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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

春雨

Spring Rain

李商隐

Li Shangyin

春雨怀人spring / memory 朦胧相思Theme

怅卧新春白袷衣，白门寥落意多违。
红楼隔雨相望冷，珠箔飘灯独自归。
远路应悲春晼晚，残宵犹得梦依稀。
玉珰缄札何由达，万里云罗一雁飞。

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Meaning

A misty, melancholy poem of longing for a lover separated by the spring rain, blending present isolation with a faint dream and an unspoken message.

怅然独卧新春，身著白色夹衣；白门一带寥落冷清，心意多与愿违。隔着迷蒙春雨相望红楼，只觉一片清冷；珠帘般的灯火飘摇中，我独自归来。远路之人该悲叹春色向晚，残夜梦里，尚能依稀与你相逢。玉珰与书信如何才能送达，万里云天如罗网，唯见一只孤雁飞过。

Appreciation

Li Shangyin's 'Spring Rain' is a premier example of his romantic poetry's characteristic obscurity and deep tenderness (menglong shenwan). The poem never names the beloved; instead a chain of misty, cold-toned images--the white lined robe, the desolate White Gate, the red chamber seen across rain, beaded drifting lamplight, a single wild goose crossing a 'cloud-net' of ten thousand miles--carries longing without stating it. The rain itself is the silent connective tissue binding present isolation, a faint dream of reunion, and an unspoken, undeliverable message. Structurally the seven-character regulated verse moves from the poet's own sorrowful lying, to a remembered or imagined glimpse of the red chamber, to sympathy for the distant lover, and finally to the hopeless dispatch of jade earring and sealed letter. Its mood of refined, almost painterly melancholy--every line evokes rain, every line harbors feeling--shaped the Song 'Xikun' school and left a lasting mark on later Chinese poetry's art of suggestion and veiled emotion.

【白话串讲】 “怅卧新春白袷衣，白门寥落意多违”——李商隐写春雨：怅卧新春。“红楼隔雨相望冷，珠箔飘灯独自归”——“远路应悲春晼晚，残宵犹得梦依稀”——“玉珰缄札何由达，万里云罗一雁飞”——他写思念，含蓄朦胧。【意象与手法】首联“怅卧新春白袷衣，白门寥落意多违”写新春独卧、怅然若失；颔联“红楼隔雨相望冷，珠箔飘灯独自归”以迷蒙雨中红楼、飘摇灯影写寻觅不遇；颈联“远路应悲春晼晚，残宵犹得梦依稀”推想远路之人伤春迟暮；尾联“玉珰缄札何由达，万里云罗一雁飞”以孤雁收束。意象迷离凄美、色调幽冷，善用叠映与暗示，句句写雨而句句含情。【情感与主旨】李商隐羁留长安春日雨天怀人之作，弥漫朦胧怅惘，写相思阻隔之痛，典型体现义山爱情诗朦胧深婉、旨远辞文的风格，对宋初西昆体及后世朦胧诗艺影响甚深。【名句点睛】常考“红楼隔雨相望冷，珠箔飘灯独自归”以隔雨红楼写孤冷；“玉珰缄札何由达，万里云罗一雁飞”以孤雁写相思阻隔。

Background

One of Li Shangyin's celebrated romantic poems, likely addressed to a lover he could not openly meet; the 'White Gate' traditionally signals a place of parting or secret assignation.

李商隐，字义山，晚唐最负盛名的抒情诗人，一生陷于牛李党争，辗转幕僚，漂泊无依，爱情诗尤以其无题一类幽约迷离、旨远辞文而独步千古。此诗约作于其晚年羁留长安、春日雨天怀人之际。白门，本是建康（金陵）城门，后泛指男女欢会之地或所恋之地，六朝乐府与后世诗词多以白门写情事；义山此处或用其暗指所恋之方，亦或只是借江南地名写一种遥不可及的寥落。所怀对象不详，或为其所恋慕而音书阻隔之人，旧说或系女冠、或系妾侍，皆难坐实。诗中弥漫的朦胧怅惘，典型体现义山无题类作品的幽约情悰——他几乎从不把心事说破，只把雨、楼、灯、梦、雁一层层叠起，让读者在迷离中自己沉下去。读此诗，须把它放回义山一生困顿、情路多舛的底色里，那白门寥落的不是一座城，而是一个人永远到不了、也忘不掉的地方，是春夜里一场下不完的、关于一个人的雨。

Art

Dense, veiled imagery (white robe, red chamber, beaded lamplight, cloud-net) creates a mood of refined melancholy; the rain binds the scenes without ever naming the beloved.

