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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

惜分飞

Cherishing the Parting Flight

毛滂

Mao Pang

泪湿阑干花著露。
愁到眉峰碧聚。
此恨平分取。
更无言语。
空相觑。
短雨残云无意绪。
寂寞朝朝暮暮。
今夜山深处。
断魂分付。
潮回去。

The tears wet the railing,
The flowers bear the dew.
More without words.
The broken soul entrusted.
Holding the hands, the frosty wind blows the brows.
This parting,
The third watch of the night, the moon.
How many the past joys,
The loves of the old,
Worth the sharing of the equal half.
The wind, the small courtyard, the chaotic mists of the grass,
The fallen dew, the remaining clouds,
Quietly, the past, the absurd.
At the parting, I divide the robe and the sleeve,
Now empty, looking at each other.
To whom, the complaint of the loves of the past?

Listen

Meaning

A lyric of the parting and the complaint, written by Mao Pang. The tears wet the railing, the flowers bear the dew — more without words — the tears of the parting, the speechless. The broken soul entrusted — holding the hands, the frosty wind blows the brows — the entrusted broken soul and the frosty wind of the parting. This parting, the third watch of the night, the moon — the moon of the third watch. How many the past joys, the loves of the old, worth the sharing of the equal half — the past joys shared. The wind, the small courtyard, the chaotic mists of the grass — the fallen dew, the remaining clouds, quietly, the past, the absurd — the past of the small courtyard. At the parting, he divides the robe and the sleeve — now empty, looking at each other — the empty looking of the parting. To whom, the complaint of the loves of the past? — the close's complaint to no one. The lyric is the parting and the complaint: the tears of the dew, the moon of the third watch, and the close's complaint of the loves of the past.

泪眼纵横，如花朵上沾着的露珠。愁绪聚到眉峰，如碧色凝聚。这离恨，你我平分共取。更无一句话语。只是空自相看。短暂的雨、残断的云，全无意绪。寂寞了朝朝暮暮。今夜山深之处。把断魂付与。让潮水带回。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The tears wet the railing, the flowers bear the dew. More without words. The broken soul entrusted. Holding the hands, the frosty wind blows the brows. This parting, the third watch of the night, the moon. How many the past joys, the loves of the old, worth the sharing of the equal half. At the parting, I divide the robe and the sleeve, now empty, looking at each other. To whom, the complaint of the loves of the past? [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the tears of the parting and the speechless, through the entrusted broken soul and the frosty wind, to the past joys and the close's empty looking with the complaint of the loves of the past. [Key Technique] The lyric's art is the speechless parting: the tears wetting the railing with more without words, and the close's empty looking at each other with the complaint to no one — the parting gathered in the speechless and the empty. [Emotional Tone] Sorrowful, speechless, and complaining: the lyric is the parting and the complaint, the tears and the close's complaint of the past loves.

【白话串讲】毛滂写《惜分飞》：“泪湿阑干花著露。愁到眉峰碧聚”——“此恨平分取。更无言语。空相觑”——“短雨残云无意绪。寂寞朝朝暮暮”——“今夜山深处。断魂分付。潮回去”——他写别离——此恨平分取。【意象与手法】上阕以“泪湿阑干花著露”写泪眼如花上露珠，以“愁到眉峰碧聚”写愁聚眉峰，以“此恨平分取。更无言语。空相觑”写临别无言、空自相看的痛楚；下阕以“短雨残云无意绪”写情事已断、意绪阑珊，以“今夜山深处。断魂分付。潮回去”写别后独处山中、将断魂付与潮水的深沉哀思。婉约凄清、语短情长。【情感与主旨】毛滂写富阳僧舍作别之作，写临别无言、空自相看与别后断魂付潮的凄婉，是宋词写离别的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“此恨平分取。更无言语。空相觑”以无言空相觑写临别之痛；“今夜山深处。断魂分付。潮回去”以断魂付潮写别后哀思。

Background

Mao Pang (c. 1055–1120), the lyric master of the Song, wrote this 'Cherishing the Parting Flight' of the parting and the complaint — the parting of the night and the memory. The tears wetting the railing with the flowers bearing the dew, the speechless and the entrusted broken soul with the frosty wind blowing the brows, the moon of the third watch, the past joys shared in the equal half, and the close's empty looking with the complaint of the loves of the past — the lyric gathers the sorrow of the parting, the speechless and the empty close. The lyric is one of the famous works of the master's parting.

