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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

古意

Ancient Airs

李颀

Li Qi

男儿事长征少小幽燕客赌胜马蹄下由来轻七尺杀人莫敢前须如猬毛磔黄云陇底白雪飞未得报恩不能归辽东小妇年十五惯弹琵琶解歌舞今为羌笛出塞声使我三军泪如雨

The man marches on the long campaign, a sojourner in the land of You and Yan since boyhood.
He stakes his courage beneath the horses' hooves, and has always held his seven-foot frame cheap.
He kills, and none dare step forward; his beard bristles like a hedgehog's spines.
Yellow clouds drift below the Long, white snow flies high; he cannot go home until his lord's kindness is repaid.
A young wife of Liaodong, just fifteen years old, plays the pipa well and knows song and dance.
Now her Qiang flute breathes out the strains of the frontier pass, and tears fall like rain across my three armies.
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Meaning

The poem contrasts the heroic valor of a frontier warrior with the homesickness that overwhelms him at the sound of a flute. The first half celebrates his fearlessness, born in the war-torn north, contemptuous of death and terrifying in battle; the second half turns to the cold frontier scene and the farewell tune of a young Liaodong wife. Li Qi's point is that the bolder the hero, the deeper his hidden grief: heroism and sorrow are woven together in this celebrated frontier poem.

男儿从事长征，少小便是幽燕之客。赌胜于马蹄之下，由来轻视七尺之躯。杀人而莫敢上前，须如猬毛而磔立。黄云陇底白雪飞，未得报恩不能归。辽东小妇年方十五，惯弹琵琶又解歌舞。今为羌笛出塞之声，使我三军泪下如雨。

Appreciation

[Structure] The poem falls into two six-line halves that deliberately mirror each other. The first half paints the warrior's heroism in short, hard strokes: a sojourner in You and Yan since boyhood gives his origins; staking courage beneath the horses' hooves and holding his seven-foot frame cheap give his recklessness; none dare step forward and a beard like a hedgehog's spines give his ferocity. The second half turns to landscape and feeling: the frontier sky, the unrepayed debt of loyalty, the young wife of Liaodong, and finally the flute that breaks three armies into tears. [Imagery and technique] The controlling method is writing sorrow through heroism: the more magnificent the opening portrait, the more devastating the closing flood of tears. The hinge is the line that he cannot go home until his lord's kindness is repaid, a line of duty that is also a line of pain. The cold wind, the bristling beard, the Qiang flute: every image serves the twin poles of heroism and homesickness, making this a model of High Tang frontier verse.

【白话串讲】 李颀写《古意》：“男儿事长征，少小幽燕客”——“赌胜马蹄下，由来轻七尺”——“杀人莫敢前，须如猬毛磔”——“辽东小妇年十五，惯弹琵琶解歌舞”——“今为羌笛出塞声，使我三军泪如雨”——他写征人——由来轻七尺。 【意象与手法】 前六句写男儿气概：少小幽燕、轻七尺、杀人莫敢前、须如猬毛磔；后六句写乡愁：未得报恩不能归、辽东小妇、羌笛出塞声、三军泪如雨。雄浑悲壮。 【情感与主旨】 李颀写边塞男儿的豪壮与乡愁，前写轻七尺的豪气、后写羌笛声中的泪，是边塞诗的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“男儿事长征，少小幽燕客”写男儿豪气；“今为羌笛出塞声，使我三军泪如雨”写边愁。

Background

Li Qi (ca. 690-751), a native of Zhao commandery in modern Hebei, passed the jinshi examination in 735 and became a leading High Tang poet, celebrated for both frontier and music poetry. His Gu Cong Jun Xing (Taking the Long Road as an Ancient Theme) and this Ancient Airs are among the most famous frontier poems of the period. Ancient Airs is an archaicizing title in the yuefu tradition: the poet imitates old frontier themes while writing in a free ancient-style form. The poem captures the High Tang celebration of frontier valor even as it exposes its human cost, a tension that runs through the entire frontier tradition.

