宋 Song · 诗 Poem
登岳阳楼·其二
Climbing Yueyang Tower II
天入平湖晴不风，夕帆和雁正浮空。
楼头客子杪秋后，日落君山元气中。
北望可堪回白首，南游聊得看丹枫。
翰林物色分留少，诗到巴陵还未工。
A guest atop the tower after late autumn; the sun sinks into Junshan within the primal breath.
Gazing north, how can I bear to turn a white head; wandering south I merely get to see red maples.
Scenery worthy of a Hanlin brush leaves me little; my poem written at Baling is still not fine.
Meaning
Climbing Yueyang Tower in late autumn, the poet contrasts the vast lake-and-sky scene with his own wandering, aging exile, ending with modest self-deprecation that hides a broad, melancholy spirit.
晴空下的湖水与天相接、波澜不惊，夕阳里归帆与大雁正一起浮漾在天空。楼头作客的我在这晚秋之后，看落日沉入君山的一片元气之中。向北望令人忍看白发回转，向南游聊且得见丹枫红叶。翰林般的景物分留给我不多，诗写到巴陵竟还未能工巧。
Appreciation
The poem writes the late-autumn scene and the poet's personal lament from climbing Yueyang Tower. The opening couplet paints the open, windless lake meeting the sky and sails and geese floating — a bright, expansive scene. The second couplet 'a guest after late autumn; the sun sinks into Junshan within primal breath' opens into vast mist. The third couplet 'gazing north a white head' and 'wandering south red maples' writes his unsettled wandering and approaching age; the closing modestly says 'my poem at Baling is still not fine,' closing the grand scene with self-deprecation, restrained yet revealing his breadth of spirit. The images 'sky enters the calm lake' and 'sails and geese float' write breadth; 'primal breath' writes the blending of mountain light and water vapor; 'white head' and 'red maples' use color contrast for his fate; the self-deprecating close lifts weight with ease. It writes the melancholy of wandering and aging in late autumn, yet the scene is open and the language not weakened — broad melancholy within grand scene, the distinctive spirit of a Southern Song poet facing turmoil.
【白话串讲】 “天入平湖晴不风，夕帆和雁正浮空”——陈与义登岳阳楼：天入平湖。“楼头客子杪秋后，日落君山元气中”——“北望可堪回白首”——他北望中原，满头白发。 【意象与手法】 “天入平湖”“帆雁浮空”写阔大；“元气”写山光水气交融；“白首”“丹枫”色彩对照写身世；结以自谦，举重若轻。 【情感与主旨】 写漂泊晚秋、登楼伤老的怅惘，而其景开阔、语不衰飒，于壮景中见沉郁，是南宋初期诗人面对离乱的特有气格。 【名句点睛】 “楼头客子杪秋后，日落君山元气中”——以苍茫之景写客子之身，开阔沉郁，遂成登楼名句。
Background
Chen Yuyi was a poet of the Northern-Southern Song transition who lived through the Jingkang turmoil and wandered through Hunan and Hubei. These two 'Climbing Yueyang Tower' poems were likely written when he climbed the tower in late autumn while taking refuge in Hunan, expressing his wandering lament.
《登岳阳楼·其二》为宋代陈与义所作，是写登岳阳楼、观洞庭秋景之情的诗。陈与义（1090—1138），字去非，号简斋，洛阳人，宋代诗人。此诗：天入平湖晴不风，夕帆和雁正浮空。楼头客子杪秋后，日落君山元气中。北望可堪回白首，南游聊得看丹枫。翰林物色分留少，诗到巴陵还未工。全诗写登岳阳楼、观洞庭秋景之情，是陈与义诗的名篇。
Art
A seven-character regulated poem (lüshi). The first two couplets write the grand lake-and-mountain scene, the last two write his fate and self-deprecation. The word 'primal breath' writes the blending of mountain light and water vapor, broad and melancholy, taking the bone of Du Fu's tower-climbing poems.
