宋 Song · 诗 Poem
陆游·金错刀行
Song of the Gilded Knife
金错刀行黄金错刀白玉装，夜穿窗扉出光芒。
丈夫五十功未立，提刀独立顾八荒。
京华结交尽奇士，意气相期共生死。
千年史册耻无名，一片丹心报天子。
尔来从军天汉滨，南山晓雪玉嶙峋。
呜呼！
楚虽三户能亡秦，岂有堂堂中国空无人！
A man of fifty with no deed yet done, I lift the knife and stand alone, gazing to the eight wastes.
In the capital I befriended only rare men, sworn in spirit to live and die together.
For a thousand years the histories shame the nameless; one red heart serves the Son of Heaven.
Of late I marched by the Han's shore; at dawn the Southern Mountain's snow stood jade-ridged.
Alas! Even Chu with but three clans could destroy Qin—how could a mighty China be without a man!
Meaning
A middle-aged patriot, newly on the anti-Jin frontier, declares his unfulfilled ambition and his certainty that China will produce heroes to recover the lost lands.
黄金镶错的刀柄、白玉装点的刀身，夜里穿透窗扉迸出光芒。大丈夫年届五十而功业未立，提刀独立，纵目眺望八方。在京城结交的都是奇士，意气相投，誓共生死。千年史册以默默无名而为耻，一片丹心只为报效天子。近来从军来到汉水之滨，终南山晓雪如玉般晶莹嶙峋。呜呼！楚国即使只剩三户人家也能灭亡强秦，难道堂堂中国竟会空无一人！
Appreciation
The gilded knife is the eye of the poem: its light figures the hero's ambition; 'lifting the knife, gazing the eight wastes' sculpts a man of resolve. The close invokes Chu's three clans to cry that China is not unmanned.
【白话串讲】 “丈夫五十功未立，提刀独立顾八荒”——陆游五十岁还没建功，提着刀独自站着。“千年史册耻无名，一片丹心报天子”——他把一腔热血，都押在了收复山河上。 【意象与手法】 以「金错刀」为诗眼贯穿：起二句写刀之光华，暗喻英雄之抱负；「提刀独立顾八荒」以动态造型勾勒丈夫气概。中段由物及人，写奇士、丹心，层层递进；末段转写汉滨从军、南山雪景，以「玉嶙峋」之洁衬「丹心」之赤，终以「楚虽三户」的呼喊振起全篇。意象刚健，节奏顿挫，豪气干云 【情感与主旨】 此诗作于乾道九年陆游赴夔州任途经汉中（南郑）一带。时值壮年，初入蜀中抗金前线，目睹山川形胜、结交豪杰，报国之心激越。诗中「丈夫五十」乃举成数概言，「从军天汉滨」正指汉中之行。全诗写于请缨有望、壮志将伸之际，故洋溢着罕见的高昂与自信，慷慨任气，是放翁中年从戎诗篇的典型基调 【名句点睛】 常考意象象征与结句情感。命题侧重：一、分析「金错刀」的象征意蕴（英雄抱负之象）；二、赏析「提刀独立顾八荒」的人物形象（顶天立地、心怀天下的孤独英雄）；三、「楚虽三户能亡秦」用《史记》典反激民心的手法
Background
Written in 1173 as Lu You, then about fifty, traveled to Hanzhong (Nanzheng) on the Sichuan frontier. Seeing the terrain and braves, his patriotic heart surged; the poem belongs to his confident, high-spirited middle years.
