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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

书边事

Written on Frontier Affairs

张乔

Zhang Qiao

调角断清秋，征人倚戍楼。
春风对青冢，白日落梁州。
大漠无兵阻，穷边有客游。
蕃情似此水，长愿向南流。

A horn sounds, cutting through the clear autumn; a garrison soldier leans on the watchtower.
Spring wind faces the Green Mound; the white sun sinks over Liangzhou.
The great desert knows no blocking of arms; at the far frontier travelers roam.
The feelings of the frontier people are like this water — may they forever flow south.
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Meaning

A rare peace-song among frontier poems. Written amid the turmoil of the late Tang, the poem pictures a borderland at rest: horns idle, soldiers leaning at ease, travelers wandering the open desert. The closing wish — that the frontier people's affection, like the river, flow south toward the heartland — voices a longing for enduring harmony between China and its neighbors.

清秋时节，号角声断了远天的秋意，征人倚靠在戍楼上眺望。春风抚过昭君的青冢，白日照着遥远的梁州。大漠之间已无兵戈阻隔，极远的边地有客游历。蕃人的情意就像这河水一样，但愿永远向南流淌、归向中原。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] A horn-note pierces the clear autumn; a soldier leans on the watchtower. Spring wind blows over Wang Zhaojun's Green Mound; the white sun sets on Liangzhou. The desert is free of armed obstruction, and even the farthest border sees travelers. May the frontier people's attachment, like the river, ever flow southward. [Structure] The eight lines fall into scene (the first two couplets), condition (the third couplet), and wish (the final couplet): a steady ascent from image to fact to prayer. [Imagery and Voice] Every detail signals peace rather than battle — the soldier leans, the desert is open, travelers come. The Green Mound quietly imports the memory of a marriage-alliance that once secured the frontier, so history blesses the present scene.

【白话串讲】 张乔写《书边事》：“调角断清秋，征人倚戍楼”——“春风对青冢，白日落梁州”——“大漠无兵阻，穷边有客游”——“蕃情似此水，长愿向南流”——他写书边事——征人倚戍楼。 【意象与手法】 “调角断清秋，征人倚戍楼”写清秋戍楼之景，和平中见苍凉；“春风对青冢，白日落梁州”写边地之辽阔；“大漠无兵阻，穷边有客游”写边塞息兵之况；结以“蕃情似此水，长愿向南流”以河水喻蕃情归向，愿边地长久安宁。意境开阔、含蓄颂扬。 【情感与主旨】 张乔写边塞的和平景象，是边塞诗中少见的主和平之作，以“蕃情似此水，长愿向南流”愿边地安宁，是唐末边塞诗中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“调角断清秋，征人倚戍楼”写清秋戍楼；“大漠无兵阻，穷边有客游”写边塞息兵。

Background

Zhang Qiao, courtesy name Boqian, of Chizhou in present-day Anhui, was a late Tang poet, a successful candidate in the Xiantong era, counted among the Ten Sages of Xiantong. The late Tang frontier, harried by warlords and Tibetan and other incursions, was rarely peaceful; this poem instead records a moment of calm on the western border. Its unusual tribute — that at the far edge of the empire travelers may wander and arms lie idle — reflects the poet's deeper hope for a settled, unified realm.

《书边事》为唐末诗人张乔所作五言律诗。张乔，字伯迁，池州（今安徽池州）人，晚唐诗人，咸通年间进士，与许棠、郑谷等并称「咸通十哲」。此诗写边塞的和平景象。唐末藩镇割据、边患频仍，而此诗却写出一派边地安宁、蕃汉相安的景象，题曰「书边事」，即记边塞之事。诗中「调角断清秋，征人倚戍楼」写清秋戍楼之景；「春风对青冢，白日落梁州」写边地之辽阔苍茫；「大漠无兵阻，穷边有客游」写边塞息兵、商旅往来之况；「蕃情似此水，长愿向南流」以河水喻蕃人之情，愿其归向中原、永息兵戈。张乔此诗于唐末乱世中写边地安宁之景，寄托了对和平的向往与对民族团结的期望，意境开阔而含蓄蕴藉，是晚唐边塞诗中别具一格的主和平之作，为后世选本所常收。此篇《书边事》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。

Art

The poem is a model five-character regulated verse. Its craft lies in selective, signifying detail: the horn that cuts the autumn and the soldier who merely leans together establish vigilance at rest — the exact atmosphere of an untroubled border. The middle couplet matches spring wind and white sun, Green Mound and Liangzhou, time against space, to widen the scene and quietly fold in history. The penultimate couplet is the hinge, using the clean antithesis of no blocking of arms against travelers roam to state peace as fact. The close converts fact into desire with a river-simile, so the poem ends not on spectacle but on a wish.

