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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

长相思·其一

Everlasting Longing (I)

李白

Li Bai

爱情Love 相思Longing

长相思·其一长相思，在长安。
络纬秋啼金井阑，微霜凄凄簟色寒。
孤灯不明思欲绝，卷帷望月空长叹。
美人如花隔云端。
上有青冥之长天，下有渌水之波澜。
天长路远魂飞苦，梦魂不到关山难。
长相思，摧心肝。

Endless longing, in Chang'an.
Autumn crickets chirp by the golden well-rail, light frost chills the cold mat's color.
Dim solitary lamp, longing nearly breaks; rolling up the curtain, I gaze at the moon, sighing in vain.
The beauty like a flower is beyond the clouds.
Above is the vast blue sky, below are the clear water's waves.
Heaven is high, road is far, my soul flies in pain; my dream-soul cannot cross the mountain passes hard.
Endless longing, it breaks my heart.

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Meaning

This poem expresses the poet's deep longing for his beloved who is far away in Chang'an. The autumn night scene intensifies his loneliness and despair, culminating in the heartbreaking refrain of 'endless longing,' which shows the intense pain of separation.

长长的相思啊，我所思念的人在长安。秋虫在井栏边悲啼，薄霜凄凄，竹席泛着寒意。孤灯昏暗，愁思几乎断绝；卷起帷帐仰望明月，空自长叹。美人如花，却远隔云端。上有苍苍茫茫的青天，下有碧绿清澈的水波。天长路远，魂魄飞渡何其辛苦；梦魂也难越过关山。长长的相思啊，摧裂心肝。

Appreciation

The poem opens with a direct statement of longing and proceeds to depict a desolate autumn night. Vivid imagery of cricket cries, cold mat, dim lamp, and moon-watching builds an atmosphere of solitude. The final lines expand to cosmic scale, emphasizing the unbridgeable distance, before the emotional outburst 'breaks my heart.'

【白话串讲】 “长相思，在长安”——李白说：我思念的人，在长安。“美人如花隔云端”——她像花一样，却隔在云端。“天长路远魂飞苦，梦魂不到关山难”——他一次次想靠近，又一次次被隔断。【意象与手法】全诗以「长相思」三字首尾呼应，构成回环复沓的抒情结构；中间杂用三言、五言、七言，长短错落，破偶为奇。写景由「络纬秋啼」「微霜凄凄」的秋夜物候，转入「孤灯不明」「卷帷望月」的室内孤寂；抒情则由实入虚，「上有青冥之长天，下有渌水之波澜」以天地铺排空间，反衬阻隔之深，「天长路远」「梦魂不到」将抽象相思化为可感之苦，结句「摧心肝」直抒胸臆，力重千钧。【情感与主旨】《长相思》为乐府旧题，属《乐府诗集·杂曲歌辞》。此为其一，约作于天宝年间。诗中「在长安」点明所思之人在京城，旧说多以为寄寓诗人对君国或知己的眷恋，亦可视作广义的相思离情。李白善用乐府古题抒写个人块垒，此篇以秋夜起兴，将望月怀远、魂梦难通的苦楚写得回环跌宕，体现了盛唐乐府歌行慷慨旷达而情致绵长的特质。【名句点睛】常考「美人如花隔云端」的可望不可即之意与香草美人传统；「空长叹」之「空」字的炼字之妙；「上有……下有……」铺排的空间反衬；以及首尾「长相思」复沓的结构作用。

Background

This poem is one of Li Bai's 'Chang Xiangsi' series, composed during the Tianbao period (742–756). The mention of Chang'an suggests the beloved is in the capital, often interpreted as longing for the emperor or an old friend. Li Bai uses the yuefu ancient form to express personal feelings, blending folk song style with his own bold spirit.

