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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

经五丈原

Passing by Wuzhangyuan

温庭筠

Wen Tingyun

唐Tang Dynasty 温庭筠Wen Tingyun 怀古Huaigu (Meditation on the Past) 诸葛亮Zhuge Liang 七律Seven-character Regulated Verse

铁马云雕共绝尘，柳营高压汉宫春。
天清杀气屯关右，夜半妖星照渭滨。
下国卧龙空寤主，中原得鹿不由人。
象床宝帐无言语，从此谯周是老臣。

Iron steeds and cloud-carved banners together leave the dust,
The Willow Camp's stern might presses down on the Han palace spring.
Sky clear, the breath of slaughter gathers west of the Pass,
At midnight an ominous star sweeps the River Wei's strand.
The Sleeping Dragon of the lesser realm wakes his lord in vain:
To win the deer of the Central Plains lies not in human hands.
Now, by ivory bed and silken canopy, he speaks no more,
And from then on Qiao Zhou is the old minister of state.

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Meaning

This huaigu poem mourns Zhuge Liang's final Northern Expedition and his death at Wuzhangyuan. It contrasts the brilliance of his army with the futility of his effort, then closes with a bitter, ironic glance at Qiao Zhou, the minister who later persuaded Shu-Han to surrender.

铁甲骑兵与云雕般的大旗一同绝尘而去，细柳营的军威高压得汉宫春色失色。天色清朗杀气屯聚关右，夜半妖星照临渭水之滨。偏安的下国卧龙空自开悟主上，中原逐鹿却不由人愿。神像宝帐寂然无语，从此谯周便成了主政的老臣。

Appreciation

The poem opens with tremendous martial energy, turns to the portent of Zhuge's death at midnight, then shifts to mournful reflection on human effort versus destiny, and ends with a chilling ironic image of Qiao Zhou rising to power after the Sleeping Dragon's silence. Wen Tingyun compresses a whole historical tragedy into eight lines, fusing reverence, regret, and satire.

【白话串讲】 “铁马云雕共绝尘，柳营高压汉宫春”——温庭筠经过五丈原：写诸葛亮的军营。“天清杀气屯关右，夜半妖星照渭滨”——“下国卧龙空寤主，中原得鹿不由人”——“象床宝帐无言语，从此谯周是老臣”——诸葛亮死后，蜀汉再无贤臣。【意象与手法】首联“铁马云雕共绝尘，柳营高压汉宫春”以“铁马云雕”“柳营”极写军容之盛；颔联“天清杀气屯关右，夜半妖星照渭滨”以“妖星”暗点将星陨落；后四句转入议论，“空寤主”“不由人”道尽人力难回天意之悲；末以“谯周是老臣”冷峻收束。怀古而不黏滞于史，气象沉雄。【情感与主旨】借五丈原遗迹抒写对诸葛亮壮志未酬的追怀与对蜀汉命运的慨叹，讥刺蜀汉末年降臣误国，将崇敬、惋惜与讽慨熔于一炉，是晚唐怀古诗中的警策之作。【名句点睛】常考“下国卧龙空寤主，中原得鹿不由人”以卧龙得鹿写壮志难酬；“从此谯周是老臣”以谯周老臣讥降臣误国。

Background

Wuzhangyuan, south of present-day Qishan in Shaanxi, is where Zhuge Liang died in 234 during his last Northern Expedition against Wei. Wen Tingyun, an accomplished but repeatedly unsuccessful late Tang poet, often drifted among princely retinues. Passing by this historic site, he saw not the living encampment but a desolate plain and a silent shrine, and used the poem to reflect on Zhuge Liang's fate and, implicitly, on the political decline of his own late Tang era.

温庭筠写五丈原，写的是诸葛亮，也写的是整个蜀汉的悲剧命运。五丈原在今陕西岐山南，是建兴十二年诸葛亮最后一次北伐屯兵、终于病逝之地。那一年武侯五十四岁，兵出斜谷、屯驻渭水之南，与司马懿隔岸对峙百余日，粮尽疾作，殁于军中，遗恨永远留在了这片原野。自此之后，五丈原成了中国诗里「出师未捷」的地理符号，后世凭吊者络绎不绝。温庭筠此诗约作于他大中末年辗转各地、仕途蹭蹬之时。他一生累举不第，依附幕府，漂泊如转蓬，与诸葛亮那种「鞠躬尽瘁而功业不竟」的处境，精神上正有呼应。诗人过五丈原，面对的已不是当年的营垒旌旗，而是荒原冷月、遗庙无声。他要在极短的七律篇幅里，把一出浩大的悲剧压成八句，既要写军容之盛，又要写将星之陨，还要写后主暗弱、谯周误国。这种怀古的写法，不黏滞于考据，而重在以史为镜，照见英雄末路与人谋难回天意的苍凉。晚唐藩镇割据、国势日颓，温庭筠借武侯之恨，未尝没有对当下时局的隐忧。读懂这一点，才能明白末句那一声「谯周是老臣」为何如此冷峭刺骨。

