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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

江亭夜月送别

Seeing a Friend Off at the River Pavilion on a Moonlit Night

王勃

Wang Bo

送别Farewell 夜景Night Scene

乱烟笼碧砌，飞月向南端。
寂寞离亭掩，江山此夜寒。

Stirring smoke wraps the green stone steps;
The flying moon moves onward to the southern end.
The parting pavilion is shut, and still with loneliness;
The river and the hills are cold tonight.

Listen

Meaning

Wang Bo watches a friend leave from a pavilion by the river on a moonlit night. Smoke drifts over the green steps and the moon travels on toward the far end of the sky; afterwards the pavilion is closed and the whole world is cold. The poem says nothing about words spoken, and its whole feeling lies in the change from a scene with company in it to the same scene without.

乱烟笼罩着碧砌，飞月移向南端。寂寞的离亭掩着，江山此夜寒。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] In the first couplet the scene is active: smoke curls around the green steps of the pavilion and the moon has moved to the far edge of the sky, so the night is passing and the hour has come to part. In the second couplet the poet is alone: the pavilion is closed, and the river and the hills are cold. [Structure] The division is exactly in half. Two lines of movement, then two lines of stillness and cold. Nothing in the middle is narrated, and the absence is the poem: between the flying moon and the closed pavilion the departure happens, unmentioned. [Imagery] Smoke and moon are both travelers; stone steps and pavilion are both fixed. The poem sets the moving and the fixed side by side and lets the friend's departure be inferred from the moon's progress. [Sentiment] The last word is the whole poem. The cold is said of the river and hills, and the reader understands it as the poet's own.

【白话串讲】王勃写《江亭夜月送别》：“乱烟笼碧砌，飞月向南端”——“寂寞离亭掩，江山此夜寒”——乱烟笼罩，明月南飞——离亭冷落，今夜江山都显得寒冷——他写送别后的寂寥。【意象与手法】此诗写江亭夜月送别，以夜景写离情，是王勃的名篇。前两句「乱烟笼碧砌，飞月向南端」写江亭夜景——「乱烟笼碧砌」写乱烟笼罩着碧砌，「飞月向南端」写飞月移向南端；后两句「寂寞离亭掩，江山此夜寒」写离亭的寂寞——「寂寞离亭掩」写寂寞的离亭掩着，「江山此夜寒」写江山此夜清寒。全诗以夜景写送别，以「寒」字收束，写尽送别的凄清，正是王勃「高华」诗风的本领。【情感与主旨】此诗写江亭夜月送别友人。王勃客居异乡，常与友人离别，此诗写江亭夜月的送别之景：乱烟笼罩着碧砌（江亭的石阶），飞月移向南端（江亭之南），寂寞的离亭掩着，江山此夜清寒。诗人以「乱烟笼碧砌」写烟霭笼罩的江亭，「飞月向南端」写月移的夜色，「寂寞离亭掩」写离亭的寂寞，「江山此夜寒」以「寒」字写尽离情的凄清——那「寒」既是江山此夜的清寒，也是诗人送别时的凄寒心境。全诗不直写离情，而以夜景写送别，借景抒情，以「寒」字收束，写尽送别的凄清与离情的深重，正是王勃「以景写情」的本领。【名句点睛】常考「乱烟笼碧砌」写烟霭笼罩的江亭；「飞月向南端」写月移的夜色；「寂寞离亭掩」写离亭的寂寞；「江山此夜寒」以「寒」字写尽离情的凄清；以及全诗以夜景写送别、借景抒情的手法。

Background

Wang Bo (c. 650-676) was one of the four great poets of the early Tang, dead before thirty, and his short quatrains remain the best-known of the age. This farewell was probably written when a friend set out downriver; the setting of a pavilion by the water, with the moon moving south as the night advances, belongs to the codes of Tang farewell poetry, where the place and the hour do the work that speech would otherwise do. The poem's five characters and half of its charm come from the age's taste for compression.

