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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

李清照·蝶恋花·暖雨晴风初破冻

Die Lian Hua · Warm Rain, Clear Wind, First Breaking the Frost

李清照

Li Qingzhao

婉约graceful (wan-yue) 闺情boudoir feeling

蝶恋花·暖雨晴风初破冻暖雨晴风初破冻,柳眼梅腮,已觉春心动。
酒意诗情谁与共?
泪融残粉花钿重。
乍试夹衫金缕缝,山枕斜欹,枕损钗头凤。
独抱浓愁无好梦,夜阑犹剪灯花弄。

Warm rain, clear wind, first breaking the frost;
Willow-eyes, plum-cheeks—already I feel spring's heart move.
This wine-mood, poem-mood, with whom to share?
Tears melt the leftover powder; the floral hairpin weighs heavy.
She tries the lined gown with gold-thread seams;
Leans aslant on the hill-shaped pillow, crushing the phoenix hairpin.
Alone she hugs her thick sorrow, no good dream;
Deep in the night still she trims the lamp's flower.
Listen

Meaning

Warm rain and clear wind, the ice just broken. Willow buds like eyes, plum blooms like cheeks, already make one feel spring stir. This wine-mood and poem-mood, with whom to enjoy? Only the leftover powder melted by tears, the floral hairpin feeling heavy. She first tries the lined gown with gold-thread seams, leans aslant on the hill-shaped pillow, crushing the phoenix hairpin. Alone she hugs her thick sorrow, no good dream; deep in the night still she trims the lamp's flower.

暖雨晴风,冰雪刚刚消融。柳芽如眼,梅蕊如腮,已让人感到春意萌动。这般酒兴诗情,可与谁共赏?只有残粉被泪融湿,花钿也显得沉重。 初试金线缝就的夹衫,斜倚山枕,压坏了钗头凤。独自抱着浓愁,好梦难成,夜深了还拨弄着灯花。

Appreciation

The upper stanza uses 'willow-eyes, plum-cheeks' as personification, making the willow buds and plum blooms lively and playful, hinting at youth's stirring; 'already I feel spring's heart move' is a double meaning of scene and feeling. The lower stanza 'She tries the lined gown with gold-thread seams' turns to the person's laziness; 'crushing the phoenix hairpin' writes long lying through detail. 'Alone she hugs her thick sorrow, no good dream; deep in the night still she trims the lamp's flower' closes with action, the small scene of trimming the lamp writing the long night's sleepless loneliness. The brighter the scene, the bitterer the feeling—the contrast device shows fine craft.

【白话串讲】 “暖雨晴风初破冻,柳眼梅腮,已觉春心动”——李清照写早春:柳眼梅腮,春天动了。“酒意诗情谁与共”——可惜没人陪她喝酒作诗。“独抱浓愁无好梦,夜阑犹剪灯花弄”——她一个人剪灯花,排遣寂寞。 【意象与手法】 上片以「柳眼梅腮」拟人,将柳芽、梅花写得娇灵活泼,暗喻青春萌动;「已觉春心动」双关景与情。过片「乍试夹衫金缕缝」转写人之慵懒,「枕损钗头凤」以细节写长卧。「独抱浓愁无好梦,夜阑犹剪灯花弄」以动作收束,剪灯花的小景写尽长夜难眠的孤寂。景愈明而情愈苦,反衬手法极见巧思 【情感与主旨】 此词一般认为是李清照婚前或少妇时期之作,写早春怀人之情。此时她尚未经历南渡之痛,词中愁是少妇相思之愁,明丽中含娇媚,细腻中见真率,是易安早期闺情词的代表 【名句点睛】 中高考常考:「柳眼梅腮」的拟人手法与春意表达;「已觉春心动」的双关(景与情);以乐景写哀情(明丽春景反衬孤寂);「夜阑犹剪灯花弄」以动作写心理的白描手法

Background

This lyric is generally held to be Li Qingzhao's work before marriage or in her young-wife period, writing early-spring longing for the absent one. The upper stanza 'Warm rain, clear wind, first breaking the frost' marks winter to spring; willow-eyes, plum-cheeks, spring's heart moves, yet 'This wine-mood, poem-mood, with whom to share' turns abruptly to loneliness; the lower writes lying alone aslant, trimming the lamp at night. The whole uses bright spring scene to set off the thick sorrow of being alone, a representative of Yi'an Jushi's graceful lyrics on boudoir love—plain language, deep feeling, exquisite to the detail.

