李凭箜篌引

吴丝蜀桐张高秋，

“吴丝”指吴地所产蚕丝，用以制琴弦；“蜀桐”指蜀地桐木，用以制琴身，二者皆乐器上材，此处代指箜篌之精良。“张”本义为张弦、调弦，引申为弹奏；“高秋”指深秋九月。开篇不写人而先写乐器与时节，以物之精美、时之高远，烘托乐声之不凡。

"Wu silk" (strings from Wu) and "Shu paulownia" (soundboard wood from Shu) were the finest materials for instruments, and together they stand for the exquisite konghou itself. Zhang means to string or tune, hence to play; gaoqiu is late autumn. The poem opens with the instrument and the season rather than the player, setting a lofty stage for extraordinary music.

空山凝云颓不流。

夸张兼拟人。空山之云本自舒卷飘游，闻乐而凝滞垂积、不复流动，“颓”有堆积下垂之意。以云之静止写乐声之摄人，先以“无声”写“有声”，为下文奇崛之笔铺垫。

Hyperbole and personification: clouds over empty hills, which should drift freely, congeal and hang heavily instead. The stillness of the clouds measures the music's arresting power, using silence to describe sound and preparing for the startling images to come.

江娥啼竹素女愁，

用典。“江娥”即湘妃，尧女娥皇、女英，舜死苍梧，二妃哭于湘江，泪洒竹上成斑，是为斑竹；“素女”为古代善鼓瑟之女神。两位神女一泣一愁，以神话人物之悲，反衬箜篌之声能感通神明、动人心魄。

Allusion: the "River Maidens" are the Xiang goddesses, daughters of Yao, whose tears spotted the bamboos after Shun's death; the "Plain Girl" (Sunü) was a goddess famed for playing the se. Their weeping and sorrow show that the music moves even the gods.

李凭中国弹箜篌。

至此方点出演奏者。“中国”指国中、京城长安，非今日之国家；“箜篌”为古代拨弦乐器，有卧箜篌、竖箜篌之别，此处当指二十三弦之竖箜篌。前四句先乐器、后乐师，先声后人，章法奇崛。

Only here is the performer named. Zhongguo means "within the capital," i.e., Chang'an, not the modern nation. The konghou is an ancient harp; this one is the vertical, twenty-three-string type. The first four lines present instrument and effect before the player himself — a deliberately striking arrangement.

昆山玉碎凤凰叫，

通感与比喻。“昆山”即昆仑山，古称产美玉；“玉碎”写乐声清脆激越、细碎琳琅，“凤凰叫”写其嘹亮高亢、直上云霄。以视觉与神话意象写听觉，化无形之声为可感之物。

Synesthesia and simile. Mount Kunlun yields the finest jade; shattered jade is a crisp, brilliant sound, while the phoenix's cry is a soaring one. Sound is rendered through sight and myth, making the invisible audible and visible at once.

芙蓉泣露香兰笑。

拟人与通感。以芙蓉泣露状乐声之幽咽凄婉，以香兰含笑状乐声之轻快欢愉，一悲一喜，两两相对，见乐声抑扬起伏、变化无穷。“泣”“笑”化无情之花为有情之人。

Personification and synesthesia: the lotus weeping dew is the music's plaintive, choked note; the fragrant orchid's smile is its bright, joyful note. Grief and gladness paired reveal the music's shifting rise and fall, lending human feeling to flowers.

十二门前融冷光，

“十二门”指长安城四面十二座城门，代指整个京城。“融”字炼字精妙，言乐声温煦和暖，竟能消融秋夜清冷之光。场景由天上神女转写人间都城，由远及近。

The twelve gates are Chang'an's city gates, standing for the whole capital. The verb "melt" is finely chosen: the warm music dissolves the cold sheen of an autumn night. The scene shifts from heaven's goddesses back to the human city, from far to near.

二十三丝动紫皇。

“二十三丝”以弦数代指箜篌，与首句呼应；“紫皇”为道教所称天帝、至尊之神。乐声上达天听，惊动至尊，极言其感召之广。场景再由人间升入天上，境界阔大。

"Twenty-three strings" names the instrument by its strings, echoing the opening line; the "Purple Emperor" (Zi Huang) is the supreme Daoist deity. The music ascends to move the highest heaven, proving its far-reaching power, and the scene rises from earth to sky once more.

女娲炼石补天处，

用典。《淮南子·览冥训》载女娲炼五色石以补苍天。诗人想象乐声直冲霄汉，抵达女娲补天之所，为下句“石破天惊”埋下伏笔，蓄势极足。

Allusion: according to the Huainanzi, Nüwa smelted five-colored stones to patch the broken sky. The poet imagines the music soaring to that very spot, building momentum for the explosion in the next line.

石破天惊逗秋雨。

全诗警策，成语“石破天惊”即出此句。“逗”意为引、招致。补天之处为乐声震破，秋雨因而倾泻而下。以天崩石裂的奇景写乐声之震撼，想象瑰玮，前无古人。

The climactic line and the very source of the idiom "stone splits, heaven starts." Dou means to draw forth or provoke. The mended sky is shattered by the music, loosing autumn rain — cosmic catastrophe as a figure for musical impact, an image of unmatched boldness.

梦入神山教神妪，

用典。《搜神记》载有神妪成夫人，好音乐，闻人弹弦则起舞。诗人写李凭技艺通神，竟能入梦神山、指教神女，以虚衬实，愈见其艺之高妙绝伦。

Allusion: the Soushenji tells of the goddess Cheng Furen, who loved music and danced at the sound of strings. Li Ping's art is so divine that he enters a holy mountain in dream to teach the goddess — fiction used to praise fact, heightening his mastery.

老鱼跳波瘦蛟舞。

拟人与想象。老鱼跃出波涛，瘦蛟翻腾起舞，连水族亦为乐声所感。与《荀子·劝学》“瓠巴鼓瑟而流鱼出听”之意相通，写乐之感物，笔致飞动。

Personification and fantasy: old fish leap from the waves, thin dragons dance. Even water creatures answer the music, echoing the ancient saying in the Xunzi that when Huba played the se, fish came up to listen.

吴质不眠倚桂树，

“吴质”即吴刚，传说学仙有过，被罚于月中伐桂，桂树随砍随合。此处写其听乐忘倦、不眠倚树，连月中之人亦为乐声所动，想象由人间、水中再及天上月宫。

Wu Zhi is Wu Gang, legendarily exiled to the moon to fell a cassia tree that heals itself as fast as he cuts. Sleepless, he leans against the tree — even the moon's tireless laborer forgets his toil and rest to listen.

露脚斜飞湿寒兔。

“露脚”谓露水如足，斜飞而下，用字新警奇崛，为李贺本色；“寒兔”指月中玉兔，代指月亮。以露湿玉兔的幽冷画面收束全篇，乐声余韵不绝，意境由热烈归于清寒，余味无穷。

"Dew feet" — dew descending as though on slanting feet — is a strikingly novel coinage, typical of Li He; the "cold rabbit" is the moon rabbit, standing for the moon itself. The poem closes on dew wetting the rabbit: after tumult, a lingering chill, the music's echo fading into cold moonlight.