此诗作于宋孝宗乾道九年（1173）前后，时陆游（1125—1210）奉命入蜀，途经汉中（今陕西南郑一带）。乾道八年，陆游入四川宣抚使王炎幕府，亲临抗金前线南郑，度过了他一生中最接近恢复理想的日子：铁马秋风、射猎大散关、结交豪杰、纵观山川形胜，报国之心激越澎湃。后王炎幕府解散，陆游改任成都府安抚司参议官，此诗即作于由南郑入蜀途中。诗中「丈夫五十功未立」乃举成数概言——陆游时年四十八九；「从军天汉滨」正指汉中之行，「南山晓雪」指终南山雪景。此诗写于请缨有望、壮志将伸之际，故洋溢着罕见的高昂与自信，与晚年「僵卧孤村不自哀」的悲壮不同，是放翁中年从戎诗篇的典型基调，也是理解陆游爱国精神由激昂到沉郁之演变的重要节点。此诗所写之豪情，实为陆游一生爱国诗作中最高亢的音符，与晚年的沉郁形成鲜明对照，是研究其心路历程与创作分期的重要依据。
Art
The knife runs through the whole poem: light then the man, then red heart, then the Han-shore march and jade snow setting off the 'red heart,' and the Chu-clans cry lifting all. Images are hard, rhythm checks and rises, valor fills the sky.
此诗以「金错刀」为诗眼贯穿全篇，意象刚健，节奏顿挫，豪气干云。起二句「黄金错刀白玉装，夜穿窗扉出光芒」写刀之光华：金玉装刀、夜放光芒，以物写志，暗喻英雄之抱负与不凡。「丈夫五十功未立，提刀独立顾八荒」以动态造型勾勒人物形象——提刀独立、纵目八荒，如雕塑般矗立，写尽大丈夫气概与孤独。中段由物及人：「京华结交尽奇士，意气相期共生死」写志同道合之友，「千年史册耻无名，一片丹心报天子」写报国之志，层层递进。末段转写现实：「尔来从军天汉滨，南山晓雪玉嶙峋」以南山晓雪之洁衬丹心之赤；终以「呜呼！楚虽三户能亡秦，岂有堂堂中国空无人」的呼喊振起全篇，呼天抢地，将爱国激情推向顶峰。全诗七言为主、间以「呜呼」之叹，气势奔放，是南宋爱国诗中最具盛唐气象之作。尤可注意者，全诗以刀始、以刀终，首尾呼应，「金错刀」之象贯穿始终，章法浑成，豪气自是一贯。
Allusions
The close 'Even Chu with three clans could destroy Qin' borrows the Shiji line 'if Chu has but three clans, Qin will fall'—Lu reverses it to prove China has men. 'Red heart' carries the loyalist fervor; the allusion is exact and swallows ten thousand li.
此诗用典精当。「金错刀」为古代名刀，以黄金错镂其文，自东汉以来即为宝刀之名，班固《与弟超书》有「金错刀」之语；以宝刀写志，暗合古代士人「宝刀赠烈士」的传统，喻英雄之器。「丈夫五十功未立」暗用汉代「三十而立、四十不惑」及李广「年六十余终不能复对刀笔之吏」之叹，写功业未成之憾。「提刀独立顾八荒」之「八荒」指八方极远之地，语本《说苑》「八荒之内有四海」。「千年史册耻无名」承司马迁「立名」之志，「丹心报天子」之「丹心」为忠贞之喻。结句「楚虽三户能亡秦」用《史记·项羽本纪》「楚虽三户，亡秦必楚」之典——秦灭楚，楚人立誓复仇，后项梁、项羽果亡秦；陆游反其意而提振：以「三户亡秦」证民心不可侮、正义终胜，进而质问「岂有堂堂中国空无人」，将历史典故化为现实豪情，气吞万里，是此诗用典的巅峰。且「丹心」二字为后世文天祥「留取丹心照汗青」所承，此诗用典之影响，亦见其泽被后世之处。
Commentary
Zhao Yi (Qing) said Lu's poems are 'grand and unconstrained; the Gilded Knife shows his heroism best.' Qian Zhongshu noted his love of 'strange, vast lines.' Today it is read as the Southern-Song patriotic poem closest to High-Tang frontier song.
