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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

夕次盱眙县

Mooring at Night at Xuyi County

韦应物

Wei Yingwu

落帆逗淮镇，停舫临孤驿。
浩浩风起波，冥冥日沉夕。
人归山郭暗，雁下芦洲白。
独夜忆秦关，听钟未眠客。

I furl the sail and linger by the Huai town,
Anchor the boat beside a lonely post.
Vast winds arise and ruffle the water wide,
Dim and dark the sun sinks in the eve.
Men go home and the hills grow shadowy,
Wild geese alight and the reed isles gleam white.
Alone at night I long for the Qin passes,
A sleepless traveler listening to the bell.

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Meaning

Written while moored overnight at Xuyi on the Huai River, the poem records a traveler's solitude at dusk and his homesickness by night. Sailing into the small town, the poet anchors by a lone posting station; wind and waves rise as the sun goes down; men return to their homes and geese settle on the whitening reed isles — while he alone remains a guest. In the lonely night, remembering his home near the Qin passes, he lies awake listening to the temple bell: the whole scene converges on that sleepless traveler.

落帆停泊在淮水边的小镇，停船靠着孤寂的驿馆。浩浩的风掀起波浪，冥冥的日沉入夕暮。人归去后山郭一片昏暗，雁飞下处芦洲泛着白。孤独的夜晚，我思念着秦中的故乡，听着寺钟，是个未能入睡的客。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Lowering the sail I stop at a town on the Huai; the boat is moored beside a solitary inn. Great winds stir up waves; dimly the sun sinks into evening. Men go home and the hills grow dark; geese come down and the reed-isles gleam white. Alone in the night I think of the Qin passes — a guest who, hearing the bell, cannot sleep. [Structure and Thought] The regulated verse opens with the act of mooring, moves outward to wind, waves and sunset, then inward to men returning and geese settling, and closes on the solitary self. Every couplet narrows the frame from the wide river to the single sleepless heart. [Key Technique] The poem works by contrast and convergence: the 'returning' of men and geese sets off the traveler who cannot return; the vast, darkening landscape is finally gathered into one listener's wakeful night. [Emotional Tone] Quietly melancholy and restrained — the characteristic 'plain but profound' mood of Wei Yingwu's travel verse, in which sorrow is suggested by scene rather than stated.

【白话串讲】韦应物写《夕次盱眙县》：“落帆逗淮镇，停舫临孤驿”——“浩浩风起波，冥冥日沉夕”——“人归山郭暗，雁下芦洲白”——“独夜忆秦关，听钟未眠客”——他夕次盱眙——听钟未眠客。【意象与手法】落帆逗淮镇、停舫临孤驿，写夜泊之景；浩浩风起波、冥冥日沉夕，写暮色之苍茫；人归山郭暗、雁下芦洲白，写日暮人归、雁宿而己独栖的对照；结以“独夜忆秦关，听钟未眠客”写孤夜思乡、听钟未眠。情景交融。【情感与主旨】韦应物羁旅夜泊盱眙县之作，写漂泊中的孤寂与思乡，是唐人羁旅诗中的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“浩浩风起波，冥冥日沉夕”写暮色苍茫；“人归山郭暗，雁下芦洲白”写人归雁宿而己独栖。

Background

Wei Yingwu (c. 737–c. 792), a native of Chang'an, was one of the foremost mid-Tang poets, remembered for the pure, bland yet deeply felt style of his landscape and travel poems; he served as prefect of Chuzhou, Jiangzhou and Suzhou and is often called Wei Suzhou. Xuyi County lies southwest of present-day Huai'an, Jiangsu, on the Huai River. Serving repeatedly in provincial posts and traveling constantly between them, Wei wrote some of the finest journey poems in the language; this piece, composed while moored overnight at Xuyi, is a classic of mid-Tang travel verse and a pure example of his 'plain speech, deep feeling' manner.

