All poems

唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

相思

Love Seeds

王维

Wang Wei

爱情Romance 友情Friendship

红豆生南国，春来发几枝。
愿君多采撷，此物最相思。

Red beans grow in the southern land.
In spring, how many new branches they send?
I wish you would gather more,
For this thing most embodies longing.

Listen

Meaning

Red beans grow in the warm south; when spring comes, they sprout new branches. I hope you will pick many, for they best express longing.

红豆生长在温暖的南方，春天到来又抽出了几枝新条。愿你多多采撷这小小的红豆，因为它最能寄托相思之情。

Appreciation

The poet starts with red beans from the south, mentions that spring brings new branches, then gently urges the friend to pick them because they symbolize longing. In just twenty characters, a single object carries deep emotion.

【白话串讲】一颗红豆，被王维写成了中国人送别时最含蓄的一句告白。据说这首诗当年传入宫中，连梨园乐工都抢着谱曲——原来深情不必说出口，一颗红豆就够了。【意象与手法】全诗仅二十字，却含蓄温厚，尽得“托物言志、借物抒情”之妙。艺术上以“红豆”为线索贯穿【情感与主旨】此诗题一作《江上赠李龟年》，是王维写给著名乐师友人李龟年的赠别之作，约作于开元盛世【名句点睛】常考借物抒情、托物言志的手法；“愿君多采撷，此物最相思”的叮咛口吻与双关（红豆即相思）

Background

This poem, also titled 'To Li Guinian on the River', is Wang Wei's farewell to his friend, the famous musician Li Guinian, written during the Kaiyuan era. Red beans, also called 'xiangsi zi' (love seeds), are associated with longing. Wang Wei turns this folk symbol into a token of friendship.

王维《相思》一作《江上赠李龟年》，是盛唐时期赠友的名作。王维（701—761）与宫廷乐师李龟年交契颇深，李龟年擅歌，尝于王维宅第咏其“红豆生南国”一曲，一时传为美谈。此诗约作于开元盛世，彼时二人皆值壮年，交游宴集，诗乐相和，故诗风温厚明朗，无衰飒之气。安史乱后，李龟年流落江南，于筵席间犹歌此诗及“清风明月苦相思”等王维之作，座中闻者莫不掩泣，杜甫《江南逢李龟年》“正是江南好风景，落花时节又逢君”即写二人乱后重逢之悲——可见此诗在乱离中更成故国旧交的象征。诗中“红豆”又名相思子，产自岭南岭南（诗中“南国”），其释义有民间传说：相传古代有女子，其夫戍边死于边地，妻思之而哭于树下，泪尽继血，化为红豆，遂称相思木、相思子。王维以红豆起兴，正取其“相思”之名而双关其情。创作契机虽是赠友（李龟年），但诗中“愿君多采撷”的叮咛口吻极亲切，后遂被普遍读作爱情、友情的共同寄托，由特定赠答扩为普世相思之吟。版本方面，题作《相思》或《江上赠李龟年》二名并行，宋本多作《相思》，明本或题《江上赠李龟年》。

Art

In just twenty words, the poem uses the red bean as a thread: opening with the bean's origin, asking how many branches in spring, then urging the friend to gather them, and finally declaring the bean the best symbol of longing. Every line carries emotion subtly.

此诗艺术之妙，在“托物言志、借物抒情”而浑然无迹。全诗二十字，以“红豆”为线索贯穿四句，却无一字直说“我想你”，全借物之属性婉转达情，正是“不著一字，尽得风流”的标本。首句“红豆生南国”叙事起兴，平平道来，交代物产之地；次句“春来发几枝”以问句写春生新枝，于客观物候中暗藏“又一年春，而人未聚”的轻愁，“几枝”的疑问含悠悠时间感。后两句“愿君多采撷，此物最相思”转入叮咛，由物及人、由景及情：“多采撷”是具体的嘱托，“最相思”点出红豆即相思的隐喻，全诗至此方揭“相思”二字，却毫无突兀，因前三句已层层铺垫。章法上起承转合分明：起（生南国）、承（发几枝）、转（愿君采撷）、合（最相思），而语语如话，不见锤炼之痕。双关手法尤可玩味：红豆既是实物，又是“相思”的符号，“此物最相思”一句将物名与情感完全重合，物我两忘。沈德潜谓王维“清远”，此诗之清，在情真而不腻、语浅而味长。

