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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

天竺寺八月十五日夜桂子

Osmanthus Seeds on the Night of the Fifteenth of the Eighth Month at Tianzhu Temple

皮日休

Pi Rixiu

玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新。
至今不会天中事，应是嫦娥掷与人。

Jade-like seeds come tinkling down from the moon's wheel;
Before the hall I gather them, the dew on them still fresh.
To this day I understand nothing of affairs in heaven —
It must be Chang'e has flung them down to men.
Listen

Meaning

On the night of the Mid-Autumn festival at Tianzhu Temple, Pi Rixiu finds what look like jade seeds fallen from the wheel of the moon, still wet with fresh dew. Knowing nothing of the affairs of heaven, he decides the moon goddess Chang'e must have tossed them down to earth — a playful guess that turns a walk under the autumn moon into a gift from the skies.

玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新。至今不会天中事，应是嫦娥掷与人。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Jade-like seeds come tinkling down from the moon's wheel; before the hall I gather them, the dew on them still fresh. To this day I have never understood the affairs of heaven — it must be that Chang'e has flung them down to mankind. [Structure] The first couplet records a wonder (falling seeds, fresh dew); the second explains it with a guess (Chang'e's toss). The whole poem is a small arc from observation to fancy. [Imagery] Jade, the moon's wheel, fresh dew, the goddess's game: every image is bright and cool, and the poem's charm is its childlike gaiety — a Mid-Autumn night read as a present from the moon.

【白话串讲】 皮日休写《天竺寺八月十五日夜桂子》：“玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新”——“至今不会天中事，应是嫦娥掷与人”——他写月中桂子——应是嫦娥掷与人。 【意象与手法】 “玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新”写桂子如玉颗下月轮；“至今不会天中事”写不会天中事；结以“应是嫦娥掷与人”以嫦娥掷桂子写想象。清新明丽。 【情感与主旨】 皮日休写中秋月中桂子之作，写月下桂子如玉颗珊珊而猜想是嫦娥掷与，是写中秋桂子的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新”写桂子如玉颗；“至今不会天中事，应是嫦娥掷与人”以嫦娥掷桂子写想象。

Background

Pi Rixiu (c. 838–c. 883), courtesy name Yishao, later Ximei, was a late-Tang poet and prose writer from Xiangyang. A near contemporary and friend of the hermit-poet Lu Guimeng, he is best known for the satirical directness of his essays and for poems of social protest — yet he also wrote this sparkling little piece. Chinese legend placed an osmanthus tree on the moon, perpetually felled by Wu Gang and perpetually regrowing, whose seeds were said to fall to earth at the Mid-Autumn festival. Finding fallen cassia seeds at Tianzhu Temple on the fifteenth night of the eighth month, Pi Rixiu read the legend as fact — and playfully credited the moon goddess.

《天竺寺八月十五日夜桂子》为唐代诗人皮日休所作诗。皮日休（约838—约883），字逸少，后改袭美，襄阳（今湖北襄阳）人，唐代诗人。此诗写景咏物，为咏桂子之作。诗中「玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新」写玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新；「至今不会天中事，应是嫦娥掷与人」写至今不会天中事，应是嫦娥掷与人。皮日休此诗以写景咏物、应是嫦娥掷与人写其咏物之情，清新明丽，是皮日休诗中的名篇。此篇《天竺寺八月十五日夜桂子》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《天竺寺八月十五日夜桂子》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。

Art

The poem's art is its bright economy. The opening line does three things at once: it names the seeds ('jade kernels'), makes their fall audible ('tinkling'), and names their source ('the moon's wheel'). The second line adds a proof of freshness — the dew is 'new' — so the wonder seems gathered in hand. The third line feigns ignorance ('to this day I understand nothing of heaven's affairs'), which licenses the fourth line's delightful guess: the goddess Chang'e has thrown the seeds down to men. A small scene becomes a small myth, and the poem ends in a smile.

