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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

白帝城最高楼

The Tallest Tower of Baidi City

杜甫

Du Fu

登临Climbing / Ascending 感慨Reflection / Lament

城尖径昃旌旆愁，独立缥缈之飞楼。
峡坼云霾龙虎卧，江清日抱鼋鼍游。
扶桑西枝对断石，弱水东影随长流。
杖藜叹世者谁子，泣血迸空回白头。

At the city's sharp peak the crooked path; banners mourn, and I stand alone in the misty hovering tower.
The gorge splits, clouds shroud; dragons and tigers lie at rest; the clear river, the sun embraces; turtles and crocodiles swim.
The western branch of Fusang faces the broken rock; the eastern shadow of the Weak River follows the long flow.
Who is the staff-bearing old man sighing at the world? He sheds tears of blood into empty sky, turning back with white head.

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Meaning

Climbing the tallest tower of Baidi City, Du Fu surveys a vertiginous landscape of cliffs, rivers, and mythic horizons, then turns to his own figure - a white-haired old man leaning on a staff and sighing at the world. The poem fuses sublime scenery with personal desolation.

城尖径昃旌旆愁，独立缥缈之飞楼。峡坼云霾龙虎卧，江清日抱鼋鼍游。扶桑西枝对断石，弱水东影随长流。杖藜叹世者谁子，泣血迸空回白头。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] At the city's sharp peak the crooked path; banners mourn as I stand alone in the misty tower. The gorge splits, clouds shroud, dragons and tigers lie; the clear river, the sun embraces turtles and crocodiles. The western branch of Fusang faces the broken rock; the Weak River's eastern shadow follows the long flow. Who is the staff-bearing old man sighing at the world? He sheds blood-tears into the void, turning back with white head. [Structure] The first four lines describe the tower and its sublime vista; the last four turn to the poet's own desolate figure, scene flowing into self. [Imagery] 'Misty hovering tower' makes the height feel unreal; 'dragons and tigers lie' and 'turtles and crocodiles swim' mythologize the landscape. The final white-haired man weeping blood condenses personal and historical sorrow. The odd, 'dangerous-strange' diction is classic late Du Fu.

【白话串讲】杜甫写《白帝城最高楼》：“城尖径昃旌旆愁，独立缥缈之飞楼”——“峡坼云霾龙虎卧，江清日抱鼋鼍游”——“杖藜叹世者谁子，泣血迸空回白头”——他登上白帝城最高楼——泣血迸空回白头。【意象与手法】此诗写登临，以感慨写登临，是杜甫的名篇。前四句写最高楼：「城尖径昃旌旆愁，独立缥缈之飞楼。峡坼云霾龙虎卧，江清日抱鼋鼍游」写城尖径昃旌旆愁、独立缥缈之飞楼——写尽独立缥缈的飞楼；后四句写感慨：「扶桑西枝对断石，弱水东影随长流。杖藜叹世者谁子，泣血迸空回白头」写扶桑西枝对断石、弱水东影随长流——写尽扶桑西枝的断石。全诗以感慨写登临，写尽独立缥缈的飞楼与扶桑西枝的断石，是杜甫的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写登临，以感慨写登临，是杜甫的名篇。此诗为杜甫寓居夔州时登白帝城最高楼而作，写其登楼所见与叹世之情。杜甫流寓夔州，此诗写其登最高楼眺望。此诗写城尖径昃旌旆愁，独立缥缈之飞楼；峡坼云霾龙虎卧，江清日抱鼋鼍游；扶桑西枝对断石，弱水东影随长流；杖藜叹世者谁子，泣血迸空回白头。此诗写最高楼：城尖径昃旌旆愁，独立缥缈之飞楼——写城尖径昃旌旆愁、独立缥缈之飞楼，写尽独立缥缈的飞楼；峡坼云霾龙虎卧，江清日抱鼋鼍游——写峡坼云霾龙虎卧、江清日抱鼋鼍游，写尽江清日抱的鼋鼍游；扶桑西枝对断石，弱水东影随长流——写扶桑西枝对断石、弱水东影随长流，写尽扶桑西枝的断石；杖藜叹世者谁子，泣血迸空回白头——写杖藜叹世者谁子、泣血迸空回白头，写尽泣血迸空的白头。全诗以感慨写登临——那「独立缥缈之飞楼」写尽独立缥缈的飞楼，「泣血迸空回白头」写尽泣血迸空的白头，写尽独立缥缈的飞楼与扶桑西枝的断石，是理解杜甫登临诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「城尖径昃旌旆愁，独立缥缈之飞楼」写独立缥缈的飞楼；「杖藜叹世者谁子，泣血迸空回白头」写泣血迸空的白头；以及全诗以感慨写登临、以险怪写登临的手法。

Background

Du Fu (712-770), the Tang realist called Poet-Sage, wrote this while living in exile at Kuizhou, climbing the tallest tower of Baidi City to gaze out and sigh at the world. Baidi City, overlooking the Yangtze gorges, was a famous vantage point; from it Du surveyed both the vertiginous landscape and his own displaced life. The poem belongs to his late, 'dangerous-strange' (xiongguai) manner.

