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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

夜筝

The Night Zither

白居易

Bai Juyi

紫袖红弦明月中，自弹自感暗低容。
弦凝指咽声停处，别有深情一万重。

The purple sleeves, the red strings, in the bright moon —
Plucking of herself, feeling of herself, she darkly lowers her face.
The strings congeal, the fingers choke, at the place the sound stops —
There is another love, ten thousand deep.
Listen

Meaning

A short poem of the night zither, written by Bai Juyi. The purple sleeves, the red strings, in the bright moon — the zither-player of the night, seen in the moon. Plucking of herself, feeling of herself, she darkly lowers her face — the player lost in her own playing, the face lowered. The strings congeal, the fingers choke, at the place the sound stops — the stopping of the sound, the silence of the music. And the close: there is another love, ten thousand deep — the feeling deeper than the sound, the love in the silence. The poem is the quiet observation of the zither-player: the moonlit strings, the lowered face, and the love ten thousand deep in the stopped sound.

紫袖红弦明月中，自弹自感暗低容。弦凝指咽声停处，别有深情一万重。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The purple sleeves, the red strings, in the bright moon — plucking of herself, feeling of herself, she darkly lowers her face. The strings congeal, the fingers choke, at the place the sound stops — there is another love, ten thousand deep. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the moonlit scene of the player and the strings, through the self-plucking and the lowered face, to the stopping of the sound, and the close's depth: another love, ten thousand deep. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the silence after the music: the strings congeal and the fingers choke at the stopped sound — the music broken — and the close gives the depth beyond the sound, the love ten thousand deep in the silence. [Emotional Tone] Quiet, deep, and melancholy: the poem is the night zither of the player, the moonlit strings and the love ten thousand deep in the stopped sound.

【白话串讲】 白居易写《夜筝》：“紫袖红弦明月中，自弹自感暗低容”——“弦凝指咽声停处，别有深情一万重”——他写夜筝——别有深情一万重。 【意象与手法】 “紫袖红弦明月中、自弹自感暗低容”写紫袖红弦；“弦凝指咽声停处”写弦凝指咽；结以“别有深情一万重”写别有深情。深婉动人。 【情感与主旨】 白居易写夜筝之作，写月下弹筝、弦凝指咽而别有深情一万重，是写音乐诗中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“紫袖红弦明月中，自弹自感暗低容”写月下弹筝；“弦凝指咽声停处，别有深情一万重”写弦外深情。

Background

Bai Juyi (772–846) wrote this short poem of the night zither, one of his many observations of the music. The poem's art is the depth of the silence: the zither-player in the moon, plucking and feeling, lowers her face; the strings congeal and the fingers choke at the stopped sound — and the close gives the love ten thousand deep beyond the sound. The poem is the model of the quiet observation of the music, the depth gathered in the stopped sound.

《夜筝》为唐代诗人白居易所作诗。白居易（772—846），字乐天，号香山居士，又号醉吟先生，祖籍太原，生于河南新郑，中唐诗人，新乐府运动倡导者。此诗写景音乐，为咏夜筝之作。诗中「紫袖红弦明月中，自弹自感暗低容」写紫袖红弦明月中，自弹自感暗低容；「弦凝指咽声停处，别有深情一万重」写弦凝指咽声停处，别有深情一万重。白居易此诗以写景音乐、别有深情一万重写其音乐之情，深婉动人，是白居易诗中的名篇。此篇《夜筝》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《夜筝》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 silence after the music. The scene is given first: the purple sleeves, the red strings, in the bright moon — the player and the instrument in the moonlight. The playing: plucking of herself, feeling of herself, she darkly lowers her face — the player lost in the feeling, the face lowered in the dark. The stopping: the strings congeal, the fingers choke, at the place the sound stops — the congealing of the strings and the choking of the fingers, the music broken at the silence. And the close gives the depth: there is another love, ten thousand deep — the love deeper than the sound, the depth in the silence. The moonlit player, the lowered face, and the stopped sound — the depth gathered in the close.

此诗艺术上以「深婉动人、以声写情」见长。全诗共四句两联，由紫袖红弦明月中而弦凝指咽声停处。起「紫袖红弦明月中，自弹自感暗低容」写紫袖红弦明月中：紫袖红弦明月中，自弹自感暗低容；结「弦凝指咽声停处，别有深情一万重」写弦凝指咽声停处：弦凝指咽声停处，别有深情一万重。全诗以声写情，由紫袖红弦明月中而别有深情一万重，深婉动人，是白居易诗中的名篇。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。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 carries no learned allusion; its art is the plain observation. 'The purple sleeves' (zixiu) are the sleeves of the player, purple in the moon; 'the red strings' (hongxian) are the red strings of the zither; 'the strings congeal' (xian ning) and 'the fingers choke' (zhi ye) are the congealing and the choking of the stopped sound — the music broken; 'another love, ten thousand deep' (bie you shenqing yi wan zhong) is the depth beyond the sound, the love in the silence.

