清 Qing · 诗 Poem
圆圆曲
The Yuanyuan Song
鼎湖当日弃人间，破敌收京下玉关。
恸哭六军俱缟素，冲冠一怒为红颜。
红颜流落非吾恋，逆贼天亡自荒宴。
电扫黄巾定黑山，哭罢君亲再相见。
相见初经田窦家，侯门歌舞出如花。
许将戚里箜篌伎，等取将军油壁车。
家本姑苏浣花里，绿珠不爱珊瑚树。
怜才喜得固穷士，携来紫玉称佳人。
Show full original poem
鼎湖当日弃人间，破敌收京下玉关。
恸哭六军俱缟素，冲冠一怒为红颜。
红颜流落非吾恋，逆贼天亡自荒宴。
电扫黄巾定黑山，哭罢君亲再相见。
相见初经田窦家，侯门歌舞出如花。
许将戚里箜篌伎，等取将军油壁车。
家本姑苏浣花里，绿珠不爱珊瑚树。
怜才喜得固穷士，携来紫玉称佳人。
若非壮士全师胜，争得蛾眉匹马还。
啼妆满面残红印，蜡烛迎来在战场。
专征箫鼓向秦川，金牛道上车千乘。
斜谷云深起画楼，散关月落开妆镜。
传来消息满江乡，乌桕红经十度霜。
教曲妓师怜尚在，浣纱女伴忆同行。
旧巢共是衔泥燕，飞上枝头变凤凰。
长向尊前悲老大，有人夫婿擅侯王。
当时只受声名累，贵戚名豪竞延致。
一斛明珠万斛愁，关山漂泊腰肢细。
错怨狂风扬落花，无边春色来天地。
尝闻倾国与倾城，翻使周郎受重名。
妻子岂应关大计，英雄无奈是多情。
全家白骨成灰土，一代红妆照汗青。
君不见，馆娃初起鸳鸯宿，越女如花看不足。
香径尘生鸟自啼，屧廊人去苔空绿。
换羽移宫万里愁，珠歌翠舞古梁州。
为君别唱吴宫曲，汉水东南日夜流。
The six hosts wept all in white; a wrath that climbed the crown was for a beauty's sake.
The beauty's falling was not what I loved; the rebel heaven-doomed feasted in his ruin.
Like lightning sweeping the Yellow Turbans, pacifying Black Mountain - weep for lord and kin, then meet again.
First meeting was at the Tian and Dou gates; in the marquis court the song and dance, beauties like flowers.
Promised the harp-girl of the kinsman gate, awaiting the general's oil-wheel carriage.
Her home was by Suzhou's Huanhua lane; like Green Pearl, she loved not the coral tree.
Fortunate in talent, she won a poor but steadfast man; brought as purple jade, a fitting beauty.
Had not the warrior won with all his host, how could the moth-brow return on a single horse?
Tear-stained face, the faded red still marked; candle-lit, she was welcomed on the battlefield.
Special command, pipes and drums toward Qinchuan; on the Gold-Ox road a thousand carriages.
At Slanting Valley, deep clouds, a painted tower rose; at Scattered Pass, the moon set, the dressing-mirror opened.
Word spread to her riverside home; the tallow trees red, ten frosts passed.
The singing-master pitied her still living; the washing-girls recalled going together.
Old nests were swallows bearing mud; one flew to the branch and turned phoenix.
Long before the cup she mourned her age; another's husband ruled as marquis and king.
Then she was only burdened by fame; great kin and famed men vied to summon her.
A measure of bright pearls, ten thousand measures of grief; drifting over passes, her waist grew slender.
Wrongly she blamed the wild wind scattering fallen blossoms; boundless spring returns to heaven and earth.
Once heard of cities overturned and states ruined; it made Zhou Lang bear the greater name.
How should a wife concern great policy? The hero, helpless, is but full of feeling.
The whole house's white bones turned to ash; one generation's beauty shines in the annals.
Do you not see: at Guanwa, first built, the love-birds lodged; the Yue girl, flower-like, never enough admired.
On the fragrant path dust rose, birds sang alone; the shoe-corridor emptied, moss turned green in vain.
Changed feathers, shifted palace, ten thousand li of grief; pearl-song and jade-dance in old Liangzhou.
For you I sing another Wu-palace song; the Han river flows southeast, day and night.
