唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
浩歌
A Grand Song
南风吹山作平地，帝遣天吴移海水。
王母桃花千遍红，彭祖巫咸几回死。
青毛骢马参差钱，娇春杨柳含细烟。
筝人劝我金屈卮，神血未凝身问谁。
不须浪饮丁都护，世上英雄本无主。
买丝绣作平原君，有酒惟浇赵州土。
漏催水咽玉蟾蜍，卫娘发薄不胜梳。
看见秋眉换新绿，二十男儿那刺促。
The Queen of the West's peaches have bloomed a thousand times red; how often have Peng Zu and Wu Xian died?
The piebald horse with its coin-spotted flank, the willows of tender spring holding a thin mist.
The zheng-player urges me to a bent golden cup; before my spirit-blood has run together, I ask whose man I am.
There is no need to drown yourself in wine, you of Dingdu; on earth no hero truly has an lord.
Buy silk and embroider it into Lord Pingyuan; pour out what wine you have on the soil of Zhao.
The clepsydra hurries, the water swallows at thejade toad's mouth; Lady Wei's hair is thin and will not bear a comb.
See how autumn brows turn again to green; what need for a lad of twenty to be so cramped?
Meaning
Li He's 'A Grand Song' moves from cosmic catastrophe — mountains levelled, seas moved, the Queen of the West's peach trees red a thousand times, Peng Zu and Wu Xian dead — to a banquet, and thence to the poet's own situation. No hero on earth, he says, truly belongs to himself; he would buy silk to embroider an image of Lord Pingyuan and pour his wine on the soil of Zhao. The poem ends by refusing to be cramped: a lad of twenty has no business in constraint.
南风吹山作平地，帝遣天吴移海水。王母桃花千遍红，彭祖巫咸几回死。青毛骢马参差钱，娇春杨柳含细烟。筝人劝我金屈卮，神血未凝身问谁。不须浪饮丁都护，世上英雄本无主。买丝绣作平原君，有酒惟浇赵州土。漏催水咽玉蟾蜍，卫娘发薄不胜梳。看见秋眉换新绿，二十男儿那刺促。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] Li He begins with the world turned upside down — mountains made plain, the sea removed — and with thelong-lived the same as the dead; then he turns to a wine-party, to the refusal of the hero to be owned, to the embroidery of Pingyuan, and finally to his own refusal to be cramped.
[Structure] A long poem of eight rhymed couplets, each on a new key, roughly in three movements: cosmic change, the present banquet, and the poet's resolution.
[Imagery] The images move between the mythical and the exact: peaches, Peng Zu, Wu Xian, thejade toad of the clepsydra, the thin mist on a willow, a spotted horse, hair too thin for a comb.
[Tone] The poem's voice is a young man's — impatient, defiant, drunk, and using other men's stories as his own arguments. Its sadness is kept under the defiance and shows through at the embroidery and the thin hair.
