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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

春宿左省

Spring Night at the Left Secretariat

杜甫

Du Fu

写景scenery 时序time and season 抒情lyric expression

花隐掖垣暮，啾啾栖鸟过。
星临万户动，月傍九霄多。
不寝听金钥，因风想玉珂。
明朝有封事，数问夜如何。

Flowers fade into the twilight of the palace wall; chirping, the roosting birds pass by.
Stars descend and myriad households seem to stir; the moon rests by the ninth heaven and its light is abundant.
I cannot sleep but listen for the golden key; on the wind I fancy the jade bridle-bells.
At dawn I have a sealed memorial; again and again I ask—how goes the night?

Listen

Meaning

As twilight falls, flower-shadows fade into the wall of the Secretariat; chirping birds flit home to roost. Stars descend and the myriad lit windows seem to move; the moon leans by the high palace and its light is fullest. I lie awake listening for the golden key that opens the gates; on the wind I fancy the jade bells of tomorrow's court. At dawn a sealed memorial awaits me, and again and again I ask how the night wears on. The poem captures a spring night spent on duty in the Secretariat—its quiet grandeur and the poet-censor's anxious devotion to his charge.

暮色中，花影隐没在门下省的宫墙边，归巢的鸟儿啾啾地从头顶飞过。星光下临，千家万户的灯火随之闪烁；明月高悬，傍着九霄宫阙，月色格外明亮。我夜不能寐，静静倾听宫门开启的金钥之声；夜风送来声响，让我不由得想起明日早朝时朝官马勒上玉珂的叮当。明天一早有密封的奏章要呈上，我一次次地问：现在夜里几更了？

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] As twilight falls, flower-shadows fade into the wall of the Secretariat; chirping birds flit home to roost. Stars descend and the myriad lit windows seem to move; the moon leans by the high palace and its light is fullest. I lie awake listening for the golden key that opens the gates; on the wind I fancy the jade bells of tomorrow's court. At dawn a sealed memorial awaits me, and again and again I ask how the night wears on. [Imagery and Method] The whole threads time from dusk to deep night to near dawn, tightly structured. The first couplet with 'flowers fade' 'roosting birds' sets the dusk and the duty, sight and sound crossed; the second 'stars descend, myriad households stir; moon rests by the ninth heaven, light abundant' writes the palace night, vast; the third 'cannot sleep but listen for the golden key; on the wind fancy the jade bells' writes the wakefulness through hearing, real and imagined crossed; the last 'at dawn a sealed memorial, again and again I ask' reveals the devotion, closing. Fine diction: 'descend' 'stir' 'rest' 'abundant' write the stars and moon; 'again and again' the tossing. [Emotion and Theme] Written when Du Fu was Reminder on duty at the Secretariat, it writes the diligence of a spring night's duty. After the An Lushan rebellion, the court troubled, Du Fu took remonstrance as his charge; 'at dawn a sealed memorial' shows his devotion, 'again and again I ask' his fear of missing the audience—loyal love beyond the brush. [Famous Lines] The oft-tested 'again and again I ask how the night goes' borrows the Shijing 'Ting Liao' 'how goes the night? not yet mid,' comparing himself to the diligent ancient; one 'again and again' writes the wakeful, eager heart, the devoted figure vivid.

【白话串讲】杜甫在门下省值夜班，写春宿左省：“花隐掖垣暮，啾啾栖鸟过”。“星临万户动，月傍九霄多”——“不寝听金钥，因风想玉珂”——“明朝有封事，数问夜如何”——他一夜没睡，因为明天要上封事。【意象与手法】全诗以时间为线索，从黄昏写到深夜再到将旦，章法谨严。首联以「花隐」「栖鸟」点出暮色与值宿，视听交错；颔联「星临万户动，月傍九霄多」写宫阙夜景，气象宏阔；颈联「不寝听金钥，因风想玉珂」以听觉写不寐，虚实相生；尾联「数问夜如何」点出忠勤，收束全篇。炼字精严，以「临」「动」「傍」「多」四字写星月之气象，以「数问」状尽夜中辗转之态。【情感与主旨】此诗作于杜甫任左拾遗值宿门下省时，写春夜值宿之勤谨与忠勤。安史乱后，朝廷多故，杜甫以谏官自任，「明朝有封事」见其尽职之心，「数问夜如何」见其唯恐误朝之诚，忠爱之情流露于笔墨之外。【名句点睛】常考「数问夜如何」化用《诗经·小雅·庭燎》「夜如何其？夜未央」，以古贤勤政自况，一个「数」字写尽值宿者辗转反侧、急于早朝之心，忠勤之态跃然纸上。

