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临江仙·梦后楼台

Lin Jiang Xian: After the Dream, the Tower

晏几道

Yan Jidao

爱情Love 愁思Longing and sorrow 抒情Lyric

梦后楼台高锁，酒醒帘幕低垂。
去年春恨却来时。
落花人独立，微雨燕双飞。
记得小苹初见，两重心字罗衣。
琵琶弦上说相思。
当时明月在，曾照彩云归。

After the dream the tower stands locked high; when wine wakes, the curtains hang low.
Last year's spring regret returns once more.
Among falling blossoms one stands alone; in the light rain swallows fly in pairs.
I remember first seeing little Ping, in a silk robe with twofold heart-shaped motifs.
On the pipa strings she told of longing.
The bright moon of that time is still here; it once shone as the coloured cloud drifted home.

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Meaning

After dream and wine the lover finds the tryst-tower locked and curtained, last year's spring regret returning. Alone among falling blossoms as swallows pair in the rain, he recalls first meeting little Ping in her heart-shaped robe, her pipa telling of love. The bright moon of then still shines, but the coloured cloud of her is gone.

梦醒之后，楼台高锁；酒醒之后，帘幕低垂。去年春天的离愁别恨，此时又涌上心头。落花纷纷，人独立花下；微雨蒙蒙，燕子双双飞过。还记得初次见到小苹，她穿着绣有两重心字的罗衣。琵琶弦上，倾诉着相思之情。当时的明月如今还在，曾经照着她如彩云般飘然归去。

Appreciation

The upper stanza writes the present: after dream and wine, the tower locked, the curtain low, the place of joy now desolate; 'one stands alone, swallows fly in pairs' sets lone man against paired birds, exhausting loneliness. The lower stanza writes the past: the heart-shaped robe at first meeting, the pipa's love, closing on 'the bright moon is still here; it once shone as the coloured cloud went home'—moon same, person gone, past and present contrasted, endless怅惘. A famous lyric of remembering a singing girl, plain words for deepest feeling.

【白话串讲】晏几道写临江仙：“梦后楼台高锁，酒醒帘幕低垂”。“落花人独立，微雨燕双飞”——“记得小苹初见，两重心字罗衣”——“琵琶弦上说相思”——“当时明月在，曾照彩云归”——他写对小苹的思念。【意象与手法】上片写今：梦后酒醒，楼锁幕垂，写欢会之地的冷落；「落花人独立，微雨燕双飞」以人独与燕双对照，写尽孤独。下片写昔：记初见之衣饰、琵琶之传情，以「当时明月在，曾照彩云归」收束，明月如故而人已渺，今昔对照，怅惘无限。【情感与主旨】晏几道为晏殊幼子，家道中落后，昔时歌女（莲、鸿、苹、云）流散四方。此词怀念歌女小苹：梦后酒醒，春恨又来；回忆初见时的心字罗衣、琵琶传情，而如今明月仍在，彩云难寻——以淡语写至情，是宋词怀人名篇。【名句点睛】「落花人独立，微雨燕双飞」以独与双对照写孤独，是千古名句，历代推为词中绝唱；「当时明月在，曾照彩云归」以明月照人收束今昔，含蓄空灵，余韵悠长。

Background

Yan Jidao (1038–1110), styled Shuyuan, nicknamed Xiaoshan, of Linchuan, was the seventh son of the Northern-Song lyricist Yan Shu; father and son are called 'the two Yans,' representatives of the gentle school. Born noble, early in brocade and wine, his house had singing girls Lian, Hong, Ping, Yun, with whom he loved; after Yan Shu died the family declined, Yan Jidao's career stalled, he held only small posts, and the girls scattered. Huang Tingjian's preface to Xiaoshan's Lyrics tells his 'four follies': though his career stalled he would not approach the great; though millions were offered he would not take; though wronged he bore no hate; though he spent thousands his family went cold—just this foolish noble son. This lyric remembers the girl Ping: after dream and wine spring regret comes, recalling her heart-shaped robe and pipa love, now moon same, cloud gone, endless怅惘. Xiaoshan's lyrics mostly recall old loves; 'last year's spring regret returns' is his main tune, and this lyric, opening on dream and wine, closing on moon and cloud, writes past-present and parting grief ethereally deep, the crown of his remembering-people lyrics.

晏几道（1038—1110），字叔原，号小山，抚州临川（今属江西）人，北宋词人晏殊第七子，与父并称「二晏」，宋词婉约派的代表词人。晏几道出身贵胄，早岁锦衣玉食，家中有莲、鸿、苹、云等歌女，词人与其多生情愫；及晏殊卒，家道中落，晏几道仕途蹇涩，只做过监颖昌许田镇等小官，昔时歌女亦风流云散，不知所终。黄庭坚《小山词序》谓其有「四痴」：仕宦连蹇而不能一傍贵人之门，人百万遗之而不受，人有负之而不恨，费资千百万家而家人饥寒——正是这位痴情贵公子的写照。此词即怀念歌女小苹之作：梦后酒醒，春恨袭来，忆及初见小苹时的心字罗衣、琵琶传情，而如今明月如故、彩云难寻，怅惘无限。小晏词多写对旧日情事的追忆，所谓「去年春恨却来时」，正是其词的主旋律；而此词以「梦后」「酒醒」开篇，以「明月」「彩云」收束，将今昔之感、离散之悲写得空灵深挚，是其怀人词中压卷之作，亦见痴情公子于家道中落后的满腹怅惘。

