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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

梦游天姥吟留别

Dreaming of Tianmu Mountain — A Farewell Song

李白

Li Bai

山水landscape 游仙wandering immortals 离别farewell

海客谈瀛洲，烟涛微茫信难求；
越人语天姥，云霞明灭或可睹。
天姥连天向天横，势拔五岳掩赤城。
天台四万八千丈，对此欲倒东南倾。
我欲因之梦吴越，一夜飞度镜湖月。
湖月照我影，送我至剡溪。
谢公宿处今尚在，渌水荡漾清猿啼。
脚著谢公屐，身登青云梯。
半壁见海日，空中闻天鸡。
千岩万转路不定，迷花倚石忽已暝。
熊咆龙吟殷岩泉，栗深林兮惊层巅。
云青青兮欲雨，水澹澹兮生烟。
列缺霹雳，丘峦崩摧。
洞天石扉，訇然中开。
青冥浩荡不见底，日月照耀金银台。
霓为衣兮风为马，云之君兮纷纷而来下。
虎鼓瑟兮鸾回车，仙之人兮列如麻。
忽魂悸以魄动，恍惊起而长嗟。
惟觉时之枕席，失向来之烟霞。
世间行乐亦如此，古来万事东流水。
别君去兮何时还？
且放白鹿青崖间，须行即骑访名山。
安能摧眉折腰事权贵，使我不得开心颜！

The sea traveler speaks of the fairy isle Yingzhou,
In misty waves, elusive and hard to find;
The Yue people tell of Tianmu Mountain,
In shifting clouds, maybe glimpsed now and then.
Tianmu stretches across the sky,
Outshining the Five Peaks, overshadowing Red City.
Mount Tiantai, forty-eight thousand zhang tall,
Bends southeast as if in obeisance.
I long to follow it to dream of Wu and Yue,
Flying across Mirror Lake in one night.
The moon on the lake reflects my shadow,
And escorts me to the Shan Stream.
The hut where Xie Lingyun once stayed still exists,
Clear water ripples, apes cry sadly.
Wearing Xie's clogs, I climb the ladder to the clouds.
Halfway up, I see the sea sunrise,
In midair I hear the heavenly rooster.
Thousands of crags, myriad turns, path uncertain,
Lost among flowers, leaning on rocks, suddenly it's dark.
Bears roar, dragons chant, echoes in rocky streams;
Deep forest trembles, layered peaks shiver.
Dark clouds, about to rain;
Calm waters, rising mist.
Lightning flashes, thunder crashes,
Peaks crumble and collapse.
The grotto's stone gate,
With a crash opens wide.
Vast blue depths, bottomless,
Sun and moon shine on gold and silver terraces.
Rainbows are their robes, wind is their horse,
The cloud lords descend in a throng.
Tigers play the zither, phoenixes draw chariots;
Immortals line up like hemp.
Suddenly my soul trembles, my spirit stirs,
I start up with a long sigh.
I find only my pillow and mat,
Gone are the mists and clouds of just now.
Worldly pleasures are like this,
From ancient times, all things flow away like the eastern river.
I take leave of you — when will I return?
Let me tether my white deer in the green cliffs,
When I must go, I'll ride to visit famous mountains.
How can I stoop and bend to serve the powerful,
Denying my heart the freedom to be happy!

Listen

Meaning

The poet hears of the elusive fairy isle Yingzhou and the more accessible Tianmu Mountain, so he dreams of visiting the latter. In his dream, he flies across Mirror Lake, follows Xie Lingyun's trail, climbs the mountain, witnesses spectacular sights of sunrise, celestial rooster, bears and dragons, and then a sudden thunderstorm opens a heavenly grotto with golden terraces and descending immortals. Startled awake, he finds reality mundane. He concludes that worldly joys are fleeting like flowing water, and declares his refusal to bow to authority, preferring to roam free among famous mountains.

