All poems

唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

节妇吟

Song of the Chaste Wife

张籍

Zhang Ji

乐府yuefu 言志aspiration 比兴bixing (analogy)

君知妾有夫，赠妾双明珠。
感君缠绵意，系在红罗襦。
妾家高楼连苑起，良人执戟明光里。
知君用心如日月，事夫誓拟同生死。
还君明珠双泪垂，恨不相逢未嫁时。

You knew I had a husband, yet gave me twin bright pearls.
Touched by your tender regard, I tied them to my red silk bodice.
My house rises in tall towers beside the royal park,
My lord bears his halberd within the Hall of Bright Light.
I know your heart is as bright as sun and moon,
But I have sworn to live and die with my husband.
I return your pearls, and two lines of tears fall,
Regretting only we did not meet before I was wed.

Listen

Meaning

A married woman receives a gift of pearls from a known suitor, wears them briefly, then returns them with tears—a political allegory in which Zhang Ji declines a warlord's patronage while keeping both his loyalty and the other's dignity.

您明知我已有丈夫，还要赠给我一对明珠。我感念您缠绵的情意，把它系在了红色的短袄上。我家的高楼与皇家苑囿相连，我的丈夫在明光殿执戟守卫。我知道您的用心如日月般光明，可我发誓要与丈夫同生共死。现在把明珠还给您，我不禁双泪直流——只恨没有在我尚未出嫁时与您相逢。

Appreciation

The whole is a complete psychodrama: receive—touched—tie the pearls—state her case—declare her vow—return—weep. Each step of feeling is drawn finely, especially 'tie them to my red silk bodice'—she does not refuse at once, even wears them once; this hesitation gives the character real warmth. Had she been stern from the start, she'd be a moralist, not a poem. The poem's note says it was 'sent to Minister Li Shidao of Dongping.' Li was a mighty warlord who recruited scholars with gifts; Zhang, loyal to the court, declined by the wife's voice. So two layers: a married woman refusing a gift, a scholar refusing a warlord. 'Serving my husband' stands for 'serving the court,' 'returning the pearls' for 'declining the post'—saving the other's face and his own stance.

【白话串讲】有人想挖墙角，送张籍的妻子明珠。妻子婉拒：“君知妾有夫，赠妾双明珠”。“还君明珠双泪垂，恨不相逢未嫁时”——还你明珠，只恨没在嫁人前认识你。其实这是张籍拒绝藩镇拉拢的政治表态。【意象与手法】全诗是一场完整的心理剧：受赠—感动—系珠—自陈—明志—还珠—落泪。感情的每一步都写得极细，尤其“系在红罗襦”一句最见分寸——她并没有立刻拒绝，甚至一度佩戴，这份犹豫使人物有了真实的温度。若一上来便义正词严，便成道学面孔，不成好诗。【情感与主旨】此诗题下原注“寄东平李司空师道”。李师道是当时权势煊赫的藩镇节度使，广招文士，张籍不愿依附，遂借节妇口吻婉言谢绝。所以这首诗有两层：表层是一位已婚女子拒绝馈赠，深层是一个士人拒绝藩镇的招揽。以“事夫”喻“事君”，以“还珠”喻“辞聘”，既保全了对方颜面，又守住了自己立场。【名句点睛】 “还君明珠双泪垂，恨不相逢未嫁时”——拒绝得如此决绝，又如此缠绵。十四字把“情”与“义”的两难写到极处，遂成千古名句，也成后世婉拒之辞的祖本。

Background

The poem carries the note 'sent to Minister Li Shidao of Dongping.' Li Shidao, then military governor of Pinglu-Ziqing and acting minister, was among the strongest warlords of the mid-Tang, recruiting men of letters with wealth. Zhang Ji, serving at court, upheld the center against warlordism and wrote this to decline gently. The whole is a political statement cast as a boudoir lyric, hence listed under the old yuefu title 'Song of the Chaste Wife.'

