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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

晓出净慈寺送林子方

Farewell to Lin Zifang at Dawn from Jingci Temple

杨万里

Yang Wanli

写景Scenery 西湖West Lake 送别Farewell 夏日Theme

毕竟西湖六月中，风光不与四时同。
接天莲叶无穷碧，映日荷花别样红。

After all, it is mid-June by West Lake,
The scenery differs from all other seasons.
Green lotus leaves stretch to the sky, endlessly green;
Lotus blossoms, sunlit, are uniquely red.

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Meaning

The poet highlights the unique beauty of West Lake in June—boundless green lotus leaves and brilliant red flowers under the sun. Though a farewell poem, it focuses on vibrant scenery, conveying deep affection for both the friend and the lake.

到底是六月中的西湖，风光与别的季节截然不同。那连天接地的莲叶，碧绿得没有穷尽；映着朝阳的荷花，红得格外娇艳。诗人清晨从净慈寺出来送别友人林子方，眼中所见尽是西湖盛夏的明丽风光，全诗不着一字写离愁，而送别之情与祝福之意都融在这无边的碧色与别样的红艳之中。

Appreciation

The opening line 'After all' emphatically declares the uniqueness of June's West Lake. The next two lines paint vivid contrasting colors: endless green leaves against striking red flowers. The poem celebrates nature while subtly expressing reluctance to part, as the beautiful scene suggests the friend should stay or remember this place.

【白话串讲】 “接天莲叶无穷碧，映日荷花别样红”——杨万里清晨送朋友，看到西湖六月的荷花铺到天边。这是写西湖夏天最出名的一句，也是中国最火的“送别照”。【意象与手法】全诗仅四句而章法井然：前二句以议论领起，用「毕竟」「不与四时同」先声夺人，制造悬念；后二句以具体画面作答，由虚入实，先总后分。色彩运用尤工，「碧」与「红」互为映衬，「无穷」与「别样」层层加重语气，构图上「接天」「映日」一纵一横，铺开满湖荷花的盛大场面，具有很强的绘画美与色彩冲击力。末二句对仗工整而口语自然，是诚斋体以浅近语写大景致的典型笔法。【情感与主旨】此诗约作于宋孝宗淳熙十四年（1187）前后，杨万里在临安任职，清晨于西湖南岸净慈寺送别友人林子方赴闽中任职。诗人不写离别的感伤，而以西湖盛夏生机勃发的壮丽景色作结，于赞美湖山之中暗寓对友人前程的祝福与惜别之意，格调明朗开朗，是唐人送别诗哀怨一路之外的另一格。【名句点睛】「接天莲叶无穷碧，映日荷花别样红」为千古名句，常考其色彩对比、夸张与对仗手法；「毕竟」二字的先声夺人亦是考点。理解此诗宜抓住两点：一是以景结情、不写离愁而别情自见，二是诚斋体语言浅近、想象新奇的特色。

Background

This poem was written around 1187 during the Southern Song Dynasty, when Yang Wanli was serving in Lin'an (Hangzhou). He saw off his friend Lin Zifang at Jingci Temple on the shore of West Lake at dawn. Lin Zifang was taking up a post in Fuzhou. The poet used the summer scenery of West Lake to bid farewell, subtly expressing his wish for his friend to stay or to remember this place.

杨万里（1127—1206），字廷秀，号诚斋，吉州吉水（今江西吉安）人，南宋中兴四大诗人之一，诗创「诚斋体」，以活泼自然、妙趣横生著称。此诗约作于宋孝宗淳熙十四年（1187）前后，时杨万里在临安（今杭州）任职，友人林子方自直阁秘书外任福州提举，诗人清晨于西湖南岸南屏山麓的净慈寺送别。净慈寺为临安名刹，清晨湖上莲叶田田、荷花映日，触目皆是盛夏的明丽，诗人遂以眼前实景写成此诗。全诗以极度肯定的语气盛赞六月西湖的独特风光，却不直说惜别，而是把送别之情融入对湖山景物的赞美之中，暗寓对友人此去前程似锦的祝福。此时杨万里年近六旬，历经宦海浮沉，诗风已臻圆熟，此诗正是其即景成趣、以俗为雅诗学主张的生动实践，也是宋代送别诗中别开生面的一首。诗中「毕竟」二字含对西湖的深情回护，也透出诗人对江南风物的挚爱；后世将其置于诚斋体创作脉络中考察，可知此诗写于诗人诗风成熟期，其取景之明快、语言之浅近，正是多年「诚斋体」锤炼的结果，故能于寻常送别中翻出满湖生机的奇景。

Art

Though only four lines, the poem is well-structured. The first two lines begin with a discussion, using 'After all' and 'different from all seasons' to create suspense. The last two lines answer with specific imagery, moving from abstract to concrete. The use of color is masterful—'green' and 'red' contrast, while 'endless' and 'unique' enhance the vividness, creating a strong pictorial and musical effect.

