唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
秋风引
Song of the Autumn Wind
何处秋风至？
萧萧送雁群。
朝来入庭树，孤客最先闻。
Rustling, rustling, it sends the wild geese on their way.
At dawn it enters the trees of the courtyard;
The lonely sojourner is the first to hear it.
Meaning
The poet asks where the autumn wind has come from and answers with sound: it rustles past, escorting flocks of geese southward. By morning it has reached the trees of his courtyard. The closing line is the point — of all who might hear it, the lonely traveller notices first, because exile has sharpened his senses. In twenty characters the poem turns a natural event into a measure of homesickness: the wind that others barely register is for him an announcement of another year away from home.
何处秋风至？萧萧送雁群。朝来入庭树，孤客最先闻。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] The wind arrives from nowhere in particular. It sighs through the air and drives the geese south. By dawn it has moved into the courtyard trees, and the man alone in a strange place hears it before anyone else. [Structure] Four lines, two pairs. The first pair is public and distant — an open question and a sky full of geese; the second pair is private and close — a courtyard and one listener. The movement from sky to courtyard to a single ear compresses the whole poem into an act of hearing. [Imagery] Sound carries everything: the rustling of wind, the implied cry of geese, and finally the word 'hear.' The geese are going home in the sense that they are going south, while the speaker remains; their departure measures how stuck he is. [Feeling] Nothing is stated about longing. The poem proves homesickness by a fact of perception: the exiled man hears what residents do not, and that heightened attention is his sorrow.
【白话串讲】 刘禹锡写《秋风引》：“何处秋风至？萧萧送雁群”——“朝来入庭树，孤客最先闻”——秋风到了，孤客最先听到——他写游子的敏感。 【意象与手法】 此诗写秋风，以秋思写思乡，是刘禹锡的名篇。前二句写秋风：「何处秋风至？萧萧送雁群」写何处秋风至、萧萧送雁群——写尽秋风的萧瑟；后二句写秋思：「朝来入庭树，孤客最先闻」写朝来入庭树、孤客最先闻——写尽孤客的秋思。全诗以秋思写思乡，写尽秋风的萧瑟与孤客的秋思，是刘禹锡的代表作。 【情感与主旨】 此诗写秋风，以秋思写思乡，是刘禹锡的名篇。此诗写秋风初至，孤客闻之而生思乡之情。刘禹锡被贬朗州等地多年，远离故乡，秋来倍思乡。此诗写秋风：何处秋风至？萧萧送雁群——写何处秋风至、萧萧送雁群，写尽秋风的萧瑟；朝来入庭树，孤客最先闻——写朝来入庭树、孤客最先闻，写尽孤客的秋思。全诗以秋思写思乡——那「萧萧送雁群」写尽秋风的萧瑟，「孤客最先闻」写尽孤客的秋思，写尽秋风的萧瑟与孤客的秋思，是理解刘禹锡秋思诗的重要篇章。 【名句点睛】 常考「何处秋风至？萧萧送雁群」写秋风的萧瑟；「朝来入庭树，孤客最先闻」写孤客的秋思；以及全诗以秋思写思乡、以闻风写秋思的手法。
Background
Liu Yuxi (772-842), courtesy name Mengde, of Luoyang, was a leading poet and thinker of the mid-Tang who is paired with Liu Zongyuan as the two Lius and with Bai Juyi as Liu and Bai. After the collapse of the Yongzhen reform he was banished for years to distant posts, among them Langzhou in the old Chu region, where autumn winds are strong and the sense of separation acute; the lonely traveller of this poem is the poet himself. The title uses 'yin,' an old Music Bureau category often used for songs of travel and longing, so Liu Yuxi is renewing an inherited form. Written at his place of exile, the quatrain makes the first breath of autumn the trigger of homesickness.
