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魏晋 Wei-Jin · 诗 Poem

拟行路难·其一

Imitating the Hard Road · First (Ni Xing Lu Nan)

鲍照

Bao Zhao

忧愤/感时indignation / feeling the times 咏史/怀才history / unrecognized talent

奉君金卮之美酒，玳瑁玉匣之雕琴。
七彩芙蓉之羽帐，九华葡萄之锦衾。
红颜零落岁将暮，寒光宛转时欲沉。
愿君裁悲且减思，听我抵节行路吟。
不见柏梁铜雀上，宁闻古时清吹音。

I offer you fine wine in a golden cup; a carved zither in a tortoiseshell-and-jade case.
A feather-curtain of seven-hued hibiscus; a brocade quilt of nine-flower grapes.
Your red face fades as the year declines; the cold light turns, the time about to sink.
I pray you cut your grief and lessen your care; hear me beat the measure and sing the Hard Road.
Do you not see on the Boliang and Bronze Sparrow terraces—who now hears the clear music of old?

Listen

Meaning

Bao Zhao, of the Liu-Song of the Southern Dynasties, low-born yet gifted, was an aide to Prince Linhai Liu Zixu, called 'Staff Officer Bao.' Then the gate-clan system was strict, 'no cold door in the top grade'; Bao's advance was blocked, his poems voice the unfairness of the cold scholar. The eighteen Ni Xing Lu Nan imitate the Han yuefu miscellany tune; this is the first, opening with lavish sound and color, turning to red face fading and old music gone—typical of the talented-yet-lowly writing grief by music.

奉劝君饮这金卮中的美酒，赏这玳瑁玉匣装饰的雕琴。七彩芙蓉纹的羽帐，九华葡萄纹的锦被。红颜将随岁月零落，年华将暮；寒夜的光阴宛转流逝，时光将要沉沦。愿君裁抑悲怀且减少愁思，听我击节唱这《行路难》。不见那柏梁台、铜雀台上，哪里还听得见古时的清越吹奏之音？

Appreciation

The first four lines lead with 'I offer you,' stringing four gorgeous images—golden cup wine, tortoiseshell carved zither, seven-hued hibiscus curtain, nine-flower grape quilt—fu spreading the height of sound and color. 'Your red face fades as the year declines; the cold light turns' turns sharply in couplet, from thing to person, from flourish to decline. The end 'do you not see on Boliang and Bronze Sparrow... who hears the clear music of old' closes by rhetoric, the dying of old music darkly figures the burying of the talented—implicit, bitter, the structure opens and closes grandly.

【白话串讲】鲍照说：我奉上美酒雕琴，只愿你放下悲伤，听我唱一曲《行路难》。人生路难走，“红颜零落岁将暮”——容颜易老，岁月将晚。人生的路，从来不好走。【意象与手法】起四句以「奉君」领起，连用金卮、玳瑁雕琴、七彩芙蓉羽帐、九华葡萄锦衾四组华丽意象，赋法铺排极尽声色之盛；「红颜零落岁将暮，寒光宛转时欲沉」以对仗陡转，由物及人、由盛转衰；末「不见柏梁铜雀上，宁闻古时清吹音」以反诘收束，以古乐之绝唱暗喻才士之埋没，含蓄沉痛，章法大开大合。【情感与主旨】鲍照身值南朝宋，门第寒微而文才卓绝，曾为临海王刘子顼参军，世称「鲍参军」。当时门阀制度森严，「上品无寒门」，鲍照仕进备受压制，其诗多抒寒士不平。《拟行路难》十八首拟汉乐府杂曲，此为其一，以铺陈声色起势，转折到红颜易老、古乐消歇，正是「才秀人微」者借乐写愤的典型之作。【名句点睛】「不见柏梁铜雀上，宁闻古时清吹音」以反诘写古乐消歇、才士埋没，含蓄沉痛，为常考之句；前四句铺排华丽意象的作用亦为赏析重点。

Background

Bao Zhao, of the Liu-Song of the Southern Dynasties, low-born yet gifted, was an aide to Prince Linhai, called 'Staff Officer Bao.' Then the gate-clan system was strict; Bao's advance was blocked, his poems voice the cold scholar's unfairness. The eighteen Ni Xing Lu Nan imitate the Han yuefu miscellany tune; this is the first, opening with lavish sound and color, turning to red face fading and old music gone—typical of the talented-yet-lowly writing grief by music.

