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五代 Five Dynasties · 词 Ci lyric

清平乐·别来春半

Pure Serene Music · Since We Parted, Spring Half Through

李煜

Li Yu

离愁别绪Parting Sorrow 伤春Spring Melancholy

别来春半，触目柔肠断。
砌下落梅如雪乱，拂了一身还满。
雁来音信无凭，路遥归梦难成。
离恨恰如春草，更行更远还生。

Since we parted, spring is half gone,
All that meets the eye breaks my heart.
Plum blossoms fall like snow upon the stone steps,
I brush them off, but again they fill my sleeves.
Wild geese bring no tidings from you,
The road is long, home-sick dreams are hard to come.
My parting grief is like the spring grass,
The farther I go, the more it grows.

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Meaning

The poem expresses deep longing and sorrow of separation. The speaker sees spring half gone and everything hurts. Plum blossoms falling like snow and covering him again symbolize unshakable grief. Wild geese bring no message, dreams of returning are hard. Finally, parting grief is like spring grass that grows endlessly as one goes further.

自你别后已是春过半，举目所见无不牵动柔肠寸断。石阶下飘落的梅花如雪片纷乱，刚拂去一身又落满。大雁飞来却无你的音信凭证，路途遥远归乡的梦也难以成真。这离别的愁恨恰似春天的青草，越走越远越是滋生。

Appreciation

The poem begins with a straightforward statement of time and emotion, then uses vivid imagery of plum blossoms to convey inner turmoil. The action of brushing off petals only to have them pile up again is a brilliant physical metaphor for persistent sorrow. The reference to wild geese and dreams deepens the sense of helplessness. The concluding metaphor of spring grass is the most celebrated: it transforms abstract grief into something tangible and ever-growing, making the reader feel the endlessness of longing. Li Yu's skillful blend of natural description and emotional expression makes this a masterpiece of early Chinese lyric poetry.

【白话串讲】 “离恨恰如春草，更行更远还生”——李煜把离愁比作春草，走得越远，长得越旺。一个亡国之人，对“离别”的理解深到骨头里。【意象与手法】全词善用白描与比喻，以寻常景物承载深愁：「砌下落梅如雪乱」以飘梅写心乱，「拂了一身还满」的反复动作极具画面感与心理张力；结拍「离恨恰如春草，更行更远还生」取象春草，化静为动，以空间之远喻时间之长，将无形离恨写得绵密滋生，是「以景结情」的典范。【情感与主旨】此词一般认为是李煜早中期之作，一说为怀念其弟从善入宋被扣留不归而作。词借暮春之景写久别之思，将政治上的无奈与手足（或恋人）之情融于婉约辞章，风格清丽深婉，尚带花间余韵，未及后期亡国词的沉郁。【名句点睛】常考白描手法与比喻句赏析，尤其「拂了一身还满」的动作细节与「离恨恰如春草」的比喻。

Background

This poem is generally considered a work from Li Yu's early to middle period. Some believe it was written for his younger brother Li Congshan, who was detained as an envoy to the Song dynasty. The poem uses the late spring scene to express prolonged separation and longing, blending political helplessness with personal emotion. Its style is elegant and subtle, still bearing traces of the Huajian school, not yet reaching the somberness of his later poems after the fall of the Southern Tang.

李煜（937—978），字重光，南唐中主李璟第六子，961年嗣位为南唐国君，史称南唐后主。李煜工书善画、精通音律，尤以词名世。此词一般认为是其中期之作：一说为怀念入宋不归的胞弟李从善而作——南唐保大年间，从善奉命出使宋朝，被宋太祖扣留不归，李煜思念深切，屡上表求之不得；一说为泛写离愁别恨的伤春怀人之作。就词风而言，此词清丽深婉，尚带花间词的婉约余韵，情调虽哀而不至绝望，与后期亡国入宋后「故国不堪回首」的沉郁悲慨判然有别，正处李煜由前期宫廷词向后期抒情词过渡的阶段。五代十国战乱频仍，君臣之间、兄弟之间聚散无常，此词所写久别之思，既是个人的切肤之痛，也折射出那个时代普遍的离乱之感，是李煜前期词中情感最真挚、艺术最成熟的篇章之一。李煜身为国君而情多愁重，其词多写一己之情，而此词恰以最个人化的离愁，写出了五代乱世中无数人共有的聚散之痛。

Art

The poem excels in plain description and metaphor, using ordinary scenes to carry deep sorrow. The image of plum blossoms falling like snow and the repeated action of brushing them off create visual and psychological tension. The final metaphor of spring grass turns static grief into dynamic growth, using spatial distance to imply temporal duration. It is a classic example of 'ending with scene to convey emotion,' natural and seamless.

