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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

过勤政楼

Passing the Qinzheng Tower

杜牧

Du Mu

千秋令节名空在，承露丝囊世已无。
唯有紫苔偏得意，年年因雨上金铺。

The name of the Thousand-Autumn festival survives in emptiness; the silk pouches for catching dew are gone from the world.
Only the purple moss is mightily pleased with itself — year after year, on the rain it climbs the golden door-ornaments.
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Meaning

At the ruined Qinzheng Tower, where Xuanzong once celebrated his Thousand-Autumn birthday festival with dew-catching silk pouches, Du Mu finds the customs vanished and the name empty. Only the purple moss thrives, triumphantly climbing the gilt door-studds each rainy season — nature itself mocking human glory.

千秋令节名空在，承露丝囊世已无。唯有紫苔偏得意，年年因雨上金铺。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The Thousand-Autumn festival's name remains, but the ceremony is gone; the dew-catching silk pouches no longer exist. Only the purple moss is smug with triumph, climbing the golden door ornaments every rainy season. [Personified Irony] 'The purple moss is mightily pleased' gives the moss human vanity; it flourishes on the ruin, so nature seems to sneer at vanished glory. [Past and Present] The first couplet measures what has disappeared (festival, pouches); the second shows what has replaced it (moss on the door-fittings). The contrast carries the poem's sigh.

【白话串讲】 杜牧写《过勤政楼》：“千秋令节名空在，承露丝囊世已无”——“唯有紫苔偏得意，年年因雨上金铺”——他过勤政楼——唯有紫苔偏得意。 【意象与手法】 “千秋令节名空在，承露丝囊世已无”写令节名空、丝囊世无；“唯有紫苔偏得意”以紫苔写荒凉；结以“年年因雨上金铺”以紫苔上金铺写荒废。深沉含蓄。 【情感与主旨】 杜牧过勤政楼之作，写千秋节空有其名、承露丝囊已无的盛世不再，以“唯有紫苔偏得意”写勤政楼的荒废，是杜牧咏史怀古的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“千秋令节名空在，承露丝囊世已无”写盛世不再；“唯有紫苔偏得意，年年因雨上金铺”以紫苔写荒废。

Background

Du Mu wrote this poem passing the Qinzheng ('Diligent Government') Tower in Chang'an, built under Xuanzong as a hall for audience and festivity. In 729 Xuanzong established his birthday as the Thousand-Autumn Festival, when officials presented dew-catching silk pouches embroidered with longevity symbols and received the dew of dawn as an elixir of long life. By Du Mu's day the tower was a ruin, the festival and its customs gone, and only moss grew on the door fittings — a sight that condensed the fall of the High Tang into a single image.

《过勤政楼》为唐代诗人杜牧所作诗。杜牧（803—约852），字牧之，京兆万年（今陕西西安）人，唐代诗人，「小李杜」之一。此诗写咏史怀古，为过勤政楼之作。诗中「千秋令节名空在，承露丝囊世已无」写千秋令节名空在，承露丝囊世已无；「唯有紫苔偏得意，年年因雨上金铺」写唯有紫苔偏得意，年年因雨上金铺。杜牧此诗以咏史怀古、年年因雨上金铺写其怀古之情，深沉含蓄，是杜牧诗中的名篇。此篇《过勤政楼》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《过勤政楼》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 poem's technique is ironic personification. The first couplet, flat and documentary — 'the name survives in emptiness', 'the pouches are gone from the world' — establishes absence; the second couplet introduces the only survivor, the purple moss, and gives it the human emotion 'mightily pleased'. The moss's annual triumph over the golden door-ornaments converts a ruin into a stage where nature jeers at history. The verb 'climbs', repeated in time by 'year after year', makes the moss's victory recurring and inescapable.

此诗艺术上以「深沉含蓄、以景写情」见长。全诗共四句，由千秋令节名空在而唯有紫苔偏得意。起「千秋令节名空在，承露丝囊世已无」写千秋令节名空在：千秋令节名空在，承露丝囊世已无；结「唯有紫苔偏得意，年年因雨上金铺」写唯有紫苔偏得意：唯有紫苔偏得意，年年因雨上金铺。全诗以景写情，由千秋令节名空在而年年因雨上金铺，深沉含蓄，是杜牧诗中的名篇。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。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。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

The Thousand-Autumn Festival was Xuanzong's birthday celebration, instituted in 729; the dew-catching silk pouch derived from the Han tradition of the bronze immortal's dew-plate, through which emperors sought immortality by swallowing dawn dew — so the custom itself encodes the delusion of perpetual rule. The Qinzheng Tower, in the Daming Palace complex, was where Xuanzong held audiences and banquets. 'Golden door-ornaments', the studs and rings of palace doors, are a stock image of vanished palace splendor in Tang poetry. By collecting these three relics — festival, pouch, door-stud — Du Mu measures an entire era against moss.

