宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
忆王孙
Remembering the Prince
萋萋芳草。
怨得王孙老。
瘦损腰围罗带小。
长是锦书来少。
玉箫吹落梅花。
晓寒犹透轻纱。
惊起半屏幽梦，小窗淡月啼鸦。
Complaining, the prince, grown old.
Thin and wasted, the waist, the silk girdle, small.
Always, the brocade letters, coming few.
The jade flute, blowing down, the mume blossoms.
The dawn cold, still, penetrating the light gauze.
Startled up, the half screen of the hidden dream,
The small window, the pale moon, the crying crows.
Meaning
A lyric of the waiting and the dream, written by Li Chongyuan. The grass lush and fragrant with the complaining of the prince grown old, the waist thin and wasted with the girdle small, and the brocade letters coming few — the waiting and the letters few. The jade flute blowing down the mume blossoms with the dawn cold penetrating the light gauze, and the close's startled hidden dream with the small window, the pale moon, the crying crows — the dream of the close. The lyric is the waiting and the dream: the grass of the waiting, the letters few, and the close's dream and the crows.
萋萋芳草。怨得王孙老。瘦损腰围罗带小。长是锦书来少。玉箫吹落梅花。晓寒犹透轻纱。惊起半屏幽梦，小窗淡月啼鸦。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] The grass, lush and fragrant. Complaining, the prince, grown old. Thin and wasted, the waist, the silk girdle, small. Always, the brocade letters, coming few. The jade flute, blowing down, the mume blossoms. The dawn cold, still, penetrating the light gauze. Startled up, the half screen of the hidden dream, the small window, the pale moon, the crying crows. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the grass and the complaining of the prince, through the letters few and the jade flute, to the close's startled dream with the small window and the crying crows. [Key Technique] The lyric's art is the dream of the close: the waiting of the grass and the letters few, and the close's dream startled with the crows — the waiting gathered in the dream and the close's crows. [Emotional Tone] Sorrowful, lonely, and waiting: the lyric is the waiting, the letters few and the close's dream.
【白话串讲】 李重元写《忆王孙》：“萋萋芳草。怨得王孙老。瘦损腰围罗带小”——“长是锦书来少。玉箫吹落梅花”——“惊起半屏幽梦，小窗淡月啼鸦”——他写忆王孙——萋萋芳草。 【意象与手法】 “萋萋芳草。怨得王孙老。瘦损腰围罗带小”以芳草王孙写怀人；“长是锦书来少。玉箫吹落梅花”写锦书来少；“晓寒犹透轻纱”写晓寒；结以“惊起半屏幽梦，小窗淡月啼鸦”写淡月啼鸦。含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 李重元写闺怨怀人之作，写芳草萋萋、王孙不归与锦书来少的思念，是宋词中忆王孙词牌的代表作。 【名句点睛】 常考“萋萋芳草。怨得王孙老”以芳草王孙写怀人；“惊起半屏幽梦，小窗淡月啼鸦”以淡月啼鸦写闺怨。
Background
Li Chongyuan, the poet of the Song, wrote this 'Remembering the Prince' of the waiting and the dream — the longing of the absent. The grass lush and fragrant with the prince grown old, the waist thin with the letters few, the jade flute blowing the mumes with the dawn cold, and the close's dream startled with the small window and the crying crows — the lyric gathers the waiting of the poet, the longing of the night. The lyric is one of the famous works of the poet's lyrics of the longing.
《忆王孙》为北宋词人李重元所作词。李重元，北宋词人，生平事迹不详。此词写闺怨怀人。词中「萋萋芳草。怨得王孙老」写王孙未归；「瘦损腰围罗带小。长是锦书来少」写锦书来少；「玉箫吹落梅花。晓寒犹透轻纱」写玉箫晓寒；「惊起半屏幽梦，小窗淡月啼鸦」写淡月啼鸦。李重元此词以闺怨怀人、锦书来少写其怀人之情，含蓄深婉，是李重元词中的名篇。此篇《忆王孙》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《忆王孙》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《忆王孙》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 waiting. The grass opens: the grass, lush and fragrant — the grass of the season; complaining, the prince, grown old — the complaining of the prince; thin and wasted, the waist, the silk girdle, small — the waist of the waiting; always, the brocade letters, coming few — the letters coming few. The flute follows: the jade flute, blowing down, the mume blossoms — the mume blossoms of the flute; the dawn cold, still, penetrating the light gauze — the dawn cold of the gauze. And the close gathers the dream: startled up, the half screen of the hidden dream — the hidden dream startled; the small window, the pale moon, the crying crows — the crows of the small window — the grass, the flute and the close's dream, gathered in the lyric.
