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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

姜夔·暗香·旧时月色

Dark Fragrance

姜夔

Jiang Kui

婉约Graceful and restrained 咏梅Ode to plum blossoms 相思Longing

暗香旧时月色，算几番照我，梅边吹笛？
唤起玉人，不管清寒与攀摘。
何逊而今渐老，都忘却春风词笔。
但怪得竹外疏花，香冷入瑶席。
江国，正寂寂，叹寄与路遥，夜雪初积。
翠尊易泣，红萼无言耿相忆。
长记曾携手处，千树压、西湖寒碧。
又片片、吹尽也，几时见得？

How many times has the moonlight of old
Shone on me playing flute by plum trees cold?
I woke a fair lady, regardless of chill,
To pick with me a sprig with a will.
Now like He Xun I am growing old,
And the pen for spring breeze I cannot hold.
But blame not the sparse blossoms beyond bamboo,
Whose fragrant coldness invades the banquet’s view.

In the river country all is still,
I sigh none can bear my longing far to fill.
At night the snow begins to fall;
Green wine cup easily makes me weep all.
The silent red flowers recall to me
The days we walked hand in hand, when we
Saw thousands of trees pressed upon
The West Lake’s cold green water from dawn to dusk.
Now petal by petal they’re blown away.
O when can I see them another day?

Listen

Meaning

The poet recalls past moonlit nights playing flute by plum trees with a beloved. Now aging and uninspired, he laments the fallen blossoms and distant lover, ending with a longing for reunion amid the beautiful but transient plum scene.

旧时的月光，曾多少次照着我，在梅树边吹笛？笛声唤起佳人，不顾清寒与我一同攀折梅枝。何逊如今渐渐衰老，早已忘却了春风中吟咏的辞章。只怪那竹外稀疏的梅花，清冷的幽香飘入华美的筵席。江南水乡，正是一片寂静，可叹想寄梅花相赠而路途遥远，夜雪刚刚堆积。翠绿的酒杯令人易生泣下，红梅无语却耿耿令人相思。永远记得曾携手同游之处，千株梅树压着西湖寒碧的水波。又见梅花片片飘落殆尽，何时才能再见？

Appreciation

This ci, composed at Fan Chengda’s request, merges memory, longing, and self-pity. Upper stanza recalls past joy and present decline; lower shifts to loneliness and cherished memory, closing with a poignant sigh. The plum blossom serves as a fragile link between past and present.

【白话串讲】 “旧时月色，算几番照我，梅边吹笛”——姜夔写梅花，也写旧日的爱情。“何逊而今渐老，都忘却春风词笔”——人老了，连写诗的兴致都没了。咏梅词的双璧之一。【意象与手法】此词咏物而不滞于物，将月色、笛声、玉人、疏花、瑶席、江国、夜雪、西湖等意象编织成清空幽冷的意境。以何逊自况，暗用「春风词笔」点出才情与迟暮；下片「千树压、西湖寒碧」以健笔写柔情，境界开阔。今昔回环、虚实相生，用字炼净，骚雅含蓄。【情感与主旨】宋光宗绍熙二年（1191）冬，姜夔访范成大于苏州石湖，应请创制《暗香》《疏影》两阕自度曲，咏梅以寄意。时姜夔漂泊江湖，依人作客，又值壮年渐老、情侣离散，借梅抒写身世之慨与相思之深。【名句点睛】赏析重点：①把握咏物、怀人、自伤三重意脉的交织；②体会「千树压、西湖寒碧」的炼字与画面张力；③「何逊」「寄与路遥」等典故的反用与融化。

Background

In winter 1191, Jiang Kui visited Fan Chengda in Suzhou and created two self-composed tunes, 'Dark Fragrance' and 'Sparse Shadow,' to praise plum blossoms and convey personal sentiments. Wandering as a guest and aging, he infused the poems with life’s transience and lost love, achieving fame as plum blossom masterpieces.

