宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
兰陵王
Lan Ling Wang (Prince of Lanling)
卷朱箔。
朝雨轻阴乍阁。
阑干外，烟柳弄晴，芳草侵阶映红药。
东风妒花恶。
吹落。
梢头嫩萼。
屏山掩，沈水倦熏，中酒心情怕杯勺。
寻思旧京洛。
正年少疏狂，歌笑迷著。
障泥油壁催梳掠。
曾驰道同载，上林携手，灯夜初过早共约。
又争信漂泊。
寂寞。
念行乐。
甚粉淡衣襟，音断弦索。
琼枝璧月春如昨。
怅别后华表，那回双鹤。
相思除是，向醉里、暂忘却。
Morning rain, a light overcast suddenly lifts.
Beyond the railing, misty willows play in the clearing sun; fragrant grass creeps up the steps, red peonies glowing.
But the east wind, jealous of the flowers, turns cruel —
it blows
the tender buds from the tips of the boughs.
I screen the painted mountain, too weary to burn the aloeswood incense; heavy with wine, my heart cannot face the cup.
I think back on the old capital, Luoyang.
I was young then, wild and unrestrained, lost in song and laughter.
Past the saddle-cloths and lacquered carriage-walls, she hurried me to dress and comb.
Once we rode together down the imperial drive, hand in hand in the Shanglin Park; long after the Lantern Festival we had made our early tryst.
Who would have believed I would end up drifting?
Lonely —
I think of our days of pleasure.
How faint now the powder on her lapels, how snapped the strings of her zither.
Pearl branches and jade moons — the spring is as it was.
Sadly, since we parted, like the cranes at that pillar —
my longing, unless it be in wine, cannot be forgotten even for a while.
Meaning
Rolling up the crimson blind on a morning after rain, the poet sees misty willows, fragrant grass and red peonies — then the east wind, jealous of the flowers, strips the tender buds. Heavy with wine and weary of incense, he sinks into memory of the old capital: youth, wild gaiety, rides down the imperial drive and lantern-night trysts with his beloved. The poem ends in lonely drifting, where longing can be forgotten only in wine — spring unchanged, everything else lost.
卷朱箔。朝雨轻阴乍阁。阑干外，烟柳弄晴，芳草侵阶映红药。东风妒花恶。吹落。梢头嫩萼。屏山掩，沈水倦熏，中酒心情怕杯勺。寻思旧京洛。正年少疏狂，歌笑迷著。障泥油壁催梳掠。曾驰道同载，上林携手，灯夜初过早共约。又争信漂泊。寂寞。念行乐。甚粉淡衣襟，音断弦索。琼枝璧月春如昨。怅别后华表，那回双鹤。相思除是，向醉里、暂忘却。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] Rolling up the crimson blind after the morning rain, the poet sees misty willows playing in the clearing sun, fragrant grass creeping up the steps and red peonies glowing — then the east wind, jealous of the flowers, turns cruel and blows the tender buds from the boughs. Weary of incense and heavy with wine, he sinks into memory of the old capital: youth, wild gaiety, rides down the imperial drive, hand-in-hand walks in the park and lantern-night trysts. Who would have believed it would end in drifting? Faded powder, snapped zither strings, the spring as it was — and a longing that can be forgotten only in wine. [Structure] Three stanzas — spoiled spring, golden memory, hushed present — a descent from brightness through warmth into drunken forgetting. [Imagery] Willows, grass, peonies and buds give the spring its delicate color; the wind's three abrupt cuts enact destruction through rhythm itself. The cranes at the pillar add the ache of a lost homeland to a love lyric, and the ending writes longing through the wish to forget.
