唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
新年作
Written at the New Year
乡心新岁切，天畔独潸然。
老至居人下，春归在客先。
岭猿同旦暮，江柳共风烟。
已似长沙傅，从今又几年。
Alone at the world's edge I let my tears fall.
Old now, and still ranked below my fellows,
Spring returns to my home before I do.
The apes of the ridges share my dawns and dusks,
The willows of the river share my wind and mist.
I am already like the Marshal of Changsha —
And from this day, how many years remain?
Meaning
A poem written by Liu Changqing at the New Year, in exile at the far edge of the empire. The new year sharpens his longing for home; alone in a distant post, he weeps. He is old, yet still serves below his peers; the spring returns to his native place before he can. The mountain apes share his dawns and dusks, the river willows his wind and mist — he is utterly alone in a landscape of strangers. Comparing himself to Jia Yi, the Han scholar banished to Changsha, he asks: from this day, how many years remain? The poem is the cry of the aging exile at the turning of the year.
新岁将临，乡心更加深切，身处天边，独自潸然泪下。年已老迈，却仍居于人下；春将归来，却先于我到达故乡。岭上的猿声与我同度旦暮，江边的杨柳与我共历风烟。我身已似被贬长沙的贾谊，从今往后，又要苦熬几年呢？
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] At the new year my longing for home grows more urgent; alone at the edge of the sky I shed tears. I am old, yet still placed below others; spring returns home before the traveler does. The apes of the ridges keep me company through dawn and dusk; the willows by the river share wind and mist with me. I am already like the Marshal of Changsha — and from now on, how many more years? [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the occasion (the new year's homesickness) through the facts of the exile's condition (age, low rank, spring's homecoming before his own) to the landscape of solitude and the historical comparison that seals it. [Key Technique] The art is in the poised plainness: every line states a simple fact, yet the accumulation — tears at the year's turn, age below one's peers, spring arriving home before the poet, apes and willows as his only companions — produces an unbearable loneliness. [Emotional Tone] Restrained and melancholy, with the quiet dignity of a man who has long endured: the poem ends not in outcry but in the weary question, how many years remain?
【白话串讲】 刘长卿写《新年作》：“乡心新岁切，天畔独潸然”——“老至居人下，春归在客先”——“岭猿同旦暮，江柳共风烟”——“已似长沙傅，从今又几年”——他新年作——春归在客先。 【意象与手法】 “乡心新岁切，天畔独潸然”写新年思乡之切；“老至居人下，春归在客先”写年老位卑、春归人滞的悲慨；“岭猿同旦暮，江柳共风烟”写贬所风物之凄清；结以“已似长沙傅，从今又几年”以贾谊自比，叹谪期之长。情真语挚。 【情感与主旨】 刘长卿贬谪时期的新年感怀之作，写尽贬谪异乡、新年思乡的悲凉，是中唐贬谪诗中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“老至居人下，春归在客先”写年老位卑、春归人滞；“已似长沙傅，从今又几年”以贾谊自比。
Background
Liu Changqing (c. 709–c. 786), courtesy name Wenfang, was one of the most important poets of the mid-Tang, famous for the clarity and loneliness of his verse; he twice suffered exile and demotion in his official career. This poem was written at the New Year during one of his banishments to a distant post — a time when the festival of family reunion made his solitude most acute. The poem's comparison with Jia Yi, the brilliant Han scholar exiled to Changsha by court suspicion, was the standard historical analogy for the wrongly banished official, and it gives the poem's personal grief a classical dignity.
《新年作》为中唐诗人刘长卿所作五言律诗。刘长卿（约726—约786），字文房，河间（今河北河间）人，中唐著名诗人，工五言，自诩「五言长城」，诗风清雅冲淡。此诗作于其贬谪南方时期。唐肃宗、代宗朝，刘长卿因事两遭贬谪，先贬南巴尉，后贬睦州司马。诗中「乡心新岁切，天畔独潸然」写新年思乡、天畔独悲；「老至居人下，春归在客先」写年老位卑、春归人滞；「岭猿同旦暮，江柳共风烟」写贬所风物之凄清；「已似长沙傅，从今又几年」以汉贾谊贬长沙自比。贾谊为汉文帝时名士，遭谗被贬为长沙王太傅，刘长卿以此自比，写其贬谪之悲与谪期之长的无奈。全诗于新年佳节之际，写尽贬谪异乡、年老位卑的悲凉，情真语挚，是中唐贬谪诗中的名篇，也是刘长卿「五言长城」风格的典型体现。此篇《新年作》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 quiet progression from occasion to condition. The first couplet fixes the moment: the new year and the tears. The second gives the double grievance — old age still below one's fellows, and the bitter irony that spring, the season of return, reaches home before the exile. The third couplet peoples the solitude with the only companions available: the apes and the willows, who share his time and weather but cannot speak. The final couplet turns to history: like Jia Yi in Changsha, the poet asks how many years remain — the question of a man who has learned not to hope much, yet cannot help counting the time. The plainness of the language is the poem's art: nothing is forced, and the loneliness accumulates by itself.
