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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

兰溪棹歌

Boat Song of Lanxi

戴叔伦

Dai Shulun

凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看。
兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩。

A cool moon like an eyebrow hangs over Willow Bay,
The hills of Yue are seen mirrored in the water as in a glass.
Three days of peach-blossom rain have fallen on the Lanxi stream,
And at midnight the carp come surging up onto the shoals.
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Meaning

Dai Shulun's quatrain captures a spring night along the Lanxi River: a cool crescent moon hangs over the willow bay while the surrounding hills lie mirrored in the still water. After three days of peach-blossom rain, carp come surging up onto the shoals at midnight. The poem celebrates the fresh, vivid beauty of a waterside night, sung in the voice of a boatman, and remains a model of the folk-style landscape quatrain.

凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看。兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] A cool crescent moon, thin as an eyebrow, hangs above the willow-fringed bay; the mountains of the old land of Yue are reflected so clearly in the water that they seem to be seen inside a mirror. After three days of peach-blossom rain, carp swim up onto the shoals at midnight. [Structure] The poem moves from a still, luminous scene to a sudden stir of life. The first couplet paints a quiet, mirror-like expanse; the second couplet introduces rain and the restless movement of fish, so the whole poem turns from stillness to motion, from sight to sound and hidden life. [Imagery] The crescent moon compared to an eyebrow, the water likened to a mirror, and the peach-blossom rain of spring form a fresh world of cool light and color. The closing image of carp surging onto the shoals at midnight gives the scene a hidden vitality, making this quatrain a masterpiece of folk-style landscape poetry.

【白话串讲】 戴叔伦写《兰溪棹歌》：“凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看”——“兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩”——他唱兰溪棹歌——半夜鲤鱼来上滩。 【意象与手法】 “凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看”写凉月如眉、山色镜中；“兰溪三日桃花雨”写桃花雨；结以“半夜鲤鱼来上滩”写鲤鱼上滩。清新明快。 【情感与主旨】 戴叔伦写兰溪棹歌之作，写凉月如眉、山色镜中与桃花雨后鲤鱼上滩的兰溪春景，是民歌风写景的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看”写兰溪夜景；“兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩”写桃花雨鲤鱼上滩。

Background

Dai Shulun (c. 732–c. 789), courtesy name Yougong, was a Mid-Tang poet from Jintan in Runzhou (present-day Jintan, Jiangsu). Lanxi is a river in present-day Lanxi, Zhejiang, in the region once belonging to the ancient state of Yue. A boat song is a folk melody sung by boatmen while punting along the water. Dai wrote this quatrain in the voice of a boatman drifting through the spring landscape of the Lanxi valley, and its bright, musical quality, reminiscent of the southern folk songs of the Six Dynasties, made it one of his best-known poems, widely preserved in later anthologies.

《兰溪棹歌》为中唐诗人戴叔伦所作诗。戴叔伦（约732—约789），字幼公，润州金坛（今江苏金坛）人，中唐诗人。此诗写景民歌，为兰溪棹歌。诗中「凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看」写凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看；「兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩」写兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩。戴叔伦此诗以写景民歌、半夜鲤鱼来上滩写其民歌之情，清新明快，是戴叔伦诗中的名篇。此篇《兰溪棹歌》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《兰溪棹歌》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《兰溪棹歌》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 craft lies in its freshness and its movement from stillness to motion. The opening couplet is pure luminous vision: the cool moon like an eyebrow combines tactile coolness with visual slenderness, and the mirror transforms the whole bay into a reflective surface in which the Yue hills are doubled. The second couplet shifts to event: three days of spring rain, called peach-blossom rain for the season when the trees bloom, and then, in the deep of night, carp push up onto the shoals. This closing image is the poem's stroke of genius: the poet never sees the fish himself, but hears or imagines their sudden surging in the darkness, so the quiet scene is quietly filled with life. Every image is ordinary, yet the combination is clean and vivid, achieving the fresh and bright quality praised by critics.

此诗艺术上以「清新明快、以景写情」见长。全诗共四句，由凉月如眉挂柳湾而越中山色镜中看而兰溪三日桃花雨。起「凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看」写凉月如眉挂柳湾：凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看；「兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩」写半夜鲤鱼来上滩：兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩。全诗以景写情，由凉月如眉挂柳湾而半夜鲤鱼来上滩，清新明快，是戴叔伦诗中的名篇。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 poem works mainly through folk imagery rather than learned allusion. Willow Bay is a real place by the Lanxi, and the land of Yue places the scene in the old south-eastern state, evoking its water country. Peach-blossom rain is a conventional spring image, the seasonal downpour that falls when the peach trees bloom. The carp rising to the shoals is a natural sign of spring flooding and new life. The boat-song form itself descends from the southern folk-song tradition, and the poem's plain, musical diction carries that heritage without any explicit citation of earlier texts.