《登岳阳楼·其二》艺术上以洞庭秋景的描摹与客子登临之情的深挚见长。全诗八句：前四句写洞庭秋景——“天入平湖晴不风，夕帆和雁正浮空”写天入平湖晴不风、夕帆和雁正浮空，“楼头客子杪秋后，日落君山元气中”写楼头客子杪秋后、日落君山元气中；后四句写客子登临之情——“北望可堪回白首，南游聊得看丹枫”写北望可堪回白首、南游聊得看丹枫，“翰林物色分留少，诗到巴陵还未工”写翰林物色分留少、诗到巴陵还未工。全诗以洞庭秋景写客子登临之情，正是陈与义诗深挚的笔法。
Allusions
Yueyang Tower stands by Dongting Lake; Junshan is a small hill in Dongting; late autumn (miaoqiu) means deep autumn; Baling is the old name of Yuezhou; Hanlin scenery means beautiful scenes like those under a Hanlin brush; primal breath means the primal qi of heaven and earth.
《登岳阳楼·其二》用典在“君山”“巴陵”“翰林”。“君山”写洞庭君山（湘君所游）；“巴陵”写巴陵（岳阳旧称）；“翰林”写翰林（文士，杜甫有“翰林”之称）。全诗以这些意象写登岳阳楼、观洞庭秋景之情，用典自然而深挚自见，正是陈与义诗的笔法。
Commentary
Songshi Chao says it is 'vast and melancholy, near the realm of Du Fu's tower poems.' Yingkui Lürui lists it among Yueyang Tower works, praising the two characters 'primal breath' for 'capturing the Dongting evening completely.'
《登岳阳楼·其二》是陈与义诗的名篇，也是南宋诗中写登楼观湖的代表作。此诗写登岳阳楼、观洞庭秋景之情，向为论者称道。论者多赏其洞庭秋景的描摹与客子登临之情的深挚——“天入平湖晴不风，夕帆和雁正浮空”写天入平湖晴不风、夕帆和雁正浮空，深挚之极；“楼头客子杪秋后，日落君山元气中”用君山之典写楼头客子杪秋后、日落君山元气中，更见其阔；“北望可堪回白首，南游聊得看丹枫”写北望可堪回白首、南游聊得看丹枫，尤见其悲；“翰林物色分留少，诗到巴陵还未工”写翰林物色分留少、诗到巴陵还未工，尤见其慨。陈与义为江西诗派诗人，此诗正是其代表——以洞庭秋景写客子登临之情，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
天入平湖晴不风，夕帆和雁正浮空。
Sky enters the calm lake, fair without wind; evening sails and wild geese float in the empty sky.
天入平湖晴不风，夕帆和雁正浮空。
The sky enters the level lake, clear and windless; the evening sails and the wild geese now float in the air.
首写天入平湖晴不风、夕帆和雁正浮空，是全诗写洞庭秋景的起点。“天入平湖晴不风”写天入平湖晴不风——“天入平湖晴不风”写天光映入平湖、晴而无风——天入平湖晴不风；“夕帆和雁正浮空”写夕帆和雁正浮空——“夕帆和雁正浮空”写夕帆与雁正浮于空——夕帆和雁正浮空。二句写天入平湖晴不风、夕帆和雁正浮空：天入平湖晴不风，夕帆和雁正浮空。以“天入平湖晴不风”写天光入湖、风平浪静，以“夕帆和雁正浮空”写夕帆秋雁、浮空而度，正是陈与义诗写洞庭秋景的起点——天入平湖，夕帆浮空。
The first two lines, the sky enters the level lake, clear and windless and the evening sails and the wild geese now float in the air, are the starting point of the poem's Dongting autumn scene. The sky enters the level lake, clear and windless writes the sky-light mirrored in the level lake, clear and windless; the evening sails and the wild geese now float in the air writes the evening sails and autumn geese floating on the air. Two lines write the sky entering the lake, the wind calm, and the evening sails and autumn geese floating on their way, precisely the starting point of Chen Yuyi's Dongting autumn scene. The lines write the opening of the poem's autumn scene, the lake and sky one, the sails floating, the model of Song landscape poetry's broad calm.
楼头客子杪秋后，日落君山元气中。
A guest atop the tower after late autumn; the sun sinks into Junshan within the primal breath.
楼头客子杪秋后，日落君山元气中。
The traveler on the tower, after late autumn; the sun sets among the vital air of Jun Mountain.