【白话串讲】 张元干写《兰陵王》：“卷朱箔。朝雨轻阴乍阁”——“阑干外，烟柳弄晴，芳草侵阶映红药”——“东风妒花恶。吹落。梢头嫩萼”——“寻思旧京洛。正年少疏狂，歌笑迷著”——他写春思旧京洛。 【意象与手法】 “卷朱箔。朝雨轻阴乍阁”写朝雨轻阴；“阑干外，烟柳弄晴，芳草侵阶映红药”写烟柳红药；“东风妒花恶。吹落。梢头嫩萼”写花落；“寻思旧京洛。正年少疏狂，歌笑迷著”忆旧京洛；结以“相思除是，向醉里、暂忘却”写醉里忘愁。今昔对照、含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 张元干写伤春怀旧之作，写春残花落与对旧京洛年少疏狂的追忆，寓含故国之思，是张元干词中忧国与伤春交织的代表。 【名句点睛】 常考“寻思旧京洛。正年少疏狂，歌笑迷著”以旧京洛写年少疏狂；“相思除是，向醉里、暂忘却”以醉里忘却写相思之深。
Background
Zhang Yuangan (1091–c. 1170), courtesy name Zhongzong, was a native of Yongfu (present-day Fujian). A Southern Song ci poet, he is remembered as much for his patriotic verse — written in the years when the north was falling to the Jin — as for the tender love lyrics of his youth. This Lan Ling Wang lyric, with its spoiled spring, its memories of the old capital's gaiety and its closing wish to forget in wine, belongs to that softer vein; yet the drift from the old capital and the cranes at the pillar give even this love lyric the ache of a refugee from a fallen dynasty.
《兰陵王》为南宋词人张元干所作词。张元干（1091—约1170），字仲宗，号芦川居士、真隐山人，永福（今福建永泰）人，南宋词人。此词写伤春怀旧。词中「卷朱箔。朝雨轻阴乍阁」写朝雨轻阴；「阑干外，烟柳弄晴，芳草侵阶映红药」写烟柳红药；「东风妒花恶。吹落。梢头嫩萼」写东风妒花；「屏山掩，沈水倦熏，中酒心情怕杯勺」写中酒心情；「寻思旧京洛。正年少疏狂，歌笑迷著」写旧京洛；「障泥油壁催梳掠。曾驰道同载，上林携手，灯夜初过早共约」写驰道同载；「又争信漂泊。寂寞。念行乐」写又争信漂泊；「甚粉淡衣襟，音断弦索。琼枝璧月春如昨」写琼枝璧月；「怅别后华表，那回双鹤。相思除是，向醉里、暂忘却」写别后华表。张元干此词以伤春怀旧、旧京洛写其怀旧之情，含蓄深婉，是张元干词中的名篇。此篇《兰陵王》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 craft is in the contrast between a spoiled spring and a golden memory. The first stanza opens in delicate color — misty willows in clearing sun, fragrant grass, red peonies — then the wind's violence arrives in three abrupt cuts (cruel, it blows, the tender buds), the rhythm itself enacting the destruction. The middle stanza pours out memory at length: the imperial drive, the hand-in-hand walk, the lantern-night tryst — warmth and brightness in contrast to the present. The third stanza fragments again: faded powder, snapped strings, cranes at the pillar, and finally the wish to forget in wine. The ending writes longing through its opposite, so the sorrow survives the very wish that tries to dismiss it.
此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、今昔对照」见长。全词三叠，第一叠写朝雨轻阴与烟柳红药，第二叠写旧京洛与驰道同载，第三叠写琼枝璧月与别后华表。第一叠「卷朱箔。朝雨轻阴乍阁」写朝雨轻阴：卷朱箔，朝雨轻阴乍阁；「阑干外，烟柳弄晴，芳草侵阶映红药」写烟柳红药：阑干外，烟柳弄晴，芳草侵阶映红药；「东风妒花恶。吹落。梢头嫩萼」写东风妒花：东风妒花恶，吹落，梢头嫩萼；「屏山掩，沈水倦熏，中酒心情怕杯勺」写中酒心情：屏山掩，沈水倦熏，中酒心情怕杯勺。第二叠「寻思旧京洛。正年少疏狂，歌笑迷著」写旧京洛：寻思旧京洛，正年少疏狂，歌笑迷著；「障泥油壁催梳掠。曾驰道同载，上林携手，灯夜初过早共约」写驰道同载：障泥油壁催梳掠，曾驰道同载，上林携手，灯夜初过早共约；「又争信漂泊。寂寞。念行乐」写又争信漂泊：又争信漂泊，寂寞，念行乐。第三叠「甚粉淡衣襟，音断弦索。琼枝璧月春如昨」写琼枝璧月：甚粉淡衣襟，音断弦索，琼枝璧月春如昨；「怅别后华表，那回双鹤。相思除是，向醉里、暂忘却」写别后华表：怅别后华表，那回双鹤，相思除是，向醉里、暂忘却。全词含蓄深婉，今昔对照，是张元干词中的名篇。
Allusions
The cranes at the pillar refer to the tale in the Sou Shen Ji of Ding Lingwei of Liaodong, who turned into a crane and alighted on the ornamental pillar before his hometown gate — a story of a transformed world and a lost homeland, which gives this love lyric its deeper ache of exile. Pearl branches and jade moons echoes the last Chen ruler's palace song of jade moons full every night and pearl branches fresh every morning — vanished splendor recalled in a phrase. The painted mountain screen, the aloeswood incense, the saddle-cloths and lacquered carriage all belong to the vocabulary of the boudoir and the outing, placing the memory firmly in the gilded world of the old capital.
