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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

游园不值

A Visit to a Garden Denied

叶绍翁

Ye Shaoweng

写景Scenic 哲理Philosophical

应怜屐齿印苍苔，小扣柴扉久不开。
春色满园关不住，一枝红杏出墙来。

Perhaps the owner cherishes the moss, lest my clog prints leave marks,
I knock softly at the wicker gate, but no one opens for long.
The garden's spring scenery cannot be confined,
One branch of red apricot blossom reaches out over the wall.

Listen

Meaning

The poet visits a garden but fails to meet the owner. He speculates that the owner cherishes the moss and does not want footprints, so he knocks softly but no one answers. Just as he feels disappointed, he sees a branch of red apricot blossoms extending over the wall, revealing the vibrant spring inside. The poem shifts from disappointment to delight, capturing the unstoppable vitality of spring and a philosophical insight from a small incident.

大概是园主人爱惜苍苔，怕我的木屐踩出印痕，我轻轻叩打柴门却久久无人来开。满园的春色毕竟是关锁不住的，你看那一枝红杏已探出墙头，宣告着春天的生机。诗人由失望转为惊喜，于寻常游园小事中写出春意的蓬勃与哲理的盎然。

Appreciation

The poem uses delicate psychology and action in the first two lines to depict the courteous visit and the owner's presumed love for moss. The last two lines personify spring, granting it the power to break through barriers. The shift from disappointment to joy praises the uncontainable vitality of spring and implies that beautiful and new things will eventually break through obstacles. The famous couplet 'The garden's spring scenery cannot be confined; one branch of red apricot stretches out over the wall' vividly expresses a profound philosophy and is widely celebrated.

【白话串讲】叶绍翁去朋友家赏花，门没开，正失望时，忽然看见墙头伸出一枝红杏。“春色满园关不住，一枝红杏出墙来”——好风景，是挡不住的。【意象与手法】诗前抑后扬，章法巧妙。前两句铺垫「不值」的遗憾，用「应怜」「小扣」揣摩主人心理，细腻委婉；后两句陡然振起，以「关不住」之否定与「出墙来」之肯定形成张力。红杏一枝，以少总多，由墙内想见满园，虚实相生。【情感与主旨】叶绍翁为南宋中期诗人，属江湖诗派。此诗写春日游园访友不遇，具体年月难考。诗人即景生情，于不遇之中别有会心，是宋人「理趣」诗的典型之作。【名句点睛】常考「春色满园关不住，一枝红杏出墙来」的理趣与以少总多之法；「应怜」的揣度心理；红杏意象与宋人理趣诗的传承。

Background

Ye Shaoweng was a mid-Southern Song poet of the Jianghu School. This poem describes a spring outing to visit a friend but not meeting them. The exact date is unknown. The poet lived in seclusion near West Lake, and his poems often depict scenery with a fresh and leisurely style. This poem finds insight in the failed visit, typical of Song Dynasty's 'rational interest' poetry.

叶绍翁，生卒年不详，字嗣宗，号靖逸，处州龙泉人，南宋中期诗人，属江湖诗派。其长期隐居于杭州西湖一带，诗多写景咏物、清新闲适，有《靖逸小稿》传世。此诗写春日游园访友不遇，具体年月难考，然其创作情境可以想见：诗人乘兴访友，轻叩柴扉，久叩不开，怅然欲返之际，忽见一枝红杏探出墙头，满园春色由此想见，失望化为惊喜，遂成此二十八字。此诗即景生情，于不遇之中别有会心，将访友不遇的寻常小事点化成哲理的闪光，是宋人「理趣」诗的典型之作。宋代诗学重理趣而轻言理，主张于景物、人情中自然流露哲理，叶绍翁此诗正是「即景明理、理在趣中」的标本，与苏轼《题西林壁》、朱熹《春日》等宋诗理趣名篇同其旨趣。叶绍翁为江湖诗派中人，其诗学出于朱熹一脉，然不事道学语，专以清新灵巧见长，有《靖逸小稿》传世。江湖诗派诸人，多流落江湖、布衣终身，故其诗多写田园山水、羁旅行役，于小景之中见性灵。此诗写游园不值而别有会心，正是江湖诗人「于寻常处见奇趣」的典型。又此诗之「红杏出墙」，后世或引以喻婚外之情，实与原意无涉，原诗所写乃春色之不可禁锢、生机之不可掩藏，读者当辨其本义，不可望文生义。

