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唐 Tang · 词 Ci lyric

忆江南·江南好

Dreaming of the South: The South is Fair

白居易

Bai Juyi

江南Jiangnan 写景Scenery 忆旧Nostalgia 抒情Emotion

江南好，风景旧曾谙。
日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝。
能不忆江南？

The South is fair,
Scenes I once knew well.
At sunrise, river flowers redder than fire,
In spring, river waters green as indigo.
How can I not remember the South?

Listen

Meaning

The south is truly wonderful; I was once very familiar with its scenery. When the sun rises, the riverside flowers are redder than fire; when spring comes, the river water is as green as indigo. How can I not always remember the south?

江南实在好啊，那一带的风景我从前便已熟稔于心。太阳升起时，江边的花朵红得胜过燃烧的火焰；春天来到，一江春水绿得如同蓝草染就。这样的江南，教人怎能不时时追忆？

Appreciation

The poem opens with a direct exclamation 'The south is good,' then explains the familiarity. The couplet uses vivid color contrast: red flowers vs. green water, fire vs. indigo, creating a brilliant picture. The final rhetorical question conveys deep nostalgia. It is a masterpiece of concise lyricism.

【白话串讲】离开江南多年，白居易晚年写下“日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝”——一个北方人在暮年，用三首小令反复回味江南的春天。【意象与手法】小令体短，仅二十七字，却章法圆融：以「好」字立骨直抒所感，以「旧曾谙」点出追忆的根由，中两句以「红胜火」「绿如蓝」的色彩对举写尽江南春色，结句以「能不忆江南」的反问收束，情由景生、景由忆出，首尾环合。【情感与主旨】白居易曾先后出任杭州、苏州刺史，江南的湖山明丽、风物清嘉令他深为眷恋。晚年退居洛阳，距江南千里，遂以《忆江南》词牌连写三首追忆旧游，此为其一，字里行间是对江南春光与仕游岁月的深情回望。【名句点睛】常考白描江南春景与色彩对比（红胜火、绿如蓝），以及「能不忆江南」反诘收束的含蓄深情，两句写景之句是写江南春色的千古绝唱。

Background

Bai Juyi served as governor of Hangzhou and Suzhou, deeply loving the beautiful landscapes of Jiangnan. In his old age, living in Luoyang far away, he wrote three poems to the tune 'Dreaming of the South' to recall his travels. This is the first one, expressing a gentle longing for the spring scenery and his official years in the south.

白居易（772—846），字乐天，号香山居士，中唐新乐府运动的领袖诗人。他于唐穆宗长庆二年（822）出任杭州刺史，唐敬宗宝历元年（825）又出任苏州刺史，前后在江南任职约五六年。任上他浚西湖、筑白堤，体察民情，与江南山水结下深厚情缘，离任之后多年仍念念不忘。此词约作于他晚年退居洛阳期间（开成三年即838年前后），与《忆江南》其二（江南忆，最忆是杭州）、其三（江南忆，其次忆吴宫）同写于一时，构成一组追忆江南的联章。唐代文人词尚在草创期，作品多存于民间与教坊；白居易以中唐大诗人之笔涉足小令，把民歌的清新自然与文人的炼字精工熔为一炉，为早期文人词树立了典范，故此词不但是白氏个人情怀的抒写，也是词体发展史上的重要作品。尤须注意者，白氏任苏杭刺史时，曾修浚西湖、引水灌田，与江南百姓同其休戚，故其忆江南，不徒忆山水之明丽，亦忆为政一方之岁月；词中「好」字所含的深情，正由这段仕游经历而来，非泛泛的怀乡可比。

Art

This short lyric is fresh and flowing like a folk song yet refined in diction. The couplet uses striking similes 'redder than fire' and 'green as indigo' with bold color contrast. The character '谙' (know well) initiates the memory, and the rhetorical question 'How can I not remember' concludes with lingering emotion. The structure is seamless.

