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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

清平调·其一

Pure Peace Tune · First

李白

Li Bai

咏人portrait 宫词palace 咏物Object poem

云想衣裳花想容，春风拂槛露华浓。
若非群玉山头见，会向瑶台月下逢。

Clouds think of her robe, flowers think of her face;
The spring wind brushes the rail, the dew's lustre rich.
Were it not on the Jade-Cluster Mountain top I met her,
Then under the moon at the Jade Terrace I'd have found her.

Listen

Meaning

Seeing the clouds I think of her splendid robe; seeing the peony I think of her lovely face. The spring wind gently brushes the rail, and the dew-laden flower looks the more rich and moist. Such unearthly beauty—if not met atop the Jade-Cluster Mountain, then surely encountered under the moon at the Jade Terrace. The whole poem uses cloud and flower to metaphor the person, writing the beauty of the consort like a fairy, dreamlike.

见到云彩便想起她华美的衣裳，见到牡丹便想起她娇艳的容颜。春风轻轻拂过栏杆，带着露珠的花朵更显得浓艳润泽。这样绝世的仙姿，若不是在群玉山头才能遇见，那也一定是在瑶台月下与她相逢。全诗以云、花喻人，将贵妃之美写得如仙似幻，不着一「美」字而美之极境尽出。

Appreciation

The wonder of this poem is that it sets metaphor throughout yet avoids direct description. The opening 'clouds think of her robe, flowers think of her face' uses cloud and flower as a double pun—writing both the consort's robe like cloud and face like flower, and darkly pointing to the peonies before the Flagrance Pavilion; 'spring wind brushes the rail, the dew's lustre rich' shows the moist gleam in the real scene. The last two lines suddenly take a strange fancy, saying such a bearing only the immortals of Jade-Cluster and Jade Terrace could match, leaping from the human realm to the immortal realm, the real and void breeding. The four lines are all antithetical yet the breath flows, with no stiffness, fully showing Li Bai's natural grace of 'lotus from clear water'.

【白话串讲】 “云想衣裳花想容，春风拂槛露华浓”——李白在沉香亭为杨贵妃写《清平调》：看见云就想到她的衣裳，看见花就想到她的容貌。“若非群玉山头见，会向瑶台月下逢”——她美得像仙女。【意象与手法】此诗最妙在通篇设喻而避直写。起二句「云想衣裳花想容」以云、花双关，既写贵妃衣饰如云、容颜如花，又暗点沉香亭前牡丹；「春风拂槛露华浓」于实景中见润泽之光。后二句忽作奇想，谓如此姿容唯有群玉、瑶台之仙方堪比拟，由人境跃入仙境，虚实相生。【情感与主旨】《清平调》三章约作于唐玄宗天宝二年（743）李白任翰林供奉期间。玄宗与杨贵妃于沉香亭赏牡丹，召李白立进新辞，白援笔而成三章，此其一，专咏贵妃之仙姿，以应「名花倾国」之景，是应制诗而能超逸出尘的典范。【名句点睛】常考「云想衣裳花想容」的借喻手法与「想」字之妙、「春风拂槛露华浓」以花衬人的虚实笔法，以及「群玉」「瑶台」二典营造的仙化意境。

Background

The three 'Pure Peace Tunes' were likely written in the second year of Tianbao (743) of Emperor Xuanzong, when Li Bai served as a Hanlin academician. According to Li Jun's 'Miscellaneous from the Pine-Window', one day Xuanzong and Consort Yang viewed peonies at the Flagrance Pavilion; the musicians wanted to sing old lyrics, and Xuanzong said 'to view famous flowers with the consort, how use old music words', so he summoned Li Bai to compose new words on the spot. Bai, still hungover, took the brush and made three chapters, which Xuanzong greatly praised. This is the first, specially chanting the consort's fairy bearing, to answer the scene of 'famous flower and the beauty of the state'. Though Song men already doubted this story's truth, the poem's clear, floating grace indeed belongs to Taibai's hand.

