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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

同从弟销南斋玩月忆山阴崔少府

Playing with the Moon at the South Studio with My Cousin Xiao, Thinking of Registrar Cui of Shanyin

王昌龄

Wang Changling

高卧南斋时，开帷月初吐。
清辉淡水木，演漾在窗户。
苒苒几盈虚，澄澄变今古。
美人清江畔，是夜越吟苦。
千里共如何，微风吹兰杜。

Resting at ease in the south studio, I drew the curtain as the moon first breathed forth its light.
Its clear radiance bathes the waters and trees, rippling and shimmering at my window.
Slowly, slowly it has waxed and waned through how many cycles; in the same pure light, ancient times and now have changed.
My fair friend stands by the clear river; tonight, singing in the Yue accent, he is bitter with longing.
Though a thousand li apart, what can we share? Only this moon — and the breeze that carries the scent of orchid and rue.

Listen

Meaning

Wang Changling, gazing at the moon with his cousin at the south studio, lets the moonlight lead his thoughts from its own waxing and waning to the changes of past and present, and then to his friend Cui far away by a clear river in the south. He imagines the friend singing a homesick Yue-song, and closes on the consoling thought that a thousand li apart they share one moon, its fragrance borne on the breeze. The poem is a model of moonlit friendship verse: quiet, luminous, and quietly moving.

高卧南斋之时，推开帷帘，月初吐光华。清辉映着淡水和林木，波光漾动在窗户之间。月儿苒苒圆缺，几度盈虚；月华澄澄如昔，却变了今古。故人你身处清江之畔，今夜大约正唱着越吟思念故土吧。千里之外，我们共对这明月，微风送来兰杜的芬芳。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The poet is at rest in the south studio when he draws the curtain and sees the moon just rising. Its light washes over water and trees and seems to ripple at the window. The moon's endless waxing and waning turn his thoughts to the distance between ancient times and the present, and from there to his friend on the riverbank far to the south, whom he imagines singing a homesick song. He closes by sharing the moon across a thousand li. [Structure] The poem moves in a clear arc — from scene, to reflection, to friendship. The first four lines are pure moonlight; the middle two lines are the pivot, where the moon's constancy against changing times deepens the mood; the last four lines turn outward to the friend. Nothing is stated bluntly: feeling is reached through the moon. [Imagery] Two images carry the poem: the rippling moonlight at the window, which makes light feel like moving water, and the breeze carrying the scent of orchid and rue at the end, which turns the friend's nobility into something almost tangible across distance.

【白话串讲】王昌龄写《同从弟销南斋玩月忆山阴崔少府》：“高卧南斋时，开帷月初吐”——“清辉淡水木，演漾在窗户”——“苒苒几盈虚，澄澄变今古”——“美人清江畔，是夜越吟苦”——“千里共如何，微风吹兰杜”——他玩月忆崔少府——千里共如何。【意象与手法】清辉淡水木、演漾在窗户，写月色之美；苒苒几盈虚、澄澄变今古，由月色生人生今古之思；美人清江畔、是夜越吟苦，想象友人月下怀乡之状；结以“千里共如何，微风吹兰杜”以千里共月、兰杜飘香写怀友之情。意境清远。【情感与主旨】王昌龄南斋玩月、思念友人崔少府之作，以月写怀友之情，是唐人赏月怀友诗中的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“清辉淡水木，演漾在窗户”写月色之美；“千里共如何，微风吹兰杜”以千里共月写怀友。

Background

Wang Changling (ca. 698–ca. 757), a native of Chang'an, was one of the most celebrated poets of the High Tang, famed especially for his seven-character quatrains and often ranked among the greatest masters of the form. He held various official posts and was widely traveled, and many of his friends — like the registrar Cui mentioned here — lived far from the capital. The poem was written at his south studio while moon-gazing with his cousin Wang Xiao; the clear river of the third couplet refers to Cui's home district of Shanyin (modern Shaoxing, Zhejiang). Moonlight verse on the theme of absent friends was a well-established Tang tradition, and Wang Changling's example is prized for combining that convention with a rare limpid clarity.

