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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

绝句二首·其二

Quatrain, Second of Two

杜甫

Du Fu

写景Scenery 思归Longing to return home 明快Bright and lively

江碧鸟逾白，山青花欲燃。
今春看又过，何日是归年。

The river's green makes the birds look whiter still;
The mountains' green makes the flowers seem ready to burn.
I watch this spring pass once more before my eyes,
When will the year come for me to return home?

Listen

Meaning

Du Fu paints spring at his Chengdu thatched hut in two blazing couplets: green river against white birds, blue hills against flowers red as flame. Then the poem turns: another spring is slipping away, and the poet, years exiled from home, asks when he will ever return. The brighter the spring, the heavier the homesickness, the classic use of joyful scenery to write sorrow.

江水碧绿，水鸟更显得洁白；山色青翠，花朵红艳得像要燃烧起来。今年春天眼看又要过去了，什么时候才是我回家的日子呢？

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The river is green and the water birds look whiter; the hills are green and the flowers look ready to catch fire. I see this spring passing once again: when will the year come when I can go home? [Structure] A twenty-character quatrain in two halves: the first couplet is pure landscape, the second pure feeling. The hinge is I watch this spring pass, where the gaze turns from the scene to the poet's own life and the color drains away into a question. [Imagery] The first couplet works by mutual enhancement: green makes white whiter, blue makes red redder. Ready to burn is hyperbole at its finest, for the flowers are not red, they are almost fire. This brilliance is not decoration but a trap: the more radiant the spring, the more bitter the knowledge that it, like every spring, is passing while the poet remains in exile. Bright scenery, sad feeling is the poem's signature technique.

【白话串讲】杜甫写《绝句二首·其二》：“江碧鸟逾白，山青花欲燃”——江水碧绿，白鸟更白；山色青翠，花红欲燃。“今春看又过，何日是归年”——他看春又过，问何时能回家——他写春景与乡愁。【意象与手法】此诗是杜甫《绝句二首》的第二首，前两句写景明丽，后两句抒情深沉，是「以乐景写哀情」的典范。首句「江碧鸟逾白」写江水的碧绿映衬水鸟的洁白——「逾」字写出色彩的反衬，碧与白相映成趣；次句「山青花欲燃」写山色的青翠映衬花朵的红艳——「欲燃」以夸张写花红得如同燃烧，是千古名句；三句「今春看又过」写春光的流逝——「看又过」写眼看着春天又要过去；末句「何日是归年」写归期的渺茫——什么时候才是我回家的日子？是千古名句。全诗前两句极写春色的明丽（碧江、白鸟、青山、红花），后两句急转写思归的哀愁（今春看又过、何日是归年），以乐景写哀情，色彩越明丽，归愁越深重，正是杜甫「以乐景写哀情」的高超笔法。【情感与主旨】此诗作于唐肃宗上元二年（761）春，与《绝句二首·其一》同为草堂春日的作品。杜甫自安史之乱以来漂泊流离，虽于上元元年定居成都草堂，但故乡（洛阳）远在千里之外，归期渺茫。其一写草堂春日的安适与明快，其二则在明媚的春光中触动了思归之情——那「江碧鸟逾白，山青花欲燃」的春色越是明丽，越是反衬出诗人的思归之愁；那「今春看又过」写春光易逝、岁月蹉跎，那「何日是归年」写归期渺茫、故乡难归。全诗以明丽的春色写深沉的归愁，以乐景写哀情，正是杜甫「诗圣」沉郁本色的一贯体现——即便在草堂的春光里，他也没有忘记漂泊与思归。那「何日是归年」的叩问，穿越千年，仍是无数游子思乡的心声。【名句点睛】常考“江碧鸟逾白，山青花欲燃”以色彩反衬写春色的明丽；“今春看又过，何日是归年”以乐景写哀情，是千古名句。

Background

Written in spring 761, the second year of the Shangyuan era under Emperor Suzong, this is the second of Du Fu's Two Quatrains, composed at his thatched hut by the Huanhua Stream in Chengdu. Du Fu had fled the An Lushan Rebellion, lost office, and wandered to Sichuan; the hut, built in 760, was his first fixed home in years. Yet his family's home in Gongxian (Henan) was a thousand miles away, the roads were blocked by war, and he had been separated from it for six years. The first quatrain of the pair celebrates the hut's spring peace; this one, in the same radiant spring, breaks into the question of return.

