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唐 Tang · 乐府 Yuefu ballad

日出入行

Song of the Sun's Coming Forth

李白

Li Bai

哲理Philosophy 自然Nature 天道Theme

日出东方隈,似从地底来。
历天又入海,六龙所舍安在哉?其始与终古不息,人非元气,安得与之久徘徊?草不谢荣于春风,木不怨落于秋天。
谁挥鞭策驱四运?万物兴歇皆自然。
羲和!羲和!汝奚汩没于荒淫之波?鲁阳何德,驻景挥戈?逆道违天,矫诬实多。
吾将囊括大块,浩然与溟涬同科!

Sunrise emerges from the eastern bend, as if climbing from beneath the earth.
It travels the heavens and sinks again into the sea - where do the six dragons lodge that bear it?
From the beginning it has never ceased; but we are not the primal breath - how could we wander with it long?
Grasses do not thank spring wind for their bloom; trees do not resent autumn for their fall.
Who cracks the whip that drives the four seasons? All things rise and rest by nature's law.
Xi He! Xi He! Why drown yourself in those wanton waves?
What virtue had Lu Yang, to halt the sun with a raised spear?
To go against the Way and defy heaven is mostly false pretense.
I shall embrace the great mass of the world, and merge, vast and free, with the primal chaos!
Listen

Meaning

Against the busy gods who drive the sun, the poet would merge with the spontaneous rhythm of nature.

太阳从东方升起,仿佛从地底钻出。它穿过天空又没入西海,那驾驭日车的六龙究竟停歇在何处?自开端到终了万古不息,人并非元气,怎能同它长久相伴?花草不向春风道谢繁荣,树木不怨秋天使其凋落。是谁挥鞭驱赶四时代序?万物兴衰皆出于自然。羲和啊羲和,你为何沉没于浩渺的波涛?鲁阳有何德行,能驻日挥戈?违逆天道,虚妄太多。我将包罗天地,浩然与元气同归一类!

Appreciation

Where mythic drivers whip the sun across the sky, Li Bai sees only nature's effortless round. His answer is not worship but merger - to fold himself into the great, self-moving whole.

【白话串讲】 “日出东方隈,似从地底来”——李白写日出入行:太阳从地底升起。“其始与终古不息”——“草不谢荣于春风,木不怨落于秋天”——草不感谢春风,树不怨恨秋天。“万物兴歇皆自然”——万物的兴衰都是自然。李白对宇宙的思考。 【意象与手法】 以“六龙所舍安在哉”“谁挥鞭策驱四运”连番诘问,拆解神话、否定长生;“草不谢荣于春风,木不怨落于秋天”以草木荣枯写自然规律,确立“万物兴歇皆自然”的天道观。以浪漫笔法承载理性思辨。 【情感与主旨】 反汉乐府古辞《日出入》感叹人生苦短而求仙之意,否定长生、顺应自然,体现李白老庄式的与道冥合的精神底色,与《将进酒》《梦游天姥吟留别》的狂放形成互补。 【名句点睛】 常考“草不谢荣于春风,木不怨落于秋天”以草木荣枯写自然规律;“万物兴歇皆自然”以兴歇自然写天道观。

Background

A yuefu 'song of the sun,' reworking the old hymn to the sun's journey. Li Bai turns it into a philosophical lyric celebrating nature's self-moving order and mocking the mythic charioteers.

