All poems

元 Yuan · 曲 Qu song

凭栏人·寄征衣

Leaning on the Railing: Sending Winter Clothes

姚燧

Yao Sui

元曲Yuan opera 闺情Boudoir sentiments 思妇Yearning wife 征戍Frontier garrison

欲寄君衣君不还，不寄君衣君又寒。
寄与不寄间，妾身千万难。

Wanting to send you clothes, you won't return,
Not sending, you'll feel cold.
Between sending and not,
I am in a thousand difficulties.

Listen

Meaning

A wife hesitates whether to send winter clothes to her husband on the frontier. Sending might make him stay away longer; not sending leaves him cold. Torn between these two choices, she feels immense difficulty.

想给你寄去寒衣，你却不回来；不给你寄吧，你又要受冻。在这寄与不寄的两难之间，我这做妻子的，真是千难万难。

Appreciation

The song uses no scenic description, only inner monologue. The two lines 'wanting to send... not sending...' create a dilemma. 'Between sending and not' uses empty words to bind, and 'A thousand difficulties' concludes with weight. The language is simple but the construction is ingenious, a model of 'using the common to achieve elegance' in sanqu.

【白话串讲】给在外的丈夫寄寒衣，寄吧，怕他不回来；不寄吧，又怕他冷。“寄与不寄间，妾身千万难”——二十四个字，写尽了一个妻子最朴素的心事。【意象与手法】此曲纯用白描与内心独白，不着一景，尽得风流：「欲寄君衣君不还，不寄君衣君又寒」以两组假设对举，构成两难困境；「寄与不寄间」用虚词绾合，「妾身千万难」以重笔顿结，语言本色如话而构思精巧【情感与主旨】姚燧为元初大儒、文章宗匠，与虞集、吴澄等并称，然亦擅散曲，多写闺情、闲适。元代战乱频仍、兵役繁重，征人远戍、思妇独守乃普遍社会图景，此曲借「寄征衣」这一生活细节，以小见大，写尽乱世中寻常人家的离合之痛【名句点睛】常考「寄与不寄间，妾身千万难」的心理矛盾描写（两难选择、以少胜多），以及「欲寄……不寄……」的假设对举手法

Background

Yao Sui was a great Confucian scholar and literary master in the early Yuan dynasty, but also skilled in sanqu, often writing about boudoir feelings and leisure. Due to frequent wars and heavy military service, husbands were often away on campaigns while wives stayed home. This song originates from that social reality. Through the small detail of sending winter clothes, it portrays the pain of separation in ordinary families. It is his most famous short song.

姚燧（1238—1313），字端甫，号牧庵，洛阳人，元初著名文人，官至翰林学士承旨，以文章名世，与虞集、吴澄并称，是元代散文大家。然其亦擅散曲，今存小令二十九首、套数一首，多写闺情、闲适与咏史，风格疏快本色。元代立国前后，战乱频仍，兵役繁重，百姓久戍不归、思妇独守空闺是极为普遍的社会图景，散曲作家多取此为材。此曲《凭栏人·寄征衣》即由此现实生发：征夫远戍边关，寒衣未寄，思妇在「寄与不寄」之间反复掂量，写出乱世中寻常人家离合之痛。曲调「凭栏人」属北曲越调，句式短促，最宜写内心独白。全曲仅四句二十五字，却把思妇的矛盾心理写得层层翻叠，是元散曲中以小见大的经典，也是姚燧小令中最为传诵之作。姚燧为元初大儒，其古文承韩愈、欧阳修之统，被推为一代宗匠；然其散曲却一反文章之古奥，纯以口语俚词写情，正见元代文人「以曲为戏」的另一面。元代兵役制度下，军户之家男丁戍边，寒衣全赖家中缝寄，「寄征衣」是那个时代千万家庭每年都要面对的现实，此曲所写正是这一普遍苦难中最细腻的一瞬。

Art

This song uses pure plain description and inner monologue, without any scenery. The two hypothetical parallel lines create a dilemma. 'Between sending and not' uses a function word to connect, and 'I am in a thousand difficulties' concludes with weight. The full twenty-odd characters yet the contradictory psychology is layered. The language is natural like speech but the construction is exquisite, representing the beauty of 'naturalness' and 'suitability' in Yuan sanqu.

