Tang poem · five-character old-style poem唐诗 · 五言古诗

chūn春sī思

lǐ李bái白Li Bai · Tang唐

Spring Thoughts

yān燕cǎo草rú如bì碧sī丝

qín秦sāng桑dī低lǜ绿zhī枝

dāng当jūn君huái怀guī归rì日

shì是qiè妾duàn断cháng肠shí时

chūn春fēng风bù不xiāng相shí识

hé何shì事rù入luó罗wéi帏

Underlined words have notes: tap one. The Pinyin button below shows or hides all pinyin. 一 and 不 are marked with the tone you actually say.字下有虚线的，点开有注释。下方的“拼音”按钮可以显示或隐藏全部拼音。“一”“不”标的是实际读出来的变调。

Line by line逐句翻译

燕草如碧丝In Yan the grass has just come up, thin as green silk thread.燕地的草刚刚长出来，细得像绿色的丝线；
秦桑低绿枝In Qin the mulberry branches already hang low, thick with green.秦地的桑树早已枝叶茂盛，绿枝低垂。
当君怀归日On the day you begin to long for home,当你在远方想着回家的时候，
是妾断肠时I will already be here, heartbroken.正是我在这里想你想得心碎的时候。
春风不相识Spring wind, you are a stranger to me.春风啊，你和我素不相识，
何事入罗帏Why do you slip in through my silk bed curtains?为什么要吹进我的床帐里来？

Words字词注释

燕草yān cǎo: yān cǎo: the grass of Yan. Yan was in today's northern Hebei, where the husband guards the border.燕草：燕地的草。燕地在今天河北北部一带，丈夫在那里守边。
碧丝bì sī: bì sī: green silk threads. The north is cold, so the grass has only just come up, thin as thread.碧丝：绿色的丝线。北方冷，草才刚长出来，细细的像丝。
秦桑qín sāng: qín sāng: the mulberry trees of Qin, around today's Shaanxi, where the wife lives.秦桑：秦地的桑树。秦地在今天陕西一带，是妻子住的地方。
低绿枝dī lǜ zhī: dī lǜ zhī: the leafy green branches hang low, heavy with leaves.低绿枝：绿叶长得茂盛，把枝条都压弯了。
怀归huái guī: huái guī: thinking of coming home.怀归：想着回家。
断肠duàn cháng: duàn cháng: heartbroken, so sad it feels as if one's insides are torn.断肠：伤心到极点，好像肠子都断了。
不相识bù xiāng shí: bù xiāng shí: does not know me, is a stranger to me.不相识：和我不认识。
何事hé shì: hé shì: why.何事：为什么。
罗帏luó wéi: luó wéi: silk bed curtains.罗帏：丝织的床帐。

How to read it读音

燕yān: Here the character is a place name, the land of Yan, read yān, not yàn as in "swallow".燕：这里是地名，指燕地，读 yān，不读燕子的 yàn。

Background创作背景

This is a poem about missing someone. The wife lives in Qin, around Chang'an. Her husband is far away in the north, in Yan, guarding the border. In the Tang dynasty men were often sent to the frontier as soldiers for years, and their wives could only wait at home. Li Bai speaks in the voice of such a wife and shows how she misses him in spring. We do not know which year he wrote it.

这是一首写思念的诗。诗里的妻子住在秦地，就是长安一带；丈夫远在北方的燕地守卫边疆。唐代常有男子被派到边地当兵，一去好几年，家里的妻子只能等待。李白借这样一位妻子的口吻，写出了她在春天里的思念。这首诗具体写于哪一年，已经不清楚了。

The poet作者

Li Bai (701–762) was a great Tang poet, often called the Immortal of Poetry. Most of his poems are bold and free, but he could also write delicate feelings in a woman's voice. These poems use plain words like folk songs, yet the feelings run deep.

李白（701—762），唐代大诗人，被人称为“诗仙”。他的诗大多豪放，但也很会用女子的口吻写细腻的感情。这类诗语言浅白，像民歌一样，感情却很深。

The mood意境

The first two lines show spring in two places. In the north the grass is only thin threads. Here the mulberry branches are already full of leaves. One place is late, the other early, which shows how far apart the two are. Looking at the trees in front of her, the wife thinks of her husband far away. Lines three and four say: by the time you want to come home, my heart will long since have broken from missing you. The last two lines are the best. A spring breeze blows into her bed curtains, and she scolds it: "I don't even know you, so why come in?" The question seems a little silly. But it shows she is loyal to her husband with her whole heart, and will not even let the spring wind disturb her.

开头两句写两个地方的春天。北方的草才刚冒出细丝，南边的桑树已经绿叶满枝。一个地方晚，一个地方早，正好说明两人隔得很远。妻子看着眼前的桑树，心里想的是远方的丈夫。三四句说：等你想回家的时候，我早就想你想得心碎了。最后两句最妙：一阵春风吹进床帐，她竟然生气地问春风：“我又不认识你，你进来干什么？”这一问，看起来有点傻，却写出了她对丈夫一心一意，连春风都不许来打扰。