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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

听董大弹胡笳声兼寄语弄房给事

On Hearing Dong Da Play the Hu Jia Reed Pipe, with a Message for Fang Guan

李颀

Li Qi

蔡女昔造胡笳声，一弹一十有八拍。
胡人落泪沾边草，汉使断肠对归客。
古戍苍苍烽火寒，大荒阴沉飞雪白。
先拂商弦后角羽，四郊秋叶惊摵摵。
董夫子，通神明，深松窃听来妖精。
言迟更速皆应手，将往复旋如有情。
空山百鸟散还合，万里浮云阴且晴。
嘶酸雏雁失群夜，断绝胡儿恋母声。
川为净其波，鸟亦罢其鸣。
乌孙部落家乡远，逻娑沙尘哀怨生。
幽音变调忽飘洒，长风吹林雨堕瓦。
迸泉飒飒飞木末，野鹿呦呦走堂下。
长安城连东掖垣，凤凰池对青琐门。
高才脱略名与利，日夕望君抱琴至。

Lady Cai of old composed the sound of the hu jia reed; one performance runs eighteen full beats.
The Hu wept till their tears wet the border grass; the Han envoy broke his heart facing the returning guest.
The ancient fort stands gray-green, its beacon fires cold; the vast waste is somber and heavy, snow flying white.
First he brushes the shang string, then the jiao and yu; the autumn leaves of the four suburbs shudder in fright.
Master Dong — his art communes with the gods; in the deep pines, demons secretly come to listen.
Slow or swift, every note answers to his hand; as he presses and returns and circles round, it seems to feel.
In the empty mountains the hundred birds scatter and gather again; over ten thousand miles the floating clouds turn dark, then clear.
Bitter and sour, a young goose lost from the flock at night; cut off, the cry of a Hu child longing for its mother.
For him the streams stilled their waves; the birds, too, ceased their song.
The Wusun tribes are far from their homeland; the dust of Lhasa breeds sorrow and resentment.
A muted note, the mode shifts — suddenly it drifts free, like a long wind blowing through the forest, rain falling on the tiles.
Gushing springs sough as they fly past the treetops; wild deer call you-you as they walk beneath the hall.
Chang'an's walls adjoin the Eastern Wing's rampart; the Phoenix Pool faces the Blue-Lock Gate.
A man of supreme talent, beyond name and gain; morning and night I hope to see you come, qin in your arms.

Listen

Meaning

The poem is both a tribute to the qin master Dong Tinglan's performance of the Hu Jia music — the piece traditionally attributed to Cai Wenji's exile among the Xiongnu — and a message to Fang Guan, Dong's patron, inviting him to hear it. Li Qi traces the Hu Jia's origin in Cai Wenji's sorrow, renders Dong's art through a cascade of similes, and closes with an address to Fang Guan, praising his indifference to fame and gain and expressing the hope that he will come with his qin.

蔡文姬当年创制了胡笳声，一弹就是一十八拍。胡人闻之落泪，沾湿边草；汉使闻之断肠，面对归客。古戍苍苍，烽火生寒；大荒阴沉，飞雪飘白。先拂商弦，后调角羽，四郊秋叶被惊得簌簌作响。董夫子啊，琴艺通神，深松之中仿佛有妖精偷听。音声的迟速，皆应手而成；将往复旋，仿佛含着情意。空山百鸟飞散又聚合，万里浮云忽阴忽晴。如雏雁失群之夜嘶酸，如胡儿恋母之声断绝。川为之净其波，鸟亦为之罢其鸣。乌孙部落家乡遥远，逻娑的沙尘中哀怨丛生。幽怨的琴音变调忽而飘洒，如长风吹林、雨打屋瓦。如迸泉飒飒飞于木末，如野鹿呦呦走在堂下。长安城连着东掖垣，凤凰池正对青琐门。您高才超脱名与利，日夜盼望您抱琴到来。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Cai Wenji once composed the hu jia's sound in eighteen beats, so sad that Hu and Han alike wept; the frontier is gray with cold beacon fires and white with snow. Dong Tinglan brushes the strings, and the autumn leaves shudder; his art communes with the gods, and demons listen in the deep pines. His music is like birds scattering and gathering, like clouds turning dark then clear, like a lost gosling's bitter cry or a Hu child's wail for its mother; the streams still their waves and the birds stop singing. Then the mode shifts: long wind in the forest, rain on the tiles, springs flying past the treetops, deer calling beneath the hall. The poem ends with an address to Fang Guan, whose offices adjoin the palace — a man above name and gain, whom the poet hopes to see come with his qin. [Structure] The poem moves in four movements: the origin of the Hu Jia and its ancient grief; Dong's mastery; the music's changes; and the message to Fang Guan. [Imagery] Each simile turns an acoustic quality into a scene of the natural world, and the sequence enacts the performance's own course.

