宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
虞美人
The Beauty of Yu
拂面凉生酒半醒。
廉纤小雨晚初晴。
过云无定月亏盈。
庭户不关春悄悄，阑干倚遍夜深深。
几回风竹误人听。
The fine and the drizzling, the small rain, the evening, first, clear.
The passing clouds, without the fix, the moon, the waning and the waxing.
The courtyard, the doors, not closed, the spring, quietly, quietly,
The railings, leaned, all over, the night, deep and deep.
How many times, the wind, the bamboos, misleading, the men, listening.
Meaning
A lyric of the night and the listening, written by Zhou Bangyan. The cool brushing the face with the wine half awake, the fine and the drizzling small rain with the evening first clear, and the passing clouds with the moon waning and waxing — the night of the opening. The courtyard doors not closed with the spring quietly, the railings leaned all over with the night deep, and the close's wind and the bamboos misleading the men listening — the close's listening. The lyric is the night and the listening: the rain cleared, the night deep, and the close's wind bamboos misleading the listening.
拂面凉生酒半醒。廉纤小雨晚初晴。过云无定月亏盈。庭户不关春悄悄，阑干倚遍夜深深。几回风竹误人听。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] The cool, brushing the face, born, the wine, half, awake. The fine and the drizzling, the small rain, the evening, first, clear. The passing clouds, without the fix, the moon, the waning and the waxing. The courtyard, the doors, not closed, the spring, quietly, quietly, the railings, leaned, all over, the night, deep and deep. How many times, the wind, the bamboos, misleading, the men, listening. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the night of the rain cleared and the moon, through the quiet spring and the deep night, to the close's wind and the bamboos misleading the listening. [Key Technique] The lyric's art is the close of the listening: the wind and the bamboos of the close misleading the men listening — the feeling gathered in the night and the close's misleading. [Emotional Tone] Quiet, deep, and listening: the lyric is the night, the spring quietly and the close's bamboos.
【白话串讲】 周邦彦写《虞美人》：“拂面凉生酒半醒。廉纤小雨晚初晴”——“过云无定月亏盈”——“庭户不关春悄悄，阑干倚遍夜深深”——“几回风竹误人听”——他写春夜——几回风竹误人听。 【意象与手法】 “拂面凉生酒半醒。廉纤小雨晚初晴”写凉雨初晴；“过云无定月亏盈”写过云月亏；“庭户不关春悄悄，阑干倚遍夜深深”写倚遍阑干；结以“几回风竹误人听”写风竹误听。含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 周邦彦写秋夜怀人之作，写凉雨初晴、倚遍阑干的等待与“风竹误人听”的期盼，是清真词中写幽约情思的小令。 【名句点睛】 常考“过云无定月亏盈”以云月写聚散；“几回风竹误人听”以风竹误听写期盼。
Background
Zhou Bangyan (1056–1121), the master of the ci of the Song, wrote this 'The Beauty of Yu' of the night and the listening — the quiet of the night. The rain cleared with the moon waning and waxing, the quiet spring with the railings leaned, and the close's wind and the bamboos misleading the listening — the lyric gathers the quiet of the night, the listening of the poet. The lyric is one of the famous works of the master's lyrics of the night.
《虞美人》为北宋词人周邦彦所作词。周邦彦（1056—1121），字美成，号清真居士，钱塘（今浙江杭州）人，北宋词人，精通音律，词风典雅精工，为婉约词集大成者，人称「词中老杜」。此词写秋夜怀人。词中「拂面凉生酒半醒。廉纤小雨晚初晴」写凉雨初晴；「过云无定月亏盈。庭户不关春悄悄」写过云月亏；「阑干倚遍夜深深。几回风竹误人听」写风竹误听。周邦彦此词以秋夜怀人、风竹误听写其怀人之情，含蓄深婉，是周邦彦词中的名篇。此篇《虞美人》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《虞美人》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 night. The night opens: the cool, brushing the face, born, the wine, half, awake — the cool of the face; the fine and the drizzling, the small rain, the evening, first, clear — the rain first clear; the passing clouds, without the fix, the moon, the waning and the waxing — the moon of the waning and the waxing. The deep night follows: the courtyard, the doors, not closed, the spring, quietly, quietly — the spring quietly; the railings, leaned, all over, the night, deep and deep — the night deep. And the close gathers the listening: how many times, the wind, the bamboos, misleading, the men, listening — the wind and the bamboos — the night, the spring and the close's bamboos, gathered in the lyric.