此诗写登临，以感慨写登临，是杜甫的名篇。杜甫（712—770），字子美，自号少陵野老，唐代伟大的现实主义诗人，与李白合称「李杜」。杜甫被后人称为「诗圣」，其诗被称为「诗史」。此诗为杜甫寓居夔州时登白帝城最高楼而作，写其登楼所见与叹世之情。杜甫流寓夔州，此诗写其登最高楼眺望。此诗写城尖径昃旌旆愁，独立缥缈之飞楼；峡坼云霾龙虎卧，江清日抱鼋鼍游；扶桑西枝对断石，弱水东影随长流；杖藜叹世者谁子，泣血迸空回白头。此诗写最高楼：「城尖径昃旌旆愁，独立缥缈之飞楼」写城尖径昃旌旆愁、独立缥缈之飞楼——写尽独立缥缈的飞楼（城尖径昃旌旆愁，独立缥缈之飞楼）；「峡坼云霾龙虎卧，江清日抱鼋鼍游」写峡坼云霾龙虎卧、江清日抱鼋鼍游——写尽江清日抱的鼋鼍游（峡坼云霾龙虎卧，江清日抱鼋鼍游）；「扶桑西枝对断石，弱水东影随长流」写扶桑西枝对断石、弱水东影随长流——写尽扶桑西枝的断石（扶桑西枝对断石，弱水东影随长流）；「杖藜叹世者谁子，泣血迸空回白头」写杖藜叹世者谁子、泣血迸空回白头——写尽泣血迸空的白头（杖藜叹世者谁子，泣血迸空回白头）。全诗以感慨写登临，写尽独立缥缈的飞楼与扶桑西枝的断石，是理解杜甫登临诗的重要篇章。

Art

Four techniques define the craft. First, the 'dangerous-strange' mode: 'at the city's sharp peak the crooked path; banners mourn' makes the site feel precipitous and uneasy. Second, imagination: 'the gorge splits, clouds shroud; dragons and tigers lie' and 'the clear river, the sun embraces turtles and crocodiles' turn cliffs and water into mythic beasts. Third, hyperbole: 'the western branch of Fusang faces the broken rock' pulls the mythic Fusang tree into the view. Fourth, direct lament: the staff-bearing old man weeping blood states the poet's grief plainly. The first four lines render the tower's sublimity, the last four his desolation; scene yielding to feeling is the standard 'tower-as-sigh' move. The 'dragons and tigers' and 'turtles and crocodiles' personify the terrain, while 'Fusang' and 'Weak River' stretch the gaze to mythic horizons.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以险怪写最高楼。「城尖径昃旌旆愁」以险怪写最高楼——那「独立缥缈之飞楼」写尽独立缥缈的飞楼，以险怪写尽独立缥缈的飞楼。其二，以想象写峡江。「峡坼云霾龙虎卧」以想象写峡江——那「江清日抱鼋鼍游」写尽江清日抱的鼋鼍游，以想象写尽江清日抱的鼋鼍游。其三，以夸张写远景。「扶桑西枝对断石」以夸张写远景——那「弱水东影随长流」写尽弱水东影的长流，以夸张写尽扶桑西枝的断石。其四，以直抒写叹世。「杖藜叹世者谁子」以直抒写叹世——那「泣血迸空回白头」写尽泣血迸空的白头，以直抒写尽泣血迸空的白头。此外，此诗前四句写独立缥缈的飞楼，后四句写扶桑西枝的断石，由景及情，正是登临诗「以楼写叹」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以感慨写登临，写尽独立缥缈的飞楼与扶桑西枝的断石，是杜甫的代表作。此外，此诗还善于以「峡坼云霾龙虎卧」的「龙虎卧」写峡江之龙虎——那「龙虎卧」写尽卧如龙虎的峡坼，正是以龙虎写山势，以「江清日抱鼋鼍游」写尽日抱鼋鼍的江清。又善以「扶桑西枝对断石」的「对断石」写扶桑之对断石——扶桑西枝对断石，正见西枝映石的写照，以「弱水东影随长流」写尽弱水东影的长流。

