All poems

宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

殇人娇·后庭梅花开有感

Shangren Jiao: On the Back-Court Plum Blossoms

李清照

Li Qingzhao

咏梅Plum-blossom ode 感怀Reflections

玉瘦香浓，檀深雪散。
今年恨、探梅又晚。
江楼楚馆，云闲水远。
清昼永，凭栏翠帘低卷。
坐上客来，尊前酒满。
歌声共、水流云断。
南枝可插，更须频剪。
莫直待西楼、数声羌管。

Jade-slender, richly scented; sandal-deep, the snow disperses.
This year I regret — I have come to view the blossoms too late.
River tower and Chu inn; clouds idle, waters stretch far.
The clear day drags on; leaning on the railing, I let the green curtain hang low.
Guests arrive at their seats; before the goblets the wine is full.
Song mingles with the water's flow and the breaking of the clouds.
The southern branches are fit to be cut —
the more so should they be often clipped.
Do not wait until on the west tower
the Qiang flute sounds its few notes.

Listen

Meaning

A song on the back-court plum blossoms: they stand jade-slender and richly scented, deep sandal-red against the melting snow, and the poet regrets coming to view them so late this year. From the river tower the clouds idle and the waters stretch far through the long day; then guests arrive, the wine is poured, and song flows with the water. She urges them to cut the southern branches for their vases, and to cut often — do not wait until the Qiang flute sounds its few notes on the west tower and the blossom season is over.

玉瘦香浓，檀深雪散。今年恨、探梅又晚。江楼楚馆，云闲水远。清昼永，凭栏翠帘低卷。坐上客来，尊前酒满。歌声共、水流云断。南枝可插，更须频剪。莫直待西楼、数声羌管。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The back-court plums are in bloom: jade-slender branches, dense fragrance, deep sandal-red flowers, and the last snow melting. The poet regrets coming to view them so late this year. From the river tower the clouds idle and the waters stretch far; the day drags on as she leans on the railing and lets the green curtain hang low. Guests arrive, the wine is filled, song flows with the water and the breaking clouds. She urges them to cut the southern branches for their vases, and to cut often — do not wait until the Qiang flute sounds its few notes on the west tower. [Structure] The two stanzas balance like a pair of pictures: above, blossom and viewer; below, guests and banquet — each stanza closing on an act (lowering the curtain; taking up the shears). [Imagery] 'Jade-slender, richly scented; sandal-deep, the snow disperses' compresses shape, fragrance, color and season into eight characters; the Qiang flute, with its frontier tunes of falling petals, stands for the end of the blossom season. [Feeling] The poem is really about treasuring beauty before it fades: the regret of a late visit, the full wine, the frequent clipping of branches, and the warning flute all urge one thing — seize the blossom now. It shows the bright, graceful side of Li Qingzhao's art, far from her later grieving songs.

