Early Spring Presented to the Eighteenth Gentleman Zhang of the Waterworks Department - Wei Yingwu
/早春呈水部张十八员外 - 韦应物/
Celebrating Spring’s Gentle First Touch
早春呈水部张十八员外
Early Spring Presented to the Eighteenth Gentleman Zhang of the Waterworks Department
天街小雨润如酥
Fine drizzle on the palace roads, soft as delicate paste,
草色遥看近却无
The faint green of grass appears from afar but vanishes up close.
最是一年春好处
Spring’s loveliest moment has come at last this year,
绝胜烟柳满皇都
Far surpassing the haze of willows that fills the royal capital.
Although often attributed to the Tang Dynasty tradition, this poem—presented here under Wei Yingwu’s name—beautifully captures the ephemeral nature of early spring. The soft drizzle suggests a subtle shift toward warmer days, and the interplay between nearness and distance in observing the grass points to the season’s elusive charms. There is a sense of quiet wonder: from far off, one sees the faintest sign of life, yet up close, it almost disappears.
The poem’s central message resides in its concluding couplet, which proclaims this tender, emerging season as the most enchanting time of the year. The newness of growth, the delicate haze of willow branches, and the gentle rains evoke a mood of hopeful renewal. Stepping outside into the early-spring drizzle, we experience the understated magic that preludes nature’s fuller blooming.
Poems like this one remind us of the Tang poets’ keen eye for detail and mood. With just a few lines, they create vivid images that immerse readers in a world alive with subtle transformations. The effect is a contemplative hush, an invitation to linger in the moment and sense the silent stirring of life just beneath the surface.
Key points
• Early spring often reveals itself through subtle, transient signs.
• A single drizzle can awaken a landscape from winter’s rest.
• Tang poetry celebrates the power of keen observation and delicate nuance.