【白话串讲】 李贺写《浩歌》：“南风吹山作平地，帝遣天吴移海水”——“王母桃花千遍红，彭祖巫咸几回死”——“不须浪饮丁都护，世上英雄本无主”——“买丝绣作平原君，有酒惟浇赵州土”——他写英雄无主、世态炎凉。 【意象与手法】 此诗写世事变幻的感慨与英雄无主的悲慨，是李贺的名篇。前四句写世事的巨变：「南风吹山作平地」写南风吹山作平地，「帝遣天吴移海水」写天帝遣天吴移海水，「王母桃花千遍红」写王母桃花千遍红，「彭祖巫咸几回死」写彭祖巫咸几回死；中四句写眼前的欢宴与感慨：「青毛骢马参差钱」写青毛骢马，「娇春杨柳含细烟」写娇春杨柳含细烟，「筝人劝我金屈卮」写筝人劝酒，「神血未凝身问谁」写神血未凝身问谁；后四句写英雄无主的悲慨：「不须浪饮丁都护」写不须浪饮，「世上英雄本无主」写世上英雄本无主，「买丝绣作平原君」写买丝绣作平原君，「有酒惟浇赵州土」写有酒惟浇赵州土；末四句写时光的感慨：「漏催水咽玉蟾蜍」写漏催水咽玉蟾蜍，「卫娘发薄不胜梳」写卫娘发薄不胜梳，「看见秋眉换新绿」写秋眉换新绿，「二十男儿那刺促」写二十男儿岂能局促。全诗以世事变幻写英雄无主，写尽悲慨，正是李贺「瑰奇」诗风的本领。 【情感与主旨】 此诗写世事变幻的感慨与英雄无主的悲慨，是李贺的名篇。李贺怀才不遇，对世事的变幻与英雄的际遇有深切的感慨。此诗写感慨：南风吹山作平地，天帝遣天吴移海水——写沧海桑田的巨变；王母桃花千遍红，彭祖巫咸几回死——写神仙也会生死（王母桃花三千年一开，开千遍则三百万年，彭祖、巫咸是长寿之人，也几回生死），写时光之久与生死之常；青毛骢马参差钱，娇春杨柳含细烟——写眼前的春景；筝人劝我金屈卮，神血未凝身问谁——写筝人劝酒、神血未凝（精神气血尚未凝聚，暗写人生未定）；不须浪饮丁都护，世上英雄本无主——写不须浪饮，世上英雄本无主（英雄没有固定的归属）；买丝绣作平原君，有酒惟浇赵州土——写买丝绣作平原君（礼贤下士的平原君），有酒只浇赵州土（平原君是赵人，浇其坟土，追怀礼贤）；漏催水咽玉蟾蜍，卫娘发薄不胜梳——写漏刻催时、卫娘发薄（卫子夫发美，此处写发薄，写时光流逝、美人迟暮）；看见秋眉换新绿，二十男儿那刺促——写秋眉换新绿（岁月更替），二十男儿岂能局促（刺促即局促、受窘）。全诗以世事变幻写英雄无主，写尽悲慨与自勉，正是李贺「瑰奇」诗风的本领。 【名句点睛】 常考「世上英雄本无主」写英雄无主的悲慨；「买丝绣作平原君，有酒惟浇赵州土」写追怀礼贤下士；「南风吹山作平地」「王母桃花千遍红」写世事的巨变；「二十男儿那刺促」写不局促的自勉；以及全诗以世事变幻写英雄无主、想象瑰奇的手法。
Background
Li He (790–816), courtesy name Changji of Fuchang in Henan, is called by posterity the'Poet Devil'. He was ruined for the examinations by a taboo on his father's name, held one minor post, and died at twenty-seven — one of the shortest careers in Tang poetry. This poem belongs to his mature middle period and is generally read as a statement of his situation: gifted, unplaced, and unable to know to whom his talent belongs. Lord Pingyuan (Zhao Sheng) of the Warring States is the model of a lord who gathers guests; the reference to Zhao and to the soil of Zhao places the poet in Pingyuan's own state. The banquet, the zheng-player and the wine-cup indicate a real occasion.
此诗写世事变幻的感慨与英雄无主的悲慨，是李贺的名篇。李贺（790—816），字长吉，福昌（今河南宜阳）人，中唐著名诗人，人称「诗鬼」。李贺怀才不遇，因避父讳不得应进士举，仕途困顿，对世事的变幻、英雄的际遇与时光的流逝有深切的感慨。此诗写感慨：「南风吹山作平地，帝遣天吴移海水」写沧海桑田的巨变——南风吹山作平地，天帝遣天吴（水神）移海水，以巨变写世事的无常；「王母桃花千遍红，彭祖巫咸几回死」写王母桃花千遍红（王母桃三千年一开花，开千遍则三百万年），彭祖（传说中的长寿者，寿八百岁）、巫咸（传说中的神巫）几回死——神仙长寿者也有生死，写时光之久与生死之常；「青毛骢马参差钱，娇春杨柳含细烟」写眼前的春景——青毛骢马（毛色青黑的马，身上有铜钱状斑纹）与娇春杨柳；「筝人劝我金屈卮，神血未凝身问谁」写筝人劝酒、神血未凝（精神气血尚未凝聚，暗写人生尚未定、身将属谁）；「不须浪饮丁都护，世上英雄本无主」写不须浪饮（纵饮），世上英雄本无主——英雄没有固定的归属，际遇难料；「买丝绣作平原君，有酒惟浇赵州土」写买丝绣作平原君（战国四公子之一，礼贤下士），有酒只浇赵州土（平原君为赵人，浇其坟土以追怀）；「漏催水咽玉蟾蜍，卫娘发薄不胜梳」写漏刻催时、玉蟾蜍（漏壶的装饰）咽水，卫娘（卫子夫，发美）发薄不胜梳——写时光流逝、美人迟暮；「看见秋眉换新绿，二十男儿那刺促」写秋眉换新绿（岁月更替），二十男儿岂能局促（刺促即局促受窘）。全诗以世事变幻写英雄无主，写尽悲慨与自勉，是理解李贺身世感慨的重要篇章。
Art
