All poems

唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

望庐山瀑布

Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu

李白

Li Bai

山水Landscape 写景Scenery Description

日照香炉生紫烟，遥看瀑布挂前川。
飞流直下三千尺，疑是银河落九天。

The sun shines on Censer Peak and purple smoke ascends.
From afar, I see the waterfall hanging on the front river.
The flying torrent plunges straight down three thousand feet,
As if the Milky Way had fallen from the Nine Heavens.

Listen

Meaning

The poet looks at the waterfall from afar: in the sunlight, mist rises like purple smoke from Censer Peak, and the waterfall hangs like a white silk cloth. He then imagines the torrent dropping three thousand feet, suspecting it to be the Milky Way falling from the highest heavens.

朝阳映照香炉峰，升起袅袅紫色的烟霞；远远望去，瀑布像一条白练垂挂在山前的河流。水流飞奔直下足有三千尺，教人疑心是银河从九天倾落人间。

Appreciation

The poem opens with a mystical scene (purple smoke). The word 'hang' captures the waterfall's stillness at distance, then the last two lines explode with hyperbole and celestial imagery, showcasing Li Bai's romantic awe of nature.

【白话串讲】李白看瀑布，看得把银河都搬了下来。“飞流直下三千尺”的夸张，一千多年后再看，依然让人忍不住抬头去找那道白光。【意象与手法】首句日照香炉生紫烟由名称生发出仙境般的紫烟，虚实相生；次句挂前川以挂字将动景静化，如白练垂空，炼字精绝【情感与主旨】李白壮年仗剑去国、辞亲远游，足迹遍及名山大川；约在唐玄宗开元十三年（725）前后途经庐山，写下此诗【名句点睛】常考比喻（瀑布如银河）与夸张（三千尺、落九天）手法；香炉指香炉峰，非器物。遥看瀑布挂前川的挂字炼字之妙

Background

Li Bai wrote this poem around 725 AD while traveling through Mount Lu. Censer Peak is named for its mist resembling incense smoke. The poem reflects his wandering, immortal-seeking spirit.

李白《望庐山瀑布》共二首，其一为五古，其二即此七言绝句，约作于唐玄宗开元十三年（725）前后，诗人出蜀后“仗剑去国，辞亲远游”的壮年漫游期。时李白二十五岁左右，初出夔门，足迹遍历江汉名山，庐山为其壮游所经。庐山在江州（今江西九江），北临长江，以飞瀑奇峰著称，自陶渊明、谢灵运以来即为文人登览胜地。李白性爱山水，又好道家神仙之说，庐山之瀑恰可同时满足其审美与求仙的双重趣味。此诗写遥望瀑布之感，并非亲临瀑下，而是“遥看”——立于远处，整体观照，故能得“挂前川”的全景与“落九天”的仰视，这种距离感正是浪漫夸张成立的前提。诗中“香炉”指香炉峰，非器物，峰形圆耸如香炉，云雾郁蒸如烟，故李白由名生象，敷衍出“生紫烟”的仙景。版本方面，此诗文字稳定，唯首句或作“日照香炉生紫烟”无疑；又李白另有一首五古《望庐山瀑布》“西登香炉峰，南见瀑布水”，与此七绝同题而异体，七绝更为脍炙。苏轼《东坡志林》曾拿徐凝“一条界破青山色”与此诗比较，力贬徐而推崇李，足见宋人已以此诗为写瀑之极则。

Art

The first line blends reality and fantasy (purple smoke). 'Hang' uses static verb for dynamic scene. The last two lines use outrageous exaggeration and mythic comparison to elevate the waterfall to cosmic scale.

此诗艺术最著者，在“由名生象、虚实相生”与“比喻加夸张”的浪漫手段。首句“日照香炉生紫烟”从峰名落笔——香炉峰本因形得名，李白却借“香炉”生“紫烟”的联想，将地名化为仙境：朝阳映峰，水气蒸腾如紫烟缭绕，遂使寻常山峦染上道家神仙色彩，这是“化实为虚、因名设象”的妙手。次句“遥看瀑布挂前川”由虚转实，以“挂”字将奔泻的瀑布静化为一条白练垂空，“挂”是此诗第一个炼字奇观——动景以静词写，如画师以线悬瀑，画面感极强。后两句“飞流直下三千尺，疑是银河落九天”转入动态与奇想：“飞流直下”写水势之疾，“三千尺”是极度夸张，“疑是银河落九天”则以银河喻瀑、以“九天”写其高，比喻与夸张叠加，将瀑布推入神话之境。全诗四句，由名（香炉）到象（紫烟）、由远（挂前川）到高（落九天），空间层层拔升，想象步步奇绝，典型地体现了李白“想落天外”的浪漫主义风格。沈德潜谓“银河”一喻“奇而入理”，正点其夸张而不失真的妙处。

Allusions

Censer Peak suggests an incense burner, evoking Taoist immortality. The Milky Way (Silver River) is a classic celestial image. Nine Heavens comes from ancient cosmology, making the waterfall a divine phenomenon.

