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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

奉和圣制从蓬莱向兴庆阁道中留春雨中春望之作应制

Respectfully Matching His Majesty's Poem: Written by Imperial Command while Lingering on the Covered Way from Penglai to Xingqing, Gazing at Spring in the Spring Rain

王维

Wang Wei

渭水自萦秦塞曲黄山旧遶汉宫斜銮舆迥出千门柳阁道回看上苑花云里帝城双凤阙雨中春树万人家为乘阳气行时令不是宸游玩物华

The Wei River winds of itself through the bends of the Qin passes; Mount Huang of old encircles the Han palace and lies aslant.
The imperial carriage emerges far off among the willows of a thousand gates; from the covered way one looks back at the blossoms of the upper park.
Amid clouds, in the imperial city, the paired phoenix towers; in the rain, spring trees and ten thousand households.
This is done to follow the rising air of spring and keep the season's ordinances - not an imperial excursion for the pleasure of fine sights.

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Meaning

Written in answer to a poem by the emperor, the piece describes a progress along the raised covered way that linked the Daming and Xingqing palaces at Chang'an. It opens with the river and mountains that frame the capital, follows the imperial carriage out through the willows, looks back at the park, and then rises to the celebrated view of the phoenix towers in cloud and ten thousand rain-washed households among spring trees. It closes by insisting that the outing is an act of government, following the seasonal ordinances, not a pleasure trip.

渭水自萦绕秦塞而曲流，黄山旧绕汉宫而斜枕。銮舆高远地出千门柳，阁道回望上苑之花。云里帝城见双凤之阙，雨中春树掩万家之人。为乘阳气而行此春令，不是宸游玩赏之物华。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The Wei winds through the Qin defiles and the old yellow mountain shelves beside the palace; the carriage comes out past a thousand willow gates and, from the covered way, one gazes back at the park's flowers. The twin phoenix towers stand in cloud, and in the rain spring trees shelter ten thousand homes. The journey enacts the spring ordinances; it is not an outing for show. [Structure] This is a fully developed regulated octave. The opening couplet places the capital in immemorial geography. The second couplet introduces motion and the imperial presence. The third couplet, the required turn, lifts the eye to the famous panorama. The closing couplet supplies the moral. [Imagery] Cloud and rain serve opposite ends: cloud exalts the towers into the realm of the supernatural, while the rain brings the vision down to ordinary roofs and trees. Every couplet is a strict antithesis. [Effect] The total impression is grand and dignified, the finest kind of court panegyric.

【白话串讲】王维写《奉和圣制从蓬莱向兴庆阁道中留春雨中春望之作应制》：“渭水自萦秦塞曲，黄山旧遶汉宫斜”——“云里帝城双凤阙，雨中春树万人家”——“为乘阳气行时令，不是宸游玩物华”——他写雨中春望——雨中春树万人家。【意象与手法】首联“渭水自萦秦塞曲，黄山旧遶汉宫斜”写渭水黄山绕秦塞汉宫；颔联“銮舆迥出千门柳，阁道回看上苑花”写銮舆阁道望上苑花；颈联“云里帝城双凤阙，雨中春树万人家”写云里帝城、雨中春树的帝京气象；尾联“为乘阳气行时令，不是宸游玩物华”写行时令而非游赏的颂圣。宏阔典丽。【情感与主旨】王维写应制之作，以帝京春望写盛世气象与颂圣之意，以“雨中春树万人家”写帝京气象，是应制诗的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“云里帝城双凤阙，雨中春树万人家”写帝京气象；“为乘阳气行时令，不是宸游玩物华”写行时令颂圣。

Background

Wang Wei (about 701 - 761), courtesy name Mojie, was the leading poet-painter of the high Tang and a pillar of the capital's literary establishment. During the Kaiyuan reign the emperor Xuanzong had a long covered causeway built so that he could pass privately between the Daming Palace - here called Penglai, after the isle of the immortals - and the Xingqing Palace, the southern residence. It became a habit of the reign for the emperor to compose a poem on such an occasion and command his ministers to match it; Wang Wei, Jia Zhi, Cen Shen and others all wrote on this and similar themes. Occasional verse of this kind had strict expectations: formal diction, flawless antithesis, a grand opening and a loyal conclusion. This poem is generally judged the finest of all the Tang poems written to imperial command, and its third couplet is among the most quoted lines in the language.

