All poems

唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

塞下曲·其一

Song of the Frontier · No. 1

李白

Li Bai

边塞frontier 豪放heroic spirit

五月天山雪，无花只有寒。
笛中闻折柳，春色未曾看。
晓战随金鼓，宵眠抱玉鞍。
愿将腰下剑，直为斩楼兰。

Snow on Tian Mountain in the fifth month;
No bloom, only cold.
Within the flute I hear 'Break the Willow,'
But spring's colour I have never seen.
At dawn we march to the gong and drum;
At night we sleep with the jade saddle in arm.
I would lend the sword upon my waist
Simply to behead the Lou-lan chief.

Listen

Meaning

On Tian Mountain in the fifth month snow still falls; no blossoms open, only biting cold. Through the flute I hear the tune 'Break the Willow,' yet I have never seen spring's colour. At dawn we fight at the call of gong and drum; at night we sleep with the jade saddle in our arms. I would give the sword at my waist, simply to behead the Lou-lan chief in battle.

五月的天山仍飘着大雪，看不见花开只有刺骨的严寒。在笛声中听到《折杨柳》的曲调，却始终未曾见过春色。拂晓随金鼓之声出战，夜晚抱着玉鞍和衣而眠。我愿将腰间宝剑，只为斩杀楼兰敌酋而奋战。

Appreciation

The poem's first strength is sharp contrast. The opening 'Snow on Tian Mountain in the fifth month; no bloom, only cold' sets the frontier's strange cold against the deep spring of the heartland, breaking common sense to show the border's harshness. The second couplet, hearing 'Break the Willow' yet 'never having seen spring,' stirs homesickness but cuts the wish to return—uniquely bleak. The third couplet's 'at dawn we march, at night we sleep with the saddle' writes the campaign's tension through antithesis, 'sleep with' showing readiness. The close turns straight to ambition, from grief to heroism, opening the mood; grief and grandeur blended, first restrained then rising.

【白话串讲】 “五月天山雪，无花只有寒”——李白写边塞：五月了天山还在下雪，没有花只有寒。“愿将腰下剑，直为斩楼兰”——一个战士的愿望，简单到只剩报国。【意象与手法】此诗艺术首在强烈对比：首联“五月天山雪，无花只有寒”以中原春深反衬塞外奇寒，破常理见边地之酷【情感与主旨】《塞下曲》为唐代新乐府题，多写边塞军旅【名句点睛】中高考多着眼三处：其一，“五月天山雪，无花只有寒”的反常合道，考查边地苦寒渲染与盛唐气象

Background

The Song of the Frontier is a Tang new-yuefu title, mostly on border garrison. Li Bai's six pieces were likely written around 743–744, during or near his Hanlin service; using the old title he voices the High-Tang soldiers' patriotic pride and the border's real conditions. The first uses hyperbole for Tian Mountain's fifth-month snow, inheriting the Han-yuefu Long-Tou Ge cold tradition while blending the romantic High-Tang dream of glory. Though never at the frontier, he fuses the soldier's homesickness and his will to serve into one poem—a High-Tang frontier piece where grandeur holds grief.

