No. 13 · Tang poem · seven-character old-style ballad第 13 首 · 唐诗 · 七言古诗（乐府）

xíng行lù路nán难·qí其yī一

lǐ李bái白Li Bai · Tang唐

The Road Is Hard, the First of Three

jīn金zūn樽qīng清jiǔ酒dǒu斗shí十qiān千

yù玉pán盘zhēn珍xiū羞zhí直wàn万qián钱

tíng停bēi杯tóu投zhù箸bù不néng能shí食

bá拔jiàn剑sì四gù顾xīn心máng茫rán然

yù欲dù渡huáng黄hé河bīng冰sè塞chuān川

jiāng将dēng登tài太háng行xuě雪mǎn满shān山

xián闲lái来chuí垂diào钓bì碧xī溪shàng上

hū忽fù复chéng乘zhōu舟mèng梦rì日biān边

xíng行lù路nán难

duō多qí歧lù路

jīn今ān安zài在

cháng长fēng风pò破làng浪huì会yǒu有shí时

zhí直guà挂yún云fān帆jì济cāng沧hǎi海

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 text uses a few variant characters, for chopsticks, for sword, and for the fork in the road. This page uses the textbook forms; the meaning is the same.

原始文本用了几个异体字：“筯”通行写作“箸”，“劒”通行写作“剑”，“岐路”课本写作“歧路”。这里用课本的写法，意思不变。

Line by line逐句翻译

金樽清酒斗十千Fine wine in golden cups costs ten thousand coins a measure,金杯里的美酒，一斗要花十千钱，
玉盘珍羞直万钱rare dishes on jade plates are worth ten thousand more.玉盘里的好菜，也值上万钱。
停杯投箸不能食But I set down my cup, toss down my chopsticks, and cannot eat;我却放下酒杯、扔下筷子，吃不下去，
拔剑四顾心茫然I draw my sword and look all around, my heart lost.拔出宝剑向四周看看，心里一片茫然。
欲渡黄河冰塞川I want to cross the Yellow River, but ice blocks the stream;想渡过黄河，冰块堵住了河道；
将登太行雪满山I mean to climb the Taihang, but snow covers the mountains.想登上太行山，大雪封住了山。
闲来垂钓碧溪上At leisure, I fish by a green stream, as Jiang Taigong once did;闲下来时，像姜太公一样在碧绿的溪边钓鱼，
忽复乘舟梦日边then suddenly, like Yi Yin, I dream of sailing near the sun.忽然又像伊尹一样，梦见坐船经过太阳旁边。
行路难The road is hard!行路难啊！
行路难The road is hard!行路难啊！
多歧路So many forks in the road,岔路这么多，
今安在where is my way now?我的路如今在哪里？
长风破浪会有时A day will come to ride the long wind and break the waves,总有一天，我会乘着长风冲破巨浪，
直挂云帆济沧海to hoist my cloud-high sail and cross the wide blue sea.挂起高高的船帆，渡过茫茫大海。

Words字词注释

金樽jīn zūn: jīn zūn: a golden wine cup, meaning a fine cup.金樽：金色的酒杯，指精美的酒杯。
清酒qīng jiǔ: qīng jiǔ: clear, fine wine.清酒：清醇的好酒。
斗十千dǒu shí qiān: dǒu shí qiān: a dǒu of wine costs ten thousand coins, meaning the wine is very costly. A dǒu is an old measure for wine.斗十千：一斗酒值十千钱，形容酒非常贵。斗，古代量酒的器具。
珍羞zhēn xiū: zhēn xiū: rare, delicious dishes.珍羞：珍贵的菜肴。羞，同“馐”，美味的食物。
直zhí: zhí: to be worth.直：同“值”，价值。
投箸tóu zhù: tóu zhù: putting down one's chopsticks. Zhù means chopsticks.投箸：放下筷子。箸，筷子。
四顾sì gù: sì gù: to look all around.四顾：向四周看。
茫然máng rán: máng rán: lost, at a loss, not knowing what to do.茫然：心里空落落的，不知道怎么办。
冰塞川bīng sè chuān: bīng sè chuān: ice blocks the river. Sè means to block; chuān means a river.冰塞川：冰把河道堵住了。塞，堵住。川，河流。
太行tài háng: tài háng: the Taihang Mountains, where today's Shanxi, Hebei and Henan meet.太行：太行山，在今山西、河北、河南交界一带。
闲来垂钓碧溪上xián lái chuí diào bì xī shàng: xián lái chuí diào bì xī shàng: legend says that before Jiang Taigong (Lü Shang) found success, he fished by a clear stream near the Wei River, then met King Wen of Zhou and helped the Zhou win the land.闲来垂钓碧溪上：传说姜太公（吕尚）未得志时，在渭水边的磻溪钓鱼，后来遇到周文王，帮助周朝打下天下。
忽复hū fù: hū fù: suddenly again.忽复：忽然又。
梦日边mèng rì biān: mèng rì biān: legend says Yi Yin, before King Tang of Shang made him his minister, dreamed of sailing past the sun and moon. Near the sun also means near the emperor.梦日边：传说伊尹被商汤任用之前，曾梦见自己坐船经过太阳和月亮的旁边。日边，也比喻皇帝身边。
歧路qí lù: qí lù: forks in the road.歧路：岔路。
安在ān zài: ān zài: where is it?安在：在哪里。
长风破浪cháng fēng pò làng: cháng fēng pò làng: riding a long wind to break through the waves. As a boy, Zong Que of the Southern Dynasties said he wished to ride the long wind and break the waves for ten thousand miles. It means reaching a great goal.长风破浪：乘着大风冲破巨浪。南朝的宗悫年少时说过，愿“乘长风破万里浪”，比喻实现远大的志向。
会有时huì yǒu shí: huì yǒu shí: the day will surely come.会有时：总会有那一天。
云帆yún fān: yún fān: a tall sail, as if hung in the clouds.云帆：高高的船帆，像挂在云里一样。
济jì: jì: to cross.济：渡过。
沧海cāng hǎi: cāng hǎi: the wide blue sea.沧海：大海。

