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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

高阳台·西湖春感

Gao Yang Tai: Spring Feelings at West Lake

张炎

Zhang Yan

西湖West Lake 亡国Fallen Nation 春感Spring Feelings 遗民Loyalists

接叶巢莺，平波卷絮，断桥斜日归船。
能几番游，看花又是明年。
东风且伴蔷薇住，到蔷薇、春已堪怜。
更凄然。
万绿西泠，一抹荒烟。
当年燕子知何处，但苔深韦曲，草暗斜川。
见说新愁，如今也到鸥边。
无心再续笙歌梦，掩重门、浅醉闲眠。
莫开帘，怕见飞花，怕听啼鹃。

Leaf-tangled orioles nest, level waves roll willow fluff,
At Broken Bridge, slanting sun, returning boats.
How many more springs can we roam?
To see flowers, we must wait another year.
East wind, stay with the roses a while;
When roses bloom, spring is already pitiful.
More desolate still—ten thousand green at Xiling,
A wisp of barren smoke.
Where are those swallows of yesteryear?
Only deep moss over Weiqu, dark grass over Xichuan.
New sorrow, I hear, now reaches even the gulls.
No heart to resume the song-and-dance dream;
Shut the heavy doors, lightly drunk, idly sleep.
Do not lift the curtain—
Afraid to see falling flowers, afraid to hear the cuckoo's cry.

Listen

Meaning

The poet revisits West Lake in spring after the fall of the Southern Song. Bright scenes quickly turn desolate, revealing his grief over the lost kingdom and his own displacement.

密叶里黄莺筑巢，平波上柳絮卷起，断桥边斜阳里归去的小船。还能有几次游赏，要看花又要等到明年。东风暂且伴着蔷薇留住吧，等到蔷薇开时春已可怜。更凄然。万绿中的西泠，只剩一抹荒烟。当年的燕子不知飞向何处，只见苔深没了韦曲，草暗蔽了斜川。听说新愁，如今也到了鸥鸟身边。无心再续那笙歌的旧梦，掩上重门、浅醉闲眠。不要揭开帘子，怕看见飞花，怕听见啼鹃。

Appreciation

This is Zhang Yan's lament over spring after the fall of the Southern Song. As a descendant of a great general, he lost his home and became a wandering loyalist. The poem opens with bright spring scenes, then shifts to desolation: 'A wisp of barren mist' at Xiling, swallows gone, moss and grass covering former haunts. The final lines express a fearful refusal to face falling flowers and cuckoo cries—symbols of spring's end and national ruin. The ci embodies the 'clear-empty and profound' style, full of restrained sorrow, and is a masterpiece of Song loyalist poetry.

【白话串讲】南宋灭亡后，张炎重游西湖：“接叶巢莺，平波卷絮，断桥斜日归船”。“当年燕子知何处”——“更凄然。万绿西泠，一抹荒烟”——西湖依旧，故国已亡。【意象与手法】起笔“接叶巢莺，平波卷絮”以明丽春景平和起调，“能几番游，看花又是明年”折入朝不保夕的哀音；“东风且伴蔷薇住”写惜春之痴；下片“当年燕子知何处”化刘禹锡乌衣巷典，“苔深韦曲，草暗斜川”写繁华湮没。全词清空深挚、运掉虚浑。【情感与主旨】张炎南宋灭亡后重游西湖的伤春之作，借西湖春景抒写亡国之痛。“见说新愁，如今也到鸥边”以鸥之白愁极写亡国之恸，末以“怕见飞花怕听啼鹃”收束，是宋末遗民词的代表作。【名句点睛】常考“当年燕子知何处”化乌衣巷典写贵族沦胥；“见说新愁，如今也到鸥边”以鸥愁写亡国之痛。

Background

Zhang Yan, courtesy name Shuxia, was a descendant of General Zhang Jun. He grew up in luxury, but after the Mongol conquest in 1276, his family property was confiscated and he wandered in poverty. This song was composed on a revisit to West Lake after the dynasty's fall. West Lake had been a resort of the Southern Song capital; now it lay desolate. Zhang Yan interweaves personal grief with national trauma. His early style followed Jiang Kui, but here beneath the airy elegance lies profound melancholy, a classic expression of the 'Shu-Li' (millet drooping) lament. Only by understanding this loyalist background can one grasp the sudden reversal from bright orioles to bleak mist, and the fear of seeing flowers and hearing cuckoos.

