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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

梅花绝句·其二

Quatrains on the Plum Blossom, No. 2

陆游

Lu You

咏物Ode to objects (yongwu) 言志Expressing one's purpose (yanzhi)

闻道梅花坼晓风，雪堆遍满四山中。
何方可化身千亿，一树梅花一放翁。

I hear the plum blossoms split their buds in the dawn wind,
Piled like snow, they fill all the four mountains.
How can I transform my body into a thousand million selves,
That before every plum tree there stands one Fangweng?

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Meaning

Hearing that the plum trees have burst into flower in the morning wind, whitening the four mountains like drifts of snow, the poet is seized by an extravagance of delight: he wishes he could divide himself into countless bodies so that a Lu You might stand before every single tree. The poem turns the yongwu convention into a tender, half-comic confession of love for the blossom, implying the poet's own identification with the plum's purity and endurance.

闻道梅花坼晓风，雪堆遍满四山中。何方可化身千亿，一树梅花一放翁。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Word comes that the plum trees have cracked into bloom on the morning wind, their white masses heaped like snow over all four mountains. Overcome, the poet asks how he might turn himself into a thousand million bodies, so that before every tree a Fangweng stands to keep it company. [Structure] The first couplet sets a wide snow-and-blossom landscape; the second pivots from spectacle to wish. The key is the word 'fills' — only because the blossom is everywhere, and one pair of eyes is not enough, does the fantastic wish arise; the scene motivates the fancy. [Imagery] 'Split their buds' (che) gives the flowers a bursting, audible vitality, and 'heaped like snow' merges blossom and snow into one white expanse. The closing image of a single old man before each tree is at once absurd and deeply moving.

【白话串讲】陆游写《梅花绝句·其二》：“闻道梅花坼晓风，雪堆遍满四山中”——“何方可化身千亿，一树梅花一放翁”——他问怎样才能化身千亿，让每棵梅花前都有一个自己——他爱梅如痴。【意象与手法】此诗是陆游写咏梅的名篇，写闻梅而欲化身千亿的想象，是陆游诗中「以爱写梅」的名篇。前两句写梅：「闻道梅花坼晓风，雪堆遍满四山中」写梅花坼晓风、雪堆满山，是名句。后两句写爱梅：「何方可化身千亿，一树梅花一放翁」写化身千亿、一树梅一放翁，是千古名句。全诗以雪中梅花的盛景写化身千亿的想象，那「何方可化身千亿」写尽对梅花的酷爱，是陆游「以爱写梅」的名篇。【情感与主旨】此诗约作于陆游晚年（约 1192 年后，时年约六七十岁），时陆游家居山阴，写咏梅的绝句。陆游一生爱梅，咏梅诗极多（其《卜算子·咏梅》「零落成泥碾作尘，只有香如故」亦是名篇）。此诗即写其闻梅而欲化身千亿的爱梅之情。诗中「闻道梅花坼晓风，雪堆遍满四山中」写雪中梅花——闻道梅花坼晓风（听说梅花在晓风中绽开），雪堆遍满四山中（那雪堆遍满四座山中），那「梅花坼晓风」写尽梅花在晓风中绽开（「坼」写绽开）、「雪堆遍满四山中」写尽梅雪的盛景（雪堆遍满四山，梅与雪相映）；「何方可化身千亿，一树梅花一放翁」写化身千亿——何方（有什么办法）可化身千亿（能把身体化成千亿个），一树梅花一放翁（每一树梅花前，都有一个放翁（陆游自称）），那「何方可化身千亿」写尽爱梅的痴想（想化身千亿，看遍每一树梅花）、「一树梅花一放翁」写尽放翁与梅的相守（每一树梅，都有一个放翁相伴）。全诗以雪中梅花的盛景写化身千亿的想象，那「何方可化身千亿」写尽对梅花的酷爱，是陆游「以爱写梅」的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“闻道梅花坼晓风，雪堆遍满四山中”写雪中梅花之盛；“何方可化身千亿，一树梅花一放翁”写化身千亿、爱梅如痴，是千古名句。

Background

Lu You (1125-1210), styled Wuguan and known by his sobriquet Fangweng ('Old Fellow at Large'), was the greatest patriotic poet of the Southern Song. Born in Shanyin (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang) on the eve of the Jurchen invasion, he dreamed all his life of recovering the northern plain. This quatrain, written after he retired to Shanyin around 1192 in his late sixties, belongs to the many plum-blossom poems of his old age, in which the plum — flowering in cold and snow — became the twin of his own unyielding character.

