宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
贺铸·石州慢·薄雨收寒
Shi Zhou Man · Thin Rain Dispels the Chill
薄雨收寒，斜照弄晴，春意空阔。
长亭柳色才黄，远客一枝先折。
烟横水际，映带几点归鸦，东风销尽龙沙雪。
还记出关来，恰而今时节。
将发。
画楼芳酒，红泪清歌，顿成轻别。
已是经年，杳杳音尘绝。
欲知方寸，共有几许清愁？
芭蕉不展丁香结。
枉望断天涯，两厌厌风月。
At the long pavilion, willow leaves just turning yellow, a far traveler first breaks a twig.
Mist spreads across the water, setting off a few homing crows, east wind has melted all the dragon-sand snow.
I still remember when I left the pass, it was exactly this season.
About to depart.
In the painted tower, fragrant wine, tears red, clear songs, suddenly it became a light farewell.
Now a year has passed, distant and silent, no news.
If you want to know my heart, how much clear sorrow is there?
Banana leaves uncurled, lilac buds tied.
In vain I gaze to the horizon, both of us weary of wind and moon.
Meaning
This poem depicts the early spring scenery at a frontier pass and recalls a parting that took place a year ago. The poet expresses deep sorrow and longing for the absent beloved, now distant and out of contact.
薄雨收起了寒意，斜阳逗弄着初晴，春意空阔无边。长亭边的柳色刚刚泛黄，远来的客子先折下一枝。水边横着烟霭，映衬着几点归巢的乌鸦，东风已吹尽了边塞的残雪。还记得当初出关的时候，恰好也是这样的时节。即将出发。画楼里美酒芬芳，带着红泪的清歌，霎时成了轻易的离别。如今分别已经一年，音信杳无。若问心中，共有多少清愁？就像芭蕉不展、丁香结着。空自望断天涯，两处都厌倦了这风月。
Appreciation
This is a farewell poem by He Zhu. The first stanza describes the late spring landscape outside the pass, evoking a sense of drifting. The second stanza recalls the light parting in a painted tower and the subsequent year of silence. The poem skillfully interweaves scenes of nature with personal melancholy, and the final lines use the image of uncurled banana leaves and lilac buds to symbolize unresolved sorrow.
【白话串讲】 “薄雨收寒，斜照弄晴，春意空阔”——贺铸写初春：小雨收了寒意，斜阳弄晴。“已是经年，杳杳音尘绝”——一年了，那人杳无音信。“欲知方寸，共有几许新愁”——问心里的新愁，有多少？ 【意象与手法】 上景下情，时空勾连巧妙。上片以「薄雨收寒，斜照弄晴」破题，继以长亭柳黄、归鸦烟水、龙沙雪尽，层层铺写关塞迟来的春意，景中暗藏客子之愁；「还记出关来，恰而今时节」一笔勾连今昔。下片「将发」短句领起，追忆画楼芳酒、红泪清歌的「轻别」，旋以「已是经年」跌回现实之杳杳断绝。 【情感与主旨】 贺铸（1052—1125），字方回，号庆湖遗老，北宋词人，以《青玉案》「凌波不过横塘路」闻名。此词题「薄雨收寒」，写关塞春景与别后相思，考其「出关」「龙沙雪」等语，当作于词人早年赴边境任职或羁旅途中，是贺铸婉约词中沉厚一路的代表。 【名句点睛】 赏析重点：①「弄」「杳杳」「轻别」等炼字；②结句化用李商隐「芭蕉不展丁香结」的青出于蓝；③时空交错的章法。
Background
He Zhu (1052–1125), courtesy name Fanghui, style name Qinghu Yilao, was a lyric poet of the Northern Song. He is best known for his poem 'Green Jade Cup' (Qing Yu An). This ci poem, titled 'Shi Zhou Man,' describes the spring scenery of a frontier pass and the sorrow of separation. The content suggests it was written when He Zhu was serving at a border post or traveling. He Zhu came from a military family and served in low-ranking positions, often moving from place to place, so his ci often express the melancholy of parting and the bitterness of officialdom. The poem interweaves the late arrival of spring at the frontier with the longing for a loved one, representing the deep and restrained style of He Zhu's graceful ci.