《同从弟销南斋玩月忆山阴崔少府》为盛唐诗人王昌龄所作五言律诗。王昌龄（约698—约757），字少伯，京兆长安（今陕西西安）人，盛唐著名诗人，擅长七绝，有「七绝圣手」「诗家天子」之称。崔少府即崔姓县尉，山阴（今浙江绍兴）人。此诗写与从弟王销在南斋玩月、思念崔少府。诗中「高卧南斋时，开帷月初吐」写南斋玩月之始；「清辉淡水木，演漾在窗户」写月色之美；「苒苒几盈虚，澄澄变今古」由月之盈虚生今古之思；「美人清江畔，是夜越吟苦」想象友人月下怀乡；「千里共如何，微风吹兰杜」写千里共月之思。王昌龄一生交游广泛，友人多有远居者。此诗于南斋玩月之际，由月色而生怀友之情，意境清远，是唐人赏月怀友诗中的名篇，也是王昌龄诗「清刚俊爽而含蕴深远」风格的体现。此篇《同从弟销南斋玩月忆山阴崔少府》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 craft lies in its steady deepening. The first couplet catches the instant of moonrise with a living verb — the moon breathes forth (tu) its light, as if the moon itself were surprised into radiance. The second couplet uses rippling (yanyang) to turn still moonlight into moving water at the window. The middle couplet is the structural hinge: the reduplicatives ranran and chengcheng measure the moon's cycles against the constancy of its light, so that time itself seems to pass through the poem. The last four lines switch to imagined space — the friend by the clear river — and end not on a statement but on a scent carried by the breeze, so the poem closes with the feeling still moving. The overall effect is one of clarity achieved by restraint.

此诗艺术上以「由景入思、层层深入」见长。全诗十句，前四句写玩月之景，后六句写怀友之思。首四句写南斋玩月之景：「高卧南斋时，开帷月初吐」，高卧南斋，推开帷帘，月初吐光华；「清辉淡水木，演漾在窗户」，清辉映着淡水林木，波光漾动在窗户之间，写月色之清美。中两句由月生思：「苒苒几盈虚，澄澄变今古」，月儿苒苒圆缺、几度盈虚，月华澄澄如昔、却变了今古，由月之盈虚生今古之思、时光之感。后四句写怀友之思：「美人清江畔，是夜越吟苦」，想象友人身处清江之畔，今夜正唱越吟思念故土；「千里共如何，微风吹兰杜」，千里之外，我们共对明月，微风送来兰杜的芬芳。全诗由景入思、由今古之思入怀友之情，层层深入，意境清远，是唐人赏月怀友诗中的名篇。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

Two allusions deserve notice. Yue yin (the Yue song) refers to Zhuang Xi, a man of Yue who served the state of Chu; when he fell ill, courtiers noticed he still sighed in the speech of his native Yue, and the phrase came to mean the longing of an exile for home. Wang Changling borrows it to give his friend's imagined night a classical weight. Lan du — orchid and rue — are fragrant herbs associated in the Chu ci with purity and noble character; the breeze carrying their scent at the close quietly identifies the friend's virtue with their fragrance.

诗中「越吟」「兰杜」等语，皆含典故。「越吟」用越人庄舄之典：庄舄仕楚而病，楚王问之，或言庄舄本越人，思念故国，故发越声（越地的吟咏），后世以「越吟」写思乡怀故之情。王昌龄「是夜越吟苦」，想象友人崔少府身处山阴（越地）清江之畔，今夜正以越吟写其思乡怀故之苦，用典精切。「兰杜」指兰草、杜若，皆香草，屈原《九歌》中以香草喻高洁，后世以兰杜写高洁之人或高洁之情。「微风吹兰杜」，写微风送来兰杜的芬芳，以香草写友人之高洁，亦写怀友之情之芬芳。诗人以越吟、兰杜等典入诗，不着痕迹，而把怀友之情写得含蓄深远，是善于熔铸典故以写深情的体现。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

This poem has been treasured as a model of the Tang moonlit friendship lyric. Critics praise especially the couplet on the moon's waxing and waning against unchanging time, and the closing couplet, whose image of the shared moon recalls Zhang Jiuling's famous line on sharing one hour across the horizon. What distinguishes Wang Changling is the balance of feeling: the longing is real, but it is never allowed to become heavy — everything passes through cool moonlight and the fragrance of herbs, so the poem reads as clear rather than plaintive. It remains a favorite in anthologies of Tang verse for its crystalline diction and its air of quiet distance.