Art

The poem excels at high compression and strong contrast. The first couplet is all motion and might; the second inserts an omen of death; the third turns to metaphysical lament; the last uses quiet, understated irony. Wen's diction is sharp, his parallel couplets strict, and his ending in particular avoids direct mourning to deliver a devastating historical verdict.

此诗最突出的艺术手腕，是高度的浓缩与强烈的冷热对照。首联「铁马云雕共绝尘，柳营高压汉宫春」，以极密的意象写极盛的军容：铁马、云雕、柳营，三个词把一支虎贲之师的气象一笔托出，而「高压汉宫春」五字，更以蜀军之威反衬汉室之衰，气象沉雄。颔联陡转，「天清杀气屯关右，夜半妖星照渭滨」，从白日的杀气写到夜半的妖星，空间由关右收到渭滨，时间由昼入夜，明暗交错间已暗点将星陨落。后四句转入议论与慨叹，章法上是由景及人、由盛入衰的大开大合。「下国卧龙空寤主，中原得鹿不由人」，一「空」一「不」，把人力与天意的对立写得斩截有力，崇敬与无奈交织。「象床宝帐无言语，从此谯周是老臣」则以神庙寂然与降臣主政作结，不着一句骂语，而讥刺自见。全诗怀古而不掉书袋，将敬、惜、讽三层情绪熔于一炉，语言劲健，对仗精严，是晚唐怀古诗中难得的警策之作。其妙处尤在收束：不写武侯死后之悲，而写谯周此后之「荣」，以反笔收束，余味比直写更苦。

Allusions

Key allusions: 'Willow Camp' (liu ying) from Zhou Yafu's strictly disciplined camp at Xiliu; 'Sleeping Dragon' (wo long), Zhuge Liang's nickname; 'deer of the Central Plains' (zhong yuan de lu) from the idiom 'to chase the deer of the Central Plains,' meaning to contend for the empire; and Qiao Zhou, the Shu-Han official who persuaded the Later Lord Liu Shan to surrender to Wei.

诗中用典不多，却字字有来历。「柳营」用汉文帝时周亚夫细柳营的典故，《史记·绛侯周勃世家》载周亚夫军细柳，军容整肃、天子不得驱驰，后世遂以柳营代指纪律森严的军营。温庭筠以此状诸葛亮治军，既写其威，也暗含对其「法度严明」的推崇。「卧龙」则是诸葛亮成名前的称号，《三国志》载司马徽谓「诸葛孔明者，卧龙也」，下国指偏安的蜀汉。「得鹿」用逐鹿中原之典，《史记·淮阴侯列传》有「秦失其鹿，天下共逐之」，此处说中原之鹿「不由人」，是把天下归属归之于天意、归于无常。最耐寻味的是「妖星」与「谯周」。妖星照渭滨，暗用将星陨落的天象书写传统，诸葛将死而星坠，史书多有附会；谯周则是蜀汉老臣，力主降魏，《三国志》明载其劝后主出降。温庭筠把「谯周是老臣」与武侯的「空寤主」并置，一忠一佞、一明一暗，构成最尖锐的史笔对照。这些典故都不生僻，却都压在关键的转捩处，使八句小诗承载起一部三国余韵，正是「用事如己出」的化境。

Commentary

Critics have long valued this poem as one of the best late Tang huaigu lüshi. Ming critic Hu Yinglin praised its strict prosody and sturdy style; Qing critic Shen Deqian commended its 'depth and force' (chendun) in the lines 'wakes his lord in vain' and 'not by man,' seeing in it the legacy of Du Fu's historical poems. Modern readers often focus on its compressed narrative technique: a whole epic of Shu-Han's fall is told in eight lines.

