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魏晋 Wei-Jin · 乐府 Yuefu ballad

短歌行·置酒高堂

Short Song: Wine Set Out in the High Hall

陆机

Lu Ji

乐府yuefu ballad 叹逝lament for passing time 魏晋Wei and Jin period

置酒高堂，悲歌临觞。
人寿几何，逝如朝霜。
时无重至，华不再阳。
苹以春晖，兰以秋芳。
来日苦短，去日苦长。
今我不乐，蟋蟀在房。
乐以会兴，悲以别章。
岂曰无感，忧为子忘。
我酒既旨，我肴既臧。
短歌可咏，长夜无荒。

Wine is set out in the high hall,
A sad song is sung over the cup.
How long is the life of a man?
It passes like the frost of morning.
The hour does not come a second time,
The flower does not turn to the sun again.
The duckweed has its spring light,
The orchid has its autumn scent.
The days to come are bitterly few,
The days gone by are bitterly many.
If I take no joy now,
The cricket will be in my chamber.
Joy rises out of gathering,
Grief is composed out of parting.
Do not say that I feel nothing;
My cares are forgotten for your sake.
My wine is fine,
My dishes are good.
A short song may still be sung,
The long night must not be squandered.

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Meaning

At a banquet in a high hall the poet sings of how brief a human life is, comparing it to morning frost and to plants that flower only in their season. He urges that the gathering be enjoyed while it lasts, since parting and the end of the year are already on their way.

在高堂上摆酒，临着酒杯悲歌。人的寿命能有多少，逝去如清晨的霜。时机不会重新来到，花也不再向阳。苹草借着春晖，兰草凭着秋芳。将来的日子苦于短，过去的日子苦于长。如今我若不及时行乐，蟋蟀就要进房（岁暮将至）。乐因聚会而起，悲以离别成章。岂能说心中无感，只是忧思为你而忘。我的酒既美，我的肴既好。短歌可以吟咏，长夜不可荒废。

Appreciation

Lu Ji works entirely in four-character lines, and the shortness of the measure gives the poem an urgency its calm surface would otherwise hide. The argument moves by pairs: what cannot return set against what flowers on schedule, days to come set against days gone by, joy from meeting set against grief from parting. Morning frost is the poem's governing image, chosen because it is beautiful and because it is gone by mid-morning. Against this the poet offers only the modest consolations of good wine, good food and a song. The ending refuses despair without pretending to have answered anything, which is why the poem still holds.

【白话串讲】 “置酒高堂，悲歌临觞”——陆机写短歌行：高堂设酒，悲歌。“人寿几何，逝如朝霜”——人生像朝霜一样短。“时无重至，华不再阳”——“来日苦短，去日苦长”——“今我不乐，蟋蟀在房”——他叹时光。【意象与手法】全用四言，句短情促。以朝霜、苹兰、蟋蟀等物候写时光之逝，复沓（苦短、苦长）与对仗见魏乐府轨范。陆机四言缛丽，得《诗经》遗意。【情感与主旨】抒发对生命短促、时光不返的悲慨，以及聚乐别悲的人生体悟。陆机拟古而情深，此篇为其四言代表作。【名句点睛】人寿几何，逝如朝霜——以朝霜喻生命之脆，警策千古，启曹操《短歌行》同题之思。

Background

Lu Ji was one of the major literary figures of the Western Jin and the author of the Rhapsody on Literature, a foundational work of Chinese criticism. This piece takes up the Han yuefu theme of lamenting the passage of time and the argument for taking joy in season. It was written in an age of political danger and short careers, and that pressure is audible beneath its polished surface.

陆机字士衡，吴郡人，东吴名将陆逊之孙，与弟陆云并称「二陆」。吴亡后，陆机于太康末偕弟入洛阳，仕于西晋，官至平原内史，世称陆平原，后殁于西晋八王之乱（为成都王司马颖所冤杀）。其乐府《短歌行》为拟古之作，同题曹操曾有「对酒当歌，人生几何」之名篇，陆机沿其题而另辟缛丽之境。西晋初年，士人入洛多怀身世飘零、祸福难测之忧，陆机虽才高望重，亦深惮仕途险巇。此诗以「置酒高堂，悲歌临觞」发端，写宴饮中之叹逝：人寿朝霜、时机不返、来日苦短，遂生「今我不乐」的及时行乐之思，并及聚乐别悲、忧为知音而忘。表面拟古宴乐，实含易代士人对于生命须臾、功名难保的深沉悲慨，是魏晋四言诗中叹逝主题的典型。陆机字士衡，吴郡人，东吴名将陆逊之孙，吴亡后偕弟陆云入洛阳仕西晋，官至平原内史，后殁于八王之乱。其《短歌行》为拟古之作，同题曹操曾有「对酒当歌，人生几何」之名篇，陆机沿其题而另辟缛丽之境。西晋初年士人入洛多怀身世飘零、祸福难测之忧，此诗以「置酒高堂，悲歌临觞」发端，写宴饮中之叹逝，实含易代士人对于生命须臾、功名难保的深沉悲慨。

