唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
白帝
Baidi
白帝城中云出门，白帝城下雨翻盆。
高江急峡雷霆斗，古木苍藤日月昏。
戎马不如归马逸，千家今有百家存。
哀哀寡妇诛求尽，恸哭秋原何处村。
The high river and rushing gorge battle like thunder; ancient trees and green vines dim the sun and moon.
War steeds are not so free as homecoming steeds; of a thousand homes but a hundred remain.
The widow wails, all exactions drained from her; weeping on the autumn plain, which village is it?
Meaning
Written while Du Fu lived in exile at Kuizhou, the poem contrasts the violent storm above Baidi City with the human devastation of war below. Through imagery of ruined households and weeping widows, it laments the suffering of common people in an age of turmoil.
白帝城中云出门，白帝城下雨翻盆。 高江急峡雷霆斗，古木苍藤日月昏。 戎马不如归马逸，千家今有百家存。 哀哀寡妇诛求尽，恸哭秋原何处村。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] Above Baidi City clouds spill from the gate; below, rain overturns the basins. The high river and rushing gorge clash like thunder; ancient trees dim the sun. War steeds are less free than homecoming ones; of a thousand homes but a hundred survive. The widow is drained by exactions and weeps on the autumn plain. [Structure] The first four lines paint the storm above the city; the last four turn to human catastrophe below. Scene and suffering are bound by likening the downpour to war. [Imagery] 'Rain overturns the basins' gives the storm a violent, almost personal force, while 'of a thousand homes but a hundred remain' compresses mass death into a single arithmetic. The weeping widow closes the poem on a particular, unbearable figure. Du Fu's 'settled gloom' turns weather into history.
【白话串讲】 杜甫写《白帝》：“白帝城中云出门，白帝城下雨翻盆”——“高江急峡雷霆斗，古木苍藤日月昏”——“戎马不如归马逸，千家今有百家存”——“哀哀寡妇诛求尽，恸哭秋原何处村”——他写夔州的暴雨与乱世。 【意象与手法】 此诗写战乱，以民生写战乱，是杜甫的名篇。前四句写白帝城：「白帝城中云出门，白帝城下雨翻盆。高江急峡雷霆斗，古木苍藤日月昏」写白帝城中云出门、白帝城下雨翻盆——写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆；后四句写战乱：「戎马不如归马逸，千家今有百家存。哀哀寡妇诛求尽，恸哭秋原何处村」写戎马不如归马逸、千家今有百家存——写尽千家今有百家存。全诗以民生写战乱，写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆与千家今有百家存，是杜甫的代表作。 【情感与主旨】 此诗写战乱，以民生写战乱，是杜甫的名篇。此诗为杜甫寓居夔州（今重庆奉节）时作，写其白帝城观雨而及战乱。杜甫流寓夔州，此诗写其以急雨喻战乱。此诗写白帝城中云出门，白帝城下雨翻盆；高江急峡雷霆斗，古木苍藤日月昏；戎马不如归马逸，千家今有百家存；哀哀寡妇诛求尽，恸哭秋原何处村。此诗写白帝城：白帝城中云出门，白帝城下雨翻盆——写白帝城中云出门、白帝城下雨翻盆，写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆；高江急峡雷霆斗，古木苍藤日月昏——写高江急峡雷霆斗、古木苍藤日月昏，写尽古木苍藤的日月昏；戎马不如归马逸，千家今有百家存——写戎马不如归马逸、千家今有百家存，写尽千家今有百家存；哀哀寡妇诛求尽，恸哭秋原何处村——写哀哀寡妇诛求尽、恸哭秋原何处村，写尽恸哭秋原的何处村。全诗以民生写战乱——那「白帝城下雨翻盆」写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆，「千家今有百家存」写尽千家今有百家存，写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆与千家今有百家存，是理解杜甫战乱诗的重要篇章。 【名句点睛】 常考「白帝城中云出门，白帝城下雨翻盆」写白帝城下的雨翻盆；「哀哀寡妇诛求尽，恸哭秋原何处村」写恸哭秋原的何处村；以及全诗以民生写战乱、以比兴写战乱的手法。
Background
Du Fu (712-770), styled Zimei, self-titled Shaoling Ye Lao, was the great realist poet of the High Tang, later called the 'Poet-Sage' whose work is the 'poetry history.' This poem was written during his exile at Kuizhou (present-day Fengjie, Chongqing), as he watched rain over Baidi City and thought of the wars ravaging the realm. Baidi City was where Liu Bei entrusted his heir; here Du Fu uses the storm as an image of the age's turmoil.
