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杜甫流寓于荒僻的山城，面对峡江壮丽的夜景，听到悲壮的鼓角声，因而感慨万千，由眼前的情景想到国家的战乱，由历史人物想到自己的境遇，并力图在内心超越这些人生的感慨，因作此诗。诗中虽有悲凉哀伤之情，却亦有壮情和超然之意。
开首二句点明时间。岁暮，指冬季；阴阳，指日月；短景，指冬天日短。一“催”字，形象地说明夜长昼短，使人觉得光阴荏苒，岁月逼人。次句天涯，指夔州，又有沦落天涯之意。在霜雪刚停的寒冬夜晚，雪光明朗如昼，诗人对着凄凉寒怆的夜景，不由感慨万千。
“五更”二句，承次句“寒宵”，写出了夜中所闻所见。上句鼓角，指古代军中用以报时和发号施令的鼓声、号角声。晴朗的夜空，鼓角声分外响亮，正是五更天快亮的时候，诗人忧愁难眠，那声音更显得悲壮感人。这就从侧面烘托出夔州一带也不太平，黎明前军队已在加紧活动。诗人用“鼓角”二字点示，再和“五更”、“声悲壮”等词语结合，兵戈未息、战争频仍的气氛就自然地传达出来了。下句说雨后天空无尘，天上银河显得格外澄澈，群星参差，映照峡江，星影在湍急的江流中摇曳不定。景色是够美的。前人赞扬此联写得“伟丽”。它的妙处在于：通过对句，诗人把他对时局的深切关怀和三峡夜深美景的欣赏，有声有色地表现出来，诗句气势苍凉恢廓，音调铿锵悦耳，辞采清丽夺目，“伟丽”中深蕴着诗人悲壮深沉的情怀。
“野哭”二句，写拂晓前所闻。一闻战伐之事，就立即引起千家的恸哭，哭声传彻四野，景象凄惨。夷歌，指四川境内少数民族的歌谣。夔州是民族杂居之地。杜甫客居此地，渔夫樵子不时在深夜传来“夷歌”之声。“数处”指不只一处。这两句把偏远的夔州的典型环境刻画得很真实：“野哭”、“夷歌”，一个富有时代感，一个具有地方性。对这位忧国忧民的伟大诗人来说，这两种声音都使他倍感悲伤。
“卧龙”二句，诗人极目远望夔州西郊的武侯庙和东南的白帝庙，而引出无限感慨。卧龙，指诸葛亮。跃马，化用左思《蜀都赋》“公孙跃马而称帝”句，意指公孙述在西汉末乘乱据蜀称帝。杜甫曾屡次咏到他：“公孙初据险，跃马意何长？”（《白帝城》）“勇略今何在？当年亦壮哉！”（《上白帝城二首》）。一世之雄，都成了黄土中的枯骨。末尾一句说，人事与音书，如今都只好任其寂寞了。结尾二句，流露出诗人极为忧愤感伤的情绪。清代沈德潜说：“结言贤愚同尽，则目前人事，远地音书，亦付之寂寥而已。”（《唐诗别裁》）像诸葛亮、公孙述这样的历史人物，不论是贤是愚，都同归于尽了。现实生活中，征戍、诛掠更造成广大人民天天都有死亡，作者眼前这点寂寥孤独，根本算不了什么。这话看似自遣之词，实际上却充分反映出诗人感情上的矛盾与苦恼。“志士幽人莫怨嗟，古来材大难为用！”（《古柏行》）“英雄余事业，衰迈久风尘。”（《上白帝城二首》）这些诗句正好传达出诗中某些未尽之意。前人认为此诗“意中言外，怆然有无穷之思”，是颇有见地的。
此诗向来被誉为杜甫律诗中的典范性作品。诗人围绕题目，从几个重要侧面抒写夜宿西阁的所见所闻所感，从寒宵雪霁写到五更鼓角，从天空星河写到江上洪波，从山川形胜写到战乱人事，从当前现实写到千年往迹。气象雄阔，有上天下地、俯仰古今之概。明代胡应麟称赞此诗：“气象雄盖宇宙，法律细入毫芒”，并说它是七言律诗的“千秋鼻祖”，是很有道理的。 ▲
appreciate
Du Fu lives in a remote mountain city. Facing the magnificent night scene of the Xiajiang River, he hears the solemn and stirring sound of drums and horns, so he is filled with emotion. From the scene in front of him, he thinks of the war of the country, and from historical figures, he thinks of his own situation, and tries to transcend these feelings of life in his heart. Although there is sadness and sadness in the poem, there is also strong feelings and detachment.
