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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

浣溪沙·一曲新词

Silk-Washing Stream: A New Song, A Cup of Wine

晏殊

Yan Shu

伤春Grief for spring 闲愁Idle melancholy 词Ci lyric 婉约Graceful and restrained (Wanyue)

一曲新词酒一杯，去年天气旧亭台。
夕阳西下几时回？
\n无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来。
小园香径独徘徊。

With a cup of wine, I try a new song;
Weather is last year’s, the old pavilion still stands.
The sun sinks in the west — when will it come back again?
Helplessly, the fallen blossoms drift away;
The swallows return, as if I had known them before.
Alone, I linger on the fragrant path of the little garden.

Listen

Meaning

The poet drinks to a new song, yet all around him is the same weather and the same old pavilion; the setting sun makes him wonder if time can return. He can do nothing about flowers falling, but the returning swallows seem familiar. In the garden’s fragrant path he walks alone, lost in quiet thought about the passage of time.

听一支新曲，饮一杯美酒，还是去年的天气、旧日的亭台。西落的夕阳何时才能再回来？那花儿落去我也无可奈何，那归来的燕子似曾相识。我独自在小园的落花小径上徘徊。

Appreciation

This is Yan Shu's masterpiece among short ci lyrics. The first stanza describes wine and song, then quietly hints that the present repeats the past; the question about the setting sun introduces a note of longing. The lower stanza contains the celebrated couplet 'Helplessly the blossoms fall; the swallows come back as if familiar.' Its antithesis is perfect, and it fuses scene and philosophy: what is beautiful must fade, yet something of it returns in another form. The final line leaves the reader with the image of the poet pacing alone, a gentle but profound meditation on transience.

【白话串讲】 “一曲新词酒一杯，去年天气旧亭台”——晏殊写：去年天气，旧时亭台。“无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来”——花落去没办法，燕归来似曾相识。“小园香径独徘徊”——他独自徘徊。“无可奈何花落去”，成了千古名句。【意象与手法】 “无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来”一联对仗工巧、声韵谐美，既写花落燕归之景，更寓消逝与重现的哲理；上片“去年天气旧亭台”暗逗物是人非之思，结以“夕阳西下几时回”的怅问。全词语辞清丽、意蕴深婉。【情感与主旨】抒写伤春惜时、感慨年华之悄然而深。在富贵闲雅中见人生无常之叹，是宋初婉约词“情中有思”的典范，启苏轼、李清照一脉之理趣与哲思。【名句点睛】常考“无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来”对仗工巧、寓消逝与重现的哲理；“小园香径独徘徊”以独徘徊收束余味悠然。

Background

Yan Shu (991–1055), courtesy name Tongshu, was a prime minister of the Northern Song and a leading poet of the early xiaoling (short lyric). Living in an age of peace, he moved in elegant literary circles; this poem was probably written during a comfortable period of official life. The song-and-wine scene belongs to the happy gatherings of scholar-officials, but the poet's awareness that the weather and pavilion are the same as last year turns pleasure into a slight bewilderment. The piece shows Yan Shu's hallmark: even amid wealth and honor he remains sincere, and his sorrow over the departing spring is restrained rather than bitter.

晏殊，字同叔，抚州临川人，北宋前期宰相、词人，太平宰相，词风闲雅婉丽，开北宋令词之风。此《浣溪沙》约作于其雍容自适的宦游生活中，写暮春小园独酌之景与时光流转之慨。北宋承平，士大夫优游诗酒，晏殊位望通显而性情真率，其词多即景抒情，于富贵气中见理趣。一曲新词酒一杯，写的是文人雅集、逞才遣兴之常境；然而去年天气旧亭台、夕阳西下几时回，于不变之中觉变化之迫，遂生出无可奈何花落去之叹。此词虽涉迟暮，却不衰飒，哀而不伤，最能体现晏欧一派从容蕴藉之格调，亦为宋词名篇，传诵千载而不衰。晏殊以宰相之尊写小词，而能哀而不伤、怨而不怒，是其涵养所至；此词虽涉迟暮却无衰飒之气，反见从容，最是北宋令词雍容蕴藉之典型，足称太平宰相之词心，亦开宋调闲雅浑成之风。身居富贵而能作伤逝之语，是其真处；不呼号、不怨怒，而低回自远，恰见其性情中自有沉静。北宋令词之雅，实自晏欧奠定规模。晏殊此词为其《浣溪沙》名篇，约作于北宋承平之时。晏氏身居宰辅，生活优渥，词风雍容闲雅，开北宋令词之体。一曲新词酒一杯写宴集之欢，去年天气旧亭台则以物是人非逗出惘然。北宋士大夫雅好填词宴饮，晏殊于富贵中能作达观语，亦能道出生命流转之微慨。此词虽写个人闲愁，而其伤逝念旧之情实具普遍人性，故能脱去五代绮靡，自成温润悲凉之北宋气象，为令词之正宗。

Art

The poem moves from scene to feeling to reflection. The first line sets 'new' against 'old'—new song, old pavilion, last year's weather—creating a quiet sense of change within sameness. A rhetorical question about the sunset then deepens the mood. The lower stanza opens with a perfectly parallel couplet: helplessness over the falling flowers answered by the half-familiar return of swallows. The poem ends with one word making all the difference: 'alone.' Instead of resolving the feeling, the poet leaves himself lingering on the fragrant path. The language is plain, the structure seamless, and the emotion grows deeper line by line.

