宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
风流子
To the Tune 'Feng Liu Zi' (The Gallant)
新绿小池塘。
风帘动，碎影舞斜阳。
羡金屋去来，旧时巢燕，土花缭绕，前度莓墙。
绣阁凤帏深几许，曾听得理丝簧。
欲说又休，虑乖芳信，未歌先咽，愁近清觞。
遥知新妆了，开朱户，应自待月西厢。
最苦梦魂，今宵不到伊行。
问甚时说与，佳音密耗，寄将秦镜，偷换韩香。
天便教人，霎时厮见何妨。
The wind-curtain stirs; broken shadows dance in the slanting sun.
I envy the swallows of former years that come and go to the gilded chamber,
past the mossy overgrowth and the old berry-vined wall.
How deep lies the embroidered bower with its phoenix curtains —
once I heard her playing the silken strings and reeds.
I long to speak yet hold back, fearing to break her fragrant promise;
before the song begins I choke, and sorrow closes in on the clear cup.
Far off I know she has finished her new makeup,
opening the red door, surely waiting for the moon in the west chamber.
The bitterest thing of all: my dreaming soul cannot reach her side tonight.
When shall I send her word — secret news,
send her the Qin mirror, steal for her the Han fragrance?
If Heaven would only let us see each other for a single moment,
what harm would there be?
Meaning
A spring scene at the pond triggers memories of a lady in her deep chamber: the speaker is too timid to speak, imagines her waiting for the moon, and grieves that even his dream cannot reach her. The song ends in a sudden plea to Heaven for one moment's meeting.
新绿小池塘。风帘动，碎影舞斜阳。羡金屋去来，旧时巢燕，土花缭绕，前度莓墙。绣阁凤帏深几许，曾听得理丝簧。欲说又休，虑乖芳信，未歌先咽，愁近清觞。遥知新妆了，开朱户，应自待月西厢。最苦梦魂，今宵不到伊行。问甚时说与，佳音密耗，寄将秦镜，偷换韩香。天便教人，霎时厮见何妨。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] Fresh green on the little pond; wind-stirred curtains, broken shadows dancing in the low sun. The speaker envies the old swallows that still fly to the gilded chamber past the mossy, berry-vined wall; through its deep phoenix curtains he once heard her play. He longs to speak yet dares not, chokes before singing, and drowns sorrow in the clear cup. Far off he imagines her finished with her new makeup, opening the red door to wait for the moon in the west chamber; worst of all, his dreaming soul cannot reach her tonight. When can he send word, a mirror, the stolen fragrance — if Heaven would grant one moment's meeting, what harm? [Structure] Scene, memory, inhibition, imagined waiting, wished meeting: each layer deepens the distance between lover and lady. [Effect] The final outcry to Heaven is the lyric's release valve.
【白话串讲】 周邦彦写《风流子》：“新绿小池塘。风帘动，碎影舞斜阳”——“羡金屋去来，旧时巢燕”——“绣阁凤帏深几许，曾听得理丝簧”——“遥知新妆了，开朱户，应自待月西厢”——他写相思——待月西厢。 【意象与手法】 “新绿小池塘。风帘动，碎影舞斜阳”以新绿斜阳写春景；“羡金屋去来，旧时巢燕”以巢燕写相思；“绣阁凤帏深几许，曾听得理丝簧”以理丝簧写佳人；结以“遥知新妆了，开朱户，应自待月西厢”以待月西厢写期盼。含蓄深婉、铺叙工丽。 【情感与主旨】 周邦彦写春景怀人之作，写对佳人的思念与期盼相见的愿望，含蓄深婉，是清真词中情词的代表。 【名句点睛】 常考“新绿小池塘。风帘动，碎影舞斜阳”以碎影斜阳写春景；“遥知新妆了，开朱户，应自待月西厢”以待月西厢写期盼。
Background
Zhou Bangyan (1056–1121), style Mei Cheng, sobriquet Qing Jiao Ju Shi, was a native of Qian Tang (Hangzhou). Called 'the Du Fu of ci' for his mastery of music and diction, he served at court under Shenzong, Zhezong, and Huizong as an official of the Music Bureau (Da Sheng Fu), and his long lyrics (man ci) established the polished, allusive, emotionally layered style that dominated Southern Song ci. 'Feng Liu Zi' (The Gallant) is a long tune of 108 characters; this song, on spring scenery and longing for a lady, is one of his finest love lyrics, prized by anthologies from the Song onward.
