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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

观公孙大娘弟子舞剑器行

Watching Gongsun the Lady's Disciple Dance the Sword-Dance

杜甫

Du Fu

咏舞Dance Writing 感慨Transience and Lament

昔有佳人公孙氏，一舞剑器动四方。
观者如山色沮丧，天地为之久低昂。
㸌如羿射九日落，矫如群帝骖龙翔。
来如雷霆收震怒，罢如江海凝清光。
绛唇珠袖两寂寞，晚有弟子传芬芳。
临颍美人在白帝，妙舞此曲神扬扬。
与余问答既有以，感时抚事增惋伤。
先帝侍女八千人，公孙剑器初第一。
五十年间似反掌，风尘澒洞昏王室。
梨园弟子散如烟，女乐余姿映寒日。
金粟堆南木已拱，瞿唐石城草萧瑟。
玳筵急管曲复终，乐极哀来月东出。
老夫不知其所往，足茧荒山转愁疾。

Once there was a beauty of the Gongsun family; one dance of the sword-sticks moved all four quarters.
The watchers crowded like mountains, their faces struck pale; the sky and earth long swayed low and high.
She flashed like Yi shooting off the nine suns; she soared as the host of gods drive their dragons.
She came like thunder drawing back its terrible anger; she stilled like river and sea gathering clear light.
Her vermilion lips and pearl sleeves are both gone; late, a disciple carries on her fragrance.
The beauty of Linying now stands at Baidi, this same dance, her spirit all aloft.
She gave me an answer with a reason for it; feeling the times and touching these events only adds my grief.
Eight thousand ladies-in-waiting served the late emperor; Gongsun's sword-dance was first of all.
Between fifty years, like the turning of a hand; dust and storm darkened the royal house.
The Pear Garden disciples scatter like smoke; what is left of their grace shows in the cold sun.
South of Jinshu's tomb the trees have grown to a circle; the bare grass of Qutang's rock city stirs.
The trinket banquet, the quick pipes, and the tune ends again; music at its height, sorrow comes, and the moon rises east.
This old man knows not where he is going; callused feet on the waste hill, and my sorrow sharpens.

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Meaning

On the nineteenth day of the tenth month of Dali 2 (767) Du Fu was in Kuizhou when he watched Li Shierniang of Lingying dance the sword-dance and learned she was a disciple of the celebrated Gongsun Daniang. The first half praises the dance in images of unrivalled speed and radiance; the second turns to the fifty years between the flourishing age and this ruined present, when the emperor's eight thousand favourites and his Pear Garden disciples have scattered like smoke. The poem ends in the poet's own homelessness — callused feet on a bare hill, not knowing where he goes.

昔有佳人公孙氏，一舞剑器动四方。观者如山色沮丧，天地为之久低昂。㸌如羿射九日落，矫如群帝骖龙翔。来如雷霆收震怒，罢如江海凝清光。绛唇珠袖两寂寞，晚有弟子传芬芳。临颍美人在白帝，妙舞此曲神扬扬。与余问答既有以，感时抚事增惋伤。先帝侍女八千人，公孙剑器初第一。五十年间似反掌，风尘澒洞昏王室。梨园弟子散如烟，女乐余姿映寒日。金粟堆南木已拱，瞿唐石城草萧瑟。玳筵急管曲复终，乐极哀来月东出。老夫不知其所往，足茧荒山转愁疾。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Du Fu, at Kuizhou, watches Li Shierniang, a disciple of the famous Gongsun Daniang, perform the sword-dance, and afterwards breaks out into a lament over fifty years of decay.
[Structure] The poem is built as praise then grief: sixteen lines on the dance itself, then the disciple's performance in the present, then the historical retrospect, and finally the poet's own departure. The turning point is 'Fifty years can turn as on the back of a hand'.
[Imagery] The similes of the centre are the poem's fame: the archer Yi felling the nine suns, divine hosts riding dragons, thunder drawing back its breath, the sea gathering to stillness. Speed and then calm, fury and then light.
[Themes] Under the artistry runs a single unstated argument — that the dance is worth describing precisely because everything it celebrates has already left nothing behind.

