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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

村晚

Village Evening

雷震

Lei Zhen

一夜韶姿著水光，谢家春草满池塘。
细挑泉眼寻新脉，轻把花枝嗅宿香。
蝶欲试飞犹护粉，莺初学啭尚羞簧。
分明不得同君赏，尽日倾心羡索郎。

One night of spring beauty lies luminous on the water;
The Xie family's spring grass fills the pond.
With a fine twig I probe the spring's eye, seeking its new vein;
Lightly I take a flowering branch and sniff the fragrance it kept overnight.
A butterfly, about to test its flight, still guards its powder;
An oriole, first learning to warble, is still shy of its reed tongue.
Clearly I cannot enjoy all this together with you —
All day long I give my heart, and envy the wine.
Listen

Meaning

A fresh, delicate spring poem: after a night of rain the pond grass is lush, the speaker probes the spring, smells the flowers, watches a butterfly and an oriole making their first attempts at flight and song — and closes with the regret that he cannot share this with the one he loves, envying even the wine that keeps him company. The scenery is complete; only the witness is missing.

一夜韶姿著水光，谢家春草满池塘。细挑泉眼寻新脉，轻把花枝嗅宿香。蝶欲试飞犹护粉，莺初学啭尚羞簧。分明不得同君赏，尽日倾心羡索郎。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] One night of spring beauty lies luminous on the water; the Xie family's spring grass fills the pond. With a fine twig the speaker probes the spring's eye for its new vein; lightly he takes a branch and smells the fragrance it kept overnight. A butterfly about to test its wings still guards its powder; an oriole first learning to warble is still shy of its reed tongue. Clearly he cannot enjoy this with the one he loves; all day his heart goes out, and he envies the wine. [Structure] Three couplets of spring, one couplet of feeling; the turn comes only at the end, and it changes the poem from a sketch into a love poem. [Imagery] Wet, powdered, half-opened: everything is at its first moment. [Tone] Delicate, precise, quietly regretful.

【白话串讲】 雷震写《村晚》：“一夜韶姿著水光，谢家春草满池塘”——“细挑泉眼寻新脉，轻把花枝嗅宿香”——他写村晚。 【意象与手法】 “一夜韶姿著水光，谢家春草满池塘”以韶姿春草写村景；“细挑泉眼寻新脉，轻把花枝嗅宿香”以寻泉嗅花写闲适；“蝶欲试飞犹护粉，莺初学啭尚羞簧”以蝶莺写春日生机；结以“分明不得同君赏，尽日倾心羡索郎”写独赏之憾。清新明快、工于刻画。 【情感与主旨】 写村居晚景之作，以细腻笔触写春日池塘、泉眼花枝、蝶飞莺啼的生机，抒写闲适自得之情与不能共赏的怅惘，是一首清新的田园小诗。 【名句点睛】 常考“细挑泉眼寻新脉，轻把花枝嗅宿香”以寻泉嗅花写闲适；“蝶欲试飞犹护粉，莺初学啭尚羞簧”以蝶莺写春日生机。

Background

Lei Zhen is an almost anonymous Southern Song poet; records of his life are nearly silent. He is best known for the widely anthologized 'Village Evening' in which a cowherd rides home on a buffalo, piping tunelessly — a different poem from this one, which shares the title and is a seven-syllable regulated verse on a spring pond. In it we see the Song taste for small, observed moments: spring grass, a spring's eye, a butterfly's first flight, an oriole's first song, and a final sigh for someone absent.

《村晚》为南宋诗人雷震所作诗。雷震，南宋诗人，生平不详。此诗写景田园，为村晚之作。诗中「一夜韶姿著水光，谢家春草满池塘」写一夜韶姿著水光，谢家春草满池塘；「细挑泉眼寻新脉，轻把花枝嗅宿香」写细挑泉眼寻新脉，轻把花枝嗅宿香；「蝶欲试飞犹护粉，莺初学啭尚羞簧」写蝶欲试飞犹护粉，莺初学啭尚羞簧；「分明不得同君赏，尽日倾心羡索郎」写分明不得同君赏，尽日倾心羡索郎。雷震此诗以写景田园、尽日倾心羡索郎写其田园之情，清新明快，是雷震诗中的名篇。此篇《村晚》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《村晚》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 poem's method is tenderness applied to things. The middle couplets are the center: the poet picks at the spring's eye with a twig as if testing a small creature, and lifts a flower to smell the night's stored fragrance; the butterfly guards its powder before its first flight, the oriole is bashful before its first song. Both creatures are caught in the instant before competence — spring's own immaturity mirrored in them. The diction is all delicacy: fine, lightly, testing, first, still. Against three couplets of abundance, the closing couplet admits scarcity: the beauty is complete, and the person with whom it should be shared is absent. The last word 'envy' points at the wine — the conventional companion that gets to stay.

