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五代 Five Dynasties · 词 Ci lyric

相见欢·无言独上西楼

Joy of Meeting · Silent and Alone I Climb the West Tower

李煜

Li Yu

愁情Grief and Melancholy 孤寂Loneliness 李煜Li Yu

无言独上西楼，月如钩。
寂寞梧桐深院锁清秋。
剪不断，理还乱，是离愁。
别是一般滋味在心头。

Silent and alone I climb the west tower,
Like a hook the crescent moon.
Lonely phoenix trees in the deep courtyard lock
The chill of autumn.
Cut, it won’t break;
Sorted, it remains tangled—
Such is the sorrow of parting.
A flavor beyond all others lingers in my heart.

Listen

Meaning

The poet, silent and alone, ascends the west tower, observing a waning crescent moon and lonely plane trees in a deep yard that seems to lock in the cold autumn. He compares the sorrow of separation to tangled silk threads—impossible to cut or sort—and concludes with an indescribable taste in his heart.

默默无言，独自登上西楼，天边一弯新月如钩。寂寞的梧桐、幽深的庭院，仿佛将这清冷的秋色紧紧锁住。这离愁啊，剪也剪不断，理也理还乱，正是那依依不舍的别绪。别有一种说不出的滋味，久久萦绕在我的心头。

Appreciation

The opening 'silent and alone' conveys deep solitude without explicit mention of sorrow. The 'hook-like moon' and 'locked autumn' personify the scene, while the metaphor of tangled silk vividly renders intangible grief tangible. This poem excels at merging scene with emotion.

【白话串讲】亡国之后，李煜被软禁在汴京，夜里独自上西楼，看着如钩的月亮。“剪不断，理还乱，是离愁”——他把愁写成了剪不断的丝线，也写进了每个失意人的心里。【意象与手法】全词即景即情，含蓄深婉。上片“无言独上西楼，月如钩”白描登楼所见，“寂寞梧桐深院锁清秋”以“锁”字炼出孤寂【情感与主旨】李煜亡国降宋后被囚于汴京，此词约作于幽居期间【名句点睛】常考“剪不断，理还乱”以丝喻离愁之纷乱难理；“锁”字炼字赏析

Background

After the fall of his kingdom, Li Yu was imprisoned in the Song capital. Composed during his captivity, the 'sorrow of parting' transcends personal longing, capturing the profound pain of losing his homeland and freedom.

此词为南唐后主李煜降宋以后所作。开宝八年即公元九七五年，宋军攻破金陵，李煜出降，被押赴汴京，受封违命侯而实处软禁，至太平兴国三年即公元九七八年被赐药而死，其间不足三年。这三年是他生命中最痛苦也是创作上最深刻的时期：由三千里地山河的君主变为北地小楼的囚徒，词风遂由前期写宫廷宴游、男女情事的绮丽婉媚，转为写身世飘零、家国沦亡的沉痛悲慨。《相见欢》即此期之作，具体年月不可确考，然词中所写深院独居、清秋锁闭之景，与幽囚的处境完全相符，历来注家皆以为汴京幽居时所作。相见欢本唐教坊曲，又名乌夜啼、忆真妃、秋夜月，双调三十六字，上片三平韵，下片两仄韵后转三平韵，篇制极短而声情跌宕，最宜写幽怨。文本上略有异文：寂寞梧桐深院锁清秋之寂寞一作寂寂；别是一般滋味在心头之一般，一作一番，然一般为宋人口语，训一种，当以一般为正；剪不断，理还乱之还，一作犹。就传统脉络言，登楼望远以寄哀思是自汉魏以来的固定题材，王粲《登楼赋》、曹丕《杂诗》皆其著者，而李煜以亡国之君亲历其境，遂使旧题获得了前所未有的重量。

Art

The poem is concise yet evocative. The upper stanza uses plain imagery (moon, plane trees, courtyard) with the character 'lock' to externalize inner confinement. The lower stanza's silk metaphor makes abstract chaos palpable, ending with an open‐ended taste that leaves lingering resonance.

