唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
已凉
Already Cool
碧阑干外绣帘垂，猩色屏风画折枝。
八尺龙须方锦褥，已凉天气未寒时。
On the scarlet screen a branch of flowers is painted.
An eight-foot dragon-whisker mat with a square brocade quilt,
The weather is already cool but not yet cold.
Meaning
The poem arranges a richly colored boudoir—green rail, scarlet screen, brocade quilt—at the turn of cool weather, hinting at a woman's quiet chill. Splendor and solitude meet in a single mild season.
碧绿的栏杆外，绣帘低垂；猩红的屏风上画着折枝花卉。八尺长的龙须草席铺着方锦褥子，正是天气初凉却尚未寒冷的时候。
Appreciation
Each line adds a colored object—green rail, scarlet screen, dragon-whisker mat, brocade quilt—until the room is sumptuous and closed. The last line names the season, 'already cool but not yet cold,' when weather is kindest and the heart coldest, contrast doing the poem's quiet work. Critics call it 'splendid yet not vulgar, its chill self-arising,' a late-Tang boudoir piece that chills by arrangement.
【白话串讲】 “碧阑干外绣帘垂，猩色屏风画折枝”——韩偓写闺房：碧阑干、绣帘、猩色屏风。“八尺龙须方锦褥，已凉天气未寒时”——“已凉天气未寒时”——他写闺中人的寂寞，欲说还休。 【意象与手法】以“碧阑干”“猩色屏风”“方锦褥”层层铺陈闺阁华丽，设色秾丽而气息清幽。 【情感与主旨】写女子闺中初凉时节的孤寂况味，艳中带冷，隐含幽怨。 【名句点睛】“已凉天气未寒时”——以气候之宜人反衬心境之孤冷。
Background
Han Wo was a late-Tang poet; this poem writes of a boudoir at the first cool, belonging to the amorous vein yet touched with clear cold.
《已凉》为唐代韩偓所作，是写闺房秋景、已凉未寒的诗。韩偓（约842—约923），字致尧，小字冬郎，京兆万年人，唐代诗人。此诗：碧阑干外绣帘垂，猩色屏风画折枝。八尺龙须方锦褥，已凉天气未寒时。全诗写闺房秋景、已凉未寒，是韩偓诗的名篇。
Art
Rich in color (green, scarlet, brocade), layered upon layered, writing the person through the scene.
《已凉》艺术上以闺房陈设的描摹与已凉未寒的含蓄见长。全诗四句：首写阑干绣帘——“碧阑干外绣帘垂，猩色屏风画折枝”写碧阑干外绣帘垂、猩色屏风画折枝；末写龙须锦褥——“八尺龙须方锦褥，已凉天气未寒时”写八尺龙须方锦褥、已凉天气未寒时。全诗以闺房陈设写已凉未寒，正是韩偓诗含蓄的笔法。
Allusions
No overt allusion; it purely describes the boudoir's furnishings.
《已凉》用典在“碧阑干”“绣帘”“猩色”“屏风画折枝”“龙须”“锦褥”。“碧阑干”写碧阑干（碧色栏干）；“绣帘”写绣帘；“猩色”写猩色（猩红色）；“屏风画折枝”写屏风画折枝；“龙须”用龙须之典（龙须草席）；“锦褥”写锦褥。全诗以这些意象写闺房秋景、已凉未寒，用典自然而含蓄自见，正是韩偓诗的笔法。
Commentary
Critics say of it 'splendid yet not vulgar, its chill arises of itself.'
《已凉》是韩偓诗的名篇，也是唐诗中写闺房秋景的代表作。此诗写闺房秋景、已凉未寒，向为论者称道。论者多赏其闺房陈设的描摹与已凉未寒的含蓄——“碧阑干外绣帘垂，猩色屏风画折枝”写碧阑干外绣帘垂、猩色屏风画折枝，含蓄之极；“八尺龙须方锦褥，已凉天气未寒时”用龙须之典写八尺龙须方锦褥、已凉天气未寒时，更见其妙。韩偓为香奁体代表，此诗正是其代表——以闺房陈设写已凉未寒，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
碧阑干外绣帘垂，猩色屏风画折枝。
Beyond the green balustrades the embroidered curtain hangs low; on the scarlet screen, painted branches of broken blossom.
碧阑干外绣帘垂，猩色屏风画折枝。
Beyond the green railings the embroidered curtain hangs low; the crimson screen bears painted branches of broken bloom.
首写碧阑干外绣帘垂、猩色屏风画折枝，是全诗写闺房陈设的起点。“碧阑干外绣帘垂”写碧阑干外绣帘垂——“碧阑干外绣帘垂”写碧色栏干外绣帘低垂——碧阑干外绣帘垂；“猩色屏风画折枝”写猩色屏风画折枝——“猩色屏风画折枝”写猩红屏风画着折枝——猩色屏风画折枝。二句写碧阑干外绣帘垂、猩色屏风画折枝：碧阑干外绣帘垂，猩色屏风画折枝。以“碧阑干外绣帘垂”写碧栏绣帘、闺阁之深，以“猩色屏风画折枝”写猩色屏风、折枝之画，正是韩偓诗写闺房陈设的起点——碧栏绣帘，猩屏折枝。
The first two lines write the chamber's furnishing, the start of the inner-room setting. 'Beyond the green railings the embroidered curtain hangs low' — the green balustrade without, the curtain drooping within; 'on the scarlet screen, painted branches of broken blossom' — the crimson screen painted with sprays of flower. Green and crimson, curtain and screen, layer the deep seclusion of the women's chamber; it is the start of Han Wo's domestic intimacy.
八尺龙须方锦褥，已凉天气未寒时。
An eight-foot dragon-beard mat and square brocade quilt; the weather is cool, not yet cold.
八尺龙须方锦褥，已凉天气未寒时。
The eight-foot dragon-beard mat and square brodin cover; the weather has turned cool, yet not yet cold.
末用龙须之典写八尺龙须方锦褥、已凉天气未寒时，是全诗写已凉未寒的归结。“八尺龙须方锦褥”用龙须之典写八尺龙须方锦褥——“八尺龙须方锦褥”用龙须草之典写八尺龙须席、方锦褥——八尺龙须方锦褥；“已凉天气未寒时”写已凉天气未寒时——“已凉天气未寒时”写已是凉天、却还未寒之时——已凉天气未寒时。二句写八尺龙须方锦褥、已凉天气未寒时：八尺龙须方锦褥，已凉天气未寒时。以“八尺龙须方锦褥”用龙须之典写龙须锦褥、闺中之设，以“已凉天气未寒时”写已凉未寒、秋意初临，正是韩偓诗写已凉未寒的归结——龙须锦褥，已凉未寒。
The last two lines use the dragon-beard mat for the cool-not-cold season, the poem's close. 'An eight-foot dragon-beard mat and square brocade quilt' — the fine rush mat and brocade cover; 'the weather is cool, not yet cold' — autumn's first breath, cool but not freezing. The furnishing and the weather together fix the threshold season, the moment of early autumn in the chamber, tender and precise.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
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