Meaning
On the day the Chongzhen ruler died at Dinghu, Wu Sangui broke the foe and retook the capital, his army descending the Jade Pass. The six hosts wept all in white; the general's wrath that climbed his crown was for a beauty's sake. The beauty's falling was not what he loved; the rebel, heaven-doomed, feasted in his ruin. Like lightning he swept the Yellow Turbans and pacified Black Mountain - weeping for lord and kin, then he met her again. They first met at the Tian and Dou gates, in the marquis court with song and dance and beauties like flowers. Promised the harp-girl of the kinsman gate, she awaited the general's oil-wheel carriage. Her home was by Suzhou's Huanhua lane; like Green Pearl she loved not the coral tree. Fortunate in talent, she won a poor but steadfast man; brought as purple jade, a fitting beauty. Had not the warrior won with all his host, how could the moth-brow return on a single horse? Tear-stained, the faded red still marked, candle-lit she was welcomed on the battlefield. With special command, pipes and drums toward Qinchuan, on the Gold-Ox road a thousand carriages. At Slanting Valley deep clouds, a painted tower rose; at Scattered Pass the moon set, the dressing-mirror opened. Word spread to her riverside home; tallow trees red, ten frosts passed. The singing-master pitied her still living; the washing-girls recalled going together. Old nests were swallows bearing mud; one flew to the branch and turned phoenix. Long before the cup she mourned her age; another's husband ruled as marquis and king. Then she was only burdened by fame; great kin and famed men vied to summon her. A measure of bright pearls, ten thousand measures of grief; drifting over passes, her waist grew slender. Wrongly she blamed the wild wind scattering fallen blossoms; boundless spring returns to heaven and earth. Once heard of cities overturned and states ruined, it made Zhou Lang bear the greater name. How should a wife concern great policy? The hero, helpless, is but full of feeling. The whole house's white bones turned to ash; one generation's beauty shines in the annals. Do you not see: at Guanwa, first built, the love-birds lodged; the Yue girl, flower-like, never enough admired. On the fragrant path dust rose, birds sang alone; the shoe-corridor emptied, moss turned green in vain. Changed feathers, shifted palace, ten thousand li of grief; pearl-song and jade-dance in old Liangzhou. For you I sing another Wu-palace song; the Han river flows southeast, day and night.
崇祯帝弃世之日，吴三桂破敌收京、兵下玉关。三军恸哭皆着缟素，只因将军冲冠一怒，实为一介红颜。红颜流落非我所恋，逆贼自取灭亡、荒于酒宴。如电扫黄巾、平定黑山，哭罢君亲再与圆圆相见。初见时正当田窦权门，侯门歌舞佳丽如花。许嫁戚里箜篌名伎，专候将军油壁香车。圆圆家本姑苏浣花里，如绿珠而不爱珊瑚之树。怜才喜得固穷之士，携来紫玉堪称佳人。若非将军全师奏凯，怎得蛾眉匹马归来。啼妆满面残红犹印，蜡烛迎来已在战场。专征箫鼓直向秦川，金牛道上车马千乘。斜谷云深画楼起，散关月落妆镜开。消息传遍江南家乡，乌桕经霜十度红。教曲师傅怜其尚在，浣纱女伴忆旧同行。旧巢同是衔泥燕，飞上枝头竟变凤凰。长向尊前悲叹老大，有人夫婿竟擅侯王。当时只受声名之累，贵戚名豪竞相交致。一斛明珠万斛愁，关山漂泊腰肢渐细。错怨狂风扬落花，无边春色重来天地。尝闻倾国与倾城，翻使周郎受重名。妻子岂应关大计，英雄无奈是多情。全家白骨化灰土，一代红妆照汗青。君不见馆娃宫初起鸳鸯共宿，越女如花看之不足。香径尘生唯鸟自啼，屧廊人去苔色空绿。换羽移宫万里愁，珠歌翠舞遍古梁州。为君别唱吴宫曲，汉水东南日夜流。
Appreciation
This poem is born of the 'Song of Everlasting Sorrow' yet finds its own face. The opening 'That day at Dinghu... a wrath that climbed the crown was for a beauty's sake' narrates with a historian's brush, its antithesis sharp, becoming a famous couplet. Throughout it weaves Chen Yuanyuan's voice with the third person, the narrative winding, the exposition rich yet measured. It favours contrast: the Tian-Dou marquis splendour against 'the white bones turned to ash' misery, the Wu-palace song-dance against 'the Han river flows day and night' eternity. The language is gorgeous and grieving; 'one generation's beauty shines in the annals' writes deep pain in beautiful phrase, opening Meicun's 'weeping genius' manner.