《清平调》三章约作于唐玄宗天宝二年（743），时李白任翰林供奉。据李濬《松窗杂录》载，一日玄宗与杨贵妃于沉香亭赏牡丹，乐工欲歌旧词，玄宗谓「赏名花，对妃子，焉用旧乐词」，遂召李白立进新辞。白时宿酲未解，援笔而成三章，玄宗命李龟年歌之，自调玉笛以倚曲，贵妃持颇梨七宝杯酌西凉葡萄酒以饮白，玄宗极度称赏。此其一也，专咏贵妃之仙姿，以应「名花倾国」之景。惟此事宋人已疑其伪（或谓高力士进谗即因「飞燕」之语），然诗风清丽飘逸、才思敏捷，确属太白手笔。应制之作最易流于颂圣卑屈，李白却以仙家意象写人间绝色，于奉命讴歌中不失超逸之气，正见其「天子呼来不上船」的傲岸与天才的举重若轻。李白供奉翰林期间，虽得玄宗赏识，然终以『非廊庙器』见放，此诗作于其人生最得意之时，字里行间尚存应制的矜持，然其以仙气化俗艳的笔法，已见日后『安能摧眉折腰事权贵』的傲骨之端倪。

Art

此诗最妙在通篇设喻而避直写。起二句「云想衣裳花想容」以云、花双关：见云而想其衣，见花而想其容，既以云喻衣、以花喻容，又暗点沉香亭前牡丹——「云」在天而「花」在地，一虚一实，把贵妃之美托举到与自然同辉的高度；「想」字尤为传神，不说「似」而说「想」，写出联想之灵动，物我之间如呼吸相感。第三句「春风拂槛露华浓」于虚写之后忽落实景：春风轻拂栏杆，带露牡丹浓艳欲滴，「拂」「浓」二字写出光色流动、润泽饱满之态，以花之盛衬人之美。末二句忽作奇想，谓如此姿容唯有群玉、瑶台之仙方堪比拟，由人境跃入仙境，虚实相生，把现实中的沉香亭赏花升华为仙山瑶台的神遇。四句皆对而气脉流动，毫无板滞，尽显太白「清水出芙蓉」之天然风韵。全诗四句而四转，由云花之想、春风之实、群玉之仙、瑶台之幻，层层迭进，虚实相生，正是太白七绝『清水出芙蓉』的天然风韵在应制场合的完美呈现。

Allusions

The poem's allusions hide immortal-realm images: 'Jade-Cluster Mountain' from the 'Biography of King Mu of Zhou', the jade mountain where the Queen Mother of the West dwells, a metaphor for the immortals' home; 'Jade Terrace' from the 'Li Sao': 'I look at the lofty Jade Terrace; I see the lady of the You Song'—originally the abode of a goddess, later meaning an immortal terrace. Li Bai borrows the two allusions to liken the consort to a goddess descended to earth, both praising her beauty and keeping a humble distance to avoid the vulgar. This is a model of using immortal allusions for human matters, more implicit and inexhaustible than plainly stating 'the beauty of the state'.

诗中用典暗藏仙界意象：「群玉山」出自《穆天子传》——周穆王西游，登群玉之山，乃西王母所居之玉山，为仙家圣地，喻仙人居处；「瑶台」语本《离骚》「望瑶台之偃蹇兮，见有娀之佚女」，本指神女居处，后泛指仙境楼台。李白借二典将贵妃拟作下凡神女——若非群玉山头所见的仙子，便是瑶台月下相逢的仙姝，既颂其美，又寓其仙。以仙典写人事，较直陈「倾国倾城」更具含蓄不尽之致：不着一「美」字，而美之极致尽出；不落凡艳，而颂扬倍显崇高。又「春风拂槛」暗用《楚辞》「春气奋发」之意，以春风写恩泽，语涉双关而不失自然。通篇用典如盐入水，化于无形，正是太白熔铸典故的功力所在。又『春风拂槛露华浓』暗含君臣相得的比兴——春风喻君恩，露华喻承泽，写花而寓宠，不落痕迹；此等以双关写颂意的手法，正是应制诗化颂圣为审美的上乘境界，较直陈功德者高出远甚。又『拂槛』写春风吹拂栏杆，暗用谢朓『风入春幔，月照秋户』一类宫体写景句法，以景写人之润泽，语带双关而不失自然，正是太白化用六朝而能脱胎换骨之处。