词中「朱箔」「朝雨轻阴」「烟柳弄晴」「芳草侵阶」「红药」「东风妒花」「嫩萼」「屏山」「沈水」「中酒」「杯勺」「京洛」「年少疏狂」「障泥油壁」「驰道」「上林」「灯夜」「漂泊」「粉淡衣襟」「弦索」「琼枝璧月」「华表」「双鹤」「相思」「醉里」等语，皆含典故故实。「朱箔」写朱红之帘箔；「朝雨轻阴」写朝雨与轻阴；「烟柳弄晴」写烟柳弄晴；「芳草侵阶」写芳草侵阶；「红药」写芍药（红药为芍药别名）；「东风妒花恶」写东风妒花之恶；「嫩萼」写嫩弱之花萼；「屏山」写屏风上山水之画；「沈水」写沈香（沉香别名沈水）；「中酒」写酒醉（中酒为醉酒）；「杯勺」写杯勺；「京洛」写京城洛阳；「年少疏狂」写年少时之疏狂；「障泥油壁」写马鞍障泥与油壁车；「驰道」写驰道（帝王行幸之道）；「上林」写上林苑；「灯夜」写元宵灯夜；「漂泊」写漂泊；「粉淡衣襟」写衣襟上粉已淡；「弦索」写琴弦；「琼枝璧月」写琼枝璧月（用陈后主宫中「璧月夜夜满，琼树朝朝新」之意）；「华表」用《搜神记》丁令威化鹤归辽东、集于华表柱之典；「双鹤」写丁令威化鹤之典；「相思」写相思；「醉里」写醉中。词人以红药、京洛、上林、灯夜、琼枝璧月、华表、双鹤等语入词，不着痕迹，而把伤春怀旧之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。
Commentary
Lan Ling Wang is among the most admired lyrics of the Southern Song, praised for the way it folds spring sorrow and old-capital memory into a single unhurried descent. Commentators have noted that its three stanzas move like a camera — from the blind rolled up on a morning after rain, through the bright remembered avenues of the old capital, to the hushed fragments of the present — and that the wind's three sudden cuts (cruel, it blows, the tender buds) are among the most violent short lines in Song ci. Its closing line — longing that cannot be forgotten even for a while except in wine — is often quoted as the perfect example of writing longing through the wish to forget, and it is frequently set beside Liu Yong's farewell lyrics as the Southern Song answer to the Northern Song master.
这首《兰陵王》，是张元干写伤春怀旧之作，写卷朱箔、烟柳红药、旧京洛之情，含蓄深婉。第一叠写朝雨轻阴与烟柳红药：「卷朱箔。朝雨轻阴乍阁」——卷朱箔，朝雨轻阴乍阁。写朝雨轻阴：卷朱箔，朝雨轻阴乍阁——卷起朱帘，朝雨轻阴初停；「阑干外，烟柳弄晴，芳草侵阶映红药」——阑干外，烟柳弄晴，芳草侵阶映红药。写烟柳红药：阑干外烟柳弄晴，芳草侵阶映红药——烟柳弄晴、芳草映芍药；「东风妒花恶。吹落。梢头嫩萼」——东风妒花恶，吹落，梢头嫩萼。写东风妒花：东风妒花恶、吹落梢头嫩萼——东风恶、吹落嫩萼；「屏山掩，沈水倦熏，中酒心情怕杯勺」——屏山掩，沈水倦熏，中酒心情怕杯勺。写中酒心情：屏山掩、沈水倦熏，中酒心情怕杯勺。第二叠写旧京洛与驰道同载：「寻思旧京洛。正年少疏狂，歌笑迷著」——寻思旧京洛，正年少疏狂，歌笑迷著。写旧京洛：寻思旧京洛，正年少疏狂、歌笑迷著——忆京洛年少疏狂；「障泥油壁催梳掠。曾驰道同载，上林携手，灯夜初过早共约」——障泥油壁催梳掠，曾驰道同载，上林携手，灯夜初过早共约。写驰道同载：障泥油壁催梳掠，曾驰道同载、上林携手、灯夜初过早共约——忆驰道同载、上林携手、灯夜共约；「又争信漂泊。寂寞。念行乐」——又争信漂泊，寂寞，念行乐。写又争信漂泊：又争信漂泊，寂寞，念行乐。第三叠写琼枝璧月与别后华表：「甚粉淡衣襟，音断弦索。琼枝璧月春如昨」——甚粉淡衣襟，音断弦索，琼枝璧月春如昨。写琼枝璧月：甚粉淡衣襟、音断弦索，琼枝璧月春如昨——粉淡音断、琼枝璧月如昨；「怅别后华表，那回双鹤。相思除是，向醉里、暂忘却」——怅别后华表，那回双鹤，相思除是，向醉里、暂忘却。写别后华表：怅别后华表、那回双鹤（用丁令威化鹤之典），相思除是、向醉里暂忘却——相思唯向醉里暂忘。这「相思除是，向醉里、暂忘却」，是全词之结：以醉里忘却写其相思难遣。全词含蓄深婉，今昔对照，正是张元干词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
阑干外，烟柳弄晴，芳草侵阶映红药。
Beyond the railing, misty willows play in the clearing sun; fragrant grass creeps up the steps, red peonies glowing.
