All poems

宋 Song · 诗 Poem

明妃曲二首·其一

Song of Bright Consort, No. 1 of Two

王安石

Wang Anshi

咏史History 明妃Theme 翻案诗poetry

明妃初出汉宫时，泪湿春风鬓脚垂。
低回顾影无颜色，尚得君王不自持。
归来却怪丹青手，入眼平生几曾有。
意态由来画不成，当时枉杀毛延寿。
一去心知更不归，可怜着尽汉宫衣。
寄声欲问塞南事，只有年年鸿雁飞。
家人万里传消息，好在毡城莫相忆。
君不见咫尺长门闭阿娇，人生失意无南北。

When Bright Consort first left the Han palace, tears wet her spring breeze, her hairpins drooping.
She glanced back at her shadow, colorless, yet still the king could not master himself.
Returning, he blamed the painter - in all his life, when had he truly seen her?
A beauty's very spirit can never be painted - Mao Yanshou was wrongly put to death.
Once gone, she knew she would never return; pitifully she wore out her Han-palace robes.
She sent word to ask of affairs south of the frontier - but only the year's wild geese fly.
Her family, ten thousand li away, sent news: 'Rest well in the felt city, do not miss us.'
Do you not see how close by, the Long Gate shuts in A Jiao? Disappointment in life knows no north or south.

Listen

Meaning

Wang Anshi's bold retelling of Wang Zhaojun blames the emperor's blindness, not the painter - or the woman.

明妃刚走出汉宫的时候，春风中泪湿双颊鬓发低垂。低头回看顾影自怜黯然失色，尚且引得君王不能自持。回来却怪那画师的手笔，入眼平生几曾有过这等姿容。意态本来由来就画不准确，当时白白杀了毛延寿。一旦离去心里明知更不归来，可怜把汉宫衣衫都穿尽了。托人带话想问塞南的消息，只有年年南飞的鸿雁。家人从万里外传来消息，好在毡城切莫再思念。你不见咫尺长门闭锁着陈阿娇，人生失意本不分南北。

Appreciation

Wang Anshi refuses the easy blame. The painter is innocent; the emperor who never looked is guilty; and Zhaojun's exile is only one face of a universal neglect. The poem thinks as much as it feels.

【白话串讲】王安石写昭君出塞：“明妃初出汉宫时，泪湿春风鬓脚垂”。“意态由来画不成，当时枉杀毛延寿”——她的神韵画不出来，毛延寿是冤枉的。“一去心知更不归，可怜着尽汉宫衣”——“人生失意无南北”——他借昭君写尽失意。【意象与手法】前四句写初出汉宫，“泪湿春风鬓脚垂”写其美貌动君；“意态由来画不成，当时枉杀毛延寿”翻毛延寿索贿之旧案，发人所未发；“君不见咫尺长门闭阿娇，人生失意无南北”陡然振起，以陈阿娇长门之闭相比。构思新奇、议论精警，以论取胜。【情感与主旨】北宋咏明妃名作，不以昭君怨君王而翻案立论，谓失意不独在远嫁、近在咫尺亦难免，立意高远、翻尽前人窠臼，被后世推为明妃诗之冠，可见荆公政治家的独到眼光。【名句点睛】常考“意态由来画不成，当时枉杀毛延寿”以画师无法传神翻旧案；“人生失意无南北”以失意无南北写翻案新意。

Background

Wang Zhaojun (Mingfei) was sent to marry a Xiongnu chief; legend blamed the painter Mao Yanshou for hiding her beauty from the emperor. Wang Anshi's poem scandalously absolves Mao and indicts the emperor.

