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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

月下独酌·其一

Drinking Alone Under the Moon (I)

李白

Li Bai

抒情Lyrical 孤独Loneliness 月Moon

花间一壶酒，独酌无相亲。
举杯邀明月，对影成三人。
月既不解饮，影徒随我身。
暂伴月将影，行乐须及春。
我歌月徘徊，我舞影零乱。
醒时同交欢，醉后各分散。
永结无情游，相期邈云汉。

Among the flowers, from a pot of wine
I drink alone without a companion.
Raising my cup, I invite the bright moon,
Facing my shadow, we become three.
The moon does not know how to drink,
My shadow merely follows my body.
Temporarily I accompany the moon and my shadow,
Enjoying spring while I can.
I sing, the moon lingers;
I dance, my shadow scatters.
When sober, we share joy;
When drunk, we each go our way.
Let us forever be heartless friends,
Meeting again in the distant Milky Way.

Listen

Meaning

The poet drinks alone among flowers and invites the moon and his shadow to join him, turning solitude into a party. But the moon cannot drink, and the shadow is only a shadow, so he resolves to enjoy the moment. He sings and dances with his imaginary companions, and when drunk, they part. He hopes to meet them again in the stars.

花丛间摆下一壶酒，独自酌饮没有知音相伴。举起酒杯邀请天上的明月，再加上自己的影子，便成了三个人。明月毕竟不会饮酒，影子也只是空自随我身。暂且以月与影为伴，行乐须趁这大好的春光。我高歌时月儿徘徊聆听，我起舞时影子零乱相随。清醒时一同欢娱，醉倒后各自分散。愿与这无情之物结下永恒的交游，相约在那遥远的银河之畔。

Appreciation

This poem turns extreme loneliness into a grand banquet by personifying the moon and shadow. The famous line 'Raising my cup, I invite the bright moon, facing my shadow we become three' is a masterstroke of imagination and counterpoint: the appearance of a trio highlights the reality of solitude. Li Bai's language is natural yet brilliant, capturing both the pain and transcendence of isolation.

【白话串讲】一个人喝酒太孤单，李白把月亮和影子拉来凑成三个人。这首看似热闹的诗，其实是唐诗里最著名的孤独——连月亮都只是他醉后的幻觉。【意象与手法】想象超逸，以月、影为友的奇想，把孤独写成热闹，再以“月既不解饮”轻轻戳破，构思奇巧而层次分明【情感与主旨】李白在长安任翰林供奉时，虽近君王却不过弄臣角色，抱负难展、内心孤独【名句点睛】常考浪漫想象与孤高情怀，以及“举杯邀明月，对影成三人”的奇巧构思

Background

Li Bai served as a court poet in Chang'an but felt frustrated as a mere entertainer. This poem likely dates from that period, expressing his loneliness and disdain for sycophancy. The poet's wild imagination turns solitude into a cosmic celebration, revealing his unyielding spirit.

李白，字太白，号青莲居士，盛唐浪漫主义诗歌之巅。《月下独酌》共四首，此为其一。诗约作于唐玄宗天宝三载（744）前后，时李白在长安任翰林供奉。虽近君王，实不过文学弄臣之角色，抱负难展、内心孤独，又值宫禁清冷、知交疏阔，遂于月下独饮，借酒遣怀。独酌者，无人共饮也，正写孤高之态。在文学传统上，对月饮酒为魏晋以来文人雅趣，陶渊明、谢庄《月赋》已启对月之思，而太白以月、影为友的奇想则空前绝后。此诗将孤独写成热闹、再以无情戳破，构思奇巧，开盛唐七绝（实为五古）写孤高浪漫之新境，对后世苏轼《水调歌头》等月下怀人之作影响深远，遂为唐人写月、写独之经典。在文学传统上，对月饮酒为魏晋以来文人雅趣，陶渊明、谢庄月赋已启对月之思，而太白以月、影为友的奇想则空前绝后。此诗将孤独写成热闹、再以无情戳破，构思奇巧，开盛唐写孤高浪漫之新境，对后世苏轼水调歌头等月下怀人之作影响深远。虽近君王而抱负难展，宫禁清冷、知交疏阔，遂于月下独饮，借酒遣怀，其孤高之态最见诗人本色，遂为唐人写月、写独之经典，足为五古之范。

Art

The poet's surreal imagination takes center stage: inviting the moon and shadow to drink turns loneliness into a party. Then 'The moon does not know how to drink' punctures the illusion. The structure mirrors a tipsy, meandering thought process. The language is plain yet profound, with vivid personification ('the moon lingers', 'my shadow scatters').

