宋 Song · 诗 Poem
秋夜将晓出篱门迎凉有感
Autumn Night: Leaving the Hedge Gate at Dawn in the Cool Air
三万里河东入海，五千仞岳上摩天。
遗民泪尽胡尘里，南望王师又一年。
The five-thousand-ren peak scrapes the sky.
The survivors' tears have dried in Tartars' dust;
Southward they look for the imperial force—another year gone by.
Meaning
The poet depicts the magnificent Yellow River and Mount Hua, then contrasts with the suffering of the people in the occupied north who wait in vain for the imperial army.
三万里长的黄河奔腾向东汇入大海，五千仞高的华山耸立直上逼近苍天。沦陷区的人民在金人的铁蹄尘烟中流尽了血泪，向南盼望宋王朝的军队，却又白白等待了一年。
Appreciation
The first two lines use hyperbole to portray the grandeur of the homeland (Yellow River, Huashan); the last two lines turn sharply to the bitter reality of the conquered people weeping in the dust of the Tartars and their hopes dashed for another year. The joyful scenery (grand scenery) contrasts with the sorrowful emotion, deepening the pain of loss.
【白话串讲】 “遗民泪尽胡尘里，南望王师又一年”——中原百姓在金人的统治下哭干了眼泪，一年又一年望着南方，等王师回来。陆游写这首诗时，已经等了六十多年。 【意象与手法】 诗分两层，反差惊心。前两句以「三万里」「五千仞」的巨笔夸张，写黄河入海、华岳摩天的奇伟壮丽，气象磅礴；后两句急转，「遗民泪尽」与「南望王师又一年」以沉痛白描收束，以乐景（壮景）反衬哀情。 【情感与主旨】 此诗作于南宋绍熙三年（1192）秋，陆游六十八岁闲居山阴。自「靖康之变」中原沦陷已六十余年，南宋朝廷苟安江南，北伐无期。诗人秋夜将晓，步出篱门迎凉，遥望北方沦陷区，念及父老陷敌、王师不至，遂作此绝（原作二首，此为其二）。 【名句点睛】 此诗与《示儿》并称放翁爱国双璧。考点：①「三万里」「五千仞」的夸张与山河之壮；②「泪尽」「又」字的沉痛；③以壮景反衬沦陷之痛的对比手法。
Background
Written in autumn of 1192, Lu You was 68 and living in seclusion in Shanyin. Since the Jingkang Incident, the Central Plains had been occupied for over 60 years. The Southern Song court was content with its safe haven south of the Yangtze. At dawn on an autumn night, the poet stepped out of his fence gate to enjoy the cool air, and looking north, thought of the elders trapped in enemy territory and the imperial army not coming, so he wrote this poem (originally two, this is the second).
此诗作于南宋绍熙三年（1192）秋，陆游六十八岁，闲居山阴（今浙江绍兴）老家。陆游（1125—1210），字务观，号放翁，越州山阴人，南宋最伟大的爱国诗人之一，一生力主抗金恢复，屡遭排挤，壮志难酬。靖康二年（1127）金兵南下，北宋灭亡，中原大片土地沦陷，自此六十余年间，南宋朝廷苟安江南，对金称臣纳贡，北伐恢复之事遥遥无期。陆游生于国难之时，幼年随家南渡，亲历离乱，终身以恢复中原为志，却宦海浮沉、屡起屡罢，晚年退居山阴，仍念念不忘中原遗民。此诗题曰「秋夜将晓出篱门迎凉有感」，写诗人于秋夜将晓之际，步出篱门迎凉，遥望北方沦陷区，念及黄河华山之壮美山河尽陷敌手、遗民泪尽而王师不至，悲愤填膺，遂成此绝句。原题共二首，此为其二；其一云「迢迢天汉西南落，喔喔邻鸡一再鸣」，写秋夜迎凉之景，此首则直抒山河沦丧之痛。又，陆游此年已在山阴闲居多年，其间每以诗酒自遣，然恢复之志未尝一日忘怀，秋夜迎凉之际、晓色将临之时，正是一日忧思最浓的瞬间，诗人将此瞬间所感凝为二十八字，故能真切动人。
Art
The poem is in two layers with a striking contrast. The first two lines employ grand hyperbole (thirty thousand li, five thousand ren) to describe the magnificent Yellow River and the sky-scraping Huashan. The last two lines suddenly turn to the painful plain depiction of survivors' tears dried up and the vain yearly hope for the imperial army. Using joyful scenery to contrast sorrowful emotions, the grander the land, the deeper the pain of its loss; the sharper the contrast, the heavier the indignation. In 28 characters, it encompasses a vast landscape, a representative work of Lu You's sorrowful and indignant quatrains.