此诗作于唐肃宗上元二年（761）春，是杜甫《绝句二首》的第二首（其一「迟日江山丽，春风花草香」）。杜甫于乾元二年（759）弃官入蜀，上元元年（760）在成都浣花溪畔营建草堂定居，总算结束了长期的颠沛流离。然而杜甫虽居草堂，其故乡在河南巩县（今河南巩义），自安史之乱爆发（755）以来，他已六年未能归乡，加之关中大乱、道路阻隔，归期渺茫。上元二年春，面对草堂明媚的春光，杜甫写下《绝句二首》：其一写草堂春日的明丽安适，其二则在明丽的春色中触动了思归之情。诗中「江碧鸟逾白」写江水的碧绿映衬水鸟的洁白——那「逾」字写色彩的对比，碧江之上、白鸟翻飞，色彩明丽；「山青花欲燃」写山色的青翠映衬花朵的红艳——那「欲燃」以夸张写花红如燃，是写花的名句；「今春看又过」写春光的流逝——诗人眼看着今年春天又要过去，岁月蹉跎；「何日是归年」写归期的渺茫——何时才是我回家的日子？全诗前两句极写春色的明丽，后两句急转写思归的哀愁，以乐景写哀情，是杜甫诗中「以乐景写哀情」的典范之作。

Art

Four techniques carry this twenty-character masterpiece. First, color contrast: the river's green makes the birds look whiter still, where green sets off white and white deepens green; the mountains' green makes the flowers seem ready to burn, where blue sets off red. The words whiter still and ready to make the colors enhance each other, bright as a painting. Second, hyperbole: ready to burn writes the flowers' red at white heat, not red but almost fire, among the most famous flower-lines in Chinese poetry. Third, joyful scenery for sad feeling: the first couplet is all brilliance, the second all grief, and the brighter the spring, the heavier the sorrow of exile. Fourth, the hinge: I watch this spring pass pivots the poem from landscape to life, and the word again packs years of missed springs into one syllable. Small in frame, the poem contains a whole weight of grief.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个层面解析。其一，色彩的反衬。首联「江碧鸟逾白，山青花欲燃」以色彩的对比写景——碧江映衬白鸟，使白鸟更白；青山映衬红花，使红花更红，那「逾」「欲」二字写出色彩的互相映衬与加强，明丽如画，是千古名句。其二，夸张的笔法。「山青花欲燃」以「欲燃」写花红得如同燃烧，将红花的热烈写得淋漓尽致，是写花的名句，也是杜甫诗中少见的浓艳之笔。其三，以乐景写哀情。前两句极写春色的明丽，后两句急转写「今春看又过，何日是归年」的归愁，以乐景写哀情——春色越明丽，反衬得归愁越深重，是千古名句，也是「以乐景写哀情」的典范。其四，转折的结构。全诗前两句写景（乐），后两句抒情（哀），以「今春看又过」一句转折，由明丽的春色转入深沉的归愁，转折自然，意脉连贯。四重手法，使这首二十字的小诗以明丽的春色写深沉的归愁，正是杜甫「以乐景写哀情」的高超笔法，也是其「诗圣」沉郁本色的一贯体现。

Allusions

The poem lives within a web of color and longing traditions. Green river, white birds echoes Du Fu's own Two yellow orioles sing in the green willows, a line of white egrets climbs the blue sky, and Luo Binwang's White feathers float on green water; flowers ready to burn is kin to Du Mu's Frost-reddened leaves are redder than February flowers and Bai Juyi's Sunrise on the river, the flowers redder than fire. I watch this spring pass belongs to the tradition of time's flight, from Liu Xiyi's Year after year the flowers look the same, year after year the men are different onward. When will the year of return come joins the homesick line from Du Fu's own When shall we lean on the empty curtain, both dried of tears by the same moonlight to Cui Hao's At sunset, where is my homeward road? These are not quotations but a whole civilization of spring-gazing turned, here, into one personal question.

