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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

早寒江上有怀

Early Cold on the River with Longings

孟浩然

Meng Haoran

思乡Homesickness 羁旅Travel

木落雁南度，北风江上寒。
我家襄水曲，遥隔楚云端。
乡泪客中尽，孤帆天际看。
迷津欲有问，平海夕漫漫。

Leaves fall, wild geese fly south;
North wind over the river is cold.
My home is at Xiang River's bend,
Far beyond the clouds of Chu land.
Homesick tears exhaust the traveler,
I watch a lone sail at the horizon.
I want to ask the way at the lost ford,
But the vast sea stretches in twilight.

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Meaning

The poet depicts the early winter chill on the river, expressing deep homesickness while traveling far from his hometown.

树叶纷纷飘落，大雁振翅南飞，北风吹过江面，寒气袭人。我的家乡就在襄水弯曲的地方，却隔着楚地千重云层，遥不可及。思乡的泪水已在客旅之中流尽，我唯有伫立江边，遥望天边那一点孤帆。想要问一问迷失的渡口该往何处去，只见平阔的江水在夕照下漫漫无边，正如我茫茫无着的心事。

Appreciation

The first couplet sets a bleak scene with fallen leaves and north wind. The second couplet emphasizes the vast distance to home. The third couplet directly expresses sorrow with tears and a lonely sail. The final couplet uses the allusion of a lost ford to merge personal confusion with the boundless river, achieving a fusion of emotion and scene.

【白话串讲】落叶、北风、孤雁，孟浩然在江上想起家乡：“我家襄水曲，遥隔楚云端”。“乡泪客中尽”——游子的眼泪，都在旅途中流干了。【意象与手法】全诗以「寒」字立骨，景中含情、情中见景，是孟浩然「淡中见浓」风格的典范。首联「木落雁南度，北风江上寒」视听结合，木落、雁飞、风急、江寒四象并置，写尽早寒萧瑟，为全诗定调；颔联「我家襄水曲，遥隔楚云端」由景入情，以空间之远写思乡之深，「隔」字见出云山万重的阻隔之痛；颈联「乡泪客中尽，孤帆天际看」以泪与帆对举，泪水已尽而望眼不枯，羁旅孤寂满纸；尾联「迷津欲有问，平海夕漫漫」化用《论语》问津之典，以茫茫夕照收束，将身世迷惘融入无边江水，以景结情，余韵悠长。【情感与主旨】孟浩然早年隐居鹿门山，四十岁赴长安求仕不遇，遂漫游吴越江淮，此诗当作于漂泊江汉之际。秋尽冬初，江上早寒，诗人见木落雁飞而思归不得，乡泪流尽而前路茫茫，「迷津」既指江上迷失渡口，亦暗喻仕途失路、人生彷徨。全诗由早寒之景写到怀乡之情，再写到迷津之叹，层层递进，将个人的羁旅之悲升华为对人生归宿的普遍追问，于清淡之中见出深沉的哀愁。【名句点睛】「乡泪客中尽，孤帆天际看」为历来传诵的名句：上句以「尽」字写泪已流干，沉痛至极；下句以「看」字写望眼欲穿，孤帆与孤客互为投影，天涯孤旅的形象跃然纸上。全诗结句「平海夕漫漫」更以景结情，漫漫江水与茫茫愁绪融为一体，言有尽而意无穷。

Background

Meng Haoran (689–740), from Xiangyang, lived in seclusion before seeking officialdom at forty. After failing, he roamed the Jianghuai region. This poem was likely written during his southward journey in late autumn, when the early cold on the river stirred homesickness and a sense of being lost.

孟浩然（689—740），襄州襄阳人，盛唐山水田园诗派的代表诗人。早年隐居襄阳鹿门山，闭门读书，四十岁赴长安求仕，应进士不第，失意而归，此后漫游吴越、江淮，以布衣终老。此诗题曰「早寒江上有怀」，当作于诗人离乡远游、漂泊江汉之际，约在开元中后期。当时诗人自长安失意南归，乘舟沿江漫游，途经长江与汉水交汇一带，正值秋尽冬初，北风初起，江上早寒，诗人行舟江上，眼见木叶飘落、大雁南归，不由想起襄水之曲的故乡，乡愁与羁旅之悲一时并集；而「迷津」一语，历来注家多认为暗喻仕途失路、人生彷徨。孟浩然一生徘徊于出仕与归隐之间，求仕不遇的失落使他对前路充满迷惘，此诗正是这种心境的集中写照。诗中所写襄水曲、楚云，皆是故园实景的回忆，可见诗人虽身在客途，心心念念仍是襄阳的山水田园，其家在襄阳、性爱山水的性情于此可见一斑。全诗于清冷景致中寓深沉客愁，历来被视为孟浩然羁旅怀乡诗的代表作，与《宿建德江》并为后世传诵。

Art

The poem takes 'cold' as its keynote. The first three couplets blend emotion with scene: the first uses sight and sound; the second uses spatial distance; the third contrasts tears with a lone sail. The final couplet alludes to the Analects, merging the vast twilight sea with the poet's bewilderment.

