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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

雨霖铃·寒蝉凄切

Bells Ringing in the Rain - Cold Cicadas' Sad Cry

柳永

Liu Yong

送别Farewell 婉约Graceful and Restrained

寒蝉凄切，对长亭晚，骤雨初歇。
都门帐饮无绪，留恋处，兰舟催发。
执手相看泪眼，竟无语凝噎。
念去去，千里烟波，暮霭沉沉楚天阔。
多情自古伤离别，更那堪，冷落清秋节！
今宵酒醒何处？
杨柳岸，晓风残月。
此去经年，应是良辰好景虚设。
便纵有千种风情，更与何人说？

Cold cicadas chirr sad, facing the evening pavilion,
After a sudden rain stops.
No mood to feast outside the city gate,
As we linger, the orchid boat urges me to go.
Holding hands, we gaze at tearful eyes,
And choke without a word.
Thinking of the journey,
Thousands of miles of misty waves,
And the vast southern sky heavy with evening haze.
Since old times the sentimental grieve at parting,
How much more in this cold and lonely autumn season!
Where will I be when I wake from wine tonight?
On the willow bank, under the morning breeze and the waning moon.
When the years pass, all lovely scenes will be in vain.
Even if I have thousands of tender feelings,
To whom can I tell them?

Listen

Meaning

The poet bids farewell to his lover at a pavilion after rain, holding hands and choking with tears. He imagines the lonely journey ahead and the future without her, filled with sorrow.

寒蝉叫声凄切，面对长亭，正是傍晚时分，一阵急雨刚刚停歇。在京城门外设帐饯别，心绪纷乱，正依依不舍，船家却已催促出发。两人双手相握、泪眼朦胧，竟哽咽得说不出话来。想此一去，千里烟波茫茫，楚地长空暮霭沉沉，辽阔无边。多情的人自古伤感离别，更何况又逢这冷落萧瑟的清秋时节！今夜酒醒时我会在何处？怕是那杨柳岸边、晓风残月之中。这一去经年累月，纵有良辰美景也形同虚设。即便心中有千种风情，又能向谁去诉说？

Appreciation

Using natural images like cicadas, rain, and evening, the poem creates a melancholic atmosphere. The line 'On the willow bank, under the morning breeze and the waning moon' is celebrated for its vivid depiction of loneliness and longing.

【白话串讲】 “执手相看泪眼，竟无语凝噎”——柳永把一场分别写到了顶点。他一生混迹市井，词里全是真情实感，当时歌楼酒馆都传唱他的名字：凡有井水处，即能歌柳词。【意象与手法】层层铺叙、情景相生，慢词之法至此大备【情感与主旨】柳永一生潦倒、屡试不第，常流连市井歌管，精通音律，尤擅慢词。此词写他与情人长亭诀别，约作于离开汴京、漫游江南之时【名句点睛】常考“多情自古伤离别，更那堪冷落清秋节”的千古离别名句，与“今宵酒醒何处？杨柳岸，晓风残月”的情景交融（以景结情）

Background

Liu Yong, a Song dynasty poet, often wrote about love and parting. This poem was composed when he left the capital for the south, parting from his beloved, capturing the intense sadness of farewell.

柳永，字耆卿，北宋婉约词派开山巨擘，一生仕途偃蹇，屡试不第，曾自嘲奉旨填词柳三变。他长期混迹市井歌管，精通音律，尤擅慢词长调，将晚唐五代短小的令词拓展为铺叙酣畅的慢声，开一代风气。宋初词坛犹承晚唐五代花间尊前之余，多写闺阁小令，柳永崛起市井，创制慢词，始以长调写羁旅离别、都市风物，体制为之一变。此词一般认为是柳永离开汴京、漫游江南时，与情人长亭诀别之作，约作于宋仁宗朝中期。彼时词人落魄南游，行色仓皇，离愁中兼有身世飘零之慨。就文学传统而言，伤离送别为中国诗歌一大母题，自江淹《别赋》悲哉秋之为气，至王维渭城朝雨、李白金陵子弟，代有佳构；柳永则以慢词体制，将刹那别筵铺衍成千里烟波、经年虚设的绵长愁绪，情景相生，遂成婉约绝唱。词牌《雨霖铃》本有来历，相传唐玄宗入蜀，于栈道雨中闻铃声，悼念杨妃，采其声为曲，调属哀郁，柳永借以写人间离别，悲凉愈深。宋代传本文字略有异同，如兰舟或作兰桡，然大意无殊，今从通行善本。

Art

The poem is a slow tune (manci) with careful layering: the upper part describes the actual departure, the lower part imagines the future. Leading words like 'thinking of' smoothly transition between scenes, creating a tight structure.