此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、以景写情」见长。全词上下片各三句，上片写凉雨初晴与过云月亏，下片写夜深深与风竹误听。上片「拂面凉生酒半醒。廉纤小雨晚初晴」写凉雨初晴：拂面凉生酒半醒，廉纤小雨晚初晴；「过云无定月亏盈。庭户不关春悄悄」写过云月亏：过云无定月亏盈，庭户不关春悄悄。下片「阑干倚遍夜深深。几回风竹误人听」写风竹误听：阑干倚遍夜深深，几回风竹误人听。全词含蓄深婉，以景写情，是周邦彦词中的名篇。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 fine and the drizzling' (lian xian) is the fine and the drizzling — the fine rain of the small; 'the passing clouds' (guo yun) are the passing clouds — the clouds passing, without the fix; 'the wind, the bamboos' (feng zhu) are the wind and the bamboos — the bamboos of the wind, misleading the listening.
词中「拂面凉生」「酒半醒」「廉纤小雨」「过云无定」「月亏盈」「庭户不关」「春悄悄」「阑干倚遍」「夜深深」「风竹误人听」等语，皆含典故故实。「拂面凉生」写凉意拂面而生；「酒半醒」写酒醒了一半；「廉纤小雨」写细小之雨（廉纤为细雨）；「过云无定」写流云无定；「月亏盈」写月之亏盈圆缺；「庭户不关」写庭门未关；「春悄悄」写春夜静悄悄；「阑干倚遍」写倚遍阑干；「夜深深」写夜之深；「风竹误人听」写风吹竹声而误以为人至（误听为故人叩门之声）。词人以廉纤小雨、月亏盈、风竹误人听等语入词，不着痕迹，而把秋夜怀人之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸意象的体现。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 the famous works of Zhou Bangyan's lyrics of the night, quoted for the quiet of its scene and the listening of its close. The rain first clear with the moon, and the wind and the bamboos misleading the listening, are among the admired passages of the master's lyrics. Critics praise the lyric's quiet: the night gathered in the spring, to the close's listening.
这首《虞美人》，是周邦彦写秋夜怀人之作，写凉生酒醒、小雨初晴、风竹误听之情，含蓄深婉。上片写凉雨初晴与过云月亏：「拂面凉生酒半醒。廉纤小雨晚初晴」——拂面凉生酒半醒，廉纤小雨晚初晴。写凉雨初晴：拂面凉生、酒半醒，廉纤小雨晚来初晴——凉意拂面、酒半醒，小雨初晴；「过云无定月亏盈。庭户不关春悄悄」——过云无定月亏盈，庭户不关春悄悄。写过云月亏：过云无定、月有亏盈，庭户不关、春夜悄悄——流云无定、月有亏盈，正写秋夜；下片写夜深深与风竹误听：「阑干倚遍夜深深。几回风竹误人听」——阑干倚遍夜深深，几回风竹误人听。写风竹误听：阑干倚遍、夜已深深，几回风竹之声误以为人听——倚遍阑干、夜深夜，风竹之声几回误以为故人至。这「几回风竹误人听」，是全词之结：以风竹误听写其盼人。全词含蓄深婉，以景写情，正是周邦彦词中的名篇。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。
Prosody
Line by line
廉纤小雨晚初晴。
Fine, fine drizzle; at evening it clears at last.
廉纤小雨晚初晴。
Fine, fine drizzle, clearing toward evening.
此句写小雨初晴，起笔即见其景。「廉纤小雨晚初晴」写廉纤小雨晚初晴，「廉纤小雨」写细小之雨、「晚初晴」写傍晚初晴。一句以「廉纤小雨」写雨之细、以「晚初晴」写其初晴，写尽傍晚细雨初晴之景。以景起兴，含蓄而清润，是「以景起兴」的妙笔。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 fine rain just clearing, the scenery visible from the first stroke. 'Fine, fine drizzle; at evening it clears at last' — 'fine drizzle' the small rain, 'clearing at evening' the dusk growing clear. One phrase writes the fineness of the rain through the fine drizzle and the clearing through the evening clear, exhausting the scene of evening drizzle just brightening. Raising feeling through scenery, restrained and fresh — a fine stroke of 'raising feeling through scenery.' In a few words it exhausts deep meaning, waves hidden between the characters, worth repeated pondering.
过云无定月亏盈。
Drifting clouds are unsteady, the moon now waxing, now waning.
过云无定月亏盈。
Drifting clouds are uncertain, the moon alternately waning and waxing.