Art

The lyric's wonder is its 'present—past—present' plan exhausting the sense of past and present, plain words for deepest feeling, ethereal and deep. The upper stanza writes present: 'after the dream the tower stands locked high; when wine wakes, the curtains hang low' opens in antithesis, the tower locked, curtain low, the joy-place now desolate, loneliness showing in scene; 'last year's spring regret returns' names the regret: last year's, this year's again, not new but old returned, deeper; 'among falling blossoms one stands alone; in the light rain swallows fly in pairs' is the famous antithesis: blossoms fall, one stands; fine rain, swallows pair—man alone, birds paired, loneliness exhausted. The lower stanza writes past: 'I remember first seeing little Ping, in a silk robe with twofold heart-shaped motifs' recalls the first meeting; 'on the pipa strings she told of longing' writes the telling of love; 'the bright moon of that time is still here; it once shone as the coloured cloud drifted home' closes on the moon: moon same, person gone, past-present contrasted, endless怅惘. From present to past to present, the 'bright moon' threads past and present, ethereal and含蓄, a model of ending feeling by scene.

此词之妙，在以「今—昔—今」的章法写尽今昔之感，以淡语写至情，空灵深婉。上片写今：「梦后楼台高锁，酒醒帘幕低垂」以对句起拍，写梦后酒醒所见——楼台高锁，帘幕低垂，昔日欢会之地，如今冷落无人，两句写景而孤寂自见；「去年春恨却来时」点出春恨：去年之恨，今年又来，恨非新恨，而是旧恨重袭，更见其深；「落花人独立，微雨燕双飞」是全词最著名的对句：落花纷纷，人独立花下；微雨蒙蒙，燕双双飞过——人独燕双，对照鲜明，孤独之感写尽无遗。下片写昔：「记得小苹初见，两重心字罗衣」忆初见：小苹身着绣两重心字的罗衣，初见之印象深印心底；「琵琶弦上说相思」写传情：小苹以琵琶倾诉相思，弦上之音，即心上之情；「当时明月在，曾照彩云归」以月收束：当时的明月如今还在，曾照着小苹如彩云般归去——明月如故，而人已渺，今昔对照，怅惘无限。全词由今入昔、由昔返今，以「明月」贯穿今昔，空灵蕴藉，是宋词中以景结情的典范。

Allusions

The lyric's allusions and borrowed lines melt without trace, showing Xiaoshan's 'making the old new.' First, 'among falling blossoms one stands alone; in the light rain swallows fly in pairs'—these two lines were from the Five-Dynasties Weng Hong's 'Late Spring': 'again late spring, how to leave the green curtain? among falling blossoms one stands alone; in the light rain swallows fly in pairs'; Yan Jidao took them straight into his lyric yet seamlessly, outdoing the original—Weng used them for late-spring plaint, Xiaoshan for deep spring regret, placed after 'last year's spring regret returns,' one with the whole, so later men know only Yan's line not Weng's, a lyric tale. Second, 'coloured cloud': Li Bai's 'only fear the song and dance scatter, turning to flying coloured clouds' used coloured cloud for the scattered singing girl; Xiaoshan's 'once shone as the coloured cloud drifted home' inherits this—coloured cloud easily scatters, image of beauty's passing, joy's hard return; also Song Yu's Gaotang fu's goddess 'dawn is morning cloud' hides in coloured cloud the goddess, misty and hard to find. Third, 'heart-shaped robe': a robe embroidered with heart motifs (or scented with heart-incense), twofold hearts implying hearts beating as one, writing the first-meeting robe yet love showing. Fourth, 'bright moon': Xie Zhuang's 'Moon Fu' 'across a thousand miles we share the bright moon' made the moon the go-between of longing; Xiaoshan's 'bright moon of that time is still here' uses the moon to witness past-present—moon here, person gone, all inherits this yet more ethereal.

此词用典与成句皆融化无痕，最见小晏「以故为新」的功力。其一，「落花人独立，微雨燕双飞」：此二句本为五代翁宏《春残》「又是春残也，如何出翠帏？落花人独立，微雨燕双飞」中的成句，晏几道径取入词，而天衣无缝、青出于蓝——翁诗以此写春残之叹，小晏以此写春恨之深，且置于「去年春恨却来时」之后，与全词情境浑然一体，故后人只知晏词而不知翁诗，竟成词坛佳话。其二，「彩云」：李白《宫中行乐词》「只愁歌舞散，化作彩云飞」以彩云喻歌舞散去的歌女，小晏「曾照彩云归」正承此意——彩云易散，喻美人易逝、欢会难再；且宋玉《高唐赋》巫山神女「旦为朝云」，彩云亦暗含神女之喻，缥缈难寻。其三，「心字罗衣」：衣上绣心字图案（一说以心字香熏衣），两重心字，双心重叠，暗喻心心相印，写初见之衣饰而情意自见。其四，「明月」：谢庄《月赋》「隔千里兮共明月」以月为相思之媒，小晏「当时明月在」以月见证今昔——月在人亡，物是人非，皆承此传统而更见空灵。凡此皆随手拈来、融化入词，足见小晏腹笥之富与运化之工。

