宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
贺新郎
Hexinlang (Congratulate the Bridegroom)
梦冷黄金屋。
叹秦筝、斜鸿阵里，素弦尘扑。
化作娇莺飞归去，犹认纱窗旧绿。
正过雨、荆桃如菽。
此恨难平君知否，似琼台、涌起弹棋局。
消瘦影，嫌明烛。
鸳楼碎泻东西玉。
问芳悰、何时再展，翠钗难卜。
待把宫眉横云样，描上生绡画幅。
怕不是、新来妆束。
彩扇红牙今都在，恨无人、解听开元曲。
空掩袖，倚寒竹。
I sigh for the Qin zither — among its slanting strings like wild geese, its plain silks covered with dust.
Transformed into a dainty oriole I would fly back home,
still recognizing the old green of the gauze window.
Just after the rain, the red jujubes hang like beans.
Do you know this regret can never be leveled?
It wells up like a game of dice on a jeweled terrace.
My gaunt shadow resents the bright candle.
The lovebird tower spills its jade cups east and west.
When will your joyous mood unfold again?
The jade hairpin cannot foretell it.
I would paint your palace brows arched like clouds upon the raw silk —
but I fear they would no longer match your latest coiffure.
The painted fan and the red clappers are still here;
my only regret is that no one is left who understands the Kaiyuan tunes.
In vain I screen my sleeve, and lean against the cold bamboo.
Meaning
Jiang Jie's lyric is an elegy for a lost world voiced through a dream of a 'golden house.' The poet dreams of a lost lady and a lost capital; every object — the dusty zither, the fan and clappers — survives while the ear that could appreciate the old Kaiyuan music is gone. The ending, leaning against cold bamboo, borrows Du Fu's image of a lady in thin sleeves at dusk to crystallize desolate fidelity.
梦冷黄金屋。叹秦筝、斜鸿阵里，素弦尘扑。化作娇莺飞归去，犹认纱窗旧绿。正过雨、荆桃如菽。此恨难平君知否，似琼台、涌起弹棋局。消瘦影，嫌明烛。鸳楼碎泻东西玉。问芳悰、何时再展，翠钗难卜。待把宫眉横云样，描上生绡画幅。怕不是、新来妆束。彩扇红牙今都在，恨无人、解听开元曲。空掩袖，倚寒竹。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] In a dream the golden house of old happiness has grown cold; the zither lies dusty among its slanted strings. The soul would become a dainty oriole and fly home, still knowing the old green of the gauze window. But regret surges like dice on a jeweled board, and the gaunt shadow resents the candle. The fan and clappers survive; no ear remains for the Kaiyuan tunes. At last, in vain the poet screens his sleeve and leans against cold bamboo. [Structure] The upper stanza is dream and loss; the lower stanza moves to relics and to the wish to paint the beloved's brows one last time. The poem closes with a posture — leaning on cold bamboo — rather than a statement, so the elegy ends in silence. [Imagery] A golden house gone cold, dust on the strings, jujubes like beans after rain, a candle the shadow resents, a fan and red clappers with no listener. The final image, borrowed from Du Fu, turns a courtly lady of poetry into a figure of frozen, dignified grief.
