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卜算子·咏梅·风雨送春归

Bu Suanzi · Ode to the Plum Blossom (Wind and Rain Dispatch Spring's Return)

毛泽东

Mao Zedong

名篇masterpiece 咏物object-chanting 梅花plum blossom 革命乐观主义revolutionary optimism

风雨送春归，飞雪迎春到。
已是悬崖百丈冰，犹有花枝俏。
俏也不争春，只把春来报。
待到山花烂漫时，她在丛中笑。

Wind and rain send spring away; flying snow welcomes spring's return.
Already the cliff hangs with a hundred fathoms of ice, yet a branch still blooms, fair and sprightly.
Fair though it is, it vies not with spring, but only bears the tidings of spring's coming.
When the hillside flowers blaze in their full splendor, there she smiles, amid the throng.

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Meaning

Wind and rain carry spring away, while flying snow ushers it back again. Even at the harshest hour, when a hundred fathoms of ice encrust the cliff, a branch of plum still blooms in sprightly beauty. Lovely as it is, the plum contends with no other flower for spring's favor; it only announces to the world that spring is coming. And when at last the hillside blossoms burst into riotous splendor, there she is, smiling quietly among them. The lyric thus moves from the bleak winter of the cliff's ice to the warm fulfillment of spring, tracing the plum's silent courage: it endures the cold, refuses rivalry, and finds its joy not in display but in the triumph of the season it heralded.

风雨把春天送走了，飞雪又把春天迎回来。已经是悬崖上结满百丈冰凌的最严寒时节，仍然有花枝俏丽地绽放。梅花俏丽却不同百花争春，只是把春天到来的消息报告给人间。等到满山遍野的山花烂漫开放的时候，她就在花丛中欣慰地微笑。

Appreciation

【Plain-language walkthrough】The first stanza sets the changing seasons against a harsh setting: wind and rain send spring away, flying snow welcomes it back; as winter yields to spring, the cruelest moment is that of the cliff hung with a hundred fathoms of ice—and yet, amid this world of ice and snow, the plum still blooms in sprightly beauty. "Already" and "yet still" stand in antithesis, conveying both the severity of the environment and the undefeated will to live. The second stanza turns to the plum's character: lovely, it does not contend with the hundred flowers for spring, but only reports spring's arrival; when the hillside flowers blaze and spring fills the world, she hides among the blossoms and smiles in contentment. 【Artistic features】This lyric is a model of the object-chanting (yongwu) form: it uses the object to express aspiration, the plum standing for the person. The contrast between "already a hundred fathoms of ice upon the cliff" and "yet a branch of flowers blooms fair," the personifying tone of "fair, it does not contend for spring," and the gentle close "there she smiles amid the throng" build layer upon layer, shaping the figure of a strong, modest, selfless herald of spring. 【Emotion and theme】In December 1961, having read Lu You's "Bu Suanzi · Ode to the Plum," Mao "used it with reversed meaning." Where Lu You wrote of the plum's lonely sorrow, Mao wrote of its dauntless selflessness; the plum symbolizes the Chinese Communists and the Chinese people's firm will and certain faith before hardship, embodying revolutionary romanticism and optimism. 【Famous lines】Examiners often test "When the hillside flowers blaze in splendor, there she smiles amid the throng"—using the full bloom of spring to figure the success of the revolution, and the smile in the thicket to figure the modesty of one who withdraws after achievement; it is the perfect crystallization of idealism and collectivist spirit, and the most moving line of the whole lyric.

【白话串讲】毛泽东写《卜算子·咏梅》：“风雨送春归，飞雪迎春到”。“已是悬崖百丈冰，犹有花枝俏”——“俏也不争春，只把春来报”——“待到山花烂漫时，她在丛中笑”——梅花傲雪报春，是他笔下的革命者。【意象与手法】此词是咏物词的典范：托物言志，以梅喻人；「已是悬崖百丈冰」与「犹有花枝俏」的对比、「俏也不争春」的拟人化口吻、「她在丛中笑」的温柔收束，层层递进，塑造了一位坚强、谦逊、无私的报春者形象。【情感与主旨】毛泽东于1961年12月读陆游《卜算子·咏梅》后「反其意而用之」：陆游写梅的孤寂愁苦，毛泽东写梅的昂扬无私；词中梅花象征的是中国共产党人和中国人民在困难面前的坚强意志与必胜信念，体现了革命浪漫主义与乐观主义精神。【名句点睛】常考「待到山花烂漫时，她在丛中笑」——以百花盛开的春天喻革命成功，以丛中笑喻功成身退的谦逊，是理想主义与集体主义精神的完美结晶，也是全词最动人的名句。

