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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

宫词·王建

Palace Verse (Seeking the Last Red Blossoms)

王建

Wang Jian

树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东。
自是桃花贪结子，错教人恨五更风。

From treetop to tree base she seeks the faded red; one petal flies west, one flies east.
It is simply that the peach blossoms are eager to set their fruit —
they wrongly make her hate the fifth-watch wind.
Listen

Meaning

Searching high and low for the last red blossoms, the speaker watches the petals scatter east and west and realizes the peach flowers fall not because of the fifth-watch wind but because they are bent on bearing fruit. The gentle self-correction — blaming the wrong culprit — mirrors the unspoken sorrow of palace women, who endure their fate with the same resigned misdirection of blame.

树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东。自是桃花贪结子，错教人恨五更风。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] From treetop to tree base she hunts the faded red; one petal flies west, another east. It is simply that the peach blossoms are eager to set their seed — they wrongly make her curse the fifth-watch wind. [Structure] The first couplet watches the falling petals; the second suddenly turns to explanation and self-rebuke; the whole turns on the single word 'wrongly'. [Imagery] 'Last red' condenses beauty at the point of loss; the scattered petals fly in aimless directions, and the 'fifth-watch wind' becomes the innocent culprit of a grief that has no proper object.

【白话串讲】 王建写《宫词》：“树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东”——“自是桃花贪结子，错教人恨五更风”——他写宫词——自是桃花贪结子。 【意象与手法】 “树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东”写残红西飞东；“自是桃花贪结子”写桃花结子；结以“错教人恨五更风”以错教人恨五更风写怨。婉讽咏物。 【情感与主旨】 王建写宫词咏物之作，借桃花落尽写宫女身世，以“错教人恨五更风”写桃花结子自有归宿而宫女无着，是宫怨诗中以物写人的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东”写残红飘零；“自是桃花贪结子，错教人恨五更风”以桃花结子写宫怨。

Background

Wang Jian (c. 767-c. 830), courtesy name Zhongchu, was from Yingchuan (modern Xuchang, Henan). A mid-Tang poet best known for his yuefu ballads and for his celebrated series of one hundred 'Palace Verses' (gongci), which record the daily life, customs, and hidden sorrows of the Tang harem with the eye of a close observer of court service. This quatrain belongs to that tradition: brief on the surface, it carries a woman's situation entirely inside an image of falling peach petals, and has long been admired for turning a courtyard scene into a parable of palace life.

《宫词·王建》为唐代诗人王建所作诗。王建（约767—约830），字仲初，颍川人，唐代诗人，以乐府、宫词著称。此诗写宫词咏物，为咏桃花之作。诗中「树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东」写树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东；「自是桃花贪结子，错教人恨五更风」写自是桃花贪结子，错教人恨五更风。王建此诗以宫词咏物、错教人恨五更风写其咏物之情，婉讽咏物，是王建诗中的名篇。此篇《宫词·王建》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《宫词·王建》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《宫词·王建》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。

Art

The quatrain's ingenuity is its change of perspective. The first couplet is pure observation: the petals are hunted down 'from treetop to tree base' and fly apart in every direction, a picture of dispersal that quietly mirrors a woman plucked and scattered by selection. The second couplet then performs a logical reversal — the blossoms fall of their own eagerness to fruit, and the wind, long blamed, is 'wrongly' accused. The word 'wrongly' (cuo) is the hinge of the poem: it transfers the lament from a culprit to a cause, and by defending the wind the speaker in effect defends a fate that has no villain — the deepest grief in the palace is precisely that no one is to blame.

此诗艺术上以「婉讽咏物、以花写情」见长。全诗共四句两联，由树头树底觅残红而自是桃花贪结子。起「树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东」写树头树底觅残红：树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东；结「自是桃花贪结子，错教人恨五更风」写自是桃花贪结子：自是桃花贪结子，错教人恨五更风。全诗以花写情，由树头树底觅残红而错教人恨五更风，婉讽咏物，是王建诗中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。

Allusions

The peach blossom is among the oldest Chinese poetic images of beauty and of the fair sex — from the 'Peach Blossom' ode of the Book of Songs, where the bride's radiant face is likened to the blossoms, onward. The 'fifth watch' (wu geng) is the last of the five night watches before dawn, conventionally the hour of parting and of cold, sleepless feeling in Tang poetry; blaming the pre-dawn wind for the fallen petals carries all the pathos of a night that ends in loss. Though the poem wears no learned allusion, its vocabulary of blossoms, wind, and watches is saturated with the harem tradition of Wang Jian's hundred Palace Verses, in which small court incidents veil large sorrows.

