All poems

唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

少年行

Song of the Young Gallants

王维

Wang Wei

游侠chivalrous 豪迈bold and unconstrained

新丰美酒斗十千，咸阳游侠多少年。
相逢意气为君饮，系马高楼垂柳边。

New Feng's fine wine costs ten thousand coins a dou,
In Xianyang how many young knights roam!
When met, with spirit they drink for you,
Tying steeds by the tall tower, willows comb.

Listen

Meaning

This poem celebrates the free-spirited and generous young knights-errant in Chang'an, who value friendship and loyalty above material wealth, epitomizing the romantic heroism of the Tang dynasty.

新丰出产的美酒一斗价值十千钱，咸阳城中有着众多豪迈的游侠少年。他们相逢之际意气相投，便为你开怀痛饮；酒酣兴浓之时，将马儿系在高楼旁的垂柳边，尽显潇洒不羁之态。

Appreciation

Opening with the exorbitant price of wine, the poet highlights the knights' lavishness. The second line introduces the youthful group. The final couplet captures a spontaneous moment of camaraderie: they drink together out of mutual admiration and casually tie their horses to a willow by a tall building, blending heroism with elegance.

【白话串讲】新丰的美酒一斗十千，咸阳的游侠多是少年。“相逢意气为君饮，系马高楼垂柳边”——盛唐少年的豪气，都在这一杯酒里。【意象与手法】虽为七言绝句而气象开廓：前两句以「斗十千」的酒价与「多少年」的群像作叙事铺排，后两句聚焦「相逢一饮」的典型场景；结句不写醉态而写「系马高楼垂柳边」，以景结情，留白含蓄，画面感极强，豪而不粗。【情感与主旨】《少年行》为王维组诗，共四首，约作于开元年间诗人居长安时。唐代任侠风气盛行，李白、高适等皆好言游侠；咸阳代指唐都长安一带。此其一写少年游侠的豪饮意气，寄托了盛唐文人向往任侠、重然诺轻生死的时代精神。【名句点睛】「相逢意气为君饮」为全诗枢纽，写少年以意气相交、为知己痛饮的爽直；「系马高楼垂柳边」以疏朗画面收束，写尽洒脱不羁之态，是写游侠少年的传神之笔。

Background

One of a set of four poems by Wang Wei, written during the Kaiyuan era when he lived in Chang'an. The Tang dynasty embraced a culture of knight-errantry. 'Xianyang' refers to the capital area. This poem depicts the heroic drinking of young knights, reflecting the Tang spirit of chivalry and loyalty.

《少年行》是王维的组诗，共四首，约作于唐玄宗开元年间诗人寓居长安之时，此首为组诗第一首。盛唐国力强盛、意气风发，任侠风气盛行，士人竞以游侠自许，李白、高适、王昌龄等皆好言游侠，王维早年亦曾出入王公贵族之门，颇染豪纵之气。诗中的「咸阳」为秦朝故都，唐人常借以指代唐都长安一带，并非实指；「新丰」在今陕西临潼东北，汉高祖刘邦为慰其父思乡之情，迁丰邑故人于此而置新丰县，其地自古以善酿美酒闻名，故「新丰美酒」成为唐人诗中豪饮的经典意象。此诗即以少年游侠的豪饮意气为歌咏对象，写其相逢即饮、重义轻财、洒脱不羁的风采，寄托了盛唐文人向往任侠、重然诺、轻生死的时代精神，是盛唐气象在诗歌中最为鲜活的剪影之一。此外，此诗写于王维早年居长安、出入王公贵戚之门时，其时尚怀抱建功立业的豪情，诗中的少年意气亦可视作诗人自身精神世界的写照，与晚年山水田园诗中「晚年惟好静，万事不关心」的淡泊恰成对照，可见其一生的心灵历程。

Art

Though a seven-character quatrain, it has a grand scope. The first two lines narrate (expensive wine, bold knights), the last two focus on a typical scene of meeting for a drink. 'Ten thousand coins' highlights generosity; 'many young' portrays a crowd. The ending avoids describing drunkenness, instead using the image of horses tied to willows, leaving room for imagination.

