贺新郎·乳燕飞华屋

Meaning

A young swallow flits into a grand lady's chamber as the cool of evening follows her bath. She toys with a white silk fan, her hand as lustrous as jade, then grows drowsy and sleeps alone. A sound at the curtain breaks her dream of the jade terrace, yet it is only the wind tapping the bamboo. Below, a pomegranate half-opens like a crumpled red kerchief; when gaudy flowers fade it keeps her in solitude. Its layered heart seems bound, yet she fears the autumn wind will strip its green. Should her lover come, she could not bear to touch the flower before their wine—and together they shed powdery tears, petal and drop rustling down. The lyric binds a lonely woman and a solitary blossom in shared grief.

乳燕飞入华屋。悄无人，桐阴转午，晚凉新浴。手弄生绡白团扇，扇手一时似玉。渐困倚、孤眠清熟。帘外谁来推绣户，枉教人、梦断瑶台曲。又却是，风敲竹。石榴半吐红巾蹙。待浮花、浪蕊都尽，伴君幽独。秾艳一枝细看取，芳心千重似束。又恐被、秋风惊绿。若待得君来向此，花前对酒不忍触。共粉泪，两蔌蔌。

Appreciation

Plain recount: A young swallow flies into the ornate chamber… (the full lyric as above). Imagery and technique: This is Su Shi's famous piece writing a beauty's loneliness and a pomegranate's solitude, a model of 'writing the person through the object.' The upper stanza portrays the beauty—the swallow, the chamber, the midday shade, the fresh bath; the white silk fan and jade hand; the drowsy lone sleep; the broken dream at the wind-tapped bamboo. The lower stanza portrays the pomegranate—half-blooming like a crumpled red kerchief; keeping the beauty company in solitude after frivolous flowers fade; its bound fragrant heart; the fear of autumn's wind; and at last the shared tears of flower and beauty, a line immortal for a thousand years. The whole lyric uses the pomegranate to voice the beauty's solitude and ends in their shared sorrow. Feeling and theme: Likely written around 1081, when Su Shi was demoted to Huangzhou. Its allegory is debated—for a courtesan, for the concubine Chaoyun, or self-projection of his lonely exile. Reading it together, the lyric writes a beauty sleeping alone and a solitary pomegranate, using the flower for her loneliness and hinting at Su's own solitary demotion. 'Together they shed powdery tears' joins flower and person in one grief, a masterpiece of 'writing the person through the object, expressing feeling through it.'