张籍（约七六八至约八三〇），字文昌，和州乌江人，中唐著名诗人，与王建并称张王，以乐府诗开新乐府一派，白描工致、语浅情深。此诗题下原有小注寄东平李司空师道。李师道时任平卢淄青节度使，兼检校司空、同中书门下平章事，是中唐势力最盛的藩镇之一，常以财货招揽文人以自重，俨然与中央分庭抗礼。张籍时在朝任职，力主维护中央集权、反对藩镇割据，遂借一位已婚女子拒绝馈赠的口吻，婉言谢绝李师道的延揽。全诗表面是一首缠绵的闺情诗，深层则是一篇政治表态：以事夫喻事君，以还珠喻辞聘，既严拒了藩镇的拉拢，又保全了对方颜面。理解此诗，须结合中唐藩镇之祸与士人出处抉择的历史语境，方能领会其以艳笔写严辞的良苦用心，此诗寄李师道，以闺情写辞聘，表面缠绵而内里严正；中唐藩镇之祸方殷，张籍借节妇之口明不可贰心之志，是政治表态而能保全颜面之范。。

Art

The greatest art is a thoroughgoing allegory with no seam. The compared matter—a woman refusing a gift—is itself a complete, moving love poem readable without knowing the subtext; once the biography is known, every word lands: 'has a husband' means already serving the court, 'pearls' the rich offer, 'red silk bodice' a moment's stirring, 'bearing the halberd in bright light' his own post, 'live and die together' his unbroken loyalty, 'returning the pearls' his flat refusal. The two layers fit exactly—a rare complete work in the Chinese analogy tradition. The plot presses step by step, the psychology rises and falls; ten short lines hold a tale's twists.

此诗最大的艺术成就在通体用比而毫无隔阂。所比之事（女子拒赠）本身即是一首完整动人的爱情诗，读者纵不知其寄托，亦可当情诗读；一旦知其本事，则字字皆有着落：有夫喻已事朝廷，明珠喻厚礼招揽，红罗襦喻一时心动，执戟明光喻自身职守，同生死喻忠贞不贰，还珠喻断然谢绝。表里两层严丝合缝，是中国比兴传统中罕见的完整之作。结构上，全诗是一场完整的心理剧：受赠、感动、系珠、自陈、明志、还珠、落泪，情节步步推进，人物心理有起有伏。最险亦最妙者在感君缠绵意，系在红罗襦——她竟一度佩戴，若无这一犹豫，后面的归还便不足动人，人物亦失其真。短短十句而具小说之曲折，以闺阁语藏锋于内，是张籍乐府白描功夫的极致，通体用比而表里俱安，有夫、明珠、红罗襦、执戟、同生死、还珠字字有托；情节如心理剧，系珠一缓使人物有血有肉，白描功夫至此极矣。。

Allusions

'Bright Light' (mingguang) is the Han Hall of Bright Light, here any palace; 'bearing the halberd' a palace guard's post, together showing her husband's upright, vital office. 'Red silk bodice' is a Tang woman's common wear. The title is an old yuefu, in the line of Luofu refusing the governor in the Han yuefu 'Mulberry by the Path'—both use a woman's chastity to speak a scholar's steadfastness.

①明光：指汉代明光殿，此处泛指宫殿，执戟为宫廷侍卫之职，良人执戟明光里以丈夫在皇宫执戟，点明其身份之正、职守之要，亦暗喻诗人自己身隶朝班、不可贰心。②红罗襦：红色丝罗短衣，唐代女子常服，系珠于襦是女子贴身的小动作，写尽一时的心动与温软。③双明珠：明珠喻珍贵馈赠，双言其厚，赠妾双明珠即藩镇以重礼相邀。④还君明珠：还珠本有珠还合浦之典，此处反用，写主动奉还以示决绝。⑤此诗题为乐府旧题，与汉乐府《陌上桑》中罗敷拒绝使君的传统一脉相承，皆借女子守节以言士人守志，是比兴托讽的古老手法在中唐的复活。⑥未嫁时：以未嫁喻未仕，恨不相逢未嫁时把拒绝归于时机而非人品，是体面谢绝的至高技巧，亦见张籍用典之婉，明光、红罗襦、双明珠、还珠、未嫁诸语皆有所本，与陌上桑罗敷拒使君一脉；以未嫁喻未仕，把不可附逆化为儿女怅惘，用典之婉至此。。

