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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

晏殊·浣溪沙·一向年光有限身

Huan Xi Sha · A Moment's Light, a Finite Body

晏殊

Yan Shu

婉约graceful 伤春spring sorrow

浣溪沙·一向年光有限身一向年光有限身，等闲离别易销魂，酒筵歌席莫辞频。
满目山河空念远，落花风雨更伤春，不如怜取眼前人。

A moment's light, a finite body; ordinary parting easily undoes the soul—at the wine feast and song seat do not refuse the frequent.
Filling the eye, hills and rivers—vainly I think of the far one; falling flowers in wind and rain grieve spring the more.
Better to cherish the one before my eyes.

Listen

Meaning

A moment's spring light, a finite life; even ordinary parting easily undoes the soul—at the wine feast and song seat do not refuse, but rejoice together. Filling the eye, hills and rivers—vainly I long for the one far away; falling flowers amid wind and rain add to the sorrow of spring. Better to cherish and value the one before my eyes.

片刻的春光、有限的人生，寻常的离别也易令人黯然销魂，酒筵歌席上莫要推辞，且尽情欢聚。满目山河，徒然思念远方之人；落花兼着风雨，更添伤春之意。倒不如怜爱珍惜眼前之人。

Appreciation

This lyric is one of Yan Shu's representative short lyrics. Yan Shu rose to the post of chief councillor, living in comfort; his lyrics often write the idle sorrow of the literati at feasts and their sensitivity to the flow of time. This piece is an impromptu meditation: from finite light and uncertain gathering it feels a lament, yet it does not force deep grief, but self-discharges with 'do not refuse the frequent' and 'cherish the one before my eyes', reflecting the optimistic attitude of a peaceful prime minister dissolving idle sorrow, also holding a faint philosophy of life's impermanence.

【白话串讲】 “一向年光有限身，等闲离别易销魂”——晏殊说：人生有限，离别最销魂。“满目山河空念远，落花风雨更伤春，不如怜取眼前人”——想远方的有什么用，不如珍惜眼前人。晏殊的旷达，是经历过才懂的。【意象与手法】上片三句，由“年光有限”到“离别销魂”再到“莫辞频”，层层推进，以理节情【情感与主旨】此词为晏殊代表令词之一。晏殊位至宰辅，生活优渥，其词多写士大夫宴游闲愁与对光阴流转的敏感【名句点睛】考点：一、“莫辞频”与“怜取眼前人”的旷达内涵；二、下片由宏（山河）入微（落花）的章法

Background

This lyric is one of Yan Shu's representative short lyrics. Yan Shu rose to chief councillor, living in comfort; his lyrics often write the literati's feast-idle sorrow and their sensitivity to time's flow. This piece is an impromptu feeling, born of finite light and uncertain parting, yet not forcing deep grief but self-consoling with 'do not refuse the frequent' and 'cherish the one before my eyes', reflecting the Prime Minister of Peace's optimistic attitude to dissolve idle sorrow, also holding a faint philosophy of life's impermanence.

《浣溪沙·一向年光有限身》为北宋词人晏殊所作。晏殊（991—1055），字同叔，抚州临川人，北宋宰相、词人，婉约词派的代表，有“北宋倚声家初祖”之称。此词写时光有限与离别的感慨：一向年光有限身，等闲离别易销魂，酒筵歌席莫辞频；满目山河空念远，落花风雨更伤春，不如怜取眼前人。全词写对时光有限的感慨与对眼前之人的珍惜，是晏殊词的名篇。晏殊身为宰相而词风婉约，此词正是其“无可奈何花落去”一类的感怀之作。

Art

The first part's three lines, from 'finite light' to 'parting undoes the soul' to 'do not refuse the frequent', press forward layer by layer, using reason to check feeling; the second part 'Filling the eye, hills and rivers—vainly I think of the far one' suddenly broadens in weather, then closes with 'falling flowers in wind and rain grieve spring' into delicacy—grand and fine reflect each other. The closing 'Better to cherish the one before my eyes' springs the unexpected, turning sorrow into cherishing, warm and pure, reason and charm both beautiful—such is Yan's true colour.

