夜宿七盘岭

Meaning

A poem of the night on the ridge, written by Shen Quanqi — the poet of the early Tang, on his journey to the south. Wandering alone beyond a thousand li, high-lying west of the Seven Coils — the lone traveler of the far journey. The dawn moon, near the window; the heaven's river, entering the door, is low — the mountain night, the moon and the river of stars low at the ridge. In the fragrant spring, the maidenhair trees are green; in the clear night, the cuckoo cries — the spring of the south, the crying of the cuckoo, the bird of the homesickness. The floating guest vainly stays to listen, and from the Bao city hears the dawn cock — the guest listening to the cuckoo, and the dawn cock of the town, the night ending and the journey continuing. The poem is the night of the traveler: the lone ridge, the low stars, the crying cuckoo, and the dawn cock of the road.

独游千里外，高卧七盘西。晓月临窗近，天河入户低。芳春平仲绿，清夜子规啼。浮客空留听，褒城闻曙鸡。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Wandering alone beyond a thousand li, high-lying west of the Seven Coils. The dawn moon, near the window; the heaven's river, entering the door, is low. In the fragrant spring, the maidenhair trees are green; in the clear night, the cuckoo cries. The floating guest vainly stays to listen, and from the Bao city hears the dawn cock. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the lone journey to the ridge, through the night of the low moon and the river of stars, to the spring scene and the cuckoo's cry, and the close's dawn — the floating guest listening, and the dawn cock of the Bao city. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the night of the traveler: the height of the ridge — the moon near the window, the stars entering the door — and the crying of the cuckoo, the bird of the homesickness, gathered in the close's vain listening and the dawn cock. [Emotional Tone] Lonely, clear, and homesick: the poem is the night of the traveler on the ridge, the low stars and the crying cuckoo, and the dawn cock of the road.

【白话串讲】 沈佺期写《夜宿七盘岭》：“独游千里外，高卧七盘西”——“晓月临窗近，天河入户低”——“芳春平仲绿，清夜子规啼”——“浮客空留听，褒城闻曙鸡”——他夜宿七盘岭——天河入户低。 【意象与手法】 “独游千里外、高卧七盘西”写独游千里；“晓月临窗近、天河入户低”写晓月天河；“芳春平仲绿、清夜子规啼”写平仲子规；结以“浮客空留听，褒城闻曙鸡”写褒城闻曙鸡。清丽浑成。 【情感与主旨】 沈佺期写夜宿七盘岭之作，写独游千里、晓月天河入户低的羁旅之景，是写蜀道羁旅的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“晓月临窗近，天河入户低”写月近窗低；“芳春平仲绿，清夜子规啼”写平仲子规。

Allusions

'The Seven Coils' (Qipanling) is the ridge of the road to the south, west of which the poet lies; 'the heaven's river' (tianhe) is the Milky Way, low at the ridge, entering the door. 'The maidenhair trees' (pingzhong) are the trees of the south, green in the fragrant spring; 'the cuckoo' (zigui) is the bird of the homesickness — the bird that cries, 'better to return' (zigui) — the cry heard by the guest; 'the floating guest' (fuke) is the wandering guest, the poet; 'the Bao city' (Baocheng) is the city of Bao — the town of the region, from which the dawn cock is heard.

诗中「独游千里外高卧七盘西」「晓月临窗近天河入户低」「芳春平仲绿清夜子规啼」「浮客空留听褒城闻曙鸡」等语，皆含典故故实。「独游千里外高卧七盘西」用七盘之典（七盘岭在褒城北，写宿岭），写独游千里外高卧七盘西；「晓月临窗近天河入户低」用天河之典（天河即银河，写夜近），写晓月临窗近天河入户低；「芳春平仲绿清夜子规啼」用子规之典（子规即杜鹃，啼声哀切），写芳春平仲绿清夜子规啼；「浮客空留听褒城闻曙鸡」写浮客空留听褒城闻曙鸡。诗人以七盘、天河、子规之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把写景羁旅之情写得真切可感，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

This poem is one of the earliest of the regulated verse of the journey, quoted for the exactness of its night scene. The moon near the window and the stars entering the door, and the cuckoo of the clear night, are among the admired passages of the early Tang. Critics praise the poem's exactness: the height of the ridge made visible, and the homesickness of the traveler gathered in the close.

这首《夜宿七盘岭》，是沈佺期写写景羁旅之作，写独游千里外、晓月临窗近、芳春平仲绿、褒城闻曙鸡之情，清丽浑成。起「独游千里外，高卧七盘西」——独游千里外，高卧七盘西。写独游千里外：独游千里外、高卧七盘西——千里外、七盘西；「晓月临窗近，天河入户低」——晓月临窗近，天河入户低。写晓月临窗近：晓月临窗近、天河入户低——临窗近、入户低；「芳春平仲绿，清夜子规啼」——芳春平仲绿，清夜子规啼。写芳春平仲绿：芳春平仲绿、清夜子规啼——平仲绿、子规啼；结「浮客空留听，褒城闻曙鸡」——浮客空留听，褒城闻曙鸡。写褒城闻曙鸡：浮客空留听、褒城闻曙鸡——空留听、闻曙鸡。这「浮客空留听，褒城闻曙鸡」，是全诗之结：以褒城闻曙鸡写其羁旅。全诗清丽浑成，以景写情，正是沈佺期诗中的名篇。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

Line by line

Related Reading