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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

绝句

A Quatrain

杜甫

Du Fu

写景landscape 山水mountains and rivers

两个黄鹂鸣翠柳，一行白鹭上青天。
窗含西岭千秋雪，门泊东吴万里船。

Two orioles chirp in the green willows,
A line of white egrets ascends the blue sky.
From my window frames the West Range's thousand autumns of snow,
At my door moors the East Wu boat from myriad miles.

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Meaning

This quatrain presents four vivid scenes from Du Fu's thatched cottage: orioles singing in willows, egrets flying into the sky, snow-capped western mountains framed by the window, and a distant boat moored at the door.

两只黄鹂在翠绿的柳枝间欢快啼鸣，一行白鹭振翅飞上蔚蓝的晴空。窗外正对着西岭千年不化的积雪，门前停泊着来自东吴万里之外的航船。

Appreciation

Du Fu paints four separate scenes like a folding screen, arranged from near to far, low to high, and dynamic to static. The colors (yellow, green, white, blue) are bright and harmonious. The phrases 'window frames' and 'door moors' use a framing technique to bring vast landscapes into the confined space of the cottage, showing the poet's ability to see the grand in the small. Amidst the post-rebellion tranquility, this poem reflects the poet's relief and subtle longing for home.

【白话串讲】窗子框住了千秋的雪，门前泊着万里的船——四句诗，杜甫把一整个盛唐的辽阔装进了窗框里。此时他正寄居成都草堂，日子清苦，眼里却是江山万里。【意象与手法】全诗四句四景，却非简单罗列：首联写动（鸣、上），写近写高；后联写静（含、泊），写远写久【情感与主旨】此诗约作于唐肃宗广德二年（764）杜甫重返成都草堂之后。经安史之乱多年颠沛，诗人终得暂安草堂，心境由飘零转为平和【名句点睛】常考四句四景的布局与翠、青、白、雪的色彩映衬；窗含、门泊的框景（将远景纳入窗门）手法。东吴指今苏南一带

Background

Written around 764 AD, after Du Fu returned to his thatched cottage in Chengdu following years of wandering during the An Lushan Rebellion. The reopening of the Yangtze waterway allowed boats from East Wu to reach Shu, inspiring this clear and joyful poem that hints at hopes for peace and return.

杜甫《绝句》（两个黄鹂鸣翠柳）约作于唐代宗广德二年（764）春，时诗人重返成都草堂不久。安史之乱（755—763）平定未久，杜甫却已饱经颠沛：陷贼、逃难、漂泊夔州、梓州、阆州，至是年严武再镇成都，表为节度使参谋、检校工部员外郎，杜甫遂携家返草堂。久经丧乱而暂得安居，心情由飘零转为平和，此诗所写草堂春景之明丽，正折射这份难得的静好。草堂在成都西郊浣花溪畔，杜甫于肃宗上元元年（760）初营，经战乱弃走，至此重修，故有“窗含西岭”“门泊东吴”的从容观察——唯安定者方能细看窗前门外之景。“千秋雪”指成都以西岷山（西岭）历年不化之积雪，望之可及；“万里船”指自长江下游东吴（今苏南）溯江而来、泊于草堂门前浣花溪的客舟，暗含诗人对“下峡东归”的企盼——战乱初平，归乡之念复生。故明丽春景之下，隐伏着“ anxiously 待归”的家国之思与身世之感，只是不露哀音，以乐景出之。版本方面，此诗题作《绝句》，宋本即如此，与杜甫大量无题“绝句”同列；又有题作《绝句四首·其三》者，今从《绝句》单行。

Art

The poem comprises four independent yet unified scenes. The first couplet is dynamic with sounds and motion, while the second is static and expansive. The use of numbers, colors, and parallel verbs creates a balanced structure. The words 'contain' and 'moor' cleverly frame distant views, embodying the aesthetic of 'seeing the big in the small'. The poem achieves grand scope and majesty within a compact form.

