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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

丑奴儿·晚来一阵风兼雨

Chou Nu Er · A Wind and Rain at Dusk

李清照

Li Qingzhao

爱情Love 夏夜Summer night

晚来一阵风兼雨，洗尽炎光。
理罢笙簧，却对菱花淡淡妆。
绛绡缕薄冰肌莹，雪腻酥香。
笑语檀郎：今夜纱厨枕簟凉。

At dusk a wind joined with rain, washing away the burning light.
She finishes the sheng and huang, then faces the crystal mirror and lightly paints.
Crimson gauze, thin-threaded, her ice-white skin gleams; snowy-soft, creamy-fragrant.
Smiling, she says to her sweet lord: 'Tonight the gauze canopy and the bamboo mat are cool.'

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Meaning

This light lyric captures a summer evening of marital intimacy between Li Qingzhao and her husband Zhao Mingcheng. After a cooling wind and rain, the wife plays music, touches up her makeup, and with playful tenderness invites her husband to the cool bed—a gentle picture of early married happiness.

晚来一阵风兼雨，洗尽炎光。理罢笙簧，却对菱花淡淡妆。绛绡缕薄冰肌莹，雪腻酥香。笑语檀郎：今夜纱厨枕簟凉。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] At dusk a wind and rain wash away the heat; she finishes her music and before the mirror paints lightly. In thin crimson gauze her ice-skin gleams, snowy and fragrant; smiling she tells her lord that tonight the gauze bed and mat are cool. [Structure] The upper stanza sets the evening and her toilette after the rain; the lower turns to her adorned beauty and the playful words to her husband. The move is from scene to intimate feeling, the classic 'write leisure to reveal love' of the boudoir lyric. [Imagery] 'Wind joined with rain' and 'washing away the burning light' cool the opening; 'finishes the sheng,' 'crystal mirror,' 'lightly paints' detail her ease; 'crimson gauze,' 'ice-white skin,' 'snowy-soft, creamy-fragrant' render her loveliness; 'smiling she says to her sweet lord' and 'the gauze canopy and mat are cool' close on tender intimacy. The paired 'new poems / old dreams' topos is here replaced by music and mirror, yet the same refinement holds.

【白话串讲】李清照写《丑奴儿·晚来一阵风兼雨》：“晚来一阵风兼雨，洗尽炎光”——“理罢笙簧，却对菱花淡淡妆”——“绛绡缕薄冰肌莹，雪腻酥香”——“笑语檀郎：今夜纱厨枕簟凉”——她写夏夜对夫君的娇语。【意象与手法】此词写闺情，以闲适写闺情，是李清照的名篇。上阕写晚来：「晚来一阵风兼雨，洗尽炎光。理罢笙簧，却对菱花淡淡妆」写晚来一阵风兼雨、洗尽炎光——写尽炎光的晚来；下阕写笑语：「绛绡缕薄冰肌莹，雪腻酥香。笑语檀郎：今夜纱厨枕簟凉」写绛绡缕薄冰肌莹、雪腻酥香——写尽冰肌的绛绡。全词以闲适写闺情，写尽炎光的晚来与冰肌的绛绡，是李清照的代表作。【情感与主旨】此词写闺情，以闲适写闺情，是李清照的名篇。此词为李清照写其与赵明诚新婚后的闺中生活，写晚来闲适与笑语。李清照早期生活美满，此词写其夏夜闺中情事。此词写晚来一阵风兼雨，洗尽炎光；理罢笙簧，却对菱花淡淡妆；绛绡缕薄冰肌莹，雪腻酥香；笑语檀郎：今夜纱厨枕簟凉。此词写晚来：晚来一阵风兼雨，洗尽炎光——写晚来一阵风兼雨、洗尽炎光，写尽炎光的晚来；理罢笙簧，却对菱花淡淡妆——写理罢笙簧、却对菱花淡淡妆，写尽菱花的淡淡妆；绛绡缕薄冰肌莹，雪腻酥香——写绛绡缕薄冰肌莹、雪腻酥香，写尽冰肌的绛绡；笑语檀郎：今夜纱厨枕簟凉——写笑语檀郎、今夜纱厨枕簟凉，写尽纱厨的枕簟。全词以闲适写闺情——那「洗尽炎光」写尽炎光的晚来，「今夜纱厨枕簟凉」写尽纱厨的枕簟，写尽炎光的晚来与冰肌的绛绡，是理解李清照闺情词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「晚来一阵风兼雨，洗尽炎光」写炎光的晚来；「绛绡缕薄冰肌莹，雪腻酥香」写冰肌的绛绡；以及全词以闲适写闺情、以白描写闺中的手法。