此诗为盛唐诗人李颀的《古意》之作，是边塞诗的名篇。李颀（约690—约751），赵郡（今河北赵县）人，开元二十三年（735）进士，盛唐诗人，长于边塞诗与音乐诗，其《古从军行》《古意》皆为边塞名作。「古意」为拟古之题，仿乐府古意而作。全诗写边塞男儿的豪壮与乡愁：「男儿事长征」，写男儿从事长征——男儿志在长征（远行征戍）；「少小幽燕客」，写少小便是幽燕之客——幽燕为幽州、燕地（今河北、辽宁一带），古多慷慨悲歌之士，少小便客于幽燕；「赌胜马蹄下」，写赌胜于马蹄之下——在战场上赌胜，正是「醉卧沙场」的豪气；「由来轻七尺」，写由来轻视七尺之躯——七尺为男儿之躯，轻七尺正是轻生重义；「杀人莫敢前」，写杀人而莫敢上前——那男儿，杀人而敌莫敢前，正是勇武；「须如猬毛磔」，写须如猬毛而磔立——猬毛磔立，写须髯如刺猬之毛般竖起，正是勇武之相；「黄云陇底白雪飞」，写黄云陇底白雪纷飞——黄云写边塞风沙，陇底写陇山之底，白雪飞写边塞之寒；「未得报恩不能归」，写未得报恩不能归——报国恩未成，不能归乡，正是忠义；「辽东小妇年十五」，写辽东小妇年方十五——辽东小妇，写边地的妇女；「惯弹琵琶解歌舞」，写惯弹琵琶又解歌舞——那辽东小妇，善弹琵琶、又解歌舞；「今为羌笛出塞声」，写今为羌笛吹出塞之声——羌笛写出塞之声，正是边塞的音乐；「使我三军泪如雨」，写使我三军泪下如雨——那出塞之声，使三军泪下如雨，正是乡愁的爆发。全诗以拟古之体写边塞男儿的豪壮与乡愁，雄浑而悲壮，是边塞诗「以豪写悲」的代表作。

Art

The poem's craft rests on contrast and escalation. The first six lines build the warrior's image through concrete, almost physical detail: the hedgehog-bristling beard drawn from a classical description of the general Huan Wen, the gambling for victory beneath the horses' hooves, so that heroism becomes visible rather than announced. The second six lines dismantle that heroism not with argument but with sound: the Qiang flute playing a farewell tune. The turn is managed by the line about going home only when the lord's kindness is repaid, a duty that is also a wound. Structurally, the poem moves from short, percussive clauses to longer lines, so the verse's own rhythm enacts the shift from clash to lament. The result is the frontier mode at its most economical: heroism and sorrow carried in a handful of phrases.

此诗艺术上以「前后对照」与「以豪写悲」为特色，在边塞男儿的豪壮与乡愁中写尽征戍的深衷。前半写男儿气概：少小幽燕客——那是出身之豪；赌胜马蹄下，由来轻七尺——那是气概之豪；杀人莫敢前，须如猬毛磔——那是勇武之豪；六句之中，写尽男儿的豪壮，那「轻七尺」「莫敢前」「猬毛磔」，正是边塞男儿的英雄气。而后半写乡愁：未得报恩不能归——那是忠义的担当；辽东小妇年十五，惯弹琵琶解歌舞——那是边地的温情；今为羌笛出塞声，使我三军泪如雨——那是乡愁的爆发。这前后对照，是全诗的关键：那前半的豪壮，与后半的乡愁，正是「以豪写悲」——越是豪壮的男儿，其乡愁越是深重；那「使我三军泪如雨」，正是豪壮的男儿，也抵不住出塞之声的乡愁。全诗由豪写入悲，经未得报恩、辽东小妇，而归于三军泪如雨的悲壮，前后对照、以豪写悲，正是边塞诗「豪壮与悲凉交织」的极致。细观其转折，那「未得报恩不能归」一句正是全诗的枢纽——报恩之志未酬，归乡之心难遂，豪壮与乡愁至此交织，前文的英姿与后文的泪雨，皆由此一句贯串。

Allusions

You and Yan, the ancient regions of modern Hebei and Liaoning, was the old land of Yan and Zhao, famed for men of fierce loyalty and melancholy song; Jing Ke, the would-be assassin of the Qin king, was a man of Yan, so the phrase about sojourning there since boyhood places the hero in the lineage of tragic champions. Seven feet is the classical measure of a man's body, so to hold it cheap is to treat one's life lightly for a cause. A beard bristling like a hedgehog's spines echoes the Jin shu description of the general Huan Wen, whose eyes were like purple stone ridges and whose beard bristled as hedgehog fur. Below the Long refers to the Long mountains on the modern Gansu-Shaanxi border, and the Qiang flute, a plaintive border instrument, evokes the whole tradition of frontier music. These references are never displayed for their own sake; each tightens the portrait of a hero of the northern marches.