此词章法以时间流动为经，以空间转换与情思推宕为纬，上片实写临别，下片虚想别后，虚实相涵，层层递进。发端三句寒蝉、长亭、骤雨，以听觉、视觉、气候三重意象并置，先布秋气；都门帐饮至执手相看，由环境而及人物，由众人之催发反衬二人之凝噎，动静、外内对照极见张力。念去去以下，笔锋陡转，以千里烟波、暮霭楚天之阔远收束上片，景愈旷而情愈结。下片多情自古伤离别，由个别升为普泛，更那堪冷落清秋节，再由常理跌入此时此境，翻进一层。今宵酒醒何处设问，以杨柳岸晓风残月作答，千古俊句，以清空之景写酸楚之情。结以经年虚设、风情谁说，余意不尽。在修辞上，此词多用领字提唱、叠字传情，去去、千种、何处皆令声情摇曳；意象选择上，寒蝉、长亭、兰舟、杨柳、晓风、残月皆传统离别符号，经柳永重新排布，密度与张力远超前人小令。全词以铺叙见长，字句精炼而气脉贯注，慢词之法至此大备，诚为北宋一代离歌之冠。

Allusions

'Orchid boat' is a poetic term for a boat. 'Willow bank' alludes to the custom of breaking willow branches at farewell, symbolizing reluctance to part.

词中意象多有所本，又经柳永点化而生新意。寒蝉一语，源出《诗经·豳风·七月》四月秀葽，五月鸣蜩，又《楚辞》中蝉为悲秋之虫，魏晋以降常以寒蝉写凄清，此处与骤雨初歇同写秋暮，倍增萧瑟。长亭为古代驿路上供休憩送别之所，十里一长亭、五里一短亭，早成送别符号，李白、王褒诗文中已多见。兰舟本指木兰所制之舟，后为船之美称，见于《述异记》及梁人乐府，柳词用以代指催发之客船；或本作兰桡，桡亦船楫，义近而字异，足见宋本流传之小异。凝噎状悲极气塞、语不成声，语源六朝，神情毕肖。暮霭沉沉楚天阔，楚天指江南楚地长空，暗点将去之方向。下片杨柳岸晓风残月，杨柳自《诗经》昔我往矣杨柳依依便系离别，折柳赠远汉唐成俗；晓风残月则融谢庄月赋、杜牧扬州之境，以清景写哀情，意象密度极高。此去经年用经年熟语，风情亦六朝以来习语，皆雅俗共赏而意蕴深厚。要之，柳永用典不尚生僻，而贵在将习见意象重新组织，使人人能解而别饶深致，此正其以俗为雅之本领。

Commentary

Liu Yong's ci were widely popular. This poem is a masterpiece of the graceful and restrained school, deeply influencing later poets with its blend of scene and emotion.

此词自南宋以来即享盛誉，被誉为婉约正宗、离别压卷。宋人俞文豹《吹剑录》载，苏轼幕士以关西大汉执铜琵琶唱大江东去与十七八女郎执红牙板歌杨柳岸晓风残月对举，遂成豪放婉约分野之经典隐喻，可见其时已家喻户晓。明清选本如《草堂诗余》《古今词统》多列此词于卷首，评者谓其状难状之景、达难达之情。清代贺裳《皱水轩词筌》称其言情曲折尽致；今人论词，亦以情景交融、铺叙浑成推为柳词第一。其传播之广，既赖音律谐美、宜于歌喉，亦因离愁为人类共感，故能跨越阶层，传唱千年而不衰。在词史地位上，柳永以此类慢词打破令词一统，拓展词体容量，下启周邦彦、秦观、李清照诸家，实为宋词由小令向长调转型之关键人物。今宵酒醒何处二句，更成中国文学中秋江离思的永恒意象，屡被后人化用、集句，影响深远。近世学者夏承焘、唐圭璋论柳词，亦以此阕为情景双绝之范，足证其经典地位历久弥新，非一时之誉而已。