【白话串讲】杜甫写《观公孙大娘弟子舞剑器行》：“昔有佳人公孙氏，一舞剑器动四方”——“观者如山色沮丧，天地为之久低昂”——“㸌如羿射九日落，矫如群帝骖龙翔”——“绛唇珠袖两寂寞，晚有弟子传芬芳”——他看公孙大娘弟子的剑舞——“与余问答既有以，感时抚事增惋伤”——他写今昔之叹。【意象与手法】此诗观公孙大娘弟子舞剑器而感慨，以咏艺写盛衰，是杜甫的名篇。前段写公孙大娘之舞：「昔有佳人公孙氏，一舞剑器动四方」写昔有佳人公孙氏、一舞剑器动四方，「观者如山色沮丧，天地为之久低昂」写观者如山色沮丧、天地为之久低昂，「㸌如羿射九日落，矫如群帝骖龙翔」写㸌如羿射九日落、矫如群帝骖龙翔，「来如雷霆收震怒，罢如江海凝清光」写来如雷霆收震怒、罢如江海凝清光——写尽公孙大娘剑舞之神；中段写弟子与感时：「绛唇珠袖两寂寞，晚有弟子传芬芳」写绛唇珠袖两寂寞、晚有弟子传芬芳，「临颍美人在白帝，妙舞此曲神扬扬」写临颍美人在白帝、妙舞此曲神扬扬，「与余问答既有以，感时抚事增惋伤」写与余问答既有以、感时抚事增惋伤——写尽感时抚事；后段写感慨：「先帝侍女八千人，公孙剑器初第一」写先帝侍女八千人、公孙剑器初第一，「五十年间似反掌，风尘澒洞昏王室」写五十年间似反掌、风尘澒洞昏王室，「梨园弟子散如烟，女乐余姿映寒日」写梨园弟子散如烟、女乐余姿映寒日，「金粟堆南木已拱，瞿唐石城草萧瑟」写金粟堆南木已拱、瞿唐石城草萧瑟，「玳筵急管曲复终，乐极哀来月东出」写玳筵急管曲复终、乐极哀来月东出，「老夫不知其所往，足茧荒山转愁疾」写老夫不知其所往、足茧荒山转愁疾——写尽盛衰的感慨。全诗以咏艺写盛衰，写尽公孙剑舞的盛衰，是杜甫的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗观公孙大娘弟子舞剑器而感慨，以咏艺写盛衰，是杜甫的名篇。此诗作于唐代宗大历二年（767）十月十九日，杜甫在夔州（今重庆奉节），观临颍李十二娘舞剑器，知其为公孙大娘弟子，感时而作。公孙大娘是开元年间著名舞剑器（舞剑器为唐代舞蹈）的艺人。此诗写公孙之舞：昔有佳人公孙氏，一舞剑器动四方——写昔有佳人公孙氏、一舞剑器动四方，写尽公孙大娘剑舞之名；观者如山色沮丧，天地为之久低昂——写观者如山色沮丧、天地为之久低昂，写尽剑舞之惊人；㸌如羿射九日落，矫如群帝骖龙翔——写㸌如羿射九日落、矫如群帝骖龙翔，写尽剑舞之光华；来如雷霆收震怒，罢如江海凝清光——写来如雷霆收震怒、罢如江海凝清光，写尽剑舞之动静；绛唇珠袖两寂寞，晚有弟子传芬芳——写绛唇珠袖两寂寞、晚有弟子传芬芳，写尽公孙大娘之逝；临颍美人在白帝，妙舞此曲神扬扬——写临颍美人在白帝、妙舞此曲神扬扬，写尽弟子李十二娘之舞；与余问答既有以，感时抚事增惋伤——写与余问答既有以、感时抚事增惋伤，写尽感时抚事；先帝侍女八千人，公孙剑器初第一——写先帝侍女八千人、公孙剑器初第一，写尽公孙剑器之第一；五十年间似反掌，风尘澒洞昏王室——写五十年间似反掌、风尘澒洞昏王室，写尽五十年间的盛衰；梨园弟子散如烟，女乐余姿映寒日——写梨园弟子散如烟、女乐余姿映寒日，写尽梨园弟子的星散；金粟堆南木已拱，瞿唐石城草萧瑟——写金粟堆南木已拱、瞿唐石城草萧瑟，写尽先帝陵墓的荒凉；玳筵急管曲复终，乐极哀来月东出——写玳筵急管曲复终、乐极哀来月东出，写尽乐极哀来；老夫不知其所往，足茧荒山转愁疾——写老夫不知其所往、足茧荒山转愁疾，写尽杜甫的漂泊。全诗以咏艺写盛衰——那「一舞剑器动四方」写尽公孙剑舞之盛，「五十年间似反掌」写尽盛衰的倏忽，写尽公孙剑舞的盛衰，是理解杜甫咏艺诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「昔有佳人公孙氏，一舞剑器动四方」写公孙大娘剑舞之名；「㸌如羿射九日落，矫如群帝骖龙翔」写剑舞之光华；「来如雷霆收震怒，罢如江海凝清光」写剑舞之动静；「五十年间似反掌，风尘澒洞昏王室」写盛衰的倏忽；以及全诗以咏艺写盛衰、以舞写史的手法。