Commentary

'Lin Jiang Xian: After the Dream, the Tower' is the crown of Xiaoshan's lyrics and a famous Song lyric of remembering a person. It opens on 'after the dream' and 'wine wakes,' closes on 'bright moon' and 'coloured cloud,' the sense of past-present, the memory of joy, the grief of parting all within, not one word breaking it—the model of 'not a word spoken, yet all feeling won.' 'Among falling blossoms one stands alone; in the light rain swallows fly in pairs' Chen Tingzhuo praised as 'famous for a thousand years'; Tan Xian said 'these two lines, famous for a thousand years, cannot be twice'—man alone against birds paired writes loneliness in scene, a million times finer than plainly writing 'sorrow'; 'the bright moon of that time is still here; it once shone as the coloured cloud drifted home' is also a thousand-year line, moon same, cloud gone, the sigh of things-changed-yet-person-gone,含蓄 ethereal, endless remainder. In lyric history, Xiaoshan inherits the Southern-Tang Feng Yansi and his father Yan Shu's gentle tradition, yet deeper in feeling, clearer in language; this lyric with the private memory of 'first seeing little Ping' writes the common human sense of past-present, thus surpassing one time one event to become immortal. Huang Tingjian called Xiaoshan 'the elegance of the vulgar,' meaning in love's long he shows lofty brilliance—this lyric is proof, and shows among the two Yans Xiaoshan's unique place by feeling.

《临江仙·梦后楼台》是小山词压卷之作，亦是宋词怀人名篇。全词以「梦后」「酒醒」起，以「明月」「彩云」结，今昔之感、欢会之忆、离散之悲，尽在其中，而无一字道破，正是「不着一字，尽得风流」的典范。「落花人独立，微雨燕双飞」二句，陈廷焯《白雨斋词话》评为「名隽千古」，谭献《谭评词辨》谓「落花两句，名句千古，不能有二」——以人独与燕双对照，写孤独于景中，比直写「愁」字高妙万倍；「当时明月在，曾照彩云归」亦为千古名句，明月如故、彩云难寻，物是人非之叹，含蓄空灵，余韵悠长。就词史而言，小晏词上承南唐冯延巳、其父晏殊的婉约传统，而情感之深挚、语言之清丽，更进一层；此词以「小苹初见」的私人记忆，写尽人类共通的今昔之感，故能超越一时一事而成为不朽。黄庭坚称小晏「狎邪之大雅」，正谓其于儿女情长中见高华之致——此词即是明证，亦见「二晏」之中，小山以情胜的独特地位。

Prosody

Form Double-tune fifty-eight characters, Lin Jiang Xian (each stanza five lines, three level rhymes)双调五十八字，临江仙（上下片各五句三平韵）

Rhyme All on level rhyme (Cilin Zhengyun third category): upper low (垂), time (时), fly (飞); lower robe (衣), longing (思), home (归), one rhyme throughout, sparse and soft, fitting the tender remembering.通押平声（《词林正韵》第三部）：上片垂、时、飞，下片衣、思、归，一韵到底，韵脚疏朗柔婉，正合怀人缱绻之致。

Tone pattern Form upper six, six, seven, five, five; lower same; the closing two five-character antitheses (one stands alone / swallows fly in pairs; bright moon is still / coloured cloud drifted home) circle in sound like after-waves, the tune's most moving prosody.句式上片六、六、七、五、五，下片同；结句两个五言对句（落花人独立，微雨燕双飞；当时明月在，曾照彩云归）音节回环，如余波荡漾，是此调最动人的声律。

Reading note Lin Jiang Xian, a common Tang-Song tune from a banquet tune, has several forms; this is the fifty-eight-character form: each stanza five lines three level rhymes, form six, six, seven, five, five. This form's sound is gentle and flowing, best for remembering and parting, clinging sorrow. Yan Jidao's rhyme use is fine: upper 'low, time, fly' and lower 'robe, longing, home' six rhymes all in Cilin third (zhi, wei, qi), one rhyme, no stray—the zhi-wei rhyme is clear, fine, soft, fitting the low remembering; the rhyme sparse (every two or three lines), like a breeze on water, ripples unending. In form, each stanza opens with a six-character antithesis (after the dream… / I remember…), steady like low talk; the third seven-character line (last year's spring regret… / on the pipa strings…) eases like a light sigh; the closing two five-character lines (one stands alone… / bright moon…) short and circling like after-waves, the tune's most moving—two five-character, former oblique-end (stand, here), latter level-end (fly, home), oblique-open level, rise-fall matched, exactly fitting 'stand alone—fly in pairs' and 'bright moon—coloured cloud' content contrast, sound and feeling one. 'Coloured cloud drifted home' ends level, remainder endless, matching the ethereal 'once shone'—closing the lyric,回味 boundless.《临江仙》为唐宋词常用调，源出唐教坊曲，有数体，此词为五十八字体：上下片各五句三平韵，句式六、六、七、五、五。此体声情和婉流丽，最宜抒写怀人忆旧、惆怅缠绵之情。晏几道此词用韵尤见功力：上片「垂、时、飞」与下片「衣、思、归」六韵，皆属《词林正韵》第三部（支、微、齐），一韵到底，无一处出韵——支微韵字音清细柔和，正合怀人低回之致；韵脚疏朗（每两句或三句一押），如微风拂水，涟漪不断。句式上，上下片皆以六言对句起拍（梦后楼台高锁，酒醒帘幕低垂；记得小苹初见，两重心字罗衣），音节平稳，如低语絮絮；第三句七言（去年春恨却来时；琵琶弦上说相思）稍作舒展，如一声轻叹；结句两个五言句（落花人独立，微雨燕双飞；当时明月在，曾照彩云归）音节短促回环，如余波荡漾，是全调声律最动人处——两句五言，前句仄收（立、在），后句平收（飞、归），仄起平收，抑扬相间，正合「独立—双飞」「明月—彩云」的内容对照，声情与词情浑然一体。至于「彩云归」三字平收，余音袅袅，与「曾照」的空灵相谐，收束全词，回味无穷——临江仙此体之妙，于此可见。

