280. 秋夕（杜牧）
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现代汉语译文
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银烛秋光冷画屏，轻罗小扇扑流萤。
现代汉语译文
银色的烛光与秋夜的光辉，使画屏显得清冷；她手持轻罗小扇，扑打飞动的萤火虫。
“银烛”一作“红烛”，通行本多作“银烛”。“冷”字既写画屏的凉意，也写秋夜的清冷。“轻罗小扇”是薄绢制的团扇；“扑流萤”写她无聊中以扑萤遣夜，动作轻巧，处境却寂寞。
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天阶夜色凉如水，坐看牵牛织女星。
现代汉语译文
宫中的石阶上，夜色凉得像水一样；她坐着，凝望天上的牵牛星和织女星。
“天阶”指皇宫中的石阶，点明她的宫女身份。“凉如水”把触觉的凉写成可见的意象，夜深可知。“牵牛织女星”是被银河隔开的恋人，她久久凝望，寂寞与向往都在其中。（“坐看”一作“卧看”。）
赏析 · Commentary
一个小动作撑起一个长夜 · One Small Gesture Holds a Long Night
扑流萤是夏秋之际宫女常有的消遣，动作轻，时间却长。诗人不写她为何不睡，只写她扑萤、看星，读者便知道这个夜很难熬。热闹的萤火与清冷的烛光、石阶对照，孤独不必点明。
Catching fireflies was a common pastime for palace women between summer and autumn: the motion is light, but the hours are long. The poet never says why she cannot sleep, only shows her chasing fireflies and watching stars, and the reader understands how hard the night is to endure. The lively fireflies set against the cold candlelight and the stone steps make the loneliness plain without naming it.
为什么望的是牵牛织女 · Why She Watches the Herd-Boy and Weaver-Girl
天上的牵牛织女一年才能相会一次，却终究还有个可盼的人；深宫里的女子连这样的人事也未必有。末句不写怨，只写“看”，把她的心思交给了两颗星。杜牧把宫怨收在一段安静的动作里，余味很长。
The Herd-Boy and Weaver-Girl meet only once a year, yet they still have someone to long for; a woman deep in the palace may not even have that. The closing line shows no complaint, only looking, entrusting her thoughts to two stars. Du Mu folds the palace lament into one quiet gesture, and the aftertaste is long.