Art

The four-character line is handled with strict parallelism that still allows the feeling to move freely from clause to clause. Seasonal markers do the structural work: frost, duckweed, orchid and cricket carry the theme of time without the poet having to state it repeatedly. The vocabulary is ornate in the Western Jin manner, yet the sentiment stays plain and clean, which is the particular balance Lu Ji is admired for. Behind the whole piece stands the manner of the ancient Odes.

此诗通体四言，十章二十句，句短情促，章法整饬而情致层递。发端「置酒高堂，悲歌临觞」以宴饮场景起笔，乐事中先着「悲」字，定下哀而不伤的基调。继而「人寿几何，逝如朝霜。时无重至，华不再阳」四句直抒叹逝，以朝霜、再阳之喻写生命之脆与时机之不可返，警策有力。中段「苹以春晖，兰以秋芳。来日苦短，去日苦长」以物候之芳衬岁月之促，复以「苦短」「苦长」之回环见魏乐府复沓之体；「今我不乐，蟋蟀在房」用《诗经》蟋蟀典点出岁暮当乐。后幅「乐以会兴，悲以别章。岂曰无感，忧为子忘」转入聚散与知音之慨，末以「我酒既旨，我肴既臧。短歌可咏，长夜无荒」收束宴乐。全篇对仗精严、用典融化，得《诗经》遗意而文采缛丽，是陆机四言「缘情而绮靡」的范本。此诗通体四言，十章二十句，句短情促而章法整饬。发端以宴饮场景起笔，乐事中先著「悲」字，定下哀而不伤的基调；继而以朝霜、再阳之喻写生命之脆与时机之不可返，警策有力。中段以物候之芳衬岁月之促，复以「苦短」「苦长」之回环见复沓之体；后幅转入聚散与知音之慨，末以「短歌可咏，长夜无荒」收束宴乐。对仗精严、用典融化，得《诗经》遗意而文采缛丽。

Allusions

Morning frost is a standing figure for the brevity of life, beautiful and quickly gone. The flower that will not turn to the sun again means that a time once past does not return. The cricket entering the chamber comes from the poem 'Cricket' in the Airs of Tang in the Book of Songs, where the insect's move indoors announces that the year is drawing to its close. The words for the wine and the food are the old ceremonial terms for 'fine' and 'good', which give the banquet a formal dignity.

诗中用典多本《诗经》与物候之象，最为切要者三处。其一为「蟋蟀在房」，直用《诗经·唐风·蟋蟀》「蟋蟀在堂，岁聿其莫（暮）」，诗以蟋蟀入堂喻岁暮将至，劝人「及时行乐」；陆机化入「今我不乐，蟋蟀在房」，以虫候点出当趁年华行乐，暗承毛诗之旨。其二为「朝霜」「再阳」，以清晨之霜喻生命之脆、以花不再向阳喻盛年不返，化用《古诗》「人生寄一世」与《庄子》变化之思。其三为「苹以春晖，兰以秋芳」，苹、兰皆《诗经》《楚辞》中香草嘉卉，以随时而芳写物性各得其时，反衬人生光景之难驻。数典皆渊雅有自，不事生僻，正见陆机「采缛于正始，力柔于建安」的用事风貌，使四言短章富含经典厚度。诗中用典多本《诗经》与物候：「蟋蟀在房」直用《唐风·蟋蟀》「蟋蟀在堂，岁聿其莫」，以虫候点出当趁年华行乐；「朝霜」「再阳」以清晨之霜喻生命之脆、以花不再向阳喻盛年不返，化用《古诗》与《庄子》变化之思；「苹以春晖，兰以秋芳」以香草嘉卉写物性各得其时，反衬人生光景之难驻。数典皆渊雅有自，不事生僻，正见陆机「采缛于正始，力柔于建安」的用事风貌。

Commentary

Lu Ji's four-character verse is ornate yet capable of clarity, and this piece shows both qualities at once. It shares its title with Cao Cao's famous song but takes the opposite path: Cao Cao is stirring and ambitious, Lu Ji sorrowful and refined. Read together, they mark the two poles of what the yuefu tradition could do with the same theme.

