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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

柳永·玉蝴蝶·望处雨收云断

Jade Butterfly · Gazing Where the Rain Has Ceased and Clouds Broken

柳永

Liu Yong

婉约graceful 思念longing

望处雨收云断，凭阑悄悄，目送秋光。
晚景萧疏，堪动宋玉悲凉。
水风轻，蘋花渐老，月露冷、梧叶飘黄。
遣情伤。
故人何在，烟水茫茫。
难忘，文期酒会，几孤风月，屡变星霜。
海阔山遥，未知何处是潇湘。
念双燕、难凭远信，指暮天、空识归航。
黯相望。
断鸿声里，立尽斜阳。

Where I gaze, the rain has ceased, the clouds broken;
Leaning on the rail, quiet, I watch the autumn light depart.
The evening scene is sparse and desolate, enough to stir Song Yu's sorrow.
Water and wind are light; the duckweed flowers grow old;
The moonlit dew is cold, and plane leaves drift yellow.
It deepens my hurt. Where is my old friend?
Mist and water, vast and blank.
Hard to forget — the poetry dates and wine meetings,
How often I missed the wind and moon, how the stars and frost have changed again and again.
The sea is wide, the mountains far; I know not where Xiang is.
I think of the paired swallows — hard to trust with a far letter;
Pointing at the dusk sky, in vain I know the homebound sail.
I gaze in gloom.
Amid the cry of the lone swan, I stand until the slanting sun is gone.

Listen

Meaning

Where I look, the rain has stopped and the clouds broken; quietly leaning on the rail I watch the autumn scene go by. The evening is sparse and forlorn, enough to move one to Song Yu's melancholy. The water-wind is gentle, the duckweed blossoms grow old, the moonlit dew cold, the plane leaves drift yellow. The feeling-wound deepens. Where is my old friend? Only mist and water stretch vast and dim. Hard to forget those poetry appointments and wine gatherings; how many times I slighted the wind and moon, how the star-and-frost has changed. Sea wide, mountains far, I know not where Xiang lies. I think of the paired swallows — hard to entrust with a distant letter; pointing at the dusk sky, in vain I recognise the homecoming sail. Gloomily I gaze. In the cry of the lone swan, I stand till the slanting sun is spent.

远望之处雨停云散，我悄悄倚栏，目送这秋日风光。傍晚景色萧条疏落，真能触动宋玉般的悲凉。水风轻柔，蘋花渐渐老去，月下露冷、梧桐叶飘落枯黄。更添情伤。故人在哪里？只见烟水茫茫。难以忘怀，那诗文相期、饮酒聚会的时光，几次辜负了清风明月，星霜几度变换。海阔山遥，不知何处才是潇湘。想那双燕、难托远方书信，指着暮天、空自认得归航。黯然相望。在离群孤雁的哀鸣里，站到夕阳落尽。

Appreciation

The first stanza writes autumn scene only, yet every line concerns feeling: 'the rain has ceased, the clouds broken,' 'the evening scene sparse and desolate' lead to Song Yu's sorrow; water-wind, duckweed, moon-dew, plane-leaves layer the autumn, closing with 'where is my old friend? mist and water, vast and blank,' scene and feeling fused. The second stanza turns to recollection and distant longing: 'the poetry dates and wine meetings' writes yesterday's joy; 'the sea wide, the mountains far' writes today's separation; it ends with 'amid the cry of the lone swan, I stand until the slanting sun is gone,' where the long gazing and deep longing are all contained. Spreading yet one breath throughout — the strength of Liu's slow lyric.

【白话串讲】 “望处雨收云断，凭阑悄悄，目送秋光”——柳永凭栏望秋。“故人何在，烟水茫茫”——故人在哪？烟水茫茫。“海阔山遥，未知何处是潇湘”——海阔山遥。【意象与手法】上片纯写秋景而句句关情：雨收云断、晚景萧疏，引出宋玉悲凉【情感与主旨】此词为柳永羁旅行役、怀念故人之作，具体作年已难确考，当在其屡次科举不第、长期漂泊异乡、久客无依之际【名句点睛】中高考常考：一、上片景物描写如何营造悲凉氛围（宋玉悲凉的铺垫）；二、"故人何在，烟水茫茫"的意境与情感

Background

This lyric is Liu Yong's work of travel and longing for an old friend; the exact year is hard to fix, likely from his times of repeated examination failure, long drifting in strange lands, a guest with none to rely on. Liu Yong wandered the rivers and lakes all his life, often writing parting and travel grief; this lyric, on an autumn climb, is moved by the sparse evening scene to his autumn-sorrow feeling, and far recalls the friends of former poetry dates and wine meetings. The lines 'sea wide, mountains far' and 'how often I slighted the wind and moon' exactly show his rootless body, cut off from letters — a typical piece in Liu's travel-and-friend-remembering vein.