Prosody

Form Ci poem to the tune of Rain Beats the Bells (103 characters, oblique rhyme)双调慢词，一百零三字，前片十句五仄韵，后片九句五仄韵，属长调

Rhyme Rhymes with the 18th category of the Ci rhyme system, entering tone; syllables: 歇, 发, 噎, 阔, 节, 月, 设, 说通押入声与仄声韵，以歇、发、噎、阔、节、月、设、说等为韵，韵脚密而声情哀咽

Tone pattern Long tune, uses leading words for narration句式参差错落，领字（念、更那堪、此去、便纵有）提唱，仄声韵脚收敛声气，宜于曼声哀吟

Reading note Exemplary blend of scene and emotion; 'Willow bank, morning breeze, waning moon' is a classic scene-ending.《雨霖铃》为唐教坊曲，相传唐玄宗幸蜀，于栈道遇雨，闻铃声与山相应，悼念杨妃，采其声制曲，调性本哀。柳永依此填写慢词，严守仄韵，使全词声情凄咽，与离愁内容丝丝入扣。其句式以三、四、五、七字句错杂，前片起三句短促如骤雨初歇后的喘息，后片多情自古伤离别以七言振起，今宵酒醒何处以问答破整，章句随情绪起伏。领字用法尤见慢词家数：念字领去去以下三句，更那堪领冷落清秋节，此去领经年二句，便纵有领千种风情，皆以一字提唱，使长调气脉不断。仄声韵脚（歇、发、噎、阔、节、月、设、说）多收于入声与去声，发声短促收敛，恰如哽咽凝噎，声律与文情合一，故苏门以红牙板歌之，最称婉约极则。

Line by line

寒蝉凄切，对长亭晚，骤雨初歇。

Cold cicadas chirr sadly, facing the evening pavilion after a sudden rain stops.

寒蝉叫声凄切，面对长亭，正是傍晚时分，一阵急雨刚刚停歇。

The chill cicadas shrill mournfully; dusk falls on the long pavilion; a sudden shower has just ceased.

三句九字而意象三重，以听觉之寒蝉凄切、空间之对长亭晚、气候之骤雨初歇叠合，先声夺人地布下秋暮离筵之境。寒蝉点节候，长亭点地点，骤雨初歇点时刻，无一闲字。尤为精妙者在凄切与初歇之间，雨虽歇而悲未歇，自然之雨与人世之别两相映照。此三句实为全词情绪之总枢，后文所有铺叙皆由此一点秋气蔓延而出，足见柳永慢词发端即能笼摄全局的腕力。

Nine characters in three phrases carry three layers of imagery — the chill cicada's cry of hearing, the long pavilion at dusk of space, the sudden shower just ceased of weather — and open by seizing the ear to set the autumn-evening farewell scene. The chill cicada marks the season, the long pavilion the place, the shower's ceasing the hour; not one idle word. Most subtle is the space between 'mournful' and 'just ceased': though the rain has stopped, the grief has not, and natural rain and human parting mirror each other. These three phrases are the emotional pivot of the whole ci, from which all the later description spreads outward from this one breath of autumn, showing Liu Yong's wrist, which can envelop the whole piece from the very opening of his slow songs.

都门帐饮无绪，留恋处，兰舟催发。

Outside the city gate we drink at the tent, hearts unstrung; just as I cling to the moment, the orchided boat urges departure.

在京城门外设帐饯别，心绪纷乱，正依依不舍，船家却已催促出发。

We drink at the farewell tent outside the city gate, my heart adrift; even as I linger, the painted boat calls us to embark.