Line by line

梦后楼台高锁，酒醒帘幕低垂。

Translation: 'After the dream the tower stands locked high; when wine wakes, the curtains hang low.' Note: The opening antithesis writes the after-dream, after-wine scene, the start of the lyric's past-present sense. 'After the dream' and 'when wine wakes' oppose: the dream, perhaps of the old love; the wine, drunk to drown sorrow—after dream and wine is the time of solitude, when memory easiest strikes. 'Tower stands locked high' writes the tower locked, none ascending, the joy-place now desolate; 'curtains hang low' writes the curtain low, no sound, the song-place now only empty still. Two lines write scene, not one word of feeling, yet loneliness and desolation rush forth: tower locked, curtain low is spatial closure, also the heart's closure—joy dispersed, splendour rested, only one man facing the empty tower. Opening in antithesis, the syllable neat, the key low, sets the 'present' key and builds for the recall (past) below, the model scene-opening, feeling-closing.

梦醒之后，楼台高锁；酒醒之后，帘幕低垂。

After the dream, the towers are locked high; when the wine is sobered, the curtains hang low.

起拍以对句写梦后酒醒之境，是全词今昔之感的起点。「梦后」与「酒醒」对举：梦者，或梦到旧人，或泛指昨夜之梦；酒者，借酒消愁之酒——梦后酒醒，正是欢会之后、独处之时，是追忆最易袭来的时刻。「楼台高锁」写楼台紧锁、无人登临，昔日欢会之地，今已冷落荒废；「帘幕低垂」写帘幕低垂、寂无人声，昔日歌舞之所，今唯余空寂。两句写景，无一字及情，而孤寂冷落之感扑面而来：楼锁幕垂，是空间的封闭，亦是心灵的闭锁——欢会已散，繁华已歇，唯余一人独对空楼。以对句起拍，音节整饬，情调低回，为全词定下「今」的基调，亦为下文的追忆（昔）蓄势，正是「以景起、以情结」的典范开篇。

The opening couplet writes the dream-after and waking-after realm, the starting point of the ci's now-and-then feeling. Dream-after and waking set side by side: the dream, whether of the old beloved or last night's dream; the wine, the wine of drowning grief — after the dream and when sober, precisely the time after the tryst and in solitude, the moment when memory comes most easily. The towers are locked high writes the towers locked fast, no one climbing, the old trysting place now cold and abandoned; the curtains hang low writes the curtains drooping, silent, the old singing and dancing place now only emptiness. Two lines of scene, not one word of feeling, and the solitude and desolation strike the face: the locked tower and the hanging curtain, the closed space, and the closed mind — the tryst dispersed, the splendor ended, only one man facing the empty tower. Opening on the couplet, the syllables regular, the mood low, setting the ci's present tone and storing force for the memory below, precisely the model opening of rising on scene and closing in feeling.

去年春恨却来时。

Translation: 'Last year's spring regret returns once more.' Note: This line names the 'spring regret,' the hinge of feeling, linking above and below. 'Last year's spring regret' writes the regret's long origin: not born today, existed last spring—a regret with 'last year' means before last, the year before, its length unsaid; 'returns once more' writes its return: 'once more' means again and again, year by year like spring grass cut yet grown—one 'once more' writes the regret's clinging, dispelled yet come. 'Spring regret' holds much: spring's parting sorrow, the怅惘 of old love, the fall of family and scatter of friends—Xiaoshan's lyric uses 'last year's spring regret' for his nostalgia main tune, this line its eye. And 'returns once more' meets the opening 'after dream, wine wakes': after dream and wine, the regret strikes exactly then, the regret's groundless, unguardable, all within, also the feeling note for 'one stands alone.'

去年春天的离愁别恨，此时此刻，又一次涌上了心头。

Last year's spring grief has come back again.

此句点出「春恨」，是全词情感的枢纽，承上启下。「去年春恨」写恨之由来已久：此恨非今日始生，去年春天便已存在——恨而有「去年」，则今年之前尚有前年、再前年，恨之绵长，不言可知；「却来时」写恨之重袭：却者，又、再之谓，春恨去而复来、年年如是，如春草之刈而复生——一个「却」字，写尽恨之纠缠不去、挥之复来。「春恨」二字，包蕴甚广：是春日的离愁，是对旧日情事的怅惘，是家道中落、故人星散的今昔之感——小晏词以「去年春恨」总写其怀旧主旋律，此句即其题眼。且「却来时」与起拍「梦后酒醒」相接：梦后酒醒，春恨恰于此时袭来，正是愁人最不经意的时刻，恨之无端、之不可防，尽在其中，亦为「落花人独立」的孤独之景作了情感注脚。

This line names the spring grief, the emotional hinge of the ci, inheriting above and opening below. Last year's spring grief writes the grief's old standing: this grief not born today, present since last spring — grief with a last year, and before last year the year before that, the grief's length self-evident; has come back again writes the grief's recurrence: the again means anew, the spring grief gone and come again, year after year, like the spring grass cut and regrown — the one word again exhausting the grief's clinging departure and return. The two words spring grief carry much: the spring parting, the wistfulness for the old love, the now-and-then of the declined fortune and the scattered friends — Yan's ci writes its nostalgic main theme through last year's spring grief, and this line is its eye. And has come back again joins the opening's after the dream and sobered: after the dream and when sober, the spring grief precisely strikes at this moment, precisely the hour the sorrow man least expects, the grief's unmotivatedness and unpredictability all within, and the emotional footnote for the lone standing below.

