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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

雪·尽道丰年瑞

Snow: All Say It Is the Omen of a Bumper Year

罗隐

Luo Yin

尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何。
长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多。

All say the snow is the omen of a bumper year —
But what, in a bumper year, becomes of things?
In Chang'an there are those who starve and freeze;
Let this good omen not come down too thick.
Listen

Meaning

A satirical poem on the snow of a hard winter. Everyone says the snow is the omen of a bumper year to come; but the poet asks what a bumper year actually means for the poor — grain cheapens, but those who starve today will not live to see it. In Chang'an there are people who freeze and starve; the poet ends with the bitter prayer: let this 'good omen' not come down too thick. The poem turns the conventional praise of snow into an indictment of the social order that lets the poor die in the snow.

尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何。长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] All say the snow is the good omen of a bumper year; but what, after all, is a bumper year like? In Chang'an there are poor people — so let the good omen not come down too heavily. [Structure and Thought] The quatrain is a compressed argument: the conventional saying, the questioning of it, the fact of the poor, and the bitter wish that closes the logic. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the refusal of the conventional: the snow, universally praised as the omen of plenty, is measured not against the fields but against the frozen poor of the capital, and the proverb is turned inside out. [Emotional Tone] Dry, bitter, and ironic: the poet speaks for those who have no voice, and the lightness of the four lines only sharpens the indictment.

【白话串讲】 罗隐写《雪·尽道丰年瑞》：“尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何”——“长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多”——他写雪——为瑞不宜多。 【意象与手法】 “尽道丰年瑞、丰年事若何”写尽道丰年瑞；结以“长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多”以贫者写讽刺。含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 罗隐写雪之讽喻之作，写长安有贫者、为瑞不宜多的讽喻，以雪写贫富之悬殊，是咏雪诗中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何”写丰年事若何；“长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多”以贫者写讽刺。

Background

Luo Yin (833–909), courtesy name Zhaojian, was a late Tang poet famous for his satirical verse and his sharp tongue; he failed the examinations repeatedly and spent much of his life in the lower ranks of provincial officialdom, which sharpened his eye for the abuses of the age. This poem, one of his best known, was written in a winter when snow fell heavily on the capital; the conventional saying that snow promises a bumper year is turned against itself by the simple fact that in Chang'an there are people who starve and freeze. The poem is a classic of late Tang social satire.

《雪·尽道丰年瑞》为晚唐诗人罗隐所作诗。罗隐（833—910），字昭谏，新城（今浙江富阳）人，晚唐诗人。此诗写咏物讽喻，为题雪之作。诗中「尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何」写尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何；「长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多」写长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多。罗隐此诗以咏物讽喻、为瑞不宜多写其讽喻之情，含蓄深婉，是罗隐诗中的名篇。此篇《雪·尽道丰年瑞》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《雪·尽道丰年瑞》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《雪·尽道丰年瑞》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 is the art of the proverb turned against itself. The first line states the conventional wisdom — 'all say the snow is the omen of a bumper year.' The second questions it: 'but what, in a bumper year, becomes of things?' The third answers with the fact the proverb ignores: 'in Chang'an there are those who starve and freeze.' The fourth delivers the bitter wish: 'let this good omen not come down too thick.' The whole argument is carried in twenty characters, and the snow, the emblem of the bumper year, becomes the emblem of the poor's suffering.

此诗艺术上以「含蓄深婉、以雪写讽」见长。全诗共四句，由尽道丰年瑞而丰年事若何而长安有贫者。起「尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何」写尽道丰年瑞：尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何；「长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多」写长安有贫者：长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多。全诗以雪写讽，由尽道丰年瑞而长安有贫者，含蓄深婉，是罗隐诗中的名篇。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 snow as the omen of a bumper year' (ruixue zhaofengnian) is the ancient proverb that heavy snow kills the pests and waters the spring fields, promising a good harvest. 'Chang'an' is the capital — the seat of wealth and power — which makes the presence of the starving there the sharpest possible indictment of the social order. The poem turns the proverb's own logic against it: a bumper year helps the farmer with land, but those who freeze in the capital's streets have no fields to profit from the snow.

诗中「尽道丰年瑞丰年事若何」「长安有贫者为瑞不宜多」等语，皆含典故故实。「尽道丰年瑞丰年事若何」写尽道丰年瑞丰年事若何（瑞雪兆丰年为谚语）；「长安有贫者为瑞不宜多」写长安有贫者为瑞不宜多。诗人以瑞雪兆丰年之语入诗，不着痕迹，而把咏物讽喻之情写得真切可感，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

This quatrain is one of the most famous social satires in the language, quoted for a millennium as the classic rebuke to the comfortable saying about the snowy bumper year. The final line — 'let this good omen not come down too thick' — has become a proverb for the poor's fatal knowledge of what the good omens of the rich actually mean. Critics praise the poem's economy: twenty characters, and the whole social question is posed.