诗中「凉月如眉挂柳湾越中山色镜中看」「兰溪三日桃花雨半夜鲤鱼来上滩」等语，皆含典故故实。「凉月如眉挂柳湾越中山色镜中看」写凉月如眉挂柳湾越中山色镜中看；「兰溪三日桃花雨半夜鲤鱼来上滩」写兰溪三日桃花雨半夜鲤鱼来上滩。诗人以桃花雨、鲤鱼上滩等语入诗，不着痕迹，而把写景民歌之情写得真切可感，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

Of his many poems, this little quatrain is the one for which Dai Shulun is best remembered. Later anthologists prized it for its freshness and brightness, and it became a model of the folk-style landscape quatrain. Ming and Qing collectors of Tang poetry repeatedly singled out the closing couplet for its lifelike surprise: rain-swollen fish moving in the dark is an image no earlier landscape poem had made the centerpiece of a night scene. In the history of Tang quatrains, the poem stands as a Mid-Tang example of the southern lyrical style, bridging the High Tang landscape tradition and the more delicate, sensory manner that would flourish in the Late Tang.

这首《兰溪棹歌》，是戴叔伦写景民歌之作，写凉月如眉挂柳湾、兰溪三日桃花雨、半夜鲤鱼来上滩之情，清新明快。起「凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看」——凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看。写凉月如眉挂柳湾：凉月如眉挂柳湾、越中山色镜中看——凉月如眉、山色镜中看；「兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩」——兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩。写半夜鲤鱼来上滩：兰溪三日桃花雨、半夜鲤鱼来上滩——三日桃花雨、半夜鲤上滩。这「兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩」，是全诗之结：以半夜鲤鱼来上滩写其民歌。全诗清新明快，以景写情，正是戴叔伦诗中的名篇。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 A seven-character quatrain (qijue)诗（七言绝句）
Rhyme The poem rhymes on wan (bay), kan (to view), and tan (shoals), all belonging to the level-tone han-shan rhyme group. With three of four lines rhyming, it follows the common quatrain pattern of rhyming lines one, two, and four, producing a soft, lingering cadence suited to a boat song.此诗为七言绝句，共四句，两句一联。押平声韵：「湾」「看」「滩」押寒删部韵。诗体依绝句而定，句式整齐，音节随情起伏，正与写景民歌的清新明快相称，也见其以绝句写民歌的自然。
Tone pattern The first couplet moves slowly through its luminous images, while the second couplet accelerates into the rain and the sudden fish. The seven-character lines allow two balanced pauses, so the poem reads with the smooth rocking rhythm of a boat drifting downstream.句式上，「凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看」写凉月如眉挂柳湾，音节清丽；「兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩」写半夜鲤鱼来上滩，音节明快。全诗音节随情起伏，由清丽而明快，正合绝句「含蓄」之妙，读来如写景民歌、半夜鲤鱼来上滩之音，清新而动人。
Reading note As a boat song, the poem consciously borrows the musicality of southern folk song. Its seven-character lines are even and unhurried, its rhymes bright and open, and its diction plain enough to be sung. The prosody thus reinforces the theme: the form's freshness and clarity mirror the landscape's cool moonlight and spring rain, making the poem a model of the folk style within the quatrain.此诗为七言绝句，是戴叔伦写景民歌之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「清新明快、以景写情」：「凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看」写凉月如眉挂柳湾、「兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩」写半夜鲤鱼来上滩。全诗清新明快，以景写情。尤为精妙者，是「凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看」写尽月夜之美；而「兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩」以鱼写景，正是戴叔伦诗「清新明快」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《兰溪棹歌》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

凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看。

A cool moon like an eyebrow hangs over Willow Bay; the hills of Yue are seen mirrored in the water as in a glass.

凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看。

The cool moon, like a brow, hangs over the willow creek; the hills of Yue are seen in a mirror.

首二句写凉月如眉挂柳湾，起笔即见其景。「凉月如眉挂柳湾」写凉月如眉挂柳湾，「凉月如眉」写凉月如眉、「挂柳湾」写挂柳湾；「越中山色镜中看」写越中山色镜中看，「越中山色」写越中山色、「镜中看」写镜中看。两句一写凉月如眉挂柳湾、一写越中山色镜中看，以凉月如眉写月如眉、以越中山色镜中看写山色映水，写尽凉月如眉挂柳湾、越中山色镜中看之情。以景起兴，清新而明快，是「以景起兴」的妙笔。

The first two lines write the cool moon like a brow over the willow creek, the start. 'The cool moon, like a brow, hangs over the willow creek' — the crescent moon above the creek; 'the hills of Yue are seen in a mirror' — the hills reflected in the water as in a mirror. Rising through the scene, fresh and bright, the start of the riverside picture.

兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩。

Three days of peach-blossom rain have fallen on the Lanxi stream; at midnight the carp come surging up onto the shoals.

兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩。

Three days of peach-blossom rain on the Lanxi; at midnight, carp leap up onto the shoal.