此诗用典在“名”与“象”的互生，核心可溯道家神仙与天文神话。其一是“香炉生紫烟”：香炉峰因形似香炉得名，而“紫烟”则暗合道家“紫气”祥瑞（老子出关“紫气东来”之紫）与神仙炼丹的氤氲意象，李白将地名敷衍为仙境，化实为虚。“九天”一词出自《楚辞·天问》《离骚》“指九天以为正兮”，王逸注“九天谓中央八方”，本指天之极高处，李白用以写瀑布来处之高，赋予神话空间。“银河”即天河，《古诗十九首》“皎皎河汉女”已立天河意象，李白以银河喻瀑，使人间瀑布与天上星河相通，是其“欲上青天揽明月”一类天人合一思维的体现。又“紫烟”可溯郭璞《游仙诗》“翡翠戏兰苕，容色更相鲜”的神仙青气，及谢灵运山水诗“林壑敛暝色”的体物传统。李白融道家、楚辞、游仙于一炉，以名起象、以象生境，看似率意而渊源有自，故能“奇而入理”。观《望庐山瀑布》用典使事之妙，正在于不泥于古而能化用无痕，信手拈来皆成佳境，既增诗境之厚重，又不失自然浑成之趣，非徒摭拾故实以炫博者也。

Commentary

Su Shi praised Li Bai's bold imagination. Compared with other waterfall poems, this one stands out for its daring fantasy and effortless grandeur.

此诗自中唐已负盛名，尤为宋人所激赏。苏轼《东坡志林》卷一记载，世传徐凝《庐山瀑布》“一条界破青山色”，苏轼讥其“恶诗”“虽东坡先生亦鄙之”，而力推李白此诗为千古绝唱，谓“帝遣银河一派垂，古来惟有谪仙词”——直以李白为银河之喻的唯一正解。宋人葛立方《韵语阳秋》、明人杨慎《升庵诗话》皆从苏说，贬徐扬李。清代沈德潜《唐诗别裁》评“银河”一喻“奇而入理”，谓其夸张有度、不因奇而失真。近人俞陛云《诗境浅说》云：“四句皆写瀑布，而各有面目：首言烟，次言挂，三言下，四言落，层次井然。”叶嘉莹论李白，特赏其“以天真烂漫之眼观物”，认为“疑是银河落九天”之“疑”字写出诗人面对壮景时如孩童般的惊异与欣悦，正是太白“清水出芙蓉”境界的写照。在传播史上，此诗与“飞流直下三千尺”几乎成为庐山瀑布的代名词，凡题瀑者莫能出其樊笼，足证其艺术征服力之强。由古及今，评骘《望庐山瀑布》者代不乏人，或赏其辞章，或味其情志，虽各有侧重而皆许为名篇，其艺术生命之活跃、在文学史上地位之重要，于此可见一斑。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (qiyan jueju)七言绝句（山水浪漫之作）

Rhyme Rhymes on 'an': 烟 (yan), 川 (chuan), 天 (tian). Level tone.平水韵下平一先韵，押“烟”“川”“天”三韵，首句入韵

Tone pattern Not strictly regulated but follows common prosodic patterns.首句“日照香炉生紫烟”仄仄平平平仄平（“烟”平，入韵）；次句“遥看瀑布挂前川”平平仄仄仄平平（“川”平，入韵）；三句“飞流直下三千尺”平平仄仄平平仄（“尺”入声仄，不押，三句仄收合常）；末句“疑是银河落九天”平仄平平仄仄平（“天”平，入韵）。整体合七绝平起首句入韵正格，平仄清畅。

