All poems

唐 Tang · 词 Ci lyric

忆江南

Dreaming of Jiangnan

白居易

Bai Juyi

词Ci 白居易Bai Juyi 江南Jiangnan

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？
江南忆，最忆是杭州。
山寺月中寻桂子，郡亭枕上看潮头。
何日更重游！
江南忆，其次忆吴宫。
吴酒一杯春竹叶，吴娃双舞醉芙蓉。
早晚复相逢！

Jiangnan is fair,
Scenes I knew so well in olden days.
At sunrise, riverside flowers blaze more red than fire;
In spring, the river's water turns as green as indigo.
How can I not dream of Jiangnan?

Dreaming of Jiangnan,
What I recall most is Hangzhou.
Seeking cassia seeds in the mountain temple under the moon,
Pillowed in the prefect's pavilion, watching the rising tide.
When may I wander there once more?

Dreaming of Jiangnan,
Next I recall the palace of Wu.
A cup of Wu wine, spring-green like bamboo leaves,
Twin Wu maidens dancing, drunk as hibiscus.
Sooner or later we shall meet again.

Listen

Meaning

The poet expresses his deep longing for the beauty of Jiangnan (the south of the Yangtze River), recalling three places: the region as a whole, his beloved Hangzhou, and the Wu palace at Suzhou. Each stanza conjures unforgettable scenes—spring flowers and green waters, moonlit temple and tidal bore, wine and dancing girls—and ends with a wistful hope of return.

江南真好，那风景我从前就已熟悉。太阳升起，江边的花朵红得胜过火焰；春天来到，江水绿得如同蓝草。怎能不叫人怀念江南？江南的回忆，最让人忆念的是杭州。在山寺月光之中寻觅桂子，在郡亭枕卧之上观看钱塘潮头。什么时候才能再次去游赏？江南的回忆，其次是忆念那吴地的宫苑。喝一杯吴地的春竹叶美酒，看一双吴娃跳起醉芙蓉的舞蹈。总有一天还会再次相逢。

Appreciation

This set of three lyrics is a landmark in early ci poetry. Bai Juyi distills the essence of Jiangnan into a few striking images and bold colors: flowers redder than fire against a river green as indigo. The carefully balanced couplets, colloquial yet elegant language, and the refrain-like questions create a lingering, musical nostalgia that made 'Jiangnan' a cultural symbol for generations of later writers.

【白话串讲】 “江南好，风景旧曾谙。日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝”——白居易晚年回忆江南。“能不忆江南？”——“山寺月中寻桂子，郡亭枕上看潮头”——他写杭州的美。“吴酒一杯春竹叶，吴娃双舞醉芙蓉”——他写苏州的美。三首忆江南，写尽江南。【意象与手法】第一首以“日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝”的浓烈色彩勾勒江南春景；第二首以“山寺月中寻桂子，郡亭枕上看潮头”极具杭州标识度的画面写闲适；第三首以吴酒、吴娃写苏州。三首结构皆以起兴领起、以重游之愿收结，语言清浅如话而色泽鲜明。【情感与主旨】白居易晚年寓居洛阳追忆苏杭之作，是词史上开风气的重要篇章。将江南的春、水、花、潮、酒、舞熔于一炉，奠定了《忆江南》词牌的典范，使“江南”成为后世文人集体怀念的文化符号，苏轼、韦庄以下无数追忆江南之作皆出其藩篱。【名句点睛】常考“日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝”以浓丽色彩写江南春景；“能不忆江南”以反问收束留无尽眷恋。

Background

Bai Juyi (772–846), the great Mid-Tang poet, served as governor of Hangzhou (822–824) and Suzhou (825–827). In his later years, retired in Luoyang, he composed these three lyrics around 838. The tune, also called 'Xie Qiuniang', was a Tang court melody, said to be created for Li Deyu's concubine. Bai's direct experience of southern lakes, mountains, and local customs makes the recollections both personal and vivid.