Background

Du Fu (712–770), courtesy name Zimei, of Gongxian in Henan, is called the 'Poet Sage', the greatest of the Tang realists. This long song is dated to the nineteenth day of the tenth month of Dali 2 (767), when the poet was sojourning in Kuizhou (modern Fengjie, Chongqing) and watched a dance by Li Shierniang of Lingying, who proved to be a disciple of Gongsun Daniang, the sword-dancer of the Kaiyuan era whom Emperor Xuanzong had honoured. Fifty years separate Kaiyuan from Dali, and they had been filled by the An Lushan rebellion. Gongsun Daniang herself is lost; her art survives only in her pupil. Du Fu wrote the piece in gehang form, the freest of the Tang verse kinds.

此诗观公孙大娘弟子舞剑器而感慨，以咏艺写盛衰，是杜甫的名篇。杜甫（712—770），字子美，巩县（今河南巩义）人，唐代伟大的现实主义诗人，人称「诗圣」。此诗作于唐代宗大历二年（767）十月十九日，杜甫在夔州（今重庆奉节），观临颍李十二娘舞剑器，知其为公孙大娘弟子，感时而作。公孙大娘是开元年间著名舞剑器（剑器为唐代舞蹈，舞者执剑）的艺人，玄宗曾观其舞。此诗写公孙之舞：「昔有佳人公孙氏，一舞剑器动四方」写昔有佳人公孙氏、一舞剑器动四方——写尽公孙大娘剑舞之名；「观者如山色沮丧，天地为之久低昂」写观者如山色沮丧、天地为之久低昂——写尽剑舞之惊人；「㸌如羿射九日落，矫如群帝骖龙翔」写㸌如羿射九日落、矫如群帝骖龙翔——写尽剑舞之光华；「来如雷霆收震怒，罢如江海凝清光」写来如雷霆收震怒、罢如江海凝清光——写尽剑舞之动静；「绛唇珠袖两寂寞，晚有弟子传芬芳」写绛唇珠袖两寂寞、晚有弟子传芬芳——写尽公孙大娘之逝与弟子之传；「临颍美人在白帝，妙舞此曲神扬扬」写临颍美人在白帝、妙舞此曲神扬扬——写尽弟子李十二娘之舞；「与余问答既有以，感时抚事增惋伤」写与余问答既有以、感时抚事增惋伤——写尽感时抚事；「先帝侍女八千人，公孙剑器初第一」写先帝侍女八千人、公孙剑器初第一——写尽公孙剑器之第一；「五十年间似反掌，风尘澒洞昏王室」写五十年间似反掌、风尘澒洞昏王室——写尽五十年间的盛衰；「梨园弟子散如烟，女乐余姿映寒日」写梨园弟子散如烟、女乐余姿映寒日——写尽梨园弟子的星散；「金粟堆南木已拱，瞿唐石城草萧瑟」写金粟堆南木已拱、瞿唐石城草萧瑟——写尽先帝陵墓的荒凉；「玳筵急管曲复终，乐极哀来月东出」写玳筵急管曲复终、乐极哀来月东出——写尽乐极哀来；「老夫不知其所往，足茧荒山转愁疾」写老夫不知其所往、足茧荒山转愁疾——写尽杜甫的漂泊。全诗以咏艺写盛衰，写尽公孙剑舞的盛衰，是理解杜甫咏艺诗的重要篇章。

