唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
寄人
To One Who Has Gone (Sent to a Beloved)
别梦依依到谢家，小廊回合曲阑斜。
多情只有春庭月，犹为离人照落花。
Only the spring-court moon is tender of heart, still shining upon the fallen blossoms for the one who has gone away.
Meaning
The poem recalls a dream of returning to a former lover's home, where the scene remains unchanged but the person is gone. Through the moon still lighting the fallen blossoms, it voices a quiet, endless longing for someone absent.
别后的梦依依不舍，又回到那谢家；小廊回环，曲阑横斜。最多情的只有春庭上的明月，还替远方离人照着满地落花。
Appreciation
The poem opens with a dream that drifts back to the beloved's home, where the familiar corridors and balustrades are unchanged though the person is absent. The final couplet turns to the spring-court moon, casting its light on fallen blossoms as if in sympathy with the lonely dreamer. By giving feeling to the moon and silence to the absent lover, the poem turns unspoken longing into a lingering, wordless image. Restrained and sorrowful yet never bitter, it stands as a model of the subtle love lyric of the late Tang.
【白话串讲】 “别梦依依到谢家，小廊回合曲阑斜”——张泌写寄人：梦里又回到她的家。“多情只有春庭月，犹为离人照落花”——只有庭院里的月亮，还记得为离人照落花。他写思念，写得那么含蓄。 【意象与手法】 “小廊回合曲阑斜”以景写记忆之深；“春庭月照落花”以景结情，空灵蕴藉，余味无尽。 【情感与主旨】 写对旧日情人的深长怀念，梦境与现实交错，哀而不伤，是晚唐含蓄情诗的代表。 【名句点睛】 “多情只有春庭月，犹为离人照落花”——以月之“多情”反写人之“无情”（或不在），空庭落花，相思无尽。
Background
Zhang Mi was a poet and lyricist of the late Tang into the Five Dynasties period. This poem (sometimes classed as a lyric) recalls a past love; the Xie household stands for the dwelling of the poet's beloved, using the allusion to the Xie family.
《寄人》为五代张泌所作，是写别后相思、托月寄情之情的诗。张泌（生卒年不详），字子澄，淮南人，五代词人。此诗：别梦依依到谢家，小廊回合曲阑斜。多情只有春庭月，犹为离人照落花。全诗写别后相思、托月寄情之情，是张泌诗的名篇。
Art
The four lines first narrate a dream and then turn to scene, moving from the real to the unreal. The closing image of the moon lighting fallen blossoms ends on scene rather than commentary, so feeling lingers without being stated, capturing the restrained charm of the late Tang.
《寄人》艺术上以别梦依依的描摹与托月寄情的深婉见长。全诗四句：首写别梦依依——“别梦依依到谢家，小廊回合曲阑斜”写别梦依依到谢家、小廊回合曲阑斜；末写托月寄情——“多情只有春庭月，犹为离人照落花”写多情只有春庭月、犹为离人照落花。全诗以别梦依依写托月寄情，正是张泌诗深婉的笔法。
Allusions
The Xie household refers to the clan home of Xie An of the Jin dynasty, later a general term for the residence of a noblewoman or, by extension, a lover's dwelling. The one who has gone away means the person far from home.
《寄人》用典在“谢家”“春庭月”“离人”。“谢家”用谢家（唐代谢家，借指所思之家）；“春庭月”写春庭明月；“离人”写离别之人。全诗以这些意象写别后相思、托月寄情，用典自然而深婉自见，正是张泌诗的笔法。
Commentary
The Tang Poetry Appreciation Dictionary says the poem returns in a dream to seek the beloved, but she is not there; only moonlight and fallen blossoms remain, with a leisurely, haunting charm. The Can Ying Wu Ci Hua calls it deep and gentle, never pressing.
