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清 Qing · 诗 Poem

绮怀

Tender Heart

黄景仁

Huang Jingren

爱情love 感怀reflection 相思Longing 愁思sorrow

几回花下坐吹箫，银汉红墙入望遥。
似此星辰非昨夜，为谁风露立中宵。
缠绵思尽抽残茧，宛转心伤剥后蕉。
三五年时三五月，可怜杯酒不曾消。

How many times I sat beneath the flowers playing the flute; the Silver River and red wall, the view far.
As these stars are not last night's, for whom do I stand in wind and dew through the midnight?
Entangling thought spent, a drained cocoon; twisting heart-hurt, a peeled banana.
At fifteen years, the fifteenth-night moon—pity, this cup of wine has not dissolved it.

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Meaning

How many times I sat beneath the flowers playing the flute; she by the red wall, though near, was as far as the Silver River. These stars are not last night's; for whom do I stand in wind and dew through the midnight? Entangling thought spent like a drained cocoon; twisting heart-hurt like a peeled banana. Recalling her at fifteen, on the fifteenth-night moon—pity, this cup of wine has never dissolved my sorrow.

我多少次在花下坐着吹箫，那伊人所在的红墙虽近在咫尺，却如天上银河一般遥不可及。眼前的星辰已不是昨夜的星辰，我又是为了谁在风露中伫立到半夜？缠绵的情思已如抽尽了丝的残茧，宛转的心伤就像剥去了皮的芭蕉。回想她十五岁时的那个十五月夜，可叹我手中的这杯酒，竟始终无法消减心中的愁绪。诗人以追忆的笔触写一段无望的恋情，星辰依旧而人事已非，风露中宵的痴立与残茧剥蕉的比喻，把刻骨铭心的相思写得缠绵凄婉。

Appreciation

Huang Jingren, courtesy Hanyong and style Zhongze, from Wujin and one of the 'Seven of Piling', was orphaned at four and knew a life of poverty. The first couplet opens on the lovely scene of flute beneath flowers, then drops with 'Silver River, red wall' into near-yet-far. Its heart is the second couplet — 'As these stars are not last night's, for whom do I stand in wind and dew through the midnight' — whose contrast of last night and this night writes a lovestruck standing in wind and dew, beautiful and piercing; the third couplet's 'drained cocoon' and 'peeled banana' pun on thought and heart-hurt. Tonight's stars are not last night's; for whom he stands till dawn, thought spent like a drained cocoon, heart-hurt like a peeled banana — a plaintive, flowing grief learned from Li Shangyin yet with its own face.

【白话串讲】 “似此星辰非昨夜，为谁风露立中宵”——黄景仁写少年时的爱情：一样的星辰，却不是昨夜；我在风露里站到半夜，为了谁？“三五年时三五月”，美得让人心碎。【意象与手法】首联以花下吹箫的旖旎起笔，即以银汉红墙跌入咫尺天涯；颔联似此星辰非昨夜，为谁风露立中宵以今昔星辰对照写痴立风露，凄美警策；颈联抽残茧、剥后蕉以双关比喻写情思心伤，精工新警；尾联以三五年时三五月数字重沓追忆当年，以杯酒难消收束。全诗今昔交织、虚实相生，哀婉流转，学义山而自成面目。【情感与主旨】黄景仁四岁而孤，一生穷愁潦倒。少年时与表妹相恋而无果，后漂泊四方，《绮怀》十六首即追忆这段无望之情，此第十五首最为人称道。诗中写尽咫尺天涯的失落、今昔之隔的怅惘与情思枯竭的伤痛，把一段无望的初恋写得刻骨铭心，也融入了诗人一生穷愁的身世之感。【名句点睛】高频考点：一、颔联似此星辰非昨夜，为谁风露立中宵的意境与情感，物是人非与痴情独守；二、抽残茧、剥后蕉的双关与比喻，丝谐思、芯谐心；三、尾联数字重沓与以乐景写哀的手法；四、银汉红墙化用李商隐诗的渊源。作答时须结合黄景仁穷愁身世与李商隐无题传统。

Background

Huang Jingren, courtesy Hanyong, style Zhongze, from Wujin, one of the 'Seven of Piling'. Orphaned at four, a life of poverty. In youth he loved his cousin without result; later he wandered. The sixteen 'Tender Heart' poems recall this hopeless love; this fifteenth is most admired, likely written in his Qianlong-era down-and-out years.