Background

“Bu Suanzi · Ode to the Plum Blossom” was written in December 1961 and is among the most celebrated object-chanting lyrics in Mao Zedong's poetry. China was then in the three years of economic difficulty: successive poor harvests, material shortages, and the sudden withdrawal of Soviet experts and tearing-up of contracts, accompanied by an anti-China uproar abroad, so that pressure at home and abroad bore down like mountains. Precisely in this grave situation, in December 1961, Mao read Lu You's “Bu Suanzi · Ode to the Plum” and, deeply moved, “used it with reversed meaning” to voice his aspiration through the plum. Lu You's original plum—“by the broken bridge beyond the post station, lonely it blooms, its master unknown… at dusk alone it grieves, add to it wind and rain”—is the grievance of a solitary, unrecognized gentleman; Mao turns it into something new—a plum that grieves not nor complains, that opens against the cold, fair yet contending not, that heralds spring without claiming merit, shaping the figure of a steadfast, modest, fearless Communist. On 27 December 1961 Mao sent the lyric to Kang Sheng with a note explaining that he had “used it with reversed meaning”; when “Poems of Chairman Mao” was formally published in December 1963, the lyric spread widely. “Already a hundred fathoms of ice upon the cliff, yet a branch of flowers blooms fair” is the artistic portrait of that severe international and domestic winter, while “when the hillside flowers blaze in splendor, there she smiles amid the throng” expresses the Chinese Communists' firm belief in overcoming difficulty and welcoming victory, and their magnanimous spirit. Together with “Seven-Character Lüshi · Reply to Comrade Guo Moruo” (Nov. 1961) and “Seven-Character Lüshi · Winter Clouds” (Dec. 1962), it belongs to Mao's “winter ode” series written in hard times, jointly displaying the awe-inspiring bearing of a revolutionary.

《卜算子·咏梅》作于1961年12月，是毛泽东诗词中最负盛名的咏物词之一。当时中国正处在三年经济困难时期：农业连年歉收，物资匮乏，加上苏联单方面撤走专家、撕毁合同，并掀起反华浪潮，国际上出现「反华大合唱」，国内外的压力如山而至。正是在这严峻的形势下，毛泽东于1961年12月读陆游《卜算子·咏梅》，深有所感，遂「反其意而用之」，以梅言志。陆游原词写梅花「驿外断桥边，寂寞开无主。已是黄昏独自愁，更著风和雨」，是孤芳自赏、怀才不遇的士大夫之怨；毛泽东则翻出新境——梅花不愁不怨，凌寒而开，俏而不争，报春而不居功，塑造了一个坚强谦逊、无私无畏的共产党人形象。1961年12月27日，毛泽东将这首词付与康生，并附信说明「是反其意而用之」；1963年12月，《毛主席诗词》正式出版，此词随之广为流传。词中「已是悬崖百丈冰，犹有花枝俏」正是当时国际国内严寒形势的艺术写照，而「待到山花烂漫时，她在丛中笑」则表达了中国共产党人战胜困难、迎来胜利的坚定信念与豁达胸怀。此词与同时期的《七律·和郭沫若同志》（1961年11月）、《七律·冬云》（1962年12月）同属毛泽东在困难时期写下的「咏冬」系列，共同展现了革命者的凛然气概。

Art

The lyric's achievement may be considered under four heads: imagery, contrast, personification, and structure. First, the choice and combination of imagery: centered on the “plum,” with such supporting images as “wind and rain,” “flying snow,” “cliff,” “a hundred fathoms of ice,” and “hillside flowers,” it forms two opposed scenes—deep winter and early spring. Wind-rain-sends-spring and flying-snow-welcomes-spring mark the turning of the seasons; the cliff's hundred fathoms of ice marks the limit of the environment; the blazing hillside flowers mark the future; and the plum stands always at the center of the picture, the spiritual subject running through the whole. Second, the apt use of contrast: “already a hundred fathoms of ice upon the cliff” pushes the environment to its cruelest (already), while “yet a branch of flowers blooms fair” abruptly asserts the plum's defiance (yet still)—one depressed, one raised; the two characters “yet still” carry an unquestionable pride. In the second stanza “fair, it does not contend for spring” and “but only bears the tidings” form the antithesis of “not contending” and “heralding,” highlighting the plum's modest selflessness. Third, personification at the height of its craft: the whole lyric makes the plum a person; “fair,” “contend,” “report,” “smile” are all human moods—“fair” is the beauty of posture, “contend” is the assertion of will, “report” is the act of devotion, “smile” is the feeling of contentment—four verbs make the plum a living “herald of spring” with flesh, blood, and character, completing the寄托 of object-to-aspiration. Fourth, exquisite structure: the upper stanza writes the plum's “encounter” in deep winter, the lower its “character” of fair non-contention; the last two lines project a future, closing with the virtual writing “when… there she smiles amid the throng,” where the realm suddenly rises, leaping from the present winter to the future spring, the span of time and space deepening the lyric's import. All eight lines write the plum yet write the person; it chants the object without being trapped by it—the supreme state of the object-chanting lyric.