Art

Du Fu's method here is praise by metaphor rather than description of movement: the dance is never reported, only metamorphosed. The four central similes are arranged as a pair of pairs — outward radiance (Yi's nine suns, gods on dragon-clouds) and inward resolution (thunder sheathing its fury, the sea returning to still light); the verbs huò ('to flash') and jiǎo ('to soar') give one direction, shōu ('gathering in') and níng ('congealing') the other, so a single performance is described as an arc from explosion to repose. Against this the poem sets a counter-structure of collapsed magnitude: eight thousand handmaids become scattered smoke, a first-rate dancer becomes a woman in a provincial city, the emperor's tombs grow grass. The final movement drops the public voice entirely for the private one — 'this old man knows not where he is going' — so the poem closes on the poet's own sore feet rather than on the dance. That turn from the celebrated to the negligible is Du Fu's peculiar use of the gehang form.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以写神写剑舞。「㸌如羿射九日落，矫如群帝骖龙翔。来如雷霆收震怒，罢如江海凝清光」以写神写剑舞——那「㸌如羿射九日落」写尽剑舞之光华、「来如雷霆收震怒，罢如江海凝清光」写尽剑舞之动静，以写神写尽公孙剑舞之神。其二，以对照写盛衰。「先帝侍女八千人，公孙剑器初第一」与「梨园弟子散如烟」相对照，写尽由盛而衰；「五十年间似反掌，风尘澒洞昏王室」以感慨写盛衰——那「五十年间似反掌」写尽盛衰的倏忽，以感慨写尽五十年间的盛衰。其三，以景写荒凉。「金粟堆南木已拱，瞿唐石城草萧瑟」以景写荒凉——那「木已拱」写尽先帝陵墓木已合抱、「草萧瑟」写尽石城草之萧瑟，以景写尽盛世的荒凉。其四，以感慨收束写身世。「老夫不知其所往，足茧荒山转愁疾」以感慨收束写身世——那「足茧荒山转愁疾」写尽杜甫的漂泊，以感慨收束，写尽盛衰的感慨。四重手法，使此诗以咏艺写盛衰，写尽公孙剑舞的盛衰，是杜甫的代表作。

Allusions

Several layers are stacked. The jianqi (sword-dance) was a Tang dance in which the performer held jianqi — metal sticks — whose origin is traced to the military dance of the western regions. Yi shooting the nine suns comes from the myth of the archer who darkened the sky. The hosts of gods driving dragons draws on the pageantry of immortal processions. Jiangchun and zhuxiu paint the dancer's costume — red lips, pearl sleeve. Xiandi and the eight thousand point at Emperor Xuanzong and his household. The Pear Garden was the emperor's own theatre corps. The Jinshu tomb is Xuanzong's burial place; Qutang is the gorge beside Kuizhou. Most welded into the verse is the figure of Lord Pingyuan — a man famous for gathering guests, and the standard by which Du Fu measures a age that no longer contains him.