海外仙山难寻，越人说天姥或可睹。天姥山势拔五岳掩赤城，天台向其倾倒。我因之梦游吴越，飞度镜湖，月送我至剡溪，登谢公青云梯，见海日闻天鸡。迷花倚石天忽暝，熊龙咆吟，云雨生烟。霹雳崩山，洞天石门豁开，日月照金银台，云神霓衣风马纷纷而下。忽魂悸惊起，唯余枕席，烟霞皆失。世间行乐亦如此，古来万事东流水。别君去兮何时还？且放白鹿青崖间。安能摧眉折腰事权贵，使我不得开心颜！

Appreciation

The poem uses a dream structure to blend reality and fantasy. Li Bai's vivid imagination creates a breathtaking landscape, from the serene moonlit lake to the terrifying thunder and the dazzling fairyland. The abrupt awakening highlights the contrast between dream and reality, leading to the final bold declaration of independence. The poem is a masterpiece of Romanticism, with its free-flowing form, rich imagery, and defiant spirit.

【白话串讲】李白在梦里飞越镜湖、登上天姥山，见到仙人，然后梦醒了。梦醒后他写下“安能摧眉折腰事权贵，使我不得开心颜”——辞官求去，这是中国文人最响亮的一次辞职宣言。【意象与手法】全诗以梦起以梦结，虚实相生。用楚辞体「兮」字句（「云青青兮欲雨」「霓为衣兮风为马」）增添浪漫韵律【情感与主旨】作于唐玄宗天宝四载（745年）李白将离开东鲁南下越中之际。此前李白被赐金放还，政治抱负受挫，漫游齐鲁【名句点睛】常考名句「安能摧眉折腰事权贵，使我不得开心颜」「世间行乐亦如此，古来万事东流水」。考点

Background

Written in 745 CE when Li Bai was leaving Eastern Lu for Yue. Having been dismissed from court, he was disillusioned with official life. This poem, a farewell to his friends, expresses his longing for a carefree, transcendent existence and his contempt for the powerful.

此诗题一作《梦游天姥山别东鲁诸公》，作于唐玄宗天宝四载（745）。天宝三载（744）春，李白在长安供奉翰林，因遭权贵谗毁，被玄宗「赐金放还」，政治抱负一朝破灭。他离京后先至洛阳，与杜甫相遇，同游梁宋、齐鲁，盘桓东鲁（今山东一带）家居。天宝四载秋，他决意再度远游，南下越中（今浙江），临行作此诗留别东鲁友人。诗中的天姥山在越州剡县（今浙江新昌）东，与天台山相对，相传登此山可闻天鸡。李白少年时即闻越中名山，又在齐鲁之间遥想东南形胜，遂以「梦游」为题，抒写对名山的向往与对权贵的决绝。此诗的写作背景，正是李白一生政治理想幻灭后的转型期：赐金放还既是对他的沉重打击，也使他从「仰天大笑出门去」的仕进狂热中冷却下来，转而走向山水与道教仙游，寻找精神寄托。诗中「安能摧眉折腰事权贵，使我不得开心颜」的呐喊，正是这一转折的心迹自白。版本方面，此诗见于《李太白文集》，文字基本稳定，唯个别异文如「势拔五岳掩赤城」一作「势拔五岳掩赤城」，今通行本一致。此诗的写作，还有一个不可忽略的背景：李白深受道教影响，早年在蜀中即与道士交游，出蜀后又受箓于道士，向往神仙世界。天姥山在道教传说中亦是灵境，故李白能以「梦游」为名，将道教仙境的想象与个人的政治失意熔于一炉。可以说，此诗既是李白被放还后的一纸别书，也是他借游仙以自遣、以山水求慰藉的心路记录，其创作的心理动因远比一般留别诗更为复杂深沉。

Art

The poem is a free-style ancient verse (gushi) with varied line lengths. It uses the Chu ci structure with 'xi' particles for rhythmic effect. The dream sequence is carefully constructed, building up to a climax before a sudden return to reality. The language is bold and exaggerated, typical of Li Bai's style.

