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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

春日怀湖上

On the Spring Day, Recalling the Lakeside

释宝昙

Shi Baotan

咏春spring 怀旧memory 西湖Theme 写景Scenery

前日山茶冰雪中，东风得意试为容。
桃花笑日面皮破，柳叶抹烟眉晕重。
帘幕风前斜入燕，色香丛里闹团蜂。
湖山一梦残灯火，西子当年态正浓。

The other, day, the camellias, in, the ice and the snow,
The east wind, triumphant, tries, to, be, the countenance.
The peach blossoms, smiling, at, the sun, the faces, breaking, open,
The willow leaves, painting, the mist, the brows, the color, heavy.
The curtains, before, the wind, the swallows, slanting, entering,
Amid, the colors and the fragrances, the bees, bustling, in, the throngs.
The lake and the hills, one, dream, the fading, lamps and the fires,
The West Lady, of, those, years, the manner, just, rich.

Listen

Meaning

A poem of the spring and the recalling, written by Shi Baotan. The other day the camellias in the ice and the snow, the east wind triumphant tries to be the countenance — the spring of the opening. The peach blossoms smiling at the sun the faces breaking open, the willow leaves painting the mist the brows the color heavy — the scene of the spring. The curtains before the wind the swallows slanting entering, amid the colors and the fragrances the bees bustling in the throngs — the life of the spring. And the close's the lake and the hills one dream the fading lamps and the fires, the West Lady of those years the manner just rich — the close's recalling. The poem is the spring and the recalling: the flowers, the swallows, and the close's West Lady.

前几日山茶花还开在冰雪之中,一阵东风得意地吹来,它便试着梳妆打扮起来。桃花迎着日光而笑,花苞绽裂,像是笑破了面皮;柳叶笼罩在烟霭里,如美人描就的黛眉,晕色浓重。燕子迎着风斜斜地飞入帘幕,成群蜜蜂在色香丛中团作一处,喧闹不休。西湖的湖光山色恍如一梦,灯火将残;想当年西子湖春色正浓的时候,又是何等光景。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The other, day, the camellias, in, the ice and the snow, the east wind, triumphant, tries, to, be, the countenance. The peach blossoms, smiling, at, the sun, the faces, breaking, open, the willow leaves, painting, the mist, the brows, the color, heavy. The curtains, before, the wind, the swallows, slanting, entering, amid, the colors and the fragrances, the bees, bustling, in, the throngs. The lake and the hills, one, dream, the fading, lamps and the fires, the West Lady, of, those, years, the manner, just, rich. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the spring of the camellias and the east wind, through the scene of the peach blossoms and the swallows, to the close's the dream of the lake and the hills with the West Lady. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the close of the recalling: the lake and the hills one dream, and the close's the West Lady of those years — the spring gathered in the scene and the close's dream. [Emotional Tone] Vivid, springlike, and recalling: the poem is the flowers, the swallows and the close's West Lady.

【白话串讲】释宝昙怀念西湖：“前日山茶冰雪中，东风得意试为容”。“桃花笑日面皮破，柳叶抹烟眉晕重”——“湖山一梦残灯火，西子当年态正浓”——他写西湖的春天。【意象与手法】全诗以「观今忆昔」为线。前六句写眼前春景:山茶「试为容」、桃花「笑日面皮破」、柳叶「抹烟眉晕重」、燕斜蜂闹,句句拟人,以「试」「破」「抹」「闹」诸字写足春之繁盛。末联陡转,以「湖山一梦残灯火」将万重风景收作一梦,再借苏轼「西子」之喻追忆当年,前实后虚,以乐景写哀情,热闹之中见苍凉。【情感与主旨】此诗为蜀僧释宝昙行脚江南、客居他乡时怀想西湖而作。眼前春色虽浓,终究是「残灯火」边的过眼繁华;记忆中西子湖「当年态正浓」的春景,才是心头最美的珍藏。今昔对照之间,既有对逝去年华与旧游的追慕,也暗含禅家「梦幻泡影」式的观照——繁华一梦,万物皆空,情致秾丽而思致淡远。【名句点睛】「湖山一梦残灯火,西子当年态正浓」:一句将半生行脚、万里湖山收进一梦,一句以「当年」挑出记忆中最浓的春色;梦将醒而灯火残,愈对照愈见怅惘,是「以乐景写哀」的典型。

