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清 Qing · 诗 Poem

二月初二日快晴

Clear Weather on the Second Day of the Second Month

龚自珍

Gong Zizhen

我身即此春，与春共无尽。
逢春不自惜，落落春向尽。
苍茫天地间，万古此一瞬。
春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸？

My body is this very spring; with spring I share the boundless.
Meeting spring I do not cherish myself; forlorn, spring draws to its end.
In the vast expanse between heaven and earth, ten thousand ages are but this one instant.
Spring returns and man grows old; who can tether the flying wheels?
Listen

Meaning

On a bright early-spring day the poet fuses himself with spring, then laments that spring—and youth—slip away uncherished. Set against the immensity of heaven and earth where all ages are a single instant, he asks who can halt time's flying wheels, turning a clear day into a meditation on mortality.

我身即此春，与春共无尽。逢春不自惜，落落春向尽。苍茫天地间，万古此一瞬。春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸？

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The opening fuses 'my body is this spring, sharing the boundless' with spring; the second writes meeting spring without self-cherishing, forlorn as spring ends; the third sets the vast heaven-and-earth where ten thousand ages are one instant; the close says spring returns and man grows old, who can tether the flying wheels. [Structure] The poem moves from self-spring union, to spring's ending, to cosmic instant, to the unstoppable flying wheels—tightening from immensity to personal inevitability. [Imagery] 'My body is this spring' dissolves the boundary between self and season; 'ten thousand ages are one instant' shrinks eternity against the present; 'flying wheels' (a chariot metaphor) makes time a rushing vehicle none can halt. Gong blends philosophy into scene and feeling, his characteristic move, so a clear spring day opens onto existential melancholy.

【白话串讲】 龚自珍写《二月初二日快晴》：“我身即此春，与春共无尽”——“逢春不自惜，落落春向尽”——“苍茫天地间，万古此一瞬”——“春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸”——他写快晴——万古此一瞬。 【意象与手法】 “我身即此春，与春共无尽”以我身与春相融；“逢春不自惜，落落春向尽”写春尽之叹；“苍茫天地间，万古此一瞬”以天地万古写光阴一瞬；结以“春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸”以飞轸喻时光不可挽。哲思深致、惜春伤时。 【情感与主旨】 写春日快晴中的惜春伤时之慨，由春之将尽悟及人生之短、光阴之不可挽，体现龚自珍诗中融哲思于景情的特色。 【名句点睛】 常考“苍茫天地间，万古此一瞬”以天地万古写光阴一瞬；“春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸”以飞轸喻时光不可挽。

Background

Gong Zizhen (1792–1841), style Seren, literary name Ding'an, was a native of Renhe (Hangzhou), Zhejiang—a Qing thinker, poet, and man of letters. This poem is a spring reflection written on the clear second day of the second month. It uses 'my body is this spring' and 'who can tether the flying wheels' to write his regret for spring and the passing of time, a celebrated piece where feeling and thought fuse. Widely anthologized, it shows his art of 'deep and restrained, feeling through spring.'

《二月初二日快晴》为清代诗人龚自珍所作诗。龚自珍（1792—1841），字璱人，号定盦，浙江仁和人，清代思想家、诗人、文学家。此诗写感怀惜春，为春日感怀之作。诗中「我身即此春，与春共无尽」写我身即此春，与春共无尽；「逢春不自惜，落落春向尽」写逢春不自惜，落落春向尽；「苍茫天地间，万古此一瞬」写苍茫天地间，万古此一瞬；「春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸」写春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸。龚自珍此诗以感怀惜春、谁能系飞轸写其惜春之情，深婉惜春，是龚自珍诗中的名篇。此篇《二月初二日快晴》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《二月初二日快晴》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。

Art

The art is 'deep and restrained, feeling through spring.' Eight lines in four couplets move from 'my body is this spring' to 'who can tether the flying wheels.' The opening fuses self and spring in the boundless; the second writes uncherished meeting as spring ends; the third sets the vast heaven-and-earth and the one instant; the close asks who can tether the wheels. The whole conveys feeling through spring, from union to the wheels, deep and restrained, a celebrated piece. Achieving much with few, its tight structure and condensed images make it a rare fine work.

此诗艺术上以「深婉惜春、以春写情」见长。全诗共八句四联，由我身即此春而逢春不自惜而苍茫天地间。起「我身即此春，与春共无尽」写我身即此春：我身即此春，与春共无尽；「逢春不自惜，落落春向尽」写逢春不自惜：逢春不自惜，落落春向尽；「苍茫天地间，万古此一瞬」写苍茫天地间：苍茫天地间，万古此一瞬；结「春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸」写谁能系飞轸：春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸。全诗以春写情，由我身即此春而谁能系飞轸，深婉惜春，是龚自珍诗中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。

Allusions

The allusions are lightly borne. The close uses 'flying wheels' (fei zhen), a classical image of a speeding chariot, to figure time's irreversible rush. Gong fuses it unobtrusively into the spring regret, making the philosophical feeling tangible—an instance of his skill in smelting allusion into fresh, restrained thought.

