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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

柳州二月榕叶落尽偶题

Casual Lines: At Liuzhou in the Second Month the Banyan Leaves Have All Fallen

柳宗元

Liu Zongyuan

迁谪Exile and banishment 写景Scene writing

宦情羁思共凄凄，春半如秋意转迷。
山城过雨百花尽，榕叶满庭莺乱啼。

The feeling of office and the thoughts of exile are both equally drear,
and mid-spring already like autumn, the mind turns bewildered.
After the rain has passed over the mountain city, a hundred flowers are gone,
and banyan leaves fill the courtyard, and orioles cry in confusion.

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Meaning

Liu Zongyuan, banished to Liuzhou in the far south, finds that the second month — mid-spring — has already turned his mind to autumn. The rain that haspassed over the mountain city has stripped a hundred flowers, and banyan leaves now lie thick in the courtyard while orioles cry unsettled among them. The scene is not beautiful for its own sake: the fallen blooms and the disordered birds are the poet's own derangement of feeling, produced by a combination of official disappointed and exile far from home.

宦情羁思共凄凄，春半如秋意转迷。山城过雨百花尽，榕叶满庭莺乱啼。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The first couplet states the mood before the scene: the longing that office arouses and the thoughts that banishment force are both equally drear, and the middle of spring has turned the poet's mind to autumn and left it bewildered. The second couplet gives the scene that follows from this mind — rain passing over the mountain city, a hundred blossoms gone, banyan leaves filling the courtyard, and orioles crying in disorder. [Structure] Mood first, then scene, and the scene is the mood made visible. The two couplets are almost equal in length but unequal in weight: the first is entirely inward, the second entirely outward, and the whole poem is the passage from one to the other. [Imagery] 'Equally drear' is the key: the poet has two sorrows and cannot prefer either. 'Mid-spring like autumn' is his personal disorder of the seasons. The rain that 'passes over' the city is not refreshing but stripping; 'a hundred flowers are gone' is the general ruin of spring; and 'banyan leaves fill the courtyard' makes the fallen southern leaves into the poet's own scattered state, since the banyan is the tree of the exiled south. The orioles crying in confusion close the picture and carry the tone of unrest. The poem is short, quiet, and absolutely certain in its effect: the scene is all the explanation the reader needs.

【白话串讲】柳宗元写《柳州二月榕叶落尽偶题》：“宦情羁思共凄凄，春半如秋意转迷”——“山城过雨百花尽，榕叶满庭莺乱啼”——柳州的二月，榕树却落叶如秋——他写贬谪中的凄凉。【意象与手法】此诗写迁谪，以羁思写迁谪，是柳宗元的名篇。前二句写羁思：「宦情羁思共凄凄，春半如秋意转迷」写宦情羁思共凄凄、春半如秋意转迷——写尽迁谪的凄迷；后二句写春景：「山城过雨百花尽，榕叶满庭莺乱啼」写山城过雨百花尽、榕叶满庭莺乱啼——写尽柳州的花落。全诗以羁思写迁谪，写尽迁谪的凄迷与柳州的花落，是柳宗元的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写迁谪，以羁思写迁谪，是柳宗元的名篇。此诗写柳宗元贬居柳州时，春二月见榕叶落尽而生宦情羁思。柳宗元因永贞革新失败被贬永州十年，又改贬柳州，春日见山城过雨、百花落尽、榕叶满庭，而二月如秋，遂作此诗。此诗写羁思：宦情羁思共凄凄，春半如秋意转迷——写宦情羁思共凄凄、春半如秋意转迷，写尽迁谪的凄迷；山城过雨百花尽，榕叶满庭莺乱啼——写出城过雨百花尽、榕叶满庭莺乱啼，写尽柳州的花落。全诗以羁思写迁谪——那「春半如秋意转迷」写尽迁谪的凄迷，「榕叶满庭莺乱啼」写尽柳州的花落，写尽迁谪的凄迷与柳州的花落，是理解柳宗元迁谪诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「宦情羁思共凄凄，春半如秋意转迷」写迁谪的凄迷；「山城过雨百花尽，榕叶满庭莺乱啼」写柳州的花落；以及全诗以羁思写迁谪、以景写愁的手法。

Background

Liu Zongyuan (773–819), courtesy name Zihou, from Hedong, was banished in 815 to Liuzhou, in modern Guangxi, a remote southern prefecture, where he died in 819. This quatrain belongs to his Liuzhou poems and is one of the few in which he writes the southern scene directly. The banyan is a tree of the far south; that it should shed its leaves in the second month, when the north is just coming into flower, was to a Tang reader of the north a marvel and a portent. The poem sets that marvel beside the poet's two equal sorrows — the ambition of an official and the separation of an exiled man.