全词三十六字而层次分明，上片写景，下片抒情，景与情之间以一锁字暗接，结构极为精密。上片起句无言独上西楼，六字连下三层：无言写其无可与语，独上写其形影孤单，西楼则点明方位——西为日落之所，向来带有衰暮之意，登楼本为望远，而所望者已非己土，故不言愁而愁在其中。月如钩四字接得极妙：不写满月而写钩月，一是点出时令为月初或月残，二是钩之形状尖细冷硬，与团圆的满月恰成反照，无言之人抬头所见偏是这一弯残缺，境界顿觉清冷。寂寞梧桐深院锁清秋一句为上片之骨：梧桐本秋声之代表，加寂寞二字则物亦如人；深院写重门叠户、与世隔绝；而锁字为全句之眼，把无形的秋色写成可被囚禁之物，也暗写词人自身之被囚，一字而人与景同陷樊笼。下片忽转抒情，剪不断，理还乱，是离愁三句以短句急节出之，前两句皆以丝为喻而不明言丝，直到是离愁三字才点破，笔法先形后名，令读者先感其纠缠再知其为何物。末句别是一般滋味在心头，忽又归于平淡：不辨其为苦为酸，只说别有一种说不出的滋味，以味觉写心境，含蓄到极处而余味无穷。全词由景入情、由具体入抽象、由激切归于沉静，短小而波澜自足。

Allusions

'West tower' is a traditional site for longing and reflection in classical poetry. The 'hook-like moon' echoes earlier melancholy imagery. The silk metaphor plays on the homophone 'silk' (si) and 'thought' (si), a common pun in Chinese literature.

此词不使故实，而所用意象皆有深厚积累。登楼一事自王粲《登楼赋》以来即为寄托家国之思的经典情境，其后曹丕、谢朓、杜甫诸家屡屡为之，故独上西楼四字一出，读者已能感到一种自古相传的孤高与悲凉；西楼之西，除方位之实指外，亦沿袭日暮西沉的衰暮联想。月如钩之喻，取月牙尖利如钩之形，与后世人们习用的银钩、玉钩同源，然置于此处，钩之冷硬更暗合心境之刺痛；月本团圆之象征，残月则成缺憾之标记，此中对照不著一字而自明。梧桐为秋之信物，其大叶最易感雨闻声，唐宋诗词中梧桐几乎专与愁思相连，温庭筠有梧桐树、三更雨，不道离情正苦之句，可见此意象在词中的传统。以丝喻愁则是词史上的重要脉络：丝与思谐音，古乐府已有以丝线之乱状心绪之乱者，李煜此处剪不断、理还乱不出丝字而丝之形态尽在，是于传统中翻出新意。训诂上可辨者数处：锁字为使动用法，谓将清秋锁于深院之中，一说清秋自锁深院，语意亦通而以使动为长；一般训一种，是宋人口语，非今义之普通；滋味本指口味，此处借为心中感受，属通感之用。

Commentary

Wang Kaiyun of the Qing dynasty praised the 'lock' character as the poem’s essence—the courtyard locking autumn mirrors the heart locking sorrow. Wang Guowei cited this poem as an example of 'world of feeling' in his Poetic Remarks in the Human World.

