Tang poem · seven-character quatrain唐诗 · 七言绝句

qiǎn遣huái怀

dù杜mù牧Du Mu · Tang唐

Venting My Feelings

luò落pò魄jiāng江hú湖zài载jiǔ酒xíng行

chǔ楚yāo腰xiān纤xì细zhǎng掌zhōng中qīng轻

shí十nián年yì一jué觉yáng扬zhōu州mèng梦

yíng赢dé得qīng青lóu楼bó薄xìng幸míng名

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 common text reads jiāng hú (rivers and lakes) in line one and xiān xì (slender) in line two, used here. The source text has jiāng nán (the south) and cháng duàn (heartbroken).

通行本作“落魄江湖载酒行，楚腰纤细掌中轻”，这里采用通行本。底本前两句作“落魄江南载酒行，楚腰肠断掌中轻”。

Line by line逐句翻译

落魄江湖载酒行In those years, down on my luck, I drifted through the south with wine always at hand,那些年我不得志，在江南到处漂泊，整天带着酒，
楚腰纤细掌中轻among dancing girls with slender waists, light enough to dance on a palm.身边是腰身纤细、轻盈得能在掌上跳舞的歌女。
十年一觉扬州梦Ten years have passed, and I wake suddenly from my Yangzhou dream,十年过去，我像从扬州的一场梦里猛然醒来，
赢得青楼薄幸名left with nothing but a name for being fickle among the singing girls.只落得一个“对歌女薄情”的名声。

Words字词注释

落魄luò pò: luò pò: down on one's luck, drifting from place to place.落魄：不得志，到处漂泊，样子有点潦倒。
江湖jiāng hú: jiāng hú: rivers and lakes, meaning all over the land; here, wandering in the south.江湖：四方各地，这里指他在南方各处漂泊。
载酒行zài jiǔ xíng: zài jiǔ xíng: travelling with wine always at hand, drinking all day.载酒行：带着酒四处走，整天喝酒。
楚腰纤细chǔ yāo xiān xì: chǔ yāo xiān xì: a slender waist. Legend says King Ling of Chu loved slim waists, so "Chu waist" came to mean a woman's slender waist.楚腰纤细：腰身很细。传说楚灵王喜欢细腰的人，后来就用“楚腰”指女子的细腰。
掌中轻zhǎng zhōng qīng: zhǎng zhōng qīng: light enough to dance on a palm. Legend says Zhao Feiyan of the Han was so light she could dance on a hand.掌中轻：轻得能在手掌上跳舞。传说汉代的赵飞燕身体很轻，能在手掌上起舞。
一觉yì jué: yī jué: to wake up all at once. Jué means to wake.一觉：一下子醒过来。觉，醒。
扬州梦yáng zhōu mèng: yáng zhōu mèng: the gay and carefree days in Yangzhou, which now look like a dream.扬州梦：在扬州过的那段热闹、风流的日子，现在回头看像一场梦。
赢得yíng dé: yíng dé: to end up with, to get in the end.赢得：落得，最后只得到了。
青楼qīng lóu: qīng lóu: in the Tang, the houses where singing and dancing girls lived.青楼：唐代指歌女、舞女住的地方。
薄幸bó xìng: bó xìng: fickle, not truly faithful in love.薄幸：薄情，对人不够真心。

How to read it读音

魄pò: Luò pò is the reading today; old books also write it as luò tuò, and some read it that way.“落魄”现在读 luò pò；古书里也写作“落拓”，有人读 luò tuò。
觉jué: Here the character means to wake, and is usually read jué; many people also read it jiào, as in "a sleep".“觉”在这里是睡醒的意思，一般读 jué；也有不少人按“睡一觉”读 jiào。
薄bó: In bó xìng, the first character is read bó.“薄幸”的“薄”读 bó。

Background创作背景

In his early thirties, Du Mu spent a few years in Yangzhou on the staff of the regional governor, working as an assistant to a high official. Yangzhou was one of the richest, liveliest cities of the time, and he often went to places with singing and dancing. Years later, looking back on that time, he wrote this poem. "Ten years" is a rough number and need not be exact.

杜牧三十岁出头时，在扬州的淮南节度使幕府里做过几年官，就是给地方大官当助手。扬州是当时最繁华的城市之一，他常去歌舞的地方游玩。多年以后，他回想那段日子，写下这首诗。“十年”是大概的说法，不一定正好十年。

The poet作者

Du Mu (803–about 852) was a great late Tang poet. He and Li Shangyin are called "the Little Li and Du". He was very gifted and ambitious, and he cared about the affairs of the state, but he was never given an important post. When young he was free-spirited and loved pleasure. He wrote many poems about Yangzhou; the line about the moonlit night on the Twenty-Four Bridges is another.

杜牧（803—约852），晚唐大诗人，字牧之，和李商隐并称“小李杜”。他很有才气，也很有抱负，关心国家大事，可是一直没有得到重用。年轻时他性格洒脱，喜欢游玩。他写扬州的诗很多，像“二十四桥明月夜”也是写扬州的。

The mood意境

The title means letting out what is in one's heart to ease it. The first two lines remember the past. Unable to get ahead, he filled his days with wine and dancing, and on the surface it all looked merry. The third line turns: "ten years, and I wake from my Yangzhou dream." Those lively days suddenly become a dream, and on waking nothing is left. The fourth line mocks himself a little: all he got was a name for being fickle. There is regret in the poem, self-mockery, and the frustration of a talent no one used. He is not boasting about his good times. He is sighing that his best years slipped away like this.

题目“遣怀”，就是把心里的话说出来，排解一下。前两句回忆过去：他不得志，就用喝酒、看歌舞来打发日子，表面上很热闹。第三句一转：“十年一觉扬州梦”，那些热闹日子一下子变成一场梦，醒来什么也没有留下。第四句带点自嘲：最后只换来一个“薄幸”的名声。诗里有后悔，有自嘲，也有怀才不遇的苦闷。他不是在炫耀风流，而是在叹息：大好的年华，就这样过去了。