The Goddess of the Luo (excerpt) (洛神赋·节选) by Cao Zhi

Meaning

Her bearing: light as a startled swan, graceful as a gliding dragon. Radiant as autumn chrysanthemum, lush as spring pine. Dimly, like light clouds veiling the moon; drifting, like swirling snow on the wandering wind. Seen from afar, bright as the sun rising through morning mist; seen close, glowing as a lotus emerging from clear waves.

她的身姿啊，翩然如惊飞的鸿雁，婉转如游动的蛟龙。容光焕发胜秋菊，华美繁茂似春松。隐隐约约如轻云遮蔽明月，飘飘摇摇如流风回旋飞雪。远远望去，皎洁如太阳升起于朝霞；近近端详，明艳如荷花出自清波。

Appreciation

Cao Zhi, styled Zijian, was the third son of Cao Cao. In the third year of Huangchu (or fourth) Cao Zhi went to court and on the way home crossed the Luo River; moved by Song Yu's 'Goddess Rhapsody,' he wrote the 'Goddess of the Luo' (originally 'On Zhen,' later renamed by Emperor Ming; the 'On Zhen' story comes from Li Shan's commentary citing a tale, mostly later fiction). The rhapsody writes of the poet meeting the Luo river goddess, the Concubine Mi, by the riverbank; they love yet part at last because god and mortal tread different paths. This excerpt is the rhapsody's deathless portrait of the goddess's beauty, marking the high maturity of Han-Wei lyric rhapsody turning from display to writing the heart and beauty. It writes beauty without sticking to form, wholly through dynamic comparison: 'light as a startled swan, graceful as a gliding dragon' is the eight-character thesis, using moving things to write a still posture; 'radiant as autumn chrysanthemum, lush as spring pine' uses plants to figure her spirit; 'like light clouds veiling the moon, like swirling snow on the wandering wind' uses sky-signs for her ethereality; it closes with the twofold method of 'seen from afar' and 'seen close,' using 'sun through morning mist' and 'lotus from clear waves' to gather light and colour. Mainly parallel couplets with 'xi' loose phrases between, ornate yet airy—truly the brush of a 'brocaded tiger.'

【白话串讲】 “其形也，翩若惊鸿，婉若游龙”——曹植写洛神：像惊飞的鸿雁，像游动的蛟龙。“仿佛兮若轻云之蔽月，飘飖兮若流风之回雪”——像轻云遮月，像流风回雪。“皎若太阳升朝霞”——美得像太阳升上朝霞。中国文学史上最美的女神。【意象与手法】写美而不滞于形，全以动态博喻出之。'翩若惊鸿，婉若游龙'八字提纲，以飞动之物写静态之姿【情感与主旨】此诗为魏晋曹植之作，精要赏析详见下方深度赏析。【名句点睛】常考其'博喻写美'的手法及'翩若惊鸿，婉若游龙'的赏析；亦考'人神殊途'的象征意（或寄托君臣、或感念知己）

Background

Cao Zhi, styled Zijian, was the third son of Cao Cao. In the third year of Huangchu (or fourth) Cao Zhi went to court and on the way home crossed the Luo River; moved by Song Yu's 'Goddess Rhapsody,' he wrote the 'Goddess of the Luo' (originally 'On Zhen,' later renamed by Emperor Ming; the 'On Zhen' story comes from Li Shan's commentary citing a tale, mostly later fiction). The rhapsody writes of the poet meeting the Luo river goddess, the Concubine Mi, by the riverbank; they love yet part at last because god and mortal tread different paths. This excerpt is the rhapsody's deathless portrait of the goddess's beauty, marking the high maturity of Han-Wei lyric rhapsody turning from display to writing the heart and beauty.

