清 Qing · 词 Ci lyric
清平乐·池上纳凉
Pure Peace Music · Cooling Off by the Pond
清平乐·池上纳凉水天清话，院静人销夏。
蜡炬风摇帘不下，竹影半墙如画。
醉来扶上桃笙，熟罗扇子凉轻。
一霎荷塘过雨，明朝便是秋声。
The wax candle flickers in the wind, the blinds half-drawn; bamboo shadows paint half a wall like a picture.
Drunk, they help me up onto the bamboo mat; a silk fan stirs a light, cool air.
A sudden shower passes over the lotus pond — by tomorrow, the voice of autumn will be here.
Meaning
Between water and sky they converse at ease; the courtyard is silent while one passes the summer days. The candlelight wavers in the wind, the curtain hangs undrawn, and bamboo shadows fall across half the wall like a painting. Drunk, he is helped onto the bamboo mat; the thin silk fan brings a faint coolness. Then a quick rain crosses the lotus pond, and by morning the sound of autumn will have come.
水天之间清谈娓娓，庭院寂静，有人在此消度夏日。烛光在风中摇曳，帘幕低垂未卷，竹影映上半墙，如同一幅图画。醉后被人扶上竹席，轻摇熟罗扇子，凉意微微。忽而荷塘下过一阵急雨，明天便要有秋声了。
Appreciation
This little lyric sets a cool, secluded summer evening in a few light strokes. The first half paints the scene: 'By water and sky, a quiet talk; the court is still, one takes the summer's ease' opens with ease and quiet; 'The wax candle flickers in the wind, the blinds half-drawn; bamboo shadows paint half a wall like a picture' sets candle, curtain and bamboo in a still interior where light and shadow move, and the phrase 'like a picture' turns the real wall into a painted screen. The second half turns from scene to person: 'Drunk, they help me up onto the bamboo mat; a silk fan stirs a light, cool air' gives the drowsy pleasure of a man half-drunk on his mat. The closing line, 'A sudden shower passes over the lotus pond — by tomorrow, the voice of autumn will be here', links summer and autumn with one brief rain and ends on a faint, lingering note of the seasons turning.
【白话串讲】 “水天清话，院静人销夏”——项鸿祚写夏日纳凉：水天一色，院静人凉。“蜡炬风摇帘不下，竹影半墙如画”——竹影映在墙上像画。“一霎荷塘过雨，明朝便是秋声”——一场雨过，明天就是秋天了。 【意象与手法】 上片布景如画：“水天清话，院静人销夏”以清谈与静院开篇，氛围闲雅 【情感与主旨】 项鸿祚，原名继章，字莲生，号芷衫，浙江钱塘（今杭州）人。道光十二年举人，屡试进士不第，终身坎坷，年仅三十八而卒 【名句点睛】 常考“景物描写的层次”“炼字”“结句的含蓄”。命题示例：赏析“蜡炬风摇帘不下，竹影半墙如画”的画面美。答
Background
Xiang Hongzuo, originally named Ji Zhang, styled Lian Sheng, also known as Zhi Shan, was a native of Qiantang (modern Hangzhou), Zhejiang. A juren of the twelfth year of Daoguang, he failed the metropolitan exams repeatedly and led a frustrated life, dying at only thirty-eight. His lyrics follow the Five Dynasties and Northern Song manner, delicate, mournful and pure; Tan Xian said his writing 'holds none of the world's murky air'. This 'Pure Peace Music · Cooling Off by the Pond' was likely written in a leisurely summer at home, depicting the ease of a quiet courtyard and a drunk man cooling off, with a faint sorrow at the stealthy change of the seasons showing through the clear scene — a typical example of his empty, gentle, restrained little song.