《长相思》为乐府旧题，属《乐府诗集·杂曲歌辞》，古辞多写男女相思离别之情。李白此诗为拟乐府之作，共二首，此为其一，约作于天宝年间。李白（701—762），字太白，号青莲居士，唐代伟大的浪漫主义诗人，有诗仙之誉。天宝元年（742），李白奉诏入京，供奉翰林，然遭权贵谗毁，天宝三载即被赐金放还，此诗或即作于留京前后。诗中「在长安」三字点明所思之人在京城，故旧说多谓此诗寄寓对君国或知己的眷恋，以美人喻贤者、喻君王，暗含君臣遇合之感；亦有学者认为纯是游子思妇的乐府本色。无论作意如何，诗中以秋夜孤馆起兴，写望月怀远、魂梦难通之苦，回环跌宕，正是盛唐乐府歌行慷慨旷达而情致绵长的典型。李白一生善以乐府古题抒写个人块垒，此篇以一己之情写天下之情，于儿女相思中见江海气象，故能于众多拟古乐府中独标高格。就作意而言，无论解作思君怀国，还是视为纯粹的相思离情，诗中「天长路远魂飞苦」的绝望与「摧心肝」的呼号，都分明融入了诗人政治失意后的身世之感，是乐府旧题与个人情志的一次深刻结合。

Art

The poem features a cyclical structure with the phrase 'endless longing' repeated at beginning and end, creating a refrain. Mixed line lengths (3,5,7 characters) break monotony and produce a lively rhythm. The shift from concrete autumn scenes to abstract space and the use of opposites (above/below, heaven/water) highlight the vast separation, making the longing palpable.

全诗以「长相思」三字首尾呼应，开篇点题，结句收束，构成回环复沓的抒情结构，如一唱三叹的歌谣。章法上，起笔「长相思，在长安」开门见山，点出情之所系；继而以「络纬秋啼」「微霜凄凄」铺写秋夜之凄清，以「孤灯不明」「卷帷望月」写室内之孤寂，由物候而人境，步步逼紧；「美人如花隔云端」一句陡转，将可望而不可即之恨和盘托出；「上有青冥之长天，下有渌水之波澜」以天地上下铺排空间，极言阻隔之远；「天长路远魂飞苦，梦魂不到关山难」更进一层，连魂魄梦寐亦难穿越，将抽象相思化为可感可触之苦；结句「长相思，摧心肝」直抒胸臆，力重千钧，与首句遥相呼应。句式上，全诗杂用三言、五言、七言，长短错落，破偶为奇，如「长相思」三字短句反复出现，顿挫有力；「上有……下有……」的排比句法又见铺张扬厉，大起大落，极富乐府歌行的跌宕之美。情与景、虚与实、远与近交织，层次井然而一气流转，是李白乐府抒情诗章法浑成的代表作。

Allusions

The poem uses traditional imagery from yuefu and Chuci. 'Qingming' (azure sky) comes from Chuci, and 'Lushui' (clear water) is a famous zither piece. 'Beauty like a flower beyond the clouds' alludes to the 'fair one' allegory in Chuci, often denoting the emperor. The poem doesn't rely on historical allusions but enriches its meaning through literary conventions.

此诗用典不多，而意象多承乐府与楚辞传统，浑融无迹。「美人」一语，上承屈原香草美人之喻——自《离骚》以来，诗家多以美人喻君王、喻贤才，李白「美人如花隔云端」正用此象征传统，故旧注多解为思君之作；「隔云端」又暗合《庄子·逍遥游》「藐姑射之山，有神人居焉」的远人意象，可望不可即。「络纬」即蟋蟀，一名促织，《诗经·豳风·七月》已有「十月蟋蟀入我床下」之咏，《古诗十九首》「促织鸣东壁」更以虫鸣写闺思，李白以「秋啼」承之，秋声秋思并起。「卷帷望月」承《古诗十九首》「明月何皎皎，照我罗床帏」与谢庄《月赋》「隔千里兮共明月」的望月怀远传统。「青冥」状天宇之苍茫，李白《梦游天姥吟留别》「青冥浩荡不见底」即其习用语汇；「渌水」本蔡邕琴曲五弄之一，李白另有《渌水曲》一题，此处状水之清澈，兼含琴声幽咽之意。「关山」为乐府旧题《关山月》之常见意象，写征戍离别。诗人熔铸楚辞、乐府语汇于一炉，以传统意象写个人新情，故明人谓其「出入乐府，得风人之遗」。

