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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

春望

Spring View

杜甫

Du Fu

忧国Grief for the country 战乱War turmoil 抒情Lyrical

国破山河在，城春草木深。
感时花溅泪，恨别鸟惊心。
烽火连三月，家书抵万金。
白头搔更短，浑欲不胜簪。

The nation shattered, hills and streams still stand.
In town in spring, grass and weeds grow deep.
Grieving over times, flowers shed tears;
Hating to part, birds startle my heart.
Beacon fires have blazed for three months,
A letter from home worth ten thousand gold.
I scratch my white hair even shorter,
Almost too thin to hold a hairpin.

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Meaning

The poet is trapped in the fallen capital Chang'an during the An Lushan Rebellion. Seeing the desolation of spring in the ruined city, he grieves over the state's destruction, longs for his family, and is distressed by his own aging and poverty. The poem expresses a fusion of sorrow for the country and homesickness.

国都沦陷，唯有山河依旧；春天重回空城，草木却疯长得分外荒深。感念时局艰难，见花开也禁不住溅落泪水；怅恨与亲人离别，闻鸟鸣也惊动愁心。战火连绵已三月不断，一封报平安的家信抵得上万两黄金。愁苦中白发越搔越发稀疏短少，简直快要插不住那支发簪了。

Appreciation

The first couplet uses a joyful scene (spring) to contrast grief: although the state is broken, hills and streams remain; in the city spring returns but grass and trees grow deep, showing desolation. The second couplet projects the poet's feelings onto flowers and birds, making them weep and startle. The third couplet uses hyperbole ('worth ten thousand gold') to emphasize the preciousness of a letter from home. The last couplet captures the poet's anxiety through the act of scratching his hair, which becomes so thin it can barely hold a hairpin. The poem moves from scenery to emotion, from state to family to self, deepening layer by layer, embodying Du Fu's 'poem as history' style.

【白话串讲】国都破了，山河还在；春天来了，草木疯长。杜甫在长安的春天里看见战火和家书，头发越搔越短——“感时花溅泪，恨别鸟惊心”，是安史之乱最痛的一页。【意象与手法】全诗情景交融，对仗精工而自然。首联以“山河在”反衬“国破”，乐景写哀；颔联移情于物，花泪鸟惊皆着我之色彩【情感与主旨】唐玄宗天宝十五载（756），安史之乱中长安沦陷，杜甫被困城中，次年（757）暮春写下此诗【名句点睛】常考“乐景写哀情”手法（以“城春草木深”之乐景衬“国破”之哀）；“感时花溅泪，恨别鸟惊心”的移情与拟人

Background

In the 15th year of Tianbao (756), during the An Lushan Rebellion, Chang'an fell. Du Fu was trapped in the city. The next spring (757) he wrote this poem. The rebels ravaged, his family was separated, and he was cut off from all news. He condensed the pain of national ruin and longing for home into eight lines, a concentrated example of his 'poem as history' spirit.

杜甫，字子美，号少陵野老，盛唐转中唐之现实主义诗歌巨擘，人称诗史。此诗作于唐肃宗至德二载（757）暮春。天宝十五载（756）安史乱起，潼关失守，玄宗奔蜀，太子李亨即位于灵武是为肃宗；同年六月，安禄山叛军攻陷长安，玄宗朝之都城沦陷，宫室焚毁、市井荒芜。杜甫闻肃宗立，自鄜州奔赴行在，中途为叛军所俘，押回长安，拘系近一年。困处沦陷的长安城中，值暮春登眺，目睹国破之惨，遂作此诗。在文学传统上，登临伤春为六朝以来常见题材，而杜诗以家国之痛熔铸个人之悲，将闺怨游子之传统翻为诗史之笔。此篇与同期《月夜》《哀江头》并见杜甫陷贼时期之沉郁，开后世战乱伤时七律（实为五律）之范式，遂为唐人写国难之绝唱，千载以下读之犹凛然。在文学传统上，登临伤春为六朝以来常见题材，而杜诗以家国之痛熔铸个人之悲，将闺怨游子之传统翻为诗史之笔。此篇与同期月夜、哀江头并见杜甫陷贼时期之沉郁，开后世战乱伤时五律之范式。困处沦陷的长安城中，值暮春登眺，目睹国破之惨，遂作此诗。其忧乐关天下之心、沉郁顿挫之笔，已预兆飘泊西南时期之诗史气象，足为唐人写国难之绝唱，千载以下读之犹凛然，信非偶然。

Art

The whole poem blends emotion with scenery. The first couplet uses contrast: 'hills and streams remain' against 'nation shattered', joyful scene to write sorrow. The second couplet extends emotion to objects. The third couplet's 'worth ten thousand gold' is a concise hyperbole. The last couplet uses the detail of scratching hair to convey spirit. The eight lines progress from scene to feeling, from country to family to self, deepening gradually, somber and forceful.