清人赵翼《瓯北诗话》谓陆游诗「多豪宕磊落，其《金错刀行》尤见英气」；近人钱钟书评「放翁诗好为恢奇壮浪之语，此篇提刀顾八荒、三户亡秦，皆其本色」。今人论此诗，多以为南宋爱国诗中最具盛唐气象之作：其雄浑豪放，直逼高适、岑参的边塞歌行，而与南宋普遍的悲凉沉郁不同。此诗在陆游创作史上的意义，在于记录了其一生中精神最昂扬的时期——南郑从戎，亲历前线，使「上马击狂胡，下马草军书」的壮志有了真实的凭借；此后的诗作虽仍写爱国，却渐多「胡未灭，鬓先秋」的悲凉。此诗以金错刀立象、以三户亡秦振气，意象刚健、气吞万里，与《书愤》《关山月》等并列为陆游爱国诗的代表，也是南宋民族精神最激越的诗歌表达之一。今日读之，其「岂有堂堂中国空无人」之问，犹能激发民族自强的共鸣，可见优秀爱国诗篇跨越时代的生命力。其激昂之气，至今读来犹令人热血沸腾。
Prosody
Line by line
黄金错刀白玉装，夜穿窗扉出光芒
A gold-inlaid knife with white-jade mounting, by night it shoots its light through the window.
黄金镶错的刀柄、白玉装点的刀身，夜里穿透窗扉迸出光芒
The gold-inlaid knife, mounted with white jade, at night pierces the window lattice and sends out its light.
起二句写宝刀之光华，是全诗立象的起点。「黄金错刀白玉装」写刀之形制：黄金错镂、白玉装点，华贵非凡，是名刀之象；「夜穿窗扉出光芒」写刀之灵异：夜阑人静，宝刀透窗而出光芒，仿佛有生命、有剑气。此二句以物写志，暗喻英雄之抱负与不凡：金玉之刀即英雄之器，夜放光芒即豪杰之气不能自掩。诗人不直接写人，先写刀，以刀之华贵写人之不凡，以刀之光芒写人之锋芒，物我合一，起势不凡。「夜穿」「出光芒」尤见动感，将静止的宝刀写得跃跃欲试，如虎伏匣中、剑气冲天，为下句「提刀独立」的英雄形象预作铺垫，是全诗「以物起兴」的典范。
The opening two lines write the precious sword's splendor, the starting point of the poem's image. The gold-inlaid knife, mounted with white jade writes the sword's form: the gold inlay and the jade mount, the splendor extraordinary, the image of the famous blade; at night pierces the window lattice and sends out its light writes the blade's uncanny power: the deep night and the still world, the treasured sword piercing the window with light, as if alive, as if with sword spirit. These two lines write the will through the thing, secretly figuring the hero's ambition and rarity: the gold-and-jade blade the hero's vessel, the night's light the hero's spirit unable to be hidden. The poet not writing the man directly, first the blade, the blade's splendor writing the man's rarity, the blade's light writing the man's edge, thing and self one, the opening force extraordinary. The night-piercing and light-out the more showing the motion, the still blade written as eager to try, like the tiger crouched in the case, the sword spirit reaching the sky, storing ground for the below gripping-the-sword-hero, precisely the model of the poem's rising on the thing.
丈夫五十功未立，提刀独立顾八荒
A man of fifty, his merit still unfounded; gripping the sword, alone, he gazes over the eight wilds.
大丈夫年届五十而功业未立，提刀独立，纵目眺望八方
A man of fifty, his merit not yet established; gripping the knife, alone, he gazes out over the eight wastes.
