宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
玉楼春
Spring in the Jade Pavilion
桃溪不作从容住。
秋藕绝来无续处。
当时相候赤栏桥，今日独寻黄叶路。
烟中列岫青无数。
雁背夕阳红欲暮。
人如风后入江云，情似雨馀黏地絮。
The autumn lotus roots, cut off, come, no, the continuing place.
That time, waiting each other, the red railing bridge,
Today, alone, seeking, the yellow leaf road.
In the mist, the rows of the peaks, the green, countless.
The geese's backs, the setting sun, the red, about to, the dusk.
The man, like, after the wind, entering, the clouds of the river,
The feeling, like, after the rain, sticking, the catkins of the ground.
Meaning
A lyric of the memory and the feeling, written by Zhou Bangyan. The peach brook with the unhurried dwelling not made, the autumn lotus roots cut off with no continuing place — the parting of the opening. That time waiting each other at the red railing bridge, today alone seeking the yellow leaf road — the past and the now. The rows of the peaks in the mist green countless with the geese's backs and the setting sun red about to the dusk — the scene of the dusk. And the close's man like after the wind entering the clouds of the river, the feeling like after the rain sticking the catkins of the ground — the close's feeling. The lyric is the memory and the feeling: the parting, the dusk, and the close's man and feeling.
桃溪不作从容住。秋藕绝来无续处。当时相候赤栏桥，今日独寻黄叶路。烟中列岫青无数。雁背夕阳红欲暮。人如风后入江云，情似雨馀黏地絮。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] The peach brook, not making, the unhurried dwelling, the autumn lotus roots, cut off, come, no, the continuing place. That time, waiting each other, the red railing bridge, today, alone, seeking, the yellow leaf road. In the mist, the rows of the peaks, the green, countless. The geese's backs, the setting sun, the red, about to, the dusk. The man, like, after the wind, entering, the clouds of the river, the feeling, like, after the rain, sticking, the catkins of the ground. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the parting of the peach brook and the lotus roots, through the contrast of the red railing bridge and the yellow leaf road, to the close's man like the wind entering the clouds and the feeling like the rain sticking the catkins. [Key Technique] The lyric's art is the close of the similes: the man like the wind entering the clouds, and the feeling like the rain sticking the catkins — the memory gathered in the similes and the close's feeling. [Emotional Tone] Deep, elegant, and sorrowful: the lyric is the parting, the dusk and the close's feeling.
【白话串讲】 周邦彦写《玉楼春》：“桃溪不作从容住。秋藕绝来无续处”——“当时相候赤栏桥，今日独寻黄叶路”——“烟中列岫青无数。雁背夕阳红欲暮”——“人如风后入江云，情似雨馀黏地絮”——他写别后——当时相候赤栏桥。 【意象与手法】 “桃溪不作从容住。秋藕绝来无续处”以秋藕断写别后难续；“当时相候赤栏桥，今日独寻黄叶路”写今昔之异；“烟中列岫青无数。雁背夕阳红欲暮”写烟岫雁背；结以“人如风后入江云，情似雨馀黏地絮”以江云黏絮写人散情缠。含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 周邦彦写离别追忆之作，写别后难续、今昔之异与“情似雨馀黏地絮”的缠绵，是清真词中写离别深情的代表作。 【名句点睛】 常考“桃溪不作从容住。秋藕绝来无续处”以秋藕断写别后难续；“人如风后入江云，情似雨馀黏地絮”以江云黏絮写人散情缠。
Background
Zhou Bangyan (1056–1121), the master of the ci of the Song, wrote this 'Spring in the Jade Pavilion' of the memory and the feeling — the sorrow of the past. The parting of the peach brook with the lotus roots cut off, the contrast of the red railing bridge and the yellow leaf road, and the close's man like the wind entering the clouds with the feeling like the rain sticking the catkins — the lyric gathers the memory of the past, the deep feeling of the master. The lyric is one of the famous works of the master's lyrics of the memory.
《玉楼春》为北宋词人周邦彦所作词。周邦彦（1056—1121），字美成，号清真居士，钱塘（今浙江杭州）人，北宋词人，精通音律，词风典雅精工，为婉约词集大成者，人称「词中老杜」。此词写离别追忆。词中「桃溪不作从容住。秋藕绝来无续处」写别后难续；「当时相候赤栏桥，今日独寻黄叶路」写今昔之异；「烟中列岫青无数。雁背夕阳红欲暮」写烟岫雁背；「人如风后入江云，情似雨馀黏地絮」写风后江云。周邦彦此词以离别追忆、风后江云写其离别之情，含蓄深婉，是周邦彦词中的名篇。此篇《玉楼春》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《玉楼春》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 memory. The parting opens: the peach brook, not making, the unhurried dwelling — the peach brook of the not dwelling; the autumn lotus roots, cut off, come, no, the continuing place — the roots cut off; that time, waiting each other, the red railing bridge — the red railing bridge of the past; today, alone, seeking, the yellow leaf road — the yellow leaf road of the now. The dusk follows: in the mist, the rows of the peaks, the green, countless — the green peaks of the mist; the geese's backs, the setting sun, the red, about to, the dusk — the setting sun of the geese's backs. And the close gathers the similes: the man, like, after the wind, entering, the clouds of the river — the man like the wind entering the clouds; the feeling, like, after the rain, sticking, the catkins of the ground — the feeling like the rain sticking the catkins — the memory, the dusk and the close's similes, gathered in the lyric.
