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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

江楼夕望招客

Watching the Dusk from the Riverside Tower, Inviting a Guest

白居易

Bai Juyi

写景Scenery Writing 夏夜Summer Night

海天东望夕茫茫，山势川形阔复长。
灯火万家城四畔，星河一道水中央。
风吹古木晴天雨，月照平沙夏夜霜。
能就江楼消暑否？
比君茅舍较清凉。

Looking east over sea and sky, the evening is boundless;
The forms of hills and rivers broad, then long.
Lanterns in ten thousand households on all four sides of the city,
One river of stars across the middle of the water.
Wind through the old trees, rain on a clear day,
Light of moon on the flat sand, frost of a summer night.
Can you come to this tower and forget the heat?
Here, I think, is cooler than your thatched cottage.

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Meaning

A regulated verse written from the riverside tower at dusk, the poem surveys a wide view - sea and sky, city lights, a Milky Way crossing the water, wind in old trees, moonlight on sand - and then turns to a practical end, inviting a friend to come and share the coolness. The scene is vast, but the poem stays cool and unhurried, and the final question keeps the friendship at the centre of the view.

海天东望夕茫茫，山势川形阔复长。灯火万家城四畔，星河一道水中央。风吹古木晴天雨，月照平沙夏夜霜。能就江楼消暑否？比君茅舍较清凉。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] From the tower at dusk the poet sees an endless union of sea and sky, broad hills and long rivers, ten thousand households lit on every side, a single band of stars down the middle of the river, wind in the old trees like rain, and moonlight on the sand like frost. Then he asks whether his friend can come and escape the heat, and judges his own tower the cooler place. [Structure] Eight lines, four couplets. The first three couplets are landscape; the last turns to the invitation. The middle couplets are the tightest parallel constructions in the poem, and the closing question keeps the scale of the view from swamping the human purpose. [Imagery] The similes are the poem's wit: rain that falls without clouds, frost that lies in July. Both are made of ordinary things seen briefly, and both are cooled by the word 'old' and 'flat'. [Sentiment] Under the breadth there is a small, deliberate warmth: the poem ends with a comparison between two roofs, which is the most human line a view like this could close on.

【白话串讲】白居易写《江楼夕望招客》：“海天东望夕茫茫，山势川形阔复长”——“灯火万家城四畔，星河一道水中央”——“风吹古木晴天雨，月照平沙夏夜霜”——“能就江楼消暑否？比君茅舍较清凉”——他江楼纳凉，招友人同来。【意象与手法】此诗写江楼夕望，以写景招客，是白居易的名篇。前六句写夕望：「海天东望夕茫茫，山势川形阔复长」写海天东望夕茫茫、山势川形阔复长——写尽夕望的阔远；「灯火万家城四畔，星河一道水中央」写灯火万家城四畔、星河一道水中央——写尽夕望的灯火；「风吹古木晴天雨，月照平沙夏夜霜」写风吹古木晴天雨、月照平沙夏夜霜——写尽夕望的清凉；后二句写招客：「能就江楼消暑否？比君茅舍较清凉」写能就江楼消暑否、比君茅舍较清凉——写尽招客的诚意。全诗以写景招客，写尽江楼夕望的清凉与招客的诚意，是白居易的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写江楼夕望，以写景招客，是白居易的名篇。此诗写诗人在杭州江楼夕望之景，并以此招客消暑。此诗写夕望：海天东望夕茫茫，山势川形阔复长——写海天东望夕茫茫、山势川形阔复长，写尽夕望的阔远；灯火万家城四畔，星河一道水中央——写灯火万家城四畔、星河一道水中央，写尽夕望的灯火；风吹古木晴天雨，月照平沙夏夜霜——写风吹古木晴天雨、月照平沙夏夜霜，写尽夕望的清凉；能就江楼消暑否？比君茅舍较清凉——写能就江楼消暑否、比君茅舍较清凉，写尽招客的诚意。全诗以写景招客——那「灯火万家城四畔」写尽夕望的灯火，「比君茅舍较清凉」写尽招客的诚意，写尽江楼夕望的清凉与招客的诚意，是理解白居易写景诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「海天东望夕茫茫，山势川形阔复长」写夕望的阔远；「灯火万家城四畔，星河一道水中央」写夕望的灯火；「风吹古木晴天雨，月照平沙夏夜霜」写夕望的清凉；以及全诗以写景招客、以实写虚的手法。