此词一般认为是李清照(1084—约1155)早期(婚前或少妇时期)之作,写早春怀人之情。李清照为宋代婉约词宗,号易安居士,山东济南人,父李格非为苏门后学,夫赵明诚为金石学家,夫妻志趣相投、唱和甚欢,然亦时有别离——赵明诚或出游、或任职,易安独守闺中,遂有此怀人之作。词题一作《蝶恋花·离情》。上片「暖雨晴风初破冻」点明冬去春来,柳眼梅腮、春心动,而「酒意诗情谁与共」陡转孤寂;下片写独卧斜欹、夜剪灯花的寂寞。全词以明丽春景反衬内心独处的浓愁,是易安早期闺情词的代表:此时她尚未经历南渡之痛,词中愁是少妇相思之愁,明丽中含娇媚,细腻中见真率,与后期「寻寻觅觅」的沉哀大异其趣,是理解李清照词风前后之变的重要作品。此词历来为词选所收,其以女性自我心绪入词的特点,正是易安词「别是一家」主张的实践,对后世闺情词影响深远。其价值亦为历代词论家所公认。

Art

The upper stanza uses 'willow-eyes, plum-cheeks' as personification, making the willow buds and plum blooms lively and playful, hinting at youth's stirring; 'already I feel spring's heart move' is a double meaning of scene and feeling. The turn 'She tries the lined gown with gold-thread seams' writes the person's laziness; 'crushing the phoenix hairpin' writes long lying through detail. 'Alone she hugs her thick sorrow, no good dream; deep in the night still she trims the lamp's flower' closes with action, the small scene of trimming the lamp writing the long night's sleepless loneliness. The brighter the scene, the bitterer the feeling—the contrast device shows fine craft.

此词写早春怀人,以乐景写哀情,反衬手法极见巧思。上片「暖雨晴风初破冻」写冬去春来,天气转暖;「柳眼梅腮」以人面喻花柳——柳芽如眼、梅蕊如腮,拟人写出早春娇态,暗喻青春萌动;「已觉春心动」双关景与情——既写自然之春心,亦写思妇之春心,一语双关,娇媚生动。过片「乍试夹衫金缕缝」转写人之慵懒:初春试新衣,本是欢事,却无心妆饰;「山枕斜欹,枕损钗头凤」以细节写长卧——斜倚山枕,压坏了钗头凤,一个细节写尽百无聊赖。「独抱浓愁无好梦,夜阑犹剪灯花弄」以动作收束:剪灯花的小景,写尽长夜难眠的孤寂。全词景愈明而情愈苦:春光愈好,愈衬独处之孤;词情愈淡,愈见相思之深,白描传神,语浅情深。此外,上片以景起、以情结,下片以情起、以景结,上下呼应,章法浑成;「乍试」「斜欹」「枕损」「剪」「弄」等动词连用,动作细腻,将少妇慵懒愁怨之态写得层次分明,白描之中自见功力。

Allusions

The lyric uses no obvious allusion, pure plain-description and imagery for boudoir feeling. 'Willow-eyes, plum-cheeks' though transforming earlier willow-and-plum phrasing is not a specific fact; 'hill-shaped pillow' and 'phoenix hairpin' are common boudoir objects, not allusions. 'Lamp's flower' is the ancient custom image of snuff-trimming, also not a special allusion. The whole uses household language, no allusions, relying on fine psychology and action to convey feeling—just Yi'an's 'using plain words, sending fresh thought' plain-description skill, light words with flavor, worth savoring.

