All poems

唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

离思·其四

Leaving Thoughts: No. 4

元稹

Yuan Zhen

爱情Love 悼亡Mourning 相思Longing

曾经沧海难为水，除却巫山不是云。
取次花丛懒回顾，半缘修道半缘君。

Once having seen the vast sea, it's hard to be content with other waters;
Except for the clouds at Mount Wu, no other clouds are worthy.
I pass indifferently through a thicket of flowers, too lazy to look back,
Half because I cultivate the Way, half because of you.

Listen

Meaning

The poet expresses that after experiencing the profound love for his deceased wife, no other love can compare. He uses the sea and Mount Wu's clouds as metaphors for the unmatched beauty and virtue of his wife.

曾经见过沧海的浩渺，别处的水便难称得上水；除了巫山的云霞，其他的云都算不得云。即便从花丛中随意走过也懒得回头顾盼，一半是因为修道清心，一半是因为你。

Appreciation

This poem uses extreme imagery to convey unparalleled devotion. The first two lines are a powerful declaration of exclusivity, while the latter two reveal a weary heart. The phrase 'half because I cultivate the Way' is a poignant excuse masking true grief.

【白话串讲】 “曾经沧海难为水，除却巫山不是云”——见过大海，别的水就不算水；见过巫山的云，别的云都不算云。元稹悼念亡妻，把深情写到了极致。【意象与手法】诗人取「沧海」「巫山」二典设喻，以「难为水」「不是云」的排他句式极写亡妻之唯一；后转「取次花丛懒回顾」以行为细节状深情不移，末句「半缘修道半缘君」以调侃语出之，哀而不伤，情致宛转，比兴精当而自成高格。【情感与主旨】元稹《离思五首》为其悼念亡妻韦丛（卒于元和四年，809）所作，此为第四首。全诗借沧海巫山之喻写亡妻无可替代的唯一地位，字字从肺腑流出，是唐人悼亡诗中情致最浓者之一。【名句点睛】常考：一、前两句用典及比喻义（以沧海巫山喻妻之唯一）；二、「懒回顾」的心理内涵；三、「半缘修道半缘君」的双重含义。

Background

This is the fourth of five poems written by Yuan Zhen in memory of his wife Wei Cong, who died in 809. She came from a noble family but lived frugally with him. Her early death left him with profound sorrow, immortalized in these lines.

元稹（779—831），字微之，河南洛阳人，中唐诗人，与白居易并称「元白」，同倡新乐府运动。此诗为《离思五首》之四，悼念其亡妻韦丛而作。韦丛字茂之，为太子少保韦夏卿之女，出身高门，二十岁下嫁当时尚微贱的元稹，婚后甘守贫素，与元稹同甘共苦七年而卒，年方二十七。元和四年（809）韦丛病逝于洛阳，元稹悲痛欲绝，陆续写下《遣悲怀三首》《离思五首》等悼亡之作。此诗当作于韦丛卒后不久，诗人追忆妻子在世时的深情，借沧海巫山之喻，极写其无可替代的唯一地位。韦丛早逝时元稹仕途初起，尚未显达，诗中所写「取次花丛懒回顾」，正是此后仕宦声名渐隆、出入歌酒场合时，对亡妻刻骨思念的自然流露。全诗二十八字，字字从肺腑流出，是唐人悼亡诗中情致最浓者之一，与苏轼《江城子》、贺铸《半死桐》并称悼亡绝唱。其情之真、其语之挚，正见元稹对韦丛刻骨铭心之爱，读之令人动容。

Art

The poet employs allusions to Mencius and Song Yu's 'Gaotang Fu' to create a grand metaphor. The contrast between the majestic imagery of sea and clouds and the quiet resignation in the last two lines shows a masterful balance of strength and tenderness.