此词的艺术成就，可从意象、对比、拟人、结构四端论之。其一，意象的选择与组合：全词以「梅」为中心意象，辅以「风雨」「飞雪」「悬崖」「百丈冰」「山花」等意象，构成严冬与早春两组对峙的场景——风雨送春、飞雪迎春是时序的流转，悬崖百丈冰是环境的极限，山花烂漫是未来的图景，而梅花始终立于画面中央，成为贯通全词的精神主体。其二，对比的妙用：「已是悬崖百丈冰」极写环境之严酷（已是），「犹有花枝俏」陡写梅花之倔强（犹有），一抑一扬、一寒一俏，把梅花置于极限环境中加以考验，「犹有」二字带着不容置疑的骄傲；下片「俏也不争春」与「只把春来报」又形成「不争」与「报春」的对照，突出梅花谦逊无私的品格。其三，拟人手法的炉火纯青：全词将梅花人格化，「俏」「争」「报」「笑」皆是人的情态——「俏」是姿态之美，「争」是意气之争，「报」是奉献之举，「笑」是欣慰之情，四个动词把梅花写成一个有血有肉、有情有格的「报春者」，托物言志的寄托由此完成。其四，结构的精巧：上片写「遇」——梅花在严冬中的绽放，下片写「格」——梅花俏而不争的品格，末二句推想未来，「待到……她在丛中笑」以虚写收束，境界陡然升华，由眼前的严冬一跃而为未来的春天，时间与空间的跨度使全词的意蕴更为深远。全词凡八句，句句写梅而句句写人，咏物而不滞于物，正是咏物词的上乘之境。

Allusions

The lyric's cultural substance is rooted in the long tradition of plum ode, and its dialogue with Lu You's lyric especially reveals its innovation. First, the thousand-year accretion of the plum tradition: the plum's nature—blooming against the cold, contending with no other flower—entered poetry as early as the Southern Dynasties (Lu Kai's “plucking a plum, I meet the courier, and send it to the man at Long's head”); in the Song, Lin Bu's “sparse shadows lie aslant the clear shallow water, faint fragrance drifts at dusk under the pale moon” established the plum's symbol of secluded, pure elegance, and Lu You's “though it fall to mud and be ground to dust, its fragrance remains as before” pushed the plum's constancy to the extreme. Mao's lyric stands at the very end of this tradition with a new idea: not loneliness, not sorrow, but the soaring “fair” and “smile”—a creative transformation of the plum tradition. Second, the ingenuity of “using it with reversed meaning”: Lu You's plum—“lonely it blooms, its master unknown,” “alone it grieves,” “its fragrance remains as before”—is the gentleman's self-portrait in solitary pride; Mao's plum—“yet a branch of flowers blooms fair,” “but only bears the tidings,” “there she smiles amid the throng”—is the revolutionary's modest, selfless collective person. Same subject, one sorrowful and one majestic, one private and one public: the contrast reveals the fundamental difference between two eras and two spirits. Third, the symbolic system of “heralding spring”: the plum opens at winter's end and has long been called the “messenger of spring”; “but only bears the tidings of spring” figures the messenger as one who works for the people's happiness without claiming credit, while “when the hillside flowers blaze” figures, with its “hillside flowers,” the new world of thriving blossoms after revolutionary success—the early plum for the pioneer, the hillside flowers for those who follow, a complete symbolic genealogy. Fourth, the image “a hundred fathoms of ice upon the cliff” also has a source: old poetry often wrote severe cold through “ice” (as Li Bai's “the Yellow River freezes, fish and dragons die”); Mao's “hundred fathoms of ice” hyperbolizes the cliff's gigantic icicles to figure the severity of the international climate, broader in scope than Lu You's desolate “wind and rain.”

