唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
杂诗·君自故乡来
The, Miscellaneous, Poem: You, Have, Come, from, the, Native, Land
君自故乡来,应知故乡事。
来日绮窗前,寒梅着花未。
Should, know, the, affairs, of, the, native, land.
On, the, day, of, your, coming, before, the, damask, window,
The, cold, plum, has, it, bloomed, or, not.
Meaning
A poem of the nostalgia and the inquiry, written by Wang Wei. You have come from the native land, should know the affairs of the native land — the inquiry of the opening. On the day of your coming before the damask window, the cold plum has it bloomed or not — the close's question. The poem is the nostalgia and the inquiry: the affairs, the window, and the close's plum.
你从故乡来,应当知道故乡的事情。你来的时候,那雕花的窗户前的梅花,开了几朵了?
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] You, have, come, from, the, native, land, should, know, the, affairs, of, the, native, land. On, the, day, of, your, coming, before, the, damask, window, the, cold, plum, has, it, bloomed, or, not. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the inquiry of the affairs of the native land, through the window of the coming day, to the close's the question of the cold plum. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the close of the question: should know the affairs of the native land, and the close's the cold plum has it bloomed or not — the nostalgia gathered in the inquiry and the close's plum. [Emotional Tone] Plain, tender, and nostalgic: the poem is the inquiry, the window and the close's plum.
【白话串讲】 王维写《杂诗·君自故乡来》:“君自故乡来,应知故乡事”——你从故乡来,应该知道故乡的事。“来日绮窗前,寒梅着花未”——他想问很多,却只问了窗前的寒梅开了没有——千言万语,只问一枝梅。 【意象与手法】 此诗是王维思乡诗中的名篇,妙在以问代答、以淡写浓。诗人遇见故乡来人,本该问许多事——家中的亲人可好?旧日的房屋可还在?可诗人千言万语,最后只问了一句:「寒梅着花未?」那窗前的梅花开了没有。这看似随意的一问,恰恰是思乡之情的最高升华:正因为思念太深、想问的太多,反而不知从何问起,千言万语凝成这一句关于梅花的问话。梅花是故乡最寻常、也最能唤起记忆的事物,它承载着诗人对故乡的全部眷恋。全诗二十字,前两句平平道来,后两句一问收束,语浅情深,言有尽而意无穷,是「以少总多」的典范。 【情感与主旨】 此诗是王维久客他乡、遇故乡来人时的即兴之作,具体背景已难确考,或作于其客居长安、洛阳期间。诗写诗人见到从故乡来的人,问起故乡的消息,千言万语却只化作一句「寒梅着花未」的询问。这背后的心理十分耐人寻味:久别的游子遇见故乡人,心里一定有无数的话想问——亲人的安康、邻里的变迁、家园的兴废,但正因为牵挂太多、太深,反而一句也问不出,最后脱口而出的,竟是那窗前梅花的开落。这一问,看似最轻,实则最重——梅花是故乡风物的代表,也是诗人记忆中最温暖、最具体的故乡符号,问梅花,就是问故乡,就是把全部的思念寄托在那株梅上。诗中既有久客思归的深切乡愁,也有「近乡情更怯,不敢问来人」式的微妙心理,含蓄隽永,千百年来打动无数游子之心。 【名句点睛】 常考“君自故乡来,应知故乡事”写遇故乡来人之切;末句“来日绮窗前,寒梅着花未”千言万语只问一枝梅,是“以少总多”的典范。
Background
Wang Wei (701-761), the great poet and painter of the Tang, wrote this 'You, Have, Come, from, the, Native, Land' of the nostalgia and the inquiry — the homesickness of the traveler. The affairs of the native land with the damask window, and the close's the cold plum — the poem gathers the nostalgia of the poet, the tenderness of the inquiry. The poem is one of the most famous works of the poet's poems of the nostalgia.