【白话串讲】 “恸哭六军俱缟素，冲冠一怒为红颜”——吴伟业写吴三桂引清兵入关：全军缟素痛哭，他却“冲冠一怒为红颜”。“妻子岂应关大计”——一个国家的兴亡，怎能系在一个女人身上？这首《圆圆曲》，让吴三桂遗臭万年。 【意象与手法】 此诗胎息《长恨歌》而能自立面目。起首「鼎湖当日弃人间……冲冠一怒为红颜」以史笔叙事，对仗警策，遂成名联。通篇以圆圆口吻与第三人称交错，叙事婉转，铺陈浓至而不失节制。善用对比：田窦侯门之繁华与「白骨成灰土」之惨、吴宫歌舞与「汉水日夜流」之永恒。语言华艳哀婉，「一代红妆照汗青」以丽语写沉痛，开梅村「恸哭奇才」之体。 【情感与主旨】 吴伟业（1609—1671），字骏公，号梅村，江苏太仓人，明末翰林，官至少詹事，入清后被迫出仕，寻乞归。此诗约作于顺治间，以陈圆圆在明末乱离中的遭遇与吴三桂「冲冠一怒为红颜」引清兵入关事为题材，借圆圆故事寄「兴亡之感」，既讽三桂卖国，亦暗伤故国，为清初最负盛名的长篇叙事歌行。 【名句点睛】 常考首四句的叙事与「冲冠一怒为红颜」的讽刺、「旧巢共是衔泥燕，飞上枝头变凤凰」的对比、「妻子岂应关大计，英雄无奈是多情」的议论，以及「一代红妆照汗青」的丽语沉痛与梅村体「以诗存史」的特质。
Background
Wu Weiye (1609-1671), style Junong, name MeiCun, of Taicang in Jiangsu, a late-Ming Hanlin, rose to Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent, and after the Qing was forced to serve, then sought retirement. His 'The Yuanyuan Song' was written about the Shunzhi era, on the matter of Chen Yuanyuan - cast adrift by the late-Ming turmoil, presented to the palace by Tian Wan, then given to Wu Sangui, whose 'wrath that climbed the crown was for a beauty's sake' led the Qing troops through the pass. Meicun lived the dynastic change; through Yuanyuan's tale he lodges 'the feeling of rise and fall', satirizing Sangui's treason and darkly grieving the fallen state - the most famed long narrative song of early Qing.
吴伟业（1609—1671），字骏公，号梅村，江苏太仓人，明崇祯四年（1631）进士，官至少詹事，明亡后隐居不出，清顺治十年被迫出仕国子监祭酒，寻乞归，郁郁而终，其诗多写易代之痛，为「江左三大家」之一。此诗约作于清顺治年间，以明末陈圆圆的故事为题材：圆圆本苏州名妓，归吴三桂，李自成破北京后，其部将刘宗敏掠圆圆，吴三桂遂「冲冠一怒」，引清兵入关，大破李自成，夺回圆圆，而明朝亦由此覆亡。梅村身历甲申之变，目睹故国沦亡，此诗借圆圆故事寄「兴亡之感」：既讥讽吴三桂为一己私情而卖国引敌，又暗伤故国之亡、士人之节，还于圆圆的身世浮沉中写出乱世红颜的悲欢。全诗以长篇歌行体写史，叙事婉转、铺陈浓至、讽刺冷峻，与《听女道士卞玉京弹琴歌》等同为梅村「以诗存史」的代表作，也是清初最负盛名的长篇叙事歌行。此诗写成后广为传诵，吴三桂闻之亦无可奈何，正见其史笔之锋；梅村以此诗与《松山哀》等并传，其『以诗存史』的自觉，正是易代之际士人以文字寄托故国之思的典型，也是其诗能超越一般咏史之作的根本所在。
Art
This poem is born of the 'Song of Everlasting Sorrow' yet finds its own face. The opening narrates with a historian's brush, its antithesis sharp, becoming a famous couplet. Throughout it weaves Yuanyuan's voice with the third person, the narrative winding, the exposition rich yet measured. It favours contrast: the Tian-Dou marquis splendour against 'the white bones turned to ash' misery, the Wu-palace song-dance against 'the Han river flows day and night' eternity. The language is gorgeous and grieving; 'one generation's beauty shines in the annals' writes deep pain in beautiful phrase, opening Meicun's 'weeping genius' manner.