【白话串讲】 蒋捷写《贺新郎》：“梦冷黄金屋。叹秦筝、斜鸿阵里，素弦尘扑”——“化作娇莺飞归去，犹认纱窗旧绿”——“此恨难平君知否，似琼台、涌起弹棋局”——“消瘦影，嫌明烛”——他写旧梦——梦冷黄金屋。 【意象与手法】 “梦冷黄金屋。叹秦筝、斜鸿阵里，素弦尘扑”以黄金屋秦筝写旧梦冷落；“化作娇莺飞归去，犹认纱窗旧绿”以娇莺写归梦；“此恨难平君知否，似琼台、涌起弹棋局”以弹棋局写恨难平；结以“彩扇红牙今都在，恨无人、解听开元曲。空掩袖，倚寒竹”以无人解听写知音难觅。用典绵密、含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 蒋捷写怀人感旧之作，借黄金屋、开元曲等旧典写旧梦冷落、知音难觅之恨，是蒋捷词中寄慨遥深的代表作。 【名句点睛】 常考“梦冷黄金屋。叹秦筝、斜鸿阵里，素弦尘扑”以黄金屋写旧梦冷落；“恨无人、解听开元曲。空掩袖，倚寒竹”以倚寒竹写知音难觅。
Background
Jiang Jie (c. 1245-c. 1305), courtesy name Shengku, sobriquet Zhushan, was a native of Yangxian (modern Yixing, Jiangsu). A jinshi of the Southern Song, he withdrew into reclusion after the Mongol conquest and is counted, with Zhou Mi, Wang Yisun, and Zhang Yan, among the Four Great Masters of the late Song. His ci are steeped in the grief of a lost dynasty. This 'Hexinlang' is usually read as a mourning lyric (daowang ci) — a dream of a 'golden house' that stands at once for a lost beloved and for the vanished Song court.
《贺新郎》为宋末元初词人蒋捷所作词。蒋捷（约1245—约1305），字胜欲，号竹山，阳羡（今江苏宜兴）人，宋末词人，词多故国之思，与周密、王沂孙、张炎并称「宋末四大家」。此词写怀人感旧，为悼亡之作。词中「梦冷黄金屋。叹秦筝、斜鸿阵里，素弦尘扑」写梦冷黄金屋；「化作娇莺飞归去，犹认纱窗旧绿」写化作娇莺；「正过雨、荆桃如菽。此恨难平君知否」写此恨难平；「似琼台、涌起弹棋局。消瘦影，嫌明烛」写似琼台弹棋；「鸳楼碎泻东西玉。问芳悰、何时再展，翠钗难卜」写问芳悰；「待把宫眉横云样，描上生绡画幅。怕不是、新来妆束」写描上生绡；「彩扇红牙今都在，恨无人、解听开元曲」写解听开元曲；「空掩袖，倚寒竹」写倚寒竹。蒋捷此词以怀人感旧、倚寒竹写其悼亡之情，含蓄深婉，是蒋捷词中的名篇。此篇《贺新郎》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 method is 'subtle indirection, writing feeling through allusion,' and its architecture is dream logic: the golden house, the oriole's flight, the gauze window's old green belong to sleep; the dusty zither, the gaunt shadow, the fan and clappers belong to waking. Jiang Jie never states his loss; he arranges relics like exhibits in a room the reader is invited to enter. Two turns govern the design. First, the soul becomes a bird and flies home — grief given wings — only to find the scene emptied. Second, the wish to paint the beloved's brows on raw silk is checked by the fear that the painting will no longer match her latest coiffure: even memory is out of date. The ending leans on Du Fu's image of a lady in thin sleeves against tall bamboo, converting an elegant borrowing into a posture of frozen, wordless fidelity.
此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、以典写情」见长。全词上片写梦冷黄金屋与此恨难平，下片写问芳悰与倚寒竹。上片「梦冷黄金屋。叹秦筝、斜鸿阵里，素弦尘扑」写梦冷黄金屋：梦冷黄金屋，叹秦筝、斜鸿阵里，素弦尘扑；「化作娇莺飞归去，犹认纱窗旧绿」写化作娇莺：化作娇莺飞归去，犹认纱窗旧绿；「正过雨、荆桃如菽。此恨难平君知否」写此恨难平：正过雨、荆桃如菽，此恨难平君知否；「似琼台、涌起弹棋局。消瘦影，嫌明烛」写似琼台弹棋：似琼台、涌起弹棋局，消瘦影，嫌明烛。下片「鸳楼碎泻东西玉。问芳悰、何时再展，翠钗难卜」写问芳悰：鸳楼碎泻东西玉，问芳悰、何时再展，翠钗难卜；「待把宫眉横云样，描上生绡画幅。怕不是、新来妆束」写描上生绡：待把宫眉横云样，描上生绡画幅，怕不是、新来妆束；「彩扇红牙今都在，恨无人、解听开元曲」写解听开元曲：彩扇红牙今都在，恨无人、解听开元曲；「空掩袖，倚寒竹」写倚寒竹：空掩袖，倚寒竹。全词含蓄深婉，以典写情，是蒋捷词中的名篇。
Allusions
The 'golden house' comes from the story of Emperor Wu of Han, who promised Ajiao a golden house — 'storing a beauty in a golden house' — now grown cold in a dream. 'Transformed into a dainty oriole' echoes Jin Changxu's poem 'Drive away the yellow oriole, do not let it cry upon the branches' (a soul returning in bird form). 'Dice on a jeweled terrace' refers to the ancient game tanqi, whose bouncing pieces were unpredictable — here regret surges like a game out of control. 'East-west jade' names the jade wine cups of the feast. The 'Kaiyuan tunes' are the music of the Tang Kaiyuan era, a byword for a lost golden age. The ending, 'screening my sleeve, leaning on cold bamboo,' adapts Du Fu's portrait of a lady: 'The sky is cold, her jade sleeves thin; at sunset she leans on the tall bamboo.'