贺铸（1052—1125），字方回，号庆湖遗老，北宋词人，以《青玉案》「凌波不过横塘路」闻名。此词题「薄雨收寒」，写关塞春景与别后相思，考其「出关」「龙沙雪」等语，当作于词人早年赴边境（或陇右、河东一带）任职或羁旅途中。贺铸出身武职世家，是宋太祖贺皇后族孙，曾入右班殿直，然久沉下僚，转徙各地，其词多写离愁与身世之慨。上片所写「出关」之景，实为回忆当年离别之地；下片「已是经年，杳杳音尘绝」则点明别后久无音信的孤寂。全词将边塞春迟之景与闺阁（或情人）相思交织，是贺铸婉约词中沉厚一路的代表，亦可窥见其「侠骨柔肠」的独特气质。贺铸出身武职而文才横溢，一生沉沦下僚，其词兼豪放婉约，此词以关塞之景写离别之情，正见其「侠骨柔肠」的独特气质，亦是宋词中边塞与闺情交融的少见之作。贺铸词题材颇广，此词写关塞之景而归于闺阁之思，正是其「侠骨柔肠」的写照；「龙沙雪」点出边地，与「画楼芳酒」的江南形成空间对照，可见其行踪之广与情思之深。贺铸出身贺皇后族，然因尚武轻文、性直忤世，仕途蹇滞，终老下僚；其词多写江湖羁旅与儿女情长，此词「出关」「龙沙」之语，或即其早年远宦边地的纪实。
Art
This ci poem is structured with scene in the first stanza and emotion in the second, skillfully linking time and space. The first stanza begins with 'thin rain dispels the chill, slant sunlight plays with clear sky,' then moves through images of yellow willow, mist and crows, melting snow, all building a sense of delayed spring at the pass, which already hints at the traveler's sorrow. The line 'I still remember when I left the pass, it was exactly this season' connects past and present. The second stanza starts with 'about to depart,' recalling the light parting in the painted tower, then leaps to 'now a year has passed' to return to the present silence. The closing lines borrow Li Shangyin's image of 'banana leaves uncurled and lilac buds tied' to symbolize the knot of sorrow, condensed and poignant. The final line 'both of us weary of wind and moon' ends with lingering pathos.
本词上景下情，时空勾连巧妙。上片以「薄雨收寒，斜照弄晴」破题，一「收」一「弄」写初晴之景，笔致灵动；继以长亭柳黄、远客折枝、归鸦烟水、龙沙雪尽，层层铺写关塞迟来的春意，景中已暗藏客子之愁；「还记出关来，恰而今时节」一笔勾连今昔，由眼前景引出当年离别之忆。下片「将发」短句领起，追忆画楼芳酒、红泪清歌的「轻别」，欢情之浓反衬离恨之重；旋以「已是经年」跌回现实之杳杳断绝，顿挫有力。结句「芭蕉不展丁香结」融化李商隐而另铸新意，以物喻愁，凝练隽永；「枉望断天涯，两厌厌风月」收束，哀婉不尽。全词写景则由细而阔、由近而远，抒情由欢而悲、由忆而倦，章法谨严而情韵流转。此词章法之妙在「今昔回环」：上片由眼前春景引出「还记出关来」的当年之忆，下片由「将发」的当年之景跌回「已是经年」的今日之叹，眼前、当年、今日三层时空交叠，情思遂有千回百转之致。此词之妙在淡中见浓：上片写景，柳黄、烟横、归鸦、雪尽，皆寻常物色，而「还记出关来」一句，顿使全部景语化为情语，淡景之中蕴藏浓愁，正是贺铸以淡语写深情的本领。下片「将发」二字短促，如离筵乍起；「顿成轻别」以「顿」字写别之猝然，一别经年，悔之不及，时序之快与情思之慢形成强烈反差。
Allusions
The concluding line 'banana leaves uncurled, lilac buds tied' is a clear adaptation from Li Shangyin's poem 'For Someone' (Dai Zeng): 'Banana leaves uncurled, lilac buds tied, each facing the spring wind with its own sorrow.' He Zhu uses these natural images to symbolize the tangled, unexpressible sorrow of longing. Additionally, 'dragon-sand' (longsha) is a historical reference to the desert frontier, from the 'Book of Later Han,' and 'breaking willow twigs at the long pavilion' is a classic parting tradition. The use of allusions is natural and unobtrusive.
