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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

叹花

Sighing, over, the, Flowers

杜牧

Du Mu

感慨Theme 咏物Object poem

自是寻春去校迟，不须惆怅怨芳时。
狂风落尽深红色，绿叶成阴子满枝。

It, was, my, own, seeking, the, spring, going, the, late,
No, need, the, melancholy, blaming, the, fragrant, time.
The, wild, wind, blew, the, deep, red, all, down,
The, green, leaves, become, the, shade, the, seeds, full, the, branches.

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Meaning

A poem of the flowers and the sigh, written by Du Mu. It was my own seeking the spring going the late, no need the melancholy blaming the fragrant time — the sigh of the opening. The wild wind blew the deep red all down, the green leaves become the shade the seeds full the branches — the close of the flowers. The poem is the flowers and the sigh: the late, the wind, and the close's seeds.

自是寻春去校迟，不须惆怅怨芳时。狂风落尽深红色，绿叶成阴子满枝。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] It, was, my, own, seeking, the, spring, going, the, late, no, need, the, melancholy, blaming, the, fragrant, time. The, wild, wind, blew, the, deep, red, all, down, the, green, leaves, become, the, shade, the, seeds, full, the, branches. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the sigh of the late spring with the blaming of the fragrant time, through the wild wind blowing the deep red down, to the close's the green leaves and the seeds full the branches. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the close of the sigh: the wild wind blew the deep red all down, and the close's the green leaves become the shade the seeds full the branches — the flowers gathered in the wind and the close's seeds. [Emotional Tone] Sighing, regretful, and resigned: the poem is the late, the wind and the close's seeds.

【白话串讲】杜牧写《叹花》：“自是寻春去校迟，不须惆怅怨芳时”——“狂风落尽深红色，绿叶成阴子满枝”——他来晚了，花已落尽，绿叶成荫子满枝——他写错过。【意象与手法】此诗叹花，以叹花写惜春，是杜牧的名篇。前二句写自解：「自是寻春去校迟，不须惆怅怨芳时」写自是寻春去校迟、不须惆怅怨芳时——写尽寻春已迟的怅惘；后二句写叹花：「狂风落尽深红色，绿叶成阴子满枝」写狂风落尽深红色、绿叶成阴子满枝——写尽花落的感慨。全诗以叹花写惜春，写尽寻春已迟的怅惘与花落的感慨，是杜牧的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗叹花，以叹花写惜春，是杜牧的名篇。此诗写诗人寻春已迟、花已落尽，遂生惆怅之叹。此诗写自解：自是寻春去校迟，不须惆怅怨芳时——写自是寻春去校迟、不须惆怅怨芳时，写尽寻春已迟的怅惘；狂风落尽深红色，绿叶成阴子满枝——写狂风落尽深红色、绿叶成阴子满枝，写尽花落的感慨。全诗以叹花写惜春——那「寻春去校迟」写尽寻春已迟的怅惘，「绿叶成阴子满枝」写尽花落的感慨，写尽寻春已迟的怅惘与花落的感慨，是理解杜牧咏物诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「自是寻春去校迟，不须惆怅怨芳时」写寻春已迟的怅惘；「狂风落尽深红色，绿叶成阴子满枝」写花落的感慨；以及全诗以叹花写惜春、以眼前景写深意的双关手法。

Background

Du Mu (803-852), the poet of the late Tang, wrote this 'Sighing, over, the, Flowers' of the flowers and the sigh — the regret of the missed spring. The late of the seeking the spring with the blaming of the fragrant time, and the close's the green leaves with the seeds full the branches — the poem gathers the sigh of the poet, the regret of the missed chance. The poem is one of the famous works of the poet's poems of the spring.

此诗叹花，以叹花写惜春，是杜牧的名篇。杜牧（803—约852），字牧之，京兆万年（今陕西西安）人，晚唐伟大的诗人，与李商隐并称「小李杜」。关于此诗，有一则流传的典故：相传杜牧游湖州，见一少女，约以十年后迎娶；后十四年杜牧重至湖州，此女已嫁人生子，杜牧遂作此诗以叹。诗中「寻春去校迟」即暗指来时已晚，错失良缘。当然此诗亦可作惜花伤春读，字面上写春色已老、花落子熟。此诗写寻春已迟：「自是寻春去校迟，不须惆怅怨芳时」写自是寻春去校迟、不须惆怅怨芳时——写尽寻春已迟的怅惘（本是我寻春去得太迟，不必惆怅怨恨花落之时）；「狂风落尽深红色，绿叶成阴子满枝」写狂风落尽深红色、绿叶成阴子满枝——写尽花落的感慨（狂风落尽深红色的花，如今绿叶成阴、子满枝头）。全诗以叹花写惜春，写尽寻春已迟的怅惘与花落的感慨，是理解杜牧咏物诗的重要篇章。

