宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
薄幸
Thin Fortune (To the Tune of Boxing)
艳真多态。
更的的，频回眄睐。
便认得、琴心相许，与写宜男双带。
记画堂、斜月朦胧，轻颦微笑娇无奈。
便翡翠屏开，芙蓉帐掩，与把香罗偷解。
自过了收灯后，都不见、踏青挑菜。
几回凭双燕，丁宁深意，往来翻恨重帘碍。
约何时再。
正春浓酒暖，人闲昼永无聊赖。
厌厌睡起，犹有花梢日在。
Even brighter, she keeps glancing back again and again.
At once I knew: hearts pledged in secret like the zither's message,
And she wrote me the double ribbon of the boy-wishing herb.
I recall the painted hall, the slanting moon hazy,
Her faint frown and slight smile, charmingly helpless.
Then the kingfisher screen was opened, the hibiscus curtains lowered,
And together we undid the scented gauze in secret.
Since the lanterns were put away,
I have never seen her at the spring outing or the greens-picking.
Again and again I trust the pair of swallows
With urgent, heartfelt words,
Hating the heavy curtains that bar their coming and going.
When shall we meet again?
Just when spring is at its deepest, the wine warm,
The day long and idle, and I listless with boredom —
Languidly I rise from sleep,
And the sun still lingers on the tips of the flowers.
Meaning
He Zhu recalls, in jeweled detail, a courtesan's charms, their secret betrothal, and their night in the painted hall. After the lantern festival ended she vanished from the spring outings, and now he can only entrust messages to swallows and ask when they will meet again — ending on an image of endless spring days and unshakable boredom.
艳真多态。更的的，频回眄睐。便认得、琴心相许，与写宜男双带。记画堂、斜月朦胧，轻颦微笑娇无奈。便翡翠屏开，芙蓉帐掩，与把香罗偷解。自过了收灯后，都不见、踏青挑菜。几回凭双燕，丁宁深意，往来翻恨重帘碍。约何时再。正春浓酒暖，人闲昼永无聊赖。厌厌睡起，犹有花梢日在。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] The upper stanza is a museum of remembered delights: the woman's loveliness and repeated backward glances, the secret pledge of hearts 'like the zither's message' (the allusion to Sima Xiangru winning Zhuo Wenjun), the double ribbon of the boy-wishing herb written as a love token, the painted hall under a hazy slanting moon, her faint frown and slight smile, the kingfisher screen opened, the hibiscus curtains lowered, the scented gauze undone in secret. The lower stanza begins with a single date — 'since the lanterns were put away' — and everything stops: no more spring outings, no more greens-picking, only swallows entrusted with urgent words and heavy curtains resented for barring their flight. 'When shall we meet again?' is the poem's naked question, and the closing image answers it with empty time: spring at its deepest, wine warm, day long, the poet rising languidly from sleep while the sun still stands over the flowers. [Structure] The poem is built on a clean present-past contrast: the upper stanza's warm, curtained night against the lower stanza's long, empty spring days. The hinge is 'since the lanterns were put away,' a festival calendar date that marks the end of happiness. The poem ends not with the meeting but with the wait, on an image of suspended time. [Imagery] He Zhu's imagery is soft, warm, and interior — kingfisher screens, hibiscus curtains, scented gauze, warm wine, flower-tip sun — but after the hinge the same softness becomes claustrophobia: the 'heavy curtains' that once hid love now bar the swallows. The closing 'sun still on the tips of the flowers' is a masterpiece of idle time: the day seems too long to end.