Allusions

The language draws on the climbing and lament tradition. 'Sharp city peak' and 'crooked path' recall towers 'joining the great wilderness'; 'banners' echo Gao Shi's 'banners winding through Jieshi.' 'Misty' recalls Bai Juyi's 'pavilions delicate amid five-colored clouds.' 'Dragons and tigers' evokes the 'dragon-coiled, tiger-crouched' terrain; 'turtles and crocodiles' the mythic beasts of rivers. 'Fusang' (the sun's birthplace in the Classic of Mountains and Seas) and 'Weak River' (also from that classic) lend cosmic scale. 'Staff-bearing' echoes the literatus leaning on a cane. The poem absorbs these allusions into Du's 'settled gloom' and strange, tower-centered lament.

此诗的用语深植于登临与感慨传统。「城尖」令人想到「城尖」写城角的意象——也令人想到「城上高楼接大荒」的意象；「径昃」令人想到「径昃」写径斜的意象——也令人想到「山路元无雨」的意象；「旌旆」令人想到「旌旆」写旌旗的意象——也令人想到「旌旆逶迤碣石间」（高适）的意象；「缥缈」令人想到「缥缈」写缥缈的意象——也令人想到「楼阁玲珑五云起」（白居易）的意象；「飞楼」令人想到「飞楼」写高楼如飞的意象——也令人想到「飞阁流丹」的意象；「龙虎」令人想到「龙虎」写龙虎的意象——也令人想到「龙盘虎踞」的意象；「鼋鼍」令人想到「鼋鼍」写鼋鼍的意象——也令人想到「鼋鼍蛟龙」的意象；「扶桑」令人想到「扶桑」写扶桑的意象——《山海经》日出处，也令人想到「东至扶桑」的意象；「弱水」令人想到「弱水」写弱水的意象——《山海经》弱水，也令人想到「弱水三千」的意象；「杖藜」令人想到「杖藜」写拄杖的意象——也令人想到「杖藜扶我过桥东」的意象。全诗化用城尖、径昃、旌旆、缥缈、飞楼、龙虎、鼋鼍、扶桑、弱水、杖藜的意象典故，以感慨写登临，正是杜甫「沉郁」而善险怪、承登临传统写感慨之本领。

Commentary

Praised as a masterpiece of Du Fu's climbing poetry and a Tang model for Baidi's tallest tower, the poem is noted for its 'settled gloom and dangerous strangeness.' The closing blood-weeping line is often cited as finest. It pairs with 'Climbing Yueyang Tower' ('I had heard of Dongting's waters') - one on the lake, one on Kuizhou - showing two faces of his ascent verse. For modern readers it is a window onto his late climbing art and a classic image of the white-haired man above the gorges.

此诗历来被推为杜甫登临诗的名篇，也是唐诗写白帝城最高楼的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以感慨写登临，沉郁险怪」；近人更指出「杖藜叹世者谁子，泣血迸空回白头」写泣血迸空的白头，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以七律写尽独立缥缈的飞楼与扶桑西枝的断石——那城尖，那径昃，那旌旆愁，那独立，那缥缈之飞楼，那峡坼，那云霾，那龙虎卧，那江清，那日抱，那鼋鼍游，那扶桑，那西枝，那对断石，那弱水，那东影，那随长流，那杖藜，那叹世者，那谁子，那泣血，那迸空，那回白头，都写尽了杜甫笔下的白帝城最高楼；那「泣血迸空回白头」更以直抒写尽泣血迸空的白头。此诗与杜甫《登岳阳楼》「昔闻洞庭水」同为登临名篇，一写「吴楚东南坼」的登岳阳楼，一写「泣血迸空回白头」的白帝城最高楼；一写洞庭，一写夔州。两诗对读，可见杜甫登临诗的两面。对于今日读者，此诗是理解杜甫登临诗的窗口，也是唐诗写白帝城最高楼的经典——那泣血迸空的白头，穿越千年，仍在诉说着独立缥缈的飞楼。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated verse (qilü)七言律诗

Rhyme Rhymes on lou, you, liu, tou (You category), single rhyme throughout押「楼」「游」「流」「头」（尤韵），一韵到底

Tone pattern A seven-character regulated poem with level-tone rhymes carried straight through, its strange sound fitting the lament.此诗为七言律诗，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节险怪，正合感慨的险怪。