此诗写秋风，以秋思写思乡，是刘禹锡的名篇。刘禹锡（772—842），字梦得，洛阳人，唐代诗人，与柳宗元并称「刘柳」，与白居易并称「刘白」。此诗写秋风初至，孤客闻之而生思乡之情。刘禹锡因永贞革新失败被贬朗州等地多年，远离故乡，秋来倍思乡。此诗写秋风：「何处秋风至？萧萧送雁群」写何处秋风至、萧萧送雁群——写尽秋风的萧瑟（何处秋风至，萧萧送雁群）；「朝来入庭树，孤客最先闻」写朝来入庭树、孤客最先闻——写尽孤客的秋思（朝来入庭树，孤客最先闻）。全诗以秋思写思乡，写尽秋风的萧瑟与孤客的秋思，是理解刘禹锡秋思诗的重要篇章。刘禹锡作此诗时正在朗州贬所，朗州地近楚地，秋深多风，孤馆听风，更易触动乡思。此诗以「秋风引」为题，「引」为乐府古题名，多用以写行旅思乡之曲，刘禹锡借此旧题写新意，正是乐府诗的翻新。诗中「孤客」即诗人自指，客居他乡、贬谪无期，故闻秋风而最先起乡思。
Art
The craft rests on four choices. First, the poem opens with a question, so that the wind enters as a mystery rather than a description. Second, it is written almost entirely in sound: the reduplicated rustling of the wind is the poem's only adjective, and the geese are heard rather than seen. Third, the last line turns on a comparison implied by the word 'first' — the traveller hears before others do, and that precedence is his whole predicament expressed without a single word of complaint. Fourth, the geese supply the emotional logic: they are going somewhere, he is not. The technique is one of indirection typical of the short quatrain: the scene is fully objective, the feeling entirely inferred from who notices it.
此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以问起写秋风。「何处秋风至」以问起写秋风——那「何处」写尽发问，以问起写尽秋风的来处。其二，以声写萧瑟。「萧萧送雁群」以声写萧瑟——那「萧萧」写尽风声，以声写尽秋风的萧瑟。其三，以闻写秋思。「孤客最先闻」以闻写秋思——那「最先闻」写尽先闻的敏感，以闻写尽孤客的秋思。其四，以雁写乡思。「萧萧送雁群」以雁写乡思——那「雁群」写尽南飞的雁，以雁写尽思乡的秋思。此外，此诗前二句写秋风的萧瑟，后二句写孤客的秋思，由风及人，正是秋思诗「即景抒情」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以秋思写思乡，写尽秋风的萧瑟与孤客的秋思，是刘禹锡的代表作。此诗还善于以「最」字写情——「孤客最先闻」的「最先」二字，通过与他人对比，写出孤客的敏感：风入庭树，众人未必觉，唯孤客最先闻，正见客心之愁。又善以声写景，那「萧萧」二字以听觉写秋风，声色俱见，使秋风可闻可感，正合五绝含蓄空灵的写法。
Allusions
The autumn wind is one of the oldest seasonal signals in Chinese writing: the ritual calendars note that cool winds come in the first month of autumn, and the Han emperor's 'Autumn wind rises, white clouds fly' established the topos of autumnal feeling. The rustling onomatopoeia appears in the farewell at the Yi River and later in Du Fu's vision of boundless falling leaves. Wild geese, conventional messengers flying south, carry the suggestion of letters that never arrive. The lonely sojourner belongs to a lineage of exiles, from the old Nineteen Poems to the famous line about being a stranger alone in a foreign land. The closing idea, that one falling leaf announces the world's autumn, is the same intuition this poem dramatises.
此诗的用语深植于秋风与思乡的传统。「秋风至」令人想到「秋风至」写秋风的意象——《礼记·月令》「孟秋之月……凉风至」，也令人想到「秋风起兮白云飞」（刘彻）的意象；「萧萧」令人想到「萧萧」写风声的意象——《诗经》「风萧萧兮易水寒」（荆轲）的意象，也令人想到「无边落木萧萧下」（杜甫）的意象；「雁群」令人想到「雁群」写南飞雁的意象——《诗经》「鸿雁于飞」，也令人想到「雁阵惊寒」（王勃）的意象；「孤客」令人想到「孤客」写游子的意象——《古诗十九首》「客行虽云乐」，也令人想到「独在异乡为异客」（王维）的意象；「最先闻」令人想到「最先闻」写先觉的意象——也令人想到「一叶落而知天下秋」的意象。全诗化用秋风、萧萧、雁群、孤客的意象，以秋思写思乡，正是刘禹锡「雄浑老辣」而承秋风传统写秋思的本领。秋风送雁，是中国文学写秋思的经典意象——雁南归而人不得归，见雁更添乡愁，如王勃《滕王阁序》「雁阵惊寒，声断衡阳之浦」，杜甫《月夜忆舍弟》「露从今夜白，月是故乡明」亦写秋思。此诗以「萧萧送雁群」写雁去而人留，正以雁之归反衬客之不得归，以物写人，含蓄深婉。
Commentary
Long regarded as a masterpiece among Liu Yuxi's autumn poems and a model of the brief Tang seasonal quatrain, it has been praised since Qing times for being reserved and inexhaustible, with the last line generally named as its finest. Its distinction lies in economy: the whole of exile is conveyed by a fact of hearing rather than by any declaration of grief. Read with Liu Yuxi's Autumn Songs, which defiantly praise the season, it reveals the other face of his autumn — not heroic clarity but private ache. It also belongs with Du Fu's lines on leaves falling without end, sharing the tradition of reading ruin in the wind. Later writers followed its compression, praising how five characters can exhaust the condition of a traveller.
