271. Jiling Terrace (Second of Two) | Zhang Hu
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
虢国夫人承主恩，平明骑马入宫门。
English translation
Lady Guo, with the emperor's favor upon her, rides through the palace gate at daybreak.
Lady Guo was a sister of Consort Yang and was ennobled through her sister's favor. Daybreak sets the early hour; that she rides straight in through the gate shows how freely and ostentatiously she came and went about the palace. The poem records only the act of entering and passes no judgment.
Original Chinese text
却嫌脂粉污颜色，淡扫蛾眉朝至尊。
English translation
She even dislikes how rouge and powder would soil her complexion, and with brows but lightly penciled she goes to face the emperor.
That she dislikes makeup soiling her looks shows her confidence in a beauty she thinks needs no adornment; lightly penciled describes the barest touch. To face the emperor means to appear before him. The couplet suggests her pride and her standing, yet the judgment stays outside the poem.
赏析 · Commentary
只写动作，不写评断 · Actions Only, No Verdict
全诗四句只写虢国夫人入宫的一个早晨：天亮、骑马、进门、淡扫蛾眉、朝见。诗人不写玄宗如何，也不写旁人如何看，把讽刺藏在所选取的动作里。越是克制，读者越能感到其中的不妥。
Four lines record a single morning in Lady Guo's life: daybreak, riding, entering the gate, a light penciling of the brows, an audience with the emperor. The poet does not show how Xuanzong responds or how others look on; the satire hides in the actions chosen. The more restrained the telling, the more the reader senses something amiss.
“却嫌脂粉”写的是什么 · What "Disdains the Powder" Reveals
一般写女子之美，多写她如何妆饰；这里却写她嫌妆饰多余。表面是夸她天生丽质，底下也透出她的恃宠与自得。张祜把褒贬的分寸拿捏得很准：只让一个“嫌”字露出口气，其余都交给事实。
Poems usually praise a woman by describing her adornment; here she finds adornment superfluous. On the surface it praises her natural beauty, yet underneath it betrays her reliance on favor and her self-satisfaction. Zhang Hu measures praise and blame precisely: one word, disdains, carries the tone, and the rest is left to the facts.