宋光宗绍熙二年（1191）冬，姜夔冒雪访范成大于苏州石湖，范成大请他创作新曲，姜夔遂以咏梅为题，创制《暗香》《疏影》两阕自度曲，音节谐婉，范成大极为叹赏，使歌妓习唱，音节悦婉。时姜夔漂泊江湖，依人作客，年近四旬而功名无成，又值旧日情侣离散，故借梅抒写身世之慨与相思之深。传说姜夔年轻时客居合肥，与一歌女相恋，别后终身怀念，词中「旧时月色」「唤起玉人」「长记曾携手处」皆缘此情而来。二词一出即脍炙人口，被谱入管弦，成为咏梅绝唱。姜夔一生未仕，清贫自守，其词以清空、骚雅著称，与周邦彦、吴文英并称南宋词坛大家；此词正其清空一脉的本色之作，亦可证其野云孤飞的清品格调。姜夔词以清空骚雅著称，张炎《词源》推为词中「清空」一派之宗，此词正其本色；且自度曲音律自创，兼擅词乐，尤为词史上罕见的「词乐兼美」之作。范成大罢居石湖后以诗酒自娱，姜夔访之，宾主唱和，遂有此词；词中「瑶席」正写石湖雅集之盛，可见此词乃文人雅集唱和的产物。姜夔工诗词、通音律、擅书法，为南宋文苑全才；其词集《白石道人歌曲》自注工尺谱，是研究宋词音乐的第一手文献，《暗香》《疏影》即其中自度曲的代表。

Art

Using vivid imagery—moonlight, flute, plum, snow, wine—Jiang weaves a cool, ethereal atmosphere. The line 'thousands of trees pressed upon the West Lake’s cold green' combines strength and tenderness, typical of his 'pure and restrained' style. Each word is refined, creating layers of meaning without excess.

此词咏物而不滞于物，将月色、笛声、玉人、疏花、瑶席、江国、夜雪、西湖等意象编织成清空幽冷的意境。上片以「旧时月色」领起回忆，梅边吹笛、玉人攀摘，写昔日之乐；「何逊而今渐老，都忘却春风词笔」以何逊自况，暗用春风词笔点出才情与迟暮，今昔对照，情致苍凉；「但怪得竹外疏花，香冷入瑶席」以「怪」字转写眼前，疏花之香冷入侵席，化静为动，无理而妙。下片「江国，正寂寂」以空景承转，叹寄与路遥、夜雪初积，写相思难寄；「翠尊易泣，红萼无言耿相忆」物我交融，酒杯红萼皆含情；「长记曾携手处，千树压、西湖寒碧」以健笔写柔情，境界开阔，为全词警句；结「又片片、吹尽也，几时见得」以落梅收束，余韵怅惘。全词以「香」为气脉、以「忆」为筋络，今昔回环，虚实相生，用字炼净，骚雅含蓄，寄托遥深。此词结构上以「忆」为眼：上片忆昔年梅边吹笛、玉人攀摘之乐，下片忆携手西湖之欢，中间以何逊自伤、寄梅路遥作转，今昔三层回环，情思层层加深，是白石词「清空中有结构」的典型。此词今昔对照，层层回环：起于「旧时」之忆，转入「而今」之叹，跌回「长记」之欢，收于「几时见得」之问，四个时间节点往复穿梭，情思遂有千回百转之致，是白石词「结构即情感」的典范。

Allusions

The reference to He Xun, a Southern Liang poet famed for plum poem, expresses Jiang’s self-pity at waning creativity. 'Green wine cup' and 'red calyx' personify longing, while ‘jade-like’ suggests the beloved. These allusions serve emotion, not pedantry.