【白话串讲】 贺铸写《薄幸》：“艳真多态。更的的，频回眄睐”——“便认得、琴心相许，与写宜男双带”——“记画堂、斜月朦胧，轻颦微笑娇无奈”——他写与女子的旧情。 【意象与手法】 “艳真多态。更的的，频回眄睐”写女子之态；“便认得、琴心相许，与写宜男双带”以琴心写两心相许；“记画堂、斜月朦胧，轻颦微笑娇无奈”忆画堂旧事；结以“厌厌睡起，犹有花梢日在”写昼永无聊。追忆旧欢、今昔对照。 【情感与主旨】 贺铸追忆旧欢之作，写与一女子的相遇相许与别后的怅惘，含蓄深婉，是贺铸情词中“密丽”一类的代表。 【名句点睛】 常考“便认得、琴心相许，与写宜男双带”以琴心相许写两心相悦；“记画堂、斜月朦胧，轻颦微笑娇无奈”以画堂斜月忆旧事。
Background
He Zhu (1052–1125), styled Fanghui and known by his sobriety Qinghu Yilao ('Old Survivor of Qinghu'), was a native of Weizhou (modern Weihui, Henan). His lyrics span both the delicate (wanyue) and the bold (haofang) manners, and he was nicknamed 'He the Plum' for his famous line about a misty grove of plum haze over the moor. This lyric, written in his middle years, recalls an old love — probably a courtesan of Bozhou or the capital — in the ornate, jeweled manner of which he was a master. Its form is the long tune 'Boxing,' a 108-character melody in nine lines per stanza.
《薄幸》为北宋词人贺铸所作词。贺铸（1052—1125），字方回，号庆湖遗老，卫州（今河南卫辉）人，北宋词人，词风兼婉约豪放，人称「贺梅子」。此词写追忆旧欢。词中「艳真多态。更的的，频回眄睐」写女子之态；「便认得、琴心相许，与写宜男双带」写两心相许；「记画堂、斜月朦胧，轻颦微笑娇无奈」写画堂旧事；「自过了收灯后，都不见、踏青挑菜」写收灯后不见；「几回凭双燕，丁宁深意，往来翻恨重帘碍」写凭燕传意；「约何时再。正春浓酒暖，人闲昼永无聊赖。厌厌睡起，犹有花梢日在」写昼永无聊。贺铸此词以追忆旧欢写怀人之情，含蓄深婉，是贺铸词中的名篇。此篇《薄幸》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《薄幸》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。
Art
The lyric's art is the accumulation of small, warm, tactile details. Rather than describing the woman as a whole, He Zhu films her in fragments — repeated backward glances, a faint frown, a slight smile, 'charmingly helpless' — and then films the room: the kingfisher screen, the hibiscus curtains, the scented gauze. The allusions are worn like jewelry rather than displayed: 'the zither's message' compresses the Sima Xiangru and Zhuo Wenjun story into a phrase. The lower stanza's craft is the calendar: 'since the lanterns were put away' — a single festival date — stands for the whole end of the affair. The closing image, 'the sun still lingers on the tips of the flowers,' is the poem's quiet triumph: a whole afternoon of boredom held in one picture of a sun that will not move on.
此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、今昔对照」见长。全词上片写旧时之欢，下片写今日之思。上片「艳真多态。更的的，频回眄睐」写女子之态：艳真多态，更的的、频回眄睐；「便认得、琴心相许，与写宜男双带」写两心相许：便认得、琴心相许，与写宜男双带；「记画堂、斜月朦胧，轻颦微笑娇无奈」写画堂旧事：记画堂、斜月朦胧，轻颦微笑娇无奈；「便翡翠屏开，芙蓉帐掩，与把香罗偷解」写旧时之欢：便翡翠屏开，芙蓉帐掩，与把香罗偷解。下片「自过了收灯后，都不见、踏青挑菜」写收灯后不见：自过了收灯后，都不见、踏青挑菜；「几回凭双燕，丁宁深意，往来翻恨重帘碍」写凭燕传意：几回凭双燕，丁宁深意，往来翻恨重帘碍；「约何时再。正春浓酒暖，人闲昼永无聊赖」写约何时再：约何时再，正春浓酒暖，人闲昼永无聊赖；「厌厌睡起，犹有花梢日在」写昼永无聊：厌厌睡起，犹有花梢日在。全词含蓄深婉，今昔对照，是贺铸词中的名篇。
Allusions
'The zither's message' alludes to Sima Xiangru, who won Zhuo Wenjun by playing 'The Phoenix Seeking Its Mate' on the zither at her father's banquet — 'hearts pledged in secret' echoes that elopement. 'The boy-wishing herb' is the daylily, believed to help women bear sons; a double ribbon of it was a love token exchanged in secret, and 'writing' it means inscribing a poem on the ribbon. 'Lanterns put away' refers to the custom of taking down lanterns after the Lantern Festival (the fifteenth of the first month), after which the spring outings began. 'Tramping green and picking greens' were spring festivals when young men and women met out of doors — hence her disappearance from them marks the end of meetings. 'The pair of swallows' are the conventional messengers of love letters. 'Heavy curtains' are the layered drapes of the inner chambers — here both a memory of love's hiding place and a present barrier.
