宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
绿头鸭
Lütou Ya (Green-Headed Duck): Mid-Autumn Moon
晚云收，淡天一片琉璃。
烂银盘、来从海底，皓色千里澄辉。
莹无尘、素娥淡伫，静可数、丹桂参差。
玉露初零，金风未凛，一年无似此佳时。
露坐久，疏莹时度，乌鹊正南飞。
瑶台冷，栏干凭暖，玉下迟迟。
念佳人，音尘别后，对此应解相思。
最关情、漏声正永，暗断肠、花影偷移。
料得来宵，清光未减，阴晴天气又争知。
共凝恋、如今别后，还是隔年期。
人强健，清尊素影，长愿相随。
A plate of molten silver, risen from the bottom of the sea, casts its white radiance pure for a thousand li.
Lustrous and dust-free, Chang'e stands pale and still; in the stillness one can count the uneven branches of the cassia tree.
Jade dew begins to fall; the autumn wind is not yet chill; no season of the year is so fine as this.
I sit long in the dew; sparse fireflies flit past; crows and magpies fly due south.
The jade terrace grows cold; I lean on the railing while it is still warm; the jade hare is slow to descend.
Thinking of my fair one: since we parted, facing this moon she must know longing too.
What touches the heart most: the water-clock's sound through the long night; my heart breaks unseen as the flower shadows steal away.
Tomorrow night the pure light will be undimmed, but who knows if the weather will be clear or overcast?
Bound in shared longing: since we parted, reunion is still a year away.
Stay strong and healthy; with a clear cup and the moon's pale shadow, may we long remain together.
Meaning
A mid-autumn lyric: after the evening clouds clear, the moon rises like a plate of molten silver and the whole night is judged the finest of the year. Sitting long in the dew, the speaker thinks of his absent beloved, and the lyric ends not in consummation but in a wish for her health and lifelong companionship under the moon.
晚云收，淡天一片琉璃。烂银盘、来从海底，皓色千里澄辉。莹无尘、素娥淡伫，静可数、丹桂参差。玉露初零，金风未凛，一年无似此佳时。露坐久，疏莹时度，乌鹊正南飞。瑶台冷，栏干凭暖，玉下迟迟。念佳人，音尘别后，对此应解相思。最关情、漏声正永，暗断肠、花影偷移。料得来宵，清光未减，阴晴天气又争知。共凝恋、如今别后，还是隔年期。人强健，清尊素影，长愿相随。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] Evening clouds draw in; the pale sky is a sheet of glass. A plate of molten silver rises from the sea, its white sheen casting pure radiance a thousand li. Lustrous and dust-free, Chang'e stands pale and still; in the stillness one can count the cassia's uneven branches. Jade dew begins to fall; the autumn wind is not yet chill; no season all year is so fine. I sit long in the dew; fireflies flit past; crows and magpies fly south. The jade terrace is cold; I lean on the railing while it is warm; the jade hare is slow to set. Thinking of my fair one, since we parted, facing this moon she must know longing too. What touches the heart most: the water-clock through the long night, my heart breaking unseen as flower shadows steal away. Tomorrow the pure light will be undimmed, but who knows if the sky will be clear or overcast? Bound in shared longing, since we parted, reunion is still a year away. Stay strong and healthy; with a clear cup and the moon's pale shadow, may we long remain together. [Structure] The upper stanza is a slow panorama of the moonlit night; the lower stanza turns from moon to person, from person to the clock and shadows, and closes on a wish. [Imagery] The poem writes the moon as an object of perfect clarity, glass sky, silver plate, dust-free lustre, and lets that clarity frame human uncertainty: the beloved's feelings, tomorrow's weather, the year's wait.
【白话串讲】 晁端礼写《绿头鸭》：“晚云收，淡天一片琉璃”——“烂银盘、来从海底，皓色千里澄辉”——“莹无尘、素娥淡伫，静可数、丹桂参差”——“玉露初零，金风未凛，一年无似此佳时”——他写中秋月——烂银盘来从海底。 【意象与手法】 “晚云收，淡天一片琉璃”以琉璃写天净；“烂银盘、来从海底，皓色千里澄辉”以银盘写月出；“莹无尘、素娥淡伫，静可数、丹桂参差”写月中之景；“念佳人音尘别后、对此应解相思”写念佳人；结以“人强健，清尊素影，长愿相随”写长愿相随。咏月写人、含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 晁端礼写中秋咏月之作，写中秋月色的澄澈与对佳人的相思，结以“长愿相随”的祝愿，是宋词咏中秋的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“烂银盘、来从海底，皓色千里澄辉”以银盘写中秋月；“人强健，清尊素影，长愿相随”以长愿相随写中秋祝愿。
Background
Chao Duanli (1046 to 1113), courtesy name Cihuan, was a native of Juye in Shandong and a noted Northern Song lyricist. This piece belongs to the mid-autumn tradition of moon-viewing, which by the Northern Song had already produced Su Shi's 'Prelude to Water Melody'. Chao's lyric is gentler and more private: no cosmic questions, only a man sitting out the dew, thinking of an absent woman, and closing with a simple wish for her health.
