jīn lǚ yī
金缕衣
wúmíngshì Anonymous
无名氏

Quàn jūn mò xī jīn lǚ yī,
劝君莫惜金缕衣，
quàn jūn xū xī shàonián shí.
劝君须惜少年时。
Yǒu huā kān zhé zhí xū zhé,
有花堪折直须折，
mò dài wú huā kōng zhé zhī.
莫待无花空折枝。

Evaluation

金缕衣”是中唐时的一首流行歌词。
“金缕衣(jīn lǚ yī)” is a popular lyrics in the middle of Tang Dynasty.

劝你呀，不要把用金线做成的衣服看得那么珍贵；劝你呀，一定要珍惜青春年少的好时光。有花能摘的时候就只管去摘下它来，不要等到花没有了去折空空的树枝。
I suggest you not covet the gold-threaded robe too much but suggest you cherish the good days when you are still young. If a bud opens, gather it as you could lest you would only wait for an empty bough.

前两句反复用了两个“劝君”，前句否定，后句肯定，道出了“黄金有价，光阴无价”的道理。后两句用花来作比喻，鲜花盛开是春天的景致，而春天又是一年中最好的光景，青春对于人的一生来说也就如同春天之于一年一样。这两句从正反两个方面说出，要及时抓住好时光，不要等光阴流逝后才“老大徒伤悲”。这首诗回环反复地歌咏，但它的含义其实就是简单的一句话：不要辜负了青春年少的好时光。
The first two lines uses “劝君” twice; the first is a negative sentence and the second is an affirmative one, which make a comparison between the valuable gold and the invaluable time. The last two lines draw an analogy with flowers. Flowers blossom in spring when is the best season in the year. . Youth is to one’s life what spring is to the year. These two lines urge young people to seize the day and not to regret in old age. The poem uses means of repeating and overlapping to expound the idea: do not waste the beautiful youth.

Explanation

珍惜（zhēnxī）v. treasure;cherish
摘（zhāi）v. pick
光阴（guāngyīn）n. time
徒（tú）adv. in vain; to no avail
歌咏（gēyǒng）v. in praise of
辜负（gūfù）v. fail to live up to; disappoint

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