Reading note A seven-character regulated verse of eight lines - 'At the city's sharp peak the crooked path... shedding blood-tears, turning back with white head' - rhyming on the You category (tower, swim, flow, head), strange throughout. The first four lines render the tower's sublimity, the last four the poet's desolation.此诗为七言律诗——「城尖径昃旌旆愁，独立缥缈之飞楼。峡坼云霾龙虎卧，江清日抱鼋鼍游。扶桑西枝对断石，弱水东影随长流。杖藜叹世者谁子，泣血迸空回白头」，押尤韵（楼、游、流、头），一韵到底，音节险怪。全诗以感慨写登临：前四句写独立缥缈的飞楼（城尖径昃旌旆愁、江清日抱鼋鼍游），后四句写扶桑西枝的断石（扶桑西枝对断石、泣血迸空回白头）。律诗八句，前写登楼，后写叹世，以「泣血迸空回白头」写尽泣血迸空的白头，正见杜甫「沉郁」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以险怪的语调读「独立缥缈之飞楼」的飞楼，以沉痛的语调读「泣血迸空回白头」的白头，结句要读得险怪而有余韵，方能传达出杜甫的沉郁险怪。杜甫律诗以「沉郁」著称，此诗正是其登临诗的典范。

Line by line

城尖径昃旌旆愁，独立缥缈之飞楼

At the city's sharp peak the crooked path; banners mourn, and I stand alone in the misty hovering tower.

城尖径昃旌旆愁，独立缥缈之飞楼。

The city ridge is sharp, the path tilts; banners look anxious. Alone I stand on the soaring tower, half-lost in the clouds.

此二句是全诗写最高楼的核心，以城尖径昃旌旆愁写旌旆愁，以独立缥缈之飞楼写飞楼，写尽独立缥缈的飞楼，是千古名句。「城尖径昃旌旆愁」写城尖径昃旌旆愁——那「城尖径昃」写城尖径昃，「旌旆愁」写旌旆愁，写尽城尖径昃的旌旆愁；「独立缥缈之飞楼」写独立缥缈之飞楼——那「独立缥缈」写独立缥缈，「之飞楼」写之飞楼，写尽独立缥缈的飞楼。这句的深意在于：它以「城尖径昃旌旆愁」的旌旆愁与「独立缥缈之飞楼」的飞楼，写尽独立缥缈的飞楼——城尖径昃旌旆愁，那「城尖径昃旌旆愁」写尽城尖径昃的旌旆愁——城尖径昃旌旆愁，正是城高径斜的写照，那「旌旆愁」写尽独立缥缈的飞楼；独立缥缈之飞楼，那「独立缥缈之飞楼」写尽独立缥缈的飞楼——独立缥缈之飞楼，正是高楼缥缈的写照，那「飞楼」写尽独立缥缈的飞楼；那「城尖径昃旌旆愁」写尽城尖径昃的旌旆愁，那「独立缥缈之飞楼」写尽独立缥缈的飞楼，一写城尖，一写飞楼，写尽独立缥缈的飞楼——城高径斜而飞楼缥缈，正是最高楼的写照；此二句以城尖、飞楼写尽独立缥缈的飞楼，也为下文的峡江作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写最高楼的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「城尖路斜旌旗发愁，独立在缥缈的高楼上」，则失其险怪；唯以「城尖径昃旌旆愁」写旌旆愁、「独立缥缈之飞楼」写飞楼，写尽独立缥缈的飞楼，也让此二句成为全诗写最高楼的核心。

The opening stages the vertiginous ascent to the highest tower. "The ridge is sharp, the path tilts" sets a ground as steep as a blade; "banners look anxious" projects the poet's own dread onto the flags flapping in the gorge wind. "Alone I stand on the soaring tower, half-lost in the clouds" completes the height: the "flying tower" seems to hover, and Du Fu makes even the pennants share his unease. The uncanny, almost grotesque diction—sharp, tilted, sorrowing, floating—is famous for its hazardous ruggedness, and it prepares the vast gorge prospect that opens below. To have said the road up was steep and he stood on a tall tower would flatten the unease; the banners' grief is what turns scenery into state of mind.

杖藜叹世者谁子，泣血迸空回白头

Who is the staff-bearing old man sighing at the world? He sheds tears of blood into empty sky, turning back with white head.

杖藜叹世者谁子，泣血迸空回白头。

Who is this man, leaning on his cane, sighing over the age? His blood-fallen tears burst into the void as he turns his white head.

