宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
暗香·旧时月色
Hidden Fragrance (An Xiang) · The Moonlight of Former Times
旧时月色。
算几番照我，梅边吹笛。
唤起玉人，不管清寒与攀摘。
何逊而今渐老，都忘却、春风词笔。
但怪得、竹外疏花，香冷入瑶席。
江国。
正寂寂。
叹寄与路遥，夜雪初积。
翠尊易泣。
红萼无言耿相忆。
长记曾携手处，千树压、西湖寒碧。
又片片、吹尽也，几时见得。
How many times, I wonder, has it shone on me, playing the flute beside the mume trees?
It summoned my fair one, who, heedless of the cold, plucked the blossoms with me.
Like He Xun, I now grow old; the spring-breeze brush of my verse is quite forgotten.
Yet I marvel only that beyond the bamboo the sparse blossoms send their chill fragrance into the jade mat.
By the riverside land.
All is hushed and still.
I sigh that the road for sending them is far, and the night snow has just gathered.
The green goblet easily brings tears.
The red calyx, wordless, lingers in steadfast remembrance.
Long I recall where we once walked hand in hand, a thousand trees bowing over the cold green of West Lake.
Again, petal by petal, they are blown away—when shall I see them bloom again?
Meaning
It is still the moonlight as in former times. I reckon how many times it has shone upon me as I played the flute beside the mume trees. The flute's song summoned the fair one in my heart, who, regardless of the cold, plucked the blossoms with me. Now, like He Xun, I grow gradually old, and the spring-breeze brush of my youthful verse is forgotten. I only wonder that beyond the bamboo the sparse mume blossoms send their chill fragrance into this magnificent feast. The riverside country of Jiangnan lies in utter stillness. I sigh that, wishing to pluck blossoms to send afar, the road is long and the night snow has just fallen. Before the jade-green cup I cannot but weep. The red mume, silent, clings in fond remembrance of the past. I long recall the place where we once walked hand in hand, a thousand trees in full bloom bowing over the cold green waves of West Lake. Now petal by petal they drift and are blown clean away—when shall I see the flowers open again?
依旧是旧时那样的月色。算来它曾多少次照着我，在梅树边吹起笛曲。笛声唤起了心中的玉人，她不顾清寒，与我一同攀摘梅花。我如今像何逊一样渐渐老去，当年的春风词笔都已忘却。只奇怪那竹外的稀疏梅花，清冷的香气竟透入这华贵的宴席。江南水乡，正是一片寂寥。可叹想折梅寄赠，路途遥远，夜雪又刚刚积起。对着翡翠酒杯，不禁潸然欲泣。红梅默默无言，耿耿地相忆着往事。长记当年携手同游之处，千树梅花繁盛，压着西湖清寒的碧波。如今又片片飘落、吹尽无余，何时才能再见花开？
Appreciation
Plain Retelling: This lyric is Jiang Kui's self-composed tune on the mume blossom and a remembered beloved. The first stanza opens with 'the moonlight of former times' to introduce recollection: in former days, flute-playing by the mume and the fair one's plucking were scenes of joy; returning to the present, He Xun grows old and the brush is forgotten, only the chill fragrance of sparse blossoms beyond the bamboo enters the jade mat—past and present contrasted. The second stanza writes of Jiangnan's stillness and the far road for sending blossoms; the green goblet and red calyx face each other wordless; it long recalls West Lake hand in hand, a thousand trees over cold green; ending with 'again petal by petal blown away, when shall I see them?'—asking of the flower and of the person. Images and Technique: The whole lyric weaves moonlight as warp and mume as weft, interlacing past and present, blending emptiness and substance: the former moonlight contrasts with present aging; the joy of memory intertwines with the stillness before the eyes. Flute by the mume, the fair one's plucking, the West Lake walk are unreal recollections; the sparse cold fragrance and the night snow are real present sights. Clear and sao-elegant, it writes deep feeling through cold images—a representative of Jiang Kui's self-composed tunes. Emotion and Theme: Jiang Kui lived all his life a commoner, dependent on others; this lyric uses the mume to write longing for a person and lament for his own fate: joy of former hands joined, sorrow of present aging; between bloom and fall lies the deep sigh of a gifted man adrift and beauty's swift passing. Famous Lines: Often examined are the past-present stroke of 'the moonlight of former times,' the self-pity of 'like He Xun I now grow old,' the broad deep feeling of 'long recall where we walked hand in hand, a thousand trees bowing over West Lake's cold green,' and the lingering close 'when shall I see them.'
