宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
临江仙·梦后楼台
Linjiang Immortal: After the Dream, the Tower
梦后楼台高锁，酒醒帘幕低垂。
去年春恨却来时。
落花人独立，微雨燕双飞。
记得小蘋初见，两重心字罗衣。
琵琶弦上说相思。
当时明月在，曾照彩云归。
Last year's spring regret comes again at this hour.
Amid falling flowers a person stands alone; in the fine rain swallows fly in pairs.
I remember first meeting Little Pin, in a robe with two heart-shaped patterns.
On the pipa strings she spoke of love-longing.
The bright moon of then is still here; it once shone on the colored clouds as she returned.
Meaning
The lyric recalls the poet's deep, lingering love for a courtesan named Little Pin, contrasting the lonely present with tender memories of their first meeting under the moon.
梦醒后楼台紧锁，酒醒时帘幕低垂。去年的春恨如今又涌上心头。落花中我独自伫立，微雨里燕子成双翻飞。还记得初见小蘋，她穿着两重心字纹的罗衣。琵琶弦上诉说着相思。当时的明月还在，曾照着彩云般的她归去。
Appreciation
The lyric recounts the poet's long recollection of Little Pin, a courtesan he once knew. The upper stanza opens with the lonely 'tower locked high' and 'curtains hang low,' and 'last year's spring regret comes again' marks the old pain's return, followed by the poignant picture 'amid falling flowers a person stands alone; in fine rain swallows fly in pairs.' The lower stanza turns to the warm memory of 'first meeting Little Pin' — the pipa speaking of love, the bright moon shining on the colored-cloud return — setting past against present with endless sorrow. The line 'a person stands alone' against 'swallows fly in pairs' uses contraries to write loneliness; 'heart-shaped robe' and 'colored clouds return' use exquisite objects to evoke the lady; past and present intertwine, real and imagined merging. It expresses the poet's bone-deep love and the melancholy of changed times, deep and tender — the peak of Yan Jidao's recollection lyrics.
【白话串讲】 “梦后楼台高锁，酒醒帘幕低垂”——晏几道写梦醒后的落寞。“落花人独立，微雨燕双飞”——他一个人在落花中站着，看燕子在微雨里双飞。“当时明月在，曾照彩云归”——当年照着小蘋的月亮，还在。千古名句。 【意象与手法】 “落花人独立，微雨燕双飞”以景写孤（人独燕双反衬）；“心字罗衣”“彩云归”以精美物象写伊人；今昔穿插，虚实相生。 【情感与主旨】 写对往日歌女小蘋的刻骨相思与物是人非的怅惘，深情婉转，是晏几道“追忆令词”的巅峰。 【名句点睛】 “落花人独立，微雨燕双飞”“当时明月在，曾照彩云归”——以孤景与旧月写永恒之思，凄艳入骨。
Background
Yan Jidao was the youngest son of Yan Shu, who lived a declining life and wrote mostly short lyrics about courtesans. This lyric mourns Little Pin, a courtesan he knew in his early years; the 'heart-shaped robe' and 'colored clouds return' were scenes of that time.
《临江仙·梦后楼台》为宋代晏几道所作，是写梦后楼台、怀人忆旧之情的词。晏几道（1038—1110），字叔原，号小山，临川人，宋代词人。此词：梦后楼台高锁，酒醒帘幕低垂。去年春恨却来时。落花人独立，微雨燕双飞。记得小蘋初见，两重心字罗衣。琵琶弦上说相思。当时明月在，曾照彩云归。全词写梦后楼台、怀人忆旧之情，是晏几道词的名篇。
Art
The Linjiang Immortal is a double-tune lyric. The upper stanza writes the lonely scene after the dream and the spring regret; the lower stanza flashes back to the first meeting and the moonlit return. The couplet 'a person stands alone' blends scene and feeling, past and present contrasted, the structure circling back.
