元 Yuan · 曲 Qu song
一半儿·题情
Yi Ban Er — On Love
云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦，浅露金莲簌绛纱，不比等闲墙外花。
骂你个俏冤家，一半儿难当一半儿耍。
I scold you, my pretty tormentor: half of it I cannot bear, half of it is just play.
Meaning
A saucy little song capturing a young woman's coquettish scolding of her lover at their first meeting—half feigned anger, half playful teasing.
如云雾般的乌黑鬓发胜过鸦羽堆叠，微微露出纤足，红色纱裙簌簌作响，你可不是那些寻常墙外野花可比的轻浮之人。笑骂你一声俏冤家，一半儿是情态难以承当，一半儿是娇嗔戏耍。
Appreciation
The song is pure plain description, opening with a static portrait of the girl's beauty—cloud-dark hair, a glimpse of her small feet, rustling crimson gauze—then moving to the dynamic rustle of her steps, head and feet echoing in stillness and motion. The line 'no common wall-flower' elevates her status by contrast. The masterstroke is the closing 'half... half...' refrain, which captures a young girl's half-resistant, half-loving psyche with vivid life, a typical example of Yuan songs' wit and frankness.
【白话串讲】 “云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦，浅露金莲簌绛纱”——关汉卿写一个女子：“不比等闲墙外花”。“骂你个俏冤家，一半儿难当一半儿耍”——她骂情郎：一半儿当真是难堪，一半儿是在闹着玩。元曲里最俏皮的情歌。 【意象与手法】全曲纯用白描，由“云鬟雾鬓”的静态写貌，转到“簌绛纱”的动态写步，头足呼应，静动相生。“不比等闲墙外花”以反衬抬高人物身份。最妙在结尾“一半儿……一半儿……”的固定叠语，把少女半推半就、又恼又爱的微妙心理写得活灵活现，是元曲“重机趣、贵显露”本色的典型笔法。 【情感与主旨】曲子捕捉的是爱情初萌时最鲜活的刹那：不是相思的苦，而是相遇的喜与娇嗔的甜。女子口中骂、心中爱，一个“耍”字点出两情相悦的轻松嬉戏，透出市井男女真挚而泼辣的生命力。 【名句点睛】“骂你个俏冤家，一半儿难当一半儿耍。”——“俏冤家”是元曲中对情人的亲昵称呼，“一半儿”句式将娇嗔与欢喜对半剖开，俗中见俏，被誉為元人乐府中的佳作，最见关汉卿“本色当行”的独到手腕。
Background
Guan Hanqing (c. 1229–c. 1307), styled Yizhai Sou, was a native of Dadu and a master of Yuan drama and sanqu, ranked among the Four Great Masters of Yuan Drama with Ma Zhiyuan, Bai Pu, and Zheng Guangzu. Yi Ban Er — On Love is one of a set of four lyrics (same tune repeated) treating a romance's first meeting, secret meeting, lonely night after parting, and suspicion of betrayal; this is the first, on the coquettish first meeting.
《一半儿·题情》为元代关汉卿所作，是写女子情态、戏谑俏冤家的散曲。关汉卿（约1230—约1300），号已斋叟，大都人，元代杂剧家、散曲家。此曲：云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦，浅露金莲簌绛纱，不比等闲墙外花。骂你个俏冤家，一半儿难当一半儿耍。全曲写女子情态、戏谑俏冤家，是关汉卿曲的名篇。
Art
The lyric is natural and frank, pleasing both refined and common tastes. It uses colloquial language and extra syllables without ornate carving yet captures feeling perfectly; the closing 'half... half...' is a fixed repetitive form, embodying sanqu's wit and frankness, and pioneering this pattern for later writers.
《一半儿·题情》艺术上以女子情态的描摹与戏谑之情的俏皮见长。全曲五句：首写女子妆饰——“云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦，浅露金莲簌绛纱，不比等闲墙外花”写云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦、浅露金莲簌绛纱、不比等闲墙外花；末写戏谑之语——“骂你个俏冤家，一半儿难当一半儿耍”写骂你个俏冤家、一半儿难当一半儿耍。全曲以女子情态写戏谑之情，正是关汉卿曲俏皮的笔法。
Allusions
Wall-flower (qiang wai hua) metaphorically refers to street prostitutes. Piled ravens (dui ya) describes a woman's black hair stacked like raven feathers. Golden lotus (jin lian) metaphorically means a woman's small bound feet. Pretty tormentor (qiao yuan jia) is a Yuan term of endearment for a lover.
《一半儿·题情》用典在“云鬟雾鬓”“金莲”“墙外花”“俏冤家”“一半儿”。“云鬟雾鬓”写云鬟雾鬓（女子发髻）；“金莲”写金莲（女子纤足）；“墙外花”写墙外花（喻闲花野草）；“俏冤家”写俏冤家（昵称）；“一半儿”写一半儿（一半一半）。全曲以这些意象写女子情态、戏谑俏冤家，用典自然而俏皮自见，正是关汉卿曲的笔法。
Commentary
The Ming critic He Liangjun grouped Guan Hanqing with Ma Zhiyuan, Bai Pu, and Zheng Guangzu as the Four Great Masters of Yuan Drama. This set of Yi Ban Er uses the same tune repeated—separately four independent lyrics, together one continuous piece—a common chong tou form in sanqu, bold and uninhibited.
