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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

李夫人

Lady Li

白居易

Bai Juyi

咏史Historical subject (yongshi) 爱情Love

汉武帝，初丧李夫人。
夫人病时不肯别，死后留得生前恩。
君恩不尽念未已，甘泉殿里令写真。
丹青画出竟何益，不言不笑愁杀人。
又令方士合灵药，玉釜煎炼金炉焚。
九华帐深夜悄悄，反魂香降夫人魂。
夫人之魂在何许，香烟引到焚香处。
既来何苦不须臾，缥缈悠扬还灭去。
去何速兮来何迟，是耶非耶两不知。
翠蛾仿佛平生貌，不似昭阳寝疾时。
魂之不来君心苦，魂之来兮君亦悲。
背灯隔帐不得语，安用暂来还见违。
伤心不独汉武帝，自古及今皆若斯。
君不见穆王三日哭，重璧台前伤盛姬。
又不见泰陵一掬泪，马嵬坡下念杨妃。
纵令妍姿艳质化为土，此恨长在无销期。
生亦惑，死亦惑，尤物惑人忘不得。
人非木石皆有情，不如不遇倾城色。

Emperor Wu of Han, and first the loss of Lady Li.
While she was dying she would not let go of him, and after she was dead he kept the favour she had had in life.
His favour not spent, his longing never ending, in the Hall of Sweet Spring he had her likeness painted.
Colours drawn — what good was it? Not speaking, not laughing, and it grieved him to death.
Then he had a wizard make a powder of a numbing drug, in a jade pot it was boiled and in a golden brazier burnt.
The nine-fold curtain at deep night, so still;
the returning-soul perfume came down, and Lady Li's spirit came.
Where is Lady Li's spirit? The smoke drew it to the place where the incense was burning.
Since she had come, why must she leave so soon, drifting and floating and then going out?
Gone so fast, come so late — is it she, is it not, he knows neither way.
Her jade brows like her living face, and not like her in the sick hours she lay in Zhao Yang.
When her soul came not, his heart was bitter; when her soul came, his heart was sad as well.
With his back to the lamp, behind the curtain, no word could pass between them — what use that she come but presently depart?
The grief is not only Emperor Wu's, and from the oldest time to now it has always been so.
Have you not seen the Mu king weeping three days before the terrace of the jade turret for the fallen Sheng Ji?
Have you not seen the handful of tears at Tai Ling, and on the slope of Ma Wei the thought of Yang Consort?
Even should her beauty turn into earth, this sorrow lasts and has no ending.
Alive, beguiled; dead, beguiled — a lovely thing beguiles man and he cannot forget.
Man is not wood or stone, and all have feeling; better never to have met a city-Overthrowing beauty.

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Meaning

Bai Juyi retells the story of Emperor Wu of Han and Lady Li, who died of illness leaving the emperor possessed by her memory. He has her portrait painted, then a wizard makes a powder that calls her soul back; the soul comes, lingers only a moment, and vanishes in the ambiguity of the famous line 'is it she, is it not, he knows neither way'. Bai Juyi widens the case from one man to all history — King Mu of Zhou weeping for Sheng Ji, the emperor grieving at Ma Wei for Yang Consort — and concludes with the moral: a man is not wood or stone, and everyone has feeling, so the pity is not that a beautiful woman is lost, but that such beauty was ever met.