《绿头鸭》为北宋词人晁端礼所作词。晁端礼（1046—1113），字次膺，济州巨野（今山东巨野）人，北宋词人。此词写中秋咏月。词中「晚云收，淡天一片琉璃。烂银盘、来从海底，皓色千里澄辉」写月出之景；「莹无尘、素娥淡伫，静可数、丹桂参差」写月中之景；「念佳人，音尘别后，对此应解相思」写念佳人相思；「最关情、漏声正永，暗断肠、花影偷移」写断肠之情；「人强健，清尊素影，长愿相随」写长愿相随之愿。晁端礼此词以中秋咏月、念佳人相思之情写怀人，含蓄深婉，是晁端礼词中的名篇。此篇《绿头鸭》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。此篇《绿头鸭》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 method is graded clarity. The sky is glass, the moon a silver plate, the disc dust-free, the cassia branches countable: each image increases the purity of the light until the night feels almost inhabited. Against this perfection the human facts are all uncertain: whether she shares the longing, whether tomorrow's moon will be visible, when reunion will come. The turn at 'thinking of my fair one' moves the whole scene from spectacle to intimacy, and the ending, a toast to the moon's pale shadow and a wish for health, converts longing into a vow of constancy rather than complaint.
此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、以月写情」见长。全词上片写月出之景与露坐望月，下片写念佳人相思与长愿相随。上片「晚云收，淡天一片琉璃。烂银盘、来从海底，皓色千里澄辉」写月出之景：晚云收，淡天一片琉璃；烂银盘、来从海底，皓色千里澄辉。「莹无尘、素娥淡伫，静可数、丹桂参差」写月中之景：莹无尘、素娥淡伫，静可数、丹桂参差。「玉露初零，金风未凛，一年无似此佳时」写此夜之佳：玉露初零，金风未凛，一年无似此佳时。「露坐久，疏莹时度，乌鹊正南飞」写露坐望月：露坐久，疏莹时度，乌鹊正南飞。「瑶台冷，栏干凭暖，玉下迟迟」写凭栏久望：瑶台冷，栏干凭暖，玉下迟迟。下片「念佳人，音尘别后，对此应解相思」写念佳人相思：念佳人，音尘别后，对此应解相思。「最关情、漏声正永，暗断肠、花影偷移」写断肠之情：最关情、漏声正永，暗断肠、花影偷移。「料得来宵，清光未减，阴晴天气又争知」写料想来宵：料得来宵，清光未减，阴晴天气又争知。「共凝恋、如今别后，还是隔年期」写凝恋：共凝恋、如今别后，还是隔年期。「人强健，清尊素影，长愿相随」写长愿相随：人强健，清尊素影，长愿相随。全词含蓄深婉，以月写情，是晁端礼词中的名篇。
Allusions
Chang'e is the goddess of the moon, standing pale in her cold palace; the cassia tree grows in the moon, its uneven branches visible in the disc; the jade hare pounds the elixir there and is slow to descend at dawn. 'Crows and magpies fly south' echoes Cao Cao's 'the moon is bright, the stars sparse, crows and magpies fly south'. The 'jade terrace' is the immortals' moonlit tower. 'A clear cup and the moon's pale shadow' nods to Li Bai's 'I raise my cup and invite the moon; with my shadow we are three'. The allusions are dissolved into the moon-viewing, never paraded.