【白话串讲】李颀写《听董大弹胡笳声兼寄语弄房给事》：“蔡女昔造胡笳声，一弹一十有八拍”——“胡人落泪沾边草，汉使断肠对归客”——“董夫子，通神明，深松窃听来妖精”——“言迟更速皆应手”——他听董大弹胡笳——胡人落泪沾边草。【意象与手法】蔡女昔造胡笳声、一弹一十有八拍，写胡笳之渊源；胡人落泪沾边草、汉使断肠对归客，写胡笳之哀；空山百鸟散还合、万里浮云阴且晴，写琴声之变化；结以“高才脱略名与利，日夕望君抱琴至”寄语房给事。比喻精妙、酣畅淋漓。【情感与主旨】李颀听董庭兰弹胡笳、并寄语房给事之作，以一连串精妙的比喻写胡笳声之美，是唐人写音乐诗中的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“胡人落泪沾边草，汉使断肠对归客”写胡笳之哀；“空山百鸟散还合，万里浮云阴且晴”写琴声之变化。

Background

Li Qi (c. 690–751), a native of Yingyang in Henan, was a jinshi of the Kaiyuan era and served as county lieutenant of Xinxiang; his bold, flowing style made him the High Tang's finest poet of frontier and music themes. Dong Da was Dong Tinglan, the most celebrated qin master of the High Tang and a retainer of Fang Guan. Fang Guan (697–763), to whom the poem's 'message' is addressed, was a leading statesman of the Kaiyuan-Tianbao era, who served as a Supervising Secretary in the Chancellery and later rose to be chancellor. The Hu Jia is the reed pipe of the northern nomads, and its music is inseparable from the 'Hu Jia Shi Ba Pai' (Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Reed Pipe) attributed to Cai Wenji, who was held captive by the Xiongnu for twelve years before being ransomed back to Han. This poem is Li Qi's greatest work on music and one of the supreme Tang achievements in the genre.

《听董大弹胡笳声兼寄语弄房给事》为盛唐诗人李颀所作歌行体长诗。李颀（约690—约751），盛唐诗人，河南颍阳人，开元年间进士，曾任新乡县尉，诗风豪放，尤善写边塞与音乐题材。董大即董庭兰，盛唐著名琴师，善弹胡笳，为房琯的门客。房给事即房琯，时任给事中。此诗写李颀听董庭兰弹胡笳，并寄语房琯。诗中「蔡女昔造胡笳声，一弹一十有八拍」写胡笳之渊源（蔡文姬作《胡笳十八拍》）；「胡人落泪沾边草，汉使断肠对归客」写胡笳之哀；「董夫子，通神明，深松窃听来妖精」写董大琴艺之通神；「空山百鸟散还合，万里浮云阴且晴」写琴声之变化；「高才脱略名与利，日夕望君抱琴至」寄语房琯。盛唐诗人好以诗写音乐，李颀此诗以一连串精妙的比喻写胡笳声之美，酣畅淋漓，是唐人写音乐诗中的名篇，也是李颀「豪放酣畅」诗风的典型体现。此篇《听董大弹胡笳声兼寄语弄房给事》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's art lies in the layering of history and sound. It opens not with the player but with the music's origin — Cai Wenji's eighteen beats, the tears of Hu and Han — so that Dong's performance is heard as the reenactment of an ancient grief. Then, after the tuning of the strings and the shuddering leaves, the similes unfold: birds scattering and gathering, clouds dark and clear, a lost gosling's bitter cry, a Hu child's severed cry for its mother — each translating an acoustic quality into a scene of longing and loss. When the streams still their waves and the birds fall silent, the poem reaches its emotional summit; the following series — long wind and rain, springs flying past the treetops, deer calling beneath the hall — renders the shifting modes with equal precision. The closing message to Fang Guan, praising his indifference to name and gain, turns the whole poem into an invitation, so that the performance becomes the ground of a friendship.

