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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

长亭怨慢·渐吹尽

Long Pavilion Lament: 'The Fragrant Catkins Blown Away'

姜夔

Jiang Kui

渐吹尽、枝头香絮。
是处人家，绿深门户。
远浦萦回，暮帆零乱向何许。
阅人多矣，谁得似、长亭树。
树若有情时，不会得、青青如此。
日暮。
望高城不见，只见乱山无数。
韦郎去也，怎忘得、玉环分付。
第一是、早早归来，怕红萼、无人为主。
算空有并刀，难翦离愁千缕。

Gradually blown away — the fragrant catkins on the boughs.
Everywhere the homesteads, their gates deep in green shade.
Distant creeks wind and turn; at dusk the scattered sails drift — to where?
It has seen so many people pass — who is like the long-pavilion tree?
If the tree had any feeling, it could not stay so green.
The sun sets.
I look toward the high walls but cannot see them; I see only countless tumbled mountains.
Since Wei Lang has gone, how could I forget what Yu-huan entrusted to me?
Above all, come back early — I fear the red calyxes will have no one to tend them.
For all I have the Bingzhou scissors in vain — they cannot cut the thousand threads of parting sorrow.
Listen

Meaning

As the last fragrant catkins blow from the boughs, the poet wanders past green-shaded gates and distant creeks where dusk sails scatter. The long-pavilion tree has watched countless partings, yet stays green — if it had feelings, it could not. At sunset the city walls vanish behind countless mountains, and the memory of the beloved's parting charge ('come back early') returns: even the famous sharp scissors of Bingzhou cannot cut the thousand threads of parting sorrow. The lyric's objects of willow and pavilion carry a sorrow at once precise and immense.

渐吹尽、枝头香絮。是处人家，绿深门户。远浦萦回，暮帆零乱向何许。阅人多矣，谁得似、长亭树。树若有情时，不会得、青青如此。日暮。望高城不见，只见乱山无数。韦郎去也，怎忘得、玉环分付。第一是、早早归来，怕红萼、无人为主。算空有并刀，难翦离愁千缕。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Gradually blown away, the fragrant catkins on the boughs; everywhere homesteads with gates deep in green shade. Distant creeks wind and turn, and at dusk the disordered sails drift — toward what? The long-pavilion tree has seen so many people pass — who is like it? If the tree had any feeling, it could not stay so green. The sun sets: I look for the high walls but cannot see them, only countless tumbled mountains. Since Wei Lang has gone, how could I forget what Yu-huan entrusted to me? Above all, come back early — I fear the red calyxes will have no one to tend them. For all I have the Bingzhou scissors in vain — they cannot cut the thousand threads of parting sorrow. [Structure] The upper stanza circles outward from catkins to pavilion tree; the lower stanza moves from sunset mountains to the parting promise and the closing metaphor. The pivot is the personified tree, at once the object described and the poem's commentator. [Imagery] Willow catkins, pavilion trees, dusk sails, tumbled mountains, and red calyxes form a late-spring palette of green, gold, and red, against which the 'thousand threads' of sorrow are at once visible and uncuttable.

【白话串讲】 姜夔写《长亭怨慢·渐吹尽》：“渐吹尽、枝头香絮”——“阅人多矣，谁得似、长亭树”——“树若有情时，不会得、青青如此”——“韦郎去也，怎忘得、玉环分付”——他写长亭送别——树若有情时。 【意象与手法】 “渐吹尽、枝头香絮”以香絮起笔；“阅人多矣，谁得似、长亭树”以长亭树写阅世之多；“树若有情时，不会得、青青如此”以拟人写无情之叹；“韦郎去也，怎忘得、玉环分付”用韦皋玉环典写别情；结以“算空有并刀，难翦离愁千缕”以并刀难翦写离愁。咏柳而写离别。 【情感与主旨】 姜夔离别咏柳之作，借长亭柳树写离愁千缕，以“树若有情”的拟人化笔法写无情之叹，是白石词中清空骚雅的代表。 【名句点睛】 常考“树若有情时，不会得、青青如此”以树若有情写无情之叹；“算空有并刀，难翦离愁千缕”以并刀难翦写离愁之重。

