All poems

唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

寄令狐郎中

To Linghu, the Court Gentleman

李商隐

Li Shangyin

酬赠Poems of Exchange 感怀Reflections on Life

嵩云秦树久离居，双鲤迢迢一纸书。
休问梁园旧宾客，茂陵秋雨病相如。

Song Mountain's clouds and the trees of Qin: long have we dwelt apart; the twin carp letters have come, a single sheet across the miles.
Do not ask after the old guest of Liang Garden; in Maoling's autumn rain lies Xiangru, ill.

Listen

Meaning

Answering a letter from an old friend, Li Shangyin compresses into twenty-eight characters the whole history of a strained friendship: separation, gratitude for the letter that crossed the distance, wounded memory of old patronage, and a self-portrait as the ailing, forgotten Xiangru. It is a thank-you note that reads like an elegy for his own career.

嵩山的云与秦地的树，我们久已分离各处；双鲤迢迢，送来了你一纸书信。不要问起那梁园的旧宾客，他正像茂陵秋雨中卧病的相如。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Song's clouds and Qin's trees: we have long lived apart, and from afar your letter has come, the twin carp bearing a single sheet of paper. Do not ask after the old guest of Liang Garden; he lies ill in Maoling's autumn rain, like Xiangru. [Structure] Two couplets, four layers: the first states separation and then the letter, and the second couplet first refuses old questions and then answers with a self-portrait. Everything is compressed and nothing is explained. [Imagery] Clouds and trees stand for the two men's homes, the twin carp is the ancient emblem of a letter, Liang Garden is the patron's house, and Maoling's autumn rain is the poet's sickroom. [Emotion] The tone is the poem's greatest achievement: gratitude that will not gush, pain that will not accuse. The words do not ask carry twenty years of estrangement.

【白话串讲】李商隐写《寄令狐郎中》：“嵩云秦树久离居，双鲤迢迢一纸书”——“休问梁园旧宾客，茂陵秋雨病相如”——他自比司马相如，病卧茂陵——他说自己病了，别问旧事。【意象与手法】此诗是李商隐寄赠令狐绹（时任右司郎中）的诗，写身世之感与对旧友的答谢，是李商隐七绝中的名篇。前两句写别离与来书：「嵩云秦树久离居」以嵩云秦树写两地久隔；「双鲤迢迢一纸书」以双鲤（书信）写令狐的来书。后两句写身世的自伤：「休问梁园旧宾客」以梁园旧客自指；「茂陵秋雨病相如」以司马相如卧病茂陵自况，是千古名句。全诗以云树、双鲤、梁园、茂陵的意象与典故，写尽别离之久、来书之暖与身世之悲，含蓄深沉，是李商隐「以典写情」的典范。【情感与主旨】此诗约作于唐武宗会昌五年（845）前后，时李商隐闲居洛阳（或汴州），旧友令狐绹（时任右司郎中）寄书问候，李商隐作此诗答谢。李商隐与令狐绹的关系复杂：令狐绹之父令狐楚曾提携李商隐，李商隐与令狐绹本有旧谊；但李商隐后来娶了李党王茂元之女，卷入党争，与令狐家（牛党）渐生隔阂。此时令狐绹寄书，李商隐感旧作答。诗中「嵩云秦树久离居」写嵩山（洛阳一带）与秦地（长安）的云树相望——李商隐在洛阳，令狐绹在长安，两地云树相隔，久已离居；「双鲤迢迢一纸书」写令狐绹从遥远的长安寄来一纸书信——「双鲤」是书信的代称（古乐府「客从远方来，遗我双鲤鱼。呼儿烹鲤鱼，中有尺素书」），「迢迢」写其远来，那「一纸书」的问候，令李商隐感念；「休问梁园旧宾客」写请令狐绹不要问起旧日的情谊——「梁园」是汉代梁孝王的园囿，司马相如等曾为梁园宾客，「梁园旧宾客」借指当年在令狐家（梁园）的旧日宾从，也暗指李商隐自己；「茂陵秋雨病相如」以司马相如自况——司马相如晚年因病免官，家居茂陵，「病相如」写其病卧茂陵的孤寂，李商隐以此自况，写其身世之悲：那「秋雨」的萧瑟、「病相如」的落寞，正是其晚年困顿的写照。全诗以含蓄的笔法，写尽对旧友的感念与身世的悲慨，是李商隐感遇诗的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“嵩云秦树久离居，双鲤迢迢一纸书”以云树写两地久隔、双鲤写来书；“休问梁园旧宾客，茂陵秋雨病相如”以相如病卧自况，含蓄深沉。

