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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

早春呈水部张十八员外

Early Spring Presented to Zhang of the Water Department

韩愈

Han Yu

早春Early Spring 写景Scenery Description 赠友To a Friend

天街小雨润如酥，草色遥看近却无。
最是一年春好处，绝胜烟柳满皇都。

The rain on the imperial street is as smooth as cream;
The grass is seen from afar but near it seems none.
This is the finest moment of the whole spring,
Far superior to the misty willows filling the capital.

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Meaning

On the imperial street, the light rain is as moist and smooth as butter. Looking from afar, the grass appears green, but close up it seems barely there. This is the best time of spring, far better than the late spring scene of misty willows filling the city.

京城街道上细雨滋润如酥油般柔滑，远望草色青青近看却似有若无；这正是一年里春光最好的时节，远远胜过那烟笼柳浓、满城翠绿的晚春。

Appreciation

The poem depicts early spring in Chang'an: fine rain moistens the street, and the grass is a faint green only visible from afar. The poet argues that this early spring scene surpasses the late spring's lush willows. The lines 'the rain is as smooth as cream' and 'the grass is seen from afar but near it's not' capture the subtlety of early spring. The poem also expresses the poet's wish to invite his friend Zhang Ji to enjoy the scenery, embodying both the delight of spring and the joy of friendship.

【白话串讲】 “天街小雨润如酥，草色遥看近却无”——韩愈说，早春的小雨和若有若无的草色，比满城烟柳的春天更值得看。这是写给好友张籍的一封“春天请柬”。【意象与手法】韩愈以「润如酥」用比喻写春雨之柔，触觉与味觉通感；「草色遥看近却无」以远近视差写草芽初生之态，体物精微；后两句以「最是」「绝胜」的肯定句式直抒对比，将早春雨后之淡雅压过晚春烟柳之浓丽，构思别致、舍去陈言，以文为诗而能清丽如此，别开生面而不落纤巧。【情感与主旨】此诗约作于唐穆宗长庆三年（823），韩愈任吏部侍郎，张籍（水部员外郎，排行十八）是其好友。韩愈连写两首邀张籍春游，此为首篇，意在劝友趁早春清景出游赏玩、莫负韶光，亦见二人交谊之笃与宦途从容时的闲适心绪。【名句点睛】常考：①「润如酥」的表达效果；②「遥看近却无」如何写早春；③诗人认为早春「绝胜」晚春的原因——清新淡雅胜浓丽。

Background

This poem was written around 823 AD when Han Yu served as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. His friend Zhang Ji (Assistant Director of the Water Department) was invited to enjoy the early spring scenery. Han Yu wrote two poems to urge Zhang to go out and enjoy the beautiful spring, reflecting their deep friendship and the poet's leisurely mood during his official career.

此诗约作于唐穆宗长庆三年（823），时韩愈任吏部侍郎，张籍为水部员外郎，因排行第十八，故称「张十八员外」。韩愈与张籍相交数十年，诗酒唱和甚多；是年春，韩愈连写两首《早春呈水部张十八员外》邀张籍出游，此为首篇。诗中写长安天街（朱雀门大街一带御道）小雨润泽、草芽初萌的早春景象，意在劝友趁春光初动之时出游赏玩、莫负韶光，亦见二人交谊之笃与宦途从容时的闲适心绪。长庆年间韩愈年近六旬，仕途尚算平稳，心境较为和悦，故能于寻常景物中品味出「最是一年春好处」的微旨；这种以平常语写细微景、于细节见理趣的作风，正是韩愈「以文为诗」而能清新别致的体现。从文学史看，此诗写于韩愈晚年，其文坛领袖的地位已定，诗风亦由早年的奇崛险怪归于平淡精炼，此作正是其晚年「绚烂之极归于平淡」的证明。此外，此诗与同题第二首「莫道官忙身老大，即无年少逐春心」对读，更可见韩愈以诗相邀、以春相劝的殷殷之意，二人交谊之笃与晚岁心境之从容，尽在其中。

Art

Han Yu uses the metaphor 'as smooth as cream' to describe the softness of the spring rain, and the contrast between distant and near views to capture the delicate budding grass. The latter two lines employ emphatic phrases like 'the best' and 'far superior' to directly compare and elevate the freshness of early spring over the lushness of late spring, showing originality and a departure from conventional spring poetry.