张炎字叔夏，号玉田，南宋大将张俊六世孙，生于钟鸣鼎食之家，早年悠游湖山，词名早著。元至元十三年南宋灭亡，张炎时年约三十，家产被籍没，辗转飘零，遂由贵公子沦为遗民。此词约作于宋亡后重游西湖时，借西湖春感这一旧题目，抒写新朝下的亡国之痛。西湖在南宋为都城临安游览胜地，承平时节笙歌不绝；入元后繁华扫地，西泠、韦曲一带沦为荒烟蔓草。张炎以词为史，把个人身世之悲与故国沦丧之恸打成一片。他一生词学姜夔、周密，标举清空，此词却于清空之中饱含沉郁，正黍离之音哀以思的注脚。理解这一遗民背景，方能懂接叶巢莺的明丽何以骤转为万绿荒烟的惨淡，懂莫开帘怕见飞花的怯惧，原是亡国之人面对故都春色无法承受的伤痛——那不是闲愁，而是故国不堪回首的惊悸。张炎以贵胄之身亲历亡国，词中西湖不只是游观之地，更是故都符号，故明丽忽作荒烟，欢游转为凭吊，这并非闲愁，而是黍离之痛的遗民血泪。

Art

The poem's artistry lies in the contrast of extreme beauty and extreme grief, unifying 'clear-emptiness' with 'deep melancholy.' The opening lines use plain description of spring, then shift with 'How many more outings' to a tone of precariousness. The plea to the east wind and the arrival of roses deepen the pathos. The line 'More desolate still' pivots the scene from bright to bleak. The lower stanza uses three allusions (swallows, Weiqu, Xichuan) to signify the eclipse of nobility, and the gull's new sorrow intensifies the pain. The ending, 'Do not raise the curtain,' is a gesture of fearful avoidance that renders the grief visceral. The whole piece moves with subtle turns, achieving the highest realm of writing grief through joyful scenes.

此词艺术在极丽与极哀的反跌，清空与沉郁的统一。上片起三句接叶巢莺，平波卷絮，断桥斜日归船，以白描赋笔写西湖春深，语平淡而境明秀，是全词最和缓处；随即能几番游，看花又是明年以虚字折转，把春游的欢写成活一天的珍视，哀音暗生。东风且伴蔷薇住，到蔷薇、春已堪怜，层层折进，惜春之痴愈深而亡国之惧愈显。更凄然。万绿西泠，一抹荒烟，以景换情，明丽忽作荒寒。下片当年燕子知何处，但苔深韦曲，草暗斜川，三典连用以贵族沦胥暗点故都残破；见说新愁，如今也到鸥边，以鸥愁极写沉痛；结无心再续笙歌梦、莫开帘，怕见飞花怕听啼鹃，出语雅淡而悲不能禁。全词运掉虚浑，景情相生，于清空音节中藏沉郁身世，是遗民词以乐景写哀情的至高境界。上片以接叶巢莺明丽起，下片以苔深草暗荒凉结，中间更凄然一转，运掉虚浑而情见乎景，清空之中藏着沉郁，是遗民词以乐景写哀情的至高境界。

Allusions

The poem is dense with allusions used naturally. 'Leaf-tangled orioles' echoes Du Fu's line, evoking a refined age. 'Broken Bridge' and 'Xiling' are real West Lake sites, now symbols of lost capital. 'Where are the swallows' transforms Liu Yuxi's 'Black Clothes Lane' to express the ruin of aristocratic families. Weiqu and Xichuan—places associated with great clans and poets—are covered with moss and grass, signifying obliteration. The line about gulls alludes to Xin Qiji's joke that gulls are all sorrow, here rendered as genuine grief. Falling flowers and the cuckoo's cry continue the tradition of Li Yu and Du Fu, the cuckoo's blood-tears symbolizing the sorrow of a fallen nation. These allusions, rearranged from a loyalist viewpoint, become images of dynastic fall, with no sense of pedantry.