《临江仙·梦后楼台》艺术上以梦后楼台的描摹与怀人忆旧之情的深婉见长。全词分两片：上片写梦后楼台——“梦后楼台高锁，酒醒帘幕低垂”写梦后楼台高锁、酒醒帘幕低垂，“去年春恨却来时。落花人独立，微雨燕双飞”写去年春恨、落花人独立微雨燕双飞；下片写怀人忆旧——“记得小蘋初见，两重心字罗衣”写记得小蘋初见、两重心字罗衣，“琵琶弦上说相思。当时明月在，曾照彩云归”写琵琶弦上说相思、当时明月曾照彩云归。全词以梦后楼台写怀人忆旧之情，正是晏几道词深婉的笔法。
Allusions
Little Pin was a courtesan in the household of Shen Lianshu, a friend of Yan Jidao; the 'heart-shaped robe' refers to a garment with heart-shaped patterns (or alluding to heart-incense); 'colored clouds' compares Little Pin returning like a cloud; 'spring regret' means the sorrow of springtime longing.
《临江仙·梦后楼台》用典在“楼台高锁”“两重心字”“彩云”“小蘋”。“楼台高锁”写楼台高锁；“两重心字”写心字罗衣（绣心字）；“彩云”写彩云（喻小蘋，用李白“浮云游子意”之意）；“小蘋”写歌女小蘋。全词以这些意象写梦后楼台、怀人忆旧之情，用典自然而深婉自见，正是晏几道词的笔法。
Commentary
The preface to Xiaoshan Ci often records four courtesans — Lian, Hong, Pin, and Yun. The Qing critic Chen Tingzhuo called this lyric 'profound, tender, and grave, a master of the Northern Song.' Cilin Jishi says the couplet 'amid falling flowers' is 'unmatched in a thousand years.'
《临江仙·梦后楼台》是晏几道词的名篇，也是宋词中写怀人忆旧的代表作。此词写梦后楼台、怀人忆旧之情，向为论者称道。论者多赏其梦后楼台的描摹与怀人忆旧之情的深婉——“梦后楼台高锁，酒醒帘幕低垂”写梦后楼台高锁、酒醒帘幕低垂，深婉之极；“落花人独立，微雨燕双飞”写落花人独立、微雨燕双飞，更见其美；“记得小蘋初见，两重心字罗衣”写记得小蘋初见、两重心字罗衣，尤见其情；“当时明月在，曾照彩云归”写当时明月在、曾照彩云归，尤见其怅。晏几道为晏殊之子，其词以深婉著称，此词正是其代表——以梦后楼台写怀人忆旧之情，正是其词风。
Prosody
Line by line
梦后楼台高锁，酒醒帘幕低垂。
After the dream the tower stands locked high; sober from wine the curtains hang low.
梦后楼台高锁，酒醒帘幕低垂。
After the dream, the towers are locked high; when sober, the curtains hang low.
首写梦后楼台高锁、酒醒帘幕低垂，是全词写梦后之境的开端。“梦后楼台高锁”写梦后楼台高锁——“梦后楼台高锁”写梦醒之后楼台高锁——梦后楼台高锁；“酒醒帘幕低垂”写酒醒帘幕低垂——“酒醒帘幕低垂”写酒醒之时帘幕低垂——酒醒帘幕低垂。二句写梦后楼台高锁、酒醒帘幕低垂：梦后楼台高锁，酒醒帘幕低垂。以“梦后楼台高锁”写梦醒楼锁、人去楼空，以“酒醒帘幕低垂”写酒醒帘垂、寂寞凄清，正是晏几道词写梦后之境的开端——梦后楼锁，酒醒帘垂。
The opening writes the locked towers after the dream and the low curtains when sober, the beginning of the ci's dream-after realm. After the dream, the towers are locked high writes the dream's end and the locked towers, the man gone and the tower empty; when sober, the curtains hang low writes the waking and the hanging curtains, the loneliness and the bleakness. Two lines: the dream's locked tower, the waking's low curtain. The dream's locked tower writes the dream's end and the empty tower; the waking's low curtain writes the waking and the hanging drapery — precisely Yan Jidao's beginning for the dream-after realm: the locked tower after the dream, the low curtain when sober.
落花人独立，微雨燕双飞。
Amid falling flowers a person stands alone; in the fine rain swallows fly in pairs.
落花人独立，微雨燕双飞。
Fallen blossoms, a man stands alone; fine rain, the swallows fly in pairs.
