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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

王安石·明妃曲

Song of Mingfei

王安石

Wang Anshi

咏史historical 感慨reflection

明妃曲明妃初出汉宫时，泪湿春风鬓脚垂。
低徊顾影无颜色，尚得君王不自持。
归来却怪丹青手，入眼平生几曾有。
意态由来画不成，当时枉杀毛延寿。
一去心知更不归，可怜着尽汉宫衣。
寄声欲问塞南事，只有年年鸿雁飞。
家人万里传消息，好在毡城莫相忆。
君不见咫尺长门闭阿娇，人生失意无南北。

When Mingfei first left the Han palace, tears wet her spring-like face, her temples drooping.
Lingering, she turned to her shadow, colourless, yet still the king could not master himself.
Returning, he blamed the painter's hand—such beauty before his eyes, had he ever seen in life?
But a beauty's bearing was never to be painted; then, vainly he killed Mao Yanshou.
Once gone she knew she would never return; pitiful, she wore out her Han-palace clothes.
She sent word to ask of the south-of-the-pass affairs; only the year-by-year wild geese fly.
Her family from ten thousand li sent news: 'Well you are in the felt city, do not think of us.'
Do you not see, close by, the Long Gate locks A Jiao—life's disappointment knows no north or south.

Listen

Meaning

When Mingfei first left the Han palace, tears wet her spring-like face and her hair hung down. Lingering, turning to her shadow, she lost her colour, yet still made the king unable to control himself. Returning, he blamed the painter's hand, saying such beauty before his eyes—when had he ever seen in his life? Yet a beauty's bearing can never be painted; then he vainly killed Mao Yanshou. Once gone she knew she would not return; pitifully she wore out her Han-palace garments. She sent word wishing to ask of the south-of-the-pass affairs; only year by year the wild geese fly. Her family from ten thousand li sent word: 'It is well in the felt city, do not remember us.' Do you not see, close at hand, the Long Gate imprisons A Jiao—life's disappointment knows no north or south.

明妃初离汉宫时，泪湿了春风般的面庞、鬓发低垂。徘徊顾影、黯然失色，尚且让君王不能自持。归来后却怪罪画工，说入眼的美人平生几曾有过。可知意态本就画不出来，当时白白杀了毛延寿。一去便知再不归来，可怜她穿尽了汉宫的旧衣。托人传语想问塞南的消息，只有年年飞过的鸿雁。家人从万里外传来消息，说在毡城安好莫相忆。你不见咫尺长门闭锁的阿娇，人生失意哪里分南北。

Appreciation

This poem is Wang Anshi's famous historical work, likely written in the Jia You years of Emperor Renzong. Since Jin's Shi Chong 'Lament for Wang Mingjun', poems on Mingfei mostly blamed the painter Mao Yanshou and pitied her far marriage. Wang Anshi alone overturns the old case, pointing out 'a beauty's bearing was never to be painted', the guilt lying in the king's failure to know, and extends to the universal lament 'life's disappointment knows no north or south'. Then Anshi was just pressing his career; borrowing the past to satirize the present, he darkly held a deep worry about buried talent and the prince-minister mismatch, also showing his independent sharpness before the reforms.

【白话串讲】王安石写王昭君出塞：“意态由来画不成，当时枉杀毛延寿”——她的神韵，画师根本画不出来，毛延寿是被冤枉杀的。“一去心知更不归，可怜着尽汉宫衣”——她带着汉衣出塞，穿破了也不换。王安石借昭君，写人才被埋没的悲哀。【意象与手法】全诗八句四换韵，章法如行云流水。前四句写昭君出宫之美与君之失态；中四句翻案，以“意态画不成”驳画工之诬【情感与主旨】此诗为王安石咏史名作，约作于宋仁宗嘉祐间。自晋石崇《王明君辞》以来，咏昭君多归咎画工毛延寿、悲其远嫁【名句点睛】考点：一、“意态由来画不成，当时枉杀毛延寿”的翻案之妙；二、“人生失意无南北”的深层主旨