Commentary

Shen Deqian's 'Tang Poetry: Selected' says 'tying the pearls to her bodice, her heart had assented; yet she cannot betray the worthy husband for his rank—that is chastity. But returning the pearls with tears, that is feeling.' Later readers call it 'feeling arises, ritual bounds it'—the utmost rule of yuefu analogy.

清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》评系珠于襦，心许之矣；以良人贵显而不忍负，节也。然还珠而涕泣，情也，一语道尽此诗情理交战之妙。近人论张籍，多以此诗与《秋思》并观，认为同以细节动作代替心理直白，是张籍白描美学的双璧。其经典意义在于把一篇可能剑拔弩张的政治辞聘，化为一首缠绵悱恻的闺情绝唱，拒得决绝而缠绵，遂成后世婉拒之辞的祖本。千百年来，还君明珠双泪垂、恨不相逢未嫁时二句，早已脱离原本事，成为一切有情人不得相偶、有志者难遂其愿的共名。要之，此诗以艳笔写严辞、以儿女之情寄君臣之节，含蓄至此而力量自厚，诚中唐乐府比兴之极则，亦足见张籍以常语写大节的独到手眼，沈德潜谓系珠心许、还珠涕泣，情节交战尽在一诗；还君明珠双泪垂遂成婉拒之祖本与错缘之共名，诚中唐乐府以艳笔写严辞之极则，婉而能坚，曲而能直，唐人乐府讽喻之妙，于此可见一斑。。

Prosody

Form Yuefu poem (mixed five- and seven-character lines)乐府诗（五言与七言杂用）

Rhyme The first four lines rhyme on the yu category of the seventh rhyme group: zhu, ru; the later six shift to the zhi category and others, with li, si, shi assonant. The mid-poem rhyme shift fits the plot's turn from calm telling to urgent pleading.前四句押平水韵上平七虞：珠、襦；后转押，里、死、时相协；中途换韵，正合情节由平叙转入激切的推进。

Tone pattern The first four lines use five characters, short and steady, like narration; the later six turn to seven characters, the phrasing unhurried, like laying bare the heart. The shift from five to seven matches the emotional rise from 'receiving' to 'declaring,' form and content one.前四句用五言，节奏短促平稳，如叙事；后六句转七言，句式舒展，如陈情。由五言到七言的转换，恰与由受赠到明志的情绪升级同步，是形式与内容的合一。

Reading note Though titled yuefu, it already has the scale of later narrative verse. Ten lines hold dialogue, action, psychology, and turn, yet never leave the boudoir's tongue—the edge hidden deep.此诗虽题为乐府《节妇吟》，实已具后世叙事诗的规模。十句之中有对话、有动作、有心理、有转折，而通体不出闺阁语，藏锋极深。用韵上，前四句珠、襦押上平七虞韵，声情柔婉，恰合受赠系珠的温软；后文转以里、死、时等协韵，韵脚渐紧，与明志还珠的决绝相应，换韵暗合情节转急。句式上，前四句五言短促如叙其事，后六句七言舒展如吐其心，由五言到七言的递变，正与由受赠之平到明志之激的情感升级同步，形式与内容若合符契。要之，此诗声律随情而转，不以工整绳墨为务，而贵在节奏与心理同频，是张籍乐府以常语调深情的绝佳范例，亦足见中唐新乐府不泥古法、以意为主的创作取向。

Line by line

君知妾有夫，赠妾双明珠。

You knew I had a husband, yet gave me twin bright pearls—opening points out the other's 'knowing yet doing,' calm yet already blaming; not in anger, exactly the poem's measure.

您明知我已有丈夫，还要赠给我一对明珠。

You knew well I have a husband, yet you gave me a pair of bright pearls.

