All poems

宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

湘春夜月

The Spring Moon of the Xiang

黄孝迈

Huang Xiaomai

近清明。
翠禽枝上消魂。
可惜一片清歌，都付与黄昏。
欲共柳花低诉，怕柳花轻薄，不解伤春。
念楚乡旅宿，柔情别绪，谁与温存。
空樽夜泣，青山不语，残月当门。
翠玉楼前，惟是有、一波湘水，摇荡湘云。
天长梦短，问甚时、重见桃根。
这次第，算人间没个并刀，翦断心上愁痕。

The oriole, the lonely spring,
At the ruinous flowers and the empty walls,
The fine dust of the willow, gently blowing.
I wish to speak low with the willow flowers,
But fear that the willow flowers are light and fickle,
And do not understand the sorrow of the wounded spring.
Longing, with the heart,
The soul and the dream, together lost.
The city of the Chu country, the evening of the dusk,
The empty bottle weeps at the night,
The green hills speak not,
The broken moon is at the door.
In this manner,
I calculate that in the human world there is no pair of scissors,
To cut off the sorrow-veins on the heart.

Listen

Meaning

A lyric of the sorrow of the wounded spring, written by Huang Xiaomai. The oriole, the lonely spring, at the ruinous flowers and the empty walls, the fine dust of the willow, gently blowing — the lonely spring of the ruin and the blowing willow dust. I wish to speak low with the willow flowers, but fear that the willow flowers are light and fickle, and do not understand the sorrow of the wounded spring — the feared willow flowers, not understanding the sorrow. Longing, with the heart, the soul and the dream, together lost — the lost soul and dream. The city of the Chu country, the evening of the dusk, the empty bottle weeps at the night, the green hills speak not, the broken moon is at the door — the dusk of the Chu country, the weeping bottle and the silent hills. In this manner, he calculates that in the human world there is no pair of scissors, to cut off the sorrow-veins on the heart — the close's no scissors for the sorrow. The lyric is the sorrow of the wounded spring: the ruinous flowers, the feared willow flowers, and the close's uncut sorrow-veins.

临近清明时节。翠禽在枝上啼鸣，令人消魂。可惜这一片清歌，都付与了黄昏。想要与柳花低低倾诉，又怕柳花轻薄，不解伤春之情。念及在楚乡旅宿，那柔情别绪，有谁来温存。空樽在夜里泣诉，青山默然不语，残月挂在门前。翠玉楼前，只有那、一波湘水，摇荡着湘云的倒影。天长梦短，问何时、才能重见桃根。这样的光景，算人间没有一个并刀，能剪断心上的愁痕。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The oriole, the lonely spring, at the ruinous flowers and the empty walls, the fine dust of the willow, gently blowing. I wish to speak low with the willow flowers, but fear that the willow flowers are light and fickle, and do not understand the sorrow of the wounded spring. Longing, with the heart, the soul and the dream, together lost. The empty bottle weeps at the night, the green hills speak not, the broken moon is at the door. In this manner, I calculate that in the human world there is no pair of scissors, to cut off the sorrow-veins on the heart. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the lonely spring of the ruin, through the feared willow flowers and the lost soul and dream, to the dusk of the Chu country and the close's calculating of the no scissors for the sorrow-veins. [Key Technique] The lyric's art is the close's impossible image: the sorrow-veins on the heart, needing the scissors that the human world has not — the sorrow made un-cuttable, the image of the wounded spring gathered in the impossible scissors. [Emotional Tone] Sorrowful, lonely, and wounded: the lyric is the sorrow of the wounded spring, the ruinous flowers and the close's uncut sorrow.