《相见欢》是李煜词中与《虞美人》并称的名篇，历代论者多推其以浅语写深情。清人论词每称李煜白描不假雕饰而沉痛入骨，此词通篇不用一个僻字冷典，而字字有着落，正可为证；论者又多特举锁清秋之锁字，以为炼字之极则，谓一字而使景中含情、情中有囚。王国维《人间词话》论词至李后主而眼界始大、感慨遂深，遂变伶工之词而为士大夫之词，其所指虽兼包李煜后期诸作，而此词以极短之篇写极重之情，最能显示词体表现力的跃升。传播史上，剪不断、理还乱一语早已脱离原词而成为汉语中形容心绪纷乱的固定表达，广见于后世诗词、戏曲、小说与日常口语；别是一般滋味在心头亦为习用之语，用以形容难以名状的复杂感受。就词史地位而言，此词的意义有二：一是它把亡国之痛写成了一种可以被任何人共感的普遍孤寂——读者未必经历亡国，却都识得那种无人可语、独上高楼的时刻，故其感染力超越了具体身世；二是它示范了小令的写法，三十六字之内完成写景、点情、收束三层，无一字虚设，成为后世小令的典范之作。今日此词长期入选中学教材，与《虞美人》同为李煜最广为人知的两篇。

Prosody

Form Ci to the tune 'Xiang Jian Huan' (also known as 'Wu Ye Ti'), 36 characters in two stanzas, three lines in the first and four in the second, with level rhymes.词，相见欢调，又名乌夜啼、秋夜月，双调三十六字，属小令，本为唐教坊曲

Rhyme First stanza: 'lou', 'gou', 'qiu' (level rhyme). Second stanza: 'duan', 'luan' (entering tone agreeing), 'chou', 'tou' (level rhyme).上片三平韵，楼、钩、秋同押尤韵；下片先以断、乱两仄韵作转，再归平韵愁、头，仍押尤韵。全词以尤韵贯串而中夹二仄，平仄交错而韵部不移

Tone pattern The transition lines 'Cut, it won’t break; sorted, it remains tangled' consist of three‐character phrases that are short and forceful, echoing the phrase 'such is the sorrow of parting.'上片六言、三言、九言相间，下片三言、三言、三言后接七言，句式长短悬殊；平仄依相见欢定格，短句促而长句缓，节奏跌宕

Reading note The first stanza blends scene and feeling, with 'lock' as the refined eye. The second uses silk as a metaphor for sorrow, plain yet profound, making this a masterpiece among Li Yu's short lyrics.相见欢一调之妙，在于篇制极短而句法极不齐，李煜此词恰好把这种不齐用到了极处。上片三句，六字、三字、九字依次而下：六言起句舒缓，如人徐步登楼；三言月如钩忽然收短，如抬头一望，声音戛然而止；九言寂寞梧桐深院锁清秋则一路铺开，长句连绵而无停顿，恰似秋色之弥漫与深院之幽长。三句由中而短而长，节奏一顿一放，画面亦随之推移。下片三个三言句连下，剪不断、理还乱、是离愁，句短韵密，而断、乱二字改押仄声，声音急促硬直，如心中之郁结抵触；至是离愁三字重归平韵，音调忽然放平，仿佛长叹一声。末句七言别是一般滋味在心头，声调平缓悠长，以尤韵收束，收音绵远不绝，恰合滋味萦回心头的绵长之感。全词韵部虽只一部而中间以仄韵为转，故既统一又有起伏；平韵处开阔、仄韵处紧涩，声情与词情完全一致。词本入乐而歌，此调短小而抑扬多变，最宜表达那种压抑之下忽然迸发、迸发之后复归沉静的心绪，李煜以之写幽囚之情，可谓声辞两得。

Line by line

无言独上西楼，月如钩。

Silent and alone I climb the west tower, the moon like a hook.

默默无言，独自登上西楼，天边一弯新月如钩

Speechless, alone, I climb the west tower; the moon is like a hook.