Background

Bai Juyi (772-846) spent the middle of his career in the provincial administration, writing much of his best verse away from Chang'an, and this regulated verse belongs to his years of watching the river from a local tower. The poem is typical of him in joining official business to ordinary pleasure: a wide public view, then a small private offer of shade. His regulated verses are known for plainness, and this one is a standard example of the style that made his name among reading families of the ninth century.

此诗写江楼夕望，以写景招客，是白居易的名篇。白居易（772—846），字乐天，号香山居士，下邽（今陕西渭南）人，唐代伟大的诗人。唐穆宗长庆年间，白居易任杭州刺史，此诗写于杭州。杭州城临钱塘江，江楼可望海天山色。此诗写诗人在江楼夕望之景，并以此招客消暑：「海天东望夕茫茫，山势川形阔复长」写海天东望夕茫茫、山势川形阔复长——写尽夕望的阔远（东望海天，夕色茫茫，山势川形，阔而复长）；「灯火万家城四畔，星河一道水中央」写灯火万家城四畔、星河一道水中央——写尽夕望的灯火（城中灯火万家，环列四畔；星河一道，倒映水中）；「风吹古木晴天雨，月照平沙夏夜霜」写风吹古木晴天雨、月照平沙夏夜霜——写尽夕望的清凉（风吹古木，声如晴天之雨；月照平沙，色如夏夜之霜）；「能就江楼消暑否？比君茅舍较清凉」写能就江楼消暑否、比君茅舍较清凉——写尽招客的诚意（能否来江楼消暑？比你的茅舍清凉）。全诗以写景招客，写尽江楼夕望的清凉与招客的诚意，是理解白居易写景诗的重要篇章。

Art

The poem is built on parallel couplets and a controlled enlargement of scale. Lines one and two open the view to the widest horizon available from the tower; lines three and four descend to city and river; lines five and six narrow to wind and moon. The third couplet carries the famous similes, 'rain on a clear day' and 'frost in a summer night', each of which confuses two senses of one experience and so makes the scene feel observed rather than invented. The last line answers the question on the previous line with a comparison of roofs, 'my tower against your cottage,' which brings the whole landscape back to courteyship. The rhymes are all on the same broad 'ang' sound, which holds the width of the scene in the voice.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以阔大写夕望。「海天东望夕茫茫，山势川形阔复长」以阔大写夕望——那「海天」「山势川形」写尽海天山形的阔远、「阔复长」写尽阔长，以阔大写尽夕望的阔远。其二，以铺写写灯火。「灯火万家城四畔，星河一道水中央」以铺写写灯火——那「灯火万家」「星河一道」写尽万家灯火与星河倒影，以铺写写尽夕望的灯火。其三，以通感写清凉。「风吹古木晴天雨，月照平沙夏夜霜」以通感写清凉——那「晴天雨」写尽风吹古木如雨声、「夏夜霜」写尽月照平沙如霜色，以通感写尽夕望的清凉。其四，以问句写招客。「能就江楼消暑否」以问句写招客——那「消暑否」以问句写尽招客的诚意，以问句写尽招客。此外，此诗前六句写景、末二句招客，由景及情，正是「即景生情」的写法；而那「晴天雨」「夏夜霜」的通感，更是此诗最脍炙人口的妙笔。四重手法，使此诗以写景招客，写尽江楼夕望的清凉与招客的诚意，是白居易的代表作。

Allusions

There is no single legend in the poem, but the catalogue it uses is traditional: the meeting of sea and sky at dusk, the city lit on four sides, and the band of stars crossing the river all belong to the scenery of the capital and thelower Yangtze as poets described it. The comparison of moonlight on sand with frost follows a long line of such calculations, which itself rests on the older figure of the moon as a substance that falls. The closing image of the friend's thatched cottage speaks the language of the recluse, the simple dwelling that poets from Tao Yuanming onward preferred to a hall.