《风流子》为北宋词人周邦彦所作词。周邦彦（1056—1121），字美成，号清真居士，钱塘（今浙江杭州）人，北宋词人，精通音律，词风典雅精工，为婉约词集大成者，人称「词中老杜」。此词写春景怀人。词中「新绿小池塘。风帘动，碎影舞斜阳」写春景之美；「羡金屋去来，旧时巢燕，土花缭绕，前度莓墙」写旧时巢燕；「绣阁凤帏深几许，曾听得理丝簧」写理丝簧；「欲说又休，虑乖芳信，未歌先咽，愁近清觞」写欲说还休；「遥知新妆了，开朱户，应自待月西厢」写待月西厢；「最苦梦魂，今宵不到伊行」写梦魂不到；「问甚时说与，佳音密耗，寄将秦镜，偷换韩香」写寄镜换香；「天便教人，霎时厮见何妨」写霎时厮见。周邦彦此词以春景怀人、待月西厢写其怀人之情，含蓄深婉，是周邦彦词中的名篇。此篇《风流子》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 its double motion — outward scenery, inward recollection — held together by the single word 'envy.' The first two lines paint the pond and curtain in bright, broken light; 'broken shadows dance' already trembles with unease. 'I envy the swallows' is the hinge: birds may enter the gilded chamber, the lover may not — the whole poem's distance is measured in that one verb. 'How deep lies the embroidered bower' converts architecture into psychology: depth is separation. 'Long to speak yet stop, choke before singing, sorrow nears the clear cup' is a triple blockage, feeling denied three ways. The imagined scene — 'she has finished her new makeup ... waiting for the moon in the west chamber' — borrows the West Chamber convention to give the beloved her own independent longing. The ending's sudden direct address to Heaven, after so much indirection, releases the whole song's pressure in one breath.
此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、以景写情」见长。全词上片写春景之美与绣阁丝簧，下片写待月西厢与霎时厮见。上片「新绿小池塘。风帘动，碎影舞斜阳」写春景之美：新绿小池塘，风帘动，碎影舞斜阳；「羡金屋去来，旧时巢燕，土花缭绕，前度莓墙」写旧时巢燕：羡金屋去来，旧时巢燕，土花缭绕，前度莓墙；「绣阁凤帏深几许，曾听得理丝簧」写理丝簧：绣阁凤帏深几许，曾听得理丝簧；「欲说又休，虑乖芳信，未歌先咽，愁近清觞」写欲说还休：欲说又休，虑乖芳信，未歌先咽，愁近清觞。下片「遥知新妆了，开朱户，应自待月西厢」写待月西厢：遥知新妆了，开朱户，应自待月西厢；「最苦梦魂，今宵不到伊行」写梦魂不到：最苦梦魂，今宵不到伊行；「问甚时说与，佳音密耗，寄将秦镜，偷换韩香」写寄镜换香：问甚时说与，佳音密耗，寄将秦镜，偷换韩香；「天便教人，霎时厮见何妨」写霎时厮见：天便教人，霎时厮见何妨。全词含蓄深婉，以景写情，是周邦彦词中的名篇。
Allusions
The lyric is dense with chained allusions. 'Gilded chamber' (jin wu) is Emperor Wu of Han's vow to house Ajiao in a golden house — the archetype of a beloved's secluded quarters. 'West chamber under the moon' is the scene from Yingying's Story where the student waits in the west chamber at night for Cui Yingying, the classic tryst. 'Qin mirror' is Qin Jia's gift of a mirror to his wife Xu Shu as a token of steadfast love; 'Han fragrance' is Han Shou's theft of Jia Chong's daughter's Western Regions perfume — twin tokens of secret love. Even 'berry-vined wall' and 'moss' quietly mark a 'former visit' to a once-familiar threshold. Zhou Bangyan fuses all of these into seamless texture, never parading his reading.
