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

yù玉tái台tǐ体·qí其shí十yī一

quán权dé德yú舆Quan Deyu · Tang唐

In the Jade Terrace Style, No. 11

zuó昨yè夜qún裙dài带jiě解

jīn今zhāo朝xǐ蟢zǐ子fēi飞

qiān铅huá华bù不kě可qì弃

mò莫shì是gǎo藁zhēn砧guī归

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

昨夜裙带解Last night, my skirt sash came loose all by itself.昨天夜里，裙带忽然自己松开了。
今朝蟢子飞This morning, a happy spider drifted by.今天早上，又看见喜蛛飞来飞去。
铅华不可弃I must not leave my powder unused. I should make myself pretty.脂粉可不能丢在一边，要好好打扮。
莫是藁砧归Could it be that my husband is coming home?莫非是我的丈夫要回来了？

Words字词注释

裙带解qún dài jiě: qún dài jiě: the sash of her skirt came loose by itself. People in old times took this as a sign that a husband would soon come home.裙带解：裙子的带子自己松开了。古人认为这是丈夫要回来的好兆头。
今朝jīn zhāo: jīn zhāo: this morning.今朝：今天早上。
蟢子xǐ zǐ: xǐ zǐ: a small long-legged spider, also called the "happy spider". People in old times thought seeing one meant good news was coming.蟢子：一种长脚的小蜘蛛，也叫喜蛛。古人看见它，认为会有喜事。
铅华qiān huá: qiān huá: face powder that women used as makeup.铅华：女子化妆用的粉。
可弃kě qì: bù kě qì: must not be put aside, meaning she should make herself up nicely.不可弃：不能丢下不用，意思是要好好打扮。
莫是mò shì: mò shì: could it be that...莫是：莫非是，该不会是。
藁砧gǎo zhēn: gǎo zhēn: an old hidden word for "husband". In ancient executions, a straw mat and a chopping block were used with an axe called fū. Fū sounds the same as the word for husband, so "straw mat and block" became a secret way of saying husband.藁砧：古时候妻子对丈夫的暗称。古代处死刑时，人伏在藁（草垫）上，下面垫着砧（木墩），用“鈇”（一种斧子）来砍。“鈇”和“夫”同音，所以用“藁砧”暗指丈夫。
归guī: guī: to come home.归：回家。

How to read it读音

朝zhāo: In this word meaning "this morning", the character is read zhāo, not cháo.“今朝”是今天早上，“朝”读 zhāo，不读 cháo。
子zǐ: In everyday speech this word is often said with a light, toneless zi. In poems it is usually read zǐ.“蟢子”口语里常读轻声 xǐzi，读诗时一般读 zǐ。

Background创作背景

"In the Jade Terrace Style" is a set of twelve short poems by Quan Deyu, and this is the eleventh. The "Jade Terrace style" copies the way of "New Songs from the Jade Terrace", a poetry collection made in the Southern Dynasties. Most poems in it are about women's lives and feelings. This poem is about a wife whose husband has been away a long time. She looks for signs in small daily things that he will come back.

《玉台体》是权德舆写的一组小诗，共十二首，这是第十一首。“玉台体”是模仿《玉台新咏》的写法。《玉台新咏》是南朝编的一部诗集，收的多是写女子生活和感情的诗。这首诗写一位妻子，丈夫离家很久，她从生活里的小事中盼着他回来。

The poet作者

Quan Deyu (759–818) was a Tang poet and writer. Under Emperor Xianzong he served as chief minister. His prose was famous in his day. He also wrote many fresh little poems that show tender feelings in plain words, like this one.

权德舆（759—818），唐代诗人、文学家，唐宪宗时做过宰相。他的文章在当时很有名。他也写了不少清新的小诗，用平常的语言写细腻的感情，这首就是一例。

The mood意境

This poem is like a tiny story, playful and touching. Last night her sash came loose. This morning she saw a happy spider. Two good signs in a row, and her heart lights up. At once she thinks: I should get out my powder and dress up. Only the last line tells her secret: "Could he be coming home?" The words "could it be" hold guessing, hope, and a little fear that it is not true. The poem never says "I miss him", yet we can feel how much she has been missing her husband.

这首诗像一个小故事，写得又俏皮又动人。昨晚裙带松了，今早又见喜蛛，两个“好兆头”接连出现，妻子心里一下子亮了起来。她马上想到：得把脂粉找出来，好好打扮一下。最后一句才说出心事：“该不会是他要回来了吧？”一个“莫是”，有猜测，有期待，也有一点不敢相信。诗里没有一个字写“想念”，可是她平时有多想丈夫，我们都能感觉到。