此诗虽为七言绝句，篇幅短小，却气象开廓，写游侠少年豪情不落俗套。章法上，前两句作叙事铺排：「新丰美酒斗十千」以「斗十千」的酒价极言酒之美、价之昂，暗衬少年出手之豪阔；「咸阳游侠多少年」以「多少年」的复数写出游侠少年的群像，点出地点、人物与时代氛围。后两句由面到点，聚焦「相逢意气为君饮」的典型瞬间，以「意气」二字揭开少年相交的底色，他们既非功利之交，亦非酒肉之友，而是以意气相许、为知己痛饮；结句「系马高楼垂柳边」更是不写醉态、不写豪言，只以系马柳边的一个动作收束，以景代情，画面疏朗而余味无穷。全诗豪而不粗、狂而不野，将盛唐少年的任侠精神浓缩于二十八字之中，章法上由铺排到聚焦、由叙事到写景，层次分明而气脉贯通，正是盛唐绝句「以小见大」的典范。尤可注意者，全诗四句层层递进而无一闲笔：首句以酒价起势，次句以群像铺陈，三句以意气点题，四句以画面收束，起承转合之间，豪饮的热烈与结句的疏朗恰成一张一弛的节奏，正见盛唐绝句「用意深而措辞婉」的艺术追求。

Allusions

'New Feng wine' originates from Han Emperor Gaozu's relocation of Fengyi residents to Xinfeng, where they continued brewing fine wine. 'Ten thousand coins a dou' alludes to Cao Zhi's 'The Famous City'. 'Xianyang' was the Qin capital, used by Tang poets to refer to Chang'an. 'Youxia' continues the tradition of knights-errant from Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian.

诗中用典与意象皆有渊源。「新丰美酒」本于汉高祖刘邦迁丰邑父老于新丰的故事，新丰地近长安，其地善酿，六朝乐府与唐人诗中遂常以「新丰酒」代指美酒，李白「新丰美酒斗十千」同句意象亦见其乐府渊源；「斗十千」三字直接化用曹植《名都篇》「归来宴平乐，美酒斗十千」的名句，以价之昂写酒之佳、人之豪；「咸阳」为秦之故都，唐人习惯借咸阳指代长安，「咸阳游侠」暗含秦地自古多慷慨任侠之士的历史记忆；「游侠」一词更上承《史记·游侠列传》所确立的任侠传统，司马迁笔下的朱家、郭解等游侠皆以重义轻生、急人之难为品格，王维此诗正是对这一传统精神的艺术回应，在盛唐昂扬的时代氛围中，将游侠的任侠之气写得明亮而健康，全无汉代游侠的阴郁色彩。另须指出，「游侠」题材自曹植《白马篇》「捐躯赴国难，视死忽如归」以来，多与边塞报国相连，王维此诗却专写都市少年的豪饮意气，于游侠传统中别开一境，可见盛唐任侠风气已由边塞扩展到市井，其题材之拓展亦值得注意。

Commentary

Tang Ruxun (Ming dynasty) commented: 'This poem describes youthful knights, showing they value spirit, meet and drink, tie horses to willows, fully depicting their unconstrained nature.' Yu Biyun (modern) said: 'The line about tying horses to willows by the tall building paints a vivid picture of chivalry, truly the divine realm of Tang yuefu.'

