宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
三姝媚
The Three Beauties
湖山经醉惯。
溃春衫、啼痕酒痕无限。
又客长安，叹断襟零袂，涴尘谁浣。
紫曲门荒，沿败井、风摇青蔓。
对语东邻，犹是曾巢，谢堂双燕。
春梦人间须断。
但怪得、当年梦缘能短。
绣屋秦筝，傍海棠偏爱，夜深开宴。
舞歇歌沈，花未减、红颜先变。
伫久河桥欲去，斜阳泪满。
The spring coat is soaked through,
With the tears' traces and the wine's traces, without end.
Again a guest in Chang'an,
I sigh over the torn sleeves and the tattered lapels,
The dust-soiled — who will wash them?
The violet lane's gate is desolate,
Along the ruined well, the wind shakes the green creepers.
The eastern neighbor talks to itself —
Still it is the swallows that once nested in the Hall of Xie.
The spring dream of the world of men must break —
But what I wonder at is only,
How short the dream-union of those years was.
The embroidered room's Qin zither,
Beside the crab-apple, especially loved,
At the deep night, opened the banquet.
The dance is over, the song is sunk,
The flowers are not yet faded, but the red face changes first.
I stand long at the river bridge, about to go,
In the slanting sun, my tears fill my eyes.
Meaning
A lyric of the old love remembered in the guest's desolation, written by the late Southern Song master Wu Wenying. The lake and the hills are used to his being drunk; the spring coat is soaked through with the tears' and the wine's traces, without end. Again a guest in Chang'an — the capital — he sighs over the torn sleeves and the tattered lapels, the dust-soiled coat that no one will wash. The violet lane's gate is desolate, the wind shakes the green creepers along the ruined well; the eastern neighbor talks to itself — still it is the swallows that once nested in the Hall of Xie. The spring dream of the world of men must break; what he wonders at is only how short the dream-union of those years was. The embroidered room's Qin zither, beside the crab-apple especially loved, opened the banquet at the deep night. The dance is over, the song is sunk; the flowers are not yet faded, but the red face changes first. And the close — he stands long at the river bridge, about to go, in the slanting sun, his tears filling his eyes. The lyric is the memory of the old love in the ruined present, the swallows of the Hall of Xie and the faded red face.
湖山经醉惯。溃春衫、啼痕酒痕无限。又客长安，叹断襟零袂，涴尘谁浣。紫曲门荒，沿败井、风摇青蔓。对语东邻，犹是曾巢，谢堂双燕。春梦人间须断。但怪得、当年梦缘能短。绣屋秦筝，傍海棠偏爱，夜深开宴。舞歇歌沈，花未减、红颜先变。伫久河桥欲去，斜阳泪满。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] The lake and the hills are used to my being drunk — the spring coat is soaked through with the tears' and the wine's traces, without end. Again a guest in Chang'an, I sigh over the torn sleeves and the tattered lapels, the dust-soiled — who will wash them? The violet lane's gate is desolate; along the ruined well, the wind shakes the green creepers. The eastern neighbor talks to itself — still it is the swallows that once nested in the Hall of Xie. The spring dream of the world of men must break — but what I wonder at is only how short the dream-union of those years was. The embroidered room's Qin zither, beside the crab-apple especially loved, at the deep night, opened the banquet. The dance is over, the song is sunk; the flowers are not yet faded, but the red face changes first. I stand long at the river bridge, about to go, in the slanting sun, my tears fill my eyes. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the present desolation — the drunk and the soiled coat, the desolate lane and the ruined well — through the memory of the past — the embroidered room, the crab-apple, the deep-night banquet — to the close on the river bridge, the tears in the slanting sun. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the layering of the time: the swallows of the Hall of Xie carry the past into the present, the spring dream that must break measures the short union, and the flowers not yet faded with the red face changed first marks the ruin within the beauty. [Emotional Tone] Dense, desolate, and tender: the memory of the old love is carried by the ruined present — the soiled coat no one will wash, the desolate gate, the swallows of the old hall, and the tears of the river bridge.
