All poems

宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

醉花阴·薄雾浓云

Tipsy in Flowers’ Shadow · Thin Fog and Thick Clouds

李清照

Li Qingzhao

闺怨boudoir plaint 重阳Double Ninth Festival

薄雾浓云愁永昼，瑞脑销金兽。
佳节又重阳，玉枕纱厨，半夜凉初透。
东篱把酒黄昏后，有暗香盈袖。
莫道不销魂，帘卷西风，人比黄花瘦。

Thin fog and thick clouds, sad the long day.
Rare incense from golden censer fades away.
The Double Ninth comes again;
Alone I still remain
In silken bed curtain, on pillow smooth like jade.
Feeling the midnight chill invade.
At dusk I drink before chrysanthemums in bloom,
My sleeves filled with fragrance and gloom.
Say not my soul is not consumed. Should the west wind uproll
The curtain of my bower,
You’ll see a face thinner than yellow flower.

Listen

Meaning

The poetess writes of her loneliness and longing for her absent husband on the Double Ninth Festival. From misty morning to chilly midnight, and from drinking alone at dusk to the wind blowing the curtain, she reveals her growing sorrow, ending with the famous line comparing herself to a withering chrysanthemum.

薄雾浓云笼罩着漫长的白昼，愁绪也跟着白昼一同绵长；瑞脑香料在兽形铜炉里一点点燃尽。又到了重阳佳节，独卧玉枕纱帐之间，半夜里凉意才刚刚透入肌骨。黄昏过后，我独自在东篱下把盏饮酒，衣袖里早已盈满菊花的幽幽暗香。且莫说这不算销魂断肠，当西风吹卷起帘幕，镜中人竟比那篱边的黄花还要消瘦。

Appreciation

The poem vividly portrays a lovesick woman’s day and night. The opening scene of fog and clouds sets a gloomy mood; the incense burning out hints at solitude. Lines like 'the Double Ninth comes again' and 'midnight chill' intensify her loneliness. The climax is the last three lines: the west wind, the curtain, and the comparison of her thinness to the chrysanthemum—a striking metaphor that makes her sorrow tangible.

【白话串讲】重阳节一个人过，李清照对着一炉香、一杯酒，觉得整个人都瘦了。“人比黄花瘦”五个字，据说让赵明诚输掉了比诗——这是宋词里最出名的一次相思。【意象与手法】全词以时间为序，由昼及夜、由夜及黄昏，脉络清晰而情致绵密。上片“瑞脑销金兽”以香炉焚尽暗示独处之久【情感与主旨】此词一般认为是李清照早年思念远游在外的丈夫赵明诚而作。北宋末年，赵明诚时有出游或仕宦在外，夫妻暂别【名句点睛】常考结句“莫道不销魂，帘卷西风，人比黄花瘦”的绝佳设喻与以人拟物手法

Background

This ci poem was written by Li Qingzhao during her early years, missing her husband Zhao Mingcheng who was away on a trip or official duty. It was the Double Ninth Festival, a time for family reunion and chrysanthemum viewing, which deepened her longing. Legend says Zhao Mingcheng admired the poem so much that he tried to compose many matching ones but none surpassed hers.

李清照，号易安居士，两宋之际婉约词派之冠冕，其词以南渡为界，前期清丽婉约，多写闺阁情思，后期沉郁苍凉，满是家国飘零之痛。此首《醉花阴》一般认为是其早年所作，写重阳佳节独处闺中、思念远游在外的丈夫赵明诚。北宋末年，赵明诚时有出游或仕宦在外，夫妻暂别，李清照以词寄意，怨而不怒，思而能雅。就文学传统而言，闺怨与重阳本为两大诗题：王维九月九日忆山东兄弟写兄弟登高，杜牧九日齐山写旷达，而李清照易男子之怀为女子之思，将重阳的节俗愁绪与闺中孤寂熔于一炉。词中瑞脑销金兽写焚香，玉枕纱厨写夏秋寝具，皆北宋士大夫闺阁日常之实写；重阳赏菊、东篱把酒则承陶渊明采菊东篱下之雅趣。版本方面，帘卷西风一句，宋元诸本或有作西风帘卷者，语序小异而意无不同，今从通行本。此词虽短，却是李清照前期婉约小令的代表，甫一传出便广为传诵。

Art

The poem follows a clear time sequence: from day to night and then to dusk. The use of the incense burner, the jade pillow, the eastern hedge, and the chrysanthemum all build a refined yet melancholy atmosphere. The closing metaphor 'thinner than yellow flower' is a masterpiece: it turns abstract longing into a vivid physical image, fusing the subject and object.

