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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

青玉案·凌波不过横塘路

Green Jade Cup · Lingbo Never Crosses Hengtang Road

贺铸

He Zhu

婉约Graceful and restrained 咏怀Expressing emotions 离愁Parting sorrow 闲愁Leisure sorrow

凌波不过横塘路，但目送、芳尘去。
锦瑟华年谁与度？
月桥花院，琐窗朱户，只有春知处。
飞云冉冉蘅皋暮，彩笔新题断肠句。
试问闲情都几许？
一川烟草，满城风絮，梅子黄时雨。

Lingbo never crosses Hengtang Road,
I can only watch her fragrant dust go.
With whom does she spend her splendid years?
Moonlit bridge, flower-filled courtyard,
Latticed windows, crimson doors—
Only spring knows where she appears.
Clouds drift slowly over the fragrant isle at dusk;
With my magic brush I write heartbroken lines.
If you ask how much idle sorrow there is—
Just like a riverbank of misty grass,
The whole town filled with willow fluff,
And the plum-ripening season’s endless rain.

Listen

Meaning

The poet sees a beautiful woman pass by but never cross the road, only watches her disappear. He wonders who shares her youthful years, and only spring knows her dwelling. At dusk, he writes poignant verses. The depth of his idle sorrow is compared to the vast misty grass, willow catkins filling the city, and the continuous rain when plums ripen.

一位女子轻盈的步履始终没有越过横塘路，我只能怅然目送她离去，芳尘渐远。这锦瑟般的青春年华，她与谁共度？月下小桥、繁花庭院、雕窗朱户，只有春光知道她的去处。飞云缓缓飘过杜蘅洲渚，暮色降临，我以彩笔题写断肠诗句。若问这闲愁究竟有多少？请看那一川迷蒙的烟草、满城飘飞的柳絮，还有梅子黄时连绵的细雨。

Appreciation

The poem depicts the poet standing at Hengtang, watching a beauty drift away, leaving no trace except that spring knows her place. In twilight he writes heartbroken lines, and uses three images—misty grass, willow fluff, and plum rain—to concretize his overwhelming sorrow. The upper stanza uses 'lingbo' and 'fragrant dust' from Cao Zhi’s 'Ode to the Luo River Goddess' to convey unattainable longing. The lower stanza features a triple metaphor that transforms abstract melancholy into tangible scenes.

【白话串讲】 “一川烟草，满城风絮，梅子黄时雨”——贺铸写闲愁，一口气用了三个比喻：像满川的草、满城的飞絮、梅雨时节的雨。他也因此得了“贺梅子”的雅号。【意象与手法】上片以「凌波不过横塘路」「芳尘去」化用曹植《洛神赋》，营造可望难即之境；「月桥花院，琐窗朱户，只有春知处」以缥缈之笔写伊人幽居。下片「试问闲情都几许」设问，继以「一川烟草，满城风絮，梅子黄时雨」三叠博喻作答，以可视化之景写无形之愁，叠加铺排，遂成绝唱。【情感与主旨】此词约作于贺铸晚年闲居苏州时。贺铸出身贵族却仕途偃蹇，一生沉沦下僚，晚年退居苏州横塘。词借目送芳尘、题写断肠，抒发对理想美人的追寻与求而不得的怅惘，实则是借美人香草传统，寄托自己怀才不遇、幽独索寞的身世之感。【名句点睛】重点考查下片「一川烟草，满城风絮，梅子黄时雨」的博喻手法，以及以景结情、化虚为实的表达效果；「凌波」「锦瑟华年」的用典也常被考查。

Background

Written during He Zhu’s later years when he retired to Suzhou. He was of noble birth but had a frustrated official career. The poem ostensibly pursues a beautiful woman but actually expresses political disappointment and loneliness, following the tradition of 'beauty and fragrant herbs' as a metaphor for the scholar-official’s ideals.

