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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

汉宫春·立春日

Han Gong Chun · On the Day of Spring's Beginning (汉宫春·立春日)

辛弃疾

Xin Qiji

立春The Beginning of Spring 感慨Meditations

春已归来，看美人头上，袅袅春幡。
无端风雨，未肯收尽余寒。
年时燕子，料今宵、梦到西园。
浑未办、黄柑荐酒，更传青韭堆盘。
却笑东风从此，便薰梅染柳，更没些闲。
闲时又来镜里，转变朱颜。
清愁不断，问何人会解连环。
生怕见花开花落，朝来塞雁先还。

Spring has returned. Look at the lovely woman's head,
where the spring pennants sway.
Unexpected wind and rain,
that will not let the remnant cold be done away.
Last year's swallows —
I guess that tonight they dream of the West Garden.
There is not yet a yellow tangerine to offer in wine,
no green leek heaped on the plate.
But laugh at the east wind, that从此
must steep the plum and dye the willow,
and has not a moment's leisure.
In idle moments it comes into the mirror
and changes my youth-soft face.
My quiet sorrow will not break;
who could understand a ring unloosed?
I dread to see the flowers open and fallen;
even now the wild geese of the frontier have gone back first.

Listen

Meaning

On the day spring begins, Xin Qiji watches spring flags in a woman's hair and the cold that风雨 will not let go, and thinks of the swallows that once knew the West Garden. He mocks the east wind for costing no time in colouring plum and willow, and then sees, in his own mirror, that the same wind has changed his face. What remains is a sorrow that will not be resolved — the plea of a ring that cannot be undone — and a fear of the flowers' opening and falling, while the geese of the frontier go back first.

春已归来，看美人头上，袅袅春幡。无端风雨，未肯收尽余寒。年时燕子，料今宵、梦到西园。浑未办、黄柑荐酒，更传青韭堆盘。却笑东风从此，便薰梅染柳，更没些闲。闲时又来镜里，转变朱颜。清愁不断，问何人会解连环。生怕见花开花落，朝来塞雁先还。

Appreciation

[Structure] The song is in two stanzas. The first takes the season as it should be, with its pennants, its swallows and its custom of the spring plate; the second breaks that picture, first with the wind that has no leisure to make spring welcome, and then with the mirror. The movement from spring to the mirror is the movement of the whole poem. [Imagery] The spring symbols are all traditional and all surface — the pennant on the hair, the tangerine wine, the green leek, the swallow — and they are held against two intruders: the wind and rain that will not end, and the mirror that will not change its mind. [Diction] 无端, unexplained, and 未肯, not willing, are the pair that give the poem its irritable weather: the wind is not simply bad, it is unreasoned and unresponsive. 料, I guess, keeps the swallows' dream at a distance and so keeps the feeling at a distance too. [Feeling] The sorrow is described as 清愁, quiet sorrow rather than grief, which is what allows the poet to joke with the east wind and then be wounded by his own reflection. The last lines widen the frame: the flowers' opening and falling are the same event as his own aging, and the geese have already gone back.