《浣溪沙·一向年光有限身》艺术上以对时光的感慨与对眼前的珍惜见长。全词结构分明：上片写时光有限与离别的伤感——“一向年光有限身”写年光有限，“等闲离别易销魂”写离别销魂，“酒筵歌席莫辞频”写莫辞歌酒；下片写念远之空与眼前之真——“满目山河空念远”写念远之空，“落花风雨更伤春”写伤春之深，“不如怜取眼前人”写怜取眼前。全词以“不如怜取眼前人”收束，写对眼前之人的珍惜，正是晏殊词“旷达中含深情”的风格。

Allusions

'Cherish the one before my eyes' transforms Yuan Zhen's Yingying poem in the Tale of the Western Chamber, 'still take the old intent, cherish the one before my eyes', originally writing a shift of love; here the meaning is changed to urge cherishing the present gathering. Also 'undo the soul' is from Jiang Yan's 'Lament for Parting', 'the one who is disconsolate at parting—it is only parting'. Both allusions familiar, yet by Yan Shu's touch turn from grief and complaint to optimism, using allusion as if his own, leaving no trace.

《浣溪沙·一向年光有限身》用典少而理趣自出。“销魂”出江淹《别赋》“黯然销魂者，唯别而已矣”，写离别之痛；“年光有限”写人生短暂；“落花风雨”写春之将逝。全词以这些传统的意象写时光与离别，不用深典而情致自深。晏殊身为宰相，看尽繁华与聚散，其词多写时光与离别之感，此词正是其代表——以有限年光写珍惜眼前，正是“无可奈何花落去”一类的感怀。

Commentary

Wang Zhuo's Bi Ji Man Zhi called Yan's lyrics 'romantic and restrained'; this closing line is especially admired. Modern critics say of it 'sorrow yet not wounded, warm as jade', turning Jiang Yan's grief and Yuan Zhen's complaint into a peaceful prime minister's optimism. Read with the Huan Xi Sha line 'helplessly, what can be done', one sees the manner of Yan and Ou's short lyrics.

《浣溪沙·一向年光有限身》是晏殊词的名篇，也是其婉约词的代表作。此词写时光有限与离别之感，向为论者称道。论者多赏其“不如怜取眼前人”的收束——以“怜取眼前人”写对眼前之人的珍惜，遂成千古名句；“满目山河空念远，落花风雨更伤春”写念远伤春，更见深婉。晏殊身为宰相而词风婉约，其词多写时光与离别，此词正是其代表作——以有限年光写珍惜眼前，正是“无可奈何花落去”一类的感怀。

Prosody

Form Lyric, 'Huan Xi Sha' double-tune forty-two characters词牌·浣溪沙

Rhyme Level rhyme, by Ci Lin Zheng Yun, three level rhymes each part《浣溪沙》为双调，上下片各三句，押平声韵。此词用韵：身、魂、频（真部）、人（真部）、春（真部），上下片同韵，音节流丽。

Tone pattern Mostly seven-character regulated lines, with three-character lines between, gentle and harmonious《浣溪沙》句式以七言为主，三句一组，音节流丽。此词上片写年光与离别，音节流转；下片写念远与怜取，音节由“空念远”之虚转到“怜取眼前人”之实，声情顿挫。全词以平韵贯底，声调与时光感慨的内容相合，是宋词中婉约旷达的一路。

Reading note 'Huan Xi Sha' suits idle-sorrow short lyrics; Yan Shu uses it for optimistic spring sorrow, warm and pure, most fitting.《浣溪沙·一向年光有限身》为词牌《浣溪沙》，是晏殊词的名篇。此词上片写年光有限与离别销魂，下片写念远之空与怜取眼前，以“不如怜取眼前人”收束，旷达而深情。晏殊身为宰相而词风婉约，其词多写时光与离别，此词正是其代表作——以有限年光写珍惜眼前，正是“无可奈何花落去”一类的感怀。

Line by line

一向年光有限身，等闲离别易销魂，酒筵歌席莫辞频。

Brief is the years, limited the body; an ordinary parting easily shatters the soul. Refuse not the frequent cups and songs at the banquet.

向来年光有限，人生苦短；等闲离别，最容易令人销魂。酒筵歌席，莫要推辞频繁。

Years are brief, life is limited; a casual parting easily breaks the heart. Do not refuse the frequent wine cups and song.