全诗十四句，章法以由孤而闹、由闹而醒、由醒而约四层翻转，构思奇巧如梦中变化。起联花间一壶酒，独酌无相亲先立孤境，花月设色而无人相亲愈显寂寞；忽以举杯邀明月，对影成三人翻出奇想，将月、影拉为饮伴，孤独顿成三人热闹；然月既不解饮，影徒随我身轻轻戳破幻象，热闹复归虚空，用笔如波折；暂伴月将影，行乐须及春权以慰藉，我歌月徘徊、我舞影零乱写月影随人歌舞，似真似幻；醒时同交欢、醉后各分散点破聚散之虚；末永结无情游，相期邈云汉翻作永恒之约，孤高飘逸。修辞上以拟人（邀明月）、奇想（成三人）、对比（无情与交欢）见长，意象花、月、影、春、云汉层叠，诚五古中以情构境、以幻写真之极笔。其妙在由孤而闹、由闹而醒、由醒而约四层翻转，构思奇巧如梦中变化。以拟人（邀明月）、奇想（成三人）、对比（无情与交欢）见长，意象花、月、影、春、云汉层叠，诚五古中以情构境、以幻写真之极笔。举杯邀明月将高天明月拉为饮伴，月既不解饮轻轻戳破幻象，热闹复归虚空。盛唐诗人以气韵胜，此篇正是不雕而工、以奇想写沉郁之范式，读来如花间独语、波折不尽，足见浪漫手段之极，千载传诵。

Allusions

The line 'raising my cup, I invite the bright moon, facing my shadow we become three' is iconic for its personification. 'Cloudy River' (Yunhan) refers to the Milky Way, an allusion to the distant stars, symbolizing transcendence.

诗中意象与字法多有所本。对月独酌承陶渊明、谢庄月赋之雅趣，而月下邀月为太白独创。影本无形，陶诗已言顾影，太白却以影为三人之一，化虚为伴。无情游之无情，本佛道术语，谓无世俗情累、任运自然，李白以之写与月影之游超出人世牵缠；云汉即银河，语出《诗经·大东》跂彼织女，昴彼牵牛，云汉为天河代称，相期云汉见其飘逸出尘。字词训诂方面，将影之将犹与也、偕也；及春言趁春光行乐，化《古诗》及时之意；不解饮之解谓知、能。各分散之分散，写醉后月影不见，暗喻欢会之虚。全诗用事融化道释与诗骚，不深奥而贴切，正见盛唐诗人以学问为诗却不滞于学问之高明。要之，全诗用事融化道释与诗骚，不深奥而贴切。无情游之无情本佛道术语，谓无世俗情累、任运自然，李白以之写与月影之游超出人世牵缠；云汉即银河，语出诗经大东，相期云汉见其飘逸出尘。将影之将犹与也、偕也；及春言趁春光行乐，化古诗及时之意。此正盛唐诗人以学问为诗却不滞于学问之高明，化用故实而自出襟抱，举重若轻，遂成写月下孤高之绝唱，信非偶然。

Commentary

Critics praise Li Bai's celestial talent. This poem showcases his transcendental detachment: without company, he befriends the moon and shadow, lonely but not pathetic. It embodies the natural elegance of 'lotus emerging from clear water'.

