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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

一剪梅

A Twig of Mume Blossoms

李清照

Li Qingzhao

爱情Love 愁思sorrow 闺怨Theme 怀人Remembering someone

红藕香残玉簟秋。
轻解罗裳，独上兰舟。
雪中谁寄锦书来，雁字回时，月满西楼。
花自飘零水自流。
一种相思，两处闲愁。
此情无计可消除，才下眉头，却上心头。

The red lotus, the fragrance, gone, the jade mat, the autumn.
Lightly, loosening the silk robe,
Alone, boarding the orchid boat.
In the clouds, who sent the brocade letter,
The goose characters, returning, the time,
The moon, filling the West Tower.
The flowers, from themselves, drifting and falling, the water, from itself, flowing.
One kind of the mutual longing,
Two places of the idle sorrow.
This feeling, no way, can be eliminated,
Only now, leaving the eyebrows,
Yet, on, the heart, it goes.

Listen

Meaning

A lyric of the mutual longing, written by Li Qingzhao. The red lotus, the fragrance, gone, the jade mat, the autumn — lightly loosening the silk robe, alone boarding the orchid boat — the autumn of the lotus and the lone boat. In the clouds, who sent the brocade letter — the goose characters, returning, the time, the moon filling the West Tower — the brocade letter and the moon of the West Tower. The flowers drifting and falling with the water flowing, one kind of the mutual longing with the two places of the idle sorrow — the longing of the two places. And the close's this feeling no way eliminated, only now leaving the eyebrows, yet on the heart it goes — the feeling of the close. The lyric is the mutual longing: the lone boat, the brocade letter, and the close's feeling on the heart.

红艳的荷花已经凋残，香气消散，精美的竹席上透出秋的凉意。轻轻解开丝绸的衣裳，独自登上木兰小舟。雪（通行本作「云」）中是谁托寄锦书来？大雁排成人字飞回之时，月光已洒满西楼。花儿自管自地飘零，江水自管自地流淌。同一种相思，牵动着两处的闲愁。这相思之情没有办法消除，才从眉头上下来，却又涌上了心头。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The red lotus, the fragrance, gone, the jade mat, the autumn. Lightly, loosening the silk robe, alone, boarding the orchid boat. In the clouds, who sent the brocade letter, the goose characters, returning, the time, the moon, filling the West Tower. The flowers, from themselves, drifting and falling, the water, from itself, flowing. One kind of the mutual longing, two places of the idle sorrow. This feeling, no way, can be eliminated, only now, leaving the eyebrows, yet, on, the heart, it goes. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the autumn of the lotus and the lone boat, through the brocade letter and the moon of the West Tower, and the mutual longing of the two places, to the close's feeling leaving the eyebrows, yet on the heart. [Key Technique] The lyric's art is the mutual longing: the one kind of the longing with the two places of the sorrow, and the close's feeling from the eyebrows to the heart — the longing gathered in the two places and the close's heart. [Emotional Tone] Clear, tender, and longing: the lyric is the lone boat, the mutual longing and the close's feeling on the heart.

【白话串讲】李清照写一剪梅：“红藕香残玉簟秋。轻解罗裳，独上兰舟”。“云中谁寄锦书来，雁字回时，月满西楼”——“花自飘零水自流。一种相思，两处闲愁”——“此情无计可消除，才下眉头，却上心头”——她写对赵明诚的思念。【意象与手法】上片以景起情：红藕香残、玉簟生凉，一句而内外兼摄；独上兰舟、盼书望雁、月满西楼，由独处写到悬望，景中含情。下片正面抒情：花自飘零水自流，以自然之无情衬相思之无奈；「一种相思，两处闲愁」由己及人，化单方思念为双向牵挂；结句「才下眉头，却上心头」以「眉头」「心头」对举，将无形的愁写得有形可触，化用范仲淹「眉间心上，无计相回避」而青出于蓝。全词由景入情、由物及人，疏密有致，语言浅近而情致深婉。【情感与主旨】此词相传为李清照与赵明诚新婚不久、明诚远游时所作，写别后的离愁相思。她十八岁嫁与赵明诚，夫妻志趣相投，然明诚求学出游，聚少离多，词中独上兰舟、盼书望雁的悬望，正是离居生活的写照。全词写相思而不写怨语，盼书而不怨不泣，情致深婉而自有矜持，见出这位才女从容自尊的性情。【名句点睛】常考「红藕香残玉簟秋」的精秀起句、「一种相思，两处闲愁」的推己及人，以及「此情无计可消除，才下眉头，却上心头」的千古写愁名句（与范仲淹「眉间心上，无计相回避」比较）。