王安石《明妃曲二首》为北宋咏明妃名作，其一尤脍炙人口，约作于嘉祐四年，与欧阳修唱和而立意更奇。王昭君事出《汉书》及《西京杂记》：元帝按图召幸宫人，昭君不肯行贿画工毛延寿，被丑图远嫁匈奴。历代明妃诗多作怨曲，或怨君王不明、或恨画工贪婪、或悲远嫁荒远。王安石此诗则翻新史识，不以昭君怨君王，而翻案立论——既为毛延寿开脱，又于结处陡然振起，以陈阿娇长门之闭相比，谓人生失意本不分南北远近。此翻案笔法，打破唐人怜昭君之成见，遂成宋诗以议论翻新意的范本。荆公素以政治家的独到眼光观史，此诗正见其不随流俗、勇于立异的识见，亦与其变法精神一脉相通，故能于咏史题中别开生面，被后世推为明妃诗之冠。荆公为诗好立异说，此篇尤为其翻案本领的极致，读之令人耳目一新，亦见其不随流俗的性情。其以政治家之眼观史，故能于人人熟处，翻出新解，此诗是也。

Art

Subverts the standard lament: the real tragedy is the emperor who never truly saw her. The closing 'disappointment knows no north or south' generalizes her fate to all the neglected (including the palace lady A Jiao).

此诗前四句写初出汉宫之美，中四句翻毛延寿之案，后四句写去国思归之深，结以失意无南北之论，章法跌宕，议论精警。起四句明妃初出汉宫时，泪湿春风鬓脚垂，低回顾影无颜色，尚得君王不自持，以泪湿春风写其哀婉，以无颜色写其楚楚，而尚得君王不自持反衬其美貌动君，层层蓄势。归来却怪丹青手数句，入眼平生几曾有，意态由来画不成，当时枉杀毛延寿，将罪责归于画师无法传神，翻毛延寿索贿之旧案，发人所未发。一去心知更不归一节，可怜着尽汉宫衣，寄声欲问塞南事，只有年年鸿雁飞，写去国思归之深、音书之绝。家人万里传消息，好在毡城莫相忆，写家人劝慰之语，淡而哀。结以君不见咫尺长门闭阿娇，人生失意无南北，陡然振起，以陈阿娇长门之闭相比，谓失意不独在远嫁，近在咫尺亦难免，立意高远，翻尽前人窠臼。由美而案、由案而悲、由悲而论，章法之奇，起承转合如议论文，而情韵不匮，古今罕见。

Allusions

Mao Yanshou, the painter who supposedly defaced Zhaojun's portrait. The Long Gate (Changmen) is where the discarded Empress Chen ('A Jiao') lived; her story parallels Zhaojun's neglect.

此诗用事翻案，最见荆公史识。毛延寿事出《西京杂记》：元帝使画工图宫人，昭君自恃容貌不肯行贿，延寿遂丑图之，及临辞见昭君，帝悔而杀延寿。历代多沿其说，以延寿为罪魁。王安石却借意态由来画不成翻案：昭君之美在风神意态，本非画笔能传，故延寿之丑图并非其罪，枉杀二字为之鸣冤，立意惊世。陈阿娇事出《汉书·外戚传》：武帝姑母馆陶公主女阿娇，帝幼时愿以金屋贮之，后立为后，失宠被废，居长门宫，司马相如为作《长门赋》以求复幸。荆公以咫尺长门闭阿娇喻失意之近在眼前，与昭君之远嫁匈奴对举，推出人生失意无南北的普遍命题。鸿雁传书用苏武雁足系书之典，写塞外音书断绝。诸事经荆公重新调度，皆成翻案立论之资，足见宋诗以才学为诗、以议论为诗的特质。化熟典为新论，看似悖于旧说，实则深得史家三昧，翻案而不失其正，是其过人处。

Commentary

Contemporary critics called its view 'perverse,' but it is a brilliant reversal that questions how rulers value people. A landmark of Song rationalist poetics.

王安石此诗在文学史上地位卓然，历来推为明妃诗第一。其价值首在翻案之胆识：唐人咏昭君，或怨元帝（如杜甫）、或悲远嫁（如李白）、或讽画工，皆沿悲剧主调；荆公却从画师无罪、失意无南北两面破局，把一首咏史诗写成哲学命题，正是宋诗以理取胜的典型。苏轼、欧阳修皆和此诗，可见其震动文坛。其次在章法：前幅写美、中幅翻案、后幅写悲、末幅升华，由具体到抽象，由个例到普遍，结构如议论文之起承转合，而情韵不匮。清人赵翼《瓯北诗话》论宋人好翻案，每举此诗为例，谓其扫尽前人窠臼。然亦有论者（如明人）讥其不怨君王为伤厚，此正见翻案诗之争议性。无论如何，此诗以议论翻新意、以史识代哭号，确为宋调成熟的标志，对后世咏史之作影响深远，亦可见荆公作为改革家不以流俗之见论史的独到眼光。故虽一时和作甚众，而此诗独传，非偶然也，足证翻新意、立独见者，方能久远。