历代论者多以此诗为晚唐怀古七言律的佳作。明人胡应麟《诗薮》论温庭筠，称其诗「侧艳」者多，而此类怀古之作「格律严谨，气骨遒上」，与《过陈琳墓》《苏武庙》并为唐人咏史一体之代表。清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》选此诗，特赏其「空寤主」「不由人」二句，以为「沉郁顿挫，得少陵遗意」——也即认为温庭筠在这类题目上，接上了杜甫咏怀古迹的沉厚一脉。近人评点则更重其章法：首联极盛，颔联暗衰，颈联议论，尾联冷收，八句之内波澜起伏而一线贯穿。亦有论者指出，此诗与杜甫《蜀相》同工而异趣：杜诗「出师未捷身先死，长使英雄泪满襟」直抒悲慨，温诗则以「谯周是老臣」作反讽，一显一隐，各极其致。还有人注意到「妖星照渭滨」的意象，认为它把天象灾异与英雄末路绑定，开了后世「将星坠」书写的先声。总之，此诗虽短，却以冷峻的史识与精严的格律，在唐人咏诸葛的众作中稳占一席。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated verse (qī yán lǜ shī), huaigu theme, level-tone initial pattern with rhyme at the first line七言律诗（七律，怀古题材，平起入韵式）

Rhyme Level-tone rhymes in the Zhen (真) group: chén 尘, chūn 春, bīn 滨, rén 人, chén 臣. The first line enters the rhyme, and all five rhyme words run consistently through the poem.押平声真韵：春、滨、人、臣（平水韵上平十一真）。首句「尘」同属真韵，首句入韵，四韵脚一韵到底，声音端凝沉着，与怀古的庄重基调相称。

Tone pattern The basic pattern is approximately: 仄仄平平仄仄平 / 仄平平仄仄平平 / 平平仄仄平平仄 / 仄仄平平仄仄平 / 仄仄仄平平仄仄 / 平平仄仄仄平平 / 仄平仄仄平平仄 / 平仄平平仄仄平. Middle couplets show strict parallelism with occasional first-character flexibility.铁马云雕共绝尘（仄仄平平仄仄平），柳营高压汉宫春（仄平仄仄仄平平）；天清杀气屯关右（平平仄仄平平仄），夜半妖星照渭滨（仄仄平平仄仄平）；下国卧龙空寤主（仄仄仄平平仄仄），中原得鹿不由人（平平仄仄仄平平）；象床宝帐无言语（仄平平仄平平仄），从此谯周是老臣（平仄平平仄仄平）。中二联对仗精严，平仄大体合律。

Reading note The closed, nasal quality of the zhen rhyme reinforces the solemn and meditative mood. The seven-character regulated form provides ideal space for the four-stage movement: presentation, omen, reflection, and verdict. Wen Tingyun's rhyme choice makes the ending sound resigned yet sharp.七律的体式，天然适合怀古：八句篇幅足以铺陈起、承、转、合，中二联又便于对仗，把盛衰、忠奸并置对照。温庭筠此诗正是利用这个体式，首联写盛、颔联写变、颈联写议、尾联写讽，四联各有其职，章法如兵法布阵。韵脚的选择也暗助情绪。真韵属鼻音收束，读音沉稳收敛，不似开口呼那般奔放，正好托住怀古的凝重；而首句入韵的「尘」字，以「绝尘」起头，既呼应铁马云雕的动势，又把读者直接带入那个远去的出师场景。对仗方面，「天清杀气」对「夜半妖星」、「下国卧龙」对「中原得鹿」，时空、天人两两相对，使议论有了骨架。值得留意的还有尾联的「无言语」对「是老臣」，以神庙之静对降臣之显，静者无言而讽意自出，是对仗中「以不对为对」的巧思。整体看，此诗声律严谨而不板滞，正是七律用于咏史怀古的典范声调。

Line by line

铁马云雕共绝尘，柳营高压汉宫春。

Iron-clad cavalry and cloud-carved banners set off together beyond the dust; the Willow Camp's might presses down on the spring of the Han palace. This opening summons the military splendor and discipline of Zhuge's army, while hinting at the decline of the Han house.

铁甲骑兵与云雕般的大旗一同绝尘而去，细柳营的军威高压得汉宫春色失色。

Iron chargers and cloud-bannered eagles have swept past the dust; the Willow Camp's martial might overawes the spring of the Han palace.

