唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
长干曲四首 一
The, Song, of, the, Changgan, Four, Poems, No. 1
君家何处住妾住在横塘停船暂借问或恐是同乡
Where, does, your, home, dwell,I, live, at, the, Hengtang.
Stopping, the, boat, I, ask, for, a, while,
Perhaps, we, are, from, the, same, country.
Meaning
A poem of the boat and the asking, written by Cui Hao. Where does your home dwell, I live at the Hengtang — the asking of the opening. Stopping the boat I ask for a while, perhaps we are from the same country — the hope of the close. The poem is the boat and the asking: the home, the boat, and the close's same country.
君家何处住，妾住在横塘。停船暂借问，或恐是同乡。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] Where, does, your, home, dwell, I, live, at, the, Hengtang. Stopping, the, boat, I, ask, for, a, while, perhaps, we, are, from, the, same, country. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the asking of the home and the telling of the Hengtang, through the stopping of the boat, to the close's the hope of the same country. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the close of the hope: stopping the boat I ask for a while, and the close's perhaps we are from the same country — the boat gathered in the asking and the close's hope. [Emotional Tone] Plain, warm, and hopeful: the poem is the home, the boat and the close's same country.
【白话串讲】 崔颢写《长干曲四首其一》：“君家何处住，妾住在横塘”——“停船暂借问，或恐是同乡”——他写长干曲——或恐是同乡。 【意象与手法】 首句“君家何处住”写女子问男子家住何处；次句“妾住在横塘”写女子自报家住横塘；三句“停船暂借问”写停船暂问；末句“或恐是同乡”写或恐是同乡。以问乡写江南儿女的情致。 【情感与主旨】 崔颢写江南水乡男女的问答，清新而隽永，是乐府诗的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“君家何处住，妾住在横塘”写江南儿女相逢；“停船暂借问，或恐是同乡”写借问情趣。
Background
Cui Hao (c. 704-754), the poet of the Tang, wrote this 'The, Song, of, the, Changgan, No. 1' of the boat and the asking — the encounter of the two boats. The asking of the home with the telling of the Hengtang, and the close's the hope of the same country — the poem gathers the warmth of the poet, the simplicity of the river folk. The poem is one of the famous works of the poet's poems of the folk songs.
此诗为盛唐诗人崔颢的《长干曲四首》其一之作，是乐府诗的名篇。崔颢（约704—754），汴州（今河南开封）人，盛唐诗人，开元十一年（723）进士，其《黄鹤楼》为唐人七律之冠。长干曲为乐府旧题，长干为金陵（今南京）里巷名，地近长江，居民多以舟为业。此诗写江南水乡的男女问答，是民歌体的乐府：「君家何处住」，写你家住何处——女子问男子，家住何处；「妾住在横塘」，写妾家住横塘——横塘为金陵（一说在今南京西南）地名，与长干相近，女子自报家住横塘；「停船暂借问」，写停船暂问——那女子，停船相问；「或恐是同乡」，写或恐是同乡——那问的缘故，或是恐怕同乡。全诗以问乡写江南儿女的情致，二十字写尽水乡的相逢与情思，清新而隽永，是乐府诗「民歌清新」的代表作。要理解此诗，须知长干曲为乐府旧题，本写金陵水乡男女之情，崔颢此组四首以民歌对答之体写水乡相逢，一唱一和，正见南朝乐府《西洲曲》一类的清新传统。此首写女子发问，以「君家何处住」直入相逢，以「或恐是同乡」托出情思，正是民歌「欲说还休」的含蓄笔法。
Art
The poem's art is the art of the asking. The home opens: where, does, your, home, dwell — the dwelling of the home; I, live, at, the, Hengtang — the Hengtang of the living. The hope follows: stopping, the, boat, I, ask, for, a, while — the stopping of the boat; perhaps, we, are, from, the, same, country — the same country of the perhaps — the home, the boat and the close's hope, gathered in the poem.