汉武帝，初丧李夫人。夫人病时不肯别，死后留得生前恩。君恩不尽念未已，甘泉殿里令写真。丹青画出竟何益，不言不笑愁杀人。又令方士合灵药，玉釜煎炼金炉焚。九华帐深夜悄悄，反魂香降夫人魂。夫人之魂在何许，香烟引到焚香处。既来何苦不须臾，缥缈悠扬还灭去。去何速兮来何迟，是耶非耶两不知。翠蛾仿佛平生貌，不似昭阳寝疾时。魂之不来君心苦，魂之来兮君亦悲。背灯隔帐不得语，安用暂来还见违。伤心不独汉武帝，自古及今皆若斯。君不见穆王三日哭，重璧台前伤盛姬。又不见泰陵一掬泪，马嵬坡下念杨妃。纵令妍姿艳质化为土，此恨长在无销期。生亦惑，死亦惑，尤物惑人忘不得。人非木石皆有情，不如不遇倾城色。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The poem is a long narrative in the manner of a yuefu ballad. It opens with the death and the dying refusal to part, then with the painting in the Hall of Sweet Spring that only increases his grief, then with the wizard's powder and the coming of the soul at the burn of the returning-soul incense, and then with the famous ambiguity — 'is it she, is it not, he knows neither way' — as the soul drifts away again. Only in the last third does the poet speak in his own voice, naming King Mu of Zhou and the Tang emperor at Ma Wei, and drawing the Conclusion: man is not wood or stone and has feeling, therefore it would be better never to have met a beauty that could overthrow a city. [Structure] The poem runs in three movements: the particular story, the widening to all history, and the moral. The narrative half is almost purely sequential, and the argument half is purely aphoristic, so the whole piece is a ballad married to an essay. [Imagery] The images are the simple ones of the palace and the séance: the sick bed, the painted likeness, the jade pot and golden brazier, the nine-fold curtain, the incense smoke, the lamp behind which no word can pass. 'Not speaking, not laughing' is the portrait's perfection and its cruelty. And the last symbol is the plainest of all — 'a city-Overthrowing beauty' — the old phrase for a woman whose beauty could ruin a state, here used not to blame her but to pity the man who could not help meeting her.