此诗历来被推为刘禹锡秋思诗的名篇，也是唐人写秋风的小令代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以秋思写思乡，含蓄隽永」；近人更指出「孤客最先闻」写孤客的秋思，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以四句的绝句写尽秋风的萧瑟与孤客的秋思——那何处至的秋风，那萧萧的风声，那送归的雁群，那庭树，那孤客，那最先闻，都写尽了刘禹锡笔下的秋风；那「孤客最先闻」更以闻写尽孤客的秋思。此诗与刘禹锡《秋词》（「自古逢秋悲寂寥」）同为秋诗名篇，一写「我言秋日胜春朝」的豪（秋词），一写「孤客最先闻」的思（秋风引）；又与杜甫《登高》「无边落木萧萧下」的秋风传统一脉相承，可见唐人写秋风的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解刘禹锡秋思诗的窗口，也是中国诗写秋风的经典——那最先闻风土的孤客，穿越千年，仍在诉说着秋日的思乡。近人论此诗，多称其以二十字写尽客愁，如俞陛云《诗境浅说》即谓「孤客最先闻」五字写尽客中况味。此诗对后世影响深远，宋人苏泂《秋风》「客里惊秋易白头」即承其意。
Prosody
Line by line
朝来入庭树，孤客最先闻
At dawn it enters the trees of the courtyard; the lonely sojourner is the first to hear it.
朝来入庭树，孤客最先闻。
At dawn it enters the courtyard trees; the lone traveler is the first to hear.
此二句是全诗写秋思的核心，以朝来入庭树写秋风，以孤客最先闻写孤客，写尽孤客的秋思，是千古名句。「朝来入庭树」写朝来入庭树——那「朝来」写清晨，「入庭树」写入庭树，写尽秋风入树；「孤客最先闻」写孤客最先闻——那「孤客」写孤客，「最先闻」写最先闻，写尽孤客的先闻。这句的深意在于：它以「朝来入庭树」的秋风与「孤客最先闻」的孤客，写尽孤客的秋思——朝来入庭树，那「朝来入庭树」写尽秋风入树——清晨风入庭树，正是秋风的写照，那「入庭树」写尽秋风的可闻；孤客最先闻，那「孤客最先闻」写尽孤客的先闻——孤客最先闻，正是客心最易感的写照，那「最先闻」写尽孤客的敏感；那「朝来入庭树」写尽秋风入树，那「孤客最先闻」写尽孤客的先闻，一写秋风，一写孤客，写尽孤客的秋思——风入庭树而孤客先闻，正是客思的写照；此二句以秋风、孤客写尽孤客的秋思，也让此二句成为全诗写秋思的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我听到秋风很想家」，则失其含蓄；唯以「朝来入庭树」写秋风、「孤客最先闻」写孤客，写尽孤客的秋思，也让此二句成为全诗写秋思的核心。
The two lines are the core of the poem's autumn longing, writing the autumn wind through at dawn it enters the courtyard trees and the lone traveler through the lone traveler is the first to hear, exhausting the wanderer's autumn thoughts. At dawn it enters the courtyard trees is precisely the picture of the wind entering the trees; the lone traveler is the first to hear precisely the picture of the traveler's most sensitive heart. The deep meaning: wind entering the courtyard trees and the lone traveler the first to hear, precisely the picture of the homesickness on the road. One writes the wind, one the traveler, exhausting the autumn longing. Were it said plainly I hear the autumn wind and think of home, the restraint would be lost; only through the courtyard trees and the first hearing is the autumn longing exhausted, making the lines the core of the poem.
