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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

采桑子·宝钗楼上妆梳晚

Cai Sang Zi: Late Dressing at the Precious-Hairpin Tower

陆游

Lu You

闺怨Woman's longing 怀人Longing for a faraway one

宝钗楼上妆梳晚，懒上秋千。
闲拨沉烟，金缕衣宽睡髻偏。
鳞鸿不寄辽东信，又是经年。
弹泪花前，愁入春风十四弦。

At the Precious-Hairpin Tower she dresses late, too languid for the swing.
Idly she stirs the sinking incense; her gold-threaded robe hangs loose, her sleep-bun askew.
No fish or wild goose bears a letter from Liaodong—another full year gone.
She sheds tears before the flowers; her grief enters the fourteen strings on the spring wind.

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Meaning

A woman in a tower neglects her toilet and grows thin awaiting a letter from her husband garrisoned in Liaodong; years pass with no word, and her sorrow flows into her zither. The lyric is a tender study of loyal, lonely waiting—Lu You's 'clear and graceful' face as a writer of feeling.

宝钗楼上妆梳晚，懒上秋千。闲拨沉烟，金缕衣宽睡髻偏。鳞鸿不寄辽东信，又是经年。弹泪花前，愁入春风十四弦。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] At the Precious-Hairpin Tower she dresses late, too languid for the swing; idly she stirs the incense, her gold robe loose, her sleep-bun askew. No fish or wild goose brings a letter from Liaodong—another year has passed. She weeps before the flowers; her grief enters the fourteen strings on the spring wind.<br><br>[Structure] The upper stanza sketches her neglected toilet and thinness; the lower turns to the long silence and tearful music, from appearance to heart.<br><br>[Imagery] 'Too languid for the swing' and the 'loose robe, askew bun' render longing as physical lapse; 'no fish or wild goose' names the broken bond. The closing 'grief enters the fourteen strings' turns feeling into sound. A model of the 'form-to-spirit' method in women's-longing lyrics: restrained details carrying deep feeling.

【白话串讲】陆游写《采桑子·宝钗楼上妆梳晚》：“宝钗楼上妆梳晚，懒上秋千”——“闲拨沉烟，金缕衣宽睡髻偏”——“鳞鸿不寄辽东信，又是经年”——“弹泪花前，愁入春风十四弦”——他写闺怨。【意象与手法】此词写闺怨，以怀人写闺怨，是陆游的名篇。上片写懒妆：「宝钗楼上妆梳晚，懒上秋千。闲拨沉烟，金缕衣宽睡髻偏」写宝钗楼上妆梳晚、懒上秋千、闲拨沉烟——写尽懒妆的愁态；下片写怀远：「鳞鸿不寄辽东信，又是经年。弹泪花前，愁入春风十四弦」写鳞鸿不寄辽东信、弹泪花前——写尽怀远的深愁。全词以怀人写闺怨，写尽懒妆的愁态与怀远的深愁，是陆游的代表作。【情感与主旨】此词写闺怨，以怀人写闺怨，是陆游的名篇。此词写闺中女子思念远戍辽东（今辽宁一带）的征人。陆游此词写闺怨，虽为代拟闺情之作，亦可见其写情之工。词写女子妆梳既晚、懒上秋千，拨沉香而金缕衣宽，正是因相思而懒妆、因消瘦而衣宽；下片写鳞鸿不寄辽东信，经年无音，遂弹泪花前，愁入琴弦。此词写懒妆：宝钗楼上妆梳晚，懒上秋千——写宝钗楼上妆梳晚、懒上秋千，写尽懒妆的愁态；闲拨沉烟，金缕衣宽睡髻偏——写闲拨沉烟、金缕衣宽睡髻偏，写尽懒妆的愁态；鳞鸿不寄辽东信，又是经年——写鳞鸿不寄辽东信、又是经年，写尽怀远的经年；弹泪花前，愁入春风十四弦——写弹泪花前、愁入春风十四弦，写尽怀远的深愁。全词以怀人写闺怨——那「金缕衣宽睡髻偏」写尽懒妆的愁态，「愁入春风十四弦」写尽怀远的深愁，写尽懒妆的愁态与怀远的深愁，是理解陆游闺怨词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「宝钗楼上妆梳晚，懒上秋千」写懒妆的愁态；「鳞鸿不寄辽东信，又是经年」写怀远的经年；以及全词以怀人写闺怨、以细节写愁态的手法。