此诗艺术上以「意境开阔、含蓄颂扬」见长。全诗八句，前四句写边地之景，后四句写边塞和平之况与愿望。首联「调角断清秋，征人倚戍楼」写清秋戍楼之景：号角声起，断了清秋的天际，征人倚靠在戍楼上。「调角」写军号，「倚戍楼」写征人，一幅边地清秋图宛然在目。颔联「春风对青冢，白日落梁州」写边地之辽阔苍茫：春风抚过昭君的青冢，白日照着遥远的梁州，一青冢、一梁州，写尽边地的广漠与历史的沧桑。颈联「大漠无兵阻，穷边有客游」写边塞息兵之况：大漠之间已无兵戈阻隔，极远的边地有客游历，「无兵阻」「有客游」对举，写尽边地安宁、商旅往来之盛。尾联「蕃情似此水，长愿向南流」以水喻情，寄托愿望：蕃人的情意就像这河水一样，但愿永远向南流淌、归向中原。全诗由景而况、由况而愿，层层推进，意境开阔，含蓄蕴藉，正是晚唐边塞诗中主和平之作的典范。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。

Allusions

The Green Mound (qingzhong) is the tomb of Wang Zhaojun, the Han court lady sent to marry a Xiongnu chanyu, whose grave near the frontier was said to stay green when all around withered — an emblem of frontier harmony bought by alliance. Liangzhou, one of the ancient nine provinces, names the western border region, and the white sun setting over Liangzhou is the classic frontier sunset. Barbarian (fan) is the traditional term for the western and northern peoples. The closing river flowing south imagines their goodwill returning to the Chinese heartland.

诗中「青冢」一典，含昭君出塞故实。「青冢」指汉代王昭君之墓，在今内蒙古呼和浩特南，传说墓上草色常青，故称青冢。昭君出塞和亲，是汉朝与匈奴修好的史事，后世诗文多以青冢写和亲与边地。张乔「春风对青冢」，写春风抚过昭君之墓，既写边地之景，亦暗含对和亲之功的追念——正是有昭君和亲一类的事，才有边地之安宁。「梁州」为古九州之一，指今陕西汉中一带，亦泛指西部边地。「白日落梁州」写白日西沉于梁州，写边地之辽阔。诗人以青冢、梁州等典制故实入诗，不着痕迹，而把边地的历史沧桑与今日的安宁联系起来，含蓄蕴藉，正是晚唐诗人善于用典以写边塞的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。

Commentary

Written on Frontier Affairs is unusual in Tang frontier poetry for choosing peace as its subject in an age of war. Commentators praise the word leans in the opening: a soldier who leans at leisure is the surest proof of a quiet border. The closing river-simile — the frontier people's feelings flowing south like water — has been read as a tactful, humane expression of the wish for ethnic harmony, and it gives the poem its enduring appeal. It remains a staple of anthologies as the late Tang's gentlest frontier voice.