《日出入行》本为汉乐府旧题,古辞叹日出无穷而人生短促,遂生乘龙升仙之想。李白此篇,正是对这道古老命题的一次『翻案』。它大约作于李白入长安前后、功名之心未泯而道家思想已深的阶段。盛唐士人大多兼修儒道,李白尤好老庄,既渴望『奋其智能,愿为辅弼』,又笃信与自然同体的逍遥。当他面对汉人留下的那首长叹,没有顺着感伤走,而是反问:太阳万古不息,人虽非元气,又何必妄求与之同寿?于是他把话题从『人生苦短当求仙』扭转为『万物兴歇皆自然』的朴素天道观。这首诗的价值,正在于它用浪漫恣肆的乐府笔法,承载了理性的思辨,显示了盛唐诗人如何站在前代肩膀上完成对主题的超越。读它,不能只当游仙诗看,更要看它怎样拆解神话、确立自然。汉代以降,游仙诗多写求长生、慕轻举,至唐初仍余波未歇;李白此篇偏偏逆流,把『求仙』这件事本身当作质疑的对象,这在盛唐诗坛并不多见。他并非不信天道,而是不信那种把人世的焦虑寄托于长生妄想的出路。读懂这一层,便知此诗表面写日,实则写人——写一个人如何以理性的清醒,安顿自己在宇宙中的位置。它是李白精神世界里少被重视、却极关键的一块基石,标示着诗人由浪漫想象迈向朴素唯物的重要一步。

Art

Opens with the sun's daily arc, then erupts into questions to the sun-gods Xi He and Lu Yang, dismissing their 'contrary to heaven' labors, and closes on a rapturous union with the cosmos.

此诗最突出的艺术特征,是连番诘问构成的思辨气势。开篇『日出东方隈,似从地底来』先以白描起兴,写日之运行;随即『历天又入海,六龙所舍安在哉』一问,把神话里驾日的六龙直接证伪——你告诉我六龙停哪儿?问得理直气壮。接着『人非元气,安得与之久徘徊』再问,把求仙妄念也否了。这种以问破迷的写法,使全诗像一场与古人的辩论,气势酣畅。后半『草不谢荣于春风,木不怨落于秋天』转用拟人与反衬,草木荣落皆不抱怨,烘托出『万物兴歇皆自然』的结论。结尾『羲和!羲和!汝奚汩没于荒淫之波』『鲁阳何德,驻景挥戈』直呼神名、痛斥逆天,最后『吾将囊括大块,浩然与溟涬同科』以豪迈收束。全诗杂言纵横,长短句错落,情感由疑到断、由断到傲,典型体现李白豪放而兼具理趣的一面。全诗以诘问为骨,以论断为肉,气势如长江大河,一气直下。与一般乐府的铺陈不同,此诗几乎全由反问与断言构成,读来如与古人当庭辩难,痛快淋漓。尤其『草不谢荣于春风,木不怨落于秋天』一联,以草木的无情反衬人的多思,既承接前文对神怪的消解,又自然导出万物自然的结论,转折极见浑成。这种把说理写得有气势、把气势写得有逻辑的本领,正是李白高出寻常说理诗的地方,也是此诗历千年仍具说服力的原因。

Allusions

Six dragons draw the sun-chariot in myth; Xi He is the sun's charioteer; Lu Yang is the general who, legend says, made the sun retreat by brandishing his spear. 'Great mass' and 'primal chaos' come from Zhuangzi and the 'Seven Stimuli.'

此诗几乎句句在与神话、古典对话。『六龙』出自《淮南子》与《初学记》所载『日乘车,驾以六龙,羲和御之』,是汉人解释日行的标准神话;李白偏问『六龙所舍安在哉』,等于当众拆台。『羲和』本为御日之神,又兼主日月,《楚辞·离骚》已有『吾令羲和弭节兮』,李白两呼『羲和』而责其『汩没于荒淫之波』,是以神为喻,讽刺世人耽溺妄求。『鲁阳挥戈』用《淮南子·览冥训》鲁阳公与韩构难、援戈挥日使之反三舍的传说,李白说这是『逆道违天,矫诬实多』,明确否定逆转天时的妄举。『元气』『大块』『溟涬』皆出道家,《庄子》《淮南子》以元气为天地之本,大块指大地,溟涬指元气未分之状;『与溟涬同科』即与原始元气同归。一连串典故被他信手拈来又随手驳倒,唯独留下道家的自然观,足见其『六经注我』的霸气。更有意味的是,这些典故在李白笔下并非用来炫博,而是用来『证伪』——六龙、羲和、鲁阳,一个个被他拉出来,又一个个被他推倒,唯独留下老庄的自然。这种以典破典、借古驳古的手法,显示他并非不知传统,而是有意凌驾传统。一个诗人能对世代崇奉的神话如此不羁地调侃,既见其狂,也见其清醒:他太清楚哪些是该信的,哪些只是人编的。典故在他手里,成了拆穿谎言的工具而非装饰。

Commentary

Typical Li Bai: he subordinates myth to a higher naturalism, ending not in awe of gods but in identification with the spontaneous 'ten thousand things.'

