宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
阮郎归
The Young Man Returns
湘天风雨破寒初。
深沈庭院虚。
丽谯吹罢《小单于》。
迢迢清夜徂。
乡梦断，旅魂孤。
峥嵘岁又除。
衡阳犹有雁传书。
郴阳和雁无。
The deep, deep courtyard is empty.
The fine watchtower has blown the 'Little Chanyu' —
The long, clear night passes by.
The home-dream is broken,
The traveler's soul is lonely;
The towering year is over again.
At Hengyang there are still geese to carry letters,
But at Chenyang, even the geese are none.
Meaning
A lyric of the exiled traveler's New Year, written by Qin Guan during his banishment to the far south. Wind and rain over the Xiang sky break the beginning of the cold — the new year has come; the deep, deep courtyard is empty; the watchtower has blown the 'Little Chanyu' tune, and the long, clear night passes. The home-dream is broken, the traveler's soul is lonely, and the towering year is over again. The close is the poem's bitterest stroke: at Hengyang there are still geese to carry letters, but at Chenyang — beyond even the geese — there are none. The exile has passed the very limit of the letter-bringing birds; no message can reach him, and he can send none.
湘天风雨，破寒初。深沈庭院虚。丽谯吹罢《小单于》。迢迢清夜徂。乡梦断，旅魂孤。峥嵘岁又除。衡阳犹有雁传书。郴阳和雁无。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] Wind and rain over the Xiang sky break the beginning of the cold. The deep, deep courtyard is empty. The fine watchtower has blown the 'Little Chanyu'; the long, clear night passes by. The home-dream is broken, the traveler's soul is lonely; the towering year is over again. At Hengyang there are still geese to carry letters — but at Chenyang, even the geese are none. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the New Year's storm, through the empty courtyard and the passing night, to the broken dream and the lonely soul, and closes on the geese — the two stages of the letter's impossibility. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the progressive withdrawal of hope: the home-dream broken, the traveler's soul lonely, the year over, and finally the geese — which still fly as far as Hengyang but not beyond, to Chenyang where the exile stands. [Emotional Tone] Desolate and utterly solitary: the exile has been sent beyond the very limit of the world's communication, and the lyric is the record of that final isolation.
【白话串讲】 秦观写《阮郎归》：“湘天风雨破寒初。深沈庭院虚”——“丽谯吹罢《小单于》。迢迢清夜徂”——“乡梦断，旅魂孤。峥嵘岁又除”——“衡阳犹有雁传书。郴阳和雁无”——他写羁旅除夕——郴阳和雁无。 【意象与手法】 “湘天风雨破寒初。深沈庭院虚”写庭院之虚；“丽谯吹罢《小单于》。迢迢清夜徂”写清夜之迢迢；“乡梦断，旅魂孤。峥嵘岁又除”写乡梦旅魂；结以“衡阳犹有雁传书。郴阳和雁无”写雁传书之叹。含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 秦观写除夕思乡之作，写湘天风雨、乡梦旅魂、岁除怀乡的孤寂，以“郴阳和雁无”写连雁书都无望的悲苦，是秦观贬谪词的代表。 【名句点睛】 常考“乡梦断，旅魂孤。峥嵘岁又除”以乡梦旅魂写除夕孤寂；“衡阳犹有雁传书。郴阳和雁无”以郴阳无雁写音书断绝之悲。
Background
Qin Guan (1049–1100), courtesy name Shaoyou, was one of the greatest lyricists of the Northern Song, the most refined and tender member of Su Shi's circle. His later years were destroyed by the factional struggles of the age: he was repeatedly banished to the far south, finally to Hengzhou and then to Chenyang (Leizhou, in present-day Guangdong), where he died in 1100. This lyric was written at Chenyang, the last and most distant of his exiles; the close — 'at Chenyang, even the geese are none' — is the bitterest possible statement of the exile beyond all communication.
