唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
遣怀
Reminiscence
落魄江湖载酒行，楚腰纤细掌中轻。
十年一觉扬州梦，赢得青楼薄倖名。
And held Chu waists, light in palm, divine.
Ten years in Yangzhou—a dream I find;
I only won a callous lover's name.
Meaning
Du Mu recalls his decadent years in Yangzhou, feeling that they passed like a dream, leaving him only a reputation for fickleness among courtesans.
失意落魄地浪迹江湖，载酒而行；那楚地细腰、掌上轻盈的歌妓，伴我消磨时光。十年光阴恍如一梦醒来，只落得个青楼薄情郎的名声。全诗以自嘲反语写尽才人落拓之悲，表面疏狂豪放，骨子里却是壮志未酬、岁月蹉跎的沉郁感慨。
Appreciation
A self-mocking reflection on youthful dissipation. The first two lines describe a roving life with wine and beautiful women, but the last two lines turn sharply to regret, using the metaphor of a dream to convey emptiness. The language seems carefree but is tinged with deep melancholy.
【白话串讲】 “十年一觉扬州梦，赢得青楼薄倖名”——杜牧在扬州放浪了十年，回头看像一场梦。这个风流才子的自嘲，成了扬州最著名的文学名片。 【意象与手法】 全诗仅二十八字而俯仰今昔：前二句追写落魄江湖、纵酒狎游之状，以「楚腰」「掌中轻」用典状歌妓之美；第三句「十年一觉扬州梦」以「梦」字绾合今昔，陡转时空；末句「赢得青楼薄倖名」以反语收束，似旷达而实沉郁。 【情感与主旨】 此诗约作于杜牧晚年，追忆早年入幕扬州时落魄江湖、纵酒狎游的生涯。会昌年间诗人回顾半生，以自嘲笔调写当年风流，实则寄寓壮志未酬、岁月蹉跎的深沉感慨，是杜牧七绝中典型的自况感怀之作。 【名句点睛】 常考「十年一觉扬州梦，赢得青楼薄倖名」的反语与自嘲，及「梦」字绾合今昔的作用；表面旷达豪放、实则沉郁悲凉，是小杜七绝「含蓄顿挫」的典范。
Background
Written in Du Mu's later years, this poem recalls his early days as a secretary in Yangzhou, where he lived a dissolute life. It is a self-mocking recollection that hides his unfulfilled ambitions and the passing of time.
此诗约作于杜牧晚年，为其追忆早年扬州幕府生涯的自况之作。杜牧出身京兆杜氏，少负才名，尤喜谈兵论政，自谓「平生五色线，愿补舜衣裳」，怀抱经世之志。大和七年至九年（833—835），他应淮南节度使牛僧孺之辟，入幕扬州任掌书记。扬州为当时东南第一大都会，商贾云集、歌楼林立，杜牧身处其间，常于公暇纵酒狎游、流连坊曲。据《唐才子传》载，牛僧孺曾派兵卒暗随保护，可见其冶游之甚。然而杜牧的「落魄江湖」并非单纯的放浪，而是仕途失意后的自放：他自视甚高，却久居幕府闲职，大志无从施展，遂以醇酒妇人消磨岁月。晚年追忆这段生涯，年华已老而功业未成，乃以自嘲之笔写成此诗。诗题「遣怀」即排遣怀抱之意，二十八字中浓缩了半生的荣枯得失，将少年风流与暮年悲慨熔铸为一，是晚唐士人「才人落拓」心态的典型写照。又按，杜牧在扬州时不过三十上下，正是意气风发之年，然其时牛李党争渐起，士人进身之路日窄，其自放于醇酒妇人，亦有时势使然。诗中不说原因，只写结果，更见沉痛。据《樊川文集》等文献，杜牧晚年在洛阳、湖州间辗转，追忆扬州旧事，感慨系之，遂成此二十八字小诗，而其容量之大，直可作一部自传的提纲来读。
Art
In just twenty-eight characters, the poem juxtaposes past and present. The phrase 'ten years a dream' shifts the tone, and 'won only' is ironic. The allusions to Chu waists and palm dancers are natural. The style appears uninhibited but is actually sorrowful, typical of Du Mu's seven-character quatrains.