此诗艺术最著者，在“四句四景、两两对仗”的严整章法与“色彩映衬、动静相生”的画意。四句各写一景，却不零散：首联“两个黄鹂鸣翠柳，一行白鹭上青天”写动、写近、写高——黄鹂鸣（声）、白鹭上（形），翠柳（低）、青天（高），一横一纵；颔联“窗含西岭千秋雪，门泊东吴万里船”写静、写远、写久——雪含于窗（近而恒）、船泊于门（近而远），一“含”一“泊”皆静。两组景一上一下、一近一远、一动一静，构成草堂内外立体的春景长卷。色彩上“黄”（鹂）、“翠”（柳）、“白”（鹭）、“青”（天）四色并陈，鲜丽如设色山水，而“雪”之素、“船”之暗又作调和，艳而不俗。对仗上两联皆工：数词“两”对“一”、名词“黄鹂”对“白鹭”、“翠柳”对“青天”、“窗”对“门”、“西岭”对“东吴”、“千秋雪”对“万里船”，字字相对而气脉贯通。更妙在“含”“泊”二字的框景手法——将远景（雪、船）纳入窗门如画框，化无限为有限、化变动为静观，章法之巧令人叫绝。浦起龙《读杜心解》谓此诗“一句一景，不相牵连，而气脉自贯”，正点其散中有整。

Allusions

'East Wu' refers to the ancient Kingdom of Wu (modern Jiangsu and Zhejiang), emphasizing the distance of the boat and implying restored peace and navigable waters. 'Thousand autumns of snow' on the West Range highlights the timelessness of the snow-covered peaks. While no obscure allusions are used, the imagery follows the landscape tradition of Xie Tiao and Wang Wei.

此诗用典在地理与意象的传统，而非显性的故实。其一是“西岭千秋雪”与“东吴万里船”的地理对举：西岭指岷山，积雪终年不化，望之入窗，是空间之“远而可即”；东吴指长江下游苏南一带，万里船溯江而来，是空间之“远而可至”，二者一静一动的地理对照，暗含杜甫“即从巴峡穿巫峡，便下襄阳向洛阳”的东归之念（见《闻官军收河南河北》）。“千秋雪”以“千秋”写时间之恒，与“万里船”之空间之远形成时空对偶，承《楚辞》“千秋”“万里”的浩渺语感。其二是色彩意象：黄鹂、白鹭、翠柳、青天的四色并陈，近谢朓“余霞散成绮，澄江静如练”与庾信“白雪”“青山”的设色传统，而更趋鲜丽自然。其三是“窗含”“门泊”的框景思维，可溯魏晋园林“借景”观念与陶渊明“众鸟欣有托，吾亦爱吾庐”的草庐静观。杜甫融地理、设色、园林于一炉，以家常小景写身世大感，最见其“细入毫芒”的工力。观《绝句》用典使事之妙，正在于不泥于古而能化用无痕，信手拈来皆成佳境，既增诗境之厚重，又不失自然浑成之趣，非徒摭拾故实以炫博者也。

Commentary

Pu Qilong in 'Du Du Jie Xin' praised the exquisite parallelism and brilliant colors. Qing scholar Huang Sheng considered this quatrain a representative example of Du Fu's regulated verse, noting its compactness and vividness as an expression of the poet's calm mood in the cottage.

此诗自宋以来推为杜甫绝句“诗中有画”的范本。宋代叶梦得《石林诗话》赏其“两句一串”的工对，谓“两个黄鹂”一联“如画家设色，浓淡相宜”。清代仇兆鳌《杜诗详注》引黄生说，谓四句“一句一景，不相沿袭，而气脉自相贯注”，并细析“含”“泊”二字之妙。浦起龙《读杜心解》云：“上联写目前之景，下联写千里之思，乐景中隐隐有身世之感。”近人郭沫若、萧涤非皆以此诗为杜集中“风格清新、少见沉郁”的代表，认为它展现了杜甫并非一味悲苦，亦能写晴明闲适。叶嘉莹论杜，特指出此诗“表面快乐而底层有归乡未即的隐忧”——战乱虽平，而“万里船”尚“泊”未发，正见诗人企盼与等待的矛盾。在传播史上，此诗与《春夜喜雨》《江畔独步寻花》同列草堂闲适诸作，因色彩鲜明、对仗工整、朗朗上口，成为童蒙必诵的杜甫第一诗，其“窗含西岭千秋雪”的框景之法，更成为后世园林与绘画“借景”理论的诗学先声。

