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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

小寒食舟中作

Written on the Boat on the Day after Cold Food Festival

杜甫

Du Fu

漂泊Wandering 七言律诗Seven-character Regulated Verse 晚年Late Years 杜甫Du Fu

佳辰强饮食犹寒，隐几萧条戴鹖冠。
春水船如天上坐，老年花似雾中看。
娟娟戏蝶过闲幔，片片轻鸥下急湍。
云白山青万余里，愁看直北是长安。

On this fair day I force myself to eat, yet the food is still cold;
Leaning on my armrest, desolate, I wear a pheasant-feather cap.
On spring waters the boat seems to sit in the sky;
Aged, flowers appear as if seen through mist.
Graceful playful butterflies pass the idle curtain;
In flakes light gulls descend on the rushing torrent.
Clouds white, mountains green, ten thousand miles and more;
Sorrowfully I gaze straight north—there is Chang'an.

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Meaning

Written on the boat on the day after the Cold Food Festival, Du Fu describes his elderly, sickly, and wandering condition during the late spring. Forced to eat cold food on a festive day, he sits alone wearing a hermit's cap. From his boat he sees the vast spring water, flowers blurred by aging eyes, playful butterflies and light gulls, and then gazes northward toward Chang'an, the capital, with deep sorrow and longing for his homeland.

佳节里勉强进食，饮食仍带着寒意，倚着几案形容萧条，头戴鹖冠。春水溶溶，船仿佛在天上漂浮而坐，年迈之人看花如同隔着雾一般。翩翩戏蝶飞过闲垂的帷幕，片片轻鸥落在急流之上。云白山青绵延万余里，愁闷中遥望正北便是长安。

Appreciation

This poem, written in the spring of 770, the last year of Du Fu's life, while he was drifting in a boat near Tanzhou (modern Changsha), is a supreme example of his late regulated verse. The first couplet directly presents his frailty and loneliness; the middle couplets skillfully contrast the beauty of spring with his own decline; the final couplet expands to the vast landscape and fixes on the northward gaze toward Chang'an. The poet uses luminous scenes to express grief, creating a profound yet restrained melancholy. It is often ranked alongside 'Climbing High' and 'On the Tower of Yueyang' as one of Du Fu's three great late regulated verses.

【白话串讲】 “佳辰强饮食犹寒，隐几萧条戴鹖冠”——杜甫晚年在小寒食写：独自在船中。“春水船如天上坐，老年花似雾中看”——他的眼睛已花。“云白山青万余里，愁看直北是长安”——他望着北方的长安，那是他回不去的故乡。【意象与手法】中间两联以精工对仗铺展舟中所见，“春水船如天上坐、老年花似雾中看”以天上坐写春江之阔、雾中看写老眼昏花；“娟娟戏蝶、片片轻鸥”以细微飞动之景反衬静寂中之愁；尾联“云白山青万余里、愁看直北是长安”以万里山水收束于北望长安的故国之思。对仗严整而气脉流转。【情感与主旨】杜甫晚年漂泊潭州舟中所作，距离世仅数月，堪称绝笔前的沉郁之作。将老病、漂泊、春景、乡愁打成一片，与《登高》《登岳阳楼》并列为杜甫晚年律诗三绝。【名句点睛】常考“春水船如天上坐，老年花似雾中看”以天上坐雾中看写身世飘零；“愁看直北是长安”以北望长安写故国之思。

Background

Du Fu wrote this poem in the spring of 770, a few months before his death. He was then adrift in a boat on the Xiang River near Tanzhou, having failed to return to his homeland. The day after Hanshi (Cold Food Festival) was called 'Xiao Hanshi' when cooking fires were re-lit. On this festival meant for family gatherings, Du Fu, old and ill, could only force down cold food alone in his boat. The poem captures his physical decline, his wandering life, and his unshakable longing for the capital. It is a final statement of his lifelong loyalty to the state and his sorrow at being unable to serve it.

