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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

清平调词三首 二

Qingping Tunes, No. 2 of Three

李白

Li Bai

一枝秾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

A single spray of lush splendor, its dew congealed with fragrance;
the cloud-and-rain of Mount Wu only wastes the heart in vain.
Ask now: in the palaces of Han, who could compare?
Only poor Flying Swallow, leaning on her fresh makeup.
Listen

Meaning

The second of Li Bai's three Qingping songs praises the beauty of Consort Yang. A peony branch heavy with blossom and dew outshines even the goddess of Mount Wu; among the beauties of the Han palaces, only the legendary Flying Swallow in her new makeup comes close. The poem translates imperial praise into flowers, goddesses and famous beauties, gorgeous and tactful at once.

一枝秾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

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] One branch of peony, lush and dewy with scent, stands as the poem's image of the consort; the amorous goddess of Mount Wu, for all her legendary trysts, would break hearts here in vain. Ask who in the Han palaces could match her: only the famous beauty Flying Swallow, and even she must lean on fresh makeup. [Structure] The poem moves through three descending tiers of comparison, the flower, the goddess, the imperial beauties, each step raising the subject while seeming to praise something else. [Imagery] Lush blossom, congealed dew, cloud and rain, new makeup: a vocabulary of color, moisture and fragrance that makes beauty felt physically. [Theme] The genius of the poem is indirection: the consort is never named, yet every line is she. Praise that hides its object is the very definition of the court poet's art, and Li Bai performs it with a dancer's lightness.

【白话串讲】 李白写《清平调词三首其二》：“一枝秾艳露凝香，云雨巫山枉断肠”——“借问汉宫谁得似，可怜飞燕倚新妆”——他写杨贵妃——一枝秾艳露凝香。 【意象与手法】 “一枝秾艳露凝香”写贵妃秾艳；“云雨巫山枉断肠”以巫山神女写贵妃之美；“借问汉宫谁得似”写问汉宫；结以“可怜飞燕倚新妆”以飞燕写贵妃。华美咏人。 【情感与主旨】 李白写杨贵妃之作，以秾艳露凝香、巫山神女、汉宫飞燕写贵妃之美，是唐宫词中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“一枝秾艳露凝香，云雨巫山枉断肠”写贵妃之美；“借问汉宫谁得似，可怜飞燕倚新妆”以飞燕写贵妃。

Background

Li Bai (701-762), courtesy name Taibai, was the most celebrated poet of the High Tang. In 742 the emperor Xuanzong summoned him to the capital, where he was honored as an Academician in attendance. According to later anecdotes, one spring day in the peony garden, Xuanzong and Consort Yang were viewing the famous peonies when the emperor called for new lyrics; the half-drunk Li Bai, aided by nothing but brush and wine, produced the three Qingping songs on the spot, after which the famed singer Li Guinian set them to music and performed them at court. The songs made Li Bai famous at court, and famous for trouble: the same brilliance reportedly sharpened the resentment of the powerful Gao Lishi and of Consort Yang herself, who is said to have taken the Flying Swallow comparison amiss. Whether or not the anecdote is exact, the songs remain the most celebrated court compliments in Chinese poetry.

《清平调词三首 二》为唐代诗人李白所作诗。李白（701—762），字太白，号青莲居士，绵州昌隆人，唐代诗人。此诗写咏人宫词，为清平调之作。诗中「一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠」写一枝秾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」写借问汉宫谁得似可怜飞燕倚新妆。李白此诗以咏人宫词、可怜飞燕倚新妆写其宫词之情，华美咏人，是李白诗中的名篇。此篇《清平调词三首 二》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《清平调词三首 二》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 poem's art lies in comparison by indirection. Instead of describing Consort Yang's face, Li Bai gives her a peony branch heavy with blossom and dew, flower and woman fused, so that to praise the flower is already to praise her. The second line dismisses the Mount Wu goddess, the very emblem of legendary beauty and love, as one who would break hearts in vain, a bold superlative that raises the consort above myth. The closing couplet brings the comparison down to earth with a question and a tender answer: among the Han palaces' beauties, only Flying Swallow comes close, and even she needs her new makeup, while the peony, and the woman it stands for, is resplendent by nature. The rhetorical slide from flower to goddess to imperial beauty gives the four lines a widening circle of praise, gorgeous in diction yet precise in structure, courtly in manner yet never servile.