诗中「紫袖红弦明月中自弹自感暗低容」「弦凝指咽声停处别有深情一万重」等语，皆含典故故实。「紫袖红弦明月中自弹自感暗低容」写紫袖红弦明月中自弹自感暗低容；「弦凝指咽声停处别有深情一万重」写弦凝指咽声停处别有深情一万重。诗人以红弦、深情等语入诗，不着痕迹，而把写景音乐之情写得真切可感，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。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 short poem is one of Bai Juyi's model observations of the music, quoted for the depth of its close. The strings congealing and the fingers choking at the stopped sound, and the love ten thousand deep, are among the most admired of his brief works. Critics praise the poem's art: the silence after the music, and the depth gathered in the stopped sound.

这首《夜筝》，是白居易写写景音乐之作，写紫袖红弦明月中、弦凝指咽声停处、别有深情一万重之情，深婉动人。起「紫袖红弦明月中，自弹自感暗低容」——紫袖红弦明月中，自弹自感暗低容。写紫袖红弦明月中：紫袖红弦明月中、自弹自感暗低容——明月中、暗低容；结「弦凝指咽声停处，别有深情一万重」——弦凝指咽声停处，别有深情一万重。写弦凝指咽声停处：弦凝指咽声停处、别有深情一万重——声停处、一万重。这「弦凝指咽声停处，别有深情一万重」，是全诗之结：以别有深情一万重写其音乐。全诗深婉动人，以声写情，正是白居易诗中的名篇。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。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 Heptasyllabic quatrain (qiyan jueju)诗（七言绝句）
Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level-tone zhong and zhong of the group — the even, level rhyme that carries the quiet depth.此诗为七言绝句，共四句两联。押韵：「容」「重」押冬部韵。前两句起、后两句转合，平仄相间，正与写写景音乐的深婉动人相称，也见其以七绝写音乐的凝练。
Tone pattern The cadence is that of the quiet observation: the level opening with the moonlit scene, the turning with the playing and the stopping, and the close's even fall with the depth ten thousand deep.句式上，「紫袖红弦明月中，自弹自感暗低容」写紫袖红弦明月中，音节婉转；结「弦凝指咽声停处，别有深情一万重」写弦凝指咽声停处，音节悠长。全诗音节随情起伏，由婉转而悠长，正合七绝「凝练」之妙，读来如写景音乐、别有深情一万重之音，深婉而动人。
Reading note The poem's sound matches its depth: the level rhymes carry the even cadence of the night, and the close — 'xian ning zhi ye sheng ting chu, bie you shenqing yi wan zhong' — falls with the ten thousand deep, the sound of the love in the silence.此诗为七言绝句，是白居易写写景音乐之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「深婉动人、以声写情」：「紫袖红弦明月中，自弹自感暗低容」写紫袖红弦明月中、「弦凝指咽声停处，别有深情一万重」写弦凝指咽声停处。全诗深婉动人，以声写情。尤为精妙者，是「紫袖红弦明月中」写尽明月中；而「别有深情一万重」写尽一万重之情，正是白居易诗「深婉动人」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《夜筝》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

紫袖红弦明月中，自弹自感暗低容。

The purple sleeves, the red strings, in the bright moon — plucking of herself, feeling of herself, she darkly lowers her face.

紫袖红弦明月中，自弹自感暗低容。

Purple sleeves, red strings, in the bright moon; she plays to her own feeling, face quietly bowed.

起句写紫袖红弦明月中，起笔即见其弦。「紫袖红弦明月中」写紫袖红弦明月中，「紫袖红弦」写紫袖红弦、「明月中」写明月中；「自弹自感暗低容」写自弹自感暗低容，「自弹自感」写自弹自感、「暗低容」写暗低容。一句写紫袖红弦明月中自弹自感暗低容，以紫袖红弦明月中写明月中、以自弹自感暗低容写暗低容，写尽紫袖红弦明月中、自弹自感暗低容之情。以弦起兴，深婉而动人，是「以弦起兴」的妙笔。

The opening writes purple sleeves, red strings, in the bright moon, the strings named at the first stroke. Purple sleeves, red strings: the performer's dress, the instrument's hue. In the bright moon: the moonlit setting. She plays to her own feeling, face quietly bowed: her playing, her own emotion, her lowered face. One line writes the moonlit strings and the self-absorbed player - Bai Juyi's starting point for the night zither: the bright moon, the colored strings, the bowed face. The line opens with strings as bi-xing, deep and moving: the player is not performing for others but for her own grief.

弦凝指咽声停处，

The strings congeal, the fingers choke, at the place the sound stops —

弦凝指咽声停处，

At the moment when the strings freeze, the fingers falter, the sound stops,

此句写弦凝指咽声停处，是全诗写弦凝之态的关键。「弦凝指咽」写弦凝指咽，「弦凝」写弦凝、「指咽」写指咽；「声停处」写声停处，「声停」写声停、「处」写处。一句写弦凝指咽声停处，以弦凝指咽写指咽、以声停处写声停处，写尽弦凝指咽声停处之情。以声写情，深婉而动人，是「以声写情」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

This line writes at the moment when the strings freeze, the fingers falter, the sound stops, the key to the poem's frozen-string state. Strings freeze: the bow stopped. Fingers falter: the hand held back. The sound stops: the music ended. One line writes the frozen strings and the stopped sound - Bai Juyi's middle turn: the moment of silence between notes. The line uses sound for feeling, deep and moving: the pause is where the grief is thickest.

