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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

叶绍翁·夜书所见

What I Saw on a Night (Written at Night)

叶绍翁

Ye Shaoweng

羁旅travel 秋思autumn thought

萧萧梧叶送寒声，江上秋风动客情。
知有儿童挑促织，夜深篱落一灯明。

Rustling, the plane leaves send a sound of cold;
The river's autumn wind stirs the traveller's heart.
I know there are children poking at the crickets—
Deep in the night, by the fence, one lamp burns bright.

Listen

Meaning

The rustling plane leaves send a sound of cold; the autumn wind above the river stirs the wanderer's homesickness. I guess there are children teasing crickets; deep in the night, by the fence corner, a lamp flickers alight.

萧萧作响的梧桐叶送来了寒意的声音，江面上的秋风拨动了游子的思乡之情。料想是有儿童在挑逗蟋蟀，夜深时分篱笆角落里有一盏灯明明灭灭。

Appreciation

This quatrain's structure rises and falls, good at contrast. The first two lines 'Rustling, the plane leaves send a sound of cold; the river's autumn wind stirs the traveller's heart' render the sojourn-sorrow head-on through sound (rustling), touch (sound of cold) and sight (river wind); the words 'send' and 'stir' are lively, writing the heartless things as if on purpose, actively provoking the traveller's breast. The last two lines turn abruptly to a new scene: 'I know there are children poking at the crickets; deep in the night, by the fence, one lamp burns bright'—from his own desolation he imagines the neighbour's children teasing crickets in the warm lamplight. Writing sorrow in a happy scene, using others' bustle to set off his own loneliness, endless in restraint. The whole moves from sorrow to warmth yet sorrow deepens, a small wave within a small frame.

【白话串讲】 “萧萧梧叶送寒声，江上秋风动客情”——叶绍翁在异乡的秋夜：梧叶萧萧，江上秋风。“知有儿童挑促织，夜深篱落一灯明”——他知道，那是孩子们在篱笆下捉蟋蟀。一盏灯，照着他想家的夜。【意象与手法】此诗为宋叶绍翁之作，精要赏析详见下方深度赏析。【情感与主旨】叶绍翁，字嗣宗，号靖逸，南宋中期“江湖诗派”代表诗人，约生于宋宁宗时，生平仕履不详，长期漂泊江湖【名句点睛】本诗为小学至初中古诗必背篇目，考试重点

Background

Ye Shaoweng, styled Sizong, styled Jingyi, a leading poet of the Southern Song 'Jianghu school', born about the Ningzong era, his office unclear, long drifting the rivers and lakes. The title 'What I Saw on a Night' means he wrote by lamplight what he saw on an autumn night, a piece from his sojourn away from home on some cold clear night. After the Song fled south, scholars drifting and dependent on others were many, and the sorrow of sojourn was a shared mood of the age. The line 'the river's autumn wind stirs the traveller's heart' directly names the traveller; the warm scene of 'children poking at crickets' is plainly the poet's imagined window-gaze, using the other children's joy to mirror his own loneliness. The whole fixes a personal drifting sigh in an ordinary autumn night's sight and sound—implicit and deep, a fine small piece among Song quatrains.

此诗为叶绍翁羁旅之作，具体作年不详。叶绍翁，字嗣宗，号靖逸，处州龙泉（今属浙江）人，南宋中期“江湖诗派”代表诗人，约生于宋宁宗时，生平仕履不详，长期漂泊江湖，与江湖诗人交游唱和。此诗写秋夜客居异乡的所见所感：萧萧梧叶送来寒意，江上秋风牵动客情；忽然看见夜深篱落间一盏灯亮，料想是有儿童在挑逗蟋蟀。全诗以“客情”为骨，以梧叶、秋风写秋之萧瑟，以儿童挑促织的灯明写夜之温馨，一冷一暖、一忧一乐，交织成羁旅者复杂的心绪。江湖诗派多写羁旅、隐逸、山水，此诗正是其代表性作品，也是南宋小学生必背的名篇。叶绍翁另有《游园不值》“春色满园关不住，一枝红杏出墙来”传诵千古，可见其诗清新明快、善从日常景物中觅诗的一贯风格。