全诗仅二十八字而俯仰今昔，章法上以前后对比、以梦绾合见长。前二句「落魄江湖载酒行，楚腰纤细掌中轻」是追忆当年：首句以「落魄」定调，写失意之态，「载酒行」三字勾出江湖浪迹、纵酒自放的生涯；次句「楚腰纤细掌中轻」连用两典状歌妓之纤美，辞面旖旎，正写当年沉醉温柔之乡的快意。第三句「十年一觉扬州梦」是全诗转捩之枢：一「梦」字将十年光阴一笔绾过，昨日的风流繁华顿成梦境，时空在「觉」字上陡然断裂，由实入虚，由喜转悲。末句「赢得青楼薄倖名」以「赢得」二字反语收束——本应赢得功名，却只赢得薄情之名，一「赢」一「薄」，自嘲入骨。四句由豪到悲、由实到虚、由今忆昔，层层转折，语言却极平易流走，不著一个愁字而愁深似海，最见小杜七绝「含蓄顿挫、以少总多」的笔力。此外，此诗善于以虚词转折：第三句「一觉」之「觉」，第四句「赢得」之「赢」，皆于平淡处用力，使句意于转折中见峭拔。四句之间无一句正面写愁，而愁自弥漫全篇，正是古人所谓「不著一字，尽得风流」。就风格言，此诗豪宕中含沉郁，风流中见悲凉，与杜牧咏史绝句的议论明快不同，纯以情韵取胜，是小杜七绝中「以情韵胜」的代表作。
Allusions
'Chu waist' refers to King Ling of Chu's preference for slender waists. 'Light in the palm' alludes to Zhao Feiyan, who danced on a palm. 'Yangzhou dream' became a term for a life of pleasure. 'Fickle lover' is ironic self-criticism.
此诗用典而浑化无迹。「楚腰」出《韩非子·二柄》：「楚灵王好细腰，而国中多饿人。」本以讽喻君上好恶影响风俗，后转指女子细腰之美。「掌中轻」出《飞燕外传》及《赵飞燕别传》所载赵飞燕体轻，能为掌上舞的故事，汉成帝之后赵飞燕身轻如燕，传说可于掌中起舞。二典连用，皆以史上著名美人状扬州歌妓之纤丽轻盈，辞采绮艳而含游戏之意。「扬州梦」则为诗人自铸之词，杜牧在扬州的冶游生活此后凝定为「扬州梦」这一文化典故，泛指繁华易逝的风月生涯，后世「十年一觉扬州梦」更成为文人追悔少年风流的习用语。「薄倖」即薄情，唐宋诗词中常作女子嗔怪情郎之语，此处诗人自谓，是反语自嘲，暗寓身世之悲：不是对歌妓薄情，而是对自己的人生轻掷了十年光阴。典故皆随手拈来，为抒怀服务，不显堆砌。另须注意，「扬州梦」意象的定型亦与此诗的传播密切相关：宋人笔下屡见「十年一梦扬州」的怅惘，即源于此诗，可见其对话汇的浸润之深。诗人以酒、以美人为表象，实则胸中自有经纬，其用典之妙，在于古事、今情与身世三者浑然一体，不见凑泊痕迹。
Commentary
Ouyang Xiu recorded this poem as widely known. Modern critics say 'ten years a dream' perfectly captures the sadness of a talented man's wasted years. It shares the depth of sorrow with Li Shangyin's 'unfulfilled bosom'.
此诗为杜牧七绝自况名篇，历代评价甚高。晚唐以来，「十年一觉扬州梦，赢得青楼薄倖名」即传诵人口，被视为杜牧风流才子形象的自我写照。宋人编《唐才子传》即采此诗意描摹杜牧生平，可见其影响。近人论杜牧，常将其「以诗会友、纵情声色」与「刚直有奇节、好论兵事」并举，以为其风流是表层，忧国忧民才是底色；此诗正是以风流语写沉痛心的标本。与李商隐「一生襟抱未曾开」相比，杜牧此诗以疏狂语出之，内怀抑塞，同一才人失路之悲而面目迥异。清人《唐诗三百首》选入此诗，注家多拈「赢得」二字之妙，谓「赢」字用得极险，看似得意，实为自嘲，把十年光阴与薄倖名声的重量都压在这两个字上。凡此皆见此诗以小见大、以浅语写深情的长处，是晚唐绝句「深情与风流并存」的典范。近人俞陛云《诗境浅说续编》评此诗：「短短二十八字，写尽中年心境。」以为前二句极写少年豪情，后二句陡转深沉，正是「少年不识愁滋味」与「而今识尽愁滋味」的浓缩。今人选本几乎无不收此诗，「十年一觉扬州梦」更成为习用成语，足见其流传之广。杜牧以一己之身世写出士人普遍的落拓之感，故能超越一时一地，获得持久的共鸣。
Prosody
Line by line
落魄江湖载酒行
Drifting among rivers and lakes, I traveled with wine.