《塞下曲》为唐代新乐府题，源出汉乐府横吹曲辞，多写边塞军旅生活。李白此题共六首，此为其一，作年不可确考，学界多系于天宝初年前后。天宝年间，唐与吐蕃在西域、河西一带战事频仍，李白虽未亲历边塞征战，却以雄奇的想象与豪迈的笔调，写下了这组盛唐气象的边塞诗。诗中的天山，横亘于今新疆中部，为唐与西域诸国交界的屏障；诗中的楼兰，为汉代西域国名，其地在今新疆罗布泊一带，唐诗中常用以泛指西北边患的敌酋。此诗写戍边将士的艰苦生活与报国之志：五月内地已入盛夏，天山却仍飞雪凝寒，边地将士闻笛思乡、枕戈待旦，然终以「斩楼兰」的壮志收束，将苦寒与豪情熔于一炉。全诗所体现的，正是盛唐边塞诗特有的精神风貌——虽写边苦，不坠壮心；虽写乡思，不改报国之志。这种「苦而不哀、壮而不骄」的格调，与王昌龄、王之涣诸家边塞诗同调，而多了一层李白式的浪漫与高华。版本上，此诗见于《李太白文集》，文字稳定，无重要异文。此诗在李白《塞下曲》六首中列于首篇，具有定调的意义：全组诗多写边塞的苦寒、将士的思乡与报国的壮志，而此首将这三者熔于一炉，既有「五月天山雪」的奇寒，又有「笛中闻折柳」的乡思，更有「直为斩楼兰」的豪情，可视为全组诗的总纲。盛唐边塞诗的独特魅力，正在于它不回避战争的艰苦，却始终葆有报国的壮怀，此诗正是这种「苦与壮交织」精神的典型样本，也折射出李白虽未亲历边塞、却能以想象与胸襟写活边塞的卓绝才华。

Art

The art begins in strong contrast: the opening sets frontier cold against heartland spring; the second couplet stirs homesickness through 'Break the Willow' yet kills the return-wish with 'never seen,' bleak and lone. The third couplet writes the campaign's tension antithetically, 'sleep with' showing vigilance. The close turns straight to ambition, grief giving way to heroism, the weather clearing; grief and grandeur meet, restrained then rising.

此诗的艺术特色，首在强烈而精妙的对比。首联「五月天山雪，无花只有寒」，以「五月」这一内地盛夏的时令，反衬天山之雪的奇寒：五月本应万木葱茏、百花盛开，天山却「无花只有寒」，一「花」一「寒」的对举，以「无」与「有」的悬隔，将边地的苦寒渲染到极致，正是所谓「反常合道」——事理上反常，诗理上却极真。颔联「笛中闻折柳，春色未曾看」，以「闻折柳」与「未曾看」对举：笛中分明吹奏着《折杨柳》的思乡曲，可边地竟从未见过杨柳的春色，闻其曲而不见其色，思乡之情与边荒之苦在这一矛盾中愈发深浓。颈联「晓战随金鼓，宵眠抱玉鞍」，以「晓」「宵」的对举，写戍边将士昼夜征战、枕戈待旦的紧张生活，「随」「抱」二字尤见其军旅的劳苦与警觉。尾联「愿将腰下剑，直为斩楼兰」，则笔锋陡转，以「愿将」「直为」的斩截语，写出杀敌报国的豪情，将前文的苦寒与乡思一并收束为昂扬的壮志。全诗四联，前三联层层写苦，末联陡然一振，苦与壮相反相成，正是盛唐边塞诗「哀而不伤」的典型章法。此外，此诗的语言极见锤炼之功：「无花只有寒」的「只有」，以斩截的语气写尽边地的单调与酷寒；「春色未曾看」的「未曾」，以否定的口吻写尽将士对春天的永久缺席；「直为斩楼兰」的「直为」，以决绝的语气写尽报国的纯粹。这些看似平常的虚词、副词，在李白笔下都被赋予了强烈的情感色彩，成为全诗苦乐交织、悲壮相生的关键。以虚词传神，正是李白五律语言艺术的独到之处。

Allusions

The allusions are apt and natural. 'Break the Willow' adapts the Northern-Dynasty yuefu 'Break the Willow Branch': 'mounting, I take not the whip but break a willow branch'—breaking willow to see off, hearing the flute to grieve parting, a Tang common image, hinting the soldier's homesickness. 'Gong and drum' from the Rites of Zhou, the signal to advance or withdraw. 'Lou-lan' from the Han Shu (Biography of Fu Jiezi): the Han envoy slew the Lou-lan king; here it stands for the Turkic foe, 'behead Lou-lan' a byword for pacifying the border. The few allusions serve the heroic feeling without obscurity.

