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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

陇头吟

Song at Longtou

王维

Wang Wei

边塞Frontier 怀古Meditation on the Past

长安少年游侠客，夜上戍楼看太白。
陇头明月迥临关，陇上行人夜吹笛。
关西老将不胜愁，驻马听之双泪流。
身经大小百余战，麾下偏裨万户侯。
苏武才为典属国，节旄空尽海西头。

A young knight-errant of Chang'an,
Climbs the garrison tower by night to watch the Taibai star.
The bright moon of Longtou hangs far over the pass,
A traveler on the ridge plays his Qiang flute at night.
The old general of Guanzhong is crushed by sorrow;
He halts his horse to listen, and his tears fall in streams.
He has fought more than a hundred battles, great and small,
Yet the captains under his command are all lords of ten thousand households.
Su Wu, for all his loyalty, was only made Director of Dependent States—
His tasseled staff was lost in vain at the far end of the western sea.

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Meaning

The poem moves from a young Chang'an knight climbing a watchtower at night to an aging frontier general weeping over a Qiang flute, and ends with the Han envoy Su Wu, whose nineteen years of loyalty earned him only a minor office. Through these three figures Wang Wei contrasts youthful heroism with the bitter reality of unrewarded service, asking what fame and merit are truly worth on the frontier.

长安的少年游侠，夜上戍楼眺望太白星。陇头的明月远远照着边关，陇上的行人夜里吹着羌笛。关西的老将满怀愁绪，勒住马儿听那笛声，双泪长流。他身经大小百余战，麾下的偏将副将都已封为万户侯。当年出使匈奴的苏武，才不过封了个典属国，节旄都落尽了，还困在海西头。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] A young man of Chang'an climbs the frontier tower by night to gaze at the Taibai star; at Longtou the moon shines far over the pass while a traveler plays his flute. An old general of Guanzhong cannot bear the sorrow and weeps as he listens, for though he has fought a hundred battles, his subordinates have been enfeoffed while he has not. The poem closes with Su Wu, whose staff tassels were worn away in exile yet who received only a petty office. [Structure] The poem is threaded by the flute's sound, passing from youth to old age and from heroic fervor to desolation in three clear layers. [Imagery] Moon, pass, and flute combine sight and sound in one bleak picture. The layered contrasts—youth against age, a hundred battles against a minor title, Su Wu's exhausted staff against his meager reward—carry the lament far beyond one man's fate.

【白话串讲】王维写《陇头吟》：“长安少年游侠客，夜上戍楼看太白”——“陇头明月迥临关，陇上行人夜吹笛”——“关西老将不胜愁，驻马听之双泪流”——“身经大小百余战，麾下偏裨万户侯”——“苏武才为典属国，节旄空尽海西头”——他写老将的落寞。【意象与手法】此诗是王维边塞诗中的名篇，以陇头（陇山）为背景，写边塞的苍凉与征戍的悲慨。前四句写景：「长安少年游侠客，夜上戍楼看太白」写长安少年戍边的豪情，夜登戍楼、遥望太白金星，意气风发；「陇头明月迥临关，陇上行人夜吹笛」写陇头的月色与笛声，明月临关、笛声呜咽，苍凉凄清，是历来传诵的名句。后四句写情：「关西老将不胜愁，驻马听之双泪流」写老将闻笛落泪，点出征战之久与功业之叹；「身经大小百余战，麾下偏裨万户侯」写老将身经百战而麾下偏将皆已封侯，功高而赏薄，对比强烈；末以苏武「节旄空尽海西头」作结，以古况今，悲慨深长。全诗以「笛声」为线索，由少年写到老将，由豪情写到悲凉，结构精巧，情调苍凉。【情感与主旨】此诗约作于王维出使塞上或游历边地时期，约在开元二十五年（737）前后，王维曾以监察御史身份出使凉州。诗写陇头边塞的见闻与感慨：长安少年满怀报国之志，夜上戍楼望星；而边地老将身经百战，却功高不赏，只能闻笛落泪。全诗以「少年」与「老将」的对照，写出边塞征戍的两种人生：少年意气风发，不知边塞之苦；老将百战余生，却功业无成。这种对照，揭示了盛唐边塞诗中普遍存在的矛盾——豪迈的报国热情与残酷的功业现实。末句以苏武「节旄空尽海西头」作结，更把个人的悲慨上升到对「功名」的叩问：苏武持节十九年，忠贞不渝，也不过封个典属国；征战百战的老将，又能得到什么呢？诗中既有对边塞生活的真实写照，也有对功业无凭的深沉感慨，是王维边塞诗中情调最苍凉、感慨最深沉的一首。【名句点睛】常考“陇头明月迥临关，陇上行人夜吹笛”写陇头月色与笛声，苍凉凄清；“身经大小百余战，麾下偏裨万户侯”写功高赏薄、老将不遇的悲慨。

