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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

浣溪沙·小阁重帘有燕过

Huan Xi Sha: Swallows Cross the Layered Curtains of the Small Pavilion

晏殊

Yan Shu

春景Spring scenery 闲愁Idle sorrow

小阁重帘有燕过，晚花红片落庭莎。
曲阑干影入凉波。
一霎好风生翠幕，几回疏雨滴圆荷。
酒醒人散得愁多。

A small pavilion, layered curtains, and a swallow crosses;
Red petals of late flowers fall on the grass of the court;
The shadow of the curved balustrade enters the cool water.
A moment of kind wind stirs the green curtain;
Thin rain falls several times on the round lotus;
Awake from wine, the guests gone, and there is more sorrow than before.

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Meaning

Yan Shu spends a late-spring afternoon in a garden pavilion: a swallow crosses the layered curtains, fallen petals settle on the grass, the balustrade's shadow lies in the cool water, a kind wind stirs the green curtain and thin rain drips on the round lotuses. The scene is bright and still until the last line, when the wine wears off and the guests have gone and the idle sorrow returns more heavily than before. The poem is the classic statement of Yan Shu's 'idle sorrow' — a feeling that exists because a comfortable life has time to notice that spring will not stay.

小小楼阁，重重帘幕，有燕子飞过。暮春的落花片片，飘落在庭前的莎草上。曲曲折折的栏杆影子，映入清凉的池波。一阵好风吹过翠色的帘幕，几回疏疏的细雨滴落在圆圆的荷叶上。酒醒之后，人已散去，闲愁反而更多。

Appreciation

[Structure] The upper stanza holds three still images and one small movement — the crossing swallow — and the lower stanza adds two more movements, the wind and the rain, before turning to the self. Only the final six characters name the feeling, and they do so by contrast: awakened by wine, abandoned by company. [Imagery] Almost every object is chosen for a pair of meanings: the swallow that has already returned suggests the friend who will not; the falling red petal suggests the season going; the round lotus is the round moon, that is, night, and the wine that precedes it. [Emotion] What makes the poem modern in feeling is the refusal to deepen the grief. The sorrow is not caused by anything and is not resolved by anything; it simply returns when the distraction stops. Yan Shu, a prime minister who had every reason to feel satisfied, is the poet who made 'idle sorrow' (xian chou) one of the definable moods of Song lyric.

【白话串讲】晏殊写《浣溪沙·小阁重帘有燕过》：“小阁重帘有燕过，晚花红片落庭莎”——“曲阑干影入凉波”——“一霎好风生翠幕，几回疏雨滴圆荷”——“酒醒人散得愁多”——他写宴散后的愁。【意象与手法】此词写暮春闲愁，是晏殊婉约词的名篇。上片写景：起句「小阁重帘有燕过」写小阁重帘、燕子飞过，以「重帘」写居处的深静；「晚花红片落庭莎」写暮春落花飘落庭莎，以落花写春逝；「曲阑干影入凉波」写栏杆影入凉波，以影写池之清凉。下片写情：「一霎好风生翠幕，几回疏雨滴圆荷」写好风翠幕、疏雨圆荷，是写春景的名句；结句「酒醒人散得愁多」写酒醒人散、闲愁更多，点出全词主旨。全词以景写愁，于春景的明丽中见闲愁的深婉，正是晏殊「珠圆玉润」词风的代表。【情感与主旨】此词为晏殊写春愁的名篇，具体作年不详。晏殊（991—1055），字同叔，抚州临川（今江西抚州）人，北宋太平宰相、词人。晏殊一生仕途顺达，官至宰相，然其词却多写闲愁别绪，所谓「富贵闲愁」。此词写暮春时节小阁闲坐的闲愁：那「小阁重帘有燕过」写深居的孤寂，那「晚花红片落庭莎」写春光的流逝，那「曲阑干影入凉波」写池波的清凉，那「酒醒人散得愁多」更写尽酒阑人散后的空虚与闲愁。晏殊生于太平盛世，位极人臣，然其对时光流逝、人生无常的敏感，使其词中常含一种淡淡的哀愁，此词正是这种「富贵闲愁」的典型。【名句点睛】常考「小阁重帘有燕过」的深静意象；「晚花红片落庭莎」「曲阑干影入凉波」写春景的妙处；「一霎好风生翠幕，几回疏雨滴圆荷」的千古名句，其以好风疏雨写春景、以翠幕圆荷写色彩之妙；结句「酒醒人散得愁多」点题之笔；以及全词以景写愁、闲雅深婉的婉约词风。

