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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

李清照·鹧鸪天·暗淡轻黄体性柔

Zhe Gu Tian · Dim Light, Pale Yellow, Soft in Nature

李清照

Li Qingzhao

咏物object-chant 婉约graceful

鹧鸪天·暗淡轻黄体性柔暗淡轻黄体性柔，情疏迹远只香留。
何须浅碧深红色，自是花中第一流。
梅定妒，菊应羞，画阑开处冠中秋。
骚人可煞无情思，何事当年不见收。

Dim and pale yellow, soft in nature; feelings sparse, traces far, only the fragrance stays.
Why need light green or deep red? It is of itself the first rank among flowers.
The plum must envy, the chrysanthemum should be ashamed, blooming by the painted rail it crowns the mid-autumn.
The poet—how could he be so without feeling, that he did not gather it in his song those years?

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Meaning

The cassia is dim in colour, pale light yellow, soft and elegant in nature; its feeling sparse, its trace far, it only leaves its pure fragrance. Why need the bright colours of light green or deep red? It is of itself the first rank among flowers. The plum must be jealous, the chrysanthemum should be ashamed; blooming by the painted rail it is the crown of mid-autumn. The poet Qu Yuan was truly without feeling, why did he not include the cassia when he wrote the Li Sao?

桂花色泽暗淡、轻黄浅淡，体性柔雅，情怀疏淡、行迹偏远，只把清香留存。何必要那浅碧深红般的艳丽颜色，它本来就是花中的第一流。梅花定会妒忌，菊花也应羞愧，在画栏边开放，堪称中秋之冠。骚人屈原可真没情思，为何当年写《离骚》竟未将桂花收进？

Appreciation

This lyric is Li Qingzhao's representative work chanting the cassia, likely written in the tranquil years of Bianjing in the Northern Song. Then Yi'an was famous in the capital as a gifted woman, yet her aloof self-regard and refusal to follow the crowd matched the cassia's 'sparse feeling, far trace'. Borrowing the cassia, she writes both the flower's character and her own lofty, prideful, unworldly personality, with a faint complaint of the unrecognized talent; the language carries a playful charm yet a clean, stern bone.

【白话串讲】 “暗淡轻黄体性柔，情疏迹远只香留”——李清照写桂花：颜色暗淡，性情温柔，踪迹疏远，只留香。“何须浅碧深红色，自是花中第一流”——桂花不用大红大紫，已是花中第一流。她写桂花，是在说自己。【意象与手法】上片白描桂之形神，“暗淡轻黄”写色，“体性柔”写质，“只香留”写韵，层层递进【情感与主旨】此词为李清照咏桂代表作，约作于北宋汴京安宁时期【名句点睛】考点：一、桂花形象的象征意义；二、“梅定妒，菊应羞”的衬托手法；三、末二句对屈原的“翻案”之妙；四、托物言志的手法

Background

This lyric is Li Qingzhao's representative cassia-chant, likely written in the calm years of Bianjing in the Northern Song. At that time Yi'an was famed in the capital as a talented woman, yet her aloof self-regard and refusal to follow the crowd matched exactly the cassia's 'sparse feeling, far trace'. Through singing the cassia she writes both the flower's quality and her own lofty, unworldly, fame-not-seeking character, hiding a faint grievance of the unrecognized talent; the language bears a coquettish petulance yet a clear, stern bone.

李清照《鹧鸪天·暗淡轻黄体性柔》为咏桂之作，具体作年无确考，学界多系之于北宋汴京的安宁时期，即李清照与赵明诚婚后居京师的阶段。此时李清照生活优裕，心境闲适，其咏物之作多托物言志、风调清新，此词即其一。桂花色淡香浓、不逐流俗的品格，与李清照尚雅轻俗的审美旨趣相合，故其借桂自况之意甚明。词中「骚人可煞无情思，何事当年不见收」二句，针对屈原《离骚》而发——屈子在《离骚》中遍举兰、蕙、芷、椒、留夷、揭车等香草以喻贤人，却独独未及桂花，李清照为此翻案，为桂花鸣不平。这一「翻案」笔法，是此词在咏物之外最见性灵之处。版本方面，此词见《漱玉词》，文字各本略无异文；「可煞」为当时口语，意为「实在、真个」，含嗔怪语气，是李清照以俗语入词的例证。「画阑开处冠中秋」写桂花于中秋盛放，为群芳之冠，与下句对屈原的诘问相呼应，结构谨严。此词篇幅短小，而意象、用典、议论融为一体，是易安咏物小令中的上品。李清照咏桂，另有一首《摊破浣溪沙》「揉破黄金万点轻，剪成碧玉叶层层」，同以桂为咏，而此首《鹧鸪天》特以「翻案」出之。二词合观，可见易安对桂之偏爱——桂之「暗淡轻黄」的素雅，正与她不尚浓艳、自标高格的审美相合。故「暗淡轻黄」四字，不惟状桂之色，亦状其词品——淡而有味，雅而不艳。

