听弹琴

Meaning

Listening to a qin performance, the poet is captivated by the pure, crystalline old melodies and quietly laments that such airs are seldom played anymore. Beneath the praise of music lies a deeper sorrow: in an age without true listeners, talent like the old tune — and the poet's own — goes unappreciated.

泠泠的七弦之上，静听那松风之寒。古调虽是我所爱，今人却多不弹。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The poem opens with the bright, water-clear ringing of seven strings, then draws the listener into a hush where the music feels like cold wind sighing through pines. Turning from sound to sentiment, the speaker confesses his love for these ancient airs and mourns that modern players have abandoned them. [Imagery] Liu Changqing builds the scene on synesthetic imagery: the reduplicative 'ling-ling' gives the music a crystalline, watery brightness, and 'the chill of wind in the pines' converts sound into touch and temperature, quietly alluding to the old qin melody Wind Through the Pines. The coldness of the music becomes a metaphor for the integrity of the old tune. [Structure and Feeling] The first couplet describes the performance; the second turns to reflection. The pivot word 'though' marks the turn from private delight to public neglect. Not one word says 'unrecognized talent,' yet the whole poem is the poet's self-portrait: pure, classical, and out of fashion — the restraint that is the signature of Liu Changqing, the 'Great Wall of five-character verse.'

【白话串讲】 刘长卿写《听弹琴》：“泠泠七丝上，静听松风寒”——“古调虽自爱，今人多不弹”——他听弹琴——古调虽自爱，今人多不弹。 【意象与手法】 首句“泠泠七丝上”写七弦琴声的泠泠清越；次句“静听松风寒”写静听琴声如松风之寒；三句“古调虽自爱”写古调自爱；末句“今人多不弹”写今人不弹古调。含蓄深沉。 【情感与主旨】 刘长卿写听琴而慨古调不传，以听琴写知音难觅、怀才不遇，是咏琴诗的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“泠泠七丝上，静听松风寒”写琴声清越；“古调虽自爱，今人多不弹”写古调不传。

Allusions

'Ling-ling' originally described the clear plash of water — the Xiangzhong ji speaks of the 'ling-ling' cold springs of Mount Heng — and was later applied to the bright tones of the qin. 'Seven strings' names the seven-stringed qin, the instrument of classical refinement. 'The chill of pine wind' alludes to the qin melody Wind Through the Pines, traditionally attributed to Xi Kang, whose playing was said to conjure the sighing of pines. The 'old tune' evokes the ancient repertory — High Mountain, Flowing Water, Guangling Melody — and through them the friendship of Bo Ya and Ziqi, the archetype of the player who finds one true listener. Every image circles the poem's core: music played, and unheard.

此诗用典于关键处见深意。「泠泠」，写琴声的清越——「泠泠」本写水声之清越，《湘中记》「衡山三峰极峻，二峰有清冷之泉，泠泠然」，后以「泠泠」写琴声、泉声之清越，「泠泠七丝上」写七弦琴声的清越。「七丝」，写七弦琴——古琴七弦，为华夏雅乐之器，「七丝上」写在七弦琴上，正是雅乐的象征。「松风寒」，暗用《风入松》之典——古琴曲有《风入松》，相传为嵇康所作，以琴声写松风之清寒，「静听松风寒」写琴声如松风之寒，正暗合《风入松》之曲。「古调」，写古曲古调——古琴曲多雅正之音，如《高山》《流水》《广陵散》，后以「古调」写雅正的古曲；「古调虽自爱」，写古调自爱，暗含伯牙子期高山流水之典——伯牙善鼓琴，钟子期善听，「高山流水」为知音之典，古调自爱而无人解听，正是知音难觅。这些意象，或写泠泠、或写七丝、或写松风寒、或写古调，皆围绕听琴与知音这一核心，织成一张清冷的情网，正是咏琴诗「借琴写怀」的特点。

Commentary

Critics have long prized the couplet 'The ancient tune I love, though few today will play it' as the quintessential Tang lament for unappreciated worth. The first couplet glorifies the music; the second turns on the word 'though': it is not that the music fails, but that the age has stopped listening. The 'old tune' is at once the ancient repertory and the poet's own classical integrity; the moderns who will not play it are a world without Bo Ya. Liu Changqing, twice exiled and long confined to provincial posts, is the neglected tune incarnate. Because no word of complaint is spoken, the sorrow is all the deeper — a model of the restrained, resonant style that earned him his 'Great Wall' epithet.

读此诗，最值得注意的是「古调虽自爱，今人多不弹」所写出的「知音难觅」。前两句写听琴：「泠泠七丝上，静听松风寒」——那七弦琴声，泠泠清越，如松风之寒，写尽了琴声之美。然而后两句忽然一转，「古调虽自爱，今人多不弹」——那古调，虽是我所爱，今人却多不弹。这一转，是全诗的关键：不是琴声不美，而是古调无人听。那「古调」，是雅正的古曲，是《高山》《流水》的雅音，是伯牙子期的知音之曲；而「今人」却「多不弹」，正是知音难觅的感慨。这「古调自爱，今人不弹」，正是刘长卿怀才不遇的自况：那古调，是刘长卿的诗文与才学，是雅正而不合时宜的才情；那「今人不弹」，正是「世无伯乐」的慨叹——诗人两遭贬谪，仕途坎坷，正如那自爱的古调，无人赏识。全诗无一字写「怀才不遇」，而「古调虽自爱，今人多不弹」的感慨，正是怀才不遇的深衷——那自爱的古调，那不弹的今人，正是才士与世俗的对照。这种「借琴写怀」的含蓄，正是咏琴诗的特点，也是刘长卿「五言长城」含蓄深沉的风格。那「泠泠」的琴声，那「松风」的清寒，那「自爱」的古调，那「不弹」的今人，写尽了一个孤高才士的知音之叹。

Prosody

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