山坡羊·潼关怀古

　　张养浩 (1270-1329)，字希孟，号云庄，元代散曲作家。散曲是元代盛行的一种诗歌形式。这首《山坡羊》是元代散曲的名篇。

    ①山坡羊——曲调名，决定这首散曲的形式；“潼关怀古”才是标题。

    ②潼关——古关口名，现属陕西省潼关县，关城建在华山山腰，下临黄河，非常险要。

    ③山河表里——外面是山，里面是河，形容地势险要。

    ④西都——陕西长安，是汉代的西京。这是泛指秦汉以来在长安附近所建的都城。

    ⑤踌躇——徘徊不定，心事重重。

    ⑥秦汉经行处——秦朝（前221椙?/FONT>207）京城咸阳，西汉（前206－24）京城长安，都在陕西省境内潼关的西面。

    ⑦宫阙——皇宫建筑。阙，皇门前面两边的楼。

    诗人站在潼关要塞的山道上，眼前是华山群峰，脚下是黄河急流河水在峡谷中奔腾着，咆哮着，就像暴怒疯狂的兽群。群峰高低参差地簇扔着，攒动着，仿佛集合到这里来接受检阅。潼关，雄伟险要的潼关，古来兵家必争之地的潼关啊！

    想起古代，诗人不禁向西方望去。潼关以西三百里，便是西京长字，从秦汉到隋唐，好几个朝代在那一带建过都。落日苍茫之中，诗人一无所见，却在脑海里浮现出一座座巍峨壮观的古都，一簇簇富丽堂皇的宫殿，多少帝王将相、英雄豪杰曾在那里龙争虎半，威震一时，然而如今踪影全消，剩下来的只有黄土一片。西望长安，真叫人彷徨不止啊！

    诗人只是为“宫阙万间都做了土”而伤心吗？不他最屿的是历代人民。无论秦汉，无论隋唐，尽管改朝换代，人民的苦难却从来没有消除过。“兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦！”这是对几千年历史一针见血的总评。

    这首散曲，从潼关要塞想到古都长安，又从古都长安想到历代兴亡，地域远近数百里，时间上下千余年，思绪驰骋纵横，最后归结为“百姓苦”一句，反复咏叹，兼有山水诗的意境和历史家的眼光。

    Zhang Yanghao (1270---1329) was an poet of the Yuan Dynasty. As an upright and outspoken official, he was forced to resign from his official post because the emperor was offended by his reports. Im his old age, he served as a local official in Shaanxi Province where he organized drought-relief campaigns and offered many good services to the local communities.

    This poem, a famous one of the Yuan Dynasty Poetry, was written by Xhang at the Tongguan Pass in present-day Tongguan County of Shaanxi Province. The pass fortress is strategically located a half way up to the mountain with the Yellow River flowing underfoot.

    Standing by the rugged mountain path at the Tongguan Pass, the poet was very much impressed by its strategic location. With precipitous peaks in front and the billowy river underfoot, Liu something of the ancient past, he looked west towards the direction of Changan City which wsa the capital for many dynasties ranging from the Qin to the Tang Dynasties. Since it was already dark he could see nothing. Nevertheless, he could imagine vividly in his mind majestic capitals and magnificent palaces where emperors, ministers and generals ruled the country and where dynastic warriors fought each other for the imperial throne. Now all the heroes and warriors had gone without a trace and numerous palaces had been reduced to ruins. Rather disturbed by these thoughts, the poet signed, despite the rise and fall of the dynasties, it was the people who always suffered.