黄景仁（一七四九至一七八三），字汉镛，一字仲则，江苏武进人，清代乾隆朝著名诗人，为毗陵七子之一。他四岁丧父，家道中落，一生穷愁潦倒，为谋生计奔走四方，屡应乡试不第，三十五岁即贫病而卒。少年时，黄景仁与表妹两情相悦，后因门第家道等原因未能成婚，表妹另嫁，这段无望的初恋成为他一生最深的隐痛。《绮怀》十六首即追忆这段情事之作，约作于乾隆三十九年前后诗人客居京师、穷愁落拓之时，以绮怀为题，取李商隐无题诗绮丽缠绵之意，其中以第十五首最为人称道，即本篇。诗中几回花下坐吹箫、三五年时三五月等句，深情追忆当年花前月下的旖旎，而似此星辰非昨夜、为谁风露立中宵的痴语，则写尽事过境迁、佳人已远的绝望。黄景仁诗以哀感顽艳著称，此诗正是其以一生穷愁与一腔痴情铸成的代表作，历来与李商隐的无题诗并称，是清代爱情诗的绝唱。

Art

The first couplet opens with the lovely scene of flute beneath flowers, then drops with 'Silver River red wall' into near-yet-far; the second couplet 'As these stars are not last night's, for whom do I stand in wind and dew through the midnight' contrasts last-night and this-night stars to write a lovestruck standing in wind-dew, beautiful and piercing; the third couplet 'drained cocoon' 'peeled banana' puns thought and heart-hurt; the last recalls the fifteenth-night moon, closing with wine not dissolving. Plaintive and flowing, learning Li Shangyin yet with its own face.

此诗为七律，章法回环，哀婉流转。首联以追忆起笔，几回花下坐吹箫，写当年花下吹箫的旖旎情事，银汉红墙入望遥则笔锋陡转，以银汉之遥写红墙之近，咫尺天涯的失落感扑面而来。颔联似此星辰非昨夜，为谁风露立中宵，为全诗最警策处，以今昔星辰的对照写时间之无情，以风露中宵的痴立写思念之深执，一问之中痴绝凄美，把今昔之隔与独守之痴凝于十四字。颈联缠绵思尽抽残茧，宛转心伤剥后蕉，连用两个精工的比喻写情思之竭与心伤之深，残茧抽丝喻思之将尽，剥蕉见心喻伤之层层，比喻新警而贴切。尾联三五年时三五月，可怜杯酒不曾消，以数字重沓写当年十五岁少女与十五月夜的良辰美景，可怜二字陡转，杯酒不曾消写愁之难遣，以乐景写哀，倍增其哀。全诗今昔交织、虚实相生，由追忆而入痴想，由痴想而归怅惘，一气流贯，学李商隐无题诗而自出凄婉面目。

Allusions

'Silver River red wall' transforms Li Shangyin's 'Originally the Silver River is the red wall, keeping apart the Lu family's white-jade hall', marking near-yet-far; 'stars not last night' hints Li Shangyin's 'last night's stars, last night's wind'; 'wind and dew' from Gao Qi 'full of wind and dew I stand long'; 'thought' 'heart' pun (silk, core) inherits Li Shangyin's 'spring silkworm till death spins its silk'.

此诗用典融汇李商隐、高启诸家而能自铸新境。银汉红墙化用李商隐《代应》本来银汉是红墙，隔得卢家白玉堂之句，以银河与红墙并举，写近在咫尺却如隔天河的无奈，直承玉溪生咫尺天涯的意象传统。似此星辰非昨夜暗引李商隐《无题》昨夜星辰昨夜风之句，以星辰的永恒对照人事的变迁，今昨之间，怅惘自生。为谁风露立中宵，风露二字化用明初诗人高咏梅诗雪满山中高士卧，月明林下美人来及满身风露立多时的意境，写痴立夜露的孤绝之态。缠绵思尽抽残茧，宛转心伤剥后蕉两句，更暗承李商隐春蚕到死丝方尽之格，思谐丝，以抽丝喻情思之缠绵将尽；心谐芯，以剥蕉喻心伤之层层显露，双关精妙，与玉溪生以蚕丝蜡泪写相思同出一辙。黄景仁熔铸前人意象而不露痕迹，用典如己出，正见其学义山而能脱化的功力，故近人评其诗直逼玉溪。

Commentary

A modern critic says Huang Jingren's poetry 'never loses its charm, mournful yet touching'. This poem's line 'As these stars are not last night's' critics say 'directly rivals Yuxi (Li Shangyin)'; widely recited from late Qing to early Republic. Zhang Weiping's Poets' Biography says 'words of utmost feeling, fresh as ever after a thousand years'.