开口先点破对方的明知故犯，语气平静而已含责备。君知妾有夫五字如当头一棒，把赠送者的尴尬与诗中人的清醒同时写出——你既知我有夫，却仍赠珠，是试探，也是逼迫。赠妾双明珠以双明珠写馈赠之厚，双字见其郑重，亦暗喻藩镇招揽之殷勤。此句之妙在不动声色：不呼号、不斥责，只把事实摆出，便已立住全诗的道德高地。作为一首政治托讽诗，这两句即是藩镇以厚礼延揽、诗人已识其意的缩影；作为情诗，则是女子面对诱惑时清醒的开场。一语双关，表里俱安，是张籍通体用比、起手即稳的典范，亦为后文系珠、还珠的波澜预设了张力。

The opening points out at once the other's knowing fault, the tone calm yet already reproachful. 'You knew well I have a husband' strikes like a blow, writing both the giver's embarrassment and the woman's clarity: knowing I have a husband, you still give pearls — a test, and a pressure. 'A pair of bright pearls' writes the richness of the gift, 'pair' the deliberateness, secretly the warlords' eager recruitment. The beauty is in the calm: no cry, no rebuke, only laying out the fact, and the moral high ground is already held. As a political allegory, these two lines are the warlords' rich recruitment and the poet's recognition of its meaning; as a love poem, the woman's clear opening before temptation. One sentence, double meaning, surface and depth both secure.

感君缠绵意，系在红罗襦。

Touched by your tender regard, I tied them to my red silk bodice—the most dangerous yet most wonderful stroke. She took them, even wore them; without this hesitation, the later return would not move. The character thus gains flesh.

我感念您缠绵的情意，把明珠系在了红罗短袄上。

Moved by your tender feeling, I tied the pearls to my red silk jacket.

全诗最险亦最妙的一笔。她没有立刻拒绝，反而感君缠绵意，把明珠系在了贴身的红罗襦上——这是一个极具温度的动作：系而非藏、非弃，说明她确曾心动，曾有一瞬的犹豫与温软。若无这一笔，后面的还珠便成了道学面孔，人物便失其真。红罗襦写女子常服，系珠于襦是私密的、带着体温的小动作，把那种既感动又为难的心绪写得纤毫毕现。从托讽角度看，系珠即诗人面对藩镇厚聘时一度的动摇；唯其有过动摇，最终的坚守才更见人格之重。这一句使全诗由平直的拒绝转为起伏的心理剧，人物由此有了血肉，亦见张籍写人善于在节操中保留人情的温度。

The most dangerous and exquisite stroke of the poem. She does not refuse at once; instead, 'moved by your tender feeling', she ties the pearls to her close-fitting red silk jacket — a warm gesture: tied, not hidden, not cast away, showing she was indeed moved, had a moment of hesitation and softness. Without this stroke, the later returning of the pearls would be a moralist's mask, the character losing its truth. The red silk jacket is the woman's everyday dress; tying pearls to it is a private, warm-bodied little act, drawing the torn feeling of being moved yet trapped with hairline precision. Allegorically, the tying is the poet's momentary wavering before the warlord's rich offer; precisely because he wavered, the final standing firm shows the weight of character. This line turns the flat refusal into a drama of hesitation, giving the character flesh.

妾家高楼连苑起，良人执戟明光里。

My house rises in tall towers beside the royal park, my lord bears his halberd within the Hall of Bright Light—not plainly saying she cannot follow, first showing her rank and her husband's standing; answering by fact is stronger than empty refusal, and spares the other's face.

我家的高楼紧连着皇家苑囿，丈夫正在明光殿执戟值守。

My house rises in tall towers adjoining the park; my husband stands with halberd in the Bright Hall.

