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

zhōng终nán南wàng望yú余xuě雪

zǔ祖yǒng咏Zu Yong · Tang唐

Looking at the Lingering Snow on Zhongnan Mountain

zhōng终nán南yīn阴lǐng岭xiù秀

jī积xuě雪fú浮yún云duān端

lín林biǎo表míng明jì霁sè色

chéng城zhōng中zēng增mù暮hán寒

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

终南阴岭秀How lovely the north slopes of Zhongnan Mountain are,终南山的北坡，景色多么秀丽，
积雪浮云端where the lingering snow seems to float above the clouds.山顶的积雪，好像浮在云朵上面。
林表明霁色The sky has cleared, and the evening sun lights up the treetops,雪停天晴，夕阳把树梢照得一片明亮，
城中增暮寒while down in the city the evening grows colder.长安城里，傍晚却更加寒冷了。

Words字词注释

终南zhōng nán: zhōng nán: Zhongnan Mountain, just south of Chang'an, today's Xi'an.终南：终南山，在长安（今陕西西安）南边。
阴岭yīn lǐng: yīn lǐng: the north side of the mountain. It faces away from the sun, so it is called the shady side. From inside Chang'an you see exactly this north slope.阴岭：山的北面。山北面背着太阳，所以叫“阴”。从长安城里看过去，正好看到终南山的北坡。
秀xiù: xiù: beautiful, lovely.秀：秀丽，好看。
积雪jī xuě: jī xuě: snow that has piled up and not yet melted.积雪：堆积着没有化的雪。
浮云端fú yún duān: fú yún duān: seeming to float above the clouds. The mountain is so high that the snow on top looks as if it is drifting on the clouds.浮云端：好像浮在云的上面。山很高，雪在山顶，看上去像飘在云上。
林表lín biǎo: lín biǎo: the tops of the trees.林表：树林的上面，树梢。
明霁色míng jì sè: míng jì sè: bright with the light of clearing skies. Jì means the rain or snow has stopped and the sky has cleared.明霁色：雪后天晴，夕阳照得亮亮的。霁，雨雪停了，天放晴。
暮mù: mù: evening, dusk.暮：傍晚。

Background创作背景

According to Tang-dynasty notes, Zu Yong wrote this poem during an exam in Chang'an. The rules said an exam poem must have twelve lines, but Zu Yong handed in only four. When asked why, he said, "I have already said all I mean." No one can be sure the story is fully true, but the poem has been praised ever since. The poet stands in Chang'an and looks south at the unmelted snow on Zhongnan Mountain.

据唐代的笔记记载，这是祖咏在长安参加考试时写的诗。按照规定，考试的诗要写十二句，可祖咏只写了四句就交卷了。有人问他为什么，他说：“意思已经写完了。”这个故事是否完全真实，难以确定，但这首诗确实一直被人称赞。诗人站在长安城里，向南望着终南山上没化的雪。

The poet作者

Zu Yong was a Tang poet from Luoyang. His exact dates are not known. He was a good friend of Wang Wei, and they often wrote poems for each other. He passed the top civil exam but did not do well as an official, and later lived in retreat. Only a few of his poems survive. This is the most famous one: clean, simple, and full of pictures.

祖咏，唐代诗人，洛阳人，生卒年不能确定。他和王维是好朋友，两人常常写诗互相赠送。他考中过进士，但做官不顺利，后来隐居了。他留下的诗不多，这一首最有名，写景干净利落，很有画面感。

The mood意境

The poem is like a set of camera shots moving from far to near. First the distant mountain, its north slopes lovely. Then we look up to the peak, where white snow seems to float on the clouds, high and bright. Then the camera moves down: the snow has stopped, and the evening sun makes the treetops glow. Finally we are back in the city, where people feel the evening growing colder. Why colder after the sky clears? Because melting snow draws heat away. The poet does not explain the cold. He just shows us the far snow and light, then lets us feel the chill. In four lines he gives us both what we see and what we feel. No wonder he said he had said it all.

这首诗像从远到近拍了一组镜头。先是远处的终南山，北坡秀丽；再抬头看山顶，白雪好像浮在云上，又高又亮。接着镜头往下，雪后放晴，夕阳把树梢照得明晃晃的。最后回到城里，人们感到傍晚更冷了。为什么天晴了反而更冷？因为雪在融化时会吸走热量。诗人没有说“冷”从哪里来，只让我们看到远山的雪和亮光，再感到身上的寒意。短短四句，看到的、感觉到的都有了，难怪他说“意思已经写完了”。