此词以景起，以情承，以理结，结构圆融。上片一曲新词酒一杯，去年天气旧亭台，以新对旧、以歌酒对亭台，写物是人暂之境；夕阳西下几时回，以问句逗出时光之叹，舒缓中见苍茫。下片无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来，属对精工，以花落之必然对燕归之偶然，写出面对消逝的无力与面对重来的微温；小园香径独徘徊收束于一个独字，行动见心，余韵悠长。全词不事雕琢，语语如话，而情致层层转深，由宴乐而伤逝而徘徊，淡语中含至理，最是晏词本色，小令至此乃具宋调之浑成。上片写目前宴乐而暗伏伤逝之脉，下片写花落燕归而结以独徘徊，由景及情、由情及理依次转深；小令章法能如此圆融浑成，起承转合不着痕迹，非大手笔不能到。新词酒杯与旧亭台对举，夕阳问句与独徘徊收束，一线贯穿而波澜暗生。宋词令曲之妙尽在此等从容之中，不着力而力自深，淡语之中有千回之致。上片写景叙事，新词酒杯旧亭台去年天气以排比铺陈，于雷同中见流转；夕阳西下几时回以问逗出怅惘。下片无可奈何花落去似曾相识燕归来为千古名句，对仗工丽而理趣天然，写消逝与重来之辩证。小园香径独徘徊以孤行剪影收束，不求解脱。章法由欢入愁、由景及情，情寓景中。语言浅近而意蕴深厚，以常语写至情，波澜不惊而暗流汹涌，是晏欧令词从容蕴藉之极致。

Allusions

'Huanxisha' was originally a Tang musical tune, said to be connected with Xi Shi washing silk by a stream. Many images in the poem—setting sun, falling flowers, returning swallows—are common in classical poetry. The famous couplet is traditionally said to have been completed in conversation with the poet Wang Qi, an anecdote recorded in works such as 'Tiaoxi Yuyin Conghua'. Yan Shu transforms conventional images into a philosophical statement without using obscure allusions, showing the Northern Song skill of making the old feel new and the shallow carry deep meaning.

浣溪沙为唐教坊曲，本咏西施浣纱，后成长短句小令。晏殊此词多用习见意象：夕阳、落花、归燕，皆诗词熟典。无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来一联，相传晏殊尝自爱赏，曾与王晓龄（王琪）对句而成，亦见诸《苕溪渔隐丛话》诸书，为词林佳话。花落、燕归本出自然节候，诗人以之象喻盛衰更替、故物新来。独徘徊化用古诗步庭徘徊之意。晏殊融习典于即目，不僻不奥，于寻常物色中寄理趣，正是北宋令词化熟为生、以浅寓深之法，亦见其学问之自然流露。落花、归燕、夕阳皆诗词熟典，晏殊点化入于自然，不僻不奥；无可奈何一联更为词林佳话，相传其与王琪对句而成，可见宋人已擅以常语写至情。花落燕归本出自然节候，诗人以之象喻盛衰更替、故物新来，化熟为生。令词至此乃雅，以浅寓深、以故为新之先河由此而开，遂为后世楷式。亭台池馆自晚唐以来即为宴游伤逝之典型空间，晏殊袭用而翻新。花落去燕归来化用五代诗词中春去燕归之习见意象，经其提炼成对，遂成语典。香径本杜牧之语，此处写小园幽径之徘徊。独徘徊暗承《楚辞》行吟泽畔之孤。此类用事多取前人熟境而加以理趣点化，使个人闲愁与千古伤春相接，用典之妙在不使生硬，温润中自见书卷，最称北宋大臣词之雅正体性。

Commentary

What makes this poem unforgettable is the way it touches a common human ache without loud complaint. A new song and a cup of wine should be pure pleasure, yet the poet recognizes that he has stood here before—same weather, same pavilion. 'Helplessly the blossoms fall' expresses our powerless regret for what is gone; 'the swallows return as if I knew them' gives faint comfort that recurrence is possible. The final image of solitary pacing neither preaches nor despairs. Yan Shu, a man of high position, could still feel this way; his sincerity, not his rank, is what makes the poem live.

