宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
蝶恋花·泪湿罗衣脂粉满
Butterflies in Love with Flowers · Tears Wet My Silk Robe
泪湿罗衣脂粉满,四叠阳关,唱到千千遍。
人道山长山又断,萧萧微雨闻孤馆。
惜别伤离方寸乱,忘了临行,酒盏深和浅。
好把音书凭过雁,东莱不似蓬莱远。
Four times the Song of the Sunny Pass is sung, sung a thousand times.
People say the mountains stretch far, yet mountains break again.
In the lonely inn I hear the drizzling rain.
Grief at parting makes my heart a mess;
I forgot the depth of wine cups when we said goodbye.
Let letters be sent by the wild geese;
Donglai is not as far as Penglai.
Meaning
The poet bids farewell to her sisters, crying and singing the farewell song countless times. Feeling desolate in a lonely inn, she comforts herself that letters can reach her destination, for Donglai is not as distant as the mythical Penglai.
泪水打湿了罗衣,脂粉也糊了满脸,把《阳关》曲叠唱了千千万万遍。人说山路漫长,可山外更有山隔断,只听得萧萧细雨敲打着孤寂的驿馆。惜别伤离教人心绪纷乱,竟忘了临行时酒杯是深是浅。且把书信托付南飞的大雁,东莱到底不像蓬莱那般遥远难及。
Appreciation
The upper stanza depicts the farewell with tears and repeated singing of the Farewell Song, while the lonely inn and drizzling rain deepen the sorrow. The lower stanza shows the poet's confusion during parting, but ends with a hopeful note about sending letters. The poem uses exaggerated repetition ('a thousand times') and a contrast between the distant Penglai and accessible Donglai to convey both grief and comfort.
【白话串讲】 送别姐妹,李清照哭得脂粉都湿了,阳关曲唱了千千遍。她劝自己别太伤心,又叮嘱:记得写信给我,东莱没有蓬莱那么远。闺中女子的深情,都在这些琐碎里。 【意象与手法】 上片“泪湿罗衣脂粉满”七字写尽狼狈之态,“四叠阳关,唱到千千遍”以夸张叠唱极言不舍 【情感与主旨】 此词题或作“晚止昌乐馆寄姊妹”,约作于李清照赴莱州(东莱)途中,夜宿昌乐馆,与送行姊妹话别后独处孤馆,思念难禁而写 【名句点睛】 考点多为:一、上片如何通过动作、景物描写渲染离愁;二、“四叠阳关,唱到千千遍”的修辞与情感表达
Background
This poem, also titled 'Staying at Changle Inn and Writing to My Sisters,' was written when Li Qingzhao was traveling to Laizhou (Donglai). After parting with her sisters, she stayed alone in an inn at Changle and wrote this to express her longing and sorrow. It reflects her loneliness on the journey and her hope for correspondence.
此词或题作「晚止昌乐馆寄姊妹」,是李清照传世词中少见的写姊妹情谊之作。关于作年,学界多系于宣和三年(1121)前后。其时李清照的丈夫赵明诚起复知莱州(今山东莱州,古称东莱),李清照自青州(今山东青州)启程,赴莱州与夫团聚。行至昌乐(今山东昌乐),夜宿驿馆,思念前来送别、尚留青州的姊妹,遂作此词。李清照与赵明诚屏居青州十余年,此间她与当地赵氏、李氏宗族的姊妹辈过从甚密,感情笃厚,一旦远行,惜别之情自难自禁。词题「寄姊妹」三字,标明这是一首以女性情谊为主题的寄赠之作,在宋词中颇为别致——词中送别对象多为男子、恋人,专写姊妹之别者实不多见。上片写临别时「泪湿罗衣脂粉满」的痛哭,「四叠阳关,唱到千千遍」的挽歌;下片写别后独宿孤馆的纷乱心绪,与「好把音书凭过雁」的叮嘱。整首词的情感主体是「姊妹」,而非夫妇,这在李清照词中构成一条相对独立的抒情线索,也为我们了解她闺阁生活的另一面提供了珍贵材料。据黄盛璋、王学初诸家的年谱考订,李清照此行的路线当是由青州东南行,经昌乐、潍州而东莱,昌乐馆即此途中的一处驿馆。词中「姊妹」究竟何人,学界或以为指赵明诚的姊妹,或以为指李清照自己的族姊妹,因史料阙如,难以确考,然其写女性情谊的真挚,则不因考据之难而减损。
Art
The upper stanza opens with a vivid image of tears and makeup smeared, then uses the repetitive singing of the Farewell Song to emphasize reluctance. The shift from narrative to scenery ('drizzling rain in lonely inn') conveys deep emotion implicitly. The lower stanza uses the detail of forgetting the wine cup depth to show emotional turmoil, and ends with the clever contrast of Penglai and Donglai, turning sorrow into a gentle consolation.
