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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

西施咏

Song of Xi Shi

王维

Wang Wei

咏史history-chant 怀古nostalgia

西施咏艳色天下重，西施宁久微。
朝为越溪女，暮作吴宫妃。
贱日岂殊众，贵来方悟稀。
邀人傅脂粉，不自著罗衣。
君宠益娇态，君怜无是非。
当时浣纱伴，莫得同车归。
持谢邻家子，效颦安可希。

A dazzling beauty the world holds dear;
how could Xi Shi stay long obscure?
At dawn a washer-girl by the Yue stream,
by dusk a consort in the palace of Wu.
Lowly, was she not like the rest?
Exalted, then first they knew her rare.
She bids others dab on her powder;
she does not dress herself in silk.
The sovereign's favour adds to her coquetry;
his pity leaves no right and wrong.
Her old companions at the washing—
none may ride home in her carriage.
I would tell the girl next door:
what good is mimicking a frown?

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Meaning

A dazzling beauty is prized throughout the world; how could Xi Shi remain long in obscurity? In the morning she was a washer-girl by the Yue stream; by dusk she had become a consort in the palace of Wu. When lowly, was she any different from others? Only when exalted did men first know her rare. She bids others apply her powder and does not clothe herself in silk. The sovereign's favour only adds to her coquettish air; his pity leaves no question of right and wrong. Her old companions at the washing could no longer ride home in her carriage. I would send word to the girl next door: what good is mimicking a frown to win favour?

艳丽的姿色为天下所重，西施岂能长久卑微？早晨还是越溪的浣纱女，傍晚便成了吴宫的妃子。卑贱时与众人有何不同，显贵后才知她稀有。要人帮着敷脂粉，自己不亲着罗衣。君王宠爱更添娇态，君王怜惜便无是非。当年一同浣纱的同伴，不能再同车而归。请寄语邻家女子，效颦又岂可得人赏识。

Appreciation

This is an early historical poem of Wang Wei's. Xi Shi was a washer-girl of Zhuluo village in the state of Yue; King Goujian of Yue presented her to Fuchai of Wu, and in the end Wu fell. Drawing on this history, Wang Wei seems on the surface to write of a beauty's change of fortune, but in truth he lodges a satire on the coldness of the world, on judging men by their looks, and on the petty man who grows arrogant through his circumstances. Poets of the high Tang often used history to speak of themselves, and this piece too quietly carries Wang Wei's own feeling about his course in life and the warmth and coldness of the world; it is typical of the Tang manner of 'using the past to give voice to the present'. The whole poem is strung on contrast: the first couplet, 'the world holds dear' against 'stay long obscure', opens the reversal of fate; the second, 'at dawn a washer-girl ... by dusk a consort', writes the shift of station through the sudden change of a single day; the third, 'lowly, was she not like the rest? exalted, then first they knew her rare', lays bare the ways of the world—the same person, unnoticed when low, prized as rare when high, to the point of satire. The latter half writes her wanton pride once favoured ('she bids others dab on her powder', 'his pity leaves no right and wrong'), and closes on the allusion of 'mimicking a frown', counselling the world not to copy mere appearance. Narrative and argument are mixed, the language carries a barb, and a cold severity shows through the plain.

【白话串讲】 “朝为越溪女，暮作吴宫妃”——王维写西施：早上还是越溪的浣纱女，晚上就成了吴宫的妃子。“当时浣纱伴，莫得同车归”——当年的同伴，再也不能和她同车。他写西施，也是在写命运的捉弄。【意象与手法】全诗以对比贯穿：首联“天下重”与“宁久微”揭命运反差；颔联“朝为……暮作……”以时间骤变写地位之迁【情感与主旨】此诗为王维早期咏史之作。西施乃春秋越国苎萝村浣纱女，被越王勾践献于吴王夫差，卒灭吴【名句点睛】考点集中于对比手法与讽喻主旨。常问：“贱日岂殊众，贵来方悟稀”揭示了什么社会现象？答

Background

This is an early historical piece of Wang Wei's. Xi Shi was a washer-girl of Zhuluo village in the state of Yue; King Goujian presented her to Fuchai of Wu, and in the end Wu was destroyed. Drawing on this story, Wang Wei seems on the surface to write of a beauty's change of fortune, but in truth he lodges a satire on the coldness of the world, on judging by appearance, and on the petty man who grows arrogant through his circumstances. Poets of the high Tang often used history to speak of themselves, and this piece too quietly carries Wang Wei's own feeling about his course in life and the warmth and coldness of the world; it is typical of the Tang manner of 'using the past to give voice to the present'.