杜甫《小寒食舟中作》约作于大历五年（770）春，为其晚年漂泊潭州（今长沙）舟中所写，距诗人离世仅数月，堪称绝笔前的沉郁之作。时值寒食次日（小寒食），古人寒食禁火三日，次日方可举火，故称小寒食。杜甫此时老病孤舟，寓居舟中，逢节而不得归，强进寒食，首尾两联直写衰病与乡思。要读懂此诗，须把杜甫晚年的处境放在心上：他弃官入蜀、流转夔州，终因饥寒出峡，欲归洛阳而不得，漂泊至潭州，已是「亲朋无一字，老病有孤舟」的绝境。小寒食本该是家人团聚、扫墓踏青之日，他却独在舟中，春水虽好，身世已凉。这首诗写在生命尽头，把老、病、漂泊、春景、乡愁打成一片，是杜甫晚年七律「沉郁顿挫」风格的集中体现，亦是其「一饭未尝忘君」的最后的北望。这首诗写在杜甫生命的最后一段水路之上，潭州孤舟成了他漂泊生涯的终点，小寒食的冷食与春水的暖景，共同织成一种「身如浮萍、心系故国」的晚境图景。读懂此诗，不能只把它当作一首节令即景，更要看到一位行将就木的老诗人，如何在最后一叶扁舟上把家国之思写到极致。

Art

The artistry of this poem lies in its masterful use of contrasting imagery and strict parallelism. The opening couplet uses plain language to depict decay and isolation: 'force myself to eat' and 'food is still cold' convey both the festival custom and physical chill. The second couplet is the most celebrated: 'boat seems to sit in the sky' suggests the vastness of spring water and the lightness of the boat, while 'flowers appear as if seen through mist' describes aging eyes and also symbolizes the misty uncertainty of the era. The third couplet depicts delicate butterflies and gulls, their ease contrasting with the poet's restless heart. The final couplet, 'Clouds white, mountains green, ten thousand miles and more; / Sorrowfully I gaze straight north—there is Chang'an,' widens the view to the entire landscape and focuses on the one point of Chang'an, merging personal grief with national concern.

此诗艺术上最见杜甫晚年「老境」的从容与沉痛，善于以乐景写哀、以工对写愁。首联「佳辰强饮食犹寒，隐几萧条戴鹖冠」直写衰病：佳节里「强饮」，显出无味与勉强；食犹寒，既写寒食余习，也写身寒；隐几萧条、戴鹖冠，以隐士之冠写贬弃之身，潦倒而自持。颔联「春水船如天上坐，老年花似雾中看」是全篇最工之对：以「天上坐」写春江之阔与舟之轻，以「雾中看」写老眼之昏，景中寓身世飘零与生命朦胧之叹，一句乐一句哀，对仗中藏反差。颈联「娟娟戏蝶过闲幔，片片轻鸥下急湍」以细微飞动之景反衬静寂中之愁，蝶鸥之闲适愈显人之孤危。尾联「云白山青万余里，愁看直北是长安」以万里山水收束于北望长安的故国之思，境界开阔而悲情沉挚。全诗对仗严整而气脉流转，是杜律晚年绝唱。全诗的结构由身及景、由景及国，层层推开而气脉不断，是杜律晚年「沉郁顿挫」最凝练的示范。首尾两联直抒衰病与乡愁，中间两联却以极工之对写极丽之景，疏密之间见出老杜经营七律的匠心，看似平淡，实则有法度森严在焉。

Allusions

The poem contains several subtle allusions. 'Pheasant-feather cap' (鹖冠) refers to the cap worn by recluses, as recorded in the Han shu, suggesting Du Fu's self-image as a hermit-official in obscurity, still holding onto his integrity. 'Sit in the sky' recalls the image of riding a raft on the sea, evoking a sense of floating without roots. 'Looking north at Chang'an' alludes to the capital as the seat of the court and the lost homeland. These allusions are not learned displays but are perfectly integrated into the poet's personal situation, showing Du Fu's ability to transform classical references into living emotion.