Background

Lu You (1125–1210), styled Wu Guan, known as Fangweng, was a native of Shanyin, Yuezhou (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang), a Southern Song patriotic poet with over nine thousand poems surviving, also skilled in lyric. This piece imagines a woman awaiting her husband garrisoned in Liaodong (present-day Liaoning). Though a simulated 'women's chamber' lyric, it shows his mastery of feeling: she dresses late and shuns the swing, stirs incense while her robe hangs loose—love's neglect and thinning—then, with no letter for a year, weeps before the flowers and pours grief into the zither. It is an important window onto Lu You's love lyrics, where detail carries devoted, lonely waiting.

此词写闺怨，以怀人写闺怨，是陆游的名篇。陆游（1125—1210），字务观，号放翁，越州山阴（今浙江绍兴）人，南宋爱国诗人，存诗九千余首，兼工词。此词写闺中女子思念远戍辽东（今辽宁一带）的征人。陆游此词写闺怨，虽为代拟闺情之作，亦可见其写情之工。词写女子妆梳既晚、懒上秋千，拨沉香而金缕衣宽，正是因相思而懒妆、因消瘦而衣宽；下片写鳞鸿不寄辽东信，经年无音，遂弹泪花前，愁入琴弦。此词写懒妆：「宝钗楼上妆梳晚，懒上秋千」写宝钗楼上妆梳晚、懒上秋千——写尽懒妆的愁态（宝钗楼上妆梳晚，懒上秋千）；「闲拨沉烟，金缕衣宽睡髻偏」写闲拨沉烟、金缕衣宽睡髻偏——写尽懒妆的愁态（闲拨沉烟，金缕衣宽睡髻偏）；「鳞鸿不寄辽东信，又是经年」写鳞鸿不寄辽东信、又是经年——写尽怀远的经年（鳞鸿不寄辽东信，又是经年）；「弹泪花前，愁入春风十四弦」写弹泪花前、愁入春风十四弦——写尽怀远的深愁（弹泪花前，愁入春风十四弦）。全词以怀人写闺怨，写尽懒妆的愁态与怀远的深愁，是理解陆游闺怨词的重要篇章。

Art

The craft unfolds on four fronts. First, detail sketches the neglect: 'dresses late' shows her tardy toilet. Second, foil reveals thinness: 'robe hangs loose, bun askew' hints at her wasting. Third, image carries the letter: 'no fish or wild goose' uses fish and goose for absent news. Fourth, the zither voices grief: 'grief enters the fourteen strings' turns feeling into music. The upper stanza shows the neglected toilet, the lower the deep waiting—from form to spirit, the classic 'form-to-spirit' curve. The idle stirring of incense renders boredom; weeping before the flowers renders devoted sorrow—small acts carrying the whole of her lonely love.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以细节写懒妆。「宝钗楼上妆梳晚」以细节写懒妆——那「妆梳晚」写尽妆梳的迟晚，以细节写尽懒妆的愁态。其二，以衬笔写消瘦。「金缕衣宽睡髻偏」以衬笔写消瘦——那「衣宽」「髻偏」写尽消瘦的衬笔，以衬笔写尽懒妆的愁态。其三，以意象写音书。「鳞鸿不寄辽东信」以意象写音书——那「鳞鸿」以鱼雁代书信写音书断绝，以意象写尽怀远的经年。其四，以琴写愁。「愁入春风十四弦」以琴写愁——那「十四弦」写尽弹琴的愁绪，以琴写尽怀远的深愁。此外，此词上片写懒妆的愁态，下片写怀远的深愁，由形及神，正是闺怨词「以形写神」的写法。四重手法，使此词以怀人写闺怨，写尽懒妆的愁态与怀远的深愁，是陆游的代表作。此词还善于以「闲拨沉烟」的动作写无聊——那「闲拨」写尽拨香的百无聊赖，正是闲极而拨的写照，以动作写尽懒妆的愁态。又善以「弹泪花前」的细节写伤心——弹泪花前，正见对花落泪的深愁，以细节写尽怀远的深情。

Allusions

The language draws on the women's-longing and waiting tradition. 'Precious-Hairpin Tower' names the lady's chamber (the hairpin her ornament); 'swing' recalls Ouyang Xiu's 'tearful eyes ask the flowers, the flowers say nothing, red petals fly past the swing'; 'sinking incense' the aloes smoke (Li Qingzhao's 'ru nao consumes the golden beast'); 'gold-threaded robe' the costly gown ('prize not the gold-threaded robe'); 'fish or wild goose' the letter-bearers (Li Qingzhao's 'when the wild geese return, the moon fills the west tower'); 'Liaodong' the far garrison (and the Liaodong crane). The lyric weaves tower, swing, incense, gold robe, fish and goose, Liaodong into one tender waiting—Lu You's clear, graceful handling of the chamber-longing tradition.

