唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
过陈琳墓
Passing the Tomb of Chen Lin
曾于青史见遗文，今日飘蓬过古坟。
词客有灵应识我，霸才无主始怜君。
石麟埋没藏春草，铜雀荒凉对暮云。
莫怪临风倍惆怅，欲将书劒学从军。
If the poet's spirit still lives, it should recognize me; only because his lordly talent found no master do I pity you.
The stone unicorn lies buried, hidden in spring grass, the Bronze Sparrow Terrace stands desolate against the evening clouds.
Do not blame me for facing the wind in doubled sorrow — I would take up sword and book and learn the soldier's trade.
Meaning
Passing the grave of Chen Lin, the Jian'an writer, Wen Tingyun mourns a talented man whose gifts were wasted, and through him laments his own unrecognized wandering. The poem ends with a resolve to seek his fortune in the army — a cry of frustration from a scholar whose literary gifts have won him no patron.
曾于青史见遗文，今日飘蓬过古坟。词客有灵应识我，霸才无主始怜君。石麟埋没藏春草，铜雀荒凉对暮云。莫怪临风倍惆怅，欲将书劒学从军。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] The poet once read Chen Lin's writings in the histories; now a drifting wanderer, he passes the old grave. If Chen Lin's spirit lives, it must know his kindred; since a lordly talent like Chen Lin's lacked a true master, he pities him. The grave's stone beasts are lost in grass, and the Bronze Sparrow Terrace of Cao Cao faces the dusk in ruin. Facing the wind, his sorrow doubles: he too would carry book and sword into service. [Allusion as Structure] Chen Lin, one of the Seven Masters of Jian'an, stands for genius wasted under weak masters; the Bronze Sparrow Terrace, where Cao Cao gathered his writers, stands for the patron who is no more. [Emotion] The poem moves from reading about the dead to standing at his grave, from pity for Chen Lin to self-pity, and finally to a restless resolve — the classic late-Tang scholar's lament.
【白话串讲】 温庭筠写《过陈琳墓》：“曾于青史见遗文，今日飘蓬过古坟”——“词客有灵应识我，霸才无主始怜君”——“石麟埋没藏春草，铜雀荒凉对暮云”——“莫怪临风倍惆怅，欲将书劒学从军”——他过陈琳墓——霸才无主始怜君。 【意象与手法】 “曾于青史见遗文，今日飘蓬过古坟”写飘蓬过古坟；“词客有灵应识我，霸才无主始怜君”以词客有灵、霸才无主写知己之感；“石麟埋没藏春草，铜雀荒凉对暮云”写墓之荒凉；结以“莫怪临风倍惆怅，欲将书劒学从军”写学从军。含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 温庭筠过陈琳墓之作，写飘蓬过古坟、霸才无主的知己之感与书剑从军的怀抱，是唐人怀古诗中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“词客有灵应识我，霸才无主始怜君”以霸才无主写知己之感；“石麟埋没藏春草，铜雀荒凉对暮云”写墓之荒凉。
Background
Wen Tingyun (c. 812–870), originally named Wen Qi, courtesy name Feiqing, was the leading late-Tang poet and lyricist and founder of the 'Among the Flowers' (Huajian) school of ci. His genius was matched by his failures in official life, and much of his poetry voices frustrated talent. Chen Lin (d. 217), one of the Seven Masters of Jian'an, served first the ill-fated Yuan Shao and then Cao Cao, whose Bronze Sparrow Terrace became a byword for a patron's gathering of writers. When Wen passes Chen Lin's grave — a poet of genius beside a ruined monument to patronage — he is really writing about himself.
