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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

周邦彦·解语花·上元

Jie Yu Hua · Lantern Festival

周邦彦

Zhou Bangyan

婉约graceful (wan-yue) 节令festival

风销焰蜡，露浥红莲，花市光相射。
桂华流瓦。
纤云散，耿耿素娥欲下。
衣裳淡雅。
看楚女、纤腰一把。
箫鼓喧，人影参差，满路飘香麝。
因念都城放夜。
望千门如昼，嬉笑游冶。
钿车罗帕。
相逢处，自有暗尘随马。
年光是也。
唯只见、旧情衰谢。
清漏移，飞盖归来，从舞休歌罢。

Wind quenches the flame-wax; dew wets the red lotus; the flower market's lights shoot against each other. Osmanthus light flows on the tiles. Thin clouds scatter; the bright moon goddess seems about to descend. Their dress is pale and elegant. See the Chu girls, a slender waist in a handful. Flutes and drums clamour; figures stray in disorder; the whole road drifts with musk's scent.
Thus I think of the capital's curfew-lifted night. I see a thousand doors bright as day, laughing and wandering in pleasure. Gold carriages and silk kerchiefs. Where they meet, naturally the hidden dust follows the horse. The year's light is the same. Only I see that the old feeling has faded and declined. The clear water-clock moves; I return in my flying canopy, letting the dance end and the song cease.

Listen

Meaning

Wind blows out the candle flames; dew wets the red-lotus lamps; the flower-lamp market's splendour meets and crosses. Moonlight flows on the tiles. Thin clouds scatter; the bright moon goddess seems about to float down. Their dress is pale and elegant. See the Chu girls, a slender waist in a handful. Flutes and drums clamour; figures are scattered; the whole road drifts with musk's scent. Thus I recall the capital's curfew-lifted night. I see a thousand doors bright as day, laughing and roaming in pleasure. Gold carriages and silk kerchiefs come and go. Where they meet, naturally hidden dust follows the horses. The year's light is the same. Only I see that the old feeling has faded and declined. The clear water-clock quietly moves; I return in my flying carriage, letting the dance end and the song cease.

风拂熄灭了烛焰，露水沾湿了红莲灯，花灯市上光彩交相辉映。月光在瓦上流动。纤云散去，明亮的嫦娥仿佛要飘然而下。衣裳淡雅。看那楚地女子、纤腰盈盈一把。箫鼓喧腾，人影错落，满路飘着香麝。因而想起都城放宽夜禁。望千家万户如白昼般明亮，嬉笑游赏。钿车罗帕往来。相逢之处，自然有暗尘随马而起。年光还是这般。只是只见、旧日情致已经衰谢。清漏潜移，飞车归来，任它舞歇歌罢。

Appreciation

This lyric is Zhou Bangyan's festival piece on the Upper Yuan. The upper part is fine brushwork: 'wind quenches the flame-wax, dew wets the red lotus' writes the lamps; 'osmanthus light flows on the tiles, the moon goddess about to descend' writes the moon; 'Chu girls' slender waists, flutes and drums, musk on the road' writes the people — rich in colour, orderly in layers. The focus is the turn 'thus I think': from the present (or recalled) capital's freed night of a thousand doors bright as day, gold carriages and silk kerchiefs, it returns to 'the year's light is the same, only the old feeling has faded' — joyous scene sets off sorrow, and the fall from extreme bustle to extreme stillness (clear water-clock, flying canopy, dance ended, song ceased) shows the brooding turn within richness, most showing the 'wealthy and exquisite' frame of Zhou's lyrics.