起句六字含三层意思，笔墨极省而分量极重。无言者，非不欲言，是无人可与语，也是满腹之情已不能言；独上者写形单影只，而登楼本为望远，望远则必及故国，故这一步一步的攀登里已含着自寻痛楚的意味；西楼之西，暗带日暮衰残之意。月如钩三字承之，写抬头所见：不是团圆的满月，而是一弯尖细的残月，形如冷硬的银钩，既点出时令，又以缺月映照人事之不圆。上句写人之动作，下句写天之景象，一低一高，孤影与残月相对，全词的清冷基调至此已定。

The opening six characters hold three layers of meaning, the brush most spare yet the weight greatest. 'Speechless' means not that he would not speak, but that there is no one to speak to, and that the heart's fullness can no longer find words. 'Alone' writes the single figure, and climbing the tower is meant to gaze afar, and gazing afar must reach the fallen kingdom, so that this slow ascent already carries the meaning of seeking out his own pain. The tower's 'west' carries the afterglow's air of decline. 'The moon is like a hook' follows, writing what the eyes raise to see: not the round full moon but a thin, sharp waning moon, shaped like a cold hard silver hook, fixing the season and mirroring the incompleteness of human affairs. The upper line writes the person's action, the lower the sky's scene, one low one high, the lone figure and the waning moon facing each other; the cold, clear keynote of the whole is set here.

寂寞梧桐深院锁清秋。

Lonely phoenix trees in the deep courtyard lock the clear autumn.

寂寞的梧桐、幽深的庭院，仿佛将这清冷的秋色紧紧锁住

Lonely parasol trees; the deep courtyard locks in the clear autumn.

此句为上片之骨，九字而三重意象层层收束。梧桐本是秋声的代表，冠以寂寞二字，则物与人同其孤寂，是移情之笔；深院写重门叠户、庭宇幽闭，正是囚居之实景；而全句的分量都压在锁字上：秋色本弥漫天地、无形无迹，词人偏说它被这一方深院锁住，无形之物遂有了被拘囚的形状。更深一层，被锁者岂止清秋，登楼之人自己也正被锁在这院中——写景而自况，不言身世而身世自明。一个动词使景语变为情语，历来论者推为炼字典范，实不为过。

This line is the bone of the first stanza, nine characters folding three images layer upon layer. The parasol is the very type of autumn sound; crowned with 'lonely,' thing and person share one solitude, projecting feeling onto the object. 'Deep courtyard' writes the layered gates and closed halls, the very scene of captivity. The weight of the line lies on the word 'locks': autumn color by nature fills heaven and earth, formless and traceless, yet the poet says it is locked within this one deep courtyard, making the formless thing take the shape of a prisoner. On a deeper layer, what is locked is not only the clear autumn but the man who climbed the tower himself, locked in this courtyard—writing scenery through self-portraiture, telling his lot without naming it. A single verb turns the language of scenery into the language of feeling; critics have long held it the model of crafted diction, and not without cause.

剪不断，理还乱，是离愁。

Cut, it won’t break; sorted, it remains tangled—such is the sorrow of parting.

这离愁啊，剪也剪不断，理也理还乱，正是那依依不舍的别绪

Cut it and it will not break; comb it and it tangles again—it is the grief of parting.

下片忽换短句，三句九字，节奏急促如心跳。剪不断、理还乱皆是治丝的动作：丝乱则思以剪断，剪之不断则思以梳理，理之而愈乱，两次尝试两次失败，纠缠之状宛在目前。妙在通篇不出一个丝字，只以动作暗示其物，读者先感到那种缠绕难解的触感，末了才由是离愁三字点破所指，先形后名，比直说愁如乱丝生动得多。还字尤重，谓愈理愈乱，含着无可措手的疲惫。三句短促相接，与上片舒缓的写景形成鲜明对照，情感由压抑转为迸发。

The lower stanza suddenly changes to short phrases, three lines nine characters, the rhythm urgent like a heartbeat. 'Cut it and it will not break; comb it and it tangles again' are the actions of dealing with tangled silk: the silk tangled, one thinks to cut it, and it will not cut; one thinks to comb it, and the more it is combed the more it tangles—two attempts, two failures, the缠绕 visible at once. The art is that the whole never says the word 'silk,' only hints at the thing through the actions: the reader first feels the缠绕 touch, and only at the end is it named as 'the grief of parting,' form before name, far more vivid than saying grief is like tangled silk. The word 'again' is especially heavy, meaning the more one combs the more tangled, bearing the helplessness of having no way to act. The three short lines follow on each other, a sharp contrast with the slow scenery of the first stanza, the feeling turning from suppressed to bursting.