Background

《明妃曲》为北宋诗人王安石所作。王安石（1021—1086），字介甫，号半山，抚州临川人，北宋政治家、文学家，“唐宋八大家”之一。此诗写王昭君（明妃）出塞之悲与人生失意之慨：明妃初出汉宫时，泪湿春风鬓脚垂；低徊顾影无颜色，尚得君王不自持；归来却怪丹青手，入眼平生几曾有；意态由来画不成，当时枉杀毛延寿；一去心知更不归，可怜着尽汉宫衣；寄声欲问塞南事，只有年年鸿雁飞；家人万里传消息，好在毡城莫相忆；君不见咫尺长门闭阿娇，人生失意无南北。全诗以明妃写人生失意，是王安石咏史的名篇。

Art

The whole eight lines shift rhyme four times, the composition like flowing clouds and water. The first four lines write Mingfei's beauty leaving the palace and the king's loss of composure; the middle four overturn the case, with 'a beauty's bearing was never to be painted' refuting the painter's slander; the last four write the grief of leaving state and longing for home, closing with A Jiao's Long Gate and 'disappointment knows no north or south', the realm suddenly rising. Making argument into poetry yet unexhausted in feeling, the bone is strong, the language carries a cutting edge, fully showing Jinggong's 'lean and hard, spirit-clear' brush, sweeping away the Tang habit of lament.

《明妃曲》艺术上以咏史翻案与人生失意的感慨见长。全诗十六句，层层写来：前四句写明妃之美——“明妃初出汉宫时，泪湿春风鬓脚垂”写其出宫之悲，“低徊顾影无颜色，尚得君王不自持”写其美动君王；中四句写画工之冤——“归来却怪丹青手，入眼平生几曾有”写君王怪画工，“意态由来画不成，当时枉杀毛延寿”写明妃意态画不成、毛延寿被杀之冤；后八句写塞外之悲与失意之慨——“一去心知更不归，可怜着尽汉宫衣”写其思汉，“寄声欲问塞南事，只有年年鸿雁飞”写其问讯无由，“家人万里传消息，好在毡城莫相忆”写家人之慰，“君不见咫尺长门闭阿娇，人生失意无南北”写人生失意无南北。全诗以明妃写人生失意，咏史翻案而感慨深沉，正是王安石“咏史翻案”的风格。

Allusions

'The painter's hand' refers to the painter Mao Yanshou; according to the Western Capital Miscellany he took bribes and refused, so uglyfied Mingfei, causing her far marriage, and later Emperor Yuan killed him; 'the Long Gate locks A Jiao' uses the matter of Empress Chen fallen from favour and confined to Long Gate, from the preface to the 'Long Gate Fu'. Both allusions are familiar matters, yet Wang Anshi draws a new interpretation: not blaming Mao Yanshou but the king's failure to know true beauty, and using A Jiao's disappointment to prove 'no north or south'—the wit of the overturn is first among Song poetry.

《明妃曲》用典在“长门闭阿娇”。“长门闭阿娇”用汉武帝陈皇后（阿娇）失宠幽居长门宫之典，写帝王宠衰之无常；“毛延寿”用画工毛延寿点画误美之典（相传毛延寿因未受贿而点破昭君画像），写画工误人；“毡城”写匈奴毡帐之城，写明妃所居。全诗以这些典故写人生失意：阿娇失宠于长门，明妃远嫁于毡城，皆帝王之宠衰、人生之失意。以“人生失意无南北”收束，正是王安石咏史翻案的精髓——失意不分南北，皆人生之常。

Commentary

Bai Juyi and Du Fu, in their Mingfei poems, both pitied the far marriage; with Jinggong it changed. Yan Yu's Cang Lang Poems, though he mocked Song poetry for 'making argument into poetry', this piece holds feeling within argument, a school of its own. Modern readers call it 'overturning a thousand-year case, the argument stands like a mountain'; passed on with its second 'Mingfei' poem, it opened the predecessors of Song overturning-verse.