Background

Shi Baotan (c. 12th century), the monk poet of the Southern Song, wrote this 'On the Spring Day, Recalling the Lakeside' of the spring and the recalling — the memory of the West Lake. The camellias with the east wind, the peach blossoms with the swallows, and the close's the lake and the hills one dream with the West Lady — the poem gathers the recalling of the poet, the beauty of the spring. The poem is one of the works of the monk poet's poems of the spring.

释宝昙,字少云,南宋蜀中高僧,嘉定府龙游人,幼出家,博通内典,亦工诗,为当时丛林中有名之诗僧,晚年住持名刹,有《橘洲文集》十卷传世,其诗见录于《全宋诗》。此诗题作「春日怀湖上」,「湖上」当指杭州西湖。宝昙虽为蜀僧,然一生行脚江南,往来苏杭丛林之间,西湖风物久铭于心;此诗盖写暮春时节,见窗前桃花柳叶、燕蜂闹春之景,忽忆当年西湖春色而作。首联言春来之骤:前日山茶犹在冰雪之中,一霎东风,万木争春,写出春光流转的迅疾;中二联刻画眼前春景的繁盛;末联陡转,以「湖山一梦」括尽旧游,以「西子当年态正浓」追忆西湖最盛之春。全诗由眼前之春忆当年之春,今昔对照,盛衰之感与时序之叹交织,既见诗僧对物候的敏锐观照,亦寓其客游江南、年华老去的人生况味。按释宝昙《橘洲文集》多纪游酬赠之作,其一生行迹,蜀楚吴越之间,屡有往复,而于钱塘一系风物,尤为情之所钟,故此诗虽题「春日」,实为怀旧之什,是宋僧诗中融禅悦与诗情于一体的佳作。

Art

The poem's art is the art of the recalling. The spring opens: the other, day, the camellias, in, the ice and the snow — the camellias of the ice and the snow; the east wind, triumphant, tries, to, be, the countenance — the east wind of the countenance. The scene follows: the peach blossoms, smiling, at, the sun, the faces, breaking, open — the peach blossoms of the smiling; the willow leaves, painting, the mist, the brows, the color, heavy — the willow leaves of the brows; the curtains, before, the wind, the swallows, slanting, entering — the swallows of the slanting; amid, the colors and the fragrances, the bees, bustling, in, the throngs — the bees of the bustling. And the close gathers the recalling: the lake and the hills, one, dream, the fading, lamps and the fires — the dream of the lake and the hills; the West Lady, of, those, years, the manner, just, rich — the West Lady of the manner — the spring, the scene and the close's recalling, gathered in the poem.

此诗章法以「观今忆昔」为主线,由实入虚,结构浑成。首联用对照写春之骤至:「冰雪中」与「得意试为容」对举,一冷一暖,一枯一荣,东风得意、山茶试妆,用拟人之笔写季节的更替,起手便见灵动。中二联极写春之繁盛:桃花以「笑日」状其明艳,「面皮破」写其怒放欲绽;柳叶以「抹烟」状其朦胧,「眉晕重」写其翠色深浓;燕斜穿于帘幕风前,蜂团闹于色香丛里,动静相生,声色并茂,把「闹春」二字写足。末联笔锋一转,由眼前之春猛然收回记忆,「湖山一梦」四字,如电影镜头骤切,把千重风景收作一梦,「残灯火」点出梦境将醒的迷离,「西子当年态正浓」则以虚写追忆西湖盛春,与眼前之春遥相呼应,形成今昔双线的对照。全诗前实后虚,繁简相济,于热闹中见苍凉,是僧人诗以禅眼观物、以诗笔写心的典型之作。其尤妙者,在于以「试」「破」「抹」「闹」诸字,句句有眼,字字着力,而通体仍觉自然浑成,不见斧凿之痕,正是宋人炼字炼句而归于平淡的至高境界。

Allusions

'The West Lake' (hu shang) is the lakeside — the lake of the West, the recalling of the poet; 'the West Lady' (Xi zi) is the West Lady — the beauty of the West, the manner of the lake; 'the east wind' (dong feng) is the east wind — the wind of the spring, the triumph of the countenance.