Background

Li Qingzhao (1084–c. 1155), the greatest woman poet of the ci, wrote this 'A Twig of Mume Blossoms' of the mutual longing — the longing for her husband. The autumn of the lotus and the lone boat, the brocade letter with the moon of the West Tower, the mutual longing of the two places, and the close's feeling leaving the eyebrows yet on the heart — the lyric gathers the longing of the poet, the tenderness of the parting. The lyric is one of the most famous works of the poet's lyrics of the longing.

《一剪梅》相传为李清照与丈夫赵明诚新婚不久、明诚远游时所作，是一首抒写离别相思的闺情词。李清照（1084—约1155），号易安居士，济南人，北宋婉约词之集大成者。她十八岁嫁与太学生赵明诚，夫妻志趣相投，一起校勘金石、唱和诗词，感情深笃；然明诚求学出游，聚少离多，李清照独处归来堂，遂有此词。据其《金石录后序》所载，明诚常远游访碑，词中「轻解罗裳，独上兰舟」「雪中谁寄锦书来」的悬望，正是这种离居生活的真实写照。此词上片写秋日独处的景与盼，下片写相思的无可排遣，结句「才下眉头，却上心头」化用范仲淹《御街行》「都来此事，眉间心上，无计相回避」而更为精炼传神，被推为千古写愁名句。需要说明的是，「雪中谁寄锦书来」一句，通行本多作「云中谁寄锦书来」，此据文本作「雪中」，雪中寄书，意象更见痴绝。李清照前期的词多写闺情相思，笔致清丽婉约，此词即其代表；后期历经国破家亡，词风转为凄苦沉郁，与此词恰成对照。

Art

The lyric's art is the art of the mutual longing. The autumn opens: the red lotus, the fragrance, gone, the jade mat, the autumn — the autumn of the lotus; lightly, loosening the silk robe — alone, boarding the orchid boat — the lone boat. The letter follows: in the clouds, who sent the brocade letter — the brocade letter; the goose characters, returning, the time — the goose characters; the moon, filling the West Tower — the moon of the West Tower. The longing: the flowers, from themselves, drifting and falling, the water, from itself, flowing — the drifting and the flowing; one kind of the mutual longing — two places of the idle sorrow — the longing of the two places. And the close gathers the feeling: this feeling, no way, can be eliminated — only now, leaving the eyebrows — yet, on, the heart, it goes — the feeling of the close — the autumn, the longing and the close's heart, gathered in the lyric.

此词艺术上最称道处有二：一是「以景起情、由物及人」的章法，二是「结句翻新」的炼意。上片写景：起句「红藕香残玉簟秋」七个字写尽秋意——红藕香残是室外之景，玉簟生凉是室内之感，一句而内外兼摄、物我俱含，被王世贞评为「精秀特绝」；「轻解罗裳，独上兰舟」写独自泛舟，一个「独」字点出孤身；「雪中谁寄锦书来，雁字回时，月满西楼」写盼信——大雁成字南飞，而书信杳然，唯见月满西楼，盼之切、望之空，尽在言外。下片抒情：「花自飘零水自流」以一景承上启下，写花水之无情漂流，暗喻韶光与离人；「一种相思，两处闲愁」翻进一层，由己及人，设想对方亦在相思，愁便由一己而及两处；「此情无计可消除，才下眉头，却上心头」以「眉头」「心头」对举，将无形的愁写得有形可触——眉头才舒，心头又起，愁之往来无端、无法消除，至此写尽。全词由景入情、由物及人，疏密有致，语言浅近而情致深婉，是婉约词的典范之作。

Allusions

'The red lotus' (hong ou) is the red lotus — the lotus of the red, the fragrance gone; 'the jade mat' (yu dian) is the jade mat — the mat of the jade, the autumn; 'the brocade letter' (jin shu) is the brocade letter — the letter of the brocade, sent in the clouds; 'the goose characters' (yan zi) are the goose characters — the characters of the geese, the returning; 'the West Tower' (Xi lou) is the West Tower — the tower of the west, the moon filling.