诗中「千秋令节名空在承露丝囊世已无」「唯有紫苔偏得意年年因雨上金铺」等语，皆含典故故实。「千秋令节名空在承露丝囊世已无」用千秋令节之典（千秋节为唐玄宗生日），写千秋令节名空在承露丝囊世已无；「唯有紫苔偏得意年年因雨上金铺」写唯有紫苔偏得意年年因雨上金铺。诗人以千秋节、金铺等语入诗，不着痕迹，而把咏史怀古之情写得真切可感，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。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。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

The poem is admired for the line 'Only the purple moss is mightily pleased with itself', which has been called the most original image in Du Mu's historical quatrains. Commentators note the cold wit of giving the moss a human emotion — triumph — so that the ruin of the dynasty becomes the garden's festival. It is often paired with Du Mu's other Chang'an ruins poems as an example of the late-Tang habit of reading dynastic decline in a single weed.

这首《过勤政楼》，是杜牧写咏史怀古之作，写千秋令节名空在、承露丝囊世已无、唯有紫苔偏得意、年年因雨上金铺之情，深沉含蓄。起「千秋令节名空在，承露丝囊世已无」——千秋令节名空在（用千秋令节之典），承露丝囊世已无。写千秋令节名空在：千秋令节名空在、承露丝囊世已无——名空在、世已无；结「唯有紫苔偏得意，年年因雨上金铺」——唯有紫苔偏得意，年年因雨上金铺。写唯有紫苔偏得意：唯有紫苔偏得意、年年因雨上金铺——紫苔得意、因雨上金铺。这「唯有紫苔偏得意，年年因雨上金铺」，是全诗之结：以年年因雨上金铺写其怀古。全诗深沉含蓄，以景写情，正是杜牧诗中的名篇。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (qijue)诗（七言绝句）
Rhyme Four lines rhyming on wu (gone) and pu (door-ornaments) of the yu group. The deep, subdued rhyme matches the poem's quiet sigh over vanished glory.此诗为七言绝句，共四句。押韵：「无」「铺」押虞部韵。诗体依绝句而定，句式整齐，音节短促而深沉，正与写咏史怀古的深沉含蓄相称，也见其以绝句写怀古的凝练。
Tone pattern The seven-character quatrain's even measure and the poem's two-part structure — documentary absence, then ironic presence — give a slow, contemplative cadence, like a walk through ruins.句式上，「千秋令节名空在，承露丝囊世已无」写千秋令节名空在，音节深沉；结「唯有紫苔偏得意，年年因雨上金铺」写唯有紫苔偏得意，音节含蓄。全诗音节由深沉而含蓄，正合绝句「凝练」之妙，读来如咏史怀古、年年因雨上金铺之音，深沉而动人。
Reading note The quatrain's compression suits Du Mu's method: a festival, a custom, a weed — the entire history of a tower in twenty-eight characters. The first couplet should be read flatly, as inventory; the second with the light irony the moss's triumph deserves.此诗为七言绝句，是杜牧写咏史怀古之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「深沉含蓄、以景写情」：「千秋令节名空在，承露丝囊世已无」写千秋令节名空在、「唯有紫苔偏得意，年年因雨上金铺」写唯有紫苔偏得意。全诗深沉含蓄，以景写情。尤为精妙者，是「千秋令节名空在」用千秋令节之典；而「唯有紫苔偏得意，年年因雨上金铺」写尽苔上金铺，正是杜牧诗「深沉含蓄」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《过勤政楼》一诗之所以读来声情并茂，正在于诗人以声韵配合情思、以节奏烘托意境，音节之长短、平仄之起伏，皆与诗意相为表里，此亦可见中国古典诗歌声律之美与匠心之工。

Line by line

千秋令节名空在，承露丝囊世已无。

The name of the Thousand-Autumn festival survives in emptiness; the silk pouches for catching dew are gone from the world.

千秋令节名空在，承露丝囊世已无。

The name of the Qianqiu festival survives in vain; the dew-catching silk pouches of old are gone from the age.

首句写千秋令节名空在，起笔即见其古。「千秋令节名空在」用千秋令节之典写千秋令节名空在，「千秋令节」写千秋令节、「名空在」写名空在；「承露丝囊世已无」写承露丝囊世已无，「承露丝囊」写承露丝囊、「世已无」写世已无。两句一写千秋令节名空在、一写承露丝囊世已无，以千秋令节名空在写名空在、以承露丝囊世已无写世已无，写尽千秋令节名空在、承露丝囊世已无之情。以古起兴，深沉而含蓄，是「以古起兴」的妙笔。

The opening line writes the empty survival of the Qianqiu festival's name, the antiquity at the first brush; rising through the old, it is deep and restrained.

