唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
代答闺梦还
Reply for My Wife on Her Dream of Return
关塞年华早，楼台别望违。
试衫著暖气，开镜觅春晖。
燕入窥罗幕，蜂来上舞衣。
情催桃李艳，心寄管弦飞。
妆洗朝相待，风花暝不归。
寄语边塞客，早作返春闱。
I try on a spring robe and feel its warmth; I lift the mirror to seek the spring light.
Swallows flit in to peep through the silk curtain; bees come to alight on my dancing dress.
Longing hastens the peach and plum to bloom; my heart flies with the strings and pipes.
I wash and dress at dawn to wait for you; in wind and flowers, at dusk, you have not returned.
I send word to the man at the frontier: come home early to the spring boudoir.
Meaning
In the voice of a soldier's wife, the poem paints her springtime longing — dressing, waiting, and dreaming — and ends with a heartfelt plea for her husband to return soon from the frontier.
你守关塞、年华早逝，我在楼台望归却总违愿。试穿春衫感到暖气，对镜寻觅春日的光辉。燕子飞入偷看罗幕，蜜蜂飞来停上舞衣。春情催得桃李争艳，我的心随管弦之声飞向远方。清晨梳妆相待，直到风花暝色你仍未归。寄语那远戍的征人：早些回到这春日的闺闱吧。
Appreciation
The poem speaks in the voice of a longing wife answering her husband's dream of homecoming. The first four couplets paint her spring boudoir life in fine detail — trying on robes, facing the mirror, swallows peeping and bees alighting, her heart flying with music — like a delicate picture. The last couplets move from the eager 'waiting at dawn' to the disappointment of 'not returning at dusk,' and close with the direct cry 'come home early to the spring boudoir,' pushing her longing into a plea. The images 'swallows peep' and 'bees alight' render spring feeling through tiny motions; 'longing hastens' and 'heart flies' turn stillness into motion; the ending turns scene into address, direct yet tender. Ornate yet sincere, it is a fine boudoir poem of the early-to-high Tang transition.
【白话串讲】 写《春江花月夜》的张若虚，还有这首《代答闺梦还》：“关塞年华早，楼台别望违”——她送别丈夫。“试衫著暖气，开镜觅春晖”——“情催桃李艳，心寄管弦飞”——“寄语边塞客，早作返春闱”——她盼丈夫早点回来。 【意象与手法】 “燕窥罗幕”“蜂上舞衣”以纤细动态写春闺；“情催桃李”“心寄管弦”化静为动；末联由景入呼，直而能婉。 【情感与主旨】 写征妇春日怀远、盼夫早归的深情，绮丽中见真挚，是初唐向盛唐过渡的闺情佳作。 【名句点睛】 “寄语边塞客，早作返春闱”——于秾丽春景后直抒盼归，由景入情，真切动人。
Background
Zhang Ruoxu is famed for 'Spring River Flower Moon Night.' This 'Reply for My Wife on Her Dream of Return' is also an early-Tang boudoir poem, written in the voice of a wife answering her frontier husband's 'dream of return,' depicting springtime longing at home.
《代答闺梦还》为唐代张若虚所作，是代闺人答边塞客、写思妇念远之情的诗。张若虚（约660—约720），扬州人，唐代诗人。此诗：关塞年华早，楼台别望违。试衫著暖气，开镜觅春晖。燕入窥罗幕，蜂来上舞衣。情催桃李艳，心寄管弦飞。妆洗朝相待，风花暝不归。寄语边塞客，早作返春闱。全诗代闺人答边塞客、写思妇念远之情，是张若虚诗的名篇。
Art
A five-character regulated sequence (pailü) of twelve lines, six couplets unfolding the boudoir life — from trying on robes and facing the mirror, through swallows and bees in motion, to dressing and sending word — advancing layer by layer. The antitheses are neat yet the feeling flows gracefully, showing the ornate early-Tang manner.