此词用典虽少而含蕴极富。其一，「红藕香残」暗含莲荷秋衰之意，藕与「偶」谐音，红藕香残暗喻伉俪分离、欢爱难续，是借物写情的婉转笔法；「玉簟秋」之「玉簟」为精美的竹席，秋凉侵席，暗写独宿之冷。其二，「兰舟」用《述异记》木兰舟之典，木兰舟为诗家习用的华美舟船意象，而「独上兰舟」的「独」字，使这一本属游乐的意象染上孤寂的色彩。其三，「锦书」用《晋书·窦滔妻苏氏传》织锦回文之典——前秦窦滔妻苏蕙织锦为回文璇玑图以寄远人，后世遂以「锦书」代指情书；词人盼「锦书」之来，正是盼远人音信，用典而了无痕迹。其四，「雁字」用雁足传书之典（《汉书·苏武传》），大雁排成人字南飞，本可传书，而书信竟不知何人可寄，雁来而书不来，盼信的怅惘倍增；「月满西楼」又暗合谢庄《月赋》「隔千里兮共明月」之意，月满而人不圆，以月之圆写人之缺。至若结句「才下眉头，却上心头」化用范仲淹「眉间心上，无计相回避」，青出于蓝，遂成千古名句。

Commentary

This lyric is one of the most famous works of Li Qingzhao's lyrics of the longing, quoted for the mutual longing of its middle and the feeling of its close. One kind of the mutual longing, and the feeling leaving the eyebrows yet on the heart, are among the admired passages of the poet's lyrics. Critics praise the lyric's tenderness: the longing gathered in the two places, to the close's feeling on the heart.

此词自问世即为传诵的相思名篇，历代评家赞不绝口。明代王世贞《艺苑卮言》评首句「红藕香残玉簟秋」曰：「精秀特绝，真不食人间烟火者。」清代陈廷焯《白雨斋词话》谓易安词「神骏之致，风格尤高」，此词足当其评。其价值有三：一在写愁之妙，结句「此情无计可消除，才下眉头，却上心头」，将抽象无形的愁写得有起落、有去处——眉头才舒，心头又起，一「才」一「却」，写出愁的倏忽往返，较之范仲淹原句「眉间心上，无计相回避」更为凝练灵动，遂成中国文学写愁的第一等名句，后世「才下眉头」之语几乎人人能诵；二在章法之浑成，全词以「秋」起、以「愁」结，由景入情，由己及人，上片「红藕」「兰舟」「锦书」「雁字」「月楼」诸意象一气贯注，下片「花水」「相思」「闲愁」层层推进，情景交融，无一句隔；三在人格之显现，李清照写相思不写怨语，盼书而不怨不泣，情致深婉而自有矜持，见出这位才女的从容与自尊。至于「一种相思，两处闲愁」的设身处地，更见其情之笃、思之深，为后世闺情词立下极高的标格。

Prosody

Form A short ci lyric of the longing (ci diao)一剪梅（双调，六十字）

Rhyme The lyric rhymes on the level-tone qiu, zhou, lou, liu, chou and tou of the group — the even, level rhyme that carries the tender longing.上下片各六句，三平韵，全词一韵到底，押平声「尤」韵：秋、舟、楼、流、愁、头。韵脚字皆悠长平和之音，正合相思绵邈之情。

Tone pattern The cadence is that of the longing: the level opening with the autumn, the turning with the letter and the mutual longing, and the close's fall with the feeling on the heart.句式以七言为主，间以四言（轻解罗裳，独上兰舟；一种相思，两处闲愁），长短错落；结句「才下眉头，却上心头」四四对举，音节顿挫，一唱三叹。

Reading note The lyric's sound matches its tenderness: the even, level rhymes carry the cadence of the longing, and the close — 'que shang xin tou' — falls with the heart, the sound of the feeling inescapable of the poet.《一剪梅》又名《腊梅香》，双调六十字，上下片各六句三平韵，是宋词中常见的抒情小令。此词格律严整而声情相洽：上片「红藕香残玉簟秋。轻解罗裳，独上兰舟」以七言、四言相间，音节由舒缓而轻快，写秋景与泛舟之态；「雪中谁寄锦书来，雁字回时，月满西楼」三句皆平收押韵，如长吁三叹，写出盼信的绵长悬望。下片「花自飘零水自流」单句押韵，音节落下，如无可奈何之叹；「一种相思，两处闲愁」四言对举，顿挫有致；结句「此情无计可消除，才下眉头，却上心头」以「才……却……」的虚词承接，节奏一急一缓，恰与愁的倏忽往返相应。全词一韵到底，押平声尤韵，韵脚（秋、舟、楼、流、愁、头）皆开口悠长之音，读来如怨如慕、如泣如诉，正合相思词的抒情基调。李清照精于音律，此词声情之密合、节奏之宛转，皆见其「分阴阳、辨五音」的填词功力，为婉约小令立下声情并茂的典范。

Line by line

红藕香残玉簟秋。

Red lotuses have shed their scent; the jade mat feels autumn.

