霜叶飞

Meaning

A lyric of the Double Ninth festival and the grief of the years, written by the late Southern Song master Wu Wenying. The broken smoke and the parting threads open the desolation; the things that concern the heart are the red hidden in the frost-covered trees in the slanting sun. Half a pot of autumn water offers the yellow chrysanthemums — the flowers of the Double Ninth — and the fragrance spouts in the west-wind rain. He remembers the drunk trampling of Nanping and the colored fan choking — the music of the past, the beloved of the past, the 'Mansu' of the memory. Idly facing the old festival, he passes the cup; the paper is dusted, the brush bookworm-eaten, the broken stanza too weary to compose for years. The young toad's shadow turns about the eastern fence, the night is cold, the remnant crickets speak. And the close: early the white hair — for the grief, ten thousand threads; the startling whirlwind rolls his black cap away; idly, carefully, he looks at the dogwood — the flower of the festival — but only makes the appointment for next year, at the green-blue heights. The lyric is the Double Ninth of the aging poet: the chrysanthemums, the dogwood, the white hair, and the appointment for next year.

断烟离绪。关心事，斜阳红隐霜树。半壶秋水荐黄花，香噀西风雨。纵玉勒、轻飞迅羽。凄凉谁吊荒台古。记醉蹋南屏，彩扇咽、寒蝉倦梦，不知蛮素。聊对旧节传杯，尘笺蠹管，断阕经岁慵赋。小蟾斜影转东篱，夜冷残蛩语。早白发、缘愁万缕。惊飙从卷乌纱去。漫细将、茱萸看，但约明年，翠微高处。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The broken smoke, the parting threads — the things that concern the heart: in the slanting sun the red is hidden in the frost-covered trees. Half a pot of autumn water offers the yellow chrysanthemums, the fragrance spouts in the west-wind rain. Even with the jade bridle, light as the flying feather — who, in the desolation, mourns the ancient deserted terrace? I remember the drunk trampling of Nanping, the colored fan choking, the cold cicada's weary dream — unaware of Mansu. Idly facing the old festival, I pass the cup — the dusted paper, the bookworm-eaten brush, the broken stanza, for years, too weary to compose. The young toad's slanting shadow turns about the eastern fence, the night is cold, the remnant crickets speak. Early the white hair — for the grief, ten thousand threads. The startling whirlwind rolls my black cap away — idly, carefully, I look at the dogwood, but only make the appointment for next year, at the green-blue heights. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves through the festival's desolation: the frost-covered trees and the offered chrysanthemums, the memory of the past music and the past beloved, the weary refusal of the composition, the cold night and the remnant crickets, and the close on the white hair and the dogwood, with the appointment for next year. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the layering of the festival: the chrysanthemums and the dogwood of the Double Ninth are carried through the memory and the grief, and the close's appointment — next year, at the green-blue heights — holds the whole against the passing of the years. [Emotional Tone] Dense, desolate, and aging: the lyric is the Double Ninth of the poet, the fragrance of the chrysanthemums against the white hair and the grief, and the appointment for the next year.

【白话串讲】 吴文英写《霜叶飞》：“断烟离绪。关心事，斜阳红隐霜树”——“半壶秋水荐黄花，香噀西风雨”——“记醉蹋南屏，彩扇咽、寒蝉倦梦”——“聊对旧节传杯，尘笺蠹管，断阕经岁慵”——他写重阳怀人——斜阳红隐霜树。 【意象与手法】 “断烟离绪。关心事，斜阳红隐霜树”写断烟离绪；“半壶秋水荐黄花，香噀西风雨”写秋水荐花；“记醉蹋南屏，彩扇咽、寒蝉倦梦”忆南屏旧游；“聊对旧节传杯，尘笺蠹管，断阕经岁慵”写尘笺断阕；结以“漫细将、茱萸看，但约明年，翠微高处”写约明年。含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 吴文英写重九怀人之作，写重九登高、追忆亡姬与“约明年”的痴想，是梦窗词中重九怀人的代表作。 【名句点睛】 常考“断烟离绪。关心事，斜阳红隐霜树”以斜阳霜树写离绪；“漫细将、茱萸看，但约明年，翠微高处”以约明年写痴情。

Allusions

'The Double Ninth' (chongyang) is the festival of the ninth day of the ninth month, when the chrysanthemums are admired and the dogwood worn against the misfortune. 'The young toad' (xiaochang) is the crescent moon — the toad of the moon, here young and slanting. 'The black cap' (wusha) alludes to the story of the Jin poet Tao Qian, whose cap was blown off by the wind at the Double Ninth — the cap of the festival, rolled away by the startling whirlwind. 'The green-blue heights' (cuiwei gaochu) are the heights of the mountain climbed on the Double Ninth, the place of the appointment for next year. 'Mansu' is the name of the past beloved.

