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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

井络

Jingluo (The Land of Shu)

李商隐

Li Shangyin

井络天彭一掌中，漫夸天设劒为峰。
阵图东聚燕江石，边柝西悬雪岭松。
堪叹故君成杜宇，可能先主是真龙。
将来为报奸雄辈，莫向金牛访旧踪。

Jingluo and Tianpeng fit within a single palm;
No need to boast that Heaven set sword-peaks as ramparts.
Eastward the battle formation gathers on the Yan river stones;
Westward the frontier watch-clappers hang in the snow-range pines.
Pitiable - the ancient lord has become a cuckoo;
Could the Former Lord truly be a dragon?
For the crafty heroes of days yet to come, a warning:
Do not follow the Golden Ox Road to seek the old traces.
Listen

Meaning

Li Shangyin surveys the land of Shu and its celebrated natural defenses, only to belittle them: the mountains fit in a palm, and no rampart has ever saved a ruler. The cuckoo sings for the lost kingdom of Emperor Wang, and even Liu Bei, the so-called true dragon, could not keep Shu Han. The poem ends as a stern warning to future opportunists: do not repeat the old road of conquest, for history has already pronounced its verdict on trusting terrain.

井络天彭一掌中，漫夸天设劒为峰。阵图东聚燕江石，边柝西悬雪岭松。堪叹故君成杜宇，可能先主是真龙。将来为报奸雄辈，莫向金牛访旧踪。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The Well region and Tianpeng peaks fit in one palm; no need to boast of heaven-made sword ramparts. Eastward the stone battle formation gathers; westward frontier clappers sound among snow-range pines. The ancient lord of Shu became a cuckoo; was Liu Bei truly a dragon? To warn the schemers of the future: do not seek the old traces by the Golden Ox Road. [Structure] Four couplets move from terrain, to the relics of Shu, to history's verdict, to warning. The scale narrows from landscape to moral lesson. [Imagery] Sword-peaks, stone formations, snow pines, a cuckoo's cry, and the old Golden Ox Road crowd eight lines into a compressed museum of Shu's failed defenses. [Theme] Geography cannot substitute for virtue: the poem turns topography into history and history into admonition, which is why it reads less like a landscape poem than a stern political testament.

【白话串讲】 李商隐写《井络》：“井络天彭一掌中，漫夸天设劒为峰”——“阵图东聚燕江石，边柝西悬雪岭松”——“堪叹故君成杜宇，可能先主是真龙”——“将来为报奸雄辈，莫向金牛访旧踪”——他写蜀地——漫夸天设剑为峰。 【意象与手法】 “井络天彭一掌中，漫夸天设劒为峰”写蜀地天险；“阵图东聚燕江石，边柝西悬雪岭松”写阵图边柝；“堪叹故君成杜宇，可能先主是真龙”以杜宇先主写蜀史；结以“将来为报奸雄辈，莫向金牛访旧踪”以金牛道写劝诫。深沉讽喻。 【情感与主旨】 李商隐写蜀地之作，写蜀地天险不可恃、历史兴亡的教训，以“莫向金牛访旧踪”讽喻不要迷信天险，是咏史诗中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“井络天彭一掌中，漫夸天设劒为峰”写蜀地天险；“堪叹故君成杜宇，可能先主是真龙”以杜宇先主写蜀史。

Background

Li Shangyin (c. 813-858), courtesy name Yishan, was a late-Tang poet from Henei (in present-day Henan), renowned for the density of his allusions. This occasional poem on Shu draws on the region's whole historical memory. 'Jingluo' names the sky region of the Well constellation that corresponded to the land of Shu; the Tianpeng peaks rise near Chengdu; the stone battle formation was attributed to Zhuge Liang; the cuckoo is the transformed Emperor Wang of ancient Shu; the Former Lord is Liu Bei; the Golden Ox Road was the ancient passage into Shu, opened, legend says, when the Qin king tricked the Shu king with golden oxen said to dung gold. Written amid the fragmenting late-Tang world, the poem is often read as a warning to warlords coveting Shu's natural fastness.

