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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

赠卫八处士

For Recluse Wei Ba

杜甫

Du Fu

友情friendship 人生life

人生不相见，动如参与商。
今夕复何夕，共此灯烛光。
少壮能几时，鬓发各已苍。
访旧半为鬼，惊呼热中肠。
焉知二十载，重上君子堂。
昔别君未婚，儿女忽成行。
怡然敬父执，问我来何方。
问答乃未已，儿女罗酒浆。
夜雨翦春韭，新炊间黄粱。
主称会面难，一举累十觞。
十觞亦不醉，感子故意长。
明日隔山岳，世事两茫茫。

Men live but seldom see each other,
Like stars that rise and set on opposite sides.
What an evening is this?
We share the candlelight!
How long will youth last?
Our temples are already gray.
Half of our friends have passed away;
We cry, our hearts burning with pain.
Who would have thought, after twenty years,
I'd again sit in your hall?
When we parted, you were not yet wed;
Now your children stand in rows.
They smile and greet their father's friend,
Asking me where I come from.
Our talk is not yet finished;
Children bring out wine and dishes.
Night rain cuts the spring chives;
Newly cooked millet is fragrant.
You say it's rare to meet,
So we drink ten cups in a row.
Ten cups don't make me drunk;
I'm moved by your lasting friendship.
Tomorrow we'll be separated by mountains;
The world is vast and unknown.

Listen

Meaning

Du Fu, during the An Lushan Rebellion, meets his old friend Wei Ba after a long separation. They reminisce about the past, notice their aging, and share a meal. The poem captures the bittersweetness of reunion in troubled times.

人生在世，朋友难以常相聚首，动辄就像参星与商星此出彼没、永不相逢。今夜究竟是何等美好的夜晚，竟能与你这般共对一盏灯烛的微光。青春年少能有几时，转眼间你我鬓发都已斑白。寻访旧友，半数已成鬼物，惊呼之下热泪滚烫、痛彻肝肠。怎料别后二十载，我又重登你这君子之堂。昔日分别时你尚未婚配，如今儿女已经排成行。他们和悦地敬重父辈挚友，问我从何处而来。问答尚未尽兴，儿女们已摆上酒浆。夜雨中新割的春韭鲜嫩，新煮的黄粱米饭喷香。主人说相聚实在难得，一举杯便连饮十觞。十觞也不醉，感念你待故人的情意深长。明日一别又要隔着重重山岳，世事茫茫，难以逆料。

Appreciation

The poem uses the stars Shen and Shang as a metaphor for separation, and details like 'night rain cuts spring chives' to convey deep emotion through simple, everyday scenes. It is a masterpiece of narrative poetry, blending joy and sorrow with profound insight into life's impermanence.

【白话串讲】 “人生不相见，动如参与商”——杜甫和好友卫八重逢，当年他还没结婚，如今儿女成行。“访旧半为鬼”，老朋友一半已经去世。一顿饭的工夫，写尽了乱世里的聚散。【意象与手法】全诗以时间为序，由别后慨叹、灯下重逢、沧桑惊呼、见子欢饮至明朝将别，叙事绵密而情致跌宕。参商起兴、灯烛收束，章法圆融；以「翦春韭」「间黄粱」等家常细节写乱世真情，于古淡中见沉郁顿挫。【情感与主旨】此诗约作于乾元二年（759）春，安史之乱未平，杜甫由洛阳返回华州途中访故人卫八处士。乱离之中故友存殁难卜，仓促相逢更显珍贵，一夜聚饮实为时代离乱之缩影，以家常写家国之痛。【名句点睛】常考「人生不相见，动如参与商」的用典起兴、「访旧半为鬼」的乱世之悲，及「夜雨翦春韭」以淡语写厚情的白描手法。

Background

Written around spring 759 CE, during the An Lushan Rebellion. Du Fu was traveling from Luoyang to Huazhou and visited his old friend Wei Ba, a recluse. The poem reflects the turmoil of the era and the preciousness of reunion amidst chaos.