《洛神赋》（节选）为三国魏曹植所作，是写洛神之美的赋。曹植（192—232），字子建，曹操之子，三国魏诗人，建安文学的代表，“才高八斗”之称。此赋写曹植于洛水遇洛神（宓妃）而作，节选部分写洛神之美：其形也，翩若惊鸿，婉若游龙；荣曜秋菊，华茂春松；仿佛兮若轻云之蔽月，飘飖兮若流风之回雪；远而望之，皎若太阳升朝霞；迫而察之，灼若芙蕖出渌波。全赋写洛神之美与爱慕之情，是曹植赋的代表作。

Art

It writes beauty without sticking to form, wholly through dynamic comparison. 'Light as a startled swan, graceful as a gliding dragon' is the eight-character thesis, using moving things to write a still posture; 'radiant as autumn chrysanthemum, lush as spring pine' uses plants to figure her spirit; 'like light clouds veiling the moon, like swirling snow on the wandering wind' uses sky-signs for her ethereality; it closes with the twofold method of 'seen from afar' and 'seen close,' using 'sun rising through morning mist' and 'lotus emerging from clear waves' to gather light and colour. Mainly parallel couplets with 'xi' loose phrases between, ornate yet airy—truly the brush of a 'brocaded tiger.'

《洛神赋》艺术上以比喻的繁富与描写的传神见长。此节选十句，层层写来：前二句写其形——“翩若惊鸿，婉若游龙”以惊鸿游龙写其形；三四句写其容——“荣曜秋菊，华茂春松”以秋菊春松写其容；五六句写其态——“仿佛兮若轻云之蔽月，飘飖兮若流风之回雪”以轻云蔽月、流风回雪写其态；七八句写远望——“远而望之，皎若太阳升朝霞”写远望如朝霞之日；末二句写近察——“迫而察之，灼若芙蕖出渌波”写近察如芙蓉出水。全赋以一连串比喻写洛神之美，繁富传神，正是曹植赋写美人的笔法。

Allusions

The Luo goddess is the Concubine Mi, from Qu Yuan's 'Encountering Sorrow' ('I sought the Concubine Mi where she dwelt') and the Luo river-goddess legend; Cao Zhi took Song Yu's 'Goddess Rhapsody' as his model. 'Startled swan' and 'gliding dragon' transform the 'winding' of the Shi Jing's 'Cry of the Ospreys' and Han dance descriptions; 'lotus from clear waves' secretly fits the 'fair one' tradition of the Chu Ci, using the goddess to figure an unattainable ideal. Allusion and myth mingle, giving the god-mortal love both political allegory (the unmet talent) and pure-aesthetic meaning.

《洛神赋》用典在“洛神”“惊鸿”“游龙”“秋菊”“春松”。“洛神”用洛水之神宓妃之典，传说为伏羲之女；“惊鸿”写鸿雁惊飞之态，喻其轻盈；“游龙”写游动之龙，喻其婉转；“荣曜秋菊”写其容如秋菊；“华茂春松”写其华如春松。全赋以这些典故比喻写洛神之美，用典繁富而描写传神，正是曹植赋以典写美人的笔法。

Commentary

Already in the Jin there was praise that 'once the Goddess of the Luo appeared, all drew in their sleeves'; the Song scholar Su Shi held 'Zijian's Goddess of the Luo is a matchless song of all ages'; the Ming writer Wang Shizhen called it 'ornate yet ruled, grasping the marrow of the Saot.' Moderns hold this excerpt 'writes the spirit through form, writes the still through motion,' opening the Wei-Jin palace-beauty rhapsody and the Tang beauty-rhapsody, establishing the 'goddess line' of Chinese literary aesthetics.

《洛神赋》是曹植赋的代表作，也是中国辞赋中写美人、写洛神的名篇。此赋写洛神之美，向为论者称道。论者多赏其比喻的繁富——“翩若惊鸿，婉若游龙”写其形如惊鸿游龙，美之形容尽在其中；“仿佛兮若轻云之蔽月，飘飖兮若流风之回雪”写其态如轻云流风，更见其美。曹植赋以“骨气奇高，辞采华茂”著称，此赋正是其代表——以繁富比喻写洛神之美，正是其辞采华茂的风格。

Prosody

Form Wei-Jin lyric rhapsody (parallel-prose mixed with loose)骚体赋

Rhyme dragon, pine, snow, mist, waves—rhyme every other line《洛神赋》为骚体赋，此节选十句，押韵。此赋用韵：龙、松（东部）、月、雪（月部）、霞、波（歌部），随段换韵，音节流丽。

