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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

齐安郡后池绝句

A Quatrain on the Rear Pond of Qi'an Commandery

杜牧

Du Mu

写景Landscape 夏景Summer Scenery

菱透浮萍绿锦池，夏莺千啭弄蔷薇。
尽日无人看微雨，鸳鸯相对浴红衣。

Water chestnuts pierce the duckweed — a pond of green brocade; a summer oriole pours out a thousand warblings, toying with the roses.
All day long no one comes to watch the fine rain; a pair of mandarin ducks bathe, facing each other, in their red silks.

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Meaning

A summer scene at the rear pond of Qi'an commandery (Huangzhou): water chestnuts pierce the duckweed into a green brocade pool, a summer oriole warbles among the roses, the fine rain falls all day unwatched, and a pair of mandarin ducks bathe facing each other in their red plumage. The brilliance of the scene is the poet's own solitude: the paired ducks set off, by contrast, a man with no companion in exile.

菱叶透出浮萍，铺成绿色的锦池；夏莺千啭，戏弄着蔷薇。整日无人，独看那微雨；鸳鸯相对，沐浴着红衣。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Water chestnuts pierce through duckweed into a pool of green brocade; a summer oriole pours out a thousand warblings among the roses. All day no one comes to watch the fine rain; a pair of mandarin ducks bathe facing each other in their red plumage. [Structure] Two couplets: the first writes the pond's plants, birds, and flowers in dense bright images; the second turns to the pond's edge and the poet himself, ending on the ducks. [Feeling] The poem's trick is contrast. 'No one all day' writes solitude; 'facing each other' writes the ducks' pairing; the poet watches the rain alone while the ducks bathe as a couple — joy in the scene serving sorrow in the heart, the classic method of writing grief through happy scenery. 'Pierce', 'toying', and 'bathe' are three living verbs that give the whole summer pond breath and motion.

【白话串讲】杜牧写《齐安郡后池绝句》：“菱透浮萍绿锦池，夏莺千啭弄蔷薇”——“尽日无人看微雨，鸳鸯相对浴红衣”——整天无人看微雨，只有鸳鸯在池中相对——他写夏日池景。【意象与手法】此诗是杜牧写夏日池景的名篇，写齐安郡（黄州）后池的夏日景致，是杜牧写景绝句中的名篇。前两句写池中的景物：「菱透浮萍绿锦池，夏莺千啭弄蔷薇」写菱叶浮萍铺成绿池、夏莺千啭戏弄蔷薇。后两句写池边的幽静：「尽日无人看微雨，鸳鸯相对浴红衣」写尽日无人独看微雨、鸳鸯相对沐浴红衣，是千古名句。全诗以菱萍、夏莺、蔷薇、微雨、鸳鸯写夏日池景的生机与幽静，以「无人」写独处的闲适，是杜牧「以景写闲」的典范。【情感与主旨】此诗约作于唐武宗会昌四年（844）前后，时杜牧任黄州（齐安郡）刺史。杜牧因卷入党争而外放（先为黄州刺史），在黄州期间心情孤寂，此诗即写齐安郡后池的夏日景致与其独处的闲适。诗中「菱透浮萍绿锦池」写池中的菱与浮萍——菱叶从浮萍间透出，铺成如锦的绿池；「夏莺千啭弄蔷薇」写夏莺与蔷薇——夏莺千啭，戏弄着蔷薇，那「弄」字写尽莺与花的相戏；「尽日无人看微雨」写独处的幽静——整日无人，独自看着那微雨，「尽日无人」写其孤独，「看微雨」写其闲适——无人相伴，唯与微雨相对；「鸳鸯相对浴红衣」写池中的鸳鸯——鸳鸯相对，沐浴着红色的羽毛（「红衣」喻鸳鸯红色的羽毛），那「相对」的鸳鸯，反衬出「无人」的孤独——鸳鸯尚能相对，人却独自看雨。全诗以夏日池景的生机写独处的闲适与孤独，那「绿锦池」「千啭」「浴红衣」的明丽，与「尽日无人」「看微雨」的孤寂对照，正是「以乐景写哀情」的笔法，是杜牧写景绝句中「以景写闲、以闲写孤」的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“菱透浮萍绿锦池，夏莺千啭弄蔷薇”写夏日池景的生机；“尽日无人看微雨，鸳鸯相对浴红衣”写尽日无人独看微雨、鸳鸯相对浴红衣，是千古名句。

Background

The poem was written around 844, when Du Mu was prefect of Huangzhou (Qi'an commandery, in modern Huanggang, Hubei). Demoted in the factional struggles between the Niu and Li parties, Du Mu spent about two years in Huangzhou and wrote a number of landscape poems there, of which this is the most famous. Huangzhou lies midway up the Yangtze, its landscape clear and lovely; the exiled official watched its summer pond and found both beauty and the ache of beauty unshared.

