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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

旅夜书怀

Night Thoughts on a Journey

杜甫

Du Fu

羁旅Journey 漂泊Wandering 自伤Self-pity

细草微风岸，危樯独夜舟。
星垂平野阔，月涌大江流。
名岂文章著，官应老病休。
飘飘何所似，天地一沙鸥。

By the bank, fine grass in a gentle breeze;
A lone boat with a tall mast moors at night.
Stars hang low over the vast plain,
The moon surges as the great river flows.
How can fame be won by writing alone?
An official should retire when old and sick.
Drifting, what am I like?
A solitary gull between heaven and earth.

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Meaning

The poem begins with the scene from the boat—gentle breeze, fine grass, tall mast, lone boat—already evoking a sense of drifting. Then it expands to a magnificent nightscape of stars and river, contrasting with the poet's solitude. The third couplet uses rhetorical self-mockery to express frustration at unrecognized talent, and the final couplet compares his wandering life to a solitary gull, a poignant sigh.

微风轻拂着岸边细草，高高桅杆下，我独卧在这夜行的孤舟。星光低垂，更显平野的辽阔；月影翻涌，伴着大江奔流。我的声名难道是凭文章写就？做官本该因年老多病而退休。这一生飘飘荡荡像什么呢？不过是天地之间一只孤独的沙鸥罢了。

Appreciation

The couplet 'Stars hang low over the vast plain, the moon surges as the great river flows' is a pinnacle of Du Fu's scenic writing. The character 'hang' emphasizes the vastness of the plain, 'surges' the dynamic flow of the river, creating a grand, stirring scene. The first half uses vast scenery to contrast the loneliness of the second half—the grander the scene, the smaller the self, a stark and powerful contrast.

【白话串讲】杜甫乘着一条小船漂流在江上，看着“星垂平野阔，月涌大江流”。天地越辽阔，他越觉得自己渺小——“飘飘何所似，天地一沙鸥”，一个诗人把自己写成了天地间的一只沙鸥。【意象与手法】全诗前两联写景、后两联抒情，以景起以喻结，章法浑成。颔联“星垂平野阔，月涌大江流”最负盛名【情感与主旨】此诗约作于唐代宗永泰元年（765），杜甫辞去节度参谋之职，携家离开成都草堂，乘舟东下【名句点睛】常考“星垂平野阔，月涌大江流”的炼字（“垂”显平野之阔，“涌”显江月之动）及其以壮景衬孤情的作用

Background

This poem was written around 765 AD, when Du Fu resigned his post as military advisor and left Chengdu, drifting eastward on the Yangtze River. Stopping near Yuzhou (modern Chongqing), he faced the grand night scene, recalled his life of wandering and unfulfilled ambitions, and composed this poem. He was over fifty, far from home, with an uncertain future.

杜甫《旅夜书怀》约作于唐代宗永泰元年（765年）。这年正月，杜甫在蜀中的依靠、剑南节度使严武去世；四月，杜甫辞去节度参谋、检校工部员外郎之职，携家离开成都草堂，乘舟沿岷江、长江东下。此诗即写于东下途中夜泊之时，一说作于忠州（今重庆忠县）一带。自乾元二年（759年）弃官入蜀，至永泰元年离蜀，杜甫在成都、梓州、阆州一带流寓六年，此时已五十三四岁，贫病交加，唯一的政治奥援严武一死，他彻底失去依凭，只能重上漂泊之路。此诗正是这种「身世飘零」心境的写照。值得注意的是，所谓「官应老病休」实为反语——杜甫并非因老病而休官，而是因严武去世、幕府解散，不得已而离职，故诗中「名岂文章著，官应老病休」二句，实含牢骚与自嘲，是杜诗沉郁顿挫的典型笔法。版本方面，此诗各本文字大体一致，唯个别字有异文，如「飘飘」一作「飘零」；今通行本多作「飘飘何所似」。又首句「细草微风岸」，或有作「细草微风岸」而次句「危樯独夜舟」，二字对举，写江岸夜泊之景，各本无异。题作《旅夜书怀》，「旅夜」点行旅之夜，「书怀」明写胸中块垒，一题之中已见全诗由景入情的章法。此诗与《登岳阳楼》《江汉》等同为杜甫晚年漂泊江湖时的五律名篇。关于此诗写作的具体地点，一说在忠州，一说在渝州至忠州间的江上，然皆属离蜀东下的水路。杜甫此时去蜀而无所归，前程茫茫，故诗中「飘飘」二字，实为其此后数年「天地沙鸥」般漂泊生涯的预告。