【白话串讲】 吴文英写《三姝媚》：“湖山经醉惯。溃春衫、啼痕酒痕无限”——“又客长安，叹断襟零袂，涴尘谁浣”——“紫曲门荒，沿败井、风摇青蔓”——“春梦人间须断”——他写客愁——春梦人间须断。 【意象与手法】 “湖山经醉惯。溃春衫、啼痕酒痕无限”写湖山旧游；“又客长安，叹断襟零袂，涴尘谁浣”写客居之叹；“紫曲门荒，沿败井、风摇青蔓”写门荒景；“春梦人间须断”写春梦须断；结以“伫久河桥欲去，斜阳泪满”写斜阳泪满。含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 吴文英写怀人感旧之作，写重游旧地、物是人非的惆怅与客居之叹，以“斜阳泪满”写深情，是梦窗词中感旧怀人的代表。 【名句点睛】 常考“湖山经醉惯。溃春衫、啼痕酒痕无限”以啼痕酒痕写旧游；“春梦人间须断”以春梦须断写人生无常。
Background
Wu Wenying (c. 1200–c. 1260) was the most dense and allusive of the late Southern Song lyricists, styled the Old Man of the Dream Window. His lyrics are famous for their intricate diction and their intense, veiled feeling. This lyric, a memory of the old love in the guest's desolation, is one of his characteristic works: the lake and the hills used to his being drunk, the soiled coat, the swallows of the Hall of Xie, and the faded red face. The 'Three Beauties' tune is one of the long lyric forms the Dream Window practiced with the greatest art.
《三姝媚》为南宋词人吴文英所作词。吴文英（约1200—约1260），字君特，号梦窗，四明（今浙江宁波）人，南宋词人，词风密丽深婉，为「梦窗词」之宗。此词写怀人感旧。词中「湖山经醉惯。溃春衫、啼痕酒痕无限」写湖山经醉惯；「又客长安，叹断襟零袂，涴尘谁浣」写又客长安；「紫曲门荒，沿败井、风摇青蔓」写紫曲门荒；「对语东邻，犹是曾巢，谢堂双燕」写谢堂双燕；「春梦人间须断。但怪得、当年梦缘能短」写春梦须断；「绣屋秦筝，傍海棠偏爱，夜深开宴」写绣屋秦筝；「舞歇歌沈，花未减、红颜先变」写红颜先变；「伫久河桥欲去，斜阳泪满」写斜阳泪满。吴文英此词以怀人感旧、斜阳泪满写其感旧之情，含蓄深婉，是吴文英词中的名篇。此篇《三姝媚》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。
Art
The lyric's art is the art of the layered time. The present is given in its full desolation: the drunk, the soiled coat no one will wash, the desolate violet lane, the ruined well with the wind-shaken creepers. Into the present, the past is carried by the swallows — the eastern neighbor's swallows are still the ones that nested in the Hall of Xie, the ancient hall of the vanished wealth. The spring dream of the world of men must break; the union of those years was short. And the memory of the past pleasure — the embroidered room, the Qin zither, the crab-apple, the deep-night banquet — is cut by the ruin within it: the dance over, the song sunk, and the red face changed before the flowers faded. The close returns to the present — the river bridge, the slanting sun, the tears. The whole lyric is the memory held against the desolation.
此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、密丽以情」见长。全词上片写湖山经醉惯与谢堂双燕，下片写春梦须断与斜阳泪满。上片「湖山经醉惯。溃春衫、啼痕酒痕无限」写湖山经醉惯：湖山经醉惯，溃春衫、啼痕酒痕无限；「又客长安，叹断襟零袂，涴尘谁浣」写又客长安：又客长安，叹断襟零袂，涴尘谁浣；「紫曲门荒，沿败井、风摇青蔓」写紫曲门荒：紫曲门荒，沿败井、风摇青蔓；「对语东邻，犹是曾巢，谢堂双燕」写谢堂双燕：对语东邻，犹是曾巢，谢堂双燕。下片「春梦人间须断。但怪得、当年梦缘能短」写春梦须断：春梦人间须断，但怪得、当年梦缘能短；「绣屋秦筝，傍海棠偏爱，夜深开宴」写绣屋秦筝：绣屋秦筝，傍海棠偏爱，夜深开宴；「舞歇歌沈，花未减、红颜先变」写红颜先变：舞歇歌沈，花未减、红颜先变；「伫久河桥欲去，斜阳泪满」写斜阳泪满：伫久河桥欲去，斜阳泪满。全词含蓄深婉，密丽以情，是吴文英词中的名篇。
Allusions
'The Hall of Xie' (Xietang) alludes to the swallows of the ancient Hall of Xie — the great mansion of the Six Dynasties' Xie family, whose swallows nested in the rafters of the vanished wealth, the classic figure of the ruined splendor (from Liu Yuxi's 'the old swallows of the Hall of Xie fly into the common houses'). 'Chang'an' is the old name of the capital, here standing for the Southern Song capital where the poet is a guest. 'The Qin zither' (Qinzheng) is the zither of the Qin region, the music of the embroidered room; 'the crab-apple' (haitang) is the crab-apple blossom of the deep-night banquet, beside which the music was played.
