唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
省试湘灵鼓瑟
At the Provincial Exam: The Xiang Spirit Plays the Se
善鼓云和瑟，常闻帝子灵。
冯夷空自舞，楚客不堪听。
苦调凄金石，清音入杳冥。
苍梧来怨慕，白芷动芳馨。
流水传潇浦，悲风过洞庭。
曲终人不见，江上数峰青。
Feng Yi dances in vain; the Chu traveler cannot bear to listen.
Its bitter tune grieves metal and stone; its clear sound enters the far dark.
From Cangwu comes yearning; white angelica stirs with fragrant scent.
Flowing water carries it to the Xiao shore; a mournful wind crosses Dongting.
The song ends, the person is not seen; on the river, a few peaks stand green.
Meaning
Written as a provincial examination poem on the theme of the Xiang goddess playing the se, it unfolds the wonder of her music across gods, stones, and streams, then closes on an empty, ethereal scene. The final line, the song ends, the person is not seen; on the river, a few peaks stand green, leaves a boundless, haunting aftertaste of the unreachable divine.
善于鼓弹云和之瑟，常闻帝子（湘灵）的精灵。冯夷徒然随乐起舞，楚客却不堪听闻。苦楚的曲调使金石凄然，清越的音响飘入深远的杳冥。苍梧山传来怨慕，白芷草被芳馨牵动。流水把乐声传向潇水之浦，悲风掠过洞庭。曲子终了人已不见，唯江上数座青峰默然。
Appreciation
This is Qian Qi's piece for the jinshi provincial exam, on the set topic of the Xiang water goddess playing the se. The first six couplets lay out the wonder of the se's sound: the imperial child descends, Feng Yi dances, metal and stone grieve, white angelica stirs, flowing water and mournful wind carry the tone. The last couplet the song ends, the person is not seen; on the river, a few peaks stand green ends on scene, the Xiang goddess hidden, only green peaks remaining, with a vanishing aftertaste, closing the whole poem in endless emptiness. Mythic figures (imperial child, Feng Yi) and fragrant herbs (white angelica) set off the divine realm; the verbs carry and cross write the music's flow; the closing moves from the real to the empty, ending sound with a still scene, leaving blank space without end. It writes the wonder of music and the seclusion of the goddess; the last line reveals a reachable-yet-unreachable melancholy, a rare empty work among Tang examination poems.
【白话串讲】 钱起参加省试，考题是“湘灵鼓瑟”：“善鼓云和瑟，常闻帝子灵”。“流水传潇浦，悲风过洞庭”——“曲终人不见，江上数峰青”——曲终人散，只见江上几座青山。结尾这句，让他一举成名。 【意象与手法】 以神话人物（帝子、冯夷）与香草（白芷）烘托神境；动词“传”“过”写乐声流转；结联由实入虚，以静景收声，留白无穷。 【情感与主旨】 借湘灵鼓瑟写音乐之妙与神女之幽，末句透出可望难即的怅惘，是唐代应试诗中难得的空灵之作。 【名句点睛】 “曲终人不见，江上数峰青”——以无声之景收束有声之乐，余韵杳然，遂成千古绝唱。
Background
Qian Qi was the head of the Ten Talents of the Dali Era. This poem was written for the jinshi provincial exam in the tenth year of Tianbao (751), the set topic being the Xiang spirit plays the se (from the Chu Ci tale of the Xiang water goddess playing the se). Tradition says Qian Qi, lodging at an inn, dreamed the two lines the song ends, the person is not seen; on the river, a few peaks stand green, and thus topped the field.