贺铸（1052—1125），字方回，卫州共城（今河南辉县）人，宋太祖贺皇后族孙，出身贵族却仕途偃蹇，一生沉沦下僚，曾任泗州、太平州通判等微职，晚年退居苏州横塘，自号庆湖遗老。此词即作于其晚年闲居苏州时。词借目送芳尘、题写断肠，抒发对理想美人的追寻与求而不得的怅惘，实则是借美人香草传统，寄托自己怀才不遇、幽独索寞的身世之感。据宋人载，贺铸在横塘遇见一位女子，惊鸿一瞥，欲语不得，遂作此词；然词中「锦瑟华年谁与度」「只有春知处」的缥缈之笔，已使所写超越具体的邂逅，成为对美好而不可得之物的普遍怅惘。此词一出，一时传诵，贺铸因「一川烟草，满城风絮，梅子黄时雨」三句得「贺梅子」之号，是其婉约词的代表作。词中「锦瑟华年谁与度」的设问、「只有春知处」的缥缈，皆寓「可望不可即」的永恒怅惘，正见贺铸于羁旅生涯中对美好之物的追怀与叹息。

Art

The upper stanza borrows from Cao Zhi’s 'Ode to the Luo River Goddess' to create an inaccessible realm. The lower stanza uses a rhetorical question and then a series of three metaphors—misty grass, willow fluff, and plum rain—to depict sorrow visually, building intensity through accumulation. The final line became He Zhu’s signature.

此词艺术之妙，在虚实相生、以景结情。上片写「凌波不过横塘路」，化用曹植《洛神赋》「凌波微步，罗袜生尘」，以洛神喻所慕之女子，写其步态轻盈而终不过横塘，营造可望难即之境；「但目送、芳尘去」写目送芳尘渐远，怅惘自生。「锦瑟华年谁与度」以设问写美好青春无人共度，「月桥花院，琐窗朱户，只有春知处」以缥缈之笔写伊人幽居——庭院之美与孤独之深相映，唯春知之，人不可知。下片「飞云冉冉蘅皋暮」以暮色起兴，「彩笔新题断肠句」自写愁怀；「试问闲情都几许」设问，继以「一川烟草，满城风絮，梅子黄时雨」三叠博喻作答，以可视化之景写无形之愁，由地及城、由视觉到时令，层层叠加，化虚为实，遂成千古绝唱。全词情景相生、虚实相间，是婉约词「以景语作情语」的典范。尤妙者，上片全写「她」，下片全写「我」，两地相望、两情相牵，而终以「闲情」自问自答，把个人的邂逅升华为普世的怅惘，深得词体要眇宜修之致。

Allusions

'Lingbo' comes from Cao Zhi’s 'Ode to the Luo River Goddess'—'lingbo wei bu, luo wa sheng chen'—originally describing the goddess’s light step, here referring to the admired beauty. 'Splendid years' alludes to Li Shangyin’s 'Zither' poem, implying nostalgia for youth. 'Plum rain' marks early summer and naturally evokes sorrow, earning He Zhu the nickname 'Plum-Rain He'.

「凌波」出自曹植《洛神赋》「凌波微步，罗袜生尘」，原写洛神轻盈步态，此处借指所慕之美人，暗含可望而不可即的怅惘，开篇即以仙姝之喻为全词定下缥缈基调。「芳尘」承《洛神赋》「罗袜生尘」而来，写美人去后余香渐远，以尘写人，空灵怅惘。「锦瑟华年」化用李商隐《锦瑟》「锦瑟无端五十弦，一弦一柱思华年」，暗含对青春与美好的追怀，问「谁与度」更添孤寂。「彩笔」用江淹梦笔之典，相传江淹梦郭璞索还五色笔，此后才尽，贺铸反用其意，写以生花妙笔题写断肠之句，才人写愁，愈增其悲。「蘅皋」用《洛神赋》「税驾乎蘅皋」之语，蘅即杜蘅，香草也，暗寓美人香草传统。「梅子黄时雨」点明初夏时节，兼以连绵阴雨喻愁，自然入妙，遂使贺铸得「贺梅子」之号。诸典皆融于写景抒情之中，不见斧凿。又「月桥花院」「琐窗朱户」虽无典，而以华美之笔写幽居之境，典与景相映，更添伊人缥缈难寻之感。

Commentary

Luo Dajing of the Song Dynasty praised this poem in 'Crane Grove Jade Dew', especially the last three lines. He Zhu’s 'Green Jade Cup' became an instant classic, and people called him 'Plum-Rain He'. His ci poetry combines heroic spirit with graceful restraint.