这首《书边事》，写的是边塞的和平景象，在充满杀伐之气的边塞诗中别具一格。首联「调角断清秋，征人倚戍楼」，写清秋时节的戍楼之景：号角声起，仿佛划断了清秋的天际；征人倚靠在戍楼上，姿态从容。「倚」字用得极好，写出了征人的闲适与边地的安宁——若是战事频仍，征人岂能如此倚楼？颔联「春风对青冢，白日落梁州」，写边地的辽阔苍茫：春风抚过昭君的青冢，白日照着遥远的梁州。青冢连着和亲的历史，梁州连着辽阔的边地，两句写尽边地的广漠与沧桑。颈联「大漠无兵阻，穷边有客游」，是全文的关目：「大漠无兵阻」写大漠之间已无兵戈阻隔，边患已平；「穷边有客游」写极远的边地有客游历，商旅往来。一「无」一「有」，写尽边塞息兵、边境安宁的盛况。尾联「蕃情似此水，长愿向南流」，以河水喻蕃人之情：蕃人的情意就像这河水一样，但愿永远向南流淌、归向中原。这「长愿」二字，寄托了诗人对民族团结、边地永安的深切期望。全诗由景而况、由况而愿，意境开阔，含蓄蕴藉，正是晚唐边塞诗中少见的和平颂歌，读之令人神往。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse (wulu), oblique-tone opening, the standard eight-line lushi五言律诗（近体，仄起式）
Rhyme A single level-tone rhyme runs through all four couplets — lou, zhou, you, liu, all in the -ou/-iu rhyme group — and never changes. The smooth, prolonged sound of this rhyme matches the poem's mood of breadth and enduring hope; the final word flow leaves the cadence running onward like the river itself.全诗押平声韵「楼」「州」「游」「流」，韵脚同属尤幽类（楼、州、游、流），一韵到底，韵部宽舒而音调悠长。五律以平韵谐畅为常，此诗「楼」「州」「游」「流」四韵音色绵长，正与边地辽阔、情意悠长之调相称；「流」字收束全篇，与「长愿向南流」之句相映，韵脚亦含愿望绵长之意，声情与辞情相凑。
Tone pattern The verse observes the regulated alternation of oblique and level tones. The opening couplet begins oblique (diao jiao duan qing qiu) to cut the scene sharp and clear; the middle couplets move level and even, widening the view; the final couplet turns smooth and drawn out, as if the wish itself were flowing. The tonal contour traces the emotional arc from alert observation to calm hope.句式上，首联「调角断清秋，征人倚戍楼」仄起，以「秋」「楼」收句，写清秋戍楼之景，音节开阔；颔联「春风对青冢，白日落梁州」对仗工整，「春风」「白日」「青冢」「梁州」相映，写边地辽阔，音节苍茫；颈联「大漠无兵阻，穷边有客游」以「无」「有」对举，写边地安宁，音节平畅；尾联「蕃情似此水，长愿向南流」以「流」字平收，音节转舒，情调由写景归于寄愿。全诗平仄相间、音节随情起伏，读来如征人倚楼远眺、边地风清之音，开阔而悠长。
Reading note In regulated verse the music is pre-composed: each line's tone-pattern is fixed, and the art lies in fitting thought to pattern. Here the patterns of the middle couplets enforce the balanced antitheses — spring wind against white sun, Green Mound against Liangzhou, no blocking of arms against travelers roam — while the closing couplet's flowing pattern lets the simile of the river breathe. Tone and meaning cooperate so completely that the form seems to have been invented for this poem's wish of peace.此诗为五言律诗，是晚唐边塞诗中别具一格的主和平之作。全诗的艺术特色在于「意境开阔、含蓄颂扬」：首联「调角断清秋，征人倚戍楼」写清秋戍楼之景，「倚」字见征人之从容；颔联「春风对青冢，白日落梁州」写边地之辽阔苍茫，青冢含和亲之史；颈联「大漠无兵阻，穷边有客游」以「无兵」「有客」对举，写尽边塞息兵、商旅往来之盛况；尾联「蕃情似此水，长愿向南流」以水喻情，寄托边地永安之愿。全诗由景而况、由况而愿，层层推进，意境开阔，含蓄蕴藉。尤为动人者，是「大漠无兵阻，穷边有客游」一联，以平实对举之笔写边地安宁，而「蕃情似此水，长愿向南流」一结，以河水喻蕃汉之情，寄托深远，正见唐末乱世中诗人对和平的深切向往，为后世选本所常收。

Line by line

调角断清秋，征人倚戍楼。

A horn sounds, cutting through the clear autumn; a garrison soldier leans on the watchtower.

清秋时节，号角声起，仿佛划断了天际；征人倚靠在戍楼上眺望。

The bugle's call cuts through the clear autumn; the soldier leans on the garrison tower.

首联写清秋戍楼之景，起笔即见边地气象。「调角断清秋」写号角声起，仿佛划断了清秋的天际，「调角」写军中之号，是边地特有的声息，「断」字写号角声之嘹亮，仿佛将清秋的天际划开一道，气韵苍劲；「征人倚戍楼」写征人倚靠在戍楼上，「倚」字见其姿态从容、非仓促备战之状，正是边地安宁的写照。两句一写声、一写人，号角与戍楼、清秋与征人相映，写出边地清秋的特有气象，也为全诗定下了开阔而从容的基调。

The opening couplet writes the clear-autumn garrison scene, the frontier air at once. 'The bugle's call cuts through the clear autumn' — the bugle's call rising, as if cutting the clear autumn sky; 'the bugle' the army's horn, the sound peculiar to the borderland; the word 'cuts' the call's clarity, as if slashing the autumn sky open, the air stern; 'the soldier leans on the garrison tower' — 'leans' the unhurried posture, not the hasty preparation for battle, precisely the picture of the border's peace. Two lines, one sound one man, the bugle and the tower, the clear autumn and the soldier, writing the borderland's clear autumn air, and tuning the poem's open, unhurried keynote.

春风对青冢，白日落梁州。

Spring wind faces the Green Mound; the white sun sinks over Liangzhou.