【白话串讲】 姜夔《暗香》是咏梅名篇：“旧时月色。算几番照我，梅边吹笛”。“何逊而今渐老，都忘却、春风词笔”——“叹寄与路遥，夜雪初积”——“翠尊易泣，红萼无言耿相忆”——他与范成大赏梅，即席写下这词。 【意象与手法】 全词以月色为经、梅花为纬，今昔交错，虚实相生：旧时月色与而今渐老对照，回忆之欢与眼前之寂交织；梅边吹笛、玉人攀摘、西湖携手皆虚写回忆，疏花冷香、夜雪积路皆实写眼前。清空骚雅，以清冷意象写深情，是姜夔自度曲的代表作。 【情感与主旨】 姜夔一生布衣、依人作客，此词借咏梅写怀人之情与身世之慨：既忆当年携手之乐，又叹如今老去之悲，梅开梅落之间，寓才士飘零、红颜易老的深沉感慨。 【名句点睛】 常考「旧时月色」的今昔之笔、「何逊而今渐老」的自伤自况，以及「长记曾携手处，千树压、西湖寒碧」的阔大深情、「几时见得」的余韵。
Background
This lyric was written in winter of the second year of Shaoxi (1191) of the Southern Song, when Jiang Kui lodged at the home of Fan Chengda (style Shihu) in Suzhou. Amid heavy snow, Fan asked Jiang for lyrics on the mume; Jiang composed the two self-made tunes 'Hidden Fragrance' and 'Traces in the Shadows,' singing of the mume to express his feeling. Fan delighted in them and had his household singers perform them, with clear, gentle music. This lyric sings the mume and remembers a person; its 'moonlight of former times,' 'fair one,' and 'place of joined hands' hint at a profound old love, which scholars generally link to a singing girl Jiang met in Hefei in youth—a motif he revisited throughout his lyrics. A lifelong commoner, Jiang never held office, moving among men like Fan Chengda, Yang Wanli, and Xin Qiji, a guest adrift on the rivers and lakes, in later years poor and ailing. Comparing himself to He Xun—a Liang poet famed for his 'Early Mume'—he voices his own lateness and wandering. With the Southern Song confined south of the Yangzi and its fortunes declining, Jiang's lyrics of personal sorrow often betray the era's grief beneath cold scenes. This is the founding work of his self-composed tunes, establishing his clear and sao-elegant manner, paired with 'Traces in the Shadows' as the twin jewels of mume lyrics, revered by critics through the ages.
此词作于南宋绍熙二年（1191）冬，姜夔客居苏州范成大（号石湖居士）家中。时值大雪，范成大与姜夔赏梅索词，姜夔遂自度《暗香》《疏影》二曲，咏梅以抒怀，范成大激赏不已，命家妓歌之，音节清婉。此词为咏梅怀人之作，词中「旧时月色」「玉人」「携手处」皆暗示一段刻骨铭心的旧情，学界多以为与姜夔青年时期在合肥所遇歌女有关，那场情缘成为姜夔词中反复吟咏的母题（《踏莎行》《鹧鸪天》等皆及之）。姜夔一生布衣，未曾入仕，往来于范成大、杨万里、辛弃疾等名士之间，依人作客、浪迹江湖，中年以后贫病交加。词以何逊自比：何逊为南朝梁诗人，有《咏早梅》名篇，姜夔借其渐老才尽之叹写自己的迟暮与飘零。南宋偏安江南，国势日蹙，姜夔词多写个人情愁，而清冷之景中时露时代之哀。此词是姜夔自度曲的开山之作，确立了其清空骚雅的词风，与《疏影》并称咏梅双璧，为历代词论家所推重。
Art
The lyric's art lies in weaving moonlight as warp and mume as weft into a structure of interlaced past and present. The opening 'moonlight of former times' arrives abruptly, placing present and former moon side by side and flinging open the door of memory; the joys of flute by the mume, the fair one's plucking, the West Lake walk are all led out by the moonlight, unreal recollections tender in feeling. 'Like He Xun I now grow old, the spring-breeze brush forgotten' turns to the present, lamenting faded talent—past and present contrast, feeling shifting from joy to sorrow; 'yet I marvel that beyond the bamboo the sparse blossoms send chill fragrance into the jade mat' abruptly introduces the present mume, the word 'marvel' writing the sudden cold scent and stirred heart, real and immediate, where past meets present. The second stanza's 'the riverside land, all hushed' halts in four characters of still scene; 'I sigh the road is far, night snow just gathered' uses the allusion of sending mume afar, helpless that love cannot be conveyed; 'the green goblet easily weeps, the red calyx wordless lingers in remembrance' personifies objects, green wine and red mume facing each other wordless, self and thing fused; 'long recall where we walked hand in hand, a thousand trees bowing over West Lake's cold green' pushes memory to its height, broad in vista yet deep in feeling; closing with 'again petal by petal blown away, when shall I see them' ends in a question, long in resonance. The whole lyric circles past and present, blends empty and real, writing not the mume's form but its spirit—clear and sao-elegant, the very nature of Jiang Kui, 'a lone wild cloud, traceless in going and staying.'
