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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

相和歌辞 子夜四时歌四首 夏歌

Summer Song (from 'Midnight Songs of the Four Seasons')

李白

Li Bai

镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花五月西施采人看隘若邪回舟不待月归去越王家

Mirror Lake stretches its three hundred li,
and the lotus buds open into blossom.
In the fifth month Xi Shi comes to gather them,
and the crowds of watchers choke Ruoye Stream.
She turns her boat and heads home without waiting for the moon —
going back to the house of the King of Yue.
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Meaning

A brilliant summer vignette: three hundred li of Mirror Lake in lotus bloom, the beauty Xi Shi gathering flowers while the whole countryside crowds the banks to watch, then her boat turning for home without waiting for moonrise. The last line quietly recalls the legend that Xi Shi was taken back to the court of Yue — a folk lotus-gathering song transformed into a shimmering historical mirage.

镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花五月西施采人看隘若邪回舟不待月归去越王家

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Mirror Lake spreads three hundred li, lotus opening everywhere; in the fifth month the famous beauty Xi Shi comes to gather lotus, and the spectators crowd Ruoye Stream; she turns her boat home without waiting for the moon, returning to the King of Yue's house. [Imagery and Legend] The poem is built from two materials: the lotus-gathering songs of the Wu lands and the Xi Shi legend. Li Bai superimposes them — the crowd that gathers to watch a lotus-girl becomes the crowd that once watched Xi Shi, and the girl's boat 'returning to the King of Yue's house' fuses harvest with history. [Technique] The language is flat and bright, almost reportorial: numbers, months, names. Nothing is commented on; the glamour and the melancholy sit inside the facts. [Effect] A six-line yuefu that behaves like a wide-angle shot, ending on a name that turns a summer scene into the shadow of an empire.

【白话串讲】 李白写《相和歌辞·子夜四时歌四首·夏歌》：“镜湖三百里，菡萏发荷花”——“五月西施采，人看隘若邪”——“回舟不待月，归去越王家”——他写夏歌——五月西施采。 【意象与手法】 “镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花”写镜湖荷花；“五月西施采人看隘若邪”写西施采莲；“回舟不待月归去越王家”写回舟归去。明丽夏景。 【情感与主旨】 李白写夏景咏史之作，写镜湖荷花与西施采莲的明丽之景，是李白乐府诗中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“镜湖三百里，菡萏发荷花”写镜湖荷花；“五月西施采，人看隘若邪”写西施采莲。

Background

Li Bai (701–762), courtesy name Taibai, the 'Banished Immortal' of Tang poetry, wrote this piece in the 'Midnight Songs of the Four Seasons' (Ziye Sishi Ge) cycle of the Xianghe (harmonious singing) yuefu tradition — songs originating in southern folk performance and reworked by courtly poets. The song belongs to the southern harvest repertoire: in the fifth month girls gathered lotus at Mirror Lake by the Ruoye Stream in the old land of Yue (modern Zhejiang). Li Bai grafts the local folk scene onto the story of Xi Shi, the Yue beauty sent to the King of Wu — so that a lotus-gathering girl leaving 'without waiting for the moon' carries the weight of a whole kingdom's romance.

《相和歌辞 子夜四时歌四首 夏歌》为唐代诗人李白所作诗。李白（701—762），字太白，号青莲居士，绵州昌隆人，唐代诗人。此诗写夏景咏史，为子夜夏歌之作。诗中「镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花」写镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花；「五月西施采人看隘若邪」写五月西施采人看隘若邪；「回舟不待月归去越王家」写回舟不待月归去越王家。李白此诗以夏景咏史、归去越王家写其咏史之情，明丽夏景，是李白诗中的名篇。此篇《相和歌辞 子夜四时歌四首 夏歌》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《相和歌辞 子夜四时歌四首 夏歌》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 artistry is one of compression and superimposition. Six five-character lines cover three hundred li of lake, a month, a beauty, a crowd, a boat, and a palace. The yuefu's plain diction is kept — there is not one ornamental adjective — yet every noun (Mirror Lake, lotus, fifth month, Xi Shi, Ruoye, King of Yue) is loaded with southern legend. The progression is cinematic: a vast landscape, then the gathering girl, then the crowd that 'chokes' the stream, then the turning boat and the closing name. The turn hinges on 'without waiting for the moon': lotus songs traditionally end with the moonlit return home, and by refusing to wait, the poem accelerates toward history. The last line names the destination — and the destination is a king.

