卖炭翁 - 白居易
贫寒老翁的炭火辛酸曲
卖炭翁，伐薪烧炭南山中。
The charcoal seller cuts wood and burns it deep in the southern hills.
满面尘灰烟火色，两鬓苍苍十指黑。
His face is covered in soot and ash, his temples graying, and his fingers blackened.
卖炭得钱何所营？身上衣裳口中食。
What can he buy with the money for charcoal? Merely clothes on his back and food to eat.
可怜身上衣正单，心忧炭贱愿天寒。
Pitifully he wears only thin garments, hoping for colder weather so charcoal’s price may rise.
夜来城外一尺雪，晓驾炭车辗冰辙。
At night, a foot of snow falls outside the city; by dawn, he drives his charcoal cart over icy ruts.
牛困人饥日已高，市南门外泥中歇。
With ox exhausted and man hungry, the sun is already high when they stop by the southern gate in the mud.
翩翩两骑来是谁？黄衣使者白衫儿。
Who are those two riders arriving with such flair? An imperial messenger in yellow, and his attendant in white.
手把文书口称敕，回车叱牛牵向北。
Holding an official decree, he loudly proclaims the order, turning the cart around and driving the ox northward.
一车炭，千余斤，宫使驱将惜不得。
A cart of charcoal weighing over a thousand pounds, yet seized by the court officials without pity.
《卖炭翁》是白居易著名的讽喻诗，通过老翁的卖炭经历，折射出唐代社会对底层人民的剥削与不公。诗歌从卖炭翁的艰辛出发：他冒着寒风大雪，以满面尘灰、两鬓苍苍的形象示人，却只能勉强挣得温饱所需。尤其写到“心忧炭贱愿天寒”，表现出他生活所迫，只能依赖天寒来提高炭价。
随后，诗人用“黄衣使者白衫儿”的出现，将宫廷权力对民生的粗暴干预揭示得极为鲜明。使者凭借诏令强行夺走老翁的整车炭，“驱将惜不得”，凸显出底层百姓在权势面前毫无谈判余地。正是这种尖锐的冲突，将老翁与朝廷之间的社会地位差别暴露无遗。
全诗语言通俗易懂，却直指社会问题的核心。诗人既写老翁卖炭的辛劳，也描摹了衙役和使臣的傲慢，形成强烈对比。通过卖炭翁的遭遇，白居易深刻批判官吏横征暴敛、忽视民生的现实，表达了对百姓疾苦的怜悯与对制度缺陷的愤慨。这种关注现实、针砭时弊的写作风格，正体现了白居易倡导的“文章合为时而著，歌诗合为事而作”理念。
要点
1. 以卖炭翁为主体，揭示贫弱者在权力面前的无助与悲辛。
2. 官吏的强取与百姓的无奈形成鲜明对照，体现社会不公。
3. 诗人以朴素易懂的语言表达深刻批判，展现白居易的现实主义创作风格。
4. 从卖炭翁的遭遇，可引发对社会制度与弱势群体的反思。