The poem's engine is the couplet, and it never uses a longer unit: sixteen lines, eight rhyme-keys, each a closed pair, and every pair turns on a single verbal inversion. The first couplet performs its own argument — the south wind makes mountains a plain, the god moves the sea — so that change is shown rather than stated, and the second supplies the horrible arithmetic of immortality (peaches red a thousand times, Peng Zu dead). The middle movement is the poem's only ordinary thing: a piebald horse, a willow, a cup, and the line 'before my spirit-blood has congealed, I ask whose man I am' (shenxue wei ning shen wen shui), which turns the banquet's gaiety into an unsettled identity. The poem's best-known couplet — 'Buy silk and embroider it into Lord Pingyuan; pour out what wine you have on the soil of Zhao' (mǎi sī xiù zuò Píngyuán jūn, yǒu jiǔ wéi jiào Zhàozhōu tǔ) — is pure action, and it works because the actions are useless. The close, 'What need for a lad of twenty to be so cramped?' answers the whole poem with a question instead of a conclusion. Li He's hallmark is this refusal of resolution.
此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以巨变写无常。起四句「南风吹山作平地，帝遣天吴移海水。王母桃花千遍红，彭祖巫咸几回死」以沧海桑田、神仙生死写世事的巨变与无常——那「南风吹山作平地」「天吴移海水」写山河的巨变，「王母桃花千遍红」「彭祖巫咸几回死」写时光之久与生死之常，以巨变写尽世事的无常。其二，以对比写现实。中四句「青毛骢马参差钱，娇春杨柳含细烟。筝人劝我金屈卮，神血未凝身问谁」写眼前的春景与欢宴——那「娇春杨柳」「筝人劝酒」写尽眼前的欢愉，「神血未凝身问谁」写尽人生的未定，以眼前的欢宴与人生的未定相对照。其三，以用典写悲慨。「买丝绣作平原君，有酒惟浇赵州土」用平原君之典写追怀礼贤下士——那「买丝绣作平原君」写绣作平原君之像，「有酒惟浇赵州土」写浇其坟土，以用典写尽世无平原君、英雄无主的悲慨。其四，以问语收束。「二十男儿那刺促」以反问写二十男儿岂能局促——那「那刺促」以反问写不局促的自勉，以问语收束，写尽悲慨中的自勉。四重手法，使此诗以世事变幻写英雄无主，写尽悲慨与自勉，正是李贺「瑰奇」诗风的本领。
Allusions
The poem is dense with borrowed materials used as arguments. Tianwu is the water god of the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Wangmu taohua recounts the Queen of the West's peaches, which bloom once in three thousand years. Peng Zu is the eight-hundred-year-old; Wu Xian the archaic shaman. Jinqu zhi is the bent wine-cup of the banquet. Dingduhu is the song of the boatmen, whose refrain was 'why do you not drink?' — apparently a real address to the poet. Pingyuan jun, Lord Pingyuan, is the Warring States lord of three thousand guests, and Zhao zhou tu is his own soil and tomb. Yuchan chu is the toad that lifts the water in the clepsydra. Wei niang is Lady Wei, the Han empress celebrated for her hair, whose thinning hair stands for the poet's own. Ciqu is the colloquial 'cramped, fidgety'. All are used, not to decorate, but to reason with.