Allusions

Red beans are also called 'love seeds' from a legend: a wife wept under a tree after her husband died in battle, and she turned into red beans. Wang Wei transforms this romantic symbol into a token of friendship, making red beans a universal symbol of longing in Chinese culture.

此诗用典在物不在词，核心典源是“红豆”的相思传说。红豆一名相思子，其来已久：晋代干宝《搜神记》、南朝任昉《述异记》皆载相思木故事，谓战国时魏国苦秦之难，有役夫死于边，其妻思之，哭于树下而卒，化为红豆，故名相思树、相思子。王维取此民间传说入诗，使“红豆”天然携带相思之喻，不须另设典故而传统自具。又“南国”一词可溯《诗经·周南》之“南”与《楚辞》江南意象，泛指江湘岭南温暖之地，与红豆产地相合。“春来发几枝”暗用《诗经·召南·摽有梅》“摽有梅，其实七兮”以草木荣枯写时序与情思的兴体传统——梅实喻求偶，红豆发枝喻相思萌生，皆“借物起兴”一脉。“愿君多采撷”的采撷动作，则近《诗经·周南·卷耳》“采采卷耳，不盈顷筐”以采物写相思的先例。王维融民间传说与《诗经》兴体于一炉，化典为俗、以俗见雅，最见盛唐绝句的浑成。观《相思》用典使事之妙，正在于不泥于古而能化用无痕，信手拈来皆成佳境，既增诗境之厚重，又不失自然浑成之趣，非徒摭拾故实以炫博者也。

Commentary

This poem made red beans synonymous with longing. Ming critic Zhong Xing commented that it is 'truly heartfelt, needing no decoration.' It shows how a simple urging can convey profound feeling.

此诗自中唐已负盛名，尤与李龟年之歌相依为名。唐范摅《云溪友议》载：安史乱后李龟年奔江潭，于良辰胜赏之际，为人歌“红豆生南国”“清风明月苦相思”，座客闻之，莫不掩泣罢酒。此一记载使此诗超出寻常赠答，成为乱离故交的集体记忆。宋代计有功《唐诗纪事》、刘辰翁评点皆重此诗之“自然”。明代胡应麟《诗薮》以王维五绝与李白、王昌龄并论，推为神品。清代王士禛《唐人万首绝句选》以此为王维五绝压卷之一。近人俞陛云《诗境浅说》云：“此诗借物以传情，不言相思而相思自见，故为佳作。”叶嘉莹讲王维，特赏其“以最素朴之语言，写最普遍之人情”，认为此诗之伟大正在于可通于友、可通于爱、可通于一切离索，故能童稚能诵、千古不废。在日本汉诗传统中，此诗亦为必录，与《静夜思》同列东瀛蒙学之常选，足见其跨越文化之感染力。由古及今，评骘《相思》者代不乏人，或赏其辞章，或味其情志，虽各有侧重而皆许为名篇，其艺术生命之活跃、在文学史上地位之重要，于此可见一斑。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain (level-tone start without rhyme on first line)五言绝句（借物抒情之作）

Rhyme Rhyme: 'zhi' and 'si' in rhyme category 'zhi' of the level tone平水韵上平四支韵，押“枝”“思”二韵，首句不入韵（首句末字“国”为入声，不押）

Tone pattern level-deflected-level-level-deflected, level-level-deflected-deflected-level; deflected-level-level-deflected-deflected, deflected-deflected-deflected-level-level首句“红豆生南国”平仄平平仄（“红”平、“豆”仄、“生”平、“南”平、“国”入声仄，合仄起式之变）；次句“春来发几枝”平平仄仄平（“枝”平，押韵）；三句“愿君多采撷”仄平平仄仄（“撷”入声仄）；末句“此物最相思”仄仄仄平平（“思”平，押韵，支韵）。整体合五绝仄起首句不入韵正格，平仄清畅。