此诗胎息《长恨歌》而能自立面目，是「梅村体」的奠基之作。起首「鼎湖当日弃人间，破敌收京下玉关。恸哭六军俱缟素，冲冠一怒为红颜」以史笔叙事：两句写国变（崇祯死、三桂破敌收京），两句写祸根（六军缟素哭君，实为冲冠一怒之私情），「缟素」与「红颜」对举，一白一红、一公一私，讽刺辛辣，遂成千古名联。通篇叙事以圆圆口吻与第三人称交错，忽而「红颜流落非吾恋」代圆圆立言，忽而「若非壮士全师胜」客观叙述，人称转换自如，叙事婉转有致。章法上以时间先后为经、以空间变换为纬：由京师的国变写到初见权门、由战场迎归写到秦川画楼、由江乡消息写到尊前老大、由身世感慨转入吴宫怀古，层层展开，铺陈浓至而不失节制。善用对比：田窦侯门之繁华与「全家白骨成灰土」之惨、吴宫歌舞之盛与「汉水东南日夜流」之永恒。语言华艳哀婉，「一代红妆照汗青」以丽语写沉痛，开梅村「恸哭奇才」之体。
Allusions
The poem uses many allusions and substituted names: 'Dinghu' uses the Yellow Emperor casting a cauldron and riding a dragon to heaven, standing for the death of the ruler (Chongzhen); 'Tian-Dou' compares Tian Hongyu, father of Consort Tian, to the Han outer-relatives Tian Fen and Dou Ying, meaning the powerful gate; 'Green Pearl' uses Shi Chong's concubine Green Pearl to figure Yuanyuan's beauty and art; 'Zhou Lang' uses Zhou Yu bearing the name of the Two Qiaos, to contrast Sangui 'bearing the greater name' through Yuanyuan - satire; 'Guanwa' and 'shoe-corridor' use King Fuchai's Guanwa Palace and Echo-Shoe Corridor, closing the rise-fall sigh in the Wu palace's desolation.
诗中多用典与代称，熔铸史事，无一处无来历。「鼎湖」用黄帝铸鼎乘龙升天之典（《史记·封禅书》），后世以「鼎湖龙去」代指帝王之死，此处代指崇祯帝自缢殉国，庄重而沉痛；「玉关」本指玉门关，此处借指山海关，写三桂破敌收京、「下玉关」引清兵入关。「田窦」以汉武帝外戚田蚡、窦婴比田贵妃之父田弘遇，指权门贵戚；「戚里」指外戚聚居之地，写圆圆先归田氏。「绿珠」以西晋石崇爱妾绿珠喻圆圆之色艺双全，写其不爱珊瑚之富；「紫玉」本为古代名玉（吴王夫差女名紫玉），喻圆圆之珍贵。「周郎」以三国周瑜娶二乔之事，反衬三桂因圆圆而「受重名」之讽；「馆娃」「屧廊」「香径」用吴王夫差为西施筑馆娃宫、响屧廊、采香径之故实，以吴宫荒凉之景结兴亡之叹，以西施事暗写圆圆与三桂，古今映照，讽意深远。又『油壁车』用《玉台新咏》『油壁车，夕相待』之语，写三桂迎圆圆之车仗之盛；『乌桕』为江南秋树，经霜而红，写圆圆消息传回江南、乌桕十度经霜，以物候写岁月，正是梅村以景寓情的细腻笔法，亦见其叙事之从容。
Commentary
Zhao Yi's Ou Bei Poetry Talks says 'Meicun's poetry blends Du, Han, Yuan and Bai yet forms its own manner; the song-form he especially excels in'. 'The Yuanyuan Song' has long been discussed with the 'Song of Everlasting Sorrow' and 'Pipa Xing'; critics say the two lines 'The six hosts wept all in white; a wrath that climbed the crown was for a beauty's sake' are without predecessor or follower. The modern Chen Yinke's Willow Is the Biography of Liu also cites Meicun's manner, saying he 'keeps history in poetry', enough to supplement Ming-end anecdotes.