此诗约作于陆游晚年（约绍熙三年（1192）后，时年六七十岁，家居山阴），是陆游写咏梅的绝句。陆游（1125-1210）字务观，号放翁，越州山阴人，是南宋爱国诗人。陆游一生爱梅，咏梅诗极多，其咏梅绝句有二首（其一「幽谷那堪更北枝，年年自分著花迟」、其二即此首）。陆游晚年家居山阴，种梅赏梅，写了许多咏梅诗。此诗即写其闻梅而欲化身千亿的爱梅之情。诗中「闻道梅花坼晓风，雪堆遍满四山中」写雪中梅花——「闻道梅花坼晓风」写听说梅花在晓风中绽开（「闻道」写听说（从传闻中得知），「梅花坼晓风」写梅花在晓风中绽开（「坼」写绽开、裂开（令人想到「坼甲」的绽开））），「雪堆遍满四山中」写雪堆遍满四座山中（「雪堆」写雪堆（那梅花如雪堆，或雪与梅相映），「遍满四山中」写遍满四座山中），那「梅花坼晓风」写尽梅花在晓风中绽开、「雪堆遍满四山中」写尽梅雪的盛景；「何方可化身千亿，一树梅花一放翁」写化身千亿——「何方可化身千亿」写有什么办法能把身体化成千亿个（「何方」写有什么办法（那「何方」写尽痴想——想尽办法），「化身千亿」写化身千亿（把身体化成千亿个）），「一树梅花一放翁」写每一树梅花前都有一个放翁（「一树梅花一放翁」写一树梅花一个放翁（每一树梅花，都有一个放翁相伴）），那「何方可化身千亿」写尽爱梅的痴想、「一树梅花一放翁」写尽放翁与梅的相守。此诗是陆游「以爱写梅」的名篇，那「何方可化身千亿」写尽对梅花的酷爱，是理解其爱梅情结的关键作品。

Art

Four devices carry the poem. First, writing the plum through love rather than moral allegory: the question 'how can I...' makes affection the engine of the poem. Second, hyperbole: 'a thousand million selves' magnifies one lover into a host, an extreme that reads as pure excess. Third, the verbs che ('split') and dui ('heap') give the opening couplet pressure and mass — the buds burst open, the whiteness piles up — so the landscape itself feels swollen with life. Fourth, the closure: the wish resolves into the quiet, almost comical image of one old man standing before each tree, 'one tree, one Fangweng,' ending on fondness rather than grandeur.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个层面解析。其一，以爱写梅的构思。全诗以雪中梅花的盛景写化身千亿的想象——那「雪堆遍满四山中」的梅雪盛景，正是「何方可化身千亿」的缘由（梅太多太美，看不过来，才想化身千亿），那「化身千亿」写尽对梅花的酷爱，以爱写梅、情与景融。其二，以夸张写想象。「何方可化身千亿，一树梅花一放翁」以「化身千亿」的夸张写想象——那「化身千亿」写尽痴想（想把身体化成千亿个），「一树梅花一放翁」写尽相守（每一树梅，都有一个放翁），那「化身千亿」的夸张写尽爱梅的极致——不是一树一赏，而是千亿化身、一树一翁。其三，以「坼」「堆」写梅雪。「梅花坼晓风」以「坼」写梅花在晓风中绽开的动态，「雪堆遍满四山中」以「堆」写雪（梅）遍满四山的盛景，那「坼」写尽绽开的生机、「堆」写尽梅雪的盛景。其四，以「一树梅花一放翁」写收束。「何方可化身千亿，一树梅花一放翁」以「化身千亿」写想象，以「一树梅花一放翁」写相守，那「一树梅花一放翁」以放翁与梅的相守收束，写尽爱梅的痴情，余味悠长。四重手法层层推进，使此诗成为陆游咏梅诗中的名篇。