此词无明显用典,纯以白描与意象写闺情,正见易安「用浅俗之语,发清新之思」的本色。「柳眼梅腮」虽化用前人咏柳咏梅之习语(柳叶初生如眼,梅蕊初绽如腮,唐宋诗词中常见),但并非特定故实,而是信手拈来的家常比喻;「山枕」为古代中间凹陷、两端隆起的枕头,形似山形,为闺阁常物;「钗头凤」为凤形发钗,亦非典实。「灯花」为古人剪烛习俗意象:灯芯燃烧结花,古人以为喜兆,思妇夜剪灯花,既写其长夜难眠,亦暗含盼归之情——灯花可剪,归期难盼,此中况味全在白描之外。全词语言家常,不假典故,赖细腻的心理与动作描摹传情,将少妇独处春闺的微妙心绪写得真切动人,正是李清照白描手法的典范,也是其「以寻常语写深情」词风的体现。正因不假典故,全词语言愈显真率自然,如家常语而情味深长,正是「清水出芙蓉,天然去雕饰」的境界。此正是「以白描为至文」的明证。

Commentary

Of Yi'an's lyric, the Ming critic Yang Shen in 'Ci Pin' calls it 'light, clever, sharp and new.' The modern Shen Qian says 'among men Li Houzhu, among women Li Yi'an,' citing such boudoir lyrics as proof. The Qing critic Wang Shizhen admired its 'rich manner, far meaning.' The closing of trimming the lamp writes fully the young wife's spring-boudoir loneliness, deep feeling in the fine detail, long weighted by critics, who say Yi'an's plain-description is 'ordinary words, naturally charming.'

易安此词,明人杨慎《词品》称其「轻巧尖新」,正点出其写春心的娇媚与剪灯花的细腻。近人沈谦谓「男中李后主,女中李易安」,以此类闺情词为证——李煜以白描写愁,李清照亦以白描写愁,皆能以家常语写真切情。清人王士禛赏其「态浓意远」,谓易安词「在诸家之上」。剪灯花一结,写尽少妇春闺寂寞,于细微处见深情,历来为评家所重:灯花本为喜庆之兆,思妇独剪灯花,盼归之情与孤寂之状并见,白描之中自饶姿致。此词在词史上的意义,在于以女性身份直写闺情,摆脱了男性代言的隔膜:李清照笔下的相思,是女性自我心绪的真实写照,细腻真切,别有天地,为婉约词开辟了「闺中自我」的新境界,也为其日后南渡词风的沉郁埋下伏笔。其「以动作写心理」的白描手法,更直接启发了后世词人(如纳兰性德)的闺情之作,是婉约词艺术传承中的关键一环。其词史地位,由此可窥一斑。

Prosody

Form Lyric, 'Die Lian Hua' double-tune sixty characters词·《蝶恋花》双调六十字
Rhyme Oblique rhyme, four oblique rhymes per stanza (by ci-lin rhyme book)仄韵,上下片各四仄韵(动、共、重、缝、凤、弄等,词林正韵第一部)
Tone pattern Level-oblique by tune, varied sentence lengths平仄依谱,句式参差,上下片各四句
Reading note Yi'an's 'Die Lian Hua' is plain language, deep feeling, graceful in nature.此词为词牌《蝶恋花》(又名《鹊踏枝》),双调六十字,上下片各四句,押仄声韵,上片四仄韵(动、共、重),下片四仄韵(缝、凤、弄),一韵到底,仄韵短促低回,正合闺中愁绪之幽咽。句法上,《蝶恋花》句式参差:七、四、五字句相间,音节委婉;上片「暖雨晴风初破冻,柳眼梅腮,已觉春心动」以七字句起,转为四字句、五字句,由舒转促,正合春心萌动之节奏;下片「独抱浓愁无好梦,夜阑犹剪灯花弄」以七字句对收,音节低回。此调为唐教坊曲,五代两宋词人习用写闺情离思,晏殊、柳永、苏轼皆有佳作,李清照此词正承此传统而自出机杼:以明丽春景配仄韵短促之声,乐景哀情、声情并茂,是《蝶恋花》词牌中写闺情的名篇,也体现了易安词「语浅情深」而以声传情的本色。

Line by line

柳眼梅腮,已觉春心动

Willow-eyes, plum-cheeks—already I feel spring's heart move.