Background

Yan Shu (991–1055), courtesy name Tongshu, was from Linchuan in Fuzhou (modern Fuzhou, Jiangxi). He could write at seven and was received as a child prodigy at fourteen, rising through the offices to become chief councillor in the early Northern Song — the 'prime minister of a peaceful age'. His lyrics, which he wrote for songs performed in his own mansion, are mostly brief, clear and melancholy, and he is traditionally said to have learned much from the late Tang and Southern Tang poet Feng Yansi. This poem, of unknown date, is usually placed among his middle or late works.

此词为晏殊写暮春闲愁的名篇，具体作年已不可确考，当系词人中年以后闲居宴饮之作。晏殊（991—1055），字同叔，抚州临川（今江西抚州）人，北宋政治家、词人。晏殊七岁能文，十四岁以神童召试，赐同进士出身，历任要职，官至宰相，是北宋前期的太平宰相。晏殊一生富贵显达，然其词却多写闲愁别绪，后世称之为「富贵闲愁」。此词所写的「小阁重帘」「曲阑干影」「翠幕」「圆荷」，皆是富贵人家的园林景物；那「酒醒人散得愁多」的闲愁，也正是一位养尊处优的宰相在酒阑人散后的寂寞心绪。晏殊词深受南唐冯延巳影响，语言清丽，音律谐婉，以「珠圆玉润」著称。此词写暮春时节小阁闲坐的所见所感：小阁重帘之中，燕子飞过，落花飘庭，栏影入波；一阵好风吹过翠幕，几回疏雨滴落圆荷；酒醒人散，闲愁涌上心头。词中所写的闲愁，虽不深重，却萦绕不去，正是晏殊「富贵闲愁」的典型，也是理解其词风与心境的重要篇章。

Art

The poem is built on the couplet that has made it famous: 'a moment of kind wind stirs the green curtain, thin rain falls several times on the round lotus'. Both clauses are seven characters, both open with a numeral of small quantity (instant, several), both pair a verb of coming into being with a verb of striking, and both set a cool colour against a round shape — the result is a balanced couplet that still reads as event rather than as decoration. Such parallelism is the technical centre of the lyric, and this couplet is often cited as the model of the 'bright and clean' type. The poem as a whole avoids romance vocabulary altogether; its pathos comes from the ordinary objects of a rich man's garden and from the single word that closes it, 多 (more).

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以静写深的起句。「小阁重帘有燕过」写小阁重帘、燕子飞过——「小阁重帘」写居处的深静，重重帘幕垂下，写出深闺小阁的幽静；「有燕过」写燕子飞过，以动写静，更见深静。其二，以景写春逝。「晚花红片落庭莎」写暮春落花飘落庭莎——「晚花」写暮春之花，「红片」写落花的红色碎片，「落庭莎」写飘落于庭前莎草，以落花写春光的流逝；「曲阑干影入凉波」写栏杆影入凉波——「曲阑干影」写曲折栏杆的影子，「入凉波」写映入清凉的池波，以影写池之清凉与景之明净。其三，以工对写春景。「一霎好风生翠幕，几回疏雨滴圆荷」是千古名句——「一霎好风」对「几回疏雨」、「生翠幕」对「滴圆荷」，以好风疏雨写春景的动态，以翠幕圆荷写色彩的明丽，对仗工整而意象清新。其四，以愁收束的点题。结句「酒醒人散得愁多」写酒醒人散、闲愁更多——那「酒醒人散」写宴饮散尽后的空虚，那「得愁多」写闲愁反而更多，点出全词主旨。四重手法，使此词以景写愁，于春景的明丽中见闲愁的深婉，正是晏殊「珠圆玉润」词风的代表。

Allusions

The swallows look back to Yan Shu's own most famous line, 'as if I had known them, the swallows return', where the bird's return stands against the poet's. The falling red petals invoke his 'there is nothing to be done about it, the flowers have fallen', which makes the same season into a lesson about time. The 'thin rain on round lotus' follows Li Shangyin's practice of hearing rain on a plant in a poem about missing someone. 'Wine waking and guests scattered' answers the whole banquet tradition from which the lyric grew — the feast is the setting that makes the loneliness measurable — and 'small pavilion, layered curtains'continues the boudoir architecture of the Tang poem of the boudoir.