此词的艺术匠心在以月色为经、梅花为纬，织成今昔交错的抒情结构。起句「旧时月色」四字陡然而来，把眼前月与旧时月并置，回忆之门豁然洞开；当年梅边吹笛、玉人攀摘、携手西湖的欢洽情景，皆由月色引出，虚写回忆，情致缠绵。「何逊而今渐老，都忘却、春风词笔」折回眼前，以才尽人老自伤，今昔对照，情感由欢转悲；「但怪得、竹外疏花，香冷入瑶席」以眼前梅花突兀入笔，怪字写冷香之猝然、心事之被触动，实写当下，今昔于此相接。下片「江国正寂寂」以四字景语顿住，境界清寂；「叹寄与路遥，夜雪初积」用折梅寄远之典，写欲寄相思而路远雪阻，无可奈何；「翠尊易泣，红萼无言耿相忆」以物拟人，绿酒红梅相对无言，耿耿相忆，物我交融；「长记曾携手处，千树压、西湖寒碧」回忆推向高潮，千树梅花倒映西湖寒碧，境界阔大而情致深挚；末以「又片片、吹尽也，几时见得」收束，花落人散，一问收住，余韵悠长。全词今昔回环、虚实相生，不写梅之形色而写梅之神韵，清空骚雅，正是姜夔词「野云孤飞，去留无迹」的本色。
Allusions
The lyric's allusions are profound yet seamlessly dissolved. First, He Xun: the Liang poet wrote 'Early Mume,' his verse clear and fair; Du Fu praised aged masters' vigorous brush, and He Xun was known for quick wit. Jiang compares himself to He Xun—'like He Xun I now grow old' writes a gifted man in his dusk, the brush forgotten, both self-lament and modesty, since he can still sing the mume. Second, flute by the mume: the tune 'Plum Blossoms Falling'—Li Bai wrote 'in Yellow Crane Tower a jade flute is blown, in the river town in the fifth month plum blossoms fall'; Jiang's flute by the mume inherits this, writing the mume through flute sound and sorrow through falling blooms. Third, the fair one and plucking: 'fair one' means a beauty; plucking hints at sending a branch afar—Lu Kai wrote 'I plucked a mume, met the post, and sent it to the man at the pass's head'; later plucking a mume to send afar signified longing, and this lyric's 'I sigh the road is far' is exactly that trope used head-on. Fourth, a thousand trees at West Lake: Lin Bu of the Northern Song dwelt by West Lake's Solitary Hill, planting mume and keeping cranes, 'mume wife and crane son'; his 'sparse shadows lie aslant clear shallow water, faint fragrance floats at dusk under the moon' is the supreme mume poem, and Jiang took 'Hidden Fragrance' and 'Traces in Shadows' from those two lines—'a thousand trees bowing over West Lake's cold green' is his transformation of that tradition. Fifth, green goblet and red calyx: the green goblet is wine, the red calyx the red mume; green wine and red mume set off each other, bright in color yet cold in tone, the lyric's点睛 stroke. The allusions lock together, all returning to mume and feeling, wholly natural.
此词用典精深而融化无迹。其一是何逊：南朝梁诗人何逊有《咏早梅》「兔园标物序，惊时最是梅」，其诗清丽，杜甫谓「庾信文章老更成，凌云健笔意纵横」虽非指何逊，而何逊确以才思敏捷著称，姜夔以何逊自比，何逊而今渐老写才人迟暮、词笔已忘，既是自伤身世，也是谦辞——仍能赋梅，故曰忘却春风词笔。其二是梅边吹笛：笛曲有《梅花落》，李白《与史郎中钦听黄鹤楼上吹笛》「黄鹤楼中吹玉笛，江城五月落梅花」，姜夔梅边吹笛正承此意，以笛声写梅、以落梅写愁。其三是玉人与攀摘：玉人指美人，攀摘暗用折梅赠远之典，陆凯《赠范晔》「折梅逢驿使，寄与陇头人」，后遂以折梅寄远写相思，此词「叹寄与路遥」正是此典的正面使用。其四是西湖千树：北宋林逋隐居西湖孤山，植梅养鹤，有「梅妻鹤子」之称，其《山园小梅》「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」乃咏梅绝唱，姜夔《暗香》《疏影》词牌即取自此二句，词中「千树压、西湖寒碧」正是对这一传统意象的化用与发挥。其五是翠尊红萼：翠尊指绿酒，红萼指红梅，绿酒红梅相对，色彩明丽而情调幽冷，为全词点睛之笔。诸典环环相扣，皆归于梅与情，浑然天成。
Commentary
Zhang Yan in 'Origins of Lyrics' judged this lyric: 'For lyrics on the mume, only Jiang Baishi's two tunes Hidden Fragrance and Traces in Shadows have no predecessor before and no follower after, establishing new intent, truly a peerless song.' Partial though this praise is, it names the lyric's place in literary history. Before it, mume lyrics mostly described form, color, and scent (as Lin Bu's 'faint fragrance'); Jiang instead wrote feeling through the mume, fusing object-song and person-remembrance: moonlight, flute, fair one, West Lake, green wine, red mume are not isolated scenes but fragments of memory and vessels of feeling, self and thing indistinguishable. Artistically it represents the height of Jiang Kui's 'clear' manner—no piled allusion, no naked emotion, building mood through cold images and reserved phrasing, 'a lone wild cloud, traceless.' In feeling, the self-pity of 'like He Xun I now grow old,' the deep love of 'the red calyx wordless lingers in remembrance,' and the regret of 'when shall I see them' exhaust the weathered middle-aged scholar's vicissitude and helpless longing—a peak of Song lyric's object-song and person-remembrance. In influence it launched the object-lyric tradition of late Song and early Yuan; the early-Qing Zhexi school (Zhu Yizun) honored Jiang as the orthodox master, his clear manner becoming a major school. A thousand years on, the moon and mume remain, and the lyric's regret still moves us to linger.