Background

Written spring of the first year of Qianyuan (758), when Du Fu was Reminder (左拾遗) on night duty at the Secretariat (Left Province). In 757 he fled Chang'an to Fengxiang; Suzong made him Reminder; after memorializing for Fang Guan he nearly perished, saved by Zhang Hao. This was written before his demotion to Huazhou, still in office. The An Lushan rebellion raged; both capitals recovered but the realm broken, Du Fu took remonstrance as his charge, on duty at the Left Province, awake lest he miss the morning audience. The Tang Secretariat east of Xuanzheng Hall was the Left Province; '掖垣' its wall. The Reminder's duty was to remonstrate; 'at dawn a sealed memorial' his diligence—a record of his loyal office, key to his 'loyal to sovereign and state' feeling. 'Flowers fade into the twilight of the palace wall' the spring night; 'stars descend, moon rests' the imperial capital—his eye and heart in office, precious evidence of the Tang secretariat system and the censor's life.

此诗作于唐肃宗乾元元年（758）春，杜甫时任左拾遗，在门下省（即左省）值夜。至德二载（757），杜甫逃出沦陷的长安，奔赴凤翔行在，肃宗授以左拾遗之职；因上疏营救房琯，几遭不测，幸得张镐相救方免，此诗即写于出贬华州之前、仍在朝任职的春天。安史之乱方炽，两京虽已收复，而山河破碎、朝廷多故，杜甫以谏诤自任，值宿左省，夜中不寐，唯恐误了早朝进言。唐代门下省在宣政殿东侧，称左省，中书省称右省，所谓「掖垣」即其宫墙。左拾遗职司规谏，杜甫「明朝有封事」的郑重，正是其为官尽忠的写照。此诗以春夜值宿为背景，写尽一个谏官在静夜中的勤谨与忧思，是杜甫长安为官时期的纪实之作，亦是了解其「忠君爱国」情怀的重要作品。诗中「花隐掖垣暮」写春夜之景，「星临万户」「月傍九霄」写帝京气象，正是杜甫在朝时眼中景、心中事，为后世了解唐代门下省制度与谏官生活留下了珍贵的诗证。

Art

The poem threads time from dusk to near-dawn, tightly structured. First couplet sets place and season: 'flowers fade into the twilight of the palace wall' dusk falling, 'chirping roosting birds pass' the birds' sound for the night's quiet, sight and sound crossed, hinting 'lodging.' Second couplet the palace night: 'stars descend and myriad households stir' starlight on the lit windows, 'the moon rests by the ninth heaven and its light abundant' the moon by the palace, from low to high, vast. Third couplet from scene to heart: 'cannot sleep but listen for the golden key' the real hearing; 'on the wind I fancy the jade bells' the imagining, real and imagined crossed. Last couplet 'at dawn a sealed memorial, again and again I ask how the night goes' the reason for waking, closing. In diction, 'descend' 'stir' 'rest' 'abundant' write the stars and moon; 'again and again' the tossing. The whole from scene to feeling to intent—a model of the pentasyllabic regulated 'command the complex with simplicity.' Note the bone-word 'lodge' (宿): first couplet the lodging scene, middle the lodging heart, last the lodging intent—one word through, and 'spring' tints it fresh; the tight structure shows Du Fu's 'fine' craft.

全诗以时间为线索，从黄昏、入夜到深夜、将旦，章法井然，起承转合分明。首联点明时地与节候：「花隐掖垣暮」写暮色渐合、花影没入宫墙，「啾啾栖鸟过」以归鸟之声写暮夜之静，视听交错，由花及鸟、由静入动，暗逗值宿之「宿」字。颔联写宫阙夜景：「星临万户动」写星光下照、万户灯火与星光交映，「月傍九霄多」写月依宫阙而月色独多，由下而上、由近及远，气象宏阔。颈联由景入心：「不寝听金钥」写凝神谛听宫门锁钥之声，是实闻；「因风想玉珂」写因风而想明日早朝的马铃声，是悬想，虚实相生，一今一明。尾联「明朝有封事，数问夜如何」点出「不寝」之由，收束全篇。炼字上，「临」「动」「傍」「多」四字写星月之气象，「数问」状尽夜中屡问更次的焦灼，全诗由景入情、由情见志，是五律「以简驭繁」的典范。尤可注意者，全诗以「宿」字立骨：首联写宿处之景，中二联写宿夜之心，尾联点宿中之志，一「宿」字贯通首尾，而「春」字又为全篇着上清新之色，章法之严密、针线之细密，正是杜甫律诗「细」字工夫的体现。

