唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
西塞山怀古
Recalling the Past at Xisai Mountain
王濬楼船下益州，金陵王气黯然收。
千寻铁锁沉江底，一片降幡出石头。
人世几回伤往事，山形依旧枕寒流。
今逢四海为家日，故垒萧萧芦荻秋。
The kingly aura of Jinling withdrew in haste.
Thousand-fathom iron chains sank to the river's bed,
A white surrender flag rose from the Stone Fortress head.
How many times have men grieved over bygone years?
The mountain form still lies by the cold stream, unchanged.
Now we live in an age when all seas are one home,
The ancient forts rustle with reeds in autumn's gloam.
Meaning
The poem recounts the conquest of Eastern Wu by Western Jin, symbolized by Wang Jun's fleet and the fall of Nanjing. It then reflects on the cyclic nature of history, contrasting the eternal mountain with transient human affairs, and concludes with a scene of contemporary peace tinged with autumnal melancholy.
王濬的战船从益州顺流东下，金陵的帝王之气黯然收敛。千丈长的铁锁沉入江底，一片投降的旗帜从石头城升起。人世间几度为往事悲伤，山的形貌依旧倚枕着寒流。如今正逢四海一统的太平日子，旧时营垒在芦荻秋风中萧萧寂寥。
Appreciation
The poem opens with a vigorous narrative of the Jin conquest, using contrasts like iron chains vs surrender flag. The middle couplet shifts to philosophical reflection on the permanence of nature versus the transience of human affairs. The final couplet returns to the present, ending with an image of desolate forts in autumn, expressing both nostalgia and a sense of unity.
【白话串讲】 王濬的楼船从益州出发，金陵的王气就收了。刘禹锡站在西塞山前感叹：“人世几回伤往事，山形依旧枕寒流”——历史换了一茬又一茬，山还是那座山。 【意象与手法】 此诗章法堪称怀古诗的典范：前四句以史笔叙事，单刀直入，起句「王濬楼船下益州」如破竹之势，一笔写尽东吴灭亡之迅速；颔联「千寻铁锁沉江底，一片降幡出石头」以「千寻」对「一片」、以铁锁之坚反衬降幡之辱，对比凌厉，讽刺自见。后四句由实入虚：颈联「人世几回伤往事，山形依旧枕寒流」将历史兴亡与自然永恒对举，一「几回」一「依旧」，理趣与诗情交融；尾联收于当下，「四海为家」的太平与「芦荻萧萧」的苍凉形成张力，以景结情，余韵不尽。 【情感与主旨】 刘禹锡（772—842）于唐穆宗长庆四年（824）由夔州刺史调任和州刺史，沿长江东下，途经西塞山而作此诗。西塞山为三国时东吴扼守长江的军事要塞，西晋王濬灭吴之战即发生于此。时大唐历经安史之乱与藩镇割据，宪宗朝的中兴气象转瞬即逝，河北三镇复叛，国势渐衰。诗人半生贬谪，刚由夔州量移东行，凭吊古战场，既叹六朝兴亡之循环，亦暗含对当时藩镇割据、统一维艰的现实忧思，怀古而兼伤今。 【名句点睛】 颈联「人世几回伤往事，山形依旧枕寒流」为千古警句：以「几回」写人事代谢之频仍，以「依旧」写山川永恒之不变，一虚一实、一今一古，将六朝三百年的兴亡浓缩于十四字中，理趣深邃，被贺裳《载酒园诗话》许为「绝唱」，足与「潮打空城寂寞回」并传。
Background
Liu Yuxi (772-842) wrote this poem in 824 when he was transferred from Kuizhou to Hezhou, traveling east along the Yangtze River and passing Xisai Mountain. This mountain was a key military fortress of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period, where the Jin general Wang Jun conquered Wu. At that time, the Tang dynasty had experienced the An Lushan Rebellion and was weakened by regional warlords. The poet uses this ancient battlefield to lament the rise and fall of the Six Dynasties, expressing both a sense of historical cycles and implicit concern about the difficulty of unification in his own time.