此词的用语深植于春愁与闲雅的园林传统。「小阁重帘」写深闺小阁，令人想到「小楼一夜听春雨」（陆游《临安春雨初霁》）的深居意象，也令人想到「重帘不卷留香久」的闺阁传统；「有燕过」写燕子飞过，令人想到「似曾相识燕归来」（晏殊《浣溪沙·一曲新词》）的燕意象——燕子是晏殊词中常见的意象，暗含春归、时光流逝之意；「晚花红片落庭莎」写落花，令人想到「无可奈何花落去」（晏殊《浣溪沙》）的伤春，也令人想到「落红不是无情物」的落花意象；「曲阑干影入凉波」写栏影入波，令人想到「小院回廊春寂寂」的园林意象，也令人想到「波光潋滟晴方好」的池波传统；「疏雨滴圆荷」写雨打荷叶，令人想到「留得枯荷听雨声」（李商隐《宿骆氏亭寄怀崔雍崔衮》）的雨荷意象，也令人想到「细雨鱼儿出，微风燕子斜」的春雨意象；「酒醒人散得愁多」写酒阑人散，令人想到「天下无不散之筵席」的宴散传统，也令人想到「人生得意须尽欢」的及时行乐与「把酒问青天」的惆怅。全词化用春愁、燕子、落花、雨荷、宴散的传统意象，以景写愁，正是晏殊「富贵闲愁」词风的本领。

Commentary

Qing readers valued the poem for the junction of scene and feeling ('the scene contains the feeling, elegant and deep'), and modern anthologies single out the wind-and-rain couplet as the technical centrepiece and the closing line as the point of the whole piece. Its place in the canon is that of the representative Yan Shu poem: wealthy, quiet, slightly bored, and aware of the clock. It is habitually read beside his 'Huan Xi Sha: A New Song, A Cup of Wine' on the falling flowers and returning swallows, and beside his 'Die Lian Hua' on the dew on the orchid's leaves, which together show the two directions of his melancholy — the passing spring and the absent lover.

此词历来被推为晏殊写暮春闲愁的名篇，也是其「珠圆玉润」词风的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「景中有情，闲雅深婉」；近人更指出「一霎好风生翠幕，几回疏雨滴圆荷」写春景清新，「酒醒人散得愁多」写闲愁深婉，是晏殊婉约词的典范。在词史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以「小阁重帘」的深静写闲愁——那飞过的燕子，那飘落的晚花，那入波的栏影，那生翠幕的好风，那滴圆荷的疏雨，都在这位「太平宰相」的小阁之中；那「酒醒人散得愁多」以宴散写闲愁，更是写尽富贵中的寂寞。此词与晏殊的《浣溪沙·一曲新词》（「无可奈何花落去」）同为写春愁的名篇，一写小阁闲坐的闲愁，一写花落燕归的惆怅；又与冯延巳的《谒金门》一脉相承，可见晏殊对南唐词的继承与发扬。对于今日读者，此词是理解晏殊「富贵闲愁」与婉约词风的窗口，也是中国词写春愁闲情的经典——那滴落圆荷的疏雨，穿越千年，仍在诉说着一位宰相闲愁的心绪。

Prosody

Form Ci to the tune 'Huan Xi Sha' (浣溪沙), a double-stanza short lyric of forty-two characters词·《浣溪沙》双调小令（四十二字）

Rhyme Level-tone rhymes in the wide open ge board: guo (cross), suo (grass), bo (wave), duo (more) — one unbroken chain across both stanzas全词押平声歌韵（过、莎、波、荷、多），一韵到底，平韵婉转，正合闲愁的深婉

