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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

秋下荆门

Descending Jingmen in Autumn

李白

Li Bai

秋意autumn mood 旅途journey

霜落荆门江树空，布帆无恙挂秋风。
此行不为鲈鱼鲙，自爱名山入剡中。

Frost falls on Jingmen, the riverside trees stand bare,
The cloth sail, safe and sound, is set in the autumn wind.
This journey is not for perch and minced fish,
But for my love of famous mountains, to enter Shan.

Listen

Meaning

Sailing down through Jingmen in autumn, Li Bai declares he travels not for homesick cravings but out of love for the famous mountains of Shan, framing the trip as a free embrace of the wider world.

秋霜飘落，荆门江边的树叶凋零殆尽；挂上布帆，秋风中顺江而下。这一趟出行不是为了家乡的鲈鱼美味，只是因为喜爱名山才去往剡中游玩。

Appreciation

The opening line paints the deep-autumn desolation of Jingmen — frost, bare trees — in a single brushstroke, yet the next line breaks the chill with the jaunty image of a sail set in autumn wind. The last two lines overturn the familiar allusion of Zhang Han's homesick craving for perch: Li Bai goes the opposite way, not retreating for homeland but advancing for mountains. The structure moves from a negative ('not for perch') to a positive ('love of mountains'), turning expectation on its head. It reads as a declaration of departure from home and embrace of the world.

【白话串讲】 “霜落荆门江树空，布帆无恙挂秋风”——李白秋天离开荆门：江树凋空，布帆挂秋风。“此行不为鲈鱼鲙，自爱名山入剡中”——他不是为了吃鲈鱼，是要去名山。【意象与手法】首句写静（江树空），次句写动（挂秋风），动静相生。布帆无恙暗用《晋书·顾恺之传》顾恺之行人安稳、布帆无恙之句，虽是挂帆出行的寻常语，却带有一种行程平安、心境坦然的意味。全诗以否定句（不为鲈鱼鲙）引出肯定句（自爱名山），使读者先理解为归隐、随即被翻转为出游——这种否定转肯定的句式是李白惯用的转折法。【情感与主旨】此诗作于李白初出夔门、沿长江东下漫游期间。荆门是出蜀后所见的第一道雄关，过了荆门便是广阔的中原世界。诗中洋溢的是青年李白对广阔世界的无限憧憬：不为鲈鱼鲙——他不留恋故土，也不因秋寒而畏缩；自爱名山入剡中——他要看遍天下名山。整首诗是一张告别家乡、拥抱世界的宣言。【名句点睛】 “此行不为鲈鱼鲙，自爱名山入剡中”——翻用张翰典故，以否定之否定写肯定之意，读来洒脱自信。张翰因鲈鱼而归，李白因名山而出，一字之差，两个截然不同的人生选择。

Background

Jingmen is Jingmen Mountain, on the south bank of the Yangtze in present-day Yidu, Hubei, the first natural gateway of the middle Yangtze after leaving Shu. Passing Jingmen, Li Bai felt the world open up. Shan (present-day Shengzhou and Xinchang, Zhejiang) had been a haven for famous recluses and landscape lovers since the Eastern Jin — Xie Lingyun, Wang Xizhi and others lingered there, and Li Bai had long admired it.

此诗作于开元十三年（七二五）前后，李白二十五岁，初出蜀东下漫游之际。荆门即荆门山，在今湖北宜都西北长江南岸，与虎牙山夹江对峙，是出蜀后长江中游的第一道天然门户；蜀中江峡逼窄，过荆门后江面豁然开朗，故李白另有「山随平野尽，江入大荒流」之句，可与此诗互证初出夔门时的新奇与兴奋。剡中（今浙江嵊州、新昌一带的剡溪流域）自东晋以来便是名士隐居、山水游赏的胜地——王羲之、谢灵运皆曾流连，晋唐间支遁、许询诸胜流咸集于此，天姥、沃洲诸名山即在境内，李白心仪已久。此行沿江东下，将往吴越，故云「自爱名山入剡中」。李白出蜀，在开元十二年秋冬之际，自家乘舟，经巴东、过荆门而东下，一路有峨眉山月歌、渡荆门送别诸作，此诗亦其一。此行先抵金陵、广陵，继而有入剡之志，集中他诗可证；仗剑去国，辞亲远游，此诗正是其远游生活的第一批宣言。后世编年系此诗于开元十三年，与东游行程相合，本事历然可按。又荆门以下，历沔水而入大江，两岸山势既尽，平原忽开，舟行至此，眼界骤宽；诗中境象之舒展，实即地理之舒展，太白以二十八字摄千里江山于笔端，正所谓得江山之助，非徒藻绘之工。