Art

The poem follows a clear structure: the first two couplets describe scenery, the last two express emotion, starting with scene and ending with metaphor. The second couplet is famous for its diction: 'hang' conveys the endless plain, 'surges' conveys the rushing moon-river. The grand, dynamic scene contrasts with the stillness of the lone boat, making the scene grander and the sorrow deeper—a classic example of using a joyful scene to write sorrow, showcasing Du Fu's majestic style in regulated verse.

此诗前两联写景，后两联抒情，以景起、以喻结，章法浑成。首联「细草微风岸，危樯独夜舟」以细草、微风、危樯、夜舟四事，织成一幅江岸夜泊的微茫图景，「独」字已暗透孤寂。颔联「星垂平野阔，月涌大江流」由近景推向远景，是全诗最负盛名的一联：「垂」字状星光低垂，愈见平野之辽阔；「涌」字写月影随波翻涌，愈显大江之奔流，以动衬静、以壮景衬孤情，景物愈雄阔，愈见诗人一身的渺小与孤零。颈联「名岂文章著，官应老病休」转入抒怀，上句自谦而含愤——声名岂是凭文章得来？下句自嘲而寓怨——做官本该因老病而退。二句以反语写牢骚，是杜诗沉郁顿挫的典型笔法。尾联「飘飘何所似，天地一沙鸥」以设问领起，以沙鸥自喻，把前文奔涌的悲慨收敛于一个孤清而广阔的意象之中，景与情、人与物在此融而为一。全诗先景后情、由实入虚，浑灏流转。就结构言，前两联「旅夜」之景与后两联「书怀」之情一一对应，而以「天地」「沙鸥」的意象收束，把个人的漂泊置于天地的浩渺之中，愈显其孤，被后世视为杜甫五律的压卷之一。就意象言，「细草」「微风」「危樯」「夜舟」四者皆小而孤，与「星」「月」「平野」「大江」四者皆大而阔，两相对照，构成了全诗「小我置于大天地」的基本格局，是杜诗善于以大小相形、以壮衬孤的典型。

Allusions

The 'gull' is a traditional image for drifting and carefree detachment. Du Fu uses it to portray himself. Its origins can be traced to Liezi's 'gulls and egrets forget wariness' and the lonely bird images in Tao Qian and Xie Tiao's poems. The rhetorical question 'what am I like?' also echoes the drifting life in the Nineteen Ancient Poems, capturing the fate of a wandering scholar in troubled times.

此诗用典不显，然意象皆有源流。「沙鸥」一象，可上溯至《列子·黄帝篇》海上之人狎鸥的典故——人能忘机，则鸥鸟亲之；后世诗词遂以沙鸥喻隐逸忘机、无拘无束。杜甫却翻其意：这只「沙鸥」并非逍遥自适，而是「天地」间无所依归的一粟，将狎鸥典故中超然的一面抹去，只取其孤飞无依的一面，正与诗人漂泊无定的处境相合。「名岂文章著」暗含古代士人「立德、立功、立言」三不朽的传统，语本《左传·襄公二十四年》「太上有立德，其次有立功，其次有立言」——杜甫本以「致君尧舜上，再使风俗淳」为志，文章不过余事，如今功业无成而徒以文章知名，故有「岂」字之愤。「官应老病休」则反用汉代疏广、疏受年老辞官归里的旧典，疏氏叔侄是功成身退，杜甫是被迫去职，反语之中自有无限辛酸。「飘飘」一词，写身世浮沉，亦暗承曹植《洛神赋》「飘飘兮若流风之回雪」的清逸意象，只是洛神之飘是美，诗人之飘是苦。至于「星垂」「月涌」之写夜景，则与谢朓、张若虚以来的江月传统一脉相承。全诗化用前人而不露痕迹，皆由自家身世中自然流出。「星垂平野阔」一句，还可与曹丕《燕歌行》「星汉西流夜未央」以来的星夜传统相接，而「月涌大江流」则暗承张若虚《春江花月夜》写江月的浩瀚，杜甫熔铸众流，遂成此联的雄阔。

