清 Qing · 诗 Poem
别老母
Farewell to My Aged Mother
搴帷拜母河梁去，白发愁看泪眼枯。
惨惨柴门风雪夜，此时有子不如无。
Her white hair, her worried look, her tears have run dry.
On this bleak snowy night at the wicker gate,
Having a son like me is worse than having none.
Meaning
The poet lifts the curtain to kneel and bid farewell to his mother, setting out on a journey. He sees her white hair and exhausted tears, and is filled with sorrow. On a cold, snowy night at the humble wicker gate, he feels that having a son who cannot care for her is worse than having no son at all.
掀开帘帷拜别老母，从河梁那头离去，望着母亲白发与枯涸的泪眼，满心愁苦。在那凄惨的柴门风雪之夜，想到自己此去，母亲孤苦无依，真觉做儿子的竟不如没有还好。
Appreciation
This poem captures the piercing pain of a poor scholar leaving his mother in a snowstorm to seek a living. The first two lines depict the farewell and the mother's sorrowful appearance. The final line, a devastating reversal of conventional wisdom, expresses the son's guilt and helplessness. The language is simple yet profoundly moving, making it a masterpiece of Qing dynasty family poetry.
【白话串讲】 “搴帷拜母河梁去，白发愁看泪眼枯”——黄景仁要远行，掀开帘子拜别母亲：母亲的白发，泪眼已枯。“惨惨柴门风雪夜，此时有子不如无”——风雪夜柴门告别，他痛心：儿子养到这么大，有什么用？不如没有。清代最催泪的别母诗。 【意象与手法】 全诗仅二十八字而字字血泪。首句'搴帷拜母河梁去'以动作起笔，'河梁'暗用李陵'携手上河梁'之别，点远行 【情感与主旨】 黄景仁（1749—1783），字仲则，江苏武进人，清代诗人，一生贫病交加、飘零失意 【名句点睛】 本诗为清代亲情诗名篇。考点：一、'白发愁看泪眼枯'的白描手法与母亲形象；二、'惨惨柴门风雪夜'的环境烘托作用
Background
Huang Jingren (1749–1783), courtesy name Zhongze, was a Qing poet from Wujin, Jiangsu. He lived a life of poverty and illness, constantly traveling to make a living. This poem was written when he left his mother on a snowy night to seek work. Orphaned young and devoted to his mother, he was unable to support her, and the line 'having a son is worse than having none' encapsulates the eternal sorrow of a poor son's inability to care for his parent. It is a representative work of his 'sounds of a flourishing age.'
《别老母》为清代黄景仁所作，是写辞母远行、别母之痛的诗。黄景仁（1749—1783），字汉镛，号鹿菲子，武进人，清代诗人。此诗：搴帷拜母河梁去，白发愁看泪眼枯。惨惨柴门风雪夜，此时有子不如无。全诗写辞母远行、别母之痛，是黄景仁诗的名篇。
Art
The poem uses plain language to express deep emotion. The first line opens with the action of lifting the curtain and bowing; 'river bridge' alludes to parting. The second line focuses on the mother's white hair and dried tears. The third line paints the harsh environment with 'bleak wicker gate snowy night.' The final line is a shocking reversal, pouring out the son's heart-wrenching pain. The style resembles Meng Jiao but is more sorrowful.
《别老母》艺术上以别母之痛的深挚与白发柴门的凄惨见长。全诗四句：首写搴帷拜母——“搴帷拜母河梁去”写搴帷拜母、河梁去；中写白发泪眼——“白发愁看泪眼枯”写白发愁看、泪眼枯；末写柴门风雪——“惨惨柴门风雪夜，此时有子不如无”写惨惨柴门风雪夜、有子不如无。全诗以别母之痛写孝思之深，正是黄景仁诗深挚的笔法。
Allusions
The phrase 'river bridge' (河梁) alludes to the parting of Su Wu and Li Ling, who said 'Hand in hand on the river bridge, where does the wanderer go tonight?' It subtly indicates a long journey. 'White hair' and 'dried tears' are traditional images of longing. The line 'having a son is worse than having none' reverses the common saying 'raise a son to support you in old age' from the Classic of Poetry, expressing the deepest regret of a poor scholar who cannot care for his mother.
