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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

春日寄怀

Spring Thoughts, Sent to a Friend

李商隐

Li Shangyin

世间荣落重逡巡，我独丘园坐四春。
纵使有花兼有月，可堪无酒又无人。
青袍似草年年定，白发如丝日日新。
欲逐风波千万里，未知何路到龙津。

The world's flowering and fading returns again and again; I alone sit in my garden through four springs.
Even should there be blossoms and a moon as well, how bear it — no wine, and no one.
My blue official robe, grass-coloured, is fixed year by year; my white hair, silken, grows new day by day.
I would chase the wind and waves a thousand leagues, but what road leads to the Dragon Ford?
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Meaning

Li Shangyin contrasts the world's recurring cycle of prosperity and decline with his own unmoving life: he has now sat out four springs in a country garden. Even if blossom and moon were granted him, there is neither wine nor companion to enjoy them. His low-ranking blue robe stays the same year after year while his hair whitens daily. He would gladly venture a thousand leagues through wind and waves, but he cannot find the road to the Dragon Ford, the gate to advancement.

世间荣落重逡巡，我独丘园坐四春。纵使有花兼有月，可堪无酒又无人。青袍似草年年定，白发如丝日日新。欲逐风波千万里，未知何路到龙津。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] While the rest of the world flowers and fades and flowers again, the poet sits alone in his garden for a fourth spring. Grant him flowers, grant him moonlight — what use, when there is no wine and no friend? His blue robe is as grass-green and as unchanging as ever, and his white hair grows fresher every day. He would follow wind and wave for a thousand leagues, only he does not know which road reaches the Dragon Ford. [Structure] Each couplet tightens the screw: the world moves while he does not; nature offers beauty that society withholds the means to enjoy; the outer tokens of rank are fixed while the body decays; and the final wish collapses into the admission that there is no road. [Imagery] The paired colours of the third couplet are the poem's centre: a robe the colour of grass against hair the colour of silk, one a symbol of low office that will not change, the other of a life that is changing far too fast. [Tone] The mood is heavy and desolate. The politeness of the phrasing — 'even should there be', 'how bear it' — makes the bitterness more rather than less acute, and the closing question is the plainest statement of frustration in Li Shangyin's occasional verse.

【白话串讲】 李商隐写《春日寄怀》：“世间荣落重逡巡，我独丘园坐四春”——“纵使有花兼有月，可堪无酒又无人”——“青袍似草年年定，白发如丝日日新”——“欲逐风波千万里，未知何路到龙津”——他写春日怀才不遇——可堪无酒又无人。 【意象与手法】 “世间荣落重逡巡，我独丘园坐四春”写丘园独坐；“纵使有花兼有月，可堪无酒又无人”写无酒无人；“青袍似草年年定，白发如丝日日新”以青袍白发写蹉跎；结以“欲逐风波千万里，未知何路到龙津”写欲进而无路。沉郁苍凉。 【情感与主旨】 李商隐写春日怀才不遇之作，写丘园独坐、无酒无人、青袍白发的蹉跎与欲逐风波而无路可进的苦闷，是李商隐抒怀诗中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“纵使有花兼有月，可堪无酒又无人”以无酒无人写寂寞；“青袍似草年年定，白发如丝日日新”以青袍白发写蹉跎。

Background

Li Shangyin (c. 813-c. 858), courtesy name Yishan, also known as Yuxi Sheng, was a native of Henei in Huizhou and the most distinctive poet of the late Tang. His career was blighted by the factional struggle between the Niu and Li parties: he passed the examination, married into the wrong faction and spent his life in minor posts or on the staffs of provincial governors, never obtaining a position commensurate with his gifts. The 'blue robe' of the third couplet is the dress of the lowest ranks of officialdom, and 'four springs' records a specific stretch of unemployment or retirement. The Dragon Ford is the Dragon Gate on the Yellow River, where the legendary carp that leaps the rapids becomes a dragon — the standing image for success in the examinations and entry into high office. The poem belongs to a group of lyrics in which he pours out disappointment to friends.