Prosody

Form seven-character quatrain (仄起首句入韵)七言绝句（草堂写景名作）

Rhyme Rhyme pattern: 天, 船 (下平一先韵); first line uses a neighbouring rhyme 柳 (宽对)平水韵下平一先韵，押“天”“船”二韵，首句不入韵（首句末字“柳”为上声，不押）

Tone pattern The tonal pattern is given in the input: '两个黄鹂鸣翠柳' (仄仄平平平仄仄), '一行白鹭上青天' (仄平平仄仄平平), '窗含西岭千秋雪' (平平平仄平平仄), '门泊东吴万里船' (平仄平平仄仄平).首句“两个黄鹂鸣翠柳”仄仄平平平仄仄（“柳”上声，不押）；次句“一行白鹭上青天”仄平平仄仄平平（“天”平，入韵）；三句“窗含西岭千秋雪”平平平仄平平仄（“雪”入声仄，不押）；末句“门泊东吴万里船”平仄平平仄仄平（“船”平，入韵）。整体合七绝仄起首句不入韵正格，两联皆对仗，平仄严整。

Reading note The four scenes are parallel with exquisite color and structure, typical of Du Fu's thatched cottage works.此诗为七绝仄起首句不入韵之正格，二十八字而两联皆对仗，是杜甫“晚节渐于诗律细”的极小值体现。首联“两个黄鹂鸣翠柳，一行白鹭上青天”以数词（两／一）、禽名（黄鹂／白鹭）、植物（翠柳／青天）工对，色泽鲜丽；颔联“窗含西岭千秋雪，门泊东吴万里船”以建筑（窗／门）、地理（西岭／东吴）、时空（千秋雪／万里船）工对，气象开阔。两联对仗而一气贯通，散中有整，浦起龙所谓“一句一景，不相牵连，而气脉自贯”正指此。声韵上所押“天”“船”皆下平一先，先韵开口洪亮、音色清远，与白鹭青天之朗、万里船之阔的明丽意境声情相恰；首句“柳”上声、三句“雪”入声皆仄收不与韵冲突，合七绝三四句多不入韵之常。王力《汉语诗律学》以杜甫七绝多工对，此诗尤为“四句四景、两两对仗”的标本——虽为绝句却具律诗之整，足见工部于短章亦不苟且的律细手段，而其色彩映衬（黄翠白青）更开宋人“设色对”之先河。

Line by line

两个黄鹂鸣翠柳，

Two golden orioles sing among the green willows.

两只黄鹂在翠绿的柳枝间欢快啼鸣，

Two golden orioles sing merrily among the green willow branches.

首句写近景之声与色，是全诗最明丽的一笔。“两个”以数量起，写出黄鹂成双、生机盎然，暗含春日的欢愉；“黄鹂”是亮黄的鸣禽，与“翠柳”的嫩绿形成鲜明的色彩对衬（黄对翠），鲜丽如设色；“鸣”是听觉，写鸟啼之欢，以声写春，恰与次句“上”的视觉呼应，声形并茂。“翠柳”点明节候——柳色新翠，正是早春，与“两个黄鹂”的生机合成一幅草堂春晓图。此句妙在“动”与“近”：黄鹂在柳间鸣跃，是草堂近处的活泼景象，与下联“窗含”“门泊”的静远形成对照。且“两个”与次句“一行”构成数词对偶的先声，已预示全诗对仗之工。杜甫写此句时，刚返草堂、心境平和，故能细察“两个黄鹂”之微；乱中漂泊时绝无此闲笔。一句之中，色（黄翠）、声（鸣）、数（两）、时（春）俱备，最见“诗中有画”的工细。