这首《同从弟销南斋玩月忆山阴崔少府》，写的是南斋玩月、思念友人，意境清远，读之令人心旷神怡。首四句写玩月之景：「高卧南斋时，开帷月初吐」——高卧南斋之时，推开帷帘，只见月初吐光华；「清辉淡水木，演漾在窗户」——清辉映着淡水林木，波光漾动在窗户之间。月色初吐，清辉如水，映着水木，漾在窗前，一片清美之境。中两句由月生思：「苒苒几盈虚，澄澄变今古」——月儿苒苒圆缺，几度盈虚；月华澄澄如昔，却变了今古。由月之盈虚，想到时光之流转、人生之代谢；月华如昔，而人事已变，这今古之思，使玩月之情转入深沉。后四句写怀友之思：「美人清江畔，是夜越吟苦」——想象友人崔少府，正身处清江之畔，今夜大约正唱越吟，思念故土吧。「美人」指友人，古以美人喻才德之士；「越吟」用庄舄之典，写友人思乡怀故。想象友人之情，正是诗人思念友人之处。「千里共如何，微风吹兰杜」——千里之外，我们共对这明月，微风送来兰杜的芬芳。千里共月，如张九龄「天涯共此时」之意；微风兰杜，以香草写友人之高洁。全诗由景入思、由今古之思入怀友之情，层层深入，意境清远，正是王昌龄「赏月怀友」诗中清刚含蕴之风的体现，读之令人回味。

Prosody

Form Five-character ancient-style verse of ten lines, written in the manner of regulated verse (five couplets)五言律诗（近体，平起式）

Rhyme The poem rhymes throughout on the rising-tone Yu (qu) group: tu (tu), hu (hu), gu (gu), ku (ku), du (du) — a single rhyme sustained to the end. The rising-tone rhyme gives the verse a plaintive, lingering cadence that suits its quiet moonlight mood.全诗押平声韵「吐」「户」「古」「苦」「杜」，韵脚同属麌遇类（吐、户、古、苦、杜），一韵到底，韵部宽舒而音调清远。五律以平韵谐畅为常，此诗「吐」「户」「古」「苦」「杜」五韵音色清朗，正与赏月怀友的清远情调相称；「杜」字收束全篇，与「微风吹兰杜」之句相映，韵脚亦含高洁之意，声情与辞情相凑。

Tone pattern The lines are built of even five-character phrases with balanced, regulated-sounding antithesis in the middle couplets (ranran against chengcheng, waxing and waning against past and present). The rhythm moves from the slow calm of the opening moonrise, through the measured pulse of the moon-cycle couplet, to the softer, extended cadence of the closing breeze.句式上，首联「高卧南斋时，开帷月初吐」平起，以「吐」收句，写玩月之始，音节舒缓；颔联「清辉淡水木，演漾在窗户」写月色之美，音节清丽；颈联「苒苒几盈虚，澄澄变今古」以「苒苒」「澄澄」叠字相对，写今古之思，音节顿挫；尾联「千里共如何，微风吹兰杜」以「杜」字平收，音节转舒，情调由沉思归于清远。全诗平仄相间、音节随情起伏，读来如南斋月下、望月怀人之音，清远而绵长。

Reading note The poem is essentially a five-character lyric in the manner of regulated verse, ten lines long, and is prized as a model of Tang moonlit friendship verse. Its structure is enter scene, reflect, turn to the friend: the first four lines on moonrise and moonlight, the middle two on the moon's cycles and the change of past and present, the last four imagining the friend's homesickness and closing on the shared moon and fragrant breeze. The couplet 'Slowly it has waxed and waned, in the same pure light past and present change' is especially admired for using reduplicatives to link the moon's cycles with the sense of time; and 'My fair friend by the clear river, tonight his Yue song is bitter' writes from the friend's side, a technique of great indirection.此诗为五言律诗，是唐人赏月怀友诗中的名篇，也是王昌龄「清刚俊爽而含蕴深远」诗风的体现。全诗的艺术特色在于「由景入思、层层深入」：前四句「高卧南斋时，开帷月初吐」「清辉淡水木，演漾在窗户」写玩月之清景；中两句「苒苒几盈虚，澄澄变今古」由月之盈虚生今古之思；后四句「美人清江畔，是夜越吟苦」想象友人越吟怀乡，「千里共如何，微风吹兰杜」写千里共月、兰杜飘香之思。全诗由景入思、由今古之思入怀友之情，层层深入，意境清远。尤为精妙者，是「苒苒几盈虚，澄澄变今古」一联，以叠字写月之盈虚与今古之变，由玩月而入哲思；而「美人清江畔，是夜越吟苦」从对面着笔，想象友人怀乡，含蓄深婉，正是唐人赏月怀友诗以深情与哲思并胜的典范，为历代选本所常收。

Line by line

清辉淡水木，演漾在窗户。

Clear moonlight bathes the waters and trees, rippling and shimmering at the window.