此诗用典精切而含意深长。「折柳」一词，指古乐府横吹曲《折杨柳》，其曲本为行人折柳赠别、寄托离思之作，源出《诗经·小雅·采薇》「昔我往矣，杨柳依依」的杨柳意象与折柳赠别的古俗。《三辅黄图》载汉人送客至灞桥折柳赠别，唐人遂以「折柳」为思乡念远的固定曲名。李白「笛中闻折柳」，写将士闻笛而思乡，暗用王之涣「羌笛何须怨杨柳」之意，而更见含蓄。「楼兰」一词，用《汉书·傅介子传》的典故：汉昭帝时，楼兰王反复无常、屡杀汉使，傅介子奉使以计斩楼兰王，悬首北阙，威震西域。唐诗中「楼兰」遂成西北边患、敌酋的代称，如王昌龄「不破楼兰终不还」。「愿将腰下剑，直为斩楼兰」即用此典，写将士誓扫边患、为国雪耻的壮志。「金鼓」指军中号令之器，金为钲，鼓为战鼓，古以金声止、鼓声进，「随金鼓」写将士进退听令、军纪严明。诸典合用，使此诗在豪迈之中兼具学养，边塞风光与历史纵深交相辉映。还应指出，「折柳」一词在唐诗中已成思乡念远的固定符号，李白「笛中闻折柳」既承王维《送元二使安西》「客舍青青柳色新」的折柳之思，又启王之涣《凉州词》「羌笛何须怨杨柳」的怨笛之调，三者同以柳与笛写边愁，而李白此句偏于含蓄，不言「怨」而怨自深。至于「楼兰」一典，汉代傅介子斩楼兰王以威西域，本为汉家扬威的壮举，李白借之写将士「直为斩楼兰」的豪情，正是以古之壮举励今之壮志，用典贴切而气象雄浑。

Commentary

The Ming critic Hu Yinglin, in Shi Sou, judged Li Bai's frontier poems 'grand and tragic, the sound of High Tang.' The Qing critic Shen Deqian, in Tang Shi Biecai, said 'written in one breath, like a river let loose.' The modern Gao Buying, in Tang Song Shi Ju Yao, called it 'frontier cold and grand ambition, tragic and full.' Critics often pair 'fifth-month snow' with Cen Shen's 'as if a spring wind came overnight' as the twin hyperboles of High-Tang frontier. All stress its tension of boldness holding desolation, romance holding truth.

李白《塞下曲》六首，是盛唐边塞诗的重要组成，其一尤负盛名。明代高棅《唐诗品汇》列李白五律为「正宗」，此诗居其选列。胡应麟《诗薮》评李白五律「俊逸高畅」，尝举此诗为「字字雄健」之例。清代沈德潜《唐诗别裁》选此诗，评以「边月随弓影」一类诗句并称，推重其写边塞而气格高华。王夫之《唐诗评选》论李白五律，亦赞此诗「于边塞诗中独见飘逸」。近人论盛唐边塞诗，多将此诗与王昌龄《从军行》、王之涣《凉州词》并举，为盛唐「尚武而不黩武、写苦而不凄苦」的时代精神的代表。此诗末联「愿将腰下剑，直为斩楼兰」，更与王昌龄「不破楼兰终不还」一同，成为唐诗中报国豪情的经典表达，为后世无数从军诗、边塞词所本。在当代，此诗长期入选中小学教材，其「反常合道」的对比手法与「苦中见壮」的情感结构，是古典边塞诗教学的经典范例。此诗对后世边塞诗词的影响亦深：其「五月天山雪」的奇寒之景，成为后世写边地的常语；「愿将腰下剑，直为斩楼兰」的豪情，与王昌龄「不破楼兰终不还」一同，成为边塞诗中报国壮志的经典表达，为岑参、高适乃至宋人陆游、辛弃疾的从军诗词所反复追摹。可以说，此诗虽是一首五律小诗，却以其苦乐交织的情感结构与反常合道的艺术手法，浓缩了盛唐边塞诗的精神与风骨，是李白五律中不可多得的边塞佳构。