此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、以景写情」见长。全词上片写王孙未归与锦书来少，下片写玉箫晓寒与淡月啼鸦。上片「萋萋芳草。怨得王孙老」写王孙未归：萋萋芳草，怨得王孙老；「瘦损腰围罗带小。长是锦书来少」写锦书来少：瘦损腰围罗带小，长是锦书来少。下片「玉箫吹落梅花。晓寒犹透轻纱」写玉箫晓寒：玉箫吹落梅花，晓寒犹透轻纱；「惊起半屏幽梦，小窗淡月啼鸦」写淡月啼鸦：惊起半屏幽梦，小窗淡月啼鸦。全词含蓄深婉，以景写情，是李重元词中的名篇。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。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 prince' (wang sun) is the prince — the prince of the grass, the absent of the waiting; 'the brocade letters' (jin shu) are the brocade letters — the letters of the brocade, coming few; 'the jade flute' (yu xiao) is the jade flute — the flute of the jade, blowing the mumes; 'the crying crows' (ti ya) are the crying crows — the crows of the dawn, the crying of the close.
词中「萋萋芳草」「王孙」「瘦损腰围」「罗带」「锦书」「玉箫」「梅花」「晓寒」「轻纱」「半屏幽梦」「小窗淡月」「啼鸦」等语，皆含典故故实。「萋萋芳草」用《楚辞·招隐士》「王孙游兮不归，春草生兮萋萋」之意；「王孙」用《楚辞》王孙之典，指所怀之人；「瘦损腰围」写腰围瘦损（用沈约瘦腰之典，或泛指因相思而消瘦）；「罗带」写罗制之带；「锦书」用《晋书》窦滔妻苏氏织锦回文之典，写书信；「玉箫」写玉制之箫；「梅花」写梅花；「晓寒」写拂晓之寒；「轻纱」写轻薄之纱；「半屏幽梦」写半扇屏风之间之幽梦；「小窗淡月」写小窗淡月；「啼鸦」写啼叫之鸦。词人以萋萋芳草、王孙、锦书、玉箫、淡月啼鸦等语入词，不着痕迹，而把闺怨怀人之情写得真切可感，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 works of Li Chongyuan's lyrics of the longing, quoted for the waiting of its grass and the dream of its close. The waist thin with the letters few, and the crows crying of the small window, are among the admired passages of the poet's lyrics. Critics praise the lyric's loneliness: the waiting gathered in the grass, to the close's dream and the crows.
这首《忆王孙》，是李重元写闺怨怀人之作，写萋萋芳草、王孙老、锦书来少之情，含蓄深婉。上片写王孙未归与锦书来少：「萋萋芳草。怨得王孙老」——萋萋芳草，怨得王孙老。写王孙未归：萋萋芳草，怨得王孙老（用《楚辞》王孙游兮不归之意）——芳草萋萋，怨王孙不归；「瘦损腰围罗带小。长是锦书来少」——瘦损腰围罗带小，长是锦书来少。写锦书来少：瘦损腰围、罗带渐小，长是锦书来少——因相思而瘦损，锦书又常来少。下片写玉箫晓寒与淡月啼鸦：「玉箫吹落梅花。晓寒犹透轻纱」——玉箫吹落梅花，晓寒犹透轻纱。写玉箫晓寒：玉箫吹落梅花，晓寒犹透轻纱——玉箫声中梅花落、晓寒透纱；「惊起半屏幽梦，小窗淡月啼鸦」——惊起半屏幽梦，小窗淡月啼鸦。写淡月啼鸦：惊起半屏幽梦，小窗淡月啼鸦——幽梦惊起、小窗淡月、啼鸦之声。这「惊起半屏幽梦，小窗淡月啼鸦」，是全词之结：以淡月啼鸦写其孤寂。全词含蓄深婉，以景写情，正是李重元词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
萋萋芳草。
Fragrant grasses grow lush.
萋萋芳草。
The fragrant grasses grow lush.
首句写萋萋芳草，起笔即见其境。「萋萋芳草」写萋萋芳草，「萋萋」写茂盛、「芳草」写春草。一句以「萋萋」写草之茂、以「芳草」写春草，写尽芳草萋萋、春意已深之景——化用《楚辞》「春草生兮萋萋」之意。以景起兴，含蓄而清丽，是「以景起兴」的妙笔。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 opening line writes the lush fragrant grass, the first stroke at once seeing the realm. The lush-fragrant-grass writing the lushness and the spring grass. One line using the lush for the grass' growth and the fragrant grass for the spring grass, exhausting the lush fragrant grass and the spring's deep season — adapting the Li-Sao's spring-grass-grows-lush meaning. Using the scene's uprising, reserved and fresh, the scene-uprising wondrous brush.
