宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
翠楼吟
Song of the Green Tower (To the Tune 'Cui Lou Yin')
月冷龙沙，尘轻虎落，今年汉酺初赐。
新翻胡部曲，听毡幕、元戎歌吹。
层楼高峙。
看栏曲萦红，檐牙飞翠。
人姝丽。
粉香吹下，夜寒风细。
此地。
宜有词仙，拥素云黄鹤，与君游戏。
玉梯凝望久，叹芳草、萋萋千里。
天涯情味。
仗酒袯清愁，花销英气。
西山外。
晚来还卷，一帘秋霁。
This year the court has first granted a communal feast.
Newly arranged tunes from the foreign bands,
And from the felt tents, songs and flutes of the commander-in-chief.
The storied tower stands tall.
See the winding rails coil in red, the eaves' teeth flash in green.
How beautiful the singers —
Their powdered fragrance drifts down; the night wind is thin and cold.
A place like this
Should have an immortal of verse,
Embracing white clouds and the yellow crane,
At play with you.
Long I stand gazing from the jade stairs,
Sighing over fragrant grass spreading a thousand miles.
The taste of the sky's edge.
I lean on wine to wash away clear sorrow,
On flowers to squander my heroic spirit.
West of the Western Hills,
Evening comes and rolls up
A single curtain of autumn clarity.
Meaning
Written at a tower in Wuchang amid feasting and music, the song moves from a grand frontier-flavored banquet scene to the singers' beauty, then turns to the poet's own long gaze over the southern grass, the sorrow of exile at the sky's edge, and closes with the image of autumn calm behind a rolled-up curtain. The feast is described whole; the poet stands outside it — Jiang Kui's signature 'clear and empty' restraint.
月冷龙沙，尘轻虎落，今年汉酺初赐。新翻胡部曲，听毡幕、元戎歌吹。层楼高峙。看栏曲萦红，檐牙飞翠。人姝丽。粉香吹下，夜寒风细。此地。宜有词仙，拥素云黄鹤，与君游戏。玉梯凝望久，叹芳草、萋萋千里。天涯情味。仗酒袯清愁，花销英气。西山外。晚来还卷，一帘秋霁。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] The moon is cold over Dragon Sands, the dust light on the tiger palisades; this year the court has granted a communal feast. Newly arranged foreign-band music sounds from the felt tents of the commander. The tower stands high; its rails coil red, its eaves flash green; the singers are beautiful, their powdered fragrance drifting down on a thin cold wind. A place like this should have an immortal of verse, embracing white clouds and the yellow crane, at play with you. But the poet lingers long on the jade stairs, sighing over grass that spreads a thousand miles — the taste of the sky's edge — leaning on wine to wash clear sorrow, on flowers to squander heroic spirit. West of the hills, evening rolls up a single curtain of autumn clarity. [Structure] The song describes a feast from which the poet is absent; every beauty is someone else's. [Imagery] Cold, thin, faint — the 'clear and empty' manner. [Tone] Sorrow is not resolved; it is hung up like a curtain.
【白话串讲】 姜夔写《翠楼吟》：“月冷龙沙，尘轻虎落，今年汉酺初赐”——“新翻胡部曲，听毡幕、元戎歌吹”——“层楼高峙。看栏曲萦红，檐牙飞翠”——“此地。宜有词仙，拥素云黄鹤，与君游戏”——他写翠楼。 【意象与手法】 “月冷龙沙，尘轻虎落，今年汉酺初赐”写边地形势；“新翻胡部曲，听毡幕、元戎歌吹”写军中歌吹；“层楼高峙。看栏曲萦红，檐牙飞翠”写翠楼之丽；“此地。宜有词仙，拥素云黄鹤，与君游戏”以词仙自许；结以“西山外。晚来还卷，一帘秋霁”以秋霁收束。铺叙工丽、清空含蓄。 【情感与主旨】 姜夔登临咏怀之作，写武昌翠楼之胜景与登楼之感，于歌舞升平中暗含忧虑，是白石自度曲中的代表作。 【名句点睛】 常考“层楼高峙。看栏曲萦红，檐牙飞翠”以栏曲檐牙写翠楼之丽；“此地。宜有词仙，拥素云黄鹤”以词仙自许写登临之感。
Background
Jiang Kui (c. 1155-c. 1221), courtesy name Yaozhang, styled Master Baishi, of Poyang in Raozhou, was a poet and musician who never held office and lived by his art; his ci founded the 'clear and elegant' manner of the late Song. 'Cui Lou Yin' is one of his self-composed tunes, written in 1186 at Anyuan Tower in Wuchang on the Yangzi, at a gathering during a season of court celebration. The poem looks at military music, foreign tunes, and singing girls — and ends by looking away from them all, toward the grass of the sky's edge.