此句以叙事推进，将上片之景化为人事。都门帐饮写饯别之礼，无绪写心绪之乱，留恋处与兰舟催发构成强烈张力：一方是缠绵难舍，一方是舟子无情催发，主观之眷与客观之催反向撕扯，离愁遂被逼至极点。帐饮为古送别设帐置酒之俗，兰舟代客船，雅俗相济。柳永不写痛哭，只写催发二字，留白处尽是未竟之言，较之直渲哭泣更耐寻味，此即含蓄之妙。

This line advances through narrative, turning the upper stanza's scenery into human affairs. 'We drink at the farewell tent outside the city gate' writes the rite of farewell; 'hearts unstrung' the confusion of feeling; 'even as I linger' and 'the painted boat urges departure' form a strong tension: one side lingering and unable to part, the other the boatman coldly urging off, subjective clinging and objective urging pulling in opposite directions until the sorrow of parting is driven to its limit. The tent-drink is the ancient custom of pitching a tent and setting wine for farewell; the orchided boat stands for the passenger vessel, elegance meeting plainness. Liu Yong does not write weeping but only 'urges departure'; what is left unsaid is all the unspoken words, more thought-provoking than a direct outpouring of tears — the very subtlety of restraint.

执手相看泪眼，竟无语凝噎。

Holding hands, we look at each other with tearful eyes, choking without words.

两人双手相握、泪眼朦胧，竟哽咽得说不出话来。

Hand in hand we gaze through tear-blurred eyes, and cannot speak, our voices choked.

全词最催心骨之句。执手相看写动作与眼神，无语凝噎写失声，千言万语至此时竟一字难出，正是悲极气塞之真态。柳永以白描擒住离别刹那最动人的静默，胜过千句陈情。此处之无语，非无话可说，乃不忍说、不能说，所有叮咛、盟誓、安慰都沉为眼中泪与喉间哽。由都门帐饮之纷乱到执手凝噎之静默，情绪由外乱转内伤，章法由动入静，为下文念去去之放笔远想去蓄势。

The most heart-rending line of the ci. 'Hand in hand we gaze' writes action and look; 'cannot speak, our voices choked' writes lost voice; a thousand words have dwindled, at this moment, to not one — the true state of grief extreme enough to stop the breath. Liu Yong catches the most moving silence of the parting instant through plain description, better than a thousand words of pleading. The silence here is not lack of words but inability and unwillingness to speak; all exhortations, vows and consolations have sunk to tears in the eyes and a lump in the throat. From the confusion of the farewell tent to the silence of clasped hands, emotion moves from outer disorder to inner wound, the craft from motion to stillness, building momentum for the later sweeping leap of 'going on and on.'

念去去，千里烟波，暮霭沉沉楚天阔。

Thinking of the journey, thousands of miles of misty waves and the vast southern sky heavy with evening haze.

想此一去，千里烟波茫茫，楚地长空暮霭沉沉，辽阔无边。

Thinking of the journey on and on — a thousand li of misty waves, evening darkness deepening over the vast southern sky.

念字一转，由眼前实境跌入遥想之虚境。去去叠字极妙，既状行程之远，更写去意之决与不忍之往复，一声去去，几回肠断。千里烟波以浩渺之水写阻隔，暮霭沉沉楚天阔以低垂之云写压抑，景愈开阔而愁愈深广，是以乐景写哀、以阔景写窄愁的反衬笔法。楚天点出将去江南，与汴京都门遥遥相对，空间骤然拉大，离人便被抛入无边苍茫，为下片经年虚设埋下地脉。

The word 'thinking' turns the line from the present actual scene into a distant imagined one. The reduplicated 'going on and on' is exquisite: it writes both the length of the journey and the resolve of departure and the reluctance repeated; one cry of 'going,' a dozen broken hearts. 'A thousand li of misty waves' writes the barrier through vast waters; 'evening darkness deepening over the vast southern sky' writes oppression through low-hanging clouds; the wider the scenery, the deeper and broader the grief — the reverse brushwork of writing sorrow through joyful scenery and narrow sorrow through wide scenery. 'The southern sky' marks the coming journey to the southlands, facing the Bianjing city gate far away; space suddenly widens, and the parting traveler is thrown into boundless haze, planting the geographic ground for the lower stanza's 'years set in vain.'

