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

zǎo早chūn春chéng呈shuǐ水bù部zhāng张shí十bā八yuán员wài外

hán韩yù愈Han Yu · Tang唐

Early Spring: For Zhang Ji of the Ministry of Water

tiān天jiē街xiǎo小yǔ雨rùn润rú如sū酥

cǎo草sè色yáo遥kàn看jìn近què却wú无

zuì最shì是yì一nián年chūn春hǎo好chù处

jué绝shèng胜yān烟liǔ柳mǎn满huáng皇dū都

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

天街小雨润如酥Light rain falls on the streets of the capital, soft and smooth as butter.京城的街上下着小雨，像酥油一样细腻滋润。
草色遥看近却无From afar the grass shows a haze of green, but up close it seems to vanish.远远看去，草色一片嫩绿；走近一看，却好像没有了。
最是一年春好处This is the loveliest time of the whole spring,这正是一年里春天最美的时候，
绝胜烟柳满皇都far better than late spring, when misty willows fill the capital.远远胜过满城烟柳的暮春景色。

Words字词注释

天街tiān jiē: tiān jiē: the streets of the capital.天街：京城里的街道。
润rùn: rùn: to moisten, to make things damp and soft.润：滋润，让东西变得湿湿的、软软的。
酥sū: sū: butter made from cow's or sheep's milk, soft and smooth. Here it describes how gentle the spring rain is.酥：酥油，用牛羊奶做成的油，又细又滑。这里形容春雨细腻柔和。
草色cǎo sè: cǎo sè: the pale green of grass just sprouting.草色：小草刚冒出来的嫩绿颜色。
遥看yáo kàn: yáo kàn: looking from far away.遥看：从远处看。
近却无jìn què wú: jìn què wú: up close, it seems to vanish.近却无：走近了反而看不见了。
最是zuì shì: zuì shì: this is exactly.最是：正是。
春好处chūn hǎo chù: chūn hǎo chù: the best time of spring.春好处：春天最美好的时候。
绝胜jué shèng: jué shèng: far better than.绝胜：远远胜过。
烟柳yān liǔ: yān liǔ: willows so thick with leaves that from afar they look wrapped in mist.烟柳：柳枝茂密，远看像笼着一层烟雾。
皇都huáng dū: huáng dū: the capital, here Chang'an.皇都：京城，这里指长安。

Background创作背景

This poem is usually dated to early spring of 823, when Han Yu was an official in Chang'an. Zhang the Eighteenth was the poet Zhang Ji. He was the eighteenth among the brothers and cousins of his family, and he then worked as an official in the Ministry of Water. Han Yu wrote him two poems, inviting him to go out and enjoy the early spring. This is the first one.

这首诗一般认为写于唐穆宗长庆三年（823年）早春，当时韩愈在长安做官。张十八就是诗人张籍，他在家族兄弟中排行第十八，当时在水部做员外郎。韩愈一共写了两首诗送给他，约他趁早春出门游玩，这是第一首。

The poet作者

Han Yu (768–824), also called Tuizhi, was a Tang writer, later known as Han Changli. He was one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song, and he called for writing in a plain, natural old style. Most of his poems are bold and powerful, but this one is fresh and delicate. He and Zhang Ji were close friends for many years and often wrote poems to each other.

韩愈（768—824），字退之，唐代文学家，后人称他“韩昌黎”。他是“唐宋八大家”之一，提倡写古朴自然的文章。他的诗大多雄奇有力，这首却写得清新细腻。他和张籍是多年的好朋友，常常一起写诗唱和。

The mood意境

The first line is about the spring rain: fine and soft, moistening the earth like butter. The second line is the best part of the poem. The new grass is tiny and sparse. From far away it joins into a faint green haze, but when you walk up and look down, you see only a few scattered blades, as if nothing were there. Many people have noticed this, but few have put it so exactly. The last two lines say that this barely-there beauty of early spring is the best time of the year, better even than later, when thick willows fill the city. The poet is reminding his friend: do not wait until spring is old to go out, the loveliest spring is right here now.

第一句写春雨：细细的，软软的，像酥油一样滋润着大地。第二句是全诗最妙的地方。刚冒头的小草又小又稀，远远望去连成一片淡淡的绿色；走到跟前低头看，却只见零星几点，好像什么都没有。这种感觉很多人都有过，却很少有人能写得这么准。后两句说，早春这种若有若无的美，才是一年里最好的时候，比后来满城柳树浓密的景色还要好。诗人是在提醒朋友：别等春深了才出门，最美的春天就在眼前。