唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
采莲曲
Gathering Lotus
荷叶罗裙一色裁，芙蓉向脸两边开。
乱入池中看不见，闻歌始觉有人来。
Lotus blooms turn toward her face on either side.
She mingles into the pond and is no longer seen,
Till a song is heard, revealing someone inside.
Meaning
A lotus-picking girl's skirt matches the lotus leaves in color, and her face reflects the lotus flowers. When she enters the pond, she becomes indistinguishable from the plants, and only her song reveals her presence.
采莲少女的罗裙与荷叶仿佛同一块绿绢裁成，脸庞与荷花相互映照，在两侧绽开。她们混杂进入莲池便难以分辨，直到听见歌声才发觉有人到来。
Appreciation
This poem by Wang Changling captures the beauty of young girls at work, blending human figures with nature. The first two lines show the harmony between the girl's attire and the lotus; the last two lines create suspense with 'not seen' then 'song heard', forming a vivid picture. The style is fresh and bright, typical of High Tang quatrains.
【白话串讲】 “荷叶罗裙一色裁，芙蓉向脸两边开”——王昌龄写采莲女：荷叶和罗裙一个颜色，荷花在脸两边开。“乱入池中看不见，闻歌始觉有人来”——她混进荷塘看不见，听到歌声才知道有人。人面荷花，美到分不清。 【意象与手法】 本诗最妙在‘人景合一’的构思。首句‘荷叶罗裙一色裁’以‘一色裁’将少女绿裙与田田荷叶浑为一色 【情感与主旨】 《采莲曲》为六朝以来流行乐府题，写采莲女子情态 【名句点睛】 中高考常取‘荷叶罗裙一色裁，芙蓉向脸两边开’及后两句的构思设题。考点一：手法，以景写人、人景合一
Background
The title 'Cai Lian Qu' was a popular yuefu theme since the Six Dynasties. Wang Changling wrote two versions; this one dates from his stay in Jiangnan. The poet captures the moment when the girls merge with the lotus pond—their skirts like leaves, faces like flowers, with songs emerging from the greenery. It inherits the tradition of Emperor Wu of Liang's work but is more concise.
《采莲曲》为唐代王昌龄所作，是写采莲女之美的七绝。王昌龄（698—757），字少伯，京兆万年人，唐代诗人，有“七绝圣手”之称。此诗：荷叶罗裙一色裁，芙蓉向脸两边开。乱入池中看不见，闻歌始觉有人来。全诗写采莲女与荷叶荷花融为一体，是王昌龄诗的名篇。
Art
The poem's genius is the fusion of person and scenery. 'Cut from the same green' blends skirt and leaves; 'lotus' puns on flower and face. The last two lines shift from visual invisibility to auditory revelation, never directly describing the girl but using lotus and song to evoke her, creating a dynamic, ethereal picture.
《采莲曲》艺术上以人花交融的写法与含蓄的妙趣见长。全诗四句，层层写来：前二句写人花一色——“荷叶罗裙一色裁，芙蓉向脸两边开”写罗裙似荷叶、人面如芙蓉；后二句写乱入池中——“乱入池中看不见，闻歌始觉有人来”写采莲女入池不见、闻歌始觉。全诗以人花交融写采莲女之美，正是王昌龄诗含蓄的笔法。
Allusions
The title originates from Southern Dynasties yuefu. 'Lotus' (furong) is a traditional metaphor for a beautiful face, seen in Cao Zhi's works. 'Green skirt' and 'song' are common Six Dynasties imagery. Wang transforms the erotic original into a fresh working scene.
《采莲曲》用典少而意象自明。“罗裙”写采莲女之裙；“芙蓉”写荷花（亦喻人面）；“乱入池中看不见”写采莲女与荷叶荷花融为一体。全诗以这些意象写采莲女之美，不用深典而妙趣自见，正是王昌龄诗以景写人的笔法。
Commentary
Ming critic Hu Yinglin praised Wang's quatrains as rivaling Li Bai's. This poem exemplifies his fresh, elegant style. Shen Deqian said it paints the lotus girl without redundancy. The blending of human and flower became a model for later lotus poetry.
《采莲曲》是王昌龄诗的名篇，也是唐代写采莲女的代表作。此诗写采莲女与荷叶荷花融为一体，向为论者称道。论者多赏其人与花交融的写法——“荷叶罗裙一色裁，芙蓉向脸两边开”写罗裙似荷叶、人面如芙蓉，人花一体；“乱入池中看不见，闻歌始觉有人来”写采莲女入池不见、闻歌始觉，更见妙趣。王昌龄有“七绝圣手”之称，此诗正是其代表——以人花交融写采莲女之美，正是其含蓄的风格。
Prosody
Line by line
荷叶罗裙一色裁，芙蓉向脸两边开。
The lotus leaves and her skirt are cut from one color; the hibiscus flowers bloom on either side of her face.