此诗艺术上以「明丽夏景、以荷写情」见长。全诗共六句，由镜湖三百里而五月西施采而回舟不待月。起「镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花」写镜湖三百里：镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花；「五月西施采人看隘若邪」写五月西施采：五月西施采人看隘若邪；结「回舟不待月归去越王家」写归去越王家：回舟不待月归去越王家。全诗以荷写情，由镜湖三百里而归去越王家，明丽夏景，是李白诗中的名篇。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

Mirror Lake (Jinghu) lay by Shaoxing in the old land of Yue; the Ruoye Stream (Ruoxi) flowed from Mount Ruo nearby, both places bound up with Xi Shi's legend. Xi Shi, the beauty of Yue, was sent to the King of Wu to destroy him; after Yue's triumph she was, in one tradition, carried away on a boat — hence the boatride 'to the house of the King of Yue'. The lotus-gathering motif belongs to the Wu songs of the 'Midnight' repertoire, where girls picked lotus and sang of longing. Li Bai's fusion of harvest song and national romance gives a folk scene the resonance of history.

诗中「镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花」「五月西施采人看隘若邪」「回舟不待月归去越王家」等语，皆含典故故实。「镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花」用镜湖之典（镜湖写浙江湖名），写镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花；「五月西施采人看隘若邪」用西施之典（西施写越国美女），写五月西施采人看隘若邪；「回舟不待月归去越王家」用越王之典（越王写越王勾践），写回舟不待月归去越王家。诗人用镜湖、西施、越王之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把夏景咏史之情写得真切可感，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。

Commentary

This short yuefu is prized for exactly what it withholds. The poem never says that Xi Shi's return to the King of Yue will end in her disappearance — the tradition says she was carried off, drowned, or hidden away — yet the absence of the customary 'wait for the moon' ending lets every reader supply the sadness. Commentators place the poem in the southern lyric tradition Li Bai absorbed during his years wandering the Jiangnan and Yue regions, and note how completely he internalized yuefu plainness: a poem about a legendary beauty contains no adjective for beauty. It is at once the most folk-like and the most historical of his songs.

这首《相和歌辞 子夜四时歌四首 夏歌》，是李白写夏景咏史之作，写镜湖三百里、五月西施采、回舟不待月、归去越王家之情，明丽夏景。起「镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花」——镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花。写镜湖三百里：镜湖三百里、菡萏发荷花——三百里、发荷花；「五月西施采人看隘若邪」——五月西施采人看隘若邪。写五月西施采：五月西施采、人看隘若邪——西施采、隘若邪；结「回舟不待月归去越王家」——回舟不待月归去越王家。写归去越王家：回舟不待月、归去越王家——不待月、越王家。这「回舟不待月归去越王家」，是全诗之结：以归去越王家写其咏史。全诗明丽夏景，以荷写情，正是李白诗中的名篇。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。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 Five-character ancient-style verse (wuyan guti) in the yuefu tradition, six lines诗（五言古体）
Rhyme The poem rhymes in the level-tone ma group: hua, xie, jia — a bright, open rhyme that suits the summer lake; the first two lines run unrhymed as narrative opening, a common freedom of the yuefu.此诗为五言古体。押韵：「花」「邪」「家」等部。句句自然流转，声情明丽，正与写夏景咏史的明丽夏景相称，也见其以古体写咏史的流转。
Tone pattern The lines are flat five-character yuefu, without regulated-verse tonal patterns; the rhythm is that of folk song — 'jing hu san bai li / han dan fa he hua' scans in two even beats, and the last two lines shift from scene to departure. The unregulated cadence keeps the poem close to the singing voice of the southern harvest songs.句式上，「镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花」写镜湖三百里，音节明丽；「五月西施采人看隘若邪」写五月西施采，音节悠长；结「回舟不待月归去越王家」写归去越王家，音节低回。全诗音节随情起伏，由明丽而悠长、而低回，正合古体「流转」之妙，读来如夏景咏史、归去越王家之音，明丽而动人。
Reading note As yuefu the poem borrows the lilting, additive rhythm of folk performance: line added to line like petals to a lake. The prosodic interest is structural rather than metrical — three couplets that advance like a camera: landscape, crowd, departure. The closing name 'the house of the King of Yue' lands like the last chord of a song, leaving the ma rhyme hanging in the air like the unsung fate of Xi Shi.此诗为五言古体，是李白写夏景咏史之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「明丽夏景、以荷写情」：「镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花」写镜湖三百里、「五月西施采人看隘若邪」写五月西施采、「回舟不待月归去越王家」写归去越王家。全诗明丽夏景，以荷写情。尤为精妙者，是「镜湖三百里」用镜湖之典；而「五月西施采」用西施之典，正是李白诗「明丽夏景」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《相和歌辞 子夜四时歌四首 夏歌》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

镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花

Mirror Lake stretches its three hundred li, and the lotus buds open into blossom.

镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花

Mirror Lake, three hundred li across, is covered with opening lotus blooms.

起句写镜湖三百里，起笔即见其镜湖。「镜湖三百里」用镜湖之典写镜湖三百里，「镜湖」写镜湖、「三百里」写三百里；「菡萏发荷花」写菡萏发荷花，「菡萏」写菡萏、「发荷花」写发荷花。一句写镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花，以镜湖三百里写三百里、以菡萏发荷花写发荷花，写尽镜湖三百里、菡萏发荷花之情。以湖起兴，明丽而夏景，是「以湖起兴」的妙笔。

The opening writes Mirror Lake's three hundred li, the lake named at the first stroke. Mirror Lake, three hundred li across: the vast expanse of the lake; opening lotus blooms: the lotus in full flower across the water. One line writes the lake's breadth and the lotus's bloom, the bright summer scene set off at once. The line opens with the lake as bi-xing, bright and clear - the poem's summer song begins with this vast lotus expanse, preparing the figure of Xishi gathering below.

五月西施采人看隘若邪

In the fifth month Xi Shi comes to gather them, and the watchers crowd Ruoye Stream to choking.

五月西施采人看隘若邪

In the fifth month Xishi comes to gather lotuses; crowds line the Ruoye Stream, so dense it narrows.

此句写五月西施采，是全诗写西施之态的关键。「五月西施采」用西施之典写五月西施采，「五月」写五月、「西施采」写西施采；「人看隘若邪」写人看隘若邪，「人看」写人看、「隘若邪」写隘若邪。一句写五月西施采人看隘若邪，以五月西施采写西施采、以人看隘若邪写隘若邪，写尽五月西施采、人看隘若邪之情。以施写景，明丽而夏景，是「以施写景」的点睛之笔。

This line writes Xishi gathering in the fifth month, the key to the poem's figure. In the fifth month Xishi comes to gather lotuses: the famous beauty at the lakeside in early summer. Crowds line the Ruoye Stream, so dense it narrows: Ruoye, the stream by the lake, so thronged with onlookers that the waterway is narrowed. One line writes the beauty gathering and the crowds pressing - the fame of Xishi rendering the stream impassable. The line uses the crowds' crush to write the beauty's legendary hold on the popular imagination; the summer lake scene is at once bright and bustling.

回舟不待月归去越王家

She turns her boat home without waiting for the moon, going back to the house of the King of Yue.

回舟不待月归去越王家

The boat turns back before the moon rises; she returns to the palace of the King of Yue.

结句写归去越王家，是全诗立意的落点。「回舟不待月」写回舟不待月，「回舟」写回舟、「不待月」写不待月；「归去越王家」用越王之典写归去越王家，「归去」写归去、「越王家」写越王家。一句写回舟不待月归去越王家，以回舟不待月写不待月、以归去越王家写越王家，写尽回舟不待月、归去越王家之情。以家写情，明丽而夏景，是全诗最动人处，也是「以家写情」的点睛之笔。

The closing writes her return to the King of Yue's palace, the poem's landing. The boat turns back before the moon rises: her boat turns homeward, not waiting for the moon. She returns to the palace of the King of Yue: the legendary destination, the royal palace. One line writes the boat's hasty return and the palace of Yue - the gathering over, the beauty reclaimed by the court. The line closes the idyll on a quiet note: the lotus gathering is over, the crowds disperse, and the legend returns to its source - the palace. The summer song ends not in lingering but in departure, leaving the scene to the lake's silence.