此诗艺术上以「比喻精妙、酣畅淋漓」见长。全诗二十八句，前六句写胡笳之渊源与悲声，中十二句写董大琴艺之通神与琴声之变化，后十句写琴声之感物与寄语房琯。首六句「蔡女昔造胡笳声，一弹一十有八拍。胡人落泪沾边草，汉使断肠对归客。古戍苍苍烽火寒，大荒阴沉飞雪白」写胡笳之渊源与悲声：蔡文姬创制胡笳十八拍；胡人落泪、汉使断肠；古戍烽火寒、大荒飞雪白。中段「先拂商弦后角羽，四郊秋叶惊摵摵。董夫子，通神明，深松窃听来妖精。言迟更速皆应手，将往复旋如有情。空山百鸟散还合，万里浮云阴且晴。嘶酸雏雁失群夜，断绝胡儿恋母声」写董大琴艺之通神与琴声之变化：拂弦惊秋叶；董夫子通神明、妖精窃听；迟速应手、往复含情；百鸟散合、浮云阴晴；雏雁失群、胡儿恋母。后段「川为净其波，鸟亦罢其鸣。乌孙部落家乡远，逻娑沙尘哀怨生。幽音变调忽飘洒，长风吹林雨堕瓦。迸泉飒飒飞木末，野鹿呦呦走堂下。长安城连东掖垣，凤凰池对青琐门。高才脱略名与利，日夕望君抱琴至」写琴声之感物与寄语：川净波、鸟罢鸣；乌孙远、逻娑怨；变调飘洒；长风吹林、迸泉木末、野鹿堂下；长安东掖、凤凰池；高才脱略名利、望君抱琴。全诗以一连串精妙的比喻写琴声，酣畅淋漓，是唐人写音乐诗中的名篇。

Allusions

Cai Nü (Lady Cai) is Cai Wenji, daughter of the Han scholar Cai Yong, captured by the Xiongnu in the turbulence at the end of the Han, taken to their court, married to the Zuoxian king and bearing him two sons; twelve years later Cao Cao ransomed her back to the Han, where she composed the 'Hu Jia Shi Ba Pai' (Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Reed Pipe) out of the grief of leaving her children. The 'eighteen beats' are its eighteen stanzas. The shang, jiao, and yu are three of the five notes of the Chinese pentatonic scale, a metonymy for the tuning of the qin. The Wusun were an ancient state of the Western Regions to which Han princesses — Princess Xijun and Princess Jieyou — were married in alliance, hence 'far from their homeland.' Luosuo (Lhasa) was the capital of the Tibetan empire; the marriage of Princess Wencheng to Songtsen Gampo is the sorrow behind 'the dust of Lhasa.' The Phoenix Pool was the Central Secretariat, the Blue-Lock Gate an imperial palace gate, and the Eastern Wing rampart the buildings of the Chancellery — the geography of Fang Guan's office as a Supervising Secretary.

诗中「蔡女」「胡笳十八拍」「乌孙」「逻娑」「凤凰池」等语，皆含典故故实。「蔡女」指蔡文姬，东汉蔡邕之女，被匈奴掳去，后归汉，作《胡笳十八拍》写其流离之悲；「一弹一十有八拍」即写胡笳十八拍之制。「乌孙」为汉代西域国名，汉以公主和亲乌孙，故「乌孙部落家乡远」写和亲远嫁之哀；「逻娑」即逻些（今拉萨），唐代吐蕃都城，「逻娑沙尘哀怨生」写边地之怨。「凤凰池」指中书省，唐时中书省位于禁中，称凤凰池，房琯时任给事中（属门下省），其地近中书省，「凤凰池对青琐门」写房琯官署所在。「青琐门」为宫门名。诗人以蔡女、胡笳、乌孙、逻娑、凤凰池等典入诗，不着痕迹，而把胡笳之渊源、悲声与寄语房琯之意写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。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。

Commentary

This poem is widely regarded as the finest of Li Qi's music poems and one of the greatest achievements of the Tang ge xing. Its opening is unusual and profound: beginning with Cai Wenji and the Hu Jia's eighteen beats, it makes the music's origin an event of history, so that Dong's performance replays an exile's grief of two centuries before. The rendering of the sound is the poem's core — birds scattering and gathering, clouds dark and clear, a lost gosling's bitter cry, a Hu child's cry for its mother — and when the streams still their waves and the birds fall silent, the poem touches the summit of what music can do. Then the modes shift, and the similes turn from sorrow to pure natural movement: long wind and rain, springs past the treetops, deer beneath the hall. The closing address to Fang Guan — 'a man of supreme talent, beyond name and gain' — is courteous without servility, and it turns the whole poem into an invitation, ending one of the Tang's greatest music poems in the key of friendship.