《省试湘灵鼓瑟》为唐代钱起所作，是写湘灵鼓瑟、曲终人不见的试帖诗。钱起（约720—约782），字仲文，吴兴人，唐代诗人（大历十才子之一）。此诗：善鼓云和瑟，常闻帝子灵。冯夷空自舞，楚客不堪听。苦调凄金石，清音入杳冥。苍梧来怨慕，白芷动芳馨。流水传潇浦，悲风过洞庭。曲终人不见，江上数峰青。全诗写湘灵鼓瑟、曲终人不见，是钱起诗的名篇。
Art
A five-character expanded regulated verse (twelve lines), tightly following the topic layering the se's wonder: from hearing the se, the dancing god, the carried sound, to the song's end and the goddess gone. The last couplet ends on scene, from the real to the empty, empty without end, breaking the stiffness of examination verse.
《省试湘灵鼓瑟》艺术上以湘灵鼓瑟的描摹与曲终人不见的缥缈见长。全诗十句，层层写来：首写善鼓云和瑟——“善鼓云和瑟，常闻帝子灵”写善鼓云和瑟、常闻帝子灵；中写听者之感——“冯夷空自舞，楚客不堪听”用冯夷之典写冯夷空自舞、楚客不堪听，“苦调凄金石，清音入杳冥”写苦调凄金石、清音入杳冥，“苍梧来怨慕，白芷动芳馨”写苍梧来怨慕、白芷动芳馨，“流水传潇浦，悲风过洞庭”写流水传潇浦、悲风过洞庭；末写曲终人不见——“曲终人不见，江上数峰青”写曲终人不见、江上数峰青。全诗以湘灵鼓瑟写曲终人不见，正是钱起诗缥缈的笔法。
Allusions
The Xiang spirit is the Xiang water goddess, Nüying and E Huang, wives of Shun who drowned in the Xiang and became gods. The Yunhe se is an ancient se name. Feng Yi is the river earl. Cangwu is where Shun was buried. White angelica is a fragrant herb. The imperial child is the Xiang spirit.
《省试湘灵鼓瑟》用典在“云和瑟”“帝子”“冯夷”“苍梧”“白芷”“洞庭”。“云和瑟”写云和之瑟；“帝子”写帝子（娥皇女英，湘君湘夫人）；“冯夷”写河神冯夷；“苍梧”写苍梧（舜葬之地）；“白芷”写白芷（香草）；“洞庭”写洞庭湖。全诗以这些典故写湘灵鼓瑟、曲终人不见，用典自然而缥缈自见，正是钱起诗的笔法。
Commentary
The Old Tang History records that the two lines the song ends were granted in a dream, and the examiner sighed them a masterpiece. The Tang Shi Ji Shi says this poem topped the whole field. Later ages praise the closing line as a stroke from the gods.
《省试湘灵鼓瑟》是钱起诗的名篇，也是唐代试帖诗中写音乐的千古名作。此诗写湘灵鼓瑟、曲终人不见，向为论者称道。论者多赏其湘灵鼓瑟的描摹与曲终人不见的缥缈——“善鼓云和瑟，常闻帝子灵”用云和瑟帝子之典写善鼓云和瑟、常闻帝子灵，缥缈之极；“冯夷空自舞，楚客不堪听”用冯夷之典写冯夷空自舞、楚客不堪听，更见其哀；“曲终人不见，江上数峰青”写曲终人不见、江上数峰青，尤见其妙。此诗为省试之作，因末句“曲终人不见，江上数峰青”而成千古名句，正是其代表——以湘灵鼓瑟写曲终人不见，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
善鼓云和瑟，常闻帝子灵。
Skilled at playing the Yunhe se, often one hears the spirit of the imperial child.
善鼓云和瑟，常闻帝子灵。
Well she plays the Yunhe sewn zither; often we hear the spirit of the goddess.