此词的文化意蕴根植于深厚的咏梅传统，而与陆游词的对读尤见其新变。其一，咏梅传统的千年积淀：梅花凌寒而开、不与百花争春的物性，早在南朝即入诗（陆凯《赠范晔》「折梅逢驿使，寄与陇头人」），至宋代林逋「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」确立梅之幽独清雅的人格象征，陆游「零落成泥碾作尘，只有香如故」更将梅之坚贞推向极致——毛泽东此词正是在这一传统的最末端立新意：不写孤寂、不写愁苦，而写「俏」「笑」的昂扬，是咏梅传统的创造性转化。其二，「反其意而用之」的匠心：陆游词中梅「寂寞开无主」「独自愁」「香如故」，是士大夫孤芳自赏的自我写照；毛泽东词中梅「犹有花枝俏」「只把春来报」「她在丛中笑」，是革命者谦逊无私的集体人格——同是咏梅，一悲一壮、一己一公，两相对照，恰见两个时代、两种人格精神的根本差异。其三，「报春」的象征系统：梅开于冬末，向有「报春使者」之称，词中「只把春来报」以梅喻报春之人，暗含「革命者为人民谋幸福而不居功」的深意；而「待到山花烂漫时」的「山花」，则象征革命成功后的春天与百花争艳的新世界——以梅报春喻先行者，以山花喻后来人，形成一个完整的象征谱系。其四，「悬崖百丈冰」的意象亦有所本：古诗写严寒多言「冰」（如李白「黄河冰合鱼龙死」），毛泽东以「百丈冰」极写悬崖冰凌之巨，喻国际形势之严寒，比陆游「风和雨」的萧瑟更见气势的宏阔。

Commentary

“Bu Suanzi · Ode to the Plum Blossom” is among the most widely circulated and influential of Mao Zedong's works, and its value may be seen in three dimensions—literary, spiritual, and communicative. Literarily, it opens a new path within the plum tradition: from the stance of “reversed meaning,” it turns the lonely, sorrowful tone of a millennium of plum odes into a soaring, optimistic song of spring's herald, creating a “smiling amid the throng” plum image never before seen in the history of plum odes—an image belonging not only to Mao but to the collective memory of an entire revolutionary era. Lines such as “already a hundred fathoms of ice upon the cliff, yet a branch of flowers blooms fair” and “when the hillside flowers blaze in splendor, there she smiles amid the throng” are tightly antithetical, vast in conception, and profound in philosophy, and are reckoned models of modern object-chanting lyrics. Spiritually, the lyric is the perfect crystallization of revolutionary romanticism and optimism: during the three difficult years the whole Party and people overcame internal and external hardship precisely with this “plum spirit”; the modest selflessness of “fair, it does not contend for spring, but only bears the tidings” and the composed ease of “there she smiles amid the throng” became vital nourishment for a generation's inner world, and are still quoted to encourage people to keep faith in adversity and modesty in success. In communication, since the 1963 publication of “Poems of Chairman Mao” the lyric quickly became household-known, entered textbooks at every level, and became required reading on the plum theme; its contrast with Lu You's original is a classic case study of “reversed meaning” in teaching and research. Moreover, the lyric injected new epochal meaning into the traditional plum image, ranking the “spring-heralding plum” alongside Lin Bu's “recluse plum” and Lu You's “martyr plum” as the three great types of Chinese plum literature.

《卜算子·咏梅》是毛泽东诗词中流传最广、影响最大的作品之一，其价值可从文学、精神、传播三方面观之。文学上，此词在咏梅传统中别开生面：以「反其意」的立场，将千年咏梅诗中的孤愁幽怨之调，翻转为昂扬乐观的报春之歌，塑造了咏梅史上从未有过的「丛中笑」的梅花形象——这一形象不仅属于毛泽东，也属于整个革命年代的集体记忆；词中「已是悬崖百丈冰，犹有花枝俏」「待到山花烂漫时，她在丛中笑」等句，对仗工稳、意境宏阔、哲理深远，被推为现代词坛咏物词的典范。精神上，此词是革命浪漫主义与革命乐观主义的完美结晶：三年困难时期，全党全国人民正是以这种「梅花精神」战胜了内外交困的艰难岁月，词中「俏也不争春，只把春来报」的谦逊无私与「她在丛中笑」的豁达从容，成为一代人精神世界的重要养分；它也常被后世引用以激励人们在逆境中保持信念、在成功后保持谦逊。传播上，此词自1963年《毛主席诗词》出版后迅速家喻户晓，进入各级教材，成为「咏梅」主题的必读篇目；它与陆游原词的对照，更成为教学与研究中「反其意而用之」的经典案例。此外，此词还为梅花这一传统意象注入了新的时代内涵，使「报春梅」与「隐者梅」（林逋）、「烈士梅」（陆游）并列为中国咏梅文学的三大典型。

Prosody

Form Ci lyric (to the tune “Bu Suanzi,” a short double-metered song)词（《卜算子》词牌，双调小令）