Art

The first part white-describes the cassia's form and spirit: 'dim and pale yellow' writes colour, 'soft in nature' writes substance, 'only the fragrance stays' writes charm, step by step; with 'Why need light green or deep red' it turns to establish its 'first rank' quality. The second part uses plum and chrysanthemum as foil, then closes by questioning Qu Yuan, springing the unexpected. The whole keeps a measured distance, chanting the object to voice the will, with lively argument yet unexhausted feeling-and-charm, fully showing Yi'an's fresh and incisive manner.

此词通篇咏桂，而笔法高妙处在于「以色写韵、以贬写褒」。上片起句「暗淡轻黄体性柔」，四字「暗淡轻黄」写桂之色，桂无浓艳之色，其色轻黄而黯淡；「体性柔」写桂之质，其性柔婉温雅。此三面并写，已见桂之品格在「淡」与「柔」。次句「情疏迹远只香留」写桂之韵——桂不与人亲近，生于幽僻，然其香却留存久远，一个「只」字，点出桂的可贵全在「香」而不在「色」。「何须浅碧深红色，自是花中第一流」二句，以议论直下：桂不必有浅碧深红之艳色，却自是第一流之花。这二句是全词题旨所在，以「何须」的否定与「自是」的肯定对照，斩截有力。下片「梅定妒，菊应羞」，以梅、菊两大高洁之花作衬，谓其见桂亦当生妒、含羞，是极度的推崇。「骚人可煞无情思，何事当年不见收」二句，转而对屈原发问，以「翻案」收束全篇，使咏物词生出诙谐与机趣。全词以色、质、韵三层写桂，又以议论、衬托、翻案层层推进，短章而有波澜。此词的「议论」亦见匠心：「何须」是反诘，「自是」是断语，「定妒」「应羞」是臆断，「可煞」「何事」是嗔问，通篇以种种口吻的议论推进，而丝毫不觉说理之累，盖因其议论皆由形象托出——「暗淡轻黄」之色、「只香留」之韵、「冠中秋」之时令，皆是可感的形象，故议论而不空，翻案而不滑。读来有「理趣」而不觉其「理障」，是咏物词中「议论入词」的成功范例。

Allusions

'The poet' refers to Qu Yuan, whose Li Sao sings all manner of fragrant herbs to compare to gentlemen, yet alone did not include the cassia; the poet feigns a reproach 'why did he not gather it those years'—this is the method of overturning the old case. Also 'crown of mid-autumn' uses the mid-autumn festival to set the cassia as the season's crown. The allusion does not pile up; rather it questions with a question, using the past to set off the present, giving the object-chant a special insight, fully showing the craft.

此词用典虽不繁，然皆关桂花意象的传统源流。「骚人」即屈原，「何事当年不见收」指屈原《离骚》虽遍写香草——「余既滋兰之九畹兮，又树蕙之百亩」「畦留夷与揭车兮，杂杜衡与芳芷」——兰、蕙、留夷、揭车、杜衡、芳芷皆入篇中，却独独未收桂花。李清照翻用此典，为桂鸣不平，其意不在责屈，而在以「骚人所遗」反衬桂之高洁，是一种「反向用典」的机趣。而桂花入诗，亦有其源：屈原《九歌·湘夫人》「桂栋兮兰橑」、《东皇太一》「奠桂酒兮椒浆」皆已用「桂」，然此为桂树、桂酒，非桂花之芬芳品格，故李清照仍可诘其「不见收」。「梅」「菊」与桂并举，是中国咏花诗的传统格局：梅为岁寒之友，菊为隐逸之标，桂则以「中秋之冠」自居，三者皆为高洁之花，而李清照以梅菊之「妒」「羞」衬桂，遂使桂凌驾于二花之上，其手法与黄庭坚「凌波仙子生尘袜」以水仙比洛神有异曲同工之趣。「情疏迹远」暗用桂生于深山幽谷、不慕繁华的特性，与《楚辞》「幽兰」之喻一脉相通，皆是「香草美人」传统的延伸。又「画阑开处冠中秋」之「中秋」，点出桂的花期。桂于中秋前后盛放，与月同辉，故古人常以「桂」与「月」并举，如「月中桂」之说，见《酉阳杂俎》载吴刚斫桂事。李清照以「冠中秋」写桂，既合时令，又暗通「月桂」的仙家意象，为桂之清高再添一层飘渺。桂之清高，遂由此层层烘托而臻于极致。

Commentary

Shen Xiong, in Ancient and Modern Ci Talk, called Yi'an 'a school of her own'; this lyric uses the cassia as a self-comparison, and critics of Qingzhao say 'first rank among flowers' is truly the master speaking of herself. Later cassia-chants mostly follow her intent; Wang Shizhen also admired the clever overturning of 'the poet without feeling', holding that without this a object-chant is lifeless.

