宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
唐多令
The Tang of Many Orders
何处合成愁。
离人心上秋。
纵芭蕉、不雨也飕飕。
都道晚凉天气好，有明月、怕登楼。
年事梦中休。
花空烟水流。
燕辞归、客尚淹留。
垂柳不萦裙带住，漫长是、系行舟。
The autumn on the heart of the separated one.
Even the plantain, without the rain, rustles and rustles.
All say the cool evening, the weather good,
But with the bright moon, I fear to climb the tower.
The affairs of the years rest in the dream.
The flowers empty, the mist and the water flow.
The swallows return home, the guest still lingers.
The drooping willows do not hold the girdle-band —
Long, long, they tie the traveling boat.
Meaning
A lyric of the sorrow of the separated one, written by Wu Wenying. Where is the sorrow made? The autumn on the heart of the separated one — the sorrow made of the heart and the autumn, the 'autumn on the heart' making the sorrow. Even the plantain, without the rain, rustles and rustles — the rustling of the plantain without the rain. All say the cool evening, the weather good, but with the bright moon, he fears to climb the tower — the fear of the bright moon and the tower. The affairs of the years rest in the dream — the flowers empty, the mist and the water flow — the past in the dream, the flowers empty. The swallows return home, the guest still lingers — the returning swallows and the lingering guest. The drooping willows do not hold the girdle-band — long, long, they tie the traveling boat — the willows not holding the beloved, but tying the boat. The lyric is the sorrow of the separated one: the autumn on the heart, the feared moon, and the close's willows tying the traveling boat.
何处合成愁。离人心上秋。纵芭蕉、不雨也飕飕。都道晚凉天气好，有明月、怕登楼。年事梦中休。花空烟水流。燕辞归、客尚淹留。垂柳不萦裙带住，漫长是、系行舟。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] Where is the sorrow made? The autumn on the heart of the separated one. Even the plantain, without the rain, rustles and rustles. All say the cool evening, the weather good, but with the bright moon, I fear to climb the tower. The affairs of the years rest in the dream. The flowers empty, the mist and the water flow. The swallows return home, the guest still lingers. The drooping willows do not hold the girdle-band — long, long, they tie the traveling boat. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the making of the sorrow — the autumn on the heart of the separated one — through the rustling plantain and the feared tower, to the resting of the years in the dream and the close's willows tying the traveling boat. [Key Technique] The lyric's art is the wordplay and the image: the 'autumn on the heart' making the sorrow — the wordplay of the character; and the close's willows that do not hold the beloved but tie the traveling boat — the image of the lingering, the sorrow gathered in the tied boat. [Emotional Tone] Sorrowful, clever, and lingering: the lyric is the sorrow of the separated one, the autumn on the heart and the close's tied boat.
【白话串讲】 吴文英写《唐多令》：“何处合成愁。离人心上秋”——“纵芭蕉、不雨也飕飕”——“都道晚凉天气好，有明月、怕登楼”——“年事梦中休。花空烟水流”——“垂柳不萦裙带住，漫长是、系行舟”——他写离愁——离人心上秋。 【意象与手法】 “何处合成愁。离人心上秋”以“愁”字拆解写离愁；“纵芭蕉、不雨也飕飕”以芭蕉写愁声；“都道晚凉天气好，有明月、怕登楼”写怕登楼；“年事梦中休。花空烟水流”写年事如梦；结以“垂柳不萦裙带住，漫长是、系行舟”以垂柳系舟写愁。以字谜入词、含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 吴文英写秋思怀人之作，以“心上秋”拆“愁”字写离愁之深，写怕登楼、年事如梦与垂柳系舟的漂泊之感，是梦窗词中语言巧思与深情兼备的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“何处合成愁。离人心上秋”以心上秋拆字写愁；“垂柳不萦裙带住，漫长是、系行舟”以垂柳系舟写羁愁。
Background
Wu Wenying (c. 1200–1260), the master of the dense and ornate lyric of the Southern Song, wrote this 'Tang of Many Orders' of the sorrow of the separated one — the wordplay of the 'autumn on the heart' making the sorrow, the feared moon of the tower, the resting of the years in the dream, and the close's drooping willows that do not hold the girdle-band but tie the traveling boat. The lyric is one of the famous works of the master, the sorrow gathered in the wordplay and the close's image.