尾二句写半夜鲤鱼来上滩，是全诗立意的落点。「兰溪三日桃花雨」写兰溪三日桃花雨，「兰溪」写兰溪、「三日桃花雨」写三日桃花雨；「半夜鲤鱼来上滩」写半夜鲤鱼来上滩，「半夜」写半夜、「鲤鱼来上滩」写鲤鱼上滩。两句一写兰溪三日桃花雨、一写半夜鲤鱼来上滩，以兰溪三日桃花雨写桃花雨、以半夜鲤鱼来上滩写鲤鱼上滩，写尽兰溪三日桃花雨、半夜鲤鱼来上滩之情。以鱼写景，清新而明快，是全诗最动人处，也是「以鱼写景」的点睛之笔。

The last two lines write carp leaping onto the shoal at midnight, the poem's landing. 'Three days of peach-blossom rain on the Lanxi' — the spring rain; 'at midnight, carp leap up onto the shoal' — the fish leaping at midnight. Through the fish it writes the scene, fresh and bright, the poem's most moving point: the dark water alive with leaping carp, the quiet spring night's secret joy.

Study

Word focus

凉 Cool — a tactile quality added to moonlight; it makes the night's chill felt and sets the poem's fresh, clear atmosphere. 「凉」字写凉月如眉，是写月凉之态的关键。「凉月如眉挂柳湾」着一「凉」，写清凉——着一「凉」字，写凉月如眉，见其月之凉。一字写尽凉月之态，是「以一字写月」的妙笔。「凉」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。
眉 Eyebrow — the crescent moon is likened to a slender eyebrow, a delicate comparison that captures the thin arc of the new moon. 「眉」字写凉月如眉，是写月如眉之态的关键。「凉月如眉挂柳湾」着一「眉」，写眉毛——着一「眉」字，写凉月如眉，见其月之弯。一字写尽如眉之态，是「以一字写形」的点睛之词。「眉」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。
镜中 In a mirror — the water's surface is so still and clear that the mountains appear as if reflected inside a mirror. 「镜中」写越中山色镜中看，是写山色映水如镜的关键。「越中山色镜中看」着一「镜中」，写镜中——着一「镜中」，写山色镜中看，见其水明如镜。两字写尽镜中之态，是「以词写影」的点睛之词。「镜中」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。
桃花 Peach blossom — marks the season of the spring rain, when the peach trees bloom, giving the downpour its name and color. 「桃花」写兰溪三日桃花雨，是写桃花雨的关键。「兰溪三日桃花雨」着一「桃花」，写桃花——着一「桃花」，写三日桃花雨，见其雨之润。两字写尽桃花之态，是「以词写雨」的点睛之词。「桃花」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

浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯 Huanxi Sha: A New Song over a Cup of Wine 晏殊 · 同写小令写景、清新蕴藉，一写无可奈何花落去、一写凉月如眉挂柳湾越中山色镜中看，皆于小令之中见清新蕴藉 Both are short lyric pieces of fresh, restrained landscape feeling; one mourns falling flowers and returning swallows, the other paints moonlight on water and carp on the shoals.

Yan Shu's lyric is famous for its lines about flowers falling helplessly and swallows returning as if known before, writing the passage of time through garden scenes. Dai Shulun's quatrain instead captures a single luminous night on the Lanxi: cool moon, mirrored hills, and rain-swollen carp. Where Yan Shu's tone is warm and melancholy, Dai's is fresh and bright; both achieve lyric restraint within a small form.

晏殊《浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯》「无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来」，写景感怀，是宋词小令的名篇；戴叔伦《兰溪棹歌》则以「凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看」「半夜鲤鱼来上滩」写凉月如眉、半夜鲤鱼来上滩。两诗同写小令写景、清新蕴藉：一写无可奈何花落去、以花落燕归写惜时，一写凉月如眉挂柳湾越中山色镜中看、以月夜写景；一为晏殊之温润、一为戴叔伦之清新，并读正可见诗写「小令写景」的两种笔法，皆于小令之中见清新蕴藉。

 山园小梅 Little Plums of the Mountain Garden 林逋 · 同写写景清雅、以物寄情，一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、一写凉月如眉挂柳湾越中山色镜中看，皆于写景之中见清雅 Both are pure landscape poems of elegant clarity that find feeling in natural objects; one celebrates the plum's subtle fragrance, the other the moonlit river and spring rain.

Lin Bu's celebrated lines about sparse shadows over shallow water and hidden fragrance floating in the dusk defined Song-dynasty plum aesthetics with their ethereal stillness. Dai Shulun offers the contrasting mood of the water country: a cool crescent, mirrored hills, and carp breaking the night. Both poets seek purity through landscape, but Lin Bu's world is reclusive and quiet, while Dai's is alive with folk-song motion.

林逋《山园小梅》「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」，写梅之清雅，是宋诗咏物的绝唱；戴叔伦《兰溪棹歌》则以「凉月如眉挂柳湾，越中山色镜中看」「兰溪三日桃花雨，半夜鲤鱼来上滩」写凉月如眉、桃花雨鲤鱼上滩。两诗同写写景清雅、以物寄情：一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、以梅写清雅，一写凉月如眉挂柳湾越中山色镜中看、以月夜写景；一为林逋之清逸、一为戴叔伦之清新，并读正可见诗写「写景清雅」的两种笔法，皆于写景之中见清雅。