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

lǚ旅sù宿

dù杜mù牧Du Mu · Tang唐

Staying at an Inn

lǚ旅guǎn馆wú无liáng良bàn伴

níng凝qíng情zì自qiǎo悄rán然

hán寒dēng灯sī思jiù旧shì事

duàn断yàn雁jǐng警chóu愁mián眠

yuǎn远mèng梦guī归qīn侵xiǎo晓

jiā家shū书dào到gé隔nián年

cāng沧jiāng江hǎo好yān烟yuè月

mén门xì系diào钓yú鱼chuán船

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 two different characters: an old variant form of the character for "goose", and "Xiang River" in place of "cang jiang". The variant is just another way of writing "goose". "Cang jiang" is the reading in the Three Hundred Tang Poems and other common editions; some editions have "Xiang River".

语料库写作“断鴈”“湘江”。“鴈”是“雁”的异体字。“沧江好烟月”是《唐诗三百首》等通行本的写法，有的版本作“湘江”。

Line by line逐句翻译

旅馆无良伴At the inn there is no good friend with me;住在旅馆里，身边没有好朋友，
凝情自悄然lost in thought, I sit alone and sad.我想着心事，独自愁闷不语。
寒灯思旧事By the cold lamp I think of the past;对着冷清的灯，想起从前的事；
断雁警愁眠the cry of a lone goose wakes me from troubled sleep.失群孤雁的叫声，把我从愁梦中惊醒。
远梦归侵晓In a dream I go home far away, and wake near dawn;梦里回到遥远的家，醒来天已快亮；
家书到隔年a letter from home takes a year to reach me.家里的信，要隔一年才能寄到。
沧江好烟月How lovely the misty moon over the river,江上的月色笼着薄雾，多么美好，
门系钓鱼船and by the door a fishing boat is tied.门前就拴着一条钓鱼的小船。

Words字词注释

良伴liáng bàn: liáng bàn: a good companion.良伴：好朋友，好伙伴。
凝情níng qíng: níng qíng: lost in thought, feelings held still.凝情：心思凝住了，想事情想得出神。
悄然qiǎo rán: qiǎo rán: sad and silent.悄然：忧愁的样子。
寒灯hán dēng: hán dēng: a cold, lonely lamp late at night.寒灯：冷清的灯光，说明夜深人孤单。
断雁duàn yàn: duàn yàn: a wild goose that has lost its flock.断雁：离群的孤雁。
警jǐng: jǐng: to wake with a start.警：惊醒。
愁眠chóu mián: chóu mián: a sleep full of worries.愁眠：带着愁绪睡着。
侵晓qīn xiǎo: qīn xiǎo: when dawn is near.侵晓：天快亮的时候。
隔年gé nián: gé nián: a year later. A letter from home takes a year to arrive.隔年：过了一年。家信要一年才能寄到。
沧江cāng jiāng: cāng jiāng: a blue-green river, here just meaning the river.沧江：江水青苍，这里泛指江。
烟月yān yuè: yān yuè: moonlight through a thin mist.烟月：薄雾中的月色。

How to read it读音

悄qiǎo: Read qiǎo; qiǎo rán means sad and quiet.读 qiǎo，“悄然”是忧愁的样子。
系xì: Read xì, meaning "to tie up". In everyday speech, tying shoelaces is read jì.读 xì，意思是“拴、绑”。口语“系鞋带”读 jì。

Background创作背景

This poem is about the poet staying alone at an inn far from home, missing his family. Du Mu spent many years in the south, working as an adviser to officials and as a local official, often far from home. We cannot say exactly when or where this poem was written.

这首诗写的是诗人独自在外，住在旅馆里思念家乡的心情。杜牧一生有很多年在南方各地做幕僚、当地方官，常常远离家乡。这首诗具体写于什么时候、什么地方，现在说不清楚。

The poet作者

Du Mu (803–852) was a famous late Tang poet. His poems are fresh and bright. He and Li Shangyin are known together as "the Little Li and Du". He is best known for seven-character quatrains such as "Mountain Walk" and "Qingming". This five-character regulated verse describes the loneliness of a traveller in plain, sincere words.

杜牧（803—852），字牧之，号樊川居士，晚唐著名诗人。他的诗清新俊爽，和李商隐齐名，人称“小李杜”。他最有名的是七言绝句，比如《山行》《清明》。这首五言律诗写客居的孤单，语言平易，感情真切。

The mood意境

The first six lines build up loneliness step by step. There is no friend at the inn, so he worries alone. At night he faces a cold lamp and thinks of the past. When he finally sleeps, a lone goose wakes him. In a dream he goes home, then wakes near dawn, and a letter from home takes a year to come. The lamp is cold, the goose is alone, the dream is far, the letter is slow. Everything feels lonely. The last two lines turn suddenly to a lovely scene: misty moonlight on the river and a fishing boat tied by the door. The more beautiful the scene, the more he feels he is in a strange place. Some readers also hear a wish in these lines: to go home and live a quiet fishing life.

前六句一层层写孤单。旅馆里没有朋友，只能自己发愁；夜里对着冷灯想往事，好不容易睡着，又被孤雁叫醒；梦里回了家，醒来天快亮了，家信却要一年才到。灯是冷的，雁是孤的，梦是远的，信是慢的，处处都是寂寞。最后两句忽然一转，写江上薄雾中的月色很美，门口还拴着钓鱼船。景色越美，越显得诗人身在异乡。一说这两句也带着“不如回家去过钓鱼的日子”的念头。