词中「梦冷黄金屋」「叹秦筝斜鸿阵里素弦尘扑」「化作娇莺飞归去」「犹认纱窗旧绿」「正过雨荆桃如菽」「此恨难平君知否」「似琼台涌起弹棋局」「消瘦影嫌明烛」「鸳楼碎泻东西玉」「问芳悰何时再展翠钗难卜」「待把宫眉横云样描上生绡画幅」「怕不是新来妆束」「彩扇红牙今都在」「恨无人解听开元曲」「空掩袖倚寒竹」等语，皆含典故故实。「梦冷黄金屋」用黄金屋之典（金屋藏娇），写梦冷黄金屋；「叹秦筝斜鸿阵里素弦尘扑」写叹秦筝斜鸿阵里素弦尘扑；「化作娇莺飞归去」用唐人金昌绪「打起黄莺儿」之意，亦写魂化娇莺，写化作娇莺飞归去；「犹认纱窗旧绿」写犹认纱窗旧绿；「正过雨荆桃如菽」写正过雨荆桃如菽；「此恨难平君知否」写此恨难平君知否；「似琼台涌起弹棋局」用弹棋之典（弹棋局写棋局起伏），写似琼台涌起弹棋局；「消瘦影嫌明烛」写消瘦影嫌明烛；「鸳楼碎泻东西玉」写鸳楼碎泻东西玉（东西玉为酒器）；「问芳悰何时再展翠钗难卜」写问芳悰何时再展翠钗难卜；「待把宫眉横云样描上生绡画幅」写待把宫眉横云样描上生绡画幅；「怕不是新来妆束」写怕不是新来妆束；「彩扇红牙今都在」写彩扇红牙今都在（红牙为拍板）；「恨无人解听开元曲」写恨无人解听开元曲（开元曲为唐开元盛世之曲）；「空掩袖倚寒竹」用杜甫「天寒翠袖薄，日暮倚修竹」之意，写空掩袖倚寒竹。词人以金屋藏娇、开元曲、天寒翠袖等典入词，不着痕迹，而把怀人感旧之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。
Commentary
Jiang Jie's 'Hexinlang' is among the most anthologized mourning lyrics of the Song-Yuan transition. Critics from the Qing onward praised its dense allusions and choked sound, especially the ending's borrowing of Du Fu's image of a lady in thin sleeves leaning on tall bamboo. The line 'hen wu ren, jie ting kaiyuan qu' has been read as the elegy of a whole civilization of taste after 1279 — the props of the music survive, but the ear that understood them is gone. Modern readers value it for exactly this: an elegy that never names what it mourns.