Commentary

Ming critic Hu Zhenheng praised Li Bai's yuefu as capturing the spirit of the ancients. Modern scholar Zhan Ying noted the poem's clear structure and melancholic grace. Zhong Xing commented on the line 'beauty like a flower beyond the clouds' as both illusory and painful. Critics admire how Li Bai turns personal longing into a vast, soaring lament.

历代评家对此诗推崇备至。明人钟惺、谭元春《唐诗归》评「美人如花隔云端」句「幻极，痛极」，拈出其虚实相生、可望不可即的至痛；胡震亨《唐音癸签》则总论太白乐府「出入乐府，得风人之遗」，谓其拟古而不囿于古，深得《诗经》比兴之遗意。近人詹锳评此篇「以秋景起，以望月承，以天地收，章法井然而情致飘逸」，于章法、情韵两端皆予肯定。论者尤赏其于缠绵悱恻之中见江海之气：同一相思主题，六朝人多写闺中儿女之私，李白却以「上有青冥之长天，下有渌水之波澜」的天地铺陈，将儿女之情升华为天地之间无所不在的深情，这正是盛唐气象在抒情诗中的体现。就文学史而言，此诗上承《古诗十九首》望月怀远传统与楚辞香草美人象征，下启白居易《长相思·汴水流》的复沓写法，乃至清代纳兰性德《长相思·山一程》的羁旅之思，可见其影响之深远。李白以乐府旧题写一己之情而能超越一己，遂使《长相思》成为后世相思词曲反复取法的母题，此篇亦因此跻身盛唐乐府歌行的最高境界。

Prosody

Form Yuefu (Miscellaneous Song)乐府·杂曲歌辞（拟古乐府，杂言歌行）

Rhyme Frequent rhymes on -an and -ai, with some variation押平声韵，「安、寒、叹、端、澜、难、肝」同属平水韵寒删先部（上平十四寒、十五删、下平一先通用），一韵到底，声情绵长悠远。

Tone pattern Ancient style, not regulated古体乐府不拘近体平仄，以三、五、七言长短错落构成节奏；「长相思」三字短句首尾复沓，中间七言句一气流走，如歌如叹。

Reading note Irregular line lengths (3,5,7 characters) typical of Li Bai's yuefu style此诗为拟乐府杂言歌行，属《乐府诗集·杂曲歌辞》旧题，体制上与近体律绝迥异：不追求对仗工稳与平仄严整，而以长短句错落构成参差之美。全诗以三言短句「长相思」起、结，中间杂以五言（「在长安」「摧心肝」）与七言长句，长短相间、疾徐有致：短句促而急，如击节而叹；长句舒而缓，如引吭而歌，恰好配合情思由绵长到爆发再到回环的起伏。用韵上，「安、寒、叹、端、澜、难、肝」同押平声韵，一韵到底而不换韵，平声韵悠长绵远，正合相思之绵长不绝；「肝」字入韵，声洪而气促，于篇末收束，尤见力量。句法上，「上有……下有……」的排比，「天长路远」与「梦魂不到」的对举，皆于参差中见整饬，是乐府歌行中「破偶为奇」的典型。全篇节奏回环，首尾同以「长相思」三字遥相呼应，形成「复沓—铺展—复沓」的环形结构，诵读时如闻一唱三叹之音。这种杂言乐府的自由体制，正适合李白抒写大开大合、缠绵跌宕的情思，故论者谓太白乐府「以气为主」，此篇可为例证，其声律之美与情思之美高度合一。

Line by line

长相思，在长安。

Endless longing, the beloved is in Chang'an.