结句「芭蕉不展丁香结」明显化用李商隐《代赠》「芭蕉不展丁香结，同向春风各自愁」。贺铸借芭蕉卷心不展、丁香花蕾郁结之自然物象，隐喻相思之愁肠百结、无可解开，既承义山诗脉，又融入己词情境，浑化无迹，故论者多许其青出于蓝。又「龙沙」典出《后汉书·班超传》，本指西部边塞沙漠，后泛指边地，此处切「出关」之实，点明地理。「长亭折柳」则承汉唐送别传统，折柳赠别为熟典，暗含惜别之情。全词用典贵在自然，不碍情语之畅，深得词家融化之妙。「长亭折柳」承汉唐「折柳赠别」传统，柳谐「留」，折柳以寓挽留之意；「红泪」用薛灵芸别亲泣血染泪之典，写歌女伤别之泪，典中含情，最见深婉。「红泪」用三国薛灵芸事，其入宫别亲，泣血染泪为红，后以「红泪」指女子的血泪，词中写歌女清歌泣别，凄艳动人。「长亭」本为驿路边供行人歇脚送别之所，古有「十里一长亭，五里一短亭」之制，「长亭柳色才黄」以早春嫩柳写送别之时令，柳色才黄而客子先折，惜别之意已寓其中。「斜照弄晴」之「弄」，暗承张先「云破月来花弄影」的炼字传统，贺铸以「弄」写斜阳，正见其取法前人而自出新意。
Commentary
He Fanghui's ci are deep and restrained. Zhang Lei praised his works as 'gorgeous as visiting the halls of Jin and Zhang.' Chen Tingzhuo in 'Baiyu Zhai Ci Hua' said his works 'completely erase traces of brush and ink,' which is evident here. Long Yusheng included this poem in his 'Selected Ci of Tang and Song Masters' and praised its fusion of feeling and scene. The adaptation from Li Shangyin is often considered 'surpassing the original,' rendering the sorrow of separation heartrending. The final phrase 'weary of wind and moon' is especially noted for conveying the exhaustion of long separation.
贺方回词，深婉密丽，张耒称其「盛丽如游金、张之堂」。清人陈廷焯《白雨斋词话》谓其「笔墨之痕化尽」，于此词可见。近人龙榆生《唐宋名家词选》录《石州慢》，以为「情景交融，深得婉约之妙」。结句化用义山「芭蕉不展丁香结」，论者多许其青出于蓝，将离散相思写得哀婉欲绝；「两厌厌风月」五字，尤见久别之倦，向为评家所重。贺铸词兼有豪放与婉约两面，此词以婉约写离愁而内含沉厚，正是其「悲欢离合总无情」词境的代表，也是宋词离愁题材的经典之作。此词向为婉约词选必录之作，龙榆生《唐宋名家词选》、唐圭璋《全宋词》皆收；论者谓其「以景写情、情中见景，深得婉约之妙」，与贺铸《青玉案》「梅子黄时雨」并为方回词双璧。此词与贺铸《青玉案》「试问闲愁都几许，一川烟草，满城风絮，梅子黄时雨」并为写愁名篇，一以物喻愁、一以景写愁，可并观方回写愁的两种笔法。陈廷焯《白雨斋词话》评贺铸「炼字炼句，无懈可击」，此词「弄晴」「杳杳」「轻别」诸字正其证，是贺铸词语言锤炼的典范。贺铸词以《青玉案》「梅子黄时雨」名世，人称「贺梅子」；此词虽不若其名，而「芭蕉不展丁香结」之句，论者以为直逼义山，是方回词中「语工而情真」的代表。
Prosody
Line by line
薄雨收寒，斜照弄晴，春意空阔
Thin rain dispels the chill, slant sunlight plays with clear sky, spring feeling vast and wide. The word 'plays' gives life to the slant sunlight, creating a broad atmosphere.