词中用典密集而融化无痕。接叶巢莺出于杜甫《陪郑广文游何将军山林》卑枝低结子，接叶暗巢莺，以杜诗写西湖春深，暗含对承平文化的追慕。断桥为西湖孤山侧名桥，西泠亦西湖桥名，皆实景而兼故都符号。当年燕子知何处化刘禹锡《乌衣巷》旧时王谢堂前燕，飞入寻常百姓家，以燕之无踪写贵族沦胥、王谢零落。韦曲在长安，唐时韦氏世居，斜川在江西，陶渊明有《游斜川诗》，张炎借指西湖繁华地与文人雅集处，苔深草暗写其湮没。见说新愁，如今也到鸥边反用辛弃疾拍手笑沙鸥，一身都是愁，以鸥之白愁写亡国深哀。飞花、啼鹃则承杜甫、李煜春去啼血的传统，杜鹃啼血喻亡国之恸。这些典故经遗民之手重排，皆成黍离意象，无一堆垛，只见苍凉。燕子化乌衣巷、韦曲斜川写繁华湮没、啼鹃承望帝化鹃，诸典经遗民重排皆成黍离意象，飞花啼鹃收束双怕，把故国不堪回首的惊悸写到本能的怯惧。

Commentary

The first stanza portrays a spring outing veiled with anxiety. Bright images (nesting orioles, willow fluff, returning boats) give way to the realization that such outings are numbered. The plea to the east wind is a vain attempt to hold back spring, as if to hold back the nation's end. 'More desolate still' turns the scene to barren mist over Xiling, painting the ruined capital. The second stanza shifts to elegy: swallows gone, moss and grass covering former glories. The gulls, too, are said to bear new sorrow. 'No heart to resume the song-and-dream' turns inward, closing doors against memory. Finally, the double fear of falling flowers and the cuckoo's cry is the emotional climax: to lift the curtain would be unbearable. The poem moves from outing to mourning, from scene to heart, with ever-deepening lament.

上片写春游而暗藏危惧。接叶巢莺，平波卷絮，断桥斜日归船，先以西湖春深三景平缓起笔，似承平游记；能几番游，看花又是明年，忽然折入，能几番写余日无多，看花又明年写相见之难，亡国之人连游赏都成奢侈。东风且伴蔷薇住，到蔷薇、春已堪怜，惜春如惜国，求春暂住而自知春终堪怜，痴语愈哀。更凄然。万绿西泠，一抹荒烟，景忽荒寒，西泠由万绿变为荒烟，故都残破于此一笔写尽。下片写凭吊而悲不能禁。当年燕子知何处，但苔深韦曲，草暗斜川，以燕去、苔深、草暗三层写繁华永逝。见说新愁，如今也到鸥边，以鸥愁极言痛之广。无心再续笙歌梦，掩重门、浅醉闲眠，由外转内，关闭记忆。莫开帘，怕见飞花，怕听啼鹃，终以双怕收束：飞花即春尽，啼鹃即亡国，开帘则触景崩心，故宁可不见不听。全词由游而吊、由景而心，哀咽层层递进，是遗民词中最沉郁的一篇。

Prosody

Reading note As the note explains: this song has 100 characters, ten lines per stanza, four level rhymes. The rhythm shifts from lively to slow, with the three-character '更凄然' pivoting the mood. The use of leading words and short phrases produces a sorrowful yet restrained tone, characteristic of Zhang Yan's 'clear-empty and profound' style.《高阳台》双调一百字，上下片各十句、四平韵。张炎此首上片接叶巢莺，平波卷絮，断桥斜日归船，能几番游，看花又是明年，东风且伴蔷薇住，到蔷薇、春已堪怜，更凄然。万绿西泠，一抹荒烟，句式以四字、六字、七字错落，节奏由明快（接叶巢莺）渐舒（能几番游），到蔷薇、春已堪怜以一字顿（到蔷薇、）破匀，更凄然三字领起长句，声情由平转沉。下片当年燕子知何处，但苔深韦曲，草暗斜川，见说新愁、如今也到鸥边，无心再续笙歌梦，掩重门、浅醉闲眠，莫开帘，怕见飞花，怕听啼鹃，多用四、七字句与一字领（但、见说、莫），结尾莫开帘领三字句，音节促而情迫。平韵清远，与清空词风相宜；而一字顿、三字领的运用，使婉转中见顿挫，正玉田词运掉虚浑、情韵兼到的声律特征，宜其被评凄凉幽怨、郁之至厚之至。