此诗写迁谪，以羁思写迁谪，是柳宗元的名篇。柳宗元（773—819），字子厚，河东（今山西运城）人，唐代文学家、哲学家，唐宋八大家之一，与韩愈并称「韩柳」。此诗写柳宗元贬居柳州时，春二月见榕叶落尽而生宦情羁思。柳宗元因永贞革新失败被贬永州十年，又改贬柳州，春日见山城过雨、百花落尽、榕叶满庭，而二月如秋，遂作此诗。此诗写羁思：「宦情羁思共凄凄，春半如秋意转迷」写宦情羁思共凄凄、春半如秋意转迷——写尽迁谪的凄迷（宦情羁思共凄凄，春半如秋意转迷）；「山城过雨百花尽，榕叶满庭莺乱啼」写出城过雨百花尽、榕叶满庭莺乱啼——写尽柳州的花落（山城过雨百花尽，榕叶满庭莺乱啼）。全诗以羁思写迁谪，写尽迁谪的凄迷与柳州的花落，是理解柳宗元迁谪诗的重要篇章。柳宗元于元和十年（815）三月再贬为柳州刺史，时年四十三岁。柳州地处岭南，气候湿热，二月即见榕树落叶纷飞，与中原「二月春风似剪刀」的景象迥异。柳宗元以北方士人而贬此瘴疠之地，见春半如秋的异景，更添「宦情羁思」。其《登柳州城楼寄漳汀封连四州》写「惊风乱飐芙蓉水」，与此诗同为贬柳之作。

Art

Four techniques. First, the mood put first: the poem opens with the poet's two sorrows named before any scenery, so every later image is read as their result. Second, the single memorable judgement, 'mid-spring already like autumn', which turns a date into a symptom and makes the whole poem a record of an unseasonable mind. Third, the scene of the last couplet, in which the rain 'passing over' the mountain city is the active agent of loss — 'a hundred flowers are gone' — and the fallen banyan leaves 'fill the courtyard', so that the ground itself is covered by what has been abandoned. Fourth, the orioles 'crying in confusion', which converts birdsong from a pleasure into a disturbance. The formal means are those of the seven-character quatrain, whose four short lines are enough because the scene is not described for its own sake: it is the mind's weather, and nothing needs to be added.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以直抒写羁思。「宦情羁思共凄凄」以直抒写羁思——那「共凄凄」写尽宦情羁思的凄凄，以直抒写尽迁谪的凄迷。其二，以错觉写春愁。「春半如秋意转迷」以错觉写春愁——那「如秋」写尽春半如秋的错觉，以错觉写尽迁谪的凄迷。其三，以景写花落。「山城过雨百花尽」以景写花落——那「过雨」「百花尽」写尽雨打花落，以景写尽柳州的花落。其四，以声写愁绪。「榕叶满庭莺乱啼」以声写愁绪——那「莺乱啼」写尽莺啼的杂乱，以声写尽迁谪的愁绪。此外，此诗前二句写迁谪的凄迷，后二句写柳州的花落，由情及景，正是迁谪诗「即景抒情」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以羁思写迁谪，写尽迁谪的凄迷与柳州的花落，是柳宗元的代表作。此诗还善于以「春半如秋」四字写节候的错觉——那「春半如秋意转迷」写春半而如秋，正是以错觉写迁谪的凄迷，一个「如」字写尽时序的错乱，也暗写心境的悲凉。又善以「百花尽」「满庭」的对比写落花之多——「山城过雨百花尽」写百花尽，「榕叶满庭」写满庭，一写花尽，一写叶满，正是以多写愁的深致。

Allusions

The poem leans on the codes of exile poetry. 'The feeling of office' is the ambition of a man with office; 'the thoughts of exile' the long memory of home; and the line that both are 'equally drear' echoes the habit of the regulated verse of putting both in one balance. 'Mid-spring like autumn' continues the classical practice of calling a season by its opposite to register a disordered heart — the same device that makes Tang poems speak of spring as a place of mourning. 'Mountain city' is Liuzhou itself, walled among hills. 'A hundred flowers' is the common measure of a whole season's bloom. 'Banyan' is the southern tree, unfamiliar and unseasonal in the north, and in Liuzhou's climate it sheds in the second month; since the banyan could not have been expected to fall then, the falling becomes a sign. 'Orioles crying in confusion' borrows the bird of the wandering oriole in Li Shangyin, whose cries are likewise a disquiet rather than a joy.