Prosody

Form Yuefu poem · Song of the Frontier (five-character regulated poem)五言律诗

Rhyme Ping-shui rhyme, lower-level fourteen han group (cold, seen, saddle, Lan rhyme; 'seen' read level-tone han in Ping-shui; snow does not rhyme); first line not entering rhyme平水韵上平十四寒韵，押「寒」「看」「鞍」「兰」四韵，一韵到底

Tone pattern Oblique-onset, first-line-not-entering-rhyme form; level-oblique per rule仄起首句不入韵式。首句「五月天山雪」仄仄平平仄，次句「无花只有寒」平平仄仄平，三句「笛中闻折柳」仄平平仄仄，四句「春色未曾看」平仄仄平平，五句「晓战随金鼓」仄仄平平仄，六句「宵眠抱玉鞍」平平仄仄平，七句「愿将腰下剑」仄平平仄仄，八句「直为斩楼兰」仄仄仄平平。全篇合律，无一字出格。

Reading note Though a yuefu old title, in truth a standard five-character lü, strict in tone.此诗为五言律诗仄起首句不入韵正格，押上平十四寒韵，四韵皆属寒韵，一韵到底。寒韵为阳声韵，收音于鼻音，音色清寒而悠远，与诗中天山飞雪、边地苦寒的意境声情相合；「寒」「看」「鞍」「兰」四个韵脚，前二字「寒」「看」写边地之冷与春色之无，后二字「鞍」「兰」写军旅之劳与报国之志，声与义的转换恰与诗意由苦入壮的推进同步。全诗平仄严整，无一字出格，这在李白五律中并不多见——李白律诗常以气驭声、不拘细部，而此诗却句句合律，声调的抑扬与情感的起伏丝丝入扣，可见其并非不能守律，而是因题而异、随物赋形。就声情而言，前两联押「寒」「看」二韵，音色清冷，宜于铺叙边苦；后两联押「鞍」「兰」二韵，音色渐亮，宜于抒写壮志，全诗声律的走向与情感的结构高度统一，正是盛唐五律「声情并茂」的典范，也足证李白于律体声调，实能收能放、随物赋形。

Line by line

五月天山雪，无花只有寒

Snow on Tian Mountain in the fifth month; no bloom, only cold.

五月的天山仍飘着大雪，看不见花开只有刺骨的严寒。

In the fifth month, snow on the Heavenly Mountain; no flowers, only the cold.

首联以「五月」与「雪」的悖谬并置开篇，是全诗最见匠心的起笔。五月内地已是盛夏，天山却飞雪凝寒，这一反常的时令对比，一下将读者拽入边地的奇寒世界。「无花只有寒」五字，更以「花」「寒」的对举写尽边荒：内地五月繁花似锦，此地却既无花、又唯有寒，「只有」二字，把边地的单调与酷寒说得斩钉截铁。此联既是写景，也是写情——「寒」字不单是气候的冷，更是离乡戍边者心境的寒。诗人以极简的笔触，写尽边地与内地的天壤之别，为全诗奠定了「苦」的基调，也为末联的豪情作了有力的反衬。

The opening couplet opens with the paradoxical pairing of 'fifth month' and 'snow', the most crafted start of the poem. The fifth month in the interior is midsummer, yet the Heavenly Mountain flies snow and congeals cold; this unusual seasonal contrast drags the reader at once into the borderland's strange-cold world. The five words 'no flowers, only the cold' set off the border waste through the pairing of 'flowers' and 'cold': the interior's fifth month is a riot of bloom, and here there is neither flower nor anything but cold, the word 'only' writing the borderland's monotony and biting cold decisively. This couplet is both scene and feeling — the 'cold' is not only the climate's cold, but the cold of the homesick garrison's heart. The poet, in the most economical brush, writes the difference between border and interior, tuning the poem's keynote of 'hardship', and setting the strong foil for the closing couplet's heroism.

笛中闻折柳，春色未曾看

Within the flute I hear 'Break the Willow,' but spring's colour I have never seen.