Background

Li Shangyin wrote this poem around 845, while in mourning and out of office in Luoyang. The addressee, Linghu Chuo, a senior official in the capital, was the son of Linghu Chu, who had been Li Shangyin's earliest patron and teacher. Years earlier Li Shangyin had married the daughter of Wang Maoyuan of the rival Li faction, and the Linghu house, aligned with the Niu faction, counted it a betrayal; his career never recovered. Linghu's letter, brief and perhaps merely polite, prompted this reply, in which the poet thanks his old friend while declining to revisit the past.

此诗约作于唐武宗会昌五年（845）前后，是李商隐寄赠令狐绹的七绝名篇。令狐绹是令狐楚之子，令狐楚是李商隐的恩师（曾提携其入幕、教授骈文），李商隐早年深受令狐家之恩。但李商隐后来娶了李党王茂元之女，在牛李党争中，被视为「背恩」于牛党（令狐家属牛党），从此仕途坎坷，与令狐家的关系也渐生隔阂。会昌年间，李商隐因母丧守制闲居，仕途失意；令狐绹时任右司郎中（寄诗称其「郎中」），寄书问候，李商隐作此诗答谢。诗中「嵩云秦树久离居」写两地之隔——嵩山在洛阳（李商隐时在洛阳），秦树在长安（令狐绹在长安），两地云树相隔，久已离居，化用杜甫《春日忆李白》「渭北春天树，江东日暮云」的「云树」意象；「双鲤迢迢一纸书」写令狐的来书——「双鲤」用古乐府「客从远方来，遗我双鲤鱼。呼儿烹鲤鱼，中有尺素书」之典（书信代称），「迢迢」写其从遥远的长安寄来，那「一纸书」的问候，令身处困境的李商隐感念；「休问梁园旧宾客」写其自指——「梁园」是汉梁孝王的园囿，司马相如、枚乘等曾为梁园宾客，李商隐借指当年在令狐家的旧日宾从（自己），「旧宾客」写其已非昔日之客，「休问」写其不愿旧事重提——那「休问」二字，暗含身世之悲与隔阂之痛；「茂陵秋雨病相如」以司马相如自况——司马相如晚年因病免官，家居茂陵（事见《史记·司马相如列传》），「病相如」写其病卧茂陵的孤寂，李商隐以此自况，写其晚年困顿、贫病交加的身世之悲。此诗是李商隐感遇诗的名篇，含蓄深沉，写尽对旧友的感念与身世的悲慨，也是理解其与令狐家关系及晚年心境的关键作品。

