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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

浪淘沙·其一

Waves Scouring Sand · First

刘禹锡

Liu Yuxi

写景scenery 哲理philosophy

九曲黄河万里沙，浪淘风簸自天涯。
如今直上银河去，同到牵牛织女家。

The Yellow River winds ninefold, ten thousand li of sand;
the waves scour, the wind tosses, from the ends of the earth.
Now I would ride straight up the Silver River,
and go with you to the home of the Cowherd and the Weaver.

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Meaning

The winding Yellow River bears ten thousand li of sand; its waves scour and its wind tosses it, as if from the ends of the earth. Now I would ride straight up the Silver River along this stream, and go with you to the home of the Cowherd and the Weaver.

九曲黄河挟带着万里黄沙滚滚奔流，波涛冲刷、狂风簸荡，仿佛从天地的尽头涌来。如今我要沿着黄河逆流直上，一直飞到银河中去，同你一起到牵牛织女的家去做客。

Appreciation

In art the poem uses a giant brush for a grand scene. The opening, 'winds ninefold, ten thousand li of sand', spreads space with number-words, and 'the waves scour, the wind tosses' gives the Yellow River a living motion. The last two turn from the solid to the void, suddenly bending into the world of myth, wishing to 'ride straight up the Silver River' to visit the Cowherd and the Weaver, an imagining of utter strangeness. The whole is bold in breath and high in key; scene and feeling, the real and the myth, blend naturally, showing Liu Yuxi's bold, vigorous, and ever-surprising character.

【白话串讲】 “九曲黄河万里沙，浪淘风簸自天涯”——刘禹锡写黄河：九曲万里，浪淘风簸。“如今直上银河去，同到牵牛织女家”——他要顺着黄河直上银河，去牵牛织女家做客。被贬之人的想象力，比黄河还长。【意象与手法】前两句以巨笔写实景，「九曲」「万里」以数量词极言黄河的迂回与绵长，空间阔大，气象雄浑；「浪淘风簸」以「淘」「簸」两个动词赋予黄河翻腾咆哮的动态生命。后两句笔锋陡转，由实入虚，「如今直上银河去」化眼前黄河为登天之途，「同到牵牛织女家」以神话收束，使壮阔的景物归于温馨的人情。全诗写景与抒情、现实与神话水乳交融，虚实相生，豪放中见浪漫，浪漫中蕴旷达，充分体现出刘禹锡善于翻空出奇的鲜明个性。【情感与主旨】刘禹锡因永贞革新失败屡遭贬谪，此诗写于夔州任上，却毫无怨怼消沉之语。黄河万里挟沙、浪淘风簸，正是诗人宦海浮沉的写照；而「直上银河」「同到牵牛织女家」的奇想，则见其身处逆境而精神飞扬、虽历磨难而不减豪情的「诗豪」本色。主旨在于借黄河之壮写胸襟之广，于艰苦中见乐观，于现实之上筑起浪漫，表现诗人对理想境界的执着向往与对人生苦难的超越。【名句点睛】「如今直上银河去，同到牵牛织女家」为全诗警策。诗人由实入虚，将黄河与银河绾合，把淘沙的寻常景象升华为飞渡星汉的壮游；「直上」斩截果决，「同到」含相携之意，豪迈中见温情。此二句以浪漫奇想消解现实的困顿，与王之涣「黄河远上白云间」的想象异曲同工，是刘禹锡浪漫主义精神的集中体现，亦为后世传诵的千古名句。

Background

'Waves Scouring Sand' is a set of nine poems that Liu Yuxi wrote while he was prefect of Kuizhou. At the time the poet, having failed in the Yongzhen reform, had long been banished to the Ba-Chu region, his official career hard. Kuizhou lies on the upper Yangtze, near a tributary of the Yellow River, and among the people there were many scenes of washing for gold and ferrying waters. The poet takes the broad picture of the Yellow River bearing sand ten thousand li, its waves and wind tossing, and beneath the grandeur quietly lodges a heart that, though often banished, has lost none of its boldness—open and free within the vast.

