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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

胡旋女

The Hu Xuan Dancer

白居易

Bai Juyi

讽刺Satire 时政Political Criticism

胡旋女，胡旋女。
心应弦，手应鼓。
弦鼓一声双袖举，回雪飘飖转蓬舞。
左旋右转不知疲，千匝万周无已时。
人间物类无可比，奔车轮缓旋风迟。
曲终再拜谢天子，天子为之微启齿。
胡旋女，出康居，徒劳东来万里余。
中原自有胡旋者，斗妙争能尔不如。
天宝季年时欲变，臣妾人人学圜转。
中有太真外禄山，二人最道能胡旋。
梨花园中册作妃，金鸡障下养为儿。
禄山胡旋迷君眼，兵过黄河疑未反。
贵妃胡旋惑君心，死弃马嵬念更深。
从兹地轴天维转，五十年来制不禁。
胡旋女，莫空舞，数唱此歌悟明主。

Hu Xuan dancer, Hu Xuan dancer.
Her heart answers the strings, her hands answer the drum.
At one sound of strings and drum both sleeves rise,
Snow turning and turning, a tumbleweed whirled by the wind.
She spins to the left, she turns to the right, and never tires;
A thousand circles, ten thousand, with no end to them.
Nothing on earth can match such a thing:
The racing chariot wheel seems slow, the whirlwind seems slow.
When the music ends she kneels once more to thank the Son of Heaven,
And the Son of Heaven can only manage a faint smile.
Hu Xuan dancer, she comes from Kangju,
And all that eastern journey of a thousand li is wasted.
The Central Plains have their own Hu Xuan dancers;
In rivalry of skill and craft they are more than a match for her.
In the late Tianbao years the times were altering;
Slave and consort alike learned to circle.
Among them Tai Zhen within the palace, Lu Shan without;
The two were praised as the best at the Hu Xuan whirl.
Her consort rank was granted in the Pear Garden,
And she was reared as a son beneath the golden roost screen.
Lu Shan's whirling blinded the emperor's eyes,
So that when his troops crossed the Yellow River he doubted they had revolted.
The consort's whirling bewitched the emperor's heart,
And after she was left to die at Ma Wei his remorse only deepened.
From that hour the earth's axis and the sky's frame have turned,
And for fifty years no restraint could be imposed again.
Hu Xuan dancer, do not dance in vain:
Sing this song again and again, and wake an enlightened ruler.

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Meaning

One of Bai Juyi's New Yuefu ballads, this poem mocks the court craze for the whirling dance of the Hu people. After a long description of the dancer's tireless spinning, the poem turns historical: the dance came west from Kangju, but the real danger lay at home, where the favourites of the late Tianbao years, Yang Guifei and An Lushan, used the same whirling to bewitch the emperor. The reward was the crossing of the Yellow River and fifty years that no court could control, and the poem ends by asking rulers to learn from the song.

胡旋女，胡旋女。心应弦，手应鼓。弦鼓一声双袖举，回雪飘飖转蓬舞。左旋右转不知疲，千匝万周无已时。人间物类无可比，奔车轮缓旋风迟。曲终再拜谢天子，天子为之微启齿。胡旋女，出康居，徒劳东来万里余。中原自有胡旋者，斗妙争能尔不如。天宝季年时欲变，臣妾人人学圜转。中有太真外禄山，二人最道能胡旋。梨花园中册作妃，金鸡障下养为儿。禄山胡旋迷君眼，兵过黄河疑未反。贵妃胡旋惑君心，死弃马嵬念更深。从兹地轴天维转，五十年来制不禁。胡旋女，莫空舞，数唱此歌悟明主。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] A Hu Xuan dancer whirls until the wind seems slow; she kneels, the emperor smiles faintly; then the poem names the true culprits, the favourites of Tianbao, and closes with a warning to rulers. [Structure] The ballad is in two halves of very different weight. The first describes the dance and the court's pleasure in it; the second abandons description and narrates the disaster, until the refrain returns to demand that someone wake up. [Imagery] The spinning is caught in four similes: sleeves like rising snow, the body like a tumbleweed, the wheel that seems to have slowed, the wind that seems to lag. Each compares the impossible to the possible, and each quietly undercuts the dancer's apparent speed. [Sentiment] Beneath the description there is a cold argument. The foreign dancer is harmless; the domestic favourites are not. The word 'wasted' in the line about Kangju carries the whole satirical turn.