王维《西施咏》的具体作年史无明载，历来多系于其早年。王维开元九年（721）进士及第，授太乐丞，未几因伶人舞黄狮子之事贬济州司仓参军，此后数年间辗转外任，开元末始返长安。此诗以世态炎凉与士之遇不遇立论，与诗人早岁经历中的沉浮之感正相契合，故学者多定为开元年间作品。西施本事见于《吴越春秋·勾践阴谋外传》与《越绝书》：越王勾践败于夫差，谋臣文种献灭吴九术，其一即求苎萝山鬻薪之女西施、郑旦，饰以罗縠，教以容步，习于土城，临于都巷，三年学服而献于吴，吴王大悦，卒以乱政亡国。《史记·越王勾践世家》所记略同。王维此诗不以铺叙史事为务，而是借西施自微而贵的遭际，转出对势利世态的冷峻议论。版本方面，此诗载于《王右丞集》卷四，诸本文字大体一致，未见重大异文；唯「朝为越溪女」之「为」字，别本偶作「作」，与下句「暮作吴宫妃」之「作」互见，两字皆通，不影响诗意。越溪即若耶溪，相传为西施浣纱处，在会稽山阴（今浙江绍兴）一带，后世遂以「若耶溪」「浣纱溪」为西施故地的代称。王维早年咏史与干谒之作，往往于冲淡之外别见锋芒，此诗正属此类。诗中「邀人傅脂粉，不自著罗衣」所写西施贵后的娇慵之态，与《洛阳女儿行》「罗帷送上七香车，宝扇迎归九华帐」之铺陈贵势，笔法相类，皆可见王维早年对世态富贵的敏锐观察与冷眼讥刺，亦透出其青年时期怀抱不平、以诗讽世的创作姿态。

Art

The whole poem is strung on contrast: the first couplet, 'A dazzling beauty the world holds dear; how could Xi Shi stay long obscure?', opens the reversal of fate; the second, 'at dawn a washer-girl by the Yue stream, by dusk a consort in the palace of Wu', writes the shift of station through the sudden change of a single day; the third, 'Lowly, was she not like the rest? Exalted, then first they knew her rare', lays bare the ways of the world—the same person, unnoticed when low, prized as rare when high, to the point of satire. The latter half writes her wanton pride once favoured ('she bids others dab on her powder', 'his pity leaves no right and wrong'), and closes on the allusion of 'mimicking a frown', counselling the world not to copy mere appearance. Narrative and argument are mixed, the language carries a barb, and a cold severity shows through the plain.

此诗章法先叙后议，层次井然。前八句铺陈西施由微入贵的过程：「朝为越溪女，暮作吴宫妃」以「朝」「暮」二字压缩时间，一日之内地位天翻地覆，写尽命运之无常；「贱日岂殊众，贵来方悟稀」则从观者视角落笔，点出世人对同一人的价值判断因贵贱而截然两判，势利之态如在目前。中四句转写贵后光景，「邀人傅脂粉，不自著罗衣」以生活细节见其养尊处优，「君宠益娇态，君怜无是非」更进一层，由外而内写宠幸之下的娇纵与是非之泯灭，笔锋暗含讥刺。后四句陡转议论，先以「当时浣纱伴，莫得同车归」作对照，昔日同伴终不得与贵显者同车，再以「持谢邻家子，效颦安可希」收束全篇，劝世之意显豁。炼字上，「贵来方悟稀」之「悟」字最耐寻味——「悟」是迟来的省觉，正见世人事前昏聩、事后趋附的可笑；「宁久微」之「宁」以反问出之，含一股郁勃不平之气。此诗在王维集中别具一格，王维诗以冲淡闲远为宗，此篇却语带讥刺、议论风生，可见其早年受左思《咏史》、鲍照乐府一路影响之深。全诗不用一个典故讲史，却于结尾巧用「效颦」，以典作结，警策而有余味。「朝为越溪女，暮作吴宫妃」以「朝」「暮」对举，压缩时间而不显仓促，与左思《咏史》「郁郁涧底松，离离山上苗」的对比笔法一脉相通，皆以对照见世态之不公，以短章写深慨。

Allusions

The poem uses the allusion of 'mimicking a frown', from Zhuangzi's 'Tian Yun': Xi Shi frowned from a pain at her heart, and an ugly woman of the village, the 'Dong Shi', copied her, only growing uglier, so that all fled from her. Wang Wei uses this to satirize: the ugly copy the outward manner of Xi Shi but cannot attain her substance, and in the end can never reach her. 'Her old companions at the washing' refers to Xi Shi's former mates by the Yue stream, set against 'ride home in her carriage' to mark the contrast of low and high. The whole poem is threaded on 'a dazzling beauty the world holds dear' as its eye, following Xi Shi's passage from washer-girl to consort of Wu; the allusion fits and is not obscure, and its intent to use the past to reprove the present is plain.