Reading note Using object description to convey longing without a single 'sorrow' character, yet full of longing.此诗为五绝仄起首句不入韵之正格，二十字而情韵悠长，是王维五绝“清远”一格的代表。前两句“红豆生南国，春来发几枝”不对仗（五绝本不要求对仗），以叙述起兴，语如白话；后两句“愿君多采撷，此物最相思”亦不对仗，以叮咛收束，自然如话。虽通篇不对仗，却因起承转合分明、气脉连贯而自成章法，正见盛唐绝句“不以对仗争工、而以情韵取胜”的风度。声韵上所押“枝”“思”皆上平四支，“思”此处读支韵（名词/动词“相思”），与“枝”同韵部，音色细柔悠远，与红豆相思的绵邈情致声情相恰。王力《汉语诗律学》以王维五绝为唐人神品，此诗首句不入韵、平仄合度而气息疏朗，且“枝”“思”二韵一舒一收，读来如面对面絮语。其格律之“正”与语言之“浅”形成反差——愈浅愈工，愈工愈自然，恰是王维“清水出芙蓉”境界在绝句上的体现。

Line by line

红豆生南国，

Red beans grow in the southern land,

红豆生长在温暖的南方，

Red beans grow in the warm southern country,

起句叙事起兴，看似平淡，却已布下全篇关键意象。“红豆”即相思子，天生携带“相思”之喻（见《搜神记》相思木传说），诗人开篇即拈出此物，等于先立了全诗的感情符号。“生南国”点明产地——南国泛指南方温暖之地，与红豆实际产域相合，亦暗含“南方”作为友人所在或思念所向的空间指向。此句妙在不动声色：只说物之生长，不涉人之情感，却因“红豆”一名的语义预设，读者未读下文已先被“相思”二字笼罩。与《诗经》兴体“关关雎鸠，在河之洲”先言他物以引起所咏之辞同一机杼。一个“生”字写出物之自然、地之恒常，隐含“红豆岁岁生发，相思年年萌生”的循环意味，为次句“春来发几枝”的时序追问埋下伏笔。

The opening narrates as bi-xing, plain on the surface, yet already laying the poem's key image. Red beans are the love-pea, born carrying the metaphor of longing (see the Soushenji legend of the longing tree); the poet picks this object at the opening, establishing the poem's emotional symbol first. Grow in the southern land fixes the place - the south generally, matching the bean's real habitat, and secretly pointing to the friend's location, the direction of longing. The line's art lies in its unhurried quiet: saying only where the thing grows, not one word of human feeling, yet through the name red bean's semantic preset, the reader is already wrapped in longing before reading on. It is of the same weave as the Book of Songs's ospreys on the islet - speaking of other things first to lead into the theme. One grow writes the thing's naturalness, the place's constancy, implying the cycle of red beans sprouting year by year, longing stirring year by year - the伏笔 for the time-question how many branches below.

春来发几枝。

when spring comes, how many new branches sprout?

春天到来又抽出了几枝新条。

and when spring returns, how many branches will they put forth?

承句以问句推进，于客观物候中注入悠柔之情。“春来”点明节候，春天本是万物萌生、游人思归之时，亦最易触动离索之怀；“发几枝”以疑问写红豆新枝之数，表面问物，实含“又一春矣，而故人未聚，相思又添几许”的轻愁。这一问极委婉：诗人不直说“我思念你”，而问“红豆发了几枝”，将人情折入物候，物我交融。与首句“生南国”的静态叙述相较，此句以“春来”的动态与“几枝”的疑问，使时间开始流动——由“生”到“发”，由恒常到新岁，暗藏“年年红豆发，岁岁人未还”的怅惘。句式上“春来发几枝”五字如话，却有余韵，正是王维五绝“清而远”的看家本领；后二句由此自然转入对友人的叮咛。