Background

Jiang Kui (c. 1155–c. 1221), courtesy name Yaozhang and sobriquet Baishi Daoren, was from Poyang in Raozhou (modern Jiangxi). A poet and musician of the Southern Song, he set his own lyrics to tunes and founded the limpid-and-refined (qingkong saya) school that stood beside the bold Su-Shi line. 'Changting Yuanman' is his most famous lyric in this tune, written on parting beneath a long-pavilion willow — the tree that in Chinese tradition is the parting willow, whose branches were traditionally broken off at farewells.

《长亭怨慢·渐吹尽》为南宋词人姜夔所作词。姜夔（约1155—约1221），字尧章，号白石道人，饶州鄱阳（今江西鄱阳）人，南宋词人、音乐家，词风清空骚雅，开「清雅词派」之先。此词写离别咏柳。词中「渐吹尽、枝头香絮。是处人家，绿深门户」写枝头香絮；「远浦萦回，暮帆零乱向何许」写远浦暮帆；「阅人多矣，谁得似、长亭树」写长亭树；「树若有情时，不会得、青青如此」写树若有情；「日暮。望高城不见，只见乱山无数」写望高城不见；「韦郎去也，怎忘得、玉环分付」写玉环分付；「第一是、早早归来，怕红萼、无人为主」写怕红萼无主；「算空有并刀，难翦离愁千缕」写难翦离愁。姜夔此词以离别咏柳、难翦离愁写其离别之情，含蓄深婉，是姜夔词中的名篇。此篇《长亭怨慢·渐吹尽》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。

Art

The poem's craft is personification turned argument. 'It has seen so many people pass — who is like the long-pavilion tree' makes the tree an old witness of farewells; 'if the tree had any feeling, it could not stay so green' then reverses the convention — instead of the willow parting with the traveler, the poet blames the tree's very greenness on heartlessness, borrowing Li He's 'if Heaven had feeling, it too would age'. The allusion to Wei Gan and Yu Xiao turns the lyric second-person, letting the beloved's parting charge be spoken; and the closing Bingzhou-scissors metaphor — even the sharpest blade cannot cut 'a thousand threads' that are at once willow threads and threads of sorrow — fuses image and abstraction in Jiang Kui's characteristic limpid, icy manner.

此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、托物寄情」见长。全词上片写枝头香絮与长亭树，下片写望高城不见与难翦离愁。上片「渐吹尽、枝头香絮。是处人家，绿深门户」写枝头香絮：渐吹尽、枝头香絮，是处人家，绿深门户；「远浦萦回，暮帆零乱向何许」写远浦暮帆：远浦萦回，暮帆零乱向何许；「阅人多矣，谁得似、长亭树」写长亭树：阅人多矣，谁得似、长亭树；「树若有情时，不会得、青青如此」写树若有情：树若有情时，不会得、青青如此。下片「日暮。望高城不见，只见乱山无数」写望高城不见：日暮，望高城不见，只见乱山无数；「韦郎去也，怎忘得、玉环分付」写玉环分付：韦郎去也，怎忘得、玉环分付；「第一是、早早归来，怕红萼、无人为主」写怕红萼无主：第一是、早早归来，怕红萼、无人为主；「算空有并刀，难翦离愁千缕」写难翦离愁：算空有并刀，难翦离愁千缕。全词含蓄深婉，托物寄情，是姜夔词中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。

Allusions

The line about the tree echoes Li He's famous 'if Heaven had feeling, it too would age', turned here into a charge against the willow. 'Wei Lang' and 'Yu-huan' refer to the Tang story of Wei Gan and the singing girl Yu Xiao, who parted with a ring and a poem as keepsakes and a promise to return — a byword for fidelity in parting. 'The high walls not seen' adapts Ouyang Xiu's image of the traveler beyond the spring mountains. 'Bingzhou scissors' invokes Du Fu's 'if only I had the swift scissors of Bingzhou, to cut half the Wusong river's water', a byword for unmatched sharpness — here defeated by sorrow.