黄景仁诗以哀感顽艳著称于世，洪亮吉《北江诗话》称其诗如咽露秋虫、舞风病鹤，点出其凄清哀婉的独特风神。此诗似此星辰非昨夜，为谁风露立中宵一联，论者谓直逼玉溪（李商隐），清末民初传诵极广，几成黄仲则爱情诗的代表。张维屏《诗人征略》评其情至之语，千古如新，正指此类直抒肺腑、不假雕饰而感人至深的句子。郁达夫对黄景仁推崇备至，谓其诗是乾嘉诗坛的异数，以贫病之身写尽一代文人的穷愁。在清代诗史上，黄景仁上承袁枚性灵说的真情主张，下开近代感伤诗风的先声，《绮怀》十五首尤以深情绵邈、凄婉欲绝著称，与吴伟业、纳兰性德的哀感之作并称清代抒情诗的三绝。此诗写情之不可得而不失温柔敦厚，哀而不伤，怨而不怒，正是中国爱情诗深婉传统的殿军之作，对近代徐枕亚、苏曼殊一派的哀情文学亦有深远影响。又，诗中相思之痴绝，与纳兰性德人生若只如初见的哀感异曲同工，同为清代写情文学之极致。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated poem (seven-character lü)七言律诗

Rhyme Ping-shui rhyme, lower-level two xiao group (flute, far, midnight, banana, dissolve)押平水韵下平二萧韵，箫、遥、宵、蕉、消五字一韵到底，皆萧韵平声。

Tone pattern First line enters rhyme, level-onset level-close首句入韵，平起平收，中二联对仗精工，全诗基本合律。

Reading note Middle two couplets neatly antithetical, learning Li Shangyin's 'No Title' yet with its own plaintive grace.此诗为七言律诗，押下平二萧韵，韵脚箫遥宵蕉消皆为萧韵字，韵母悠长清亮，适写缠绵低回之情。首句几回花下坐吹箫入韵，平起平收；颔联似此星辰非昨夜，为谁风露立中宵，昨夜与中宵对仗工整而意脉相承，非与立两个动词相对，虚词实词搭配精妙；颈联缠绵思尽抽残茧，宛转心伤剥后蕉，思心、残茧后蕉、抽剥诸词两两相对，音义兼美，为全诗声律最工处。全诗平仄大体合律，唯个别字如几、为等作仄声处理，仍属七律正格。就声情而言，萧韵字音清扬悠远，正与诗中月下吹箫、风露中宵的意境相配，吟诵之际，缠绵悱恻之情随韵律流转。黄景仁学李商隐无题诗而自出机杼，七律的严整格律正是其将痴绝之情纳于法度之中的载体，哀感顽艳而不失律度，是其诗艺术成熟的重要标志。

Line by line

几回花下坐吹箫，银汉红墙入望遥。

How often I have sat among the flowers playing the flute, and the silver river, the red walls, stretch far into my gaze.

我多少次在花下坐着吹箫，那伊人所在的红墙虽近在咫尺，却如天上银河一般遥不可及。

How many times have I sat beneath the flowers playing the flute; the red walls where she dwells, though close, look as remote as the Silver River above.

首联以追忆起笔，花下吹箫写当年月下花前的旖旎情事，几回二字见其反复流连、乐此不疲；银汉红墙入望遥则笔锋陡转，以银汉之遥写红墙之近，红墙近在咫尺，望去却如隔银河，咫尺天涯的失落感扑面而来。吹箫的典故暗含萧史弄玉的仙侣传说，本写琴瑟和鸣之乐，此处却以红墙隔断，愈见乐景之虚与哀情之实。两句今昔对照，以乐写哀，为全诗的怅惘定下基调，也引出颔联似此星辰非昨夜的痴语，起笔即已笼罩全篇。

The first couplet opens in recollection, writing the old romantic hours of playing the flute beneath the moonlit flowers; the word again and again writes the repeated lingering, the delight that never palled. And the silver river, the red walls, stretch far into my gaze turns abruptly, using the remoteness of the Silver River to write the nearness of the red walls: the red walls are an arm's length away, yet to the eye they lie across a galaxy — the loss of nearness-that-is-remote rises at once. The playing of the flute secretly carries the legend of Xiao Shi and Nong Yu, the immortal pair in perfect harmony; here, cut off by the red wall, the joyous scene turns out illusory, the grief all the more real. Two lines contrasting then and now, writing grief through a joyous scene, fixing the wistful tone of the whole poem and launching the fond words of the next couplet, the stars are like those of last night — the opening already envelops the whole.