此诗用典于关键处见深意。「幽燕」，写幽州、燕地——幽燕为古燕赵之地（今河北、辽宁一带），自古多慷慨悲歌之士，荆轲即燕人，「少小幽燕客」写少小客于幽燕，正是以燕赵悲歌之士写男儿。「七尺」，写七尺之躯——「七尺」为男儿之身，古以七尺写男子，「由来轻七尺」写轻视七尺之躯，正是轻生重义。「猬毛磔」，写须如猬毛磔立——「猬毛」写刺猬之毛，「磔」写张开，「须如猬毛磔」写须髯如刺猬之毛般竖起，正是勇武之相，亦见于《晋书》写桓温「眼如紫石棱，须作猬毛磔」。「陇底」，写陇山之下——陇山在今陕西、甘肃一带，「黄云陇底白雪飞」写陇山之下的黄云白雪。「羌笛」，写羌族的笛——羌笛为边地乐器，笛声呜咽，「今为羌笛出塞声」写羌笛吹出塞之声，正是边塞的音乐。这些意象，或写幽燕、或写七尺、或写猬毛磔、或写陇底、或写羌笛，皆围绕边塞男儿的豪壮与乡愁这一核心，织成一张雄浑悲壮的情网，正是盛唐边塞诗「以典写豪」的特点。

Commentary

Critics have always prized the closing couplet, in which the Qiang flute breathes out the strains of the frontier pass and tears fall like rain across the three armies, as the poem's point of explosion. The first half's swagger makes the second half's tears inevitable: this is the High Tang frontier discovery that heroism and homesickness are the same experience seen twice. What is subtle is the role of the young wife of Liaodong. It is she, a warm human presence in the cold borderland, who unwittingly triggers the soldiers' grief by playing a farewell melody. Li Qi lets the contrast do the judging: he never moralizes about the cost of war; he simply places the hedgehog-bearded hero and the flute-playing girl in the same frame, and the reader feels the weight.

读此诗，最值得注意的是「今为羌笛出塞声，使我三军泪如雨」所写出的「豪壮男儿的乡愁爆发」。前半写男儿气概：少小幽燕客，赌胜马蹄下，由来轻七尺，杀人莫敢前，须如猬毛磔——那是何等的豪壮！那男儿，轻生重义，杀人莫敢前，须如猬毛磔，正是燕赵悲歌之士的英姿。而后半忽转：未得报恩不能归——那是忠义的担当，报国恩未成，不能归乡；辽东小妇年十五，惯弹琵琶解歌舞——那是边地的温情，那辽东小妇，善弹琵琶，正是边地生活的一抹暖色；今为羌笛出塞声，使我三军泪如雨——那是乡愁的爆发，那羌笛的出塞之声，使三军泪下如雨。这一转折，是全诗的关键：那前半的豪壮，与后半的乡愁，正是「以豪写悲」——越是豪壮的男儿，其乡愁越是深重；那「使我三军泪如雨」，是那豪壮的男儿，也抵不住出塞之声的乡愁。值得注意的是，那触发乡愁的，不是别的，正是那「辽东小妇」的羌笛——那边地的妇女，奏出塞之声，正勾起三军的乡愁。那「惯弹琵琶解歌舞」的温情，与「使我三军泪如雨」的悲凉，正是边塞生活的两面。李颀的《古意》，以拟古之体写边塞男儿，那豪壮与乡愁的交织，正是盛唐边塞诗「豪壮与悲凉交织」的深衷。