Art

The poem skillfully uses a structure of depression then elation. The first two lines set up the disappointment of the failed visit with delicate speculation. The last two lines suddenly rise, using the negation 'cannot be confined' and affirmation 'stretches out' to create tension. The single branch of red apricot suggests the whole garden, employing the technique of using the part to imply the whole, blending reality and imagination.

诗前抑后扬，章法巧妙。前两句铺垫「不值」的遗憾：「应怜屐齿印苍苔」以揣测语写主人心理，谓园主人大约爱惜苍苔，怕木屐踩出印痕，是以「应怜」二字转念一想，把久叩不开的原因归于主人的爱惜，委婉而风趣；「小扣柴扉久不开」写叩门之态，「小扣」见访客温文有礼，「久不开」写等待之久的失望。后两句陡然振起：「春色满园关不住」以否定句写春色之不可禁锢，「一枝红杏出墙来」以肯定句写红杏之破墙而出，一收一放，张力顿生。红杏一枝，以少总多，由墙内一枝想见满园春色，虚实相生；「关不住」之「关」与「出墙来」之「出」，将春色拟人化，赋予其冲破樊篱的生命力，理趣盎然，成千古名句。又此诗章法之妙，在「抑扬」二字：前两句极力写「不值」之遗憾——应怜、小扣、久不开，层层铺垫，失望已极；后两句忽然振起——关不住、出墙来，柳暗花明，惊喜顿生。一抑一扬之间，读者的情绪随之一沉一浮，正得绝句「先蓄势而后发力」的三昧。且全诗以「小扣」之谦，写「出墙」之放，由温文之态写蓬勃之势，相反相成，正是「无理而妙」的又一证，亦见宋人绝句于章法上的精益求精。

Allusions

'Clog prints' alludes to the wooden clogs of Xie Lingyun of the Southern Dynasties, highlighting the poet's travel enthusiasm. 'Red apricot' has long been a symbol of early spring; Song Qi's famous line 'Red apricot branches burst with spring' set a precedent. Ye Shaoweng transforms this imagery, giving it the new idea of 'reaching over the wall,' personifying spring with the vitality to break barriers.

「屐齿」用南朝谢灵运所制木屐之意：谢灵运游山常着特制木屐，上山去前齿、下山去后齿，人称「谢公屐」，李白《梦游天姥吟留别》有「脚著谢公屐，身登青云梯」之句，此处借以点出诗人的游春之兴。「红杏」自古为报春之花，宋祁《玉楼春》「红杏枝头春意闹」已以红杏写春意之盛而擅名一时，叶绍翁此诗化用前人咏杏意象，而独出「出墙」之新意：宋祁以「闹」字写春意之喧腾，叶绍翁以「出」字写春意之冲破樊篱，将春色拟人化，赋予其不可禁锢的生命力。同写红杏，一闹一出，各极其妙，正见宋人善于在前人意象上翻新出奇、点铁成金的本领，用典而不见典，化古而能新。又「苍苔」意象，自来与幽人雅士相连，刘禹锡《陋室铭》「苔痕上阶绿」写陋室之幽，叶绍翁「屐齿印苍苔」写园门之静，皆以苔写无人之境、清幽之趣；「柴扉」亦为隐者之门的代称，王维《辋川闲居赠裴秀才迪》「倚杖柴门外，临风听暮蝉」即其例。叶绍翁以苍苔、柴扉写园主人之高洁，正承此一脉，而「应怜」二字又以揣测之辞写主人之心，正是「以物写人、以心度心」的妙笔，读之觉园主人之雅、访客之厚，皆在言外。

Commentary

This poem is famous for the phrase 'red apricot out of the wall.' Song poets valued philosophical interest, often using small scenes to convey principles. Ye Shaoweng transforms the regret of a failed visit into a praise of spring's vitality, and later generations frequently quote it to symbolize that beauty cannot be confined. Its influence is profound.

