唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
清平调·其二
Pure Peace Tune · Second
清平调·其二一枝红艳露凝香，云雨巫山枉断肠。
借问汉宫谁得似，可怜飞燕倚新妆。
the cloud and rain of Wu Mountain broke a heart for nothing.
Let me ask, in the palace of Han who could be her match?
Poor Flying Swallow had to lean upon fresh paint.
Meaning
A spray of crimson peony carries the dew, and its fragrance is gathered within it; the goddess of the cloud and rain on Wu Mountain broke men's hearts to no purpose. If one asks who in the palaces of Han could be her equal, then even Zhao Feiyan, poor thing, had to rely on freshly applied paint before she could stand beside her.
一支红艳艳的牡丹带着露珠，凝结着清香；那巫山云雨中的神女，徒然令人柔肠寸断。若问汉宫里谁能与她相比，可怜那赵飞燕还要依靠新妆方能相衬。
Appreciation
Li Bai wrote this piece about the second year of Tianbao (743), while he was serving as an academician in attendance and Emperor Xuanzong and Consort Yang were admiring peonies at the Aloeswood Pavilion. The chapter turns upon setting-off and upon allusion. The opening, 'One spray of crimson glory, the dew congealing its scent', likens the consort to a peony, the dew that holds its fragrance giving her a clear and tender radiance. The second line sets against her the cloud and rain of the Chu king and the goddess of Wu Mountain, saying that the king dreamed and broke his heart for nothing, since a dream can never equal the living colour and fragrance before him. The last two bring in Zhao Feiyan of the Han palace and observe that even she had to lean on fresh paint to show her beauty, whereas the consort's loveliness is natural and borrows nothing at all. Every line chants the flower and every line describes the woman, thing and person merging, and the art of setting-off is exquisite.
【白话串讲】 “一枝红艳露凝香，云雨巫山枉断肠”——李白继续写杨贵妃：像带露的红牡丹。“借问汉宫谁得似，可怜飞燕倚新妆”——汉代宫里有谁比得上？只有赵飞燕，还得靠新妆。 【意象与手法】 此章巧妙运用映衬与用典之法。起句「一枝红艳露凝香」以牡丹之花容暗喻贵妃，露珠凝香写出其清丽温润；次句以巫山神女之虚幻反衬；后两句借汉宫赵飞燕相比，言飞燕犹须倚仗新妆，而贵妃天然国色，不假雕饰。全诗句句咏花，却又句句写人，物我交融，衬托精妙。 【情感与主旨】 此诗约作于唐玄宗天宝二年（743）李白供奉翰林期间，玄宗与杨贵妃于沉香亭赏牡丹，命李白进新词，李白援笔立成《清平调》三章。本为其二，承其一「云想衣裳花想容」之意，转以花衬人，专写贵妃之绝代风姿与君王之宠爱。 【名句点睛】 中高考鉴赏多聚焦「衬托」手法与「以花喻人」的结构。命题常问：诗中以巫山神女、赵飞燕衬托贵妃，有何表达效果？答题要点：映衬（反衬）突出贵妃天然国色、不假雕饰，及君王独宠。
Background
The poem was written about the second year of Tianbao (743), while Li Bai was serving as an academician in attendance. According to Fan Shu's 'Yunxi Youyi' of the late Tang and Wang Dingbao's 'Tang Zhiyan' of the Five Dynasties, Emperor Xuanzong and Consort Yang were admiring peonies at the Aloeswood Pavilion and ordered Li Bai to present new words; he took up the brush and completed the three pieces of 'Pure Peace Tune' on the spot. This is the second of them. It carries on the first piece, where clouds recall her robes and flowers her face, and turns to setting the woman off against the flower, describing the consort's matchless bearing and the sovereign's favour. Li Bai had only lately come to Chang'an and was full of high spirits, though the seeds of the slander that later drove him from court were already being sown.
