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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

集灵台二首其一

Jiling Terrace, Two Poems (No. 1)

张祜

Zhang Hu

日光斜照集灵台，红树花迎晓露开。
昨夜上皇新授箓，太真含笑入帘来。

Slanting sunlight falls on Jiling Terrace;
Red trees, blossoms greeting the dawn dew, open wide.
Last night the Retired Emperor completed the new rite of receiving the registers;
Taizhen comes smiling through the curtain.

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Meaning

The poem paints the bright morning at Jiling Terrace, the Daoist altar where Xuanzong pursued immortality. Against this pure scene comes the news that the Retired Emperor has just performed a Daoist initiation and that Taizhen - Yang Yuhuan's Daoist name - enters smiling. By placing solemn ritual beside private romance, Zhang Hu exposes, without a word of blame, the absurdity of an emperor who used the search for the Dao as a cover for pleasure.

清晨的日光斜斜照在集灵台上，红树繁花迎着晓露盛开。昨夜太上皇刚刚举行授箓之礼，太真便含笑款款步入帘来。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Morning light slants across Jiling Terrace; red trees and blossoms open in the dawn dew. Last night the Retired Emperor received the Daoist registers; this morning Taizhen lifts the curtain and comes in smiling. [Structure] Two couplets divide cleanly: the first paints the sacred precinct, the second peoples it. The turn between them is the whole poem - the scene is pure, the event is not. [Imagery] Light, red trees, blossoms, and dew build a fresh, otherworldly atmosphere; the smiling Taizhen then humanizes - and compromises - it. The holier the setting, the more pointed the intrusion. [Irony] The poet records only. The solitude of the altar and the smile of the favorite are simply juxtaposed, and the reader completes the accusation: the Daoist stage has become a theater of desire.

【白话串讲】张祜写《集灵台二首其一》：“日光斜照集灵台，红树花迎晓露开”——“昨夜上皇新授箓，太真含笑入帘来”——他写杨太真——太真含笑入帘来。【意象与手法】 “日光斜照集灵台，红树花迎晓露开”写集灵台之景；“昨夜上皇新授箓”写授箓仪式；“太真含笑入帘来”写杨妃随侍。以道场庄严反衬宫中风流，讽刺藏于字面之下。【情感与主旨】张祜以纪事之笔写唐玄宗与杨贵妃之事，以集灵台道场之庄严反衬“太真含笑入帘来”的风流，讽刺之意深藏，是咏天宝遗事诗中的讽刺名篇。【名句点睛】常考“昨夜上皇新授箓，太真含笑入帘来”以道场反衬风流写讽刺；“日光斜照集灵台，红树花迎晓露开”写集灵台之景。

Background

Zhang Hu (c. 785-c. 852), courtesy name Chengji, of Qinghe, was a late-mid-Tang poet celebrated for palace poems and historical meditations. Jiling Terrace was a Daoist altar built by Xuanzong at the Huaqing Palace and in Chang'an, where he performed rites in his devotion to Daoism. The 'Retired Emperor' refers to Xuanzong after the An Lushan Rebellion forced his abdication. 'Taizhen' was the Daoist name of Yang Yuhuan: when she first entered the palace she was briefly ordained as a Daoist nun with the title Taizhen before being made Guifei. The poem belongs to the large body of Tang writing on the Tianbao era's rise and fall.

《集灵台二首其一》为唐代诗人张祜所作七言绝句。张祜（约785—约852），字承吉，清河人，中晚唐之际著名诗人，以宫词、咏史之作见长。此诗咏唐玄宗与杨贵妃事，属天宝遗事题材。集灵台，指玄宗于华清宫及长安所建的道观，唐玄宗晚年崇信道教，曾于宫内设坛授箓、求仙访道，集灵台即其炼丹礼神之所。「上皇」指玄宗，安史之乱后玄宗逊位为太上皇。「太真」为杨贵妃（杨玉环）之道号，她初入宫时曾被度为女道士，号太真。诗中「昨夜上皇新授箓，太真含笑入帘来」，写玄宗于集灵台举行授箓的道教仪式，而杨太真含笑相伴。表面上写的是帝妃礼道的景象，实则暗讽玄宗身为皇帝、太上皇，却以礼道为名行风流之事，把求仙的道场变成了寻欢的所在。安史之乱后，玄宗退居太上皇，仍与杨妃旧事牵缠，诗人以集灵台授箓这一特定场景入诗，含蓄地揭出其荒唐，讽刺之意深藏不露，是唐人咏天宝遗事诗中别具机杼的一篇。

Art

The poem's method is ironic juxtaposition, carried out with restraint. The first couplet's bright scenery - slanting light, red trees, dew-wet blossoms - establishes the purity proper to a Daoist altar. The second couplet then reports two facts: a rite just completed and a smiling entry. Nothing is evaluated; yet the interval between the solemn 'receiving the registers' and the tender 'comes smiling through the curtain' is where the satire breathes. The poet's silence is deliberate: he behaves as a chronicler of an event, and the event indicts itself. Economy is extreme - twenty-eight characters, no comment, complete effect.