此诗写江亭夜月送别友人，是王勃的名篇。王勃（约650—676），字子安，绛州龙门（今山西河津）人，初唐四杰之首。王勃才华横溢而仕途多舛，客居异乡，漂泊不定，与友人聚散无常，此诗即写江亭夜月送别友人之景。江亭，指江边的亭子，古人送别常于江亭、渡口。此诗写江亭夜月送别：乱烟笼罩着碧砌（江亭的石阶），飞月移向南端，寂寞的离亭掩着，江山此夜清寒。诗人以「乱烟笼碧砌」写烟霭迷蒙中江亭的石阶，「飞月向南端」写月移西天的夜色，「寂寞离亭掩」写送别之后离亭的寂寞，「江山此夜寒」以「寒」字收束——那「寒」既是江山此夜的清寒，也是诗人送别后的凄寒心境。王勃客居异乡，送别友人，江亭夜月，乱烟飞月，离亭寂寞，江山清寒，诗人以夜景写送别，借景抒情，不直写离情而以「寒」字写尽离情的凄清。此诗虽仅二十字，却是理解王勃羁旅送别心境与初唐五绝艺术的重要篇章。

Art

The method is to show the departure by withholding it. We learn that the friend has gone from two passive facts: the moon has travelled on, and the pavilion door is shut. The verb 'flying' is given to the moon, which gives the sky an energy that the human scene at once lacks, and 'green' applies colour to stone, a small sensuous touch that makes the steps feel close to the reader. In the last couplet the verbs all retreat - shut, and cold - until nothing in the poem is moving. The rhyme runs on the 'an' sound, which is long and open, and the closing word sits on it, so the verse seems to cool as it ends. The whole effect depends on a poet who declines to describe the farewell itself.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以写景起笔。前两句「乱烟笼碧砌，飞月向南端」写江亭夜景——那「乱烟笼碧砌」写乱烟笼罩着碧砌，「飞月向南端」写飞月移向南端，以「乱烟」「飞月」写夜色的迷蒙与月移，写尽江亭的夜景。其二，以景写情。「寂寞离亭掩」写寂寞的离亭掩着——那「寂寞」写离亭的寂寞，「掩」写亭门掩闭，以离亭的寂寞写送别后的寂寥，景中含情。其三，以「寒」字收束。「江山此夜寒」以「寒」字写江山此夜的清寒——那「寒」既是江山此夜的清寒，也是诗人送别后的凄寒心境，以一字写尽离情的凄清，是点睛之笔。其四，以景语结情。全诗不直写离情，而以夜景写送别——那乱烟、飞月、离亭、江山的景物，无不含情，那「寒」字更以景语写尽离情，正是「一切景语皆情语」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以夜景写送别，借景抒情，以「寒」字收束，正是王勃「高华」诗风的本领。尤其值得注意者，此诗通篇写景而不着「愁」「别」字样，然「乱烟」「飞月」「寂寞」「寒」等字眼，无不浸透着离情——乱烟迷蒙是离人心绪的迷茫，飞月西移是别时时光的流逝，寂寞离亭是送别后的寂寥，江山此夜寒更是离情的凝结点；诗人将离情完全化入景物，正是「不着一字，尽得风流」的写法，二十字中无一字言情，而离情自见。

Allusions

Nothing in the poem is borrowed: the pavilion, the steps, the smoke and the moon are stock objects of the farewell scene, and their familiarity is what lets so little be said. 'Jiao' the river, 'shan' the hills, and the moon are the three elements Tang poets used whenever they wanted to mark separation without sentiment. The fancy that the moon has 'flown' to the southern end of the sky is the classical way of registering the passage of hours during a watch; it appears repeatedly in theverse of the period. The cold of the closing line follows an older habit of letting the weather carry a mood at the end of a poem.

此诗的用语深植于送别与夜月相思的传统。「乱烟」令人想到「烟波江上使人愁」的烟波意象（崔颢《黄鹤楼》），也令人想到「暮霭沉沉楚天阔」的烟霭意象，更令人想到「烟笼寒水月笼沙」（杜牧《泊秦淮》）的烟笼意象——乱烟笼碧砌，正是送别时的迷蒙夜色；「碧砌」令人想到「砌」即石阶，也令人想到「玉砌雕栏」的楼台意象；「飞月向南端」令人想到「月落乌啼霜满天」的月落意象，也令人想到「海上生明月」的月升意象，更令人想到「月出皎兮」的《诗经》月意象——飞月写月移，正写夜色将尽；「离亭」令人想到「十里长亭」的送别传统——亭是古人送别之所，令人想到「寒蝉凄切，对长亭晚」（柳永《雨霖铃》）的长亭送别意象，也令人想到「长亭更短亭」（李白《菩萨蛮》）的亭驿意象；「江山此夜寒」令人想到「寒江」的清寒意象，也令人想到「月落乌啼霜满天，江枫渔火对愁眠」（张继《枫桥夜泊》）的寒夜意象，更令人想到「晓风残月」的清寒离愁。全诗化用乱烟、离亭、江山、寒夜的传统意象，以夜景写送别，正是王勃承送别传统、启盛唐以景写情诗风的本领。

Commentary

Four lines, and the favourite subject in every anthology of early Tang. Readers have long admired the economy: the farewell is never described, and the last word, cold, is transferred from the world to the self without a single word of transition. Later critics compared it with Wang Wei's farewell at the western gate, where wine is pressed on the traveller and a lone old friend stands; here there is no cup and no speaker at all. The poem is also a standard example in histories of the five-character quatrain of what can be lost by saying more.