此诗艺术上以「华美咏人、以花写情」见长。全诗共四句，由一枝秾艳露凝香而借问汉宫谁得似。起「一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠」写一枝秾艳露凝香：一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠；结「借问汉宫谁得似可怜飞燕倚新妆」写借问汉宫谁得似：借问汉宫谁得似可怜飞燕倚新妆。全诗以花写情，由一枝秾艳露凝香而可怜飞燕倚新妆，华美咏人，是李白诗中的名篇。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 poem rests on two allusions. 'Cloud and rain of Mount Wu' comes from Song Yu's Gaotang Fu, in which the King of Chu dreamt of a goddess who mated with him on the Shaman Mountain and vanished like cloud and rain; the phrase became the classical shorthand for erotic encounter and legendary feminine beauty. By saying even she would break the heart in vain, Li Bai claims the consort's beauty surpasses myth itself. 'Flying Swallow' is Zhao Feiyan, the slender, dancing empress of the Han emperor Cheng, the era's byword for feminine grace; comparing the consort to her was standard courtly flattery, and, in the anecdotal tradition, a risky one, since Flying Swallow was also a byword for political intrigue and jealousy. 'Palaces of Han' stands for the whole tradition of imperial harem beauties, against which the consort is implicitly judged and implicitly wins. 'Lush splendor' and 'congealed dew' carry the peony imagery of the garden scene in which the song was composed.

诗中「一枝秾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」等语，皆含典故故实。「一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠」用巫山之典（巫山写高唐赋），写一枝秾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」用飞燕之典（飞燕写赵飞燕），写借问汉宫谁得似可怜飞燕倚新妆。诗人用巫山、飞燕之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把咏人宫词之情写得真切可感，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

The three Qingping songs have been the definitive court praise poems since they were written, and the second song's couplet 'Ask now: in the palaces of Han, who could compare? Only poor Flying Swallow, leaning on her fresh makeup' has been quoted for over a millennium. Commentators have noted the tact of Li Bai's flattery: he places the consort above a goddess and beside a legendary beauty at once, and the word 'poor' lends Flying Swallow a fellow-feeling that softens the comparison into admiration rather than rivalry. The anecdote in which the songs were improvised at a peony banquet and sung by Li Guinian did much to fix their legend. Read today, the songs show how the greatest poet of the High Tang could meet the court's demand for ornament and turn it into art: beneath the gorgeous surface there is real architecture, flower, goddess, beauty, a compliment engineered like a jewel.

这首《清平调词三首 二》，是李白写咏人宫词之作，写一枝秾艳露凝香、借问汉宫谁得似、可怜飞燕倚新妆之情，华美咏人。起「一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠」——一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠。写一枝秾艳露凝香：一枝秾艳露凝香、云雨巫山枉断肠——露凝香、枉断肠；结「借问汉宫谁得似可怜飞燕倚新妆」——借问汉宫谁得似可怜飞燕倚新妆。写借问汉宫谁得似：借问汉宫谁得似、可怜飞燕倚新妆——谁得似、倚新妆。这「借问汉宫谁得似可怜飞燕倚新妆」，是全诗之结：以可怜飞燕倚新妆写其宫词。全诗华美咏人，以花写情，正是李白诗中的名篇。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 (qijue)诗（七言绝句）
Rhyme The yang rhyme group; the rhymes are xiang, chang and zhuang, all level-tone words in the yang rhymes. The full, gorgeous resonance of the yang rhyme matches the splendor of the palace compliment.此诗为七言绝句，共四句。押韵：「香」「肠」「妆」押阳部韵。前两句起、后两句转合，平仄相间，正与写咏人宫词的华美咏人相称，也见其以七绝写宫词的凝练。
Tone pattern Four seven-character lines in standard quatrain form, with level-oblique alternation. The first couplet presents the flower and dismisses the goddess; the second poses the question and answers it, the turn arriving with the rhetorical 'ask now.' The music moves from gorgeous fullness in the first line to the poised lift of the closing image.句式上，「一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠」写一枝秾艳露凝香，音节华美；结「借问汉宫谁得似可怜飞燕倚新妆」写借问汉宫谁得似，音节悠长。全诗音节随情起伏，由华美而悠长，正合七绝「凝练」之妙，读来如咏人宫词、可怜飞燕倚新妆之音，华美而动人。
Reading note A seven-character quatrain in the full yang rhyme, the poem's sound is as gorgeous as its subject: the first line should be sung out with weight on 'lush splendor' and 'congealed fragrance,' the second allowed to fall lightly as the goddess is dismissed, and the last line, Flying Swallow leaning on her new makeup, held just long enough for the tact of the compliment to register. The rhymes xiang, chang and zhuang should be prolonged, so that the poem ends in a shimmer of color like the peony itself.此诗为七言绝句，是李白写咏人宫词之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「华美咏人、以花写情」：「一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠」写一枝秾艳露凝香、「借问汉宫谁得似可怜飞燕倚新妆」写借问汉宫谁得似。全诗华美咏人，以花写情。尤为精妙者，是「云雨巫山枉断肠」用巫山之典；而「可怜飞燕倚新妆」用飞燕之典，正是李白诗「华美咏人」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《清平调词三首 二》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