【白话串讲】辛弃疾写《汉宫春·立春日》：“春已归来，看美人头上，袅袅春幡”——“无端风雨，未肯收尽余寒”——“年时燕子，料今宵、梦到西园”——“却笑东风从此，便薰梅染柳，更没些闲”——“闲时又来镜里，转变朱颜”——他写立春——春已归来。【意象与手法】此词写节令，以感慨写节令，是辛弃疾的名篇。上片写立春：「春已归来，看美人头上，袅袅春幡。无端风雨，未肯收尽余寒」写春已归来、看美人头上、袅袅春幡——写尽立春的春幡；下片写感慨：「却笑东风从此，便薰梅染柳，更没些闲。闲时又来镜里，转变朱颜」写却笑东风从此、便薰梅染柳、更没些闲——写尽朱颜的转变。全词以感慨写节令，写尽立春的春幡与朱颜的转变，是辛弃疾的代表作。【情感与主旨】此词写节令，以感慨写节令，是辛弃疾的名篇。此词为辛弃疾立春日所作，写立春之景与年华之叹。辛弃疾生于沦陷之地，南归后壮志难酬，立春时节，见美人头上袅袅春幡，感春之归来，而自己朱颜已改，遂有清愁不断之叹。上片写春已归来，看美人头上、袅袅春幡；无端风雨、未肯收尽余寒；年时燕子、料今宵、梦到西园；浑未办、黄柑荐酒，更传青韭堆盘。下片写却笑东风从此、便薰梅染柳、更没些闲；闲时又来镜里、转变朱颜；清愁不断、问何人会解连环；生怕见花开花落、朝来塞雁先还。此词写立春：春已归来，看美人头上，袅袅春幡——写春已归来、看美人头上、袅袅春幡，写尽立春的春幡；无端风雨，未肯收尽余寒——写无端风雨、未肯收尽余寒，写尽未尽的余寒；年时燕子，料今宵、梦到西园——写年时燕子、料今宵、梦到西园，写尽梦到的西园；浑未办、黄柑荐酒，更传青韭堆盘——写浑未办、黄柑荐酒、更传青韭堆盘，写尽青韭的堆盘；却笑东风从此，便薰梅染柳，更没些闲——写却笑东风从此、便薰梅染柳、更没些闲，写尽薰梅的东风；闲时又来镜里，转变朱颜——写闲时又来镜里、转变朱颜，写尽朱颜的转变；清愁不断，问何人会解连环——写清愁不断、问何人会解连环，写尽不解的连环；生怕见花开花落，朝来塞雁先还——写生怕见花开花落、朝来塞雁先还，写尽塞雁的先还。全词以感慨写节令——那「袅袅春幡」写尽立春的春幡，「转变朱颜」写尽朱颜的转变，写尽立春的春幡与朱颜的转变，是理解辛弃疾节令词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「春已归来，看美人头上，袅袅春幡」写立春的春幡；「清愁不断，问何人会解连环」写不解的连环；以及全词以感慨写节令、以春景写愁怀的手法。

Background

Xin Qiji (1140–1207), courtesy name You'an, self-styled Jiaxuan, was from Licheng, that is Jinan in Shandong. He was a ci writer of the Southern Song and the greatest of the heroic school, paired in fame with Su Shi and called the dragon among ci poets. Born under Jurchen rule, he returned to Song territory in his youth and spent his life in offices that never gave him the command he sought; the wish for recovery of the north is the thread running through his work. This song was written on the day of the beginning of spring, when the custom was for women to wear paper or silk pennants and for the household to offer yellow tangerine wine and a plate of green leeks. Xin's《摸鱼儿》, on the passing of spring, is the other famous song of the same season in his work.

此词写节令，以感慨写节令，是辛弃疾的名篇。辛弃疾（1140—1207），字幼安，号稼轩，历城（今山东济南）人，南宋豪放派词人，与苏轼并称「苏辛」，有「词中之龙」之称。此词为辛弃疾立春日所作，写立春之景与年华之叹。辛弃疾生于沦陷之地，南归后壮志难酬，立春时节，见美人头上袅袅春幡，感春之归来，而自己朱颜已改，遂有清愁不断之叹。上片写春已归来，看美人头上、袅袅春幡；无端风雨、未肯收尽余寒；年时燕子、料今宵、梦到西园；浑未办、黄柑荐酒，更传青韭堆盘。下片写却笑东风从此、便薰梅染柳、更没些闲；闲时又来镜里、转变朱颜；清愁不断、问何人会解连环；生怕见花开花落、朝来塞雁先还。此词写立春：「春已归来，看美人头上，袅袅春幡」写春已归来、看美人头上、袅袅春幡——写尽立春的春幡（春已归来，看美人头上，袅袅春幡）；「无端风雨，未肯收尽余寒」写无端风雨、未肯收尽余寒——写尽未尽的余寒（无端风雨，未肯收尽余寒）；「年时燕子，料今宵、梦到西园」写年时燕子、料今宵、梦到西园——写尽梦到的西园（年时燕子，料今宵、梦到西园）；「浑未办、黄柑荐酒，更传青韭堆盘」写浑未办、黄柑荐酒、更传青韭堆盘——写尽青韭的堆盘（浑未办、黄柑荐酒，更传青韭堆盘）；「却笑东风从此，便薰梅染柳，更没些闲」写却笑东风从此、便薰梅染柳、更没些闲——写尽薰梅的东风（却笑东风从此，便薰梅染柳，更没些闲）；「闲时又来镜里，转变朱颜」写闲时又来镜里、转变朱颜——写尽朱颜的转变（闲时又来镜里，转变朱颜）；「清愁不断，问何人会解连环」写清愁不断、问何人会解连环——写尽不解的连环（清愁不断，问何人会解连环）；「生怕见花开花落，朝来塞雁先还」写生怕见花开花落、朝来塞雁先还——写尽塞雁的先还（生怕见花开花落，朝来塞雁先还）。全词以感慨写节令，写尽立春的春幡与朱颜的转变，是理解辛弃疾节令词的重要篇章。