此诗约作于唐玄宗天宝二年（743）春，时李白正供奉翰林，是他一生中最为春风得意的时期。据晚唐范摅《云溪友议》及五代王定保《唐摭言》记载，唐玄宗与杨贵妃于兴庆宫沉香亭赏牡丹，乐工正要奏乐，玄宗说：「赏名花，对妃子，焉用旧乐词为？」遂命李白进新词。李白当时醉眼朦胧，援笔立成《清平调》三章，命梨园弟子李龟年歌唱，玄宗亲调玉笛伴奏，一时传为佳话。本首为其二，承其一「云想衣裳花想容」之意，转以花衬人，专写贵妃的绝代风姿与君王的专宠。三章皆以花拟人、以人拟花，把牡丹、贵妃、玄宗织入一幅沉香亭赏花的富贵图卷。李白初入长安，恃才傲物，然此词雅丽得体，足见其供奉翰林的才情，也埋下了日后遭谗去朝的伏笔。又此诗作于沉香亭赏花之际，据《松窗录》载，李白时醉，玄宗命高力士脱靴、磨墨以奉，李白乘醉挥毫，顷刻而成三章，其才思之敏捷、气度之超迈，正与诗中「天然国色」的旨趣相映，亦为后世「醉草清平调」的佳话张本；然李白终以狂傲遭谗去朝，此诗遂成其在长安最辉煌也最短暂的见证。
Art
This piece handles setting-off and allusion with great skill. The opening line likens the consort to a peony, the dew that holds its fragrance conveying a clear and tender radiance. The second line sets against her the cloud and rain of the Chu king and the goddess of Wu Mountain, saying that King Xiang dreamed and broke his heart for nothing, since the dream can never equal the true colour and living fragrance in front of him. The last two lines bring in Zhao Feiyan of the Han palace: even she had to rely on fresh paint before her beauty appeared, whereas the consort is a natural loveliness that borrows nothing. Every line speaks of the flower and every line of the woman, flower and person fused, the setting-off exact and wondrous.
此章以映衬为骨、以用典为肌，句句咏花而句句写人。起句「一枝红艳露凝香」以牡丹暗喻贵妃，「红艳」写其色，「露凝香」兼写其清润与芬芳，七个字画出牡丹含露、贵妃含情的风姿，是「以花喻人」的起笔。次句「云雨巫山枉断肠」用楚王梦遇巫山神女之典，以神女之虚幻反衬眼前真色之可贵——神女虽美，终究是梦，徒然令人断肠，怎及眼前活色生香的贵妃？一个「枉」字，把神话美人一笔抹倒。后两句「借问汉宫谁得似，可怜飞燕倚新妆」再以汉宫赵飞燕相比：飞燕以体态轻盈著称，却仍须倚仗新妆才能与贵妃相提并论，言下之意，贵妃天然国色、不假雕饰。两层反衬，层层推高，不著一「美」字而贵妃之美毕现，衬托之妙，为历代所称赏。全诗以「花—神—人」三层递衬，由实而虚、由虚而实，章法回环而不觉重复；且句句写花而句句写人，花人合一，正如王夫之所言「景语即情语」，为应制诗开辟了「以花写人」的范式，后世宫词多效其法，而终不能出其右。
Allusions
The poem uses two allusions. The first, 'cloud and rain of Wu Mountain', comes from Song Yu's 'Gaotang Fu', which tells how King Huai of Chu dreamt of the goddess of Wu Mountain, who said of herself that 'at dawn I am the morning cloud, at dusk the travelling rain'; later ages use 'cloud and rain' for the meeting of lovers. The second, 'Flying Swallow', refers to Zhao Feiyan, empress of Chengdi of Han, famed for her lightness and her dancing. Li Bai takes the unreality of the Wu Mountain goddess and the painted artifice of Zhao Feiyan to set off, in both cases, the consort's natural loveliness and the sovereign's single devotion. The allusions are familiar, yet once deployed they make a new thing of the matter, and show his mastery in directing old reference.
诗中两处用典，皆精切得体。其一「云雨巫山」出自宋玉《高唐赋》：楚怀王游高唐，梦见巫山神女，神女自称「旦为朝云，暮为行雨」，后世遂以「云雨」代指男女欢会、以「巫山神女」喻绝世美人。李白用此典，意在反衬：神女乃梦中虚幻之人，徒然令人断肠，怎及眼前真实的贵妃？其二「飞燕」指汉成帝皇后赵飞燕，以体态轻盈、善掌上舞著称，是汉宫有名的绝色。李白以飞燕相比，却补一句「倚新妆」，谓飞燕之美须赖妆饰，而贵妃不假脂粉、天然绝色，反衬之意分明。两处典故一虚一实、一神一人，皆被调度为衬托贵妃的道具，典故虽熟，一经驱使便成新意，足见太白驱遣故实、点铁成金的手腕。又「露凝香」三字暗合李白「清水出芙蓉，天然去雕饰」的审美理想，谓贵妃之美不在妆饰而在天然，与「倚新妆」的飞燕形成工与拙的对照；且「红艳」之色与「露」之润、「香」之芳，兼写牡丹与美人，双关之妙，正在似花非花、似人非人之间，正见太白咏物写人合一的高超手腕。
Commentary
Shen Deqian, in his 'Tang Poems Selected', remarks: 'The Wu Mountain goddess and the Han palace Flying Swallow are both used to set off Precious Consort, to show how alone she won the heavenly favour.' The modern scholar Yu Pingbo also says that these three chapters of Taibai 'are every one deep with feeling, yet keep their measure'. Wang Qi's commentary on the Complete Works of Li Taibai quotes Xiao Shiyu: 'He compares her to the cloud and rain of Wu Mountain and to the Han palace Flying Swallow, to describe the consort's beauty to the utmost.' Critics of every age have praised his skill in heightening, so that not a single word of 'beauty' need appear and yet her charm is exhausted.