此曲纯用白描与内心独白，不着一景而情致毕现，妙在以矛盾立骨。「欲寄君衣君不还，不寄君衣君又寒」以两组假设对举，构成一个无法两全的困境：寄衣盼其归，而寄了衣君也不还；不寄衣，则君在边关又要受寒。两「欲寄」一「不寄」，各带一个相反的后果，把思妇推入进退维谷的绝境。「寄与不寄间」用「间」字绾合前二句，凝两难于一瞬；「妾身千万难」以重笔顿结，「千万」极写难处之多、之情重。全曲四句，前二句设难，第三句收难，第四句叹难，层层逼进，无一闲字。语言本色如话，不用典故、不事雕琢，全以思妇口吻直说，却把一个「难」字写得波澜层叠——这是元散曲「自然」「当行」之美的极致，也是以口语写深情的典范。此曲的语言艺术尤在「重复」二字：「欲寄—不寄」「君—君」「还—寒」「间—难」，字词的回环往复，正模拟思妇心头翻来覆去的盘算；而「千万难」三字叠出，更以数字的夸大写出情感的深重。全曲无一形容词写愁，而愁之深、情之痴，全在语气的反复与停顿之间自然流露，正是「不着一字，尽得风流」的白描境界。

Allusions

'Winter clothes' (zheng yi) have been a typical motif since the Book of Songs and Tang dynasty poems about fulling cloth (e.g., Li Bai's 'A moon over Chang'an, the sound of fulling clothes'). Sending clothes has always been a symbol of a wife longing for her distant husband. Yao Sui takes this tradition and condenses it into the colloquial dilemma of 'to send or not to send', transforming the elegant into the common while deepening the emotion.

「征衣」即戍边将士的寒衣，是中国诗歌中思妇怀远的经典母题，源远流长。《诗经·豳风·东山》写征人思家「制彼裳衣」，已含寒衣之思；至唐人捣衣诗而极盛，李白「长安一片月，万户捣衣声」写秋夜思妇为征人捣衣，杜甫「亦知戍不返，秋至拭清砧」更写尽无望的等待。寒衣意象的深层意蕴在于：它是思妇唯一能为征夫做的事，一针一线皆含深情，寄衣即是寄情；而衣到而人未归，又反衬出思念的无着。姚燧此曲承此传统而别开生面：前人多写「捣衣」「寄衣」的过程与思念，此曲却只写「寄与不寄」的犹豫，把千年闺怨凝为一句口语化的两难。「妾身」为古代妇女自称，出自乐府民歌的「妾」的传统，于此曲中更显质朴本色。化雅入俗、以俗写情，正是散曲体之于诗体的新变。唐人寄衣诗中，沈佺期《古意》「九月寒砧催木叶，十年征戍忆辽阳」，王驾《古意》「一行书信千行泪，寒到君边衣到无」，皆以寄衣寄情；姚燧化其意而更翻一层，不写寄衣之泪，只写寄与不寄的两难，把千年闺怨浓缩为一句白话，是其推陈出新之处。

Commentary

Ming critic Wang Shizhen listed Yao Sui as a great master of Yuan opera, saying he is 'like winter snow on old plum'; Ren Ne praised his short songs as 'sparse and quick', and his love poems as 'deep and sincere in simple language'. This song uses colloquial language to express deep sorrow, standing out among Yuan boudoir songs. Most anthologies consider it Yao Sui's best.

此曲为元散曲思妇小令的经典，历来评价甚高。明人王世贞《曲藻》列姚燧为元曲大家，评其曲「如冬雪老梅」，取其清劲疏朗；任讷《散曲概论》称其小令「疏快」，谓「言情之作，亦能于浅语中见深挚」。此曲正是「浅语深挚」的标本：二十五个字，没有一句写景，没有一个典故，全凭口语的反复与停顿，便把思妇「千万难」的心理写得纤毫毕现。其价值有三：其一，题材上以小见大，由一件征衣写出整个时代的征戍之苦与思妇之痛，是元代社会现实的艺术缩影；其二，手法上以矛盾写情，不写思念之深而写抉择之难，避实就虚，比直抒胸臆更见思妇的痴情与无奈；其三，语言上本色当行，把乐府民歌的口语传统引入散曲，为元曲「自然」之美树立了典范。此曲与贯云石《塞鸿秋》等并称，是元人闺情曲中的上品。现代曲学家卢前评元人小令，以为「当行本色，姚燧为最」，即指此类以浅语写深情之作。此曲之佳，不在辞藻而在心思：思妇的痴、怨、怜、怕，种种复杂心绪，都在「寄与不寄」的掂量中纤毫毕现，读之令人怅然久之，是元曲中以小见大的绝唱。