此诗在李白集中算不上最显赫,却最受思想史一侧的论者看重。宋人严羽《沧浪诗话》论太白诗『飘逸』,此篇的豪迈正合其评;明人胡应麟《诗薮》称李白乐府『出自六朝,而特轶出之』,指的正是这类对古题的创造性翻案。近人论李白,多许其『以仙写理』,此诗被反复援引为盛唐理性精神的代表——它不像《将进酒》那样纵酒狂歌,也不像《梦游天姥》那样遗世独立,而是落脚于『与溟涬同科』的顺应自然,显示出老庄式的底色。郭沫若等现代学者更从中读出反神仙、反礼法的朴素唯物倾向。把它与汉乐府古辞《日出入》对读,一神话一理性、一感伤一超旷,恰可见出时代思潮的递变。可以说,此诗虽短,却是理解李白『豪放—旷达』精神结构的一把钥匙。将此诗与《月下独酌》《把酒问月》并读,更可见李白对『天』的态度一以贯之:不拜神、不惧死、只信自然之常。后世注家或嫌其说理稍直,却正忽略了这正是乐府古题该有的酣畅。当代学者每以此诗为李白具有朴素唯物倾向的例证,实非过誉。它提醒我们,李白不只是那个举杯邀月的浪漫客,也是有自己宇宙观的思想者;那份豪放的底色,原是建立在对自然法则的坦然接纳之上的。

Prosody

Form Seven-character yuefu song (gexing)乐府诗·杂言(拟汉《日出入》古题,句式长短错落,不依近体)
Rhyme Mixed rhyme groups across the long passage; includes interrogative and exclamatory lines.此诗随情换韵,间用平仄,古乐府本色;如『来』『哉』『徊』『天』『然』『波』『多』『科』等随文意转韵,起伏自由。
Tone pattern Free yuefu rhythm, not regulated.杂言体本不拘平仄粘对,长短句交错以畅气势;如『日出东方隈』五字起,『羲和!羲和!』叠呼短促,『吾将囊括大块』七字沉着,句法随情绪跌宕。
Reading note A philosophical yuefu; its power is in the crescendo of questions and the cosmic close.作为拟乐府,此诗完全摆脱了近体绝句的格律束缚,这正是它得以纵论天道的前提。杂言体的自由,让李白可以一会儿白描(『日出东方隈』),一会儿诘问(『六龙所舍安在哉』),一会儿叠呼(『羲和!羲和!』),一会儿豪迈宣言(『吾将囊括大块』),句式随思辨的节奏起伏,气势酣畅。若用五七言律句的尺子去量它,反会缚住手脚。更值得注意的是换韵的处理:诗随文意自然转韵,疑时促、断时顿、归时阔,声情与理情若合符契。可以说,正是古乐府这种『无法之法』,成全了李白以浪漫写理性的雄辩。读此诗,当以气脉为先,不以格律求之。杂言体的自由,还体现在它容许叠呼与急转:『羲和!羲和!』的短促呼告,与『吾将囊括大块』的悠长宣言,形成节奏上的张弛,恰如其情绪之起伏。若强以近体绳之,则不免方枘圆凿。此诗的价值,正在于它借古乐府之『无法之法』,释放了李白论道时的磅礴气魄。后人拟乐府,往往徒袭其貌而失其神,读李白天真烂漫的辩难,方知气盛言宜,才是此类诗真正的声律。

Line by line

六龙所舍安在哉?

Where do the six dragons lodge, that bear the sun across the sky?

那驾驭日车的六龙究竟停歇在何处?

Where do the six dragons that draw the sun put up for the night?

