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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

喜外弟卢纶见宿

Glad That My Cousin Lu Lun Comes to Stay the Night

司空曙

Sikong Shu

静夜四无邻，荒居旧业贫。
雨中黄叶树，灯下白头人。
以我独沉久，愧君相见频。
平生自有分，况是蔡家亲。

In the still night no neighbor is near,
In my wild dwelling the old estate is poor.
A yellow-leaved tree in the rain,
Two white-haired men by the lamp.
Because I have sunk so long in obscurity,
I am shamed that you visit me so often.
Through life our bond was always destined,
And we are kin, besides, of the Cai family kind.

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Meaning

A poem of gratitude and kinship, written when the poet's cousin Lu Lun came to stay with him. In a poor, isolated dwelling, on a rainy night, the yellow-leaved tree outside and two white-haired men inside — the poet is shamed that his famous cousin visits him so often in his obscurity, and consoles himself that their bond was destined, and that they are kin after all. The poem turns a night of poverty and rain into a meditation on kinship and friendship that survives worldly fortune.

静夜里四邻无人，我荒居于此，家业早已凋零贫寒。雨中黄叶纷落的老树下，灯下对坐的是两个白头之人。只因我独自沉沦已久，惭愧你频频前来相看。人生聚散本自有缘分，何况我们还是蔡邕那样的至亲。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] In the still night no neighbor is near; in my wild dwelling the old family estate is poor. A yellow-leaved tree in the rain, two white-haired men by the lamp. Because I have sunk so long in obscurity, I am ashamed that you visit me so often. Through life our bond was always destined — and besides, we are kin of the Cai family kind. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from scene (the still night, the poor dwelling) through image (the yellow tree, the white heads) to feeling (the shame of the obscure cousin) and conclusion (the destined bond of kinship). [Key Technique] The poem's centerpiece is the celebrated couplet 'A yellow-leaved tree in the rain, / Two white-haired men by the lamp' — the outer scene and the inner condition fused: the yellowing leaves and whitening heads mirror each other, and the rain outside and the lamp inside frame the two aging men. [Emotional Tone] Warm, humble, and deeply felt: the poet's shame at his own obscurity is dissolved by gratitude for a cousin whose visits confirm that their bond was destined.

【白话串讲】司空曙写《喜外弟卢纶见宿》：“静夜四无邻，荒居旧业贫”——“雨中黄叶树，灯下白头人”——“以我独沉久，愧君相见频”——“平生自有分，况是蔡家亲”——他喜外弟来访——雨中黄叶树，灯下白头人。【意象与手法】雨中黄叶、灯下白头一联，以工对写尽贫居之凄凉与岁月之蹉跎；“以我独沉久，愧君相见频”则直吐胸臆，见其沉沦之痛与亲情之暖。情真语挚。【情感与主旨】司空曙写表弟卢纶冒雨来访、夜中相叙之事，于喜中含悲，悲喜交加，是中唐五律中抒情真挚的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“雨中黄叶树，灯下白头人”以黄叶白头写凄凉；“以我独沉久，愧君相见频”写沉沦与亲情。

Background

Sikong Shu (c. 720–c. 790), courtesy name Wenming, was a mid-Tang poet of the group known as the 'Ten Talents of the Dali Reign,' remembered for the quiet melancholy and plain clarity of his verse. His cousin Lu Lun was a fellow member of the same poetic circle, famous for his frontier poems. The poem was written when Lu Lun came to visit Sikong in his impoverished retreat; the two cousins were lifelong friends and fellow poets. The poem is one of the best loved of the Dali group's works, prized for its fusion of domestic scene and deep feeling.