Prosody

Form Northern opera 'Pinglanren' tune, short song, lines of 7,7,5,5 characters, four lines four rhymes.北曲越调《凭栏人》，小令，句式七、七、五、五，四句四韵

Rhyme According to Zhongyuan Yinyun, 'Cold Mountain' rhyme, rhyme words: 还, 寒, 间, 难.依《中原音韵》寒山韵，韵脚：还、寒、间、难

Tone pattern Northern opera level tone (ping sheng), rhythm short like folk song; uses wife's direct speech without embellishment.北曲平声韵，四句皆平收；句式七、七、五、五，前长后短，节奏由缓趋急，恰合心理由掂量到决断（终不能决）的推进。

Reading note Short like folk song, using the dilemma of sending clothes to write the wife's deep love for her husband on campaign; language is plain but profound, a masterpiece of Yuan opera boudoir songs.此曲为北曲越调《凭栏人》小令，句式固定为七、七、五、五，四句四韵。首二句「欲寄君衣君不还，不寄君衣君又寒」皆七字，句式整饬而内容对举，如两扇门相对而开，节奏从容，正合思妇反复掂量的情态；后二句「寄与不寄间，妾身千万难」皆五字，句式骤然收短，节奏由缓趋急，如心中千回百转之后陡然涌出的一声长叹，声情与辞情高度一致。用韵依《中原音韵》寒山韵，「还」「寒」「间」「难」四字一韵到底，皆平声，音色低回浑厚，宜于抒写愁苦；四句句句押韵，韵脚密集，如环环相扣，把思妇的痴情与无奈紧紧箍住，读来有一唱三叹之致。全曲语言本色如话、不事雕琢，以「寄」「不寄」的重复与「间」「难」的收束构成完整的情感曲线，是元散曲「当行本色」的典范——不借典故、不靠藻饰，纯以口语的节奏与韵律写深情，正是散曲体式最擅胜场之处。

Line by line

欲寄君衣君不还，不寄君衣君又寒。

Wanting to send clothes, he won't return; not sending, he'll be cold. Two hypotheticals create a dilemma, colloquial as a folk song, simple yet deep.

想给你寄去寒衣，你却不回来；不给你寄吧，你又要受冻。

I would send you your winter robe, yet then you will not return; I would not send it, and you will freeze.

起句即设两难，二句连环推进。「欲寄君衣君不还」：寄衣是盼你归来，可衣寄到了，你还是不回来，寄了也白寄；「不寄君衣君又寒」：可若不寄，你在边关无衣御寒，又要受冻——寄与不寄，两头都是苦。两句以「欲寄—不寄」对举，句式回环，如同绕口令，正是思妇翻来覆去、反复掂量的心理的写照；每句七字中「君」字三现，声声唤着远人，痴情毕见。此二句不写思念之深而写抉择之难，把抽象的离愁化为具体的两难，思妇的关切、怨嗔、无奈尽在其中，是白描手法的高妙运用。

The opening sets the dilemma at once, two lines advancing in a loop. 'I would send you your winter robe, yet then you will not return': sending the robe is the hope of your coming home, yet once it arrives, you still do not come — sent in vain. 'I would not send it, and you will freeze': yet if I do not send it, at the frontier you have nothing against the cold — frozen. Send or not, both ends are grief. The two lines, 'would send — would not send' set against each other, loop like a tongue-twister, the very mirror of the wife turning the choice over and over; in each seven characters the word 'you' appears three times, calling the distant lover, foolish love laid bare. The lines write not the depth of longing but the difficulty of choice, turning abstract grief into a concrete dilemma — the wife's care, her reproach, her helplessness all within, a masterful use of plain description.

寄与不寄间，妾身千万难。

Between sending and not, I am in a thousand difficulties. The 'thousand difficulties' concludes, fully expressing the wife's infatuation and helplessness, each word weighty.

在这寄与不寄之间，我这做妻子的，真是千难万难。

Between sending and not sending, I, your wife, am in a thousand perplexities.