全诗四句（五律之半，此处为八句五言律诗之缩写，实当为五律全篇），章法以景起情承、事转结合，情景交融、对仗精工。首联国破山河在，城春草木深，以山河之恒反衬国都之破，乐景（春城草木）写哀，反差沉痛；颔联感时花溅泪，恨别鸟惊心，移情于物，花泪鸟惊皆着我之色彩，对仗工整而奇警；颈联烽火连三月，家书抵万金，由景入事，以战火之久反衬家信之贵，叙事凝练；尾联白头搔更短，浑欲不胜簪，以形写心，白发愈搔愈短，收束全篇之愁。修辞上，首联反衬、颔联拟人移情、颈联夸张对比、尾联白描，手法层出；意象上山河、草木、花、鸟、烽火、白头层叠，由宏阔而细微。其妙在全诗无一字呼号，而国破家亡之痛、离乱思家之哀毕见，诚五律中以景写情、沉郁顿挫之极笔。其妙在全诗无一字呼号，而国破家亡之痛、离乱思家之哀毕见，诚五律中以景写情、沉郁顿挫之极笔。首联反衬、颔联拟人移情、颈联夸张对比、尾联白描，手法层出；意象山河、草木、花、鸟、烽火、白头层叠，由宏阔而细微。由景起情承、事转结合，情景交融、对仗精工。盛唐律诗以情景相生胜，此篇正是不雕而工、以景写史之范式，后之论诗者每举此篇，以为老杜沉郁之境于八句间已具其全，足见其手眼，千载传诵。

Allusions

'A letter from home worth ten thousand gold' uses hyperbole to express the preciousness of a family letter in chaotic times, not an actual price. 'Hairpin' was a hair accessory for men in Tang dynasty, suggesting the poet's haggard state and implicitly the inability to 'dress properly' in a fallen state. 'Beacon fires' originally referred to border alert fires, here referring to the An Lushan war.

诗中意象与字法多有所本。国破用《周礼》及六朝军旅语，指都城陷敌；山河在化用虞信《哀江南赋》江山不改之慨，以自然之恒反衬人事之残。草木深本《楚辞·招隐士》王孙游兮不归，春草生兮萋萋，写无人之荒，城春而草深，见人烟断绝。花溅泪、鸟惊心暗承宋玉悲秋、庚信伤心之传统，又以移情写安史乱中之惊惶。烽火本古边警，连三月写至德元载至二载战火不绝；家书抵万金极言乱世音书之珍。不胜簪用古男子束发之礼，簪短则发疏，言愁致衰。字词训诂方面，浑欲之浑犹简直、几乎；搔为愁极下意识之动作。全诗用事融化诗骚与六朝文赋，不深奥而贴切，正见老杜以学问为诗、字字有本之高明，沉郁处见学养，遂成诗史之笔。要之，全诗用事融化诗骚与六朝文赋，不深奥而贴切。国破用军旅旧语，山河在化用哀江南赋江山不改之慨；草木深本楚辞招隐士春草之句，写无人之荒。花溅泪、鸟惊心承宋玉悲秋、庚信伤心之传统，以移情写惊惶。烽火本古边警，连三月写战火不绝；家书抵万金极言音书之珍；不胜簪用古男子束发之礼。此正老杜以学问为诗、字字有本之高明，沉郁处见学养，遂成诗史之笔，举重若轻而意蕴极厚，足为楷式。

Commentary

'A Sigh from Old Fisherman' (迂叟诗话) comments: 'The nation shattered, hills and streams still stand — meaning rests beyond words.' The hills and streams remain but human affairs are gone, sorrow is implicit. Shen Deqian in 'Selected Tang Poems' praises it as 'balancing scene and emotion, without losing the poet's purpose', affirming its integration of scene and feeling.

此诗向为杜甫五律压卷，与《登高》并称老杜沉郁之双璧。明人胡震亨《唐音癸签》称其忧端如山，不可遏止；清沈德潜《唐诗别裁集》析首联反衬之妙，谓意在言外。历代评家多赏其以乐景写哀、以景语写诗史，浦起龙《读杜心解》谓此诗之妙，全在气象超越而情至深。其经典地位在于以八句写尽安史之乱中长安沦陷、家破人散之全民之痛，国破山河在一句更成写国难之千古名句，将个人离愁升格为民族伤时之共鸣。传播史上，此诗自唐入宋即脍炙人口，入选《唐诗三百首》及各类教材，现代语文教育尤重其乐景写哀、移情于物之法；在战乱书写、家国情怀语境中，它与陆游、文天祥诸作并列为爱国诗篇之典范，足证短章亦能涵一代之痛、千古之思。其经典地位在于以八句写尽安史之乱中长安沦陷、家破人散之全民之痛，国破山河在一句更成写国难之千古名句，将个人离愁升格为民族伤时之共鸣。传播史上，此诗自唐入宋即脍炙人口，入选唐诗三百首及各类教材，现代语文教育尤重其乐景写哀、移情于物之法；在战乱书写、家国情怀语境中，它与陆游、文天祥诸作并列为爱国诗篇之典范，足证短章亦能涵一代之痛、千古之思，千载传诵而不衰，信非偶然，足为诗史之冠冕。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse (五律)五言律诗（八句全篇，写陷贼长安伤时念家，属战乱抒情题材）

