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五代 Five Dynasties · 词 Ci lyric

荷叶杯·记得那年

Lotus Leaf Cup: Remember That Year

韦庄

Wei Zhuang

爱情Love 感怀Reflection 愁思sorrow

荷叶杯记得那年花下，深夜。
初识谢娘时。
水堂西面画帘垂，携手暗相期。
惆怅晓莺残月，相别。
从此隔音尘。
如今俱是异乡人，相见更无因。

Remember that year beneath the flowers, late at night.
First meeting with Xie Niang.
West of the water hall, painted curtains hung low,
Hand in hand, we made a secret pledge.
Chagrined by dawn orioles and the waning moon, we parted.
Since then, no news has come.
Now we are both strangers in foreign lands,
There is no chance to meet again.

Listen

Meaning

The poet recalls a romantic encounter by the water hall at night, a secret pledge, and the sorrowful parting. Now both are wanderers, unlikely to meet again.

记得那一年在花丛之下，正是深夜时分，初次结识谢娘的时候。水堂西畔画帘低垂，我们携手暗自相约。清晨黄莺啼啭、残月将落，令人惆怅，就此别离。从此音信断绝。如今我们都成了异乡漂泊之人，再见一面更没有缘由了。

Appreciation

This poem uses plain narration, contrasting past joy with present sorrow. The opening line 'Remember that year beneath the flowers, late at night' sets the scene directly. 'Hand in hand, we made a secret pledge' captures tender intimacy. The transition 'Chagrined by dawn orioles and the waning moon' depicts parting with natural imagery. The closing lines expand personal loss to the universal grief of exile in chaotic times.

【白话串讲】 “记得那年花下，深夜，初识谢娘时”——韦庄记得和她在花下初识的深夜。如今“俱是异乡人，相见更无因”——两个人在异乡，再见却没了理由。【意象与手法】此词纯用白描叙事，以时间为脉，上片逆笔写昔日欢会，下片顺笔写别后凄凉，今昔对照，章法疏宕有致。起句「记得那年花下，深夜」开门见山；「携手暗相期」五字写尽柔情。过片「惆怅晓莺残月」以景结情，晓莺残月暗喻别离之凄。结句「如今俱是异乡人，相见更无因」平白如话而力重千钧，将个人情伤置于乱世飘泊的广阔背景中。【情感与主旨】韦庄（约836—910），五代前蜀宰相，花间派代表词人。此词约作于其晚年入蜀之后。韦庄一生历经黄巢之乱、唐室倾覆，长期漂泊流转，晚年仕蜀。词中追忆早年与「谢娘」花下初遇、深夜相期之事，实则借儿女之情写身世之感，将一时情事升华为乱世飘零的普遍悲慨。【名句点睛】中考高考常考：对比手法（上片乐与下片悲的强烈反差）；「携手暗相期」中「暗」字的双关；「异乡人」「相见更无因」的乱世飘零之慨。

Background

Wei Zhuang (c. 836–910), a prime minister of the Former Shu kingdom and representative of the Huajian school of poetry, wrote this ci in his later years after taking refuge in Shu. Having lived through the Huang Chao Rebellion and the collapse of the Tang dynasty, he endured long wanderings. This poem recalls an early romance with 'Xie Niang,' but also conveys the sorrow of displacement, typical of literati in that turbulent era.

韦庄（约836—910），字端己，京兆杜陵人，唐末五代诗人、词人，前蜀开国宰相，花间词派代表词人，与温庭筠并称「温韦」。韦庄一生历经黄巢之乱、唐室倾覆，长期漂泊流转：黄巢入长安时，韦庄正困居城中，后流落江南十余年，晚年入蜀，仕前蜀为相。此词约作于其晚年入蜀之后，追忆早年与「谢娘」花下初遇、深夜相期之事。谢娘为词中美人之代称，或谓实有其人，或谓托名，然词中情事必为词人真实经历之影。韦庄词多写离乱中的爱情与相思，此词上片逆笔写昔日欢会之乐，下片顺笔写别后凄凉之悲，今昔对照，将个人情伤置于乱世飘泊的广阔背景中——「如今俱是异乡人」，既是情人之暌违，亦是身世之写照，借儿女之情写身世之感，正是韦庄词高于一般花间艳词的所在，亦为其《荷叶杯》组词中哀婉深挚之作。韦庄早年家贫好学，屡试不第，中年始登进士第，旋逢黄巢之乱，陷于长安，作长诗《秦妇吟》纪乱世之惨，人称「秦妇吟秀才」；后流落江南十余年，晚年入蜀，为王建掌书记，前蜀立国后官至宰相。其一生经历唐末五代之变乱，于乱离之中饱尝漂泊之苦，故其词多写离情别绪、身世之感。此词追忆「那年」之欢会，而结以「如今俱是异乡人」，正是以个人之爱情写时代之离乱——乱世之中，情人离散，故国倾覆，人人皆成异乡人，其哀已超出一己之情，而为一代之悲。