此诗以「春色满园关不住，一枝红杏出墙来」一联脍炙人口，千百年来传诵不衰。宋人尤重理趣，陆游、杨万里辈多以小景寓理，叶绍翁此作将访友不遇的遗憾化为对春生机的礼赞，正合宋诗「以趣言理」的审美取向。后世常引此联以喻美好事物不可禁锢、新生力量终将破土而出，如美好情感之难以掩藏、新生事物之不可阻挡，其含义已超出咏春，成为中国文化中「生机不可遏」的经典意象。清人论此诗，多赏其前抑后扬之章法与以少总多之笔法，近人更推为宋诗理趣的典范。由一首二十八字的小诗而成就一个千古名句、一个文化符号，正是「以少胜多」的极致，亦见江湖诗人于小景中见大义的功力。此诗历代传诵，选本多收，其「春色满园关不住，一枝红杏出墙来」一联，与王安石「春风又绿江南岸」之「绿」字、宋祁「红杏枝头春意闹」之「闹」字，并为宋人炼字炼意之典范，而叶诗更兼理趣，遂成「生机不可禁锢」的经典意象。近人论宋诗，多举此诗与苏轼《惠崇春江晚景》「春江水暖鸭先知」并观，谓一写春色之出墙、一写春水之先觉，皆以寻常之景写春之消息，正是宋人「即景见理」的极致，其影响及于今日，犹为人所乐道，为宋诗理趣的最高典范之一。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain七言绝句

Rhyme tai, kai, lai - rhymes in level tone, the 'hui' rhyme group (ten hui)苔、开、来，押平水韵上平十灰韵，首句入韵。

Tone pattern Level-tone opening with first line rhymed; the last two lines form a flowing couplet, natural and imbued with philosophical interest平起首句入韵式，平仄合律；后两句为流水对，自然流转而理趣自见。

Reading note Ye Shaoweng's masterpiece; the couplet combines philosophical insight with vivid imagery and is widely memorized.此诗为七言绝句，押平水韵上平十灰韵（苔、开、来），首句「苔」字入韵，一韵到底，韵脚开朗悠长，正合春日游园之明快心境。平仄上，全诗合律：「应怜屐齿印苍苔」为平平仄仄仄平平，「小扣柴扉久不开」为仄仄平平仄仄平，「春色满园关不住」为平仄仄平平仄仄，「一枝红杏出墙来」为仄平平仄仄平平，平仄相间，读来朗朗上口。章法上，前两句叙事铺垫，音节舒缓，如叩门之徐缓；后两句写景抒情，音节明快，如春色之奔涌，声情与辞情相凑。后两句「春色满园关不住，一枝红杏出墙来」虽非工对，而流水相承，一否一肯，自然流转，理趣自见，是绝句「以气运辞」的典范。全诗二十八字，韵律之明快、章法之抑扬、理趣之盎然浑然一体，为叶绍翁成名之作，亦是宋人七绝中「以小景寓大义」的经典。

Line by line

应怜屐齿印苍苔

He must pity the green moss, afraid my clogs will mark it with their teeth.

大概是园主人爱惜苍苔，怕我的木屐踩出印痕。

The owner must cherish the green moss and fear the teeth of my wooden clogs pressing marks into it.

起句以揣测语写主人心理，是全诗「转念」的起点。「应」字表推测，谓大约、想来，是揣度之词；「怜」训爱惜，写园主人之雅洁——爱惜苍苔而不忍其被践踏，正见园主人是惜物爱景的清雅之人；「屐齿印苍苔」写木屐齿痕印上青苔，画面精细，苍苔之嫩、屐齿之重，两相对照。此句妙在「无理而有情」：叩门不开，本可怨主人失礼，诗人却一转念，替主人想出爱惜苍苔的理由，化怨为谅，见出诗人温厚风趣的性情。同时，「应怜」二字又暗示诗人对园主人品格的理解与欣赏，为全诗定下闲适雅致的基调，也为后文的惊喜转折蓄势。