此诗艺术之妙，在比兴精当与结构之巧。前两句取「沧海」「巫山」二典设喻，以「难为水」「不是云」的排他句式，极写亡妻之唯一——见过沧海，则天下之水皆不足观；见过巫山之云，则天下之云皆不足道，以极度的夸张写极度的深情，语似格言而情如裂帛。后两句转写现实：「取次花丛懒回顾」以行为细节状深情不移，花丛喻世间佳丽，「懒回顾」三字写不屑一顾之态，含蓄而坚决；末句「半缘修道半缘君」以半真半假的调侃语出之，一半归因于修道清心，一半归因于亡妻难忘，似在解嘲，实为深情，哀而不伤，情致宛转。全诗前二句用典设喻如高山仰止，后二句以叙述收情如平湖微澜，先虚后实、先喻后叙，比兴精当而自成高格，刚柔相济而力透纸背，二十八字中见出元稹悼亡诗全部的功力。全诗二十八字，字字含情，句句是泪，以最少的文字写最深的思念，正是绝句短章「以少胜多」之极致。

Allusions

'曾经沧海' comes from Mencius: 'One who has seen the sea finds it hard to appreciate other waters.' '巫山云' refers to the goddess of Mount Wu from Song Yu's 'Gaotang Fu', a symbol of perfect beauty. Yuan Zhen reverses the erotic connotation to express marital devotion.

「曾经沧海」化用《孟子·尽心上》「观于海者难为水，游于圣人之门者难为言」，以观海之叹比喻见大而小天下，元稹借以写亡妻之爱深广无匹，此后世间女子皆不足道；「巫山云」本宋玉《高唐赋》所写楚王梦遇巫山神女，神女自称「旦为朝云，暮为行雨」，典出艳遇，元稹反其意而用之，以巫山神女之云喻至美至爱之人，将艳情典故点化为夫妻深情的至高象征，用典而能翻新，正是元稹所长。「取次」为当时口语，犹言随意、次第，写步履不经意之态，可见其化俗语入诗之功。「修道」指元稹晚年好佛道、力求清心养性——他中年后与僧人道士交游，自称「修道」，此语既写其宗教生活的实况，亦暗含以清修排遣丧妻之痛的自我宽解，故「半缘修道半缘君」一语双关，半真半假，既见其情之专，又见其心之苦。全诗用典两处皆化用无痕，与口语、双关熔于一炉，正是中唐诗歌「以俗为雅」的典型。

Commentary

Su Shi once criticized Yuan Zhen's frivolous love poems, but this sincere work is always praised. It is included in 'Three Hundred Tang Poems' and is considered a masterpiece of mourning poetry.

此诗历来传诵，与《遣悲怀》并称元稹悼亡双璧。苏轼尝讥元稹「艳诗」多而情不专，然此诗真情流露，历来并称绝唱，可见诗之动人不在作者平日行迹，而在当时一字一泪之诚。近人蘅塘退士《唐诗三百首》收录此诗，评其「名言至理，足为情痴者劝」，信然——「曾经沧海难为水」已从悼亡诗的私人抒情升华为普遍的人生格言，凡经历至深至美者，皆可借以言其「曾经」之叹，故千载之下犹能引起广泛共鸣。就文学史而言，此诗与苏轼「十年生死两茫茫」、贺铸「梧桐半死清霜后」同列悼亡文学之最，而其以典设喻、语近格言的风貌，又独开中唐悼亡诗一路。韦丛之逝成就了元稹最真挚的诗篇，此诗亦使一个早逝的贤妻在文学中获得了永恒的生命，足见其感人至深，非徒逞词采者可比。其「曾经沧海」一语，至今犹活在日常语言之中，正是好诗超越时代、深入人心的明证，亦是情之所至、金石为开的最好诠释。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (level tone, first line oblique)七言绝句（平起首句不入韵）

Rhyme Rhymes characters 云 and 君 in the Shangping Shiyiwen rhyme category; first line ends with oblique tone 水押平水韵上平十二文韵：云、君；首句「水」仄收不押韵，为平起首句不入韵式。

Tone pattern The first two lines use parallel allusions like maxims; the last two lines narrate with deep emotion.前两句用典对仗如格言，声调铿锵；后两句以叙述收情，语淡而哀深，前后声情有弛张之变。

