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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

梅花

Plum Blossoms

王安石

Wang Anshi

咏物Object Chanting 品格Moral Integrity 哲理Philosophy 言志Theme

墙角数枝梅，凌寒独自开。
遥知不是雪，为有暗香来。

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Meaning

In a corner, several plum branches bloom alone against the cold. From afar, one knows they are not snow, for a faint fragrance approaches.

墙角里有几枝梅花，冒着严寒独自开放。远远望去知道那不是雪，因为有一阵阵幽幽的清香飘送过来。

Appreciation

This concise poem uses the image of plum blossoms braving the cold to symbolize noble character. The contrast with snow and the subtle fragrance create a vivid, layered picture.

【白话串讲】 “墙角数枝梅，凌寒独自开”——王安石写墙角梅花：远远看去像雪，却有暗香传来。他是借着梅花，写自己在变法风波中的孤高。【意象与手法】此诗二十字，白描与推理结合，浑然天成。前两句「墙角数枝梅，凌寒独自开」以白描设点布景：墙角见其幽僻，数枝见其清瘦，凌寒见其耐寒，独自见其孤高，四层意脉层层递进，已具人格象征。后两句「遥知不是雪，为有暗香来」由视觉转向嗅觉，以「遥知」「为有」构成因果推理——远望白色疑似雪，因暗香飘来而断定为梅，以雪衬白、以香辨梅，不着一字议论而品格自见。全诗以小见大，托物言志，语言浅近而意蕴深永，是咏物诗「不即不离」的典范。【情感与主旨】此诗约作于王安石推行新法前后（一说早年，一说罢相闲居钟山时）。王安石为北宋杰出的政治家、文学家，力主变法图强，却屡遭保守派攻讦，处境孤危。诗人以墙角孤梅自况：生于墙角而凌寒独放，远观似雪而暗香自送，正喻其虽处困境、孤立无援，仍坚守变法理想、不媚时俗的孤高品格。梅之「独自开」即荆公之「独行其是」，梅之「暗香」即其操守之清芬，咏物之中自有改革家的精神风骨，是一首以物写志的千古小品。【名句点睛】常考「遥知不是雪，为有暗香来」的推理式构思与以香辨梅的侧面烘托手法；「凌寒独自开」中「凌」「独自」二词所寓的孤高品格；以及全诗托物言志、以雪衬梅的艺术匠心。

Background

Written around the time of Wang Anshi's political reforms (circa 1069–1085), the poem reflects his steadfastness amid opposition. The solitary plum in a corner mirrors the poet's isolated yet resolute stance as a reformer.

王安石（1021—1086），字介甫，号半山，抚州临川（今江西抚州）人，北宋政治家、文学家、思想家，唐宋八大家之一。庆历二年（1042）进士，神宗熙宁年间两度拜相，主持变法，史称王安石变法，因触动既得利益而遭司马光、苏轼等保守派激烈反对，晚年罢相退居江宁（今南京）钟山，封荆国公。此诗作年有二说：一说作于其早年出仕之前，以梅自励；一说作于罢相闲居钟山时期，其时变法已败、新党尽斥，诗人于钟山半山园内手植梅花，以「墙角数枝梅」自况。就诗境而言，「墙角」「独自」之幽微孤峭，与晚年失势后的处境更为契合。王安石为人刚毅执拗，时称「拗相公」，其诗亦如其人，长于说理、精于炼意，晚年诗风雅丽精绝，世称「荆公体」。此诗以二十字写尽梅之孤高与香之清远，正是其「看似寻常最奇崛，成如容易却艰辛」诗学主张的绝佳注脚，亦折射出改革家身处逆境而不改其志的品格。全诗不涉新法之具体事由，而纯以梅花立象，正见中国士人借咏物以言志的传统写法。后世将其置于王安石罢相后的心境中解读，更觉字字皆有来历。

Art

The poem is a twenty-character gem. The first two lines set a scene with stark simplicity: 'corner' suggests seclusion, 'cold' highlights endurance, 'alone' underscores independence. The last two lines employ a question-like structure: visual doubt (snow) resolved by olfactory evidence (fragrance), blending senses without overt moralizing.