词中「枝头香絮」「是处人家」「绿深门户」「远浦萦回」「暮帆零乱」「长亭树」「树若有情」「青青如此」「日暮」「高城不见」「乱山无数」「韦郎去也」「玉环分付」「红萼」「无人为主」「并刀」「难翦离愁千缕」等语，皆含典故故实。「枝头香絮」写枝头柳絮；「是处人家」写处处人家；「绿深门户」写绿阴深之门户；「远浦萦回」写远浦萦回；「暮帆零乱」写暮帆零乱；「长亭树」写长亭之柳（长亭为送别之处）；「树若有情」用李贺「天若有情天亦老」之意，写树若有情；「青青如此」写柳色青青；「日暮」写日暮；「高城不见」用欧阳修「平芜尽处是春山，行人更在春山外」之意，写望不见高城；「乱山无数」写乱山无数；「韦郎去也」用韦皋玉箫之典（唐韦皋与玉箫女相约），写韦郎去；「玉环分付」写玉环之托付（亦指玉箫遗物）；「红萼」写红花；「无人为主」写无人作主；「并刀」用杜甫「焉得并州快剪刀，剪取吴淞半江水」之意，写并州快剪；「难翦离愁千缕」写难剪离愁千缕。词人以长亭柳、韦皋玉箫、并刀剪愁、树若有情等典入词，不着痕迹，而把离别咏柳之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。

Commentary

'Changting Yuanman' is among Jiang Kui's most admired lyrics, and its closing couplet 'for all I have the Bingzhou scissors in vain — they cannot cut the thousand threads of parting sorrow' is one of the most quoted lines in Song lyric. Critics have especially prized the paradoxical personification of the willow and the way the poem keeps its grief at once abstract and tactile. In the history of farewell lyrics it stands as the purest example of the qingkong manner: no narrative, no lament — only an object, an argument, and a metaphor.

这首《长亭怨慢·渐吹尽》，是姜夔写离别咏柳之作，写枝头香絮、长亭树、难翦离愁之情，含蓄深婉。上片写枝头香絮与长亭树：「渐吹尽、枝头香絮。是处人家，绿深门户」——渐吹尽、枝头香絮，是处人家，绿深门户。写枝头香絮：渐吹尽枝头香絮、是处人家绿深门户——柳絮将尽、人家绿阴深门；「远浦萦回，暮帆零乱向何许」——远浦萦回，暮帆零乱向何许。写远浦暮帆：远浦萦回、暮帆零乱向何许——远浦萦回、暮帆零乱、去向何方；「阅人多矣，谁得似、长亭树」——阅人多矣，谁得似、长亭树。写长亭树：阅人多矣、谁得似长亭树——阅人多矣、谁如长亭之柳；「树若有情时，不会得、青青如此」——树若有情时，不会得、青青如此。写树若有情：树若有情时、不会得青青如此（用天若有情之意）——树若有情、不会青青如此。下片写望高城不见与难翦离愁：「日暮。望高城不见，只见乱山无数」——日暮，望高城不见，只见乱山无数。写望高城不见：日暮、望高城不见，只见乱山无数——日暮望高城不见、唯乱山无数；「韦郎去也，怎忘得、玉环分付」——韦郎去也，怎忘得、玉环分付。写玉环分付：韦郎去也（用韦皋玉箫之典）、怎忘得玉环分付——韦郎去矣、怎忘玉环分付；「第一是、早早归来，怕红萼、无人为主」——第一是、早早归来，怕红萼、无人为主。写怕红萼无主：第一是早早归来、怕红萼无人为主——第一早早归来、怕红萼无人作主；「算空有并刀，难翦离愁千缕」——算空有并刀，难翦离愁千缕。写难翦离愁：算空有并刀（用并州快剪之意）、难翦离愁千缕——虽有并刀、难剪离愁千缕。这「算空有并刀，难翦离愁千缕」，是全词之结：以难翦离愁写其别情。全词含蓄深婉，托物寄情，正是姜夔词中的名篇。