诗中用事多用节令、服饰与地理之典，贵在切其老病漂泊之境。「小寒食」用寒食次日举火之俗，点出节令，亦暗含「禁火方过、寒意未消」的身世凉薄。「鹖冠」用《汉书》逸民戴鹖冠之典，鹖鸟好斗不死，冠之以示勇，汉末隐士好服；杜甫以「戴鹖冠」自况，既写其隐沦贬弃之状，也暗含不屈之骨——虽老病孤舟，仍是以鹖冠自守的士大夫。「天上坐」暗用《论语》「乘桴浮于海」及前人写舟居之语，以天上写舟之高阔；「雾中看」化用衰老目昏之实感，亦暗合古诗以雾喻前程朦胧的传统。「直北是长安」以长安代指朝廷与故国，直北即正北，写出虽在万里之外的潭州，心仍北向王畿。这些典故与地名，把个人的舟中之愁织进节令、隐逸与家国之思的网络里。诗中节令、服饰、地理诸典，看似随手，实则处处切合杜甫的处境：小寒食点出寒意未消的节俗，鹖冠暗喻贬弃中犹存骨气，直北长安则把个人舟中之愁织进家国之思的网络。这些典故不以繁密炫学，而以贴切见长，正合杜甫读书破万卷而又能化典入情的本色。

Commentary

This poem is celebrated as a perfect blend of personal decline and national crisis. The line 'old age sees flowers as if in mist' captures both physical blindness and the poet's confused vision of a troubled age. 'Sorrowfully I gaze straight north—there is Chang'an' ties his sick body to the fate of the dynasty. Written only months before his death, it contains no self-pity but only an unyielding northward gaze. Du Fu's power as a 'poet-historian' and 'saint of poetry' lies precisely in this stubborn loyalty. The poem reads as a final testament: from his lonely boat, he looks across ten thousand miles to the far-off capital, and the distance becomes the measure of his lifelong devotion.

此诗历来与《登高》《登岳阳楼》并列为杜甫晚年律诗三绝，是清代诗评所谓「老境」的典范。诗中「老年花似雾中看」既是实写目力衰退，亦暗喻诗人对乱世前景的朦胧忧惧；「愁看直北是长安」则将个人衰病与家国兴亡绾合，足见杜甫至死不忘君国的挚情。此诗与《登岳阳楼》同年之作，皆以衰年孤舟写天地悲怀，并为杜律晚年绝唱。近人论杜诗，多以「沉郁顿挫」概括其晚年七律，此诗正其标本：首联写身，中联写景，尾联写国，由小及大、由近及远，情与景、个人与时代浑然莫辨。它写于距卒仅数月，却无一字衰飒乞怜，只有北望的执拗，这正是杜甫之所以为「诗史」「诗圣」的底色。此诗之所以被推为晚年七律三绝之一，正在于它把个体的衰病与时代的离乱绾合得不着痕迹，读来哀而不伤、怨而不怒。后世注家多拈出「愁看直北是长安」为全篇之眼，以为此一「愁看」收尽前面所有乐景，是杜诗「以乐写哀」的最高明处。它写于距卒仅数月，却无一字乞怜，这份执拗的北望，正是诗圣之所以为诗圣的底色；千载之下读之，犹觉那叶孤舟上的白发与远方长安之间，横着整个大唐的秋意。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated verse (lüshi), with level-tone rhyme; a prime example of Du Fu's late style.七言律诗（平起首句入韵，杜甫晚年七律沉郁一体）

Rhyme Rhyme in the upper-level fourteenth rhyme group 寒 (hán): 寒, 冠, 看, 安. The four rhyme words sustain a clear, drawn-out sound, fitting the mood of wandering and distant longing; the 寒 rhyme itself carries a cool, somber quality.押上平十四寒韵：寒、冠、看、安。四句一韵到底，韵脚开阔悠长，宜写漂泊遥思之音；寒韵本带清冷，正合孤舟老病之境。

Tone pattern The tonal pattern conforms to regulated verse: 平平仄仄仄平平，仄仄平平仄仄平；平仄平平平仄仄，仄平平仄仄平平；平平仄仄平平仄，仄仄平平仄仄平；平仄平平平仄仄，平平仄仄仄平平. The middle couplets are strictly parallel, and the level/oblique alternations are flawless.平平仄仄仄平平，仄仄平平仄仄平；平仄平平平仄仄，仄平平仄仄平平；平平仄仄平平仄，仄仄平平仄仄平；平仄平平平仄仄，平平仄仄仄平平。中二联对仗精严，平仄合律，是杜律典型声格。