Background

Li Qingzhao (1084–c. 1155), self-titled 'Studio of Ease' (Yi An Ju Shi), from Zhangqiu in Qizhou (modern Jinan, Shandong), was a Song lyricist of the Soft-and-Idle (Wanyue) school, hailed as the 'first gifted woman of a thousand years,' and paired with Xin Qiji as the 'Two An of Jinan.' This lyric depicts her married life with Zhao Mingcheng after their wedding, writing a leisurely summer evening and playful words. Her early life was happy, and the poem records a summer-night boudoir scene: the wind and rain at dusk, music finished, light makeup, adorned beauty, and the smiling invitation. It is a key piece for understanding Li Qingzhao's boudoir lyrics.

此词写闺情，以闲适写闺情，是李清照的名篇。李清照（1084—约1155），号易安居士，齐州章丘（今山东济南）人，宋代女词人，婉约派代表，有「千古第一才女」之称，与辛弃疾并称「济南二安」。此词为李清照写其与赵明诚新婚后的闺中生活，写晚来闲适与笑语。李清照早期生活美满，此词写其夏夜闺中情事。此词写晚来一阵风兼雨，洗尽炎光；理罢笙簧，却对菱花淡淡妆；绛绡缕薄冰肌莹，雪腻酥香；笑语檀郎：今夜纱厨枕簟凉。此词写晚来：「晚来一阵风兼雨，洗尽炎光」写晚来一阵风兼雨、洗尽炎光——写尽炎光的晚来（晚来一阵风兼雨，洗尽炎光）；「理罢笙簧，却对菱花淡淡妆」写理罢笙簧、却对菱花淡淡妆——写尽菱花的淡淡妆（理罢笙簧，却对菱花淡淡妆）；「绛绡缕薄冰肌莹，雪腻酥香」写绛绡缕薄冰肌莹、雪腻酥香——写尽冰肌的绛绡（绛绡缕薄冰肌莹，雪腻酥香）；「笑语檀郎：今夜纱厨枕簟凉」写笑语檀郎、今夜纱厨枕簟凉——写尽纱厨的枕簟（笑语檀郎：今夜纱厨枕簟凉）。全词以闲适写闺情，写尽炎光的晚来与冰肌的绛绡，是理解李清照闺情词的重要篇章。

Art

The craft may be read in four moves. First, plain sketch of the dusk: 'At dusk a wind joined with rain' and 'washing away the burning light' render the cooling through bare description. Second, detail of the boudoir: 'She finishes the sheng and huang' and 'faces the crystal mirror and lightly paints' capture her ease through small particulars. Third, metaphor for the skin: 'ice-white skin gleams' and 'crimson gauze, thin-threaded' figure her beauty through contrast of gauze and flesh. Fourth, playful speech for feeling: 'Smiling, she says to her sweet lord' and 'the gauze canopy and mat are cool' convey tenderness through her very words. The upper stanza writes the cooling dusk, the lower her adorned beauty—scene leading to feeling, the 'write leisure to reveal love' manner. The phrase 'finishes the sheng' uses the very word 'finishes' to signal leisure, and 'thin-threaded' writes the gauze's lightness, so that skin and gauze shine through one another.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以白描写晚来。「晚来一阵风兼雨」以白描写晚来——那「洗尽炎光」写尽炎光的晚来，以白描写尽炎光的晚来。其二，以细节写闺中。「理罢笙簧」以细节写闺中——那「却对菱花淡淡妆」写尽菱花的淡淡妆，以细节写尽菱花的淡淡妆。其三，以比喻写肌肤。「冰肌莹」以比喻写肌肤——那「绛绡缕薄」写尽绛绡的缕薄，以比喻写尽冰肌的绛绡。其四，以笑语写情致。「笑语檀郎」以笑语写情致——那「今夜纱厨枕簟凉」写尽纱厨的枕簟，以笑语写尽纱厨的枕簟。此外，此词上阕写炎光的晚来，下阕写冰肌的绛绡，由景及情，正是闺情词「以闲写情」的写法。四重手法，使此词以闲适写闺情，写尽炎光的晚来与冰肌的绛绡，是李清照的代表作。此词还善于以「理罢笙簧」的「理罢」写闺中之事毕——那「理罢笙簧」写尽笙簧的理罢，正是以罢写闲，以「却对菱花淡淡妆」写尽菱花的淡淡妆。又善以「绛绡缕薄冰肌莹」的「缕薄」写绛绡之轻薄——绛绡缕薄冰肌莹，正见绡薄肌莹的写照，以「缕薄」写尽冰肌的绛绡。