此诗约作于唐肃宗乾元二年（759）春，时安史之乱尚未平息，杜甫自洛阳返回华州途中，访故人卫八处士（处士为未仕之文人）所作。此前一年，杜甫因疏救房琯触怒肃宗，被贬为华州司功参军；乾元二年春，他离洛阳西行，经新安、石壕、潼关一带，目睹战乱中百姓流离的惨状，著名的《三吏》《三别》即作于此时。就在这满目疮痍的行旅之中，他意外地与阔别二十年的旧友重逢于卫八家中，一夜灯下聚饮，次日又各奔东西。故诗中所写，既是乱世故人仓促相逢的珍贵与悲慨，更是时代离乱的一个缩影。杜甫以家常琐事写家国之痛，即事名篇，不假雕饰，遂成其五言古诗中写人情世态、感人至深的典范，后人多以此诗与其《羌村三首》并观，见其对普通人的深挚关怀。诗中「访旧半为鬼」之叹，正是战乱年代无数家庭与友朋离散的缩影；杜甫以一己重逢之夜写千万人聚散，故能超越纪事而成为时代的情感档案，读之者无论古今，皆能于灯烛之光中照见自己。

Art

The poem proceeds chronologically, from sighs after parting, to reunion by candlelight, shocked exclamations over aging, meeting the children, feasting, and parting the next day. The narrative is tightly woven with emotional shifts. Lines like 'When we parted, you were not yet wed; Now your children stand in rows' show the passage of time through concrete details. 'Night rain cuts spring chives' uses plain language to convey profound sentiment, typical of Du Fu's style.

全诗以时间为序，从别后慨叹写到灯下重逢，从沧桑惊呼写到见子欢饮，再以明朝将别收束，叙事绵密而情致跌宕，章法自然流转，如家常夜话般娓娓道来。开篇「人生不相见，动如参与商」以参商二星起兴，一笔写尽人生聚少离多的宿命；「今夕复何夕，共此灯烛光」以惊喜反诘写重逢之不易，灯烛之光成为乱世之中唯一的暖色。中间「访旧半为鬼，惊呼热中肠」以极沉痛之笔写乱离之悲，「昔别君未婚，儿女忽成行」以寻常婚育细节见岁月流转之速，而「夜雨翦春韭，新炊间黄粱」更以最平淡的家常款待写出最深厚的乱世情谊。末四句写主客酣饮与明朝将别，「明日隔山岳，世事两茫茫」以苍茫之景收束，由喜转慨，余味沉郁，正见杜诗「语淡而情深」的极致功力，于古淡中蕴顿挫，是杜甫「以家常写深情」艺术理念的集中体现。此外，全诗不设典丽之辞而自有韵致，「夜雨」「春韭」「黄粱」等家常物象经其点染，皆成深情的载体；以浅语写至情，以琐事见大悲，正是杜诗「语不惊人死不休」之外的另一副笔墨，亦见其晚年诗境之老成。

Allusions

The allusion to Shen and Shang (参商) comes from the Zuo Zhuan, where two brothers were separated and never met. They were associated with the stars Shen (Orion) and Shang (Antares), which never appear together in the sky. 'Yellow millet' (黄粱) is a reference to a Daoist story about a dream, but here it simply refers to freshly cooked millet, emphasizing rustic hospitality.

「参与商」用《左传·昭公元年》所载高辛氏二子阏伯、实沈之典：二子居于旷林，不相能也，日寻干戈，帝迁阏伯于商丘主辰（商星），迁实沈于大夏主参（参星），二星此出彼没，永不相见，古人遂以参商喻亲友乖隔、不得相逢。诗人用此典并非炫博，而是把乱世中「动如参商」的聚散无常写得既形象又沉重，起笔即定全篇苍凉基调。「黄粱」本为神仙故事中蒸黍成饭之典（《枕中记》黄粱一梦），此处只取「新炊」之意，写农家真率质朴的款待，与「翦春韭」同为最本色的生活细节。全诗用典皆融化于家常语中，不着痕迹，正是杜甫「以俗为雅、以故为新」的典范，亦见其学养之深而用笔之淡。此诗用典的妙处还在「典与事合」：参商之典正写乱世聚散，黄粱之炊正写贫家款待，典故与眼前的人事一一对应，故读来不觉得是用典，只觉得是写实，这是杜甫「以经史为日用」的高明处。「翦春韭」之「翦」又暗合《诗经》夜话传统，家常语中自有风雅，用典之妙正在这化雅入俗之间。