宋人罗大经《鹤林玉露》称此词「盖以道其愁也」，尤赏「一川烟草，满城风絮，梅子黄时雨」三句，谓其「以此三者比愁之多也，尤为新奇，兼兴中有比，意味更长」。贺铸此词一出，一时传诵，人以「贺梅子」称之，黄庭坚《寄贺方回》诗赞曰「解道江南断肠句，只今惟有贺方回」，足见时人倾倒。其词兼有豪放之气与婉约之姿，张耒谓其「盛丽如游金、张之堂，妖冶如揽嫱、施之袂」，此词正以盛丽之笔写深婉之愁。在词史上，「一川烟草」三句以博喻写愁，与李煜「问君能有几多愁，恰似一江春水向东流」、秦观「飞红万点愁如海」并称写愁名句，而贺铸以三叠意象叠加，层次更富，对后世以景喻愁之法影响深远，是宋词婉约一脉的经典之作。要之，此词上片写「可望难即」之怅，下片写「闲愁几许」之叹，以博喻写愁、以景语传情，格高韵远，实为贺铸词中最脍炙人口者，亦为宋词写愁的典范文本。后之学贺者虽众，而终不能及其三叠博喻之浑成，可见此词之不可及处。

Prosody

Form Ci-poem to the tune 'Green Jade Cup', 67 characters, both stanzas with five oblique-rhyme lines.词牌《青玉案》，双调六十七字，前后片各五仄韵

Rhyme Rhyme scheme: oblique tones in the fourth rhyme group of 'Cilin Zhengyun': lu, qu, du, chu, ju, xu, yu.押《词林正韵》第四部仄韵（鱼、语、御、遇通押）：路、去、度、处、句、许、雨。

Tone pattern Irregular line lengths, oblique rhymes create a melancholy cadence; the final three lines form a triplet with dense sound pattern.句式参差错落，仄韵低回，宜写深婉闲愁；结三句「一川烟草，满城风絮，梅子黄时雨」为鼎足对，两字一顿、七字一收，声情绵密悠长。

Reading note This poem about an unreturned beauty at Hengtang became famous for its final lines, earning He Zhu the nickname 'Plum-Rain He'.此词为词牌《青玉案》，双调六十七字，前后片各五仄韵，押《词林正韵》第四部仄韵（鱼、语、御、遇通押），韵脚「路、去、度、处、句、许、雨」凡七字，皆闭口收束之仄声，声情低回，宜写深婉闲愁。全词句式参差错落：上片以七字句（凌波不过横塘路）领起，继以三字句（但目送）顿挫，再入七字句（锦瑟华年谁与度），终以四字句叠用（月桥花院，琐窗朱户）收束，长短相间，如行云流水；下片「飞云冉冉蘅皋暮，彩笔新题断肠句」以七字对起，「试问闲情都几许」设问领起，结以「一川烟草，满城风絮，梅子黄时雨」三句鼎足对，两字一顿、七字一收，节奏由促转缓，声情由问转叹，绵密悠长。全词以仄韵一押到底，低回掩抑，与闲愁之情相合；结三句鼎足对尤见词律之美，是《青玉案》一调最著名的写法，贺铸以此词名世，时称「贺梅子」。

Line by line

凌波不过横塘路，但目送、芳尘去。

A woman’s light steps never cross Hengtang Road; I can only watch her fragrant dust fade away. Allusion to Cao Zhi’s goddess: she is unreachable, evoking wistfulness.

一位女子轻盈的步履始终没有越过横塘路，我只能怅然目送她离去，芳尘渐远。

Her light steps do not cross the Hengtang road; I can only gaze after her, as the fragrant dust recedes.

起句即写可望不可即的怅惘，是全词情事之端。「凌波」用曹植《洛神赋》「凌波微步，罗袜生尘」之典，以洛神喻所慕女子，写其步态轻盈如仙，起笔即以仙姝之喻为全词定下缥缈基调；「不过横塘路」写她终究没有越过横塘，两人之间横亘着不可逾越的距离，可望而不可即；「但目送」以「但」字写无可奈何，唯有目送；「芳尘去」承「罗袜生尘」之意，以尘写人，目送芳尘渐远，怅惘自生。三句写尽相遇而不得语的遗憾：凌波是仙姿，不过是咫尺天涯，目送是痴情，芳尘是空幻，把瞬间的邂逅写成永恒的怅惘，开篇即定全词「可望难即」的基调，为下文「锦瑟华年谁与度」的悬想预作铺垫。