词中「新绿」「金屋」「巢燕」「土花」「莓墙」「凤帏」「丝簧」「芳信」「清觞」「待月西厢」「梦魂」「伊行」「秦镜」「韩香」「厮见」等语，皆含典故故实。「新绿」写新发之绿（草、柳）；「金屋」用汉武帝「金屋藏娇」之典；「巢燕」写筑巢之燕；「土花」写苔藓；「莓墙」写生莓之墙；「凤帏」写绣凤之帷；「丝簧」写丝竹乐器；「芳信」写花信、佳人之信；「清觞」写清酒之杯；「待月西厢」用《莺莺传》张生待月西厢之典，写待月相会；「伊行」写伊人之处；「秦镜」用「秦嘉赠妻宝镜」之典（或指秦镜传情）；「韩香」用韩寿偷香之典（韩寿与贾充之女私通，贾女以西域异香赠韩寿）；「厮见」写相见。词人以金屋、巢燕、土花、莓墙、待月西厢、秦镜、韩香等典入词，不着痕迹，而把春景怀人之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。
Commentary
Zhou Bangyan is the ci poet of indirection, and this song shows why later critics called him 'the old Du Fu of ci.' The longing is never declared; it is distributed among envied swallows, unplayable instruments, unsaid words, and un-sung songs — a whole grammar of blockage. The single breakthrough is the last line, 'if Heaven would only let us see each other for one moment, what harm would there be?' — colloquial, blunt, almost gasping, it has the effect of a held breath released. Anthologists from the Song to the Qing placed this song in the first rank of love lyrics, and modern readers value it as a textbook of Zhou Bangyan's method: 'laid out' (pu xu) rather than stated, scenery and recollection braided so tightly that the two are indistinguishable.
这首《风流子》，是周邦彦写春景怀人之作，写新绿池塘、金屋巢燕、待月西厢之情，含蓄深婉。上片写春景之美与绣阁丝簧：「新绿小池塘。风帘动，碎影舞斜阳」——新绿小池塘，风帘动，碎影舞斜阳。写春景之美：新绿小池塘，风帘动、碎影舞斜阳——新绿、风帘、斜阳碎影，写尽春景之美；「羡金屋去来，旧时巢燕，土花缭绕，前度莓墙」——羡金屋去来，旧时巢燕，土花缭绕，前度莓墙。写旧时巢燕：羡金屋去来之旧时巢燕，土花缭绕之前度莓墙——燕可去来金屋，而人不可，故曰羡；「绣阁凤帏深几许，曾听得理丝簧」——绣阁凤帏深几许，曾听得理丝簧。写理丝簧：绣阁凤帏深几许，曾听得其理丝簧——曾闻绣阁中理丝簧之声；「欲说又休，虑乖芳信，未歌先咽，愁近清觞」——欲说又休，虑乖芳信，未歌先咽，愁近清觞。写欲说还休：欲说又休，虑乖芳信；未歌先咽，愁近清觞——欲说还休、未歌先咽，写尽其情。下片写待月西厢与霎时厮见：「遥知新妆了，开朱户，应自待月西厢」——遥知新妆了，开朱户，应自待月西厢。写待月西厢：遥知其新妆已了，开朱户，应自待月西厢——以莺莺待月之典，写其待月；「最苦梦魂，今宵不到伊行」——最苦梦魂，今宵不到伊行。写梦魂不到：最苦是梦魂，今宵不到伊人之处——梦魂亦不到，其苦可知；「问甚时说与，佳音密耗，寄将秦镜，偷换韩香」——问甚时说与，佳音密耗，寄将秦镜，偷换韩香。写寄镜换香：问何时说与佳音密耗，寄秦镜、换韩香——以秦镜韩香之典，写传情之愿；「天便教人，霎时厮见何妨」——天便教人，霎时厮见何妨。写霎时厮见：天便教人，霎时相见又何妨——直呼天公，请其令人霎时相见，写尽相思之切。这「天便教人，霎时厮见何妨」，是全词之结：以呼天写相思之切。全词含蓄深婉，以景写情，正是周邦彦词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
新绿小池塘。
Fresh green on the little pond.