《玉蝴蝶·望处雨收云断》为北宋柳永所作，是写秋日怀人的词。柳永（约987—约1053），字耆卿，崇安人，北宋词人。此词：望处雨收云断，凭阑悄悄，目送秋光。晚景萧疏，堪动宋玉悲凉。水风轻，蘋花渐老，月露冷、梧叶飘黄。遣情伤。故人何在，烟水茫茫。难忘。文期酒会，几孤风月，屡变星霜。海阔山遥，未知何处是潇湘。念双燕、难凭远信，指暮天、空识归航。黯相望。断鸿声里，立尽斜阳。全词写秋日怀人、登高远望，是柳永词的名篇。

Art

The first stanza writes autumn scene only, yet every line concerns feeling: 'the rain has ceased, the clouds broken,' 'the evening scene sparse and desolate' lead to Song Yu's sorrow; water-wind, duckweed, moon-dew, plane-leaves layer the autumn, closing with 'where is my old friend? mist and water, vast and blank,' scene and feeling fused. The second stanza turns to recollection and distant yearning: 'the poetry dates and wine meetings' writes the old joy; 'the sea wide, the mountains far' writes today's divide; it ends with 'amid the cry of the lone swan, I stand until the slanting sun is gone,' where the long gazing and deep longing are all contained. Spreading yet one breath throughout — the strength of Liu's slow lyrical brush.

《玉蝴蝶·望处雨收云断》艺术上以秋景的萧疏与怀人的深婉见长。全词十五句，层层写来：上片写秋日登高望景——“望处雨收云断，凭阑悄悄，目送秋光”写雨收凭阑，“晚景萧疏，堪动宋玉悲凉”写晚景悲凉，“水风轻，蘋花渐老，月露冷、梧叶飘黄”写水风梧叶，“遣情伤。故人何在，烟水茫茫”写情伤故人；下片写怀人之思——“难忘。文期酒会，几孤风月，屡变星霜”写文期酒会，“海阔山遥，未知何处是潇湘”写海阔山遥，“念双燕、难凭远信，指暮天、空识归航”写双燕归航，“黯相望。断鸿声里，立尽斜阳”写断鸿斜阳。全词以秋景写怀人，正是柳永词深婉的笔法。

Allusions

In the first stanza 'enough to stir Song Yu's sorrow' uses Song Yu's 'Nine Arguments' — 'sorrowful indeed is the air of autumn' — the autumn-sorrow tradition, comparing himself to Song Yu to mark the whole lyric's autumnal, friend-remembering tone. 'Xiang' originally names the Xiang River, often borrowed for a friend's place or a parting land (as in 'night rain at Xiang'), here figuring the old friend's far home. 'Stars and frost' uses the turning of stars and the changing of frost-dew to stand for the passing of the years. The allusions are all familiar and melted without trace, serving the travel-and-longing theme with no piling — exactly Liu's trait of 'plain and clear yet long in feeling.'

《玉蝴蝶·望处雨收云断》用典在“宋玉悲凉”“潇湘”“双燕”。“宋玉悲凉”用宋玉《九辩》“悲哉秋之为气”之典，写秋之悲凉；“潇湘”用潇湘水名写故人所在；“双燕”用《古诗》双燕之典写难凭远信。全词以这些典故写秋日怀人，用典自然而深婉自见，正是柳永词的笔法。

Commentary

The modern Tang Guizhang praised Liu's lyrics for 'spreading and extending, fully supplied, nothing left out' — this lyric shows exactly that strength. Xue Lifang, in his General Account of Song Lyrics, said it 'writes parting feeling through autumn scene, layer upon layer, and the gaze of devotion is as if before the eye.' Later readers often pair it with 'Eight Sounds of Ganzhou,' saying Liu's travel lyrics excel at writing tender feeling with a firm brush; scene and feeling born of each other — though popular in manner, the style is self-high, not to be matched by mere vulgar writers.