《鹧鸪天·暗淡轻黄体性柔》是李清照咏物词中流传较广的一首，历代评家多有论及。明代杨慎《词品》评此词「清新婉丽」，特赏其「骚人可煞无情思」的翻案之巧，谓「翻尽古人公案，出以风致」。清代陈廷焯《白雨斋词话》论易安词，谓其「能以俚语入词，而雅致不减」，此词「可煞」二字即其例证，嗔怪之态，如在纸上。沈雄《古今词话》亦将此词与周邦彦、贺铸咏桂之作并论，以为易安「以色香相形，别开生面」。近人对此词的接受，多聚焦于其「自是花中第一流」的自负与「骚人无情思」的翻案——学者或谓此词表面咏桂，实为李清照自况：其自视才情为「第一流」，故借桂之被骚人所遗，寄寓其作为女性词人于男性文人传统中的某种不被承认之慨。此说虽不无过度阐释之嫌，然「骚人不见收」的诘问，确可视为易安对既有文学秩序的一次俏皮而不失锋芒的挑战。此词以其机趣与风骨，在咏物词中独树一帜，历来为选本所重。此词在词史上的另一个意义，在于其「翻案」手法对后世的影响——以诘问古人、翻历史公案来写咏物，宋人词中并不罕见，而易安此词的诘问屈原，因切合「香草」传统而尤见机趣，遂成咏桂词中最著名的一笔。后世咏桂者，或承其「第一流」的自负，或袭其「骚人不见收」的翻案，皆可见此词的示范之功。

Prosody

Form Lyric, 'Zhe Gu Tian' double-tune fifty-five characters词（鹧鸪天，小令）

Rhyme Level rhyme, by Ci Lin Zheng Yun, three level rhymes in the first part, two in the second押平声韵，属词林正韵第十二部（尤韵），上片韵脚为柔、留、流，下片为羞、秋、收，上下片各三平韵，一韵到底。

Tone pattern Lines of seven-seven-seven-seven and three-three-seven, level-oblique harmonious and gentle小令依谱填词，此词声调轻快流转，与咏桂的清新雅致相合。上片「何须浅碧深红色」以「何须」二字平声领起，语气舒缓而含诘问；下片「梅定妒，菊应羞」两句三字对，仄仄仄、仄平平，顿挫分明，见出梅菊之惭。

Reading note 'Zhe Gu Tian' has a flowing tune, fit for lyric feeling and object-chant; Yi'an uses it for the cassia, sound and feeling matching.《鹧鸪天》为小令，双调五十五字，上下片各三平韵，其格式略似两首七绝相合，而上片第三、四句与下片起二句须作三字对，是为此调的关钥。李清照此首用韵全押第十二部尤韵，韵脚柔、留、流、羞、秋、收，皆阴平或阳平，音色悠扬而圆润，与桂花之清芬、词人之雅意正相谐。「梅定妒，菊应羞」三字对，「定」对「应」，「妒」对「羞」，字字精工，声调一仄一平、一顿一挫，读来有斩钉截铁之势，正与其「凌驾梅菊」的推崇语气相配。末二句「骚人可煞无情思，何事当年不见收」，「可煞」二字上声短促，如嗔如怪；「不见收」三字以去入声收束，戛然作结，诘问之余韵，久久不绝。小令贵在「意不竭而声有余」，此词以尤韵之悠长配翻案之机趣，声情相得，是李清照深谙声律的又一明证。又下片「梅定妒，菊应羞」两句，以仄仄仄、仄平平的声调对举，「妒」「羞」二字去声、平声相衬，读来一抑一扬，恰与其「梅惭菊愧」的衬托之意相合。

Line by line

暗淡轻黄体性柔，情疏迹远只香留

Dim and pale yellow, soft in nature; feelings sparse, traces far, only the fragrance stays.

桂花色泽暗淡、轻黄浅淡，体性柔雅，情怀疏淡、行迹偏远，只把清香留存

Dull in hue, pale yellow in color, its nature gentle; its feeling detached, its traces far, only the fragrance left.

