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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

于易水送人

At Yi River, Bidding Farewell to a Friend

骆宾王

Luo Binwang

送别Farewell 咏史Historical 侠气Chivalry

此地别燕丹，壮士发冲冠。
昔时人已没，今日水犹寒。

Here Prince Dan of Yan bade farewell,
The hero's hair stood on end with rage.
Those men of old have passed away,
Yet today the river waters still cold stay.

Listen

Meaning

The poet bids farewell to a friend at the Yi River, recalling the ancient story of Jing Ke parting with Prince Dan to assassinate the King of Qin. Though the hero is long gone, the cold river remains, blending past and present grief.

就在这易水边，荆轲告别燕太子丹，壮士怒发冲冠。当年的英雄早已逝去，今天的易水却依旧凄寒。

Appreciation

In just twenty characters, the poem uses the allusion of Jing Ke's 'hair standing on end' from the Records of the Grand Historian and ends with 'waters still cold,' merging historical tragedy with present parting. It is restrained and profound.

【白话串讲】荆轲当年在此别燕丹，“壮士发冲冠”。骆宾王送别朋友，想起千年前的刺客，只说了一句：“昔时人已没，今日水犹寒”——易水还冷着。【意象与手法】善用典与以景结情。「壮士发冲冠」化用荆轲别燕丹时「发尽上指冠」的史事，寥寥五字唤起整段历史悲壮；「今日水犹寒」以易水之寒收束全篇，景中寓情，将古代壮士之烈与今日送友之慨熔于一炉【情感与主旨】骆宾王身处初唐，早年以《帝京篇》闻名，后入狱、从徐敬业起兵讨武，一生坎坷。此诗借古地抒今情，将个人离愁与身世之感融入历史慷慨之中，风格迥异于一般缠绵送别之作【名句点睛】常考咏史送别小诗的代表：①用典——「壮士发冲冠」暗指荆轲；②以景结情——末句「水犹寒」的深层意蕴

Background

Luo Binwang, a poet of early Tang, led a turbulent life. This poem was likely written when he was traveling or disheartened in his career. The Yi River is where Jing Ke set off for his assassination mission, a place of heroic farewells. The poet uses this historical site to express his own feelings of parting and unfulfilled ambition.

骆宾王（约619—约687），字观光，婺州义乌人，初唐四杰之一。出身寒微而才名早著，七岁作《咏鹅》，后历任武功主簿、长安主簿、侍御史，因上书论事触忤武后，被诬下狱，作《在狱咏蝉》以自明。出狱后贬临海丞，郁郁不得志，弃官而去。徐敬业起兵讨武后时，骆宾王为记室，代草《讨武曌檄》，传檄四方，兵败后下落不明。此诗作于何年难确考，或以为在易水送友之时，或以为借古地自抒怀抱。诗人一生负才任侠、屡遭蹭蹬，与荆轲的悲剧气质深相共鸣。易水在今河北易县，为战国时燕太子丹送荆轲入秦之处，历来是壮别之地。骆宾王于此送别友人，不写依依惜别，而追怀千载前的壮士，把个人的身世之感、送别之情融入历史慷慨之中，遂成咏史送别诗中的异调。骆宾王从徐敬业起兵时，代撰《讨武曌檄》，檄文传诵天下，武则天读之亦叹「宰相安得失此人」；兵败后其下落成谜，一说被杀，一说为僧。其人一生任侠负气、颠沛流离，与荆轲刺秦的悲剧精神深相契合。易水源出河北易县，燕昭王筑黄金台于此，太子丹送荆轲亦于此，故易水历来是壮别与侠气的象征之地。骆宾王借此地送别友人，一怀古、一伤今，家国身世之感并集于二十字中。

Art

The poem skillfully uses allusion and scene-concluding emotion. 'The hero's hair stood on end' directly evokes the historical moment, while 'waters still cold' ends with a chilling image that fuses ancient valor with present sorrow, creating a vast atmosphere within a tiny frame.