【白话串讲】白居易写《李夫人》：“汉武帝，初丧李夫人”——“夫人病时不肯别，死后留得生前恩”——“丹青画出竟何益，不言不笑愁杀人”——“又令方士合灵药，玉釜煎炼金炉焚”——汉武帝思念李夫人，画她的像、炼灵药求见——他写生离死别之痛。【意象与手法】此诗写感伤，以咏史写感伤，是白居易的名篇。前段写武帝思李夫人：「汉武帝，初丧李夫人。夫人病时不肯别，死后留得生前恩」写汉武帝、初丧李夫人、夫人病时不肯别——写尽丧妃的深情；后段写感慨：「伤心不独汉武帝，自古及今皆若斯。君不见穆王三日哭，重璧台前伤盛姬」写伤心不独汉武帝、自古及今皆若斯——写尽自古的感慨。全诗以咏史写感伤，写尽丧妃的深情与自古的感慨，是白居易的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写感伤，以咏史写感伤，是白居易的名篇。此诗咏汉武帝思念李夫人之事，抒发对尤物惑人与情之永恒的感慨。汉武帝宠妃李夫人早逝，武帝思念不已，令方士招魂，又令画工写真。此诗写汉武帝初丧李夫人，夫人病时不肯别，死后留得生前恩；君恩不尽念未已，甘泉殿里令写真；丹青画出竟何益，不言不笑愁杀人；又令方士合灵药，玉釜煎炼金炉焚；九华帐深夜悄悄，反魂香降夫人魂；夫人之魂在何许，香烟引到焚香处；既来何苦不须臾，缥缈悠扬还灭去；去何速兮来何迟，是耶非耶两不知；翠蛾仿佛平生貌，不似昭阳寝疾时；魂之不来君心苦，魂之来兮君亦悲；背灯隔帐不得语，安用暂来还见违；伤心不独汉武帝，自古及今皆若斯；君不见穆王三日哭，重璧台前伤盛姬；又不见泰陵一掬泪，马嵬坡下念杨妃；纵令妍姿艳质化为土，此恨长在无销期；生亦惑，死亦惑，尤物惑人忘不得；人非木石皆有情，不如不遇倾城色。此诗写丧妃：汉武帝初丧李夫人、夫人病时不肯别，死后留得生前恩——写汉武帝初丧李夫人、夫人病时不肯别，写尽丧妃的深情；君恩不尽念未已，甘泉殿里令写真——写君恩不尽念未已、甘泉殿里令写真，写尽写真的深情；丹青画出竟何益，不言不笑愁杀人——写丹青画出竟何益、不言不笑愁杀人，写尽画出的何益；又令方士合灵药，玉釜煎炼金炉焚——写又令方士合灵药、玉釜煎炼金炉焚，写尽方士的炼药；九华帐深夜悄悄，反魂香降夫人魂——写九华帐深夜悄悄、反魂香降夫人魂，写尽反魂的香魂；夫人之魂在何许，香烟引到焚香处——写夫人之魂在何许、香烟引到焚香处，写尽引魂的香烟；既来何苦不须臾，缥缈悠扬还灭去——写既来何苦不须臾、缥缈悠扬还灭去，写尽须臾的魂来；去何速兮来何迟，是耶非耶两不知——写去何速兮来何迟、是耶非耶两不知，写尽去来的不知；翠蛾仿佛平生貌，不似昭阳寝疾时——写翠蛾仿佛平生貌、不似昭阳寝疾时，写尽仿佛的平生；魂之不来君心苦，魂之来兮君亦悲——写魂之不来君心苦、魂之来兮君亦悲，写尽来去的君心；背灯隔帐不得语，安用暂来还见违——写背灯隔帐不得语、安用暂来还见违，写尽隔帐的不得语；伤心不独汉武帝，自古及今皆若斯——写伤心不独汉武帝、自古及今皆若斯，写尽自古的感慨；君不见穆王三日哭，重璧台前伤盛姬——写君不见穆王三日哭、重璧台前伤盛姬，写尽穆王的哭姬；又不见泰陵一掬泪，马嵬坡下念杨妃——写又不见泰陵一掬泪、马嵬坡下念杨妃，写尽泰陵的念妃；纵令妍姿艳质化为土，此恨长在无销期——写纵令妍姿艳质化为土、此恨长在无销期，写尽无销的长恨；生亦惑，死亦惑，尤物惑人忘不得——写生亦惑、死亦惑、尤物惑人忘不得，写尽尤物的惑人；人非木石皆有情，不如不遇倾城色——写人非木石皆有情、不如不遇倾城色，写尽不遇的感慨。全诗以咏史写感伤——那「是耶非耶两不知」写尽去来的不知，「不如不遇倾城色」写尽不遇的感慨，写尽丧妃的深情与自古的感慨，是理解白居易感伤诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「汉武帝，初丧李夫人。夫人病时不肯别，死后留得生前恩」写丧妃的深情；「人非木石皆有情，不如不遇倾城色」写不遇的感慨；以及全诗以咏史写感伤、以对比写感慨的手法。