《清平乐·池上纳凉》为清代项鸿祚所作，是写夏日池上纳凉、闲适之趣的词。项鸿祚（1798—1835），字莲生，钱塘人，清代词人。此词：水天清话，院静人销夏。蜡炬风摇帘不下，竹影半墙如画。醉来扶上桃笙，熟罗扇子凉轻。一霎荷塘过雨，明朝便是秋声。全词写夏日池上纳凉、闲适之趣，是项鸿祚词的名篇。
Art
The first half paints like a picture: 'By water and sky, a quiet talk; the court is still, one takes the summer's ease' opens with easeful talk and a still court, setting a refined, leisurely mood; 'The wax candle flickers in the wind, the blinds half-drawn; bamboo shadows paint half a wall like a picture' writes the candle, curtain, bamboo and shadow within, where light and shade cross and stillness holds a hint of motion. The words 'like a picture' wake the scene, and the bamboo on the wall becomes a painted scroll. The second half moves from scene to person: 'Drunk, they help me up onto the bamboo mat; a silk fan stirs a light, cool air' gives the lazy pleasure of a half-drunk man on his mat with a light fan. The closing 'A sudden shower passes over the lotus pond — by tomorrow, the voice of autumn will be here' uses a brief rain to bridge summer and autumn, and the scenic line carries a sigh at time slipping by — empty and clear, with a long aftertaste.
《清平乐·池上纳凉》艺术上以池上纳凉的闲适与夏日之景的清丽见长。全词分两片：上片写院静销夏——“水天清话，院静人销夏”写水天清话、院静销夏，“蜡炬风摇帘不下，竹影半墙如画”写蜡炬风摇、竹影如画；下片写醉来扶桃笙——“醉来扶上桃笙，熟罗扇子凉轻”写醉来扶上桃笙、熟罗扇凉，“一霎荷塘过雨，明朝便是秋声”写荷塘过雨、明朝秋声。全词以池上纳凉写闲适之趣，正是项鸿祚词清丽的笔法。
Allusions
The lyric uses no obscure allusion, winning by plain description of a clear scene. 'Peach sheng' means a bamboo mat (woven of sheng bamboo); old poetry often uses 'peach sheng' for a cool mat, as in Su Shi's line 'the peach sheng is already cool' — here it fits the theme of cooling off. 'Cooked silk' (shu luo) is a thin, light silk, the material of a summer fan. 'The voice of autumn' transforms Ouyang Xiu's 'Autumn Sound Rhapsody' — 'Ouyang Zi was reading at night when he heard a sound come from the southwest' — using 'the voice of autumn' to stand for the coming autumn wind, hinting a faint sorrow at the years turning, a allusion dissolved into the scene.
《清平乐·池上纳凉》用典在“桃笙”。“桃笙”写桃枝竹编之席（桃笙为竹席）；“熟罗”写细密之罗（纱）。全词以这些意象写池上纳凉，用典自然而清丽自见，正是项鸿祚词的笔法。
Commentary
Xiang Hongzuo's lyrics are 'clear, faint, gentle and wonderful'; Tan Xian, in Qian Zhong Ci, ranked him 'first among the Zhejiang writers' and said he 'holds no murky air'. A modern critic of 'Cooling Off by the Pond' wrote that it 'paints a summer night as clear as a picture, and at the close suddenly slips in the autumn sound — effortless, yet its charm reaches far'. His little songs approach Nalan Xingde, but are a shade paler; in clear beauty they show a leisurely sorrow, and together with Jiang Chunlin he stands for the gentle love-lyric of the Jiaqing–Daoguang age.
《清平乐·池上纳凉》是项鸿祚词的名篇，也是清词中写夏日闲适的代表作。此词写夏日池上纳凉、闲适之趣，向为论者称道。论者多赏其池上纳凉的闲适与夏日之景的清丽——“水天清话，院静人销夏”写水天清话、院静销夏，清丽之极；“蜡炬风摇帘不下，竹影半墙如画”写蜡炬风摇、竹影如画，更见其美；“醉来扶上桃笙，熟罗扇子凉轻”写醉扶桃笙、熟罗扇凉，尤见其趣；“一霎荷塘过雨，明朝便是秋声”写荷塘过雨、明朝秋声，尤见其悟。项鸿祚以词著称，其词以清丽著称，此词正是其代表——以池上纳凉写闲适之趣，正是其词风。
Prosody
Line by line
水天清话，院静人销夏。
Water and sky exchange their clear talk; the courtyard is still, and the summer is spent away.