《过陈琳墓》为晚唐诗人温庭筠所作诗。温庭筠（约812—约870），本名岐，字飞卿，太原祁（今山西祁县）人，晚唐诗人、词人，为「花间词派」代表。此诗写怀古咏史，为过陈琳墓之作。诗中「曾于青史见遗文，今日飘蓬过古坟」写曾于青史见遗文，今日飘蓬过古坟；「词客有灵应识我，霸才无主始怜君」写词客有灵应识我，霸才无主始怜君；「石麟埋没藏春草，铜雀荒凉对暮云」写石麟埋没藏春草，铜雀荒凉对暮云；「莫怪临风倍惆怅，欲将书劒学从军」写莫怪临风倍惆怅，欲将书劒学从军。温庭筠此诗以怀古咏史、欲将书劒学从军写其怀古之情，含蓄深婉，是温庭筠诗中的名篇。此篇《过陈琳墓》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《过陈琳墓》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。
Art
The couplet 'If the poet's spirit still lives, it should recognize me; only because his lordly talent found no master do I pity you' is the poem's hinge, weaving mutual understanding between the dead poet and the living one in a single breath: 'recognize me' looks from past to present, 'pity you' from present to past. The third couplet, 'stone unicorn buried in spring grass, Bronze Sparrow Terrace desolate against evening clouds', freezes the ruin of Chen Lin's grave and Cao Cao's terrace into two vast images of time's indifference. The whole poem stays restrained — grief is carried by scenery, not exclamation.
此诗艺术上以「含蓄深婉、以古写情」见长。全诗共四联八句，由曾于青史见遗文、词客有灵应识我而石麟埋没藏春草、欲将书劒学从军。首联「曾于青史见遗文，今日飘蓬过古坟」写曾于青史见遗文：曾于青史见遗文，今日飘蓬过古坟；颔联「词客有灵应识我，霸才无主始怜君」写词客有灵应识我：词客有灵应识我，霸才无主始怜君；颈联「石麟埋没藏春草，铜雀荒凉对暮云」写石麟埋没藏春草：石麟埋没藏春草，铜雀荒凉对暮云；尾联「莫怪临风倍惆怅，欲将书劒学从军」写欲将书劒学从军：莫怪临风倍惆怅，欲将书劒学从军。全诗以古写情，由曾于青史见遗文而石麟埋没藏春草而欲将书劒学从军，含蓄深婉，是温庭筠诗中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。
Allusions
Chen Lin was a leading Jian'an writer whose memorials to Yuan Shao made his name before he joined Cao Cao's court, where writers gathered under the Bronze Sparrow Terrace (built 210). The 'stone unicorn' is a tomb guardian beast set before graves. The 'lordly talent' is usually read as Chen Lin's own genius for serving a hegemon-lord, though some commentators take it as Cao Cao, the 'lordly' patron whose absence is mourned. The close — 'taking up sword and book' — invokes the scholar-warrior ideal that a failed career in letters drives Wen Tingyun to imagine.
诗中「曾于青史见遗文今日飘蓬过古坟」「词客有灵应识我霸才无主始怜君」「石麟埋没藏春草铜雀荒凉对暮云」「莫怪临风倍惆怅欲将书劒学从军」等语，皆含典故故实。「曾于青史见遗文今日飘蓬过古坟」写曾于青史见遗文今日飘蓬过古坟；「词客有灵应识我霸才无主始怜君」写词客有灵应识我霸才无主始怜君（霸才写陈琳之才）；「石麟埋没藏春草铜雀荒凉对暮云」用石麟铜雀之典（石麟写墓前石兽、铜雀写铜雀台），写石麟埋没藏春草铜雀荒凉对暮云；「莫怪临风倍惆怅欲将书劒学从军」写莫怪临风倍惆怅欲将书劒学从军。诗人以石麟、铜雀台等典入诗，不着痕迹，而把怀古咏史之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。
Commentary
This is Wen Tingyun's most admired poem and a staple of anthologies. Later critics praise its deep restraint: the comparison with Chen Lin is never stated as such, yet every image — the histories, the grave, the terrace — implies it. The couplet 'the poet's spirit should recognize me; the lordly talent without a master makes me pity you' is quoted as a model of dialogue across centuries, and the ending's turn toward the army is read as the authentic voice of a late-Tang literatus shut out of patronage.