韩愈此诗最见功力处在体物精微。首句「天街小雨润如酥」以「酥」字喻雨——「酥」本指酥油，状春雨之柔润甘美，触觉与味觉通感，把雨的温润写得可感可尝；「润如酥」三字连读，音节轻柔，恰合小雨之态。次句「草色遥看近却无」是千古名句：早春草芽初萌，远看一片若有若无的青意，近看却几乎不见，「遥」「近」对照写出视觉的反差，把春天初到的瞬间定格。后两句转入议论：「最是一年春好处」以肯定语气直陈偏爱，「绝胜烟柳满皇都」以「绝胜」作比较，将早春的清新淡雅压过晚春烟柳的浓丽。全诗先写景、后说理，景中寓理、理中有趣，构思别致而舍去陈言；以文为诗而能如此清丽，不落纤巧，正是韩愈「陈言务去」创作主张的绝佳例证，也是唐人绝句由纯写景转向议论说理的过渡之作。全诗四句，两句实写、两句虚议，以实衬虚、以虚收实，笔法简劲而趣味隽永，正是韩愈绝句「以意为诗」的特色，亦见其于平易中见深功的晚年风格。

Allusions

'Zhang the Eighteenth' refers to Zhang Ji, following the Tang custom of addressing people by their birth order and official title. 'Imperial street' refers to the main avenues of Chang'an. The phrase 'misty willows filling the capital' alludes to the traditional imagery of spring willows, but the poet reverses it by valuing the early spring scene more, showing his unique aesthetic.

「水部张十八员外」即张籍，唐代以行第称人、以官职相称，是当时的社交惯例，如白居易称元稹「微之」、韩愈称孟郊「东野」皆是；「水部」为工部下属掌管水利的曹司，张籍时任水部员外郎，「十八」是其行第。「天街」指长安朱雀门大街等御道，即京城主干道，「天」字见其尊贵气象。诗中「烟柳满皇都」化用六朝以来咏长安春柳的意象——「烟柳」指柳色如烟，是晚春浓丽景致的经典表达；韩愈却反以早春雨色胜之，「绝胜」二字翻案见巧，显出诗人不随流俗的独到眼光与审美。全诗用典不显、化俗为雅，唯有「天街」「烟柳」等语点出京城春色，而于物候、习俗处不着痕迹，正是宋人所谓「以故为新、以俗为雅」的先声，也可见韩愈作为古文运动领袖，其诗亦讲求来历与翻新。又以「天街」「皇都」点出京城坐标，春色系于帝都气象，赠友之作而具家国视野，见其胸襟之开阔，非止流连光景者可比。

Commentary

The Qing commentator Huang Shucan remarked, 'The five characters "遥看近却无" capture the spirit of early spring completely.' Hu Shi praised it for its meticulous observation and indescribable charm of newborn grass. Han Yu's ability to blend prose-like clarity with poetic beauty demonstrates his wide talent and craftsmanship.

清人黄叔灿《唐诗笺注》云：「『遥看近却无』五字，已尽早春之神。」近人胡适亦称其「观察细密，写出春草初生无可名状之妙」。此诗之所以传诵千古，在于以极平常的语言捕捉到极难言说的瞬间——早春草色的似有若无，本是人人目遇而口难传的体验，韩愈却以五个字写尽，故能尽得春之神情。从诗歌史看，此诗是韩愈「以文为诗」而能清新一面的代表：它不讲僻典、不用奇字，只以比喻、对照、议论写出早春的清淡之美，与韩愈惯常的奇崛险怪判若两人，正见其才力之广与体物之工。后世咏早春者甚多，而「草色遥看近却无」始终是难以逾越的巅峰，文人画中「草色遥看」亦成为描绘初春的经典笔法，可见其影响之深远，实为唐诗中「以少胜多」的典范。此诗与苏轼「春江水暖鸭先知」同为中国诗史写早春的绝唱，一写草色一写水温，皆于细微处见春意，一为唐诗一为宋调，可并读而见其异。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (level-tone pattern with first line rhyming)七言绝句（平起首句入韵）

Rhyme Rhymes in the seventh rhyme group of the level tone in Pingshui system: 'sū', 'wú', 'dū'押平水韵上平七虞韵：酥、无、都（酥、无、都同属上平七虞）

Tone pattern Simple language with deep meaning, using plain description to depict subtle scenes, blending philosophical interest with poetic charm, representing a clear and beautiful style of Han Yu's seven-character quatrains.首句「天街小雨润如酥」平平仄仄仄平平，平起入韵；二句「草色遥看近却无」仄仄平平仄仄平，与首句相对；三句「最是一年春好处」仄仄仄平平仄仄，四句「绝胜烟柳满皇都」仄平平仄仄平平，粘对大体合律。

