三姝媚

Meaning

A lyric of the love remembered and painted after the return, written by Shi Dazu, the late Southern Song master of the ornate lyric. The misty light shimmers on the glazed tiles; the willow flowers scatter like rain under the windy eaves. The brocade zither lies across the bed — the tears' traces and the dust's shadow, the phoenix strings often unstrung: the house of the absent woman. Weary of leaving the rhino-horn curtain, in dreams she often sees the young lord's proud horse; she avoids saying 'lovesickness,' secretly mends her silk skirt, and is startled at her own waist's slenderness — the wasting of the waiting. The poet remembers the southern tower's far night, the emerald curtain with the lamps lit, the shoulder against the pillow, the song done. Again he enters the Copper Camel Street — the great avenue of the old capital — wandering through the old lanes of the houses, first asking after her fame and worth. And the close: the east wind carries the regret and the idle flowers to wither together; he remembers her looks of Cui Hui — the famous beauty of the old story — and coming back, secretly paints them. The lyric is the memory of the waiting woman and the painted return of the lost beauty.

烟光在缥碧的瓦上轻轻摇曳。望那晴空下的檐宇多风，柳花如洒。锦瑟横陈在床边，想那泪痕与尘影之中，凤弦常常松下。倦于走出犀帷，却频频梦见王孙的骄马。讳言相思，偷偷整理绡裙，暗自惊觉腰身已瘦。惆怅南楼的长夜。记得翠箔张灯，枕肩而歌的情景。又入铜驼街，走遍旧家门巷，首先打听那人的声名身价。可惜东风，将怨恨与闲花一同凋谢。记得崔徽的模样，归来后暗自描画。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The misty light shimmers on the glazed tiles. I look at the sunny eaves, where the wind is much — the willow flowers scatter like rain. The brocade zither lies across the bed, I think of the tears' traces and the dust's shadow, and the phoenix strings are often unstrung. Weary of leaving the rhino-horn curtain, in dreams I often see the young lord's proud horse. She avoids saying 'lovesickness' — secretly mends her silk skirt, and is startled at her own waist's slenderness. Melancholy, the southern tower's far night. I remember the emerald curtain with the lamps lit, the shoulder against the pillow, the song done. Again I enter the Copper Camel Street, wandering through the old lanes of the houses, first asking after her fame and worth. It is a pity that the east wind carries the regret and the idle flowers to wither together. I remember her looks of Cui Hui, and coming back, secretly paint them. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the woman's house and her waiting — the unstrung zither, the proud horse of the dreams, the startled waist — through the memory of the past night — the emerald curtain, the lamps, the song — to the return and the search — the Copper Camel Street, the old lanes, the asking after her — and the close's painting of the remembered looks. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the double memory: the woman's waiting is imagined from her house and her dreams, and the poet's own return is the search of the old lanes — the two perspectives meeting in the painted looks of the close. [Emotional Tone] Ornate, tender, and melancholy: the love is carried by the glazed tiles and the phoenix strings, the startled waist and the lamps of the past night, and the close's secret painting of the remembered face.

【白话串讲】 史达祖写《三姝媚》：“烟光摇缥瓦。望晴檐多风，柳花如洒”——“锦瑟横床，想泪痕尘影，凤弦常下”——“讳道相思，偷理绡裙，自惊腰衩”——他写女子相思——讳道相思。 【意象与手法】 上阕以“烟光摇缥瓦”的春景起笔，由锦瑟横床、凤弦常下写物在人亡之悲，以“讳道相思，偷理绡裙，自惊腰衩”写相思之深与消瘦之态；下阕以“又入铜驼，遍旧家门巷，首询声价”写旧地重寻，以“可惜东风，将恨与、闲花俱谢”写情之凋谢；终以“记取崔徽模样，归来暗写”的痴情作结。词风秾丽、情感深挚。 【情感与主旨】 史达祖写怀人相思之作，写春愁中追忆旧日恋人、旧地重寻而情已凋谢的深痛，是史达祖词中写情的佳作。 【名句点睛】 常考“讳道相思，偷理绡裙，自惊腰衩”以讳道相思写消瘦；“可惜东风，将恨与、闲花俱谢”以闲花俱谢写情之凋谢。

Allusions

'The Copper Camel Street' (Tongtuo) alludes to the avenue of the bronze camels of the old capitals — the great street of the vanished splendor, where the poet wanders through the old lanes of the houses. 'Cui Hui' alludes to the famous beauty of the Tang story of Pei Jingzhong and the courtesan Cui Hui: when the lover left, she asked him to paint her likeness; the painting of the remembered looks is the classic figure of the fixed memory of the lost love. 'The phoenix strings' (fengxian) are the zither strings; the rhino-horn curtain (xiwei) is the curtain of the lady's chamber.

此词用典于关键处见深情。「锦瑟」，用李商隐《锦瑟》之典，「锦瑟无端五十弦，一弦一柱思华年」，锦瑟本是抒写华年情思的意象，此词以「锦瑟横床」写物在人亡，暗含「此情可待成追忆」的怅惘；「凤弦」，指琴弦的美称，也暗含「凤凰于飞」的情爱之意，凤弦常松，正是故人去后无人再抚的凄凉。「铜驼」，指洛阳铜驼街，晋时索靖见铜驼荆棘，有「铜驼荆棘」之典，后以「铜驼」指故都、繁华之地，此词「又入铜驼，遍旧家门巷」，写旧地重游，暗含繁华依旧而人事已非之感；「崔徽」为唐代歌妓，与裴敬中相恋，后病，写真寄裴敬中，自誓「为郎憔悴却羞郎」，是写真寄情的千古佳话，此词「记取崔徽模样，归来暗写」，正是以崔徽自况，写归来后暗自描画那人模样、以慰相思的痴情。「王孙骄马」，暗用《楚辞》「王孙游兮不归，春草生兮萋萋」之意，以王孙指所念之人，写其游而不归。这些典故，或写华年之思、或写旧地之叹、或写真寄之情、或写游子不归，皆围绕怀人相思这一核心，织成一张秾丽的情网，正是史达祖词「用事下语精严」的特点。

Commentary

This lyric is one of Shi Dazu's most admired works, quoted for the ornate refinement of its diction and the double memory of its structure. The waiting woman's three gestures — avoiding the word, mending the skirt, startled at the waist — and the secret painting of the close are among the most praised images of the late Song lyric. Critics praise the poem's art: the love remembered from both sides and fixed by the painting.

读此词，最值得注意的是「讳道相思，偷理绡裙，自惊腰衩」写出的深婉。明明相思入骨，却偏要「讳道相思」——不愿让人知道，甚至不愿让自己承认；可身体是诚实的，整理绡裙时，忽然发现腰身瘦了，于是「自惊」——不是惊于消瘦，而是惊于相思之深，深到连自己都未曾察觉，已在不知不觉中瘦了。这一「讳」一「偷」一「惊」之间，写尽了深藏不露的相思：越是讳言，越是深藏；越是深藏，越是消瘦。这是典型的「欲盖弥彰」——嘴上说着不说，身体却出卖了心事。而「记取崔徽模样，归来暗写」的结句，更以崔徽写真之典写尽痴情：那人已经离去，相见无期，便把那人的模样记在心里，归来后暗自描画，画着画着，仿佛那人还在眼前。一个「暗」字，写尽深藏心底的思念与不敢示人的痴情。史达祖的词，向以工丽著称，而此词的动人，正在于秾丽辞采之下那份深挚而不肯明言的真情——越是写得含蓄，越见相思之深，正是此词超越一般怀人词的地方。

Prosody

Line by line

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