此诗为盛唐诗人王维的《奉和圣制从蓬莱向兴庆阁道中留春雨中春望之作应制》之作，是应制诗的名篇。「奉和圣制」，写奉和皇帝的御制诗；「从蓬莱向兴庆」，写自蓬莱宫（大明宫）向兴庆宫（南内）而行；「阁道」，写复道（阁道为架空相连的通道）；「留春雨中春望」，写留赏春雨中的春望。唐玄宗开元年间，自大明宫至兴庆宫建有阁道（复道），玄宗尝于阁道上望春景，作诗命群臣奉和，王维此诗即为奉和之作。全诗写帝京春望：「渭水自萦秦塞曲」，写渭水自萦绕秦塞而曲流——渭水流经秦地，萦绕秦塞，曲曲折折；「黄山旧遶汉宫斜」，写黄山旧绕汉宫而斜枕——黄山（今咸阳一带之山）自古环绕汉宫（此指唐宫，借汉写唐）；「銮舆迥出千门柳」，写銮舆高远地出千门柳——皇帝的銮舆经千门垂柳之间；「阁道回看上苑花」，写阁道回望上苑之花——上苑为皇家苑囿；「云里帝城双凤阙」，写云里帝城见双凤阙——双凤阙为宫门之阙，高入云中；「雨中春树万人家」，写雨中春树掩万家之人——长安万家，雨中春树；「为乘阳气行时令」，写为乘阳气而行此春令——阳气为春气，行时令为顺应时令；「不是宸游玩物华」，写不是宸游玩赏之物华——宸游为帝王之游，物华为万物之华，颂圣之词。全诗以帝京春望写应制颂圣，宏阔而典丽，是应制诗「颂圣而不失雅」的代表作。

Art

The craft is that of the perfect court octave. Geography in the first couplet is not decorative but ideological: by naming the Qin passes and the Han palace, Wang Wei folds the present dynasty into the immemorial succession of capitals, a standard device in which the Han stands for the Tang. The second couplet manages movement in two directions at once - the carriage going out through the willows, the poet's gaze going back to the flowers - so the covered way is felt as a vantage point. The third couplet is the masterpiece: the vertical axis of cloud and towers is crossed with the horizontal spread of rain, trees and households, so that sovereignty and the common life are held in a single balanced frame. Every couplet is a strict antithesis with matched parts of speech, and the closing couplet defends the emperor with a distinction, belonging to ritual rather than pleasure, that converts praise into policy.

此诗艺术上以「气象宏阔」与「典丽工稳」为特色，在帝京春望的描绘中写尽应制的颂圣。首联「渭水自萦秦塞曲，黄山旧遶汉宫斜」，以「渭水自萦」写渭水之曲，以「黄山旧遶」写黄山之斜——「自萦」「旧遶」，一写水之萦绕、一写山之环绕，「秦塞」「汉宫」借古写今，正是帝京的雄阔，「自」「旧」二字，写秦塞汉宫的历史纵深；颔联「銮舆迥出千门柳，阁道回看上苑花」，以「銮舆迥出」写銮舆之高远，以「阁道回看」写阁道之回望——「迥出」「回看」，一写出千门之柳、一望上苑之花，正是御驾春行的动态，「迥」「回」二字，写銮舆之行的气象；颈联「云里帝城双凤阙，雨中春树万人家」，以「云里帝城双凤阙」写阙之高，以「雨中春树万人家」写家之多——「云里」「雨中」，一写帝城之高、一写春树之润，「双凤阙」「万人家」，一阙一市，正是帝京的宏阔，「云里」「雨中」四字，写尽帝京春望的气象；尾联「为乘阳气行时令，不是宸游玩物华」，以「为乘阳气行时令」写行时令之由，以「不是宸游玩物华」写非游赏之旨——「为乘」「不是」，一正一反，正是应制的颂圣，「行时令」颂帝王顺应天时，「玩物华」以退为进，正是颂圣的得体。全诗由渭水黄山写帝京之雄，经銮舆阁道、云里雨中的春望，而归于「不是宸游玩物华」的颂圣，气象宏阔、典丽工稳，正是应制诗「颂圣而不失雅」的极致。