词中「的的」「眄睐」「琴心」「宜男双带」「画堂」「翡翠屏」「芙蓉帐」「香罗」「收灯」「踏青挑菜」「双燕」「重帘」「厌厌」等语，皆含典故故实。「的的」写其明丽；「眄睐」写斜视顾盼；「琴心」用司马相如以琴心挑卓文君之典，「便认得、琴心相许」写以琴心相许；「宜男双带」写宜男草（萱草）与双带，为定情之物；「画堂」写华美之堂；「翡翠屏」写翠玉之屏；「芙蓉帐」写绣芙蓉之帐；「香罗」写香罗之衣；「收灯」写元宵收灯（正月十五后收灯）；「踏青挑菜」写春日踏青挑菜之俗；「双燕」写传书之燕；「重帘」写重重帘幕；「厌厌」写精神不振。词人以琴心、宜男双带、翡翠屏、芙蓉帐、收灯、踏青挑菜等语入词，不着痕迹，而把追忆旧欢之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸意象的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。
Commentary
'Boxing' is one of the most admired of He Zhu's love lyrics. Critics have long ranked it beside Yan Jidao's 'Zhugutian' as the two great Song lyrics of remembered love, and the closing 'languidly I rise from sleep, and the sun still lingers on the tips of the flowers' is universally praised as an image of suspended time. Qing critics singled out its layered narration — the way it builds scene upon scene without a wasted word — as the model of the ornate manner. Some readers find the erotic frankness of the 'scented gauze' line at odds with the lyric's elegiac ending; most read the frankness as exactly what makes the later loss real. In the history of the form it stands as a summit of the Song love lyric's dense, deep style.
这首《薄幸》，是贺铸写追忆旧欢之作，写艳真多态、画堂斜月、重帘隔恨之情，含蓄深婉。上片写旧时之欢：「艳真多态。更的的，频回眄睐」——艳真多态，更的的、频回眄睐。写女子之态：艳真多态，更明丽的、频频回眸顾盼——写尽女子之娇态；「便认得、琴心相许，与写宜男双带」——便认得、琴心相许，与写宜男双带。写两心相许：便认得其琴心相许，与她写宜男双带——以琴心写两心相许，以宜男双带写定情；「记画堂、斜月朦胧，轻颦微笑娇无奈」——记画堂、斜月朦胧，轻颦微笑娇无奈。写画堂旧事：记画堂中、斜月朦胧，她轻颦微笑、娇媚无奈——写尽画堂斜月下之娇态；「便翡翠屏开，芙蓉帐掩，与把香罗偷解」——便翡翠屏开，芙蓉帐掩，与把香罗偷解。写旧时之欢：便翡翠屏开、芙蓉帐掩，与我把香罗偷解——写旧时之欢爱。下片写今日之思：「自过了收灯后，都不见、踏青挑菜」——自过了收灯后，都不见、踏青挑菜。写收灯后不见：自过了元宵收灯之后，都不见其踏青挑菜——收灯后不见其人，正写分别；「几回凭双燕，丁宁深意，往来翻恨重帘碍」——几回凭双燕，丁宁深意，往来翻恨重帘碍。写凭燕传意：几回凭双燕、丁宁深意，往来翻恨重重帘幕所碍——欲传深意而重帘所碍，写其情之不得通；「约何时再。正春浓酒暖，人闲昼永无聊赖」——约何时再，正春浓酒暖，人闲昼永无聊赖。写约何时再：约何时再见，正春浓酒暖，人闲昼永、百无聊赖；「厌厌睡起，犹有花梢日在」——厌厌睡起，犹有花梢日在。写昼永无聊：厌厌睡起，犹有花梢之日尚在——昼永难消，正见其无聊赖。这「厌厌睡起，犹有花梢日在」，是全词之结：以昼永难消写其无聊赖。全词含蓄深婉，今昔对照，正是贺铸词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
艳真多态。
Lovely, truly, in many a charm.
