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五代 Five Dynasties · 词 Ci lyric

望远行·玉砌花光锦绣明

Going Far · Jade Steps, Bright Brocade of Flower Light

李璟

Li Jing

写景landscape 宫怨palace grievance

玉砌花光锦绣明，朱扉长日镇长扃。
夜寒不去寝难成，炉香烟冷自亭亭。
残月秣陵砧，不传消息但传情。
黄金窗下忽然惊，征人归日二毛生。

Jade steps, flower light bright as brocade; the vermilion door shut all day, fast closed.
The cold night will not leave, sleep will not come; the censer's smoke is cold yet rises, upright and still.
A waning moon, the fulling block at Moling; it bears no message, only bearing feeling.
Beneath the golden window I start in sudden fright—when my warrior returns, my hair will be two-toned with age.

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Meaning

By the jade steps the flower light is bright as brocade, yet the vermilion gate stays shut all day long. The cold night will not pass and I cannot sleep; the censer's smoke has turned cold yet still rises upright. Beneath the waning moon comes the sound of the fulling block at Moling; it carries no news, only a wordless feeling. Beneath the golden window I am suddenly startled—by the day my warrior returns, I fear my hair will already be flecked with white.

碧玉般的石阶旁花光锦绣、明媚耀眼，朱红的大门却整日紧紧关闭。寒夜迟迟不去，叫人难以成眠，炉中香烟已冷，却兀自亭亭升起。残月下传来秣陵的捣衣声，不传来消息，只传来脉脉深情。黄金窗下忽然一阵惊心，待到征人归来之日，怕已是我鬓发斑白了。

Appreciation

This lyric uses contrast, association, and shading to make its images concrete and alive. The first two lines contrast the bright, noble scene of 'jade steps, flower light' and 'vermilion door' against the loneliness of 'shut all day, fast closed', writing sorrow through happy scene, the gap doubling the desolation; the two 'long' words shade the grief of seclusion layer by layer. 'The censer's smoke is cold yet rises upright' uses the contradictory brush of smoke cold yet rising of itself to write the lady's absent, drifting mind, catching the wonder of Wang Wei's 'lone smoke straight in the vast desert'.

【白话串讲】 “玉砌花光锦绣明，朱扉长日镇长扃”——李璟写：玉阶花光如锦绣，朱门长日紧闭。“黄金窗下忽然惊，征人归日二毛生”——她在窗下惊醒：等征人回来时，头发都白了。【意象与手法】全词运用映衬、联想、渲染等表现手法，形象具体生动【情感与主旨】此词为代言体作品，具体创作时间不详，或说作于南唐尚未建立、李璟（南唐中主）驻守金陵之时【名句点睛】中高考若考此词，常从：一、反衬手法，以“玉砌花光锦绣明”之乐景写“镇长扃”之哀

Background

This is a 'speaking-for-another' work; its exact date is unknown, said by some to be written when Li Jing, the middle lord of the Southern Tang, garrisoned Jinling before the Southern Tang was founded. At the time the political and cultural center was still at Yangzhou. Feeling empty and disillusioned about politics and life, the poet borrows a lady in her chamber longing for her far-off warrior to lodge his own sense of fate, writing the deeper grief that youth passes and beauty fades, using the love of man and woman to lodge a sigh for family and state—meaning thick, resonance far.

《望远行·玉砌花光锦绣明》为五代李璟所作，是写怀人之情的词。李璟（916—961），字伯玉，徐州人，南唐中主，词人。此词：玉砌花光锦绣明，朱扉长日镇长扃。夜寒不去寝难成，炉香烟冷自亭亭。残月秣陵砧，不传消息但传情。黄金窗下忽然惊，征人归日二毛生。全词写怀人不归、征人未返，是李璟词的代表作。

Art

The whole lyric uses contrast, association, and shading, making its images concrete and alive. The opening two lines contrast the bright nobility of 'jade steps, flower light' and 'vermilion door' against the loneliness of 'shut all day, fast closed', writing sorrow through happy scene, the gap doubling the desolate chill; the two 'long' words shade the grief of seclusion layer by layer. 'The censer's smoke is cold yet rises upright' uses the contradictory brush of smoke cold yet rising of itself to write the lady's absent mind, catching the wonder of Wang Wei's line.

《望远行·玉砌花光锦绣明》艺术上以景色的明丽与怀人的深婉见长。全词八句，层层写来：上片写玉砌朱扉之夜——“玉砌花光锦绣明，朱扉长日镇长扃”写玉砌花明、朱扉长扃，“夜寒不去寝难成，炉香烟冷自亭亭”写夜寒难寝、炉香烟冷；下片写残月砧声——“残月秣陵砧，不传消息但传情”写残月砧声传情，“黄金窗下忽然惊，征人归日二毛生”写窗下惊征人归日发白。全词以景色明丽写怀人之深，正是李璟词深婉的笔法。

Allusions

The lyric uses and transforms several allusions: 'two-toned' comes from the Zuo Zhuan, 'not taking the two-toned', Du Yu's note 'the head white with two colors', later meaning hair flecked with white, the aged; here it writes the lady's fear that when the warrior returns she is already faded; 'Moling' is today's Nanjing, named Moling county by Qin Shi Huang, fixing the place; 'golden window' may touch the tale of the golden terrace, but here it stresses the splendor of the chamber window. Allusions serve the theme of longing.