《井络》为唐代诗人李商隐所作诗。李商隐（约813—约858），字义山，号玉溪生，又号樊南生，怀州河内（今河南沁阳）人，晚唐诗人。此诗写咏史讽喻，为咏蜀地之作。诗中「井络天彭一掌中，漫夸天设劒为峰」写井络天彭一掌中，漫夸天设劒为峰；「阵图东聚燕江石，边柝西悬雪岭松」写阵图东聚燕江石，边柝西悬雪岭松；「堪叹故君成杜宇，可能先主是真龙」写堪叹故君成杜宇，可能先主是真龙；「将来为报奸雄辈，莫向金牛访旧踪」写将来为报奸雄辈，莫向金牛访旧踪。李商隐此诗以咏史讽喻、莫向金牛访旧踪写其讽喻之情，深沉讽喻，是李商隐诗中的名篇。此篇《井络》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《井络》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 power is compression and progression. It opens by shrinking the geography of Shu to a palm - a bold deflation of the boast that Heaven set sword-peaks as ramparts. The second couplet balances east and west, relics and frontier, in strict parallelism. The third couplet turns to history with a lament and a skeptical question: was Liu Bei truly a dragon, if his dynasty fell? The closing couplet addresses future 'crafty heroes' directly, converting meditation into admonition. The tone descends from sonorous to bleak to severe, and the diction stays cold and monumental throughout.

此诗艺术上以「深沉讽喻、以蜀写今」见长。全诗共八句四联，由井络天彭一掌中而阵图东聚燕江石而堪叹故君成杜宇。起「井络天彭一掌中，漫夸天设劒为峰」写井络天彭一掌中：井络天彭一掌中，漫夸天设劒为峰；「阵图东聚燕江石，边柝西悬雪岭松」写阵图东聚燕江石：阵图东聚燕江石，边柝西悬雪岭松；「堪叹故君成杜宇，可能先主是真龙」写堪叹故君成杜宇：堪叹故君成杜宇，可能先主是真龙；结「将来为报奸雄辈，莫向金牛访旧踪」写莫向金牛访旧踪：将来为报奸雄辈，莫向金牛访旧踪。全诗以蜀写今，由井络天彭一掌中而莫向金牛访旧踪，深沉讽喻，是李商隐诗中的名篇。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。

Allusions

Jingluo: the network of the Well constellation, the astrological correlate of Shu, used here as a lofty synonym for the land itself. Tianpeng: peaks near Chengdu, part of Shu's famed rugged terrain. Sword-peaks: the blade-like ranges such as the Jianmen Pass that gave Shu its reputation for impregnability. The battle formation: Zhuge Liang's fabled stone array (the Eight Formations), said to lie by the river in eastern Shu. Frontier clappers: wooden instruments struck by night watchers on the western border. The cuckoo: Emperor Wang, the ancient ruler of Shu, who, losing his throne, was transformed into the cuckoo that cries in spring. The Former Lord: Liu Bei, founder of Shu Han. The Golden Ox Road: the ancient road into Shu, tied to the legend of the Qin king's golden-ox trick, by which conquest entered Shu.

诗中「井络天彭一掌中漫夸天设劒为峰」「阵图东聚燕江石边柝西悬雪岭松」「堪叹故君成杜宇可能先主是真龙」「将来为报奸雄辈莫向金牛访旧踪」等语，皆含典故故实。「井络天彭一掌中漫夸天设劒为峰」用井络之典（井络为蜀地分野），写井络天彭一掌中漫夸天设劒为峰；「阵图东聚燕江石边柝西悬雪岭松」用阵图之典（阵图即八阵图），写阵图东聚燕江石边柝西悬雪岭松；「堪叹故君成杜宇可能先主是真龙」用杜宇、先主之典（杜宇即望帝，先主指刘备），写堪叹故君成杜宇可能先主是真龙；「将来为报奸雄辈莫向金牛访旧踪」用金牛之典（金牛道为入蜀之路），写将来为报奸雄辈莫向金牛访旧踪。诗人以井络、杜宇、先主、金牛之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把咏史讽喻之情写得真切可感，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

'Jingluo' is among Li Shangyin's most austere occasional poems, admired for turning geography into moral argument. Commentators debate the target of its closing warning - some read it against the late-Tang military men who dreamed of occupying Shu as a base, others as a general meditation on the futility of natural defenses. What is agreed is its tone: cold, monumental, and admonitory, a rare example of the poet writing in the voice of a historian rather than a lover. Its severity distinguishes it from the allusive melancholy of his untitled poems.