Background

Bai Juyi (772–846), courtesy name Letian, from Taiyuan, was the most popular Tang poet of his day and the master of the narrative poem and the satirical ballad. Lady Li (d. 94 BC) was the beloved consort of Emperor Wu of Han; the story of her death, of the painting in the Hall of Sweet Spring, and of the wizard's call of her soul was told in the Han history and circulated in poetry. Bai Juyi's long poem belongs in the same tradition as his 'Song of Everlasting Sorrow' on Yang Consort; it is earlier or later in date but of the same kind, a narrative poem on a royal love that is also an argument about human fragility.

此诗写感伤，以咏史写感伤，是白居易的名篇。白居易（772—846），字乐天，号香山居士，又号醉吟先生，祖籍太原，生于河南新郑，唐代诗人，与元稹并称「元白」，世称「诗魔」「诗王」。此诗咏汉武帝思念李夫人之事，抒发对尤物惑人与情之永恒的感慨。汉武帝宠妃李夫人早逝，武帝思念不已，令方士招魂，又令画工写真。此诗写汉武帝初丧李夫人，夫人病时不肯别，死后留得生前恩；君恩不尽念未已，甘泉殿里令写真；丹青画出竟何益，不言不笑愁杀人；又令方士合灵药，玉釜煎炼金炉焚；九华帐深夜悄悄，反魂香降夫人魂；夫人之魂在何许，香烟引到焚香处；既来何苦不须臾，缥缈悠扬还灭去；去何速兮来何迟，是耶非耶两不知；翠蛾仿佛平生貌，不似昭阳寝疾时；魂之不来君心苦，魂之来兮君亦悲；背灯隔帐不得语，安用暂来还见违；伤心不独汉武帝，自古及今皆若斯；君不见穆王三日哭，重璧台前伤盛姬；又不见泰陵一掬泪，马嵬坡下念杨妃；纵令妍姿艳质化为土，此恨长在无销期；生亦惑，死亦惑，尤物惑人忘不得；人非木石皆有情，不如不遇倾城色。此诗写丧妃：「汉武帝，初丧李夫人。夫人病时不肯别，死后留得生前恩」写汉武帝、初丧李夫人、夫人病时不肯别——写尽丧妃的深情（汉武帝，初丧李夫人）；「君恩不尽念未已，甘泉殿里令写真」写君恩不尽念未已、甘泉殿里令写真——写尽写真的深情（君恩不尽念未已，甘泉殿里令写真）；「丹青画出竟何益，不言不笑愁杀人」写丹青画出竟何益、不言不笑愁杀人——写尽画出的何益（丹青画出竟何益，不言不笑愁杀人）；「又令方士合灵药，玉釜煎炼金炉焚」写又令方士合灵药、玉釜煎炼金炉焚——写尽方士的炼药（又令方士合灵药，玉釜煎炼金炉焚）；「九华帐深夜悄悄，反魂香降夫人魂」写九华帐深夜悄悄、反魂香降夫人魂——写尽反魂的香魂（九华帐深夜悄悄，反魂香降夫人魂）；「夫人之魂在何许，香烟引到焚香处」写夫人之魂在何许、香烟引到焚香处——写尽引魂的香烟（夫人之魂在何许，香烟引到焚香处）；「既来何苦不须臾，缥缈悠扬还灭去」写既来何苦不须臾、缥缈悠扬还灭去——写尽须臾的魂来（既来何苦不须臾，缥缈悠扬还灭去）；「去何速兮来何迟，是耶非耶两不知」写去何速兮来何迟、是耶非耶两不知——写尽去来的不知（去何速兮来何迟，是耶非耶两不知）；「翠蛾仿佛平生貌，不似昭阳寝疾时」写翠蛾仿佛平生貌、不似昭阳寝疾时——写尽仿佛的平生（翠蛾仿佛平生貌，不似昭阳寝疾时）；「魂之不来君心苦，魂之来兮君亦悲」写魂之不来君心苦、魂之来兮君亦悲——写尽来去的君心（魂之不来君心苦，魂之来兮君亦悲）；「背灯隔帐不得语，安用暂来还见违」写背灯隔帐不得语、安用暂来还见违——写尽隔帐的不得语（背灯隔帐不得语，安用暂来还见违）；「伤心不独汉武帝，自古及今皆若斯」写伤心不独汉武帝、自古及今皆若斯——写尽自古的感慨（伤心不独汉武帝，自古及今皆若斯）；「君不见穆王三日哭，重璧台前伤盛姬」写君不见穆王三日哭、重璧台前伤盛姬——写尽穆王的哭姬（君不见穆王三日哭，重璧台前伤盛姬）；「又不见泰陵一掬泪，马嵬坡下念杨妃」写又不见泰陵一掬泪、马嵬坡下念杨妃——写尽泰陵的念妃（又不见泰陵一掬泪，马嵬坡下念杨妃）；「纵令妍姿艳质化为土，此恨长在无销期」写纵令妍姿艳质化为土、此恨长在无销期——写尽无销的长恨（纵令妍姿艳质化为土，此恨长在无销期）；「生亦惑，死亦惑，尤物惑人忘不得」写生亦惑、死亦惑、尤物惑人忘不得——写尽尤物的惑人（生亦惑，死亦惑，尤物惑人忘不得）；「人非木石皆有情，不如不遇倾城色」写人非木石皆有情、不如不遇倾城色——写尽不遇的感慨（人非木石皆有情，不如不遇倾城色）。全诗以咏史写感伤，写尽丧妃的深情与自古的感慨，是理解白居易感伤诗的重要篇章。