落花人独立，微雨燕双飞。

Translation: 'Among falling blossoms one stands alone; in the light rain swallows fly in pairs.' Note: These two lines are the lyric's most famous antithesis, writing feeling through scene, sung for a thousand years. Amid falling blossoms, one stands; in fine rain, swallows pair—'one stands' against 'fly in pairs,' loneliness leaps forth: swallows know to fly in pairs, yet man stands alone, the pair of things sets off man's loneliness. Two lines pure scene, not one feeling word, yet feeling deep: falling blossoms are spring's ending, also hint beauty's passing, joy's scatter; fine rain the dim scene, fits the mourner's heart; alone the lonely pose, pairs the lively scene—scene against scene, thing against me, the grief of loneliness all wordless. These two lines were Weng Hong's 'Late Spring' borrowed lines, Yan took them yet outdid: Weng in boudoir plaint, Xiaoshan after 'last year's spring regret,' one with the whole, so later know only Yan. Ending feeling by scene, thing setting off man, these two lines became the lyric's 'famous for a thousand years' peak, the most condensed realm.

落花纷纷，一人独立花下；微雨蒙蒙，燕子双双飞过。

Fallen blossoms, a man stands alone; fine rain, the swallows fly in pairs.

此二句是全词最著名的对句，以景写情，千古传诵。落花纷纷之际，一人独立；微雨蒙蒙之中，双燕飞过——「人独立」与「燕双飞」对照，孤独之感跃然纸上：燕子尚知双飞，而人独伫立，物之成双，愈衬人之孤单。两句纯写景物，不着一情语，而情自深：落花是春之将尽，亦暗喻红颜之逝、欢会之散；微雨是迷离之景，正合愁人之心；独立是孤独之姿，双飞是热闹之景——景与景对照，物与我对映，孤独之悲，尽在无言之中。此二句本为五代翁宏《春残》成句，晏几道径取入词而青出于蓝：翁诗置于春残闺怨之中，小晏置于「去年春恨」之后，与全词今昔之感浑然一体，故后人只知晏词、不知翁诗。以景结情、以物衬人，此二句遂成词中「名隽千古」的绝唱，亦全词意境最凝练处。

These two lines are the ci's most famous couplet, writing feeling through scene, recited through the ages. Amid the falling blossoms, one man stands; in the fine rain, paired swallows fly — the lone man and the paired swallows set in contrast, the loneliness striking the page: the swallows know pairing, and the man stands alone, the things' pairing the more it sets off the man's singleness. Two lines pure scene, not one word of feeling, and the feeling self-deep: the fallen blossoms spring's ending, secretly the beauty's departure and the tryst's dispersal; the fine rain the misty scene, precisely the sorrow man's heart; the lone standing the solitary pose, the paired flight the bustling scene — scene against scene, thing against self, the grief of solitude all within the silence. These two lines were originally Weng Hong's Spring's End couplet of the Five Dynasties, and Yan Jidao took them straight into the ci and surpassed the source: Weng's lines set within the spring's-end inner-chamber grief, Yan's after last year's spring grief, fused with the ci's now-and-then feeling, hence later readers know only Yan's line and not Weng's. Ending feeling in scene, setting the man off through the thing, hence these two lines became the unsurpassed chant in the ci, and the most condensed point of the realm.

记得小苹初见，两重心字罗衣。

Translation: 'I remember first seeing little Ping, in a silk robe with twofold heart-shaped motifs.' Note: These two lines turn from present to past, recalling the first meeting, the lyric's solid feeling. 'I remember' leads the recall, from 'last year's spring regret' plaint to 'first meeting' beauty; 'first seeing little Ping' names the loved: Ping was Yan's singing girl, loved, scattered after family fell—'first meeting' writes the earliest memory, deepest impression, 'if life were but as first sight.' 'Twofold heart-shaped robe' writes her robe at first meeting: a silk robe with twofold heart-shaped embroidery (or scented with heart-incense), 'heart' holds longing, 'twofold' implies hearts beating as one—writing the robe yet love showing: the poet at first meeting noticed this fine robe, his devoted gaze, early heart; and 'twofold heart' seems to hint the later love. Writing the person by robe, the feeling by detail, not the face yet the person here, Xiaoshan's fine hand at 'first meeting,' the turn from present to past.

至今还记得初次见到小苹，她穿着绣有两重心字的罗衣。

I remember the first sight of Xiaopin, in her heart-pattern gauze robe of double pattern.