Allusions

Its allusions inherit the palace-poem tradition. '掖垣' the secretariat wall; 'ninth heaven' the high palace or emperor's seat; 'golden key' the palace gate key—Tang rite opened gates at dawn with a key, the night-duty man heard it, 'listen for the golden key' a common image of forbidden-night quiet; 'jade bells' the censor's bridle-jade, a surrogate for the audience, sound for the court. 'Again and again I ask how the night goes' directly borrows the Shijing 'Ting Liao' 'how goes the night? not yet mid'—originally King Xuan's diligence at dawn audience; Du Fu uses it to compare himself to the ancient worthy, loyalty clear. The palace-poem line—Cen Shen's 'golden towers the dawn bell opens myriad doors,' Wang Wei's 'ninth heaven's gates open the palaces'—writes daytime audience's splendor; Du Fu alone writes the eve before, the watcher's heart, breaking new ground; 'chirping roosting birds' 'stars descend' show his fine observation, 'every word has a source' yet his own invention. Du Fu learns the Shijing without being bound; 'how the night goes' from one ask to many shows his power to write the time through the classics, one with 'raise the sovereign to Yao and Shun.'

诗中故实与意象多承宫省诗传统。「掖垣」指门下省宫墙，「九霄」喻宫阙之高或帝王所居，「金钥」指宫门锁钥——唐制宫门晨启以钥，禁中值宿者得闻其声，「听金钥」遂成写禁中夜静的常用意象；「玉珂」为朝官马勒上的玉饰，借代早朝仪仗，以声写朝。「数问夜如何」直用《诗经·小雅·庭燎》「夜如何其？夜未央」——原诗写周宣王勤政、夜起早朝，杜甫化用其句，以古贤自况，忠勤之意不言自明。宫省诗一脉，岑参《和贾至舍人早朝大明宫之作》「金阙晓钟开万户」、王维「九天阊阖开宫殿」皆写白日早朝的煌煌气象，杜甫此诗独写早朝前夜，以值宿者视角写其内心，为宫省题材别开生面；而「啾啾栖鸟」「星临万户」的写景，又透出杜甫观察的细密，是「无一字无来处」而能自出机杼的例证。杜甫学《诗经》而不泥古，「数问夜如何」由一问而数问，正见其以经籍写时事的功力，与「致君尧舜上，再使风俗淳」的志业一脉相承。

Commentary

Critics prize its 'loyal love' and 'fineness.' Shen Deqian's 'Tang Poems Selected' says such Du poems 'loyal love flows beyond the brush'; Pu Qilong's 'Reading Du Mind Opened' says 'the whole writes one word 'lodge,' yet the loyal diligence shows,' pointing to 'lodge' as bone, 'loyal' as spirit. With 'Spring View' and 'Moonlit Night' it is a Chang'an masterpiece but different in tone: 'Spring View' mourns the broken state, 'Moonlit Night' misses the family, this writes duty—together Du's 'mourn state, miss family, do duty' triple feeling. Artistically, four couplets finely antithetical, clear in order; the last closes with a question, lingering. 'Stars descend and myriad households stir; the moon rests by the ninth heaven and its light abundant' is a passed-down famous couplet. As a pentasyllabic regulated verse it writes a night's duty in forty characters, strict yet deep—the peak of the official-night-duty poem, showing Du Fu's mid-life 'precise' regulated craft. Annotated by all Du commentators; Qiu Zhao'ao cites Huang Sheng 'writes the duty scene like painting, like talk'; today's readers still see that spring night, a censor by the wall awaiting dawn.