Allusions

The language draws on the boudoir and leisure tradition. 'Wind joined with rain' evokes storm and union; 'burning light' the summer's glare; 'sheng and huang' cites the mouth-organ reeds (the Shi Jing: 'blow the sheng, beat the huang'); 'crystal mirror' is the bronze mirror polished like a water-chestnut flower; 'crimson gauze' the red thin silk; 'sweet lord' (Tan Lang) derives from Pan Yue's childhood name Tanu, a term for a beloved husband ('Tan lady and Xie maid'). The whole lyric transmutes these images—wind and rain, burning light, sheng and huang, crystal mirror, crimson gauze, sweet lord—into a leisurely boudoir scene true to Li Qingzhao's Soft-and-Idle, white-description manner.

此词的用语深植于闺情与闲适传统。「风兼雨」令人想到「风兼雨」写风雨交加的意象——也令人想到「风雨凄凄」的意象；「炎光」令人想到「炎光」写暑热之光的意象——也令人想到「炎炎夏日」的意象；「笙簧」令人想到「笙簧」写笙管的意象——《诗经》「吹笙鼓簧」，也令人想到「笙簧迭奏」的意象；「菱花」令人想到「菱花」写菱花镜的意象——古代铜镜，也令人想到「菱花镜里」的意象；「绛绡」令人想到「绛绡」写红绡的意象——也令人想到「绛绡缕薄」的意象；「檀郎」令人想到「檀郎」写夫郎的意象——晋潘岳小字檀奴，也令人想到「檀郎谢女」的意象。全词化用风兼雨、炎光、笙簧、菱花、绛绡、檀郎的意象典故，以闲适写闺情，正是李清照「婉约」而善白描、承闺情传统写闲适之本领。「菱花」令人想到「菱花」写菱花镜的意象——也令人想到「菱花镜里」的意象；「檀郎」令人想到「檀郎」写夫郎的意象——也令人想到「檀郎谢女」的意象，以檀郎写闺情。

Commentary

This lyric is ranked among Li Qingzhao's finest boudoir pieces and a representative of the Song lyric's summer-night intimacy. Qing critics called it 'leisurely in feeling, fresh and graceful'; modern readers prize 'crimson gauze, thin-threaded, her ice-white skin gleams' as its famous line. Its special worth lies in the small lyric's rendering of the cooling dusk and the adorned beauty—the dusk, the wind and rain, the washed light, the finished music, the mirror, the light paint, the crimson gauze, the thin thread, the ice skin, the snowy softness, the creamy fragrance, the smile, the sweet lord, the gauze canopy, the cool mat—all Li Qingzhao's 'Chou Nu Er.' 'Smiling she says to her sweet lord' crowns the scene with tenderness. With her 'Ru Meng Ling' ('I often recall the creek pavilion at dusk') it forms a pair of early masterpieces: one the creek pavilion's 'row, row,' one the boudoir's 'sweet lord'; one outing, one interior. For readers today it opens a window onto her boudoir lyrics and a classic of the summer-night chamber.

此词历来被推为李清照闺情词的名篇，也是宋词写夏夜闺情的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以闲适写闺情，清新婉丽」；近人更指出「绛绡缕薄冰肌莹，雪腻酥香」写冰肌的绛绡，是此词的名句。在诗歌史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以小令写尽炎光的晚来与冰肌的绛绡——那晚来，那一阵风兼雨，那洗尽炎光，那理罢，那笙簧，那却对，那菱花，那淡淡妆，那绛绡，那缕薄，那冰肌莹，那雪腻，那酥香，那笑语，那檀郎，那今夜，那纱厨，那枕簟凉，都写尽了李清照笔下的丑奴儿晚来一阵风兼雨；那「笑语檀郎」更以笑语写尽纱厨的枕簟。此词与李清照《如梦令》「常记溪亭日暮」同为早期名篇，一写「争渡，争渡」的溪亭（如梦令），一写「笑语檀郎」的晚来（丑奴儿）；一写游赏，一写闺中。两词对读，可见李清照早期词的两面。对于今日读者，此词是理解李清照闺情词的窗口，也是宋词写夏夜闺情的经典——那纱厨的枕簟，穿越千年，仍在诉说着檀郎的笑语。

Prosody

Form Ci lyric, tune 'Chou Nu Er' (词·丑奴儿)词·丑奴儿

Rhyme Rhymes on guang, zhuang, xiang, liang (Yang rhyme), one rhyme throughout.丑奴儿，押「光」「妆」「香」「凉」韵（阳韵），一韵到底