Reading note Known for its grand imagery and mythical allusion, a masterpiece of Li Bai's romantic landscape poetry.此诗为七绝平起首句入韵之正格，二十八字而想象奇绝，是李白山水绝句浪漫一格的巅峰。前两句“日照香炉生紫烟，遥看瀑布挂前川”以叙述对起，不对仗而意象层递（由烟到瀑、由虚到实）；后两句“飞流直下三千尺，疑是银河落九天”以奇想对结，亦不对仗（七绝本不要求对仗），却以“飞流”对“银河”、“直下”对“落”、“三千尺”对“九天”，形成天人对举、地天呼应的宏微张力。声韵上所押“烟”“川”“天”皆下平一先，先韵开口洪亮、音色清远，与紫烟之缈、瀑布之壮、九天之高的朗阔意境声情相恰；第三句“尺”字入声仄收，如瀑声顿挫，为末句长吟蓄势。王力《汉语诗律学》以李白七绝为唐人神品，此诗首句入韵、平仄合度而气韵奔放，且“生—挂—直下—落九天”一线贯穿升降、由地及天，章法如瀑势宛转，正见太白“天然合律”的绝句手段——不以雕琢争工，而以奇想与气魄胜，故能“帝遣银河一派垂，古来惟有谪仙词”（苏轼语）。

Line by line

日照香炉生紫烟，

Sunlight on Incense Burner Peak breeds a purple mist,

朝阳映照香炉峰，升起袅袅紫色的烟霞；

Morning sun strikes Incense Burner Peak, and a purple mist rises from it.

首句由峰名生发出仙境之象，是“因名设象”的妙手。“香炉”指庐山香炉峰，其形圆耸如博山香炉，本是因形得名；李白却借此名展开联想——朝阳映照峰顶，水气蒸腾缭绕，宛如香炉中升起的紫烟，于是地名被点化为神仙窟宅。“紫烟”二字尤妙：紫色在道家为祥瑞之色（老子出关“紫气东来”），烟则状水气氤氲，二者合写，使寻常山峦染上炼丹修仙的神秘光彩，为后文银河之喻铺设了仙界基调。这一笔是“化实为虚”：不从地质写峰，而从光影写气，以主观的浪漫想象笼罩客观景物。且“生”字写出烟之动态生成，日催烟起，峰活而境灵。首句未及瀑布一字，却先立一仙山背景，正是“未写其水，先写其境”的章法——有了紫烟香炉的烘托，下文瀑布方显得来自天上而非人间。

The opening grows an immortal setting from the peak's name, a masterly making of imagery from a name. Incense Burner means Xianglu Peak of Lu Mountain, round and lofting like a Boshan censer, named for its shape; Li Bai extends the name - sunlight on the summit, water vapor curling, like purple smoke rising from a censer, and the place-name is transfigured into an immortal's dwelling. Purple mist is exquisite: purple is the auspicious color of Daoism (the sage's exit through the pass, purple air coming from the east); mist images the curling vapor; together they lend an ordinary mountain the mysterious luster of alchemy, preparing the celestial keynote for the Silver River metaphor below. The stroke turns the solid to the void: he writes not the peak's geology but the vapor in light, subjective romantic imagination over the objective scene. And breeds writes the mist's dynamic rising - the sun urging the vapor up, the peak alive, the realm luminous. The opening says not one word of the waterfall, yet first establishes an immortal mountain - the method of writing the realm before the water: with the purple-mist censer for ground, the waterfall below can seem to come from heaven, not earth.

遥看瀑布挂前川。

From afar the waterfall hangs like a stream before the hill.

远远望去，瀑布像一条白练垂挂在山前的河流。

Seen from afar, the waterfall hangs like a white silk ribbon before the hill.

次句由虚转实，正面写瀑而以“挂”字立骨，是此诗第一个炼字奇观。“遥看”点明观察距离——诗人立于远处整体观照，而非亲临瀑下，故能得全景与仰角，浪漫夸张由此成立。“瀑布挂前川”写水自峰巅垂落山前，本是奔泻动态，李白却以“挂”字静化：如白练悬空、如画师以线垂瀑，动景以静词出之，画面感极强，仿佛瀑布是被谁挂上去的一幅素练。这个“挂”字有双重妙用：一是将飞动之水凝为视觉之形，便于“遥看”捕捉；二是暗含“非人力所能挂、唯天工可悬”的惊奇，为末句“银河落九天”埋下伏笔——能“挂”如此巨瀑者，岂非天公？与首句“生紫烟”的仙气呼应，瀑布悬于紫烟香炉之前，更似天上垂落的玉帘。一句写形、一句写势，由名境转入实瀑，章法过渡自然如行云。