【白话串讲】 苏轼写《贺新郎·乳燕飞华屋》：“乳燕飞华屋”——“手弄生绡白团扇，扇手一时似玉”——“帘外谁来推绣户，枉教人、梦断瑶台曲”——“又却是，风敲竹”——“石榴半吐红巾蹙”——他写夏日孤独的女子。 【意象与手法】 此词是苏轼写美人孤寂与榴花幽独的名篇，以「乳燕飞华屋」写美人独居的华屋，以「石榴半吐红巾蹙」写榴花的幽独，是苏轼词中「以物写人」的名篇。上片写美人：「乳燕飞华屋，悄无人、桐阴转午，晚凉新浴」写华屋中的午凉新浴；「手弄生绡白团扇，扇手一时似玉」写美人持扇的玉手；「渐困倚、孤眠清熟」写孤眠的困倦；「帘外谁来推绣户，枉教人、梦断瑶台曲，又却是，风敲竹」写梦断风敲竹的怅惘。下片写榴花：「石榴半吐红巾蹙」写榴花半吐的娇态；「待浮花、浪蕊都尽，伴君幽独」写榴花的幽独；「秾艳一枝细看取，芳心千重似束」写榴花的芳心；「又恐被、秋风惊绿」写恐秋风惊绿；「若待得君来向此，花前对酒不忍触，共粉泪，两蔌蔌」写花与美人的同悲，是千古名句。全词以榴花写美人的幽独，以「花前对酒」「共粉泪」写花与人的同悲，是苏轼「以物写人」的名篇。 【情感与主旨】 此词约作于宋神宗元丰四年（1081）前后，时苏轼贬居黄州。关于此词的寄托，历来众说纷纭：一说为歌妓而作，一说为朝云而作，一说借美人幽独以自寓（写自己被贬的孤寂）。综合来看，此词写一位华屋中孤眠的美人与一株幽独的石榴花，以榴花写美人的孤寂，也暗含苏轼被贬黄州的幽独之慨。词中「乳燕飞华屋，悄无人、桐阴转午，晚凉新浴」写美人的居所与环境——乳燕飞入华屋，悄无人，桐阴转午，晚凉新浴，写尽华屋的幽静与美人的闲雅；「手弄生绡白团扇，扇手一时似玉」写美人的玉手——手弄生绡白团扇，扇手一时似玉，写尽美人的肌肤如玉；「渐困倚、孤眠清熟」写孤眠——渐困倚、孤眠清熟，写尽独处的孤寂；「帘外谁来推绣户，枉教人、梦断瑶台曲，又却是，风敲竹」写梦断——帘外谁来推绣户？枉教人梦断瑶台曲，又却是风敲竹，那「梦断瑶台」与「风敲竹」写尽空欢喜的怅惘；下片「石榴半吐红巾蹙」写榴花半吐——石榴花半吐，如红巾蹙（皱），写尽榴花的娇态；「待浮花、浪蕊都尽，伴君幽独」写榴花的幽独——待浮花浪蕊都尽，榴花伴君（美人）幽独，那榴花不与浮花争艳，正伴幽独的美人；「秾艳一枝细看取，芳心千重似束」写榴花的芳心——秾艳一枝细看，芳心千重似束，写尽榴花的秾艳与心事重重；「又恐被、秋风惊绿」写恐秋风——又恐被秋风惊绿（绿叶惊落），写尽对榴花的怜惜；「若待得君来向此，花前对酒不忍触，共粉泪，两蔌蔌」写花与美人的同悲——若待君来向此，花前对酒不忍触，共粉泪，两蔌蔌（泪珠簌簌），那「共粉泪，两蔌蔌」写尽榴花与美人同悲、人与花同哭的深情。全词以榴花写美人的幽独，那「共粉泪，两蔌蔌」以花与人同悲写尽「同是天涯沦落」的孤寂，是苏轼「以物写人、借物抒怀」的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“石榴半吐红巾蹙”以拟人写榴花半吐的娇态与幽独；“又却是，风敲竹”写梦断风敲竹的怅惘。

Allusions

The imagery rests in the traditions of the beauty's fading youth and object-song. The ornate chamber echoes the 'mansion on the hill' topos; the shifting plane-tree shade recalls the wutong of Li Qingzhao and 'golden-well wutong in autumn yellow'; the fresh bath evokes Bai Juyi's 'warm spring water, smooth, washing congealed perfume' of Lady Yang. The white round fan evokes Ban Jieyu's 'Fan Song'—the round fan as emblem of 'autumn's discarded fan,' hinting at the beauty's fear of abandonment; her jade hand recalls 'Peacock Flying Southeast.' The broken dream of the jade terrace evokes the fairy-realm dream tradition; the wind-tapped bamboo recalls Wang Wei's 'through the window the wind startles the bamboo' in boudoir lament. The half-open pomegranate, 'red kerchief crumpled,' recalls Han Yu's 'pomegranate in the fifth month dazzling bright'; 'frivolous blooms and stray stamens' borrows Han Yu; 'fragrant heart bound' the tradition of the flower's heart as the beauty's heart; 'autumn wind startles the green' the fear-of-autumn topos of the Yuefu 'Long Song'; 'powdery tears' the boudoir-lament and Li Yu's 'rouge tears.' Drawing on Ban Jieyu, Bai Juyi, Han Yu, Li Bai, and Wang Wei, the lyric writes solitude through the object—Su Shi's very art.