此词为北宋词人毛滂的《惜分飞·富阳僧舍作别语赠妓琼芳》之作，是宋词写离别情事的名篇。毛滂（约1056—约1124），字泽民，衢州江山（今浙江江山市）人，北宋词人。他早年以文章见知于苏轼，苏轼守杭州时，毛滂为法曹参军，以词受知。此词作于富阳僧舍。据宋人记载，毛滂为杭州法曹时，与官妓琼芳相恋，秩满离杭，行至富阳僧舍，作此词赠琼芳；后苏轼得见此词，大为叹赏，遂为之延誉。词以僧舍作别为背景：上阕写临别的泪眼与无言，「泪湿阑干花著露」，写泪眼纵横如花上露珠——「阑干」即纵横错落之貌，泪湿阑干，写泪痕纵横；「花著露」，以花朵沾露写泪眼莹然，凄美如画；「愁到眉峰碧聚」，写愁聚眉峰，如碧色凝聚；「此恨平分取」，写这离恨，你我平分共取——离恨是双方的，不是一方独有；「更无言语。空相觑」，写临别无言，空自相看，正是「此时无声胜有声」的痛楚。下阕「短雨残云无意绪」，写情事已断、意绪阑珊——「雨云」用「巫山云雨」之典，写男女情事，短雨残云，写情事已尽；「寂寞朝朝暮暮」，写别后寂寞的朝朝暮暮；「今夜山深处。断魂分付。潮回去」，写今夜独处富阳山中，把断魂付与潮水，让潮水带回杭州——那是琼芳所在之地。全词以僧舍作别为背景，写尽临别的痛楚与别后的哀思，语短情长，是宋词写离别的名篇，也是毛滂「语尽而意不尽」风格的代表作。

Art

The lyric's art is the art of the speechless parting. The tears open: the tears wet the railing, the flowers bear the dew — more without words — the tears of the parting, the speechless beyond the tears. The soul follows: the broken soul entrusted — holding the hands, the frosty wind blows the brows — the entrusted broken soul, the frosty wind of the parting; this parting, the third watch of the night, the moon — the moon of the third watch. The past: how many the past joys, the loves of the old, worth the sharing of the equal half — the past joys shared in the half; the wind, the small courtyard, the chaotic mists of the grass — the fallen dew, the remaining clouds, quietly, the past, the absurd — the past of the small courtyard, the absurd. And the close gathers the empty: at the parting, he divides the robe and the sleeve — now empty, looking at each other — the empty looking of the parting; to whom, the complaint of the loves of the past? — the complaint to no one — the speechless parting, the empty looking and the complaint, gathered in the close.

此词艺术上以「语短情长」与「凄美意象」为特色，在极短的篇幅中写尽离别的万端愁绪。上阕以「泪湿阑干花著露」起笔，写泪眼纵横如花上露珠——「泪湿阑干」写泪痕纵横，「花著露」以花朵沾露写泪眼莹然，凄美如画，是「以物写人」的绝妙起笔；「愁到眉峰碧聚」，写愁聚眉峰、如碧色凝聚，由泪而愁，递进一层；「此恨平分取」，写这离恨你我平分共取，一句点破离恨的双向性——不是一方独有，而是双方共担，正是「君愁我亦愁」的深挚；「更无言语。空相觑」，以两个四字短句写临别无言的痛楚，正是「执手相看泪眼，竟无语凝噎」的写法，而比柳永更见凝练。下阕「短雨残云无意绪」，写情事已断、意绪阑珊，由眼前之泪转入别后之思；「寂寞朝朝暮暮」，以「朝朝暮暮」写寂寞之长久，正是「朝朝暮暮」的叠用，写尽别后的无尽；「今夜山深处。断魂分付。潮回去」，以三个短句写别后独处山中，将断魂付与潮水，让潮水带回——那潮水能回到杭州，而人不能，唯有断魂随潮，正是「潮有信而人无期」的深沉哀思。全词以「泪」起，以「潮」结，泪眼到断魂，短句层层递进，语短而情长，是毛滂词「语尽而意不尽」的极致。

Allusions

'The railing' (lan gan) is the railing of the tears — the tears wetting the railing, the tears of the parting; 'the broken soul' (duan hun) is the broken soul of the parting — the entrusted soul; 'the equal half' (ping fen) is the sharing of the half — the past joys shared in the equal half; 'the robe and the sleeve' (jin xiu) are the clothes of the parting — the dividing of the robe and the sleeve at the parting.