此诗艺术上最突出之处，在于以二十八字写尽壮烈山河之悲与遗民之痛，反差惊心，对比强烈。前两句「三万里河东入海，五千仞岳上摩天」以巨笔夸张写中原山河之壮：「三万里」写黄河之长，奔腾东注、直入大海，气势磅礴；「五千仞」写华岳之高，耸立摩天、上接苍穹，气象雄浑。两句对仗工整，以数字极言其大，尺幅之中有万里之势。后两句笔锋急转，「遗民泪尽胡尘里」写沦陷区百姓在金人铁蹄下泪已流尽，一个「尽」字写悲愤之极；「南望王师又一年」写遗民年复一年向南盼望王师，一个「又」字写失望之深。前两句是「壮」，后两句是「悲」；前两句写山河之美好，后两句写山河之沦陷，以乐景（壮景）反衬哀情，山河愈壮而沦丧愈痛，对比愈烈而悲愤愈深。二十八字，前四字一境、后四字一境，两境相激，沉郁悲慨，是放翁七绝中沉郁顿挫的代表。再就炼意言，全诗无一句直接骂金、无一句直斥朝廷，而爱国之忱、批判之意俱在言外——壮景是「惜」，泪尽是「痛」，又一年是「怨」，层层递进，含蓄之中见沉郁，正是放翁晚年诗「老去诗篇浑漫与，春来花鸟莫深愁」之外的另一副笔墨。
Allusions
Three myriad li river refers to the Yellow River, five thousand ren mountain refers to Mount Hua (Western Mountain), both representative landscapes of the Central Plains, subtly alluding to the homeland. Survivors (yimin) originates from the Zuo Commentary and Su Shi's phrase 'tears of survivors dried up', referring to the Song people in occupied territories who refused to submit. Hu dust uses Hu for the Jin dynasty, dust for the trampling of their cavalry. Imperial army (wangshi) alludes to the King's army in the Book of Songs and Du Fu's 'King's army moves south', indicating the Song troops. Another year carries the lament from ancient poetry 'the years have suddenly waned', expressing the despair of waiting in vain.
此诗用典不多而皆见功力。「三万里河」指黄河，以「三万里」极言其长，黄河为中原之母亲河，象征华夏故土；「五千仞岳」指华山（西岳），「仞」为古代长度单位，五千仞极言其高，华山雄踞关中，亦中原山河之象征。两句以黄河、华山代指沦陷的中原故土，山河之壮即故土之恋。「遗民」语出《左传》「遗民」之意及苏轼「遗民泪尽胡尘里」诗（苏轼曾以此写沦陷之苦），指沦陷区不甘臣敌的宋民；「胡尘」以「胡」代金人，「尘」状铁骑践踏扬尘之暴，二字含侵略之恨。「王师」典出《诗经·周颂》「王师」及杜甫「王师顺南郊」等语，指南宋官军，此词一出，遗民盼之、诗人望之之切俱见。「又一年」承《古诗十九首》「岁月忽已晚」之叹，写望穿秋水而年年落空的绝望。又，「胡尘」之「胡」本指北方游牧民族，唐人诗中屡见（如王昌龄「不教胡马度阴山」），宋人则径以「胡」代金，陆游诗中「胡尘」屡用（如「铁马秋风大散关」之「胡」），已成为其爱国诗的核心意象词。
Commentary
This poem and 'Showing to My Son' are known as Lu You's two masterpieces of patriotism. Qing critic He Shang in 'Zai Jiu Yuan Shi Hua' commented: 'The first two lines are magnificent, the last two are so desolate that reading them together is heartbreaking.' Modern scholar Qian Zhongshu in 'Selected Annotations of Song Poetry' said: 'It uses joyful scenery to write sorrow, grand scenery to write humiliation, extremely painful.' It is widely recited by children and is a famous piece for patriotic education.
