唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
闻雁
Hearing the Wild Geese
故园眇何处，归思方悠哉。
淮南秋雨夜，高斋闻雁来。
my longing to return grows long.
South of the Huai, an autumn-rain night—
in the high study I hear the wild geese come.
Meaning
My home is far away—where in the world is it? My longing to return is grown long and unbroken. On an autumn-rain night south of the Huai, in my high study I hear the cry of the wild geese passing.
故乡遥远，究竟在何处呢？归乡的思绪正如秋雨般绵绵不绝。淮南的秋雨之夜，我独坐在高斋之中，忽然听到长空大雁南飞的鸣声，乡愁于是更浓了。
Appreciation
The poem writes deep feeling in pale words, its structure spare yet its meaning long. The first two lines, 'Where is my far-off home? my longing to return grows long', speak straight from the heart; 'far-off' writes the home too distant to be seen, 'grows long' writes the longing unbroken, the feeling gentle and turning. The last two, 'South of the Huai, an autumn-rain night; in the high study I hear the wild geese come', turn to scene, stacking the images of autumn rain, a cold night, a lone study, the geese's cry, ending feeling in scene, dissolving endless homesickness into a clear, sad realm—implicit and lasting, taking the plain manner of Wang and Meng.
【白话串讲】 “故园眇何处，归思方悠哉”——韦应物问：故乡在哪里？“淮南秋雨夜，高斋闻雁来”——淮南秋雨的夜里，他听见大雁南飞的叫声。大雁能回南方，他却回不了家。 【意象与手法】 此诗以淡语写浓情，章法简净而意味深长。前两句「故园眇何处」「归思方悠哉」直抒胸臆，以「眇」字写故园渺茫难寻，以「悠哉」写归思绵绵无绝；后两句「淮南秋雨夜」「高斋闻雁来」转而写景，秋雨、寒夜、孤斋、雁声诸意象叠加，以景结情，将无尽乡思溶于凄清之境，含蓄隽永，深得王孟清淡之风。 【情感与主旨】 《闻雁》作于韦应物出任滁州刺史之时，滁州在唐属淮南道，诗中「淮南」即指此地。诗人少年以三卫郎事玄宗，历经仕途浮沉，中年出守滁州，独处异乡。某个秋雨连绵之夜，他独在高斋，忽闻长空雁唳，故乡之思与身世之感一时涌起，遂成此章。诗虽短小，却凝聚了宦游士子共同的羁旅情怀。 【名句点睛】 中高考常考「闻雁」意象的作用与以景结情的手法：全诗以「闻雁」为题，雁字虽后出，而前两句已为乡思蓄势，末句「高斋闻雁来」如画龙点睛，将无形乡愁托于一声雁唳，声尽而意不尽。
Background
'Hearing the Wild Geese' was written when Wei Yingwu was prefect of Chuzhou. Chuzhou in the Tang belonged to the Huai-nan circuit, and 'south of the Huai' in the poem means this place. The poet served as a guard of the heir in his youth under Xuanzong, then went through the ups and downs of office; in middle age he went out to govern Chuzhou and dwelt alone in a strange land. On a night of unbroken autumn rain, alone in his high study, he suddenly heard the geese cry across the vast sky, and his thought of home and his sense of his own fate rose at once, and this piece was made. Short as it is, it gathers the common lodger's feeling of every official away from home.
《闻雁》作于韦应物出任滁州刺史之时。韦应物（约737—约792），京兆长安人，出身关中望族，少年以三卫郎事唐玄宗，亲历开元天宝盛世，安史之乱后折节读书，历任洛阳丞、京兆府功曹等职，贞元初出为滁州刺史。滁州在唐属淮南道，诗中「淮南」正指此地。诗人于宦游途中屡有去国怀乡之叹，此诗写某个秋雨连绵之夜独坐高斋、忽闻雁唳的情境。德宗贞元年间藩镇跋扈、时局动荡，韦应物身为外任刺史，身在江湖而心系京华，「故园」既是地理上的长安，亦隐喻其失落的少年时光与庙堂旧梦。诗中「高斋」为刺史官舍，可见其独处官斋、夜闻雁声之实景。韦应物诗风以高雅闲淡著称，五言尤工，此绝即其滁州时期冲淡诗风的代表，与《滁州西涧》同出守郡时，合观可见其心境与怀抱。韦应物自述「身多疾病思田里，邑有流亡愧俸钱」，其为政之忧与去国之思常相表里，此诗中的归思正是此种情怀的浓缩；二十字中既有刺史的矜持，又有游子的怅惘，短短四句而包蕴一生的浮沉，故读此诗不可仅作一般乡愁看。
Art
The poem writes deep feeling in pale words, its structure spare yet its meaning long. The first two lines, 'Where is my far-off home? my longing to return grows long', speak straight from the heart; 'far-off' writes the home too distant to be seen, 'grows long' writes the longing unbroken, the feeling gentle and turning. The last two, 'South of the Huai, an autumn-rain night; in the high study I hear the wild geese come', turn to scene, stacking the images of autumn rain, a cold night, a lone study, the geese's cry, ending feeling in scene, dissolving endless homesickness into a clear, sad realm—implicit and lasting, taking the plain manner of Wang and Meng.