这首《听董大弹胡笳声兼寄语弄房给事》，是李颀听琴师董庭兰弹胡笳之作，以一连串精妙的比喻写胡笳声之美，酣畅淋漓，是唐人写音乐诗中的名篇。开篇写胡笳之渊源与悲声：「蔡女昔造胡笳声，一弹一十有八拍」——蔡文姬当年创制了胡笳声，一弹就是一十八拍，点出胡笳出于蔡文姬的流离之悲；「胡人落泪沾边草，汉使断肠对归客」——胡人闻之落泪，汉使闻之断肠，写胡笳之哀，动人心魄；「古戍苍苍烽火寒，大荒阴沉飞雪白」——古戍烽火、大荒飞雪，写胡笳之声如边塞之景，苍凉凄冷。中段写董大琴艺之通神：「先拂商弦后角羽，四郊秋叶惊摵摵」——拂弦一声，四郊秋叶都被惊落，起笔写琴声之震撼；「董夫子，通神明，深松窃听来妖精」——董夫子的琴艺通神，深松中仿佛有妖精窃听，写其技艺之高妙；「空山百鸟散还合，万里浮云阴且晴」——琴声如百鸟散合、浮云阴晴，写其变化之无穷；「嘶酸雏雁失群夜，断绝胡儿恋母声」——如雏雁失群之夜嘶酸，如胡儿恋母之声断绝，写其哀声之深切。后段写琴声之感物：「川为净其波，鸟亦罢其鸣」——川水为之静波，飞鸟为之罢鸣，写琴声之感天动地；「幽音变调忽飘洒，长风吹林雨堕瓦。迸泉飒飒飞木末，野鹿呦呦走堂下」——变调飘洒，如长风吹林、雨堕屋瓦、迸泉飞木、野鹿堂下，以一连串比喻写琴声之变化万端。末段寄语房琯：「长安城连东掖垣，凤凰池对青琐门」——写房琯官署所在；「高才脱略名与利，日夕望君抱琴至」——您高才超脱名利，日夜盼望您抱琴到来，寄语房琯，以听琴收束全篇。全诗以比喻写音乐，酣畅淋漓，正是李颀「豪放酣畅」诗风的体现，也是唐人写音乐诗中最著名的篇章之一。

Prosody

Form Song-style (ge xing) ancient verse in seven-character lines, not regulated verse歌行体（七言古诗，非近体律诗）

Rhyme As a ge xing the poem shifts rhymes as the music modulates: pai ('beats'), ke ('guest'), and bai ('white') in the entering-tone group; then jing, qing, qing, sheng, ming, and sheng in the geng-qing group; then wa ('tiles') and xia ('below') in the ya group; and finally yuan ('rampart'), men ('gate'), and zhi ('arrive') at the close. The rhymes change with the performance, and the meter rises and falls with the tune.全诗为七言歌行，句式以七言为主，穿插三言「董夫子」，押韵自由转韵：前段「拍」「客」「白」押陌职部，「摵」韵；中段「精」「情」「晴」「声」押庚青部，「鸣」「生」韵；后段「瓦」「下」押马部，「垣」「门」「至」转韵。歌行体不拘平仄对仗，而以意运笔、转韵自由，此诗随琴声之起落而转韵，音节长短相间、随声起伏，正与写琴声的酣畅淋漓相称，也见其作歌行以写音乐的匠心。