此诗艺术上以「清新明丽、以桂写月」见长。全诗共四句，由玉颗珊珊下月轮而殿前拾得露华新而至今不会天中事。起「玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新」写玉颗珊珊下月轮：玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新；「至今不会天中事，应是嫦娥掷与人」写至今不会天中事：至今不会天中事，应是嫦娥掷与人。全诗以桂写月，由玉颗珊珊下月轮而应是嫦娥掷与人，清新明丽，是皮日休诗中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。

Allusions

The moon's cassia tree is one of Chinese legend's oldest stories: the shadow in the moon is an osmanthus tree, perpetually cut by the immortal Wu Gang and perpetually regrowing; its seeds were popularly said to drift down at Mid-Autumn. Chang'e is the goddess who stole the elixir of immortality and flew to the moon, where she lives in the Guanghan Palace. To say she 'flung the seeds to mankind' is to convert legend into a personal, almost mischievous act. Tianzhu Temple ('Temple of the Indian Heaven') — the one most often identified is the celebrated temple by West Lake in Hangzhou, itself a moon-viewing site — supplies the earthly stage for a heavenly gift.

诗中「玉颗珊珊下月轮殿前拾得露华新」「至今不会天中事应是嫦娥掷与人」等语，皆含典故故实。「玉颗珊珊下月轮殿前拾得露华新」写玉颗珊珊下月轮殿前拾得露华新；「至今不会天中事应是嫦娥掷与人」用嫦娥之典（嫦娥为月中仙子），写至今不会天中事应是嫦娥掷与人。诗人以嫦娥之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把写景咏物之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。

Commentary

Though Pi Rixiu is chiefly remembered as a satirist and social poet, this quatrain became one of the most beloved Mid-Autumn poems in the language, prized for its lightness. Anthologists note how neatly it condenses the whole folklore of the moon — cassia shadow, goddess, falling seeds — into four lines without a single learned allusion, letting the legends live as folk belief rather than book-lore. Its tone of bright wonder offers the complement to the melancholy that usually hangs over Mid-Autumn poetry ('may we all be blessed with longevity, though far apart, we share the beauty of the moon together'); Pi Rixiu's moon gives presents.

这首《天竺寺八月十五日夜桂子》，是皮日休写写景咏物之作，写玉颗珊珊下月轮、殿前拾得露华新、应是嫦娥掷与人之情，清新明丽。起「玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新」——玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新。写玉颗珊珊下月轮：玉颗珊珊下月轮、殿前拾得露华新——珊珊下月轮、拾得露华新；「至今不会天中事，应是嫦娥掷与人」——至今不会天中事，应是嫦娥（用嫦娥之典）掷与人。写至今不会天中事：至今不会天中事、应是嫦娥掷与人——不会天中事、嫦娥掷与人。这「至今不会天中事，应是嫦娥掷与人」，是全诗之结：以应是嫦娥掷与人写其咏物。全诗清新明丽，以桂写月，正是皮日休诗中的名篇。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (qijue), a four-line song form诗（七言绝句）
Rhyme The poem rhymes on lun (wheel), xin (fresh), and ren (mankind), all from the zhen-wen rhyme group; the nasal, humming endings of these rhymes give the verse a bright, chiming quality, like the seeds striking the ground.此诗为七言绝句，共四句，两句一联。押平声韵：「轮」「新」「人」押真文部韵。诗体依绝句而定，句式整齐，音节随情起伏，正与写写景咏物的清新明丽相称，也见其以绝句写咏物的自然。
Tone pattern In the seven-character quatrain pattern, level and oblique tones alternate line by line. The opening line rolls on two alliterative reduplicatives that imitate the patter of falling seeds; the closing line settles into an easy, conversational rhythm, like the poet talking himself into his guess.句式上，「玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新」写玉颗珊珊下月轮，音节清丽；「至今不会天中事，应是嫦娥掷与人」写至今不会天中事，音节明快。全诗音节随情起伏，由清丽而明快，正合绝句「含蓄」之妙，读来如写景咏物、应是嫦娥掷与人之音，清新而动人。
Reading note The form is the seven-character quatrain — the form of folk song and of playful fancy — and Pi Rixiu keeps its musicality almost audible: the reduplicatives are onomatopoeia built into the meter. The single rhyme runs through all four lines, so the whole poem chimes like a small bell, exactly right for a Mid-Autumn night read as a gift.此诗为七言绝句，是皮日休写写景咏物之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「清新明丽、以桂写月」：「玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新」写玉颗珊珊下月轮、「至今不会天中事，应是嫦娥掷与人」写至今不会天中事。全诗清新明丽，以桂写月。尤为精妙者，是「玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新」写尽桂子之美；而「至今不会天中事，应是嫦娥掷与人」用嫦娥之典，正是皮日休诗「清新明丽」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《天竺寺八月十五日夜桂子》一诗之所以读来声情并茂，正在于诗人以声韵配合情思、以节奏烘托意境，音节之长短、平仄之起伏，皆与诗意相为表里，此亦可见中国古典诗歌声律之美与匠心之工。

Line by line

玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新。

Jade-like seeds come tinkling down from the wheel of the moon; before the hall I gather them, the dew on them still fresh.

玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新。

Jade-like petals drift down from the wheel of the moon; before the hall I pick them up, fresh with dew.

首二句写玉颗珊珊下月轮，起笔即见其景。「玉颗珊珊下月轮」写玉颗珊珊下月轮，「玉颗珊珊」写玉颗珊珊、「下月轮」写下月轮；「殿前拾得露华新」写殿前拾得露华新，「殿前拾得」写殿前拾得、「露华新」写露华新。两句一写玉颗珊珊下月轮、一写殿前拾得露华新，以玉颗珊珊下月轮写珊珊下月轮、以殿前拾得露华新写拾得露华新，写尽玉颗珊珊下月轮、殿前拾得露华新之情。以桂起兴，清新而明丽，是「以桂起兴」的妙笔。

The first two lines write cassia petals falling from the moon, the scene rising at once. Jade-like petals drift down from the wheel of the moon: the petals like jade, drifting down from the moon's disk. Before the hall I pick them up, fresh with dew: gathered before the hall, new with dew. One line writes the petals descending from the moon, the other their dewy freshness in hand; the moon-cassia motif opens the poem, fresh and luminous - a masterly raising imagery through the cassia. The myth that cassia grows in the moon gives the falling petals their supernatural cast; the dew-fresh harvest grounds the wonder in the temple courtyard. The serene, bright tone sets up the playful conjecture of the closing lines.

至今不会天中事，应是嫦娥掷与人。

To this day I understand nothing of affairs in heaven — it must be that Chang'e has flung them down to men.

至今不会天中事，应是嫦娥掷与人。

To this day I cannot fathom the affairs of heaven; they must have been tossed down to us by Chang'e.

尾二句写至今不会天中事，是全诗立意的落点。「至今不会天中事」写至今不会天中事，「至今不会」写至今不会、「天中事」写天中事；「应是嫦娥掷与人」用嫦娥之典写应是嫦娥掷与人，「应是嫦娥」写应是嫦娥、「掷与人」写掷与人。两句一写至今不会天中事、一写应是嫦娥掷与人，以至今不会天中事写不会天中事、以应是嫦娥掷与人写嫦娥掷与人，写尽至今不会天中事、应是嫦娥掷与人之情。以月写情，清新而明丽，是全诗最动人处，也是「以月写情」的点睛之笔。

The last two lines write the affairs of heaven beyond fathoming, the poem's point. To this day I cannot fathom the affairs of heaven: unable, even now, to explain what happens in the sky. They must have been tossed down to us by Chang'e: the allusion to the moon goddess, who must have cast them down to mortals. One line writes the puzzlement, the other the playful solution; the moon goddess allusion turns the fallen petals into a gift from heaven, fresh and luminous - the poem's most moving point, the consummate stroke of writing feeling through the moon. The conjecture is light-hearted yet full of wonder: the poet picks up moon-fresh petals and imagines Chang'e herself scattering them, tying the earthly Mid-Autumn night to the celestial legend with a smile.

