唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
春夜别友人
Farewell to a Friend on a Spring Night
银烛吐青烟，金樽对绮筵。
离堂思琴瑟，别路绕山川。
明月隐高树，长河没晓天。
悠悠洛阳道，此会在何年。
In the hall of parting we think of lutes and strings, the road ahead winds over hills and streams.
The bright moon hides behind tall trees, the River of Stars fades in the dawning sky.
On the long, long road to Luoyang, when will we meet again, you and I?
Meaning
The poem depicts a farewell banquet on a spring night. The luxurious setting contrasts with the sadness of parting. As night deepens, the moon sets and stars fade, showing the passage of time. The poem ends with a heartfelt question about future reunion, expressing deep friendship.
银烛吐着青烟，金杯面对着华美的筵席。离堂之上想起宴乐与友情的和谐，别后的路途将要绕过重重山川。明月渐渐隐没在高大的树梢之后，银河也沉入了破晓的天际。悠悠漫长的洛阳道啊，这一别不知何年才能再次相聚。
Appreciation
Written on the eve of Chen Zi'ang's journey to the imperial examination, this poem combines parting sorrow with youthful ambition. The first couplet sets the scene, the second shifts from music to journey, the third captures the fading night, and the last asks when they will meet again. The style is fresh and elegant, different from his famous desolate poem 'Song on the Tower at Youzhou'.
【白话串讲】 银烛青烟，金樽绮筵。陈子昂在春夜为朋友饯行：“明月隐高树，长河没晓天”——喝了整整一夜，天快亮了。“此会在何年”——这一别，再见不知何时。 【意象与手法】 全诗以时间为序写一场饯别宴的完整过程：由宴席写到离席，由今夜写到明朝，由室内写到道上。首联银烛金樽铺陈华宴之盛，色彩富丽而不俗艳；颔联由离堂之乐转入别路之遥，一乐一忧；颈联「明月隐高树，长河没晓天」以天象写夜深将晓，良宵苦短之意尽在不言中；尾联以「悠悠洛阳道」写前路绵长，再以「此会在何年」一问收束，离愁推向无限。中间两联对仗精工，银烛对金樽、离堂对别路、明月对长河，词性声色无不精当。全诗写景由明而暗、由实而虚，情感由隐而显、由乐而悲，情景相生，含蓄蕴藉，是初唐五律中以景结情、以问收篇的典范。 【情感与主旨】 此诗作于陈子昂赴洛阳应试前夜与友人话别之际，离情之中兼有壮怀：一面留恋与友人宴饮相知之乐，一面怀抱求取功名的抱负走向未知前程，故离愁不坠入哀婉，而于清丽之中透出青年士子初涉世途的昂扬之气。全诗无一处直写愁字，而离愁自见于烛烟、明月、长河、洛阳道等景物之中；「此会在何年」一问，更把个人之别升华为人生聚散无常的普遍感慨，情韵悠长。 【名句点睛】 「明月隐高树，长河没晓天」一联常为考卷所重：隐与没两个动词写尽夜深将晓的时辰推移，以天文景物之变暗示良宵将尽、别时已近，对仗精工而情景交融，是典型的以景写情之笔；「悠悠洛阳道，此会在何年」以问作结，叠字与绵长离思相映，余味不尽，为全诗点睛之笔。
Background
In 679 AD, Chen Zi'ang left his hometown for the imperial examination in Luoyang. He held a farewell banquet with friends on a spring night. This poem records the scene and his feelings of both loss and hope.