此二句由今入昔，追忆初见，是全词情感的实处。「记得」领起回忆，由「去年春恨」的怅惘转入「初见」的美好；「小苹初见」点出所怀之人：小苹是晏家歌女，与晏几道有情，家道中落后流散不知所终——「初见」二字，写记忆之最初、印象之最深，人生若只如初见，正此之谓。「两重心字罗衣」写初见时小苹的衣饰：罗衣上绣着两重心字图案（一说以心字香熏衣），「心字」本含相思之意，「两重」更喻心心相印——写衣饰而情意自见：词人于初见之时，便注意到了这细致的衣饰，可见其注目之专、倾心之早；而「两重心字」，更似暗合二人日后的一段情缘。以衣饰写人，以细节写情，不写容貌而其人宛在，正是小晏善写「初见」的妙笔，亦是全词由今入昔的转捩处。

These two lines move from the present to the past, recalling the first meeting, the concrete emotional point of the ci. The word remember leads the recollection, turning from the wistfulness of last year's spring grief to the beauty of the first meeting; the first sight of Xiaopin names the beloved: Xiaopin the Yan family's songstress, bound to Yan by feeling, scattered after the family's decline and her whereabouts unknown — the two words first sight write the memory's beginning and the impression's depth, the life if only as at first sight, precisely this. The heart-pattern gauze robe of double pattern writes Xiaopin's dress at the first meeting: the gauze robe embroidered with the double heart pattern (one account says the robe scented with heart-shaped incense), the heart pattern carrying the longing, the double further figuring the heart to heart — writing the dress and the feeling self-seen: the poet at the first meeting noticed this minute dress, showing the singleness of his gaze and the earliness of his heart; and the double heart pattern secretly answered the love story between the two that followed. Writing the person through the dress, feeling through the detail, not writing the face and the figure vividly present, precisely Yan's wondrous brush for the first meeting, and the turning point of the ci's move from present to past.

琵琶弦上说相思。

Translation: 'On the pipa strings she told of longing.' Note: This line writes little Ping telling love by pipa at first meeting, the lyric's most moving detail. 'On the pipa strings' writes the instrument: Ping the singing girl, skilled at pipa, at first meeting held the pipa; 'told of longing' writes the string's feeling: the pipa's sound has no words, yet the poet heard the longing on the strings—sound is the heart's voice, the string's sound is the heart's feeling, Ping told her longing by pipa, the poet got her heart in the sound, two hearts one—exactly then. The word 'told' is fine: strings wordless yet 'told,' the listener's heart already one with the player's, so the string-sound becomes speech—sound writing feeling, void writing real, finer than plainly 'eyes met, hearts pledged.' And 'on the pipa strings she told of longing' follows 'twofold heart-shaped robe': the heart on the robe is the eye's heart, the heart on the strings the ear's heart, one heart seen on robe, one heart heard on strings, at first meeting hearts beat as one, the gentle, sad foreshadow for the later 'coloured cloud drifted home' parting grief.

小苹拨动琵琶，在那弦上倾诉着绵绵的相思之情。

On the pipa strings she spoke her tender longing.

此句写初见时小苹以琵琶传情，是全词最动人的细节。「琵琶弦上」写弹奏之器：小苹为歌女，擅琵琶，初见之时，她怀抱琵琶，轻拢慢捻；「说相思」写弦上之情：琵琶之音，本无语，而词人听出了弦上的相思——音者心声，弦上之音，即心上之情，小苹以琵琶自诉相思，词人于弦音中得其心意，两心相印，正在此时。「说」字用得极妙：弦本无言，而曰「说」，是听者之心已与弹者之情相通，故弦声皆成言语——这是以声写情、以虚写实的妙笔，比直写「目挑心许」更见含蓄。且「琵琶弦上说相思」紧承「两重心字罗衣」：衣上之心字是视觉之「心」，弦上之相思是听觉之「心」，一心见于衣，一心闻于弦，初见之顷，心心相印，为后文「彩云归」的离散之悲，埋下最温柔也最伤感的伏笔。

This line writes Xiaopin's feeling through the pipa at the first meeting, the ci's most moving detail. On the pipa strings writes the instrument: Xiaopin a songstress, skilled at the pipa, at the first meeting she held the pipa, plucking slowly; spoke her tender longing writes the feeling on the strings: the pipa's sound by nature wordless, and the poet heard the longing on the strings — the sound the heart's voice, the string's note the heart's feeling, Xiaopin pleading her longing through the pipa, the poet reading her heart in the strings, the heart to heart precisely at this moment. The word spoke used exquisitely: the strings by nature silent, and yet the word speak, meaning the listener's heart already at one with the player's feeling, hence the string's sound all becomes speech — the wondrous brush of writing feeling through sound, the real through the imagined, more restrained than the plain writing of the mutual glance. And on the pipa strings she spoke her tender longing follows the heart-pattern gauze robe: the heart on the dress the visual heart, the longing on the strings the auditory heart, one heart seen on the robe, one heart heard on the strings, at the first meeting the heart to heart, storing the tenderest and most sorrowful foreshadowing for the later rainbow-cloud-returning grief of dispersal.