【白话串讲】周邦彦写元宵：“风销焰蜡，露浥红莲，花市光相射”——花灯的光交相辉映。“衣裳淡雅。看楚女、纤腰一把”。“因念都城放夜。望千门如昼”——他想起京城元宵，千门亮如白昼。【意象与手法】上片工笔铺陈：风销焰蜡、露浥红莲写灯，桂华流瓦、素娥欲下写月，楚女纤腰、箫鼓香麝写人，设色秾丽、层次井然【情感与主旨】此词为周邦彦咏上元节令之作，具体作年难确【名句点睛】中高考常考：一、上片如何铺写元宵灯月盛景（工笔、设色）；二、"因念"的转折作用与今昔（或乐哀）对照

Background

This lyric is Zhou Bangyan's festival piece on the Upper Yuan, the exact year hard to fix. Zhou Bangyan (style Qingzhen) long travelled and served in the capital Bianjing; the line 'thus I think of the capital's curfew-lifted night' may write the present Lantern Festival elsewhere while recalling Bianjing's former lamp-night, or may directly write Bianjing in its prime. On the festival the lamps blazed and the night-curfew was lifted — the grandest custom of the Northern-Song capital; the upper part writes the lamp-and-moon throng in full splendour, the lower part closes on 'the old feeling has faded' and 'let the dance end, the song cease', secretly holding beneath the riches a lament of late-life and fading feeling, reflecting the slight desolation of the late-Northern-Song literatus beneath festival splendour — a representative of Qingzhen's 'wealthy and exquisite' manner.

《解语花·上元》为北宋周邦彦所作，是写元宵盛景与羁旅之感的词。周邦彦（1056—1121），字美成，钱塘人，北宋词人。此词：风销焰蜡，露浥红莲，花市光相射。桂华流瓦。纤云散，耿耿素娥欲下。衣裳淡雅。看楚女、纤腰一把。箫鼓喧，人影参差，满路飘香麝。因念都城放夜。望千门如昼，嬉笑游冶。钿车罗帕。相逢处，自有暗尘随马。年光是也。唯只见、旧情衰谢。清漏移，飞盖归来，从舞休歌罢。全词写元宵盛景与羁旅之感，是周邦彦词的名篇。

Art

The upper part is fine, dense description: 'wind quenches the flame-wax, dew wets the red lotus' writes the lamps, 'osmanthus light flows on the tiles, the moon goddess about to descend' writes the moon, 'Chu girls' slender waists, flutes and drums, musk on the road' writes the people — rich colour, orderly layers; the lower part turns on 'thus I think', from the present (or recalled) capital's freed night of a thousand doors bright as day, gold carriages and silk kerchiefs, back to 'the year's light is the same, only the old feeling has faded', using joyous scene to set off sorrow. Falling from extreme bustle to extreme stillness (clear water-clock, flying carriage, dance ended, song ceased), the composition is close-knit yet the turn natural, wealthy and exquisite yet with brooding turn — most showing the wonder of Zhou Bangyan's structure and his gift of 'describing objects' states to the utmost'.

《解语花·上元》艺术上以元宵盛景的铺陈与羁旅之感的深沉见长。全词十四句，层层写来：上片写元宵夜景——“风销焰蜡，露浥红莲，花市光相射”写焰蜡红莲、花市光射，“桂华流瓦。纤云散，耿耿素娥欲下”写桂华流瓦，“衣裳淡雅。看楚女、纤腰一把”写楚女衣裳，“箫鼓喧，人影参差，满路飘香麝”写箫鼓人影；下片写都城旧事与羁旅之感——“因念都城放夜。望千门如昼，嬉笑游冶”写都城放夜，“钿车罗帕。相逢处，自有暗尘随马”写钿车相逢，“年光是也。唯只见、旧情衰谢”写年光旧情，“清漏移，飞盖归来，从舞休歌罢”写飞盖归来。全词以元宵盛景写羁旅之感，正是周邦彦词典丽深婉的笔法。

Allusions

The upper part's 'osmanthus light' uses 'osmanthus light' for moonlight (legend has it the moon holds an osmanthus tree), writing moonlight pouring on the tiles; 'the bright moon goddess' is the moon goddess, standing for the bright moon. 'Chu girls' slender waists' uses the Chu slender-waist allusion (Han Feizi: 'King Ling of Chu loved slender waists'), writing the travellers' bearing. The lower part's 'hidden dust follows the horse' transforms Su Weidao's 'The night of the fifteenth' ('hidden dust follows the horse away, the bright moon follows the man'), writing the lamp-market's carriage throng. 'Curfew-lifted night' means the Lantern Festival's lifting of the night ban. The allusions melt into the festival description, exact and natural, showing no piling — exactly Zhou's power of 'commanding allusions as he pleases'.

