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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

虞美人

The Beauty of Yu

叶梦得

Ye Mengde

落花已作风前舞。
又送黄昏雨。
晓来庭院半残红。
惟有游丝千丈、罥晴空。
殷勤花下同携手。
更尽杯中酒。
美人不用敛蛾眉。
我亦多情、无奈酒阑时。

The falling flowers, already, made, before the wind, the dancing.
Again, sending off, the dusk rain.
The dawn, coming, the courtyard, half, the remaining red.
Only, the wandering silk, the ten thousand zhang, hooking, the clear sky.
Attentively, under the flowers, together, holding the hands.
More, finishing, the wine in the cup.
The beautiful woman, need not, knitting the moth eyebrows.
I, also, the affectionate, helpless, the time of the wine ending.

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Meaning

A lyric of the flowers and the parting, written by Ye Mengde. The falling flowers dancing before the wind with the dusk rain sent off, the dawn coming with the courtyard half the remaining red, and the wandering silk hooking the clear sky — the scene of the flowers. Attentively under the flowers together holding the hands, more finishing the wine in the cup — the gathering of the flowers. And the close's beautiful woman need not knitting the moth eyebrows, I also the affectionate helpless the time of the wine ending — the close's parting. The lyric is the flowers and the parting: the falling flowers, the holding of the hands, and the close's wine ending.

落花已在风前飞舞。又送走了黄昏的雨。晓来庭院里，一半是残红。惟有那千丈的游丝，罥挂于晴空。我殷勤地花下与你同携着手。更尽杯中酒。美人不必敛起蛾眉。我也是多情的，无奈酒阑之时。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The falling flowers, already, made, before the wind, the dancing. Again, sending off, the dusk rain. The dawn, coming, the courtyard, half, the remaining red. Only, the wandering silk, the ten thousand zhang, hooking, the clear sky. Attentively, under the flowers, together, holding the hands. More, finishing, the wine in the cup. The beautiful woman, need not, knitting the moth eyebrows. I, also, the affectionate, helpless, the time of the wine ending. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the falling flowers and the remaining red, through the holding of the hands and the finishing of the wine, to the close's beautiful woman not knitting the eyebrows, the affectionate helpless at the wine ending. [Key Technique] The lyric's art is the close of the parting: the holding of the hands with the finishing of the wine, and the close's helpless of the wine ending — the parting gathered in the wine and the close's helpless. [Emotional Tone] Light, tender, and parting: the lyric is the flowers, the wine and the close's wine ending.

【白话串讲】叶梦得写《虞美人》：“落花已作风前舞。又送黄昏雨”——“晓来庭院半残红。惟有游丝千丈、罥晴空”——“殷勤花下同携手。更尽杯中酒”——“美人不用敛蛾眉。我亦多情、无奈酒阑时”——他写惜春——我亦多情无奈酒阑时。【意象与手法】上阕以“落花已作风前舞。又送黄昏雨”写落花纷飞、黄昏送雨之景，以“晓来庭院半残红。惟有游丝千丈、罥晴空”写晨晓庭院半残红、游丝罥晴空的景象；下阕以“殷勤花下同携手。更尽杯中酒”写花下携手、更尽杯酒之欢，以“美人不用敛蛾眉。我亦多情、无奈酒阑时”写劝慰美人、自叹多情的无奈。清疏旷达。【情感与主旨】叶梦得写雨后花下置酒欢会与惜春多情之作，于惜春中见超脱，是叶梦得词的典型。【名句点睛】常考“落花已作风前舞。又送黄昏雨”以落花风舞写惜春；“美人不用敛蛾眉。我亦多情、无奈酒阑时”以无奈酒阑写多情。

Background

Ye Mengde (1077–1148), the poet of the Northern Song, wrote this 'The Beauty of Yu' of the flowers and the parting — the farewell of the gathering. The falling flowers with the remaining red, the holding of the hands with the finishing of the wine, and the close's beautiful woman not knitting the eyebrows, the affectionate helpless at the wine ending — the lyric gathers the parting of the flowers, the tender farewell. The lyric is one of the famous works of the poet's lyrics of the parting.