阑干外，烟柳弄晴，芳草侵阶映红药。
Beyond the railings, the misty willows toy with the clear sky; fragrant grass creeps up the steps, glowing against the red peonies.
此三句写烟柳红药，起笔即见其景。「阑干外」写阑干外，「阑干外」写栏干之外；「烟柳弄晴」写烟柳弄晴，「烟柳」写烟中之柳、「弄晴」写弄出晴光；「芳草侵阶映红药」写芳草侵阶映红药，「芳草侵阶」写芳草漫上台阶、「映红药」写映着芍药。三句一写阑干外、一写烟柳弄晴、一写芳草侵阶映红药，以烟柳写柳、以芳草红药写花草，写尽阑干外烟柳芳草、芍药映阶之景。以景起兴，含蓄而清丽，是「以景起兴」的妙笔。
These three lines write the misty willows and the red peonies, the scene rising at the first stroke. Beyond the railings names the space beyond the balustrade; the misty willows toy with the clear sky writes the willow in the mist, playing the clear light; fragrant grass creeps up the steps, glowing against the red peonies writes the grass invading the stairs, the glow against the peonies. Three lines, one the railing's outside, one the willow and the clear sky, one the grass and the peony, writing the willow through the misty willows, the flowers through the grass and peony, exhausting the scene beyond the railing of misty willows, fragrant grass, and peonies glowing on the steps. Rising on scene, restrained and fresh, the wondrous stroke of rising on scene.
寻思旧京洛。
I think back on the old capital, Luoyang.
寻思旧京洛。
I think, and think again, of the old capital, Luoyang.
此句写寻思旧京洛，是全词由景写忆的关键。「寻思旧京洛」写寻思旧京洛，「寻思」写追想、「旧京洛」写旧日之京城洛阳。一句以「寻思」写追想、以「旧京洛」写旧日京城，写尽寻思旧日京洛之情——由眼前春景，追想旧日京洛。以忆写情，含蓄而深沉，是「以忆写情」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。
This line writes the thought of the old Luoyang, the key of the ci's turn from scene to memory. I think, and think again, of the old capital, Luoyang: the think the recollection, the old Luoyang the former capital. One line: the recollection and the old capital, exhausting the thought of the old Luoyang — from the present spring scene, the recollection of the old capital. Writing feeling through memory, restrained and deep, the telling stroke of writing feeling through memory.
曾驰道同载，上林携手，灯夜初过早共约。
Once we rode together down the imperial drive, hand in hand in the Shanglin Park; long after the Lantern Festival we had made our early tryst.
曾驰道同载，上林携手，灯夜初过早共约。
We rode together on the royal road, hand in hand in the Shanglin Park, our long-ago promise when the lantern night had just passed.