Allusions

The allusions are spatial and dynastic rather than literary. Penglai is the island of the immortals in the eastern sea, and calling the Daming Palace by that name identifies the emperor's home with paradise. The paired phoenix towers refer to the twin gate-towers of the palace, the phoenix being the auspicious bird whose appearance marks a reign of virtue. The Qin passes and the Han palace invoke the two earlier dynasties that ruled from the same region, so the Tang inherits their legitimacy. The closing couplet's language belongs to the monthly ordinances: the ruler is required to move with the rising yang breath of spring and to carry out the season's governmental acts. Wang Wei's stroke is to read the emperor's rainy outing as exactly such an act rather than as sightseeing.

此诗用典于关键处见深意。「秦塞」，写秦地的关塞——秦塞为秦地（今陕西）的关塞，渭水流经秦地，「渭水自萦秦塞曲」写渭水萦绕秦地关塞。「汉宫」，写汉代的宫阙——汉宫本指汉朝宫殿，此借汉写唐，「黄山旧遶汉宫斜」写黄山环绕汉宫（唐宫）。「銮舆」，写帝王的车驾——銮舆为帝王乘舆，「銮舆迥出千门柳」写帝王銮舆出于千门。「千门」，写宫门之多——「千门」用汉宫「千门万户」之典，《汉书》记建章宫「千门万户」，「銮舆迥出千门柳」写出千门之柳。「上苑」，写皇家苑囿——上苑为帝王游猎之苑，「阁道回看上苑花」写回望上苑之花。「双凤阙」，写宫门之阙——阙为宫门两旁的楼观，双凤阙为以凤为饰的阙，「云里帝城双凤阙」写高入云中的双凤阙。「阳气」，写春气——阳气为春生之气，《月令》「天气下降，地气上腾，天地和同，草木萌动」正写阳气，「为乘阳气行时令」写乘阳气行时令。「宸游」，写帝王之游——宸为帝居，宸游为帝王之游，「不是宸游玩物华」写不是帝王游赏。这些典故，或写秦塞、或写汉宫、或写千门、或写上苑、或写双凤阙、或写阳气，皆围绕帝京春望与应制颂圣这一核心，织成一张宏阔典丽的情网，正是应制诗「用典雅正」的特点。

Commentary

Later critics treated this as the model of what occasional court verse can achieve. Ming and Qing anthologists regularly paired it with Cen Shen's and Jia Zhi's poems on the dawn audience at the Daming Palace, and there was a long running debate about which was superior. The third couplet in particular was singled out: earlier readers praised the way it holds the sacred and the domestic in one balanced line, and noted that only a poet of Wang Wei's pictorial gift could have set cloud and rain against each other so exactly. Some commentators preferred the closing couplet, arguing that the moral turn saves the poem from mere flattery. It remains the standard example of how a commissioned poem can be both dutiful and genuinely beautiful.

读此诗，最值得注意的是「云里帝城双凤阙，雨中春树万人家」所写出的「帝京的宏阔与春望的气象」。前四句写帝京春行的所见：渭水萦绕秦塞，黄山环绕汉宫，銮舆出于千门柳，阁道回看上苑花——那是御驾春行的气象，借秦塞汉宫写帝京的雄阔。而颈联「云里帝城双凤阙，雨中春树万人家」，是此诗的画眼：那高入云中的双凤阙，是帝城的宫阙；那雨中的春树，掩着长安的万家——一阙一市，一高一下，正是帝京的宏阔。值得注意的是，那「万人家」，写的是长安的百姓——帝城之中，不仅有双凤阙的宫阙，更有万家的春树，正是「帝力于我何有哉」的太平景象。而尾联「为乘阳气行时令，不是宸游玩物华」，是应制的颂圣：那春望，不是帝王的游赏，而是顺应阳气的行时令——「行时令」写帝王顺天时，「不是宸游玩物华」写非为游赏，一正一反，正是颂圣的得体，也是应制诗的规范：既写帝京春望之美，又归颂帝王之德。王维的应制诗，为盛唐之冠，那「云里帝城双凤阙，雨中春树万人家」的帝京气象，正是盛唐气象的写照——虽然应制诗多歌功颂德，而王维以画家的笔触，写尽了帝京春望的宏阔与典丽。

