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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

魏王堤

The, Dike, of, the, Prince, Wei

白居易

Bai Juyi

春景spring 闲适Leisure

花寒懒发鸟慵啼，信马闲行到日西。
何处未春先有思，柳条无力魏王堤。

The, flowers, cold, lazy, to, bloom, the, birds, listless, singing,
Reining, the, horse, idly, walking, until, the, sun, west.
Where, of, the, spring, not, yet, first, the, thoughts,
The, willow, twigs, without, strength, the, Dike, of, the, Prince, Wei.

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Meaning

A poem of the early spring and the listlessness, written by Bai Juyi. The flowers cold lazy to bloom the birds listless singing, reining the horse idly walking until the sun west — the walking of the opening. Where of the spring not yet first the thoughts, the willow twigs without strength the Dike of the Prince Wei — the dike of the close. The poem is the early spring and the listlessness: the flowers, the birds, and the close's willow twigs.

花寒懒发鸟慵啼，信马闲行到日西。何处未春先有思，柳条无力魏王堤。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The, flowers, cold, lazy, to, bloom, the, birds, listless, singing, reining, the, horse, idly, walking, until, the, sun, west. Where, of, the, spring, not, yet, first, the, thoughts, the, willow, twigs, without, strength, the, Dike, of, the, Prince, Wei. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the listlessness of the flowers and the birds with the idle walking, through the sun west, to the close's the willow twigs of the Dike of the Prince Wei. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the close of the early spring: the flowers cold lazy to bloom the birds listless singing, and the close's the willow twigs without strength the Dike of the Prince Wei — the spring gathered in the listlessness and the close's willow twigs. [Emotional Tone] Cold, listless, and tender: the poem is the flowers, the birds and the close's willow twigs.

【白话串讲】白居易写《魏王堤》：“花寒懒发鸟慵啼，信马闲行到日西”——“何处未春先有思，柳条无力魏王堤”——春寒花未开，他骑马闲行——柳条无力地垂着——他写早春的魏王堤。【意象与手法】此诗写早春，以闲适写早春，是白居易的名篇。前二句写闲行：「花寒懒发鸟慵啼，信马闲行到日西」写花寒懒发鸟慵啼、信马闲行到日西——写尽早春的闲行；后二句写柳思：「何处未春先有思，柳条无力魏王堤」写何处未春先有思、柳条无力魏王堤——写尽早春的柳思。全诗以闲适写早春，写尽早春的闲行与早春的柳思，是白居易的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写早春，以闲适写早春，是白居易的名篇。此诗写白居易在洛阳魏王堤上闲行的早春所见。魏王堤在洛阳洛水之滨，为唐代名胜。早春二月，花未开、鸟慵啼，柳条初垂，白居易信马闲行，遂作此诗。此诗写闲行：花寒懒发鸟慵啼，信马闲行到日西——写花寒懒发鸟慵啼、信马闲行到日西，写尽早春的闲行；何处未春先有思，柳条无力魏王堤——写何处未春先有思、柳条无力魏王堤，写尽早春的柳思。全诗以闲适写早春——那「信马闲行到日西」写尽早春的闲行，「柳条无力魏王堤」写尽早春的柳思，写尽早春的闲行与早春的柳思，是理解白居易闲适诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「花寒懒发鸟慵啼，信马闲行到日西」写早春的闲行；「何处未春先有思，柳条无力魏王堤」写早春的柳思；以及全诗以闲适写早春、以拟人写柳思的手法。

Background

Bai Juyi (772-846), the great poet of the Tang, wrote this 'The, Dike, of, the, Prince, Wei' of the early spring and the listlessness — the tenderness of the early spring. The flowers with the birds, the idle walking, and the close's the willow twigs without strength — the poem gathers the tenderness of the poet, the charm of the early spring. The poem is one of the famous works of the poet's poems of the spring.

此诗写早春，以闲适写早春，是白居易的名篇。白居易（772—846），字乐天，号香山居士，又号醉吟先生，下邽（今陕西渭南）人，唐代诗人，与元稹并称「元白」，与新乐府运动相关，为唐代存诗最多的诗人。此诗写白居易在洛阳魏王堤上闲行的早春所见。魏王堤在洛阳洛水之滨，为唐代名胜。早春二月，花未开、鸟慵啼，柳条初垂，白居易信马闲行，遂作此诗。此诗写闲行：「花寒懒发鸟慵啼，信马闲行到日西」写花寒懒发鸟慵啼、信马闲行到日西——写尽早春的闲行（花寒懒发鸟慵啼，信马闲行到日西）；「何处未春先有思，柳条无力魏王堤」写何处未春先有思、柳条无力魏王堤——写尽早春的柳思（何处未春先有思，柳条无力魏王堤）。全诗以闲适写早春，写尽早春的闲行与早春的柳思，是理解白居易闲适诗的重要篇章。魏王堤为洛阳名胜，在洛水之滨，相传为唐太宗之子魏王李泰所筑，堤上多植柳。白居易晚年居洛阳，常游洛水之滨，其《魏王堤》一诗即写早春堤上闲行所见。白居易晚年以闲适自适，诗多写洛中景物，此诗即是。