《阮郎归》为北宋词人秦观所作词。秦观（1049—1100），字少游，一字太虚，号淮海居士，扬州高邮（今江苏高邮）人，北宋词人，「苏门四学士」之一，词风婉约，多写离愁别恨。此词写除夕思乡。宋绍圣年间秦观被贬郴州（今湖南郴州），此词即写于贬所。词中「湘天风雨破寒初。深沈庭院虚」写庭院之虚；「丽谯吹罢《小单于》。迢迢清夜徂」写清夜之迢迢；「乡梦断，旅魂孤。峥嵘岁又除」写乡梦旅魂；「衡阳犹有雁传书。郴阳和雁无」写雁传书之叹。秦观被贬郴州而不失其婉约，此词以除夕思乡、雁传书之叹写其怀乡之情，含蓄深婉，是秦观词中的名篇。此篇《阮郎归》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《阮郎归》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 art is the art of the narrowing world. The opening is wide with the storm: wind and rain over the Xiang sky, the cold broken. Then the world narrows: the deep, deep courtyard, empty; the watchtower's tune, the passing night. The middle is the human core: the home-dream broken, the traveler's soul lonely, the towering year over again — the new year of the exile, the festival of reunion, passed alone. The close delivers the lyric's final narrowing: the geese of Hengyang, the northernmost point of the letter-bringing birds, still carry letters — but at Chenyang, beyond even the geese, there are none. The world has narrowed to the point where even the messengers of the world cannot come.
此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、以雁写思」见长。全词上下片各四句，上片写庭院之虚与清夜之迢迢，下片写乡梦旅魂与雁传书之叹。上片「湘天风雨破寒初。深沈庭院虚」写庭院之虚：湘天风雨，破寒初；深沈庭院虚。「丽谯吹罢《小单于》。迢迢清夜徂」写清夜之迢迢：丽谯吹罢《小单于》，迢迢清夜徂。下片「乡梦断，旅魂孤。峥嵘岁又除」写乡梦旅魂：乡梦断，旅魂孤；峥嵘岁又除。「衡阳犹有雁传书。郴阳和雁无」写雁传书之叹：衡阳犹有雁传书，郴阳和雁无。全词含蓄深婉，以雁写思，是秦观词中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。
Allusions
'The Xiang sky' is the sky over the Xiang River region, the south of exile. 'The Little Chanyu' (Xiao Chanyu) is a frontier tune played on the horn, the sound of the watchtower's night; its blowing marks the passing of the night. 'The towering year' (zhengrong sui) is the great, mountainous year that is over again — the new year of the exile. 'The geese of Hengyang' allude to the tradition that the wild geese, flying south, turned back at Hengyang's Huiyan Peak — the limit of their journey; the poet's exile at Chenyang, beyond Hengyang, places him beyond even the geese, and so beyond all letters.
词中「湘天」「丽谯」「《小单于》」「清夜徂」「乡梦」「衡阳雁」「郴阳」等语，皆含典故故实。「湘天」写湘江流域之天（郴州属湘），「湘天风雨破寒初」写湘天风雨初破寒；「丽谯」为高楼（城门楼）之名，《庄子》有「丽谯」之称，「丽谯吹罢《小单于》」写城楼吹罢《小单于》曲；《小单于》为曲名（唐宋大曲）；「清夜徂」写清夜逝去；「乡梦断」写思乡之梦断；「衡阳雁」用雁至衡阳回雁峰而止之典，「衡阳犹有雁传书」写衡阳犹有雁传书；「郴阳」即郴州（郴州在衡阳之南，雁飞不到），「郴阳和雁无」写郴阳连雁也没有。词人以湘天、丽谯、小单于、衡阳雁、郴阳等典入词，不着痕迹，而把除夕思乡之情写得真切可感，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。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
This lyric is one of Qin Guan's most famous exiles, quoted for the bitter precision of its close. 'At Hengyang there are still geese to carry letters, but at Chenyang, even the geese are none' is often ranked among the finest closing couplets of the ci, the exile beyond the very limit of the world's communication. Critics praise the lyric's progressive narrowing — from the storm to the courtyard to the geese — and its final isolation is the whole confession of the banished poet.