诗中用典不多而颇见心思,尤以末联「西子」为枢纽。「西子」即西施,春秋越国美人,以「西子」代指西湖,本于苏轼《饮湖上初晴后雨》「欲把西湖比西子,淡妆浓抹总相宜」之名句;诗人用「西子当年态正浓」,既承苏诗之喻,复以「当年」二字,把眼前春色与记忆中杭州最盛之春拉开距离,怀旧之情,隐然其中。「桃花笑日」句,「笑」字用拟人,其法可上溯于《诗经》「桃之夭夭,灼灼其华」以桃花写人之兴象;「柳叶抹烟眉晕重」,以柳叶喻美人眉黛,亦本六朝以来「柳眉」之习喻,兼用崔护「人面桃花」之韵致,使写景之中暗藏美人情思。「东风得意」之语,又遥应杜甫《春日忆李白》「渭北春天树」之春思,与孟郊「春风得意马蹄疾」的得意字面,以「得意」状东风,活泼而有情味。全诗用事皆融化于写景之中,不使人觉,正是禅门诗僧「随取随用、不着痕迹」的用事法门。要之,山茶、桃花、柳叶、燕、蜂诸物,本皆眼前寻常之景,一经点化,便与东坡之喻、诗骚之兴、前贤之句相映成趣,其取径之博、运化之灵,可见一斑。

Commentary

This poem is one of the works of Shi Baotan's poems of the spring, quoted for the vividness of its scene and the recalling of its close. The peach blossoms smiling at the sun, and the West Lady of those years, are among the admired passages of the monk poet's poems. Critics praise the poem's vividness: the spring gathered in the scene, to the close's dream.

宋僧诗历来不受诗话家重视,然释宝昙此作,置之唐宋诗僧咏春之作中,颇见工力。首联「前日山茶冰雪中,东风得意试为容」,以冰雪与东风对举,写春之骤至,造语新警,不让前贤;中二联刻写春景,声色繁会而气韵流动,尤以「面皮破」「眉晕重」之奇想,为宋诗炼字琢句之特色。《四库全书总目》著录《橘洲文集》,谓其「诗笔清丽」,虽为总评,移以论此诗之清丽明快,亦甚惬当。全诗妙在以眼前之春逗出当年西湖之忆,「湖山一梦残灯火」七字,将半生行脚、万里湖山尽收于一梦之中,禅家「梦幻泡影」之观与诗人怀旧之情,浑融无间。较之贾岛「三年此路」的枯淡、贯休的疏放,宝昙此诗更近苏黄一路的清新妥帖,可见宋僧诗渐染士大夫习气、趋于文雅化的流变,是研究宋代诗僧创作不可多得的例证。且此诗设色秾丽而情思淡远,不作禅家枯寂之语,而「湖山一梦」四字,又分明透着看破世相的禅悟,可谓「不著一字,尽得风流」,诗禅兼到,尤为难得。

Prosody

Form A regulated poem of the spring (qi yan lü shi)七言律诗

Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level of the group — the cadence of the regulated poem that carries the vivid spring.押平声东钟部（中、容、重、蜂、浓）,首句入韵,一韵到底

Tone pattern The cadence is that of the recalling: the level opening with the spring, the turning with the scene, and the close's fall with the dream.仄起平收式,中二联对仗精工,平仄全合七律常格,音调流丽和畅