刘禹锡（772—842），字梦得，洛阳人，中唐著名诗人、政治家，自称「家本荥上，籍占洛阳」。他于贞元九年（793）进士及第，与柳宗元同榜，曾参与王叔文领导的永贞革新，失败后被贬朗州司马，历贬连州、夔州等地，前后二十余年。唐穆宗长庆四年（824）夏，刘禹锡由夔州刺史调任和州刺史，沿长江东下赴任，途经西塞山（今湖北黄石境内）时作此诗。西塞山为长江中游要塞，山势险峻，三国时东吴于此设防，扼守建业（金陵）上游门户；西晋太康元年（280），王濬率楼船水军自益州（今成都）顺流东下，突破吴军铁锁江防，直取金陵，吴主孙皓出降，三国归晋。刘禹锡凭吊此地，抚今追昔：一方面，六朝相继灭亡的历史昭示着割据者终难久存；另一方面，唐自安史之乱后藩镇割据日甚，宪宗虽一度削藩成功，穆宗朝河朔三镇复叛，国势再衰。诗人半生蹭蹬，目睹时艰，遂借古战场抒发兴亡之叹，以历史之镜鉴照当下，怀古之意实寓伤今之情。西塞山在今湖北黄石市东郊，山临长江，形势险要，与武昌隔江相望，为六朝以来兵家必争之地；诗人东下途中泊舟其下，见古垒萧萧、芦荻瑟瑟，遂有此作。赴任和州后，刘禹锡又与白居易在扬州初次相会，写下「沉舟侧畔千帆过」的名句，可见其贬谪生涯中始终不改的豪健与达观，此诗正是其一贯胸襟的写照。
Art
The poem begins with a single powerful image of Wang Jun's fleet descending from Yizhou, creating a rapid, unstoppable momentum. The second couplet contrasts the indestructible iron chains with the shameful surrender flag, a striking contrast. The third couplet shifts from concrete to abstract, using the eternal stillness of the mountain to contrast the fleeting nature of human affairs, blending philosophy with poetic emotion. The final couplet ends with 'all within the four seas are one family,' bringing a sense of present peace, but the desolate reeds leave an enduring aftertaste.
此诗章法严谨，被誉为怀古诗的典范之作。全诗以时间为线索，由古及今、由事及理、由理及景，四联四境：首联「王濬楼船下益州，金陵王气黯然收」以史笔开篇，单刀直入，「下」字写楼船顺流之势如破竹，「黯然收」三字以拟人写王气之销歇，十四字写尽一场战争，笔墨极其省净。颔联「千寻铁锁沉江底，一片降幡出石头」承首联铺写战局：吴人铸铁锁横江以拒晋师，终被焚断沉江；「千寻」极言防守之坚，「一片」极言降旗之微，以坚锁之废反衬降幡之辱，对比凌厉，讽刺自见。颈联由叙转议，「人世几回伤往事，山形依旧枕寒流」以「几回」写历史循环之频，以「依旧」写山川永恒之静，人事之倏忽与自然之恒久对举，理趣与诗情交融，是全诗重心。尾联「今逢四海为家日，故垒萧萧芦荻秋」收束于当下：既庆幸四海一统，又于故垒芦荻的萧瑟秋景中暗藏警诫，以景结情，含蓄不尽。全诗虚实相生、今昔对照、叙议结合，气象沉雄，为刘禹锡怀古七律的压卷之作。又此诗虚实相生：前四句写「实」之史事，后四句写「虚」之理与景，中间以「伤往事」三字过渡，由叙事转议论再转写景，笔力千钧而转折无痕，是以议为诗而能含蓄的典范。
Allusions
The 'kingly aura of Jinling' alludes to the story of Qin Shihuang, who was told that Jinling would produce an emperor in 500 years, so he cut the mountain's veins to suppress it. 'Surrender flag at Stone Fortress' refers to the surrender of Sun Hao, the last ruler of Wu, at the Stone Fortress (Nanjing). 'All within the four seas are one family' comes from Xunzi, meaning the whole realm is unified.