Art

The poem employs plain narrative, structured by time: the first half flashbacks to happy togetherness, the second half describes post-parting desolation. The contrast between past and present is stark. 'Hand in hand, we made a secret pledge' says much with few words. The line 'Chagrined by dawn orioles and the waning moon' uses scenery to convey emotion. The closing 'Now we are both strangers in foreign lands, there is no chance to meet again' is simple yet weighty, elevating personal grief to a lament for the age.

此词纯用白描叙事，以时间为脉，章法疏宕有致。上片逆笔写昔日欢会：「记得那年花下，深夜」开门见山，不用铺垫，以「记得」领起回忆，时间、地点、情境一笔写出；「初识谢娘时」点出初遇；「水堂西面画帘垂，携手暗相期」以画帘低垂的环境与携手相期的动作，写尽幽期缱绻，「暗」字尤其含蓄蕴藉。下片顺笔写别后凄凉：「惆怅晓莺残月，相别」以景结情，晓莺啼、残月落，正是破晓别离之景，暗喻离愁；「从此隔音尘」写音信断绝；结句「如今俱是异乡人，相见更无因」平白如话而力重千钧，由一时情事升华为乱世飘零的普遍悲慨。全词今昔对照，一乐一悲，乐处愈缠绵，悲处愈沉痛，语淡情浓，疏宕有致，正是韦庄「似直而纡，似达而郁」词风的典型。又此词章法之妙，在今昔对照：「记得那年」以下，皆逆笔追忆，写花下深夜、携手相期之乐，笔致缠绵；「惆怅晓莺残月」陡转，写相别之凄；「如今」二字一笔拉回现实，写异乡漂泊、相见无因之悲。全词以「那年」与「如今」两段时间对照，以「花下」之乐与「残月」之悲、以「相期」之约与「无因」之绝相对照，乐处愈乐，悲处愈悲，正是以乐景写哀的典范。且上片六句、下片五句，长短错落，音节疏宕，正合追忆往事时低回往复的情态，章法疏宕而情致绵密。

Allusions

'Xie Niang' is a conventional term for a beloved woman, originating from Xie Daoyun of the Eastern Jin, and widely used in Huajian ci to refer to a sweetheart, not a specific person. 'No news has come' follows the ancient yuefu tradition of severed communication. 'Strangers in foreign lands' directly echoes Wei Zhuang's own experience of wandering, similar to his line in 'Bodhisattva Barbarian': 'Do not return home before you are old; returning home would break your heart.' The allusions are natural and unobtrusive.

词中「谢娘」为古诗词中习见的美人代称，源于东晋谢道韫之才名（谢道韫有「未若柳絮因风起」咏雪之才，后世以「谢娘」泛指才貌双全的女子），亦或指谢秋娘（唐李德裕家姬），花间词人借以称所欢，非实指某人，乃词人泛称心仪女子的传统符号。「隔音尘」化用古乐府「音尘」意象，谓音书断绝、踪迹暌违，承六朝乐府与唐人闺怨诗传统（如沈约《别范安成》「生平少年日，分手易前期」一脉）。「异乡人」则直写漂泊，与韦庄《菩萨蛮》「未老莫还乡，还乡须断肠」同一身世之叹——词人一生漂泊，故乡难归，情人亦成异乡之人，故「异乡人」三字，既写人亦写己。全词用典自然无痕，不堆砌而生新，正见韦庄以白描为主、化典入情的本领。又「谢娘」之称，六朝以来诗词习见：唐人白居易《代谢好答崔员外》「青娥小谢娘」、温庭筠《更漏子》「谢娘惆怅倚兰桡」，皆以谢娘称所欢之女子，韦庄用之，正是花间词人习用的美称，非实指谢道韫其人。又「画帘」本写闺阁之饰，李白《怨情》「美人卷珠帘」近之，韦庄以「画帘垂」写幽会之境，帘垂而人约，含蓄蕴藉；「水堂西面」又暗用《诗经·陈风·衡门》「衡门之下，可以栖迟」之隐逸意象，一雅一俗，正是花间词雅俗交融的体现。

Commentary

Chen Tingzhuo of the Qing dynasty remarked that Wei Zhuang's poems 'seem straightforward but are winding, seem open but are suppressed'—this piece fits perfectly. Wang Guowei praised Wei's 'deep feeling and elegant language.' While most Huajian ci are ornate, Wei stands out for his clarity and restraint.