Reading note The poem's sound matches its vividness: the cadences of the regulated poem, and the close — 'Xi zi dang nian tai zheng nong' — falls with the rich, the sound of the recalling of the remembering poet.此诗为七律,首句入韵,通押东钟部平声韵,韵字「中、容、重、蜂、浓」宽宏明亮,与春日繁盛之景、怀旧绵长之情正相配合。格律上采用仄起平收之常格,中二联「桃花笑日面皮破,柳叶抹烟眉晕重」「帘幕风前斜入燕,色香丛里闹团蜂」对仗精工:桃花对柳叶、笑日对抹烟、面皮对眉晕、破对重,帘幕对色香、风前对丛里、斜入对闹团、燕对蜂,词性、结构一一相对,铢两悉称;而「破」「重」之仄、「燕」「蜂」之平,又于整齐中见变化,读来流丽而不板滞。声调上,「面皮破」三字连用仄声,「眉晕重」亦仄仄平,以拗峭之音写花开柳媚,声情相生;结联「湖山一梦残灯火,西子当年态正浓」,音节转舒,如长笛一声,悠悠不尽,与怀旧的怅惘情致相应。全诗声律工稳而气韵流动,可见诗僧于近体格律造诣之深,非徒以禅悦鸣高者可比。

Line by line

前日山茶冰雪中，东风得意试为容。

The other, day, the camellias, in, the ice and the snow, the east wind, triumphant, tries, to, be, the countenance.

前几日山茶花还开在冰雪之中,一阵东风得意地吹来,它便试着梳妆打扮起来。

A few days ago, the camellias were still in ice and snow; the east wind, in high spirits, tries on a new face.

首联以「前日」与「今朝」的暗中对照,写春之骤至,是全诗立意所在。「冰雪中」三字,把冬日的严酷寒意钉在读者眼前;「东风得意试为容」则一转而为和煦活泼,「得意」写东风,如人之扬扬自得,「试为容」写山茶,如少女初妆、欲语还羞,两处皆以拟人出之,把季节的更替写得有情有态,生意盎然。着一「试」字,尤为传神:春色不是一涌而至,而是试探着、羞怯着、一点一点绽放开来。前日之寒与今朝之暖,距离如此之近,春光流转之迅疾,便在这短短两句中逼现。此联不仅写景,更埋伏下「当年」之忆的引线,为末联的怀旧张本。

The opening couplet, in the hidden contrast of a few days ago and now, writes the sudden coming of spring, the poem's bent. The three words in ice and snow nail the winter's harsh cold before the reader's eyes. The east wind, in high spirits, tries on a new face turns to warmth and liveliness: high spirits writes the east wind like a man smugly content, and tries on a new face writes the camellia like a young girl newly adorned, shy to speak; both are personified, writing the season's change with feeling and posture, alive with life. The single word tries is most vivid: the spring color does not surge in at once, but tentatively, shyly, unfolding little by little. The cold of a few days ago and the warmth of today are so near, and the rapid passing of the spring light is forced out in these two short lines. This couplet not only writes scenery, but lays the thread of the memory of those years, laying a ground for the closing's nostalgia.

桃花笑日面皮破，柳叶抹烟眉晕重。

The peach blossoms, smiling, at, the sun, the faces, breaking, open, the willow leaves, painting, the mist, the brows, the color, heavy.

桃花迎着日光而笑,花苞绽裂,像是笑破了面皮;柳叶笼罩在烟霭里,如美人描就的黛眉,晕色浓重。

Peach blossoms smile in the sun, their cheeks split; willow leaves are brushed with mist, their brows heavily blurred.

此联是全诗刻画春景最见工力处,一花一柳,一破一重,对仗精工而不失灵动。「笑日」承「桃花依旧笑春风」之诗意,着一「破」字,写花苞怒放、花瓣绽开的瞬间,仿佛真的笑破了面皮,把静态的花开写成动态的笑靥,奇想天外而恰在情理之中。「抹烟」写柳叶如黛眉晕染于烟雾之中,「眉晕重」以美人画眉的浓淡来写柳色的深浅,将柳叶、烟霭、眉黛三者叠印于一处,色彩与情思交融,朦胧而妩媚。两句以人拟花、以眉喻柳,赋予春景以少女的娇憨与妩媚,是宋诗「以意造语、务去陈言」的典型,读之如见繁花笑靥、烟柳如眉,春之盛也。