此诗二十字而章法极简：前两句直抒胸臆，后两句以景结情，由情入景、景中藏情，浑然一体。首句「故园眇何处」以「眇」字写故园之遥不可见，一个疑问句将怅望的目光投向远方；次句「归思方悠哉」以「悠哉」二字直写归思之绵长，「方」字暗示愁绪正当时、绵绵无绝。第三句「淮南秋雨夜」连用三个名词叠加时地节候，无一动词而秋夜之凄清自出；末句「高斋闻雁来」以「闻」字由内转外，将前文直抒的愁绪落实于一声雁唳，声尽而意不尽。全诗最妙在以景结情：不言思乡而乡思自浓，雁声既来，愁亦随之弥漫空际。语言冲淡平易，不事雕琢，而「眇」「方」「闻」数字虚处传神，深得陶渊明、王维一派清淡含蓄之旨，所谓淡语皆有味、浅语皆有致者也。尤须注意者，全诗四句皆不见「愁」字，而愁情无处不在：问故园是愁，思归是愁，秋雨是愁，雁声更是愁，诗人把主观的情思层层化入客观的景物，令读者自于景物中领受其愁，这正是王国维所谓「一切景语皆情语」的绝佳注脚，亦为韦诗冲淡含蓄一格的根柢所在。
Allusions
The 'wild goose' in the poem carries on the traditional image of 'a letter by the wild-goose foot' in classical Chinese poetry. The 'Basic Annals of Han' (in the 'Biography of Su Wu') tells of the wild goose carrying a letter tied to its foot, and later ages took the wild goose as the symbol of home-thought and of messages. Wei Yingwu here does not write of sending a letter, but of 'hearing the wild geese come'—the goose flying south touches his longing to return; he transforms the familiar allusion without a trace, exactly the master's hand. Also, 'high study' is the prefect's own calling of his official lodging, showing his station. Thus Wei's use of allusion lies in dissolving it, with no carving, and his learning shows through the plain.
诗中「雁」承中国古典诗歌雁足传书的传统意象。《汉书·苏武传》载苏武牧羊北海，汉使诈言天子射雁得帛书，苏武方得归汉，后世遂以雁为思乡、传信之象征。韦应物于此不写寄书，而写「闻雁来」，以雁之南飞触动归思，化用熟典而了无痕迹，正见大家手段。「高斋」为刺史官舍之称，亦见作者身份；「淮南」本为汉封国名，此处兼指滁州所属之道，亦含远离京洛之意。秋雨、寒夜、孤斋、雁声诸意象叠加，皆承悲秋传统——宋玉《九辩》「悲哉秋之为气也」开悲秋之端，江淹《别赋》以秋写别，韦诗以秋雨夜闻雁写羁旅之思，古意流注而不露。可知韦诗用典贵在融化，不事堆垛，于平淡中见学养，这正是其高出一般士大夫诗之处。另须指出，诗中「秋雨」亦是传统兴象，《诗经》「风雨凄凄，鸡鸣喈喈」已开以风雨写怀人之端，后世「巴山夜雨涨秋池」更以雨夜写羁旅之思，韦诗将秋雨、孤斋、雁声并置，正是对这一意象谱系的自觉承继，取其凄清而不取其激烈，温厚和平，深得风人之旨。
Commentary
Shen Deqian of the Qing, in his 'Tang Poems Selected', says of Wei's poems that 'his five-character ancient form comes from Tao Yuanming and enters the manner of Wang and Meng'; short as this quatrain is, it is pale and yet flavourful. Recent critics say the two lines of 'home' are direct yet can turn, and the two lines of 'south of the Huai' hide feeling in scene, and rank it among the finest of Tang poems of homesickness. Liu Chenweng of the Song also praised its 'inexhaustible implication', holding it the best of Tang homesickness poems. Its untroubled air may stand with Tao Yuanming and Meng Haoran.