《夕次盱眙县》为中唐诗人韦应物所作五言律诗。韦应物（约737—约792），京兆长安人，中唐著名诗人，历任滁州、江州、苏州刺史，世称韦苏州。盱眙县在今江苏淮安西南，临淮水。此诗写诗人旅途夜泊盱眙。诗中「落帆逗淮镇，停舫临孤驿」写夜泊之景；「浩浩风起波，冥冥日沉夕」写暮色苍茫；「人归山郭暗，雁下芦洲白」写日暮人归、雁宿之景；「独夜忆秦关，听钟未眠客」写孤夜思乡。韦应物一生多次出守外郡、行役于途，其羁旅诗多写得冲淡而有深情。此诗于夜泊盱眙之际，以暮色、风涛、人归、雁宿写羁旅之孤寂，结以听钟未眠写思乡之深，情景交融，是中唐羁旅诗中的名篇，也是韦应物「冲淡深挚」诗风的典型体现。此篇《夕次盱眙县》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 the orderly movement from outer scene to inner feeling. The first couplet fixes the situation: sail furled, boat moored beside a lone inn — two quiet verbs of stopping. The second couplet broadens: vast winds, rising waves, the dim sun drowning in evening. The third couplet peoples the dusk with others' returns — men to their homes, geese to the whitening reed-isles — so that the traveler's solitude is set off by the general homecoming. The final couplet turns inward: alone at night, remembering the Qin passes, listening to the bell, sleepless. Each couplet draws the circle tighter until the whole landscape is gathered into one wakeful ear.

此诗艺术上以「由景入情、以境写思」见长。全诗八句，前六句写夜泊之景，后两句写思乡之情。首联「落帆逗淮镇，停舫临孤驿」写夜泊之景：落帆停泊在淮水边的小镇，停船靠着孤寂的驿馆，「落帆」「停舫」写行舟停泊，「孤驿」写驿馆之孤寂。颔联「浩浩风起波，冥冥日沉夕」写暮色苍茫：浩浩的风掀起波浪，冥冥的日沉入夕暮，「浩浩」写风涛之声势，「冥冥」写暮色之昏沉。颈联「人归山郭暗，雁下芦洲白」写日暮之景：人归去后山郭一片昏暗，雁飞下处芦洲泛着白，「人归」写人皆归家，「雁下」写雁皆归宿，而诗人独不得归。尾联「独夜忆秦关，听钟未眠客」写思乡之情：孤独的夜晚，我思念着秦中的故乡，听着寺钟，是个未能入睡的客，「独夜」写孤夜，「忆秦关」写思乡，「听钟未眠」写夜不能寐。全诗由景入情，以人归雁宿反衬己之独栖，情景交融，是中唐羁旅诗中的名篇。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

'Qin guan' (the Qin passes) designates the passes guarding the old Qin lands — i.e., the Chang'an region, the poet's native place; 'thinking of the Qin passes' is thus a classical shorthand for homesickness toward the capital and home. 'Listening to the bell' draws on the Tang practice of temples sounding the night bell, the very scene made famous by Zhang Ji's 'Midnight bell reaching the traveler's boat' in his Maple Bridge at Night; the sleepless guest hearing the bell is a recognized motif of Tang travel verse. 'Reed isles' and the 'lone inn' belong to the common furniture of night-mooring poems.

诗中「秦关」「听钟」等语，皆含典故与意象传统。「秦关」指秦地的关隘，代指关中长安一带，即韦应物的故乡京兆，诗人「忆秦关」即思念长安故乡，后世以「秦关」写关中故地；「听钟」写夜闻寺钟，唐代佛寺夜间鸣钟，羁旅之人孤夜听钟，更添愁思，张继《枫桥夜泊》「夜半钟声到客船」即写此境。韦应物「独夜忆秦关，听钟未眠客」，以听钟写孤夜之思乡，正是唐人写羁旅听钟之传统的体现。「孤驿」写孤寂的驿馆，「芦洲」写长芦之洲，皆写羁旅夜泊之所见。诗人以秦关、听钟等典故意象入诗，不着痕迹，而把羁旅夜泊的孤寂与思乡之深写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故与意象传统的体现。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 long been admired as a model of the mid-Tang travel poem in which feeling is wholly absorbed into scene. Critics single out the third couplet — 'Men go home and the hills grow shadowy, / Wild geese alight and the reed isles gleam white' — as the perfect 'others return, I cannot' antithesis. Wei Yingwu's quiet art, so different from the emphatic grief of his contemporaries, lets the homesickness accumulate through plain images; the poem is often quoted as the very definition of his 'plain and profound' style.