Art

The song can be analysed on four levels. First, detail gives the festival: "Look at the lovely woman's head, where the spring pennants sway" — a small, exact observation rather than a general description of spring. Second,拟人 gives the weather its character: "Unexpected wind and rain, that will not let the remnant cold be done away," and the east wind is made a figure with no leisure at all. Third, a question carries the mood: "who could understand a ring unloosed?" — the plea of a knot from the《Zhan Guo Ce》, and an image for a sorrow with no agreed solution. Fourth, something is entrusted to an object: "I dread to see the flowers open and fallen" leaves the sorrow hanging on the flowers rather than on the speaker. The most skilful turns are two. The east wind that is mocked for dyeing plum and willow is the very wind that enters the mirror and changes 朱颜, so the joke turns without warning into its own refutation. And the geese, which are supposed to be a sign of spring arriving, are said to have gone back first, which is a way of saying that the frontier has news the poet cannot have. The metrical pattern of the 汉宫春 tune is long and level-toned, and the even cadence makes the irregular emotions all the more marked.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以细节写立春。「看美人头上，袅袅春幡」以细节写立春——那「袅袅春幡」写尽美人的春幡，以细节写尽立春的春幡。其二，以拟人写东风。「却笑东风从此」以拟人写东风——那「薰梅染柳」写尽东风的薰梅，以拟人写尽薰梅的东风。其三，以设问写清愁。「问何人会解连环」以设问写清愁——那「会解连环」用《战国策》解连环典写清愁，以设问写尽不解的连环。其四，以托物写愁怀。「生怕见花开花落」以托物写愁怀——那「花开花落」写尽花落的愁怀，以托物写尽塞雁的先还。此外，此词上片写立春的春幡，下片写朱颜的转变，由春及愁，正是节令词「以春写愁」的写法。四重手法，使此词以感慨写节令，写尽立春的春幡与朱颜的转变，是辛弃疾的代表作。此词还善于以「无端风雨，未肯收尽余寒」的「无端」「未肯」写风雨之余寒——那「无端风雨」写尽无端的风雨，「未肯收尽余寒」写尽未尽的余寒，正是以反常写春寒，以「无端」写尽立春的余寒。又善以「年时燕子，料今宵、梦到西园」的「料」字写想象之梦——料今宵梦到西园，正见燕子归梦的怅惘，以「料」字写尽梦到的西园。

Allusions

The images belong to the customs of the day and to the classics of Poetry. 春幡 is the pennant worn on the day of spring's beginning, cut from silk or paper and fastened in the hair. 黄柑荐酒, offering yellow tangerine wine, is the rite of the season, and stands beside the older custom of offering pepper-plate wine. 青韭堆盘 is the green leek heaped on the spring plate, the food called 咬春, biting spring; the plate is the Spring Festival plate of later times. 解连环 comes from the《Zhan Guo Ce》, where the lady of the state of Qi unfastened a jade ring that no one else could undo, by striking it with a hairpin — an image here for a sorrow that has no resolution. 西园 recalls the Western Garden of Cao Zhi's night out. 塞雁, the geese of the frontier, carry the line of Li Qingzhao about letters in the form of goose shapes. Allusion andcustom are woven together so closely that the song never has to explain itself.