Reading note This poem demonstrates Du Fu's mastery of sound to embody emotion. The cold, open 寒 rhyme runs throughout, like a long sigh. The middle couplets, one broad and vast, one delicate and detailed, create a rhythm of expansion and contraction. The final couplet opens with bright images ('clouds white, mountains green') and closes with the dark 'sorrowfully gaze,' the tone falling as the emotion deepens.七律至杜甫而境界大开，此诗即晚年「沉郁顿挫」的范本。其声律之妙在「稳中见悲」：寒韵一以贯之，口腔略张而气息沉长，如一声悠远的叹息；中二联对仗，一写舟居之阔（天上坐、雾中看），一写物色之细（戏蝶、轻鸥），大开大合而节奏不乱。尾联「云白山青」以亮色起，「愁看」以暗收，声情由扬转抑，与情感同跌。读此类杜律，当从其对仗之工与结穴之重，见出时代之秋与个人之暮的叠合。此诗声律之稳，与情感之沉相得益彰：寒韵一以贯之，口腔略张而气息沉长，读来如一声悠远叹息，正合孤舟老病之境。中二联对仗极工，一写舟居之阔、一写物色之细，大开大合而节奏不乱；尾联以亮色「云白山青」起、以暗愁「愁看」收，声情由扬转抑，与情感同跌。七律至杜甫而法度精严、境界大开，此诗正可窥见其晚年以声律承载沉郁的一斑。

Line by line

佳辰强饮食犹寒，隐几萧条戴鹖冠。

On this festive day I force myself to eat, but the food is still cold. Leaning on my armrest, forlorn, I wear a pheasant-feather cap. The first couplet sets the scene of illness and solitude: festive occasion contrasted with forced eating, cold food mirroring a cold body, and the hermit's cap suggesting a life of rejection yet dignity.

佳节里勉强进食，饮食仍带着寒意，倚着几案形容萧条，头戴鹖冠。

On this fine festival I force a meal down; the food is still cold. Leaning on the desk, forlorn, I wear the pheasant-tufted cap of a hermit.

首联直写老病孤舟之状，是全诗的情感底座。「佳辰」反衬「强饮」：佳节本该欢，他却「强」字勉强下咽，写出无味与无奈。食犹寒，既承寒食余习，也写体寒，一身之冷与一节之冷叠合。「隐几萧条」写倚案之态，萧条二字是形也是心；「戴鹖冠」用隐士之冠自况，潦倒中见风骨——虽贬弃舟中，仍以鹖冠自守，不乞怜于时。这一联不写景、不抒情，只列老病之实，却比痛哭更痛，因为痛已成了日常。它是杜甫晚年「以常语写非常之苦」的典型起法。

The opening couplet directly writes old age, sickness, and the lone boat, the poem's emotional foundation. Fine festival sets off force a meal down: a festival should be joyous, yet he forces the food down, writing tastelessness and helplessness. The food is still cold continues the Cold Food custom and writes body-cold - the cold of the person and the cold of the festival fused. Leaning on the desk, forlorn writes the posture; forlorn is shape and heart; wearing the pheasant-tufted cap compares himself to the hermit's cap - dignity within wretchedness: though abandoned in the boat, he keeps the hermit's cap, begging no pity from the age. The couplet writes no scenery, no feeling, only lists the reality of old sickness, yet more painful than weeping, for pain has become daily life. It is the typical opening of Du Fu's late years: extraordinary suffering written through ordinary words.

春水船如天上坐，老年花似雾中看。

On the spring river the boat seems to sit in the sky; in old age flowers appear as if viewed through mist. The second couplet is the most artful: the boat on vast water feels heavenly, but old eyes cannot see clearly—one line joy, one line sorrow, together expressing the poet's sense of floating and confusion.

春水溶溶，船仿佛在天上漂浮而坐，年迈之人看花如同隔着雾一般。

On the spring waters, the boat seems to float in the sky; in old age, flowers are seen as through a mist.