此诗艺术之妙，在于以「寒」字立骨而情韵浑融，章法上由景入情、由情入理，层层递进，情景妙合无垠。首联「木落雁南度，北风江上寒」以视听结合的手法写景起情：木落是眼见，雁声是耳闻，北风是体感，江寒是心感，四者并置，早寒萧瑟之气扑面而来，为全诗定下清冷基调。颔联「我家襄水曲，遥隔楚云端」由景转情，以空间距离写思乡深度，家乡在襄水弯曲之处，自己却远隔楚地千重云层，「遥隔」二字拉开天地般遥远的距离，思乡之情因空间的阻隔而愈加深沉。颈联「乡泪客中尽，孤帆天际看」是情与景的对举：泪是情，帆是景，泪已流尽而帆犹在天际，孤帆与孤客两相映照，羁旅的孤寂被推到顶点，「尽」字与「看」字一收一放，张力十足。尾联「迷津欲有问，平海夕漫漫」以典入景、以景结情，问津而不得，唯见夕照下平阔江水漫漫无边，愁思如水，无边无际。全诗四联，起承转合井然，而一气流贯，正是盛唐五律情景交融的典范，也是孟浩然「淡中见浓、朴中见奇」风格的集中体现。

Allusions

The phrase 'lost ford' in the last couplet alludes to Confucius sending Zilu to ask the way from the recluses Changju and Jie Ni (Analects). The poet uses it to express his dilemma between seeking office and returning home. 'Chu clouds' symbolizes his distant homeland.

此诗用典不多而极见功力，最著者是尾联「迷津欲有问」所化用的《论语·微子》之典。据载，孔子周游列国时使子路问路于长沮、桀溺两位隐者，二人不予指点，反讽孔子「滔滔者天下皆是也，而谁以易之」，隐者避世、圣人济世，两种人生态度在此相逢。孟浩然此处反用其意：他本有归隐之心（早年隐居鹿门山），却又有济世之志（四十岁求仕），仕与隐的两难使他如处迷津，「欲有问」而无人可问、问亦无答，遂以「平海夕漫漫」的苍茫景象吞下一切追问，用典不着痕迹而意蕴深沉。其次是「楚云」之典：襄阳古属楚地，以「楚云」代指故乡，既写云层之高远以状阻隔之深，又暗含《楚辞》「目极千里兮伤春心」的望乡传统，乡思如画。此外，「木落雁南度」上承《楚辞》「袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下」的秋兴传统，「孤帆」则遥启李白「孤帆远影碧空尽」的送别意象，「平海夕漫漫」更以水写愁，与「问君能有几多愁，恰似一江春水向东流」同一机杼，可见孟浩然熔铸楚辞、六朝与初唐诗艺而自成清淡一格。

Commentary

Zhong Xing in Tangshi Gui commented: ''Far beyond the clouds of Chu land' paints homesickness like a picture.' Fang Hui in Yingkui Lüsui praised its 'tight meter and deep feeling'. Modern scholar Wen Yiduo noted it 'uses light brushstrokes for heavy sorrow, pioneering the travel poetry of the High Tang'.

此诗历来被推为盛唐行旅怀乡诗的代表作，历代评家赏其淡而有味、情致绵邈。明代钟惺、谭元春《唐诗归》评「遥隔楚云端」五字「乡思如画」，以为不着一情语而乡愁满纸；元代方回《瀛奎律髓》谓此诗「格律整栗，而情致绵邈」，赞其格律严谨与情韵悠长兼得。清代沈德潜《唐诗别裁》亦录此诗，以为可见孟浩然五律冲淡自然的本色。近人闻一多论孟浩然，谓其诗以淡笔写浓愁，此诗正是绝佳注脚——木落、雁飞、北风、孤帆，皆是寻常物象，而经诗人点化，便成深愁的载体。此诗的价值，一在情景交融的典范手法，四联景情往复、妙合无垠，为后世行旅诗提供了范式；二在「迷津」之叹的普遍意义，它将个人仕途失意的具体悲哀升华为人类面对人生歧路的共同迷惘，遂使一首纪行之诗有了超越时代的哲理内涵；三在平淡自然的语言风格，无一奇字而意境浑成，正是盛唐五律清水出芙蓉一脉的极致。全诗入选多种教材，与《宿建德江》并称孟浩然羁旅诗双璧。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse五言律诗（仄起首句不入韵式）