This couplet is the poem's most wrought place in depicting spring scenery, one flower one willow, one burst one heavy, the parallel exquisite yet not losing nimbleness. Smiling in the sun inherits the poetic meaning of the peach blossoms still smiling in the spring wind; the single word burst writes the instant of the bud's fury and the petals' opening, as if truly laughing the cheeks split, turning the static flowering into a dynamic dimple, a strange thought from the sky yet exactly within reason. Brushed with mist writes the willow leaves like dark brows blurred in the mist; brows heavily blurred uses the beauty's penciled brows' depth and light to write the willow color's depth and light, superimposing willow leaves, mist, and brow pigment in one place, color and feeling blended, hazy and charming. The two lines personify the flower and meta-phor the willow on the brow, giving spring scenery a young girl's coy charm, the typical Song way of making words from idea and ridding the set phrase; reading it, one sees the flowers' dimples and the misty willows like brows, the height of spring.

帘幕风前斜入燕，色香丛里闹团蜂。

Before the wind at the curtains, swallows slant inward; amid the thickets of color and scent, bees cluster and hum.

燕子迎着风斜斜地飞入帘幕,成群蜜蜂在色香丛中团作一处,喧闹不休。

Before the wind at the curtains, swallows slant inward; amid the thickets of color and scent, bees cluster and hum.

此联由静物转写动物,以「燕」「蜂」的动与闹,为春景注入勃勃生机,是全诗最有声有色的一联。「斜入燕」三字极精当:燕子穿帘,本以轻捷见长,着一「斜」字,写出它侧身掠飞、乘风而人的姿态,如见其影,如闻其声。下句「闹团蜂」,一「闹」一「团」,写蜜蜂结聚花丛、嗡嗡不已之状,把无形的花香写成有形的热闹,声色俱足。两句一静一闹,一飞一聚,上句写春的轻盈,下句写春的繁盛,以燕之斜、蜂之团,把「春深如海」写得可感可触。此联承中二联繁盛之势,把眼前春光推向顶点,正为末联「残灯火」的冷寂转笔蓄满势能。

This couplet turns from static things to animals, using the motion and clamor of swallows and bees to inject spring scenery with abounding life, the poem's most vividly colored and sounding couplet. The three words swallows slant inward are most exact: the swallow threading the curtain is known for its lightness, and the single word slant writes its posture of flying sideways, riding the wind inward, as if seeing its shadow and hearing its voice. The second line's cluster and clamor of bees, the two words clamor and cluster, write the bees gathering in the flower thickets and humming without cease, turning the scentless flower scent into a tangible bustle, sound and color both complete. The two lines, one still one clamor, one flight one gathering, the upper writing spring's lightness, the lower spring's abundance, use the swallows' slant and the bees' cluster to write spring deep as the sea, perceptible and tangible. This couplet follows the abundance of the middle two, pushing the present spring light to its peak, precisely gathering full force for the closing's turning to the cold stillness of the dying lamplight.

湖山一梦残灯火，西子当年态正浓。

The lake and the hills, one, dream, the fading, lamps and the fires, the West Lady, of, those, years, the manner, just, rich.

西湖的湖光山色恍如一梦,灯火将残;想当年西子湖春色正浓的时候,又是何等光景。

Lake and hills, a dream in the dying lamplight; in those years, Xizi's beauty was at its height.

末联是全诗感情的归穴,由眼前之春猛然折入记忆之湖山,今昔对照,苍凉无限。「湖山一梦」四字,以「梦」字总括旧游,半生行脚、万里湖山,尽被收进一场春梦之中;「残灯火」点出梦将醒时的迷离恍惚,以灯火之残,写追忆之断,笔致极为含蓄。而「西子当年态正浓」,「当年」二字一挑,把记忆深处西湖最盛的春天唤出,与眼前的暮春之景遥遥相对:眼前桃花柳燕固自繁盛,终究不如记忆中西子湖当年之「浓」。这「浓」字,既是春色的浓,也是情味的浓,更是一个行脚老僧对逝去年华的追慕。全诗至此,由热烈归于怅惘,所谓「以乐景写哀,一倍增其哀乐」,正谓此也。