此词的用语深植于节令与感慨传统。「春幡」令人想到「春幡」写立春幡饰的意象——立春日戴春幡，也令人想到「春幡袅袅」的意象；「黄柑荐酒」令人想到「黄柑荐酒」写立春荐酒的意象——立春日以黄柑荐酒，也令人想到「椒盘荐酒」的意象；「青韭堆盘」令人想到「青韭堆盘」写春盘青韭的意象——立春日以青韭堆盘，也令人想到「咬春」的意象；「解连环」令人想到「解连环」写解连环的意象——《战国策》齐君王后解玉连环，也令人想到「连环可解」的意象；「塞雁」令人想到「塞雁」写塞北大雁的意象——也令人想到「雁字回时」（李清照）的意象；「西园」令人想到「西园」写园林的意象——也令人想到「清夜游西园」（曹植）的意象。全词化用春幡、黄柑荐酒、青韭堆盘、解连环、塞雁、西园的意象典故，以感慨写节令，正是辛弃疾「豪放」而善用典、承节令传统写愁怀之本领。「春幡」令人想到「春幡」写立春幡饰的意象——立春日妇女剪彩为幡戴于头上，也令人想到「幡胜」的意象；「连环」令人想到「连环」写玉连环的意象——《战国策》齐君王后引锥破之而解连环，也令人想到「九连环」的意象，以连环写清愁之难解。

Commentary

This song has long been ranked among the best of Xin Qiji's poems on the seasons and is a representative of Song ci on the beginning of spring. Later readers have valued it for the way the joke with the east wind turns back on the poet; the line "my quiet sorrow will not break; who could understand a ring unloosed?" is usually named as the one that carries the song. Its place in the history of ci is as an example of the heroic school writing about a minor occasion: the festivals of the year are treated as occasions for a political and personal reckoning rather than as decorations. It reads most closely with the《摸鱼儿》"How many more times can the rain and wind spare the spring, that it should leave so hurriedly?" — one at the beginning of spring, one at its end — and the complaint is the same in both. For a modern reader, the song remains the best door onto Xin Qiji's season-poetry, and the geese that have gone back still speak of a frontier the poet never reached.

此词历来被推为辛弃疾节令词的名篇，也是宋词写立春的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以感慨写节令，深婉含蓄」；近人更指出「清愁不断，问何人会解连环」写不解的连环，是此词的名句。在词史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以两片的长调写尽立春的春幡与朱颜的转变——那春已归来，那看美人头上，那袅袅春幡，那无端风雨，那未肯收尽余寒，那年时燕子，那料今宵，那梦到西园，那浑未办，那黄柑荐酒，那更传青韭堆盘，那却笑东风从此，那便薰梅染柳，那更没些闲，那闲时又来镜里，那转变朱颜，那清愁不断，那问何人会解连环，那生怕见花开花落，那朝来塞雁先还，都写尽了辛弃疾笔下的汉宫春；那「转变朱颜」更以镜里写尽朱颜的转变。此词与辛弃疾《摸鱼儿》（「更能消几番风雨」）同为感慨名篇，一写「惜春长怕花开早」的春愁（摸鱼儿），一写「清愁不断」的立春（汉宫春）；又与《战国策》解连环的典故传统一脉相承，可见中国词写节令的传统。对于今日读者，此词是理解辛弃疾节令词的窗口，也是宋词写立春的经典——那先还的塞雁，穿越千年，仍在诉说着朱颜的转变。

Prosody

Form Ci · the tune 汉宫春 (Han Gong Chun)词·汉宫春

Rhyme The tune of Han Gong Chun rhymes 幡, 寒, 园, 盘, 闲, 颜, 环, 还 on level tones, one rhyme sounded throughout.汉宫春，押「幡」「寒」「园」「盘」「闲」「颜」「环」「还」韵（平声），平韵到底

Tone pattern A song of the Han Gong Chun tune, rhymed throughout on level tones; the cadence is even and restrained, which suits the poem's restraint.此词为汉宫春词调，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节含蓄，正合节令的含蓄。