Art

The poem's art is the art of the listlessness. The walking opens: the, flowers, cold, lazy, to, bloom, the, birds, listless, singing — the flowers of the lazy to bloom; reining, the, horse, idly, walking, until, the, sun, west — the horse of the idle walking. The early spring follows: where, of, the, spring, not, yet, first, the, thoughts — the spring of the not yet first; the, willow, twigs, without, strength, the, Dike, of, the, Prince, Wei — the willow twigs of the Dike of the Prince Wei — the flowers, the walking and the close's early spring, gathered in the poem.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以拟人写花鸟。「花寒懒发鸟慵啼」以拟人写花鸟——那「懒发」「慵啼」写尽花鸟的慵懒，以拟人写尽早春的闲适。其二，以白描写闲行。「信马闲行到日西」以白描写闲行——那「信马闲行」「到日西」写尽信马的闲行，以白描写尽早春的闲适。其三，以发问写春思。「何处未春先有思」以发问写春思——那「何处」「先有思」写尽未春的思，以发问写尽早春的柳思。其四，以写景写柳条。「柳条无力魏王堤」以写景写柳条——那「无力」写尽柳条的柔弱，以写景写尽早春的柳思。此外，此诗前二句写早春的闲行，后二句写早春的柳思，由行及思，正是闲适诗「即景寄怀」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以闲适写早春，写尽早春的闲行与早春的柳思，是白居易的代表作。此诗还善于以「未春先有思」五字写春意的先知——那「何处未春先有思」写春未至而思先起，正是以虚写实的手法，把早春的讯息写得含蓄有味。又善以「信马」二字写随意——不勒缰而任马闲行，一个「信」字写尽行止的自在，也暗写心境的疏懒闲适。

Allusions

'The Dike of the Prince Wei' (wei wang di) is the Dike of the Prince Wei — the dike of the Prince Wei, the willow twigs of the close; 'the lazy to bloom' (lan fa) is the lazy to bloom — the laziness of the blooming, the cold of the flowers; 'the sun west' (ri xi) is the sun west — the west of the sun, the walking of the middle.

此诗的用语深植于早春与闲适的传统。「懒发」令人想到「懒发」写花未开的意象——也令人想到「迟日江山丽」（杜甫）的意象；「慵啼」令人想到「慵啼」写鸟未鸣的意象——也令人想到「自在娇莺恰恰啼」（杜甫）的意象；「信马」令人想到「信马」写纵马闲行的意象——也令人想到「信步」的意象；「无力」令人想到「无力」写柳条的意象——也令人想到「杨柳依依」（《诗经》）的意象；「柳条」令人想到「柳条」写柳的意象——古以折柳送别，也令人想到「柳条折尽花飞尽」的意象。全诗化用懒发、慵啼、信马、无力、柳条的意象，以闲适写早春，正是白居易「平易」而善写闲、承闲适传统写春思的本领。「柳条无力」令人想到《诗经·小雅·采薇》「昔我往矣，杨柳依依」的杨柳意象，也令人想到贺知章《咏柳》「碧玉妆成一树高」的柳条意象。白居易以「无力」写柳条初垂之态，正见其观察入微。又「魏王堤」为洛阳名胜，白居易另有《魏王堤》诗写「柳条无力魏王堤」，与此互见。

Commentary

This poem is one of the famous works of Bai Juyi's poems of the spring, quoted for the listlessness of its opening and the tenderness of its close. The flowers lazy to bloom, and the willow twigs without strength, are among the admired passages of the poet's poems. Critics praise the poem's tenderness: the spring gathered in the listlessness, to the close's twigs.