Reading note This poem was written for Zhang Ji (Zhang the Eighteenth), Assistant Director of the Water Department, and describes early spring in Chang'an. It is traditionally regarded as a masterpiece among spring poems.此诗为七言绝句，平起首句入韵，「酥、无、都」三字同押上平七虞韵，一韵到底，音节圆转流畅。全诗两句写景、两句议论，先以「小雨」「草色」实写早春之形，再以「最是」「绝胜」虚写早春之神，虚实相生，章法简劲。格律上，四句平仄严整，对仗虽不工整而语气流走，「润如酥」「近却无」「满皇都」三处句尾皆以平声收束，读来上扬轻快，正合早春的清新生气。作为赠友之作，此诗语浅意深，以白描写微景，以理趣衬诗趣，是韩愈七绝「清丽一格」的代表；就诗史而言，其以议论入绝句的写法，已开宋诗说理之先声，是唐人绝句由唐音渐开宋调的过渡之作，格律上的严谨与内容上的理趣相得益彰。

Line by line

天街小雨润如酥，

The rain on the imperial street is as smooth as cream. This metaphor vividly conveys the gentle and moist quality of the early spring rain.

京城街道上细雨滋润，如酥油般柔滑。

On the capital avenues the light rain is moist as cream,

「润如酥」以酥油喻春雨，是写早春的绝妙起笔。「酥」字兼写雨之柔、之润、之甘，触觉与味觉相通，仿佛细雨落在身上是温软的，不是秋雨的凉、夏雨的骤，而是初春独有的温润；「天街」点明京城御道，气象阔大而不失亲切，把一场寻常小雨写得既具皇家气象又富生活气息。一「润」字见春雨之德，润物无声；一「酥」字见春雨之质，柔滑细腻，早春的温煦气象于二字中呼之欲出，为下文草色初萌作了自然的铺垫，起句便已不凡。

Moist as cream uses cream to metaphorize the spring rain, the superb opening for early spring. Cream at once writes the rain's softness, its moistness, its sweetness; touch and taste interlinked, as if the fine rain falling on the body were warm-soft, not autumn rain's coolness, not summer rain's suddenness, but early spring's unique warmth and moisture. The capital avenue names the imperial road, the air vast yet intimate, writing an ordinary light rain with both imperial grandeur and life's warmth. One moist shows the spring rain's virtue, moistening things without sound; one cream shows the spring rain's substance, soft and fine; early spring's warm air is ready to leap forth within these two characters, naturally preparing the grass color's first sprouting below; the opening line is already extraordinary.

草色遥看近却无。

The grass is seen green from afar but near it seems absent. This line precisely captures the faint, barely visible green of early spring grass, a much-praised description.

远望草色青青，近看却似有若无。

grass color seen from afar, up close, is nowhere to be found.

此句为千古咏早春名句，写尽早春草芽初萌的微妙瞬间。草芽初生，远看一片若有若无的青色，近看却几乎不见——「遥」「近」的视角对照，写出视觉的反差；「却」字写意料之外的转折，远看分明、近看反而不见，正是草色初萌时似有若无的真相；「无」字以虚写实、以无状有，极见炼字之功。这种似有若无的美感，正是早春与仲春、暮春的根本区别，也是诗人判断「最是一年春好处」的视觉依据；五字之间，把春天初到那稍纵即逝的一瞬永远定格，观察之细、炼字之精，前无古人。

This is an age-famous line on early spring, exhausting the subtle instant of grass buds just sprouting. The grass buds newly born, from afar a faint green, up close almost invisible - the distant and near perspective contrast writes the visual reversal; yet writes the unexpected turn: from afar clear, up close instead invisible, precisely the truth of grass color just sprouting, seeming yet not. No uses the void to write the solid, the nonexistent to render the existent, most showing the refining of words. This seeming-yet-not beauty is precisely the fundamental difference between early spring, mid-spring, and late spring, also the visual ground for the poet's judging this is the year's best spring hour. Within five characters, the fleeting instant of spring's first arrival is forever frozen; the observation's fineness, the refining's precision, has no predecessor.

最是一年春好处，

This is the best time of the year in spring. The poet uses a definite tone to express his preference for the early spring scene.

这正是一年里春光最好的时节。

This is the very best season of spring in the year,

「最是」以强调语气坐实「春好处」，把前两句的景语升华为判断，是全诗由景入论的枢纽。诗人不写花开柳绿、不写莺歌燕舞，独许草色初萌之时，见出其迥异流俗的审美趣味；「一」字含「一年之中」之意，把早春置于四季流转的坐标上加以抉择，平淡语中见偏嗜。此句承上启下：既是前两句草色小雨的总结，又为「绝胜烟柳」的对比立起靶子，章法上起转折之任。语虽平常，却是韩愈以议论入诗、直抒判断的个性笔法，也是此诗「理趣」所在的关键一句。

Most is uses emphasis to establish the best spring hour, sublimating the previous two scenery lines into judgment, the poem's pivot from scenery to argument. The poet does not write flowers blooming, willows green, orioles singing, swallows dancing, but alone approves the hour of grass color just sprouting, showing his aesthetic taste utterly apart from the vulgar. One year carries the meaning of within the twelve months, placing early spring in the coordinate of the four seasons' circulation for selection; within plain words his preference shows. This line carries above and opens below: at once the summary of the previous two's grass and rain, and the target set up for the far outdoing mist-willows comparison; in craft it takes the turn. Though the words are ordinary, they are Han Yu's individual brush of entering poetry through argument and directly stating judgment, also the key line where the poem's理趣 lies.

