唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
陇西行
Song of Longxi
誓扫匈奴不顾身，五千貂锦丧胡尘。
可怜无定河边骨，犹是春闺梦里人。
Five thousand clad in sable and brocade fell in the barbarian dust.
Pity the bones by the Wuding River's shore,
Who are still the living ones in their wives' spring dreams.
Meaning
The poem contrasts the brutal death of elite frontier soldiers with the oblivious dreams of their waiting wives, exposing the cruelty of war and mourning its human cost.
将士们立誓扫平匈奴奋不顾身，五千身穿貂锦的健儿丧身胡地风尘。可叹那无定河边枯冷的尸骨，仍是春闺梦里相依的亲人。
Appreciation
The poem's power lies in its stark contrast between the 'bones by the river' and the 'dreams of the boudoir.' By shifting from the public spectacle of mass slaughter to the private tenderness of a wife's dream, the poet turns a distant battle into an intimate grief. The use of 'sable and brocade' to stand for the fallen elite sharpens the sense of waste. The final line delivers a quiet, devastating blow—the dead are known only as living in another's sleep.
【白话串讲】 “誓扫匈奴不顾身，五千貂锦丧胡尘”——陈陶写陇西行：五千将士战死。“可怜无定河边骨，犹是春闺梦里人”——那些无定河边的白骨，还是春闺梦里的人。战争最悲怆的句子之一。 【意象与手法】以“貂锦”代指精锐，以“河边骨”与“梦里人”构成生死、虚实的反差对照。 【情感与主旨】揭露战争的残酷，对阵亡将士及其家人寄予深挚同情，沉痛悲慨。 【名句点睛】“可怜无定河边骨，犹是春闺梦里人”——生死虚实相对，千古断肠。
Background
Chen Tao was a late-Tang poet. Writing under the shadow of Tang frontier wars, he uses the Han-dynasty Xiongnu as a stand-in for border enemies to denounce the savagery of war.
《陇西行》为唐代陈陶所作，是写边塞战争、春闺梦人的诗。陈陶（约812—约885），字嵩伯，鄱阳人，唐代诗人。此诗：誓扫匈奴不顾身，五千貂锦丧胡尘。可怜无定河边骨，犹是春闺梦里人。全诗写边塞战争、春闺梦人，是陈陶诗的名篇。
Art
The poem sets 'bones by the river' against 'dreams of the boudoir,' creating a violent opposition of death and life, reality and illusion, that strikes the reader to the heart.
《陇西行》艺术上以边塞战争的描摹与春闺梦人的沉痛见长。全诗四句：首写誓扫匈奴——“誓扫匈奴不顾身，五千貂锦丧胡尘”写誓扫匈奴不顾身、五千貂锦丧胡尘；末写河边骨春闺梦——“可怜无定河边骨，犹是春闺梦里人”用无定河之典写可怜无定河边骨、犹是春闺梦里人。全诗以边塞战争写春闺梦人，正是陈陶诗沉痛的笔法。
Allusions
'Xiongnu' stands for border enemies in general; 'sable and brocade' metonymically denotes the elite troops through their fine raiment.
《陇西行》用典在“匈奴”“貂锦”“胡尘”“无定河”“河边骨”“春闺”。“匈奴”写匈奴；“貂锦”写貂锦（貂裘锦衣，指将士）；“胡尘”写胡尘（胡地尘土）；“无定河”写无定河（边地河流）；“河边骨”写河边骨；“春闺”写春闺。全诗以这些意象写边塞战争、春闺梦人，用典自然而沉痛自见，正是陈陶诗的笔法。
Commentary
This couplet is ranked alongside 'in dreams I know not I am a guest' as one of the great eternal lines of Chinese poetry.
《陇西行》是陈陶诗的名篇，也是唐诗中写边塞战争的代表作。此诗写边塞战争、春闺梦人，向为论者称道。论者多赏其边塞战争的描摹与春闺梦人的沉痛——“誓扫匈奴不顾身，五千貂锦丧胡尘”写誓扫匈奴不顾身、五千貂锦丧胡尘，沉痛之极；“可怜无定河边骨，犹是春闺梦里人”用无定河之典写可怜无定河边骨、犹是春闺梦里人，更见其痛。陈陶此诗以白骨与春闺梦对照，正是其代表——以边塞战争写春闺梦人，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
誓扫匈奴不顾身，五千貂锦丧胡尘。
They swore to sweep the Xiongnu, recking not of life; five thousand in sable and silk fell in the northern dust.
