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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

晏殊·蝶恋花·槛菊愁烟兰泣露

Butterfly Loves Flower · Rail Chrysanthemum in Mourning Mist, Orchid Weeping Dew

晏殊

Yan Shu

婉约graceful 离愁parting-sorrow

槛菊愁烟兰泣露。
罗幕轻寒，燕子双飞去。
明月不谙离恨苦。
斜光到晓穿朱户。
昨夜西风凋碧树。
独上高楼，望尽天涯路。
欲寄彩笺兼尺素。
山长水阔知何处。

By the rail the chrysanthemum grieves in the mist; the orchid weeps dew.
Through the silken curtain a light cold; swallows fly off in pairs.
The bright moon does not know the bitterness of parting hate.
Its slanting light reaches dawn, piercing the vermilion door.
Last night the west wind withered the green trees.
Alone I climb the high tower and gaze out the road to the world's end.
I would send both coloured note and silk letter.
But mountains long and waters wide — where is he?

Listen

Meaning

By the rail the chrysanthemums are wrapped in mourning mist, the orchids bear dew like tears. Between the silken curtains a faint cold arises; the swallows fly away in pairs. The bright moon has never understood the bitterness of parting sorrow. Its slanting light, until dawn, still pierces the vermilion gate. Last night the west wind withered the green trees. Alone I mount the high tower and gaze to the end of the world's road. I would send both a coloured note and a silk letter. But the mountains are long and the waters wide — where can he be?

栏槛边的菊花笼着愁烟，兰草沾着露珠如泣。罗幕之间微微生寒，燕子成双飞去。明月不曾懂得离别的苦味。斜斜的月光直到拂晓，还穿过朱红门户。昨夜西风凋零了碧绿的树叶。我独自登上高楼，望断那遥远的天涯路。想寄出彩笺也寄出尺素。可是山长水阔，又知人在何处。

Appreciation

The first stanza finely writes the autumn night: 'by the rail the chrysanthemum grieves in the mist; the orchid weeps dew' opens with personification; the light cold of the curtain, the paired swallows flying off, the bright moon piercing the door — layer upon layer brace the lonely parting hate, scene-words all feeling-words. The second stanza whirls to a vast openness: 'last night the west wind withered the green trees. Alone I climb the high tower and gaze out the road to the world's end' pushes from the room's seclusion to the world's vastness, the realm suddenly opens. It ends with 'I would send both coloured note and silk letter. But mountains long and waters wide — where is he,' gathering the longing into blankness and no-holding. From scene to feeling, from narrow to broad, the emotion is clinging yet the air composed; sorrow without hurt — most showing Yan's warm, refined grace.

【白话串讲】 “槛菊愁烟兰泣露。罗幕轻寒，燕子双飞去”——晏殊写秋晨：菊花愁，兰花泣。“昨夜西风凋碧树。独上高楼，望尽天涯路”——他独上高楼，望尽天涯。这句，被王国维列为人生第一境。【意象与手法】上片细写秋夜：菊愁兰泣以拟人起，罗幕轻寒、双燕飞去、明月穿户，层层烘托孤独离恨，景语皆情语【情感与主旨】此词具体作年已难确考，为晏殊婉约令词名篇【名句点睛】中高考常考：一、上片景物如何烘托离愁（菊愁兰泣、双燕反衬）；二、"明月不谙离恨苦"的拟人手法；三、"昨夜西风凋碧树

Background

The exact year is hard to fix; it is a famous graceful short lyric of Yan Shu. On the surface it writes a lady's autumn-night parting sorrow in her chamber; Northern-Song literati-officials often lodged their own wandering in a lady's chamber, and this piece may also hold the poet's sigh at official travel to the world's end and the rarity of a true companion. Yan Shu rose to chief councillor, yet his lyrics often write idle sorrow and parting hate, matching his wealthy, leisurely-elegant lot, melting his personal subtle mood into autumn scene. The contrast of 'swallows in pairs' and 'alone I climb the high tower' writes both man-woman longing and may be read as a metaphor for the lone, self-keeping gentleman-official — a typical piece of the Yan-Ou graceful orthodox school.