长长的相思啊，我所思念的人就在长安城。

Long longing - the one I long for is in Chang'an.

起笔即点题，两句开门见山，将相思之情与所念之地一并托出。「在长安」三字尤为紧要：长安既是当时帝都，又是诗人供奉翰林的旧游之地，故这三字既实写所思之人的所在，又暗含对君国、对往昔际遇的追怀，旧说遂多以「美人」喻君、以相思寓君臣遇合。句式上，三言「长相思」短促直起，五言「在长安」舒缓落实，一急一缓，先声夺人，奠定全诗回环咏叹的基调。全篇以「长相思」起、以「长相思」结，首尾复沓，此句正是这环形结构的第一环，一开始便把读者卷入绵长的情思之中，无一字写愁而愁绪已弥漫全篇。

The opening at once points the title, the two lines coming straight to the point, holding out both the longing and the place. The three words in Chang'an are especially critical: Chang'an then the capital, and the old haunt where the poet served in the Hanlin, so these three words at once actually write the place of the longed-for person and secretly hold the longing for the prince and for the past fortune; old readings therefore often take the fair lady as a meta-phor for the prince, and the longing as the ruler-minister meeting. In syntax, the three-character long longing starts short and direct, the five-character in Chang'an settles slow, one urgent one slow, carrying the reader by storm and fixing the whole's circling lament. The whole opens with long longing and closes with long longing,首尾 reduplicated; this line is the first ring of that circular structure, at once drawing the reader into the lingering feeling, not one character writing grief yet grief filling the whole.

络纬秋啼金井阑，微霜凄凄簟色寒。

Autumn crickets chirp by the golden well-rail, light frost chills the cold mat's color.

秋夜蟋蟀在井栏边悲啼，薄霜凄凄，竹席上泛着寒意。

The cricket chirps in autumn by the jewelled well railing; thin frost, chill on chill, the bamboo mat turns cold.

两句写秋夜物候，是全诗由情入景的实处。「络纬」即蟋蟀，《诗经·豳风·七月》已有蟋蟀入床下之咏，《古诗十九首》「促织鸣东壁」更以虫鸣写闺思，李白此处以「秋啼」点出络纬悲鸣，声在井阑（金井阑即饰金的井栏，暗含宫苑气象），已是一片秋声；「微霜凄凄」以叠字状霜之细密，「簟色寒」写竹席亦带寒意，视觉之霜、触觉之寒与听觉之啼交织，物候的凄清与心境的孤寂互相渗透。「凄凄」叠字承《诗经》「凄其以风」一脉，声情绵长。两句不写人而人自在其中：正因长夜不眠，才听得见络纬秋啼，才感觉得到簟色生寒，景语即情语，为下文「孤灯」「望月」的室内之景作了铺垫，秋声秋色至此与人心合而为一。

The two lines write the autumn night's phenology, the real place of the whole's moving from feeling to scenery. The cricket means the katydid; the Book of Songs's seventh month already has the cricket entering under the bed, and the nineteen old poems have the cricket chirping at the eastern wall, using the insect's chirp to write the chamber longing; Li Bai here uses chirps in autumn to point the cricket's mournful cry, the sound by the well railing (the jewelled well railing, a gold-adorned well curb, secretly holding the palace air), already a stretch of autumn sound. Thin frost, chill on chill uses the reduplicated word to write the fine frost; the bamboo mat turns cold writes the mat's chill, the sight of frost, the touch of cold, and the sound of chirps interweaving, the phenology's chill and the heart's loneliness permeating each other. The reduplicated word chill follows the Book of Songs's chill with the wind line, the sound and feeling lingering. The two lines do not write the man, yet the man is within: precisely because sleepless through the long night, one can hear the cricket's autumn chirp and feel the mat turn cold, the scenery words are feeling words, laying a ground for the later indoor scenery of the lone lamp and watching the moon, the autumn sound and color here fusing with the heart into one.