此诗的用语深植于迁谪与羁思的传统。「宦情」令人想到「宦情」写仕宦之情的意象——也令人想到「宦情羁思共凄凄」的名句；「羁思」令人想到「羁思」写羁旅之思的意象——也令人想到「独在异乡为异客」（王维）的意象；「春半如秋」令人想到「春半如秋」写春愁的意象——也令人想到「感时花溅泪」（杜甫）的意象；「山城」令人想到「山城」写山城的意象——柳州为南方山城，也令人想到「山城过雨百花尽」的意象；「榕叶」令人想到「榕叶」写榕树的意象——榕树为岭南树种，也令人想到「榕树垂阴」的意象；「莺乱啼」令人想到「莺乱啼」写莺啼的意象——也令人想到「自在娇莺恰恰啼」（杜甫）的意象。全诗化用宦情、羁思、春半如秋、榕叶、莺乱啼的意象，以羁思写迁谪，正是柳宗元「清峭」而善写愁、承迁谪传统写羁思的本领。「莺乱啼」令人想到杜甫《江畔独步寻花》「自在娇莺恰恰啼」的莺啼，一写春之娇美，一写春之烦乱；又令人想到「间关莺语花底滑」的乐声。柳宗元以「乱啼」写莺声，正见其闻莺而心烦的迁谪心绪。又「春半如秋」令人想到杜牧《赤壁》「折戟沉沙铁未销」的兴亡之叹，也令人想到「感时花溅泪」的春愁传统。

Commentary

The poem is counted one of the best of Liu Zongyuan's Liuzhou quatrains and among the finest of short Tang poems in which a scene carries a mood without explanation. Later critics praised its cold clarity and its economy; modern readers single out 'mid-spring already like autumn' and the last line, with its orioles crying in disorder, as the couplet that makes the whole. Its special place is that four lines hold both an official's disappointed ambition and an exiled man's homesickness, and then give them in a southern courtyard full of leaves. It stands beside the poet's own 'Climbing the Tower at Liuzhou to Send Word to Zhang, Ting, Feng and Lian, the Four Prefectures', which has the same southern rain and the same sea-and-mountain sorrow on a larger scale, and beside Du Fu's 'Spring View', where a broken country produces the same disorder in flowers and birds.

此诗历来被推为柳宗元迁谪诗的名篇，也是唐人写春愁的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以羁思写迁谪，凄清峭拔」；近人更指出「春半如秋意转迷」写迁谪的凄迷，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以四句的绝句写尽迁谪的凄迷与柳州的花落——那宦情，那羁思，那凄凄，那春半，那秋意，那山城，那过雨，那百花，那榕叶，那满庭，那莺乱啼，都写尽了柳宗元笔下的柳州二月；那「榕叶满庭莺乱啼」更以声写尽迁谪的愁绪。此诗与柳宗元《登柳州城楼寄漳汀封连四州》（「城上高楼接大荒」）同为柳州名篇，一写「海天愁思正茫茫」的登楼（登柳州城楼），一写「春半如秋意转迷」的偶题（柳州二月）；又与杜甫《春望》「感时花溅泪」的春愁传统一脉相承，可见中国诗写春愁的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解柳宗元迁谪诗的窗口，也是中国诗写春愁的经典——那满庭的榕叶，穿越千年，仍在诉说着羁旅的凄迷。

Prosody

Form A seven-character quatrain (qiyan jueju)诗·七言绝句

Rhyme A seven-character jueju rhyming on mi (bewildered) and ti (crying), the 'Qi' rhyme of the upper rising tone; one rhyme carried to the end, the cadence cold and clear.七绝，押「迷」「啼」韵（上平八齐），一韵到底，音节凄清

Tone pattern A seven-character jueju in level tone, one rhyme through, the cadence cold and clear — in keeping with the poem's chill and economy.此诗为七言绝句，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节凄清，正合羁思的凄清。