此诗历代评价极高，被视为清初叙事诗的最高成就。赵翼《瓯北诗话》谓「梅村诗合杜、韩、元、白而自成一体，歌行尤所擅长」——此诗正是梅村体歌行的典范：兼有杜甫的沉郁、韩愈的雄奇、元白的长篇叙事之长而自成一格。清人沈德潜《清诗别裁集》选录此诗，评其「以儿女之情，写兴亡之感」；论者称「恸哭六军俱缟素，冲冠一怒为红颜」二语「前无古后无今」，成为咏吴三桂、陈圆圆故事最经典的概括。近人陈寅恪《柳如是别传》极重梅村诗「以诗存史」的价值，谓其诗可补明季史事之阙——此诗写陈圆圆事虽多传闻，然其中反映的甲申之变、吴三桂引清兵入关、故国之痛等历史内容，皆有诗史价值。此诗与《长恨歌》《琵琶行》并论，而讽刺之深、感慨之重过之，是理解明清易代之际士人心态与叙事诗艺术的重要文本。近人论梅村诗，或以『恸哭奇才』许之，谓其以秾丽之笔写兴亡之痛，为清初诗坛开一新境；《圆圆曲》作为其代表作，其叙事艺术与史识深度，至今仍是明清叙事诗研究的核心文本，也是理解甲申之变后士人心态的重要史料。
Prosody
Line by line
鼎湖当日弃人间，破敌收京下玉关。
That day, at Dinghu, he left the human world; the foe broken, the capital recovered, the troops passed the Jade Gate.
崇祯帝弃世之日，吴三桂破敌收京、兵下玉关。
The day the Chongzhen emperor left the world, Wu Sangui broke the foe, recovered the capital, and led his troops down to the Jade Gate.
起笔以史笔开篇，庄重沉痛，为全诗定下「以诗存史」的基调。「鼎湖」用黄帝乘龙升天之典，代指帝王之死——崇祯帝自缢殉国，大明覆亡，诗人以「鼎湖弃人间」五字写尽国变之痛，「弃人间」三字尤见沉痛：帝弃人间，天下遂无主；「破敌收京下玉关」写吴三桂的作为——「破敌收京」写其击败李自成、收复北京，「下玉关」借玉门关指山海关，写其引清兵入关的史实。此句的妙处有三：一是以鼎湖之典写国变，庄重而不直露，正是诗史笔法；二是「弃人间」与「破敌收京」并置，一悲一功，暗伏讽刺——帝死而三桂收京，功耶罪耶，为下文「冲冠一怒为红颜」的讽刺蓄势；三是开篇即以史笔立骨，全诗由此展开，正是梅村「以诗存史」的开宗明义。
The opening strikes the historical note, grave and sorrowful, fixing the tone of the poem as preserving history through verse. Dinghu uses the allusion of the Yellow Emperor ascending to heaven on the dragon, metonym for an emperor's death — the Chongzhen emperor's self-strangling for the fallen Ming; the five words he left the human world write the whole grief of the dynastic change, and left the human world especially sorrowful: the emperor left the world, and the world thence had no master. The foe broken, the capital recovered, the troops passed the Jade Gate writes Wu Sangui's act — breaking Li Zicheng, recovering Beijing; down the Jade Gate borrows the Jade Gate Pass for the Shanhai Pass, writing the historical fact of his leading the Qing troops through. The line is threefold in beauty: first, writing the dynastic change through the Dinghu allusion, grave without directness, precisely the brush of poetic history; second, left the human world set against the foe broken, the grief and the merit side by side, secretly planting satire — the emperor dead and Wu recovering the capital, merit or guilt, storing force for the satire of the next line's one bristling rage of the lord was for a fair-faced woman; third, the opening establishing bone through history, the whole growing from it, precisely Meicun's opening declaration of preserving history through verse.
恸哭六军俱缟素，冲冠一怒为红颜。
The six armies wept aloud, all in white mourning; one bristling rage of the lord was for a fair-faced woman.
三军恸哭皆着缟素，只因将军冲冠一怒，实为一介红颜。
The six armies wailed, all dressed in white mourning; yet the lord's bristling wrath was for a beautiful woman.
此联是千古传诵的名句，也是全诗讽刺的刀锋所在。「恸哭六军俱缟素」写三军为崇祯之死缟素恸哭——「俱缟素」写全军素服，场面肃穆悲壮，是「公」的哀悼；「冲冠一怒为红颜」陡转——「冲冠一怒」化用《史记·廉颇蔺相如列传》「怒发上冲冠」之语，写吴三桂之怒，「为红颜」三字点破怒之根源：六军缟素是哭君，三桂之怒却是为妾！一公一私、一白一红，对举之下，讽刺入骨：国难当头，将军之怒竟系于一个女子的得失，其引清兵入关的「大节」，实出于儿女私情。此联的妙处有三：一是对仗精警，「缟素」对「红颜」，一白一红、一丧一艳，色彩与情感的反差正是讽刺的力量；二是以「俱」写公、以「一」写私，全军之哀与一人之怒对照，卖国之罪昭然；三是举重若轻，讽刺而不怒骂，正是史笔的冷峻。
The couplet is the immortal line and the cutting edge of the poem's satire. The six armies wept aloud, all in white mourning writes the three armies weeping in white for the Chongzhen emperor — all in white writes the whole army in mourning, the scene solemn and grievous, the public mourning. One bristling rage of the lord was for a fair-faced woman turns abruptly: one bristling rage transforms the Records of the Grand Historian's anger bristling and pushing up the cap, writing Wu Sangui's wrath; for a fair-faced woman points out the root of the wrath: the six armies in white weep for the ruler, and Wu Sangui's rage is for a concubine! Public and private, white and red, set off, the satire bone-deep: at the nation's crisis, the general's rage hung on the gain or loss of a woman, and the great act of leading in the Qing was born of an intimate love affair. The couplet is threefold: first, the pointed parallel — white mourning set against the red beauty, one white, one red, one funeral, one love, the contrast of color and feeling itself the force of satire; second, all writes the public, one writes the private, the whole army's grief set against one man's wrath, the treason laid bare; third, the weight handled lightly, satire without cursing, precisely the coldness of the historical brush.