失意落魄地浪迹江湖，载酒而行
Down and out on the rivers and lakes, I traveled with wine.
首句自写沦落之态，是全诗感怀基调的起点。「落魄」二字直点失意，非泛言流落，而是仕途蹭蹬、志不得伸的自我写照；「江湖」兼指行踪之广与身世之浮，浪迹天涯、无所归依；「载酒行」三字最见风流自放之态——失意而不戚戚，携酒江湖，以放浪对抗命运。七字之中，落魄的沉痛与载酒的豪宕并存，为全诗定下「悲中带豪」的基调。此句与末句遥相呼应：起于「落魄」，结于「薄倖」，中间十年尽付一梦，首尾之间自有命运的回环，可见杜牧谋篇的匠心。
The first line writes the poet's own fallen state, the start of the poem's nostalgic tone. 'Down and out' names the disappointment direct — not a general drifting, but the self-portrait of one whose official road has stumbled, whose will has not risen; 'rivers and lakes' both the width of his wanderings and the floating of his lot, drifting the world, nowhere to rest; 'traveled with wine' best shows the style of the reckless ease — disappointed yet not sorrowful, wine on the rivers and lakes, setting drift against fate. In seven words, the bitterness of the fallen and the boldness of the wine travel coexist, tuning the poem's keynote of 'grief within boldness'. This line echoes the closing: beginning in 'down and out', ending in 'fickle', the ten years between all given to a dream, and between head and tail a fateful loop, showing Du Mu's craftsmanship in design.
楚腰纤细掌中轻
With slender Chu waists, light enough to dance on a palm.
那楚地细腰、掌上轻盈的歌妓伴我消磨时光
The slender waists of Chu, the light dancers on the palm.
次句连用「楚腰」「掌中轻」两典，状当年冶游之乐。楚灵王好细腰而宫中多饿人，赵飞燕体轻能为掌上舞，两个典故都以极致的纤美写歌妓之姿，辞面绮艳，音节流丽，是「江湖载酒」的具体化——诗人沉溺于温柔之乡，日与细腰歌妓为伴。然而典丽之语下已伏悲音：楚腰掌轻都是「转瞬即逝」的美人意象，暗含好景不长的预感。此句为第三句「十年一觉」蓄势，风流越盛，梦醒越痛；繁华写得越足，虚空衬得越深。就手法言，此句是典型的「以乐写哀」，用尽情的享乐反衬尽头的虚空，为小杜七绝含蓄顿挫之笔。
The next line uses the two allusions of 'waists of Chu' and 'light on the palm' to write the old pleasure-seeking. When the King Ling of Chu loved slender waists, many in the palace starved themselves; Zhao Feiyan, light of body, could dance on a palm. Both allusions take the extreme of slender beauty to describe the singing girls, the diction gorgeous, the rhythm flowing, the concretizing of 'wine on the rivers and lakes' — the poet sunk in the land of tenderness, day by day with the slender-waisted dancers. Yet beneath the ornate words the grief already lies: the waists of Chu and the lightness on the palm are both images of beauty 'gone in a moment', secretly holding the foreboding that the good days will not last. This line stores momentum for the third line 'ten years, woke from the dream': the richer the romance, the bitterer the waking; the fuller the splendor, the deeper the emptiness. As method, this line is the typical 'writing grief through joy', using the full indulgence to set off the void at the end, Du Mu's restrained, turned quatrain.
十年一觉扬州梦
Ten years in Yangzhou—a dream from which I awake.
十年光阴恍如一梦醒来
Ten years, and I woke from the Yangzhou dream.