这首《过陈琳墓》，是温庭筠写怀古咏史之作，写曾于青史见遗文、霸才无主始怜君、欲将书劒学从军之情，含蓄深婉。首联「曾于青史见遗文，今日飘蓬过古坟」——曾于青史见遗文，今日飘蓬过古坟。写曾于青史见遗文：曾于青史见遗文、今日飘蓬过古坟——青史见遗文、飘蓬过古坟；颔联「词客有灵应识我，霸才无主始怜君」——词客有灵应识我，霸才无主始怜君。写词客有灵应识我：词客有灵应识我、霸才无主始怜君——词客有灵应识我、霸才无主始怜君；颈联「石麟埋没藏春草，铜雀荒凉对暮云」——石麟埋没藏春草（用石麟之典），铜雀荒凉对暮云（用铜雀台之典）。写石麟埋没藏春草：石麟埋没藏春草、铜雀荒凉对暮云——石麟埋春草、铜雀对暮云；尾联「莫怪临风倍惆怅，欲将书劒学从军」——莫怪临风倍惆怅，欲将书劒学从军。写欲将书劒学从军：莫怪临风倍惆怅、欲将书劒学从军——临风倍惆怅、书劒学从军。这「莫怪临风倍惆怅，欲将书劒学从军」，是全诗之结：以欲将书劒学从军写其怀古。全诗含蓄深婉，以古写情，正是温庭筠诗中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
曾于青史见遗文，今日飘蓬过古坟。
Once in the pages of history I read his surviving writings; today, drifting like tumbleweed, I pass his ancient grave.
曾于青史见遗文，今日飘蓬过古坟。
In the histories I have read your writings; today, like a drifting reed, I pass your ancient grave.
首联写曾于青史见遗文，起笔即见其怀。「曾于青史见遗文」写曾于青史见遗文，「曾于」写曾在、「青史见遗文」写史书中见过遗文；「今日飘蓬过古坟」写今日飘蓬过古坟，「今日」写今日、「飘蓬过古坟」写飘蓬经过古坟。两句一写曾于青史见遗文、一写今日飘蓬过古坟，以曾于青史见遗文写曾读遗文、以今日飘蓬过古坟写过古坟，写尽曾于青史见遗文、今日飘蓬过古坟之情。以古起兴，含蓄而苍凉，是「以古起兴」的妙笔。
The opening couplet recalls having read the writer's works, today passing his ancient grave like a drifting reed; rising through the past, it is restrained and desolate, setting up the poem's commemoration.
词客有灵应识我，霸才无主始怜君。
If the poet's spirit still lives, it should recognize me; only because his lordly talent found no master do I pity you.
词客有灵应识我，霸才无主始怜君。
If you, the writer, have a spirit, you should know me; a hero without a lord — now I grieve for you.
此二句写词客有灵应识我，是全诗写知己之感的关键。「词客有灵应识我」写词客有灵应识我，「词客有灵」写词客有灵、「应识我」写应认得我；「霸才无主始怜君」写霸才无主始怜君，「霸才无主」写霸才无主、「始怜君」写才怜你。两句一写词客有灵应识我、一写霸才无主始怜君，以词客有灵应识我写词客识我、以霸才无主始怜君写霸才怜君，写尽词客有灵应识我、霸才无主始怜君之情。以人写慨，含蓄而深挚，是「以人写慨」的点睛之笔。
These two lines write the crux of fellow-feeling: 'if you, the writer, have a spirit, you should know me' — and 'a hero without a lord, now I grieve for you'. The pair reverses the expected: the poet mourns the ancient writer, yet finds his own unrecognized heroism reflected in the grave. Writing through the man, it is restrained and deeply felt, the poem's point of fellow-feeling.
石麟埋没藏春草，铜雀荒凉对暮云。
The stone unicorn lies buried, hidden in spring grass; the Bronze Sparrow Terrace stands desolate against the evening clouds.
石麟埋没藏春草，铜雀荒凉对暮云。
The stone unicorn is buried in spring grass; the Bronze Sparrow Terrace stands desolate against the evening clouds.