此词用典精微而自然。「花著露」，以花朵沾露写泪眼莹然，暗用白居易《长恨歌》「梨花一枝春带雨」写杨贵妃泪容之意，以花写泪，凄美如画。「眉峰」，以山峰写眉形，暗用「远山眉」之典——卓文君「眉色如望远山」，古人常以远山、山峰写美人之眉，「愁到眉峰碧聚」，写愁聚眉峰如碧色凝聚，正是「远山眉」的愁容。「短雨残云」，用「巫山云雨」之典——宋玉《高唐赋》写楚王与巫山神女欢会，「旦为朝云，暮为行雨」，后以「云雨」写男女情事；「短雨残云」，写情事短暂已尽，如云雨将歇，暗含欢会之短与离别的仓促。「断魂」，写离魂欲断，暗用「离魂」之典——《离魂记》写倩女离魂随情郎而去，后以「离魂」写至深的相思；「断魂分付」，写将断魂付与，正是「魂随君去」的深情。「潮回去」，暗用「潮信」之典——钱塘江潮有信，潮水能如期而回，而人一去无期，唯愿断魂随潮而回，正是「潮有信而人无期」的反衬。这些典故，或写泪容、或写眉峰、或写云雨、或写离魂、或写潮信，皆围绕离别相思这一核心，织成一张凄美的情网，正是毛滂词「用事精微」的特点。

Commentary

This lyric is one of the famous works of Mao Pang, quoted for the speechless and the empty of its close. The tears wetting the railing with more without words, and the empty looking with the complaint to no one, are among the admired passages of the master's lyrics. Critics praise the lyric's parting: the speechless sorrow gathered from the tears, to the close's complaint to no one.

读此词，最令人低回的是「此恨平分取」这五个字。天下写离别的词，多写一方的愁——「执手相看泪眼」，是双方的泪，却还是「我」的愁多；而毛滂却写「此恨平分取」：这离恨，不是我一人的，是你我平分共取的。一个「平分」，写出了离别最深的无奈与最真的深情——离恨原是双方共有的，谁也不能多担一分，谁也不能少受一分；正因为「平分」，才更见其重：不是我的愁推给你，而是你我共同的命运。而全词最动人的，是结尾的「断魂分付。潮回去」：今夜山深，我独处富阳僧舍，唯将断魂付与潮水，让潮水带我回去——回到你所在的地方。这「潮回去」三字，写尽「潮有信而人无期」的悲哀：潮水尚能如期回到杭州，而我却只能留下；唯有断魂，能随潮而去。以「断魂」付「潮」，正是「生不能同归，魂可以同往」的痴情。毛滂以此词赠琼芳，而苏轼得见此词，「为书其词」，一时传诵——正是这「语短情长」的分量，让这首小令成为宋词写离别的不朽之作。

Prosody

Form Xifenfei (Cherishing the Parting Flight), a short lyric词（惜分飞·双调小令）

Rhyme The lyric rhymes on the oblique-tone words of the group — the turning, oblique rhyme that carries the sorrow of the parting.此词为《惜分飞》双调小令，上下阕各押仄韵，「露」「聚」「取」「语」「觑」「绪」「暮」「处」「付」「去」等字皆属仄声去声、上声韵，韵脚短促而哀切，正合词情「凄婉」的声调。词中「泪湿阑干花著露」「愁到眉峰碧聚」等句，句式长短错落而流丽；「更无言语。空相觑」「断魂分付。潮回去」等句，以四字短句独立成意，节奏顿挫。整体声调由起句的凄婉，到「空相觑」的凝滞，再到「潮回去」的空灵，起伏有致，正合离别相思的词情。

Tone pattern The cadence is that of the parting: the level fall with the tears, the turning with the soul and the past joys, and the close's fall with the complaint to no one.句式上，此词善用短句与顿挫：「更无言语。空相觑」「断魂分付。潮回去」，皆以四字短句独立成意，节奏顿挫而情感凝滞，正是「语短情长」的句式；「泪湿阑干花著露」「愁到眉峰碧聚」，以七言与五言相间，流丽而婉转；「寂寞朝朝暮暮」，以「朝朝暮暮」叠用，写尽别后的无尽。全词由眼前之泪入别后之思，句式随之由流丽转顿挫、由顿挫转空灵，正是毛滂词「语尽而意不尽」的节奏美学。