此诗艺术上以「清新明快、以景写情」见长。全诗共四联八句，由一夜韶姿著水光、细挑泉眼寻新脉而蝶欲试飞犹护粉、分明不得同君赏。首联「一夜韶姿著水光，谢家春草满池塘」写一夜韶姿著水光：一夜韶姿著水光，谢家春草满池塘；颔联「细挑泉眼寻新脉，轻把花枝嗅宿香」写细挑泉眼寻新脉：细挑泉眼寻新脉，轻把花枝嗅宿香；颈联「蝶欲试飞犹护粉，莺初学啭尚羞簧」写蝶欲试飞犹护粉：蝶欲试飞犹护粉，莺初学啭尚羞簧；尾联「分明不得同君赏，尽日倾心羡索郎」写尽日倾心羡索郎：分明不得同君赏，尽日倾心羡索郎。全诗以景写情，由一夜韶姿著水光而尽日倾心羡索郎，清新明快，是雷震诗中的名篇。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。

Allusions

'The Xie family's spring grass' quotes the most famous garden line in Chinese poetry: Xie Lingyun's 'the pond grows spring grass,' dreamt of his cousin Xie Huilian and woken into a poem. Citing the Xie family makes the pond's grass literary before it is natural, and quietly introduces the theme of longing for an absent beloved. 'Suolang' is an old poetic name for wine; the poet envies the cup that keeps his friend company all day, a reversal in which drink becomes the rival.

诗中「一夜韶姿著水光谢家春草满池塘」「细挑泉眼寻新脉轻把花枝嗅宿香」「蝶欲试飞犹护粉莺初学啭尚羞簧」「分明不得同君赏尽日倾心羡索郎」等语，皆含典故故实。「一夜韶姿著水光谢家春草满池塘」用谢家之典（谢家写谢灵运春草句），写一夜韶姿著水光谢家春草满池塘；「细挑泉眼寻新脉轻把花枝嗅宿香」写细挑泉眼寻新脉轻把花枝嗅宿香；「蝶欲试飞犹护粉莺初学啭尚羞簧」写蝶欲试飞犹护粉莺初学啭尚羞簧；「分明不得同君赏尽日倾心羡索郎」用索郎之典（索郎写酒名），写分明不得同君赏尽日倾心羡索郎。诗人以谢家、索郎等典入诗，不着痕迹，而把写景田园之情写得真切可感，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。

Commentary

The poem's freshness and its small exact observations place it in the mainstream of Song nature verse; its closing couplet keeps it from being a mere sketch. Critics have noted how Song regulated verse turns from scenery to feeling in the last possible line — here only at the last couplet, which retroactively turns the whole description into an act of devotion. Read after Lin Bu's plum or Yan Shu's swallow, it shows the same Song lesson: the smallest creature, watched closely enough, will carry a person's heart.

这首《村晚》，是雷震写景田园之作，写一夜韶姿著水光、细挑泉眼寻新脉、蝶欲试飞犹护粉、尽日倾心羡索郎之情，清新明快。首联「一夜韶姿著水光，谢家春草满池塘」——一夜韶姿著水光（用谢家之典），谢家春草满池塘。写一夜韶姿著水光：一夜韶姿著水光、谢家春草满池塘——韶姿著水光、春草满池塘；颔联「细挑泉眼寻新脉，轻把花枝嗅宿香」——细挑泉眼寻新脉，轻把花枝嗅宿香。写细挑泉眼寻新脉：细挑泉眼寻新脉、轻把花枝嗅宿香——挑泉眼寻新脉、把花枝嗅宿香；颈联「蝶欲试飞犹护粉，莺初学啭尚羞簧」——蝶欲试飞犹护粉，莺初学啭尚羞簧。写蝶欲试飞犹护粉：蝶欲试飞犹护粉、莺初学啭尚羞簧——蝶试飞犹护粉、莺学啭尚羞簧；尾联「分明不得同君赏，尽日倾心羡索郎」——分明不得同君赏（用索郎酒典），尽日倾心羡索郎。写尽日倾心羡索郎：分明不得同君赏、尽日倾心羡索郎——不得同君赏、倾心羡索郎。这「分明不得同君赏，尽日倾心羡索郎」，是全诗之结：以尽日倾心羡索郎写其田园。全诗清新明快，以景写情，正是雷震诗中的名篇。