此二句由物及人，写英雄形象与心事，是全诗情感的第一个高峰。「丈夫五十功未立」直写抱负与遗憾：年届五十，功业未成，用李广式的功名之叹，沉痛而激愤——「五十」言其年已老大，「功未立」言其志未遂，时不我待而功业无成，英雄之悲油然而生；「提刀独立顾八荒」以动态造型勾勒形象——提刀而立、纵目四顾，如雕塑般矗立于天地之间，「独立」写其孤独，「顾八荒」写其襟怀，一个顶天立地、心怀天下的英雄形象跃然纸上。宝刀夜鸣，正是功业未立的英雄心有不甘；独立八荒，正是身陷西陲而心怀九州。以刀之光芒写志之未伸，以独立之姿写孤愤之情，意象与情感交融，为后文报国丹心与三户亡秦的呐喊蓄足气势。
These two lines move from the thing to the man, writing the hero's image and heart, the poem's first emotional peak. A man of fifty, his merit still unfounded writes the ambition and the regret directly: at fifty, the achievement not made, using the Li Guang-like sigh of fame, the grief and the indignation — the fifty the age already old, the unfounded the ambition unfulfilled, the time's flight and the achievement's absence, the hero's grief rising; gripping the knife, alone, he gazes out over the eight wastes draws the image in the dynamic pose — gripping the blade and standing, gazing about, like a statue standing between heaven and earth, the alone the loneliness, the gaze the breadth of mind, the heaven-touching, world-embracing hero as before the eyes. The treasured sword's night cry is precisely the merit-unfounded hero's unwillingness; the standing alone over the wastes is precisely the man trapped in the west and yet heart in the nine provinces. Writing the unextended will through the blade's light, writing the lonely anger through the standing pose, image and feeling fused, storing the force for the below's loyal heart and the three-households-destroy-Qin cry.
千年史册耻无名，一片丹心报天子
A thousand years of history — the shame of namelessness; one heart of pure crimson, to repay the Son of Heaven.
千年史册以默默无名而为耻，一片丹心只为报效天子
A thousand years of records count it shame to be nameless; one heart of pure crimson to repay the Son of Heaven.
此二句直抒报国之志，是英雄心事的正面剖白。「千年史册耻无名」写名节之志：大丈夫耻于在千年史册上默默无名，暗用司马迁「立名」之论，写立功报国以垂名青史的渴望——「耻」字见其自励，「千年」见其志向之远；「一片丹心报天子」写忠贞之心：一片丹心，只为报效天子——「丹心」为忠贞之喻，一片纯赤、毫无杂念，「报天子」即报国家，在宋代语境中，忠君与爱国一体，此句写尽陆游式的忠忱。前句写名，后句写心，名心合一，正是传统士人「立功立名、忠君报国」价值理想的诗化表达。此二句由前文金刀、提刀的意象转入直抒，节奏由沉郁转昂扬，为末段的从军写景与三户亡秦之呼蓄势。
These two lines speak the will to serve directly, the positive confession of the hero's heart. A thousand years of records count it shame to be nameless writes the name-and-integrity will: the gentleman shames the namelessness in a thousand years of history, secretly borrowing Sima Qian's establishing-name theory, writing the longing for merit and the name handed down — the word shame the self-exhortation, the thousand years the will's far reach; one heart of pure crimson, to repay the Son of Heaven writes the loyal heart: one heart of pure crimson, only to repay the emperor — the crimson heart the loyalty's figure, pure red, no stray thought, to repay the Son of Heaven meaning to repay the country, in the Song context the ruler's loyalty and the country's love one, this line exhausting the Lu You-style devotion. The former line writes the name, the latter the heart, name and heart one, precisely the poetic expression of the traditional scholar's value ideal of merit, name, ruler-loyalty, country-service. These two lines turn from the above gold blade and gripping-knife images to direct utterance, the rhythm from somber to high, storing force for the last section's the army scene and the three-households cry.
楚虽三户能亡秦，岂有堂堂中国空无人
Even Chu with but three clans could destroy Qin—how could a mighty China be without a man!
楚国即使只剩三户人家也能灭亡强秦，难道堂堂中国竟会空无一人
Though Chu had but three households, it could still destroy Qin; how can the great Middle Kingdom be empty of men?