此诗的用语深植于自然与羁旅传统。「江碧鸟逾白」写碧江白鸟——那「碧」「白」的色彩对比令人想到「两个黄鹂鸣翠柳，一行白鹭上青天」（杜甫《绝句》）的色彩映衬，也令人想到「白毛浮绿水」（骆宾王《咏鹅》）的色彩趣味；「山青花欲燃」写青山红花——那「欲燃」的夸张令人想到「霜叶红于二月花」（杜牧《山行》）写红的笔法，也令人想到「日出江花红胜火」（白居易《忆江南》）的「红胜火」意象，「欲燃」与「红胜火」异曲同工。「今春看又过」写春光的流逝——那「看又过」写眼看着春天又要过去，令人想到「流光容易把人抛」（蒋捷《一剪梅·舟过吴江》）的时光流逝传统，也令人想到「年年岁岁花相似，岁岁年年人不同」（刘希夷《代悲白头翁》）的岁华之叹；「何日是归年」写归期的渺茫——那「归年」写归乡的年份，令人想到「何时倚虚幌，双照泪痕干」（杜甫《月夜》）的盼归传统，也令人想到「日暮乡关何处是」（崔颢《黄鹤楼》）的乡愁，那「何日是归年」的叩问，正是羁旅之人最深沉的心声。全诗化用色彩、花红、时光、归乡等意象与传统，以明丽的春色写深沉的归愁，正是杜甫「以乐景写哀情」的本领——那碧江白鸟、青山红花越是明丽，那归年之叹越是深重。

Commentary

This quatrain is the classic Tang model of bright scenery, sad feeling. Ming critics praised it: the first two lines paint the scene like a picture, the last two enter the bone. Its special place in literary history lies in the extremity of its contrast: twenty characters of pure radiance, green river, white birds, blue hills, burning flowers, then the turn: I watch this spring pass once more, when will the year of my return come? The spring's brilliance doubles the exile's pain. Written at the Chengdu hut alongside its gentler companion piece, it shows Du Fu's double face in those years, a moment's peace beside a lifetime of homelessness. For readers today it remains the perfect window onto his technique, and When will the year of my return come remains the voice of every traveler far from home.

此诗历来被推为杜甫「以乐景写哀情」的典范，也是其写思归的名篇。历代论者对此诗评价极高：明人评此诗「前二句写景如画，后二句言情入骨」；近人更指出「江碧鸟逾白，山青花欲燃」以色彩的反衬写春色的明丽，「今春看又过，何日是归年」以乐景写哀情，写尽思归的深愁，是杜甫「以乐景写哀情」的典范。在文学史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以二十字写出「以乐景写哀情」的极致——前两句极写春色的明丽（碧江、白鸟、青山、红花），后两句急转写思归的哀愁（今春看又过、何日是归年），春色越明丽，反衬得归愁越深重，正是「以乐景写哀情」的典范；那「山青花欲燃」以「欲燃」写花红，是写花的名句；那「何日是归年」的叩问，是写思归的千古名句。此诗与其一「迟日江山丽」同为草堂春日的作品，其一写安适，其二写归愁，可见杜甫在草堂春光中的复杂心境——既有片刻的安宁，也有深沉的思归。对于今日读者，此诗是理解杜甫「以乐景写哀情」笔法的窗口，也是中国诗歌写思归的经典——那碧江白鸟、青山红花之间，藏着一位漂泊诗人对故乡最深的思念。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain (wujue), four lines, twenty characters; level-tone opening and close, first line unrhymed.五言绝句（平起平收，首句不入韵）

Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level-tone xian category: ran, nian, a single rhyme to the close. The bright, level sound of the rhyme matches the brilliance of the spring scene.全诗押平声先韵（燃、年），一韵到底，韵音明丽，前两句写景明快，后两句言情深婉。

Tone pattern Two couplets, two movements: the first is strictly parallel (river green against mountain blue, bird whiter against flowers burning), its rhythm bright and quick; the second breaks parallelism and slows, the final question hanging unresolved. The prosody itself performs the turn from radiance to longing.此诗为五言绝句，四句二十字，押平声韵。全诗按内容可分为两联：前联写春日景色的明丽（江碧鸟逾白、山青花欲燃）；后联写思归的哀愁（今春看又过、何日是归年）。声调上，前联对仗工整（江碧对山青、鸟逾白对花欲燃），节奏明快，色彩明丽；后联转写抒情，节奏舒缓，正合归愁的深婉。