首联怅卧新春白袷衣，白门寥落意多违，写新春独卧、白门寥落，怅然若失，以白袷衣的素净衬心境之清冷；颔联红楼隔雨相望冷，珠箔飘灯独自归，以迷蒙雨中红楼、飘摇灯影写寻觅不遇、独自归去的孤冷，冷字是通体诗眼的体温。颈联远路应悲春晼晚，残宵犹得梦依稀，推想远路之人伤春迟暮，而己身唯残宵得逢依稀梦影，由实入虚，梦与醒交界。尾联玉珰缄札何由达，万里云罗一雁飞，以玉珰书信难寄、云罗中孤雁南飞收束，相思阻隔之痛深沉。全诗意象迷离凄美，色调幽冷，善用叠映与暗示，句句写雨而句句含情，典型体现义山爱情诗朦胧深婉、不可方物的风神，于短章中藏有无尽低回，读来如隔着重重雨幕看一盏渐远的灯，明明灭灭，皆是心事。其以雨为媒、以冷为骨，于晚唐唯美一脉中最为幽约深婉，读来如隔重幕而见孤灯。情景相生，句句写雨而句句含情，足称义山无题一体之冠。

Allusions

白门 (White Gate) — associated in southern dynastic poetry with lovers' meetings and separations. 玉珰 (jade earring) — a love token; 云罗 (cloud-net) — the vast sky likened to a snare, a traditional image for separation.

诗中用典与借意，集中在白门、玉珰、云罗数处。白门，本为建康西门，六朝乐府《杨叛儿》暂出白门前，杨柳可藏乌，后以白门泛指男女欢会或所恋之地；义山白门寥落，既是实写金陵一带的冷落，亦暗用其情地故实，使寥落兼指欢迹之稀、相思之阻。玉珰，是女子耳饰，古乐府及后世多以玉珰为定情或寄远之物；义山玉珰缄札，言以玉珰随书寄远，化用南朝乐府与传奇中缄札传情的传统，使一封信有了体温。云罗，语本云如罗网，鲍照、江淹辈多有云罗之喻，义山万里云罗一雁飞，以云天如网写音书阻隔、天地辽阔而人如困笼，孤雁是唯一的信使也是唯一的徒劳。这些意象，或出六朝乐府，或出南朝诗文，被义山熔成一炉幽冷，使个人的相思获得古典的深长回响，亦见其无题诗善于以旧典写新愁的本领，旧瓶之中，装的却是最私己、最说不出口的雨。典故与地名皆化为私己之愁，旧瓶之中别盛新泪。

Commentary

The poem moves from the speaker's lonely present, to a chilled memory of the red chamber, to a dream, and finally to the impossible letter — each step more distant, ending on a single flying goose that cannot carry the message.

此诗为李商隐无题类抒情诗佳作，历来备受推崇，是研究晚唐唯美诗风与义山身世之重要范本。清人冯浩《玉溪生诗集笺注》于此诗颇多疏解，虽所怀对象聚讼纷纭，而皆许其幽咽迷离；近人论义山，多以《春雨》与《锦瑟》《无题》诸作同调，认为其吞吐迷离、意在言外，奠定了义山诗深婉瑰丽、不可方物的独特美学。此诗之妙，论者多在其句句写雨而句句含情——红楼隔雨、珠箔飘灯，雨是无形的阻隔，也是弥漫的愁；冷字一出，通体皆寒。亦有学者指出，尾联万里云罗一雁飞，以孤雁写音书之绝，与《无题》蓬山此去无多路，青鸟殷勤为探看同一机杼，皆以信使的徒劳写相思之深。其对宋初西昆体及后世朦胧诗艺影响甚深，久为论者所重，足证其艺术生命力之强，亦见晚唐唯美一脉如何在朦胧中抵达永恒，使千年后的读者仍能在雨幕里认出自己的怅惘。其影响及于宋初西昆与后世朦胧诗艺，足证其艺术生命力之强。

Prosody

Form English explanation is being prepared.七言律诗（七律，八句四联，中二联对仗）

Rhyme English explanation is being prepared.押平水韵上平五微：违、归、稀、飞，一韵到底，微韵发音细切低回，恰配迷离幽冷、相思低诉的基调。

Tone pattern English explanation is being prepared.怅卧新春白袷衣，仄仄平平仄仄平；白门寥落意多违，仄平平仄仄平平；红楼隔雨相望冷，平平仄仄平平仄；珠箔飘灯独自归，平仄平平仄仄平；远路应悲春晼晚，仄仄平平平仄仄；残宵犹得梦依稀，平平平仄仄平平；玉珰缄札何由达，仄平平仄平平仄；万里云罗一雁飞，仄仄平平仄仄平。中二联基本相对，合七律常格。