此诗约作于唐武宗会昌四年（844）前后，是杜牧写夏日池景的绝句名篇。杜牧于会昌二年（842）因卷入党争（牛李党争）被外放为黄州（即齐安郡，今湖北黄冈）刺史，在黄州约两年。黄州地处长江中游，山水清丽，杜牧在黄州期间写了不少写景诗（如《齐安郡中偶题》等），此诗即写齐安郡后池的夏日景致。诗中「菱透浮萍绿锦池」写池中的菱与浮萍——菱叶从浮萍间「透」出（「透」写菱叶突出浮萍之上），那菱叶与浮萍铺满水面，绿如锦缎（「绿锦池」写绿池如锦）；「夏莺千啭弄蔷薇」写夏莺与蔷薇——夏莺在蔷薇丛中千回百啭，「弄」写其戏弄、嬉戏（莺在花间穿梭鸣啭，如与蔷薇相戏），那「千啭」写莺声之繁、「弄」写莺花之戏，写尽夏日池边的生机；「尽日无人看微雨」写独处的幽静——「尽日无人」写整日无人相伴（杜牧独处池边，或写后池的幽静无人），「看微雨」写其独看微雨——那微雨飘落池中，诗人独自观赏，写尽独处的闲适与孤寂；「鸳鸯相对浴红衣」写池中的鸳鸯——「相对」写鸳鸯两两相对（一雄一雌），「浴红衣」写其沐浴着红色的羽毛（「红衣」喻鸳鸯红色的羽色），那「相对」的鸳鸯与「无人」的诗人对照——鸳鸯尚能成双相对，诗人却独对微雨，以鸳鸯之「相对」反衬诗人之「孤独」。全诗以夏日池景的明丽写独处的孤寂，是「以乐景写哀情」的笔法，也是杜牧在黄州失意心境（外放刺史、远离朝堂）的写照。

Art

Four levels of craft. First, dense, bright images: in twenty-eight characters the poem sets out water chestnut, duckweed, green brocade, summer oriole, rose, fine rain, mandarin duck, and red plumage — a full summer painted in pure color. Second, writing solitude through absence: 'all day no one comes' makes the pond's silence and the poet's loneliness a single thing; 'to watch the fine rain' turns solitude into leisure, and exile into a kind of quiet freedom. Third, contrast: the ducks' 'facing each other' against the poet's 'no one' — the paired birds set off the single man, the standard device of writing grief through happy scenery. Fourth, the living verbs: 'pierce' writes the chestnut leaves breaking through the duckweed's green carpet, 'toying' makes oriole and rose playmates, 'bathe' gives the ducks delight — three verbs give the whole pond breath. This is Du Mu's 'handsome and brisk' manner at its best.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个层面解析。其一，意象的密集与明丽。全诗二十八字，意象密集：菱、浮萍、绿锦池、夏莺、蔷薇、微雨、鸳鸯、红衣，以明丽的意象写夏日池景的生机——那绿锦般的池、千啭的夏莺、浴红衣的鸳鸯，都写尽夏日的明丽，是杜牧「以丽景写闲情」的本领。其二，以「无人」写孤独。「尽日无人看微雨」以「尽日无人」写独处的孤独——整日无人相伴，只有诗人独对微雨，那「无人」写尽外放刺史的孤寂，也写尽独处的闲适，以「无人」写孤独、以「看微雨」写闲适。其三，以鸳鸯反衬孤独。「鸳鸯相对浴红衣」以「相对」的鸳鸯反衬「无人」的诗人——鸳鸯尚能成双相对，诗人却独看微雨，以鸳鸯之「相对」反衬诗人之「孤独」，是「以乐景写哀情」的妙笔。其四，以「弄」「浴」写生趣。「夏莺千啭弄蔷薇」的「弄」写莺与花的相戏，「鸳鸯相对浴红衣」的「浴」写鸳鸯的沐浴，两个动词写尽夏日的生趣与明丽。四重手法层层推进，使此诗成为杜牧写景绝句中「以景写闲、以闲写孤」的名篇。