诗中「我身即此春与春共无尽」「逢春不自惜落落春向尽」「苍茫天地间万古此一瞬」「春归人亦老谁能系飞轸」等语，皆含典故故实。「我身即此春与春共无尽」写我身即此春与春共无尽；「逢春不自惜落落春向尽」写逢春不自惜落落春向尽；「苍茫天地间万古此一瞬」写苍茫天地间万古此一瞬；「春归人亦老谁能系飞轸」用飞轸之典（飞轸写飞驰的车），写春归人亦老谁能系飞轸。诗人用飞轸之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把感怀惜春之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。

Commentary

This 'Clear Weather on the Second Day of the Second Month' is Gong's deep spring-regret lyric on self-as-spring, uncherished meeting, the vast heaven-and-earth, and the flying wheels. The opening fuses self and spring; the second writes uncherished meeting as spring ends; the third sets the vast expanse and the one instant; the close asks who can tether the wheels. Deep and restrained, feeling through spring, it is a celebrated piece of his. Feeling is true, scene precise, meaning deep, fused without seam, so a few phrases carry infinite implication.

这首《二月初二日快晴》，是龚自珍写感怀惜春之作，写我身即此春、逢春不自惜、苍茫天地间、谁能系飞轸之情，深婉惜春。起「我身即此春，与春共无尽」——我身即此春，与春共无尽。写我身即此春：我身即此春、与春共无尽——即此春、共无尽；「逢春不自惜，落落春向尽」——逢春不自惜，落落春向尽。写逢春不自惜：逢春不自惜、落落春向尽——不自惜、春向尽；「苍茫天地间，万古此一瞬」——苍茫天地间，万古此一瞬。写苍茫天地间：苍茫天地间、万古此一瞬——天地间、此一瞬；结「春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸」——春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸。写谁能系飞轸：春归人亦老、谁能系飞轸——人亦老、系飞轸。这「春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸」，是全诗之结：以谁能系飞轸写其惜春。全诗深婉惜春，以春写情，正是龚自珍诗中的名篇。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。

Prosody

Form Five-character ancient-style poem (wugu)诗（五言古体）
Rhyme A five-character ancient-style poem of eight lines, rhyming on 'jin' (尽) and 'zhen' (轸) in the zhen-wen category; the natural, flowing lines suit its deep, restrained spring-regret mood, showing the ancient form's free movement.此诗为五言古体，共八句。押韵：「尽」「轸」押真文部韵。句句自然流转，声情悠远，正与写感怀惜春的深婉惜春相称，也见其以古体写惜春的流转。
Tone pattern The opening 'my body is this spring' is deep and restrained; the second low and returning; the third open; the close long and drawn. The whole follows feeling from depth to lowness to openness to length, matching the ancient form's flowing grace, reading like deep, moving spring-regret.句式上，「我身即此春，与春共无尽」写我身即此春，音节深婉；「逢春不自惜，落落春向尽」写逢春不自惜，音节低回；「苍茫天地间，万古此一瞬」写苍茫天地间，音节开阔；结「春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸」写谁能系飞轸，音节悠长。全诗音节随情起伏，由深婉而低回、由开阔而悠长，正合古体「流转」之妙，读来如感怀惜春、谁能系飞轸之音，深婉而动人。
Reading note A five-character ancient-style poem and a celebrated piece of Gong's. Its art is 'deep and restrained, feeling through spring': the opening fuses self and spring, the second writes uncherished meeting, the third the vast expanse, the close the flying wheels. 'My body is this spring' is exquisite; 'who can tether the flying wheels' uses the chariot allusion, a model of his deep manner, often anthologized.此诗为五言古体，是龚自珍写感怀惜春之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「深婉惜春、以春写情」：「我身即此春，与春共无尽」写我身即此春、「逢春不自惜，落落春向尽」写逢春不自惜、「苍茫天地间，万古此一瞬」写苍茫天地间、「春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸」写谁能系飞轸。全诗深婉惜春，以春写情。尤为精妙者，是「我身即此春」写尽即此春；而「谁能系飞轸」用飞轸之典，正是龚自珍诗「深婉惜春」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《二月初二日快晴》一诗之所以读来声情并茂，正在于诗人以声韵配合情思、以节奏烘托意境，音节之长短、平仄之起伏，皆与诗意相为表里，此亦可见中国古典诗歌声律之美与匠心之工。

Line by line

我身即此春，与春共无尽。

My body is this very spring; with spring I share the boundless.