《玉蝴蝶·望处雨收云断》是柳永词的名篇，也是北宋词中写秋日怀人的代表作。此词写秋日怀人、登高远望，向为论者称道。论者多赏其秋景的萧疏与怀人的深婉——“晚景萧疏，堪动宋玉悲凉”写晚景悲凉，承宋玉《九辩》之悲；“水风轻，蘋花渐老，月露冷、梧叶飘黄”写秋景之萧疏；“黯相望。断鸿声里，立尽斜阳”写断鸿斜阳，更见怀人之深。柳永为北宋婉约词代表，其词以深婉著称，此词正是其代表——以秋景写怀人，正是其词风。

Prosody

Form Lyric, 'Jade Butterfly' (Yu Hu Die), double-tune 99 (or 100) characters词·玉蝴蝶

Rhyme Level rhyme, per Ci Lin Zheng Yun, many level rhymes across both stanzas《玉蝴蝶·望处雨收云断》为双调词，押平声韵。此词用韵：光、凉、黄、茫（阳部）、忘、霜、湘、航、阳（阳部），一韵到底，音节深婉。

Tone pattern Long slow tune; the transition line 'Hard to forget' is shorter and abrupt玉蝴蝶为双调词，音节深婉而萧疏。此词写秋日怀人，音节深婉而萧疏。全词一韵到底，声调与秋日怀人的内容相合，是柳永词中深婉的一路。

Reading note 'Jade Butterfly' has uneven lines, fit for autumn thought and travel grief — Liu Yong is most famed in this tune.《玉蝴蝶·望处雨收云断》为北宋柳永所作，是写秋日怀人的词。此词以“望处雨收云断”写登高望景，以“晚景萧疏，堪动宋玉悲凉”写秋日悲凉，以“故人何在，烟水茫茫”写怀故人，以“黯相望。断鸿声里，立尽斜阳”写立尽斜阳。以秋景写怀人，正是柳永词的名篇。

Line by line

望处雨收云断，凭阑悄悄，目送秋光。晚景萧疏，堪动宋玉悲凉。

Where I gaze, the rain has ceased and the clouds parted; leaning on the rail in silence, I watch the autumn light go. The evening scene is bleak, fit to stir Song Yu's grief.

望处雨收云断，凭阑悄悄，目送秋光。晚景萧疏，堪动人宋玉式的悲凉。

Where I gaze, rain ends and clouds break; leaning on the rail in quiet, I watch the autumn light go. The evening scene is bleak enough to stir Song Yu's melancholy.

上片首写秋日登高，是全词怀人的起点。“望处雨收云断，凭阑悄悄，目送秋光”写登高望景——“望处雨收云断”写望处雨收云断，“凭阑悄悄”写凭阑悄悄，“目送秋光”写目送秋光——雨收云断，凭阑目送秋光；“晚景萧疏，堪动宋玉悲凉”写晚景悲凉——“晚景萧疏”写晚景萧疏，“堪动宋玉悲凉”用宋玉《九辩》之典写堪动人宋玉式的悲凉——晚景萧疏，动宋玉悲。五句写秋日登高：望处雨收云断、凭阑悄悄、目送秋光，晚景萧疏、堪动宋玉悲凉。以“望处雨收云断，凭阑悄悄，目送秋光”写雨后凭阑、目送秋光，以“晚景萧疏，堪动宋玉悲凉”写晚景萧疏、悲凉袭人，正是柳永词写秋日登高、为怀人张本的起点——秋光萧疏，悲凉先动。

The first stanza opens on the autumn climb, the starting point of the ci's longing. Where I gaze, rain ends and clouds break; leaning on the rail in quiet, I watch the autumn light go writes the height-gazing scene — the rain ended and the clouds parted, the leaning on the rail in silence, the watching of the autumn light; the evening scene is bleak, fit to stir Song Yu's melancholy writes the evening's grief — the bleak evening, the Song Yu allusion for the mournfulness. Five lines: the rain ended, the rail, the autumn light; the bleak evening, the Song Yu grief. The rain ended and the rail write the post-rain leaning and the watching of the autumn; the bleak evening and the Song Yu grief write the desolate scene and the chilling sorrow — precisely Liu Yong's starting point for the autumn climb and the longing that follows: the autumn light bleak, the grief first stirred.