Commentary

Su Shi in his Dongpo Zhilin praised Du Fu's ability to write plain yet powerful poems, saying this poem 'makes readers feel solemn'. Zhang Jin in his annotated collection commented that 'the narrative is straightforward yet subtle, language plain yet full of feeling, a masterful hand.'

此诗历代评价极高。宋人苏轼《东坡志林》云：「杜子美之于诗，无所不能，而尤工于平淡。如《赠卫八处士》……皆情文相生，读之使人凛然。」清人张溍《读书堂杜工部诗集注解》评：「叙事直而能曲，语淡而情深，此老笔也。」浦起龙《读杜心解》亦推为「人情诗绝调」。近人论杜诗，多以此诗与其《羌村三首》《月夜》等并观，谓其以家常琐事写时代悲欢，最见杜甫对普通人命运的深情与关怀。全诗不作议论，不施藻绘，而乱离之悲、重逢之喜、别后之怅，皆于平淡叙述中自然流出，故能超越一时一地，成为书写人生聚散与人情温暖的千古名篇，历代选本几乎无不收录，足见其不朽的艺术生命力。此诗亦为后世赠别、重逢诗之典范，宋人黄庭坚「桃李春风一杯酒，江湖夜雨十年灯」写久别重逢之慨，即承其「二十载」重逢的深情余韵；千载之下，诗中那盏灯烛仍照亮着中国人对友情的全部想象。

Prosody

Form 五言古诗 (five-character ancient verse)五言古诗

Rhyme The poem uses a single rhyme throughout, mostly on the level tone of the 'yang' rhyme (characters: 商, 光, 苍, 肠, 堂, 行, 方, 浆, 粱, 觞, 长, 茫).多押平声阳韵（商、光、苍、肠、堂、行、方、浆、粱、觞、长、茫），一韵到底，声调平缓悠长，与家常叙谈的情调相合。

Tone pattern For a classical poem, strict tonal patterns are not required; the style is free and natural.古诗不尚严格平仄对仗，以散句叙事抒情，两句一转、自然流转，问句、叹句间出，如「今夕复何夕」「焉知二十载」，声情随叙事情节起伏。

Reading note It's a fine example of Du Fu's skill in writing about ordinary human feelings. Language is plain but emotions are deep, with a melancholic and forceful style.此诗为五言古诗，不追求近体的对仗与平仄，而以古体的自由笔法叙事抒情，恰与题材的日常性、情感的朴拙性相称。全诗十二句一韵到底，押平声阳韵，韵脚「商、光、苍、肠、堂、行、方、浆、粱、觞、长、茫」皆开口洪亮之音，诵读起来声调平缓悠长，正合灯下夜话的娓娓情调；间以「今夕复何夕」「焉知二十载」「明日隔山岳」等问句、感叹句转气，使平缓中有跌宕，声情与辞情相生。古诗不尚对仗，唯「访旧半为鬼，惊呼热中肠」「昔别君未婚，儿女忽成行」等句于散行中自然成偶，不见斧凿痕。整体格律自由而气脉贯通，是杜甫「以文为诗」、古体写家常的成熟之作，语淡情浓、沉郁顿挫，为后世五古写人情之圭臬。

Line by line

人生不相见，动如参与商

Life seldom brings friends together; they move apart like the stars Shen and Shang that never meet. An opening metaphor for the difficulty of reunion.

人生在世朋友难以常相聚首，动辄就像参星与商星此出彼没、永不相逢。

In life we seldom meet; often we are like Shen and Shang stars, one rising as the other sets.