词中「琉璃」「烂银盘」「海底」「素娥」「丹桂」「玉露」「金风」「乌鹊」「瑶台」「漏声」「花影」「清尊素影」等语，皆含典故故实。「琉璃」写天色如琉璃之澄澈；「烂银盘」用白居易《中秋月》「照他几许人肠断，玉兔银蟾远不知」之意，以银盘写月；「海底」写月从海底升起；「素娥」指嫦娥，「素娥淡伫」写嫦娥淡妆伫立；「丹桂」指月中桂树，「丹桂参差」写月中桂树参差；「玉露」「金风」写秋露秋风；「乌鹊」用曹操《短歌行》「月明星稀，乌鹊南飞」之典；「瑶台」为仙人所居之台；「漏声」写更漏之声；「花影」写花之影；「清尊素影」用李白《月下独酌》「举杯邀明月，对影成三人」之意，写清樽与月影。词人以琉璃、烂银盘、素娥、丹桂、乌鹊、瑶台等典入词，不着痕迹，而把中秋咏月之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。
Commentary
Chao Duanli's 'Lütou Ya' was prized as one of the finest mid-autumn lyrics after Su Shi's 'Prelude to Water Melody'; anthologists quoted especially 'a plate of molten silver rises from the sea' for the freshness of its metaphor. Where Su Shi's lyric turns philosophical, Chao's stays personal, and its power lies in the modesty of the closing wish: not reunion tonight, but health and the moon's company. Later critics placed it with Yan Shu's 'Silk-Washing Stream' as examples of longing glimpsed through shifting scenery, the two together showing the Northern Song art of writing deep feeling in level tones.
这首《绿头鸭》，是晁端礼写中秋咏月之作，写月出澄辉、露坐望月、念佳人相思之情，含蓄深婉。上片写月出之景与露坐望月：「晚云收，淡天一片琉璃。烂银盘、来从海底，皓色千里澄辉」——晚云收，淡天一片琉璃；烂银盘、来从海底，皓色千里澄辉。写月出之景：晚云收尽，淡天一片琉璃色；月如烂银盘，从海底升出，皓色千里澄辉——以琉璃写天色、以烂银盘写月、以千里澄辉写月光，写尽中秋月出之美；「莹无尘、素娥淡伫，静可数、丹桂参差」——莹无尘、素娥淡伫，静可数、丹桂参差。写月中之景：月莹无尘、素娥淡伫，月中丹桂参差可数——写尽月之明净、月中之景；「玉露初零，金风未凛，一年无似此佳时」——玉露初零，金风未凛，一年无似此佳时。写此夜之佳：玉露初零、金风未凛，一年之中无似此佳时——中秋之月，一年最佳；「露坐久，疏莹时度，乌鹊正南飞」——露坐久，疏莹时度，乌鹊正南飞。写露坐望月：露坐已久，疏莹时度，乌鹊正南飞——化用曹操乌鹊南飞，写月明乌鹊南飞；「瑶台冷，栏干凭暖，玉下迟迟」——瑶台冷，栏干凭暖，玉下迟迟。写凭栏久望：瑶台冷，栏干凭暖，玉兔迟迟不下。下片写念佳人相思与长愿相随：「念佳人，音尘别后，对此应解相思」——念佳人，音尘别后，对此应解相思。写念佳人相思：念佳人，自音尘别后，对此明月应解相思；「最关情、漏声正永，暗断肠、花影偷移」——最关情、漏声正永，暗断肠、花影偷移。写断肠之情：最关情是漏声正永、花影偷移，暗自断肠；「料得来宵，清光未减，阴晴天气又争知」——料得来宵，清光未减，阴晴天气又争知。写料想来宵：料得来宵清光未减，而阴晴天气谁又知；「共凝恋、如今别后，还是隔年期」——共凝恋、如今别后，还是隔年期。写凝恋：共凝恋，如今别后，再会还是隔年期；「人强健，清尊素影，长愿相随」——人强健，清尊素影，长愿相随。写长愿相随：人强健，清樽素影，长愿相随。这「人强健，清尊素影，长愿相随」，是全词之结：以清尊素影写长愿相随，含蓄深婉。全词含蓄深婉，以月写情，正是晁端礼词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
烂银盘、来从海底，皓色千里澄辉。
A plate of molten silver, risen from the bottom of the sea, casts its white radiance pure for a thousand li.
烂银盘、来从海底，皓色千里澄辉。
The disk of molten silver rising from the sea floor, its white light pure for a thousand li.