Background

Wang Wei wrote this poem during his mission to the frontier, around 737, when he was sent as an investigating censor to Liangzhou in the Hexi corridor to console the troops after a victory over Tibet. Longtou, or Mount Long on the Shaanxi-Gansu border, was the traditional gateway to the Western Regions and a classic image of homesick soldiers; the old yuefu Songs of Longtou had long set its tone of grief. The poem reflects the tension between the High Tang celebration of frontier glory and the harsher truth of unequal rewards for service, and it belongs with Wang Wei's other frontier pieces from the same journey.

此诗为王维出使边塞时期所作，约作于唐玄宗开元二十五年（737）前后。开元二十五年，河西节度副使崔希逸大破吐蕃，王维以监察御史身份奉命出使凉州（今甘肃武威）宣慰将士，在塞上生活了一段时间，写下了《使至塞上》《陇头吟》等边塞诗。陇头，即陇山，在今陕西、甘肃交界处，是关中通往西域的必经之地，也是唐代边塞诗的重要意象。陇头自古便是征人思乡、戍卒悲慨的象征，古乐府《陇头歌辞》「陇头流水，鸣声呜咽。遥望秦川，心肝断绝」早已为此地定下苍凉的基调。王维此诗写他在陇头所见所闻：长安少年夜上戍楼望太白金星（太白主兵象），陇上明月临关、行人吹笛，关西老将闻笛落泪。诗中「身经大小百余战，麾下偏裨万户侯」写老将的战功与赏赐之薄，是唐代边塞军中功赏不均的真实写照；末句「苏武才为典属国，节旄空尽海西头」更以汉代苏武持节十九年、归来仅封典属国（掌管属国事务的官职）的史实，感慨功名之微。王维此诗不仅写边塞之景，更写边塞之悲，是盛唐边塞诗中少有的、对功业现实发出深沉感慨的作品，也反映了王维此行对边塞生活的真切体认——豪迈的《使至塞上》「大漠孤烟直，长河落日圆」与此诗的苍凉悲慨，正是他在塞上体验的两种面向。

Art

The poem's first craft is its unity of sound: the Qiang flute links all three scenes—the youth on the tower, the traveler on the ridge, and the general on horseback—so the poem moves from sight to feeling without a seam. A second device is serial contrast: the knight's high spirits against the general's tears, and the general's hundred battles against his junior officers' noble titles, so that each layer deepens the grievance. Third, scene and feeling fuse in the famous couplet of moon, pass, and flute, where a cold landscape becomes the outer form of inner desolation. Finally, ending with the Su Wu allusion lends historical depth, turning one man's complaint into the common fate of loyal servants across the ages.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个层面解析。其一，以「笛声」为线索的结构。全诗由「长安少年夜上戍楼」写到「陇上行人夜吹笛」，再写到「关西老将驻马听笛」，笛声是贯穿全诗的枢纽——少年的豪情、行人的乡愁、老将的悲慨，都由这一缕笛声串联起来，由景入情、由人及人，结构精巧自然。其二，今昔、老少、功赏的多重对照。「长安少年游侠客」的意气风发，与「关西老将不胜愁」的萧瑟悲凉相对照，写出边塞人生的两种境遇；「身经大小百余战」的赫赫战功，与「麾下偏裨万户侯」的功赏不均相对照，写出军中的不公；末句苏武「节旄空尽」的忠贞，与「才为典属国」的薄赏相对照，把个人之悲上升到历史的悲慨。其三，情景交融的意境。「陇头明月迥临关，陇上行人夜吹笛」，明月、边关、笛声，三个意象并置，写出陇头的苍凉空阔，笛声呜咽，月色清寒，正是「一切景语皆情语」的典范，也是历来传诵的名句。其四，以古衬今的收束。末二句借苏武典故作结，以古人的遭遇衬今人的悲慨，使全诗的感慨超越了个人遭遇，而具有历史的纵深。四重手法层层推进，使此诗成为盛唐边塞诗中以苍凉深沉著称的佳作。