历代论者对此诗评价甚高。明人唐汝询《唐诗解》评曰：「此咏游侠少年，言其以意气相尚，相逢即饮，系马垂柳，写尽豪宕之致」，点出全诗以意气为骨、以画面写豪的章法特点；清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》亦录此诗，以为王维早年作品「风神散朗，有盛唐人气」。近人俞陛云《诗境浅说》更推重结句，谓「『系马高楼垂柳边』七字，写豪侠之态如画，的是盛唐乐府神境」，以为此句以疏朗之笔写尽少年潇洒，非大手笔不能到。全诗的价值不仅在于写活了一群少年游侠，更在于它生动地保存了盛唐时代昂扬、自信、重义轻利的精神风貌，与李白《侠客行》「十步杀一人，千里不留行」的侠客形象互为映照，一豪迈一凌厉，共同构成唐诗中「少年精神」的双璧，成为后世理解盛唐气象的绝佳窗口。此外，此诗在传播史上影响深远，后世写游侠少年者多祖其意，其「相逢意气为君饮」所写的少年精神已成为中国文化中「豪侠」意象的经典源头之一，为后世武侠文学与豪情书写提供了不竭的灵感。

Prosody

Form seven-character quatrain七言绝句

Rhyme 千, 年, 边 (level tone, first rhyme group)千、年、边，属平水韵下平一先韵，首句入韵，一韵到底

Tone pattern starts with level tone, first line enters rhyme, lively rhythm平起首句入韵式，全诗平仄合律，句式明快流畅

Reading note First of the series 'Songs of the Young Gallants', depicting the heroic spirit of Tang dynasty young knights, generous and spirited.此诗为七言绝句，属近体诗中体制最小的一类，二十八字而气象开廓，正见盛唐绝句以短驭长、以小见大的功力。押韵方面，首句「千」、次句「年」、末句「边」同属下平一先韵，首句入韵，一韵到底，韵脚皆为开口度较大的平声字，读来昂扬响亮，与诗中豪迈任侠的情调相协。平仄上为平起首句入韵式，全诗平仄合律，节奏明快，前两句叙事铺排、一气呵成，后两句「相逢意气为君饮，系马高楼垂柳边」以「为君」「垂柳」等舒缓音节收束，于昂扬中见从容。作为乐府旧题《少年行》的拟作，此诗保留了乐府叙事明快、直抒胸臆的特点，又严格合于近体绝句的格律，体现了盛唐诗人将乐府精神与近体形式熔于一炉的创造力，是七绝写游侠题材的代表作。

Line by line

新丰美酒斗十千

Expensive wine from New Feng highlights the knights' lavishness and sets a bold tone.

新丰出产的美酒一斗价值十千钱，极言酒之醇美、价之昂贵。

The fine wine of Xinfeng costs ten thousand cash a dou.

起笔即写酒，以「斗十千」的昂贵酒价衬出少年出手的豪阔。「斗十千」用曹植《名都篇》「美酒斗十千」之语，以重金买酒写尽酒之美、人之豪，更暗含少年一掷千金而不惜的慷慨气度。「新丰」二字亦非泛写地名，汉高祖刘邦曾迁丰邑父老于新丰，其地善酿，六朝以来「新丰酒」便成为美酒的代称，故起句七字既点出豪饮的物质前提，又为全篇定下热烈豪迈的基调，酒价之贵与后文少年之豪形成正向呼应，可谓未写人而人已见。

The opening writes the wine at once, the high price of 'ten thousand cash a dou' setting off the young men's lavish hand. 'Ten thousand cash a dou' uses Cao Zhi's 'fine wine ten thousand cash a dou' from his Capital's Pieces, writing the wine's excellence and the men's generosity through the heavy price, secretly holding the young man's open hand that scatters gold without a thought. The words 'Xinfeng' are no vague place: Emperor Gaozu of Han once moved the elders of his native Fengyi to Xinfeng, and the place was famed for brewing; since the Six Dynasties, 'Xinfeng wine' had become the byword for fine wine, so the opening seven words both name the material ground of the lavish drinking and tune the whole's warm, heroic keynote, the wine's cost and the young men's heroism answering, the man seen before he is written.

咸阳游侠多少年

In Xianyang, many knights are young - portraying a group of spirited youths.

咸阳城中游侠多是豪爽的少年。

In Xianyang, the wandering knights are mostly young men.