Allusions

The images stand deep in the tradition of landscape and leisure. The water chestnut and duckweed recall the water-country imagery of 'lotus songs on summer nights' and Bai Juyi's green riverside; 'green brocade' compares the pond's green to woven silk. 'A thousand warblings' belongs to the bird-call tradition from the Book of Songs' 'guan-guan cry the ospreys' to Wang Wei's 'birdsong makes the mountain deeper'; 'toying' echoes Wang Wei's 'toying with flowers over wine' and Du Fu's 'lingering butterflies dance again and again'. The rose is the flower of summer, answering Gao Pian's 'through the whole trellis, roses scent the courtyard'. 'All day no one' answers Wang Wei's 'empty mountains, no one seen'; 'to watch the fine rain' answers Du Fu's 'in fine rain the fish come out'. The mandarin duck is the standing emblem of pairing from the Book of Songs' 'mandarin ducks in flight'; 'red plumage' names the duck's ruddy feathers, used elsewhere of fallen lotus petals. All of it is familiar material arranged into a fresh, bright frame.

此诗的意象与用语深植于写景与闲适的传统。「菱透浮萍绿锦池」写池中的菱与浮萍——「菱」是菱角，「浮萍」是水面浮生的植物，「绿锦池」写菱叶浮萍铺满水面，绿如锦缎，令人想到「菱歌泛夜」的水乡意象与白居易「日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝」的绿水意象；「夏莺千啭弄蔷薇」写夏莺与蔷薇——「千啭」写莺声之繁（《诗经》「关关雎鸠」的鸟鸣传统，王维「鸟鸣山更幽」的鸟鸣意象），「弄」写莺与花的相戏（王维「弄花赌酒」、杜甫「留连戏蝶时时舞」的「戏弄」传统），「蔷薇」写夏日的花（蔷薇夏季盛开），令人想到「水晶帘动微风起，满架蔷薇一院香」（高骈《山亭夏日》）的蔷薇意象。「尽日无人看微雨」写独处的幽静——「尽日无人」写整日无人相伴（令人想到「空山不见人」（王维《鹿柴》）的空寂意象），「看微雨」写独看微雨（令人想到「细雨鱼儿出」（杜甫）的雨中意象与「草色遥看近却无」（韩愈）的看雨笔法），那「无人」「看微雨」写尽独处的闲适与孤寂；「鸳鸯相对浴红衣」写池中的鸳鸯——「鸳鸯」是爱情与成双的象征（《诗经》「鸳鸯于飞，毕之罗之」），「相对」写鸳鸯两两相对，「浴红衣」写其沐浴着红色的羽毛（「红衣」喻鸳鸯红色的羽色，令人想到「落红不是无情物」（龚自珍）的「红」意象与「红衣落尽渚莲愁」（赵嘏）的「红衣」用法），那「相对」的鸳鸯与「无人」的诗人对照，正是「以乐景写哀情」的笔法。全诗化用《诗经》、王维、杜甫的意象与传统，以丽景写闲情、以鸳鸯反衬孤独，正是杜牧「以景写情」的本领。

Commentary

The poem has long been prized as one of Du Mu's finest landscape quatrains, and 'all day no one comes to watch the fine rain; a pair of mandarin ducks bathe, facing each other, in their red silks' is among the most quoted couplets in Tang poetry. Critics note that it writes the brightness and stillness of a summer pond and the poet's solitude within it — beauty with no one to share it, ducks in pairs against a man alone. Its special value is the method of writing grief through happy scenery: Du Mu never says 'lonely'; he lets 'no one all day' and 'facing each other' do the speaking, so the reader feels the exile's solitude inside the brightness. Together with Du Mu's other Huangzhou landscape poems, it is a window onto the mood of a demoted official — leisure on the surface, hurt below. For readers today it is a model of the Chinese tradition of writing feeling through scene.