The second line turns from the void to the solid, writing the waterfall frontally with hang as its bone - the first of the poem's refined wonders. From afar fixes the observing distance: the poet stands far off, viewing the whole, not beneath the fall, hence the panorama and the upward angle, and the romantic hyperbole becomes possible. The waterfall hangs like a stream before the hill: water plunging from the summit to the foot, naturally rushing motion, yet Li Bai staticizes it with hang - like white silk suspended, like a painter hanging the fall with a line; motion rendered through a static word, the picture vivid, as if someone had hung a sheet of white silk there. This hang has a double use: first, it condenses the flying water into a visual form, catchable from afar; second, it carries the surprise that no human hand could hang such a fall - only heaven - preparing the closing Silver River falling from the ninth heaven: who can hang such a cataract but the lord of heaven? Echoing the opening's breeds a purple mist, the waterfall suspended before the purple-mist censer looks all the more like a jade curtain dropped from the sky. One line writes form, one momentum; from named realm to solid fall, the transition flows like running cloud.

飞流直下三千尺，

Its flying torrent drops three thousand feet straight down,

水流飞奔直下足有三千尺，

The water rushes straight down for three thousand feet,

第三句由静转动、由远及高，是气势的骤然拉升。“飞流”写水之疾，“直下”写水之向与势——自峰巅垂直坠落，无一毫迂回，与次句“挂”的静态悬垂形成动与静、缓与疾的反差：前句如练垂空（静），此句如龙奔壑（动）。“三千尺”是极度夸张，以虚数写其高不可测，李白最擅此等豪宕之数（如“白发三千丈”“桃花潭水深千尺”）。这个夸张不为失真，而为写势——唯有以“三千尺”方能传达仰望时的眩晕与震撼。句法上“飞流直下”四字一气贯注，节奏急促，与水流之速相应；“三千尺”三字顿住，如瀑声轰然落地。此句为末句“疑是银河”蓄足了高度与动感：正因为“直下三千尺”如此之高、如此之疾，诗人才会疑其为自天而落的银河。由“挂”到“飞流直下”，瀑布由画中之静转为眼前之动，想象开始起飞。

The third line turns from still to motion, from far to high, the sudden lift of momentum. Flying writes the water's speed; straight down its direction and force - vertical from the summit, not a detour, contrasting with the hang's static suspension: the hanging ribbon (still) versus the dragon rushing into the ravine (motion). Three thousand feet is extreme hyperbole, writing its fathomless height in a virtual number - Li Bai's specialty in such grand figures (white hair of three thousand fathoms; Peach Blossom Pool a thousand feet deep). The hyperbole is not for distortion but for momentum: only three thousand feet can convey the vertigo and awe of looking up. In syntax, flying torrent drops straight down flows in one breath, the rhythm urgent, matching the water's speed; three thousand feet then holds, like the fall's roar striking ground. The line stores full height and motion for the closing I doubt it is the Silver River: precisely because it drops three thousand feet, so high, so fast, one suspects it the Milky Way fallen from heaven. From hang to flying torrent, the waterfall turns from a painting's stillness to the motion before the eyes, and imagination takes wing.

疑是银河落九天。

I doubt it is the Silver River falling from the ninth heaven.

教人疑心是银河从九天倾落人间。

till one suspects it is the Milky Way falling from the highest heaven.

末句以奇想收束，将瀑布推入神话之境，是全诗浪漫主义的最高潮。“疑是”二字极妙：诗人不直断“此即银河”，而用“疑”——写出面对壮景时如孩童般的惊异与不敢置信，这种天真的惊讶正是李白“清水出芙蓉”境界的精髓（叶嘉莹所谓“以天真烂漫之眼观物”）。“银河”即天河，以星汉之渺远喻瀑之璀璨；“九天”本出《楚辞》，指天之极高处，写瀑布来处之高，使人间飞瀑与天上星河相通，完成“天工—人工”的互化。比喻与夸张在此叠加：以银河喻形、以九天喻高，把一座庐山瀑布写成了自天倾落的星河，想象之奇古今无两。沈德潜谓“奇而入理”，正指其虽极度夸张却因“遥看”“生紫烟”的层层铺垫而令人信服。二十字小诗，结于“落九天”三字，空间由地拔升至天，余韵如瀑声轰然，遂成题瀑之千古绝唱，后世徐凝“一条界破青山色”终为其所掩。

The closing line ends in fantastic conjecture, pushing the waterfall into myth, the climax of the poem's romanticism. I doubt is exquisite: the poet does not flatly declare this is the Milky Way but uses doubt - writing, before the grand scene, a childlike amazement and disbelief; this naïve wonder is the essence of Li Bai's crystal clarity (Ye Jiaying's observing things with innocent, artless eyes). The Silver River is the Milky Way, using the starry river's remoteness to image the fall's splendor; ninth heaven, from the Songs of Chu, means the highest sky, writing the height of the fall's source, linking the earthly cataract with the celestial river, completing the mutual transformation of heaven's work and human sight. Metaphor and hyperbole stack here: the Silver River for form, the ninth heaven for height, turning a Lu Mountain waterfall into a river of stars poured from the sky - imagination unmatched. Shen Deqian said strange yet within reason: precisely because of the layered preparation of from afar and breeds a purple mist, the extreme hyperbole convinces. A twenty-character small poem closing on falling from the ninth heaven: space lifted from earth to sky, the aftertone like the waterfall's roar - the eternal song of waterfalls; later Xu Ning's one line cleaving the green mountain is forever overshadowed.