历代评家多赏此诗之「忠爱」与「细密」。清代沈德潜《唐诗别裁》评杜甫此类诗「忠爱之忱，流露于笔墨之外」；浦起龙《读杜心解》谓此诗「通首只写一『宿』字，而忠勤之意自见」，点出其以「宿」为骨、以「忠」为神的章法。此诗与《春望》《月夜》同为杜甫长安时期名作而情调不同：《春望》忧国破，《月夜》念家室，此诗写职守，合观可见杜甫「忧国、念家、尽职」的三重情怀。就艺术而言，全诗四联对仗精工、次第分明，尾联以问句收束，余韵悠长；「星临万户动，月傍九霄多」气象宏阔，为历来传诵的名联。作为五律，此诗以四十字写尽值宿一夜的所见所感，格律严整而情致深婉，是唐诗中写官署值夜题材的绝唱，亦可见杜甫中年律诗「精严」一格的造诣。此诗历代笺注杜甫者皆予著录，仇兆鳌《杜诗详注》引黄生评语，谓其「写值宿之景，如画如话」；今人读此诗，犹能想见千年前那个春夜，一位谏官在宫墙内秉烛待旦的身影。

Prosody

Form A pentasyllabic regulated verse (仄起首句不入韵).五言律诗（仄起首句不入韵）

Rhyme Rhymes with the Pingshui 'ge' rhyme (过, 多, 珂, 何), one rhyme throughout.押平水韵下平五歌韵，韵脚为「过、多、珂、何」，一韵到底，通篇不换。

Tone pattern Oblique-register opening; first line 'Flowers fade into the twilight of the palace wall' (仄仄平平仄) does not rhyme; the second and third couplets antithetical and tonally matched; the last couplet closes as a flowing clause, in rule yet composed.全诗仄起，首句「花隐掖垣暮」为仄仄平平仄，不入韵；颔联「星临万户动，月傍九霄多」与颈联「不寝听金钥，因风想玉珂」皆对仗工整、平仄相协；尾联「明朝有封事，数问夜如何」以流水句收束，平仄入律而声情从容。

Reading note A standard pentasyllabic regulated verse, strict in pattern, representative of Du Fu's 'precise regulated verse.' In level-tone: first couplet oblique-register non-rhyming; second and third couplets tightly antithetical—'stars descend' vs 'moon rests,' 'myriad households' vs 'ninth heaven,' 'stir' vs 'abundant'; 'cannot sleep' vs 'on the wind,' 'listen for the golden key' vs 'fancy the jade bells,' empty words opposed yet meaning flows—a fine 'wide antithesis.' Rhyme all in 'ge,' open and舒缓, suiting the quiet spring night and court dignity. Du Fu late said 'my verse-law grows finer with age'; though mid-life, this already shows his craft. With 'Spring View' and 'Moonlit Night' it shows the track from 'realist' to 'inspired' in his pentasyllabic regulated verse—a model of the standard form.此诗为五言律诗正格，格律谨严，是杜甫「律诗精严」一格的代表。平仄上，首联「花隐掖垣暮，啾啾栖鸟过」为仄起不入韵式（仄仄平平仄，平平仄仄平），颔联、颈联皆严整对仗：「星临」对「月傍」、「万户」对「九霄」、「动」对「多」，名词、数量词、动词一一相俪；「不寝」对「因风」、「听金钥」对「想玉珂」，虚词相对而意思流转，工中见活，是「宽对」的佳例。用韵方面，四韵皆属平水韵下平五歌，韵脚「过、多、珂、何」收音开阔舒徐，与春夜静谧、宫廷庄严的意境相合；杜甫晚年「晚节渐于诗律细」，此诗虽作于中年，已可见其炼律之精。句法上，首联散句写景，中二联工对写夜，尾联以问句收束，起承转合分明。全诗平仄、对仗、用韵、章法四者兼备，与《春望》《月夜》并观，可见杜甫五律由「写实」到「入神」的轨迹，是五律「正格」的典范之作。

Line by line

花隐掖垣暮，啾啾栖鸟过。

Flowers fade into the twilight of the palace wall; chirping, the roosting birds pass by.

暮色中花影隐入宫墙，归巢的鸟儿啾啾地从头顶飞过。

Flowers fade in the dusk by the palace wall; twittering, the roosting birds fly past.