此诗历来被推为王勃的名篇，也是唐人江亭送别诗的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以夜景写送别，凄清入骨」；近人更指出「江山此夜寒」的「寒」字，写尽离情的凄清，是此诗的点睛之笔。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以二十字的短章写尽送别的凄清——那乱烟笼罩的碧砌，那移向南端的飞月，那寂寞掩闭的离亭，那清寒的江山，都写尽了江亭夜月送别的景致与离情；那「江山此夜寒」更以一字写尽离情的凄清。此诗与王勃的《山中》（「长江悲已滞」）同为羁旅送别名篇，一写山中思归，一写江亭送别；又与柳永《雨霖铃》（「寒蝉凄切，对长亭晚」）一脉相承，可见中国送别诗以夜景写离情的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解王勃羁旅送别心境与初唐五绝艺术的窗口，也是中国诗写送别的经典——那清寒的江山，穿越千年，仍在诉说着江亭夜月送别的凄清。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain (wujue)诗·五言绝句

Rhyme Rhymes on the lower ping sheng of the 'han' group: 'duan' (end) and 'han' (cold).押平声寒韵（端、寒），两句一韵，平韵悠长，正合离情的悠长

Tone pattern A five-character quatrain, even rhymes, with a long and open rhyme vowel suited to the night and its loneliness.此诗为五言绝句，四句两联，前写景，后写情。全诗仄起平收，节奏从容，于平易中见凄清。

Reading note Four five-character lines rhyming on the broad, low 'an' sound, one rhyme carried unhurried through the close. The tonal pattern is the plain one of the early Tang quatrain, with the pause after the second character in each line, so the verse falls like a statement rather than a song. The two couplets differ in speed: the first moves, the second settles, and the single word that ends the poem sits on the rhyme where it will not be forgotten. This is metrically the most economical of Wang Bo's surviving quatrains.此诗为五言绝句，四句：前两句写景（乱烟笼碧砌，飞月向南端），后两句写情（寂寞离亭掩，江山此夜寒）。押平声寒韵，韵脚「端、寒」皆平声，悠长舒缓，正合离情的悠长。全诗以夜景写送别——首句「乱烟笼碧砌」写乱烟笼罩，次句「飞月向南端」写月移，三句「寂寞离亭掩」写离亭寂寞，结句「江山此夜寒」以「寒」字收束，起承转合，一气呵成。此诗最见王勃五绝的「高华凄清」：前二句写景、后二句写情，以「寒」字写尽离情。诵读此诗，宜以低回的语调读「乱烟笼碧砌」的夜景，以寂寞的语调读「寂寞离亭掩」的离亭，结句「江山此夜寒」要读得清寒而有余韵，方能传达出王勃的离情。王勃五绝以「高华凝练」著称，此诗正是其送别五绝的典范。

Line by line

乱烟笼碧砌，飞月向南端

Stirring smoke wraps the green stone steps; the flying moon moves onward to the southern end.

乱烟笼罩着碧砌，飞月移向南端。

Tangled mists veil the green steps; the flying moon moves toward the southern end.

此联写江亭夜景，以乱烟飞月写送别之夜的迷蒙与月移。「乱烟笼碧砌」写乱烟笼罩着碧砌——那「乱烟」写缭乱的烟雾，「笼」写笼罩，「碧砌」写江亭的石阶，写尽烟霭迷蒙中江亭的景致；「飞月向南端」写飞月移向南端——那「飞月」写移动的月亮，「向南端」写移向南边，写尽月移西天的夜色。这句的深意在于：它以「乱烟笼碧砌」与「飞月向南端」的景物，写尽送别之夜的迷蒙与时光的流逝——乱烟笼罩着江亭的石阶，正是送别时暮色迷蒙的景象；飞月移向南端，写月亮西移，夜色渐深，那「飞」字写月行如飞，写尽时间的流逝；乱烟与飞月，一写空间的迷蒙，一写时间的流逝，正是送别之夜的特有氛围——迷蒙的夜色中，月亮西移，正是别离将尽、友人将行的时刻。若换作直说「夜晚的江亭」，则失其迷蒙；唯以「乱烟笼碧砌」写烟霭、「飞月向南端」写月移，写尽送别之夜的迷蒙与时光流逝，也让此联成为全诗夜景的开篇。

The night. Tangled mists veil the green steps; the flying moon moves toward the southern end. The tangled mist on the green steps and the flying moon southward are the parting night. To have described the pavilion at night would be scenery; the tangled-mist-veiling-green-steps against the flying-moon-moving-southward is the scenery.