此诗仅二十字，却尺幅千里，妙在「以古写今、以虚带实」。前二句「此地别燕丹，壮士发冲冠」直用荆轲事，「此地」二字把千载前的易水壮别拉到眼前，语带双关——既是荆轲别燕丹之地，也是今日送别之地，古今两个送别现场在「此地」叠合，历史悲壮便与当下离情融为一体；「壮士发冲冠」化用「发尽上指冠」的史载，五字写尽荆轲临别时的凛然之气。后二句「昔时人已没，今日水犹寒」以今昔对照收束：「昔时人已没」写英雄早已湮灭，「今日水犹寒」以易水之寒写壮烈之气千载犹存。全诗不言送别之悲，而悲壮自在其中；不言己志，而侠气自见。以景结情、以水写人，是此诗最精妙处——水之「寒」既是物候，更是千古侠气与诗人失意之慨的凝结。就章法而言，全诗以「此地」与「今日」对举，以「昔时」与「今日」对照，二十字中三次点出时间与空间的转换，形成古今叠映的立体结构；「人已没」与「水犹寒」又构成人逝水存的反差，历史的苍茫与现实的离愁在此交织。绝句本以含蓄为贵，此诗不言别、不言悲，只以「发冲冠」「水犹寒」两个细节与一个物候，便把壮别之情写足，留白之处，余味无穷。

Allusions

The allusion is from the Records of the Grand Historian: When Jing Ke left for Qin, at Yi River, Gao Jianli played the zither, and Jing Ke sang 'The wind blows, the waters of Yi River are cold; the hero departs and never returns.' The guests were all enraged, their hair standing on end. Luo Binwang takes these elements to condense centuries of chivalry in twenty characters.

诗典出《战国策·燕策》与《史记·刺客列传》：燕太子丹遣荆轲刺秦王，送于易水之上，高渐离击筑，荆轲和而歌曰「风萧萧兮易水寒，壮士一去兮不复还」，众宾客皆白衣冠以送之，瞋目而视，发尽上指冠。骆宾王取「易水」「壮士发冲冠」二事入诗，以古地古事为全诗骨架。用典之妙有三：其一，择地之精，「易水」二字本身即是典故，千载壮别的历史现场随地名而复活；其二，取事之约，「发冲冠」三字浓缩荆轲临别的整个场景，五字而悲壮满纸；其三，化典之活，「壮士」一词既指荆轲，亦暗含自况——骆宾王一生任侠使气、为义起兵，与荆轲同有知其不可而为之的悲剧色彩，故用典不是炫学，而是借古人酒杯浇自己块垒。「水犹寒」又暗合易水歌「风萧萧兮易水寒」之「寒」字，一曲悲歌的意象贯串全诗，用典而不着痕迹。史载荆轲临行，太子丹及宾客皆白衣冠以送之，至易水之上，高渐离击筑，荆轲和而歌，士皆垂泪涕泣，复为羽声慷慨，士皆瞋目，发尽上指冠。骆宾王所取「发冲冠」正出自这最激昂的一幕，而「水犹寒」则暗含「风萧萧兮易水寒」的歌声，一典两用，前后照应，壮别的悲壮气氛贯穿始终。

Commentary

Qing critic Shen Deqian praised Luo's poetry as 'of extremely high spirit.' This poem, through Jing Ke's story, expresses a heroic farewell, not tearful but fierce and sorrowful, a small poem with grand vision, reflecting Luo's own chivalrous character.