《翠楼吟》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。此词写登临咏怀，为登临武昌安远楼之作。词中「月冷龙沙，尘轻虎落，今年汉酺初赐」写龙沙月冷；「新翻胡部曲，听毡幕、元戎歌吹」写胡部新曲；「层楼高峙。看栏曲萦红，檐牙飞翠」写层楼高峙；「人姝丽。粉香吹下，夜寒风细」写人姝丽；「此地。宜有词仙，拥素云黄鹤，与君游戏」写拥素云黄鹤；「玉梯凝望久，叹芳草、萋萋千里」写叹芳草萋萋；「天涯情味。仗酒袯清愁，花销英气」写仗酒消愁；「西山外。晚来还卷，一帘秋霁」写一帘秋霁。姜夔此词以登临咏怀、一帘秋霁写其登临之情，含蓄空灵，是姜夔词中的名篇。此篇《翠楼吟》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 song's craft is negative space. The first stanza catalogues a feast — feast, music, tent, tower, rails, eaves, singers — and at every point the poet stands outside: the feast is granted, the music is the commander's, the beauty belongs to the wind. 'How beautiful the singers' is one breath of admiration, immediately cooled by 'the night wind is thin and cold.' The second stanza names what ought to be here — an immortal of verse, white clouds, the yellow crane — and then admits the poet's own position: long gazing, sighing, at the sky's edge. The closing image does the work of a conclusion without concluding: evening rolls up one curtain of autumn clarity, and sorrow, wine, and flowers are all behind the cloth. This is what 'clear and empty' means: nothing insisted, everything implied.
此词艺术上以「含蓄空灵、以景写情」见长。全词上片写龙沙月冷与层楼高峙，下片写拥素云黄鹤与一帘秋霁。上片「月冷龙沙，尘轻虎落，今年汉酺初赐」写龙沙月冷：月冷龙沙，尘轻虎落，今年汉酺初赐；「新翻胡部曲，听毡幕、元戎歌吹」写胡部新曲：新翻胡部曲，听毡幕、元戎歌吹；「层楼高峙。看栏曲萦红，檐牙飞翠」写层楼高峙：层楼高峙，看栏曲萦红，檐牙飞翠；「人姝丽。粉香吹下，夜寒风细」写人姝丽：人姝丽，粉香吹下，夜寒风细。下片「此地。宜有词仙，拥素云黄鹤，与君游戏」写拥素云黄鹤：此地，宜有词仙，拥素云黄鹤，与君游戏；「玉梯凝望久，叹芳草、萋萋千里」写叹芳草萋萋：玉梯凝望久，叹芳草、萋萋千里；「天涯情味。仗酒袯清愁，花销英气」写仗酒消愁：天涯情味，仗酒袯清愁，花销英气；「西山外。晚来还卷，一帘秋霁」写一帘秋霁：西山外，晚来还卷，一帘秋霁。全词含蓄空灵，以景写情，是姜夔词中的名篇。
Allusions
'Dragon Sands' and 'tiger palisades' are frontier vocabulary — dragon-sand deserts and the bamboo palisades that guard camps — borrowed to give the river town the color of a border march. 'The communal feast' refers to the grand drinking feasts granted by Han emperors on occasions of joy, an honorific way of praising the present court's celebration. 'Foreign-band tunes' belong to the Hu section of Tang palace music, a marker of frontier fashion; felt tents and the commander place the music in a military camp. 'The immortal of verse, white clouds, the yellow crane' alludes to Cui Hao's 'Yellow Crane Tower': the immortal who rode off on the crane, the white clouds that remain for a thousand years. 'Fragrant grass, lush for a thousand miles' echoes the same poem's parrot isle. 'Jade stairs' is the classical ladder to the moon; 'bo' in 'leaning on wine' means to cleanse.