这首《雪·尽道丰年瑞》，是罗隐写咏物讽喻之作，写尽道丰年瑞、长安有贫者、为瑞不宜多之情，含蓄深婉。起「尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何」——尽道丰年瑞（用瑞雪兆丰年之语），丰年事若何。写尽道丰年瑞：尽道丰年瑞、丰年事若何——尽道丰年瑞、丰年事若何；「长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多」——长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多。写长安有贫者：长安有贫者、为瑞不宜多——长安有贫者、为瑞不宜多。这「长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多」，是全诗之结：以为瑞不宜多写其讽喻。全诗含蓄深婉，以雪写讽，正是罗隐诗中的名篇。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。全诗以「尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何」起问，以「长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多」作结，由人人称道瑞雪丰年，转写长安尚有贫者，遂见瑞雪不宜太多。两句一问一答，含蓄而犀利，正是咏雪讽喻、关切贫苦的妙笔。全诗含蓄深婉，以雪写讽，寥寥二十字而意味深长，为历代选本所常收。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain (wujue)诗（五言绝句）
Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level-tone words 'he' (what) and 'duo' (much) in the ge rhyme group, in the standard second and fourth line pattern.此诗为五言绝句，共四句，两句一联。押平声韵：「何」「多」押歌部韵。诗体依绝句而定，句式整齐，音节随情起伏，正与写咏物讽喻的含蓄深婉相称，也见其以绝句写讽喻的自然。
Tone pattern The opening is flat and proverbial; the second line questions with a rising turn; the third is a bare statement of fact; the fourth closes with the dry, clipped wish — the cadence of a man making a bitter joke.句式上，「尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何」写尽道丰年瑞，音节舒缓；「长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多」写长安有贫者，音节沉郁。全诗音节随情起伏，由舒缓而沉郁，正合绝句「含蓄」之妙，读来如咏物讽喻、为瑞不宜多之音，含蓄而动人。
Reading note This is a five-character quatrain by Luo Yin, the late Tang satirist. 'All say the snow is the omen of a bumper year' — the first line repeats the received opinion; the second questions it: but what, in a bumper year, becomes of things? The close answers with the poor of Chang'an: let this good omen not come down too thick. The quatrain's art is the inversion of the blessing — the snow that the age praises is the death of the poor.此诗为五言绝句，是罗隐写咏物讽喻之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「含蓄深婉、以雪写讽」：「尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何」写尽道丰年瑞、「长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多」写长安有贫者。全诗含蓄深婉，以雪写讽。尤为精妙者，是「长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多」以贫者写讽喻；而「尽道丰年瑞」化用瑞雪兆丰年之语，正是罗隐诗「含蓄深婉」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《雪·尽道丰年瑞》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

尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何。

All say the snow is the omen of a bumper year — but what, in a bumper year, becomes of things?

尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何。

All say it is the auspice of a good year; but in a good year, what of it?

首二句写尽道丰年瑞，起笔即见其问。「尽道丰年瑞」写尽道丰年瑞，「尽道」写人人说、「丰年瑞」写丰年瑞雪；「丰年事若何」写丰年事若何，「丰年事」写丰年之事、「若何」写如何。两句一写尽道丰年瑞、一写丰年事若何，以尽道丰年瑞写人人称瑞、以丰年事若何写丰年如何，写尽尽道丰年瑞、丰年事若何之情。以问起兴，含蓄而深婉，是「以问起兴」的妙笔。

The first two lines write all say it is the auspice of a good year, the question named at the first stroke. All say it is the auspice of a good year: everyone calling it the auspicious snow of a fruitful year. But in a good year, what of it?: and yet, what of this good year's affairs? One line writes all praising the auspice, the other asking what the good year is worth - Luo Yin's starting point for the snow: all hail the omen, yet what does it mean for the poor? The line opens with a question as bi-xing, reserved and deep: the conventional wisdom of snow as good fortune is immediately challenged.

长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多。

In Chang'an there are those who starve and freeze; let this good omen not come down too thick.

长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多。

There are poor people in Chang'an; as an auspice, it should not be too much.