刘禹锡（772—842），字梦得，洛阳人（一说彭城人），中唐著名诗人，与白居易齐名，世称「刘白」，白居易称其为「诗豪」。唐顺宗永贞元年（805），刘禹锡参与王叔文领导的永贞革新，失败后被贬为朗州司马，此后又历贬连州、夔州、和州等地，前后二十余年沉沦于巴楚江湖之间。这首《浪淘沙·其一》即作于长庆二年（822）前后任夔州刺史期间，《浪淘沙》九首组诗皆作于此时。夔州地处长江上游巴楚之地，濒临大江，民间多淘金、航运之景，诗人身处其间，目睹江流挟沙、风浪簸荡的壮观景象，遂借「黄河」这一最能代表中华气魄的意象起兴，将眼前的风物与胸中的豪情熔铸为一。诗中「直上银河」「牵牛织女」的奇想，更透露出诗人虽长期遭贬、身处僻远之地，而精神始终飞腾向上、不向命运低头的倔强性格。了解这一背景，方能明白此诗不是简单的山水咏叹，而是诗人贬谪生涯中豪情与理想的艺术结晶，是理解刘禹锡「诗豪」之称的绝佳窗口。

Art

此诗艺术上最突出之处，是以巨笔写大景、由实境入幻境。开篇「九曲黄河万里沙」，「九曲」写黄河河道之迂回，「万里」极言其挟沙奔流之长，两个数量词即铺展出无限阔大的空间，起笔便有雄浑气象；「浪淘风簸自天涯」以「淘」「簸」两个动词写浪之冲刷与风之簸荡，「自天涯」三字更将黄河的源头推向天的尽头，动态与气势兼备。前两句写实，极尽壮阔；后两句忽然翻空出奇，「如今直上银河去」笔锋陡转，由眼前之河直上云天，化黄河为登天之途，「直上」二字斩截有力，不容迟疑；「同到牵牛织女家」以神话人物收束，将壮游落实为一次温馨的拜访，豪迈之中顿生人情。全诗虚实相生、由实入虚，写景与抒情、现实与神话自然交融，语言凝练，一气呵成，短短二十八字而境界屡变，充分体现出刘禹锡善于翻空出奇、以浪漫想象写现实情怀的鲜明个性，正是其「诗豪」气度的艺术呈现。

Allusions

'The Cowherd and the Weaver' comes from the 'Nineteen Old Poems · The Cowherd far away' and the folk tale of the Cowherd and Weaver, originally the star-lovers on the two banks of the heavenly river. Liu Yuxi takes it up lightly, joining the Yellow River to the Silver River, lifting the sand-scouring into a grand voyage across the starry Han. The allusion is used without a trace, adding a romantic colour and quietly holding a longing for a lofty realm—a fine example of writing a new realm with a familiar allusion.

此诗用典不着痕迹，主要融汇了「银河」「牵牛织女」两大神话系统。古人相传黄河与天上的银河相通，西汉张骞奉命探寻河源，曾乘槎（木筏）溯流而上，直达天河，见到牵牛、织女（见《荆楚岁时记》）；《博物志》亦载有人乘槎泛海浮至天河的故事。刘禹锡「如今直上银河去」正是化用此典，将黄河的淘沙之景与飞渡星汉的壮游绾合起来。「牵牛织女」本为《古诗十九首·迢迢牵牛星》所咏的隔河相望的星宿情人，民间牛郎织女传说更为家喻户晓，诗人以「同到牵牛织女家」作结，既使浪漫的飞渡有了一个温馨的落脚点，也暗含对团聚、对美好境界的向往。此外，黄河挟沙、沙里淘金的意象亦见于同组《浪淘沙·其八》「千淘万漉虽辛苦，吹尽狂沙始到金」，可见诗人对「淘沙」这一母题的钟爱——沙之淘洗正如人生之磨砺，这一层象征意味使全诗的浪漫奇想有了坚实的人生底色，读来更觉意味深长。

Commentary

Hu Yinglin of the Ming, in his 'Shi Sou', says Liu Yuxi's seven-character verse 'has the manner of the high Tang'. Recent critics speak of his set 'Waves Scouring Sand' as 'lodging the bold within the local custom'; this piece, rising from the Yellow River to the starry Han, turns a common sand-scouring scene into romantic strangeness, and best shows his native 'poet-hero' character, long prized by anthologists. Guan Shimin of the Qing, in his 'Tang Poems of the Dushan Room', also ranks it 'grand and old, such as the late Tang has not', enough to show this poem's distinct place among the seven-character quatrains.

