Tang poem · seven-character old-style poem (yuefu song)唐诗 · 七言古诗（乐府）

lǐ李píng凭kōng箜hóu篌yǐn引

lǐ李hè贺Li He · Tang唐

Li Ping Plays the Konghou Harp

wú吴sī丝shǔ蜀tóng桐zhāng张gāo高qiū秋

kōng空shān山níng凝yún云tuí颓bù不liú流

jiāng江é娥tí啼zhú竹sù素nǚ女chóu愁

lǐ李píng凭zhōng中guó国tán弹kōng箜hóu篌

kūn昆shān山yù玉suì碎fèng凤huáng凰jiào叫

fú芙róng蓉qì泣lù露xiāng香lán兰xiào笑

shí十èr二mén门qián前róng融lěng冷guāng光

èr二shí十sān三sī丝dòng动zǐ紫huáng皇

nǚ女wā娲liàn炼shí石bǔ补tiān天chù处

shí石pò破tiān天jīng惊dòu逗qiū秋yǔ雨

mèng梦rù入shén神shān山jiāo教shén神yù妪

lǎo老yú鱼tiào跳bō波shòu瘦jiāo蛟wǔ舞

wú吴zhì质bù不mián眠yǐ倚guì桂shù树

lù露jiǎo脚xié斜fēi飞shī湿hán寒tù兔

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。

The corpus has "kōng bái" (empty white) instead of "kōng shān" (empty hills) in line two, older ways of writing "fèng huáng jiào" in line five, and "kūn shān" instead of "shén shān" (the hills of the gods) in line eleven. This page follows the textbook.

语料库第二句作“空白凝云”，第五句作“凤皇呌”，第十一句作“坤山”。课本作“空山凝云”“凤凰叫”“神山”，这里按课本。“凤皇”就是“凤凰”，“呌”是“叫”的异体字。

Line by line逐句翻译

吴丝蜀桐张高秋In deep autumn, Li Ping plays a harp of Wu silk and Shu tung wood.深秋时节，李凭弹起用吴丝蜀桐做成的箜篌，
空山凝云颓不流Over the empty hills, the clouds hear it and stop, hanging still.空旷的山中，云听到乐声凝住不动，垂着不再飘。
江娥啼竹素女愁The river goddesses weep on the bamboo, and the zither goddess grows sad,江边的娥皇女英在斑竹上哭泣，素女也满面忧愁，
李凭中国弹箜篌because Li Ping is playing his harp in the capital.这是因为李凭在京城里弹奏箜篌。
昆山玉碎凤凰叫The music is like Kunlun jade shattering, like a phoenix calling;乐声清脆，像昆仑山的美玉碎裂，又像凤凰在鸣叫；
芙蓉泣露香兰笑now like lotus flowers weeping dew, now like orchids smiling.时而像荷花含露哭泣，时而像兰花开放欢笑。
十二门前融冷光Before Chang'an's twelve gates, the cold light melts away;长安城十二道城门前的清冷寒光，好像都被乐声融化了；
二十三丝动紫皇the twenty-three strings move the Purple Emperor in heaven.二十三根弦的乐声，打动了天上的紫皇。
女娲炼石补天处The sound flies up to where Nüwa mended the sky with stones.乐声直冲到女娲炼石补天的地方，
石破天惊逗秋雨The stones crack, the sky is startled, and autumn rain pours down.补天的石头被震破，天被惊动，引出了一场秋雨。
梦入神山教神妪It is as if Li Ping dreams he enters the gods' mountain and teaches the old goddess to play.恍惚中，李凭好像梦见自己进了神山，把技艺教给神妪；
老鱼跳波瘦蛟舞Old fish leap in the waves, and thin dragons dance.老鱼在波浪中跳跃，瘦蛟龙也跟着起舞。
吴质不眠倚桂树On the moon, Wu Gang cannot sleep; he leans on the cassia tree, listening.月宫里的吴刚听得入迷，彻夜不睡，靠着桂树；
露脚斜飞湿寒兔Dewdrops fly slanting down and wet the cold moon rabbit.露珠斜斜地飞落，打湿了寒冷的玉兔。

