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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

日出东南隅行

Song of Sunrise at the Southeast Corner

李白

Li Bai

秦楼出佳丽，正值朝日光。
陌头能驻马，花处复添香。

From the Qin tower steps a beauty fair, just as the morning sun shines bright.
At the crossroads travelers rein in their steeds; among the flowers fragrance is renewed.
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Meaning

A brief, glowing yuefu vignette: a beautiful woman emerges from her tower into the fresh morning light, and her presence is so striking that travelers halt their horses at the crossroads, while among the flowers her perfume seems to double the scent of spring. The poem captures the yuefu ideal of radiant, almost overpowering feminine beauty, and Li Bai's delight in sheer brilliance of color, light, and motion.

秦楼出佳丽，正值朝日光。陌头能驻马，花处复添香。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] A lovely lady comes out of the Qin tower just as the morning sun rises; at the crossroads her beauty makes travelers stop their horses; where flowers bloom, her fragrance adds to their scent. Four lines, one flash of spring-morning radiance. [Structure and Imagery] The poem moves from tower to street to flower bed, widening the circle of her effect. Morning sunlight doubles her brilliance; halted horses measure her power; added fragrance fuses her with the season itself. Everything is surface and light — the Li Bai of bright, quick, sensuous yuefu rather than the cosmic visionary.

【白话串讲】 李白写《日出东南隅行》：“秦楼出佳丽，正值朝日光”——“陌头能驻马，花处复添香”——他写秦楼佳丽——陌头能驻马。 【意象与手法】 “秦楼出佳丽，正值朝日光”写秦楼佳丽；“陌头能驻马”写驻马；结以“花处复添香”写添香。清丽明快。 【情感与主旨】 李白写乐府之作，写秦楼佳丽朝日之下的美丽，是李白乐府诗中清丽明快的短章。 【名句点睛】 常考“秦楼出佳丽，正值朝日光”写秦楼佳丽；“陌头能驻马，花处复添香”写佳丽之美。

Background

Li Bai (701-762), the Immortal of Poetry, was the most celebrated poet of the High Tang and a supreme master of yuefu, the ancient Music Bureau song form. 'Sunrise at the Southeast Corner' was an old Han yuefu title, from the same repertory as the famous 'Mulberry by the Road' about the beauty Luofu, which later poets reused as a showcase for descriptive brilliance. Li Bai's four-line treatment pares the theme to its essence — beauty announced by light, motion, and scent — showing the effortless charm of his short pieces alongside his grander visions.

《日出东南隅行》为唐代诗人李白所作诗。李白（701—762），字太白，号青莲居士，陇西成纪（今甘肃秦安）人，唐代大诗人，被誉为「诗仙」。此诗写景乐府，为日出东南隅之作。诗中「秦楼出佳丽，正值朝日光」写秦楼出佳丽，正值朝日光；「陌头能驻马，花处复添香」写陌头能驻马，花处复添香。李白此诗以写景乐府、花处复添香写其乐府之情，清丽明快，是李白诗中的名篇。此篇《日出东南隅行》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《日出东南隅行》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《日出东南隅行》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。此诗以乐府旧题写春日之美，明快清丽，是李白短制中的佳作。

Art

The poem's art is compression and light. In four lines it runs a complete sequence: appearance (from the Qin tower), illumination (morning sun), social effect (horses reined at the crossroads), and lingering sensation (fragrance among flowers). The morning sun is not background but a rival and mirror of her radiance. The halted horses externalize her beauty through bystanders rather than description — the yuefu technique of showing power through reaction. And the final added fragrance merges woman with blossoms until beauty and spring are indistinguishable. Bright, swift, and entirely surface-deep — a gem of the decorative yuefu manner.

此诗艺术上以「清丽明快、以景写情」见长。全诗共四句，由秦楼出佳丽而陌头能驻马。起「秦楼出佳丽，正值朝日光」写秦楼出佳丽：秦楼出佳丽，正值朝日光；结「陌头能驻马，花处复添香」写陌头能驻马：陌头能驻马，花处复添香。全诗以景写情，由秦楼出佳丽而花处复添香，清丽明快，是李白诗中的名篇。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 Qin tower evokes the tower of Nongyu, daughter of Duke Mu of Qin, whose story with Xiao Shi — he played the flute and rode phoenixes — made the Qin tower a poetic synonym for a lady's chamber. The yuefu title 'Sunrise at the Southeast Corner' belongs to the same repertory as 'Mulberry by the Road,' whose heroine Luofu stops all traffic with her beauty; the halted horses here reprise that convention. The morning sun echoes the old song's opening line, the sun rises from the southeast corner, lighting the whole scene.