Art

Though only four lines and twenty-eight characters, the poem holds four techniques — scenery, narration, allusion, and overturning — a fine piece of seven-character quatrain. The structure of leading with a negative then affirming, later summed up as the 'Li Bai turn,' refreshes the old allusion without a seam: Zhang Han's longing for perch is a thousand-year cliché, which Li Bai lightly flips into his own realm.

此诗仅四句二十八字，却包含写景、叙事、用典、翻案四重技巧，是七绝中的上品。首句写静景，「江树空」三字一笔勾勒出深秋荆门的萧瑟与寥廓；次句转写动景，「布帆无恙挂秋风」以舟行之潇洒打破秋意，寒秋非但不影响行程，反成乘风快意之资，一静一动，一沉一扬。后二句用否定—肯定的双重句式：先以「不为鲈鱼鲙」翻用张翰思鲈归乡的熟典，再以「自爱名山入剡中」点明去向，读者先以为写归隐，随即被翻转为出游——这种否定转肯定的转折法，后人归纳为李白式的机杼。用典翻新而不露痕迹，张翰因鲈鱼而归，李白因名山而出，一字之差，两个截然相反的人生选择，全在语流的自然推进中完成。七绝之体，最重第三句之转。此诗转处用典，而以不为二字虚转——不着实迹，全凭语气一提，末句自爱二字遂如水到渠成。又首二句一空一帆、一静一动，物象之选择已含行旅的轻快；四句二十八字，无一字言志而壮游之志自见，是为不写之写。又末句自爱二字下得极有分寸：非必不慕功名，乃此刻之乐足以自立——少年人语，不作愤激之态，亦不作道学之语，天真烂漫，惟盛唐之太白能之，后来仿者终隔一尘。

Allusions

'Cloth sail, safe and sound' comes from the 'Book of Jin, Biography of Gu Kaizhi'; 'perch and minced fish' from 'Shishuo Xinyu, Discernment': in the Western Jin, Zhang Han, seeing the autumn wind in Luoyang, missed the water-shield soup and perch of his Wu homeland, sighed that life's highest good is to follow one's will, and resigned to go home.

此诗两处用典，皆化于无迹。①「布帆无恙」典出《晋书·顾恺之传》：顾恺之为殷仲堪参军，请假东还，殷借布帆与之，途中遇大风，恺之致书殷仲堪曰「行人安稳，布帆无恙」。后为旅途平安之熟语，李白用于出发之时，兼有预祝一路顺风之意，且布帆秋风正切江行实景。②「鲈鱼鲙」典出《世说新语·识鉴》：西晋张翰（字季鹰）在洛阳为齐王东曹掾，见秋风起，乃思吴中菰菜、莼羹、鲈鱼脍，曰「人生贵得适意尔，何能羁宦数千里以要名爵」，遂命驾而归。此典本是思乡归隐之典，李白反用其意——同是秋风尚起之时，张翰因此思归，李白偏因此远游，翻案之妙正在一「不为」。二典之外，亦可以地理证诗：荆门以下，江面始阔，布帆直挂，正是出峡气象；剡中远在浙东，行程数千里，而诗中无一字及于劳途——遥程之轻描，正见少年之豪。又顾恺之布帆无恙语，本于风涛险后报平安，李白用于挂帆之时，险字隐去，唯余顺风之快意，此亦用典之截取法。又张翰一事，在唐诗中几成秋风思乡之代名，太白他篇亦屡屡用之；此独翻案而出新，遂使熟典生辉，可知用典之妙不在避熟，而在熟中自见己意。

Commentary

The 'True and Fine Tang Poems' praised it as 'spirit and charm transcendent, residing in nature, not in carving.' The 'Tang Poetry Selection, Veins and Comprehension' called it 'taking non-return as return, an original contrivance.'

