琵琶行(并序) - 白居易
一曲離愁宛轉，凝聚江湖悲歡交織
元和十年，余左遷九江郡司馬。
In the tenth year of Yuanhe, I was demoted to the position of Sima in Jiujiang Prefecture.
明年秋，送客湓浦口，聞舟中夜彈琵琶者。
The following autumn, while bidding farewell to a friend at Penpu Port, I heard someone playing the pipa at night on a nearby boat.
聽其音，錚錚然有京都聲。
Its crisp, resonant notes echoed the style of the capital.
問其人，本長安倡女，嘗學琵琶於穆、曹二善才。
I inquired and learned that the player was formerly a courtesan from Chang'an, who had studied the pipa under two renowned masters, Mu and Cao.
年長色衰，委身為賈人婦。
But as her youth and beauty had faded, she eventually married a traveling merchant.
遂命酒，使快彈數曲。
So I had wine served and asked her to play a few pieces with abandon.
曲罷憫然，自敘少小落拓，嫁作商人婦，艱於奔命，於今憔悴。
When she finished, she spoke sorrowfully of her younger, carefree days, how she was wed to a merchant, enduring a life of hardship, leaving her now worn and weary.
於是飲酒樂甚，蹙然歎息，握手別。
We then drank heartily, yet she sighed with deep regret; soon, we clasped hands in farewell.
茲夜曲中，語有悲酸。余佇立舟中，悵然久之。
Within her music that night, one sensed profound sadness. I stood long upon the boat, lost in melancholic thought.
潯陽江頭夜送客，楓葉荻花秋瑟瑟。
By Xunyang River at night, bidding a friend farewell; maple leaves and reed blossoms rustle in the autumn breeze.
主人下馬客在船，舉酒欲飲無管絃。
The host dismounts while the guest boards his boat; raising cups to drink, yet we have no music.
醉不成歡慘將別，別時茫茫江浸月。
Drunkenness fails to bring joy as we part in sorrow; the moon washes over the vast river at this moment of farewell.
忽聞水上琵琶聲，主人忘歸客不發。
Suddenly, from the water comes the sound of a pipa; the host forgets to go home, the guest delays his departure.
尋聲暗問彈者誰？琵琶聲停欲語遲。
Following the music’s echo, I quietly inquire: Who plays this instrument? The notes cease; a hesitant voice lingers.
移船相近邀相見，添酒回燈重開宴。
I move my boat closer to meet her, add more wine and relight the lamp to resume our feast.
千呼萬喚始出來，猶抱琵琶半遮面。
After countless calls, she emerges at last, clutching her pipa, half hiding her face.
轉軸撥弦三兩聲，未成曲調先有情。
Adjusting the tuning pegs, she plucks a few notes; before forming a melody, her emotion is already conveyed.
弦弦掩抑聲聲思，似訴平生不得志。
String by string, she muffles her sorrow; each note speaks her life’s unfulfilled dreams.
低眉信手續續彈，說盡心中無限事。
With lowered gaze, her fingers roam in continuous flow, telling the vast stories of her heart.
輕攏慢撚抹復挑，初為霓裳後六么。
She gently strums, slowly plucks, brushes then picks; first playing the Neishang tune, then the Liuyang refrain.
大弦嘈嘈如急雨，小弦切切如私語。
The heavier strings clash like a sudden downpour; the finer strings murmur like private whispers.
嘈嘈切切錯雜彈，大珠小珠落玉盤。
Tumbling together in discordant harmony, like pearls both large and small falling onto a jade plate.
間關鶯語花底滑，幽咽泉流冰下難。
Trilling like orioles singing under blossoms, sorrowful like a hidden spring flowing beneath ice.
水泉冷澀絃凝絕，凝絕不通聲暫歇。
The cold, rough waters still the strings, and the notes become suspended in a momentary silence.
別有幽愁暗恨生，此時無聲勝有聲。
From silence grows a private anguish, for at times no sound speaks more powerfully than any sound could.
銀瓶乍破水漿迸，鐵騎突出刀槍鳴。
As if a silver vase shatters, water bursting forth; as if cavalry charges, blades and spears clashing.
曲終收撥當心畫，四弦一聲如裂帛。
At the finale, she lifts her pick as if drawing a line through her heart; the last chord cracks sharp like tearing silk.
東舟西舫悄無言，唯見江心秋月白。
Boats to the east and west fall silent; only the autumn moon illuminates the river’s center in pale light.
沉吟放撥插絃中，整頓衣裳起斂容。
She muses, sets down her plectrum among the strings, composes herself, adjusting her robe, and stands with solemn grace.
自言本是京城女，家在蝸角富貴門。
She says she was once a maiden of the capital, from a wealthy yet cramped household.
十三學得琵琶成，名屈教坊第一部。
At thirteen she mastered the pipa, rising to fame in the first rank of the Imperial Music Academy.
曲罷常教善才伏，妝成每被秋娘妒。
Her performances left skilled musicians in awe, and her adorned beauty incited envy in seasoned performers.
五陵年少爭纏頭，一曲紅綃不知數。
The young nobles of Wuling vied to tip her lavishly, so many scarlet sashes she lost count.
鈿頭銀篦擊節碎，血色羅裙翻酒污。
Jeweled hairpins and silver combs clapped to the rhythm until they shattered, while her crimson silk skirt was stained by spilled wine.
今年歡笑復明年，秋月春風等閒度。
Year after year she reveled in laughter, letting autumn moons and spring breezes pass unheeded.
弟走從軍阿姨死，暮去朝來顏色故。
Her brother left to join the army, her aunt passed away; day followed night, and her once youthful complexion changed.
門前冷落車馬稀，老大嫁作商人婦。
Her front gate grew silent, with few horses or carriages arriving; as she aged, she married a merchant.