诗中「秦楼出佳丽正值朝日光」「陌头能驻马花处复添香」等语，皆含典故故实。「秦楼出佳丽正值朝日光」用秦楼之典（秦楼为秦穆公之女弄玉所居），写秦楼出佳丽正值朝日光；「陌头能驻马花处复添香」写陌头能驻马花处复添香。诗人以秦楼等语入诗，不着痕迹，而把写景乐府之情写得真切可感，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

This tiny poem is a lesser-known Li Bai but a favorite illustration of his yuefu side. Critics contrast it with his vast imaginings — drinking alone beneath the moon — to show his range: here the brilliance is purely sensory — light, motion, perfume. Its four lines are often quoted in discussions of the yuefu convention of beauty judged by its effect on onlookers, the reined horses, and the closing fusion of woman and flower fragrance is praised as a stroke of pure Li Bai wit. In anthologies it stands as proof that even a fragment from his hand can hold an entire spring morning.

这首《日出东南隅行》，是李白写写景乐府之作，写秦楼出佳丽、正值朝日光、陌头能驻马、花处复添香之情，清丽明快。起「秦楼出佳丽，正值朝日光」——秦楼出佳丽（用秦楼之典），正值朝日光。写秦楼出佳丽：秦楼出佳丽、正值朝日光——出佳丽、朝日光；结「陌头能驻马，花处复添香」——陌头能驻马，花处复添香。写陌头能驻马：陌头能驻马、花处复添香——能驻马、复添香。这「陌头能驻马，花处复添香」，是全诗之结：以花处复添香写其乐府。全诗清丽明快，以景写情，正是李白诗中的名篇。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 Five-character ancient-style yuefu poem (wu yan gu shi, yuefu theme 'Sunrise at the Southeast Corner')诗（五言古诗·乐府）
Rhyme Only two rhyme words close the couplets: guang (sunlight) and xiang (fragrance), both in the level-tone yang group — bright, open, bell-like sounds that match the poem's luminous, unshadowed tone.此诗为五言古诗，共四句。押韵：「光」「香」押阳部韵。诗体依乐府而定，句式整齐，音节短促而明快，正与写写景乐府的清丽明快相称，也见其以乐府写景的清丽。
Tone pattern The couplets are short and even. 'Qin lou chu jia li, zheng zhi chao ri guang' opens level and bright; 'mo tou neng zhu ma, hua chu fu tian xiang' relaxes into ease. Five syllables to a line, two beats each — the pace of a song rather than a speech: brisk, musical, decorative.句式上，「秦楼出佳丽，正值朝日光」写秦楼出佳丽，音节明快；结「陌头能驻马，花处复添香」写陌头能驻马，音节清丽。全诗音节由明快而清丽，正合乐府「自然」之妙，读来如写景乐府、花处复添香之音，清丽而动人。
Reading note A four-line yuefu in five-character old-style verse, rhyming on the bright level-tone yang group (guang, xiang). Unconstrained by the tonal patterns of regulated verse, it moves with the freedom of a folk song — which suits its subject: a spring-morning beauty caught in passing. The rhythm is quick and even, each couplet a single breath. Read it lightly, like a song hummed in sunlight; the rhyme should ring clearly at the end of each couplet, like a small bell.此诗为五言古诗，是李白写写景乐府之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「清丽明快、以景写情」：「秦楼出佳丽，正值朝日光」写秦楼出佳丽、「陌头能驻马，花处复添香」写陌头能驻马。全诗清丽明快，以景写情。尤为精妙者，是「秦楼出佳丽」用秦楼之典；而「陌头能驻马，花处复添香」写尽添香之情，正是李白诗「清丽明快」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《日出东南隅行》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

秦楼出佳丽，正值朝日光。

From the Qin tower steps a beauty fair, just as the morning sun shines bright.

秦楼出佳丽，正值朝日光。

From the Qin tower comes a beautiful woman, just when the morning light is bright.

首二句写秦楼出佳丽，起笔即见其楼。「秦楼出佳丽」用秦楼之典写秦楼出佳丽，「秦楼」写秦楼、「出佳丽」写出佳丽；「正值朝日光」写正值朝日光，「正值」写正值、「朝日光」写朝日光。两句一写秦楼出佳丽、一写正值朝日光，以秦楼出佳丽写出佳丽、以正值朝日光写朝日光，写尽秦楼出佳丽、正值朝日光之情。以楼起兴，清丽而明快，是「以楼起兴」的妙笔。

The first two lines write 'from the Qin tower comes a beautiful woman', the start. 'From the Qin tower comes a beautiful woman' uses the Qin-tower allusion; 'just when the morning light is bright' — the morning light. Rising through the tower, clear and bright, the start of the beauty verse.

陌头能驻马，花处复添香。

At the crossroads travelers rein in their steeds; among the flowers fragrance is renewed.

陌头能驻马，花处复添香。

At the road's edge, she can stay the horses; where the flowers are, a fresh fragrance is added.