Commentary

Song's Yue Shi recorded the Flagrance Pavilion story in 'Preface to Li Hanlin's Separate Collection'; though perhaps fiction, it shows how widely it spread. Ming's Gao Bing in 'Tang Poetry Graded' said Taibai's seven-character quatrains 'come from the six-dynasty yuefu, their manner clear and free'—this poem proves it. Qing's Shen Deqian in 'Tang Poems Selected and Cut' said 'read the three chapters together to exhaust its wonder', praising its 'most beautiful manner'. Modern Yu Bixun in 'Shallow Remarks on the Poetic Realm' said the 'think' and 'meet' characters echo, empty and dim, the crown of poems on the consort.

宋·乐史《李翰林别集序》详载沉香亭赋词本事，虽或小说家言，足见其事流传之盛。明·高棅《唐诗品汇》评太白七言绝句「出于六朝乐府，其格清逸」，此诗正为注脚——出于齐梁宫体咏美人之体，而洗尽绮靡，归于清逸。清·沈德潜《唐诗别裁》谓「三章合看，始尽其妙」，誉其「风调最美」；近人俞陛云《诗境浅说》称「想」字、「逢」字呼应，空灵缥缈，为咏贵妃诸作之冠。就应制诗而言，此作以仙气写艳色，化颂圣为审美，超越了一般宫词阿谀之格，成为千古传诵的咏美名篇。后世论者或谓其「谀而近谗」（因「飞燕」一词贾祸），然就诗论诗，其想象之超逸、语言之清丽、比喻之精妙，皆臻绝境，与《清平调》其余二章并读，足见太白于庙堂之上犹能纵笔如天马行空。此诗之所以超越一般应制宫词，正在其以审美眼光写人物，以仙家意象化艳俗，故千载之下，读者但见贵妃之美与太白之才，而不觉其谀辞之态，正是『羚羊挂角，无迹可求』的高境。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (Pure Peace Tune is a seven-character song-form lyric Li Bai created on the old yuefu title)七言绝句（清平调为李白依乐府旧题创制之七言歌行体小令）

Rhyme Ping-shui rhyme, upper-level two dong group (face, rich, meet)韵脚为容、浓、逢，押平水韵上平二冬韵，首句「容」字入韵，平起平收，一韵到底，音节圆转流丽。

Tone pattern First line enters rhyme, level-onset level-close首句入韵，平起平收；四句皆七言对偶，前二句写人写花，后二句设问作结，平仄声调随仙气之飘举而流转。

Reading note Three chapters together chant; this is the first, specially on the consort's fairy bearing.此诗为七言绝句，四句两联，形式上句句对仗——「云想衣裳花想容」自为对，「春风拂槛露华浓」与之成联，「若非群玉山头见，会向瑶台月下逢」又以「若非」「会向」的虚字对举，整首诗如律诗之截句，工整而不板滞，正见太白「于规矩之中见超逸」的功力。平仄为平起平收式，音节圆转流丽，与《清平调》作为乐曲演唱的性质相合——此调本为清商乐中「清平调」三字为名的燕乐大曲，李白依声填辞，故声韵与乐曲的婉转相谐。全诗四句，一虚一实，一实一虚，由人间写到仙山，由眼前写到月下，章法回环而气脉流动，是七绝中「以气驭律」的典范。作为应制之作，其格律之精严与想象之超逸并臻，足见太白虽奉敕立就，犹能从容运斤。

Line by line

云想衣裳花想容，

The clouds think of her robes, the flowers think of her face,

见到云彩便想起她华美的衣裳，见到牡丹便想起她娇艳的容颜。

Seeing the clouds, I think of her robes; seeing the flowers, her face.

