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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

闲游

A Leisurely Outing

李商隐

Li Shangyin

危亭题竹粉，曲沼嗅荷花。
数日同携酒，平明不在家。
寻幽殊未极，得句总堪夸。
强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞。

On the towering pavilion I write verses on bamboo-white plaster,
by the winding pond I stoop to smell the lotus flowers.
For days now we have wandered with wine in hand,
out at daybreak and never at home.
Seeking out hidden glades, I have never had my fill;
any line I compose is always worth the praise.
At last I force myself down from the western tower —
the western tower leaning against the evening glow.
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Meaning

A rare, sunlit poem from Li Shangyin: days spent wandering with wine, writing on pavilion walls, smelling lotus by a winding pond, hunting for quiet places, and boasting of every good line. Only the last couplet darkens — he drags himself reluctantly from the western tower, which stands bathed in sunset — as if the day's leisure were already shadowed by reluctance.

危亭题竹粉，曲沼嗅荷花。数日同携酒，平明不在家。寻幽殊未极，得句总堪夸。强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The poet inscribes verses on the white plaster of a high pavilion, smells lotus by a winding pond, wanders for days with wine, leaves at dawn and never stays home, seeks seclusion without ever exhausting it, and praises every line he writes. Then, reluctantly, he descends the western tower into the evening glow. [Structure] The first three couplets are pure bright motion — write, smell, carry wine, seek, compose — each couplet a complete little scene, building a rhythm of leisure. [Imagery] The final couplet breaks the pattern: 'forcing myself down' and 'the western tower resting against evening mist' repeat the tower like a reluctant echo, and the day's brightness folds into dusk. [Mood] The poem is often read as Li Shangyin's rare holiday from his usual gloom — though even the holiday ends in a sunset.

【白话串讲】 李商隐写《闲游》：“危亭题竹粉，曲沼嗅荷花”——“数日同携酒，平明不在家”——“寻幽殊未极，得句总堪夸”——“强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞”——他写闲游——西楼倚暮霞。 【意象与手法】 “危亭题竹粉、曲沼嗅荷花”写危亭曲沼；“数日同携酒、平明不在家”写携酒闲游；“寻幽殊未极、得句总堪夸”写寻幽得句；结以“强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞”写西楼倚暮霞。清新闲适。 【情感与主旨】 李商隐写闲游之作，写危亭题竹粉、曲沼嗅荷花与西楼倚暮霞的闲适之趣，是李商隐诗中少见的清新小品。 【名句点睛】 常考“危亭题竹粉，曲沼嗅荷花”写闲游之景；“强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞”写西楼倚暮霞。

Background

Li Shangyin (c. 813–858) is best known for dense, melancholy, allusive verse, but his corpus also contains lighter, fresher pieces like this five-character regulated verse on idle wandering. Written in the mature regulated form of the mid-to-late Tang, the poem records a day, or days, of leisure — wine, writing, flowers, the hunt for quiet corners — a mood almost unique in his work, where the usual tones are parting, frustration, and unspoken grievance.

《闲游》为唐代诗人李商隐所作诗。李商隐（约813—约858），字义山，号玉溪生，又号樊南生，怀州河内（今河南沁阳）人，晚唐诗人。此诗写景闲适，为闲游之作。诗中「危亭题竹粉，曲沼嗅荷花」写危亭题竹粉，曲沼嗅荷花；「数日同携酒，平明不在家」写数日同携酒，平明不在家；「寻幽殊未极，得句总堪夸」写寻幽殊未极，得句总堪夸；「强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞」写强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞。李商隐此诗以写景闲适、西楼倚暮霞写其闲适之情，清新闲适，是李商隐诗中的名篇。此篇《闲游》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《闲游》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。

Art

The poem's art lies in its bright, flat surfaces and one hidden turn. Eight lines, eight verbs — inscribe, smell, carry, go out, seek, compose, force down, lean — keep the poem in constant, light motion, like a day that refuses to stop. The middle couplets pair neatly (wine and dawn, seclusion and verses) in the regulated manner, but the diction stays plain: no allusion, no ornament, almost no color except the white plaster, the lotus, the evening glow. The closing couplet is the poem's small masterpiece: 'I force myself down from the western tower — the western tower leaning against the evening glow' repeats 'western tower' so that building and sunset seem to hold the speaker back; reluctance itself becomes the picture.