颔联是全篇最工之对，也是杜诗「一句乐一句哀」的范例。「春水船如天上坐」写舟浮春江，水阔天低，人如坐天上，是乐景、是壮语；「老年花似雾中看」急转，以雾中看花写老眼昏花，是哀语、是衰境。一上一下、一明一暗，对仗中藏巨大反差：同样的春，年轻人见其丽，老年人见其糊。更深的寄托在「天上坐」暗喻身世之飘若无着，「雾中看」暗喻对乱世前程的看不分明。景是同一片春水春花，人是两个年纪的杜甫，这一联把生命的黄昏写得既美且痛。

The second couplet is the poem's most crafted parallel, Du Fu's model of one line joy, one line grief. On the spring waters, the boat seems to float in the sky: the boat on the spring river, water vast, sky low, man as if sitting in heaven - joyful scenery, a grand phrase. In old age, flowers are seen as through a mist turns abruptly, using mist-seen flowers to write dim old eyes - sorrowful words, declining realm. Up and down, bright and dark: within the parallel, a vast contrast - the same spring, the young see its beauty, the old see its blur. Deeper lodgings: sitting in heaven secretly metaphors the life's drift without anchor; seeing through mist secretly metaphors the unclear future in the disordered age. The scenery is the same spring water and flowers; the person is Du Fu at two ages. This couplet writes life's evening as both beautiful and painful.

娟娟戏蝶过闲幔，片片轻鸥下急湍。

Graceful playful butterflies cross the idle curtain; flake by flake, light gulls descend to the rushing rapids. The third couplet uses lively scenes of insects and birds to contrast with the poet's stillness and anxiety; the creatures' ease heightens his own rootlessness.

翩翩戏蝶飞过闲垂的帷幕，片片轻鸥落在急流之上。

Dainty butterflies flit past the idle curtains; flake by flake, light gulls drop to the rapids.

颈联以细微飞动之景反衬舟中之愁。「娟娟戏蝶」写蝶之轻盈翩跹，「片片轻鸥」写鸥之从容落湍，二者皆闲适自在，与首联的「萧条」、尾联的「愁看」恰成对照——万物得所，唯人漂泊。闲幔之「闲」、急湍之「急」又成小反差，静幔动湍，生意盎然。杜甫于此以极工的对仗写极细的物色，表面是舟中所见，内里是以物之自得衬己之无依。这种「以闹景写孤愁」的手法，与其《绝句》「泥融飞燕子，沙暖睡鸳鸯」同一机杼，而此处的闲景更显愁人之冷。

The third couplet uses fine flying scenes to set off the boat's sorrow. Dainty butterflies writes the butterflies' light fluttering; flake by flake, light gulls drop to the rapids writes the gulls' calm descent - both at ease and free, contrasting the opening's forlorn and the closing's sorrowing gaze: all things in their place, only man adrift. Idle curtains' idle and rapids' rapid form a small contrast, still curtains, rushing water, life abundant. Du Fu here writes the finest creatures through the most crafted parallel: on the surface what the boat sees, within, using things' contentment to set off his own rootlessness. This method of writing lonely sorrow through bustling scenery is of the same weave as his quatrain's mud soft, swallows fly; sand warm, mandarin ducks sleep - yet here the idle scene makes the sorrowful man all the colder.

云白山青万余里，愁看直北是长安。

Clouds are white, mountains green, stretching over ten thousand miles; sorrowfully I look straight north—there is Chang'an. The final couplet opens the view to the immense landscape, then narrows it to the poet's gaze toward the capital, merging personal grief with longing for the lost homeland.

云白山青绵延万余里，愁闷中遥望正北便是长安。

White clouds, green hills, ten thousand li and more; sorrowing, I gaze due north at Chang'an.