此诗历代评价甚高。清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》评曰：「巫山神女，汉宫飞燕，皆以衬太真，见其得天宠之独也。」点明两典皆为衬托贵妃得宠而设。近人俞平伯亦言太白此三章「语语浓至，而分寸不失」，谓其颂美而不失身份、秾丽而不堕俗格。清人王琦注《李太白全集》引萧士赟语：「以巫山云雨、汉宫飞燕比之，极形容妃子之美。」历代论者多赞其善於烘托，全篇不著一「美」字而尽得风流。值得一提的是，后世杨贵妃之侄杨国忠曾以「飞燕」讥刺贵妃，然此词本意纯为颂美，可见读者理解之差异；要之，此诗作为宫廷应制之作，能在奉承之中不失诗人本色，以花写人、以人写花，机杼独运，堪称应制诗的典范。又此三章后因高力士以「飞燕」句进谗，谓李白以赵飞燕影射贵妃微贱，致李白遭放还，故论者或谓此诗为李白被逐之祸端，虽属传说，亦可见此诗在李白生平与文学史上的关键位置；要之，此诗以应制之体写颂美之情，而能保持诗人的本色与才情，其影响之深远，远非一般宫廷诗可比。
Prosody
Line by line
一枝红艳露凝香，
One branch of red beauty, dew holding its fragrance,
一支红艳艳的牡丹带着露珠，凝结着清香。
One branch of brilliantly red peony, bearing dew-drops, its fragrance held.
起句即以牡丹暗喻贵妃，是全诗以花喻人的开篇。七个字写三层：一写色，「红艳」画出牡丹之娇红欲滴，亦暗写贵妃服饰之华美；二写润，「露」字写花瓣上晶莹的晨露，如贵妃肤光之莹润；三写香，「凝香」写露珠凝住花香，仿佛香气凝结不散，亦写贵妃周身氤氲的脂粉与体香。「一枝」以少总多，突出眼前这一株牡丹的出众，正暗喻贵妃于六宫之中一枝独秀。句句咏花而句句写人，花容即人面，花气即人香，物我交融，起笔已见精思，为下文的层层映衬立下基调。
The opening at once figures the Guifei through the peony, the start of the poem's 'flower for the person'. Seven words write three layers: first, color — 'red beauty' painting the peony's tender, dripping red, and secretly the splendor of the Guifei's robes; second, moisture — 'dew' the crystal morning dew on the petals, like the lustre of the Guifei's skin; third, fragrance — 'holding its fragrance' the dew holding the flower's scent, as if the fragrance coagulated and would not scatter, and secretly the powder and body-scent breathing about the Guifei. 'One branch' the great through the small, singling out this one peony before the eyes, precisely figuring the Guifei's standing alone among the six palaces. Every line chants the flower and every line writes the person, the flower's face is the human face, the flower's scent the human scent, thing and self fused, the opening already showing the fine thought, tuning the groundwork for the layering foil below.
云雨巫山枉断肠。
the Cloud-rain of Wu Mountain, vainly breaking the heart.
那巫山云雨中的神女，徒然令人柔肠寸断。
That goddess of the Wu Mountain cloud-rain, in vain breaks the heart.