《望远行·玉砌花光锦绣明》用典在“砧”“二毛”。“砧”用捣衣砧之典，写捣衣声传情（古捣衣为思妇怀远之事）；”二毛“写头发花白（《左传》有“二毛”之语），写征人归日已老。全词以这些意象写怀人之深，用典自然而深婉自见，正是李璟词的笔法。

Commentary

This lyric is one of only five lyrics by Li Jing that survive. Moderns say it 'contrasts bright spring with the woman's loneliness, forming a desolate, solitary realm', and that 'the closing suddenly turns out a word 'fright', all the more deep and tender yet leaping, finer than other works'. The Qing critic Liu Xizai said 'the wonder of lyric lies wholly in contrast and turn', and this piece excels precisely at contrast and turn.

《望远行·玉砌花光锦绣明》是李璟词的代表作，也是五代词中写怀人的名篇。此词写怀人不归、征人未返，向为论者称道。论者多赏其景色的明丽与怀人的深婉——“玉砌花光锦绣明，朱扉长日镇长扃”写玉砌花明而朱扉长扃，以景之美衬情之寂；“残月秣陵砧，不传消息但传情”写残月砧声，更见怀人之深。李璟为南唐中主，其词以深婉著称，此词正是其代表——以景写情，正是其词风。

Prosody

Form Lyric, 'Going Far' (Wang Yuan Xing), short form (double-tune fifty-four characters, some say fifty-five)词·望远行

Rhyme Every line takes a level rhyme, held throughout (Geng-Qing level tones)《望远行·玉砌花光锦绣明》为双调词，押平声韵。此词用韵：明、扃、亭（青部）、情、生（庚部），上下片各一韵，音节婉转。

Tone pattern Short form, four lines upper and four lower, the dense level rhyme fitting the deep feeling望远行为双调词，音节婉转而深婉。此词写怀人之情，音节婉转而含蓄。全词以平声押韵，声调与怀人之情的内容相合，是五代词中深婉的一路。

Reading note Li Jing's piece is a short form, quite different from the later slow form (oblique rhyme) of Liu Yong of the Northern Song; the two 'long' words repeat, shading layer by layer.《望远行·玉砌花光锦绣明》为五代李璟所作，是写怀人之情的词。此词以“玉砌花光锦绣明，朱扉长日镇长扃”写玉砌朱扉，以“夜寒不去寝难成，炉香烟冷自亭亭”写夜寒难寝，以“残月秣陵砧，不传消息但传情”写砧声传情，以“征人归日二毛生”写征人未返。以景写情、深婉含蓄，正是李璟词的代表作。

Line by line

玉砌花光锦绣明，朱扉长日镇长扃。夜寒不去寝难成，炉香烟冷自亭亭。

Jade steps glow with flower-light, bright as brocade; vermilion doors stay locked all the long day. The night chill will not leave, sleep hard to win; the incense smoke is cold, yet rises slender and alone.

玉砌的花光如锦绣般明丽，朱红的大门整日长闭。夜寒不散，难以成眠，炉中的香烟已冷，独自袅袅亭亭。

The light on the jade steps gleams like brocade; the red doors stand shut all the livelong day. The night chill lingers and sleep will not come; the incense in the burner has grown cold, yet still it rises slenderly.

上片写玉砌朱扉之夜，是全词怀人之情的起点。“玉砌花光锦绣明，朱扉长日镇长扃”写玉砌朱扉——“玉砌花光锦绣明”写玉砌上的花光如锦绣般明丽，“朱扉长日镇长扃”写朱红大门整日长闭——玉砌花明，朱扉长扃；“夜寒不去寝难成，炉香烟冷自亭亭”写夜寒难寝——“夜寒不去寝难成”写夜寒不散、难以成眠，“炉香烟冷自亭亭”写炉中香烟已冷、独自袅袅——夜寒难寝，炉香烟冷。四句写玉砌朱扉之夜：玉砌花明、朱扉长扃，夜寒难寝、炉香烟冷。以“玉砌花光锦绣明”写景之明丽，以“朱扉长日镇长扃”写门之紧闭，以“夜寒不去寝难成，炉香烟冷自亭亭”写夜寒难寝、烟冷亭亭，正是李璟词以景之明丽衬情之孤寂的笔法——花光愈明，朱扉愈扃，孤寂愈深。