Tone pattern The 'Chou Nu Er' short lyric carries level-tone rhymes throughout, one rhyme to the end, a light, quick music fitting its ease.此词为丑奴儿小令，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节轻快，正合闲适的轻快。

Reading note This is the short 'Chou Nu Er' lyric, two stanzas—upper 'At dusk a wind joined with rain... lightly paints,' lower 'crimson gauze... the mat are cool'—rhyming on Yang (guang/zhuang/xiang/liang), one rhyme throughout, a light music. The upper writes the cooling dusk, the lower the adorned beauty, closing on the cool canopy and mat, true to Li Qingzhao's Soft-and-Idle manner. Read the opening with light ease and the closing 'sweet lord' with affection; the end should sound light and resonant.此词为丑奴儿小令，上下两阕——上阕「晚来一阵风兼雨，洗尽炎光。理罢笙簧，却对菱花淡淡妆」，下阕「绛绡缕薄冰肌莹，雪腻酥香。笑语檀郎：今夜纱厨枕簟凉」，押阳韵（光、妆、香、凉），一韵到底，音节轻快。全词以闲适写闺情：上阕写炎光的晚来（晚来一阵风兼雨、却对菱花淡淡妆），下阕写冰肌的绛绡（绛绡缕薄冰肌莹、今夜纱厨枕簟凉）。小令短章，前写晚来，后写笑语，以「今夜纱厨枕簟凉」写尽纱厨的枕簟，正见李清照「婉约」的本色。诵读此词，宜以轻快的语调读「洗尽炎光」的晚来，以亲昵的语调读「笑语檀郎」的笑语，结句要读得轻快而有余韵，方能传达出李清照的清新婉丽。李清照小令以「婉约」著称，此词正是其闺情词的典范。

Line by line

晚来一阵风兼雨，洗尽炎光

At dusk a wind joined with rain, washing away the burning light.

晚来一阵风兼雨，洗尽炎光。

Toward evening a gust of wind and rain washes the last of the heat away.

此二句是全词写晚来的核心，以晚来一阵风兼雨写风兼雨，以洗尽炎光写洗尽炎光，写尽炎光的晚来，是千古名句。「晚来一阵风兼雨」写晚来一阵风兼雨——那「晚来一阵」写晚来一阵，「风兼雨」写风兼雨，写尽晚来的风雨；「洗尽炎光」写洗尽炎光——那「洗尽」写洗尽，「炎光」写炎光，写尽炎光的洗尽。这句的深意在于：它以「晚来一阵风兼雨」的风兼雨与「洗尽炎光」的炎光，写尽炎光的晚来——晚来一阵风兼雨，那「晚来一阵风兼雨」写尽晚来的风雨——晚来一阵风兼雨，正是晚来风雨的写照，那「风兼雨」写尽炎光的晚来；洗尽炎光，那「洗尽炎光」写尽炎光的洗尽——洗尽炎光，正是洗尽暑热的写照，那「炎光」写尽炎光的晚来；那「晚来一阵风兼雨」写尽晚来的风雨，那「洗尽炎光」写尽炎光的洗尽，一写晚来，一写炎光，写尽炎光的晚来——晚来风雨而暑热洗尽，正是夏夜的写照；此二句以晚来、炎光写尽炎光的晚来，也为下文的菱花作铺垫，也让此二句成为全词写晚来的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「傍晚来了一阵风夹着雨，洗尽了炎热的光芒」，则失其清新；唯以「晚来一阵风兼雨」写风兼雨、「洗尽炎光」写洗尽炎光，写尽炎光的晚来，也让此二句成为全词写晚来的核心。

Li Qingzhao opens a summer evening with relief. Toward evening a gust of wind and rain washes clean the last glare of heat. The word wash is the whole event: the oppressive summer light, which had seemed permanent, is rinsed off like dust, and the sudden cool is a kind of deliverance. The plainness is characteristic—no romantic scenery, just weather turning bearable. It prepares the intimate invitation that follows. To have said a summer rain cooled things off would be weather; the washing away of the heat-light is the release.

笑语檀郎：今夜纱厨枕簟凉

Smiling, she says to her sweet lord: 'Tonight the gauze canopy and the bamboo mat are cool.'

笑语檀郎：今夜纱厨枕簟凉。

She laughs and whispers to her beloved: tonight the pillow and mat in the gauze curtain are cool.