此词的用语深植于闺怨与怀人传统。「宝钗楼」令人想到「宝钗楼」写闺楼的意象——也令人想到「宝钗」的意象；「秋千」令人想到「秋千」写秋千的意象——也令人想到「泪眼问花花不语，乱红飞过秋千去」（欧阳修）的意象；「沉烟」令人想到「沉烟」写沉香的意象——也令人想到「瑞脑消金兽」（李清照）的意象；「金缕衣」令人想到「金缕衣」写金线衣的意象——也令人想到「劝君莫惜金缕衣」的意象；「鳞鸿」令人想到「鳞鸿」以鱼雁代书信的意象——也令人想到「雁字回时，月满西楼」（李清照）的意象；「辽东」令人想到「辽东」写辽东的意象——今辽宁一带，也令人想到「辽东鹤」的意象。全词化用宝钗楼、秋千、沉烟、金缕衣、鳞鸿、辽东的意象，以怀人写闺怨，正是陆游「清婉」而善写情、承闺怨传统写怀远之本领。「宝钗楼」令人想到「宝钗」为女子首饰的意象——也令人想到曹植《美女篇》「头上金爵钗」的妆饰意象；「秋千」令人想到「秋千」承唐宋女子春日荡秋千的风俗——也令人想到「墙里秋千墙外道」（苏轼）的意象。

Commentary

This lyric is ranked among Lu You's finest women's-longing songs and a representative Song lyric on the soldier's wife's longing. Qing critics praised it as 'longing through the far one, gentle and deep'; the closing line is often cited. Its special worth is condensing, in forty-four characters, the tower, the late dressing, the swing shunned, the incense, the loose gold robe, the askew bun, the fish and goose, the Liaodong letter, the passing year, the tears, the flowers, the grief, the spring wind, the fourteen strings—all in Lu You's hand. With his 'Phoenix Hairpin' it shows two faces of his love poetry: one at the Shen Garden ('spring as before, he empty-thin'), one at the Precious-Hairpin Tower ('no letter from Liaodong'); together with Wen Tingyun's 'Wang Jiang Nan' it continues the waiting-woman tradition. For readers it opens another side of Lu You and stands as a classic of the soldier's wife's longing—the grief in the fourteen strings still sounding across the centuries.

此词历来被推为陆游闺怨词的名篇，也是宋词写征人妇相思的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以怀人写闺怨，委婉深挚」；近人更指出「愁入春风十四弦」写怀远的深愁，是此词的名句。在词史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以四十四字的词写尽懒妆的愁态与怀远的深愁——那宝钗楼，那妆梳晚，那懒上，那秋千，那闲拨，那沉烟，那金缕衣宽，那睡髻偏，那鳞鸿，那不寄，那辽东信，那又是经年，那弹泪，那花前，那愁入，那春风，那十四弦，都写尽了陆游笔下的宝钗楼；那「愁入春风十四弦」更以琴写尽怀远的深愁。此词与陆游《钗头凤》（「红酥手，黄縢酒」）同为言情名篇，一写「春如旧，人空瘦」的沈园（钗头凤），一写「鳞鸿不寄辽东信」的闺怨（采桑子）；又与温庭筠《望江南》「过尽千帆皆不是」的思妇传统一脉相承，可见宋词写闺怨的传统。对于今日读者，此词是理解陆游词的另一面的窗口，也是宋词写征人妇的经典——那愁入十四弦的心，穿越千年，仍在诉说着怀远的深愁。

Prosody

Form Lyric, Cai Sang Zi (Picking Mulberries)词·采桑子

Rhyme Cai Sang Zi tune; rhymes on 'qian' (千), 'pian' (偏), 'nian' (年), 'xian' (弦), level rhyme sustained throughout.词牌采桑子，押「千」「偏」「年」「弦」等韵，平韵一韵到底

