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魏晋 Wei-Jin · 诗 Poem

杂诗七首其一

Miscellaneous Poems, No. 1

曹植

Cao Zhi

高台多悲风，朝日照北林。
之子在万里，江湖迥且深。
方舟安可极，离思故难任。
孤雁飞南游，过庭长哀吟。
翘思慕远人，愿欲托遗音。
形影忽不见，翩翩伤我心。

The high tower draws much sorrowing wind;
the morning sun shines on the northern wood.
That one I love is ten thousand li away;
rivers and lakes stretch far and deep.
How can a joined boat reach the end?
Separation is hard to bear.
A lone wild goose flies south;
long, lamenting, it passes the court.
I yearn and think of one far off;
I would fain send a word to him.
Suddenly the form and its shadow are gone;
their flight wounds my heart.
Listen

Meaning

Standing on the high tower in the morning wind, the poet thinks of a friend or kinsman ten thousand li away, separated by deep, wide rivers, with no way to reach him; a lone wild goose flying south and crying as it passes saddens him all the more, and when the moment of sending a word arrives the sight has already gone, and only the flight of the bird wounds his heart.

高台多悲风，朝日照北林。之子在万里，江湖迥且深。方舟安可极，离思故难任。孤雁飞南游，过庭长哀吟。翘思慕远人，愿欲托遗音。形影忽不见，翩翩伤我心。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] From a tower and a morning sun, the poem moves to a far-away person, then to a lone goose, then to the failure of sending a message, and closes on a wounded heart. [Structure] Twelve five-character lines in two stanzas: the first six carry the scene and the grief, the last six the attempt to act and its frustration. [Imagery] The tower, the wind, the northern wood, the deep rivers, the lone goose — all ordinary things, chosen for the weight they carry rather than for beauty. [Technique] Almost everything is indirect: the sorrow is never named, only gathered in the wind and the goose; and the ending is a reversal — the message is not sent, and it is the sight of the departing bird that injures him. The feeling is plain and deep, and it is one of the best of Cao Zhi's poems.

【白话串讲】 曹植写《杂诗七首其一》：“高台多悲风，朝日照北林”——“之子在万里，江湖迥且深”——“方舟安可极，离思故难任”——“孤雁飞南游，过庭长哀吟”——“翘思慕远人，愿欲托遗音”——他写杂诗——高台多悲风。 【意象与手法】 “高台多悲风、朝日照北林”写高台悲风；“之子在万里、江湖迥且深”写之子在万里；“方舟安可极、离思故难任”写方舟安可极；“孤雁飞南游、过庭长哀吟”写孤雁飞南游；结以“翘思慕远人，愿欲托遗音。形影忽不见，翩翩伤我心”写翩翩伤我心。悲慨深挚。 【情感与主旨】 曹植写感怀相思之作，以高台悲风、孤雁南游写对远人的思念，是曹植诗中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“高台多悲风，朝日照北林”写高台悲风；“孤雁飞南游，过庭长哀吟”写孤雁哀吟。

Background

Cao Zhi (192–232), courtesy name Zijian, of Pei state (modern Bozhou, Anhui), was a prince of the Wei and one of the 'Seven Masters of the Jian'an'. This poem is a song of love and longing, and is generally read as a poem longing for a friend, kinsman or fellow scholar far away. It has long been a favourite in anthologies, and its plainness and depth of feeling made it a model for later poets. The speaker's situation — standing on a high tower, looking toward a far-off person, unable to cross the water and unable to send a word — is general enough to speak to every age.

《杂诗七首其一》为三国魏诗人曹植所作诗。曹植（192—232），字子建，沛国谯（今安徽亳州）人，三国魏诗人，「建安七子」之一。此诗写感怀相思，为咏怀人之作。诗中「高台多悲风，朝日照北林」写高台多悲风，朝日照北林；「之子在万里，江湖迥且深」写之子在万里，江湖迥且深；「方舟安可极，离思故难任」写方舟安可极，离思故难任；「孤雁飞南游，过庭长哀吟」写孤雁飞南游，过庭长哀吟；「翘思慕远人，愿欲托遗音。形影忽不见，翩翩伤我心」写翘思慕远人，愿欲托遗音，形影忽不见，翩翩伤我心。曹植此诗以感怀相思、翩翩伤我心写其相思之情，悲慨深挚，是曹植诗中的名篇。此篇《杂诗七首其一》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《杂诗七首其一》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 distinction is sorrow that is deep and unrestrained in feeling, and scenery that carries that feeling. The opening couplet sets both a place and a mood — a high tower and much melancholy wind, morning light on the northern wood — and from these two lines everything else follows. The middle of the poem moves by image rather than argument: the far-off person, then the rivers that are both wide and deep, then how a joined boat could ever cross them, then the lone goose passing the court with a long cry. The last six lines turn to action, and the action fails: the poet longs, he determines to send a word, and then 'the form and its shadow suddenly are not seen' — the someone and the moment are both gone. What remains is 'their flight wounds my heart', a wound suffered after the fact. The whole poem uses few words and many images, is tightly constructed and subtle in intent, and its condensed, lingering feeling is what has kept it fresh.