此诗写战乱，以民生写战乱，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（今重庆奉节）时作，写其白帝城观雨而及战乱。杜甫流寓夔州，此诗写其以急雨喻战乱。此诗写白帝城中云出门，白帝城下雨翻盆；高江急峡雷霆斗，古木苍藤日月昏；戎马不如归马逸，千家今有百家存；哀哀寡妇诛求尽，恸哭秋原何处村。此诗写白帝城：「白帝城中云出门，白帝城下雨翻盆」写白帝城中云出门、白帝城下雨翻盆——写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆（白帝城中云出门，白帝城下雨翻盆）；「高江急峡雷霆斗，古木苍藤日月昏」写高江急峡雷霆斗、古木苍藤日月昏——写尽古木苍藤的日月昏（高江急峡雷霆斗，古木苍藤日月昏）；「戎马不如归马逸，千家今有百家存」写戎马不如归马逸、千家今有百家存——写尽千家今有百家存（戎马不如归马逸，千家今有百家存）；「哀哀寡妇诛求尽，恸哭秋原何处村」写哀哀寡妇诛求尽、恸哭秋原何处村——写尽恸哭秋原的何处村（哀哀寡妇诛求尽，恸哭秋原何处村）。全诗以民生写战乱，写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆与千家今有百家存，是理解杜甫战乱诗的重要篇章。
Art
Four techniques shape the poem. First, repetition with variation: 'above Baidi City... below Baidi City' frames the storm spatially. Second, analogy (bi-xing): the thundering gorge stands for the chaos of war. Third, contrast: 'war steeds are not so free as homecoming steeds' and 'of a thousand homes but a hundred remain' measure loss sharply. Fourth, direct lament: the widow's drained grief is stated plainly. The first four lines render the downpour, the last four the human toll; moving from scene to people is the standard 'rain as turmoil' move. The repeated 'Baidi City' and the single stark statistic ('a hundred of a thousand') make the public disaster intimate.
此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以复叠写白帝城。「白帝城中云出门」以复叠写白帝城——那「白帝城下雨翻盆」写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆，以复叠写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆。其二，以比兴写战乱。「高江急峡雷霆斗」以比兴写战乱——那「古木苍藤日月昏」写尽古木苍藤的日月昏，以比兴写尽古木苍藤的日月昏。其三，以对比写民生。「戎马不如归马逸」以对比写民生——那「千家今有百家存」写尽千家今有百家存，以对比写尽千家今有百家存。其四，以直抒写哀痛。「哀哀寡妇诛求尽」以直抒写哀痛——那「恸哭秋原何处村」写尽恸哭秋原的何处村，以直抒写尽恸哭秋原的何处村。此外，此诗前四句写白帝城下的雨翻盆，后四句写千家今有百家存，由景及人，正是战乱诗「以雨喻乱」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以民生写战乱，写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆与千家今有百家存，是杜甫的代表作。
Allusions
The language draws on war and hardship tradition. 'Baidi City' recalls Liu Bei's deathbed entrustment; 'clouds spill from the gate' echoes images of clouds crossing passes. 'Rain overturns the basins' recalls Su Shi's 'white rain leaps like pearls into the boat.' 'Thunder' evokes heavenly wrath; 'dim sun and moon' recalls 'sun and stars hide their light.' 'War steed' echoes Du Fu's own 'war horses north of the passes'; 'returning steed' the ancient 'horses returned to Hua's slopes.' 'Widow' and 'exactions' evoke the saying that harsh rule is fiercer than a tiger. The whole absorbs these allusions into a sober 'poetry history' of suffering.
