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五代 Five Dynasties · 词 Ci lyric

摊破浣溪沙·菡萏香销

Tanka Huanshaxi·Lotus Fragrance Fades

李璟

Li Jing

婉约Graceful and restrained 悲秋Autumn sorrow

菡萏香销翠叶残，西风愁起绿波间。
还与韶光共憔悴，不堪看。
细雨梦回鸡塞远，小楼吹彻玉笙寒。
多少泪珠何限恨，倚阑干。

Lotus fragrance fades, green leaves decay,
Sad west wind stirs among green waves away.
Together with fair seasons fading fast,
Unbearable to gaze at last.

In drizzling rain I dream of far-off fort,
In chilly tower my jade flute plays short.
How many tears, how much endless grief!
Alone on railings I lean for relief.

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Meaning

The poem depicts autumn decay and a longing woman's sorrow, but also hints at the decline of the Southern Tang state: lotus withers, west wind brings melancholy, dreams of distant frontier, and utter loneliness ends with leaning on the railing.

荷花香气消散、翠叶凋残，西风在绿波间吹起愁绪。美好时光与花叶一同憔悴，教人不忍再看。细雨中梦醒，只觉鸡塞遥远；小楼之上吹遍玉笙，倍觉清寒。多少泪珠、无限怅恨，都付与倚栏的身影。词写秋景衰飒与思妇（亦寓家国）之悲，哀婉凄清。

Appreciation

The first stanza uses lotus fading and west wind to convey the passage of time and decay. The second stanza shifts to a woman's dream of a distant border and cold jade flute, symbolizing longing and isolation. The closing lines gather tears and grief into the image of leaning alone. The poem blends scene and feeling, with exquisite imagery like 'fragrance fades' and 'jade flute cold'.

【白话串讲】 “菡萏香销翠叶残，西风愁起绿波间”——南唐中主李璟写荷花凋残。“细雨梦回鸡塞远，小楼吹彻玉笙寒”——细雨中梦到远方的边塞，醒来玉笙吹得心寒。【意象与手法】此词为《浣溪沙》的「摊破」体，于上下片末各增三字句，破七言为三四句式，声情更婉转。上片写景，「菡萏香销」对「西风愁起」，炼字凄丽；下片「梦回」「吹彻」由景入情，「寒」字通感，以笙声之寒写心境之凉；结以「倚阑干」的定格画面，含蓄不尽。【情感与主旨】李璟为南唐中主，五代词人，此词见《南唐二主词》。南唐在其治下由盛转衰，北方后周（及宋）压迫日紧，国势飘摇。词写秋荷衰飒、思妇念远，自来有艳情与寄托两说，结合其身世，亦可读作对南唐国运的隐忧。【名句点睛】默写易错：「菡萏香销翠叶残」之「菡萏」（hàndàn，荷花，勿作「函旦」）；「西风愁起绿波间」之「愁」。赏析重点：①「摊破」体的句式特点；②「寒」字的通感之妙；③王国维「众芳芜秽」「美人迟暮」之评。

Background

Li Jing was the middle ruler of Southern Tang during the Five Dynasties. His reign saw the decline of the state under pressure from Later Zhou (and later Song). The poem, ostensibly about a woman's autumn lament, is often interpreted as an allegory for the fading fortunes of Southern Tang and the poet's own unfulfilled ambitions.

此词为南唐中主李璟所作，见录于《南唐二主词》。李璟（916—961），字伯玉，徐州人，南唐烈祖李昪长子，南唐第二位皇帝，世称中主。其多才艺，善书法，尤工词，存词仅四首而格调高雅，与子李煜（后主）并称「南唐二主」，其词上承花间、下开北宋，是词史由唐入宋的关键人物。李璟在位时，南唐已由盛转衰：其父李昪时国势尚强，至李璟，重用宋齐丘等党争之臣，又连年用兵闽、楚，国力日耗；而北方后周（郭威、柴荣）势力崛起，屡次南征，南唐被迫割地称臣，去帝号，国势飘摇，及至其子李煜在位，终为宋所灭。此词写秋荷衰飒、思妇念远，自来有艳情与寄托两说：就字面言，是思妇悲秋伤离之作；结合其身世，则「菡萏香销翠叶残」之凋零、「韶光共憔悴」之迟暮，未尝不可读作对南唐国运由盛转衰的隐忧、对自身壮志消磨的感慨——时代的秋意渗入个人的春恨，正是南唐君臣词「于小词中寄大感慨」的特色。

Art

This is a 'Tanka' (expanded) form of Huanshaxi, with three extra characters added at the end of each stanza. The language is elegant and sorrowful. The opening couplet uses synesthesia (scent and sight) and personification (the wind 'sorrowfully rises'). The line 'fine rain, dream returns, Cock Fortress distant' uses dream to create spatial distance, while 'small tower, play through jade flute cold' uses sound to convey coldness, a brilliant synesthetic touch.