Prosody

Form Ci (lyric) to the tune 'Changting Yuanman' (Long Pavilion, Slow Resentment), a long lyric (changdiao)词（长亭怨慢，长调）
Rhyme The tune Changting Yuanman is a long lyric of ninety-seven characters, with ten lines in each of the upper and lower stanzas. It rhymes on oblique (ze) tones: xu ('catkins'), hu ('door'), xu ('where'), shu ('tree'), ci ('thus'), mu ('dusk'), shu ('countless'), fu ('to entrust'), zhu ('to tend'), and lü ('threads') all fall within the Yu-yu ( rhyme group. Following the established tune pattern, the long form unfolds in extended narration, its lines of uneven length rising and falling with the feeling — a cadence that suits the restrained depth of this farewell lyric.此词为《长亭怨慢》调，长调九十七字，上片下片各十句。押仄声韵：「絮」「户」「许」「树」「此」「暮」「数」「付」「主」「缕」押语麌部韵。词体依词谱而定，长调铺叙，句式长短错落，音节随情起伏，正与写离别咏柳的含蓄深婉相称，也见其以长调写别情的自然。
Tone pattern In the upper stanza, 'Gradually blown away, the fragrant catkins on the boughs' and 'everywhere homesteads, their gates deep in green shade' open in a clear, spare cadence; 'distant creeks wind and turn; at dusk the scattered sails drift — to where?' falls in a low, lingering rhythm; 'It has seen so many people pass — who is like the long-pavilion tree?' breaks off in emphasis. In the lower stanza, 'The sun sets: I look toward the high walls but cannot see them; I see only countless tumbled mountains' sounds in disconsolate, lost cadences; 'Since Wei Lang has gone, how could I forget what Yu-huan entrusted to me?' turns in a plaintive, winding rhythm; 'Above all, come back early — I fear the red calyxes will have no one to tend them' sinks low and lingering; 'For all I have the Bingzhou scissors in vain — they cannot cut the thousand threads of parting sorrow' closes in a long, trailing resonance. The whole lyric rises and falls with the feeling — from clear spareness through low lingering turns to a long trailing close — true to the long lyric's art of extended narration, and it reads like the hushed, plaintive music of a farewell beneath the willows.句式上，上片「渐吹尽、枝头香絮。是处人家，绿深门户」写枝头香絮，音节清疏；「远浦萦回，暮帆零乱向何许」写远浦暮帆，音节低回；「阅人多矣，谁得似、长亭树」写长亭树，音节顿挫；下片「日暮。望高城不见，只见乱山无数」写望高城不见，音节怅惘；「韦郎去也，怎忘得、玉环分付」写玉环分付，音节委婉；「第一是、早早归来，怕红萼、无人为主」写怕红萼无主，音节低回；「算空有并刀，难翦离愁千缕」写难翦离愁，音节绵长。全词音节随情起伏，由清疏而低回、由委婉而绵长，正合长调「铺叙」之妙，读来如离别咏柳、难翦离愁之音，含蓄而动人。
Reading note To the tune 'Changting Yuanman', this is Jiang Kui's celebrated farewell lyric and a model of his limpid-and-refined (qingkong saya) manner, collected in lyric anthologies across the centuries. Its artistry lies in restrained depth, investing objects with feeling: the upper stanza moves from catkins to the pavilion tree, the lower stanza from sunset mountains to the uncut threads of sorrow. Most masterly are the two turns — 'It has seen so many people pass — who is like the long-pavilion tree', which makes the willow the witness of all partings, and 'If the tree had any feeling, it could not stay so green', which blames the willow's greenness on heartlessness, one reversal writing the unbearable weight of grief; and the closing 'for all I have the Bingzhou scissors in vain — they cannot cut the thousand threads of parting sorrow', which makes sorrow at once tangible and inextricable. This is the standard of Jiang Kui's qingkong farewell lyric, and a staple of the anthologies.此词为《长亭怨慢》调，是姜夔写离别咏柳之作，也是其词中的名篇。全词的艺术特色在于「含蓄深婉、托物寄情」：上片「渐吹尽、枝头香絮。是处人家，绿深门户」写枝头香絮、「远浦萦回，暮帆零乱向何许」写远浦暮帆、「阅人多矣，谁得似、长亭树」写长亭树、「树若有情时，不会得、青青如此」写树若有情；下片「日暮。望高城不见，只见乱山无数」写望高城不见、「韦郎去也，怎忘得、玉环分付」写玉环分付、「第一是、早早归来，怕红萼、无人为主」写怕红萼无主、「算空有并刀，难翦离愁千缕」写难翦离愁。全词含蓄深婉，托物寄情。尤为精妙者，是「阅人多矣，谁得似、长亭树」以长亭柳写别情；而「算空有并刀，难翦离愁千缕」以并刀难剪写离愁，正是姜夔词「清空骚雅」的典范，为历代词选所常收。

