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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

蝶恋花·几日行云何处去

Butterflies Love Flowers: Day After Day, Drifting Clouds—Where Have You Gone?

欧阳修

Ouyang Xiu

春愁spring sorrow 怀人longing for the absent

几日行云何处去？
忘却归来，不道春将暮。
百草千花寒食路，香车系在谁家树。
泪眼倚楼频独语。
双燕来时，陌上相逢否？
撩乱春愁如柳絮，依依梦里无寻处。

Day after day, drifting clouds—where have you gone? You forget to come home, heedless that spring is nearly over.
On the Cold Food road, amid a hundred grasses and a thousand blossoms—by whose tree is the fragrant carriage tied?
With tearful eyes I lean on the tower, murmuring to myself again and again.
When the paired swallows come, might you have met them on the paths between the fields?
My tangled spring sorrow flutters like willow catkins—even in lingering dreams there is nowhere to find him.

Listen

Meaning

In the voice of a neglected wife, the ci asks the drifting clouds—her wandering lover—where they have gone. As spring ripens toward its end she watches the festival roads, wonders by whose tree his carriage is tied, questions the returning swallows, and finds her sorrow as unruly as willow catkins: even in dreams she cannot find him.

几日行云何处去？忘却归来，不道春将暮。百草千花寒食路，香车系在谁家树。泪眼倚楼频独语。双燕来时，陌上相逢否？撩乱春愁如柳絮，依依梦里无寻处。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Where have the drifting clouds gone these many days? You forget to return and do not notice spring is ending. Along the Cold Food road where grass and flowers crowd, by whose tree is your fragrant carriage tied? Tearful, I lean on the tower and talk to myself; I ask the paired swallows if they met you on the field paths. My spring sorrow flutters in tangles like catkins; even in dream there is nowhere to find you. [Structure] The upper stanza asks where the beloved has gone and guesses where he is now; the lower stanza turns inward—to the leaning figure, the self-questioning, the dream. [Imagery] 'Drifting clouds' makes the wanderer part of the weather itself, beyond anyone's control. The paired swallows sharpen her solitude; the catkins, light and scattered and blown anywhere, embody a sorrow that cannot be gathered or followed. [Technique] Question upon question—'where,' 'whose tree,' 'did you meet'—builds the obsessed mind of the abandoned woman, and the final image dissolves the longing into dream, deep and restrained to the last word.

【白话串讲】欧阳修写《蝶恋花·几日行云何处去》：“几日行云何处去？忘却归来，不道春将暮”——“百草千花寒食路，香车系在谁家树”——“泪眼倚楼频独语”——“撩乱春愁如柳絮，依依梦里无寻处”——他写闺怨。【意象与手法】此词写春怨，以闺怨写春怨，是欧阳修的名篇。上阕写行云：「几日行云何处去？忘却归来，不道春将暮。百草千花寒食路，香车系在谁家树」写几日行云何处去、忘却归来、不道春将暮——写尽香车系在的谁家树；下阕写倚楼：「泪眼倚楼频独语。双燕来时，陌上相逢否？撩乱春愁如柳絮，依依梦里无寻处」写泪眼倚楼频独语、双燕来时、陌上相逢否——写尽依依梦里的无寻处。全词以闺怨写春怨，写尽香车系在的谁家树与依依梦里的无寻处，是欧阳修的代表作。【情感与主旨】此词写春怨，以闺怨写春怨，是欧阳修的名篇。此词为欧阳修写其春日闺中之情，写其春怨中的思念。欧阳修此词写春日行云与闺中倚楼。此词写几日行云何处去？忘却归来，不道春将暮；百草千花寒食路，香车系在谁家树；泪眼倚楼频独语；双燕来时，陌上相逢否；撩乱春愁如柳絮，依依梦里无寻处。此词写行云：几日行云何处去？忘却归来，不道春将暮——写几日行云何处去、忘却归来、不道春将暮，写尽不道春将的暮；百草千花寒食路，香车系在谁家树——写百草千花寒食路、香车系在谁家树，写尽香车系在的谁家树；泪眼倚楼频独语——写泪眼倚楼频独语，写尽泪眼倚楼的频独语；双燕来时，陌上相逢否——写双燕来时、陌上相逢否，写尽陌上相逢的相逢否；撩乱春愁如柳絮，依依梦里无寻处——写撩乱春愁如柳絮、依依梦里无寻处，写尽依依梦里的无寻处。全词以闺怨写春怨——那「香车系在谁家树」写尽香车系在的谁家树，「依依梦里无寻处」写尽依依梦里的无寻处，写尽香车系在的谁家树与依依梦里的无寻处，是理解欧阳修春怨词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「几日行云何处去？忘却归来，不道春将暮」写不道春将的暮；「撩乱春愁如柳絮，依依梦里无寻处」写依依梦里的无寻处；以及全词以闺怨写春怨、以比喻写春愁的手法。