Line by line

当年燕子知何处，但苔深韦曲，草暗斜川。

Where are the swallows of yesteryear? Only deep moss covers Weiqu, and dark grass screens Xichuan. Allusions to past glory; now all is overgrown and desolate.

The swallows of those years — who knows where they have gone? But moss lies deep in Weiqu, grass darkens Xiechuan.

这是下片的题眼，也是全词故国之恸最集中的一句。当年燕子化用刘禹锡乌衣巷，以燕之无踪喻王谢世家、南宋贵胄的零落；韦曲、斜川本长安与江西的繁华雅集之地，张炎借指西湖周边旧日园林与文人聚处，苔深、草暗写其被荒草苔藓吞没。三句连典，以燕子、苔、草三个意象叠出，把改朝换代后贵族沦胥、文化湮灭的惨状写得含蓄而惊心。它上承万绿荒烟，下启鸥边新愁，是景变之后的史变——西湖不只是少游，更是故都符号的崩塌。张炎以贵胄之身写此，苔深草暗中自有自家第宅的影子，故沉痛非泛。这一句以丽典写哀，运掉虚浑，最见遗民词于用事中见身世的本领，也是宋末西湖词吊古的绝唱。

This is the eye of the second stanza, and the most concentrated stroke of the ci's grief for the lost dynasty. The swallows of those years draws on Liu Yuxi's black-hat lane, using the vanished swallows to figure the scattering of the old Wang-Xie houses and the Song nobility; Weiqu and Xiechuan were the famed pleasure grounds of Chang'an and Jiangxi, and Zhang Yan uses them for the old gardens and literary gathering places around West Lake; moss deep and grass darken write the swallowing by weeds and lichen. Three allusions in a row, swallows, moss, grass layered, writing the aftermath of dynastic change — the fallen houses, the buried culture — in restraint and yet with a shock. It answers the above's green wilderness and opens the below's new grief by the gulls: after the scene's change comes history's change — West Lake is not only a place of farewell, but the collapsed symbol of the old capital. Zhang Yan writes this as one of the fallen aristocracy, and in the deep moss and dark grass the shadow of his own house lies, hence the grief is not generic. The line uses splendid allusion to write grief, managed as one flowing mass, the loyalist lyric's skill of writing one's own lot through allusion, and the great elegy of West Lake at the end of Song.

莫开帘，怕见飞花，怕听啼鹃。

Do not lift the curtain—afraid to see falling flowers, afraid to hear the cuckoo's cry. Falling flowers mean spring's end, the cuckoo's cry means the lost nation; both are unbearable.

Do not roll up the curtain: I fear to see the flying flowers, I fear to hear the cuckoo's cry.

这是全词的收束，也是亡国之人面对春色最怯懦也最痛切的姿势。开帘本是小动作，词人却连说莫开，因为帘外飞花即春尽、啼鹃即亡国之音，一见一闻都会触发不可承受的故国之悲。飞花承李后主流水落花，啼鹃承望帝化鹃、杜鹃啼血，都是春残国破的经典符号；双怕字把恐惧写到本能层面，比直写流泪更摧心。它呼应上片能几番游的珍视与更凄然的荒寒，把外在的西湖春景最终收束为主体的不敢直视——不是无愁，而是愁深至惧。张炎以掩重门、浅醉闲眠的退避，写遗民无处逃愁的处境，莫开帘三字，恰是宋亡后士人集体心理的缩影，清空之中藏着最沉郁的恸。