此词篇幅虽短，章法却极严密，全以时间为序，由昼及夜、由夜及黄昏，脉络清晰而情致绵密。上片写白昼之愁与半夜之凉，下片写黄昏把酒与帘卷之瘦，时间推移中愁思渐次加深。发端薄雾浓云愁永昼，以天气之阴郁写心境之沉闷，瑞脑销金兽以香炉焚尽暗示独处之久、昼之漫长。佳节又重阳，玉枕纱厨，半夜凉初透，由节令而及枕簟，凉字点出孤眠之况味，透字尤工，写凉意侵骨之渐次。过片东篱把酒黄昏后，有暗香盈袖，由昼入夜，由内室而庭院，暗香盈袖写菊香满怀而人独斟，乐景反衬哀情。结三句莫道不销魂，帘卷西风，人比黄花瘦，以议论提唱，以景收束，以西风卷帘、人瘦如菊作结，瘦字为全词词眼。在修辞上，此词善用反衬与递进：以薄雾浓云之景衬永昼之愁，以暗香盈袖之乐衬独酌之哀，以黄花之瘦衬人之更瘦；三处莫道、又、比等虚字提唱，使短章具跌宕之致。全词不假雕琢而自然深至，情景相生，短章之中具见大家手笔。

Allusions

'Eastern hedge' alludes to Tao Yuanming’s 'picking chrysanthemums beneath the eastern hedge,' symbolizing reclusion and purity. 'Fragrance fills my sleeves' echoes Lin Bu’s line about plum blossoms, adapting it to chrysanthemums. These allusions enrich the poem with cultural depth, linking the poet’s longing to the high-mindedness of ancient worthies.

词中意象多有所本，又经李清照点化而别具女性之细腻。薄雾浓云写天气，永昼化用昼永之语，状秋日闲愁之漫长。瑞脑即龙脑香，产于南海，为宋时贵重香料；金兽指兽形铜香炉，宋人闺阁常以之焚香，瑞脑销金兽五字写尽焚香消昼的孤寂。重阳源出《易经》以九为阳数，九月九日故称重阳，自汉魏起有登高、赏菊、佩萸之俗，王维诗中已具范式。玉枕指瓷枕或青玉枕，纱厨即纱帐，皆为夏秋寝具，点出独眠之境。东篱用陶渊明采菊东篱下，暗香化林逋疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏写梅之语，移以写菊，既切重阳赏菊，又添幽芳。黄花即菊花，李清照以人比黄花瘦，翻新生发出以菊喻人之瘦，意象尖新。帘卷西风化用古诗词卷帘见月、西风入幕之意。版本上，帘卷西风宋元本或作西风帘卷，语序小异而画面无异。要之，此词用典多在习见之处，经女性词人重新熔铸，遂成闺怨之新声，雅俗皆赏而意蕴独深。

Commentary

It is said that after reading this poem, Zhao Mingcheng locked himself in his study for three days and wrote fifty poems, but when a friend was asked to pick the best, he chose only these three lines from Li Qingzhao, showing their unmatched beauty.