《春日寄怀》为唐代诗人李商隐所作诗。李商隐（约813—约858），字义山，号玉溪生，又号樊南生，怀州河内（今河南沁阳）人，晚唐诗人。此诗写抒情感怀，为春日寄怀之作。诗中「世间荣落重逡巡，我独丘园坐四春」写世间荣落重逡巡，我独丘园坐四春；「纵使有花兼有月，可堪无酒又无人」写纵使有花兼有月，可堪无酒又无人；「青袍似草年年定，白发如丝日日新」写青袍似草年年定，白发如丝日日新；「欲逐风波千万里，未知何路到龙津」写欲逐风波千万里，未知何路到龙津。李商隐此诗以抒情感怀、未知何路到龙津写其感怀之情，沉郁苍凉，是李商隐诗中的名篇。此篇《春日寄怀》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《春日寄怀》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。

Art

The craft lies in paired oppositions carried through the whole poem. The first couplet sets the world's rhythm against the poet's stillness: 'again and again' against 'alone', 'the world' against 'I'. The second uses a concessive construction — grant the flowers and the moon — in order to take away more than it gives, since what is missing is not beauty but wine and company, the two things that make beauty social. The third couplet is the technical climax, an exactly antithetical pair in which the unchanging robe and the daily-renewed hair are bound by the parallel of 'year by year' and 'day by day'; the adjective 'grass-coloured' quietly demeans the robe by comparing it to the commonest plant. The close turns on the Dragon Ford metaphor, and its force comes from the flatness of the question: after all the longing for wind and waves, what he lacks is simply a road.

此诗艺术上以「沉郁苍凉、以春写怀」见长。全诗共八句四联，由世间荣落重逡巡而纵使有花兼有月而青袍似草年年定。起「世间荣落重逡巡，我独丘园坐四春」写世间荣落重逡巡：世间荣落重逡巡，我独丘园坐四春；「纵使有花兼有月，可堪无酒又无人」写纵使有花兼有月：纵使有花兼有月，可堪无酒又无人；「青袍似草年年定，白发如丝日日新」写青袍似草年年定：青袍似草年年定，白发如丝日日新；结「欲逐风波千万里，未知何路到龙津」写未知何路到龙津：欲逐风波千万里，未知何路到龙津。全诗以春写怀，由世间荣落重逡巡而未知何路到龙津，沉郁苍凉，是李商隐诗中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。

Allusions

The Dragon Ford, or Dragon Gate, is the poem's governing reference: the Yellow River gorge where, according to legend, a carp that leaps the rapids is transformed into a dragon, and hence the standard figure for success in the examinations and for sudden advancement. To ask which road leads there is to say that the ladder has been pulled up. The blue robe carries its own reference, since colour of dress indicated rank in the Tang and dark blue belonged to the lowest grades; 'grass-coloured' adds a note of self-mockery. The opening line, about the world's flourishing and fading, echoes the old philosophical commonplaces about the turning of fortune found in the classics. Even 'wind and waves' is a conventional figure for the perils of public life, used here with the striking implication that the poet would welcome them.

诗中「世间荣落重逡巡我独丘园坐四春」「纵使有花兼有月可堪无酒又无人」「青袍似草年年定白发如丝日日新」「欲逐风波千万里未知何路到龙津」等语，皆含典故故实。「世间荣落重逡巡我独丘园坐四春」写世间荣落重逡巡我独丘园坐四春；「纵使有花兼有月可堪无酒又无人」写纵使有花兼有月可堪无酒又无人；「青袍似草年年定白发如丝日日新」写青袍似草年年定白发如丝日日新；「欲逐风波千万里未知何路到龙津」用龙津之典（龙津即龙门，喻仕途），写欲逐风波千万里未知何路到龙津。诗人以龙津之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把抒情感怀之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。

Commentary

Readers have valued the poem as one of Li Shangyin's most direct statements of grievance, unusual in a body of work better known for allusive and veiled love lyrics. The third couplet, with its robe and hair, is the passage most often quoted and is frequently cited as evidence that his technical control was as sure in the open, discursive manner as in the hermetic one. Critics also remark on the poem's structure of mounting frustration, noting that the closing question is the point at which a personal complaint becomes a comment on the late Tang examination and patronage system. It is commonly grouped with his other occasional poems to friends as the part of his output that most clearly exposes the circumstances behind the obscurities.