此诗的用语深植于咏艺与盛衰的传统。「昔有佳人公孙氏」令人想到「佳人」写美人的意象——「绝代有佳人」（杜甫《佳人》），也令人想到「公孙氏」写公孙大娘的意象；「一舞剑器动四方」令人想到「剑器」写剑器舞的意象——唐代舞蹈，也令人想到「动四方」写震动四方的意象；「观者如山色沮丧」令人想到「观者如山」写观者如山的意象，也令人想到「色沮丧」写色沮丧的意象；「天地为之久低昂」令人想到「天地为之久低昂」写天地低昂的意象——「为之久低昂」写尽剑舞撼天动地；「㸌如羿射九日落」令人想到「羿射九日」的典故——后羿射日，也令人想到「㸌如」写光耀的意象；「矫如群帝骖龙翔」令人想到「群帝骖龙」写群帝驾龙的意象，也令人想到「矫如」写矫健的意象；「来如雷霆收震怒」令人想到「雷霆收震怒」写雷霆收怒的意象——「来如雷霆收震怒」，也令人想到「雷霆」写雷霆的意象；「罢如江海凝清光」令人想到「江海凝清光」写江海凝光的意象——「罢如江海凝清光」正是杜甫的名句，也令人想到「清光」写清光的意象；「绛唇珠袖两寂寞」令人想到「绛唇珠袖」写公孙大娘服饰的意象——绛唇（红唇）珠袖（珠饰衣袖），也令人想到「两寂寞」写俱寂寞的意象；「晚有弟子传芬芳」令人想到「传芬芳」写传其芬芳的意象，也令人想到「弟子」写弟子的意象；「临颍美人在白帝」令人想到「临颍美人」写临颍李十二娘的意象，也令人想到「白帝」写白帝城（夔州）的意象；「妙舞此曲神扬扬」令人想到「神扬扬」写神采飞扬的意象，也令人想到「妙舞」写妙舞的意象；「与余问答既有以」令人想到「既有以」写有来由的意象，也令人想到「问答」写问答的意象；「感时抚事增惋伤」令人想到「感时抚事」写感时抚事的意象——「感时花溅泪」（杜甫），也令人想到「增惋伤」写增添惋伤的意象；「先帝侍女八千人」令人想到「先帝」写玄宗（先帝）的意象，也令人想到「侍女八千人」写侍女人数之多的意象；「公孙剑器初第一」令人想到「初第一」写起初第一的意象——公孙剑器在开元为第一，也令人想到「公孙剑器」写公孙剑器的意象；「五十年间似反掌」令人想到「五十年间似反掌」写五十年如反掌的意象——「五十年间似反掌」正是杜甫的名句，也令人想到「似反掌」写如反掌的意象；「风尘澒洞昏王室」令人想到「风尘澒洞」写战乱风尘的意象——「风尘澒洞昏王室」，也令人想到「昏王室」写王室昏暗的意象；「梨园弟子散如烟」令人想到「梨园弟子」写梨园弟子的典故——玄宗设梨园，也令人想到「散如烟」写散如烟的意象；「女乐余姿映寒日」令人想到「女乐余姿」写女乐残存的意象，也令人想到「映寒日」写映寒日的意象；「金粟堆南木已拱」令人想到「金粟堆」写玄宗陵墓金粟堆的意象——玄宗葬于泰陵金粟堆，也令人想到「木已拱」写墓木已拱的意象；「瞿唐石城草萧瑟」令人想到「瞿唐」写瞿塘峡的意象——夔州临瞿塘峡，也令人想到「石城草萧瑟」写石城草萧瑟的意象；「玳筵急管曲复终」令人想到「玳筵」写玳瑁之筵的意象——华宴，也令人想到「急管」写急促管乐的意象；「乐极哀来月东出」令人想到「乐极哀来」写乐极生哀的意象——「乐极哀来」，也令人想到「月东出」写月东出的意象；「老夫不知其所往」令人想到「老夫」写杜甫自称的意象——「老夫」，也令人想到「不知其所往」写不知所往的意象；「足茧荒山转愁疾」令人想到「足茧」写脚生厚茧的意象——「足茧荒山转愁疾」正是杜甫的名句，也令人想到「转愁疾」写转添愁疾的意象。全诗化用羿射九日、雷霆、江海、梨园、金粟堆的典故与意象，以咏艺写盛衰，正是杜甫「沉郁顿挫」而善用铺叙、承咏艺传统写感慨的本领。

Commentary

This long poem is universally ranked among Du Fu's finest and is often called the summit of Chinese verse about dance. Qing critics describe it as 'writing the art to write the decline, deep and crashing'; modern readers isolate the middle similes as the greatest description of movement in the tradition and the line 'Fifty years can turn as on the back of a hand' as the hinge of the whole. Its special achievement is to make the private spectacle the measure of a public catastrophe: a few minutes of dancing outlast fifty years of history. It is usually read beside Du Fu's 'Song of the Painting General' (the Danqing yin), which praises a painter in the same way, and beside 'Meeting Li Guinian in Jiangnan', where a singer's decline stands for the empire's. All three depend on the same device — art as the surviving witness of a lost age.