张炎《词源》评此词：「词之赋梅，惟姜白石《暗香》《疏影》二曲，前无古人，后无来者，自立新意，真为绝唱。」此论虽有偏爱，却道出姜夔咏梅词在文学史上的地位。此词之前，咏梅多写其色香形态（如林逋「暗香浮动」），姜夔却以梅写情、以情写梅，把咏物与怀人打成一片：月色、笛声、玉人、西湖、绿酒、红梅，皆不是孤立的景物，而是记忆的碎片、情感的载体，物我之间无分彼此。艺术上，此词代表了姜夔「清空」词风的最高成就——不堆砌典实，不直露情思，以清冷意象、含蓄笔致造境，如野云孤飞、去留无迹。情感上，「何逊而今渐老」的自伤、「红萼无言耿相忆」的深情、「几时见得」的怅惘，写尽中年文人的沧桑与相思的无奈，是宋词中咏物怀人的巅峰。影响上，此词直接开启了宋末元初咏物词的传统，清初浙西词派（朱彝尊）更奉姜夔为词家正宗，其清空骚雅的词风遂成词史一大宗派。千载之下，月色梅花依旧，而词中那份「几时见得」的怅惘，依然令人低回不已。
Prosody
Line by line
旧时月色。
The four characters of the opening are the key to the whole lyric and a famous beginning in the history of the form. 'The moonlight of former times' does not describe the present moon but first evokes the moon as remembered; the single word 'former' draws time backward and sets the poem's past-and-present contrast. The moon is by nature indifferent, yet the same moon shone on former reunion and now lights lonely enclosure, becoming a witness of time and a vessel of memory. Its beauty lies in encompassing the whole piece in four characters: the flute by the mume, the fair one's plucking, the West Lake walk are all past deeds under former moonlight, while He Xun's aging, the night snow, the silent red calyx are present grief. Beginning with the moon rather than the blossom, because the moon is the shared medium of past and present, recollection unfolds naturally. One word 'former' exhausts the flow of time and the sedimentation of feeling—utterly clear and reserved, the very essence of Jiang Kui's art.
依旧是旧时那样的月色。
The moonlight of old.
起句四字是全词的钥匙，也是词史上有名的开篇。旧时月色，不写眼前月色如何，而先写记忆中的月色，一个旧字把时间拉回从前，也为全词定下今昔对照的基调。月色本是无情之物，年年相似，但同一轮月，照过当年的欢聚，也照着如今的独处，于是月色便成了时间的见证、记忆的载体。此句的妙处在于以四字包举全篇：后文梅边吹笛、玉人攀摘、携手西湖，皆是旧时月色下的往事；而何逊渐老、夜雪积路、红萼无言，则是今日月色下的怅惘。起笔不写梅而写月，因为月是今昔共有的媒介，由月领起，回忆便自然展开。一个旧字，写尽光阴的流转与情感的沉淀，清空之极、含蓄之极，正是姜夔词境的本色。
The opening four characters are the key to the whole ci and a famous opening in the history of the form. The moonlight of old writes not how the moonlight before the eyes is, but the moonlight in memory first; the single old pulls time back to the past, fixing the tone of present-against-past. Moonlight is by nature without feeling, like year after year; yet the same moon shone on the old gathering and shines on the present solitude, so moonlight becomes the witness of time and the vehicle of memory. The beauty lies in the four characters containing the whole: the later flute by the plum, the fair one's plucking, the hand-in-hand at West Lake, are all the past under the old moonlight; the He Xun growing old, the night snow on the road, the silent red calyx, are all the present wistfulness under the present moon. Opening on the moon, not the plum, because the moon is the medium shared by past and present; led by the moon, the memory unfolds. The single old writes the flowing of time and the settling of feeling, extremely empty-clear, extremely restrained, precisely Jiang Kui's native realm.
算几番照我，梅边吹笛。
These two lines, continuing from 'the moonlight of former times,' unfold the recollection and are the starting point of memory in the whole lyric. 'How many times' writes the frequency with which the moon shone on me; the word 'reckon' shows the deep affection of recollection—playing the flute by the mume under the moon was then a common elegant pastime, and now counting it yields several times, tender indeed. 'Flute by the mume' is a typical scholar's pure scene: moon, mume, flute reflect one another, transcendent and unworldly. The flute tune 'Plum Blossoms Falling' is an old piece about the mume; Jiang Kui playing by the mume joins man, blossom, and music as one. The beauty is in saying much with little: without detailing the affair, only the three images of moonlight, mume, and flute sketch a refined former life, from which the fair one and the walk are led out. The tone of 'reckon' and the counting of 'several times' show Jiang Kui's cherishing of the past, laying the deep, lingering base of the lyric.
算来这月色曾多少次照着我，在梅树边吹起笛曲。
How many times has it shone on me, playing the flute by the plum tree?