上片写年光有限与离别销魂。“一向年光有限身”写年光有限——“一向”写向来，“年光有限”写人生短暂，“有限身”写人身有限；“等闲离别易销魂”写离别之痛——“等闲”写寻常，“销魂”出《别赋》，写离别之黯然销魂；“酒筵歌席莫辞频”写莫辞歌酒——“莫辞频”写不要推辞频繁。三句由年光有限写到离别销魂，再写到莫辞歌酒：人生有限，离别销魂，何不及时行乐。以“有限身”写人生之短，以“销魂”写离别之痛，以“莫辞频”写及时行乐，正是晏殊写时光感慨的笔法——以歌酒消解离愁。

The first stanza writes the years' limitedness and the parting's soul-breaking. The brief-is-the-years-limited-the-body writing the years' limitedness; the casual-parting-easily-shatters-the-soul writing the parting's pain, the xiaohun from the Parting-Rhapsody; the refuse-not-the-frequent-cups-and-songs-at-the-banquet writing the no-refusal of wine-and-song. Three lines from the years' limitedness to the parting's soul-breaking, then to the no-refusal: the life's limited, the parting's soul-breaking, why's not the timely delight. Using the limited-body for the life's shortness, the soul-breaking for the parting's pain, the no-refusal-frequent for the timely delight, precisely Yan Shu's time-sigh brush — using the song-and-wine's dissolving-the-parting-grief.

满目山河空念远，落花风雨更伤春，不如怜取眼前人。

Mountains and rivers fill the eyes, vainly longing for the far; falling flowers in wind and rain add spring grief — better to cherish the person before your eyes.

满目山河，空自念远；落花风雨，更添伤春。不如怜惜眼前之人。

Mountains and rivers fill the gaze, and I long in vain for the far; falling flowers in wind and rain add more spring sorrow — better to cherish the person before your eyes.

下片写念远之空与眼前之真，是全词的归结。“满目山河空念远”写念远之空——“满目山河”写山河满目，“空念远”写空自念远——念远之人，只是空想；“落花风雨更伤春”写伤春之深——“落花风雨”写春将逝，“更伤春”写更添伤春；“不如怜取眼前人”写珍惜眼前——“不如”写不如，“怜取眼前人”写怜惜眼前之人。三句由念远之空写到伤春之深，再写到怜取眼前：山河虽远，空念无益；春去虽伤，徒增惆怅；不如怜惜眼前之人。以“空念远”写念之无益，以“更伤春”写伤之无益，以“不如怜取眼前人”写眼前的真实可贵，正是晏殊词的归结——与其空念远人、空伤春去，不如怜取眼前之人。这一收束，旷达而深情，遂成千古名句。

The second stanza writes the far-longing's vainness and the present's truth, the whole ci's close. The mountains-and-rivers-fill-the-eyes-vainly-longing-for-the-far writing the far-longing's vainness; the falling-flowers-in-wind-and-rain-add-spring-sorrow writing the spring-grief's depth; better-to-cherish-the-person-before-your-eyes writing the present's cherishing. Three lines from the far-longing's vainness to the spring-grief's depth, then to the present's cherishing: the mountains-rivers' though-far, the vain-longing's no-use; the spring's passing's though-grief, the no-added-wistfulness; better to cherish the present person. Using the vain-longing for the longing's no-use, the more-spring-sorrow for the grief's no-use, and the better-cherish-the-present for the present's real preciousness, precisely Yan Shu ci's close — rather than the vain-far-longing and vain-spring-grief, better to cherish the present person. This close, open-and-deep, hence becomes the through-the-ages famed line.

Study

Word focus

有限身 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “一向年光有限身”之“有限身”，写人身有限，是全词写人生短暂的关键词。“有限”写其有尽，“身”写人身——一向年光，人身有限。这一词写人生之短暂：不是无限之身，而是有限之身；不是长存之身，而是有尽之身。以“有限身”写人生之短，正是晏殊写时光感慨的笔法——因人生有限，故需及时行乐、珍惜眼前。

销魂 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “等闲离别易销魂”之“销魂”，写离别之黯然销魂，是全词写离别之痛的关键词。“销魂”出江淹《别赋》“黯然销魂者，唯别而已矣”，写离别之魂销。这一词写离别之痛：不是寻常的伤感，而是销魂之痛；不是一时的离愁，而是黯然销魂。以“销魂”写离别，正是晏殊词写离愁的笔法——离别之痛，最易销魂。

空念远 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “满目山河空念远”之“空念远”，写空自念远，是全词写念远之空的关键词。“空”写徒然，“念远”写思念远人——满目山河，空自念远。这一词写念远之无益：不是念之有效，而是空念；不是远人可待，而是徒然。以“空念远”写念之无益，正是晏殊词写豁达的笔法——与其空念远人，不如怜取眼前。

怜取 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “不如怜取眼前人”之“怜取”，写怜惜、珍惜，是全词归结的关键词。“怜”写怜惜，“取”写选取——不如怜取眼前之人。这一词写对眼前之人的珍惜：不是冷落眼前，而是怜取眼前；不是空念远方，而是珍惜当下。以“怜取眼前人”写珍惜眼前，正是晏殊词的归结——人生有限，离别销魂，不如怜取眼前之人。