How to read it读音

斗dǒu: Here it reads dǒu, a measure for wine, not dòu.斗十千：读 dǒu，是量酒的器具和单位，不读 dòu。
塞sè: The textbook reads it sè, meaning to block. Some read it sāi.冰塞川：课本读 sè，意思是堵塞。也有人读 sāi。
行háng: In the mountain name Tài Háng it reads háng, not xíng.太行：山名，读 háng，不读 xíng。
乘chéng: In chéng zhōu it reads chéng, meaning to ride.乘舟：读 chéng，意思是坐。
长cháng: It reads cháng.长风：读 cháng。

Background创作背景

"The Road Is Hard" was an old ballad title, usually about how hard life's road is. Li Bai wrote three poems with it, and this is the first. It is usually dated to 744. Emperor Xuanzong had called Li Bai to the capital Chang'an, and he hoped to show his talent in government. But he was only treated as a court poet to entertain the emperor, and others pushed against him. In the end he was sent away with a gift of gold. Friends held a farewell feast for him, and he wrote this poem.

《行路难》是乐府旧题，多写世路艰难。李白一共写了三首，这是第一首。一般认为写于天宝三载（744年）。李白曾被唐玄宗召进长安，本想大展才华，可只被当作陪皇帝写诗作乐的文人，又受到排挤。最后他被“赐金放还”，就是给了些钱，让他离开长安。朋友为他设宴送行，他写下了这首诗。

The poet作者

Li Bai (701–762) was a great Tang poet, called the Immortal of Poetry. He was very sure of himself and believed he could help a ruler and do great things, like the famous ministers of old. But his whole life in government went badly. He often wrote his disappointment into poems, yet he always found his strength again at the end.

李白（701—762），唐代大诗人，人称“诗仙”。他很自信，总觉得自己能像古代的名臣一样辅佐君王、做成大事。可他一生在官场上很不顺。他常把失意写进诗里，但总能在最后重新振作起来。

The mood意境

It opens with a very costly feast. He ought to eat and drink happily, but Li Bai sets down his cup, throws down his chopsticks, draws his sword and looks around, feeling empty. Stop, throw, draw: these three actions show his pain at once. Next, crossing the Yellow River blocked by ice and climbing the Taihang blocked by snow stand for wanting to act but hitting walls everywhere. Then he remembers Jiang Taigong and Yi Yin, who also failed at first and were trusted later, and a little hope comes back. He cries "the road is hard" twice, as if shouting to ask the way. The last two lines suddenly shine: one day I will ride the wind, break the waves, raise my sail and cross the sea. The poem moves from pain, to confusion, to hope, and ends full of confidence.

开头是一桌非常贵的酒菜，按说该高高兴兴地吃喝，可李白却放下杯子、扔下筷子，拔出剑来四处张望，心里空空的。这一停一扔一拔，把心里的苦闷一下子写了出来。接着他用过黄河遇冰、上太行遇雪，比喻想做事却处处碰壁。然后他想起姜太公和伊尹，他们也是先失意，后来才被重用，心里又有了一点希望。“行路难，行路难”连喊两声，像在大声问路。最后两句一下子亮了：总有一天，我会乘风破浪，挂帆过海。从苦闷到茫然，再到希望，最后是满满的信心。