此诗以「梦」为线索，结构上可分为入梦、梦游、梦醒、抒情四段，虚实相生，是李白歌行体最完整的标本。开篇「海客谈瀛洲，烟涛微茫信难求；越人语天姥，云霞明灭或可睹」，以瀛洲之虚幻反衬天姥之可寻，一抑一扬，为入梦张本。「我欲因之梦吴越，一夜飞度镜湖月」，一个「飞」字转入梦境，笔势轻灵。梦游一段是全诗最瑰丽的部分：先写登山之景，谢公屐、青云梯、海日、天鸡，层层而进；「半壁见海日，空中闻天鸡」以视听对举写半山奇观；「千岩万转路不定，迷花倚石忽已暝」，由明转暗，引出熊咆龙吟、云青水澹的深山大泽之境；继而「列缺霹雳，丘峦崩摧。洞天石扉，訇然中开」，天崩地裂处忽开神仙洞府，日月照耀金银台，云之君、仙之人纷纷而下，虎鼓瑟、鸾回车，想象之奇瑰丽无匹。梦醒一段「忽魂悸以魄动，恍惊起而长嗟」，戛然而止，从仙界跌回现实，余味苍凉。末段由梦悟理，「古来万事东流水」一声浩叹，落到「安能摧眉折腰事权贵」，情感推向高潮。全诗章法大开大合，梦境愈奇，醒后之失落愈深，反衬之烈，正见李白「不着一字，尽得风流」的本领。此外，此诗的语言极具音乐性：「云青青兮欲雨，水澹澹兮生烟」的叠字与楚辞体，写出云水迷蒙的幽境；「列缺霹雳，丘峦崩摧」的四字短句，如电闪雷鸣、石破天惊；「霓为衣兮风为马」的轻盈，与「虎鼓瑟兮鸾回车」的奇丽，又构成仙界的华彩乐章。长短句的交替、奇偶句的错落，使全诗读来如行云流水而又跌宕起伏，正是李白歌行体语言艺术的极致。

Allusions

Xie Lingyun's clogs: Xie was a poet who loved mountain travel and invented special wooden clogs. Yingzhou is a legendary fairy island. The celestial grotto and gold and silver terraces draw from Daoist mythology.

此诗用典宏富，皆有确凿出处。瀛洲为海上三神山之一，《史记·封禅书》载蓬莱、方丈、瀛洲三神山在渤海中，上有仙人及不死之药，此「信难求」之所本。天姥、天台皆越中名山，孙绰《游天台山赋》「天台山者，盖山岳之神秀者也」，为其声名之源。「谢公宿处」「谢公屐」用谢灵运事，《宋书·谢灵运传》载其「寻山陟岭，必造幽峻」，特制木屐，「上山则去前齿，下山则去其后齿」，是为「谢公屐」；谢灵运《登临海峤初发疆中作》有「暝投剡中宿，明登天姥岑」之句，正是「谢公宿处今尚在」的直接出处。「青云梯」语本谢灵运《登石门最高顶》「惜无同怀客，共登青云梯」。「天鸡」出自任昉《述异记》所载桃都山天鸡「日初出照此木，天鸡则鸣，天下鸡皆随之鸣」。「列缺」为电神，见扬雄《羽猎赋》「霹雳列缺」。「金银台」出郭璞《游仙诗》「神仙排云出，但见金银台」。「霓为衣兮风为马」化用《楚辞·九歌·东君》「青云衣兮白霓裳」。「虎鼓瑟兮鸾回车」化用《楚辞·九歌》众神纷纷来迎的场面。「摧眉折腰」暗用陶渊明「不为五斗米折腰」事。如此密集而妥帖的用典，使全诗既有仙气，又有学养，与楚辞游仙传统一脉相承。还应指出，「熊咆龙吟殷岩泉，栗深林兮惊层巅」两句，化用《楚辞·九歌·山鬼》「雷填填兮雨冥冥，猿啾啾兮狖夜鸣」的深山幽境，以熊龙之咆吟写山林的幽深可怖；「云之君兮纷纷而来下」则遥承《九歌》诸神降临的场面。李白将楚辞的香草美人、众神杂沓之境，熔铸于唐代的山水与梦境之中，既是对屈骚传统的继承，也是对这一传统的浪漫主义拓展。

Commentary

Su Shi compared Li Bai to a scattered immortal. Yan Yu praised his ethereal elegance. This poem exemplifies Li Bai's untamed spirit.

