宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
盐角儿
The Salt Horn
梅传春信，又报年华晚。
昨夜半开时，似雪到、梢头未遍。
凝酥缀粉，绰约玉肌肤，香黯淡，月朦胧，谁是黄昏伴。
故园深处，想见孤根暖。
千里未归人，向此际、只回泪眼。
凭谁为我，折寄一枝来，凝睇久，俯层楼，忍更闻羌管。
Again it reports that the years are late.
The frozen cream, the powdered, the graceful, the jade skin,
The fragrance, dim and dark,
The moon, hazy,
Who is the companion of the dusk?
A thousand li, the man not yet returned,
At this time, only the turning of the tearful eyes.
Enduring to hear the Qiang pipe?
Meaning
A lyric of the plum and the dusk, written by Chao Buzhi. The plum spreads the spring tidings, again it reports that the years are late — the spring tidings of the plum and the late years. The frozen cream, the powdered, the graceful, the jade skin — the fragrance, dim and dark, the moon, hazy — who is the companion of the dusk? — the graceful plum of the dusk, the dim fragrance and the hazy moon. A thousand li, the man not yet returned — at this time, only the turning of the tearful eyes — the un-returned man and the tearful eyes. Enduring to hear the Qiang pipe? — the close's enduring of the pipe. The lyric is the plum and the dusk: the graceful plum, the dim fragrance, and the close's tearful eyes with the Qiang pipe.
梅传春信，又报年华晚。昨夜半开时，似雪到、梢头未遍。凝酥缀粉，绰约玉肌肤，香黯淡，月朦胧，谁是黄昏伴。故园深处，想见孤根暖。千里未归人，向此际、只回泪眼。凭谁为我，折寄一枝来，凝睇久，俯层楼，忍更闻羌管。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] The plum spreads the spring tidings, again it reports that the years are late. The frozen cream, the powdered, the graceful, the jade skin, the fragrance, dim and dark, the moon, hazy, who is the companion of the dusk? A thousand li, the man not yet returned, at this time, only the turning of the tearful eyes. Enduring to hear the Qiang pipe? [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the spring tidings of the plum and the late years, through the graceful plum of the dusk with the dim fragrance and the hazy moon, to the un-returned man with the tearful eyes, and the close's enduring of the Qiang pipe. [Key Technique] The lyric's art is the plum of the dusk: the graceful plum with the dim fragrance and the hazy moon, and the close's tearful eyes with the enduring of the Qiang pipe — the longing gathered in the plum of the dusk and the close's pipe. [Emotional Tone] Graceful, dim, and sorrowful: the lyric is the plum and the dusk, the dim fragrance and the close's tearful eyes.
【白话串讲】 晁补之写《盐角儿》：“梅传春信，又报年华晚”——“昨夜半开时，似雪到、梢头未遍”——“凝酥缀粉，绰约玉肌肤，香黯淡，月朦胧，谁是黄昏伴”——“千里未归人，向此际、只回泪眼”——他写梅花——梅传春信。 【意象与手法】 “梅传春信，又报年华晚”写梅开报春信；“昨夜半开时，似雪到、梢头未遍”写梅开似雪；“凝酥缀粉，绰约玉肌肤，香黯淡，月朦胧，谁是黄昏伴”写黄昏无伴；“千里未归人，向此际、只回泪眼”写千里未归；结以“凭谁为我，折寄一枝来，凝睇久，俯层楼，忍更闻羌管”写忍闻羌管。咏物思乡。 【情感与主旨】 晁补之写咏梅思乡之作，写梅开之景与千里未归之叹，以“忍更闻羌管”写思乡之深，是晁补之咏物词中托物寄情的代表。 【名句点睛】 常考“凝酥缀粉，绰约玉肌肤，香黯淡，月朦胧，谁是黄昏伴”以黄昏无伴写梅；“千里未归人，向此际、只回泪眼”以千里未归写思乡。
Background
Chao Buzhi (1053–1110), the lyric master of the Song, wrote this 'Salt Horn' of the plum and the dusk — the plum of the late years. The spring tidings of the plum with the late years, the graceful plum of the frozen cream and the jade skin with the dim fragrance and the hazy moon, the un-returned man of the thousand li with the tearful eyes, and the close's enduring of the Qiang pipe — the lyric gathers the longing of the dusk, the plum and the pipe. The lyric is one of the famous plum lyrics of the master.