薄雨收起了寒意，斜阳逗弄着初晴，春意空阔无边。
The thin rain takes the chill away; the slanting sun toys with the clearing sky; the spring feeling is vast and wide.
起笔破题，「弄」字写活斜照，意境寥廓。「薄雨收寒」写微雨初霁、寒意渐退，「收」字将雨的止歇写得主动有力；「斜照弄晴」以「弄」字拟人，斜阳仿佛有意逗弄初晴的天空，灵动有致；「春意空阔」总写关塞春迟而天地开阔的景象。三句由雨而晴、由景而意，为全词立下清旷中带怅惘的基调。此句以「收」「弄」二动词写初晴之景，动静相生，清旷中暗藏离愁。「收」「弄」二字炼得灵动，初晴之景如画，客愁已在柳色中。
The opening states the theme, the word toy making the slanting sun live, the realm vast. The thin rain takes the chill away writes the fine rain's clearing and the chill's retreat, the word take making the rain's stopping active and strong; the slanting sun toys with the clearing sky personifies through the word toy, as if the setting sun deliberately sports with the clear sky, lively; the spring feeling is vast and wide sums the border's late spring and the wide earth. Three phrases from rain to clearing, from scene to feeling, fixing the ci's clear-vast tone with its hidden wistfulness. The two verbs take and toy polish the clearing scene, motion and stillness feeding each other, the farewell grief already within the willow color.
还记出关来，恰而今时节
It reminds that when leaving the pass before, it was exactly this season. This connects past and present, intertwining time.
还记得当初出关的时候，恰好也是这样的时节。
I still remember coming out of the pass — it was exactly a season like this.
勾连今昔，时空交错，是全词的枢纽。「还记」引出回忆，「出关」点出当年离别之地与离别的起点，「恰而今时节」写眼前春景与当年出关时一般无二——景同而人异，今昔叠映，睹景思人，离愁由此而生。此句以平淡之语写深沉之感，将上片之景与下片之情焊接为一体，是章法之眼。此句以景之同写人之异，今昔叠映，是全词时空结构的枢纽。「恰而今时节」五字，写景同人异之叹，是全词今昔勾连的枢机。
The line weaves old and new, the interlaced time and space, the hinge of the ci. I still remember introduces the memory; coming out of the pass names the place and the start of the old parting; it was exactly a season like this writes the present spring scene exactly as it was when I left the pass — the scene the same and the person changed, old and new overlaid, seeing the scene and thinking of the person, the parting grief born. The line writes the deep feeling in the plain words, welding the first stanza's scene and the second's feeling into one, the eye of the structure. The scene's sameness writes the person's change, the interlacing of old and new, the structural hinge of the ci's time and space.
芭蕉不展丁香结
Banana leaves uncurled, lilac buds tied. Adapted from Li Shangyin, using objects to symbolize sorrow, condensed and profound.
就像芭蕉卷心不展、丁香花蕾郁结。
Like the banana leaves uncurled, like the lilac's tight knots.
化用李商隐《代赠》「芭蕉不展丁香结，同向春风各自愁」而另铸新意。芭蕉叶卷而不展，丁香花蕾聚而成结，皆自然物象，此处以之喻愁肠百结、无可排解：愁如芭蕉之卷，欲舒不得；愁如丁香之结，欲解不能。不直言愁之深而愁之深自见，凝练隽永，是「以物写心」的典范，较义山原句更切此词别后相思之境。此句以物喻愁，化用义山而更切别境，凝练隽永，是此词的点睛之笔。芭蕉卷而丁香结，物象天成，比喻贴切，是「化诗为词」的典范。
The line draws on Li Shangyin's banana leaves uncurled, lilac knots, turned together with new meaning. The banana leaf curls unopened, the lilac bud gathers in knots — both natural objects, here to figure the bowels knotted with grief, past unknotting: grief like the curling banana, wanting to unroll and unable; grief like the lilac knot, wanting to untie and unable. Not speaking the grief's depth and the grief's depth of itself, compact and enduring, the model of writing the heart through the thing, closer to this ci's post-parting longing than Li Shangyin's own line. The banana curled and the lilac knotted, the imagery natural, the metaphor exact, the model of turning poetry into ci.