Prosody

Form Ancient-style verse (guti shi) on a frontier theme诗（古体诗）
Rhyme An ancient-style poem with shifting rhymes: the first half uses oblique, entering-tone rhymes such as guest, foot, and to split, short and metallic, matching the warrior's hard courage; the second half turns to the level-tone rhymes return, dance, and rain, lengthening the cadence as the mood moves from swagger to sorrow. The sound itself performs the poem's emotional turn.此诗为古体诗，前半多押仄声韵，后半转入平声，声调随诗情之转而变化。前半「客」「尺」「磔」等字押入声仄韵，短促而铿锵，正合男儿豪壮的声调；后半「归」「舞」「雨」等字转押平仄相间之韵，由豪转悲，正是「以豪写悲」的声情。全诗由前半的铿锵，到后半的悲凉，声调随诗情之转而变，正是古体诗「以声写情」的特点，也是李颀边塞诗「豪壮悲凉交织」的体现。
Tone pattern The poem alternates short and long lines. The opening couplets state his origins in terse clauses; the staking of courage beneath the horses' hooves, the cheapness of the seven-foot frame, the killing that none dare face, and the bristling beard pile up clipped units that clash like hoofbeats; then the yellow clouds and flying snow and the unrepayed debt of loyalty open into longer, sighing lines. This alternation of clipped and flowing measures is the rhythm of the whole poem.句式上，此诗善用长短句与转韵：「男儿事长征，少小幽燕客」，以「男儿」「少小」写出身，句法古拙；「赌胜马蹄下，由来轻七尺，杀人莫敢前，须如猬毛磔」，以短句写豪壮，句句铿锵；「黄云陇底白雪飞，未得报恩不能归」，转为长句，一景一情；「辽东小妇年十五，惯弹琵琶解歌舞，今为羌笛出塞声，使我三军泪如雨」，以长句写边地温情与乡愁，由温转悲。全诗由短句写豪，长句写悲，句式随之由铿锵转悠长，正是古体诗「长短交错」的节奏美学。
Reading note The prosody of Ancient Airs is the prosody of a frontier campfire: hard, short beats for the hero's swagger, longer lines for the cold night and the flute. Li Qi's free handling of rhyme and line length, typical of ancient-style poetry, lets the verse's sound track its feeling, and the final couplet lands like rain. The poem belongs with Gu Cong Jun Xing as a twin study of the frontier's double face: one writes the bitter cold of the border night, this one the explosion of homesickness in an army of heroes.作为盛唐古体诗，《古意》的声律之美，在于以短促的仄韵与铿锵的短句写男儿的豪壮，以悠长的长句写乡愁的悲凉。全诗前半「男儿事长征，少小幽燕客」以短句写男儿出身，豪壮铿锵；「赌胜马蹄下，由来轻七尺，杀人莫敢前，须如猬毛磔」以一连短句写男儿气概，句句有力；后半「黄云陇底白雪飞，未得报恩不能归」以长句写边塞之景与报恩之志，由豪入悲；「今为羌笛出塞声，使我三军泪如雨」以长句写羌笛与泪雨，悲凉而感人。全诗由豪入悲，声情随之而转，正是古体诗「以声写情」的体现。就全诗而言，此诗以拟古之体写边塞男儿的豪壮与乡愁，雄浑而悲壮，是边塞诗的名篇，与李颀《古从军行》同为边塞拟古之作，而一写「胡雁哀鸣夜夜飞」的边塞苦寒，一写「使我三军泪如雨」的乡愁爆发，可见李颀边塞诗「以豪写悲」的两种笔法，也可见盛唐边塞诗中豪壮与悲凉的交织。

Line by line

由来轻七尺

He has always held his seven-foot frame cheap, treating his own life lightly.

由来轻视七尺之躯。

From of old he has held his seven-foot life light.

这一句写男儿轻生重义，是此诗豪壮意象的核心。「由来」，写从来——「由来」写向来如此，正是「轻七尺」的一贯；「轻七尺」，写轻视七尺之躯——「七尺」为男儿之身，「轻七尺」写轻视七尺之躯，正是轻生重义。以「由来轻七尺」写男儿，比直写「不怕死」更见豪壮与一贯——那男儿，从来轻视七尺之躯，正是轻生重义的豪气；「由来」二字，写豪壮之一贯，正是「少小幽燕客」的延续。这一句，是此诗豪壮意象的核心，与「赌胜马蹄下」相连，一写战场之赌胜，一写轻生之重义，正是边塞男儿的英雄气。

This line writes that the hero has always held his life cheap for the sake of honor, the core of the poem's bold image. 'From of old' shows this has ever been so; 'held his seven-foot life light' — the seven-foot body is a man's life, and to hold it light is to value right over survival. Writing the man through the motto rather than a plain 'he fears no death' gives the boldness and its constancy.

须如猬毛磔

His beard bristles like a hedgehog's spines.

须如猬毛而磔立。

His beard bristles like a hedgehog's spines.