Rhyme Pingshui rhyme: upper level 14 han (cold, end, sail, vast)押平水韵上平十四寒，「寒、端、看、漫」四字一韵到底，首句不入韵；其中「看」字取平声寒韵读法，属古音通韵。

Tone pattern Even-tone opening, first line not rhyming仄仄仄平仄，仄平平仄平，仄平平仄仄，平仄仄平平……全诗为仄起首句不入韵式，平仄大体合律，偶见拗句与拗救（如「北风江上寒」以第三字「江」救第一字「北」，避免孤平），体现孟浩然律诗自然疏朗的特点。

Reading note Eight lines in four couplets, middle two couplets parallel, typical of High Tang travel poetry.此诗为五言律诗，仄起首句不入韵式，八句四联，押平水韵上平十四寒，「寒、端、看、漫」一韵到底，音律流转而气格浑成。十四寒韵属低沉绵长的韵部，韵字收音开阔，「寒」之声冷、「端」之声远、「看」之声长、「漫」之声悠，恰与客中思乡的愁思相配，声情与辞情浑然一体。平仄上，首联「木落雁南度，北风江上寒」中「北风江上寒」以第三字「江」（平声）补救第一字「北」（仄声），避免孤平，是唐人律诗常见的拗救法；中二联「我家襄水曲，遥隔楚云端」「乡泪客中尽，孤帆天际看」对仗精工，地名相对、情物相对，整栗而不板滞。章法上，首联写景起兴，颔联抒情点题，颈联推进深化，尾联用典以景结情，起承转合井然，一气流贯。全诗以五律之谨严写早寒羁旅之情，格律整栗而情致绵邈，正是盛唐五律从初唐的板滞走向浑成的标志性作品，也是孟浩然五律「冲淡自然、韵律天成」风格的典型体现。

Line by line

木落雁南度，北风江上寒。

Trees shed their leaves, geese cross south; north winds blow, and the river is cold.

树叶飘落，大雁向南飞渡，北风吹过，江面一片清寒。

Trees shed their leaves, wild geese fly south; north winds blow, and a cold spreads over the river.

首联写早寒之景，视听结合，为全诗立骨。木叶飘落是视觉，大雁南飞是视觉兼听觉（雁声嘹唳），北风是触觉，江寒是体感与心感的混合，四象并置，一句之内调动多种感官，早寒萧瑟的气氛扑面而来。「木落」「雁南」皆秋季典型物候，点明时令之早寒；「北风」「江寒」则直写江上实感，「寒」字一字立骨，既是自然之寒，亦是客中孤寂的心寒。此联之妙在以景起情而不着情语：木落而知岁之将暮，雁南而知归期未定，物候的变化暗合游子漂泊无依的处境，为下文思乡怀归预埋伏笔。句式上「木落雁南度」与「北风江上寒」一写动态一写静态，一写目见一写体感，对仗工稳而流转自然，起手即见盛唐律诗浑成的气象。

The opening couplet writes the early-cold scenery, sight and sound together, establishing the poem's bone. Leaves falling is sight; geese crossing south is sight plus sound (the geese's wild cry); north wind is touch; river cold is the mixture of bodily and heart feeling; four images placed together, within one line summoning several senses, the early-cold bleakness pressing the face. Leaves falling and geese southward are both typical autumn phenology, fixing the early-cold season; north wind and river cold directly write the river's real feeling; cold establishes the bone in one character - at once natural cold and the traveler's heart-cold loneliness. This couplet's subtlety lies in opening feeling through scenery without one feeling word: leaves falling show the year's approaching end; geese southward show the return date uncertain; the phenology change secretly matches the wanderer's drifting, unpropped lot, planting the伏笔 for the later homesickness. In syntax, trees shed leaves, geese cross south writes motion; north winds blow, and the river is cold writes stillness; one writes what the eyes see, one what the body feels; the parallel refined yet flowing natural, the opening at once showing High-Tang regulated verse's浑然 air.

我家襄水曲，遥隔楚云端。

My home is at Xiang River's bend, far beyond the clouds of Chu land.

我的家乡在襄水弯曲之处，远远隔着楚地的云层。

My home lies at the bend of the Xiang River, far beyond the clouds of Chu.