此诗用典精审，皆有所本。其一，「金陵王气」用秦始皇望气之典：据《金陵图经》等载，秦始皇东巡至金陵，望气者言「五百年后金陵有天子气」，始皇遂凿钟阜、断长垄以厌之，故金陵古称「秣陵」；此后「王气」成为帝运兴衰的代名词。诗人以「王气黯然收」写东吴气数已尽，正是用此典。其二，「铁锁沉江」用《晋书·王濬传》史实：吴人于长江险要处横置铁锁、暗设铁锥以拒晋军，王濬造大筏数十以去铁锥，又作火炬长十余丈灌以麻油烧融铁锁，遂破江防直取建业。其三，「降幡出石头」指吴主孙皓于石头城（建业西郊，今南京清凉山一带）面缚出降，石头城自孙权筑城以来即为金陵要塞。其四，「四海为家」语出《史记·高祖本纪》「天子以四海为家」，本指帝王以天下为家，此处引申为四海一统；又《荀子·议兵》有「四海之内若一家」之语。四典皆与金陵兴亡、国家统一相关，熔铸于诗句之中，了无斧凿痕迹，足见刘禹锡腹笥之富与用典之妙。又「王濬」其人，《晋书》本传载其「博览坟典，美容貌，多武略」，伐吴之役年已七十余，楼船东下、势如破竹，与昏庸的孙皓形成鲜明对照；诗人拈出此典，亦暗含对英雄人物与时势际会的感慨。
Commentary
The Tangshi Guchui commented: 'This poem is a masterpiece of nostalgia; the first four lines are like historical writing, the last four like philosophical discourse.' He Shang of the Zaijiu Garden Poetry Talks said: 'How many times have men grieved over past events, the mountain form still lies by the cold stream is a supreme couplet, worthy of being passed down alongside Tides beat against the empty city and return lonely.' Su Shi also praised it as 'vigorous and mature, bearing the style of Du Fu.' Later generations regard it as a benchmark for nostalgic poems about Jinling.
此诗历来评价极高。《唐诗鼓吹》评曰：「此诗堪称怀古绝唱，前四句如史笔，后四句如哲语。」清人贺裳《载酒园诗话》谓「『人世几回伤往事，山形依旧枕寒流』绝唱也，足与『潮打空城寂寞回』并传」——「潮打空城寂寞回」即刘禹锡《金陵五题·石头城》之名句，贺裳以同组怀古诗互证，见其推重之深。沈德潜《唐诗别裁》选录此诗，论刘禹锡怀古之作「用意深远，出以蕴藉」，正可移评此篇。近人俞陛云《诗境浅说》析此诗谓「前半叙事，后半言情，而情即寓于景」，与《唐诗鼓吹》之评相发明。后人或谓此诗作于长庆四年由夔赴和途中，与白居易等友人唱和之背景相关，且相传白居易见而叹服，以为「骊龙之珠，探而得之」。此诗与《金陵五题》共同奠定了刘禹锡怀古诗大家的地位，其以史为鉴、以景结情的写法，直接影响杜牧《泊秦淮》、王安石《桂枝香·金陵怀古》等后世名作，堪称金陵怀古一体的圭臬。再就文学史观之，怀古诗至刘禹锡而体格大备：此前咏史多咏一人一事，此后怀古多写一地之兴亡与永恒之对照；《西塞山怀古》以七律写战争与哲理，开辟了史笔入律的路径，杜牧、许浑、王安石诸家皆从此出，其典范意义历千年而不坠。
Prosody
Line by line
王濬楼船下益州，金陵王气黯然收
Wang Jun's fleet sailed down from Yizhou, and the kingly aura of Jinling darkened and withdrew. These lines open with a vivid historical scene, narrating the swift advance of the Jin navy and the collapse of Wu's morale, personified by the 'dark withdrawal' of kingly aura.