此诗艺术上以「层层递进、以境写情」见长。全诗八句，前四句写思乡之悲，后四句写贬谪之慨。首联「乡心新岁切，天畔独潸然」写新年思乡：新岁将临，乡心更加深切，身处天边，独自潸然泪下，「乡心」与「新岁」相对，见佳节倍思乡，「天畔」「独」写身处天涯、孤身无伴。颔联「老至居人下，春归在客先」写年老位卑、春归人滞：「老至居人下」写年老而仍居于人下，位卑之叹，「春归在客先」写春将归来、却先于客到达故乡，以春之归反衬客之滞。颈联「岭猿同旦暮，江柳共风烟」写贬所风物：岭上的猿声与我同度旦暮，江边的杨柳与我共历风烟，「岭猿」「江柳」写贬所之景，「同」「共」写其与风物相伴、日复一日之孤寂。尾联「已似长沙傅，从今又几年」以贾谊自比：身已似被贬长沙的贾谊，从今往后又要苦熬几年，「已似」写其贬谪之况，「从今又几年」以问句写谪期之长。全诗由思乡而感慨、由感慨而写景、由写景而自叹，层层递进，情真语挚，是中唐贬谪诗中的名篇。
Allusions
'The Marshal of Changsha' (Changsha Fu) is Jia Yi, the Han statesman and scholar who was banished to Changsha by court jealousy and died young; his name became the standard figure for the brilliant man unjustly exiled. To call oneself 'already like the Marshal of Changsha' is to claim the same fate and the same dignity. 'The world's edge' (tianpan) is the conventional hyperbole for the far borders of the empire, where the exiled official is sent. The apes of the southern ridges, with their mournful cries, were the traditional sound of southern exile.
诗中「长沙傅」用汉贾谊之典。贾谊为西汉初年著名政论家，少年才俊，汉文帝欲任以公卿之位，因大臣谗毁，被贬为长沙王太傅，郁郁而终，后世诗文常以「长沙傅」「长沙谪」写才士遭谗被贬。刘长卿「已似长沙傅」，即以贾谊自比，写其遭谗被贬、郁郁不得志之况。「岭猿」亦含典故，古代文人贬谪南方，多闻岭猿悲啼，郦道元《水经注》引渔歌「巴东三峡巫峡长，猿鸣三声泪沾裳」，后世以「岭猿」「猿啼」写贬谪之悲。诗人以长沙傅之典与岭猿之啼入诗，不着痕迹，而把贬谪之悲、谪期之长的无奈写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故以写身世的体现。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 is one of the most admired of Liu Changqing's exile verses, prized for the quiet accumulation of its loneliness. The couplet 'The apes of the ridges share my dawns and dusks, / The willows of the river share my wind and mist' has been singled out for a millennium as a perfect image of solitude — the exile companioned only by beasts and trees. The closing question, with its weary count of remaining years, gives the poem its enduring resonance for every reader who has known exile or age.
这首《新年作》，写的是贬谪异乡、新年思乡的悲凉，情真语挚，读之令人动容。首联「乡心新岁切，天畔独潸然」，写新年思乡：新岁将临，乡心更加深切；身处天边，独自潸然泪下。「乡心」与「新岁」相对，正是「每逢佳节倍思亲」；「天畔」「独」二字，写尽身处天涯、孤身无伴的凄凉。一个贬谪天涯的游子，于新年佳节，独自垂泪，起笔便令人心酸。颔联「老至居人下，春归在客先」，是全诗最沉痛的一联：年已老迈，却仍居于人下——年老位卑，是贬谪之悲；春将归来，却先于我到达故乡——春尚有归期，而我羁留客地，归期难卜。以春之归反衬客之滞，愈见其悲。颈联「岭猿同旦暮，江柳共风烟」，写贬所风物：岭上的猿声与我同度旦暮，江边的杨柳与我共历风烟。「同」「共」二字，写其与岭猿江柳相伴，日复一日、年复一年，贬谪生活的孤寂与漫长，尽在其中。尾联「已似长沙傅，从今又几年」，以贾谊自比：身已似被贬长沙的贾谊，从今往后，又要苦熬几年呢？贾谊贬长沙，郁郁而终；诗人以之自比，既写其遭谗被贬之冤，亦写其对谪期之长的无奈与忧虑。这「从今又几年」的一问，问得沉痛而茫然。全诗由思乡而感慨、由感慨而写景、由写景而自叹，层层递进，正是中唐贬谪诗人于新年佳节写尽身世之悲的典范，读之令人动容。
Prosody
Line by line
乡心新岁切，天畔独潸然。
At the new year my homesick heart grows keener — alone at the world's edge I let my tears fall.