此二句写石麟埋没藏春草，是全诗以典写景的关键。「石麟埋没藏春草」写石麟埋没藏春草，用石麟之典写石麟埋没藏春草；「铜雀荒凉对暮云」写铜雀荒凉对暮云，用铜雀台之典写铜雀荒凉对暮云。两句一写石麟埋没藏春草、一写铜雀荒凉对暮云，以石麟埋没藏春草写石麟埋草、以铜雀荒凉对暮云写铜雀对云，写尽石麟埋没藏春草、铜雀荒凉对暮云之情。以典写景，含蓄而苍凉，是「以典写景」的点睛之笔。
These two lines set the allusions in scenery: the stone unicorn buried in spring grass, the Bronze Sparrow Terrace desolate against evening clouds — both the memorial image and Cao Cao's vanished terrace. Using allusions as scene, it is restrained and desolate, writing the past's decay.
莫怪临风倍惆怅，欲将书劒学从军。
Do not blame me for facing the wind in doubled sorrow — I would take up sword and book and learn the soldier's trade.
莫怪临风倍惆怅，欲将书劒学从军。
Do not wonder that I grieve doubly in the wind; I mean to take up sword and book and join the army.
尾联写欲将书劒学从军，是全诗立意的落点。「莫怪临风倍惆怅」写莫怪临风倍惆怅，「莫怪」写莫怪、「临风倍惆怅」写临风加倍惆怅；「欲将书劒学从军」写欲将书劒学从军，「欲将」写想要、「书劒学从军」写携书剑学从军。两句一写莫怪临风倍惆怅、一写欲将书劒学从军，以莫怪临风倍惆怅写临风惆怅、以欲将书劒学从军写书剑从军，写尽莫怪临风倍惆怅、欲将书劒学从军之情。以志写慨，含蓄而深挚，是全诗最动人处，也是「以志写慨」的点睛之笔。
The closing couplet turns to resolve: do not wonder at grief in the wind, for he means to take sword and book and join the army. Writing the will, it is restrained and deep, the poem's most moving point — a man of letters, passing a forgotten grave, resolved to act.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Du Fu's 'Endless leaves fall rustling; the endless river rolls on' pours personal anguish into cosmic scenery; Wen Tingyun's grief is filtered through history and allusion. The comparison shows the difference between High Tang vastness and late-Tang density.
杜甫《登高》「无边落木萧萧下，不尽长江滚滚来」，写登高感怀、身世飘零，是七律的千古绝唱；温庭筠《过陈琳墓》则以「词客有灵应识我，霸才无主始怜君」「石麟埋没藏春草，铜雀荒凉对暮云」写词客有灵应识我、石麟埋没藏春草。两诗同写七律怀古、登高感怀：一写无边落木萧萧下不尽长江滚滚来、以落木长江写感怀，一写石麟埋没藏春草铜雀荒凉对暮云、以石麟铜雀写怀古；一为杜甫之沉郁、一为温庭筠之婉丽，并读正可见唐诗写「七律怀古」的两种笔法，皆于七律之中见怀古感怀。
水调歌头·明月几时有 Prelude to Water Melody: When Will the Moon Be Clear? 苏轼 · 同写怀古感怀、对月抒怀，一写人有悲欢离合月有阴晴圆缺、一写莫怪临风倍惆怅欲将书劒学从军，皆于感怀之中见抒怀 Both confront loss and longing, one with philosophical release, the other with a scholar's frustration.Su Shi reconciles himself to life's changes mid-moon; Wen Tingyun, before a ruined grave, can only redouble his sorrow and dream of the army. The pair shows two answers to unrecognized talent: transcendence versus protest.
苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全」，写怀古感怀、对月抒怀，是宋词长调的名篇；温庭筠《过陈琳墓》则以「莫怪临风倍惆怅，欲将书劒学从军」「曾于青史见遗文，今日飘蓬过古坟」写欲将书劒学从军、飘蓬过古坟。两诗同写怀古感怀、对月抒怀：一写人有悲欢离合月有阴晴圆缺、以圆缺写旷达，一写莫怪临风倍惆怅欲将书劒学从军、以书剑写志；一为苏轼之超然、一为温庭筠之婉丽，并读正可见诗写「怀古抒怀」的两种笔法，皆于感怀之中见抒怀。