Tang poem · five-character regulated verse唐诗 · 五言律诗

chóu酬chéng程yán延qiū秋yè夜jí即shì事jiàn见zèng赠

hán韩hóng翃Han Hong · Tang唐

Replying to Cheng Yan, Who Sent Me a Poem on an Autumn Night

cháng长diàn簟yíng迎fēng风zǎo早

kōng空chéng城dàn澹yuè月huá华

xīng星hé河qiū秋yí一yàn雁

zhēn砧chǔ杵yè夜qiān千jiā家

jié节hòu候kàn看yīng应wǎn晚

xīn心qī期wò卧yì亦shē赊

xiàng向lái来yín吟xiù秀jù句

bù不jué觉yǐ已míng鸣yā鸦

Underlined words have notes: tap one. The Pinyin button below shows or hides all pinyin. 一 and 不 are marked with the tone you actually say.字下有虚线的，点开有注释。下方的“拼音”按钮可以显示或隐藏全部拼音。“一”“不”标的是实际读出来的变调。

Line by line逐句翻译

长簟迎风早Lying on my long bamboo mat, I feel the autumn wind come early.躺在长竹席上，早早就感到了秋风的凉意。
空城澹月华Over the quiet city, pale moonlight drifts.安静的城里，淡淡的月光在流动。
星河秋一雁Under the Milky Way on this autumn night, a single wild goose flies by.秋夜的银河下，一只大雁飞过。
砧杵夜千家All night, from a thousand homes, comes the sound of pounding cloth.夜里，千家万户都传来捶衣服的声音。
节候看应晚Judging by the season, it must already be late autumn.看这时节，应该已经是深秋了。
心期卧亦赊I long to see you, but lying here, that meeting feels far away.心里想和你相见，躺着想来也觉得遥远。
向来吟秀句I have been reading your fine lines aloud,我刚才一直在吟诵你写的好诗，
不觉已鸣鸦and before I knew it the crows were cawing; dawn had come.不知不觉，乌鸦已经叫了，天快亮了。

Words字词注释

长簟cháng diàn: cháng diàn: a long mat woven from bamboo, for sleeping on.长簟（diàn）：长长的竹席。
迎风早yíng fēng zǎo: yíng fēng zǎo: the cool wind arrives early; autumn chill comes soon.迎风早：早早地就迎来了凉风，秋天的凉意来得早。
空城kōng chéng: kōng chéng: the city at night, so quiet it seems empty.空城：夜里安静、好像没有人的城。
澹月华dàn yuè huá: dàn yuè huá: dàn means pale and gently moving; yuè huá means moonlight.澹（dàn）：淡淡的、轻轻流动的样子。月华：月光。
星河xīng hé: xīng hé: the Milky Way, the band of stars across the night sky.星河：银河，夜空里那条由许多星星组成的光带。
砧杵zhēn chǔ: zhēn chǔ: the stone block and wooden club used to pound cloth. In autumn people pounded cloth to make winter clothes, and the sound was often heard at night.砧（zhēn）杵（chǔ）：捶洗衣服用的石板和木棒。古人秋天捶衣服、准备冬衣，夜里常能听到这种声音。
节候jié hòu: jié hòu: the season, the time of year.节候：季节、时令。
看应晚kàn yīng wǎn: kàn yīng wǎn: it looks as if it must already be late in the season.看应晚：看来应该已经是深秋了。
心期xīn qī: xīn qī: what the heart hopes for; here, the wish to meet the friend.心期：心里盼望的事，这里指和朋友相会的心愿。
卧亦赊wò yì shē: wò yì shē: shē means far away. Even lying in bed thinking of it, it feels far off.赊（shē）：远，遥远。卧亦赊：躺着想也觉得很遥远。
向来xiàng lái: xiàng lái: just now, a moment ago.向来：刚才，刚刚。
秀句xiù jù: xiù jù: beautiful lines of poetry; here, the poem Cheng Yan sent.秀句：优美的诗句，这里指程延送来的诗。
鸣鸦míng yā: míng yā: the crows begin to caw, which means dawn is near.鸣鸦：乌鸦叫了，说明天快亮了。

How to read it读音

看kàn: The meter wants a level tone here, kān, but today it is usually read kàn.这里按格律应读平声 kān，现在一般读 kàn。

Background创作背景

Cheng Yan was a friend of Han Hong; little is known about him. One autumn night he wrote a poem about what he saw around him and sent it to Han Hong. After reading it, Han Hong wrote this poem in reply. The word chóu in the title means to answer a gift with a gift. We no longer know the year it was written. Another view says the friend's name should be Cheng Jin.

程延是韩翃的朋友，生平不详。他在一个秋夜写了一首《秋夜即事》寄给韩翃，“即事”就是写眼前看到的事。韩翃读了以后，写下这首诗回赠他，“酬”就是回赠、答谢的意思。诗写于哪一年，已经不能确定。一说“程延”应作“程近”。

The poet作者

Han Hong, also called Junping, was a Tang poet and one of the Ten Talents of the Dali era, ten well-known poets of the reign of Emperor Daizong. His poems are clear and graceful. His best-known line is "In the spring city, there is no place where blossoms do not fly", from "Cold Food Day". This poem shows the same light, careful style.

韩翃，字君平，唐代诗人，是“大历十才子”之一。“大历十才子”是唐代宗大历年间很有名的十位诗人。他的诗清丽优美，最有名的是《寒食》里的“春城无处不飞花”。这首诗也写得清淡细致，很见他的风格。

The mood意境

The first four lines paint an autumn night: a cool wind on the bamboo mat, moonlight over the empty city, one goose under the Milky Way, and the sound of pounding cloth from a thousand homes. There are things seen, things heard and things felt on the skin. It is quiet, and a little lonely. One goose next to a thousand homes sets one lonely thing beside a busy crowd, which makes the loneliness stronger. The last four lines turn inward. Autumn is deep, and he cannot see his friend. Then he says he read his friend's poem all night, until the crows told him it was dawn. He never says "I miss you", but reading until sunrise says it clearly.

前四句像一幅秋夜的画：竹席上的凉风，空城上的月光，银河下一只孤雁，千家万户的捶衣声。有看到的，有听到的，也有身上感到的，写得很安静，却有一点冷清。“一雁”和“千家”放在一起，一个孤单，一个热闹，让人更觉得寂寞。后四句转到心里：秋已深了，想见朋友却见不到。最后说自己读朋友的诗读了一整夜，直到乌鸦叫了才发觉天亮。诗人没有直接说“我很想你”，可是读诗读到天亮，这份情谊已经说得清清楚楚。