Tone pattern Not traceable (fu follows its own breath)骚体赋以音节流丽、辞采华茂见长。此节选写洛神之美，音节流丽而辞采华茂。全赋以骚体贯底，声调与写美人的内容相合，是建安赋中辞采华茂的一路。

Reading note Mainly four-six parallel couplets with 'xi' loose phrases; ornate yet airy《洛神赋》（节选）为三国魏曹植所作，是写洛神之美的赋。此节选以“翩若惊鸿，婉若游龙”写其形，以“荣曜秋菊，华茂春松”写其容，以“仿佛兮若轻云之蔽月，飘飖兮若流风之回雪”写其态，以“皎若太阳升朝霞”“灼若芙蕖出渌波”写远望近察。以繁富比喻写洛神之美，辞采华茂，正是曹植赋的代表作。

Line by line

其形也，翩若惊鸿，婉若游龙。荣曜秋菊，华茂春松。

Her form flits like a startled swan, glides like a swimming dragon; her glory shines like autumn chrysanthemums, her verdure blooms like spring pines.

她的形貌，翩然如受惊的鸿雁，婉转如游动的蛟龙。光彩如秋菊之荣，华茂如春松之盛。

Her form is light as a startled swan, graceful as a swimming dragon; her radiance is autumn chrysanthemums' glory, her lushness is spring pines' bloom.

前四句写其形其容，是全赋写洛神之美的起点。“其形也，翩若惊鸿，婉若游龙”写其形——“翩若惊鸿”写翩然如受惊的鸿雁（喻其轻盈），“婉若游龙”写婉转如游动的蛟龙（喻其婉转）——其形如惊鸿游龙；“荣曜秋菊，华茂春松”写其容——“荣曜秋菊”写光彩如秋菊之荣曜，“华茂春松”写华茂如春松之盛——其容如秋菊春松。四句写其形其容：翩若惊鸿、婉若游龙，荣曜秋菊、华茂春松。以“惊鸿”“游龙”写其形之轻盈婉转，以“秋菊”“春松”写其容之光彩华茂，正是曹植赋以繁富比喻写洛神之美的笔法——形如惊鸿，容如秋菊。

These first four lines write her form and face, the Rhapsody's starting point for the Goddess of the Luo's beauty. Light-as-a-startled-swan writes her flightiness; graceful-as-a-swimming-dragon writes her suppleness. Glory-shines-like-autumn-chrysanthemums writes her radiance; lushness-blooms-like-spring-pines writes her verdure. The swan and dragon write the form's lightness and grace; the chrysanthemum and pine write the face's radiance and lushness. This is Cao Zhi's rhapsody method of using rich similes for the goddess's beauty - form like swan and dragon, face like chrysanthemum and pine.

仿佛兮若轻云之蔽月，飘飖兮若流风之回雪。

Dimly, she seems the moon veiled by light clouds; drifting, she seems snow whirled by the flowing wind.

恍惚间如轻云遮蔽月亮，飘飖间如流风回旋雪花。

Dim as the moon hidden by light clouds; drifting as the snow whirled by flowing wind.

五六句写其态，是全赋写洛神之态的关键。“仿佛兮若轻云之蔽月”写其态之若隐若现——“仿佛兮”写恍惚之间，“若轻云之蔽月”写如轻云遮蔽月亮——其态如轻云蔽月，若隐若现；“飘飖兮若流风之回雪”写其态之飘飖——“飘飖兮”写飘飖之间，“若流风之回雪”写如流风回旋雪花——其态如流风回雪，飘飖不定。两句写其态：仿佛若轻云之蔽月，飘飖若流风之回雪。以“轻云之蔽月”写其若隐若现，以“流风之回雪”写其飘飖不定，正是曹植赋写洛神之态、以云月风雪写其缥缈的笔法——态如轻云流风，缥缈难即。

These two lines write her bearing, the key to the goddess's mien. Dimly, she seems the moon veiled by light clouds writes her half-seen presence; drifting, she seems snow whirled by the flowing wind writes her drifting motion. The light-cloud-veiling-moon writes her elusiveness; the flowing-whirl-snow writes her unsteadiness. Cao Zhi writes the goddess's bearing through cloud, moon, wind, and snow - a presence as ethereal as cloud and wind, hard to approach.