Art

This quatrain's structure rises and falls, good at contrast. The first two lines 'Rustling, the plane leaves send a sound of cold; the river's autumn wind stirs the traveller's heart' render the sojourn-sorrow head-on through hearing (rustling), touch (sound of cold) and sight (river wind); 'send' and 'stir' are lively, writing the heartless things as if on purpose, actively provoking the traveller's breast. The last two lines turn abruptly to a new scene: 'I know there are children poking at the crickets; deep in the night, by the fence, one lamp burns bright'—from his own desolation he imagines the neighbour's children teasing crickets in the warm lamplight. Writing sorrow in a happy scene, using others' bustle to set off his own loneliness, endless in restraint. The whole begins in sorrow, ends in warmth yet sorrow deeper—a wave within a small frame.

此诗艺术上以“一冷一暖”的对照写羁旅之情，构思精妙。前二句写秋夜之寒：“萧萧梧叶送寒声”以梧叶萧萧写秋声之寒，“送”字把寒意写得主动袭来；“江上秋风动客情”由物及人，秋风触动游子之情——“动”字写客情的被牵动。后二句忽转写一灯之明：“知有儿童挑促织，夜深篱落一灯明”——料想那是儿童在挑逗蟋蟀，夜深了篱笆角落还亮着一盏灯。这灯火打破了秋夜的萧瑟，带来了人间的温暖与生机。然而这温暖并不属于客居的诗人：那灯下的欢乐是儿童的，那温暖是别家的，诗人只是远远看着，更添一分客中的孤寂。以“一灯明”对照“寒声”“秋风”，以“儿童”对照“客情”，乐景写哀、哀景衬乐，正是此诗的高妙处。全诗四句，前二句写所见所感的“寒”，后二句写所见所想的“暖”，寒暖交织、忧乐相生，把羁旅之情写得含蓄而深沉。

Allusions

This is a scene-and-feeling lyric with no obscure allusion; only 'cricket' comes from the Shi Jing 'in the tenth month the cricket enters my bed' and the autumn-insect tradition since Han-Wei; 'cricket' (cu zhi) is the cricket, named for its sound like urging weaving, much used by Han yuefu and Tang poets (e.g. Du Fu 'the cricket is very fine'). Also 'traveller's heart' inherits the sojourn tradition of 'alone, a stranger in a strange land'. Though no clear allusion, it deeply holds the spirit of classical autumn thought, writing the ageless commonness of 'sorrowful, the breath of autumn' in plain description—exactly the Jianghu school's clear, free interest.

此诗用典极隐而化用自然。“萧萧梧叶”之“萧萧”，自《楚辞·九歌》“风飒飒兮木萧萧”以来即为秋声的经典意象，不着典而典味自存；“江上秋风”暗含“鲈鱼之思”的莼鲈典故（晋张翰因秋风起而思吴中莼羹鲈脍，遂弃官归乡），此处虽未明言，然“动客情”正承此思乡传统；“促织”即蟋蟀，自古为秋夜思归的象征，《古诗十九首》“促织鸣东壁”即以促织写秋夜怀人。全诗以这些隐性的文化符号，把秋夜的客愁写得含蓄深厚。尤妙者，“儿童挑促织”本是童年乐事，诗人却以乐写哀——灯下的童年欢乐，反衬出客中人的孤寂，正是“以乐景写哀”的运用。

Commentary

Ye Jingyi's poems are clear and far, foremost among the Jianghu school. The Song Liu Kezhuang called his poems 'bright in pitch and rhythm'. The modern Qian Zhongshu in 'Selected Song Poems' records this piece, saying 'write sorrow in joy, doubling the sorrow'. Also 'A Thousand Poets' has long placed this poem with 'rustling plane leaves' pieces for children's recitation, very widely spread. Critics prize the line 'deep in the night, by the fence, one lamp burns bright' for its warm brightness within the cold, the wonder of contrast, moving one to linger; though only twenty-eight characters, the sojourn's state and life's feeling are all within.