《盐角儿》为北宋词人晁补之所作词。晁补之（1053—1110），字无咎，号归来子，济州巨野（今山东巨野）人，北宋文学家，「苏门四学士」之一。此词写咏梅思乡。词中「梅传春信，又报年华晚。昨夜半开时，似雪到、梢头未遍」写梅开之景；「凝酥缀粉，绰约玉肌肤，香黯淡，月朦胧，谁是黄昏伴」写黄昏无伴；「故园深处，想见孤根暖。千里未归人，向此际、只回泪眼」写千里未归；「凭谁为我，折寄一枝来，凝睇久，俯层楼，忍更闻羌管」写忍闻羌管。晁补之此词以梅传春信、千里未归写咏梅思乡之情，含蓄深婉，是晁补之词中的名篇。此篇《盐角儿》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《盐角儿》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 plum and the dusk. The tidings open: the plum spreads the spring tidings, again it reports that the years are late — the spring tidings of the plum, the late years. The plum follows: the frozen cream, the powdered, the graceful, the jade skin — the graceful plum of the cream and the jade; the fragrance, dim and dark, the moon, hazy — who is the companion of the dusk? — the dim fragrance and the hazy moon, the companion of the dusk. The longing: a thousand li, the man not yet returned — at this time, only the turning of the tearful eyes — the un-returned man, the tearful eyes. And the close gathers the sorrow: enduring to hear the Qiang pipe? — the enduring of the pipe — the plum and the dusk, the dim fragrance and the tearful eyes, gathered in the close.
此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、以梅写思」见长。全词上片写梅开之景与黄昏无伴，下片写千里未归与忍闻羌管。上片「梅传春信，又报年华晚。昨夜半开时，似雪到、梢头未遍」写梅开之景：梅传春信，又报年华晚；昨夜半开时，似雪到、梢头未遍。「凝酥缀粉，绰约玉肌肤，香黯淡，月朦胧，谁是黄昏伴」写黄昏无伴：凝酥缀粉，绰约玉肌肤，香黯淡，月朦胧，谁是黄昏伴。下片「故园深处，想见孤根暖。千里未归人，向此际、只回泪眼」写千里未归：故园深处，想见孤根暖；千里未归人，向此际、只回泪眼。「凭谁为我，折寄一枝来，凝睇久，俯层楼，忍更闻羌管」写忍闻羌管：凭谁为我，折寄一枝来，凝睇久，俯层楼，忍更闻羌管。全词含蓄深婉，以梅写思，是晁补之词中的名篇。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。
Allusions
'The frozen cream, the powdered' (ning su zhui fen) is the cream of the frozen and the powder — the petals of the plum, the frozen cream and the powder; 'the graceful' (chuo yue) is the graceful — the grace of the plum, the jade skin; 'the Qiang pipe' (Qiang guan) is the pipe of the Qiang — the pipe of the frontier, the enduring of the pipe.
词中「梅传春信」「似雪」「凝酥缀粉」「玉肌肤」「黄昏」「孤根」「千里未归人」「折寄一枝」「羌管」等语，皆含典故故实。「梅传春信」写梅报春信（梅开为报春）；「似雪」写梅白似雪，「昨夜半开时，似雪到、梢头未遍」写梅半开、似雪缀梢头；「凝酥缀粉」写梅如凝酥缀粉（酥、粉喻梅之白嫩）；「玉肌肤」写梅如玉之肌肤；「黄昏」用林逋《山园小梅》「暗香浮动月黄昏」之意；「孤根」写梅之孤根；「千里未归人」写离家千里未归之人；「折寄一枝」用陆凯《赠范晔》「折梅逢驿使，寄与陇头人」之典；「羌管」用李白《清平调》及羌笛《梅花落》之曲，写闻羌管而思归。词人以梅传春信、凝酥缀粉、折寄一枝、羌管等典入词，不着痕迹，而把咏梅思乡之情写得真切可感，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 plum lyrics of Chao Buzhi, quoted for the dusk of its middle and the close's pipe. The graceful plum of the dim fragrance, and the enduring of the Qiang pipe, are among the admired passages of the master's lyrics. Critics praise the lyric's plum: the dusk gathered in the dim fragrance and the hazy moon, to the close's tearful eyes.