此句由酒及人，点出诗的主角——咸阳城中的游侠少年。「咸阳」为秦都，唐人借指长安，暗含秦地自古多慷慨任侠之士的历史记忆；「游侠」一词上承《史记·游侠列传》的重义轻生传统，而「多少年」以复数的模糊写法，不写一人而写群像，仿佛满城少年皆为游侠，气象顿开。与上句「美酒斗十千」相接，酒之贵与人之豪相互映衬，豪饮的场面呼之欲出；「多少年」三字更暗含诗人对这一群体的欣羡与礼赞，为下文「相逢意气」的典型场景铺好了群像背景，起承之间一气呵成。

This line turns from wine to man, naming the poem's hero — the wandering knights of the city of Xianyang. 'Xianyang', the Qin capital, used by the Tang for Chang'an, secretly holding the historical memory of the Qin land's generous, duty-bound men from of old; 'wandering knights' carries the tradition of the Records of the Grand Historian's Biographies of the Wandering Knights, honoring duty and scorning death; and 'mostly young men' the blurred plural, writing not one man but a group, as if all the city's youths were wandering knights, the air suddenly opened. Joined to the above 'fine wine ten thousand cash a dou', the wine's cost and the men's heroism set each other off, the lavish drinking scene at once at hand; and the words 'mostly young men' secretly hold the poet's admiration and praise of this group, laying the group-portrait ground for the later typical scene of 'meeting, and of one spirit', the opening and the carrying on flowing in one breath.

相逢意气为君饮

When they meet, they drink for each other out of mutual admiration - showing their straightforward and loyal friendships.

相逢之际意气相投，便为你开怀痛饮。

Meeting, and of one spirit, I drink for your sake.

这是全诗的枢纽句，写少年之交的核心——「意气」。「意气」二字是全诗的诗眼，指志趣相投、肝胆相照，少年游侠既非势利之交，亦非酒肉之友，而是以意气相许、一见如故；「为君饮」三字更是爽直痛快，仿佛举杯相邀即在目前，把相逢即饮、不假寒暄的豪爽写得淋漓尽致。句中「相逢」点出相遇之偶然，「意气」揭示相交之本质，「为君饮」完成行动之表达，三节环环相扣，将抽象的重义精神化为一个具体的痛饮动作，豪迈而不失真情，是盛唐少年精神最直接的呈现。

This is the poem's pivot line, writing the core of the young men's bond — 'of one spirit'. The words 'of one spirit' are the poem's eye, meaning the meeting of minds and hearts; the young wandering knights are neither snobbish friends nor wine companions, but pledged in spirit, friends at first sight; and the words 'I drink for your sake' are the more straightforward and thorough, as if the cup's invitation were at hand, writing to the full the drinking at the meeting, no exchange of pleasantries. The line, 'meeting' names the chance of the encounter, 'of one spirit' the essence of the bond, 'I drink for your sake' the action complete, three links each closing the next, turning the abstract spirit of duty into a concrete act of drinking, heroic and with true feeling, the most direct presentment of the young manhood of the High Tang.

系马高楼垂柳边

Tying horses by the tall building and willow - a picturesque scene of their unrestrained nature.

将马儿系在高楼旁的垂柳边，尽显洒脱不羁之态。

We tie the horses by the tall tower, beside the drooping willows.