Rhyme Beginning with oblique tone without rhyme, rhymes with the 12th final of the lower level tone (深 shen, 心 xin, 金 jin, 簪 zan).押平声侵韵，深、心、金、簪四句末字属平水韵下平十二侵，首联对起不入韵式，中二联对仗，一韵到底，声情沉郁而悠长。

Tone pattern First line: deflected-deflected-level-level-deflected; second: level-level-deflected-deflected-level; middle couplets have strict parallelism.平仄合五律仄起首句不入韵格：仄仄平平仄，平平仄仄平。仄平平仄仄，仄仄仄平平。仄仄平平仄，平平仄仄平。仄平平仄仄，平仄仄平平。颔联颈联对仗精工，格律严整。

Reading note Uses joyful scene (spring flowers, birds) to express sorrow, a contrast technique. 'Shed tears' and 'startle heart' are often interpreted as empathy or intertextuality, epitomizing Du Fu's somber and forceful style.此诗为五律全篇，声律严整而气韵沉郁。首联国破山河在、城春草木深仄起平承，在、深平声侵韵，开口沉厚，最宜发伤时之慨；颔联感时花溅泪、恨别鸟惊心仄平相对，泪、心仄平相谐，移情之痛在声情中顿显；颈联烽火连三月、家书抵万金仄起平承，写乱世音书；尾联白头搔更短、浑欲不胜簪以平收束，衰飒有余。中二联对仗精工，平仄妥帖，盛唐律诗重情景相生，此篇不刻意求工而自然合度，读来如老杜独语、字字沉郁。其韵脚之选与对仗之稳，使短章兼具吟咏之深与诗史之重，宜乎千载推为五律压卷而不移。要之，此诗声情与辞情互为表里，深心金簪四平声在侵韵中沉厚悠长，最宜发伤时之慨。中二联对仗精工，平仄妥帖，盛唐律诗重情景相生，此篇不刻意求工而自然合度，读来如老杜独语、字字沉郁。其韵脚之选与对仗之稳，使短章兼具吟咏之深与诗史之重，宜乎千载推为五律压卷而不移。论者谓老杜律诗如鲸鱼碧海，此诗正其波澜最沉处，声情与辞情互为表里，非浅率者所能到，足为五律之极则。

Line by line

国破山河在，城春草木深。

The nation shattered, hills and streams still stand; in town in spring, grass and weeds grow deep. Contrast between 'nation shattered' and 'city spring', joyful scene (spring) to write sorrow, highlighting the pain of loss.

国都沦陷，唯有山河依旧；春天重回空城，草木却疯长得分外荒深。

The state is broken; hills and rivers remain. The city in spring; grass and trees grow thick.

首联为全诗之纲，以反衬立境，沉痛凝练。国破二字劈空而来，写都城陷敌之惨；山河在三字陡转，以自然山川之恒常反衬人事之残破，永恒与无常猛烈碰撞，暗含江山不改、社稷已倾之慨。城春草木深以乐景（春回）写哀情（荒城），春本可喜，而草木深言无人料理、蓬蒿满目，愈显人烟断绝之悲。两句一纵（山河）一收（草木），由宏阔之宇宙反衬细微之荒凉，乐景哀情之法于此立极。其所以成千古名句，正在其道出乱离中人人共有的国破之痛，以最朴之反对写最厚之史。老杜炼意于常语，此联正是不炼之炼，举重若轻，遂成汉语写国难之经典意象，足证五律以景写情之极笔。

The opening couplet is the whole's program, establishing the realm through contrast, painful and condensed. The two words the state is broken come crashing from the void, writing the capital's fall to the enemy; the three words hills and rivers remain turn abruptly, setting the constancy of nature against the ruin of human affairs, the eternal and the impermanent clashing violently, secretly holding the sigh that the hills and rivers remain while the state has fallen. The city in spring; grass and trees grow thick writes grief through joyous scenery (spring's return) - spring originally welcome, yet the thick grass writing no one to tend it, the wild growth filling the eyes, the more showing the grief of the depopulation. The two lines, one release (the hills and rivers) one gather (the grass and trees), setting the vast cosmos against the minute desolation, the method of joyous scenery and grief reaching its peak. It became a peerless line exactly because it speaks the common pain of the broken state in the midst of chaos, writing the thickest history through the plainest opposition. Du's refining the meaning in common words, this couplet is the refining that seems not refined, lifting the weight lightly, becoming the classic image in the Chinese language for national calamity, proving the five-character regulated verse's extreme brush of writing feeling through scenery.