此词以白描与细节取胜,不假雕饰而情真意切。起句「泪湿罗衣脂粉满」,七字写尽临别痛哭之态:泪水打湿罗衣,脸上脂粉也哭花了,糊成一片——这是极写实的细节,把一个不顾仪容、尽情痛哭的女子形象推到读者眼前。次句「四叠阳关,唱到千千遍」,以夸张的叠唱写送别之不舍:阳关一曲,唱了又唱,何止三叠四叠,简直是「千千遍」。这种数字的夸张,与「泪湿罗衣」的写实形成对照,一实一虚,把惜别之情推到极致。以下「人道山长山又断」,写前路之险远,「萧萧微雨闻孤馆」以雨声烘托独宿之孤寂,景语皆情语。下片「惜别伤离方寸乱」直抒胸臆,「忘了临行,酒盏深和浅」又是一个极传神的细节——因心乱而连钱别酒喝了多少都记不清,写尽了离愁的迷乱。结句「好把音书凭过雁,东莱不似蓬莱远」,以劝慰作结,由悲转宽,见出词人对姊妹的体贴。全词以「泪」起,以「雁」收,细节真实,情感层次分明,是李清照白描抒情的佳作。更可留意其「以细节写深情」的白描手法:泪湿罗衣、脂粉糊面、唱遍阳关、忘了酒盏深浅,这些看似琐碎的细节,皆从生活中来,无一处夸张,却处处见深情。李清照不借典丽的辞藻,不施繁复的比兴,纯以白描取胜,与周邦彦的富艳精工、柳永的铺叙展衍截然不同,在宋词婉约一派中独标一格,开「清空疏淡」一路的先声。
Allusions
'Four times the Song of the Sunny Pass' refers to Wang Wei's poem 'Seeing Yuan off on a Mission to Anxi,' which is commonly sung as a farewell song at three repetitions. Here, 'four times' and 'a thousand times' exaggerate the unwillingness to part. 'Wild geese' alludes to the story of Su Wu in the Han Dynasty, who used geese to deliver letters. 'Penglai' is a legendary immortal island, symbolizing an unreachable distance; by saying Donglai is not like Penglai, she offers comfort.