此句写过云月亏，是全词写秋夜之变的关键。「过云无定月亏盈」写过云无定月亏盈，「过云无定」写流云无定、「月亏盈」写月之亏盈。一句以「过云无定」写云之无定、以「月亏盈」写月之圆缺，写尽过云无定、月有亏盈之景——云来月隐、云去月现，正写秋夜之变幻。以景写情，含蓄而深挚，是「以景写情」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 passing clouds and the moon's phases, the key to the ci's autumn-night changes. 'Drifting clouds are unsteady, the moon now waxing, now waning' — 'drifting clouds uncertain' the shifting clouds, 'moon waxing and waning' its phases. One phrase writes the clouds' unsteadiness through drifting clouds and the moon's phases through waxing and waning, exhausting the scene of uncertain clouds and changing moon — clouds come and the moon hides, clouds go and it shines, exactly the shifting autumn night. Writing feeling through scenery, restrained and deep — an illuminating stroke of 'writing feeling through scenery.' In a few words it exhausts deep meaning, waves hidden in the plainness.
阑干倚遍夜深深。
I have leaned the railing through and through; the night is deep, deep.
阑干倚遍夜深深。
I have leaned on every bar of the railing; the night grows deep and deeper.
此句写倚遍阑干，是全词写其久立的关键。「阑干倚遍夜深深」写阑干倚遍夜深深，「阑干倚遍」写倚遍阑干、「夜深深」写夜之深沉。一句以「阑干倚遍」写其倚栏之久、以「夜深深」写夜之深，写尽倚遍阑干、夜已深深之况。以态写情，含蓄而深挚，是「以态写情」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 leaning the railing through, the key to the ci's long standing. 'I have leaned the railing through and through; the night is deep, deep' — 'leaned the railing through' the resting on every bar, 'night deep, deep' the depth of the hour. One phrase writes the length of standing through 'leaned the railing through' and the depth of night through 'night deep, deep,' exhausting the state of having leaned all the bars while the night grows deep. Writing feeling through posture, restrained and deep — an illuminating stroke of 'writing feeling through posture.' In a few words it exhausts deep meaning, waves hidden in the plainness.
几回风竹误人听。
How many times, the wind, the bamboos, misleading, the men, listening.
几回风竹误人听。
How often the wind in the bamboos has tricked my ear into thinking someone came.
尾句写风竹误听，是全词立意的落点。「几回风竹误人听」写几回风竹误人听，「几回」写几回、「风竹误人听」写风吹竹声而误以为人至。一句以「几回」写其误听之多、以「风竹误人听」写竹声之误，写尽几回闻风竹声而误以为故人至之情——盼人至而风竹误人。以声写情，含蓄而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以声写情」的点睛之笔。
The closing writes the wind in bamboo tricking the ear, where the ci's meaning lands. 'How often the wind in the bamboos has tricked my ear into thinking someone came' — 'how often' the many times, 'wind in the bamboos tricking the ear' the rustle mistaken for a person arriving. One phrase writes the many mishearings through 'how often' and the trick of the bamboo sound through 'wind in the bamboos tricking the ear,' exhausting how often, hearing the wind-bamboo rustle, she has mistaken an old friend for arriving — longing for someone while the bamboo wind tricks her. Writing feeling through sound, restrained and deep, it is the most moving place of the ci and an illuminating stroke of 'writing feeling through sound.'
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
李煜《虞美人·春花秋月何时了》「春花秋月何时了，往事知多少」，写亡国之愁，是虞美人调最著名的词；周邦彦《虞美人》则以「廉纤小雨晚初晴」「过云无定月亏盈」「几回风竹误人听」写小雨初晴、风竹误听。两词同用虞美人词牌写秋夜之愁：一写春花秋月何时了、以一江春水写愁之深，一写几回风竹误人听、以误听写盼之切；一为帝王之血泪、一为文士之闲愁，并读正可见虞美人词牌写愁的两种情致，皆于秋夜中见愁情。
浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯 Silk-Washing Stream: A Cup of Wine, A New Song 晏殊 · 同写酒醒夜静、无可奈何，一写无可奈何花落去、一写几回风竹误人听，皆于夜静之中见无可奈何之情 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
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；周邦彦《虞美人》则以「拂面凉生酒半醒」「阑干倚遍夜深深。几回风竹误人听」写酒醒夜深、风竹误听。两词同写酒醒夜静、无可奈何：一写无可奈何花落去、以花落燕归写惜时，一写几回风竹误人听、以误听写盼人；一为晏殊之温润、一为周邦彦之精工，并读正可见宋词写「酒醒无可奈何」的两种笔法，皆于夜静之中见无可奈何之情。