远而望之，皎若太阳升朝霞。迫而察之，灼若芙蕖出渌波。

From afar, she is bright as the sun rising in morning glow; near at hand, she is radiant as a lotus emerging from green waves.

远远望去，皎洁如太阳从朝霞中升起。近前细看，明艳如芙蓉从绿波中出水。

Seen from afar, she is bright as the sun rising through morning clouds; seen near, she is glowing as a lotus rising from green waves.

末四句写远望近察，是全赋写洛神之美的归结。“远而望之，皎若太阳升朝霞”写远望——“远而望之”写远远望去，“皎若太阳升朝霞”写皎洁如太阳从朝霞中升起——远望之，皎如朝霞之日；“迫而察之，灼若芙蕖出渌波”写近察——“迫而察之”写近前细看，“灼若芙蕖出渌波”写明艳如芙蓉从绿波中出水——近察之，灼如芙蓉出水。四句写远望近察：远而望之，皎若太阳升朝霞；迫而察之，灼若芙蕖出渌波。以“皎若太阳升朝霞”写远望之皎洁，以“灼若芙蕖出渌波”写近察之明艳，一远一近、一皎一灼，正是曹植赋写洛神之美的归结——远望如日，近察如莲。

These four lines write far and near observation, the rhapsody's resolution of the goddess's beauty. From afar, she is bright as the sun rising in morning glow writes the distant view; near at hand, she is radiant as a lotus emerging from green waves writes the close view. The morning-glow sun writes the distant brightness; the green-wave lotus writes the close radiance. One far one near, one bright one glowing - the goddess seen far is the sun, seen near is the lotus. This is the rhapsody's resolution of the goddess's beauty.

Study

Word focus

翩若惊鸿 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “翩若惊鸿”之“翩若惊鸿”，写翩然如受惊的鸿雁，是全赋写洛神之形的关键词。“翩”写翩然轻快，“惊鸿”写受惊飞起之鸿雁——其形翩然如惊鸿。这一词以“惊鸿”写其轻盈：不是寻常之姿，而是翩若惊鸿；不是迟缓之态，而是轻举之形。以“翩若惊鸿”写其形，正是曹植赋以繁富比喻写洛神之美的笔法。

婉若游龙 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “婉若游龙”之“婉若游龙”，写婉转如游动的蛟龙，是全赋写洛神之形的关键词。“婉”写婉转，“游龙”写游动之龙——其形婉转如游龙。这一词以“游龙”写其婉转：不是直板之姿，而是婉若游龙；不是凝滞之态，而是流转之形。以“婉若游龙”写其形，与“翩若惊鸿”相对，正是曹植赋写洛神之形刚柔相济的笔法。

仿佛 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “仿佛兮若轻云之蔽月”之“仿佛”，写恍惚之间，是全赋写洛神缥缈之态的关键词。“仿佛”写仿佛恍惚——恍惚间如轻云遮蔽月亮。这一词写洛神之态的不确定：不是清晰可见，而是仿佛；不是明确之姿，而是若隐若现。以“仿佛”写洛神之态，正是曹植赋写洛神缥缈难即的笔法——仿佛之间，如轻云蔽月。

灼若 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “灼若芙蕖出渌波”之“灼若”，写明艳如，是全赋写洛神近察之美的关键词。“灼”写鲜明耀眼，“若”写如——近察之，明艳如芙蓉出水。这一词以“灼”写其明艳：不是寻常之美，而是灼灼；不是暗淡之容，而是鲜明耀眼。以“灼若芙蕖出渌波”写近察之美，与“皎若太阳升朝霞”的远望相对，正是曹植赋写洛神之美远近有别的笔法。

洛神赋·节选