何处秋风至？萧萧送雁群
Where does the autumn wind come from? Rustling, rustling, it sends the wild geese on their way.
何处秋风至？萧萧送雁群。
From where does the autumn wind come? Rustling, it escorts the flock of wild geese.
此二句是全诗写秋风的核心，以何处秋风至写问，以萧萧送雁群写风，写尽秋风的萧瑟，是千古名句。「何处秋风至」写何处秋风至——那「何处」写何处，「秋风至」写秋风至，写尽秋风的来处；「萧萧送雁群」写萧萧送雁群——那「萧萧」写萧萧，「送雁群」写送雁群，写尽秋风的送雁。这句的深意在于：它以「何处秋风至」的问与「萧萧送雁群」的风，写尽秋风的萧瑟——何处秋风至，那「何处秋风至」写尽秋风的来处——秋风何处来，正是秋风的疑问，那「何处」写尽秋风的来处；萧萧送雁群，那「萧萧送雁群」写尽秋风的送雁——萧萧风起，送走雁群，正是秋风的萧瑟，那「送雁群」写尽秋风的送别；那「何处秋风至」写尽秋风的来处，那「萧萧送雁群」写尽秋风的送雁，一写问，一写风，写尽秋风的萧瑟——风来萧萧而送走雁群，正是秋风初至的写照；此二句以问、风写尽秋风的萧瑟，也为后二句的秋思作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写秋风的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「秋天来了，大雁南飞」，则失其声情；唯以「何处秋风至」写问、「萧萧送雁群」写风，写尽秋风的萧瑟，也让此二句成为全诗写秋风的核心。
The two lines are the core of the poem's autumn wind, writing the question through from where does the autumn wind come? and the wind through rustling, it escorts the flock of wild geese, exhausting the wind's desolation. From where does the autumn wind come? is precisely the question of the wind's origin; rustling, it escorts the flock of wild geese precisely the picture of the wind's sending-off of the geese. The deep meaning: the wind arrives rustling and sends off the flock, precisely the picture of the autumn wind's first coming. One writes the question, one the wind, exhausting the desolation. Were it said plainly autumn has come and the geese fly south, the sound and feeling would be lost; only through the question and the rustling escort is the autumn wind exhausted, preparing the two lines of autumn longing below and making the lines the core of the poem.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
The two pieces show opposite faces of the same poet: defiant clarity in the Autumn Song and private longing in this quatrain. One answers exile with energy, the other with attention, and reading them together reveals Liu Yuxi's full range.
刘禹锡《秋词·其一》「自古逢秋悲寂寥，我言秋日胜春朝。晴空一鹤排云上，便引诗情到碧霄」写秋日之豪，是刘禹锡的名篇。此诗《秋风引》则「孤客最先闻」写秋风之思。同为刘禹锡秋诗，一写「晴空一鹤排云上」的豪（秋词），一写「孤客最先闻」的思（秋风引）；一写被贬不馁，一写客思难遣。两诗对读，可见刘禹锡写秋的两种面貌。
登高 Climbing the Heights 杜甫 · 同写秋风萧萧，一悲壮一清峻 Both treat the autumn wind; one writes of boundless leaves falling in a tragic, nationally scaled vision, the other of a rustling wind heard by a single exile.Du Fu's wind carries the grief of a ruined age and an ageing body; Liu Yuxi's carries only the ache of one traveller. Sharing the same topos, the two poems show how the autumn wind can be made either vast and tragic or small and reserved.
杜甫《登高》「风急天高猿啸哀，渚清沙白鸟飞回。无边落木萧萧下，不尽长江滚滚来」写秋风之悲，是杜甫的名篇。此诗《秋风引》则「萧萧送雁群」写秋风之思。同为写秋风，一写「无边落木萧萧下」的悲壮（登高），一写「孤客最先闻」的清峻（秋风引）；一写家国之悲，一写客子之思。两诗对读，可见唐人写秋风的两种境界。