宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
晏几道·蝶恋花·梦入江南烟水路
Yan Jidao · Butterfly in Love with Flowers · Dreaming of Misty Waterways in Jiangnan
梦入江南烟水路，行尽江南，不与离人遇。
睡里消魂无说处，觉来惆怅消魂误。
欲尽此情书尺素，浮雁沉鱼，终了无凭据。
却倚缓弦歌别绪，断肠移破秦筝柱。
I travel through all of Jiangnan,
But never meet my beloved one.
In sleep, my soul is lost with no one to tell,
Awake, I grieve that my soul was lost in vain.
I want to pour out this feeling in a letter,
But floating geese and sinking fish give no message.
Leaning on the gentle strings, I sing of parting,
Heartbroken, I wear out the pegs of the qin zheng.
Meaning
The poet dreams of searching for his beloved in the misty Jiangnan but cannot find her. Upon waking, he realizes that even the dream was futile. He tries to write a letter but has no way to send it. Finally, he plays the zheng and sings of his sorrow, breaking the instrument in his grief.
梦中进入江南烟水迷蒙的路，走遍江南，却没能和离人相遇。睡梦里黯然销魂无处诉说，醒来惆怅，才知梦里销魂也是徒然。想把这片情意写进书信，可雁飞鱼沉，终究没有传递的凭据。只得斜倚缓弹琴弦，歌唱别后的愁绪，移遍了秦筝的弦柱，柔肠寸断。
Appreciation
This ci poem by Yan Jidao expresses deep longing through a dream. The repeated use of 'xiaohun' (soul-destroying) emphasizes the intensity of emotion. The structure moves from dream to waking, from writing to music, each step deepening the sorrow.
【白话串讲】 晏几道在梦里走遍江南，也没遇到心上人。醒来的惆怅比梦还深。他想写信，雁和鱼都传不到——“断肠移破秦筝柱”，弹断琴柱，也诉不完这相思。 【意象与手法】 结构上梦—醒—书—筝层层翻进：上片梦中遍寻不遇已是恨，醒后知梦亦误更进一层；下片欲寄无凭，转托筝弦，愁绪愈结愈深。「消魂」二字上下片首尾呼应，回环复沓，将无处安放之相思写得缠绵往复。语言清丽浅近而情致幽邃，最见小山痴绝之笔。 【情感与主旨】 晏几道（小山）晚年家道中落，沉沦下位，其词多追忆往昔歌酒情事，写痴情别恨。此《蝶恋花》当为与所恋女子别后相思之作。词以梦境写离愁，反映其「梦魂惯得无拘检」的执着痴情与现实中音书难托的悲凉，是《小山词》中抒写「消魂」主题的代表。 【名句点睛】 赏析重点：①把握梦境与现实的虚实映衬；②体会「消魂」复沓的抒情效果；③分析由梦而醒、由书而筝的层深结构；④「行尽」「移破」等炼字之妙。
Background
Yan Jidao, son of Yan Shu, experienced a decline in fortune in his later years. His ci poems often recall past romances and express obsession with love. This poem, likely written after parting from a loved one, uses a dream to convey his relentless longing and the despair of undelivered letters.
晏几道（约1038—约1110），字叔原，号小山，北宋词人，宰相晏殊之子，世称「小晏」。晏几道出身显赫，然其一生经历巨变：父晏殊去世后，家道中落，他沉沦下位，历任颖昌府许田镇监等微职，晚年贫病交加。其《小山词》多追忆往昔歌酒情事，写痴情别恨，与北宋柳永的市井俗词、苏轼的豪放词皆异其趣，上承五代花间与南唐词风，以「清壮顿挫、哀感顽艳」著称。此《蝶恋花·梦入江南烟水路》当为与所恋女子别后相思之作，具体本事已难确考，然词中「行尽江南，不与离人遇」「浮雁沉鱼，终了无凭据」等语，正见其现实处境：与所恋之人隔绝音问，唯能于梦中追寻。黄庭坚称晏几道有「四痴」，「仕宦连蹇，而不能一傍贵人之门」为其一，可见其性情之痴。此词正是以其痴情写别恨，将梦中的追寻、醒后的惆怅、寄书的无凭、托筝的断肠层层写出，是《小山词》中抒写「消魂」主题的代表作。此词正是小山「以梦写情」的极致，梦即其精神家园。
Art
The poem progresses in layers: dream, waking, letter, music. The word 'xiaohun' appears twice, creating a refrain. The language is simple but the emotion is deep, typical of Yan Jidao's style of 'obsessive' love poetry.