Art

The poem is a masterpiece of layered allusion, each layer self-contained. First, geography: Song Mountain's clouds for Luoyang and Qin's trees for Chang'an, a pair of images drawn from Du Fu's poem on Li Bai, say separation without naming it. Second, the letter: the twin carp, from the old yuefu about a guest bringing twin carp with a letter inside, turns thanks into ritual. Third, the refusal: do not ask, two characters of infinite weight. Fourth, the self-portrait: Sima Xiangru, sick and neglected at Maoling, lets the poet describe his own decline without a word of self-pity. Four techniques stacked in twenty-eight characters, while the surface remains limpid.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个层面解析。其一，以云树写别离的构思。首句「嵩云秦树久离居」以「嵩云」「秦树」写两地之隔——嵩山的云与秦地的树，相望而不可及，化用杜甫「渭北春天树，江东日暮云」的「云树」意象，以景写别、含蓄隽永。其二，以双鲤写来书的温情。「双鲤迢迢一纸书」以「双鲤」（书信代称）写令狐的来书——那从遥远长安寄来的一纸书信，「迢迢」写其远来，「一纸书」写其情谊，以物写情、温情感人。其三，以梁园旧客写隔阂。「休问梁园旧宾客」以「梁园旧宾客」自指——那梁园（令狐家）的旧日宾从，正是当年的李商隐；「休问」二字，写其不愿旧事重提——那「休问」里，有身世的感慨，也有隔阂的隐痛，含蓄深沉。其四，以病相如写身世之悲。末句「茂陵秋雨病相如」以司马相如自况——相如病卧茂陵、贫病交加，正似李商隐晚年的困顿；那「秋雨」的萧瑟、「病」的落寞，写尽身世之悲，是千古名句。四重手法层层推进，使此诗成为李商隐七绝中「以典写情」的名篇。

Allusions

Song Mountain and the land of Qin stand for the two men's residences, echoing Du Fu's trees of spring in Weibei and clouds of dusk in Jiangdong, written for Li Bai. The twin carp comes from the Han yuefu in which a guest from afar brings twin carp, and inside is a letter on white silk. Liang Garden, the park of Prince Xiao of Liang, was where Sima Xiangru and Mei Sheng lived as gentleman guests, Li Shangyin's image for his own early years in the Linghu household. Maoling was Xiangru's retreat, where he sickened and died before the emperor's summons could reach him. Autumn rain supplies the weather of despair.

此诗的意象与典故深植于怀友与身世传统。「嵩云秦树久离居」写两地之隔——「嵩云」写嵩山（洛阳）之云，「秦树」写秦地（长安）之树，化用杜甫《春日忆李白》「渭北春天树，江东日暮云」的「云树」意象（杜甫以此写对李白的思念，李商隐借以写对令狐绹的相思），「久离居」写两地久隔。「双鲤迢迢一纸书」用古乐府《饮马长城窟行》之典——「客从远方来，遗我双鲤鱼。呼儿烹鲤鱼，中有尺素书」，古以「双鲤」（或「双鲤」指装书信的鱼形木函）代称书信，「迢迢」写其从远方寄来，「一纸书」写其简短而情重，令人想到杜甫「烽火连三月，家书抵万金」的来书之贵。「休问梁园旧宾客」用梁园之典——梁园（梁苑）是汉梁孝王的园囿，司马相如、枚乘、邹阳等文人曾为梁园宾客（事见《史记·司马相如列传》），李商隐以「梁园旧宾客」自指——当年在令狐家（如梁园之客）的旧日宾从，「休问」写其不愿旧事重提，暗含隔阂与身世之悲。「茂陵秋雨病相如」用司马相如之典——司马相如晚年因病免官，家居茂陵（今陕西兴平），武帝闻其病，遣人取其书（事见《史记·司马相如列传》），李商隐以「病相如」自况——那病卧茂陵、贫病交加的相如，正是其晚年困顿的写照；「秋雨」写萧瑟的秋景，令人想到王昌龄「空山新雨后」的秋意与温庭筠「梧桐树，三更雨」的愁绪，「茂陵秋雨病相如」七个字，写尽身世的萧瑟与落寞。全诗化用古乐府、杜甫、司马迁的意象与典故，以典写情、以物写悲，正是李商隐「无一字无来处」的功力。

Commentary

The poem has been famous since the Qing dynasty, when the critic He Zhuo praised it as deeply restrained with feeling unending. It is a fixture of anthologies, including the classic Three Hundred Tang Poems, chiefly for its last line, the autumn rain of Maoling and the ailing Xiangru, seven characters that turned a statesman into an icon of neglect. Later critics have read the poem as Li Shangyin's quiet verdict on the Linghu relationship: gratitude without reconciliation, memory without bitterness. In the narrow canon of Tang quatrains on friendship, it remains the most perfectly wound.