【白话串讲】黄孝迈写《湘春夜月》：“近清明。翠禽枝上消魂”——“可惜一片清歌，都付与黄昏”——“欲共柳花低诉，怕柳花轻薄，不解伤春”——“空樽夜泣，青山不语，残月当门”——他写湘春夜月——可惜一片清歌。【意象与手法】上阕以“近清明。翠禽枝上消魂”写清明时节翠禽啼鸣的消魂，以“欲共柳花低诉，怕柳花轻薄，不解伤春”写欲诉无人的孤寂，以“念楚乡旅宿，柔情别绪，谁与温存”写旅宿怀人的孤独；下阕以“空樽夜泣，青山不语，残月当门”写夜中的凄清，以“翠玉楼前，惟是有、一波湘水，摇荡湘云”写湘水摇云的景致；终以“算人间没个并刀，翦断心上愁痕”写愁绪难断。凄婉清丽、意境空灵。【情感与主旨】黄孝迈写清明时节的伤春旅宿与怀人别绪，以“翦断心上愁痕”写愁绪难断，是宋词写伤春怀人的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“欲共柳花低诉，怕柳花轻薄，不解伤春”以柳花写欲诉无人；“算人间没个并刀，翦断心上愁痕”以并刀写愁绪难断。

Background

Huang Xiaomai (c. 13th century), a lyric master of the Southern Song, wrote this 'Spring Moon of the Xiang' of the sorrow of the wounded spring — the lonely spring and the loss. The ruinous flowers and the empty walls, the feared willow flowers not understanding the sorrow, the lost soul and dream, the dusk of the Chu country with the weeping bottle and the silent hills, and the close's calculating of the no scissors for the sorrow-veins on the heart — the lyric gathers the sorrow of the wounded spring, the loneliness and the impossible scissors. The lyric is one of the famous works of the master.

此词为南宋词人黄孝迈的《湘春夜月》之作，是写伤春旅宿、怀人别绪的名篇。黄孝迈，字德夫，号雪舟，生卒年不详，南宋后期词人，其词见载于《绝妙好词》，存词不多而此词最著。此词写于楚乡旅宿之时，正当清明。词写伤春旅宿的孤寂：上阕「近清明。翠禽枝上消魂」，写临近清明，翠禽在枝上啼鸣——「翠禽」为翠绿色的小鸟，「消魂」写其啼声令人销魂，是伤春的起兴；「可惜一片清歌，都付与黄昏」，写可惜这一片清歌，都付与黄昏——那翠禽的清歌，无人共赏，都付与了黄昏，是「知音少，弦断有谁听」的孤寂；「欲共柳花低诉，怕柳花轻薄，不解伤春」，写想要与柳花倾诉，又怕柳花轻薄不解伤春——柳花轻薄，随风飘荡，不解人的愁绪，正是「欲诉无人」的深化；「念楚乡旅宿，柔情别绪，谁与温存」，写念及在楚乡旅宿，那柔情别绪，有谁来温存——旅宿他乡，无人温存，正是怀人别绪的孤独。下阕「空樽夜泣，青山不语，残月当门」，写空樽在夜里泣诉、青山默然不语、残月挂在门前——空樽、青山、残月，皆是无情之物，而词人偏以其「泣」「语」「当门」写尽夜的凄清；「翠玉楼前，惟是有、一波湘水，摇荡湘云」，写翠玉楼前，只有一波湘水摇荡着湘云的倒影——湘水湘云，正是楚乡风物，也是怀人的媒介；「天长梦短，问甚时、重见桃根」，写天长梦短，问何时才能重见桃根——「桃根」为桃叶之妹，王献之妾，后以桃根代指所怀之人，写怀人无期；「这次第，算人间没个并刀，翦断心上愁痕」，写这样的光景，算人间没有一个并刀能剪断心上的愁痕——「并刀」为并州（今山西太原）所产利剪，以并刀剪愁，写愁绪之难断。全词以湘水湘云为背景，写尽伤春旅宿、怀人别绪的愁绪，意境空灵而凄婉，是宋词伤春怀人的名篇。