【白话串讲】白居易写《胡旋女》：“胡旋女，胡旋女。心应弦，手应鼓”——“弦鼓一声双袖举，回雪飘飖转蓬舞”——“左旋右转不知疲，千匝万周无已时”——他写胡旋舞的旋转——“天宝季年时欲变，臣妾人人学圜转”——他借舞写安史之乱。【意象与手法】此诗写讽喻，以乐府写讽喻，是白居易的名篇。前段写胡旋舞：「胡旋女，胡旋女。心应弦，手应鼓。弦鼓一声双袖举，回雪飘飖转蓬舞」写胡旋女、胡旋女、心应弦、手应鼓——写尽胡旋的舞姿；后段写讽喻：「胡旋女，出康居，徒劳东来万里余。中原自有胡旋者，斗妙争能尔不如」写出康居、徒劳东来万里余——写尽康居的东来。全诗以乐府写讽喻，写尽胡旋的舞姿与康居的东来，是白居易的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写讽喻，以乐府写讽喻，是白居易的名篇。此诗为白居易《新乐府》五十首之一，写胡旋舞之盛与天宝之乱的教训，讽刺君王之惑于声色。胡旋舞为西域康居传来的旋转舞，天宝年间盛行，玄宗宠妃杨贵妃、权臣安禄山皆善胡旋舞，白居易借此舞讽喻开元天宝之际的衰乱。此诗写胡旋女、胡旋女，心应弦而手应鼓；弦鼓一声而双袖举，回雪飘飖而转蓬舞；左旋右转而不知疲，千匝万周而无已时；人间物类无可比，奔车轮缓而旋风迟；曲终再拜而谢天子，天子为之微启齿；胡旋女出康居，徒劳东来万里余；中原自有胡旋者，斗妙争能而尔不如；天宝季年时欲变，臣妾人人学圜转；中有太真外禄山，二人最道能胡旋；梨花园中册作妃，金鸡障下养为儿；禄山胡旋迷君眼，兵过黄河疑未反；贵妃胡旋惑君心，死弃马嵬念更深；从兹地轴天维转，五十年来制不禁；胡旋女莫空舞，数唱此歌悟明主。此诗写胡旋舞：「胡旋女，胡旋女。心应弦，手应鼓」写胡旋女、胡旋女、心应弦、手应鼓——写尽胡旋的舞姿（胡旋女，胡旋女。心应弦，手应鼓）；「弦鼓一声双袖举，回雪飘飖转蓬舞」写弦鼓一声双袖举、回雪飘飖转蓬舞——写尽转蓬的舞姿（弦鼓一声双袖举，回雪飘飖转蓬舞）；「左旋右转不知疲，千匝万周无已时」写左旋右转不知疲、千匝万周无已时——写尽千匝的旋转（左旋右转不知疲，千匝万周无已时）；「曲终再拜谢天子，天子为之微启齿」写曲终再拜谢天子、天子为之微启齿——写尽启齿的天子（曲终再拜谢天子，天子为之微启齿）；「胡旋女，出康居，徒劳东来万里余」写胡旋女、出康居、徒劳东来万里余——写尽康居的东来（胡旋女，出康居，徒劳东来万里余）；「中原自有胡旋者，斗妙争能尔不如」写中原自有胡旋者、斗妙争能尔不如——写尽中原的胡旋（中原自有胡旋者，斗妙争能尔不如）；「中有太真外禄山，二人最道能胡旋」写中有太真外禄山、二人最道能胡旋——写尽太真的禄山（中有太真外禄山，二人最道能胡旋）；「禄山胡旋迷君眼，兵过黄河疑未反」写禄山胡旋迷君眼、兵过黄河疑未反——写尽迷君的禄山（禄山胡旋迷君眼，兵过黄河疑未反）；「贵妃胡旋惑君心，死弃马嵬念更深」写贵妃胡旋惑君心、死弃马嵬念更深——写尽惑心的贵妃（贵妃胡旋惑君心，死弃马嵬念更深）；「从兹地轴天维转，五十年来制不禁」写从兹地轴天维转、五十年来制不禁——写尽天维的转变（从兹地轴天维转，五十年来制不禁）；「胡旋女，莫空舞，数唱此歌悟明主」写胡旋女、莫空舞、数唱此歌悟明主——写尽悟主的此歌（胡旋女，莫空舞，数唱此歌悟明主）。全诗以乐府写讽喻，写尽胡旋的舞姿与康居的东来，是理解白居易讽喻诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「胡旋女，胡旋女。心应弦，手应鼓。弦鼓一声双袖举，回雪飘飖转蓬舞」写胡旋的舞姿；「禄山胡旋迷君眼，兵过黄河疑未反」写迷君的禄山；以及全诗以乐府写讽喻、以歌舞写兴亡的手法。