结句写陌头能驻马，是全诗立意的落点。「陌头能驻马」写陌头能驻马，「陌头」写陌头、「能驻马」写能驻马；「花处复添香」写花处复添香，「花处」写花处、「复添香」写复添香。两句一写陌头能驻马、一写花处复添香，以陌头能驻马写能驻马、以花处复添香写复添香，写尽陌头能驻马、花处复添香之情。以花写情，清丽而明快，是全诗最动人处，也是「以花写情」的点睛之笔。

The closing line writes 'at the road's edge, she can stay the horses', the poem's landing. 'At the road's edge, she can stay the horses' — the road's edge, the stayed horses; 'where the flowers are, a fresh fragrance is added' — the flowers, the added fragrance. Through the flower it writes the feeling, clear and bright, the poem's most moving point: her beauty is such that passing horses stay their steps, and the very flowers grow sweeter in her presence.

Study

Word focus

秦楼 The Qin tower — from the legend of Nongyu, daughter of Duke Mu of Qin; in yuefu poetry it evokes the lofty chamber from which a beautiful woman appears. 「秦楼」写秦楼出佳丽，是写秦楼之态的关键。「秦楼出佳丽」着一「秦楼」，写秦楼——着一「秦楼」，写秦楼出佳丽，见其楼之秦。两字写尽秦楼之态，是「以词写楼」的妙笔。「秦楼」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。
佳丽 A woman of fine beauty — the yuefu term for the radiant heroine whose appearance halts everyone around her. 「佳丽」写秦楼出佳丽，是写佳丽之态的关键。「秦楼出佳丽」着一「佳丽」，写佳丽——着一「佳丽」，写秦楼出佳丽，见其丽之佳。两字写尽佳丽之态，是「以词写丽」的点睛之词。「佳丽」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。
陌头 At the roadside — the crossroads where passersby pause; a yuefu topos for the public's stunned response to beauty. 「陌头」写陌头能驻马，是写陌头之态的关键。「陌头能驻马」着一「陌头」，写陌头——着一「陌头」，写陌头能驻马，见其头之陌。两字写尽陌头之态，是「以词写陌」的点睛之词。「陌头」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。
添香 Adds fragrance — her presence perfumes the flowered scene, blending her allure with the scent of blossoms until woman and spring are one. 「添香」写花处复添香，是写添香之态的关键。「花处复添香」着一「添香」，写添香——着一「添香」，写花处复添香，见其香之添。两字写尽添香之态，是「以词写香」的点睛之词。「添香」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

山园小梅 Plum Blossoms in a Mountain Garden 林逋 · 同写咏花清雅、以物寄情，一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、一写秦楼出佳丽花处复添香，皆于咏花之中见清雅 Both celebrate delicate, fragrant beauty through blossoms — one a recluse's quiet plum, one a radiant yuefu heroine

Lin Bu's sparse shadows slant across the clear shallow water, secret fragrance floats in the moonlit dusk is the song of a recluse and his plum — cool, solitary, fragrant. Li Bai's four lines give fragrance to a beauty among flowers in broad daylight — warm, social, radiant. Both fuse flower and human scent, but one is hermit's moonlight, the other festival morning.

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、咏花寄情，是宋诗咏物的绝唱；李白《日出东南隅行》则以「秦楼出佳丽，正值朝日光」「陌头能驻马，花处复添香」写出佳丽朝日光、驻马复添香。两诗同写咏花清雅、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，一写秦楼出佳丽花处复添香、以花写乐府；一为林逋之清逸、一为李白之清丽，并读正可见诗写「咏花清雅」的两种笔法，皆于咏花之中见清雅。

 浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯 Silk-washing Stream: A New Song and a Cup of Wine 晏殊 · 同写惜春感怀、明快温润，一写无可奈何花落去、一写秦楼出佳丽正值朝日光，皆于惜春之中见感怀 Both dwell on spring's flowers — one in melancholy resignation, one in bright splendor

Yan Shu's flowers fall helplessly — it has happened before; the returning swallow seems somehow familiar mourns spring's passing with a scholar's graceful sadness. Li Bai's from the Qin tower steps a beauty fair greets the spring morning in full radiance, fragrance doubling among the flowers. Same flowers, opposite moods: Yan Shu watches them fall, Li Bai makes them a backdrop for beauty.

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」，写惜春感怀、明快温润，是宋词小令的名篇；李白《日出东南隅行》则以「秦楼出佳丽，正值朝日光」「陌头能驻马，花处复添香」写出佳丽朝日光、驻马复添香。两诗同写惜春感怀、明快温润：一写无可奈何花落去、以花落燕归写惜时，一写秦楼出佳丽正值朝日光、以朝光写乐府；一为晏殊之温润、一为李白之明快，并读正可见诗写「惜春感怀」的两种笔法，皆于惜春之中见感怀。