Line by line

渐吹尽、枝头香絮。

Gradually blown away — the fragrant catkins on the boughs.

渐吹尽、枝头香絮。

Gradually blown away, the fragrant catkins on the boughs.

首句写枝头香絮，起笔即见其景。「渐吹尽、枝头香絮」写渐吹尽枝头香絮，「渐吹尽」写渐渐吹尽、「枝头香絮」写枝头之柳絮。一句以「渐吹尽」写柳絮渐尽、以「枝头香絮」写枝头柳絮，写尽春深柳絮将尽之景。以景起兴，含蓄而清疏，是「以景起兴」的妙笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

The opening line writes the fragrant catkins on the boughs, the scene at the first stroke. Gradually blown away, the fragrant catkins on the boughs writes the gradually-blown-away, the bough catkins. One line, the gradually blown away for the catkins' ending, the bough catkins for the willow down on the bough, exhausting the deep-spring scene of the catkins almost gone. Rising in scene, restrained and sparse, the fine brush. The line writes the depth in scant words, the feeling and flavor both fine, the pointed stroke. Its hidden undercurrents call for repeated brooding.

阅人多矣，谁得似、长亭树。

It has seen so many people pass — who is like the long-pavilion tree?

阅人多矣，谁得似、长亭树。

It has watched so many pass; who is like the tree by the long pavilion?

此三句写长亭树，是全词写咏柳的关键。「阅人多矣」写阅人多矣，「阅人」写看尽往来之人、「多矣」写很多；「谁得似、长亭树」写谁得似长亭树，「谁得似」写谁能比得上、「长亭树」写长亭之柳。三句一写阅人多矣、一写谁得似长亭树，以阅人多写长亭柳看尽送别、以谁得似写其别情之深，写尽长亭之柳阅人无数、谁得似其别情之情。以柳写别，含蓄而深婉，是「以柳写别」的点睛之笔。

The three lines write the long-pavilion tree, the key of the ci's willow song. It has watched so many pass writes the watched-all-the-comers, the many; who is like the tree by the long pavilion? writes the who-compares, the long-pavilion willow. Three lines, one the watched many, one the tree by the pavilion, the watched many for the long-pavilion willow's seeing all the farewells, the who-compares for the depth of its parting feeling, exhausting the willow's having seen so many and no tree like its parting grief. Writing parting through the willow, restrained and tactful, the pointed brush.

树若有情时，不会得、青青如此。

If the tree had any feeling, it could not stay so green.

树若有情时，不会得、青青如此。

If the tree had feeling, it could not be so green.