The opening at once writing the seen-and-yet-unreachable wistfulness, the ci's love affair's beginning. The light steps uses Cao Zhi's Goddess of the Luo River's the light steps, the silk socks raising the dust allusion, figuring the longed-for woman through the Luo goddess, writing her step's lightness like the immortal, the opening setting the whole ci's misty tone in the immortal maiden's metaphor; do not cross the Hengtang road writes her in the end not crossing Hengtang, between the two an unbridgeable distance, the seen and yet unreachable; but the gaze after, the one word but writing the helplessness, only the gaze; the fragrant dust recedes inheriting the silk socks raising the dust meaning, writing the person through the dust, the gaze after the fragrant dust's fading, the wistfulness self-born. Three lines exhausting the meeting-and-yet-non-speaking regret: the light steps the immortal grace, the non-crossing the inch-near-and-yet-worlds-away, the gaze the craziness, the fragrant dust the illusion, writing the instant's encounter as the eternal wistfulness, the opening setting the whole ci's seen-and-yet-unreachable tone, storing the ground for the below's the bright-splendor years with-whom passing conjecture.

锦瑟华年谁与度？月桥花院，琐窗朱户，只有春知处。

With whom does she spend her splendid zither-like years? Moonlit bridge, flower garden, latticed windows, crimson doors—only spring knows her dwelling. A question and an elusive answer.

这锦瑟般的青春年华，她与谁共度？月下小桥、繁花庭院、雕窗朱户，只有春光知道她的去处。

The bright-splendor years — with whom does she pass them? The moon bridge, the flower court, the carved window, the red door: only the spring knows where she is.

此句由上片的目送转入悬想，是全词情感的深化。「锦瑟华年」化用李商隐《锦瑟》「锦瑟无端五十弦，一弦一柱思华年」，指美好的青春年华，「谁与度」以设问写其青春无人共度，暗含孤寂与追慕——既是问对方，亦是自问，怜人亦自怜。「月桥花院，琐窗朱户」以四组意象写伊人幽居之所：月下小桥、繁花满院、雕窗朱户，环境之美与孤独之深相映；「只有春知处」以「只有」收束，春光知道她的去处而人不可知，缥缈难寻，怅惘不尽。此句由实入虚：凌波芳尘是实写所见，锦瑟华年是虚写所感，月桥朱户是悬想之境，春知处是缥缈之思，层层推远，把相思写得空灵幽渺，深得婉约词「言有尽而意无穷」之妙。

This line from the first stanza's gaze turning to the conjecture, the ci's emotional deepening. The bright-splendor years borrow Li Shangyin's The Inlaid Harp's the inlaid harp for no reason fifty strings, one string one pillar thinking the splendor years, meaning the fair youth; with whom does she pass them? in the question writing the youth's no fellow passer, secretly carrying the solitude and the admiration — at once asking the other, and asking the self, pitying the other and self-pity. The moon bridge, the flower court, the carved window, the red door four image groups writing the fair one's secluded dwelling: the moon bridge, the flower-filled court, the carved window and red door, the environment's beauty and the solitude's depth answering; only the spring knows where she is closes in the only, the spring knowing her where and the man's unknowing, the misty untraceable, the wistfulness unending. This line from the real to the void: the light steps and fragrant dust the real seen, the bright-splendor years the felt void, the moon bridge and red door the conjectured realm, the spring-knows-where the misty thought, pushing far layer by layer, writing the lovesickness ethereal and dim, deeply gaining the graceful ci's the-words-ended-and-the-meaning-endless wonder.

飞云冉冉蘅皋暮，彩笔新题断肠句。

Clouds drift slowly over the fragrant isle at dusk; with my magic brush I write heartbroken lines. 'Magic brush' alludes to Jiang Yan; twilight and sorrow merge.

飞云缓缓飘过杜蘅洲渚，暮色降临，我以彩笔题写断肠诗句。

The floating clouds drift slowly over the fragrant isle; dusk falls, and my painted brush newly writes the gut-breaking verse.