刘禹锡是中唐七绝大家，其七绝向以雄浑老苍、爽朗健举著称。明人胡应麟《诗薮》谓其七言绝句「绰有盛唐风调」，清人管世铭《读雪山房唐诗钞》更称其「雄浑老苍，晚唐所无」。《浪淘沙》九首是刘禹锡贬谪夔州期间的代表作，此首列于卷首，以黄河起兴、以星汉作结，在寻常淘沙景中翻出浪漫奇情，最能见其「诗豪」本色。与同时代诗人相比，白居易写贬谪多诉苦闷，刘禹锡却总能于逆境中翻出昂扬之音，如「沉舟侧畔千帆过，病树前头万木春」「莫道桑榆晚，为霞尚满天」，此诗「直上银河」的奇想正是同一精神气质的表现。此诗历来为选家所重，今入选各级语文教材，其价值不仅在于写景之壮、想象之奇，更在于它所体现的面对苦难而始终昂扬的中国士人精神，对后世苏轼「一蓑烟雨任平生」的旷达，实有先导之功。可以说，读《浪淘沙·其一》，读到的不仅是一首写黄河的七绝，更是一种以豪情对抗命运、以想象超越现实的人格力量——无论际遇如何，目光总向着最辽阔处投射，这正是它超越时空、历久弥新的根本原因，也是历代读者从中获得精神鼓舞的价值所在。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (derived from an yue-fu tune; here in the Tang shi form)七言绝句（借唐教坊曲《浪淘沙》曲题所写的七绝体声诗）

Rhyme Ping-shui rhyme, lower-level six ma group (sand, earth, home)押平水韵下平六麻韵，「沙」「涯」「家」一韵到底，韵脚疏朗响亮。

Tone pattern First line entering the rhyme, level onset, first-line-enters-rhyme form七绝仄起首句入韵式，首句「九曲黄河万里沙」入韵，平仄大体合律，七言一三五不论处偶有变通，以声情气势为主。

Reading note ‘Waves Scouring Sand’ was originally a Tang ceremonial piece; Liu Yuxi used it for seven-character quatrains, and later ages took it as a ci tune.《浪淘沙》本是唐代教坊曲名，源自民间淘金之歌，刘禹锡、白居易曾依其曲调创作七言绝句体的声诗，后人因以为词牌，故《浪淘沙》既是一组七绝的题目，又是后世词牌的滥觞。此首以七绝体行乐府曲题，四句七言，一韵到底，押下平六麻韵，「沙」「涯」「家」三个韵脚皆响亮开阔，与黄河奔涌、飞渡星汉的声情相协。平仄上，首句「九曲黄河万里沙」为仄仄平平仄仄平，属仄起首句入韵式，除个别字因七言「一三五不论」而稍有变通外，基本合律。句法上，四句皆二二三节奏，前三句「九曲黄河万里沙」「浪淘风簸自天涯」「如今直上银河去」一气直下，如黄河之水滔滔不竭，声情奔放；至末句「同到牵牛织女家」稍作顿宕收束，由扬入抑，声情由奔放到从容，张弛有致。全诗以「黄河—银河—牵牛织女」一线贯串，声韵之响亮正与想象之奇崛相得益彰，读来朗朗上口，气势如虹，是七绝中「以声写气」的典范。

Line by line

九曲黄河万里沙

The Yellow River winds ninefold, ten thousand li of sand;

弯弯曲曲的黄河挟带着绵延万里的黄沙。

The nine-bended Yellow River carries ten thousand li of sand.

「九曲」与「万里」两个数量词开篇，即以数字拓开无限空间：黄河河道九曲回环，足见其迂回曲折；沙随水行绵延万里，极言其源远流长。古人以「九」极言其多，以「万里」夸饰其长，起笔便把一条挟沙奔涌、横贯东西的大河推到读者眼前，境界雄阔，气象不凡。此句虽无一字写声写势，而泥沙俱下、咆哮奔流的动感已呼之欲出，为次句「浪淘风簸」的喧腾蓄足气势，堪称全诗立骨之句。一句即定下雄浑豪迈的基调，令人想见黄河之水自天而落、九曲东注的浩荡景象，亦暗合李白「黄河之水天上来」的奔放想象，起手便见刘禹锡以气驭诗的本领。

'Nine bends' and 'ten thousand li', two measures at the opening, open infinite space with numbers: the Yellow River's course, nine times turned, shows its winding; the sand traveling ten thousand li, exaggerating its long source. The ancients used 'nine' for the extreme of number and 'ten thousand li' for length; the opening pushes a great river of sand and torrent, sweeping east and west, before the reader's eyes, the realm grand, the air uncommon. Not one word of sound or force, yet the turbid torrent's roar is already on its way, storing momentum for 'washed by waves and tossed by wind' below, the bone-setting line of the poem. It tunes the bold, heroic tone at once, making one imagine the river pouring from heaven, nine-bended eastward, echoing Li Bai's 'the Yellow River's waters come from heaven', the opening already showing Liu Yuxi's gift for driving verse by spirit.