《解语花·上元》用典在“桂华流瓦”“素娥”“楚女”。“桂华流瓦”用月华（传说月中桂树）之典，写月色流瓦；“素娥”用嫦娥之典，写月；“楚女”用楚女细腰之典，写楚地女子之纤腰。全词以这些典故写元宵盛景，用典自然而典丽自见，正是周邦彦词的笔法。

Commentary

The modern Chen Tingzhuo, in White Rain Studio Lyric Talks, said of Zhou's lyrics 'brooding and turning, with strength' — this lyric's upper part reaches extreme splendour and lower turns languid, most showing its method. Tang Guizhang praised it as 'spread and extended, wealthy and exquisite, yet the close holds far-reaching feeling'. Read with Liu Yong's 'Welcoming the New Spring', both write the Lantern Festival, but Zhou wins by brooding. Later critics often pair it with Li Qingzhao's 'Yong Yu Le · Sunset Melts Gold' as both writing the festival's past-present lament, one wealthy one plaintive, each to its perfection.

《解语花·上元》是周邦彦词的名篇，也是北宋词中写元宵盛景与羁旅之感的代表作。此词写元宵盛景与羁旅之感，向为论者称道。论者多赏其元宵盛景的铺陈与羁旅之感的深沉——“风销焰蜡，露浥红莲，花市光相射”写花市灯光，盛景如在目前；“因念都城放夜。望千门如昼，嬉笑游冶”写都城旧事，与“唯只见、旧情衰谢”写旧情衰谢相对，羁旅之感尽在其中。周邦彦为北宋词大家，其词以典丽深婉著称，此词正是其代表——以元宵盛景写羁旅之感，正是其词风。

Prosody

Form Lyric, 'Jie Yu Hua' double-tune one hundred characters词·解语花

Rhyme Oblique rhyme, per Ci Lin Zheng Yun, upper and lower parts oblique rhymes《解语花·上元》为双调词，押仄声韵。此词用韵：射、下（祃部）、把、麝（马部）、冶、马（马部）、谢、罢（祃部），一韵到底，音节典丽。

Tone pattern Slow long tune; the change-head 'thus I think' two characters lead in short and abrupt解语花为双调词，音节典丽而深婉。此词写元宵盛景与羁旅之感，音节典丽而深婉。全词一韵到底，声调与盛景与感慨的内容相合，是周邦彦词中典丽深婉的一路。

Reading note Jie Yu Hua was created by Zhou Bangyan (or said to exist before); fits festival spread-narration; Zhou's piece is the most famed.《解语花·上元》为北宋周邦彦所作，是写元宵盛景与羁旅之感的词。此词以“风销焰蜡，露浥红莲，花市光相射”写元宵夜景，以“箫鼓喧，人影参差，满路飘香麝”写游人之盛，以“因念都城放夜”写都城旧事，以“唯只见、旧情衰谢”写羁旅之感。以元宵盛景写羁旅之感，正是周邦彦词的名篇。

Line by line

风销焰蜡，露浥红莲，花市光相射。桂华流瓦。纤云散，耿耿素娥欲下。

Wind nips the tapers' flames; dew bedews the lotus lanterns; the flower market's lights flash on one another. Moonlight flows over the tiles. The frail clouds scatter; the luminous moon-maiden seems about to descend.

风吹销焰蜡，露润红莲，花市灯光相射。月华流于瓦上。纤云散尽，耿耿素娥（嫦娥）欲下。

Wind checks the tapers' flames; dew moistens the red lotus lanterns; the flower market's lights flash together. Moonlight streams over the tiles; the thin clouds scatter, and the luminous Moon Goddess seems about to descend.