Art

Four techniques may be named. First, plain narrative: the poem tells the story straight, without irony, in the unhurried cadence of the yuefu ballad, which is what makes the last moral land all the harder. Second, the doubling of grief — 'when her soul came not, his heart was bitter; when her soul came, his heart was sad as well' — which finds the worst case in both alternatives and is one of the sharpest passages in Tang versification. Third, the turning of the specific into the general by asking 'have you not seen', a device that drags the reader out of the Han palace into the whole of history. Fourth, the Conclusion in the last four lines, which abandons narrative altogether for aphorism: 'alive, beguiled; dead, beguiled' and 'better never to have met a city-Overthrowing beauty'. The whole piece is thus built from one story, one widening, and one verdict, and the plainness of the language is the artistic choice — Bai Juyi wrote for a wide audience and wanted the feeling to arrive without a reader being aware of the craft.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以叙事写丧妃。「汉武帝，初丧李夫人」以叙事写丧妃——那「初丧李夫人」写尽初丧的深情，以叙事写尽丧妃的深情。其二，以铺陈写招魂。「又令方士合灵药」以铺陈写招魂——那「玉釜煎炼金炉焚」写尽炼药的铺陈，以铺陈写尽方士的炼药。其三，以用典写感慨。「君不见穆王三日哭」以用典写感慨——那「重璧台前伤盛姬」用穆王伤盛姬典写感慨，以用典写尽穆王的哭姬。其四，以议论写感慨。「不如不遇倾城色」以议论写感慨——那「人非木石皆有情」写尽有情的议论，以议论写尽不遇的感慨。此外，此诗前段写丧妃的深情，后段写自古的感慨，由情及理，正是感伤诗「以史写情」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以咏史写感伤，写尽丧妃的深情与自古的感慨，是白居易的代表作。此诗还善于以「反魂香降夫人魂」的「降」字写魂降之幻——那「反魂香降」写尽香引魂降，正是以幻写真，以「降」字写尽反魂的香魂。又善以「翠蛾仿佛平生貌」的「仿佛」写貌之恍忽——翠蛾仿佛平生貌，正见魂貌隐约的恍忽，以「仿佛」写尽仿佛的平生。

Allusions

The poem is a chain of earlier texts. In the Han history, Emperor Wu had Lady Li's likeness painted in the Hall of Sweet Spring after her death and could not bear to look at it; and the wizard Li Shaoniou, having told the emperor there was nothing more he could do, was executed. 'Not speaking, not laughing' comes from the account of the portrait. 'Returning-soul perfume' and 'a Powder of a Numbing drug' are the named drugs of the séance fiction of the Han and Tang. 'Zhao Yang' is the palace hall where she fell ill. 'The Mu king' is King Mu of Zhou, who died of grief over Sheng Ji, a concubine of whom he was fond, weeping three days at the terrace of the jade turret. 'Tai Ling' is the tomb of the Tang emperor Xuanzong, where a handful of tears were shed for Yang Consort buried at Ma Wei. 'A city-Overthrowing beauty' is the classical phrase from the Zuo Zhuan for a woman whose beauty can ruin a state, used here to pity rather than to blame. 'Phoenix', 'jade pot' and 'golden brazier' belong to the standard vocabulary of the palace poem.

此诗的用语深植于感伤与咏史传统。「甘泉殿」令人想到「甘泉殿」写甘泉宫的意象——汉武帝甘泉宫，也令人想到「甘泉」的意象；「丹青」令人想到「丹青」写绘画的意象——也令人想到「丹青妙笔」的意象；「反魂香」令人想到「反魂香」写返魂香的意象——传说能招亡魂之香，也令人想到「返魂香」的意象；「九华帐」令人想到「九华帐」写华美帐幔的意象——也令人想到「九华帐里梦魂惊」的意象；「穆王三日哭」令人想到「穆王」写周穆王的意象——《穆天子传》周穆王伤盛姬，也令人想到「重璧台」的意象；「泰陵」令人想到「泰陵」写唐玄宗的陵墓的意象——玄宗葬泰陵，也令人想到「马嵬坡」的意象。全诗化用甘泉殿、丹青、反魂香、九华帐、穆王、泰陵的意象典故，以咏史写感伤，正是白居易「通俗」而善铺陈、承感伤传统写感慨之本领。「翠蛾」令人想到「翠蛾」写翠眉的意象——也令人想到「蛾眉」的意象；「昭阳」令人想到「昭阳」写昭阳宫的意象——汉宫名，也令人想到「昭阳殿里第一人」的意象，以昭阳写寝疾之宫。