Tone pattern The seven-character lines keep their regular 2-2-3 pause, but the ge xing ignores tonal antithesis and even interpolates three-character lines ('Master Dong — his art communes with the gods'), whose halting rhythm dramatizes the player's art. The meter runs from the slow opening on Cai Wenji, through the heavy lines of the frontier and the crying geese, to the silent summit of stilled streams, then quickens in the shifting modes and slows again in the closing address.句式上，首段「蔡女昔造胡笳声，一弹一十有八拍」写胡笳渊源，音节舒缓；「胡人落泪沾边草，汉使断肠对归客」写其哀声，音节沉郁；「古戍苍苍烽火寒，大荒阴沉飞雪白」写边塞之景，音节苍凉；中段「董夫子，通神明」以三言顿挫，音节高亢；「空山百鸟散还合，万里浮云阴且晴」写琴声变化，音节起伏；「川为净其波，鸟亦罢其鸣」写琴声感物，音节低沉；后段「幽音变调忽飘洒，长风吹林雨堕瓦」写变调飘洒，音节飞扬；「高才脱略名与利，日夕望君抱琴至」写寄语，音节和缓。全诗音节随声起伏，由舒缓而沉郁、由高亢而飞扬、由飞扬而和缓，正合歌行「以意运笔」之体，读来如听胡笳之曲、随声起伏，酣畅而动人。

Reading note This is a seven-character ge xing and the finest of Li Qi's music poems, typical of his bold, flowing manner. Its art lies in 'precise similes and unrestrained flow': it opens with the Hu Jia's origin in Cai Wenji's exile, praises Dong Tinglan's mastery, renders the sound through birds, clouds, a lost gosling, and a Hu child's cry, brings nature itself to silence, then shifts through long wind and rain, springs past the treetops, and deer beneath the hall, and closes with a message to Fang Guan. The rhymes shift with the melody, and the meter surges and falls with the tune — a ge xing written expressly to hold music, and a model of the genre.此诗为七言歌行，是唐人写音乐诗中的名篇，也是李颀「豪放酣畅」诗风的典型体现。全诗的艺术特色在于「比喻精妙、酣畅淋漓」：首段「蔡女昔造胡笳声，一弹一十有八拍」写胡笳之渊源，「胡人落泪沾边草，汉使断肠对归客」写其哀声之感人；中段「董夫子，通神明」写董大琴艺之通神，「空山百鸟散还合，万里浮云阴且晴」以百鸟浮云写琴声之变化，「川为净其波，鸟亦罢其鸣」写琴声之感天动地；后段「幽音变调忽飘洒，长风吹林雨堕瓦」以长风吹林、迸泉野鹿等一连串比喻写琴声之变，末以「高才脱略名与利，日夕望君抱琴至」寄语房琯。全诗以比喻写音乐，酣畅淋漓。尤为精妙者，是「空山百鸟散还合，万里浮云阴且晴」以百鸟浮云写琴声之变化，与白居易《琵琶行》「大珠小珠落玉盘」同为中国古典诗歌写音乐的绝唱，而「高才脱略名与利，日夕望君抱琴至」以寄语作结，正是李颀「以诗写乐」的典范，为历代选本所常收。

Line by line

蔡女昔造胡笳声，一弹一十有八拍。

Lady Cai of old composed the sound of the hu jia reed; one performance runs eighteen full beats.

蔡文姬当年创制了胡笳声，一弹就是一十八拍。

Lady Cai once created the sound of the hu jia reed; one performance runs eighteen full beats.

首二句写胡笳之渊源，起笔即见其本之深。「蔡女昔造胡笳声」写蔡文姬当年创制了胡笳声，「蔡女」指蔡文姬，被匈奴掳去、流离塞外，归汉后作《胡笳十八拍》写其悲；「一弹一十有八拍」写一弹就是一十八拍，「十八拍」点出胡笳之制，也暗含蔡文姬十八年流离之悲。两句一写胡笳之渊源、一写其拍数，点出这琴声本出于蔡文姬的流离之悲，为全诗写胡笳之哀、写董大弹琴作了历史与情感的铺垫，起笔即见其深，是「溯源以写哀」的妙笔。

The first two lines write the origin of the hu jia, its depth struck at the opening. Lady Cai once created the sound of the hu jia: Lady Cai is Cai Wenji, carried off by the Xiongnu, wandering the frontier, who composed the Eighteen Beats of the Hu Jia after her return to Han, writing her grief. One performance runs eighteen full beats: the eighteen beats fix the form of the hu jia, and secretly echo Cai Wenji's eighteen years of displacement. One line writes the origin of the hu jia, one its number of beats - the music springs from Cai Wenji's grief of exile, preparing the historical and emotional ground for the whole poem's treatment of the hu jia's sorrow and Dong Da's playing. Deep from the opening - a masterly tracing of origin to write sorrow.