《别老母》用典在“河梁”。“河梁”用李陵《与苏武诗》“携手上河梁，游子暮何之”之意写离别之地。全诗以这些意象写别母之痛，用典自然而深挚自见，正是黄景仁诗的笔法。
Commentary
Huang Jingren's poetry is known for its sorrowful tone and is considered the best of the Qianlong era. This poem is often compared to Meng Jiao's 'Thread in the hands of a loving mother.' Critics say every word comes from the heart. Modern writer Yu Dafu greatly admired this line, saying it 'writes the pain of all poor scholars.' It is a masterpiece of Qing family poetry.
《别老母》是黄景仁诗的名篇，也是清诗中写别母之痛的代表作。此诗写辞母远行、别母之痛，向为论者称道。论者多赏其别母之痛的深挚与白发柴门的凄惨——“搴帷拜母河梁去”用河梁之典写搴帷拜母，深挚之极；“白发愁看泪眼枯”写白发愁看、泪眼枯，更见其痛；“惨惨柴门风雪夜，此时有子不如无”写柴门风雪、有子不如无，尤见其惨。黄景仁一生贫苦，其诗以凄苦深挚著称，此诗正是其代表——以别母之痛写孝思之深，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
搴帷拜母河梁去，白发愁看泪眼枯。
I lift the curtain to take leave of my mother, going my way to the river bridge; gazing at her white hair, my eyes run dry with grief.
搴帷拜母河梁去，白发愁看泪眼枯。
I lift the curtain and bow to my mother, setting out on the long road; gazing at her white hair, my tear-worn eyes are spent.
首写搴帷拜母、白发泪枯，是全诗写别母之痛的起点。“搴帷拜母河梁去”用河梁之典写搴帷拜母——“搴帷拜母河梁去”用李陵河梁之典写搴帷拜母、辞别而去——搴帷拜母河梁去；“白发愁看泪眼枯”写白发泪枯——“白发愁看泪眼枯”写白发老母愁看、泪眼已枯——白发愁看泪眼枯。二句写搴帷拜母、白发泪枯：搴帷拜母河梁去，白发愁看泪眼枯。以“搴帷拜母河梁去”用河梁之典写搴帷拜母、辞亲远行，以“白发愁看泪眼枯”写白发老母愁看、泪眼已枯，正是黄景仁诗写别母之痛的起点——拜母辞行，白发泪枯。
The opening writes lifting the curtain to take leave of his mother and the dried-up tears, the starting point of the poem's pain of parting. I lift the curtain to take leave of my mother, going my way to the river bridge uses the allusion to Li Ling's river-bridge farewell: the son lifts the curtain, bows to his mother, and departs on the long road. Gazing at her white hair, my eyes run dry with grief writes the white-haired mother gazing, her tears exhausted. The two lines: curtain, mother, river bridge; white hair, dry eyes. Taking leave and departing in the river-bridge allusion, and the white-haired mother's spent tears, are the starting point of Huang Jingren's pain of parting from his mother: the bow before departure, the white hair and the dry weeping.
惨惨柴门风雪夜，此时有子不如无。
Bleak, bleak the thorn gate on this night of wind and snow; at such a time, to have a son is worse than to have none.
惨惨柴门风雪夜，此时有子不如无。
Bleak is the thorn gate in this night of wind and snow; at such a time, to have a son is worse than having none.
末写惨惨柴门风雪夜、有子不如无，是全诗写别母之痛的归结。“惨惨柴门风雪夜”写惨惨柴门风雪夜——“惨惨柴门风雪夜”写惨惨的柴门、风雪之夜——惨惨柴门风雪夜；“此时有子不如无”写有子不如无——“此时有子不如无”写此时有子反不如无——此时有子不如无。二句写惨惨柴门风雪夜、有子不如无：惨惨柴门风雪夜，此时有子不如无。以“惨惨柴门风雪夜”写惨惨柴门、风雪之夜之寒，以“此时有子不如无”写有子而不能奉养、反不如无之痛，正是黄景仁诗写别母之痛的归结——风雪别母，有子不如无。
The close writes the bleak thorn gate in the wind-snow night and to have a son is worse than none, the conclusion of the pain of parting. Bleak, bleak the thorn gate on this night of wind and snow writes the wretched thorn gate and the snowy night. At such a time, to have a son is worse than to have none writes the bitter truth that a son who cannot nourish his mother is worse than no son at all. The two lines: the thorn gate in the storm, and the son who is worse than none. The bitter cold of the wind-snow night and the grief of having a son who cannot care for his mother are the conclusion of the poem: parting in the storm, and a son worse than none.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
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