此诗历来被推为杜甫咏艺诗的名篇，也是中国舞蹈诗的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以咏艺写盛衰，沉郁顿挫」；近人更指出「㸌如羿射九日落，矫如群帝骖龙翔」「来如雷霆收震怒，罢如江海凝清光」写剑舞之神，「五十年间似反掌，风尘澒洞昏王室」写盛衰的倏忽，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以二十六句的长篇写尽公孙剑舞的盛衰——那一舞剑器动四方的公孙氏，那色沮丧的观者，那久低昂的天地，那羿射九日的㸌如，那群帝骖龙的矫如，那雷霆收震怒的来，那江海凝清光的罢，那绛唇珠袖的寂寞，那传芬芳的弟子，那临颍美人，那神扬扬的妙舞，那感时抚事的惋伤，那八千人的侍女，那初第一的公孙剑器，那似反掌的五十年，那澒洞的风尘，那散如烟的梨园弟子，那映寒日的女乐余姿，那木已拱的金粟堆，那萧瑟的石城草，那乐极哀来的月东出，那足茧荒山的愁疾，都写尽了杜甫对公孙剑舞盛衰的感慨；那「五十年间似反掌，风尘澒洞昏王室」更写尽盛衰的倏忽。此诗与杜甫《丹青引赠曹将军霸》同为咏艺名篇，一写剑舞（舞剑器行），一写画马（丹青引）；又与公孙大娘、玄宗梨园的传统一脉相承，可见杜甫借艺人写盛衰、以舞写史的深意。对于今日读者，此诗是理解杜甫咏艺诗的窗口，也是中国舞蹈诗的经典——那江海凝光的清光，穿越千年，仍在诉说着大唐的盛衰。

Prosody

Form Seven-character song (qiyan gehang), with changes of rhyme诗·七言歌行

Rhyme The rhyme shifts several times: 'fang/ang/xiang/guang' for the dance; 'fang/yang/shang' for the present performance; and 'yi/shi/ri/se/ chu/ji' for the closing lament, so that the final run of stopped, hiatus... rhymes presses the poem to a close.七言歌行，转韵（方、昂、翔、光、芳、扬、伤、一、室、日、瑟、出、疾），音节跌宕

Tone pattern A seven-character gehang of irregular length, rhyming in couplets and changing key wherever the mood changes; the undulating cadence answers the theme of grandeur collapsing into ruin.此诗为七言歌行，多次转韵，音节跌宕，正合盛衰感慨的跌宕。

Reading note This is a qiyan gehang — a seven-character song-poem of irregular line-length and repeated rhyme change — and the rhyme-scheme is the poem's structure made audible. The first movement rhymes on the broad 'ang' sound (fang, ang, xiang, guang), open and resonant for the dance; the second narrows to the same family but darker (fang, yang, shang); the final movement switches to the stopped rhymes of the entering tone (yi, shi, ri, se, chu, ji), which close like doors. Read the praise lines with lifted head and quick pace, and the last six lines low and unhurried; the change of rhyme at 'Fifty years' should land as a turn of the voice. Du Fu's gehang are known for chenyu duncuo — deep feeling broken by delays — and this poem is the clearest example.此诗为七言歌行，以「昔有佳人公孙氏」起，全诗多次转韵——「方、昂、翔、光」为一段，「芳、扬、伤」为一段，「一、室、日、瑟、出、疾」为收束，转韵处正合情感的转折，音节跌宕。全诗以咏艺写盛衰：前段写公孙大娘剑舞之神（昔有佳人公孙氏，一舞剑器动四方；观者如山色沮丧，天地为之久低昂；㸌如羿射九日落，矫如群帝骖龙翔；来如雷霆收震怒，罢如江海凝清光），中段写弟子与感时（绛唇珠袖两寂寞，晚有弟子传芬芳；临颍美人在白帝，妙舞此曲神扬扬；与余问答既有以，感时抚事增惋伤），后段写盛衰感慨（先帝侍女八千人，公孙剑器初第一；五十年间似反掌，风尘澒洞昏王室；梨园弟子散如烟，女乐余姿映寒日；金粟堆南木已拱，瞿唐石城草萧瑟；玳筵急管曲复终，乐极哀来月东出；老夫不知其所往，足茧荒山转愁疾）。诵读此诗，宜以赞叹的语调读「一舞剑器动四方」的剑舞，以感慨的语调读「五十年间似反掌」的盛衰，结句「足茧荒山转愁疾」要读得沉痛而有余韵，方能传达出杜甫的沉郁顿挫。杜甫歌行以「沉郁顿挫」著称，此诗正是其咏艺歌行的典范。