Allusions

Longtou is an old yuefu title: the ancient Songs of Longtou sing that its waters murmur in sobs. Taibai, the planet Venus, was the star of war in Han astrology, and watching it from a tower was a common frontier gesture. The hundred battles echo Sima Qian's biography of Li Guang, who fought some seventy actions against the Xiongnu yet was never enfeoffed; Guanzhong 'producing generals' comes from a Later Han proverb. Su Wu was held by the Xiongnu for nineteen years, herding sheep by the Northern Sea until his staff's tassels all fell; on his return he was only appointed Director of Dependent States. Wang Wei uses these references not for display but to place the old general's sorrow in a long line of unrewarded loyalty.

此诗的典故与意象皆深植于边塞文学传统。「陇头」是乐府旧题，古乐府《陇头歌辞》「陇头流水，鸣声呜咽」已将陇头与思乡悲愁相连，王维以「陇头吟」为题，正是承此乐府传统。「太白」指太白金星，古人以为主兵象，夜望太白可占边事，《汉书·天文志》有「太白出高，用兵者吉」之说，长安少年「夜上戍楼看太白」，正是边塞诗中常见的意象（李白「长安一片月」写月，而太白金星则与军事相连）。「陇上行人夜吹笛」的笛声，令人想到王昌龄「更吹羌笛关山月」与王之涣「羌笛何须怨杨柳」，羌笛呜咽，正是边塞诗中最动人的声景。「关西老将」暗含「关西出将」的说法，《后汉书》有「关西出将，关东出相」之谚，老将本是关西人杰，却「不胜愁」，更显其悲。「身经大小百余战」用《史记·李将军列传》写李广「结发与匈奴大小七十余战」之笔法，而「麾下偏裨万户侯」更暗用李广「与匈奴大小七十余战，然终无尺寸功以得封邑」的典故，以李广况老将，功高赏薄之悲油然而生。「苏武才为典属国，节旄空尽海西头」用苏武典故：苏武出使匈奴十九年，持汉节不屈，牧羊北海（今贝加尔湖），节旄尽落，归来后仅拜典属国（掌管属国事务之官，秩二千石），王维以此典况老将，感慨忠贞者功名之微。全诗用典贴切而不滞，以古人的命运衬今人的悲慨，正见王维化典于史事的深厚功力。

Commentary

The poem is counted among Wang Wei's frontier masterpieces and among the most sorrowful of High Tang frontier verse. Critics have long prized the couplet of moon and flute and the biting contrast between a hundred battles and a marquisate; Shen Deqian of the Qing praised it as 'gentle yet full of wind.' Unlike Gao Shi or Cen Shen, who sang of glory, and unlike Wang Changling, who wrote frontier grief through boudoir laments, Wang Wei faces the reality of merit unrewarded. Its influence echoes in later lines about fame won on horseback—or regretted. For modern readers it is the key to understanding both faces of High Tang frontier poetry, and to Wang Wei himself, who could write of the desert's lone smoke yet also hear a flute sob over Longtou.