此诗是李白歌行体的代表作，历来评价极高。宋代朱熹虽于《楚辞后语》中未选李白，然宋人论其歌行者多推此篇。严羽《沧浪诗话》论「太白歌行」推为「天才纵逸」之极。明代高棅《唐诗品汇》列李白七古为「正宗」，此诗居其选首；王世贞《艺苑卮言》称李白「以气为主，以自然为宗」，此诗正是气盛言宜之典范。清代沈德潜《唐诗别裁》选此诗，评以「托言梦游，穷形尽相」，指出其以梦写实、以游写志的深意。方东树《昭昧詹言》析其章法，谓「开首以瀛洲兴起天姥，中段写梦游之奇，末段归到别意，千载神品」。近人闻一多《唐诗杂论》论李白，特别标举此诗的「仙气」与「酒气」并存的个性。此诗末句「安能摧眉折腰事权贵，使我不得开心颜」更成为后世士人独立人格的精神旗帜，被反复引用。在当代，此诗长期入选中小学教材，是李白诗歌中传诵度最高的长篇之一。日本、朝鲜半岛汉文学亦对此诗多有选录与仿作，其影响早已超越汉语世界。此诗的价值，还在于它为后世确立了一种「以梦写志」的抒情范式：以梦境的瑰丽反衬现实的失意，以梦醒的怅惘引出人生的哲思，以人格的宣言收束全篇。这种范式对李贺的游仙诗、李商隐的梦幻诗，乃至苏轼「人生如梦」的浩叹，都有深远的影响。而「安能摧眉折腰事权贵」一句所彰显的独立人格，更跨越文学，成为中华士人精神品格的一个标高，激励着历代不愿折腰者。

Prosody

Form ancient verse (gushi) with varied line lengths (four, five, seven, nine characters)七言古诗（歌行体，兼用楚辞体句式）

Rhyme changes with dream phases, free and irregular全篇多次换韵，开篇「洲」「求」尤韵；「姥」「睹」虞韵；「横」「城」「倾」庚韵；「溪」「啼」齐韵；「梯」「鸡」齐韵；「瞑」「巅」先韵；「烟」先韵；「摧」「开」「台」「来」灰韵；「马」「下」马韵；「嗟」「霞」麻韵；「此」「水」纸韵；「还」「间」删韵；「颜」删韵。转韵频繁，平仄韵交替，声情随梦境起伏而变换。

Tone pattern free and changing, reflects emotional shifts此诗以七言为主，杂以四言、五言、九言，并插入「云青青兮欲雨」「霓为衣兮风为马」等楚辞体「兮」字句，句式长短错落。写梦游之奇用平声韵以舒展，写霹雳崩摧、石扉中开则转仄韵以激荡，末段抒情又归平声韵以昂扬，平仄与情感的涨落互为表里。

Reading note Uses 'xi' particles to create a lyrical, Chu-ci-inspired flow.此诗是李白七古歌行体的典范，其声律最显著的特征是「转韵」与「杂言」的高度配合。全篇不循近体格律，依古乐府之法自由转韵，凡十余次，且平仄韵交替：入梦之初用平声尤、虞韵，音调舒缓，宜于铺叙瀛洲、天姥之遥想；梦游高潮写「列缺霹雳，丘峦崩摧」至「訇然中开」，则转仄声韵，声情激切，如闻天崩地裂；写仙人之「纷纷而来下」，又用上声马韵，音色抑扬，如见众仙翩翩而降；末段「古来万事东流水」用上声纸韵，声调沉抑，含无限感慨；至「安能摧眉折腰事权贵」复归平声删韵，音调高昂，与反抗的呐喊相应。尤其值得注意的，是「云青青兮欲雨，水澹澹兮生烟」两句，用楚辞「兮」字句式，在七古的流动中忽然一顿，造成悠远的咏叹，正是李白取法屈骚、熔铸于歌行的明证。这种以声驭情、随情转韵的本领，使全诗读来如行云流水，却又跌宕生姿，堪称歌行声律的至高境界。

Line by line

天姥连天向天横，势拔五岳掩赤城

The Tianmu Mountain joins the sky, stretching across the heavens; its might outdoes the Five Peaks, screens the Chicheng.

天姥山势拔五岳掩赤城。

The Tianmu Mountain stretches to the sky and across the heavens; its might outdoes the Five Peaks and screens the Chicheng.