这首《阮郎归》，是秦观被贬郴州时写除夕思乡之作，写湘天风雨、乡梦旅魂、岁除怀乡之情，含蓄深婉。上片写庭院之虚与清夜之迢迢：「湘天风雨破寒初。深沈庭院虚」——湘天风雨，破寒初；深沈庭院虚。写庭院之虚：湘天风雨初破寒，深沈庭院空寂——贬所庭院，深沈而空；「丽谯吹罢《小单于》。迢迢清夜徂」——丽谯吹罢《小单于》，迢迢清夜徂。写清夜之迢迢：城楼吹罢《小单于》曲，迢迢清夜逝去——清夜迢迢，正难消遣。下片写乡梦旅魂与雁传书之叹：「乡梦断，旅魂孤。峥嵘岁又除」——乡梦断，旅魂孤；峥嵘岁又除。写乡梦旅魂：乡梦已断，旅魂孤寂，峥嵘岁月又到除夕——岁又除，正逢除夕，而身在贬所、乡梦已断；「衡阳犹有雁传书。郴阳和雁无」——衡阳犹有雁传书，郴阳和雁无。写雁传书之叹：衡阳犹有雁可传书，郴阳连雁也没有——雁传书，而郴阳连雁都无，书更无从传。这「郴阳和雁无」，是全词之结：以雁传书写其思乡之深——衡阳犹有雁，而郴阳和雁无，思乡而无可寄书，其情更苦。全词含蓄深婉，以雁写思，正是秦观词「婉约深婉」的典型，也是其词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
湘天风雨破寒初。
Wind and rain over the Xiang sky break the cold's beginning.
湘天风雨，破寒初。
Beneath the Xiang sky, wind and rain are breaking the first cold.
首句写湘天风雨初破寒，起笔即见其境。「湘天风雨破寒初」写湘天风雨破寒初，「湘天」写湘江流域之天（郴州属湘），「风雨」写风雨，「破寒初」写初破寒。一句以「湘天」写贬所之地、以「风雨破寒初」写岁末风雨初破寒，写尽贬所湘天岁末风雨之景，起笔即定下凄清之调，为全词写除夕思乡作铺垫，是「以景起兴」的妙笔。
The opening writes the Xiang sky's wind and rain's first breaking of cold, the realm present at the first stroke. Beneath the Xiang sky, wind and rain are breaking the first cold: the Xiang sky writing the Xiang river region sky (Chenzhou belonging to Xiang), the wind-and-rain writing the storm, the breaking-first-cold writing the year-end rain's first breaking. One line, the exile place through the Xiang sky, the year-end storm through the breaking cold, exhausting the exile Xiang sky's year-end storm scene, the opening setting the bleak tone, storing the ground for the whole ci's New Year's Eve homesickness, a wondrous brush of rising-on-scene.
丽谯吹罢《小单于》。
The fine watchtower has blown the 'Little Chanyu' —
丽谯吹罢《小单于》。
From the tall tower, the Little Chanyu tune has ended.
此句写城楼吹曲，是全词写清夜之音的关键。「丽谯吹罢《小单于》」写丽谯吹罢《小单于》曲，「丽谯」为城楼，「吹罢」写吹毕，「《小单于》」为曲名。一句以「丽谯吹罢《小单于》」写城楼吹罢小单于曲，写清夜传来之角曲——小单于为边地曲，其声悲凉，正写清夜之凄清。以曲写声，含蓄而凄清，是「以声写情」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。
This line writes the tower's tune-blowing, the ci's clear-night sound key. From the tall tower, the Little Chanyu tune has ended: the tall tower the city tower, the ended the finishing, the Little Chanyu the tune name. One line writing the tower's Little Chanyu tune's end, writing the clear night's horn tune — the Little Chanyu the border tune, its sound bleak, precisely the clear night's chill. Writing sound through the tune, restrained and bleak, a telling stroke of feeling-through-sound. This line in the few words exhausts the deep meaning, feeling and charm both supreme; its hidden waves between the words, the turns within the plainness, require the repeated savouring to grasp its heart.
乡梦断，旅魂孤。
The home-dream is broken, the traveler's soul is lonely;
乡梦断，旅魂孤。
The home dream is broken, the traveling soul is lone.