此诗艺术上以「悲慨深挚、以景写情」见长。全诗共十二句，由高台多悲风而之子在万里而方舟安可极。起「高台多悲风，朝日照北林」写高台多悲风：高台多悲风，朝日照北林；「之子在万里，江湖迥且深」写之子在万里：之子在万里，江湖迥且深；「方舟安可极，离思故难任」写方舟安可极：方舟安可极，离思故难任；「孤雁飞南游，过庭长哀吟」写孤雁飞南游：孤雁飞南游，过庭长哀吟；结「翘思慕远人，愿欲托遗音。形影忽不见，翩翩伤我心」写翩翩伤我心：翘思慕远人，愿欲托遗音，形影忽不见，翩翩伤我心。全诗以景写情，由高台多悲风而翩翩伤我心，悲慨深挚，是曹植诗中的名篇。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。

Allusions

The lines are dense with inherited expression. 'The high tower draws much sorrowing wind' and 'the morning sun shines on the northern wood' set a scene without naming a source; 'that one I love' carries the classical usage of 'zi' ('that one') from the 'Book of Songs' and 'The North Peak' of the 'Book of Odes' for the person loved; the joined boat (a boat of two joined planks) is the boat that should carry him across, and the rivers wide and deep recall the 'Book of Documents' and the 'Wang feng' water metaphors; the lone goose passes the court weeping, for in the tradition the wild goose carries letters, and the poet wants to entrust one to it; and the closing pair uses the figure of form and shadow — the person and his presence — to mean that the sight has vanished. He draws on these without advertising them, and the result is a poem in which the inherited language is so thoroughly digested that one reads only the feeling.

诗中「高台多悲风朝日照北林」「之子在万里江湖迥且深」「方舟安可极离思故难任」「孤雁飞南游过庭长哀吟」「翘思慕远人愿欲托遗音」「形影忽不见翩翩伤我心」等语，皆含典故故实。「高台多悲风朝日照北林」写高台多悲风朝日照北林；「之子在万里江湖迥且深」用之子之语（之子写彼人），写之子在万里江湖迥且深；「方舟安可极离思故难任」写方舟安可极离思故难任；「孤雁飞南游过庭长哀吟」用孤雁之典（雁为传书之鸟），写孤雁飞南游过庭长哀吟；「翘思慕远人愿欲托遗音」写翘思慕远人愿欲托遗音；「形影忽不见翩翩伤我心」写形影忽不见翩翩伤我心。诗人以之子、孤雁等语入诗，不着痕迹，而把感怀相思之情写得真切可感，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。

Commentary

This is one of the poems of feeling and remembrance, and it is one of Cao Zhi's best. The 'miscellaneous' title suits it: it is not about one subject but lets feeling spread from a tower to a person, to water and to a bird. Its particular quality is that the grief is never directly named — it is carried by wind, light, deep water and a crying goose — and the poem's classical difficulty is that 'the one I love' is never identified, so the poem speaks to any reader's own far-away person. The closing couplet has been much praised: it leaves the injury unexplained and lets it lie in the last two lines. It has been a staple of anthologies for centuries and has been an example of how to write plain、deep feeling in the five-character line.