Prosody

Form Seven-syllable regulated verse (qilu) — eight lines in four couplets诗（七言律诗）
Rhyme Level-tone rhymes on guang, tang, xiang, huang, lang — the bright yang group; the full, open sound matches the poem's overflowing spring.此诗为七言律诗，共八句，四联。押平声韵：「光」「塘」「香」「簧」「郎」押阳部韵。诗体依律诗而定，首联颔联颈联尾联各两句，句式整齐，音节随情起伏，正与写写景田园的清新明快相称，也见其以律诗写田园的自然。
Tone pattern The first couplet opens bright and level; the middle couplets move in quick, light steps as butterfly and oriole act; the closing couplet lowers and slows, the only oblique shade in the poem.句式上，首联「一夜韶姿著水光，谢家春草满池塘」写一夜韶姿著水光，音节清丽；颔联「细挑泉眼寻新脉，轻把花枝嗅宿香」写细挑泉眼寻新脉，音节明快；颈联「蝶欲试飞犹护粉，莺初学啭尚羞簧」写蝶欲试飞犹护粉，音节轻快；尾联「分明不得同君赏，尽日倾心羡索郎」写尽日倾心羡索郎，音节低回。全诗音节随情起伏，由清丽而明快、由轻快而低回，正合律诗「整饬」之妙，读来如写景田园、尽日倾心羡索郎之音，清新而动人。
Reading note As a regulated verse it observes the tonal patterns and parallel middle couplets; the parallelism here is of gesture and creature — probing against smelling, butterfly against oriole — so the form's symmetry enacts the poet's mirrored attention to small things. Read bright and light through the first three couplets, then let the last couplet fall.此诗为七言律诗，是雷震写景田园之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「清新明快、以景写情」：「一夜韶姿著水光，谢家春草满池塘」写一夜韶姿著水光、「细挑泉眼寻新脉，轻把花枝嗅宿香」写细挑泉眼寻新脉、「蝶欲试飞犹护粉，莺初学啭尚羞簧」写蝶欲试飞犹护粉、「分明不得同君赏，尽日倾心羡索郎」写尽日倾心羡索郎。全诗清新明快，以景写情。尤为精妙者，是「一夜韶姿著水光，谢家春草满池塘」用谢家之典；而「分明不得同君赏，尽日倾心羡索郎」用索郎酒典，正是雷震诗「清新明快」的典范，为历代选本所常收。

Line by line

一夜韶姿著水光，谢家春草满池塘。

One night of spring beauty lies luminous on the water; the Xie family's spring grass fills the pond.

一夜韶姿著水光，谢家春草满池塘。

In one night, the fair shapes take on the water's light; the Xie family's spring grass fills the pond.

首联写一夜韶姿著水光，起笔即见其景。「一夜韶姿著水光」写一夜韶姿著水光，「一夜韶姿」写一夜韶姿、「著水光」写著水光；「谢家春草满池塘」用谢家之典写谢家春草满池塘，「谢家春草」写谢家春草、「满池塘」写满池塘。两句一写一夜韶姿著水光、一写谢家春草满池塘，以一夜韶姿著水光写韶姿水光、以谢家春草满池塘写春草满塘，写尽一夜韶姿著水光、谢家春草满池塘之情。以景起兴，清新而明快，是「以景起兴」的妙笔。

The first couplet writes in one night, the fair shapes take on the water's light, the scene at the first stroke. In one night, the fair shapes take on the water's light writes the one-night fair shapes, the water's light; the Xie family's spring grass fills the pond uses the Xie allusion for the spring grass filling the pond. Two lines, one the one-night fair shapes and water light, one the Xie spring grass filling the pond, the fair shapes' water light for the spring colors, the Xie grass for the pond's filling, exhausting the scene. Rising in scene, fresh and bright, the fine brush.