开篇即以星辰起兴，一笔写尽人生聚少离多的宿命感。参星与商星此出彼没、永不相见，本是天文现象，诗人用来比喻亲友乖隔，既形象又沉重，「动如」二字更点出这并非偶然而是一次又一次的常态，道尽乱世中离别之频繁与相见之艰难。这一句为全诗定下苍凉的基调，也与结尾「明日隔山岳」的茫茫之感遥相呼应，使重逢之喜始终笼罩在聚散无常的阴影之下，是杜甫以天文入诗、以哲理写情的典范。

The opening opens with stars as bi-xing, one stroke exhausting life's destiny of more parting than meeting. The Shen star and Shang star, one rising as the other sets, never meeting, is originally an astronomical phenomenon; the poet uses it to metaphorize relatives' and friends' separation, at once vivid and heavy. Often we are like further points out this is not chance but the repeated norm, exhausting the troubled times' frequent partings and meeting's difficulty. This line sets the poem's bleak keynote, also echoing the closing's tomorrow the mountains will part us's vast feeling, making the reunion's joy forever shrouded in the无常 gathering-and-scattering shadow - Du Fu's model of entering astronomy into poetry, writing feeling through philosophy.

今夕复何夕，共此灯烛光

What night is this that we can share the same candlelight? A joyful exclamation at the unexpected reunion.

今夜究竟是何等美好的夜晚，竟能与你这般共对一盏灯烛的微光。

What evening is this evening, that we share this candlelight?

以惊喜反诘写重逢之不易，是乱世之中难得的温情时刻。「今夕何夕」本为《诗经·唐风·绸缪》「今夕何夕，见此良人」的成句，诗人借以表达如梦似幻的惊喜，「复」字更添一层「竟然又」的感叹。乱离之中故旧难逢，而此刻竟能共对灯烛、促膝夜话，一盏微光是全诗唯一的暖色，也暗含灯火之下相对如梦中、不知明日何处的怅惘。此句由悲转喜、由虚入实，章法上承上启下，把重逢的珍贵写得温润动人。

Using surprised rhetorical question to write reunion's rarity, a rare warm moment in the troubled times. What evening is this evening is originally the Book of Songs's Chenfeng Choumou's what evening, what evening, I see this good man's set phrase; the poet borrows it to express dreamlike surprise, the again adding a layer of unexpectedly yet again exclamation. In exile old friends hard to meet, yet at this moment sharing the candlelight, sitting knee to knee at night; one faint lamp glow is the poem's only warm color, also secretly holds below the lamp candle facing each other as in a dream, not knowing where tomorrow's place the disappointment. This line turns from grief to joy, from void to solid; in craft carrying above and opening below, writing the reunion's preciousness warm and moving.

访旧半为鬼，惊呼热中肠

Half of our old friends have become ghosts; we cry out, burning with grief. The shock of mortality amid chaos.

寻访旧友，半数已成鬼物，惊呼之下热泪滚烫、痛彻肝肠。

I ask of old friends - half are already ghosts; I cry out in alarm, my heart burning within.

两句写尽乱世人事之悲，是全诗情感最沉痛处。「访旧半为鬼」以极平淡的口吻说出极残酷的事实：二十年间战乱频仍，旧友竟有一半已不在人世，一个「半」字分量千钧；「惊呼」写出重逢叙旧时骤然听闻噩耗的失态，而「热中肠」三字更以体温写哀痛，热泪滚烫、肝肠俱焚，惊痛之情溢于言表。此句与下文「昔别君未婚，儿女忽成行」形成生者与死者、昔日与今日的对照，于家常叙谈中透出乱世生命的脆弱，是杜诗「以细节写时代」的典型笔法。

These two lines exhaust the troubled times' human-affairs grief, the poem's most poignant place. I ask of old friends - half are already ghosts uses the plainest tone to speak the cruelest fact: twenty years of incessant war, half the old friends already no longer living; one half carries a thousand pounds. I cry out in alarm writes the loss of composure at suddenly hearing bad news while recounting old times; my heart burning within three characters further use body temperature to write grief - hot tears, liver and intestines burned; the shocked pain overflows the words. This line forms a contrast with the later when we parted, you were unmarried; suddenly your sons and daughters stand in rows of the living and the dead, the past and the present; within household chat showing the troubled-times life's fragility - Du Fu's typical brush of writing the age through detail.