此词用典不多,而化用精当。其一,「四叠阳关」用王维《送元二使安西》「劝君更尽一杯酒,西出阳关无故人」之意,此诗唐时即被谱入乐府,因末句反复叠唱,故称《阳关三叠》。李清照说「四叠」,是极言叠唱之繁,非确数,与下句「千千遍」同为夸张之辞,写送别时反复歌唱、难舍难分的情状。其二,「好把音书凭过雁」用鸿雁传书之典,典出《汉书·苏武传》「天子射上林中,得雁,足有系帛书」的传说,后世遂以「雁」为传递书信的意象。其三,「东莱不似蓬莱远」,以东莱(实指)对蓬莱(仙山),蓬莱为海上仙山,见《史记·封禅书》及《列子·汤问》,此句以东莱之「近」对蓬莱之「远」,安慰姊妹:莱州到底不是虚无缥缈的蓬莱仙山,音书可达,后会有期。「阳关」「过雁」「蓬莱」三典,一写别情之重,一写音问之便,一写后会之期,环环相扣,把送别的三重情意安排得井然有序。关于「四叠阳关」的「四」字,学界有不同理解:一说因《阳关三叠》本为三叠,李清照言「四叠」,是极言叠唱之繁;一说唐宋时《阳关曲》的唱法本有「四叠」之说,如苏轼《记阳关第四声》,故「四叠」或为当时实有的唱法。二说皆可通,而以「极言其多」之说更为通行。「东莱不似蓬莱远」中的「蓬莱」,或以为即指传说中海上仙山,或以为暗用《列子》五山之说,然就其劝慰姊妹的语意看,皆是以「可即」对「难即」,写音问可通、后会可期的宽解。
Commentary
Although not her most famous work, this poem reveals Li Qingzhao's genuine feelings during travel. It is praised for its simple yet deep language, showing her gentle and warm nature. The poem naturally transitions from sorrow to hope, demonstrating her skill in expressing emotions directly without artifice.
此词在李清照词中不属于最负盛名之列,但因其题材独特、情感真挚,历来为选家所重。词最初见于宋人曾慥所编《乐府雅词》卷下,是李清照词较早的传世版本之一;此后毛晋《漱玉词》辑本、王鹏运《四印斋所刻词》本《漱玉词》皆收录,足见其在李清照词编次中的稳定地位。评点方面,清人对此词的关注多集中于其「写姊妹情」的题材创新与「白描」手法。王士禛《花草蒙拾》论易安词「如溪上三两家,鸡犬相闻,别是一种风味」,虽非专评此词,却正可概括此词朴实自然的风貌。李调元《雨村词话》谓「易安在宋诸媛中,自卓然一家,不在秦七、黄九之下」,肯定其整体成就,此词正可作其「卓然一家」的一证。就研究史而言,此词因题作「寄姊妹」,成为考察李清照闺阁生活与女性交游的重要文献,今人研究李清照的交游圈与女性意识,多引此词为据,可见其文献价值已渐为学界所重。还应指出,此词在李清照词中虽非最著名,却有其不可替代的意义:它是李清照传世词中唯一专写姊妹情谊的完整篇章,与《如梦令》《一剪梅》等写夫妇之情、少女情怀之作,共同构成了李清照情感世界的丰富层次。明清选本多于此词下注「易安送姊妹之作,情致凄婉」,近代词学家亦常引以论李清照「女性书写」的自觉,可见其在李清照研究史上的地位正逐步上升。
Prosody
Line by line
泪湿罗衣脂粉满
Tears wet the gauze robe, rouge and powder smudged all over.
泪水打湿了罗衣,脂粉也糊了满脸
Tears soak the silk robe; rouge and powder are all smudged across the face.
起句七字,以「泪」开篇,直写临别的痛哭之态。「湿」字写泪之多,多到浸透了罗衣;「满」字写泪之广,广到脂粉糊满全脸。这完全是白描,不着一字议论,却把一个临别女子不顾仪容、尽情痛哭的形象刻画得如在目前。历来写离别多写「泪眼」「泪痕」,李清照偏写「脂粉满」——因痛哭而花妆,这一细节的真实感,胜过任何夸张的形容。七字之中,泪、衣、脂粉三者交融,离愁之重、情谊之深,尽在不言中。以「满」字收束七言,写妆面狼藉而不写泪眼,正是李清照白描的高明处——泪眼人人会写,妆面狼藉却非亲历不能道。
The opening seven characters, opening on tears, directly write the weeping at the parting. The word wet writes the tears' abundance, enough to soak the gauze; the word smudged writes the tears' breadth, enough to smudge the rouge over the whole face. This is pure plain sketch, without one word of comment, and yet the parting woman's image, heedless of her looks and weeping to the heart's content, drawn as before the eyes. The usual writing of parting writes tearful eyes and tear traces, and Li Qingzhao chooses the smudged rouge — the tears disheveling the face, this detail's realism beyond any hyperbole. Within seven characters, tears, robe, and rouge fused, the weight of the parting grief and the depth of the affection all within the silence. Closing the seven-character line on the word smudged, writing the disheveled face and not the tearful eyes, precisely Li Qingzhao's plain-sketch mastery — the tearful eyes all can write, the disheveled face only the eye-witness can speak.