当时明月在，曾照彩云归。

Translation: 'The bright moon of that time is still here; it once shone as the coloured cloud drifted home.' Note: The closing line ends on the bright moon, the lyric's past-present settlement, also a thousand-year line. 'The bright moon of that time is still here' writes the moon's constancy: that year's moon still hangs high—the moon not changed by the world, light as then; 'it once shone as the coloured cloud drifted home' writes person's gone: this moon once shone as little Ping drifted home like a coloured cloud—'coloured cloud' uses Li Bai's 'only fear the song and dance scatter, turning to flying coloured clouds' for the singing girl, beautiful yet misty, easy to scatter. The two lines contrast past and present: moon here, person gone, things changed yet person gone—the moon still that moon, Ping long scattered like cloud, nowhere. 'Still here' against 'once shone' writes time's cruelty and memory's tenderness: the moon's 'here' is present fact; shone the cloud 'home' is past memory—with the eternal moon shining the fleeting person, the word 'once' closes the lyric, endless怅惘, boundless remainder. Not writing how he misses, yet missing all in the moon's shadow; not writing how grieved, yet grief all in 'once shone'—the extreme of 'ending feeling by scene,含蓄 unending.'

当时的明月如今还在，曾照着小苹如彩云般归去。

The moon of that time is still here; it once lit the rainbow cloud returning.

结句以明月收束，是全词今昔之感的归结，亦千古名句。「当时明月在」写月之恒：当年的明月，如今依然高悬——月不因人世而改，辉光如昨；「曾照彩云归」写人之渺：这轮明月，曾照着小苹如彩云般飘然归去——「彩云」用李白《宫中行乐词》「只愁歌舞散，化作彩云飞」之典，以彩云喻歌女，美丽而缥缈，易散难寻。两句合观，今昔对照：月在人亡，物是人非——明月还是那时的明月，而小苹早已如彩云般散去，不知所终。「在」与「曾」的对举，写尽时光的残忍与记忆的温柔：月之「在」，是今之实景；照彩云「归」，是昔之记忆——以永恒之月，照须臾之人，以「曾」字收束全词，怅惘无限，余韵悠长。不写如何思念，而思念尽在月影之中；不写如何悲戚，而悲戚尽在「曾照」二字，正是「以景结情，含蓄不尽」的极致。

The close gathers on the bright moon, the gathering of the ci's now-and-then feeling, and a famous line through the ages. The moon of that time is still here writes the moon's constancy: the moon of those days, still hanging now — the moon not changed by human affairs, its light as of old; it once lit the rainbow cloud returning writes the person's vanishing: this moon once lit Xiaopin's rainbow-cloud-like return — the rainbow cloud borrows Li Bai's I only fear the songs and dances disperse, and turn into rainbow clouds flying, using the rainbow cloud for the songstress, beautiful and ethereal, easily scattered and hard to find. The two lines read together, the contrast of now and then: the moon present and the person gone, the thing unchanged and the man changed — the moon still that moon, and Xiaopin already scattered like the rainbow cloud, her whereabouts unknown. The contrast of is and once writes time's cruelty and memory's tenderness: the moon's is the present scene; the lighting the cloud's return the past memory — using the eternal moon to light the momentary man, closing the ci in the word once, the wistfulness infinite, the aftertone long. Not writing how one misses, and the miss all within the moon's shadow; not writing how one grieves, and the grief all within the once-lit, precisely the extreme of ending feeling in scene, restrained and unending.

Study

Word focus

高锁 Meaning: 'locked high.' Analysis: 'Locked high' in 'after the dream the tower stands locked high' writes the tower's desolation, the lyric's first brush of past-present sense. 'Locked high' means locked up high—the tower was the joy-place of song and dance, now locked high, none ascending: 'locked' is closed; crowned with 'high' writes the lock's longness, depth, thoroughness—not briefly closed but long locked, not low-shut but high-locked, as if even the air froze in the locked tower. Two wonders: real (house empty, lock hung high, seen scene) and ideational (tower locked high as heart locked—joy dispersed, the poet will not ascend, fearing the old scene, so the higher the lock the more the feeling dares not touch); and linking (high-locked tower, low-hung curtain, up and down answer, build the cold closed space for 'last year's spring regret returns' old regret's return). Plain two words, deep flavour, model 'writing feeling by scene,' the start of the lyric's past-present contrast. 「梦后楼台高锁」之「高锁」二字，写楼台之冷落，是全词今昔之感的第一笔。「高锁」者，高高锁闭之谓——楼台本为昔日欢会歌舞之地，如今高锁紧闭，无人登临：锁者，闭也；冠以「高」字，则写锁闭之久、之深、之彻底——不是暂闭，而是长锁；不是低掩，而是高锁，仿佛连空气都凝固在锁闭的楼台之中。此二字之妙，一在写实：人去楼空，门锁高悬，是亲见之景；二在写意：楼台高锁，犹心扉紧闭——欢会已散，词人亦不再登临，怕触旧景，故锁之愈高，愈见情之不敢触碰；三在启下：高锁之楼，低垂之幕，上下呼应，共同构成冷落封闭的空间，为「去年春恨却来时」的旧恨重袭，布置了一个再合适不过的场景。二字平平，而情味深长，是「以景写情」的典范，亦是全词今昔对照的起点。