Reading note The lyric's sound matches its speechless sorrow: the short, turning cadence of the parting, and the close — 'dang shi, kong xiang qu' — falls with the empty looking, the sound of the speechless gaze of the parted.作为北宋小令，《惜分飞》的声律之美，在于以仄声短韵与顿挫短句的句式，写出离别相思的凄婉情思。全词上阕由「泪湿阑干花著露」的凄婉起笔，经「此恨平分取」的深挚，到「更无言语。空相觑」的无言凝滞，声调由凄婉转凝滞；下阕以「短雨残云无意绪」的阑珊起笔，经「寂寞朝朝暮暮」的无尽，到「断魂分付。潮回去」的空灵结穴，声调由阑珊转空灵。词中「更无言语。空相觑」「断魂分付。潮回去」等句，短句顿挫而声情相谐，正是毛滂词「语尽而意不尽」的体现。就全词而言，此词以极短的篇幅写尽离别的万端愁绪，由泪眼到断魂、由无言到潮回，语短而情长，是宋词写离别的名篇，与柳永《雨霖铃》同为「离别」母题的绝唱，而一为慢词的铺叙，一为小令的凝练，可见宋词写离别的两种极致。

Line by line

泪湿阑干花著露。

The tears wet the railing, the flowers bear the dew.

泪眼纵横，如花朵上沾着的露珠。

Tear-tracks crisscross, like dew on a flower.

这一句是全词的起笔，以泪眼写离别，是「以物写人」的绝妙起笔。「泪湿阑干」，写泪痕纵横——「阑干」即纵横错落之貌，泪湿阑干，写泪水纵横满脸，是离别时痛楚的外化；「花著露」，以花朵沾露写泪眼莹然——那纵横的泪，如花朵上晶莹的露珠，凄美如画。以「泪」写离别，本是常法，而毛滂以「花著露」写泪，则化泪为露，化痛为美：那泪眼，不是狼狈的哭，而是如花著露般的凄美。这一起笔，写泪而不见「泪」字（以露代之），写痛而不见「痛」字，正是「语尽而意不尽」的含蓄。以「花著露」写泪容，暗用白居易「梨花一枝春带雨」之意，凄美而婉约，为全词定下凄婉的基调。

This line is the whole ci's opening, using the tear-eyes for the parting, the thing-writes-person's marvelous opening. The tear-tracks-crisscross writing the tear-trails' crossing — the langan i.e. the crossing-disorder pose, the tear-tracks' crisscross, writing the tears' face-full, the parting moment's pain's externalization; the dew-on-a-flower using the flower's dew for the tear-eyes' gleam — the crossing tears, like the flower's crystal dew, the beautiful-and-pitiful picture. Using the tears for the parting, originally the common method, and yet Mao Pang's using the dew-on-a-flower for the tears, turning the tears into dew and the pain into beauty: the tear-eyes, not the disheveled weeping, and yet the flower-with-dew's beautiful-pity. This opening, writing the tears and yet not seeing the tear word (using the dew for it), writing the pain and yet not seeing the pain word, precisely the words'-end-and-yet-meaning's-no-end reservedness. Using the dew-on-a-flower for the tear-face, secretly adapting Bai Juyi's the-peach-branch-with-spring-rain meaning, the beautiful-pity-and-gentle, establishing the whole ci's plaintive tone.

更无言语。

More without words.

更无一句话语。

And not one word.

这一句写临别无言的痛楚，是此词情感最凝练的所在。「更无言语」，写更无一句话语——临别之际，千言万语，竟无一句话能说出口，正是「此时无声胜有声」的痛楚。下句「空相觑」，写空自相看——「空」字写相看之无用、之无奈，看了又能如何？「觑」字写凝望之态，四目相对，唯有泪眼。这一句，与柳永「执手相看泪眼，竟无语凝噎」同一意境，而比柳永更见凝练——柳永以「泪眼」写，毛滂以「言语」写，一写泪之盈，一写言之穷；「更无言语」写语言的尽头，「空相觑」写目光的相凝，正是「言有尽而意无穷」的极致。以四字短句写临别，节奏顿挫，语短而情长，是此词最见功力的句子。

This line writes the parting's wordless pain, this ci's emotion's most condensed place. And-not-one-word — the parting moment, the thousand-and-ten-thousand words, and yet not one word's able to be spoken, precisely the this-silence's-more-elocuent-than-words pain. The below's empty-gaze writing the vain gazing — the kong word writing the gazing's uselessness-and-helplessness, the gazing and yet the how?; the qu word writing the gazing pose, the four eyes' meeting, only the tear-eyes. This line, with Liu Yong's hand-in-hand-gazing-tear-eyes-and-yet-no-words's same mood, and yet compared to Liu Yong's the more condensed — Liu Yong's using the tear-eyes's writing, Mao Pang's using the words's writing, one writing the tears' fullness and one the words' end; the no-words's writing the language's end, the empty-gaze's writing the gaze's meeting, precisely the words'-limited-and-yet-meaning's-endless extreme. Using the four-character short line for the parting, the rhythm's pausing, the words'-short-and-yet-feeling's-long, this ci's craft-most-visible line.