胡人落泪沾边草，汉使断肠对归客。

The Hu wept till their tears wet the border grass; the Han envoy broke his heart facing the returning guest.

胡人闻之落泪，沾湿边草；汉使闻之断肠，面对归客。

The barbarians wept till their tears wet the border grass; the Han envoy broke his heart facing the returning guest.

此二句写胡笳之哀，是全诗写其感人处。「胡人落泪沾边草」写胡人闻之落泪、沾湿边草，「胡人落泪」写其声之感胡人，泪落沾草，见其哀之深；「汉使断肠对归客」写汉使闻之断肠、面对归客，「汉使断肠」写其声之感汉使，肠断欲绝，面对归客而无言。两句一写胡人、一写汉使，以胡汉之人闻声落泪断肠，写尽胡笳声之哀——这琴声出于蔡文姬的流离之悲，故能感胡汉之人、动边塞之情。以人感写声哀，含蓄而有力，是「以人写声」的典范之笔。

These two lines write the sorrow of the hu jia, the poem's moving point. The barbarians wept till their tears wet the border grass: the sound moves the nomads to tears falling on the grass, showing the depth of grief. The Han envoy broke his heart facing the returning guest: the sound moves the Han envoy to a broken heart, wordless before the returning exile. One line writes the nomad, one the Han envoy; through their tears and broken hearts, the sorrow of the hu jia is exhausted - the music, born of Cai Wenji's exile, can move both peoples and stir frontier feeling. Writing sound's sorrow through human feeling, reserved and forceful - a model of writing sound through people.

空山百鸟散还合，万里浮云阴且晴。

In the empty mountains the hundred birds scatter and gather again; over ten thousand miles the floating clouds turn dark, then clear.

空山百鸟飞散又聚合，万里浮云忽阴忽晴。

In the empty mountains, a hundred birds scatter and gather again; across ten thousand miles, floating clouds now darken, now clear.

此二句写琴声之变化，是全诗写董大琴艺的关键。「空山百鸟散还合」写琴声如空山百鸟，飞散又聚合，「百鸟散合」以鸟之散聚合写琴声之起落，时而激越、时而舒缓；「万里浮云阴且晴」写琴声如万里浮云，忽阴忽晴，「浮云阴晴」以云之阴晴写琴声之明暗，时而低沉、时而明朗。两句以百鸟散合、浮云阴晴写琴声之变化万端，把无形的琴声写得形象可感，比喻精妙，正见董大琴艺之高妙，是唐人写音乐「以象写声」的典范之笔。

These two lines write the changes of the qin music, the key to Dong Da's art. In the empty mountains, a hundred birds scatter and gather again: birds scattering and gathering write the music's rises and falls, now impassioned, now serene. Across ten thousand miles, floating clouds now darken, now clear: clouds dark and clear write the music's shades, now low, now bright. Through scattering birds and alternating clouds, the lines render the music's ten thousand changes, making the soundless qin visible - exquisite metaphor, showing Dong Da's consummate artistry: a model of Tang music-writing through imagery.

川为净其波，鸟亦罢其鸣。

For him the streams stilled their waves; the birds, too, ceased their song.

川水为之静波，飞鸟亦为之罢鸣。

The rivers still their waves for it; the birds stop their singing for it.

此二句写琴声之感天动地，是全诗写琴声感物的高潮。「川为净其波」写川水为之静波，「川为净波」写琴声使川水平静、波澜不兴，见其声之感物；「鸟亦罢其鸣」写飞鸟亦为之罢鸣，「鸟罢其鸣」写飞鸟闻声而停止鸣叫，见其声之感动人心。两句以川净波、鸟罢鸣写琴声之感天动地，仿佛天地万物都为这琴声所静、所感——连无情的川水、鸣叫的飞鸟，都被这琴声打动，正是极写琴声之妙。以物感写声妙，含蓄而有力，是「以物衬声」的典范之笔。

These two lines write the music's power over heaven and earth, the climax of the qin's effect on things. The rivers still their waves: the music calms the rivers, their billows at rest, showing its power over things. The birds stop their singing: birds hearing it fall silent, showing its hold on the heart. Through stilled rivers and silenced birds, the lines write the qin's moving of heaven and earth - as if all things were hushed and stirred by the music; even the heartless waters and chattering birds are touched, the utmost exaggeration of the qin's excellence. Writing the music's wonder through things affected, reserved and forceful - a model of setting sound off against things.

