宋 Song · 诗 Poem
春日
A Spring Day
一夕轻雷落万丝，霁光浮瓦碧参差。
有情芍药含春泪，无力蔷薇卧晓枝。
The cleared light floats on the tiles, a shimmering uneven green.
The tender peony, full of feeling, holds spring's tears;
The listless rose lies along the branch at dawn.
Meaning
This quatrain paints a spring morning just after rain. Thunder and fine rain give way to sunlight on the tiled roofs, while the peony seems to weep with feeling and the rose lies languid on its branch. With delicate personification the poem captures the gentle, seductive beauty of spring without stating a single feeling directly.
一夕轻雷落万丝，霁光浮瓦碧参差。有情芍药含春泪，无力蔷薇卧晓枝。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] One night light thunder and myriad silken threads of rain; the cleared light floats on the tiles, uneven green. The feeling peony holds spring's tears; the powerless rose lies along the dawn branch. [Structure] The first two lines paint the rain and its aftermath; the last two turn to the flowers after rain. The move is from weather to blossoms, the 'write rain to reveal flowers' manner of scenery verse. [Imagery] 'Light thunder' and 'ten thousand silken threads' sketch the rain; 'cleared light floats on the tiles, uneven green' paints the wet roofs; 'feeling peony holds spring's tears' and 'powerless rose lies along the branch' give the flowers human languor. The paired 'feeling' vs. 'powerless,' 'holds tears' vs. 'lies along the branch' personify the blossoms so that one 'holds' and one 'lies'—rain-drops become tears, rain-weight becomes weakness.
【白话串讲】 秦观写《春日》：“一夕轻雷落万丝，霁光浮瓦碧参差”——“有情芍药含春泪，无力蔷薇卧晓枝”——夜雨后的芍药含着泪，蔷薇无力地卧在枝头——他写春日的柔美。 【意象与手法】 此诗写春景，以写景写春景，是秦观的名篇。前二句写春雨：「一夕轻雷落万丝，霁光浮瓦碧参差」写一夕轻雷落万丝、霁光浮瓦碧参差——写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差；后二句写雨后：「有情芍药含春泪，无力蔷薇卧晓枝」写有情芍药含春泪、无力蔷薇卧晓枝——写尽无力蔷薇的卧晓枝。全诗以写景写春景，写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差与无力蔷薇的卧晓枝，是秦观的代表作。 【情感与主旨】 此诗写春景，以写景写春景，是秦观的名篇。此诗为秦观咏春日之作，写其雨后春晨的景物。秦观此诗写春雨初霁的春景。此诗写一夕轻雷落万丝，霁光浮瓦碧参差；有情芍药含春泪，无力蔷薇卧晓枝。此诗写春雨：一夕轻雷落万丝，霁光浮瓦碧参差——写一夕轻雷落万丝、霁光浮瓦碧参差，写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差；有情芍药含春泪，无力蔷薇卧晓枝——写有情芍药含春泪、无力蔷薇卧晓枝，写尽无力蔷薇的卧晓枝。全诗以写景写春景——那「霁光浮瓦碧参差」写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差，「无力蔷薇卧晓枝」写尽无力蔷薇的卧晓枝，写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差与无力蔷薇的卧晓枝，是理解秦观春景诗的重要篇章。 【名句点睛】 常考「一夕轻雷落万丝，霁光浮瓦碧参差」写霁光浮瓦的碧参差；「有情芍药含春泪，无力蔷薇卧晓枝」写无力蔷薇的卧晓枝；以及全诗以写景写春景、以拟人写春景的手法。
Background
Qin Guan (1049–1100), styled Shaoyou, also Tai Xu, self-titled 'Retired Scholar of Huaihai,' from Gaoyou (modern Jiangsu), was a Northern Song lyricist, one of the 'Four Scholars of Su's Gate' alongside Huang Tingjian, Chao Buzhi, and Zhang Lei, and a leading Soft-and-Idle poet, known as 'Master Huaihai.' This poem is his spring-day piece, depicting a morning scene after rain. The first couplet points to night rain ('one night light thunder,' 'cleared light floats on the tiles' as the rain stops and sun appears); the second shows peony and rose still wet, drops un-dried, so the peony seems to weep and the rose seems powerless. All four lines purely describe the post-rain dawn; not one speaks of feeling, yet feeling appears through the scene—a typical 'close with scene to reveal feeling' short piece, showing the poet's lyric instinct flowing into his verse.