此词为北宋末南宋初词人叶梦得的《虞美人·雨后同干誉才卿置酒来禽花下作》之作，是写雨后花下置酒欢会的名篇。叶梦得（1077—1148），字少蕴，号石林，吴县（今江苏苏州）人，南宋词人。他历仕哲宗、徽宗、钦宗、高宗四朝，曾任尚书左丞，晚年隐居吴兴弁山，号石林居士。此词作于其晚年隐居时期，与友人干誉、才卿在来禽花下置酒。来禽即林檎，花繁而美，是初夏的花木。词写雨后花下的欢会：上阕以「落花已作风前舞。又送黄昏雨」写落花纷飞、黄昏送雨——雨前落花在风前飞舞，黄昏又送走了雨，是春暮夏初的景象；「晓来庭院半残红。惟有游丝千丈、罥晴空」，写晨晓庭院中一半是残红，唯有千丈游丝罥挂于晴空——「游丝」为蜘蛛等昆虫所吐的丝，飘荡于空中，晴空万里而游丝飘荡，正是雨霁天晴、春去夏来的景象；「惟有」二字，写庭院中唯余残红与游丝，一片春去后的萧疏。下阕「殷勤花下同携手。更尽杯中酒」，写词人与友人花下携手、更尽杯酒——「殷勤」写情意之厚，「更尽」写饮兴之豪，是置酒欢会的实写；「美人不用敛蛾眉。我亦多情、无奈酒阑时」，写劝慰席间美人不必敛眉——那美人或为惜春而愁，或为伤别而悲，词人劝其不必敛眉，因为「我亦多情」，深知这春去的无奈，只是酒阑人散之时，终是无可奈何。全词以雨后花下为背景，写尽惜春多情与旷达超脱的双重心境，是叶梦得词的典型。

Art

The lyric's art is the art of the parting. The flowers open: the falling flowers, already, made, before the wind, the dancing — the falling flowers dancing; again, sending off, the dusk rain — the dusk rain sent off; the dawn, coming, the courtyard, half, the remaining red — the remaining red of the courtyard; only, the wandering silk, the ten thousand zhang, hooking, the clear sky — the wandering silk hooking the sky. The gathering follows: attentively, under the flowers, together, holding the hands — the holding of the hands; more, finishing, the wine in the cup — the finishing of the wine. And the close gathers the parting: the beautiful woman, need not, knitting the moth eyebrows — the moth eyebrows not knit; I, also, the affectionate, helpless, the time of the wine ending — the helpless of the wine ending — the flowers, the gathering and the close's wine ending, gathered in the lyric.

此词艺术上以「清疏旷达」与「转折见意」为特色，在雨后花下的欢会中写尽惜春的无奈。上阕以「落花已作风前舞。又送黄昏雨」起笔，写落花纷飞、黄昏送雨——「落花」写春去，「风前舞」写落花在风前飞舞，不是「满地残红」的颓败，而是「风前舞」的动感，旷达之气已见；「又送黄昏雨」，以「又送」写时序之流转——黄昏送走了雨，也送走了春，一个「送」字，把黄昏与雨拟人化，写尽春去的无奈；「晓来庭院半残红。惟有游丝千丈、罥晴空」，写晨晓庭院半残红、游丝罥晴空——「半残红」写春去后的萧疏，而「游丝千丈、罥晴空」则是一片开阔清朗的景象，残红与晴空对照，萧疏之中自有旷达；「惟有」二字，写庭院中唯余残红与游丝，正是「无可奈何花落去」的宋词版。下阕「殷勤花下同携手。更尽杯中酒」，写花下携手、更尽杯酒——「殷勤」「更尽」写欢会之盛，正是「以乐景写哀」的反衬，欢会愈盛，惜春愈深；「美人不用敛蛾眉。我亦多情、无奈酒阑时」，以「不用敛蛾眉」劝慰美人，以「我亦多情」自叹，以「无奈酒阑时」点破全词的无奈——酒阑人散，春去难留，纵然多情，终是无奈。全词由落花、残红写春去之无奈，由携手、杯酒写欢会之盛，以「我亦多情、无奈酒阑时」收束，于旷达中见无奈，正是叶梦得词「清疏旷达」而情韵深长的特点。