此诗历来被推为李商隐七绝中的名篇，也是「茂陵秋雨病相如」这一千古名句的出处。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人何焯评此诗「含蓄蕴藉，深情绵邈」，近人更指出此诗以嵩云秦树、双鲤、梁园、茂陵的意象与典故，写尽了对旧友的感念与身世的悲慨，是李商隐「以典写情」的典范。在文学史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以二十八字的小诗，写出了复杂的感遇——那「嵩云秦树」的两地相隔，那「双鲤迢迢」的来书温暖，那「梁园旧宾客」的身世自指，那「茂陵秋雨病相如」的悲慨，层层写出，含蓄而深沉。诗中「休问梁园旧宾客」的「休问」，写尽了对旧日情谊的复杂态度——不是不念旧，而是身世已非、隔阂已生，那「休问」里含着多少感慨；「茂陵秋雨病相如」以司马相如自况，那「秋雨」的萧瑟、「病」的落寞，写尽了李商隐晚年的困顿，成为千古名句。此诗与李商隐的其他感遇诗（如《安定城楼》《贾生》）一样，都是借古写今、借物写情，是理解其身世感慨与晚唐士人命运的关键作品。对于今日读者，此诗是理解李商隐与令狐家关系及晚年心境的窗口，也是感受中国诗歌「以典写情」传统的典范——那嵩山的云、秦地的树、茂陵的秋雨，穿越千年，仍在诉说着一个失意文人的身世之悲。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (qijue), level-tone opening with the first line rhyming七言绝句（平起首句入韵）

Rhyme The yu rhyme on ju, shu and ru, low and lingering sounds weighted with melancholy, running through the whole quatrain.押上平六鱼韵，韵脚为「居」「书」「如」。首句「居」字平声入韵，属首句入韵之格。韵脚「居」「书」「如」皆属鱼部，韵音悠长低回，正合其感遇的沉郁风格。

Tone pattern Strictly regulated tonal patterns; the melody dips and drags, as though the line itself were tired.嵩云秦树久离居，平平平仄仄平平；双鲤迢迢一纸书，平仄平平仄仄平；休问梁园旧宾客，平仄平平仄平仄；茂陵秋雨病相如，仄平平仄仄平平。全诗平仄合于七绝格律，音节低回流转。

Reading note A perfect miniature of late-Tang craftsmanship: every line carries allusion, yet the surface stays clear, and the low, slow, round music enacts the poet's fatigue.此诗是平起首句入韵的七言绝句，押平声鱼韵，格律简洁，音节低回，是李商隐感遇诗中「以典写情」的名篇。全诗两联结构分明：前两句写别离与来书（嵩云秦树、双鲤一纸书），后两句写身世的自伤（休问梁园旧客、茂陵秋雨病相如），由别到感、层层深入。声调上，全诗以平声鱼韵为韵脚，韵音悠长低回，配合「久离居」的别情与「病相如」的悲慨，全篇音节低回沉郁。诵读此诗，宜以低回的语调读前两句的别离与来书，以深沉的语调读后两句的身世之悲，尤其「茂陵秋雨病相如」一句，要读得落寞而深沉，方能传达出李商隐感遇的深意。李商隐绝句以「深情绵邈」著称，此诗正是其感遇绝句中「以典写情」的经典。

Line by line

嵩云秦树久离居，双鲤迢迢一纸书。

Song Mountain's clouds and the trees of Qin: long have we dwelt apart; the twin carp letters have come, a single sheet across the miles.

嵩山的云与秦地的树，我们久已分离各处；双鲤迢迢，送来了你一纸书信。

Cloud over Song, trees by Qin — long we have lived apart; from the far end of the world, twin carp bring one sheet of letter.