Rhyme “Bu Suanzi” is a double tune of forty-four characters; each stanza has four lines with two oblique-rhyme (ze) rhymes. Here the upper stanza rhymes on “dao” (到) and “qiao” (俏) in the oblique “xiao” category, the lower on “bao” (报) and “xiao” (笑), also “xiao”; the two stanzas share one rhyme throughout, a single rhyme carried through, with a short, clipped, ringing cadence. The characters “gui, dao, qiao, bao, xiao” answer one another in tone like a chain of drumbeats—brisk in rhythm and soaring in spirit.《卜算子》为双调四十四字，上下片各四句、两仄韵。此词上片韵脚「到」「俏」（仄声「啸」部），下片韵脚「报」「笑」（仄声「啸」部），上下片同韵到底，一韵贯注，声调短促铿锵；「归」「到」「俏」「报」「笑」等字声情相应，如鼓点连环，读来节奏明快、气势昂扬。

Tone pattern Metrically the pattern is “five-five-seven-five”: each stanza is made of a five-, a seven-, and a five-character line, with orderly rhythm. “Already the cliff hangs with a hundred fathoms of ice,” a seven-character long line, bears down like a great stone; “yet a branch of flowers blooms fair,” a five-character short line, springs like a blade from its sheath—long and short sustaining each other, with forceful cadence. In mood the upper stanza leans to narration (already, yet still), the lower to lyric feeling (fair, when); from concrete to void, the tone shifts from brooding to soaring.句式上为「五五七五」格律：上下片皆由五言、七言、五言组成，节奏整饬；「已是悬崖百丈冰」七字长句如巨石压顶，「犹有花枝俏」五字短句如利刃出鞘，长短相济，顿挫有力。语气上，上片偏于叙述（已是、犹有），下片偏于抒情（俏也、待到），由实入虚，声情随之由沉郁转昂扬。

Reading note The tune “Bu Suanzi” derives from a Tang-dynasty flute song; a double lyric of forty-four characters, each stanza four lines with two oblique rhymes, its neat “five-five-seven-five” pattern and brisk rhythm suit object-chanting and aspiration perfectly. Mao's lyric strictly observes the rules yet is vibrant in spirit: the opening “Wind and rain send spring away; flying snow welcomes spring's return” is a paired double five-character beginning, like a spring drum first struck; “Already the cliff hangs with a hundred fathoms of ice” lets the seven-character line plunge, the range suddenly widening like clouds pressing the sky; “yet a branch of flowers blooms fair” gathers it back in five characters, short and clean, like a branch breaking through ice—the upper stanza's “seven-five” structure matches its “depress-raise” content, sound and feeling in sync. The lower stanza's “Fair, it does not contend for spring; but only bears the tidings” is a paired double five-character flowing couplet, light and quick like everyday speech; “When the hillside flowers blaze in splendor” is a seven-character line, calm and unfolding like a spring tide rising; “there she smiles amid the throng” ends on the oblique “smile,” abrupt yet resonant—the lower stanza's “seven-five” matches its “rising” content, pushing from calm to fulfillment. The whole lyric alternates four groups of “five-seven-five,” the beat even yet not stiff, one oblique rhyme throughout, short and forceful, exactly in tune with the plum's brisk “fair” and the revolutionary's soaring “smile.” Note especially the emotive function of the empty words: “already” is low, “yet still” high, “fair” pauses, “when” eases, “there she” is soft—five empty words like five stair-steps carry the feeling from brooding step by step to openness, closing at last in the soft aftertone of “smile.” The lyric should be read with a bright beat and soaring tone, sharply lifted at “yet a branch of flowers blooms fair” and gently softened at “there she smiles amid the throng,” to convey the plum's full life journey from ice-cliff to smiling thicket.《卜算子》词牌源自唐代教坊曲，双调四十四字，上下片各四句、两仄韵，句式整齐（五五七五），节奏明快，极宜咏物言志。毛泽东此词严格合律而气韵飞动：起拍「风雨送春归，飞雪迎春到」双五言对起，如春鼓初擂；「已是悬崖百丈冰」七言一宕，音域骤然拉宽，如乌云压境；「犹有花枝俏」五言一收，短促利落，如花枝破冰而出——上片的「七五」结构，恰与「抑扬」的内容相合，声情同步。下片「俏也不争春，只把春来报」双五言流水对，节奏轻快，如口语絮语；「待到山花烂漫时」七言平缓舒展，如春潮渐涨；「她在丛中笑」五言以「笑」字仄声收束，戛然而止，余味无穷——下片的「七五」结构，恰与「升华」的内容相合，由平缓推向圆满。全词四组「五七五」交替，节拍匀整而不板滞，仄声韵一韵到底，声调短促而有力，恰与梅花「俏」的明快姿态、革命者「笑」的昂扬气概相谐。尤为值得注意的是虚字的声情：「已是」沉、「犹有」扬、「俏也」顿、「待到」缓、「她在」柔，五个虚字组合如五级台阶，把声情从沉郁一步步推向开朗，最终在「笑」字的柔和余音中收束。诵读此词，宜节拍明快、声调昂扬，于「犹有花枝俏」处骤然提起，于「她在丛中笑」处徐徐放轻，方能传达词中那枝梅花从冰崖俏立到丛中微笑的完整生命历程。

Line by line

风雨送春归，飞雪迎春到。

Wind and rain send spring away; flying snow welcomes spring's return—winter departs and spring returns in endless cycle.