此诗艺术上以「对话传神」与「含蓄隽永」为特色，在男女问答的描绘中写尽江南儿女的情致。首句「君家何处住」，以「君家何处住」写女子问男子——那一声问，是女子的发问，「何处住」写问家住何处，起笔即是对话，直入水乡的相逢；次句「妾住在横塘」，以「妾住在横塘」写女子自报——那女子，自报家住横塘，「妾」写自称，「横塘」写地名，正是自报家门的爽朗；三句「停船暂借问」，以「停船暂借问」写停船相问——「停船」写停下船，「借问」写请问，正是水乡的相逢；末句「或恐是同乡」，以「或恐是同乡」写问的缘故——「或恐」写恐怕，「同乡」写同乡之人，那问的缘故，正是恐怕同乡。全诗由问写起，经自报、停船，而归于「或恐是同乡」的情思，对话传神、含蓄隽永，那问的缘故不直说，正是「或恐是同乡」的含蓄，正是乐府诗「民歌清新」的极致。细观其章法，二十字之中，只写问答而不写情思，而那「或恐是同乡」的托词，正是情思的所在——以问写情，以托词写心，正是民歌「不着一字，尽得风流」的笔法。
Allusions
'The Hengtang' (heng tang) is the Hengtang — the dyke of the Hengtang, the home of the lady; 'the stopping of the boat' (ting chuan) is the stopping of the boat — the stopping of the boat, the asking of the traveler; 'the same country' (tong xiang) is the same country — the same native land, the hope of the close.
此诗用典于关键处见深意。「长干」，写长干里——长干为金陵（今南京）里巷名，地近长江，乐府旧题有《长干曲》，写金陵水乡男女之情，「长干曲四首」写长干里的儿女。「横塘」，写横塘——横塘为金陵地名（今南京西南，一说在江宁），与长干相近，「妾住在横塘」写女子家住横塘。「同乡」，写同乡之人——「同乡」写同乡之人，那「或恐是同乡」的问，正是江南水乡儿女的情思。值得注意的是，长干与横塘，皆是金陵的水乡地名，又皆见于乐府民歌——「长干」见于《长干曲》，「横塘」见于《吴声歌曲·懊侬歌》一类的水乡歌谣，那「家住横塘」的女子，正是水乡歌谣中的女儿，那「同乡」之问，正是水乡相逢的情思。这些意象，或写长干、或写横塘、或写同乡，皆围绕江南水乡与儿女情致这一核心，织成一张清新隽永的情网，正是乐府诗「以地写情」的特点。此外，此诗之用「横塘」，亦有深意——横塘与长干同属金陵水乡，古乐府中常以「横塘」写女儿之居，那女子以「横塘」自报家门，正是以地名自见其身世，也正是「借问」之由的含蓄暗示。
Commentary
This poem is one of the famous works of Cui Hao's poems of the folk songs, quoted for the plainness of its speech and the warmth of its close. The stopping of the boat, and the perhaps of the same country, are among the admired passages of the poet's poems. Critics praise the poem's plainness: the asking gathered in the boat, to the close's hope.
读此诗，最值得注意的是「停船暂借问，或恐是同乡」所写出的「水乡相逢的含蓄情致」。那江南水乡，男女舟行江上，萍水相逢。那女子，先发问「君家何处住」——你家住何处？这问，直截了当，正是民歌的爽朗。接着自报「妾住在横塘」——我住在横塘。而「停船暂借问，或恐是同乡」——停下船来暂问一声，或恐是同乡。这一「或恐」，是全诗的关键：那问的缘故，不是别的，而是恐怕同乡。但这「或恐是同乡」的托词，正是民歌的含蓄——那女子停船相问，说是恐怕同乡，而真正的情思，正在这「同乡」的托词之外。水乡儿女的情致，不在「爱慕」之明言，而在「同乡」之托词——那「停船暂借问」的主动，那「或恐是同乡」的托词，正是江南儿女情思的含蓄。崔颢《长干曲》四首，此首写女子的发问，后首写男子的回答，一唱一和，正是民歌的对答。那「君家何处住」的直问，那「或恐是同乡」的托词，正是乐府民歌「清新含蓄」的极致。
Prosody
Line by line
君家何处住
Where do you live, sir?
君家何处住？
Where is your home, sir?