白居易字乐天，号香山居士，中唐伟大诗人，新乐府运动倡导者。此三首《忆江南》约作于唐文宗开成三年（八三八）前后，时白居易已退居洛阳，年逾花甲。词题自注「此曲亦名《谢秋娘》，每首五句」，可知本为唐教坊曲，相传为李德裕为妾谢秋娘所制。白居易曾先后出任杭州刺史（长庆二年起）与苏州刺史（宝历元年起），江南胜迹、湖山风物、吴娃美酒皆为其所亲历深爱，晚年远离江南，遂以词追忆。其《和我年三首》明言「江南名郡数苏杭，写在殷家三十章。君是旅人犹苦忆，我为刺史更难忘」，可见苏杭二州在其心中分量。值此暮年北居、江南愈远，这种「忆」便兼具地理之思与岁月之叹。理解这组词，须置于白居易江南仕履与晚年洛阳闲居的双重背景中，方能体会其表面闲适之下的深沉眷恋。白居易晚年居洛，身在北方而心系江南，其忆旧之作不止《忆江南》三首，如《江南送北客因凭寄徐州兄弟书》等诗亦多及苏杭；而此三首以词体出之，清新流丽，尤能曲尽老人怀旧之柔情。晚唐五代以降，《忆江南》遂成词人追忆江南、抒写羁旅乡思的常用词牌，白氏此作实为其开山，功在词史，亦为江南文化添一永恒注脚，使「江南」自此成为华夏集体记忆中温柔的精神原乡。

Art

The artistry lies in extreme economy. Stanza one opens with a direct exclamation, then condenses the whole spring morning into two contrastive colors, red and green, in a single parallel couplet. Stanzas two and three select iconic local scenes (hunting cassia seeds in the moonlight, watching the Qiantang tide; Wu wine and dancing maids) to evoke a place with small detail. The three stanzas move from whole to parts, from scenery to people, and from statement to question, forming a seamless triptych of memory.

这组词的艺术成就首在「以最省之笔写最浓之忆」。第一首以「江南好」三字破空而起，直抒挚爱，继以「风景旧曾谙」点明熟稔，然后仅用「日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝」一联对句，便以红绿二色、日春二时、江花江水二景，将整个江南春晨的斑斓图景凝于十四字中，设色之烈、对比之明，直可作画。第二、三首则由总入分，以「最忆是杭州」「其次忆吴宫」领起，各取两幅典型画面（寻桂、看潮；美酒、双舞）以少总多，不见堆砌而风物宛然。其结构极具匠心：三首皆以「江南好／忆」起兴、「能不／何日／早晚」收结，一唱三叹，回环往复；中间两幅画面则以对仗出之，句法疏朗。语言方面，白词本以平易著称，此三首尤如口语，却因色彩、意象之精当而毫不浅薄，是「老妪能解」与「诗中有画」的完美结合，开创了词体小令清丽圆转、含蓄不尽的审美范式。三首之间，由总而分、由景而人、由地而情，脉络清晰而转接自然，虽各成篇而气脉相连，实为一有机整体。其以寻常口语写极浓之情，以鲜明设色写极远之思，既得民歌之真，又具文人词之雅，雅俗之间，斟酌尽善。较之温庭筠词的镂金错彩，白词此作如清水芙蓉，别具一种疏朗明快之美，于早期文人词中卓然自立，亦为后世「以词写乡恋」一路开创了平易畅达的范式。

Allusions

The tune title 'Xie Qiuniang' recalls a Tang court entertainer. 'Seeking cassia seeds in the mountain temple' alludes to the legend that on moonlit autumn nights, cassia seeds fell from the moon onto Lingyin and Tianzhu temples at Hangzhou. 'The palace of Wu' evokes the ancient Wu state's capital at Suzhou. 'Bamboo-leaf' was a famous Wu wine; 'hibiscus' was a stock metaphor for a beauty's rosy face.