颔联由景入情，以空间之遥写思乡之深，是全诗情感的第一个高潮。「我家襄水曲」点出故乡所在——襄水即汉水流经襄阳的一段，曲处即是家园，语含亲切与怀念；「遥隔楚云端」则拉开万里之遥，故乡隔着楚地千重云层，可望而不可即。「遥隔」二字是全联诗眼：云已高远，隔以云端，则阻隔之深、归途之难尽在其中，思乡之情因空间的阻隔而愈显沉痛。此联对仗精工，「我家」对「遥隔」、「襄水曲」对「楚云端」，地名对地名、方位对方位，工整而不板滞；而「曲」「端」二字一收一放，襄水之曲是婉转亲切的家园形象，楚云之端是苍茫无涯的客途远景，亲疏之间，漂泊之感自现。不说「思乡」而乡思如画，正是孟浩然含蓄蕴藉的本色。

The second couplet passes from scenery to feeling, writing the depth of homesickness through spatial distance, the poem's first emotional climax. My home lies at the bend of the Xiang River names the homeland - the Xiang River is the Han River's section past Xiangyang; the bend is the home, the words holding intimacy and longing. Far beyond the clouds of Chu pulls a thousand-li distance - the home separated by Chu's thousand layers of cloud, visible yet unreachable. Far beyond is the couplet's eye: clouds already high, separated by cloud-end, the deep barrier and hard return road all within; homesickness all the more grievous through space's barrier. This couplet's parallel is refined: my home against far beyond, bend of the Xiang against cloud-end of Chu; place name against place name, direction against direction, refined yet not stiff. And bend and end one closing one opening: the Xiang bend is the intimate home image, the Chu cloud's end is the vast distant traveler's prospect; between kin and stranger, the drifting feeling self-shows. Not saying homesick yet homesickness like a picture - precisely Meng Haoran's reserved, pregnant nature.

乡泪客中尽，孤帆天际看。

Homesick tears exhaust the traveler, I watch a lone sail at the horizon.

思乡的泪水在客旅中流尽，我遥望天边那一叶孤帆。

Homesick tears are spent in exile; I watch a lone sail at the sky's edge.

颈联是全诗情感最沉痛的一联，以「尽」字写泪，以「看」字写望，一收一放，张力十足。「乡泪客中尽」直写客中思乡之泪已经流尽，「尽」字见出泪水之多、思念之久、漂泊之久的层层累积，泪尽而愁未消，比「泪沾衣」「泪纵横」更深一层，是愁到极处的无言状态；「孤帆天际看」则写诗人伫立江畔，痴望天边那一叶孤帆，「孤帆」既是所见之景，亦是自况之象——帆孤而人更孤，帆尚有归处，人却不知归期，「看」字写尽望眼欲穿的执著与无望。此联情与景对举，泪是情之宣泄，帆是景之投影，二者互为映照，将羁旅之悲推向顶点。句式上「乡泪」对「孤帆」、「客中」对「天际」，时空交错，工稳而情深，是五律颈联的典范，亦为全诗传诵最广的名句。

The third couplet is the poem's most grieving couplet, using spent to write tears and watch to write gazing, one closing one opening, full of tension. Homesick tears are spent in exile directly writes the homesick tears in travel exhausted; spent shows the tears' abundance, the longing's length, the drifting's long accumulation; tears spent yet sorrow not dissolved, deeper than tears wetting robe or tears streaming - the wordless state at sorrow's extreme. I watch a lone sail at the sky's edge writes the poet standing by the river, gazing at the lone sail at the horizon; the lone sail is at once the scenery seen and the self-comparison - the sail lone and the man lonelier; the sail has a return place, the man knows no return date; watch exhausts the eager-yet-hopeless fixed gaze. This couplet sets feeling and scenery against each other: tears are feeling's release, the sail is scenery's projection; the two mirror each other, pushing the exile's grief to the peak. In syntax, homesick tears against lone sail, in exile against sky's edge, time and space interwoven, refined yet deep feeling - the model of the five-character regulated verse's third couplet, also the poem's most widely recited line.

迷津欲有问，平海夕漫漫。

I want to ask the way at the lost ford, but the vast sea stretches in twilight.

想要问一问迷失的渡口，只见平阔的江面在夕照下漫漫无边。

Lost at the ford, I would ask the way; the level sea, at dusk, stretches endless.