Study

Word focus

镜湖 Mirror Lake — the great lake by Shaoxing in the old land of Yue, named for its mirror-still surface; 'three hundred li' turns it into a whole world of lotus, the southern landscape at its most brilliant. 「镜湖」写镜湖三百里，是写镜湖之态的关键。「镜湖三百里」着一「镜湖」，写镜湖——着一「镜湖」，写镜湖三百里，见其湖之镜。两字写尽镜湖之态，是「以词写湖」的妙笔。「镜湖」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。
菡萏 Lotus buds — the classical word (handan) for the lotus flower before it opens; pairing it with 'blossom' spreads the opening of the flowers across the whole lake, a single instant of bloom magnified to three hundred li. 「菡萏」写菡萏发荷花，是写菡萏之态的关键。「菡萏发荷花」着一「菡萏」，写菡萏——着一「菡萏」，写菡萏发荷花，见其萏之菡。两字写尽菡萏之态，是「以词写萏」的点睛之词。「菡萏」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。
荷花 The lotus blossom — in a poem about Xi Shi, the lotus is the flower of the south and of beauty; its opening marks the fifth month when the gathering begins. 「荷花」写菡萏发荷花，是写荷花之态的关键。「菡萏发荷花」着一「荷花」，写荷花——着一「荷花」，写菡萏发荷花，见其花之荷。两字写尽荷花之态，是「以词写荷」的点睛之词。「荷花」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。
西施 Xi Shi — the legendary beauty of Yue, sent to the King of Wu to undo him and, in legend, carried away after Yue's triumph; her presence turns a lotus-gathering song into the shadow of a historical romance. 「西施」写五月西施采，是写西施之态的关键。「五月西施采」着一「西施」，写西施——着一「西施」，写五月西施采，见其施之西。两字写尽西施之态，是「以词写施」的点睛之词。「西施」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

水调歌头·明月几时有 Prelude to Water Melody ('Bright moon, when will you be?') 苏轼 · 同写夏景感怀、明丽旷达，一写人有悲欢离合、一写镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花，皆于夏景之中见明丽 Both sing of the moon and human feeling — Su Shi's cosmic retrospect, Li Bai's bright folk vignette.

Su Shi's 'Men have sorrow and joy, parting and reunion; the moon has its cloud and shine — this has been hard since old time' lifts the moon to the level of philosophical consolation. Li Bai's girl leaves 'without waiting for the moon' — the moon is not philosophized but simply, locally declined. One is Mid-Autumn philosophy, the other a lake at dusk in Yue; between them stands the range of the Chinese moon lyric.

苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全」，写夏景感怀、明丽旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；李白《相和歌辞 子夜四时歌四首 夏歌》则以「镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花」「归去越王家」写发荷花、越王家。两诗同写夏景感怀、明丽旷达：一写人有悲欢离合、以悲欢写离合，一写镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花、以荷花写夏景；一为苏轼之旷达、一为李白之明丽，并读正可见诗写「夏景感怀」的两种笔法，皆于夏景之中见明丽。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Eight Beats of Ganzhou Song ('Facing the pattering evening rain on the river sky') 柳永 · 同写镜湖凝望、明丽清丽，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花，皆于镜湖之中见凝望 Both dwell on a wide river-and-lake prospect — Liu Yong's autumn melancholy against Li Bai's summer brilliance.

Liu Yong's 'facing the pattering evening rain spilling over the river sky, one washing makes all clear autumn' turns a broad waterscape into the traveler's sorrow; Li Bai's 'Mirror Lake stretches three hundred li' keeps the same breadth of water but fills it with lotus and a beauty. One washes the land into clarity and grief, the other blooms with summer and legend — the two poles of the water landscape in Chinese lyric.

柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「对潇潇暮雨洒江天，一番洗清秋」，写镜湖凝望、明丽清丽，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；李白《相和歌辞 子夜四时歌四首 夏歌》则以「镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花」「五月西施采」写发荷花、西施采。两诗同写镜湖凝望、明丽清丽：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写镜湖三百里菡萏发荷花、以荷花写夏景；一为柳永之清丽、一为李白之明丽，并读正可见诗写「镜湖凝望」的两种笔法，皆于镜湖之中见凝望。