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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

宫词

Palace Verse (Gongci)

薛逢

Xue Feng

十二楼中尽晓妆望仙楼上望君王锁衔金兽连环冷水滴铜龙昼漏长云髻罢梳还对镜罗衣欲换更添香遥窥正殿帘开处袍袴宫人扫御床

In the twelve towers, all complete their morning toilet; on the Wangxian Tower they gaze toward their lord.
The beast-mouthed lock holds a cold ring; water drips from the bronze dragon — the daytime clepsydra runs long.
Her cloud-like coif done, she faces the mirror again; about to change her gauze robe, she adds more incense.
Peering from afar where the main hall's curtain opens, robe-clad palace women sweep the imperial bed.

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Meaning

From dawn toilet to peering at the main hall, the poem follows palace women through one long, expectant day: they dress with elaborate care, yet the locked doors, the dripping water clock, and the empty imperial bed reveal that no one is coming. Beneath the gorgeous surfaces of the palace lies the endless boredom and quiet grief of women waiting for a favor that never arrives.

十二楼中，宫人尽晓梳妆，望仙楼上，遥望君王。锁衔着金兽，连环冷落，水滴着铜龙，昼漏正长。云髻梳罢，还对镜，罗衣欲换，更添香。遥窥正殿帘开之处，袍袴宫人，正在扫御床。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] In the twelve towers every woman completes her morning toilet; on the Wangxian Tower they gaze toward the king. The beast-mouthed lock holds a cold ring; water drips from the bronze dragon, and the day-clock runs long. Her cloud coif done, she turns to the mirror again; about to change her gauze robe, she adds more incense. Peering from afar where the main-hall curtain opens, she sees only robed maids sweeping the imperial bed. [Structure] Four couplets trace a single arc: eager grooming, the cold drag of time, repeated adornment, and the final glimpse of emptiness — expectation is built up only to be exposed. [Imagery] Cold lock, long clepsydra, mirror, incense: every object is a measure of waiting, and the swept imperial bed at the end turns hope into its opposite without a word of lament.

【白话串讲】薛逢写《宫词》：“十二楼中尽晓妆，望仙楼上望君王”——“锁衔金兽连环冷，水滴铜龙昼漏长”——“云髻罢梳还对镜，罗衣欲换更添香”——“遥窥正殿帘开处，袍袴宫人扫御床”——他写宫怨——望仙楼上望君王。【意象与手法】首联“十二楼中尽晓妆，望仙楼上望君王”写十二楼中晓妆、望仙楼上望君的期盼；颔联“锁衔金兽连环冷，水滴铜龙昼漏长”写金兽连环之冷、铜龙昼漏之长，以物写孤寂；颈联“云髻罢梳还对镜，罗衣欲换更添香”写梳妆添香、对镜自怜的期盼；尾联“遥窥正殿帘开处，袍袴宫人扫御床”写遥窥正殿、宫人扫床的落寞。以物写情、细腻真切。【情感与主旨】薛逢写宫怨之作，写深宫女子的盼幸与孤寂，以冷锁长漏、对镜添香、遥窥正殿写盼幸的落寞，是宫怨诗的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“锁衔金兽连环冷，水滴铜龙昼漏长”以冷锁长漏写孤寂；“遥窥正殿帘开处，袍袴宫人扫御床”写盼幸落寞。

Background

Xue Feng (c. 806-c. 876), courtesy name Taojin, was from Puzhou Hedong (modern Yongji, Shanxi). A late Tang poet who passed the jinshi examination in 841 and rose to be supervisor of the Palace Library, he wrote much on personal frustration and the sorrows of palace women. 'Gongci' (Palace Verse) was a Tang genre treating the secret life of the harem; Xue Feng's poem, famous for its ending 'Peering from afar where the main-hall curtain opens, robed maids sweep the imperial bed', is considered one of the finest late Tang examples of the form.