诗中西施与效颦二事皆有明确出处。西施献吴事见《吴越春秋·勾践阴谋外传》，记越「乃使相者国中得苎萝山鬻薪之女曰西施、郑旦」；《越绝书》亦有「越乃饰美女西施、郑旦，使大夫种献之于吴王」的记载。「效颦」之典出自《庄子·天运》：「故西施病心而矉其里，其里之丑人见而美之，归亦捧心而矉其里。」王维以此典收束全篇，正用其意而复翻进一层——不止讥丑女效颦之东施效尤，更讽世人徒慕荣贵而不察其所以致贵之由。以美人喻才士、以色事人喻以才事君的传统源远流长，可溯至先秦：《诗经·卫风·硕人》开以形貌之美铺写人物之先河；屈原《离骚》以「众女嫉余之蛾眉兮，谣诼谓余以善淫」自况，确立「香草美人」的寄托体格；曹植《美女篇》「佳人慕高义，求贤良独难」，借美女盛年不嫁寓才士不遇；至王维此诗，则沿此脉而更重议论，将美人的荣辱系于在上者一念之间。学界对此诗有无寄托存在歧说：一者以为纯咏西施、讽世态之炎凉；一者以为王维借西施「宁久微」而终见拔擢，反衬自身沦落之叹；亦有人指「君宠」「君怜」暗刺玄宗朝宠幸与佞幸之弊。诸说并陈，正见此诗寄托的开放性，读者各得其解。王维此诗较之曹植《美女篇》之哀怨、李白《妾薄命》之悲切，更多一层旁观者的冷峻，与其「讽世」的命意正相吻合，是以古题写己意、化美人为论据的又一例。

Commentary

Tang Ruxun of the Ming, in his 'Explication of Tang Poetry', remarks: 'The Right Reverend's poem grieves that the world holds the poor cheap and the noble dear, and judges by appearance.' Shen Deqian of the Qing, in his 'Tang Poems Selected', says of the two lines 'Lowly, was she not like the rest?' that they 'write out the coldness of the world to the full'. The modern scholar Chen Yixin holds that this piece 'takes history as a mirror, with a cold eye and a warm heart'. Critics of every age have prized its freedom from clinging to the bare facts and its power to turn up a new meaning, opening a distinct vein of satire among historical poems.

《西施咏》在王维集中传播度不及《山居秋暝》《相思》《送元二使安西》诸篇，但历代选家多所采录。高棅《唐诗品汇》录此诗入五言古诗之卷；沈德潜《唐诗别裁》论王维五言古诗，谓其「本左思、郭璞之意」，虽未专评此篇，然此诗之议论讽世，确与左思咏史一脉相通。后世论者多注意其讽刺笔法与由叙转议的结构经营。清代方东树《昭昧詹言》论王维古诗，谓其「时有真朴处，然亦不免流易」，正可移以衡量此篇之得失——其佳处在议论爽利、对照鲜明，其不足则在说理略露而少含蓄之致。诗中「朝为越溪女，暮作吴宫妃」二句，以时间对举写荣辱骤变，成为后世书写贫富升沉的名句式样，常被征引以说明咏史诗以简驭繁之法。近世各类《唐诗鉴赏辞典》多将此诗列为王维咏史一路的代表，着重阐发其「富贵无常、宠辱系人」的感慨。与李白《妾薄命》、杜甫《咏怀古迹》相比，王维此篇论说成分更重，意象经营稍弱，然其警世之意与议论之巧，仍不失为盛唐咏史之一格。清代王夫之《唐诗评选》论王维，谓其诗「得之于内，而标榜于外者不逮」，此诗之议论稍露、含蓄稍欠，或可作此评之注脚。然就咏史一体而言，能以十四句古体写尽世态炎凉，且收束于「效颦」一典，其警策之力，实不减于左思、鲍照诸作。

Prosody

Form Five-character ancient-style verse (a yue-fu style historical poem)五言古诗

Rhyme Ping-shui rhyme: wei, consort, rare, silk, wrong, return, hope, etc., chiefly the upper-level five wei group ('rest' is a departing-tone word and does not rhyme)平水韵上平五微韵，押「微」「妃」「稀」「衣」「非」「归」「希」七韵，隔句押韵，一韵到底