此诗写春景，以写景写春景，是秦观的名篇。秦观（1049—1100），字少游，又字太虚，号淮海居士，高邮（今江苏高邮）人，北宋词人，与黄庭坚、晁补之、张耒并称「苏门四学士」，婉约派代表词人，世称「淮海先生」。此诗为秦观咏春日之作，写其雨后春晨的景物。秦观此诗写春雨初霁的春景。此诗写一夕轻雷落万丝，霁光浮瓦碧参差；有情芍药含春泪，无力蔷薇卧晓枝。此诗写春雨：「一夕轻雷落万丝，霁光浮瓦碧参差」写一夕轻雷落万丝、霁光浮瓦碧参差——写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差（一夕轻雷落万丝，霁光浮瓦碧参差）；「有情芍药含春泪，无力蔷薇卧晓枝」写有情芍药含春泪、无力蔷薇卧晓枝——写尽无力蔷薇的卧晓枝（有情芍药含春泪，无力蔷薇卧晓枝）。全诗以写景写春景，写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差与无力蔷薇的卧晓枝，是理解秦观春景诗的重要篇章。又，此诗写于春日雨后初霁之时，「一夕轻雷落万丝」点出夜雨，「霁光浮瓦碧参差」写雨止日出、瓦上晴光浮动；下联「芍药含春泪」「蔷薇卧晓枝」皆承雨后而来，花间雨珠未干，故芍药如含泪、蔷薇似无力。全诗四句纯写雨后春晨之景，无一句言情，而情自见于景物之中，是秦观「以景结情」的典型短章，亦可见其词人本色在诗中的流贯。
Art
The craft may be read in four moves. First, plain sketch of the spring rain: 'one night a light thunder rolled, and ten thousand silken threads fell' with 'the cleared light floats on the tiles' renders the weather through bare description. Second, metaphor for the rain: 'ten thousand silken threads' figures the fine rain. Third, personification of the peony: 'the tender peony, full of feeling, holds spring's tears' gives the flower human feeling. Fourth, antithesis for the after-rain scene: 'holds spring's tears' paired with 'lies along the branch' sets peony against rose. The first couplet writes the sky after rain; the second turns to plants—from rain to flower, the 'write rain to reveal flower' method. The lines 'feeling peony' vs. 'powerless rose,' 'holds spring's tears' vs. 'lies along the dawn branch': the peony holds tears because of rain, the rose lies because of rain; one 'holds,' one 'lies' personifies the blossoms with a coquettish languor. Rain-drops become spring tears, rain-weight becomes powerlessness—personification within precise craft, true to Qin Guan's 'graceful and fine' manner of bringing lyric technique into his poetry.