Prosody

Form Poem, a seven-character regulated octave (qiyan lüshi) of eight lines in four couplets, with strict antithesis in the middle two couplets.诗（七言律诗）

Rhyme A single level-tone rhyme runs through the even lines; the rhyme words belong to the broad, bright final associated with the words for aslant, flower, household and splendour. The open resonance is clear and prolonged, well suited to a wide panorama seen from a height.此诗为七言律诗，押平声「麻」部韵，「斜」「花」「家」「华」等字皆属下平六麻韵，韵脚清亮而悠长，正合诗情「帝京春望」的声调。首联「渭水自萦秦塞曲，黄山旧遶汉宫斜」以「秦塞曲」「汉宫斜」相对，工对而见雄阔；颔联「銮舆迥出千门柳，阁道回看上苑花」，以「銮舆迥出」「阁道回看」相对，工对而见气象；颈联「云里帝城双凤阙，雨中春树万人家」，以「云里帝城」「雨中春树」相对，工对而见帝京；尾联「为乘阳气行时令，不是宸游玩物华」，以「为乘」「不是」收束，写颂圣。整体声调由首联的雄阔，到尾联的颂圣，清亮而悠长，正合应制诗「典丽宏阔」的诗情。

Tone pattern Level and oblique tones alternate according to the regulated pattern, and the two middle couplets are matched part for part: place against place, action against action, cloud against rain, towers against trees. This perfect parallelism gives the poem its ceremonious, architectural poise, so that even the sound feels planned.句式上，此诗善用对仗与虚字：「渭水自萦秦塞曲，黄山旧遶汉宫斜」，以「渭水」「黄山」相对，一水一山，「自萦」「旧遶」写萦绕，对仗精工；「銮舆迥出千门柳，阁道回看上苑花」，以「銮舆迥出」「阁道回看」相对，一出一看，对仗整饬；「云里帝城双凤阙，雨中春树万人家」，以「云里帝城」「雨中春树」相对，一高一润，对仗精工而见气象；「为乘阳气行时令，不是宸游玩物华」，以「为乘」「不是」写颂圣，转折而见得体。全诗由写帝京入写春行、由写春行入写气象、由写气象入写颂圣，对仗整饬而句法多变，正是应制诗「典丽工稳」的节奏美学。

Reading note In a commissioned octave the prosody itself carries meaning: flawless regularity is a form of homage. Wang Wei uses the two-beat plus three-beat closing rhythm of each line to place his key words at the caesura and the line end, so that the paired nouns of the third couplet receive maximum weight. The final couplet relaxes into argument rather than image, and the rhyme closes on the word for splendour, literally turning the poem's music away from show.作为盛唐七律，《奉和圣制从蓬莱向兴庆阁道中留春雨中春望之作应制》的声律之美，在于以清亮的麻韵与精工的对仗，写出帝京春望的宏阔与颂圣的雅正。全诗首联「渭水自萦秦塞曲」以渭水黄山写帝京之雄，借秦塞汉宫写历史纵深；颔联「銮舆迥出千门柳，阁道回看上苑花」以銮舆阁道写御驾春行的气象，一出一看；颈联「云里帝城双凤阙，雨中春树万人家」以双凤阙、万人家写帝京的宏阔，一阙一市；尾联「为乘阳气行时令，不是宸游玩物华」以行时令、非游赏写颂圣的得体，一正一反。全诗由写帝京入写春行、由写春行入写气象、由写气象入写颂圣，层层递进而声情相谐，正是应制诗「典丽宏阔」的体现。就全诗而言，此诗以帝京春望写应制颂圣，气象宏阔、典丽工稳，是应制诗的名篇，与王维《和贾舍人早朝大明宫之作》同为应制之作，而一写雨中春望的帝京，一写早朝大明宫的朝会，可见王维应制诗写帝京的两种笔法，也可见盛唐应制诗的「颂圣而不失雅」的高格。

Line by line

渭水自萦秦塞曲

The Wei River winds of its own accord through the bends of the Qin passes.

