明 Ming · 诗 Poem
梅花九首·其一
On the Plum Blossom (Nine Poems, No. 1)
琼姿只合在瑶台，谁向江南处处栽。
雪满山中高士卧，月明林下美人来。
寒依疏影萧萧竹，春掩残香漠漠苔。
自去何郎无好咏，东风愁寂几回开。
Who planted it everywhere across the Jiangnan?
Snow fills the mountains where a lofty hermit lies;
Bright moon in the woods, a beauty draws near.
In cold it leans on sparse shadows of rustling bamboo;
In spring it is buried with fading scent in vast, dim moss.
Since He the poet left, none has sung it well;
The east wind grieves in loneliness—how many times has it bloomed?
Meaning
The poem extols the plum's lofty purity through layered comparisons to a fairy terrace, a hermit, and a beauty, voicing the poet's own aloof, unworldly spirit.
梅的琼玉之姿本只该在瑶台仙境，是谁把它栽遍了江南处处？雪满山中，如高士偃卧；月明林下，如美人翩来。寒天里依着萧萧疏竹的清影，春来又掩没在漠漠青苔的残香中。自从何逊去后便无人好咏，东风愁寂，梅花几度开落。
Appreciation
Gao Qi builds the plum from several angles—fairy terrace, snowbound hermit, moonlit beauty—each image raising its purity higher. The middle couplets are finely balanced, and the allusion to He Xun gives the close a note of lonely self-recognition. The whole is clear, empty, and elegant, a perennial plum poem. It reveals the poet comparing himself to a lofty hermit above the crowd.
【白话串讲】 “琼姿只合在瑶台，谁向江南处处栽”——高启写梅花：它本应住在瑶台。“雪满山中高士卧，月明林下美人来”——雪满山中如高士，月明林下如美人。“自去何郎无好咏，东风愁寂几回开”——他赞梅，也叹自己。 【意象与手法】以“瑶台”“高士”“美人”多重设喻写梅之清高，对仗工稳（雪满/月明、寒依/春掩），用何逊典。 【情感与主旨】极写梅花的高洁脱俗，寄寓诗人自比高士、不慕流俗的孤清怀抱。 【名句点睛】“雪满山中高士卧，月明林下美人来”——以高士美人喻梅，清空雅致，千古名句。
Background
Gao Qi was an early-Ming poet; this is the first of his nine-poem plum sequence, written to express feeling through the blossom.
《梅花九首·其一》为明代高启所作，是写梅花高洁、何郎无咏的诗。高启（1336—1374），字季迪，号槎轩，长洲人，明代诗人。此诗：琼姿只合在瑶台，谁向江南处处栽。雪满山中高士卧，月明林下美人来。寒依疏影萧萧竹，春掩残香漠漠苔。自去何郎无好咏，东风愁寂几回开。全诗写梅花高洁、何郎无咏，是高启诗的名篇。
Art
Multiple metaphors (fairy terrace, hermit, beauty), finely matched couplets, and a natural allusion.
《梅花九首·其一》艺术上以梅花高洁的描摹与高士美人的比兴见长。全诗八句：首写琼姿瑶台——“琼姿只合在瑶台，谁向江南处处栽”写琼姿只合在瑶台、谁向江南处处栽；次写高士美人——“雪满山中高士卧，月明林下美人来”写雪满山中高士卧、月明林下美人来；又写疏影残香——“寒依疏影萧萧竹，春掩残香漠漠苔”写寒依疏影萧萧竹、春掩残香漠漠苔；末写何郎无咏——“自去何郎无好咏，东风愁寂几回开”写自去何郎无好咏、东风愁寂几回开。全诗以梅花高洁写何郎无咏，正是高启诗比兴的笔法。
Allusions
He the poet refers to He Xun of the Southern Dynasties, famed for plum poems; the line 'since He the poet left, none has sung it well' uses this reference.
《梅花九首·其一》用典在“琼姿”“瑶台”“高士卧”“月明林下美人来”“疏影”“何郎”“好咏”。“琼姿”写琼姿（美玉之姿）；“瑶台”用瑶台之典（仙人所居瑶台）；“高士卧”用高士之典（袁安卧雪）；“月明林下美人来”用美人之典（罗浮梦）；“疏影”用疏影之典（疏影横斜）；“何郎”用何郎之典（何逊爱梅）；“好咏”写好咏。全诗以这些意象写梅花高洁、何郎无咏，用典自然而比兴自见，正是高启诗的笔法。
Commentary
The sigh that after He Xun none has sung the plum well shows the poet taking himself as the blossom's true friend.
《梅花九首·其一》是高启诗的名篇，也是明诗中写梅花的代表作。此诗写梅花高洁、何郎无咏，向为论者称道。论者多赏其梅花高洁的描摹与高士美人的比兴——“琼姿只合在瑶台，谁向江南处处栽”用瑶台之典写琼姿只合在瑶台、谁向江南处处栽，比兴之极；“雪满山中高士卧，月明林下美人来”用高士美人两典写雪满山中高士卧、月明林下美人来，更见其妙；“寒依疏影萧萧竹，春掩残香漠漠苔”写寒依疏影萧萧竹、春掩残香漠漠苔，尤称高洁。高启咏梅九首，此为其一，正是其代表——以梅花高洁写何郎无咏，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
琼姿只合在瑶台，谁向江南处处栽。
Its jade form belongs only on the Jasper Terrace; who planted it everywhere in the southland?