此诗为晚唐诗人薛逢的《宫词》之作，是宫怨诗的名篇。薛逢（约806—约876），字陶臣，蒲州河东（今山西永济）人，晚唐诗人。会昌元年（841）进士，官至秘书监。其诗多写身世之慨与宫闱之怨，《宫词》为唐人以宫女生活为题材的组诗，薛逢此作写深宫女子的盼幸与孤寂：「十二楼中尽晓妆」，写十二楼中，宫人尽晓梳妆——「十二楼」用道教典，谓仙人居处，此处借指宫楼，十二楼中，宫人清晨尽起梳妆；「望仙楼上望君王」，写望仙楼上，遥望君王——「望仙楼」为宫中之楼，宫人登楼望君，正是盼幸；「锁衔金兽连环冷」，写锁衔着金兽，连环冷落——「金兽」为兽形铜锁，「连环冷」写锁环之冷，正是宫门深锁的冷落；「水滴铜龙昼漏长」，写水滴着铜龙，昼漏正长——「铜龙」为铜制龙形漏壶，「昼漏长」写白昼漫长，正是深宫日长的孤寂；「云髻罢梳还对镜」，写云髻梳罢，还对镜——宫人梳好云髻，还对着镜自怜；「罗衣欲换更添香」，写罗衣欲换，更添香——宫人欲换罗衣，更添熏香，正是盛妆盼幸；「遥窥正殿帘开处」，写遥窥正殿帘开之处——宫人远远窥望正殿帘开之处；「袍袴宫人扫御床」，写袍袴宫人，正在扫御床——正殿帘开之处，只有袍袴宫人在扫御床，君王并未来。全诗以深宫的景致写宫女盼幸的孤寂与落寞，是宫怨诗「以景写怨」的代表作。

Art

The poem is a masterpiece of indirection. Its first couplet fixes the women's whole day on one verb, 'gaze' (wang); the second couplet replaces their feelings with two objects — a cold lock and a dripping clepsydra — so that cold metal and slow time speak the loneliness for them. The third couplet multiplies small actions ('again', 'still more') to show compulsive, hopeful grooming, and the last couplet delivers the twist: the awaited curtain opens, but what it reveals is maids sweeping the imperial bed, not the emperor. The hope of the entire day collapses in a single domestic image, and the poem never states a word of resentment — everything is carried by scenery, action, and the contrast between expectation and fact.

此诗艺术上以「以景写怨」与「层层递进」为特色，在深宫的景致中写宫女盼幸的孤寂。首联「十二楼中尽晓妆，望仙楼上望君王」，以「尽晓妆」写宫人清晨尽起梳妆的期盼，以「望仙楼上望君王」写登楼望君的期盼——「望」字，是此诗的关键动作，写尽盼幸之心；颔联「锁衔金兽连环冷，水滴铜龙昼漏长」，以「连环冷」写金兽锁环之冷，以「昼漏长」写铜龙昼漏之长——「冷」「长」二字，以物写孤寂，正是「以景写怨」；颈联「云髻罢梳还对镜，罗衣欲换更添香」，以「还对镜」写梳妆后的对镜自怜，以「更添香」写罗衣欲换、添香盼幸——「还」「更」二字，写尽盛妆盼幸的殷勤；尾联「遥窥正殿帘开处，袍袴宫人扫御床」，以「遥窥」写远远窥望，以「扫御床」写袍袴宫人扫床——那正殿帘开之处，只有宫人在扫御床，君王并未来，正是盼幸的落空。全诗由「尽晓妆」的期盼，经「连环冷」「昼漏长」的孤寂、而对镜添香的殷勤，而归于「扫御床」的落寞，层层递进，正是宫怨诗「以景写怨」的极致。

Allusions

'Twelve towers' (shi'er lou) alludes to the Daoist immortal realm: the Records of the Grand Historian preserve the claim that in the Yellow Emperor's time twelve towers of five cities were built to await the immortals; Tang poets borrowed the term for palace towers. 'Wangxian Tower' was an actual palace tower of the Tang court, built under Emperor Wuzong in connection with the Wangxian Abbey; its name puns perfectly on 'gazing toward the king'. The 'gold beast' (jin shou) is the animal-headed lock ring of palace gates; the 'bronze dragon' (tong long) is the dragon-shaped water clock whose drips marked the hours. 'Cloud coif' (yunji) descends from Sima Xiangru's and Cao Zhi's descriptions of women's towering hair. Each reference keeps the gorgeous surface of the palace while quietly underlining confinement and long, dripping time.