The second line advances with a question, infusing gentle feeling into the objective season. Spring comes fixes the season - spring is when all things sprout, when travelers think of home, most easily stirring the feeling of separation. How many new branches sprout asks the number of the bean's new shoots; on the surface asking the plant, in truth holding the light sorrow of another spring has come, yet the friend not gathered, longing added how much. The question is most tactful: the poet does not say I miss you, but asks how many branches the red beans have put forth, folding human feeling into the season, thing and self fused. Compared with the static narration of grow in the southern land, this line uses spring comes' motion and how many branches' question to start time flowing - from grow to sprout, from constancy to a new year, secretly holding the wistfulness of beans sprouting each year, the friend returning never. The five characters of spring comes, how many branches sprout are like speech, yet with aftertone - precisely Wang Wei's five-character quatrain art of limpid and far; the last two lines turn naturally to the charge to the friend.

愿君多采撷，

I wish you would gather them freely,

愿你多多采撷这小小的红豆，

I hope you will gather plenty of them,

转句由物及人，语气由叙述转为叮咛，情感由此显豁。“愿君”二字直指友人（或传为李龟年），口吻亲切如对面嘱托；“多采撷”是具体的、可操作的请求——请多采些红豆吧。这个“多”字含殷勤之意：不是采一枝，而是多多采撷，仿佛多采便能多留住相思、多慰藉别情。诗人不直写“我想你”，而嘱对方“多采撷”，将思念化作对对方的体贴与记挂，情谊更显温厚。从章法看，此句是由前三句的“物—时”转向“人—情”的枢纽，由景及人的过渡如此自然，全凭一个“愿”字领起。采撷本是日常小事，经此一句点化，便成相思的仪式——你采的每颗红豆，都是我寄去的思念。语淡情浓，最见王维长处。

The turning line moves from thing to person, tone from narration to charge, feeling becoming clear. I wish you directly addresses the friend (traditionally Li Guinian), the voice intimate as a face-to-face entrustment. Gather plenty is a concrete, actionable request - please gather plenty of red beans. This plenty holds earnestness: not one branch, but gather freely, as if more gathering could keep more longing, comfort more the parting. The poet does not write I miss you, but charges you gather freely, converting missing into thoughtfulness and care for the other; the friendship all the warmer. Structurally, the line is the pivot from the first three's thing-time to person-feeling; the transition from scene to person so natural, all led by one wish. Gathering is a daily small act, yet through this line transfigured into a ritual of longing - each bean you gather is a longing I send you. Plain words, deep feeling - Wang Wei's forte.

此物最相思。

for this thing best conveys longing.

因为它最能寄托相思之情。

for this little thing is the very image of longing.

合句揭出全篇题旨，将物名与情感完全重合，一字双关，收束有力。“此物”回指红豆，“最相思”点明红豆即相思的隐喻——它最能寄托相思之情。妙在“最”字：众物皆可寄情，而红豆“最”切，因其名、其传说、其色（殷红如血泪）天生属相思，是无可替代的相思符号。至此，前三句“生南国—发几枝—愿采撷”的层层铺垫，都汇聚到这“最相思”三字，全诗由物及情、由隐到显，浑然天成。双关手法在此完成：红豆是实物，相思是情感，二者在“此物最相思”中合而为一，物我两忘，故沈德潜谓“不著一字，尽得风流”。二十字小诗，至“最相思”三字方点题，却绝不嫌迟，因前文已蓄足其势。后之温庭筠“入骨相思知不知”、纳兰“红豆不堪看”皆从此“物即情”一路化出。

The closing line reveals the poem's theme, fully fusing the object's name with the emotion, one word double meaning, the close forceful. This thing refers back to the red bean; best conveys longing names the metaphor - it best carries the feeling of longing. The art lies in best: all things can carry feeling, yet the red bean best fits - its name, its legend, its color (deep red as tears of blood) born of longing, an irreplaceable symbol of the love-pea. Here the first three's layering - grows in the south, how many branches, wish you gather - all converge on best conveys longing; the poem moves from thing to feeling, from hidden to manifest, as if wrought by heaven. The pun is completed here: the red bean is the object, longing is the emotion, the two become one in this thing best conveys longing, thing and self forgotten - hence Shen Deqian's not one word disclosed, yet all the charm attained. A twenty-character small poem naming its theme only at best conveys longing, yet never feels late, for the previous lines have stored full force. Later Wen Tingyun's bone-deep longing, do you know? and Nalan's the red beans unbearable to look at both descend from this thing-is-feeling line.