此句是全诗的诗眼与转捩，历来被誉为千古名句。「十年」言时间之长，扬州十年，正是诗人从青年到中年的黄金岁月；「一觉」言醒转之快，长夜一梦，醒来十年已过；「梦」字绾合今昔，把十年的繁华冶游一笔收束为虚幻的梦境，时间在「觉」的瞬间坍塌，昨日风流顿成虚空。「十年」与「一觉」的对举形成强烈的时间张力，人世的漫长与梦醒的迅疾之间，是诗人对岁月虚掷的痛切体认。此句由前二句的写实转入写虚，由追忆的沉醉转入梦醒的清醒，章法上陡然转折，为末句的自嘲蓄足势能，是杜牧「以梦写实、以虚驭实」的绝妙一笔。
This line is the eye and turning point of the poem, praised through the ages as a famous line. 'Ten years' the length of time — ten years in Yangzhou, precisely the poet's golden years from youth to middle age; 'woke' the speed of the waking — a long night's dream, and ten years gone at waking; the word 'dream' ties the then and now, gathering ten years of gorgeous pleasure-seeking into an illusory dream, time collapsing in the instant of 'waking', yesterday's romance suddenly void. The contrast of 'ten years' and 'woke' forms a strong time tension, and between the length of a human life and the speed of waking lies the poet's acute knowledge of years squandered. This line turns from the real writing of the two lines above to the unreal, from the intoxication of memory to the clarity of waking, the craft turning abruptly, storing the fullest momentum for the closing self-mockery, Du Mu's exquisite stroke of 'writing the real through the dream, the actual through the void'.
赢得青楼薄倖名
All I gained was a fickle lover's name in the green mansions.
只落得个青楼薄情郎的名声
To have won only the name of a fickle lover in the pleasure quarters.
结句以反语收束，是全诗情感的落点。「赢得」本是胜利者的口吻，此处却赢得一个「薄倖名」——本应以功业、才名著称于世，结果十年轻掷，只落得青楼中的薄情之名，一「赢」一「薄」之间，自嘲入骨。「薄倖」一词语义双关：字面上是青楼女子嗔怪情郎薄情，诗人自我揶揄，似在忏悔当年风流；骨子里却是自伤身世——不是对谁薄情，而是对自己的人生太过轻率，十年壮志尽付风月。全句以旷达语出之，似乎一笑置之，实则沉痛之至，正是「以豪语写悲情」的典型。与前二句的风流、第三句的梦醒合观，诗人一生荣枯尽在此七字之中，言有尽而意无穷。
The closing line ends in irony, the landing of the poem's feeling. 'Won' is a victor's word, yet here he wins only a 'fickle-lover's name' — he should have made his name through achievement and talent, yet ten years were carelessly thrown, and all he won was the name of a fickle lover in the pleasure quarters; between 'won' and 'fickle', the self-mockery enters the bone. 'Fickle' carries a double meaning: on the surface, the pleasure-quarter women's chiding of a faithless lover, the poet's self-teasing as if repenting of the old romance; at heart, the grief for his own lot — he was not faithless to any woman, but too reckless with his own life, ten years of high ambition all given to the winds and flowers. The whole line is spoken in a resigned tone, as if shrugging it off, yet it is bitter to the core, the typical 'writing grief through bold words'. Read together with the romance of the two lines above and the waking of the third, the poet's whole rise and fall lies in these seven words, meaning beyond words.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both are Du Mu's quatrains; one self-mocks his own dissipation, the other criticizes the times through singing girls, both subtle and melancholy.
《泊秦淮》「烟笼寒水月笼沙，夜泊秦淮近酒家。商女不知亡国恨，隔江犹唱后庭花」与此诗同出小杜之手，一写青楼自嘲、一写商女讽时，表面题材不同，骨子里都是对晚唐世运与个人命运的深沉忧患。《泊秦淮》借商女所唱《后庭花》暗讽当权者沉溺声色、不知国危，是借古讽今；此诗以十年一梦自嘲薄倖，是自伤身世。一讽时、一自叹，皆含蓄蕴藉，不著议论而忧愤自见，最能代表杜牧七绝「深情与忧患并存」的特色。二诗并读，可见小杜风流外表下的忧国之心。
清明 Qingming Festival 杜牧 · 同属杜牧七绝代表作，可见其风格的多样 same author (Du Mu) / famous quatrainBoth are famous seven-character quatrains by Du Mu, showing his range from pure lyricism to self-mocking reflection.
《清明》「清明时节雨纷纷，路上行人欲断魂。借问酒家何处有，牧童遥指杏花村」与此诗同属杜牧七绝名篇，却呈现截然不同的面目：《清明》写春日羁旅之愁，语言清丽明快，画面生动，愁而不悲，哀而不伤，是「清丽」一路；此诗写十年风月的梦醒之叹，语言平易而情致沉郁，是「顿挫」一路。二诗并读，正可见杜牧七绝的两种极致——清丽与顿挫、明快与沉郁，同时存在于一位诗人笔下，亦可见小杜对七绝一体驾驭之娴熟，风格跨度之大在晚唐诗人中罕有其匹。