萧萧微雨闻孤馆
The pattering fine rain is heard at the lone inn.
只听得萧萧细雨敲打着孤寂的驿馆
Only the pattering fine rain drumming on the lonely inn is heard.
此句由别时的痛哭转入别后的孤寂,是上片情感的落点。「萧萧」叠字,状细雨之声,兼有萧瑟之感,可上溯《诗经·郑风·风雨》「风雨潇潇」的意象;「微雨」写雨之细,愈显夜的寂静;「孤馆」点明驿馆独宿,一个「孤」字,是全句的情感核心。人已在别后的路上,独宿孤馆,耳边只有萧萧雨声,前路山长水远,亲人远隔,此情此景,孤寂之感油然而生。以雨声写静、以静写孤,景语皆情语,是李清照善用以景写情的典型笔法。这「孤馆」与「微雨」一内一外,一静一动,把离人独宿的凄凉写得如在目前。
The line turns from the parting weeping to the loneliness after, the landing of the first stanza's feeling. The doubled pattering shapes the fine rain's sound, carrying the desolation, tracing back to the Book of Songs, Zheng Wind, Wind and Rain's the wind and rain shrill; the fine rain writes the rain's thinness, the night's stillness the deeper; the lone inn marks the lodging alone, the single word lone the emotional core of the line. The person already on the road after the parting, lodging alone in the lone inn, the ear hearing but the pattering rain, the road ahead long, the loved one far, the loneliness rising of itself. Writing the stillness through the rain sound, the solitude through the stillness, the scenic words all emotional words, precisely Li Qingzhao's typical brush of writing feeling through scene. The lone inn and the fine rain, one inner one outer, one still one moving, write the parting person's lodging desolation as before the eyes.
忘了临行
She forgot, at parting
竟忘了临行时酒杯是深是浅
At the hour of parting, she forgot whether the wine cup was filled deep or shallow.
「忘了临行,酒盏深和浅」写的是别后追忆中的一个极细小的失落:临行饯别时,因心乱如麻,竟连酒杯斟得是深是浅都记不清了。这个细节的妙处在于「以小见大」——酒杯的深浅本是无足轻重之事,连这等小事都「忘了」,正反衬出「方寸乱」到何等程度。不是大事记不得,而是心乱到连最微末的细节都模糊了,离愁之深、思绪之乱,便在这一个「忘了」里得到最真实的表现。以微末写浓情,正是李清照白描的高妙处。
She forgot, at the wine cup's deep and shallow, writes a minute loss in the recollection after the parting: at the farewell cup, the heart in such turmoil, she could not even remember whether the wine was poured deep or shallow. The beauty of the detail lies in the small-for-the-large — the cup's depth a thing of no moment, and yet this small thing is forgotten, all the more setting off how far the heart's turmoil has gone. Not that the great event cannot be remembered, but that the heart is so disordered that even the minutest detail is blurred; the depth of the parting grief and the chaos of the thoughts find their truest expression in this single forgot. Writing the thick feeling through the minutest, precisely Li Qingzhao's plain-sketch mastery.
东莱不似蓬莱远
Donglai is not as far as Penglai.
东莱到底不像蓬莱那般遥远难及
Donglai, after all, is not as far and unreachable as Penglai.