《代答闺梦还》艺术上以闺中起居的描摹与思妇念远的深挚见长。全诗十句，层层写来：首写关塞别望——“关塞年华早，楼台别望违”写关塞年华早、楼台别望违；中写闺中起居——“试衫著暖气，开镜觅春晖”写试衫著暖气、开镜觅春晖，“燕入窥罗幕，蜂来上舞衣”写燕入窥罗幕、蜂来上舞衣，“情催桃李艳，心寄管弦飞”写情催桃李艳、心寄管弦飞；末写寄语边客——“妆洗朝相待，风花暝不归。寄语边塞客，早作返春闱”写妆洗朝相待、寄语边塞客早返春闱。全诗以闺中起居写思妇念远，正是张若虚诗深挚的笔法。
Allusions
The frontier (guansai) means the border defense post; spring light (chunhui) means the sunshine of spring; the silk curtain (luomu) is a silk screen; strings and pipes (guanxian) stand for music or distant news; the spring boudoir (chunwei) originally meant the spring examination, here borrowed to mean the spring bedroom.
《代答闺梦还》用典在“关塞”“春晖”“边塞客”“春闱”。“关塞”写边关要塞；“春晖”写春日阳光（母爱春晖之意，此处写春意）；“边塞客”写边塞征客；“春闱”写春闺。全诗以这些意象写代闺人答边塞客、思妇念远之情，用典自然而深挚自见，正是张若虚诗的笔法。
Commentary
Tangshi Gui says 'it paints the spring boudoir like a picture; the two lines about swallows peeping and bees alighting are delicate yet antique.' The Complete Tang Poems records this piece, noting it shows Zhang Ruoxu's talent alongside the Spring River poem.
《代答闺梦还》是张若虚诗的名篇，也是初唐诗中写思妇念远的代表作。此诗代闺人答边塞客、写思妇念远之情，向为论者称道。论者多赏其闺中起居的描摹与思妇念远的深挚——“关塞年华早，楼台别望违”写关塞年华早、楼台别望违，深挚之极；“试衫著暖气，开镜觅春晖”写试衫著暖气、开镜觅春晖，更见其盼；“情催桃李艳，心寄管弦飞”写情催桃李艳、心寄管弦飞，尤见其情；“寄语边塞客，早作返春闱”写寄语边客、早返春闱，尤见其盼。张若虚以《春江花月夜》名世，此诗正是其代表——以闺中起居写思妇念远，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
关塞年华早，楼台别望违。试衫著暖气，开镜觅春晖。
At the frontier, the season is young; from the tower, my longing for you is thwarted. I try the gown in the growing warmth; I open the mirror to seek the spring light.
关塞年华早，楼台别望违。试衫著暖气，开镜觅春晖。
At the frontier, the year is yet young; from the tower, my gaze after the parting is thwarted. I try on the new gown, feeling the warm air; I open the mirror, seeking the spring sun.
首写关塞别望、试衫开镜，是全诗写思妇念远的起点。“关塞年华早，楼台别望违”用关塞之典写关塞年华早、楼台别望违——“关塞年华早”用关塞之典写边关岁月还早，“楼台别望违”写楼台别后望断——关塞年华，楼台别望；“试衫著暖气，开镜觅春晖”写试衫著暖气、开镜觅春晖——“试衫著暖气”写试穿衣衫感受暖气，“开镜觅春晖”写打开镜奁寻觅春晖——试衫暖气，开镜觅春晖。四句写关塞别望、试衫开镜：关塞年华早，楼台别望违。试衫著暖气，开镜觅春晖。以“关塞年华早”用关塞之典写征人远戍、年华正早，以“楼台别望违”写楼台别后、望断天涯，以“试衫著暖气”写试衫觉暖、春意已到，以“开镜觅春晖”写开镜觅春、独处闺中，正是张若虚诗写思妇念远的起点——关塞别望，试衫开镜。
The opening writes the frontier and the parted gaze, the trying of the gown and the opening of the mirror, the starting point of the whole's writing the longing wife's thought of the distance. At the frontier, the season is young uses the frontier allusion for the conscript's distant garrison in his young years; from the tower, my longing for you is thwarted writes the broken gaze after the parting. I try the gown in the growing warmth writes the trying-on feeling the warmth; I open the mirror to seek the spring light writes the opening of the mirror case seeking the spring. The four lines write the frontier and parted gaze, the gown and the mirror, exactly Zhang Ruoxu's starting point of the longing wife's thought - the frontier's parted gaze, the gown and the mirror.