此诗历来被推为杜牧写景绝句中的名篇，也是「尽日无人看微雨，鸳鸯相对浴红衣」这一名句的出处。历代论者对此诗评价较高：论者多指出此诗以菱萍、夏莺、蔷薇、微雨、鸳鸯写夏日池景的明丽与幽静，以「无人」写独处的闲适与孤独，是杜牧「以景写闲」的佳作。在文学史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以二十八字的小诗，写出了外放刺史的孤独与闲适——那「菱透浮萍绿锦池」的明丽，「夏莺千啭弄蔷薇」的生机，写尽了夏日池景的美好；而那「尽日无人看微雨」的独处，「鸳鸯相对浴红衣」的对照，又写尽了独处的孤寂——美景无人共赏，鸳鸯尚能相对，诗人却独对微雨。这种「以乐景写哀情」的笔法，正是杜牧写景诗的高明处：他不直写「孤独」，而以「尽日无人」「鸳鸯相对」的对照写之，让读者在明丽的景色中体会到深处的孤寂。此诗与杜牧在黄州的其他写景诗（如《齐安郡中偶题》「两竿落日溪桥上，半缕轻烟柳影中」）一样，都是借景写怀，写其在失意中的闲适与孤寂。对于今日读者，此诗是理解杜牧外放黄州心境的窗口，也是感受中国诗歌「以景写情」传统的典范——那绿锦般的池、千啭的夏莺、相对浴红衣的鸳鸯，穿越千年，仍在诉说着一个失意诗人「美景无人共赏」的孤独。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (jueju), level start with the first line rhyming七言绝句（平起首句入韵）

Rhyme It rhymes on the level-tone zhi group (the fourth group of level rhymes), with chi, wei, and yi as the rhymes; the first line ends on the level-tone chi and enters the rhyme. The long, bright sound of the zhi rhyme suits the bright summer scene.押上平四支韵，韵脚为「池」「薇」「衣」。首句「池」字平声入韵，属首句入韵之格。韵脚「池」「薇」「衣」皆属支部，韵音悠长明丽，正合其夏日池景的明丽风格。

Tone pattern The first line opens level and closes oblique-level; the second is oblique-level-oblique-level; the third runs level with one oblique turn; the fourth returns to a level pattern. The whole poem observes the quatrain's tonal rules, and the syllables are bright and fluent.菱透浮萍绿锦池，平仄平平仄仄平；夏莺千啭弄蔷薇，仄平平仄仄平平；尽日无人看微雨，仄仄平平仄平仄；鸳鸯相对浴红衣，平平平仄仄平平。全诗平仄合于七绝格律，音节明丽流畅。

Reading note A level-start, first-line-rhyming quatrain in the level-tone zhi rhyme: the meter is simple and the syllables bright, matching a poem that writes summer in pure color. The two couplets divide cleanly — the first writes the pond's plants, birds, and flowers, the second the pond's edge and the poet — moving from scene to man. The long, bright zhi rhymes carry the green-brocade brightness and the red-plumage delight; read the first couplet briskly and the second at leisure, and 'all day no one' should be drawn out, for the whole poem's hidden sorrow is held in those four characters.此诗是平起首句入韵的七言绝句，押平声支韵，格律简洁，音节明丽，是杜牧写景绝句中「以景写闲」的名篇。全诗两联结构分明：前两句写池中的景物（菱透浮萍、夏莺弄蔷薇），后两句写池边的幽静（尽日无人、鸳鸯浴红衣），由景到人、层层递进。声调上，全诗以平声支韵为韵脚，韵音悠长明丽，配合「绿锦池」的明丽与「浴红衣」的欢愉，全篇音节明丽流畅。诵读此诗，宜以明快的语调读前两句的池景，以闲适的语调读后两句的独处，尤其「尽日无人看微雨，鸳鸯相对浴红衣」两句，要读得意味深长，方能传达出杜牧「以乐景写哀情」的深意。杜牧绝句以「俊爽」著称，此诗正是其写景绝句中「以景写闲、以闲写孤」的经典。

Line by line

菱透浮萍绿锦池，夏莺千啭弄蔷薇。

Water chestnuts pierce the duckweed — a pond of green brocade; a summer oriole pours out a thousand warblings, toying with the roses.

菱叶透出浮萍，铺成绿色的锦池；夏莺千啭，戏弄着蔷薇。

Water-caltrops peek through the duckweed on the green-brocade pool; summer orioles trill a thousand times, sporting with the roses.