全诗四句二十八字，章法上先议后写、先虚后实。前二句「毕竟西湖六月中，风光不与四时同」以议论领起，「毕竟」二字如口语直陈，语气斩钉截铁，先声夺人地宣告六月西湖之特异，设下悬念；后二句「接天莲叶无穷碧，映日荷花别样红」以具体画面作答，由抽象判断落到可视可感的实景。句法上「接天」「映日」对举，一写空间的纵向铺展，一写光线的横向投射，纵横交织；「无穷碧」与「别样红」以色彩对仗，碧红相映，浓丽夺目。以「无穷」写绿之无际，以「别样」写红之特出，口语化的虚词、形容词入诗而意象新鲜，全不用典故雕琢，纯以画面与色彩取胜，把西湖盛夏的壮观写得元气淋漓。末句「映日」暗写朝日初升，与诗题「晓出」呼应，纪时入景，针脚细密，可见诚斋体粗中有细处。全诗前后两联之间形成问答关系，前句断言「风光不与四时同」，后句以画面作答，句句相承，一气呵成；又以「毕竟」「别样」等虚词、口语贯串，读来如行云流水，不见斧凿痕迹，而章法之严、设色之工俱在其中，正是以极平易之语写极壮大之景的典范。

Allusions

Jingci Temple is a famous temple at the foot of Nanping Hill. The 'lotus leaves' and 'lotus flowers' evoke the tradition of using fragrant plants to symbolize purity, as in Qu Yuan's 'Li Sao.' Though not obscure, the poem continues the tradition of expressing ideals through natural objects in a fresh and natural way.

此诗几乎不用事典，其妙在以眼前实景承继传统意象而自出机杼。「净慈寺」为西湖南岸南屏山麓古刹，创建于五代后周，宋时香火极盛，诗人以寺名入题点明送别之地；「莲叶」「荷花」则遥承《离骚》「制芰荷以为衣兮，集芙蓉以为裳」以荷喻高洁的香草传统，荷花出淤泥而不染，向为清正品格的象征，此处写其「无穷碧」「别样红」，亦隐含对友人品行与前途的期许。「接天」为夸张之辞，以莲叶铺至天际极写荷塘之广，这种以极语写极景的手法在民歌与李白诗中多见。「毕竟」「别样」均为当时口语，宋人「以俗为雅」的诗学主张于此可见。全诗不用典而自有典外之意，正是诚斋体「活法」的真谛，也说明好的写景诗不必依赖典故，直写眼前生机即是好诗。此外「莲叶」「荷花」又是江南水乡的天然风物，诗人以白描直写，不假雕饰，正见宋诗「即事即景」的写实精神；「接天」的夸张与「映日」的光感，又暗合佛寺晨钟、晓日初升的净慈寺环境，寺与景、光与色浑然一体，是题赠诗与环境书写结合的佳例。

Commentary

This poem is praised for 'poetry with painting.' Later critics note that Yang Wanli's 'Chengzhai style' is lively and natural. Although an early work, it already shows his skill in capturing vivid impressions and bright colors, carrying on Wang Wei's tradition of 'painting in poetry,' and is a classic among West Lake poems.

此诗为咏西湖的千古名篇，与苏轼《饮湖上初晴后雨》并称西湖诗的双璧：苏诗以「淡妆浓抹总相宜」写西湖晴雨皆宜的神韵，杨诗以「接天莲叶无穷碧，映日荷花别样红」写盛夏荷景的壮观，一重神韵一重气象，各极其妙。钱锺书《宋诗选注》论杨万里诗「努力要跟事物重新建立嫡亲母子的关系」，此诗正是以目光直接拥抱景物、不用典故作中介的典范。历代评家多以「清新」「活泼」「妙趣」许诚斋体，此诗看似信口道出，实则章法、对仗、设色俱极讲究，是「绚烂之极归于平淡」的例证。因其语言浅近、画面明丽，此诗长期入选各类教材，成为小学生接触宋诗、认识西湖的入门名篇，其「以景结情」的手法也成为送别诗教学的经典范例。自南宋以来，此诗即与「西湖十景」的审美传统相融，历代题咏西湖者多引「接天莲叶」之句；今人论宋诗，亦常以「诚斋体的典范」「以景结情的送别名篇」许之，其在文学史与教育史上的双重地位，正说明一首小诗可以兼具艺术价值与普及价值，是研究宋代送别诗与西湖文学的必备文本。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (qiyan jueju)七言绝句

Rhyme Lines 1 and 4 rhyme (tóng, hóng) in Level Tone East rhyme (一东)押平声东韵（一东）：同、红，首句入韵。