Reading note The classic five-character quatrain of bright scenery, sad feeling. The first couplet uses color contrast and hyperbole (whiter still, ready to burn) to paint spring at its most radiant; the second, with again and when, turns to the exile's question. Read the first couplet bright and quick, the second low and lingering, especially When will the year of my return come, to convey the weight of homesickness within twenty characters.此诗是五言绝句「以乐景写哀情」的经典，前两句以色彩的反衬写春色的明丽，后两句以乐景写哀情写思归的深愁，正是杜甫「诗圣」沉郁的本色。全诗四句：前联写景（江碧鸟逾白、山青花欲燃），后联言情（今春看又过、何日是归年）。声调上，前联对仗工整、色彩明丽，节奏明快；后联转写归愁，节奏舒缓，那「何日是归年」的叩问，余韵悠长。诵读此诗，宜以明快的语调读前联的明丽，以低回的语调读后联的归愁，尤其「今春看又过，何日是归年」两句，要读得沉郁而低回，方能传达出杜甫「以乐景写哀情」的深意。五绝在杜甫笔下，既有「迟日江山丽」的明快，也有「何日是归年」的沉郁，正见其诗风的多样。

Line by line

山青花欲燃。

The mountains' green makes the flowers seem ready to burn.

山色青翠，花朵红艳得像要燃烧起来。

The mountains are green, and the flowers seem about to burst into flame.

这句是写花的名句，也是千古名句，以「欲燃」的夸张写花红的热烈，明丽而生动。「山青花欲燃」写青山的映衬下，红花红艳得如同燃烧——那「山青」写山色的青翠，那「花欲燃」写花朵的红艳，青山与红花相映，色彩浓烈；「欲燃」二字以夸张写花红——不是一般的红，而是红得「欲燃」，仿佛要燃烧起来，将红花的热烈写到了极致。这句的深意在于：它以「山青」与「花欲燃」的色彩对比，写出了春天最浓烈的一笔——那青山是冷静的底色，那红花是燃烧的亮点，一冷一热、一静一动，将春日的明丽写得淋漓尽致；而「欲燃」的夸张，更写出了诗人面对如此花红的惊异与欢喜。与「江碧鸟逾白」的清新相对，这一句写得浓烈，正写尽了春光的多彩。以「青」写山的底色、以「欲燃」写花的浓烈，正是杜甫「以色彩写景」的本领，也让这句成为写花与写春景的千古名句。

This line is a famous passage on flowers, quoted through the ages, using the exaggeration of 'about to burst into flame' for the flower red's ardor, bright and vivid. 'The mountains are green, and the flowers seem about to burst into flame' — against the green hills, the red blossoms glow as if burning; 'the mountains are green' the hills' fresh green, 'the flowers seem about to burst into flame' the blossoms' red, green and red set against each other, the colors intense; 'about to burst into flame' the exaggeration — not ordinary red, but red 'as if about to burn', writing the flower's ardor to the utmost. The depth: the contrast of 'green mountains' and 'flowers about to burn' writes the most intense stroke of spring — the green hills the cool ground, the red flowers the burning point, one cool one warm, one still one moving, writing spring's brightness to the full; and the exaggeration of 'about to burn' writes the poet's wonder and joy before such red. Set against the freshness of 'the river is green, the birds whiter', this line is intense, writing spring's full color.

今春看又过，何日是归年。

I watch this spring pass once more before my eyes; when will the year come for me to return home?

今年春天眼看又要过去了，什么时候才是我回家的日子呢？

This spring, I see it passing again; when will the year of my return be?