结句以劝慰作结,是全词情感的转折与升华。前面层层铺垫的离愁,到此忽然一宽——词人反过来安慰姊妹:东莱虽远,到底不是缥缈难即的蓬莱仙山,音书可通,后会可期。这个转折,既见出词人对姊妹的体贴,也见出她超越离愁的胸襟。「不似蓬莱远」以「远」为韵,却在语义上写「不远」,韵脚与语意的微妙反差,正见其劝慰之情的恳切。以宽语作结,余味悠长,全词遂由悲而转有致。这一转,非情感的消解,而是情感的升华——离愁未尽,而词人已能自解,遂使全词在缠绵中见出气度,柔而不弱。
The closing ends in consolation, the turning and elevation of the ci's feeling. The parting grief layered before, here suddenly eased — the poet turns to comfort the sisters: Donglai though far, is after all not the phantom, unreachable immortal isle of Penglai, letters may pass, the meeting may be hoped. The turning shows at once the poet's thoughtfulness for the sisters, and the breast transcending the parting grief. Not as far as Penglai takes the word far for the rhyme, and yet semantically writes not-far, the subtle contrast of the rhyme and the sense precisely showing the earnestness of the consolation. Closing in the eased words, the aftertone long, the ci turning from grief to grace. The turning is not the dissolution of the feeling, but its elevation — the parting grief not ended, and yet the poet able to console herself, making the ci show the grace within the lingering, soft and yet not weak.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Li Qingzhao's 'four times the Farewell Song' directly alludes to Wang Wei's poem, but she exaggerates it to 'a thousand times' to intensify the emotion.
王维《送元二使安西》「劝君更尽一杯酒,西出阳关无故人」,唐时入乐为《阳关三叠》,成为送别曲的典范。李清照「四叠阳关,唱到千千遍」,正是对这一送别传统的承续。王诗写的是友人远赴绝域的生离,情调苍凉;李词写的是姊妹暂别的伤情,情调凄婉。王维以「阳关」写前路之荒远,李清照以「阳关」写离情之缠绵,同用一典而各得其宜。从绝句到词,从三叠到千遍,可见《阳关》曲在唐宋送别文化中的持久影响。王维以诗入乐,李清照以乐入词,一诗一词,一唐一宋,送别的声情却一脉相承。
雨霖铃·寒蝉凄切 Bells Ringing in the Rain - Cold Cicadas' Sad Cry 柳永 · 同写离别,男女之别与姊妹之别 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
柳永《雨霖铃》「执手相看泪眼,竟无语凝噎」,写恋人的生离死别,是送别词的绝唱;李清照《蝶恋花》写姊妹的惜别,是送别词中少见的女性情谊题材。柳词以「泪眼」「凝噎」写离别的无言,李词以「泪湿罗衣脂粉满」写离别的痛哭,一隐忍一尽情。柳永之别的对象是情人,李清照之别的对象是姊妹,情感的质地不同:一为恋慕,一为亲情。两首词并读,可见宋词中离别书写的两种类型,也见出李清照在题材上的独辟蹊径。
一剪梅·红藕香残玉簟秋 A Twig of Mume Blossoms · Fragrant Pink Lotus Fades 李清照 · 「凭过雁」与「云中谁寄锦书来」的雁意象呼应 Both are by Li Qingzhao and express longing during travel.One is a farewell to sisters, the other a longing for her husband; both reveal her tender feelings and skill in conveying emotion.
李清照《一剪梅》「云中谁寄锦书来,雁字回时,月满西楼」,与《蝶恋花》「好把音书凭过雁」,同用鸿雁传书的意象,而情感指向不同。《一剪梅》是盼夫书,望雁带来赵明诚的音信,是「盼」;《蝶恋花》是寄姊书,托雁传递对姊妹的问候,是「寄」。一盼一寄,同是雁,同是离愁,却一写夫妇之思、一写姊妹之情,恰好构成李清照情感世界的两面。二词并读,可见李清照驾驭同一「雁」意象、书写不同情感的圆熟,也见出其情感世界的完整与丰富。二词并读,可见李清照驾驭同一意象、书写不同情感的圆熟。