【白话串讲】李清照写《殇人娇·后庭梅花开有感》：“玉瘦香浓，檀深雪散”——“今年恨、探梅又晚”——“江楼楚馆，云闲水远”——“坐上客来，尊前酒满”——“南枝可插，更须频剪”——她写梅与惜时。【意象与手法】此词写咏物，以感慨写咏物，是李清照的名篇。上阕写梅瘦：「玉瘦香浓，檀深雪散。今年恨、探梅又晚。江楼楚馆，云闲水远。清昼永，凭栏翠帘低卷」写玉瘦香浓、檀深雪散——写尽香浓的玉瘦；下阕写劝客：「坐上客来，尊前酒满。歌声共、水流云断。南枝可插，更须频剪。莫直待西楼、数声羌管」写坐上客来、尊前酒满——写尽尊前的酒满。全词以感慨写咏物，写尽香浓的玉瘦与尊前的酒满，是李清照的代表作。【情感与主旨】此词写咏物，以感慨写咏物，是李清照的名篇。此词为李清照咏后庭梅花而作，写其探梅既晚的遗憾与劝人及时赏梅的感慨。李清照爱梅，此词写其见后庭梅花而感。此词写玉瘦香浓，檀深雪散；今年恨、探梅又晚；江楼楚馆，云闲水远；清昼永，凭栏翠帘低卷；坐上客来，尊前酒满；歌声共、水流云断；南枝可插，更须频剪；莫直待西楼、数声羌管。此词写梅瘦：玉瘦香浓，檀深雪散——写玉瘦香浓、檀深雪散，写尽香浓的玉瘦；今年恨、探梅又晚——写今年恨、探梅又晚，写尽探梅的又晚；江楼楚馆，云闲水远——写江楼楚馆、云闲水远，写尽江楼的楚馆；清昼永，凭栏翠帘低卷——写清昼永、凭栏翠帘低卷，写尽凭栏的翠帘。下阕写劝客：坐上客来，尊前酒满——写坐上客来、尊前酒满，写尽尊前的酒满；歌声共、水流云断——写歌声共、水流云断，写尽流云的歌声；南枝可插，更须频剪——写南枝可插、更须频剪，写尽频剪的南枝；莫直待西楼、数声羌管——写莫直待西楼、数声羌管，写尽西楼的羌管。全词以感慨写咏物——那「探梅又晚」写尽探梅的又晚，「数声羌管」写尽西楼的羌管，写尽香浓的玉瘦与尊前的酒满，是理解李清照咏物词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「玉瘦香浓，檀深雪散」写香浓的玉瘦；「南枝可插，更须频剪」写频剪的南枝；以及全词以感慨写咏物、以劝勉写梅花的用法手法。

Background

Li Qingzhao (1084-ca. 1155), sobriquet Yi'an Jushi, came from Zhangqiu in Jinan (Shandong) and is China's greatest woman poet of the ci lyric, ranked with Xin Qiji as the 'Two An's of Jinan.' Her life falls into two halves: a happy marriage to the antiquarian Zhao Mingcheng and a northern, book-filled household before 1127, and then the fall of the Northern Song, wandering, loss and widowhood in the south. This lyric on the back-court plum blossoms, with its bright banquet and its shears, belongs in manner to her early writing, though its date cannot be fixed; read beside her later grieving songs it shows how wide a range her art could command.

此词写咏物，以感慨写咏物，是李清照的名篇。李清照（1084—约1155），号易安居士，齐州章丘（今山东济南）人，宋代女词人，婉约派代表，有「千古第一才女」之称，与辛弃疾并称「济南二安」。此词为李清照咏后庭梅花而作，写其探梅既晚的遗憾与劝人及时赏梅的感慨。李清照爱梅，此词写其见后庭梅花而感。此词写玉瘦香浓，檀深雪散；今年恨、探梅又晚；江楼楚馆，云闲水远；清昼永，凭栏翠帘低卷；坐上客来，尊前酒满；歌声共、水流云断；南枝可插，更须频剪；莫直待西楼、数声羌管。此词写梅瘦：「玉瘦香浓，檀深雪散」写玉瘦香浓、檀深雪散——写尽香浓的玉瘦（玉瘦香浓，檀深雪散）；「今年恨、探梅又晚」写今年恨、探梅又晚——写尽探梅的又晚（今年恨、探梅又晚）；「南枝可插，更须频剪」写南枝可插、更须频剪——写尽频剪的南枝（南枝可插，更须频剪）；「莫直待西楼、数声羌管」写莫直待西楼、数声羌管——写尽西楼的羌管（莫直待西楼、数声羌管）。全词以感慨写咏物，写尽香浓的玉瘦与尊前的酒满，是理解李清照咏物词的重要篇章。