旧巢共是衔泥燕，飞上枝头变凤凰。
In the old nest we were swallows carrying mud together; once flown to the branch, she turned into a phoenix.
旧巢同是衔泥燕，飞上枝头竟变凤凰。
In the old nest they had been swallows carrying mud together; she flew up the branch and became a phoenix.
此句写圆圆由名妓而宠妃的际遇之变，是全诗写圆圆身世最警策的一联。「旧巢共是衔泥燕」写圆圆与浣纱女伴本是同巢衔泥的燕子——「衔泥燕」喻卑微的出身，圆圆与教曲妓师、浣纱女伴一样，本是江南贫贱的歌女，旧巢同燕，不分彼此；「飞上枝头变凤凰」写其身份之变——圆圆得嫁吴三桂、贵为藩王侧妃，如燕子飞上高枝、化为凤凰，「变」字写尽命运之骤变。此联的妙处有三：一是以燕喻人，燕与凤凰，一贱一贵，比喻贴切而对比鲜明，写尽乱世红颜命运的戏剧性；二是以「旧巢」「枝头」写空间之变，旧巢是故园，枝头是高处，一变而身世判然，女伴之羡与圆圆之幸尽在其中；三是暗含讽刺，燕子变凤凰，非其羽翼之功，实因枝头之高——圆圆之贵，系于三桂之权，而三桂之权，系于卖国之功，讥刺之意藏于比喻之中。
The line writes the turn of Chen Yuanyuan's lot from famous courtesan to favored consort, the keenest couplet on her fortunes. In the old nest we were swallows carrying mud together writes Yuanyuan and her fellow singing girls once swallows carrying mud in one nest — the mud-carrying swallow figures the low birth; Yuanyuan, like the music teacher and the silk-washing companions, was a singing girl of the Jiangnan poor, old nest and swallows, no difference between them. Once flown to the branch, she turned into a phoenix writes the change of her standing — Yuanyuan wed Wu Sangui, honored as the prince's side consort, like a swallow flying to the high branch and turning phoenix; the single turned writes the suddenness of fate. The couplet is threefold: first, the swallow for the person, swallow and phoenix, one low and one noble, the metaphor apt and the contrast sharp, writing the drama of the fallen beauty's fate in the troubled age; second, the old nest and the branch writing the change of place — the old nest the old home, the branch the high place, one change and the lot transformed, the companions' envy and Yuanyuan's fortune all within; third, the hidden satire — the swallow's turning phoenix is not the work of its own wings, but the height of the branch; Yuanyuan's honor hangs on Wu Sangui's power, and Wu Sangui's power hangs on the merit of betraying the country, the mockery hidden in the metaphor.
妻子岂应关大计，英雄无奈是多情。
Should wife and concubine decide the great cause? The hero, alas, was but too full of love.
妻子岂应关乎国家大计，英雄无奈是多情。
Should a wife or concubine decide the fate of the state? The hero, alas, was helplessly susceptible to love.