词中意象与地名皆有所本，而又自然如话。「谢秋娘」为词牌别名，暗含一桩唐代歌伎的故实；「江花红胜火，江水绿如蓝」化用南朝乐府与谢朓、丘迟等写江南的名句（丘迟《与陈伯之书》「暮春三月，江南草长，杂花生树，群莺乱飞」），而以红绿对照出新。「山寺月中寻桂子」用杭州灵隐寺、天竺寺「月中落桂子」的传说，兼实写西湖之游；「郡亭枕上看潮头」用杭州郡守虚白亭观钱塘江潮的实景，点出刺史身份。「吴宫」指春秋吴国宫苑遗迹（苏州），「吴酒一杯春竹叶」以「竹叶」指酒（竹叶青），「吴娃双舞醉芙蓉」以「芙蓉」喻舞女之美、兼指荷花，皆以吴地风物写苏州之忆。末「早晚复相逢」之「早晚」为唐人口语，意谓何时、终有一日。凡此地名、物产、传说交错，织成一张「江南」的文化地图，使个人追忆升华为集体记忆。「谢秋娘」本为唐教坊曲名，白氏沿用而注其由来，使词牌兼带一段歌伎情事；「寻桂子」「看潮头」皆为杭州实有风物与太守实事，并非泛写。『竹叶』指酒、『芙蓉』喻舞女，皆唐人习语，一经白氏点染，便成吴地风物之标识。这些地名、物产、传说交织成网，使个人宦游记忆与江南文化符号重合，读之令人神往，亦见白氏驱遣风土入词的高明，足为后世「地域词」写风物、寄乡思的先声。

Commentary

Read as a suite, the three lyrics form a single movement from general praise to specific places and finally to human gatherings. The question 'How can I not dream of Jiangnan?' turns description into longing; 'When shall I roam there again?' asks for a future; 'Sooner or later we shall meet again' affirms faith in reunion. Beneath the surface ease lies an old man's deep attachment to the best years of his official life. This combination of geographical memory, temporal lament, and personal feeling elevated a popular tune into a timeless expression of nostalgia.

三首连读，如一部江南回忆的组曲。首篇为总纲，以「好」字立骨，以「谙」字见出深情非一日，而后以红胜火、绿如蓝的强烈视觉印象，将江南春色定格为一幅永不褪色的图画，终以反问「能不忆江南」把读者也拖入眷恋之中。次篇由总入分，锁定杭州，「最忆」二字见出苏杭之中尤重杭州；「山寺月中寻桂子」写静夜寻幽之雅，「郡亭枕上看潮头」写高亭观潮之壮，一静一动、一幽一阔，恰好概括杭州「湖山—江潮」的双重胜境，而「枕上」二字更透出刺史闲适自得的情态。末篇再忆苏州，「其次」表明次序，以吴酒、吴娃写苏州的人事风流，较之杭州的自然雄丽，苏州更添一份软媚温情。三篇由景及地、由地及人，由自然到人文，层层递入；结句「能不忆」「何日更重游」「早晚复相逢」一问一愿一期，情感由眷恋到期盼到笃信，余韵层层加厚，将一位老人对江南的刻骨相思写得回环深长。白氏此三首，妙在将地理之忆、岁月之叹、身世之感融而为一：江南之好，既在其湖山风物，亦在诗人曾为主政其地的青春岁月。暮年北望，苏杭愈远而忆之愈深，故能于浅语中见深情，于明丽中藏苍凉。其后苏轼「休对故人思故国，且将新火试新茶」、辛弃疾「醉里吴音相媚好」，皆承此以江南写乡愁之传统，而白氏实为导夫先路者，足见其小词之影响早已溢出词体而及于诗心。

Prosody

Reading note A short monophonic tune derived from Tang court music, also known as 'Wang Jiangnan' or 'Xie Qiuniang'.此组词为《忆江南》（即《望江南》《谢秋娘》）词牌，每首二十七字，三首八十一字，句式为三五七七五（末句或五字带感叹），属唐代教坊小令。其格律已具词体雏形：首句三字「江南好／忆」为短拍领起，次句五字「风景旧曾谙」「最忆是杭州」平仄相协，三、四句七字对句「日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝」「山寺月中寻桂子，郡亭枕上看潮头」为全词核心，对仗工整、平仄严整，末句五字「能不忆江南」「何日更重游」以仄起或平收收束并带疑问／感叹语气。三首用韵分别为「谙、蓝、南」（平声覃、谈、侵部唐音相通）、「州、头、游」（平声尤韵）、「宫、茸、逢」（平声东、钟韵），皆一韵到底，声情婉转。句式上长短错落，以三字短句振起、七字长句铺展、五字结句收束，节奏疏朗明快，极宜歌唱，体现了早期文人词「由绝句式向长短句过渡」的体制特征，亦为后世《望江南》词定了格范。

Line by line

日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝。

Jiangnan is good—an exclamation of genuine affection, setting the keynote.