The opening uses a tone of conjecture to read the owner's mind and is the starting point of the poem's 'turn of thought.' 'Must' marks surmise — perhaps, I should think — a tentative word. 'Pity' means to cherish, painting the owner's refinement: he loves the green moss and cannot bear it trampled, showing him a person who values things and scenery. 'The teeth of my clogs marking the green moss' paints a precise image — the tenderness of the moss set against the weight of the wooden shoes. The line's charm is 'unreasonable yet feelingful': the door unanswered might justify resentment, but the poet turns and excuses the owner by imagining his care for the moss, changing blame into understanding and revealing a warm, humorous nature. At the same time, 'must pity' hints at his grasp of and admiration for the owner's character, setting the poem's leisurely, elegant tone and building momentum for the later turn to delight.

小扣柴扉久不开

I tap the wicker gate gently, yet long it stays shut.

我轻轻叩打柴门却久久无人来开。

I tap the wicker door softly, but for a long while no one opens it.

此句写叩门之态与等待之久，是全诗「抑」的顶点。「小扣」写轻叩柴门，动作轻缓，见访客温文有礼、不惊扰主人；「柴扉」写柴木之门，点出园主人居处之简陋清幽；「久不开」写叩门许久而无人应答，失望之情渐生。三词连读，一个礼貌的访客、一扇久叩不开的柴门、一段越来越长的等待，画面如在目前。此句与上句「应怜」相承：正因推测主人爱惜苍苔，故「小扣」而不重叩；正因「小扣」，故「久不开」的等待更显无奈。先想主人之雅，再写叩门之勤，后写不开之怅，层层铺垫，将「不值」之憾写足，为后两句的陡然振起蓄满张力。

This line writes the tap on the gate and the long wait, the peak of the poem's 'restraint.' 'Tap gently' describes a light touch on the wicker door, the visitor polite and unhurried, not disturbing the owner. 'Wicker door' names the simple, rustic gate of a secluded dwelling. 'Long it stays shut' writes the unanswered knock, disappointment slowly rising. Reading the three phrases together — a courteous visitor, a wicker gate long unanswered, a wait that grows longer — the picture is present before the eyes. The line follows 'must pity': precisely because he imagines the owner cherishing the moss, he taps gently rather than loudly; precisely because he taps gently, the long closed gate is all the more helpless. First imagining the owner's refinement, then writing the frequent knock, then the disappointment of no answer, layer by layer it makes full the regret of 'failing to call,' storing tension for the sudden lift of the last two lines.

春色满园关不住

Spring fills the garden, and cannot be locked in.

满园的春色毕竟是关锁不住的。

Spring fills the whole garden, and after all it cannot be shut in.

此句是全诗的转折，由「不值」之憾陡转「有得」之喜。「春色满园」写园内春意之盛，满园皆春，气象蓬勃；「关不住」以否定句式写春色之不可禁锢——园门虽锁，柴扉虽闭，而春色自有出路。「关不住」三字是全诗的哲理所在：春色是生命，生命是关锁不住的；新生的事物、美好的情感，终将冲破一切樊篱。此句以「不」字起否定，为下句「出墙来」的肯定作铺垫，一否一肯，一收一放，张力顿生。同时，满园春色是虚写（未见），一枝红杏是实写（已见），以实写见虚写，以一见万，虚实相生，理趣与画意兼得，是宋诗「理趣」的典型表达。

This line is the poem's turning point, swinging from the disappointment of 'failing to call' to the joy of 'finding something.' 'Spring fills the garden' paints the abundance of spring within, the whole enclosure alive with vitality. 'Cannot be locked in' uses a negative to write spring's refusal to be confined: though the gate is barred and the wicker door closed, spring finds its own way out. 'Cannot be locked in' holds the poem's philosophy: spring is life, and life cannot be locked in; newborn things and beautiful feelings will break through every fence. The line begins with a negative, preparing the affirmation of the next line's 'leaning out'; one denial, one assertion, one closing, one opening, and tension is born at once. Meanwhile, spring filling the garden is virtual (unseen), while one red apricot is actual (seen); through the actual we infer the virtual, the one suggests the ten thousand, emptiness and substance giving rise to each other, delighting both reason and eye — a typical expression of Song 'reasoned delight.'

