汉 Han · 乐府 Yuefu ballad
步出城东门
Walking Out the East City Gate
步出城东门，遥望江南路。
前日风雪中，故人从此去。
我欲渡河水，河水深无梁。
愿为双黄鹄，高飞还故乡。
The former day in wind and snow, my old friend departed from here.
I would cross the river water, but the river is deep with no bridge.
I wish to become a pair of yellow swans, flying high to return to my home.
Meaning
After seeing a friend off, a wanderer gazes from the east gate down the road south, recalls the parting in snow, finds the river unbridgeable, and dreams of becoming a pair of swans to fly home—a plain, aching song of separation and the blocked road home.
步出城东门，遥遥望向江南的路。 前日风雪之中，故人从这儿离去。 我想渡过河水，河水深深却没有桥梁。 愿化作一对黄鹄，高高飞回故乡。
Appreciation
The poem writes the wanderer's longing after seeing a friend off at the east gate: walking out the east gate, gazing far down the Jiangnan road, he recalls the former day in wind and snow when the old friend departed from here. He would cross the river, but deep with no bridge; so he wishes to become a pair of yellow swans, flying high home. From parting grief it turns to the wish to return, the feeling tender and sad. It strings city gate, Jiangnan road, wind-snow, river, yellow swan into space and wish. The strange idea of the twin swans closes, turning the real wish into a phantom—the common bi-xing close of Han yuefu.
【白话串讲】 “步出城东门，遥望江南路”——汉乐府写：出城东门，望江南路。“前日风雪中，故人从此去”——前几天风雪中，故人从这里走了。“我欲渡河水，河水深无梁”——他想渡河，河太深没有桥。“愿为双黄鹄，高飞还故乡”——他愿化作黄鹄，飞回故乡。 【意象与手法】 以城东门、江南路、风雪、河水、黄鹄串成空间与心愿。双黄鹄的奇想收束，化实愿为幻境，是汉乐府常见的比兴收法。 【情感与主旨】 写游子送别故人后的孤寂与思归之切，亦暗含乱世漂泊、归路阻断的悲凉。语言朴质，情致深长。 【名句点睛】 愿为双黄鹄，高飞还故乡——以幻写真，将归思托于翱翔，凄楚而美丽。
Background
'Walking Out the East City Gate' is a Han yuefu miscellaneous tune, author unknown, likely written in the late-Han turmoil, writing the wanderer's seeing off a friend and longing to return, with the folk quality of 'moved by sorrow and joy, arising from the event.'
《步出城东门》为汉代无名氏所作，是写送别故人、思归无梁之叹的古诗。此诗：步出城东门，遥望江南路。前日风雪中，故人从此去。我欲渡河水，河水深无梁。愿为双黄鹄，高飞还故乡。全诗写送别故人、思归无梁之叹，是汉诗的名篇。
Art
Four lines with two turns: from gazing the road to recalling parting, from wishing to cross to wishing to become swans; the short piece shows twists, the bi-xing natural, gaining the yuefu's innocence.
《步出城东门》艺术上以送别故人的描摹与思归无梁之叹的深婉见长。全诗八句，层层写来：前四句写送别故人——“步出城东门，遥望江南路”写步出城东门、遥望江南路，“前日风雪中，故人从此去”写前日风雪中、故人从此去；后四句写思归无梁——“我欲渡河水，河水深无梁”写我欲渡河水、河水深无梁，“愿为双黄鹄，高飞还故乡”写愿为双黄鹄、高飞还故乡。全诗以送别故人写思归之叹，正是汉诗深婉的笔法。
Allusions
Yellow swan (huang gu): a great bird, in old poems often figuring high flight and far going, or the return of husband and wife or close friends together. No bridge: no bridge, figuring the blocked road home.
《步出城东门》用典在“黄鹄”“无梁”。“黄鹄”写黄鹄（大鸟，喻高飞）；“无梁”写无桥（《诗经》河水无梁意）。全诗以这些意象写送别思归，用典自然而深婉自见，正是汉诗的笔法。
Commentary
Read this beside 'Drinking Horse at the Great Wall Cave'—both Han travel-and-return-home works, plain and moving.