由心动转入陈词，以事实作答。妾家高楼连苑起写门第之贵、家世之显，高楼连苑既是实写居所之盛，也暗喻己身已托付于朝廷（苑指皇家园林）；良人执戟明光里则点明丈夫身份——在皇宫执戟，是正当而紧要的职守。这两句的机锋在于：她不直说不能相从，而先亮明自己的归属与丈夫的正统身份，以事实的不可移易代替空言的拒绝，既坚决又给对方留了体面。从比兴言，高楼连苑、执戟明光皆喻诗人身隶朝班、职守所在，不可贰心。以富贵与职守双重立据，比单说不愿更有千钧之力，是婉拒艺术中最高明的一着，亦显张籍布局之密。

From being moved she moves to stating her case, answering in fact. 'My house rises in tall towers adjoining the park' writes the illustrious family and grand dwelling, secretly that she belongs to the court (the park is the imperial garden); 'my husband stands with halberd in the Bright Hall' fixes the husband's station — guarding the palace with halberd, an honest, critical duty. The point: she does not say plainly she cannot follow, but first declares her allegiance and her husband's orthodox station, using the unalterable fact instead of empty refusal, both firm and sparing the other's dignity. Allegorically, towers adjoining the park and the halberd in the Bright Hall mean the poet's place in the courtly ranks, his duty not to be divided. Richness and duty as twofold evidence, heavier than a bare 'I will not'.

知君用心如日月，事夫誓拟同生死。

I know your heart is as bright as sun and moon, but I have sworn to live and die with my husband—the first clause affirms the other's character, the second states her own stand; first uplift then hold, the highest skill of gentle refusal, also showing the lodging: not belittle him, only keep her own vow.

我知道您的心意光明如日月，但我发誓与丈夫同生共死。

I know your heart is bright as the sun and moon; yet I have sworn to share life and death with my husband.

上句先肯定对方人格，下句才申明自身立场，是先扬后守的至高技巧。知君用心如日月以日月喻对方心迹之光明，等于说：我并非疑你存心不良，你是一片诚意；这一褒既全了对方的面子，也把拒绝的原因彻底从人品上剥离。事夫誓拟同生死随之斩钉截铁，誓拟二字写立誓之决，同生死写从一而终的坚贞。从托讽看，事夫即事君，同生死即与朝廷共存亡，是诗人对中央的效忠宣言。先扬后守的好处在于：拒绝得并不尖刻，反而显出胸襟——你很好，只是我已有不可移易的归属。这种既敬且拒的姿态，正是此诗能婉转达意而不伤和的要害，亦见张籍以情写节、以礼自守的深厚修养。

The upper line first affirms the other's character, the lower then declares her stand — the supreme art of lifting before holding. 'I know your heart is bright as the sun and moon' compares his intentions to sunlight and moonlight, saying: I do not doubt your sincerity, you mean well; this praise saves his face and strips the refusal's cause from character. 'Yet I have sworn to share life and death with my husband' follows, cutting as a blade; 'sworn' the resolve, 'share life and death' the lifelong constancy. Allegorically, serving the husband is serving the ruler, sharing life and death is standing or falling with the court. The beauty of lifting then holding: the refusal is not sharp, but shows breadth — you are fine, only I have an allegiance that cannot be moved. This stance of respecting yet refusing is why the poem can decline without breaking harmony.

还君明珠双泪垂，恨不相逢未嫁时。

I return your pearls, and two lines of tears fall, regretting only we did not meet before I was wed—'return' is reason, 'tears' are feeling, 'regretting only we did not meet before I was wed' lays both out; resolve within infinite tenderness, hence moving a thousand years on.

把明珠奉还给您，我双泪直下——只恨没能在未出嫁时与您相逢。

I return your pearls, tears streaming; how I wish we had met before I was married.

