宋 Song · 诗 Poem
陈与义·伤春
Spring Grief
庙堂无策可平戎，坐使甘泉照夕烽。
初怪上都闻战马，岂知穷海看飞龙。
孤臣霜发三千丈，每岁烟花一万重。
稍喜长沙向延阁，疲兵敢犯犬羊锋。
So beacon fires at Sweet Springs Palace glow.
At first I marveled war horses in the capital,
But who knew the dragon would flee to the sea's wall?
A lone minister's frosty hair, three thousand feet,
Each year ten thousand mourns from spring flowers sweet.
Yet I'm slightly cheered by Xiang, the Imperial Librarian,
Whose weary troops dare clash with the barbarian.
Meaning
The poem laments the court's inability to repel invaders, the emperor's flight, and the poet's personal sorrow, but finds hope in the resistance of General Xiang Ziyin in Changsha.
朝廷无计可退敌兵，竟让甘泉宫照见了傍晚的烽火。起初惊怪都城竟闻战马嘶鸣，哪知偏远的海上也目睹了皇帝播迁。孤臣白发有三千丈，年年逢着烟花却更添万重悲愁。稍可欣慰的是长沙向延阁，疲弱的兵卒竟敢冒犯敌寇的锋芒。
Appreciation
This poem is a patriotic lament disguised as spring grief. It criticizes court ineptitude, contrasts spring beauty with war, and praises local bravery. The style is somber and forceful, influenced by Du Fu.
【白话串讲】 金兵南侵，南宋朝廷逃到海上。陈与义感叹：“庙堂无策可平戎”——朝廷没有办法退敌。“孤臣霜发三千丈，每岁烟花一万重”——他一个书生，只能用诗记下这个春天。 【意象与手法】 章法沈郁顿挫，学杜而能变：首联直斥庙堂无策、烽火照甘泉，起势沉痛；颔联「初怪」「岂知」层递，由汴京战马写到海上飞龙，写出祸及全域；颈联「霜发三千丈」对「烟花一万重」，以乐景（烟花）写哀情，孤臣悲怀倍增；尾联以向子諲抗敌「稍喜」收束，于绝望中留希望。 【情感与主旨】 陈与义历靖康之变，随宋室南渡，诗风由早岁清新转为沉郁苍凉，得杜诗神髓。此《伤春》作于绍兴年间漂泊湖湘时，时金兵屡扰、向子諲守潭州率疲卒抗金。诗人借「伤春」为题伤国难，既痛朝廷无能、烽烟遍野，又喜有忠勇抗敌者。 【名句点睛】 赏析重点：①把握「伤春」实伤国的托题之妙；②分析「初怪—岂知」的层递与「霜发—烟花」的乐哀反衬；③「甘泉照夕烽」「穷海看飞龙」用典以汉喻宋的深意。
Background
Chen Yuyi wrote this after the Northern Song fell, during Emperor Gaozong's southern escape. He was wandering near Lake Xiang when he heard of Xiang Ziyin's defense of Tanzhou against the Jin. The poem reflects both despair and hope.
陈与义（1090—1139），字去非，号简斋，洛阳人，北宋末南宋初著名诗人。他亲历靖康之变：靖康二年（1127）金兵破汴京，北宋灭亡，陈与义随宋室仓皇南渡，辗转流离，诗风遂由早岁的清新明快转为沉郁苍凉，深得杜甫诗神髓，为江西诗派后期的重要诗人。此《伤春》约作于宋高宗绍兴年间（1131—1162）陈与义漂泊湖湘之时，具体当在建炎四年（1130）前后。其时金兵大举南侵，高宗一度避兵海上，形势危殆；潭州（长沙）知州向子諲坚守城池，率疲弱之卒抗击金兵，一时传为美谈。诗人借「伤春」为题伤国难，既痛朝廷无能、烽烟遍野、天子播迁，又喜有忠勇抗敌之士，全诗悲喜交织、顿挫有致，是简斋南渡后感时念乱的代表作。又陈与义早年诗宗苏轼、黄庭坚，以清新明快见长，靖康之变后，他亲历国破家亡、播迁流离，诗风遂一变而为沉郁苍凉，论者谓其「以简斋体写杜陵心」，此诗正是这一转变的见证：同是伤春，早年或为儿女之情，晚年则纯为国家之悲，可见时代如何塑造诗人的笔墨，亦可见南渡诗人群体的共同心路。
Art
Structured with solemn force, the first couplet condemns the court. The second uses 'first' and 'who knew' to show disaster spreading. The third contrasts the poet's white hair with lovely spring blossoms (joyful scene to express sorrow). The last ends with cautious optimism. Allusions to Sweet Springs and flying dragon add historical depth.