Commentary

The poem is one of the best of Bai Juyi's narrative ballads on a royal love, and it has always been read together with his 'Song of Everlasting Sorrow' — the same subject handled in the other direction, the one ending in 'this long sorrow has no ending'. Later critics admired the plainness of the telling and the hardness of the Conclusion, and modern readers single out the couplet 'gone so fast, come so late — is it she, is it not, he knows neither way' and the last line. Its special place is that a long narrative ends, unusually, by abandoning narrative for a moral about all men. It stands in the same company as Li Shangyin's 'Ma Wei', which treats the same ruin from the other side with 'they were married on the seventh, but on the seventh there was no seventh', and with the whole tradition of Tang poems on the fallen Yang Consort.

此诗历来被推为白居易感伤诗的名篇，也是唐诗写尤物感伤的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以咏史写感伤，往复缠绵」；近人更指出「人非木石皆有情，不如不遇倾城色」写不遇的感慨，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以数十句的乐府歌行写尽丧妃的深情与自古的感慨——那汉武帝，那初丧李夫人，那夫人病时不肯别，那死后留得生前恩，那君恩不尽念未已，那甘泉殿里令写真，那丹青画出竟何益，那不言不笑愁杀人，那又令方士合灵药，那玉釜煎炼金炉焚，那九华帐深夜悄悄，那反魂香降夫人魂，那夫人之魂在何许，那香烟引到焚香处，那既来何苦不须臾，那缥缈悠扬还灭去，那去何速兮来何迟，那是耶非耶两不知，那翠蛾仿佛平生貌，那不似昭阳寝疾时，那魂之不来君心苦，那魂之来兮君亦悲，那背灯隔帐不得语，那安用暂来还见违，那伤心不独汉武帝，那自古及今皆若斯，那君不见穆王三日哭，那重璧台前伤盛姬，那又不见泰陵一掬泪，那马嵬坡下念杨妃，那纵令妍姿艳质化为土，那此恨长在无销期，那生亦惑，那死亦惑，那尤物惑人忘不得，那人非木石皆有情，那不如不遇倾城色，都写尽了白居易笔下的李夫人；那「不如不遇倾城色」更以议论写尽不遇的感慨。此诗与白居易《长恨歌》（「汉皇重色思倾国」）同为感伤名篇，一写「天长地久有时尽」的长恨（长恨歌），一写「不如不遇倾城色」的尤物（李夫人）；又与汉武帝思李夫人的典故传统一脉相承，可见中国诗写感伤的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解白居易感伤诗的窗口，也是唐诗写尤物感伤的经典——那无销期长在的长恨，穿越千年，仍在诉说着不遇的感慨。

Prosody

Form A long lyric ballad in seven characters (yuefu gexing), with changing rhymes诗·七言乐府歌行

Rhyme A yuefu ballad in seven characters with the rhyme changing as the story moves, running through man, favour, likeness, burn, soul, place, whether, the sick hours, bitter, word, so, Ji, Consort, ending, beguiled and hue.乐府歌行，转韵，以「人」「恩」「真」「焚」「魂」「处」「去」「知」「时」「悲」「违」「斯」「姬」「妃」「期」「色」等韵转押

Tone pattern A long yuefu gexing in seven characters, the rhyme shifting with each passage of the story, the cadence returning again and again — in keeping with the refrain-like quality of the grief.此诗为七言乐府歌行，转韵，音节往复，正合感伤的往复。