这一句写须如猬毛磔立，是此诗勇武意象的核心。「须如猬毛」，写须如猬毛——「猬毛」写刺猬之毛，「须如猬毛」写须髯如刺猬之毛；「磔」，写张开——「磔」写张开、竖起，「须如猬毛磔」写须髯如刺猬之毛般竖起。以「须如猬毛磔」写男儿之相，比直写「勇武」更见形象与威猛——那须髯如刺猬之毛般磔立，正是勇武之相，亦见于《晋书》写桓温「须作猬毛磔」；「磔」字，写须之竖起，正是勇武之相。这一句，是此诗勇武意象的核心，与「杀人莫敢前」相连，一写勇武之相，一写勇武之威，正是边塞男儿的英姿。

This line writes a beard bristling like a hedgehog's spines, the core of the warrior's image. 'Beard like hedgehog fur' and the word 'bristles' — the fine spread of spines — give a fierce, martial bearing, echoing the Jin historian's description of Huan Wen whose beard stood like hedgehog bristles. It pairs with 'men dared not face his stroke' to show the warrior's terrible aspect.

使我三军泪如雨

It makes tears fall like rain across my three armies.

使我三军泪下如雨。

It makes my whole three armies weep like rain.

这一句是全诗的结穴，写三军泪下如雨，是此诗乡愁爆发的最高点。「使我三军」，写使我三军——「我」写诗人，「三军」写全军，「使我三军」写那羌笛之声，使三军；「泪如雨」，写泪下如雨——「泪如雨」写泪水如雨而下，正是乡愁的爆发。以「使我三军泪如雨」写乡愁，比直写「思乡」更见悲壮与爆发——那羌笛的出塞之声，使三军泪下如雨，正是豪壮男儿也抵不住的乡愁；「泪如雨」三字，写泪下如雨，正是「三军」的悲凉。这一结句，悲壮感人，是此诗乡愁爆发的最高点，也是「今为羌笛出塞声」的回应——那出塞之声，使三军泪如雨，正是「以豪写悲」的深衷。

This closing line is the emotional peak, the outburst of homesickness. 'It makes my whole three armies' — the Qiang reed-pipe's border air moves the whole host; 'weep like rain' writes the tears streaming down. Even these bold heroes cannot bear the homesickness of the border, and the reed-pipe's tune makes three armies weep. It is the answer to 'now it is the Qiang flute's departing song', the deep meaning of writing grief through bravado.

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Word focus

幽燕 You and Yan: the ancient regions of modern Hebei and Liaoning, homeland of fierce and tragic loyalists such as Jing Ke; here it marks the warrior's northern origins. 「少小幽燕客」之「幽燕」，写幽州燕地，是此诗豪壮意象的关键语。「幽燕」即幽州、燕地——幽州、燕地（今河北、辽宁一带），自古多慷慨悲歌之士，荆轲即燕人，「少小幽燕客」写少小客于幽燕。以「幽燕」写男儿出身，比直写「北方」更见豪壮与悲歌——那幽燕，正是燕赵悲歌之士的故乡；「幽燕客」三字，写少小客于幽燕，正是男儿的出身与豪壮。这一词，是此诗豪壮意象的关键，与「由来轻七尺」相连，一写出身，一写气概，正是边塞男儿的英雄气——那少小幽燕客的男儿，正是轻七尺、轻生重义的英雄。
猬毛磔 Hedgehog's spines standing on end: a beard bristling like a frightened hedgehog's quills, from the Jin shu portrait of the general Huan Wen; it conveys ferocious, animal valor. 「须如猬毛磔」之「猬毛磔」，写须如猬毛磔立，是此诗勇武意象的核心语。「猬毛磔」即猬毛张开——「猬毛」写刺猬之毛，「磔」写张开，「猬毛磔」写如猬毛般磔立，亦见于《晋书》写桓温「须作猬毛磔」；「须如猬毛磔」，写须髯如刺猬之毛般竖起。以「猬毛磔」写须髯，比直写「胡须」更见形象与威猛——那须如猬毛磔立，正是勇武之相；「磔」字，写须之张开，正是勇武的英姿。这一词，是此诗勇武意象的核心，与「杀人莫敢前」相连，一写勇武之相，一写勇武之威，正是边塞男儿的英姿。
羌笛 The Qiang flute, a border instrument of plaintive sound; in frontier poetry it is the standard voice of homesickness, here the trigger of the army's tears. 「今为羌笛出塞声」之「羌笛」，写羌族的笛，是此诗乡愁意象的核心语。「羌笛」即羌族的笛——羌笛为边地乐器，笛声呜咽，正是边塞的音乐；「今为羌笛出塞声」，写今为羌笛吹出塞之声。以「羌笛」写音乐，比直写「笛声」更见边塞与呜咽——那羌笛，是边地的乐器，出塞之声，正是乡愁的触发；「羌笛」二字，写边地乐器，正是「使我三军泪如雨」的由来。这一词，是此诗乡愁意象的核心，与「出塞声」「泪如雨」相连，一写乐器，一写乡愁，正是「羌笛出塞声，三军泪如雨」的悲壮——那羌笛之声，正是豪壮男儿也抵不住的乡愁。