此词的意象与典故深植于美人迟暮与咏物传统。「乳燕飞华屋，悄无人、桐阴转午，晚凉新浴」写美人的居所与环境——「乳燕飞华屋」写乳燕飞入华屋（「华屋」写华丽的房屋，令人想到「华屋山丘」与「处华屋之下」的富丽意象），「桐阴转午」写桐阴流转、已是午后（桐是梧桐，令人想到「梧桐更兼细雨」（李清照）的梧桐意象与「金井梧桐秋叶黄」的桐阴意象），「晚凉新浴」写晚凉中新浴（「新浴」令人想到「温泉水滑洗凝脂」（白居易《长恨歌》）写杨妃新浴的意象），那乳燕华屋、桐阴新浴，写尽华屋的幽静与美人的闲雅。「手弄生绡白团扇，扇手一时似玉」写美人的玉手——「白团扇」写团扇（令人想到「新裂齐纨素，皎洁如霜雪。裁为合欢扇，团团似明月」（班婕妤《团扇诗》）的团扇意象与「团扇团扇，美人病来遮面」的团扇传统——团扇是「秋扇见捐」的象征，暗写美人的被弃之忧），「扇手一时似玉」写扇与手都似玉（令人想到「指如削葱根，口如含朱丹」（《孔雀东南飞》）写美人玉手的意象），那「白团扇」暗含「秋扇见捐」之忧，写尽美人的忧惧。「渐困倚、孤眠清熟」写孤眠——「孤眠」写独眠（令人想到「孤眠难寝」的闺怨传统与「独宿累长夜」的孤眠意象），「清熟」写睡得很熟，那「孤眠清熟」写尽独处的孤寂。「帘外谁来推绣户，枉教人、梦断瑶台曲，又却是，风敲竹」写梦断——「瑶台曲」写瑶台的仙乐（「瑶台」是神仙居处，令人想到「瑶台月下」的仙境意象与「梦游」的传统），「梦断瑶台」写从瑶台美梦中惊醒（令人想到「一枕黄粱」的梦断传统与「云雨巫山」的梦意象），「风敲竹」写风吹竹响（令人想到「隔牖风惊竹」（王维）的风竹意象与「帘外风敲竹」的闺怨传统），那「枉教人、梦断瑶台曲」与「又却是，风敲竹」写尽空欢喜的怅惘，正是「梦里来寻」的落空。「石榴半吐红巾蹙」写榴花半吐——「红巾蹙」写石榴花如皱起的红巾（「蹙」写皱，令人想到「蹙金」的绣品意象），「石榴半吐」写石榴花半开（石榴花红艳，令人想到「五月榴花照眼明」（韩愈）的石榴意象），那「红巾蹙」写尽榴花的娇态。「待浮花、浪蕊都尽，伴君幽独」写榴花的幽独——「浮花、浪蕊」写轻浮的花、浪荡的蕊（令人想到「浮花浪蕊镇长有，才开还落瘴雾中」（韩愈）的意象），「伴君幽独」写榴花伴君幽独（「幽独」令人想到「幽人独往来」的幽独意象），那「待浮花浪蕊都尽」写尽榴花不与浮花争艳的孤高。「秾艳一枝细看取，芳心千重似束」写榴花的芳心——「秾艳」写秾丽（令人想到「秾艳一枝」的咏花传统），「芳心千重似束」写花心重迭如束（「芳心」写花心，也写美人的芳心，令人想到「芳心暗许」的意象），那「芳心千重似束」写尽榴花（美人）的心事重重。「又恐被、秋风惊绿」写恐秋风——「秋风惊绿」写秋风吹惊绿叶（令人想到「常恐秋节至，焜黄华叶衰」（汉乐府《长歌行》）的恐秋意象与「悲落叶于劲秋」（陆机《文赋》）的悲秋传统），那「又恐被、秋风惊绿」写尽对榴花（美人）迟暮的忧惧。「若待得君来向此，花前对酒不忍触，共粉泪，两蔌蔌」写花与美人的同悲——「花前对酒」写花前饮酒（令人想到「花间一壶酒，独酌无相亲」（李白《月下独酌》）的花酒意象），「不忍触」写不忍触碰（怜花），「粉泪」写美人的泪（令人想到「粉泪」的闺怨意象与「胭脂泪」（李煜）的写法），「两蔌蔌」写泪珠与花瓣簌簌而落（「蔌蔌」写纷纷下落，令人想到「无边落木萧萧下」的落意象），那「共粉泪，两蔌蔌」写尽榴花与美人同悲、人与花同哭的深情。全词化用班婕妤、白居易、韩愈、李白、王维的意象与传统，以物写人、借物抒怀，正是苏轼「以咏物写幽独」的本领。