Tone pattern First line enters rhyme; level tone starting pattern; lines 3 and 4 are a parallel couplet平起首句入韵式；三四句「接天莲叶无穷碧，映日荷花别样红」为工整对仗。

Reading note A representative work of Yang Wanli's 'Chengzhai style,' using simple language but novel imagery and striking color contrast, a timeless masterpiece on West Lake.此诗为七言绝句，首句入韵，押平水韵上平一东（同、红）。中古平仄：毕竟西湖六月中为仄仄平平仄仄平，风光不与四时同为平平仄仄仄平平，接天莲叶无穷碧为仄平平仄平平仄（接、叶、碧皆入声），映日荷花别样红为仄仄平平仄仄平（日、别为入声），全诗合律。三四句「接天莲叶」与「映日荷花」名词相对、「无穷碧」与「别样红」偏正相对，属工对，而以俗语出之不觉雕琢，是宋人「以俗为雅」在格律中的体现。七绝篇幅短小，本以含蓄见长，此诗却以直陈与铺张取胜，先议后写、以虚领实，可见绝句章法并非定于一格。声调上「毕竟」「别样」等口语词入律而不拗口，读来明快流畅，正与全诗明朗热烈的意境相配，是诚斋体七绝的代表作。

Line by line

毕竟西湖六月中，

After all, in the West Lake's sixth month,

到底是六月中的西湖，风光与别的季节截然不同

After all, the West Lake in its sixth month, its scenery is unlike other seasons.

「毕竟」二字是全诗起势的关键，以口语化的副词直陈胸臆，语气斩钉截铁，仿佛与人争辩，先声夺人。六月本是西湖最盛之时，诗人开篇便以不容置疑的口吻宣示此时西湖的独一无二，既为下文写景蓄足气势，也把读者从「送别」的惯常期待中引向对湖光山色的注视。此句以议论起而不用形象，却因语气的恳切而格外有力，正如评家所谓「起手即顿住」，为一首七绝定下高亢明快的基调，也是诚斋体以俗语入诗、以意胜而不以辞胜的显例。

The after-all two words are the whole poem's opening momentum key, using the colloquial adverb for the direct utterance, the tone decisive, as if arguing with a person, the sound's leading. The sixth month originally the West Lake's peak season, the poet's opening's already in the indisputable tone declaring this moment's West Lake's uniqueness, at once storing the force for the below's scene, and leading the reader from the farewell's usual expectation's toward the lake-and-hill's gaze. This line using the argument's opening and no image, and yet because of the tone's earnest's especially forceful, precisely the critic's hand's-at-once's-stop, establishing a seven-character-quatrain's high-and-bright tone, and the Chengzhai-style's colloquial-into-poem and meaning-triumph-not-word-triumph's clear example.

风光不与四时同。

the scenery is not as in other seasons.

六月西湖的风光与其他季节截然不同

Its light and color are not as in the other four seasons.

此句承接上句，进一步申说六月西湖的独特，「不与四时同」以否定句式把春、秋、冬三季的风光一并排除，反衬出盛夏西湖的压倒性优势。表面看是泛泛的断言，实则暗含比较：春日西湖有烟柳画桥，秋日有平湖秋月，冬日有断桥残雪，而六月则有接天莲叶、映日荷花，是色彩最浓、生机最盛的一季。两句议论为后二句的实景铺陈埋下伏笔，读者正期待「不同」究竟何在，诗人便以满湖荷花的画面作答，虚实相生，先总后分，章法极整饬。

This line inheriting the above, further expounding the sixth-month West Lake's uniqueness, the not-as-in-other-seasons using the negative sentence for the spring-autumn-winter three seasons' scenery's together-exclusion, setting off the midsummer West Lake's overwhelming advantage. The surface's the broad assertion, and yet actually carrying the comparison: the spring West Lake's mist-willows-and-painted-bridges, the autumn's level-lake-and-autumn-moon, the winter's broken-bridge-and-remnant-snow, and the sixth month's sky-reaching-lotus-leaves and sun-reflecting-lotus-flowers, the color's richest and vitality's fullest season. Two lines' argument's storing the ground for the below two lines' real scene layering, the reader's right expecting the difference's where, the poet's then on the lake-full-lotus picture's answering, the void-and-solid's mutual birth, the total-first-and-detail-after, the craft's extreme order.

接天莲叶无穷碧，

The lotus leaves reach the sky in boundless green,

那连天接地的莲叶，碧绿得没有穷尽

The lotus leaves, reaching the sky, are green without end.