此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以白描写春雨。「一夕轻雷落万丝」以白描写春雨——那「霁光浮瓦碧参差」写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差，以白描写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差。其二，以比喻写雨丝。「落万丝」以比喻写雨丝——那「轻雷」写尽一夕的轻雷，以比喻写尽一夕轻雷的落万丝。其三，以拟人写芍药。「有情芍药含春泪」以拟人写芍药——那「无力蔷薇卧晓枝」写尽无力蔷薇的卧晓枝，以拟人写尽无力蔷薇的卧晓枝。其四，以对仗写雨后。「芍药含春泪」以对仗写雨后——那「蔷薇卧晓枝」写尽蔷薇的卧晓枝，以对仗写尽有情芍药的含春泪。此外，此诗前写霁光浮瓦的碧参差，后写无力蔷薇的卧晓枝，由雨及花，正是写景诗「以雨写花」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以写景写春景，写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差与无力蔷薇的卧晓枝，是秦观的代表作。又，此诗前二句写春雨初霁之天象，「轻雷」「万丝」「霁光」「浮瓦」以轻笔细描，工于状物；后二句转入花木，「有情芍药含春泪，无力蔷薇卧晓枝」两句，以「有情」对「无力」、「含春泪」对「卧晓枝」，芍药因雨而含泪、蔷薇因雨而卧枝，一「含」一「卧」皆以人拟花，赋予花以娇慵之态；雨珠作春泪、雨势作无力，拟人之中又见精工，正是秦观「婉丽工致」、以词法入诗的本色。
Allusions
The language is rooted in the spring-scenery tradition. 'Light thunder' recalls the image of spring thunder; 'ten thousand silken threads' the image of rain-threads ('rain-silk, wind-scraps'); 'cleared light' the image of fair weather after rain; 'floats on the tiles' the image of tile-glow ('the sun's glory floats on the tiles'); 'uneven green' the image of mottled green tiles; 'peony' and 'holds spring's tears' reach Bai Juyi's 'a pear branch, spring with rain' (a flower like a weeping beauty); 'powerless' the topos of delicate weakness; 'rose' the flowering shrub; 'lies along the dawn branch' the image of a flower reclining on its bough. The whole lyric transmutes these inherited images into a spring scene, true to Qin Guan's graceful, personifying, Wen-Tingyun-and-Li-Shangyin-derived manner.
此诗的用语深植于春景与写景传统。「轻雷」令人想到「轻雷」写春雷的意象——也令人想到「轻雷隐隐初惊蛰」的意象；「万丝」令人想到「万丝」写雨丝的意象——也令人想到「雨丝风片」的意象；「霁光」令人想到「霁光」写晴光的意象——也令人想到「雨霁天青」的意象；「浮瓦」令人想到「浮瓦」写瓦光的意象——也令人想到「日华浮瓦」的意象；「碧参差」令人想到「碧参差」写碧色的意象——也令人想到「参差碧瓦」的意象；「芍药」令人想到「芍药」写芍药的意象——也令人想到「有情芍药含春泪」（秦观）的意象；「含春泪」令人想到「含春泪」写花泪的意象——也令人想到「梨花一枝春带雨」（白居易）的意象；「无力」令人想到「无力」写无力的意象——也令人想到「娇柔无力」的意象；「蔷薇」令人想到「蔷薇」写蔷薇的意象——也令人想到「蔷薇蔷薇处处开」的意象；「卧晓枝」令人想到「卧晓枝」写卧枝的意象——也令人想到「一枝红杏出墙来」（叶绍翁）的意象。全诗化用轻雷、万丝、霁光、浮瓦、碧参差、芍药、含春泪、无力、蔷薇、卧晓枝的意象，以写景写春景，正是秦观「婉丽」而善拟人、承温李传统写春景之本领。
Commentary
This quatrain is ranked among Qin Guan's finest spring scenes and a representative of the Song poem's after-rain landscape. Song critics called it 'scenery through scenery, graceful and fine'; modern readers prize 'the tender peony, full of feeling, holds spring's tears' as its famous line. Its special worth lies in the short piece's rendering of tile-glow and the powerless rose—the night, the light thunder, the silken threads, the cleared light, the floating tiles, the uneven green, the feeling, the peony, the spring tears, the powerlessness, the rose, the dawn branch—all Qin Guan's spring day. 'The tender peony, full of feeling, holds spring's tears' crowns the personification. With his 'Que Qiao Xian' ('clouds work cunning, stars bear regret') it forms a pair of masterpieces: one the 'once a year the wind-and-jade dew meet' of the magpie bridge, one the 'powerless rose lies along the branch' of spring; one a lyric, one a poem. For readers today it opens a window onto Qin Guan's spring poetry and a classic of the after-rain scene—the powerless rose still speaks across the ages of tile-glow's uneven green.
