唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
山中
In the Mountains (Shan Zhong)
长江悲已滞，万里念将归。
况属高风晚，山山黄叶飞。
ten thousand li away, I long to go home.
And now the high wind of late autumn;
hill after hill, yellow leaves fly.
Meaning
Wang Bo, stranded in Bashu, watches the long river and feels it mournfully stalled, like his own return. Ten thousand li from home, he longs to go back; the late autumn wind and the flying yellow leaves deepen his exile's sorrow. In twenty words the poem compresses longing, autumn, and the loneliness of the traveller.
长江的流水似乎也悲叹迟滞，万里之外的游子念着归去。何况正逢高风晚秋，山山都飘落黄叶纷飞。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] The Yangtze seems to mourn, its current checked; ten thousand li off, I yearn to return. And now the high wind of late fall; hill on hill, yellow leaves swirl. [Structure] The first couplet states feeling—river-mourning and homesickness; the second couplet turns to scene—wind and falling leaves—and closes the emotion in image. [Imagery] The 'river that mourns, halted' is the poet's stalled return made into nature; 'hill after hill, yellow leaves' widens private loss to a vast, desolate autumn. Though only twenty characters, the poem has full rise-and-fall (qichengzhuanhe): sorrow stated, then deepened by scene, a model of Early-Tang quatrain compactness.
【白话串讲】 王勃写《山中》：“长江悲已滞，万里念将归”——“况属高风晚，山山黄叶飞”——他望着长江，想念万里外的家乡——山山黄叶飞，写尽秋意与乡愁。 【意象与手法】 此诗写秋日山中的羁旅之悲，是王勃的名篇。前两句「长江悲已滞，万里念将归」写望江思归——「长江悲已滞」以拟人写江水迟滞含悲，「万里念将归」写万里之外的归思；后两句「况属高风晚，山山黄叶飞」写秋风黄叶的晚景——「况属高风晚」以「况」字递进，写更逢晚秋高风，「山山黄叶飞」以黄叶纷飞写秋的萧瑟。全诗以悲秋写思归，借景抒情，短短二十字写尽羁旅的愁思，正是王勃「短小精悍」诗风的代表。 【情感与主旨】 此诗作于王勃客居巴蜀（今四川）期间。王勃因戏作《斗鸡檄》被唐高宗逐出沛王府后，客居巴蜀，漂泊异乡，羁旅愁思甚深。此诗写秋日山中所见：那迟滞的长江，那万里的归思，那晚来的高风，那纷飞的黄叶——以「长江悲已滞」的拟人写江水含悲，以「况属高风晚」的递进写秋景萧瑟，以「山山黄叶飞」的叠字写黄叶纷飞，借景抒情，写尽客居巴蜀的羁旅之悲与思归之情。全诗以悲秋写思归，正是王勃羁旅诗的本领。 【名句点睛】 常考「长江悲已滞」的拟人手法，以江水迟滞写悲愁；「万里念将归」写万里思归；「况属高风晚」的递进；「山山黄叶飞」以叠字写秋之萧瑟；以及全诗借景抒情、以悲秋写思归的手法。
Background
Wang Bo (c. 650–676), courtesy name Zian of Longmen, was the foremost of the 'Four Paragons of the Early Tang'. Gifted but ill-fated, he was expelled from Prince Pei's staff for a jesting proclamation and later stripped at Guozhou, his father banished to Jiaozhi. While sojourning in Bashu (Sichuan), far from home, he wrote this quatrain among other exile lyrics. The long river, the late wind, and the flying leaves voice a young genius's loneliness in a strange land—a key to understanding his Bashu-period heart.