此诗章法沈郁顿挫，学杜而能变。首联「庙堂无策可平戎，坐使甘泉照夕烽」直斥朝廷无能——庙堂之上竟无退敌之策，坐使烽火照彻宫阙，「坐使」二字含愤懑与无奈，起势即沉痛。颔联「初怪上都闻战马，岂知穷海看飞龙」以「初怪」「岂知」层递推进：起初惊怪都城汴京竟闻战马嘶鸣，哪知后来连偏远的海上也目睹皇帝播迁——由近及远、由惊到惧，写出祸乱蔓延全域、国势一败涂地。颈联「孤臣霜发三千丈，每岁烟花一万重」为全诗警策：「霜发三千丈」化李白「白发三千丈」而转写愁白发，「烟花一万重」写年年春色依旧，以乐景（烟花）写哀情，孤臣之悲在春光的反衬下愈发沉重。尾联「稍喜长沙向延阁，疲兵敢犯犬羊锋」于绝望中留一线希望，以「稍喜」收束，顿挫有力，全诗悲壮之中不失忠义之气。全诗八句，四联各具一意而又一气贯注，由斥责而惊惧而自伤而欣慰，情感曲线起伏有致，正如杜甫「沉郁顿挫」之谓，是简斋学杜最得神髓的一篇；且用典以汉喻宋，对仗工稳而气势沉雄，在江西诗派「无一字无来处」的主张下，又能以真情感人，正是其超出一般江西诗人的地方。
Allusions
'Sweet Springs Palace' alludes to Han dynasty beacon fires signaling invasion. 'Flying dragon' refers to the emperor fleeing to the sea. 'Three thousand feet of frosty hair' exaggerates from Li Bai. 'Dogs and sheep' is a derogatory term for Jin invaders.
此诗用典密集而以汉喻宋，典雅而沉痛。「甘泉照夕烽」用汉文帝时匈奴入边、烽火直照甘泉宫之典，此处借指金兵逼近宋廷、警报直传宫阙，以汉事喻宋事，古为今鉴；「飞龙」以龙喻帝王，指宋高宗被迫避兵海上，「穷海看飞龙」写天子播迁之惨，极言国势之危；「上都」指汴京，本为历代都城通称。「霜发三千丈」化用李白《秋浦歌》「白发三千丈，缘愁似个长」，而一变其豪放为沉痛；「烟花一万重」又化杜甫「烟花一万重」之句，写年年春光如旧，反衬国难之深。「犬羊」为对金兵的蔑称，语含激愤。诸典或以汉事刺今、或以李杜句翻新，皆贴切有力，为全诗增添历史纵深感，正见简斋学杜而能自运炉锤之功。又「上都闻战马」之「上都」指汴京，唐人以长安为上都，宋人借以称汴京，诗人以「上都」称之，暗寓对故都的眷恋；「穷海看飞龙」以龙喻帝，写高宗泛海避兵，然「飞龙」本为帝位之象，如今却狼狈至于海上，语含讥刺，可见诗人对朝廷软弱的不满，与首联「庙堂无策」遥相呼应，用典之中自有锋芒。
Commentary
Critics praise this poem for deep emotion and mastery of Du Fu's style. The couplet about frosty hair and spring flowers is especially celebrated as poignant for personal and national sorrow.
此诗历来被视为南宋初期爱国诗的代表作。宋末刘克庄《后村诗话》称简斋「诗风遒上，酷似杜陵」，此诗正是其学杜而能化的证明：首联之沉痛、颈联之警策、尾联之顿挫，皆见杜诗「沉郁顿挫」之神髓。近人评此诗「得老杜神髓」，尤赏「霜发三千丈」对「烟花一万重」一联以乐景写哀情之妙，谓其于春光烂漫中写国难深重，哀感愈深。诗中「伤春」实为「伤国」，托题之妙与《春望》「感时花溅泪」一脉相承；而「稍喜长沙向延阁」于绝望中见希望，又与杜甫「剑外忽传收蓟北」的悲喜交集相通。全诗以家国兴亡为念，悲壮苍凉，千载之下犹令人想见诗人湖湘漂泊、忧国忧时的身影，在宋室南渡的诗坛上具有典范意义。又宋末遗民诗人多以「伤春」为题抒亡国之痛，如谢翱、林景熙诸作，溯其源者，每推简斋此诗，以为南宋爱国诗由陈与义开其端、至文天祥集其成，此诗正是这条抒情主线的起点，其文学史意义不可低估；且「稍喜」二字于绝望中见希望的写法，亦为后世爱国诗所承继，可见此诗影响之深远。
Prosody
Line by line
庙堂无策可平戎，坐使甘泉照夕烽。
The court has no plan to quell the foe; it sits and lets the beacon fires glow on Ganquan at dusk.