似此星辰非昨夜，为谁风露立中宵。

The stars are like those of last night, yet it is not last night; for whom do I stand in wind and dew through the midnight?

眼前的星辰已不是昨夜的星辰，我又是为了谁在风露中伫立到半夜？

These very stars are not the stars of last night; for whom do I stand through the wind and dew until midnight?

此联是全诗的警策，也是千古名句。似此星辰非昨夜，以星辰之相似反衬昨夜之不可追，星还是那些星，人却已非昨日之人，物是人非的怅惘尽在非字之中；为谁风露立中宵以问句写痴立之态，风露写深夜的寒凉，立中宵写通宵的等待，为谁二字明知无人应答而仍痴问，痴绝凄美。上句写今昔之隔，下句写独守之痴，时空对照之间，一段无望的恋情被写得刻骨铭心。此联暗承李商隐昨夜星辰昨夜风的意境而更进一层，以问句收束，余情袅袅，历来为人传诵，是理解全诗情感的核心。

The couplet is the aphorism of the poem, and a famous line through the ages. The stars are like those of last night, yet it is not last night uses the stars' likeness to set off the irrecoverableness of last night: the stars are the same, the people no longer those of yesterday, and all the lostness of things unchanged and men changed lies in the single word not. For whom do I stand in wind and dew through the midnight? writes through a question the doting vigil: wind and dew the cold of the deep night, standing through the midnight the all-night waiting, and the for whom, asked though no answer can come, the extremity of fondness and beauty in grief. The upper line writes the gap between now and then, the lower the doting of the lone vigil; in the contrast of time and space, a hopeless love is etched into the heart. The couplet inherits Li Shangyin's last night's stars, last night's wind and goes deeper, closing in a question, the feeling lingering — recited through the ages, it is the emotional core of the poem.

缠绵思尽抽残茧，宛转心伤剥后蕉。

My lingering longing is spent like silk drawn from an empty cocoon; my winding grief laid bare like a banana stripped to its heart.

缠绵的情思已如抽尽了丝的残茧，宛转的心伤就像剥去了皮的芭蕉。

My tender longing is exhausted, like silk drawn out of an emptied cocoon; my anguished heart, laid bare, resembles a banana stripped leaf by leaf.

颈联连用两个精工比喻，写情思之竭与心伤之深。思谐丝，缠绵思尽抽残茧以蚕吐丝尽、茧成残壳喻情思的缠绵与枯竭，春蚕到死丝方尽的意象在此翻出新境；心谐芯，宛转心伤剥后蕉以层层剥蕉、蕉心毕露喻心伤的层层加重与最终裸露，剥字下得惨怛真切。两句对仗工整，思与心、残茧与后蕉两两相对，把无形的相思与伤痛化为可触可感的物象，比喻新警而贴切，正是黄景仁善用双关与比喻写情的典型笔法，也是全诗修辞最见功力之处，读来令人心折。

The third couplet links two exquisite metaphors, writing the exhaustion of longing and the depth of grief. Longing sounds like silk; my lingering longing is spent like silk drawn from an empty cocoon figures, through the silkworm's silk spent and the cocoon left an empty husk, the clinging yet drained longing — the image of the spring silkworm's silk until death turns out a new realm here. Heart sounds like heart of the banana; my winding grief laid bare like a banana stripped to its heart figures, through the banana peeled layer by layer until its heart is bare, the grief's deepening and final exposure; the word stripped is written with a cruel, tender exactness. Two lines in tight parallel — longing with heart, empty cocoon with stripped banana — turning intangible love and pain into tangible objects, the metaphors novel and apt, the typical brush of Huang Jingren's love of double entendre and figure, and the most masterful rhetoric of the poem, reading till the heart is moved.