此诗为咏史送别小诗的典范，历代评价甚高。清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》评骆宾王「高华雄浑，犹存齐梁余习，而骨气极高」，于此诗可见「骨气极高」之评：不写泪别而写「发冲冠」「水犹寒」，刚健悲凉，迥异于初唐应制诗的绮靡与一般送别诗的缠绵。今人论初唐四杰，多称其「改革宫体诗」之功，骆宾王此诗正是以短章写壮怀、以咏史写现实的代表。其价值有三：一是题材上把送别与咏史结合，以古壮别，开后世「送别而能慷慨」一格，高适「莫愁前路无知己」、王勃「海内存知己」皆其流亚；二是手法上「以景结情」之「水犹寒」，含蓄蕴藉，是绝句「言有尽而意无穷」的典范；三是风格上见出骆宾王一生侠气——他后来为徐敬业草讨武檄文，明知败亡而为之，正是「壮士发冲冠」的现实注脚。二十字短章，容千载侠气与一己身世，堪称「小诗有大境界」。此诗对后世咏易水之作影响深远，唐人胡曾《易水》、宋人文天祥《过易水》等皆承其壮烈之气。就其个人创作而言，《在狱咏蝉》以蝉自喻，与此诗以水写志，一物一景，皆见其借物抒怀的功力，可参读互证。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain (oblique-tone with first line rhymed)五言绝句（仄起首句入韵）

Rhyme Rhymes in the fourteenth rhyme group (cold, stand, cold): dan, guan, han押平水韵上平十四寒：丹、冠、寒

Tone pattern First two lines: oblique-oblique-oblique-flat-flat, oblique-oblique-oblique-flat-flat; last two: oblique-flat-flat-oblique-oblique, oblique-oblique-oblique-flat-flat.「此地别燕丹」为仄仄仄平平，「壮士发冲冠」为仄仄仄平平，首句入韵；「昔时人已没」为仄平平仄仄，转以「今日水犹寒」仄仄仄平平收束。

Reading note Uses historical place and event to express emotion; twenty characters showcase chivalry and desolation, a unique tune among early Tang short poems.此诗为五言绝句，仄起首句入韵式。首句「此地别燕丹」（仄仄仄平平）以平声「丹」入韵，押上平十四寒韵，韵脚「丹」「冠」「寒」三字皆平声而响亮，宜于咏史抒慨的激越之情。全诗四句两两相对：前二句写古，后二句写今；「此地」对「今日」，「燕丹」对「水寒」，工于对仗而浑然不觉，是绝句「散行之中自含对偶」的典型。声律上，三句「昔时人已没」作仄平平仄仄，仄声收句，与前二句的平收相间，形成平—平—仄—平的节奏起伏，正合「壮别」一扬一抑的情感曲线：前二句慷慨，后二句苍凉。绝句体制短小，最忌直露，此诗以「发冲冠」写壮、以「水犹寒」写悲，二十字内含一段完整的情绪跌宕，音律与辞情相得益彰，是初唐五绝中的上品。

Line by line

此地别燕丹，壮士发冲冠。

Here Prince Dan of Yan bade farewell, the hero's hair stood on end with rage.

就在这易水边，荆轲告别燕太子丹，壮士怒发冲冠。

Here Jing Ke bade farewell to Crown Prince Dan of Yan; the hero's wrath bristled his hair up through his cap.

起笔即满纸侠气，二句写尽壮别。「此地」二字是全诗的机关：既是史实中荆轲别燕丹之地，又是诗人今日送友之地，一个地名将古今两个送别现场叠合，千载前的历史悲壮瞬间涌入当下，「别」字则把古别与今别绾合为一。「壮士发冲冠」五字化用《史记》「发尽上指冠」的记载，写荆轲临别时怒发上指、气冲冠冕的凛然之态，不写歌声、不写悲泪，只取这一个最具爆发力的细节，壮士的决绝与慷慨便跃然纸上。以「此地」起、以「壮士」承，历史与当下、古人与诗人在这两句中已浑然不分。

The opening is full of chivalric air; two lines exhaust the heroic farewell. Here is the whole poem's mechanism: at once the historical place where Jing Ke bade farewell to Crown Prince Dan, and the poet's present place of seeing a friend off; one place name叠合s the ancient and modern two farewell scenes, the thousand-year-old historical heroism surging instantly into the present; farewell ties the ancient farewell and the present farewell into one. The hero's wrath bristled his hair up through his cap adapts the Records's hair stood straight up through the cap, writing Jing Ke's parting wrath, his hair standing upright, his spirit charging the cap; not writing the singing, not the bitter tears, only taking this one most explosive detail - the hero's resolve and generosity leap onto the page. Opening with here, carrying with the hero; history and present, the ancient man and the poet are here already indistinguishable.