此诗艺术上以「清新闲适、以游写情」见长。全诗共八句四联，由危亭题竹粉而数日同携酒而寻幽殊未极。起「危亭题竹粉，曲沼嗅荷花」写危亭题竹粉：危亭题竹粉，曲沼嗅荷花；「数日同携酒，平明不在家」写数日同携酒：数日同携酒，平明不在家；「寻幽殊未极，得句总堪夸」写寻幽殊未极：寻幽殊未极，得句总堪夸；结「强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞」写西楼倚暮霞：强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞。全诗以游写情，由危亭题竹粉而西楼倚暮霞，清新闲适，是李商隐诗中的名篇。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。

Allusions

The poem is nearly allusion-free, unusual for Li Shangyin; only 'western tower' (xilou) carries a faint charge, since in Tang poetry the western tower is a conventional place of parting and of watching for absent figures — here it becomes the place one does not want to leave. 'Bamboo-white' (zhufen) refers to the white plaster made with bamboo fiber used on walls and pavilion surfaces — the literal surface on which idle verses are scribbled.

诗中「危亭题竹粉曲沼嗅荷花」「数日同携酒平明不在家」「寻幽殊未极得句总堪夸」「强下西楼去西楼倚暮霞」等语，皆含典故故实。「危亭题竹粉曲沼嗅荷花」写危亭题竹粉曲沼嗅荷花；「数日同携酒平明不在家」写数日同携酒平明不在家；「寻幽殊未极得句总堪夸」写寻幽殊未极得句总堪夸；「强下西楼去西楼倚暮霞」用西楼之典（西楼写暮色），写强下西楼去西楼倚暮霞。诗人以西楼之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把写景闲适之情写得真切可感，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。

Commentary

Critics value this poem as evidence of Li Shangyin's range: the poet of 'the spring silkworm spins till the end of its silk' can also write 'any line I compose is always worth the praise' with a light, almost boyish vanity. The closing couplet — 'forcing myself down from the western tower, the tower leaning against the evening glow' — is often singled out for its delicate repetition, which turns reluctance into scenery. Read alongside his 'Untitled' poems, it shows that Li Shangyin's melancholy was a choice of subject, not a limit of talent: when he chooses leisure, his brush is just as exact.

这首《闲游》，是李商隐写写景闲适之作，写危亭题竹粉、数日同携酒、寻幽殊未极、西楼倚暮霞之情，清新闲适。起「危亭题竹粉，曲沼嗅荷花」——危亭题竹粉，曲沼嗅荷花。写危亭题竹粉：危亭题竹粉、曲沼嗅荷花——题竹粉、嗅荷花；「数日同携酒，平明不在家」——数日同携酒，平明不在家。写数日同携酒：数日同携酒、平明不在家——同携酒、不在家；「寻幽殊未极，得句总堪夸」——寻幽殊未极，得句总堪夸。写寻幽殊未极：寻幽殊未极、得句总堪夸——未极、堪夸；结「强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞」——强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞。写西楼倚暮霞：强下西楼去、西楼倚暮霞——下西楼、倚暮霞。这「强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞」，是全诗之结：以西楼倚暮霞写其闲适。全诗清新闲适，以游写情，正是李商隐诗中的名篇。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。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse (wuyan lü), eight lines in four couplets诗（五言律诗）
Rhyme It rhymes in the level-tone ma group: hua, jia, kua, xia — one rhyme throughout, bright and open, matching the poem's clear, leisurely air.此诗为五言律诗，共八句四联。押韵：「花」「家」「夸」「霞」押麻部韵。首联起、颔联承、颈联转、尾联合，平仄相间，正与写写景闲适的清新闲适相称，也见其以五律写闲游的工稳。
Tone pattern The couplets follow regulated-verse parallelism: 'towering pavilion' answers 'winding pond', 'several days' answers 'at dawn', 'seeking hidden glades' answers 'every line composed', each matched in syntax and parts of speech. Within the strict form the lines are plain and speech-like, the tonal alternation unobtrusive; the rhythm strolls rather than marches.句式上，「危亭题竹粉，曲沼嗅荷花」写危亭题竹粉，音节清新；「数日同携酒，平明不在家」写数日同携酒，音节闲适；「寻幽殊未极，得句总堪夸」写寻幽殊未极，音节轻快；结「强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞」写西楼倚暮霞，音节悠长。全诗音节随情起伏，由清新而闲适、由轻快而悠长，正合五律「工稳」之妙，读来如写景闲适、西楼倚暮霞之音，清新而动人。
Reading note The regulated form's regularity is here an asset: four even couplets behave like four panels of a day — writing, wine, wandering, dusk. The prosodic interest lies in the last couplet, where the repeated phrase 'western tower' breaks the even parallelism open: the second line answers the first with the same two characters, so the meter seems to pause and look back, converting the form's neat closure into the reluctance of someone who does not want to go home.此诗为五言律诗，是李商隐写写景闲适之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「清新闲适、以游写情」：「危亭题竹粉，曲沼嗅荷花」写危亭题竹粉、「数日同携酒，平明不在家」写数日同携酒、「寻幽殊未极，得句总堪夸」写寻幽殊未极、「强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞」写西楼倚暮霞。全诗清新闲适，以游写情。尤为精妙者，是「危亭题竹粉」写尽题竹粉；而「西楼倚暮霞」用西楼之典，正是李商隐诗「清新闲适」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《闲游》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

危亭题竹粉，曲沼嗅荷花。

On the towering pavilion I write verses on bamboo-white plaster; by the winding pond I stoop to smell the lotus flowers.