《明妃曲》是王安石咏史翻案的名篇，也是其咏史之作的代表作。此诗写明妃出塞之悲而翻“画工误人”之案，向为论者称道。论者多赏其“意态由来画不成，当时枉杀毛延寿”的翻案——写明妃之美在意态而非画可传，毛延寿之杀为枉，翻历史旧案；“君不见咫尺长门闭阿娇，人生失意无南北”写人生失意，更见感慨。王安石咏史多翻案，此诗正是其代表——以“人生失意无南北”写人生失意之普遍，超越了传统的昭君怨，正是其史识的体现。

Prosody

Form Seven-character ancient poem (yuefu-style historical)七言古诗

Rhyme Level and oblique rhyme alternate, four lines shift rhyme (zhi/you/wei/zhi etc.), by ancient-style rule《明妃曲》为七言古诗，十六句，押平声韵。此诗用韵：时、垂、持（支部）、有、寿（有部）、归、衣、飞（微部）、忆、北（职部），随段落转韵，音节流转。七言古诗句式舒展，宜于写咏史叙事。

Tone pattern Not bound by regulated rules; length and breath flow with the argument七言古诗以音节流转、气势沉郁见长。此诗前四句写明妃之美，音节低回，如泪湿春风；中四句写画工之冤，音节顿挫，如翻案之论；后八句写塞外之悲与失意之慨，音节沉郁，如鸿雁南飞。全诗随段落转韵，声调与咏史翻案的内容相合，是七言古诗中咏史翻案的一路。

Reading note Learns Tang seven-character song-line yet with Song argument; bone lean and hard, a representative of Jinggong's seven-character ancient.《明妃曲》为七言古诗，是王安石咏史翻案的名篇。此诗写明妃出塞之悲而翻“画工误人”之案：泪湿春风写明妃之美，意态画不成翻毛延寿之冤，着尽汉宫衣写其思汉，人生失意无南北写失意之普遍。全诗咏史翻案而感慨深沉，正是王安石咏史之作的代表，也是其史识与诗才的体现。

Line by line

明妃初出汉宫时，泪湿春风鬓脚垂。低徊顾影无颜色，尚得君王不自持。

When Bright Consort first left the Han palace, tears wet her spring face, her locks hanging low. Lingering, gazing at her shadow, colorless, yet still she moved the lord beyond himself.

明妃初出汉宫之时，泪湿了如春的面庞，鬓脚低垂。她低徊顾影、黯然无色，尚且使君王不能自持。

When Bright Consort first left the Han palace, tears wet her spring face, her temples hanging low. Lingering and gazing at her shadow, her face pale, yet she still made the emperor lose his composure.

前四句写明妃之美与出宫之悲。“明妃初出汉宫时”写其出宫——“初出汉宫”点出昭君出塞之始；“泪湿春风鬓脚垂”写其悲容——“泪湿春风”写泪湿如春之面，“鬓脚垂”写鬓发低垂；“低徊顾影无颜色，尚得君王不自持”写其美动君王——“低徊顾影”写其徘徊顾影，“无颜色”写其黯然失色，而“尚得君王不自持”写即便如此，尚且使君王不能自持。四句写昭君之美：泪湿春风、低徊顾影，虽悲而美不可掩；尚得君王不自持，正见其美之动人。以“泪湿春风”写其悲，以“不自持”写其美，正是王安石写明妃之美的笔法——美到君王见之而不能自持。

The first four lines write Bright Consort's beauty and the palace-exit grief. The bright-consort-first-left-the-Han-palace writing her palace exit; the tears-wet-her-spring-face-her-temples-hanging-low writing the grief face; lingering-and-gazing-at-her-shadow-her-face-pale-yet-she-still-made-the-emperor-lose-his-composure writing her beauty's moving the lord. Four lines writing Zhaojun's beauty: the tear-wet spring face, the lingering shadow, though grief-stricken and yet the beauty's unmasked; still the emperor's loss of composure, precisely seeing her beauty's moving. Using the tear-wet-spring-face for the grief and the lose-his-composure for the beauty, precisely Wang Anshi's Bright-Consort-beauty brush — the beauty to the lord's seeing and the composure's loss.