尾联以万里山水收束于一点长安，是全文的眼目，也是杜甫一生的执念。「云白山青万余里」写天地之阔、景色之明，以乐景极写空间之远；「愁看直北是长安」急转，把万里明丽一笔拉到「愁看」二字上，直北即正北，长安是朝廷、是故国、是回不去的家。这一结极有力量：前面所有的春水、花、蝶、鸥，都在此刻汇成北望的一愁。万余里之远与一点长安之近，构成空间与心理的巨大张力；愁看二字，把个人衰病与家国兴亡绾合，是杜甫「一饭未尝忘君」的最后注脚。

The closing couplet gathers ten-thousand-li landscape to one point, Chang'an, the essay's eye, and Du Fu's lifelong fixation. White clouds, green hills, ten thousand li and more writes the world's breadth, the scenery's brightness, using joyful scenery to the extreme write distance. Sorrowing, I gaze due north at Chang'an turns abruptly, pulling the ten-thousand-li brightness to sorrowing gaze; due north means straight north; Chang'an is the court, the old country, the home he cannot return to. This close is forceful: all the previous spring waters, flowers, butterflies, gulls, converge at this moment into one sorrowful northward gaze. The ten-thousand-li distance and the one-point closeness of Chang'an compose a vast spatial and psychological tension; sorrowing gaze binds personal decline with national rise and fall - Du Fu's last footnote to never a meal without thinking of his prince.

Study

Word focus

强饮 To drink (or eat) with difficulty, forcing oneself—expresses reluctance and the hardship of the occasion. 「强饮」的「强」字是全诗情绪的第一个落点。强是勉强，佳节本该畅饮，他却只能勉强下咽，写出无味、无奈与强撑。这一个字把「佳辰」的喜反衬成孤舟的悲，也为后文「食犹寒」「萧条」定下基调。强饮不是豪饮，是活着的勉强，是杜甫晚年「残生随白骨」式从容中的辛酸。佳节而强饮，已见孤寂，何况食犹寒、身犹病，故这一个「强」字既是身体的勉强，也是心境的撑持。老杜晚年诗中多有此类以一字定一篇基调的用例，此处的强饮正是全诗悲音的第一个落点。

天上坐 Sitting as if in the sky; describing the boat floating on vast water, but also hinting at a life without roots. 「春水船如天上坐」的「天上坐」写舟浮阔江、水天一色，人如坐云端的轻盈感。表面是乐景，实则是飘零——天上者，无根也。这个意象把舟居的 physical 高阔与身世的 floating 叠合，是杜诗「即景寓慨」的妙笔：读者初读觉其壮，再读觉其飘，壮与飘原是一事。舟浮春水而如坐天上，表面是写江面开阔、水天一色之乐，内里却暗藏身世飘零、无所依凭的惶惑。乐景中藏哀感，正是杜甫晚年七律最耐寻味处，读者初读觉其旷，再读方知其飘。

雾中看 Looking as if through mist; old-age blurred vision and a metaphor for uncertainty about the future. 「老年花似雾中看」的「雾中看」既是实写老眼昏花，也是隐喻。雾中看花，美而模糊、近而遥远，恰如诗人对乱世与前途的看不分明。这个意象把生理的衰退与心理的忧惧合成一体，是杜诗「以实写虚」的范例，较「天上坐」的飘，更多一层朦胧的悲。老眼昏花本是生理实写，诗人却借「雾中看」三字把对乱世前程的迷蒙忧惧一并写出，虚实相生。与前句「天上坐」的飘遥相对，此句更添一层看不分明的悲凉，是杜诗即小见大的典型笔法。

愁看直北 A key expression in this poem; read it with the Chinese note below. 「愁看直北是长安」的「愁看」是全篇诗眼，也是结穴。愁看二字把万里明丽风景一笔染暗，直北点出方位之确、归心之切。长安在此不止是地名，更是朝廷、故国、君恩的共名。这四个字（连同「是长安」）收束了前面所有景物，使一首舟中即景升格为北望故国的绝唱，是杜甫生命尽头最后的一「看」。读此诗者常叹其景丽而情哀，殊不知丽景正是哀情的镜子：正因为云白山青太明太远，那一点北望的愁才愈显孤绝。杜甫以乐景写哀，至此已不是技巧，而是生命尽头自然的回望。他把万里河山收进「愁看」二字，是个人之暮与时代之秋的同归，故能于平淡中见千钧。