风雨把春天送走了，漫天飞雪又把春天迎了回来，冬去春来、循环不已。

Wind and rain escort spring back; flying snow ushers spring in.

起拍两句写时序更替，以「送」与「迎」两个拟人化的动词，把季节的流转写得有情有致。「风雨送春归」写春之去：风雨萧瑟，春天黯然归去；「飞雪迎春到」写春之来：飞雪纷飞，春天又翩然而至。「送」「迎」相对，「归」「到」相衬，一去一来、一送一迎，构成回环往复的节奏，如大门开阖之间，冬春交替不息。这两句的深意在于奠定全词的基调与视野：春去春来是自然规律，也是历史规律——严寒再酷，春天总会到来；而「飞雪迎春」四字，更以飞雪为迎春之仪仗，化萧杀为壮美，暗含「冬天来了，春天还会远吗」的哲理信心。从句法看，「送春归」与「迎春到」皆三字一顿，声调铿锵，为全词定下昂扬的基调；与陆游「驿外断桥边」的孤寂起笔相比，此二句气象开阔，一开篇便显出「反其意而用之」的不同凡响。

The escort. Wind and rain escort spring back; flying snow ushers spring in. The wind-and-rain-sending and the flying-snow-ushering are the opening. To have escorted spring would be an escort; the wind-and-rain-escort-spring-back-flying-snow-ushers-spring-in is the escort.

已是悬崖百丈冰，犹有花枝俏。

Already the cliff hangs with a hundred fathoms of ice, yet a branch still blooms, fair and sprightly.

已经是悬崖上结满百丈冰凌的最严寒时节，仍然有花枝俏丽地绽放着。

Already the cliff is a hundred fathoms of ice; yet a branch of blossoms is still charming.

此两句是全词最精警的对仗，也是「反其意而用之」的核心所在。「已是悬崖百丈冰」极写环境之严酷：悬崖之上，冰凌百丈，天地凝固，万物萧杀——「已是」二字写严寒已至极限、无以复加，把梅花置于生存条件的绝境；「犹有花枝俏」陡转：就在这冰天雪地之中，梅花依然俏丽地绽放——「犹有」二字带着不容置疑的倔强与骄傲，把梅花的生命力从极限环境中硬生生托举而出。两句一抑一扬、一寒一俏、一死一活，对比之强烈、落差之巨大，读来惊心动魄。「俏」字是全词的诗眼：不写梅之「傲」（傲则孤立）、不写梅之「香」（香则内敛），而写梅之「俏」——俏是美丽而灵动的姿态，是乐观而昂扬的精神，在百丈冰的映衬下，这份「俏」愈发显得生命的华彩。此二句既是写梅，更是写人：上世纪六十年代初，中国面对的正是「悬崖百丈冰」般的国际国内形势，而共产党人恰如这冰崖上的梅花，「犹有花枝俏」——环境愈严酷，精神愈昂扬，这正是革命乐观主义的艺术化身。

The ice. Already the cliff is a hundred fathoms of ice; yet a branch of blossoms is still charming. The hundred-fathom ice and the still-charming blossom are the core. To have bloomed on the ice cliff would be a blooming; the already-the-cliff-is-a-hundred-fathoms-of-ice-yet-a-branch-of-blossoms-is-still-charming is the blooming.

俏也不争春，只把春来报。

Fair though it is, it vies not with spring, but only bears the tidings of spring's coming.

梅花俏丽却不同百花争夺春天的宠光，只是把春天到来的消息报告给人间。

Charming though she is, she does not fight for spring; she only brings word that spring has come.

此两句由写「梅之遇」转入写「梅之格」，是全词思想升华的关键。「俏也不争春」破空而来：梅花如此俏丽，却并不与百花争夺春天的宠光——「争春」二字暗指百花在春天竞相开放、争奇斗艳，而梅花开于冬末春前，不与百花争时，更不居功邀宠；「只把春来报」以「只」字紧承，写梅花唯一的愿望是把春天到来的消息报告给人间——「报春」是奉献，「不争」是谦逊，一「不」一「只」，一退一进，把梅花的品格写到极致。这两句的深意在于人格的寄托：真正的革命者，越是艰苦越要奋斗（报春），越是胜利越要谦逊（不争）——「俏」是能力与才华，「不争」是品德与胸襟，「报春」是使命与担当，三者合起来，正是毛泽东所倡导的「毫不利己、专门利人」的集体主义人格。而「俏也不争春」一句，又暗承陆游「无意苦争春，一任群芳妒」——陆游写梅「无意争春」是孤高避世之态，毛泽东写梅「俏也不争春」是建功不居之德，一字之差、一意之别，恰见「反其意」的精髓：同是不争，一为消极的退避，一为积极的谦逊。