此三句写树若有情，是全词写其别情的关键。「树若有情时」写树若有情时，用天若有情亦老之意写树若有情；「不会得、青青如此」写不会得青青如此，「不会得」写就不会、「青青如此」写柳色如此青青。三句一写树若有情时、一写不会得青青如此，以树若有情写其拟人、以不会得青青如此写柳若无情才青青，写尽长亭柳若无情才得青青如此之慨。以反写情，含蓄而深婉，是「以反写情」的点睛之笔。

The three lines write if the tree had feeling, the key of the ci's parting feeling. If the tree had feeling uses the if heaven had feeling it too would age meaning for the tree's feeling; it could not be so green writes the could not, the willow so green. Three lines, one the tree's feeling, one the cannot-be-so-green, the personification through the tree's feeling, the willow's green only because it is feelingless, exhausting the long-pavilion willow's being so green only because it has no feeling. Writing feeling through the reverse, restrained and tactful, the pointed brush.

算空有并刀，难翦离愁千缕。

For all I have the Bingzhou scissors in vain — they cannot cut the thousand threads of parting sorrow.

算空有并刀，难翦离愁千缕。

Though I have the sharp scissors of Bing, I cannot cut the thousand threads of parting grief.

尾二句写难翦离愁，是全词立意的落点。「算空有并刀」写算空有并刀，「算空有」写算来空有、「并刀」用杜甫并州快剪之意写快剪；「难翦离愁千缕」写难翦离愁千缕，「难翦」写难剪断、「离愁千缕」写千缕之离愁。两句一写算空有并刀、一写难翦离愁千缕，以并刀写剪之快、以难翦离愁写其剪不断，写尽空有并刀、难剪离愁千缕之情。以喻写愁，含蓄而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以喻写愁」的点睛之笔。

The closing two lines write the uncuttable parting grief, the landing point of the ci. Though I have the sharp scissors of Bing writes the reckoned-in-vain, the Bing scissors using Du Fu's Bing quick scissors for the shears; I cannot cut the thousand threads of parting grief writes the hard-to-cut, the thousand threads of grief. Two lines, one the vain Bing scissors, one the thousand uncut threads, the scissors for the sharp shears, the hard-to-cut for the unbreakable, exhausting the vain shears and the thousand uncut threads. Writing grief through metaphor, restrained and deep, the most moving place, the pointed brush.

Study

Word focus

渐 'Gradually' — the adverb that gives the opening its slow motion: the catkins are not blown away at once but little by little, so that spring's ending itself becomes a process of loss. 「渐」字写渐吹尽，是写柳絮渐尽的关键。「渐吹尽、枝头香絮」着一「渐」，写渐渐——着一「渐」字，写柳絮渐渐吹尽，见春之渐深。一字写尽吹尽之渐，是「以一字写景」的妙笔。「渐」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
阅 'To witness, to have seen' — the verb that turns the pavilion tree into an old observer of farewells; its long experience of partings is the measure against which the poet's own sorrow is weighed. 「阅」字写阅人多矣，是写长亭柳看尽别离的关键。「阅人多矣」着一「阅」，写看尽——着一「阅」字，写长亭柳看尽往来之人，见其阅历之深。一字写尽阅人之多，是「以一字写物」的点睛之词。「阅」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
分付 'To entrust, to charge' — the word for the beloved's parting injunction, kept in memory like a keepsake; two syllables hold the intimacy and the weight of a promise made at parting. 「分付」写玉环分付，是写临别之托的关键。「怎忘得、玉环分付」着一「分付」，写叮嘱——着一「分付」，写玉环临别之叮嘱，见其情深。两字写尽临别之托，是「以词写情」的点睛之词。「分付」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
难翦 'Hard to cut' — the verb of the closing metaphor: even the famous Bingzhou scissors cannot sever the 'thousand threads' of sorrow, which are at once willow threads and threads of feeling. 「难翦」写难翦离愁千缕，是写离愁难断的关键。「难翦离愁千缕」着一「难翦」，写难剪断——着一「难翦」，写并刀难剪离愁，见离愁之重。两字写尽离愁难断，是「以词写愁」的点睛之词。「难翦」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