小令体短，仅二十七字，却章法圆融、一气流转，极见经营之功。首句「江南好」三字直抒胸臆，先立「好」字为全篇之骨；次句「风景旧曾谙」以「旧曾」二字点出记忆的根由——正因为昔年亲历、烂熟于心，故今日追忆才格外真切，由情入景，不留痕迹。中幅「日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝」两句以工对写江南春色：日出江畔，花红似火；春来江上，水碧如蓝，红绿相映、冷暖相衬，色彩浓烈而构图明丽，一句写江花、一句写江水，一句承日、一句承春，时空交织。「红胜火」以火喻花之红艳，「绿如蓝」以蓝草喻水之碧绿，设喻通俗而新警，白诗「老妪能解」的特质于此可见。结句「能不忆江南」以反问轻轻一拢，把前文铺展的无限景致收束于一声深情的呼唤，余情袅袅，言尽而意不尽。全词由情入景、由景返情，首尾环合，民歌的清新流转与炼字的精工含蓄兼而有之。尤可味者，「谙」字领起，「忆」字收束，全词于二十七字内完成「好—谙—忆」的情感链，由赞叹而回忆而追念，一气呵成，读之如闻其声、如见其人，小令写情之妙，至此极矣。

Allusions

The word '谙' (familiar) hints at his long official career in Jiangnan. '蓝' refers to the indigo plant used for dye, so 'green as indigo' is a concrete simile, not the color blue. The poem derives from the Southern Dynasties folk song 'The South' ('江南可采莲'), carrying on the tradition of fresh colloquial lyricism.

「谙」谓熟习、熟悉，《说文解字》释为「悉也」，此处暗点久宦江南的经历，一字绾住「忆」字——唯因「旧曾谙」，方能「能不忆」，是全词追忆逻辑的枢纽。「蓝」指蓝草（蓼蓝），古人采其叶渍水发酵以制靛青染料，故「绿如蓝」是以实物设譬，言江水之绿深浓纯净，如蓝草染就一般，并非今人所言的天蓝色，这是理解此句的关键。词牌《忆江南》本名《谢秋娘》，又名《望江南》《梦江南》，白居易依调填词并改题，此调遂因白词而显，成为最著名的词牌之一。就渊源而言，全词脱胎于南朝乐府《江南》「江南可采莲，莲叶何田田」的民歌传统，以清新口语化的短章写江南风物，承六朝余韵而更见疏朗明快，开启了以词体咏叹地方风物的先河。后世以《忆江南》填词者甚众，温庭筠、皇甫松皆有所作，而写江南之真切动人，终以白词为最；「日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝」二句，更被后世画师反复入图，可见其意象生命力之强。

Commentary

Qing critic Kuang Zhouyi in 'Huifeng Cihua' praised Bai's short lyrics as 'bright and charming.' This poem, along with the other two, depicts the beauty of Hangzhou and Suzhou. Wang Guowei also admired its ability to use common language to describe common scenes with skill. It is popular yet elegant, and has been sung through the ages.

此词在白氏生前即已传唱不衰，唐末五代文人词兴起之后，更被奉为小令写景的典范。白居易诗尚通俗，主张「文章合为时而著，歌诗合为事而作」，其词亦然：二十七字的小令不用深典、不事雕琢，纯以口语白描写真景物、真性情，而色彩之明丽、章法之圆融又非率尔可成。清代况周颐《蕙风词话》赞其小令「明丽善睐」，王国维论唐词亦推白氏为巨擘，以为其小令「虽浅语，有深致」。全词虽短而千古传诵，「日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝」更成为江南春色的经典写照，历代题咏、绘画、谱曲不绝。此词上承六朝乐府，下开文人词写地方风物的传统，与韦庄《菩萨蛮》「人人尽说江南好」并称唐五代词写江南的双璧，其影响一直绵延到宋词中以词写景抒情的成熟形态。今日读此词，二十七字间江南春色扑面而来，白氏「文章合为时而著」之外的另一副清丽笔墨，亦足令人低回久之，是唐词中不可多得的精品。

Prosody

Form Tune: 'Dreaming of the South' (monostrophic short lyric, originally 'Thanking Autumn Maid', also known as 'Gazing at the South')词牌《忆江南》（单调小令，原名《谢秋娘》，又名《望江南》《梦江南》）

Rhyme Three level rhymes (谙, 蓝, 南 - rhyme category xiaping thirteen Tan)押平声韵，韵脚为「谙」「蓝」「南」，属平水韵下平十三覃部，三平韵一韵到底。

Tone pattern Line patterns: 3-5, 7-7-5, short and lively, not following regulated verse tonal patterns.全词句式五、七、七、五言相间，节奏短促明快；首句五字「江南好」开门见山，末句五字「能不忆江南」以反问作结，与首句遥相呼应，形成环抱式结构。

