宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
江南春
Spring in Jiangnan
波渺渺，柳依依。
孤村芳草远，斜日杏花飞。
江南春尽离肠断，苹满汀洲人未归。
A lone village, fragrant grass reaching far,
The slanting sun, apricot blossoms drift.
Jiangnan's spring is spent, the parting heart breaks,
Duckweed fills the islets, he has not returned.
Meaning
The lyric pictures a desolate Jiangnan spring at twilight and voices the endless sorrow of one waiting for a loved one who has not come back.
水波渺渺，杨柳依依。孤零零的村落外芳草伸向远方，夕阳里杏花翻飞。江南的春天已尽，离愁断肠，汀洲上长满浮苹，那人却还未归来。
Appreciation
The upper stanza is pure scene—wide waters, clinging willows, a lone village, drifting apricot in the slanting sun—each image chosen for melancholy. The repeated dimetres 'stretch far' and 'cling soft' lengthen the feeling like a drawn breath. The lower stanza turns to feeling, and the close 'duckweed fills the islets, he has not returned' leaves the sorrow open-ended, the scene itself carrying the grief. The contrast of lovely spring with broken heart deepens the ache.
【白话串讲】 “波渺渺，柳依依。孤村芳草远，斜日杏花飞”——寇准写江南春。“江南春尽离肠断，苹满汀洲人未归”——春天尽了，人还没回来。一首小令，写尽相思。 【意象与手法】上片写景（波、柳、村、草、日、花），下片抒情，“渺渺”“依依”叠词绵长，以乐景衬哀情。 【情感与主旨】写江南春暮的孤寂与思远之人的断肠离愁。 【名句点睛】“江南春尽离肠断，苹满汀洲人未归”——以景结情，愁思无尽。
Background
Kou Zhun was a famous Northern Song minister. This lyric writes the longing of one far away in a Jiangnan spring at its close.
《江南春》为宋代寇准所作，是写江南春景、离肠欲断的词。寇准（961—1023），字平仲，华州下邽人，北宋政治家、词人。此词：波渺渺，柳依依。孤村芳草远，斜日杏花飞。江南春尽离肠断，苹满汀洲人未归。全词写江南春景、离肠欲断，是寇准词的名篇。
Art
Scene above, feeling below; repeated dimetres (stretch far, cling soft) lengthen the mood; scene closes the feeling.
《江南春》艺术上以江南春景的描摹与离肠欲断的深婉见长。全词两叠：上叠写波渺柳依——“波渺渺，柳依依。孤村芳草远，斜日杏花飞”写波渺渺、柳依依、孤村芳草远、斜日杏花飞；下叠写离肠欲断——“江南春尽离肠断，苹满汀洲人未归”写江南春尽离肠断、苹满汀洲人未归。全词以江南春景写离肠欲断，正是寇准词深婉的笔法。
Allusions
Allusions in 'Spring on the Yangtze' run through 'the vast rippling waves,' 'the willows clinging' (yi yi), 'the lonely village and fragrant grass,' 'apricot blossoms in the slanting sun,' 'a heart broken by parting,' 'duckweed filling the shoal,' and 'the traveler not yet home.' 'The willows clinging' recalls the ancient 'willows clinging' of the Book of Songs and the classical sadness of farewell; wave, willow, grass, blossom, and duckweed together build a scene of southern spring in which the parting heart is nearly broken -- allusions natural and tenderness self-evident -- the manner of Kou Zhun's ci.
《江南春》用典在“波渺渺”“柳依依”“孤村芳草”“斜日杏花”“离肠断”“苹满汀洲”“人未归”。“波渺渺”写波渺渺（水波渺茫）；“柳依依”用柳依依之典（杨柳依依）；“孤村芳草”写孤村芳草；“斜日杏花”写斜日杏花；“离肠断”写离肠断；“苹满汀洲”写苹满汀洲；“人未归”写人未归。全词以这些意象写江南春景、离肠欲断，用典自然而深婉自见，正是寇准词的笔法。
Commentary
Critics called it 'clear and graceful, with the lingering resonance of the late Tang and Five Dynasties.'
《江南春》是寇准词的名篇，也是宋词中写江南春景的代表作。此词写江南春景、离肠欲断，向为论者称道。论者多赏其江南春景的描摹与离肠欲断的深婉——“波渺渺，柳依依。孤村芳草远，斜日杏花飞”写波渺渺、柳依依、孤村芳草远、斜日杏花飞，深婉之极；“江南春尽离肠断，苹满汀洲人未归”写江南春尽离肠断、苹满汀洲人未归，更见其愁。寇准为北宋名相，偶为小词亦深婉动人，此词正是其代表——以江南春景写离肠欲断，正是其词风。
Prosody
Line by line
波渺渺，柳依依。孤村芳草远，斜日杏花飞。
The waves stretch far, far; the willows droop, tender. A lone village, fragrant grass stretching away; the slanting sun, apricot blossoms flying.