《唐多令》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。此词写秋思怀人。词中「何处合成愁。离人心上秋」写何处合成愁；「纵芭蕉、不雨也飕飕」写芭蕉飕飕；「都道晚凉天气好，有明月、怕登楼」写怕登楼；「年事梦中休。花空烟水流」写年事梦中休；「燕辞归、客尚淹留」写燕辞客留；「垂柳不萦裙带住，漫长是、系行舟」写系行舟。吴文英此词以秋思怀人、系行舟写其秋思，含蓄深婉，是吴文英词中的名篇。此篇《唐多令》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。此篇《唐多令》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 wordplay and the image. The sorrow opens in the wordplay: where is the sorrow made? The autumn on the heart of the separated one — the 'autumn' (qiu) on the 'heart' (xin) making the sorrow (chou) — the wordplay of the character, the sorrow made of the heart and the autumn. The scene follows: even the plantain, without the rain, rustles and rustles — the rustling of the plantain; all say the cool evening, the weather good, but with the bright moon, he fears to climb the tower — the feared moon, the bright evening feared. The past: the affairs of the years rest in the dream — the flowers empty, the mist and the water flow — the past in the dream, the flowers empty; the swallows return home, the guest still lingers — the returning swallows and the lingering guest. And the close gathers the lingering in the image: the drooping willows do not hold the girdle-band — long, long, they tie the traveling boat — the willows not holding the beloved, but tying the traveling boat — the sorrow of the separated one, the lingering gathered in the tied boat.
此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、以景写情」见长。全词上片写何处合成愁与怕登楼，下片写年事梦中休与系行舟。上片「何处合成愁。离人心上秋」写何处合成愁：何处合成愁，离人心上秋；「纵芭蕉、不雨也飕飕」写芭蕉飕飕：纵芭蕉、不雨也飕飕；「都道晚凉天气好，有明月、怕登楼」写怕登楼：都道晚凉天气好，有明月、怕登楼。下片「年事梦中休。花空烟水流」写年事梦中休：年事梦中休，花空烟水流；「燕辞归、客尚淹留」写燕辞客留：燕辞归、客尚淹留；「垂柳不萦裙带住，漫长是、系行舟」写系行舟：垂柳不萦裙带住，漫长是、系行舟。全词含蓄深婉，以景写情，是吴文英词中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。
Allusions
'The autumn on the heart' (xin shang qiu) is the wordplay of the character sorrow (chou) — the 'heart' with the 'autumn' making the sorrow, the famous wordplay of the lyric; 'the girdle-band' (qun dai) is the girdle of the beloved — the willows not holding the girdle-band of the beloved; 'the traveling boat' (xing zhou) is the boat of the traveling guest — tied by the willows, the lingering of the guest.
词中「何处合成愁」「离人心上秋」「纵芭蕉不雨也飕飕」「都道晚凉天气好」「有明月怕登楼」「年事梦中休」「花空烟水流」「燕辞归客尚淹留」「垂柳不萦裙带住」「漫长是系行舟」等语，皆含典故故实。「何处合成愁」写何处合成愁；「离人心上秋」写离人心上秋（「心」上「秋」合成「愁」字）；「纵芭蕉不雨也飕飕」写纵芭蕉不雨也飕飕（用「雨打芭蕉」之意，无雨也飕飕）；「都道晚凉天气好」写都道晚凉天气好；「有明月怕登楼」写有明月怕登楼；「年事梦中休」写年事梦中休；「花空烟水流」写花空烟水流；「燕辞归客尚淹留」用曹丕「燕歌行」之意（燕辞归而客淹留），写燕辞客留；「垂柳不萦裙带住」写垂柳不萦裙带住（柳不系人之裙带）；「漫长是系行舟」写漫长是系行舟。词人以心秋成愁、燕辞客留、垂柳系舟等语入词，不着痕迹，而把秋思怀人之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。
Commentary
This lyric is one of the famous works of Wu Wenying, quoted for the wordplay of its opening and the image of its close. The 'autumn on the heart' making the sorrow, and the willows tying the traveling boat, are among the most admired passages of the master's lyrics. Critics praise the lyric's art: the clever wordplay of the sorrow and the lingering image of the tied boat.
