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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

江汉

By the Rivers Jiang and Han

杜甫

Du Fu

唐Theme 杜甫Theme 五律Theme 漂泊Theme 壮心Theme

江汉思归客，乾坤一腐儒。
片云天共远，永夜月同孤。
落日心犹壮，秋风病欲苏。
古来存老马，不必取长途。

A homesick wanderer by the rivers Jiang and Han; a mere pedant between heaven and earth.
A lone cloud shares the distant sky; through the long night the moon is my sole companion in solitude.
Though the sun sinks, my heart stays vigorous; the autumn wind revives my sickened body.
Since ancient times the old horse is kept - not for the long road, but for his wisdom.

Listen

Meaning

Old, ill, and far from home, the poet affirms a heart still vigorous between heaven and earth.

江汉之上我这思归的客子，不过是天地间一个迂腐的儒生。片云与天同远，长夜里月与我同孤。落日虽斜壮心犹在，秋风起时病体似欲康复。自古便留养老马，未必定要它去走长途。

Appreciation

Between a vast heaven and earth the poet calls himself a useless pedant - yet the lone cloud, the long-night moon, and the old horse all argue otherwise. Decline becomes a form of wisdom.

【白话串讲】 “江汉思归客，乾坤一腐儒”——杜甫晚年漂泊江汉：我是天地间一个腐儒。“片云天共远，永夜月同孤”——“落日心犹壮，秋风病欲苏”——“古来存老马，不必取长途”——他说自己虽老，还有用处。杜甫到老都不服输。【意象与手法】首联“江汉思归客，乾坤一腐儒”以“腐儒”自嘲；颔联“片云天共远，永夜月同孤”情景相融写流落天涯的孤寂；颈联“落日心犹壮，秋风病欲苏”陡然振起；尾联化用“老马识途”典，以“不必取长途”自我宽解。沉郁顿挫，情景相融。【情感与主旨】杜甫漂泊江汉、年老多病时所作，于衰飒中见老骥伏枥之志，表面淡泊实含壮志难伸的悲慨，是杜甫晚年五律中“老而弥坚”的代表作。【名句点睛】常考“落日心犹壮，秋风病欲苏”以落日秋风写老而弥坚；“古来存老马，不必取长途”以老马识途写自况。

Background

Written in Du Fu's late exile (c.768-769) in the Jiang-Han region. Old, ill, and displaced, he nonetheless affirms his undimmed spirit - the 'old horse' of Guan Zhong's apologue.

此诗作于杜甫漂泊江汉、年老多病之时，约在唐代宗大历年间（766至779）他滞留夔州、江陵一带。安史之乱虽平，而藩镇割据、吐蕃侵扰，国势衰颓；杜甫一生志在稷契，却始终沉沦下僚，至晚年更漂泊无依、老病交侵。江汉，指长江与汉水之间，即今湖北一带，是他流寓的极南之地。此时他距入蜀已远，距生命终点不远，思归而不得归，遂以腐儒自嘲，以老马自况。腐儒二字，看似自贬，实含无限辛酸——一个以天下为己任的儒生，到头来只被时人视作迂腐无用。落日心犹壮，正是他虽处暮年、虽如落日，壮志却未消沉的写照；古来存老马，不必取长途，则用老马识途之典，自我宽解：国家未必再用我走长途，但留我这老马，也还有一点用处。读此诗，须把它放回杜甫晚年漂泊、英雄失路的底色里，那江汉之上的孤月与落日，照见的不是一个懦夫的哀鸣，而是一位老臣到死不肯低头的壮心，以及那份被时代抛错却仍自贵重的执拗。

Art

Self-deprecation ('mere pedant') undercut by cosmic imagery; the cloud and moon become companions in loneliness. The closing allusion converts weakness into value.