尾联化用《论语·微子》问津之典，以景结情，是全诗的点睛之笔，将身世迷惘化为茫茫江水。「迷津欲有问」表面写江上迷失渡口、欲问路于人，实则暗喻人生歧路、仕途失路——诗人求仕不遇、归隐不甘，进退两难，正如舟行江上迷失津渡，欲问而无人可问、问亦无解；「平海夕漫漫」以景作答：夕照之下，平阔的江面漫漫无边，恰似诗人茫茫无着的心事，无边无际、无始无终。以「漫漫」叠字收束，既写江景之阔，又写愁思之漫，景与情至此彻底交融，言有尽而意无穷。此联用典不着痕迹，叙事、抒情、写景三合为一，一改前三联的明朗，转入苍茫，余韵悠长，遂成千古名句。

The closing couplet adapts the Analects's asking-the-ford allusion, closing feeling in scenery, the poem's finishing stroke, converting life-fate bewilderment into the vast river. Lost at the ford, I would ask the way on the surface writes the river crossing lost, wishing to ask the way of another; in truth secretly metaphorizes life's crossroads, official career's lost road - the poet seeking office unrecognized, retiring unreconciled,进退两难, precisely like the boat on the river losing the ford, wishing to ask yet no one to ask, asking also unsolved. The level sea, at dusk, stretches endless answers in scenery: under the setting sun, the level river stretches boundless, precisely like the poet's vast, unplaced heart, boundless, endless. Closing in the reduplication vast writes at once the river scene's breadth and the sorrow's diffusion; scenery and feeling here fully fused, words finite, meaning infinite. This couplet uses the allusion without trace, narrative, lyric, scenery fused into one; changing from the previous three couplets' brightness into vastness, the aftertaste long - hence an age-famous line.

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寒 cold (both physical chill and emotional bleakness) 「寒」字是全诗一字立骨的诗眼，既写自然之寒，又写心境之寒，贯穿全篇。就自然而言，北风初起、江上早寒，木落雁飞正是岁寒将至的物候，「寒」字总括首联诸景，点明题中「早寒」二字；就心境而言，客中思乡、前路迷惘，孤寂悲凉之情正如江上之寒，沁入骨髓。此字之妙在于以体感写心感：寒本可触可感，诗人却不直言「愁」而写「寒」，使无形的愁绪有了温度、有了质地，冷冽的江风即是冷冽的心境，物我交融，含蓄蕴藉。且「寒」字置于首联末句，为一篇定调，此后木落、雁飞、乡泪、孤帆、夕漫，无不笼罩在这一个「寒」字之下，情景往复而寒气不散，正是「立骨」之字的典范。孟浩然诗多清淡，而此「寒」字力透纸背，可见其淡中有浓、淡而愈深的功力。

隔 far apart (emphasizes the barrier of distance) 「隔」字是颔联的诗眼，一个空间动词，写尽故乡与游子之间云山万重的阻隔。「遥隔楚云端」，家乡在襄水之曲，自己却在楚地千里之外，中间隔着层层云翳，望不见也回不去，「隔」字既写空间之远，又写阻隔之痛，且暗含归期无望的绝望。此字之妙，在与「云端」二字配合下更见张力：云本高悬天际，隔以云端，则故乡如在九霄之上，可望而不可即，思乡之情因阻隔的极端化而愈加深沉。若换「远」「遥」等字，则仅写距离；「隔」字则带出主动的、无法逾越的障碍感，仿佛有什么横亘其间，令归途成绝，一字之力，胜于千言。孟浩然炼字向以平淡自然著称，而此「隔」字于平淡中见奇警，正是看似寻常最奇崛的典范，后世写乡思者多用「隔」字，实自此诗启之。

漫 vast (depicts the endless twilight sea, extending sorrow) 「漫」字是结句的诗眼，叠字收束，以景结情，使愁思如水、无边无际。「平海夕漫漫」，夕照之下平阔的江面（此处以江为海，极言其阔）漫漫无边，「漫漫」叠用，既状江面之辽阔苍茫，又写暮色之迷离深远，更暗合诗人愁思之漫无边际、无所归止。此字之妙在以景写心：江水漫漫无岸，正如心事茫茫无着，景之无垠即情之无垠，不必言愁而愁满天地；且「漫」字声音绵长，读来如江水悠悠不尽，声情与辞情高度统一。若换「茫茫」「浩浩」，则失之板实；「漫漫」兼有时间绵延（暮色渐浓）与空间广远（江面无际）双重意蕴，最得迷茫苍茫之神。以叠字作结，一唱三叹，言有尽而意无穷，正合钟嵘「文已尽而意有余」之旨，是为以景结情的千古范例。