Reading note The couplet 'redder than fire' and 'green as indigo' uses color contrast to capture Jiangnan spring; Bai Juyi created this pattern, pioneering literati lyrics about Jiangnan.从格律看，此调为单调小令，二十七字、五句、三平韵，句式长短错落，迥异于齐言的近体诗。白居易以中唐诗人身份依谱填词，其《忆江南》三首为此调现存最早的文人作品，词牌亦因之改名「忆江南」。值得注意的是，词虽短小，却以「旧曾谙」的今昔对照、红绿对举的色彩铺排与反问收束的章法，把小令写成了完整的抒情小品。近体诗以平仄黏对求声律之美，此调则以句式参差与韵脚疏朗得流转之趣；「红胜火」「绿如蓝」三字一顿、音节明亮，正与色彩的热烈相配，诵之朗朗上口。论此词之格律，不在工整而在明快，是词体从诗体独立初期以小令写景抒情的典范作品，其音律与情辞的相得益彰，为后世倚声填词者提供了范本。

Line by line

江南好，风景旧曾谙。

The south is fair, / I knew those scenes long ago. The word '好' (good) is a direct exclamation, and '旧曾谙' (once familiar) explains the reason for the memory, setting the tone.

江南实在好啊，那一带的风景我从前便已熟稔于心。

Jiangnan is fair; its scenery I knew of old.

首句「江南好」三字直抒所感，以「好」字立骨，先声夺人，为全篇定下深情赞美的基调；次句「风景旧曾谙」紧承其下，以「旧曾」二字点出这份赞叹的根由——因为昔年亲历其地、烂熟于心，故今日方觉其好、忆之愈切。两句一问一答式的内在呼应，把「忆」字的缘起交代得清清楚楚：不是凭空悬想，而是旧游之重温。「谙」字尤精，不只说熟悉，更含亲历其境、深知其味之意，与结句「能不忆江南」遥遥呼应，形成「因为谙，所以忆」的逻辑闭环。起笔看似脱口而出、不假思索，实则「好」字领起全篇，「旧曾谙」绾住「忆」字，章法之谨严于三言五言之间已然立定。

The opening line Jiangnan is fair speaks the feeling directly; fair establishes the bone, seizing the ear at once, setting the keynote of deep praise. The next line, its scenery I knew of old, follows tightly; knew of old fixes the root of this admiration - because he once lived there, knew it by heart, only today does he feel its fairness and remember it the more. The two lines' inner question-answer echo explains the origin of remember clearly: not idle imagination, but the revisiting of old wanderings. Knew of old is most refined: not only familiar, but personally experienced, deeply tasted; echoing the closing how can I not remember Jiangnan, forming the logical loop of because I knew it, therefore I remember. The opening seems spoken on the spur of the moment, yet fair leads the whole, knew of old holds remember; the craft's rigor is established within three and five characters.

日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝。

At sunrise, river flowers redder than fire; in spring, river waters green as indigo. Vivid color contrast: red flowers and green water, using similes 'as fire' and 'as indigo' to paint a brilliant spring morning.

太阳升起时，江边的花朵红得胜过燃烧的火焰；春天来到，一江春水绿得如同蓝草染就。

At sunrise, riverside flowers are redder than fire; in spring, the river water is green as indigo.

此联为全词写景之核心，也是写江南春色的千古名句。两句各写一景：上句写日出之时的江花，以「红胜火」的夸张设喻写其红艳热烈，仿佛江畔百花在朝阳下燃成一片；下句写春来之际的江水，以「绿如蓝」的实物设譬写其碧绿深浓，仿佛一江春水染透了蓝草的青绿。红与绿本是互补色，两句对举，色彩张力极强，明丽如画；「日出」对「春来」，「江花」对「江水」，工整之中又见时空的交织——一句取晨光，一句取春季，将江南春天最有代表性的两种颜色摄于一对。设喻皆取寻常之物（火、蓝草），而效果奇绝，正见白诗通俗而工的本领。两句纯用白描，无一字写情，而深情自在色彩之中。

This couplet is the core of the ci's scenery, also the age-famous line on Jiangnan spring. The two lines each write one scene: the upper writes riverside flowers at sunrise, using redder than fire's hyperbole for their red warmth, as if a hundred flowers by the river were kindled under the morning sun; the lower writes the river water in spring, using green as indigo's concrete comparison for its deep green, as if the whole spring river were dyed through with indigo blue. Red and green are complementary colors; set against each other, the color tension is extreme, bright as a painting. Sunrise against spring comes, riverside flowers against river water: within the refined parallel, time and space interweave - one takes morning light, one the spring season, capturing Jiangnan spring's two most representative colors in one couplet. The metaphors both take ordinary things (fire, indigo) yet the effect is marvelous - showing Bai's skill of the popular made refined. The two lines purely in plain drawing, not one word of feeling, yet deep feeling lies in the colors themselves.