主要用何逊咏梅典故。何逊为南朝梁诗人，曾官扬州，有《咏早梅》诗，后世多以何逊代指爱梅善咏者。姜夔以「何逊而今渐老，都忘却春风词笔」自伤才思衰退、不复少年吟兴，是自谦亦是自叹，将迟暮之感融入咏物。又「寄与路遥」用陆凯《赠范晔》「折梅逢驿使，寄与陇头人」之典，写欲寄梅花而路远难达、音信难通；「翠尊」借酒浇愁，「红萼」拟梅为相思之人，皆融化无痕。上片「唤起玉人」暗用南朝乐府《西洲曲》怀人传统，下片「西湖寒碧」则暗含林逋「疏影横斜水清浅」的孤山梅意。诸典皆服务于抒情而非炫学，故词虽用典而气韵流动，正合张炎清空之评。「香冷入瑶席」之「香」，暗合林逋「暗香浮动月黄昏」诗意，姜夔以「暗香」名篇，正取林逋咏梅名句，词牌即含典故，可见其咏梅一脉的自觉承传。「玉人」或指合肥恋人，姜夔年轻时客居合肥与歌女相恋，别后三十年不忘，其《鹧鸪天》「肥水东流无尽期」可证，此词「唤起玉人」正含此情，故咏物而情深。「翠尊易泣」暗用杜甫「灯前细雨檐花落」的别离意象，「红萼」则化用崔道融《梅花》「香中别有韵」之句，皆融化无痕。「梅边吹笛」暗用《乐府诗集》笛曲《梅花落》之典，吹笛而梅落，笛声与梅花从此结下不解之缘，姜夔「梅边吹笛」正承此传统。

Commentary

Zhang Yan’s comment on Jiang’s 'pure and ethereal' style is apt here; Zheng Wenzhuo called these two ci 'unsurpassed plum blossom masterpieces.' Modern scholar Miao Yue praised their 'subtle fragrance and cold charm.' They represent the pinnacle of Southern Song elegant ci.

张炎《词源》评白石词「清空」二字，最宜此作，又谓其如野云孤飞、去留无迹，此词正合此境。郑文焯谓「此二曲为千古词人咏梅绝调」。近人缪钺称其「幽韵冷香，令人挹之无尽」。《暗香》《疏影》自度腔律严辞雅，诚南宋雅词之巅峰，与《疏影》并称双璧。宋末词人竞相仿效，后世咏梅词多祖白石，可见其影响之巨。王国维《人间词话》虽不满白石之隔，然亦承认其咏物之工；当代词学研究者多以此词为南宋咏物词的典范，其以梅花写相思、寄身世的手法，深刻影响了后世咏物词的创作。此词与《疏影》同调同题，后世并称「白石双璧」，历代词选必录；其「何逊」「玉人」之典、「冷」「压」之字，皆为词家津津乐道的典范，足证其艺术生命力之深远。清人周济《宋四家词选》以「清刚」评白石，正谓其清空中有骨力，此词「千树压」之健笔即其例。此词历代入选《宋词三百首》等选本，为高中、大学诗词鉴赏的经典篇目，其「清空」美学已成为中国词学的核心概念。王国维《人间词话》评白石「格调之高，无如白石」，虽病其「隔」，亦首肯其格；「清空」与「骚雅」自此成为词学批评的标尺，此词实为立标之作。

Prosody

Form Ci - Dark Fragrance, Jiang Kui’s self-composed tune, double 97 characters词·《暗香》姜夔自度曲，双调九十七字

Rhyme Oblique tones, a single rhyme (se, di, zhe, bi, xi, ji, ji, qi, yi, bi, de) from entering tone category押仄韵，依本部（色、笛、摘、笔、席、寂、积、泣、忆、碧、得等），一韵到底

Tone pattern Long tune with irregular line lengths; Jiang’s own musical setting (Xianlü mode) is strict长调仄韵，句式参差错落，白石自度腔律细密

Reading note Pair with 'Sparse Shadow' (疏影); both are definitive plum blossom ci.《暗香》为姜夔自度曲，属「仙吕宫」，双调九十七字，前片九句五仄韵，后片九句七仄韵，一韵到底，声情激越而清冷。全词押入声及去声仄韵（色、笛、摘、笔、席、寂、积、泣、忆、碧、得），入声短促，正合梅香清冷、情思幽咽的意境。句式长短错落，如「旧时月色」「算几番照我」「梅边吹笛」三、五、四字参差而下，音节如笛声断续；「千树压、西湖寒碧」以一字领句（千树压），顿挫有力。白石精通音律，自度曲皆「音律谐婉」，此词尤为代表；词中句读之长短、韵脚之疏密，皆与情感起伏相应，是词乐结合的典范，也是南宋格律词派严于音律的标志。诵读此词，宜以清冷幽咽之声出之，「旧时月色」起句舒缓，「千树压」处顿挫有力，结句「几时见得」渐弱渐远，方见白石清空之味。

Line by line

旧时月色，算几番照我，梅边吹笛

The old moonlight shines on me by plum trees, playing flute—a nostalgic opening evoking a pure scene.