红艳的荷花凋残了，香气消散，精美的竹席上也透出秋的凉意。

The red lotuses have withered, their scent gone; the fine bamboo mat breathes the autumn chill.

起句七字，写尽秋意，是千古传诵的精秀之句。「红藕」指荷花，以「香残」写其凋谢——花红是视觉，香残是嗅觉，一字一感，秋的来临在色香俱逝中被敏锐捕捉；「玉簟秋」写竹席生凉——「秋」字用作动词，写秋意侵席，肌肤可感。一句之内，由室外之景写到室内之物，由花之色香写到席之清凉，视觉、嗅觉、触觉三觉并作，而秋的萧瑟、独处的清冷尽在其中。此句之妙在「不说破」：不直说秋天来了、人独处了，而让红藕、玉簟自己说话；王世贞评曰「精秀特绝，真不食人间烟火者」，正指此句意象之清绝。同时，「红藕香残」暗含欢爱凋零之喻，为全词相思之情立下幽微的伏笔，起笔即不同凡响。

The opening seven characters, exhausting the autumn-feeling, the through-the-ages recited exquisite line. The red-lotus meaning the lotus, the scent-fallen writing its withering — the flower-red's the sight, the scent-fallen's the smell, one-character-one-sense, the autumn's arrival's within-the-color-and-scent's-both-gone's the acute-catching; the jade-mat-autumn writing the bamboo-mat's coolness — the qiu word's used-as-verb, writing the autumn-feeling's invading-the-mat, the skin's perceivable. One line's within, from-the-outdoor-scene's to-the-indoor-object, from-the-flower's color-scent's to-the-mat's coolness, the sight-smell-touch's three-senses'-joint-work, and yet the autumn's bleakness and the solitude's cold's all within. This line's wonder's in the not-speaking-out: not-the-direct-the-autumn's-arrived-and-the-person's-solitary, and yet letting the red-lotus-and-jade-mat's self-speak; Wang Shizhen's reviewing-the-exquisite-superb-truly-eats-no-earthly-smoke's, precisely referring-to-this-line's image's clarity-absolute. At the same time, the red-lotus-scent-fallen's secretly carrying the joy's-withering metaphor, establishing the whole ci's longing's feeling's faint ground-storing, the opening at once's the out-of-the-ordinary.

轻解罗裳，独上兰舟。

Lightly I unlace my silk skirt, and climb alone into the orchid boat.

轻轻解开丝绸的衣裳，独自登上木兰小舟。

Lightly I unlace my silk dress and climb alone into the orchid boat.

此二句写独处中的泛舟之举，「轻」「独」二字最见情味。「轻解罗裳」写解衣登舟的动作轻柔——「轻」字见出心事重重、动作迟缓，也见出闺中女子的娴雅；「独上兰舟」写独自登舟——「独」字是词眼，泛舟本为消遣排闷，然一人独上，纵有兰舟之华，只增孤寂。两句写动作而不写心情，而心情自现：为何轻解罗裳？因为闷。为何独上兰舟？因为无人共游。以动作写心理，以闲笔写愁绪，正是李清照「不著一字，尽得风流」的笔法。「兰舟」用木兰舟之典，本为华美之物，与「独」字相映，繁华中的孤寂更觉凄清。此二句承「玉簟秋」而来，由室内而舟中，词境随人物的行动而转移，秋的清冷中，一个孤寂的身影已立于纸上。