这首《杂诗七首其一》，是曹植写感怀相思之作，写高台多悲风、之子在万里、方舟安可极、孤雁飞南游、翩翩伤我心之情，悲慨深挚。起「高台多悲风，朝日照北林」——高台多悲风，朝日照北林。写高台多悲风：高台多悲风、朝日照北林——高台悲风、日照北林；「之子在万里，江湖迥且深」——之子（用之子之语）在万里，江湖迥且深。写之子在万里：之子在万里、江湖迥且深——在万里、迥且深；「方舟安可极，离思故难任」——方舟安可极，离思故难任。写方舟安可极：方舟安可极、离思故难任——安可极、故难任；「孤雁飞南游，过庭长哀吟」——孤雁（用孤雁之典）飞南游，过庭长哀吟。写孤雁飞南游：孤雁飞南游、过庭长哀吟——飞南游、长哀吟；结「翘思慕远人，愿欲托遗音。形影忽不见，翩翩伤我心」——翘思慕远人，愿欲托遗音，形影忽不见，翩翩伤我心。写翩翩伤我心：翘思慕远人、愿欲托遗音、形影忽不见、翩翩伤我心——慕远人、托遗音、忽不见、伤我心。这「形影忽不见，翩翩伤我心」，是全诗之结：以翩翩伤我心写其相思。全诗悲慨深挚，以景写情，正是曹植诗中的名篇。

Prosody

Form Poem (five-character ancient style)诗（五言古诗）
Rhyme Twelve five-character lines. The rhymes are 'wood', 'deep', 'bear', 'cry', 'sound' and 'heart', all in the deep nasal rhyme of the qin, so the whole poem sounds closed and low, in keeping with the grief it holds.此诗为五言古诗，共十二句。押韵：「林」「深」「任」「吟」「音」「心」押侵部韵。诗体依古诗而定，句式整齐，音节随情起伏，正与写感怀相思的悲慨深挚相称，也见其以古诗写相思的自然。
Tone pattern The cadence follows the feeling throughout: the opening line sounds sorrowful, the second distant, the third and fourth sincere and heavy, the fifth and sixth stern and resolute, the seventh and eighth mournful, and the close long and drawn out. The tone rises and falls with the emotion — from grief to a distant sigh, to earnestness, to mourning, to a long slow ending.句式上，「高台多悲风，朝日照北林」写高台多悲风，音节悲慨；「之子在万里，江湖迥且深」写之子在万里，音节悠远；「方舟安可极，离思故难任」写方舟安可极，音节深挚；「孤雁飞南游，过庭长哀吟」写孤雁飞南游，音节哀婉；结「形影忽不见，翩翩伤我心」写翩翩伤我心，音节绵长。全诗音节随情起伏，由悲慨而悠远、由深挚而哀婉、由哀婉而绵长，正合古诗「自然」之妙，读来如感怀相思、翩翩伤我心之音，悲慨而动人。
Reading note In the five-character ancient style the sound and the feeling are the same thing. A high tower and a wind that suffers set the voice low at once; 'ten thousand li' and 'far and deep' then give the line a long, open cadence, so the distance can be heard in the vowels; and the rhyme on 'heart' closes every other line on the same closed, nasal sound, like a door being drawn to. The lines are even, and evenness here is not monotony — the feeling moves through them, from grief, to melancholy, to warm earnestness, to a lament, and finally to something that will not settle. This is the widest effect of the ancient style: it uses no ornament, and the plainest cadence carries the deepest feeling.此诗为五言古诗，是曹植写感怀相思之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「悲慨深挚、以景写情」：「高台多悲风，朝日照北林」写高台多悲风、「之子在万里，江湖迥且深」写之子在万里、「方舟安可极，离思故难任」写方舟安可极、「孤雁飞南游，过庭长哀吟」写孤雁飞南游、「形影忽不见，翩翩伤我心」写翩翩伤我心。全诗悲慨深挚，以景写情。尤为精妙者，是「之子在万里，江湖迥且深」用之子之语；而「孤雁飞南游，过庭长哀吟」用孤雁之典，正是曹植诗「悲慨深挚」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《杂诗七首其一》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

高台多悲风，朝日照北林。

The high tower draws much sorrowing wind; the morning sun shines on the northern wood.

高台多悲风，朝日照北林。

On the high terrace the grieving wind blows often; the morning sun shines on the northern grove.

首二句写高台多悲风，起笔即见其景。「高台多悲风」写高台多悲风，「高台」写高台、「多悲风」写多悲风；「朝日照北林」写朝日照北林，「朝日」写朝日、「照北林」写照北林。两句一写高台多悲风、一写朝日照北林，以高台多悲风写高台悲风、以朝日照北林写日照北林，写尽高台多悲风、朝日照北林之情。以景起兴，悲慨而深挚，是「以景起兴」的妙笔。

The opening two lines write the grieving wind on the high terrace, presenting the scene at once. 'On the high terrace the grieving wind blows often' fixes the lofty height and the mournful air; 'the morning sun shines on the northern grove' fixes the bright light on the shadowed wood. One line the high terrace and its grieving wind, one the morning sun on the grove, writing the feeling of wind and light through scene. Awakening through scenery, the grief is deep and earnest, the masterstroke of 'stirring feeling through landscape.'