Art

The lyric's art is the art of the wounded spring. The scene opens: the oriole, the lonely spring, at the ruinous flowers and the empty walls, the fine dust of the willow, gently blowing — the lonely spring of the ruin, the blowing willow dust. The fear follows: I wish to speak low with the willow flowers, but fear that the willow flowers are light and fickle, and do not understand the sorrow of the wounded spring — the feared willow flowers, the not understanding of the sorrow. The loss: longing, with the heart, the soul and the dream, together lost — the lost soul and dream. The dusk: the city of the Chu country, the evening of the dusk, the empty bottle weeps at the night, the green hills speak not, the broken moon is at the door — the weeping bottle and the silent hills of the dusk. And the close gathers the impossible: in this manner, he calculates that in the human world there is no pair of scissors, to cut off the sorrow-veins on the heart — the sorrow-veins needing the scissors that the human world has not — the sorrow of the wounded spring, the impossible scissors of the close, the un-cuttable sorrow.

此词艺术上以「空灵凄婉」与「层层递进」为特色，在伤春旅宿的背景下写尽怀人的愁绪。上阕以「近清明。翠禽枝上消魂」起笔，写清明时节的消魂——「近清明」点出时节，「翠禽枝上消魂」以翠禽啼鸣写伤春的起兴，起笔即见凄婉；「可惜一片清歌，都付与黄昏」，以「可惜」写清歌无人共赏的孤寂，那翠禽的清歌，都付与黄昏，是「知音少」的寂寥；「欲共柳花低诉，怕柳花轻薄，不解伤春」，以「欲共」「怕」写欲诉还休的犹疑——想要与柳花倾诉，又怕柳花轻薄不解，正是「欲说还休」的深化；「念楚乡旅宿，柔情别绪，谁与温存」，以「念」字转入旅宿怀人，以「谁与温存」写无人温存的孤独。下阕「空樽夜泣，青山不语，残月当门」，以三个意象写夜中的凄清——空樽夜泣、青山不语、残月当门，无情之物皆有情，正是「以我观物，故物皆著我之色彩」的写照；「翠玉楼前，惟是有、一波湘水，摇荡湘云」，以「惟有」写楼前唯余湘水摇云，空旷而空灵；「天长梦短，问甚时、重见桃根」，以「天长梦短」写欢会之短、离别之长，以「问甚时」写怀人的期盼；「这次第，算人间没个并刀，翦断心上愁痕」，以「并刀翦愁」写愁绪之难断，收束凄婉有力。全词由消魂入孤寂、由孤寂入旅宿、由旅宿入怀人、由怀人入愁痕，层层递进而意境空灵，是黄孝迈词「空灵凄婉」的极致。

Allusions

'The willow flowers' (liu hua) are the willow flowers of the spring — the light and fickle willow flowers; 'the Chu country' (Chu xiang) is the land of the Chu — the city of the poet's region; 'the peach root' (tao gen) is the root of the peach — the peach blossom of the past, the beloved of the memory; 'the scissors' (bing dao) are the scissors of the cutting — the no scissors of the human world for the sorrow-veins.