此诗与《示儿》并称放翁爱国诗双璧，历代评价极高。清人贺裳《载酒园诗话》评此诗：「前二句何等气象，后二句何等悲凉，对照读之，令人酸鼻。」——正指出前后两层的巨大反差所激发的悲剧力量。近人钱钟书《宋诗选注》亦赏其「以乐景写哀，以壮景写辱，沉痛之至」。此诗之妙，在于不写金人之暴而写山河之壮，不写朝廷之怯而写遗民之望，以山河之壮反衬其沦陷之痛，以遗民之望反衬王师之失期，含蓄而力透纸背。陆游一生创作诗歌近万首，爱国诗是其主体，此诗与《书愤》《关山月》《秋夜将晓出篱门迎凉有感》（其一）等并为其晚年爱国诗的代表，千百年来激励了无数志士，是爱国主义教育的经典篇目，其「遗民泪尽」「南望王师」的意象，更成为后世书写沦陷之痛、恢复之望的母题。从接受史看，此诗自南宋以来即广为传诵，明清选本（如《千家诗》系统）多收之，近代以来更入选各类语文教材，成为中小学生最早接触的爱国诗篇之一；其「三万里河」「五千仞岳」「遗民泪尽」等语，更被后世反复化用，成为民族危亡时刻激励人心的精神资源，足见一首七绝所能承载的历史重量。
Prosody
Line by line
三万里河东入海，五千仞岳上摩天。
The three-hundred-li Yellow River flows east into the sea; the five-thousand-ren peak rises up to graze the sky.
三万里长的黄河奔腾向东汇入大海，五千仞高的华山耸立直上逼近苍天。
The three-hundred-li Yellow River surges east into the sea; the five-thousand-ren Hua Peak rises straight up to graze the blue sky.
首联以巨笔夸张写中原山河之壮，是全诗情感的基础。「三万里河」写黄河之长——黄河万里奔腾、东注大海，是华夏文明的摇篮，其「东入海」的气势写尽大河雄姿；「五千仞岳」写华岳之高——华山五千仞、直上摩天，是中原大地的脊梁，其「上摩天」的姿态写尽高山巍峨。两句对仗工整，以「三万里」「五千仞」两个极限数字极言山河之壮阔，境界宏阔、气象磅礴，尺幅之中有万里之势。此联所以重要，在于它为后文蓄足了「惜」——如此壮美之河山，竟尽陷敌手，山河愈壮，沦丧愈痛，正是「以壮景写悲情」的绝妙铺垫。
The opening couplet in the grand brush's exaggeration writing the central plain's mountains-and-rivers splendor, the poem's emotional base. The three-hundred-li river writes the Yellow River's length — the Yellow River's ten-thousand-li surge and eastward into the sea, the Chinese civilization's cradle, the east-into-the-sea momentum exhausting the great river's heroic bearing; the five-thousand-ren peak writes Hua Shan's height — the five-thousand-ren Hua Peak and straight up to graze the sky, the central plain's backbone, the up-to-graze-the-sky posture exhausting the high mountain's loftiness. Two lines in steady parallelism, using the two extreme numbers three hundred li and five thousand ren for the mountains-and-rivers' grandeur, the realm vast and the bearing vast, within the small frame the ten-thousand-li momentum. This couplet's importance lies in its storing the full force for the below's pity — such a beautiful mountains-and-rivers, and yet all fallen to the enemy, the landscape the more splendid, the fall the more grief, precisely the grand-scene-writes-grief's wondrous ground.