此句由叙事转入议论，是全诗批判的深化，也是「梅村体」以议论见骨的所在。「妻子岂应关大计」以反诘立论——妻子岂应关乎国家大计？国之大计，重于儿女私情，而吴三桂竟以一妾之得失而引清兵入关、断送明朝，轻重倒置，荒谬之极；「英雄无奈是多情」以叹惋收束——「英雄」与「多情」并置，是讽刺亦是叹惋：说是英雄无奈，实指英雄不配——以「无奈」二字写三桂的借口，冷峻之中见出诗人的鄙夷。此联的妙处有三：一是议论透辟，「岂应」的反诘如当头棒喝，点破「冲冠一怒」之谬；二是分寸得体，不直斥「卖国」而说「多情」，以「无奈」写其托词，讽刺而留有余地，正是诗笔的含蓄；三是承上启下，由陈圆圆事引出兴亡之慨，为「全家白骨成灰土，一代红妆照汗青」的对比收束作了铺垫，是全诗由叙事转向议论的枢纽。
The line turns from narrative to argument, the deepening of the poem's critique, and the place where the Meicun style shows bone through argument. Should wife and concubine decide the great cause? argues by rhetorical question: the great cause of the nation weighs more than intimate love, yet Wu Sangui, on the gain or loss of one concubine, led in the Qing and lost the Ming, the weights inverted, the absurdity extreme. The hero, alas, was but too full of love closes in lament: hero and too full of love set side by side, at once satire and pity — calling the hero helpless is in fact to say the hero unworthy; the word alas writes Wu's excuse, and within the coldness the poet's disdain is seen. The couplet is threefold: first, the penetration of the argument — should carries the blow on the head, pointing out the absurdity of the bristling rage; second, the due measure — not directly crying treason but saying too full of love, writing his excuse through alas, satirical yet leaving room, precisely the restraint of the poetic brush; third, carrying above and leading below, moving from Chen Yuanyuan's tale to the sigh over rise and fall, preparing the contrast close of his whole family's white bones turned to dust, one age's red beauty shines on through the annals, the hinge of the poem's turning from narrative to argument.
全家白骨成灰土，一代红妆照汗青。
His whole family's white bones turned to dust; one age's red beauty shines on through the annals.
吴三桂全家化为一抔灰土，陈圆圆却以红妆之名留照青史。
His whole family's white bones became dust; a single beauty of the age shines through the history.
此句以丽语写沉痛，是全诗对比艺术的巅峰，也是千古名句。「全家白骨成灰土」写吴三桂全家的结局——清兵入关后，三桂父吴襄全家为李自成所杀，白骨成灰土，全家之惨与当年「冲冠一怒」的意气对照，讽刺之意自见；「一代红妆照汗青」写陈圆圆之名留史册——「红妆」写其红颜，「汗青」指史册，以红妆照汗青，以丽语写历史，圆圆因吴三桂之乱而名垂史册，而三桂之「功业」却成灰土。此联的妙处有三：一是对比强烈，「白骨成灰土」之惨与「红妆照汗青」之艳，一死一生、一毁一传，全家之死成就红颜之名，讽意冷峻；二是以「照」写传，汗青照红妆，历史记住了这个女子，却未必记住那些白骨，历史的反讽尽在其中；三是丽语写悲，红妆、汗青皆华美之词，而所写皆是兴亡惨事，正是「梅村体」以秾丽之笔写沉痛之感的典范，讽意深远，余味不尽。
The line writes sorrow through beautiful words, the peak of the poem's contrast art, and an immortal line. His whole family's white bones turned to dust writes the end of Wu Sangui's whole family — after the Qing entered, Wu's father Wu Xiang's whole family killed by Li Zicheng, the white bones turned to dust; the whole family's horror set against the spirit of the bristling rage of that year, the satire self-evident. One age's red beauty shines on through the annals writes Chen Yuanyuan's name preserved in the records — red beauty writes her fair face, the annals means history; red beauty shining on the annals, writing history through beautiful words, Yuanyuan's name preserved because of Wu's rebellion, while Wu's achievement turned to dust. The couplet is threefold: first, the strong contrast — the white bones turned to dust and the red beauty shining on the annals, one death and one life, one ruin and one renown, the family's death making the beauty's name, the satire cold; second, the shine writing the transmission — the annals lit by the red beauty, history remembering this woman, and perhaps not remembering those bones, the irony of history all within; third, beautiful words writing grief — red beauty and the annals both ornate words, and what they write is the sorrow of rise and fall, precisely the Meicun model of writing the sorrowful through the richly adorned, the satire far-reaching, the aftertaste unending.
为君别唱吴宫曲，汉水东南日夜流。
For you I sing anew the lay of the Wu palace; the Han River flows southeast, day and night.
为你别唱一曲吴宫旧曲，汉水向东南日夜奔流。
For you I sing once more the air of the Wu palace; the Han River flows southeast by day and by night.
