Tang poem · seven-character regulated verse唐诗 · 七言律诗

zèng赠què阙xià下péi裴shè舍rén人

qián钱qǐ起Qian Qi · Tang唐

To Secretary Pei at the Palace

èr二yuè月huáng黄lí鹂fēi飞shàng上lín林

chūn春chéng城zǐ紫jìn禁xiǎo晓yīn阴yīn阴

cháng长lè乐zhōng钟shēng声huā花wài外jìn尽

lóng龙chí池liǔ柳sè色yǔ雨zhōng中shēn深

yáng阳hé和bú不sàn散qióng穷tú途hèn恨

xiāo霄hàn汉cháng长huái怀pěng捧rì日xīn心

xiàn献fù赋shí十nián年yóu犹wèi未yù遇

xiū羞jiāng将bái白fà发duì对huá华zān簪

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。

The corpus has huang ying in line one; most common editions have huang li. Both name the same kind of yellow songbird, the oriole. The corpus ends line six with xin meaning new; common editions have xin meaning heart. The poem rhymes on lin, yin, shen, xin and zan, and only the character for heart fits the old rhyme.

语料首句作“黄莺”，通行本多作“黄鹂”，都是黄色羽毛、叫声好听的鸟。语料第六句末字作“新”，通行本作“心”；这首诗押“林、阴、深、心、簪”的韵，作“心”才合韵。

Line by line逐句翻译

二月黄鹂飞上林In the second month, orioles fly into the royal gardens.二月里，黄鹂飞进了皇家的园林。
春城紫禁晓阴阴In the spring city, the palace is dim and shady in the early morning.春天的京城，清晨的皇宫一片幽暗。
长乐钟声花外尽The bells of the palace fade away beyond the flowers.长乐宫的钟声，穿过花丛渐渐消失。
龙池柳色雨中深The willows by Dragon Pond turn a deeper green in the rain.龙池边的柳树，在雨中显得更绿了。
阳和不散穷途恨Spring's warmth cannot clear away my sorrow at having no way forward.春天的暖意，驱散不了我走投无路的苦恼。
霄汉长怀捧日心Yet I always keep a loyal heart, hoping to serve the court.可我心里一直怀着为朝廷效力的忠心。
献赋十年犹未遇For ten years I have offered my writing, and still no one has taken me up.我献赋求官已经十年，还是没有被赏识。
羞将白发对华簪Now my hair is white, and I feel ashamed before you in your fine official's cap.头发都白了，在您这位高官面前真觉得羞愧。

Words字词注释

黄鹂huáng lí: huáng lí: the oriole, a yellow bird with a sweet song.黄鹂：黄莺，一种黄色羽毛、叫声好听的鸟。
上林shàng lín: shàng lín: Shanglin Park, a great royal park of the Han. Here it means the Tang palace gardens.上林：上林苑，原是汉代皇家的大园林，这里指唐朝皇宫的园林。
紫禁zǐ jìn: zǐ jìn: the palace. The emperor's home was linked to the Purple Star in the sky, and ordinary people were forbidden to enter.紫禁：皇宫。古人认为皇帝住的地方对应天上的紫微星，又禁止百姓进入，所以叫紫禁。
晓xiǎo: xiǎo: early morning.晓：清晨。
阴阴yīn yīn: yīn yīn: dim and shady. Here, thick trees in the dark of early morning.阴阴：幽暗的样子，这里写清晨树木浓密、天色还暗。
长乐cháng lè: cháng lè: the Changle Palace of the Han, used here for the Tang palace.长乐：长乐宫，原是汉代宫殿，这里借指唐朝的宫殿。
花外尽huā wài jìn: huā wài jìn: the bell's sound passes beyond the flowers and fades.花外尽：钟声穿过花丛，慢慢消失。
龙池lóng chí: lóng chí: Dragon Pond, a pool in the Xingqing Palace of the Tang.龙池：唐代兴庆宫里的一个水池。
阳和yáng hé: yáng hé: the warmth of spring. Here it stands for the emperor's kindness.阳和：春天温暖的气息，这里比喻皇帝的恩泽。
穷途恨qióng tú hèn: qióng tú hèn: the pain of being at a dead end, with no way forward.穷途恨：走投无路的苦恼，指自己没有出路。
霄汉xiāo hàn: xiāo hàn: the high sky. Here it stands for the court.霄汉：高空，这里比喻朝廷。
捧日心pěng rì xīn: pěng rì xīn: a heart that holds up the sun, meaning loyalty to the emperor. The sun stands for the emperor.捧日心：捧着太阳的心，比喻忠心为皇帝做事。日，比喻皇帝。
献赋xiàn fù: xiàn fù: to present one's writing to the emperor, hoping to be noticed. In the Han, Sima Xiangru was noticed by the emperor for his fine rhymed prose.献赋：向皇帝献上自己写的赋，希望得到赏识。汉代司马相如就是因为赋写得好被皇帝看中的。
未遇wèi yù: wèi yù: not yet met with favor; not yet given a post.未遇：没有遇到赏识自己的人，没有得到官职。
华簪huá zān: huá zān: a fine hairpin. Officials used hairpins to fix their caps, so it means a high official, here Pei.华簪：华贵的簪子。古代官员用簪子把帽子别在头发上，这里指做高官的裴舍人。