Reading note This is a two-stanza song of the tune 汉宫春; the first stanza runs "Spring has returned. Look at the lovely woman's head, where the spring pennants sway..." and the second "But laugh at the east wind, that从此 must steep the plum and dye the willow..." The tune rhymes throughout on level sounds (幡, 寒, 园, 盘, 闲, 颜, 环, 还) and keeps one rhyme from beginning to end, which gives the lines a slow, even, unhurried breath. Because the metre is so regular, the few breaks in it — the sudden mirror, the question about the ring — are felt as departures from a pattern the reader has already heard. When reading, the festival lines should be given their lightness, and the stanza closing on 朱颜 lowered, so that 深婉 is preserved. Xin Qiji's ci are famous for their force; this song shows how well he could hold himself in.此词为汉宫春词调，两片——上片「春已归来，看美人头上，袅袅春幡。无端风雨，未肯收尽余寒。年时燕子，料今宵、梦到西园。浑未办、黄柑荐酒，更传青韭堆盘」；下片「却笑东风从此，便薰梅染柳，更没些闲。闲时又来镜里，转变朱颜。清愁不断，问何人会解连环。生怕见花开花落，朝来塞雁先还」，押平韵（幡、寒、园、盘、闲、颜、环、还），一韵到底，音节含蓄。全词以感慨写节令：上片写立春的春幡（春已归来、袅袅春幡），下片写朱颜的转变（却笑东风从此、转变朱颜）。两片短章，前写立春，后写朱颜，以「转变朱颜」写尽朱颜的转变，正见辛弃疾「豪放」而善含蓄的本色。诵读此词，宜以含蓄的语调读「袅袅春幡」的立春，以低回的语调读「转变朱颜」的朱颜，结句要读得含蓄而有余韵，方能传达出辛弃疾的深婉含蓄。辛弃疾词以「豪放」著称，此词正是其节令词的典范。

Line by line

清愁不断，问何人会解连环

My quiet sorrow will not break; who could understand a ring unloosed?

清愁不断，问何人会解连环。

My quiet sorrows have no end; I ask, who can unknot the linked chain?

此二句是全词写清愁的核心，以清愁不断写不断，以问何人会解连环写解连环，写尽不解的连环，是千古名句。「清愁不断」写清愁不断——那「清愁」写清愁，「不断」写不断，写尽不断的清愁；「问何人会解连环」写问何人会解连环——那「问何人」写问何人，「会解连环」写会解连环，写尽解连环的无人。这句的深意在于：它以「清愁不断」的不断与「问何人会解连环」的解连环，写尽不解的连环——清愁不断，那「清愁不断」写尽不断的清愁——清愁不断，正是清愁难断的写照，那「不断」写尽不解的连环；问何人会解连环，那「问何人会解连环」写尽解连环的无人——问何人会解连环，正是问谁解愁的写照，那「会解连环」写尽不解的连环；那「清愁不断」写尽不断的清愁，那「问何人会解连环」写尽解连环的无人，一写不断，一写无人，写尽不解的连环——清愁不断而连环难解，正是愁怀的写照；此二句以不断、连环写尽不解的连环，也让此二句成为全词写清愁的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「清愁不断，不知谁能够解开我的愁绪」，则失其用典；唯以「清愁不断」写不断、「问何人会解连环」写解连环，写尽不解的连环，也让此二句成为全词写清愁的核心。

Xin Qiji's Li-chun ci opens on unresolved sorrow. My quiet sorrows have no end; I ask, who can unknot the linked chain? The allusion is to the Warring States envoy who, presented with a jade linked chain, smashed it with a hammer and declared it unlinked—the riddle answered by violence. Xin Qiji's sorrow, a country divided, has no such violent answer. The question who can is the admission that no one can. To have said my sorrow was endless would be a complaint; the linked chain with no unknotter is the endlessness.

春已归来，看美人头上，袅袅春幡

Spring has returned; look at the lovely woman's head, where the spring pennants sway softly.

春已归来，看美人头上，袅袅春幡。

Spring has already returned; see, on the beauties' heads, the spring banners flutter.