Tone pattern Ancient-style verse, not bound by level and oblique五言古体，不拘平仄，不避三仄、三平，以意行气，声调随议论而起伏流转。全篇十四句，前十句铺叙，后四句转议，句式长短错落之节奏与古体质朴之风相合。

Reading note An early five-character ancient poem of Wang Wei's, mixing narrative and argument, in the high-Tang line of 'using the past to give voice to the present'.此诗为五言古诗，十四句，隔句押韵，一韵到底，韵脚「微、妃、稀、衣、非、归、希」皆属平水韵上平五微，同用开口细音，声气细密而略带抑塞，与诗中所写的炎凉世态、郁愤心境隐隐相合。五古一韵到底，本已见功力，而王维更能在一韵之中运转自如，不显滞重：前四句用对偶句「朝为越溪女，暮作吴宫妃」「贱日岂殊众，贵来方悟稀」，属对工稳而不板；后十句则渐趋散行，以单行之气推进议论，由整入散，声情随之由扬转抑。「邀人傅脂粉，不自著罗衣」与「君宠益娇态，君怜无是非」两组对句，一写动作、一写心理，节奏由疾转徐。至末句「效颦安可希」以仄仄平仄平收束，戛然而止，余味悠长。五微韵部字音偏细，读来如诉如叹，正宜于这种寓愤激于冷静的议论之体，王维以古体运讥刺之意，声律的松弛恰好容纳了说理的锋芒矣。

Line by line

朝为越溪女

In the morning she was but a girl of Yue Stream,

早晨还是越溪的浣纱女

In the morning she was a girl washing silk by the Yue stream,

此句以「朝」字定格时间起点，写西施最初的卑微身份。越溪即若耶溪，相传为西施浣纱之处，「越溪女」三字点明其出身之寒微——一个溪边浣纱、鬻薪自给的村女。全句无一字渲染，只用白描交代身份，然正因其平淡，才与下句「暮作吴宫妃」的显赫形成巨大落差。「朝」与「暮」的对举，将漫长的人生际遇压缩到一日之内，突出的是命运变化之速、之骤，也暗示这种升沉并非靠个人渐进努力，而是外力（君王的赏识）陡然加诸的结果，为后文「贵来方悟稀」的世态议论埋下伏笔。

This line fixes the time's starting point with morning, writing Xishi's original humble station. Yue Stream means the Ruoye Stream, legendarily where Xishi washed silk; girl of Yue Stream names her low birth - a village girl washing silk by the stream, selling firewood for a living. The whole line no word of embellishment, plain drawing naming the station; yet precisely because plain, it forms the vast contrast with evening became the Wu palace consort below. Morning and evening set against, compressing long life turns into one day, stressing the speed and suddenness of fate's change, and hinting this rise and fall came not through gradual personal effort but was imposed by external force (a king's recognition), planting the伏笔 for the world's ways of honor come only then to recognize rarity below.

贵来方悟稀

only when she rose to rank did men find her rare.

显贵后才知她稀有

Only after she rose to honor did the world realize how rare she was.

「方悟」二字是全句乃至全诗议论的枢纽。西施其人未变，变的只是她的地位，而世人却要等她显贵之后，才「悟」出她的稀罕。「悟」字写出一种迟来的省觉，暗含讽刺——世人并非缺乏识人的能力，而是缺乏不待其贵而先识之的眼光；他们的「悟」不过是对权势的趋附，与对真实的认知无关。此句与上句「贱日岂殊众」互为因果：卑贱时与众人无异，显贵后才被追认为稀有，一贬一褒之间，世态之炎凉、价值判断之摇摆，尽在不言中。王维以近乎说理的口吻道出这一普遍社会现象，笔调冷峻，不作愤激之语，反而更见透彻。

Only then realize is the pivot of the line and the whole poem's argument. Xishi herself unchanged; only her station changed, yet the world must wait until she rose to honor before realizing her rarity. Realize writes a belated awakening, secretly satirical - the world is not unable to recognize worth, but lacks the eye to recognize her before honor; their realizing is mere currying of power, unrelated to true perception. This line and in low days was she different from all? above are cause and effect: humble, she was one of the crowd; honored, she is belatedly certified rare; between depreciating and praising, the world's cold-warmth and the wavering of value judgments are all beyond words. Wang Wei speaks this universal social phenomenon in an almost argumentative tone, the brush cold and sharp, no indignant words - all the more penetrating.

君怜无是非

When the lord favors, right and wrong vanish.

君王怜惜便无是非

When the king loves her, there is no more right or wrong.