此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、今昔对照」见长。全词上下片各四句，上片写别后难续与今昔之异，下片写烟岫雁背与风后江云。上片「桃溪不作从容住。秋藕绝来无续处」写别后难续：桃溪不作从容住，秋藕绝来无续处；「当时相候赤栏桥，今日独寻黄叶路」写今昔之异：当时相候赤栏桥，今日独寻黄叶路。下片「烟中列岫青无数。雁背夕阳红欲暮」写烟岫雁背：烟中列岫青无数，雁背夕阳红欲暮；「人如风后入江云，情似雨馀黏地絮」写风后江云：人如风后入江云，情似雨馀黏地絮。全词含蓄深婉，今昔对照，是周邦彦词中的名篇。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 peach brook' (tao xi) is the peach brook — the brook of the peaches, the meeting of the past; 'the red railing bridge' (chi lan qiao) is the red railing bridge — the bridge of the red railings, the waiting of the past; 'the yellow leaf road' (huang ye lu) is the yellow leaf road — the road of the yellow leaves, the seeking of the now; 'the clouds of the river' (jiang yun) are the clouds of the river — the clouds of the river, the entering of the man.
词中「桃溪」「秋藕」「赤栏桥」「黄叶路」「烟中列岫」「雁背夕阳」「人如风后入江云」「情似雨馀黏地絮」等语，皆含典故故实。「桃溪」用刘义庆《幽明录》刘晨阮肇入天台山桃源洞遇仙之典，写仙境别后；「秋藕绝来无续处」以藕断丝连反写其无续处（藕断难续）；「赤栏桥」写红栏之桥；「黄叶路」写铺满黄叶之路；「烟中列岫」用谢朓「窗中列远岫」之意，写烟中之山；「雁背夕阳」写雁背上之夕阳；「人如风后入江云」写人如风后之云入江（人去难留）；「情似雨馀黏地絮」写情如雨后黏地之柳絮（情之黏着）。词人以桃溪、秋藕、赤栏桥、烟中列岫、雁背夕阳、风后江云、雨馀黏地絮等语入词，不着痕迹，而把离别追忆之情写得真切可感，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 Zhou Bangyan's lyrics of the memory, quoted for the contrast of its middle and the similes of its close. The red railing bridge against the yellow leaf road, and the man like the clouds with the feeling like the catkins, are among the admired passages of the master's lyrics. Critics praise the lyric's depth: the memory gathered in the contrast, to the close's similes.
这首《玉楼春》，是周邦彦写离别追忆之作，写桃溪秋藕、赤栏桥黄叶路、风后江云之情，含蓄深婉。上片写别后难续与今昔之异：「桃溪不作从容住。秋藕绝来无续处」——桃溪不作从容住，秋藕绝来无续处。写别后难续：桃溪不作从容住（以刘晨阮肇桃源之典写别后），秋藕绝来无续处——桃溪一别、藕断难续；「当时相候赤栏桥，今日独寻黄叶路」——当时相候赤栏桥，今日独寻黄叶路。写今昔之异：当时相候赤栏桥，今日独寻黄叶路——当年相候于赤栏桥，今日独寻于黄叶路，今昔对照。下片写烟岫雁背与风后江云：「烟中列岫青无数。雁背夕阳红欲暮」——烟中列岫青无数，雁背夕阳红欲暮。写烟岫雁背：烟中列岫青无数，雁背夕阳红欲暮——烟岫青、雁背红，写尽秋暮之景；「人如风后入江云，情似雨馀黏地絮」——人如风后入江云，情似雨馀黏地絮。写风后江云：人如风后入江云，情似雨馀黏地絮——人如风后之云入江、难留，情如雨后之絮黏地、难断。这「人如风后入江云，情似雨馀黏地絮」，是全词之结：以云入江、絮黏地写人之去、情之留。全词含蓄深婉，今昔对照，正是周邦彦词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
桃溪不作从容住。
By the Peach Stream I did not stay at leisure.
桃溪不作从容住。
At Peach Stream I did not linger long at ease.