Background

Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072), courtesy name Yongshu, sobriquets Zuiweng and Liuyi Jushi, was a native of Yongfeng in Jizhou (modern Jiangxi). A statesman and leader of the literary world of the Northern Song—vice commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs and assistant grand councilor, one of the 'Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song,' posthumously titled Wenzhong—he also wrote boudoir-longing ci in the tradition of Feng Yansi. This mid-length lyric follows that tradition: spring at its height, a wife watching the festival roads, and a wandering 'cloud' who has forgotten the way home. Its attribution among early Song anthologies varies, but it has long been read as Ouyang Xiu's.

此词写春怨，以闺怨写春怨，是欧阳修的名篇。欧阳修（1007—1072），字永叔，号醉翁、六一居士，吉州永丰（今江西永丰）人，北宋政治家、文学家，官至枢密副使、参知政事，为「唐宋八大家」之一，谥文忠，世称「欧阳文忠公」。此词为欧阳修写其春日闺中之情，写其春怨中的思念。欧阳修此词写春日行云与闺中倚楼。此词写几日行云何处去？忘却归来，不道春将暮；百草千花寒食路，香车系在谁家树；泪眼倚楼频独语；双燕来时，陌上相逢否；撩乱春愁如柳絮，依依梦里无寻处。此词写行云：「几日行云何处去？忘却归来，不道春将暮」写几日行云何处去、忘却归来、不道春将暮——写尽不道春将的暮（几日行云何处去？忘却归来，不道春将暮）；「百草千花寒食路，香车系在谁家树」写百草千花寒食路、香车系在谁家树——写尽香车系在的谁家树（百草千花寒食路，香车系在谁家树）；「泪眼倚楼频独语」写泪眼倚楼频独语——写尽泪眼倚楼的频独语（泪眼倚楼频独语）；「双燕来时，陌上相逢否」写双燕来时、陌上相逢否——写尽陌上相逢的相逢否（双燕来时，陌上相逢否）；「撩乱春愁如柳絮，依依梦里无寻处」写撩乱春愁如柳絮、依依梦里无寻处——写尽依依梦里的无寻处（撩乱春愁如柳絮，依依梦里无寻处）。全词以闺怨写春怨，写尽香车系在的谁家树与依依梦里的无寻处，是理解欧阳修春怨词的重要篇章。