鲍照（约414—466），字明远，南朝宋诗人，东海（今山东郯城）人，曾为临海王刘子顼参军，世称「鲍参军」，后死于乱军之中。鲍照身值南朝宋，门第寒微而文才卓绝，然当时门阀制度森严，讲究门第出身，「上品无寒门，下品无世族」，寒门士子纵有才华亦难跻身显贵，鲍照一生仕途偃蹇，郁郁不得志。其诗多抒寒士不平，与谢灵运的山水、颜延之的典重并称「元嘉三大家」之一。《拟行路难》十八首拟汉乐府《行路难》杂曲，抒写寒士的悲愤与人生的感慨，此为其一：起以铺陈美酒雕琴等声色之盛，劝人及时行乐、裁悲减思，继而写红颜易老、时光将沉，末以「不见柏梁铜雀上，宁闻古时清吹音」的感慨作结，以古乐的消歇写才士的埋没，正是「才秀人微」者借乐写愤的典型之作，也是理解鲍照其人其志与其诗风的重要文本。又，鲍照出身寒门而才华横溢，其《拟行路难》诸篇正是寒士在门阀制度下的心声，诗中铺陈金卮美酒、雕琴锦衾的华丽，实为以「富贵之象」反衬「寒士之悲」，越写繁华越见其不得意，这种「以乐景写哀」的手法，正是其「才秀人微」处境的曲折反映，也是理解六朝寒士文学精神的关键。

Art

First four lead with 'I offer you,' four gorgeous images, fu spreading sound and color; 'your red face fades...' turns in couplet from thing to person, flourish to decline. End 'do you not see Boliang, Bronze Sparrow... who hears the clear music' closes by rhetoric, old music's dying darkly figures the talented's burying—implicit bitter, grand open-close.

此诗章法大开大合，铺排转跌，是鲍照乐府「俊逸而沉郁」风格的典型体现。起四句以「奉君」领起，连用金卮美酒、玳瑁玉匣雕琴、七彩芙蓉羽帐、九华葡萄锦衾四组华丽意象，赋法铺排极尽声色之盛，珠光宝气、五色斑斓，为全诗营造出一片繁华的幻象；「红颜零落岁将暮，寒光宛转时欲沉」以对仗陡转，由物及人、由盛转衰，红颜零落写人之老，寒光宛转写时之逝，繁华之盛与衰颓之速形成巨大反差；「愿君裁悲且减思，听我抵节行路吟」以劝解的口吻转入本题，请君裁抑悲怀，听我击节而歌《行路难》，点出乐府本旨；末「不见柏梁铜雀上，宁闻古时清吹音」以反诘收束，以汉代宫观中古乐的消歇暗喻才士的埋没，含蓄沉痛，余韵不尽。全诗由铺排到转折、由劝解到感慨，章法大开大合，正是乐府诗「以赋起、以兴结」的典型结构。全诗十句，前四句铺陈、五六句转折、七八句点题、末二句感慨，章法如层波叠浪：铺陈极尽声色之盛，转折则跌入红颜易老之悲，点题则以「行路吟」自揭其怀，感慨则以古乐之歇写才士之沉，一波三折，跌宕起伏，正见鲍照乐府「发唱惊挺，操调险急」的风格，其音节之抑扬、情感之起伏，皆开唐人歌行之先声。

Allusions

'Boliang' uses Emperor Wu of Han's Boliang Terrace, where ruler and ministers joined in verse, the start of seven-character poetry; 'Bronze Sparrow' uses Cao Cao's Bronze Sparrow Terrace, where Bronze Sparrow entertainers played. Both were Han flourish music-dance places; 'do you not see,' 'who hears' by rhetoric write old music gone, the age no more, darkly figuring the cold scholar buried like old music. 'Clear music' originally clear pipes; here music's death ribs talent's sinking—allusion and fate fit tight.