此诗的用语深植于神话与怀才不遇的传统。「南风吹山作平地」令人想到「南风」写风的意象，也令人想到「沧海桑田」的山川巨变；「天吴」令人想到「天吴」写水神的意象——《山海经》「天吴，水伯」，也令人想到「移山倒海」的巨变；「王母桃花」令人想到「王母」写西王母的意象——西王母的蟠桃三千年一开花，也令人想到「桃花」写仙境的意象；「彭祖」令人想到「彭祖」写长寿者的意象——彭祖寿八百岁，也令人想到「彭殇」的生死；「巫咸」令人想到「巫咸」写神巫的意象——传说中上古的神巫，也令人想到「巫」的原始信仰；「青毛骢马参差钱」令人想到「骢马」写青白杂色马的意象，也令人想到「连钱」写马身斑纹的意象；「娇春杨柳含细烟」令人想到「杨柳」写春色的意象——「杨柳岸晓风残月」，也令人想到「细烟」写春烟的意象；「筝人劝我金屈卮」令人想到「金屈卮」写酒杯的意象——「金屈卮」是古代酒器，也令人想到「劝酒」的宴乐；「神血未凝身问谁」令人想到「神血未凝」写精神气血未定的意象，也令人想到「身问谁」写身世未定的感慨；「不须浪饮丁都护」令人想到「丁都护」写《丁都护歌》（乐府曲名）的意象，也令人想到「浪饮」写纵饮；「世上英雄本无主」令人想到「英雄」写杰出之人的意象——「英雄无用武之地」，也令人想到「无主」写无人赏识的悲慨；「买丝绣作平原君」用平原君之典——平原君赵胜，战国四公子之一，礼贤下士、养士三千，令人想到「毛遂自荐」的典故，也令人想到「礼贤下士」的养士传统——诗人绣作平原君，正叹如今世无礼贤之人；「有酒惟浇赵州土」令人想到「浇土」写祭奠的意象——平原君为赵人，浇其坟土以追怀，也令人想到「一抔黄土」的坟茔；「漏催水咽玉蟾蜍」令人想到「漏」写漏刻的意象——「漏断人初静」，也令人想到「蟾蜍」写漏壶蟾形装饰的意象，更令人想到「玉蟾」写月的意象；「卫娘发薄不胜梳」令人想到「卫娘」写卫子夫的意象——卫子夫以发美著称，此处写发薄，写美人迟暮，也令人想到「白头宫女」的迟暮；「秋眉换新绿」令人想到「秋眉」写衰老的意象，也令人想到「新绿」写新春的意象——岁月更替；「二十男儿那刺促」令人想到「刺促」写局促受窘的意象，也令人想到「局促如辕下驹」的受窘。全诗化用天吴、王母、彭祖、巫咸、平原君、卫娘、蟾蜍的神话与典故，以世事变幻写英雄无主，正是李贺「瑰奇」而善用神话典故、承怀才不遇传统写悲慨的本领。
Commentary
'A Grand Song' is among Li He's most famous long poems and is usually read as a document of his genius and his grievances. Qing critics praise it as 'strange and tragic, playing with the world and exulting in it'; modern readers single out 'On earth no hero truly has a lord' and 'Buy silk and embroider it into Lord Pingyuan' as the poem's statements of a hero who cannot be owned. Its importance is the way it mingles the cosmic and the personal: the same verse that moves mountains also complains about a hair-comb. It is customarily compared with his 'Song to the Wine' ('To the Music Master'), which has the same structure of a banquet crossed with a grievance, and with Cao Zhi's 'Konghou yin', which also turns a party into meditation on mortality. Everything in the poem is wild and every emotion in it is held down by the couplet-form.