次句用楚王梦遇巫山神女之典，以虚幻反衬真实。「云雨巫山」指《高唐赋》中旦为朝云、暮为行雨的巫山神女，本为神话中的绝世美人；「枉断肠」之「枉」字是诗眼，一笔抹倒神女——神女再美，终究是南柯一梦，徒然令人断肠，又怎及眼前活色生香、触手可及的贵妃？以神话之虚衬现实之真，以梦中之人衬眼前之人，反衬之意分明。此句紧承上句，由花及神、由实入虚，顿挫之中见跌宕，为后文以赵飞燕作比的第三层衬托蓄势，层层推进，不著「美」字而贵妃之美已不可复加。
The next line uses the allusion to the king of Chu's dream of the Wu Mountain goddess, setting the unreal against the real. 'The cloud-rain of Wu Mountain' means the goddess of Wu Mountain, who at dawn was the morning cloud and at evening the traveling rain, the peerless beauty of myth; the 'vainly' in 'vainly breaking the heart' is the poem's eye, brushing aside the goddess in one stroke — fair as the goddess is, she is after all a dream of Nanke, vainly breaking the heart, how could she compare with the living, warm, touchable Guifei before the eyes? Setting the myth's unreality against the reality, the dream's person against the person before the eyes, the foil's meaning clear. This line carries on the above, from flower to goddess, from the real to the unreal, the turn and the sweep within the restraint, storing the groundwork for the third layer of foil through Flying Swallow below, advancing layer on layer, not one word 'beautiful' and the Guifei's beauty beyond adding.
借问汉宫谁得似，可怜飞燕倚新妆。
Tell me, in the Han palace, who could compare? Poor Flying Swallow, leaning on her new dress.
若问汉宫里谁能与她相比，可怜那赵飞燕还要依靠新妆方能相衬。
Should I ask, who in the Han palace could compare? The poor Flying Swallow still must lean on her new dress.
末两句再以汉宫赵飞燕相比，把衬托推向高潮。「借问汉宫谁得似」以问句宕开一笔，引人悬想：汉宫佳丽三千，谁能与贵妃相比？答句「可怜飞燕倚新妆」推出赵飞燕——这个以体态轻盈著称、号称「掌上舞」的绝代美人，却也须「倚新妆」才能勉强相衬。言下之意，飞燕之美赖于妆饰，而贵妃天然国色、不假雕琢，高下立判。「可怜」二字含轻贬之意，微微带过，不伤雅致，足见分寸。两层反衬至此收束，贵妃之美与君王之宠，尽在不言之中，全诗戛然而止，余味无穷。
The last two lines compare again to the Han palace's Flying Swallow, pushing the foil to the peak. 'Tell me, in the Han palace, who could compare?' opens in question, leading the imagination: among the three thousand beauties of the Han palace, who could compare with the Guifei? The answer, 'the poor Flying Swallow still must lean on her new dress', brings out Flying Swallow — that peerless beauty famed for her light form, called 'dancing on the palm', and yet she must 'lean on her new dress' to barely compare. The meaning between the lines: Flying Swallow's beauty depends on adornment, while the Guifei's is the natural beauty of the realm, no chisel needed, the higher and lower judged at once. The words 'poor' carry a light depreciation, passed over lightly, not hurting the elegance, showing the measure. The two layers of foil closed here, the Guifei's beauty and the prince's favor all between the words, the poem stops short, the aftertaste endless.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
The first uses cloud and flower for her robes and face; this one carries it on, turning to the peony as a foil, and the two read together show the design of the three chapters.
《清平调》其一「云想衣裳花想容，春风拂槛露华浓」以云、花喻贵妃的衣裳与容颜，从虚处着笔，写其如仙如花；其二「一枝红艳露凝香」承其一之意，转以具体的牡丹写人，由虚入实；其三「名花倾国两相欢」则合花与人而言之，结于「沉香亭北倚阑干」的倚栏形象。三章连环相承：一写其容，二写其色，三写其宠，章法井然，层层推进。其二居间，既承「露华浓」之句意，又启「名花倾国」之合写，是承上启下的枢纽。三章连读，可见李白应制诗的完整构思与以花写人的一贯机杼。
清平调·其三 Pure Peace Tune · Third 李白 · 同组词、同写沉香亭赏花本事 Same (same set, same occasion of admiring flowers at the Aloeswood Pavilion)The third closes with 'dissolving the endless grief of spring, she leans by the rail north of the Aloeswood Pavilion', and with this second chapter shares the subject of the sovereign's favour.
《清平调》其三「名花倾国两相欢，长得君王带笑看。解释春风无限恨，沉香亭北倚阑干」与其二同写沉香亭赏花的本事，而写法不同：其二以巫山神女、汉宫飞燕作反衬，专写贵妃之美，用笔侧写烘托；其三以「名花倾国两相欢」将牡丹与贵妃并写，直写「君王带笑看」的专宠，结以「倚阑干」的定格画面，用笔正面直写。一以映衬取胜，一以画面见长；一写其色，一写其宠。二章并读，可见三章在衬托与直写之间的调配，亦可体会李白应制词在颂美之中不失诗人意趣的高明之处。