这两句是写别离与来书的名句，以「嵩云秦树」写两地之隔，以「双鲤迢迢」写来书之暖，含蓄隽永。「嵩云秦树久离居」写两地久隔——嵩山的云与秦地的树，相望而不可及，「嵩云」「秦树」以两地风物写别离（嵩山在洛阳，秦地即长安），化用杜甫「渭北春天树，江东日暮云」的「云树」意象，「久离居」写其两地久隔——那云与树的相望，正是他与令狐绹的相望；「双鲤迢迢一纸书」写来书之暖——双鲤（书信的代称）从迢迢的远方，送来了你一纸书信，「双鲤」用古乐府之典（书信代称），「迢迢」写其从遥远的长安寄来，「一纸书」写其简短而情重——那短短的一纸书，从远方迢迢寄来，正是令狐绹的问候与情谊。这两句的深意在于：它以「云树」写别离之久、以「双鲤」写来书之暖——正因「久离居」的疏远，那「一纸书」的问候才更显珍贵；那「迢迢」的双鲤，越过云树之隔而来，正是旧友不忘旧谊的证明。以「嵩云秦树」写相隔、以「双鲤一纸书」写相念，正是李商隐含蓄隽永的本领。

These two lines are the famous writing of separation and the coming letter, using 'cloud over Song, trees by Qin' for the distance and 'twin carp from far away' for the warmth of the letter, restrained and memorable. 'Cloud over Song, trees by Qin — long we have lived apart' writes the long separation: the clouds of Song and the trees of Qin gazing yet unreachable, taking local scenes for the parting (Song is near Luoyang, Qin is Chang'an), transforming Du Fu's image of 'spring trees by the Wei River, sunset clouds east of the river'; 'long we have lived apart' the years of distance — that gazing of cloud and tree is the gazing between him and Linghu Tao. 'Twin carp bring one sheet of letter' the warmth of the letter: twin carp (the euphemism for letters) from the far distance bring his sheet of writing, using the old yuefu allusion, 'from far away' the road from distant Chang'an, 'one sheet' its brevity and weight. The depth: precisely because of the long estrangement, the greeting of 'one sheet' is the more precious; the twin carp crossing the cloud-tree distance prove that the old friend has not forgotten the old bond.

休问梁园旧宾客，茂陵秋雨病相如。

Do not ask after the old guest of Liang Garden; in Maoling's autumn rain lies Xiangru, ill.

不要问起那梁园的旧宾客，他正像茂陵秋雨中卧病的相如。

Ask no more of the old guest at Liang's Park; he is like Sima Xiangru, sick in the autumn rain at Maoling.

这两句是全诗的点睛之笔，也是千古名句，以「梁园旧宾客」自指、以「病相如」自况，写尽身世之悲，含蓄深沉。「休问梁园旧宾客」写自指的感慨——不要问起那梁园的旧宾客，「梁园」是汉代梁孝王的园囿，司马相如等曾为梁园宾客，李商隐以「梁园旧宾客」自指——当年在令狐家（如梁园之客）的旧日宾从，「休问」二字，写其不愿旧事重提——那「休问」里，有身世的感慨（已非昔日之客），也有隔阂的隐痛；「茂陵秋雨病相如」写自况的悲慨——他正像那茂陵秋雨中卧病的司马相如，「病相如」以司马相如晚年病卧茂陵自况，「茂陵秋雨」写那萧瑟的秋景、孤寂的处境——那秋雨中的病相如，正是晚年困顿、贫病交加的李商隐。这两句的深意在于：它以「休问」写不愿旧事重提的隐痛，以「病相如」写身世之悲——那「梁园旧宾客」已非昔日，那「茂陵秋雨」正是其晚年的写照；「休问」与「病相如」的结合，写尽了对旧友的感念与身世的悲慨——不是不念旧，而是身世已非、不堪回首。以「梁园」写旧谊、以「病相如」写身世，正是李商隐「以典写情」的巅峰，也让这两句成为感遇诗的千古名句。