归来却怪丹青手，入眼平生几曾有。意态由来画不成，当时枉杀毛延寿。

Returning, he blamed the painter; such a beauty had never met his eyes in all his life. The living bearing can never be painted; in vain was Mao Yanshou killed.

归来却怪罪画工，这样入眼的美人平生几曾有过。意态从来是画不成的，当时毛延寿是枉被杀。

On his return he blamed the painter; such a beauty had never met his eyes before. Her living air can never be painted; in vain was Mao Yanshou killed that day.

中四句写画工之冤，是全诗翻案的关键。“归来却怪丹青手”写君王怪画工——“归来”写其见明妃后归来，“却怪丹青手”写怪罪画工；“入眼平生几曾有”写美之罕见——“入眼平生”写平生所见，“几曾有”写几曾有过；“意态由来画不成，当时枉杀毛延寿”写明妃意态画不成——“意态由来画不成”写其意态从来画不成，“当时枉杀毛延寿”写毛延寿被枉杀。四句写王安石对昭君故事的翻案：君王怪画工画不似，而实则明妃之美在意态，画工如何画得成？毛延寿之杀，实为枉杀。以“意态由来画不成”翻“画工误人”之案，正是王安石咏史翻案的精髓——不是画工误了明妃，而是意态画不成，毛延寿之死实冤。

The middle four lines write the painter's injustice, the whole poem's reversal key. The returning-he-blamed-the-painter writing the lord's blaming the painter; such-a-beauty-had-never-met-his-eyes-before writing the rarity; the living-air-can-never-be-painted-in-vain-was-Mao-Yanshou-killed-that-day writing the unpaintable air and the wrongful killing. Four lines writing Wang Anshi's Zhaojun-story reversal: the lord's blaming the painter's unlikeness, and yet actually Bright Consort's beauty's in the bearing, how could the painter paint it? Mao Yanshou's killing, actually the wrongful killing. Using the living-air-can-never-be-painted's reversing the painter-wronged-the-beauty case, precisely Wang Anshi's history-ode-reversal essence — not the painter's wronging Zhaojun, and yet the bearing's unpaintable, Mao Yanshou's death actually wrong.

一去心知更不归，可怜着尽汉宫衣。寄声欲问塞南事，只有年年鸿雁飞。

Gone once, she knew she would not return; pitifully she wore through all her Han palace robes. Sending word to ask of the south of the frontier, there were only the annual flying geese.

一去就知道再不能归，可怜她把汉宫的衣裳都穿尽。寄声想问塞南之事，只有年年鸿雁南飞。

Once gone, she knew she would never return; pitifully she wore through all her Han palace robes. Wishing to send word of the south of the frontier, there were only the annual south-flying geese.

此四句写塞外之悲与思汉之情。“一去心知更不归”写其知不归——“一去”写其一去，“心知更不归”写心知再不能归；“可怜着尽汉宫衣”写其思汉——“着尽汉宫衣”写把汉宫的衣裳穿尽，见其思汉之深；“寄声欲问塞南事，只有年年鸿雁飞”写问讯无由——“寄声欲问”写寄声欲问中原之事，“只有年年鸿雁飞”写只有年年鸿雁南飞，而讯问无由。四句写昭君塞外之悲：明知不归而思汉不已，着尽汉宫衣写其衣汉衣以寄思；欲问塞南而无由，惟见鸿雁南飞。以“着尽汉宫衣”写思汉之深，以“鸿雁飞”写讯问之无由，正是王安石写明妃思汉的笔法。

These four lines write the frontier grief and the Han-longing. The gone-once-she-knew-she-would-not-return writing the known no-return; pitifully-she-wore-through-all-her-Han-palace-robes writing the Han-longing; sending-word-to-ask-of-the-south-of-the-frontier-there-were-only-the-annual-south-flying-geese writing the no-news. Four lines writing Zhaojun's frontier grief: the known no-return and yet the Han-longing unceasing, the wearing-through-Han-robes for the Han-longing; the wish-to-ask-the-south and yet the no-way, only the south-flying geese. Using the wore-through-Han-robes for the longing's depth, and the flying-geese for the news' no-way, precisely Wang Anshi's Bright-Consort-Han-longing brush.