此诗为唐代诗人王维所作,是《杂诗三首》的第一首,约作于其壮年游宦或客居他乡时期。王维是蒲州(今山西永济)人,自幼聪慧,开元九年(721)进士及第,此后历任太乐丞、济州司仓参军等职,长期宦游在外,思乡之情屡见于诗。此诗写诗人遇见故乡来人,问起故乡消息,是羁旅诗中常见的题材。诗的妙处在于,诗人没有问亲人、问家园,而只问「寒梅着花未」——这一问,历来被视为思乡诗中最精妙的一笔。梅花是中国文学中极具文化意味的意象:它不仅是最寻常的庭院风物,更因其凌寒开放而象征着高洁与坚贞,常与游子对故乡的眷恋联系在一起。王维家中庭院种梅,那雕窗前的梅花,是诗人记忆中故乡最具体、最亲切的物象,故思乡时首先浮现在心头的便是它。此诗虽短短二十字,却将久客思乡的微妙心理写得淋漓尽致。后世论者多将其与王维《九月九日忆山东兄弟》并提,同为思乡名篇:一写「每逢佳节倍思亲」的佳节乡愁,一写「寒梅着花未」的日常乡愁,一浓一淡,各极其妙。此诗对后世影响深远,唐代崔颢《黄鹤楼》「晴川历历汉阳树」、宋代姜夔词中梅花的意象,皆可见其遗韵。
Art
The poem's art is the art of the inquiry. The nostalgia opens: you, have, come, from, the, native, land — the native land of the coming; should, know, the, affairs, of, the, native, land — the affairs of the native land. The close follows: on, the, day, of, your, coming, before, the, damask, window — the damask window of the coming day; the, cold, plum, has, it, bloomed, or, not — the cold plum of the blooming — the nostalgia, the inquiry and the close's plum, gathered in the poem.
此诗的艺术成就可从四个层面解析。其一,以问代答的结构。全诗无一句写景、无一句抒情,而以「君自故乡来,应知故乡事」的对话起笔,以「来日绮窗前,寒梅着花未」的问句收束,通篇是一段未完成的对话,读者只见问而不见答,思乡之情便在这悬置的问答中弥漫开来。其二,平淡中见奇警的语言。前两句「君自故乡来,应知故乡事」是再平淡不过的口语,仿佛家常絮语;后两句的「寒梅着花未」却是最精警的一问——诗人把千言万语的乡愁凝缩在一株梅花的开落上,越是平淡的语气,越见情感的深沉。其三,由「多」到「一」的情感聚焦。诗人想问的本来极多(亲人、家园、邻人),却最终只问梅花——从「应知故乡事」的泛问,到「寒梅着花未」的专问,情感经历了一个由博返约的过程,这一「一」,正是诗人全部乡愁的结晶。其四,「绮窗」细节的传神。诗人不写故乡的山、故乡的水,而独写「绮窗前」的梅花——雕花的窗、窗前的梅,这是记忆中最温馨、最私密的角落,一个细节便唤醒了对故乡的全部想象。四重手法相辅相成,使这首二十字的小诗成为中国思乡诗中的千古绝唱。
Allusions
'The native land' (gu xiang) is the native land — the land of the native, the affairs of the knowing; 'the damask window' (qi chuang) is the damask window — the window of the damask, the window of the lady; 'the cold plum' (han mei) is the cold plum — the plum of the cold, the blooming of the close.
此诗以白描为主,几乎不用典,其「梅花」意象的运用却深植于中国文化传统。梅花自古便是高洁与故乡的象征:南朝乐府《西洲曲》「忆梅下西洲,折梅寄江北」以折梅寄远写相思,《诗经·召南·摽有梅》以梅实写女子待嫁,而梅花与游子思乡的结合,更是中国诗歌的经典母题——离家之人,见梅花而忆故乡风物,是因梅花是庭院中最寻常、最能承载记忆的植物。「绮窗」的意象则令人联想到古诗十九首《青青河畔草》「盈盈楼上女,皎皎当窗牖」与《涉江采芙蓉》「还顾望旧乡」的闺阁思乡传统,雕花的窗棂后,是故乡最温暖的记忆。「寒梅着花未」这一问,暗含了「折梅寄远」的隐衷——诗人或许想托来人折一枝故乡的梅花,以慰乡愁,而这一层心意又藏在「着花未」的询问中,含蓄不露。此外,此诗「君自故乡来,应知故乡事」的起句,也暗合乐府民歌亲切自然的问答体(如《木兰诗》「问女何所思」),继承了民歌白描传情的传统。全诗几乎不用典而韵味深厚,正是王维「化典于无形、以白话写深情」的高妙之处,也体现了盛唐近体诗「语言通俗而意境深远」的共同追求。
Commentary
This poem is one of the most famous works of Wang Wei's poems of the nostalgia, quoted for the plainness of its inquiry and the tenderness of its close. The affairs of the native land, and the cold plum has it bloomed or not, are among the most admired passages of the poet's poems. Critics praise the poem's plainness: the nostalgia gathered in the inquiry, to the close's plum.