How to read it读音

尽jìn: Here this character means to fade away, and is read jìn.“尽”在这里是消失、完了的意思，读 jìn。
长cháng: In the palace name Changle, this character is read cháng.长乐宫的“长”读 cháng。
长cháng: Here it means for a long time, and is read cháng.“长怀”是长久地怀着，读 cháng。
发fà: Here it means hair, and is read fà.“白发”的“发”指头发，读 fà。

Background创作背景

Secretary Pei was a palace secretary surnamed Pei who drafted the emperor's orders. His full name is no longer known. "At the palace" means serving at court. The first half of the poem shows spring in the palace; the second half tells of the poet's years without a post. It is a poem asking the other man to recommend him. It is usually thought to have been written before Qian Qi got an official post, but the year is not known.

裴舍人是一位姓裴的中书舍人，在皇帝身边起草诏书，他的名字已经不清楚了。“阙下”就是宫门下，指在朝廷做官。这首诗前面写皇宫里的春景，后面写自己多年得不到官职，是一首希望对方帮忙推荐自己的诗。一般认为写于钱起还没有得到官职的时候，具体年份不清楚。

The poet作者

Qian Qi (about 722 to about 780) came from Wuxing, around today's Huzhou in Zhejiang. He was one of the Ten Talents of the Dali era and passed the imperial exam in the Tianbao years. His poems paint scenery in a clear and delicate way, and the two lines here about the bells and the willows are a good example.

钱起（约722—约780），字仲文，吴兴人，就是今天浙江湖州一带。他是“大历十才子”之一，天宝年间考中进士。他的诗写景清秀细致，这首诗里写钟声和柳色的两句就很有代表性。

The mood意境

The first four lines are like a painting of the palace in spring. Orioles fly into the gardens, and in the early morning the halls are still wrapped in dark tree shadows. The bells fade away through the flowers, and the willows grow greener in the rain. These are the sights Pei sees every day, and they also praise him for his high place. The last four lines turn to the poet himself. Spring is so warm, yet its warmth cannot reach his heart. He wants with all his heart to serve the court, but after ten years of offering his writing, no one has noticed. At last he says his hair is white, and he feels ashamed to stand before Pei. He is asking for help, but he says it gently and with dignity.

前四句像一幅春天皇宫的画：黄鹂飞进园林，清晨的宫殿还笼着幽暗的树影；钟声穿过花丛慢慢消失，雨中的柳树越来越绿。这些都是裴舍人每天看到的美景，也在夸他身处高位。后四句笔锋一转，写自己：春天这么暖，却暖不到我的心；我一心想为朝廷做事，可是献赋十年也没人理会。最后说头发白了，站在您面前真是羞愧。诗人求人帮忙，却说得含蓄得体，不卑不亢。