此诗的用语深植于战乱与民生传统。「白帝城」令人想到「白帝城」写白帝城的意象——刘备托孤之地，也令人想到「白帝托孤」的意象；「云出门」令人想到「云出门」写云出城的意象——也令人想到「云横秦岭」的意象；「雨翻盆」令人想到「雨翻盆」写暴雨的意象——也令人想到「白雨跳珠乱入船」（苏轼）的意象；「雷霆」令人想到「雷霆」写雷霆的意象——也令人想到「雷霆震怒」的意象；「日月昏」令人想到「日月昏」写天昏的意象——也令人想到「日星隐曜」的意象；「戎马」令人想到「戎马」写战马的意象——也令人想到「戎马关山北」（杜甫）的意象；「归马」令人想到「归马」写归马的意象——也令人想到「归马华山阳」的意象；「寡妇」令人想到「寡妇」写寡妇的意象——也令人想到「寡妇门前是非多」的意象；「诛求」令人想到「诛求」写诛求的意象——也令人想到「苛政猛于虎」的意象。全诗化用白帝城、云出门、雨翻盆、雷霆、日月昏、戎马、归马、寡妇、诛求的意象典故，以民生写战乱，正是杜甫「沉郁」而善比兴、承诗史传统写民生之本领。
Commentary
Long ranked a masterpiece of Du Fu's war poetry and a Tang model for Baidi City, the poem is praised for its 'settled gloom and arrested force.' The closing widow couplet is often cited as its finest line. Within Du's Kuizhou corpus it pairs with 'Climbing High' ('wind keen, sky high, apes wail') - one on autumn ascent, one on storm and ruin - showing two faces of his late style. For modern readers it remains a window onto his wartime verse and a classic image of Baidi beneath the rain.
此诗历来被推为杜甫战乱诗的名篇，也是唐诗写白帝城的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以民生写战乱，沉郁顿挫」；近人更指出「哀哀寡妇诛求尽，恸哭秋原何处村」写恸哭秋原的何处村，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以七律写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆与千家今有百家存——那白帝城中，那云出门，那白帝城下，那雨翻盆，那高江急峡，那雷霆斗，那古木苍藤，那日月昏，那戎马，那不如归马逸，那千家，那今有百家存，那哀哀寡妇，那诛求尽，那恸哭，那秋原，那何处村，都写尽了杜甫笔下的白帝；那「千家今有百家存」更以对比写尽千家今有百家存。此诗与杜甫《登高》「风急天高猿啸哀」同为夔州名篇，一写「无边落木萧萧下」的登高，一写「千家今有百家存」的白帝；一写秋景，一写雨乱。两诗对读，可见杜甫夔州诗的两面。对于今日读者，此诗是理解杜甫战乱诗的窗口，也是唐诗写白帝城的经典——那千家今有百家存，穿越千年，仍在诉说着白帝城下的雨翻盆。
Prosody
Line by line
白帝城中云出门，白帝城下雨翻盆
Above the city of Baidi clouds spill from the gate; below the city rain overturns the basins.
白帝城中云出门，白帝城下雨翻盆。
Above the city of Baidi, clouds spill from the gate; below the city, rain overturns the basins.
此二句是全诗写白帝城的核心，以白帝城中云出门写云出门，以白帝城下雨翻盆写雨翻盆，写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆，是千古名句。「白帝城中云出门」写白帝城中云出门——那「白帝城中」写白帝城中，「云出门」写云出门，写尽白帝城中的云出门；「白帝城下雨翻盆」写白帝城下雨翻盆——那「白帝城下」写白帝城下，「雨翻盆」写雨翻盆，写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆。这句的深意在于：它以「白帝城中云出门」的云出门与「白帝城下雨翻盆」的雨翻盆，写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆——白帝城中云出门，那「白帝城中云出门」写尽白帝城中的云出门——白帝城中云出门，正是云出城门（指山城门）的写照，那「云出门」写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆；白帝城下雨翻盆，那「白帝城下雨翻盆」写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆——白帝城下雨翻盆，正是雨如盆倒的写照，那「雨翻盆」写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆；那「白帝城中云出门」写尽白帝城中的云出门，那「白帝城下雨翻盆」写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆，一写云出门，一写雨翻盆，写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆——云出城上而雨落城下，正是白帝城的写照；此二句以云出门、雨翻盆写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆，也为下文的雷霆作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写白帝城的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「白帝城中云从城门出来，白帝城下大雨倾盆」，则失其复叠；唯以「白帝城中云出门」写云出门、「白帝城下雨翻盆」写雨翻盆，写尽白帝城下的雨翻盆，也让此二句成为全诗写白帝城的核心。
The couplet pins the storm to the terraced city perched in the gorges. "Clouds spill from the gate" makes the mountain gate itself the source of the weather, as though the city were breathing out mist; "below the city, rain overturns the basins" drops the flood to the town beneath. The doubled "Baidi city," above and below, brackets the scene vertically—clouds at the gate, rain at the foot—and that repetition is not redundancy but the structure of a gorge town where sky and earth press together. The violence sets up the thunder that follows. To have paraphrased that clouds emerged from the gate and it poured below would lose the incantatory repetition; the doubled place-name is what makes the storm feel at once claustrophobic and grand.