Commentary

Ji Yun of the Qing dynasty commented: 'Stars hang low over the vast plain, the moon surges as the great river flows—grand in vision, emotion in scene.' Pu Qilong in 'Reading Du Fu's Heart' said the couplet 'How can fame be won...' is 'oblique and sorrowful.' Later readers often compare this poem with 'Climbing the Height,' saying 'the first half is grand, the second half is desolate,' best showing Du Fu's melancholy and staccato style.

此诗为杜甫五律名篇，历代评骘极盛。沈德潜《唐诗别裁集》评「胸怀经济，故云名岂文章著；官以论事罢，而云老病应休，立言之妙如此」，点出颈联反语自嘲的言外之旨。纪昀评《瀛奎律髓》此诗，推颔联「星垂平野阔，月涌大江流」为「壮语」，谓其写景之雄阔直逼盛唐。明人胡应麟《诗薮》论杜诗五律，亦举此联为「奇壮」之例。清人仇兆鳌《杜诗详注》引黄生之说，谓此诗「八句皆对」或「气象雄浑」，于「飘飘何所似，天地一沙鸥」的结法尤多推许。此诗自《唐诗三百首》以下，历代选本几无不录，与《登高》《登岳阳楼》并列为杜甫晚年五七律的扛鼎之作。「飘飘何所似，天地一沙鸥」二句，更成为后世状写漂泊无依的通用典故，历代羁旅诗词化用不绝。在传播史上，此诗因其「以壮景写孤情」的独特手法而备受称道——越是把天地写得阔大，越是显出一人之渺小，这种反衬手法对后世写漂泊的诗词影响深远，如苏轼「小舟从此逝，江海寄余生」即暗承其意。后世词人如苏轼「江海寄余生」、辛弃疾「绕树三匝，无枝可依」的漂泊之感，皆可远溯至此诗「天地一沙鸥」的孤绝意象，其影响之深远，于此可见一斑。近人论杜诗五律，多以《旅夜书怀》与《登岳阳楼》并举，谓二诗皆「以壮景写孤情」，而一悲己、一悲国，合观正见杜甫晚年胸襟之阔与身世之悲。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse (oblique-tone start, first line unrhymed)五言律诗

Rhyme Lower level tone, eleventh rhyme group (you): 舟, 流, 休, 鸥平水韵下平十一尤韵，押「舟」「流」「休」「鸥」四韵，首句不入韵

Tone pattern First couplet: oblique-oblique-level-level-oblique, level-level-oblique-oblique-level; second couplet: perfect parallel此诗为仄起首句不入韵的五律正格。首句「细草微风岸」仄仄平平仄，次句「危樯独夜舟」平平仄仄平，三句「星垂平野阔」平平平仄仄，四句「月涌大江流」仄仄仄平平，后四句「名岂文章著」「官应老病休」「飘飘何所似」「天地一沙鸥」平仄与前半对应，通篇粘对合律。

Reading note The second couplet uses grand scenery to contrast the self-pity in the third couplet; the grander the scene, the lonelier the person—a classic example of Du Fu's contrast technique in regulated verse.此诗为五言律诗，仄起首句不入韵，押下平十一尤韵，韵脚「舟」「流」「休」「鸥」同部相押，一韵到底。「尤」韵属柔而悠远之韵，读来有绵长不绝之感，正合诗人漂泊无定、愁思绵绵的心境。就平仄论，全篇粘对工稳，是杜甫五律正格的典范；尤以颔联「星垂平野阔，月涌大江流」对仗极工——「星」对「月」、「垂」对「涌」、「平野」对「大江」、「阔」对「流」，字字稳切，而意境雄阔，被誉为千古壮语。颈联「名岂文章著，官应老病休」则以虚字「岂」「应」入对，于工整之中见顿挫，是杜律善于以虚字传情之作。全诗声律之工与情感之郁相得益彰，读之既见杜甫晚年诗律的炉火纯青，又见其沉郁顿挫风格的最终完成。颔联「星垂平野阔」与「月涌大江流」的「垂」「涌」二字，一平一仄，声调的对立正与意境的张力相合；全诗以尤韵的绵长，托起漂泊的愁思，声情相生，是杜律晚年境界的集中体现。

Line by line

细草微风岸

Fine grass, faint wind, on the shore;

微风轻拂着岸边细草

The faint wind brushes the fine grass on the shore.