旧日的月光，曾多少次照着我，在梅树边吹笛。

The moonlight of old — how many times it shone on me, playing the flute beside the plum tree.

起笔追忆，以月、梅、笛三物营造清境，领起全篇。「旧时」二字将时间拉回往昔，「算几番」以设问语气写出回忆之悠长，月色与笛声交织，情韵清冷；「梅边吹笛」暗用笛曲《梅花落》之典，笛声与梅香相融，境界幽绝。此句由月写到人，由景写到情，是白石词清空意境的典型开端。此句以月引笛、以笛引忆，一气流注，是白石词清空起笔的范本。此句亦暗含「忆」字领起全篇的结构功能，月、笛、人三者交融，未着一「愁」字而愁味已生。

The opening recalls, building the clear realm of moon, plum, and flute to lead the whole ci. The word old draws time back to the past; how many times writes the length of the memory in the questioning tone, moon and flute interwoven, the mood cold and pure; playing the flute beside the plum secretly uses the Flute Tune of Falling Plum Blossoms, the flute and the plum's fragrance fused, the realm exquisite. The line moves from moon to man, from scene to feeling, the typical opening of Jiang Kui's lucid realm. Drawing the flute by the moon, the memory by the flute, the breath running on, the model of his lucid opening. The line also hides the structural function of leading the whole ci on the word remember, moon, flute, and man fused, not one word of grief and the grief already born.

何逊而今渐老，都忘却春风词笔

He Xun reference: self-comparison to a poet who forgets his spring-inspired writing, signifying lost youth and inspiration.

何逊如今渐渐衰老，早已忘却了春风中吟咏的辞章。

He Xun now grows old; he has quite forgotten the spring-breeze brush of verse.

用典自伤，把身世迟暮溶于咏物。何逊是南朝爱梅善咏的诗人，此处自比何逊，言如今渐老，连当年吟咏梅花的春风词笔都已忘却，实以自谦之辞写才情衰减、年华老去之叹。昔年梅边吹笛的意气与而今老去无词的无奈形成对照，情致苍凉；以古人自况而不着痕迹，是白石词骚雅用典的典范。此句自嘲中见沉痛，才情与迟暮、少年与老去，尽在何逊一典之中。以古人自况而不着痕迹，正是白石词骚雅用典的典范。

The allusion wounds the self, dissolving the evening of life into the plum ode. He Xun, the Southern Dynasty poet who loved the plum and sang it well, is the self-figure: now growing old, he has forgotten even the spring-breeze brush that once sang the plum — in truth, the self-deprecation writing the fading of talent and the sigh for age. The old ardor of the flute by the plum contrasts with the present aging and the forgotten verse, the feeling desolate; the ancient self-figure without a trace, the model of Jiang Kui's elegant allusion. The self-mockery carries the grief, talent and the evening, youth and age, all within the He Xun allusion. The ancient self-figure without a trace, precisely the model of his elegant allusion.

长记曾携手处，千树压、西湖寒碧

Forever remember hand-in-hand spot where thousands of plum trees bend over cold, green West Lake—a powerful, expansive image.

永远记得曾携手同游之处，千株梅树压着西湖寒碧的水波。

I remember well the place we walked hand in hand: a thousand plum trees bending over the cold green of the West Lake.

健笔写柔情，画面开阔，为全词警句。「长记」直抒怀念之深，携手处指当年与恋人同游西湖赏梅之地；「千树压、西湖寒碧」以「压」字写千株梅花俯临湖面之势，梅之繁盛与湖之寒碧相映，色彩、气象俱佳，境界宏阔而情意绵长。以壮景写深情，正是白石「以健笔写柔情」的绝技。此句于清空之中见健笔，梅之繁、湖之碧、情之深，浑然一体。此句空间由湖及人，气象宏阔，一扫前文之清冷，是白石以壮景写深情的神来之笔。

The strong brush writes tender feeling, the picture vast, the aphorism of the ci. I remember well writes directly the depth of the longing; the place we walked hand in hand the old outing at the West Lake among the plum blossoms; a thousand plum trees bending over the cold green of the West Lake writes the thousand trees bending above the lake, the plum's abundance against the lake's cold green, the color and the bearing both fine, the realm vast and the feeling long. Writing deep feeling through the grand scene, precisely Jiang Kui's perfected art of the strong brush for tender feeling. The line shows the strong brush within the lucid, the plum's abundance, the lake's green, the feeling's depth, fused into one. The space from lake to man, the bearing vast, sweeping away the coldness of what came before, the inspired stroke of his grand-scene deep-feeling.