这两句是写夏日池景的名句，以「绿锦池」写池之明丽，以「千啭弄蔷薇」写夏莺的生趣，画面明丽。「菱透浮萍绿锦池」写池中的菱与浮萍——菱叶从浮萍间「透」出（「透」写菱叶突出浮萍之上），那菱叶与浮萍铺满水面，绿如锦缎（「绿锦池」写绿池如锦），一「透」字写菱叶的突出、一「锦」字写绿池的明丽，那菱萍铺成的绿锦池，正是夏日池景的底色；「夏莺千啭弄蔷薇」写夏莺与蔷薇——夏莺在蔷薇丛中千回百啭，「千啭」写莺声之繁，「弄」写莺与花的相戏——那夏莺在蔷薇间穿梭鸣啭，如与蔷薇嬉戏，一「弄」字写尽莺花相戏的生趣，也写尽夏日的生机。这两句的深意在于：它以「绿锦池」与「千啭弄蔷薇」写尽夏日池景的明丽与生机——那绿锦般的池、千啭的莺、戏弄的蔷薇，都写尽夏日的美好；而这美好，正是后两句「尽日无人」的孤独的铺垫——美景如此美好，却无人共赏。以「透」「锦」写池之明丽、以「千啭」「弄」写莺花之生趣，正是杜牧写景的功力，也让这两句成为写夏日池景的名句。

These two lines are a famous summer pool scene, the 'green-brocade pool' for the pool's brightness, the 'trill a thousand times, sporting' for the orioles' life, the picture bright. 'Water-caltrops peek through the duckweed on the green-brocade pool' the caltrops and duckweed — the caltrop leaves 'peek' through the duckweed, spreading over the water, green as brocade; the word 'peek' the leaves' standing out, 'brocade' the pool's brightness, the green-brocade pool the groundwork of the summer scene. 'Summer orioles trill a thousand times, sporting with the roses' the orioles and roses — the orioles among the roses, trilling a thousand times, 'a thousand trills' the abundance, 'sporting' the birds and flowers at play; the word 'sporting' writes to the full the life of birds and flowers, the summer's vitality. The depth: the 'green-brocade pool' and the 'sporting roses' write the brightness and vitality of the summer pool — the brocade pool, the trilling orioles, the sporting roses, the beauty of summer; and this beauty is the groundwork for the next two lines' 'all day, no one' solitude — the beauty so fair, and no one to share it. Writing the pool's brightness through 'peek' and 'brocade', the birds and flowers' life through 'a thousand trills' and 'sporting', Du Mu's scenic craft, the reason these two lines became a famous summer-pool scene.

尽日无人看微雨，鸳鸯相对浴红衣。

All day long no one comes to watch the fine rain; a pair of mandarin ducks bathe, facing each other, in their red silks.

整日无人，独看那微雨；鸳鸯相对，沐浴着红衣。

All day, no one, watching the fine rain; the mandarin ducks, facing each other, bathe in their red plumage.

这两句是全诗的点睛之笔，也是名句，以「尽日无人」写独处的孤独，以「鸳鸯相对」反衬诗人的孤寂，含蓄隽永。「尽日无人看微雨」写独处的孤独——整日无人相伴，独自看着那微雨，「尽日无人」写时间之长（整日）与无人相伴（无人），「看微雨」写其独对微雨的闲适——那无人相伴的午后，只有微雨与诗人相对，写尽独处的孤寂与闲适；「鸳鸯相对浴红衣」写池中的鸳鸯——鸳鸯两两相对，沐浴着红色的羽毛（「红衣」喻鸳鸯红色的羽色），「相对」写鸳鸯的成双，「浴红衣」写其沐浴的明丽——那相对而浴的鸳鸯，写尽夏日的明丽与生命的欢愉。这两句的深意在于：它以「无人」与「相对」的对照写孤独——那鸳鸯尚能「相对」成双，诗人却「尽日无人」独对微雨，以鸳鸯之「相对」反衬诗人之「孤独」，正是「以乐景写哀情」的笔法；而那「看微雨」的闲适与「浴红衣」的明丽，又暗含外放刺史的落寞——美景无人共赏，正是失意心境的写照。以「无人」写孤独、以「鸳鸯相对」写反衬，正是杜牧「以景写情」的深意，也让这两句成为写独处孤寂的名句。