新绿小池塘。
Fresh green lies over the little pond.
首句写春景之美，起笔即见其境。「新绿小池塘」写新绿小池塘，「新绿」写新发之绿、「小池塘」写小池塘。一句以「新绿」写春之新色、以「小池塘」写塘之小巧，写尽春来池畔新绿之景——一片新绿，映于小塘。起笔写景，为全词写春景怀人作铺垫，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 paints the spring scene, the realm rising with the first stroke. Fresh green lies over the little pond: the fresh green writes the new-risen green of the spring, the little pond the smallness of the pool. One line writes the new spring color through the fresh green, and the pool's delicacy through the little pond — fresh green mirrored in the small water, the spring come to the pond's edge. Opening in scene to set up the whole ci's spring longing, the method of rising on scene. The few words carry a deep meaning, feeling and flavor both fine, the pointed stroke of the ci.
羡金屋去来，旧时巢燕，土花缭绕，前度莓墙。
I envy the swallows of former years that come and go to the gilded chamber, past the mossy overgrowth and the old berry-vined wall.
羡金屋去来，旧时巢燕，土花缭绕，前度莓墙。
I envy the swallows that come and go in the golden bower, the same nests of old; the moss winds about the wall that grew blue with lichen before.
此四句写旧时巢燕，是全词写怀人的关键。「羡金屋去来」写羡金屋去来，「羡」写其羡慕、「金屋」用金屋藏娇之典；「旧时巢燕」写旧时巢燕，「旧时巢燕」写旧时之燕；「土花缭绕，前度莓墙」写土花缭绕、前度莓墙，「土花」写苔藓、「莓墙」写生莓之墙。四句一写羡金屋去来、一写旧时巢燕、一写土花缭绕前度莓墙，以「羡」写其羡慕燕可去来金屋、以巢燕土花莓墙写旧时之迹，写尽见燕而怀人之情。以物写情，含蓄而深挚，是「以物写情」的点睛之笔。
The four phrases write the old-nest swallows, the key of the ci's longing. I envy the swallows that come and go in the golden bower: the word envy writes the envy, the golden bower uses the golden-bower-hiding-the-beauty allusion; the same nests of old writes the swallows of former years; the moss winds about the wall that grew blue with lichen before writes the moss and the lichened wall — the earth-flower the moss, the berry-wall the lichened wall. Four phrases, envying the swallows' free coming and going to the golden bower, and the old traces of nests, moss, and lichen, writing the sight of the swallows and the longing for the person through things, restrained and deep, the pointed stroke of writing feeling through things.
欲说又休，虑乖芳信，未歌先咽，愁近清觞。
I long to speak yet hold back, fearing to break her fragrant promise; before I sing I choke, and sorrow closes in on the clear cup.
欲说又休，虑乖芳信，未歌先咽，愁近清觞。
I would speak, and stop; fearing to break the promised word of the fair one; before singing, already choking; grief drawing near the clear cup.
此四句写欲说还休，是全词写其情之难言的关键。「欲说又休」写欲说又休，「欲说」写想说、「又休」写又止；「虑乖芳信」写虑乖芳信，「虑乖」写虑其违误、「芳信」写佳人之信；「未歌先咽」写未歌先咽，「未歌」写未及歌、「先咽」写已先哽咽；「愁近清觞」写愁近清觞，「愁近」写愁对、「清觞」写清酒。四句一写欲说又休、一写虑乖芳信、一写未歌先咽、一写愁近清觞，写尽其欲说还休、未歌先咽之情——情不敢言、歌不能成，唯愁对清觞。以态写情，含蓄而深挚，是「以态写情」的点睛之笔。
The four phrases write the desire-to-speak-and-stop, the key of the ci's unspeakable feeling. I would speak, and stop: the would-speak the wish to speak, the and-stop the stopping again; fearing to break the promised word of the fair one: the fearing-to-offend the dread of failing her trust, the fair word the beloved's message; before singing, already choking: the before-singing the song not yet begun, the already-choking the voice already breaking; grief drawing near the clear cup: the grief-drawing-near the grief facing, the clear cup the clear wine. Four phrases, the speaking and stopping, the dread of her promise, the un-sung choking, the grief facing the clear cup — the feeling dared not speak, the song could not form, only grief facing the wine. Writing feeling through bearing, restrained and deep, the pointed stroke.