此诗作于王勃客居巴蜀（今四川）期间。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，然仕途多舛：他任沛王府修撰时，因戏作《斗鸡檄》（一篇戏谑沛王与英王斗鸡的文章）被唐高宗认为是挑拨诸王关系，将其逐出沛王府；后任虢州参军，又因事获罪免官，其父亦受牵连被贬交趾。王勃客居巴蜀时，漂泊异乡，羁旅愁思甚深，写下了不少思念故乡的诗篇，此诗即是其中之一。此诗写秋日山中的所见与所感：那迟滞的长江，那万里的归思，那晚来的高风，那纷飞的黄叶——「长江悲已滞」以拟人写江水迟滞含悲，「万里念将归」写万里之外的归思，「况属高风晚」以「况」字递进，写更逢晚秋的高风，「山山黄叶飞」以叠字写群山黄叶纷飞。诗人客居巴蜀，见长江奔流而不归，逢秋风黄叶而思乡，借景抒情，写尽羁旅之悲与思归之情。此诗虽仅二十字，却是理解王勃客居巴蜀心境与初唐五绝艺术的重要篇章。
Art
The art has four strokes. First, personification: 'the long river mourns, already halted' gives the water the poet's grief, blending object and self. Second, virtual words for longing: 'ten thousand li' states distance, 'about to return' the unfulfilled wish of the wanderer. Third, progressive particle: 'and now' (kuang) pushes from thought-of-home to added late-autumn wind, deepening desolation. Fourth, reduplication for desolation: 'hill after hill, yellow leaves fly' uses doubled 'hill' to spread the scene wide and close on falling leaves with lingering sadness. In twenty words the poem completes rise, continuation, turn, and close—compact, high, and polished.
此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以拟人写悲情。首句「长江悲已滞」以拟人写长江——那长江本是无情之水，诗人却以「悲」字写其迟滞含悲，以江水之悲写己之悲，物我交融，是写悲情的妙笔。其二，以虚字写归思。「万里念将归」以「万里」写距离之远，以「将归」写归思之切——那「念将归」写思念将归而未归，写尽游子欲归不得的惆怅。其三，以递进写秋景。「况属高风晚」以「况」字递进——前两句写望江思归，此句以「况」字更进一层，写更逢晚秋的高风，秋景更添悲凉。其四，以叠字写萧瑟。「山山黄叶飞」以「山山」的叠字写群山，以「黄叶飞」写黄叶纷飞——那「山山」写尽山之多，那「黄叶飞」写尽秋之萧瑟，以景收束，余韵悠长。四重手法，使此诗以悲秋写思归，借景抒情，短短二十字写尽羁旅的愁思，正是王勃「短小精悍」诗风的本领。 尤其值得注意的是，此诗虽仅二十字，却有起、承、转、合的完整结构：起句以「长江悲已滞」写望江含悲，承句以「万里念将归」写归思之切，转句以「况属高风晚」的「况」字递进写晚秋，合句以「山山黄叶飞」的景语收束；前二句情中含景（悲江、念归），后二句景中含情（高风、黄叶），情与景层层交融，正是「一切景语皆情语」的典范。
Allusions
'Long river' evokes the Yangtze and the topos of waters that flow yet never carry the exile home (cf. 'great river goes east'). 'Ten thousand li' is the standard measure of exile's distance; 'about to return' echoes Tao Yuanming's 'return, return' (Gui Qu Lai Xi Ci). 'High wind of late autumn' echoes the 'autumn wind rises' of Han Wudi and the age-old (sorrow-at-autumn) tradition of Song Yu. 'Hill after hill, yellow leaves' looks forward to Du Fu's 'boundless trees shed their leaves' and Chu-ci's falling woods. Wang Bo gathers these to write, in miniature, the classical exile's autumn.
此诗的用语深植于悲秋与思归的传统。「长江悲已滞」令人想到「大江东去」的长江意象，也令人想到「悲秋」的传统（宋玉《九辩》「悲哉秋之为气也」），更令人想到「江水东流」的时光与羁旅意象——江水东流而不返，正似游子漂泊难归；「万里念将归」令人想到「万里悲秋常作客」的羁旅意象，也令人想到「归去来兮」的思归传统（陶渊明《归去来兮辞》），更令人想到「胡马依北风，越鸟巢南枝」的思乡传统——鸟兽尚且恋乡，何况游子；「高风晚」令人想到「秋风起兮白云飞」（汉武帝《秋风辞》）的秋风意象，也令人想到「高风亮节」之「高风」，此处写秋高气爽之时的晚风；「山山黄叶飞」令人想到「无边落木萧萧下」的落叶意象（杜甫《登高》），也令人想到「袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下」（《楚辞·九歌·湘夫人》）的木叶传统。全诗化用悲秋、思归、秋风、落叶的传统意象，以悲秋写思归，正是王勃承楚辞、启盛唐的本领。 尤其值得玩味者，「山山黄叶飞」一句以「山山」的叠字写群山之远、以「黄叶飞」写落叶之纷纷，令人想到宋玉《九辩》「悲哉秋之为气也，萧瑟兮草木摇落而变衰」的悲秋之源，也令人想到「一叶落而知天下秋」的秋意感知——黄叶纷飞，正写尽秋的萧瑟与游子的飘零；那「黄叶」既是秋的物象，也是游子漂泊的象征，更是诗人愁思的外化，物我一体。
Commentary
The poem is ranked a Wang Bo masterpiece and a representative Early-Tang quatrain. Qing critics said it 'writes travel-exile through autumn sorrow, all in twenty words'. Modern readers highlight the personification of the river and the reduplicated 'hill after hill' as its fine points. With his 'Seeing Off at the River Pavilion by Night' ('this night the river hills are cold') it forms a paired exile lyric—one longing home, one parting. For today's reader it opens Wang Bo's Bashu heart and the art of the compact five-character quatrain.