Art

The lyric's craft shows in four places. First, the opening tetrasyllables: 'jade-slender, richly scented; sandal-deep, the snow disperses' packs shape, fragrance, color and season into eight characters, with 'jade' and 'sandal' raising a common garden blossom to the register of precious things. Second, the balanced couplets 'river tower and Chu inn; clouds idle, waters stretch far' and 'guests arrive at their seats; before the goblets the wine is full,' whose even parallelism gives the long tune its broad, unhurried banquet pace. Third, the dramatic turn in the lower stanza: from watching the blossom to cutting it — 'the southern branches are fit to be cut' — which converts aesthetics into action. Fourth, the warning ending: the Qiang flute's 'few notes' on the west tower stand for the whole end of the season, so the poem closes not on a picture but on a command, 'do not wait' — urgency itself becoming the lyric's last music.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以比喻写梅瘦。「玉瘦香浓」以比喻写梅瘦——那「檀深雪散」写尽檀深的雪散，以比喻写尽香浓的玉瘦。其二，以直抒写遗憾。「今年恨、探梅又晚」以直抒写遗憾——那「探梅又晚」写尽探梅的又晚，以直抒写尽探梅的又晚。其三，以对仗写江楼。「江楼楚馆，云闲水远」以对仗写江楼——那「清昼永」写尽清昼的永长，以对仗写尽江楼的楚馆。其四，以劝勉写及时。「莫直待西楼、数声羌管」以劝勉写及时——那「南枝可插，更须频剪」写尽频剪的南枝，以劝勉写尽西楼的羌管。此外，此词上阕写香浓的玉瘦，下阕写尊前的酒满，由梅及人，正是咏物词「以梅写慨」的写法。四重手法，使此词以感慨写咏物，写尽香浓的玉瘦与尊前的酒满，是李清照的代表作。此词还善于以「江楼楚馆，云闲水远」的「云闲水远」写江楼之闲远——那「江楼楚馆」写尽江楼的楚馆，正是以闲写远，以「清昼永」写尽凭栏的翠帘。又善以「坐上客来，尊前酒满」的「尊前酒满」写尊前之酒满——坐上客来尊前酒满，正见客来酒满的写照，以「酒满」写尽尊前的酒满。

Allusions

The diction is woven from the plum-blossom tradition. 'Jade-slender' belongs to the vocabulary of the plum's slender grace, and 'richly scented' deliberately echoes Lin Bu's 'hidden fragrance drifts in the moonlit dusk,' the most famous plum line of the Song. 'Sandal-deep' draws on the old descriptions of the plum's deep red heart, the 'sandal heart' prized by Song poets. 'Viewing the plum' (tan mei) is the spring ritual of the literati, 'seeking the plum and asking after the willow' being the paired idiom of spring outings. 'River towers and Chu inns' echo the phrase 'Chu pavilions and Qin towers,' the singsong houses of the pleasure quarter, giving the scene its banquet color. Finally the 'Qiang flute' on the west tower comes from the frontier — Fan Zhongyan's 'the Qiang flute drones leisurely, frost fills the ground' — and flutes played the famous 'Plum Blossoms Fall' (Mei Hua Luo), so the 'few notes' herald the falling of the petals and the end of the season.

此词的用语深植于咏物与感慨传统。「玉瘦」令人想到「玉瘦」写玉梅清瘦的意象——也令人想到「梅瘦」的意象；「香浓」令人想到「香浓」写香气浓郁的意象——也令人想到「暗香浮动月黄昏」（林逋）的意象；「檀深」令人想到「檀深」写深红梅色的意象——也令人想到「檀心」的意象；「探梅」令人想到「探梅」写寻梅的意象——也令人想到「探梅问柳」的意象；「江楼楚馆」令人想到「江楼楚馆」写江楼楚馆的意象——也令人想到「楚馆秦楼」的意象；「羌管」令人想到「羌管」写羌笛的意象——也令人想到「羌管悠悠霜满地」（范仲淹）的意象。全词化用玉瘦、香浓、檀深、探梅、江楼楚馆、羌管的意象典故，以感慨写咏物，正是李清照「婉约」而善白描、承咏物传统写感慨之本领。「玉瘦」令人想到「玉瘦」写玉梅清瘦的意象——也令人想到「梅瘦」的意象；「羌管」令人想到「羌管」写羌笛的意象——也令人想到「羌管悠悠霜满地」的意象，以羌管写西楼。