这一联是全诗的起手，也是全诗气象的顶点。它写的不是五丈原的实景，而是诸葛亮当年北伐时军容的回望。「铁马」写甲骑之坚，「云雕」写旌旗之大，二者「共绝尘」而去，是一幅动态十足、势不可挡的出师图。诗人故意把最盛的军威放在开头，正是为后文的陨落蓄满势能——盛得越高，跌得越重。「柳营」用周亚夫细柳营之典，点出的是军纪而非军容，暗示诸葛亮治军如古人名将。「高压汉宫春」五字最见笔力：汉宫本指中原王朝的春色，蜀军之威竟能压过它，既写出蜀汉北伐的正统气魄，也暗含对季汉偏安、汉室衰微的慨叹。春色被人压住，本身就有一种「好景将被断送」的预感。这一联以极丽的字、极壮的势起头，读者初读只觉英风扑面，及至读完全诗再回看，才知这满纸英风，正是武侯一生事业的缩影，也是悲剧序幕的锣鼓。

This couplet is the poem's opening and the height of its atmosphere. It writes not the present scene at Wuzhang Plain, but a backward look on Zhuge Liang's northern expedition. 'Iron chargers' the armored cavalry's strength, 'cloud-bannered eagles' the banners' vast size, the two 'swept past the dust' in a dynamic, irresistible march. He deliberately places the greatest martial splendor at the start, storing the fullest momentum for the fall to come — the higher the splendor, the heavier the crash. 'The Willow Camp' uses Zhou Yafu's disciplined camp, pointing to military discipline rather than show, hinting Zhuge's soldiery equal to the ancient captains. 'Overawes the spring of the Han palace' is the most forceful: the Shu army's might can overawe the spring of the central dynasty, writing both the orthodox spirit of the northern expedition and the lament for Han's decline. The spring being overawed already carries the foreboding of 'good days about to be lost'.

下国卧龙空寤主，中原得鹿不由人。

The Sleeping Dragon of the lesser state vainly tried to awaken his lord; winning the deer of the Central Plains was not up to human effort. This couplet laments both the blind ruler and the irresistible will of Heaven.

偏安的下国卧龙空自开悟主上，中原逐鹿却不由人愿。

The Sleeping Dragon of the lower realm spoke in vain to wake his lord; the stag of the central plain was taken beyond mortal will.

颈联是全书里最沉痛的转折。「下国」指偏安一隅的蜀汉，「卧龙」是诸葛亮的自许与世称，「空寤主」三字极重：他耗尽心血去开悟、辅佐那位暗弱的君主，到头来只是一个「空」字——所有的谆谆、所有的《出师》二表，都没能真正唤回后主的中兴之志。一个「空」字，把一代名相的孤忠与无力写得锥心。「中原得鹿不由人」则把视角从个人推到天命：逐鹿中原、克复神州，原是武侯毕生所图，可天下谁属，终究不由人的愿望决定。这两句一写君、一写天，把英雄失败的两重原因——主暗与命数——并排亮出。妙在诗人不直说「悲」、不直说「恨」，只以「空」与「不」两个虚字收束实写，情绪的份量反而全压在读者心上。它是议论，却带着体温；是史断，却含着叹息。读懂这一联，便读懂了温庭筠怀古的核心：他敬诸葛亮之忠，却更痛诸葛亮之遇。

The neck couplet is the most bitter turn of the poem. 'The lower realm' means the partial state of Shu; 'the Sleeping Dragon' Zhuge Liang's self-title and name; 'spoke in vain to wake his lord' is weighty: he spent his life's blood instructing and aiding that weak ruler, and in the end only the word 'in vain' — all the earnest counsels, both Memorials on Sending Out the Army, failed truly to rouse the Later Lord's will for restoration. One word 'in vain' writes the loyal devotion and the powerlessness of a first minister to the heart's core. 'The stag of the central plain was taken beyond mortal will' pushes the view from the man to heaven: contending for the central plain and recovering the realm was the Sleeping Dragon's life aim, yet to whom the world should belong was decided beyond human desire. One line the ruler, one line heaven, laying side by side the two causes of the hero's failure — the dull ruler and fate. The art: he writes neither 'grief' nor 'rage', but closes the plain facts with the empty words 'in vain' and 'beyond', and the weight of feeling falls wholly on the reader. It is argument, yet with warmth; a historical verdict, yet with a sigh.

象床宝帐无言语，从此谯周是老臣。

By the ivory bed and jewelled curtain he is silent; from this time Qiao Zhou became the old minister. The silent shrine statue contrasts with Qiao Zhou's political rise, making the final irony both cold and devastating.

神像宝帐寂然无语，从此谯周便成了主政的老臣。

On the ivory couch and broidered curtains no word is spoken; from now on, Qiao Zhou is the senior statesman.