首联江汉思归客，乾坤一腐儒，以腐儒自嘲，起笔便把个人的漂泊放进天地的广大里，客与儒二字，写尽无家无位之悲；颔联片云天共远，永夜月同孤，以片云、孤月情景相融，写尽流落天涯的孤寂，云天共远是空间的辽远，永夜月同孤是长夜的相陪，物我同悲。然颈联落日心犹壮，秋风病欲苏，陡然振起，于衰飒中见老骥伏枥之志——落日虽斜、秋风虽劲、病体虽衰，而壮心犹在、病似欲苏，一抑一扬，骨力顿生。尾联古来存老马，不必取长途，化用老马识途之典，以不必取长途自我宽解，表面淡泊，实含壮志难伸的悲慨。全诗沉郁顿挫，将身世之悲与家国之念凝于短章，起以自嘲、承以孤寂、转以壮心、合以自解，章法跌宕而气脉不断，是杜甫晚年五律中老而弥坚的代表作，亦见其于困顿中仍不肯折腰的风骨，八句之中藏有一生的起伏。老而弥坚之格，于杜诗晚年五律中最为典型。

Allusions

The old horse alludes to Guan Zhong's words to Duke Huan of Qi: an old horse, though unfit for the long haul, knows the way - Du Fu likens his experience to that hard-won wisdom.

诗中用典与借意，集中在腐儒、老马二处，兼以片云孤月写境。腐儒，本指迂腐不达时务的儒生，杜甫以此自况，既含自嘲，亦含反讽——他分明是志在天下、通经致用的儒，却被世道抛作一无用之人，腐儒二字遂成英雄失路的辛酸符号，与《自京赴奉先县咏怀》的非无江海志、萧洒送日月同一自贬笔法。老马，语出《韩非子·说林》老马之智可用也，齐桓公伐孤竹迷路，放老马而随之得道，后遂以老马识途喻经验与才用；杜甫古来存老马，不必取长途，反用其意——老马虽不必再走长途，仍当存之，暗喻自己虽不被重用，亦非全无用处，是自解亦自伤。片云、孤月，则承《古诗十九首》与谢朓、张九龄望月传统，以云月写漂泊与孤高。这些典故与意象，或出诸子、或出汉魏、或出唐前诗文，被杜甫凝于八句，使一首羁旅小诗获得深厚的身世之感与家国之念，旧典与新愁浑然如一。

Commentary

A late masterpiece of defiant dignity: physical decline cannot dent the 'vigorous heart.' It is often read as Du Fu's artistic self-defense.

此诗为杜甫晚年五律中老而弥坚的代表作，向与《登岳阳楼》《江上》诸作并观，同见其漂泊暮年的壮心。宋人罗大经《鹤林玉露》论此诗，许其怨而不怒、哀而不伤；明人胡应麟《诗薮》以落日心犹壮为老杜晚年风骨之句；近人论杜，多以《江汉》与《饮中八仙歌》对照，见其早年轻快与晚年沉郁之两极。此诗之妙，论者多在转句落日心犹壮，秋风病欲苏——于衰飒中陡见壮心，是杜诗沉郁顿挫的典型笔法，亦是其一生不肯低头的缩影。亦有学者指出，尾联老马之喻，表面自我宽解，实含壮志难伸的悲慨，是杜甫晚年诗常见的以淡语写深痛。其对后世影响甚深，陆游、元好问辈暮年诗多有老马、落日之思，皆从此化出。读此诗，当于江汉孤月之下，听见一位老臣到死不休的壮心，以及那份英雄失路却仍自贵重的精神力量，八句小诗原可抵一篇暮年自传。英雄失路而壮心不已，读之令人肃然。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated octet (wulü)五言律诗（五律，八句四联，首联与中二联、尾联俱全，中二联对仗）

Rhyme Rhymes on 'pedant' (ru), 'solitude' (gu), 'revive' (su), 'way' (tu), level-tone yu group.押平水韵上平七虞：儒、孤、苏、途，一韵到底，音色清远低回，恰配江汉孤月与暮年壮心的沉郁基调。

Tone pattern Regulated; the second and third couplets antithetical.江汉思归客，平仄平平仄；乾坤一腐儒，平平仄仄平；片云天共远，仄平平仄仄；永夜月同孤，仄仄仄平平；落日心犹壮，仄仄平平仄；秋风病欲苏，平平仄仄平；古来存老马，仄平平仄仄；不必取长途，仄仄仄平平。首联平起不入韵，中二联两两相对，合五律正格。

