Song of the Pipa (with Preface) - Bai Juyi
/琵琶行(并序) - 白居易/
弦聲縈繞，細訴紅塵悲喜
元和十年，予左遷九江郡司馬。
In the tenth year of the Yuanhe era, I was demoted to serve as Sima of the Jiujiang Prefecture.
明年秋，送客湓浦口，聞舟中夜彈琵琶者。
In the following autumn, while seeing off a guest at Penpu Port, I heard someone playing the pipa at night from a boat.
聽其音，錚錚然有京都聲。
Listening to the sound, it resonated with the refined tones of the capital.
問其人，本長安倡女，嘗學琵琶於穆、曹二善才。
When I inquired, I learned she was once a courtesan of Chang’an, having studied pipa under the skilled musicians Mu and Cao.
年長色衰，委身為賈人婦。
Now older, her beauty had faded, and she had married a merchant.
遂命酒，使快彈數曲。
I thereupon ordered wine and asked her to play a few lively tunes.
曲罷嬌謝，再拜自敘少壯。
When she finished, she gave a charming thanks, bowed twice, and spoke of her youthful days.
自言本是京城女，家在蝦蟆陵下住。
She said she was originally from the capital, living by the Toad Hill in Chang’an.
十三學得琵琶成，名屬教坊第一部。
At thirteen, she mastered the pipa and became ranked in the first class of the imperial music academy.
曲罷常教善才服，妝成每被秋娘妒。
After her performances, even skilled musicians admired her, and rival courtesans grew jealous of her beauty.
五陵年少爭纏頭，一曲紅綃不知數。
Wealthy youth from the Five Tombs district lavished her with gifts, countless red silks each time she performed.
鈿頭銀篦擊節碎，血色羅裙翻酒污。
Jeweled hairpins and silver combs tapped out the beat until they broke, and her crimson silk skirts were often stained with spilled wine.
今年歡笑復明年，秋月春風等閒度。
Year after year, she reveled in merriment, and the seasons passed effortlessly like the autumn moon and spring breeze.
弟走從軍阿姨死，暮去朝來顏色故。
Her brother went off to join the army; her aunt passed away; with time, her looks gradually faded.
門前冷落鞍馬稀，老大嫁作商人婦。
Fewer horses and carriages visited her door; she grew older and married a traveling merchant.
商人重利輕別離，前月浮梁買茶去。
Merchants prize profit and treat parting lightly. Last month, he went to Fuliang to buy tea.
去來江口守空船，繞船月明江水寒。
Left behind at the river’s mouth, she watched over an empty boat, the bright moon reflecting on the cold waters around her.
夜深忽夢少年事，夢啼妝淚紅閨裡。
Late at night, she suddenly dreamt of her youth, weeping in her decorated chamber where tears stained her face.
我聞琵琶已嘆息，又聞此語重唧噥。
Hearing her pipa had already made me sigh; her story made me lament all the more.
同是天涯淪落人，相逢何必曾相識。
We are both exiles drifting at the world’s edge; why dwell on whether we once knew each other?
我從去年辭帝京，謫居臥病潯陽城。
Since leaving the Imperial Capital last year, I have been banished, ill and confined to Xunyang City.
潯陽地僻無音樂，終歲不聞絲竹聲。
Isolated in Xunyang, I hear no music; all year, no string or flute notes reach my ears.
住近湓江地低濕，黃蘆苦竹繞宅生。
I live near the marshy banks of the Pen River, surrounded by yellow reeds and bitter bamboo.
其間旦暮聞何物？杜鵑啼血猿哀鳴。
Day and night, what do I hear? The wailing of cuckoos and the mournful cries of monkeys.
春江花朝秋月夜，往往取酒還獨傾。
On spring mornings when flowers bloom by the river, and on autumn nights under the moon, I often drink alone.
豈無山歌與村笛？嘔啞嘲啁難為聽。
Though there are rustic songs and village flutes, their coarse sounds are hard for me to bear.
今夜聞君琵琶語，如聽仙樂耳暫明。
But tonight, hearing your pipa’s voice is like hearing celestial music; my ears are briefly enlightened.
莫辭更坐彈一曲，為君翻作琵琶行。
Please do not refuse—sit a while longer and play another tune. For you, I will compose this Pipa Song.
感我此言良久立，卻坐促弦弦轉急。
Moved by my words, she stood silent for a while; then she sat again, tightening the strings, playing with hastening notes.
淒淒不似向前聲，滿座重聞皆掩泣。
The tune was now sorrowful, unlike before; those who heard it were moved to tears.
座中泣下誰最多？江州司馬青衫溼。
Who wept the most among them all? The Sima of Jiangzhou, his blue robe soaked through.
《琵琶行(並序)》是白居易於貶謫浔陽期間所作，透過對琵琶聲的描寫與彈者身世的敘述，流露出詩人自身被貶後的感慨與孤寂。開首序文交代了作者與彈者的相遇背景，奠定了全詩的敘事基調。詩中以細膩筆觸展現彈琵琶女子的昔日風華和今時淒涼，又把詩人本身宦途失意的境遇巧妙融入其中，令讀者在琵琶的悲涼曲調與詩人深沈的心境之間產生共鳴。全詩運用多層次的敘事結構：先描述彈琵琶者昔日的歡樂與今日的淒楚，再連繫到作者的身世與心境，最後以“江州司馬青衫濕”一筆統攝全篇，呈現悲喜交織的深刻情感。
這首長篇敘事詩擅長運用對比手法，將青春流逝、貶謫落魄、時局變遷融為一體，把人情冷暖描寫得極為動人。它也彰顯白居易注重平易近人的語言風格，讓詩句既口語流暢又寓意深厚，成為唐詩中兼具藝術價值與社會批判精神的代表作。讀者可以透過琵琶聲的描寫，體會詩人不僅是同情彈者的身世，更是自嘆身處“天涯淪落人” 的悲歎，因而激發強烈的同情心與共鳴。
重點
1. 從詩中可感受白居易對時局與身世的深刻慨歎。
2. 彈琵琶女子與詩人同病相憐，象徵人世間的共通苦境。
3. 詩句語言平易近人，卻蘊含了深厚的人情味與批判精神。
4. 以音樂入詩，富於感染力，增添獨特的美感與悲愴。