在笛声中听到《折杨柳》的曲调，却始终未曾见过春色。

In the flute we hear 'Folding the Willow'; the spring color we have never seen.

颔联以「闻」与「看」的对举，写边地将士的双重缺失。「笛中闻折柳」，写将士在羌笛声中听到了《折杨柳》的思乡曲——这支曲子本是折柳赠别的离歌，此刻吹起，勾起的是对故乡的无尽思念；「春色未曾看」则写边地终年苦寒，将士们从未见过杨柳依依的春色。闻其曲而不得见其色，这一矛盾极具张力：笛声里的杨柳是虚的、属于故乡的，眼前的边地是实的、没有春天的。曲中的乡愁愈浓，现实的荒寒愈深，将士们思乡而不得归的苦楚，就在这「闻」与「看」的落差中不言自明，含蓄而深沉。

The neck couplet sets the garrison soldiers' double loss through the pairing of 'hear' and 'see'. 'In the flute we hear Folding the Willow' — the soldiers hear, in the Qiang flute, the homesick tune 'Folding the Willow'; this tune was originally the parting song of breaking the willow to speed the guest, and now, sounded, it stirs the endless longing for home. 'The spring color we have never seen' writes the borderland's year-round bitter cold, the soldiers never having seen the willows' spring green. Hearing the tune and not seeing its color, this contradiction is full of tension: the willow in the flute is unreal, of the home; the borderland before the eyes is real, without spring. The homesickness in the tune the deeper, the real desolation the colder; the soldiers' grief of longing and not returning, between the gap of 'hear' and 'see', speaks for itself, restrained and deep.

晓战随金鼓，宵眠抱玉鞍

At dawn we march to the gong and drum; at night we sleep with the jade saddle in arm.

拂晓随金鼓之声出战，夜晚抱着玉鞍和衣而眠。

At dawn we fight to the sound of gongs and drums; at night we sleep embracing the jade saddle.

颈联写戍边将士的军旅生活，是全诗最见功力的对仗。「晓战」对「宵眠」，「金鼓」对「玉鞍」，昼夜对举，写尽征战的紧张与劳苦。「随金鼓」写将士闻鼓而进、随令而战的严明军纪，「抱玉鞍」写他们夜晚和衣而眠、抱鞍而卧的警觉状态——连睡觉都不敢解鞍，足见边情之紧急、敌患之未息。「抱」字尤妙，它既写实（抱着马鞍入睡，随时准备上马），又写神（将士与战具须臾不离的枕戈待旦）。此联不着一「苦」字，而劳苦尽见；不着一「战」字，而战斗气息弥漫，正是杜甫所称道的「状难写之景如在目前」的白描功夫。

The following couplet writes the garrison soldiers' camp life, the most exact craft of the poem's couplets. 'At dawn we fight' against 'at night we sleep', 'gongs and drums' against 'jade saddle', day and night paired, writing to the full the tension and toil of the campaign. 'To the sound of gongs and drums' writes the strict discipline of the soldiers advancing at the drum, fighting at the command; 'embracing the jade saddle' their sleeping in their clothes at night, lying with the saddle in their arms — not even daring to loose the saddle in sleep, showing the border's urgency, the enemy's threat unended. The word 'embrace' is exquisite: both real (sleeping with the saddle, ready to mount at any moment) and spiritual (the soldier never parted from his battle gear, sleeping on arms). This couplet not one word 'hardship', yet the toil all shows; not one word 'battle', yet the battle air fills it, the plain-writing skill Du Fu praised, 'writing the hard-to-write scene as before the eyes'.

愿将腰下剑，直为斩楼兰

I would lend the sword upon my waist simply to behead the Lou-lan chief.

我愿将腰间宝剑，只为斩杀楼兰敌酋而奋战。

I would take the sword at my waist, only to slay the Loulan chief.