Allusions

'Fangweng' is Lu You's own sobriquet, adopted late in life after critics mocked him as unrestrained; ending on the self-chosen name is a signature. 'Transform into a thousand million bodies' borrows the Buddhist idea of transformation bodies (nirmanakaya) — the Buddha's countless emanations — turned here to the service of love. The snow-and-plum confusion echoes Wang Anshi's famous 'I know from afar it is not snow, for a hidden fragrance comes', while the dawn wind recalls Liu Yong's 'willow bank, dawn wind, fading moon.' Behind the poem also stands the hermit Lin Bu, who made the plum his wife and the crane his son; Lu You outdoes even that devotee by wishing to be everywhere at once.

此诗的意象与用语深植于咏梅与爱梅传统。「闻道梅花坼晓风，雪堆遍满四山中」写雪中梅花——「闻道梅花坼晓风」写听说梅花在晓风中绽开（「梅花坼晓风」写梅花在晓风中绽开，「坼」写绽开（令人想到「雷惊天地龙蛇蛰，雨足郊原草木柔」的生机与「坼」的绽开意象），「晓风」写清晨的风（令人想到「杨柳岸，晓风残月」（柳永《雨霖铃》）的晓风意象——那晓风吹开梅花，正是清晨的生机）），「雪堆遍满四山中」写雪堆遍满四山（那「雪堆」写雪堆（梅花如雪，雪与梅相映，令人想到「遥知不是雪，为有暗香来」（王安石《梅花》）的梅雪意象——那「雪堆遍满四山中」，正是梅与雪相映的盛景），「遍满四山中」写遍满四座山中，令人想到「千山鸟飞绝，万径人踪灭」的山中意象），那「梅花坼晓风」写尽梅花在晓风中绽开、「雪堆遍满四山中」写尽梅雪的盛景。「何方可化身千亿，一树梅花一放翁」写化身千亿——「何方可化身千亿」写有什么办法能把身体化成千亿个（那「化身千亿」令人想到佛家「化身」的概念（佛有三身：法身、报身、化身）与「千亿化身」的想象，也令人想到「千手千眼」的想象——那「化身千亿」正是爱到极致的痴想），「一树梅花一放翁」写一树梅花一个放翁（那「放翁」写陆游自号（陆游号放翁，令人想到「放翁」自号的由来——陆游因被人讥其放浪不羁而自号放翁），那「一树梅花一放翁」令人想到「前身应是明月，几生修得到梅花」（谢枋得）的梅缘意象与「踏雪寻梅」的赏梅传统——那每一树梅花前都有一个放翁，正是人梅相守的极致）。全诗化用王安石、柳永（及佛家「化身」概念）的意象与传统，以爱写梅、以夸张写想象，正是陆游「以爱梅写咏梅」的本领。

Commentary

The quatrain has been prized since the Southern Song as the boldest love poem ever written about a flower. Critics note that where convention had long allegorized the plum as a junzi's virtue, Lu You simply adores it. The couplet 'How can I transform my body into a thousand million selves — one plum tree, one Fangweng' is quoted as a model of fantastic whim (xiqi) in shihua. Read beside his ci 'Bu Suan Zi' ('Though trodden into mud and crushed to dust, its fragrance remains as of old'), it shows the two faces of his plum devotion: moral steadfastness and sheer infatuation.