此句以「细」「微」二字起笔，写江岸的细草与微风，景物纤小、轻柔，却已透出夜泊的孤寂氛围。细草之弱、微风之轻，正与诗人此刻无力自主的处境相呼应。杜甫不写大景，先以如此细微的物象入手，是为下句「危樯独夜舟」的「独」字蓄势——微风中细草摇曳，夜色里一舟独泊，人与草皆在风中，同此飘摇。以细小写孤寂，愈见其孤，此是杜诗善于以景含情处。首联两「细」字两「微」字连出，笔致轻而意绪重，为全篇的苍凉定下基调。

This line rises through the two words 'fine' and 'faint', writing the river-bank's fine grass and faint wind, the objects tiny and soft, and already showing the night-mooring's loneliness. The fine grass's weakness, the faint wind's light, precisely answering the poet's present lot of powerlessness over himself. Du Fu writes not the grand scene, but starts from such tiny objects, storing the force for the next line's 'lone' in 'the lone boat of the night' — the fine grass swaying in the faint wind, the one boat moored alone in the night, man and grass both in the wind, sharing this drifting. Writing solitude through the tiny, the loneliness the more, precisely Du Fu's craft of holding feeling within the scene. The opening couplet's two 'fine' and two 'faint' in a row, the brush light and the mood heavy, tuning the whole's desolate keynote.

星垂平野阔

Stars hang low; the plain is vast.

星光低垂，更显平野的辽阔

The starlight hangs low, and the plain seems the vaster.

「垂」字是此句的关节。星光本悬于天，诗人却觉其低垂可接，这是极目远望时的错觉，也唯有在平野极阔、天地相接之处，星才显得垂挂天边。「星垂」而觉「平野阔」，是以星之低垂反写野之辽阔，一个「垂」字，把天与地、星与野之间的距离感写了出来。此句境界苍茫壮阔，却暗含人在其间何其渺小的意味，为尾联「天地一沙鸥」的孤绝意象埋下伏笔。以「垂」写星，与下句「涌」写月，一纵一横、一静一动，构成颔联壮阔而动荡的意境。

The word 'hangs' is the joint of the line. The starlight is suspended in the sky, and the poet feels it hanging low within reach, an illusion of the far gaze, and only where the plain is vast, heaven and earth meeting, do the stars seem to hang on the horizon. 'Stars hang low' and one feels 'the plain is vast', using the stars' low hanging to write in reverse the plain's breadth, the one word 'hangs' writing out the distance between heaven and earth, star and plain. This line's realm is vast and bleak, and secretly holds the meaning of how tiny is the man within it, planting the groundwork for the closing couplet's lone image of 'one sandpiper'. Writing the stars through 'hangs', and the next line's 'surges' writing the moon, one vertical one horizontal, one still one moving, forming the neck couplet's vast and turbulent realm.

月涌大江流

The moon surges; the great river rolls.

月影翻涌，伴着大江奔流

The moon's image surges, riding the great river's flood.

「涌」字写月影之动，极为传神。月本悬空，其影映于江面，随波涛而翻涌起伏，诗人不写「江流」而先写「月涌」，仿佛那月亮是从江中涌出来的。一个「涌」字，把静止的月色化入奔流的大江，月光与江水、天象与地景在瞬间融为一片。「星垂」写纵的辽阔，「月涌」写横的奔流，一垂一涌、一静一动，构成了颔联壮阔而动荡的意境，而这壮景之中，愈衬出诗人独卧孤舟的凄凉。此联之所以被誉为「壮语」，正在于它以极简的十字，写出了天地江月的浩渺与诗人一身的孤微之间的巨大张力。

The word 'surges' writes the moon's image in motion, most vivid. The moon hangs in the sky, its image reflected on the river, heaving with the waves; the poet writes not 'the river flows' but first 'the moon surges', as if the moon were surging up from the river. The one word 'surges' melts the still moonlight into the rolling great river, moonlight and river, sky and earth fused in an instant. 'Stars hang low' writes the vertical breadth, 'the moon surges' the horizontal rolling, one hang one surge, one still one moving, forming the neck couplet's vast and turbulent realm, and within this grand scene the more set off the poet's desolation, lying alone in the lone boat. The reason this couplet is praised as the 'grand word' is precisely that it writes, in the simplest ten words, the great tension between the heaven-and-earth river-moon's vastness and the poet's lone smallness.