全词艺术上最突出的特点是白描与比喻的运用，以及层层递进的抒情章法。上片「砌下落梅如雪乱，拂了一身还满」是白描的神品：石阶下梅花纷纷飘落，如雪片般纷乱，词人拂去一身落梅，旋即又落满一身——「拂」与「还满」的反复动作，极富画面感与心理张力，以落梅之「乱」写心绪之「乱」，以拂之不尽的落梅写挥之不去的离愁，体物入微、以实写虚。下片「雁来音信无凭，路遥归梦难成」写盼信而信不来、思归而梦难成，失望层层递进，由「无凭」到「难成」，把希望一步步写灭。结拍「离恨恰如春草，更行更远还生」是全词最精彩处：以春草喻离恨，化静为动——草随行而长，恨随远而生，以空间之远喻时间之长，将无形之恨写得绵密滋生、生生不息，比兴自然而不着痕迹，是「以景结情」的典范。全词由白昼写到夜晚，由落梅写到春草，物象层叠而情脉一贯，起于触目柔肠断，结于更行更远还生，首尾环合，浑然一体。

Allusions

The line 'Wild geese bring no tidings from you' alludes to the story in Hanshu of Su Wu using wild geese to carry messages. Here it is reversed: the geese come but bring no news, deepening disappointment. The comparison of parting grief to spring grass continues a tradition from Bai Juyi's poem 'Grass on the Ancient Plain,' using the ever-growing grass to symbolize endless sorrow.

「雁来音信无凭」化用「雁足传书」的典故，典出《汉书·苏武传》：汉使言天子射上林中得雁，足有系帛书，言苏武等在某泽中，匈奴不得不放还苏武。古人因以为雁能传书，故诗词中常以雁寄相思。此词反用其意：雁固然飞来了，却未带来任何音信，「无凭」二字写尽失望——连传说中能传书的雁都指望不上，则音信之渺茫可知。这一反用，比正面用典更深一层愁苦。「离恨恰如春草」则承中国古典诗歌以草喻愁的悠久传统：《楚辞·招隐士》有「王孙游兮不归，春草生兮萋萋」，白居易《赋得古原草送别》有「野火烧不尽，春风吹又生」「远芳侵古道，晴翠接荒城」，皆以春草的绵延写离情别绪的无穷。李煜承此意象而翻新出奇，「更行更远还生」六字，将春草的生命力与离恨的绵延性合而为一，比前人更富动态的生长感，是文学意象承袭与翻新的典范。以草喻恨的传统源远流长，而李煜此句一出，后世言愁恨者多取法焉。

Commentary

Yu Biyun commented that the poem 'flows in one breath, and the ending is especially superb,' capturing the helplessness of parting sorrow. Tan Xian praised its clarity and grace. Wang Guowei noted that Li Yu's later poems expanded in vision and deepened in emotion; this earlier work already shows a masterful fusion of scene and feeling, marking a distinctive style beyond the Huajian tradition.

此词历代评价甚高。俞陛云《唐五代两宋词选释》评此词「一气贯注，结语尤胜」，谓其通篇气脉贯通，而结语「离恨恰如春草，更行更远还生」尤为精妙，于无可奈何中写尽离恨。谭献《谭评词辨》亦赏其清婉。就李煜词史地位而言，王国维《人间词话》论后主词「眼界始大，感慨遂深」，虽主要指其后期亡国词，然此词已见其情景相生、以景结情的功力——以春草喻恨、以落梅写愁，皆从日常生活中拈出寻常物象，经点化而成千古名句，正是「于平淡处见奇崛」的本领。此词在抒情艺术上的影响深远：后人多以春草喻愁，如秦观「恨如芳草，萋萋刬尽还生」即明显承此而来。作为李煜前期词的代表，《清平乐》清丽哀婉、情景交融，足为花间词后的别调，开宋词抒情深婉之风。此词在词史上的意义，还在于它证明李煜在亡国之前已具备以景结情、以物喻愁的高超技艺，故其后期词能一登峰造极，实非偶然。

Prosody

Form Lyric in the tune 'Pure Serene Music' (双调四十六字)词牌《清平乐》，双调四十六字，上片四句四仄韵，下片四句三平韵