此诗向为李白五古名篇，明人钟惺《唐诗归》称其言情至此，另是一副肺肠，令人欲啼欲笑。清沈德潜《唐诗别裁集》谓饮与月影对，愈见其孤独，而胸襟自旷。历代评家多赏其以旷达写孤独、以奇想写沉郁，苏轼《水调歌头》明月几时有之问月，实受此诗邀月之启发。其经典地位在于将人人共有的孤独化为月下三人、无情之游的浪漫奇观，举杯邀明月，对影成三人更成千古名句，写尽孤高者的精神自救。传播史上，此诗入选《唐诗三百首》及各类教材，现代语文教育尤重其浪漫主义想象与孤独主题；在月文化、酒文化中，它与静夜思并列为李白写月双璧，足证短章亦能涵千回百折之情。其经典地位在于将人人共有的孤独化为月下三人、无情之游的浪漫奇观，举杯邀明月，对影成三人更成千古名句，写尽孤高者的精神自救。传播史上，此诗入选唐诗三百首及各类教材，现代语文教育尤重其浪漫主义想象与孤独主题；在月文化、酒文化中，它与静夜思并列为李白写月双璧，足证短章亦能涵千回百折之情。苏轼水调歌头问月实受此诗之启发，其影响及于宋调，信非偶然。

Prosody

Form Five-character ancient verse (古体)五言古诗（乐府风味，写月下独饮，属抒情行旅题材）

Rhyme Not regulated; rhyming shifts (e.g., qin, ren, shen, chun; later luan, san, han)换韵多次，古体不依近体：亲、人、身、春、人（真韵），乱、散（寒旱换韵），汉（旱换），随情转韵，声情舒卷自由。

Tone pattern Five-character lines, free-flowing syntax, no strict tonal patterns五言古诗，不绳平仄格律，以气脉驱遣，句式以五言为主，间以散文笔意，诵读如独白行云。

Reading note The structure mimics a drunken sequence: from solitary to trio, back to solitude, then to eternal covenant.此诗为五言古诗，本不拘近体声律，而以换韵随情、语气流转写梦境般起伏。开篇亲、人平声真韵，孤而能舒；中联身、春仍真韵，写月影相伴之暂暖；后乱、散换仄声，聚散之虚顿显；末汉仄收，飘然远举。平仄韵交替正如情绪之由孤而闹、由闹而醒、由醒而约，与内容四折同构。古体之妙在不被律缚而气韵自畅，太白此篇以五言独白写月下奇想，邀月成三人如醉中语，遂成唐人五古写孤高浪漫之范式。其声情即心境，读来如花间独语，宜乎千载传诵而不衰。要之，古体之妙在不被律缚而气韵自畅，太白此篇以五言独白写月下奇想，邀月成三人如醉中语，遂成唐人五古写孤高浪漫之范式。其声情即心境，读来如花间独语，平仄韵交替正如情绪之由孤而闹、由闹而醒、由醒而约，与内容四折同构。论者谓太白五古如行云流水，此诗正其舒卷最自如处，声情与辞情互为表里，宜乎千载传诵而不衰，足为五古之极则。

Line by line

举杯邀明月，对影成三人。

Raising cup to invite bright moon, facing shadow we become three. The imaginative personification turns loneliness into a party, but the trio highlights the solitude.

举起酒杯邀请天上的明月，再加上自己的影子，便成了三个人。

I raise my cup and invite the bright moon; with my shadow, we make three.

此联为全诗诗眼，于独酌无相亲的孤境中陡生奇想：举杯邀明月，将高天明月拉为对饮之客；对影成三人，连地上身影也算作一员，孤独顿成三人热闹。邀字最妙，主动而多情，明月本无情物，诗人却以人为之态相邀，浪漫至极。此联将不可解之孤化为可亲之伴，是以幻写真、以闹写孤的典范。其所以成千古名句，正在其道出孤高者精神的自我成全：世人皆散，我独与天地为侣。唐人写月多静观，太白却与月对饮，举重若轻，正见浪漫诗人以奇想破孤寂之高手笔，遂开月下怀人之新境，后之苏轼问月实承此脉。

This couplet is the poem's eye; within the lone drinking without kin, a fancy suddenly rises: raising my cup and inviting the bright moon draws the high moon down as a drinking companion; with my shadow, we make three, counting even the shadow on the ground as one member, loneliness instantly becoming a three-person liveliness. Invite is most subtle - active and feeling-rich; the bright moon is originally a feelingless thing, yet the poet invites it as if a person, romance to the extreme. This couplet converts the inexplicable solitude into a companionable gathering - the model of writing the real through the illusory, writing solitude through liveliness. It became an age-famous line precisely because it speaks the self-completion of the lofty-spirited: all the world has dispersed; I alone take heaven and earth as companions. Tang writers on the moon mostly gaze in stillness; Taibai instead drinks face to face with the moon, taking the heavy lightly - precisely showing the romantic poet's master stroke of breaking solitude through whimsy, opening the new realm of longing under the moon; later Su Shi's questioning of the moon indeed inherits this vein.