别是一般滋味在心头。

A flavor beyond all others lingers in my heart.

别有一种说不出的滋味，久久萦绕在我的心头

A different savor, entirely unknown, lingers on in the heart.

结句忽由急转缓，由激切归于沉静，是全词最耐咀味处。前三句已言离愁，此句却不再申说其苦，只道别是一般滋味：一般训一种，别是者，谓不同于寻常所知的任何一种滋味。以味觉写心境，属通感之用，本已新奇；而所写之味又拒绝被命名——不说苦、不说酸、不说涩，只说说不出，遂把一切具体的形容都推开，留下一个无法定义的空白。正因不可名状，读者只能以自身经验去填补，故此句的感染面反而最广。在心头三字收得极平淡，而平淡之下是长久的、无从排解的沉积。

The closing turns suddenly from urgent to calm, from vehemence to stillness, the most toothsome passage of the lyric. The first three lines have named the grief of parting, yet this line no longer dwells on its bitterness, only says 'a different savor': 'a savor' means a kind, 'different' meaning unlike any savor known to ordinary experience. Writing the mood through taste is an instance of synesthesia, novel in itself; and the savor written refuses to be named—saying not bitter, sour, nor astringent, only 'unspeakable,' pushing away every concrete description, leaving an undefined blank. Precisely because it cannot be named, the reader must fill it from his own experience, which is why this line has the widest reach. The words 'on in the heart' close most plainly, and beneath the plainness lies a long, unresolvable deposit.

Study

Word focus

锁 Lock—personifies autumn and implies confinement of heart. 锁字为此词第一炼字，历来论者所共推。清秋本是弥漫无际之物，无形无质，不可捉握；词人偏以一锁字加之，遂使秋色成为可被拘禁的实体，被这一方梧桐深院牢牢关住。此字之力有三：一是化虚为实，使抽象的季节感有了形状与边界；二是移情于物，深院何能锁秋，实为居者自觉被锁而后觉秋亦被锁；三是暗写身世，词人本身正是被锁于此院中的囚人，一字而人、景、境三者同时落网。若易为满、掩、含、罩诸字，则景仍是景而无幽囚之意，情味立减大半。以一个动词完成写景、移情、自况三重任务，此为炼字的极致。

钩 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 月如钩之钩，是全词最冷的一笔。写月可用轮、可用镜、可用盘，皆取其圆满明润；独用钩字，取其形之尖细、其质之冷硬、其态之残缺。月本团圆的象征，残月如钩则成缺憾的标记，与词人破家亡国、亲人离散的处境暗合；而钩又是可以刺人、可以牵挂之物，读来隐隐有痛感与牵扯感，比单纯写残月更觉锐利。此字与下文的锁字相呼应：一在天上尖冷，一在人间闭锁，共同构成上片清寒幽囚的整体氛围。三字之喻，看似寻常而不可移易，正是李煜以浅语造深境的本领所在。

剪 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 剪不断之剪，把无形的离愁一下变成了手中可触之物。愁本不可剪，唯丝可剪；用剪字，则愁已被默认为丝，比喻之义不著一字而自立，此为暗喻中最高明的手法。剪的动作又含着强烈的主观意愿：不是被动承受，而是急欲摆脱、宁愿一刀两断，可见其苦已到不能相处的地步；而剪之不断，则愿望落空，愈显无可奈何。下句理还乱承之，由断而理，由决绝而妥协，两番努力皆归无效，愁之顽固遂被写尽。一个剪字既立比喻、又见挣扎，故此三句能以极短之语写出极缠绵之情。