这首《春日寄怀》，是李商隐写抒情感怀之作，写世间荣落重逡巡、纵使有花兼有月、青袍似草年年定、未知何路到龙津之情，沉郁苍凉。起「世间荣落重逡巡，我独丘园坐四春」——世间荣落重逡巡，我独丘园坐四春。写世间荣落重逡巡：世间荣落重逡巡、我独丘园坐四春——重逡巡、坐四春；「纵使有花兼有月，可堪无酒又无人」——纵使有花兼有月，可堪无酒又无人。写纵使有花兼有月：纵使有花兼有月、可堪无酒又无人——有花兼有月、无酒又无人；「青袍似草年年定，白发如丝日日新」——青袍似草年年定，白发如丝日日新。写青袍似草年年定：青袍似草年年定、白发如丝日日新——年年定、日日新；结「欲逐风波千万里，未知何路到龙津」——欲逐风波千万里，未知何路到龙津。写未知何路到龙津：欲逐风波千万里、未知何路到龙津——风波千万里、何路到龙津。这「欲逐风波千万里，未知何路到龙津」，是全诗之结：以未知何路到龙津写其感怀。全诗沉郁苍凉，以春写怀，正是李商隐诗中的名篇。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated poem诗（七言律诗）
Rhyme An eight-line heptasyllabic regulated verse in four couplets, rhyming throughout in the level tone on 'springs', 'one', 'new' and 'Dragon Ford'. The single rhyme binds the poem from first couplet to last, and its closed, level quality suits a piece that is restrained and inward rather than declamatory.此诗为七言律诗，共八句四联。押韵：「春」「人」「新」「津」押真部韵。首联起、颔联承、颈联转、尾联合，平仄相间，正与写抒情感怀的沉郁苍凉相称，也见其以七律写感怀的工稳。
Tone pattern The opening couplet sets a slow, even pace appropriate to the world's repeated cycle; the second breaks slightly with its concessive phrasing, so that the rhythm itself seems to hesitate; the third, the most strictly antithetical, balances heavily and slowly, matching the robe-and-hair parallelism; and the close, with its question, lifts and then falls away. The regular alternation of level and oblique tones keeps the grievance controlled rather than strident.句式上，「世间荣落重逡巡，我独丘园坐四春」写世间荣落重逡巡，音节低回；「纵使有花兼有月，可堪无酒又无人」写纵使有花兼有月，音节沉郁；「青袍似草年年定，白发如丝日日新」写青袍似草年年定，音节苍凉；结「欲逐风波千万里，未知何路到龙津」写未知何路到龙津，音节悠长。全诗音节随情起伏，由低回而沉郁、由苍凉而悠长，正合七律「工稳」之妙，读来如抒情感怀、未知何路到龙津之音，沉郁而动人。
Reading note The poem is a heptasyllabic regulated verse, and its formal discipline is part of its effect: the frustration is expressed within a pattern as fixed as the poet's own unchanging robe. The middle couplets are strictly antithetical, as the form demands, and the third couplet's robe-and-hair parallelism is among the most frequently cited examples of the technique in late Tang verse. The rhyme is carried through the even lines without a break, giving the whole an evenness that keeps the tone bitter rather than angry. Read aloud, the poem sounds composed and deliberate — the voice of a man who has had long practice in disappointment.此诗为七言律诗，是李商隐写抒情感怀之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「沉郁苍凉、以春写怀」：「世间荣落重逡巡，我独丘园坐四春」写世间荣落重逡巡、「纵使有花兼有月，可堪无酒又无人」写纵使有花兼有月、「青袍似草年年定，白发如丝日日新」写青袍似草年年定、「欲逐风波千万里，未知何路到龙津」写未知何路到龙津。全诗沉郁苍凉，以春写怀。尤为精妙者，是「青袍似草年年定」写尽年年定；而「未知何路到龙津」用龙津之典，正是李商隐诗「沉郁苍凉」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《春日寄怀》一诗之所以读来声情并茂，正在于诗人以声韵配合情思、以节奏烘托意境，音节之长短、平仄之起伏，皆与诗意相为表里，此亦可见中国古典诗歌声律之美与匠心之工。

Line by line

世间荣落重逡巡，我独丘园坐四春。

The world's flowering and fading returns again and again; I alone sit in my garden through four springs.

世间荣落重逡巡，我独丘园坐四春。

The world's rise and fall revolves and hesitates; I alone have sat in my hill garden four springs.

起句写世间荣落重逡巡，起笔即见其荣落。「世间荣落重逡巡」写世间荣落重逡巡，「世间荣落」写世间荣落、「重逡巡」写重逡巡；「我独丘园坐四春」写我独丘园坐四春，「我独丘园」写我独丘园、「坐四春」写坐四春。一句写世间荣落重逡巡我独丘园坐四春，以世间荣落重逡巡写重逡巡、以我独丘园坐四春写坐四春，写尽世间荣落重逡巡、我独丘园坐四春之情。以荣落起兴，沉郁而苍凉，是「以荣落起兴」的妙笔。

The opening line writes the world's rise and fall revolves and hesitates, the rise and fall at once. The words the world's rise and fall write fortune's turns; revolves and hesitates the circling. I alone have sat in my hill garden four springs writes the solitary four springs. The line writes to the full the feeling of the world's revolving fortune and the solitary garden. Rising through rise and fall, brooding and desolate, the fine brush of rising through rise and fall.