Reading note Seven-character regulated poem (七律) with tight tonal parallelism in the middle couplets; its restraint amplifies the unspoken grief.此诗体为七律，八句四联，中二联红楼隔雨相望冷，珠箔飘灯独自归、远路应悲春晼晚，残宵犹得梦依稀皆两两对仗，属近体正格。韵脚违、归、稀、飞同属平水韵上平五微，一韵到底，微韵发音细切而低回，恰配全诗迷离幽冷、相思低诉的语气，也衬出春雨中那一份说不出口的怅。声调上，首联以怅卧起调、平白入哀，颔联写隔雨飘灯、冷意浸骨，颈联由实入虚、梦与醒交，尾联以疑问振起、孤雁收束，形成由静到冷、由冷到空的跌宕。律诗贵浑成，义山此作却以朦胧胜，对仗而不伤迷离，用典而不隔，结句以景代情，使严整的七律承载了最私己的雨。读其声，如隔重幕听低语，正见义山无题一体以律写迷的独绝。

Line by line

怅卧新春白袷衣，白门寥落意多违。

Sorrowfully I lie in my white lined robe at the new spring; desolate by the White Gate, my heart runs contrary to all I wish.

怅然独卧新春，身著白色夹衣；白门一带寥落冷清，心意多与愿违。

Sorrowing, I lie in the new spring, clad in a white jacket; the White Gate is desolate, my hopes so often crossed.

首联写新春独卧的怅然，是全诗情绪的总开关。怅卧新春白袷衣，着一个怅字、一身素净的白袷衣，人便卧在清冷里，新春本该喧闹，他却独卧，反差已见孤寂；白门寥落意多违，白门本指金陵欢会之地，此处既实写所恋之方的冷落，亦暗用六朝情地故实，使寥落兼指欢迹之稀、相见之阻。意多违三字最沉——心意多半落空，不是一次失意，而是屡屡违愿的累积。这一联不写雨而春寒已透，不写人而人已在卧中，把一段无从说起的相思，先安放在白袷衣与寥落白门的底色上，为后文隔雨相望、独自归去埋下全部的凉。

The opening couplet writes the sorrowing lone lying in the new spring, the master switch of the whole's mood. Sorrowing, I lie in the new spring, clad in a white jacket - the single word sorrowing and the plain white jacket, the man lying in the cold purity; the new spring should be noisy, yet he lies alone, the contrast already showing the loneliness. The White Gate is desolate, my hopes so often crossed: the White Gate originally means the pleasure ground of Jinling, here at once actually writing the coldness of the beloved's place and secretly using the Six Dynasties love-place allusion, so desolate means both the rarity of the love traces and the barrier to meeting. The three words my hopes so often crossed are the heaviest - the wishes mostly falling through, not one disappointment, but the accumulation of repeated crossed hopes. This couplet writes not the rain yet the spring cold already permeates, writes not the man yet the man already in the lying, setting a piece of unspeakable longing first on the ground of the white jacket and the desolate White Gate, laying all the coldness for the later gazing across the rain and returning alone.

红楼隔雨相望冷，珠箔飘灯独自归。

Across the rain I gaze at the red chamber, cold; through drifting lamplight like beaded curtains, I return alone.

隔着迷蒙春雨相望红楼，只觉一片清冷；珠帘般的灯火飘摇中，我独自归来。

Across the rain, I gaze at the Red Tower, cold; through the pearl-curtain mist, the lamp flickers, and I return alone.

颔联是全诗最凄美的一联，也是冷字落地的所在。红楼隔雨相望冷，隔着迷蒙春雨遥望那座红楼，楼在雨里，人在雨外，一个隔字写尽咫尺天涯；相望冷，不写楼冷、不写雨冷，而写相望之间漫上来的冷——是望而不得的寒。珠箔飘灯独自归，珠帘般的灯火在雨中飘摇，他独自踏雨归来，飘与独对举，灯火愈软，身影愈孤。这一联的妙处，在把寻觅不遇的过程省略，只留相望的冷与归去的独，让读者自己补全那场空走的雨。句句写雨，句句写隔，冷是通体诗眼的体温，自此以下，全诗再暖不起来了。

The jaw couplet is the most beautiful-and-painful of the whole, and the place where the word cold lands. Across the rain, I gaze at the Red Tower, cold: gazing across the misty spring rain at the Red Tower, the tower in the rain, the man outside the rain, the single word across writing to the full the inch of distance as a world away; gazing, cold - not writing the tower cold or the rain cold, but the cold rising between the gaze - the chill of gazing without attaining. Through the pearl-curtain mist, the lamp flickers, and I return alone: the pearl-curtain-like lamp flickering in the rain, he treading the rain home alone, the words flickers and alone set against, the lamp the softer, the figure the lonelier. The beauty of this couplet lies in omitting the whole process of seeking and not finding, leaving only the cold of the gaze and the loneliness of the return, letting the reader fill in the fruitless rain walk. Every line writes rain, every line writes the barrier, cold is the body-temperature of the poem's eye; from here on, the whole can no longer warm.