词中「月冷龙沙」「尘轻虎落」「汉酺」「胡部曲」「毡幕」「元戎歌吹」「层楼高峙」「栏曲萦红」「檐牙飞翠」「人姝丽」「粉香吹下」「夜寒风细」「此地」「词仙」「素云黄鹤」「玉梯凝望」「芳草萋萋千里」「天涯情味」「仗酒袯清愁」「花销英气」「西山外」「晚来还卷」「一帘秋霁」等语，皆含典故故实。「月冷龙沙」写月照龙沙（龙沙为边塞之地）；「尘轻虎落」写虎落（虎落为遮护营地之竹篱）之尘轻；「汉酺」写汉朝赐酺（酺为聚会饮酒，汉文帝尝赐酺）；「胡部曲」写胡部之乐曲（唐有胡部乐）；「毡幕」写毡幕；「元戎歌吹」写主帅之歌吹；「层楼高峙」写高楼高峙；「栏曲萦红」写栏曲萦红；「檐牙飞翠」写檐牙飞翠；「人姝丽」写人姝丽；「粉香吹下」写粉香吹下；「夜寒风细」写夜寒风细；「此地」写此地；「词仙」写词中之仙（用崔颢黄鹤楼诗之意，亦暗含词仙之喻）；「素云黄鹤」用崔颢《黄鹤楼》「昔人已乘黄鹤去，此地空余黄鹤楼」「白云千载空悠悠」之意，写素云黄鹤；「玉梯凝望」写玉梯凝望；「芳草萋萋千里」用崔颢「芳草萋萋鹦鹉洲」之意；「天涯情味」写天涯情味；「仗酒袯清愁」写仗酒消除清愁（袯同祓，消除）；「花销英气」写花销英气；「西山外」写西山之外；「晚来还卷」写晚来还卷；「一帘秋霁」写一帘秋霁。词人以龙沙、虎落、汉酺、胡部曲、素云黄鹤、芳草萋萋、一帘秋霁等语入词，不着痕迹，而把登临咏怀之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。
Commentary
'Cui Lou Yin' has been in anthologies since the Song and is the standard exhibit for Jiang Kui's 'clear and empty' manner. Commentators note its double movement: a feast seen whole and a poet seen alone, in the same song. The tune's music is lost; readers judge it by the text, whose oblique rhymes fall like sighs at the end of each sentence. Later ci writers imitated the surface — the cold moon, the green eaves — and missed the structure, in which the most beautiful scene in the poem is declared to belong to absent immortals, and the poet keeps only the grass, the wine, and a curtain of clearing sky.
这首《翠楼吟》，是姜夔写登临咏怀之作，写月冷龙沙、层楼高峙、一帘秋霁之情，含蓄空灵。上片写龙沙月冷与层楼高峙：「月冷龙沙，尘轻虎落，今年汉酺初赐」——月冷龙沙，尘轻虎落，今年汉酺初赐。写龙沙月冷：月冷龙沙、尘轻虎落，今年汉酺初赐——月照龙沙、尘轻虎落、今年汉酺初赐；「新翻胡部曲，听毡幕、元戎歌吹」——新翻胡部曲，听毡幕、元戎歌吹。写胡部新曲：新翻胡部曲、听毡幕元戎歌吹——新翻胡部曲、毡幕元戎歌吹；「层楼高峙。看栏曲萦红，檐牙飞翠」——层楼高峙，看栏曲萦红，檐牙飞翠。写层楼高峙：层楼高峙、看栏曲萦红、檐牙飞翠——高楼高峙、栏曲萦红、檐牙飞翠；「人姝丽。粉香吹下，夜寒风细」——人姝丽，粉香吹下，夜寒风细。写人姝丽：人姝丽、粉香吹下，夜寒风细——佳人姝丽、粉香吹下、夜寒风细。下片写拥素云黄鹤与一帘秋霁：「此地。宜有词仙，拥素云黄鹤，与君游戏」——此地，宜有词仙，拥素云黄鹤，与君游戏。写拥素云黄鹤：此地宜有词仙、拥素云黄鹤（用崔颢黄鹤楼之意），与君游戏——此地宜有词仙、拥素云黄鹤；「玉梯凝望久，叹芳草、萋萋千里」——玉梯凝望久，叹芳草、萋萋千里。写叹芳草萋萋：玉梯凝望久、叹芳草萋萋千里——玉梯凝望、叹芳草萋萋千里；「天涯情味。仗酒袯清愁，花销英气」——天涯情味，仗酒袯清愁，花销英气。写仗酒消愁：天涯情味、仗酒袯清愁，花销英气——天涯情味、仗酒消愁、花销英气；「西山外。晚来还卷，一帘秋霁」——西山外，晚来还卷，一帘秋霁。写一帘秋霁：西山外、晚来还卷，一帘秋霁——西山外、晚来还卷一帘秋霁。这「西山外。晚来还卷，一帘秋霁」，是全词之结：以一帘秋霁写其登临之景。全词含蓄空灵，以景写情，正是姜夔词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
月冷龙沙，尘轻虎落，今年汉酺初赐。
The moon is cold over Dragon Sands, the dust is light on the tiger palisades — this year the court has first granted a communal feast.