这首《井络》，是李商隐写咏史讽喻之作，写井络天彭一掌中、阵图东聚燕江石、堪叹故君成杜宇、莫向金牛访旧踪之情，深沉讽喻。起「井络天彭一掌中，漫夸天设劒为峰」——井络天彭一掌中，漫夸天设劒为峰。写井络天彭一掌中：井络天彭一掌中、漫夸天设劒为峰——一掌中、天设劒为峰；「阵图东聚燕江石，边柝西悬雪岭松」——阵图东聚燕江石，边柝西悬雪岭松。写阵图东聚燕江石：阵图东聚燕江石、边柝西悬雪岭松——燕江石、雪岭松；「堪叹故君成杜宇，可能先主是真龙」——堪叹故君成杜宇，可能先主是真龙。写堪叹故君成杜宇：堪叹故君成杜宇、可能先主是真龙——成杜宇、是真龙；结「将来为报奸雄辈，莫向金牛访旧踪」——将来为报奸雄辈，莫向金牛访旧踪。写莫向金牛访旧踪：将来为报奸雄辈、莫向金牛访旧踪——为报奸雄辈、访旧踪。这「将来为报奸雄辈，莫向金牛访旧踪」，是全诗之结：以莫向金牛访旧踪写其讽喻。全诗深沉讽喻，以蜀写今，正是李商隐诗中的名篇。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated verse (qilü)诗（七言律诗）
Rhyme The poem rhymes on the eastern group of the level tone: middle (zhong), peak (feng), pine (song), dragon (long), and trace (zong), with the first line entering the rhyme; the deep, sonorous cadence suits its solemn historical tone.此诗为七言律诗，共八句四联。押韵：「中」「峰」「松」「龙」「踪」押东部韵。首联起、颔联承、颈联转、尾联合，平仄相间，正与写咏史讽喻的深沉讽喻相称，也见其以七律写蜀地的工稳。
Tone pattern The four couplets descend in pitch from landscape to admonition: the opening is sonorous and sweeping, the middle couplets dry and parallel, the turn bleak with lament and question, and the close stern and clipped. Syntax stays monumental, with few connectives, so the lines stand like inscriptions.句式上，「井络天彭一掌中，漫夸天设劒为峰」写井络天彭一掌中，音节沉雄；「阵图东聚燕江石，边柝西悬雪岭松」写阵图东聚燕江石，音节苍凉；「堪叹故君成杜宇，可能先主是真龙」写堪叹故君成杜宇，音节深沉；结「将来为报奸雄辈，莫向金牛访旧踪」写莫向金牛访旧踪，音节冷峭。全诗音节随情起伏，由沉雄而苍凉、由深沉而冷峭，正合七律「工稳」之妙，读来如咏史讽喻、莫向金牛访旧踪之音，深沉而动人。
Reading note This is a rigorously constructed qilü - opening rhyme, strict parallelism in the middle couplets, and a closing couplet that resolves the argument. Its distinction is rhetorical rather than melodic: the poem speaks like a historian pronouncing judgment. Read slowly, with weight on the rhyme words, the eight lines acquire the cadence of an inscription carved above a mountain pass.此诗为七言律诗，是李商隐写咏史讽喻之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「深沉讽喻、以蜀写今」：「井络天彭一掌中，漫夸天设劒为峰」写井络天彭一掌中、「阵图东聚燕江石，边柝西悬雪岭松」写阵图东聚燕江石、「堪叹故君成杜宇，可能先主是真龙」写堪叹故君成杜宇、「将来为报奸雄辈，莫向金牛访旧踪」写莫向金牛访旧踪。全诗深沉讽喻，以蜀写今。尤为精妙者，是「堪叹故君成杜宇」用杜宇之典；而「莫向金牛访旧踪」用金牛之典，正是李商隐诗「深沉讽喻」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《井络》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

井络天彭一掌中，漫夸天设劒为峰。

Jingluo and Tianpeng fit within a single palm; no need to boast that Heaven set sword-peaks as ramparts.

井络天彭一掌中，漫夸天设劒为峰。

Jingxing and Tianpeng are held in one palm; vainly they boast of heaven-forged sword peaks.