昔时人已没，今日水犹寒。

Those men of old have passed away, yet today the river waters still cold stay.

当年的英雄早已逝去，今天的易水却依旧凄寒。

The men of old are gone; today the river is still cold.

后二句以今昔对照收束，是全诗情感的重心。「昔时人已没」写英雄早已湮没于历史长河，一个「没」字含无限苍凉；「今日水犹寒」陡然一转，以易水之寒写壮烈之气千载犹存——人虽已没，而水之寒不减当年，仿佛荆轲的悲歌还凝结在这片水波之中。「犹寒」二字最堪玩味：它既写眼前易水的清寒物候，更暗合易水歌「风萧萧兮易水寒」的「寒」字，以水的恒常对照人的代谢，以景之无情衬情之深挚，物我交融。不写送别之泪而写水寒，不言己志而侠气自见，含蓄深远，正是「以景结情」的典范，二十字至此而境界全出。

The latter two lines close in present-past contrast, the poem's emotional center. The men of old are gone writes the hero long swallowed in the historical river; one gone holds infinite bleakness. Today the river is still cold turns abruptly, using the Yi River's cold to write the heroic spirit surviving a thousand years - the man though gone, the river's cold undiminished, as if Jing Ke's dirge were still frozen in these waves. Still cold is most worth savoring: it at once writes the present Yi River's chill season, and secretly echoes the Yi River song's wind shrill, the Yi River cold's cold; using the river's constancy to set off man's change, using scenery's feelinglessness to set off feeling's depth; thing and self fused. Not writing the farewell tears yet writing the river's cold, not speaking one's own resolve yet the chivalric air self-showing; reserved and far-reaching, precisely the model of closing feeling in scenery; within twenty characters the realm is complete.

Study

Word focus

寒 cold (double meaning: cold water and lingering chivalrous spirit) 「今日水犹寒」之「寒」是全诗诗眼，一字双关而多重意蕴。表层是写易水之水的清冷——春秋易水，风寒水冽，是眼前实景；深层则写千古侠气之凛然犹在：荆轲「风萧萧兮易水寒」的悲歌仿佛未歇，壮士的慷慨之气凝于水波，千载之下依然逼人。「寒」字妙在以体肤可感之物候写精神不可磨灭的壮烈，化历史为感官，化抽象为具体；「犹」字更添一层转折——人已没而水犹寒，以水的恒常反衬英雄的湮灭，沧桑之感与仰慕之情并生。一个「寒」字，景、情、志三者浑融，是炼字的极致。

没 passed away, perished 「昔时人已没」之「没」字，写英雄的湮灭，与「犹寒」构成全诗的核心对照。「没」本指沉没、隐没，此处写荆轲早已逝去，音容、事迹皆没于历史烟尘，语气平淡而暗含苍凉——如此壮烈之人，终亦归于「没」，历史的无情与英雄的寂寞尽在其中。与下句「水犹寒」对读，「没」与「犹」一虚一实、一人一物：人易没而水难寒，个体的生命短暂而精神的气韵绵长，对照之下，荆轲虽没而其气不灭的深意自然浮现。此字选得极省净，一个「没」字把前二句的满纸侠气轻轻收住，再以「犹寒」反手扬起，全诗波澜尽在一「没」一「犹」之间。

壮士 hero, brave man (referring to Jing Ke) 「壮士发冲冠」之「壮士」，直指荆轲而兼含自况，是全诗立骨之词。史载荆轲和歌「壮士一去兮不复还」，「壮士」本是易水歌中荆轲的自称，骆宾王拈出此词入诗，既还原了历史现场，又暗含以身相许的意味——诗人一生任侠负气、屡遭蹭蹬，最后为讨武后起兵而不知所终，其性格与荆轲的悲剧气质深相契合，故「壮士」一词实为借古人之名写自己之志。以「壮士」领起「发冲冠」，五字之间，荆轲的凛然之态与诗人不平之气合而为一，全诗的侠气与悲壮皆由此出。用典而能入我，此词是范例。