此诗艺术上以「以纪事寓讽刺、不着一贬词」见长。全诗四句，前两句写景：首句「日光斜照集灵台」，点出时间与地点——清晨日光斜斜照入集灵台，境界清丽；次句「红树花迎晓露开」，以红树繁花、晓露初开写集灵台的明丽春色，一片欣欣向荣之景。后两句叙事：「昨夜上皇新授箓，太真含笑入帘来」，写昨夜太上皇刚刚举行授箓之礼，今日太真便含笑入帘。前两句的明丽之景，与后两句的授箓风流之事，看似写景叙事，实则暗藏机锋：集灵台本是求仙问道的庄严之地，诗人却以「红树花迎」「太真含笑」写其间的旖旎风情，以道场之清虚反衬帝妃之风流，讽刺之意于字面之下隐隐透出。尤为妙者，诗人通篇不着一字评断，不讥不讽，只如实写来，而玄宗以礼道之名行风流之实的荒唐，已跃然纸上，正是「寓讽刺于纪事」的春秋笔法，含蓄蕴藉，深得唐人咏史讽喻诗之三昧。

Allusions

Taizhen: the Daoist title of Yang Yuhuan, conferred when she was briefly ordained before becoming Xuanzong's consort; in later poetry 'Taizhen' became a standard way to name her in poems on the Tianbao story. Receiving the registers: the formal Daoist initiation, in which an adept receives written registers of divine names and talismans - a rite of the greatest solemnity. The Retired Emperor: Xuanzong after his abdication in 756. Jiling Terrace: the altar complex built for Xuanzong's Daoist observances. The poem's force comes from setting the sacred register rite against the profane smile, using authentic ritual vocabulary to frame an irregular intimacy.

诗中「太真」一词，典出杨贵妃入道之事。杨贵妃本名杨玉环，初为寿王李瑁妃，开元二十八年玄宗度为女道士，号「太真」，居太真宫，后遂纳为贵妃。《旧唐书》《资治通鉴》等史籍皆载其事，杨贵妃之道号「太真」，遂成为后世咏天宝遗事诗中指称其人的常用称呼。诗中「授箓」亦涉道教典制：箓为道教记载神名符咒的文书，入道者须由法师授箓以为凭信，故「授箓」是道教中正式的入道仪式。玄宗晚年崇道，屡行授箓之礼，然其以皇帝之尊，于集灵台授箓而太真相伴，道场与风流并见，诗人正是借这庄重的道教仪式与旖旎的宫闱情事之间的反差，含蓄地讽其荒唐。此等典故化用，皆以史实为据而不着痕迹，使讽刺更有分量。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 quatrain is valued as one of the most delicate pieces of Tang historical satire. Commentators note its Spring and Autumn manner: the poet seems to write a travel note, yet the arrangement of pure scene and improper event accomplishes the judgment. It is often placed beside Du Mu's 'A rider raises dust; the consort smiles - no one knows the lychees have come', which likewise records rather than accuses. Where Bai Juyi's 'Song of Everlasting Sorrow' mourns, Zhang Hu's twenty-eight characters expose - and the smile at the curtain has become one of the most quoted moments in Tang satire.

这首小诗之所以耐人寻味，在于它以极轻灵的笔触，写了一件极荒唐的事。集灵台是玄宗求仙问道的所在，清晨日光斜照、红树花开、晓露晶莹，本是清虚明丽之境；然而诗人笔锋一转，写道「昨夜上皇新授箓，太真含笑入帘来」——原来这庄严肃穆的授箓道场，竟有太真含笑相伴。授箓是正式的入道仪式，太真是玄宗所度女道士，二人于集灵台相见，究竟是礼道，还是叙情？诗人不置一词，只如实写来，而讽刺自在其中：求仙本是厌弃尘俗、慕道清修之举，玄宗却把道场变作风流之地，其荒唐可笑，不言自明。更可玩味的是「新授箓」与「含笑入帘」的并置：一面是刚刚完成的道教大典，一面是含笑而来的娇娃，庄严与旖旎相映成趣，玄宗晚年溺于声色、荒于政事的形象，便在这二十八字中呼之欲出。全诗以乐景写荒唐，以纪事寓讽刺，含而不露，深得「风人之旨」，是唐人咏天宝遗事诗中善于以少总多、以轻写重的上乘之作。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (recent-style, level-tone opening)七言绝句（近体绝句，平起式）

Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level-tone hui-hai group: open (kai) and come (lai), one rhyme throughout, with a bright, rounded resonance that matches the fresh morning scene.全诗押平声韵「开」「来」，韵脚同属灰哈类（开、来），一韵到底，韵部宽舒而音调朗畅。七绝以平韵谐畅为常，此诗「开」「来」二韵音色清亮圆转，正与集灵台晨景之明丽相称；「来」字收束全篇，与「太真含笑入帘来」之句相映，韵脚亦暗含风情之事，声情与辞情相凑。

Tone pattern The first couplet opens in a level, unhurried cadence suited to landscape; the second couplet tightens as the register rite is stated and then dissolves into the light fall of 'comes smiling through the curtain'. The sound shifts from pure to playful along with the sense.句式上，首句「日光斜照集灵台」平起平收，声调舒徐，写晨光入观之景；二句「红树花迎晓露开」仄起平收，「迎」「开」二字轻快，写春花之生机；三四句「昨夜上皇新授箓，太真含笑入帘来」仄仄仄平平仄仄、仄平平仄仄平平，前句以仄声「箓」字顿挫，暗含道教仪式之庄严，后句以平声「来」字收束，音节转为轻快，正与太真含笑入帘的旖旎情态相合，声情与诗意相为表里。

Reading note In form this is a standard recent-style quatrain, but its distinction is tonal irony: a rhyme and cadence of morning freshness carry a story of concealed scandal. Read aloud, the first couplet should float; the second should let the rhyme word 'come' trail off like the curtain lifting. The poem belongs with Du Mu's Huaqing Palace poems in the tradition of satire that hides behind scenic calm.此诗为七言绝句，是唐人咏天宝遗事诗中的讽刺名篇。其艺术特色在于「以纪事寓讽刺、不着一贬词」：全诗只写集灵台晨景之明丽与授箓相见之事，而不置一字评论，然玄宗以礼道之名行风流之实的荒唐，已在不言之中。前两句写景，以「日光斜照」「红树花迎晓露开」铺陈集灵台清虚明丽之境；后两句叙事，以「昨夜上皇新授箓，太真含笑入帘来」写出授箓道场上的旖旎风情。庄严与风流相映，清景与情事相衬，讽刺之意深藏于字面之下，含蓄蕴藉，正是「春秋笔法」在诗中的运用。此诗与张祜另一首咏太真的诗作，以及杜牧《过华清宫》等同题材作品，共同构成了唐人反思天宝兴亡、讽喻玄宗溺色的诗史，其以轻灵之笔写严肃之思，尤为后世所称赏。

Line by line

日光斜照集灵台，红树花迎晓露开。

Slanting sunlight falls on Jiling Terrace; red trees and blossoms greet the dawn dew in full bloom.

清晨的日光斜斜照在集灵台上，红树上的繁花迎着晓露悄然盛开，一片明丽春色。

Morning sunlight slants on the Jiling Altar; red-treed flowers open to meet the dawn dew.

前两句写景，为后文蓄势。首句「日光斜照集灵台」点出时间（清晨）与地点（集灵台），「斜照」二字写晨光初透、日光斜入之态，境界清丽而略显幽静；次句「红树花迎晓露开」以红树、繁花、晓露三个意象，写集灵台畔春色之明媚，「迎」字赋花以人情，写其迎着晓露绽放的生机。两句所写，一派道观清虚明丽的景象，令人神往。然诗人写此清景，并非单纯写景，而是为后两句的授箓风流之事作铺垫——越是以道场之清丽写其庄严，越见后文帝妃相会之事的突兀与荒唐。前实后虚，以景衬事，含蓄之中已暗藏机锋。

The first two lines write scenery, storing momentum for what follows. 'Morning sunlight slants on the Jiling Altar' fixes time (dawn) and place (the altar), 'slants' the first light entering at an angle, the realm clear and a little quiet; 'red-treed flowers open to meet the dawn dew' uses red trees, blooming flowers, and dawn dew for the altar's bright spring, the word 'meet' giving the flowers human feeling, opening to the dew. What is written is a pure, bright scene of the Taoist abode, enchanting; yet the poet writes this clear scene not for itself, but to prepare the way for the next two lines' affair of the registers: the more solemn the abode's purity, the more abrupt and absurd the meeting of the Emperor and consort. Fact before, fiction after, scene setting off event, the hidden edge already within the restraint.

