元 Yuan · 曲 Qu song
阳春曲·闺怨
Yang Chun Qu — Boudoir Sorrow
妾身悔作商人妇，妾命当逢薄幸夫。
别时只说到东吴，三载余，却得广州书。
When he left he only said he'd go to Dong Wu; over three years passed, yet a letter came from Guangzhou.
Meaning
A merchant's wife's lament: she regrets marrying a trader who promised Dong Wu but, three years on, writes from far-off Guangzhou—her grievance spoken through a single contradiction of place.
我真后悔嫁给了商人为妻，偏又命运不济，遇上了薄情寡义的丈夫。他离家时说要去东吴，可过了三年多，寄来的信却是从广州发出的。
Appreciation
The opening two lines stack two 'I, your handmaid' (qie) words, directly crying regret at marrying a merchant and meeting a faithless man. The last three lines give the reason: the husband said he'd go to Dong Wu, but after three-plus years the letter comes from Guangzhou—his drifting whereabouts betray his faithlessness. The deliberate repetition of 'qie' at the start is the frank, open manner of sanqu; the contradiction between 'said Dong Wu' and 'letter from Guangzhou' plainly depicts a heartless man without a single word of complaint yet full of grievance. The lyric grows from Tang poetry but turns restraint into frankness.
【白话串讲】 “妾身悔作商人妇，妾命当逢薄幸夫”——徐再思写闺怨：她后悔嫁给商人。“别时只说到东吴，三载余，却得广州书”——丈夫说去东吴，三年后却从广州寄信来。她写商人重利轻别离的无奈。 【意象与手法】起首“妾身”“妾命”有意重字，一叹再叹，是散曲开门见山的直露本色；“别时只说到东吴，三载余，却得广州书”以行程的矛盾（东吴说→广州书）白描负心，不著一“怨”字而怨自深。全曲脱胎唐诗而化含蓄为显露。 【情感与主旨】写商人妇的离愁别恨，悔、怨、怜交织。丈夫重利轻别、行踪无定，女子独守空闺，借“广州书”一细节道尽薄幸之痛，是对“商人重利轻别离”这一社会现象的沉痛写照。 【名句点睛】“别时只说到东吴，三载余，却得广州书。”——只此病句般的不合逻辑，却是全曲泪点：说去东吴，三年后信从广州来。以行程错位写薄情，白描胜议论，最见徐再思“甜斋”本色。
Background
Xu Zaisi (active around 1320), styled De Ke, also known as Tian Zhai, was a native of Jiaxing and a late-Yuan sanqu writer, famed together with Guan Yunshi (Suan Zhai) as the Sweet-and-Sour Lyrics. Yang Chun Qu — Boudoir Sorrow adopts a merchant's wife's voice, transformed from the Tang poet Liu Caichun's Luo Xun Qu.
《阳春曲·闺怨》为元代徐再思所作，是写闺中怨商、悔作商人妇的散曲。徐再思（约1290—约1335），字德可，号甜斋，嘉兴人，元代散曲家。此曲：妾身悔作商人妇，妾命当逢薄幸夫。别时只说到东吴，三载余，却得广州书。全曲写闺中怨商、悔作商人妇，是徐再思曲的名篇。
Art
The whole lyric is frank and native, opening with the repeated 'qie shen' and 'qie ming' sighing twice; the last three lines use the mismatch between 'Dong Wu' and 'letter from Guangzhou' to plainly depict a faithless man, turning Tang poetry's restraint into sanqu's openness, with a voice lifelike, embodying sanqu's traits of direct opening and unabashed colloquialism.
《阳春曲·闺怨》艺术上以闺中怨商的描摹与悔作商人妇的深婉见长。全曲五句：首写悔作商妇——“妾身悔作商人妇，妾命当逢薄幸夫”写妾身悔作商人妇、妾命当逢薄幸夫；末写三年书——“别时只说到东吴，三载余，却得广州书”写别时只说到东吴、三载余、却得广州书。全曲以闺中怨商写悔作商人妇，正是徐再思曲深婉的笔法。
Allusions
It grows from Tang Liu Caichun's Luo Xun Qu: 'The day we parted, you said you'd go to Tong Lu. Tong Lu's man I never saw; now a letter comes from Guangzhou.' It also blends the mood of Bai Juyi's Pipa Xing: 'In old age I married a merchant's wife; the merchant values profit and lightly parts.' The lyric changes 'Tong Lu' to the Yuan commercial hub 'Dong Wu,' fitting the times.
《阳春曲·闺怨》用典在“商人妇”“薄幸夫”“东吴”“三载余”“广州书”。“商人妇”写商人妇（嫁作商人妇，用白居易琵琶行“老大嫁作商人妇”之意）；“薄幸夫”写薄幸夫；“东吴”写东吴（吴地）；“三载余”写三载余；“广州书”写广州书。全曲以这些意象写闺中怨商、悔作商人妇，用典自然而深婉自见，正是徐再思曲的笔法。
Commentary
Xu Zaisi's short lyrics mostly write boudoir feeling and spring longing, in a clear-elegant style. This one speaks as a merchant's wife, repeating 'qie' and plainly saying 'regret' and 'destined,' seemingly plain yet writing parting sorrow with striking, piercing directness—representative of Tian Zhai's truth within clarity.