天地一沙鸥

Between heaven and earth, one sandpiper.

不过是天地之间一只孤独的沙鸥罢了

No more than one lone sandpiper, between heaven and earth.

末句以沙鸥自喻，收束全篇。天地如此广阔，而沙鸥只有一只，这「一」字与「天地」的「无边」构成强烈的数量对比，愈见其孤。沙鸥本是无拘无束的飞鸟，诗人却用它来写自己的漂泊无依，把超然的意象翻作悲凉的况味。前有「星垂」「月涌」的壮景，后有「天地」的浩渺，最终都收束于「一沙鸥」的孤影之上，以景结情、以喻写怀，使全诗的悲慨在开阔的意境中愈发深沉。这一只沙鸥，既是诗人晚年飘零的自画像，也成为中国诗歌中漂泊意象的经典。

The closing line figures the self through the sandpiper, closing the whole. Heaven and earth are so vast, and the sandpiper only one, the 'one' and 'heaven and earth's' 'boundless' forming the sharp contrast of number, the loneliness the more. The sandpiper is originally the free-flying bird, and the poet uses it to write his own drifting without dependence, turning the detached image into the desolate flavor. Before, the grand scenes of 'stars hang low' and 'the moon surges'; after, the vastness of 'heaven and earth'; all finally close on the lone shadow of 'one sandpiper', closing in scene, writing the heart through metaphor, making the whole's grief the deeper within the open realm. This one sandpiper is at once the self-portrait of the poet's late years' drifting, and becomes the classic of the drifting image in Chinese poetry.

Study

Word focus

垂 Hang: depicts stars low near the horizon, emphasizing the vastness of the plain. 「垂」字写星光低垂，是全诗写景最见功力的一字。星光在天，本无所谓高低，诗人却以「垂」字写其仿佛下坠、低垂天边，这是深夜极目所见的真实错觉——平野过于辽阔，天地在远处相接，星遂显得垂挂其上。一个「垂」字，不仅写出平野之阔，更写出夜的深沉与空间的苍茫，天与地之间的距离感借此字而豁然呈现。与「涌」字对举，一垂一涌，把星空与大江两个壮阔的意象连成一片，是杜甫写景字法「以动写静、以错觉写真」的典范。后世论杜诗动词之妙，「垂」字与「割」字（阴阳割昏晓）、「涌」字并为必举之例。

涌 Surge: describes the moon's reflection surging with the river, creating a dynamic, flowing scene. 「涌」字写月影随江流翻涌，与「垂」字同为颔联的筋节。月映于江，水动则月亦动，杜甫不写「江流」带动月影，而以「涌」字让月亮仿佛主动从江中奔涌而出，化被动为主动，把天上一轮静月写成了江中万顷活波。这个字既有视觉的动态，又有气韵的翻腾，与「大江流」的浩荡之势浑然一体。「涌」字还暗含一种不可阻遏的奔流之感，正与诗人心中奔涌的悲慨相表里，景语与情语在此字中悄然合流。以「涌」写月，前此罕见，是杜甫炼字出奇而不失真的代表。

独 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「独」字见诸首联「危樯独夜舟」，是全诗情感的第一处着落。微风、细草、危樯、夜舟，皆静物，唯「独」字点出人与舟的孤寂——江岸夜色中，只有这一只船、这一位客，孑然独立。「独」字置于「危樯」与「夜舟」之间，既写舟之孤，又暗写人之孤，为全诗定下了孤寂苍凉的基调。及至尾联「天地一沙鸥」，此「独」字又化为「一」字遥遥呼应，首尾之间，孤寂之感一气贯注，足见杜甫炼字之密。一字「独」，实是全诗情感的根，前二联之景皆由此「独」字生出寒意。