Art

Four devices carry the ci. First, a rhetorical question opens it: 'where have the drifting clouds gone?'—the question is really an accusation, and 'you forget to come home' turns weather into a faithless lover. Second, a second question sharpens jealousy: 'by whose tree is the fragrant carriage tied?'—the guess displaces pain onto a concrete, unanswerable image. Third, plain description presents the watcher: 'tearful eyes leaning on the tower, murmuring alone,' with the paired swallows making her solitude visible and prompting a third question. Fourth, simile closes the ci: spring sorrow 'tangled like willow catkins'—the windblown catkins mirror a mind that scatters in every direction, and 'in lingering dreams, nowhere to find him' carries the longing past waking into sleep without release. Question after question, image after image, the ci builds the psychology of the boudoir lament with deep restraint.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以设问写行云。「几日行云何处去」以设问写行云——那「忘却归来，不道春将暮」写尽不道春将的暮，以设问写尽不道春将的暮。其二，以猜测写相思。「香车系在谁家树」以猜测写相思——那「百草千花寒食路」写尽百草千花的寒食路，以猜测写尽香车系在的谁家树。其三，以白描写倚楼。「泪眼倚楼频独语」以白描写倚楼——那「双燕来时，陌上相逢否」写尽陌上相逢的相逢否，以白描写尽陌上相逢的相逢否。其四，以比喻写春愁。「撩乱春愁如柳絮」以比喻写春愁——那「依依梦里无寻处」写尽依依梦里的无寻处，以比喻写尽依依梦里的无寻处。此外，此词上阕写香车系在的谁家树，下阕写依依梦里的无寻处，由问及思，正是春怨词「以问写怨」的写法。四重手法，使此词以闺怨写春怨，写尽香车系在的谁家树与依依梦里的无寻处，是欧阳修的代表作。

Allusions

The diction is rooted in the boudoir-lament tradition. 'Drifting clouds' (xing yun) had long suggested the elusive, inconstant beloved, as in the ancient 'Gao Tang' legends of the goddess who came and went as a cloud. The 'Cold Food road' recalls Han Hong's 'in the spring city everywhere flowers fly,' the festival of spring outings. 'Fragrant carriage' is the standard vehicle of aristocratic pleasure-seekers. The paired swallows bring the counterpoint of togetherness familiar from Liu Yuxi's 'the swallows before the halls of Wang and Xie.' 'Leaning on the tower' with tears recalls Li Yu's 'alone I climb the west tower without a word.' The catkins follow Xie Daoyun's famous comparison of snow to 'willow catkins rising on the wind,' and the dream that cannot hold him echoes Li Yu's 'in dream I do not know I am a guest.' Ouyang Xiu's gift is to ask, not assert—to let the questions themselves become the lament.

此词的用语深植于春怨与闺怨传统。「行云」令人想到「行云」写行云的意象——也令人想到「行云流水」的意象；「何处去」令人想到「何处去」写何处的意象——也令人想到「问君能有几多愁」的意象；「归来」令人想到「归来」写归来的意象——也令人想到「归去来兮」（陶渊明）的意象；「春将暮」令人想到「春将暮」写春暮的意象——也令人想到「林花谢了春红，太匆匆」（李煜）的意象；「百草千花」令人想到「百草千花」写花草的意象——也令人想到「乱花渐欲迷人眼」（白居易）的意象；「寒食路」令人想到「寒食路」写寒食的意象——也令人想到「春城无处不飞花」（韩翃）的意象；「香车」令人想到「香车」写香车的意象——也令人想到「香车宝马」的意象；「谁家树」令人想到「谁家树」写谁家的意象——也令人想到「日暮掩柴扉」的意象；「泪眼」令人想到「泪眼」写泪眼的意象——也令人想到「泪眼问花花不语」（欧阳修）的意象；「倚楼」令人想到「倚楼」写倚楼的意象——也令人想到「无言独上西楼」（李煜）的意象；「独语」令人想到「独语」写独语的意象——也令人想到「自言自语」的意象；「双燕」令人想到「双燕」写双燕的意象——也令人想到「旧时王谢堂前燕」（刘禹锡）的意象；「陌上」令人想到「陌上」写陌上的意象——也令人想到「陌上花开，可缓缓归矣」的意象；「相逢否」令人想到「相逢否」写相逢的意象——也令人想到「人生何处不相逢」的意象；「柳絮」令人想到「柳絮」写柳絮的意象——也令人想到「柳絮因风起」（谢道韫）的意象；「梦里」令人想到「梦里」写梦里的意象——也令人想到「梦里不知身是客」（李煜）的意象。全词化用行云、何处去、归来、春将暮、百草千花、寒食路、香车、谁家树、泪眼、倚楼、独语、双燕、陌上、相逢否、柳絮、梦里的意象，以闺怨写春怨，正是欧阳修「深婉」而善设问、承冯延巳传统写闺怨之本领。

