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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

武陵春·春晚

Spring in Wuling: Late Spring

李清照

Li Qingzhao

愁情sorrow 亡国national subjugation 婉约subtle and concise

风住尘香花已尽，日晚倦梳头。
物是人非事事休，欲语泪先流。
闻说双溪春尚好，也拟泛轻舟。
只恐双溪舴艋舟，载不动许多愁。

The wind stops, dust still fragrant, flowers all gone;
The day is late, too lazy to comb my hair.
Things remain but he's gone, everything is done;
Before I speak, tears flow first.
I hear spring at Double Creek is still fine;
I also plan to go boating lightly.
But I fear the little grasshopper boat on Double Creek
Cannot carry so much sorrow.

Listen

Meaning

In late spring, after the wind stops and flowers fall, the poetess feels the pain of things remaining but people gone. She tries to console herself by planning a boat ride, but fears her sorrow is too heavy for the boat to carry.

风停了，尘土里还留着落花的余香，春花早已凋尽；日色已高，我却懒得梳头。景物依旧而人事全非，万事都成空，刚要开口，眼泪已先流淌下来。听说双溪的春色还不算坏，我也曾打算去泛一叶轻舟。只怕双溪那小小的蚱蜢舟，载不动我这样重重的愁。

Appreciation

The poem uses vivid imagery and a three-fold psychological turn to express deep sorrow. The famous last line turns abstract sorrow into a heavy load, a startling metaphor that makes grief tangible. This poem represents Li Qingzhao's later style, mourning the loss of her country and husband.

【白话串讲】国破家亡之后，李清照连梳头的力气都没有了。听说双溪春色还好，她也想去划船，却怕“舴艋舟，载不动许多愁”——一个人的愁，重到船都装不下。【意象与手法】情感起伏跌宕：上片由景入哀，直写“欲语泪先流”；下片以“闻说”“也拟”振起一线希望，旋以“只恐”压下，欲扬先抑【情感与主旨】此词作于李清照晚年避难金华（今浙江）时【名句点睛】常考后期悲苦词风与“载不动许多愁”的夸张、拟人写愁手法；名句“物是人非事事休，欲语泪先流”

Background

Written during Li Qingzhao's refuge in Jinhua after the Jingkang Incident. She had lost her husband and most of their collection. The poem expresses her profound grief over personal and national loss.

李清照（一〇八四—约一一五五），号易安居士。此词题《武陵春·春晚》，作于宋高宗绍兴五年（一一三五）左右，时清照避难于浙江金华，年已五旬。建炎三年（一一二九）丈夫赵明诚病殁建康，此后金兵南侵，清照辗转流离，珍藏之金石书画散失殆尽，晚年孤身漂泊，境遇与前期优裕生活判若两人。此词正写于国破家亡、夫死物散之后，春晚景残，触目皆成哀痛。就文学传统而言，悲秋伤春自宋玉《九辩》发端，春晚写衰自六朝已然，至唐人伤春诗、五代花间伤逝词，春残每与年光迟暮、欢事难留相系。李清照以暮年寡妇之身写春晚，将个人身世之悲与时代离乱打成一片，遂使寻常伤春升格为沉痛的家国之叹。版本上，此词异文不多，双溪舴艋舟之舴艋（小舟）一作蚱蜢，音近而通，今从通行本。要之，此词非寻常闺怨，而是一代才女经乱离后血泪之辞，读之宜知其世。清照晚岁避难金华，依其弟李迨以居，心境孤危，此词之愁已非前期闲愁可比，乃家国之痛与身世之悲的交织，时代印记极为鲜明，读之宜知其世。

Art

The emotional trajectory fluctuates: first stanza from scene to sorrow, second stanza briefly lifts hope then crushes it. The concluding line personifies sorrow as a heavy object, turning abstract emotion into concrete weight.