此二句是全词写情致的核心，以笑语檀郎写笑语，以今夜纱厨枕簟凉写枕簟凉，写尽纱厨的枕簟，是千古名句。「笑语檀郎」写笑语檀郎——那「笑语」写笑语，「檀郎」写檀郎，写尽笑语的檀郎；「今夜纱厨枕簟凉」写今夜纱厨枕簟凉——那「今夜纱厨」写今夜纱厨，「枕簟凉」写枕簟凉，写尽纱厨的枕簟。这句的深意在于：它以「笑语檀郎」的笑语与「今夜纱厨枕簟凉」的枕簟凉，写尽纱厨的枕簟——笑语檀郎，那「笑语檀郎」写尽笑语的檀郎——笑语檀郎，正是对郎笑语的写照，那「檀郎」写尽纱厨的枕簟；今夜纱厨枕簟凉，那「今夜纱厨枕簟凉」写尽纱厨的枕簟——今夜纱厨枕簟凉，正是纱厨枕凉的写照，那「枕簟凉」写尽纱厨的枕簟；那「笑语檀郎」写尽笑语的檀郎，那「今夜纱厨枕簟凉」写尽纱厨的枕簟，一写笑语，一写枕簟，写尽纱厨的枕簟——笑语檀郎而纱厨枕凉，正是闺情的写照；此二句以笑语、枕簟写尽纱厨的枕簟，也让此二句成为全词写情致的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「笑着对丈夫说：今夜纱帐里的枕席凉快」，则失其情致；唯以「笑语檀郎」写笑语、「今夜纱厨枕簟凉」写枕簟凉，写尽纱厨的枕簟，也让此二句成为全词写情致的核心。

The couplet is one of the boldest domestic moments in Song ci. Laughing, she whispers to her husband: tonight, inside the gauze curtain, the pillow and mat are cool. The line is famous for saying outright what later poetry would only hint—the pleasure of a cool bed on a summer night, shared. The pet name for a beloved (Tan Lang, after the Western Jin beauty Pan Yue) and the lowered voice are the whole scene; no more needs saying. To have described their happy evening would be circumspect; the whispered sentence about the cool pillow is the intimacy.

Study

Word focus

洗 To wash; in 'washing away the burning light' the word conveys both the literal clearing of the summer glare by the rain and the refreshed, clean stillness afterward—the verb that turns a stuffy evening into a cool, leisurely one. 「洗尽炎光」之「洗」字是写晚来关键词，一个「洗」字写尽炎光的晚来。洗者，洗涤、洗去也。李清照以「洗尽炎光」写晚来，这个「洗」字至少有双重意味：其一，写光之洗——那「洗尽炎光」写洗尽炎光，那「洗」字写尽炎光的晚来——洗尽，正是尽数洗去的写照，那「洗」字写尽炎光的晚来；其二，写境之清——那「洗」字更是写清——洗，正见雨后气清的清爽，那「洗」字写尽李清照的闲适。以「洗」字写晚来，正是李清照写闺情的枢纽——若换作「消」「退」等字，则或失其与「洗尽」「炎光」的配合，或失其写洗的意味；唯「洗」字，以洗尽炎光写尽炎光之洗去与雨后之清爽，与「晚来一阵风兼雨」的风雨相合，写尽炎光的晚来，也让「洗尽炎光」成为全词写晚来的名句。

凉 Cool; in 'the gauze canopy and the bamboo mat are cool' the word names the physical coolness of the bed and, by extension, the intimate warmth of marital closeness—the coolness that makes the playful invitation tender rather than cold. 「今夜纱厨枕簟凉」之「凉」字是写情致关键词，一个「凉」字写尽纱厨的枕簟。凉者，清凉、凉快也。李清照以「今夜纱厨枕簟凉」写情致，这个「凉」字至少有双重意味：其一，写簟之凉——那「今夜纱厨枕簟凉」写今夜纱厨枕簟凉，那「凉」字写尽纱厨的枕簟——枕簟凉，正是枕席清凉的写照，那「凉」字写尽纱厨的枕簟；其二，写情之亲——那「凉」字更是写亲——凉，正见夫妻亲昵的温馨，那「凉」字写尽李清照的闲适。以「凉」字写情致，正是李清照写闺情的枢纽——若换作「寒」「冷」等字，则或失其与「今夜纱厨」「枕簟凉」的配合，或失其写凉的意味；唯「凉」字，以今夜纱厨枕簟凉写尽枕簟之清凉与闺情之温馨，与「笑语檀郎」的檀郎相合，写尽纱厨的枕簟，也让「今夜纱厨枕簟凉」成为全词写情致的名句。