水天清话，院静人销夏。
The water and the sky converse in quiet clearness; the courtyard is still, and one passes the summer heat away.
首写水天清话、院静销夏，是全词写池上纳凉的起点。“水天清话”写水天清话——“水天清话”写水天澄澈、清言相对——水天清话；“院静人销夏”写院静销夏——“院静人销夏”写庭院寂静、人于此消夏——院静人销夏。二句写水天清话、院静销夏：水天清话，院静人销夏。以“水天清话”写水天澄澈、清谈自适，以“院静人销夏”写庭院寂静、人于此消夏，正是项鸿祚词写池上纳凉的起点——水天清静，院静销夏。
The opening writes water and sky in clear converse, the quiet courtyard spending the summer, the starting point of the ci's cooling by the pool. Water and sky exchange their clear talk says the water's clearness and the sky's, and the quiet talk between them — personifying water and sky as conversing, as if the two were speaking softly to each other. The courtyard is still, and the summer is spent away says the courtyard hushed, the man passing the summer heat in it. Two lines: water and sky in clear converse, the courtyard still and the summer spent; writing the clearness of water and sky and the ease of quiet talk, writing the courtyard's stillness and the spending of the heat, exactly the starting point of Xiang Hongzuo's cooling by the pool — water and sky clean, courtyard still and the summer passed.
蜡炬风摇帘不下，竹影半墙如画。
The candle trembles in the wind, the curtain not drawn; bamboo shadows lie half the wall, like a picture.
蜡炬风摇帘不下，竹影半墙如画。
The candle shakes in the wind, the blind not lowered; bamboo shadows on half the wall are like a painted scroll.
此二句写蜡炬风摇、竹影如画，是全词写夏夜之景的深化。“蜡炬风摇帘不下”写蜡炬风摇——“蜡炬风摇帘不下”写蜡炬风中摇动、帘不放下——蜡炬风摇帘不下；“竹影半墙如画”写竹影如画——“竹影半墙如画”写竹影半墙、如画——竹影半墙如画。二句写蜡炬风摇、竹影如画：蜡炬风摇帘不下，竹影半墙如画。以“蜡炬风摇帘不下”写蜡炬风中摇动、帘帷不下的夏夜，以“竹影半墙如画”写竹影映墙、如画之美，正是项鸿祚词写夏夜之景的深化——灯影摇摇，竹影如画。
The two lines write the candle swaying in the wind, the bamboo shadows like a picture, the deepening of the summer-night scene. The candle trembles in the wind, the curtain not drawn says the candle shaken by the night wind, the curtains left undrawn. Bamboo shadows lie half the wall, like a picture says the bamboo shadows across half the wall, fair as a painting. Two lines: the candle swaying, the curtain undrawn; bamboo shadows like a picture. Writing the candle's wind-sway and the curtain's not being lowered, writing the bamboo's shadow across the wall, exactly the deepening of the summer-night scene — lamp shadows trembling, bamboo shadows like a painting.
醉来扶上桃笙，熟罗扇子凉轻。
Drunk, I am helped onto the peach-skin mat; the worn silk fan breathes a light coolness.
醉来扶上桃笙，熟罗扇子凉轻。
Drunk, I am helped up onto the peach-skin bamboo mat; the worn silk fan wafts a light coolness.