此诗历来被推为白居易闲适诗的名篇，也是唐人写早春的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以闲适写早春，平易浅近」；近人更指出「柳条无力魏王堤」写早春的柳思，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早春的闲行与早春的柳思——那花寒，那懒发，那鸟慵啼，那信马，那闲行，那日西，那未春，那先有思，那柳条，那无力，那魏王堤，都写尽了白居易笔下的早春；那「柳条无力魏王堤」更以写景写尽早春的柳思。此诗与白居易《钱塘湖春行》（「几处早莺争暖树」）同为写春名篇，一写「乱花渐欲迷人眼」的钱塘湖（钱塘湖春行），一写「柳条无力魏王堤」的洛阳（魏王堤）；又与杜甫「黄四娘家花满蹊」的寻春传统一脉相承，可见中国诗写早春的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解白居易闲适诗的窗口，也是中国诗写早春的经典——那无力的柳条，穿越千年，仍在诉说着早春的闲思。

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 tender listlessness.七绝，押「西」「堤」韵（上平八齐），一韵到底，音节平易

Tone pattern The cadence is that of the early spring: the level opening with the listlessness, the turning with the walking, and the close's fall with the dike.此诗为七言绝句，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节平易，正合闲适的平易。

Reading note The poem's sound matches its tenderness: the cadences of the quatrain, and the close — 'liu tiao wu li wei wang di' — falls with the dike, the sound of the tenderness of the early spring poet.此诗为七言绝句，四句——「花寒懒发鸟慵啼，信马闲行到日西。何处未春先有思，柳条无力魏王堤」，押「齐」韵（西、堤），一韵到底，音节平易。全诗以闲适写早春：前二句写早春的闲行（花寒懒发鸟慵啼、信马闲行到日西），后二句写早春的柳思（何处未春先有思、柳条无力魏王堤）。四句短章，前写闲行，后写柳思，以「柳条无力魏王堤」写尽早春的柳思，正见白居易「平易」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以平易的语调读「信马闲行到日西」的闲行，以闲适的语调读「柳条无力魏王堤」的柳思，结句要读得平易而有余韵，方能传达出白居易的平易浅近。白居易绝句以「平易」著称，此诗正是其闲适绝句的典范。

Line by line

何处未春先有思，柳条无力魏王堤

Where has spring not yet come, yet the heart already stirs? On the willow branches, trailing limp, at the King Wei Causeway.

何处未春先有思，柳条无力魏王堤。

Before spring has come, where does that tender longing first awaken? In the willow branches drooping gently at the Prince of Wei's embankment.

此二句是全诗写柳思的核心，以何处未春先有思写春思，以柳条无力魏王堤写柳条，写尽早春的柳思，是千古名句。「何处未春先有思」写何处未春先有思——那「何处」写何处，「未春先有思」写未春先有思，写尽未春的思；「柳条无力魏王堤」写柳条无力魏王堤——那「柳条无力」写柳条无力，「魏王堤」写魏王堤，写尽柳条的柔弱。这句的深意在于：它以「何处未春先有思」的春思与「柳条无力魏王堤」的柳条，写尽早春的柳思——何处未春先有思，那「何处未春先有思」写尽未春的思——何处未春先有春思，正是寻春的写照，那「先有思」写尽早春的柳思；柳条无力魏王堤，那「柳条无力魏王堤」写尽柳条的柔弱——柳条无力，正是早春柳条的写照，那「无力」写尽早春的柳思；那「何处未春先有思」写尽未春的思，那「柳条无力魏王堤」写尽柳条的柔弱，一写寻春，一写柳条，写尽早春的柳思——未春先思而柳条无力，正是早春独有的风致；此二句以春思、柳条写尽早春的柳思，也让此二句成为全诗写柳思的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「柳条刚发芽」，则失其韵味；唯以「何处未春先有思」写春思、「柳条无力魏王堤」写柳条，写尽早春的柳思，也让此二句成为全诗写柳思的核心。

The two lines are the core of the poem's willow-longing, writing early spring through 'where spring has not yet come, yet the heart stirs' and the willow through 'willow branches trailing limp at the King Wei Causeway,' a timeless couplet. The words 'where' and 'before spring yet the heart stirs' write the earliest stirring of longing before the season. 'Willow branches trailing limp' writes the soft weakness of the willow, and 'the King Wei Causeway' names the place. The depth lies in pairing the pre-spring longing with the willow's limp branches to write the charm of early spring: the 'heart already stirs' is the picture of seeking spring, the 'trailing limp' the picture of the early willow—longing before spring and willow branches weak, precisely the look unique to early spring. Had the poet said plainly 'the willow has just sprouted,' the charm would be lost; only through the pre-spring longing and the limp branches does the early spring willow appear, making these lines the core of the poem.

花寒懒发鸟慵啼，信马闲行到日西

The flowers, chilled, are lazy to open; the birds sing drowsily. I give the horse its head and stroll idly until the sun goes down.

花寒懒发鸟慵啼，信马闲行到日西。

Chilled by the cold, the flowers are slow to bloom; the birds sing drowsily. I let the horse wander at will, strolling on until the sun sets in the west.