诗中用典皆与时代盛衰、才士命运相关。「金卮」「玳瑁」「雕琴」「羽帐」「锦衾」等皆为华贵器物，铺陈中暗含「及时行乐」之意，承汉乐府《箜篌引》《西门行》等「人生不满百，常怀千岁忧」的传统。「柏梁」用汉武帝柏梁台之典，相传柏梁台落成，武帝与群臣联句作诗，为七言诗之始；「铜雀」用曹操铜雀台之典，铜雀台为曹操所筑，歌舞盛极一时，二台皆汉代繁华乐舞之所。「不见柏梁铜雀上，宁闻古时清吹音」以「不见」「宁闻」的反问写古乐之消歇、盛世之不再，当年柏梁铜雀台上的清吹之音，如今安在？暗喻当代寒士如古乐般被埋没无声。「清吹」本指清越的管乐，此处以乐之亡讽才之沉，典故与身世密合无间，正见鲍照使事贴切、以古喻今的本领。另，「行路难」本为乐府古题，古辞已佚，鲍照拟之而创为新体，其「愿君裁悲且减思」之语，承《古诗十九首》「生年不满百，常怀千岁忧」的劝慰传统，然「裁悲减思」而终不能减，正见其悲之深；「抵节」即击节，为乐府歌唱的伴奏方式，以此写歌者之态，既有现场感，又暗合「以乐写哀」的题旨，典与意浑然一体。

Commentary

Tang's Du Fu 'fair and flowing, Staff Officer Bao' praises his style. Song's Yan Yu lists Bao in the Jian'an bone line. Qing's Shen Deqian: the Ni Xing Lu Nan 'like Wu Ding cutting mountains, opens what the world had not.' This piece spreads then turns, writes the cold scholar's sinking by old music's rest—shows Bao's fu fair-and-flowing yet gloomy bone.

历代论者对此诗评价极高。唐代杜甫《春日忆李白》「俊逸鲍参军」推其诗风，以为鲍照之俊逸与庾信之清新并为诗坛双璧；宋代严羽《沧浪诗话》列鲍照于「建安风骨」一脉，以为其诗上承汉魏风骨；清代沈德潜《古诗源》评《拟行路难》「如五丁凿山，开人世所未有」，盛赞其开拓之功。此诗的价值，一在它是鲍照《拟行路难》组诗的代表作，集中体现了其乐府诗「俊逸而沉郁」的风格；二在它以华丽的铺陈写深沉的悲愤，于声色之盛中见才士之悲，是「以乐景写哀情」的典范；三在它开唐人歌行（如李白《将进酒》「人生得意须尽欢」）的先声，是七言乐府由汉魏走向唐代的桥梁，在中国诗歌发展史上具有承上启下的重要意义。又，鲍照《拟行路难》十八首在中国诗歌史上的地位，可一言以蔽之：它使七言乐府由汉魏的「杂言偶见」发展为「纯七言的成熟体式」，为李白《行路难》《将进酒》等七言歌行提供了直接范本，杜甫称其「俊逸」，正是对其七言乐府艺术成就的精准概括，此诗作为组诗开篇，其示范意义尤为重要。

Prosody

Form Seven-character yuefu (Ni Xing Lu Nan)七言乐府（拟汉乐府《行路难》）

Rhyme Ping-shui, qin/wen mixed, free shift琴、衾属平水韵侵韵，沉、吟、音属侵韵，通押侵韵，换韵自由，不拘一格

Tone pattern yuefu ancient, level-oblique free乐府古体，平仄不拘，七言为主，以自然节奏取胜

Reading note Bao founded seven-character yuefu lyric; this piece spreads then turns, opens Tang song-lyric precedent此诗为七言乐府，属鲍照拟汉乐府《行路难》之作。用韵上，全诗韵脚「琴」「衾」「沉」「吟」「音」皆属侵韵，一韵到底，古体乐府不避重韵、不避邻韵通押，以自然谐畅为尚。平仄上，乐府古体不拘近体平仄，以七言句的自然节奏取胜，如「奉君金卮之美酒」「玳瑁玉匣之雕琴」，句中以「之」字构成舒缓的节奏，摇曳生姿。章法上，全诗十句，起四句铺陈声色，五六句陡转写老，七八句劝解点题，九十句怀古收束，大开大合，正是乐府「以赋起、以兴结」的典型结构。鲍照此作的最大贡献，在于以七言句写乐府新题，打破了汉魏乐府以五言为主的格局，其《拟行路难》十八首是七言诗发展史上划时代的作品，直接开启了唐代李白《将进酒》《行路难》等七言歌行的先声，在中国诗歌体式演变中具有承前启后的重要地位。

Line by line

奉君金卮之美酒，玳瑁玉匣之雕琴

I offer you fine wine in a golden cup; a carved zither in a tortoiseshell-and-jade case.