此二句写落花人独立、微雨燕双飞，是全词写怀人孤独的深化。“落花人独立”写落花人独立——“落花人独立”写在落花中独自伫立——落花人独立；“微雨燕双飞”写微雨燕双飞——“微雨燕双飞”写在微雨中燕子双飞——微雨燕双飞。二句写落花人独立、微雨燕双飞：落花人独立，微雨燕双飞。以“落花人独立”写在落花中孑然独立、形单影只，以“微雨燕双飞”写微雨中燕子双飞、反衬孤寂，正是晏几道词写怀人孤独的深化——落花独立，微雨燕双。
These two lines write the fallen blossoms and the lone man, the paired swallows in the fine rain, the deepening of the ci's longing. Fallen blossoms, a man stands alone writes the solitary standing amid the falling petals; fine rain, the swallows fly in pairs writes the paired swallows in the drizzle. Two lines: the lone standing amid the blossoms, the paired swallows in the rain. The lone standing writes the solitary figure; the paired swallows set off the loneliness — precisely Yan's deepening of the longing: the lone standing among the blossoms, the paired swallows in the drizzle.
记得小蘋初见，两重心字罗衣。琵琶弦上说相思。
I remember the first meeting with Xiaopin, in her heart-pattern silk robe worn double. On the pipa strings she spoke her longing.
记得小蘋初见，两重心字罗衣。琵琶弦上说相思。
I remember the first sight of Xiaopin, in her heart-pattern gauze robe of double pattern. On the pipa strings she told of her longing.
下片写记得小蘋初见、琵琶弦上说相思，是全词写忆旧之情的深化。“记得小蘋初见，两重心字罗衣”写记得小蘋初见、两重心字罗衣——“记得小蘋初见”写记得小蘋初次相见，“两重心字罗衣”写两重心字罗衣——记得小蘋初见，心字罗衣；“琵琶弦上说相思”写琵琶弦上说相思——“琵琶弦上说相思”写在琵琶弦上诉说相思——琵琶弦上说相思。三句写记得小蘋初见、琵琶弦上说相思：记得小蘋初见，两重心字罗衣。琵琶弦上说相思。以“记得小蘋初见”写记得小蘋初见、往事如昨，以“两重心字罗衣”写心字罗衣、两重心字，以“琵琶弦上说相思”写琵琶传情、弦上诉相思，正是晏几道词写忆旧之情的深化——初见小蘋，弦诉相思。
The second stanza writes the first meeting with Xiaopin and the longing on the pipa, the deepening of the ci's memory. I remember the first sight of Xiaopin, in her heart-pattern gauze robe of double pattern writes the remembered first meeting and the double heart-pattern robe; on the pipa strings she told of her longing writes the longing spoken on the strings. Three lines: the first meeting with Xiaopin, the heart-pattern robe, the longing on the strings. The first meeting writes the memory as if yesterday; the heart-pattern robe the double heart pattern; the pipa strings the feeling through the instrument, the longing on the strings — precisely Yan's deepening of the memory: the first sight of Xiaopin, the strings speaking longing.
当时明月在，曾照彩云归。
The bright moon of then is still here; it once shone on the colored clouds as she returned.
当时明月在，曾照彩云归。
The moon of that time is still here; it once lit the rainbow cloud returning.
末写当时明月在、曾照彩云归，是全词写怀人忆旧之情的归结。“当时明月在”写当时明月在——“当时明月在”写当时明月依然还在——当时明月在；“曾照彩云归”写曾照彩云归——“曾照彩云归”用彩云喻小蘋写曾照彩云般之人归去——曾照彩云归。二句写当时明月在、曾照彩云归：当时明月在，曾照彩云归。以“当时明月在”写当时明月依然、物是人非，以“曾照彩云归”用彩云喻人写曾照彩云归去、人已杳然，正是晏几道词写怀人忆旧之情的归结——明月犹在，彩云已归。
The close writes the moon of that time still here and the lit rainbow cloud returning, the gathering of the ci's longing and memory. The moon of that time is still here writes the moon of those days still shining; it once lit the rainbow cloud returning uses the rainbow cloud for Xiaopin, writing the cloud-like figure's return. Two lines: the moon still here, the cloud returning. The moon still here writes the moon unchanged and the man gone; the rainbow cloud returning uses the cloud for the person, writing the cloud-like return and the vanished figure — precisely Yan's gathering of the longing: the moon remains, the cloud has returned.
Study
Word focus
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