Prosody

Form Seven-character ancient-style song (qigu gexing)七言古诗（明妃曲为乐府旧题，荆公以七古写之，不依近体，转韵自由，气度豪迈）

Rhyme Shifts rhyme groups; level/oblique mixed across the long narrative.此诗转韵自然，垂、持、有、寿、归、衣、飞、忆、娇、北等随段落换韵，或平或仄，读来顿挫有力，与翻案议论之节奏相协。

Tone pattern Ancient style, not strictly regulated.七古不究粘对，平仄随宜，荆公此体瘦硬通神，句式以七言为主，间以君不见长句，气势奔放。

Reading note Famous and controversial for its reversed judgment; rich, colloquial, argumentative.王安石此诗用七古乐府体，是其咏史翻案诗的代表。七古篇幅舒展、不羁格律，宜于纵论古今、翻空出奇，正合此诗前写美、中翻案、后写悲、末升华的跌宕章法。押韵上，荆公随内容段落换韵，垂、持一段写初出汉宫，有、寿一段翻毛延寿之案，归、衣、飞、忆一段写去国思归，娇、北一段升华立论，韵随情转，读来如长江奔泻，绝无近体诗的局促。其声调瘦硬通神，与唐诗的丰腴有别，正合荆公诗风。尤为可注意者，结句君不见咫尺长门闭阿娇，化用李白《将进酒》君不见的呼告句式，以散文化的长句振起全篇，使议论获得歌唱般的力度。这种以文为诗、以理入韵的写法，是宋调成熟的标志，对后世咏史七古影响深远。

Line by line

意态由来画不成，当时枉杀毛延寿。

A beauty's very spirit can never be painted - Mao Yanshou was wrongly put to death.

意态本来由来就画不准确，当时白白杀了毛延寿。

Her bearing and expression, from of old, the brush could not render; in those days they slew Mao Yanshou in vain.

这一联是全诗翻案的核心，亦荆公史识最耀目处。意态由来画不成，意态指昭君的风神气韵，本非丹青所能描摹；由此推之，毛延寿纵使丑图，亦非掩盖其真美之主因，故当时枉杀毛延寿，以枉杀二字为之鸣冤，翻尽《西京杂记》以来把延寿定为罪魁的旧案。此论石破天惊：历来读者把昭君之悲归咎画工，荆公却指出，真美在神不在貌，画工之罪本不成立。一翻旧案，既见其不随流俗的识力，也暗含对元帝不识人的更深一层批评——真正该责的，是未能亲见其人的君王。以议论代抒情，正是宋诗以理取胜的范本。

This couplet is the core of the poem's reversal, and Wang Anshi's history insight's brightest point. Her bearing and expression could never be painted: the bearing means Zhaojun's spirit and charm, by nature beyond the brush's rendering; hence the inference, even had Mao Yanshou painted the face ugly, it was not the main cause of covering her true beauty, hence in those days they slew Mao Yanshou in vain, the two words wrongful slaughter speaking the grievance, reversing the old case of the Western Capital Miscellany's making Yanshou the chief culprit. This argument earth-shaking: readers through the ages laid Zhaojun's grief on the painter, and Wang Anshi points out that the true beauty lies in the spirit not the face, the painter's crime by nature not established. One reversal of the old case, at once showing the un-conventional insight, and secretly the deeper criticism of the Yuan emperor's failure to see the person — the one truly to blame is the ruler who never saw her himself. Replacing lyric with argument, precisely the Song poetry's model of the reason's victory.

一去心知更不归，可怜着尽汉宫衣。

Once gone, she knew she would never return; pitifully she wore out her Han-palace robes.