奉劝君饮这金卮中的美酒，赏这玳瑁玉匣装饰的雕琴。

I offer you fine wine in a golden goblet, and a carved lute in a tortoise-shell jade case.

起句以「奉君」领起，是全诗铺陈华丽意象的开端。「奉君」以对话口吻起势，仿佛举杯相劝，亲切中又透出郑重；「金卮之美酒」「玳瑁玉匣之雕琴」以极华丽的物象写酒之佳、琴之精：金卮为金制酒杯，酒盛其中，金光潋滟；玳瑁玉匣盛着雕花之琴，匣之华贵衬琴之名贵。「之」字连用，句式舒缓，如数家珍，正是赋法铺排的典型。此二句写尽声色之盛，是「人生得意须尽欢」式的劝饮开场；然繁华铺陈愈盛，后文「红颜零落」的转折愈显沉痛，乐景写哀，正是鲍照「以赋起」的深意所在，也为全诗定下由盛转衰的情感基调。

The opening uses I-offer-you to lead, the start of the poem's gorgeous imagery description. I-offer-you uses a conversational tone, as if raising the cup to urge, intimate yet solemn. Golden-goblet-fine-wine, tortoise-shell-jade-case-carved-lute use extremely gorgeous objects for the wine's excellence and the lute's refinement. The repeated of character makes the rhythm slow, like enumerating treasures, the typical rhapsody accumulation. These two lines exhaust the sound-and-color splendor, the drink-and-be-merry opening. Yet the more gorgeous the accumulation, the more painful the later red-face-falling turn; joy-scenery-for-grief is Bao Zhao's deep purpose of using rhapsody-start, also setting the poem's splendor-to-decay tone.

红颜零落岁将暮，寒光宛转时欲沉

Your red face fades as the year declines; the cold light turns, the time about to sink.

红颜将随岁月零落，年华将暮；寒夜的光阴宛转流逝，时光将要沉沦。

The red face falls; the year nears its end. Cold light glides; the hour is about to sink.

此联以对仗陡转，是全诗由盛转衰的枢纽。「红颜零落」写青春不再，「岁将暮」写年华将尽，红颜与岁暮并写，美人迟暮之感油然而生；「寒光宛转」写寒夜之光婉转流逝，「时欲沉」写时光将尽，以寒光之流写光阴之逝，视觉与时间交织。两句一写人之老、一写时之逝，红颜对寒光、零落对宛转、岁将暮对时欲沉，对仗精工而意象冷峻，与起句金卮雕琴的繁华形成强烈反差：繁华之盛转眼成空，美酒雕琴终难挽红颜之老、时光之逝。此联是「乐景写哀」的转折点，将前文的劝饮引入悲慨的深处，也为末句「宁闻古时清吹音」的怀古之叹作了情感与哲理的铺垫。

This couplet turns abruptly in parallel, the pivot from splendor to decay. Red-face-falls writes youth gone; year-nears-its-end writes age ending; red face and year-end together, the beauty's late years feeling naturally rising. Cold-light-glides writes the cold night light's flowing; hour-about-to-sink writes time's ending; using cold light's flow for time's passage, sight and time interwoven. One line writes man's aging, one time's passing; red-face against cold-light, falling against gliding, year-end against hour-sink; the parallel refined and the imagery cold, forming strong contrast with the opening golden-goblet-carved-lute splendor: splendor's prime turns empty in an instant, wine and lute cannot hold back red-face aging or time's passing. This couplet is the joy-scenery-for-grief turning point, leading the preceding drink-urge into the grief's depth, and preparing the closing's why-not-hear-ancient-clear-music nostalgia sigh.