一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠

A single spray of lush splendor, its dew congealed with fragrance; the cloud-and-rain of Mount Wu only wastes the heart in vain.

一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠

One branch of rich beauty, dew holding its fragrance; the cloud-rain of Wu Mountain, vainly breaking the heart.

起句写一枝秾艳露凝香，起笔即见其秾艳。「一枝秾艳露凝香」写一枝秾艳露凝香，「一枝秾艳」写一枝秾艳、「露凝香」写露凝香；「云雨巫山枉断肠」用巫山之典写云雨巫山枉断肠，「云雨巫山」写云雨巫山、「枉断肠」写枉断肠。一句写一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠，以一枝秾艳露凝香写露凝香、以云雨巫山枉断肠写枉断肠，写尽一枝秾艳露凝香、云雨巫山枉断肠之情。以花起兴，华美而咏人，是「以花起兴」的妙笔。

The opening line writes 'one branch of rich beauty, dew holding its fragrance', the start. 'One branch of rich beauty, dew holding its fragrance' — the rich beauty, the dew's held fragrance; 'the cloud-rain of Wu Mountain, vainly breaking the heart' uses the Wu Mountain allusion — the cloud-rain, the vain broken heart. Rising through the flower, gorgeous and singing of the person, the start of the flower-verse.

借问汉宫谁得似

Ask now: in the palaces of Han, who could compare?

借问汉宫谁得似

Tell me, in the Han palace, who could compare?

此句写借问汉宫谁得似，是全诗写汉宫之态的关键。「借问汉宫」写借问汉宫，「借问」写借问、「汉宫」写汉宫；「谁得似」写谁得似，「谁」写谁、「得似」写得似。一句写借问汉宫谁得似，以借问汉宫写汉宫、以谁得似写谁得似，写尽借问汉宫谁得似之情。以宫写情，华美而咏人，是「以宫写情」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 writes 'tell me, in the Han palace, who could compare?', the key image. 'Tell me, in the Han palace' — the asking, the Han palace; 'who could compare?' — who, could compare. Writing feeling through the palace, gorgeous and singing of the person, the eye of the poem: the question that opens the foil of the Han palace beauties against the Guifei.

可怜飞燕倚新妆

Only poor Flying Swallow, leaning on her fresh makeup.

可怜飞燕倚新妆

Poor Flying Swallow, leaning on her new dress.

结句写可怜飞燕倚新妆，是全诗立意的落点。「可怜飞燕」用飞燕之典写可怜飞燕，「可怜」写可怜、「飞燕」写飞燕；「倚新妆」写倚新妆，「倚」写倚、「新妆」写新妆。一句写可怜飞燕倚新妆，以可怜飞燕写飞燕、以倚新妆写倚新妆，写尽可怜飞燕倚新妆之情。以妆写情，华美而咏人，是全诗最动人处，也是「以妆写情」的点睛之笔。

The closing line writes 'poor Flying Swallow, leaning on her new dress', the poem's landing. 'Poor Flying Swallow' uses the Flying Swallow allusion — 'poor', Flying Swallow; 'leaning on her new dress' — leaning, the new dress. Writing feeling through the dress, gorgeous and singing of the person, the poem's most moving point: Flying Swallow's beauty depending on adornment, set against the Guifei's natural beauty, the verdict of higher and lower.