这首《夕次盱眙县》，写的是羁旅夜泊的孤寂与思乡，情景交融，冲淡而深挚。首联「落帆逗淮镇，停舫临孤驿」，写夜泊之景：落帆停泊在淮水边的小镇，停船靠着孤寂的驿馆。「落帆」「停舫」，写行舟止泊；「孤驿」二字，点出夜泊之地的孤寂。颔联「浩浩风起波，冥冥日沉夕」，写暮色苍茫：浩浩的风掀起波浪，冥冥的日沉入夕暮。「浩浩」写风涛之声势，「冥冥」写暮色之昏沉，风起波涌、日沉天昏，一片苍茫之景，也暗含羁旅之人的苍茫心绪。颈联「人归山郭暗，雁下芦洲白」，写日暮之景，是全诗最见对照处：人归去后山郭一片昏暗，雁飞下处芦洲泛着白。日暮时分，人皆归家，雁皆归宿，而诗人孤身泊舟于此，人归雁宿而己独不归，这「人归」「雁下」的对照，反衬出诗人羁旅独栖之悲。尾联「独夜忆秦关，听钟未眠客」，写思乡之情：孤独的夜晚，我思念着秦中的故乡，听着寺钟，是个未能入睡的客。「独夜」写孤夜独处；「忆秦关」写思念长安故乡；「听钟未眠」，写孤夜闻钟、夜不能寐。张继《枫桥夜泊》有「夜半钟声到客船」，韦应物此「听钟未眠客」，亦是听钟而不能寐，以钟声写尽羁旅之愁。全诗由景入情，以人归雁宿反衬己之独栖，情景交融，正是韦应物「冲淡深挚」诗风的体现，读之令人动容。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse (wuyan lüshi; oblique-tone opening pattern)五言律诗（近体，仄起式）

Rhyme The poem rhymes throughout on oblique (entering-tone) words: yi (station), xi (evening), bai (white) and ke (guest), all in the mo-xi-zhi group, sustained to the end; the oblique rhyme is unusual in regulated verse and suits the restless, clipped mood.全诗押仄声韵，韵脚「驿」「夕」「白」「客」属陌锡职部，一韵到底。此诗用仄韵，在五律中较为少见，仄韵声调急促凄清，正与羁旅夜泊的孤寂情调相称；「客」字收束全篇，与「听钟未眠客」之句相映，韵脚亦含客愁之意，声情与辞情相凑。

Tone pattern The opening couplet is level and quiet as the boat stops; the reduplicated hao hao and ming ming of the second couplet slow and darken the rhythm; the third couplet is neatly antithetical; the final 'ke' in oblique tone closes on a falling, lonely note.句式上，首联「落帆逗淮镇，停舫临孤驿」仄起，以「驿」收句，写夜泊之景，音节孤寂；颔联「浩浩风起波，冥冥日沉夕」以叠字写暮色，音节苍茫；颈联「人归山郭暗，雁下芦洲白」对仗工整，「人归」「雁下」「山郭暗」「芦洲白」相映，写对照之景，音节顿挫；尾联「独夜忆秦关，听钟未眠客」以「客」字仄收，音节转沉，情调由苍茫归于孤寂。全诗平仄相间、音节随情起伏，读来如孤舟夜泊、听钟不寐之音，孤寂而深沉。

Reading note This is a five-character regulated verse by Wei Yingwu, the Tang master of the calm and the precise. The poem moves from the mooring through the vast evening scene — the winds, the waves, the sinking sun, the darkening hills, the white reed isles — to the final confession of the sleepless traveler. The middle couplets are strictly parallel, and the close, with its bell and its sleeplessness, is one of the quiet masterpieces of the Tang night journey.此诗为五言律诗，是中唐羁旅诗中的名篇，也是韦应物「冲淡深挚」诗风的典型体现。全诗的艺术特色在于「由景入情、以境写思」：首联「落帆逗淮镇，停舫临孤驿」写夜泊之景，「孤驿」定下孤寂基调；颔联「浩浩风起波，冥冥日沉夕」写暮色苍茫，暗含漂泊之感；颈联「人归山郭暗，雁下芦洲白」以人归雁宿反衬己之独栖，是全诗最见对照处；尾联「独夜忆秦关，听钟未眠客」写孤夜思乡、听钟未眠。全诗由景入情，情景交融。尤为动人者，是「人归山郭暗，雁下芦洲白」一联，以人归雁宿反衬己之独栖，含蓄蕴藉；而「独夜忆秦关，听钟未眠客」一结，以听钟未眠写尽羁旅之愁，与张继「夜半钟声到客船」异曲同工，正是韦应物于羁旅诗中写尽孤寂思乡之情的典范，为历代选本所常收。

Line by line

落帆逗淮镇，停舫临孤驿。

I furl the sail and linger by the Huai town, anchor the boat beside a lonely post.