此三句写月出之景，是全词写月之美的关键。「烂银盘、来从海底」写月如烂银盘、从海底升出，「烂银盘」写月之圆亮如烂银盘，「来从海底」写其从海底升出；「皓色千里澄辉」写皓色千里澄辉，「皓色」写月光之皓白，「千里澄辉」写其澄辉千里。三句以烂银盘写月之形、以来从海底写月之升、以千里澄辉写月光之远，写尽中秋月出之美——月如银盘自海底出，皓色千里。以形写月，含蓄而壮美，是「以形写景」的点睛之笔。
These three lines write the moon's rising, the key of the ci's moon beauty. The disk of molten silver rising from the sea floor writes the moon like the molten silver disk from the sea bottom — the molten silver disk the round bright moon, rising from the sea floor the emergence; its white light pure for a thousand li writes the white light's purity for a thousand li. Three lines, the molten silver disk the moon's form, rising from the sea floor the moon's ascent, the thousand-li pure light the moonlight's reach, exhausting the mid-autumn moon's rising beauty — the moon like the silver disk from the sea floor, the white light a thousand li. Writing the moon through form, restrained and grand, precisely the telling stroke of writing scene through form.
莹无尘、素娥淡伫，静可数、丹桂参差。
Lustrous and dust-free, Chang'e stands pale and still; in the stillness one can count the uneven branches of the cassia tree.
莹无尘、素娥淡伫，静可数、丹桂参差。
Crystal, dustless; the moon goddess stands in pale repose; still, one can count the cassia's scattered boughs.
此四句写月中之景，是全词写月之明净的关键。「莹无尘、素娥淡伫」写月莹无尘、素娥淡伫，「莹无尘」写月之莹洁无尘，「素娥淡伫」写嫦娥淡妆伫立；「静可数、丹桂参差」写静可数丹桂参差，「静可数」写其静而可数，「丹桂参差」写月中丹桂参差。四句一写月之莹洁无尘、一写素娥淡伫、一写丹桂参差可数，以月中素娥、丹桂写月之明净、月中之景，写尽月之澄澈、月中景物历历可数。以月写境，含蓄而清雅，是「以景写月」的妙笔。
These four lines write the scene within the moon, the key of the ci's moon clearness. Crystal, dustless; the moon goddess stands in pale repose writes the moon crystal and dustless, the goddess in pale standing — the crystal dustless the moon's purity, the pale repose the goddess's quiet pose; still, one can count the cassia's scattered boughs writes the still countable cassia — the still countable the quiet detail, the scattered cassia the lunar cassia. Four lines, one the moon's crystal dustlessness, one the goddess's pale repose, one the cassia's countable scattered boughs, writing the moon's clearness and the lunar scene through the goddess and the cassia, exhausting the moon's purity and the lunar objects' vivid count. Writing the realm through the moon, restrained and elegant, precisely the wondrous brush of writing the moon through scene.
念佳人，音尘别后，对此应解相思。
Thinking of my fair one: since we parted, facing this moon she must know longing too.
念佳人，音尘别后，对此应解相思。
Thinking of the beauty, whose word has been silent since the parting, facing this moon, I must know the longing.
此三句写念佳人相思，是全词由写月转入写情的关键。「念佳人」写思念佳人，「念」写其思念，「佳人」写所念之人；「音尘别后」写音尘别后，「音尘」写音信踪迹，「别后」写分别之后；「对此应解相思」写对此应解相思，「对此」写对此明月，「应解相思」写应解相思之情。三句一写念佳人、一写音尘别后、一写对此明月应解相思，写其念佳人音尘别后、对此中秋明月而相思——月圆而人不圆，正写相思。以月写思，含蓄而深挚，是「以月写情」的点睛之笔，也是全词由写景转入写情的枢纽。
These three lines write the longing for the beauty, the ci's hinge from the moon to feeling. Thinking of the beauty writes the longing for the beloved, the word thinking the longing, the beauty the beloved; whose word has been silent since the parting writes the silence since the parting — the word the news and the trace, the since-the-parting the separation; facing this moon, I must know the longing writes the longing before the moon — the facing this moon the moon before the eyes, the must know the longing. Three lines, one the thinking of the beauty, one the silence since the parting, one the longing before the mid-autumn moon, writing the beloved's silence and the moon-facing longing — the moon full and the man not, precisely the longing. Writing the longing through the moon, restrained and deep, precisely the telling stroke of writing feeling through the moon, and the ci's hinge from scene to feeling.
人强健，清尊素影，长愿相随。
Stay strong and healthy; with a clear cup and the moon's pale shadow, may we long remain together.
人强健，清尊素影，长愿相随。
May the body be strong; the clear cup and the white shadow — may they long attend me.