此句写景起兴，转入自我抒怀，是全词由「她」转向「我」的枢纽。「飞云冉冉」写云彩缓缓流动，「蘅皋」用《洛神赋》「税驾乎蘅皋」之语，指长满杜蘅的洲渚，香草意象暗寓美人香草传统，「暮」字点明黄昏时分，暮色苍茫，正合怅惘心境；「彩笔新题断肠句」以「彩笔」用江淹梦笔之典，写自己以生花妙笔题写断肠诗句，「新题」写当下之情，「断肠」写愁之深重。此句之妙在情景相生：飞云暮色是眼前景，断肠诗句是心中情，以暮色之苍茫衬愁绪之深浓，以彩笔之华美写断肠之沉痛，才人写愁，愈增其悲。上句「只有春知处」写她不可寻，此句「彩笔新题」写我不可遣，两地对照，为下句「试问闲情」的直抒蓄势。

This line rising on the scene, turning to the self's lyric, the ci's she-to-me hinge. The floating clouds drift slowly writes the clouds' slow flow; the fragrant isle uses the Goddess of the Luo River's resting the chariot at the fragrant isle words, meaning the isle grown with the flagrant grass, the fragrant-herb image secretly lodging the beauty-and-fragrant-herb tradition; the word dusk naming the dusk hour, the twilight vast, precisely matching the wistful mood; my painted brush newly writes the gut-breaking verse uses the painted brush with Jiang Yan's dream-brush allusion, writing the self's flower-brush writing of the gut-breaking verse, the newly written writing the present feeling, the gut-breaking writing the grief's depth. This line's wonder in the scene-and-feeling's mutual birth: the floating clouds and dusk the present scene, the gut-breaking verse the heart's feeling, setting off the grief's depth through the dusk's vastness, writing the gut-breaking's pain through the painted brush's splendor, the talented man writing grief, the grief the greater. The above's only the spring knows where she is writes her untraceable, this line's my painted brush newly writes the self's un-dispellable, the two places' contrast, storing the force for the below's the idle grief's direct utterance.

试问闲情都几许？一川烟草，满城风絮，梅子黄时雨。

If you ask how much idle sorrow there is—just like a riverbank of misty grass, the whole town filled with willow fluff, and the plum-ripening season’s endless rain. A triple metaphor for sorrow, spatially and temporally expansive.

若问这闲愁究竟有多少？请看那一川迷蒙的烟草、满城飘飞的柳絮，还有梅子黄时连绵的细雨。

If you ask how much this idle grief is? A stretch of misty tobacco, the city full of wind catkins, the rain when the plums turn yellow.

此句是全词题眼，以博喻叠写愁之多，为千古写愁名句。「试问闲情都几许」以设问自问自答，一个「闲」字点出愁之性质——不是刻骨之痛，而是萦绕不去、无端而生的闲愁，更见其无处不在；「一川烟草，满城风絮，梅子黄时雨」三句鼎足对，以三种景象作答：一川迷蒙的烟草写愁之弥漫辽阔，满城飘飞的柳絮写愁之纷乱无定，梅子黄时连绵的细雨写愁之绵长不绝。三者皆暮春初夏之景，由地及城、由视觉到时令，层层渲染，把无形之愁化为可视可感之景，化虚为实、以景结情。贺铸因「梅子黄时雨」得「贺梅子」之号，此三句与李煜「一江春水」、秦观「飞红万点愁如海」并称写愁妙喻，而三叠博喻，层次更富，遂成绝唱。

This line is the ci's theme eye, layering the grief's number through the extended metaphor, a famous grief line through the ages. If you ask how much this idle grief is? in the self-questioning-and-self-answering, the one word idle naming the grief's nature — not the bone-cutting pain, but the lingering and the groundless idle grief, the more showing its omnipresence; a stretch of misty tobacco, the city full of wind catkins, the rain when the plums turn yellow, the three-line tripod parallel, answering in three scenes: a stretch of misty tobacco writing the grief's filling vastness, the city full of wind catkins writing the grief's tangle and unset, the rain when the plums turn yellow's continuousness writing the grief's lingering. The three all the late-spring-early-summer scene, from the ground to the city, from the sight to the season, rendering layer on layer, turning the invisible grief into the visible palpable scene, turning the void into the real and closing feeling in scene. He Zhu hence earning the He Yellow-Plum-Rain name, these three lines with Li Yu's a river of spring water and Qin Guan's ten-thousand-points-flying-red-grief-like-the-sea rated the grief metaphor wonders, and yet the three-layer extended metaphor, the layers the richer, hence the swan song.