此词艺术之胜，在于情感的跌宕起伏与欲扬先抑之章法。上片由景入哀，风住尘香花已尽写春残，日晚倦梳头以懒梳头这一日常细节写无心梳妆之哀，极淡一笔而沉痛自见；物是人非事事休直抒胸臆，欲语泪先流则以泪抢在语前写悲之不能自持。下片忽以闻说双溪春尚好、也拟泛轻舟振起一线出游之意，旋以只恐二字急转压下，载不动许多愁收束，由希望跌回绝望，欲扬先抑，波澜起伏。修辞上，载不动许多愁以夸张兼拟人，将无形之愁化为有重量、可承载之物，意象奇绝。全词语似平易而情极深曲，是易安晚年沉郁之作的巅峰。其章法之妙，全在欲扬先抑的起伏，使末句之沉坠更显分量，是短章中见大波澜的范例。全词以春尽起、以舟愁收，景情跌宕，欲扬先抑之法运用自如；短章之中具见长篇之手，是易安晚年沉郁风格的代表性凝练，一笔一转皆含骨力。

Allusions

The line about wind and flowers alludes to traditional spring-lament. 'Things remain but people change' summarizes vicissitudes. The last line transforms Li Yu's water metaphor of sorrow into a weight that a boat cannot bear, creating a new paradigm.

词中意象多承古典而翻新。风住尘香化用前人落花成尘之意，暗点春事已尽；日晚倦梳头则本于古来闺中懒起、无心梳妆之写怨传统，温庭筠「懒起画蛾眉」已开其端，清照以倦字写老来丧夫之哀，较青楼梳妆之怨更深一层。物是人非一语，虽为常谈，实凝缩自崔颢「黄鹤一去不复返，白云千载空悠悠」及东坡「人似秋鸿来有信，事如春梦了无痕」的沧桑之感。双溪为金华名水（东阳、南溪合流），舴艋舟出《方言》「舴艋，小舟也」，亦见《庄子》寓意之小舟意象。最著者载不动许多愁，承李煜「问君能有几多愁，恰似一江春水向东流」以江水喻愁之绵延，贺铸「试问闲愁都几许，一川烟草」以景物喻愁之弥漫，清照则更进一步，以舟之不能载写愁之沉重，将喻愁由空间之广推向重量之重，创意独绝。双溪、舴艋、尘香等语，皆江南风物与古语之融汇；尘香化落红成泥之意，舴艋状舟之轻小，皆以常语写极哀，见其炼俗为雅、点铁成金之工。

Commentary

Qing critic Shen Qian praised the last line as equal to Li Yu's and Qin Guan's famous sorrow verses. Modern critics note how she uses an ordinary boat to depict the weight of displacement, moving from light sorrow to heavy grief.

此词历来被视为李清照晚期词风之代表，与《声声慢》并称易安暮年双璧。明人杨慎《词品》称其「愁重」之喻「创意出奇」，清代陈廷焯《白雨斋词话》以为「悲深婉笃，犹可想见其人」。载不动许多愁一联，尤被推为写愁之千古奇句，其以重量写愁、以舟不能载喻愁之不可承载，启后世无数拟作。此词因情感深挚、语言晓畅，历来入选总集与教材，现代传播极广。在经典地位上，它标志李清照由前期清丽婉约转向后期沉郁悲凉的词风巨变，亦见靖康之乱如何重塑一代词心。与李煜、秦观诸家写愁并观，易安此句以女性身世之实感与奇绝之喻，独步两宋。论者每以「后岂逊前」评其晚年之作，此词实其证也。后世每以载不动许多愁与李煜一江春水并论，然易安以重量写愁，别开一境，足以与南唐后主并峙而各极其妙；其影响且及于现代新诗与散文。其以寻常春晚之景，写极不寻常之家国之痛，举重若轻，尤见易安晚年词境之老。

Prosody

Form Ci·Wulingchun (double stanzas, 49 characters, level tone)词（小令）·《武陵春》

Rhyme Level tone (Xiaping 11th rhyme: 头、休、流、舟、愁; 尽 and 好 at line ends do not rhyme)此词上片押尤侯韵（头、流），下片换押（舟、愁，亦近尤侯部），韵随情转，声情低抑。

Tone pattern 49 characters in two stanzas, level tone throughout; first line of each stanza does not rhyme; lines of 7, 4, 5 characters.双调四十八字或四十九字，上下片各四句三平韵，句式以七、五、四、五错落，平仄协调，节奏由舒转促。

