Tang poem · seven-character quatrain唐诗 · 七言绝句

wèi为yǒu有

lǐ李shāng商yǐn隐Li Shangyin · Tang唐

Because There Is

wèi为yǒu有yún云píng屏wú无xiàn限jiāo娇

fèng凤chéng城hán寒jìn尽pà怕chūn春xiāo宵

wú无duān端jià嫁dé得jīn金guī龟xù婿

gū辜fù负xiāng香qīn衾shì事zǎo早cháo朝

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。

In line three the source text uses an old variant form of xù (husband); the common form is used here.

第三句底本作“壻”，是“婿”的异体字，这里写作通行的“婿”。

Line by line逐句翻译

为有云屏无限娇Behind the mica screen lives a lovely young wife,云母屏风后面，有一位非常美丽的妻子，
凤城寒尽怕春宵and now that the capital's winter is over, she dreads the spring nights.京城的寒冬过去了，她却害怕春天的夜晚。
无端嫁得金龟婿Why did she ever marry a husband with a golden tortoise?真不该嫁给一个佩金龟的大官做丈夫，
辜负香衾事早朝He leaves the warm, sweet quilt behind to go to the morning court before dawn.他辜负了温暖的香被，天不亮就起身去上早朝。

Words字词注释

为有wèi yǒu: wèi yǒu: because there is. The title is just the first two words of the poem.为有：因为有。题目就是取第一句开头两个字。
云屏yún píng: yún píng: a fine screen decorated with mica, a shiny stone.云屏：画着云母花纹、或镶着云母的屏风，非常华美。
无限娇wú xiàn jiāo: wú xiàn jiāo: endlessly lovely; here, the young wife behind the screen.无限娇：非常美丽可爱的人，这里指屏风后面的妻子。
凤城fèng chéng: fèng chéng: the Phoenix City, a name for the capital, here Chang'an.凤城：京城，这里指长安。
寒尽hán jìn: hán jìn: the cold of winter is over.寒尽：冬天的寒冷过去了。
春宵chūn xiāo: chūn xiāo: a spring night.春宵：春天的夜晚。
无端wú duān: wú duān: for no good reason, unexpectedly; said with a touch of complaint.无端：没来由地，不料。带着一点埋怨的语气。
金龟婿jīn guī xù: jīn guī xù: a husband who is a high official. In the time of Wu Zetian, officials of the third rank and above wore golden tortoise ornaments.金龟婿：做大官的丈夫。唐代武则天时，三品以上的大官要佩戴金龟作装饰。
辜负gū fù: gū fù: to let down, to waste.辜负：对不起，白白浪费了。
香衾xiāng qīn: xiāng qīn: a sweet-scented quilt. Qīn means quilt.香衾：香香的被子。衾，被子。
事早朝shì zǎo cháo: shì zǎo cháo: to go to the morning court. Shì means to attend to; zǎo cháo is the early meeting where ministers saw the emperor.事早朝：去上早朝。事，从事、去做；早朝，大臣清早进宫见皇帝、商量国事。

How to read it读音

为wèi: Here wèi means because, so it is read wèi.“为”在这里是“因为”的意思，读 wèi。
朝cháo: Zǎo cháo means attending court, so the character is read cháo, not zhāo.“早朝”指上朝，“朝”读 cháo，不读 zhāo。

Background创作背景

This poem speaks in the voice of a young wife who complains that her husband is a high official and must go to the morning court before dawn every day. Tang ministers went to court very early, often rising in the middle of the night. Spring nights are short, so she feels they have even less time together. It is usually thought to have been written while Li Shangyin lived in Chang'an, but the year is not known. Some readers think the poet hid his own feelings in it, but there is no agreement.

这首诗借一位年轻妻子的口气，埋怨丈夫做大官，每天天不亮就得去上早朝。唐代大臣上朝很早，常常半夜就要起身。春天夜短，她更觉得两人在一起的时间太少。一般认为是李商隐住在长安时写的，具体年份不清楚。也有人认为诗里藏着诗人自己的感慨，但没有定论。

The poet作者

Li Shangyin (about 813–858) was a great late Tang poet. He was very good at writing delicate feelings and often spoke indirectly, letting readers discover the meaning slowly. Many of his poems take their first two words as the title, like "The Inlaid Zither". "Because There Is" is one of these, so the title itself has no special meaning.

李商隐（约813—约858），晚唐大诗人。他很会写细腻的感情，常常把话说得含蓄，让人慢慢体会。他有很多诗用开头两个字做题目，像《锦瑟》，这首《为有》也是这样，标题本身没有特别的意思。

The mood意境

This poem is about a small worry of a noble young wife. The first line shows her beauty and her rich life: a mica screen, endless loveliness. The second line is a little strange. Winter is gone and spring has come, yet she says she dreads the spring nights. Why? The last two lines answer. She married a high official, and every day before dawn he must leave the warm quilt to go to court. The spring nights are so short that they part again just after being together. The words wú duān carry a pouting kind of complaint. Others envy her fine marriage, but she feels lonely. With a light touch, the poet shows the loneliness behind wealth and rank.

这首诗写的是一位贵族少妇的小烦恼。第一句先写她的美和生活的华丽：云母屏风，无限娇美。第二句有点奇怪：冬天过去了，春天来了，她却说“怕春宵”。为什么？后两句给出答案：她嫁了一个做大官的丈夫，丈夫每天天不亮就要离开温暖的被窝去上朝，春夜那么短，两人刚刚团聚就又要分开。“无端”两个字，带着撒娇似的埋怨。别人羡慕她嫁得好，她自己却觉得冷清。诗人用很轻的笔调，写出了荣华背后的寂寞。