秋雁最先聞 松子落空山

這首詩主要要表達羈旅之情，但妙在不從正面著筆，始終只就秋風做文章，在篇末雖然推出了「孤客」，也只寫到他「聞」秋風而止。至於他的旅情歸思是以「最先」兩字來暗示的。如照說，秋風吹到庭樹，每個人都可以同時聽到，不應當有先後之分。而惟獨孤客「最先」聽到，可以想見，他對時序、物候有特殊的敏感。而他如此敏感的原因。這就是對「最先聞」的解釋。諸家評語都稱讚這一結句曲折見意，含蓄不盡，為讀者留有可尋味的深度。從全詩看來，卻必須說「不可聞」，才與它的蒼涼慷慨的意境、高亢勁健的風格相融浹。兩個結句，內容相似，一用曲筆，一用直筆，卻各盡其妙。

劉禹錫（772-842）出生於運河名城徐州的一個儒家家庭。 儘管他擔任過太子參事、禮部副郎等重要職務，但因寫諷刺當權者的詩而兩度被貶。 秋風讓劉想起他生命中夏天的結束和失去皇寵。 他像大雁一樣，向南飛去，遠離他被流放的首都。 但與雁不同的是，他是獨自旅行。 庭院是旅人客棧的庭院。
(Liu Yu-hsi (772-842) was born in the Grand Canal town of Hsuchou to a family of Confucian scholars. Although he held several important posts, such as advisor to the heir apparent and vice-minister in the Ministry of Rites, he was twice demoted because of poems he wrote satirizing those in power. The autumn wind reminds Liu of the end of the summer of his life and of the loss of imperial favor. Like the geese, he is headed south, away from the capital from which he has been banished. But unlike the geese, he is traveling alone. The courtyard is that of a traveler's inn)

 劉禹錫（772－842），字夢得，漢族，中國唐朝彭城（今徐州）人，祖籍洛陽，唐朝文學家，哲學家，自稱是漢中山靖王後裔，曾任監察御史，是王叔文政治改革集團的一員。唐代中晚期著名詩人。

永貞革新，又稱永貞改革，指中國唐朝中期唐順宗依靠王伾、王叔文，進行的試圖打擊宦官特權的政治革新運動，此運動得到新晉士族的支持，受到守舊大臣的反對，最後宦官俱文珍等人逼唐順宗內禪予其子唐憲宗，是為永貞內禪，改革結束，推動改革的二王八司馬均遭貶斥。

《秋夜寄丘二十二員外》是表達作者在秋夜對隱居朋友的思念之情。前半首寫作者自己，即懷人之人；後半首寫正在臨平山學道的丘丹，即所懷之人。全詩從容落筆，淺淺著墨，語淡而情濃，言短而意深，格調古樸雅緻，安閑恬淡，給人以玩味不盡的藝術體驗。丘二十二員外:名丹，蘇州人，曾拜尚書郎，后隱居臨平山上。丘，一作「邱」。

英譯者Red Pine這樣說明這首詩的：
這首詩是韋應物（737-792）寫給丘蔚之弟丘丹的。 韋應物當時擔任蘇州太守，丘丹曾短暫擔任他的秘書。 丘卻決定寧修道，便辭官渡江，隱居揚州西北門外的平山隱居。 平山也是大明寺所在地。 幾十年前，佛教僧侶釋鑒真方丈離開這座寺廟前往日本，他被認為是將佛教、中醫和漢語介紹給日本人的人。 因此，平山雖然不是一座大山，但山坡上並非完全荒無人煙（譯者把「山空」譯作「deserted slopes」）。不過，現在是第八個滿月，即中秋節，親戚和朋友通常會在一起過夜，韋應物試圖想象他的朋友一定會感到多麼孤獨。 松子仍然是中國隱士的重要食物來源。 但在這裡，韋應物用它們來強調丘丹的孤獨，那裡唯一的聲音是松果掉落的聲音。 還要注意的是，中國這個地區的夏季酷熱難耐，任何秋天的跡象都是受歡迎的——尤其是第一口涼爽的空氣。
(Wei ying-wu (737-792) wrote this poem to Ch'iu Tan, the younger brother of Ch'iu Wei. Wei Ying-wu was serving as prefect of Suchou at the time, and Ch'iu Tan had served briefly as his secretary. However, Ch'iu decided he would rather cultivate the Tao, and he quit his post, crossed the Yangtze, and retired to a hermitage on Pingshan, just outside the northwest gate of Yangchou. Pinghsan was also the location of Taming Temple. Several decades earlier, the Buddhist monk Chief-chen left this temple and travelled to Japan, where he was credited wi5h introducing Buddhism, Chinese medicine, and the Chinese language to the Japanese. Thus, the slopes of Pinghsan, which was not a large mountain,were not exactly deserted. Still, this was the eighth full moon, or the Mid-Autumn Festival , when relatives and friends normally spend the night together, and Wei tries to imagine how lonely his friend must feel. Pine nuts remain an important source of food for recluses in China. But here, Wei uses them to emphasize Ch'iu Tan's isolation, where the only sound is that of falling pinecones. Note, too,  that the summers are sweltering in this part of China, and any sign of autumn is welcome--- especially the first breath of cool air. )

此詩當作於唐德宗貞元四年（788）或五年（789）韋應物任蘇州刺史時。丘員外，即丘丹，排行二十二，曾官倉部員外郎，蘇州嘉興（今屬浙江）人，時丘丹隱於臨平山中學道，韋應物與他屢有往還唱酬。丘二十二員外:名丹，蘇州人，曾拜尚書郎，后隱居臨平山上。丘，一作「邱」。