我身即此春，与春共无尽。

My very self is this spring, sharing with spring in endlessness.

起句写我身即此春，起笔即见其春。「我身即此春」写我身即此春，「我身」写我身、「即此春」写即此春；「与春共无尽」写与春共无尽，「与春」写与春、「共无尽」写共无尽。一句写我身即此春与春共无尽，以我身即此春写即此春、以与春共无尽写共无尽，写尽我身即此春、与春共无尽之情。以春起兴，深婉而惜春，是「以春起兴」的妙笔。

The opening writes my very self is this spring, the spring visible from the first stroke. My very self is this spring: my self the person, is this spring the identity. Sharing with spring in endlessness: with spring the companionship, endless the boundlessness. One line writes the self as this spring, sharing its endlessness; writing identity with the spring, and boundless companionship, exhausts the feeling of being spring with the spring. Rising on the spring, deep and tender in its spring-regret, the finest stroke of rising on the season.

逢春不自惜，落落春向尽。

Meeting spring I do not cherish myself; forlorn, spring draws to its end.

逢春不自惜，落落春向尽。

Meeting spring, I do not spare myself; spare and distant, spring draws toward its close.

此句写逢春不自惜，是全诗写逢春之态的关键。「逢春不自惜」写逢春不自惜，「逢春」写逢春、「不自惜」写不自惜；「落落春向尽」写落落春向尽，「落落」写落落、「春向尽」写春向尽。一句写逢春不自惜落落春向尽，以逢春不自惜写不自惜、以落落春向尽写春向尽，写尽逢春不自惜、落落春向尽之情。以春写情，深婉而惜春，是「以春写情」的点睛之笔。

The line writes meeting spring, yet not sparing the self, the key to the poem's posture toward spring. Meeting spring, I do not spare myself: meeting spring the encounter, not sparing self the unsparing. Spare and distant, spring draws toward its close: spare and distant the aloof bearing, spring toward its close the season's end. One line writes meeting spring and not sparing the self, spring drawing to its close; writing not sparing and the spring's end, exhausts the feeling of meeting spring unsparing, and spring drawing toward its close. Writing feeling through spring, deep and tender in spring-regret, the crowning stroke of writing emotion through the season.

苍茫天地间，万古此一瞬。

In the vast expanse between heaven and earth, ten thousand ages are but this one instant.

苍茫天地间，万古此一瞬。

Vast and boundless between heaven and earth, the whole of eternity is this single instant.

此句写苍茫天地间，是全诗写苍茫之态的关键。「苍茫天地间」写苍茫天地间，「苍茫」写苍茫、「天地间」写天地间；「万古此一瞬」写万古此一瞬，「万古」写万古、「此一瞬」写此一瞬。一句写苍茫天地间万古此一瞬，以苍茫天地间写天地间、以万古此一瞬写此一瞬，写尽苍茫天地间、万古此一瞬之情。以天写情，深婉而惜春，是「以天写情」的点睛之笔。

The line writes vast and boundless between heaven and earth, the key to the poem's vastness. Vast and boundless between heaven and earth: vast the haze, between heaven and earth the space. The whole of eternity is this single instant: eternity the long ages, this instant the moment. One line writes the vast between heaven and earth, eternity in this instant; writing the space and the instant, exhausts the feeling of the boundless world and the single moment. Writing feeling through heaven, deep and tender in spring-regret, the crowning stroke of writing emotion through the sky.

春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸？

Spring returns and man grows old; who can tether the flying wheels?

春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸？

Spring departs, and the man grows old; who can tie down that flying chariot of time?

结句写谁能系飞轸，是全诗立意的落点。「春归人亦老」写春归人亦老，「春归」写春归、「人亦老」写人亦老；「谁能系飞轸」用飞轸之典写谁能系飞轸，「谁能」写谁能、「系飞轸」写系飞轸。一句写春归人亦老谁能系飞轸，以春归人亦老写人亦老、以谁能系飞轸写系飞轸，写尽春归人亦老、谁能系飞轸之情。以轸写情，深婉而惜春，是全诗最动人处，也是「以轸写情」的点睛之笔。

The closing line writes who can tie down that flying chariot of time, where the poem's meaning comes to rest. Spring departs, and the man grows old: spring departing the season's going, man growing old the aging. Who can tie down that flying chariot of time? uses the allusion to the flying chariot of time, who can asks who, tie down the flying chariot the arrest of time's axle. One line writes spring departed and the man aging, and the chariot none can tie; writing the aging and the arrest, exhausts the feeling of spring gone, the man old, and time that none can bind. Writing feeling through the chariot, deep and tender in spring-regret, the most moving passage of the poem, the crowning stroke of writing emotion through the axle.