这一问是全诗拆解神话的第一锤。汉人以『六龙驾日』解释太阳的东升西落,本是一套自洽的想象;李白却冷不丁追问:既然六龙拉着太阳跑,那它们晚上歇在哪儿?这一问看似天真,实则致命——它点破了神话内部的逻辑漏洞,也暗示所谓御日之神不过是古人的附会。更深的用意在于:连日行的『动力』都经不起推敲,那么据此生发出的求仙妄念又从何说起?一个问题,把神话与方术一起悬了起来。李白的思辨不是书斋式的,而是带着乐府的酣畅,像当众把一件华丽外衣扯下,痛快淋漓。

This question is the first hammer that breaks the poem's mythology. The Han scholars, with the 'six dragons drawing the sun', explained the sun's rising in the east and setting in the west, a self-consistent imagination; yet Li Bai suddenly asks: since the six dragons draw the sun along, where do they rest at night? The question seems naive, and is in fact fatal — it points out the logical hole within the myth, and hints that the so-called sun-driving god is but the ancients' attachment. The deeper purpose: since even the 'driving force' of the sun's course will not bear examination, what of the immortal-seeking fancies grown from it? One question, suspending myth and the magicians' arts together. Li Bai's speculation is not of the study, but carries the yuefu's gusto, like ripping off a gorgeous coat in public, free and thorough.

谁挥鞭策驱四运?万物兴歇皆自然。

Who cracks the whip that drives the four seasons? All things rise and rest by nature's law.

是谁挥鞭驱赶四时代序?万物兴衰皆出于自然。

Who wields the whip to drive the four seasons' round? The rise and decline of all things are all of nature.

这两句是全诗的思想落点,也是李白天道观的浓缩。『谁挥鞭策驱四运』是一个看似问、实则已答的反问:春去秋来、四时代序,并没有哪个神灵在挥鞭驱赶,一切只是自然。紧接『万物兴歇皆自然』,把前面拆掉神话后留下的空缺,用『自然』二字稳稳填上。这是全诗从破到立的转折——破的是六龙、羲和、鲁阳种种人为的神怪解释,立的是朴素唯物、顺物自然的宇宙观。一个『皆』字说得斩钉截铁,毫无游移。读到这里才明白,前面那些诘问都不是为疑而疑,而是为这一句结论清场。盛唐的理性精神,在这一句里最清醒。

These two lines are the thought's landing, and the condensation of Li Bai's view of heaven. 'Who wields the whip to drive the four seasons' round?' is a counter-question that seems to ask and has already answered: spring goes and autumn comes, the four seasons turn, and no god wields a whip to drive it; all is nature. At once 'the rise and decline of all things are all of nature' fills the gap left after the dismantling of the myth with the two words 'nature'. This is the turn of the poem from breaking to establishing: breaking the artificial, monstrous explanations of the six dragons, Xihe, and Lu Yang; establishing the plain, materialist, nature-following cosmology. The one word 'all' is spoken decisively, without wavering. Only reading here does one understand that the preceding questions were not doubts for doubt's sake, but clearing the ground for this conclusion. The rational spirit of the High Tang, at its clearest in this line.

吾将囊括大块,浩然与溟涬同科!

I shall embrace the great mass of the world, and merge, vast and free, with the primal chaos!

我将包罗天地,浩然与元气同归一类!

I shall embrace the great earth, and, vast and free, be of the same kind as the primal chaos!

这是全诗的最后一句,也是李白给自己写下的人生态度。『囊括大块』是说要把整个天地都包罗在胸襟之中,气魄极大;『与溟涬同科』则是说要浩然地与那未分混沌的元气归为同类,也就是回归自然、与道冥合。前面他驳了六龙、讽了羲和、否了鲁阳,把一切逆天妄为都推开了,到这里才亮出正面的归宿:不向外求仙,不逆天争时,而是向内把自己融入天地元气。一个『浩然』写出胸中正大之气,一个『同科』写出与道为一的坦荡。全诗由疑到断、由断到归,至此完成一个完整的思想圆环,是李白老庄底色的集中亮相。