别有深情一万重。

There is another love, ten thousand deep.

别有深情一万重。

there lies another deep feeling, ten thousand layers.

结句写别有深情一万重，是全诗立意的落点。「别有深情」写别有深情，「别有」写别有、「深情」写深情；「一万重」写一万重，「一万」写一万、「重」写重。一句写别有深情一万重，以别有深情写深情、以一万重写一万重，写尽别有深情一万重之情。以情写情，深婉而动人，是全诗最动人处，也是「以情写情」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

The closing line writes there lies another deep feeling, ten thousand layers, the poem's landing. Another deep feeling: the hidden emotion. Ten thousand layers: the depth untold. One line writes the hidden deep feeling and its ten thousand layers - Bai Juyi's resolution: beyond the played notes, the silence holds ten thousand layers of grief. The line uses feeling for feeling, deep and moving, the poem's most moving point: the stopped sound reveals what the music could not say.

Study

Word focus

紫袖 'The purple sleeves' — the sleeves of the player, purple in the moon, the image of the player. 「紫袖」写紫袖红弦明月中，是写紫袖之态的关键。「紫袖红弦明月中」着一「紫袖」，写紫袖——着一「紫袖」，写紫袖红弦明月中，见其袖之紫。两字写尽紫袖之态，是「以词写袖」的妙笔。「紫袖」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。
红弦 'The red strings' — the red strings of the zither, the instrument in the moon. 「红弦」写紫袖红弦明月中，是写红弦之态的关键。「紫袖红弦明月中」着一「红弦」，写红弦——着一「红弦」，写紫袖红弦明月中，见其弦之红。两字写尽红弦之态，是「以词写弦」的点睛之词。「红弦」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。
弦凝 'The strings congeal' — the congealing of the stopped sound, the music broken. 「弦凝」写弦凝指咽声停处，是写弦凝之态的关键。「弦凝指咽声停处」着一「弦凝」，写弦凝——着一「弦凝」，写弦凝指咽声停处，见其凝之弦。两字写尽弦凝之态，是「以词写凝」的点睛之词。「弦凝」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。
深情 'The deep love' — the love ten thousand deep, the depth beyond the sound. 「深情」写别有深情一万重，是写深情之态的关键。「别有深情一万重」着一「深情」，写深情——着一「深情」，写别有深情一万重，见其情之深。两字写尽深情之态，是「以词写情」的点睛之词。「深情」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。

Related Reading

水调歌头·明月几时有 Prelude to Water Melody: When Did the Bright Moon Begin? 苏轼 · 同写听乐感怀、深婉旷达，一写起舞弄清影、一写弦凝指咽声停处别有深情一万重，皆于听乐之中见深婉 Both are the poems of the night and the music — Bai Juyi's stopped zither, Su Shi's moonlit drinking — the two nights of the feeling.

Bai Juyi's 'Night Zither' is the quiet night of the stopped sound — the love ten thousand deep in the silence; Su Shi's 'Prelude to Water Melody' — 'when did the bright moon begin?' — is the night of the moonlit drinking, the feeling of the distance — the two nights of the feeling, the one silent, the other sung.

苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「起舞弄清影，何似在人间」，写听乐感怀、深婉旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；白居易《夜筝》则以「弦凝指咽声停处，别有深情一万重」「紫袖红弦明月中」写声停处、明月中。两诗同写听乐感怀、深婉旷达：一写起舞弄清影、以起舞写超然，一写弦凝指咽声停处别有深情一万重、以弦凝写音乐；一为苏轼之旷达、一为白居易之深婉，并读正可见诗写「听乐感怀」的两种笔法，皆于听乐之中见深婉。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Eight Beats of Ganzhou: Facing the Evening Rain That Spatters the Long River 柳永 · 同写乐声凝望、深婉清丽，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写紫袖红弦明月中自弹自感暗低容，皆于乐声之中见凝望 Both are the poems of the night and the longing of the music and the scene — Bai Juyi's zither, Liu Yong's evening rain — the two depths of the feeling.

Bai Juyi's 'Night Zither' gathers the depth in the stopped sound — the love ten thousand deep; Liu Yong's 'Eight Beats of Ganzhou' gathers the longing in the evening rain — the sorrow of the distance — the two depths of the Chinese poetry of the feeling, the one in the silence, the other in the scene.

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」，写乐声凝望、深婉清丽，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；白居易《夜筝》则以「紫袖红弦明月中，自弹自感暗低容」「弦凝指咽声停处」写暗低容、声停处。两诗同写乐声凝望、深婉清丽：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写紫袖红弦明月中自弹自感暗低容、以红弦写音乐；一为柳永之清丽、一为白居易之深婉，并读正可见诗写「乐声凝望」的两种笔法，皆于乐声之中见凝望。