此词艺术上最突出的特点，是以「摊破」之体写哀婉之情，情景交炼、含蓄不尽。此词为《浣溪沙》的「摊破」体（又名《山花子》），于上下片末各增三字句，破七言为三四句式，声情更婉转。上片写景：「菡萏香销翠叶残」以「销」「残」二字写秋荷凋零，起笔即染悲秋之色；「西风愁起绿波间」将「愁」移情于西风——风本无情，着一「愁」字，景中寓悲；「还与韶光共憔悴，不堪看」由物及人：花与韶光一同憔悴，正是人老珠黄、青春迟暮的写照，「不堪看」三字直写不忍直视之痛。下片「细雨梦回鸡塞远」写梦醒之怅——细雨中梦回，所思之人远在鸡塞（边塞），「小楼吹彻玉笙寒」写吹笙寄远——笙声吹遍小楼而寒气透骨，「寒」字通感，以笙声之寒写心境之凉；结句「多少泪珠何限恨，倚阑干」以「倚阑干」的定格画面收束，泪与恨凝于倚栏孤影，含蓄不尽。全词由景入情、由物及人，哀婉清越。再就声情言，「摊破」之体于上下片末各增三字，恰如歌中「换头」：上片「不堪看」三字顿挫，收住秋景之悲；下片「倚阑干」三字定格，凝住泪恨之痛，两处三字句一收一结，皆在七言长句之后陡然转短，音节由流丽转顿挫，正合「欲说还休」的含蓄之境，可见李璟选调之精、体物之微，非徒以词句取胜而已。

Allusions

'Lotus' (handan) is from the Book of Songs, traditionally a symbol of beauty. 'Cock Fortress' (jisai) refers to a Han-dynasty frontier fortress, representing distant borderlands. The 'jade flute cold' echoes the tale of Nongyu playing the flute and Li Shangyin's 'sad strings' imagery. Li Jing blends classical allusions with late Tang sensuousness, creating a grand yet subtle mood.

此词用典不多而皆融化入词，寄意遥深。「菡萏」即荷花，出《诗经·陈风·泽陂》「彼泽之陂，有蒲菡萏」——菡萏本为香草美人之象，此处「香销翠叶残」写其凋零，暗合《离骚》「惟草木之零落兮，恐美人之迟暮」的「众芳芜秽」之悲，故王国维谓其「大有『众芳芜秽』『美人迟暮』之感」。「鸡塞」即鸡鹿塞，汉边塞名（在今内蒙古），借指远方边地，化用征戍怀远传统——思妇梦回边塞，见征人远隔。「玉笙寒」暗用弄玉吹箫之典（秦穆公女弄玉与萧史吹箫引凤）及李商隐《锦瑟》「锦瑟无端五十弦」的凄音传统，以玉笙写孤寒。「韶光」指美好时光，《梁书》有「韶光」之语，词人取以写青春与国运之易逝。李璟熔《诗经》香草、汉唐边塞与晚唐凄艳于一炉，寄意遥深，体现南唐词「堂庑特大」的气象。又，「韶光」一词承南朝谢朓《王孙游》「无论君不归，君归芳已歇」及唐人「芳时」传统，指大好春光、青春年华，此处「还与韶光共憔悴」把「花之憔悴」与「韶光之憔悴」并写，暗含「流光容易把人抛」的迟暮之悲；「泪珠」与「恨」连用，承花间词「泪珠盈睫」「多少恨」的言情传统，而更见家国之思的底色，正见南唐词「花间之上」的堂庑。

Commentary

Wang Anshi praised the couplet 'Xiyu meng hui...' as among the best of southern lyrics. Wang Guowei in 'Renjian Cihua' said the opening lines evoke a sense of 'fragrant herbs withering, beauty aging'. Modern scholar Tang Guizhang called this poem 'extremely sorrowful, indeed the work of Li Yu's uncle'.