多情自古伤离别，更那堪，冷落清秋节！

Since old times the sentimental grieve at parting, how much more in the cold and lonely autumn season!

多情的人自古伤感离别，更何况又逢这冷落萧瑟的清秋时节！

The tender-hearted have grieved parting since old times; how much less can they bear this in the cold, lone season of autumn!

过片由个别之情升为千古之慨，多情自古伤离别一句将一己离愁纳入人类共感，气象顿阔；更那堪冷落清秋节再以常理跌入此际此境，翻进一层悲哀。清秋节三字呼应发端寒蝉骤雨之秋气，首尾环扣。柳永善用递进句式，以自古之通则衬眼前之特痛，情理相生，遂使此句成为离别名言，后世凡言秋别者多暗用其调，足见其概括力之强。

The passing of the head-stanza raises individual feeling to an age-old lament. 'The tender-hearted have grieved parting since old times' gathers one's own sorrow into the common feeling of humanity, the breadth suddenly opening. 'How much less can they bear this in the cold, lone season of autumn!' again drops from the general rule into this very moment and place, turning a layer deeper into sorrow. The three words 'cold, lone season of autumn' answer the autumn breath of the opening chill cicada and sudden shower, the two ends looping together. Liu Yong excels at the progressive sentence, setting the universal rule of old against the peculiar pain of the present, reason and feeling rising together; this is why the line has become a famous saying of parting, and all later writers of autumn parting secretly draw on its tune — proof of its power of generalization.

今宵酒醒何处？杨柳岸，晓风残月。

Where shall I wake from wine tonight? On the willow bank, in the morning wind, beneath the setting moon.

今夜酒醒时我会在何处？怕是那杨柳岸边、晓风残月之中。

Where shall I sober up tonight? I fear it will be on the willow bank, in the dawn wind and the last pale moon.

全词最脍炙人口之俊句。以设问领起，不答而自答，杨柳岸晓风残月六字以三组意象并置，清空如画而酸楚彻骨。杨柳关合折柳赠别之俗，晓风写羁旅之寒，残月写孤圆之缺，三者皆离别符号，叠加成一帧凄美旅夜图。妙在纯写景而情自见，所谓一切景语皆情语。苏轼幕士以十七八女郎红牙板歌此句，正因其风致嫣然又哀婉欲绝，最足代表婉约之极则，千古传唱非偶然也。

The most beloved, brilliant line of the ci. It opens in a question, answers itself without answering; 'on the willow bank, in the dawn wind, beneath the setting moon' places three sets of imagery side by side, clear as a painting yet bone-deep in sorrow. The willow links to the custom of breaking a willow sprig at farewell; the dawn wind writes the cold of travel; the setting moon writes the defect of lonely circling, all three symbols of parting, layered into a hauntingly beautiful travel-night picture. The genius is that it writes pure scenery yet feeling appears of itself — the so-called 'all scenic words are words of feeling.' A entertainer of Su Shi's, singing this to a red clapper with a girl of seventeen or eighteen, precisely because its grace is charming and its sorrow almost too much to bear, represents the very extreme of the restrained mode; its age-long popularity is no accident.

此去经年，应是良辰好景虚设。

This going, year after year, though there be fine hours and fair scenes, they will be set in vain.

这一去经年累月，纵有良辰美景也形同虚设。

This parting will stretch over years; even fine days and lovely scenes will seem a vain show.

由今宵推想经年，时间再度拉长。良辰好景虚设反用良辰美景成语，以虚设二字道尽无心赏玩之悲：非无景也，乃无人共赏、无心领略也。此句与上文千里烟波同写空间之远，而与经年合写时间之长，时空双锁，将离愁坐实为漫长无涯的困局。柳永慢词善于把一时之感延展为经岁之痛，正赖此类推宕之笔，使读者不只伤其别，更悯其长别，情味遂厚。

From tonight he extrapolates to the coming years, time stretching again. 'Though there be fine hours and fair scenes, they will be set in vain' reverses the idiom 'fine hours and fair scenes'; the words 'set in vain' exhaust the grief of having no heart for enjoyment: it is not that scenery is lacking, but that there is no one to share it and no heart to take it in. This line, like the 'thousand li of misty waves' above, writes distance in space, and together with 'years' writes length in time; space and time doubly lock the sorrow into a long, boundless predicament. Liu Yong's slow songs excel at extending a moment's feeling into years of pain, precisely through such expansive strokes; the reader grieves not only the parting but the long parting, and the emotional savor deepens.