Reading note One of Du Fu's great late poems of steadfast self-possession.此诗体为五律，八句四联，中二联片云天共远，永夜月同孤、落日心犹壮，秋风病欲苏皆两两对仗，属近体正格。其韵脚儒、孤、苏、途同属平水韵上平七虞，一韵到底，虞韵发音清远而低回，恰配江汉孤月与暮年壮心的沉郁语气。声调上，首联以平起自嘲起调，颔联以云月写孤、情景相融，颈联落日秋风陡然振起、骨力顿生，尾联以老马之喻从容收束，形成自嘲—孤寂—壮心—自解的跌宕章法。律诗贵浑成，杜甫此作却于严整中见起伏，对仗而不伤气，用典而不隔，结句以淡语写深痛，使五律的庄重承载了最私己的身世之悲。读其声，先觉其沉，再觉其壮，正见五律体式与杜甫晚年风骨相得益彰之妙，亦见小诗如何纳一生之起伏。

Line by line

江汉思归客，乾坤一腐儒。

A homesick wanderer by the rivers Jiang and Han; a mere pedant between heaven and earth.

江汉之上我这思归的客子，不过是天地间一个迂腐的儒生。

A wanderer by the Yangzi and Han, longing for home; between heaven and earth, one decaying scholar.

首联以自嘲起笔，是全诗情绪的总开关，也是杜甫晚年自我形象的定格。江汉思归客，写他漂泊于长江汉水之间、心念归乡却归不得的客子身份；乾坤一腐儒，则把这个人放进天地的广大里——乾坤何其大，而自己只不过是一个腐儒。腐儒二字，表面是自贬，实则是英雄失路的辛酸：他分明是志在稷契的儒，却被世道抛作无用之人。这一联的妙处，在客与儒、江汉与乾坤的对照——个人的渺小与天地的无边相挤压，把无家无位之悲写得极沉。起笔即自嘲，不是轻浮的自谦，而是饱经挫败后的苦笑，为后文孤月、壮心、老马一路的情绪起伏，先压下一个低音。

The opening couplet begins in self-mockery, the master switch of the poem's feeling, the fixed self-image of Du Fu's old age. 'A wanderer by the Yangzi and Han, longing for home' writes his identity, drifting between the rivers, home-sick yet unable to return; 'between heaven and earth, one decaying scholar' places that man in the vastness of the world — heaven and earth so great, and he but one pedantic scholar. 'Decaying scholar' seems self-disparagement, yet holds the bitterness of a hero out of road: he who aimed to be a statesman, cast aside by the age as useless.

片云天共远，永夜月同孤。

A lone cloud shares the distant sky; through the long night the moon is my sole companion in solitude.

片云与天同远，长夜里月与我同孤。

A single cloud drifts far with the sky; through the long night, the moon is lone, as I am.

颔联以景写孤，是全诗最清冷的一联，也是杜甫擅长的情景交融。片云天共远，写一片云与天同其辽远，云本飘零，天本无边，二者共远，正是他流落天涯、无处着落的写照；永夜月同孤，写长夜之中，唯有明月与他同此孤寂，月是孤的，人也是孤的，物我同悲。这一联的好处，在不写孤而孤自见——不喊寂寞，只说云天共远、月同孤，把孤托给天地与明月，孤便有了广度与深度。片云孤月，既是眼前景，也是心中境，杜甫以最淡的笔墨，写出了最浓的漂泊。承首联的自嘲之后，这一联把悲从身份沉到心境，为颈联落日心犹壮的陡然振起，蓄足了跌宕的势能。

This couplet writes loneliness through scene, the coldest lines, Du Fu's fusion of scene and feeling. 'A single cloud drifts far with the sky' — one cloud, as distant as the boundless sky, the cloud's drifting the image of his own vagrancy; 'through the long night, the moon is lone, as I am' — in the long night, only the bright moon shares his solitude, the moon lone, the man lone, things and self in shared grief. The beauty is that loneliness shows without naming it: not crying solitude, only saying cloud and sky go far, moon shares the lone — solitude lent the breadth of heaven and moon.