高才脱略名与利，日夕望君抱琴至。

A man of supreme talent, beyond name and gain; morning and night I hope to see you come, qin in your arms.

您高才超脱名利，日夜盼望您抱琴到来。

You, of lofty talent, have cast off fame and gain; morning and evening I await you, qin in your arms, arriving.

尾二句寄语房琯，是全诗寄意的落点。「高才脱略名与利」写您高才超脱名与利，「高才」称颂房琯之才，「脱略名利」写其超脱于名利之外，见其高致；「日夕望君抱琴至」写日夜盼望您抱琴到来，「日夕望」写盼之殷切，「抱琴至」写盼其携琴而来，再听妙音。两句一赞房琯之高才高致、一写盼其抱琴之切，以寄语收束全篇，把听琴之兴与对房琯的期许一并写出——这琴声如此之妙，愿您也来一听。以寄语作结，含蓄而亲切，是全诗「听琴寄语」之旨的归结，也是「以意收束」的妙笔。

The last two lines address Fang Guan, the poem's landing point. You, of lofty talent, have cast off fame and gain: lofty talent praises Fang Guan's ability; cast off fame and gain writes his freedom from such things, showing his high temper. Morning and evening I await you, qin in your arms, arriving: morning and evening write the keenness of expectation; qin in your arms, arriving writes the longing for his coming with the instrument, that the wondrous music may be heard again. One line praises Fang Guan's lofty talent and temper, one writes the longing for his qin; closing in a message, the poem carries off both the joy of hearing qin and the esteem for Fang Guan - the music is so wondrous, come and hear it too. Closing in a message, reserved and intimate - the resolution of the poem's theme of listening and writing, and a masterly closing in meaning.

Study

Word focus

造 'zao' (to compose, to create): applied to Cai Wenji, it credits her not merely with performing the hu jia but with composing it out of her own exile's grief — the single word that gives the music its origin in sorrow. 「造」字写蔡文姬创制胡笳声，是写胡笳渊源的关键。「蔡女昔造胡笳声」着一「造」，写蔡文姬创制这胡笳之曲——着一「造」字，见胡笳之曲出于蔡文姬的创作，也暗含其以流离之悲、身世之感创为此曲。一字写尽胡笳之本，为全诗写其哀声与董大弹琴作了铺垫，是「溯源」的点睛之词。「造」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。

断肠 'duan chang' (heart-breaking, gut-wrenched): the Han envoy's broken heart facing the returning guest mirrors Cai Wenji's own parting grief; the phrase magnifies the reed's pathos by showing its power over the sternest listeners. 「断肠」写汉使闻胡笳而肠断，是写胡笳之哀的关键。「汉使断肠对归客」着一「断肠」，写汉使闻声而肠断欲绝——这琴声出于蔡文姬的流离之悲，故能感人至深，使汉使面对归客而肠断。两字写尽胡笳声之哀、之感人，以人感写声哀，含蓄而有力，是「以人写声」的点睛之词。「断肠」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。

通神明 'tong shen ming' (communing with the gods): the phrase elevates Dong Tinglan's art from technical mastery to spiritual communion — the criterion by which the following cascade of similes is to be judged. 「通神明」写董大琴艺之通神，是写其技艺高妙的关键。「董夫子，通神明」着一「通神明」，写董大的琴艺通于神明、出神入化——着一「通」字，见其技艺已非人力所能及，仿佛通于神明。三字极写琴艺之高妙，为后文「深松窃听来妖精」「空山百鸟散还合」等写琴声之妙的铺陈张本，是写琴艺的纲领词。「通神明」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。

望 'wang' (to look for, to hope for): the final verb turns the whole poem into an invitation, its eager hope that Fang Guan come with his qin converting a record of performance into an act of friendship. 「望」字写盼望房琯抱琴而至，是尾联寄语的关键。「日夕望君抱琴至」着一「望」，写日夜盼望您抱琴到来——着一「望」字，见其盼之殷切、望之拳拳，也见其对这琴声之妙的欣赏，愿与知己共赏。一字写尽寄语房琯的殷切之意，是「以意收束」的点睛之词。「望」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。