词中「断烟离绪」「关心事」「斜阳红隐霜树」「半壶秋水荐黄花」「香噀西风雨」「玉勒轻飞迅羽」「凄凉谁吊荒台古」「醉蹋南屏」「彩扇咽」「寒蝉倦梦」「不知蛮素」「旧节传杯」「尘笺蠹管」「断阕经岁慵赋」「小蟾斜影转东篱」「夜冷残蛩语」「早白发缘愁万缕」「惊飙从卷乌纱去」「漫细将茱萸看」「但约明年翠微高处」等语，皆含典故故实。「断烟离绪」写断烟离绪；「关心事」写关心之事；「斜阳红隐霜树」写斜阳红隐霜树；「半壶秋水荐黄花」写半壶秋水荐黄花（重阳饮菊花酒）；「香噀西风雨」写香噀西风雨；「玉勒轻飞迅羽」写玉勒轻飞如迅羽（玉勒为马衔）；「凄凉谁吊荒台古」写凄凉谁吊荒台古（荒台为戏马台等古迹，重阳登高台）；「醉蹋南屏」写醉蹋南屏（南屏为杭州南屏山）；「彩扇咽」写彩扇咽（歌姬以彩扇掩口）；「寒蝉倦梦」写寒蝉倦梦；「不知蛮素」写不知蛮素（蛮素为白居易家姬樊素小蛮，泛指姬人）；「旧节传杯」写旧节传杯；「尘笺蠹管」写尘笺蠹管（笺纸生尘、笔管为蠹所蚀）；「断阕经岁慵赋」写断阕经岁慵赋；「小蟾斜影转东篱」写小蟾斜影转东篱（小蟾为月，东篱用陶渊明采菊东篱之意）；「夜冷残蛩语」写夜冷残蛩语；「早白发缘愁万缕」用李白「白发三千丈，缘愁似个长」之意；「惊飙从卷乌纱去」用孟嘉落帽之典（孟嘉重阳登高落帽，写惊飙卷乌纱）；「漫细将茱萸看」写漫细将茱萸看（重阳佩茱萸）；「但约明年翠微高处」写但约明年翠微高处（翠微高处为重阳登高之意）。词人以蛮素、东篱、孟嘉落帽、茱萸、翠微等典入词，不着痕迹，而把重九怀人之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。

Commentary

This lyric is one of Wu Wenying's great festival poems, quoted for the density of its layering and the desolation of its close. The chrysanthemums and the dogwood, the memory of Mansu, and the white hair for the grief of ten thousand threads — the elements of the Double Ninth are carried through the whole. Critics praise the lyric's art: the festival held against the years, and the appointment for next year at the green-blue heights.

这首《霜叶飞》，是吴文英写重九怀人之作，写断烟离绪、尘笺蠹管、约明年之情，含蓄深婉。上片写断烟离绪与不知蛮素：「断烟离绪。关心事，斜阳红隐霜树」——断烟离绪，关心事，斜阳红隐霜树。写断烟离绪：断烟离绪、关心事，斜阳红隐霜树——断烟离绪、斜阳红隐霜树；「半壶秋水荐黄花，香噀西风雨」——半壶秋水荐黄花，香噀西风雨。写秋水荐花：半壶秋水荐黄花、香噀西风雨——秋水荐黄花、香噀西风雨；「纵玉勒、轻飞迅羽。凄凉谁吊荒台古」——纵玉勒、轻飞迅羽，凄凉谁吊荒台古。写凄凉谁吊：纵玉勒轻飞迅羽、凄凉谁吊荒台古——玉勒轻飞、凄凉谁吊荒台；「记醉蹋南屏，彩扇咽、寒蝉倦梦，不知蛮素」——记醉蹋南屏，彩扇咽、寒蝉倦梦，不知蛮素（用蛮素之典）。写不知蛮素：记醉蹋南屏、彩扇咽寒蝉倦梦，不知蛮素——醉蹋南屏、彩扇寒蝉、不知蛮素。下片写断阕慵赋与约明年：「聊对旧节传杯，尘笺蠹管，断阕经岁慵赋」——聊对旧节传杯，尘笺蠹管，断阕经岁慵赋。写断阕慵赋：聊对旧节传杯、尘笺蠹管，断阕经岁慵赋——对节传杯、尘笺蠹管、断阕慵赋；「小蟾斜影转东篱，夜冷残蛩语」——小蟾斜影转东篱（用采菊东篱之意），夜冷残蛩语。写夜冷残蛩：小蟾斜影转东篱、夜冷残蛩语——月影转东篱、夜冷残蛩语；「早白发、缘愁万缕。惊飙从卷乌纱去」——早白发、缘愁万缕（用白发三千丈之意），惊飙从卷乌纱去（用孟嘉落帽之典）。写早白发：早白发缘愁万缕、惊飙从卷乌纱去——早生白发、愁如万缕、惊飙卷乌纱；「漫细将、茱萸看，但约明年，翠微高处」——漫细将、茱萸看，但约明年，翠微高处。写约明年：漫细将茱萸看（重阳佩茱萸）、但约明年翠微高处——细看茱萸、约明年翠微高处。这「漫细将、茱萸看，但约明年，翠微高处」，是全词之结：以约明年写其追念。全词含蓄深婉，密丽以情，正是吴文英词中的名篇。

Prosody

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