《阳春曲·闺怨》是徐再思曲的名篇，也是元代散曲中写闺怨的代表作。此曲写闺中怨商、悔作商人妇，向为论者称道。论者多赏其闺中怨商的描摹与悔作商人妇的深婉——“妾身悔作商人妇，妾命当逢薄幸夫”写妾身悔作商人妇、妾命当逢薄幸夫，深婉之极；“别时只说到东吴，三载余，却得广州书”写别时只说到东吴、三载余、却得广州书，更见其怨。徐再思为元代散曲名家，与贯云石并称酸甜乐府，此曲正是其代表——以闺中怨商写悔作商人妇，正是其曲风。
Prosody
Line by line
妾身悔作商人妇，妾命当逢薄幸夫。
I regret being a merchant's wife; my lot was ever to meet a faithless husband.
妾身悔作商人妇，妾命当逢薄幸夫。
I, your handmaiden, regret becoming a merchant's wife; my fate was always to meet a faithless husband.
首用商人妇之语写妾身悔作商人妇、妾命当逢薄幸夫，是全曲写悔作商妇的开端。“妾身悔作商人妇”用商人妇之语写妾身悔作商人妇——“妾身悔作商人妇”用白居易琵琶行嫁作商人妇之意写妾身后悔做了商人妇——妾身悔作商人妇；“妾命当逢薄幸夫”写妾命当逢薄幸夫——“妾命当逢薄幸夫”写妾的命该碰上薄幸丈夫——妾命当逢薄幸夫。二句写妾身悔作商人妇、妾命当逢薄幸夫：妾身悔作商人妇，妾命当逢薄幸夫。以“妾身悔作商人妇”用商人妇之语写悔作商妇、幽怨已生，以“妾命当逢薄幸夫”写命逢薄幸、自叹命苦，正是徐再思曲写悔作商妇的开端——悔作商妇，命逢薄幸。
The opening uses the 'merchant's wife' theme to write 'I regret being a merchant's wife; my lot was ever to meet a faithless husband,' the start of the song's regret. 'I regret being a merchant's wife' uses Bai Juyi's Pipa Player, 'married to a merchant,' writing the handmaiden's regret; 'my lot was ever to meet a faithless husband' writing her fate's meeting a faithless husband, sighing at her hard lot. The two lines write the regret and the hard lot — the start of Xu Zaisi's song on the merchant's wife, the grievance already born.
别时只说到东吴，三载余，却得广州书。
At parting you said only you would go to the Eastern Wu; three years more, and now a letter comes from Guangzhou.
别时只说到东吴，三载余，却得广州书。
At the parting you said only the Eastern Wu; three years have passed, and now a letter comes from Guangzhou.
末写别时只说到东吴、三载余、却得广州书，是全曲写怨商之深的归结。“别时只说到东吴”写别时只说到东吴——“别时只说到东吴”写分别时只说去东吴——别时只说到东吴；“三载余，却得广州书”写三载余、却得广州书——“三载余”写三年有余，“却得广州书”写却收到广州的信——三载余，广州书。三句写别时只说到东吴、三载余、却得广州书：别时只说到东吴，三载余，却得广州书。以“别时只说到东吴”写别时只说东吴、言约近地，以“三载余”写三载有余、别久难耐，以“却得广州书”写却得广州之书、越去越远，正是徐再思曲写怨商之深的归结——说到东吴，却至广州。
The closing writes 'at parting you said only the Eastern Wu; three years more, and now a letter comes from Guangzhou,' the resolution of the song's grievance. 'At parting you said only the Eastern Wu' — the parting word naming a near place; 'three years more' — the parting's length beyond endurance; 'now a letter comes from Guangzhou' — the place gone ever farther. The three lines: said the Eastern Wu, three years more, a Guangzhou letter — Xu Zaisi's resolution of the grievance deep, said the Eastern Wu, yet gone to Guangzhou.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
徐再思《水仙子·夜雨》写夜雨孤灯、客愁之深，与本首同为徐再思曲写愁怨。差异在主题：阳春曲写闺怨商妇；水仙子写夜雨客愁。一写“妇”之怨，一写“客”之愁。两者并读，可见徐再思曲写愁怨的两种主题。
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关汉卿《沉醉东风·别情》写别情相思、离别之怨，与本首同为元曲写闺怨别情。差异在情境：阳春曲写悔嫁商妇；沉醉东风写别后相思。一写“悔”之怨，一写“思”之怨。两者并读，可见元曲写闺怨别情的两种情境。
折桂令·春情 Longing in Spring · to the Tune of Zhegui Ling 徐再思 · 同为徐再思曲写女子情思，一写悔作商妇一写春情相思，皆深婉 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
徐再思《折桂令·春情》写春情相思、女子情思，与本首同为徐再思曲写女子情思。差异在主题：阳春曲写悔嫁商妇；折桂令写春情相思。一写“悔”之怨，一写“情”之思。两者并读，可见徐再思曲写女子情思的两种主题。