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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

夜宿山寺

Night Lodging in a Mountain Temple

李白

Li Bai

山水landscape 夸张hyperbole

危楼高百尺，手可摘星辰。
不敢高声语，恐惊天上人。

The perilous tower is a hundred feet high,
From it one can pluck the stars in the sky.
I dare not speak aloud in fear,
Lest I disturb the celestials near.

Listen

Meaning

The temple on the mountain has a tower so high it seems a hundred feet tall. Standing on it, one can almost pluck the stars from the night sky. I dare not speak loudly, for fear of disturbing the immortals living in heaven.

山上寺院的高楼仿佛有百尺之高，站在楼上伸出手，几乎可以摘下夜空的星辰。我不敢大声说话，只怕惊动了住在天上的仙人。

Appreciation

The poet lodges in a mountain temple and uses hyperbole to describe the tower's height. The imagery is fantastical and childlike, showing Li Bai's romantic and unrestrained nature.

【白话串讲】李白住在一座高楼上，说楼高得能摘星星，连大声说话都不敢，怕惊动了天上的神仙。这首小诗，写尽了一个人站在高处时的童心与浪漫。【意象与手法】全诗仅二十字而层次分明：前两句以百尺高楼、手摘星辰写楼高之形，后两句以不敢高语、恐惊天人写楼高之惧，由视觉入心理，由实景入悬想。夸张与想象贯穿全篇，而落脚于一片天真烂漫的童心。【情感与主旨】此诗一作《题峰顶寺》，又作《夜宿乌牙寺》，相传为李白少年或壮年游历途中夜宿山寺所作。诗人以游戏笔墨写夜宿高楼之趣，不关家国之忧，惟见诗人亲近自然、与天地往还的浪漫襟怀。【名句点睛】手可摘星辰与恐惊天上人两句一实一虚、互为因果，是理解全诗奇想的关键；危楼百尺的夸张笔法，可与《望庐山瀑布》飞流直下三千尺并观。

Background

This poem, also titled 'Night Lodging in a Mountain Temple' or 'Inscribed on the Peak Temple', is said to be written by Li Bai during his travels, staying overnight in a temple on a high peak. The poet, gazing at the stars from the high tower, wrote this exaggerated and playful piece.

此诗一作《题峰顶寺》，又作《夜宿乌牙寺》，宋人计有功《唐诗纪事》著录此诗，题作《题峰顶寺》，以为李白作；诗或作于诗人游历鄂东黄梅乌牙寺一带时，故又有《夜宿乌牙寺》之题。乌牙寺地处高山之上，佛寺建于峰巅，正与诗题相合。唐代佛教极盛，名山古刹林立，僧寺多筑于高峻处以远尘嚣，李白一生好入名山游，曾自云五岳寻仙不辞远，与山僧隐者交游频繁，夜宿山寺、凭栏观星，正是其游历生活的寻常一景。此诗即景生发、游戏笔墨，纯以夸张奇想写楼之高，不涉家国之忧与身世之感，在李白诗中别是一格——豪放之外见天真，飘逸之中含童趣。其写作年代虽难确考，然无论少年抑或壮年所作，皆可见李白与生俱来的浪漫气质：常人见高楼但觉其高，李白见高楼则思摘星惊仙，物我之间毫无隔阂，这正是谪仙人的本色。明代赵宧光、黄习远增补《万首唐人绝句》亦收此诗，文字略有异同，可见其流传之广。诗中百尺之楼，实为想象之辞，然唐代山寺楼阁层叠高耸，登临者凭栏远眺，云岚在足、星辰在顶，正有近天之想，故诗人夸张而不失依据。

Art

The poem consists of twenty characters in four lines. The first two lines depict the tower's height visually (a hundred feet, plucking stars), while the last two lines shift to psychological fear (disturbing celestials). The hyperbole is romantic, and the soft words 'wei', 'ke', 'bugan', 'kong' bring the static tower to life.

全诗仅二十字而章法谨严，四句四转，层层递进。前两句写楼高之形：危楼高百尺以数字夸张先声夺人，手可摘星辰以动作写高，将抽象的高度化为伸手可及的具体体验，化虚为实；后两句写楼高之神：不敢高声语由视觉转入听觉，由外景转入内心，恐惊天上人更以悬想收束，化实为虚。四句由形入神、由实入虚，一层深似一层。夸张手法的运用极富浪漫色彩——百尺犹不足，更言摘星；摘星犹不足，更言天上有人。危、可、不敢、恐四字虚处传神，将静态的高楼写得惊心动魄又天真可喜。尤为妙者，全诗不言楼高而楼高自见：楼高则星辰可摘，星辰可摘则近于天，近于天则恐惊仙人，环环相扣，逻辑天真而自洽。这种以儿童般目光打量世界、以极度夸张写寻常之景的笔法，正是李白浪漫主义的精髓，与白发三千丈、飞流直下三千尺同一机杼。全诗二十字，无一字写夜、写山、写寺，而夜宿山寺之景尽出：星辰者夜也，危楼者寺也，高百尺者山也，以小见大，以少总多，正是绝句以少胜多的典范；后世写高楼之作虽多，终不及此诗之天真。

Allusions

The terms 'stars' and 'celestials' originate from ancient Chinese cosmology and Daoist immortals. 'Celestials' (tian shang ren) appears in Six Dynasties ghost stories and Tang tales; Li Bai casually turns ordinary language into a wonderland.