这首《贺新郎》，是蒋捷写怀人感旧之作，写梦冷黄金屋、此恨难平、倚寒竹之情，含蓄深婉。上片写梦冷黄金屋与此恨难平：「梦冷黄金屋。叹秦筝、斜鸿阵里，素弦尘扑」——梦冷黄金屋（用金屋藏娇之典），叹秦筝、斜鸿阵里，素弦尘扑。写梦冷黄金屋：梦冷黄金屋、叹秦筝斜鸿阵里素弦尘扑——梦冷金屋、秦筝尘扑；「化作娇莺飞归去，犹认纱窗旧绿」——化作娇莺飞归去，犹认纱窗旧绿。写化作娇莺：化作娇莺飞归去、犹认纱窗旧绿——魂化娇莺、犹认纱窗旧绿；「正过雨、荆桃如菽。此恨难平君知否」——正过雨、荆桃如菽，此恨难平君知否。写此恨难平：正过雨荆桃如菽、此恨难平君知否——过雨荆桃如菽、此恨难平；「似琼台、涌起弹棋局。消瘦影，嫌明烛」——似琼台、涌起弹棋局（用弹棋之典），消瘦影，嫌明烛。写似琼台弹棋：似琼台涌起弹棋局、消瘦影嫌明烛——琼台弹棋、消瘦影嫌明烛。下片写问芳悰与倚寒竹：「鸳楼碎泻东西玉。问芳悰、何时再展，翠钗难卜」——鸳楼碎泻东西玉，问芳悰、何时再展，翠钗难卜。写问芳悰：鸳楼碎泻东西玉、问芳悰何时再展，翠钗难卜——鸳楼碎玉、问芳悰翠钗难卜；「待把宫眉横云样，描上生绡画幅。怕不是、新来妆束」——待把宫眉横云样，描上生绡画幅，怕不是、新来妆束。写描上生绡：待把宫眉横云样、描上生绡画幅，怕不是新来妆束——描宫眉生绡、怕新来妆束；「彩扇红牙今都在，恨无人、解听开元曲」——彩扇红牙今都在，恨无人、解听开元曲（用开元曲之典）。写解听开元曲：彩扇红牙今都在、恨无人解听开元曲——彩扇红牙在、无人解听开元曲；「空掩袖，倚寒竹」——空掩袖，倚寒竹（用天寒翠袖之意）。写倚寒竹：空掩袖、倚寒竹——掩袖倚寒竹。这「彩扇红牙今都在，恨无人、解听开元曲。空掩袖，倚寒竹」，是全词之结：以倚寒竹写其感旧。全词含蓄深婉，以典写情，正是蒋捷词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
梦冷黄金屋。
In dreams, the golden house is cold.
梦冷黄金屋。
Cold is the dream of the golden bower.
首句写梦冷黄金屋，起笔即见其梦。「梦冷黄金屋」写梦冷黄金屋，用金屋藏娇之典写梦冷黄金屋。一句以「黄金屋」用金屋之典、「梦冷」写梦之冷，写尽梦冷黄金屋之情——金屋虽在而梦冷。以典起兴，含蓄而苍凉，是「以典起兴」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 writes the cold dream of the golden bower, the dream rising at the first stroke. Cold is the dream of the golden bower: the golden bower uses the golden-bower-allusion, the cold dream the dream's chill. One line writes the bower through the allusion, and the chill through the cold dream — the bower still standing and the dream grown cold. Rising on allusion, restrained and desolate, the pointed brush. The few words carry a deep meaning, the pointed stroke of the ci.
化作娇莺飞归去，犹认纱窗旧绿。
Transformed into a dainty oriole I would fly back home, still recognizing the old green of the gauze window.
化作娇莺飞归去，犹认纱窗旧绿。
I turn into a tender oriole and fly home; I still know the old green of the gauze window.
此二句写化作娇莺，是全词以魂写旧的关键。「化作娇莺飞归去」写化作娇莺飞归去，「化作娇莺」写魂化娇莺、「飞归去」写飞归去；「犹认纱窗旧绿」写犹认纱窗旧绿，「犹认」写还认得、「纱窗旧绿」写纱窗之旧绿。两句一写化作娇莺飞归去、一写犹认纱窗旧绿，以化作娇莺写魂化莺、以犹认纱窗旧绿写认得旧窗，写尽化作娇莺飞归去、犹认纱窗旧绿之情。以魂写旧，含蓄而深婉，是「以魂写旧」的点睛之笔。
The two phrases write the turning into the oriole, the key of the ci's soul-writing the old. I turn into a tender oriole and fly home: the turn-into-tender-oriole the soul's change, the fly-home the return flight; I still know the old green of the gauze window: the still-know the recognition, the gauze-window-old-green the old sill's green. Two phrases, the oriole flying home and the recognition of the old sill — the soul turned bird, the old window remembered. Writing the old through the soul, restrained and deep, the pointed stroke.