These two lines write the solitude's within's boat-rising act, the light-and-lone two words' the most seeing the feeling. The lightly-unlace-my-silk-dress writing the undress-and-boarding's motion's gentle — the qing word's seeing the heart's matters' heavy and the motion's slowness, and seeing the boudoir woman's grace; the climb-alone-into-the-orchid-boat writing the lone boarding — the lone word's the ci-eye, the boat-rising's originally's the pastime-and-discharge, and yet the one-person's lone-boarding, even's the orchid-boat's splendor's, only's adding the loneliness. Two lines writing the motion and yet's not-the-feeling, and yet the feeling's self-seen: why's the lightly-unlace? Because of the boredom. why's the lone-boarding? Because of the no-companion. Using the motion for the psychology, the idle-brush for the grief-thread, precisely Li Qingzhao's not-landing-one-word-and-yet-the-full-charm brush. The orchid boat's using the magnolia-boat allusion, originally's the gorgeous thing, with the lone word's mutual-reflection, the prosperity's within's loneliness's the more's the bleak-clear. These two lines inheriting the jade-mat-autumn's, from-the-indoor's to-the-boat, the ci-realm's along-with-the-person's-action's transfer, the autumn's cold-clear's within, a solitary figure's already's standing on the paper.

雪中谁寄锦书来，雁字回时，月满西楼。

In the snow, who sends the brocade letter? When the geese return in their V, the moon fills the west tower.

雪（通行本作「云」）中是谁托寄锦书来？大雁排成人字飞回之时，月光已洒满西楼。

In the clouds (one text reads snow), who sends the brocade letter? When the geese fly back in formation, the moon fills the west tower.

此三句写盼信之情，是全词情感的第一个高潮。「雪中」一本作「云中」，皆写盼书信于天际——「谁寄锦书来」用苏蕙织锦回文之典，锦书即情书，一个「谁」字，明知无人而仍悬望，痴情可掬；「雁字回时」用雁足传书之典，大雁南飞排成人字，正是传书的时节，而书竟不来，雁来书杳，怅惘更深；「月满西楼」以景收束——盼书盼到月满西楼，仍无消息，月之圆满反衬人之孤单，望月而益觉离思。三句由问而望、由望而月，时间由昼而夜，空间由天际而西楼，盼之切、待之久、望之空，层层写出。结句「月满西楼」以景结情，与上句的急切形成反差，唯余满楼月色与满怀相思，含蓄不尽，是婉约词以景结情的典范笔法。

These three lines write the letter-anticipation feeling, the whole ci's emotion's first climax. The in-the-snow (one text's in-the-clouds) both writing the sky's letter-anticipation — the who-sends-the-brocade-letter using Su Hui's brocade-weave-palindrome allusion, the brocade-letter i.e. the love-letter, the one shui word's the knowing-no-one-and-yet-the-far-gazing, the infatuation's the admirable; the geese-fly-back-in-formation using the wild-goose-leg-carries-the-letter allusion, the geese's south-flying's lined, precisely the letter's season, and yet the letter's actually's no-coming, the goose's-arrived-and-the-letter's-gone, the wistfulness's the more's deep; the moon-fills-the-west-tower's using the scene's close — the letter-anticipation's to-the-moon-full-west-tower, the still's the news-no, the moon's fullness's setting-off-the-person's-loneliness, the moon-gazing's the more's the departure-thought. Three lines from-the-question's to-the-gaze, from-the-gaze's to-the-moon, the time's from-day's to-night, the space's from-the-sky's to-the-west-tower, the anticipation's eagerness and the waiting's length and the gaze's emptiness, layer-on-layer's written. The closing line's moon-fills-the-west-tower's using the scene's feeling-close, with the above's eager-question's the contrast, only's the tower-full-moonlight's left and the breast-full-longing's, the reserve's endless, the graceful-soft ci's scene-close-feeling model brush.

花自飘零水自流。

The flowers drift on their own, the water flows on its own.

花儿自管自地飘零，江水自管自地流淌。

The flowers fall of themselves, the water flows of itself.

此句是过片之句，承上启下，历来推为妙笔。字面写眼前景：花在飘落，水在流淌，皆是不以人的意志为转移的自然之事；深一层写人生情：花之飘零如韶光之流逝，水之自流如离人之远去，两个「自」字最见神理——花自飘零，水自流，它们自顾自地走着自己的轨迹，全不管人间有相思之人。「自」字既写自然之无情，也写相思之无奈：我能奈何花落水流？正如我奈何不了离人远行。此句化用前人「花落水流红」一类意象，而以两个「自」字点醒，遂使无情之景染上浓重的有情之色。同时，此句由「月满西楼」的夜景转回白日之景，时间流动而不觉；由写盼信的悬望转入写相思的无奈，词意也随之一转，为下文「一种相思，两处闲愁」的正面抒情蓄势，章法极见匠心。