此诗历来被推为王勃的名篇，也是初唐五绝的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以悲秋写羁旅，二十字尽之」；近人更指出「长江悲已滞」的拟人与「山山黄叶飞」的叠字，是此诗艺术的高妙处。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以二十字的短章写尽羁旅的愁思——那迟滞含悲的长江，那万里的归思，那晚来的高风，那纷飞的黄叶，都写尽了这位初唐天才客居巴蜀的漂泊之悲；那「况属高风晚」的递进，更写尽秋景的萧瑟与愁思的深重。此诗与王勃的《江亭夜月送别》（「江山此夜寒」）同为羁旅送别名篇，一写山中思归，一写江亭送别；又与杜甫《登高》「万里悲秋常作客」一脉相承，可见悲秋羁旅诗的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解王勃客居巴蜀心境与初唐五绝艺术的窗口，也是中国诗写羁旅思乡的经典——那纷飞的黄叶，穿越千年，仍在诉说着游子漂泊的愁思。
Prosody
Line by line
长江悲已滞，万里念将归
The long river mourns, already halted in its flow;
ten thousand li away, I long to go home.
长江的流水似乎也悲叹迟滞，万里之外的游子念着归去。
The Long River, saddened, seems already stayed; ten thousand li away, I long for return.
此联是全诗的开篇，以拟人写悲情，以万里写归思。「长江悲已滞」写长江悲叹迟滞——那「长江」写脚下的江水，「悲已滞」以拟人写江水迟滞含悲，以江水之悲写己之悲；「万里念将归」写万里之外的归思——那「万里」写离乡之远，「念将归」写思念将归而未归，写尽游子的归思。这句的深意在于：它以「长江悲已滞」的拟人与「万里念将归」的直陈，写尽羁旅之悲——诗人客居巴蜀，望长江奔流，那江水本无情，却以「悲」字写其迟滞，实是诗人心中含悲，移情于江水；江水东流而不返，正似游子漂泊难归，万里之外的故乡，只能念念不忘；那「悲已滞」写尽愁思的郁结，那「万里念将归」写尽归思的深切，一写景一写情，物我交融，写尽羁旅的悲与思。若换作直说「我很悲伤很想回家」，则失其含蓄；唯以「长江悲已滞」的拟人写悲、「万里念将归」的直陈写思，写尽羁旅之悲与归思之切，也让此联成为全诗悲情与归思的开篇。
The couplet is the opening of the poem, writing grief through personification and the return through ten thousand li. The Long River, saddened, seems already stayed writes the river at his feet, the word saddened personifying the stalled water, writing his own grief through the river's grief; ten thousand li away, I long for return writes the distance from home and the longing to return and not yet returned. The deep meaning: the poet, lodging in Ba-Shu, gazes at the Long River; the water is by nature without feeling, yet the word saddened writes its stalling, precisely the poet's own heart heavy, the feeling transferred to the water; the river east and never returning, like the wanderer's drifting unable to go home, the home ten thousand li away, only the endless longing. One writes scene, one feeling, thing and self fused, exhausting the travel's grief. Were it said plainly I am sad and want to go home, the restraint would be lost; only through the personified grief and the direct longing is the travel's grief exhausted, making the couplet the opening of the poem.