Allusions

'The dusk rain' (huang hun yu) is the dusk rain — the rain of the dusk, sent off; 'the wandering silk' (you si) is the wandering silk — the silk of the wandering, hooking the clear sky; 'the moth eyebrows' (e mei) are the moth eyebrows — the brows of the moth, the knitting of the beautiful woman; 'the wine ending' (jiu lan) is the wine ending — the ending of the wine, the helpless of the close.

此词用典自然而不着痕迹。「落花已作风前舞」，写落花在风前飞舞，暗含「落花」这一伤春的核心意象——晏殊「无可奈何花落去」、苏轼「花褪残红青杏小」，皆以落花写春去之无奈，此词以「风前舞」写落花，不是颓败而是飞舞，旷达之气已见。「游丝千丈、罥晴空」，以游丝写雨霁天晴的景象——游丝为昆虫所吐的丝，飘荡于空中，暗含「游丝」这一初夏的意象，正是春去夏来的标志；「千丈」「罥晴空」，写游丝之长、之远，开阔清朗。「殷勤花下同携手」，写花下携手，暗含「花间」之欢——古人以花间饮酒为文人雅事，正是「花间一壶酒」的传统。「美人不用敛蛾眉」，以「蛾眉」写美人之眉——蛾眉为蚕蛾触须般的弯眉，是美人之眉的代称，暗用《离骚》「众女嫉余之蛾眉兮」之意，也含「蛾眉」写美人愁容的传统；「敛蛾眉」，写蹙眉，正是惜春伤别的愁容。「酒阑」，写酒席将散，暗含「酒阑人散」的聚散无常——白居易「酒阑人散，花落鸟啼」的意境，正是「酒阑时」的无奈。这些典故，或写落花、或写游丝、或写蛾眉、或写酒阑，皆围绕惜春多情这一核心，织成一张清疏的情网，正是叶梦得词「用事自然」的特点。

Commentary

This lyric is one of the famous works of Ye Mengde's lyrics of the parting, quoted for the tenderness of its scene and the helpless of its close. The falling flowers dancing before the wind, and the helpless of the wine ending, are among the admired passages of the poet's lyrics. Critics praise the lyric's tenderness: the parting gathered in the wine, to the close's helpless.

读此词，最值得注意的是「我亦多情、无奈酒阑时」这十个字所写出的「多情」与「无奈」的对照。词人劝慰美人「不用敛蛾眉」——不必为春去而愁，不必为花落而悲；然而话锋一转，「我亦多情」——我也是多情的，我也深知这春去的可惜；「无奈酒阑时」——只是酒阑人散之时，终是无可奈何。这一转，把劝人的旷达，化作了自叹的无奈：我不是不懂春去的可惜，我只是把这份多情，压在了「酒阑时」的无奈之下。劝人「不用敛眉」，而自己却「多情无奈」，正是「劝人易，自劝难」的深情；这「多情」与「无奈」的对照，也正是全词的骨：表面是雨后花下的旷达欢会，骨子里却是春去难留、酒阑人散的无奈。而全词最旷达处，是起笔的「落花已作风前舞」——落花不是「满地残红」的颓败，而是「风前舞」的飞扬，一个「舞」字，写尽叶梦得对春去的超脱：花要落，就让它舞着落吧，那是它最后的华彩。从「风前舞」的旷达，到「酒阑时」的无奈，正是叶梦得这位历仕四朝、晚年归隐的词人，在人生的暮年对春去花落的全部体认：旷达是真旷达，无奈也真无奈，二者并存，才是完整的人生态度。