孤灯不明思欲绝，卷帷望月空长叹。

Dim solitary lamp, longing nearly breaks; rolling up the curtain, I gaze at the moon, sighing in vain.

孤灯昏暗，愁思几乎断绝；卷起帷帐仰望明月，空自长叹。

The lone lamp burns dim, my longing near to breaking; I roll the curtain, watch the moon, and sigh in vain.

两句由室外物候转入室内人事，是全诗抒情的高潮之一。「孤灯不明」写灯之孤、光之暗，实写人之孤、心之暗，灯为无情之物而着一「孤」字，已把人的孤独投射其上；「思欲绝」直揭愁思之深，几至心神断绝，极言其苦。「卷帷望月」是全诗动作的枢纽：卷起帷帐，本为望月遣愁，而明月千里，所思之人更在千里之外，望月徒增相思，故「空长叹」三字以「空」字点破，一切举动皆属徒然。这一动作细节与《古诗十九首》「明月何皎皎，照我罗床帏。忧愁不能寐，揽衣起徘徊」同一机杼，而「空长叹」的无奈更见深挚。从章法看，此联承上启下：上承秋夜凄清之境，下启「美人隔云端」之恨，由景入情、由实入虚，转折自然而不着痕迹。

The two lines move from the outdoor phenology to the indoor human matter, one of the lyrical climaxes of the whole. The lone lamp burns dim writes the lamp's loneliness and the light's dimness, actually writing the man's loneliness and the heart's dimness; the lamp a passionless thing yet given the word lone, already projecting the man's solitude upon it. My longing near to breaking directly uncovers the depth of the sorrow, nearly to the breaking of mind, writing its bitterness to the utmost. I roll the curtain, watch the moon is the hinge of the whole's action: rolling the curtain, originally to watch the moon and dispel the sorrow, yet the bright moon reaches a thousand li, and the longed-for person lies further beyond a thousand li; watching the moon but adds to the longing, so the three words sigh in vain break through with the word in vain, every act of no avail. This action detail is of the same loom as the nineteen old poems's how bright the moon, shining on my silk bed-curtain; sorrowing, I cannot sleep, I take my clothes and rise to pace, yet the sigh in vain's helplessness shows the deeper devotion. In structure, this couplet carries above and opens below: above the autumn night's chill scene, below opening the grief of the fair lady beyond the clouds, moving from scenery to feeling, from real to void, the turn natural without a trace.

上有青冥之长天，下有渌水之波澜。

Above is the vast blue sky, below are the clear water's waves.

上有苍苍茫茫的青天，下有碧绿清澈的水波。

Above is the vast, illimitable sky; below, the green waters rise in billows.

两句以天地上下铺排空间，是全诗境界最开阔处。「上有……下有……」的对举句式源于汉乐府，李白《蜀道难》「上有六龙回日之高标，下有冲波逆折之回川」即用此格，此处再以「青冥之长天」状天宇之苍茫高远，「渌水之波澜」写江流之碧波浩荡，上下相形，将阻隔拓成整个天地。「美人如花隔云端」一句之「隔」字至此有了着落：正因为上有天、下有水，天地之大竟成相思之障，越是辽阔，越见隔绝之深、相聚之难。写景的宏阔与抒情的深挚在此高度统一，抽象的相思被空间化、具象化，读来如见一人立于天地之间、四顾茫然，这正是李白将儿女之情写得有江海之气的关键笔法，也是盛唐歌行「以气驭景」的典范。

The two lines set the space in the upper and lower of heaven and earth, the broadest realm of the whole. The parallel pattern above is... below is... comes from Han yuefu; Li Bai's Shu Road is Hard uses above are the high marks where the six dragons turn the sun, below the swirling rivers where the waves strike and double back, and here again uses the vast, illimitable sky to write the heavens' boundless height, the green waters rise in billows to write the river's rolling swell, upper and lower setting off, expanding the barrier into all heaven and earth. The word barrier in the fair lady like a flower beyond the clouds here finds its ground: precisely because above the sky and below the water, the vastness of heaven and earth has become the barrier of longing, the broader the more deep the isolation and the harder the meeting. The scenery's grandeur and the feeling's devotion here unify at a height, the abstract longing spatialized and concretized, reading as if seeing a person standing between heaven and earth, gazing around in blankness, exactly Li Bai's key brush of writing love's feeling with the air of rivers and seas, and the high-Tang song-style model of driving scenery through spirit.