The first stanza writes the night of jade steps and vermilion doors, the starting point of the lyric's longing. 'Jade steps glow with flower-light, bright as brocade' and 'vermilion doors stay locked all the long day' write the jade-paved and vermilion-doored dwelling: the flower-light on the jade steps bright as brocade, the red doors bolted shut through the long day. 'The night chill will not leave, sleep hard to win' and 'the incense smoke is cold, yet rises slenderly' write the cold night and sleeplessness, the incense in the burner grown cold yet curling alone. Four lines write the jade steps and vermilion doors by night—the flower-light bright, the doors locked, the night chill and sleeplessness, the cold incense rising. It is Li Jing's method of setting the loneliness of feeling against the brightness of scenery: the brighter the flower-light, the more locked the vermilion doors, the deeper the solitude.

残月秣陵砧，不传消息但传情。黄金窗下忽然惊，征人归日二毛生。

Beneath the waning moon, the Moring laundering-block sends no word, only longing. Under the golden window I start awake: when the soldier returns, gray will already be in his hair.

残月下秣陵传来捣衣砧声，不传消息只传情意。黄金窗下忽然惊醒，征人归日怕已头发花白。

Beneath the setting moon comes the pounding-block of Moling; it brings no message, only longing. Beneath the golden window I start up with a fright: by the time the soldier comes home, gray hairs will have grown.

下片写残月砧声与征人未返，是全词怀人之情的归结。“残月秣陵砧，不传消息但传情”写残月砧声——“残月秣陵砧”写残月下秣陵传来捣衣砧声，“不传消息但传情”写砧声不传消息只传情意——残月砧声，只传情意；“黄金窗下忽然惊，征人归日二毛生”写征人未返——“黄金窗下忽然惊”写黄金窗下忽然惊醒，“征人归日二毛生”写征人归日怕已头发花白——窗下忽惊，征人归日二毛。四句写残月砧声与征人未返：残月秣陵砧、不传消息但传情，黄金窗下忽然惊、征人归日二毛生。以“残月秣陵砧”写砧声传情（捣衣为思妇怀远之事），以“征人归日二毛生”写征人未返、恐归日已老，正是李璟词写怀人之情的归结——砧声传情，而征人未返，恐归日已老。

The lower stanza writes the waning moon and the pounding-block, the conclusion of the lyric's longing. 'Beneath the waning moon, the Moring laundering-block' and 'it brings no word, only longing' write the pounding-block sound at Moring under the waning moon, bearing no news yet bearing affection. 'Under the golden window I start awake' and 'when the soldier returns, gray will already be in his hair' write the sudden start by the golden window and the fear that by the soldier's return his temples will be gray. Four lines write the waning moon and the absent soldier—the Moring block bearing affection, the window start, gray hairs on the returning man. It is Li Jing's conclusion of the longing: the block transmits feeling, yet the soldier does not return, and by his return he will have aged—the laundering block, the labor of the waiting wife sending forth her longing, raised here to its poignant end.

Study

Word focus

朱扉 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “朱扉长日镇长扃”之“朱扉”，写朱红大门，是全词写深闺之闭的关键词。“朱”写朱红之色，“扉”写门——朱红大门整日长闭。这一词写门之华而扃：不是寻常之门，而朱扉；不是常开之门，而镇长扃。以“朱扉长日镇长扃”写门之紧闭，正是李璟词写深闺孤寂的笔法——朱扉虽美，长日长扃。

亭亭 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “炉香烟冷自亭亭”之“亭亭”，写袅袅亭亭之态，是全词写炉烟独袅的关键词。“亭亭”写高洁独立、袅袅之态——炉中香烟已冷，独自袅袅亭亭。这一词写烟之态：不是浓烟之升，而亭亭；不是可依之烟，而冷烟独袅。以“炉香烟冷自亭亭”写冷烟独袅，正是李璟词以孤烟写孤寂的笔法——烟冷亭亭，人独寂寂。

砧 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “残月秣陵砧”之“砧”，写捣衣砧，是全词写怀远传情的关键词。“砧”写捣衣石——残月下秣陵传来捣衣砧声。这一词以“砧”写捣衣：不是寻常之声，而捣衣砧；不是无义之响，而思妇怀远之声（古捣衣为征人作衣）。以“残月秣陵砧”写砧声传情，正是李璟词写怀人传情的笔法——砧声一起，思远之情自传。

二毛生 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “征人归日二毛生”之“二毛生”，用“二毛”之典，写头发花白，是全词写征人未返之叹的关键词。“二毛”用《左传》“二毛”之语，写头发黑白相间，“生”写生出——征人归日怕已头发花白。这一词写岁月之老：不是未老之人，而二毛生；不是归来之庆，而恐归日已老。以“征人归日二毛生”写征人未返、岁月空逝，正是李璟词写怀人之叹的笔法——归日难期，恐已二毛。