此诗的用语深植于写景与招客的传统。「海天东望夕茫茫」令人想到「海天」写海天的意象——「海天东望夕茫茫」正是白居易的名句，也令人想到「夕茫茫」写夕色茫茫的意象；「山势川形阔复长」令人想到「山势川形」写山川形势的意象——「山势川形阔复长」正是白居易的名句；「灯火万家城四畔」令人想到「灯火万家」写万家灯火的意象——「灯火万家城四畔」正是白居易的名句，也令人想到「城四畔」写环城四畔的意象；「星河一道水中央」令人想到「星河」写银河的意象——「星河一道水中央」正是白居易的名句；「风吹古木晴天雨」令人想到「晴天雨」写如雨之声的意象——「风吹古木晴天雨」正是白居易的名句；「月照平沙夏夜霜」令人想到「夏夜霜」写如霜之色的意象——「月照平沙夏夜霜」正是白居易的名句；「能就江楼消暑否」令人想到「消暑」写消暑的意象——「能就江楼消暑否」正是白居易的名句。全诗化用灯火、星河、古木、平沙的意象，以写景招客，正是白居易「平淡自然」而善写景物、承唐人招隐传统写招客的本领。

Commentary

Readers have long admired the two central couplets for the way they widen and then narrow the view without ever losing the observer. The poem is often cited in anthologies of Tang regulated verse as an example of ordinary materials handled with discipline: no famous line is needed when the structure and the rhyme hold the piece together. Later anthologists noted the neat inversion in the last couplet, where the invitation is offered as a comparison of comfort, and where the poet's modesty about his own tower keeps the poem from turning into an advertisement.

此诗历来被推为白居易写景诗的名篇，也是唐人写江楼夕望的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以写景招客，宏阔清凉」；近人更指出「灯火万家城四畔，星河一道水中央」写夕望的灯火，「风吹古木晴天雨，月照平沙夏夜霜」写夕望的清凉，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以八句的律诗写尽江楼夕望的清凉与招客的诚意——那夕茫茫的海天，那阔复长的山势川形，那万家灯火，那一道星河，那如雨的晴天风，那如霜的夏夜月，那消暑的问句，都写尽了白居易笔下的江楼夕望；那「风吹古木晴天雨，月照平沙夏夜霜」更以通感写尽夏夜的清凉。此诗与白居易《暮江吟》（「一道残阳铺水中」）同为写景名篇，一写「半江瑟瑟半江红」的暮江（暮江吟），一写「灯火万家城四畔」的江楼（江楼夕望招客）；又与杜甫「星垂平野阔，月涌大江流」的江景传统一脉相承，可见白居易写景的才力。对于今日读者，此诗是理解白居易写景诗的窗口，也是中国诗写江楼夕望的经典——那一道星河，穿越千年，仍在诉说着江楼的清凉。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated verse (qiyan lüshi)诗·七言律诗

Rhyme Rhymes on the lower ping sheng, 'ang': 'mang' (boundless), 'chang' (long), 'yang' (centre), 'shuang' (frost), and 'liang' (cool); one rhyme carried throughout.七律，押「茫」「长」「央」「霜」「凉」韵（下平七阳），一韵到底，对仗工整

Tone pattern A seven-character regulated verse, even-tone rhymes held to the end, with a broad, resonant sound suited to the width of the view.此诗为七言律诗，押平声韵，一韵到底，对仗工整，音节宏朗，正合夕望的宏朗。