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

此二句为白词最脍炙人口的名联，亦中国古典诗歌写江南春色的巅峰之笔。「日出」对「春来」以时令起，「江花」对「江水」以空间应，红与绿、火与蓝两两相对，色彩对比之强烈几乎灼人眼目。其妙处不仅在设色之丽，更在「胜」字与「如」字一实一虚的张力——江花红得胜过火焰是夸张的肯定，江水绿得如同蓝草是贴切的譬喻，虚实相生而江南春晨的饱和色彩跃然纸上。这一联上承谢朓、丘迟等写江南的文学传统，下开词体「设色如画」之法，后来苏轼「水光潋滟」、杨万里「接天莲叶」皆可见其影响。以十四字摄尽江南春魂，诚为小令中不可多得的画龙点睛之笔。

These two lines are Bai's most beloved couplet, also the apex of classical Chinese poetry on Jiangnan spring. Sunrise against spring comes begins with season; riverside flowers against river water answers with space; red against green, fire against indigo, each pair set; the color contrast is so strong it almost burns the eyes. The subtlety lies not only in gorgeous coloring, but in the tension of the more-than and the like, one solid one void: riverside flowers redder than fire is hyperbolic affirmation; river water green as indigo is apt simile; void and solid generating each other, and Jiangnan spring morning's saturated colors leap onto the page. This couplet continues the literary tradition of writing Jiangnan from Xie Tiao and Qiu Chi, opening the ci form's color-like-painting method; later Su Shi's waters shimmering and Yang Wanli's lotus leaves touching the sky all show its influence. Fourteen characters capturing all of Jiangnan's spring soul - truly an extraordinary dragon's-eye stroke in the short lyric.

山寺月中寻桂子，郡亭枕上看潮头。

The scenery was once familiar; the poet had served there as governor, so his praise is based on firsthand experience.

In the mountain temple's moonlight I seek the cassia seeds; from the prefectural pavilion, pillow-borne, I watch the tidal bore.

此二句为第二首的魂魄，以两幅极具杭州辨识度的画面写尽刺史的闲雅与江南的雄奇。「山寺月中寻桂子」用杭州灵隐、天竺诸寺「月中落桂子」的传说，写静夜寻幽、仰月拾桂的清绝之趣，是江南之「雅」；「郡亭枕上看潮头」写诗人任杭州刺史时于郡圃虚白亭卧看钱塘江潮的壮阔景象，是江南之「雄」。一雅一雄、一静一动、一幽一阔，恰好收摄杭州「湖山—江潮」的双重胜境。更妙在「寻」字见其闲心、「枕上」见其适意——非匆匆过客所能领略，唯有曾为主政其地、从容居游者方有此从容笔调。二句对仗工稳而气韵疏朗，是白词「看似平易、实极凝练」的范例。

These two lines are the second poem's soul, using two Hangzhou-identifiable pictures to exhaust the prefect's leisure and Jiangnan's grandeur. In the mountain temple's moonlight I seek the cassia seeds uses the legend of Hangzhou's Lingyin and Tianzhu temples - cassia seeds falling in the moonlight - writing the quiet night's seeking, the moonlit gathering of seeds, the purest delight; this is Jiangnan's elegance. From the prefectural pavilion, pillow-borne, I watch the tidal bore writes the poet, as Hangzhou prefect, reclining in the虚白 pavilion of the prefectural garden to watch the Qiantang River bore's grandeur; this is Jiangnan's heroism. One elegant one grand, one still one moving, one secluded one vast - precisely capturing Hangzhou's double glory of lakes-hills and river bore. Subtler still: seek shows his leisure heart; pillow-borne shows his ease - not hurried travelers can taste this; only one who governed the place, living and wandering at ease, has this unhurried brush. The two lines' parallel is refined, the air sparse and open - the example of Bai's seeming plain yet supremely condensed.