此词艺术上以「层深」为最大特色，结构上梦—醒—书—筝层层翻进，愁绪愈结愈深。上片写梦：「梦入江南烟水路」以「梦」起笔，梦中进入江南烟水迷蒙之地；「行尽江南，不与离人遇」写尽追寻之苦，一个「行尽」极写寻觅之切、失落之深；「睡里消魂无说处，觉来惆怅消魂误」由梦转醒，梦里销魂无处诉说，醒来更添惆怅，方知梦里销魂也是徒然，一层深似一层。下片转写现实：「欲尽此情书尺素」想把情意写进书信，然「浮雁沉鱼，终了无凭据」，雁飞鱼沉，音书难托，再进一层；「却倚缓弦歌别绪，断肠移破秦筝柱」只得倚琴而歌，移遍筝柱，柔肠寸断，终以动作结情。「消魂」二字上下片首尾呼应，回环复沓，将无处安放之相思写得缠绵往复。全词语言清丽浅近而情致幽邃，虚实相生，层层深入，最见小山痴绝之笔。又全词善用虚词，「不与」「无说处」「终了」「却」等虚字穿插其间，如泣如诉，将痴情写得欲说还休、欲断还续，一唱三叹，正是小山词「顿挫」之妙。
Allusions
'Floating geese and sinking fish' alludes to the legend of wild geese carrying letters and fish bearing messages. Here, it signifies the impossibility of communication. 'Qin zheng' is a string instrument, and 'moving the pegs' refers to adjusting tuning, but 'wearing out' suggests extreme sorrow.
此词用典不多而皆切合离愁主题。「江南烟水路」之「江南」，在古典诗词中兼有地理与情感双重意蕴：既是烟水迷蒙的实指，也是相思梦魂所系之地，宋词中「江南」常与离人、相思相连。「行尽江南」暗用柳永《雨霖铃》「留恋处，兰舟催发」一类的别离情境，然小山以梦境写之，更见其痴。「浮雁沉鱼」化用古人「雁足传书」「鱼传尺素」之习语：「雁足传书」典出《汉书·苏武传》鸿雁传书事，「鱼传尺素」本古乐府「客从远方来，遗我双鲤鱼，呼儿烹鲤鱼，中有尺素书」，小山反其意而用之，谓雁飞鱼沉、书信难达，属诗词常语而非僻典。「秦筝」为古代弦乐器，秦地之筝，音色凄清，多用于离愁别绪之曲，「移破秦筝柱」写拨弦之久、愁肠之断。全词以情驭笔，不假僻典而自工，正见小山词「秀气胜韵，得之天然」之妙。且「尺素」典出古乐府「客从远方来，遗我双鲤鱼，呼儿烹鲤鱼，中有尺素书」，本为情书往还之美好意象，小山却以「终了无凭据」反用之，昔日之美好愈甚，今日之断绝愈痛，用典之妙正在于以喜写悲、以乐衬哀。
Commentary
Chen Tingzhuo praised Yan Jidao's ci as inheriting the tradition of the Five Dynasties. Modern critics admire the layered depth of this poem, calling it a masterpiece of obsessive feeling.
此词为《小山词》中的名篇，历代评价极高。清代陈廷焯《白雨斋词话》谓小山词「深得五代遗意」，王灼《碧鸡漫志》称其「秀气胜韵，得之天然」。近人论此词多以「层深」许之，谓其痴情一片，不减《花间》而更见性灵。晏几道词上承五代花间、南唐二主，下开宋词婉约一脉，其「梦魂惯得无拘检」式的痴语、「落花人独立，微雨燕双飞」式的佳句，皆为此词所代表的「痴情词」风格。此词以梦写情，将相思写得如此缠绵深婉，梦中寻而不得、醒后知梦亦空、寄书无凭、托筝断肠，层层递进，把离愁写到了极致，是宋词中抒写「消魂」母题的典范。与晏殊词之温润旷达相比，晏几道词更见痴情与深婉，父子词风之别，于此可见。此词与《临江仙·梦后楼台高锁》并为小山「梦笔」双璧，千百年来传诵不衰。王国维论词主「真」字，小山词之动人正在一个「真」字——其痴情是真痴，其绝望是真绝望，不假修饰、不事雕琢，故能直抵人心。此词与《小山词》中诸作并观，可见晏几道以一痴情词人写尽人间别恨，其艺术魅力历千年而不衰。
Prosody
Line by line
梦入江南烟水路，行尽江南，不与离人遇。
In dream I enter Jiangnan's misty water roads; I wander all of Jiangnan, and yet do not meet the parted one.