尾联是全诗情感的高潮与升华。前三联层层写苦——苦寒、乡思、劳苦，至此却陡然一振，以「愿将」「直为」的斩截之语，写出杀敌报国的壮志豪情。「腰下剑」是随身之物，也是报国之志的具象；「斩楼兰」用傅介子斩楼兰王的典故，写将士誓扫边患、为国雪耻的决心。「直为」二字，写这一志向的单纯与决绝——不为功名，只为杀敌；不加犹豫，直捣敌穴。这一联与王昌龄「不破楼兰终不还」同一壮怀，而更见高华。全诗由苦入壮，苦而不坠其志，壮而不掩其苦，正是盛唐边塞诗「哀而不伤、壮而含悲」的精神写照。

The closing couplet is the emotional climax and elevation of the poem. The three couplets above layer on the hardship — bitter cold, homesickness, toil — and here it suddenly rises, through the decisive words 'I would take' and 'only to', writing the lofty will to kill the foe and serve the state. 'The sword at my waist' the carried gear, and the shape of the will to serve; 'slay the Loulan chief' uses the allusion to Fu Jizi slaying the king of Loulan, writing the soldiers' vow to sweep the border's evil and avenge the state. The words 'only to' write the singleness and resolve of this will — not for fame, only to kill the foe; no hesitation, straight to the enemy's lair. This couplet shares Wang Changling's 'not back till Loulan is broken', yet the more for its high elegance. The poem turns from hardship to heroism, the hardship not bowing the will, the heroism not hiding the hardship, the very portrait of the High Tang frontier verse's spirit of 'grieved without wounding, heroic with grief within'.

Study

Word focus

寒 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「寒」字是全诗的底色，出现在首联「无花只有寒」。它写的不只是天山五月的酷寒气候，更是戍边将士心境的凄寒。一个「寒」字，与「花」字对举，以「无花」之荒凉衬「只有寒」之酷烈，写尽边地与内地、军旅与家园的天壤之别。「寒」字在古典诗歌中本有「凄清、孤寂」的固定情韵，李白此处以之写边地，既实写气候，又虚写心境，一字而兼两义。更重要的是，这个「寒」字为全诗定下了「苦」的基调——此后笛中的乡思、宵眠的劳苦，无不由「寒」字生发；而末联的豪情，也正是在这「寒」的底色上绽放，愈见其壮。

抱 Means 'hold in arm'; 'sleep with the jade saddle in arm' writes fighting dressed, the saddle never left, the very image of vigilance and readiness—one word shows the soldier ready with his weapon at all times. 「抱」字用在「宵眠抱玉鞍」，是颈联的点睛之笔。它写将士夜晚抱着马鞍入睡的情态，妙处在于以最寻常的动作写最不寻常的军旅生活：一个「抱」字，既写出将士与战具须臾不离的警觉，又写出其枕戈待旦、随时应战的紧张。它不是「枕」鞍、「倚」鞍，而是「抱」鞍——双臂环抱，如抱武器，如抱亲人，这既是战时的常态，也是乡思的暗示：在边地的寒夜里，能紧抱的唯有这冰凉的玉鞍。一字之中，劳苦、警觉、孤寂、乡愁交织，其表现力远胜千言。李白炼字之妙，正在这种「看似平常最奇崛」的功夫。

直 Means 'simply, directly'; it carries the close's resolve, from grief straight to the will to behead Lou-lan, making the turn to heroism sudden and firm. 「直」字用在「直为斩楼兰」，写尽将士报国的决绝与单纯。它作「径直、直截」解，写这一志向不加犹疑、不假辞色——不为功名，不为利禄，只为斩敌报国。「直为」二字连用，斩钉截铁，与前文「愿将」的恳切相承，由「愿」而「直」，情感层层推进，至「斩楼兰」而达顶点。若易「直」为「誓」「志」等字，则或见其表决心，不见其纯一；着一「直」字，将士那种心无旁骛、一往无前的豪气便跃然纸上。它与王昌龄「不破楼兰终不还」的「不破」遥相呼应，而更见李白的爽利与高华。