此三句写驰道同载，是全词写旧游的关键。「曾驰道同载」写曾驰道同载，「曾」写曾经、「驰道同载」写驰道上同车；「上林携手」写上林携手，「上林」写上林苑、「携手」写携手同游；「灯夜初过早共约」写灯夜初过早共约，「灯夜初过」写元宵灯夜刚过、「早共约」写早已相约。三句一写曾驰道同载、一写上林携手、一写灯夜初过早共约，以驰道同载写同车、以上林携手写同游、以灯夜共约写旧约，写尽当年驰道同载、上林携手、灯夜共约之情。以忆写旧，含蓄而深挚，是「以忆写旧」的点睛之笔。
These three lines write the riding together on the royal road, the key of the ci's old outing. We rode together on the royal road writes the once, the riding together on the imperial road; hand in hand in the Shanglin Park writes the Shanglin Park, the hand-in-hand roaming; our long-ago promise when the lantern night had just passed writes the lantern night just gone, the early promise. Three lines, one the riding together, one the hand-in-hand, one the old lantern promise, writing the riding through the riding, the roaming through the hand-in-hand, the old promise through the lantern night, exhausting the old riding, roaming, and promise. Writing the old through memory, restrained and deep, the telling stroke of writing the old through memory.
相思除是，向醉里、暂忘却。
My longing, unless it be in wine, cannot be forgotten even for a while.
相思除是，向醉里、暂忘却。
My longing — unless in drunkenness, for a moment forgotten.
尾三句写醉里忘却，是全词立意的落点。「相思除是」写相思除是，「相思」写相思、「除是」写除非；「向醉里、暂忘却」写向醉里暂忘却，「向醉里」写醉中、「暂忘却」写暂时忘却。三句一写相思除是、一写向醉里暂忘却，以相思除是写其相思之深、以向醉里暂忘却写其唯醉可忘，写尽相思之深、唯向醉里暂忘之情。以忘写思，含蓄而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以忘写思」的点睛之笔。
The closing three lines write the forgetting in drunkenness, the landing point of the ci. My longing — unless writes the longing, the unless; in drunkenness, for a moment forgotten writes the drunk, the brief forgetting. Three lines, one the longing and the unless, one the drunken brief forgetting, the longing's depth, the only-drunk forgetting, exhausting the longing's depth and the brief forgetfulness in the wine. Writing the thought through the forgetting, restrained and deep, the most moving place of the ci, the telling stroke of writing thought through forgetting.
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Liu Yong speaks his grief aloud at the moment of parting and finds no one left to hear it; Zhang Yuangan, years later, tries to silence the same grief in a cup and cannot. One is the outcry of farewell, the other the muffled ache of the aftermath — two stages of the same heartbreak, and a good measure of the distance between Northern Song directness and Southern Song restraint.
柳永《雨霖铃·寒蝉凄切》「便纵有千种风情，更与何人说」，写别后无人可说，是宋词写离别的名篇；张元干《兰陵王》则以「曾驰道同载，上林携手，灯夜初过早共约」「相思除是，向醉里、暂忘却」写驰道旧约、醉里暂忘。两词同写离别相思、无人可诉：一写便纵有千种风情更与何人说、以无人说写愁，一写相思除是向醉里暂忘却、以醉忘写愁；一为柳永之婉约、一为张元干之深婉，并读正可见宋词写「离别相思」的两种笔法，皆于无人可诉处见相思。
八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Ba Sheng Gan Zhou: To the Dusk Rain Falling on the River Sky 柳永 · 同写羁旅漂泊、追忆年少，一写叹年来踪迹何事苦淹留、一写寻思旧京洛正年少疏狂，皆于漂泊之中追忆旧日 Both on a wanderer's memories of youth — Liu Yong's sighing at my traces these years, why do I linger so long?, Zhang Yuangan's thinking back on the old capital, wild and unrestrained when young.Liu Yong asks why he lingers in exile, standing on a height in broad daylight with the whole river sky before him; Zhang Yuangan recalls the old capital's gaiety from behind a rolled-up blind, in a chamber heavy with wine. Both look back from drifting toward the years of pleasure — one with open regret, one with hushed grief — and together they trace the line from Northern Song travel lyrics to the Southern Song's sorrow for a lost homeland.
柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「叹年来踪迹，何事苦淹留」，写羁旅淹留之慨，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；张元干《兰陵王》则以「寻思旧京洛。正年少疏狂，歌笑迷著」「又争信漂泊。寂寞。念行乐」写旧京洛年少、又争信漂泊。两词同写羁旅漂泊、追忆年少：一写叹年来踪迹何事苦淹留、以淹留写慨，一写寻思旧京洛正年少疏狂、以今昔写慨；一为柳永之婉约、一为张元干之深婉，并读正可见宋词写「漂泊追忆」的两种笔法，皆于漂泊之中追忆旧日。