月冷龙沙，尘轻虎落，今年汉酺初赐。
The moon cold over the dragon sands, the dust light by the tiger fence; this year the Han communal feast is first bestowed.
首三句写龙沙月冷，起笔即见其境。「月冷龙沙」写月冷龙沙，「月冷」写月色清冷、「龙沙」写边塞之地；「尘轻虎落」写尘轻虎落，「尘轻」写尘土轻、「虎落」写护营之竹篱；「今年汉酺初赐」写今年汉酺初赐，「今年」写今年、「汉酺初赐」用汉朝赐酺之典写初赐酺。三句一写月冷龙沙、一写尘轻虎落、一写今年汉酺初赐，以龙沙写其边地、以虎落写其营垒、以汉酺写其宴赐，写尽月冷龙沙、尘轻虎落之境。以景起兴，含蓄而苍茫，是「以景起兴」的妙笔。
The first three lines write the cold moon over the dragon sands, the scene at the first stroke. The moon cold over the dragon sands writes the cold moonlight, the frontier land; the dust light by the tiger fence writes the light dust, the camp's bamboo fence; this year the Han communal feast is first bestowed writes this year, the Han-feast allusion for the first bestowal. Three lines, one the cold dragon-sands moon, one the light dust by the fence, one the first Han feast, the dragon sands for the border, the tiger fence for the rampart, the Han feast for the banquet-bestowal, exhausting the cold border scene. Rising in scene, restrained and vast, the fine brush.
层楼高峙。
The storied tower stands tall.
层楼高峙。
The storied towers stand high.
此句写层楼高峙，是全词写登临之楼的关键。「层楼高峙」写层楼高峙，「层楼」写重重之高楼、「高峙」写高耸峙立。一句以「层楼」写楼之层、以「高峙」写其高耸，写尽层楼高峙之状——高楼层叠、耸然而峙。以景写楼，含蓄而壮丽，是「以景写楼」的点睛之笔。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 line writes the storied towers standing high, the key of the ci's climbing tower. The storied towers stand high: the storied for the piled high buildings, the high standing for the lofty rise. One line, the storied for the tower's layers, the high standing for its soaring, exhausting the piled towers soaring aloft. Writing the tower through scene, restrained and grand, the pointed 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.
宜有词仙，拥素云黄鹤，与君游戏。
There should be an immortal of verse here, embracing white clouds and the yellow crane, at play with you.
宜有词仙，拥素云黄鹤，与君游戏。
Here should be the poet-immortals, riding the white clouds and yellow crane, to sport with you.
此三句写拥素云黄鹤，是全词以典写境的关键。「宜有词仙」写宜有词仙，「宜有」写应有、「词仙」写词中之仙；「拥素云黄鹤」写拥素云黄鹤，用崔颢黄鹤楼之典写素云黄鹤；「与君游戏」写与君游戏，「与君」写与你、「游戏」写游戏。三句一写宜有词仙、一写拥素云黄鹤、一写与君游戏，以词仙写其神游、以素云黄鹤用黄鹤楼之典、以游戏写其超然，写尽此地宜有词仙拥素云黄鹤、与君游戏之情。以典写境，含蓄而空灵，是「以典写境」的点睛之笔。
The three lines write the riding of white clouds and yellow crane, the key of the ci's allusive scene. Here should be the poet-immortals writes the should-be, the ci's immortals; riding the white clouds and yellow crane uses the Cui Hao Yellow Crane Tower allusion for the clouds and crane; to sport with you writes the with-you, the sporting. Three lines, one the should-be poet-immortals, one the white clouds and crane, one the sport with you, the poet-immortals for the spirit journey, the Yellow Crane Tower allusion, the sport for the transcendence, exhausting the place's due poet-immortals riding the clouds and crane to sport. Writing scene through allusion, restrained and ethereal, the pointed brush.