《蝶恋花·槛菊愁烟兰泣露》为北宋晏殊所作，是写离别相思的词。晏殊（991—1055），字同叔，临川人，北宋词人。此词：槛菊愁烟兰泣露。罗幕轻寒，燕子双飞去。明月不谙离恨苦。斜光到晓穿朱户。昨夜西风凋碧树。独上高楼，望尽天涯路。欲寄彩笺兼尺素。山长水阔知何处。全词写离别相思、登高望远，是晏殊词的名篇。

Art

The first stanza finely writes the autumn night: 'by the rail the chrysanthemum grieves in the mist; the orchid weeps dew' opens with personification; the light cold of the curtain, the paired swallows flying off, the bright moon piercing the door — layer upon layer brace the lonely parting hate, scene-words all feeling-words. The second stanza whirls to a vast openness: 'last night the west wind withered the green trees. Alone I climb the high tower and gaze out the road to the world's end' pushes from the room's seclusion to the world's vastness, the realm suddenly opens. It ends with 'I would send both coloured note and silk letter. But mountains long and waters wide — where is he,' gathering the longing into blankness. From scene to feeling, from narrow to broad, the emotion clinging yet the air composed — sorrow without hurt, most the warm, refined ease of Yan's lyrics.

《蝶恋花·槛菊愁烟兰泣露》艺术上以景色的含愁与登高的辽阔见长。全词十句，层层写来：上片写离别相思——“槛菊愁烟兰泣露”写菊愁兰泣，“罗幕轻寒，燕子双飞去”写罗幕燕子，“明月不谙离恨苦。斜光到晓穿朱户”写明月斜光；下片写登高望远——“昨夜西风凋碧树”写西风凋碧树，“独上高楼，望尽天涯路”写独上高楼，“欲寄彩笺兼尺素。山长水阔知何处”写欲寄彩笺。全词以景写情、登高望远，正是晏殊词深婉的笔法。

Allusions

In the second stanza 'both coloured note and silk letter' transforms the old yuefu 'a guest comes from far away, brings me twin carp; I call the boy to cook the carp, and in it a silk letter,' and 'note' means fine letter-paper — meaning the wish to send a letter yet unable. 'The west wind withered the green trees' quietly inherits Song Yu's autumn-sorrow tradition. The allusions are extremely shallow, melted into everyday longing speech, with no piling. Yan Shu himself prized 'wealthy, leisurely elegance' and did not favour obscure allusion; this lyric wins exactly by its natural warmth and surplus feeling — 'no axe-mark, yet feeling reaches far' — a model of Northern-Song short lyrics transforming common allusion.

《蝶恋花·槛菊愁烟兰泣露》用典少而意象精美。“彩笺”“尺素”写书信（古乐府“呼儿烹鲤鱼，中有尺素书”）；“高楼”“天涯路”写登高望远。全词以这些意象写离别相思，不用深典而深婉自见，正是晏殊词的笔法。

Commentary

Wang Guowei, in Poetic Remarks in the Human World, took 'last night the west wind withered the green trees. Alone I climb the high tower and gaze out the road to the world's end' as 'the first realm that all great achievers in learning and enterprise must pass through,' praising it extremely highly. The modern Tang Guizhang called this lyric 'still and composed, warm, not a speck of worldly dust.' With Ouyang Xiu it is named 'Yan-Ou,' jointly opening the Northern-Song graceful orthodox. Later critics often read it against Su Shi's 'Butterfly Loves Flower · Spring Scene,' saying Yan's is elegant, Su's open — each in his own field.

《蝶恋花·槛菊愁烟兰泣露》是晏殊词的名篇，也是北宋词中写离别相思的代表作。此词写离别相思、登高望远，向为论者称道。论者多赏其景色的含愁与登高的辽阔——“槛菊愁烟兰泣露”写菊愁兰泣，含愁之极；“昨夜西风凋碧树。独上高楼，望尽天涯路”写独上高楼、望尽天涯路，更见其辽阔旷远。晏殊为北宋词人，其词以深婉著称，此词正是其代表——以景写情、登高望远，正是其词风。

Prosody

Form Lyric, 'Butterfly Loves Flower' (Die Lian Hua), double-tune 60 characters词·蝶恋花

Rhyme Oblique rhyme, per Ci Lin Zheng Yun, four oblique rhymes per stanza《蝶恋花·槛菊愁烟兰泣露》为双调词，押仄声韵。此词用韵：露、去、苦、户（遇部）、树、路、处（遇部），一韵到底，音节深婉。