此词之警，在无意间道破人生最根本之怅惘。新词酒杯、旧亭台、去年天气，原是宴游乐事，诗人却于雷同中觉出流转：一切似曾相识，一切终将逝去。无可奈何花落去，写对消逝的徒然无力；似曾相识燕归来，写对重来的淡淡慰安——二者相生，便成永恒的春恨与微温。结以小园香径独徘徊，不求解脱，只余低回。晏殊身居富贵而能作此语，是其真处；哀而不伤，怨而不怒，从容之中自见涵养。此词所以千古传诵，正因人人心中皆有那落花与归燕，读之无不枨触。人人心中皆有落花与归燕，故人人读之皆枨触不已；此词之永恒正在于写出了人类共通的对逝去之怅惘，而能以闲雅出之，是为宋词性情与理趣合一之极则。浅语之中自具千钧之力，不费力而能动人，正因所写者人人共有之憾。晏殊身历承平而能道此语，非惟才也，亦其真性情之自然流露耳。统而言之，此词以闲雅之笔写伤逝之怀，哀而不伤、怨而不怒，最是北宋令词之极则；其理趣与性情合一，遂使人人读之皆生枨触，诚为宋调之冠冕。浅语之中有千回之致，不着力而力自深，晏欧风流实基于此，令词之雅由斯而定，宋人小令之从容气象尽在一曲新词之中，非晚唐衰飒之音可比。晏殊身历承平而能道此无可奈何之语，是其真性情之流露，非关穷达；后人学晏词每得其雅而失其真。读此篇当于从容闲淡之中，体贴那份不期然而然的迟暮之叹，方不负太平宰相之词心，亦知宋人令曲之妙原在性情，非徒声律之工而已，理趣与情韵本自相生，故能浅近而深厚。晏殊以富贵之身写闲愁，而能不颓不放，正是其涵养；小园香径独徘徊，非真闲也，乃于繁华中有警省者也。北宋令词之所以为高，正在于此等从容之中的一段清醒，太平宰相之词心于此最见分明，亦见宋人虽处承平而能自守其性情之清明，不为物欲所溺。统而言之，此词以闲雅之笔写伤逝之怀，哀而不伤、怨而不怒，最是北宋令词之极则；其理趣与性情合一，遂使人人读之皆生枨触，诚为宋调之冠冕。浅语之中有千回之致，不着力而力自深，晏欧风流实基于此，令词之雅由斯而定，宋人小令之从容气象尽在一曲新词之中，非晚唐衰飒之音可比。晏殊身历承平而能道此无可奈何之语，是其真性情之流露，非关穷达；后人学晏词每得其雅而失其真。读此篇当于从容闲淡之中，体贴那份不期然而然的迟暮之叹，方不负太平宰相之词心，亦知宋人令曲之妙原在性情，非徒声律之工而已，理趣与情韵本自相生，故能浅近而深厚。晏殊以富贵之身写闲愁，而能不颓不放，正是其涵养；小园香径独徘徊，非真闲也，乃于繁华中有警省者也。北宋令词之所以为高，正在于此等从容之中的一段清醒，太平宰相之词心于此最见分明，亦见宋人虽处承平而能自守其性情之清明，不为物欲所溺。统而言之，此词以闲雅之笔写伤逝之怀，哀而不伤、怨而不怒，最是北宋令词之极则；其理趣与性情合一，遂使人人读之皆生枨触，诚为宋调之冠冕。浅语之中有千回之致，不着力而力自深，晏欧风流实基于此，令词之雅由斯而定，宋人小令之从容气象尽在一曲新词之中，非晚唐衰飒之音可比。

Prosody

Reading note Double-stanza xiaoling of 42 characters. The first stanza has three lines and three rhymes; the second has three lines and two rhymes. Each line has seven characters. The couplet in the lower stanza is a model of parallelism.此词双调四十二字，上片三句三平韵，下片三句两平韵，押平声韵（杯、台、回、来、徊，灰哈回微通押）。句式以七言为主，间以五言。一曲新词酒一杯，去年天气旧亭台，起手两组对句，新故相形，声情闲雅。夕阳西下几时回，以问句振起。过片无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来，属对精工，为宋词骈句典范；小园香径独徘徊，五字收束，独字重，徘徊缓，声情相称。晏词协律婉转，宜清歌浅唱，圆融中见顿挫，最见北宋小令之声律美，歌者易习而听者易醉。歌者易习而听者易醉，晏词声律之妙在于圆融中见顿挫，北宋小令之协律至此乃极醇。平仄呼应如人意之低回，二十八字读来如闻玉磬轻敲，余韵悠然不绝于耳；上片三句一气舒卷，过片骈句精整，结句五字以散收束，声情与辞情相称，最见令词声律之和谐，宜清歌亦宜静诵。此词双调四十二字，上片三句下片三句，押平韵，杯台回来徊为韵，一韵到底，声情舒徐。无可奈何花落去似曾相识燕归来为流水对，属对天然如话，平仄谐婉。句式以七字为主，间以去年天气旧亭台之稍宕。独徘徊以三字收，节拍凝驻，恰合低回之态。全词平仄合谱，黏对无误，而气格从容温润，诵之如见夕阳香径，最见北宋令词声辞相称、哀而不伤之典型风度。