These two lines are the poem's eye and a famous couplet, using 'the old guest at Liang's Park' for himself and 'sick Xiangru' as his likeness, writing the grief of his lot, restrained and deep. 'Ask no more of the old guest at Liang's Park' the self-reference: ask no more of that old guest of Liang's Park — Liang's Park was the garden of Prince Xiao of Liang in Han, where Sima Xiangru was once a guest; Li Shangyin uses it for his old place in the Linghu household, 'ask no more' the unwillingness to stir the past, holding both the regret of a changed lot and the hidden pain of estrangement. 'He is like Sima Xiangru, sick in the autumn rain at Maoling' the self-comparison: he is like Sima Xiangru, who in his last years lay sick at Maoling, 'sick Xiangru' the likeness, 'autumn rain at Maoling' the bleak autumn scene and lonely plight. The depth: 'ask no more' the pain of not wishing the old days raised, 'sick Xiangru' the grief of his lot; the old guest is no longer what he was, the autumn rain at Maoling is the picture of his own old age. Using Liang's Park for the old friendship and sick Xiangru for his fate, the peak of Li Shangyin's 'writing feeling through allusion'.

Study

Word focus

休 Do not: a single character of refusal that holds back a flood of memory; it converts thanks into reticence and says more than any explanation. 「休」字是写感遇复杂心理的关键字，一个「休」字写尽不愿旧事重提的隐痛，含蓄深沉。休者，不要、罢了也。李商隐以「休问梁园旧宾客」写其自指，一个「休」字，至少有双重意味：其一，写不愿旧事重提——「休问」写其请令狐绹不要问起那梁园旧宾客（自己），「休」字写尽其不愿旧事重提的态度——那旧日的情谊、旧日的宾从，都已成过往，不必再问，那「休」字里含着多少感慨与隐痛；其二，写身世之不堪——「休问」之所以「休」，正因身世已非、不堪回首——当年的梁园宾客，如今已是「茂陵秋雨病相如」，那「休问」正是对不堪身世的回避，越回避越见其悲。以「休」写感遇，正是李商隐对复杂心理的细腻把握：那「休问」二字，不是冷漠的拒绝，而是深情的回避——不是不念旧谊，而是身世已非、旧事不堪回首，那「休」字写尽其中的复杂。若换作「莫」「勿」等字，则或失其「罢了」的叹息，或失其隐痛的深意；唯「休」字，以一字写尽不愿旧事重提的隐痛与身世之悲，也让「休问梁园旧宾客」成为感遇诗的名句。

病 Ill: the poem's last and heaviest word, folding bodily sickness and the sickness of an unvalued career into one self-portrait. 「病」字是写身世之悲的关键字，一个「病」字写尽晚年的困顿与落寞，力重千钧。病者，卧病、困顿也。李商隐以「茂陵秋雨病相如」写其自况，一个「病」字，至少有双重意味：其一，写身体之病——「病相如」以司马相如晚年病卧茂陵自况，那「病」字写其身体的病弱——李商隐晚年多病（其诗屡言病），「病」字写尽身体的困顿；其二，写身世之病——「病」不仅是写身体，更是写身世——那「病」字写尽其仕途失意、贫病交加的困顿，正如病卧茂陵的相如，虽有过人的才华，却穷困潦倒、无人问津，那「病」字写尽身世之悲。以「病」写身世，正是李商隐对自身命运的深刻自况：那秋雨中卧病的相如，正是晚年的自己——才高而命蹇，贫病而孤寂。若换作「老」「困」等字，则或失其「卧病」的具体，或失其「贫病交加」的沉痛；唯「病」字，以一字写尽身体的病弱与身世的困顿，也让「茂陵秋雨病相如」成为写身世之悲的千古名句。