首句是全诗最著名的比喻句，妙在一个「想」字与云、花的双关。不说贵妃衣如云、容如花，而说「云想衣裳」「花想容」——主语颠倒，是云在追想她的衣裳，花在追想她的容颜，物我之间如呼吸相感，化静为动、化实为虚，比直喻更高一层。「想」字尤见传神：不是刻板的「似」，而是灵动的联想，仿佛天地间的云霞花木都在倾慕贵妃之美。同时云、花又暗点眼前之景——沉香亭畔的牡丹与天上流云，写人而景在其中，一语双关。两句以云花为媒，不着一「美」字而美之极境尽出，正是太白「以不写为写」的天才笔法，千百年来咏美之句无出其右。

The opening line is the poem's most famous metaphor, the wonder in the one word 'think' and the double meaning of cloud and flower. Not saying the Guifei's robes are like clouds, her face like flowers, but 'the clouds think of her robes', 'the flowers think of her face' — the subject inverted, the clouds longing for her robes, the flowers longing for her face, between thing and self as breath answering breath, turning still to motion, real to unreal, one layer higher than the plain simile. The word 'think' the more vivid: not the rigid 'like', but the living association, as if the clouds and flowers of heaven and earth all admire the Guifei's beauty. At once the cloud and flower secretly name the scene before the eyes — the peony by the Chenxiang Pavilion and the drifting clouds above, writing the person and the scene within, one phrase double-edged. Two lines, through cloud and flower as go-betweens, not one word 'beautiful' and the extreme of beauty all out, precisely Taibai's genius brush of 'writing through not writing', and for a thousand years no line praising beauty has surpassed it.

春风拂槛露华浓。

the spring wind brushes the railings, the dew's splendor rich.

春风轻轻拂过栏杆，带着露珠的花朵更显得浓艳润泽。

The spring wind lightly brushes the railings; the dew-laden flowers, the richer for it.

此句由虚入实，是全诗唯一直接写景之句，妙在以花衬人、以景写人。「春风拂槛」写春风轻拂沉香亭的栏杆，点出赏花之地与和煦之时；「露华浓」写带露的牡丹浓艳润泽——「露」是晨露，写出花之鲜润，「华」指花的光彩，「浓」写色泽之饱满，三字层层渲染，把牡丹写得光色流动、娇艳欲滴。而写牡丹之盛，正是暗衬贵妃之艳：花承春露而浓，正如妃承君恩而宠，景中寓情、物中见人。此句于虚写之后落一实笔，使全诗有虚有实、有飘渺有具体，章法灵动，与首句的仙气、末二句的奇想相映成趣，是太白谋篇布局的巧妙一环。

This line turns from the unreal to the real, the poem's only directly scenic line, the wonder in setting the person through the flower, writing the person through the scene. 'The spring wind brushes the railings' — the spring wind lightly brushing the Chenxiang Pavilion's railings, naming the flower-viewing place and the warm hour; 'the dew's splendor rich' — the dew-laden peony rich and lustrous, 'the dew' the morning dew, writing the flower's freshness, 'splendor' the flower's glory, 'rich' the color's fullness, three words layer on layer, writing the peony's flowing light and dripping charm. And writing the peony's abundance is precisely the secret foil of the Guifei's radiance: the flower taking the spring dew and growing rich, as the consort taking the princely grace and growing favored, feeling within the scene, the person within the thing. This line, after the unreal writing, lands one real stroke, making the whole at once real and unreal, ethereal and concrete, the craft alive, set off by the opening's immortal air and the last two lines' strange fancy, the clever link in Taibai's composition.