浪淘风簸自天涯

the waves scour, the wind tosses, from the ends of the earth.

波涛冲刷、狂风簸荡，仿佛从天的尽头奔涌而来。

Washed by waves and tossed by wind, it comes from the edge of heaven.

「淘」写浪之冲刷，「簸」写风之簸荡，两个动词连用，将黄河写得如活物般翻滚喧腾；「自天涯」三字更将视野推向天的尽头，暗示黄河之水天上来，源远而势猛。此句与首句一静一动：首句以数量词铺开空间之广，此句以动词写足气势之盛，两句合观，黄河挟沙奔腾、风浪交作的壮观景象如在目前。值得注意的是，这铺天盖地的「浪淘风簸」，既是眼前实景，也暗喻诗人屡遭贬逐、宦海浮沉的坎坷经历——淘沙之浪正如贬谪之潮，一浪接一浪，从天涯尽头滚滚而来，无从躲避。写景之中已埋伏下抒情的根脉，为后两句由实入虚、翻出奇境作了坚实的铺垫，是理解全诗由写景转入抒怀的关键一联。

'Washed' the waves' scouring, 'tossed' the wind's buffeting, the two verbs together writing the river as a living thing, tumbling and roaring; 'from the edge of heaven' pushes the view to the sky's end, hinting the river's waters come from heaven, the long source and the fierce force. This line pairs with the opening as one still one moving: the opening spreads the space through measures, this line writes the force through verbs; the two together, the picture of the sand-bearing river, waves and wind at war, as before the eyes. Notably, this sky-filling 'washed by waves and tossed by wind' is both the present sight and the metaphor of the poet's own repeated exile and official ups and downs — the sand-scouring waves are the tides of demotion, wave on wave, rolling from the edge of heaven, nowhere to hide. Within the scenery the root of lyric is already planted, preparing the turn from fact to fantasy below, the key couplet for understanding the poem's move from scene to feeling.

如今直上银河去

Now I would ride straight up the Silver River,

如今我要沿着黄河逆流直上，一直飞到银河中去。

Now I would go straight up the Silver River.

「如今」二字承上启下，把读者的视线从滔滔浊流猛然引向九天之上，笔锋陡转，由实入虚。「直上」斩截有力，不容迟疑，写出诗人顺流飞渡、无所阻遏的豪迈气概；「银河」一词更将现实中的黄河与传说中的天河绾合为一——古人相信黄河与银河相通，张骞乘槎可溯河上天，诗人的「直上」正是对这一神话的浪漫化用，也是全诗想象力的最高点。此句是全诗由写景转入抒情的枢纽，前两句的壮阔至此升华为飞越星汉的奇想，境界为之一变，豪情为之飞扬。它告诉我们：即使身处最困顿的境地，诗人的目光依然投向最高远的星空，这种昂扬向上的精神力量，正是全诗最动人之处，也奠定了全诗昂扬浪漫的基调。

The words 'now' carry above and below, suddenly pulling the reader's gaze from the turbid torrent to the ninth heaven, the brush turning sharply from fact to fantasy. 'Go straight up' decisive, no hesitation, writing the poet's dashing crossing of the current, nothing to check him; 'the Silver River' fuses the real Yellow River with the legendary heavenly stream — the ancients believed the Yellow River connected with the Silver River, that Zhang Qian rode a raft up the river to heaven, and the poet's 'go straight up' is the romantic use of this myth, the highest point of the poem's imagination. This line is the pivot from scenery to lyric, the grandeur of the first two lines elevated to the fantasy of crossing the starry river, the realm changed, the boldness soaring. It tells us: even in the direst plight, the poet's gaze still turns to the farthest stars, this upward-striving spiritual force the most moving place of the poem, tuning its romantic, exalted note.

同到牵牛织女家

and go with you to the home of the Cowherd and the Weaver.

与你一同前往牵牛织女的家中做客。

To visit the home of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl.

