Tang poem · five-character quatrain唐诗 · 五言绝句

yè夜xuě雪

bái白jū居yì易Bai Juyi · Tang唐

Night Snow

yǐ已yà讶qīn衾zhěn枕lěng冷

fù复jiàn见chuāng窗hù户míng明

yè夜shēn深zhī知xuě雪zhòng重

shí时wén闻zhé折zhú竹shēng声

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

已讶衾枕冷First I was surprised at how cold my quilt and pillow were,我先是奇怪，被子和枕头怎么这么冰冷，
复见窗户明then I saw the window shining bright.又看见窗户被映得一片明亮。
夜深知雪重Deep in the night, I knew the snow must be falling heavily,夜深了，我知道外面的雪一定下得很大，
时闻折竹声for now and then I heard the sound of bamboo snapping.因为不时听到竹子被雪压断的声音。

Words字词注释

已讶yǐ yà: yǐ yà: was already surprised.已讶：已经感到惊讶。
衾枕qīn zhěn: qīn zhěn: quilt and pillow. Qīn means quilt.衾枕：被子和枕头。衾，被子。
复见fù jiàn: fù jiàn: and then saw.复见：又看见。
窗户明chuāng hù míng: chuāng hù míng: the window was bright. The heavy snow outside reflected light and made the window glow white.窗户明：窗户亮了。大雪映着夜色，把窗户照得发白。
雪重xuě zhòng: xuě zhòng: the snow is heavy, piled thick.雪重：雪下得很大，积得又厚又沉。
时闻shí wén: shí wén: now and then hear.时闻：时时听到，不时听到。
折竹声zhé zhú shēng: zhé zhú shēng: the snapping sound of bamboo breaking under the snow.折竹声：竹子被雪压断时发出的“咔嚓”声。

Background创作背景

This poem is usually thought to be from the years after 815, when Bai Juyi was sent away to Jiangzhou, today's Jiujiang in Jiangxi. One view dates it to the winter of 816. He had been demoted to a minor post in the south for speaking out about court affairs. Heavy snow is rare in the south. One winter night he woke up cold in bed, found that a big snow had fallen outside, and wrote this little poem.

一般认为，这首诗写于元和十年（815）以后白居易被贬到江州（今江西九江）的时候，一说具体是元和十一年（816）冬天。他因为上书议论朝廷的事，被降职到南方做一个闲官。江南很少下大雪，一个冬夜，他在被窝里被冻醒，发现外面下了大雪，就写下了这首小诗。

The poet作者

Bai Juyi (772–846), also called Letian and the Retired Scholar of Xiangshan, was a great Tang poet. He wanted his poems to be easy to understand. Legend says he read each new poem to an old woman and kept it only if she understood. His best-known works include "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" and "Song of the Pipa Player". He wrote the latter in Jiangzhou too.

白居易（772—846），字乐天，号香山居士，唐代大诗人。他写诗讲究通俗易懂，据说写完会念给老奶奶听，听得懂才算好。代表作有《长恨歌》《琵琶行》等。《琵琶行》也是他在江州时写的。

The mood意境

Many poems describe snow: how white it is, how beautiful. This one never says white. It writes the snow through the body's senses. First touch: the quilt and pillow are icy. Then sight: in the middle of the night the window is bright. Then thought: the snow must be heavy. Last, sound: bamboo snaps under the weight. Cold, bright, heavy, loud, step by step, we discover a great snowfall in the dark along with the poet. The night must be very quiet for him to hear bamboo breaking, and he must be lying awake a long time to notice all this. Perhaps his lonely mood after being sent away is hidden here too.

写雪的诗很多，大多写雪有多白、多美。这首诗却一个“白”字也没有，而是从身体的感觉写雪。先是摸到：被子枕头冰凉；再是看到：半夜窗户却亮了；然后是想到：雪一定很大；最后是听到：竹子被压断，“咔嚓”一声。冷、亮、重、响，一步一步，我们跟着诗人在黑夜里发现了一场大雪。夜那么静，才能听到折竹声；诗人那么久睡不着，才会注意到这些。这里也许藏着他被贬后孤独的心情。