Background

Bai Juyi (772-846), courtesy name Letian, lived at the sharp end of Tang political life and wrote the fifty New Yuefu after 808, while serving in the Hanlin academy. He held that literature should be written for the age and songs composed of the events, and the sequence is full of poems that set a desperate situation before the ruler. The whirling dance of the Hu entered China from Kangju in Central Asia and became fashionable at court in the Tianbao years, when both Yang Guifei and An Lushan were said to excel at it; the poem uses that fashion to indict the age that permitted An Lushan's rebellion.

此诗写讽喻，以乐府写讽喻，是白居易的名篇。白居易（772—846），字乐天，号香山居士，又号醉吟先生，祖籍太原，生于河南新郑，唐代诗人，与元稹并称「元白」，世称「诗魔」「诗王」。此诗为白居易《新乐府》五十首之一，写胡旋舞之盛与天宝之乱的教训，讽刺君王之惑于声色。胡旋舞为西域康居传来的旋转舞，天宝年间盛行，玄宗宠妃杨贵妃、权臣安禄山皆善胡旋舞，白居易借此舞讽喻开元天宝之际的衰乱。此诗写胡旋女、胡旋女，心应弦而手应鼓；弦鼓一声而双袖举，回雪飘飖而转蓬舞；左旋右转而不知疲，千匝万周而无已时；人间物类无可比，奔车轮缓而旋风迟；曲终再拜而谢天子，天子为之微启齿；胡旋女出康居，徒劳东来万里余；中原自有胡旋者，斗妙争能而尔不如；天宝季年时欲变，臣妾人人学圜转；中有太真外禄山，二人最道能胡旋；梨花园中册作妃，金鸡障下养为儿；禄山胡旋迷君眼，兵过黄河疑未反；贵妃胡旋惑君心，死弃马嵬念更深；从兹地轴天维转，五十年来制不禁；胡旋女莫空舞，数唱此歌悟明主。此诗写胡旋舞：「胡旋女，胡旋女。心应弦，手应鼓」写胡旋女、胡旋女、心应弦、手应鼓——写尽胡旋的舞姿（胡旋女，胡旋女。心应弦，手应鼓）；「弦鼓一声双袖举，回雪飘飖转蓬舞」写弦鼓一声双袖举、回雪飘飖转蓬舞——写尽转蓬的舞姿（弦鼓一声双袖举，回雪飘飖转蓬舞）；「左旋右转不知疲，千匝万周无已时」写左旋右转不知疲、千匝万周无已时——写尽千匝的旋转（左旋右转不知疲，千匝万周无已时）；「曲终再拜谢天子，天子为之微启齿」写曲终再拜谢天子、天子为之微启齿——写尽启齿的天子（曲终再拜谢天子，天子为之微启齿）；「胡旋女，出康居，徒劳东来万里余」写胡旋女、出康居、徒劳东来万里余——写尽康居的东来（胡旋女，出康居，徒劳东来万里余）；「中原自有胡旋者，斗妙争能尔不如」写中原自有胡旋者、斗妙争能尔不如——写尽中原的胡旋（中原自有胡旋者，斗妙争能尔不如）；「中有太真外禄山，二人最道能胡旋」写中有太真外禄山、二人最道能胡旋——写尽太真的禄山（中有太真外禄山，二人最道能胡旋）；「禄山胡旋迷君眼，兵过黄河疑未反」写禄山胡旋迷君眼、兵过黄河疑未反——写尽迷君的禄山（禄山胡旋迷君眼，兵过黄河疑未反）；「贵妃胡旋惑君心，死弃马嵬念更深」写贵妃胡旋惑君心、死弃马嵬念更深——写尽惑心的贵妃（贵妃胡旋惑君心，死弃马嵬念更深）；「从兹地轴天维转，五十年来制不禁」写从兹地轴天维转、五十年来制不禁——写尽天维的转变（从兹地轴天维转，五十年来制不禁）；「胡旋女，莫空舞，数唱此歌悟明主」写胡旋女、莫空舞、数唱此歌悟明主——写尽悟主的此歌（胡旋女，莫空舞，数唱此歌悟明主）。全诗以乐府写讽喻，写尽胡旋的舞姿与康居的东来，是理解白居易讽喻诗的重要篇章。