渭水自萦绕秦塞而曲流。

The Wei River winds of itself, curving through the Qin frontier;

这一句是此诗的起笔，写渭水萦绕秦塞，是此诗帝京气象的开端。「渭水」，写渭河——渭水流经秦地（关中），正是长安之河；「自萦秦塞曲」，写自萦绕秦塞而曲流——「自萦」写自己萦绕，「秦塞」写秦地关塞，「曲」写曲流。以「渭水自萦秦塞曲」写帝京，比直写「长安」更见历史与宏阔——那渭水，萦绕秦塞而曲流，正是长安的地理与历史；「自萦」二字，写渭水之萦绕，正是「秦塞」的雄阔。这一起笔，以渭水秦塞写帝京之地，为全诗定下宏阔的基调，也是「黄山旧遶汉宫斜」的铺垫——渭水黄山，一水一山，正是帝京的雄阔。

This line is the poem's opening, writing the Wei River winding through the Qin frontier, the start of the imperial city's grand air. The Wei River writes the Wei - the Wei flowing through the Qin land (Guanzhong), exactly Chang'an's river. Winds of itself, curving through the Qin frontier writes the self-winding current - winds of itself the self-winding, the Qin frontier the Qin passes, curving the winding. Using The Wei River winds of itself, curving through the Qin frontier for the imperial city, the more historical and grand than directly writing Chang'an - the Wei winding through the Qin frontier, exactly Chang'an's geography and history; the two words winds of itself writing the river's winding, exactly the Qin frontier's grandeur. This opening, using the Wei and the Qin frontier for the imperial city's ground, fixes the whole's broad key, and the ground for the Yellow Mountain still girdling the oblique Han palace - the Wei, the Yellow Mountain, one water one hill, exactly the imperial city's grandeur.

云里帝城双凤阙

Amid the clouds, in the imperial city, the paired phoenix towers.

云里帝城见双凤之阙。

in the clouds, the imperial city's two phoenix towers;

这一句写高入云中的双凤阙，是此诗帝京气象的核心。「云里帝城」，写云里的帝城——「云里」写高入云中，「帝城」写帝王之城，正是长安；「双凤阙」，写双凤之阙——「双凤」写以凤为饰，「阙」写宫门两旁的楼观，「双凤阙」写高入云中的宫阙。以「云里帝城双凤阙」写帝城，比直写「长安宫阙」更见气象与崇高——那高入云中的双凤阙，正是帝城的标志；「云里」二字，写阙之高，正是帝城的气象。这一句，是此诗帝京气象的核心，与「雨中春树万人家」相对，一阙一市，一高一下，正是帝京的宏阔——那云里的双凤阙，正是帝城的象征。

This line writes the twin phoenix towers high in the clouds, the core of the poem's imperial city air. In the clouds, the imperial city writes the cloud-wreathed capital - in the clouds the height among the clouds, the imperial city the emperor's city, exactly Chang'an. The twin phoenix towers writes the phoenix-ornamented towers - twin phoenix the phoenix ornament, the towers the gate towers on both sides, the twin phoenix towers the palace gates high in the clouds. Using in the clouds, the imperial city's two phoenix towers for the capital, the more grand and sublime than directly writing Chang'an palace towers - the cloud-high twin phoenix towers, exactly the capital's mark; the two words in the clouds writing the towers' height, exactly the capital's air. This line is the core of the poem's imperial city air, set against the rain-veiled spring trees and ten thousand houses, one tower one city, one high one low, exactly the capital's breadth - the cloud-wreathed twin phoenix towers, exactly the imperial city's symbol.

不是宸游玩物华

It is not an imperial excursion to enjoy the splendour of things.

不是宸游玩赏之物华。

it is not the emperor's pleasure in the spring's beauty.