清人陈廷焯《白雨斋词话》评韦庄词「似直而纡，似达而郁」，此词最为切当：语似直率，而情思纡回；意似旷达，而心绪沉郁。近人王国维《人间词话》论韦词「情深语秀」，此首追忆之笔淡而弥哀，正是「情深语秀」的注脚。花间词多秾丽，温庭筠以秾艳著称，韦庄独以清疏胜：汤显祖评《花间集》称其「眷眷无奈」，正指此类追忆往昔、无可奈何之作。近人论韦庄词，多许其「以白描写深情，于清丽中见沉郁」，此词上片之乐、下片之悲，对照鲜明而过渡自然，为《荷叶杯》词中名篇，亦是五代词由秾丽向清疏演变的关键作品，对宋初词风（晏殊、晏几道一脉）影响深远。又韦庄与温庭筠并称「温韦」，同属花间词派，而风格有别：温词秾艳，如「小山重叠金明灭」之丽；韦词清疏，如「春水碧于天，画船听雨眠」之淡。此词正是韦庄清疏风格的典型，以白描写深情，以淡语出沉哀，无一句秾丽之辞而情致自深。近人王国维《人间词话》评「端己词情深语秀」，又谓韦词「淡而弥旨」，此词「如今俱是异乡人，相见更无因」之平白而沉痛，正是「淡而弥旨」的注脚，亦为花间词中以俗语写至情的典范，其影响及于晏几道诸家。

Prosody

Form Ci poem (Lotus Leaf Cup tune)词·《荷叶杯》双调二十三字

Rhyme Short meter, irregular rhyme scheme typical of Five Dynasties; lines vary in length with sparse rhymes, driven by meaning rather than strict rules.时、期；别、因，平仄韵交替，上片押平声支、微韵，下片转韵，韵脚稀疏，以意驱辞不拘定韵。

Tone pattern Unknown (based on music, not strict tonal patterns)句式以五、三、七字参差，短长错落，音节疏宕，宜写追忆之深情。

Reading note The tune 'Lotus Leaf Cup' was originally a Tang teaching-fang melody. Wei Zhuang wrote two poems to this tune; this is the first, a recollection.此词为《荷叶杯》小令，双调二十三字：上片五句（五三七三七），下片五句（三三七三七），句式以五言、三言、七言参差错落，短长相间，音节疏宕有致。《荷叶杯》为唐教坊曲名，本咏荷叶，后用作词调，五代时多用以写恋情，韦庄存《荷叶杯》二首，此为其一。用韵上，此词上片押平声支、微韵（时、期），下片换韵（别、因，仄平互用），韵脚稀疏，不依严韵，以意驱辞，正合五代小令「倚声填词、以意为先」的体制特点，亦见花间词人于格律未定型期挥洒自如的风气。音节上，「记得那年花下，深夜」三字短句顿挫，如追忆之凝神；「携手暗相期」五字悠长，如柔情之缱绻；「惆怅晓莺残月，相别」短句陡转，如别离之骤至；「相见更无因」五字低回，如叹息之不尽。声情与辞情相凑，为五代小令写追忆深情的典范，亦为宋人小令（晏殊、晏几道一脉）之先声。

Line by line

记得那年花下，深夜。初识谢娘时。

Recalling that year under the flowers, late at night, the first meeting with Xie Niang. The poem opens in flashback, setting a warm, private scene.

记得那一年在花丛之下，正是深夜时分，初次结识谢娘的时候。

I remember that year, beneath the flowers, in the deep of night—the time I first met Lady Xie.

逆笔起势，开门见山，是全词回忆的起点。「记得」二字领起全篇，直入回忆，不事铺垫；「那年花下」写时间与地点——那一年、花丛之下，一个「花」字已含春日良辰之美，为欢会铺下温馨的底色；「深夜」写其时夜深人静，花下深夜，正是幽会之时，静谧中蕴藏情愫；「初识谢娘时」点出人物与事件——初次结识谢娘，「初识」二字，写尽一见钟情之惊喜与此后情缘的起点。此句之妙在于以最平白的语言写最难忘的记忆：愈是平淡，愈见其刻骨铭心，数十年后犹历历在目，正是韦庄「情深语秀」的典型笔法。

The opening writes backward, plain and direct, the starting point of the lyric's memory. The words 'I remember' lead the whole, entering the recollection at once without preamble. 'That year, beneath the flowers' gives time and place—the year, beneath the flowers, the single word 'flowers' already holding the beauty of a spring hour, laying the warm ground for the tryst. 'In the deep of night' gives the late hour, the world hushed, beneath the flowers in deep night—the very hour of a secret meeting, quiet yet charged with feeling. 'The time I first met Lady Xie' names the person and the event, and 'first met' writes all the surprise of love at first sight and the starting point of the bond. The art lies in writing the most unforgettable memory in the plainest words: the plainer, the more it is engraved, still vivid decades later—the typical method of Wei Zhuang's 'deep feeling, exquisite speech.'