水风轻，蘋花渐老，月露冷、梧叶飘黄。遣情伤。故人何在，烟水茫茫。

The water breeze is light, the duckweed flowers aging; the moon dew is cold, the parasol leaves drifting yellow. It sends the feeling to grief. Where is the old friend? The misty waters are vast.

水风轻，蘋花渐老，月露冷、梧叶飘黄。遣此情伤。故人何在，烟水茫茫。

Light the water breeze, the duckweed flowers aging; cold the moon dew, the parasol leaves drifting yellow. It wounds the heart. Where is the old friend? Misty waters, vast.

此六句写秋景萧疏、怀故人，是全词怀人的深化。“水风轻，蘋花渐老，月露冷、梧叶飘黄”写秋景——“水风轻”写水风轻，“蘋花渐老”写蘋花渐老，“月露冷、梧叶飘黄”写月露冷、梧叶飘黄——水风蘋花，梧叶飘黄；“遣情伤。故人何在，烟水茫茫”写怀故人——“遣情伤”写遣此情伤，“故人何在”写故人何在，“烟水茫茫”写烟水茫茫——情伤，故人何在，烟水茫茫。六句写秋景怀人：水风轻、蘋花渐老、月露冷梧叶飘黄，遣情伤、故人何在、烟水茫茫。以“水风轻，蘋花渐老，月露冷、梧叶飘黄”写秋景之萧疏，以“故人何在，烟水茫茫”写故人不见、烟水茫茫，正是柳永词写怀人的深化——景愈萧疏，情愈伤。

These six lines write the bleak autumn and the longing for the old friend, the deepening of the ci's longing. Light the water breeze, the duckweed flowers aging; cold the moon dew, the parasol leaves drifting yellow writes the autumn scene — the light breeze, the aging duckweed, the cold dew and the yellow leaves; it wounds the heart. Where is the old friend? The misty waters are vast writes the longing — the wound, the where, the vast mist. Six lines: the light breeze and aging flowers, the cold dew and yellow leaves; the wound, the old friend nowhere, the misty waters vast. The water breeze and drifting leaves write the scene's bleakness; the old friend nowhere and the misty waters write the vanished friend and the vastness — precisely Liu Yong's deepening of the longing: the bleaker the scene, the deeper the grief.

难忘。文期酒会，几孤风月，屡变星霜。海阔山遥，未知何处是潇湘。

Unforgettable: the set days of letters and wine, how often I neglected the wind and moon, how often the stars and frosts changed. The sea is broad, the mountains far; I know not where the Xiao-Xiang lies.

难忘。文期酒会，几度辜负风月，屡变星霜。海阔山遥，未知何处是潇湘。

Unforgettable: the days of verse and wine; how often I missed the wind and moon, how often the star-frosts turned. The sea wide, the mountains far; I know not where the Xiao-Xiang is.

此七句写追忆与遥望，是全词怀人的深化。“难忘。文期酒会，几孤风月，屡变星霜”写追忆——“难忘”写难忘，“文期酒会”写文期酒会，“几孤风月，屡变星霜”写几度辜负风月、屡变星霜——难忘文期酒会，星霜屡变；“海阔山遥，未知何处是潇湘”写遥望——“海阔山遥”写海阔山遥，“未知何处是潇湘”用潇湘水名写未知何处是故人所在——海阔山遥，何处潇湘。七句写追忆与遥望：难忘文期酒会、几孤风月、屡变星霜，海阔山遥、未知何处是潇湘。以“难忘。文期酒会，几孤风月，屡变星霜”写当年文期酒会之难忘、岁月之屡变，以“海阔山遥，未知何处是潇湘”写海阔山遥、不知故人何在，正是柳永词写怀人的深化——旧游难忘，而故人难寻。

These seven lines write the recollection and the far gaze, the deepening of the ci's longing. Unforgettable: the set days of letters and wine, how often I neglected the wind and moon, how often the stars and frosts changed writes the memory — the unforgettable, the verse-and-wine days, the neglected wind and moon, the changing star-frosts; the sea is broad, the mountains far; I know not where the Xiao-Xiang lies writes the far gaze — the broad sea and far mountains, the Xiao-Xiang water name for the friend's unknown place. Seven lines: the unforgettable verse days, the neglected wind and moon, the changing frosts; the broad sea and far mountains, the unknown Xiao-Xiang. The unforgettable days and the changing years write the old joy and the turning time; the broad sea and far mountains write the unknown friend — precisely Liu Yong's deepening: the old roaming unforgettable, and the old friend hard to find.

