Tang poem · seven-character old-style poem唐诗 · 七言古诗

qín琴gē歌

lǐ李qí颀Li Qi · Tang唐

Song of the Zither

zhǔ主rén人yǒu有jiǔ酒huān欢jīn今xī夕

qǐng请zòu奏míng鸣qín琴guǎng广líng陵kè客

yuè月zhào照chéng城tóu头wū乌bàn半fēi飞

shuāng霜qī凄wàn万shù树fēng风rù入yī衣

tóng铜lú炉huá华zhú烛zhú烛zēng增huī辉

chū初tán弹lù渌shuǐ水hòu后chǔ楚fēi妃

yì一shēng声yǐ已dòng动wù物jiē皆jìng静

sì四zuò座wú无yán言xīng星yù欲xī稀

qīng清huái淮fèng奉shǐ使qiān千yú余lǐ里

gǎn敢gào告yún云shān山cóng从cǐ此shǐ始

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。

In line five the usual text has tóng lú, a bronze incense burner. The source text turned the old form of lú into a rare character during conversion. The meaning is the same, so we use the usual form.

第五句通行本作“铜炉”。这里的底本把繁体的“鑪”转成了一个生僻字，意思一样，现在按通行本写作“炉”。

Line by line逐句翻译

主人有酒欢今夕Our host has wine, and tonight we make merry.主人备好了酒，今晚大家尽情欢乐，
请奏鸣琴广陵客We ask the zither master from Guangling to play.请那位来自广陵的琴师弹一曲。
月照城头乌半飞Moonlight falls on the city wall; half the crows take flight.月光照在城头，乌鸦被惊得半飞半停，
霜凄万树风入衣Frost chills ten thousand trees, and the wind slips into our clothes.寒霜让万树都显得凄冷，冷风钻进衣服。
铜炉华烛烛增辉By the bronze burner the fine candles shine ever brighter.铜香炉和华美的蜡烛，烛光越发明亮，
初弹渌水后楚妃First he plays Clear Water, then The Lady of Chu.他先弹《渌水》，后弹《楚妃》。
一声已动物皆静At the first note, all things fall still.琴声一响，四周一切都静了下来，
四座无言星欲稀No one in the room says a word, and the stars begin to fade.满座的人都不说话，星星也快要稀少了。
清淮奉使千余里I am sent on duty to the clear Huai, a thousand miles away.我奉命出使到千里之外的淮水一带，
敢告云山从此始May I tell the clouds and mountains: from here it begins.请让我告诉云和山：我的隐居之心从这里开始。

Words字词注释

今夕jīn xī: jīn xī: this evening.今夕：今天晚上。
鸣琴míng qín: míng qín: the qin, a seven-string zither; here, playing it.鸣琴：琴，这里指弹琴。
广陵客guǎng líng kè: guǎng líng kè: the guest from Guangling, meaning the zither player. Guangling is today's Yangzhou. A famous old piece was called Guangling San, so the name praises his great skill.广陵客：从广陵来的客人，指弹琴的人。广陵就是今天的江苏扬州。古代名曲《广陵散》很有名，所以用“广陵客”称赞他琴艺高超。
乌半飞wū bàn fēi: wū bàn fēi: the crows are startled by the moonlight; some fly up, some stay.乌半飞：乌鸦被月光惊起，有的飞起来，有的还停着。
霜凄shuāng qī: shuāng qī: the frost makes everything cold and cheerless.霜凄：寒霜让人觉得凄冷。
铜炉tóng lú: tóng lú: a bronze incense burner.铜炉：铜做的香炉。
华烛huá zhú: huá zhú: fine, decorated candles.华烛：装饰华美的蜡烛。
渌水lù shuǐ: lù shuǐ: Clear Water, the name of an old zither piece.渌水：古琴曲的名字。渌，水清的样子。
楚妃chǔ fēi: chǔ fēi: The Lady of Chu, another old zither piece, also called The Sigh of the Lady of Chu.楚妃：古琴曲的名字，也叫《楚妃叹》。
一声已动yì shēng yǐ dòng: yī shēng yǐ dòng: as soon as the first note sounds.一声已动：琴声刚一响起。
物皆静wù jiē jìng: wù jiē jìng: everything around falls silent.物皆静：周围的一切都安静下来。
四座sì zuò: sì zuò: the guests sitting all around.四座：四周坐着的客人。
星欲稀xīng yù xī: xīng yù xī: the stars are about to fade, so dawn is near.星欲稀：星星快要变少了，说明天快亮了。
清淮qīng huái: qīng huái: the clear Huai River, meaning the Huai River region.清淮：清澈的淮水，指淮河一带。
奉使fèng shǐ: fèng shǐ: to be sent on an official mission.奉使：接受朝廷的派遣，去外地办事。
敢告gǎn gào: gǎn gào: may I tell; a polite way of speaking.敢告：冒昧地告诉。一种客气的说法。
云山yún shān: yún shān: clouds and mountains, often standing for a hermit's life.云山：白云和高山，常用来指隐居的地方。

How to read it读音

弹tán: Here it means to play a stringed instrument, read tán, not dàn.弹琴的“弹”读 tán，不读 dàn。

Background创作背景

The poem describes listening to the zither at a farewell feast. The last two lines show that Li Qi was about to be sent on duty to the Huai River region, a thousand miles away. A friend held a feast to see him off and asked a zither master to play. We no longer know the year, or what the mission was.

这首诗写的是一次送别宴会上听琴的情景。从最后两句看，李颀当时要奉命到千里之外的淮水一带去，朋友设宴为他送行，请琴师弹琴。具体是哪一年、去做什么事，现在已经说不清楚了。

The poet作者

Li Qi (about 690 to about 751) was a Tang poet. He held small posts, such as a county officer in Xinxiang, and later left office to live quietly. He was known for poems of the frontier, and also for poems about music. His poems on hearing the zither, the reed pipe and other instruments make the sound come alive, and this is one of them.

李颀（约690—约751），唐代诗人，做过新乡县尉这样的小官，后来辞官隐居。他擅长写边塞诗，也很会写音乐。他写听琴、听胡笳、听觱篥的诗，都把声音写得活灵活现，这首《琴歌》就是其中一首。

The mood意境

This is a poem about the zither that hardly says how the music sounds. The first two lines set up the feast and the player. Lines three and four show the scene outside: moonlight, crows, frost, cold wind. Everything is cool and clear, like a quiet background laid down for the music. Lines five and six come back inside, where candles shine and the player performs two famous pieces. The best part is lines seven and eight. At the first note all things go still. No one speaks, until the stars begin to fade. The poet never says the music is beautiful. He only shows that everyone listens so deeply they forget the time, and we can feel how moving it must be. The last two lines say he must travel far. After music like this, he wants to head for the clouds and mountains and live a quiet life. Another reading takes the last line to mean his long journey begins tonight.

这首诗写听琴，却很少直接写琴声有多好听。前两句点出宴会和琴师。三四句先写屋外：月光、乌鸦、寒霜、冷风，一片清冷，好像在为琴声铺一层安静的底色。五六句回到屋里，烛光明亮，琴师先后弹了两支名曲。最妙的是七八句：琴声一响，万物都静；满座无言，直到星星快要稀了。诗人不说琴声多美，只写大家听得入迷、忘了时间，读者自然能想到琴声的动人。最后两句说自己要远行，听了这样的琴声，便想从此走向云山，过清静的日子。一说“从此始”是说这趟远行从今夜开始。