此二句是全诗写闲行的核心，以花寒懒发鸟慵啼写花鸟，以信马闲行到日西写闲行，写尽早春的闲行，是千古名句。「花寒懒发鸟慵啼」写花寒懒发鸟慵啼——那「花寒懒发」写花寒懒发，「鸟慵啼」写鸟慵啼，写尽花鸟的慵懒；「信马闲行到日西」写信马闲行到日西——那「信马闲行」写信马闲行，「到日西」写到日西，写尽闲行的日暮。这句的深意在于：它以「花寒懒发鸟慵啼」的花鸟与「信马闲行到日西」的闲行，写尽早春的闲行——花寒懒发鸟慵啼，那「花寒懒发鸟慵啼」写尽花鸟的慵懒——花寒懒发，鸟慵啼，正是早春的写照，那「懒发」「慵啼」写尽早春的闲适；信马闲行到日西，那「信马闲行到日西」写尽闲行的日暮——信马闲行，直到日西，正是闲适的写照，那「到日西」写尽早春的闲行；那「花寒懒发鸟慵啼」写尽花鸟的慵懒，那「信马闲行到日西」写尽闲行的日暮，一写花鸟，一写闲行，写尽早春的闲行——花鸟慵懒而信马闲行，正是早春的闲适；此二句以花鸟、闲行写尽早春的闲行，也为后文的柳思作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写闲行的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我在堤上逛了一下午」，则失其闲适；唯以「花寒懒发鸟慵啼」写花鸟、「信马闲行到日西」写闲行，写尽早春的闲行，也让此二句成为全诗写闲行的核心。

The two lines are the core of the poem's idle stroll, writing flowers and birds through 'flowers chilled, lazy to open; birds drowsy in song' and the stroll through 'give the horse its head and stroll until the sun goes down,' a timeless couplet. 'Flowers chilled, lazy to open' and 'birds drowsy in song' write the languor of the flowers and birds. 'Give the horse its head and stroll idly until the sun goes down' writes the evening of the idle walk. The depth lies in pairing the languid flowers and birds with the wandering stroll to write the ease of early spring: the 'lazy to open' and 'drowsy' write the leisure of the season, the 'until the sun goes down' the length of the stroll—languid birds and flowers with a horse given its head, precisely the ease of early spring. Had the poet said plainly 'I wandered the embankment all afternoon,' the leisure would be lost; only through the lazy flowers and the wandering horse does the early spring ease appear, preparing the later willow-longing and making these lines the core of the poem.

Study

Word focus

懒 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「花寒懒发鸟慵啼」之「懒」字是写早春的关键词，一个「懒」字写尽花未开的慵懒。懒者，慵懒、迟缓也。白居易以「花寒懒发鸟慵啼」写早春，这个「懒」字至少有双重意味：其一，写花之懒——那「花寒懒发鸟慵啼」写花寒懒发鸟慵啼，那「懒」字写尽花未开的慵懒——花寒懒发，正是早春的写照，那「懒」字写尽早春的闲适；其二，写境之闲——那「懒」字更是写闲——懒，正见春日迟迟的闲逸，那「懒」字写尽早春的闲行。以「懒」字写早春，正是白居易写闲适的枢纽——若换作「迟」「缓」等字，则或失其与「花寒」「鸟慵啼」的配合，或失其写懒的意味；唯「懒」字，以花寒懒发鸟慵啼写尽花未开的慵懒与春日迟迟的闲逸，与「信马闲行到日西」的闲行相合，写尽早春的闲行，也让「花寒懒发鸟慵啼」成为全诗写早春的名句。

无力 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「柳条无力魏王堤」之「无力」是写柳思的关键词，一个「无力」写尽柳条的柔弱。无力者，柔软无力也。白居易以「柳条无力魏王堤」写柳思，这个「无力」至少有双重意味：其一，写柳之柔——那「柳条无力魏王堤」写柳条无力魏王堤，那「无力」写尽柳条的柔弱——柳条无力，正是早春柳条的写照，那「无力」写尽早春的柳思；其二，写态之慵——那「无力」更是写慵——无力，正见柳条的慵懒，那「无力」写尽早春的闲适。以「无力」写柳思，正是白居易写早春的枢纽——若换作「轻柔」「软垂」等词，则或失其与「柳条」「魏王堤」的配合，或失其写无力的意味；唯「无力」二字，以柳条无力魏王堤写尽柳条的柔弱与姿态的慵懒，与「花寒懒发鸟慵啼」的懒发相合，写尽早春的柳思，也让「柳条无力魏王堤」成为全诗写柳思的名句。

魏王堤