这首《唐多令》，是吴文英写秋思怀人之作，写何处合成愁、年事梦中休、系行舟之情，含蓄深婉。上片写何处合成愁与怕登楼：「何处合成愁。离人心上秋」——何处合成愁，离人心上秋。写何处合成愁：何处合成愁、离人心上秋——愁由心秋合成、离人心上之秋；「纵芭蕉、不雨也飕飕」——纵芭蕉、不雨也飕飕。写芭蕉飕飕：纵芭蕉不雨也飕飕——纵无雨、芭蕉也飕飕；「都道晚凉天气好，有明月、怕登楼」——都道晚凉天气好，有明月、怕登楼。写怕登楼：都道晚凉天气好、有明月怕登楼——晚凉天气好、有明月怕登楼。下片写年事梦中休与系行舟：「年事梦中休。花空烟水流」——年事梦中休，花空烟水流。写年事梦中休：年事梦中休、花空烟水流——年事梦中休、花空烟水流；「燕辞归、客尚淹留」——燕辞归、客尚淹留。写燕辞客留：燕辞归、客尚淹留——燕辞归而客淹留；「垂柳不萦裙带住，漫长是、系行舟」——垂柳不萦裙带住，漫长是、系行舟。写系行舟：垂柳不萦裙带住、漫长是系行舟——柳不萦裙带、长系行舟。这「垂柳不萦裙带住，漫长是、系行舟」，是全词之结：以系行舟写其淹留。全词含蓄深婉，以景写情，正是吴文英词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
何处合成愁。
Where is the sorrow made?
何处合成愁。
Where does this sorrow get made up?
首句写何处合成愁，起笔即见其问。「何处合成愁」写何处合成愁，「何处」写何处、「合成愁」写合成愁字。一句以「何处」写发问、「合成愁」写愁之合成，写尽何处合成愁之情——愁由何处合成。以问起兴，含蓄而深婉，是「以问起兴」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 line writes the where-sorrow-made question, the first stroke at once seeing the question. The where-does-this-sorrow-get-made-up writing the question and the sorrow's compound, exhausting the where-sorrow-from feeling. Using the question's uprising, reserved and deep-gentle, the question-uprising wondrous brush.
离人心上秋。
The autumn on the heart of the separated one.
离人心上秋。
Autumn on the parted man's heart.
此句写离人心上秋，是全词拆字写愁的关键。「离人心上秋」写离人心上秋，「离人」写离人、「心上秋」写心上有秋。一句以「心上秋」拆「愁」字（心上有秋合成愁）、「离人」写离人之心，写尽离人心上秋之情——离人之心自有秋。以拆字写愁，含蓄而巧思，是「以拆字写愁」的点睛之笔。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。
This line writes autumn-on-the-parted-man's-heart, the whole ci's character-split sorrow key. The autumn-on-the-parted-man's-heart splitting the sorrow character (autumn over heart), writing the parted man's heart, exhausting the parted-man's-heart-autumn feeling. Using the character-split for the sorrow-writing, reserved and clever, the character-split-writes-sorrow telling stroke.
都道晚凉天气好，有明月、怕登楼。
All say the cool evening, the weather good, but with the bright moon, I fear to climb the tower.
都道晚凉天气好，有明月、怕登楼。
All say the evening's cool weather is fine; yet with the bright moon, I fear to climb the tower.
此二句写怕登楼，是全词写其怯于登临的关键。「都道晚凉天气好」写都道晚凉天气好，「都道」写都说、「晚凉天气好」写晚凉天气好；「有明月、怕登楼」写有明月怕登楼，「有明月」写有明月、「怕登楼」写怕登楼。两句一写都道晚凉天气好、一写有明月怕登楼，以晚凉天气好写天气之好、以有明月怕登楼写其怕登楼，写尽晚凉天气虽好、有明月而怕登楼之情。以怕写情，含蓄而深挚，是「以怕写情」的点睛之笔。
These two lines write the fear-of-tower-climbing, the whole ci's dread-of-ascent key. The all-say-the-evening's-cool-weather-is-fine writing the fine weather; yet-with-the-bright-moon-I-fear-to-climb-the-tower writing the dread. Two lines one writing the cool-weather praise, one the bright-moon-fear, using the fine weather for the weather's goodness and the bright-moon-fear for the dread, exhausting the fine-evening-and-yet-bright-moon-and-yet-fear-to-climb feeling. Using the fear for the feeling-writing, reserved and deep, the fear-writes-feeling telling stroke.
燕辞归、客尚淹留。
The swallows return home, the guest still lingers.
燕辞归、客尚淹留。
The swallows take their leave and return; the traveler still lingers.