诗用星辰、天上人之语，本于古人对天界神仙的想象。星辰在《诗经·小雅》中已与人事相系（如《大东》以星象喻政），至汉代谶纬与道教兴起，星辰更被神化为天神居所，故摘星辰即近于登天。天上人犹言天上仙人，六朝志怪如《搜神记》所载天台遇仙诸事，唐人小说更以天人、谪仙为常谈；李白自号谪仙人，贺知章读其《蜀道难》亦呼之为谪仙，其诗中屡言我本楚狂人、青莲居士谪仙人，可见其对仙境的亲近并非泛泛之辞。此诗恐惊天上人，或正暗含诗人以谪仙自居、夜宿高楼如返故园的天真联想——天上本其旧居，今登楼近天，故恐语声惊动旧侣。道教神仙思想在唐代极盛，李白早年受箓于高天师，晚年仍炼丹求仙，此诗所用天人之语，正是其道教信仰在诗中的自然流露，信手拈来，不露痕迹，化寻常语为奇境。唐人诗中以天仙入诗者甚多，而李白此诗独以恐惊出之，将敬畏化为亲昵，别开生面。摘星辰一语，后世遂成写高楼、写夜空的习语，宋人笔下屡见，可见其沾溉之广。

Commentary

Song dynasty critic Ji Yougong commented: 'The language is bizarre but the interest is natural.' Modern scholar Yu Biyun said: 'In only twenty words, the height of the tower and the fun of night lodging are vividly depicted; indeed Li Bai's hand.'

此诗虽短，历代评家却多有赏会。宋人计有功《唐诗纪事》著录此诗，称其语虽怪幻而意趣天成；黄庭坚尝引此诗为李白奇语之例，谓其想象超绝。近人俞陛云《诗境浅说》评：仅二十字，而危楼之高、夜宿之趣，写来如见，的是太白手笔。此诗的魅力在于以天真烂漫之笔写夸张之想，夸张而不失亲切，奇想而合乎童心——读者不觉得荒唐，反觉其可爱，这正是李白独步之处。历代选本与童蒙教材多录此诗，手可摘星辰、恐惊天上人二句尤脍炙人口，成为后世写高楼、写夜景的典范意象。与《静夜思》之淡、《望庐山瀑布》之壮相较，此诗以趣胜，可见李白风格之多样：同一浪漫主义，或豪放，或飘逸，或天真，各极其致。论者谓唐诗以气象胜，此二十字正是盛唐气象在短章中的一次凝聚。清人《唐诗笺注》谓此诗全用虚字（危、可、不敢、恐）而楼之高、夜之静尽在其中，诚为知言。儿童读之觉其有趣，成人读之觉其有味，正是此诗雅俗共赏之故；今小学教材多选此诗，与《静夜思》《望庐山瀑布》同为儿童接触唐诗的入门之作，其天真烂漫处，正合童心。

Prosody

Form five-character quatrain五言绝句（五绝）

Rhyme chen, ren (level tone, rhymed in the eleventh 'zhen' group)押平水韵上平十一真韵：辰、人

Tone pattern Starting with level tone, first line entered rhyme, short and brisk rhythm.平起首句不入韵式（首句危楼高百尺为平平仄仄仄，仄收不押韵；二四句押平声真韵），句式二二一与二一二相间，节奏短促明快。

Reading note The entire poem employs hyperbole and imagination without ornament, typical of Li Bai's romantic style.五绝体制短小，二十字中不容铺叙，最宜写一瞬之景、一得之趣，此诗正是以短章写奇想的典范。声律上属平起首句不入韵式，首句以仄声收束，不入韵，二四句押上平十一真韵，辰、人皆平声，韵脚疏朗，诵读时于二四句末字得悠长之味。句式以二二一为主（危楼高百尺、手可摘星辰），间以二一二（不敢高声语），顿挫分明，与诗中由写到惧的情绪转折相合——前两句节奏舒展，如仰观之态；后两句句式紧促，如屏息之状。全诗二十字，平声字与仄声字交替，声情明快而含童趣，与李白五绝中《静夜思》之淡远、《独坐敬亭山》之幽寂不同，此诗以奇以趣见长，然皆以自然天成为归，不事雕琢，正见太白于短章中的举重若轻。

Line by line

危楼高百尺

The temple's towering building rises a hundred feet high. 'Wei' means steep; the opening line uses hyperbole to point out the tower's height, dominating the poem's fantastic tone.