朝廷无计可退敌兵，竟让甘泉宫照见了傍晚的烽火。
The court has no plan to drive back the enemy, and lets the evening beacon fires light up the Ganquan Palace.
首联直斥庙堂，是全诗愤懑之情的总爆发。「庙堂无策可平戎」直言朝廷竟无退敌之策，「无策」二字把讽刺的矛头直指最高统治集团，语气沉痛而冷峻；「坐使甘泉照夕烽」以「坐使」写朝廷坐视烽火蔓延——「坐」字含坐视、空使之意，愤懑与无奈交织。「甘泉照夕烽」用汉文帝时匈奴入边、烽火照甘泉宫之典，以汉喻宋，写金兵逼近、警报直达宫阙的危局，古事今景，触目惊心。起笔不写景、不叙事，直指时弊，如老杜「国破山河在」般开门见山，为全诗定下沉痛悲愤的基调。
The first couplet directly denounces the court, the general explosion of the poem's indignation. The court has no plan to quell the foe directly says the court has no plan to drive back the enemy, the two words no plan pointing the satire straight at the highest ruling group, the tone somber and cold; it sits and lets the beacon fires glow on Ganquan at dusk writes the court sitting by while the fires spread, the word sitting carrying the sitting-watching and the vain-letting, the indignation and the helplessness woven. The beacon fires glow on Ganquan uses the Han-when the Xiongnu raided the border and the fires lit up the Ganquan Palace allusion, comparing Song to Han, writing the critical state of the Jin pressing near and the alarm reaching the palace, the old event and the present scene, startling to the eye. The opening, not writing scene, not narrating, pointing straight at the age's ill, like Du Fu's the country broken and yet mountains and rivers remain, open and straight, fixing the poem's somber, indignant tone.
初怪上都闻战马，岂知穷海看飞龙。
At first I marveled that war-horses were heard in the capital; who knew the dragon would be seen on the distant sea?
起初惊怪都城竟闻战马嘶鸣，哪知偏远的海上也目睹了皇帝播迁。
At first I marveled that war-horses were heard in the capital; who knew we would watch the emperor's flight to the distant sea?
颔联以「初怪」「岂知」层递推进，写国势之每况愈下。「初怪上都闻战马」写最初惊怪：堂堂都城汴京竟闻金兵战马嘶鸣，此「怪」字写出事变之突兀与世人心理之震动；「岂知穷海看飞龙」写后来震恐：哪知局势急转直下，连偏远的海上也目睹皇帝播迁——「飞龙」以龙喻天子，写高宗避兵海上，狼狈至极。「初怪」是事态初起时的惊诧，「岂知」是事态恶化后的绝望，一层层递，由惊到惧、由惧到哀，把靖康以来祸乱蔓延全域、国势一败涂地的过程浓缩于十四字中，笔力千钧。
The second couplet advances layer on layer through at first I marveled and who knew, writing the state's worsening. At first I marveled that war-horses were heard in the capital writes the first marvel: the great capital Bianfeng actually hearing the Jin war-horses, the word marvel writing the event's abruptness and the world's shock; who knew the dragon would be seen on the distant sea? writes the later terror: who knew the situation turning so sharply, that even the distant sea would witness the emperor's flight — the dragon using the dragon for the Son of Heaven, writing Gaozong fleeing the war by sea, the plight extreme. At first I marveled is the surprise at the event's rise, who knew the despair after the worsening, advancing layer on layer, from surprise to fear, from fear to grief, condensing the process of the Jingkang chaos spreading the whole realm and the state's utter defeat into fourteen characters, the brush's weight a thousand jun.
孤臣霜发三千丈，每岁烟花一万重。
A lone minister's frost-white hair, three thousand zhang long; every year the spring blossoms, ten thousand layers deep.
孤臣白发有三千丈，年年逢着烟花却更添万重悲愁。
A lone minister's frost-white hair, three thousand zhang long; year after year the spring blossoms, ten thousand layers deep.