新岁将临，乡心更加深切；身处天边，独自潸然泪下。
Homesickness sharpens as the new year comes; at the world's edge, I alone shed tears.
首联写新年思乡，起笔即见悲凉。「乡心新岁切」写新岁将临，乡心更加深切，「乡心」与「新岁」相对，正是「每逢佳节倍思亲」，佳节愈近，乡思愈切；「天畔独潸然」写身处天边，独自潸然泪下，「天畔」见其贬谪之远、身处天涯，「独」见其孤身无伴，「潸然」见其悲从中来、泪不能止。两句一写思乡之切、一写独处之悲，以「切」写情之深、以「独」写境之孤，一个贬谪天涯的游子于新年垂泪的形象宛然在目，为全诗定下了悲凉的基调。
The opening couplet writes New Year homesickness, desolation at the first stroke. Homesickness sharpens as the new year comes: as the new year approaches, the longing grows keener; homesickness against new year, precisely the more the festival, the more the longing for kin, the closer the holiday, the sharper the homesickness. At the world's edge, I alone shed tears: at the sky's edge, weeping alone; world's edge showing the exile's distance, the world's rim; alone the solitary, no companion; shed tears the sorrow welling, tears unstop. The two lines one writes the sharp homesickness, the other the solitary grief; sharp writes the feeling's depth, alone the setting's loneliness - the image of the exiled wanderer at the world's rim weeping at New Year vivid before the eyes, setting the poem's desolate keynote.
老至居人下，春归在客先。
Old now, and still ranked below my fellows, spring returns to my home before I do.
年已老迈，却仍居于人下；春将归来，却先于我到达故乡。
Old age has come, and I still dwell beneath others; spring returns to my home before the traveler does.
颔联是全诗最沉痛的一联，写年老位卑、春归人滞。「老至居人下」写年已老迈，却仍居于人下，「老至」见其岁月已晚，「居人下」见其位卑受屈，年老而位卑，是贬谪之悲的集中体现；「春归在客先」写春将归来，却先于我到达故乡，「春归」见春之将至，「在客先」见春之归先于客之归——春尚有归期，而我羁留客地，归期难卜。两句一写身之老卑、一写春之先归，以春之归反衬客之滞，愈见其悲，对仗工整而情致沉痛，是五律中「以物写人」的典范之笔。
The second couplet is the poem's most grievous, writing old age and low station, spring's return before the wanderer. Old age has come, and I still dwell beneath others: years now old, yet still below others; old age showing the years' lateness, beneath others the humble station, wronged - old and low, the concentrated grief of exile. Spring returns to my home before the traveler does: spring about to return, yet reaching home before I do; spring returns showing spring's approach, before the traveler showing spring's homecoming ahead of the wanderer's - spring still has a date of return, while I linger in exile, the date unknowable. The two lines one writes the body's old age and lowliness, the other spring's early return; spring's return sets off the wanderer's lingering, the grief all the keener; refined parallel yet feeling grievous - the five-character regulated verse's model of writing man through things.
岭猿同旦暮，江柳共风烟。
The apes of the ridges share my dawns and dusks; the willows of the river share my wind and mist.
岭上的猿声与我同度旦暮，江边的杨柳与我共历风烟。
Mountain apes share my dawns and evenings; riverside willows share the wind and mist.