昔别君未婚，儿女忽成行

When I left you were not yet married; now your children stand in rows. The quick passage of time seen in family changes.

昔日分别时你尚未婚配，如今儿女已经排成行。

When we parted, you were unmarried; suddenly your sons and daughters stand in rows.

以婚育变化写时光流转，家常细节中蕴含沧海桑田之感。「未婚」与「儿女成行」对举，中间横亘着二十年的岁月，一个「忽」字既写子女骤然而成的眼前实景，更写时光流逝之速的惊心：仿佛昨日才别，转瞬已是两代人。此句不着一悲字而沧桑自见，且为下文「怡然敬父执」「儿女罗酒浆」的温馨场景作铺垫——新的一代已经长成，承平之家尚存，而旧友半为鬼，一喜一悲交织，正是乱世重逢最复杂也最真实的情感底色，见杜诗叙事之细密与情感之深沉。

Using marriage-and-childbirth change to write time's flow; within household detail lies the seas-change feeling. Unmarried set against sons and daughters stand in rows; between them lies twenty years of time. One suddenly writes at once the sudden children's眼前 real scene, and the shock at time's fast flow: as if yesterday's parting, in an instant already two generations. This line not one word of grief yet vicissitude self-shows, also preparing the later warmly greeting the father's friends and children setting out wine and food's warm scene - the new generation has grown; the peaceful family still survives, yet half the old friends are ghosts; one joy one grief interwoven, precisely the troubled-times reunion's most complex and real emotional ground - showing Du Fu's narrative fineness and emotional depth.

夜雨翦春韭，新炊间黄粱

In the night rain, spring chives are cut; newly cooked millet is fragrant. A humble but sincere welcome, plain and moving.

夜雨中新割的春韭鲜嫩，新煮的黄粱米饭喷香。

In the night rain, you cut spring leeks; the newly cooked rice is mixed with yellow millet.

以最寻常的家常款待写乱世重逢的珍贵，是杜诗白描艺术的典范。「翦春韭」写夜雨中冒雨剪韭，韭为初春最嫩之物，见主人倾其所有、竭诚待客之心；「新炊间黄粱」写新煮的糙米饭，黄粱是粗粮，与膏粱相反，正见贫家待客之本色。两句不用一个华美字眼，而夜雨、春韭、新炊、黄粱的色香味俱全，画面温暖而真实。乱世之中，粗茶淡饭胜过山珍海味，这份毫无矫饰的真率情谊，比任何言语都更动人，是「以淡语写厚情」的绝唱。

Using the most ordinary household hospitality to write the troubled-times reunion's preciousness, Du Fu's plain-description art's model. You cut spring leeks in the night rain writes cutting leeks in the night rain; leeks are early spring's tenderest thing, showing the host giving all he has, wholeheartedly welcoming. The newly cooked rice is mixed with yellow millet writes newly cooked coarse rice; yellow millet is coarse grain, opposite to fatty grain, precisely showing the poor family's true welcoming color. The two lines use no gorgeous word, yet night rain, spring leeks, new cooking, yellow millet's color, smell, and taste all present; the picture warm and real. In the troubled times, coarse tea and plain food surpass mountains-and-sea delicacies; this undisguised, genuine friendship moves more than any words - the masterpiece of writing deep feeling through plain words.

明日隔山岳，世事两茫茫

Tomorrow we are separated by mountains; both our futures are vast and unknown. A somber return to the reality of parting.

明日一别又要隔着重重山岳，世事茫茫，难以逆料。

Tomorrow the mountains will part us; the affairs of this world, both of us, are vast and unknown.