春风抚过昭君的青冢，白日照着遥远的梁州。

The spring wind breathes on the Green Grave; the white sun sets over Liangzhou.

颔联写边地之辽阔苍茫，含历史沧桑之感。「春风对青冢」写春风抚过昭君的青冢，「青冢」连昭君和亲之史事，春风抚墓，既是写边地之景，亦是暗含对和亲之功的追念；「白日落梁州」写白日照着遥远的梁州，「梁州」指西部边地，「落日」见其辽阔，白日西沉于边地尽头。两句一写春风、一写白日，一写青冢、一写梁州，时间与空间交错，写尽边地的广漠与历史的纵深。诗人于边地安宁之景中暗含历史沧桑之感，含蓄蕴藉，正是「以景写意」的妙笔。

The neck couplet writes the borderland's vastness and desolation, holding the feeling of historical change. 'The spring wind breathes on the Green Grave' — the Green Grave linked to the history of Wang Zhaojun's marriage to the Xiongnu, the spring wind breathing on the tomb, both the border scene and the secret recollection of the peace marriage's merit; 'the white sun sets over Liangzhou' — Liangzhou the western borderland, 'sets' the vastness, the white sun sinking at the border's end. Two lines, one the spring wind one the white sun, one the Green Grave one Liangzhou, time and space interwoven, writing the borderland's breadth and the depth of history. The poet, within the border's peace, secretly holds the sense of historical change, restrained and lasting, the 'writing the meaning through scene' stroke.

大漠无兵阻，穷边有客游。

The great desert knows no blocking of arms; at the far frontier travelers roam.

大漠之间已无兵戈阻隔，极远的边地有客游历往来。

In the vast desert, no soldiers bar the way; at the far border, travelers wander.

颈联是全诗的关目，写边塞息兵之况。「大漠无兵阻」写大漠之间已无兵戈阻隔，「无兵阻」见边患已平、道路畅通；「穷边有客游」写极远的边地有客游历，「有客游」见商旅往来、边境安宁。两句一「无」一「有」对举，以「无兵」对「有客」，写尽边塞息兵、百姓安居、商旅往来的和平盛况。诗人不直写如何安宁，而以此对举之笔写之，于平实处见深意，是五律「以对仗写境况」的典范，也是全诗主和平之旨的集中体现。

The following couplet is the pivot of the poem, writing the frontier's arms at rest. 'In the vast desert, no soldiers bar the way' — 'no soldiers bar' the border peril settled, the roads open; 'at the far border, travelers wander' — 'travelers wander' the merchants coming and going, the border at peace. Two lines, one 'no' one 'there is', 'no soldiers' against 'travelers', writing to the full the frontier's arms at rest, the people's peace, the merchants' coming and going. The poet writes not directly how peaceful, but through this paired writing, the deep meaning in the plainness, the model of the five-character regulated verse's 'writing the lot through the couplet', and the concentrated showing of the poem's theme of peace.

蕃情似此水，长愿向南流。

The feelings of the frontier people are like this water — may they forever flow south.

蕃人的情意就像这河水一样，但愿永远向南流淌、归向中原。

The barbarian heart is like this water; long may it flow southward.

尾联以水喻情，寄托对边地永安的愿望，是全诗立意之所在。「蕃情似此水」写蕃人的情意就像这河水一样，「似此水」以眼前之河起兴，取河水之流而不息；「长愿向南流」写但愿这情意永远向南流淌、归向中原，「向南流」见归向中原之意，「长愿」见其愿望之深切。两句以河水喻蕃汉之情，愿其长流不息、永归中原，既是对当下边地安宁的赞美，更是对民族团结、边地永安的深切期望。诗人于唐末乱世中寄此和平之愿，含蓄蕴藉，情意深长，是全诗境界最高的收束之笔。

The closing couplet figures the feeling through water, entrusting the wish for the border's lasting peace, the poem's theme. 'The barbarian heart is like this water' — 'like this water' rising from the river before the eyes, taking the river's unceasing flow; 'long may it flow southward' — the wish that this feeling may flow forever southward, returning to the central land, 'flow southward' the returning toward the central land, 'long may' the depth of the wish. Two lines, figuring the barbarian-Chinese feeling through the river, wishing it flow unceasing and return forever to the central land, at once the praise of the present border peace and the deep hope for the unity of peoples and the border's lasting calm. The poet, in the late-Tang disorder, entrusts this wish for peace, restrained and lasting, the feeling deep, the highest-realm close of the poem.