感时花溅泪，恨别鸟惊心。

Grieving over times, flowers shed tears; hating to part, birds startle my heart. Empathy or intertextuality: the poet's feelings of sorrow and separation make flowers and birds react emotionally. Very poignant diction.

感念时局艰难，见花开也禁不住溅落泪水；怅恨与亲人离别，闻鸟鸣也惊动愁心。

Grieved by the times, I shed tears at the flowers; torn by parting, the birds startle my heart.

颔联承首联之哀而深一层，以移情于物写乱离之惊惶。感时花溅泪，言感念时局艰难，见花开亦禁不住泪溅；恨别鸟惊心，言怅恨与亲离别，闻鸟鸣亦惊动愁心。花本悦目、鸟本悦耳，而诗人以我之悲注入物中，花泪鸟惊皆着我之色彩，是典型之移情与拟人。此联对仗精工，感时对恨别、花对鸟、溅泪对惊心，色声兼具而情愈悲。其妙在不直诉己愁，而借花鸟写出，含蓄而奇警，遂将个人离乱之痛化为天地同悲之象。唐人写春多赏，老杜却以花溅泪鸟惊心写伤时，举重若轻，正见诗史以景写史之手段。此联与首联呼应，由国破之宏入恨别之微，结构圆紧而沉郁顿挫，足为杜律警句之范。

The jaw couplet follows the opening's grief a layer deeper, writing the alarm of chaos through transferring feeling to things. Grieved by the times, I shed tears at the flowers means that, grieved by the hard times, seeing the flowers bloom he cannot help shedding tears; torn by parting, the birds startle my heart means that, grieving the parting from his dear ones, hearing the birds startles his sorrowful heart. The flowers are originally pleasing to the eye, the birds pleasing to the ear, yet the poet injects his own grief into things, the flowers' tears and the birds' alarm all taking his color, the typical empathy and personification. The couplet is a wrought parallel, grieved by the times against torn by parting, flowers against birds, shedding tears against startle the heart, color and sound both, the grief the deeper. Its beauty lies in not directly speaking his own sorrow, but writing it through the flowers and birds, reserved and incisive, turning the personal pain of chaos into an image of grief shared by heaven and earth. Tang poets write spring mostly as delight, yet Du writes the wounded times through shedding tears at flowers and the birds startling the heart, lifting the weight lightly, exactly the poetry-history's method of writing history through scenery. This couplet echoes the opening, moving from the vastness of the broken state to the minute of the torn parting, the structure rounded and tight, brooding and measured, the model of Du's regulated-verse warning lines.

Study

Word focus

在 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 在字为全诗反衬之眼，国破山河在以一在字立永恒与残破之烈反差。山河本无情之物，不因人世兴亡而改其存在，在字最重，写自然之恒常如旧，反衬国都之破、社稷之倾，江山依旧而家国已非，沉痛毕见。此字以最朴之形涵最厚之史：若云山河改则徒写荒败，唯云山河在，方见物是人非之锥心。老杜炼意于常语，在字正是不炼之炼，举重若轻。与下句草木深之深呼应，一恒一荒、一纵一收，构成首联之张力。唐人写乱多重呼号，太白以浪漫出之，老杜却以在字冷然反衬，沉郁顿挫，遂成诗史笔法之表征，足证五律以景写情之极笔，千载以下读之犹凛然。

深 deep, overgrown. 'Grass and weeds grow deep' conveys the desolation of an empty city, using the depth of spring growth to express depth of sorrow. 深字为全诗荒凉之象，城春草木深以一深字写尽沦陷都城的无人之荒。春回本当繁盛有序，而草木深言蓬蒿漫生、无人芟夷，深极而见人烟断绝、市井成墟，乐景（春）至此翻为哀境。此字最妙在举重若轻：不写尸骨遍野，而写草木之深，以自然之盛反衬人事之残，含蓄而力千钧。与首句山河在之在呼应，在写恒、深写荒，一纵一收，构成首联之反衬结构。老杜炼字于景语，深字正是不雕而工，以最朴之形容词写最厚之史。唐人写春城多重绮丽，老杜却以深字写荒，沉郁顿挫，遂成诗史写乱离之经典意象，足证短章亦能涵一代之痛，千载传诵而不衰。

春望