此联以三个「天」字连出，写天姥山的高峻与横绝之势。「连天」言其高入云表，「向天横」着一「横」字，写出山势的横向铺展、阻断一方，与五岳之纵列形成张力。「势拔五岳」以天下名山为衬托，说天姥之势超拔五岳；「掩赤城」再以赤城山作陪衬，言其高可掩蔽赤城。短短十四字，连用「连」「向」「横」「拔」「掩」五个动词，一气贯注，将天姥山的雄奇推到极致，为下文「梦游」蓄足了声势。这种以他山衬此山的写法，正是李白善于「烘云托月」的手段，也为其梦游的展开奠定了超现实的基调。

This couplet, through three 'heaven' words in a row, writes Tianmu's height and its transverse might. 'Joins the sky' says its height into the cloud table, 'stretching across the heavens' through the one word 'stretches', writing the mountain's horizontal spreading, blocking the whole region, forming the tension with the Five Peaks' vertical range. 'Its might outdoes the Five Peaks' using the world's famous mountains as foil, saying Tianmu's might surpasses the Five Peaks; 'screens the Chicheng' again using the Chicheng Mountain as companion, saying its height can screen the Chicheng. The short fourteen words, using in a row the five verbs 'join', 'stretch', 'outdo', 'screen', the breath in one thread, pushing Tianmu's grand wonder to the extreme, storing the fullest momentum for the later 'dream-travel'. This method of setting other mountains against this mountain, precisely Li Bai's craft of 'drying the clouds to support the moon', and laying the surreal keynote for the dream-travel's unfolding.

我欲因之梦吴越，一夜飞度镜湖月

I would in it dream of Wu and Yue; in one night fly over the moon-drenched Mirror Lake.

我因之梦游吴越，飞度镜湖。

I would in it dream of Wu and Yue; in one night fly across the moonlit Mirror Lake.

此句是全诗由现实入梦的枢纽。「因之」二字承上，点明是越人的描述勾起了梦游之念；「一夜飞度镜湖月」着一「飞」字，写出梦境的轻捷与自由，身未动而神已越千里，从齐鲁一夜之间飞至越中镜湖。镜湖、明月，本是江南的实景，但在梦中则披上了一层虚幻的光晕。「飞度」二字既写空间之跨越，也写心境之超脱——现实中失意的诗人，只有在梦中才能如此无拘无束地翱翔。此句之妙，在于把「入梦」这一抽象过程写得可感可见，为全诗的梦境展开打开了一道奇幻之门。

This line is the whole's pivot from reality into the dream. The words 'in it' carry the above, naming that the men of Yue's description aroused the dream-travel thought; 'in one night fly over the moon-drenched Mirror Lake' through the one word 'fly', writing the dream's lightness and freedom, the body not moved and the spirit already crossed a thousand li, from Qi and Lu in one night flying to the Yue's Mirror Lake. The Mirror Lake, the bright moon, originally the Jiangnan real scene, and in the dream put on a layer of unreal halo. 'Fly over' both writing the space's crossing, and the mood's transcendence — the disappointed poet in reality, only in the dream can so untrammeled soar. The beauty of the line lies in writing the abstract process of 'entering the dream' as sensible and visible, opening a wonder-gate for the whole's dream unfolding.

世间行乐亦如此，古来万事东流水

The world's pleasures are also thus; all things of olden times flow east like water.

世间行乐亦如此，古来万事东流水。

The world's pleasures are also thus; all things of olden times flow east like water.

梦醒之后，诗人由「失向来之烟霞」的怅惘，悟出「世间行乐亦如此」的道理——人间的欢乐正如这梦中的仙境，转瞬即逝，醒来便了无痕迹。「古来万事东流水」以水喻时，化用《论语》「逝者如斯夫」与古乐府「百川东到海，何时复西归」之意，将个人的失意升华为对历史与人生的通观。这两句看似豁达，实含深痛：既然功名富贵、行乐欢娱终如流水，那么为它们而摧眉折腰便毫无意义。正因有此一悟，末句的决绝才有千钧之力。全诗由此从梦境的瑰丽转入哲理的沉潜，情感与思想同时加深。

After waking from the dream, the poet from the wistfulness of 'gone, the clouds and mist of the dream', realizes the truth of 'the world's pleasures are also thus' — the human joy is precisely like the immortal realm in this dream, instant and gone, waking and no trace. 'All things of olden times flow east like water' uses water to figure time, adapting the Analects' 'the passing is like this, day and night flowing on' and the old yuefu's 'the hundred rivers east to the sea, when shall they flow west again', elevating the personal disappointment to the broad view of history and life. These two lines seem open-minded, and in fact hold deep pain: since fame and wealth, pleasure and joy end like flowing water, then bending the brows for them is meaningless. Precisely because of this realization, the closing line's resolve has the thousandweight force. The whole here turns from the dream's splendor to the philosophy's depth, emotion and thought at once deepened.