天便教人，霎时厮见何妨。
If Heaven would only let us see each other for a single moment, what harm would there be?
天便教人，霎时厮见何妨。
O Heaven, let us meet one instant — what harm in that?
尾二句写霎时厮见，是全词立意的落点。「天便教人」写天便教人，「天」写天公、「便教人」写便教人；「霎时厮见何妨」写霎时厮见何妨，「霎时」写片刻、「厮见」写相见、「何妨」写有何不可。二句以「天便教人」写其呼天、以「霎时厮见何妨」写其愿，写其直呼天公、请其令人霎时相见之愿——相思之切，直呼天公。以呼天写情，含蓄而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以呼天写情」的点睛之笔。
The closing two phrases are the landing point of the ci's intention. O Heaven, let us meet one instant: the Heaven the heavenly lord, the let-people the asking heaven; what harm in that? the instant a moment, the meet a meeting, the what-harm what harm. Two phrases, calling on heaven, asking to be let meet for a single moment — the longing so sharp that it cries out to heaven. Writing feeling through the appeal to heaven, restrained and yet piercing, the most moving place of the ci, the pointed stroke.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Ouyang Xiu's 'the courtyard is deep, so deep — how deep?' asks of a spring that only deepens sorrow; Zhou Bangyan asks 'how deep lies the embroidered bower with its phoenix curtains' of the lady's very rooms. Ouyang Xiu's lady asks the flowers and gets no answer; Zhou Bangyan's is imagined waiting for the moon. One writes the wound, the other the wish — the two poles of the Song love lyric.
欧阳修《蝶恋花·庭院深深深几许》「庭院深深深几许」「泪眼问花花不语，乱红飞过秋千去」，写深闺伤春，是宋词写伤春的名篇；周邦彦《风流子》则以「绣阁凤帏深几许，曾听得理丝簧」「遥知新妆了，开朱户，应自待月西厢」写绣阁丝簧、待月西厢。两词同写深闺怀人、庭院深锁之情：一写庭院深深深几许、以泪眼问花写怨，一写绣阁凤帏深几许、以待月西厢写思；一为欧阳修之深婉、一为周邦彦之精工，并读正可见宋词写「深闺怀人」的两种笔法，皆以深字写其情之不得通。
鹧鸪天·彩袖殷勤 Zhe Gu Tian: 'The colored sleeves work diligently' 晏几道 · 同写追忆旧欢、相思之切，一写犹恐相逢是梦中、一写霎时厮见何妨，皆于相思之中见相见之愿 Both write of remembered happiness and the ache to meet; one fears the meeting is a dream, the other begs Heaven for a moment's meeting.Yan Jidao ends 'tonight I keep holding the silver lamp, still fearing this meeting is a dream' — joy so fragile it must be doubted; Zhou Bangyan ends 'if Heaven would only let us see each other for one moment, what harm' — joy so absent it must be begged for. Both end on the meeting, one in disbelief, one in supplication; together they frame the Song lyric's twin ecstasies of longing.
晏几道《鹧鸪天·彩袖殷勤》「今宵剩把银釭照，犹恐相逢是梦中」，写相逢如梦，是晏几道写相思的名篇；周邦彦《风流子》则以「天便教人，霎时厮见何妨」写呼天愿见。两词同写追忆旧欢、相思之切：一写犹恐相逢是梦中、以梦写其情之深，一写霎时厮见何妨、以呼天写其愿之切；一为晏几道之深婉、一为周邦彦之精工，并读正可见宋词写「相思相见」的两种情致，皆于相思之中见相见之愿。