Reading note This is the fourth of five 'Leaving Thoughts' poems, written on the death of his wife Wei Cong. A classic of mourning poetry.此诗为七言绝句，平起首句不入韵式，押平水韵上平十二文韵，「云、君」二字一韵到底，首句「水」字仄收不入韵，构成「仄仄平」的尾三字节奏。绝句体制短小，二十八字之内须完成起承转合，此诗正足为范例：首句「曾经沧海难为水」以格言式的设喻起，次句「除却巫山不是云」以对句承，两句如双峰并峙，语势一贯；第三句「取次花丛懒回顾」由虚入实、由喻入叙，是「转」；末句「半缘修道半缘君」以自嘲的口吻收束，是「合」。全诗前两句对仗工整、用典精当，声调铿锵如金玉相击；后两句转为口语化的叙述，语淡而情浓，声情由高亢转为低回，正合悼亡诗由激烈归于深沉的抒情逻辑。绝句贵在含蓄，此诗以二十八字写尽一生至情，言有尽而意无穷，正是唐人绝句中「以少胜多」的典范。

Line by line

曾经沧海难为水，

Once having seen the vast sea, it's hard to be content with other waters. – Alludes to Mencius: 'One who has seen the sea finds it difficult to appreciate other waters.' The sea symbolizes the boundless love for his wife.

曾经见过沧海的浩渺，别处的水便难称得上水；

Having once seen the wide sea, other waters are no water.

首句借《孟子》「观于海者难为水」之语发端，以沧海之大喻亡妻之爱深广无匹。「曾经」二字写亲历、饱历，非泛泛见过，而是真正领略过沧海之浩渺；「难为水」三字极言此后之水皆不足称水，以绝对的排他语气写情感的独占。此句之妙在以大喻深：把夫妻之情比作沧海之观，以海之至大喻爱之至深，又由爱之至深推出目无余水之态，情感之专一由比喻自然带出，不着一字议论而道理自明。句式斩截如格言，声调铿锵，既是对亡妻的至高礼赞，也为全诗定下深情专一的基调。后世凡言「曾经沧海」，皆自此句来，此句已成中国爱情话语中最凝练的成语。

The opening line begins with the Mencius saying 'he who has gazed at the sea is hard to impress by other waters', using the sea's vastness as metaphor for the depth and breadth of love for the dead wife. 'Having once' writes the personal, full experience, not a casual sight, but truly having known the sea's immensity; 'other waters are no water' the absolute exclusiveness, writing the possession of the feeling. The beauty is the deep through the vast: setting the love of husband and wife against gazing at the sea, the sea's utmost vastness for love's utmost depth, and from the depth of love deriving the state of 'no other water in the eye', the singleness of feeling brought out naturally by the metaphor, not one word of argument yet the point self-evident. The sentence is decisive as a maxim, sonorous in tone, at once the highest praise of the dead wife and the note of deep, single love.

除却巫山不是云。

Except for the clouds at Mount Wu, no other clouds are worthy. – Uses the goddess of Mount Wu from Song Yu's 'Gaotang Fu', representing the unique beauty of his wife.

除了巫山的云霞，其他的云都算不得云。

Apart from the clouds of Wu Mountain, no other cloud is cloud.

次句以巫山之云补足首句之义，与沧海对举成偶。巫山云用宋玉《高唐赋》神女「旦为朝云，暮为行雨」之典，本是艳情传说，元稹反用为至美至爱的象征——见过巫山神女之云，则天下凡云皆不足观，正如拥有了亡妻之爱，世间一切情爱皆如尘土。「除却」与上句「难为」相呼应，一写水、一写云，以天地间至大至美之物作双重设喻，把亡妻的无可替代写到了极致。对仗上「沧海」对「巫山」，地名相对，工整自然；「难为水」对「不是云」，句式排他，斩钉截铁。两句如双峰并峙，语势一贯，是唐人绝句中用典设喻最为精绝的开篇之一。