此诗历来被视为王维边塞诗的代表作，也是唐代边塞诗中苍凉悲慨一脉的佳作。历代论者多激赏「陇头明月迥临关，陇上行人夜吹笛」的苍凉意境与「身经大小百余战，麾下偏裨万户侯」的悲慨对比：清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》评此诗「婉而多风」，近人更指出此诗以「少年」与「老将」、「百余战」与「万户侯」、「节旄空尽」与「才为典属国」的多重对比，写出边塞军中的功赏不均，是盛唐边塞诗中少有的批判之笔。在边塞诗史上，此诗的独特价值在于：它不像高适、岑参那样以豪情写边塞（「功名只向马上取」），也不像王昌龄那样以闺怨写边塞（「闺中少妇不知愁」），而是直面边塞将士「功高不赏」的现实，以苍凉的笔触写出征戍的悲慨，是盛唐边塞诗中「现实主义」一脉的代表。此诗对后世影响深远，宋代范仲淹「燕然未勒归无计」、明代戚继光「封侯非我意」等，皆可见其「功名」主题的余响。对于今日读者，此诗是理解盛唐边塞诗「豪迈」与「悲凉」双重面相的钥匙，也是感受王维「出塞」时期真实心境的窗口——那个写下「大漠孤烟直」的诗人，也在陇头听到了征人吹笛的呜咽，看到了老将落泪的悲凉。

Prosody

Form A seven-character ancient-style poem on the old yuefu title 'Song at Longtou'.七言古诗（乐府旧题）

Rhyme The poem rhymes in three groups with free changes of rhyme: oblique tones on 'guest' (ke) and 'white' (bai), then level tones on 'pass' (guan), 'flute' (di), 'sorrow' (chou), 'stream' (liu), 'marquis' (hou), and 'head' (tou), in the loose manner of yuefu song.押仄声韵与平声韵相间，韵脚为「客」「白」「关」「笛」「愁」「流」「侯」「头」，转韵自然（「客白」一仄韵，「关笛」一平韵，「愁流侯头」一平韵），属古体诗自由转韵之法，正合乐府歌行的气势。

Tone pattern As an ancient-style heptasyllabic piece it is not bound by regulated-verse rules; the first four lines unfold the scene at a measured pace, the middle four quicken with the general's grief, and the final couplet of Su Wu closes on a long, desolate resonance. The shifting rhymes make the melody rise and fall like a song with a lingering aftertaste.此诗为七言古体，承乐府旧题，不受近体格律束缚。全诗十句，前四句写景（少年望星、明月笛声），节奏从容而意境苍茫；中四句写老将（闻笛落泪、百战无封），节奏由缓而急，悲慨渐深；末二句以苏武作结，以「节旄空尽海西头」的苍凉意象收束全诗，余韵悠长。声调上，全诗以七言长句写边塞的苍茫与征戍的悲慨，转韵的运用使声情起伏跌宕，正合乐府歌行「一唱三叹」的特点。

Reading note The poem takes its title from the old yuefu Songs of Longtou and inherits their tone of desolation. Its ten lines fall into three layers: the night scene and the youth of Chang'an, the old general's grief, and the Su Wu conclusion that lifts personal sorrow into historical depth. It should be read with a bleak voice for the moonlit flute, a pained voice for the general's tears, and a deep voice for Su Wu's sigh. Wang Wei is famed for serene clarity, but this poem is his frontier masterpiece of bleak sorrow.此诗是七言古体，以乐府旧题《陇头吟》为题，承《陇头歌辞》「陇头流水，鸣声呜咽」的苍凉传统。全诗十句，按内容可分为三层：前四句写陇头夜色与长安少年的豪情，以「明月」「笛声」营造苍凉意境；中四句转写关西老将的悲慨，以「百余战」与「万户侯」的对比写功赏不均；末二句以苏武典故作结，把个人之悲上升到历史的悲慨。声调上，全诗以七言长句写边塞的辽阔与苍凉，转韵的运用使声情起伏，如笛声般一唱三叹。诵读此诗，宜以苍凉的语调读前四句的月色笛声，以沉痛的语调读中四句的老将悲慨，以深沉的语调读末二句的苏武之叹，使全诗的悲慨层层深入。王维诗向以清淡空灵著称，此诗却以苍凉悲慨见长，正是其边塞诗的代表作。

Line by line

陇头明月迥临关，陇上行人夜吹笛。

The bright moon of Longtou hangs far over the pass; a traveler on the ridge plays his Qiang flute at night.