清辉映着淡水林木，波光漾动在窗户之间。

Clear moonlight softens over water and trees, rippling between the windows.

此二句写月色之美，是全诗写景最动人处。「清辉淡水木」写清辉映着淡水林木，「清辉」写月色之清朗，「淡水木」写月光下之水木相映，一片清美；「演漾在窗户」写波光漾动在窗户之间，「演漾」写水光月色之荡漾流动，「在窗户」写月色映窗、近在眼前。两句一写月色之清辉、一写波光之漾动，以「演漾」二字写尽月色水光之流动之美，仿佛月色不仅是照，而是如水般漾在窗前，写景清丽生动，是全诗玩月之景的集中体现。

These two lines write the beauty of moonlight, the poem's most moving scenery. Clear moonlight softens over water and trees: clear radiance writes the moon's purity; water and trees softened in moonlight, a scene of limpid beauty. Rippling between the windows: the water-light and moon-glow undulating, moonlight mirrored at the windows, close before the eyes. One line writes the moon's clear radiance, the other the rippling water-light; the word rippling exhausts the flowing beauty of moon and water - as if moonlight did not merely shine but rippled like water before the window, the scenery pure and vivid, the focus of the moon-gazing.

苒苒几盈虚，澄澄变今古。

Slowly it has waxed and waned through many cycles; the same pure radiance has witnessed the change from ancient times to now.

月儿苒苒圆缺，几度盈虚；月华澄澄如昔，却变了今古。

Slowly the moon has waxed and waned how many times; in its clearness it has seen the change of ages.

此二句由月生思，是全诗由景入思的枢纽。「苒苒几盈虚」写月儿苒苒圆缺、几度盈虚，「苒苒」写时光之渐进，「盈虚」写月之圆缺，月圆月缺，几度轮回；「澄澄变今古」写月华澄澄如昔、却变了今古，「澄澄」写月华之澄明如昔，「变今古」写月虽如昔而人间已变今古。两句一写月之盈虚、一写月之今古，以月之如昔对照人事之变迁，由玩月而生时光流转、人生代谢之思，境界顿深。诗人不直写怀友，而先由此今古之思酝酿，为下文的怀友之情作了铺垫，是「由景入思」的妙笔。

These two lines turn from moon to thought, the pivot from scenery to reflection. Slowly the moon has waxed and waned how many times: slowly writes time's gradual advance; waxed and waned writes the moon's phases, round and full, cycling how many times. In its clearness it has seen the change of ages: clear writes the moonlight still limpid as ever; changed ages writes that while the moon is as of old, the human world has altered. One line writes the moon's phases, the other the ages beneath it - the moon's constancy set against human change; from gazing at the moon rises the thought of time's flow and human mutability, the realm deepening at once. The poet does not write of his friend directly but first matures this thought of ages, preparing the longing below - a masterly movement from scenery to reflection.

美人清江畔，是夜越吟苦。

My fair friend stands by the clear river; tonight, singing in the Yue accent, he is bitter with longing.

故人你身处清江之畔，今夜大约正唱着越吟思念故土吧。

My fair friend by the clear river banks - tonight, surely, his Yue-song is full of grief.

此二句想象友人月下怀乡，是全诗由思入情的关目。「美人清江畔」写故人你身处清江之畔，「美人」古以喻才德之士，指友人崔少府，「清江畔」写其身处之地，山阴清江之畔；「是夜越吟苦」写今夜大约正唱越吟思念故土，「越吟」用庄舄之典，写思乡怀故，「苦」字写其思乡之苦。两句从对面着笔，想象友人今夜月下怀乡之苦，而这正是诗人思念友人之情的曲折表达——想着友人此刻在怀乡思人，正是自己此刻在思念友人。从对方写来，含蓄深婉，是「以对面写情」的典范之笔。

These two lines imagine the friend, under the moon, longing for home - the hinge from thought to feeling. My fair friend by the clear river banks: fair friend anciently denotes a scholar of virtue, here Cui Shaofu; clear river banks writes his dwelling by the clear water of Shanyin. Tonight, surely, his Yue-song is full of grief: the Yue-song allusion - Zhuang Xi, a Yue man in Chu, sang his native Yue tune when ill with homesickness - writes longing for home; bitter writes its pain. The two lines write from the opposite shore: imagining the friend's homesickness tonight under the moon - and this is the winding expression of the poet's own longing: thinking that the friend now misses home and friends is exactly his own missing of the friend. Writing from the other side, reserved and deep - a model of writing feeling through the imagined other.