起句写井络天彭一掌中，起笔即见其井络。「井络天彭一掌中」用井络之典写井络天彭一掌中，「井络天彭」写井络天彭、「一掌中」写一掌中；「漫夸天设劒为峰」写漫夸天设劒为峰，「漫夸天设」写漫夸天设、「劒为峰」写劒为峰。一句写井络天彭一掌中漫夸天设劒为峰，以井络天彭一掌中写一掌中、以漫夸天设劒为峰写天设劒为峰，写尽井络天彭一掌中、漫夸天设劒为峰之情。以蜀起兴，深沉而讽喻，是「以蜀起兴」的妙笔。

The opening line writes Jingxing and Tianpeng held in one palm, the start. It uses the star 'Jing' as the astral map of Shu, the opening star of the well-mansion; rising through Shu, deep and allegorical, the start of the poem's warning against separatist ambition.

阵图东聚燕江石，边柝西悬雪岭松。

Eastward the battle formation gathers on the Yan river stones; westward frontier watch-clappers hang in the snow-range pines.

阵图东聚燕江石，边柝西悬雪岭松。

The stone formations of Yan River gather to the east; border watch-bells hang west by Snow Ridge pines.

此句写阵图东聚燕江石，是全诗写阵图之态的关键。「阵图东聚燕江石」用阵图之典写阵图东聚燕江石，「阵图东聚」写阵图东聚、「燕江石」写燕江石；「边柝西悬雪岭松」写边柝西悬雪岭松，「边柝西悬」写边柝西悬、「雪岭松」写雪岭松。一句写阵图东聚燕江石边柝西悬雪岭松，以阵图东聚燕江石写燕江石、以边柝西悬雪岭松写雪岭松，写尽阵图东聚燕江石、边柝西悬雪岭松之情。以阵写古，深沉而讽喻，是「以阵写古」的点睛之笔。

This line writes the stone formations of Yan River gathering east, the historical key. It uses the allusion to Zhuge Liang's stone army formations, and the border watch-bells by Snow Ridge; through formations it writes the old history of Shu, deep and allegorical.

堪叹故君成杜宇，可能先主是真龙。

Pitiable, the ancient lord has become a cuckoo; could the Former Lord truly be a dragon?

堪叹故君成杜宇，可能先主是真龙。

Alas, the old lord became the cuckoo; could the First Ruler truly be the true dragon?

此句写堪叹故君成杜宇，是全诗写杜宇之态的关键。「堪叹故君成杜宇」用杜宇之典写堪叹故君成杜宇，「堪叹故君」写堪叹故君、「成杜宇」写成杜宇；「可能先主是真龙」用先主之典写可能先主是真龙，「可能先主」写可能先主、「是真龙」写是真龙。一句写堪叹故君成杜宇可能先主是真龙，以堪叹故君成杜宇写成杜宇、以可能先主是真龙写是真龙，写尽堪叹故君成杜宇、可能先主是真龙之情。以君写古，深沉而讽喻，是「以君写古」的点睛之笔。

This line writes 'alas, the old lord became the cuckoo', the cuckoo key. It alludes to Emperor Du Yu of Shu, who after death became the cuckoo; and to the First Ruler Liu Bei, the 'true dragon' of Shu Han — asking whether any who claim the dragon can long hold the land; through the lord it writes the old history, deep and allegorical.

将来为报奸雄辈，莫向金牛访旧踪。

For the crafty heroes of days yet to come, a warning: do not follow the Golden Ox Road to seek the old traces.

将来为报奸雄辈，莫向金牛访旧踪。

Tell the future race of villains: do not seek the old trail by the Golden Ox Pass.

结句写将来为报奸雄辈，是全诗立意的落点。「将来为报奸雄辈」写将来为报奸雄辈，「将来为报」写将来为报、「奸雄辈」写奸雄辈；「莫向金牛访旧踪」用金牛之典写莫向金牛访旧踪，「莫向金牛」写莫向金牛、「访旧踪」写访旧踪。一句写将来为报奸雄辈莫向金牛访旧踪，以将来为报奸雄辈写奸雄辈、以莫向金牛访旧踪写访旧踪，写尽将来为报奸雄辈、莫向金牛访旧踪之情。以牛写情，深沉而讽喻，是全诗最动人处，也是「以牛写情」的点睛之笔。

The closing line writes 'tell the future race of villains', the poem's landing. It alludes to the Golden Ox Pass, the narrow road by which the Qin armies entered Shu; through the ox it writes the warning, the poem's most moving point: the poet's bleak counsel to would-be warlords that the old kingdom of Shu is a grave, not a road to empire.