梦中进入江南烟水迷蒙的路，走遍江南，却没能和离人相遇。
In dream I enter Jiangnan's misty waters, wander all of Jiangnan, and yet do not meet the parted one.
「梦入江南烟水路，行尽江南，不与离人遇」为全词开篇，以梦起笔，定下全词基调。「梦入」二字点明此去非实，而是梦魂之行；「江南烟水路」写梦中之地，烟水迷蒙，缥缈如梦，既是江南实景的写意，也是相思无处着落的象征。「行尽江南」四字力重千钧：「行尽」极写寻觅之勤、范围之广——走遍了江南的烟水之路，却一无所获；「不与离人遇」以「不」字收束，写尽寻而不得的失落。此三句由入梦到行尽再到不遇，层层推进，将梦中的追寻写得执着而绝望。以梦境虚写相思，正是小山「梦魂惯得无拘检」式的痴情笔法，开篇即见其痴。
The dream-enters-Jiangnan's-misty-water-roads-wander-all-of-Jiangnan-and-yet-do-not-meet-the-parted-one is the whole ci's opening, using the dream's opening, establishing the whole ci's tone. The dream-enters two words' pointing out this going's not-the-real, and yet the dream-soul's journey; the Jiangnan's-misty-water-roads writing the dream's place, the misty-water's haze, the dreamlike vagueness, at once the Jiangnan real-scene's wash, and yet the no-place-to-land's longing symbol. The wander-all-of-Jiangnan four words' the weight-of-a-thousand-jun: the wander-all's the extreme of the seeking's diligence and the scope's breadth — the Jiangnan's misty-water-roads' all's wandered, and yet the no-gain; the do-not-meet-the-parted-one using the bu word's close, exhausting the seek-and-no-obtain's loss. These three lines from the dream-entering to the wander-all to the no-meeting, layer-on-layer's advance, writing the dream's pursuit's the pursuit-and-yet-despairing. Using the dream's void-writing's-longing, precisely the Xiaoshan's the dream-soul's-habitually-no-restraint-style's infatuated brush, the opening at once seeing his infatuation.
睡里消魂无说处，觉来惆怅消魂误。
In sleep my spirit is shattered, nowhere to tell; waking, I am lost, and the dream-shattering was all in vain.
睡梦里黯然销魂无处诉说，醒来惆怅，才知梦里销魂也是徒然。
In the dream my soul is shattered with nowhere to tell; waking, I am lost — the dream's heartbreak was vain.
「睡里消魂无说处，觉来惆怅消魂误」为全词第二层，由梦转醒，进一层写怅惘。「睡里消魂」写梦中销魂之苦——梦魂追寻而不得，黯然销魂；「无说处」三字尤妙，梦里销魂，连个诉说的地方都没有，孤独与痛苦无处排遣。「觉来惆怅」写醒来之怅惘——梦醒之后，追寻无果，怅然若失；「消魂误」三字最见机心：醒来方知，连梦里销魂也是徒然、也是「误」，梦既不能圆，愁亦不能解，层层翻进。「消魂」二字上承下启，回环复沓，既是上片之结，又为下片之引。此三句以梦醒对照，将相思写得缠绵往复，一层深似一层，正是小山词「层深」手法的体现。
The in-sleep-my-soul-is-shattered-nowhere-to-tell-waking-I-am-lost-the-dream-shattering-was-all-in-vain is the whole ci's second layer, from the dream's the waking, the one-layer-further's writing the wistfulness. The in-sleep-my-spirit-is-shattered writing the dream's soul-shattering grief — the dream-soul's pursuit-and-yet-no-obtain, the spirit's darkened-and-broken; the nowhere-to-tell three words' the most wondrous, the dream's soul-shattering, even's the tell-place's none, the loneliness-and-pain's no-discharge. The waking-I-am-lost writing the waking's wistfulness — the dream's over, the pursuit's fruitless, the wistful-loss; the the-dream-shattering-was-vain three words' the most seeing the device: the waking's knowing, even the dream's soul-shattering's the vain, and yet the mistaken, the dream's neither-the-round and yet the grief's neither-the-unloosed, layer-on-layer's turning. The soul-shattering two words' above-inheriting-and-below-leading, the circling repetition, at once the first stanza's close, and yet the second stanza's lead. These three lines using the dream-waking's contrast, writing the longing's the lingering-loop, one-layer-deeper-than-one, precisely the Xiaoshan ci's layer-deep method's embodiment.