三五年时三五月，可怜杯酒不曾消。

At fifteen years, on the fifteenth moon — alas, the cup of wine has never washed it away.

回想她十五岁时的那个十五月夜，可叹我手中的这杯酒，竟始终无法消减心中的愁绪。

I recall that fifteenth night of the moon, when she was fifteen; alas, this cup of wine has never been able to drown the sorrow.

尾联以数字重沓追忆当年，三五年时三五月，写她十五岁时的那个十五月夜，两个三五连用，音节回环，仿佛把那良辰美景、青春年华定格在记忆深处；可怜二字陡转，杯酒不曾消写借酒浇愁而愁不可消，可怜可叹，余味无穷。以乐景写哀情，当年的花月越是美好，今朝的孤独越是难堪；以酒写愁，愁之深重更在酒力之上。数字的重沓与杯酒的寻常，恰与痴绝深情的通篇形成对照，举重若轻，把追忆的怅惘与绝望收束得含蓄而深沉，令人掩卷叹息。

The closing couplet recalls the past through repeated numbers. At fifteen years, on the fifteenth moon writes that fifteenth night of the full moon when she was fifteen: the two fifteens used in succession, the cadence circling, as if sealing that fair hour and that youth deep in memory. The word alas turns abruptly; the cup of wine has never washed it away writes trying to drown grief in wine and failing, the pity unending. Writing grief through a joyous scene: the fairer that old moon and flowers, the harder this present loneliness; writing grief through wine, the grief's depth beyond wine's power. The repetition of numbers and the ordinariness of the cup set off the poem's extremity of fondness — light touches the heavy, gathering the wistfulness and despair of recollection with restraint and depth, leaving the reader sighing when the book is closed.

Study

Word focus

非 'As these stars are not last night's'—'not' cuts present from past in one word, knowing the past cannot return, the deeper the despair. 似此星辰非昨夜之非，一字斩断今昔，是全诗的时间之眼。星辰是永恒的，今夜之星与昨夜之星本无分别，诗人却说非昨夜，非的并非星辰本身，而是星辰所见证的昨夜之人、昨夜之事，人已不在，情已成空，于是星辰也仿佛换了模样。这一个非字，把物是人非的怅惘凝于一字，不是星辰变了，而是看星辰的人心境变了，客观的永恒反衬主观的变迁，愈见人事之无常。与李商隐昨夜星辰昨夜风的缠绵对照，黄景仁着一非字，把缠绵化为决绝的清醒，明知往事难再而仍痴立中宵，绝望之深尽在此字，故论者以此联直逼玉溪，一字之功不可轻忽。

立 'Stand' in 'for whom do I stand in wind and dew through the midnight'—the standing posture writes unknown, unyielding devotion, lone and moving. 为谁风露立中宵之立，是全诗的痴态之眼。立写一种静止的、长久的姿态，不为坐，不为行，只是伫立，在风露之中，从黄昏直站到中宵，时间的漫长与身体的僵立，把等待写得执拗而悲凉。立字没有强烈动作，正因无动作才见出痴绝，不是有所行动地寻找，而是无所适从地苦守，为谁二字更写出这份等待的茫然，明知无人，仍不肯离去。此字以静写动，以身体的姿态写心灵的坚守，比倚、望等字更见孤绝。风露的寒凉与中宵的夜深，皆因这一立字而有了着落，痴情之深尽在伫立的身影里，是黄景仁炼字的得意之笔。

剥 'Peeled' in 'twisting heart-hurt, a peeled banana'—'peeled' writes the bare hurt after layers stripped, bitter and true. 宛转心伤剥后蕉之剥，是全诗最惨怛的字眼。剥写一层层揭去蕉皮、露出蕉心的动作，用以喻心伤，伤心不是一次性的，而是像剥蕉一样，一层一层地剥开，每一层都有新的伤痛显露，宛转二字更写这伤痛的曲曲折折、绵绵不绝。剥字下得狠而准，把心伤写得近乎残忍的袒露，情思已如残茧抽尽，心伤又似蕉心毕露，毫无遮掩，也无从遮掩，正是伤心到极处的赤裸。若作憔悴、零落则泛泛，剥字以具体的动作写抽象的情感，惨怛真切，与上句抽字对举，一抽一剥，把缠绵与伤痛写得可触可感，是黄景仁善以动词写情的明证，也是全诗情感最浓烈处。

绮怀