山寺的高楼高峻耸立，仿佛有百尺之高。

The perilous tower rises a hundred feet high.

危字训高峻，兼含险绝之意，开篇一字即定全诗夸张高峻的基调。百尺本是实数，此处却作虚夸之辞，极言楼之高耸入云。与寻常写楼高者不同，李白不写楼之形制规模，只以危与百尺两个词点出高度，语极简净而气象自出。危楼二字并置，先声夺人，为下文摘星、惊仙的奇想预埋伏笔——楼若不危不高，则摘星惊仙皆成虚语。此句是全诗的总起，统领后三句：由楼高而生摘星之想，由摘星之近天而生不敢语之惧，由不敢语而恐惊天人，全篇奇想皆由此一句生出，故炼句之要，首在立骨。

Perilous means high and steep, carrying the sense of precipice; one character at the opening sets the whole poem's keynote of exaggerated height. A hundred feet is normally a real measure, here used as hyperbole for the tower's soaring into the clouds. Unlike ordinary writers of high towers, Li Bai writes not the tower's structure or scale, only uses perilous and a hundred feet to fix the height; the words most sparse, yet the air of grandeur rises of itself. Perilous tower side by side seizes the ear at once, planting the伏笔 for the later picking stars and startling immortals - if the tower were not perilous and high, picking stars and startling immortals would all be empty words. This line is the poem's total start, commanding the later three: from the tower's height comes the thought of picking stars; from being near heaven comes the fear of speaking aloud; from not daring to speak comes fearing to startle heavenly beings - the whole poem's whimsy grows from this one line; hence the refining of verse lies first in establishing the bone.

手可摘星辰

Standing on the tower, one's hand can pluck the stars. This extreme hyperbole makes the height tangible, showcasing romantic imagination.

站在楼上伸出手，仿佛可以摘下天上的星辰。

One reaches out and plucks the stars.

此句以动作写高，将抽象的高度化为具体的体验，是全诗想象的第一次飞跃。摘字是诗眼——不写星辰在头上、在天上，而写手可摘星辰，仿佛星辰只在楼檐之畔、举手可及，楼之高不言而喻。此句又兼写仰视之态与伸手之姿，动作鲜明，如在目前，令读者不觉身临其境。星辰为夜天之象，点明夜宿之时，与题面相扣。若作手可触星辰则笨，作手可摘星辰则灵，一摘字使天人之界化为举手之劳，天真烂漫，奇而不怪。此句与后文恐惊天上人相映成趣：既能摘星，则距天甚近，距天近则仙人可惊，前句之奇想正为后句之悬想张本，虚实相生，妙合无间。

This line writes height through action, converting abstract height into concrete experience, the poem's imagination's first leap. Pluck is the poem's eye - not writing stars above the head, in the sky, but reaching out and plucking the stars, as if the stars were only at the tower's eaves, a hand's reach; the tower's height self-evident. This line also writes the upward gaze and the reaching arm, action vivid, as if before the eyes, making the reader feel himself there. The stars are the night sky's images, fixing the night's lodging time, fitting the title. If one wrote the hand may touch the stars it would be clumsy; reaching out and plucking the stars is agile - one pluck makes the boundary between man and heaven an arm's labor, naive and bright, strange yet not monstrous. This line and the later fearing to startle heaven's men set each other off: able to pluck stars, one is near heaven; near heaven, immortals can be startled; the previous whimsy prepares the later fancy, void and solid generating each other, seamlessly joined.

不敢高声语

Dare not speak in a loud voice. This line shifts from visual height to psychological caution, delicately suggesting the nearness of heaven.

不敢大声说话。

I dare not speak in a loud voice.

此句由写高转入写惧，由外景转入内心，是全诗由动入静、由实入虚的转折。前两句极写楼之高，是动态的、外向的想象；此句忽然收束声息，以不敢二字写人物心理，静极而惧生——楼高既已接天，则人语或惊天人，故屏息敛声。不敢二字下得极妙：非不能语，是不敢语，主动的克制中含着对天界的敬畏，也含着几分孩子气的认真。全句无一字写高，而楼高之意自见：唯有身在高处、近于天界，方有不敢高声之惧。由摘星的欢快到不敢语的屏息，情绪一转，气氛由开阔转幽静，为末句恐惊天上人的奇想蓄足势，章法顿挫有致。