《寄人》是张泌诗的名篇，也是唐五代诗中写别后相思的代表作。此诗写别后相思、托月寄情之情，向为论者称道。论者多赏其别梦依依的描摹与托月寄情的深婉——“别梦依依到谢家，小廊回合曲阑斜”写别梦依依到谢家、小廊回合曲阑斜，深婉之极；“多情只有春庭月，犹为离人照落花”写多情只有春庭月、犹为离人照落花，更见其情。张泌为五代花间派词人，兼工诗，此诗正是其代表——以别梦依依写托月寄情，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
别梦依依到谢家，小廊回合曲阑斜。
My parting dream lingers and returns to the Xie household; the small corridors wind round and the curved balustrades slant.
别梦依依到谢家，小廊回合曲阑斜。
In the dream of parting I drift fondly to your Xie home; the small corridor winds round, the curved railings slant.
首写别梦依依到谢家、小廊回合曲阑斜，是全诗写别后之梦的起点。“别梦依依到谢家”用谢家之典写别梦依依到谢家——“别梦依依到谢家”用谢家借指所思之家写别后之梦依依到谢家——别梦依依到谢家；“小廊回合曲阑斜”写小廊回合曲阑斜——“小廊回合曲阑斜”写小小回廊、曲折阑干斜——小廊回合曲阑斜。二句写别梦依依到谢家、小廊回合曲阑斜：别梦依依到谢家，小廊回合曲阑斜。以“别梦依依到谢家”用谢家之典写别梦依依、重到谢家，以“小廊回合曲阑斜”写回廊阑干、旧地如昨，正是张泌诗写别后之梦的起点——别梦依依，回廊曲阑。
The first two lines write the dream after parting, the start. 'In the dream of parting I drift fondly to your Xie home' uses the Xie family as the byword for the loved one's house; 'the small corridor winds round, the curved railings slant' — the winding corridor, the angled railings, the old place as of yore. It is the start of Zhang Bi's dream after parting: the fond dream, the corridor and railings.
多情只有春庭月，犹为离人照落花。
Only the spring-court moon is tender of heart, still shining on the fallen blossoms for the one who has gone away.
多情只有春庭月，犹为离人照落花。
Only the spring courtyard's moon is loving; still for the parted one it shines on the falling flowers.
末写多情只有春庭月、犹为离人照落花，是全诗写托月寄情的归结。“多情只有春庭月”写多情只有春庭月——“多情只有春庭月”写多情的只有春庭之月——多情只有春庭月；“犹为离人照落花”写犹为离人照落花——“犹为离人照落花”写还替离人照着落花——犹为离人照落花。二句写多情只有春庭月、犹为离人照落花：多情只有春庭月，犹为离人照落花。以“多情只有春庭月”写多情唯有春庭明月、永伴离人，以“犹为离人照落花”写月犹照落花、代传离情，正是张泌诗写托月寄情的归结——春庭多情月，照落花寄情。
The last two lines end in entrusting the moon with feeling, the close. 'Only the spring courtyard's moon is loving' — of all things, only the moon above the spring courtyard is fond; 'still for the parted one it shines on the falling flowers' — it yet shines on the fallen petals for the parted man. Through the moon it writes the feeling, the poem's close: the loving moon of the spring courtyard, shining on the fallen flowers to carry the longing.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
张泌《江城子·浣花溪上见卿卿》写相遇调笑之情，与本首同为张泌作品写情思。差异在情境：寄人写别后托月寄情；江城子浣花溪写相遇调笑。一写“寄”之怨，一写“遇”之俏。两者并读，可见张泌写情思的两种情境。
女冠子·四月十七 Song of a Female Immortal: The Seventeenth Day of the Fourth Month 韦庄 · 同为五代写别后相思之作，一写托月寄情一写忆别之梦，皆深婉 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
韦庄《女冠子·四月十七》写忆别相思、别后之梦，与本首同为五代写别后相思之作。差异在体裁：寄人为七绝；女冠子为词。一写“月”之寄，一写“梦”之忆。两者并读，可见五代写别后相思的两种体裁。
思帝乡·春日游 Thinking of the Emperor · Spring Outing 韦庄 · 与本首相关联的同类或同作者作品，供对比阅读 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
此处关联韦庄《思帝乡·春日游》，与本首在主题、体裁或作者上相关联，可对比阅读以见其同异。