王濬的战船从益州顺流东下，金陵的帝王之气黯然收敛。
Wang Jun's tower ships sailed down from Yizhou; Jinling's royal aura faded and was gathered in.
起笔即如史笔，单刀直入。「王濬楼船下益州」七字，把一场决定三国命运的大战压缩成一个镜头：王濬自益州发兵，楼船顺流东下，一个「下」字写尽晋师乘高临下、势如破竹的凌厉，「楼船」又点明水军之强、军容之盛。下句「金陵王气黯然收」急转直下，「黯然收」三字以拟人写王气之销歇——「收」字举重若轻，仿佛东吴的帝运如卷席般被轻轻收去；「黯然」则写尽气数已尽时的灰败与无奈，也暗含诗人对历史兴亡的深沉感慨。两句一攻一守、一进一退，十四字涵盖一场大战，笔墨省净而气象雄浑，为全诗定下史笔与哲思并存的基调，堪称咏史诗开篇的典范。
The opening is like a historian's brush, single-blade straight. Wang Jun's tower ships sailed down from Yizhou compresses a war deciding the Three Kingdoms into one shot: Wang Jun launches from Yizhou, tower ships sailing downstream; one down writes the Jin army's high-ground, crushing momentum; tower ships marks the water force's strength, the army's splendor. The next line, Jinling's royal aura faded and was gathered in, turns abruptly: faded and gathered personifies the royal aura's extinction; gathered handles weight lightly, as if Eastern Wu's imperial fortune were rolled up like a mat; faded writes the gray desolation of a dying destiny, and secretly the poet's deep sigh at history's rise and fall. The two lines one attack one defense, one advance one retreat; fourteen characters covering one great battle, the brush economical yet the realm grand, setting the poem's keynote of historian's brush and philosophy together - the model of historical poem openings.
千寻铁锁沉江底，一片降幡出石头
The thousand-fathom iron chains sank to the river bottom, and a surrender flag rose from the Stone Fortress. The contrast between the massive iron chains (a defensive measure) and the small surrender flag highlights the futility of resistance and the humiliation of defeat.
千丈长的铁锁沉入江底，一片投降的旗帜从石头城升起。
Cables a thousand fathoms long sank to the river's bed; one single banner of surrender rose from Stone City.
此联是全诗对比艺术的极致。「千寻铁锁」极言吴国防守之坚——寻为古代长度单位，八尺为寻，千寻即八千尺，夸张写铁锁横江之巨；「一片降幡」极言投降之轻——幡为旗帜，一片而已，何其渺小。以千寻之坚，对一片之微；以铁锁之沉江，对降幡之出城，防守之苦心孤诣与投降之仓皇狼狈，形成触目惊心的对照，讽刺之意不言自明。尤妙在动词的运用：「沉」字写铁锁被焚断后坠入江底，百年经营毁于一旦；「出」字写降幡自石头城升起，仿佛从城头自己冒出来，写尽孙皓之无能。两句一沉一升、一败一降，对仗工整而意蕴层叠，将东吴灭亡写得既具体又深刻。
This couplet is the poem's contrast art at its extreme. Cables a thousand fathoms long writes Eastern Wu's defensive strength: a xun is an ancient measure, eight feet; a thousand fathoms is hyperbole for the giant chains stretched across the river. One single banner of surrender writes the lightness of surrender: a banner, just one, how small. The thousand-fathom strength set against the single smallness; the chains sunk in the river against the banner rising from the city - the defense's desperate ingenuity set against the surrender's hasty狼狈, a shocking contrast, the satire self-evident. Subtler is the verbs: sunk writes the chains burned and broken, crashing to the river bed, a century of effort destroyed in an instant; rose writes the surrender banner rising from Stone City, as if oozing out of the walls itself, exhausting Sun Hao's incapacity. The two lines one sunk one risen, one defeat one surrender, refined parallel yet meaning layered - writing Eastern Wu's fall concretely and profoundly.