Reading note The psychological progression 'I hear—I also plan—but I fear' creates layers, and the last line personifies sorrow as a weight.《武陵春》为双调小令，句式短促，宜写深哀。李清照此词上下片对称，上片由春残入泪流，下片由拟游入舟不能载，结构先抑后扬再抑，波澜起伏。押韵上，上片头、流与下片舟、愁大体同属尤侯部，一韵贯通而略随情移，声情低抑缠绵，与暮年哀痛相协。平仄方面，七字句领起，继以五、四、五短句，节奏由舒展渐趋紧促，至结句载不动许多愁以三字顿住，声吻沉坠，如石投渊。整体格律随情感跌宕而伸缩，是易安晚年以声调写沉郁的佳例，亦见短调亦可纳千钧之悲。上下片两处三叠，声情由激越渐入死寂，入声字收束更增凄戾；短调而能纳如许沉痛，足证声调之于抒情词尤为命脉所系，非徒文辞而已。

Line by line

物是人非事事休，欲语泪先流。

Things remain but people change, all ends; about to speak, tears flow first. Expresses overwhelming sorrow at irreparable change.

景物依旧而人事全非，万事都成空，刚要开口，眼泪已先流淌下来。

Things remain, people are changed, all is finished; about to speak, my tears flow first.

此句为全词情感之核心，亦上片之高潮。物是人非四字以最凝练之语写尽沧桑巨变——景物犹昔，而丈夫亡故、金石散失、家园破碎，人事全非。事事休三字一笔兜收，万千悲苦归于虚无。最妙在欲语泪先流，本欲开口诉说，泪却抢在言语之前奔涌而下，写出悲之不能自持、非语言所能尽。一个先字，把哀痛的本能反应写得真切动人，较之直说痛哭更具冲击力。此句承上片春残之景，将外在之残转入内心之碎，是易安晚年沉郁笔力的集中体现，亦见其以白描胜铺陈的功力。

This line is the whole ci's emotional core, and the first stanza's climax. The things-remain-people-are-changed four words' most-concise-words' exhaustion of the vicissitudes' huge change — the scenery's as-of-old, and yet the husband's death, the bronze-and-stone's scattering, the home's shattering, the people's all-changed. The all-is-finished three words' one-stroke's gathering, the ten-thousand-grief's returning to the void. The wonder in the about-to-speak-my-tears-flow-first, the originally-about-to-open-mouth-and-speak, the tears' rushing-before-the-speech, writing the grief's no-self-control and the language's no-completion. The one xian word, turning the grief's instinctive reaction's real-and-moving, compared to the direct weeping's more impactful. This line inheriting the first stanza's spring's-end scene, turning the outer fading into the inner breaking, Yi-an's later-life somber-brush's concentrated embodiment, and seeing her plain-description's surpass-the-layering craft.

闻说双溪春尚好，也拟泛轻舟。

I hear spring at Double Creek is still fine; I also plan to go boating. A brief attempt to lift mood.

听说双溪的春色还不算坏，我也曾打算去泛一叶轻舟。

I hear the spring at Shuangxi is still fair; I, too, plan to take a light boat out.

下片至此忽作振起，由上文的沉哀中透出一丝出游之意。闻说、也拟二词连用，写出一种并非出自本心、而是勉强追随他人劝慰的尝试——听说双溪春色尚好，于是也打算去泛舟散心。这两个虚词极见分寸：并非真有游兴，只是聊作排遣之想。此句在章法上为下文的最强反跌蓄势，先扬后抑，使后文只恐二字的分量更重。易安写心理转折之细腻，于此可见，短短十三字已将寡妇暮年强作振作而终归沉落的矛盾写得丝丝入扣，是写愁章法中不可多得的顿挫之笔。

The second stanza to here's sudden lift, from the above's deep grief revealing one thread of outing intention. The hear-say and also-plan two words' together-used, writing a not-from-the-heart and yet the reluctantly-following-others'-comfort attempt — hear the Shuangxi spring's still fair, hence also planning the boat's outing for the easing. These two function words' measure: not the real outing delight, and yet the makeshift-dispelling thought. This line in the craft's storing the force for the below's strongest reversal, the first-lift-then-press, making the below's only-fear two words' weight the heavier. Yi-an's writing the psychological turn's fineness, here visible, the short thirteen characters' already writing the widow's old-age's forced-rising-and-yet-ultimately-sinking contradiction's to-the-last-detail, the grief-writing craft's rare stroke of pause-and-turn.