琼姿只合在瑶台，谁向江南处处栽。
Its jade countenance belongs only on the Jasper Terrace; who has planted it all over the southland?
首用瑶台之典写琼姿只合在瑶台、谁向江南处处栽，是全诗写梅花高洁的起点。“琼姿只合在瑶台”用瑶台之典写琼姿只合在瑶台——“琼姿只合在瑶台”用瑶台仙居之典写琼玉之姿只合在瑶台——琼姿只合在瑶台；“谁向江南处处栽”写谁向江南处处栽——“谁向江南处处栽”写是谁向江南、处处栽种——谁向江南处处栽。二句写琼姿只合在瑶台、谁向江南处处栽：琼姿只合在瑶台，谁向江南处处栽。以“琼姿只合在瑶台”用瑶台之典写琼姿只在瑶台、仙品不凡，以“谁向江南处处栽”写谁向江南、处处栽种，正是高启诗写梅花高洁的起点——琼姿瑶台，江南处处栽。
The jade form. Its jade form belongs only on the Jasper Terrace; who planted it everywhere in the southland? The Jasper Terrace (the fairy abode) and the who-planted-it-everywhere are the opening wonder. To have placed the plum on the immortal terrace would be a placement; the jade-form-belongs-only-on-the-Jasper-Terrace against the who-planted-it-everywhere-in-the-southland is the placement.
雪满山中高士卧，月明林下美人来。
Snow fills the hills where the high gentleman lies; moonlight lights the grove where the beauty comes.
雪满山中高士卧，月明林下美人来。
Snow fills the mountains where the high-minded scholar lies; in the moonlit grove the beauty approaches.
次用高士美人两典写雪满山中高士卧、月明林下美人来，是全诗写梅花比兴的名句。“雪满山中高士卧”用高士卧雪之典写雪满山中高士卧——“雪满山中高士卧”用袁安卧雪之典写雪满山中、高士高卧——雪满山中高士卧；“月明林下美人来”用罗浮梦美人之典写月明林下美人来——“月明林下美人来”用罗浮仙遇之典写月明林下、美人来临——月明林下美人来。二句写雪满山中高士卧、月明林下美人来：雪满山中高士卧，月明林下美人来。以“雪满山中高士卧”用袁安卧雪之典写雪满山中、高士高卧，以“月明林下美人来”用罗浮梦之典写月明林下、美人来临，正是高启诗写梅花比兴的名句——山中高士，林下美人。
The two allusions. Snow fills the hills where the high gentleman lies; moonlight lights the grove where the beauty comes. The Yuan An snow-sleeping allusion and the Luofu dream-beauty allusion are the two portraits. To have used both allusions would be a double allusion; the snow-fills-the-hills-where-the-high-gentleman-lies against the moonlight-lights-the-grove-where-the-beauty-comes is the double allusion.
寒依疏影萧萧竹，春掩残香漠漠苔。
The cold leans on sparse shadows of whispering bamboo; spring buries the lingering fragrance beneath the spreading moss.
寒依疏影萧萧竹，春掩残香漠漠苔。
The cold clings to the sparse shadows of rustling bamboo; spring hides the fading fragrance beneath the broad moss.
又写寒依疏影萧萧竹、春掩残香漠漠苔，是全诗写梅花清寂的展开。“寒依疏影萧萧竹”用疏影之典写寒依疏影萧萧竹——“寒依疏影萧萧竹”用疏影横斜之典写寒梅依疏影、萧萧竹间——寒依疏影萧萧竹；“春掩残香漠漠苔”写春掩残香漠漠苔——“春掩残香漠漠苔”写春掩残香、漠漠苔间——春掩残香漠漠苔。二句写寒依疏影萧萧竹、春掩残香漠漠苔：寒依疏影萧萧竹，春掩残香漠漠苔。以“寒依疏影萧萧竹”用疏影之典写寒梅疏影、萧萧竹伴，以“春掩残香漠漠苔”写春掩残香、漠漠苔痕，正是高启诗写梅花清寂的展开——寒依疏影，春掩残香。
The bamboo. The cold leans on sparse shadows of whispering bamboo; spring buries the lingering fragrance beneath the spreading moss. The sparse shadows among the rustling bamboo and the fragrance buried in the moss are the close. To have described the plum among bamboo and moss would be scenery; the cold-leaning-on-sparse-shadows-of-whispering-bamboo against the spring-buries-the-lingering-fragrance-beneath-the-spreading-moss is the scenery.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
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于谦《石灰吟》写粉骨碎身浑不怕、要留清白在人间，与本诗同为明代咏物言志。差异在物象与寄托：梅花写高士之姿；石灰写清白之志。一写“姿”之高，一写“志”之坚。两者并读，可见明代咏物言志的两种寄托。
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高启《登金陵雨花台望大江》写钟山如龙独西上、欲破巨浪乘长风，与本诗同为高启诗。差异在主题：梅花写咏物高洁；雨花台写怀古壮阔。一写“咏”之丽，一写“慨”之阔。两者并读，可见高启诗的两种主题。