Rhyme Upper stanza: four lines, four oblique rhymes (半, 断, 乱, 满 in -an oblique). Lower stanza: four lines, three level rhymes (凭, 成, 生 in -eng level). This oblique-to-level rhyme pattern is the standard for 'Pure Serene Music'.上片押《词林正韵》第七部寒删先（仄声，上去通押）：半、断、乱、满；下片押第十一部庚青（平声）：凭、成、生。

Tone pattern Line lengths: upper stanza 4,5,7,6; lower stanza 6,6,6,6. The seven-character line 'Plum blossoms fall like snow upon the stone steps' conveys scene and emotion together; the final metaphor flows naturally.上片句式四、五、七、六，仄韵短促，声情急切，写触目断肠之愁；下片句式六、六、六、六，平韵舒缓绵长，声情悠远，写春草离恨之绵；上仄下平、上急下缓，正与全词由愁而恨、由断肠到绵长的情感走向相合。

Reading note 'Pure Serene Music' was originally a Tang music bureau tune. The standard form is 46 characters, with oblique rhymes in upper and level rhymes in lower. This poem uses plum blossoms and spring grass to express parting grief, typical of Li Yu's early lyrical style.《清平乐》本为唐教坊曲名，后用作词牌，又名《忆萝月》《醉东风》等，双调四十六字，上片四句四仄韵、下片四句三平韵是其定格，上仄下平的用韵方式为《清平乐》所独有。李煜此词严守定格：上片「半、断、乱、满」四仄韵（词林正韵第七部，上去通押），音短气促，正写触目柔肠断的急切之愁；下片「凭、成、生」三平韵（第十一部庚青），音长气缓，正写春草离恨的绵延之思。声情与词情的高度一致，是此词在音律上的最大成功——上片如断弦急管，下片如流水慢板，一急一缓、一抑一扬，把「断肠」之痛与「还生」之恨从声音层面也表现了出来。句式上，上片四、五、七、六长短错落，下片六字句整齐舒缓，节奏由参差归于齐整，恰如情绪由纷乱归于绵长。全词清丽哀婉，音律与意境浑然一体，是李煜前期词的代表作，也是《清平乐》词牌下的经典名篇。

Line by line

别来春半，触目柔肠断。

Since we parted, spring is half gone. Everything I see breaks my heart. Opens with the passage of time and direct emotional pain.

自你别后春已过半，举目所见无不牵动柔肠寸断。

Since the parting, spring is half over; whatever meets the eye breaks my heart.

起笔两句即定下全词的愁调。「别来春半」点明时令与缘由：自离别以来，春天已经过了一半——春半本是繁花似锦之时，然而因「别来」二字，这大好的春光反而成了愁的触媒。「触目柔肠断」紧承而出：「触目」即举目所见、无物不触情，春草、春花、飞燕、落梅，一切春景都牵动着离人的柔肠，使人寸断。「柔肠断」三字极写愁之重，而「触目」二字又写愁之广——不是某一景使人愁，而是目之所及、无一处不使人愁。以春半之景写久别之思，以触目之愁笼盖全篇，起笔便见笼罩之力，为下文落梅、雁信、春草等意象的展开预作铺垫，愁绪弥漫全词。

The opening two lines set the mournful tone of the whole at once. 'Since the parting, spring is half over' names the season and the cause: since the parting, spring has passed its midpoint—midsummer of flowers, yet because of 'since the parting,' this fair spring becomes the touchstone of grief. 'Whatever meets the eye breaks my heart' follows at once: 'whatever meets the eye' means nothing is seen that does not touch feeling—spring grass, spring flowers, swallows, falling plum, all the spring scenes tug at the parting heart and rend it. 'Breaks my heart' writes the weight of grief to the utmost, and 'whatever meets the eye' writes its breadth—not one scene that causes grief, but every sight a grief. Writing the long parting through the half-spring scene and enveloping the whole in the grief of 'whatever meets the eye,' the opening shows a covering force, preparing for the unfolding images of falling plum, wild-geese letters, and spring grass, the sorrow pervading the lyric.

砌下落梅如雪乱，拂了一身还满。

Plum blossoms fall like snow on the steps. I brush them off, but they cover me again. The action symbolizes persistent sorrow.

石阶下落梅如雪片纷乱，刚拂去一身又落满。

Below the steps the falling plum is thick as scattered snow; I brush it off my robes, and it settles again.