此诗历来被推为中国思乡诗中最精妙的一首,也是王维「诗中有画」之外「诗中有情」的典范。历代论者对这一问赞赏备至:清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》评「着此一问,觉静夜思、月夜忆舍弟等作,皆逊此浑成」,近人俞陛云《诗境浅说续编》更谓「独忆寒梅,是「淡处传神」」,皆指出此诗以一问传百情的妙处。在思乡诗史上,此诗的独特价值在于:它开创了「遇故乡人而问故乡事」的模式,且将千言万语凝于一问,这种「以少总多」的手法,比直抒胸臆的思乡诗更含蓄、更耐人寻味。后世诗人竞相仿效:唐代贾岛《题李凝幽居》、宋代王安石「春风又绿江南岸,明月何时照我还」等,皆可见其影响。相较于李白《静夜思》「举头望明月,低头思故乡」的直观,此诗更见含蓄蕴藉之妙;相较于杜甫《月夜忆舍弟》「月是故乡明」的直接,此诗更见言近旨远之功。对于今日读者,此诗是理解中国诗歌「含蓄美」的最佳范本,也是每一个久别故乡的游子都能从中照见自己的作品——千言万语,化作一株寒梅。
Prosody
Line by line
君自故乡来,应知故乡事。
You, have, come, from, the, native, land, should, know, the, affairs, of, the, native, land.
你从故乡来,应当知道故乡的事情。
You have come from our hometown; you must know its news.
起句以对话起笔,两句十四个字,如家常絮语,平淡至极。「君自故乡来」是相遇的交代——久别的游子偶遇故乡来人,惊喜之情溢于言表,一个「自」字,写尽他乡遇故知的亲切;「应知故乡事」是急切的探询——「故乡」二字连用两次,既是重逢的亲切,也是乡愁的流露,游子遇故人,第一反应便是打听故乡的消息。值得注意的是,这两句全是口语,没有一个修饰的词语,却把游子遇见故乡人时那又惊又喜、千言万语不知从何说起的情态写得活灵活现。妙处更在「应知」二字:故乡来人,当然知道故乡的事,这是必然的推断,而诗人之所以反复确认,正是因为乡愁太切、太怕错过一丝一毫的消息。两句一问一待,为后文那精妙的一问蓄足了势,是全诗不可缺少的铺垫——没有这平平的起笔,便显不出后一句「寒梅着花未」的奇警。
The opening opens in dialogue, two lines of fourteen characters, like household chatter, plain to the utmost. You have come from our hometown is the meeting's setup - the long-absent wanderer chances on someone from home; joy overflows the words; one from exhausts the intimacy of meeting an acquaintance in a strange land. You must know its news is the eager inquiry - hometown appears twice in succession, at once the reunion's intimacy and the homesickness's outpouring; the wanderer's first reaction on meeting someone from home is to ask for home's news. It is worth noting that these two lines are all colloquial, not one ornamental word, yet the wanderer's meeting with a townsman - that startled, joyful mood, ten thousand words not knowing where to begin - is written vividly. The subtlety lies further in must know: someone from home surely knows home's affairs; this is a necessary inference, and the poet's repeated confirmation is precisely because homesickness is too keen, too afraid to miss the slightest news. The two lines, one question one expectation, store full force for the later exquisite question - without this plain opening, the later has the winter plum bloomed yet would not show its startling freshness.
来日绮窗前,寒梅着花未。
On, the, day, of, your, coming, before, the, damask, window, the, cold, plum, has, it, bloomed, or, not.
你来的时候,那雕花的窗户前的梅花,开了几朵了?
When you came, by the carved window, did the winter plum bloom yet?