此诗历来被推为秦观春景诗的名篇，也是宋诗写雨后春景的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：宋人评此诗「以写景写春景，婉丽工致」；近人更指出「有情芍药含春泪，无力蔷薇卧晓枝」写无力蔷薇的卧晓枝，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以短章写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差与无力蔷薇的卧晓枝——那一夕，那轻雷，那落万丝，那霁光，那浮瓦，那碧参差，那有情，那芍药，那含春泪，那无力，那蔷薇，那卧晓枝，都写尽了秦观笔下的春日；那「有情芍药含春泪」更以拟人写尽有情芍药的含春泪。此诗与秦观《鹊桥仙·纤云弄巧》「纤云弄巧，飞星传恨」同为名篇，一写「金风玉露一相逢」的鹊桥仙，一写「无力蔷薇卧晓枝」的春日；一写词，一写诗。两作对读，可见秦观婉约的两面。对于今日读者，此诗是理解秦观春景诗的窗口，也是宋诗写雨后春景的经典——那无力蔷薇的卧晓枝，穿越千年，仍在诉说着霁光浮瓦的碧参差。
Prosody
Line by line
一夕轻雷落万丝，霁光浮瓦碧参差
One night a light thunder rolled, and ten thousand silken threads fell; the cleared light floats on the tiles, a shimmering uneven green.
一夕轻雷落万丝，霁光浮瓦碧参差。
All night a soft thunder let fall ten thousand threads; after the rain, clear light floats over the tiles, green and uneven.
此二句是全诗写春雨的核心，以一夕轻雷落万丝写落万丝，以霁光浮瓦碧参差写碧参差，写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差，是千古名句。「一夕轻雷落万丝」写一夕轻雷落万丝——那「一夕轻雷」写一夕轻雷，「落万丝」写落万丝，写尽一夕轻雷的落万丝；「霁光浮瓦碧参差」写霁光浮瓦碧参差——那「霁光浮瓦」写霁光浮瓦，「碧参差」写碧参差，写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差。这句的深意在于：它以「一夕轻雷落万丝」的落万丝与「霁光浮瓦碧参差」的碧参差，写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差——一夕轻雷落万丝，那「一夕轻雷落万丝」写尽一夕轻雷的落万丝——一夕轻雷落万丝，正是夜雨如丝的写照，那「落万丝」写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差；霁光浮瓦碧参差，那「霁光浮瓦碧参差」写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差——霁光浮瓦碧参差，正是晴光映瓦的写照，那「碧参差」写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差；那「一夕轻雷落万丝」写尽一夕轻雷的落万丝，那「霁光浮瓦碧参差」写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差，一写落万丝，一写碧参差，写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差——夜雨如丝而晴光映瓦，正是春雨的写照；此二句以落万丝、碧参差写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差，也为下文的芍药作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写春雨的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「一夜轻雷落下万丝细雨，霁光浮在瓦上碧色参差」，则失其婉丽；唯以「一夕轻雷落万丝」写落万丝、「霁光浮瓦碧参差」写碧参差，写尽霁光浮瓦的碧参差，也让此二句成为全诗写春雨的核心。
The couplet stages a night rain and its clearing. All night a soft thunder let fall ten thousand threads—the threads are the fine rain, soft rather than stormy, and the mild thunder keeps the night tender rather than violent. At dawn, the sky clears, and light floats over the green tiles of the roofs, uneven in shade. The verb floats is the delicate choice: wet tiles do not merely reflect the morning sun, they buoy it up, and the varying green of the tiled roofs becomes a rippling surface. The quiet transition prepares the flowers below. To have said it rained gently all night and cleared at dawn would lose the floated light; the word for threads and the word for floating are the poem's softness.
有情芍药含春泪，无力蔷薇卧晓枝
The tender peony, full of feeling, holds spring's tears; the listless rose lies along the branch at dawn.
有情芍药含春泪，无力蔷薇卧晓枝。
The affectionate peonies hold spring tears; the frail roses lie along the morning branches.