此诗用典于关键处见深意。「十二楼」，用道教典——古传昆仑山有五城十二楼，为仙人所居，《史记·封禅书》「方士有言黄帝时为五城十二楼以候神人」，后以「十二楼」写仙宫、亦借指宫楼；「十二楼中尽晓妆」，写十二楼中宫人尽晓梳妆，正是宫楼的华美。望仙楼，为唐宫中楼名，唐武宗时建望仙观于宫城，后以「望仙楼」写宫楼；「望仙楼上望君王」，写宫人登楼望君，正是盼幸，而「望仙」之名，正暗合「望君」之意。金兽，为兽形铜锁——古人以兽形为门环、锁钮，「锁衔金兽连环冷」，写金兽锁环之冷。铜龙，为铜制龙形漏壶——古代以漏壶计时，龙形漏壶滴水，昼夜不绝，「水滴铜龙昼漏长」，写昼漏之长。「云髻」，写如云的发髻——司马相如《上林赋》「青琴宓妃之徒……鬒发丰艷」，《洛神赋》「云髻峨峨」，后以「云髻」写女子发髻之美。「袍袴」，写袍服袴装——宫人服制有袍袴，「袍袴宫人扫御床」，写正殿中袍袴宫人扫床。这些意象，或写十二楼、或写望仙楼、或写金兽铜龙、或写云髻袍袴，皆围绕深宫与盼幸这一核心，织成一张华美而冷寂的情网，正是宫怨诗「以物写怨」的特点。

Commentary

Late Tang critics prized this poem for its 'scene-written resentment': not one word of complaint appears, yet the cold lock, the endless clepsydra, and the maids sweeping the imperial bed are saturated with it. The closing couplet is universally admired for its tact — the glimpse through the opening curtain shows not the longed-for emperor but a maid at work, so the reader, like the woman, is left staring at an empty bed. Set beside Wang Changling's 'Autumn Words for the Changxin Palace' (High Tang) and Bai Juyi's 'Words for the Rear Palace' (mid-Tang), Xue Feng's poem shows the palace-lament genre turning from stark chill toward ornate, layered melancholy, a hallmark of the late Tang temperament.

读此诗，最值得注意的是尾联「遥窥正殿帘开处，袍袴宫人扫御床」所写出的「期盼的落空」。前六句写宫女盼幸的殷勤：尽晓妆、望君王、连环冷、昼漏长、还对镜、更添香——那是深宫女子一日之内的盼幸，梳妆、望楼、对镜、添香，无一处不写着「盼」字。然而尾联忽然一转，「遥窥正殿帘开处」——宫人远远窥望正殿，那帘开之处，该是君王驾临吧；「袍袴宫人扫御床」——却只见袍袴宫人，正在扫御床。君王并未来，那正殿帘开之处，只是宫人在清扫御床。这一对照，是全诗的关键：那「尽晓妆」「望君王」的殷勤期盼，落空了；那「还对镜」「更添香」的盛妆等待，无人来赏。以「袍袴宫人扫御床」写盼幸的落空，比直写「君王不来」更见含蓄与凄凉——那扫御床的宫人，与梳妆添香的宫人，同在深宫，都是被冷落的女子。全诗无一字写怨，而「连环冷」「昼漏长」「扫御床」诸景，处处含怨——正是宫怨诗「以景写怨」的含蓄。而「望仙楼上望君王」的「望」字，与「遥窥」的「窥」字相对，一正一怯，写尽深宫女子的期盼与无奈。那深宫的昼漏，一日日地滴着，那盼幸的宫人，一年年地老去——薛逢此诗，写尽深宫女子的孤寂，正是宫怨诗的代表作。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated verse (qiyan lüshi)诗（七言律诗）

Rhyme The five rhyme words — zhuang ('toilet'), wang ('king'), chang ('long'), xiang ('incense'), chuang ('bed') — all belong to the level-tone Yang rhyme group, whose long, resonant close suits the dragging melancholy of locked palace days.此诗为七言律诗，押平声「阳」部韵，「妆」「王」「长」「香」「床」等字皆属下平七阳韵，韵脚悠长而绵邈，正合诗情「深宫孤寂」的声调。首联「十二楼中尽晓妆，望仙楼上望君王」以「尽晓妆」「望君王」起，写盼幸；颔联「锁衔金兽连环冷，水滴铜龙昼漏长」，以「连环冷」「昼漏长」相对，工对而见孤寂；颈联「云髻罢梳还对镜，罗衣欲换更添香」，以「还对镜」「更添香」相对，流水而对；尾联「遥窥正殿帘开处，袍袴宫人扫御床」，以「遥窥」「扫御床」收束，写落寞。整体声调由首联的期盼，到尾联的落寞，悠长而含怨，正合宫怨诗「以景写怨」的诗情。