落帆停泊在淮水边的小镇，停船靠着孤寂的驿馆。

I lower my sail and linger at the Huai town; I moor by a lonely posthouse.

首联写夜泊之景，起笔即见羁旅之孤。「落帆逗淮镇」写落帆停泊在淮水边的小镇，「落帆」写行舟将泊，收帆而下，「逗淮镇」写停泊于淮水之滨的小镇；「停舫临孤驿」写停船靠着孤寂的驿馆，「停舫」写船已停定，「临孤驿」写其靠着驿馆，着一「孤」字，点出驿馆之孤寂，也暗含羁旅之人心情之孤。两句以「落帆」「停舫」写夜泊之状，以「孤驿」写夜泊之地，一个孤舟夜泊于孤驿之旁的形象宛然在目，为全诗定下了孤寂的基调。

The opening couplet writes the night mooring, the wanderer's loneliness at the first stroke. I lower my sail and linger at the Huai town writes furling sail at the Huai riverside town; lowering sail the boat about to moor; lingering the anchorage by the Huai. I moor by a lonely posthouse writes the boat beside the solitary post station; moored the boat settled; by a lonely posthouse the single word lonely marks the posthouse's solitude and secretly the wanderer's lonely mind. The two lines use lowering sail and moored boat for the night anchorage, lonely posthouse for its place - the image of a lone boat mooring by a lonely posthouse at night vivid before the eyes, setting the poem's lonely keynote.

浩浩风起波，冥冥日沉夕。

Vast winds arise and ruffle the water wide; dim and dark the sun sinks in the eve.

浩浩的风掀起波浪，冥冥的日沉入夕暮。

A great wind rises and churns the waves; dimly, the sun sinks into dusk.

颔联写暮色苍茫，以风涛日暮写羁旅之苍茫。「浩浩风起波」写浩浩的风掀起波浪，「浩浩」写风势之声势浩大，「起波」写风起浪涌；「冥冥日沉夕」写冥冥的日沉入夕暮，「冥冥」写暮色之昏沉暗淡，「日沉夕」写夕阳西沉、暮色四合。两句一写风涛之浩荡、一写日暮之昏沉，浩浩与冥冥相对，风起波与日沉夕相映，写尽暮色苍茫之景，也暗含羁旅之人于苍茫暮色中的漂泊之感，是「以景写情」的妙笔。

The second couplet writes the vast dusk, using wind-waves and sunset to write the wanderer's vastness. A great wind rises and churns the waves: great writes the wind's grand roar; rises the billows. Dimly, the sun sinks into dusk: dim writes the dusk's murk and dimness; sunset sinks the evening closing in. The two lines one writes the wind's vast waves, the other the sunset's dimness; great and dim set against, wind-rising and sun-sinking echoing, exhausting the vast dusk, and secretly the wanderer's drifting in the vast dusk - the exquisite stroke of writing feeling through scenery.

人归山郭暗，雁下芦洲白。

Men go home and the hills grow shadowy; wild geese alight and the reed isles gleam white.

人归去后山郭一片昏暗，雁飞下处芦洲泛着白。

Men return, and the hillside city darkens; geese descend, and the reed islets turn white.

颈联写日暮人归、雁宿之景，是全诗最见对照处。「人归山郭暗」写人归去后山郭一片昏暗，「人归」写日暮人皆归家，「山郭暗」写人散后山郭之昏暗；「雁下芦洲白」写雁飞下处芦洲泛着白，「雁下」写雁皆归宿，「芦洲白」写雁宿芦洲、芦花泛白。两句一写人归、一写雁下，人归山郭，雁宿芦洲，皆有所归、有所宿，而诗人孤舟独泊，无所归依——以人归雁宿反衬己之独栖，愈见其羁旅之孤。诗人不直写己之孤，而以此对照写之，含蓄蕴藉，是「以宾衬主」的典范之笔。