Commentary

This ci has long been ranked among Ouyang Xiu's finest spring-lament lyrics and a representative work of early Song boudoir poetry. Qing critics praised its 'deep and reserved' treatment of spring grievance, and modern readers treasure the opening question 'Day after day, drifting clouds—where have you gone?' as one of the most famous lines in the genre. In ci history its value lies in the way a mid-length song sustains a single obsession through three linked questions, ending in catkins and a dream that finds nothing. Read beside Ouyang Xiu's other 'Butterflies Love Flowers' ('How deep is the deep courtyard?'), with its 'tearful eyes ask the flowers, the flowers do not speak,' it shows two aspects of his boudoir verse: one sealed inside the deep courtyard, one out on the spring roads following a cloud. Together they define the deep-wan (deep reserve) style attributed to him and, by tradition, to Feng Yansi before him.

此词历来被推为欧阳修春怨词的名篇，也是宋初词写春闺幽怨的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以闺怨写春怨，深婉含蓄」；近人更指出「几日行云何处去？忘却归来，不道春将暮」写不道春将的暮，是此词的名句。在词史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以中调写尽香车系在的谁家树与依依梦里的无寻处——那几日，那行云，那何处去，那忘却，那归来，那不道，那春将暮，那百草，那千花，那寒食路，那香车，那系在，那谁家树，那泪眼，那倚楼，那频独语，那双燕，那来时，那陌上，那相逢否，那撩乱，那春愁，那如柳絮，那依依，那梦里，那无寻处，都写尽了欧阳修笔下的蝶恋花几日行云何处去；那「撩乱春愁如柳絮」更以比喻写尽撩乱的春愁。此词与欧阳修《蝶恋花·庭院深深深几许》「庭院深深深几许」同为春怨名篇，一写「泪眼问花花不语」的庭院深深，一写「几日行云何处去」的几日行云；一写深闺，一写春路。两词对读，可见欧阳修春怨词的两面。对于今日读者，此词是理解欧阳修春怨词的窗口，也是宋初词写春闺幽怨的经典——那依依梦里的无寻处，穿越千年，仍在诉说着香车系在的谁家树。

Prosody

Form Ci to the tune 'Butterflies Love Flowers' (Die Lian Hua), a mid-length lyric in two stanzas词·蝶恋花

Rhyme Oblique-tone rhymes throughout: upper stanza 去, 暮, 树; lower stanza 语, 否, 处 — oblique rhyme maintained to the end蝶恋花，上阕押「去」「暮」「树」，下阕押「语」「否」「处」（仄韵御遇韵），仄韵到底

Tone pattern The persistent falling rhymes give the song a soft, sinking cadence—deep and reserved, matching the restrained sadness of the boudoir lament此词为蝶恋花中调，押仄声韵，仄韵到底，音节深婉，正合春怨的深婉。

Reading note In the Die Lian Hua pattern every major pause carries a rhyme, so the recurring oblique endings (qu, mu, shu, yu, fou, chu) create a murmuring, unresolved music that suits a mind that keeps questioning. Read the opening question lightly and lingeringly, press harder on 'by whose tree is the fragrant carriage tied,' let 'murmuring to myself again and again' fall almost to a whisper, and close on the catkin simile with a fading, trailing voice—the afterglow must survive the last word.此词为蝶恋花中调，上下两阕——上阕「几日行云何处去？忘却归来，不道春将暮。百草千花寒食路，香车系在谁家树」，下阕「泪眼倚楼频独语。双燕来时，陌上相逢否？撩乱春愁如柳絮，依依梦里无寻处」，押仄韵（去、暮、树、语、否、处），仄韵到底，音节深婉。全词以闺怨写春怨：上阕写香车系在的谁家树（几日行云何处去、百草千花寒食路），下阕写依依梦里的无寻处（泪眼倚楼频独语、撩乱春愁如柳絮）。中调铺叙，前写行云，后写春愁，以「依依梦里无寻处」写尽依依梦里的无寻处，正见欧阳修「深婉」的本色。诵读此词，宜以深婉的语调读「几日行云何处去」的行云，以低回的语调读「依依梦里无寻处」的春愁，结句要读得深婉而有余韵，方能传达出欧阳修的深婉含蓄。欧阳修中调以「深婉」著称，此词正是其春怨词的典范。

Line by line

几日行云何处去？忘却归来，不道春将暮

Day after day, drifting clouds—where have you gone? You forget to come home, heedless that spring is nearly over.