以离别收束全篇，由重逢之喜陡转入苍茫之慨，余味悠长沉郁。「明日隔山岳」写空间之隔绝：山岳既为地理之隔，亦为乱世之人事阻隔，「隔」字沉重；「世事两茫茫」写时间与命运之难料：一别之后，彼此生死存亡、聚散穷达，皆在茫茫不可知之中。两句与开篇「动如参与商」遥相呼应，参商起、山岳收，章法圆合，而情感则由「共此灯烛光」的片刻温暖跌入无边苍茫，喜极而悲，正是乱世重逢必然的结局，读来令人低回不已，是杜甫写聚散无常的点睛之笔。

Closing the whole poem in parting, turning abruptly from reunion joy into vast sigh, aftertaste long and somber. Tomorrow the mountains will part us writes space's isolation: the mountains at once geographic separation, and the troubled times' human-affairs barrier; the part is heavy. The affairs of this world, both of us, are vast and unknown writes time and fate's unpredictability: after one parting, each other's life and death, gathering and scattering, success and failure, all in the vast unknowable. The two lines echo the opening's often we are like Shen and Shang: Shen-Shang opening, mountains closing; craft roundly closed, yet emotion falls from the sharing-this-candlelight moment's warmth into boundless vastness; joy extreme then grief, precisely the troubled-times reunion's necessary end; reading it makes one linger endlessly - Du Fu's finishing stroke on gathering-and-scattering无常.

Study

Word focus

参与商 Shen and Shang stars, metaphor for separation. 「人生不相见，动如参与商」以参、商二星此出彼没、永不相见写亲友隔绝，用典精当而凝练深沉。参星即猎户座，商星即心宿二，二星在星空中一东一西，从不同时出现，古人据《左传》高辛氏二子之典，以之喻兄弟、亲友之乖隔。诗人将此天文典故融入家常口吻，不露丝毫书卷气，「动如」二字更把「动不动就这样」的无奈与宿命感写足，使抽象的聚散无常化为可触可感的形象。此二字一出，全篇苍凉基调立定，且与篇末「明日隔山岳」呼应，首尾圆合，是杜诗用典于无痕、化故为新的一字千金之例。

苍 gray (hair), suggesting aging. 「少壮能几时，鬓发各已苍」之「苍」字，一字写尽岁月流逝与人生沧桑。苍本指青黑色，引申为斑白，此处写鬓发已白，兼有灰暗苍老之意。诗人不说「白」而说「苍」，避免了直白的衰飒，而多一层灰蒙蒙、苍茫的色调，与全诗「世事两茫茫」的苍茫基调相合。重逢之际，两人对坐，彼此鬓发皆苍，「各」字点出这是共同的衰老，非一人之叹。此字与「少壮能几时」的追问相配合，把重逢之喜迅速拉入时光易逝的悲慨，为下文「访旧半为鬼」的惊痛预作铺垫，是炼字精微、以一字见全篇之例。

翦 to cut (spring chives), a vivid detail of hospitality. 「夜雨翦春韭」之「翦」字，同「剪」，是杜诗炼字的妙笔。翦字本义为剪断、割取，此处写夜雨之中冒雨剪韭待客，既写出动作的干脆利落，更见主人的殷勤与急切：春韭初生，鲜嫩无比，冒雨剪取，方不失其鲜。一个「翦」字，把农家的生活气息、主人的待客之诚、乱世中倾其所有的深重情谊全部写出，寻常一字而有万钧之力。若用「采」「摘」则流于平淡，唯「翦」字兼有力度与新鲜感，正合杜甫「语不惊人死不休」的炼字追求，与「新炊间黄粱」的「间」字相映成趣，是白描中见功夫的典范。

故意 old friendship, deep affection. 「感子故意长」之「故意」，指旧日情意、故人之谊，「故」字兼有旧故与特意两层意味：既是二十年前相交的旧情，又是乱世之中特意相待的深情。诗人不直言「深情」「厚谊」，而用「故意」这个朴拙的口语词，反而更见真率与亲切，道出友情最动人处不在言语而在点滴。「长」字写情意之绵长不尽，与「十觞亦不醉」相呼应——酒未醉人，醉人的是这份历久弥新的故人之谊。此二字朴拙见真，是杜甫以家常语写至情的又一例证，也是全诗情感由叙旧转向感念的关键落点。