便纵有千种风情，更与何人说？

Even were there a thousand kinds of feeling, to whom could I tell them?

即便心中有千种风情，又能向谁去诉说？

Even if I had a thousand moods of love, to whom could I tell them?

结句以退为进，纵有千种风情而以更与何人说收煞，哀婉中见决绝。风情在此指深情蜜意、缠绵心曲，非轻薄之谓。全词由执手凝噎之无语，到此处之无人可说，首尾呼应：别时哽咽无言，别后更无诉处，孤独被推至极致。柳永不作豪语宽慰，只以问句留白，余音袅袅。千种风情与千里烟波、冷落清秋节对数词排比，章法整饬，而情致愈转愈深，诚为婉约长调之绝构。

The closing advances by retreating: 'even were there a thousand kinds of feeling' yet ends with 'to whom could I tell them?', decisiveness within tenderness. 'Feeling' here means deep, tender love and entangled heart-music, not frivolity. The whole ci runs from the speechless choke of clasped hands to the 'no one to tell' here, the two ends answering: speechless at parting, and after parting no place to speak; solitude pushed to its extreme. Liu Yong offers no bold word of comfort, but closes in a question, the aftertone lingering. 'A thousand kinds of feeling' parallels 'a thousand li of misty waves' and 'cold, lone season of autumn' in排比; the craft is ordered, the feeling deepens and deepens — truly a masterpiece of the restrained long song.

Study

Word focus

凝噎 Choked with emotion 凝噎二字状悲极气结、喉间哽塞而言语不出之态，是此词白描最工处。凝者气聚不散，噎者食逆在喉，二字本写生理，柳永移以写心理，将执手相看时千言万语梗于胸臆、竟一字难吐的瞬间擒住。其妙在无声：别筵之上最该叮咛，偏是无语，所有盟誓、安慰、不舍都沉为眼中泪与喉间哽，较之放声痛哭更显摧心。此词前后皆有声——寒蝉凄切、兰舟催发、更与何人说，唯此句以无声胜有声，章法上形成静默之眼，足见炼字之精。

去去 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 去去为叠字，源出《古诗十九首》行行重行行，本有步步远去、反复不舍之意。柳永念去去用之，一写行程之遥，二写去意之决与不忍之往复：一声去去，既含不得不去之无奈，又含去而又顾之缠绵。叠字较单字更具声情，读来如舟行渐远、语声渐微。此句下接千里烟波，去去二字恰是连接眼前与遥想之纽带，由实入虚，情绪随叠字层层荡开。柳词善用叠字与领字，去去即其慢词顿挫之法的重要一环。

楚天 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 楚天指江南楚地之辽阔长空，本为地理泛称，入此词则暗点将去之方向——柳永离汴京而南游，楚天正是前路所在。暮霭沉沉楚天阔以低垂之云与无边之天写压抑与苍茫，景愈阔而愁愈深，是以阔景写窄愁的反衬。楚天之阔，正衬离人被抛入无边孤旅之渺小；与都门帐饮之局促形成空间张力。一词而兼地理、心理、章法三用，足见柳永炼景之妙，亦使下片经年虚设的漫长困局先于此得其空间之基。

风情 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 风情在此指缠绵深婉的心曲与相知之乐，非后世轻薄之意。便纵有千种风情，更与何人说，以纵有反跌无人可说，将别后之孤独推至极点。此词由执手凝噎之无语，到此处之无人可诉，首尾呼应而哀婉愈深。风情与全词多情、良辰好景诸语相贯，皆写二人之间不可替代之情意；以千种状其丰盈，以何人说状其落空，丰盈与虚空对照，结句余味无穷。柳永以市井语入雅词，风情一词俗中见雅，正其本色。