Tone pattern A Cai Sang Zi lyric with sustained level-tone rhyme; its winding, gentle music suits the women's-longing mood.此词为采桑子，平韵一韵到底，音节婉转，正合闺怨的婉转。

Reading note This is the Cai Sang Zi tune in two stanzas—upper: 'at the Precious-Hairpin Tower she dresses late, too languid for the swing; idly stirs the sinking incense, gold robe loose, sleep-bun askew'; lower: 'no fish or wild goose bears a Liaodong letter, another year gone; sheds tears before the flowers, grief enters the fourteen strings'—rhyming on level tone (千, 偏, 年, 弦), one rhyme throughout, with a winding, gentle cadence. The upper stanza shows the neglected toilet, the lower the deep waiting, closing on 'grief enters the fourteen strings'—Lu You's clear, graceful manner. Read the languid swing with a soft tone and the closing grief with low, lingering depth.此词为《采桑子》词牌，上片四句——「宝钗楼上妆梳晚，懒上秋千。闲拨沉烟，金缕衣宽睡髻偏」，下片四句——「鳞鸿不寄辽东信，又是经年。弹泪花前，愁入春风十四弦」，押平韵（千、偏、年、弦），一韵到底，音节婉转。全词以怀人写闺怨：上片写懒妆的愁态（宝钗楼上妆梳晚、金缕衣宽睡髻偏），下片写怀远的深愁（鳞鸿不寄辽东信、愁入春风十四弦）。词体短章，前写懒妆，后写怀远，以「愁入春风十四弦」写尽怀远的深愁，正见陆游「清婉」的本色。诵读此词，宜以婉转的语调读「懒上秋千」的懒妆，以低回的语调读「愁入春风十四弦」的深愁，结句要读得婉转而有余韵，方能传达出陆游的委婉深挚。陆游词以「清婉」著称，此词正是其闺怨词的典范。

Line by line

鳞鸿不寄辽东信，又是经年

No fish or wild goose bears a letter from Liaodong—another full year gone.

鳞鸿不寄辽东信，又是经年。

Fish and geese bring no letter from Liaodong; another year has gone by.

此二句是全词写怀远的核心，以鳞鸿不寄辽东信写不寄，以又是经年写经年，写尽怀远的深愁，是千古名句。「鳞鸿不寄辽东信」写鳞鸿不寄辽东信——那「鳞鸿不寄」写鳞鸿不寄，「辽东信」写辽东信，写尽不寄的鳞鸿；「又是经年」写又是经年——那「又是」写又是，「经年」写经年，写尽经年的漫长。这句的深意在于：它以「鳞鸿不寄辽东信」的不寄与「又是经年」的经年，写尽怀远的深愁——鳞鸿不寄辽东信，那「鳞鸿不寄辽东信」写尽不寄的鳞鸿——鳞鸿不寄，正是音书断绝的写照，那「辽东信」写尽怀远的深愁；又是经年，那「又是经年」写尽经年的漫长——又是经年，正是年复一年的写照，那「又是」写尽怀远的深愁；那「鳞鸿不寄辽东信」写尽不寄的鳞鸿，那「又是经年」写尽经年的漫长，一写音书，一写年光，写尽怀远的深愁——鳞鸿不寄而经年又过，正是苦等无期的写照；此二句以不寄、经年写尽怀远的深愁，也为下文的弹泪作铺垫，也让此二句成为全词写怀远的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「他去辽东好几年没来信了」，则失其词情；唯以「鳞鸿不寄辽东信」写不寄、「又是经年」写经年，写尽怀远的深愁，也让此二句成为全词写怀远的核心。

The wife waits for a husband at the distant Liaodong garrison. Fish and wild geese, the traditional carriers of letters, have brought nothing; the word again measures the worst—the silence is not new, it has recurred, another whole year added to the last. Liaodong fixes the distance in space; another year fixes it in time, and the two together make the wait sound endless. The line prepares the tears that follow. To have said he had not written for years would be plain; the failed messenger and the repeated year are what make the waiting feel like a sentence.

宝钗楼上妆梳晚，懒上秋千

At the Precious-Hairpin Tower she dresses late, too languid for the swing.

宝钗楼上妆梳晚，懒上秋千。

On the hairpin tower she dresses late; too listless to climb onto the swing.