艳真多态。
Beautiful, true, and full of grace.
首句写女子之态，起笔即见其人。「艳真多态」写艳真多态，「艳真」写其艳丽真切，「多态」写其姿态万千。一句以「艳真」写其艳、以「多态」写其态，写尽女子之娇艳多情——艳而真切、态而万千。起笔写其人，为全词追忆旧欢作铺垫，是「以人起兴」的妙笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。
The opening line writes the woman's grace, the person at the first stroke. Beautiful, true, and full of grace: the beautiful-true writes her vivid beauty, the many graces her thousand poses. One line, the beauty for the loveliness, the grace for the poses, exhausting her charm. Beginning with the person, preparing the ci's recall of the old joy, the fine brush of rising on the person. The line writes the depth in scant words, the feeling and the flavor both fine, the pointed stroke. Its hidden undercurrents between the words, its turns within the plain, call for repeated brooding.
便认得、琴心相许，与写宜男双带。
At once I knew: hearts pledged in secret like the zither's message, and she wrote me the double ribbon of the boy-wishing herb.
便认得、琴心相许，与写宜男双带。
I knew at once her heart was pledged to mine through the lute; we tied the double ribbon of fruitful love.
此二句写两心相许，是全词写旧欢的关键。「便认得、琴心相许」写便认得其琴心相许，「琴心」用司马相如以琴心挑卓文君之典，「相许」写两心相许；「与写宜男双带」写与她写宜男双带，「宜男双带」为定情之物。两句一写琴心相许、一写宜男双带，以琴心写两心相许、以宜男双带写定情，写尽旧时两心相许、定情之欢。以典写情，含蓄而深挚，是「以典写情」的点睛之笔。
The two lines write the two hearts' pledge, the key of the ci's old joy. I knew at once her heart was pledged to mine through the lute uses the Sima Xiangru lute-heart allusion to Zhuo Wenjun, the pledged-writing the mutual vow; we tied the double ribbon of fruitful love writes the pledge token. Two lines, one the lute-heart vow, one the double ribbon, the lute-heart for the mutual pledge, the ribbon for the betrothal, exhausting the old joy of two hearts pledged and the token exchanged. Writing feeling through allusion, restrained and deep, the pointed brush.
记画堂、斜月朦胧，轻颦微笑娇无奈。
I recall the painted hall, the slanting moon hazy, her faint frown and slight smile, charmingly helpless.
记画堂、斜月朦胧，轻颦微笑娇无奈。
I remember the painted hall, the slanting moon dim, the faint frown and soft smile of helpless charm.
此三句写画堂旧事，是全词写追忆的关键。「记画堂、斜月朦胧」写记画堂中斜月朦胧，「记」写追忆，「画堂」写华美之堂，「斜月朦胧」写斜月朦胧；「轻颦微笑娇无奈」写轻颦微笑娇无奈，「轻颦」写微微蹙眉，「微笑」写浅浅微笑，「娇无奈」写娇媚无奈。三句一写记画堂斜月、一写轻颦微笑，以「记」写追忆、以「轻颦微笑娇无奈」写其娇态，写尽画堂斜月下其人之娇态。以记写情，含蓄而深挚，是「以记写旧」的点睛之笔。
The three lines write the painted-hall old event, the key of the ci's recall. I remember the painted hall, the slanting moon dim writes the remember, the painted hall, the dim slanting moon; the faint frown and soft smile of helpless charm writes the slight frown, the faint smile, the helpless charm. Three lines, one the remembered painted hall and moon, one the faint frown and soft smile, the remember for the recall, the helpless charm for her bearing, exhausting her grace beneath the painted-hall moon. Writing old times through the remember, restrained and deep, the pointed brush.
厌厌睡起，犹有花梢日在。
Languidly I rise from sleep, and the sun still lingers on the tips of the flowers.