此二句承旧时月色展开回忆，是全词回忆的起点。算几番写月照我之频繁，一个算字写出追忆的深情——月下梅边吹笛，是当年习以为常的雅事，如今细细算来，竟有几次几番，情致缠绵；梅边吹笛是典型的文人清境：月下、梅旁、笛声，三物相映，清绝出尘。笛曲《梅花落》本是写梅的旧曲，姜夔梅边吹笛，人与梅、乐与景合而为一，意境清雅至极。此二句的妙处在于以少总多：不写当年情事的具体细节，只以月色、梅、笛三个意象点染，便勾勒出当年风流清雅的生活图景，而玉人、携手等下文回忆皆由此引出。算字的追忆语气、几番的计数口吻，都见出姜夔对往事的珍重与回味，为全词奠定深情绵邈的基调。
The two lines unfold the memory from the moonlight of old, the starting point of the ci's recall. How many times writes the frequency of the moon's shining on me, the single how showing the deep feeling of recollection — playing the flute by the moonlit plum was once the everyday elegance, now carefully counted, how many times, the feeling lingering; playing the flute by the plum is the typical scholar's clear scene: moon, plum, flute, three things reflected, clear beyond dust. The Flute Plum Falling is the old plum air; Jiang Kui playing by the plum, man and plum, music and scene fused, the realm extremely elegant. The beauty lies in summing the many in the few: not the concrete details of the old affair, but the three images of moonlight, plum, flute sketched, and the old life of grace outlined; the later fair one and hand-in-hand all lead from these. The recalling tone of how and the counting of how many times both show Jiang Kui's treasuring and relishing of the past, fixing the deep, lingering tone of the whole.
唤起玉人，不管清寒与攀摘。
These two lines write of the fair one in memory, the tenderest moment of the lyric. 'Summoned my fair one' means the flute song called the beauty from the cold night—or recalled her; the fair one is the companion of former wanderings and the object of present longing. 'Heedless of the cold, she plucked with me' writes the beauty braving the night chill to break blossoms, placing 'clear cold' with 'plucking' to show her sincerity and the warmth of those days. The beauty is in writing feeling through action: 'summon' and 'pluck' link two motions, bringing the moonlit mume scene before the eye; the fair one, sketched in a single stroke, is vivid. 'Heedless of the cold' shows special charm—the lady braving chill for the blossoms is just youthful mutual love, sharply contrasting with later He Xun's aging and the silent red calyx. The more beautiful the memory, the deeper the present grief; these lines build toward the lyric's sorrow, a rare bright passage in Jiang Kui.
笛声唤起了心中的玉人，她不顾清寒，与我一同攀摘梅花。
I called the fair one, and, heedless of the cold, we climbed and plucked.
此二句写回忆中的玉人，是全词情感最温柔处。唤起玉人，谓笛声把美人从寒夜中唤起——或谓忆起玉人，玉人是当年同游的佳人，也是如今相思的对象；不管清寒与攀摘，写玉人不畏夜寒，与我一同攀折梅花，清寒与攀摘并置，见出佳人的率真与深情，也见出当年情事的温馨。此二句的妙处在于以动作写情：唤起、攀摘，两个动作连缀，把月下梅边的一段往事写得如在目前，玉人的形象虽只一笔带过，却鲜活可感。不管清寒四字尤见风致，佳人为了赏梅不惜冒寒，正是青春年少、两情相悦的写照，与后文何逊渐老、红萼无言形成强烈对照。回忆越美，眼前的怅惘越深，此二句正是为全词的悲感蓄势，是姜夔词中少有的明丽之笔。
The two lines write the fair one of memory, the tenderest place of the ci. I called the fair one means the flute waking the beauty from the cold night — or, remembering the fair one; she was the companion of those days, and the object of the present longing; heedless of the cold, we climbed and plucked writes her fearing not the night cold, climbing and breaking the plum with me; the cold and the plucking set together show the beauty's frankness and depth, and the warmth of the old affair. The beauty lies in writing feeling through action: called and plucked, two actions linked, the old event by the moonlit plum written as before the eyes; the fair one's image, though but a stroke, is vivid and felt. The four characters heedless of the cold especially show the grace: the beauty braving the cold for the plum, precisely the picture of young years and mutual love, set in sharp contrast with the later He Xun growing old and the silent red calyx. The fairer the memory, the deeper the present wistfulness; the two lines store force for the whole's grief, a rare bright stroke in Jiang Kui's ci.
何逊而今渐老，都忘却、春风词笔。
These two lines turn from memory to the present, the hinge of past-present shift and Jiang Kui's self-lament. He Xun, a Liang-dynasty poet famed for 'Early Mume,' is Jiang Kui's self-comparison: the spring-breeze brush of former years is now forgotten; talent fades with age, hard to write as before. 'Gradually old' exhausts time's mercilessness; 'quite forgotten' holds infinite regret—not truly forgotten, but talent dimmed and mood darkened by wandering, the past like smoke. The beauty is in writing faded feeling through faded talent: not stating lovesickness or sorrow directly, but through the cessation of the spring-breeze brush—reserved, the very 'clear' manner. He Xun's allusion fits naturally, pointing both to the poet's identity and to the theme of 'mume': He Xun sang early mume, Jiang Kui sings mume yet laments faded talent; ancient and present mirror, sorrow of vicissitude arises.