Reading note A long piece of some twenty-odd lines: 'Emperor Wu of Han, and first the loss of Lady Li ... better never to have met a city-Overthrowing beauty.' The rhyme changes at every stage of the narrative, and the sound returns on itself like the returning-soul incense, so that the whole long poem breathes in the same rhythm as the grief it describes. The first half is story, the second half argument, and the shift is made at 'the grief is not only Emperor Wu's'. Read the narrative plainly, the questioning lines with a catch in the voice, and the Conclusion slowly, since it is the poet speaking in his own person rather than the ballad narrating. Bai Juyi's ballads are praised for being plain and for spreading out before the reader, and this is one of them.此诗为七言乐府歌行，数十句——「汉武帝，初丧李夫人……不如不遇倾城色」，转韵，音节往复。全诗以咏史写感伤：前段写丧妃的深情（汉武帝初丧李夫人、反魂香降夫人魂），后段写自古的感慨（伤心不独汉武帝、不如不遇倾城色）。歌行长篇，前写招魂，后写感慨，以「不如不遇倾城色」写尽不遇的感慨，正见白居易「通俗」而善铺陈的本色。诵读此诗，宜以往复的语调读「是耶非耶两不知」的不知，以感叹的语调读「不如不遇倾城色」的感慨，结句要读得往复而有余韵，方能传达出白居易的往复缠绵。白居易乐府以「通俗」著称，此诗正是其感伤诗的典范。

Line by line

人非木石皆有情，不如不遇倾城色

Man is not wood or stone, and all have feeling; better never to have met a city-Overthrowing beauty.

人非木石皆有情，不如不遇倾城色。

Men are not wood or stone, all have feelings; better never to have met the city-toppling beauty.

此二句是全诗写感慨的核心，以人非木石皆有情写皆有情，以不如不遇倾城色写倾城色，写尽不遇的感慨，是千古名句。「人非木石皆有情」写人非木石皆有情——那「人非木石」写人非木石，「皆有情」写皆有情，写尽非木石的有情；「不如不遇倾城色」写不如不遇倾城色——那「不如不遇」写不如不遇，「倾城色」写倾城色，写尽不遇的倾城。这句的深意在于：它以「人非木石皆有情」的皆有情与「不如不遇倾城色」的倾城色，写尽不遇的感慨——人非木石皆有情，那「人非木石皆有情」写尽非木石的有情——人非木石，正是人非草木的写照，那「皆有情」写尽不遇的感慨；不如不遇倾城色，那「不如不遇倾城色」写尽不遇的倾城——不如不遇倾城色，正是宁可不遇的写照，那「倾城色」写尽不遇的感慨；那「人非木石皆有情」写尽非木石的有情，那「不如不遇倾城色」写尽不遇的倾城，一写有情，一写不遇，写尽不遇的感慨——人皆有情而不如不遇，正是惑人的写照；此二句以有情、倾城写尽不遇的感慨，也让此二句成为全诗写感慨的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「人不是木头石头，都有感情，不如从不遇见倾城的美人」，则失其感慨；唯以「人非木石皆有情」写皆有情、「不如不遇倾城色」写倾城色，写尽不遇的感慨，也让此二句成为全诗写感慨的核心。

The feeling. Men are not wood or stone, all have feelings; better never to have met the city-toppling beauty. The not-wood-or-stone all-have-feelings against the better-never-met-the-beauty are the lament. To have said it were better not to have loved would be a saying; the men-not-wood-or-stone-all-have-feelings against the better-never-to-have-met-the-city-toppling-beauty is the saying.

去何速兮来何迟，是耶非耶两不知

Gone so fast, come so late — is it she, is it not, he knows neither way.

去何速兮来何迟，是耶非耶两不知。

Going, how swift! Coming, how late! Is it she, or is it not? Both are unknown.