此诗历来被推为李贺的名篇，也是中唐咏怀诗的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以世事变幻写英雄无主，瑰奇悲壮」；近人更指出「世上英雄本无主」「买丝绣作平原君」写英雄无主与追怀礼贤，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以十六句的长歌写尽世事变幻的感慨与英雄无主的悲慨——那吹山作平地的南风，那移海水的天吴，那千遍红的王母桃花，那几回死的彭祖巫咸，那娇春的杨柳，那劝酒的金屈卮，那英雄无主的悲慨，那绣作的平原君，那浇土的赵州，那发薄的卫娘，那二十男儿的自勉，都写尽了李贺对世事与英雄际遇的感慨；那「买丝绣作平原君，有酒惟浇赵州土」更写尽世无礼贤之人的悲慨。此诗与李贺的《致酒行》（「少年心事当拏云」）同为咏怀名篇，一写凌云之志，一写英雄无主；又与曹植《箜篌引》（「盛时不再来」）同为写人生感慨的名篇，可见中国诗写人生感慨的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解李贺身世感慨与中唐咏怀诗的窗口，也是中国诗写英雄际遇的经典——那浇向赵州土的酒，穿越千年，仍在诉说着英雄无主的悲慨。
Prosody
Line by line
买丝绣作平原君，有酒惟浇赵州土
Buy silk and embroider it into Lord Pingyuan; pour out what wine you have on the soil of Zhao.
买丝绣作平原君的像，有酒只浇赵州的坟土。
Buy silk to embroider Lord Pingyuan's portrait; when there is wine, pour it only on the soil of Zhao.
此联是全诗写悲慨的核心，以平原君之典写追怀礼贤下士，是千古名句。「买丝绣作平原君」写买丝绣作平原君的像——那「买丝绣作」写买丝绣像，「平原君」写战国时礼贤下士的平原君赵胜，写尽对礼贤下士者的追怀；「有酒惟浇赵州土」写有酒只浇赵州的坟土——那「有酒惟浇」写有酒只浇，「赵州土」写平原君（赵人）坟上的土，写尽以酒祭奠追怀。这句的深意在于：它以「买丝绣作平原君」的追怀与「有酒惟浇赵州土」的祭奠，写尽世无礼贤之人的悲慨——买丝绣作平原君的像，那「买丝绣作」写尽对平原君的追怀——平原君礼贤下士、养士三千，正是英雄遇主的典范，诗人绣作其像，正叹如今世无平原君；有酒只浇赵州的坟土，那「有酒惟浇赵州土」写尽以酒祭奠平原君的深情——平原君是赵人，浇其坟土以追怀，那「惟浇」写尽只浇平原君坟土的深情；「买丝绣作平原君」写尽追怀，那「有酒惟浇赵州土」写尽祭奠，一绣一浇，写尽对礼贤下士者的追怀与世无礼贤之人的悲慨——英雄本无主，唯有追怀古时的平原君。若换作直说「怀念礼贤下士的人」，则失其深婉；唯以「买丝绣作平原君」写追怀、「有酒惟浇赵州土」写祭奠，以用典写尽英雄无主的悲慨，也让此联成为全诗写悲慨的核心与千古名句。
The embroidered lord. Buy silk to embroider Lord Pingyuan's portrait; when there is wine, pour it only on the soil of Zhao. The embroidered portrait and the wine poured on Zhao soil (Pingyuan's fief) are the grief: no such patron exists today. To have said the poet yearned for a patron would be a longing; the embroidered-Pingyuan against the wine-poured-on-Zhao-soil is the longing.
世上英雄本无主
On earth no hero truly has a lord.
世上英雄本无定主。
Heroes in this world have no fixed master.
此句写英雄无主的悲慨，以「无主」写际遇难料。「世上英雄本无主」写世上英雄本无定主——那「世上英雄」写世间英雄，「本无主」写本无固定的归属，写尽英雄际遇难料的悲慨。这句的深意在于：它以「世上英雄本无主」的直陈，写尽英雄际遇的难料与怀才不遇的悲慨——世上英雄本无定主，那「本无主」写尽英雄命运的难料——英雄遇与不遇，皆有定数，本无固定的归属，那「无主」写尽英雄无主的悲慨；英雄本无主，正是李贺怀才不遇的写照——他有才华、有壮志，却无人赏识，如英雄无主，那「本无主」写尽怀才不遇的深沉感慨；此句上承「不须浪饮丁都护」，写英雄不必浪饮，因为英雄本无定主，际遇自有定数，下启「买丝绣作平原君，有酒惟浇赵州土」的追怀，为追怀礼贤下士作铺垫。若换作直说「英雄常怀才不遇」，则失其凝练；唯以「世上英雄本无主」的直陈写尽英雄际遇的难料与悲慨，也让此句成为全诗写悲慨的核心。
The truth. Heroes in this world have no fixed master. The plain statement: heroes have no master assigned. To have said heroes lack patrons would be a saying; the heroes-have-no-fixed-master is the saying.