历代评家于此词评价极高，尤以王国维之评最为著名。宋人王安石尝举「细雨梦回鸡塞远，小楼吹彻玉笙寒」为江南词中最佳者，与「细雨湿流光」并称。王国维《人间词话》云：「南唐中主词『菡萏香销翠叶残，西风愁起绿波间』，大有『众芳芜秽』『美人迟暮』之感。乃古今独赏其『细雨梦回鸡塞远，小楼吹彻玉笙寒』，故知解人正不易得。」——正指出此词上片写景之句实有寄托，非仅写秋景而已。近人唐圭璋谓此词「哀婉已极，的是重光（后主）之舅」，指出其词风与李煜一脉相承。在词史上，此词与李煜《虞美人》《浪淘沙》并见南唐词「以悲为美」的特质，上承花间之婉约而气局更大，下开北宋晏欧之清雅，是五代词中承前启后的名篇。其「摊破」体之创制，更为词调增添新声，足见李璟于词体之贡献。从词学批评史看，此词经历了一个由「赏其俊语」到「发其寄托」的接受过程：北宋人重「细雨梦回」一联之俊逸清寒，至清代王国维《人间词话》方抉发「菡萏香销」二句的「众芳芜秽」「美人迟暮」之感，遂使此词由「写景名篇」升格为「寄托名篇」；这一接受史本身，正是中国文学批评「以寄托说词」传统的生动例证，亦可见经典文本的多义性如何在历史中不断被开掘。

Prosody

Form Ci (double-stanza short lyric, Tanka Huanshaxi/Shanhuazi form)词（双调小令，摊破浣溪沙/山花子体）

Rhyme can, jian, kan, han, gan (Cold Mountain rhyme group, level tone, 'kan' read as level in ancient)押平声韵（寒山部），韵脚「残」「间」「看」「寒」「干」等，「看」古读平声，一韵到底，音节和婉。

Tone pattern Each stanza three level rhymes, mixed four-seven-three character lines《摊破浣溪沙》为《浣溪沙》之变体：上下片各增三字句，破七言为三四句式，上片四句三平韵、下片四句三平韵，句式以七、七、七、三（上片）与七、七、七、三（下片）错落。

Reading note Li Jing as Middle Ruler of Southern Tang left few poems but of high quality. This autumn piece is praised for its ethereal beauty, especially the line 'Xiyu meng hui jisai yuan, xiao lou chui che yu sheng han', which Wang Guowei admired.此词为《摊破浣溪沙》词调（一名《山花子》），是《浣溪沙》的变体：在原调上下片末句各增三字，破七言为三四句式，故称「摊破」。全词双调四十八字，上片四句三平韵、下片四句三平韵，押平声韵（残、间、看、寒、干，「看」古读平声），一韵到底，音节和婉低回。句式上，上下片皆以七七七三错落：「菡萏香销翠叶残，西风愁起绿波间，还与韶光共憔悴，不堪看」为上片，前三句七言连绵、末以三字句「不堪看」顿挫收束，声情由铺写转入感叹；下片同式，结以「倚阑干」三字定格，如乐之尾音。李璟取「摊破」之体写悲秋伤离，正合其「和婉中见顿挫」的需要——七言句如泣如诉，三字句如击节而叹，声情与辞情相济。此词是《摊破浣溪沙》词调的名篇，亦见南唐词于词体创制上的贡献。

Line by line

菡萏香销翠叶残，西风愁起绿波间。

Lotus fragrance fades, green leaves wither; sad west wind rises among green waves.

荷花香气消散、翠叶凋残，西风在绿波间吹起愁绪。

The lotus scent has faded, the green leaves are withered; west wind rises with grief among the green waves.

起笔写秋荷凋零，是全词定调之句，也是王国维激赏的「众芳芜秽」之句。「菡萏香销翠叶残」：菡萏（荷花）香气消散、翠叶凋残——「销」「残」二字极写美好消逝之状，香销是气味之逝，叶残是形态之毁，荷花由盛而衰的全过程凝于六字，起笔即染悲秋之色；「西风愁起绿波间」：西风从绿波间吹起，着一「愁」字，移情于风——风本无情，因观者含愁而风亦含愁，「愁起」二字把无形之愁具象为西风之起。两句一写花之凋、一写风之愁，花叶与西风相映，秋景衰飒、愁绪暗生，为全词定下哀婉的基调。

The opening writes the withering autumn lotus, the line that sets the lyric's tune and that Wang Guowei admired as 'all fragrance gone to waste.' 'The lotus scent has faded, the green leaves are withered'—the words 'faded' and 'withered' write to the extreme the passing of beauty, scent gone the fading of smell, leaves withered the ruin of form; the whole arc of the lotus from bloom to decline is condensed in six characters, the opening already dyed with autumn grief. 'West wind rises with grief among the green waves'—the west wind rising from the green waves, and the single word 'grief' projecting feeling onto the wind: wind is by nature feelingless, yet because the viewer is grieved the wind seems grieved too, and 'rises with grief' makes the formless sorrow concrete as the rising wind. Two lines, one the withered flower, one the grieving wind, flower and leaf answering the west wind, the autumn scene bleak and sorrow secretly sprouting, fixing the plaintive keynote of the whole.