况属高风晚，山山黄叶飞
And now the high wind of late autumn;
hill after hill, yellow leaves fly.
何况正逢高风晚秋，山山都飘落黄叶纷飞。
What is more, it is the high wind's evening; on every mountain, yellow leaves are flying.
此联是全诗的收束，以递进写秋景，以黄叶写萧瑟。「况属高风晚」写何况正逢高风晚秋——那「况属」以「况」字递进，写更逢、何况正值，「高风晚」写秋高气爽之时的晚风，写晚秋的节候；「山山黄叶飞」写山山黄叶纷飞——那「山山」以叠字写群山，那「黄叶飞」写黄叶纷飞，写尽秋的萧瑟。这句的深意在于：它以「况属」的递进与「山山黄叶飞」的景语，写尽秋景的萧瑟——前两句已写望江思归，此联以「况」字更进一层：何况正逢晚秋高风，群山黄叶纷飞，那「高风晚」写尽晚秋的苍凉，那「山山黄叶飞」以叠字写尽群山落叶的萧瑟；悲秋之景，更添思归之情，那纷飞的黄叶，正是游子飘零的写照，也是诗人愁思的象征；以景收束，不言悲而悲自见，那「山山黄叶飞」写尽秋的萧瑟与羁旅的苍凉。若换作直说「秋天很凄凉」，则失其形象；唯以「况属」的递进写更逢晚秋、「山山黄叶飞」的叠字写落叶纷飞，写尽秋景的萧瑟与愁思的深重，也让此联成为全诗以景结情的妙笔。
The couplet is the close of the poem, writing the autumn scene through the advance of moreover and the desolation through the yellow leaves. What is more, it is the high wind's evening writes the advance of moreover, the high wind of the late autumn; on every mountain, yellow leaves are flying writes the piled mountains and the flying leaves. The deep meaning: the first two lines already wrote the gazing at the river and the longing; this couplet advances one layer through moreover — what is more, it is the high wind's late autumn, the mountains' yellow leaves flying; the high wind's evening writes the late autumn's bleakness, the piled leaves write the desolation. The autumn grief-scene adds to the return-longing; the flying yellow leaves are precisely the picture of the wanderer's drifting, and the symbol of the poet's sorrow. Closing in scene, the grief not spoken and the grief self-evident. Were it said plainly autumn is bleak, the imagery would be lost; only through the advance and the piled mountains of flying leaves is the desolation exhausted, making the couplet the poem's masterstroke of ending emotion in scene.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Wang Wei's 'Autumn Dusk' and Wang Bo's 'In the Mountains' both set scene in hills. One is tranquil retreat, the other exile's autumn; together they show two Tang moods before the same landscape.
王维《山居秋暝》「空山新雨后，天气晚来秋」「随意春芳歇，王孙自可留」写山中晚秋的清新与隐逸之趣，是王维山水诗的名篇。此诗《山中》则「况属高风晚，山山黄叶飞」写山中晚秋的萧瑟与羁旅之悲。同为写山中晚秋，一写「空山新雨后」的清新（王维），一写「长江悲已滞」的悲愁（王勃）；一以「明月松间照」写清幽，一以「山山黄叶飞」写萧瑟。两诗对读，可见唐人写山中晚秋的两种心境——隐者的闲适与游子的悲愁。
早发白帝城 Departing from Baidi Town at Dawn (Zao Fa Bai Di Cheng) 李白 · 同写长江与漂泊，一轻快一悲愁 Both write the river and wandering—Li Bai light, Wang Bo heavy.Li Bai's 'Departing Baidi' ('light boat past ten-thousand mountains') and this poem both use the long river for travel feeling. One is release, the other grief; read together they contrast joy and exile on the same water.
李白《早发白帝城》「朝辞白帝彩云间，千里江陵一日还」「两岸猿声啼不住，轻舟已过万重山」写顺江而下的轻快，是李白写长江的名篇。此诗《山中》则「长江悲已滞，万里念将归」写望江思归的悲愁。同为写长江，一写「千里江陵一日还」的轻快（早发白帝城），一写「长江悲已滞」的迟滞（山中）；一以「轻舟已过万重山」写归心似箭的畅快，一以「山山黄叶飞」写羁旅的萧瑟。两诗对读，可见唐人写长江漂泊的两种心境。