雨霖铃·寒蝉凄切 Yu Lin Ling: 'The Cold Cicada's Shrill Cry' 柳永 · 同写离别愁绪、千缕难消，一写便纵有千种风情更与何人说、一写算空有并刀难翦离愁千缕，皆于别情之中见离愁之重 Both write the sorrow of parting in threads beyond cutting — one 'even if I had a thousand moods of feeling, to whom could I tell them', the other 'for all I have the Bingzhou scissors in vain — they cannot cut the thousand threads of parting sorrow' — both voice the weight of sorrow within parting.

Liu Yong's 'Yu Lin Ling' ('Since ancient times the most sentimental have grieved at parting, and more so in this cold, deserted autumn season'; 'even if I had a thousand moods of feeling, to whom could I tell them') writes the sorrow of parting and having no one to tell it to, and is the Song dynasty's most famous farewell lyric; Jiang Kui's 'Changting Yuanman' instead writes 'It has seen so many people pass — who is like the long-pavilion tree' and 'for all I have the Bingzhou scissors in vain — they cannot cut the thousand threads of parting sorrow'. Both lyrics are parting sorrow in threads beyond cutting: one uses having no one to tell to write sorrow, the other the Bingzhou scissors unable to cut to write sorrow; one is Liu Yong's gracefulness, the other Jiang Kui's limpid emptiness (qingkong). Read together, they show two Song approaches to the sorrow of parting.

柳永《雨霖铃·寒蝉凄切》「多情自古伤离别，更那堪，冷落清秋节」「便纵有千种风情，更与何人说」，写离别之愁、无人可说，是宋词写离别的名篇；姜夔《长亭怨慢》则以「阅人多矣，谁得似、长亭树」「算空有并刀，难翦离愁千缕」写长亭树、难翦离愁。两词同写离别愁绪、千缕难消：一写便纵有千种风情更与何人说、以无人说写愁，一写算空有并刀难翦离愁千缕、以并刀难剪写愁；一为柳永之婉约、一为姜夔之清空，并读正可见宋词写「离愁」的两种笔法，皆于别情之中见离愁之重。

 浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯 Huanxisha: 'A New Song over a Cup of Wine' 晏殊 · 同写时序流转、无可奈何，一写无可奈何花落去似曾相识燕归来、一写树若有情时不会得青青如此，皆于花柳之中见无可奈何 Both face the passing of time in helplessness — one 'helplessly the flowers fall away, the swallows return as if half-remembered', the other 'if the tree had any feeling, it could not stay so green' — both find helplessness among flowers and willows.

Yan Shu's 'Huanxisha' ('Helplessly the flowers fall away; the swallows return as if half-remembered') writes the helplessness of spring's passing and is the Song dynasty's most famous lyric of regretting time; Jiang Kui's 'Changting Yuanman' instead writes 'It has seen so many people pass — who is like the long-pavilion tree' and 'if the tree had any feeling, it could not stay so green'. Both lyrics face the passing of time in helplessness: one uses falling flowers and returning swallows to regret time, the other the willow's unchanging green to write heartlessness; one is Yan Shu's warm smoothness, the other Jiang Kui's limpid emptiness. Read together, they show two Song approaches to the helplessness of passing time.

晏殊《浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯》「无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来」，写春逝之无可奈何，是宋词写惜时的名篇；姜夔《长亭怨慢》则以「阅人多矣，谁得似、长亭树」「树若有情时，不会得、青青如此」写长亭树、树若有情。两词同写时序流转、无可奈何：一写无可奈何花落去似曾相识燕归来、以花落燕归写惜时，一写树若有情时不会得青青如此、以柳青写无情；一为晏殊之温润、一为姜夔之清空，并读正可见宋词写「时序无可奈何」的两种笔法，皆于花柳之中见无可奈何。