Art

The technique rests on four choices. First, refrain: the words 'Hu Xuan dancer' are repeated at the opening, in the middle and at the close, so the poem seems to circle even as its subject circles. Second, simile: 'snow turning' and 'tumbleweed whirling' borrow two humble images to describe something superhuman, which is both praise and ironic deflation. Third, contrast: 'Tai Zhen within, Lu Shan without' sets the consort and the general in a single clause, so each becomes the other's evidence. Fourth, exposure: the didactic close, 'sing this song again and again, and wake an enlightened ruler,' drops all artifice and names the poem's purpose outright, as the New Yuefu poems are meant to do.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以复沓写舞姿。「胡旋女，胡旋女」以复沓写舞姿——那「心应弦，手应鼓」写尽应弦的舞姿，以复沓写尽胡旋的舞姿。其二，以比喻写旋转。「回雪飘飖转蓬舞」以比喻写旋转——那「回雪」「转蓬」写尽回雪的旋转，以比喻写尽转蓬的舞姿。其三，以对照写兴亡。「中有太真外禄山」以对照写兴亡——那「太真外禄山」写尽内外的对照，以对照写尽太真的禄山。其四，以点破写讽喻。「数唱此歌悟明主」以点破写讽喻——那「悟明主」写尽悟主的期盼，以点破写尽悟主的此歌。此外，此诗前段写胡旋的舞姿，后段写康居的东来，由舞及史，正是讽喻诗「以舞写史」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以乐府写讽喻，写尽胡旋的舞姿与康居的东来，是白居易的代表作。此诗还善于以「心应弦，手应鼓」的「应」字写应节之妙——那「心应弦」「手应鼓」写尽心手应乐，正是以应写妙，以「应」字写尽胡旋的舞姿。又善以「奔车轮缓旋风迟」的「轮缓」「风迟」写旋转之疾——奔车轮缓而旋风迟，正见旋转之疾，以「轮缓」写尽胡旋的舞姿。

Allusions

Several names carry their own history. Kangju was a Central Asian kingdom, and its music and dance entered Tang fashion as an exotic novelty. Tai Zhen was the Daoist title of Yang Guifei, whose influence and whose death at Ma Wei are among the best-known episodes in Tang history. The Pear Garden was the emperor's own music school, where she was given rank; the golden roost screen was the hall where An Lushan, received as a son of the house, held his honorary court. Ma Wei is the station where the imperial train broke up at Ma Wei in 756. And 'the earth's axis and the sky's frame' are a pair of cosmic images for the dynasty's order, which the rebellion uprooted.