细挑泉眼寻新脉，轻把花枝嗅宿香。

With a fine twig I probe the spring's eye, seeking its new vein; lightly I take a flowering branch and sniff the fragrance it kept overnight.

细挑泉眼寻新脉，轻把花枝嗅宿香。

I pick at the spring's eye, seeking the new vein; lightly I take a flower branch, breathing yesterday's fragrance.

此二句写细挑泉眼寻新脉，是全诗写寻泉之态的关键。「细挑泉眼寻新脉」写细挑泉眼寻新脉，「细挑泉眼」写细挑泉眼、「寻新脉」写寻新脉；「轻把花枝嗅宿香」写轻把花枝嗅宿香，「轻把花枝」写轻把花枝、「嗅宿香」写嗅宿香。两句一写细挑泉眼寻新脉、一写轻把花枝嗅宿香，以细挑泉眼寻新脉写寻泉眼、以轻把花枝嗅宿香写嗅花香，写尽细挑泉眼寻新脉、轻把花枝嗅宿香之情。以物写趣，清新而明快，是「以物写趣」的点睛之笔。

The two lines write the picking at the spring's eye, the key of the poem's seeking the spring. I pick at the spring's eye, seeking the new vein writes the fine picking, the new vein; lightly I take a flower branch, breathing yesterday's fragrance writes the light holding, the old fragrance. Two lines, one the seeking the spring's eye, one the breathing the flower's fragrance, the spring's eye for the seeking, the flower branch for the scent, exhausting the scene. Writing charm through the thing, fresh and bright, the pointed brush.

蝶欲试飞犹护粉，莺初学啭尚羞簧。

A butterfly, about to test its flight, still guards its powder; an oriole, first learning to warble, is still shy of its reed tongue.

蝶欲试飞犹护粉，莺初学啭尚羞簧。

The butterfly would test its wings and still guards its dust; the oriole first learning to trill, as yet shy of the reed.

此二句写蝶欲试飞犹护粉，是全诗写蝶莺之态的关键。「蝶欲试飞犹护粉」写蝶欲试飞犹护粉，「蝶欲试飞」写蝶欲试飞、「犹护粉」写犹护粉；「莺初学啭尚羞簧」写莺初学啭尚羞簧，「莺初学啭」写莺初学啭、「尚羞簧」写尚羞簧。两句一写蝶欲试飞犹护粉、一写莺初学啭尚羞簧，以蝶欲试飞犹护粉写蝶护粉、以莺初学啭尚羞簧写莺羞簧，写尽蝶欲试飞犹护粉、莺初学啭尚羞簧之情。以物写趣，清新而明快，是「以物写趣」的点睛之笔。

The two lines write the butterfly would test its wings and still guards its dust, the key of the poem's butterfly-and-oriole bearing. The butterfly would test its wings and still guards its dust writes the would-test, the still-guarding; the oriole first learning to trill, as yet shy of the reed writes the first-learning, the still-shy. Two lines, one the butterfly guarding its dust, one the oriole shy of the reed, the butterfly's dust-guard for its care, the oriole's reed-shame for its shyness, exhausting the scene. Writing charm through the thing, fresh and bright, the pointed brush.

分明不得同君赏，尽日倾心羡索郎。

Clearly I cannot enjoy all this together with you; all day long I give my heart, and envy the wine.

分明不得同君赏，尽日倾心羡索郎。

Clearly I cannot share your delight; all day I turn my heart, envying the wine.

尾联写尽日倾心羡索郎，是全诗立意的落点。「分明不得同君赏」写分明不得同君赏，「分明不得」写分明不得、「同君赏」写同君赏；「尽日倾心羡索郎」用索郎酒典写尽日倾心羡索郎，「尽日倾心」写尽日倾心、「羡索郎」写羡索郎。两句一写分明不得同君赏、一写尽日倾心羡索郎，以分明不得同君赏写不得同赏、以尽日倾心羡索郎写倾心羡酒，写尽分明不得同君赏、尽日倾心羡索郎之情。以典写情，清新而明快，是全诗最动人处，也是「以典写情」的点睛之笔。

The last couplet writes all day I turn my heart, envying the wine, the landing point of the poem. Clearly I cannot share your delight writes the clearly-cannot, the sharing with you; all day I turn my heart, envying the wine uses the Suolang wine allusion for the envying the wine. Two lines, one the not sharing the delight, one the heart turned to envying the wine, the not-sharing for the missing of the common delight, the heart-turned for the longing for wine, exhausting the scene. Writing feeling through allusion, fresh and bright, the most moving place, the pointed brush.