此二句是全词写懒妆的核心，以宝钗楼上妆梳晚写妆梳晚，以懒上秋千写懒上，写尽懒妆的愁态，是千古名句。「宝钗楼上妆梳晚」写宝钗楼上妆梳晚——那「宝钗楼上」写宝钗楼上，「妆梳晚」写妆梳晚，写尽楼上的妆晚；「懒上秋千」写懒上秋千——那「懒上」写懒上，「秋千」写秋千，写尽懒上的秋千。这句的深意在于：它以「宝钗楼上妆梳晚」的妆梳晚与「懒上秋千」的懒上，写尽懒妆的愁态——宝钗楼上妆梳晚，那「宝钗楼上妆梳晚」写尽楼上的妆晚——妆梳晚，正是无心妆饰的写照，那「晚」字写尽懒妆的愁态；懒上秋千，那「懒上秋千」写尽懒上的秋千——懒上秋千，正是无心玩耍的写照，那「懒」字写尽懒妆的愁态；那「宝钗楼上妆梳晚」写尽楼上的妆晚，那「懒上秋千」写尽懒上的秋千，一写妆晚，一写懒上，写尽懒妆的愁态——妆梳既晚而懒上秋千，正是因愁懒散的写照；此二句以妆晚、懒上写尽懒妆的愁态，也为下文的怀远作铺垫，也让此二句成为全词写懒妆的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「她不想梳妆，也不想荡秋千」，则失其含蓄；唯以「宝钗楼上妆梳晚」写妆梳晚、「懒上秋千」写懒上，写尽懒妆的愁态，也让此二句成为全词写懒妆的核心。

The grief shows itself as negligence. On the elegant tower where she does her hair, she dresses late—no reason, no appetite for the mirror—and when the spring swing waits, she cannot bring herself to climb onto it. The two small refusals are the whole poem's psychology: a woman who once dressed and played has lost the point of both. Late and listless are not excuses but symptoms, and the luxury of the hairpin tower only makes the listlessness more visible. To have said she no longer cared how she looked would be explanation; the late toilet and the abandoned swing are the carelessness.

Study

Word focus

懒 Languid / unwilling. In 'too languid for the swing,' lan means she has no heart for play. It carries both the physical inertia and the inner sorrow that makes her neglectful, the word that keys the whole portrait of lovesick indifference. 「懒上秋千」之「懒」字是写愁态的关键词，一个「懒」字写尽懒妆的愁态。懒者，慵懒、无心也。陆游以「懒上秋千」写愁态，这个「懒」字至少有双重意味：其一，写行之懒——那「懒上秋千」写懒上秋千，那「懒」字写尽懒上的秋千——懒上秋千，正是无心玩耍的写照，那「懒」字写尽懒妆的愁态；其二，写心之愁——那「懒」字更是写愁——懒，正见因愁而慵，那「懒」字写尽怀远的深愁。以「懒」字写愁态，正是陆游写闺怨的枢纽——若换作「倦」「慵」等字，则或失其与「宝钗楼上妆梳晚」「上秋千」的配合，或失其写懒的意味；唯「懒」字，以懒上秋千写尽行之慵懒与心之愁绪，与「宝钗楼上妆梳晚」的妆晚相合，写尽懒妆的愁态，也让「懒上秋千」成为全词写愁态的名句。

又 Again / another. In 'another full year gone,' you marks the repetition of the waiting year. It conveys both the passing of time and the weary helplessness of hope deferred, the word that weighs the long, silent years of her longing. 「又是经年」之「又」字是写漫长关键词，一个「又」字写尽经年的漫长。又者，再一次、又复也。陆游以「又是经年」写漫长，这个「又」字至少有双重意味：其一，写年之复——那「又是经年」写又是经年，那「又」字写尽经年的漫长——又是经年，正是年复一年的写照，那「又」字写尽怀远的深愁；其二，写情之深——那「又」字更是写深——又，正见等待的无奈，那「又」字写尽思妇的深情。以「又」字写漫长，正是陆游写闺怨的枢纽——若换作「已」「竟」等字，则或失其与「鳞鸿不寄辽东信」「经年」的配合，或失其写又的意味；唯「又」字，以又是经年写尽年之重复与等待之无奈，与「鳞鸿不寄辽东信」的不寄相合，写尽怀远的深愁，也让「又是经年」成为全词写漫长的名句。