陆机《短歌行》是魏晋四言诗中叹逝主题的殿军之作，素为论者所重。其价值在能以缛丽之笔写沉郁之悲：既承曹操同题「人生几何」的慷慨，又变其苍凉为清绮，开西晋四言「结藻清英」之风。诗中「人寿几何，逝如朝霜」二句，以朝霜喻命之脆，警策千古，直接启发后世叹逝诗文；「来日苦短，去日苦长」以复沓写岁月之迫，深得乐府民歌三昧。前人谓陆机诗「才高辞赡，举体华美」，此篇正其四言代表——对仗之工、用典之雅、声情之婉，皆足以领袖太康诗坛。然亦有人讥其「缀辞尤繁」，然正因繁缛，方将宴乐之欢与叹逝之悲揉为一处，成就魏晋四言由建安风骨向太康绮靡过渡的关键一环，在四言诗史上地位不可低估。陆机《短歌行》是魏晋四言诗中叹逝主题的殿军之作。其价值在能以缛丽之笔写沉郁之悲：既承曹操同题之慷慨，又变其苍凉为清绮，开西晋四言「结藻清英」之风。「人寿几何，逝如朝霜」以朝霜喻命之脆，警策千古；「来日苦短，去日苦长」以复沓写岁月之迫，深得乐府民歌三昧。此篇对仗之工、用典之雅，足以领袖太康诗坛，在四言诗史上地位不可低估。

Prosody

Form Four-character yuefu乐府·四言诗

Rhyme Rhyme falls on the even-numbered lines.四言隔句押韵，大体协平声阳韵：堂、觞（阳），霜、阳（阳），长、房（阳），章、忘（阳），臧、荒（阳）；其间晖、芳（微阳通协），承《诗经》四言用韵遗法

Tone pattern No fixed tonal regulation; the effect comes from the clipped four-character measure and strict parallelism.纯四言句式，二二节奏（如「置酒—高堂」「人寿—几何」），不尚近体平仄，以《诗经》体式为则，章法整饬、对仗精严

Reading note A four-character ancient-style piece that takes up Cao Cao's title and changes its key, dwelling on anxiety about life and the value of time. The syntax is orderly and the manner clear and severe, among the best of Lu Ji's four-character poems.此诗为典型魏晋拟乐府四言，体制渊源自《诗经》与汉乐府，而文采缛丽，足显陆机「缘情绮靡」的家数。其声律之特征在二二节奏的稳固节拍——每句四字皆作「二二」顿挫（如「悲歌—临觞」「逝如—朝霜」），读来凝重而从容，最宜抒沉郁之情。用韵则隔句相协，堂觞、霜阳、长房、章忘、臧荒皆归阳声平韵，声情温厚悠长；「苹以春晖，兰以秋芳」之晖芳虽分属微阳，于古乐府亦可通协，不害其雅。对仗之工尤堪玩味：「人寿几何」对「逝如朝霜」、「时无重至」对「华不再阳」、「来日苦短」对「去日苦长」、「乐以会兴」对「悲以别章」，无不字数相俪、词性相称，已开六朝骈偶之先。全篇以四言短章承载叹逝、行乐、聚散、知音诸意，声文相生，是西晋四言诗「结藻清英、流韵绮靡」的声律标本。

Line by line

人寿几何，逝如朝霜。

How long can a life be? It vanishes like morning frost; the question is put to heaven and answered by an image.

人的寿命能有多少，逝去如清晨的霜

How long is a man's life? It passes like morning frost.