Study

Word focus

韶姿 'Shaozhi' (the beauty of spring): 'one night's spring beauty' — the night itself is the artist that laid luminous color on the water. 「韶姿」写一夜韶姿著水光，是写韶姿之态的关键。「一夜韶姿著水光」着一「韶姿」，写韶姿——着一「韶姿」，写一夜韶姿著水光，见其姿之韶。两字写尽韶姿之态，是「以词写姿」的妙笔。「韶姿」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。
满 'Man' (full): one word turns the pond into abundance; spring is not arriving, it has already overflowed. 「满」字写谢家春草满池塘，是写草满之态的关键。「谢家春草满池塘」着一「满」，写满——着一「满」字，写谢家春草满池塘，见其草之盛。一字写尽草满之态，是「以一字写盛」的点睛之词。「满」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。
细挑 'Xitiao' (to pick at with something fine): the delicacy of the gesture — the poet pokes the spring's eye with a twig, treating a water source like a curious small creature. 「细挑」写细挑泉眼寻新脉，是写细挑之态的关键。「细挑泉眼寻新脉」着一「细挑」，写细挑——着一「细挑」，写细挑泉眼寻新脉，见其挑之细。两字写尽细挑之态，是「以词写细」的点睛之词。「细挑」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。
轻把 'Qingba' (to take lightly): 'lightly take' — the whole body is careful not to disturb; smelling the flower's overnight fragrance is a private, almost guilty pleasure. 「轻把」写轻把花枝嗅宿香，是写轻把之态的关键。「轻把花枝嗅宿香」着一「轻把」，写轻把——着一「轻把」，写轻把花枝嗅宿香，见其把之轻。两字写尽轻把之态，是「以词写轻」的点睛之词。「轻把」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

浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯 Huanxisha — 'A New Song and a Cup of Wine' (Huan Xi Sha) 晏殊 · 同写田园写景、无可奈何，一写无可奈何花落去、一写一夜韶姿著水光谢家春草满池塘，皆于田园之中见感怀 Both feel spring's passage in a garden — one melancholy and philosophical, one fresh and close-up

Yan Shu's 'fallen flowers go helplessly, the swallows seem to know old friends' turns a garden into meditation on time. Lei Zhen's pond is not a symbol but a place: springs probed, branches smelled, butterflies watched. Yan Shu's garden is thought; Lei Zhen's pond is touched.

晏殊《浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯》「无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来」，写田园感怀，是宋词小令的名篇；雷震《村晚》则以「一夜韶姿著水光，谢家春草满池塘」「尽日倾心羡索郎」写韶姿水光、倾心羡索郎。两诗同写田园写景、无可奈何：一写无可奈何花落去、以花落燕归写惜时，一写一夜韶姿著水光谢家春草满池塘、以春草写村景；一为晏殊之温润、一为雷震之明快，并读正可见诗写「田园感怀」的两种笔法，皆于田园之中见感怀。

 山园小梅 Little Plum Trees in the Mountain Garden (Shan Yuan Xiao Mei) 林逋 · 同写田园清雅、以物寄情，一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、一写轻把花枝嗅宿香，皆于田园之中见清雅 Both find elegance in a small garden — one through sparse plum shadows, one through springs and flower branches

Lin Bu fixes one picture: sparse shadows, hidden fragrance, the dusk moon. Lei Zhen moves through a morning of actions — probing, smelling, watching — elegance as activity rather than image. The same Song purity, one as a hanging scroll, one as a walk.

林逋《山园小梅》「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」，写梅之清雅、田园之趣，是宋诗咏物的绝唱；雷震《村晚》则以「细挑泉眼寻新脉，轻把花枝嗅宿香」「一夜韶姿著水光，谢家春草满池塘」写轻把花枝嗅宿香、韶姿水光。两诗同写田园清雅、以物寄情：一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、以梅写清雅，一写细挑泉眼寻新脉轻把花枝嗅宿香、以泉眼花枝写村趣；一为林逋之清逸、一为雷震之明快，并读正可见诗写「田园清雅」的两种笔法，皆于田园之中见清雅。