宋 Song · 诗 Poem
闲居初夏午睡起
Idle Life: Waking from a Nap on an Early Summer Day
梅子留酸软齿牙，芭蕉分绿与窗纱。
日长睡起无情思，闲看儿童捉柳花。
The banana tree shares its green with the window screen.
The long day, waking from a nap with no mood at all;
Idly I watch the children catching willow catkins.
Meaning
The poem captures the languid delight of early summer in retirement: the lingering tartness of plums, banana green on the window, and the poet idly watching children chase willow fluff after a noon nap.
梅子的酸味还留在齿牙间发软，芭蕉把绿色分给了窗纱。夏日天长，午睡醒来百无聊赖，闲看孩子们捕捉飘飞的柳花。
Appreciation
The first couplet renders the taste and sight peculiar to early summer — tart plums that soften the teeth, banana green spilling onto the window screen — with vivid, almost tactile precision. The second turns to the poet himself, wakeful and idle after a long noon nap, watching children catch drifting willow catkins. Through such trivial, everyday moments the poem finds a quiet vitality, typical of Yang Wanli's 'Chengzhai' manner. The final line, an 'idle watch' of child's play, distills the pleasure of ordinary life into something luminous and free.
【白话串讲】 “梅子留酸软齿牙，芭蕉分绿与窗纱”——杨万里写初夏午睡后：梅子酸软了牙齿。“日长睡起无情思，闲看儿童捉柳花”——他午睡起来，无事可做，看孩子们捉柳花。最治愈的闲情诗。 【意象与手法】 “分绿”拟人，写芭蕉映窗的鲜活；“留酸”通感写梅味之久；“闲看”二字点出诗人从容。 【情感与主旨】 写初夏闲居的悠然与对日常小景的赏爱，平淡清新，是杨万里“诚斋体”的代表。 【名句点睛】 “闲看儿童捉柳花”——以闲笔写童趣，于平淡中见生活之乐，诚斋体本色。
Background
Yang Wanli, known by his studio name Chengzhai, was one of the four great poets of the Southern Song, celebrated for a lively, natural style called the 'Chengzhai manner'. This poem records a small scene glimpsed right after a midday nap during early summer in retirement.
《闲居初夏午睡起》为宋代杨万里所作，是写初夏午睡、闲看儿童捉柳花的诗。杨万里（1127—1206），字廷秀，号诚斋，吉州吉水人，宋代诗人。此诗：梅子留酸软齿牙，芭蕉分绿与窗纱。日长睡起无情思，闲看儿童捉柳花。全诗写初夏午睡、闲看儿童捉柳花，是杨万里诗的名篇。
Art
A seven-character quatrain, it first gives sensory mini-scenes (tartness, green) then an idle watch of children at play. The language is plain yet brimming with life; the verb 'shares' in particular is remarkably alive.
《闲居初夏午睡起》艺术上以初夏之景的描摹与闲适之情的自然见长。全诗四句：首写梅子芭蕉——“梅子留酸软齿牙，芭蕉分绿与窗纱”写梅子留酸软齿牙、芭蕉分绿与窗纱；末写闲看儿童——“日长睡起无情思，闲看儿童捉柳花”写日长睡起无情思、闲看儿童捉柳花。全诗以初夏之景写闲适之情，正是杨万里诗自然的笔法。
Allusions
Willow catkins are willow seeds (fluff). The 'Chengzhai manner' names Yang Wanli's natural, spirited style adept at catching fleeting moments. 'No mood' means listless, lacking energy.
《闲居初夏午睡起》用典在“梅子留酸”“芭蕉分绿”“捉柳花”。“梅子留酸”写梅子留酸（初夏之味）；“芭蕉分绿”写芭蕉分绿（初夏之色）；“捉柳花”写儿童捉柳花（白居易“谁能更学孩童戏，寻逐春风捉柳花”之意）。全诗以这些意象写初夏午睡、闲适之情，用典自然而平易自见，正是杨万里诗的笔法。
Commentary
The 'Essence of Song Poetry' says this poem 'writes early summer as if one could smell and see it — a fine little Chengzhai quatrain'; the word 'shares' especially shows his delicate observation of things.