Prosody

Form A short ci lyric of the parting (ci diao)词（虞美人·双调小令）

Rhyme The lyric rhymes on the level and the oblique of the group — the cadence of the short ci that carries the tender light.此词为《虞美人》双调小令，上下阕各押两仄韵、两平韵，「舞」「雨」「手」「酒」「蛾」「时」「红」「空」等字平仄相协，韵脚交错而婉转，正合词情「惜春多情」的声调。词中「落花已作风前舞。又送黄昏雨」「晓来庭院半残红。惟有游丝千丈、罥晴空」等句，七言五言相间，流丽而婉转；「殷勤花下同携手。更尽杯中酒」，句式匀整。整体声调由起句的飞舞，到「罥晴空」的清朗，再到「无奈酒阑时」的怅惘，起伏有致，正合惜春的词情。

Tone pattern The cadence is that of the parting: the level opening with the flowers, the turning with the gathering, and the close's fall with the helpless of the wine ending.句式上，此词善用「七五七九」的虞美人句式与转折：「落花已作风前舞。又送黄昏雨」，以七五相间，流丽而婉转；「晓来庭院半残红。惟有游丝千丈、罥晴空」，以「惟有」领起，由萧疏转清朗，转折见意；「美人不用敛蛾眉。我亦多情、无奈酒阑时」，以「不用」劝慰、以「我亦」自叹、以「无奈」点破，层层转折。全词由落花入残红、由残红入游丝、由游丝入酒阑，句式随之由飞舞转清朗、由清朗转怅惘，正是叶梦得词「清疏旷达而情韵深长」的节奏美学。

Reading note The lyric's sound matches its tenderness: the cadences of the short ci, and the close — 'wu nai jiu lan shi' — falls with the wine ending, the sound of the helpless of the parting.作为北宋小令，《虞美人》的声律之美，在于以平仄交错的韵脚与转折的句式，写出惜春多情的委婉情思。全词上阕由「落花已作风前舞」的飞舞起笔，经「又送黄昏雨」的流转，到「惟有游丝千丈、罥晴空」的清朗，声调由飞舞转清朗；下阕以「殷勤花下同携手」的欢会起笔，经「更尽杯中酒」的豪兴，到「我亦多情、无奈酒阑时」的怅惘结穴，声调由欢会转怅惘。词中「落花已作风前舞」「惟有游丝千丈、罥晴空」「我亦多情、无奈酒阑时」等句，句式多变而声情相谐，正是叶梦得词「清疏旷达而情韵深长」的体现。就全词而言，此词以雨后花下为背景，写尽惜春多情与旷达超脱的双重心境，由落花、残红、游丝、酒阑一路写来，旷达是真旷达，无奈也真无奈，是叶梦得词的典型，也可见这位历仕四朝、晚年归隐的词人，在人生暮年对春去花落的全部体认。

Line by line

落花已作风前舞。

Fallen flowers already dance before the wind.

落花已在风前飞舞。

The fallen blossoms are already dancing in the wind.

这一句是全词的起笔，以落花飞舞写春去，是此词旷达基调的开端。「落花」写春去——落花是伤春的核心意象，晏殊「无可奈何花落去」、苏轼「花褪残红青杏小」，皆以落花写春去的无奈；而叶梦得以「风前舞」写落花，不是「满地残红」的颓败，而是「风前舞」的飞扬——那落花在风前飞舞，如起舞的蝴蝶，是它最后的华彩。「已作」二字，写落花飞舞已成定局，春去已不可挽。以「舞」写落花，是此词对春去的最独特体认：花要落，就让它舞着落吧。这一起笔，旷达之气已见，为全词定下「于惜春中见超脱」的基调，正是叶梦得词「清疏旷达」的开端。