陈子昂（约659—700），字伯玉，梓州射洪（今四川射洪）人，唐代诗歌革新运动的旗手。唐高宗调露元年（679），诗人约二十岁，自蜀中启程赴东都洛阳应进士试，临行前夜与友人设宴话别，写成《春夜别友人》二首，此为其一。诗中明言去向为悠悠洛阳道，可见所别正是赴京应试之路；离别之际，诗人一面留恋与友人宴饮相知之乐，一面怀着求取功名的抱负走向未知前程，故全诗在离愁之外又透出青年士子初涉世途的昂扬气象。陈子昂论诗力主汉魏风骨，反对齐梁以来绮靡诗风，其《修竹篇序》倡言文章当有兴寄；此诗虽写寻常别情，却不落六朝宫体艳语，以清丽刚健之笔出之，正是其复古主张在近体诗中的实践。与作者晚年《登幽州台歌》的苍凉悲慨不同，此作笔墨温润，可见陈子昂风格之多样。此诗后世选本多录，成为初唐送别诗中律法初成、风骨已具的典型之作。
Art
The poem follows the entire farewell process. The first couplet describes the luxurious feast; the second turns from indoor harmony to distant roads; the third shows the passage of time through nature; the last ends with a rhetorical question. The middle couplets are perfectly parallel. The tone is fresh and restrained, not sorrowful.
全诗以时间流程为纲，写一场饯别宴的完整过程：由宴席写到离席，由今夜写到明朝，由室内写到路上，章法井然而情韵流动。首联银烛金樽，铺陈华宴之盛，银与金、青与绮两两相映，色彩富丽而不俗艳；颔联由眼前的离堂之乐，转入别后之路的想象，琴瑟之和与山川之阻相对，情感由乐转忧；颈联写夜深人静、明月隐树，又写更漏将残、银河没于晓天，两句皆以天文景物写时辰推移，良宵将尽之意尽在不言中；尾联不直说离情，而以悠悠二字描摹洛阳道上绵长的道路，再以此会在何年一问收束，把离愁推向无限。中间两联对仗工整：离堂对别路、思对绕、琴瑟对山川，明月对长河、隐对没、高树对晓天，词性声色无一不侔。全诗写景由明而暗、由实而虚，情感由隐而显、由乐而悲，情景相生，极尽含蓄蕴藉之致。此外，全诗语言由富丽转清淡：前两联银烛金樽、金玉满堂，后两联明月长河、纯任自然，恰与离宴由盛转散的过程相应；尾联不用典、不设色，只以悠悠二字与一问收束，愈淡愈见情真，正是陈子昂复古主张下清刚诗风的自然流露，故为初唐五律中以景结情、以问收篇的典范。
Allusions
The 'qin se' (zither and lute) alludes to the Book of Songs, symbolizing friendship and harmony. 'Changhe' (the River of Stars) refers to the Milky Way. 'Luoyang road' points to the destination. These allusions are natural and reflect Chen's return to the Jian'an style.
琴瑟一语，语出《诗经·小雅·鹿鸣》我有嘉宾，鼓瑟鼓琴，又见《周南·关雎》琴瑟友之，本指宴享之乐与朋友间和谐亲睦之情。陈子昂于离堂之上思琴瑟，既实写饯别宴上管弦之盛，更借以喻与友人相知相得的情谊，用典贴切而不着痕迹。长河即银河，又称天河、银汉，古人常以银河之明暗隐现判断夜之深浅，此句以长河没晓天写破晓将临，银河渐渐隐没于天光之中，正暗含欢会无多、天色欲明之意，与上句明月隐高树同为以天象写时间的妙笔。洛阳道，点明友人此去之地，洛阳为唐之东都，繁华冠于天下，以悠悠状其道路绵长，兼含对友人前程的祝愿。全诗用典极省，仅琴瑟一处化用经语，余皆白描直写，正体现陈子昂力主汉魏风骨、反对堆砌典故的主张；尤可注意者，银烛、金樽、绮筵三词本为六朝宴饮诗惯用的富丽语汇，陈子昂沿用而不失清刚，全赖其后以明月长河之清景、悠悠洛阳道之素语相济，使浓淡相间、文质相副；琴瑟之典用于离堂，既切宴乐之实，又含知音之喻，较之直说友谊深厚，更见含蓄雅正。以雅语写俗情、以常语写真景，正是其复古精神在离别题材上的落实。
Commentary
The Ming critic Gao Bing ranked Chen Zi'ang as the top early Tang poet. The Qing scholar Shen Deqian praised this poem as the finest early Tang regulated verse, free from Qi-Liang ornamentation. It shows Chen's ability to blend elegance with strength.
