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为赋新词强说愁

為賦新詞強說愁
wèifùxīncíqiǎngshuōchóu
phrase

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。
Shàonián bù shí chóu zīwèi, ài shàng céng lóu, ài shàng céng lóu, wèi fù xīn cí qiǎng shuō chóu.
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 nà xiē shī, duōbàn shì wèi fù xīn cí qiǎng shuō chóu.
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 wèi
赋 fù
新 xīn
词 cí
强 qiáng
说 shuō
愁 chóu