此词自南宋以来即负盛名，尤以下阕人比黄花瘦之句为人激赏。相传赵明诚读后叹赏，欲以己作胜之，乃闭门谢客三日，得五十余阕，杂李清照之作请友人陆德夫评鉴，德夫曰莫道不销魂三句绝佳，明诚自此逊服，此事虽近小说家言，亦足见时人对此词之推重。明清选本如《草堂诗余》《古今词统》多录此作，评者谓其婉秀幽绝，无一语不工。清代陈廷焯《白雨斋词话》称其深情苦调，元人伊世珍《琅嬛记》亦载其本事。今人论易安词，恒以此阕与如梦令、声声慢并列为前期代表作，以为闺怨词之极则。其传播之广，既因意象清雅、便于记诵，亦因将女子相思写得含蓄而深挚，突破了传统闺怨诗的艳狭格局。人比黄花瘦更成为描写相思憔悴的千古名句，后世诗词戏曲每化用之，影响历久弥新。近世学者王仲闻、唐圭璋笺注易安词，亦以此阕为前期婉约之范，足证其经典地位非一时之誉，乃千年定评。

Prosody

Form Ci-pattern 'Tipsy in Flowers’ Shadow' (52 characters, oblique rhymes)双调小令，五十二字，上下片各五句、三仄韵，属中调短章

Rhyme Rhymes: long, away, again, remain, jade, invade, bloom, gloom, consumed, uproll, bower, flower (loosely matching the original rhyme scheme in English)上下片同押仄韵，以兽、透、袖、瘦等去声与仄声为韵，韵位疏朗，声情清婉

Tone pattern Small lyric, three oblique rhymes per stanza; time progression from day to night, climaxing in the final line.句式以五、七言为主，间以四字句，节奏舒缓，宜于低回婉唱，结句三字一顿，余韵悠长

Reading note Double Ninth longing; the line 'face thinner than yellow flower' is a celebrated metaphor in Chinese poetry.《醉花阴》为北宋新兴词调，双调五十二字，上下片各三仄韵，体制短小而易见工力。李清照此词严守谱式，上片永昼、金兽、凉透，下片黄昏后、盈袖、黄花瘦，韵脚安排在关键情语之上，使声情与文情相生。其句式以七言起，五言承，四言转，节奏如行云流水；过片东篱把酒黄昏后七言振起，接有暗香盈袖五言，再接莫道不销魂五言、帘卷西风四言、人比黄花瘦五言，由长趋短，至结句以短句收煞，声气渐紧而情致愈深。平仄方面，瘦字为去声，发声清劲，恰如愁绪之收束；西风、帘卷皆仄声，音节峭拔。全词语浅情深，声韵清婉而不靡弱，最称易安本色，故虽仅五十余字而能压倒明诚五十余阕，良非偶然。

Line by line

薄雾浓云愁永昼，瑞脑销金兽。

Thin fog and thick clouds sadden the long day; rare incense in the golden censer burns away.

薄雾浓云笼罩着漫长的白昼，愁绪也跟着白昼一同绵长；瑞脑香料在兽形铜炉里一点点燃尽。

Thin mist and thick clouds sadden the endless day; the eaglewood incense burns away in the bronze beast.

起二句写重阳白昼之愁，以景起，以事承，章法极稳。薄雾浓云既是节候阴霾之实写，亦是内心愁云之投射，永昼之永字最堪玩味——因愁而觉昼长，漫长的白昼恰是孤寂的度量。瑞脑销金兽以焚香之事补景，香炉中瑞脑一点点燃尽，既写时间之流逝，更写独处之无聊与煎熬。二句一外一内，一自然一人事，合写闺中长日难遣之况。李清照不直说愁如何深，而借雾云之浓、昼永之逼、香料之销三重意象曲曲传出，含蓄蕴藉，已开全词以景写情之脉。

The opening two lines write the Double Ninth saddened day, rising in scenery and continuing in action, with a steady structure. Thin mist and heavy clouds are both the actual overcast of the season and the projection of inner gloom; the word endless in the endless day is most worth savoring - sorrow makes the day feel long, and the long day is the measure of loneliness. Eaglewood burning in the bronze beast adds the detail of incense: the scent wasting away in the animal-shaped burner marks both the passage of time and the boredom and anguish of solitude. One line outward, one inward; nature and human act together render the long, unendurable hours in the chamber. Li Qingzhao never says directly how deep her grief is, but lets it emerge through the triple imagery of thick mist, dragging day, and dwindling incense - restrained and rich, opening the ci method of writing feeling through scene.