此二句写乡梦旅魂，是全词写思乡的关键。「乡梦断」写乡梦断，「乡梦」写思乡之梦，「断」写其断；「旅魂孤」写旅魂孤，「旅魂」写羁旅之魂，「孤」写其孤。两句一写乡梦已断、一写旅魂孤寂，以「乡梦断」写其梦亦不能圆、以「旅魂孤」写其身在贬所而魂孤，写尽岁末思乡而无可寄托之情。以梦魂写思，含蓄而深挚，是「以梦魂写情」的点睛之笔。
These two lines write the home dream and the traveling soul, the ci's homesickness key. The home dream is broken writes the homesick dream and the break; the traveling soul is lone writes the exile soul and the loneliness. Two lines, the dream's non-fulfillment through the broken dream, the soul's loneliness through the lone traveling soul, exhausting the year-end homesickness and the nowhere-to-lodge. Writing longing through dream-and-soul, restrained and deep, a telling stroke of longing-through-dream-and-soul.
郴阳和雁无。
But at Chenyang, even the geese are none.
郴阳和雁无。
At Chenyang, even the wild geese are gone.
尾句写雁传书之叹，是全词立意的落点。「郴阳和雁无」写郴阳和雁无，「郴阳」即郴州，「和雁无」写连雁也没有。一句以「和雁无」写郴阳连雁都没有，与「衡阳犹有雁传书」相对——衡阳犹有雁可传书，郴阳连雁都无，书更无从传。以雁写思，含蓄而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以雁写思」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。
The close writes the goose-letter sigh, the landing of the ci's theme. At Chenyang, even the wild geese are gone: Chenyang i.e. Chenzhou, the even-geese-gone writing the geese' absence. One line, the even-geese-gone writing Chenyang's geelessness, set against the Hengyang still has the letter-carrying geese — Hengyang still has the letter-bearing geese, Chenyang even the geeless, the letter hence still further untransmittable. Writing longing through the goose, restrained and deep, the ci's most moving place. This line in the few words exhausts the deep meaning, feeling and charm both supreme; its hidden waves between the words, the turns within the plainness, require the repeated savouring to grasp its heart.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Li Yu's 'Waves Washing the Sand' — 'outside the curtain the rain drizzles' — is the last emperor's meditation on the fallen kingdom; Qin Guan's 'Young Man Returns' is the banished official's New Year — the two great lyrics of the exiled soul in the far south.
李煜《浪淘沙·帘外雨潺潺》「帘外雨潺潺，春意阑珊。罗衾不耐五更寒」「梦里不知身是客，一晌贪欢」，写亡国羁客之悲，是李煜词中的名篇；秦观《阮郎归》则以「湘天风雨破寒初」「乡梦断，旅魂孤」「郴阳和雁无」写岁末思乡、旅魂孤。两词同写羁旅思乡、岁暮之悲：一写帘外雨潺潺、梦里不知身是客、以梦写客，一写乡梦断旅魂孤、郴阳和雁无、以雁写思；一为亡国之君之血泪、一为贬谪文士之愁苦，并读正可见词写「羁旅乡愁」的两种情致，皆于风雨岁暮中见乡愁。
枫桥夜泊 Mooring at Night at Maple Bridge 张继 · 同写清夜羁旅、愁思难眠，一写夜半钟声到客船、一写丽谯吹罢小单于，皆于清夜之声中见客愁 Both are the traveler's night of the bell and the watchtower — Zhang Ji's cold mountain temple, Qin Guan's watchtower tune and passing night.Zhang Ji's 'Mooring at Night at Maple Bridge' — 'the midnight bell reaches the traveler's boat' — is the Tang model of the sleepless traveler's night; Qin Guan's lyric is the Song version, the watchtower's tune and the passing night of the exile's New Year.
张继《枫桥夜泊》「月落乌啼霜满天，江枫渔火对愁眠。姑苏城外寒山寺，夜半钟声到客船」，写客船夜泊、愁思难眠，是唐诗写羁旅的名篇；秦观《阮郎归》则以「丽谯吹罢《小单于》。迢迢清夜徂」「郴阳和雁无」写城楼吹曲、清夜难遣。两篇同写清夜羁旅、愁思难眠：一写夜半钟声到客船、以钟声写愁，一写丽谯吹罢小单于、以角曲写愁；一为唐诗之清寂、一为宋词之深婉，并读正可见诗与词写「清夜客愁」的两种笔法，皆于清夜之声中见客愁。