陇头的明月远远照着边关，陇上的行人夜里吹着羌笛。

The bright moon over Longtou hangs far above the frontier pass; a traveler on Longtou plays the flute at night.

这两句写陇头的夜色，是历来传诵的名句，以景写情，苍凉至极。「陇头明月迥临关」写月光：陇头的明月，远远地照着边关——一个「迥」字，写出月与关之间那空旷辽远的距离，也写出边关的孤悬天末；明月临关，本是寻常之景，而在这陇头绝塞，便有了无限苍凉。「陇上行人夜吹笛」写笛声：陇上的行人在夜里吹起羌笛——那笛声呜咽，在空旷的陇头回荡，与明月、边关构成一幅声景交融的画面。两句一写「月」，一写「笛」，视觉与听觉并作，明月是「所见」的苍茫，笛声是「所闻」的凄清。值得注意的是，这「行人夜吹笛」，吹的想必是《关山月》一类的思乡曲，笛声里的乡愁，为下文老将「驻马听之双泪流」作了铺垫——正是这笛声，勾起了边关所有征人的悲慨。两句以最简的意象写出最深的苍凉，是王维「诗中有画」在边塞诗中的体现，也是盛唐边塞诗中最动人的画面之一。

These two lines write the night at Longtou, a famous passage through the ages, writing feeling through scene, desolate to the utmost. 'The bright moon over Longtou hangs far above the frontier pass' writes moonlight: the moon over Longtou, far above the pass, the word 'far' writing the empty, vast distance between moon and pass, and the pass's lonely hanging at the edge of heaven; the moon over the pass is a common sight, yet at this utter frontier it carries infinite desolation. 'A traveler on Longtou plays the flute at night' writes the flute: a traveler on Longtou plays the Qiang flute in the night, the note sobbing, echoing over the empty ridge, forming with moon and pass a picture of sound and scene fused. One line the moon, one the flute, sight and sound together: the moon the seen vastness, the flute the heard desolation. The traveler's night flute is presumably a homesick tune like 'Moon over the Mountain Pass', and the homesickness in the note prepares the old general below, 'stopping his horse to listen, tears streaming' — precisely this flute stirs all the frontier soldiers' grief. Two lines of the simplest images write the deepest desolation, the example of Wang Wei's 'poetry within painting' in frontier verse, one of the most moving pictures of High Tang frontier poetry.

身经大小百余战，麾下偏裨万户侯。

He has fought more than a hundred battles, great and small, yet the captains under his command are all lords of ten thousand households.

他身经大小百余战，麾下的偏将副将都已封为万户侯。

He has survived over a hundred battles, great and small; his own lieutenants below have all become lords of ten thousand households.

这两句写老将的遭遇，是全诗最沉痛的一笔，以强烈的对比写功赏不均之悲。「身经大小百余战」写老将的战功——身经百战，出生入死，这是用鲜血与岁月换来的功业，一个「百余战」写尽其戎马一生；「麾下偏裨万户侯」写赏赐的荒谬——他麾下的偏将、副将，都已封为万户侯，而身为主将的他，却依然穷困潦倒、闻笛落泪。两句对举，形成了触目惊心的对比：身经百战者无封，麾下偏裨者封侯，功与赏严重背离。这种「功高不赏」的悲哀，正是唐代边塞军中普遍存在的现实，也是盛唐边塞诗「豪迈」表象下最沉痛的内核。王维在此不着一字议论，而两句对举之间，悲慨自现。这两句暗用李广「与匈奴大小七十余战」而「终无尺寸功以得封邑」的典故，以汉代名将之悲况今日老将之悲，更见其感慨的深沉。可以说，这两句是盛唐边塞诗中对「功业」最清醒的叩问，与「醉卧沙场君莫笑」的豪迈恰成对照。