水堂西面画帘垂，携手暗相期。

West of the water hall, painted curtains hung low; hand in hand, we made a secret pledge. 'Darkly' suggests both dim light and the secrecy of the tryst.

水堂西畔画帘低垂，我们携手暗自相约。

West of the waterside hall, the painted curtains hang low; hand in hand, we secretly pledged ourselves.

白描写欢会，是全词柔情最浓处。「水堂西面」写欢会之地——临水之堂的西侧，幽静而雅致；「画帘垂」写画帘低垂，帘幕沉沉，既写环境之幽深，亦暗示情事之私密；「携手」写两人执手，亲密无间，柔情缱绻；「暗相期」写暗自相约，一个「暗」字，既写画帘低垂、光线昏暗的实景，又点幽期私约之隐秘，一语双关，情致宛然。此句之妙在于以最简的白描写最浓的柔情：水堂、画帘、携手、相期，四个意象叠加，一幅幽期密约图宛然在目，不言爱而爱自深，不言誓而誓自在，为下片「相别」「隔音尘」的凄凉蓄足了势。

The line writes the tryst in plain depiction, the tenderest passage of the lyric. 'West of the waterside hall' gives the place—the west side of the hall by the water, secluded and elegant. 'The painted curtains hang low' writes the lowered painted curtains, their heaviness at once the seclusion of the setting and the privacy of the affair. 'Hand in hand' writes the two holding hands, close without reserve, tenderness intertwined. 'We secretly pledged ourselves' writes the secret vow, and the word 'secretly' doubles: the real setting of lowered curtains and dim light, and the hiddenness of a private tryst, one word carrying both, the feeling vivid. The art lies in writing the strongest tenderness in the plainest brush: waterside hall, painted curtains, joined hands, secret pledge—four images layered, a picture of a hidden tryst visible at once, love unnamed yet love deep of itself, vows unspoken yet vows present, storing momentum for the desolation of the lower stanza's 'parted' and 'cut off from sight and sound.'

惆怅晓莺残月，相别。

Chagrined by dawn orioles and the waning moon, we parted. The scene evokes sorrow, with the waning moon symbolizing separation.

清晨黄莺啼啭、残月将落，令人惆怅，就此别离。

Dismayed at the dawn oriole and the waning moon, we parted.

过片以景结情，是全词由乐转悲的转折。「惆怅」二字直写心境，欢会之乐至此一转为别离之悲；「晓莺残月」写破晓之景——黄莺初啼、残月将落，正是长夜将尽、离别在即之时，晓莺之啼似催人离别，残月之落似离人将去，以景写情，离愁暗寓其中；「相别」二字短促顿挫，如断弦一声，欢会戛然而止，别离陡然降临。此句之妙在于以景结情：不写如何相别、说何言语，只写破晓之时、莺啼月残之际的「相别」，而离愁之凄、欢会之短已尽在其中。上片写「深夜」之约，此句写「晓莺残月」之别，夜与晓、约与别，一暗一明，对照鲜明，章法顿挫有致。

The lower stanza opens by ending in scenery, the turning where the lyric moves from joy to grief. 'Dismayed' directly writes the mood, the joy of the tryst turning at once to the grief of parting. 'The dawn oriole and the waning moon' write the breaking scene—the oriole first calling, the waning moon about to set, the long night ending and parting at hand, the oriole's call seeming to urge the farewell, the setting moon seeming to send the parted one away, writing feeling through scenery, the grief of parting hidden within. 'We parted' is short and broken, like the snap of a string, the tryst stopping abruptly, the parting falling suddenly. The art lies in ending in scenery: not writing how they parted or what words were said, only 'parting' at the hour of dawn, amid the oriole and the wan moon, and the bleakness of parting and the brevity of the tryst are all within it. The upper stanza wrote the tryst in 'deep night,' this line the parting at 'dawn oriole and wan moon'—night and dawn, tryst and parting, one dark, one bright, the contrast sharp and the craft sinewy.