千里共如何，微风吹兰杜。

A thousand li apart, we share this same moon — a light breeze carries the fragrance of orchid and rue.

千里之外，我们共对这明月，微风送来兰杜的芬芳。

Though a thousand li apart, we share this moon; the faint breeze carries the fragrance of orchids and oleaster.

尾二句写千里共月之思，是全诗情感的落点。「千里共如何」写千里之外，我们共对这明月，「千里共」写二人相隔千里而共此明月，如张九龄「天涯共此时」之意，「如何」写这共月之感，欲说还休；「微风吹兰杜」写微风送来兰杜的芬芳，「兰杜」以香草喻友人之高洁，微风送香，仿佛友人的芬芳跨越千里而来。两句一写千里共月之思、一写兰杜飘香之喻，把怀友之情写得既深挚又清远——虽隔千里，而共此明月，友之芬芳，如风送兰杜，可感可闻。以景作结，含蓄蕴藉，是全诗境界最高的收束之笔。

The last two lines write the thought of sharing the moon across a thousand li, the emotional landing. Though a thousand li apart, we share this moon: a thousand li apart yet sharing this moon, like Zhang Jiuling's shared at the world's end; how writes the feeling of sharing, half-spoken. The faint breeze carries the fragrance of orchids and oleaster: orchids and oleaster, fragrant plants, symbolize the friend's purity; the breeze carrying fragrance seems to bring his scent across a thousand li. One line writes the shared moon across distance, the other the fragrant orchids and oleaster - the longing made both deep and clear: though a thousand li apart, sharing this moon; the friend's fragrance, like orchids borne on the breeze, can be felt and smelt. Closing in scenery, reserved and pregnant - the loftiest close of the poem.

Study

Word focus

吐 to breathe forth — describes the moon rising as if it were exhaling its light, giving the moon a living, breathing motion at the moment the curtain is drawn. 「吐」字写月初吐光华，是写月出之态的关键。「开帷月初吐」着一「吐」，写月从云际或山际吐出光华，着一「吐」字，使月之出带有生命的动感，仿佛月是主动吐出清辉，也写出诗人开帷见月的惊喜。「吐」字写月出之生动，是全诗玩月之景的起点，是炼字传神之笔。「吐」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。

演漾 to ripple and shimmer — used of moonlight on water playing across the window, as if the moonlight itself were flowing water. 「演漾」写水光月色之荡漾流动，是写月色最美的词。「清辉淡水木，演漾在窗户」着一「演漾」，写月色如水，映着水木，波光漾动在窗户之间——本是写月照，着一「演漾」，仿佛月光成了流水，在窗前荡漾流动，月色之美、之光、之动，尽在两字之中。写景清丽生动，是「以动写静」的妙笔。「演漾」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。

盈虚 waxing and waning (of the moon) — full and hollow; from the moon's cycles the poet turns to the passage of time and the changes of past and present. 「盈虚」指月之圆缺，「盈」为满月，「虚」为缺月。「苒苒几盈虚」着一「盈虚」，以月之圆缺写时光之流转、岁月之轮回——月圆月缺，几度盈虚，而人事在其中几度代谢。两字于写月中含今古之思，是「由景入思」的关键词，也是全诗境界由清美转入深沉处。「盈虚」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。

苦 bitter — the bitterness of homesickness in the friend's imagined Yue-song tonight; from the friend's side the poet voices his own sorrow of separation. 「苦」字写友人越吟思乡之苦，是写怀友之情的关键。「是夜越吟苦」着一「苦」，写想象中友人今夜越吟思乡之苦——这「苦」既是友人思乡之苦，亦暗含诗人思念友人、不得相见之苦。从对面写来，以「苦」写情，含蓄深婉，把怀友之情写得真切而深沉，是「以对面写情」的点睛之笔。「苦」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。