明人高棅《唐诗品汇》论初唐诗，以陈子昂为初唐之冠，其言云：继往开来，莫善于此。清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》亦称其五律去齐梁浮艳而存清刚，谓初唐近体，此等为最。此诗正可印证诸评：同是写别，六朝人多以绮罗香泽铺陈艳情，陈子昂却以银烛金樽的富丽写宴、以明月长河的清景写夜，于工稳的对仗中注入浩然之气，使离别诗由闺阁之愁转向士子之志。全诗八句，前六句皆写景叙事，无一字言愁，而离愁自见；末句以问作结，情韵悠长，尤见匠心。就艺术接受而言，历代选家多赏其工对与情韵，沈德潜《唐诗别裁》诸本皆录此诗，可见其传诵之久；今人读之，尤能于银烛金樽、明月长河的画面中，体会唐人送别之郑重与士子远行之壮怀。在律诗发展史上，此诗处于初唐律法渐备而尚未完全定型的阶段，个别字句平仄尚存出入，正可见古诗向律诗过渡的痕迹，故兼具文学价值与诗体史价值。今日此诗入选中学语文教材，与其清丽可诵、情感真挚而境界阔大实有直接关系。
Prosody
Line by line
银烛吐青烟，金樽对绮筵。
Silver candles breathe blue smoke; golden cups face the broidered feast.
银烛吐着青烟，金杯面对着华美的筵席。
The silver candles breathe forth blue smoke; the golden cups face the splendid banquet.
首联以富丽之笔写饯别之宴，是全诗的起兴与底色。银烛金樽，皆华贵之物，青烟绮筵，皆绚烂之色，四样物象两两相对，勾勒出一场灯火通明、酒香四溢的夜宴。一个吐字最见功力：烛烟本自袅袅上升，着一吐字，仿佛烛芯有生命，正缓缓吐出青烟，静物遂有动态，画面顿生灵趣。金樽对绮筵之对，写主客举杯相向、宴席铺陈之状，为下文的琴瑟之思、别路之愁先立一个温暖欢洽的背景。两句纯用白描，不着一个愁字，而良辰美景之可贵已暗含其中，越是华美的欢宴，越衬出别离的怅惘，为全诗由乐转悲的情感走向埋下伏笔。
The opening couplet writes the farewell feast in a sumptuous brush, the rising and ground of the whole. Silver candles and golden cups are all costly things; blue smoke and broidered feast all splendid hues, the four images set in pairs, outlining a night feast of bright lights and overflowing wine. The single word breathe is the most craft: the candle smoke originally curls upward, yet with the word breathe the wick seems alive, slowly breathing out the blue smoke, the still thing taking motion, the picture at once alive. The word face in golden cups face the broidered feast writes the host and guest raising their cups to each other and the feast's spreading, laying beforehand a warm and congenial background for the later thought of lute and zither and the grief of the parting road. The two lines purely use plain drawing, not writing one word of grief, yet the preciousness of the fine time and fair scenery already hidden; the more splendid the joyous feast, the more it sets off the parting's longing, laying a ground for the whole's turn from joy to grief.
离堂思琴瑟，别路绕山川。
In the parting hall we think of the lute and zither; the road of parting winds through hills and streams.
在这离别的厅堂上想起宴乐与友情的和谐，别后的路途将要绕过重重山川。
In the hall of parting we think of the music of lute and zither; the road of separation winds past hills and rivers.