柳芽如眼,梅蕊如腮,已让人感到春意萌动

Willow eyes, plum cheeks — already one feels the spring heart stirring.

此二句写春景,是全词最娇媚生动的笔墨。「柳眼梅腮」以人面喻花柳:柳叶初生,细长如眼,故曰「柳眼」;梅蕊初绽,红晕如腮,故曰「梅腮」——将早春的柳梅写得如娇羞少女,拟人之中见青春气息。「已觉春心动」一语双关:既写自然之春心——天地回暖,万物萌动,春意已不可遏;亦写思妇之春心——见春色而思人,青春寂寞之情随春萌动。景与情在此合一,春心之动是自然的,亦是人的,读来娇媚中带怅惘。「柳眼梅腮」四字是易安炼字的妙笔:以眼、腮写柳梅,不仅写形,更写神,将无情之植物写得含情脉脉,为下句「春心动」作了形象的铺垫,也为全词明丽而孤寂的基调定了调。

These two lines write the spring scene, the ci's most charming, vivid brush. Willow eyes, plum cheeks use the human face for the willow and plum: the willow leaves newly born, slender as eyes, hence willow eyes; the plum buds just opened, the red flush like cheeks, hence plum cheeks — writing the early-spring willow and plum as the shy maiden, personification carrying the breath of youth. Already one feels the spring heart stirring the double meaning: at once the natural spring heart — the world warming, all things sprouting, the spring feeling irrepressible; and the waiting woman's spring heart — seeing the spring and thinking of the man, the lonely youth stirring with the spring. Scene and feeling fused here, the spring heart's stirring at once natural and human, the reading charmed with wistfulness. The four characters willow eyes, plum cheeks are Yi'an's word-craft: writing the willow and plum through eyes and cheeks, not only the form but the spirit, writing the feelingless plants as soft with feeling, storing the image ground for the below spring heart's stirring, and setting the ci's bright, lonely tone.

酒意诗情谁与共?泪融残粉花钿重

The wine's mood, the poet's mood — with whom to share? Tears have melted the worn powder; the flower hairpin feels heavy.

这般酒兴诗情,可与谁共赏?只有残粉被泪融湿,花钿也显得沉重

This wine mood and poetic mood — with whom to share it? Tears melt the worn powder; the flower pin grows heavy.

此二句陡转,是全词由乐入哀的枢纽。「酒意诗情谁与共」写其文雅生活:饮酒赋诗,本是易安与明诚的共同爱好,夫妻唱和、共赏诗酒,是其生活常态;「谁与共」三字点破孤寂——如今独处闺中,酒意诗情,无人共赏,欢事顿成愁事。此句以问写愁:不直说孤独,而问「谁与共」,将无人共赏的怅惘化为一声轻问,娇媚中见落寞。「泪融残粉花钿重」以细节写愁之形:泪水融湿残粉,花钿也显得沉重——「重」字写花钿之重,实写心事之重,泪湿残妆、钿重难支,正是春宵独坐、泪痕满面的写照。此二句由「春心动」承接:春心既动,正需人与共,而人不在,春心遂成愁绪,乐景写哀,转折在「谁与共」三字,为下片「独抱浓愁」张本。

These two lines turn sharply, the ci's hinge from delight to grief. The wine mood, the poet's mood — with whom to share? writes her elegant life: drinking and verse by nature the shared delight of Yi'an and Mingcheng, the couple's singing and appreciation of wine and verse, the normal state of their life; the three words with whom to share break through the loneliness — now alone in the chamber, the wine mood and poetic mood, no one to share, the delight turned at once to grief. The line writes grief through the question: not saying the loneliness directly, but asking with whom to share, turning the wistfulness of the unshared into a light question, the loneliness within the charm. Tears melt the worn powder; the flower pin grows heavy writes the shape of grief through the detail: the tears melting the worn powder, the flower pin feeling heavy — the word heavy writes the pin's weight, in truth the heart's weight, the tear-wet makeup and the heavy pin beyond bearing, precisely the portrait of the spring night's solitary sitting and the tear-stained face. These two lines inherit the spring heart's stirring: the spring heart stirred, and the man needed to share, and the man gone, the spring heart turned to grief, writing grief through delighted scene, the turn at the three words with whom to share, storing ground for the second stanza's alone holding the thick grief.