This line passes from writing height to writing fear, from outer scene to inner heart, the poem's turn from motion to stillness, solid to void. The previous two lines exhaust the tower's height, dynamic, outward imagination; this line suddenly contracts the breath, using not daring to write the character's psychology - at utter stillness, fear is born: the tower's height already touches heaven, so human speech may startle heavenly beings; hence he holds his breath and lowers his voice. Not daring is most exquisitely placed: not unable to speak, but not daring to speak; the active restraint holds awe of heaven, and also a childlike earnestness. The whole line not one word writes height, yet the tower's height is self-evident: only standing high, near heaven, could there be the fear of loud speech. From the picking-stars joy to the not-daring-to-speak held breath, the emotion turns, the atmosphere from open to quiet, storing full force for the closing fearing to startle heaven's men; the craft has its rhythm.

恐惊天上人

Fearing to disturb the celestial beings above. The childlike wonder concludes the poem, blending fantasy with verisimilitude.

只怕惊动了天上的仙人。

Lest I startle the people up in heaven.

此句以天真之语收束全篇，是奇想的顶点，也是全诗情感的归宿。恐惊二字承接不敢，将前句的克制落实为具体悬想——天上竟有人，且恐语声惊动之，想象天真烂漫，如孩童语。天上人三字将天界拟人化，使不可知的天变得亲切可近，诗人与天之间毫无隔阂，这正是李白与天地精神往还的浪漫襟怀。全诗至此，由楼高而摘星，由摘星而不敢语，由不敢语而恐惊天人，四句一气贯注，逻辑天真而自洽；而楼之高、夜之静、心之敬，皆在此七字中兜住。以游戏之笔写敬畏之情，奇想与童趣并存，神奇之境反因这分天真更显真切，是太白短章中炉火纯青之作。

This line closes the poem in naive words, the whimsy's apex, also the poem's emotional ending. Fearing to startle continues not daring, landing the previous restraint into concrete fancy - heaven actually has people, and he fears the voice may startle them; the imagination naive and bright, like a child's speech. Heaven's men personifies the heaven, making the unknowable sky intimate and near; between poet and heaven no barrier - precisely Li Bai's romantic bosom of intercourse with the spirit of heaven and earth. The poem here: from tower's height to picking stars, from picking stars to not daring to speak, from not daring to speak to fearing to startle heavenly beings; four lines flow in one breath, logic naive yet self-consistent; and the tower's height, night's stillness, heart's awe are all gathered in these seven characters. Writing awe in playful brush, whimsy and childlikeness coexisting; the magical realm is made the more real by this naivete - Li Bai's short piece come to perfection.

Study

Word focus

危 High, steep. This single character sets the exaggerated tone of the poem's height. 危字训高峻，又含险绝不安之意，一字而兼形、势、情。作为全诗首字，危奠定了夸张高峻的基调：楼不危则不高，不高则不能摘星，不能摘星则无以下文，故一字之立，全篇之骨。与高字相较，高仅状其度，危更状其势——危楼不仅高，而且高得令人心悸，为下文不敢高声语的畏惧心理暗伏其因。李白善用危字，如危乎高哉之蜀道、危楼高百尺之山寺，皆以危写险峻超拔之境。此字又使静态的高楼带上动感与紧张，读者未见其形，先觉其势，炼字之精，可见一斑。

摘 Pluck. This action verb turns abstract height into a tangible fantasy, vivid and expressive. 摘字是全诗的想象枢纽，以动作写高度，化虚为实。高本无形，李白却以手可摘星辰写出：星辰仿佛近在楼檐，伸手可及，楼之高妙不可言。摘字选得极工——不是望、不是触，而是摘，含着随意取用的轻快与亲近，仿佛摘星不过是举手之劳，天真烂漫之态毕现。若用触则近而可畏，用望则远而无奈，唯摘字将天人之距化为指顾之间，既写楼高，又写人物从容，一举两得。此字又开启下文：既敢摘星，则天界已近，仙人可惊，后文的敬畏悬想正由此字的亲近感反衬而来，虚实之间，妙趣横生。

恐 Fear. A psychological verb that moves from hyperbole to fine detail, making the fantastic scene more relatable. 恐字是心理动词，将全诗由夸张的奇想引入细腻的敬畏，是章法转折的关键。前两句是外向的、欢快的想象，恐字一出，诗人忽然屏息敛声，情绪由动入静、由喜入敬。恐不是怕，是生怕、唯恐，含着小心翼翼的珍惜与郑重，如孩童怕惊醒熟睡的祖母，天真而真挚。此字又暗承前文的亲近感：唯恐惊动，正因觉得天上人近在咫尺、可亲可近，若视天界为渺远冷酷，则无恐可言。一字之转，使高楼之惧与天人之思融为一体，全诗由此收束于一片温柔的天真，余味不尽。