此诗历来被推为陆游咏梅诗的名篇，也是「何方可化身千亿，一树梅花一放翁」这一千古名句的出处。历代论者对此诗评价极高：论者多指出此诗以「何方可化身千亿」的夸张写爱梅的极致，以「一树梅花一放翁」写人梅相守的痴情，是陆游咏梅诗中的代表作。在文学史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以雪中梅花的盛景写出了爱梅的极致——那「闻道梅花坼晓风，雪堆遍满四山中」写尽了梅雪相映的盛景（梅花在晓风中绽开，雪堆遍满四座山中），那「何方可化身千亿，一树梅花一放翁」写尽了爱梅的痴想——那「何方可化身千亿」写尽痴想（有什么办法能把身体化成千亿个？），那「一树梅花一放翁」写尽相守（每一树梅花前，都有一个放翁相伴）——那「化身千亿」的夸张，写尽爱梅到极致的痴情（梅太多太美，看不过来，才想化身千亿、一树一翁），那「一树梅花一放翁」写尽人梅相守的深情（每一树梅，都有一个放翁相伴，正是「人梅合一」的痴情）。诗中「何方可化身千亿，一树梅花一放翁」写爱梅的痴想，是千古名句。此诗与陆游的《卜算子·咏梅》（「零落成泥碾作尘，只有香如故」）一样，都是咏梅的名篇，一写化身千亿的痴情，一写零落成泥的香如故；一写爱梅的极致，一写梅的高洁。对于今日读者，此诗是理解陆游「爱梅情结」与「以夸张写深情」的窗口，也是感受中国诗「咏梅」传统的典范——那晓风中绽开的梅花、遍满四山的雪堆、化身千亿的痴想、一树梅花一放翁的相守，穿越千年，仍在诉说着一个诗人对梅花的酷爱。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (qi yan jue ju), oblique-start (ze qi) with first-line rhyme七言绝句（仄起首句入韵）

Rhyme Level-tone rhyme group dong (shang ping yi dong): the rhyme words are zhong and weng, while feng in the opening line also carries the rhyme (first-line-entry pattern). The broad, ringing dong rhyme matches the grand sweep of the snowbound plum forest.押上平一东韵，韵脚为「中」「翁」。首句「风」字平声入韵（风属一东），属首句入韵之格。韵脚「中」「翁」皆属东部，韵音开阔悠长，正合其咏梅壮观的风格。

Tone pattern wen dao mei hua che xiao feng: ping ze ping ping ze ze ping; xue dui bian man si shan zhong: ze ping ze ze ze ping ping; he fang ke hua shen qian yi: ping ping ze ze ping ping ze; yi shu mei hua yi fang weng: ze ze ping ping ze ze ping. The tonal alternation is correct throughout, giving a broad, unhurried cadence.闻道梅花坼晓风，平仄平平仄仄平；雪堆遍满四山中，仄平仄仄仄平平；何方可化身千亿，平平仄仄平平仄；一树梅花一放翁，仄仄平平仄仄平。全诗平仄合于七绝格律，音节开阔悠长。

Reading note A jueju with oblique opening and first-line rhyme in the level dong group; the meter is strict and the cadence broad and open. The first couplet paints the plum-and-snow landscape; the second turns to the poet's fantastic wish to multiply himself. Recite the opening couplet brightly, and the wish of the closing couplet with fond, half-comic abandon.此诗是仄起首句入韵的七言绝句，押平声东韵，格律严谨，音节开阔，是陆游咏梅诗中的名篇。全诗两联结构分明：前两句写雪中梅花（闻道梅花坼晓风、雪堆遍满四山中），后两句写爱梅痴想（何方可化身千亿、一树梅花一放翁）。声调上，全诗以平声东韵为韵脚，韵音开阔悠长，配合「雪堆遍满四山中」的壮观与「一树梅花一放翁」的痴情，全篇音节开阔而不失深情。诵读此诗，宜以明快的语调读前两句的梅雪（雪堆遍满四山中），以痴情而夸张的语调读后两句的痴想（何方可化身千亿），尤其「何方可化身千亿，一树梅花一放翁」两句，要读得痴情而俏皮，方能传达出陆游对梅花「酷爱到极致」的深情。陆游诗以「爱国」著称，此诗却以「爱梅」动人，正是其咏梅的经典。

Line by line

闻道梅花坼晓风，雪堆遍满四山中。

I hear the plum blossoms split their buds in the dawn wind; piled like snow, they fill all four mountains.