却 Meaning: 'again,' 'yet.' Analysis: 'Again' in 'last year's spring regret returns once more' is the lyric's time hinge, one word showing the regret's length. 'Again' means again, yet; here writes the regret's return: last year's spring regret comes again this year—not once but year by year, like spring grass cut yet grown, tide risen yet fallen. Its wonder: writes the regret's 'old'—not new but old returned, a layer deeper than new (new regret can be dispelled, old regret accumulates, deeper); and writes the regret's 'not by man'—'returns once more' writes the regret's coming of itself, not summoned—after dream and wine it comes uninvited, unguardable, exactly 'not pondered, yet unforgettable.' And 'again' with 'last year' marks the regret's periodicity: last year, this year, year by year, regret comes with spring, spring endless yet regret unending. One word's temper distils the longness and helplessness of longing's pain, the eye of the word, also the time-frame for the lyric's recall. 「去年春恨却来时」之「却」字，是全词情感的时间枢纽，一字而见恨之绵长。「却」者，又、再之谓，此处写春恨去而复来：去年的春恨，今年又来了——恨不是一次性的，而是年年重袭、周而复始，如春草刈而复生，如潮水涨而复落。「却」字之妙，在写恨之「旧」：此恨非新恨，而是旧恨重来，比新恨更深一层——新恨犹可排遣，旧恨则积重难返，愈积愈深；又在写恨之「不由人」：「却来时」三字，写恨之自来，非词人招之——梦后酒醒，恨便不请自来，防不胜防，正是「不思量，自难忘」的写照。且「却」字与「去年」相配，点出恨的周期性：去年、今年、年年如此，恨与春俱来，春无尽而恨无已。一字之炼，将相思之苦的绵长与无奈写尽，是词眼所在，亦为全词的追忆之情提供了时间的框架。

独立 Meaning: 'stands alone.' Analysis: 'Stands alone' in 'among falling blossoms one stands alone' gathers the lyric's loneliness, contrasted with 'swallows fly in pairs,' thus a famous line for a thousand years. 'Stands alone' means one stands by himself—amid falling blossoms, one stands beneath the flowers, lone shape, clear cold. Two wonders: the 'alone' (none to companion—at falling blossoms should be one to share, yet the poet faces blossoms alone, none with him—alone is scene, also heart: Ping scattered, kindred hard to meet, vast sea, only stands alone); and the 'stand' (still pose—not pacing, not walking, but stands long, as if drunk—stands beneath falling blossoms loath to leave, exactly the pose of waiting, of recalling). Finer in 'stands alone' against 'fly in pairs': swallows pair yet man alone, the pair of things shows man's loneliness—not saying sorrow yet sorrow deep, not saying alone yet alone shows. Two words exhaust loneliness, set by the paired swallows, the 'famous for a thousand years' peak, the lyric's most condensed point, a thousand years below still makes men linger. 「落花人独立」之「独立」二字，是全词孤独感的凝聚，与「燕双飞」对照，遂成千古名句。独立者，一人独自伫立之谓——落花纷纷之中，一人独立花下，身影孤寂，画面清冷。此二字之妙，一在「独」字：独者，无伴之谓，落花之时，本应有人共赏，而词人独对落花，无人相共——独是实景，亦是心境：小苹已散，知己难逢，人海茫茫，唯余独立；二在「立」字：立者，静止之姿——不是徘徊，不是行走，而是久久伫立，如痴如醉：立于落花之下而不忍去，正是有所等待、有所追忆之态。更妙在「独立」与「双飞」的对照：燕尚双飞，而人独立，物之成双愈显人之孤单——不言愁而愁自深，不言孤而孤自见。以二字写尽孤独，复以双燕衬之，遂成「名隽千古」的绝唱，亦是全词最凝练处，千古之下，犹令人低回。

彩云 Meaning: 'coloured cloud' (image of the beauty). Analysis: 'Coloured cloud' in 'it once shone as the coloured cloud drifted home' is the beauty's image, also the lyric's怅惘 gather. 'Coloured cloud' uses Li Bai's 'only fear the song and dance scatter, turning to flying coloured clouds': Li used coloured cloud for the scattered singing girl, Xiaoshan for little Ping—coloured cloud, bright yet drifting, unsure: beautiful as Ping (colour), misty as Ping (trace), easy to scatter (fate), one image holds colour, state, fate. And 'cloud' hides Song Yu's Gaotang goddess 'dawn is morning cloud,' coloured cloud also holds the goddess—Ping like the goddess, meet yet not seek, see yet not reach, once scattered, cloud-trace hard to find. Finer in 'coloured cloud' against 'bright moon': the moon's constancy sets the cloud's passing; the moon's here sets the person's gone—'the bright moon of that time is still here; it once shone as the coloured cloud drifted home,' moon same, cloud hard to find, the sigh of things-changed-yet-person-gone all in 'coloured cloud.' Cloud for person, moon for then, two words tie past-present, the thousand-year line, showing Xiaoshan's fine trope and melted allusion. 「曾照彩云归」之「彩云」二字，是美人的喻象，亦全词怅惘之情的凝聚。「彩云」用李白《宫中行乐词》「只愁歌舞散，化作彩云飞」之典：李白以彩云喻散去之歌女，小晏以彩云喻小苹——彩云者，色彩绚烂、飘忽不定之物：美丽如小苹（色），缥缈如小苹（迹），易散难寻（命），一喻而色、态、命运兼备。且「云」字暗合宋玉《高唐赋》巫山神女「旦为朝云，暮为行雨」之典，彩云亦含神女之喻：小苹如神女，可遇而不可求，可望而不可即，一朝散去，云踪难觅。更妙在「彩云归」与「明月在」的对举：月之恒，衬云之逝；月之在，衬人之渺——「当时明月在，曾照彩云归」，明月如故，彩云难寻，物是人非之叹，尽在「彩云」二字之中。以云喻人，以月证昔，二字绾合今昔，遂成千古名句，亦见小晏炼喻之精、用典之化。