此二句写燕辞客留，是全词写淹留之慨的关键。「燕辞归」写燕辞归，用燕歌行之意写燕辞归；「客尚淹留」写客尚淹留，「客」写客、「尚淹留」写尚自淹留。两句一写燕辞归、一写客尚淹留，以燕辞归写燕之去、以客尚淹留写客之留，写尽燕辞归而客尚淹留之情。以燕写客，含蓄而深婉，是「以燕写客」的点睛之笔。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。
These two lines write the swallow's departure and the guest's stay, the whole ci's lingering sigh key. The swallows-take-their-leave-and-return using the Swallow Song air for the swallow's going; the traveler-still-lingers writing the lingering. Two lines one writing the swallow's return, one the guest's stay, using the swallow's departure for the bird's going and the guest's lingering for the person's staying, exhausting the swallows'-return-and-yet-traveler's-lingering feeling. Using the swallow for the guest-writing, reserved and deep-gentle, the swallow-writes-guest telling stroke.
垂柳不萦裙带住，漫长是、系行舟。
The drooping willows do not hold the girdle-band — long, long, they tie the traveling boat.
垂柳不萦裙带住，漫长是、系行舟。
The hanging willow cannot hold her skirt sash; it only, always, ties the traveling boat.
尾二句写系行舟，是全词立意的落点。「垂柳不萦裙带住」写垂柳不萦裙带住，「垂柳」写垂柳、「不萦裙带住」写不萦住裙带；「漫长是、系行舟」写漫长是系行舟，「漫长是」写却长是、「系行舟」写系住行舟。两句一写垂柳不萦裙带住、一写漫长是系行舟，以柳不萦裙带写不系佳人、以长系行舟写只系行舟，写尽垂柳不萦裙带住、长系行舟之情。以柳写情，含蓄而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以柳写情」的点睛之笔。
The closing two lines write the tying-the-traveling-boat, the whole ci's intention landing. The hanging-willow-cannot-hold-her-skirt-sash writing the willow's failing to hold the beloved; it-only-always-ties-the-traveling-boat writing the boat's tying. Two lines one writing the willow's not-holding, one the willow's always-tying, using the willow's not-holding-the-sash for the beloved's non-detention and the long-tied-boat for the traveler's boat, exhausting the willow's not-holding-and-yet-long-tying feeling. Using the willow for the feeling-writing, reserved and deep, the whole ci's most moving place, the willow-writes-feeling telling stroke.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Yan Shu's 'Silk-Washing Stream' — 'helplessly the flowers fall, as if known the swallows return' — is the sorrow of the autumn and the past; Wu Wenying's 'Tang of Many Orders' — 'with the bright moon, I fear to climb the tower' — is the fear of the autumn moon — the two sorrows of the autumn, the one of the falling, the other of the feared.
晏殊《浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯》「无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来」，写春逝之无可奈何，是宋词写惜时的名篇；吴文英《唐多令》则以「都道晚凉天气好，有明月、怕登楼」「年事梦中休。花空烟水流」写有明月怕登楼、花空烟水流。两词同写秋思无尽、独自怕登楼：一写无可奈何花落去、以花落燕归写惜时，一写有明月怕登楼、以怕登楼写愁；一为晏殊之温润、一为吴文英之密丽，并读正可见宋词写「秋思怕登楼」的两种笔法，皆于秋景之中见怕登楼。
虞美人·春花秋月何时了 The Beautiful Lady Yu: When Will the Spring Flowers and the Autumn Moon End 李煜 · 同写年事已休、故人难留，一写故国不堪回首月明中、一写垂柳不萦裙带住漫长是系行舟，皆于月明行舟之中见故人难留 Both are the lyrics of the past and the moon — the unbearable moon of Li Yu, the feared moon of Wu Wenying — the two moons of the memory.Li Yu's 'The Beautiful Lady Yu' — 'the past country, unbearable to look back in the bright moon' — is the sorrow of the lost past in the moon; Wu Wenying's 'Tang of Many Orders' — 'with the bright moon, I fear to climb the tower' — is the fear of the moon of the memory — the two moons of the memory, the one of the lost country, the other of the separated one.
李煜《虞美人·春花秋月何时了》「小楼昨夜又东风，故国不堪回首月明中」，写故国之思、年事已休，是写愁的千古名篇；吴文英《唐多令》则以「年事梦中休。花空烟水流」「垂柳不萦裙带住，漫长是、系行舟」写年事梦中休、系行舟。两词同写年事已休、故人难留：一写故国不堪回首月明中、以明月写故国之思，一写垂柳不萦裙带住漫长是系行舟、以柳系舟写淹留；一为帝王之血泪、一为吴文英之密丽，并读正可见词写「年事故人」的两种情致，皆于月明行舟之中见故人难留。