Reading note Eight lines in four couplets, rhyming throughout on the broad -ang vowel, which gives the whole poem its open, resonant carry. The first couplet is the scene-setter, the second and third are the parallel pair, 'lanterns' over 'stars' and 'wind' over 'moon', and the fourth turns to the spoken question and the answer of comfort. The tonal pattern is regular, and the pauses fall so that each couplet reads as a unit; the close is deliberately relaxed, since the invitation had to sound like a remark rather than a flourish.此诗为七言律诗，八句四联——「海天东望夕茫茫，山势川形阔复长。灯火万家城四畔，星河一道水中央。风吹古木晴天雨，月照平沙夏夜霜。能就江楼消暑否？比君茅舍较清凉」，押「阳」韵（茫、长、央、霜、凉），一韵到底。颔联「灯火万家城四畔，星河一道水中央」与颈联「风吹古木晴天雨，月照平沙夏夜霜」对仗工整。全诗以写景招客：首联写夕望的阔远（海天东望夕茫茫，山势川形阔复长），颔联写夕望的灯火（灯火万家城四畔，星河一道水中央），颈联写夕望的清凉（风吹古木晴天雨，月照平沙夏夜霜），尾联写招客的诚意（能就江楼消暑否？比君茅舍较清凉）。诵读此诗，宜以宏朗的语调读「海天东望夕茫茫」的阔远，以清凉的语调读「风吹古木晴天雨」的清凉，结句「比君茅舍较清凉」要读得亲切而有余韵，方能传达出白居易的宏阔自然。白居易律诗以「平淡自然」著称，此诗正是其写景律诗的典范。

Line by line

风吹古木晴天雨，月照平沙夏夜霜

The wind through the old trees is rain on a clear day; the moonlight on the flat sand is frost in a summer night.

风吹古木声如晴天之雨，月照平沙色如夏夜之霜。

Wind in the ancient trees sounds like rain on a clear night; moonlight on the level sands looks like frost on a summer evening.

此二句是全诗写清凉的核心，以风吹古木写如雨，以月照平沙写如霜，写尽夕望的清凉，是千古名句。「风吹古木晴天雨」写风吹古木声如晴天之雨——那「风吹古木」写风吹古木，「晴天雨」写声如晴天之雨，写尽风的清凉；「月照平沙夏夜霜」写月照平沙色如夏夜之霜——那「月照平沙」写月照平沙，「夏夜霜」写色如夏夜之霜，写尽月的清凉。这句的深意在于：它以「风吹古木晴天雨」的如雨与「月照平沙夏夜霜」的如霜，写尽夕望的清凉——风吹古木声如晴天之雨，那「风吹古木晴天雨」写尽风的清凉——晴夜无雨，而风吹古木，其声如雨，正是以听觉写清凉，那「晴天雨」以通感写尽风吹古木的清凉；月照平沙色如夏夜之霜，那「月照平沙夏夜霜」写尽月的清凉——夏夜无霜，而月照平沙，其色如霜，正是以视觉写清凉，那「夏夜霜」以通感写尽月照平沙的清凉；那「风吹古木晴天雨」写尽风的清凉，那「月照平沙夏夜霜」写尽月的清凉，一写如雨，一写如霜，写尽夕望的清凉——风如雨而月如霜，正是夏夜江楼宜人处，也是招客的由头；此二句以通感写尽夕望的清凉，也让此二句成为全诗写清凉的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「江楼上很凉快」，则失其诗趣；唯以「风吹古木晴天雨」写如雨、「月照平沙夏夜霜」写如霜，写尽夕望的清凉，也让此二句成为全诗写清凉的核心。

The cool. Wind in the ancient trees sounds like rain on a clear night; moonlight on the level sands looks like frost on a summer evening. The synesthesia (wind-sounds-like-rain, moonlight-looks-like-frost) is the summer coolness. To have said it was cool on the tower would be a statement; the wind-in-the-ancient-trees-like-rain-on-a-clear-night against the moonlight-on-the-level-sands-like-summer-frost is the statement.

灯火万家城四畔，星河一道水中央

Lanterns in ten thousand households on all four sides of the city, one river of stars across the middle of the water.

万家灯火环列城之四畔，一道星河倒映江水中央。

Ten thousand lamps ring the four sides of the city; a river of stars lies in the middle of the water.