此二句是白描与体物的神品。「砌下落梅如雪乱」写石阶下梅花飘落，如雪片般纷乱——以雪喻梅，取其色之白、态之轻、落之繁；一个「乱」字，既写落梅纷飞之态，又暗喻心绪之乱，景情双关，炼字精妙。更妙的是下句「拂了一身还满」：词人拂去身上的落梅，然而落梅旋即又落满一身。「拂」与「还满」构成一个反复的动作，这个细节极具画面感——一个独自立于落梅中的身影，一次次拂去落花，又一次次被落花覆满，拂不尽的哪里是落梅？分明是拂不去的离愁。以落梅写愁，以动作写心，将抽象的愁绪写得可触可感，体物入微、以实写虚，是此词最动人的笔墨，也是李煜白描功力的最佳展示。

These two lines are the miracle of plain depiction and observed detail. 'Below the steps the falling plum is thick as scattered snow' writes the plum blossoms falling below the stone steps, thick as snowflakes—comparing plum to snow for its whiteness, lightness, and abundance; the single word 'thick' writes at once the flying of the petals and, covertly, the disorder of the heart, scene and feeling double, a crafted word. The greater art is the next line, 'I brush it off my robes, and it settles again': the poet brushes the fallen plum from his body, yet the petals settle on him again at once. 'Brush' and 'settle again' form a repeated action, the detail intensely pictorial—a figure standing alone among the falling plum, again and again brushing off the petals, again and again covered by them, and what cannot be brushed off is not the plum at all, but the parting grief that cannot be waved away. Writing grief through the falling plum and the mind through action, making abstract sorrow tangible, observing the thing to the finest point and writing the virtual through the real—the most moving brush of the lyric, and the best display of Li Yu's power of plain depiction.

雁来音信无凭，路遥归梦难成。

Wild geese come but bring no news. The long road makes it hard to even dream of return. Reinforces the hopelessness of communication.

大雁飞来却无你的音信，路遥使归乡之梦也难成。

The wild geese return, but no word comes; the road is long, and the dream of home is hard to dream.

此二句写盼归不得的层层绝望。「雁来音信无凭」化用雁足传书的典故而反用之：大雁年年南来，却从不带来所盼之人的音信——传说中能传书的雁都指望不上，「无凭」二字写尽失望，也暗示分别之久、音信之杳。这是第一层绝望。下句「路遥归梦难成」进一层：既然音信难通，只好指望梦中相见，然而路途遥远，连归乡的梦都难以做成——梦本是极自由的，梦都被「路遥」所阻，则现实中的阻隔更可想而知。「无凭」与「难成」对举，一层失望叠一层失望，由盼信而盼梦，由盼梦而梦亦难成，把久别的孤独写得层层递进、无以复加，为结拍「离恨如春草」的直抒蓄足了势。

These two lines write the layer upon layer of despair in longing and failing to return. 'The wild geese return, but no word comes' adapts the allusion to the wild goose carrying a letter, and turns it to opposite use: the geese come south every year, yet never bring the word of the one awaited—even the goose of legend that bears letters cannot be counted on, and the words 'no word' write the disappointment to the full, hinting at the length of parting and the silence of news. This is the first layer of despair. The next line, 'the road is long, and the dream of home is hard to dream,' goes further: since words are hard to come by, one looks to meeting in the dream, yet the road is so long that even the dream of returning is hard to dream—the dream is by nature most free, yet even the dream is blocked by the 'long road,' and the barriers of reality are all the more imaginable. 'No word' set against 'hard to dream,' one disappointment layering the next, from hoping for a letter to hoping for a dream, from hoping for a dream to the dream itself impossible, writing the loneliness of long parting in advancing layers beyond all addition, storing momentum for the closing outburst of 'parting grief is like spring grass.'

离恨恰如春草，更行更远还生。

Parting grief is like spring grass: the farther I go, the more it grows. Ends with a famous metaphor for endless sorrow.

离恨恰似春草，越走越远越是滋生。

The grief of parting is like the spring grass—the farther you walk, the more it grows.

结拍是全词最负盛名的比喻，也是「以景结情」的典范。「离恨恰如春草」以春草喻离恨，妙在取象的贴切：春草遍地滋生、绵延不绝，正如离恨无处不在、无时不有；而「更行更远还生」更将比喻推向极境——越往前走，离得越远，草却长得越繁茂，正如离恨，越是想要摆脱，越是滋长蔓延。以空间之远喻时间之长，以草的动态生长写恨的绵绵不绝，化静为动，比白居易「野火烧不尽，春风吹又生」更富生长感与画面感，仿佛能看见那越行越远的身影与越生越旺的春草。词人不说「恨多」「恨久」，只说春草还生，一切尽在不言中，含蓄不尽、余味悠长，遂成千古咏恨名句，也是李煜词「以情驭景」天分的最佳体现。