怨得王孙老。
I grieve that the noble wanderer grows old.
怨得王孙老。
I grieve that the noble wanderer grows old.
此句写王孙未归，是全词写其怨的关键。「怨得王孙老」写怨得王孙老，「怨得」写怨到、「王孙老」写王孙老去。一句以「怨得」写其怨之深、以「王孙老」用《楚辞》王孙不归之意，写尽怨王孙不归而老之慨——王孙游兮不归，芳草萋萋，怨得王孙老去。以典写怨，含蓄而深挚，是「以典写怨」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。
This line writes the noble-wanderer's no-return, the whole ci's grievance key. I-grieve-that-the-noble-wanderer-grows-old writing the grievance's depth and the old age. One line using the grievance's depth for the grief, and the noble-wanderer-grows-old's using-the-Li-Sao's-wanderer-no-return meaning, exhausting the grievance at the wanderer's no-return and growing old — the wanderer roams and returns not, the grass grows lush, I grieve the wanderer's growing old. Using the allusion for the grievance-writing, reserved and deep, the allusion-writes-grievance telling stroke.
长是锦书来少。
Always, brocade letters come too seldom.
长是锦书来少。
Always, brocade letters come so seldom.
此句写锦书来少，是全词写盼信的关键。「长是锦书来少」写长是锦书来少，「长是」写常常是、「锦书来少」用苏氏织锦回文之典写书信来得少。一句以「长是」写其常然、以「锦书来少」写书信之少，写尽锦书常少、音信稀疏之情。以书写盼，含蓄而深挚，是「以书写盼」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。
This line writes the brocade-letter's scarcity, the whole ci's letter-anticipation key. The-always-brocade-letters-come-so-seldom writing the constancy and the letters' scarcity, using Su Shi's brocade-weave-palindrome allusion. One line using the always for the constancy and the letters' scarcity for the news' thinness, exhausting the scarce brocade letters and sparse news. Using the letter for the anticipation-writing, reserved and deep, the letter-writes-anticipation telling stroke.
小窗淡月啼鸦。
By the small window, in the pale moon, crows cry.
小窗淡月啼鸦。
By the small window, beneath the pale moon, crows cry.
尾句写淡月啼鸦，是全词立意的落点。「小窗淡月啼鸦」写小窗淡月啼鸦，「小窗淡月」写小窗外之淡月、「啼鸦」写啼叫之鸦。一句以「小窗淡月」写窗月之淡、以「啼鸦」写鸦声之啼，写尽幽梦惊起后小窗淡月、鸦声啼叫之境——梦断之后，唯淡月啼鸦。以景写情，含蓄而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以景写情」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 pale-moon's crow-cry, the whole ci's intention landing. By-the-small-window-beneath-the-pale-moon-crows-cry writing the window's pale moon and the crows' crying. One line using the window-pale-moon for the moon's paleness and the crow-cry for the caws, exhausting the post-dream's small window and pale moon and the crying crows — the dream broken, only the pale moon and crows. Using the scene for the feeling-writing, reserved and deep, the whole ci's most moving place, the scene-writes-feeling telling stroke.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
晏几道《鹧鸪天·彩袖殷勤》「几回魂梦与君同」「犹恐相逢是梦中」，写别后魂梦与君同，是晏几道写相思的名篇；李重元《忆王孙》则以「瘦损腰围罗带小。长是锦书来少」「惊起半屏幽梦，小窗淡月啼鸦」写瘦损锦书少、幽梦淡月啼鸦。两词同写别后相思、梦魂相牵：一写几回魂梦与君同、以魂梦写思，一写长是锦书来少、以锦书少写盼；一为晏几道之深婉、一为李重元之清婉，并读正可见宋词写「别后相思」的两种笔法，皆于书信梦魂之中见相思之情。
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 · 同写闺中怀人、望断天涯，一写明月不谙离恨苦独上高楼、一写小窗淡月啼鸦，皆于高楼小窗之中见怀人之苦 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
晏殊《蝶恋花·槛菊愁烟兰泣露》「明月不谙离恨苦，斜光到晓穿朱户」「独上高楼，望尽天涯路」，写离恨之苦、望尽天涯，是宋词写离愁的名篇；李重元《忆王孙》则以「萋萋芳草。怨得王孙老」「惊起半屏幽梦，小窗淡月啼鸦」写芳草王孙、淡月啼鸦。两词同写闺中怀人、望断天涯：一写明月不谙离恨苦独上高楼、以高楼望尽写苦，一写小窗淡月啼鸦、以梦断写孤；一为晏殊之温润、一为李重元之清婉，并读正可见宋词写「闺中怀人」的两种笔法，皆于高楼小窗之中见怀人之苦。