Words字词注释

吴丝蜀桐wú sī shǔ tóng: wú sī shǔ tóng: strings of silk from Wu and a body of tung wood from Shu. The harp is made of the finest materials.吴丝蜀桐：吴地出产的蚕丝做琴弦，蜀地出产的桐木做琴身。说明这把箜篌用料极好。
张zhāng: zhāng: to stretch the strings tight, here meaning to start playing.张：把弦绷紧，这里指弹奏。
高秋gāo qiū: gāo qiū: deep autumn, when the sky is high and clear.高秋：天高气爽的深秋。
凝云颓不流níng yún tuí bù liú: níng yún tuí bù liú: the clouds, hearing the music, seem frozen; they hang low and stop drifting. Tuí means to droop.凝云颓不流：天上的云听了音乐，像凝住了一样，低低地垂着不再飘动。颓，下垂。
江娥啼竹jiāng é tí zhú: jiāng é tí zhú: the river goddesses weep on the bamboo. Legend says the two wives of the ancient ruler Shun wept when he died, and their tears left spots on the bamboo.江娥啼竹：江娥指舜的两个妃子娥皇、女英。传说舜死后她们哭泣，泪水洒在竹子上，留下斑点，成了斑竹。
素女sù nǚ: sù nǚ: a goddess in legend who was good at playing the zither.素女：传说中善于弹瑟的神女。
中国zhōng guó: zhōng guó: in the middle of the capital, inside the city of Chang'an. It does not mean China here.中国：国中，指京城长安城中，不是今天“中国”的意思。
箜篌kōng hóu: kōng hóu: an ancient plucked instrument, a bit like a harp.箜篌：一种古代弹拨乐器，有点像竖琴。
昆山玉碎kūn shān yù suì: kūn shān yù suì: Kunshan is the Kunlun Mountains, famous for jade. The music is crisp and clear, like jade breaking.昆山玉碎：昆山就是昆仑山，出产美玉。这里形容乐声清脆，像美玉碎裂的声音。
凤凰叫fèng huáng jiào: fèng huáng jiào: like the call of the phoenix, sweet and soaring.凤凰叫：像凤凰鸣叫，形容乐声和美悠扬。
芙蓉泣露fú róng qì lù: fú róng qì lù: dew on the lotus flowers looks like tears, so the music sounds low and sad.芙蓉泣露：荷花上挂着露水，好像在哭泣，形容乐声低沉悲伤。
香兰笑xiāng lán xiào: xiāng lán xiào: the orchids open as if smiling, so the music sounds light and happy.香兰笑：兰花开放，好像在笑，形容乐声轻快欢乐。
十二门shí èr mén: shí èr mén: the twelve gates. Chang'an had three gates on each side, twelve in all, standing for the whole city.十二门：长安城四面各有三个城门，共十二个，代指整个长安城。
融冷光róng lěng guāng: róng lěng guāng: the cold light of late autumn seems to melt and turn warm in the music.融冷光：深秋清冷的光好像都被音乐融化了，变得温暖。
二十三丝èr shí sān sī: èr shí sān sī: twenty-three strings; the upright harp had twenty-three.二十三丝：竖箜篌有二十三根弦。
紫皇zǐ huáng: zǐ huáng: the highest god in heaven in Daoist legend; it may also hint at the emperor.紫皇：道教传说中天上最高的神，也暗指人间的皇帝。
女娲炼石补天nǚ wā liàn shí bǔ tiān: nǚ wā liàn shí bǔ tiān: legend says part of the sky fell in, and the goddess Nüwa melted five-colored stones to mend it.女娲炼石补天：传说天塌了一块，女神女娲炼出五色石把天补好。
石破天惊shí pò tiān jīng: shí pò tiān jīng: the mending stones crack and the sky is shaken by the music. Today the phrase means something truly astonishing.石破天惊：补天的石头被乐声震破了，天也被惊动了。现在用来形容事情让人非常震惊。
逗dòu: dòu: to draw out, to bring on.逗：引出来。
神山shén shān: shén shān: a mountain where gods and immortals live.神山：神仙住的山。
神妪shén yù: shén yù: an old goddess in legend who played the konghou very well.神妪：传说中善于弹箜篌的神仙老妇人。
老鱼跳波瘦蛟舞lǎo yú tiào bō shòu jiāo wǔ: lǎo yú tiào bō shòu jiāo wǔ: old fish leap from the waves and thin dragons dance. An old book says that when music is good enough, fish jump out of the water to listen.老鱼跳波瘦蛟舞：老鱼在水波中跳跃，瘦蛟龙也跳起舞来。古书里说，琴弹得好，鱼都会跳出水面来听。
吴质wú zhì: wú zhì: another name for Wu Gang, who in legend keeps chopping the cassia tree on the moon.吴质：就是吴刚，传说他在月亮上不停地砍桂树。
露脚lù jiǎo: lù jiǎo: dew feet, the way dewdrops fall, as if they had feet.露脚：露水下落的样子，像露珠长了脚。
寒兔hán tù: hán tù: the cold rabbit, the jade rabbit on the moon; it also stands for the moon.寒兔：月亮里的玉兔，也代指月亮。