此三句是全词写立春的核心，以春已归来写归来，以看美人头上、袅袅春幡写春幡，写尽立春的春幡，是千古名句。「春已归来」写春已归来——那「春已」写春已，「归来」写归来，写尽春的归来；「看美人头上，袅袅春幡」写看美人头上、袅袅春幡——那「美人头上」写美人头上，「袅袅春幡」写袅袅春幡，写尽袅袅的春幡。这句的深意在于：它以「春已归来」的归来与「看美人头上，袅袅春幡」的春幡，写尽立春的春幡——春已归来，那「春已归来」写尽春的归来——春已归来，正是春天已回的写照，那「归来」写尽立春的春幡；看美人头上袅袅春幡，那「看美人头上，袅袅春幡」写尽袅袅的春幡——美人头上袅袅春幡，正是春幡摇曳的写照，那「袅袅春幡」写尽立春的春幡；那「春已归来」写尽春的归来，那「看美人头上，袅袅春幡」写尽袅袅的春幡，一写归来，一写春幡，写尽立春的春幡——春归而春幡袅袅，正是立春的写照；此三句以归来、春幡写尽立春的春幡，也为下文的余寒作铺垫，也让此三句成为全词写立春的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「春天回来了，看美人头上的春幡随风飘动」，则失其细腻；唯以「春已归来」写归来、「看美人头上，袅袅春幡」写春幡，写尽立春的春幡，也让此三句成为全词写立春的核心。

Then the festival arrives. Spring has already returned; see, on the beauties' heads, the spring banners flutter. On the Beginning of Spring, women wore small cloth banners in their hair, and the poet notices them fluttering—the first spring, despite his own unresolved sorrow. The beauty of the hair-banners is deliberately superficial against the earlier chain. To have described the spring festival would be a custom note; the fluttering spring banners on the women's heads are the festival.

Study

Word focus

袅袅 Meaning softly waving, slender and rising: 袅袅春幡 gives the pennant its light, fluttering movement, so that the spring is announced by a small thing in the hand rather than by weather. 「看美人头上，袅袅春幡」之「袅袅」是写春幡的关键词，一个「袅袅」写尽袅袅的春幡。袅袅者，随风飘动、细长柔美之状也。辛弃疾以「看美人头上，袅袅春幡」写春幡，这个「袅袅」至少有双重意味：其一，写幡之袅袅——那「看美人头上，袅袅春幡」写看美人头上、袅袅春幡，那「袅袅」写尽袅袅的春幡——袅袅春幡，正是春幡摇曳的写照，那「袅袅」写尽立春的春幡；其二，写春之柔——那「袅袅」更是写柔——袅袅，正见春风拂幡的柔美，那「袅袅」写尽辛弃疾的细腻。以「袅袅」写春幡，正是辛弃疾写节令的枢纽——若换作「飘飘」「摇摇」等词，则或失其与「美人头上」「春幡」的配合，或失其写袅袅的意味；唯「袅袅」二字，以看美人头上袅袅春幡写尽春幡之摇曳与春风之柔美，与「春已归来」的归来相合，写尽立春的春幡，也让「袅袅春幡」成为全词写春幡的名句。

生怕 Meaning I greatly fear, I dread: it marks the feeling as something to be avoided rather than argued with, so that the closing line becomes a dread of the season rather than a complaint about it. 「生怕见花开花落」之「生怕」是写愁怀的关键词，一个「生怕」写尽生怕的愁怀。生怕者，最怕、唯恐也。辛弃疾以「生怕见花开花落」写愁怀，这个「生怕」至少有双重意味：其一，写见之生怕——那「生怕见花开花落」写生怕见花开花落，那「生怕」写尽生怕的愁怀——生怕见花开花落，正是最怕花落的写照，那「生怕」写尽塞雁的先还；其二，写情之怯——那「生怕」更是写怯——生怕，正见惜春怯愁的深婉，那「生怕」写尽辛弃疾的感慨。以「生怕」写愁怀，正是辛弃疾写节令的枢纽——若换作「最怕」「唯恐」等词，则或失其与「见花开花落」「朝来塞雁先还」的配合，或失其写生怕的意味；唯「生怕」二字，以生怕见花开花落写尽最怕之花落与惜春之怯愁，与「朝来塞雁先还」的塞雁相合，写尽朱颜的转变，也让「生怕见花开花落」成为全词写愁怀的名句。