这一句是此诗的起笔，写女子问男子家住何处，是此诗对话的开端。「君家」，写您家——「君」写对男子的尊称，「家」写家，「君家」写您家；「何处住」，写何处住——「何处」写什么地方，「住」写居住，「何处住」写家住何处。以「君家何处住」写发问，比直写「问路」更见主动与直率——那女子，先发问，问男子家住何处，正是民歌的爽朗；「君家何处住」五字，写女子的发问，正是「妾住在横塘」的铺垫——那女子问完，便自报家住横塘，一唱一和，正是水乡相逢的开端。
This line is the poem's opening, writing the woman asking the man where he lives, the dialogue's beginning. Your home writes your household - sir, the respectful address to a man, home. Where do you live writes where dwelling. Using where do you live, sir to write the question is more active and straightforward than directly saying asking the way - that woman, asking first, asking the man's home, precisely the folk song's briskness. Where do you live, sir five characters write the woman's question, precisely preparing I live at Hengtang - that woman, after asking, gives her own home at Hengtang; one sings one answers, precisely the water-town meeting's beginning.
妾住在横塘
I live at Hengtang.
妾家住横塘。
I live at Hengtang.
这一句写女子自报家住横塘，是此诗女子情致的核心。「妾住」，写妾家住——「妾」写女子自称，「住」写居住，「妾住」写妾家所住；「在横塘」，写横塘——「横塘」为金陵地名（今南京西南，一说在江宁），与长干相近，「在横塘」写住横塘。以「妾住在横塘」写自报，比直写「家住南京」更见地名与爽朗——那女子，自报家住横塘，正是水乡儿女的爽朗；「横塘」二字，写金陵地名，正是长干水乡的儿女。这一句，是此诗女子情致的核心，与「君家何处住」相对，一问他家，一自报家，正是水乡相逢的对答——那女子问完便自报，正是「停船暂借问」的铺垫。
This line writes the woman giving her home at Hengtang, the core of her charm. I live writes my dwelling - I, the woman's self-address, live. At Hengtang writes Hengtang - Hengtang is a Jinling place (today's southwest Nanjing, one reading in Jiangning), near Changgan. Using I live at Hengtang to write the self-giving is more place-name and brisk than directly saying I live in Nanjing - that woman, giving her home at Hengtang, precisely the water-town child's briskness. Hengtang two characters write the Jinling place, precisely the Changgan water-town child. This line is the core of her charm, set against where do you live, sir: one asking his home, one giving hers, precisely the water-town meeting's exchange - that woman, after asking, gives her home, precisely preparing I stop my boat to ask you a moment.
或恐是同乡
I thought maybe we are from the same hometown.
或恐是同乡。
I was hoping we might be from the same village.
这一句是全诗的结穴，写或恐是同乡，是此诗含蓄情思的最高点。「或恐」，写恐怕——「或恐」写或许恐怕，正是「或恐是同乡」的推测；「是同乡」，写是同乡——「同乡」写同乡之人，「是同乡」写或恐是同乡。以「或恐是同乡」写问的缘故，比直写「爱慕」更见含蓄与托词——那问的缘故，不是别的，而是恐怕同乡，正是民歌的含蓄；「或恐」二字，写推测与托词，正是水乡儿女情思的含蓄。这一结句，含蓄隽永，是此诗含蓄情思的最高点，也是「停船暂借问」的回应——那停船相问，说是恐怕同乡，而那真正的情思，正在「同乡」的托词之外，正是乐府民歌「清新含蓄」的极致。
This line is the poem's knot, writing I thought maybe we are from the same hometown, the reserved feeling's highest point. I thought writes perhaps - perhaps, the speculation of I thought maybe we are from the same hometown. From the same hometown writes the fellow townsman. Using I thought maybe we are from the same hometown to write the question's reason is more reserved and pretext than directly saying admiration - that question's reason is nothing else but perhaps fellow townsman, precisely the folk song's reserve. I thought two characters write the speculation and pretext, precisely the water-town child's reserved feeling. This closing line is reserved and meaningful, the feeling's highest point, also answering I stop my boat to ask you a moment - that stopping the boat to ask, saying perhaps fellow townsman; yet the true feeling lies beyond the fellow-townsman pretext, precisely the yuefu folk song's freshness and reserve extreme.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
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