我如今像何逊一样渐渐老去，当年的春风词笔都已忘却。
He Xun, now growing old, has quite forgotten the spring-breeze's pen of song.
此二句由回忆折回眼前，是全词今昔转换的枢纽，也是姜夔的自伤之笔。何逊为南朝梁诗人，有《咏早梅》名篇，姜夔以之自比：当年如春风般飞扬的词笔，如今都已忘却，人老才尽，再难写出当年的篇章。渐老二字写尽岁月无情，都忘却三字含无限怅惘——不是真的忘却，而是才情随年岁消减、心境随飘零暗淡，往事如烟，词笔难再。此二句的妙处在于以才尽写情衰：不直言相思之苦、身世之悲，而以春风词笔的消歇出之，含蓄蕴藉，正是清空本色。何逊的典故用得贴切而自然，既点出诗人身份，又暗含「咏梅」的题中之义——何逊咏早梅，姜夔咏梅而叹才尽，古今映照，沧桑之感油然而生。
The two lines turn from memory back to the present, the hinge of the ci's present-past turning, and Jiang Kui's self-sorrow. He Xun was a Liang poet, author of the famous Singing of the Early Plum; Jiang Kui takes him for himself: the once spring-breeze-winged pen of song, now quite forgotten, the man old and the talent spent, the old chapter hard to write. Growing old writes the years' ruthlessness; has quite forgotten carries the boundless wistfulness — not truly forgotten, but the talent lessening with the years, the heart darkening with the drifting, the past like smoke, the pen no more. The beauty lies in writing the feeling's decline through the talent's end: not directly speaking the grief of longing or the sorrow of the lot, but through the cessation of the spring-breeze pen, restrained and reserved, precisely the empty-clear native. The He Xun allusion is apt and natural, at once marking the poet's identity and carrying the theme's meaning — He Xun sang the early plum, Jiang Kui sings the plum and grieves the spent talent, ancient and modern reflected, the sense of time's erosion rising of itself.
但怪得、竹外疏花，香冷入瑶席。
These two lines abruptly introduce the present mume fragrance, the transition from memory to reality. 'Yet I marvel' means only wonder; the word 'marvel' writes the sudden chill fragrance striking and stirring the heart: beyond the bamboo a few sparse blossoms, form slender; 'fragrance cold enters the jade mat' means the mume scent with cold penetrates the magnificent feast—'cold' writes the scent's clarity and the heart's chill; the lively feast and jade mat contrast with the cold scent and lonely mood. The beauty is in writing feeling through scent: the formless fragrance, touched by 'cold,' gains a clear, cold quality, seeping into the mat and the poet's heart, setting off the feast's liveliness as all the lonelier. 'Marvel' also writes the poet's trance: immersed in memory, suddenly startled by the scent, past and present overlap in a wisp of cold fragrance; the structural turn and emotional tremor occur together—Jiang Kui's finest conception.
只奇怪那竹外稀疏的梅花，清冷的香气竟透入这华贵的宴席。
But strangely, beyond the bamboos the sparse blooms send a cold fragrance into the jade feast.
此二句以眼前梅香突兀入笔，是全词由回忆回到现实的过渡。但怪得即只觉奇怪，一个怪字写出冷香猝然袭来、触动心事的况味：竹外疏花，是竹丛外几枝疏落的梅花，形态清瘦；香冷入瑶席，谓梅香带着清冷之气透入华贵的宴席，冷字写香之清冽，也写心之寒凉——热闹的宴席、华贵的瑶席，与清冷的梅香、落寞的心境格格不入。此二句的妙处在于以香写情：梅香本是无形的，经冷字点染，便有了清寒的质感，沁入席间，也沁入词人心中，把瑶席的热闹反衬得越发寂寥。怪字更写出词人的恍惚：正在追忆往事，忽然被梅香惊觉，今昔于是在一缕冷香中猛然交叠，章法上的转折与情感上的震颤同步发生，正是姜夔炼意之精。
The two lines open on the plum's sudden fragrance before the eyes, the transition of the ci from memory back to reality. But strangely means only wondering, the single strange writing the cold fragrance's sudden assault and the stirring of the heart: beyond the bamboos the sparse blooms writes the few sparse plum branches outside the bamboo grove, the form lean; sends a cold fragrance into the jade feast means the plum fragrance carrying the cold air piercing the rich banquet, the cold writing the fragrance's bite, and also the heart's chill — the bustling feast, the rich jade mat, and the cold plum fragrance, the lonely heart, mismatched. The beauty lies in writing feeling through fragrance: the plum fragrance is by nature intangible, and the word cold gives it the texture of chill, penetrating the mat and penetrating the poet's heart, setting the jade feast's bustle off the lonelier. The strange further writes the poet's daze: in the middle of recalling the past, suddenly roused by the plum fragrance, present and past overlapping in a wisp of cold scent, the structural turning and the emotional shock happening together, precisely Jiang Kui's refined thought.