The first two sentences point out the time. The end of the year refers to winter; Yin and Yang refer to the sun and the moon; Short scenery refers to short days in winter. The word “urge” vividly shows that the night is long and the day is short, which makes people feel that time flies and the years are pressing. The second sentence, “Tianya”, refers to Kuizhou, which also means “Tianya”. On a cold winter night when frost and snow had just stopped, the snow was as bright as day.
The second sentence, “Cold Night”, describes what we heard and saw at night. The drum and horn refer to the sound of drums and horns used in ancient military to announce the time and give orders. In the clear night sky, the sound of drums and horns was particularly loud. It was just at the dawn of the fifth watch, when the poet was worried and could not sleep, the sound was even more solemn and stirring. This shows that Kuizhou area is not peaceful, and the army has stepped up its activities before dawn. The poet used the word “drum horn” to indicate, and then combined with words such as “five watch” and “solemn and stirring voice”, the atmosphere of endless wars and frequent wars was naturally conveyed. The next sentence says that the sky is clean after rain, and the Milky Way in the sky is particularly clear. The stars are uneven, reflecting the Xiajiang River. The stars are swaying in the turbulent river. The scenery is beautiful enough. Predecessors praised this couplet as “magnificent”. Its beauty lies in that through the couplet, the poet vividly shows his deep concern for the current situation and his appreciation of the late night beauty of the Three Gorges. The poem is bleak and magnificent, with sonorous and melodious tones, and the words are beautiful and clear. The “magnificence” contains the poet’s solemn and stirring feelings.
“Wild cry” two sentences, write what you heard before dawn. As soon as he heard about the war, he immediately caused thousands of families to cry, and the cry spread all over the field, making the scene miserable. Yi songs refer to the ballads of ethnic minorities in Sichuan. Kuizhou is a place where nationalities live together. Du Fu lives here as a guest. From time to time, the fisherman and woodcutter hear the voice of “Yi Song” in the middle of the night. “Several places” refers to more than one place. These two sentences depict the typical environment of remote Kuizhou very truly: “Wild Cry” and “Yi Song”, one is full of sense of the times and the other is local. For this great poet who cares about the country and the people, these two voices make him feel sad.
The poem “Crouching Dragon” drew infinite emotion from the poet’s extreme vision of Wuhou Temple in the western suburb of Kuizhou and Baidi Temple in the southeast. Wolong refers to Zhuge Liang. The phrase “Gongsun leaped on a horse and became emperor” in Zuo Si’s “Shu Capital Fu” means that Gongsun stated that he was emperor in Shu at the end of the Western Han Dynasty. Du Fu has repeatedly chanted about him: “Gongsun is in danger at the beginning. What is the meaning of jumping a horse?” (White Emperor City) “Where is the courage now? It was also magnificent in those years!” (Two Songs of Shangbaidi City). All the heroes of our lives have become bones in the loess. At the end of the sentence, personnel and audio books are now left alone. The last two sentences reveal the poet’s extremely sad, indignant and sentimental mood. Shen Deqian of the Qing Dynasty said, “If we end up with the wise and the foolish, we will be lonely in our current personnel, even if we listen to books from afar.” (Genres of Tang Poetry) Historical figures such as Zhuge Liang and Gongsun Shu, whether wise or foolish, have all died together. In real life, the vast majority of people die every day because of the conscription and slaughter. The loneliness before the author’s eyes is nothing at all. This seemingly self indulgent remark, in fact, fully reflects the poet’s emotional contradictions and distress. “The noble men and the quiet people should not complain. The ancient materials are hard to use!” (The Traveling of Ancient Cypress) “More than a hero’s career, it is a time of decay.” (Two Songs of Shangbaidi City) These verses just convey some unfinished meanings in the poem. The forefathers thought that this poem was insightful, that “the words in the meaning are beyond the words, but there are infinite thoughts”.
This poem has always been regarded as a model work of Du Fu’s regular poems. Focusing on the topic, the poet described what he saw, heard and felt in the West Pavilion from several important aspects, from the end of the cold night to the drum horn at the fifth watch, from the stars and rivers in the sky to the flood waves on the river, from the victory of mountains and rivers to the war personnel, and from the current reality to the millennium past. The weather is magnificent and broad, with the concept of going up to the world and looking up to the ancient and modern times. Hu Yinglin of the Ming Dynasty praised this poem: “The weather covers the universe, and the law is fine”, and said that it is the “ancestor of seven character verse”, which is very reasonable. ▲