Tone pattern Level and open; the short lines and the -o rhyme give a measured, unhurried cadence that suits a poem about boredom in fine weather.此词为「浣溪沙」词牌，双调四十二字，上片三句三平韵，下片三句两平韵，末句为七言收束，节奏婉转。

Reading note The tune has three lines in each stanza, the first seven characters and the last two short, which produces a regular rhythm of 7/7/7 in each stanza, and that regularity is what allows the parallel couplet to stand out. The rhyme is on wide open vowels, so the lines seem to arrive rather than to sing. Read the upper stanza as a still picture, read the couplet sharply (it is a piece of parallelism and should be paced evenly), and let the final line drop at the end of the breath, since the extra syllable in 'more' is the whole point. Yan Shu's reputation as a lyricist rests on this kind of control.《浣溪沙》为双调小令，全词四十二字，上片三句三平韵，下片三句两平韵。此调句式以上片七、七、七，下片七、七、七为主，节奏整齐而婉转。晏殊填此调，上片写景（小阁重帘有燕过，晚花红片落庭莎，曲阑干影入凉波），下片先写景后抒情（一霎好风生翠幕，几回疏雨滴圆荷，酒醒人散得愁多）。押平声歌韵，韵脚「过、莎、波、荷、多」一韵到底，平韵婉转，正合闲愁的深婉。此词声律上最值得注意的是下片的工对：「一霎好风生翠幕，几回疏雨滴圆荷」以「一霎好风」对「几回疏雨」、「生翠幕」对「滴圆荷」，对仗工整而音节清亮，是全词的声律亮点。全词以七言的整齐节奏，写春景的明丽与闲愁的深婉，上片以「燕过」「落花」「栏影」写景，下片以「好风」「疏雨」「愁多」写情，声随情转。诵读此词，宜以婉转的语调读上片的春景，以清亮的语调读「一霎好风生翠幕，几回疏雨滴圆荷」的工对，结句「酒醒人散得愁多」要读得低回而有余味，方能传达出晏殊闲愁的深婉。晏殊词以「珠圆玉润」著称，此词正是其小令的典范。

Line by line

一霎好风生翠幕，几回疏雨滴圆荷

A moment of kind wind stirs the green curtain; thin rain falls several times on the round lotus.

一阵好风吹过翠色的帘幕，几回疏疏的细雨滴落在圆圆的荷叶上。

A moment of fair wind stirs the green curtains; a few light rains dot the round lotus leaves.

此联是全词的千古名句，以工对写春景，清新明丽。「一霎好风生翠幕」写一阵好风吹过翠幕——那「一霎」写时间之短促，那「好风」写风之和畅，那「生翠幕」写风吹动翠色的帘幕，写春风的轻拂；「几回疏雨滴圆荷」写几回疏雨滴落圆荷——那「几回」写次数之少，那「疏雨」写雨之稀疏，那「滴圆荷」写雨滴落在圆圆的荷叶上，写春雨的清疏。这句的深意在于：它以「好风」与「疏雨」的对仗，写出暮春时节园林的清新——一阵好风吹动翠幕，几回疏雨滴落圆荷，那「好风」与「疏雨」皆是和缓的、疏朗的，那「翠幕」与「圆荷」皆是翠绿圆润的，声色并美，写尽春景的明丽；那「一霎」与「几回」的短促稀疏，更写出春光的转瞬即逝，暗含惜春之情。若换作直说「风吹帘动雨打荷叶」，则失其工整与清新；唯以「一霎好风」对「几回疏雨」、「翠幕」对「圆荷」的工对，写尽春景的清新明丽，也让此联成为写春景的千古名句。那「一霎」「几回」写尽时光的流转，「好风」「疏雨」写尽春景的宜人。

The garden. A moment of fair wind stirs the green curtains; a few light rains dot the round lotus leaves. The brief fair wind and the sparse rain on round leaves are the late-spring garden. To have described wind and rain in a garden would be scenery; the moment's-fair-wind-on-green-curtains against the few-sparse-rains-on-round-lotus is the scenery.

酒醒人散得愁多

Awake from wine, with the guests gone, the sorrow is greater than before.

