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为赋新词强说愁

為賦新詞強說愁
wèi fù xīn cí qiǎng shuō chóu
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 forcing oneself to write of sorrow just to compose a new poem
  2. 2 feigning melancholy for the sake of making verse

Examples

少年不识愁滋味，爱上层楼，爱上层楼，为赋新词强说愁。
Shàoniánbùshíchóuzīwèi, àishàng céng lóu, àishàng céng lóu, wèifùxīncíqiǎngshuōchóu.
In youth I didn't know the taste of sorrow — I loved climbing the high tower, loved climbing the tower, forcing sorrow into my verse just to write a new one.
年轻时写的那些诗，多半是为赋新词强说愁。
Niánqīng shí xiě de nàxiē shī, duōbàn shì wèifùxīncíqiǎngshuōchóu.
The poems I wrote as a youth were mostly forced sorrow for the sake of a new verse.

Tips

history
From Xin Qiji's 《丑奴儿·书博山道中壁》 (Southern Song): 少年不识愁滋味，爱上层楼。爱上层楼，为赋新词强说愁。而今识尽愁滋味，欲说还休。欲说还休，却道天凉好个秋。 A wry meditation on youth's performative sorrow versus mature grief that can only say 'what a cool autumn.'
usage
强 here is qiǎng (to force), not qiáng (strong). The phrase now mocks any affected, performative sadness — especially in teenage writing.

Stroke Order

为 wéi
赋 fù
新 xīn
词 cí
强 qiáng
说 shuō
愁 chóu