尾二句写长安有贫者，是全诗立意的落点。「长安有贫者」写长安有贫者，「长安」写长安、「有贫者」写有贫穷之人；「为瑞不宜多」写为瑞不宜多，「为瑞」写作为瑞雪、「不宜多」写不宜多。两句一写长安有贫者、一写为瑞不宜多，以长安有贫者写贫者、以为瑞不宜多写瑞不宜多，写尽长安有贫者、为瑞不宜多之情。以雪写讽，含蓄而深挚，是全诗最动人处，也是「以雪写讽」的点睛之笔。

The last two lines write there are poor people in Chang'an, the poem's landing. There are poor people in Chang'an: the capital's destitute. As an auspice, it should not be too much: the snow, for all its luck, should not fall too deep. One line writes the capital's poor, the other the snow's measure - the poem's resolution: the auspice that blesses the harvest is the same snow that freezes the destitute. The line uses snow for satire, reserved yet deep, the poem's most moving point: even the most welcome omen has its victims, and the poet asks it to fall gently for their sake.

Study

Word focus

尽道 'All say' — the common voice of the age, the received opinion of the snow. 「尽道」写尽道丰年瑞，是写人人称道的关键。「尽道丰年瑞」着一「尽道」，写人人说——着一「尽道」，写尽道丰年瑞，见其人人称道。两字写尽尽道之态，是「以词写众」的妙笔。「尽道」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。
若何 'What becomes of it?' — the question that turns the omen into the satire. 「若何」写丰年事若何，是写如何之问的关键。「丰年事若何」着一「若何」，写如何——着一「若何」，写丰年事若何，见其问之深。两字写尽若何之问，是「以词写问」的点睛之词。「若何」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。
贫 'The poor' — those who starve and freeze in Chang'an, the poem's center of gravity. 「贫」字写长安有贫者，是写贫者之态的关键。「长安有贫者」着一「贫」，写贫穷——着一「贫」字，写长安有贫者，见其贫者之众。一字写尽贫者之情，是「以一字写苦」的点睛之词。「贫」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。
不宜 'Should not' — the good omen that should not come too thick, the inversion of the blessing. 「不宜」写为瑞不宜多，是写不宜之意的关键。「为瑞不宜多」着一「不宜」，写不宜——着一「不宜」，写为瑞不宜多，见其不宜之意。两字写尽不宜之慨，是「以词写讽」的点睛之词。「不宜」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

卜算子·咏梅 Song of Divination: Ode to the Plum 陆游 · 同写咏物寄情、以物写怀，一写零落成泥碾作尘只有香如故、一写尽道丰年瑞长安有贫者，皆于咏物之中见写怀 Both are the poems of the cold and the neglected — Lu You's plum in the wind and rain, Luo Yin's poor freezing in the snow.

Lu You's 'Song of Divination: Ode to the Plum' — 'apart from the post, outside the broken bridge' — asserts the neglected object's worth in the cold; Luo Yin's 'Snow' turns the same cold onto the poor of Chang'an — the snow that is a blessing to some and a death to others.

陆游《卜算子·咏梅》「零落成泥碾作尘，只有香如故」，写咏梅寄情，是宋词咏物的名篇；罗隐《雪·尽道丰年瑞》则以「尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何」「长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多」写尽道丰年瑞、长安有贫者。两诗同写咏物寄情、以物写怀：一写零落成泥碾作尘只有香如故、以梅写志，一写尽道丰年瑞长安有贫者、以雪写讽；一为陆游之孤高、一为罗隐之犀利，并读正可见诗写「咏物写怀」的两种笔法，皆于咏物之中见写怀。

 山园小梅 The Small Plum of the Mountain Garden 林逋 · 同写咏物清雅、以物寄情，一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、一写尽道丰年瑞丰年事若何，皆于咏物之中见寄情 Both are the poems that test the received praise — Lin Bu's plum praised truly, Luo Yin's snow questioned.

Lin Bu's 'Small Plum of the Mountain Garden' gives the plum its true, quiet praise; Luo Yin's 'Snow' questions the received praise of the snow itself — the omen of the bumper year weighed against the poor who freeze.

林逋《山园小梅》「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」，写梅之清雅，是宋诗咏物的绝唱；罗隐《雪·尽道丰年瑞》则以「尽道丰年瑞，丰年事若何」「长安有贫者，为瑞不宜多」写尽道丰年瑞、为瑞不宜多。两诗同写咏物清雅、以物寄情：一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、以梅写清雅，一写尽道丰年瑞丰年事若何、以雪写讽喻；一为林逋之清逸、一为罗隐之犀利，并读正可见诗写「咏物寄情」的两种笔法，皆于咏物之中见寄情。