清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》谓韦诗「五言古体，源出陶潜，而入于王孟」，此绝虽短，淡而有味。宋人刘辰翁评其「含蓄不尽」，以为唐人思乡之作以此为最。近人俞陛云《诗境浅说》亦赏其以淡语写深情之致。全诗二十字，前二句直而能曲，后二句景中藏情，为唐人思乡小诗中的逸品。韦应物与王维、孟浩然同属山水田园诗派，然其诗于王孟之清空外多一份仕宦之慨与身世之悲，此诗即其代表。白居易尝谓「韦苏州诗，高雅闲淡，自成一家之体」，其闲淡非无情，乃情至深处反以淡语出之。后世写秋夜闻雁者代不乏人，而此诗以二十字立格，语言愈淡、情味愈永，可见其艺术生命力。后世论唐人绝句，多推王昌龄、李白之雄浑高华，而韦应物一路冲淡含蓄，自成一格，恰与李、王鼎足而三；中唐诗人如刘长卿「风雪夜归人」之句，亦与此诗同一机杼，皆以景结情、以淡写浓。此诗今日仍入选多种教材选本，其艺术生命历千载而不衰，正证平淡之中自有至味，诚为唐音中不可多得之逸品。
Prosody
Line by line
故园眇何处
Where is my far-off home?
故乡遥远渺茫，究竟在何处呢？
My old home lies faint and far - where, after all, is it?
「眇」即遥远、渺茫之意，本义为远望而不甚分明，此处写故园之遥不可及、不可辨识，一字即把全诗的怅惘目光投向远方，起笔便笼罩乡愁。句末用疑问语气而不待回答，正见乡思之茫然无着——不是不知道故乡所在，而是明知其远而不可归，一问之中含无尽无奈。此句以「故园」领起，点出思之对象，与次句「归思」相承，一问一答之间，情致婉转，为后文闻雁蓄足声势。
Faint means remote, barely discernible - looking far yet indistinct; here it writes the old home's unreachability, one word casting the poem's wistful gaze to the distance, homesickness brooding from the first stroke. The closing uses a question expecting no answer, precisely showing the aimless homesickness: not that he does not know where home is, but that he knows it is far beyond return; one question holds endless helplessness. The line leads with old home, naming the object of longing, continuing the next line's longing to return; between question and answer the feeling winds, storing full momentum for hearing the geese below.
归思方悠哉
my longing to return grows long.
归乡的思绪正绵绵不绝。
The longing to return stretches on and on.
「悠哉」本为《诗经·关雎》「悠哉悠哉，辗转反侧」之语，写思念之深长，此处移写归思，既见其绵长不绝，又带一种无可奈何的悠悠之态。「方」字是句眼，意谓正当此时、正在持续，暗示归思非一日之念，而是积久弥深，此刻恰逢其会。二句直抒胸臆而不用典实，语极平易，情极深挚，与后二句之景语相配，一虚一实、一情一景，正是五绝以少总多的章法。
Stretches on and on comes from the Book of Songs's leisurely, leisurely, tossing and turning - writing longing's depth; here transferred to the wish to return, showing its unending stretch and a helpless, drifting quality. Now is the eye of the line: just now, ongoing, implying the longing is not a day's thought but deepened over time, happening now. The two lines speak the heart directly without allusion, plain words, deep feeling; paired with the scenery of the last two lines, one void one solid, one feeling one scenery - the five-character quatrain's method of grasping the many through the few.
淮南秋雨夜
South of the Huai, an autumn-rain night;
淮南的秋雨之夜。
A night of autumn rain on the Huai south,
此句纯以名词叠加成句，无一动词，而时、地、节候、氛围俱全——淮南点地，秋点季节，雨点天气，夜点时刻，四个名词如四个镜头叠加，织成一片凄清冷寂的底色。秋雨连绵，夜气侵人，正是愁思最易滋生的环境，诗人为归思提供了最相宜的舞台。在章法上，此句由前二句之情语转入景语，是承转的关键；在声律上，五字读来低沉舒缓，与秋夜之静穆相谐，为末句雁声的出现作了静寂的铺垫。
This line is pure noun stacking, not one verb, yet time, place, season, atmosphere all complete: Huai south names place, autumn season, rain weather, night hour - four nouns like four camera shots woven into a desolate, cold ground. Autumn rain unending, night chill penetrating - precisely the environment where longing breeds easiest; the poet gives the homesickness its fitting stage. Structurally the line turns from the feeling words of the first two to scenery, the key pivot; in sound, five characters read low and slow, harmonizing with the autumn night's stillness, preparing the silence for the goose's cry in the closing line.