又片片、吹尽也，几时见得

Now petal by petal they’re blown away—when can I see them again? Ending with a lingering, sorrowful question.

又见梅花片片飘落殆尽，何时才能再见。

And again, petal by petal, all blown away — when shall I see them again?

以落梅结，余韵怅惘，情致悠长。「片片」写梅花飘落之态，有惜之而无能为力之意；「吹尽也」叹春归花落，物之消逝与人之离散同悲；「几时见得」以问句收束，既问梅花之再开，亦问佳人之重逢，双关之妙尽在其中。落花如人，人如落花，全词于一片怅惘中收束，余音袅袅，正是白石词以景结情的绝妙手法。此句以问作结，花落之叹与重逢之盼交织，正是「词尽而意不尽」的收法。花落人散，两不可挽，怅惘之情随落花飘远，读之弥觉其哀。

The close on the falling plum, the aftertone wistful, the feeling long. Petal by petal writes the falling, with the regret and the powerlessness; all blown away sighs for spring's going and the flower's fall, the thing's departure and the man's parting grieved together; when shall I see them again? closes in the question, asking at once the plum's reopening and the beloved's reunion, the double meaning within. The fallen flower like the man, the man like the fallen flower, the ci closing in the stretch of wistfulness, the afternote winding, precisely Jiang Kui's exquisite way of ending feeling in scene. Ending in the question, the sigh of the fall and the hope of the reunion interwoven, precisely the close of the words ended and the meaning unended. The flower fallen and the man parted, neither to be stayed, the wistfulness drifting with the petals, the more moving for the reading.

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Word focus

压 pressed/bent over—vivid verb showing plum trees’ weight over the lake, implying abundance and visual heaviness. 「千树压、西湖寒碧」之「压」，是全词炼字最精处。千株梅花盛放，其繁密之势如泰山压顶，直逼西湖寒碧的水波；「压」字既写梅之繁盛浓密，又写湖之静重深邃，一压之下，梅与湖、繁与静、暖色与寒色形成强烈张力，境界顿时开阔。此字力透纸背而情致仍绵长，正是白石以健笔写柔情、以重字写轻愁的绝技。此字以重写轻、以实写虚，是白石「以健笔写柔情」的扛鼎之字。此字亦暗写情思之重，梅之繁压湖之碧，正如愁之重压心之轻。

冷 cold—describes fragrance’s character, but also reflects poet’s lonely mood, a pun. 「香冷入瑶席」之「冷」，既状梅香之清幽，又透心境之孤寂，一字双关。梅香本无形，着一「冷」字则香有了温度与质感，冷香入侵华席，疏花仿佛有意撩人；而「冷」更暗写词人心境的清冷——华席之上宾客喧闹，唯有词人因梅香而忆起旧事，繁华中的孤寂尽在此字。「冷」字贯通全词，香冷、心冷、境冷，一字而三境俱现。以温度写香气，通感入微，正是白石体物之工。冷香入席而无人共赏，香愈冷，境愈孤，是此词最见性灵处。

怪 blame—turns arrival of plum fragrance into intentional intrusion, personifying the scene. 「但怪得竹外疏花」之「怪」，怨也，嗔也。词人正沉浸于迟暮之叹，竹外疏花的冷香却偏来侵扰瑶席，似有意勾起旧情，故曰「怪」。以「怪」字将无情的梅花写得有情，化静为动、无理而妙，嗔怪之中实含爱怜，情味宛然，是白石以虚字传神的典型笔法。「怪」字无理而妙，嗔怪之情正见爱怜之深，是虚字传神的范例。无理而妙，正见词人痴情，嗔怪愈深，眷恋愈切。「怪」得无理，正见情之有理，嗔语之中，相思尽露。