Tang Dynasty
Spring Inscription on the Lake
Bai Juyi
湖上春来似画图，乱峰围绕水平铺。
松排山面千重翠，月点波心一颗珠。
碧毯线头抽早稻，青罗裙带展新蒲。
未能抛得杭州去，一半勾留是此湖。
Translation
When spring comes upon the lake, the scene is like a painted picture. Rugged peaks encircle it, and the water lies spread out flat. Pines line the mountain face in a thousand layers of green. The moon dots the heart of the waves, like a single shining pearl. Early rice draws out fine threads from a blue-green carpet. New reeds unfold like ribbons from a green gauze skirt. I cannot bring myself to leave Hangzhou; half of what holds me here is this lake.
Analysis
"Spring Inscription on the Lake" is one of Bai Juyi's poems on West Lake during his time in Hangzhou. It presents the lake as a complete spring picture, combining mountains, water, pines, moonlight, young rice, and new reeds. The opening couplet gives the whole composition. Spring on the lake is "like a painted picture." Around it are irregular peaks, while the lake water lies flat and open. The contrast between rugged mountains and level water creates the basic visual structure of the poem. The second couplet refines the scene. Pines stand in ranks across the mountain face, creating "a thousand layers of green." Then the moon appears in the center of the waves, like a single pearl. The image is precise: a vast lake surface with one bright point of reflected moonlight. The third couplet moves from broad landscape to living spring growth. Early rice sprouts like fine threads drawn from a blue-green carpet. New reeds spread like ribbons from a green gauze skirt. These comparisons are delicate and domestic, turning agricultural and waterside plants into textile-like images. The final couplet shifts from scenery to feeling. Bai Juyi says he cannot bear to leave Hangzhou, and half the reason is this lake. The statement is direct, almost conversational, but emotionally convincing. After the carefully painted scene, the reader understands why the lake can hold him. The poem's beauty lies in its clarity of color and composition. Green mountains, flat water, moon pearl, blue-green rice shoots, and green reed ribbons create a luminous spring landscape. Bai Juyi's language is accessible, but the visual arrangement is highly refined.
About the Author
Bai Juyi was one of the major poets of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Letian, and he was also known as Xiangshan Jushi. He served as governor of Hangzhou and wrote many poems expressing affection for the city and West Lake. His poetry is known for clarity, accessibility, emotional directness, and concern for public life. He wrote social criticism, narrative poems, reflective leisure poems, and landscape works. His major works include "Song of Everlasting Regret," "The Pipa Player," "The Charcoal Seller," and "Spring Outing at Qiantang Lake."