二十男儿那刺促
What need for a lad of twenty to be so cramped?
二十男儿岂能局促受窘？
A man of twenty—how could he be cramped and constrained?
此句是全诗的收束，以反问写不局促的自勉。「二十男儿那刺促」写二十男儿岂能局促受窘——那「二十男儿」写年方二十的男儿，「那刺促」以反问写岂能局促，写尽不局促的自勉。这句的深意在于：它以「二十男儿那刺促」的反问，写尽悲慨中的自勉——年方二十的男儿，岂能局促受窘？那「二十男儿」写尽青春年华，那「那刺促」以反问写尽岂能局促——刺促即局促、受窘，二十男儿不应坐困愁城、局促不安；虽英雄本无主，虽前文写尽世事变幻、英雄无主的悲慨，然二十男儿那刺促，那「那刺促」以反问写尽自勉的力度——不应因怀才不遇而局促消沉，而应奋发有为；那「二十男儿」写尽青春与希望，那「那刺促」写尽自勉与奋起，以反问收束，写尽悲慨中的自勉，也暗写李贺虽困顿而仍存进取之心。若换作直说「我不能消沉」，则失其凝练；唯以「二十男儿那刺促」的反问写尽不局促的自勉，写尽悲慨中的奋发，也让此句成为全诗的收束与点睛之笔。
The resolve. A man of twenty—how could he be cramped and constrained? The rhetorical question at twenty is the self-challenge against despair. To have said a young man should not be crushed would be an encouragement; the twenty-year-old man against the how-could-he-be-cramped question is the encouragement.
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Cao Zhi's 'The Harp Song' has 'The good time will not come again, / and a hundred years overtakes me' and 'Of the ancients, who has not died — / what is left but to accept fate?' That poem ends in composure at the party. Li He's poem begins at the same party and ends by refusing composure: 'what need for a lad of twenty to be so cramped?' The pair shows the two outcomes open to the Chinese banquet-poem — resignation, and anger — and Li He takes the harder road.
曹植《箜篌引》「盛时不再来，百年忽我遒」「先民谁不死，知命复何忧」写宴饮中的人生感慨，是曹植的名篇。此诗《浩歌》则「世上英雄本无主」「二十男儿那刺促」写世事变幻与英雄无主的悲慨。同为写人生感慨与宴饮，一写「盛时不再来」的知命（箜篌引），一写「英雄本无主」的悲慨（浩歌）；一以「知命复何忧」写达观，一以「二十男儿那刺促」写自勉。两诗对读，可见中国诗写人生感慨的两种情调。
致酒行 To the Wine 李贺 · 同李贺咏怀，一凌云一悲慨 Both are Li He's poems of feeling written at a banquet; 'To the Wine' is ambitious, 'A Grand Song' is a lament.Li He's 'To the Wine' has 'The cock crows, and the whole world turns white' and 'A young man's ambition should grasp the clouds', and ends with an offer to the host to be treated as an equal. It is the affirmative counterpart of this poem: the same young poet, the same wine, and instead of 'On earth no hero truly has a lord' he insists that his ambition should touch the sky. Read together the two show that Li He's defiance and his grievance are the same feeling heard from two sides.
李贺《致酒行》「雄鸡一声天下白」「少年心事当拏云」写怀才不遇中的凌云之志，是李贺的名篇。此诗《浩歌》则「世上英雄本无主」「买丝绣作平原君」写英雄无主的悲慨。同为李贺咏怀，一写「少年心事当拏云」的凌云（致酒行），一写「英雄本无主」的悲慨（浩歌）；一以「雄鸡一声天下白」写光明，一以「有酒惟浇赵州土」写追怀。两诗对读，可见李贺咏怀诗既励志又悲慨的丰富。