此恨难平君知否，似琼台、涌起弹棋局。
Do you know this regret can never be leveled? It wells up like a game of dice on a jeweled terrace.
此恨难平君知否。
This grief will not settle — do you know it? Like the board of the tanqi game surging up at the jade terrace.
此句写此恨难平，是全词写恨的关键。「此恨难平君知否」写此恨难平君知否，「此恨难平」写此恨难以平息、「君知否」写你知道吗；「似琼台、涌起弹棋局」写似琼台涌起弹棋局，用弹棋之典写似琼台弹棋。一句以「此恨难平」写恨之难平、「君知否」写问君知否、「弹棋局」写其恨起伏如棋局，写尽此恨难平、似琼台弹棋局之情。以问写恨，含蓄而深挚，是「以问写恨」的点睛之笔。
The line writes the unsettled grief, the key of the ci's grief. This grief will not settle — do you know it?: the grief-will-not-settle the grief's restlessness, the do-you-know the question; like the board of the tanqi game surging up at the jade terrace uses the tanqi allusion for the rising board. One line writes the grief's restlessness through the will-not-settle, the question through the do-you-know, the grief's surging like the game board. Writing grief through the question, restrained and deep, the pointed stroke.
消瘦影，嫌明烛。
My gaunt shadow resents the bright candle.
消瘦影，嫌明烛。
The shadow is wasted thin; it shrinks from the bright candle.
此二句写消瘦影嫌明烛，是全词写其消瘦的关键。「消瘦影」写消瘦影，「消瘦」写消瘦、「影」写身影；「嫌明烛」写嫌明烛，「嫌」写嫌弃、「明烛」写明烛。两句一写消瘦影、一写嫌明烛，以消瘦影写其消瘦、以嫌明烛写嫌烛之明，写尽消瘦影、嫌明烛之情。以影写瘦，含蓄而深挚，是「以影写瘦」的点睛之笔。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 two phrases write the wasted shadow shrinking from the candle, the key of the ci's thinness. The shadow is wasted thin: the wasted-thin the emaciation, the shadow the figure; it shrinks from the bright candle: the shrink-from the avoidance, the bright candle the clear light. Two phrases, the wasted shadow and the shrinking from the bright candle — the thinness, the dread of the light that shows it. Writing thinness through the shadow, restrained and deep, the pointed stroke. The few words carry a deep meaning, the pointed stroke of the ci.
彩扇红牙今都在，恨无人、解听开元曲。
The painted fan and the red clappers are still here; my only regret is that no one is left who understands the Kaiyuan tunes.
彩扇红牙今都在，恨无人、解听开元曲。
The painted fan and the red clappers are all still here; I grieve that no one understands the Kaiyuan air.
此二句写解听开元曲，是全词以典写慨的关键。「彩扇红牙今都在」写彩扇红牙今都在，「彩扇红牙」写彩扇与红牙、「今都在」写如今都还在；「恨无人、解听开元曲」写恨无人解听开元曲，用开元曲之典写恨无人解听开元曲。两句一写彩扇红牙今都在、一写恨无人解听开元曲，以彩扇红牙写物俱在、以解听开元曲写无人知音，写尽彩扇红牙今都在、恨无人解听开元曲之情。以典写慨，含蓄而深挚，是「以典写慨」的点睛之笔。
The two phrases write the none to understand the Kaiyuan air, the key of the ci's allusion-writing the lament. The painted fan and the red clappers are all still here: the painted-fan-red-clappers the old properties, the now-all-still-here the survival; I grieve that no one understands the Kaiyuan air uses the Kaiyuan-air allusion for the none to understand. Two phrases, the old properties surviving and the none to understand the old air — things remain, and the listener is gone. Writing the lament through allusion, restrained and deep, the pointed stroke.