这首《盐角儿》，是晁补之写咏梅思乡之作，写梅传春信、黄昏无伴、千里未归之情，含蓄深婉。上片写梅开之景与黄昏无伴：「梅传春信，又报年华晚。昨夜半开时，似雪到、梢头未遍」——梅传春信，又报年华晚；昨夜半开时，似雪到、梢头未遍。写梅开之景：梅传春信，又报年华已晚；昨夜半开之时，似雪缀到梢头、尚未开遍——以似雪写梅白，写梅半开之景；「凝酥缀粉，绰约玉肌肤，香黯淡，月朦胧，谁是黄昏伴」——凝酥缀粉，绰约玉肌肤，香黯淡，月朦胧，谁是黄昏伴。写黄昏无伴：梅如凝酥缀粉、绰约如玉肌肤，香黯淡、月朦胧，谁是黄昏之伴——写尽梅之娇美，而月下黄昏，无人为伴。下片写千里未归与忍闻羌管：「故园深处，想见孤根暖。千里未归人，向此际、只回泪眼」——故园深处，想见孤根暖；千里未归人，向此际、只回泪眼。写千里未归：故园深处，想见梅之孤根正暖；而千里未归之人，于此际只回泪眼——故园有梅，而人未归，思乡而泪；「凭谁为我，折寄一枝来，凝睇久，俯层楼，忍更闻羌管」——凭谁为我，折寄一枝来，凝睇久，俯层楼，忍更闻羌管。写忍闻羌管：凭谁为我折寄一枝梅来，凝睇已久，俯于层楼，忍更闻羌管——以陆凯折梅寄友之典，写盼人折梅寄我，而忍闻羌管，思归更切。这「忍更闻羌管」，是全词之结：以羌管写思归之切——羌管《梅花落》，闻之更思归。全词含蓄深婉，以梅写思，正是晁补之词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
梅传春信，又报年华晚。
The plum spreads the spring tidings, again it reports that the years are late.
梅传春信，又报年华晚。
The plum brings the spring's message, again telling the year's growing late.
首二句写梅报春信，起笔即见其年之感。「梅传春信」写梅传春信，「梅传」写梅为报春之信使，「春信」写春之消息；「又报年华晚」写又报年华晚，「又报」写其又一次报，「年华晚」写年华已晚。两句一写梅传春信、一写又报年华晚，以梅报春信写春之将至、以又报年华晚写年之已暮，写尽见梅而感年华之晚之情。以梅起兴，含蓄而深沉，是「以梅起兴」的妙笔。
The opening two lines write the plum's spring-message, the first stroke at once seeing the year's feeling. The plum-brings-the-spring's-message writing the plum as the spring-announcement messenger; the again-telling-the-year's-growing-late writing the season's lateness. Two lines one writing the plum's spring-message and one the year's lateness, using the plum's spring-announcement for the spring's about-to-arrive, and the year's-growth-late for the season's end, exhausting the seeing-the-plum-and-the-year's-late feeling. Using the plum's uprising, reserved and deep, the plum-uprising wondrous brush.
凝酥缀粉，绰约玉肌肤，香黯淡，月朦胧，谁是黄昏伴。
The frozen cream, the powdered, the graceful, the jade skin, the fragrance, dim and dark, the moon, hazy, who is the companion of the dusk?
凝酥缀粉，绰约玉肌肤，香黯淡，月朦胧，谁是黄昏伴。
Curdled cream scattered with powder, graceful as a jade skin; fragrance dim, moon hazy — who is the dusk's companion?
此五句写黄昏无伴，是全词写梅与写孤的关键。「凝酥缀粉」写梅如凝酥缀粉，「凝酥缀粉」写梅白嫩如凝酥缀粉；「绰约玉肌肤」写梅绰约如玉肌肤，「绰约」写其姿态柔美，「玉肌肤」写其洁白如玉；「香黯淡，月朦胧」写香黯淡、月朦胧，「香黯淡」写梅香之幽淡，「月朦胧」写月色之朦胧；「谁是黄昏伴」写谁是黄昏伴，「黄昏伴」写黄昏之伴。五句一写梅之娇美、一写月下黄昏、一写谁是黄昏伴，写尽梅之娇美而月下黄昏无人为伴之孤。以梅写孤，含蓄而深挚，是「以梅写情」的点睛之笔，也是全词由写梅转入写孤的枢纽。
These five lines write the dusk's no-companion, the whole ci's plum-writing-and-loneliness-writing key. The curdled-cream-scattered-with-powder writing the plum's white-and-tender; the graceful-as-a-jade-skin writing the graceful posture and jade whiteness; the fragrance-dim-moon-hazy writing the faint plum scent and hazy moonlight; the who-is-the-dusk's-companion writing the dusk's loneliness. Five lines one writing the plum's beauty, one the moonlit dusk, one the no-companion, exhausting the plum's beauty and yet the moonlit dusk's no-companion solitude. Using the plum for the loneliness-writing, reserved and deep, the plum-writes-feeling telling stroke, and the whole ci's plum-writing-to-loneliness-writing hinge.
千里未归人，向此际、只回泪眼。
A thousand li, the man not yet returned, at this time, only the turning of the tearful eyes.
千里未归人，向此际、只回泪眼。
The thousand-li-away man not returned; at this moment he can only turn his tearful eyes.