Commentary

This lyric is long ranked a masterpiece of Su Shi's 'writing the person through the object,' and the source of such famous lines as 'a young swallow flies into the ornate chamber,' 'the pomegranate half-blooms, a crumpled red kerchief,' and 'together they shed powdery tears.' Song critics called it 'unsurpassed of ancient and modern'; Qing critics noted it 'borrows the pomegranate to write the beauty, and the beauty's solitude to write Su Shi's solitude'—a self-projection from his Huangzhou exile. Its special worth lies in using the pomegranate for the beauty's loneliness and that loneliness for Su's: the quiet chamber, the lone sleep, the broken dream all voice a recluse's isolation; the blossom's coquetry, bound heart, and fear of autumn, and the shared tears, are flower and person weeping together—the pomegranate, like Su, stands apart from the world in lofty solitude. With 'Su Shi's Yanghua lyric' ('not willow catkins, but drops of the parted one's tears'), it stands among his great object-songs of deep feeling. For today's reader it opens a window onto Su Shi's object-lyric art and his Huangzhou loneliness.

此词历来被推为苏轼「以物写人、借物抒怀」的名篇，也是「乳燕飞华屋」「石榴半吐红巾蹙」「共粉泪，两蔌蔌」等名句的出处。历代论者对此词评价极高：宋人评此词「冠绝古今」，清人更指出此词「借榴花以写美人，借美人之幽独以写苏轼之幽独」，是苏轼贬居黄州时的自寓之作。在文学史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以榴花写美人的幽独，又借美人的幽独写苏轼被贬的孤寂——那「乳燕飞华屋，悄无人」的幽静、「孤眠清熟」的孤寂、「梦断瑶台曲」的怅惘，都写尽了一个幽居者的孤独；那「石榴半吐红巾蹙」的娇艳、「芳心千重似束」的心事、「又恐被、秋风惊绿」的忧惧、「共粉泪，两蔌蔌」的同悲，更是人与花同哭的深情——那榴花不与浮花争艳、正伴幽独的美人，正如苏轼不与世俗同流、自守孤高；那「共粉泪，两蔌蔌」，正是花与人（苏轼）同悲的泪。词中「乳燕飞华屋」「扇手一时似玉」写美人的闲雅，是名句；「石榴半吐红巾蹙」「共粉泪，两蔌蔌」写榴花与美人的同悲，更是千古名句。此词与苏轼的《水龙吟·次韵章质夫杨花词》（「细看来，不是杨花，点点是离人泪」）一样，都是借咏物写深情（离人之泪、美人之泪）的名篇。对于今日读者，此词是理解苏轼「借物抒怀」手法与贬居黄州幽独心境的窗口，也是感受中国词「以物写人」传统的典范——那乳燕华屋、白团扇、红巾蹙的石榴、共粉泪的两蔌蔌，穿越千年，仍在诉说着一个幽居者「同是天涯沦落」的孤寂与深情。

Prosody

Line by line

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