高斋闻雁来
in the high study I hear the wild geese come.
在高斋之中，听到大雁南飞的鸣声。
in my high lodge I hear the wild geese coming.
「高斋」即刺史官舍，点明作者身份与独处之境；「闻雁来」以听觉收束全诗，雁声自长空传来，由远而近，划破秋雨夜的寂静，也划破诗人强自按捺的乡思。雁能南归而人不得归，人不如雁的对照含蓄地含在「闻」字之中。此句以景结情，不言愁而愁自弥漫，与前三句层层递进，最终将无形的乡思落实于一声雁唳，声尽而意不尽，正是所谓结句当如撞钟、清音有余，为唐人思乡绝句中的典范收束。
High lodge means the prefect's office, fixing the author's rank and solitude; hears the wild geese coming closes the poem in hearing - the goose cry from the vast sky, far to near, splitting the autumn-rain night's silence, and splitting the poet's forcibly suppressed homesickness. Geese can return south, man cannot return - the contrast man less than geese is reserved within hears. The line closes feeling in scenery: no word of grief, yet grief spreading; layered with the first three lines, the formless homesickness at last landing on one goose cry, sound ended, meaning unspent - precisely the saying the closing should be like striking a bell, clear sound lingering, the model close of Tang homesickness quatrains.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both written during his Chuzhou post; 'West Stream' writes the 'wild ferry with no one' in its seclusion, this poem writes the homesick thought of hearing the wild geese in autumn rain—both pale, far, leisurely and still, each with its own bent.
《滁州西涧》与《闻雁》皆作于韦应物任滁州刺史期间，同写滁州风物，而一写春景、一写秋夜。西涧「春潮带雨晚来急，野渡无人舟自横」以无人野渡写闲静中的幽独，笔致疏朗；此诗「淮南秋雨夜，高斋闻雁来」以秋雨雁声写孤斋中的乡思，情调凄清。二诗合观，可见韦应物守郡时期的心境：既有对山水闲趣的流连，又有去国怀乡的惆怅，一疏一密、一闲一愁，皆以淡笔出之，正见其高雅闲淡诗风的丰富层次。
静夜思 Quiet Night Thoughts 李白 · 同写思乡主题·唐人思乡诗直曲二法 Same (theme of homesickness)Li Bai's 'I bow my head and think of my home' is direct; Wei's 'I hear the wild geese come' is implicit—they may be compared for the direct and indirect methods of Tang homesickness poems.
李白《静夜思》「举头望明月，低头思故乡」与韦应物《闻雁》同为唐人思乡绝句的典范，而手法迥异：李白由景入情、直抒胸臆，「低头思故乡」五字将乡思和盘托出，明白如话，如脱口而出；韦诗则前二句直抒、后二句以景结情，将乡思托于一声雁唳，含蓄不尽。一显一隐、一明快一绵长，恰代表唐人思乡诗的两种极致。李白之思因月而起，明净爽朗；韦诗之思因雁而发，凄清绵长。同是二十字，同写一夕乡愁，而面目各殊，正见盛唐大家与中唐雅士笔致之别，对读最能体会诗家直写与含蓄两派门径。
塞上听吹笛 Hearing a Flute at the Frontier 高适 · 同以乐声、鸟声起兴写乡思 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
高适《塞上听吹笛》「借问梅花何处落，风吹一夜满关山」与韦诗同以「声」为触媒写乡思：高诗闻羌笛《梅花落》之曲，化听觉为视觉，以落花满关山的虚景写乡思弥漫；韦诗闻雁唳之声，以秋雨孤斋的实景托乡愁绵长。二诗皆以声音结穴，而一在边塞月下、一在淮南秋雨，一壮阔一凄清，一以虚景写情、一以实景衬情，可见盛唐边塞诗与中唐宦游诗在同样题材上的不同面目，亦见以声写愁一法在唐诗中的普遍运用。