《步出城东门》是汉代无名氏诗的名篇，也是汉诗中写送别思归的代表作。此诗写送别故人、思归无梁之叹，向为论者称道。论者多赏其送别故人的描摹与思归无梁之叹的深婉——“步出城东门，遥望江南路”写步出东门、遥望江南，深婉之极；“前日风雪中，故人从此去”写前日风雪、故人从此去，更见其情；“我欲渡河水，河水深无梁”写欲渡无梁、思归无路，尤见其叹；“愿为双黄鹄，高飞还故乡”写愿为黄鹄、高飞还乡，尤见其望。此诗为汉乐府古诗，以深婉著称，正是其代表——以送别故人写思归之叹，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
步出城东门，遥望江南路。前日风雪中，故人从此去。
I stepped out the east gate of the city and gazed toward the road to the southland. Three days ago, in wind and snow, an old friend left by this road.
步出城东门，遥望江南路。前日风雪中，故人从此去。
I walk out of the east gate and gaze toward the road to the south. Two days ago, in wind and snow, an old friend departed along this road.
前四句写送别故人，是全诗写送别之情的起点。“步出城东门，遥望江南路”写步出东门遥望江南——“步出城东门”写步出城东门，“遥望江南路”写遥望江南之路——步出东门，遥望江南路；“前日风雪中，故人从此去”写前日风雪送别——“前日风雪中”写前日风雪之中，“故人从此去”写故人从此而去——前日风雪，故人此去。四句写送别故人：步出城东门遥望江南路，前日风雪中故人从此去。以“步出城东门，遥望江南路”写步出东门、遥望故人归去的江南之路，以“前日风雪中，故人从此去”写前日风雪之中故人从此而去，正是汉诗写送别之情的起点——东门送别，遥望江南。
The anonymous poem's opening is a held moment. I step out the east gate and gaze toward the road to the south—then the recollection: two days ago, in wind and snow, an old friend departed by this very road. The standing at the gate looking at an empty road, after the friend's footsteps, is the whole elegy compressed. The wind and snow of the departure return to the mind as the weather. To have said I stood looking at the road my friend had left by would be a statement; the east gate and the south road in the remembered snow are the standing.
我欲渡河水，河水深无梁。
I would cross the river water, but the river is deep with no bridge.
我欲渡河水，河水深无梁。
I want to cross the Yellow River, but the river is deep and there is no bridge.
此二句写我欲渡河水、河水深无梁，是全诗写思归之叹的深化。“我欲渡河水”写我欲渡河水——“我欲渡河水”写我欲渡过河水——我欲渡河水；“河水深无梁”写河水深无梁——“河水深无梁”写河水深深、没有桥梁——河水深无梁。二句写我欲渡河水、河水深无梁：我欲渡河水，河水深无梁。以“我欲渡河水”写欲渡河水归去，以“河水深无梁”写河水深深、无梁可渡（思归无路），正是汉诗写思归之叹的深化——欲渡无梁，归路断绝。
Then the general longing. I want to cross the Yellow River, but the river is deep and there is no bridge. The personal memory of the friend has widened into a universal wish to return home—home itself, now, unreachable, a deep river with no crossing. The no bridge is the impersonal cruelty. To have said I wanted to go home but couldn't would be a statement; the deep river with no bridge is the couldn't.
愿为双黄鹄，高飞还故乡。
I wish to become a pair of yellow swans, flying high to return to my home.
愿为双黄鹄，高飞还故乡。
Would I could be two yellow swans, flying high back to my hometown.
末写愿为双黄鹄、高飞还故乡，是全诗写思归之望的归结。“愿为双黄鹄”写愿为双黄鹄——“愿为双黄鹄”写愿化作双飞的黄鹄——愿为双黄鹄；“高飞还故乡”写高飞还故乡——“高飞还故乡”写高飞回到故乡——高飞还故乡。二句写愿为双黄鹄、高飞还故乡：愿为双黄鹄，高飞还故乡。以“愿为双黄鹄”写愿为黄鹄双飞、无梁可渡而思化鸟，以“高飞还故乡”写高飞飞还故乡之愿，正是汉诗写思归之望的归结——愿为黄鹄，高飞还乡。
The wish. Would I could be two yellow swans, flying high back to my hometown. The double bird (two swans, matching the parted pair) is the dream of flight over the uncrossable river. The upward flight is the poem's only release. To have said I wished I could fly home would be a wish; the two swans flying high homeward are the wish.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
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