结句收束全篇，是千古传诵的名句，亦将情理交战写到极处。还君明珠是理智的归位，双泪垂是情感的流淌，一还一泪，决绝与缠绵并存；而恨不相逢未嫁时则把二者一并托出——若我尚未嫁人，今日相逢该多好。这一句是全诗的灵魂：它把拒绝的原因归于时机而非人品，等于对赠者说，不是你不好，是我们相遇太迟。这种以遗憾代指责的笔法，是最体面的谢绝，也是最能动人、最不易结怨的辞令。从比兴看，未嫁喻未仕，恨不相逢未嫁时即恨不得早遇明主而仕，把政治上的不可从附，化为儿女情长的怅惘。十四个字融决绝、温软、遗憾于一炉，遂成后世婉拒之辞与有情人不得偶的共名，诚张籍白描之冠。

The closing gathers the whole poem, a famous line, pushing the war between reason and feeling to the extreme. 'I return your pearls' is reason restored; 'tears streaming' is feeling flowing; return and tears, resolve and tenderness together. 'How I wish we had met before I was married' brings both out — if I had not been married, how good it would be to meet you now. This line is the poem's soul: it attributes the refusal to timing, not character, saying to the giver, it is not that you are not good, but that we met too late. This method of regret instead of reproach is the most dignified refusal, the most moving, the least likely to breed resentment. Allegorically, 'unmarried' means not yet in office; the wish to have met the worthy lord earlier turns the political impossibility of following the warlord into a lovers' wistfulness. Fourteen words fuse resolve, softness, and regret, become the byword for elegant refusal and for lovers who cannot be matched.

Study

Word focus

系 In 'I tied them to my red silk bodice,' the word 'tie' bears chewing. Not 'hide,' not 'cast away,' but worn on the body—she was stirred. Precisely because she was stirred, the later return is true restraint, not heartlessness. One 'tie' turns a moral lesson into a human struggle. 系在红罗襦之系字，是全诗最耐咀嚼的一个动词。它不是藏、不是弃，而是佩戴于身——系在贴身的红罗短袄上，说明她曾真心动过，曾把那一对明珠妥帖地挂在离心的方寸之间。正因动过心，后来的归还才是真正的克制而非无情；正因有过这一系，人物的节操才不是标语式的，而是从人情中挣扎而出的。一个系字，把道德的说教还原为人性的真实：面对厚赠与缠绵意，谁不曾有一瞬的温软？张籍以系字写这一瞬的动摇，恰恰成就了后文还珠的千钧之重。它是全诗心理剧的枢纽，也是比兴中最见温度的一笔——系珠即诗人面对藩镇厚聘时真实的一度犹豫，唯其真实，方能动人。

誓拟 'Intend' means plan, prepare; 'have sworn to intend' means vowing to do so. Using 'intend' rather than a flat word, the tone keeps three parts softness, in keeping with the poem's gentle-refusal key—she states her stand, not declares war. 事夫誓拟同生死之誓拟，是申明立场时的关键虚词。拟是打算、准备之意，誓拟即立誓要如此，语气上仍留三分柔婉，与全诗婉拒的基调一致——她在申明立场，而非宣战。若换作断然的字眼（如誓必、决当），便少了那份体面与温厚，也易伤和气。誓字重、拟字缓，一重一缓之间，既有不可移易的决心，又有不亢不卑的从容。从托讽看，誓拟同生死即诗人对朝廷的效忠表态，以婚誓喻臣节，绵里藏针。张籍善用这类轻重的拿捏：在必须坚决处，用誓字立骨；在可以缓和处，用拟字留余，使拒绝既有原则又有温度，足见中唐文人于政治辞令中淬炼出的极高分寸感。

恨不相逢未嫁时 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 恨不相逢未嫁时是全诗的诗眼，也是中国诗歌中最著名的婉拒之语。恨不是怨恨，而是遗憾；不不是否定人品，而是归咎时机。七个字把不可从附的原因，从道德判断巧妙地转换为时间遗憾——不是你不好，是我们相遇太迟；若我未嫁（未仕），今日便当别论。这一转换极其高明：它保全了对方的体面，也卸下了拒绝的锋芒，使决绝裹在温婉之中，最不易结怨。从比兴看，未嫁喻未入仕途、未定归属，恨不相逢即恨不得早遇而仕，把政治上的不可附逆，化为儿女情长的怅惘。这七个字以最软的笔写最硬的拒绝，遂成千古名句与一切错失之缘的共名，亦显张籍以情写节到了化境。

节妇吟