首联点明时地与节候，是全诗的起兴。「花隐掖垣暮」写暮色四合，花影渐渐没入掖垣宫墙，「隐」字见光线渐暗、物象渐没的动态，一个「暮」字点明时令与时辰；「啾啾栖鸟过」以归巢之鸟的鸣声写暮夜，「啾啾」象声，声入耳而愈显其静，鸟归而人未归，暗逗值宿之「宿」字。两句一写视觉、一写听觉，视听交错，由花及鸟、由静入动，写尽春夜初临的朦胧与宁谧，为下文星月之景、不寐之情布好底色。杜甫以「花隐」而非「花落」，见春夜之清新；「掖垣」点出左省官署，全篇「春」「宿」二字皆从这两句中暗暗点出，起笔从容而针线细密。

The opening couplet points the time, place, and season, the whole's rising. Flowers fade in the dusk by the palace wall writes the dusk gathering, the flower shadows gradually sinking into the palace wall; the word fade shows the dimming light and the sinking objects, the single word dusk pointing the season and hour. Twittering, the roosting birds fly past writes the evening through the home-bound birds' cries; the word twittering mimics the sound, the sound entering the ear making the stillness the deeper, the birds returning while the man returns not, secretly touching the word keeping watch of the duty. The two lines, one sight one hearing, seeing and hearing interweaving, from flowers to birds, from stillness to motion, write to the full the dimness and quiet of the first coming of the spring night, laying the ground for the later stars and moon and the sleepless feeling. Du Fu uses flowers fade not flowers fall, showing the freshness of the spring night; the palace wall points the Left Office, the whole's two words spring and keeping watch both secretly shown in these two lines, the opening composed and the stitching fine.

星临万户动，月傍九霄多。

Stars descend and myriad households seem to stir; the moon rests by the ninth heaven and its light is abundant.

星光下临，千家万户随之闪动；明月傍着九霄宫阙，月色格外明亮。

The stars shine down on ten thousand doors and they seem to stir; the moon, near the ninth heaven, abounds in light.

颔联写宫中夜景，是全诗气象最宏阔处。「星临万户动」——「临」写星光自上而下笼罩，「动」字最妙：星光既临，长安万户的灯火与星光交相辉映，仿佛千家万户都随之摇动，以静写动，写出都城夜间的万家灯火之盛；「月傍九霄多」——「傍」写月依宫阙，「多」写月色在九霄之旁独多，不说月明而说月色独多，以位置之高写光明之盛。两句以「星」「月」对举，「万户」写人间之广、「九霄」写宫阙之高，由下而上构成立体空间。唐人写月，此联极见杜甫炼字之工：星临则动，月傍则多，一「动」一「多」，写光之流转与浓淡，气象与谏官近君的身份暗合，是「一字千金」的典范。

The jaw couplet writes the palace night, the broadest air of the whole. The stars shine down on ten thousand doors and they seem to stir: the word shine down writes the starlight falling from above, the word stir the finest - the starlight come down, the lanterns of Chang'an's ten thousand doors meeting the starlight, as if the ten thousand homes were moving, writing stillness through motion, writing the capital's night of myriad lanterns. The moon, near the ninth heaven, abounds in light: the word near writes the moon beside the palaces, the word abounds writes the moonlight abundant beside the ninth heaven, not saying the moon bright but saying the moonlight abundant, writing the brilliance through the height. The two lines set stars and moon against, ten thousand doors writing the breadth of the world, the ninth heaven the height of the palaces, building a solid space from below upward. Of Tang moon-writing, this couplet most shows Du's craft of polishing: stars shine down and stir, moon near and abounds, the one stir the one abound, writing the flow and density of light, the air secretly matching the remonstrance official's station near the prince, the model of a word worth a thousand pieces of gold.

不寝听金钥，因风想玉珂。

I cannot sleep but listen for the golden key; on the wind I fancy the jade bridle-bells.

夜不能寐，静听宫门金钥的声响；夜风送来动静，又让人想起明日早朝的马铃声。

Sleepless, I hear the golden keys of the gate; on the wind I imagine the jade bells on the horses.