一枝红杏出墙来

One branch of red apricot leans out over the wall.

你看那一枝红杏已探出墙头。

Look, one spray of red apricot has pushed out over the wall.

结句是千古名句，是全诗情感与哲理的落点。「一枝」写数量之少，红杏一枝，正以少总多——由墙头一枝，想见墙内满园；「红杏」写颜色之艳，红与春色相映，点明时节，生机盎然；「出墙来」写红杏之动态，探出墙头，破墙而出，一个「出」字赋予红杏以生命与意志，仿佛春色主动冲决樊篱，向墙外宣告春天的到来。此句妙在以小见大：一枝红杏而春意满盈，一墙之隔而生机难掩，将访友不遇的遗憾一扫而空，化为对春生机的礼赞。由失望转惊喜，由小景见大理，含蓄隽永，余味无穷，故能超越原作而独立成为「新生不可遏」的文化符号。

The closing is a famous line through the ages, the landing of the poem's feeling and philosophy. 'One branch' writes smallness — a single spray of red apricot — yet the small gathers up the many: from one branch over the wall, one imagines a whole garden within. 'Red apricot' writes vivid color, red set against spring, marking the season and teeming with life. 'Leans out over the wall' writes motion — the apricot pushing out, breaking through, and the verb 'push' gives it life and will, as if spring itself were actively breaking the fence to announce its coming beyond the wall. The line's genius is seeing the great through the small: one spray of apricot and spring is brimming; a wall between us and yet vitality cannot be hidden. It sweeps away the disappointment of the missed visit and turns into a hymn to the life of spring. From disappointment to delight, from a small scene to a great truth, restrained and evocative, it has outlasted its original context to stand alone as the cultural symbol of 'the irrepressible newborn.'

Study

Word focus

怜 cherish (not pity) - shows the owner's love for the moss and refined taste. 「应怜屐齿印苍苔」之「怜」字，训爱惜、怜惜，是全诗「转念」的关键字。此字有两层妙用：一是写园主人之雅洁——爱惜苍苔，不忍其被践踏，正见其惜物爱景的清雅品格，由「怜苔」而想见其人之高洁；二是写诗人之一转念——叩门不开，本可生怨，而着一「应怜」，诗人反替主人想出合情合理的理由，化怨为谅，见出诗人温厚风趣的性情。一字而写两人：园主之雅与访客之厚，皆由此字托出。若用「怨」「怪」等字，则失之刻露；「怜」字温厚含蓄，正合全诗闲适雅致的基调，也为「春色满园关不住」的哲思转折埋下伏笔。

小扣 softly knock - shows the visitor's politeness and patience. 「小扣柴扉久不开」之「小扣」，即轻叩，是写访客仪态的点睛之词。「小」字状叩门力度之轻、动作之缓，见出诗人温文有礼、不惊扰主人的修养；若用「重叩」「急叩」，则失斯文之气。此词之妙有三：一是与上句「应怜」相承——正因推测主人爱惜苍苔，故叩门也格外轻缓，不忍惊扰；二是与「久不开」相映——叩得愈轻，等得愈久，「小扣」的耐心与「久不开」的怅惘相映成趣，细节传神；三是为全诗定调——轻缓的叩门声，正合闲适雅致的游园情境。二字寻常，而人物之温文、情境之清雅尽在其中，是典型的以细节写人的白描笔法。

关 / 出 A key expression in this poem; read it with the Chinese note below. 「关不住」与「出墙来」之「关」「出」二字，是全诗的诗眼，一收一放，形成全诗最富张力的动词组合。「关」字写园门之锁闭，柴扉之阻隔，是「抑」的延续；「出」字写红杏之破墙，春色之奔涌，是「扬」的高潮。先「关」后「出」，先抑后扬，将静态的春色写得充满动势与生机：春色本无形，而一「关」一「出」，仿佛春色是活的、有意志的，它不甘被关锁，终于破墙而出。二字的妙用，使全诗由叙事转入哲理，由遗憾化为礼赞，赋予了春色以冲破樊篱的生命力，遂成千古名句。炼字之精，正在于以最平常的两个动词，写出最不平常的生命气象。