This line's the second stanza's opening line, inheriting-above-and-leading-below, through-the-ages's pushed as the wondrous brush. The surface meaning's writing the present scene: the flowers' falling, the water's flowing, both's the human-will's no-transfer's natural affair; the deep layer's writing the life-feeling: the flower's falling's like the spring-light's passing, the water's flowing's like the parted-person's going, the two zi words' the most seeing the spirit-reason — the flowers' self-falling, the water's self-flowing, they self-attend's walking-their-own-track, the no-minding-the-human-world's the longing-person's. The zi word's at once writing the nature's heartlessness, and writing the longing's helplessness: I can what-for-the-flower-falls-and-water-flows? Precisely's I can what-for-the-parted-person's far-going. This line's adapting the predecessors' the flower's-falling-and-water's-flowing-red kind of image, and yet's the two-zi-words' awakening, hence's the feelingless-scene's dyed-the-thick-feeling-color. At the same time, this line's from-the-moon-fills-the-west-tower's night-scene's returning-to-the-day-scene, the time's flowing-and-yet-no-feeling; from-the-letter-anticipation's far-gazing's turning-to-the-longing's helplessness, the ci-meaning's along-with-the-one-turn, storing the force for the below's one-longing-two-places-of-idle-grief's direct lyric, the craft's the most seeing the ingenuity.

一种相思，两处闲愁。

One and the same longing; two places of idle grief.

同一种相思，牵动着两处的闲愁。

One longing, and two places of idle grief.

此二句是全词情感的提炼，由一己之愁推及两处之愁，境界顿开。「一种相思」指同样的相思之情——不写「我思君」，而写「一种」相思，暗示此情非我所独有，对方亦当如是；「两处闲愁」由己及人，设想伊人亦在远方为我而愁，两处闲愁，同一种情，相思便不再是一己的孤苦，而是两颗心遥遥相对的共鸣。此二句的妙处有三：一在推己及人，化单方的思念为双方的牵挂，情之深挚由此可见；二在「闲」字，以「闲愁」称之，似是轻描淡写，实则愈轻愈重——闲愁者，无计可施之愁、排遣不去之愁也；三在语言的精炼，「一种」「两处」对举，数字的对照使情感的空间感顿出。此二句直承「花自飘零水自流」的自然之喻，以极平淡之语写极深沉之情，是李清照「以浅语写深情」的本色。

These two lines are the whole ci's emotion's distillation, from-the-one-self's-grief's pushing-to-the-two-places'-grief, the realm's the instant's opening. The one-and-the-same-longing meaning the same longing-feeling — not-writing-the-I-long-you, and yet writing-the-one-kind's longing, hinting-this-feeling's not-my-only-possession, the other-side's precisely's also's thus; the two-places-of-idle-grief's from-the-self's to-the-other, conceiving-the-beloved's also's in-the-far's for-me's grieving, the two-places'-idle-grief, the one-kind's-feeling, the longing's no-longer's the one-self's lone-bitter, and yet the two-hearts'-far-opposite's resonance. These two lines' wonder's in three: one's the pushing-the-self-to-the-other, turning-the-single-side's-missing's into-the-double-side's-caring, the feeling's deep-earnest's hence's visible; two's the xian word, using the idle-grief's calling, the seeming's the light-touch, actually's the lighter-the-heavier — the idle-grief i.e. the no-way's-solvable-grief and the no-discharge grief; three's the language's refinement, the one-kind and two-places's parallel, the numbers'-contrast's the emotional-space-feeling's instant-arising. These two lines' directly-inheriting-the-flowers-fall-of-themselves-and-the-water-flows-of-itself's natural-metaphor, using-the-extremely-plain-words's writing-the-extremely-deep-feeling, precisely Li Qingzhao's shallow-words-write-deep-feeling nature.

此情无计可消除，才下眉头，却上心头。

This feeling, no way, can be eliminated, only now, leaving the eyebrows, yet, on, the heart, it goes.

这相思之情没有办法可以消除，才从眉头上下来，却又涌上了心头。

This longing has no way to be driven off; it has just left the brows and rises again in the heart.