Tone pattern Mostly seven-character lines with three- and four-character interludes; flowing metre蝶恋花为双调词，音节深婉而阔大。此词写离别相思、登高望远，音节深婉而阔大。全词一韵到底，声调与离愁的内容相合，是晏殊词中深婉的一路。

Reading note 'Butterfly Loves Flower' was created by Feng Yansi; Yan Shu's piece opens the Northern-Song graceful orthodox, unlike Su Shi's same tune.《蝶恋花·槛菊愁烟兰泣露》为北宋晏殊所作，是写离别相思的词。此词以“槛菊愁烟兰泣露”写秋景含愁，以“明月不谙离恨苦”写离愁之深，以“独上高楼，望尽天涯路”写登高望远，以“山长水阔知何处”写欲寄无凭。以景写情、登高望远，正是晏殊词的名篇。

Line by line

槛菊愁烟兰泣露。罗幕轻寒，燕子双飞去。明月不谙离恨苦。斜光到晓穿朱户。

The chrysanthemums by the rail grieve in the mist, the orchids weep in the dew. Light chill through the gauze curtain; a pair of swallows flies away. The bright moon knows not the bitterness of parting; its slanting light crosses the vermilion door until dawn.

槛菊愁烟，兰泣露。罗幕轻寒，燕子双飞去。明月不谙离恨之苦，斜光到晓穿过朱户。

Rail-side chrysanthemums grieve in the mist, orchids weep in the dew. Light chill through the gauze curtain; swallows fly off in pairs. The bright moon knows not the pain of parting; slanting light crosses the red door until dawn.

上片写离别相思，是全词离愁的起点。“槛菊愁烟兰泣露”写菊愁兰泣——“槛菊愁烟”写槛边之菊愁于烟，“兰泣露”写兰花泣露——菊愁兰泣；“罗幕轻寒，燕子双飞去”写罗幕燕子——“罗幕轻寒”写罗幕轻寒，“燕子双飞去”写燕子双飞去——罗幕轻寒，燕双飞；“明月不谙离恨苦。斜光到晓穿朱户”写明月斜光——“明月不谙离恨苦”写明月不谙离恨之苦，“斜光到晓穿朱户”写斜光到晓穿过朱户——明月不谙离恨，斜光穿朱户。五句写离别相思：槛菊愁烟兰泣露、罗幕轻寒燕子双飞去，明月不谙离恨苦、斜光到晓穿朱户。以“槛菊愁烟兰泣露”写秋景含愁，以“燕子双飞去”以双燕反衬己之孤单，以“明月不谙离恨苦。斜光到晓穿朱户”写明月无情、斜光照夜，正是晏殊词写离别相思的起点——燕双而人单，月明而夜长。

The first stanza writes the parting-longing, the whole ci's parting-grief start. The rail-side-chrysanthemums-grieve-in-the-mist-orchids-weep-in-the-dew writing the chrysanthemum's grief and the orchid's tears; the light-chill-through-the-gauze-curtain-swallows-fly-off-in-pairs writing the curtain and swallows; the bright-moon-knows-not-the-pain-of-parting-slanting-light-crosses-the-red-door-until-dawn writing the moon and slanting light. Five lines writing the parting-longing: the chrysanthemum's grief and orchid's tears, the curtain's chill and paired swallows' flight, the moon's no-knowledge and the slanting light through the door. Using the misty-orchid-dew for the autumn-scene-with-grief, the paired-swallows'-flight for the paired-setting-off-the-loneliness, and the moon's no-knowledge-slanting-light for the moon's heartlessness and the slanting light's night-illumination, precisely Yan Shu ci's parting-longing start — the swallows' paired and the person's lone, the moon's bright and the night's long.

昨夜西风凋碧树。独上高楼，望尽天涯路。欲寄彩笺兼尺素。山长水阔知何处。

Last night the west wind stripped the green trees. Alone I climb the high tower and gaze to the end of the horizon. I would send a letter on colored paper — but mountains are long and waters wide; where do I know it goes?

昨夜西风凋碧树。独上高楼，望尽天涯路。欲寄彩笺兼尺素。山长水阔，知寄何处。

Last night the west wind stripped the green leaves. Alone I climb the high tower and gaze to the road's end at heaven's edge. I would send a letter on colored stationery — but mountains stretch long and waters wide; where do I know it goes?

