No. 91 · Tang poem · seven-character regulated verse第 91 首 · 唐诗 · 七言律诗

dēng登jīn金líng陵fèng凤huáng凰tái台

lǐ李bái白Li Bai · Tang唐

Climbing Phoenix Terrace in Jinling

fèng凤huáng凰tái台shàng上fèng凤huáng凰yóu游

fèng凤qù去tái台kōng空jiāng江zì自liú流

wú吴gōng宫huā花cǎo草mái埋yōu幽jìng径

jìn晋dài代yī衣guān冠chéng成gǔ古qiū丘

sān三shān山bàn半luò落qīng青tiān天wài外

èr二shuǐ水zhōng中fēn分bái白lù鹭zhōu洲

zǒng总wèi为fú浮yún云néng能bì蔽rì日

cháng长ān安bú不jiàn见shǐ使rén人chóu愁

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

凤凰台上凤凰游On Phoenix Terrace, phoenixes once came to play;凤凰台上，曾经有凤凰飞来游玩，
凤去台空江自流now the phoenixes are gone, the terrace is empty, and the river flows on alone.如今凤凰飞走了，台上空空的，只有江水自己流着。
吴宫花草埋幽径The flowers and grass of the Wu palace have buried its quiet paths;吴国宫殿里的花草，已经埋没了幽静的小路，
晋代衣冠成古丘the great lords of Jin have all become old grave mounds.晋朝那些达官贵人，也都变成了一座座古墓。
三山半落青天外The Three Peaks are half lost beyond the blue sky;三山的山峰，一半隐没在青天外，
二水中分白鹭洲Egret Island splits the water into two streams.白鹭洲横在江中，把江水分成两股。
总为浮云能蔽日It is always because the drifting clouds can hide the sun总是因为浮云遮住了太阳，
长安不见使人愁that I cannot see Chang'an, and it fills me with sorrow.我望不见长安，心里才这样发愁。

Words字词注释

凤凰台fèng huáng tái: fèng huáng tái: a terrace in Jinling. Legend says that in the Southern Dynasties some beautiful great birds flew there; people took them for phoenixes and built the terrace.凤凰台：在金陵城里的一座台。传说南朝时有几只美丽的大鸟飞来，人们认为是凤凰，就在那里修了这座台。
江自流jiāng zì liú: jiāng zì liú: the river flows on by itself, not caring.江自流：长江自顾自地流着。
吴宫wú gōng: wú gōng: the palace of Wu. In the Three Kingdoms period, the state of Wu made Jinling its capital.吴宫：三国时吴国在金陵建都，这里指吴国的宫殿。
幽径yōu jìng: yōu jìng: a quiet, out-of-the-way path.幽径：幽静偏僻的小路。
晋代jìn dài: jìn dài: the Eastern Jin dynasty, which also had its capital at Jinling.晋代：东晋，也在金陵建都。
衣冠yī guān: yī guān: robes and hats; here the great nobles of that time.衣冠：衣服和帽子，这里指当年的达官贵人。
古丘gǔ qiū: gǔ qiū: old grave mounds.古丘：古墓，坟堆。
三山sān shān: sān shān: a mountain by the Yangtze southwest of Jinling, with three peaks side by side.三山：金陵西南长江边的一座山，有三座山峰连在一起。
半落青天外bàn luò qīng tiān wài: bàn luò qīng tiān wài: half lost beyond the blue sky; it is so far that it can hardly be seen.半落青天外：一半隐没在青天之外，形容很远，看不太清。
二水èr shuǐ: èr shuǐ: two streams of water. Some copies read "one stream".二水：两股水流。一作“一水”。
中分zhōng fēn: zhōng fēn: split down the middle.中分：从中间分开。
白鹭洲bái lù zhōu: bái lù zhōu: a sandbar in the Yangtze, named for the white egrets that often rested there.白鹭洲：长江里的一个沙洲，因为常有白鹭停在上面而得名。
浮云能蔽日fú yún néng bì rì: fú yún néng bì rì: drifting clouds hide the sun. People of old used this to mean bad officials around the emperor keeping the truth from him.浮云能蔽日：飘浮的云遮住了太阳。古人常用这个比喻坏人在皇帝身边蒙蔽皇帝。
长安cháng ān: cháng ān: the Tang capital, in today's Xi'an, Shaanxi; here it also stands for the court and the emperor.长安：唐朝的都城，在今天陕西西安。这里也代指朝廷和皇帝。

How to read it读音

为wèi: Here it means "because", so it is read wèi.“为”是“因为”的意思，读 wèi。
冠guān: Here guān is a noun meaning hat, so it is read guān, not guàn.“衣冠”是衣服和帽子，“冠”是名词，读 guān，不读 guàn。

Background创作背景

Jinling is today's Nanjing in Jiangsu. The state of Wu in the Three Kingdoms period, and later the Eastern Jin and the Southern Dynasties, all made it their capital. Li Bai climbed Phoenix Terrace in the city, looked out at the land and its old ruins, and wrote this poem. When he wrote it is not agreed. One view says it was in the Tianbao years, after he left Chang'an and traveled south to Jinling. Another says it was late in his life. There is also a story that Li Bai admired Cui Hao's poem "Yellow Crane Tower" and wrote this one to match it. The story may not be reliable.

金陵就是今天的江苏南京，三国时的吴国、后来的东晋和南朝都在这里建都。李白登上城里的凤凰台，望着江山和古迹，写下了这首诗。写作时间说法不一：一说是天宝年间他离开长安、南游金陵时写的，一说是他晚年写的。还有一个传说：李白读了崔颢的《黄鹤楼》，很佩服，就写了这首诗来比一比。这个故事未必可靠。

The poet作者

Li Bai (701–762) was a great Tang poet, called the Immortal of Poetry. He once served at the court in Chang'an as a scholar attending the emperor, but others pushed him out, and he left in less than two years. From then on he always hoped to go back to the court and do great things. The sorrow of looking toward Chang'an at the end of this poem is that feeling.

李白（701—762），唐代大诗人，被称为“诗仙”。他曾经在长安做过翰林供奉，陪在皇帝身边，但因为被人排挤，不到两年就离开了。从此他一直盼着再回朝廷做一番事业。这首诗结尾望长安的愁，就是这种心情。

The mood意境

In the first fourteen characters, "phoenix" comes three times and "terrace" twice, so it reads light and quick, like a song. The phoenixes are gone, the terrace is empty, and only the river flows on; at once we feel time slipping away. Lines three and four are about history. The Wu palace is overgrown with weeds, and the lords of Jin have turned into graves. However grand, it all passes. Lines five and six look into the distance. The Three Peaks fade in and out of sight, and Egret Island splits the river in two. The view is wide and lovely. The last two lines turn from the scene to the poet's heart. Clouds hide the sun, just as bad men hide the truth from the emperor. He cannot see Chang'an, and he is full of sorrow.

开头十四个字里，“凤”出现了三次，“台”出现了两次，读起来像唱歌一样轻快。凤凰飞走，台空了，只有江水还在流，一下子有了时光流逝的感觉。三、四句写历史：吴国的宫殿长满了野草，晋朝的贵人变成了坟墓，再繁华也会过去。五、六句把目光投向远方：三山若隐若现，白鹭洲把江水分成两半，画面开阔又美丽。最后两句由景转到心事：浮云遮住了太阳，就像坏人蒙蔽了皇帝，自己望不见长安，心里满是忧愁。