《闲居初夏午睡起》是杨万里诗的名篇，也是诚斋体中写闲适生活的代表作。此诗写初夏午睡、闲看儿童捉柳花，向为论者称道。论者多赏其初夏之景的描摹与闲适之情的自然——“梅子留酸软齿牙，芭蕉分绿与窗纱”写梅子留酸软齿牙、芭蕉分绿与窗纱，自然之极；“日长睡起无情思，闲看儿童捉柳花”写日长睡起无情思、闲看儿童捉柳花，更见其趣。杨万里为诚斋体开创者，其诗以自然活泼著称，此诗正是其代表——以初夏之景写闲适之情，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
梅子留酸软齿牙，芭蕉分绿与窗纱。
The plum's tartness lingers and softens the teeth; the banana shares its green with the window screen.
梅子留酸软齿牙，芭蕉分绿与窗纱。
The plum's sourness lingers on the teeth; the banana shares its green with the window gauze.
首写梅子留酸软齿牙、芭蕉分绿与窗纱，是全诗写初夏之景的起点。“梅子留酸软齿牙”写梅子留酸软齿牙——“梅子留酸软齿牙”写梅子的酸味留在齿间、酸软齿牙——梅子留酸软齿牙；“芭蕉分绿与窗纱”写芭蕉分绿与窗纱——“芭蕉分绿与窗纱”写芭蕉分出绿意映上窗纱——芭蕉分绿与窗纱。二句写梅子留酸软齿牙、芭蕉分绿与窗纱：梅子留酸软齿牙，芭蕉分绿与窗纱。以“梅子留酸软齿牙”写梅子初熟、酸留齿间，以“芭蕉分绿与窗纱”写芭蕉分绿、映满窗纱，正是杨万里诗写初夏之景的起点——梅酸蕉绿，初夏已至。
The opening writes the plum-sourness-lingers and banana-green-on-gauze, the whole poem's early-summer-scene start. The plum's-sourness-lingers-on-the-teeth writing the plum's acid's lingering in the teeth; the banana-shares-its-green-with-the-window-gauze writing the banana's green's reflected on the gauze. Two lines writing the sour plum and green banana: the acid on the teeth, the green on the gauze. Using the plum's early-ripeness for the acid's lingering, and the banana's green for the gauze's reflection, precisely Yang Wanli's early-summer-scene start — the plum acid, the banana green, early summer arrived.
日长睡起无情思，闲看儿童捉柳花。
The long day, waking from a nap with no mood; idly watching children catch willow catkins.
日长睡起无情思，闲看儿童捉柳花。
The long day's sleep done, no mood at all; idly I watch the children catch willow catkins.
末用捉柳花之意写日长睡起无情思、闲看儿童捉柳花，是全诗写闲适之情的归结。“日长睡起无情思”写日长睡起无情思——“日长睡起无情思”写天长睡起、无甚情思——日长睡起无情思；“闲看儿童捉柳花”用捉柳花之意写闲看儿童捉柳花——“闲看儿童捉柳花”用白居易捉柳花之意写闲看儿童追捉柳花——闲看儿童捉柳花。二句写日长睡起无情思、闲看儿童捉柳花：日长睡起无情思，闲看儿童捉柳花。以“日长睡起无情思”写天长睡起、无情无思，以“闲看儿童捉柳花”用捉柳花之意写闲看儿童捉柳、童趣盎然，正是杨万里诗写闲适之情的归结——睡起无情，闲看捉花。
The close uses the catch-the-catkins meaning for the long-day's-sleep-no-mood and idle-watch-children-catch-catkins, the whole poem's leisure-feeling close. The long-day's-sleep-done-no-mood-at-all writing the long day's waking and no mood; the idly-I-watch-the-children-catch-willow-catkins using Bai Juyi's catch-the-catkins meaning. Two lines writing the waking's listlessness and the children's play: no mood after sleep, idle watching the catch. Using the long-day's waking for the listlessness, and the catch-catkins allusion for the child's play, precisely Yang Wanli's leisure-feeling close — the waking's no mood, the idle watching the catch.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
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