Study

Word focus

空 vainly, in vain 「卷帷望月空长叹」之「空」字，副词，徒然、枉自之意，是全诗炼字最见功力处。卷帷望月，本寄望于以月遣愁、借月寄情，然而月照千里，所思之人终不可见，一切举动皆成徒然，「空」字一落，便将前此种种努力一笔勾销，写出相思之无望、之无力。「空长叹」与「思欲绝」呼应：思已欲绝，叹亦徒然，层层递进，把愁苦推向顶点。此字亦承六朝以来「空」字的抒情传统——《古诗十九首》「空床难独守」、谢朓「空为大国忧」——而以之写望月怀远，更见含蓄。若作「频长叹」「生长叹」，则叹有实指，反损其渺茫无奈之致；唯「空」字虚而实、轻而重，一字点破全篇无可奈何之情，故为诗眼，历来为选家所拈。

隔 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「美人如花隔云端」之「隔」字，是全诗情感结构的支点。前此写秋夜之凄清、孤灯之昏暗、望月之空叹，皆为此「隔」字蓄势；后此写青冥长天、渌水波澜、关山梦魂，皆由此「隔」字生发。一「隔」字，将美人置于云端之上，可望而不可即，相思遂成永无着落的悬想。「隔」兼含空间之远与心理之遥：空间上，美人远在云端，魂飞梦断亦不能至；心理上，如隔雾看花，愈近愈远，愈见愈迷。此字不动声色，而「幻极，痛极」（钟惺、谭元春语）之悲尽在其中。后世写「隔」者众，如李商隐「蓬山此去无多路，青鸟殷勤为探看」之蓬山万重，皆从此化出；而太白以一字立骨，不着「恨」字而恨意弥天，更见凝练。

摧 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「长相思，摧心肝」之「摧」字，摧毁、摧裂之意，是全诗情感的收束与爆发。前文层层写相思之苦：秋啼、霜寒、灯孤、望月、隔云端、魂飞苦、关山难，愁苦已积至顶点，至此以「摧」字一总爆发，如蓄洪决堤，势不可挡。「摧心肝」三字以「摧」领起，将无形的心理痛苦化为有形的摧毁之力，谓愁思竟能裂人心肝，夸张而真切，直抒胸臆，力重千钧。与开篇「长相思」三字复沓呼应，同一短语而情感迥异：起句是绵长悠远的咏叹，结句是撕心裂肺的呼号，一唱三叹，首尾回环，完成了全诗由情起、由情结的环形结构。「摧」字下得狠、下得准，非如此不足以尽「长相思」之极痛，故历来以此三字为全诗点睛，声情并至，读之如闻其哭。

孤 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「孤灯不明」之「孤」字，状灯之独明，实写人之独处，是全诗由物及人的移情之笔。灯本无情，何孤之有？只因长夜不眠、所思不见，遂觉孤灯相伴、灯亦孤独。「孤」字将室内一灯、一人并写，物我同一，孤寂之感从景物中自然流出，不着痕迹。此字在李白笔下屡见：《独坐敬亭山》「众鸟高飞尽，孤云独去闲」以孤云写独坐，《月下独酌》「花间一壶酒，独酌无相亲」以独酌写孤怀，皆以孤独之景写孤独之人，而此句「孤灯不明」与「思欲绝」紧接，灯愈孤则思愈绝，情景相生。「孤灯」一词更自此成为古典诗词写羁旅孤愁的经典语汇，后世诗词曲中孤灯夜坐之境，皆可溯源于此，可见一字之炼，影响深远。