永结无情游，相期邈云汉。

Forever form an emotionless friendship, meet again in the distant Milky Way. 'Heartless' contrasts with human attachments; the conclusion elevates transient solitude to eternal bond.

愿与这无情之物结下永恒的交游，相约在那遥远的银河之畔。

Forever I will join this passionless roaming; we have promised to meet far off in the Milky Way.

末联为全诗精神之归，由醒醉聚散的虚幻翻作永恒之约。永结无情游，言愿与月影这等无情之物结下不计世俗情累的交游，无情正合道家庄子坐忘、任运自然之境，反显人世交情的易散难久；相期邈云汉，相约于遥远银河之畔，飘逸出尘，将孤高之志托于天宇。此联收束前此热闹与虚空之起伏，归于旷达，孤独终得安顿。其妙在以超旷结孤，不呼号而胸襟自阔；无情二字最见李白本色，以物之无情衬己之深情。盛唐诗人炼意于常语，此联正是不炼之炼，足证太白以幻写真、以豪写孤之浪漫至境，遂成写月下孤高之绝唱。

The closing couplet is the poem's spiritual home, turning the illusion of waking, drunkenness, gathering, and dispersal into an eternal covenant. Forever I will join this passionless roaming says he wishes to form with the moon and shadow, these feelingless things, a bond free of worldly emotional burdens; passionless precisely matches the Zhuangzi realm of sitting in forgetfulness and following nature, by contrast showing human friendship's dispersal and impermanence. We have promised to meet far off in the Milky Way, promising to meet at the distant Silver River, transcendent and unworldly, placing the lofty will upon the sky. This couplet resolves the previous liveliness and void's rise and fall into openness; solitude at last finds its resting place. Its subtlety lies in closing solitude through transcendence: not crying out, yet the breast self-broadens. Passionless most shows Li Bai's nature, using things' feelinglessness to set off his own deep feeling. High-Tang poets refining meaning in common words; this couplet is precisely the refinement without refinement, proving Taibai's romantic ultimate of writing the real through illusion and solitude through heroism, becoming the unmatched song of loftiness under the moon.

Study

Word focus

邀 When the poet 'invites' the moon, he personifies it, turning an inanimate object into a drinking companion, a hallmark of Li Bai's romanticism. 邀字为全诗浪漫之眼，举杯邀明月以主动多情之态，将本无情之明月拉为对饮之客。邀本待人语，施于明月，是拟人更是奇想，见诗人孤中作闹、以幻遣寂的本领。此字最重，若无邀字，则月自月、我自我，孤境难破；有邀字，则天地顿时成席，三人立现。唐人写月多重静观遥想，太白独以邀字破之，举重若轻，正见浪漫诗人化无情为有情之手段。邀字亦透孤高底色：世人不可邀，故邀明月，孤独之深与傲岸之姿并见。盛唐诗人炼意于常语，此字正是不炼之炼，足证李白以奇想写沉郁之高手笔，遂开月下怀人新境。

无情 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 无情二字为全诗归旨之核，永结无情游以道释任运之语写与月影的交游。无情本谓无世俗情累、自然而运，李白反用之：人世之情易散（醒时交欢、醉后分散），唯月影无情，反可永结不散。此词以物之无情衬己之深情，以超旷写孤寂，举重若轻。其妙在翻尽常理：人多求有情之伴，太白却求无情之游，正显孤高者对人世聚散的勘破。盛唐诗人融化道释入诗，无情二字最见透脱；与相期云汉呼应，将孤高之志托于天宇。若无无情二字，则结句落于寻常惜别；有此二字，则胸襟豁然、孤而不伤，足证太白以幻写真、以旷写孤之极笔。