此词用典精微而自然。「翠禽」，为翠绿色的小鸟，暗用「翠禽枝上消魂」之典——姜夔《暗香》「何逊而今渐老，都忘却、春风词笔。但怪得、竹外疏花，香冷入瑶席」，其前身有翠禽栖梅的传说（赵师雄罗浮梦梅，有翠羽啾嘈），此词以翠禽啼鸣写伤春的起兴。「柳花轻薄」，暗用「水性杨花」之意——柳花轻浮，随风飘荡，后以「柳花」喻薄情之人，此词「怕柳花轻薄，不解伤春」，以柳花之轻薄写欲诉无人。「楚乡」，指楚地，暗用楚辞的传统——屈原行吟楚地，楚辞多写羁旅怀人之愁，此词「念楚乡旅宿」，正是楚辞哀怨传统的延续。「空樽」，写空杯，暗含「酒逢知己千杯少」之意——樽空，正见无人共饮的孤寂。「残月当门」，暗用「残月」写别后的传统——柳永《雨霖铃》「杨柳岸、晓风残月」，以残月写离别后的凄清。「桃根」，为王献之妾桃叶之妹，晋王献之《桃叶歌》「桃叶复桃叶，桃叶连桃根」，后以「桃根」代指所怀之人，此词「重见桃根」，写重见所怀之人的期盼。「并刀」，为并州（今山西太原）所产利剪，杜甫「焉得并州快剪刀，翦取吴松半江水」，后以「并刀」写利剪，此词「算人间没个并刀，翦断心上愁痕」，以并刀翦愁写愁绪之难断——贺铸《青玉案》「试问闲愁都几许，一川烟草，满城风絮，梅子黄时雨」正与此相映。这些典故，或写翠禽、或写柳花、或写楚乡、或写桃根、或写并刀，皆围绕伤春怀人这一核心，织成一张空灵的情网，正是黄孝迈词「用事精微」的特点。

Commentary

This lyric is one of the famous works of Huang Xiaomai, quoted for the impossible scissors of its close. The feared willow flowers and the silent hills, and the sorrow-veins without the scissors, are among the admired passages of the lyric. Critics praise the lyric's sorrow: the wounded spring gathered from the lonely scene, to the close's un-cuttable sorrow-veins.

读此词，最令人低回的是「欲共柳花低诉，怕柳花轻薄，不解伤春」这十四字所写出的「欲诉无人」的孤寂。旅宿楚乡，正当清明，翠禽的清歌无人共赏，都付与黄昏；词人想找一个人倾诉这伤春的愁绪，环顾四顾，竟只有那轻薄的柳花可以诉说——然而又怕柳花轻薄，不解伤春。这一「欲共」「怕」，写尽了旅宿之人的极端孤独：不是没有人可以诉说，而是连可诉说之物，都怕它不解；连柳花都怕它轻薄，正是「举世皆浊我独清」的孤高，也是「知音少，弦断有谁听」的寂寥。而全词最空灵的，是「翠玉楼前，惟是有、一波湘水，摇荡湘云」——旅宿楼上，唯有湘水在楼前摇荡着湘云的倒影，那水天一色的空灵，正是词人愁绪的投影：愁如湘水，摇荡不定；心如湘云，飘忽无依。最沉痛的，则是结尾的「算人间没个并刀，翦断心上愁痕」——不是没有剪刀，是人间竟没有一个并州快剪，能剪断这心上的愁痕。以「并刀」写愁，正是「抽刀断水水更流」的无奈：愁绪之深，非刀剪所能断。黄孝迈存词不多而此词最著，正是因为这「欲诉无人」的孤寂、「湘水摇云」的空灵与「并刀难断」的愁绪，把一个旅宿伤春之人的全部心境，写得既深且远，读来令人久久不能释怀。

Prosody

Form Xiangchunyeyue (The Spring Moon of the Xiang), a long lyric词（湘春夜月·双调慢词）

Rhyme The lyric rhymes on the oblique-tone words of the group — the turning, oblique rhyme that carries the wounded sorrow.此词为《湘春夜月》双调慢词，上下阕各押仄韵，「明」「魂」「昏」「温」「门」「云」「根」「痕」等字皆属平声十一真、十三元、十二文韵，韵脚绵长而低回，正合词情「凄婉」的声调。词中「近清明。翠禽枝上消魂」「空樽夜泣，青山不语，残月当门」等句，句式长短错落而流丽；「欲共柳花低诉，怕柳花轻薄，不解伤春」，句式转折而婉转。整体声调由起句的消魂，到「空樽夜泣」的凄清，再到「翦断心上愁痕」的沉痛，层层递进，正合伤春怀人的词情。