听说梅花在晓风中绽开，雪堆遍满四座山中。

I hear the plum blossoms opening in the dawn wind; snow-like drifts fill all the hills around.

这两句是写雪中梅花的名句，以「梅花坼晓风」写梅花在晓风中绽开，以「雪堆遍满四山中」写梅雪的盛景，清新而壮观。「闻道梅花坼晓风」写梅花在晓风中绽开——听说梅花在晓风中绽开，「闻道」写听说（那从传闻中得知，「闻道」写尽消息的传来），「梅花坼晓风」写梅花在晓风中绽开（那「坼」写绽开、裂开——梅花的花苞在晓风中绽开），那「闻道梅花坼晓风」写尽梅花在晓风中绽开的生机——那晓风吹开梅花，正是清晨的生机；「雪堆遍满四山中」写梅雪的盛景——雪堆遍满四座山中，「雪堆」写雪堆（那梅花如雪，雪与梅相映），「遍满四山中」写遍满四座山中（那梅雪遍满四山），那「雪堆遍满四山中」写尽梅雪的盛景——那雪堆遍满四山，梅与雪相映，正是漫山遍野的梅雪。这两句的深意在于：它以「梅花坼晓风」与「雪堆遍满四山中」写出了梅雪的盛景与梅的生机——那「梅花坼晓风」写梅在晓风中绽开的生机（那「坼」写绽开，写尽梅花的生机），那「雪堆遍满四山中」写梅雪相映的盛景（那「遍满四山中」写尽漫山遍野的梅雪——不是一树两树，而是遍满四山）；而更深一层，那「雪堆遍满四山中」的「遍满」，正是「何方可化身千亿」的缘由——正因为梅雪遍满四山、太多太美（看不过来），才想「化身千亿」（一树一翁），那「遍满四山中」写尽梅之多与美，正是「化身千亿」的铺垫；那「雪堆遍满四山中」，写尽漫山遍野的梅雪盛景，也写尽让陆游痴狂的梅。以「坼」写生机、以「遍满」写盛景，正是陆游「以景写爱」的本领，也让这两句成为写雪中梅花的名句。

These two lines are a famous verse of the snow plum, writing the plum's opening in the dawn wind and the snow-plum splendor, fresh and grand. I hear the plum blossoms opening in the dawn wind writes the opening — the I hear writing the learning from the rumor, the opening in the dawn wind writing the blooming (the word opening the splitting — the plum's buds splitting open in the dawn wind), exhausting the opening's life — the dawn wind blowing the plum open, precisely the morning's life; snow-like drifts fill all the hills around writes the splendor — the snow drifts filling the four hills (the snow drifts, the plum like snow, the plum and the snow answering), the fill-all-the-hills writing the plum-and-snow filling the mountains, exhausting the splendor — the snow drifts filling the hills, the plum and snow answering, precisely the mountain-wide plum and snow. The deep meaning lies in: the opening in the dawn wind and the filling hills write the plum's opening life and the snow-plum splendor — the opening in the dawn wind writing the life (the word opening the blooming, exhausting the plum's life), the filling hills writing the splendor (the fill all the hills exhausting the mountain-wide plum and snow — not one or two trees, but the hills filled); and the deeper layer, the fill-all-the-hills' fill precisely the cause of the by-what-art-could-I-turn-into-a-thousand-million — precisely because the plum and snow fill the hills, too many and too fair (beyond the seeing), hence the wish to turn into a thousand million (one old Weng per tree), the fill-all-the-hills exhausting the plum's number and beauty, precisely the ground for the thousand-million selves; the fill-all-the-hills exhausting the mountain-wide plum-and-snow splendor, and the plum that makes Lu You crazed. Writing life through the opening, splendor through the fill, precisely Lu You's craft of writing love through scene, making these two lines a famous verse of the snow plum.