独抱浓愁无好梦,夜阑犹剪灯花弄

Alone she hugs her thick sorrow, no good dream; deep in the night still she trims the lamp's flower.

独自抱着浓愁,好梦难成,夜深了还拨弄着灯花

Alone I hold the thick grief, no fair dream; the night late, I still trim and toy with the lamp wick.

结句以动作收束,写尽长夜难眠的孤寂。「独抱浓愁」以「抱」写愁——愁如可抱之物,沉沉满怀,一个「抱」字将抽象的愁写得有了实体与重量;「无好梦」写长夜难眠,好梦难成,独处之苦尽在其中。「夜阑犹剪灯花弄」是传神之笔:夜深了,犹自剪弄灯花——灯花为古人所剪,以为喜兆,思妇夜剪灯花,是百无聊赖的排遣,亦是盼归的心理暗示:剪灯花盼喜讯,而喜讯不来,唯有灯花剪了又结、结了又剪。「弄」字写其心不在焉、反复把玩之态,如见其人。此句不写愁而愁态毕现,以动作写心理,白描传神,是李清照写闺情的经典收束,余味悠长,耐人寻味。

The close ends in action, writing the long night's sleepless loneliness to the full. Alone I hold the thick grief writes grief through the hold — grief as the holdable thing, heavy in the breast, the one word hold writing the abstract grief with body and weight; no fair dream writes the long night's sleeplessness, the fair dream impossible, the solitude's pain all within. The night late, I still trim and toy with the lamp wick is the telling stroke: the night late, and still trimming the wick — the lamp wick by nature trimmed for the omen of joy, the waiting woman's night-trimming of the wick, the bored diversion, and the psychological hint of the return-watching: trimming the wick hoping for the glad news, and the glad news not coming, only the wick trimmed and knotted, knotted and trimmed. The word toy writes the absent-minded, repeated toying, the figure as before the eyes. This line not writing grief and the grief's shape all present, writing the mind through action, plain drawing vivid, the classic close of Li Qingzhao's chamber feeling, the aftertone long, the savor lasting.

Study

Word focus

柳眼梅腮 The phrase 'willow-eyes, plum-cheeks' (liuyanmeisai) personifies the willow buds and plum blooms as a young face, lively and playful, hinting at youth's stirring—the poem's bright, tender opening image. 「柳眼梅腮」四字,是易安炼字的妙笔,以人面喻花柳,拟人写出早春娇态。「柳眼」写柳叶初生,细长如美人之眼,含烟带露,脉脉含情;「梅腮」写梅蕊初绽,红晕如美人之腮,娇艳欲滴,楚楚动人——以眼、腮喻柳梅,不仅写形之似,更写神之媚,将无情的植物写得含情脉脉、娇态可掬。此四字的妙处有三:其一,拟人化,柳梅如少女,暗喻思妇之青春与娇美;其二,双关春心,柳眼梅腮既写春景之萌动,亦暗写思妇春心之萌动;其三,炼字之精,眼、腮皆人面最传神处,以此喻花柳,尖新工巧而不失自然,正是杨慎所谓「轻巧尖新」。四字写尽早春之神韵与思妇之心事,是全词最富创造力的语言。
抱 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「独抱浓愁」之「抱」字,将抽象之愁写得有了实体,是化虚为实的妙笔。愁本无形,不可见、不可触,而「抱」字写其如可怀抱之物,沉沉满怀,须独自抱持——「抱」见其重,浓愁满怀,重不可释;「独抱」见其孤,无人可分担,只能独自承受。此字的深意在于将愁人格化、物态化:思妇如抱婴孩般抱着浓愁,长夜独坐,愁不离身,身不离愁,其苦可知。若说「独有」「独怀」,则失之抽象;唯「抱」字写出愁之形体感与身体性,仿佛愁有重量、有温度,压在心头、抱在怀中,读者如见其状、如感其重。一字之炼,浓愁之状毕现,是李清照化抽象为具体、以动作写心理的典型笔法。
弄 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「夜阑犹剪灯花弄」之「弄」字,写思妇深夜剪灯花的心不在焉与百无聊赖,是传神之笔。「弄」本为把玩、摆弄之意,此处写剪灯花之态:不是干脆利落地一剪,而是反复拨弄、把玩不休——「弄」字见其漫不经心,亦见其心事重重:剪灯花是排遣,也是等待,灯花剪了又结,归人望而不来,唯有百无聊赖地「弄」着。「弄」的妙处在于以动作写心理:一个「弄」字,思妇长夜难眠、独对孤灯、心事纷乱之状如在目前,不必明写相思而相思自见。此字亦与「独抱浓愁」呼应:浓愁满怀,故百无聊赖;百无聊赖,故弄灯花以自遣——动作的琐碎与心事的深重形成反差,愈琐碎愈见深愁,白描传神,余味不尽。