起二句从色、质、韵三面写桂，层层剥笋。「暗淡轻黄」写色——桂无牡丹之艳、桃李之妖，其色只是浅浅的一抹黄，且在黯淡中，不事张扬；「体性柔」写质——其体性温婉柔雅，与「暗淡」相配，是一种内向的美；「情疏迹远只香留」写韵——桂不与群芳争艳，情怀疏淡，行迹偏远，仿佛超然世外，然其香却留存不散，一个「只」字，把桂的全部价值收束于「香」之一字。此三面写桂，实为写人——李清照所标举的，正是这样一种「貌不惊人、香自致远」的人格理想，色淡而韵长，正是其审美与人格的写照。

The opening two lines write the cassia from three sides — color, substance, and charm — peeling the bamboo shoot layer by layer. Dull in hue, pale yellow in color writes the color — the cassia no peony's splendor, no peach's charm, its color only a faint wash of yellow, and within the dullness, making no display; its nature gentle writes the substance — its temper mild and soft, matching the dull, an inward beauty; its feeling detached, its traces far, only the fragrance left writes the charm — the cassia not competing in splendor with the rest, its feeling detached, its traces far, as if beyond the world, and yet its fragrance lingers undispersed, the one word only gathering the cassia's whole value into the one word fragrance. These three sides writing the cassia are in truth writing the person: what Li Qingzhao raises is precisely this personal ideal of the unremarkable face and the far-reaching fragrance, the pale color and the long charm, precisely the portrait of her taste and her character.

何须浅碧深红色，自是花中第一流

Why need light green or deep red? It is of itself the first rank among flowers.

何必要那浅碧深红般的艳丽颜色，它本来就是花中的第一流

Why need pale green or deep red hues? It is of itself the first rank among flowers.

此二句是上片的点睛之笔，以议论直接道出桂的品格。「何须」二字，是否定的反问，斩钉截铁地拒绝了以艳色论高下的世俗标准——桂不必有浅碧深红之色；「自是」二字，是肯定的断语，力重千钧地宣示了桂的品位——它本就位列花中第一流。一「何须」一「自是」，一拒一立，构成强烈的顿挫，把前面「暗淡轻黄」的平淡之色，陡然提升到「第一流」的至高之位。这种「以色之淡反衬格之高」的写法，正是咏桂词的关窍：桂的价值不在目之所见的颜色，而在鼻之所闻的幽香、心之所感的高洁。李清照此二句，既是咏桂，更是自况，是她对自己「不逐流俗、自具本色」的人格宣言。

These two lines are the first stanza's telling stroke, stating the cassia's character directly in argument. The two words why need are the negating question, decisively rejecting the worldly standard of judging by splendor — the cassia need not have the pale green or deep red hues; the two words of itself are the affirmative verdict, declaring with the weight of a thousand jun the cassia's rank — it stands of itself in the first rank among flowers. The why need and the of itself, one refusal one establishment, composing the strong holding-back, raising the plain color of the dull pale yellow above to the supreme height of the first rank. This way of writing the high character through the pale color is the crux of the cassia ode: the cassia's value lies not in the eye's seen color, but in the nose's smelled fragrance and the heart's felt purity. These two lines of Li Qingzhao are at once the ode of the cassia and the self-figuring, the declaration of her unworldly, self-colored character.

梅定妒，菊应羞，画阑开处冠中秋

The plum must be jealous, the chrysanthemum ashamed; where it blooms by the painted railing, it crowns the mid-autumn.

梅花定会妒忌，菊花也应羞愧，在画栏边开放，堪称中秋之冠

The plum must be jealous, the chrysanthemum ashamed; where it blooms by the painted rail, it is the crown of mid-autumn.

此三句以梅、菊作衬，进一步抬高桂的地位。梅为岁寒之友，菊为隐逸之标，二者皆是公认的高洁之花，然李清照断言：梅见桂亦当生「妒」，菊见桂亦当含「羞」，以两个极端的心理动词，把桂凌驾于梅菊之上。「定」「应」二字，语气斩绝，不容置疑。「画阑开处冠中秋」，则点出桂的时令与位置——中秋时节，画栏之畔，桂香独冠群芳。此句以「画阑」的精致衬桂的雅致，以「冠中秋」的独尊写桂的卓荦，与上片「第一流」遥相呼应。以衬写高，层层加码，是此词最见匠心的章法。

These three lines set the plum and the chrysanthemum as the foil, raising the cassia's standing further. The plum the winter-hardy friend, the chrysanthemum the recluse's mark, both by common consent the pure flowers, and yet Li Qingzhao declares: the plum seeing the cassia would feel jealousy, the chrysanthemum seeing the cassia would feel shame, using the two extreme psychological verbs to place the cassia above the plum and chrysanthemum. The words must and should, the tone decisive, admitting no doubt. Where it blooms by the painted railing, it is the crown of mid-autumn names the cassia's season and place — the mid-autumn season, the painted rail's edge, the cassia's fragrance alone crowning the flowers. This line sets the cassia's elegance against the painted rail's refinement, writes the cassia's pre-eminence through the crown of mid-autumn, echoing the above first rank. Writing the height through the foil, adding weight layer on layer, the most ingenious craft of this ci.