结句不写醉态、不写豪言，只写「系马」一个动作，却写尽少年的洒脱不羁。「系马高楼」本已点出酒楼的繁华与少年的阔绰，而「垂柳边」三字更添画面疏朗之美，高楼与垂柳，一刚一柔、一动一静，构成了极具张力的空间图景；马系柳边，人上高楼，隐去的人物活动反而引人遐想。全句以景结情，将前文豪饮的热烈收束于一个安静从容的画面，所谓「言有尽而意无穷」，正是盛唐绝句「以景结情」手法的典范运用，也正因如此，俞陛云才推此七字为「写豪侠之态如画」的盛唐神境。

The closing writes neither drunkenness nor boast, only the one action of 'tie the horses', and writes to the full the young man's free spirit. 'Tie the horses by the tall tower' already names the wine house's bustle and the youth's largeness, and the words 'beside the drooping willows' add the open grace of the picture: the tall tower and the drooping willow, one hard one soft, one motion one stillness, forming a space of strong tension; the horse tied by the willow, the man mounting the tower, the hidden human activity the more inviting to the imagination. The whole line closes in scene, gathering the above lavish drinking into a calm, unhurried picture, the so-called 'words ended, meaning endless', the model use of the High Tang quatrain's 'closing in scene', and precisely because of this, Yu Biyun praised these seven words as the High Tang divine realm of 'writing the heroic air as in a picture'.

Study

Word focus

斗十千 Exaggerates the wine price to contrast with the knights' free-spending, generous nature. 「斗十千」出自曹植《名都篇》「归来宴平乐，美酒斗十千」，指一斗酒价值十千钱，极言酒之醇美、价之昂贵。「斗」为量酒之器，「十千」为钱数，以数量之巨写价格之高，语势夸张而豪气自见。此三字置于起句，表面写酒价，实则暗衬少年的身家与气度，唯有一掷千金而不惜者，方配饮此斗值十千的美酒。王维化用曹植成句而了无痕迹，将六朝乐府的慷慨之气注入盛唐绝句，与下句「咸阳游侠多少年」的群像相映，酒贵与人豪互为表里，为全诗定下热烈豪迈的基调，是「以价衬豪」的典型炼字。

多少年 Shows the multitude of young knights, creating a vivid group portrait. 「多少年」即「多少少年」，以疑问代词「多少」修饰「年」，不写一人而写群像，仿佛咸阳城中满目皆是豪爽的游侠少年，气象开廓而意绪昂扬。「多少」一词带有赞叹的语气，暗含诗人对这一群体的欣羡与礼赞；「年」字点出少年的风华正茂，与「游侠」的身份相配，写出任侠之气与青春气息的融合。若换作「众少年」「皆少年」则语势平直，唯有「多少年」三字，既以模糊写法拓开空间，又以问句语气唤起想象，使读者仿佛亲见满城少年驰马豪饮之景，是炼字中以虚写实的妙笔，也为下文「相逢意气」的典型场景铺足了群像背景。

意气 Mutual admiration and spirit, reflecting straightforward and loyal friendships among the knights. 「意气」二字是全诗的诗眼，指志趣相投、情意相合，也含慷慨任气、豪迈不羁之意。此词上承《史记·游侠列传》所表彰的「其言必信，其行必果」的任侠品格，下启盛唐士人重义轻利的精神风气。在诗中，「意气」既是少年相交的前提，相逢而意气相投，故不必深交即可痛饮；也是全诗情感的枢纽，由酒而及人、由人而及情，皆系于此二字。若换作「交情」「友谊」则嫌俗浅，「意气」最能写出少年人之间的爽直、豪迈与肝胆相照，一字千金，正是全篇「豪而不粗」的关键所在。

系马 Action depicting unrestrained and carefree attitude, strong visual impact. 「系马」即拴马，本是行旅中极平常的动作，在王维笔下却成为写少年洒脱之态的传神之笔。酒酣之后不写醉态、不写豪言，只写「系马高楼垂柳边」，马系于柳、人登高楼，一个动作将少年的从容、潇洒与不经意间的豪气全部写出。若直写「饮酒」「醉归」，则豪则豪矣而失之直露；以「系马」收束，既暗示宴饮尚在进行、少年意犹未尽，又留下画面空间让读者想象高楼之上的觥筹交错。更妙在「垂柳」的点缀，使画面疏朗有致，刚柔相济，正见王维「诗中有画」的本领，一个平常动词因此获得了极高的表现力。

少年行