几日行云何处去？忘却归来，不道春将暮。

These last days, like a drifting cloud, where have you gone? You have forgotten to return, unheeding that spring is already in its twilight.

此三句是全词写行云的核心，以几日行云何处去写何处去，以忘却归来写归来，以不道春将暮写春将暮，写尽不道春将的暮，是千古名句。「几日行云何处去」写几日行云何处去——那「几日行云」写几日行云，「何处去」写何处去，写尽几日行云的何处去；「忘却归来」写忘却归来——那「忘却」写忘却，「归来」写归来，写尽忘却的归来；「不道春将暮」写不道春将暮——那「不道」写不道，「春将暮」写春将暮，写尽不道的春将暮。这句的深意在于：它以「几日行云何处去」的何处去、「忘却归来」的归来与「不道春将暮」的春将暮，写尽不道春将的暮——几日行云何处去，那「几日行云何处去」写尽几日行云的何处去——几日行云何处去，正是行云无定的写照，那「何处去」写尽不道春将的暮；忘却归来，那「忘却归来」写尽忘却的归来——忘却归来，正是忘却归来的写照，那「归来」写尽不道春将的暮；不道春将暮，那「不道春将暮」写尽不道的春将暮——不道春将暮，正是不管春暮的写照，那「春将暮」写尽不道春将的暮；那「几日行云何处去」写尽几日行云的何处去，那「忘却归来」写尽忘却的归来，那「不道春将暮」写尽不道的春将暮，一写何处去，一写归来，一写春将暮，写尽不道春将的暮——行云无定而忘却归来，正是春怨的写照；此三句以何处去、归来、春将暮写尽不道春将的暮，也为下文的寒食路作铺垫，也让此三句成为全词写行云的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「行云几日去了何处？忘了归来，不管春已将暮」，则失其深婉；唯以「几日行云何处去」写何处去、「忘却归来」写归来、「不道春将暮」写春将暮，写尽不道春将的暮，也让此三句成为全词写行云的核心。

The abandoned woman opens with a question to her absent lover. These last days, like a drifting cloud, where have you gone? The comparison to a cloud is the accusation: he moves as the wind takes him, with no fixed place. You have forgotten to return, she says, unheeding that spring is already in its twilight—spring, and youth, are running out, and he does not notice. The question is not really asking; it is reproach. To have said where have you been would be a demand; the drifting cloud that forgot the return is the reproach.

撩乱春愁如柳絮，依依梦里无寻处

My tangled spring sorrow flutters like willow catkins; even in lingering dreams there is nowhere to find him.

撩乱春愁如柳絮，依依梦里无寻处。

My tangled spring grief is like willow catkins; in the clinging dream, there is nowhere to find you.