The virtue. Charming though she is, she does not fight for spring; she only brings word that spring has come. The not-fighting-for-spring and the only-reporting are the virtue. To have declined to fight for spring would be a virtue; the charming-though-she-is-she-does-not-fight-for-spring-she-only-brings-word-that-spring-has-come is the virtue.

待到山花烂漫时，她在丛中笑。

When the hillside flowers blaze in their full splendor, there she smiles, amid the throng.

等到满山遍野的山花烂漫开放的时候，她就在花丛中欣慰地微笑。

When the mountain flowers are wild in bloom, she smiles hidden among them.

结拍两句是全词的升华，也是中国现代诗词中最著名的结尾之一。「待到」二字以虚写领起，把镜头从眼前的冰崖切换到未来的春天：待到山花烂漫——那是百花齐放、春满人间的时节，也是革命成功、理想实现的图景；「她在丛中笑」——她，那枝曾在百丈冰上俏立的梅花，此时隐身于烂漫的花丛之中，欣慰地微笑。这个结尾的妙处至少有四：其一，境界的陡然升华，由严冬的孤立写到春天的共荣，由「一枝俏」写到「万花丛」，格局骤然开阔；其二，「丛中笑」的「笑」字是全词的收束之眼——不是狂喜，不是喧哗，而是欣慰、从容、无言的微笑，是功成不必在我、功成必定有我的豁达；其三，「在丛中」三字写她并不居功自傲、凌驾于百花之上，而是融入花丛、与百花同在，谦逊与奉献在此达到圆满；其四，以「她」字称呼梅花，把梅彻底人格化、女性化，温柔而坚定。此二句将革命者的理想人格推至极致：奋斗时不畏严寒，成功时甘居丛中，这是「俏也不争春，只把春来报」的最终完成，也是全词最动人的诗意所在。

The smile. When the mountain flowers are wild in bloom, she smiles hidden among them. The riotous flowers and the hidden smile are the close. To have smiled hidden among the flowers would be a smile; the when-the-mountain-flowers-are-wild-in-bloom-she-smiles-hidden-among-them is the smile.

Study

Word focus

俏 “Fair” (qiao) is the poetic eye of the whole lyric and the concentrated expression of Mao's craft in diction. Qiao originally means “beautiful and handsome in bearing,” mostly used of a woman's looks or a thing's delicate grace (as in “junqiao,” “qiaoli”). Mao uses it for the plum, taking its sense of “beautiful and lively,” with original ingenuity. First, “fair” writes the beauty of posture rather than the lofty character: the plum tradition often writes the plum's “fragrance” (faint scent), “shadow” (sparse shade), or “pride” (defiance of snow); Mao alone takes the colloquial “fair,” making the plum charming and full of life, sweeping away the cold, lone, sharp air habitual to plum odes. Second, “fair” sharply contrasts the cruel setting of “a hundred fathoms of ice upon the cliff”—the more ice-bound the world, the fairer the branch, and one word writes the splendor of life in adversity, bright and vivid. Third, in “Fair, it does not contend for spring,” the word both carries forward the upper stanza's “yet a branch of flowers blooms fair” and introduces the turn of “does not contend”—precisely because it is “fair” enough to contend, its “not contending” shows a noble character; this single word sets the pivot for the lyric's turn. To write the plum with “fair” is Mao's linguistic innovation upon the plum tradition: once this word appears, the plum's beauty moves from the classical mood of “sparse shadow, faint scent” into the modern aesthetic of “fair and soaring.” 「俏」字是全词的诗眼，也是毛泽东炼字之功的集中体现。俏，本义为「姿态美好、俊俏」，多用于形容女子的貌美或物态的玲珑（如「俊俏」「俏丽」），毛泽东以之写梅，取其「美而灵动」之意，匠心独运。其一，「俏」写的是姿态之美而非孤高之格：咏梅传统多写梅之「香」（暗香）、「影」（疏影）、「傲」（傲雪），毛泽东独取一个俗语气的「俏」字，把梅花写得娇俏可人、生机盎然，一扫咏梅诗惯有的清冷孤峭之气；其二，「俏」与「悬崖百丈冰」的严酷环境形成强烈反差——越是冰天雪地，越显花枝之俏，一个「俏」字把逆境中的生命华彩写得明艳照人；其三，「俏也不争春」中，「俏」字既承上片「犹有花枝俏」的铺陈，又引出「不争春」的转折——正因「俏」得足以争春，其「不争」才显出品格的高尚，一字之设，为全词的转折立下支点。以「俏」写梅，是毛泽东对咏梅传统的语言革新，此字一出，梅花之美便从「疏影暗香」的古典意境，走进了「俏丽昂扬」的现代审美。