此句笔锋由西施转指君王，是全诗讽刺最锐利处。「无是非」三字分量极重——君王一旦宠幸某人，便不再分辨是非曲直，宠之所及，贤愚莫辨。这既是对历史上夫差宠西施以致亡国的点破，也可视为对现实政治的隐讽：在上者的个人好恶取代了是非标准，成为左右一个人荣辱进退的唯一尺度。句中「益娇态」与「无是非」对举，一写被宠者之骄纵，一写施宠者之昏聩，两相对照，把「宠」这一关系中的双重异化写得透彻。王维不直言其非，而以「无是非」三字作客观陈述，其褒贬之意反因克制而愈见力量。

This line's brush turns from Xishi to the king, the poem's sharpest satire. No right or wrong carries weight - once the king favors someone, he no longer distinguishes right from wrong; where favor falls, the worthy and the foolish are confounded. This is at once the exposure of historical Fuchai favoring Xishi to ruin Wu, and the hidden satire of contemporary politics: the superior's personal likes and dislikes replace the standard of right and wrong, becoming the sole measure of a man's honor and disgrace. In the line, more charming posture and no right or wrong set against: one writes the favored's arrogance, the other the favorer's muddle; the contrast writes the double alienation in the favor relationship thoroughly. Wang Wei does not directly say wrong, but states no right or wrong as objective fact; its praise and blame, through restraint, show force all the more.

效颦安可希

To mimic her frown - how could that hope for her lot?

效颦又岂可得人赏识

To copy her frown - how could that earn her fortune?

末句以「效颦」之典作结，是对全诗议论的收拢与升华。「安可希」三字以反问出之，语气斩截——效仿西施之颦眉，又怎能企及西施的际遇？其深意在于：西施之贵，不在其颦，而在其为君王所识；世人徒见其贵显而效其外在，却不知其所以致贵之由，遂成东施效颦之笑。王维借以劝诫世人莫作非分之想，亦暗含「遇与不遇系于时、系于人」的无奈与冷峻。此典用得贴切而警策，使全篇的议论落在一个具体可感的形象上，避免了一味说理的枯燥，收束干净而有余韵。

The closing line ends in the mimic-the-frown allusion, gathering and sublimating the poem's argument. How could it hope? uses a question, the tone decisive - mimicking Xishi's frown, how could that attain her lot? Its deep meaning: Xishi's honor lay not in her frown but in being recognized by the king; the world sees only her honor and mimics her exterior, yet knows not the reason of her honor, becoming the Dongshi mimic-the-frown joke. Wang Wei uses it to warn the world against fancies beyond their station, and secretly holds the helpless coldness of meeting or not meeting depending on the age, on the man. The allusion is apt and incisive, landing the whole argument on a concrete, sensible image, avoiding the dryness of mere reasoning; the close clean, with savor.

Study

Word focus

微 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「微」字见于首句「西施宁久微」，意为卑微、低贱。王维不用「贱」而用「微」，取义更为蕴藉——「贱」是显性的价值贬低，「微」则是身份地位的幽微不显，既指西施浣纱村女之出身，也暗含「怀才而处下位」之意。「宁久微」以反问出之，谓西施岂能长久居于卑微，字面是为西施鸣不平，骨子里却藏着诗人对自身以及一切沉沦下位者的期许与郁愤。一个「微」字统摄全篇——由微而贵，是命运的升沉；由贵反观微，则是世态的炎凉；末句劝邻女莫效颦，亦因「微」者之贵本非可求。全诗议论的起点，正在此一字。

悟 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「悟」字见于「贵来方悟稀」，是全诗炼字最精处。若换作「知」「觉」「见」，皆嫌平直——「知」是认知，「觉」是感受，「见」是目睹，都不及「悟」字有迟来之省、恍然之意。世人并非在西施显贵之后才「看见」她的美，而是才「悟」出她的稀有，这个「悟」字恰恰暴露了他们判断的滞后与势利：同一个人，卑贱时视而不见，显贵后如梦方醒。「悟」既含「省觉」，又暗带「趋附」之讥，一字而兼褒贬两义。王维以如此凝练的字眼，把对世态的冷峻批判不动声色地嵌进一个寻常动词里。

效颦 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「效颦」一词取自《庄子·天运》西施病心而颦、里之丑人效之的典故，是王维全诗议论的落点。此典本义在讥丑人不知美之所自，盲目模仿外形；王维用在此处，翻进一层——他不止讥效颦者之愚，更借以点明西施之贵不可复制：效颦者徒学其颦，而不知西施之贵在「遇」。以典作结，使通篇的说理落在一个生动可感的形象上，既收束前文，又开出一层「遇合难求」的深意。「效颦」二字用古而不泥古，贴切自然而警策有力，是咏史诗中用典与议论结合的范例。

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