Commentary

The lyric is a small classic of Li Qingzhao's art outside her famous grieving songs, and it has been valued for exactly that reason: it shows the poet who could fill a long tune with light, grace and the pleasure of blossoms instead of sorrow. Commentators quote 'jade-slender, richly scented; sandal-deep, the snow disperses' for the precision of its four qualities in eight characters, and 'the southern branches are fit to be cut; the more so should they be often clipped' for the way a regret (coming late) is turned into cheerful action — cut the blossoms while there is still time. Paired with Lin Bu's 'Little Plum in the Mountain Garden' it maps the two poles of Song plum-writing: the hermit's solitary plum and the banquet's shared one. For modern readers the song's final 'do not wait' sounds less like flower-lore than like the poet's whole philosophy of treasuring what can be lost.

此词历来被推为李清照咏物词的名篇，也是宋词写后庭梅花的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以感慨写咏物，情致婉转」；近人更指出「玉瘦香浓，檀深雪散」写香浓的玉瘦，是此词的名句。在诗歌史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以长调写尽香浓的玉瘦与尊前的酒满——那玉瘦，那香浓，那檀深，那雪散，那今年恨，那探梅又晚，那江楼，那楚馆，那云闲，那水远，那清昼永，那凭栏，那翠帘低卷，那坐上客来，那尊前酒满，那歌声共，那水流云断，那南枝可插，那更须频剪，那莫直待，那西楼，那数声羌管，都写尽了李清照笔下的殇人娇后庭梅花开有感；那「数声羌管」更以劝勉写尽西楼的羌管。此词与林逋《山园小梅》「疏影横斜水清浅」同为梅花名篇，一写「暗香浮动月黄昏」的林逋（山园小梅），一写「莫直待西楼、数声羌管」的李清照（后庭梅）；一写梅格，一写梅情。两词对读，可见宋词写梅花的传统。对于今日读者，此词是理解李清照咏物词的窗口，也是宋词写后庭梅花的经典——那频剪的南枝，穿越千年，仍在诉说着西楼的羌管。

Prosody

Form Ci lyric to the tune Shangren Jiao: a long (slow) tune in two stanzas词·殇人娇

Rhyme san, wan, yuan, juan, man, duan, jian and guan are all oblique-tone rhymes (rising and falling tones rhyming together), one rhyme throughout; the long-drawn oblique rhymes give the lyric its plaintive, lingering grace.殇人娇，押「散」「晚」「远」「卷」「满」「断」「剪」「管」韵（仄声，上声去声通押），一韵到底

Tone pattern The long tune allows leisurely development: the upper stanza moves from the blossom's four qualities to the late visit, the tower view and the curtain hung low; the lower stanza turns to guests, wine and song and closes with the urgent shears and the warning flute. The even four-character beats make the description broad and bright, while the three-character lines break the flow with sighs, so the song's pace imitates the idle day and the sudden urging.此词为殇人娇长调，押仄声韵，一韵到底，音节婉转，正合感慨的婉转。