颈联由景入心，写值宿者的心理活动，是全诗最见巧思处。「不寝」直承上文夜景，点出彻夜未眠；「听金钥」写凝神谛听宫门锁钥之声——禁中夜静，一钥之响清晰可闻，衬出值宿的专注与忐忑；「因风想玉珂」由听而想——夜风送来声响，让诗人联想到明日早朝朝官马勒上玉珂的叮当声，由实入虚，由今夜想到明朝。两句全用听觉，而一实一虚、一今一明，时空交错：金钥是实闻的宫门之声，玉珂是悬想的朝会之声，从「听」到「想」，写尽值宿者身在禁中、心系朝堂的勤谨。杜甫以声音写忠勤，不着一字议论，而一个谏官彻夜难眠、期待早朝的形态已呼之欲出。

The neck couplet moves from scenery to the heart, writing the watcher's inner activity, the most ingenious of the whole. Sleepless directly follows the night scene, pointing the whole night's waking. I hear the golden keys of the gate writes the strained listening for the palace lock - the night within the precinct still, one key's sound clearly heard, setting off the watcher's attentiveness and trepidation. On the wind I imagine the jade bells on the horses moves from hearing to imagining - the wind bringing a sound makes the poet think of the jade bells on the horses' bridles at tomorrow's morning court, moving from the real to the void, from tonight to tomorrow. The two lines wholly use hearing, yet one real one void, one tonight one tomorrow, time and space interweaving: the golden keys are the real heard gate sound, the jade bells the imagined court sound, from hearing to imagining, writing to the full the watcher's being in the precinct while his heart is at the court. Du Fu writes loyal diligence through sound, without one word of argument, yet the remonstrance official sleepless all night, expecting the morning court, is as if about to step forth.

明朝有封事，数问夜如何。

At dawn I have a sealed memorial; again and again I ask—how goes the night?

明天早朝要呈上密封的奏章，所以一次次地询问：现在夜里几更了？

At dawn I have the sealed memorial to present; again and again I ask what hour of the night it is.

尾联点明不寝之由，收束全篇，是全诗的题眼。「封事」指密封的奏章——臣下密奏，封以皂囊，事关机密与进谏，「明朝有封事」交代了「不寝」的职守之因，一个「有」字见出郑重；「数问夜如何」化用《诗经·小雅·庭燎》「夜如何其？夜未央」，写诗人一次次询问更漏，唯恐天已亮而误了早朝。一个「数」字，状尽夜中辗转、屡问更次的焦灼与郑重——首问恐夜尚早，再问恐夜将尽，三问四问，天未明而心已先到朝堂，忠勤之态跃然纸上。全诗由景入情、由情见志，以问句收束，言尽而意不尽：「夜如何」三字，既是问更，亦隐含着对国事、对明日的殷忧，值宿之夜的勤谨与家国情怀至此浑然一体。

The tail couplet points the reason for the sleeplessness, closing the whole, the title-eye of the poem. The sealed memorial means the sealed petition - the minister's secret memorial, sealed in a black bag, concerning confidential matters and remonstrance; at dawn I have the sealed memorial to present states the duty reason for the sleeplessness, the single word have showing the earnestness. Again and again I ask what hour of the night it is adapts the Book of Songs's court torch's what hour is the night? the night not yet ended, writing the poet again and again asking the watch, fearing lest dawn come and he miss the morning court. The single word again and again describes to the utmost the tossing in the night, the repeated asking of the watch - the first asking fearing the night still early, the second fearing the night nearly done, the third and fourth, dawn not come yet the heart already at court, the loyal diligence leaping on the paper. The whole moves from scenery to feeling, from feeling to will, closing in a question, the words ended yet the meaning endless: the three words what hour of the night, at once asking the watch, and secretly holding the deep concern for the state and for the morrow, the watcher's diligence and the love of family and state here fused into one.