Line by line

昔有佳人公孙氏，一舞剑器动四方

Once there was a beauty of the Gongsun family; one dance of the sword-sticks moved all four quarters.

从前有位佳人公孙氏，一舞剑器震动四方。

Once there was a beauty named Gongsun; once she danced the sword-dance, and the whole world was shaken.

此二句是全诗写剑舞之盛的开篇，以佳人写公孙氏，以动四方写剑舞之名，写尽公孙大娘剑舞之盛，是千古名句。「昔有佳人公孙氏」写从前有位佳人公孙氏——那「昔有」写从前有，「佳人公孙氏」写佳人公孙大娘，写尽公孙大娘的追忆；「一舞剑器动四方」写一舞剑器震动四方——那「一舞剑器」写一舞剑器，「动四方」写震动四方，写尽公孙剑舞之名。这句的深意在于：它以「昔有佳人公孙氏」的昔有与「一舞剑器动四方」的动四方，写尽公孙大娘剑舞之盛——从前有位佳人公孙氏，那「昔有佳人公孙氏」写尽对公孙大娘的追忆——昔有佳人，如今已逝，那「昔有」写尽追忆的悠远；一舞剑器震动四方，那「一舞剑器动四方」写尽公孙剑舞之名——一舞剑器，四方震动，那「动四方」写尽公孙剑舞之盛名；那「昔有佳人公孙氏」写尽对公孙大娘的追忆，那「一舞剑器动四方」写尽公孙剑舞之盛名，一写昔有，一写动四方，写尽公孙大娘剑舞之盛——昔有佳人，一舞剑器动四方，正是开元盛世公孙剑舞的盛况，而以「昔有」起笔，已暗寓今日之逝；此二句以昔有佳人、动四方开篇，写尽公孙大娘剑舞之盛，也让此二句成为全诗写剑舞之盛的开篇与千古名句。若换作直说「公孙大娘舞剑很出名」，则失其追忆；唯以「昔有佳人公孙氏」写追忆、「一舞剑器动四方」写盛名，写尽公孙大娘剑舞之盛，也让此二句成为全诗的开篇。

Du Fu introduces the dancer. Once there was a beauty named Gongsun—the once is the elegy's whole premise: she is gone; once she lived. Once she danced the sword-dance, and the whole world was shaken. The dance of armed ribbons, which she performed for the emperor, was the wonder of the Kaiyuan age. The opening announces the lost age by its most dazzling woman. To have written Gongsun Dana was a famous dancer would be a biography; the once-beauty and the once-shaken world are the elegy.

五十年间似反掌，风尘澒洞昏王室

Between fifty years, like the turning of a hand; dust and storm darkened the royal house.

五十年间如反掌般倏忽，战乱风尘昏暗了王室。

Fifty years have passed as quickly as turning a palm; the dusty turmoil has dimmed the royal house.