燕入窥罗幕，蜂来上舞衣。情催桃李艳，心寄管弦飞。
The swallows enter and peer through the silk curtain; the bees come to light on the dancing robe. Love urges the peach and plum to their brilliance; my heart flies away with the pipes and strings.
燕入窥罗幕，蜂来上舞衣。情催桃李艳，心寄管弦飞。
Swallows enter and peek through the silk curtains; bees alight on my dancing dress. Love urges the peach and plum to bloom; my heart is lent to the flying music.
中写燕入窥罗幕、心寄管弦飞，是全诗写闺中情思的深化。“燕入窥罗幕，蜂来上舞衣”写燕入窥罗幕、蜂来上舞衣——“燕入窥罗幕”写燕子飞入窥看罗幕，“蜂来上舞衣”写蜜蜂飞来落在舞衣——燕入罗幕，蜂上舞衣；“情催桃李艳，心寄管弦飞”写情催桃李艳、心寄管弦飞——“情催桃李艳”写情思催开桃李之艳，“心寄管弦飞”写心怀寄托管弦飞奏——情催桃李，心寄管弦。四句写燕入窥罗幕、心寄管弦飞：燕入窥罗幕，蜂来上舞衣。情催桃李艳，心寄管弦飞。以“燕入窥罗幕”写燕子窥幕、春意融融，以“蜂来上舞衣”写蜜蜂落衣、春色撩人，以“情催桃李艳”写情思催开桃李、春情如花，以“心寄管弦飞”写心怀寄于管弦、幽思飞远，正是张若虚诗写闺中情思的深化——燕蜂桃李，心寄管弦。
The middle writes the swallows peering through the curtain, the heart lent to the flying music, the deepening of the whole's writing the chamber feeling. The swallows enter and peer through the silk curtain; the bees come to light on the dancing robe writes the swallows peeping in and the bees alighting. Love urges the peach and plum to their brilliance; my heart flies away with the pipes and strings writes the feeling urging the blooms, the heart entrusted to the music. The four lines write the swallows and bees, the peach and plum, the heart lent to the strings, exactly the deepening of the chamber longing - swallows and bees, peach and plum, the heart lent to the music.
妆洗朝相待，风花暝不归。寄语边塞客，早作返春闱。
I dress and trim myself each dawn, waiting for you; in the dusk wind and flowers, you return not. Tell my frontier rover: make haste back to the spring chamber.
妆洗朝相待，风花暝不归。寄语边塞客，早作返春闱。
I rise each morning and dress, waiting for you; in the windy dusk of flowers, you have not come back. Send word to my rover at the frontier: make haste to return to the spring chamber.
末写妆洗朝相待、寄语边塞客，是全诗写盼归之情的归结。“妆洗朝相待，风花暝不归”写妆洗朝相待、风花暝不归——“妆洗朝相待”写清晨梳妆整洗以待，“风花暝不归”写暮色风花中仍不归——妆洗朝待，风花暮不归；“寄语边塞客，早作返春闱”写寄语边塞客、早作返春闱——“寄语边塞客”用边塞客之典写寄语边塞征客，“早作返春闱”用春闱之典写早作归计返回春闺——寄语边客，早返春闱。四句写妆洗朝相待、寄语边塞客：妆洗朝相待，风花暝不归。寄语边塞客，早作返春闱。以“妆洗朝相待”写清晨妆洗、相待归人，以“风花暝不归”写暮色风花、归人未返，以“寄语边塞客”用边塞客之典写寄语征客、盼其早归，以“早作返春闱”用春闱之典写早作归计、返回春闺，正是张若虚诗写盼归之情的归结——朝待暮望，寄语早归。
The close writes the morning toilet waiting, the message to the frontier rover, the landing of the whole's writing the longing for return. I dress and trim myself each dawn, waiting for you; in the dusk wind and flowers, you return not writes the morning toilet and the dusk not returning. Tell my frontier rover: make haste back to the spring chamber uses the frontier-rover and spring-chamber allusions, writing the message urging the early return. The four lines write the morning waiting and the message, exactly Zhang Ruoxu's landing of the longing for return - morning waiting and dusk watching, the message to return early.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
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