何方可化身千亿，一树梅花一放翁。

How can I transform my body into a thousand million selves, that before every plum tree there stands one Fangweng?

有什么办法能把身体化成千亿个？每一树梅花前，都有一个放翁。

By what art could I turn into a thousand million selves? By each plum tree, one old Weng.

这两句是全诗的点睛之笔，也是千古名句，以「何方可化身千亿」写爱梅的痴想，以「一树梅花一放翁」写人梅相守的深情，痴情而动人。「何方可化身千亿」写爱梅的痴想——有什么办法能把身体化成千亿个？「何方」写有什么办法（那「何方」写尽痴想——想尽办法，苦思冥想），「化身千亿」写化身千亿（把身体化成千亿个），那「何方可化身千亿」写尽爱梅的痴想——因为梅太多太美，看不过来，才想化身千亿；「一树梅花一放翁」写人梅相守——每一树梅花前，都有一个放翁，「一树梅花一放翁」写一树梅花一个放翁（那每一树梅花，都有一个放翁相伴），那「一树梅花一放翁」写尽人梅相守的深情——那一树梅花前，正立着一个放翁。这两句的深意在于：它以「何方可化身千亿」写出了爱梅到极致的痴情——那「何方可化身千亿」的「何方」，写尽痴想（有什么办法？想尽办法，正是痴心妄想），那「化身千亿」写尽爱梅的极致（因为梅遍满四山、太多太美，看不过来，才想化身千亿、分身有术），那「何方可化身千亿」写尽爱梅到极致的痴情；而「一树梅花一放翁」更写尽人梅相守的深情——那「一树梅花一放翁」，正是「化身千亿」的目的（每一树梅，都有一个放翁相伴），那「一树梅花一放翁」写尽人梅相守的痴情——那千亿个化身，正为与千亿树梅花相守，正是「人梅合一」的极致；而更深一层，那「一树梅花一放翁」的「放翁」，既是陆游自号，也是「放」的深意——那放翁（陆游）一生放浪、放不下梅花，那「一树梅花一放翁」写尽陆游与梅的一生相守——那梅，正是放翁的知己。以「何方」写痴想、以「化身千亿」写夸张、以「一树梅花一放翁」写相守，正是陆游「以夸张写深情」的本领，也让这两句成为千古名句。

These two lines are the poem's telling stroke, a famous line through the ages, writing the love-crazed thought of turning into a thousand million selves, and the deep feeling of the man-and-plum keeping company, crazy and moving. By what art could I turn into a thousand million selves? writes the love-crazed thought — by what art could the body turn into a thousand million? The by what art writes the device (the by what art exhausting the crazed thought — the device sought, the mind strained), the thousand million selves writing the thousand-million transformation (the body turned into a thousand million), exhausting the love-crazed thought — because the plum too many and too fair, beyond the seeing, hence the wish to turn into a thousand million; by each plum tree, one old Weng writes the man-and-plum keeping company — by each plum tree, one old Weng, the by-each-tree-one-Weng writing the one old Weng per tree (by each plum tree, one old Weng for company), exhausting the deep feeling of the company — by that plum tree, precisely one old Weng standing. The deep meaning lies in: the by what art and thousand million write the extreme craziness of the love — the by what art's by what art exhausting the crazed thought (by what art? every device sought, precisely the wishful madness), the thousand million exhausting the extreme of the love (because the plum fills the hills, too many and too fair, beyond the seeing, hence the wish to turn into a thousand million, the division's art), the by what art exhausting the extreme love-craziness; and by each plum tree, one old Weng further exhausting the deep company — the by-each-tree-one-Weng precisely the purpose of the thousand-million transformation (by each plum, one old Weng for company), exhausting the craziness of the keeping company — the thousand million selves precisely to keep company with the thousand million plum trees, precisely the man-and-plum oneness's extreme; and the deeper layer, the by-each-tree-one-Weng's old Weng, at once Lu You's self-styled name and the meaning of the free — the old Weng (Lu You) the whole life's free and yet the plum not let go, the by-each-tree-one-Weng exhausting Lu You's whole life's keeping company with the plum — the plum, precisely old Weng's soulmate. writing the crazed thought through the by what art, the exaggeration through the thousand million, the keeping company through the by-each-tree, precisely Lu You's craft of writing deep feeling through exaggeration, making these two lines a famous line through the ages.