诗中「树头树底觅残红一片西飞一片东」「自是桃花贪结子错教人恨五更风」等语，皆含典故故实。「树头树底觅残红一片西飞一片东」写树头树底觅残红一片西飞一片东；「自是桃花贪结子错教人恨五更风」用桃花之典（桃花写桃树花），写自是桃花贪结子错教人恨五更风。诗人用桃花之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把宫词咏物之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。

Commentary

This little quatrain is one of the best-loved of Wang Jian's Palace Verses because it hides its compassion behind a defense of the peach tree. Traditional readers noted the poem's 'tactful irony': the blossoms, at least, achieve their purpose by falling — they bear fruit — whereas the palace woman's beauty is spent for nothing. The neatest touch is the word 'wrongly': by exonerating the wind, the speaker exonerates the emperor and the system too, leaving grief with no legitimate target, which later critics called the subtlest note in the whole hundred-poem series.

这首《宫词·王建》，是王建写宫词咏物之作，写树头树底觅残红、自是桃花贪结子、错教人恨五更风之情，婉讽咏物。起「树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东」——树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东。写树头树底觅残红：树头树底觅残红、一片西飞一片东——觅残红、一片东；结「自是桃花贪结子，错教人恨五更风」——自是桃花贪结子，错教人恨五更风。写自是桃花贪结子：自是桃花贪结子、错教人恨五更风——贪结子、五更风。这「自是桃花贪结子，错教人恨五更风」，是全诗之结：以错教人恨五更风写其咏物。全诗婉讽咏物，以花写情，正是王建诗中的名篇。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (qiyan jueju)诗（七言绝句）
Rhyme The rhyme words dong ('east') and feng ('wind') belong to the Eastern rhyme group; a single rhyme through four lines gives the little poem a tight, bell-like unity.此诗为七言绝句，共四句两联。押韵：「东」「风」押东部韵。前两句起、后两句转合，平仄相间，正与写宫词咏物的婉讽咏物相称，也见其以七绝写咏物的凝练。
Tone pattern The two couplets run statement-then-turn: the first observes in even measures, the second pivots on 'simply' and 'wrongly', so the ear catches the reversal even before the sense; the seven-syllable gait stays calm and colloquial, keeping the sorrow almost offhand.句式上，「树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东」写树头树底觅残红，音节婉讽；结「自是桃花贪结子，错教人恨五更风」写自是桃花贪结子，音节悠长。全诗音节随情起伏，由婉讽而悠长，正合七绝「凝练」之妙，读来如宫词咏物、错教人恨五更风之音，婉讽而动人。
Reading note The quatrain form demands the turn (zhuan) at the third line, and here the turn is intellectual rather than lyrical: a quiet piece of reasoning replaces a cry. The even rhyme and plain diction let the irony land softly, which is the whole art of Wang Jian's Palace Verses — depth without weight.此诗为七言绝句，是王建写宫词咏物之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「婉讽咏物、以花写情」：「树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东」写树头树底觅残红、「自是桃花贪结子，错教人恨五更风」写自是桃花贪结子。全诗婉讽咏物，以花写情。尤为精妙者，是「树头树底觅残红」写尽觅残红；而「错教人恨五更风」用桃花之典，正是王建诗「婉讽咏物」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《宫词·王建》一诗之所以读来声情并茂，正在于诗人以声韵配合情思、以节奏烘托意境，音节之长短、平仄之起伏，皆与诗意相为表里，此亦可见中国古典诗歌声律之美与匠心之工。

Line by line

树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东。

From treetop to tree base she seeks the faded red; one petal flies west, one flies east.

树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东。

At the tree's top and beneath it she seeks the fallen red; one petal drifts west, another east.

起句写树头树底觅残红，起笔即见其残红。「树头树底觅残红」写树头树底觅残红，「树头树底」写树头树底、「觅残红」写觅残红；「一片西飞一片东」写一片西飞一片东，「一片西飞」写一片西飞、「一片东」写一片东。一句写树头树底觅残红一片西飞一片东，以树头树底觅残红写觅残红、以一片西飞一片东写一片东，写尽树头树底觅残红、一片西飞一片东之情。以红起兴，婉讽而咏物，是「以红起兴」的妙笔。

The opening line seeks fallen petals at the tree's top and base, one petal drifting this way and that; rising through the red blossom, it is a delicate, ironic observation.

自是桃花贪结子，

It is simply that the peach blossoms are eager to set their fruit —

自是桃花贪结子，

It is the peach blossom itself, greedy to bear fruit.

此句写自是桃花贪结子，是全诗写桃花之态的关键。「自是桃花」用桃花之典写自是桃花，「自是」写自是、「桃花」写桃花；「贪结子」写贪结子，「贪」写贪、「结子」写结子。一句写自是桃花贪结子，以自是桃花写桃花、以贪结子写贪结子，写尽自是桃花贪结子之情。以桃写情，婉讽而咏物，是「以桃写情」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

This line notes that the peach blossom itself was 'greedy to bear fruit' — a quiet reproof hidden in plain words, the poem's subtle point.