佳节又重阳，玉枕纱厨，半夜凉初透。

The Double Ninth Festival comes again; on my jade pillow, inside the silk curtain, I feel the chill at midnight.

又到了重阳佳节，独卧玉枕纱帐之间，半夜里凉意才刚刚透入肌骨。

The Double Ninth comes round again; on the jade pillow, behind the gauze curtain, at midnight the cold first pierces through.

过片由昼入夜，以佳节又重阳点明时令，又字含多少茕独——年年代代重阳，而今年人隔两地。玉枕纱厨写夏秋寝具，本为清凉宜人之物，此刻却衬出孤眠之冷；半夜凉初透，凉字写肤觉，透字写凉意侵骨之渐次与不可阻挡，恰似相思潜入心脾。此句由节令之凉写到身世之凉，由物境之冷写到心境之孤，层层深入。玉枕纱厨的华美与半夜凉透的凄清形成反差，愈显富贵闲愁中之真孤独，章法由景及人，自然浑成。

The second stanza turns from day to night; the Double Ninth comes round again fixes the season, and the word again holds all the loneliness - year after year the festival returns, and this year the two are parted. Jade pillow and gauze curtain name the summer and autumn bedding, things once cool and pleasant, now setting off the cold of sleeping alone. At midnight the cold first pierces through: cold gives the touch on the skin, pierces through the gradual, irresistible way the chill invades the bones, like love-sickness creeping into the heart. The line deepens layer by layer, from the season chill to the chill of one lot, from the cold of things to the cold of the heart. The luxury of pillow and curtain against the forlornness of the midnight cold makes the true solitude behind the leisured sorrow stand out.

东篱把酒黄昏后，有暗香盈袖。

After dusk I drink wine by the eastern hedge; my sleeves are filled with hidden fragrance.

黄昏过后，我独自在东篱下把盏饮酒，衣袖里早已盈满菊花的幽幽暗香。

After dusk, I drink wine by the eastern hedge; a faint fragrance fills my sleeves.

下片由夜半之凉转到黄昏把酒，时间上实由前夜回溯至当日黄昏，章法以回忆补叙，使一日之情思完整。东篱用陶渊明采菊东篱下，点出重阳赏菊之雅；把酒写独酌，无人共饮而强自遣怀，愈见寂寞。暗香盈袖化林逋咏梅语以写菊，袖中盈满幽芳，本是清雅之乐，却因独对黄花而添怅惘——花香满袖而良人不在，乐景之中已伏哀情。此句以温馨之物象反衬孤单一人之身，含蓄不尽，为结句人比黄花瘦作自然之铺垫，情景过渡极为绵密。

The lower stanza moves from the midnight chill to dusk drinking; in time it returns from the previous night to the dusk of that same day, a flashback that completes the day emotions. By the eastern hedge borrows Tao Yuanming plucking chrysanthemums by the eastern hedge, marking the elegant Double Ninth custom of viewing the flowers. Drinking wine shows drinking alone, with no companion to share, and the enforced diversion deepens the loneliness. A faint fragrance fills my sleeves adapts Lin Bu famous lines on plum blossoms to the chrysanthemum; the sleeves brim with quiet scent, a refined pleasure, yet facing the yellow flowers alone it turns to longing - the fragrance fills the sleeve while the beloved is absent, and grief lies already hidden within the joy. Warm imagery sets off the solitary figure, leaving meaning inexhaustible and preparing the lead-in to the closing thinner than the yellow flowers.

莫道不销魂，帘卷西风，人比黄花瘦。

Say not that it does not break the soul; when the west wind rolls up the curtain, I am thinner than the yellow flower.

且莫说这不算销魂断肠，当西风吹卷起帘幕，镜中人竟比那篱边的黄花还要消瘦。

Do not say it does not unmake the heart: when the west wind rolls up the curtain, the person is thinner than the yellow chrysanthemums.