The next line completes the opening through the clouds of Wu Mountain, paired with the sea. The clouds of Wu Mountain use Song Yu's Gaotang Fu allusion to the goddess, 'morning becomes clouds, evening becomes rain', originally an amorous legend; Yuan Zhen reverses it into the symbol of supreme beauty and love — once seen the goddess's cloud, all common clouds are not worth the looking, as once he had his wife's love, all other love in the world is like dust. 'Apart from' echoes 'no water' above, one water one cloud, using the two vastest, fairest things in heaven and earth for double metaphor, writing the irreplaceability of the dead wife to the utmost. In couplet craft, 'the wide sea' paired with 'Wu Mountain', place names matched, exact and natural; 'no water' paired with 'no cloud', the exclusive sentence-form, decisive. The two lines stand like twin peaks, the momentum continuous, one of the most exquisite openings in Tang quatrains in allusion and metaphor.

取次花丛懒回顾，

I pass indifferently through a thicket of flowers, too lazy to look back. – 'Flowers' represent other women; 'too lazy to look back' shows his unwavering devotion.

即便从花丛中随意走过也懒得回头顾盼，

Walking idly through the flower thicket, I do not bother to look back.

第三句由设喻转入自述，以现实的行为细节写用情之专。「花丛」喻世间佳丽、繁华场中的众多女子，暗写元稹此后出入歌酒之地的经历；「取次」为当时口语，犹言随意、信步，写走过花丛时步履之不经意；「懒回顾」三字是全句眼目，写连回头看一眼都懒得——不是不能回顾，而是不愿回顾、无心回顾，以极轻淡的笔触写极坚决的态度。此句之妙在举重若轻：不写如何思念亡妻，只写如何无视他者，以「懒」字写情之专，比直说「不忘」更深一层。前人评此句「语淡而情至」，诚然。花丛愈美，愈见其心之死；取次愈随意，愈见其情之专，二十八字至此已尽悼亡深情。

The third line turns from metaphor to self-narrative, writing the singleness of feeling through a real detail of conduct. 'The flower thicket' a metaphor for the beauties of the world, the many women in the wine and song houses, secretly writing Yuan Zhen's own life after; 'walking idly' the colloquial of the time, casually, at random, writing the unconcern of passing the thicket; 'do not bother to look back' the eye of the line — too lazy even to glance back, not that he cannot, but that he will not, has no heart to, using the lightest brush for the most resolute attitude. The beauty is the weightless handling of a heavy matter: not writing how he misses his wife, only writing how he ignores others, the word 'lazy' writing the singleness, deeper than a plain 'I do not forget'. Earlier critics called this line 'plain in speech, extreme in feeling' — truly. The fairer the thicket, the more his heart is dead; the more casual his walk, the more single his feeling.

半缘修道半缘君。

Half because I cultivate the Way, half because of you. – 'Cultivate the Way' is a polite excuse; the real reason is his wife, expressing deep sorrow and fidelity.

一半是因为修道清心，一半是因为你。

Half for cultivating the Way, half for you.

末句自问自答，是全诗情感的点睛之笔，也是历来解说纷纭的名句。诗人以调侃之语自解「懒回顾」之由：一半是因为修道清心，看淡了情爱；一半是因为你，心中有你，便再也容不下他人。「半缘修道」是委婉的托辞，暗含丧妻之痛后的自我排遣——中年元稹确曾好佛道，此语有实情；「半缘君」方是真心，因你而心死难移，才是「懒回顾」的真正根由。两句合观，半真半假，似在谦辞，实为深情：把刻骨的思念说成轻描淡写的「半缘」，愈是轻描淡写，愈见其不敢触碰之痛。此句一出，全诗由喻入情，由理入心，悼亡之痛尽在其中，而语态之从容、口吻之自嘲，又使沉痛化为隽永，正是元稹悼亡诗哀而不伤、深而能婉的至高境界。

The closing line asks and answers itself, the emotional eye of the poem, and a famous couplet much disputed. The poet explains his 'not bothering to look back' in a bantering tone: half for cultivating the Way and cleansing the heart, seeing through love; half for you — with you in the heart, there is no room for another. 'Half for cultivating the Way' the tactful pretext, secretly the self-comfort after widowhood — middle-aged Yuan Zhen did take to Buddhism and Taoism, and the words have a basis in fact; 'half for you' is the true heart — because of you, the heart is dead and immovable, the real root of the 'not bothering to look back'. Read together, half true half feigned, seeming a modest excuse, really deep feeling: dressing the bone-deep longing as the light 'half for', the lighter the dressing, the more the unspoken pain. This line turns the poem from metaphor to feeling, from reason to heart, the grief of widowhood all within; and the easy tone, the self-mocking manner, turn the grief into something lasting, the very height of Yuan Zhen's mourning verse that grieves without wounding, deep yet restrained.