此二句是全诗写雨后花的核心，以有情芍药含春泪写含春泪，以无力蔷薇卧晓枝写卧晓枝，写尽无力蔷薇的卧晓枝，是千古名句。「有情芍药含春泪」写有情芍药含春泪——那「有情芍药」写有情芍药，「含春泪」写含春泪，写尽有情芍药的含春泪；「无力蔷薇卧晓枝」写无力蔷薇卧晓枝——那「无力蔷薇」写无力蔷薇，「卧晓枝」写卧晓枝，写尽无力蔷薇的卧晓枝。这句的深意在于：它以「有情芍药含春泪」的含春泪与「无力蔷薇卧晓枝」的卧晓枝，写尽无力蔷薇的卧晓枝——有情芍药含春泪，那「有情芍药含春泪」写尽有情芍药的含春泪——有情芍药含春泪，正是芍药含泪的写照，那「含春泪」写尽无力蔷薇的卧晓枝；无力蔷薇卧晓枝，那「无力蔷薇卧晓枝」写尽无力蔷薇的卧晓枝——无力蔷薇卧晓枝，正是蔷薇卧枝的写照，那「卧晓枝」写尽无力蔷薇的卧晓枝；那「有情芍药含春泪」写尽有情芍药的含春泪，那「无力蔷薇卧晓枝」写尽无力蔷薇的卧晓枝，一写含春泪，一写卧晓枝，写尽无力蔷薇的卧晓枝——芍药含泪而蔷薇卧枝，正是雨后的写照；此二句以含春泪、卧晓枝写尽无力蔷薇的卧晓枝，也让此二句成为全诗写雨后花的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「有情的芍药含着春泪，无力的蔷薇卧在晓枝」，则失其婉丽；唯以「有情芍药含春泪」写含春泪、「无力蔷薇卧晓枝」写卧晓枝，写尽无力蔷薇的卧晓枝，也让此二句成为全诗写雨后花的核心。
The famous couplet humanizes the rain-washed flowers. The affectionate peonies hold spring tears—dew on their petals read as weeping, and the personification begins with the word feeling: the flowers are tender, so they grieve. The frail roses lie along the morning branches—after the rain, their stems too weak to stand, they lean on the twigs. The two postures, a flower holding up its tears and another lying down, are the poem's whole mood: fragile, a little exhausted, exquisitely alive. Later critics half-judge this as the voice of a young, refined poet; that very delicacy is its charm. To have said the flowers were wet with rain would be botanical; the tears and the lying-down are the feeling.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Du Fu's 'Joyful Rain on a Spring Night' ('Good rain knows the season; in spring it comes forth') writes spring rain, a famous piece. This 'A Spring Day' writes spring rain through 'the feeling peony holds spring's tears.' Both on spring rain: one 'follows the wind, steals into the night, silently moistens' on a joyful spring night, one 'the powerless rose lies along the branch' on a spring day; one a rainy night, one after rain. Read together, they show two realms of the spring-rain poem.
杜甫《春夜喜雨》「好雨知时节，当春乃发生」写春雨，是杜甫的名篇。此诗《春日》则「有情芍药含春泪」写春雨。同写春雨，一写「随风潜入夜，润物细无声」的春夜喜雨，一写「无力蔷薇卧晓枝」的春日；一写雨夜，一写雨后。两诗对读，可见春雨诗的两种境界。
早春呈水部张十八员外 Early Spring, Sent to Secretary Zhang, the Eighteenth of the Water Bureau 韩愈 · 同写春色工致，一天街小雨润如酥一霁光浮瓦碧参差 Both write spring with fine precision—one 'the heavenly street's fine rain, moist as butter,' one 'the cleared light floats on the tiles.'Han Yu's 'Early Spring' ('The heavenly street's fine rain is moist as butter; the grass hue seen from afar, yet none up close') writes spring scenery, a famous piece. This 'A Spring Day' writes spring through 'the cleared light floats on the tiles.' Both write spring with fine precision: one 'far surpasses the misty willows filling the royal capital' in early spring, one 'the powerless rose lies along the branch' in a spring day; one early spring's sparseness, one after-rain's lushness. Read together, they show two styles of the spring-scenery poem.
韩愈《早春呈水部张十八员外》「天街小雨润如酥，草色遥看近却无」写春色，是韩愈的名篇。此诗《春日》则「霁光浮瓦碧参差」写春色。同写春色工致，一写「绝胜烟柳满皇都」的早春，一写「无力蔷薇卧晓枝」的春日；一写早春之疏淡，一写雨后之秾丽。两诗对读，可见春色诗的两种风格。