此二句是全词写春愁的核心，以撩乱春愁如柳絮写柳絮，以依依梦里无寻处写无寻处，写尽依依梦里的无寻处，是千古名句。「撩乱春愁如柳絮」写撩乱春愁如柳絮——那「撩乱春愁」写撩乱春愁，「如柳絮」写如柳絮，写尽撩乱春愁的如柳絮；「依依梦里无寻处」写依依梦里无寻处——那「依依梦里」写依依梦里，「无寻处」写无寻处，写尽依依梦里的无寻处。这句的深意在于：它以「撩乱春愁如柳絮」的柳絮与「依依梦里无寻处」的无寻处，写尽依依梦里的无寻处——撩乱春愁如柳絮，那「撩乱春愁如柳絮」写尽撩乱春愁的如柳絮——撩乱春愁如柳絮，正是春愁如絮的写照，那「柳絮」写尽依依梦里的无寻处；依依梦里无寻处，那「依依梦里无寻处」写尽依依梦里的无寻处——依依梦里无寻处，正是梦里难寻的写照，那「无寻处」写尽依依梦里的无寻处；那「撩乱春愁如柳絮」写尽撩乱春愁的如柳絮，那「依依梦里无寻处」写尽依依梦里的无寻处，一写柳絮，一写无寻处，写尽依依梦里的无寻处——春愁如絮而梦里难寻，正是春怨的写照；此二句以柳絮、无寻处写尽依依梦里的无寻处，也让此二句成为全词写春愁的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「撩乱的春愁像柳絮，依依的梦里也无处可寻」，则失其含蓄；唯以「撩乱春愁如柳絮」写柳絮、「依依梦里无寻处」写无寻处，写尽依依梦里的无寻处，也让此二句成为全词写春愁的核心。

The closing converts the grief into weather. My tangled spring grief is like willow catkins—wild, countless, blowing everywhere. In the clinging dream, there is nowhere to find you: even in sleep, where she should be able to meet him, the dream offers no trace. The catkins are both the grief and the spring ending. To have said I was bewildered with longing and dreamed of you in vain would be plain; the catkin-grief and the dream with no trace of you are the longing.

Study

Word focus

问 'Wèn' (to ask): the opening question 'where have you gone?' is the hinge of the whole ci—asking the clouds where they have gone is at once questioning the weather and reproaching the absent lover; the frequency of the questions measures the intensity of the longing, and the question that never gets answered becomes the form of the lament itself. 「几日行云何处去」之「问」字是写行云关键词，一个「问」字写尽几日行云的何处去。问者，发问、疑问也。欧阳修以「几日行云何处去」写行云，这个「问」字至少有双重意味：其一，写云之问——那「几日行云何处去」写几日行云何处去，那「问」字写尽几日行云的何处去——何处去，正是问云何处的写照，那「问」字写尽几日行云的何处去；其二，写情之怨——那「问」字更是写怨——问，正见思极而问的意味，那「问」字写尽欧阳修的春怨。以「问」字写行云，正是欧阳修写闺怨的枢纽——若换作「知」「思」等字，则或失其与「几日行云何处去」「忘却归来」的配合，或失其写问的意味；唯「问」字，以几日行云何处去写尽问云之切与怨情之深，与「忘却归来」的归来相合，写尽几日行云的何处去，也让「几日行云何处去」成为全词写行云的名句。

撩 'Liáo' (to stir up, tangle): the verb suggests fingers idly provoking and disturbing—spring sorrow is not merely present but actively stirred into disorder, like catkins whirled by wind. It carries both the tossing motion of the catkins and the restless, disordered mind, so the outer scene and the inner state are tied together by one word. 「撩乱春愁如柳絮」之「撩」字是写春愁关键词，一个「撩」字写尽撩乱春愁的如柳絮。撩者，撩拨、搅乱也。欧阳修以「撩乱春愁如柳絮」写春愁，这个「撩」字至少有双重意味：其一，写愁之撩——那「撩乱春愁如柳絮」写撩乱春愁如柳絮，那「撩」字写尽撩乱春愁的如柳絮——撩乱，正是春愁撩乱的写照，那「撩」字写尽撩乱春愁的如柳絮；其二，写绪之乱——那「撩」字更是写乱——撩，正见思绪纷乱的意味，那「撩」字写尽欧阳修的春怨。以「撩」字写春愁，正是欧阳修写闺怨的枢纽——若换作「搅」「引」等字，则或失其与「撩乱春愁如柳絮」「依依梦里无寻处」的配合，或失其写撩的意味；唯「撩」字，以撩乱春愁如柳絮写尽春愁之撩乱与思绪之纷扰，与「依依梦里无寻处」的无寻处相合，写尽撩乱春愁的如柳絮，也让「撩乱春愁如柳絮」成为全词写春愁的名句。