商人重利輕別離，前月浮梁買茶去。
Merchants prize profit and take leave lightly; last month he traveled to Fuliang to buy tea.
去來江口守空船，繞船月明江水寒。
Departing and returning, she waits alone in an empty boat; around her, the moonlit river is chill.
夜深忽夢少年事，夢啼妝淚紅闌干。
Late at night she dreams of her youth, waking in tears, her makeup running like crimson streaks.
我聞琵琶已嘆息，又聞此語重唧唧。
I had sighed upon hearing her pipa; hearing her story, I sighed again in deeper lament.
同是天涯淪落人，相逢何必曾相識。
We are both exiles wandering at the ends of the earth—why need we have known each other before?
我從去年辭帝京，謫居臥病潯陽城。
Since leaving the Imperial City last year, I have been ill in exile in Xunyang.
潯陽地僻無音樂，終歲不聞絲竹聲。
In remote Xunyang, there is no music; all year I hear no sound of strings or flutes.
住近湓江地低溼，黃蘆苦竹繞宅生。
I dwell near the low, damp banks of the Pen River, where yellow reeds and bitter bamboo encircle my home.
其間旦暮聞何物？杜鵑啼血猿哀鳴。
From dawn to dusk, what do I hear? Cuckoos crying blood, and the mournful calls of apes.
春江花朝秋月夜，往往取酒還獨傾。
On spring mornings when blossoms bloom by the river and autumn nights under the moon, I often drink alone.
豈無山歌與村笛？嘔啞嘲哳難為聽。
Though there are rustic songs and village flutes, their harsh, discordant sounds are hard to endure.
今夜聞君琵琶語，如聽仙樂耳暫明。
But tonight, hearing your pipa is like hearing the music of immortals; it clears my ears in an instant.
莫辭更坐彈一曲，為君翻作琵琶行。
Pray, do not refuse to sit once more and play; for you, I shall compose this “Ballad of the Pipa.”
感我此言良久立，卻坐促絃絃轉急。
Moved by my words, she stands in silent thought; returning to her seat, she tightens the strings, quickening their pace.
淒淒不似向前聲，滿座重聞皆掩泣。
Sorrowful now, unlike her earlier tune; all present listen again and are moved to tears.
座中泣下誰最多？江州司馬青衫濕。
Who weeps the most among those gathered? The Sima of Jiangzhou, with his blue robe soaked through.
〈琵琶行(並序)〉是白居易長篇敘事詩的代表作之一，開篇「並序」就交代了詩人因政治貶謫至九江，偶然聽到琵琶女彈奏的經過。全詩以「聽琵琶」為主線，結合音樂、人生與社會現實三層面，藉此抒發詩人被貶謫的鬱悶以及對流落他鄉者的同情。琵琶女原是京城裡出類拔萃的音樂人才，後因年華老去、生活所迫而嫁給商人，過著孤寂辛酸的日子；白居易自己則被朝廷貶至潯陽，宦途受挫。當兩人在夜色江邊相逢，各自的失落與身世際遇產生共鳴，使琵琶樂聲顯得格外淒婉動人。
詩的重心在於「音樂」和「人生」的相互映照。琵琶的旋律描繪了弦弦掩抑、或急或緩的音色，既如急雨敲窗，又似私語細說，進而幻化為珍珠落盤、銀瓶乍破等強烈的聽覺畫面，讓讀者彷彿親臨現場，感受到音樂中暗含的悲歡離合。這些具體音響的描寫，不僅體現詩人高超的觀察力，更傳遞出琵琶女深藏的無奈與哀愁，也呼應了白居易自身在官場失意、遠客他鄉的寂寞失落。
另一方面，詩中「同是天涯淪落人，相逢何必曾相識」一語，道盡了詩人對底層眾生的悲憫與共鳴，也表現他關懷社會、洞察人情的特質。白居易的作品常見「諷諭」和「關懷百姓」的理念，而〈琵琶行〉則以細膩婉轉的藝術形式，探究人心在挫折與滄桑中的纖微感受。讀者在吟詩之際，不只欣賞到極富音樂性的詩行，也能體會詩人以琴聲寫人生的深厚情懷。最後的「江州司馬青衫濕」，以白居易自謂「青衫」之形象，強烈點出詩人那份難以排解的苦悶、憂愁與同情，將全詩情感推向高潮，餘韻深遠。
白居易善於用簡潔淺白又鋪陳深厚的手法，使得此詩兼具文學美感與敘事性。從並序的起筆，到琵琶女身世陳述，再到音樂盛宴和最後的情感交融，結構嚴謹而層次分明。這種融合敘事、抒情、議論的創作方式，在唐代詩壇中獨具風采，同時也向後世提供了音樂意象如何與人生歷程相互呼應的絕佳範例。
通過詩中對琴聲的生動描繪、琵琶女的失意身世，以及詩人自己宦途受挫的背景，整篇作品展現了在現實壓力下，藝術與靈魂相互支撐的動人畫面。正因為兩人皆有「漂泊淪落」的命運，琵琶的聲音才如此觸動人心，也使詩人無法自抑地哀傷落淚。雖然題為「琵琶行」，卻跳脫單純的器樂描述，轉而成為敘寫人生聚散、國家政治與民間百態的縮影，充分體現白居易的主張——以詩文直面人生，讓詩歌與社會關懷相結合。
重點
• 詩以琵琶彈奏貫穿整體，音色與哀情交織
• 白居易與琵琶女皆身世淪落，因而產生深刻共鳴
• 整首詩兼具敘事、抒情與議論，結構嚴整又情感充沛
• 「同是天涯淪落人」成為千古傳誦的經典名句，體現對世間眾生的悲憫與同理