不见柏梁铜雀上，宁闻古时清吹音

Do you not see on the Boliang and Bronze Sparrow terraces—who now hears the clear music of old?

不见那柏梁台、铜雀台上，哪里还听得见古时的清越吹奏之音？

Do you not see - on the Bailiang and Tongcue towers, who now hears the clear ancient music?

结句以反诘收束，是全诗怀古与自伤的凝结点。「柏梁」用汉武帝柏梁台之典，相传柏梁台落成，武帝与群臣联句，为七言诗之始；「铜雀」用曹操铜雀台之典，铜雀台歌舞盛极一时。二台皆汉代繁华乐舞之所，当年台上清吹之音，何等热闹；如今「不见」「宁闻」双问，台上古乐早已消歇，空余历史的陈迹。「清吹音」以乐之亡写盛世之不再，更暗喻才士的埋没——古乐消歇而无人记取，正如寒士之才被时代埋没而无声。此联以汉代宫观之盛衰写当代才士之命运，用典贴切而寄托遥深，含蓄沉痛，余韵不尽，正是「以古喻今」的典范，也将全诗由劝饮、悲老推向怀古自伤的更深一层。

The closing line resolves in a rhetorical question, the condensation of nostalgia and self-grief. Bailiang uses Emperor Wu of Han's Bailiang Tower allusion - legend says when Bailiang was completed, the emperor and ministers composed linked verses, the start of seven-character poetry. Tongcue uses Cao Cao's Tongcue Tower allusion, where song and dance were at their peak. Both towers are Han dynasty's splendor and dance places; the clear music on the towers then was so lively; now do-you-not-see, who-now-hears double-asks - the ancient tower music has long ceased, leaving only historical traces. Clear-music uses music's death for the prosperous age's end, also secretly comparing talent's burial - ancient music ceased and unremembered, just as the poor scholar's talent is buried by the times, silent. This couplet uses Han palace towers' splendor-and-decay for the contemporary scholar's fate, allusion apt and implication deep, reserved and painful, lasting aftertaste. This is the model of using antiquity for the present, also pushing the poem from drink-urge and grief-of-aging to the deeper layer of nostalgia-and-self-grief.

Study

Word focus

奉 The two 'I offer you,' 'I pray you' run through in second person, like drinking with you face to face; intimacy hides bitterness—the fu dialogue's charm. 「奉君金卮之美酒」之「奉」字，是全诗起笔的语气枢纽。「奉」本为双手捧献之意，此处以「奉君」领起，仿佛诗人举杯相劝、双手奉上美酒，既是劝饮的动作，又带出郑重恳切的语气——不是自己独酌，而是奉劝对方，将读者（或所劝之人）置于对话之中，亲切之中又见郑重。此字与汉乐府「劝君更尽一杯酒」式的对话传统一脉相承，是乐府诗「对话体」的典型标志。若换作「饮」「酌」则失之平直，「奉」字兼含献上的动作与恳切的语气，为全诗定下劝慰的基调；然奉上的愈是华贵之物，后文红颜零落、古乐消歇的转折愈显沉痛，一个「奉」字，正是乐景写哀的起点。

宁 The rhetoric 'who hears' strengthens the sigh of old music gone, talent silent; asks instead of answers, endless aftertaste. 「宁闻古时清吹音」之「宁」字，是结句反诘语气的关键。「宁」作「哪里、岂」解，是古汉语中常见的反诘副词，「宁闻」即「哪里听得见」，以反问句写出古乐消歇的确定无疑：柏梁铜雀台上，古时的清吹之音早已绝响，哪里还能听见？此字以问代答，比直说「无闻」「不闻」更有力，将「盛世不再、才士埋没」的悲慨写得斩截而含蓄，余味不尽。若换作「岂」则失之生硬，「宁」字兼有反诘与感叹的语气，读来如一声长叹。与上句「不见」相对，「不见」与「宁闻」双问并举，一写目之所见（台犹在），一写耳之所闻（音已绝），视听交叠，将历史沧桑与身世之悲尽收笔底，正见鲍照炼字以虚词传神的功力。