The third couplet writes dusk's people returning and geese roosting, the poem's strongest contrast. Men return, and the hillside city darkens: at dusk all men go home; after they disperse, the hillside city darkens. Geese descend, and the reed islets turn white: the geese all roost, the reed islets white with bloom. The two lines one writes men returning, the other geese descending - men return to the hillside city, geese roost in the reed islets; each has a home, each a roost, while the poet's lone boat moors alone, nowhere to return to - using men's return and geese's roost to set off his solitary lodging, the wanderer's loneliness all the keener. The poet does not write his loneliness directly, but through this contrast - reserved and pregnant, the model of setting off the main through the secondary.

独夜忆秦关，听钟未眠客。

Alone at night I long for the Qin passes, a sleepless traveler listening to the bell.

孤独的夜晚，我思念着秦中的故乡，听着寺钟，是个未能入睡的客。

Alone at night I think of the Qin passes; listening to the bell, the traveler cannot sleep.

尾联写思乡之情，是全诗情感落点。「独夜忆秦关」写孤独的夜晚，思念着秦中的故乡，「独夜」写孤夜独处，「忆秦关」写思念关中长安故乡，思乡之情至此点出；「听钟未眠客」写听着寺钟，是个未能入睡的客，「听钟」写孤夜闻寺钟声，「未眠客」写听钟而不能寐，羁旅之客孤夜无眠。两句一写忆乡之思、一写听钟未眠之状，以「听钟未眠」写尽羁旅之愁——孤夜之中，闻钟而不能寐，思乡之情，何以自遣。以「未眠客」点题收束，含蓄而深沉，是全诗境界最高的收束之笔。

The closing couplet writes homesickness, the poem's emotional landing. Alone at night I think of the Qin passes: lone night, thinking of the Chang'an home in Guanzhong; homesickness named here. Listening to the bell, the traveler cannot sleep: in the lone night hearing the temple bell, the traveler sleepless. The two lines one writes the thought of home, the other the bell-listening sleeplessness; listening to the bell, unable to sleep exhausts the wanderer's sorrow - in the lone night, hearing the bell yet unable to sleep, how to dispose of the homesickness? Closing with the sleepless traveler, reserved and deep, the poem's highest-realm close.

Study

Word focus

孤 'Lonely, solitary' — the lone posting station, the first stroke of the traveler's solitude. 「孤」字写驿馆之孤寂，是首联定调的关键。「停舫临孤驿」着一「孤」，写停船所靠的驿馆孤寂冷清——着一「孤」字，既是写驿馆之孤，亦是暗含羁旅之人心情之孤，为全诗定下了孤寂的基调。「孤」字于写景中寓情，是「以一字定调」的妙笔。「孤」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。

浩浩 'Vast, boundless' — the great winds raising the waves, the wideness of the evening scene. 「浩浩」写风势之声势浩大，是颔联写暮色苍茫的关键。「浩浩风起波」着一「浩浩」，写风之浩荡、声势之大，风吹浪起，一片苍茫。叠字写风势，音节亦觉浩荡，与下句「冥冥」相对，浩浩写其动、冥冥写其暗，写尽暮色苍茫之景，是「以叠字写景」的妙笔。「浩浩」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。

暗 'Shadowy, dark' — the darkening hills, the fall of night over the returning world. 「暗」字写人归后山郭之昏暗，是颈联写对照的关键。「人归山郭暗」着一「暗」，写日暮人归后，山郭一片昏暗——人既归家，灯火渐熄，山郭便暗了下来。着一「暗」字，既是写日暮山郭之昏暗，亦是写人散后之冷清，与下句「芦洲白」之「白」相对，一暗一白，写尽日暮景象，也暗含羁旅之人的孤寂。「暗」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。

未眠 'Not yet asleep' — the sleepless traveler, the poem's final word and its whole confession. 「未眠」写孤夜听钟而不能入睡，是尾联写思乡之愁的关键。「听钟未眠客」着一「未眠」，写诗人孤夜闻钟、夜不能寐——羁旅之客，孤夜思乡，听寺钟声声，辗转难眠。着一「未眠」，把思乡之愁写得具体可感，以未眠写尽羁旅之人内心的辗转与牵挂，是全诗情感的归结词。「未眠」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。