《喜外弟卢纶见宿》为中唐诗人司空曙所作五言律诗。司空曙（约720—约790），字文明，广平（今河北永年）人，大历年间著名诗人，为「大历十才子」之一。其诗多写羁旅穷愁、荒居萧索，风格清雅含蓄。此诗所写，是表弟卢纶前来荒居看望自己、夜中相叙之事。卢纶同为「大历十才子」之一，与司空曙交谊深厚，且为表亲。「见宿」即来相访并住宿。诗中「雨中黄叶树，灯下白头人」一联，尤为后世传诵。此诗作于司空曙荒居贫病之际，诗中「荒居旧业贫」「以我独沉久」诸语，可见其生计之艰难、仕途之蹭蹬。大历诗人多历安史之乱后的萧条，诗中常写贫居、羁旅、衰病之况，司空曙此诗正是其中的代表：于表弟来访之「喜」中，透出贫居独处之「悲」，悲喜交加，情真意挚，既见出两人深厚的亲情，也折射出大历年间士人沉沦不遇的普遍境遇，是五律中抒情真挚、感人至深的名篇。此篇《喜外弟卢纶见宿》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 is the art of the perfect couplet placed in a plain frame. The first couplet is deliberately flat — the still night, no neighbors, the poor estate — establishing the poverty and isolation of the dwelling. The second couplet then delivers the poem's keystone: 'A yellow-leaved tree in the rain, / Two white-haired men by the lamp.' The yellowing leaves and the whitening heads are images of the same process — aging and decline — set in parallel across the line break; the rain outside and the lamp inside frame the two men in a circle of light. The third couplet turns to the poet's feeling of shame and gratitude, and the fourth resolves it in the destined bond of kinship. The plainness of the frame makes the central image shine.

此诗艺术上以「悲喜相映、工对传情」见长。全诗八句，结构层层推进。首联「静夜四无邻，荒居旧业贫」写居处之境：静夜沉沉，四邻无人，一片荒寂，而家业凋零、生计贫寒，「荒」「贫」二字直写其境。颔联「雨中黄叶树，灯下白头人」是全诗最工整、最传神的一联：上句写室外之景，秋雨潇潇、黄叶纷落的老树；下句写室内之人，灯影摇曳、相对而坐的白头翁。以「雨中」对「灯下」、「黄叶树」对「白头人」，景与情、物与人相映，黄叶喻人之迟暮，白头见岁月之蹉跎，十字之中写出无限凄凉。颈联「以我独沉久，愧君相见频」转写情谊：我独自沉沦已久，惭愧你屡屡前来看望，「独沉」见其失意，「愧」字见其自谦与感念。尾联「平生自有分，况是蔡家亲」以宽解作结：人生聚散本自有缘分，何况我们还是至亲。「蔡家亲」用蔡邕与羊衒之之典，点出表亲之谊。全诗由景入情、由悲入喜，情真语挚，苍凉之中见温厚，是五律中以工对写真情、以悲喜相映见深的典范。

Allusions

'Kinship of the Cai family kind' (Cai jia qin) refers to the Han dynasty scholar Cai Yong and his famous reunion with his daughter Cai Wenji — the traditional figure of the closest of family bonds; the poet uses it to say that he and Lu Lun are kin of the truest sort, sharing not only blood but the deepest understanding. 'The yellow-leaved tree' draws on the ancient autumn imagery of the 'Nine Arguments' of the Songs of Chu — the withering of the leaves as the emblem of the declining year and of human aging.

诗中「蔡家亲」一词，用东汉蔡邕之典。蔡邕字伯喈，东汉末年著名文学家、书法家，其女蔡文姬即蔡琰。蔡邕有外孙羊衒之（一说羊祜），《晋书·羊祜传》载，羊祜为蔡邕外孙，故后世以「蔡家亲」指称表亲、外亲之谊。司空曙与卢纶为表兄弟，故以此典自况，言彼此乃蔡邕那样的至亲关系。此典用得贴切而含蓄：既点明两人表亲的关系，又以蔡邕之才学暗喻两人同为诗人、同有才名，可谓一语双关。此外，诗中「雨中黄叶树」以黄叶喻衰老，「灯下白头人」以白头写迟暮，虽非用典，却与杜甫「无边落木萧萧下」的悲秋之思、以及古诗「白杨多悲风，萧萧愁杀人」的衰飒之境相通，可见诗人于景物中寄寓人生迟暮之感，用典用景皆不着痕迹，而情韵深长。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

This poem is one of the most admired works of the Dali poets, treasured for the famous couplet of the yellow tree and the white heads. For a thousand years the lines have been quoted as the perfect image of two old friends growing old together by lamplight, and the poem as a whole is often cited as the supreme expression of the consolation of kinship in poverty. Its plainness and warmth have made it a perennial favorite.