颔联由眼前的宴席宕开，一写今、一写后，一乐一忧，章法上承上启下。离堂点明此处正是送别之所，思琴瑟既实指宴上丝竹，又暗用《诗经》琴瑟友之之典，喻朋友相知之乐；别路绕山川则悬想友人离去后的行程，山川重重，道路迂回，一个绕字写尽前路之曲折漫长，也暗示相见之难。两句一内一外、一近一远：堂内是琴瑟和谐的欢愉，堂外是山川阻隔的苍茫，空间由室内推向天地，情感由当下的乐转入来日的忧。对仗工整而意脉流动，思与绕皆为情态动词，将无形的离思化为可感的行为，初唐五律中能于工对中见气韵者，此联堪称代表。
The jaw couplet opens out from the present feast, one writing the present, one the after, one joy one grief, the structure carrying above and opening below. The parting hall points this as the place of seeing off; we think of the lute and zither at once actually writing the music at the feast and secretly using the Book of Songs's lute and zither to befriend them allusion, meta-phoring the joy of friends' understanding. The road of parting winds through hills and streams imagines the friend's journey after leaving, the hills and streams layered, the road circuitous, the single word winds writing to the full the road's winding length, and hinting the difficulty of meeting. The two lines, one within one without, one near one far: within the hall the joy of the harmonious lute and zither, without the vastness of the hills and streams' barrier, space pushed from the room to heaven and earth, feeling turning from the present joy to the coming grief. The wrought parallel yet the vein flowing, the words think and wind both verbs of feeling, turning the invisible parting longing into a palpable act; among early-Tang five-character regulated verse showing air within the wrought parallel, this couplet is the representative.
明月隐高树，长河没晓天。
The bright moon hides behind the tall trees; the River of Stars fades into the dawn sky.
明月渐渐隐没在高大的树梢之后，银河也沉入了破晓的天际。
The bright moon hides behind the tall trees; the Milky Way fades into the dawn sky.
颈联写夜深将晓，是全诗最见功力、最为人称道的写景名联，亦常为考卷所重。明月高树、长河晓天，皆清旷之大景，两两相对，气象宏阔；隐与没两个动词最堪玩味：明月本悬中天，因夜深西沉，渐渐隐入高树之后，一个隐字写出月光由明转暗的渐变过程；长河即银河，破晓时分天光渐亮，银河悄然隐没于曙色之中，一个没字写尽夜将尽、天将明的刹那。两句合观，时间已由深夜推进到拂晓，良宵苦短之意不言自明。诗人不写离人的眼泪、不写宴散的杯盘，只以天文景物的推移暗示欢会无多，正是以景写情、含蓄蕴藉的典范，也是全诗情景交融最集中的体现。
The neck couplet writes the deep night nearing dawn, the most crafted and praised scenery couplet of the whole, often weighted in examinations. The bright moon and tall trees, the River of Stars and dawn sky, all vast clear scenes, set in pairs, the air broad; the two verbs hides and fades are the most to enjoy: the bright moon originally hung in mid-sky, sinking west as the night deepens, gradually hiding behind the tall trees, the word hides writing the gradual process of the moonlight from bright to dim. The River of Stars means the Milky Way, at dawn the light of sky gradually brightening, the galaxy quietly vanishing into the dawn hue, the word fades writing to the full the instant of the night's end and the day's coming. The two lines together, time has advanced from the deep night to dawn, the shortness of the fine night self-evident. The poet writes not the parting man's tears, not the scattered cups and plates, but only hints the few remaining hours of joy through the movement of the astronomical scenery, exactly the model of writing feeling through scenery and the concentrated showing of the whole's fusion of feeling and scenery.
悠悠洛阳道，此会在何年。
Long, long the road to Luoyang; in what year shall we meet again?
悠悠漫长的洛阳道啊，这一别不知何年才能再次相聚。
Endless stretches the road to Luoyang; in what year shall this gathering be again?