绝胜烟柳满皇都。

Far better than the misty willows filling the capital. The poet contrasts the fresh early spring with the lush late spring, showing his unique aesthetic.

远远胜过那烟笼柳浓、满城翠绿的晚春。

far outdoing the mist-willows filling the capital.

「绝胜」以斩钉截铁的比较，把早春的清新淡雅压过晚春烟柳的浓丽，是全诗论断的落脚点。「烟柳满皇都」写暮春柳色如烟、绿满全城，本是常见的赞美之辞，韩愈却反其道而用之，以为远不及早春：「满」字写尽浓丽之态，「绝」字写尽偏爱之深，一扬一抑、一清一丽，对比鲜明而语气雄直。这两句以审美判断收束全诗，暗含对清淡自然之美的取向，也见出韩愈不随流俗的眼光——浓丽的晚春人人赞美，而早春的清淡恰在似有若无之间，唯具慧眼者识之，理趣盎然，余味悠长。

Far outdoing uses the decisive comparison to press early spring's fresh elegance over late spring mist-willows' gorgeousness, the landing of the whole poem's judgment. Mist-willows filling the capital writes late spring willows like mist, green filling the whole city, originally a common praise; Han Yu instead uses it the reverse way, holding it far inferior to early spring. Filling exhausts the gorgeous state; far exhausts the depth of preference; one lift one press, one fresh one gorgeous, the contrast sharp yet the tone grandly direct. These two lines close the whole poem in aesthetic judgment, secretly holding the orientation toward faint, natural beauty, also showing Han Yu's eye not following the vulgar - the gorgeous late spring all praise, yet early spring's faintness lies precisely between seeming and not; only the discerning eye knows it. The理趣 is abundant, the aftertaste long.

Study

Word focus

润如酥 As smooth as cream; a metaphor for the softness of spring rain. 「润如酥」以酥油喻春雨，写尽初春细雨的温润。酥油柔滑细腻，正合春雨之质；「润」写雨之浸泽，「酥」写雨之柔美，触觉与味觉通感，仿佛雨丝落在肌肤上是温软甘甜的，比「润如油」「润如膏」更见早春独有的轻灵。三字音节轻柔，与春雨之态相称，体物精微，是「状难写之景如在目前」的典范；且「酥」字以家常之物入诗，化俗为雅，正见韩愈以文为诗、陈言务去的功夫，一字之喻，早春的温润气象全出。

遥看近却无 Seen from afar but near it's not; captures the indistinctness of early spring grass. 「遥看近却无」捕捉早春草色似有若无的瞬间，是全诗的诗眼。「遥」「近」写出视角的移动，「却」字写出意料的转折——远看分明，近看反而不见，正是草芽初萌时「草色」的真相；「无」字以虚写实，以「无」状「有」，把春天初到那无法名状的微妙写尽。五字之间，观察之细、炼字之精俱臻化境，故黄叔灿谓其「已尽早春之神」；此后文人画题咏初春，多以「遥看近却无」为典式，其影响超出诗歌而及于绘画，成为中国人描绘初春的经典语汇。

最是 The very; emphatic phrase indicating the best. 「最是」以强调语气坐实「春好处」，看似寻常，却见诗人对早春的偏爱与肯定。「最」字把早春推为一年春光之冠，立场鲜明而不容置疑；「是」字以判断句式直陈，不加修饰、不待证明，恰似定论。与后句「绝胜」形成双重强调，两句一气贯注，把审美判断说得斩钉截铁。语虽平淡，却是全诗议论的枢纽，见出韩愈以文为诗、直抒判断的个性笔法；也正是这份「最是」「绝胜」的确定，使早春之好从写景中脱颖而出，成为全诗立论的主脑。

绝胜 Far superior to; expresses strong contrast. 「绝胜」以「远远超过」斩钉截铁地推许早春，反衬晚春烟柳之浓丽。「绝」字极言比较之绝对，不容置喙；「胜」字立下高下之判，早春与晚春的优劣于此定谳。两句一扬一抑、一清一丽，立意新颖而语气雄直——不说早春如何好，只说它「绝胜」晚春，以比较代描绘，以判断写偏爱，正是韩愈「以文为诗」的典型手法。这二字使全诗由景入理，以审美判断收束，见出诗人不随流俗的眼光，也是「早春」题旨的点睛之笔，读来斩截痛快，理趣盎然。