还与韶光共憔悴，不堪看。

Together with the lovely spring, they grow haggard; unbearable to look at.

美好时光与花叶一同憔悴，教人不忍再看。

They waste away together with the fair season; it is past bearing to look on.

两句由物及人，是全词的转折与深化，王国维「美人迟暮」之评即指此。「还与韶光共憔悴」：荷花翠叶与美好的时光一同憔悴——「韶光」指美好时光，此处兼指花之韶华与人之青春，花憔悴、光憔悴、人亦憔悴，物我同悲；「不堪看」三字直写不忍直视之痛——不是「不忍看花」，而是不忍看这「花光人共憔悴」的衰景，一语双关，把悲秋伤己之情推到极处。两句之妙，在于以「共」字把花与人、物与时光熔铸一体，自然界的凋零与人生的迟暮同步而至，正是《离骚》「惟草木之零落兮，恐美人之迟暮」的意境，含蓄而深婉，为下片写思妇之悲蓄势。

These two lines move from thing to person, the turning and deepening of the lyric, the source of Wang Guowei's praise of 'a beauty in her twilight.' 'They waste away together with the fair season'—the lotus and green leaves wither together with the fair season, 'fair season' meaning the bright time, here bearing both the flower's bloom and the person's youth; flower withers, season withers, person withers, thing and self sharing one grief. 'It is past bearing to look on' writes directly the pain of not daring to gaze—not 'cannot bear to look at the flowers' but unable to bear this desolate sight of 'flower, season, and person all withered,' a double meaning pushing autumn grief and self-pity to the extreme. The art lies in the word 'together,' fusing flower and person, thing and season into one: the fading of nature and the twilight of life arrive together, precisely the mood of the 'Li Sao'—'I grieve that thefragrant plants should fall and wither, fearing the fair one's prime should fade'—reserved and deeply tender, storing force for the lower stanza's grief of the waiting wife.

细雨梦回鸡塞远，小楼吹彻玉笙寒。

In fine rain I wake from a dream, Cock Fortress far; in the small tower I play my jade flute through, feeling its cold.

细雨中梦醒，只觉鸡塞遥远；小楼之上吹遍玉笙，倍觉清寒。

In fine rain I wake from dreams; the Jisai frontier is far. On the little tower I play the jade sheng through, and the cold settles in.

过片是千古名句，王安石推为江南词最佳者，写梦醒吹笙之孤寒，是全词情感最浓处。「细雨梦回鸡塞远」：细雨中从梦中醒来，才觉所思之人远在鸡塞——梦回是一层怅惘，鸡塞远是又一层怅惘，梦中或可相见，醒来唯余远隔，「细雨」更添凄迷；「小楼吹彻玉笙寒」：小楼之上，吹遍玉笙，倍觉清寒——「吹彻」写吹遍曲终、吹到曲尽，「寒」字通感，既是玉笙触手之寒，亦是笙声入耳之寒，更是思妇心境之寒。两句一梦一醒、一远一寒，把思妇念远的孤寂写得凄切入骨，其意境之清绝，冠绝五代词，正合王安石「皆江南词最佳者」之评。

The lower stanza opening is an age-old line, praised by Wang Anshi as the finest of Jiangnan lyrics, writing the cold of waking and playing the sheng, the most concentrated feeling of the lyric. 'In fine rain I wake from dreams; the Jisai frontier is far'—waking from the dream in the fine rain, only to feel the one longed for far at Jisai; waking from the dream is one layer of wistfulness, the far frontier another; in the dream they might meet, waking only distance remains, and the 'fine rain' adds to the dreariness. 'On the little tower I play the jade sheng through, and the cold settles in'—playing the jade sheng through to its end on the little tower, feeling the cold; 'play through' writes playing to the final note, and the word 'cold' is synesthesia, at once the cold touch of the sheng, the cold sound entering the ear, and the cold of the waiting wife's heart. Two lines, dream and waking, distance and cold, writing the solitude of the wife pining for the frontier to the bone; the purity of its mood crowns Five Dynasties verse, exactly fitting Wang Anshi's praise.