Related Reading

点绛唇·寂寞深闺 Dian Jiang Chun · Lonely Deep Chamber 李清照 · 同写闺中寂寞,可比较易安不同时期闺情笔法 Same (author / boudoir theme)

Both write boudoir loneliness; compare Yi'an's boudoir manner across periods.

《点绛唇·寂寞深闺》以「寂寞深闺,柔肠一寸愁千缕」「人何处,连天芳草,望断归来路」写深闺寂寞与望归之情,愁浓而直露;此词以「柳眼梅腮,已觉春心动」「夜阑犹剪灯花弄」写早春怀人,愁淡而含蓄。两词同写闺情相思,而一以明丽反衬、一以直抒见长,可见易安闺情词的多样笔法。比较二词,更能体会李清照写愁从含蓄到直露、从轻愁到浓愁的演进,也可窥其词风由早期到晚期的变化轨迹。

鹧鸪天·暗淡轻黄体性柔 Zhe Gu Tian · The Dim Pale Light-Yellow, Soft-Natured 李清照 · 同出易安手笔,一写闺情一咏物 Same (author)

Both from Yi'an's hand, one writes boudoir feeling, one sings an object; both graceful.

《鹧鸪天·暗淡轻黄体性柔》以「暗淡轻黄体性柔,情疏迹远只香留」咏桂花,「何须浅碧深红色,自是花中第一流」托物言志,写其自信与孤高;此词以「柳眼梅腮」「独抱浓愁」写早春怀人,抒情细腻。两词同出李清照手笔,而一咏物言志、一抒情写愁,一以议论见理、一以白描见情,可见易安既能咏物、亦善抒情,词风婉约中自有骨力。比较二词,可见其咏物词的理性与闺情词的感性,正是婉约词宗多面才华的体现。

蝶恋花·槛菊愁烟兰泣露 Die Lian Hua · Chrysanthemums in the Mist, Orchids Weeping Dew 晏殊 · 同调写愁,晏殊含蓄,易安真率 Same (Song · graceful / boudoir)

Same tune writing sorrow; Yan Shu is reserved, Yi'an is frank—see the graceful school's evolution.

晏殊《蝶恋花·槛菊愁烟兰泣露》以「槛菊愁烟兰泣露」「昨夜西风凋碧树,独上高楼,望尽天涯路」写秋日怀远,含蓄典雅、雍容平和;此词以「柳眼梅腮,已觉春心动」「独抱浓愁无好梦」写早春怀人,真率自然、娇媚明快。两词同调同写愁,而晏殊之愁是士大夫的含蓄之愁,李清照之愁是少妇的真率之愁;晏词以意象烘托,李词以动作白描,一雅一真,正是婉约词中「士大夫词」与「女性词」两种面目的对照,也可参看婉约词从五代花间到宋代闺情的发展流变。