波渺渺，柳依依。孤村芳草远，斜日杏花飞。
The waves stretch on and on; the willows droop tenderly. A lone village, the fragrant grass far off; the slanting sun, apricot blossoms flying.
上叠写波渺渺、柳依依、孤村芳草远、斜日杏花飞，是全词写江南春景的起点。“波渺渺，柳依依”用柳依依之典写波渺渺、柳依依——“波渺渺，柳依依”写水波渺茫、杨柳依依——波渺渺，柳依依；“孤村芳草远，斜日杏花飞”写孤村芳草远、斜日杏花飞——“孤村芳草远，斜日杏花飞”写孤村芳草迢远、斜日里杏花飞——孤村芳草远，斜日杏花飞。此叠写波渺柳依、孤村芳草、斜日杏花：波渺渺，柳依依。孤村芳草远，斜日杏花飞。以“波渺渺，柳依依”用柳依依之典写水波渺茫、杨柳依依，以“孤村芳草远，斜日杏花飞”写孤村芳草、斜日杏花，正是寇准词写江南春景的起点——波渺柳依，孤村杏花。
The first stanza writes the far waves and tender willows, the lone village's far grass and the slanting sun's flying blossoms, the starting point of the ci's Jiangnan spring scene. The waves stretch on and on; the willows droop tenderly uses the tender-willows allusion for the far waves and the drooping willows; a lone village, the fragrant grass far off; the slanting sun, apricot blossoms flying writes the lone village's distant grass and the flying blossoms. This stanza writes the far waves, the tender willows, the lone village's grass, the slanting sun's blossoms: the waves stretching, the willows drooping; the lone village's fragrant grass, the flying apricot. The waves and willows use the tender-willows allusion for the waters' vastness and the willows' tenderness; the lone village and the flying blossoms write the village and the apricot — precisely Kou Zhun's starting point for the Jiangnan spring: the far waves, the drooping willows, the lone village's apricot.
江南春尽离肠断，苹满汀洲人未归。
Spring ends in the south of the river and the parting heart breaks; the duckweed covers the islet, and the man has not returned.
江南春尽离肠断，苹满汀洲人未归。
Spring has ended in the south of the river, and the parting heart breaks; duckweed covers the sandbar, and the man has not come home.
下叠写江南春尽离肠断、苹满汀洲人未归，是全词写离肠欲断的归结。“江南春尽离肠断”写江南春尽离肠断——“江南春尽离肠断”写江南春尽、离肠欲断——江南春尽离肠断；“苹满汀洲人未归”写苹满汀洲人未归——“苹满汀洲人未归”写苹草满汀洲、人还未归——苹满汀洲人未归。二句写江南春尽离肠断、苹满汀洲人未归：江南春尽离肠断，苹满汀洲人未归。以“江南春尽离肠断”写春尽江南、离肠欲断，以“苹满汀洲人未归”写苹满汀洲、斯人未归，正是寇准词写离肠欲断的归结——春尽江南，人未归来。
The second stanza writes the spring's end in the south and the breaking heart, the gathering of the ci's parting grief. Spring has ended in the south of the river and the parting heart breaks writes the spring's ending and the breaking grief; duckweed covers the sandbar, and the man has not come home writes the duckweed on the islet and the non-return. Two lines: the spring's end and the broken heart, the duckweed-covered islet and the absent man. The spring's end writes the spring done in the south, the breaking heart; the duckweed-covered islet writes the full duckweed, the man not returned — precisely Kou Zhun's gathering of the parting grief: spring ended in the south, the man not home.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
杜牧《江南春》写南朝四百八十寺、多少楼台烟雨中，与本词同为江南春景之作。差异在情致：寇准写离愁深婉；杜牧写兴亡讽喻。一写“离”之婉，一写“史”之讽。两者并读，可见江南春景之作的两种情致。
忆江南·江南好 Dreaming of the South: The South is Fair 白居易 · 同为词写江南，一写离肠欲断一写江花如蓝，一愁一乐 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
白居易《忆江南·江南好》写日出江花红胜火、春来江水绿如蓝，与本词同为词写江南。差异在情致：寇准写离愁；白居易写忆美。一写“断”之愁，一写“忆”之乐。两者并读，可见词写江南的两种情致。
雨霖铃·寒蝉凄切 Bells Ringing in the Rain - Cold Cicadas' Sad Cry 柳永 · 同为宋词写离别之情，一写春尽江南一写寒蝉凄切，皆深婉 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
柳永《雨霖铃·寒蝉凄切》写寒蝉凄切、杨柳岸晓风残月，与本词同为宋词写离别之情。差异在时令：寇准写江南春尽；柳永写秋暮长亭。一写“春”之尽，一写“秋”之凄。两者并读，可见宋词写离别之情的两种时令。