Tone pattern The middle couplets observe parallelism with verbal ingenuity: 'beast-mouthed lock' answers 'bronze dragon', 'cold ring' answers 'long day-clock'; the third couplet runs in flowing sequence rather than strict opposition ('again', 'still more'), and the final couplet returns to firm parallelism in 'peering afar' and 'sweeping the imperial bed'.句式上，此诗善用「尽」「还」「更」「遥」等虚字与对仗：「十二楼中尽晓妆，望仙楼上望君王」，以「尽晓妆」写尽楼皆妆，「望君王」写登楼望君，虚字见盼幸；「锁衔金兽连环冷，水滴铜龙昼漏长」，以「连环冷」「昼漏长」写宫门之冷、昼漏之长，对仗精工而见孤寂；「云髻罢梳还对镜，罗衣欲换更添香」，以「还对镜」「更添香」写盛妆盼幸的殷勤，流水而对；「遥窥正殿帘开处，袍袴宫人扫御床」，以「遥窥」写窥望之怯，「扫御床」写盼幸之落空。全诗由期盼入孤寂、由孤寂入落寞，对仗整饬而句法多变，正是宫怨诗「以景写怨」的节奏美学。

Reading note As a late Tang regulated poem, its prosody serves indirection: the even, spacious seven-syllable gait gives the gorgeous details room to accumulate, while the level Yang rhyme, with no abrupt stops, lets the poem's mood trail off like the water clock's endless dripping — sound and sense in perfect sympathy.作为晚唐七律，《宫词》的声律之美，在于以悠长的阳韵与虚字对仗的句式，写出深宫孤寂的盼幸落寞情思。全诗首联「十二楼中尽晓妆」以十二楼中尽晓妆写深宫女子清晨的期盼，望仙楼上望君王写登楼望君的盼幸；颔联「锁衔金兽连环冷，水滴铜龙昼漏长」以金兽连环之冷、铜龙昼漏之长写深宫的孤寂，「以景写怨」；颈联「云髻罢梳还对镜，罗衣欲换更添香」以对镜添香写盛妆盼幸的殷勤，「还」「更」见深情；尾联「遥窥正殿帘开处，袍袴宫人扫御床」以遥窥正殿、宫人扫床写盼幸的落空，含蓄而凄凉。全诗由期盼入孤寂、由孤寂入落寞，层层递进而声情相谐，正是宫怨诗「以景写怨」的体现。就全诗而言，此诗以深宫的景致写宫女盼幸的孤寂与落寞，无一字写怨而处处含怨，是宫怨诗的名篇，与王昌龄《长信秋词》同为宫怨之作，而一写「银烛秋光冷画屏」的凄冷，一写「遥窥正殿帘开处」的期盼，可见宫怨这一母题在盛唐与晚唐的不同情调。

Line by line

十二楼中尽晓妆

In the twelve towers, all complete their morning toilet.

十二楼中，宫人尽晓梳妆。

In the twelve towers the palace women dress at dawn.

这一句是此诗的起笔，写深宫女子清晨梳妆的期盼，是此诗盼幸心态的开端。「十二楼」，用道教典——古传昆仑山有五城十二楼，为仙人所居，后借指宫楼，写宫楼的华美；「尽晓妆」，写尽晓梳妆——十二楼中的宫人，清晨尽起梳妆，正是盛妆盼幸的期盼。以「十二楼」写宫楼，比直写「深宫」更见华美与高远——那仙人所居的十二楼，正是深宫的象征；「尽晓妆」三字，写尽宫人清晨梳妆的殷勤——不是一人梳妆，而是尽楼皆妆，正是盼幸的普遍。这一起笔，以宫楼的华美写深宫的生活，为全诗定下「盼幸」的基调，也是「望仙楼上望君王」的铺垫。

The opening line writes the palace women dressing at dawn in expectation of favor. 'Twelve towers' adapts the Daoist legend of the twelve towers of Kunlun where immortals dwell, now standing for the splendid palace; 'all dress at dawn' shows them rising at first light to array themselves, the general hope for the emperor's notice.

锁衔金兽连环冷

The beast-mouthed lock holds a cold ring.

锁衔着金兽，连环冷落。

The lock holds a bronze beast; its linked ring is cold.

这一句写宫门深锁的冷落，是此诗以景写怨的关键。「锁衔金兽」，写锁衔着金兽——「金兽」为兽形铜锁，锁衔于金兽之上，正是宫门深锁的具象；「连环冷」，写连环冷落——那金兽的连环，冷冷清清，正是宫门久闭的冷落。以「金兽连环」写宫门，比直写「深宫」更见具象与华美——那兽形铜锁，本是宫门的华饰，如今却冷冷清清；「连环冷」三字，以「冷」字写锁环之冷，正是「以景写怨」——锁环都冷了，何况宫中之人。这一句，是此诗以景写怨的关键，与「水滴铜龙昼漏长」相对，一写宫门之冷，一写昼漏之长，正是深宫日长的孤寂。

This line writes the cold depth of the locked gate. The lock holds a beast-shaped bronze fitting, and its linked ring stands chill — 'cold' writes the long-shut gate, and by extension the cold of the woman within; the lock is cold, how much more the person.