此诗的用语深植于讽喻与乐府传统。「胡旋女」令人想到「胡旋女」写胡旋舞者的意象——也令人想到「胡旋舞」的意象；「回雪」令人想到「回雪」写雪花回旋的意象——也令人想到「回雪流风」的意象；「转蓬」令人想到「转蓬」写蓬草旋转的意象——也令人想到「飘蓬」的意象；「康居」令人想到「康居」写西域古国的意象——康居国在中亚，也令人想到「康居乐舞」的意象；「太真」令人想到「太真」写杨贵妃的意象——杨贵妃号太真，也令人想到「太真仙子」的意象；「禄山」令人想到「禄山」写安禄山的意象——安禄山为胡人，也令人想到「禄山之乱」的意象。全诗化用胡旋女、回雪、转蓬、康居、太真、禄山的意象典故，以乐府写讽喻，正是白居易「通俗」而善叙事、承新乐府传统写讽喻之本领。「圜转」令人想到「圜转」写旋转的意象——也令人想到「圜转如轮」的意象；「梨花园」令人想到「梨花园」写唐宫梨园的意象——也令人想到「梨园弟子」的意象，以梨花园写册妃之地。

Commentary

The ballad is counted among the best of the New Yuefu and is often quoted for a single couplet: the whirling that blinded the emperor's eyes came at precisely the moment his troops crossed the Yellow River. Later readers have compared the poem with Bai Juyi's charcoal seller and with Du Fu's poem on the fair ladies, one attacking policy through a poor man, the other through the grandees of the capital; all three take the behaviour of the powerful as their subject. The poem's reputation rests on its mixture of vivid description and plain verdict, which is what makes the satire bite.

此诗历来被推为白居易讽喻诗的名篇，也是《新乐府》的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以乐府写讽喻，直切痛快」；近人更指出「禄山胡旋迷君眼，兵过黄河疑未反」写迷君的禄山，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以数十句的乐府歌行写尽胡旋的舞姿与康居的东来——那胡旋女，那心应弦，那手应鼓，那弦鼓一声，那双袖举，那回雪飘飖，那转蓬舞，那左旋右转，那不知疲，那千匝万周，那无已时，那人间的物类，那无可比，那奔车轮缓，那旋风迟，那曲终再拜，那谢天子，那天子为之微启齿，那出康居，那徒劳东来，那万里余，那中原自有胡旋者，那斗妙争能，那尔不如，那天宝季年，那时欲变，那臣妾人人学圜转，那中有太真，那外禄山，那二人最道能胡旋，那梨花园中册作妃，那金鸡障下养为儿，那禄山胡旋迷君眼，那兵过黄河，那疑未反，那贵妃胡旋惑君心，那死弃马嵬，那念更深，那从兹地轴天维转，那五十年，那制不禁，那莫空舞，那数唱此歌，那悟明主，都写尽了白居易笔下的胡旋女；那「数唱此歌悟明主」更以点破写尽悟主的此歌。此诗与白居易《卖炭翁》（「卖炭翁，伐薪烧炭南山中」）同为新乐府名篇，一写「可怜身上衣正单」的卖炭（卖炭翁），一写「禄山胡旋迷君眼」的胡旋（胡旋女）；又与《新乐府》五十首的讽喻传统一脉相承，可见中国诗写乐府讽喻的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解白居易讽喻诗的窗口，也是《新乐府》的经典——那数唱此歌的期盼，穿越千年，仍在诉说着悟主的此歌。

Prosody

Form Seven-character yuefu ballad (gexing)诗·七言乐府歌行

Rhyme A long ballad with shifting rhymes: 'nü', 'gu', 'ju', 'wu', 'chi', 'yu', 'ru', 'zhuan', 'xuan', 'er' and others, changing at almost every stanza.乐府歌行，转韵，以「女」「鼓」「举」「舞」「疲」「时」「比」「迟」「齿」「余」「如」「转」「旋」「儿」「反」「深」「禁」「主」等韵转押

Tone pattern Seven-character ballad of shifting rhymes; the frequent changes of rhyme give the flow the narrator's purposes demand.此诗为七言乐府歌行，转韵，音节流转，正合讽喻的流转。