首用云和瑟帝子之典写善鼓云和瑟、常闻帝子灵，是全诗写湘灵鼓瑟的起点。“善鼓云和瑟”用云和瑟之典写善鼓云和瑟——“善鼓云和瑟”用云和之瑟写善于鼓云和瑟——善鼓云和瑟；“常闻帝子灵”用帝子之典写常闻帝子灵——“常闻帝子灵”用帝子（湘夫人）之典写常闻帝子之灵——常闻帝子灵。二句写善鼓云和瑟、常闻帝子灵：善鼓云和瑟，常闻帝子灵。以“善鼓云和瑟”用云和瑟之典写善于鼓瑟、瑟艺精绝，以“常闻帝子灵”用帝子之典写常闻湘灵、神灵飘渺，正是钱起诗写湘灵鼓瑟的起点——云和之瑟，帝子之灵。
The opening uses the allusions of the Yunhe se and the goddess to write 'well she plays the Yunhe sewn zither; often we hear the spirit of the goddess', the start of the poem's writing of the Xiang spirit playing the se. 'Well she plays the Yunhe sewn zither' uses the Yunhe se allusion — skilled at playing the Yunhe se; 'often we hear the spirit of the goddess' uses the goddess (the Xiang Lady) allusion. Two lines: the skilled playing, the spirit heard. Writing the zither's skill through the Yunhe se allusion, writing the ethereal goddess through the goddess allusion, precisely the start of the Qianqi poem on the Xiang spirit's music — the Yunhe se, the goddess's spirit.
冯夷空自舞，楚客不堪听。苦调凄金石，清音入杳冥。
Feng Yi dances for nothing; the Chu traveler can scarce bear to hear. The bitter tune moves metal and stone; the clear sound enters the dark vastness.
冯夷空自舞，楚客不堪听。苦调凄金石，清音入杳冥。
Feng Yi dances for nothing; the Chu traveler can scarce bear to hear. The bitter tune moves metal and stone; the clear sound enters the dark vastness.
中用冯夷之典写冯夷空自舞、清音入杳冥，是全诗写听者之感的深化。“冯夷空自舞，楚客不堪听”用冯夷之典写冯夷空自舞、楚客不堪听——“冯夷空自舞”用河神冯夷之典写冯夷闻曲空自起舞，“楚客不堪听”写楚客闻曲不堪倾听——冯夷空舞，楚客难听；“苦调凄金石，清音入杳冥”写苦调凄金石、清音入杳冥——“苦调凄金石”写苦调凄切、感动金石，“清音入杳冥”写清音袅袅、直入杳冥——苦调凄金，清音入冥。四句写冯夷空自舞、清音入杳冥：冯夷空自舞，楚客不堪听。苦调凄金石，清音入杳冥。以“冯夷空自舞”用河神冯夷之典写冯夷闻曲起舞、不请自来，以“楚客不堪听”写楚客闻曲不堪、哀从中来，以“苦调凄金石”写苦调凄切、金石为动，以“清音入杳冥”写清音袅袅、直入杳冥，正是钱起诗写听者之感的深化——冯夷楚客，金石杳冥。
The middle uses the Feng Yi allusion to write 'Feng Yi dances for nothing; the clear sound enters the dark vastness', the deepening of the listeners' feeling. 'Feng Yi dances for nothing; the Chu traveler can scarce bear to hear' — 'Feng Yi dances for nothing' uses the river god Feng Yi allusion, the river god dancing at the tune to no purpose; 'the Chu traveler can scarce bear to hear' the Chu traveler unable to bear the sound. 'The bitter tune moves metal and stone; the clear sound enters the dark vastness' — the bitter tune, the clear sound. Four lines: the river god dances, the traveler cannot hear; the bitter tune moves metal, the clear sound enters the dark. Writing the river god's uninvited dance through the Feng Yi allusion, writing the traveler's grief through 'can scarce bear', writing the moved metal and stone, writing the sound's entry into the dark vastness, precisely the deepening of the listeners' feeling — Feng Yi and the traveler, metal and stone and the dark.
苍梧来怨慕，白芷动芳馨。流水传潇浦，悲风过洞庭。
From Cangwu comes the grief and longing; the white angelica breathes its fragrance. The flowing water carries it past the Xiao shores; the grieving wind crosses Dongting Lake.