此诗艺术之妙，在以推理代描写、以侧写代直写。全诗二十字，可分两层：前两句白描，后两句推理。首句「墙角数枝梅」以「墙角」定点，暗示其生于偏僻、不为人知；「数枝」写其清瘦疏落，不事繁盛。次句「凌寒独自开」以「凌寒」写其不惧风雪，「独自」写其孤芳无伴，「凌」「独」二字已将梅花人格化，暗喻君子之守。后两句「遥知不是雪，为有暗香来」是全诗机杼所在：诗人先设「疑似雪」之疑，再以「暗香来」解疑，由远望的视觉之白，转入近闻的嗅觉之香，一疑一解之间，雪与梅的界限被精确划出——白是表象，香是本质，以此喻人，则外表的清冷孤峭不足论，内在的操守芬芳才是真品格。这种设疑解疑的推理式结构，在咏物诗中别开生面，比直写梅花更见巧思；而以「暗」字写香，香在有无之间、不事张扬，正合君子「不求人知」之德。全诗语言浅近如话，却层层转折、步步深进，小中见大，是「荆公体」精炼浑成的代表。

Allusions

Plum blossoms have been a symbol of purity since ancient times. Wang's '凌寒' echoes earlier poets like Bao Zhao and Yu Xin. The term '暗香' (subtle fragrance) was later made famous by Lin Bu, but Wang uses it here to distinguish plum from snow, adding originality to the tradition of plum poetry.

咏梅传统源远流长，自南朝陆凯《赠范晔》「折梅逢驿使，寄与陇头人」始，梅花便与怀人、传信相连；何逊《扬州法曹梅花盛开》以「衔霜当路发，映雪拟寒开」写梅之凌寒，杜甫、韩愈皆有所承。至北宋林逋隐居孤山，以「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」写梅之清绝，梅花遂成隐逸高洁的象征，咏梅之风大盛。王安石此诗「凌寒独自开」直承何逊、鲍照以来「凌寒」咏梅之意脉——鲍照《梅花落》已有「中庭杂树多，偏为梅咨嗟」之叹，写梅不畏霜雪；「暗香」一词则与林逋「暗香浮动」同出而别出新境：林逋以「暗香」写月下梅香之缥缈，王安石以「暗香来」辨雪梅之异，将香作为梅的身份标志，化用前人而自出新意。此外，以梅喻士大夫之孤高，遥承屈原《离骚》「香草美人」的比兴传统，梅之凌寒与君子之守节相映，遂成中国士人精神世界的核心意象之一。王诗以二十字融摄千年咏梅传统，取精用弘，正见其熔铸古人、自成一家的手眼。

Commentary

This poem is a classic for beginners. Critics praise its unadorned language yet powerful character. It stands alongside Lin Bu's elegant 'sparse shadows' and Lu You's tragic 'fallen petals', but Wang's plum uniquely embodies the courage to stand alone, reflecting his political will.

此诗向为童蒙必诵、咏梅必举之作。其妙处历来论者多有阐发：近人评其「不事雕琢，而风骨自见」，点出白描与言志的浑然；又有「二十字中具一完人」之评，谓其写梅即写人。与咏梅诸名作并观，其品格之别尤显：林逋「疏影横斜」以清雅胜，写隐者之淡；陆游《卜算子·咏梅》「零落成泥碾作尘，只有香如故」以悲慨胜，写志士之贞；王诗「凌寒独自开」独以孤往之勇胜，写改革者之坚——不畏孤立、不求闻达、不改其志，恰如其推行新法时「天变不足畏，祖宗不足法，人言不足恤」的气概，故后世多以「梅格即相业」论之。此诗在文学史上的价值有三：其一，以二十字完成咏物、推理、言志的三重结构，是咏物诗以少总多的典范；其二，将梅花意象由隐逸之趣拓展为进取之志，丰富了咏梅传统的精神维度；其三，语言浅近而理趣深永，兼具童蒙可诵与学者可味之两重品格，故能跨越千年而传诵不衰，与《登飞来峰》同为荆公诗中传播最广之作。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain, level tone first line without rhyme (Pingshui rhyme scheme: Ten Hui)五言绝句（平起首句不入韵）