危亭题竹粉，曲沼嗅荷花。

On the high pavilion I inscribed the bamboo's new powder; by the winding pond I breathed the lotus scent.

起句写危亭题竹粉，起笔即见其亭。「危亭题竹粉」写危亭题竹粉，「危亭」写危亭、「题竹粉」写题竹粉；「曲沼嗅荷花」写曲沼嗅荷花，「曲沼」写曲沼、「嗅荷花」写嗅荷花。一句写危亭题竹粉曲沼嗅荷花，以危亭题竹粉写题竹粉、以曲沼嗅荷花写嗅荷花，写尽危亭题竹粉、曲沼嗅荷花之情。以亭起兴，清新而闲适，是「以亭起兴」的妙笔。

The opening writes inscribing bamboo on the high pavilion, the pavilion named at the first stroke. On the high pavilion I inscribed the bamboo's new powder: the high pavilion, inscribing on fresh bamboo. By the winding pond I breathed the lotus scent: the curving pond, smelling lotuses. One line writes the pavilion and the pond, the leisurely outing set off at once. The line opens with the pavilion as bi-xing, fresh and unhurried - the poem's idle outing begins with these two refined pleasures, inscribing and breathing, preparing the days of wine below.

数日同携酒，平明不在家。

For days now we have wandered with wine in hand, out at daybreak and never at home.

数日同携酒，平明不在家。

For days we carried wine together; by dawn, I was already from home.

此句写数日同携酒，是全诗写携酒之态的关键。「数日同携酒」写数日同携酒，「数日同」写数日同、「携酒」写携酒；「平明不在家」写平明不在家，「平明」写平明、「不在家」写不在家。一句写数日同携酒平明不在家，以数日同携酒写同携酒、以平明不在家写不在家，写尽数日同携酒、平明不在家之情。以酒写游，清新而闲适，是「以酒写游」的点睛之笔。

This line writes days of carrying wine together, the key to the poem's wandering. For days we carried wine together: several days sharing wine. By dawn, I was already from home: leaving home at first light. One line writes the days of shared wine and the dawn departures - the idle wanderer's life. The line uses wine to write the outing, fresh and unhurried: days of wine, dawn absences, the leisurely rhythm of a man who has nowhere to be.

寻幽殊未极，得句总堪夸。

Seeking out hidden glades, I have never had my fill; any line I compose is always worth the praise.

寻幽殊未极，得句总堪夸。

Seeking the quiet, I have hardly reached the end; the lines I find are always worth boasting of.

此句写寻幽殊未极，是全诗写寻幽之态的关键。「寻幽殊未极」写寻幽殊未极，「寻幽」写寻幽、「殊未极」写殊未极；「得句总堪夸」写得句总堪夸，「得句」写得句、「总堪夸」写总堪夸。一句写寻幽殊未极得句总堪夸，以寻幽殊未极写未极、以得句总堪夸写堪夸，写尽寻幽殊未极、得句总堪夸之情。以幽写游，清新而闲适，是「以幽写游」的点睛之笔。

This line writes seeking the quiet not yet at an end, the key to the poem's exploration. Seeking the quiet, I have hardly reached the end: searching out secluded spots, still far from sated. The lines I find are always worth boasting of: the verses caught along the way, always worth pride. One line writes the unending search and the lines worth praise - the poet's wanderlust. The line uses the secluded to write the outing, fresh and unhurried: the search never ending, the lines always coming, the making of poetry on the road.

强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞。

At last I force myself down from the western tower — the western tower leaning against the evening glow.

强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞。

I forced myself down from the west pavilion; the west pavilion leans against the evening glow.

结句写强下西楼去，是全诗立意的落点。「强下西楼去」用西楼之典写强下西楼去，「强下西楼」写强下西楼、「去」写去；「西楼倚暮霞」写西楼倚暮霞，「西楼倚」写西楼倚、「暮霞」写暮霞。一句写强下西楼去西楼倚暮霞，以强下西楼去写下西楼、以西楼倚暮霞写倚暮霞，写尽强下西楼去、西楼倚暮霞之情。以霞写情，清新而闲适，是全诗最动人处，也是「以霞写情」的点睛之笔。

The closing writes forcing himself down from the west pavilion, the poem's landing. I forced myself down from the west pavilion: reluctantly leaving the west pavilion. The west pavilion leans against the evening glow: the pavilion resting on the sunset clouds. One line writes the reluctant descent and the pavilion in the glow - the outing's end. The line uses the glow to write feeling, fresh and unhurried: forced away from the pavilion, yet the pavilion stays in the evening clouds, the day's wandering closing on a lingering image.