欲尽此情书尺素，浮雁沉鱼，终了无凭据。
I would pour this feeling into a letter; but the wild geese float and the fish sink — in the end, no pledge arrives.
想把这片情意写进书信，可雁飞鱼沉，终究没有传递的凭据。
I would write all this feeling on silk; but the geese float and the fish sink — in the end no token arrives.
「欲尽此情书尺素，浮雁沉鱼，终了无凭据」为全词第三层，由梦转实，由内转外，写音书难托之悲。「欲尽此情」写情之满，满怀情意，欲一吐为快；「书尺素」写写信，想将情意写入书信寄予离人，是现实中的补救之想。「浮雁沉鱼」化用雁足传书、鱼传尺素之典，然反其意而用之——雁飞于空，鱼沉于水，书信无人传递，终究没有凭据送达；「终了无凭据」五字写尽绝望，纵然写成书信，又托谁传递？此三句由写信之想写到传书之难，再由传书之难写到无凭之悲，层层推进，将现实中的阻隔写得淋漓尽致。由梦到醒、由醒到书，相思愈写愈深，而希望愈写愈渺。
The I-would-pour-this-feeling-into-a-letter-but-the-wild-geese-float-and-the-fish-sink-in-the-end-no-pledge-arrives is the whole ci's third layer, from the dream's the reality, from the inner's the outer, writing the letter's hard-to-entrust grief. The would-pour-this-feeling writing the feeling's full, the breast-full feeling, the wanting's one-out-and-fast; the write-on-silk writing the letter-writing, the wanting's the feeling's written-into-the-letter's sent-to-the-parted-one, the reality's within's the remedy-thought. The wild-geese-float-and-the-fish-sink adapting the wild-goose-leg-carries-the-letter and the fish-carries-the-silk allusions, and yet the reverse-using — the wild goose's flying-in-the-sky, the fish's sinking-in-the-water, the letter's no-one-to-send, the ultimately's no-pledge-arrived; the in-the-end-no-pledge five words' exhausting the despair, even's the written letter, and yet who's entrusted-to-send? These three lines from the letter-writing's thought's to the letter's sending's difficulty, and yet from the letter's sending's difficulty's to the no-pledge grief, layer-on-layer's advance, writing the reality's within's the barrier's the thorough. From the dream to the waking, from the waking to the letter, the longing's the deeper-the-written, and yet the hope's the fainter-the-written.
却倚缓弦歌别绪，断肠移破秦筝柱。
I lean on the slow strings and sing the parting grief; heart-broken, I shift the Qin zither's pegs out of place.
只得斜倚缓弹琴弦，歌唱别后的愁绪，移遍了秦筝的弦柱，柔肠寸断。
Then I lean on the slow strings and sing my parting grief; heart-broken, I shift the Qin zither's pegs out of tune.