断魂分付。

The broken soul entrusted.

把断魂付与潮水。

My broken soul is entrusted to the tide.

这一句是下阕的结笔，以断魂付潮写别后的深沉哀思，是此词情感的最高点。「断魂分付」，写将断魂付与——今夜山深，独处僧舍，人不能归，唯有把断魂付与潮水，让潮水带我回去；下句「潮回去」，写让潮水回去——那潮水能回到杭州，而人不能，唯有断魂随潮而归。「潮回去」三字，写尽「潮有信而人无期」的悲哀：潮水尚能如期而回，而我却只能留下；那断魂随潮而去，正是「生不能同归，魂可以同往」的痴情。以「断魂」付「潮」，把离别的哀思化作具象的行动，正是「魂随君去」的深情；以「潮」结篇，意象空灵而余韵悠长，是宋词写离别最动人的结尾之一。

This line is the second stanza's close, using the broken-soul's entrusted-to-the-tide for the post-parting's deep grief, this ci's emotion's highest point. The broken-soul-is-entrusted-to-the-tide writing the broken soul's entrustment — tonight the mountain's deep, the lone monk's room, the person's no-return, only the broken soul's entrusted to the tide, letting the tide carry me back; the below's the-tide-returns writing the letting-the-tide return — the tide's able to return to Hangzhou, and yet the person's unable, only the broken soul's with-the-tide's return. The the-tide-returns three words, exhausting the tide's-trustworthy-and-yet-the-person's-no-date grief: the tide's still able to return on time, and yet my's only able to remain; the broken soul's with-the-tide's going, precisely the alive's-no-common-return-and-yet-the-soul's-common-going infatuation. Using the broken-soul's entrusting the tide, turning the parting grief into the concrete action, precisely the soul-follows-you's deep feeling; using the tide for the whole-piece close, the image's ethereal and the aftertaste long, the Song ci's parting-writing's most moving endings one.

Study

Word focus

平分 'The equal half' — the past joys shared in the equal half, the sharing of the two. 「此恨平分取」之「平分」，写离恨你我平分共取，是此词对离别的最独特体认。「平分」者，平均分取之意，词人说这离恨，不是你一人的，也不是我一人的，而是你我平分共取的。天下写离别的词，多写一方的愁，而毛滂以「平分」写离恨的双向性——正因为「平分」，才更见其重：不是我的愁推给你，而是你我共同的命运；也正因为「平分」，才更见其深：我知你的愁，你知我的愁，我们都深知这离恨的分量。以「平分」写离恨，比「此恨何时已」更见深挚，也比「问君能有几多愁」更见平等——那是两个相爱的人，在离别面前共同的承担。这一词，是毛滂对离别的最独特体认，也是此词在无数离别词中独树一帜的关键。

空相觑 'Empty, looking at each other' — the empty gaze of the parting, the speechless looking. 「空相觑」之「空相觑」，写临别无言的相看，是此词凝练的功力所在。「空」字写相看之无用、之无奈——看了又能如何？「觑」字写凝望之态——四目相对，唯有泪眼。以「空」写相看，比「相看」多一层无力的意味：不是不想说，是无话可说；不是不想留，是留不住。这「空」字，写尽临别之际的无可奈何：千言万语，欲说还休，唯有四目相对，空自凝望。以「空相觑」写临别，与柳永「执手相看泪眼，竟无语凝噎」同一意境，而比柳永更见凝练、更见凄清。这一词，把临别无言的痛楚浓缩于三字之中，正是毛滂词「语尽而意不尽」的体现，也是此词最见功力的词语。

短雨残云 'The short rain and the remaining clouds' — the brief meeting of the past, the remaining clouds of the parting. 「短雨残云无意绪」之「短雨残云」，用「巫山云雨」之典写情事已断，是此词由眼前之泪转入别后之思的枢纽。「雨云」用宋玉《高唐赋》楚王与巫山神女「旦为朝云，暮为行雨」之典，后以「云雨」写男女情事；「短雨残云」，写情事短暂已尽——「短」写欢会之短，「残」写云雨将歇，短雨残云，正是情缘已尽、欢会难再的写照；「无意绪」，写意绪阑珊——情事既断，万物皆无意绪。以「短雨残云」写情事，比直说「欢会已尽」更见凄清婉约，也暗含对那短暂欢会的追忆。这一词，把别后「意绪阑珊」的心境，寄托于短雨残云的意象，正是「一切景语皆情语」的写法，也是此词由眼前之痛转入别后之思的关键。

惜分飞