尾三句写长愿相随，是全词立意的落点。「人强健」写人强健，「人强健」写愿人身体强健；「清尊素影」写清尊素影，「清尊」写清樽，「素影」用李白对影成三人之意，写月影；「长愿相随」写长愿相随，「长愿」写长久之愿，「相随」写与月相随。三句一写人强健、一写清尊素影、一写长愿相随，写愿人强健、清樽对月影、长愿相随——人月两圆，长愿相随。以愿写情，含蓄而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以愿写情」的点睛之笔。
The last three lines write the long-willed attendance, the landing of the ci's theme. May the body be strong writes the wish for the body's health; the clear cup and the white shadow writes the clear cup and the white shadow — the clear cup the pure wine cup, the white shadow borrowing Li Bai's the moon, my shadow, and myself, three, the moon shadow; may they long attend me writes the long will's attendance — the long will the lasting wish, the attendance the moon's company. Three lines, one the body's strength, one the cup and shadow, one the long attendance, writing the wish for the strong body, the cup facing the moon shadow, the long attendance — the man and the moon both round, the long attendance. Writing feeling through the wish, restrained and deep, the ci's most moving place, and the telling stroke of writing feeling through the wish.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Su Shi's 'Prelude to Water Melody', with 'when will the moon be clear? I raise my cup and ask the blue sky' and 'may we long abide, though a thousand li apart, sharing the moon's beauty', questions the moon over wine at mid-autumn in cosmic, elevated mood, the most famous mid-autumn lyric in the language. Chao Duanli's 'Lütou Ya' writes, in 'a plate of molten silver rises from the sea, its white radiance pure for a thousand li' and 'thinking of my fair one: since we parted, facing this moon she must know longing too', the moonrise and longing for an absent woman. Both are mid-autumn moon lyrics for someone far away: one questions the moon over wine and rises into philosophical breadth, the other pours out silver radiance and sinks into tender depth; one is Su Shi's magnanimity, the other Chao Duanli's gentleness. Read together, they show the two faces of Song mid-autumn lyric, both pouring longing into the autumn moon.
苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「明月几时有？把酒问青天」「但愿人长久，千里共婵娟」，写中秋把酒问月、怀弟超旷，是宋词写中秋最著名的词；晁端礼《绿头鸭》则以「烂银盘、来从海底，皓色千里澄辉」「念佳人，音尘别后，对此应解相思」写中秋月出、念佳人相思。两词同写中秋咏月怀人：一写把酒问月、以月写怀、超旷，一写银盘澄辉、以月写思、深婉；一为东坡之旷达、一为晁端礼之婉约，并读正可见宋词写中秋的两种风貌，皆以中秋明月写怀人之情。
浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯 Huanxisha: A New Song, a Cup of Wine 晏殊 · 同写对景怀人、无可奈何之情，一写无可奈何花落去、一写花影偷移暗断肠，皆于景物变迁中见相思 Both face the passing scene and think of an absent person: one sighs that flowers fall 'helplessly', the other grieves as flower shadows steal away, longing glimpsed through shifting scenery.Yan Shu's 'Silk-Washing Stream', with 'nothing to be done as the flowers fall away; the returning swallow seems almost known. Alone I pace the fragrant garden path', writes the helplessness of spring's passing, a classic of fleeting time. Chao Duanli's 'Lütou Ya' writes, in 'what touches the heart most: the water-clock through the long night, my heart breaking unseen as flower shadows steal away' and 'with a clear cup and the moon's pale shadow, may we long remain together', mid-autumn heartbreak and the wish to abide together. Both face the passing scene and think of an absent person: one writes the loss of time through falling flowers and returning swallows, the other longing through the clock and flower shadows; one is Yan Shu's warm smoothness, the other Chao Duanli's tender depth. Read together, they show two Song manners of writing longing against the shifting scene, both glimpsing longing through the passage of things.
晏殊《浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯》「无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来。小园香径独徘徊」，写春逝之无可奈何，是宋词写惜时的名篇；晁端礼《绿头鸭》则以「最关情、漏声正永，暗断肠、花影偷移」「人强健，清尊素影，长愿相随」写中秋断肠、长愿相随。两词同写对景怀人、无可奈何之情：一写无可奈何花落去、以花落燕归写惜时，一写花影偷移暗断肠、以漏声花影写相思；一为晏殊之温润、一为晁端礼之深婉，并读正可见宋词写「对景怀人」的两种笔法，皆于景物变迁中见相思。