多少泪珠何限恨，倚阑干。

Countless teardrops, boundless regret; I lean on the railing.

多少泪珠、无限怅恨，都付与倚栏的身影。

How many tears, how much endless regret—leaning on the rail.

结句以泪与恨总收全词，以「倚阑干」的定格画面作结，含蓄不尽。「多少泪珠何限恨」：多少泪珠、无限怅恨——「多少」「何限」皆以问写多，泪与恨如秋雨般绵延不绝，把前文蓄积的悲愁一总倾出；「倚阑干」三字是全词的收束之笔：泪与恨不写其宣泄，而凝于一个倚栏独立的身影——倚栏望远，望而不得，泪恨交集，皆付与此孤影。此三字妙在化动为静、化直为曲：不说「泪如雨下」「恨满胸怀」，而以一个静默的姿态收束，画面定格，余韵悠长，正是「以景结情」的典范——阑干之外，细雨、鸡塞、玉笙、秋荷，皆与倚栏之人一同凝入永恒的画面，哀婉不尽。

The closing gathers the lyric in tears and regret, ending in the fixed image of the leaning figure, reserved and unending. 'How many tears, how much endless regret'—'how many' and 'how much' both use questions to write abundance, tears and regret stretching like autumn rain, pouring out all the grief stored above. 'Leaning on the rail' is the closing stroke of the whole: tears and regret are not shown in their outpouring but fixed in a single figure leaning alone on the rail—gazing from the rail, gazing in vain, tears and regret together committed to this lone shadow. The three characters are exquisite in turning motion to stillness and the direct to the indirect: saying not 'tears like rain' nor 'regret filling the breast' but closing in a quiet posture, the picture fixed, the afterecho long—the model of 'ending feeling in scenery,' where beyond the rail the fine rain, the frontier, the jade sheng, the autumn lotus all congeal with the leaning figure into an eternal picture, plaintive and unending.

Study

Word focus

销/残 A key expression in this poem; read it with the Chinese note below. 「菡萏香销翠叶残」之「销」「残」二字，写荷花凋零之状，起笔即染悲秋之色，是全词炼字之始。「销」写香气之消散——香本无形，着「销」字而如可见其渐散渐无；「残」写翠叶之凋残——叶本有色，着「残」字而如见其渐损渐缺。一「销」一「残」，由气味到形态，把荷花的衰败写得细致入微，且有「香销」与「翠残」的声色对照——昔日之芬芳翠绿，今日之消散凋残，盛衰之变尽在二字之中。此二字又暗合《离骚》「众芳芜秽」之意：花之销残，即美人之迟暮、国运之衰微，咏物而寄托遥深，正是王国维激赏此句的原因所在。

愁起 Rise with sorrow (personification) 「西风愁起绿波间」之「愁起」二字，将「愁」移情于西风，是全词情景交融的关键字眼。西风本无情之物，词人着一「愁」字，谓西风「愁起」于绿波之间——风之「愁」实为人之愁，移情于景，使无情之风化为有情之象，正是「以我观物，故物皆著我之色彩」的写法。此二字妙在三点：一是「愁」字领起全篇之愁——后文韶光憔悴、梦回鸡塞、泪珠何限，皆由此「愁」生发；二是「起」字写愁之渐生——愁非骤至，而是如西风从绿波间缓缓吹起，愁绪渐浓渐重；三是「绿波」与「西风」相映——波犹绿而风已愁，秋意与生意并存，愈见衰飒之悲。炼二字而情景交融，是南唐词「于景中见情」的典范。

寒 Cold (also emotionally cold) 「小楼吹彻玉笙寒」之「寒」字，是千古传诵的炼字，以笙声之寒写心境之凉，通感之妙无出其右。「寒」本指温度之低，此处兼摄多层：玉笙是玉制之器，深秋吹之，触手生寒，是触觉之寒；笙声清越，入耳生寒，是听觉之寒；思妇孤守小楼，念远之人，心境凄凉，是心境之寒。一字而触觉、听觉、心境三寒并至，正是「通感」炼字的极致。此字又与前句「细雨」相映：细雨凄迷、玉笙清寒，境之寒与心之寒互证，把思妇念远的孤寂写到极致。王安石举此句为江南词最佳，王国维亦叹其「真能摄春草之魂」于他词，可见此「寒」字在南唐词中的典范地位。