Study

Word focus

动 The character 'dong' (动, 'stir') in 'stars descend and myriad households stir' is the couplet's eye. 'Descend' writes the starlight coming down; 'stir' writes that as starlight arrives, the myriad lit windows seem to move with it. Its merit: first, stillness into motion—stars are still, yet with light upon them all things stir, writing light's flow and shadow's ripple, giving the still night living vitality; second, small into large—'myriad households stir' writes the lit windows of Chang'an at night, vast, unmatched by one who had not seen the capital; third, hints the polity—stars figure the sovereign, stars descending on myriad households writes the king overlooking the realm, myriad people bearing the light, fitting Du Fu's post near the throne as Reminder. 'Bright' or 'shine' would be flat; only 'stir' writes both light's distribution and shadow's ripple, fusing stars, lamps, and city walls—Du Fu's 'won't rest till the word startles' craft. 「星临万户动」之「动」字，是此联的诗眼。「临」写星光自上而下，「动」写星光既临，万户灯火与星光交映，仿佛千家万户都随之摇动。这个字好在：一、以静写动——星本静悬，因光临而万物皆动，写出光之流转、影之摇漾，使静夜生出盎然的生机；二、以小见大——「万户」之动，写出帝京长安夜间灯火万家的盛景，气象宏阔，非亲历京华者不能道；三、暗含政象——星喻天子，星临万户，写君王临御天下、万民仰望承光，与杜甫身为左拾遗、职近天颜的身份相称。若用「明」「照」皆平，唯「动」字兼写光之分布与影之摇漾，将星光、灯火、城阙融为一体，正是杜甫「语不惊人死不休」的炼字功力。

多 The character 'duo' (多, 'abundant') in 'the moon rests by the ninth heaven and its light is abundant' stands against 'stir,' the couplet's other eye. 'Duo' is a quantity word, here for moonlight—not 'bright' but 'abundant by the ninth heaven,' using quantity for brightness, position for aura. Its wit: first, 'rests' writes the moon leaning on the palace, 'abundant' writes the high place's thick light, as if above the ninth heaven the moonlight gathers, the world's paler; second, 'abundant' against 'stir'—one motion one abundance, one light's flow one light's density, together stars and moon shine, myriad households bear the light, the realm opens; third, 'ninth heaven' hints the sovereign's seat, moonlight abundant there hints 'near the sovereign, gain the glow,' matching the poet's post at the wall. Refining the real scene with empty words, turning quantity into adjective—only Du Fu; this couplet becomes a famous moon line. 「月傍九霄多」之「多」字，与上句「动」字对举，是全联的另一诗眼。「多」本为数量词，此处写月色——不说「月明」，而说月色在九霄宫阙之旁格外「多」，以数量写亮度，以位置写气象。妙在：一、「傍」字先写月依宫阙，「多」字继写高处月光独厚，仿佛九霄之上月华汇聚，人间月色皆逊其明，写出宫阙之高与月色之盛；二、「多」与「动」相对——一动一多，一写光之流动、一写光之浓淡，两句合观，星月交辉、万家承光，境界顿开；三、「九霄」暗指君王所居，月色独多于九霄，隐有「近君者得辉光」之意，与诗人身为谏官、身在掖垣的身份相映。以虚字炼实景，化数量词为形容词，唯杜甫能之，此联遂成写月名句。

数 The character 'shu' (数, 'again and again') in 'again and again I ask how the night goes' is the poem's vivid stroke. 'Again and again I ask' writes asking the clepsydra again and again, each more urgent—first ask lest the night be early, again lest it be ending, thrice and four times, the mind at court before dawn. Its merit: first, action for feeling—not 'worry' or 'urgent' but the repeated asking shows the urgency, the wakeful fear of missing the audience made tangible; second, borrows 'Ting Liao' 'how goes the night' unnoticeably, adding 'again and again' gives the old line new life—the Shijing asks once, Du Fu asks many, the diligence greater, showing his power to use classics yet forge his own; third, 'again and again' echoes 'cannot sleep,' 'at dawn a sealed memorial' the reason, the whole from scene to heart to affair, closing tight. One 'shu' holds the devoted figure and the censor's heart. 「数问夜如何」之「数」字（屡次、多次），是全诗传神之笔。「数问」写夜中一次次询问更漏，一次比一次急切——首问恐夜尚早，再问恐夜将尽，三问四问，天未明而心已先到朝堂。这个字好在：一、以动作写心理——不写「忧」「急」而屡问自见其急，把彻夜难眠、唯恐误朝的焦灼写得具体可感；二、化用《庭燎》「夜如何其」而不露痕迹，加一「数」字，使古句顿生新意——诗经写一问，杜甫写数问，勤谨更甚，见出诗人化用经典而自出机杼的功力；三、「数问」与「不寝」呼应，「明朝有封事」是数问之由，全篇由景而心、由心而事，至此收束，针线细密。一「数」字，忠勤之态、谏臣之心，尽在其中。