元 Yuan · 诗 Poem
绝句
A Quatrain
溪上东风吹柳花，溪头春水带金沙。
门前笙鹤归时晚，疑是芝田采玉家。
At the stream's head spring waters gleam with golden sand;
Late, the flute and cranes return before the gate;
One wonders if this is the jade-gathering home of the immortals.
Meaning
A spring scene of a streamside dwelling is rendered like a painting, expressing a quiet longing for a reclusive, immortal-like life.
溪水上东风吹送着柳花，溪头春水荡漾着金沙般的光泽。门前笙管鹤影归来已嫌晚了，疑心那便是仙人芝田采玉的居所。
Appreciation
The poem opens with soft spring sights—east wind, willow catkins, gleaming waters—painted in clear, bright colors. It closes by turning the ordinary streamside cottage into a dwelling of immortals through a single allusion. The tone is serene and detached, suggesting a wish for an otherworldly, reclusive calm. The whole piece reads like a scroll painting, where scene and mood fuse without strain.
【白话串讲】 赵孟頫（赵子昂）写春溪：“溪上东风吹柳花，溪头春水带金沙”。“门前笙鹤归时晚，疑是芝田采玉家”——他疑心这里住着仙人。赵孟頫书画一绝，诗也写得清丽。 【意象与手法】以“东风”“柳花”“春水”“金沙”“笙鹤”设色清丽，以“疑是芝田采玉家”用仙典收束，如入仙境。 【情感与主旨】写春日溪居的清丽如画，流露对隐逸仙境般生活的神往。 【名句点睛】“疑是芝田采玉家”——以仙家典故点化寻常溪居，清雅脱俗。
Background
Zhao Mengfu was a Yuan-dynasty painter, calligrapher, and poet, descended from the Song imperial clan. This quatrain depicts the spring scenery of his streamside retreat.
《绝句》为元代赵孟頫所作，是写溪上春景、芝田采玉的诗。赵孟頫（1254—1322），字子昂，号松雪道人，吴兴人，元代书画家、诗人。此诗：溪上东风吹柳花，溪头春水带金沙。门前笙鹤归时晚，疑是芝田采玉家。全诗写溪上春景、芝田采玉，是赵孟頫诗的名篇。
Art
The poet paints with light, refined colors—east wind, willow, golden water, flute and cranes—and closes with an immortal allusion, so the verse becomes a picture. The craft is that of a painter's brush, making scene serve mood.
《绝句》艺术上以溪上春景的描摹与芝田采玉的飘逸见长。全诗四句：首写东风柳花——“溪上东风吹柳花，溪头春水带金沙”写溪上东风吹柳花、溪头春水带金沙；末写笙鹤芝田——“门前笙鹤归时晚，疑是芝田采玉家”写门前笙鹤归时晚、疑是芝田采玉家。全诗以溪上春景写芝田采玉，正是赵孟頫诗飘逸的笔法。
Allusions
The phrase 'jade-gathering home of the immortals' draws on the legend of the immortals' field of zhi fungus, where immortals gather jade—used here to suggest the cottage is a fairy abode.
《绝句》用典在“东风”“柳花”“春水带金沙”“笙鹤”“芝田采玉”。“东风”写东风；“柳花”写柳花；“春水带金沙”写春水带金沙；“笙鹤”用笙鹤之典（仙人骑鹤吹笙）；“芝田采玉”用芝田之典（仙人所居芝田）。全诗以这些意象写溪上春景、芝田采玉，用典自然而飘逸自见，正是赵孟頫诗的笔法。
Commentary
Critics have said his verse carries the brushwork of his painting, clear and refined, free of worldly dust.
《绝句》是赵孟頫诗的名篇，也是元诗中写溪山逸趣的代表作。此诗写溪上春景、芝田采玉，向为论者称道。论者多赏其溪上春景的描摹与芝田采玉的飘逸——“溪上东风吹柳花，溪头春水带金沙”写溪上东风吹柳花、溪头春水带金沙，飘逸之极；“门前笙鹤归时晚，疑是芝田采玉家”用笙鹤芝田之典写门前笙鹤归时晚、疑是芝田采玉家，更见其仙。赵孟頫为书画大家，诗亦清逸，此诗正是其代表——以溪上春景写芝田采玉，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
溪上东风吹柳花，溪头春水带金沙。
Over the stream, the east wind blows the willow catkins; at the streamhead, the spring water carries golden sand.
溪上东风吹柳花，溪头春水带金沙。
Above the stream the east wind blows willow flowers; at the stream's head the spring water carries golden sand.
首写溪上东风吹柳花、溪头春水带金沙，是全诗写溪上春景的起点。“溪上东风吹柳花”写溪上东风吹柳花——“溪上东风吹柳花”写溪上东风吹拂柳花——溪上东风吹柳花；“溪头春水带金沙”写溪头春水带金沙——“溪头春水带金沙”写溪头春水带着金沙——溪头春水带金沙。二句写溪上东风吹柳花、溪头春水带金沙：溪上东风吹柳花，溪头春水带金沙。以“溪上东风吹柳花”写溪上东风、吹拂柳花，以“溪头春水带金沙”写溪头春水、淘带金沙，正是赵孟頫诗写溪上春景的起点——东风柳花，春水金沙。
The opening writes the spring scene by the stream: 'over the stream, the east wind blows the willow catkins' — the wind among the willow down; 'at the streamhead, the spring water carries golden sand' — the water washing the gold. Zhao Mengfu's starting point for the spring stream.
门前笙鹤归时晚，疑是芝田采玉家。
At the door, the piped cranes return late; I wonder if this is the home of jade-gatherers by the magic fields.
门前笙鹤归时晚，疑是芝田采玉家。
Before the door, the piped cranes are late in returning; I suspect this is the house of those who gather jade by the magic fields.
末用笙鹤芝田之典写门前笙鹤归时晚、疑是芝田采玉家，是全诗写芝田采玉的归结。“门前笙鹤归时晚”用笙鹤之典写门前笙鹤归时晚——“门前笙鹤归时晚”用仙人骑鹤之典写门前笙鹤、归来已晚——门前笙鹤归时晚；“疑是芝田采玉家”用芝田之典写疑是芝田采玉家——“疑是芝田采玉家”用芝田仙人之典写疑是芝田采玉之家——疑是芝田采玉家。二句写门前笙鹤归时晚、疑是芝田采玉家：门前笙鹤归时晚，疑是芝田采玉家。以“门前笙鹤归时晚”用笙鹤之典写门前笙鹤、归来已晚，以“疑是芝田采玉家”用芝田之典写疑是芝田、采玉之家，正是赵孟頫诗写芝田采玉的归结——笙鹤归晚，疑是芝田。
The closing uses the piped cranes and magic fields allusions: 'at the door, the piped cranes return late' — the immortal's crane-borne return; 'I wonder if this is the home of jade-gatherers by the magic fields' — the fairy fields of lingzhi. Zhao Mengfu's resolution of the immortal dwelling: the cranes late, the magic fields suspected.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
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