These two lines write the old general's lot, the bitterest stroke of the poem, writing the grief of unequal reward through sharp contrast. 'He has survived over a hundred battles, great and small' the old general's service — a hundred battles, life and death, achievement bought in blood and years, 'over a hundred' writing to the full his soldier's life; 'his own lieutenants below have all become lords of ten thousand households' the absurd reward — his junior officers, his lieutenants, have all been enfeoffed, while the commander himself still lives in poverty, hearing the flute and weeping. The two lines form a striking contrast: the veteran of a hundred battles unenfeoffed, the lieutenants enfeoffed, achievement and reward utterly divorced. This grief of 'high achievement unrewarded' was the common reality of Tang frontier armies, the bitterest core beneath the bold surface of High Tang frontier verse. Wang Wei writes not one word of argument, yet between the two lines the grief shows itself. These lines secretly use the allusion to Li Guang, who fought the Huns in over seventy great and small battles yet 'never won a fief of a square inch', using the Han general's grief for today's old general, the regret the deeper. One may say these two lines are the clearest questioning of 'achievement' in High Tang frontier verse, the deliberate contrast to the boldness of 'if I lie drunk on the battlefield, smile not at me'.

Study

Word focus

迥 Far, distant, toweringly high. The word gives the moonlight over Longtou an immense, cold distance: it measures both the empty space between moon and pass and the chill height of the frontier sky, fusing landscape with the traveler's loneliness. 「迥」字是首联的点睛之笔，写陇头明月的辽远，一字而境界全出。迥者，远也、高也。王维以「陇头明月迥临关」写明月，一个「迥」字，至少写出三层意味：其一，写距离之远——明月从遥远的天际临照边关，月与关之间是万里长空，边关的孤悬绝塞由此凸显；其二，写境界之高——「迥」字让月光有了高远、清冷的质感，不是寻常的月色，而是陇头绝塞上空那旷远清寒的月光；其三，写心境的苍凉——月色愈是高远清冷，愈见边关行旅之人的孤寂苍凉，一个「迥」字，把客观的景与主观的情融为一体。若换作「高」「远」等字，则或失其旷远的气象，或失其清冷的质感；唯「迥」字，既写空间之远，又写格调之高，正是王维炼字的精到处。这一个「迥」字，让陇头的明月永远悬在边关之上，也让这首边塞诗因这苍凉的月色而成为名篇。

空尽 'In vain, all spent.' The tassels of Su Wu's staff fell away entirely during his nineteen years of exile. 'Empty' stresses the futility—such faith bought only a petty office—and 'spent' the exhaustion of his loyalty, closing the poem on desolation. 「空尽」二字是全诗结尾的点睛之笔，写苏武节旄的落尽，也写尽忠贞者的悲凉。空，是徒然、白白地；尽，是落尽、耗尽。「节旄空尽海西头」，写苏武在北海牧羊十九年，手中汉节的旄毛全部落尽——「空尽」二字，至少有双重意味：其一，写岁月之久与忠贞之坚——节旄尽落，而苏武持节不屈，十九年的坚守都凝结在这「空尽」的节旄上；其二，写功名之微与付出之巨——十九年的坚守、节旄的落尽，换来的不过是一个「典属国」，那节旄岂不是「空尽」？一个「空」字，道尽了忠贞者的悲凉。王维以此作结，以苏武之悲衬老将之悲：苏武持节十九年，节旄空尽而功名微薄；老将身经百战，功高而赏薄。两个「空」字，把全诗的悲慨推向历史的纵深——不是一人的不幸，而是古往今来无数忠贞者的共同命运。这两字收束全诗，悲慨深沉，余韵苍凉。

陇头吟