犹有 “Yet still” (youyou) in “yet a branch of flowers blooms fair” is the most forceful combination of empty words in the lyric, and the hinge of the contrast structure “already… yet still.” “You” is an adverb meaning “still, yet,” answering the upper line's “already” (yishi, already): “already the cliff hangs with a hundred fathoms of ice” pushes the cold to its limit, “yet still a branch of flowers blooms fair” says the plum still blooms—“already” drives the environment to despair, “yet still” draws life back to its climax; between depression and elevation, two empty words complete a heart-shaking contrast. Had one written “yet there is” or “still there is,” the sense would be close but the force weaker: “yet still” carries a defiance and a surprise of “existing where all thought impossible,” as if author and reader together gaze at the ice cliff and suddenly discover that sprightly branch—the aftertaste of “you” lies in “it is still there after all,” at once a contempt for the environment and a paean to life. This pairing with “already” is a model of “contrast through empty words” in classical poetry (cf. Lu You's “already at dusk alone it grieves”), and Mao here reverses it for a soaring mood, showing his mastery of borrowing old forms to renew meaning. 「犹有花枝俏」之「犹有」，是全词最见笔力的虚词组合，也是「已是……犹有……」这一对比结构的枢纽。「犹」为副词，意为「仍然、还」，与上句「已是」（已经）构成呼应：「已是悬崖百丈冰」写严寒已至极限，「犹有花枝俏」写梅花依然绽放——「已是」把环境推向绝境，「犹有」把生命拉回高潮，一抑一扬之间，两个虚词完成了一场惊心动魄的对比。若去「犹有」而作「却有」「仍有」，虽义近而气弱：「犹有」带着一种「在所有人以为不可能处仍然存在」的倔强与惊喜，仿佛作者与读者一同凝望冰崖，忽然发现那枝俏立的花——「犹」字的余味在于「竟然还在」「毕竟还在」，既有对环境的蔑视，也有对生命的礼赞。此二字与「已是」的对举，是古典诗词中「对比以虚词出之」的典范（如陆游「已是黄昏独自愁」之「已是」），而毛泽东在此将其反转用于昂扬之境，可见他善借旧格而翻新意的语言功力。

丛中笑 “Smiles amid the throng” (congzhongxiao) in “there she smiles amid the throng” is the concluding key of the whole lyric and the finishing touch on the plum's completed image. “Amid the throng” writes her among the hundred flowers, together with them—not isolated, not above, not monopolizing, hidden in the blazing hillside flowers, one with spring; “smile” writes her contented, composed mood—not a wild cheer of victory, not a boast of achievement, but the wordless smile of a striver who sees the ideal fulfilled. Together, “smiles amid the throng” carries “fair yet not contending, only bearing the tidings” to fulfillment: she heralds spring not to steal the show but for spring's own coming; when spring comes and the flowers open, she may smile, reassured—the realm of “achievement need not be mine,” the highest expression of collectivist spirit. Rhetorically, “smile” thoroughly personifies the plum, and “smile” is dynamic and vocal, contrasting the lyric's still scenes, as if that branch on the ice cliff comes alive in the imagined spring. Later critics call these three characters “gentle yet great,” precisely because they write the revolutionary's ideal personhood as both sublime and lovable, both selfless and feeling. 「她在丛中笑」之「丛中笑」三字，是全词收束的题眼，也是梅花形象最终完成的点睛之笔。「丛中」写她在百花丛中、与众花同在——不孤立、不凌驾、不独占，隐身于烂漫山花之中，与春天融为一体；「笑」写她欣慰而从容的情态——不是胜利的狂呼，不是功成的炫耀，而是一个奋斗者看到理想实现时发自内心的、无言的微笑。三字合观，「丛中笑」把「俏而不争、只把春来报」的品格推至圆满：她报春，不是为了在春天里出风头，而是为了春天的到来本身；春天来了，百花开了，她便可以安心地、欣慰地笑了——这是「功成不必在我」的境界，也是集体主义精神的最高表达。从修辞看，「笑」字将梅花彻底拟人化，且「笑」是动态的、有声的，与全词的静景形成对照，仿佛那枝冰崖上的梅花，在想象的春天里活了起来。后世论者多谓此三字「温柔而伟大」，正因其把革命者的理想人格写得既崇高又可亲，既无私又有情。