昨夜上皇新授箓，太真含笑入帘来。

Last night the Retired Emperor received the new registers; Taizhen comes smiling through the curtain.

昨夜太上皇刚刚举行完授箓的道教仪式，太真便含笑款款步入帘来。

Last night, the Retired Emperor newly transmitted the Taoist registers; Taizhen, smiling, entered behind the curtains.

末两句叙事，是全诗讽刺之所在。「昨夜上皇新授箓」写玄宗于集灵台举行庄重的道教授箓仪式，「新」字点出其事方毕、历时未久；「太真含笑入帘来」则写杨太真含笑步入帘幕，「含笑」二字写其神态之旖旎、意态之从容，似乎全不以道场之庄严为意。诗人将「授箓」这一道教大典与「太真含笑」的旖旎情态并置一处，道场之清虚与宫闱之风流相映成趣，玄宗以礼道之名行风流之实的荒唐，便在不言之中。尤妙者，诗人通篇不着一字讥评，只如实写来，而讽刺自见，正是「寓讽刺于纪事」的春秋笔法，含蓄蕴藉，深得咏史诗之三昧。

The last two lines narrate, the satire of the poem. 'Last night, the Retired Emperor newly transmitted the Taoist registers' writes Xuanzong's solemn Taoist rite at the altar, the word 'new' showing it just ended; 'Taizhen, smiling, entered behind the curtains' writes Yang Taizhen stepping smilingly behind the drapes, 'smiling' the enchanting bearing, the unhurried air, as if unmindful of the abode's solemnity. The poet sets the great Taoist rite of 'transmitting the registers' beside the enchanting state of 'Taizhen smiling', the purity of the abode against the romance of the inner chambers, and the absurdity of Xuanzong using the rite of Daoism as cover for romance shows itself without a word. The art: not one word of mockery through the whole, only a plain account, and the satire appears of itself, the Spring-and-Autumn method of 'satire within record', restrained and pregnant.

Study

Word focus

斜照 Slanting light: the low morning sun entering the terrace, fixing the hour and bathing the altar in soft radiance that the poet will later set against the night's impropriety. 「斜照」写日光斜斜照入集灵台之态，点出清晨的时分与晨光的柔和，为全诗奠定了明丽清虚的基调。「斜」字见日光之侧入，光与影交错，使集灵台这一道教胜境更显幽静出尘；而这份出尘的清净，正与后文授箓风流之事形成对照，为讽刺埋下伏笔。二字写景写时，看似寻常，实为全诗布局的关键。「斜照」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。

红树花迎晓露 Red trees and blossoms meeting the dawn dew: a vivid dawn scene in which flowers seem to welcome the dew - living color that makes the sacred precinct glow before the event that profanes it. 「红树」「晓露」写集灵台畔春色之明艳，着一「迎」字，赋花以人情，写其迎着晓露欣然绽放，生机盎然。三词连用，色彩明丽、意象清新，把道观晨景写得如画一般。然此明丽之景愈盛，愈与后文「授箓」「含笑」的宫闱风流形成反差，诗人以乐景写荒唐，讽刺之意深藏其中，炼字之妙正在于此。「红树花迎晓露」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。

新授箓 Newly received registers: the Daoist rite of initiation just completed, the solemnity of which is the poem's measuring stick for the emperor's conduct. 「新」字写授箓之礼方毕、历时未久，点出此事之近、之新鲜；「授箓」为道教正式的入道仪式，本极庄严。诗人以「新授箓」写道教大典刚刚完成，紧接着便写「太真含笑入帘来」，庄严的仪式与旖旎的情事相接，玄宗礼道之名下的风流之实，便在这时间上的紧接中透出，讽刺含蓄而有力。「新授箓」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。

含笑 Smiling: Taizhen's expression as she enters - ease, intimacy, and delight in a setting where solemnity was expected; the single word in which the whole satire is concentrated. 「含笑」写太真步入帘来的神态，是全诗点睛之笔。太真为玄宗所度女道士，于授箓道场之上「含笑」而来，全不以道场之庄严为意，其旖旎风流之态如在目前。着一「笑」字，道场之清虚与宫闱之风情便在这一笑中交汇，玄宗晚年溺于声色的形象呼之欲出。诗人不着一贬词，而讽刺自在「含笑」二字之中，含蓄蕴藉，深得讽喻之妙。