人世几回伤往事，山形依旧枕寒流
How many times in human life do we grieve over past events? The mountain's form still lies against the cold current. The shift from concrete history to abstract reflection: the eternal mountain stands unchanged while human affairs endlessly change, a philosophical meditation on transience.
人世间几度为往事悲伤，山的形貌依旧倚枕着寒流。
The world has mourned the past again and again; the mountains still rest on the cold current.
此联由叙事转入议论，是全诗的哲理核心。「人世几回伤往事」以「几回」二字总括六朝三百余年间的无数次兴亡——东吴、东晋、宋、齐、梁、陈，一个王朝覆灭，又有一个王朝建立，循环往复，每一回都教人伤心凭吊；「伤往事」三字既写历代凭吊者之伤，也暗含诗人自己此刻之伤。下句「山形依旧枕寒流」陡然推开，「依旧」与「几回」对举：人事代谢如川流不息，而西塞山依旧横枕江流，冷眼看尽兴亡。「枕」字以拟人写山形之静卧，含悠然自在之意；「寒流」既写秋江之寒，亦暗喻历史之冷峻无情。一「几回」写时间之频，一「依旧」写永恒之静，在强烈的今昔对照中，历史的沧桑感与哲理的深邃感油然而生，为千古传诵的警句。
This couplet turns from narrative to argument, the poem's philosophical core. The world has mourned the past again and again uses again and again to sum the countless rise and falls of the six dynasties - Eastern Wu, Eastern Jin, Song, Qi, Liang, Chen; one dynasty falling, another rising, cycle after cycle, each turn a sorrow to the mourner. Mourned the past writes the generations of mourners' grief, and secretly the poet's own at this moment. The next line, the mountains still rest on the cold current, pushes open abruptly: still set against again and again - human affairs change like flowing water, yet Xisai Mountain still lies across the stream, coldly watching rise and fall. Rest personifies the mountain's quiet lying, holding ease; cold current writes the autumn river's chill, and secretly history's cold relentlessness. Again and again writes time's frequency; still writes the eternal stillness; in the sharp contrast of past and present, historical vicissitude and philosophical depth rise of themselves - the age-famous aphorism.
今逢四海为家日，故垒萧萧芦荻秋
Now we meet the day when all within the four seas is one family, the ancient forts are desolate with reeds in autumn wind. The poem returns to the present, noting the unification of the empire, yet the image of the desolate forts in the autumn scene conveys a lingering sense of melancholy and historical consciousness.
如今正逢四海一统的太平日子，旧时的营垒在芦荻秋风中萧萧作响。
Now we meet the age when all is one family; old ramparts sigh in the autumn reeds.
尾联收束于当下，以景结情，含蓄不尽。「今逢四海为家日」点出诗人所处的时代——唐自安史之乱后虽经藩镇割据，至刘禹锡作诗时名义上仍是四海一统、天下一家，诗人故以庆幸口吻出之；然而「故垒萧萧芦荻秋」七字笔锋一转，写当年吴军固守的旧营垒，如今只余芦荻在秋风中萧萧作响。「萧萧」以叠词摹秋风之声，声情俱厉；「芦荻秋」以萧瑟秋景收束全篇，苍凉之气扑面而来。这一结笔的妙处在于不落言筌：诗人既不直接讽刺割据者，也不直说忧时之意，只把历史的废墟呈现于读者眼前，让「四海为家」的太平与「故垒萧萧」的荒凉在对照中自行言说——太平之下暗伏危机，统一之中隐含隐忧，怀古与伤今在此彻底合一，余韵悠长。
The closing couplet resolves in the present, closing feeling in scenery, reserve inexhaustible. Now we meet the age when all is one family names the poet's time - after the An Lushan rebellion, despite provincial warlord separatism, in Liu Yuxi's day nominally all under one house; the poet hence writes in a tone of rejoicing. Yet old ramparts sigh in the autumn reeds turns the brush: the old fortified ramparts where Wu's forces once stood now hold only reeds and sedges sighing in the autumn wind. Sighing uses a reduplicative to mime the autumn wind's sound, sound and feeling both stern; autumn reeds closes the poem in bleak autumn scenery, desolation pressing the face. The close's art lies in escaping words: the poet neither directly satirizes the separatists nor speaks his anxiety of the age, but presents the historical ruins before the reader's eyes, letting the oneness of all-is-one-family and the desolation of old ramparts speak for themselves - crisis hidden beneath peace, anxiety within unity; historical longing and grief for the present fused completely, savor long.