苍梧来怨慕，白芷动芳馨。流水传潇浦，悲风过洞庭。
From Cangwu comes the grief and longing; the white angelica breathes its fragrance. The flowing water carries it past the Xiao shores; the grieving wind crosses Dongting Lake.
后用苍梧白芷之典写苍梧来怨慕、悲风过洞庭，是全诗写湘灵之怨的深化。“苍梧来怨慕，白芷动芳馨”用苍梧白芷之典写苍梧来怨慕、白芷动芳馨——“苍梧来怨慕”用苍梧（舜葬地）之典写苍梧之灵来怨慕，“白芷动芳馨”用白芷香草之典写白芷摇动生芳馨——苍梧怨慕，白芷芳馨；“流水传潇浦，悲风过洞庭”用潇浦洞庭之典写流水传潇浦、悲风过洞庭——“流水传潇浦”用潇浦之典写流水传过潇浦，“悲风过洞庭”用洞庭之典写悲风掠过洞庭——流水潇浦，悲风洞庭。四句写苍梧来怨慕、悲风过洞庭：苍梧来怨慕，白芷动芳馨。流水传潇浦，悲风过洞庭。以“苍梧来怨慕”用苍梧之典写苍梧怨慕、舜灵闻之，以“白芷动芳馨”用白芷香草之典写白芷摇动、芳馨四溢，以“流水传潇浦”用潇浦之典写流水传声、潇浦凄清，以“悲风过洞庭”用洞庭之典写悲风掠过、洞庭萧瑟，正是钱起诗写湘灵之怨的深化——苍梧白芷，潇浦洞庭。
The last uses the Cangwu and white-angelica allusions to write 'from Cangwu comes the grief and longing; the grieving wind crosses Dongting Lake', the deepening of the Xiang spirit's grief. 'From Cangwu comes the grief and longing; the white angelica breathes its fragrance' — 'Cangwu comes the grief' uses the Cangwu (Shun's burial place) allusion, the spirit of Cangwu coming in grief; 'the white angelica breathes its fragrance' uses the white angelica fragrant herb allusion, the herb stirring with scent. 'The flowing water carries it past the Xiao shores; the grieving wind crosses Dongting Lake' — 'the Xiao shores' and 'Dongting Lake' allusions. Four lines: Cangwu's grief, the angelica's fragrance; the water past Xiao, the wind over Dongting. Writing the grief of Shun's spirit through the Cangwu allusion, writing the scent through the angelica allusion, writing the sound carried past the bleak Xiao shores through the Xiao allusion, writing the grieving wind sweeping over Dongting through the Dongting allusion, precisely the deepening of the Xiang spirit's grief — Cangwu and angelica, Xiao shores and Dongting.
曲终人不见，江上数峰青。
The song ends, the person is not seen; on the river, a few peaks stand green
曲终人不见，江上数峰青。
The tune ends, and the man is seen no more; on the river, a few peaks of green.
末写曲终人不见、江上数峰青，是全诗写曲终之境的归结。“曲终人不见”写曲终人不见——“曲终人不见”写一曲终了、湘灵不见——曲终人不见；“江上数峰青”写江上数峰青——“江上数峰青”写江上只有数峰青青——江上数峰青。二句写曲终人不见、江上数峰青：曲终人不见，江上数峰青。以“曲终人不见”写曲终湘灵不见、杳无踪影，以“江上数峰青”写江上数峰青青、余韵悠悠，正是钱起诗写曲终之境的归结——曲终人杳，江峰犹青。
The last writes 'the tune ends, and the man is seen no more; on the river, a few peaks of green', the close of the poem's writing of the tune's end. 'The tune ends, and the man is seen no more' — the tune ended, the Xiang spirit gone. 'On the river, a few peaks of green' — on the river, only a few green peaks. Two lines: the tune ends and no man, on the river the green peaks. Writing the vanished spirit through 'seen no more', writing the lingering aftertaste through 'a few peaks of green', precisely the close of the poem's realm at the tune's end — the tune ended and the spirit vanished, the river peaks still green.
Study
Word focus
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