POEM
饮湖上初晴后雨Yǐn Hú Shàng Chū Qíng Hòu YǔDrinking on the Lake, First Clear Then Rainy
- Dynasty
- Song
- Author
- 苏轼 Sū Shì (Su Shi)
- Genre
- 七言绝句
- Lines
- 4
- Era
- c. 11th century
THE POEM — LINE BY LINE
Tap a line for word-by-word gloss.
#1水光潋滟晴方好Shuǐ guāng liàn yàn qíng fāng hǎoWater sparkling in the sun — the lake is at its best when clear;word by word
水shuǐwater光guānglight; shine潋liànsparkling (潋滟: rippling and glittering)滟yànglittering (潋滟: rippling and glittering)晴qíngclear; sunny方fāngjust then; exactly好hǎogood; at its best#2山色空蒙雨亦奇Shān sè kōng méng yǔ yì qíthe hills veiled in mist — even in rain the scene is wonderful.word by word
山shānmountain色sècolor; view空kōngempty; airy (空蒙: hazy, misty)蒙méngmisty (空蒙: hazy, misty)雨yǔrain亦yìalso; even奇qíwonderful; marvelous#3欲把西湖比西子Yù bǎ xī hú bǐ xī zǐI would compare West Lake to the Lady of the West —word by word
欲yùwant to; would like to把bǎtake; hold西xīwest (西湖: West Lake)湖húlake比bǐcompare西xīWest (西子: Xishi, the fabled beauty)子zǐlady (西子: Xishi)#4淡妆浓抹总相宜Dàn zhuāng nóng mǒ zǒng xiāng yílight make-up or heavy, she is lovely either way.word by word
淡dànlight; plain妆zhuāngmake-up浓nóngthick; heavy抹mǒapply; put on总zǒngalways; either way相xiāngmutually; (相宜: fitting)宜yísuitable; becoming
POEM IN PLAIN ENGLISH
A plain-English guide, not a literary translationWater sparkling in the sun — the lake is at its best when clear; the hills veiled in mist — even in rain the scene is wonderful. I would compare West Lake to Xishi, the fabled beauty: light make-up or heavy, she is lovely either way. The poem's last two lines are the most famous compliment ever paid to a Chinese landscape — since Su Shi wrote it, West Lake has been called 'Xishi's lake', beautiful in every weather. This is a plain-English guide, not a literary translation.
BACKGROUND & IMAGERY
Su Shi (1037-1101) wrote this while drinking on West Lake in Hangzhou, where he later served as governor and directed the dredging that shaped the lake we know today. 西子 is Xishi, the legendary beauty of the ancient state of Yue, whose charm — like the lake's — needed no fine weather. The couplet 欲把西湖比西子 / 淡妆浓抹总相宜 has kept the comparison alive for a thousand years.
TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
Sources
- 《宋诗鉴赏辞典》（上海辞书出版社）通行文本；部编版语文教材同文
- 本站飞花令语料 feihualing.db（poem 397004） — 文本以通行本为准，库本仅行级参考（库本与通行本一致）
- Original English paraphrase & gloss — 本站原创学习释义，非文学译本（plain-English guide, not a literary translation）
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