首句写别后难续，起笔即见其憾。「桃溪不作从容住」写桃溪不作从容住，「桃溪」用刘晨阮肇桃源遇仙之典，「不作从容住」写不曾从容久住。一句以桃溪写仙境、以不作从容住写不曾久住，写尽别后难续之憾——桃溪一别、不曾从容久住。以典起兴，含蓄而深挚，是「以典起兴」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 writes the difficulty of renewing what is past, and the regret is visible from the first stroke. 'By the Peach Stream I did not stay at leisure' — 'Peach Stream' uses the allusion of Liu Chen and Ruan Zhao meeting the immortals at Peach Spring, 'did not stay at leisure' the failure to linger. One phrase uses Peach Stream for the immortal realm and 'did not stay at leisure' for the brief sojourn, exhausting the regret of no renewal after parting — one parting at Peach Stream, no leisurely stay. Raising feeling through allusion, restrained and deep — a fine stroke of 'raising feeling through allusion.' In a few words it exhausts deep meaning, waves hidden between the characters, worth repeated pondering.
当时相候赤栏桥，今日独寻黄叶路。
That time, waiting each other, the red railing bridge, today, alone, seeking, the yellow leaf road.
当时相候赤栏桥，今日独寻黄叶路。
Then we waited for each other by the red-railed bridge; today I alone seek the road of yellow leaves.
此二句写今昔之异，是全词写追忆的关键。「当时相候赤栏桥」写当时相候赤栏桥，「当时」写当年、「相候赤栏桥」写等候于红栏之桥；「今日独寻黄叶路」写今日独寻黄叶路，「今日」写今日、「独寻黄叶路」写独自寻路于黄叶。两句一写当时相候赤栏桥、一写今日独寻黄叶路，以当时之候与今日之寻相对，写尽当年桥头相候、今日独寻黄叶路之今昔对照。以对照写情，含蓄而深挚，是「以对照写情」的点睛之笔。
These two write the difference between then and today, the key to the ci's recollection. 'Then we waited for each other by the red-railed bridge' — 'then' the old time, 'waited by the red-railed bridge' the waiting at the red-banistered bridge. 'Today I alone seek the road of yellow leaves' — 'today' the present, 'alone seek the yellow-leaf road' the solitary walk among fallen leaves. One phrase each: then waiting at the red bridge, today alone seeking the yellow-leaf path. Setting the waiting of then against the seeking of today, it exhausts the contrast of waiting at the bridge then and wandering the yellow-leaf road alone now. Writing feeling through contrast, restrained and deep — an illuminating stroke of 'writing feeling through contrast.'
烟中列岫青无数。
In the mist range on range of peerless blue.
烟中列岫青无数。
Amid the mist, range on range of peaks, blue beyond number.
此句写烟中列岫，是全词写秋暮之景的关键。「烟中列岫青无数」写烟中列岫青无数，「烟中」写烟雾之中、「列岫」写排列之山、「青无数」写青翠无数。一句以烟中列岫写烟中之山、以青无数写其青翠，写尽烟中群山青翠无数之景——远山列岫、青翠无数。以景写情，含蓄而清丽，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。
This line writes the ranges in the mist, the key to the ci's late-autumn scenery. 'Amid the mist range on range of peerless blue' — 'amid the mist' in haze, 'ranges of peaks' the lined hills, 'blue beyond number' their countless green. One phrase writes the hills in mist through the misty peaks and their green through the numberless blue, exhausting the scene of peerless green peaks in the haze — distant ranges, blue beyond count. Writing feeling through scenery, restrained and fresh — an illuminating stroke of 'writing feeling through scenery.' In a few words it exhausts deep meaning, waves hidden in the plainness.
情似雨馀黏地絮。
My love is like the willow down, stuck to the ground after rain.
情似雨馀黏地絮。
My affection is like the down that clings to the ground after rain.
尾句写情似黏地絮，是全词立意的落点。「情似雨馀黏地絮」写情似雨馀黏地絮，「情似」写情如、「雨馀黏地絮」写雨后黏于地之柳絮。一句以「情似」写情之如、以「雨馀黏地絮」写雨后之絮黏地，写尽其人已去而情如黏地絮之难断——人如云入江而去，情如絮黏地难断。以喻写情，含蓄而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以喻写情」的点睛之笔。
The closing writes affection like the down stuck to the ground, where the ci's meaning lands. 'My love is like the willow down, stuck to the ground after rain' — 'is like' compares feeling, 'the down that clings to the ground after rain' the catkin glued to earth after a shower. One phrase uses 'is like' for the comparison and 'down stuck to the ground after rain' for the glued catkin, exhausting how the person is gone yet feeling, like down on the earth, will not break — the person gone like cloud into the river, feeling stuck like down to the ground. Writing feeling through metaphor, restrained and deep, it is the most moving place of the ci and an illuminating stroke of 'writing feeling through metaphor.'
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
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