Art

The poem's art is the art of the sigh. The regret opens: it, was, my, own, seeking, the, spring, going, the, late — the late of the seeking the spring; no, need, the, melancholy, blaming, the, fragrant, time — the blaming of the fragrant time. The close follows: the, wild, wind, blew, the, deep, red, all, down — the deep red of the wild wind; the, green, leaves, become, the, shade, the, seeds, full, the, branches — the seeds of the green leaves — the late, the wind and the close's seeds, gathered in the poem.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以自解写怅惘。「自是寻春去校迟，不须惆怅怨芳时」以自解写怅惘——那「不须惆怅」写尽自我宽解，以自解反写内心的怅惘。其二，以眼前景写深意。「狂风落尽深红色，绿叶成阴子满枝」以眼前景写深意——那「狂风落尽深红色」写花落，「绿叶成阴子满枝」写子熟，以眼前景写尽花期的变迁。其三，以双关写情怀。此诗表面叹花，实则叹人——「绿叶成阴子满枝」既写花落子熟，亦暗指佳人已嫁生子，以双关写尽错失良缘的怅惘。其四，以转折写感慨。全诗由「不须惆怅」的宽解，转到「绿叶成阴」的实景，以转折写尽欲解还惆怅的感慨。此外，此诗前二句写自解之语，后二句写眼前之景，由理入景，正是绝句「以景结情」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以叹花写惜春，写尽寻春已迟的怅惘与花落的感慨，是杜牧的代表作。此诗尤可注意其对比结构：前二句「寻春去校迟」是追悔已往之迟，后二句「狂风落尽深红色」是痛惜眼前之逝，一已一今，将「迟」与「逝」绾合为一种共同的怅惘；而「不须惆怅」的自我宽解与「狂风落尽」的无情现实又形成反讽，愈是说不须惆怅，愈见怅惘之深，正是以退为进、欲盖弥彰的深婉笔法。

Allusions

'The fragrant time' (fang shi) is the fragrant time — the time of the fragrant, the spring of the flowers; 'the deep red' (shen hong) is the deep red — the red of the deep, the flowers of the wind; 'the green leaves' (lü ye) are the green leaves — the leaves of the green, the seeds of the close.

此诗的用语深植于惜春与咏花的传统。「寻春」令人想到「寻春」写寻春的意象——「寻春去校迟」正是杜牧的名句，也令人想到「寻芳」「踏青」的游春意象；「芳时」令人想到「芳时」写花开之时的意象——「不须惆怅怨芳时」正是杜牧的名句，也令人想到「花开堪折直须折」（杜秋娘）的惜花传统；「狂风落尽深红色」令人想到「深红」写红花的意象——「深红色」正是杜牧的名句，也令人想到「林花谢了春红」（李煜）的落花意象；「绿叶成阴子满枝」令人想到「绿叶成阴」写叶茂子实的意象——「绿叶成阴子满枝」正是杜牧的名句，也令人想到「桃之夭夭，有蕡其实」的果实意象。全诗化用寻春、芳时、落花的意象，以叹花写惜春，正是杜牧「深婉含蓄」而善双关、承惜春传统写怅惘的本领。又「深红色」三字尤可玩味：古来咏花多取红紫，而「深红色」正是花事将阑时最浓烈的色彩，浓烈至极而骤遭狂风，其摧折更见无情。此诗以「狂风」写外力之暴，以「绿叶成阴子满枝」写时势之成，暗含人力难挽天时的无奈，与「花开堪折直须折，莫待无花空折枝」的劝惜一脉相通，而更为沉痛含蓄。

Commentary

This poem is one of the famous works of Du Mu's poems of the spring, quoted for the regret of its opening and the resignation of its close. The deep red of the wild wind, and the seeds full the branches, are among the admired passages of the poet's poems. Critics praise the poem's resignation: the spring gathered in the wind, to the close's seeds.