The opening writes spring's departure through dancing fallen flowers, the start of this ci's open-hearted keynote. 'Fallen blossoms' writes spring gone — the core image of grieving spring, as in Yan Shu's 'helplessly the flowers fall' and Su Shi's 'flowers faded red, small green apricots'; all write the helplessness of spring's departure through fallen blossoms. Yet Ye Mengde writes them 'dancing before the wind' — not the decay of 'fallen red all over the ground' but the flying of 'dancing before the wind': the petals dance on the wind like butterflies, their final splendor. The words 'already dance' write that the dance is settled, spring gone beyond recall. Writing the fallen blossom through 'dance' is this ci's most peculiar recognition of spring's departure: flowers must fall, so let them dance as they fall. From this opening the open-hearted air is already visible, fixing the keynote of 'transcendence within cherishing spring,' precisely the start of Ye Mengde's 'clear, sparse, open' mode.

惟有游丝千丈、罥晴空。

Only gossamer, a thousand fathoms, floats in the clear sky.

唯有那千丈的游丝，罥挂于晴空之中。

Only a thousand fathoms of gossamer, drifting in the clear sky.

这一句写雨霁天晴、游丝罥空的景象，是此词由惜春转入旷达的关键。「惟有」二字，写庭院中唯余残红与游丝——花已落尽，唯余残红，春已去尽，唯余游丝，正是「无可奈何花落去」的萧疏；「游丝千丈、罥晴空」，写那千丈的游丝罥挂于晴空——游丝为昆虫所吐的丝，飘荡于空中，是初夏的标志，「千丈」写游丝之长，「罥晴空」写游丝之高远，一片开阔清朗的景象。以「游丝」写春去夏来，比写「新绿」「荷钱」更见空灵；以「晴空」对照「半残红」，一残败一清朗，正是春去之后自有新景的旷达。这一句，把惜春的无奈转化为对晴空游丝的观赏，正是叶梦得词「清疏旷达」的体现，也是此词由伤春转入超脱的关键。

This line writes the rain cleared and gossamer floating in the sky, the key where the ci turns from cherishing spring to open-heartedness. The words 'only' write that in the courtyard there remains nothing but fallen petals and gossamer — flowers all fallen, only petals left; spring all gone, only gossamer, precisely the sparseness of 'helplessly the flowers fall.' 'Gossamer, a thousand fathoms, floats in the clear sky' writes thousand-fathom gossamer drifting in the firmament; gossamer is thread spun by insects, floating in the air, a sign of early summer; 'a thousand fathoms' its length, 'floats in the clear sky' its height, a wide, bright scene. Writing spring's passing into summer through gossamer is more ethereal than writing 'new green' or 'lotus coins'; setting the 'clear sky' against the 'half-fallen red,' one decayed and one bright, is precisely the openness that after spring's departure there is a new scene. This line turns the helplessness of cherishing spring into the contemplation of clear sky and gossamer, precisely the realization of Ye Mengde's 'clear, sparse openness' and the key turn from grieving spring to transcendence.

我亦多情、无奈酒阑时。

I too am feeling-hearted; yet, alas, at the hour when the wine runs out.

我也是多情的，无奈酒阑人散之时。

I too am full of feeling, yet helpless at the hour when the wine ends and the party breaks up.

这一句是全词的结穴，以「多情」与「无奈」的对照写尽惜春的无奈，是此词情感最深的所在。「我亦多情」，写我也是多情的——词人劝美人「不用敛蛾眉」，说自己不是不懂春去的可惜，「我亦多情」，正是「劝人易，自劝难」的深情；「无奈酒阑时」，写无奈酒阑人散之时——纵然多情，酒阑人散，春去难留，终是无可奈何。「多情」与「无奈」的对照，是这一句的骨：多情是明知春去可惜，无奈是明知可惜也无计可施。以「酒阑时」写春去，把时序的流转化为酒席的聚散，正是「聚散苦匆匆」的无奈。这一结句，把劝人的旷达与自叹的无奈融于一句，正是叶梦得对春去花落的全部体认，也是此词情感最深沉、最见功力的句子。