晚来还卷，一帘秋霁。
Evening comes and rolls up a single curtain of autumn clarity.
西山外。晚来还卷，一帘秋霁。
West of the hills. Evening comes, the curtain rolled up; a whole curtain of cleared autumn.
尾三句写一帘秋霁，是全词立意的落点。「西山外」写西山外，「西山」写西山、「外」写之外；「晚来还卷」写晚来还卷，「晚来」写傍晚、「还卷」写还卷起；「一帘秋霁」写一帘秋霁，「一帘」写一帘、「秋霁」写秋日雨后初晴。三句一写西山外、一写晚来还卷、一写一帘秋霁，以西山外写其远望、以晚来还卷写卷帘、以一帘秋霁写秋霁之景，写尽西山外晚来还卷、一帘秋霁之情。以景作结，含蓄而空灵，是全词最动人处，也是「以景作结」的点睛之笔。
The closing three lines write the curtain of cleared autumn, the landing point of the ci. West of the hills writes the west hills, the beyond; evening comes, the curtain rolled up writes the evening, the rolled-up curtain; a whole curtain of cleared autumn writes the curtain, the autumn after rain. Three lines, one the west hills beyond, one the evening rolling up, one the curtain of cleared autumn, the west hills for the distant gaze, the rolling for the raised curtain, the cleared autumn for the after-rain scene, exhausting the evening roll and the cleared autumn. Closing in scene, restrained and ethereal, the most moving place, the pointed brush.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Lin Bu's 'sparse shadows slant across the clear shallows, hidden fragrance floats in the twilight moon' achieves detachment through reclusion. Jiang Kui's immortal of verse plays amid clouds and crane inside a world of feasts and music. Two Song modes of purity: one withdrawing from the world, one standing in it untouched.
林逋《山园小梅》「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」，写梅之清雅、超然物外，是宋诗咏梅的绝唱；姜夔《翠楼吟》则以「此地。宜有词仙，拥素云黄鹤，与君游戏」「西山外。晚来还卷，一帘秋霁」写拥素云黄鹤、一帘秋霁。两词同写登临清赏、超然自得：一写暗香浮动月黄昏、以梅写清，一写拥素云黄鹤与君游戏、以黄鹤写超；一为林逋之清逸、一为姜夔之清空，并读正可见宋代写「清赏超然」的两种笔法，皆于清幽之中见超然。
水调歌头·明月几时有 Prelude to the Water Melody — 'On what day will the bright moon appear?' (Shui Diao Ge Tou) 苏轼 · 同写登楼望月、神游物外，一写我欲乘风归去、一写宜有词仙拥素云黄鹤，皆于楼台之中见神游物外 Both rise from a tower toward immortal realms — one would ride the wind home, one would play with clouds and craneSu Shi, 'I would ride the wind and return, yet fear the jade towers of the upper air, too cold to bear' — the immortal voyage checked by human feeling. Jiang Kui's immortal already owns the clouds and crane, and the poet only wishes he could join the game. Su asks to leave the world; Jiang asks to be visited by it.
苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「我欲乘风归去，又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒」，写登楼望月、神游物外，是宋词写旷达的千古名篇；姜夔《翠楼吟》则以「此地。宜有词仙，拥素云黄鹤，与君游戏」「玉梯凝望久，叹芳草、萋萋千里」写拥素云黄鹤、玉梯凝望。两词同写登楼望月、神游物外：一写我欲乘风归去、以乘风写旷，一写宜有词仙拥素云黄鹤、以黄鹤写仙；一为苏轼之超旷、一为姜夔之清空，并读正可见宋词写「登楼神游」的两种情致，皆于楼台之中见神游物外。