枉望断天涯，两厌厌风月
In vain I gaze to the horizon, both of us weary of wind and moon. Ends with lingering sorrow, expressing the fatigue of long separation.
空自望断天涯，两处都厌倦了这风月。
In vain I gaze to the world's end; on both sides, we are weary of the wind and moon.
收束哀婉，写久别之倦。「枉望断天涯」写极目远望而人不归，「枉」字见望之无益却仍要望的执着与无奈；「两厌厌风月」写两地之人皆因久别而对良辰美景生出厌倦——不是风月不美，而是无共赏之人，风月愈美，愁愈难遣。「两」字写两地同心，更进一层，久别之倦、相思之苦尽在此五字，哀婉不尽。此句以「枉」字领起、「两」字收束，久别之倦与两地相思交缠，哀婉不尽。「两」字写两地同心，风月同倦，正是「一种相思，两处闲愁」之意。
The closing is plaintive, writing the weariness of the long parting. In vain I gaze to the world's end writes the far gaze and the person not returned, the word vain showing the gaze's uselessness and yet the gazing's persistence and helplessness; on both sides, we are weary of the wind and moon writes the two places, long parted, grown weary of the fair scenes — not that the wind and moon are not fair, but that there is no one to share them; the fairer the wind and moon, the harder the grief to dispel. The word both writes the two hearts at one, advancing another layer, the long parting's weariness and the longing's pain all in these five characters, plaintive and unending. The line leads with the word vain and closes with the word both, the long parting's weariness and the two-places longing intertwined, plaintive and unending, the meaning of one longing, two places of idle grief.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both from He Zhu's pen, deep and delicate, they mutually confirm his graceful style.
《踏莎行》以荷花自喻，写高洁不遇的孤寂，托物言志；《石州慢》以关塞春景写离愁，情景交融。一写身世、一写离情，皆深婉绵密、沉厚含蓄，可互证贺铸婉约词的本色，亦见其寄托笔法的一贯追求。一以荷自喻写不遇，一以关塞春景写离愁，皆深婉绵密，可互证其婉约本色。一咏物、一写景，皆以深婉之笔写不尽之愁，可合观其「密丽」本色。同为方回手笔，互证其婉约词的一贯追求。
贺铸·鹧鸪天·重过阊门万事非 He Zhu · Partridge Sky · Passing Chang Gate Again, Everything Is Changed 贺铸 · 同出方回，一写离愁一写悼亡，皆沉厚哀婉 Same author (deeply sorrowful)One writes parting sorrow, the other mourning, both deep and plaintive, can compare their emotional depth.
《鹧鸪天》为悼亡名篇，「空床卧听南窗雨，谁复挑灯夜补衣」写丧偶之痛，沉痛入骨；《石州慢》写别后相思，哀婉缠绵。一为死别之痛、一为生离之愁，皆以沉厚笔致写深情，可对照其悼亡与相思两类题材的抒情方式。死别之痛与生离之愁，皆以沉厚笔致出之，合观更见方回深情。悼亡之痛与离愁之思，皆为「欲说还休」的深情，合观更见方回痴处。死别生离，皆以沉厚之笔出之，正见其「侠骨柔肠」。
赋得古原草送别 Bai Juyi · Grass on the Ancient Plain 白居易 · 同写长亭折柳之离情，一唐一宋 Same theme (willow-breaking farewell)Both write about the sorrow of breaking willow at the long pavilion; the Tang's naturalness and Song's deep grace can be compared.
白居易《赋得古原草送别》以「野火烧不尽，春风吹又生」写离情之绵长，浑成开阔；贺铸《石州慢》以「芭蕉不展丁香结」写离愁之郁结，沉婉细密。一以草喻情之韧、一以花喻愁之结，唐之浑成与宋之沉婉可对照，见送别离愁题材由唐入宋的审美转变。唐之浑成开阔与宋之沉婉细密，正见离愁题材的古今之变。唐之浑成与宋之深婉，正见离愁书写由外放而内敛的古今之变。白诗以草喻情之韧，贺词以花喻愁之结，取象各得其妙。