纵使有花兼有月，可堪无酒又无人。

Even should there be blossoms and a moon as well, how bear it — no wine, and no one.

纵使有花兼有月，可堪无酒又无人。

Though there be flowers and the moon as well, how can I bear no wine and no friend?

此句写纵使有花兼有月，是全诗写有月之态的关键。「纵使有花兼有月」写纵使有花兼有月，「纵使有花」写纵使有花、「兼有月」写兼有月；「可堪无酒又无人」写可堪无酒又无人，「可堪无酒」写可堪无酒、「又无人」写又无人。一句写纵使有花兼有月可堪无酒又无人，以纵使有花兼有月写有花兼有月、以可堪无酒又无人写无酒又无人，写尽纵使有花兼有月、可堪无酒又无人之情。以月写情，沉郁而苍凉，是「以月写情」的点睛之笔。

This line writes though there be flowers and the moon as well, the key of the whole's writing the moon. The words though there be flowers write the concession; and the moon as well the added moon. How can I bear no wine and no friend? writes the lack. The line writes to the full the feeling of flowers and moon yet no wine and no friend. Writing feeling through the moon, brooding and desolate, the eye-dotting brush.

青袍似草年年定，白发如丝日日新。

My blue official robe, grass-coloured, is fixed year by year; my white hair, silken, grows new day by day.

青袍似草年年定，白发如丝日日新。

The blue robe, like grass, is fixed year by year; the white hair, like silk, grows new day by day.

此句写青袍似草年年定，是全诗写青袍之态的关键。「青袍似草年年定」写青袍似草年年定，「青袍似草」写青袍似草、「年年定」写年年定；「白发如丝日日新」写白发如丝日日新，「白发如丝」写白发如丝、「日日新」写日日新。一句写青袍似草年年定白发如丝日日新，以青袍似草年年定写年年定、以白发如丝日日新写日日新，写尽青袍似草年年定、白发如丝日日新之情。以发写情，沉郁而苍凉，是「以发写情」的点睛之笔。

This line writes the blue robe, like grass, is fixed year by year, the key of the whole's writing the blue robe. The words blue robe, like grass write the low official's robe; fixed year by year the unchanging station. The white hair, like silk, grows new day by day writes the increasing white. The line writes to the full the feeling of the robe fixed year by year and the hair new day by day. Writing feeling through the hair, brooding and desolate, the eye-dotting brush.

欲逐风波千万里，未知何路到龙津。

I would chase the wind and waves a thousand leagues, but what road leads to the Dragon Ford?

欲逐风波千万里，未知何路到龙津。

I would chase the wind and waves for a thousand, ten thousand li; I know not by what road to reach the Dragon Ford.

结句写欲逐风波千万里，是全诗立意的落点。「欲逐风波千万里」写欲逐风波千万里，「欲逐风波」写欲逐风波、「千万里」写千万里；「未知何路到龙津」用龙津之典写未知何路到龙津，「未知何路」写未知何路、「到龙津」写到龙津。一句写欲逐风波千万里未知何路到龙津，以欲逐风波千万里写风波千万里、以未知何路到龙津写到龙津，写尽欲逐风波千万里、未知何路到龙津之情。以津写情，沉郁而苍凉，是全诗最动人处，也是「以津写情」的点睛之笔。

The closing line writes I would chase the wind and waves for a thousand, ten thousand li, the landing of the whole's bent. The words I would chase the wind and waves write the ambition; a thousand, ten thousand li the distance. I know not by what road to reach the Dragon Ford uses the Dragon Ford allusion for the career's crossing. The line writes to the full the feeling of the wind and waves and the unknown road to the ford. Writing feeling through the ford, brooding and desolate, the most moving place of the whole and the eye-dotting brush.

