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

xǐ喜wài外dì弟lú卢lún纶jiàn见sù宿

sī司kōng空shǔ曙Sikong Shu · Tang唐

Glad My Cousin Lu Lun Stays the Night

jìng静yè夜sì四wú无lín邻

huāng荒jū居jiù旧yè业pín贫

yǔ雨zhōng中huáng黄yè叶shù树

dēng灯xià下bái白tóu头rén人

yǐ以wǒ我dú独chén沉jiǔ久

kuì愧jūn君xiāng相jiàn见pín频

píng平shēng生zì自yǒu有fèn分

kuàng况shì是cài蔡jiā家qīn亲

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 source text writes the word chén, sunk, in line five with an old character that was often used for it; this page uses the common modern form.

资料库的文字第五句作“沈”，“沈”在古书里常当“沉”用，这里按通行本写作“沉”。

Line by line逐句翻译

静夜四无邻On a quiet night, with no neighbors anywhere around,安静的夜里，四周没有邻居，
荒居旧业贫I live in a bleak old house, with little left of the family's means.我住在荒凉的屋子里，家里本来就穷。
雨中黄叶树In the rain, a tree of yellow leaves;雨中，黄叶在树上飘零；
灯下白头人under the lamp, a white-haired man.灯下，坐着我这个白发老人。
以我独沉久Because I have been sunk low and alone for so long,因为我一个人长久地沉沦不得志，
愧君相见频I am ashamed that you still come to see me so often.你还这样常来看我，真让我惭愧。
平生自有分We have always shared a close bond,我们平时就有很深的情分，
况是蔡家亲and what is more, we are cousins.何况我们还是表亲呢。

Words字词注释

四无邻sì wú lín: sì wú lín: no neighbors on any side.四无邻：四周没有邻居。
荒居huāng jū: huāng jū: a bleak, run-down home.荒居：荒凉破旧的住处。
旧业贫jiù yè pín: jiù yè pín: jiù yè is the family's property; pín means poor. There was little to begin with, and life is poor.旧业：家里原有的产业。贫：穷。旧业贫：家产本来就少，日子很穷。
白头人bái tóu rén: bái tóu rén: a white-haired man, meaning the poet himself.白头人：头发白了的人，指诗人自己。
以我yǐ wǒ: yǐ wǒ: because I.以我：因为我。
独沉久dú chén jiǔ: dú chén jiǔ: sunk low for a long time, alone and without success.独沉久：一个人长期沉沦、不得志。沉，沉沦，在低处起不来。
愧君kuì jūn: kuì jūn: I feel ashamed before you. Jūn means you, here Lu Lun.愧君：对你感到惭愧。君，你，指卢纶。
相见频xiāng jiàn pín: xiāng jiàn pín: you come to see me often. Pín means frequent.相见频：常常来看我。频，次数多。
平生píng shēng: píng shēng: always, all along.平生：一向，平时。
有分yǒu fèn: yǒu fèn: to share a bond of friendship.有分（fèn）：有情分、有缘分。
况是kuàng shì: kuàng shì: what is more, all the more since.况是：何况是。
蔡家亲cài jiā qīn: cài jiā qīn: kin of the Cai family. The Jin general Yang Hu was the grandson of Cai Yong through his mother, so he was kin to the Cai family. The phrase is borrowed to say the two poets are cousins.蔡家亲：晋代名将羊祜是东汉蔡邕的外孙，和蔡家是亲戚。这里借来说两人是表亲。

How to read it读音

分fèn: Here it means a bond of friendship, so it is read fèn, not fēn.“有分”是有缘分、有情分，“分”读 fèn，不读 fēn。

Background创作背景

Lu Lun was Sikong Shu's younger cousin. Both were among the Ten Talents of the Dali era, and they were close friends. In his later years Sikong Shu was very poor and lived in a lonely place. One rainy night Lu Lun came to visit and stayed overnight. Sikong Shu was happy and moved, and wrote this poem. The exact year is not known.

卢纶是司空曙的表弟，“外弟”就是表弟。两人都是“大历十才子”之一，交情很深。司空曙晚年过得很穷，住处冷清。一个下雨的夜里，卢纶来看他，还留下来住了一晚。“见宿”就是来我这里住。司空曙又高兴又感动，写下了这首诗。具体年份不详。

The poet作者

Sikong Shu, also called Wenming (some say Wenchu), was a Tang poet and one of the Ten Talents of the Dali era, ten well-known poets of the reign of Emperor Daizong. His career went badly and he lived in poverty. His poems are mostly about his own loneliness and the bonds between family and friends, in plain words with true feeling.

司空曙，字文明（一说字文初），唐代诗人，“大历十才子”之一。“大历十才子”是唐代宗大历年间很有名的十位诗人。他做官不顺，生活清贫，诗多写自己的孤独和亲友之间的情谊，语言朴素，感情真挚。

The mood意境

The first four lines show the poet's lonely, hard life. The lines about the tree and the man are among the most famous in Chinese poetry. A tree of yellow leaves in the rain; a white-haired man under the lamp. There is no verb at all, just two pictures side by side. The leaves are about to fall, and the man is old; tree and man are equally sad, and it makes the reader's heart ache. The last four lines are about the cousin's visit. "I have fallen so low, yet you still come to see me; I feel ashamed." Then he says they were always close, and family too. The colder the first half, the warmer the family love in the second, like a lamp lit on a cold night.

前四句写自己的孤苦。“雨中黄叶树，灯下白头人”是千古名句：雨里一棵黄叶树，灯下一个白头人，没有一个动词，只是把两个画面放在一起。黄叶快要落了，人也老了，树和人一样凄凉，读来让人心里一酸。后四句写表弟来访：我这样落魄，你还常来看我，真是惭愧。最后说我们本来就情谊深厚，更何况是亲戚。前面越冷清，后面的亲情就显得越温暖，就像寒夜里点起了一盏灯。