全词最工之结句，历来传诵。莫道不销魂以反语提唱，先破后立，似劝慰而实深悲；帘卷西风以景承，西风卷帘，秋气入户，镜头由外景推至帘内之人。人比黄花瘦以菊花喻人，将无形之相思化为可掬之消瘦，瘦字为词眼，既写体态之清减，更写心神之憔悴。以黄花比人，翻陶渊明东篱之雅为新警，尖新而不纤巧。三句由议论而写景而比喻，层层收束，余味悠长。赵明诚叹服、陆德夫独赏此三句，良有以也；人比黄花瘦遂成相思憔悴之经典表达，千古而下，无人能易。

The closing is the ci most crafted passage, famous through the ages. Do not say it does not unmake the heart opens with a reversed assertion, seeming comfort yet holding deeper grief. The west wind rolls up the curtain continues in scenery: the western wind lifts the drapes, autumn enters the room, and the camera pushes from outside to the figure behind the curtain. The person is thinner than the yellow chrysanthemums compares the woman to the flower, turning invisible longing into palpable emaciation; thinner is the ci eye-word, describing both the wasted frame and the drained spirit. Comparing a person to the yellow flower turns Tao Yuanming elegant hedge into something sharp and new, piquant without being merely clever. The three lines move from assertion to scene to metaphor, closing with a long aftertaste. Thinner than the yellow flowers became the classic expression of lovesick wasting, unmatched ever since.

Study

Word focus

永昼 long day 永昼之永，长也，在此既是白昼绵长的客观描述，更是因愁而觉日长之主观体验。重阳秋日天高日永，本为实写，李清照却以愁字领起，使永昼成为孤寂心理的度量衡——欢愉嫌夜短，愁人知昼长。此一字将外在时令与内在情绪绾合无间，较之直写愁深更见含蓄。与下片半夜凉初透之透字相呼应，一写昼之难以消遣，一写夜之凉意侵骨，昼夜皆被愁占领。永昼又为全词时间脉络之起点，由永昼而重阳而黄昏而半夜，章法以时间为经，永昼正其发端之纽。

销 to burn away 瑞脑销金兽之销，焚尽、销熔也，本写香料在兽形铜炉中一点点燃尽之实况。此字极妙：一是写时间流逝，香销即昼逝，以物象之消长代指长日之难挨；二是写心境，瑞脑尚可销尽，而愁绪无可销磨，以有尽反衬无尽；三是暗伏孤寂，独对香炉看香销，无人共语，静中见哀。销字平实而意蕴三关，足见李清照炼字之精。与下片凉初透之透、人比黄花瘦之瘦同属白描而能传神的动词，三者皆以寻常字写不寻常之深，是易安词看似淡语实极工致的典型。

暗香 hidden fragrance 暗香本林逋疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏咏梅之句，李清照移以写菊，既切重阳赏菊之俗，又以其幽芳盈袖反衬独处之孤。暗字写香气之隐微不张扬，恰似女子深藏之相思；盈袖写花香满襟，本是清雅乐事，却因无人共赏而转为怅惘。暗香盈袖与东篱把酒相连，构成一幅黄昏独酌、菊香满怀的凄美画面，乐景之中已伏哀情，为结句人比黄花瘦蓄势。以梅语写菊，用典而不滞于典，信手拈来，化他家之语为己之情境，正见易安点化之才。

瘦 thin / slender 瘦为全词词眼，人比黄花瘦以菊花之纤瘦喻人之憔悴，将抽象相思化为具体可感的形貌。瘦字前人多用于写花（如帘卷西风瘦），李清照反以写人，且以人比花，翻新生警。其妙在双重意涵：表层写因相思而体态清减，深层写因离别而心神凋零，花之瘦与人之瘦互相映射，物我同一。黄花即菊，既承东篱暗香之菊，又以其凌霜之质暗喻女子坚贞之情。瘦字尖新而不纤弱，沉挚而不淫靡，故赵明诚叹服、陆德夫独赏。自此，瘦成为宋词写相思憔悴的标杆意象，后世难以超越。