颈联写贬所风物，以景写贬谪之孤寂。「岭猿同旦暮」写岭上的猿声与我同度旦暮，「岭猿」写贬所之景，猿啼声声，与我日日夜夜相伴，「同旦暮」见其与猿声相伴、度日如年；「江柳共风烟」写江边的杨柳与我共历风烟，「江柳」写贬所之景，风吹柳烟，与我共历，「共风烟」见其与风物相伴、孤寂无依。两句以「同」「共」二字，写其与岭猿江柳相伴、日复一日之孤寂，贬谪生活的漫长与凄凉尽在其中。诗人不直写孤寂，而以此贬所风物写之，景中含情，含蓄蕴藉，是「以景写情」的妙笔。
The third couplet writes the exile place's scenery, writing solitude through scenery. Mountain apes share my dawns and evenings: the apes on the ridge sharing my days and nights; ridge apes the exile scenery, ape cries accompanying me day after day; share my dawns and evenings showing days with the ape cries, time heavy. Riverside willows share the wind and mist: the willows by the river sharing wind and mist with me; river willows the exile scenery, wind in the willow mist shared; share the wind and mist showing companionship with scenery, solitary and unhoused. The two lines use share and together to write the days with ridge apes and river willows, day after day of solitude; the exile life's length and desolation all within. The poet does not write solitude directly, but through this exile scenery, feeling within scenery, reserved and pregnant - the exquisite stroke of writing feeling through scenery.
已似长沙傅，从今又几年。
I am already like the Marshal of Changsha — and from this day, how many years remain?
我身已似被贬长沙的贾谊，从今往后，又要苦熬几年呢？
I am already like the exile of Changsha; from now on, how many more years?
尾联以贾谊自比，写贬谪之悲与谪期之长的无奈，是全诗情感的高潮。「已似长沙傅」写身已似被贬长沙的贾谊，「长沙傅」用贾谊贬长沙之典，贾谊才高而遭谗被贬，郁郁而终，诗人以之自比，写其遭谗被贬、郁郁不得志之况；「从今又几年」以问句写谪期之长，「从今」见其贬谪正未有期，「又几年」问得沉痛而茫然，既叹贾谊贬长沙之郁郁，亦忧己身谪期之漫长。两句以古人之典写今人之悲，把贬谪的无奈与对未来的忧虑写得真切而深远，是全诗境界最高的收束之笔。
The closing couplet compares himself to Jia Yi of Changsha, writing the grief of exile and the helplessness of its long term, the poem's emotional climax. I am already like the exile of Changsha writes himself like Jia Yi demoted to Changsha; the Changsha tutor uses the allusion of Jia Yi's exile to Changsha - Jia Yi, talented yet slandered, demoted, dying of melancholy; the poet compares himself, writing his own slander, exile, and depression. From now on, how many more years? uses a question to write the exile's long term: from now on showing the demotion with no foreseeable end; how many more years? asks grievously and blankly, at once sighing for Jia Yi's melancholy in Changsha and dreading the long years ahead. The two lines use the ancient allusion to write the modern grief, rendering the exile's helplessness and dread of the future real and far-reaching - the poem's highest-realm close.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Li Bai's 'Quiet Night Thoughts' is the purest form of the night homesickness; Liu Changqing's 'Written at the New Year' sets the same homesickness at the new year and at the world's edge — the season and the distance sharpening the grief.
李白《静夜思》「举头望明月，低头思故乡」，以月光起兴，写举头望月、低头思乡的千古乡愁，语言天然、意境浑成，是思乡诗中最普及的名篇；刘长卿《新年作》则以「乡心新岁切，天畔独潸然」写新年思乡，「老至居人下，春归在客先」写贬谪异乡之悲。两诗同写思乡：一写月下之思、平易而深广，一写新年之悲、沉郁而凄切；一为盛唐之浑朴、一为中唐之清苦，并读正可见唐人思乡诗在不同境遇下的不同表达，皆真挚动人。
望月怀远 Gazing at the Moon, Longing for the One Afar 张九龄 · 同写月夜怀人思乡，一以海上明月写思念之深，一以新年天畔写贬谪之悲，皆于佳节良辰写离别之思 Both are the poems of the distance and the longing — Zhang Jiuling's bright moon and shared night, Liu Changqing's apes and willows of the south.Zhang Jiuling's 'Gazing at the Moon' — 'the bright moon rises over the sea, the world's edge shares this moment' — is the Tang model of the shared distance; Liu Changqing's poem is the exile's version, the apes and willows of the south standing in for the home he cannot reach.
张九龄《望月怀远》「海上生明月，天涯共此时」，以海上明月起兴，写天涯共月、两地相思之深，「不堪盈手赠，还寝梦佳期」写思念之绵长，是唐人写月夜怀人的名篇；刘长卿《新年作》则以「乡心新岁切，天畔独潸然」写新年思乡，「岭猿同旦暮，江柳共风烟」写贬所之孤寂。两诗同写怀人思乡：一写月下怀远之绵长、境界开阔，一写新年贬谪之悲凉、情调凄切；一为开元盛世之温雅、一为安史乱后之清苦，并读正可见盛唐中唐诗人于佳节良辰写离别之思的不同风貌。