The opening line writes the sound and color of the near view, the brightest stroke. 'Two' begins with a number, the orioles paired, alive with spring; 'golden orioles' the bright yellow songbird, set against the tender green willows, yellow against green, as vivid as a painted scene; 'sing' the auditory, writing the bird's glad call through sound, echoing the visual 'mount' of the next line, sound and shape together. 'Green willows' fixes the season — new willow green, early spring; with 'two orioles' it makes a picture of the thatched hall's spring dawn. The beauty is 'movement' and 'nearness': orioles calling and leaping in the willows, the lively scene close to the hall, set against the still, far 'window frames' and 'door moors' below. And 'two' sounds the opening of the numeric pairing with 'a file' below, foreshadowing the couplet's craft.

一行白鹭上青天。

A file of white egrets mounts the blue sky.

一行白鹭振翅飞上蔚蓝的晴空。

A line of white egrets beats their wings and flies up into the azure sky.

次句写远景之形与势，与首句构成空间的对举。“一行”对“两个”，由双数到成行，由近枝到长空，空间骤然拉开；“白鹭”是素白的涉禽，与“青天”的蔚蓝再次形成色彩对衬（白对青），且白鹭之小点缀青天之大，反衬天宇之阔。“上”是动态，写白鹭振翅飞升，与首句“鸣”的枝头跳跃同属动景，却一低一高、一横一纵——黄鹂在柳间（低、横），白鹭向天去（高、纵），构成一幅立体的草堂春空图。此句妙在“远”与“高”：首句写眼前枝头，此句写天际飞鹭，视野由近推远，为下联“窗含西岭”“门泊东吴”的更远空间作铺垫。对仗上“一行”对“两个”、“白鹭”对“黄鹂”、“上”对“鸣”、“青天”对“翠柳”，字字工稳而自然，色泽鲜丽而不秾。杜甫以两联写尽草堂春日的声色天地，起手便见盛唐以后少有的明丽基调。

The next line writes the shape and momentum of the far view, paired with the opening in space. 'A file' matched with 'two', from the pair to the row, from the near bough to the wide sky, the space suddenly opening; 'white egrets' the snowy wading bird, set against the azure sky, white against blue, and the small egret dotting the vast sky, setting off the heavens' breadth. 'Mount' the motion, the egrets beating upward, of a piece with the 'sing' of the opening as movement, yet one low one high, one horizontal one vertical — orioles in the willows (low, level), egrets toward the sky (high, soaring), a three-dimensional picture of the hall's spring sky. The beauty is 'far' and 'high': the opening writes the bough before his eyes, this line the egrets on the horizon, the view pushed from near to far, preparing the still farther space of 'western ridges' and 'Eastern Wu' below. The pairing — 'a file' against 'two', 'egrets' against 'orioles', 'mount' against 'sing', 'azure sky' against 'green willows' — every word exact and natural, colors bright yet not lush.

窗含西岭千秋雪，

The window frames the western ridges' thousand-year snow.

窗外正对着西岭千年不化的积雪，

The window faces the western ridges, where the snow has lain for a thousand years.

第三句由动转静、由近推远，引入“框景”手法，是全诗章法最巧的一笔。“窗含”二字极妙：诗人不写“望见西岭”，而写“窗含”——将窗框比作画框，把远处的岷山积雪纳入窗中如一幅静物，化无限为有限、化变动为静观，这种“借景”思维正是中国古典园林与绘画的核心。“西岭”指成都以西岷山，积雪终年不化；“千秋雪”以“千秋”写时间之恒久，与次句“一行”之须臾、首句“两个”之当下形成时间维度的拓展——眼前的黄鹂白鹭是刹那的春，窗外的千秋雪是永恒的寒，时空在此交汇。此句与下句“门泊”对举：窗对门（建筑）、西岭对东吴（地理）、千秋雪对万里船（时空），空间由草堂近景跃至千里之外。杜甫安坐草堂而能“含”西岭、“泊”东吴，正是暂得安居后从容观物的写照，静景中暗藏对远方的系念。