Study

Word focus

曾经沧海 once having seen the vast sea – an allusion to Mencius, symbolizing an experience so grand that nothing else compares 「曾经沧海难为水」之「曾经沧海」四字，化用《孟子》「观于海者难为水」，是中国爱情诗中最凝练的设喻之一。「曾」写时间之已往，「经」写亲历之深广，「沧海」以天地间至大至浩之物喻亡妻之爱，四字合观，既有时间的厚度，又有空间的广度，更有情感的深度。此语的妙处在以「曾经」二字立骨：正因真正领略过沧海，此后之水才「难为」，爱之深与情之专由因果推出，不待明言而自明。后世此语脱离悼亡语境而成为普遍的人生格言，凡经历至深至美者皆可借以言「曾经」之叹，可见其概括力之强。元稹以四字立喻，一个成语写尽天下至情，正是唐人炼字炼意而能化古为新的典范。

巫山云 clouds of Mount Wu – allusion to the goddess of Mount Wu, representing supreme beauty 「除却巫山不是云」之「巫山云」三字，用宋玉《高唐赋》巫山神女「旦为朝云，暮为行雨」之典，是中国文学中至美至幻的意象之一。神女之云本写楚王梦遇之艳遇，元稹反用其意，以巫山之云喻至美至爱之人——巫山之云既为神女所化，则世间凡云皆不足观，正如拥有过神女般的爱人，世间一切情爱皆如尘土。此语之妙在翻用典故：典出艳情而归于深情，化轻薄为庄重，正是元稹用典的高明处。「巫山云」三字音韵流丽，意象迷离，一经此诗点化，便脱离《高唐赋》而成为悼亡至情的专属符号，与「沧海」并立，构成全诗最有力的双重设喻。

取次 indifferently, casually – here meaning 'pass by without interest' 「取次花丛懒回顾」之「取次」二字，是中唐口语入诗而化俗为雅的典型。「取次」犹言随意、次第、不经意间，写诗人从花丛中走过时的步履之态：不是郑重经过，而是信步而过、漫不经心；正因其随意，「懒回顾」的拒绝才更见自然——不是刻意回避，而是根本无心眷顾。若用「经过」则平，用「行过」则泛，唯「取次」写出的那种心不在焉的漠然，才与「懒」字相得益彰，共同写出情之专一到了无动于衷的地步。元稹长于以口语入诗，「取次」一词在《会真记》中亦曾出现，正见其诗与文一脉相承的浅近风格；此二字置于五言句首，音节轻快，与后文「半缘」的从容口吻浑然一体。

半缘修道半缘君 half because I cultivate the Way, half because of you – 'cultivate the Way' refers to Daoist or Buddhist practice, used as a veiled expression of grief 「半缘修道半缘君」七字是全诗点睛之笔，其妙在一「半」字的平衡与暧昧。「半缘修道」写一半原因在于修道清心——元稹中年后确曾好佛道，此语有实情可依，却也是委婉的托辞，暗含以清修排遣丧妻之痛的自我宽解；「半缘君」写另一半原因在于亡妻——因你而心死难移，才是「懒回顾」的真正根由。「半」字将两种缘由平分秋色，似在谦称深情只占一半，实则以退为进：愈是轻描淡写地自谦，愈见其不敢直触的痛楚。全句半真半假、似调侃而实沉痛，把刻骨的思念藏在从容的口吻里，正是元稹悼亡诗「深而能婉、哀而不伤」的至高技巧。