Tone pattern The cadence is that of the wounded spring: the level fall with the lonely scene, the turning with the feared willow flowers and the lost soul, and the close's fall with the impossible scissors.句式上，此词善用转折与递进：「近清明。翠禽枝上消魂」，以「近清明」三字点出时节，以「消魂」写伤春，起笔即见凄婉；「欲共柳花低诉，怕柳花轻薄，不解伤春」，以「欲共」「怕」写欲诉还休的犹疑，转折而见孤寂；「空樽夜泣，青山不语，残月当门」，以三个四字句并置写夜的凄清，意象空灵；「这次第，算人间没个并刀，翦断心上愁痕」，以「这次第」领起，以「算人间没个并刀」写愁绪之难断，沉痛收束。全词由消魂入孤寂、由孤寂入旅宿、由旅宿入愁痕，句式随之由凄婉转空灵、由空灵转沉痛，正是黄孝迈词「空灵凄婉」的节奏美学。

Reading note The lyric's sound matches its sorrow: the long, turning cadence of the spring, and the close — 'suan ren jian mei ge bing dao, jian duan xin shang chou hen' — falls with the sorrow-veins, the sound of the sorrow without the scissors.作为南宋慢词，《湘春夜月》的声律之美，在于以平声长韵与转折递进的句式，写出伤春怀人的凄婉情思。全词上阕由「近清明。翠禽枝上消魂」的消魂起笔，经「欲共柳花低诉」的孤寂，到「谁与温存」的旅宿怀人，声调由消魂转孤寂；下阕以「空樽夜泣，青山不语，残月当门」的凄清起笔，经「湘水摇荡湘云」的空灵，到「翦断心上愁痕」的沉痛结穴，声调由凄清转沉痛。词中「欲共柳花低诉，怕柳花轻薄，不解伤春」「空樽夜泣，青山不语，残月当门」等句，句式多变而声情相谐，正是黄孝迈词「空灵凄婉」的体现。就全词而言，此词以湘水湘云为背景，写尽伤春旅宿、怀人别绪的愁绪，意境空灵、情思深婉，是宋词伤春怀人的名篇，与贺铸《青玉案·凌波不过横塘路》同为「闲愁」的绝唱，而一以梅子黄时雨写愁，一以并刀翦愁痕写愁，可见宋词写愁的两种极致。

Line by line

欲共柳花低诉，怕柳花轻薄，不解伤春。

I wish to speak low with the willow flowers, but fear that the willow flowers are light and fickle, and do not understand the sorrow of the wounded spring.

想要与柳花低低倾诉，又怕柳花轻薄，不解伤春之情。

I would whisper to the willow catkins, and yet fear they are too light and frivolous to understand spring grief.

这一句写欲诉无人的孤寂，是此词情感最深的所在。「欲共柳花低诉」，写想要与柳花低低倾诉——旅宿楚乡，无人可诉，竟想与柳花倾诉，正是「欲诉无人」的极端孤独；「怕柳花轻薄，不解伤春」，写又怕柳花轻薄、不解伤春——柳花轻浮，随风飘荡，本不解人的愁绪，词人「欲共」而又「怕」，正是「欲说还休」的犹疑。这一「欲共」「怕」，写尽了旅宿之人的孤寂：不是没有人可以诉说，而是连可诉说之物，都怕它不解；连柳花都怕它轻薄，正是「知音少，弦断有谁听」的寂寥。以「柳花」写欲诉之物，以「轻薄」写其不解，正是「以物衬人」的写法，把旅宿伤春的孤独写得既深且真，是此词情感最动人的句子。