之子在万里，江湖迥且深。

That one I love is ten thousand li away; rivers and lakes stretch far and deep.

之子在万里，江湖迥且深。

That man is ten thousand miles away; the rivers and lakes are far and deep.

此二句写之子在万里，是全诗写万里之态的关键。「之子在万里」用之子之语写之子在万里，「之子」写之子、「在万里」写在万里；「江湖迥且深」写江湖迥且深，「江湖」写江湖、「迥且深」写迥且深。两句一写之子在万里、一写江湖迥且深，以之子在万里写在万里、以江湖迥且深写迥且深，写尽之子在万里、江湖迥且深之情。以远写情，悲慨而深挚，是「以远写情」的点睛之笔。

These lines write the man ten thousand miles off, the key to the poem's rendering of distance. 'That man is ten thousand miles away' uses the word for 'that man' to name the absent friend, ten thousand miles off. 'The rivers and lakes are far and deep' writes the wide, deep water between them. One line the man at a distance, one the far and deep waters, writing through distance the feeling of separation, grief deep and earnest, the masterstroke of 'writing feeling through remoteness.'

孤雁飞南游，过庭长哀吟。

A lone wild goose flies southward; long, lamenting, it passes the court.

孤雁飞南游，过庭长哀吟。

A lone wild goose flies southward, and passing the courtyard it cries out long and mournfully.

此二句写孤雁飞南游，是全诗写孤雁之态的关键。「孤雁飞南游」用孤雁之典写孤雁飞南游，「孤雁」写孤雁、「飞南游」写飞南游；「过庭长哀吟」写过庭长哀吟，「过庭」写过庭、「长哀吟」写长哀吟。两句一写孤雁飞南游、一写过庭长哀吟，以孤雁飞南游写雁飞南游、以过庭长哀吟写长哀吟，写尽孤雁飞南游、过庭长哀吟之情。以雁写情，悲慨而深挚，是「以雁写情」的点睛之笔。

These lines write the lone goose flying south, the key to the poem's image. 'A lone wild goose flies southward' uses the allusion to the goose to write its southward flight, the word 'lone' giving its isolation. 'Passing the courtyard it cries out long and mournfully' writes the long, sad cry as it crosses the court. One line the goose in flight, one its long cry, writing through the bird the feeling of sorrow, grief deep and earnest, the masterstroke of 'writing feeling through the wild goose.'

形影忽不见，翩翩伤我心。

Suddenly the form and its shadow are gone; their flight wounds my heart.

形影忽不见，翩翩伤我心。

Its shape and shadow suddenly vanish; fluttering away, it wounds my heart.

结句写翩翩伤我心，是全诗立意的落点。「形影忽不见」写形影忽不见，「形影」写形影、「忽不见」写忽不见；「翩翩伤我心」写翩翩伤我心，「翩翩」写翩翩、「伤我心」写伤我心。两句一写形影忽不见、一写翩翩伤我心，以形影忽不见写忽不见、以翩翩伤我心写伤我心，写尽形影忽不见、翩翩伤我心之情。以伤写情，悲慨而深挚，是全诗最动人处，也是「以伤写情」的点睛之笔。

The closing writes the fluttering away that wounds the heart, the landing point of the poem's aim. 'Its shape and shadow suddenly vanish' writes the sudden disappearance of the goose, the word 'suddenly' giving the abruptness. 'Fluttering away, it wounds my heart' writes the darting flight that breaks his heart. One line the sudden vanishing, one the wounded heart, writing through sorrow the feeling of grief, the most moving passage of the poem, and the masterstroke of 'writing feeling through sorrow.'