长记曾携手处，千树压、西湖寒碧。
These two lines are the climax of recollection and the broadest, most famous image in mume lyrics. 'Long recall' carries straight down, pushing memory to its depths: 'where we once walked hand in hand' points to the place with the fair one, feeling unstated yet deep; 'a thousand trees bow, West Lake cold green' writes the mume in full splendor—thousands bowing low, as if pressing the cold green water, blossoms and ripples reflecting, red and green set off, bright yet cold. The word 'press' is powerful, writing both the mume's abundance and its reflection as if weighing on the lake; the grandeur of 'a thousand trees' with the stillness of 'cold green' opens the vista. The beauty is in writing feeling through scene: the joy of walking and viewing mume is all in the broad picture of 'a thousand trees pressing cold green'; now the man is old, the flowers fallen, the scene lives only in memory—the more beautiful, the sadder. The feeling rises from personal affair to a lament on the rise and fall of West Lake's mume scene.
长记当年携手同游之处，千树梅花繁盛，倒映压着西湖清寒的碧波。
Long I remember where we walked hand in hand: a thousand trees weighing down the cold green of West Lake.
此二句是全词回忆的高潮，也是咏梅词中境界最阔大的名句。长记二字直贯而下，把回忆推向最深处：曾携手处，点出当年与玉人同游之地，情事虽不明言，深情已在；千树压、西湖寒碧，写梅花之盛——千树梅花怒放，繁枝低垂，仿佛压着西湖寒碧的水面，花影与水光相映，碧波与红梅相衬，色彩明丽而意境清寒。压字极有力，既写梅树之繁茂低垂，又写花影倒映、如压湖面，千树的壮观与寒碧的清寂并置，境界顿开。此二句的妙处在于以景写情：当年携手赏梅的欢乐，尽在千树压寒碧的阔大画面中；而如今人已老、花已落，此景只存于记忆，愈美愈悲。词意由个人情事升华为西湖梅景的盛衰之叹，情感与境界俱臻高境。
The two lines are the climax of the ci's memory and the most expansive realm among plum-singing ci. The two characters long remember carry straight on, pushing the memory to its depth: where we walked hand in hand marks the old place with the fair one, the affair not told in words and yet deeply felt; a thousand trees weighing down the cold green of West Lake writes the plum's luxuriance — a thousand plums in full bloom, the dense branches bending, as if weighing on the cold green water of West Lake, the flower shadows and the water-light reflected, the green waves and the red plum set off, the colors bright and the realm cold. The word weighing is powerful, at once the luxuriant boughs bending and the flower-shadows mirrored as if pressing the lake; the grandeur of a thousand trees and the cold green's quiet set together, the realm opening at once. The beauty lies in writing feeling through scene: the joy of the old hand-in-hand plum-viewing, all within the vast picture of a thousand trees weighing on the cold green; now the man is old, the flowers fallen, this scene only in memory, the fairer the sadder. The feeling rises from the personal affair to the sigh over the rise and fall of West Lake's plum scene, the emotion and the realm both reaching the height.
又片片、吹尽也，几时见得。
The closing three lines end with a question, the lyric's emotional close and longest resonance. 'Again petal by petal, blown away' writes the present mume falling once more; the word 'again' exhausts the cycle of bloom and fall and time's mercilessness—yearly the mume falls, but people have changed; 'when shall I see them' closes with a question: when shall the flowers open again? This asks both of the mume and of the fair one and former days; flowers may bloom again, but parted ones rarely reunite—asking though knowing impossibility, folly and regret together. The beauty is in ending feeling through scene: not writing sorrow, only the falling flowers and one question, yet in the sound of falling and the question, all the poem's past-present feeling, lovesickness, and life's sorrow become lingering resonance. 'Again,' 'petal by petal,' 'when' layer progressively, pushing feeling into wordless depths—the extreme of Jiang Kui's 'words end but meaning endless.'
如今梅花又一片片飘落、吹尽无余，何时才能再见花开？
Again, petal by petal, blown away to nothing — when shall I see them again?
煞拍三句以问作结，是全词情感的收束，也是余韵最悠长处。又片片、吹尽也，写眼前梅花又一次片片飘落、吹尽无余，一个又字写尽花开花落的循环与岁月的无情——年年梅花开落，而人事已非；几时见得，以一问收束：何时才能再见花开？这一问既是问梅花，也是问玉人、问旧日时光，花落可再开，而人别难再聚，明知不得而问，痴情与怅惘俱在其中。此三句的妙处在于以景结情：不写悲伤，只写花落与一问，而花落声里、问语声中，全词的今昔之感、相思之情、身世之悲都化作缕缕余韵，袅袅不绝。又字的一再、片片的纷落、几时的追问，层层递进，把情感推向无言的深处，正是姜夔词「言有尽而意无穷」的极致。
The closing three lines end in a question, the emotional close of the ci and the longest aftertone. Again, petal by petal, blown away to nothing writes the present plum once more falling petal by petal, blown away to nothing, the single again writing the cycle of opening and falling and the years' ruthlessness — year by year the plum opens and falls, and the human affairs are no more; when shall I see them again? closes in a question: when shall I see the bloom again? The question asks at once the plum, the fair one, the old days — the flowers may open again, and the parted people scarce meet again, knowing it cannot be and yet asking, the doting and the wistfulness within. The beauty lies in ending emotion in scene: not writing grief, only the falling flowers and one question, and within the falling and the questioning, the whole ci's sense of past and present, the longing, the life-grief, all turned to threads of aftertone, winding unending. The again's repetition, the petal-by-petal's falling, the when's questioning, advancing layer on layer, pushing the feeling to the wordless depth, precisely Jiang Kui's extremity of words ended and meaning unending.