这首《喜外弟卢纶见宿》，题中着一「喜」字，而读来却悲喜交集，这正是它感人至深的地方。首联写荒居之景：「静夜四无邻，荒居旧业贫」，静夜沉沉、四邻无人、家业凋零，一片荒寂贫寒之气。在这样的境况里，表弟卢纶竟冒雨前来，夜中相叙——喜，是真喜；而这份喜，又衬出平日独处的悲。颔联「雨中黄叶树，灯下白头人」，是全诗的千古名联：窗外秋雨潇潇，黄叶纷纷而落；灯下对坐的，是两个鬓发已白的人。黄叶与白头相映，写尽岁月之蹉跎、人生之迟暮，而两个白头人在雨夜灯下相对，那份同病相怜、惺惺相惜的亲情，便在这苍凉的画面中显得格外温暖。颈联「以我独沉久，愧君相见频」，直吐胸臆：「独沉」见其仕途失意、沉沦已久，「愧」字见其对表弟屡屡探望的感念与自惭，一个「愧」字，写尽贫病之中受亲情照拂的复杂心绪。尾联「平生自有分，况是蔡家亲」，以宽解作结，把悲喜都收束在这份至亲的情分里。全诗于苍凉之中见温厚，于悲喜之中见真情，正是司空曙五律「清雅含蓄而情真意挚」的典范。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse (wuyan lüshi)五言律诗（近体，仄起式）

Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level-tone words 'pin' (poor), 'ren' (men), 'qin' (frequent) and 'qin' (kin) in the zhen rhyme group, in the standard regulated-verse pattern.全诗押平声韵「贫」「人」「频」「亲」，韵脚同属真文类（贫、人、频、亲），一韵到底，韵部宽舒而音调沉挚。五律以平韵谐畅为常，此诗「贫」「人」「频」「亲」四韵音色浑厚，正与荒居贫寒、沉沦失意的内容相称；「亲」字收束全篇，点出亲情之温厚，韵脚亦与诗旨相合，声情与辞情相凑。

Tone pattern The opening is flat and still; the celebrated middle couplet is slow and luminous, pairing the falling leaves with the white heads; the third couplet turns inward with the poet's shame; the fourth settles on the long, warm 'qin' (kin).句式上，首联「静夜四无邻，荒居旧业贫」仄起，以「邻」「贫」顿挫，写荒寂之境；颔联「雨中黄叶树，灯下白头人」对仗工整，「雨」「灯」「黄叶」「白头」四组名词相对，音节凝重，正是全诗最沉郁处；颈联「以我独沉久，愧君相见频」转写抒情，语气顿挫含情；尾联「平生自有分，况是蔡家亲」以平声「亲」字收束，音节转舒，情调由悲转温厚。全诗平仄相间、音节随情起伏，读来如听雨夜灯下两位故人絮语，苍凉之中自有温情。

Reading note This is a five-character regulated verse by Sikong Shu, one of the 'Ten Talents of the Dalu' era. The still night, the neighborless dwelling, and the poor estate open the scene; the second couplet is one of the most famous in Tang poetry — 'a yellow-leaved tree in the rain, two white-haired men by the lamp' — the autumn tree and the aging men held in strict parallel; the third couplet speaks the shame of the long-obscure before the frequent cousin; and the fourth resolves in the destined bond and the kinship of the Cai family.此诗为五言律诗，是中唐大历诗坛抒写亲情、感慨身世的代表作。其艺术特色在于「悲喜相映、工对传情」：题中着一「喜」字，而全诗处处透出贫居独处之悲，喜因悲而更显珍贵，悲因喜而更见温厚，悲喜交织正是此诗感人至深的关键。首联以「静夜四无邻，荒居旧业贫」写荒寂贫寒之境；颔联「雨中黄叶树，灯下白头人」以工对写尽迟暮之悲，是千古名句；颈联「以我独沉久，愧君相见频」直吐胸臆，一个「愧」字写尽沉沦者的复杂心绪；尾联「平生自有分，况是蔡家亲」以蔡邕外孙之典点出表亲之谊，宽解作结。全诗由景入情、由悲入喜，情真语挚、含蓄蕴藉，既见出司空曙与卢纶深厚的亲情，也折射出大历年间士人沉沦不遇的普遍境遇，是五律中抒情真挚、感人至深的名篇，历来为选家所称赏。

Line by line

静夜四无邻，荒居旧业贫。

In the still night no neighbor is near; in my wild dwelling the old estate is poor.