遗民泪尽胡尘里，南望王师又一年。
The remnant people's tears are spent in the barbarian dust; gazing south toward the royal army — another year gone.
沦陷区的人民在金人的铁蹄尘烟中流尽了血泪，向南盼望宋王朝的军队，却又白白等待了一年。
The people in the occupied lands have shed their last tears in the barbarian hoof dust; gazing south for the royal army, another year has passed in vain.
尾联由山河之壮陡转遗民之悲，是全诗的题眼。「遗民泪尽胡尘里」写沦陷区百姓之苦：六十余年金人统治，遗民流尽血泪，「泪尽」二字写悲愤之极——泪已流干，其苦可知；「胡尘」二字以铁骑扬尘写侵略之暴，含恨含痛。「南望王师又一年」写遗民之望：向南盼王师，年复一年，一个「又」字力重千钧——不是望了一年，而是望了一年又一年，年年落空，失望之深、之绝望尽在其中。两句一写苦难之极，一写盼望之久，遗民之泪与王师之缺对照，批判朝廷苟安之意隐然可见。以「又一年」收束，言尽而悲不尽，力透纸背。
The closing couplet from the mountains-and-rivers' grandeur's sudden turn to the remnant people's grief, the poem's theme eye. The remnant people's tears are spent in the barbarian dust writes the occupied people's suffering: sixty-odd years of Jin rule, the remnant people's tears all spent, the two words tears-spent writing the grief's extreme — the tears already dried, the suffering known; the barbarian dust writing the invasion's violence through the horsemen's dust, the grief and pain together. Gazing south toward the royal army — another year gone writes the remnant people's gazing: gazing south for the royal army, year after year, the one word again's weight like a thousand jun — not the gazed one year, but the gazed year after year, year after year's void, the disappointment's depth and despair all within. Two lines, one the suffering's extreme, one the expectation's length, the remnant people's tears and the royal army's absence set against, the court's ease-seeking criticism hidden and visible. Closing on the another year, the words ended and the grief not, the force penetrating the paper.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
'The Indignation' and this poem both grieve the imperial army's absence and failed ambitions, both using grand strokes to write grief.
《书愤》「楼船夜雪瓜洲渡，铁马秋风大散关」与此诗同慨王师不至、壮志难酬，皆以恢宏笔力写悲愤，而侧重点不同：《书愤》回首当年战事（瓜洲、大散关之役），痛惜「塞上长城空自许，镜中衰鬓已先斑」，是壮士暮年之愤；此诗则遥望沦陷区，痛惜「遗民泪尽」「南望王师」，是遗民之痛与故土之悲。一为自伤报国无门，一为代遗民抒悲，合观可见放翁爱国诗的两大主题——个人壮志之难酬与中原遗民之苦难，皆以「恢复」为心之所系。
关山月 Moon over the Mountain Pass 陆游 · 同作者，同写遗民之痛 Same author, pain of the survivors'Moon over the Mountain Pass' with 'survivors endure death hoping for recovery' and this poem's 'survivors' tears dried up' both write the sorrow of the conquered people, equally agonizing.
《关山月》「遗民忍死望恢复，几处今宵垂泪痕」与此诗「遗民泪尽胡尘里，南望王师又一年」同写沦陷区百姓之悲，沉痛相埒，而笔法有异：《关山月》为歌行长篇，以「和戎诏下十五年」的议论起笔，三线并写（将军、征人、遗民），铺陈开阖，批判锋芒直指朝廷和戎之策；此诗为七绝短章，以山河之壮与遗民之悲两境对照，含蓄顿挫。一铺一敛、一显一隐，可见放翁写遗民之苦既有直陈时弊的锋芒，亦有以景寓悲的含蓄，两种笔法皆臻极致。