下片写登高望远、欲寄无凭，是全词离别相思的归结。“昨夜西风凋碧树。独上高楼，望尽天涯路”写登高望远——“昨夜西风凋碧树”写昨夜西风凋碧树，“独上高楼”写独上高楼，“望尽天涯路”写望尽天涯路——西风凋树，独上高楼望天涯；“欲寄彩笺兼尺素。山长水阔知何处”写欲寄无凭——“欲寄彩笺兼尺素”用尺素之典写欲寄彩笺尺素，“山长水阔知何处”写山长水阔、知寄何处——欲寄彩笺，山长水阔。五句写登高望远、欲寄无凭：昨夜西风凋碧树、独上高楼望尽天涯路，欲寄彩笺兼尺素、山长水阔知何处。以“昨夜西风凋碧树。独上高楼，望尽天涯路”写西风凋树、独上高楼、望尽天涯，以“欲寄彩笺兼尺素。山长水阔知何处”写欲寄书信而山长水阔、不知何处，正是晏殊词写离别相思的归结——登高望远，天涯路尽；欲寄无凭，山长水阔。

The second stanza writes the height-climbing's gazing-far and the letter's no-pledge, the whole ci's parting-longing close. The last-night-the-west-wind-stripped-the-green-trees-alone-I-climb-the-high-tower-and-gaze-to-the-road's-end-at-heaven's-edge writing the height-climbing's gazing-far; the I-would-send-a-letter-on-colored-stationery-but-mountains-stretch-long-and-waters-wide-where-do-I-know-it-goes writing the letter's no-pledge, using the silk-letter allusion. Five lines writing the height-climbing and letter's no-pledge: the west wind's stripped the green trees, the lone climb and horizon gaze, the colored paper and silk, the long mountains and wide waters. Using the west-wind-stripped-green-trees-alone-climb and the horizon-gaze for the tree's stripping and lone tower and horizon, and the colored-paper-silk-long-mountains-wide-waters for the letter's sending and the no-knowledge, precisely Yan Shu ci's parting-longing close — the height-climbing and far-gazing, the horizon's road's end; the letter's no-pledge, the long mountains and wide waters.

Study

Word focus

槛菊愁烟 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “槛菊愁烟兰泣露”之“槛菊愁烟”，写槛边之菊愁于烟，是全词写秋景含愁的关键词。“槛菊”写槛边之菊，“愁烟”写菊为烟所愁——槛菊愁烟，兰泣露。这一词写菊之愁：不是无愁之菊，而愁烟；不是盛放之姿，而含愁之态。以“槛菊愁烟兰泣露”写秋景含愁，正是晏殊词写离别相思、以景含愁的笔法。

不谙离恨苦 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “明月不谙离恨苦”之“不谙离恨苦”，写明月不谙离恨之苦，是全词写离愁之深的关键词。“不谙”写不懂得，“离恨苦”写离恨之苦——明月不谙离恨之苦。这一词写明月之无情：不是知愁之月，而不谙离恨；不是可诉之明，而无情照夜之月。以“明月不谙离恨苦。斜光到晓穿朱户”写明月无情、斜光照夜，正是晏殊词写离愁之深的笔法。

望尽天涯路 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “独上高楼，望尽天涯路”之“望尽天涯路”，写望尽天涯之路，是全词写登高望远的点睛词。“望尽”写望至尽处，“天涯路”写天涯之路——独上高楼，望尽天涯路。这一词写望远之久远：不是偶望之目，而望尽；不是可尽之程，而天涯之路。以“独上高楼，望尽天涯路”写独上高楼、望尽天涯，正是晏殊词写登高望远、思念之深的笔法。

山长水阔 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “山长水阔知何处”之“山长水阔”，写山长水阔，是全词写欲寄无凭的归结词。“山长”写出路之长，“水阔”写水路之阔——山长水阔，知寄何处。这一词写阻隔之远：不是可越之阻，而山长水阔；不是可寄之途，而遥不可及。以“欲寄彩笺兼尺素。山长水阔知何处”写欲寄书信而山长水阔、不知何处，正是晏殊词写离别相思的归结。