荷叶与罗裙如同一色裁成，荷花向着脸颊两边开放。
The lotus leaves and her silk skirt are cut from one color; the hibiscus blooms on either side of her face.
前二句写人花一色，是全诗写采莲女之美的起点。“荷叶罗裙一色裁”写罗裙似荷叶——“荷叶罗裙”写荷叶与罗裙，“一色裁”写如同一色裁成——荷叶罗裙，一色裁成；“芙蓉向脸两边开”写人面如芙蓉——“芙蓉向脸”写荷花向着脸颊，“两边开”写两边开放——芙蓉向脸，两边开。二句写人花一色：荷叶罗裙一色裁，芙蓉向脸两边开。以“荷叶罗裙一色裁”写罗裙与荷叶同色，以“芙蓉向脸两边开”写人面如荷花、花开两边，正是王昌龄诗写采莲女与荷叶荷花融为一体、人花不辨的笔法——裙似荷叶，面如芙蓉。
The first two lines write the woman and flowers of one color, the starting point of the whole's writing the lotus-picker's beauty. The lotus leaves and her silk skirt are cut from one color writes the skirt like the lotus leaf; the hibiscus blooms on either side of her face writes the face like the hibiscus. The two lines write the woman and flowers of one color: skirt and leaf of one hue, face and flower blooming on both sides, exactly Wang Changling's brush of fusing the lotus-picker with the leaves and flowers, the woman and the blooms undistinguishable - the skirt like the leaf, the face like the hibiscus.
乱入池中看不见，闻歌始觉有人来。
Mixed in the pool, she cannot be seen; only hearing the song do we know someone comes.
（她）乱入池中便看不见，听到歌声才觉得有人来。
Mixed into the pool, she is invisible; only hearing the song do we know someone is coming.
末二句写乱入池中，是全诗含蓄妙趣的归结。“乱入池中看不见”写入池不见——“乱入池中”写（采莲女）乱入池中，“看不见”写看不见——乱入池中看不见；“闻歌始觉有人来”写闻歌始觉——“闻歌”写听到歌声，“始觉有人来”写才觉得有人来——闻歌始觉有人来。二句写乱入池中：乱入池中看不见，闻歌始觉有人来。以“乱入池中看不见”写采莲女与荷叶荷花融为一体、不可分辨，以“闻歌始觉有人来”写闻歌方知有人，正是王昌龄诗写采莲女之美、含蓄不露的归结——人花不辨，闻歌始觉。
The last two lines write mixed into the pool, the landing of the whole's reserved delight. Mixed into the pool, she is invisible writes that, mingled among the leaves, she cannot be told apart; only hearing the song do we know someone is coming writes the song revealing her presence. The two lines write the mingling in the pool: invisible among the leaves, the song first showing the person. Writing the picker fused with the lotus leaves and flowers, undistinguishable, and writing the song's first revealing her, exactly Wang Changling's reserved conclusion to the picker's beauty - woman and flower undistinguishable, the song first making us know someone comes.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Another version by the same poet, offering a different perspective on lotus-picking girls.
贺知章《采莲曲》“稽山罢雾郁嵯峨，镜水无风也自波”写采莲之景，与本首同为唐代采莲曲。差异在情致：王昌龄采莲曲写人花交融之美；贺知章采莲曲写采莲之乐。一写“美”之融，一写“乐”之逸。两者并读，可见唐代采莲曲的两种情致。
采莲曲 Gathering Lotus 萧纲 · 同为采莲曲，一为唐人七绝一为南朝宫体，皆写采莲女 same themeA yuefu poem on the same subject, more rustic compared to Wang's refined style.
萧纲《采莲曲》写采莲之景，与本首同为采莲曲。差异在时代与体式：王昌龄采莲曲为唐人七绝；萧纲采莲曲为南朝宫体诗。一写“融”之美，一写“丽”之艳。两者并读，可见采莲曲由南朝到唐的发展。
折杨柳 Breaking the Willow (Zhe Yang Liu) 萧绎 · 与本首相关联的同类或同作者作品，供对比阅读 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
此处关联萧绎《折杨柳》，与本首在主题、体裁或作者上相关联，可对比阅读以见其同异。