结句以「千万难」收束，力重千钧。前二句把两难铺开，此二句将两难收拢：「寄与不寄间」用「间」字把犹豫之态凝于一点——不是已决的寄，也不是已决的不寄，而是悬在两者之间的那一瞬，最是煎熬；「妾身千万难」以「千万」极写难处之多，「千万难」三字叠用「难」字收尾，如一声长叹，把思妇所有的牵挂、怨艾、无奈倾泻而出。全曲至此，由设难到叹难，层层递进，「难」字一出，余音不绝。以「妾身」自称，质朴亲切，尤见思妇口吻之真；口语收束，不加藻饰，而深情自见，正是「以少胜多」的典范。

The closing resolves on 'a thousand perplexities,' weighty beyond words. The two preceding lines spread the dilemma; these gather it: 'between sending and not sending' — the particle 'between' fixes the hesitation at a point, neither the resolved sending nor the resolved not-sending, but the suspended instant, the most tormented; 'I, your wife, am in a thousand perplexities' — 'a thousand' heaps the number of woes, the doubled 'difficult' closing like a long sigh, pouring out all the wife's clinging, resentment, helplessness. From setting the difficulty to sighing over it, layer by layer; once the word 'difficult' appears, the aftertone lingers. Calling herself 'your wife,' plain and warm, showing the wife's own voice; closing in vernacular, unadorned, deep feeling self-evident — a model of the few defeating the many.

Study

Word focus

欲...不... The double 'send...not...' creates the contradiction, a plain psychological depiction. 「欲寄君衣君不还，不寄君衣君又寒」以两组「寄…不…」的假设对举，是全曲的核心手法。第一组「欲寄」而「君不还」，是愿望与现实的落差——寄衣本盼君归，衣到而人不归，寄衣便失去了意义；第二组「不寄」而「君又寒」，是放弃与心疼的冲突——不寄虽免了空盼，却要眼看丈夫受冻。两组对举，各执一端而皆成苦境，思妇便被推入无解的困境。此句式的妙处在于以口语的重复模拟心理的反复：「欲寄—不寄」「不还—又寒」，两两相抵，思妇翻来覆去、掂量不定的情态跃然纸上，比任何抒情都更真切。以假设写矛盾，以重复写痴情，是元散曲「本色当行」的典范笔法。

还/寒 'Huan' (return) and 'han' (cold) are related by sound, linking the dilemma of 'not returning' and 'freezing' ingeniously. 「还」（归）与「寒」（冷）二字绾合全曲的两难，是两组假设的核心字眼。「君不还」写征夫久戍不归——「还」字道出思妇一切期盼的落空，是「难」的根源；「君又寒」写征夫无衣受冻——「寒」字道出思妇最深的牵挂与心疼，是「难」的另一端。一「还」一「寒」，一写归期的渺茫，一写边地的苦寒，正与「寄」「不寄」两义分别对应：寄则怕君不还（白寄），不寄则怕君受寒（心疼），两字之间，思妇的痴情与无奈毕现。且「还」「寒」皆为平声，两两对举、音韵回环，如思妇心底反复的念叨，声情与辞情相得益彰。此曲以二字写尽两难，炼字之省净，于此可见。

间 The word 'jian' (between) captures the two dilemmas, focusing the psychological conflict on one point. 「寄与不寄间」之「间」字，是全曲的转折枢纽，写两难之境的悬置状态。「间」本指中间、间隙，此处写思妇悬在「寄」与「不寄」之间的那一瞬——主意未定、心思反复，正是最煎熬的时刻。此字之妙在于把抽象的心理矛盾落实为一个具体的「位置」：不在寄的一端，也不在不寄的一端，而在两端之间的虚空里，进退不得、无法安放。前二句的假设由此被「间」字凝住，第四句的「千万难」由此被「间」字引出——没有这个「间」字，两难只是两难，有了它，两难便成了悬在心头、挥之不去的煎熬。一字立骨，全曲皆活，是虚词炼字的典范。

千万难 'A thousand difficulties' uses 'thousand' to exaggerate the great difficulty, simple but profound, weighty. 「妾身千万难」之「千万难」，是全曲的收束重笔，写难处之多、之情重。「千万」本为数词，此处虚用以极言其多——不是一难二难，而是千万种难：寄也难、不寄也难、盼归难、心疼难、独守难、无告难……一切离愁都收在这三个字里；「难」字殿后，一锤定音，把思妇积压的千般委屈万般牵挂尽数倾出。「妾身」二字以第一人称自称，更添亲切与真实——不是诗人代言，而是思妇自诉。三字口语，朴质无华，却力重千钧，正是「浅语深挚」的典范：愈是说得平常，愈见情之深重。全曲四句的层层铺垫，最终都由「千万难」三字总收，余韵悠长，令人掩卷怅然。