Study

Word focus

逡巡 To move back and forth, to come round again; here it describes the world's cycle of prosperity and decline recurring without end. The word gives the opening line its philosophical frame, setting the poet's own stillness against a universal pattern of change that somehow never changes him. 「逡巡」写世间荣落重逡巡，是写逡巡之态的关键。「世间荣落重逡巡」着一「逡巡」，写逡巡——着一「逡巡」，写世间荣落重逡巡，见其巡之逡。两字写尽逡巡之态，是「以词写回」的妙笔。「逡巡」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
丘园 A hill garden, the conventional term for retirement and for the life of one who has withdrawn from office. Used here it is tinged with resignation rather than contentment: the poet is not a willing recluse but a man sitting out four springs because there is nowhere else to go. 「丘园」写我独丘园坐四春，是写丘园之态的关键。「我独丘园坐四春」着一「丘园」，写丘园——着一「丘园」，写我独丘园坐四春，见其园之丘。两字写尽丘园之态，是「以词写园」的点睛之词。「丘园」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
青袍 The blue or dark-green robe of the lowest official ranks; in the Tang, colour of dress announced a man's grade at a glance. Li Shangyin's comparison of it to grass makes the point that it is both low and unchanging, the visible sign of a career that has stalled. 「青袍」写青袍似草年年定，是写青袍之态的关键。「青袍似草年年定」着一「青袍」，写青袍——着一「青袍」，写青袍似草年年定，见其袍之青。两字写尽青袍之态，是「以词写袍」的点睛之词。「青袍」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
龙津 The Dragon Ford, that is, the Dragon Gate on the Yellow River, where the carp that leaps the rapids is transformed into a dragon. It is the standard figure for success in the examinations and for entry into high office, and to ask which road leads there is to say plainly that the way is closed. 「龙津」写未知何路到龙津，是写龙津之态的关键。「未知何路到龙津」着一「龙津」，写龙津——着一「龙津」，写未知何路到龙津，见其津之龙。两字写尽龙津之态，是「以词写津」的点睛之词。「龙津」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

水调歌头·明月几时有 Prelude to the Water Melody: 'When Did the Bright Moon First Appear?' 苏轼 · 同写春日感怀、沉郁旷达，一写人有悲欢离合、一写青袍似草年年定白发如丝日日新，皆于春日之中见沉郁 Both are spring poems of reflection with a sombre cast; one resolves the griefs and joys of parting into acceptance, the other leaves a stalled career unresolved, showing two ways of handling disappointment.

Su Shi's lyric rises from personal separation to a general truth and then rests in it: the moon has always waxed and waned, and nothing has ever been complete. Li Shangyin's poem moves in the opposite direction, from a general observation about the world's cycles down into a particular, unanswerable question about his own prospects. One poet is consoled by the recognition that imperfection is universal; the other is embittered by it. Read together they show how much of a poem's resolution depends on temperament — Su Shi's acceptance and Li Shangyin's grievance are both convincing because each is complete in itself.

苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全」，写春日感怀、沉郁旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；李商隐《春日寄怀》则以「青袍似草年年定，白发如丝日日新」「欲逐风波千万里，未知何路到龙津」写年年定、到龙津。两诗同写春日感怀、沉郁旷达：一写人有悲欢离合、以悲欢写离合，一写青袍似草年年定白发如丝日日新、以白发写感怀；一为苏轼之旷达、一为李商隐之沉郁，并读正可见诗写「春日感怀」的两种笔法，皆于春日之中见沉郁。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Eight Beats of a Ganzhou Song: 'Facing the Pattering Evening Rain That Sprinkles the River Sky' 柳永 · 同写春日凝望、沉郁清丽，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写纵使有花兼有月可堪无酒又无人，皆于春日之中见凝望 Both poems are written from a position of looking and waiting; one gazes across a rain-swept river at an unreachable home, the other looks for a road to the Dragon Ford and cannot find it, and both turn a physical distance into a figure for frustrated desire.

Liu Yong's speaker is a traveller separated from a woman and from home, and the rain-washed sky measures the distance he cannot cross. Li Shangyin's speaker is separated from a career, and the Dragon Ford measures the advancement he cannot reach. Both poems end in a question about direction, and in both the landscape answers nothing. The comparison is useful for seeing how the same structure — a wide view, a blocked path, an unanswered question — can carry either romantic longing or political frustration without altering a single element of its design.

柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「对潇潇暮雨洒江天，一番洗清秋」，写春日凝望、沉郁清丽，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；李商隐《春日寄怀》则以「纵使有花兼有月，可堪无酒又无人」「世间荣落重逡巡，我独丘园坐四春」写无酒又无人、坐四春。两诗同写春日凝望、沉郁清丽：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写纵使有花兼有月可堪无酒又无人、以无酒写感怀；一为柳永之清丽、一为李商隐之沉郁，并读正可见诗写「春日凝望」的两种笔法，皆于春日之中见凝望。