折，由静转动、由视觉转入听觉。「柴门」以柴木编成之门，是贫士之家与山村人家的标志，与「白屋」呼应，续写主家之贫寒；「闻」字先闻其声——夜色已深，来者已近，犬先于人而觉；「犬吠」以一声犬吠划破雪夜的死寂，画面骤然生动。此句的妙处在以声写静：雪夜万籁俱寂，唯犬吠一声，反而衬出四周之静，正如王维「空山不见人，但闻人语响」之以声衬寂。犬吠又暗示屋中有人、夜归有客，为末句「风雪夜归人」预作铺垫——这一声犬吠，是整幅雪夜图由冷寂转向温情的枢纽，也是全诗最富戏剧性的瞬间，唐人五绝炼意之精，于此可见一斑。

The third line is the whole's turn, from stillness to motion, from sight to hearing. The wicket gate, the gate of brushwood, the mark of the poor scholar's and mountain village house, echoing the thatched cottage, continuing the host's poverty. The word hear first hears the sound - the night already deep, the comer already near, the dog aware before the man. A dog bark cleaves the snow night's dead silence, the picture suddenly alive. The line's beauty lies in writing stillness through sound: the snow night all sounds still, only one dog's bark, the more setting off the surrounding quiet, exactly as Wang Wei's empty hills no man seen, yet hearing the sound of men setting off silence through sound. The dog's bark also hints someone within the house, a guest returning at night, laying a ground for the last line's in the wind and snow, a man coming home at night - this one dog's bark is the hinge of the whole snow-night picture turning from cold stillness to warmth, and the most dramatic instant of the whole, the Tang five-character quatrain's refined thought seen here.

风雪夜归人。

A man returns home on this snowy night—the host returns, and the poet may see himself in him, subtle and suggestive.

原来是顶着漫天风雪、在深夜里归来的人。

in the wind and snow, a man coming home at night.

末句以景结情，是全诗的点题之笔，也是千古名句。「风雪」回扣前文的「天寒」，写夜之深、雪之大、天之寒；「夜」点明时序，呼应首句「日暮」，由暮入夜，时间线完整；「归人」是全句之眼——犬吠惊动了主人，柴门开处，归来的人顶着风雪踏入家门。此「归人」既可指山间主人夜归，亦暗含诗人投宿自况——天涯倦客，风雪中得一宿之地，何尝不是另一种「归」？主客合一、情景交融，遂使这平常一瞬获得了深沉的情感浓度。全诗以「日暮」起、以「夜归」结，由远及近、由静转动、由景入人，二十字写尽风雪夜行的艰辛与归家的温暖，含蓄蕴藉，余味无穷，故能传诵千古。

The last line closes feeling through scenery, the point-making stroke of the whole, and a famous line through the ages. Wind and snow echoes the preceding the air is cold, writing the night's depth, the snow's greatness, the sky's cold. Night points the season's time, echoing the opening's day declines, from dusk to night, the time line complete. The homecoming man is the line's eye - the dog's bark rouses the host, the wicket gate opening, the homecoming man stepping against wind and snow into the door. This homecoming man may mean the mountain host returning at night, and secretly the poet seeking shelter as himself - the world-weary traveler finding a night's shelter in wind and snow, is it not another homecoming? Host and guest as one, feeling and scenery fused, making this ordinary instant gain a deep emotional density. The whole opens with day declines and closes with night return, from far to near, from stillness to motion, from scenery to man, twenty characters writing to the full the wind-snow night journey's hardship and the homecoming's warmth, reserved and pregnant, the aftertone endless, hence renowned through the ages.

Study

Word focus

远 distant—emphasizes the long road 「日暮苍山远」之「远」字，是全诗写景的起点，一字而见行旅之艰。就写景而言，暮色四合，山色苍茫，远景在暮光中愈显辽远，是实写；就抒情而言，「远」字暗含行路人的焦灼——天将黑而山犹远，宿处未卜，归心愈急，一个「远」字写尽旅途的漫长与跋涉的疲惫。此字与「日暮」相配，暮色使远者更远，远山又反衬日暮之迫，时间与空间在此交叠，把投宿的迫切心情渲染得含蓄而深沉。尤为精妙者，此「远」字为全诗布下「由远及近」的视觉线索：山远、屋近、门近、人归，镜头层层推进，二十字中竟有完整的空间调度。炼字之简、取景之精，正是刘长卿「五言长城」的本色。

白屋贫 poor white thatched cottage—describes the host's poverty 「天寒白屋贫」之「白屋贫」三字，是全诗对贫寒最凝练的写照。白屋者，以白茅覆顶之屋，为贫者所居，语出《汉书》「白屋之士」；着一「白」字，屋顶之白与天地风雪之白浑然一体，色调冷冽而统一。「贫」字实写屋之简陋、家之清寒，与「白屋」叠用，层层渲染，把山民生活的清苦写得淋漓尽致。此三字的妙处，在于以屋写人、以贫写情：诗人不直说山民穷苦，而以其居处之简陋见其生计之艰难，冷峻的白描中含着对底层寒士的体察与同情——这与诗人自身贬谪漂泊的寒士身世暗相呼应，写山民之贫，何尝不是写自己之困？三字如画，贫寒之状毕现，而仁厚之情自见。

归 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「风雪夜归人」之「归」字，是全诗的诗眼，一字而境界全出。就叙事而言，写犬吠声中归来的主人，是雪夜山村最寻常的日常一瞬；就抒情而言，「归」字暗含诗人自身的投影——天涯倦客，风雪行路，得山村一宿，何尝不是漂泊中的短暂归宿？归者是主人，亦是诗人自况，主客合一，遂使「归」字有了双重意味。又「归」与「风雪」相配：风雪愈烈，归意愈坚，越是艰难险阻，越见归家之可贵——这种「以风雪衬归人」的写法，把寻常的投宿升华为对安宁与温暖的礼赞。全诗二十字，唯此「归」字最见情致，既实写其事，又虚含其情，含蓄蕴藉而不著痕迹，正是刘长卿五绝「语近情遥」的绝佳注脚。