词中「湖山经醉惯」「溃春衫啼痕酒痕无限」「又客长安」「断襟零袂涴尘谁浣」「紫曲门荒」「沿败井风摇青蔓」「对语东邻」「曾巢谢堂双燕」「春梦人间须断」「当年梦缘能短」「绣屋秦筝」「傍海棠偏爱夜深开宴」「舞歇歌沈」「花未减红颜先变」「伫久河桥欲去斜阳泪满」等语，皆含典故故实。「湖山经醉惯」写湖山经醉惯；「溃春衫啼痕酒痕无限」写溃春衫啼痕酒痕无限；「又客长安」写又客长安；「断襟零袂涴尘谁浣」写断襟零袂涴尘谁浣；「紫曲门荒」写紫曲门荒（紫曲为坊曲名）；「沿败井风摇青蔓」写沿败井风摇青蔓；「对语东邻」写对语东邻；「曾巢谢堂双燕」用刘禹锡「旧时王谢堂前燕，飞入寻常百姓家」之意，写谢堂双燕；「春梦人间须断」写春梦人间须断；「当年梦缘能短」写当年梦缘能短；「绣屋秦筝」写绣屋秦筝；「傍海棠偏爱夜深开宴」写傍海棠偏爱夜深开宴；「舞歇歌沈」写舞歇歌沈；「花未减红颜先变」写花未减红颜先变；「伫久河桥欲去斜阳泪满」写伫久河桥欲去斜阳泪满。词人以王谢堂前燕之典入词，不着痕迹，而把怀人感旧之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。
Commentary
This lyric is one of Wu Wenying's characteristic works, quoted for the density of its layered time and the poignancy of its central image — the flowers not yet faded, the red face changed first. The swallows of the Hall of Xie carry the memory of the ruined splendor into the present, and the close — the river bridge, the slanting sun, the tears — is ranked among the finest endings of the late Song. Critics praise the lyric's art: the old love held against the desolation.
这首《三姝媚》，是吴文英写怀人感旧之作，写湖山经醉惯、谢堂双燕、斜阳泪满之情，含蓄深婉。上片写湖山经醉惯与谢堂双燕：「湖山经醉惯。溃春衫、啼痕酒痕无限」——湖山经醉惯，溃春衫、啼痕酒痕无限。写湖山经醉惯：湖山经醉惯、溃春衫啼痕酒痕无限——湖山经醉惯、春衫啼痕酒痕；「又客长安，叹断襟零袂，涴尘谁浣」——又客长安，叹断襟零袂，涴尘谁浣。写又客长安：又客长安、叹断襟零袂，涴尘谁浣——客长安、断襟零袂、涴尘谁浣；「紫曲门荒，沿败井、风摇青蔓」——紫曲门荒，沿败井、风摇青蔓。写紫曲门荒：紫曲门荒、沿败井风摇青蔓——紫曲门荒、败井青蔓；「对语东邻，犹是曾巢，谢堂双燕」——对语东邻，犹是曾巢，谢堂双燕（用王谢堂前燕之意）。写谢堂双燕：对语东邻、犹是曾巢，谢堂双燕——对语东邻、谢堂双燕。下片写春梦须断与斜阳泪满：「春梦人间须断。但怪得、当年梦缘能短」——春梦人间须断，但怪得、当年梦缘能短。写春梦须断：春梦人间须断、但怪得当年梦缘能短——春梦须断、梦缘能短；「绣屋秦筝，傍海棠偏爱，夜深开宴」——绣屋秦筝，傍海棠偏爱，夜深开宴。写绣屋秦筝：绣屋秦筝、傍海棠偏爱，夜深开宴——绣屋秦筝、夜深开宴；「舞歇歌沈，花未减、红颜先变」——舞歇歌沈，花未减、红颜先变。写红颜先变：舞歇歌沈、花未减红颜先变——舞歇歌沈、红颜先变；「伫久河桥欲去，斜阳泪满」——伫久河桥欲去，斜阳泪满。写斜阳泪满：伫久河桥欲去、斜阳泪满——河桥欲去、斜阳泪满。这「伫久河桥欲去，斜阳泪满」，是全词之结：以斜阳泪满写其感旧。全词含蓄深婉，密丽以情，正是吴文英词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
湖山经醉惯。
The lake and the hills are used to my being drunk —
湖山经醉惯。
The lake and hills, well-known through many a drunken roaming.