The third line turns from movement to stillness, from near to far, introducing the 'framed view', the most artful stroke of the poem's structure. 'The window frames' is exquisite: the poet does not write 'I see the western ridges', but 'the window frames' — treating the window frame as a picture frame, taking the distant Min mountains' snow into the window as a still life, turning the infinite into the bounded, the changing into the beheld; this 'borrowed view' is the core of Chinese landscape gardens and painting. 'The western ridges' the Min mountains west of Chengdu, snow that never melts; 'thousand-year snow' the word 'thousand-year' fixing time's eternity, set against 'a file's' moment above and 'two's' instant, opening the time dimension — the orioles and egrets before him are the spring of an instant, the thousand-year snow outside the window the cold of eternity, time and space meeting here. Paired with 'the door moors' below: window against door (architecture), western ridges against Eastern Wu (geography), thousand-year snow against ten-thousand-li boat (time and space), the space leaping from the hall's near view to a thousand li away.

门泊东吴万里船。

The door moors a ten-thousand-li boat from Eastern Wu.

门前停泊着来自东吴万里之外的航船。

At the door, a vessel lies at anchor, come ten thousand li from Eastern Wu.

末句以静景收束，将空间推向最远，亦暗伏归乡之思，是全诗情感的最深层。“门泊”与“窗含”对举，将门前浣花溪的泊船纳入观察——船自东吴（长江下游）溯江万里而来，泊于草堂门外，是“远而可即”的实物；“万里船”以“万里”写空间之辽远，与“千秋雪”之时间恒久构成时空对偶，章法圆满。此句之妙在“泊”字：船“泊”而未发，是停留、是等待，暗含诗人对“乘此船东归”的企盼——战乱初平，归乡之念复生，而船尚泊未行，恰似归期未卜的隐忧。表面写门前闲景，底层却藏“即从巴峡穿巫峡，便下襄阳向洛阳”的东归之愿（见《闻官军收河南河北》）。与首联的欢鸣飞鹭相较，此联的“含”“泊”皆静，由动入静、由近及远，乐景中隐隐有身世与家国之思。四句至此，草堂内外、天地古今俱入一绝，最见杜甫“细入毫芒”而“气象开阔”的手段。

The closing line ends in a still scene, pushing space to the farthest, and secretly planting the thought of home, the deepest feeling of the poem. 'The door moors' pairs with 'the window frames', taking the boat on the Huanhua Stream before the door into view — the vessel has sailed ten thousand li up from Eastern Wu (the lower Yangzi), moored at the hall's gate, the tangible thing 'far yet attainable'; 'ten-thousand-li boat' the word 'ten-thousand-li' for space's vastness, paired with 'thousand-year snow's' time's permanence, the structure complete. The beauty is the word 'moors': the boat lies moored, not departed — a stay, a waiting, secretly the poet's longing to 'ride this boat east'; the wars just calmed, the thought of home reviving, yet the boat still moored, like the uncertain date of return. On the surface the idle scene before the door, beneath lies the wish of 'from Ba Gorge through Wu Gorge, then down Xiangyang toward Luoyang' (in Hearing the Imperial Army's Victory). Compared with the opening couplet's glad birds and flying egrets, this couplet's 'frames' and 'moors' are both still, from movement to stillness, from near to far, beneath the joy a hidden thought of self and country. The four lines end here, hall and outside, heaven and earth, ancient and present, all in one quatrain, showing Du Fu's 'minute observation' and 'open atmosphere' at once.