只恐双溪舴艋舟，载不动许多愁。

But I fear the little grasshopper boat cannot carry so much sorrow. A startling metaphor for the weight of grief.

只怕双溪那小小的蚱蜢舟，载不动我这样重重的愁。

I only fear the little gawk boat at Shuangxi could not carry so much grief.

此句为全词结穴，亦写愁之千古奇句。只恐二字急转，将上文方起的游兴一笔压下，回到愁之不可排遣。最绝在载不动许多愁，以夸张兼拟人，将本属无形、无重的心愁化为有重量、可被舟船承载的实物，而小小舴艋舟竟载不动，则愁之沉重可知。此喻由李煜一江春水之空间绵延、贺铸一川烟草之空间弥漫，再推进到重量之不可承载，创意独绝。全词至此，由春残、人非、泪流、拟游，终归于舟不能载的沉坠，情感如坠深渊，余味无穷，是易安以奇喻写沉哀的巅峰之笔。

This line is the whole ci's closing point, and the grief-writing's through-the-ages wondrous line. The only-fear two words' sharp turn, pressing down the above's just-arisen outing delight in one stroke, returning to the grief's no-dispelling. The wonder's in the little-gawk-boat-could-not-carry-so-much-grief, using the exaggeration-and-personification, turning the originally shapeless-and-weightless heart-grief into the weighty-and-carriable thing, and the little gawk boat's yet's no-carrying, then the grief's heaviness's knowable. This metaphor from Li Yu's a-river-of-spring-water's spatial-stretching, and He Zhu's one-stream-tobacco's spatial-diffusion, further advancing to the weight's no-carrying, the creativity's unique. The whole ci to here, from the spring's end, the people's change, the tears' flow, the planned outing, finally returning to the boat's no-carrying sinking, the emotion's like the abyss's falling, the aftertaste endless, Yi-an's wondrous-metaphor-writes-deep-grief peak brush.

Study

Word focus

倦 Weary, too tired to even comb hair, showing deep despair. 倦字是上片写哀之眼。日晚倦梳头，以倦写懒于梳妆，表面是身体之疲，实则是心死之哀。古来闺怨写懒起画蛾眉，多属春困闲愁；易安此倦，却是丧夫流离、万事成空后的意兴阑珊，分量截然不同。一个倦字，不着悲字而悲自深，以日常细节写巨大创痛，是易安以浅笔写深哀的拿手好戏。它与下片也拟泛轻舟的勉强振作形成对照，更显暮年心力之竭。其平淡中藏千钧，是婉约炼字「于无字处见泪痕」的范例。

休 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 事事休之休字（罢休、完结），是全词最沉痛的一字。物是人非已足悲，继以事事休三字，将一切欢事、一切指望、一切人间烟火皆归于虚无，是比死亡更彻底的空。休字收束上片，与下片只恐遥相呼应——既然事事皆休，则出游散愁亦属徒然。此字以极简之笔写出存在之虚无，是易安晚年历经劫难后对世界的总体判断，沉郁之力，不减于泪先流之状写。一字而挈全篇之悲，非深于痛者不能道。

载 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 载字是结句创意之关键。载不动许多愁，以载这一本用于舟车负重之动词施于无形之愁，将愁实体化、重量化，遂使舴艋舟之小与愁之重形成张力。载字一出，愁由李煜式的流动之水、贺铸式的弥漫之草，变为可称重、可超载的实体，比喻层面由空间扩及重量，匠心独运。一个载字，免去无数铺排，以动词拎起全句奇喻，是易安炼字如神处。此一字而开写愁新境，后世拟者虽多，终不能出其右。