这一句是全诗的结穴，写不是帝王游赏，是此诗颂圣的得体之词。「不是宸游」，写不是帝王之游——「宸游」写帝王之游，「不是」写否定，那春望，不是帝王的游赏；「玩物华」，写玩赏物华——「玩」写玩赏，「物华」写万物之华。以「不是宸游玩物华」写颂圣，比直写「颂圣」更见得体与含蓄——那春望，不是游赏，而是行时令，正是「为乘阳气行时令」的回应；「不是」二字，写否定之旨，正是颂圣的得体。这一结句，得体含蓄，是此诗颂圣的最高点，也是「为乘阳气行时令」的收束——那帝京春望，不是宸游玩赏，而是顺应阳气的行时令，正是应制颂圣的雅正。

This line is the whole's close, writing it is not the emperor's pleasure, the fitting word of the praise. It is not the emperor's progress writes not the emperor's outing - the emperor's progress the royal outing, not the negation, that spring gaze is not the emperor's pleasure. In the spring's beauty writes enjoying the scenery - enjoying the enjoying, the spring's beauty the glory of all things. Using it is not the emperor's pleasure in the spring's beauty for the praise of the ruler, the more fitting and reserved than directly writing praise - that spring gaze is not pleasure, but the royal progress of the season, exactly the response to riding the sun's warmth to make the season's rounds; the two words not writing the negation's bent, exactly the fitting praise. This closing line, fitting and reserved, is the poem's peak of praising the ruler, and the close of riding the sun's warmth to make the season's rounds - the imperial city's spring gaze is not royal pleasure, but the season's progress answering the sun's warmth, exactly the regulated elegance of the ode to the ruler.

Study

Word focus

旧遶 Of old encircling. The adverb of old pulls the landscape back into antiquity, so that the mountain is not merely a landmark but an ancient guardian of the site; the verb of encircling also gives the capital a natural rampart, implying protection established long before any builder. 「黄山旧遶汉宫斜」之「旧遶」，写旧时环绕，是此诗历史纵深的关键语。「旧遶」即旧时环绕——「旧」写旧时，「遶」同「绕」，写环绕，「旧遶」写黄山自古环绕汉宫；「黄山旧遶汉宫斜」，写黄山旧绕汉宫而斜枕。以「旧遶」写山势，比直写「环绕」更见历史与纵深——那黄山，旧时环绕汉宫，正是帝京的历史；「旧遶」二字，写山之环绕与历史之深，正是「秦塞汉宫」的雄阔。这一词，是此诗历史纵深的关键，与「自萦」相对，一水一山，一自一旧，正是帝京的地理与历史，也是应制诗「借古写今」的笔法。

銮舆 The imperial carriage, named from the phoenix-bells that hung on it. The word stands for the emperor himself while keeping him at a distance appropriate to etiquette; its abrupt appearance in the second couplet is what introduces living motion into a poem of static geography. 「銮舆迥出千门柳」之「銮舆」，写帝王的车驾，是此诗御驾意象的核心语。「銮舆」即帝王的车驾——「銮」写銮铃，「舆」写车舆，「銮舆」写帝王乘舆；「銮舆迥出千门柳」，写帝王的銮舆高远地出于千门柳。以「銮舆」写帝王，比直写「帝王」更见典丽与威仪——那銮舆，正是帝王之乘，銮铃之声，正是御驾的气象；「銮舆」二字，写帝王车驾，正是「迥出千门柳」的主体，也是应制诗「颂圣」的对象。这一词，是此诗御驾意象的核心，与「迥出」「回看」相连，一写出行，一写回望，正是御驾春行的动态。

春树 Spring trees. The plainest possible word, and the reason the famous couplet works: after the exalted towers, spring trees bring the vision down to ordinary vegetation and the households they shelter, so that majesty and daily life are balanced within one line. 「雨中春树万人家」之「春树」，写春天的树木，是此诗春望意象的核心语。「春树」即春天的树木——「春」写春天，「树」写树木，「春树」写春日的树木；「雨中春树万人家」，写雨中春树掩着万家人家。以「春树」写春景，比直写「草木」更见生机与画面——那雨中的春树，正是帝京的春色；「春树」二字，写春日之树，正是「万人家」的掩映，那春树之下，是长安的万家，正是帝京春望的气象。这一词，是此诗春望意象的核心，与「万人家」相连，一写春树，一写人家，正是帝京的春色与民生，也是「雨中」春望的画面。