Study

Word focus

危亭 The towering pavilion — 'wei' (high, perilous) gives the structure a dizzy height; its white plaster wall becomes the poet's notebook, the first sign of the day's idle creativity. 「危亭」写危亭题竹粉，是写危亭之态的关键。「危亭题竹粉」着一「危亭」，写危亭——着一「危亭」，写危亭题竹粉，见其亭之危。两字写尽危亭之态，是「以词写亭」的妙笔。「危亭」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。
曲沼 The winding pond — a curved garden pool, its bend hiding the lotus the poet stoops to smell; the word's curves and the 'smelling' verb make the couplet a posture of unhurried attention. 「曲沼」写曲沼嗅荷花，是写曲沼之态的关键。「曲沼嗅荷花」着一「曲沼」，写曲沼——着一「曲沼」，写曲沼嗅荷花，见其沼之曲。两字写尽曲沼之态，是「以词写沼」的点睛之词。「曲沼」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。
平明 At daybreak — the hour of departure; combined with 'not at home', it shows the poet's wandering is total: he leaves before dawn and never returns, days dissolved into leisure. 「平明」写平明不在家，是写平明之态的关键。「数日同携酒平明不在家」着一「平明」，写平明——着一「平明」，写平明不在家，见其明之平。两字写尽平明之态，是「以词写明」的点睛之词。「平明」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。
暮霞 Evening glow — the sunset mist against which the western tower 'leans'; the day's last image, turning brightness into the reluctant close of the outing. 「暮霞」写西楼倚暮霞，是写暮霞之态的关键。「西楼倚暮霞」着一「暮霞」，写暮霞——着一「暮霞」，写西楼倚暮霞，见其霞之暮。两字写尽暮霞之态，是「以词写霞」的点睛之词。「暮霞」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。

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水调歌头·明月几时有 Prelude to Water Melody ('Bright moon, when will you be?') 苏轼 · 同写闲游感怀、清新旷达，一写我欲乘风归去、一写寻幽殊未极得句总堪夸，皆于闲游之中见清新 Both write of wandering and release — Su Shi's moonlit philosophy of consolation, Li Shangyin's light-footed day of leisure.

Su Shi's 'I long to ride the wind and return, yet fear the jade towers, too cold at that height' turns roaming into cosmic deliberation; Li Shangyin's 'seeking hidden glades, never having my fill' keeps roaming at ground level — ponds, pavilions, wine. One is Mid-Autumn metaphysics, the other a garden stroll; both show the Chinese lyric's ability to make freedom out of small permissions.

苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「我欲乘风归去，又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒」，写闲游感怀、清新旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；李商隐《闲游》则以「寻幽殊未极，得句总堪夸」「强下西楼去，西楼倚暮霞」写未极、倚暮霞。两诗同写闲游感怀、清新旷达：一写我欲乘风归去、以乘风写超然，一写寻幽殊未极得句总堪夸、以寻幽写闲游；一为苏轼之旷达、一为李商隐之清新，并读正可见诗写「闲游感怀」的两种笔法，皆于闲游之中见清新。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Eight Beats of Ganzhou Song ('Facing the pattering evening rain on the river sky') 柳永 · 同写游赏凝望、清新清丽，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写危亭题竹粉曲沼嗅荷花，皆于游赏之中见凝望 Both end in an evening gaze — Liu Yong's traveler longing for home, Li Shangyin's idler unwilling to leave.

Liu Yong's 'I watch the red blossoms fade in the distance, remembering another land where I returned' turns evening into homesickness; Li Shangyin's 'the western tower leaning against the evening glow' turns the same hour into reluctance to part from pleasure. One evening is a wound, the other a held breath — the same dusk felt by two kinds of wanderer.

柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「对潇潇暮雨洒江天，一番洗清秋」，写游赏凝望、清新清丽，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；李商隐《闲游》则以「危亭题竹粉，曲沼嗅荷花」「数日同携酒，平明不在家」写嗅荷花、同携酒。两诗同写游赏凝望、清新清丽：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写危亭题竹粉曲沼嗅荷花、以荷花写闲游；一为柳永之清丽、一为李商隐之清新，并读正可见诗写「游赏凝望」的两种笔法，皆于游赏之中见凝望。