Study

Word focus

坼 To split, burst open. Used of plum buds cracking open under the dawn wind; stronger and more forceful than 'kai' (open), it conveys the sudden vitality of blossoming. 「坼」字是写梅花绽开的关键字，一个「坼」字写尽梅花在晓风中绽开的生机，鲜活而生动。坼者，绽开、裂开也。陆游以「梅花坼晓风」写梅花，一个「坼」字，至少有双重意味：其一，写绽开之动态——「梅花坼晓风」写梅花在晓风中绽开，「坼」写绽开——那「坼」写花苞绽开（那梅花的花苞，在晓风中绽开），那「坼」字写尽绽开的动态（那「坼」比「开」更有张力——不是慢慢开，而是绽开、裂开），那「坼」字写尽梅花在晓风中绽开的生机；其二，写破晓之生机——「坼」暗写破晓的生机——那「梅花坼晓风」的「坼」，写尽梅花在晓风中绽开的生机（那「晓风」写清晨的风，「坼」写绽开，那梅花在晓风中绽开，正是破晓的生机——「坼」与「晓」相映，写尽清晨梅花初绽的生机）。以「坼」写梅花，正是陆游炼字的本领：一个「坼」字，既是写绽开的动态（花苞在晓风中绽开、裂开），也是写破晓的生机（梅花在晓风中初绽的生机），更是写梅花的生命力（那「坼」字写尽梅花冲破晓风绽开的生命力）——那「坼」字，把绽开的动态与破晓的生机融为一体。若换作「开」「放」等字，则或失其「坼」的张力，或失其「破晓」的生机；唯「坼」字，以一字写尽梅花在晓风中绽开的生机，也让「梅花坼晓风」成为写梅绽的名句——那「坼」字，正是梅花初绽的生机。

化身 Transformation body; a Buddhist term for the countless emanations of a Buddha. Here it means to divide oneself into a thousand million copies — a fantastical wish born of excessive love for the plum. 「化身」二字是写爱梅痴想的关键字，以「化身千亿」写分身有术的痴想，写尽爱梅到极致的痴情。化身，分身、化出之身也。陆游以「何方可化身千亿」写爱梅，一个「化身」，至少有双重意味：其一，写分身之痴想——「何方可化身千亿」写有什么办法能把身体化成千亿个，「化身」写分身（那「化身」写把身体化出千亿个分身——正是佛家「化身」的概念），那「化身千亿」写尽分身有术的痴想——因为梅太多太美，看不过来，才想化身千亿；其二，写爱梅之极致——「化身」暗写爱梅的极致——那「何方可化身千亿」的「化身」，写尽爱梅到极致的痴情（那「化身千亿」不是真的分身，而是痴想——想尽办法，也要分身去陪每一树梅花），那「化身」写尽爱梅的极致——那千亿个化身，正为与千亿树梅花相守，正是「人梅合一」的痴情。以「化身」写痴想，正是陆游炼字的本领：那「化身」二字，既是写分身有术的想象（佛家「化身」的概念），也是写爱梅到极致的痴情（想尽办法也要一树一翁），更是写「人梅合一」的境界（那化身千亿，正为与梅花相守）——那「化身」，把想象的痴想与爱梅的极致融为一体。若换作「分身」「变作」等词，则或失其「化身」的佛家意蕴，或失其「千亿」的夸张；唯「化身」二字，以两字写尽分身有术的痴想与爱梅的极致，也让「何方可化身千亿」成为千古名句——那「化身」，正是陆游爱梅的痴想。