落日心犹壮，秋风病欲苏。

Though the sun sinks, my heart stays vigorous; the autumn wind revives my sickened body.

落日虽斜壮心犹在，秋风起时病体似欲康复。

As the sun sets, my heart is still strong; in the autumn wind, my illness seems to mend.

颈联是全诗最耀亮的一转，也是杜甫风骨的缩影。落日心犹壮，以落日自喻暮年，日虽西斜，而壮心犹未销沉，一个犹字，写尽不肯服老、不肯认输的执拗；秋风病欲苏，秋风起本该添病，他却反说病体似欲康复，不是身体的真的好转，而是意志对衰飒的反抗。这一联的妙处，在它于全诗最衰飒处陡然振起——前有腐儒自嘲、孤月写悲，到此一扬，骨力顿生，正是杜诗沉郁顿挫的典型笔法。落日对秋风、心犹壮对病欲苏，一抑一扬，把暮年、病痛、漂泊全压在一个壮字底下。读这两句，你几乎能看见一个瘦弱的老人，在江汉的秋风里挺直了脊背，证明壮心未与日落同尽。

This couplet is the poem's brightest turn, the epitome of Du Fu's backbone. 'As the sun sets, my heart is still strong' — the setting sun a figure for old age, the sun slanting west yet the strong heart not sinking, the word 'still' writing the refusal to accept age, to admit defeat; 'in the autumn wind, my illness seems to mend' — autumn wind should worsen illness, yet he says the body seems to recover, not a true healing but the will's resistance to decay. It rises sharply at the poem's lowest point: decaying scholar's self-mockery, lonely moon's grief, then this lift, the sinew suddenly alive, the typical 'gloomy and resonant' brushwork of Du Fu.

Study

Word focus

腐儒 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 腐儒是首联最沉的一个词，也是杜甫晚年自我形象的辛酸符号。本指迂腐不达时务的儒生，杜甫以此自况，看似自贬，实则是英雄失路的反讽——他分明通经致用、志在天下，却被时代抛作一无用处之人。这个词的张力，在于它既是世人的评价，也是他的自嘲，两层叠在一起，便成了一种苦笑式的悲：我本有用，世道不用，那我便是个腐儒罢。腐儒二字，把无家无位的漂泊，升华为一种价值的落空，比直写穷愁更痛。杜甫一生以此类自贬语写不平（如非无江海志），腐儒正是其中最具代表性的一例，一个词里装着整个士人在乱世里的错位与执拗。

孤 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 孤是颔联诗眼的体温字，也是全诗孤意的最直接落点。永夜月同孤，写长夜之中明月与他同此孤寂，孤既是月的状态，也是人的状态，物我互文，孤便不再是私人的小哀，而是与天地同等的存在境遇。杜甫不写己孤而写月孤，让明月替自己说出孤，是情景交融的妙手；且孤与首联腐儒的漂泊、与尾联老马的不被重用，气息相通，使全诗始终保持着同一种清冷的底色。一个孤字，是江汉夜月里最确切的心跳，也是中国诗里漂泊主题最恒定的一个字——它不喊痛，只把人和月放在一起，让读者自己尝出那份凉。杜甫以最省的字，写最深的孤，正是炼字见意的典范。

老马 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 老马是尾联最重的意象，也是杜甫自我宽解亦自我伤的符号。典出《韩非子》老马识途，喻经验与才用；杜甫古来存老马，不必取长途，反用其意——老马虽不必再走长途，仍当存之，暗喻自己虽不被国家重用、不能再奔走效力，却也并非全无用处。这个比喻的沉，在于它表面是宽解（不必取长途，我安于闲散罢），底下却藏着壮志难伸的悲慨：一个志在稷契的人，到头来只配被存而不用，像一匹老马养在厩中。老马之喻，以淡语写深痛，是杜甫晚年诗常见的笔法，亦见其于困顿中仍自贵重的风骨。一词之中，有典故、有自况、有辛酸，是八句小诗收束处最耐寻味的一粒种子。

江汉