Study

Word focus

红豆 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “红豆”是全诗的诗眼与线索，亦是最大的“典故”——它本身就是相思的化身。红豆一名相思子，其传说见晋代《搜神记》、南朝《述异记》：征夫死边，妻泣血化珠，故名相思子。王维开篇即拈此物，等于借了千年的相思传统入诗，不须另设一词而情已暗藏。作为意象，红豆形小色殷红，既可视可握（故能“采撷”），又象征炽烈凝注的相思，物之轻与情之重形成张力。全诗四句以红豆贯穿：生南国（其地）、发几枝（其时）、多采撷（其取）、最相思（其喻），物象始终在場，情感始终隐于物后，至末句方合一。后人写相思多用红豆（如温庭筠“玲珑骰子安红豆”），皆祖王维此题。一字立而全篇立，非深谙托物之妙者不能。

愿 wish/hope – The word 'wish' conveys a gentle urging that implies deep affection. “愿君多采撷”之“愿”字，是全诗由景及人、由物及情的转折枢纽，也是情感显豁的开关。“愿”是希望、祝愿，带出诗人对友人的殷殷叮咛，口吻亲切如对面谈。此前两句“红豆生南国，春来发几枝”纯然叙事写物，情感隐而不发；自“愿”字一出，主体登场，思念由隐转显。这个“愿”字极温柔：它不是命令（你必须采），不是哀求（求你采），而是祝愿（但愿你多采），分寸恰合盛唐赠友的温厚得体。且“愿君”二字将“我”的思念转化为“对你”的体贴——我思念你，故愿你多采红豆以记挂我，同向奔赴，情谊更深。与末句“最相思”呼应，“愿”是动因，“最”是结论，一因一果，构成叮咛的完整逻辑。

多 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “愿君多采撷”之“多”字，看似寻常副词，却含殷勤深意。“多”是数量之丰，诗人嘱友人“多”采而非“采”，仿佛采得愈多，相思便留得愈厚、慰藉便愈足，隐隐有“怕你采少了、记挂少了”的拳拳之意。这个字将抽象的思念落实为可计量的动作——多采几颗红豆，便多几分相思的凭依。与“愿”配合，“愿……多……”写出一种不厌其烦的叮咛，亲厚之态可掬。若作“愿君采撷”则语尽而情减，有“多”字方见絮絮之意、眷眷之情。更妙在“多”与末句“最”遥应：多采（数量）方能“最”切相思（程度），由量的叮咛通向质的断定，小字见大情，是王维炼虚于实的手笔。

最 most – The word 'most' in 'this thing most embodies longing' makes red beans the ultimate symbol of longing. “此物最相思”之“最”字，是全诗的论断词与收束力所在。“最”表极致、无可比拟，意谓众物皆可寄情，而红豆于“相思”一义最为贴切、最为专属。这个字有三重用意：一是断定——红豆就是相思的化身，不容置疑；二是对比——在百花百草中独推红豆，见诗人择物的精审；三是收束——前文“生南国、发几枝、愿采撷”的层层蓄势，至此“最”字一锤定音，物名与情感完全重合。若删“最”作“此物是相思”，则失其强调与韵致；“最”字使平淡的判断升为深情的确信。且“最”与“多”呼应：多采（量）正因其“最”切（质），逻辑圆融。二十字小诗，结于“最相思”三字，双关尽显，物我两忘，故能童稚能诵而千古不废。

相思