此诗历来被推为杜牧咏物诗的名篇，也是唐人叹花的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以叹花写惜春，深婉含蓄」；近人更指出「狂风落尽深红色，绿叶成阴子满枝」以眼前景写深意，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以四句的绝句写尽寻春已迟的怅惘与花落的感慨——那寻春已迟的自解，那不须惆怅的宽解，那落尽的深红色，那成阴的绿叶，那满枝的子实，都写尽了杜牧笔下的花期变迁；那「绿叶成阴子满枝」更以双关写尽错失良缘的怅惘。此诗与杜牧《赠别》（「多情却似总无情」）同为情诗名篇，一写「烛明香暗画楼深」的赠别（赠别），一写「绿叶成阴子满枝」的叹花（叹花）；又与崔护「人面桃花相映红」的访艳传统一脉相承，可见唐人以花喻人的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解杜牧咏物诗的窗口，也是中国诗叹花的经典——那成阴的绿叶，穿越千年，仍在诉说着花期已过的怅惘。

Prosody

Form A quatrain of the spring (qi yan jue ju)诗·七言绝句

Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level of the group — the cadence of the quatrain that carries the resigned sigh.七绝，押「时」「枝」韵（上平四支），一韵到底，音节流转

Tone pattern The cadence is that of the sigh: the level opening with the late, the turning with the wind, and the close's fall with the seeds.此诗为七言绝句，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节流转，正合叹花的流转。

Reading note The poem's sound matches its resignation: the cadences of the quatrain, and the close — 'lü ye cheng yin zi man zhi' — falls with the branches, the sound of the sigh of the regretful poet.此诗为七言绝句，四句——「自是寻春去校迟，不须惆怅怨芳时。狂风落尽深红色，绿叶成阴子满枝」，押「支」韵（时、枝），一韵到底，音节流转。全诗以叹花写惜春：前二句写寻春已迟的自解（自是寻春去校迟，不须惆怅怨芳时），后二句写花落的感慨（狂风落尽深红色，绿叶成阴子满枝）。四句短章，前写自解，后写花落，以「绿叶成阴子满枝」写尽花期的变迁，正见杜牧「深婉含蓄」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以怅惘的语调读「寻春去校迟」的迟来，以低回的语调读「绿叶成阴子满枝」的花落，结句要读得含婉而有余韵，方能传达出杜牧的深婉含蓄。杜牧绝句以「俊爽峭健」著称，此诗正是其叹花绝句的典范。

Line by line

狂风落尽深红色，绿叶成阴子满枝

The, wild, wind, blew, the, deep, red, all, down, the, green, leaves, become, the, shade, the, seeds, full, the, branches.

狂风落尽深红色的花，如今绿叶成阴、子满枝头。

The wild wind has stripped the deep red blossoms; green leaves now form shade, and seeds fill the branches.

此二句是全诗写花落的核句，以狂风落尽写花落，以绿叶成阴写子实，写尽花期的变迁，是千古名句。「狂风落尽深红色」写狂风落尽深红色的花——那「狂风」写狂风，「落尽深红色」写落尽红花，写尽花落的迅猛；「绿叶成阴子满枝」写如今绿叶成阴子满枝头——那「绿叶成阴」写绿叶成阴，「子满枝」写子满枝头，写尽花落之后的结实。这句的深意在于：它以「狂风落尽深红色」的花落与「绿叶成阴子满枝」的子实，写尽花期的变迁——狂风落尽深红色的花，那「狂风落尽深红色」写尽花落的迅猛——一阵狂风，深红的花都落尽了，那「落尽」写尽花落的无情；如今绿叶成阴子满枝头，那「绿叶成阴子满枝」写尽花落之后的结实——花落之后，绿叶成阴、果实满枝，正是花期已过、春色已老的标志，那「子满枝」写尽春色的阑珊；那「狂风落尽深红色」写尽花落的迅猛，那「绿叶成阴子满枝」写尽花落之后的结实，一写花落，一写子实，写尽花期的变迁——花落子熟，正是春色已老的双重象征；此二句以花落、子实写尽花期的变迁，也让此二句成为全诗写花落的核句与千古名句。若换作直说「花都谢了」，则失其深婉；唯以「狂风落尽深红色」写花落、「绿叶成阴子满枝」写子实，写尽花期的变迁，也让此二句成为全诗写花落的核句。

These two lines are the poem's core in writing the flowers' fall, famous through the ages. The wild wind has stripped the deep red blossoms writes the storm's sudden violence; the wild wind's cruelty is not simply weather but time's brute hand, stripping the season's richest color in a single night. Green leaves now form shade, and seeds fill the branches then turns from loss to fruition: shade and seeds are signs that spring is already over, that beauty has passed into posterity. The deeper pathos lies in the double symbolism - fallen blossoms stand for a missed encounter, seeds for the children that girl must now have; Du Mu's famous later-life story (having missed a courtesan he once met) turns this couplet into a legendary elegy for a love that came too late. Compared with a plain saying the flowers are gone, the storm's cruelty and the branches' fruition give the line both force and melancholy; prosperity's speed and ripeness's quietness together make the season's change vivid. This is the poem's central image of loss and ripeness, and its quiet reconciliation.

自是寻春去校迟，不须惆怅怨芳时

It, was, my, own, seeking, the, spring, going, the, late, no, need, the, melancholy, blaming, the, fragrant, time.