Rhyme 开 (kāi) and 来 (lái) rhyme; 梅 (méi) does not rhyme.押平水韵上平十灰韵：开、来，梅字不押韵；全诗两句一联，一韵到底，音调轻快自然。

Tone pattern Plain language with standard tonal patterns; last two lines form a rhetorical question and answer.「墙角数枝梅」平仄仄平平，「凌寒独自开」平平仄仄平；「遥知不是雪」平平仄仄仄，「为有暗香来」仄仄仄平平，平仄基本合律，声调短促轻灵。

Reading note Object-chanting with allegory: plum symbolizes the poet's noble character and reformer's perseverance.此诗为五言绝句，平起首句不入韵，押平水韵上平十灰韵，开、来二字为韵脚，梅字虽亦属灰韵而不入韵，故为首句不入韵格。五绝体式短小精悍，二十字须有起承转合，此诗正以四句构成完整的推理链：首句起（墙角数枝梅），次句承（凌寒独自开），第三句转（遥知不是雪，设疑），末句合（为有暗香来，解疑），章法谨严而一气流转。平仄上首句「墙角数枝梅」为平仄仄平平，属平起仄收格，与「凌寒独自开」的平平仄仄平构成平仄相对；后两句「遥知不是雪，为有暗香来」中「不是雪」三仄连用，以仄声之促写设疑之顿，结句「暗香来」平声收束，以平声之缓写解疑之畅，声调与诗意相谐。全诗语言浅近如白话而平仄合律，正是「荆公体」精炼浑成、以俗为雅的具体表现。

Line by line

墙角数枝梅，凌寒独自开。

At the corner wall, a few branches of plum, braving the cold, bloom alone.

墙角里有几枝梅花，冒着严寒独自开放。

In the corner of the wall, a few plum branches, braving the bitter cold, bloom alone.

前两句白描设景，写梅之幽独。「墙角」二字点出生长环境的偏僻——不是园中显眼处，不是驿外断桥边，而是墙角一隅，无人注目，暗喻君子不慕荣显、甘于寂寞的品格；「数枝」写其疏落清瘦，不事繁盛。次句「凌寒独自开」是全诗第一层精神：「凌寒」写其不惧霜雪，于百花凋零之际傲然开放；「独自」写其无伴无援，孤芳自赏。四字两词，已将梅花人格化，从环境之幽僻写到性情之孤高，层层递进，为后文以香辨梅的推理张本。

The first two lines draw the scene in plain strokes, writing the plum's secluded singleness. The two words corner wall name the growth place's remoteness — not the garden's conspicuous spot, not the post road and broken bridge, but the corner by the wall, unnoticed, secretly figuring the gentleman's not coveting rank and the contentment with solitude; the few branches write the sparse, lean grace, no lushness. The next line braving the cold, bloom alone is the poem's first layer of spirit: braving the cold writes its fearlessness of frost and snow, blooming proudly when the hundred flowers fall; bloom alone writes the companionless, the lone fragrance enjoyed alone. Four characters and two phrases, already personifying the plum, from the environment's seclusion to the temper's loftiness, advancing layer on layer, storing ground for the below's fragrance-discerning reasoning.

遥知不是雪，

From afar I know it's not snow: visual doubt creates suspense, comparing whiteness.

远远望去知道那不是雪。

From afar I know it is not snow,

「遥知不是雪」是全诗推理式构思的第一环，以设疑制造张力。冬日梅花与雪同为白色，远观难辨，诗人却「遥知」那不是雪——「遥」字写距离之远，愈远愈难辨，愈难辨而愈「知」，先造成悬念。「不是雪」三字以否定起句，将读者的注意力引向「那究竟是什么」的疑问，而答案留待下句揭晓。这一句的妙处在于以疑写实：诗人不直接说「那是梅花」，而先说「不是雪」，欲扬先抑，使梅花之白与雪之白在对比中更见分明，也为「暗香」的出场蓄足了势。

The from afar I know it is not snow is the first link of the poem's reasoning conception, making the tension through the planted doubt. The winter plum and the snow both white, far hard to distinguish, and the poet from afar knows it is not snow — the word afar writing the distance, the farther the harder to tell, the harder to tell and yet the more known, first making the suspense. The three words not snow open in the negation, leading the reader's attention to the what-on-earth-is-it question, and the answer left for the next line. This line's beauty lies in writing the real through the doubt: the poet not saying directly it is the plum, but first saying not snow, the intended elevation through the depression, making the plum's white and the snow's white the clearer in contrast, and storing the force for the below's faint fragrance.