《唐宋诗醇》录此诗，称其神韵超越，是在天然，不在雕刻。《唐诗选脉会通》称其以不归为归，别出机杼——虽「不归」二字下得稍刻，然正见翻案之趣为前人共赏。今人论李白七绝，多举此诗与《望天门山》《早发白帝城》同列，谓其最能见出青年李白初出蜀时对广阔世界的憧憬：不留恋故土，不因秋寒而畏缩，一张布帆、一腔豪兴，便要去看遍天下名山。整首诗是一纸告别家乡、拥抱世界的宣言，其明快的声调与自信的口吻，正是盛唐气象在个体生命上的最初显影。此诗之妙，古人已多拈出，谓其以不归翻归案，于张翰事别出手眼。今人论李白七绝，谓其转折皆在语气而不在字面，此诗最为显例——不为自爱，一提一顿，全是口语之节奏，而少年襟抱尽出。以二十八字为一人之精神存照、为一代之气象开篇，此诗在李白集中虽为小制，分量固自不轻。又此诗与峨眉山月歌连读尤有意趣：一写初出峡时惊江天之阔，一忆蜀中夜月不落秋水，去国与怀乡，遂成太白远游诗之一体两面，而皆成于此行舟中，少年才情，顺流而下，万斛泉涌，不择地皆可出。总之，以此诗置于李白全集之首程观之，其见少年气象之纯、见出蜀行程之实、见七绝手法之活，一篇而三善备焉，允为名篇。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain七言绝句（平起首句入韵）。

Rhyme Rhymes on kong, feng, zhong (level tone, rhyme group 1 Dong), level rhymes matching the light, free tone.押空、风、中三字（平水韵上平一东），首句入韵。东韵开口洪亮，音色开朗悠扬，平声韵脚与全诗轻快洒脱的基调吻合；三个韵脚连缀成「空—风—中」的声象，恰是一幅江空、风顺、舟行入浙的行旅图。

Tone pattern First line sets a low scene (bare trees), second turns bright and brisk (set in autumn wind), an emotional leap between them; lines three and four complete in one breath with a negative-then-affirmative double turn.首句写景低迷（江树空），次句转折明快（挂秋风），两句之间形成情绪跳跃。三四句以否定—肯定双重转折，一气呵成，「不为」一顿，「自爱」一扬，「入剡中」三字平声收束，余音轻远，如帆影渐没于江天之际。

Reading note The seven-character quatrain values opening, continuing, turning, and concluding: first line opens (scene), second continues (narration), third turns (allusion flipped), last concludes (states destination) — four layers clear yet flowing freely.七绝贵在起承转合：首句起（写景），次句承（叙事），第三句转（用典翻案），末句合（点明去向），四层分明而流转自如。此诗尤可为法者有二：其一为动静与扬抑的配伍，首联内即完成一次由沉而扬的转折，全诗遂不着一点滞色；其二为用典的翻案法——熟典人人能道，一翻而境界全新，且翻得毫不吃力，仿佛顺口而出，此非才气纵横者不能。诵此诗宜取轻快流走的节奏，于「自爱」二字稍作强调，便得少年李白顾盼自雄之神。又此诗句句自洽如口语，而平仄无一字失律：空字之扬、风字之送、中字之收，声调即行程——起于寥廓，乘于长风，止于名山，声与事合，诵之如亲历其行，此声情相副之妙。

Line by line

霜落荆门江树空，布帆无恙挂秋风。

Autumn frost has stripped the trees by the Jingmen river; he sets the sail and sets off safely in the autumn wind.

秋霜使荆门江边的树都落了叶，在秋风中挂起船帆安然出发。

Frost has fallen, and the riverside trees at Jingmen are bare; the cloth sails, unscathed, are hoisted in the autumn wind.