Reading note A long seven-character ballad on the model of the Han fu shi, with rhymes changed at nearly every stanza - the sound, like the spinning it describes, never settles. The first half runs on a tight chain of rhymes to convey the dancer's unbroken revolution; the second half loosens into a slower, more rhetorical cadence as the poem turns to history, and the closing refrain falls back into short, emphatic lines. The effect is that the music and the argument each get a rhythm of their own.此诗为七言乐府歌行，数十句——「胡旋女，胡旋女。心应弦，手应鼓……数唱此歌悟明主」，转韵，音节流转。全诗以乐府写讽喻：前段写胡旋的舞姿（心应弦手应鼓、回雪飘飖转蓬舞），后段写康居的东来（出康居徒劳东来、数唱此歌悟明主）。歌行长篇，前写舞姿，后写讽喻，以「数唱此歌悟明主」写尽悟主的此歌，正见白居易「通俗」而善叙事的本色。诵读此诗，宜以流转的语调读「回雪飘飖转蓬舞」的舞姿，以警醒的语调读「数唱此歌悟明主」的讽喻，结句要读得流转而有余韵，方能传达出白居易的直切痛快。白居易乐府以「通俗」著称，此诗正是其讽喻诗的典范。

Line by line

禄山胡旋迷君眼，兵过黄河疑未反

Lu Shan's whirling blinded the emperor's eyes, so that when his troops crossed the Yellow River he still doubted they had revolted.

禄山胡旋迷君眼，兵过黄河疑未反。

Lushan's whirl dance dazzled the ruler's eyes; even when his troops crossed the Yellow River, the ruler still doubted he was rebelling.

此二句是全诗写讽喻的核心，以禄山胡旋迷君眼写迷君眼，以兵过黄河疑未反写疑未反，写尽迷君的禄山，是千古名句。「禄山胡旋迷君眼」写禄山胡旋迷君眼——那「禄山胡旋」写禄山胡旋，「迷君眼」写迷君眼，写尽胡旋的迷眼；「兵过黄河疑未反」写兵过黄河疑未反——那「兵过黄河」写兵过黄河，「疑未反」写疑未反，写尽过河的疑反。这句的深意在于：它以「禄山胡旋迷君眼」的迷君眼与「兵过黄河疑未反」的疑未反，写尽迷君的禄山——禄山胡旋迷君眼，那「禄山胡旋迷君眼」写尽胡旋的迷眼——禄山胡旋，正是禄山善舞的写照，那「迷君眼」写尽迷君的禄山；兵过黄河疑未反，那「兵过黄河疑未反」写尽过河的疑反——兵过黄河疑未反，正是兵过犹疑的写照，那「疑未反」写尽迷君的禄山；那「禄山胡旋迷君眼」写尽胡旋的迷眼，那「兵过黄河疑未反」写尽过河的疑反，一写迷眼，一写疑反，写尽迷君的禄山——胡旋迷眼而兵过疑反，正是昏君的写照；此二句以迷眼、疑反写尽迷君的禄山，也让此二句成为全诗写讽喻的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「安禄山跳胡旋舞迷住了皇帝的眼睛，他起兵过了黄河，皇帝还怀疑他不会造反」，则失其直切；唯以「禄山胡旋迷君眼」写迷君眼、「兵过黄河疑未反」写疑未反，写尽迷君的禄山，也让此二句成为全诗写讽喻的核心。

The warning. Lushan's whirl dance dazzled the ruler's eyes; even when his troops crossed the Yellow River, the ruler still doubted he was rebelling. The dance that dazzled the emperor, and the troops that crossed the river while the emperor still disbelieved, are the An Lushan allegory. To have said the dance blinded the emperor would be a satire; the Lushan-whirl-dance-dazzling-the-ruler against the troops-crossing-the-Yellow-River-but-still-doubted-to-rebel is the satire.

心应弦，手应鼓

Her heart answers the strings, her hands answer the drum.

胡旋女，胡旋女。心应弦，手应鼓。

The heart answers the strings, the hands answer the drums.