家人万里传消息，好在毡城莫相忆。君不见咫尺长门闭阿娇，人生失意无南北。

Her family sent news from ten thousand li: fare well in the felt city, think not of us. Do you not see, within a stone's throw, Changan Gate holds Aojiao captive? In life, frustration knows no north or south.

家人万里传来消息，说好在毡城，莫要相忆。君不见咫尺之遥的长门宫中幽闭着阿娇，人生失意，不分南北。

Her family sent news from ten thousand li: fare well in the felt city, do not think of us. Do you not see, a stone's throw away, the Long Gate palace holds Aojiao captive? In life, frustration knows no north or south.

末四句写人生失意之慨，是全诗的归结与升华。“家人万里传消息，好在毡城莫相忆”写家人之慰——“万里传消息”写家人从万里传来消息，“好在毡城莫相忆”写慰其好在毡城、莫要相忆；“君不见咫尺长门闭阿娇，人生失意无南北”写失意之慨——“咫尺长门闭阿娇”用陈皇后幽居长门之典，“人生失意无南北”写人生失意不分南北。四句由家人之慰写到失意之慨：家人慰其莫相忆，而诗人更进一层——你看阿娇近在长门亦失宠，人生失意本不分南北。以“人生失意无南北”收束，写失意之普遍：明妃失意于北，阿娇失意于南，皆人生之常。这一升华，正是王安石咏史翻案的精髓——超越了传统的昭君怨，写人生失意之普遍。

The last four lines write the life's-frustration sigh, the whole poem's close and sublimation. Her-family-sent-news-from-ten-thousand-li-fare-well-in-the-felt-city-do-not-think-of-us writing the family's comfort; do-you-not-see-a-stone's-throw-away-the-Long-Gate-palace-holds-Aojiao-captive-in-life-frustration-knows-no-north-or-south writing the frustration sigh. Four lines from the family's comfort to the frustration sigh: the family's consoling the no-missing, and yet the poet's one layer further — see Aojiao's near-in-Changmen and yet the favor-lost, the life's frustration's originally no north-south. Closing on the life's-frustration-knows-no-north-or-south, writing the frustration's universality: Bright Consort's frustrated in the north, Aojiao's frustrated in the south, both the life's norm. This sublimation, precisely Wang Anshi's history-ode-reversal essence — transcending the traditional Zhaojun grievance, writing the life's frustration's universality.

Study

Word focus

泪湿春风 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “泪湿春风鬓脚垂”之“泪湿春风”，写泪湿如春之面，是全诗写明妃悲容的关键词。“春风”以春写其面如春，亦出杜甫“画图省识春风面”写昭君之典；“泪湿春风”写泪水湿了如春的面庞。这一词以“春风”写其美、以“泪湿”写其悲，美与悲交织，正是王安石写明妃之美的笔法——面如春风而泪湿之。

不自持 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “尚得君王不自持”之“不自持”，写君王不能自持，是全诗写明妃之美极的关键词。“自持”写自我克制，“不自持”写不能自制——明妃之美，使君王见之而不能自持。这一词以君王之反应写明妃之美：不是直言其美，而是写君王不能自持，美之极至尽在其中。以“不自持”写美，正是王安石以侧写写明妃之美的笔法。

画不成 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “意态由来画不成”之“画不成”，写意态画不出来，是全诗翻案的关键词。“画不成”写画不出来——明妃之美在意态，画工如何画得成。这一词写昭君之美超乎画工之笔：不是画工不画，而是意态画不成。以“画不成”翻“画工误人”之案，正是王安石咏史翻案的精髓——毛延寿之杀实冤，因意态本画不成。

无南北 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “人生失意无南北”之“无南北”，写失意不分南北，是全诗归结的关键词。“无”写不分，“南北”写南方北方——人生失意，不分南北。这一词写失意之普遍：明妃失意于北（匈奴），阿娇失意于南（长门），皆人生之失意。以“无南北”写失意之普遍，正是王安石咏史翻案、超越传统昭君怨的升华——失意非地理之故，乃人生之常。