这句是全诗的点题之笔，也是千古名句，以乐景写哀情，写尽思归的深愁。「今春看又过」写春光的流逝——那「看又过」三字，写诗人眼看着今年春天又要过去了，一个「又」字，写尽岁月的蹉跎（又一个春天过去了，归期又推迟了一年）；「何日是归年」写归期的渺茫——那「何日」的叩问，写尽归乡无期的绝望，那「归年」写归乡的年份，何时才是我回家的日子？这句的深意在于：它以「看又过」与「何日是归年」的对照，写出了春色与归愁的反差——春光越是明丽，越是一年又一年地流逝，归乡越是遥遥无期；那「看」字写诗人眼睁睁地看着春光流逝却无可奈何，那「何日」写尽归期的渺茫。而这句的前面是「江碧鸟逾白，山青花欲燃」的明丽春色，越是明丽，越是反衬出归愁的深重，正是「以乐景写哀情」的典范。以「又过」写蹉跎、以「何日」写渺茫，正是杜甫「诗圣」沉郁的本色，也让这句成为写思归的千古名句。

This line is the poem's point and a famous couplet, writing grief through joyous scene, the deep homesickness to the full. 'This spring, I see it passing again' the slipping of spring light — the words 'see ... passing again' writing the poet watching this year's spring go again, the word 'again' writing the wasted years (another spring gone, the return delayed another year); 'when will the year of my return be?' the uncertainty of the return — the question 'when?' writing the despair of a homecoming without date, 'the year of my return' the year of going home, when will it be? The depth: the contrast of 'see ... passing again' and 'when will the year of my return be?' writes the reversal of spring and homesickness — the brighter the spring, the more year after year it slips, the farther the homeward date; 'see' writing the watching helplessly as spring slips, 'when' writing the uncertainty. And before this line lies the bright spring of 'the river is green, the birds whiter; the mountains are green, the flowers about to burn' — the brighter the scene, the more it sets off the weight of homesickness, the model of 'writing grief through joyous scene'.

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Word focus

逾 All the more, even more, a comparative that makes the colors enhance each other: the green river sets off the white birds so they look even whiter. One word captures both the contrast and the layering of the scene. 「逾」字是写色彩映衬的关键字，一个「逾」字写尽碧江映衬白鸟的效果，是「江碧鸟逾白」的点睛字。逾者，更加、越发也。杜甫以「江碧鸟逾白」写江鸟，一个「逾」字，至少有双重意味：其一，写色彩之反衬——那江水碧绿，水鸟在碧江的映衬下，显得更加洁白，「逾」字写尽色彩互相映衬、互相加强的效果——碧者愈碧，白者愈白；其二，写画面之层次——那「逾」字写江水与白鸟的层次，碧绿是底、洁白是点，色彩分明、层次清晰，「逾」字写尽画面的明丽。以「逾」字写映衬，正是杜甫「以色彩写景」的关键——若换作「更」「尤」等字，则或失其文言的风味，或失其映衬的力度；唯「逾」字，以一字写尽色彩的互相映衬，与下句「山青花欲燃」的「欲」字相对，一「逾」一「欲」，写尽碧江白鸟、青山红花的明丽，也让「江碧鸟逾白，山青花欲燃」成为写春景的千古名句。

欲 About to, on the verge of, ready to burn. Not yet flame but almost: hyperbole at its most alive, writing the flowers' red as something that might at any moment catch fire. Paired with whiter still above, it makes the couplet's brilliance. 「欲」字是写红花浓烈的关键字，一个「欲」字写尽花红欲燃的浓烈，是「山青花欲燃」的传神处。欲者，将要、快要也。杜甫以「山青花欲燃」写红花，一个「欲」字，至少有双重意味：其一，写花红之极致——那「欲燃」写花红得快要燃烧起来，「欲」字写尽红花浓烈到极致的状态——不是已燃，而是「欲燃」，将那将燃未燃、浓烈到极点的花红写得淋漓尽致；其二，写动感之鲜活——那「欲」字写红花仿佛有生命、有动势，那浓烈的红仿佛随时要燃烧起来，「欲」字写尽红花的鲜活与热烈。以「欲」字写花红，正是杜甫以夸张写景的传神之笔——若换作「似」「如」等字，则或失其将燃未燃的动态，或失其浓烈到极致的感觉；唯「欲」字，以一字写尽花红欲燃的浓烈，与上句「江碧鸟逾白」的「逾」字相对，一写映衬、一写浓烈，将碧江白鸟、青山红花的明丽写尽，也让「山青花欲燃」成为写花与写春景的千古名句。