一旦离去心里明知更不归来，可怜把汉宫衣衫都穿尽了。

Once gone, she knew in her heart she would never return; pitiably she wore through all the Han palace robes.

此二句由翻案转入深情，写昭君去国之后的沉哀。一去心知更不归，写其清醒的绝望——明知此去黄沙万里、再无归期，却无力回天；可怜着尽汉宫衣，写她在匈奴年年穿着带出的汉宫旧衣，直至穿尽，衣尽而故国衣衫终不可续，一味痴绝的执念令人心碎。着尽二字极沉痛：衣可穿尽，思不可尽；以衣之有限写思之无限。前幅刚翻完毛延寿之案、逞议论之快，至此忽转柔情，刚柔相济，使全诗不致流于冷峭的论辩，而保有咏史诗的体温。荆公味之，正在于此等议论与情韵的交织。

These two lines turn from the reversal to the deep feeling, writing Zhaojun's settled grief after leaving the country. Once gone, she knew in her heart she would not return writes the lucid despair — knowing clearly this going of ten thousand li of yellow sand and no return date, and yet powerless; pitiably she wore through all the Han palace robes writes her wearing the brought-from-Han old robes year after year among the Xiongnu, until worn through, the robes gone and the old country's garments beyond renewal, the single-minded obsession heart-breaking. The two words worn through the most grief-stricken: the robes may be worn through, the longing may not; the robes' finiteness writes the longing's infinitude. The front having just reversed the Mao Yanshou case and shown the argument's speed, here suddenly turning to the tenderness, the rigid and the soft matched, making the whole poem not fall to the cold disputation, and yet keeping the historical-verse's warmth. Wang Anshi's flavor lies precisely in this interweaving of argument and charm.

寄声欲问塞南事，只有年年鸿雁飞。

She sent word to ask of affairs south of the frontier - but only the year's wild geese fly.

托人带话想问塞南的消息，只有年年南飞的鸿雁。

She sends word, wishing to ask of the lands south of the pass; only the wild geese fly south year after year.

此二句写音书断绝之悲，亦见荆公用典之巧。寄声欲问塞南事，写昭君身陷异域，只能托人带话探问故国消息，一个欲字写出渴念而不可得的焦灼；只有年年鸿雁飞，以鸿雁（苏武雁足系书之典）反衬：年年南飞之雁空过，却无一只带来塞南的音信。以雁之有情反写信之无情，以雁之往复反写人之隔绝，物我对照，凄凉自深。此句不着哭号，只以景语（年年鸿雁飞）收住问讯之落空，含蓄不尽，正是宋诗善以景结情、言有尽而意无穷的笔法，亦为末幅人生失意无南北的升华蓄势。

These two lines write the grief of the severed letters, and show Wang's allusion craft. She sends word, wishing to ask of the lands south of the pass writes Zhaojun in the alien land, only sending someone with word to ask the old country's news, the one word wishing writing the longing's anxiety and the unattainable; only the wild geese fly south year after year sets the wild geese (the Su Wu's goose-foot letter allusion) in contrast: the year-after-year south-flying geese passing in vain, and not one carrying the south-of-the-pass letter. Writing the geese's feeling against the letters' heartlessness, the geese's going-and-coming against the human cut-off, the thing-and-self contrast, the desolation the deeper. This line not one cry, only closing on the scenic words (the wild geese fly south year after year) the asking's void, restrained and unending, precisely the Song poetry's craft of ending feeling in scene, the words ended and the meaning unending, and storing ground for the final life's frustration without north or south's elevation.

君不见咫尺长门闭阿娇，人生失意无南北。

Do you not see how close by, the Long Gate shuts in A Jiao? Disappointment in life knows no north or south.

你不见咫尺长门闭锁着陈阿娇，人生失意本不分南北。

Do you not see, within a pace, the Long Gate locks away Chen Ajiao? Life's frustration knows no north or south.