The closing of the ci, and the most timid and most painful posture of a subject of the fallen state facing spring. Roll up the curtain is a small action, and yet the poet says do not roll, because beyond the curtain the flying flowers mean spring's end, and the cuckoo means the fallen kingdom; one sight, one sound, and the grief for the lost country beyond bearing is triggered. The flying flowers inherit Li Houzhu's the flowing water and the fallen flowers, the cuckoo inherits the king's-turned-cuckoo, the cuckoo's blood, the classic symbols of the ruined spring and the broken state; the double fear writes the terror to the level of instinct, more heart-breaking than writing tears directly. It answers the first stanza's how many more outings and the even more desolate chill, gathering the outer West Lake spring finally into the subject's not daring to look — not that there is no grief, but that the grief has deepened to fear. Zhang Yan writes the loyalist's nowhere to flee grief through the shutting of the gate, the shallow drunkenness, the idle sleep; the three words do not roll the curtain are the epitome of the collective psychology of the scholar after the fall of Song, and beneath the clearest style lies the heaviest sorrow.

Study

Word focus

凄然 qīrán—desolate, sorrowful. In this poem, it marks the pivot from bright spring to barren mist, expressing the shock of seeing the ruined capital. The word is light yet heavy—more restrained than 'miserable,' darker than 'dim.' 凄然即凄凉悲伤的样子，张炎以更凄然。万绿西泠，一抹荒烟，用三字领起景变，是上片由丽转哀的关纽。这个词的份量在于它的轻与重：更字一转，前面接叶巢莺的明丽、能几番游的珍惜，全被这一抹荒烟压沉。凄然本寻常感叹，置于西湖万绿与西泠之间，便不只是游人之怅，而是故都残破的惊心——西泠由游人如织变为荒烟，正是临安沦陷的缩影。它上承春游之乐，下启下片凭吊之悲，是情景反跌的支点。若用惨然便太露，用黯然便太暗；唯凄然二字，清而能痛，最合玉田词清空深挚的家数，也是遗民词于淡语中藏沉郁的典型。

荒烟 huāngyān—barren smoke/wild mist. Used to depict the desolation of Xiling, once a thriving lakeside area. The image of a wisp of smoke is faint and lifeless, evoking the aftermath of war and the extinction of prosperity. 荒烟指荒寒的暮烟，张炎万绿西泠，一抹荒烟，以荒烟写西湖名胜的寂灭。这个意象的选择极准：西泠在南宋是湖上繁华村落，宋亡后人烟断绝，唯余荒烟，一抹二字写其淡而无力，恰如故都余烬。烟本缥缈，着荒字便成废垒寒墟之气，与上文接叶巢莺的生气形成强烈反差。它承刘禹鸦夕阳、姜夔废池乔木的荒凉传统，却以西湖实景出之，使西湖春感由闲题变为吊题。荒烟是景，更是史——蒙古铁骑后的临安，万绿成荒，一抹而已。张炎以贵胄写此，荒烟中有自家亭馆的灰烬，故沉郁非泛，是宋末西湖词最刺目的一个意象。

啼鹃 tíjuān—the crying cuckoo. Associated with the legendary King Wang of Shu, whose soul became a cuckoo crying blood; a classic symbol of national ruin and spring sorrow. Here, the poet fears hearing it, as it directly voices his unbearable grief. 啼鹃即杜鹃啼血，出于古蜀望帝化鹃的传说，自李白、李煜以来便是亡国伤春的定型意象。张炎怕听啼鹃，以双怕收束，把杜鹃的啼声写成不可闻的亡国之音。这个词的妙处在一怕字：不是不忍见飞花，更是怕听啼鹃，听觉比视觉更逼人，因为声音无法闭目回避，只能莫开帘隔绝。啼鹃与飞花对举，春尽与国破合一，使结句成为全词情感的总爆发口。它上承见说新愁也到鸥边，把个体的愁推为天地间的鹃啼，遗民之恸遂与古来亡国之音同调。张炎以清空之笔写此沉郁之象，啼鹃二字，便是宋遗民词哀以思的标点。