《一半儿·题情》是关汉卿曲的名篇，也是元代散曲中写男女情态的俏皮之作。此曲写女子情态、戏谑俏冤家，向为论者称道。论者多赏其女子情态的描摹与戏谑之情的俏皮——“云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦，浅露金莲簌绛纱，不比等闲墙外花”写云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦、浅露金莲簌绛纱、不比等闲墙外花，俏皮之极；“骂你个俏冤家，一半儿难当一半儿耍”写骂你个俏冤家、一半儿难当一半儿耍，更见其趣。关汉卿散曲以本色当行著称，此曲正是其代表——以女子情态写戏谑之情，正是其曲风。
Prosody
Line by line
云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦，浅露金莲簌绛纱。
Cloud-like coils, misty side-locks, blacker than piled ravens; golden footsteps half glimpsed, the crimson silk rustling.
云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦，浅露金莲簌绛纱。
Cloud coils and misty temples, blacker than piled raven-feathers; golden shoes half shown, the crimson gauze rustling.
首写云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦、浅露金莲簌绛纱，是全曲写女子妆饰的起点。“云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦”写云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦——“云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦”写云鬟雾鬓胜过堆鸦（乌黑发髻）——云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦；“浅露金莲簌绛纱”写浅露金莲簌绛纱——“浅露金莲簌绛纱”写浅露金莲、绛纱轻响——浅露金莲簌绛纱。二句写云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦、浅露金莲簌绛纱：云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦，浅露金莲簌绛纱。以“云鬟雾鬓胜堆鸦”写云鬟雾鬓、乌黑如鸦，以“浅露金莲簌绛纱”写浅露金莲、绛纱窸窣，正是关汉卿曲写女子妆饰的起点——云鬟堆鸦，金莲绛纱。
The opening writes the woman's dress, the song's starting point. 'Cloud-like coils, misty side-locks, blacker than piled ravens' — the hair like cloud, black as the raven's plumage; 'golden footsteps half glimpsed, the crimson silk rustling' — the bound feet half shown, the crimson gauze rustling. The two lines — cloud coils like ravens, golden shoes in crimson gauze — Guan Hanqing's starting point for the woman's dress.
不比等闲墙外花。
Not like any common flower by the wall.
不比等闲墙外花。
Not to be likened to any random flower outside the wall.
中用墙外花之语写不比等闲墙外花，是全曲写女子自矜的深化。“不比等闲墙外花”写不比等闲墙外花——“不比等闲墙外花”用墙外花（闲花野草）之语写不比那些等闲的墙外花——不比等闲墙外花。一句写不比等闲墙外花：不比等闲墙外花。以“不比等闲墙外花”用墙外花之喻写自比矜持、非等闲之花，正是关汉卿曲写女子自矜的深化——不比墙花，自矜自重。
This line deepens the woman's self-respect through the 'flower by the wall' image. 'Not like any common flower by the wall' uses the 'outside flower' (the wayside weed) to say she is no such common flower — her reserve, her self-regard. Guan Hanqing's deepening of the woman's self-respect: no wall-flower, self-prizing.
骂你个俏冤家，一半儿难当一半儿耍。
I scold you, you handsome rogue — half of it earnest, half of it play.
骂你个俏冤家，一半儿难当一半儿耍。
I scold you, you pretty scamp; half in earnest, half in fun.
末写骂你个俏冤家、一半儿难当一半儿耍，是全曲写戏谑之情的归结。“骂你个俏冤家”写骂你个俏冤家——“骂你个俏冤家”用俏冤家（昵称）之语写骂你个小冤家——骂你个俏冤家；“一半儿难当一半儿耍”写一半儿难当一半儿耍——“一半儿难当一半儿耍”用一半儿（一半一半）之语写一半儿难当、一半儿玩笑——一半儿难当一半儿耍。二句写骂你个俏冤家、一半儿难当一半儿耍：骂你个俏冤家，一半儿难当一半儿耍。以“骂你个俏冤家”用俏冤家之昵称写嗔骂冤家、又爱又怨，以“一半儿难当一半儿耍”用一半儿之语写半真半假、似嗔似戏，正是关汉卿曲写戏谑之情的归结——俏骂冤家，半当半耍。
The closing writes the banter, the song's resolution of teasing love. 'I scold you, you handsome rogue' uses the pet name 'handsome rogue,' scolding yet loving; 'half of it earnest, half of it play' uses 'half... half...' for the half-true, half-teasing. The two lines — scolding the rogue, half earnest half play — Guan Hanqing's resolution of the teasing affection.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
关汉卿《沉醉东风·别情》写别情相思、离别之怨，与本首同为关汉卿曲写男女之情。差异在情致：一半儿写戏谑俏皮；沉醉东风别情写相思怨别。一写“俏”之戏，一写“怨”之情。两者并读，可见关汉卿曲写男女之情的两种情致。
大德歌·秋 Big Virtue Song: Autumn 关汉卿 · 同为关汉卿曲写女子情思，一写戏谑题情一写秋思，一俏一怨 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
关汉卿《大德歌·秋》写秋日情思、相思之怨，与本首同为关汉卿曲写情思。差异在主题：一半儿写戏谑题情；大德歌秋写秋日相思。一写“俏”之戏，一写“怨”之情。两者并读，可见关汉卿曲写情思的两种主题。
一半儿·赠妓 Drunk in the East Wind, To a Courtesan 关汉卿 · 同为关汉卿一半儿写情态，一写俏冤家一写赠妓，皆俏皮 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
关汉卿《一半儿·赠妓》写赠妓之情、风流之态，与本首同为关汉卿一半儿写情态。差异在主题：一半儿题情写嗔怨俏皮；赠妓写赠人风流。一写“怨”之趣，一写“赠”之情。两者并读，可见关汉卿一半儿写情态的两种主题。