遥窥正殿帘开处

Peering from afar at the place where the main hall's curtain opens.

远远窥望正殿帘开之处。

From afar she peeps at the place where the curtains of the main hall are drawn apart.

这一句写宫人远远窥望正殿，是此诗由期盼转入落寞的枢纽。「遥窥」，写远远窥望——「遥」写距离之远，「窥」写偷看之怯，宫人远远地、怯怯地窥望，正是深宫女子的身份；「正殿帘开处」，写正殿帘开之处——那正殿的帘子开处，该是君王驾临之处吧。以「遥窥」写窥望，比直写「望」更见怯怯与卑微——深宫女子，不敢正望君王，只能远远地窥望；「正殿帘开处」写帘开之处，正是盼幸的焦点——那帘开之处，是君王驾临的所在，也是宫人盼幸的希望。这一句，是此诗由期盼转入落寞的枢纽，与「袍袴宫人扫御床」相连，一窥望一落空，正是盼幸的必然结局。

This line is the pivot from hope to disappointment: from afar she peeps at where the main hall's curtains part — the place where the emperor might come. 'From afar' and 'peep' show the timid humility of a palace woman who dare not look directly, and the parted curtain is the focus of her hope; the next line's grooms sweeping the imperial bed will leave her hope falling empty.

Study

Word focus

望仙楼 A Tang palace tower, whose name 'gazing at immortals' puns on the women's 'gazing toward the king' — the building itself voices their longing. 「望仙楼上望君王」之「望仙楼」，写宫中楼名，是此诗盼幸意象的关键语。「望仙楼」为唐宫中楼名——唐武宗时建望仙观于宫城，后以「望仙楼」写宫楼；「望仙楼上望君王」，写宫人登楼望君，正是盼幸。以「望仙楼」写宫楼，比直写「宫楼」更见双关之妙——「望仙楼」本为望仙之楼，而宫人登楼，望的却是君王，那「望仙」之名，正暗合「望君」之意，正是「以楼名写怨」；「望君王」三字，写登楼望君的期盼，正是此诗盼幸的核心。这一词，是此诗盼幸意象的关键，与「十二楼」相连，一写宫楼之华美，一写望君之期盼，正是深宫盼幸的典型意象，也是「以景写怨」的体现。

昼漏 The daytime clepsydra; its measured dripping makes the palace day feel endless, turning time itself into an instrument of loneliness. 「水滴铜龙昼漏长」之「昼漏」，写白昼的漏刻，是此诗深宫日长意象的核心语。「昼漏」即白昼的漏刻——古代以漏壶计时，龙形漏壶滴水，昼夜不绝，「昼漏」写白昼的漏刻；「水滴铜龙昼漏长」，写水滴着铜龙，昼漏正长——「铜龙」为铜制龙形漏壶，「长」写昼漏之漫长。以「昼漏长」写白昼之漫长，比直写「日长」更见具象与冷寂——那铜龙漏壶，一滴一滴地滴着，白昼一日一日地长着，正是深宫日长的孤寂；「长」字，写尽深宫女子的度日如年。这一词，是此诗深宫日长意象的核心，与「连环冷」相对，一写宫门之冷，一写昼漏之长，正是深宫孤寂的写照，也是「以景写怨」的关键。

遥窥 To peer from afar — 'distant' and 'furtive' together, marking the humble, fearful position of a palace woman who dare not look straight at her lord. 「遥窥正殿帘开处」之「遥窥」，写远远窥望，是此诗盼幸落寞意象的核心语。「遥窥」即远远地偷看——「遥」写距离之远，「窥」写偷看之怯，宫人远远地、怯怯地窥望正殿，正是深宫女子的身份与处境；「正殿帘开处」，写正殿帘开之处——那帘开之处，该是君王驾临之处。以「遥窥」写窥望，比直写「望」更见怯怯与卑微——深宫女子，不敢正望君王，只能远远地、怯怯地窥望，那「窥」字，写尽深宫女子的身份；「遥」字，写距离之远，正是宫人与君王的距离。这一词，是此诗盼幸落寞意象的核心，与「望君王」相对，一望一窥，一正一怯，写尽深宫女子盼幸的期盼与无奈，也是尾联「扫御床」落空的铺垫。

宫词