Study

Word focus

秾艳 Nongyan, 'lush splendor,' the dense, heavy beauty of a peony in full bloom. The double syllable gives the flower, and through it the consort, a physical abundance, as if color and scent had weight. 「秾艳」写一枝秾艳露凝香，是写秾艳之态的关键。「一枝秾艳露凝香」着一「秾艳」，写秾艳——着一「秾艳」，写一枝秾艳露凝香，见其艳之秾。两字写尽秾艳之态，是「以词写艳」的妙笔。「秾艳」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。
凝香 Ningxiang, 'congealed fragrance,' dew on the petals holding the blossom's scent as if made tangible. The word turns smell into something almost solid, cool and sweet at once, the sensory center of the opening line. 「凝香」写一枝秾艳露凝香，是写凝香之态的关键。「一枝秾艳露凝香」着一「凝香」，写凝香——着一「凝香」，写一枝秾艳露凝香，见其香之凝。两字写尽凝香之态，是「以词写香」的点睛之词。「凝香」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。
巫山 Wushan, 'Mount Wu,' the Shaman Mountain of Song Yu's Gaotang Fu, where the King of Chu met a goddess in a dream; 'cloud and rain of Mount Wu' became the classical phrase for erotic encounter and legendary beauty. Invoked here only to be dismissed, the allusion serves as the superlative yardstick. 「巫山」写云雨巫山枉断肠，是写巫山之态的关键。「云雨巫山枉断肠」着一「巫山」，写巫山——着一「巫山」，写云雨巫山枉断肠，见其山之巫。两字写尽巫山之态，是「以词写巫」的点睛之词。「巫山」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。
飞燕 Feiyan, 'Flying Swallow,' Zhao Feiyan, the slender, dancing empress of the Han emperor Cheng, the era's byword for feminine grace. As the final comparison in the poem, she embodies the whole tradition of imperial beauties, and even she must yield. 「飞燕」写可怜飞燕倚新妆，是写飞燕之态的关键。「可怜飞燕倚新妆」着一「飞燕」，写飞燕——着一「飞燕」，写可怜飞燕倚新妆，见其燕之飞。两字写尽飞燕之态，是「以词写燕」的点睛之词。「飞燕」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 Bright? 苏轼 · 同写咏人感怀、华美旷达，一写人有悲欢离合、一写一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠，皆于咏人之中见华美 Both are works of supreme praise voiced through indirection; one consoles through the moon's cycles, the other praises through flowers and beauties.

Su Shi's 'Men may have sorrow and joy, parting and reunion; the moon may be dim or bright, waxing or waning' writes philosophical consolation in a roundabout mode, trusting the image to carry the thought. Li Bai's 'A single spray of lush splendor' and 'Only poor Flying Swallow, leaning on her fresh makeup' writes imperial praise through flowers and beauties, trusting the comparison to carry the compliment. One is Song lyric breadth, the other Tang quatrain gorgeousness; both are masters of saying by not saying, and both became the most quoted works of their kind.

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」，写咏人感怀、华美旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；李白《清平调词三首 二》则以「一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠」「可怜飞燕倚新妆」写枉断肠、倚新妆。两诗同写咏人感怀、华美旷达：一写人有悲欢离合、以悲欢写离合，一写一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠、以秾艳写咏人；一为苏轼之旷达、一为李白之华美，并读正可见诗写「咏人感怀」的两种笔法，皆于咏人之中见华美。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Eight Beats of Ganzhou Song: On the Dusk Rain Spattering the River Sky 柳永 · 同写汉宫凝望、华美清丽，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠，皆于汉宫之中见凝望 Both poems speak of a beloved world by indirection; one writes a traveler's longing, the other a consort's beauty.

Liu Yong's 'Facing the soughing dusk rain spattering the river sky, one washing cleans the autumn' writes the traveler's longing through the landscape, never naming the one he misses. Li Bai's 'Ask now: in the palaces of Han, who could compare?' writes the consort's beauty through flowers and past beauties, never naming the one he praises. One is Song lyric lushness, the other Tang quatrain splendor; both achieve their effect by indirection, and both became definitive treatments of their themes, the autumn gaze and the palace compliment.

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」，写汉宫凝望、华美清丽，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；李白《清平调词三首 二》则以「一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠」「借问汉宫谁得似」写枉断肠、谁得似。两诗同写汉宫凝望、华美清丽：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写一枝秾艳露凝香云雨巫山枉断肠、以秾艳写咏人；一为柳永之清丽、一为李白之华美，并读正可见诗写「汉宫凝望」的两种笔法，皆于汉宫之中见凝望。