The closing couplet is the poem's emotional landing, turning abruptly from the present spring into the lake and hills of memory, the contrast of now and then, desolation without end. The four words lake and hills, a dream use the word dream to sum up the old wanderings; half a lifetime of travel, ten thousand li of lake and hills, all gathered into one spring dream. The dying lamplight points out the trance of the dream about to wake, using the lamp's dying to write the brokenness of recollection, the brush most reserved. And in those years, Xizi's beauty was at its height: the words those years pick, summoning the West Lake's most flourishing spring from the depth of memory, echoing from afar the present late-spring scenery - the present peach blossoms, willows and swallows are indeed flourishing, yet after all not as the thick of the West Lake in memory in those years. This word thick is at once the thick of spring color, the thick of feeling, and the admiration of a traveling old monk for the years gone by. The whole poem, to this point, returns from warmth to wistfulness; the so-called writing grief through joyful scenery doubles the grief and joy, exactly this.

Study

Word focus

试 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「东风得意试为容」之「试」,是首联中画龙点睛的一字。东风初至,春色方萌,诗人不言春色已盛,而曰「试为容」,着一「试」字,把山茶写成一个欲妆还怯、初试新妆的少女,春之来,便有了试探、羞怯、渐次展开的层次。「试」字虚中见实,既写出早春时节春意方兴未艾的情态,也暗含诗人对春光乍临的欣喜与珍惜。若易为「为容」「作容」,便直白无味;唯「试」字,将季节的更替写得含情脉脉,试探着、羞怯着,如新嫁娘初对镜,欲语还休。一字之工,满联皆活,正见诗人炼字之精,是宋人「句中无虚字」而实以虚字传神的妙笔。

破 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「桃花笑日面皮破」之「破」,是全诗最具奇思的一字,也最见宋人「以俗为雅、以故为新」的造语精神。桃花本以烂漫盛开为常态,诗人偏以「笑」字拟人,更以「面皮破」三字极写其笑之放纵:仿佛桃花笑得太过,连面皮都绽裂了。于是花瓣之开,不复是植物学上的绽放,而成了一场恣肆的、孩子气的欢笑。「破」字入诗,本属俗字,前人笔下每以「破」写花开,如杜甫「嫩蕊商量细细开」之细腻,白居易「花暖蜜蜂喧」之喧闹,而此「面皮破」以谐趣出之,化生涩为诙谐,把春花的烂漫写得既娇憨又狂放,令人忍俊不禁,亦见诗僧性情之活泼幽默,正是宋诗「无理而妙」的佳例。

抹 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「柳叶抹烟眉晕重」之「抹」,与上句「笑」「破」的狂放恰成对照,是温柔蕴藉的一笔。「抹」本指涂抹、描画,以之写柳叶,则柳叶不再是自然的叶子,而是美人以黛笔轻描而出的眉痕;「抹烟」二字,又暗示这黛眉不是清清楚楚,而是浸在烟霭之中,如隔薄纱,似有若无,朦胧得恰到好处。着一「抹」字,柳色之翠、烟霭之淡、眉黛之媚,三者在字面上一体交融,写出了春天柳烟迷离的特有韵味。下接「眉晕重」,以画眉晕色的浓淡写柳色的深浅,与「抹」字丝丝入扣。二字合看,可谓「状难写之景,如在目前」,把柳之媚态写得既具体又空灵,是炼字中「以画法入诗」的妙例。

梦 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「湖山一梦残灯火」之「梦」,是全诗由实入虚、由盛转衰的关键一字。前六句极写眼前春景之繁盛,桃花柳叶、燕斜蜂闹,热热闹闹,至此忽然以「梦」字兜头一浇:原来这一切湖山盛景,在诗人的观照中不过一场大梦,而「残灯火」三字,更把梦境点成将醒未醒的恍惚。「梦」字承上,使前文所有繁花闹景都染上迷离的色彩,仿佛镜头忽然虚化;「梦」字启下,引出「西子当年」的追忆,今昔之间,正隔着一场梦的距离。此字既是诗眼的转折,也暗含佛家「如梦幻泡影」的观照,把一位行脚老僧对湖山、对年华的深情与看破,写得欲说还休,余韵不尽。