错教人恨五更风。

they wrongly make her hate the fifth-watch wind.

错教人恨五更风。

That she has wrongly made men blame the fifth-watch wind.

结句写错教人恨五更风，是全诗立意的落点。「错教人恨」写错教人恨，「错教」写错教、「人恨」写人恨；「五更风」写五更风，「五更」写五更、「风」写风。一句写错教人恨五更风，以错教人恨写人恨、以五更风写五更风，写尽错教人恨五更风之情。以风写情，婉讽而咏物，是全诗最动人处，也是「以风写情」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

The closing line says the woman has wrongly made men blame the fifth-watch wind; ending on the wind, it turns reproach inward, a light irony that carries deep feeling in few words.

Study

Word focus

残红 The last red blossoms — beauty at the point of falling, a standard image for a woman's fading prime in palace verse. 「残红」写树头树底觅残红，是写残红之态的关键。「树头树底觅残红」着一「残红」，写残红——着一「残红」，写树头树底觅残红，见其红之残。两字写尽残红之态，是「以词写红」的妙笔。「残红」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
西飞 Flying west — the petals' aimless scattering east and west mirrors the dispersal of women chosen and discarded by the harem. 「西飞」写一片西飞一片东，是写西飞之态的关键。「一片西飞一片东」着一「西飞」，写西飞——着一「西飞」，写一片西飞一片东，见其飞之西。两字写尽西飞之态，是「以词写飞」的点睛之词。「西飞」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
桃花 The peach blossom — the poem's object of meditation, whose fall is re-read not as loss but as eagerness to bear fruit. 「桃花」写自是桃花贪结子，是写桃花之态的关键。「自是桃花贪结子」着一「桃花」，写桃花——着一「桃花」，写自是桃花贪结子，见其花之桃。两字写尽桃花之态，是「以词写桃」的点睛之词。「桃花」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
五更 The fifth and last night watch, before dawn; in Tang poetry the hour of parting and cold wakefulness, here the innocent target of misdirected blame. 「五更」写错教人恨五更风，是写五更之态的关键。「错教人恨五更风」着一「五更」，写五更——着一「五更」，写错教人恨五更风，见其更之五。两字写尽五更之态，是「以词写更」的点睛之词。「五更」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

水调歌头·明月几时有 Prelude to Water Melody (When will the moon be clear and round?) 苏轼 · 同写咏物感怀、婉讽旷达，一写人有悲欢离合、一写树头树底觅残红一片西飞一片东，皆于咏物之中见婉讽 Both meditate on things with gentle irony and breadth — one on human parting and reunion, the other on faded blossoms flying east and west.

Su Shi's 'Men have sorrow and joy, parting and reunion, just as the moon has its dark and cloudy phases — such has always been hard to perfect' meditates philosophically on change; Wang Jian's 'tree top and tree base seeking the last red' and 'wrongly making people blame the fifth-watch wind' writes resignation through blossoms. One accepts through philosophy, the other through a blossom's quiet excuse.

苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全」，写咏物感怀、婉讽旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；王建《宫词·王建》则以「树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东」「错教人恨五更风」写一片东、五更风。两诗同写咏物感怀、婉讽旷达：一写人有悲欢离合、以悲欢写离合，一写树头树底觅残红一片西飞一片东、以残红写咏物；一为苏轼之旷达、一为王建之婉讽，并读正可见诗写「咏物感怀」的两种笔法，皆于咏物之中见婉讽。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Eight Beats of the Ganyang Melody (Facing the drizzling evening rain over the river sky) 柳永 · 同写树底凝望、婉讽清丽，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写树头树底觅残红一片西飞一片东，皆于树底之中见凝望 Both gaze at falling things over water with clear, tender coloring — one at evening rain rinsing the autumn river, the other at last red petals drifting east and west.

Liu Yong's 'Facing the drizzling evening rain that washes the river sky' is a travel classic; Wang Jian's 'one piece flies west, one piece east' watches petals fall. Both gaze at clear autumn scenes: Liu Yong's limpid traveller's sorrow versus Wang Jian's tender, ironic consolation.

柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「对潇潇暮雨洒江天，一番洗清秋」，写树底凝望、婉讽清丽，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；王建《宫词·王建》则以「树头树底觅残红，一片西飞一片东」「自是桃花贪结子」写一片东、贪结子。两诗同写树底凝望、婉讽清丽：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写树头树底觅残红一片西飞一片东、以残红写咏物；一为柳永之清丽、一为王建之婉讽，并读正可见诗写「树底凝望」的两种笔法，皆于树底之中见凝望。