誓扫匈奴不顾身，五千貂锦丧胡尘。
They swore to sweep away the Xiongnu, careless of their lives; five thousand in sery and silk perished in the northern dust.
首写誓扫匈奴不顾身、五千貂锦丧胡尘，是全诗写边塞战争的起点。“誓扫匈奴不顾身”写誓扫匈奴不顾身——“誓扫匈奴不顾身”写誓要扫灭匈奴、不顾自身——誓扫匈奴不顾身；“五千貂锦丧胡尘”写五千貂锦丧胡尘——“五千貂锦丧胡尘”写五千貂锦将士、丧于胡尘——五千貂锦丧胡尘。二句写誓扫匈奴不顾身、五千貂锦丧胡尘：誓扫匈奴不顾身，五千貂锦丧胡尘。以“誓扫匈奴不顾身”写誓扫匈奴、奋不顾身，以“五千貂锦丧胡尘”写五千貂锦、尽丧胡尘，正是陈陶诗写边塞战争的起点——誓扫匈奴，五千丧尘。
The opening writes the oath to sweep the Xiongnu, recking not of life, and the five thousand in sable and silk falling in the northern dust, the starting point of the whole's writing the border war. They swore to sweep the Xiongnu, recking not of life writes the vow to destroy the Xiongnu regardless of self. Five thousand in sable and silk fell in the northern dust writes the five thousand sable-clad soldiers perishing in the dust. The two lines write the oath's recklessness and the five thousand's fall: swearing to sweep the Xiongnu, five thousand perishing in the dust, exactly Chen Tao's starting point of writing the border war.
可怜无定河边骨，犹是春闺梦里人。
Pity the bones on the Wuding River's bank: they are still the one in the spring chamber's dreams.
可怜无定河边骨，犹是春闺梦里人。
Alas, the bones on the Wuding River's bank are still the man in the spring chamber's dreams.
末用无定河之典写可怜无定河边骨、犹是春闺梦里人，是全诗写春闺梦人的名句。“可怜无定河边骨”用无定河之典写可怜无定河边骨——“可怜无定河边骨”用无定河（边河）之典写可怜那无定河边的白骨——可怜无定河边骨；“犹是春闺梦里人”写犹是春闺梦里人——“犹是春闺梦里人”写犹是春闺梦中所见的人——犹是春闺梦里人。二句写可怜无定河边骨、犹是春闺梦里人：可怜无定河边骨，犹是春闺梦里人。以“可怜无定河边骨”用无定河之典写无定河边白骨、战死之尸，以“犹是春闺梦里人”写犹是春闺梦中之人、思妇犹盼，正是陈陶诗写春闺梦人的名句——河边白骨，春闺梦人。
The close uses the Wuding River allusion to write pity the bones on the Wuding River's bank: they are still the one in the spring chamber's dreams, the famous line of the whole's writing the dreamer in the spring chamber. Pity the bones on the Wuding River's bank uses the Wuding River (a border river) allusion for the white bones by the stream. They are still the one in the spring chamber's dreams writes the man still seen in the spring chamber's dream. The two lines write the bones by the river and the dreamer in the spring chamber: the white bones on the Wuding bank, the dead soldiers' remains, yet still the one dreamed of in the spring chamber, the longing wife still hoping, exactly Chen Tao's famous line - bones by the river, the dreamer in the spring chamber.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
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出塞 On the Frontier 王昌龄 · 同为唐诗写边塞征戍，一写白骨春闺一写飞将不还，一痛一慨 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
王昌龄《出塞》写秦时明月、万里长征人未还，与本首同为唐诗写边塞征戍。差异在情致：陇西行写春闺之痛；出塞写飞将之慨。一写“痛”之切，一写“慨”之深。两者并读，可见唐诗写边塞征戍的两种情致。
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王翰《凉州词》写醉卧沙场君莫笑，与本首同为唐诗写边塞。差异在情致：陇西行写白骨春闺之悲；凉州词写醉卧沙场之豪。一写“悲”之痛，一写“豪”之旷。两者并读，可见唐诗写边塞的两种情致。