Study

Word focus

井络 Jingluo: the star region of the Well constellation over the land of Shu, a classical name for Sichuan; its cosmic resonance gives the poem's opening its sweeping, deflating perspective. 「井络」写井络天彭一掌中，是写井络之态的关键。「井络天彭一掌中」着一「井络」，写井络——着一「井络」，写井络天彭一掌中，见其络之井。两字写尽井络之态，是「以词写野」的妙笔。「井络」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。
阵图 The battle formation: Zhuge Liang's legendary stone array in eastern Shu; a relic of Shu's martial past that history has rendered useless. 「阵图」写阵图东聚燕江石，是写阵图之态的关键。「阵图东聚燕江石」着一「阵图」，写阵图——着一「阵图」，写阵图东聚燕江石，见其图之阵。两字写尽阵图之态，是「以词写图」的点睛之词。「阵图」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。
杜宇 The cuckoo: Emperor Wang, the ancient lord of Shu, transformed into the cuckoo after losing his kingdom - the sound of lost sovereignty crying through spring. 「杜宇」写堪叹故君成杜宇，是写杜宇之态的关键。「堪叹故君成杜宇」着一「杜宇」，写杜宇——着一「杜宇」，写堪叹故君成杜宇，见其宇之杜。两字写尽杜宇之态，是「以词写帝」的点睛之词。「杜宇」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。
金牛 The Golden Ox: the Golden Ox Road into Shu, opened through the Qin king's trick with gold-dunging oxen; it stands for the road of conquest and the mirage of past glory. 「金牛」写莫向金牛访旧踪，是写金牛之态的关键。「莫向金牛访旧踪」着一「金牛」，写金牛——着一「金牛」，写莫向金牛访旧踪，见其牛之金。两字写尽金牛之态，是「以词写牛」的点睛之词。「金牛」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? (Shuidiao Getou) 苏轼 · 同写感怀讽喻、深沉旷达，一写人有悲欢离合、一写堪叹故君成杜宇可能先主是真龙，皆于感怀之中见讽喻 Both rise from feeling to reflection: Su Shi finds philosophical consolation, while Li Shangyin's lament over the cuckoo finds only the verdict of history.

Su Shi's song resolves grief in the acceptance of imperfection; Li Shangyin's poem refuses consolation and ends in warning. One is Mid-Autumn philosophy, the other historical admonition - two poles of the Chinese reflective lyric.

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」，写感怀讽喻、深沉旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；李商隐《井络》则以「堪叹故君成杜宇，可能先主是真龙」「莫向金牛访旧踪」写成杜宇、访旧踪。两诗同写感怀讽喻、深沉旷达：一写人有悲欢离合、以悲欢写离合，一写堪叹故君成杜宇可能先主是真龙、以杜宇写讽喻；一为苏轼之旷达、一为李商隐之深沉，并读正可见诗写「感怀讽喻」的两种笔法，皆于感怀之中见讽喻。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Eight Beats of a Ganzhou Song: To the Drizzle of the Evening Rain (Basheng Ganzhou) 柳永 · 同写登高凝望、深沉清丽，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写阵图东聚燕江石边柝西悬雪岭松，皆于登高之中见凝望 Both open with a sweeping gaze over distance: Liu Yong's rain over the river sky turns to the traveler's loneliness, while Li Shangyin's eastern formation and western clappers turn to the fate of states.

Liu Yong pours personal sorrow into autumn vastness; Li Shangyin compresses the rise and fall of Shu into the same spatial sweep. One lyric is soft with feeling, the other hard as stone - two uses of the same panoramic view.

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」，写登高凝望、深沉清丽，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；李商隐《井络》则以「阵图东聚燕江石，边柝西悬雪岭松」「井络天彭一掌中」写雪岭松、一掌中。两诗同写登高凝望、深沉清丽：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写阵图东聚燕江石边柝西悬雪岭松、以阵图写讽喻；一为柳永之清丽、一为李商隐之深沉，并读正可见诗写「登高凝望」的两种笔法，皆于登高之中见凝望。