Study

Word focus

断 Duan: to cut, to sever. Applied to a horn-call in autumn air, it gives sound a blade's edge — the note seems to slice the sky, at once asserting vigilance and marking the season's edge. 「断」字写号角声之嘹亮，仿佛将清秋的天际划开。「调角断清秋」着一「断」字，把无形的号角声写得有力，仿佛可划断秋空，气韵苍劲，见边地之气象；亦暗含秋之将尽、岁之将暮之意。一字双关，既写声音之劲，亦写时序之感，是首联炼字的点睛之笔。「断」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
倚 Yi: to lean on. A soldier leaning on the watchtower is at leisure, not at guard; the single character quietly certifies the peace the whole poem praises, and is the most-admired word in the poem. 「倚」字写征人倚靠戍楼之态，是全诗写边地安宁的关键。「征人倚戍楼」着一「倚」字，见其姿态从容闲适，非仓皇备战之状——若是战事频仍，征人岂能如此倚楼？这「倚」字于不经意间写出边地的安宁与征人的从容，与后文「大漠无兵阻」相呼应，是「以一字写尽边地和平」的妙笔。「倚」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
青冢 Qingzhong: the Green Mound, the tomb of Wang Zhaojun near the frontier, said to stay green year-round. It imports the memory of the Han marriage-alliance that once secured the border, blessing the present calm with historical depth. 「青冢」指昭君墓，是颔联写边地历史沧桑的关键意象。「春风对青冢」着一「青冢」，连昭君和亲之史事，春风抚过青冢，既是写边地之景，亦是暗含对和亲之功的追念。青冢之色常青，而和亲之史已远，着一「青」字，既写墓草之青，亦暗喻和亲之功泽被后世，含蓄蕴藉，是「以典写意」的妙笔。「青冢」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
长愿 Chang yuan: a long, deep wish. The two words turn report into prayer, stretching the poet's hope for peace beyond the moment into permanence. 「长愿」写愿蕃汉之情长流不息的深切期望，是全诗立意的点睛之词。「长愿向南流」着一「长愿」，见其愿望之深切长久——不只愿一时之安宁，更愿此情永久，蕃汉永好、边地永安。二字于平实中见深情，把诗人对和平的向往与对民族团结的期望写得真切而悠长，是尾联寄愿的关键。「长愿」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

使至塞上 On a Mission to the Frontier 王维 · 同写边塞之景，一写壮阔苍凉，一写安宁和平，可见边塞诗写景与写境的不同侧重 Both describe the desert frontier; Wang Wei's is grandeur and solitude, Zhang Qiao's is peace and welcome.

Wang Wei's On a Mission to the Frontier gives the desert its classic sublime images — lone smoke rising straight, the round sun over the long river. Zhang Qiao describes the same landscape emptied of armies and open to travelers. Where the High Tang found grandeur in emptiness, the late Tang found blessing in it.

王维《使至塞上》「大漠孤烟直，长河落日圆」，以「孤烟直」「落日圆」写大漠长河的壮阔苍凉，是盛唐边塞诗写景的名篇；张乔《书边事》则以「大漠无兵阻，穷边有客游」写边塞息兵、边境安宁之况，是晚唐边塞诗写和平的名篇。两诗同写大漠边塞，一以孤烟落日写其壮阔苍凉、一以无兵有客写其安宁和平；一写景之雄浑、一写境之祥和，并读正可见唐人边塞诗从盛唐的雄浑苍凉到晚唐的和平期许的不同风貌。

 出塞 On the Frontier 王昌龄 · 同写边塞，一以秦汉明月写边患未已，一以大漠无兵写边地安宁，可见唐人边塞诗中忧患与期望的两种情怀 Both reflect on the frontier's wars and peace; Wang Changling laments unending campaigns, Zhang Qiao celebrates a rare calm.

Wang Changling's On the Frontier — the moon of Qin, the passes of Han — mourns that frontier war has never ceased and the conscripts never return. Zhang Qiao's poem shows the other face: a border at rest, where even travelers may roam. Read together they measure the distance between the High Tang's anxious grandeur and the late Tang's wistful longing for peace.

王昌龄《出塞》「秦时明月汉时关，万里长征人未还」，以秦汉以来边患未已写征人未还之悲，结以「但使龙城飞将在，不教胡马度阴山」，寄望良将御边，是盛唐边塞诗忧患的名篇；张乔《书边事》则以「大漠无兵阻，穷边有客游」写边地安宁，「蕃情似此水，长愿向南流」寄望民族团结。两诗同写边塞：一以明月关塞写边患之深远、一以大漠无兵写边地之安宁；一忧患、一期许，并读正可见唐人于边塞中寄寓的「忧患」与「期望」两种情怀，皆情意深长。