首句写湖山经醉惯，起笔即见其旧。「湖山经醉惯」写湖山经醉惯，「湖山」写湖山、「经醉惯」写曾经醉游而惯。一句以「湖山」写其地、「经醉惯」写醉游之惯，写尽湖山经醉惯之情——湖山之上曾经醉游。以旧起兴，含蓄而深婉，是「以旧起兴」的妙笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。
The opening writes the lake-and-hills well-known-through-drunkenness, the old present at the first stroke. The lake and hills, well-known through many a drunken roaming: the lake-and-hills writing the place, the drunken-roaming's-wonted writing the drunk-roaming's habit. One line, the place through the lake and hills, the drunk-roaming's habit through the well-known, exhausting the lake-and-hills' drunken roaming — the lake and hills above once drunkenly roamed. Rising on the old, restrained and graceful, a wondrous brush of rising-on-old. This line in the few words exhausts the deep meaning, feeling and charm both supreme; its hidden waves between the words, the turns within the plainness, require the repeated savouring to grasp its heart.
对语东邻，犹是曾巢，谢堂双燕。
The eastern neighbor talks to itself — still it is the swallows that once nested in the Hall of Xie.
对语东邻，犹是曾巢，谢堂双燕。
Chattering to the east neighbor, still the pair of swallows that once nested in the Xie hall.
此三句写谢堂双燕，是全词以燕写旧的关键。「对语东邻」写对语东邻，「对语」写相对而语、「东邻」写东邻；「犹是曾巢」写犹是曾巢，「犹是」写仍是、「曾巢」写曾经筑巢；「谢堂双燕」写谢堂双燕，用王谢堂前燕之意写谢堂双燕。三句一写对语东邻、一写犹是曾巢、一写谢堂双燕，以对语东邻写燕语、以犹是曾巢写旧巢、以谢堂双燕写燕之故主，写尽对语东邻、犹是曾巢、谢堂双燕之情。以典写旧，含蓄而深婉，是「以典写旧」的点睛之笔。
These three lines write the Xie-hall paired swallows, the ci's swallows-write-the-old key. Chattering to the east neighbor writes the face-to-face speech and the east neighbor; still the once-nested writes the still and the once-nested; the Xie hall's paired swallows uses the Wang-Xie-hall-before-swallow meaning. Three lines, the swallow-chatter through the east-neighbor speech, the old nest through the once-nested, the swallows' old master through the Xie hall, exhausting the east-neighbor speech and the once-nested Xie swallows. Writing the old through allusion, restrained and graceful, a telling stroke of old-through-allusion.
绣屋秦筝，傍海棠偏爱，夜深开宴。
The embroidered room's Qin zither, beside the crab-apple, especially loved, at the deep night, opened the banquet.
绣屋秦筝，傍海棠偏爱，夜深开宴。
The broidered chamber's Qin zheng; beside the begonia, the favorite; deep night, the banquet opens.
此三句写绣屋秦筝，是全词忆昔的关键。「绣屋秦筝」写绣屋秦筝，「绣屋」写绣屋、「秦筝」写秦筝；「傍海棠偏爱」写傍海棠偏爱，「傍海棠」写倚着海棠、「偏爱」写偏爱；「夜深开宴」写夜深开宴，「夜深」写夜深、「开宴」写开宴。三句一写绣屋秦筝、一写傍海棠偏爱、一写夜深开宴，以绣屋秦筝写屋中之乐、以傍海棠偏爱写爱海棠、以夜深开宴写夜宴，写尽绣屋秦筝、傍海棠偏爱、夜深开宴之情。以宴忆旧，含蓄而深婉，是「以宴忆旧」的点睛之笔。
These three lines write the broidered chamber's Qin zheng, the ci's memory key. The broidered chamber's Qin zheng writes the broidered chamber and the Qin zheng; beside the begonia, the favorite writes the leaning-by-begonia and the favorite; deep night, the banquet opens writes the deep night and the banquet opening. Three lines, the chamber's joy through the Qin zheng, the begonia's love through the beside-begonia, the night banquet through the deep night, exhausting the chamber zheng and the banquet. Writing the old through the banquet, restrained and graceful, a telling stroke of old-through-banquet.