Study

Word focus

生 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “日照香炉生紫烟”之“生”字，是全句由地名化为仙境的关键动词。“生”写紫烟之动态涌现——朝阳既照，水气被催，烟霞袅袅而起，一个“生”字写出景物之活、之变，而非静止的“有紫烟”。更深层地，“生”字完成了“因名设象”的魔法：香炉峰本因形得名，李白借“生紫烟”将“香炉”坐实为焚香吐烟之器，使地名与仙景合一，化实为虚。这个字与下句“挂”遥应：首句“生”（烟之起）是升腾的、向上的、虚的；次句“挂”（瀑之悬）是垂落的、向下的、实的，一升一降、一虚一实，构成首联的张力。若作“起紫烟”“出紫烟”则平，“生”字最见造化之妙——仿佛紫烟是香炉天然吐出，自带神仙胎息。一字而定首句意象之灵，非太白不能为。

挂 The word 'gua' (hang) uses a static verb for the dynamic waterfall, creating a vivid image of a white silk suspended. “遥看瀑布挂前川”之“挂”字，是此诗第一个炼字奇观，亦历代激赏之眼。“挂”本为人为动作（挂画、挂帘），李白移以写自然瀑布，将奔泻的动态水帘静化为一条悬空白练，动景以静词出之，画面感极强。其妙有三：一是“以静写动”，避免直写“泻”“落”之俗，别开生面；二是暗含惊奇——如此巨瀑竟如被人“挂”于峰前，非天工不能，为末句“银河落九天”的天上之喻埋线；三是合“遥看”之透视——远处整体观照，瀑形如挂，近看则只是飞沫。苏轼贬徐凝“一条界破青山色”而推此诗，正因“挂”字优于“界破”的板刻。与“生”字对照，“生”是升腾之虚，“挂”是垂悬之实，一虚一实，章法井然。一字之炼，使瀑布成画，最见太白“想落天外”的手段。

直下 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “飞流直下三千尺”之“直下”二字，写瀑布之方向与态势，是全诗气势骤升的支点。“直”言无迂回、不旁曲，写水自峰巅垂直坠落的果决；“下”言其向，与首联“生”（升）、“挂”（悬）形成由虚到实、由静到动的翻转——烟生而上、瀑挂而悬、流直而下，空间运动一层比一层急。“直下”合“飞流”便成一股不可阻挡的奔泻之力，与“三千尺”的夸张互为表里：正因其“直下”，方显“三千尺”之落差惊人。这两个字节奏短促、斩钉截铁，读来如瀑声倾落，声情与景情相凑。且“直下”为末句“落九天”铺垫了运动逻辑——既是“直下”，则其来处必在“九天”之高，由地及天的想象由此二字接通。炼字之精，在不写水形而写水势，以势夺人。

疑 The word 'yi' (suspect) shifts from reality to fantasy, attributing heavenly origin to the waterfall. “疑是银河落九天”之“疑”字，是浪漫主义收束的诗眼，亦是李白天真的化身。“疑”写面对壮景时的惊异与不敢遽信——诗人遥望飞瀑，一时竟疑其为自天而落的银河，这种“将信将疑”的语气，比斩钉截铁的断定（“此即银河”）更见天真烂漫。叶嘉莹特赏此字，以为它写出李白“以天真烂漫之眼观物”的赤子之心：成人知其是瀑，诗人却“疑”其为银河，惊异中见出对自然的敬畏与欣喜。这个字亦使夸张“入理”：因为是“疑”，故银河之喻只是诗人一瞬的错觉与奇想，读者随之神驰而不责其失真，沈德潜所谓“奇而入理”正在于此。与《静夜思》“疑是地上霜”的“疑”遥映——太白两首绝唱皆以“疑”字写错觉，一写月如霜、一写瀑如河，俱见其“以幻为真”的浪漫思维。一字之疑，遂成千古题瀑之极则。