骚人可煞无情思，何事当年不见收

The poet—how could he be so without feeling, that he did not gather it in his song those years?

骚人屈原可真没情思，为何当年写《离骚》竟未将桂花收进

O poet-singer, have you truly no feeling? Why, in those years, did you not gather it in?

结二句是全词的「翻案」之笔，最见易安性灵。「骚人」指屈原，「可煞」为宋时口语，犹言「实在、真个」，含嗔怪之意。屈原《离骚》遍写兰、蕙、芷、椒诸香草以喻贤人，却独独漏掉了桂花，李清照故作嗔怪之语：屈原啊屈原，你实在没有情思，为何当年竟不把桂花收进你的《离骚》？这看似责备，实为反衬——连「香草美人」传统的开创者屈原都遗漏了桂，正见桂之高洁不为人知、自甘寂寞的品格。以诙谐的翻案作结，使全词的咏物议论收于机趣，一改咏物词易流于板滞的通病，读来令人会心。

The last two lines are the ci's reversal stroke, most showing Yi'an's wit. The poet-singer means Qu Yuan, the Song colloquial adverb carrying the blame, like truly, really. Qu Yuan's Li Sao writes the orchid, the fragrant iris, the angelica, the pepper and the fragrant herbs to figure the worthy, and alone omits the cassia, and Li Qingzhao in the pretended blame: Qu Yuan, Qu Yuan, you truly have no feeling, why in those years did you not gather the cassia into your Li Sao? This seeming blame is in truth the foil — even Qu Yuan, the founder of the fragrant-herb-and-beauty tradition, omitted the cassia, precisely showing the cassia's purity unknown to men and its self-contented loneliness. Closing on the witty reversal, the ci's ode-argument closes in humor, changing the ode-ci's common fault of stiffness, the reading sharing the smile.

Study

Word focus

只香留 'only the fragrance stays': the word 'only' shows a decisive choice, stressing the cassia relies not on colour but on fragrance; one character fixes its character, simple yet forceful. 「只香留」三字是上片写桂的点睛处。「只」字是限定，也是强调——桂之色虽暗淡，体虽柔婉，情虽疏、迹虽远，然其「香」却留存不散，这一个「只」字，把桂的全部价值聚焦于「香」之一端，其余诸相尽皆退居其次。「香」本是无形之物，而「留」字赋予其时间上的绵延——色可褪、迹可远，唯香可久留。此三字暗合「以色事人者，色衰而爱弛；以德立身者，历久而不渝」的道理，李清照借桂之香，标举了一种超越形色、直指本真的价值取向，可谓言近旨远。

第一流 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「第一流」三字，是此词对桂的最高评骘，也是李清照的自许。以「流」字品评人物、事物之高下，源于魏晋九品中正之制与《世说新语》「第一流」人物的说法，李清照移以品花，谓桂为「花中第一流」，既承古义，又出以新意。这三个字的妙处，在于其斩截的口吻——不云「亦是一流」，而径曰「第一流」，语气绝决，不容置喙，把一个咏物的判断句，写成了掷地有声的人格宣言。且「第一流」是就「品」而言，非就「色」而言，故与其「暗淡轻黄」之色适成对照，愈见其「以品胜不以色胜」的深意。

可煞 'without feeling' (ke sha): a Song-dynasty colloquial, like 'but, how', a dialect word brought into the lyric; the petulant tone comes alive, adding liveliness. 「可煞」是宋时口语，犹言「实在、真个」，含嗔怪、惋惜之意。李清照以此二字入词，是对「骚人」屈原的一次口语化的嗔责——「可煞无情思」，实在是个没情思的！这种以口语写古人、以嗔怪代议论的笔法，在婉约词中别具一格：它把严肃的咏物与翻案，化解为一种俏皮的机趣，使全词的结尾不坠于板滞，反生出生动的人情味。以俚语入词而不失雅致，正是陈廷焯所称易安「俚而不俗」的本领，而「可煞」二字正是这本领的绝好标本。