首句写静，次句写动。「江树空」消去满树秋叶，剩余的是江天寥廓——这不是凄凉之空，是出峡后视野豁然的空。「布帆无恙」本为报平安之语，用在出发之时，暗示此去一路顺风；一个「挂」字尤见从容，风不是阻力，是动力，寒秋与行舟在诗人笔下毫无敌意。霜落与树空，一是天时一是景物，因果相承：惟霜落故叶尽，惟叶尽故空——空非萧索，是为大江让出天地，为远行者让出前程。

The first line writes stillness, the next motion. 'The riverside trees are bare' removes the autumn leaves, and what remains is the vastness of the river and sky — not the desolate emptiness, but the sudden openness after leaving the gorge. 'The cloth sails, unscathed' was originally the phrase for reporting safety, used at the moment of departure, hinting a smooth journey ahead; the one word 'hoisted' shows the ease — the wind is no obstacle, but the driving force, and the cold autumn and the sailing boat, in the poet's brush, hold no hostility. Frost fallen and trees bare, one the season one the scene, cause and effect: only when the frost falls are the leaves gone, only when the leaves are gone is the bareness; the bareness is not bleakness, but giving the great river its space, and the traveler his road.

此行不为鲈鱼鲙，自爱名山入剡中。

This journey of mine is not to go home for perch and minced fish, but because I love famous mountains and enter Shan.

我这次出行不是为了鲈鱼美味而归乡，而是因为喜爱名山才去剡中。

This journey is not for the perch of Wuzhong; of my own will I enter the famous hills of Shan.

翻张翰典故：你们为鲈鱼而归，我为名山而出，洒脱之中自有一股桀骜之气。「不为……自爱……」的句式先抑后扬，读者以为要说归隐，却被引向更远的远游；「自爱」二字尤见主体之强——不为世味、不为乡愁，只为自家心中所爱，这正是青年李白的精神肖像。不为鲈鱼鲙四字，把张翰一段故事轻轻推开；推开之易，正见其志之决——少年心事，不屑于乡味，一语尽之，而语气犹带笑意。又下江陵而急转，四句之间舟行已千里，章法即行程，绝句之体于此见其灵动。

Turning the allusion of Zhang Han over: you return for the perch, I set out for the famous hills, and within the ease there is a strain of unruly pride. The sentence-form 'not for... of my own will...' first holds then raises: the reader expects retirement, and is led instead to the farther travel; the words 'of my own will' best show the strength of the subject — not for the world's flavors, not for homesickness, only for what his own heart loves, this is the spiritual portrait of the young Li Bai. The four words 'not for the perch of Wuzhong' push aside Zhang Han's story lightly; the lightness of the pushing aside shows the resolve of his will — the young heart disdains the home flavor, said in a phrase, the tone still with a smile. Then turning abruptly at the gorge going down the river, and between four lines the boat has traveled a thousand li, the craft is the journey itself, the quatrain's quickness showing here.

Study

Word focus

空 The riverside trees stand empty — a single 'empty' clears away all the autumn leaves, leaving the open river and sky. It is not a desolate 'empty' but an 'empty' of suddenly broadened view — a visual release after emerging from the narrow gorges of Shu. 「江树空」——一个「空」字消去满树秋叶，剩余的是江天寥廓。不是凄凉的空，是视野豁然的空——一种从蜀中狭窄江峡中出来后的视觉释放。此字之妙，在于把地理的开阔与心境的开阔同时写出：树叶落尽才见江天，走出峡江才见世界。着一「空」字而全句皆活，深秋的萧瑟遂全然转为背景，反衬出行的轻快。空字兼写目中之境与胸中之怀，故同一字也，在他诗为衰飒，在此诗为清发，全在语境所赐。以此知炼境之要不下于炼字：境活则字活，一空字所以能兼两义者，正赖上下文之境。

剡 Shan (Shan zhong), the valley of the Shan Creek in present-day Shengzhou and Xinchang, Zhejiang. From the Eastern Jin to the Tang it was the most longed-for place for recluses and landscape lovers. 'Enter Shan' rather than 'arrive at Shan' gives the word a ritual sense, as of entering a fairyland. 「剡中」（shàn zhōng），即今浙江嵊州、新昌一带剡溪流域。自东晋至唐，剡中是文人最向往的隐居与游赏之地，王羲之、谢灵运皆曾居游于此，天姥、沃洲诸山并在境内。入剡中而非到剡中，一个「入」字有进入仙境般的仪式感——剡中不只是一个地名，是六朝以来整个山水审美传统的圣地；李白后来「我欲因之梦吴越，一夜飞度镜湖月」，梦的正是这一带。