此二句是全诗写灯火的核心，以灯火万家写城中，以星河一道写水中，写尽夕望的灯火，是千古名句。「灯火万家城四畔」写万家灯火环列城之四畔——那「灯火万家」写万家灯火，「城四畔」写城之四畔，写尽城中的灯火；「星河一道水中央」写一道星河倒映江水中央——那「星河一道」写一道星河，「水中央」写江水中央，写尽水中的星河。这句的深意在于：它以「灯火万家城四畔」的万家灯火与「星河一道水中央」的一道星河，写尽夕望的灯火——万家灯火环列城之四畔，那「灯火万家城四畔」写尽城中的灯火——城中万家灯火，环列四畔，正是杭州城的繁华，那「灯火万家」写尽城中的灯火；一道星河倒映江水中央，那「星河一道水中央」写尽水中的星河——星河一道，倒映于江心，正是水天一色的奇景，那「星河一道」写尽水中的星河；那「灯火万家城四畔」写尽城中的灯火，那「星河一道水中央」写尽水中的星河，一写城中灯火，一写水中星河，写尽夕望的灯火——万家灯火与一道星河相映，正是杭州夜景的壮丽，也是江楼夕望的奇观；此二句以万家灯火、一道星河写尽夕望的灯火，也让此二句成为全诗写灯火的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「杭州城里亮着很多灯」，则失其壮丽；唯以「灯火万家城四畔」写城中、「星河一道水中央」写水中，写尽夕望的灯火，也让此二句成为全诗写灯火的核心。

The lights. Ten thousand lamps ring the four sides of the city; a river of stars lies in the middle of the water. The ten thousand lamps around the city and the reflected star river in the water are the Hangzhou night. To have described the city lights would be a scene; the ten-thousand-lamps-ringing-the-city's-four-sides against the single-star-river-in-the-middle-of-the-water is the scene.

Study

Word focus

茫茫 'Mangmang,' boundless and hazy. It opens the poem with the visual field of an asymptote, sea and sky meeting where nothing can be told apart, and it lets the second line's 'broad, then long' follow as a measurement of the same space. 「海天东望夕茫茫」之「茫茫」是写夕色的关键词，一个「茫茫」写尽夕望的阔远。茫茫者，辽阔无边、模糊不清也。白居易以「夕茫茫」写夕色，这个「茫茫」至少有双重意味：其一，写夕色之阔——那「海天东望夕茫茫」写东望海天夕色茫茫，那「茫茫」写尽夕色的辽阔——海天相接，夕色茫茫，那「茫茫」写尽夕望的阔远；其二，写夕色之浑——那「茫茫」更是写夕色——夕阳西下，暮色苍茫，那「茫茫」写尽夕色的浑茫。以「茫茫」写夕色，正是白居易写夕望的枢纽——若换作「苍苍」「苍茫」等词，则或失其与「海天东望」的配合，或失其写茫茫的意味；唯「茫茫」二字，以海天东望夕茫茫写尽夕色的辽阔与浑茫，与「山势川形阔复长」的阔复长相合，写尽夕望的阔远，也让「海天东望夕茫茫」成为全诗写夕望的名句。

消暑 'Xiaoshu,' to dispel summer heat. The word converts the tower from a fine place into a useful one: the invitation is phrased as a matter of comfort, which is why the closing comparison with the friend's cottage feels natural rather than comic. 「能就江楼消暑否」之「消暑」是写招客的关键词，一个「消暑」写尽招客的诚意。消暑者，消除暑热也。白居易以「就江楼消暑」写招客，这个「消暑」至少有双重意味：其一，写江楼之宜——那「能就江楼消暑否」写能否来江楼消暑，那「消暑」写尽江楼之宜——江楼清凉，正宜消暑，那「消暑」写尽江楼的可人；其二，写招客之诚——那「消暑」更是写招客——以消暑相招，正是朋友间的关切，那「消暑」写尽招客的诚意。以「消暑」写招客，正是白居易写友情的枢纽——若换作「乘凉」「纳凉」等词，则或失其与「比君茅舍较清凉」的配合，或失其写消暑的意味；唯「消暑」二字，以就江楼消暑写尽江楼之宜与招客的诚意，与「比君茅舍较清凉」的较清凉相合，写尽招客的诚意，也让「能就江楼消暑否」成为全诗写招客的名句。