尾联是全诗最冷峭的一笔，也是它脱开一般怀古诗的关键。「象床宝帐」写武侯庙中供奉的神像与帐幔，英雄既殁，只剩下泥金塑像寂然无语，与首联「铁马云雕」的喧阗形成刺眼的对照。庙宇无声，不等于历史无声；恰恰是无声里，藏着最重的判决。「从此谯周是老臣」七字，以降臣谯周反衬武侯，以「老臣」的虚衔讥刺误国之人。谯周劝降，后世目为蜀汉之耻，温庭筠却不骂，只淡淡说「从此是老臣」——言下之意，真正撑持社稷的卧龙已去，主政的竟是劝降之臣，这不是讽刺是什么？这种以正衬反、以静写愤的笔法，比直抒「痛哉」有力十倍。它把个人的缅怀，升格为一则关于忠奸、盛衰、人谋与天意的冷峻史评。读者读到此处，方知前面所有的军威、妖星、空寤，都是为了这最后无声的一刀。

The closing couplet is the coldest stroke, and the key that lifts the poem above the usual historical lament. 'The ivory couch and broidered curtains' write the idol and drapes in the temple of the Sleeping Dragon: the hero dead, only the gilded image remains, silent — a stark contrast to the clamor of 'iron chargers and cloud-bannered eagles' in the opening. The temple's silence is not history's silence; precisely in the silence lies the heaviest verdict. 'From now on, Qiao Zhou is the senior statesman' uses the surrender-official Qiao Zhou against the Sleeping Dragon, the empty title of 'senior statesman' mocking the man who lost the realm. Qiao Zhou's counsel to surrender was later counted the shame of Shu; yet Wen Tingyun does not curse, only says quietly 'from now on he is the senior statesman' — the implication: the Sleeping Dragon who truly sustained the altars is gone, and now the ruler is the man who counseled surrender; what is this but satire? This method of setting the upright against the crooked, writing rage through stillness, is ten times stronger than a direct cry of pain. It raises personal mourning into a cold historical judgment on loyalty and treachery, rise and fall, human counsel and heaven's will.

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Word focus

柳营 Willow Camp — an allusion to Zhou Yafu's strictly disciplined camp at Xiliu, here symbolizing Zhuge Liang's military order and authority. 「柳营」二字，是本诗用典最见剪裁处。它出自周亚夫细柳营，本意只在说军纪严明，温庭筠拿来状诸葛亮之师，表面写威，内里却藏着一层身世之慨——温庭筠一生不遇，对「名将得伸其志」自有一种向往。更妙在「高压汉宫春」的搭配：柳营是蜀军，汉宫是中原王朝，以偏安之师的军威去「压」正统之宫的春色，既写出季汉北伐的气魄，也暗点汉室已衰、春色将残。两个字带出整部三国兴衰的潜台词，是举重若轻的典型。

妖星 Ominous star — in traditional astronomy, a baleful portent; here it marks the fall of Zhuge Liang's personal star. 「妖星」是颔联的眼。天清杀气本已森然，偏又「夜半妖星照渭滨」，把将星陨落的天象灾异直接坐实到五丈原的渭水之滨。这个意象的好处，在把「人」的失败转写成「天」的征兆——诸葛亮之死，不只是军中损一大将，而是天上星沉、国运将倾的预演。它承接首联的极盛，在此悄悄埋下衰笔，使全诗由壮入悲的转捩有了自然的物候依据。妖星无声，却比千军万马更让人心惊。

空 A key expression in this poem; read it with the Chinese note below. 「空寤主」的「空」，是诗中分量最重的虚字。它一面指诸葛亮开悟后主的努力终成徒劳，一面也是诗人对一切孤忠末路的叹息。虚字最难用，用实了则板，用轻了则飘；「空」字落在一联的腰眼，把前面所有军威、所有苦心，一瞬间抽空成无奈。它与尾联「无言语」的神像遥相呼应：活人空自寤主，死人寂然无语，忠荩两字，到此只剩一个「空」字兜底。

谯周 Qiao Zhou (c. 201–270) — the Shu-Han official who notoriously urged the Later Lord Liu Shan to surrender to Wei in 263. 「谯周」是尾联的反笔主角。作为劝后主降魏的老臣，他在史册里本属负面形象；温庭筠偏以「老臣」称之，表面是叙其史实上的身份，骨子里却是最尖刻的讥讽——真正配称老臣的卧龙已矣，主政的却是误国之臣。这个专名一落，前面所有的敬仰、惋惜，全部翻转成冷笑。专名入诗而能承担如此重的反讽功能，可见温庭筠炼字不仅炼形容词，也炼人名。