This line is the knot of the ci, writing the helplessness of cherishing spring through the contrast of 'feeling-hearted' and 'helpless,' the deepest place of the ci's feeling. 'I too am feeling-hearted' writes that he too has feeling — the poet urges the beauty 'not to knit her brows,' saying he is not unaware of the pity of spring's going; 'I too am feeling-hearted' is precisely the deep feeling of 'easy to persuade others, hard to persuade oneself.' 'Yet helpless at the hour when the wine runs out' writes the helplessness when wine ends and the party breaks: however feeling-hearted, wine ends and people scatter, spring gone beyond keeping, in the end helpless. The contrast of 'feeling-hearted' and 'helpless' is the bone of the line: feeling-hearted is knowing spring's going is pitiable, helpless is knowing it pitiable yet having no way. Writing spring's departure through 'the hour when the wine runs out' turns the flow of the seasons into the gathering and scattering of a feast, precisely the helplessness of 'union and parting, painfully hasty.' This closing blends the open-heartedness of persuading others with the helplessness of self-sighing in one phrase — Ye Mengde's whole recognition of spring's going and flowers' falling, and the deepest, most masterful line of the ci.

Study

Word focus

风前舞 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「落花已作风前舞」之「风前舞」，写落花在风前飞舞，是此词对春去最旷达的体认。「风前舞」三字，把落花的飘落写成风前的飞舞——那本应是「满地残红」的颓败，在词人笔下却是「风前舞」的飞扬，落花如起舞的蝴蝶，是它最后的华彩。「舞」字，是这一词的关键：落花不是「落」，而是「舞」；不是被风吹落，而是随风起舞。这一「舞」，写尽了叶梦得对春去的超脱——花要落，就让它舞着落吧，那是它生命最后的美。以「风前舞」写落花，比「落红无数」更见动感与旷达，正是「于惜春中见超脱」的开端。这一词，是叶梦得词「清疏旷达」的凝练，也是此词旷达基调的奠基石。

罥晴空 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「惟有游丝千丈、罥晴空」之「罥晴空」，写游丝罥挂于晴空，是此词由伤春转入旷达的关键语。「罥」为挂、缠绕之意，游丝千丈，罥挂于晴空——那飘荡的游丝，如银线般横贯晴空，「罥」字写游丝之轻灵、之悬空，正是「晴空一鹤排云上」般的清朗。以「罥晴空」写游丝，比「飞」更见静态的美：游丝不是飞来飞去，而是罥挂于晴空，如一幅淡远的画。这一词，把春去后庭院中的萧疏，化为晴空游丝的清朗，正是「以景写情」的妙笔——残红是春去的无奈，晴空游丝是夏来的旷达。以「罥晴空」写雨霁天晴的景象，开阔而清朗，是叶梦得词炼字的精妙处，也是此词旷达基调的关键。

敛蛾眉 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「美人不用敛蛾眉」之「敛蛾眉」，写美人蹙眉之态，是此词劝慰的核心语。「蛾眉」为蚕蛾触须般的弯眉，是美人之眉的代称，暗用《离骚》「众女嫉余之蛾眉兮」之意；「敛蛾眉」，写蹙眉——那美人或因惜春而愁，或因伤别而悲，双眉紧敛。词人「不用敛蛾眉」，劝美人不必蹙眉——不是不懂春去的可惜，而是劝她不必为春去而愁。以「蛾眉」写美人，形象鲜明而典雅；以「敛」写蹙眉，写尽惜春伤别的愁容。这一词，是此词劝慰的核心，也是「我亦多情」的铺垫——劝人「不用敛」，正见己之「亦多情」。以「敛蛾眉」写美人之愁，典雅而深婉，是叶梦得词炼字的精妙处。

虞美人