此二句是全诗写不知的核心，以去何速兮来何迟写来何迟，以是耶非耶两不知写两不知，写尽去来的不知，是千古名句。「去何速兮来何迟」写去何速兮来何迟——那「去何速兮」写去何速兮，「来何迟」写来何迟，写尽去来的速迟；「是耶非耶两不知」写是耶非耶两不知——那「是耶非耶」写是耶非耶，「两不知」写两不知，写尽是耶的不知。这句的深意在于：它以「去何速兮来何迟」的来何迟与「是耶非耶两不知」的两不知，写尽去来的不知——去何速兮来何迟，那「去何速兮来何迟」写尽去来的速迟——去何速兮来何迟，正是去快来迟的写照，那「来何迟」写尽去来的不知；是耶非耶两不知，那「是耶非耶两不知」写尽是耶的不知——是耶非耶两不知，正是真幻难辨的写照，那「两不知」写尽去来的不知；那「去何速兮来何迟」写尽去来的速迟，那「是耶非耶两不知」写尽是耶的不知，一写去来，一写是非，写尽去来的不知——去速来迟而真幻难辨，正是招魂的写照；此二句以去来、是非写尽去来的不知，也让此二句成为全诗写不知的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「去得快来得慢，到底是真是假都不知道」，则失其往复；唯以「去何速兮来何迟」写来何迟、「是耶非耶两不知」写两不知，写尽去来的不知，也让此二句成为全诗写不知的核心。

The ghost. Going, how swift! Coming, how late! Is it she, or is it not? Both are unknown. The swift departure and late arrival, and the is-she-or-not-she doubt, are Lady Li's ghost. To have described the uncertain ghostly visitation would be a scene; the going-how-swift-coming-how-late against the is-it-she-or-not-both-unknown is the scene.

Study

Word focus

耶 In the line 'is it she, is it not, he knows neither way', the particle ye is the question-mark of the verse, the same sound that hangs a sentence in the air when the answer cannot be given. It is the key word of the poem's most famous couplet: because it only asks and never concludes, it leaves the reader with the emperor's bewilderment, and the whole séance collapses into that one unanswered question. 「是耶非耶两不知」之「耶」字是写不知的关键词，一个「耶」字写尽是耶的不知。耶者，语气词，表疑问也。白居易以「是耶非耶两不知」写不知，这个「耶」字至少有双重意味：其一，写问之耶——那「是耶非耶两不知」写是耶非耶两不知，那「耶」字写尽是耶的不知——是耶非耶，正是真耶幻耶的写照，那「耶」字写尽去来的不知；其二，写情之迷——那「耶」字更是写迷——耶，正见真幻难辨的迷茫，那「耶」字写尽白居易的感伤。以「耶」字写不知，正是白居易写感伤的枢纽——若换作「乎」「哉」等字，则或失其与「是耶非耶」「两不知」的配合，或失其写耶的意味；唯「耶」字，以是耶非耶两不知写尽真幻之难辨与招魂之迷茫，与「去何速兮来何迟」的去来相合，写尽去来的不知，也让「是耶非耶两不知」成为全诗写不知的名句。

不如 In the last line, 'better never to have met', buru means it would be better not to, a plain particle of preference. It is the key word of the Conclusion: after the painting, the drug, the soul and smoke, the poet's final word is not despair but a wish that the whole thing had never begun, so the word carries the poem's entire moral in two. 「不如不遇倾城色」之「不如」是写感慨的关键词，一个「不如」写尽不遇的感慨。不如者，宁可、还不如也。白居易以「不如不遇倾城色」写感慨，这个「不如」至少有双重意味：其一，写遇之不如——那「不如不遇倾城色」写不如不遇倾城色，那「不如」写尽不遇的倾城——不如不遇，正是宁可不遇的写照，那「不如」写尽不遇的感慨；其二，写情之痛——那「不如」更是写痛——不如，正见尤物惑人的痛悟，那「不如」写尽白居易的感伤。以「不如」写感慨，正是白居易写感伤的枢纽——若换作「莫若」「宁可」等词，则或失其与「人非木石皆有情」「倾城色」的配合，或失其写不如的意味；唯「不如」二字，以不如不遇倾城色写尽宁可不遇之倾城与尤物惑人之痛悟，与「人非木石皆有情」的有情相合，写尽不遇的感慨，也让「不如不遇倾城色」成为全诗写感慨的名句。

李夫人