念双燕、难凭远信，指暮天、空识归航。黯相望。断鸿声里，立尽斜阳。

Thinking of the paired swallows, no trusty distant letter; pointing to the dusk sky, in vain I know the returning sails. I gaze on, forlorn. Amid the lone goose's cry, I stand through the setting sun.

念双燕，难凭远信；指暮天，空识归航。黯然相望。断鸿声里，立尽斜阳。

Thinking of the paired swallows, no reliance on distant letters; pointing to the dusk sky, in vain I scan the returning boats. Forlorn I gaze. Amid the broken goose's cry, I stand through the setting sun.

末五句写难凭远信、立尽斜阳，是全词怀人的归结。“念双燕、难凭远信，指暮天、空识归航”写难凭远信——“念双燕、难凭远信”写念双燕难凭远信，“指暮天、空识归航”写指暮天空识归航——双燕难凭，归航空识；“黯相望。断鸿声里，立尽斜阳”写立尽斜阳——“黯相望”写黯然相望，“断鸿声里，立尽斜阳”写在断鸿声里、立尽斜阳——黯相望，立尽斜阳。五句写难凭远信、立尽斜阳：念双燕难凭远信、指暮天空识归航，黯相望、断鸿声里立尽斜阳。以“念双燕、难凭远信，指暮天、空识归航”写燕难凭信、归航空识，以“黯相望。断鸿声里，立尽斜阳”写断鸿声中、独立斜阳，正是柳永词写怀人的归结——归航空识，独立斜阳，其怀人之深可知。

The last five lines write the untrusted distant letter and the standing through the sunset, the gathering of the ci's longing. Thinking of the paired swallows, no trusty distant letter; pointing to the dusk sky, in vain I know the returning sails writes the untrusted letter — the swallows and the letter, the dusk sky and the vain sails; I gaze on, forlorn. Amid the lone goose's cry, I stand through the setting sun writes the standing through the sunset — the forlorn gaze, the broken goose's cry, the standing through the sun. Five lines: the swallows and the vain sails; the forlorn gaze, the goose's cry, the ending sun. The swallows no trust and the sails in vain write the letter's failure and the boat's vain recognition; the broken goose's cry and the standing through the sunset write the solitary standing in the evening glow — precisely Liu Yong's gathering of the longing: the sails vainly known, the sunset stood through, and the depth of the longing known.

Study

Word focus

宋玉悲凉 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “堪动宋玉悲凉”之“宋玉悲凉”，用宋玉《九辩》悲秋之典，写秋之悲凉，是全词写秋日悲凉的关键词。“宋玉”写宋玉（悲秋之祖），“悲凉”写悲凉之情——堪动人宋玉式的悲凉。这一词以“宋玉悲凉”写秋悲：不是寻常之悲，而宋玉悲凉；不是可解之愁，而悲秋之祖之悲。以“晚景萧疏，堪动宋玉悲凉”写秋景动人悲凉，正是柳永词用典写悲秋的笔法。

梧叶飘黄 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “月露冷、梧叶飘黄”之“梧叶飘黄”，写梧叶飘黄，是全词写秋景萧疏的关键词。“梧叶”写梧叶，“飘黄”写飘落而黄——月露冷、梧叶飘黄。这一词写秋景之象：不是繁绿之叶，而梧叶飘黄；不是夏景之盛，而秋色之衰。以“月露冷、梧叶飘黄”写秋景萧疏，正是柳永词写秋景的笔法。

星霜 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “屡变星霜”之“星霜”，写星霜（年岁），是全词写岁月流逝的关键词。“星霜”写星（年）霜（岁）——屡变星霜。这一词写岁月之久：不是短暂时日，而星霜屡变；不是可数之年，而星霜代谢。以“文期酒会，几孤风月，屡变星霜”写当年文期酒会、岁月屡变，正是柳永词写怀人岁月之久的笔法。

立尽斜阳 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “断鸿声里，立尽斜阳”之“立尽斜阳”，写立于斜阳直至西尽，是全词写怀人之深的归结词。“立尽”写独立至尽，“斜阳”写西斜之日——断鸿声里，立尽斜阳。这一词写伫立之久：不是短暂之立，而立尽斜阳；不是可止之望，而至于日斜西尽。以“黯相望。断鸿声里，立尽斜阳”写断鸿声中独立至斜阳西尽，正是柳永词写怀人之深的归结。