Related Reading

出塞 On the Frontier 王昌龄 · 同为边塞诗，一写龙城飞将的怀古一写三军泪如雨的乡愁，边塞母题互为映照 Two frontier poems: one looks to the past for a worthy general, the other explodes into homesickness.

Wang Changling's Bright the moon of Qin, the pass of Han sighs for the Flying General of Dragon City and vows that no Hu horse shall cross the Yin Mountains: frontier poetry as historical aspiration. Li Qi's poem shows what the same border service feels like from inside the heart, where a debt of loyalty unrepayed keeps the hero on the frontier until a flute undoes him. Wang offers High Tang grandeur, Li Qi High Tang pathos; read together, they are the two faces of the frontier poem.

王昌龄《出塞》「秦时明月汉时关，万里长征人未还。但使龙城飞将在，不教胡马度阴山」，写边塞的怀古与良将之盼，是边塞诗的压卷之作；李颀此诗「未得报恩不能归」「使我三军泪如雨」，同样写边塞征戍。一写「但使龙城飞将在」的怀古，一写「三军泪如雨」的乡愁；王昌龄是盛唐的雄浑，李颀是盛唐的悲壮。并读两作，可见边塞诗写征戍的两种笔法，也可见「龙城飞将」的期盼与「三军泪雨」的悲凉，正是边塞诗的两面。

 燕歌行 Song of Yan 高适 · 同为写边塞征戍之作，一写战士军前半死生的苦战一写三军泪如雨的乡愁，边塞征戍互为映照 Two frontier campaigns: one the brutal cost of war, the other the hero's hidden grief.

Gao Shi's lines about soldiers fighting half dead while a beauty sang and danced in the general's tent expose the gap between sacrifice and privilege; Li Qi's poem instead shows a single hero's inner division, swagger on the surface and tears underneath. Gao Shi writes the indignation of battle; Li Qi writes the tenderness that battle cannot kill. Together they map two kinds of sorrow on the High Tang frontier.

高适《燕歌行》「战士军前半死生，美人帐下犹歌舞。相看白刃血纷纷，死节从来岂顾勋」，写边塞征戍的苦战与悲壮，是边塞诗的名篇；李颀此诗「男儿事长征」「使我三军泪如雨」，同样写边塞征戍。一写「战士军前半死生」的苦战，一写「三军泪如雨」的乡愁；高适是「死节从来岂顾勋」的悲壮，李颀是「须如猬毛磔」的豪壮。并读两作，可见盛唐边塞诗写征戍的两种深衷，也可见「战士」「男儿」在苦战与乡愁中的不同身影。

 凉州词 Song of Liangzhou 王翰 · 同为写边塞男儿之作，一写醉卧沙场的豪迈一写三军泪如雨的悲凉，边塞男儿互为映照 Two frontier heroes: one drinks boldly at death's doorstep, the other weeps at a flute.

Wang Han's Do not laugh if I lie drunk on the sand, for since ancient times how many have returned from war meets death with bravado; Li Qi's hero meets the same war with a beard like a hedgehog and then floods into tears. Wang Han is the frontier's wild courage, Li Qi its wounded warmth, the two poles of the High Tang border temperament.

王翰《凉州词》「葡萄美酒夜光杯，欲饮琵琶马上催。醉卧沙场君莫笑，古来征战几人回」，写边塞男儿的豪迈，是边塞诗的名篇；李颀此诗「赌胜马蹄下，由来轻七尺」，同样写边塞男儿。一写「醉卧沙场君莫笑」的豪迈，一写「使我三军泪如雨」的悲凉；王翰是「古来征战几人回」的旷达，李颀是「惯弹琵琶解歌舞」的温情。并读两作，可见边塞男儿在盛唐诗人笔下的两种情调，也可见豪迈与悲凉在边塞诗中的交织。