伫久河桥欲去，斜阳泪满。
I stand long at the river bridge, about to go, in the slanting sun, my tears fill my eyes.
伫久河桥欲去，斜阳泪满。
Long I stand at the river bridge, about to go; in the setting sun, tears fill my eyes.
尾二句写斜阳泪满，是全词立意的落点。「伫久河桥欲去」写伫久河桥欲去，「伫久」写伫立已久、「河桥欲去」写临河桥而欲去；「斜阳泪满」写斜阳泪满，「斜阳」写斜阳、「泪满」写泪满。两句一写伫久河桥欲去、一写斜阳泪满，以伫久河桥写其久立、以欲去写其将离、以斜阳泪满写其泪下，写尽伫久河桥欲去、斜阳泪满之情。以泪写情，含蓄而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以泪写情」的点睛之笔。
The closing two lines write the setting-sun tears, the landing of the ci's theme. Long I stand at the river bridge, about to go writes the long-standing and the river-bridge-about-to-go; in the setting sun, tears fill my eyes writes the setting sun and the tear-full. Two lines, the long standing through the long-standing river bridge, the about-to-part through the about-to-go, the falling tears through the tear-full, exhausting the long-standing and the setting-sun tears. Writing feeling through tears, restrained and deep, the ci's most moving place.
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Yan Shu's 'Butterflies Lingering over Flowers' — 'the chrysanthemums weave sorrow, the orchids weep dew' — is the model of the refined lyric of the separated; Wu Wenying's 'Three Beauties' is the late, dense version — the same love, carried by the swallows of the Hall of Xie and the red face that changes before the flowers.
晏殊《蝶恋花·槛菊愁烟兰泣露》「槛菊愁烟兰泣露。罗幕轻寒，燕子双飞去」，写秋景离愁，是宋词写愁的名篇；吴文英《三姝媚》则以「对语东邻，犹是曾巢，谢堂双燕」「伫久河桥欲去，斜阳泪满」写谢堂双燕、斜阳泪满。两词同写燕子归来、独自凝愁：一写罗幕轻寒燕子双飞去、以燕去写愁，一写犹是曾巢谢堂双燕、以旧燕写旧；一为晏殊之温润、一为吴文英之密丽，并读正可见宋词写「燕与凝愁」的两种笔法，皆于燕子之中见凝愁。
虞美人·春花秋月何时了 The Fair Yu: When Will the Spring Flowers and Autumn Moon End? 李煜 · 同写往事难追、故物犹在，一写雕栏玉砌应犹在只是朱颜改、一写花未减红颜先变，皆于故物朱颜之中见往事难追 Both are the lyrics of the ruined splendor and the remembered past — Li Yu's jade tower and spring flowers, Wu Wenying's Hall of Xie and deep-night banquet.Li Yu's 'Fair Yu' — 'the carved jade tower and the jade railings should still be there' — is the last emperor's lament of the ruined splendor; Wu Wenying's lyric is the late Song version — the swallows of the Hall of Xie and the faded red face, the same ruin of the past's beauty.
李煜《虞美人·春花秋月何时了》「雕栏玉砌应犹在，只是朱颜改」，写故物犹在、朱颜已改，是写愁的千古名篇；吴文英《三姝媚》则以「舞歇歌沈，花未减、红颜先变」「伫久河桥欲去，斜阳泪满」写红颜先变、斜阳泪满。两词同写往事难追、故物犹在：一写雕栏玉砌应犹在只是朱颜改、以朱颜改写故国之思，一写花未减红颜先变、以红颜变写感旧；一为帝王之血泪、一为吴文英之密丽，并读正可见词写「故物朱颜」的两种情致，皆于故物朱颜之中见往事难追。