This line writes the would-utter-and-yet-no-one's-listening loneliness, this ci's emotion's deepest place. The I-would-whisper-to-the-willow-catkins writing the wish to whisper to the catkins — the Chu-country lodging, no one to tell, and yet the would-utter-to-the-catkins, precisely the would-utter-and-yet-no-one extreme loneliness; and-yet-fear-the-catkins-are-too-light-and-frivolous-to-understand-spring-grief writing the fear of their frivolity and incomprehension — the catkins' frivolous, wind-drifting, originally the person's grief's not-understanding, the poet's would-tell and yet fear, precisely the would-speak-and-yet-stop hesitation. This would-tell and fear, exhausting the lodging person's loneliness: not the no-one-to-tell, and yet even the tellable thing's feared's incomprehension; even the catkins' feared's frivolity, precisely the few-soulmates-string-snaps-who-listens desolation. Using the catkins for the would-tell thing, and the frivolity for the incomprehension, precisely the thing-sets-off-person writing, turning the lodging spring-grief's loneliness's both deep and true, this ci's emotion's most moving line.

空樽夜泣，青山不语，残月当门。

The empty bottle weeps at the night, the green hills speak not, the broken moon is at the door.

空樽在夜里泣诉，青山默然不语，残月挂在门前。

The empty cup weeps in the night; the green mountains are silent; the waning moon hangs at the door.

这一句写夜中的凄清，是此词意境最空灵的所在。「空樽夜泣」，写空杯在夜里泣诉——樽空无人共饮，那空樽仿佛在夜里泣诉，正是「以我观物，故物皆著我之色彩」；「青山不语」，写青山默然不语——青山无知，自不能语，而词人偏以其「不语」写无人与语的孤寂；「残月当门」，写残月挂在门前——残月将落，挂在门前，正是「晓风残月」的凄清。以「空樽」「青山」「残月」三个意象写夜，一泣、一语、一当门，无情之物皆有情，正是旅宿之夜的孤寂写照。这一句，以三个意象并置写夜的凄清，意象空灵而情思深婉，正是此词最空灵、最见功力的句子，也是「以景写情」的典范。

This line writes the night's bleakness, this ci's mood's most ethereal place. The empty-cup-weeps-in-the-night writing the empty cup's night weeping — the cup's empty and no one to drink with, the empty cup as if in the night's weeping, precisely the viewing-the-thing-through-the-self's hence-the-thing-all-taking-my-color; the green-mountains-are-silent writing the green mountains' wordless — the green mountains' mindless, naturally no-speaking, and yet the poet's precisely using their silence for the no-one-to-speak loneliness; the waning-moon-hangs-at-the-door writing the waning moon's door-hanging — the waning moon's about-to-set, hanging at the door, precisely the dawn-wind-and-waning-moon bleakness. Using the empty cup, green mountain, waning moon three images for the night, one weeping, one silent, one door-hanging, the feelingless things' all feeling, precisely the lodging night's loneliness portrait. This line, using three images' juxtaposition for the night's bleakness, the images' ethereal and the thought's deep-gentle, precisely this ci's most ethereal and craft-most-visible line, and the scene-writes-feeling model.

这次第，算人间没个并刀，翦断心上愁痕。

In this manner, I calculate that in the human world there is no pair of scissors, to cut off the sorrow-veins on the heart.

这样的光景，算人间没有一个并刀，能剪断心上的愁痕。

In such a moment, I reckon there is no Bing sword on earth to cut the grief mark from my heart.

这一句是全词的结穴，以并刀剪愁写愁绪之难断，是此词情感的最高点。「这次第」，写这样的光景——伤春旅宿、欲诉无人、空樽残月，诸般愁绪汇于一处，正是「这次第」的凝聚；「算人间没个并刀，翦断心上愁痕」，写算人间没有一个并刀能剪断心上的愁痕——「并刀」为并州利剪，杜甫「焉得并州快剪刀，翦取吴松半江水」，以并刀写利剪，词人却说「没个并刀」，写人间竟无一剪能断这心上的愁痕，正是「抽刀断水水更流」的无奈。以「并刀」写愁，把抽象的愁绪化作可剪的「愁痕」，形象鲜明而凄婉深挚；以「没个并刀」写愁之难断，正是此词情感的最高点，也是宋词写愁绪之深的千古名句。