此句是全诗写舞姿的核心，以胡旋女、胡旋女写胡旋女，以心应弦、手应鼓写应鼓，写尽胡旋的舞姿，是千古名句。「胡旋女，胡旋女」写胡旋女、胡旋女——那「胡旋女」写胡旋女，「胡旋女」写胡旋女，写尽呼告的胡旋；「心应弦，手应鼓」写心应弦、手应鼓——那「心应弦」写心应弦，「手应鼓」写手应鼓，写尽应弦的鼓。这句的深意在于：它以「胡旋女，胡旋女」的胡旋女与「心应弦，手应鼓」的应鼓，写尽胡旋的舞姿——胡旋女、胡旋女，那「胡旋女，胡旋女」写尽呼告的胡旋——胡旋女胡旋女，正是连呼胡旋女的写照，那「胡旋女」写尽胡旋的舞姿；心应弦、手应鼓，那「心应弦，手应鼓」写尽应弦的鼓——心应弦而手应鼓，正是心手应乐的写照，那「应鼓」写尽胡旋的舞姿；那「胡旋女，胡旋女」写尽呼告的胡旋，那「心应弦，手应鼓」写尽应弦的鼓，一写呼告，一写应鼓，写尽胡旋的舞姿——连呼胡旋而心手应乐，正是善舞的写照；此句以呼告、应鼓写尽胡旋的舞姿，也为下文的旋转作铺垫，也让此句成为全诗写舞姿的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「胡旋女啊胡旋女，心随着弦，手随着鼓」，则失其复沓；唯以「胡旋女，胡旋女」写胡旋女、「心应弦，手应鼓」写应鼓，写尽胡旋的舞姿，也让此句成为全诗写舞姿的核心。

The dance. The heart answers the strings, the hands answer the drums. The heart-to-strings and hands-to-drums coordination is the whirl dancer's whole body. To have described the dancer's rhythm would be a description; the heart-answering-strings against the hands-answering-drums is the description.

Study

Word focus

旋 'Xuan,' the whirl at the heart of the dance's name: to spin, to circle. It recurs throughout the poem as the emblem of an age turning faster and faster until it loses its balance, and it is the word the refrain repeats. 「左旋右转不知疲」之「旋」字是写舞姿的关键词，一个「旋」字写尽左旋的旋转。旋者，旋转、回旋也。白居易以「左旋右转不知疲」写舞姿，这个「旋」字至少有双重意味：其一，写舞之旋——那「左旋右转不知疲」写左旋右转不知疲，那「旋」字写尽左旋的旋转——左旋右转，正是左右旋转的写照，那「旋」字写尽胡旋的舞姿；其二，写舞之盛——那「旋」字更是写盛——旋，正见旋转不绝的盛况，那「旋」字写尽白居易的铺陈。以「旋」字写舞姿，正是白居易写讽喻的枢纽——若换作「转」「回」等字，则或失其与「左旋右转」「不知疲」的配合，或失其写旋的意味；唯「旋」字，以左旋右转不知疲写尽左右之旋转与旋转之不绝，与「千匝万周无已时」的千匝相合，写尽胡旋的舞姿，也让「左旋右转不知疲」成为全诗写舞姿的名句。

迷 'Mi,' to bewilder or bewitch. Here it describes not mere delight but an impairment of judgement: the whirling blinded the emperor's eyes, and later the same word is used of his heart, so the two clauses are deliberately parallel. 「禄山胡旋迷君眼」之「迷」字是写讽喻的关键词，一个「迷」字写尽胡旋的迷眼。迷者，迷惑、迷乱也。白居易以「禄山胡旋迷君眼」写讽喻，这个「迷」字至少有双重意味：其一，写眼之迷——那「禄山胡旋迷君眼」写禄山胡旋迷君眼，那「迷」字写尽胡旋的迷眼——迷君眼，正是迷惑君眼的写照，那「迷」字写尽迷君的禄山；其二，写政之昏——那「迷」字更是写昏——迷，正见君昏政乱的祸端，那「迷」字写尽白居易的讽喻。以「迷」字写讽喻，正是白居易写新乐府的枢纽——若换作「惑」「乱」等字，则或失其与「禄山胡旋」「君眼」的配合，或失其写迷的意味；唯「迷」字，以禄山胡旋迷君眼写尽胡旋之迷眼与君昏之祸端，与「兵过黄河疑未反」的疑未反相合，写尽迷君的禄山，也让「禄山胡旋迷君眼」成为全诗写讽喻的名句。

胡旋女