This is the poem's last line, and the attitude toward life Li Bai wrote for himself. 'I shall embrace the great earth' means gathering all heaven and earth into the breast, the spirit vast; 'be of the same kind as the primal chaos' means becoming, in vast freedom, of the same kind as the undifferentiated, primal breath — that is, returning to nature, merging with the Way. Above, he has refuted the six dragons, mocked Xihe, denied Lu Yang, pushed aside all the reckless acting against heaven; and here he shows the positive resting place: seeking no immortals without, striving not against heaven's time, but inwardly merging himself with the heaven-and-earth breath. The one 'vast and free' writes the upright breath in the breast, the one 'same kind' the openness of being one with the Way. The poem, from doubt to assertion, from assertion to return, completes a full circle of thought, the concentrated showing of Li Bai's Lao-Zhuang ground.

Study

Word focus

安在哉 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 『安在哉』三字是拆解神话的利器。它是一个反诘式的收束,『安』是何处、怎么,『在』是存在,『哉』是感叹,合起来是『到底在哪儿呢』。这个句式古已有之(如『沛公安在』),李白用在追问六龙上,便有了当众质问神话的戏剧性。妙在它不正面否定,而是用一个『你倒是说说看』的姿态,把举证责任抛回对方,比直接说『没有六龙』更有力量。三个字短促收尾,像一记惊堂木,把前面铺陈的日行壮观陡然拉回到理性的冷光里,是全诗语气由铺叙转向思辨的枢纽。
自然 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 『自然』二字是全诗的思想内核,也是李白从古辞里救出的结论。在道家语境中,『自然』指事物本然如此、非外力强加;李白用它概括万物兴歇,等于宣布:四时运行、草木荣落、人生修短,都无一例外地出于本然,不赖神鞭、不假仙力。这一个词,把前面所有被他驳倒的神怪解释全部收编为『自然』的注脚。它看似平淡,实则是全诗最重的落点——前面千言万问,都为这两个字清场。在盛唐诗中,『自然』常是艺术境界,李白却把它提升为宇宙法则,赋予了哲学重量。
囊括大块 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 『囊括大块』四字尽显李白的胸襟与笔力。『大块』出《庄子》『大块假我以文章』,指天地自然;『囊括』是像用袋网包罗一切,气势极具扩张感。四个字把诗人的主体膨胀到与天地等量的尺度,仿佛整个人要张开双臂把宇宙拥入怀中。它紧接在『万物兴歇皆自然』之后,是从『认知自然』到『融入自然』的飞跃:不止于看懂规律,更要成为规律的一部分。这种以大字、阔字撑起的精神空间,正是李白区别于寻常说理诗的地方——他的理,是带着豪气的理;他的归,是昂首挺胸的归。

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汉乐府古辞《日出入》叹『日出入安穷,时世不与人同』,感日出无穷而人生短促,遂生『吾欲乘六龙、仙升天』之想;李白此篇反其意,以『六龙所舍安在哉』拆神话,以『万物兴歇皆自然』立天道。二者同题而异趣:一神话一理性,一感伤一超旷。并读最能看清盛唐诗人如何站在汉代肩膀上,把前人的怅惘翻成自己的清醒,是乐府古题『借题立论』的绝佳对照。

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《将进酒》『天生我材必有用』『但愿长醉不复醒』以纵酒狂歌写抗志出世,气象更狂;此篇『吾将囊括大块,浩然与溟涬同科』则以与道冥合写顺应自然,气象更旷。二者皆李白后期精神写照,却一外放一内敛:将进酒是把不平摔向酒杯,日出入行是把自我融入元气。并读可见李白并非一味狂放,其精神底色实有老庄式的与道为一,此篇恰补足了狂名之下的另一面。

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张若虚『人生代代无穷已,江月年年只相似』由江月照临悟出宇宙永恒与人生代续的哲理,与李白『万物兴歇皆自然』同属唐人天人合一的理性沉思。差异在:张诗娟静、以景生理,李诗豪宕、以问破理;张诗落脚于离人相思,李诗落脚于自我与元气同归。并读可见初盛唐之交,诗人已从六朝的伤逝,转向对自然法则的坦然接纳,『自然』成为一代共通的安心之所。