The closing is the most famous metaphor of the lyric and the model of 'ending feeling in scenery.' 'The grief of parting is like the spring grass' compares parting grief to spring grass, and the art lies in the aptness of the image: spring grass spreads over the ground and grows without cease, just as parting grief is everywhere and always. 'The farther you walk, the more it grows' pushes the metaphor to its extreme—the farther one goes, the farther the separation, yet the grass grows the lusher, just as the more one would shake off parting grief, the more it spreads. Using distance of space for length of time, and the growing motion of the grass for the unceasing grief, turning stillness to motion, it is richer in the sense of growth and of picture than Bai Juyi's 'wildfire cannot burn it up, the spring wind blows it again,' as though one could see the figure walking farther and farther and the spring grass growing ever stronger. The poet does not say 'grief is much' or 'grief is long,' only that the spring grass keeps growing, and all is within the unsaid, reserved and endless, becoming an age-old line on grief and the best proof of Li Yu's genius for 'wielding feeling through scenery.'

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Word focus

乱 Chaotic; describes both fallen petals and the speaker's inner turmoil. 「砌下落梅如雪乱」之「乱」字，是全词景情双关的炼字名例。从写景看，「乱」写落梅纷飞之态：梅花如雪片般纷纷飘落，乱舞于石阶之下，是春尽花落的凌乱景象；从写情看，「乱」暗喻心绪之乱——离人独处，触目生愁，心乱如麻，正与眼前落梅之乱相应。一字而景情两兼，物态与心绪在此重合：不是见落梅而心乱，而是心本已乱，故觉落梅亦乱，正如王国维所谓「以我观物，故物皆著我之色彩」。若换「飘」「落」等字，则只能写景、不能写心，诗意顿减；唯「乱」字将外景与内情打成一片，为下句「拂了一身还满」的拂之不去提供了心理依据，是全词炼字的枢纽。

还满 Again full; the action of brushing off petals only to have them pile up again, symbolizing recurring sorrow. 「拂了一身还满」之「还满」，写落梅拂去又落、挥之不去，是全词以实写虚的妙笔。「还」字写时间的延续——刚刚拂去，转眼又落满，落梅无休无止；「满」字写数量的累积——不是几片，而是满身，落梅之多、之密可见。二字合观，写出一个令人绝望的循环：拂了还满，满了再拂，永远拂不净。「还满」表面写落梅，实际写的是离愁——愁如落梅，拂之不去、遣之还来，越是要摆脱，越是纠缠不休。以看得见的落梅写看不见的离愁，以身体的动作写心理的挣扎，将抽象的情感具象化、可触化，正是「以实写虚」的典范。后文「更行更远还生」的「还」字与此遥相呼应，两个「还」字写尽愁之顽固。

无凭 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「雁来音信无凭」之「无凭」，二字写尽盼信而不得的绝望。「凭」者，凭据、凭证；雁足传书本是传说中确凿的凭据，词人盼着大雁捎来音信，然而雁来了，信却没有，「无凭」二字一笔抹杀全部希望。这两个字妙在反用典故：古人用「雁足传书」皆取其可信，此词偏偏说雁来而无凭，连最可靠的传书使者都不可靠了，则对方之杳无音信、思念之无所寄托，不言而喻。且「无凭」非只一次失望，而是年年雁来、年年无凭的反复失望——大雁年年南飞，音信年年落空，时间越久，绝望越深。「无凭」与下句「难成」对举，一写音信之渺，一写归梦之难，两重失望叠加，把久别之苦写到极致。

还生 Again grow; the spring grass grows endlessly as one walks, comparing to ever-increasing grief. 「更行更远还生」之「还生」，是结拍比喻的点睛之字。「还生」者，又生、再生也——春草随行随长，行得越远，长得越旺。这个字妙在以生长写离恨：离恨不是静止的、有限的，而是像春草一样动态地、无限地滋生蔓延——人往前走，草在后面疯长；人想摆脱，恨却越长越多。与「斩不断，理还乱」的静态形容不同，「还生」写的是生长的过程，更具生命的质感与画面的动感，仿佛能看见那一路蔓延的春草、一路滋长的离恨。且「还生」与上片「还满」遥相呼应，两个「还」字一写落梅拂之不去，一写春草行而还生，愁的两种形态——堆积与蔓延——都被写尽。一字之工，使「春草喻恨」超越前人，成为千古绝唱。