唯有紫苔偏得意，年年因雨上金铺。

Only the purple moss is mightily pleased with itself — year after year, on the rain it climbs the golden door-ornaments.

唯有紫苔偏得意，年年因雨上金铺。

Only the purple moss takes especial delight, climbing year by year in the rain up the golden door fittings.

结句写唯有紫苔偏得意，是全诗立意的落点。「唯有紫苔偏得意」写唯有紫苔偏得意，「唯有紫苔」写唯有紫苔、「偏得意」写偏得意；「年年因雨上金铺」写年年因雨上金铺，「年年因雨」写年年因雨、「上金铺」写上金铺。两句一写唯有紫苔偏得意、一写年年因雨上金铺，以唯有紫苔偏得意写紫苔得意、以年年因雨上金铺写上金铺，写尽唯有紫苔偏得意、年年因雨上金铺之情。以苔写情，深沉而含蓄，是全诗最动人处，也是「以苔写情」的点睛之笔。

The closing line writes only the purple moss thriving, climbing in the rain year after year up the golden door fittings; through the moss it writes the feeling, the poem's most moving point — the imperial festival gone, and only the moss delighting in the deserted palace.

Study

Word focus

千秋 A thousand autumns — the birthday festival's name, wishing the emperor endless longevity, now surviving only as an empty word. 「千秋」写千秋令节名空在，是写千秋之态的关键。「千秋令节名空在」着一「千秋」，写千秋——着一「千秋」，写千秋令节名空在，见其秋之千。两字写尽千秋之态，是「以词写秋」的妙笔。「千秋」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
承露丝囊 The silk pouches for catching dawn dew, worn at the Thousand-Autumn Festival as symbols of the immortality-seeking tradition; their disappearance marks the era's end. 「承露丝囊」写承露丝囊世已无，是写承露丝囊之态的关键。「承露丝囊世已无」着一「承露丝囊」，写承露丝囊——着一「承露丝囊」，写承露丝囊世已无，见其囊之承露。四字写尽承露丝囊之态，是「以词写囊」的点睛之词。「承露丝囊」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
紫苔 The purple moss; given the human emotion of triumph, it is the ruin's only inhabitant and the poem's ironic victor. 「紫苔」写唯有紫苔偏得意，是写紫苔之态的关键。「唯有紫苔偏得意」着一「紫苔」，写紫苔——着一「紫苔」，写唯有紫苔偏得意，见其苔之紫。两字写尽紫苔之态，是「以词写苔」的点睛之词。「紫苔」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
金铺 The golden door-ornaments of the palace; that the moss 'climbs' them each rainy season makes nature's victory over splendor an annual event. 「金铺」写年年因雨上金铺，是写金铺之态的关键。「年年因雨上金铺」着一「金铺」，写金铺——着一「金铺」，写年年因雨上金铺，见其铺之金。两字写尽金铺之态，是「以词写铺」的点睛之词。「金铺」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

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、深沉旷达，一写人有悲欢离合、一写千秋令节名空在承露丝囊世已无，皆于怀古之中见深沉 Both confront change and loss, one philosophical, one elegiac.

Su Shi accepts change through reason — 'They may part, may meet, the moon may dim or shine'; Du Mu accepts it through a weed climbing a door-stud. Reason's consolation versus the image's pathos.

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、深沉旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；杜牧《过勤政楼》则以「千秋令节名空在，承露丝囊世已无」「年年因雨上金铺」写名空在世已无、因雨上金铺。两诗同写怀古感怀、深沉旷达：一写人有悲欢离合、以悲欢写离合，一写千秋令节名空在承露丝囊世已无、以今古写兴亡；一为苏轼之超然、一为杜牧之深沉，并读正可见诗写「怀古感怀」的两种笔法，皆于怀古之中见深沉。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Eight Beats of Ganzhou Song 柳永 · 同写登高怀古、深沉凝望，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写千秋令节名空在承露丝囊世已无，皆于登高之中见怀古 Both survey a scene of decline, one in lyrical expansiveness, one in quatrain concentration.

Liu Yong's frosty river and reluctant sunset spread sorrow across a landscape; Du Mu compresses it into a patch of moss. The ci lyric's expansiveness versus the quatrain's distillation.

柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「对潇潇暮雨洒江天，一番洗清秋」，写登高怀古、深沉凝望，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；杜牧《过勤政楼》则以「千秋令节名空在，承露丝囊世已无」「唯有紫苔偏得意」写名空在世已无、紫苔偏得意。两诗同写登高怀古、深沉凝望：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写千秋令节名空在承露丝囊世已无、以今古写兴亡；一为柳永之清丽、一为杜牧之深沉，并读正可见诗写「登高怀古」的两种笔法，皆于登高之中见怀古。