这两句是全诗的点睛之笔,也是中国思乡诗中最著名的一问。「来日绮窗前」以「绮窗」二字点出记忆的焦点——诗人不问故乡的山川人物,而独问那雕花窗前的梅花,窗是绮窗(雕花的华美之窗),梅是寒梅,这是诗人记忆中最温馨、最私密的故乡角落;「寒梅着花未」以问句收束——诗人把千言万语的乡愁,凝缩为一株梅花的开落。「着花未」三字尤为精妙:它不问梅花是否盛开(那太圆满),而问「开了没有」——正是这种不确定的、细微的询问,透露出诗人离家日久、连梅花的花期都已模糊的怅惘,也透露出诗人对故乡一草一木的牵挂。这一问,看似最轻,实则最重:梅花开否,本与乡愁无关,而诗人问它,正是因为故乡的一切都已融入这株梅中——问梅,就是问故乡;念梅,就是念家。千百年来,无数游子读到这一问,都仿佛看到了自己故乡窗前的那株花树,这便是此诗不朽的魅力。
These two lines are the poem's finishing stroke, also Chinese homesickness poetry's most famous question. When you came, by the carved window uses carved window to name memory's focus - the poet does not ask about home's mountains or people, but alone asks about the plum by the carved window; the window is carved (the ornate latticed window), the plum is the winter plum, this is the warmest, most private home corner in the poet's memory. Has the winter plum bloomed yet closes in question - the poet condenses ten thousand words of homesickness into one plum tree's blooming or not. Has bloomed yet is most refined: it does not ask whether the plum is in full bloom (that would be too complete), but asks whether it has bloomed at all - precisely this uncertain, minute inquiry reveals the poet's long absence, the even plum's flowering season blurred in the mind, and reveals the poet's care for every blade and tree of home. This question, seemingly lightest, is actually heaviest: whether the plum blooms has nothing to do with homesickness, yet the poet asks it precisely because everything of home has melted into this plum - asking the plum is asking home; thinking of the plum is thinking of home. For a thousand years, countless wanderers reading this question have all seemed to see the flowering tree before their own home's window - this is this poem's undying charm.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
《九月九日忆山东兄弟》「独在异乡为异客,每逢佳节倍思亲」写重阳佳节的乡愁,「倍思亲」三字直抒胸臆,乡愁是浓烈的、节庆的。此诗《杂诗·君自故乡来》则「寒梅著花未」,写日常偶遇故乡人的乡愁,含蓄隽永,乡愁是清淡的、日常的。一写「佳节」的乡愁,一写「日常」的乡愁;一浓一淡,一显一隐。两诗对读,可见王维思乡诗的两种面貌:浓时如酒,淡时如茶,而那份对故乡的深情是相通的,正见王维驾驭情感的多样功力。
静夜思 Quiet Night Thought 李白 · 同写思乡,一问梅一望月 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
李白《静夜思》「举头望明月,低头思故乡」以月光为触媒,望月而思乡,意象澄澈、情感普泛,是「月」与「乡愁」结合的经典。王维《杂诗·君自故乡来》则「寒梅著花未」,以梅花为触媒,遇故人而问梅,意象具体、情感含蓄,是「梅」与「乡愁」结合的经典。同为思乡名篇,李白之思在「月」下展开,是抬头望月的感慨;王维之思在「梅」上凝结,是低头一问的牵挂。一清远一蕴藉,一明快一含蓄,正是李白与王维诗歌风格的鲜明对照,也是中国思乡诗「月」与「梅」两大意象系统的代表。
宿建德江 Mooring on the River at Jiande 孟浩然 · 同写客愁,一写景一写问 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
孟浩然《宿建德江》「移舟泊烟渚,日暮客愁新。野旷天低树,江清月近人」以江天月色写客愁,野旷天低、江清月近,客愁在苍茫的景色中弥散,是「以景写愁」的典型。王维《杂诗·君自故乡来》则「寒梅著花未」,以一问写乡愁,不写景而情自深,是「以问写愁」的典型。同为盛唐山水田园诗人的客愁之作,孟浩然把客愁放进苍茫的天地,王维把乡愁凝成一株寒梅;一外一内,一景一情,可见盛唐诗人抒写愁情的不同路径,也可见两位诗友诗风的同中有异。