为有暗香来。

For a faint fragrance arrives: scent confirms identity, a subtle and clever resolution.

因为有一阵阵幽幽的清香飘送过来。

for a faint fragrance drifts over.

「为有暗香来」揭晓谜底，是全诗机杼所在。诗人断定不是雪，是因为有暗香飘来——「暗香」以「暗」字写香，香在有无之间、似有若无，不张扬、不浓烈，恰合梅花幽独的品格；「来」字写香之主动飘送，仿佛梅之品格自然流溢，不求人知而人自闻之。这一句以嗅觉补视觉之不足，由雪之疑转梅之信，推理严密而诗意盎然。更妙在以香辨梅、以香见格：雪只有白，梅则有香，白是表象，香是本质，以此喻人，则外表之清冷不足论，内在之操守方为真品格，托物言志之意于此圆满。

The for a faint fragrance drifts over reveals the answer, the poem's loom. The poet judges not snow, because the faint fragrance drifts — the faint fragrance uses the word faint for the fragrance, the fragrance between being and not being, unassertive, unstrong, precisely matching the plum's secluded character; the word come writes the fragrance's active drift, as if the plum's character naturally overflowing, not seeking to be known and yet known. This line supplements the sight through the smell, from the snow's doubt to the plum's certainty, the reasoning tight and the poetry abundant. The further wonder in discerning the plum by fragrance and seeing the character through the fragrance: the snow has only whiteness, and the plum has fragrance, the whiteness the surface, the fragrance the essence, figuring the man, the outer coldness not worth discussing, the inner integrity the true character, the borrowing-the-thing-to-speak-the-will here complete.

Study

Word focus

凌 To brave, to defy (as in 凌寒, braving the cold). 「凌寒独自开」之「凌」字，是全诗气骨所在。「凌」有凌驾、冒着二义，此处写梅之「凌寒」，既是冒着严寒，更是凌驾于严寒之上——不是被动地挨冻，而是主动地挑战，一字见出梅花傲霜斗雪的英姿。「凌」字选得极险：若用「耐」「抗」，只写出忍耐与被动的承受；用「凌」则写出居高临下的姿态，寒愈烈而梅愈挺，风雪反而成为衬托其风骨的背景。王安石以「凌」字写梅，正是以改革家直面阻力的精神注入咏物——变法之艰难正如严寒之凛冽，而志士之坚守正如梅之凌寒，故后世多以「梅格即相业」论此诗，其精神力量实自「凌」字生出。

独自 Alone, by oneself (emphasizes isolation). 「凌寒独自开」之「独自」，写梅之孤高无伴，是人格象征的关键。「独」言其孤，「自」言其主动——独自开放，不是被安排、被簇拥，而是自己选择在严寒中绽放。「独自」二字将梅花从群芳中分离出来：百花畏寒而敛藏，唯有此梅独自盛开，于寂寥中自成一景。以人论之，这正是王安石「人言不足恤」的孤往精神——变法之际，满朝非议、故旧反目，而介甫独行其是，正如墙角之梅独自凌寒。此词不写梅之形色，而直写其生存姿态，以姿态见品格，正是咏物诗不即不离、遗貌取神的高境。

暗 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「为有暗香来」之「暗」字，是全诗品格的关键词。「暗香」之「暗」，一写香之幽微——不是浓烈扑鼻，而是若有若无、须静心方闻，与「墙角」「独自」的幽僻孤峭之境相合；二写香之含蓄——不张扬、不炫耀，香自内发而不求人知，恰如君子之德，润物无声。若用「清香」「幽香」，只写出香之性质；用「暗」则写出香与环境的浑融、与品格的统一。这一字还暗合林逋「暗香浮动月黄昏」的传统，而王安石以「暗香来」辨雪梅，化鉴赏之语为推理之据，赋予「暗香」以新的功能。以一字写尽梅花之品格与君子之操守，含蓄蕴藉，正是荆公炼字的典范。

梅花