结联陡然振起，是全诗立意最高处。君不见咫尺长门闭阿娇，以汉武帝陈皇后阿娇被废、幽闭长门宫的典故，与昭君远嫁对举：阿娇失宠在咫尺宫闱，昭君失意在万里胡天，一近一远，而失意则同。由此推出人生失意无南北的普遍命题——痛苦不分远近，失意不论出处，关键在于是否被理解、被珍视。这一结把具体的明妃悲剧，升华为对人生际遇的哲思，翻尽前人只悲远嫁的窠臼。无南北三字力重千钧，将个体哀怨化为人类共通的苍凉。全诗至此由史入哲，议论精警而余味悠长，足证荆公咏史以论取胜的独到笔力。

The closing couplet suddenly rises, the poem's highest point. Do you not see, within a pace, the Long Gate locks away Chen Ajiao? uses the Emperor Wu's Empress Ajiao deposed and locked in the Long Gate Palace allusion, set against Zhaojun's far marriage: Ajiao's fall from favor within the pace's palace, Zhaojun's frustration in the ten-thousand-li barbarian sky, one near one far, and the frustration the same. Hence the universal proposition of life's frustration knows no north or south — the pain knows no near or far, the frustration no origin, the key whether understood, whether treasured. This close raising the specific Bright Consort tragedy to the philosophy of fate, reversing the old rut of the mere grief at the far marriage. The three words no north or south the weight of a thousand jun, turning the individual grief into the universal human bleakness. The whole poem here turning from history to philosophy, the argument striking and the aftertone long, proving Wang Anshi's historical verse's distinctive power of the argument's victory.

Study

Word focus

枉杀 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 当时枉杀毛延寿的枉杀二字，是翻案诗的眼目与锋刃。枉者，冤也；杀者，刑也。二字连下，直指毛延寿之死乃千古奇冤——因昭君之美在神韵，本非画工所能传，则丑图之责不在延寿，元帝怒而杀之实为错杀。荆公以此二字，一举推翻《西京杂记》以来延寿索贿误国的定谳，立论惊世。更妙在，枉杀表面恕画工，实则刺君王：真正有眼无珠、酿成悲剧的是按图召幸的元帝。一个司法词汇入诗，使咏史顿成史论，足见宋诗以议论为诗、以才学斡旋的特质，亦显荆公作为政治家的犀利眼光。

着尽 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 可怜着尽汉宫衣的着尽，是后幅最催泪的二字。着是穿着，尽是穿完，字面极平，情感极重：昭君远嫁，随身只带汉宫旧衣，岁岁穿着，直至衣衫磨尽。衣可计量、可穿尽，而乡思不可计量、不可尽，以衣之有限反衬思之无限，举重若轻。着尽亦暗含时间之久——非一朝一夕，而是年年岁岁痴守故国衣衫的执念。一个尽字，把去国怀乡的沉哀写得具体可触，使前幅的翻案议论在此落地为体温。荆公诗刚处见识、柔处见情，着尽二字正是其柔肠所在。

无南北 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 人生失意无南北的无南北三字，是全诗立意的最终落点，亦最具哲学重量。南北本指空间之远（胡地）与近（汉宫），荆公却说失意不分此界——阿娇之悲在咫尺长门，昭君之悲在万里朔漠，距离不同，痛苦同质。无字一笔扫空空间的阻隔，把具体的明妃远嫁之哀，提升为对人生际遇普遍荒诞的洞察：真正的失意，不在你被放逐到多远，而在你是否被看见、被珍视。三字收束全篇，如撞钟余音，使一首咏史诗获得了超越时代的普遍意义，是宋诗以理趣代哀婉的典范之笔。

意态 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 意态由来画不成的意态，是荆公翻案的逻辑支点，也是全诗的审美眼。意态指人之风神、气韵、内在的生动，而非五官形貌。荆公断言此物本来画不成，等于说：昭君之美在神不在貌，丹青所能图者不过皮相，故毛延寿纵丑其图，亦未掩其真美；元帝临辞方知，非画工之过，乃其不曾亲见。这一词把讨论从道德谴责（画工贪鄙）扭转为美学判断（传神之难），立意高人一筹。意态二字看似寻常，却是连接翻案与哲理的枢纽，足见荆公以思辨驾驭咏史的功力——他总能从一个常被忽略的概念里，撬动整座旧论的大家庭。