This line is the whole ci's closing point, using the Bing-knife-cuts-grief for the grief's hard-to-cut, this ci's emotion's highest point. The such-a-moment writing this lot — the spring-grief lodging, the would-tell-and-yet-no-one, the empty cup and waning moon, the many grief's gathering in one place, precisely this moment's condensation; I-reckon-there-is-no-Bing-sword-on-earth-to-cut-the-grief-mark-from-my-heart writing the reckon's no knife can cut the heart's grief mark — the Bing knife meaning the Bingzhou sharp scissors, Du Fu's where-to-get-Bingzhou's-fast-scissors-to-cut-Wusong's-half-river, using the Bing knife for the sharp scissors, the poet's and yet the no-Bing-knife's saying, writing the human world's actually-no-scissor-able-to-cut-this-heart's grief mark, precisely the draw-the-knife-and-cut-the-water-and-the-water's-the-more-flow helplessness. Using the Bing knife for the grief, turning the abstract grief's into the cuttable grief mark, the image's vivid-and-plaintive-deep; using the no-Bing-knife for the grief's hard-to-cut, precisely this ci's emotion's highest point, and the Song ci's grief's depth's through-the-ages famed line.

Study

Word focus

消魂 'The lost soul' — the soul lost with the longing, the loss of the wounded spring. 「近清明。翠禽枝上消魂」之「消魂」，写翠禽啼鸣令人销魂，是此词伤春起兴的关键语。「消魂」本为灵魂离散之意，后以「销魂」写极度悲伤或快乐而神魂俱失——江淹《别赋》「黯然销魂者，唯别而已矣」，正以销魂写离别之痛；此词「翠禽枝上消魂」，写翠禽在枝上啼鸣，那啼声令人销魂，是伤春的起兴。以「消魂」写翠禽啼鸣，比「鸣」「啼」更见情思之深——不是翠禽消魂，是听者消魂；翠禽的啼声，触动了旅宿之人伤春怀人的愁绪，故觉销魂。这一词，把伤春的起兴与怀人的愁绪联结，正是「以景起兴而情寓其中」的写法，也是此词凄婉基调的开端。

楚乡 'The Chu country' — the land of the Chu, the region of the poet. 「念楚乡旅宿」之「楚乡」，写楚地旅宿，是此词羁旅怀人背景的关键语。「楚乡」即楚地，此词写于楚地旅宿之时，正当清明。「楚乡」二字，不单写地理，更含楚辞的传统——屈原行吟楚地，楚辞多写羁旅怀人之愁，以「楚乡」写旅宿，正是楚辞哀怨传统的延续；又暗含「楚水巴山」的远隔，写旅宿之地的遥远与陌生。「念楚乡旅宿，柔情别绪，谁与温存」，写念及在楚乡旅宿，那柔情别绪，有谁来温存——「楚乡」点出旅宿之地，「谁与温存」写无人温存的孤独。以「楚乡」写旅宿，既点出地理，也暗含楚辞的哀怨传统，正是此词羁旅怀人背景的关键语，也是「以地名写情思」的笔法。

桃根 'The peach root' — the peach blossom of the past, the beloved of the memory. 「问甚时、重见桃根」之「桃根」，以桃根代指所怀之人，是此词怀人别绪的核心语。「桃根」为王献之妾桃叶之妹，晋王献之《桃叶歌》「桃叶复桃叶，桃叶连桃根」，后以「桃根」代指所怀之人；此词「问甚时、重见桃根」，写问何时才能重见所怀之人，正是怀人无期的期盼。以「桃根」代指所怀之人，比直说「伊人」更见古典之美与情思之深，也暗含桃叶桃根的典故，写所怀之人如桃叶般柔美。这一词，是此词怀人别绪的核心，与「天长梦短」相连，写尽欢会之短、离别之长、重见之难。以「桃根」写所怀之人，典雅而深婉，是黄孝迈词「用事精微」的体现，也是此词怀人主题的凝聚。