寂寞离亭掩，江山此夜寒

The parting pavilion is shut, and still with loneliness; the river and the hills are cold tonight.

寂寞的离亭掩着，江山此夜清寒。

Lonely, the parting pavilion is closed; rivers and hills are cold this night.

此联是全诗的点睛之笔，以寂寞写离亭，以「寒」字写尽离情，是千古名句。「寂寞离亭掩」写寂寞的离亭掩着——那「寂寞」写离亭的寂寞，「掩」写亭门掩闭，写送别之后离亭的寂寥；「江山此夜寒」写江山此夜清寒——那「江山」写眼前的江山，「此夜寒」写此夜的清寒，以「寒」字写尽江山的清寒。这句的深意在于：它以「寂寞离亭掩」的寂寥与「江山此夜寒」的清寒，写尽送别的凄清——送别之后，离亭寂寞地掩闭着，亭门掩闭，送别的场面已经结束，只剩下寂寞的离亭；眼前江山，此夜清寒，那「寒」字既是江山此夜的清寒，也是诗人送别后的凄寒心境——友人已去，江亭空掩，江山清寒，那「寂寞」写尽送别后的寂寥，那「此夜寒」写尽离情的凄清；以「寒」字收束，不言离情而离情自见，那「寒」既是物候的清寒，也是心境的凄寒，写尽江亭夜月送别的凄清与离情的深重。若换作直说「我很凄凉」，则失其含蓄；唯以「寂寞离亭掩」写寂寥、「江山此夜寒」以「寒」字写凄清，借景抒情写尽离情，也让此联成为全诗的点睛之笔与千古名句。

The cold. Lonely, the parting pavilion is closed; rivers and hills are cold this night. The closed pavilion after the farewell, and the cold that is both weather and feeling, are the close. To have said it was cold and lonely would be a mood; the lonely-parting-pavilion-closed against the rivers-and-hills-cold-this-night is the mood.

Study

Word focus

掩 'Yan,' to cover or close. Closed in the sense of shutting a door, but the plainness of the verb is what makes it work: it reports the departure as an ordinary domestic fact rather than a public event. 「寂寞离亭掩」之「掩」字是写送别后的关键，一个「掩」字写尽离亭的寂寥。掩者，掩闭、掩映也。王勃以「离亭掩」写送别之后，这个「掩」字至少有双重意味：其一，写亭门之闭——那「离亭掩」写离亭掩闭，那「掩」字写亭门闭掩，写送别的场面已经结束，写尽离亭的寂寥；其二，写心事之藏——那「掩」字更是写心境——送别后的离情如亭门般掩藏着，那「掩」字写尽诗人掩藏心底的离情，含蓄蕴藉。以「掩」字写送别后，正是王勃收束全诗的枢纽——若换作「闭」「关」等字，则或失其与「寂寞」的配合，或失其含蓄；唯「掩」字，以一字写尽离亭的掩闭与送别后的寂寥，与「寂寞」相合，写尽离情的含蓄，也让「寂寞离亭掩」成为全诗送别后的关键一笔。

寒 'Han,' cold, chill. It describes the night for two lines and then, in the last position on the rhyme, becomes the poet's own feeling; the whole pathos of a four-line poem hangs on that single transfer. 「江山此夜寒」之「寒」字是写离情的关键字，一个「寒」字写尽离情的凄清。寒者，清寒、凄寒也。王勃以「此夜寒」写江山，这个「寒」字至少有双重意味：其一，写江山之寒——那「此夜寒」写江山此夜的清寒，那「寒」字写尽江亭夜月之夜的清寒物候；其二，写心境之寒——那「寒」字更是写心境——送别友人，离情满怀，那「寒」字写尽诗人送别后的凄寒心境，以物之寒写心之寒。以「寒」字写离情，正是王勃收束全诗的点睛之笔——若换作「冷」「凉」等字，则或失其凝练，或失其与「江山」的配合；唯「寒」字，以一字写尽江山的清寒与离情的凄清，与「寂寞离亭掩」的寂寥相合，写尽送别的凄清，也让「江山此夜寒」成为千古名句。