颈联是全诗警策，以乐景写哀情，对仗沉痛。「孤臣霜发三千丈」化李白「白发三千丈，缘愁似个长」，而以「孤臣」冠之，点明愁之所自——孤立无援的臣子，为国难而愁白了头，三千丈是极度夸张，写愁之深、发之白，惊心动魄；「每岁烟花一万重」写年年春色如旧、烟花万重，春光愈是烂漫，愈反衬国难之深、愁怀之重。上句以愁写发，下句以景衬哀，一哀一乐、一我一天，对仗工绝而意脉贯通。乐景写哀，哀感愈深，此联正是简斋学杜而能化的典范，也是全诗最震撼人心的名句。
The third couplet is the poem's warning stroke, writing grief through the joyous scene, the balanced grief. A lone minister's frost-white hair, three thousand zhang long transforms Li Bai's white hair three thousand zhang, for grief is it this long, and prefixes the lone minister, marking the source of the grief — the minister without support, white-haired for the national calamity; the three thousand zhang the extreme hyperbole, writing the grief's depth and the hair's whiteness, heart-stirring; every year the spring blossoms, ten thousand layers deep writes the spring scene as of old, the blossoms ten thousand layers, the brighter the spring the more the grief's depth and the sorrow's weight set off. The upper line writes the hair through grief, the lower sets the grief off through scene, one grief one joy, one self one heaven, the balance perfect and the vein connected. Writing grief through the joyous scene, the grief the deeper; this couplet is precisely Chen Yuyi's model of learning Du Fu and transforming him, and the poem's most heart-stirring line.
稍喜长沙向延阁，疲兵敢犯犬羊锋。
A little gladness: Xiang of Changsha and his tired soldiers dared to face the barbarian edge.
稍可欣慰的是长沙向延阁，疲弱的兵卒竟敢冒犯敌寇的锋芒。
A little gladness: Xiang Ziyan of Changsha led his weary soldiers to dare face the invaders' edge.
尾联于绝望中留一线希望，是全诗情感的转捩。「稍喜长沙向延阁」以「稍」字轻轻一转：国难重重之际，唯有长沙的向子諲（延阁为官名，指直秘阁）率兵坚守，令人稍感欣慰——一个「稍」字，分寸极准，既见欣喜之微，又见忧患之重；「疲兵敢犯犬羊锋」写向子諲以疲惫之卒竟敢迎击强敌，「疲兵」与「犬羊锋」对比鲜明，愈见抗敌之难能可贵，「敢」字写出忠勇之气。上联极写绝望，此联陡转希望，一抑一扬、一顿一挫，全诗在悲壮中收束，既有对朝廷无能的痛斥，又有对忠臣抗敌的礼赞，忠义之气，千载犹存。
The last couplet keeps one thread of hope in the despair, the turning of the poem's feeling. A little gladness: Xiang of Changsha turns lightly on the word a little: in the national calamity piled up, only Xiang Ziyin of Changsha (Yange the office, the Direct Pavilion) led the troops to hold, giving a little gladness — the single word a little, the measure exact, at once the faintness of the joy and the weight of the anxiety; his tired soldiers dared to face the barbarian edge writes Xiang Ziyin with weary soldiers daring to meet the strong foe, the tired soldiers against the barbarian edge in sharp contrast, the more the valor's rareness, the word dared writing the loyal, bold air. The upper couplet writes the despair to the extreme, this couplet suddenly turning to hope, one depress one lift, one pause one stroke, the poem closing in the solemn, at once the pained denunciation of the court's incapacity and the praise of the loyal minister's resistance, the loyal air living on through the ages.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both by the same author after southern crossing, one laments spring, the other climbs a tower, both are somber and emulate Du Fu.
《登岳阳楼》与《伤春》同出陈与义南渡之后，皆为感时念乱的代表作，而取境不同：《登岳阳楼》「洞庭之东江水西」「白头吊古风霜里」写登楼望洞庭的苍茫景象，由吊古而及伤今，借岳阳楼与洞庭湖的宏阔写身世飘零、国难深重之慨，气象阔大；《伤春》则直斥庙堂无策、痛写天子播迁，由时事议论入手，于沉痛中见忠义，笔锋更为直露。一以景结情，一以议论见志；一苍凉，一悲愤。二诗并读，可见简斋南渡后诗风的两面：既得杜诗沉郁之境，又具其忧国之情。
扬子江 The Yangzi River 文天祥 · 同为国难伤时之作 RelatedBoth are patriotic poems from the end of Song; Chen laments national disaster, Wen expresses loyalty; can be compared.
文天祥《扬子江》「臣心一片磁针石，不指南方不肯休」与陈与义《伤春》同为宋人国难伤时之作，而时代与心境各异：陈诗作于南宋初立、金兵南侵之际，诗人于绝望中犹见「稍喜」之希望，悲壮中带苍凉；文诗作于宋室将亡、诗人被执北上之际，以磁针石自喻，申明誓死南归之志，悲壮中见凛然。一为旁观者之忧，一为当事者之誓；一痛朝廷之无能，一表自身之孤忠。二诗相隔百余年，而爱国之情一脉相承，可见宋人于国难之际以诗言志的传统，亦可比较不同处境下忧国诗的异同。