「同到」二字含相携同行之意，豪迈中透出温情，仿佛这场星汉壮游不是孤独的远行，而是与友朋共赴的一次快意之约；「牵牛织女家」以神话人物收束，使飞渡银河有了温馨的落脚点，也将淘沙的寻常劳作升华为拜访天上情人的浪漫之旅。此句用典不着痕迹：牵牛织女本是隔河相望、一年一会的神话情人，诗人却径直说「到家」，妙在一反其相思的凄美而取其团圆的温情。全诗至此，由黄河之壮、银河之奇归于人情之暖，壮阔、浪漫、温馨三者兼备，首尾一气，浑然无间。以一句家常语般的邀约收束万里壮游，举重若轻，正是刘禹锡于苦难中开出烂漫之花的「诗豪」本色的最佳注脚，读之令人心胸为之一畅。

The words 'go together' carry the sense of going hand in hand, warmth within the boldness, as if this grand tour of the starry river were not a lonely journey but a joyful appointment with friends; 'the home of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl' closes in the mythic figures, giving the crossing of the Silver River a warm destination, and elevating the ordinary labor of washing sand into a romantic journey to visit the lovers of heaven. This allusion is used without a trace: the Cowherd and Weaver Girl are the mythic lovers parted by the river, meeting once a year, yet the poet says straight 'to the home', the beauty being that he reverses the pathos of their separation and takes the warmth of their reunion. The whole poem, from the river's grandeur and the Silver River's wonder, returns to human warmth, grand, romantic, and tender, head and tail one breath, seamless. Closing a ten-thousand-li grand tour in a homey invitation, weightless in the hand, the best footnote to Liu Yuxi's 'poet-hero' nature of blooming flowers amid suffering, reading it makes the breast open.

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Word focus

簸 Originally 'to toss and shake'; here it writes the Yellow River rolling and tossing in the wild wind, full of motion, turning the still scene into a living thing. 「簸」本指颠簸、簸动，如簸谷扬糠之簸，此处移以写风，作「浪淘风簸」，与「淘」对举，写狂风簸荡黄河、浪涛冲刷黄沙的动态，极富力量感。若用「吹」「荡」，则力度不足，只见风之轻拂，失却黄河的磅礴；若用「卷」，则只见浪而不见风，画面单一；唯「簸」字妙在写出风与浪的相互作用：风起而浪涌，浪涌而沙飞，整个画面翻腾喧闹，仿佛一条活的黄河横亘眼前。同时，「簸」与「淘」都暗含「淘洗」「簸扬」之意，与「沙」字相扣，隐约透出民间淘金劳动的场景，为后文「直上银河」的奇想埋下现实的根基。一字而兼得气势与深意，可见刘禹锡炼字之精，亦可见其诗「以气为主」而字字皆有来历的深厚功力。

直上 Decisive and forceful; it writes the poet's bold, unhindered air of riding the current and flying across, setting the high, rising key of the whole. 「直上」二字是全诗由实入虚、翻空出奇的关键。「上」字与「黄河」相配，写逆流而上、溯河而行，暗含古人「黄河通银河」的神话联想；「直」字更见其势：不加弯曲，不作迟疑，笔直地向着银河冲去，写出诗人飞渡星汉、无所阻遏的豪迈气概。若作「欲上」，则迟疑犹豫，气势顿减；若作「更上」，则平平无奇，失之呆板；唯「直上」斩截果决，如箭离弦，把前两句积蓄的黄河之势一鼓作气送上九天，使全诗的格调由雄浑骤然升华为昂扬浪漫。二字看似寻常，实为全诗气脉所系——前两句写黄河之壮，全靠这「直上」一举翻空，把写景的力气全部转化为抒情的豪情，前人评刘禹锡诗「以气为主」，此二字正是其「气」的集中体现。

同 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「同到牵牛织女家」之「同」字，是全诗由壮阔归于温情的关键字。「同」含相携、结伴之意，说明这场星汉壮游不是一个人的独往独来，而是与友朋同行共赴，豪迈之气中顿生人情之暖；同时，「同」字也把读者（或诗中虚拟的同行者）带入这场壮游，使神话般的飞渡具有了亲切的现场感与分享的喜悦。若作「直」「共」，则「直到」失之孤单，「共到」略显生硬；唯「同」字举重若轻，既保留了「直上银河」的奇想，又使末句稳稳落在牵牛织女的家这一温馨的处所，与前句「直上」的奔放形成一放一收、一张一弛的节奏，收束得从容圆满。一字而见刘禹锡炼字的功夫：壮景须以豪语出之，而豪语须以温语收之，方不至流于叫嚣，此「同」字正是全诗情韵归于醇厚的点睛之笔。