此二句写醉扶桃笙、熟罗扇凉，是全词写纳凉之趣的深化。“醉来扶上桃笙”写醉扶桃笙——“醉来扶上桃笙”用桃笙（竹席）之典写醉来扶上桃笙——醉来扶上桃笙；“熟罗扇子凉轻”写熟罗扇凉——“熟罗扇子凉轻”写熟罗扇子凉意轻轻——熟罗扇子凉轻。二句写醉扶桃笙、熟罗扇凉：醉来扶上桃笙，熟罗扇子凉轻。以“醉来扶上桃笙”用桃笙之典写醉后扶上竹席，以“熟罗扇子凉轻”写熟罗扇子扇出凉意，正是项鸿祚词写纳凉之趣的深化——醉卧竹席，罗扇生凉。
The two lines write being helped to the mat in drunkenness, the cool of the worn silk fan, the deepening of the pleasure of cooling. Drunk, I am helped onto the peach-skin mat uses the allusion to the peach-skin mat, the fine sleeping mat of bamboo, writes being helped after drunkenness onto the mat. The worn silk fan breathes a light coolness says the worn gauze fan fanning a light coolness. Two lines: the drunk helped to the mat, the silk fan cool and light. Writing the drunken support to the bamboo mat through the allusion, writing the light coolness the silk fan wafts, exactly the deepening of the cooling pleasure — lying drunken on the bamboo mat, the gauze fan breathing cool.
一霎荷塘过雨，明朝便是秋声。
In a moment, rain passes over the lotus pond; tomorrow, already, will be the autumn sound.
一霎荷塘过雨，明朝便是秋声。
A sudden shower passes over the lotus pond; tomorrow will already be the sound of autumn.
末写荷塘过雨、明朝秋声，是全词写时序之悟的归结。“一霎荷塘过雨”写荷塘过雨——“一霎荷塘过雨”写一霎之间荷塘过雨——一霎荷塘过雨；“明朝便是秋声”写明朝便是秋声——“明朝便是秋声”写明朝便是秋声（秋至）——明朝便是秋声。二句写荷塘过雨、明朝秋声：一霎荷塘过雨，明朝便是秋声。以“一霎荷塘过雨”写一霎之间荷塘过雨之清凉，以“明朝便是秋声”写明朝便是秋声、夏日将尽之悟，正是项鸿祚词写时序之悟、惜夏之情的归结——夏雨才过，秋声将至。
The close writes the shower over the lotus pond, the autumn sound of the morrow, the resolution of the ci's awakening to the season. In a moment, rain passes over the lotus pond says the shower crossing the lotus pond in a breath. Tomorrow, already, will be the autumn sound says that by tomorrow autumn's voice will have come. Two lines: the shower over the pond, the autumn sound of the morrow. Writing the coolness of the shower over the pond in an instant, writing the morrow's autumn voice and the sense that summer is spent, exactly the resolution of the season's awakening and the grief for summer's passing — summer rain just passed, autumn sound arriving.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
辛弃疾《清平乐·村居》“茅檐低小，溪上青青草”写村居之乐，与本首同为清平乐词。差异在情境：池上纳凉写夏日纳凉；村居写村居之乐。一写“夏”之趣，一写“村”之乐。两者并读，可见清平乐词写闲适的两种情境。
西江月·夜行黄沙道中 Moon over the West River · Night Walk on the Yellow Sand Road 辛弃疾 · 同为宋词写夏夜之景，一写池上纳凉一写夜行田野，皆清丽 Same (subject: both write a summer night in the country; difference: Xin is fresh and open, Xiang is empty and gentle)Both are summer-night works; Xin writes the fun of a village walk, Xiang writes the leisure of cooling off in a courtyard — compare Song and Qing summer-night lyrics.
辛弃疾《西江月·夜行黄沙道中》“明月别枝惊鹊，清风半夜鸣蝉”写夏夜之景，与本首同为写夏夜。差异在情境：池上纳凉写院中纳凉；夜行黄沙道中写夜行田野。一写“院”之静，一写“野”之趣。两者并读，可见写夏夜之景的两种情境。
如梦令·常记溪亭日暮 Dreamlike Song: Always Remember the Sunset at the Creek Pavilion 李清照 · 与本首相关联的同类或同作者作品，供对比阅读 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
此处关联李清照《如梦令·常记溪亭日暮》，与本首在主题、体裁或作者上相关联，可对比阅读以见其同异。