若非群玉山头见，会向瑶台月下逢。

If not met on the Qunyao mountain peaks, it must be a meeting beneath the moon at the Jade Terrace.

若不是在群玉仙山见到她，那也一定是在瑶台月下与她相逢。

If not seen on the Qunyao mountain peaks, then surely met beneath the moon at the Jade Terrace.

末二句忽作奇想，由人境跃入仙境，是全诗构思的升华。「群玉山」为西王母所居之玉山，《穆天子传》所载仙家圣地；「瑶台」语本《离骚》神女居处。诗人以「若非……会向……」的假设句式，说这般绝色若不是群玉山头的仙子，便定是瑶台月下的仙姝——把贵妃之美托举到仙山瑶台的高度，以仙写人，极尽颂扬之能事。「山头见」「月下逢」一白昼一月夜，一刚一柔，设境绝佳；「见」「逢」二字遥应首句「想」字，空灵缥缈，余韵悠长。如此结笔，既颂其美，又寓其仙，不落凡艳，正是应制诗以仙气化俗格的典范，也是太白想象力的集中体现。

The last two lines suddenly form the strange fancy, leaping from the human realm to the immortal, the elevation of the poem's conception. 'The Qunyao mountain' the jade mountain where the Queen Mother dwells, the immortal sanctuary of the Travels of Emperor Mu; 'the Jade Terrace' from the Li Sao, the goddess's dwelling. The poet, in the hypothesis of 'if not... it must be...', says such beauty if not the fairy of the Qunyao peaks, then surely the immortal maiden beneath the Jade Terrace moon — lifting the Guifei's beauty to the height of the immortal mountains and terraces, writing the person through the immortal, the utmost of praise. 'Seen on the peaks', 'met beneath the moon', one daylight one moon-night, one hard one soft, the setting peerless; the words 'seen' and 'met' echo from afar the opening's 'think', ethereal and vague, the aftertaste long. Such a closing, at once praising her beauty and dwelling on her immortal nature, not falling to the vulgar charm, precisely the commissioned verse's model of turning the worldly style into the immortal, and the concentrated showing of Taibai's imagination.

Study

Word focus

想 One word, double pun: from cloud to robe, from flower to face; the association leaps yet is natural—the eye of the whole conception. 「云想衣裳花想容」之「想」字，是通篇构思之眼，历来为人激赏。「想」本义为思慕、想象，此处主语颠倒：不是「衣如云」「容如花」的直喻，而是「云想衣」「花想容」——天地间的云霞花木都在追想、倾慕她的衣饰容颜，把静态的比喻化为动态的思慕，物我之间如呼吸相感。这个字的妙处有三：一是化实为虚，不坐实比喻而任想象驰骋，比「似」「如」高出一层；二是赋予自然以生命，云想、花想，皆因美而生情，物亦多情，美之感染力自见；三是领起全篇，「想」字既写云花之想，亦写诗人观物之想，更逗引读者之想，一层层推想下去，贵妃之美如在目前。一字而境界全出，正是太白炼字的化境。

浓 Writes the dew's moist fullness—both the peony and, by metaphor, the consort's glowing looks; a precise choice. 「春风拂槛露华浓」之「浓」字，是写牡丹亦写贵妃的点睛之笔。字面上写带露牡丹色泽之浓艳饱满——「露华」已见其润，再加「浓」字，则光色流动、娇艳欲滴之态毕现；骨子里写贵妃容光之盛、承宠之深——花承春露而色浓，正如妃承君恩而宠渥，「浓」字于写景中暗寓恩宠，一语双关。此字妙在以实写虚：前句「云想」「花想」皆是虚写，此句忽以一「浓」字落于实景，使全诗有虚有实；又以花之浓艳衬人之绝色，写景即是写人。若易以「重」「盛」则失其光润，若易以「艳」则失其含蓄，唯「浓」字兼含色泽、光润、饱满、宠渥数意，是炼字精到而意蕴丰厚的典范。