结句是千古写愁名句，将抽象的愁写得有形有迹、有起有落。「此情无计可消除」，正面点出相思之不可排遣，「无计」二字，写尽一切努力后的绝望；「才下眉头，却上心头」则把这「无计消除」具体化——眉头是愁的形迹，心头是愁的根源，眉头才舒展开，心头却又泛起，「才下」「却上」两个虚词写出愁的倏忽往来、此伏彼起，如影随形，无法摆脱。此句化用范仲淹《御街行》「都来此事，眉间心上，无计相回避」，而范词「眉间心上」是并列，李词「才下眉头，却上心头」是承接，一「下」一「上」写出愁的动态过程，且以「眉头」「心头」的叠韵对举，音节浏亮，故能青出于蓝而胜于蓝。愁本无形，至此可触可感、可上可下，遂成中国文学写愁的最高典范之一。

The closing line is the through-the-ages grief-writing famed line, turning the abstract grief into the tangible with its rise and fall. The this-longing-has-no-way-to-be-driven-off directly points out the longing's no-discharge, the no-way two words exhausting the despair after every effort; the it-has-just-left-the-brows-and-rises-again-in-the-heart then makes that no-way concrete — the brows are the grief's outward trace, the heart its root; the brows have barely smoothed and the heart is already stirred again, the just-left and yet-risen two function words writing the grief's sudden comings and its surging up one after another, like the shadow following the form, no escape. This line adapts Fan Zhongyan's Imperial-Street-Row, all-this-affair-brow-and-heart-no-way-to-avoid, and yet Fan's brow-and-heart is parallel while Li's just-left-the-brows-and-rises-again-in-the-heart is sequential — the one down and one up write the grief's dynamic process, and the rhyming brow/heart pairing gives the line a bright rhythm, hence it surpasses its source. The grief was shapeless; here it becomes palpable, rising and falling, hence one of the highest models of grief-writing in Chinese literature.

Study

Word focus

独 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「轻解罗裳，独上兰舟」之「独」字，是上片的词眼，写尽离居的孤寂。「独上兰舟」——泛舟本为消遣，然一人独上，舟愈华美，人愈孤单；这个「独」字，是全词人物状态的概括：独处、独卧、独上舟、独倚楼，一切都是独自一人。其妙处有三：一在对比，兰舟之华与独上之孤相映，繁华中的寂寞更觉深刻；二在含蓄，不直写思念，只着一个「独」字，则因何而独、独时思谁，尽在言外，让读者自去体会；三在贯穿，此「独」字与下文「一种相思，两处闲愁」遥相呼应——正因为独，才盼锦书、望雁字、怨花水流逝；也正因为独，才推知对方亦独，两处闲愁由此而生。李清照写孤独极善用一字点睛，《声声慢》「寻寻觅觅，冷冷清清」是铺陈，此词「独上兰舟」是点睛，一纵一收，各极其妙。

自 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「花自飘零水自流」连用两个「自」字，是全词由景入情的枢纽，也是最耐咀嚼的虚字。「自」者，自顾自、任凭己意也——花要飘零，随它飘零；水要东流，任它东流，它们都有自己的轨迹，全然不顾人间相思人的心境。两个「自」字，写出自然之无情：落花流水不会为谁停留，正如时光不会为谁倒转；也写出相思者之无奈：面对花落水流，人只能眼睁睁看着，毫无办法。此句之妙在「以物之无情衬人之有情」：花水愈是无情地自顾自，人的有情便愈是沉重；「自」字反复，音节上也形成一种无可奈何的拖沓之感，恰似叹息。若去「自」字作「花飘零水自流」，则只是写景；两「自」并用，景便有了态度，情便有了依托，一字之增，境界全出，正是李清照炼虚字的绝活。

却 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「才下眉头，却上心头」之「却」字，是全词结句最关键的虚字，写愁的倏忽转还。「才……却……」是一对表示承接与转折的虚词：愁才从眉头舒展开来，「却」又涌上心头——一个「却」字，写出愁的此伏彼起、去而复来，如潮水般一波未平一波又起，令人无从抵挡。此字的妙处有三：一在速度感，「却」字极短促，恰写愁来之迅疾，眉头未及舒展，心头已然泛滥；二在方向感，「下」眉头「上」心头，一上一下，愁的空间轨迹清晰可循，无形的愁因此有了形迹；三在音乐感，「才下」「却上」四字两两相对，音节顿挫浏亮，读来如珠落玉盘，愁的节奏与词的节奏合一。若易为「又上心头」，则愁只是重现；「却」字则带着不容分说的决绝——它偏要再来，你无可奈何。范仲淹原句「眉间心上，无计相回避」是静态的并列，李清照以「才」「却」二字化静为动，遂成千古绝唱。

一剪梅