酒醒之后，人已散去，闲愁反而更多。

When the wine wears off and the guests have gone, sorrow comes in plenty.

此句是全词的点题之笔，写酒阑人散后的闲愁，点出全词主旨。「酒醒人散」写酒醒之后、人已散去——那「酒醒」写宴饮醒来，那「人散」写宾客散去，写宴散后的空虚；「得愁多」写闲愁反而更多——那「得愁多」写得到的愁反而更多，那「多」字写愁绪之盛。这句的深意在于：它以「酒醒人散」的宴散之景，写出富贵中的闲愁——白日里宴饮欢聚，可以暂忘闲愁；一旦酒醒人散，独处小阁，那闲愁反而更多；那「酒醒人散」写尽宴散后的冷清，那「得愁多」写尽闲愁的涌起，正是「富贵闲愁」的点睛之笔。尤其「得愁多」三字，以「得」字写闲愁的不请自来，以「多」字写闲愁的盈满，写尽富贵中的寂寞与对时光流逝的敏感。若换作直说「我很忧愁」，则失其含蓄与点题；唯以「酒醒人散得愁多」写宴散后的闲愁，点出全词主旨，也让此句成为全词最有力的一笔。而且「得」字用得极妙——这愁不是寻来的，而是酒醒人散之后自然「得」到的，正见愁之无处不在。

The sorrow. When the wine wears off and the guests have gone, sorrow comes in plenty. The waking and the dispersal, and the sorrow that comes on its own, are the wealthy man's idle grief. To have said the party left him sad would be a result; the wine-worn-off-and-guests-gone against the sorrow-come-in-plenty is the result.

Study

Word focus

疏 In 几回疏雨滴圆荷, 疏 means sparse, not heavy. The rain that falls is thin and occasional, so it neither interrupts the scene nor floods it; the word also gives the couplet its rhythm of small, repeated touches, and keeps the mood light — which is why the sorrow that follows it feels like a luxuriant rather than an acute grief. 「几回疏雨滴圆荷」之「疏」字是写春雨的关键字，一个「疏」字写尽春雨的清疏。疏者，稀疏、疏朗也。晏殊以「疏雨」写春雨，这个「疏」字至少有双重意味：其一，写雨之稀疏——那「疏雨」写雨点稀疏，不是急雨暴雨，而是疏疏落落的小雨，写尽春雨的轻柔；其二，写景之疏朗——那「疏」字更是写景——疏雨滴圆荷，那「疏」字写尽春景的疏朗明净，也暗含春光的稀疏流逝。以「疏」字写雨，正是晏殊写春景的妙笔——若换作「微」「细」等字，则或失其与「圆荷」的疏朗，或失其明快；唯「疏」字，以一字写尽春雨的稀疏与春景的疏朗，与「一霎好风」的和畅相对，写尽暮春的清新，也让「几回疏雨滴圆荷」成为写春景的千古名句。

愁 In 酒醒人散得愁多, 愁 is the only word in the poem that names the feeling, and it is placed last. Because five lines of bright scenery have come before it, the single word carries the contrast; and 多 (more) makes it a quantity rather than an emotion, as if it could be measured against the company that has just left. 「酒醒人散得愁多」之「愁」字是写全词主旨的关键字，一个「愁」字点出闲愁之题。愁者，忧愁、愁绪也。晏殊以「得愁多」写宴散，这个「愁」字至少有双重意味：其一，写愁绪之多——那「得愁多」写得到的愁反而更多，那「愁」字写尽闲愁的盈满；其二，写闲愁之本质——那「愁」字更是写晏殊「富贵闲愁」的本质——养尊处优的宰相，在酒醒人散后，感到的不是欢乐，而是闲愁，那「愁」字写尽富贵中的寂寞与对时光流逝的敏感。以「愁」字点题，正是晏殊写闲愁的枢纽——全词前五句皆写春景的明丽，末句以「愁」字收束，景愈明丽，愁愈深婉；那「得愁多」的「得」字，更写闲愁的不请自来，与「愁」字相合，写尽富贵闲愁的深婉，也让「酒醒人散得愁多」成为点题的名句。