This couplet is the eye of the poem, and a famous line, the 'all day, no one' for the solitude, the 'mandarin ducks facing each other' the setting-off, restrained and lasting. 'All day, no one, watching the fine rain' the solitude — all day no companion, watching the fine rain alone; 'all day, no one' the length of time and the absence of company, 'watching the fine rain' the ease of one alone before the rain; the empty afternoon, only the rain and the poet facing each other, writing to the full the solitude and ease of being alone. 'The mandarin ducks, facing each other, bathe in their red plumage' the pool's ducks — the mandarin ducks, paired, bathing in their red feathers ('red plumage' for the ducks' red plumage), 'facing each other' their pairing, 'bathe' the brightness of their bathing; the paired, bathing ducks write the summer's brightness and the joy of life. The depth: the contrast of 'no one' and 'facing each other' writes the solitude — the ducks can still 'face each other' as a pair, while the poet, 'all day, no one', faces only the fine rain; the paired ducks set off the poet's loneliness, the method of 'writing grief through a joyous scene'. And the ease of 'watching the fine rain' and the brightness of 'bathe in red plumage' secretly hold the loneliness of the exiled prefect — the fair scene with none to share, the portrait of the disappointed mood. Writing solitude through 'no one', setting it off through 'mandarin ducks facing each other', Du Mu's depth of scene for feeling, the reason these two lines became a famous line of lonely solitude.

Study

Word focus

透 To pierce through, to break out — the key word for the chestnut leaves. It writes the leaves thrusting up through the duckweed, giving a flat green surface depth and motion, as if the leaves were breaking out of the water; paired with the static 'green brocade', the pond scene gains life. Where 'float' would keep everything on one plane, 'pierce' makes the chestnut stand above the duckweed, writing both the layering of plants and the freshness of midsummer growth. 「透」字是写菱叶浮萍的关键字，一个「透」字写尽菱叶突出的姿态，生动而传神。透者，突出、透出也。杜牧以「菱透浮萍绿锦池」写菱与浮萍，一个「透」字，至少有双重意味：其一，写菱叶之突出——「菱透浮萍」写菱叶从浮萍间透出、突出于浮萍之上，「透」字写尽菱叶在浮萍间穿出的姿态——那菱叶如从浮萍的绿毯中「透」出，写尽菱与浮萍的层叠与菱叶的鲜活；其二，写画面之灵动——「透」本有「穿透、透出」之意，写那菱叶透出水面，如从水中探出，画面灵动，与「绿锦池」的平面相映，使静态的池景有了动感。以「透」写菱，正是杜牧炼字的匠心：他不写「菱浮浮萍」，而写「菱透浮萍」——「浮」只是平面的漂浮，「透」却是立体的突出，那「透」字写尽菱叶在浮萍间的鲜活与池面的层次。若换作「出」「露」等字，则或失其「穿透」的动感，或失其与「绿锦池」的相映；唯「透」字，以一字写尽菱叶突出的姿态与画面的灵动，也让「菱透浮萍绿锦池」成为写夏日池景的名句。

弄 To toy with, to play — the key word for oriole and rose. 'Toying with the roses' makes the oriole flutter among the branches as if playing with the flowers; one word fuses sound and motion and writes the companionship of bird and flower. Where 'sings' would give only noise, 'toying' gives summer its vitality and delight, in the line of Wang Wei's 'toying with flowers' and Du Fu's 'lingering butterflies dance'. 「弄」字是写夏莺蔷薇的关键字，一个「弄」字写尽莺与花相戏的生趣，是全诗生机的点睛之笔。弄者，戏弄、嬉戏也。杜牧以「夏莺千啭弄蔷薇」写夏莺，一个「弄」字，至少有双重意味：其一，写莺与花之相戏——「弄蔷薇」写夏莺在蔷薇丛中穿梭鸣啭，如与蔷薇嬉戏，那「弄」字写尽莺与花的相戏——莺在花间，花在莺旁，一「弄」字写尽二者的交融与生趣；其二，写夏日之生机——「弄」本有「把玩、嬉戏」之意，写那夏莺如把玩着蔷薇，那「千啭弄蔷薇」的「弄」，写尽夏日池边的生机与欢愉——莺声千啭、花枝摇曳，都是夏日生命的律动。以「弄」写夏莺，正是杜牧炼字的匠心：他不写「夏莺鸣蔷薇」，而写「夏莺弄蔷薇」——「鸣」只是声音，「弄」却是动作与情感，那「弄」字写尽莺与花的相戏与夏日的生机，令人想到「弄花赌酒」（王维）与「留连戏蝶时时舞」（杜甫）的「弄」「戏」笔法。若换作「鸣」「啼」等字，则或失其「相戏」的生趣，或失其夏日生机的灵动；唯「弄」字，以一字写尽莺花相戏的生动，也让「夏莺千啭弄蔷薇」成为写夏日生趣的名句。