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

zèng赠bié别èr二shǒu首·qí其yī一

dù杜mù牧Du Mu · Tang唐

Parting Gift (No. 1 of 2)

pīng娉pīng娉niǎo袅niǎo袅shí十sān三yú余

dòu豆kòu蔻shāo梢tóu头èr二yuè月chū初

chūn春fēng风shí十lǐ里yáng扬zhōu州lù路

juǎn卷shàng上zhū珠lián帘zǒng总bù不rú如

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 the first line the source writes niǎo niǎo, "slender and graceful", in an old variant form. The standard form is used here.

原始文本第一句的“褭褭”是“袅袅”的异体字，这里写作通行的“袅袅”。

Line by line逐句翻译

娉娉袅袅十三余Slender and graceful, she is just past thirteen,她身姿轻盈美好，才十三岁多一点，
豆蔻梢头二月初Like a cardamom bud on the branch in early spring.就像二月初枝头上含苞的豆蔻花。
春风十里扬州路Along ten li of Yangzhou's streets in the spring breeze,春风吹过十里长的扬州街道，
卷上珠帘总不如Of all the beauties behind the bead curtains, none can compare with her.珠帘后面的美人一个个看过去，都比不上她。

Words字词注释

娉娉袅袅pīng pīng niǎo niǎo: pīng pīng niǎo niǎo: slender and graceful, light in the way she moves.娉娉袅袅：形容女子身材苗条、走路轻盈好看的样子。
十三余shí sān yú: shí sān yú: a little over thirteen years old.十三余：十三岁多一点。
豆蔻dòu kòu: dòu kòu: cardamom, a plant that blooms in early spring, its buds still tucked among the leaves. Later people used "cardamom years" to mean a girl of thirteen or fourteen.豆蔻：一种植物，初春开花，花苞含在叶子中间还没完全开。后来人们用“豆蔻年华”指十三四岁的少女。
梢头shāo tóu: shāo tóu: the tip of the branch.梢头：枝头。
二月初èr yuè chū: èr yuè chū: early in the second lunar month, early spring, just as the cardamom begins to bloom.二月初：农历二月初，早春，豆蔻花刚要开的时候。
扬州路yáng zhōu lù: Yángzhōu lù: the streets of Yangzhou, a city in today's Jiangsu that was very rich and lively in the Tang.扬州路：扬州城里的街道。扬州在今天的江苏，唐朝时非常繁华。
卷上珠帘juǎn shàng zhū lián: juǎn shàng zhū lián: rolling up the bead curtains, meaning the pretty young women behind them. A bead curtain is made of strings of beads.卷上珠帘：卷起珠帘，指珠帘后面的那些美丽女子。珠帘，用珠子穿成的帘子。
总不如zǒng bù rú: zǒng bù rú: none of them can compare with her.总不如：全都比不上她。

Background创作背景

When Du Mu was young, he worked for a few years in Yangzhou, handling documents in the office of the regional governor. It is usually said that in 835, as he was leaving Yangzhou for a post in Chang'an, he wrote two poems for a young singer he knew well. This is the first. Tang Yangzhou was one of the richest, liveliest cities in the land, and Du Mu wrote many poems there.

杜牧年轻时在扬州做过几年官，在淮南节度使的府里管文书。一般认为，835年他要离开扬州去长安做官，写了两首诗送给一位相熟的歌女，这是第一首。唐朝的扬州是全国最繁华的城市之一，杜牧在那里留下了很多诗。

The poet作者

Du Mu (803–852) was a poet of the late Tang. He and Li Shangyin are called the Little Li and Du. He was best at seven-character quatrains, fresh and lovely in language, such as the famous "Mountain Walk" and "Qingming". His years in Yangzhou gave him many poems about that city.

杜牧（803—852），唐代后期的诗人，字牧之。人们把他和李商隐合称“小李杜”。他最擅长写七言绝句，语言清新漂亮，比如《山行》《清明》都很有名。他在扬州的经历，让他写了不少关于这座城市的诗。

The mood意境

This is a parting poem, but it never says "goodbye". It only tells how lovely someone is. The first line shows her: light and graceful, just past thirteen. The second line uses a picture: she is like a cardamom bud on the branch in early spring, not yet fully open, soft and fresh. The last two lines look another way. Along Yangzhou's ten li of streets in the spring breeze, there are so many beauties behind the bead curtains, yet none is as lovely as she is. The more he praises her, the more we feel how hard it is for him to leave. The phrase "cardamom years", meaning a girl's early teens, comes from this poem.

这首诗写离别，却一个“别”字也没有，只是在夸一个人有多美。第一句写她的样子：轻轻巧巧，才十三岁多。第二句用一个比喻：她像二月初枝头的豆蔻花，还没完全开放，又嫩又新鲜。后两句换个角度：扬州十里长街，春风吹拂，珠帘后有那么多美人，可是没有一个比得上她。越说她好，越能感到诗人舍不得离开。“豆蔻年华”这个词，就是从这首诗来的。