厌厌睡起，犹有花梢日在。
Weary, I rise from sleep; still the sun lingers at the tips of the blossoms.
尾二句写昼永无聊，是全词立意的落点。「厌厌睡起」写厌厌睡起，「厌厌」写精神不振，「睡起」写睡起；「犹有花梢日在」写犹有花梢日在，「犹有」写还有，「花梢日」写花梢之日。两句一写厌厌睡起、一写犹有花梢日在，写其百无聊赖睡起、而花梢之日犹在——昼永难消，正见其无聊赖。以景写情，含蓄而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以景写情」的点睛之笔。
The closing two lines write the long day's languor, the landing point of the ci. Weary, I rise from sleep; still the sun lingers at the tips of the blossoms: the weary writes the low spirits, the rising-from-sleep the waking; still the sun lingers writes the stillness, the sun at the blossom tips. Two lines, one the weary rising, one the lingering sun, writing the listless waking and the sun still at the blossom tips — the long day hard to pass, precisely the boredom. Writing feeling through scene, restrained and deep, the most moving place, the pointed brush.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Liu Yong's 'hand in hand, gazing with tear-filled eyes, speechless, choking' and 'where will I wake from tonight's wine? — the willow bank, the dawn wind, the waning moon' write the pain of parting itself; He Zhu's 'the painted hall, the slanting moon hazy, faint frown, slight smile, charmingly helpless' writes the pain of remembering it. Both treat old happiness and post-parting sorrow: Liu Yong writes the sorrow at the moment of parting, He Zhu writes it from memory's distance. Liu Yong is raw and direct; He Zhu dense and ornate. Read together, they show two Song ways of writing 'remembered happiness,' each weighing the past in the present.
柳永《雨霖铃·寒蝉凄切》「执手相看泪眼，竟无语凝噎」「今宵酒醒何处？杨柳岸，晓风残月」，写离别之凄切与别后之思，是宋词写离别的名篇；贺铸《薄幸》则以「记画堂、斜月朦胧，轻颦微笑娇无奈」「几回凭双燕，丁宁深意，往来翻恨重帘碍」写画堂旧事、凭燕传意。两词同写旧日之欢与别后之思：一写执手相看泪眼、以别时写思，一写画堂斜月娇态、以忆旧写思；一为柳永之婉约、一为贺铸之深婉，并读正可见宋词写「追忆旧欢」的两种笔法，皆于今昔对照中见怀人之情。
鹧鸪天·彩袖殷勤 Zhugutian: 'With willing sleeves she served the jade cup' 晏几道 · 同写追忆旧欢、两心相许之情，一写彩袖殷勤捧玉钟、一写琴心相许宜男双带，皆于追忆中见旧日之欢 Both recall old love and mutual pledge, one through willing sleeves and the jade cup, the other through the zither's pledge and the boy-wishing ribbon; each recovers a dead happiness through memory.Yan Jidao's 'with willing sleeves she served the jade cup; that year I spared no drunkard's blush' and 'still fearing this meeting is a dream' write old love as a beautiful doubt; He Zhu's 'hearts pledged in secret like the zither's message' and 'she wrote the double ribbon of the boy-wishing herb' write it as a secret contract. Both recall old love and mutual pledge: Yan Jidao through cups and drunken cheeks, He Zhu through tokens and inscriptions. Yan Jidao is the more tender and dreamlike; He Zhu the more jeweled and concrete. Read together, they show two faces of the Song lyric of remembered love — the dreamlike and the archival.
晏几道《鹧鸪天·彩袖殷勤》「彩袖殷勤捧玉钟，当年拚却醉颜红」，写当年之欢，是晏几道追忆旧欢最著名的词；贺铸《薄幸》则以「便认得、琴心相许，与写宜男双带」「记画堂、斜月朦胧，轻颦微笑娇无奈」写琴心相许、画堂旧事。两词同写追忆旧欢、两心相许之情：一写彩袖捧玉钟、以当年之醉写欢，一写琴心相许宜男双带、以定情之物写欢；一为晏几道之深婉、一为贺铸之丽婉，并读正可见宋词写「追忆旧欢」的两种风貌，皆于追忆中见旧日之欢。