能不忆江南？

How can I not remember the south? A rhetorical question that concludes the poem, turning the scenic description into deep nostalgia.

这样的江南，教人怎能不时时追忆？

How can I not remember Jiangnan?

结句以反问收束全篇，是「好」字与两句写景的必然归宿。前文写江南之好，好到「红胜火」「绿如蓝」，好到色彩夺目、春意扑面，至此水到渠成，逼出「能不忆江南」一声深情的反问——面对如此江南，谁又能不时时追忆呢？反问而不作答，答案已在读者心中，比直陈「我忆江南」更见情真意切，也更耐咀嚼。此句在章法上回环照应开篇的「好」与「旧曾谙」：正因为好，正因为曾谙，故不能不忆；而这一「忆」字，又恰好点破全词题面「忆江南」之「忆」，使词题、词意、词情浑然合一。全词二十七字至此收束，而余情袅袅，如江上烟波，绵延不绝，白居易词以浅语写深情的特点于此尽现。

The closing line resolves the whole ci in rhetorical question, the inevitable destination of fair and the two scenery lines. The foregoing writes Jiangnan's fairness, fair to redder than fire and green as indigo, fair to dazzling color and spring at the face; here the waters reach the channel, forcing out the deep rhetorical question how can I not remember Jiangnan? - faced with such Jiangnan, who can help remembering? The question without an answer: the answer already in the reader's heart, more feeling than directly saying I remember Jiangnan, the more to savor. Structurally, this line circles back to the opening's fair and knew of old: precisely because it is fair, precisely because he knew it, therefore he cannot but remember; and this remember exactly reveals the title's remember in Remembering Jiangnan, making title, meaning, and feeling one. The whole ci of twenty-seven characters closes here, yet the lingering feeling curls like river mist, unbroken; Bai's feature of shallow words for deep feeling is fully shown.

Study

Word focus

谙 Familiar; here it implies the poet's prolonged stay in Jiangnan, so he remembers it well. 「风景旧曾谙」之「谙」谓熟习、深知，是理解全词追忆逻辑的枢纽字。「谙」与普通「知」「识」不同：知是泛知，识是认得，而「谙」含有亲历其境、烂熟于心、深得其味的多重意味——正因「旧曾谙」，江南的每一处风光都刻在记忆里，故今日一提起便历历在目，忆之愈切。这个字上承「好」字，下启「忆」字，把「江南好」的赞叹从一时之感升华为终生不忘的深情：唯曾谙者方知其好，唯知好者方能深忆。若易为「旧曾知」「旧曾见」，则浅直无味；一「谙」字既写经验之深，又写情感之厚，且为结句「能不忆江南」的反问蓄足了势，一字绾住全篇，堪称词眼。

红胜火 Redder than fire; hyperbole to emphasize the intensity of the flower color. 「日出江花红胜火」之「红胜火」，是写江花之红的极致之语。「胜」字比「如」「似」更进一步，不是相似，而是超过——江花之红，竟胜于燃烧的火焰，红艳热烈到几乎灼人。以火喻红，取其色、取其光、取其热烈跳动的生命感，既写了花的颜色，又写了朝阳初升、万花竞放时那种蓬勃的生机。这个比喻的妙处还在通俗：火是人人见过的寻常之物，取以为喻，妇孺皆懂，而效果却奇警夺目，正是白居易「老妪能解」而诗味不减的典型。与下句「绿如蓝」对举，红绿相映成辉，一暖一冷、一亮一深，色彩的对撞把江南春天的明媚写到了极处，二字一组的短节奏也使音节显得明亮铿锵。

绿如蓝 Green as indigo; '蓝' refers to the indigo plant, so the water is compared to the dye's color. 「春来江水绿如蓝」之「绿如蓝」，以蓝草设譬写江水之碧绿，是白诗炼字设喻的名笔。「蓝」指蓝草（蓼蓝），古人采其叶渍水制靛青染料，染出的是一种深浓纯净的青碧之色；以「蓝」喻江水之绿，既写出了春水那种沉静、厚实、深不见底的绿，又暗带草木的清新气息，仿佛一江春水刚从蓝草的青汁里浸过。理解此句须辨「蓝」非今义之天蓝色，而是作为染料的植物之名，这是历代注家反复申明的一点。与「红胜火」相配，红对绿、火对蓝，物象一热一冷，设喻一奇一雅，两句合成一幅色彩斑斓的江南春江图。以寻常植物喻清丽江景，俗中见雅，足见白氏设喻之精当与口语化诗风的魅力。