本是我寻春去得太迟，不必惆怅怨恨花落之时。

It was my own fault that I sought spring too late; there is no need to grieve and blame the blooming season.

此二句是全诗写自解的核心，以寻春去校迟写迟来，以不须惆怅写宽解，写尽寻春已迟的怅惘，是千古名句。「自是寻春去校迟」写本是我寻春去得太迟——那「自是」写本来就是，「寻春去校迟」写寻春去得太迟，写尽迟来的自省；「不须惆怅怨芳时」写不必惆怅怨恨花落之时——那「不须惆怅」写不必惆怅，「怨芳时」写怨恨花落之时，写尽自我宽解。这句的深意在于：它以「自是寻春去校迟」的迟来与「不须惆怅怨芳时」的宽解，写尽寻春已迟的怅惘——本是我寻春去得太迟，那「自是寻春去校迟」写尽迟来的自省——寻春而迟，责任在我，那「寻春去校迟」写尽迟来的自责；不必惆怅怨恨花落之时，那「不须惆怅怨芳时」写尽自我宽解——既已迟来，便不必怨恨花期，那「不须惆怅」写尽自我宽解；那「自是寻春去校迟」写尽迟来的自省，那「不须惆怅怨芳时」写尽自我宽解，一写自省，一写宽解，写尽寻春已迟的怅惘——越是宽解，越是怅惘，正是欲说还休的深婉；此二句以自省、宽解写尽寻春已迟的怅惘，也为后二句花落的实景作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写自解的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我来的太晚了」，则失其深婉；唯以「自是寻春去校迟」写迟来、「不须惆怅怨芳时」写宽解，写尽寻春已迟的怅惘，也让此二句成为全诗写自解的核心。

These two lines are the poem's core self-consolation, famous through the ages. It was my own fault that I sought spring too late uses the naturally character to turn blame inward: the season is not at fault, the seeker is, for arriving after the blossoms fell. There is no need to grieve and blame the blooming season then takes the consolation a step further - since lateness is my own, resentment against the flowers, against the time, becomes absurd. The subtlety lies in the gap between what is said and what is felt: the more he consoles himself, the more the regret shows; the words of resignation cannot hide the sigh of having missed something irrecoverable. This is the classic Chinese gesture of欲说还休, of speaking sorrow through its denial. These lines prepare the later couplet's fallen-blossom image, and the poem's whole structure: self-reproach, then consolation, then the image that betrays both. Compared with a plain saying I came too late, the philosophical turn gives the grief elegance and reserve, making this the core of the poem's self-consolation.

Study

Word focus

校迟 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「寻春去校迟」之「校迟」是写迟来的字眼，一个「校迟」写尽迟来的怅惘。校迟者，较为迟晚也（校同较）。杜牧以「寻春去校迟」写迟来，这个「校迟」至少有双重意味：其一，写迟来之感——那「寻春去校迟」写寻春去得较迟，那「校迟」写尽迟来的遗憾——去得较迟，正是错过花期的根源，那「校迟」写尽迟来的怅惘；其二，写自省之语——那「校迟」更是写自省——以「校迟」自认来迟，正是自责之语，那「校迟」写尽迟来的自省。以「校迟」写迟来，正是杜牧写怅惘的枢纽——若换作「已迟」「太迟」等词，则或失其与「自是」的配合，或失其写校迟的含蓄；唯「校迟」二字，以寻春去校迟写尽迟来的遗憾与迟来的自省，与「不须惆怅」的宽解相合，写尽寻春已迟的怅惘，也让「寻春去校迟」成为全诗写怅惘的名句。

子满枝 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「绿叶成阴子满枝」之「子满枝」是写花落的关键词，一个「子满枝」写尽花期的变迁。子满枝者，果实满枝也。杜牧以「绿叶成阴子满枝」写花落之后，这个「子满枝」至少有双重意味：其一，写花期之过——那「狂风落尽深红色，绿叶成阴子满枝」写狂风落尽红花、绿叶成阴子满枝，那「子满枝」写尽花期的变迁——花落而子实满枝，正是春色已老的标志，那「子满枝」写尽花期的阑珊；其二，写人事之变——那「子满枝」更是双关——以子满枝暗指佳人已嫁生子，那「子满枝」写尽错失良缘的怅惘。以「子满枝」写花落，正是杜牧写深意的枢纽——若换作「果满枝」「实满枝」等词，则或失其写子满枝的双关，或失其与「绿叶成阴」的配合；唯「子满枝」三字，以绿叶成阴子满枝写尽花期的变迁与人事的双关，与「狂风落尽深红色」的落尽相合，写尽花期的变迁，也让「绿叶成阴子满枝」成为全诗写深意的名句。

叹花