ChineseStudy

306. The Robe of Golden Thread | Du Qiuniang

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English translation

I urge you not to prize the robe of golden thread; I urge you to prize your youth instead.

A robe of golden thread is a costly garment woven with gold, standing for wealth. Not to prize means not to grudge, not to cling to. To prize means to cherish, to hold dear. The couplet repeats I urge you in urgent address and sets wealth against youth: a robe of gold may be lost and gotten again, but youth once gone does not return, so one should let the thing go and treasure the time. (The usual text assigns the poem to Du Qiuniang; the chinese-poetry dataset gives it as anonymous, so the attribution is disputed.)

When the flowers bloom and may be picked, pick them while you can; do not wait until there are no flowers and break an empty branch.

May be picked means it is worth picking. While you can means you simply should, by all means. Do not wait means do not put it off until. Break an empty branch means there are no blossoms left, only a bare twig. On the surface it says to pick flowers in season; in fact it continues the line before, urging one to seize youth and act in time (some also read the flower as a figure for a person, urging one not to let a present love slip). The image is plain, but its meaning is more than one layer.

赏析 · Commentary

用一件华服反衬青春 · A Costly Robe Set Against Youth

起句先劝人不要舍不得金缕衣。金缕衣再贵，也只是死物；少年时才是再也买不回来的东西。诗人用“莫惜”与“惜取”两个相反的动作对举，一句之内就把轻重分清了。

The opening line first tells one not to cling to the robe of golden thread. However dear it is, it is only a dead thing; youth is what can never be bought back. The poet sets not to prize against to prize, two opposite acts, and within one line settles which matters more.

折花要及时 · Pick the Flower in Time

后两句用折花打比方：花开时就要折，别等花谢了只折到空枝。这是最朴素的话，却把“及时”二字说得人人能懂。全诗因此广为流传，常被人当作惜时、奋进的箴言，也常用在劝人珍惜情缘的场合。

The closing couplet uses picking flowers as a figure: pick while they bloom, and do not wait till they are gone and only a bare branch is left. This is the plainest of sayings, yet it makes the word timeliness plain to everyone. For this the poem has spread widely, often taken as a maxim on cherishing time and striving, and often used to urge someone not to let a love slip.

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