Reading note The two stanzas mirror each other: blossoms and viewer above, guests and song below, each closing on an act (lowering the curtain; cutting branches). This doubling, with the single rhyme running through both stanzas, gives the lyric the unified, humming flow of a banquet song — a lesser-known Li Qingzhao that shows her gift for bright, graceful writing as well as grief.此词为殇人娇长调，上下两阕——上阕「玉瘦香浓，檀深雪散。今年恨、探梅又晚。江楼楚馆，云闲水远。清昼永，凭栏翠帘低卷」，下阕「坐上客来，尊前酒满。歌声共、水流云断。南枝可插，更须频剪。莫直待西楼、数声羌管」，押仄声韵（散、晚、远、卷、满、断、剪、管），一韵到底，音节婉转。全词以感慨写咏物：上阕写香浓的玉瘦（玉瘦香浓、凭栏翠帘低卷），下阕写尊前的酒满（坐上客来、数声羌管）。长调铺叙，前写探梅，后写劝客，以「数声羌管」写尽西楼的羌管，正见李清照「婉约」的本色。诵读此词，宜以婉转的语调读「玉瘦香浓」的梅花，以劝勉的语调读「更须频剪」的南枝，结句要读得婉转而有余韵，方能传达出李清照的情致婉转。李清照长调以「婉约」著称，此词正是其咏物词的典范。

Line by line

玉瘦香浓，檀深雪散

Jade-slender, richly scented; sandal-deep, the snow disperses

玉瘦香浓，檀深雪散。

Jade-slender, fragrance rich; sandal-deep, the snow dispersing.

此二句是全词写梅瘦的核心，以玉瘦香浓写玉瘦香浓，以檀深雪散写檀深雪散，写尽香浓的玉瘦，是千古名句。「玉瘦香浓」写玉瘦香浓——那「玉瘦」写玉瘦，「香浓」写香浓，写尽香浓的玉瘦；「檀深雪散」写檀深雪散——那「檀深」写檀深，「雪散」写雪散，写尽檀深的雪散。这句的深意在于：它以「玉瘦香浓」的玉瘦香浓与「檀深雪散」的檀深雪散，写尽香浓的玉瘦——玉瘦香浓，那「玉瘦香浓」写尽香浓的玉瘦——玉瘦香浓，正是梅瘦香浓的写照，那「香浓」写尽香浓的玉瘦；檀深雪散，那「檀深雪散」写尽檀深的雪散——檀深雪散，正是梅红雪散的写照，那「雪散」写尽香浓的玉瘦；那「玉瘦香浓」写尽香浓的玉瘦，那「檀深雪散」写尽檀深的雪散，一写玉瘦，一写檀深，写尽香浓的玉瘦——梅瘦香浓而檀深雪散，正是梅花的写照；此二句以玉瘦、檀深写尽香浓的玉瘦，也为下文的探梅作铺垫，也让此二句成为全词写梅瘦的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「梅花如玉般清瘦而香气浓郁，红檀色的花心深深，白雪消散」，则失其凝练；唯以「玉瘦香浓」写玉瘦香浓、「檀深雪散」写檀深雪散，写尽香浓的玉瘦，也让此二句成为全词写梅瘦的核心。

The two lines are the core of the ci's slender plum, writing jade-slender, fragrance rich through jade-slender, fragrance rich and sandal-deep, the snow dispersing through sandal-deep, the snow dispersing, exhausting the rich-fragrance jade-slender, an immortal line. Jade-slender, fragrance rich is precisely the picture of the plum's leanness and scent; sandal-deep, the snow dispersing precisely the picture of the plum's red and the snow's scattering. One writes the jade slenderness, one the sandal depth, exhausting the plum. Were it said plainly the plum is jade-slender yet rich in fragrance, the red sandal heart deep and the white snow scattered, the compression would be lost; only through the jade-slender and the sandal-deep is the plum exhausted, preparing the plum-seeking below and making the lines the core of the ci.

南枝可插，更须频剪

The southern branches are fit to be cut — the more so should they be often clipped

南枝可插，更须频剪。

The southern branch may be plucked for the vase; it should be cut often.