玉珰缄札何由达，万里云罗一雁飞。

How can my jade earring and sealed letter ever reach you, as a single wild goose flies across ten thousand miles of cloud-net?

玉珰与书信如何才能送达，万里云天如罗网，唯见一只孤雁飞过。

By what road shall the jade earring and sealed letter reach you? Across ten thousand li of cloud-net, a single goose flies.

尾联以音书难寄收束，是全诗最沉的一笔。玉珰缄札何由达，玉珰是定情耳饰，缄札是封好的信，想把这带着体温的信物寄去，却问一句何由达——不是不知路，而是知道路断、人阻、信绝，问只是无可奈何的痛。万里云罗一雁飞，云天如网罗般铺开，唯见一只孤雁掠过，雁本是可托书的，此处却只是飞过，连徒劳都显得孤单。这一结，把前面所有的雨、楼、灯、梦，全部收进一封寄不出的信里。云罗之喻，写尽天地辽阔而人如困笼的荒诞，孤雁之飞，写尽相思终成空响的宿命。义山不哭不喊，只让一只雁飞过万里云罗，余痛便漫到诗外。

The tail couplet closes in the difficulty of sending word, the heaviest stroke of the whole. By what road shall the jade earring and sealed letter reach you? - the jade earring a love-token ear ornament, the sealed letter the closed letter, wishing to send this body-warm token, yet asking by what road - not that he knows not the road, but that he knows the road is broken, the man barred, the letter cut, the question only the helpless pain. Across ten thousand li of cloud-net, a single goose flies: the sky spread like a net, only one lone goose skimming by; the goose originally the one entrusted with letters, here only flying past, even the futility looking lonely. This close gathers all the rain, tower, lamp, and dream before into one letter that cannot be sent. The cloud-net meta-phor writes to the full the absurdity of the vast heaven and earth while man is as in a cage; the lone goose's flight writes to the full the fate of longing ending in an empty sound. Yishan weeps not and cries not, but lets one goose fly across the ten-thousand-li cloud-net, and the after-pain spreads beyond the poem.

Study

Word focus

冷 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 冷是贯穿颔联、亦是通体诗眼的体温字。红楼隔雨相望冷，冷不在楼、不在雨，而在相望的那一刻从心底漫上来的寒——是望而不得的凉，是咫尺天涯的颤。义山偏不用悲、不用愁，单用一个冷，把浓得化不开的相思写得近乎生理：像被雨淋透后的瑟缩。这个字的好处，在它以温度代情绪，不着一字哀而哀自彻骨；且冷与前后白袷衣的素、珠箔飘灯的孤、云罗一雁的远，一气贯通，使全诗始终保持着同一种幽寒的体温。一个冷字，是《春雨》全部怅惘的物理刻度，也是义山朦胧诗里最确切的一处心跳。

白袷衣 / 白门 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 白袷衣与白门，一写其身、一写其地，皆着一个白字，是首联精心排布的同色呼应。白袷衣，是初春素净的夹衣，写诗人独卧的清瘦与不合时宜的素；白门，本为金陵欢会之地，此处既指所恋之方的寥落，亦暗用六朝情地故实。两个白叠在一起，不是重复，而是把人的孤与地的空染成同一种冷色——人穿白衣卧于新春，地是白门一片寥落，身心与所恋之方同被春雨洗得惨白。这一处炼色，使首联在未见雨时已先见寒，亦可见义山于无题诗中如何以色彩与地名暗藏情事，不落一字而幽约自见。

云罗 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 云罗是尾联最沉的意象，也是全诗意脉的收束之网。罗本为捕鸟之网，义山以云罗写万里云天如罗网铺开，既是写天地的辽阔，更是写这辽阔本身即是一种困笼——人在其中，音书阻隔，无处可逃。云本该是自由的、高远的，罗却把它变成束缚，这种把自由之物写成囚禁之物的反用，正是义山擅长的悖论笔法。万里云罗一雁飞，孤雁飞过，不是冲破，而是更显渺小与徒劳。云罗二字，把前面所有的隔雨、独自、梦稀，全部收拢为一个总喻：相思之不可达，非因路远，而因天意如网。一词之中，有景、有喻、有命数，是义山以丽字写深哀的典型。

春雨