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

zhāng章tái台yè夜sī思

wéi韦zhuāng庄Wei Zhuang · Tang唐

Night Thoughts at Zhangtai

qīng清sè瑟yuàn怨yáo遥yè夜

rào绕xián弦fēng风yǔ雨āi哀

gū孤dēng灯wén闻chǔ楚jiǎo角

cán残yuè月xià下zhāng章tái台

fāng芳cǎo草yǐ已yún云mù暮

gù故rén人shū殊wèi未lái来

xiāng乡shū书bù不kě可jì寄

qiū秋yàn雁yòu又nán南huí回

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。

Line two in the source text uses a variant form of the character for "wind around". Common editions use the standard form. The meaning is the same.

第二句底本作“遶弦风雨哀”。“遶”是“绕”的异体字，通行本写作“绕”。

Line by line逐句翻译

清瑟怨遥夜The clear notes of the se mourn through the long night;清冷的瑟声，在长夜里哀怨地响着；
绕弦风雨哀they circle the strings, sad as wind and rain.琴声绕着琴弦，像风雨一样悲哀。
孤灯闻楚角By a lonely lamp I hear the horns of Chu;孤灯下，我听着楚地的号角声；
残月下章台a fading moon sinks below Zhangtai.一弯残月，慢慢落到章台下面。
芳草已云暮The fragrant grass has grown old with the year,芳草已经到了晚秋，快要枯萎了，
故人殊未来yet my old friend has still not come.老朋友却一直没有来。
乡书不可寄There is no way to send a letter home,家书没法寄出去，
秋雁又南回and the autumn geese have flown south again.秋天的大雁又已飞回南方。

Words字词注释

清瑟qīng sè: qīng sè: a clear, cool-sounding se. The se is a stringed instrument like a zither.清瑟：声音清冷的瑟。瑟是一种像古筝的弦乐器。
怨遥夜yuàn yáo yè: yuàn yáo yè: sounding sad through the long night. Yáo yè means a long night.怨遥夜：在漫长的夜里弹出哀怨的声音。遥夜，长夜。
绕弦rào xián: rào xián: the music circles around the strings.绕弦：琴声绕着琴弦回旋。
风雨哀fēng yǔ āi: fēng yǔ āi: as sad as the sound of wind and rain.风雨哀：琴声像风雨声一样悲哀。
楚角chǔ jiǎo: chǔ jiǎo: the sound of a horn in the land of Chu. Jiǎo is a horn blown in old armies.楚角：楚地的号角声。角，古代军中吹的号角。
章台zhāng tái: zhāng tái: the name of a terrace. One view says it is Zhanghua Terrace of old Chu, in today's Hubei; another says the Zhangtai in Chang'an.章台：台名。一说指楚国的章华台，在今天湖北；一说指长安的章台。
已云暮yǐ yún mù: yǐ yún mù: it is already late in the year and the grass is fading. Yún here is a filler word with no meaning of its own.已云暮：已经到了晚秋，快要枯了。云，语气词，没有实际意思。
殊未来shū wèi lái: shū wèi lái: still has not come. Shū means very, at all.殊未来：一直没有来。殊，很、极。
乡书xiāng shū: xiāng shū: a letter home.乡书：家信。

Background创作背景

This poem shows the poet missing home and friends on an autumn night far away. Wei Zhuang lived through the wars at the end of the Tang and spent many years wandering. The poem mentions the horns of Chu, so he is usually thought to have been in the land of Chu, roughly today's Hubei and Hunan. We do not know exactly when it was written.

这首诗写的是诗人秋夜在外地思乡怀人的心情。韦庄一生经历了唐末的战乱，常年在外漂泊。诗里写到“楚角”，一般认为他当时在楚地，也就是今天湖北、湖南一带。写作的具体时间已经不清楚。

The poet作者

Wei Zhuang (about 836–910) was a poet of the late Tang, and a descendant of Wei Yingwu. As a young man he failed the exams many times and lived through the wars of the Huang Chao rebellion, about which he wrote a long poem. Late in life he went to Sichuan and became chief minister of the Former Shu state. His song lyrics are clear and graceful, and he is a leading poet of the Flower Among the Leaves school.

韦庄（约836—910），晚唐诗人、词人，是韦应物的后代。他年轻时考试屡次失败，经历了黄巢起义的战乱，写过长诗《秦妇吟》。晚年他到了蜀地，在前蜀做了宰相。他的词清丽自然，是“花间派”的重要词人。

The mood意境

The poem begins with sounds. Through the long night the se plays sadly, like wind and rain circling the strings. By a lonely lamp the poet hears distant horns. The moon is sinking too. Layer upon layer of sound and a cold, faint light make the autumn night feel long and chilly. The second half tells what is on his mind. The grass has faded, the year is nearly over, and his friend has still not come. He wants to send a letter home but cannot, and the geese that might carry it have already flown south. People long ago said wild geese could carry letters. Now the geese are gone, and the poet has no way left to send his longing.

这首诗从声音写起：长夜里，瑟声哀怨，像风雨在弦上打转；孤灯下，又听到远处的号角。月亮也快落了。一层层的声音和冷清的光，把秋夜写得又长又凉。后半首说出心事：草都枯了，一年快过去了，朋友还没来；想给家里写信，却寄不出去，连能捎信的大雁也已飞走了。古人传说大雁能传书，可大雁飞走了，诗人的思念就更没处说了。