静夜里四邻无人在侧，我荒居于此，家业早已凋零，生计颇为贫寒。

In the quiet night no neighbors near; my desolate dwelling, old estate impoverished.

首联写居处之境，为全诗定下荒寂苍凉的基调。「静夜四无邻」写环境之荒寂：夜深人静，四邻无人在侧，一个「静」字，一个「无」字，写出独居之人的孤寂与落寞；「荒居旧业贫」则写家境之凋零，「荒」字见居所之萧条，「贫」字见生计之艰难，「旧业」更暗示并非一直如此，而是家道中落。两句一写外境、一写内况，把诗人沉沦失意、贫居无依的处境和盘托出。而正是在这样的境况里，表弟卢纶冒雨前来相访，便格外显得可贵，「喜」字虽未写出，而喜意已在其中，为全诗悲喜交集的感情基调作了铺垫。

The opening couplet writes the dwelling's setting, establishing the desolate keynote. In the quiet night no neighbors near: deep night, no neighbors beside; one quiet, one no one, writing the solitary man's loneliness. My desolate dwelling, old estate impoverished writes the household's decline: desolate the dwelling's bleakness; impoverished the livelihood's hardship; old estate further implies it was not always so, but the family's fortune fallen. The two lines one outer setting one inner state, laying bare the poet's sunk, dependent plight. Precisely in such a state, cousin Lu Lun's coming through the rain is all the more precious; joy not yet written, yet joy already within, preparing the poem's mingled grief-and-joy keynote.

雨中黄叶树，灯下白头人。

A yellow-leaved tree in the rain, two white-haired men by the lamp.

秋雨潇潇中，老树黄叶纷落；灯影摇曳下，坐着的是两个鬓发已白的亲人。

In the rain, yellow-leaved trees; by the lamp, white-headed men.

颔联是全诗最工整、最传神的一联，也是千古名句。上句写室外之景：秋雨潇潇，老树上的黄叶纷纷飘落；下句写室内之人：灯影摇曳，对坐的是两个鬓发斑白的老人。「雨中」对「灯下」、「黄叶树」对「白头人」，景与情、物与人两两相对，黄叶之飘零正是人之迟暮的写照，白头之相对更见岁月之无情。十字之中，不着一情语，而凄凉迟暮之感、同病相怜之情，尽在画面之中。尤其「黄叶」与「白头」的映衬，以树写人、以景写情，含蓄蕴藉，是唐人律诗中「状难写之景如在目前，含不尽之意见于言外」的绝佳范例。

The second couplet is the poem's most crafted, most vivid, also an immortal line. The upper line writes the outdoor scene: autumn rain drumming, yellow leaves falling from old trees; the lower the indoor person: lamplight flickering, two white-haired kin sitting face to face. In the rain against by the lamp, yellow-leaved trees against white-headed men; scenery and feeling, thing and person paired - the yellow leaves' falling is precisely the human aging's portrait; the white heads facing each other shows time's ruthlessness. Ten characters, not one word of feeling, yet the desolate aging and the fellow-suffering pity are all within the picture. Especially yellow leaves and white heads' contrast: writing man through trees, feeling through scenery, reserved and pregnant - the superb example of Tang regulated verse's portray the hard-to-portray scene as before the eyes, holding inexhaustible meaning beyond words.

以我独沉久，愧君相见频。

Because I have sunk so long in obscurity, I am shamed that you visit me so often.

因为我独自沉沦失意已久，心中惭愧，你竟屡屡前来看望。

Since I have long sunk alone, I am ashamed that you visit me so often.