Line by line

一曲新词酒一杯，去年天气旧亭台。

A new song, a cup of wine—pleasure of the moment—yet the weather is last year's and the old pavilion is unchanged. When can the setting sun ever return as it set?

A new song, a cup of wine; the weather is still last year's, the pavilions still the old ones.

起拍以新对旧，新词酒杯是眼前宴乐，去年天气旧亭台是依旧风物，两相对照，便生出物是人非之悄恍。天气亭台未尝变，而人已非去年之人，乐境中暗藏一丝凉意。词人并不直说，只以并列句式淡淡拈出，于富贵闲雅中伏下全篇伤逝之脉，看似随手，实则立意已定，最见晏词举重若轻之妙，小令之佳处正在此不经意。新词酒杯旧亭台以雷同逗流转，于宴乐中觉出物是人非之惘然，起笔已含微慨。

The opening sets new against old: the new song and the cup of wine the present delight, last year's weather and the old pavilions the unchanged scene, the contrast at once breeding the bewilderment of things unchanged and men changed. The weather and pavilions not altered, and yet the man is no longer last year's, a thread of coolness within the delight. The poet does not say it straight, only sets the phrases side by side, hiding beneath the wealth and leisure the whole thread of the lament for time, seeming offhand and yet the theme already set, the showing of Yan Shu's bearing the weight lightly, the beauty of the short lyric in this very unregarded ease. New song and cup and old pavilion turn in recurrence, the bewilderment of things unchanged and men changed felt within the feast, the opening already carrying the faint sigh.

无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来。

The falling of flowers is something no one can stop; the swallows that come back seem half familiar. Alone, the poet paces to and fro on the garden path strewn with fragrant petals.

Helpless, the blossoms fall; as if familiar, the swallows come back.

此联为千古名句。花落去是无可奈何的消逝，燕归来是似曾相识的重逢，一消一长，一叹一慰，写出面对时序更迭的复杂心绪。对仗天然工稳，情与景融而理趣自显：逝者不可留，来者未必同，人生之怅惘与微温尽在其中。晏殊以平常语道破至情至理，不费力而能动人，正是北宋令词化浅为深之极境，亦是宋词骈句之典范，后世奉为楷式。花落去写消逝之无力，燕归来写重来之慰，二者相生遂成永恒春恨与微温，理趣天然。

This couplet is the famous line. The blossoms fall in helpless departure; the swallows return in the semblance of old acquaintance, one ebb one flow, one sigh one solace, writing the complex feeling before the turn of the seasons. The parallelism natural and steady, feeling and scene fused, the thought self-evident: the departed cannot be kept, the coming may not be the same, the wistfulness and the faint warmth of life all within. Yan Shu speaks the deepest truth in the plainest words, moving without effort, the extreme of Northern Song short lyrics turning the shallow into the deep, and the model of Song ci's matched couplets, later held as the canon. The fall writes the powerlessness of departure, the return the comfort of coming back, the two feeding each other into the eternal spring grief and the faint warmth, the thought natural.

Study

Word focus

无可奈何 Helpless; there is no way to prevent it; describes powerless regret at inevitable loss. 无可奈何四字，写尽人对逝去之物的徒然无力。花落本自然，诗人偏以无可奈何冠之，将客观节候化为主观深情，似痴似痛。此语看似平常，却重逾千钧：明知春去难留，仍不免怅然，正是人之所以为人者。晏殊用此熟语入词，不避浅近，反得其真，使全联由景语跃为情语、理语，最见其以常语写至情之本领，淡语之中有千钧之力。无可奈何写对消逝的徒然无力，四字道尽人间最深的怅惘与无奈。

独徘徊 To pace alone, hesitating, unable to leave and without clear direction. 独徘徊三字收束全篇，以动作写心境。小园香径本宜游赏，诗人却只独徘徊，一个独字，道尽无人共语、自对落花之孤；徘徊写步履迟回，不忍遽去，亦不知何往。此前花落燕归皆是外景，至此方落到人，情景至此合一。三个字轻，却把满篇伤逝收束为一幅静立小园的剪影，余韵悠然，最是含蓄蕴藉，结句之妙全在此一字一顿之间。独徘徊以孤行剪影收束，不求解脱只余低回，从容温润中自见涵养。