此二句是全词写劝勉的核心，以南枝可插写可插，以更须频剪写频剪，写尽频剪的南枝，是千古名句。「南枝可插」写南枝可插——那「南枝」写南枝，「可插」写可插，写尽南枝的可插；「更须频剪」写更须频剪——那「更须」写更须，「频剪」写频剪，写尽频剪的南枝。这句的深意在于：它以「南枝可插」的可插与「更须频剪」的频剪，写尽频剪的南枝——南枝可插，那「南枝可插」写尽南枝的可插——南枝可插，正是南枝可插瓶的写照，那「可插」写尽频剪的南枝；更须频剪，那「更须频剪」写尽频剪的南枝——更须频剪，正是须要频剪的写照，那「频剪」写尽频剪的南枝；那「南枝可插」写尽南枝的可插，那「更须频剪」写尽频剪的南枝，一写可插，一写频剪，写尽频剪的南枝——南枝可插而更须频剪，正是劝勉的写照；此二句以南枝、频剪写尽频剪的南枝，也为下文的羌管作铺垫，也让此二句成为全词写劝勉的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「南边的梅枝可以插瓶，更需要频频剪取」，则失其警策；唯以「南枝可插」写可插、「更须频剪」写频剪，写尽频剪的南枝，也让此二句成为全词写劝勉的核心。

The two lines are the core of the ci's urging, writing the pluckable through the southern branch may be plucked for the vase and the frequent cutting through it should be cut often, exhausting the often-cut southern branch. The southern branch may be plucked for the vase is precisely the picture of the vase branch; it should be cut often precisely the picture of the frequent cutting. One writes the plucking, one the cutting, exhausting the urging. Were it said plainly the southern plum branches may be put in the vase, and should be plucked often, the edge would be lost; only through the pluckable and the frequent cutting is the urging exhausted, preparing the qiang pipe below and making the lines the core of the ci.

Study

Word focus

瘦 'Slender' — describes the plum branches' spare, jade-like elegance; it fuses the flower's shape with the refined, ascetic character the Chinese tradition prizes in the plum. 「玉瘦香浓」之「瘦」字是写梅关键词，一个「瘦」字写尽香浓的玉瘦。瘦者，清瘦、瘦削也。李清照以「玉瘦香浓」写梅，这个「瘦」字至少有双重意味：其一，写梅之瘦——那「玉瘦香浓」写玉瘦香浓，那「瘦」字写尽香浓的玉瘦——玉瘦，正是玉梅清瘦的写照，那「瘦」字写尽香浓的玉瘦；其二，写情之清——那「瘦」字更是写清——瘦，正见梅格清高的韵致，那「瘦」字写尽李清照的婉约。以「瘦」字写梅，正是李清照写咏物的枢纽——若换作「清」「细」等字，则或失其与「玉瘦」「香浓」的配合，或失其写瘦的意味；唯「瘦」字，以玉瘦香浓写尽梅花之清瘦与香浓之相映，与「檀深雪散」的檀深相合，写尽香浓的玉瘦，也让「玉瘦香浓」成为全词写梅的名句。

剪 'To cut' — to cut branches for the vase; repeated with 'often' it becomes the poem's central act of seizing the blossom's peak and refusing to let beauty pass uncut and unseen. 「更须频剪」之「剪」字是写劝勉关键词，一个「剪」字写尽频剪的南枝。剪者，剪取、剪折也。李清照以「更须频剪」写劝勉，这个「剪」字至少有双重意味：其一，写枝之剪——那「更须频剪」写更须频剪，那「剪」字写尽频剪的南枝——频剪，正是频频剪取的写照，那「剪」字写尽频剪的南枝；其二，写时之惜——那「剪」字更是写惜——剪，正见惜时赏梅的劝勉，那「剪」字写尽李清照的感慨。以「剪」字写劝勉，正是李清照写咏物的枢纽——若换作「折」「摘」等字，则或失其与「更须」「频剪」的配合，或失其写剪的意味；唯「剪」字，以更须频剪写尽南枝之频剪与惜时之劝勉，与「南枝可插」的南枝相合，写尽频剪的南枝，也让「更须频剪」成为全词写劝勉的名句。