颈联由写景转入抒情，直吐胸臆。「以我独沉久」写自己的境遇：「独沉」二字，写仕途失意、沉沦下僚已久，一个「独」字，更见其孤立无援、独处贫居之状；「愧君相见频」则写对表弟的感念：「愧」字是全联之眼，既有对屡屡麻烦表弟的惭愧，更有沉沦之人受亲情照拂时自惭形秽的复杂心绪，「相见频」见卢纶情谊之厚、探望之勤。两句一写己之失意，一写人之厚情，以「愧」字绾合，把贫病之中受至亲照拂的感激与自惭写得真切动人，是全诗情感最浓处。

The third couplet turns from scenery to feeling, speaking the heart directly. Since I have long sunk alone writes his own state: sunk alone writes the long official failure, sinking in low posts; one alone further shows his isolated, unhelped, solitary-poverty state. I am ashamed that you visit me so often writes gratitude to the cousin: ashamed is the couplet's eye - at once shame at troubling the cousin so often, and the complex feeling of a sunk man receiving family care, feeling his own worthlessness; visits so often shows Lu Lun's deep friendship, frequent care. The two lines one write his own failure, the other the friend's warmth; one ashamed binds them, writing the gratitude and self-shame of receiving kin's care amid poverty and illness, true and moving - the poem's densest feeling.

平生自有分，况是蔡家亲。

Through life our bond was always destined, and we are kin, besides, of the Cai family kind.

人生聚散本自有缘分安排，何况我们还是蔡邕那样的表亲至亲。

Life's meetings have their own bond; how much more so, we are kin by the Cai house.

尾联以宽解作结，把悲喜收束在至亲的情分里。「平生自有分」说人生聚散、相识相会本自有其缘分，「分」即缘分、情分；「况是蔡家亲」更进一层，以蔡邕外孙之典点出两人表亲的关系——既是至亲，又是同病相怜的诗人，这相聚便不是偶然，而是命定的情分。两句以理宽解、以情作结，既安慰了自己沉沦独处的悲凉，也珍重了这份来之不易的亲情，把前六句的悲喜都收束于温厚之中。全诗以悲起、以喜结，于苍凉之中见温厚，正是此诗感人至深的所在。

The closing couplet resolves in comfort, gathering the grief and joy in the kin's bond. Life's meetings have their own bond says life's meetings, acquaintance and coming together, have their destined bond; bond means affinity, kinship. How much more so, we are kin by the Cai house goes a step further, using Cai Yong's grandson-in-law allusion to name the cousins' relation - close kin, and poets sharing the same suffering; this gathering is no accident but a destined bond. The two lines resolve through reason and close in feeling: at once comforting his own sunk, solitary desolation, and treasuring this hard-won family bond, gathering the first six lines' grief and joy into warmth. The poem opens in grief, closes in joy; warmth within desolation - precisely why this poem moves men so deeply.

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Word focus

荒居 'The wild dwelling' — the neglected house of the poor official, the setting of the night. 「荒居」写居所之萧条荒凉，着一「荒」字，既是写居处之破败、人迹之稀少，也暗含诗人仕途失意、门庭冷落之况。「荒居」与「旧业贫」相连，更见其并非生来贫寒，而是家道中落、今不如昔，为全诗沉沦失意的感情基调定了调，是写境而兼写心的妙笔。「荒居」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。

黄叶树 'The yellow-leaved tree' — the tree of autumn and age, the rain falling through its leaves. 「黄叶树」写秋雨中黄叶纷落的老树，是全诗最富神韵的意象。「黄叶」喻人之迟暮、时光之流逝，着一「老」字之意于不言中——树已黄叶飘零，人亦白头迟暮，树与人相映，岁月无情之悲尽在其中。诗人不写人老，而写树老，以物写人、以景写情，含蓄蕴藉，正是此联之所以传诵千古的关键。「黄叶树」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。

白头人 'The white-haired men' — the two old men by the lamp, the poem's central image. 「白头人」写灯下对坐的两位鬓发已白的亲人，与「黄叶树」相对，是全联情感落点。「白头」见岁月之蹉跎、人生之迟暮，两个白头人在雨夜灯下相对，那份同病相怜、垂老相逢的复杂况味，尽在二字之中。诗人不写「老」而写「白头」，以具体的形象写抽象的年华，使迟暮之感可触可感，炼字精妙。「白头人」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。

愧 'Shamed' — the shame of the long-sunk poet before the frequent visits of his cousin. 「愧」字是全诗情感之眼，写尽沉沦之人受亲情照拂的复杂心绪。既有对表弟屡屡冒雨前来、不避贫寒的惭愧与感激，更有失意之人自惭形秽、自觉拖累亲友的自责。着一「愧」字，诗人的沉沦之痛与亲情之暖便交织一处，比直说「感激」更见真切，也比直说「愁苦」更见温厚，是五律中炼字传神的典范。「愧」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。