结句以怀古收束全诗，以西施故事作结，兴亡之感绵绵不尽。「为君别唱吴宫曲」写为圆圆（亦为读者）别唱一曲吴宫旧曲——「吴宫曲」即吴王夫差与西施的旧事，诗人借西施以写圆圆，古今映照；「汉水东南日夜流」以景结情——汉水向东南日夜奔流，如历史之长河，不舍昼夜。此句的妙处有三：一是以古喻今，馆娃宫、响屧廊的吴宫旧事，正是陈圆圆与吴三桂故事的注脚——西施之宠、吴国之亡，与圆圆之宠、明朝之亡，古今同慨，兴亡之感借西施典层层深化；二是以景结情，「汉水东南日夜流」化用李白《江上吟》「功名富贵若长在，汉水亦应西北流」之意，以江水东流写历史无情、繁华易逝，兴亡之叹尽付流水；三是余韵悠长，全诗由「鼎湖弃人间」的国变起，以「汉水日夜流」的江水结，一始一终，如历史长卷徐徐展开又徐徐收起，正是「梅村体」收束的高境。
The closing ends the poem in meditation on the past, closing on the tale of Xishi, the feeling of rise and fall endless. For you I sing anew the air of the Wu palace writes singing, for Yuanyuan (and for the reader), the old lay of the Wu palace — the Wu palace air is the old tale of King Fuchai of Wu and Xishi; the poet borrows Xishi for Yuanyuan, ancient and modern reflected. The Han River flows southeast, day and night ends emotion in scene — the Han River flowing southeast day and night, like the long river of history, never resting. The line is threefold: first, the ancient for the modern — the Wu palace tales of the Gualuan Palace and the Shoe-Sounding Gallery are precisely the footnote to Chen Yuanyuan and Wu Sangui's story; Xishi's favor and Wu's fall, Yuanyuan's favor and Ming's fall, the same grief through the ages, the feeling deepened layer by layer through the Xishi allusion; second, ending emotion in scene — the Han River flows southeast, day and night transforms Li Bai's the fame and wealth, if long enduring, the Han River should flow northwest, writing through the eastward river the ruthlessness of history and the fleetingness of splendor, the sigh of rise and fall committed to the flowing water; third, the long aftertone — the poem opens on the dynastic change of leaving the human world, closes on the river flowing day and night, one beginning and one end, like a long scroll of history slowly unrolled and slowly rolled up, precisely the high realm of the Meicun close.
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Both write the sigh of beauty causing the state's fall / rise-fall; Meicun's long exposition vs Yuan Mei's short reversal - compare.
袁枚《马嵬》「莫唱当年长恨歌，人间亦自有银河。石壕村里夫妻别，泪比长生殿上多」与本诗同写红颜与兴亡之慨，而体裁与取径有别。吴诗以长篇歌行铺叙陈圆圆故事，写尽「冲冠一怒为红颜」的兴亡因果，叙事婉转、铺陈浓至，是史诗式的全景呈现；袁诗以七绝短章翻案立论，由马嵬之变说到民间夫妻之别的普遍苦难，谓石壕村夫妻之泪多于长生殿，以小见大、翻案生新，是哲理性的点醒。一铺陈其事、一翻案立论；一以史笔写兴亡，一以哲思写悲悯。两诗并读，可见清代诗人写「红颜兴亡」题材的两种路数，也可体会歌行与绝句两种体裁在表现同一主题时的不同张力。
长生殿·弹词·一枝花 The Everlasting Palace · The Ballad · A Spray of Flowers 洪昇 · 同演天宝遗事寄兴亡之痛，一诗一曲 Same (Tang Minghuang and Yang Guifei matter, writing rise-fall)Both dramatize the Tianbao tale lodging the pain of rise-fall; one a poem, one a qu - mutually reflective.
洪昇《长生殿》弹词出《一枝花》「不提防余年值乱离，逼拶得歧路遭穷败」等曲，与吴伟业《圆圆曲》同为清初寄兴亡之痛的作品，同以李杨（及吴陈）故事写家国之思，而文体有别。长生殿为传奇，以唐明皇杨贵妃的生死之恋写「乐极哀来」的盛衰之感，弹词一出更以李龟年流落江南、弹唱天宝遗事，写尽江山易主的故国之痛，是借戏曲写兴亡；圆圆曲为歌行，以陈圆圆吴三桂的乱世情缘写「冲冠一怒为红颜」的亡国因果，是借诗歌写兴亡。一为戏曲之曲，一为歌行之诗；一哀婉缠绵，一讽刺冷峻。两作并读，可见清初士人借「天宝遗事」型题材抒兴亡之感的不同方式，也是理解易代之际文艺创作「借古伤今」传统的重要对照。