Study

Word focus

凌波 Lingbo—borrowed from Cao Zhi's poem, referring to a goddess-like beauty walking lightly. 「凌波不过横塘路」之「凌波」，化用曹植《洛神赋》「凌波微步，罗袜生尘」，是全词开篇的关键意象，以洛神喻所慕女子，写其步态轻盈如仙而不可追，怅惘自生。「凌波」本写洛神在水波上微步而行的轻盈姿态，贺铸借以写所慕女子之步履，起笔即以仙姝之喻为全词定下缥缈高华的基调；「不过横塘路」以「不过」写其终究没有越过横塘，两人之间横亘着不可逾越的距离，可望而不可即。此词之妙在于：凌波是仙姿，令人神往；不过是阻隔，令人怅惘；一往一阻，把瞬间的邂逅写成永恒的遗憾。炼「凌波」二字以立仙姿，又以「不过」转出阻隔，虚实相生，开篇即见婉约词含蓄蕴藉的本色，是化用典故而不见痕迹的典范。

芳尘 Fragrant dust—the dust left by the departing beauty, hinting at her fragrance and disappearance. 「但目送、芳尘去」之「芳尘」，承《洛神赋》「罗袜生尘」而来，写美人去后余香渐远，以尘写人，空灵怅惘。「芳尘」本指美人步履扬起的尘土，因沾其芳泽而称「芳」，贺铸以「芳尘去」写目送之景：人去不可留，唯余一路芳尘渐行渐远，连尘土也成了相思的寄托。此词之妙有三：一是以尘写人，不直写美人离去之形，而写其足下芳尘，含蓄空灵；二是以远写怅，芳尘渐远，正见目送之久、不舍之深，「但目送」三字写尽无可奈何；三是以香写情，芳尘之「芳」暗寓美人之美好，香尘远去而余韵犹存，正合「可望难即」的怅惘。炼「芳尘」二字，把目送离人之景写得空灵缥缈，是婉约词以微物写深情、以小景传大情的典型笔法。

锦瑟华年 Splendid zither years—an allusion to Li Shangyin's poem, meaning beautiful youth. 「锦瑟华年谁与度」之「锦瑟华年」，化用李商隐《锦瑟》「锦瑟无端五十弦，一弦一柱思华年」，指美好的青春年华，问「谁与度」暗含孤寂与追慕。「锦瑟」本是一种华美的乐器，李商隐以锦瑟之繁弦写华年之追忆，贺铸借「锦瑟」之华美以形容「华年」之美好，琴弦之繁密喻年华之多彩，青春之美如在目前；「谁与度」以设问出之，写如此美好的青春无人共度，既是问对方（她与谁共度年华），亦是自问（我的年华谁与共度），怜人亦自怜。此词之妙在于：锦瑟华年写其美好，谁与度写其孤寂，美好与孤寂相映，愈增怅惘；又以设问逗出下文「月桥花院」的悬想，由问而思、由思而叹，把追慕之情写得回环往复，深得婉约词婉转含蓄之致。

一川烟草，满城风絮，梅子黄时雨 A riverbank of misty grass, the city filled with willow fluff, and the plum-ripening rain—a series of metaphors for boundless sorrow. 「一川烟草，满城风絮，梅子黄时雨」三句，是千古写愁名句，以博喻叠写「闲情」，层层渲染，意境绝妙。「一川烟草」写愁之弥漫：平川之上烟霭笼罩的春草，绵延无际，喻愁之辽阔无边；「满城风絮」写愁之纷乱：满城飘飞的柳絮，无定无依，喻愁之纷乱无着；「梅子黄时雨」写愁之绵长：梅子黄熟时节连绵不绝的阴雨，黏腻难晴，喻愁之缠绵不断。三者皆暮春初夏之景，而层次分明：由地面（烟草）到空中（风絮）到时节（黄梅雨），由视觉到触觉到心理，由空间到时间，层层叠加，把无形之愁化为可视可感之景，化虚为实、以景结情。此三句以鼎足对出之，句式整饬而意象流动，贺铸因「梅子黄时雨」得「贺梅子」之号，千百年来写愁者无出其右，是「以景写愁」的极致。