Study

Word focus

鸣 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “两个黄鹂鸣翠柳”之“鸣”字，是全诗声色开篇的关键，亦“以声写春”的着力点。“鸣”写黄鹂啼啭，是听觉意象，与次句“上”的视觉、下联“含”“泊”的静观形成感官的丰富层次。这个字有三重用意：一是写生机——春日鸟啼本含欢愉，黄鹂之鸣更显草堂春晓之悦；二是写动态——鸟在柳间跳跃啼鸣，是近处枝头的活泼，与白鹭“上青天”的远飞同属动景而一低一高；三是启色彩——“鸣”的主语是“黄鹂”，与“翠柳”的黄绿对衬因“鸣”而生动，仿佛啼声染绿了春色。杜甫下字极炼，“鸣”不如“啼”之哀、不如“叫”之俗，最合春日明丽之调。与“两个”配合，“两个黄鹂鸣”以数量加声音写出成双的欢快，暗藏诗人暂安草堂的和悦心境。一字而声、色、态、时俱备，是“诗中有画”中以声入画的妙笔。

含 to contain/frame (used to depict the snow scene as if framed in the window) “窗含西岭千秋雪”之“含”字，是全诗章法最巧的炼字，亦中国古典“框景”美学的诗学先声。“含”本义包容、衔在口中，李白有“山含黛”之写，此处移以写窗——将窗框比作画框，把远景岷山积雪“含”纳其中，如一幅静物嵌入窗牖。其妙有三：一是化远为近，千里之外的西岭因“窗含”而如在目前；二是化动为静，飘忽的雪岭被窗框“定格”为永恒之景（故云“千秋雪”）；三是暗写观者之闲——唯安居草堂、安坐窗前者，方能如此从容地“含”景入怀。与下句“泊”对举，“含”是窗对山（静中含静），“泊”是门对船（静中含动），二字皆写主体与远景的从容关系。园林“借景”理论（如计成《园冶》）正与此“窗含”同趣，杜甫以诗立法，早于造园专书。一字之炼，使无限雪山收入尺幅，最见工部“细入毫芒”的章法之功。

泊 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “门泊东吴万里船”之“泊”字，是全诗情感收束的隐键，亦景中藏情之处。“泊”写船停而未发，是静态，与首联“鸣”“上”的飞动形成由动入静的章法回落；更深一层，“泊”含“停留、等待”之意——万里船自东吴溯江而来，却只“泊”于门前，未载诗人东去，暗伏归乡未遂的隐忧。杜甫经安史之乱漂泊多年，至此暂安草堂，归心本切（见《闻官军收河南河北》“便下襄阳向洛阳”），而“万里船”尚“泊”未行，恰似归期之未卜。这个字与“含”对举：“含”是窗纳恒雪（时间之静），“泊”是门系行船（空间之动而暂止），一动一静皆写主体与远方的牵连。表面写门前闲景，底层藏东归之愿与待发之焦，乐景不露哀音而哀意自远。炼字之精，在静中藏盼，最见杜诗“沉郁”于“清新”之下的深沉。

万里 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “门泊东吴万里船”之“万里”二字，是空间维度的极致延展，亦全诗由近及远的最高点。“万里”写船来自长江下游东吴，溯江而上至成都，路途之遥以虚数极言之，与“千秋雪”之“千秋”（时间之恒）构成精严的时空对偶——上联“西岭千秋雪”是空间之远而时间之恒，此句“东吴万里船”是空间之远而时间之暂（船可发），时空经纬交织，草堂虽小而天地古今俱入。这个词的妙用在“以小容大”：草堂门外一叶泊船，因“万里”二字而接通整个长江水系与半壁山河，诗人的视野由窗前枝头（两个黄鹂）层层推至万里之外（东吴船），章法如镜头拉远。且“万里”暗含归乡之念——东吴是诗人祖籍与欲归之地，船来自万里之外，亦指向诗人欲往的万里之遥。二字以空间之阔写身世之远，最见杜甫“万里悲秋”“亲朋无一字，老病有孤舟”一贯的时空悲慨，而此诗以乐景出之，故悲而不伤。

绝句