此诗为南宋羁旅诗的名篇，也是小学、初中必背篇目。论者多赏其以“一灯明”的温暖反衬客情的孤寂，以及“知有儿童挑促织”的悬想之笔。前二句写秋声秋意，萧瑟而动人；后二句写灯下儿童，温馨而反衬。全诗以浅语写深愁，无一生僻字而情味隽永，正是江湖诗派“以平易写真情”的体现。诗中“动客情”三字点破题旨，而全诗不着一“愁”字，客愁自见。清人评叶绍翁诗“清丽”，此诗正是清丽而含深情的代表。与张继《枫桥夜泊》同写客愁，而一以钟声写愁之浓，一以灯明写愁之深，可见羁旅诗的两副笔墨。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain七言绝句（平起首句入韵式）

Rhyme Ping-shui rhyme, lower-level eight 'geng' group (sound, heart, bright)全诗押下平八庚韵，韵脚为“声、情、明”，一韵到底。庚韵音色清亮悠长，正合秋夜之清冷与灯明之温暖。七绝一韵到底，声情流畅，与羁旅小诗的浅易笔致相称。

Tone pattern First line enters rhyme; level-onset, first-line-enters-rhyme form此诗为平起首句入韵的七绝。首句“萧萧梧叶送寒声”平平平仄仄平平起，“江上秋风动客情”平仄平平仄仄平承；三句“知有儿童挑促织”平仄平平平仄仄转，四句“夜深篱落一灯明”仄平平仄仄平平合。平仄合律，音节清缓，四句前二句写寒、后二句写暖，声情与画面同步，是七绝中浅易而隽永的一首。

Reading note Jianghu-school autumn-night sojourn small poem; write sorrow in joy.此诗体制为七言绝句，是南宋羁旅诗中的名篇。七绝四句，前二句以梧叶、秋风写秋夜之寒，后二句以一灯、儿童写人间之暖，一冷一暖，形成鲜明的对照。其妙处在第四句的“一灯明”——以灯火打破萧瑟，又以灯火反衬客愁，使全诗在寒暖之间、忧乐之间，写出羁旅者复杂而深沉的心绪。江湖诗派以平易写真、以清淡见长，此诗正是其代表：无一生僻字，无一处雕琢，而情味隽永。相较张继《枫桥夜泊》的客愁如钟声般浓重，此诗的客愁如灯火般幽微，一浓一淡，各臻其妙。

Line by line

萧萧梧叶送寒声，江上秋风动客情。

Whispering paulownia leaves send the cold sound; the autumn wind on the river stirs the traveler's heart.

萧萧作响的梧桐叶送来了寒意的声音，江面上的秋风拨动了游子的思乡之情。

The rustling paulownia leaves send a cold sound; the river's autumn wind stirs the traveler's longing.

起句写秋声，由景入情。“萧萧梧叶送寒声”以梧叶萧萧写秋声——梧桐叶落本是秋的讯息，“萧萧”状其声，“寒”写其意，着一“送”字，那寒意仿佛主动袭来；“江上秋风动客情”由物及人——江上的秋风，拨动了游子的客情。“动”字写客情的被牵动，如风拂水面，波起涟漪。两句一写声、一写情，声是寒声，情是客情，秋夜的萧瑟与羁旅的孤寂交织，为全诗定下了苍凉的基调。梧叶、秋风，皆是客中常见之物，而一经诗人点染，便都成了撩拨乡愁的媒介。

The opening line writes the autumn sound, from the scene's to the feeling. The whispering-paulownia-leaves-send-the-cold-sound using the paulownia leaves' rustling for the autumn sound — the paulownia's leaf-fall's originally the autumn's message, the xiaoxiao's posing the sound, the han word's writing the meaning, landing the one-song word, that cold's as if's the active-attacking; the river's-autumn-wind-stirs-the-traveler's-heart from the thing's to the person — the river's autumn wind's stirred the traveler's guest-feeling. The dong word's writing the guest-feeling's being-stirred, like the wind's brushing the water's surface, the ripples' arising. Two lines one writing the sound and one the feeling, the sound's the cold sound, the feeling's the guest feeling, the autumn-night's bleakness and the journey's loneliness's interweaving, establishing the whole poem's bleak tone. The paulownia leaves and autumn wind's both's the guest's common things, and yet once's the poet's dyeing, then's all's the homesickness's stirring-media.

知有儿童挑促织，夜深篱落一灯明。

I know children are somewhere teasing crickets; deep in the night, one lamp glows by the fence.