安能摧眉折腰事权贵，使我不得开心颜

How could I bend the brows and bow the back to serve the powerful, making my heart unable to smile?

安能摧眉折腰事权贵，使我不得开心颜！

How could I bend the brows and bow the back to serve the powerful, making my heart unable to smile?

这是全诗的最强音，也是李白人格的宣言。「摧眉折腰」暗用陶渊明「不为五斗米折腰」事，却比陶潜更具反抗的锋芒；「事权贵」三字直指长安时期的遭际，是李白对赐金放还的正面回应。「安能……使我不得……」的反诘句式，如火山喷发，将前文蓄积的所有愤懑一次倾泻。「开心颜」三字是全诗情感的核心——李白所求，不是功名，而是人格的自由与精神的舒展。此句一出，前面的梦境仙游都成了铺垫：既然仙境也是虚妄，唯有守住本心、笑傲权贵，才是真正的归宿。千百年来，此句激励了无数不愿俯首的士人。

This is the whole's strongest note, and the declaration of Li Bai's character. 'Bend the brows and bow the back' secretly uses Tao Yuanming's 'not bowing the back for five pecks of rice' affair, and yet more than Tao Qian's edge of resistance; 'serve the powerful' three words pointing straight at the Chang'an period's experience, Li Bai's direct response to the dismissal with gold. The counter-question form of 'how could I... making me unable to...', like the volcanic eruption, pouring out at once all the above's accumulated grievance. 'Making my heart unable to smile' three words the whole's emotional core — what Li Bai seeks is not fame, but the personality's freedom and the spirit's stretch. Once this line appears, the above's dream immortal travel all become the groundwork: since the immortal realm is also unreal, only holding the true heart, scorning the powerful, is the true home. For a thousand years, this line has inspired countless scholars who refuse to bow.

Study

Word focus

横 to stretch across; conveys the mountain's imposing, overarching power 「横」字用在「天姥连天向天横」中，写山的姿态，极为传神。山本以高为尚，此字却写其「横」——横向绵延、横亘一方，有阻断天地、傲视群峰的气势。它与「连天」的纵向伸展、与「向天」的斜向倾斜组合，写出天姥山既有高度又有广度、更有咄咄逼人之态的立体形象。在李白笔下，「横」字常含雄霸之气，如「黄云万里动风色，白波九道流雪山」的「动」，此处的「横」亦属同一笔法，一字而令全山气象顿出。若易为「高」「耸」等字，则只见其形，不见其势，「横」字之不可移易正在于此。

暝 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「暝」字出现在「迷花倚石忽已暝」，写天色骤然昏暗。此字看似平常，实为全诗由明转暗、由人间入仙境的关捩。前文写「半壁见海日，空中闻天鸡」，一派光明；至「迷花倚石」，诗人流连忘返，不觉「忽已暝」，一个「忽」字与「暝」字配合，写出梦中的时间错乱——山中一日，仿佛倏忽之间便由昼入夜。正是这一「暝」，引出了下文熊咆龙吟、云青水澹、雷电崩摧的奇幻夜景，为洞天石扉的「訇然中开」铺设了幽深神秘的氛围。「暝」字的冷色调，也与后文金银台的炫目形成强烈对比，使仙境的开显更见辉煌。

摧眉折腰 to lower eyebrows and bend waist; i.e., to bow and scrape, describing servility 「摧眉折腰」四字，是李白自铸的成语，至今活在汉语中。它由「摧眉」（眉头低垂）与「折腰」（腰身弯曲）两个动作组合而成，以最具象的身体姿态写最屈辱的精神屈服。唐人「折腰」多用陶渊明「不为五斗米折腰」之典，李白再加「摧眉」二字，把那种强作欢颜、俯首帖耳的卑屈之态刻画得入木三分。与之相对的「开心颜」三字，则以舒展的眉目写精神的自由。一屈一舒，两个身体意象的对立，恰是李白人格理想与污浊现实的对立。这四个字的强大表现力，使它超越了单纯的用典，成为汉语中独立人格的象征。