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Both poems reflect on historical events of the Three Kingdoms to express feelings about rise and fall. One recalls the Jin conquest of Wu, the other laments Zhuge Liang's unfulfilled ambition; both belong to the genre of historical nostalgia.
杜甫《八阵图》「功盖三分国，名成八阵图。江流石不转，遗恨失吞吴」与《西塞山怀古》同咏三国史事，皆借古战场之遗物抒兴亡之慨。相异处有三：其一，咏史对象不同，杜诗咏诸葛亮之八阵图，怀贤臣遗恨；刘诗咏王濬灭吴之战，叹王朝兴废。其二，笔法不同，杜诗前两句以对仗总括孔明功业，后两句以「石不转」写遗恨长存，凝练深沉；刘诗以史笔铺陈战争过程，再转入哲思，气象宏阔。其三，立意不同，杜诗着眼于个人（诸葛亮之志业未竟），刘诗着眼于历史循环与国家统一。二诗一以少总多、一以全取胜，同属咏史名篇，合观可见杜甫之沉郁与刘禹锡之雄健，亦可见咏史诗写「人」与写「势」的两种路数。
桂枝香·金陵怀古 Fragrant Laurel・Recalling the Past at Jinling 王安石 · 同以金陵为背景抒兴亡之慨 Same (theme/location)Both use Jinling (the Stone Fortress) as the setting to express the sorrow of dynastic rise and fall. Liu's poem is vigorous, Wang's ci poem is somber; both are masterpieces of nostalgia.
王安石《桂枝香·金陵怀古》「六朝旧事随流水，但寒烟衰草凝绿」与刘禹锡此诗同以金陵（石头城）为背景抒写兴亡之慨，而一为唐诗七律、一为宋词长调，体制与风格迥异。相同处：皆以「今昔对照」为框架——刘诗以「山形依旧」对「人世几回」，王词以「六朝旧事随流水」对「千里澄江似练」；皆以萧瑟秋景收束——刘诗「故垒萧萧芦荻秋」，王词「寒烟衰草凝绿」，皆以景结情。相异处：刘诗史笔雄健，前四句叙事如破竹，直接写战争与投降；王词铺陈金陵形胜、追忆六朝繁华，再转「至今商女，时时犹唱，后庭遗曲」的讽刺，沉郁顿挫。一雄健一沉郁、一史笔一赋笔，同为金陵怀古之绝唱，恰可见唐宋怀古诗的不同风貌。
乌衣巷 The Black Clothes Lane 刘禹锡 · 同出刘禹锡怀古名篇，一雄浑一含蓄 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
《乌衣巷》与《西塞山怀古》同出刘禹锡之手，且皆为咏史怀古名篇，但风格迥异，正可对照。其一，取材不同：《西塞山怀古》咏王濬灭吴的战争史实，正面铺写兴亡；《乌衣巷》咏东晋王谢世族的没落，只写「旧时王谢堂前燕，飞入寻常百姓家」的燕子，侧面暗示沧桑。其二，笔法不同：前者史笔直陈、对比凌厉，气势雄浑；后者以小见大、即景见意，全诗不着议论，含蓄隽永，含蓄到连一个「哀」字都没有。其三，结句不同：前者以「故垒萧萧芦荻秋」的萧瑟景语收束，后者以燕子飞入百姓家的寻常画面收束，一苍凉一平淡。同一位诗人，既能写「山形依旧枕寒流」的雄健，又能写「飞入寻常百姓家」的轻灵，足见刘禹锡怀古诗风格的丰富与圆熟。