空掩袖，倚寒竹。
In vain I screen my sleeve, and lean against the cold bamboo.
空掩袖，倚寒竹。
Vainly hiding my sleeve, I lean on the cold bamboo.
尾二句写倚寒竹，是全词立意的落点。「空掩袖」写空掩袖，「空掩」写空自掩着、「袖」写衣袖；「倚寒竹」写倚寒竹，用天寒翠袖之意写倚寒竹。两句一写空掩袖、一写倚寒竹，以空掩袖写掩袖而泣、以倚寒竹写倚竹而望，写尽空掩袖、倚寒竹之情。以典写情，含蓄而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以典写情」的点睛之笔。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 closing two phrases write the leaning on the cold bamboo, the landing point of the ci's intention. Vainly hiding my sleeve: the vainly-hiding the empty gesture, the sleeve the robe's sleeve; I lean on the cold bamboo uses the cold-bamboo green-sleeve allusion for the leaning. Two phrases, the vain sleeve-hiding and the cold bamboo leaning — the hiding and weeping, the leaning and gazing. Writing feeling through allusion, restrained and deep, the most moving place of the ci, the pointed stroke. The few words carry a deep meaning, the pointed stroke of the ci.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Yan Shu's chrysanthemums in mist and orchids in dew, with paired swallows flying off, write parting sorrow through a scene of gentle warmth; Jiang Jie's cold bamboo and dust-covered zither write loss through relics left behind. Yan Shu's manner is warm and restrained; Jiang Jie's is deep and indirect. Read together, they show two Song ways of writing 'autumn-night longing' — one through a living scene, one through dead objects.
晏殊《蝶恋花·槛菊愁烟兰泣露》「槛菊愁烟兰泣露。罗幕轻寒，燕子双飞去」，写秋夜离愁，是宋词写愁的名篇；蒋捷《贺新郎》则以「梦冷黄金屋。叹秦筝、斜鸿阵里，素弦尘扑」「空掩袖，倚寒竹」写梦冷黄金屋、倚寒竹。两词同写秋夜怀人、独自凝愁：一写罗幕轻寒燕子双飞去、以燕去写愁，一写空掩袖倚寒竹、以寒竹写愁；一为晏殊之温润、一为蒋捷之深婉，并读正可见宋词写「秋夜怀人」的两种笔法，皆于秋夜之中见怀人。
虞美人·春花秋月何时了 Yu Meiren (The Beautiful Lady Yu): When Will Spring Flowers and the Autumn Moon End? 李煜 · 同写故国之感、恨事难平，一写故国不堪回首月明中、一写此恨难平君知否，皆于故国之中见恨事难平 Both voice the grief of a lost kingdom and events that cannot be smoothed away: Li Yu writes 'My old kingdom is unbearable to look back on, beneath the bright moon'; Jiang Jie writes 'Do you know this regret can never be leveled?' Both place the unlevelable grief inside the memory of a lost realm.Li Yu's 'The east wind rose again in the small tower last night; my old kingdom is unbearable to look back on beneath the bright moon' writes the longing of a dethroned emperor — blood and tears; Jiang Jie's dice-game and Kaiyuan-tune images write a subject's elegy for a lost age. The one is a ruler's direct cry, the other a poet's indirect arrangement of relics; read together, they show two registers of grief for a fallen dynasty.
李煜《虞美人·春花秋月何时了》「小楼昨夜又东风，故国不堪回首月明中」，写故国之思、恨事难平，是写愁的千古名篇；蒋捷《贺新郎》则以「此恨难平君知否，似琼台、涌起弹棋局」「恨无人、解听开元曲」写此恨难平、解听开元曲。两词同写故国之感、恨事难平：一写故国不堪回首月明中、以明月写故国之思，一写此恨难平君知否、以弹棋写恨之起伏；一为帝王之血泪、一为蒋捷之深婉，并读正可见词写「故国恨事」的两种情致，皆于故国之中见恨事难平。