此二句用君山之典写楼头客子杪秋后、日落君山元气中，是全诗写登临所见的深化。“楼头客子杪秋后”写楼头客子杪秋后——“楼头客子杪秋后”写楼头游子值杪秋之后——楼头客子杪秋后；“日落君山元气中”用君山之典写日落君山元气中——“日落君山元气中”用洞庭君山之典写日落君山、元气氤氲——日落君山元气中。二句写楼头客子杪秋后、日落君山元气中：楼头客子杪秋后，日落君山元气中。以“楼头客子杪秋后”写楼头游子、杪秋登临，以“日落君山元气中”用君山之典写日落君山、元气苍茫，正是陈与义诗写登临所见的深化——客子杪秋，君山落日。
The two lines use the Jun Mountain allusion to deepen the climb's view, the traveler on the tower, after late autumn; the sun sets among the vital air of Jun Mountain. The traveler on the tower, after late autumn writes the traveler on the tower at late autumn; the sun sets among the vital air of Jun Mountain uses the Dongting Jun Mountain allusion for the sun on Jun Mountain, the vital air brooding. Two lines write the traveler on the tower climbing in late autumn, the Jun Mountain sun in the brooding vital air, precisely the deepening of the climb's view. The lines write the second layer: the personal climb set against the legendary mountain, the vital air of the ancients brooding over the present traveler.
北望可堪回白首，南游聊得看丹枫。
Gazing north, how can I bear to turn a white head; wandering south I merely get to see red maples.
北望可堪回白首，南游聊得看丹枫。
Gazing north, how can I bear turning my white head? The southern wander, at least to see the red maples.
此二句写北望可堪回白首、南游聊得看丹枫，是全诗写客子之情的深化。“北望可堪回白首”写北望可堪回白首——“北望可堪回白首”写北望故国、可堪回首白头——北望可堪回白首；“南游聊得看丹枫”写南游聊得看丹枫——“南游聊得看丹枫”写南游暂且看看丹枫——南游聊得看丹枫。二句写北望可堪回白首、南游聊得看丹枫：北望可堪回白首，南游聊得看丹枫。以“北望可堪回白首”写北望故国、白首堪悲，以“南游聊得看丹枫”写南游看枫、聊以自遣，正是陈与义诗写客子之情的深化——北望白首，南游丹枫。
The two lines write the traveler's feeling deepened, gazing north, how can I bear turning my white head? The southern wander, at least to see the red maples. Gazing north, how can I bear turning my white head writes the northward gaze at the old country, the white head's grief; the southern wander, at least to see the red maples writes the southern wander at least to see the maples. Two lines write the northward gaze at the lost country, the white head pitiable, and the southern wander's seeing the maples as self-ease, precisely the deepening of the traveler's feeling. The lines write the contrast of the two directions: the north unbearable, the south the makeshift consolation, the white hair against the red maples.
翰林物色分留少，诗到巴陵还未工。
The drafters kept too little of the scene; my verse at Baling is still not crafted.
翰林物色分留少，诗到巴陵还未工。
The drafters kept too little of the scene; my verse at Baling is still not crafted.
末用巴陵之典写翰林物色分留少、诗到巴陵还未工，是全诗写诗兴之慨的归结。“翰林物色分留少”用翰林之典写翰林物色分留少——“翰林物色分留少”用翰林文士之典写如此物色分留给我太少——翰林物色分留少；“诗到巴陵还未工”用巴陵之典写诗到巴陵还未工——“诗到巴陵还未工”用巴陵（岳阳）之地写诗到巴陵还未工整——诗到巴陵还未工。二句写翰林物色分留少、诗到巴陵还未工：翰林物色分留少，诗到巴陵还未工。以“翰林物色分留少”用翰林之典写物色奇绝、分留太少，以“诗到巴陵还未工”用巴陵之地写诗到巴陵、自愧未工，正是陈与义诗写诗兴之慨的归结——物色分留，巴陵诗拙。
The closing uses the Baling allusion to close the sigh over the poetic mood, the drafters kept too little of the scene; my verse at Baling is still not crafted. The drafters kept too little of the scene uses the Hanlin scholars allusion for this wonder of a scene shared with me too little; my verse at Baling is still not crafted uses the Baling (Yueyang) place for the verse at Baling self-admittedly uncrafted. Two lines write the wonder of the scene shared too little, and the verse at Baling self-acknowledged clumsy, precisely the close of the poem's poetic sigh. The lines write the humility of the poet at the wonder of the place: the scene too grand to keep, the verse too weak to craft, the self-deprecation carrying the hidden admiration for Dongting.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
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陈与义·伤春 Spring Grief 陈与义 · 与本首相关联的同类或同作者作品，供对比阅读 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
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