此句写荷叶，以「接天」极言其广，莲叶铺满湖面，一直伸展到天边，仿佛与云天相接；「无穷碧」三字把绿色的浓、深、远、盛一笔写足。诗人不写荷叶的形状，只写其色彩与空间，以大笔泼墨的方式铺开一片碧绿的汪洋，境界极其开阔。与下句「映日荷花别样红」对照，碧与红、叶与花、广与艳两两相对，构成盛夏荷塘最鲜明的色彩交响。此句的「接天」虽有夸张，却正合六月西湖莲叶满湖的实际景象，是诚斋体「写生」手法的体现，读来如见其景。

This line writes the lotus leaves, using the sky-reaching's extreme of the breadth, the leaves' covering the lake, stretching to the sky's edge, as if meeting the clouded heaven; the boundless-green three words' the green's richness, depth, distance, abundance's one-stroke's completion. The poet's not writing the leaves' shape, and yet writing its color-and-space, using the broad-brush splash-ink method's unrolling a green ocean, the realm's extremely open. With the below's sun-reflecting-lotus-flowers-red-beyond-compare's contrast, the green-and-red, leaves-and-flowers, breadth-and-brightness's two-two opposition, forming the midsummer lotus-pond's sharpest color symphony. This line's sky-reaching's though exaggerated, and yet precisely matching the sixth-month West Lake's lake-full-leaves real scene, the Chengzhai-style's life-painting method's embodiment, reading it's like seeing the scene.

映日荷花别样红。

The lotus flowers in the sun are red beyond compare.

映着朝阳的荷花，红得格外娇艳

The lotus flowers in the sunlight are red beyond compare.

此句写荷花，是全诗的点睛之笔。「映日」点明清晨朝阳初升之时，日光斜照荷花，花色在阳光下格外明艳；「别样红」以口语「别样」（意为格外、不同寻常）写这种红非同一般，是日光、朝露与荷花共同成就的鲜红。与「无穷碧」相对，「别样红」以一「红」字收束全诗，色彩由碧入红，热烈明快，把六月西湖的生命力推到顶点。诗人清晨送别友人，眼中却只有这满湖的明艳，正见其胸襟之开阔、心境之明朗，不写离愁而惜别与祝福之意尽在不言之中，是「以景结情」的典范。

This line writes the lotus flowers, the whole poem's telling stroke. The sun-reflecting pointing out the morning's rising sun time, the sunlight's oblique on the flowers, the flower color's in the sun's extra bright; the red-beyond-compare using the colloquial bieyang (meaning the extraordinary) for this red's uncommon, the sunlight, morning-dew, and lotus's joint achievement's bright red. With the boundless-green's opposition, the red-beyond-compare using the one hong word for the whole poem's close, the color's from green into red, the warm-and-bright, pushing the sixth-month West Lake's vitality to the peak. The poet's early-morning friend-seeing-off, the eyes' and yet only this lake-full brightness, precisely seeing his breast's openness and mind's brightness, not writing the parting grief and yet the farewell-and-blessing meaning's all within the unsaid, the scene-close-feeling model.

Study

Word focus

毕竟 after all; emphatically 「毕竟」本为口语副词，意为「到底、终究」，诗人置于篇首，以不容置疑的口吻直陈六月西湖之特异，先声夺人，为全诗定下高亢明快的基调。此词之妙有三：一是以议论起笔却不显枯涩，反因语气恳切而生动；二是「毕竟」暗含排除一切异说的决断，与下句「不与四时同」呼应，逻辑严密；三是口语入诗，正是诚斋体「以俗为雅」的标志，显示宋诗散文化、议论化的时代风气。仅二字便见诗人驾驭语言的功力，是炼虚词而得力的范例。

接天 reaching the sky; stretching to the horizon 「接天」以夸张写莲叶铺展之广，荷叶层层叠叠、一望无际，仿佛一直连接到天边，把「无穷碧」的空间感落到实处。此词取景之妙在于视角：诗人立于湖畔远眺，满湖莲叶与远天相接，视野尽处绿天难分，故「接天」既是写实的大远景，又是想象的极语。与下句「映日」一纵一横，一写叶之广一写花之艳，构成空间与光线的双重铺展，境界开阔，气势奔放。后人写荷塘每称「接天莲叶」，正由杨万里此句而来，足见其造语之深入人心。

别样 different; unique; exceptional 「别样」为宋代口语，意为「格外、非同寻常」，诗人以之写荷花因映日而红得特别，比「十分红」「分外红」更添亲切新鲜的意味。此词之妙在于把抽象的程度副词具象化：荷花之红本是寻常，一旦「映日」，便红得异乎寻常，仿佛换了另一种颜色，故曰「别样」。口语入诗而意象新奇，正是诚斋体「活法」的体现，也暗含诗人对西湖六月风光的由衷赞叹。此二字与「无穷」相对，一写碧之无际，一写红之特出，虚词实写，功力毕现。