Study

Word focus

高台 High tower, terrace. It sets the speaker above and away from all else, and a tower that collects wind is a place where the sadness gathers; the two words also fix the poem's posture — standing, looking out, and unable to come down. 「高台」写高台多悲风，是写高台之态的关键。「高台多悲风」着一「高台」，写高台——着一「高台」，写高台多悲风，见其台之高。两字写尽高台之态，是「以词写台」的妙笔。「高台」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。
悲风 Sorrowing wind, a wind that suffers. Whether the wind is sorrowing or the hearer is is left open; by calling the wind 'sorrowing' the poet makes the air itself mournful, so the grief is in the scene before the poem says a word about feeling. 「悲风」写高台多悲风，是写悲风之态的关键。「高台多悲风」着一「悲风」，写悲风——着一「悲风」，写高台多悲风，见其风之悲。两字写尽悲风之态，是「以词写风」的点睛之词。「悲风」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。
孤雁 Lone wild goose. In the tradition the wild goose carries letters, so it should be the messenger; here it only cries as it passes, and the letter that might have arrived becomes an omen of separation and loneliness. 「孤雁」写孤雁飞南游，是写孤雁之态的关键。「孤雁飞南游」着一「孤雁」，写孤雁——着一「孤雁」，写孤雁飞南游，见其雁之孤。两字写尽孤雁之态，是「以词写雁」的点睛之词。「孤雁」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。
遗音 A word left behind, a message left for someone. The poet wants to entrust his thought to the wild goose flying south, so the word is the poem's whole intention of contact; and because the sight has already gone, it remains an intention that was never carried out. 「遗音」写愿欲托遗音，是写遗音之态的关键。「愿欲托遗音」着一「遗音」，写遗音——着一「遗音」，写愿欲托遗音，见其音之遗。两字写尽遗音之态，是「以词写音」的点睛之词。「遗音」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 Shuidiao Ge Tou: When Will the Moon Be Bright? 苏轼 · 同写感怀相思、超然旷达，一写人有悲欢离合、一写高台多悲风朝日照北林，皆于感怀之中见相思 Both write feeling and remembrance — one beyond the self, one within it — and both find sorrow within a gathered mood

Su Shi's 'Shuidiao Ge Tou' — 'there are joys and partings among men, and wanes and waxes of the moon: this has been true since of old' — writes of feeling and remembrance in an expansive, consoling voice, and is a masterwork among the long lyrics of the Song. Cao Zhi's poem writes the same feeling in a compressed voice on a high tower, and builds the grief out of wind, water and a crying goose. Both hold feeling within a gathered scene; the difference is scope: Su Shi rises above the parting to a philosophy of wholeness, while Cao Zhi stays with the wound and lets it close on the last line. Read together they show two ways of writing the same sorrow — the one that consoles, and the one that refuses to be consoled.

苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全」，写感怀旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；曹植《杂诗七首其一》则以「高台多悲风，朝日照北林」「形影忽不见，翩翩伤我心」写高台悲风、翩翩伤我心。两诗同写感怀相思、超然旷达：一写人有悲欢离合、以悲欢写离合，一写高台多悲风朝日照北林、以悲风写相思；一为苏轼之超然、一为曹植之悲慨，并读正可见诗写「感怀相思」的两种笔法，皆于感怀之中见相思。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Ba Sheng Gan Zhou: Over the Drizzling Autumn Rain 柳永 · 同写羁旅相思、凝望天涯，一写误几回天际识归舟、一写之子在万里江湖迥且深，皆于羁旅之中见相思 Both write of travel and longing, both gaze toward the horizon — one for a lover at home, one for a person ten thousand li away

Liu Yong's 'Ba Sheng Gan Zhou' — 'and I imagine her in the tower combing her hair, mistaken again and again for a returning boat at the edge of the sky' — writes of wanderers long, homesickness and a gaze fixed on the horizon, and is a model of Song lyric on travel. Cao Zhi's poem stands on a tower, looks toward a person far away, is stopped by deep water, and fails to send a word; the two share the posture of waiting and the gaze into distance. Liu Yong is clear and flowing, Cao Zhi compact and grave; the one imagines the other from afar, the other cannot even reach the far one. Together they show two ways of writing the same longing of a traveller.

柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「想佳人妆楼颙望，误几回、天际识归舟」，写羁旅相思、凝望天涯，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；曹植《杂诗七首其一》则以「之子在万里，江湖迥且深」「孤雁飞南游，过庭长哀吟」写在万里迥且深、孤雁飞南游。两诗同写羁旅相思、凝望天涯：一写误几回天际识归舟、以凝望写思归，一写之子在万里江湖迥且深、以万里写相思；一为柳永之清丽、一为曹植之悲慨，并读正可见诗写「羁旅相思」的两种笔法，皆于羁旅之中见相思。