尾联直抒离情而仍以景语、问语出之，是结句的妙处所在。悠悠叠用，既写洛阳道之绵长无尽，又写离思之绵邈无涯，双关自然；洛阳为唐之东都，繁华之地，道出友人前程所在，暗含祝愿，而悠悠二字又抹上一层苍茫之色。此会在何年一问，不待回答，也无法回答，正因不知何年，离愁才显得格外深重。全诗前六句无一字言愁，至此方借一问点破，如蓄水之堤一朝决口，情感沛然而下；而问而不答，又留下悠悠余味，使离情如洛阳道般延伸到诗外。以问收篇是唐人律诗常用的手法，此诗用之，尤得含蓄不尽之致。
The tail couplet directly utters the parting feeling yet still in scenery words and a question, the beauty of the closing. The reduplicated long, long at once writes the Luoyang road's endless length and the parting longing's boundlessness, the pun natural. Luoyang, the eastern capital of Tang, a place of splendor, points the friend's road ahead, secretly holding the wish, yet the two words long, long veiling it in a layer of vastness. The question in what year shall we meet again? needs no answer, nor can it be answered; precisely because no year is known, the parting grief is the heavier. The first six lines of the whole write not one word of grief, until here it is broken through by one question, like a dam of stored water breaking at once, the feeling pouring forth; yet the question unanswered leaves a long aftertone, making the parting feeling stretch beyond the poem like the Luoyang road. Closing in a question is a common method of Tang regulated verse; this poem uses it, attaining especially the reserved and endless grace.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare the fresh and elegant style here with Meng Haoran's more simple and distant approach.
孟浩然《留别王维》写科场失意后与王维话别：寂寂竟何待，朝朝空自归，直抒怀才不遇的孤寂，欲寻芳草去，惜与故人违，将归隐之志与惜别之情交织，风格平淡真率，如话家常。陈子昂《春夜别友人》则写赴京应试前的饯别：银烛金樽铺陈华宴，明月长河暗示夜将尽，离情全从景物与时间中透出，不著一字愁怨。两诗相较，一为失意者的留别，愁在言中；一为前行者的别友，愁在景中。孟诗以淡语写真愁，陈诗以丽景衬深愁，风格一淡一丽、一显一隐，恰可见初盛唐之际送别诗两种典型笔法，亦可见两人性情与处境之别。
渡荆门送别 Crossing Jingmen to See a Friend Off 李白 · 同写远行离别，一壮阔一清丽 Both are farewell poems involving a journey.Compare how Li Bai and Chen Zi'ang handle the blending of scene and emotion.
李白《渡荆门送别》写青年出蜀远游：山随平野尽，江入大荒流，以山水之雄阔写远行之壮怀；仍怜故乡水，万里送行舟，将送别之情寄托于故乡之水，想象奇丽，豪放不羁。陈子昂《春夜别友人》则写赴洛应试前的夜宴话别：银烛金樽写宴之华，明月长河写夜之深，悠悠洛阳道，此会在何年，以问句收束，情思绵长。两诗同写离别而气象迥异：李白由景入壮，情随景开，是盛唐式的昂扬；陈子昂由宴入愁，情随夜深，是初唐式的清婉。一以山水之动写别，一以时序之静写别，一豪一雅，恰可见盛唐之音如何在初唐清刚之气的根基上绽放。
送友人 Seeing Off a Friend 李白 · 同题材送别，皆以景结情、以尾联收束 Both are farewell poems focusing on landscape and emotion.Compare the parallel structure and ending technique.
李白《送友人》青山横北郭，白水绕东城，以阔大山水起笔；浮云游子意，落日故人情，以浮云落日喻游子行踪与故人深情，结句挥手自兹去，萧萧班马鸣，以马鸣之声写别后之苍茫，以景结情，气象壮阔。陈子昂《春夜别友人》则由室内宴席写起，以明月隐高树、长河没晓天的清景写夜之将尽，结句悠悠洛阳道，此会在何年，以问句收束，情思含蓄。两诗皆工于对仗、皆以尾联收束全篇，而李诗以声结、陈诗以问结；李诗之景阔大外放，陈诗之景清丽内敛。同写送别，一显盛唐豪逸之风，一存初唐清刚之气，合观正可见唐诗送别一体由初入盛的演进轨迹。