Study

Word focus

我身 My body / self. Opens the poem by naming the speaking subject who identifies with spring, dissolving the boundary between person and season. 「我身」写我身即此春，是写我身之态的关键。「我身即此春」着一「我身」，写我身——着一「我身」，写我身即此春，见其身之我。两字写尽我身之态，是「以词写身」的妙笔。「我身」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
无尽 Boundless / without end. 'Shares the boundless with spring' asserts the fused self-spring as limitless, setting the expansive tone before spring's ending deflates it. 「无尽」写与春共无尽，是写无尽之态的关键。「与春共无尽」着一「无尽」，写无尽——着一「无尽」，写与春共无尽，见其尽之无。两字写尽无尽之态，是「以词写尽」的点睛之词。「无尽」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
苍茫 Vast / boundless. Describes the immensity of heaven and earth against which all ages shrink to a single instant, enlarging the poem's cosmic perspective. 「苍茫」写苍茫天地间，是写苍茫之态的关键。「苍茫天地间」着一「苍茫」，写苍茫——着一「苍茫」，写苍茫天地间，见其茫之苍。两字写尽苍茫之态，是「以词写茫」的点睛之词。「苍茫」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
飞轸 Flying wheels. A chariot image for time's irreversible rush; 'who can tether the flying wheels' closes the poem asking who can halt the years, the core of its regret. 「飞轸」写谁能系飞轸，是写飞轸之态的关键。「谁能系飞轸」着一「飞轸」，写飞轸——着一「飞轸」，写谁能系飞轸，见其轸之飞。两字写尽飞轸之态，是「以词写轸」的点睛之词。「飞轸」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

水调歌头·明月几时有 Tune: 'Shui Diao Ge Tou' — When Did the Bright Moon Appear? 苏轼 · 同写惜春感怀、深婉旷达，一写人有悲欢离合、一写春归人亦老谁能系飞轸，皆于惜春之中见深婉 Both write spring-regret and contemplation, deep and transcendent; one says partings are eternal, the other asks who can tether the wheels—both find depth in regret.

Su Shi's 'Shui Diao Ge Tou' ('Men have sorrow and joy, parting and meeting; the moon is bright or dim, round or crescent—this has been hard to complete since of old') is a deep, transcendent Song lyric; Gong's 'Clear Weather' uses 'spring returns and man grows old, who can tether the wheels' and 'meeting spring without self-cherishing' to write tethering and uncherishing. Both share spring-regret depth: Su through composure, Gong through restraint—two manners of writing depth within regret.

苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全」，写惜春感怀、深婉旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；龚自珍《二月初二日快晴》则以「春归人亦老，谁能系飞轸」「逢春不自惜」写系飞轸、不自惜。两诗同写惜春感怀、深婉旷达：一写人有悲欢离合、以悲欢写离合，一写春归人亦老谁能系飞轸、以春写惜春；一为苏轼之旷达、一为龚自珍之深婉，并读正可见诗写「惜春感怀」的两种笔法，皆于惜春之中见深婉。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Tune: 'Ba Sheng Gan Zhou' — Over the Misty Rain Sweeping River and Sky at Dusk 柳永 · 同写春尽凝望、深婉清丽，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写我身即此春与春共无尽，皆于春尽之中见凝望 Both write gazing as spring ends, deep and clear; one faces misty dusk rain, the other 'my body is this spring, sharing the boundless'—both find fixed gaze as spring ends.

Liu Yong's 'Ba Sheng Gan Zhou' ('Over the misty rain sweeping river and sky at dusk, once more it washes the clear autumn') is a famous Song travel lyric of gazing; Gong's poem uses 'my body is this spring, sharing the boundless' and 'the vast heaven-and-earth' to write union and vastness. Both share spring-end gazing: Liu through clear beauty, Gong through depth—two manners of writing fixed gaze as spring ends.

柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「对潇潇暮雨洒江天，一番洗清秋」，写春尽凝望、深婉清丽，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；龚自珍《二月初二日快晴》则以「我身即此春，与春共无尽」「苍茫天地间」写共无尽、天地间。两诗同写春尽凝望、深婉清丽：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写我身即此春与春共无尽、以春写惜春；一为柳永之清丽、一为龚自珍之深婉，并读正可见诗写「春尽凝望」的两种笔法，皆于春尽之中见凝望。