Study

Word focus

玉颗 Jade kernels — the fallen cassia seeds likened to jade beads, at once naming their shape and lending the moon's gift a precious, cool luster. 「玉颗」写玉颗珊珊下月轮，是写玉颗之态的关键。「玉颗珊珊下月轮」着一「玉颗」，写玉颗——着一「玉颗」，写玉颗珊珊下月轮，见其颗之玉。两字写尽玉颗之态，是「以词写颗」的妙笔。「玉颗」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
珊珊 Tinkling, with a clear susurrus — an onomatopoeic reduplicative that makes the silent fall audible: one almost hears the seeds striking the ground like jade pendants. 「珊珊」写玉颗珊珊下月轮，是写珊珊之态的关键。「玉颗珊珊下月轮」着一「珊珊」，写珊珊——着一「珊珊」，写玉颗珊珊下月轮，见其落之珊。两字写尽珊珊之态，是「以词写声」的点睛之词。「珊珊」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
露华 The brilliance of dew — dew imagined as flower-radiance; still fresh on the gathered seeds, it marks the hour just past midnight and the purity of the gift. 「露华」写殿前拾得露华新，是写露华之态的关键。「殿前拾得露华新」着一「露华」，写露华——着一「露华」，写殿前拾得露华新，见其露之华。两字写尽露华之态，是「以词写露」的点睛之词。「露华」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
嫦娥 Chang'e — the goddess who flew to the moon; her presence converts the fallen seeds from a natural fact into a playful gift from the moon palace. 「嫦娥」写应是嫦娥掷与人，是写嫦娥之态的关键。「应是嫦娥掷与人」着一「嫦娥」，写嫦娥——着一「嫦娥」，写应是嫦娥掷与人，见其仙之嫦娥。两字写尽嫦娥之态，是「以词写仙」的点睛之词。「嫦娥」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯 Huanxisha: A Cup of Wine to a New Song (Huanxisha · Yiqu Xinci Jiu Yibei) 晏殊 · 同写写景感怀、无可奈何，一写无可奈何花落去、一写玉颗珊珊下月轮殿前拾得露华新，皆于写景之中见感怀 Both brood over scenes and the passing of things — one in helpless regret, one in bright delight — and both find feeling within the scene.

Yan Shu's 'Huanxisha' ('Helpless, the flowers fall away; the swallows seem to have returned, as if we knew them') writes scene-sorrow and regret; it is a celebrated Song lyric. Pi Rixiu's 'Osmanthus Seeds' writes 'jade-like seeds come tinkling down from the moon's wheel' and 'it must be that Chang'e has flung them down to mankind,' writing the autumn moon through cassia seeds. Both brood over scenes and helplessness: one uses falling flowers and returning swallows to mourn time, the other falling cassia seeds to praise the autumn moon; one is Yan Shu's warmth, the other Pi Rixiu's brightness — two ways of writing 'feeling within the scene.'

晏殊《浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯》「无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来」，写写景感怀，是宋词小令的名篇；皮日休《天竺寺八月十五日夜桂子》则以「玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新」「应是嫦娥掷与人」写珊珊下月轮、嫦娥掷与人。两诗同写写景感怀、无可奈何：一写无可奈何花落去、以花落燕归写惜时，一写玉颗珊珊下月轮殿前拾得露华新、以桂子写秋月；一为晏殊之温润、一为皮日休之明丽，并读正可见诗写「写景感怀」的两种笔法，皆于写景之中见感怀。

 山园小梅 Little Plum Blossoms in the Mountain Garden (Shanyuan Xiaomei) 林逋 · 同写咏物清雅、以物寄情，一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、一写玉颗珊珊下月轮殿前拾得露华新，皆于咏物之中见清雅 Both write things with pure elegance, lodging feeling in the object — one in the plum's sparse shadow, one in the cassia seed — and both find purity within the object.

Lin Bu's 'Little Plum Blossoms' ('sparse shadows slant across the clear shallow water, a hidden fragrance floats in the moonlit dusk') writes the plum's pure elegance and is the swan song of Song poetry on objects. Pi Rixiu's 'Osmanthus Seeds' writes 'jade-like seeds come tinkling down from the moon's wheel' and 'it must be that Chang'e has flung them down to mankind,' writing the object through cassia seeds. Both write things with pure elegance: one uses the plum's sparse shadow and hidden fragrance to write purity, the other falling cassia seeds to write the object; one is Lin Bu's cool detachment, the other Pi Rixiu's brightness — two ways of writing 'purity within the object.'

林逋《山园小梅》「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」，写梅之清雅、咏物，是宋诗咏物的绝唱；皮日休《天竺寺八月十五日夜桂子》则以「玉颗珊珊下月轮，殿前拾得露华新」「应是嫦娥掷与人」写珊珊下月轮、嫦娥掷与人。两诗同写咏物清雅、以物寄情：一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、以梅写清雅，一写玉颗珊珊下月轮殿前拾得露华新、以桂子写咏物；一为林逋之清逸、一为皮日休之明丽，并读正可见诗写「咏物清雅」的两种笔法，皆于咏物之中见清雅。