能不忆江南？

At sunrise, the riverside flowers are even more vividly red than fire; a brilliant, almost blinding image of spring.

How can I not remember Jiangnan?

首篇结句「能不忆江南」以反问收束全篇，是整组词情感的总闸门。全篇前面尽写江南之「好」、之「谙」、之「红绿」，至此一句陡然翻作反问，将铺陈的景物转化为不可遏制的眷恋，以「能不」的无疑而问，逼出读者与诗人同声的肯定。这种以反问作结、以问代答的收束法，较直说「我最忆江南」情韵加倍，且为后两首的「忆杭州」「忆吴宫」张本——首篇之「忆」是总唤起，后两篇之「忆」是分承，三者以这一问句为情感枢纽，一唱三叹。一个看似平常的反问，竟成了千年以来所有怀想江南者共同的口头禅，其感染力之深可见一斑。

The first poem's closing line how can I not remember Jiangnan? resolves the whole in rhetorical question, the group's total emotional gate. The whole poem before writes Jiangnan's fairness, its being known, its red and green; here one line abruptly turns to question, converting the spread scenery into irrepressible longing. Using can it not's question-without-question forces out the reader's and poet's simultaneous affirmation. This method of closing in rhetorical question, asking instead of answering, doubles the feeling over directly saying I most remember Jiangnan, and prepares the later two poems's remembering Hangzhou and remembering the Wu palace - the first's remember is the total call, the later two are its divisions; the three take this one question as the emotional hinge, one song with three sighs. A seemingly ordinary rhetorical question has become, for a thousand years, the common phrase of all who long for Jiangnan - its infectious depth is plain to see.

Study

Word focus

谙 familiar; deeply known from personal experience 「风景旧曾谙」之「谙」读作ān，意为熟悉、熟记。白居易以「旧曾谙」三字，点明江南风景非道听途说，而是自己昔日亲历、深印于心的熟稔，一个「谙」字便把「好」的赞语建立在真实而深厚的体验之上，较「曾见」「曾游」情味远胜。六朝以降诗人好以一字写体验之深，白氏此「谙」正承其绪，又以其平易本色使之老妪能解。更关键者，「谙」字暗示了诗人与江南的亲密关系（曾为苏杭刺史），为后文「最忆」「其次忆」的分别铺垫了身份背景，是炼字见章法的一例。

蓝 indigo plant (Persicaria tinctoria), source of blue-green dye; here meaning 'a deep, saturated green' 「春来江水绿如蓝」之「蓝」指蓝草（蓼蓝），古人用以提取青绿色染料，并非蓝色之花，故「绿如蓝」意谓绿得如同蓝草染出的青绿色，是极浓极纯的绿。白居易以「蓝」为喻，既准确写出江南春水之碧绿盈盈，又因「蓝」为染料而非天成之色，暗含一种被春染透的浓酣之感。用「蓝」而不用「碧」「翠」，正取其「染」的工艺联想，使绿色更具质感。这一颜色词的精准择用，使红（火）绿（蓝）二色对照鲜明而不俗，是白词设色如画的关键一字，亦可见诗人观察之细与措辞之确。

早晚 Tang colloquialism meaning 'when, at some time; sooner or later' 「早晚复相逢」之「早晚」为唐人口语，意为「何时」「迟早、总有一天」，兼具疑问与肯定的双重意味。白居易以「早晚」收束第三首，较「何日更重游」的明确期盼更多一层温厚与笃定——不是问能否重逢，而是认定终有一日会重逢。这一唐人常语入词，使结句亲切自然如话，毫无收束的生硬，且以口语作结、以「复相逢」的温情收束苏州之忆，与首篇「能不忆」的反问形成「问—期」的情感闭环。以俗口语入雅词而浑成无迹，正见白词「老妪能解」却又「风韵不浅」的语言艺术。

忆江南