「却倚缓弦歌别绪，断肠移破秦筝柱」为全词结句，以动作结情，余痛悠长。「却倚」写无可奈何的转身——书信既无凭，唯能转向琴筝；「缓弦」写缓拨琴弦，音调低缓，正合别绪之缠绵；「歌别绪」写以歌声抒写别愁，情到深处，唯有借乐抒怀。「断肠」直写柔肠寸断之痛；「移破秦筝柱」写移遍筝柱以求调音，一个「破」字炼字凄警——不是移柱调弦，而是移「破」了筝柱，可见弹拨之久、用力之切，亦可见愁肠之断。此句以「移破」的动作收束全词，由梦到醒、由书到筝，层层翻进，终以动作结情，含蓄不尽。全词愁绪至此达到顶点，而词笔戛然而止，余韵悠长，最见小山痴绝之致。
The then-I-lean-on-the-slow-strings-and-sing-the-parting-grief-heart-broken-I-shift-the-Qin-zither's-pegs-out-of-place is the whole ci's closing line, using the action's feeling-close, the remaining pain's long. The then-I-lean writing the no-way's turn — the letter's neither-the-pledge, only's able's turning to the qin-zither; the slow-strings writing the slow-plucked strings, the tone's low-slow, precisely the parting-grief's lingering; the sing-the-parting-grief writing the song's utterance of the parting grief, the feeling's to-the-depth, only's the music's entrusting-the-heart. The heart-broken directly writing the bowels'-inch-by-inch's breaking pain; the shift-the-Qin-zither's-pegs-out-of-place writing the pegs'-shifting-through's seeking-the-tune, the one po word's the character-refining's grief-alert — not the peg-shift's string-tuning, and yet's the shifting-broke the zither pegs, seeing the pluck's duration and the force's earnest, and yet seeing the grief-bowels' break. This line using the shift-broke action for the whole ci's close, from the dream's to the waking, from the letter's to the zither, layer-on-layer's turning, finally using the action's feeling-close, the reserve's endless. The whole ci's grief's to here's the peak, and yet the ci-brush's the abrupt stop, the aftertone long, the most seeing the Xiaoshan's infatuation-extreme.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both poems by Yan Jidao use dreams to express obsessive love; one seeks a person, the other reminisces about a singer.
《临江仙·梦后楼台高锁》「梦后楼台高锁，酒醒帘幕低垂……落花人独立，微雨燕双飞」以「梦后」「酒醒」起笔，追忆与歌女小蘋的欢会，结以「当时明月在，曾照彩云归」的怅惘；《蝶恋花·梦入江南烟水路》以「梦入江南」起笔，写梦魂追寻离人而不得。二词同为晏几道「梦笔」之作，同以梦境写痴情，然《临江仙》之梦是醒后的追忆，《蝶恋花》之梦是梦中的追寻；一写「曾照彩云归」的昔日温馨，一写「行尽江南」的今日无凭。比较可见小山词中「梦」意象的两种用法，亦可见其痴情词一以贯之的深情。
蝶恋花·槛菊愁烟兰泣露 Yan Shu · Butterfly in Love with Flowers · Railings Chrysanthemum in Sorrowful Mist 晏殊 · 同词牌写离愁，父子风格可参 Same title, contrasting stylesBoth are Butterfly in Love with Flowers on parting sorrow. Yan Shu is broad and warm, Yan Jidao is deep and obsessive, showing father-son stylistic differences.
晏殊《蝶恋花·槛菊愁烟兰泣露》「槛菊愁烟兰泣露，罗幕轻寒，燕子双飞去……昨夜西风凋碧树，独上高楼，望尽天涯路」以菊烟兰露、西风碧树写离愁，结以「望尽天涯路」的眺望，气象阔大而情致温润；晏几道《蝶恋花·梦入江南烟水路》以江南烟水、梦魂追寻写离愁，结以「移破秦筝柱」的断肠，情致深婉而痴绝。二词同用《蝶恋花》词牌写离愁，然晏殊词温润旷达、以理遣情，晏几道词深婉痴绝、以情殉情，父子词风之别，于此二词可见一斑，是研究晏氏父子词风异同的最佳对照。
秦观·减字木兰花·天涯旧恨 Shortened Form of Magnolia Flower · Old Regrets from the Horizon 秦观 · 同写离愁别恨，皆婉约深婉 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
秦观《减字木兰花·天涯旧恨》「天涯旧恨，独自凄凉人不问……困倚危楼，过尽飞鸿字字愁」写独倚危楼、望尽飞鸿的离愁，结以「困倚危楼」的孤寂；晏几道《蝶恋花》写梦寻离人、移破筝柱的痴情。二词同为北宋婉约词离愁名篇，皆以深婉之笔写离别之苦，然秦观词多写「独处」之凄凉，晏几道词多写「追寻」之执着；秦观以「飞鸿字字愁」写目送之苦，晏几道以「行尽江南」写梦寻之切。比较可见北宋婉约词人抒写离愁的多样面貌，也可见秦观之「婉」与晏几道之「痴」在词风上的细微差异。