如今俱是异乡人，相见更无因。

Now we are both strangers in foreign lands; there is no chance to meet again. The conclusion elevates personal longing to a lament for displacement.

如今我们都成了异乡漂泊之人，再见一面更没有缘由了。

Now we are both strangers in a foreign land; to meet again, there is no way.

结句平白如话而力重千钧，是全词情感与境界的升华。「如今」二字从回忆拉回现实，今昔对照，一笔收束上片的欢乐与下片的凄凉；「俱是异乡人」写两人如今都成了异乡漂泊之人——「俱」字写双方，非只我一人飘零，她亦流落异乡，同是天涯沦落，愈见其悲；「相见更无因」写再见已无缘由，「更无因」三字断然决绝，希望彻底断绝。此句之妙在于由私情升华为乱世飘零之慨：韦庄一生历经黄巢之乱、唐室倾覆，其「异乡人」之叹，实为一代士人共同的命运，将一时情事置于乱世背景中，境界顿阔，余味无穷，是韦庄词「似直而纡，似达而郁」的典范结尾。

The closing line is plain as speech yet weighs a thousand catties, the sublimation of the lyric's feeling and realm. The word 'now' pulls from memory back to the present, present and past set against each other, gathering at one stroke the joy of the upper stanza and the desolation of the lower. 'We are both strangers in a foreign land' writes that both have now become wanderers in alien places—the word 'both' gives the two, not only my own drifting but hers as well, both fallen in a strange land, fellow sufferers, the grief the deeper. 'To meet again, there is no way' writes that meeting is now groundless, the words 'no way at all' decisive and final, hope cut off entirely. The art lies in rising from private feeling to the lament for drifting in a chaotic age: Wei Zhuang's life spanned the Huang Chao rebellion and the fall of the Tang, and his sigh of 'strangers in a foreign land' is the common fate of a generation of scholars, setting a single love affair against the background of chaos and broadening the realm at once, the afterecho long—the classic close of Wei Zhuang's 'seemingly direct yet winding, seemingly detached yet sorrowful.'

Study

Word focus

暗 'Darkly'—modifies 'pledge', suggesting both the dim setting and the secrecy of the lovers' vow, with a subtle double meaning. 「携手暗相期」之「暗」字，是全词炼字之冠，一语双关，情致宛然。「暗」字之妙有三：一是写实景，画帘低垂，水堂幽暗，正是深夜幽会的光线氛围，环境之暗与情事之秘相合；二是写情事，暗相期谓暗自相约、私下定情，幽期秘约，不欲人知，「暗」字写尽情事之隐秘与谨慎；三是写心理，暗者，心照不宣之谓，两人携手，无须言语而心已相许，一个「暗」字写尽两情相知的默契。三义兼融，一字而环境、情事、心理俱现，正见韦庄炼字之精。若作「携手相期」则直露无味，着一「暗」字，含蓄蕴藉，柔情缱绻，为全词「似直而纡」风格的典型体现。

异乡人 'Strangers in foreign lands'—the core phrase of the closing, directly expressing the poet's own wandering status, contrasting with the ornate diction of other Huajian poets. 「如今俱是异乡人」之「异乡人」，是结句的核心词，直写漂泊身世，力重千钧。「异乡人」三字看似寻常，而含意极深：一是写境遇之同，两人如今俱在异乡，天涯飘零，同病相怜，「俱」字与「异乡人」相合，愈见其悲；二是写时代之痛，韦庄一生历经黄巢之乱、唐室倾覆，流落江南，晚年入蜀，「异乡人」正是乱世士人共同命运的写照，由个人情事升华为时代悲慨；三是与温庭筠秾艳不同，韦词以清疏白语出沉哀，「异乡人」三字平白如话，而沉痛入骨，正见韦庄「情深语秀」的本色。一词之设，全词境界为之开阔，是韦庄词以小语写大悲的典范。

相期 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「携手暗相期」之「相期」，谓相互约定、暗自盟誓，是全词欢会之乐的核心词。「期」本义为约定、约会，「相期」写两人互许终身、暗自定情，一个「期」字，含无限承诺与期待；与「携手」连用，写执手定情之态，柔情缱绻；与「暗」连用，写幽期秘约之隐，情致宛然。此词之妙在于以「相期」反衬「无因」：当年之「相期」，正为今日之「相见更无因」作对照——曾有之约愈坚，今失之痛愈深，今昔呼应，章法细密。一字之设，上结欢会之乐，下启别离之悲，是韦庄词前后照应、以乐写哀的典型笔法，亦见其炼字之精与用情之深。