哀哀寡妇诛求尽，恸哭秋原何处村
The widow wails, all exactions drained from her; weeping on the autumn plain, which village is it?
哀哀寡妇诛求尽，恸哭秋原何处村。
The widow wails, all exactions drained from her; weeping on the autumn plain, which village is it?
此二句是全诗写哀痛的核心，以哀哀寡妇诛求尽写诛求尽，以恸哭秋原何处村写何处村，写尽恸哭秋原的何处村，是千古名句。「哀哀寡妇诛求尽」写哀哀寡妇诛求尽——那「哀哀寡妇」写哀哀寡妇，「诛求尽」写诛求尽，写尽哀哀寡妇的诛求尽；「恸哭秋原何处村」写恸哭秋原何处村——那「恸哭秋原」写恸哭秋原，「何处村」写何处村，写尽恸哭秋原的何处村。这句的深意在于：它以「哀哀寡妇诛求尽」的诛求尽与「恸哭秋原何处村」的何处村，写尽恸哭秋原的何处村——哀哀寡妇诛求尽，那「哀哀寡妇诛求尽」写尽哀哀寡妇的诛求尽——哀哀寡妇诛求尽，正是寡妇被搜刮尽的写照，那「诛求尽」写尽恸哭秋原的何处村；恸哭秋原何处村，那「恸哭秋原何处村」写尽恸哭秋原的何处村——恸哭秋原何处村，正是秋原何处恸哭的写照，那「何处村」写尽恸哭秋原的何处村；那「哀哀寡妇诛求尽」写尽哀哀寡妇的诛求尽，那「恸哭秋原何处村」写尽恸哭秋原的何处村，一写诛求尽，一写何处村，写尽恸哭秋原的何处村——寡妇被诛求尽而秋原何处恸哭，正是民生的写照；此二句以诛求尽、何处村写尽恸哭秋原的何处村，也让此二句成为全诗写哀痛的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「哀哀寡妇被搜刮尽了，恸哭的秋原上是哪个村子」，则失其沉郁；唯以「哀哀寡妇诛求尽」写诛求尽、「恸哭秋原何处村」写何处村，写尽恸哭秋原的何处村，也让此二句成为全诗写哀痛的核心。
The storm gives way to human catastrophe. The widow's wail is the poem's human center: the authorities have "exacted everything"—unrelenting levies until nothing is left—and now, weeping, she is lost on the autumn plain, not even knowing which village is hers. The rhetorical "which village?" is the cruelest stroke: ruin has erased the very map of home. Between the drained household and the disoriented woman, the couplet compresses the tax-famine of wartime Shu, and the heavy, choking diction—mournful, mournful, convulsive weeping—presses the poem's register deeper. A literal report that the widow had been drained and was weeping in the fields would lose the desolation of the unknown village; that unanswered question is the poem's bitterest point.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Du's 'Climbing High' ('wind keen, sky high, apes wail... boundless leaves fall') presents Kuizhou autumn, while 'Baidi' presents its storm and war. Read together they reveal two faces of his late Kuizhou style.
杜甫《登高》「风急天高猿啸哀，渚清沙白鸟飞回」写秋景，是杜甫的名篇。此诗《白帝》则「千家今有百家存」写战乱。同为杜甫夔州诗，一写「无边落木萧萧下」的登高，一写「白帝城下雨翻盆」的白帝；一写秋景，一写雨乱。两诗对读，可见杜甫夔州诗的两面。
石壕吏 The Old Man of Shihao 杜甫 · 同杜甫民生诗，一夜捉人老翁逾墙走一哀哀寡妇诛求尽 Both Du Fu poems of the common people - one narrative, one analogical.Du's 'The Old Man of Shihao' ('at dusk I lodged in Shihao village, an official seized men by night') narrates oppression directly, while 'Baidi' uses storm as analogy. Together they show his two modes of people-centered verse.
杜甫《石壕吏》「暮投石壕村，有吏夜捉人」写民生，是杜甫的名篇。此诗《白帝》则「哀哀寡妇诛求尽」写民生。同为杜甫民生诗，一写「老妪力虽衰，请从吏夜归」的石壕吏，一写「恸哭秋原何处村」的白帝；一写叙事，一写比兴。两诗对读，可见杜甫民生诗的两面。