结句是全诗情感的总爆发，呼天抢地之壮语，将爱国激情推向顶峰。「楚虽三户能亡秦」用《史记》典：秦灭楚，楚人誓言「楚虽三户，亡秦必楚」，后果然——诗人以历史证明民心不可侮、正义终胜：楚国以残存三户之微力尚能亡秦，何况我堂堂中国？「岂有堂堂中国空无人」以反诘出之，气势如虹：「堂堂中国」四字重若千钧，写出对国运的自信与不甘；「空无人」三字更含对当权者苟安偷生的激愤——非无人也，而是无人用、无人战，故发此一问，既是质问朝廷，亦是激励同胞。此句以「呜呼」领起，长叹而后呐喊，声情激越，是全诗「提刀顾八荒」的英雄形象与「丹心报国」的忠贞之志的最终升华，也是南宋爱国诗中最激动人心的名句之一。
The close is the poem's total emotional outbreak, the heaven-raising cry, pushing the patriotic passion to the peak. Though Chu had but three households, it could still destroy Qin uses the Records allusion: Qin destroyed Chu, and the Chu men swore though Chu had but three households, it is Chu that will destroy Qin, and in the end it came true — the poet uses history to prove the people's will uninsulted and the right's final victory: Chu with the remnant three households' small force could still destroy Qin, how much more the great Middle Kingdom? How can the great Middle Kingdom be empty of men? in the rhetorical question, the momentum like a rainbow: the four words the great Middle Kingdom heavy as a thousand jun, writing the confidence and the unwillingness in the country's fate; the three words empty of men further carrying the indignation at the rulers' appeasement — not that there are no men, but that no man is used, no man fights, hence this question, at once the questioning of the court and the encouragement of the people. This line opens on the long sigh, the groan and then the cry, the voice and feeling impassioned, the final elevation of the poem's gripping-the-knife-gazing-the-wastes hero and the crimson-heart loyalty, and one of the most moving lines in Southern Song patriotic poetry.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both write Lu's patriotic vow and the people's pain; one grand, one brooding.
《关山月》以「和戎诏下十五年，将军不战空临边」写和议误国，「遗民忍死望恢复，几处今宵垂泪痕」写遗民之痛，沉郁悲愤；此诗以「楚虽三户能亡秦，岂有堂堂中国空无人」写报国激情，慷慨激昂。两诗同写陆游的爱国情怀与恢复之志，而《关山月》写于后方，痛心疾首、以悲写愤；《金错刀行》写于前线从戎之时，意气风发、以壮写志。一沉郁一慷慨，正是陆游爱国诗的两面，合观可见其情感随境遇之起伏，也可比较其「以悲激愤」与「以壮励志」两种笔法。
陆游·诉衷情·当年万里觅封侯 Sou Zhen Qing — In Those Years I Sought a Fief at Ten Thousand Li 陆游 · 同叹功业未立，一豪壮一悲凉 Same poet, unfulfilled ambitionBoth sigh at no deed done; one 'fifty, no deed,' one 'hair first frost'—compare the bold and the bleak.
《诉衷情》以「当年万里觅封侯，匹马戍梁州」回忆从军往事，「胡未灭，鬓先秋，泪空流」写壮志未酬之悲，苍凉沉痛；此诗以「丈夫五十功未立，提刀独立顾八荒」写功业未立之憾，「岂有堂堂中国空无人」写报国自信，慷慨激昂。两诗同叹功业未立、同写报国之志，而一为中年从戎时的激越、一为暮年闲居时的悲凉，情感色调迥异。合观二作，可见陆游一生爱国情怀的不变与心境的变化：从「提刀顾八荒」的英气到「泪空流」的苍凉，正是南宋恢复无望的缩影，也是诗人从壮到老的完整心路。
文天祥·扬子江 The Yangzi 文天祥 · 同写丹心报国，气脉相通 Same theme, loyal red heartBoth write the loyal red heart; Lu by the knife, Wen by the river—kindred breath.
文天祥《扬子江》以「臣心一片磁针石，不指南方不肯休」写誓死南归、丹心报国，沉毅坚贞；此诗以「千年史册耻无名，一片丹心报天子」写报国之志，「岂有堂堂中国空无人」写民族自信。两诗同写丹心报国，而陆游以刀写志、以三户亡秦振气，文天祥以磁针写忠、以南归明志；一为北伐请缨的激昂，一为救亡南归的坚毅，时代不同、处境不同，而忠贞之气一脉相通。合观二诗，可见两宋之际爱国诗由「请缨报国」到「赴难守节」的演进，也可见中国士人丹心报国的精神传统在南宋的延续与升华。