Reading note Four lines: 'The feeling of office and the thoughts of exile are both equally drear, and mid-spring already like autumn, the mind turns bewildered. After the rain has passed over the mountain city, a hundred flowers are gone, and banyan leaves fill the courtyard, and orioles cry in confusion.' It rhymes in the Qi rhyme (mi, ti) and holds one rhyme to the end, the sound cold and thin. A short piece: the first half writes the inward mood, the second the courtyard after rain, and 'orioles cry in confusion' carries the whole unrest. Read the opening evenly, the third line with the rain passing over, and the last line dropped and clear. Liu Zongyuan's quatrains are praised for a cold sharpness, and this is one of them at its best.此诗为七言绝句，四句——「宦情羁思共凄凄，春半如秋意转迷。山城过雨百花尽，榕叶满庭莺乱啼」，押「齐」韵（迷、啼），一韵到底，音节凄清。全诗以羁思写迁谪：前二句写迁谪的凄迷（宦情羁思共凄凄、春半如秋意转迷），后二句写柳州的花落（山城过雨百花尽、榕叶满庭莺乱啼）。四句短章，前写凄迷，后写花落，以「榕叶满庭莺乱啼」写尽柳州的花落，正见柳宗元「清峭」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以凄清的语调读「春半如秋意转迷」的凄迷，以低回的语调读「榕叶满庭莺乱啼」的花落，结句要读得凄清而有余韵，方能传达出柳宗元的凄清峭拔。柳宗元绝句以「清峭」著称，此诗正是其迁谪绝句的典范。

Line by line

山城过雨百花尽，榕叶满庭莺乱啼

After the rain has passed over the mountain city, a hundred flowers are gone, and banyan leaves fill the courtyard, and orioles cry in confusion.

山城过雨百花尽，榕叶满庭莺乱啼。

After rain on the mountain town, the flowers are all gone; banyan leaves fill the court, orioles cry in confusion.

此二句是全诗写花落的核心，以山城过雨百花尽写百花，以榕叶满庭莺乱啼写榕叶，写尽柳州的花落，是千古名句。「山城过雨百花尽」写出城过雨百花尽——那「山城过雨」写出城过雨，「百花尽」写百花尽，写尽百花的落尽；「榕叶满庭莺乱啼」写榕叶满庭莺乱啼——那「榕叶满庭」写榕叶满庭，「莺乱啼」写莺乱啼，写尽榕叶的满庭。这句的深意在于：它以「山城过雨百花尽」的百花与「榕叶满庭莺乱啼」的榕叶，写尽柳州的花落——山城过雨百花尽，那「山城过雨百花尽」写尽百花的落尽——山城过雨，百花落尽，正是春残的写照，那「百花尽」写尽柳州的花落；榕叶满庭莺乱啼，那「榕叶满庭莺乱啼」写尽榕叶的满庭——榕叶满庭，莺乱啼鸣，正是二月如秋的写照，那「满庭」写尽榕叶的凋落；那「山城过雨百花尽」写尽百花的落尽，那「榕叶满庭莺乱啼」写尽榕叶的满庭，一写花，一写叶，写尽柳州的花落——百花尽而榕叶满，正是春半如秋的写照；此二句以百花、榕叶写尽柳州的花落，也让此二句成为全诗写花落的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「柳州的花都落了」，则失其画面；唯以「山城过雨百花尽」写百花、「榕叶满庭莺乱啼」写榕叶，写尽柳州的花落，也让此二句成为全诗写花落的核心。

The town. After rain on the mountain town, the flowers are all gone; banyan leaves fill the court, orioles cry in confusion. The rain that has taken all the flowers, the banyan leaves on the court, and the confused orioles are the Liu Zhou spring. To have described the post-rain court would be scenery; the mountain-town-after-rain-flowers-all-gone against the banyan-leaves-filling-the-court-orioles-crying-in-confusion is the scenery.

宦情羁思共凄凄，春半如秋意转迷

The feeling of office and the thoughts of exile are both equally drear, and mid-spring already like autumn, the mind turns bewildered.

宦情羁思共凄凄，春半如秋意转迷。

Official cares and exile's thoughts are alike desolate; halfway through spring it is like autumn, my mood turning astray.