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Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
《疏影·苔枝缀玉》与《暗香》同为姜夔在范成大石湖别墅自度的咏梅新曲，一写月色下的梅，一写黄昏中的梅，合观方见姜夔咏梅的全貌。差异在：暗香以「旧时月色」起笔，情在相思——梅边吹笛、携手西湖，怀人的深情贯穿全篇，末以几时见得问花问人；疏影以「苔枝缀玉」起笔，情在哀感——昭君、寿阳公主等典故叠出，以梅之飘零写家国兴亡之悲，末以「犹有花梢月在」收束，意境更冷。一写相思之深，一写身世之感；暗香偏于情，疏影偏于史。二词并读，可见姜夔咏物词由个人情愁到时代哀感的纵深，是宋词咏物的双璧。
山园小梅 Small Mume in the Mountain Garden 林逋 · 暗香词牌取自林逋诗句，一写梅之隐逸一写梅之深情 The tune name 'Hidden Fragrance' is drawn from Lin Bu's line—one writes the mume's reclusion, the other its deep feeling.Lin Bu's 'Small Mume in the Mountain Garden'—'sparse shadows lie aslant clear shallow water, faint fragrance floats at dusk under the moon'—is the supreme mume poem; Jiang Kui took 'Hidden Fragrance' and 'Traces in Shadows' as tune names from these lines, the lineage clear. The difference: Lin Bu views the mume with a hermit's eye—sparse shadows, faint fragrance, clear shallow water, dusk moon—writing its pure grace amid nature, a lofty, unworldly character, the 'mume wife and crane son' apart from mortal dust. Jiang writes the mume with a lover's heart—moonlight, flute, fair one, West Lake—the mume is the vessel of longing, the sign of memory, its scene within affair, its character within deep feeling, the tender 'green wine and red mume.' Lin's poem sings the mume's character, Jiang's lyric its bond; one is reclusive song, the other lovesick tune. The two, generations apart, show the evolution of the mume tradition from character to feeling.
林逋《山园小梅》「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」乃咏梅绝唱，姜夔《暗香》《疏影》二调即摘取其句为词牌名，渊源甚明。差异在：林逋以隐士之眼观梅，疏影、暗香、水清浅、月黄昏，写梅之清姿幽韵，境在山水之间，格在孤峭之中，是「梅妻鹤子」式的超尘绝俗，无人间烟火气；姜夔以情人之心写梅，月色、笛声、玉人、西湖，梅是相思的载体、记忆的符号，境在情事之中，格在深情之内，是「绿酒红梅」式的缠绵悱恻。林诗咏梅之品格，姜词写梅之因缘；一为隐逸之咏，一为相思之曲。二作隔代相映，可见咏梅传统从写格到写情的演进。
一剪梅·红藕香残玉簟秋 A Twig of Mume Blossoms · Red Lotus Fades, Jade Mat in Autumn 李清照 · 同为咏物怀人之作，一明丽一清空，婉约词的两极 Both are object-song and person-remembering works—one bright, one clear; the two poles of gentle lyric.Li Qingzhao's 'A Twig of Mume Blossoms'—'this feeling no device can dispel, just from the brows, then to the heart'—is, like this lyric, a masterwork of Song person-remembrance. The difference: Li writes conjugal longing—red lotus, jade mat, orchid boat, brocade letter—bright, warm images, frank feeling laid bare, the longing offered whole, the bright clear road of the gentle school; Jiang writes an old love—moonlight, flute, cold fragrance, cold green—cold, lone images, reserved deep feeling, past and present circling, words withheld, the clear road of the gentle school. Li's thought sits between brows and heart; Jiang's memory in moonlight and mume. One shows truth through directness, the other depth through indirection. Read together, they show the two extremes of Song gentle lyric in writing longing: bright and cold, direct and reserved, both perfected.
李清照《一剪梅·红藕香残玉簟秋》「此情无计可消除，才下眉头，却上心头」与此词同为宋词怀人杰作。差异在：李清照写夫妻相思，红藕、玉簟、兰舟、锦书，意象明丽温润，情感坦率直露，相思之情和盘托出，是婉约词的明快一路；姜夔写旧日情缘，月色、笛声、冷香、寒碧，意象清冷幽寂，情感含蓄深沉，今昔回环、欲说还休，是婉约词的清空一路。李清照之思在眉间心头，姜夔之忆在月色梅花；一以直写见真，一以曲写见深。二词并读，可见宋代婉约词写相思的两种极致：明丽与清冷、直露与含蓄，皆臻化境。