料想是有儿童在挑逗蟋蟀，夜深时分篱笆角落里有一盏灯明明灭灭。

I guess children are teasing crickets somewhere; deep at night, one lamp shines by the fence.

此联写所见之景，以暖衬冷。“知有儿童挑促织”以“知有”写悬想——诗人并未亲见，而是由那灯推想灯下必有儿童在挑逗蟋蟀；“夜深篱落一灯明”写实景——夜已深，篱笆角落还亮着一盏灯。这灯打破了秋夜的萧瑟，带来了人间的温暖与生机：那是儿童忘情的游戏，是寻常人家的烟火。然而这温暖并不属于客居的诗人——灯下的欢乐是儿童的，那温暖是别家的，诗人只是远远望着，客中的孤寂反被衬得更深。以“一灯明”对照“寒声”，以“儿童”对照“客情”，乐景写哀，正是此诗的高妙处。

This couplet writes the seen scene, using the warm's setting-off-the-cold. The I-guess-children-are-teasing-crickets-somewhere's using the zhi-you for the surmise — the poet's not-the-personally-seen, and yet's from-that-lamp's the inferring's under-the-lamp's the children's teasing crickets; deep-at-night-one-lamp-glows-by-the-fence writing the real scene — the night's deep, the fence corner's still's the lit lamp. This lamp's breaking the autumn-night's bleakness, bringing the human warmth-and-vitality: that's the children's self-forgetting game, the ordinary household's hearth. And yet this warmth's not-the-guest-poet's — the under-lamp's joy's the children's, that warmth's the other-household's, the poet's only's the far-gazing, the guest's loneliness's the more's the set-off deep. Using the one-lamp-glow's contrast to the cold-sound, and the children's contrast to the guest-feeling, the joy-scene-writes-grief, precisely this poem's high-excellence.

Study

Word focus

送 Writes the rustling plane leaves as if actively sending the cold; personifying diction, doubling the desolation. “萧萧梧叶送寒声”之“送”，以主动的姿态写寒意的袭来。梧叶本不会“送”寒，着一“送”字，萧萧的叶声便仿佛有意把寒意送到客中人的身上——不是诗人感到寒，而是寒意主动寻来，更见秋夜的萧瑟与客居的无处可避。这个字把无情的物态写得有情，与下句“动客情”的“动”相呼应：寒声送来，客情牵动，主客之间被秋夜连成一片。炼一“送”字，全句皆活。

动 Writes the autumn wind stirring the wanderer's homesick heart; thing and self respond, naturally leading to 'traveller's heart'. “江上秋风动客情”之“动”，写客情的被牵动，是全诗的题眼。“动”字双关：既写秋风之吹动——江上风起，波澜生焉；更写客情之触动——风过处，乡思油然而生。客情本潜藏于心底，被秋风一“动”，便再也按捺不住。这个字写出了“情”与“景”的感应：秋风的萧瑟是外因，客情的孤寂是内因，一“动”而内外交激。与上句“送”字相配，一送一动，秋夜的寒与客心的愁，尽在这两字之中。

知有 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “知有儿童挑促织”之“知有”，以悬想写灯下之景，是全诗由实入虚的转折。“知有”不是亲见，而是由那盏灯推想——夜深了，灯还亮着，料想必是儿童在挑逗蟋蟀。这一推想，把一灯明写活了：灯下有了人，人有了动作，那盏灯便不再只是灯，而是一个温暖的人间场景。同时，“知有”也见出诗人的旁观——他知道那灯下的欢乐，却走不进去，客中的孤寂反被衬得更深。以虚写实、以想写景，正是此诗含蓄处。

一灯 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “夜深篱落一灯明”之“一灯”，是全诗情感的关键意象。夜深人静，篱落之间的一点灯火，是儿童戏蟋蟀的所在，也是人间烟火的所在。这“一灯”在寒夜中显得格外温暖，却也格外孤独——它是别人的灯，不是游子的灯；它照亮了儿童的游戏，却照不亮客中人的归途。以“一灯明”收束全诗，画面戛然而止，而那灯光的温暖与客愁的孤寂，便在这明灭之间久久徘徊。一字一词，尽得含蓄之妙。