此联为全篇叹逝之纲，以极简之喻写极沉之悲。「人寿几何」直承曹操《短歌行》「对酒当歌，人生几何」的同题命题，以问句发端，将生命之有限悬为全诗的总疑问；「逝如朝霜」则以清晨之霜遇日即晞，喻生命之脆、逝去之速，意象既美且哀。朝霜之「朝」点出时间之晨暂，「逝」字写不可追回，与下句「时无重至，华不再阳」形成由喻到理的递进。二句四言八字，语约意丰，既有《古诗十九首》「人生寄一世」的旷达之悲，又具西晋诗特有的警炼之美。陆机以此开篇叹逝，实则将宴饮之乐瞬间置于生命须臾的阴影之下，使「置酒高堂」的欢场陡生苍凉，是全诗由乐转悲、由宴入哲的枢机所在。

This couplet is the poem's opening on time's passing, using the simplest image for the deepest grief. How long is a man's life? takes up Cao Cao's same-title question, opening with the suspended total question. It passes like morning frost uses the morning frost's evaporation at sunrise to metaphorize life's fragility and swiftness. The frost's morning points to the brief time; passing writes the irrecoverable. The eight characters are brief yet rich, carrying both the Nineteen Old Poems's open grief and the Western Jin's alert refinement. Lu Ji opens on time's passing, placing the feast's joy under life's shadow, making the high-hall merriment suddenly desolate.

今我不乐，蟋蟀在房。

If joy is not taken now, the cricket will already be in the room; the old warning of the Odes is used to press for the present moment.

如今我若不及时行乐，蟋蟀就要进房（岁暮将至）

If I do not make merry now, the crickets will be in the hall.

此句为全诗由叹逝转入行乐的转捩，用典精切而情致宛然。「蟋蟀在房」化用《诗经·唐风·蟋蟀》「蟋蟀在堂，岁聿其莫」，以虫候之移（由野而堂而房）写岁暮之逼近，暗含「时不我待」之警；「今我不乐」紧承其上，以否定式反挑出应当及时行乐的主张，与《唐风》「今我不乐，日月其除」同一机杼。此句之妙，在以物候之微印证人生之促——蟋蟀入室本是节候常事，诗人却从中读出光阴催逼，遂将叹逝之理落实为宴饮之行。自此以下「乐以会兴」「短歌可咏」皆由此「乐」字展开，使开篇的「悲歌」终归于「无荒」的旷达，是陆机善于以经典故实承载当下心绪、将哀婉化为达观的典型笔法。

This line turns from grief to merriment, using allusion precisely. The crickets will be in the hall transforms the Book of Songs's cricket-in-the-hall, year's-end-is-near, using the insect's migration (field to hall to room) to write the year's end's approach. If I do not make merry now directly follows, using the negative to set up the timely-joy claim. The line's subtlety lies in using a small seasonal sign to confirm life's brevity - the cricket entering the house is ordinary, yet the poet reads time's pressure in it, turning the grief into the feast. This is Lu Ji's typical skill of carrying present feeling through classical allusion, converting lament into equanimity.

Study

Word focus

朝霜 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「朝霜」是诗中喻生命之眼的核象。其本义为清晨草上之霜，日出即晞，自古为须臾易逝的象征（如《古诗》「人生若朝露」）。陆机以「逝如朝霜」写人寿之脆，较之「朝露」更添寒峭之色——霜生于寒晨、灭于朝暾，其存更暂、其质更冷，恰合西晋士人于易代之际对祸福难测的凛惧。二字置于「人寿几何」之后，以具象破抽象，使不可把捉的「逝」化为可见可感的霜晞之景，意象凄美而理致警策。更者，「朝」与下句「华不再阳」之「阳」明暗相映，一冷一暖、一暂一恒，构成生命与时光的对照。陆机炼此二字，既得《诗经》比兴之遗，又开后世「朝霜」「朝露」叹逝语汇之先，是四言短章中以少总多的练字范例。

蟋蟀 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「蟋蟀」是本诗由典入情的关键物象，亦全诗行乐主题的象征引线。《诗经·唐风·蟋蟀》以虫之由野入堂喻岁暮，劝人「无已大康」「职思其居」，兼具行乐与箴戒之意；陆机撷「蟋蟀在房」入句，既承毛诗岁暮之警，又将此虫定为「及时」的物候钟摆——虫入室则年关近，年关近则不当不乐。一个「蟋蟀」将抽象的时光催逼具象为可闻可见的秋虫之鸣，使说理之诗顿生鲜活的节候气息。较之「朝霜」之喻死亡，「蟋蟀」之喻流年，二者一虚一实、一终一过程，共同织成陆机叹逝的双重意象网络。诗人不取生僻之典而取家家可感之虫，正见其四言「缘情」而近《风》《雅》的用心。