此二句是全诗写叹世的核心，以杖藜叹世者谁子写叹世者，以泣血迸空回白头写回白头，写尽泣血迸空的白头，是千古名句。「杖藜叹世者谁子」写杖藜叹世者谁子——那「杖藜叹世」写杖藜叹世，「者谁子」写者谁子，写尽杖藜叹世的谁子；「泣血迸空回白头」写泣血迸空回白头——那「泣血迸空」写泣血迸空，「回白头」写回白头，写尽泣血迸空的白头。这句的深意在于：它以「杖藜叹世者谁子」的叹世者与「泣血迸空回白头」的回白头，写尽泣血迸空的白头——杖藜叹世者谁子，那「杖藜叹世者谁子」写尽杖藜叹世的谁子——杖藜叹世者谁子，正是拄杖叹世的写照，那「谁子」写尽泣血迸空的白头；泣血迸空回白头，那「泣血迸空回白头」写尽泣血迸空的白头——泣血迸空回白头，正是泣血回首的写照，那「白头」写尽泣血迸空的白头；那「杖藜叹世者谁子」写尽杖藜叹世的谁子，那「泣血迸空回白头」写尽泣血迸空的白头，一写叹世者，一写白头，写尽泣血迸空的白头——拄杖叹世而泣血白头，正是身世的写照；此二句以叹世者、白头写尽泣血迸空的白头，也让此二句成为全诗写叹世的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「拄杖叹世的是谁呢，泣血迸空回头已是白头」，则失其沉郁；唯以「杖藜叹世者谁子」写叹世者、「泣血迸空回白头」写回白头，写尽泣血迸空的白头，也让此二句成为全诗写叹世的核心。

The question "who is this man?" points back at the speaker himself, and the self-portrait is ferocious: an old man on a cane, grieving the world, tears of blood bursting into empty air as he turns his white head. "Tears of blood" is no ornament—after the long exile in Kuizhou, the sorrow of a lost age has reached the point where weeping bleeds. The turn of the white head looks back on a lifetime of loyal service and national ruin, and the "who" of the opening is a self-estrangement, as if the poet hardly recognizes the figure he has become. This is the emotional core of the climb. To have said he was old and sad would lose the visceral force; the blood-tears and the turned white head are the poem's terrible self-portrait.

Study

Word focus

缥 'Misty' / 'dim.' In 'I stand alone in the misty hovering tower,' it conveys the tower's high, indistinct, dreamlike quality, as if suspended among clouds; the word also suggests the illusory, unsettled mood of the poet's reflection. 「独立缥缈之飞楼」之「缥」字是写最高楼关键词，一个「缥」字写尽独立缥缈的飞楼。缥者，缥缈、隐约也。杜甫以「独立缥缈之飞楼」写最高楼，这个「缥」字至少有双重意味：其一，写楼之缥——那「独立缥缈之飞楼」写独立缥缈之飞楼，那「缥」字写尽独立缥缈的飞楼——缥缈，正是高远隐约的写照，那「缥」字写尽独立缥缈的飞楼；其二，写境之幻——那「缥」字更是写幻——缥，正见楼阁出云的幻境，那「缥」字写尽杜甫的感慨。以「缥」字写最高楼，正是杜甫写登临的枢纽——若换作「高」「迥」等字，则或失其与「独立缥缈」「之飞楼」的配合，或失其写缥的意味；唯「缥」字，以独立缥缈之飞楼写尽飞楼之缥缈与高远之隐约，与「城尖径昃旌旆愁」的旌旆愁相合，写尽独立缥缈的飞楼，也让「独立缥缈之飞楼」成为全诗写最高楼的名句。

血 'Blood.' In 'he sheds tears of blood into empty sky,' it means tears of blood - the extreme of grief; the character condenses the poet's utter desolation and historical anguish into one piercing image. 「泣血迸空回白头」之「血」字是写叹世关键词，一个「血」字写尽泣血迸空的白头。血者，鲜血、血泪也。杜甫以「泣血迸空回白头」写叹世，这个「血」字至少有双重意味：其一，写泪之血——那「泣血迸空回白头」写泣血迸空回白头，那「血」字写尽泣血迸空的白头——泣血，正是哭出血泪的写照，那「血」字写尽泣血迸空的白头；其二，写悲之极——那「血」字更是写极——血，正见悲极泣血的沉痛，那「血」字写尽杜甫的感慨。以「血」字写叹世，正是杜甫写登临的枢纽——若换作「泪」「涕」等字，则或失其与「泣血迸空」「回白头」的配合，或失其写血的意味；唯「血」字，以泣血迸空回白头写尽白头之泣血与悲情之迸空，与「杖藜叹世者谁子」的叹世相合，写尽泣血迸空的白头，也让「泣血迸空回白头」成为全诗写叹世的名句。