此三句写千里未归，是全词写思乡的关键。「千里未归人」写千里未归人，「千里」写离家之远，「未归人」写未归之人（自指）；「向此际、只回泪眼」写向此际只回泪眼，「此际」写此时（梅开之时），「只回泪眼」写只回以泪眼。三句一写千里未归、一写此际梅开、一写只回泪眼，写其离家千里未归、对此梅开只回以泪眼——故园有梅，而人未归。以泪写思，含蓄而深挚，是「以泪写思」的点睛之笔。
These three lines write the thousand-li's no-return, the whole ci's homesickness key. The thousand-li-away-man-not-returned writing the home's far distance and the not-returned person (self-reference); at-this-moment-he-can-only-turn-his-tearful-eyes writing this moment (the plum's blooming time) and the tearful eyes. Three lines one writing the thousand-li's no-return, one the plum's blooming now, one the tearful eyes, writing his home's thousand-li's no-return, facing this plum's blooming's only's the tearful eyes — the old home's plum's, and yet the person's no-return. Using the tears for the homesickness-writing, reserved and deep, the tears-write-homesickness telling stroke.
忍更闻羌管。
Enduring to hear the Qiang pipe?
忍更闻羌管。
How can I bear to hear the Qiang pipe again?
尾句写忍闻羌管，是全词立意的落点。「忍更闻羌管」写忍更闻羌管，「忍」写忍心、怎忍，「更闻羌管」写再闻羌管之曲。一句以「忍」写其不忍、以「羌管」写羌笛之曲，写其已凝睇俯楼、思乡泪眼，忍更闻羌管《梅花落》之曲——羌管吹《梅花落》，闻之更思归。以曲写思，含蓄而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以曲写思」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。
The closing line writes the bearing-to-hear-the-Qiang-pipe, the whole ci's intention landing. The how-can-I-bear-to-hear-the-Qiang-pipe-again writing the ren word's the bearing, and the Qiang-pipe's the Qiang-flute tune. One line using the ren for the no-bearing, and the Qiang-pipe for the Qiang-flute's Plum-Blossom-Falling tune, writing his already's the gazed-on-the-pavilion-and-the-tearful-eyes, bearing-to-hear-the-Qiang-pipe's Plum-Blossom-Falling tune — the Qiang-pipe's the Plum-Blossom-Falling's blown, the hearing's the more the return-longing. Using the tune for the homesickness-writing, reserved and deep, the whole ci's most moving place, the tune-writes-homesickness telling stroke.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Lu You's 'Song of the Divination' — 'lonely, by the posthouse outside the broken bridge' — is the lone plum of the loneliness; Chao Buzhi's 'Salt Horn' — 'who is the companion of the dusk' — is the lone plum of the dusk — the two lone plums, the one of the posthouse, the other of the dusk.
陆游《卜算子·咏梅》「驿外断桥边，寂寞开无主。已是黄昏独自愁，更著风和雨」，写梅之孤高、寂寞无主，是宋词咏梅最著名的词；晁补之《盐角儿》则以「凝酥缀粉，绰约玉肌肤，香黯淡，月朦胧，谁是黄昏伴」「千里未归人，向此际、只回泪眼」写梅之娇美、黄昏无伴。两词同写咏梅：一写断桥寂寞、黄昏独自愁、以梅写志，一写月下黄昏、谁是黄昏伴、以梅写思；一为陆游之孤高、一为晁补之之深婉，并读正可见宋词咏梅的两种情致，皆以梅之孤高写寂寞之情。
山园小梅 The Small Plum in the Mountain Garden 林逋 · 同写梅与黄昏月下之境，一写疏影横斜暗香浮动、一写香黯淡月朦胧谁是黄昏伴，皆以月下黄昏写梅之幽独 Both are the lyrics of the plum and the shadow — the sparse shadows of Lin Bu, the graceful skin of Chao Buzhi — the two plums of the Song.Lin Bu's 'The Small Plum in the Mountain Garden' — 'the sparse shadows, the slanting water, the clear shallow' — is the plum of the mountain garden, the shadow of the water; Chao Buzhi's 'Salt Horn' — 'the frozen cream, the powdered, the graceful' — is the plum of the dusk, the grace of the cream — the two plums of the Song, the one of the shadow, the other of the grace.
林逋《山园小梅》「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」，写梅之疏影暗香、月下幽独，是咏梅诗最著名的名篇；晁补之《盐角儿》则以「香黯淡，月朦胧，谁是黄昏伴」写月下黄昏、梅无其伴。两篇同写梅与黄昏月下之境：一写疏影横斜、暗香浮动月黄昏、以梅写隐者之幽，一写香黯淡、月朦胧、谁是黄昏伴、以梅写游子之思；一为林逋之清逸、一为晁补之之深婉，并读正可见诗与词写「月下黄昏之梅」的两种情致，皆以月下黄昏写梅之幽独。