How to read it读音

弹tán: When it means to play an instrument, this character is read tán, not dàn.弹奏乐器的“弹”读 tán，不读 dàn。
教jiāo: Here this character means to teach someone, so it is read jiāo.“教”在这里是传授、教给的意思，读 jiāo。

Background创作背景

Li Ping was a famous court musician in the time of Emperor Xianzong of Tang. He was best at the konghou harp and much loved in his day. Several poets wrote poems praising his playing. This poem is usually thought to have been written while Li He held a small post in Chang'an looking after ceremonies, around 811 to 813. After hearing Li Ping play, he used a string of magical images to paint the music in words.

李凭是唐宪宗时宫廷里有名的乐师，最擅长弹箜篌，当时很受人喜爱，不少诗人都写诗称赞过他的演奏。一般认为，这首诗是李贺在长安做奉礼郎（管祭祀礼仪的小官）时写的，大约在811到813年之间。他听了李凭的演奏，用一连串神奇的想象把听到的音乐“画”了出来。

The poet作者

Li He (790–816), also called Changji, came from Fuchang, today's Yiyang in Henan. He was a distant relative of the Tang royal family. His father's name sounded like the word for the top civil exam, and people said he should avoid it out of respect, so he never took that exam. He never got ahead in life and died young, at twenty-seven by the old Chinese way of counting age. His poems are full of strange imagination, often about ghosts, gods and spirits, so he is called the Ghost of Poetry.

李贺（790—816），字长吉，福昌（今河南宜阳）人，是唐朝皇族的远房后代。因为父亲名叫“晋肃”，“晋”和“进士”的“进”同音，有人说他应该避讳，他就没能参加进士考试。他一生不得志，只活了二十七岁（按古人算年龄的方法）。他的诗想象奇特，常写鬼神仙怪，被人称为“诗鬼”。

The mood意境

Music cannot be seen or touched, so how do you write about it? Li He's trick is not to describe the sound directly. Instead he shows how all of heaven and earth react to it. The clouds stop. The goddesses cry. The cold light at the city gates melts. The god in heaven is moved. Even the stones that mend the sky crack, and autumn rain falls. Fish leap, dragons dance, and Wu Gang on the moon stays awake all night. The two lines about jade shattering and lotus weeping work as a pair. One gives the music's crisp, high notes; the other gives its sad and happy moods. They have sound, pictures and feelings all at once. The whole poem is like a journey from earth up to the sky and into the moon palace. By the end, you feel this music must have been wonderful.

音乐看不见、摸不着，怎么写？李贺的办法是：不直接写声音，而是写听到音乐的天地万物有什么反应。云停了，神女哭了，城门前的冷光化了，天上的神被打动了，连补天的石头都被震破，下起了秋雨。鱼跳起来，蛟龙跳起舞，月亮上的吴刚整夜不睡。“昆山玉碎凤凰叫，芙蓉泣露香兰笑”两句，一句写声音的清脆和高亢，一句写曲调的悲伤和欢快，有声音、有画面、有表情。整首诗像一场从人间飞到天上、又飞进月宫的旅行。读完你会觉得：这音乐真是好听极了。