此二句是全诗写盛衰的核心，以似反掌写倏忽，以昏王室写盛衰，写尽五十年间的盛衰，是千古名句。「五十年间似反掌」写五十年间如反掌般倏忽——那「五十年间」写五十年间，「似反掌」写如反掌般倏忽，写尽五十年间的倏忽；「风尘澒洞昏王室」写战乱风尘昏暗了王室——那「风尘澒洞」写战乱风尘的弥漫，「昏王室」写昏暗了王室，写尽安史之乱对王室的冲击。这句的深意在于：它以「五十年间似反掌」的倏忽与「风尘澒洞昏王室」的昏王室，写尽五十年间的盛衰——五十年间如反掌般倏忽，那「五十年间似反掌」写尽五十年间的倏忽——从开元盛世到如今，五十年间如反掌之易，那「似反掌」写尽时光的倏忽；战乱风尘昏暗了王室，那「风尘澒洞昏王室」写尽安史之乱对王室的冲击——安史之乱，风尘澒洞，王室昏暗，那「昏王室」写尽盛世的终结；那「五十年间似反掌」写尽五十年间的倏忽，那「风尘澒洞昏王室」写尽安史之乱对王室的冲击，一写倏忽，一写昏昧，写尽五十年间的盛衰——公孙剑舞之盛与王室之衰，正是大唐盛衰的缩影，那「五十年间似反掌」写尽由盛而衰的倏忽；此二句以似反掌、昏王室写尽五十年间的盛衰，也让此二句成为全诗写盛衰的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「大唐由盛转衰了」，则失其形象；唯以「五十年间似反掌」写倏忽、「风尘澒洞昏王室」写昏昧，写尽五十年间的盛衰，也让此二句成为全诗写盛衰的核心。

The time-shift is devastating. Fifty years have passed as quickly as turning a palm; the dusty turmoil has dimmed the royal house. The fifty years that contain the An Lushan Rebellion—from the golden dance to the ruined court—are dismissed as a flick of the hand. The dust that dims the royal house is the war. Between the dance and this line, an empire has fallen. To have said fifty years brought disaster would be history; the palm turned and the royal house dimmed in the dust is the fall.

Study

Word focus

低昂低昂 (dī'áng) means to rise and fall, to bow and lift. In 天地为之久低昂 the sky and the earth are said to sway up and down for a long time, so that nature itself is made to follow the dancer's rhythm — the whole world is given a pulse. 「天地为之久低昂」之「低昂」是写剑舞的关键词，一个「低昂」写尽天地随剑舞而低昂的惊人。低昂者，高低起伏也。杜甫以「天地为之久低昂」写天地，这个「低昂」至少有双重意味：其一，写剑舞之撼——那「天地为之久低昂」写天地为之久久低昂，那「低昂」写尽天地随剑舞而起伏——剑舞之动，撼天动地，天地为之低昂，那「低昂」写尽剑舞的撼天动地；其二，写观者之惊——那「低昂」更是写观感——天地低昂，正见剑舞之惊人，那「低昂」写尽观者的惊骇。以「低昂」写天地，正是杜甫写剑舞的枢纽——若换作「起伏」「震荡」等词，则或失其写高低起伏的凝练，或失其与「观者如山色沮丧」的呼应；唯「低昂」二字，以天地随剑舞而低昂写尽剑舞的撼天动地与观者的惊骇，与「一舞剑器动四方」的动四方相合，写尽公孙剑舞之盛，也让「天地为之久低昂」成为全诗写剑舞的名句。

澒洞澒洞 (hòngdòng) describes a vast, tumultuous, unfocused mass — here the swirling dust of revolt that 'darkens the royal house'. It suggests not a single disaster but an all-encompassing confusion filling the age. 「风尘澒洞昏王室」之「澒洞」是写战乱的关键词，一个「澒洞」写尽风尘弥漫的意象。澒洞者，弥漫无际也。杜甫以「风尘澒洞」写战乱，这个「澒洞」至少有双重意味：其一，写风尘之盛——那「风尘澒洞昏王室」写战乱风尘澒洞而昏暗王室，那「澒洞」写尽风尘的弥漫无际——战乱风尘，澒洞弥漫，那「澒洞」写尽风尘之盛；其二，写王室之昏——那「澒洞」更是写盛衰——风尘澒洞，昏王室，正见安史之乱对王室的冲击，那「澒洞」写尽盛世的终结。以「澒洞」写风尘，正是杜甫写盛衰的枢纽——若换作「弥漫」「蔽天」等词，则或失其写弥漫无际的古雅，或失其与「昏王室」的配合；唯「澒洞」二字，以风尘弥漫无际写尽战乱之盛与王室之昏，与「五十年间似反掌」的倏忽相合，写尽五十年间的盛衰，也让「风尘澒洞昏王室」成为全诗写盛衰的名句。