此二句是全诗写凄迷的核心，以宦情羁思共凄凄写凄凄，以春半如秋意转迷写迷离，写尽迁谪的凄迷，是千古名句。「宦情羁思共凄凄」写宦情羁思共凄凄——那「宦情羁思」写宦情羁思，「共凄凄」写共凄凄，写尽宦情的凄凄；「春半如秋意转迷」写春半如秋意转迷——那「春半如秋」写春半如秋，「意转迷」写意转迷，写尽春半的迷离。这句的深意在于：它以「宦情羁思共凄凄」的宦情与「春半如秋意转迷」的春半，写尽迁谪的凄迷——宦情羁思共凄凄，那「宦情羁思共凄凄」写尽宦情的凄凄——宦情与羁思，共同凄凄，正是迁谪的写照，那「共凄凄」写尽迁谪的凄迷；春半如秋意转迷，那「春半如秋意转迷」写尽春半的迷离——春半如秋，意转迷离，正是春愁的写照，那「意转迷」写尽迁谪的凄迷；那「宦情羁思共凄凄」写尽宦情的凄凄，那「春半如秋意转迷」写尽春半的迷离，一写宦情，一写春半，写尽迁谪的凄迷——宦情羁思而春半如秋，正是迁谪的凄迷；此二句以宦情、春半写尽迁谪的凄迷，也为后二句的花落作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写凄迷的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我很忧郁」，则失其深婉；唯以「宦情羁思共凄凄」写宦情、「春半如秋意转迷」写春半，写尽迁谪的凄迷，也让此二句成为全诗写凄迷的核心。

The mood. Official cares and exile's thoughts are alike desolate; halfway through spring it is like autumn, my mood turning astray. The official cares and exile thoughts, equally desolate, and the spring-half-like-autumn are the mood. To have described the desolation would be a mood; the official-cares-and-exile-thoughts-alike-desolate against the halfway-through-spring-like-autumn-mood-turning-astray is the mood.

Study

Word focus

凄凄 In 'The feeling of office and the thoughts of exile are both equally drear', qiqi means cold and miserable, the cold of sadness rather than of weather. It is the key word of the opening line: it is applied equally to the longing for office and the thoughts of banishment, so that the poet's two sorrows are weighed in one scale, and the whole poem's chill comes from the two being equal. 「宦情羁思共凄凄」之「凄凄」是写羁思的关键词，一个「凄凄」写尽迁谪的凄迷。凄凄者，凄清、悲凉也。柳宗元以「宦情羁思共凄凄」写羁思，这个「凄凄」至少有双重意味：其一，写情之凄——那「宦情羁思共凄凄」写宦情羁思共凄凄，那「凄凄」写尽宦情的凄清——宦情与羁思，共同凄凄，正是迁谪的写照，那「凄凄」写尽迁谪的凄迷；其二，写意之迷——那「凄凄」更是写迷——凄凄，正见意绪之迷离，那「凄凄」写尽迁谪的愁绪。以「凄凄」写羁思，正是柳宗元写迁谪的枢纽——若换作「戚戚」「惨惨」等词，则或失其与「宦情羁思」「共」的配合，或失其写凄凄的意味；唯「凄凄」二字，以宦情羁思共凄凄写尽宦情的凄清与意绪的迷离，与「春半如秋意转迷」的转迷相合，写尽迁谪的凄迷，也让「宦情羁思共凄凄」成为全诗写羁思的名句。

迷 In 'mid-spring already like autumn, the mind turns bewildered', mi means bewildered, lost, as in a fog. It is the key word of the second line: the season has not really turned to autumn, and the poet knows it; yet his mind has turned, and this one word is what licenses everything that follows — the rain, the gone flowers, the fallen leaves and the confused birds are all perceived by a mind that has lost its bearing. 「春半如秋意转迷」之「迷」字是写凄迷的关键词，一个「迷」字写尽意绪的迷离。迷者，迷离、迷茫也。柳宗元以「春半如秋意转迷」写凄迷，这个「迷」字至少有双重意味：其一，写意之迷——那「春半如秋意转迷」写春半如秋意转迷，那「迷」字写尽意绪的迷离——春半如秋，意转迷离，正是春愁的写照，那「迷」字写尽迁谪的凄迷；其二，写境之迷——那「迷」字更是写境——迷，正见境遇的迷茫，那「迷」字写尽迁谪的愁绪。以「迷」字写凄迷，正是柳宗元写迁谪的枢纽——若换作「乱」「茫」等字，则或失其与「春半如秋」「意转」的配合，或失其写迷的意味；唯「迷」字，以春半如秋意转迷写尽意绪的迷离与境遇的迷茫，与「宦情羁思共凄凄」的凄凄相合，写尽迁谪的凄迷，也让「春半如秋意转迷」成为全诗写凄迷的名句。