上片首写元宵夜景，是全词盛景的起点。“风销焰蜡，露浥红莲，花市光相射”写花市灯光——“风销焰蜡”写风吹销焰蜡，“露浥红莲”写露润红莲（莲花灯），“花市光相射”写花市灯光相射——焰蜡红莲，花市光射；“桂华流瓦。纤云散，耿耿素娥欲下”写月色如银——“桂华流瓦”用月中桂树之典写月华流于瓦上，“纤云散”写纤云散尽，“耿耿素娥欲下”用嫦娥之典写耿耿素娥欲下——桂华流瓦，素娥欲下。六句写元宵夜景：风销焰蜡、露浥红莲、花市光相射，桂华流瓦、纤云散、耿耿素娥欲下。以“风销焰蜡，露浥红莲，花市光相射”写花市灯火之盛，以“桂华流瓦。纤云散，耿耿素娥欲下”写月色皎洁、嫦娥欲下，正是周邦彦词写元宵夜景、盛景铺陈的起点——灯月交辉，盛景如画。

The upper stanza first writes the Lantern Festival night scene, the starting point of the ci's splendor. 'Wind nips the tapers' flames; dew bedews the lotus lanterns; the flower market's lights flash on one another' writes the flower-market lamps — wind checking the tapers, dew moistening the lotus (flower) lanterns, lights flashing across the flower market; tapers and lotus, lights crossing. 'Moonlight flows over the tiles. The frail clouds scatter; the luminous moon-maiden seems about to descend' writes the silvery moon — using the cassia-in-the-moon allusion for moonlight streaming on the tiles, thin clouds scattering, the Chang'e allusion for the luminous moon-maizen about to descend; moonlight on tiles, the moon-maiden about to come down. Six lines write the Lantern night: wind-niped tapers, dew-moistened lotuses, flashing market lights; moonlight on tiles, clouds scattering, the moon-maiden about to descend. Writing the splendor of the flower-market lights through the first three, and the bright moon and descending goddess through the last three, is precisely the starting point of Zhou's Lantern night splendor — lamps and moon shining together, a glorious scene like a painting.

衣裳淡雅。看楚女、纤腰一把。箫鼓喧，人影参差，满路飘香麝。

Robes quiet and plain; I watch the Chu girls, a handful of slender waist. Flutes and drums clamor; shadows of people cross and recross; musk drifts over all the road.

衣裳淡雅。看楚女，纤腰一把。箫鼓喧阗，人影参差，满路飘着香麝。

Their dress is quiet and elegant; I look at the Chu girls, waists slender as a handful; flutes and drums roar, the crowd's shadows cross, and musk drifts along the whole road.

此五句写游人之盛，是全词盛景的深化。“衣裳淡雅。看楚女、纤腰一把”写楚女——“衣裳淡雅”写衣裳淡雅，“看楚女、纤腰一把”用楚女细腰之典写看楚女纤腰一把——衣裳淡雅，楚女纤腰；“箫鼓喧，人影参差，满路飘香麝”写游人之盛——“箫鼓喧”写箫鼓喧阗，“人影参差”写人影参差，“满路飘香麝”写满路飘着香麝——箫鼓喧，人影参差，飘香麝。五句写游人之盛：衣裳淡雅、看楚女纤腰一把，箫鼓喧、人影参差、满路飘香麝。以“衣裳淡雅。看楚女、纤腰一把”写楚地女子之娇美，以“箫鼓喧，人影参差，满路飘香麝”写箫鼓喧阗、游人之盛，正是周邦彦词写元宵盛景的深化——楚女如云，香麝满路。

These five write the throng of revelers, deepening the ci's splendor. 'Robes quiet and plain; I watch the Chu girls, a handful of slender waist' writes the Chu women — quiet plain dress, using the allusion of the Chu women's slender waists for a waist like a handful; plain robes, slender Chu waist. 'Flutes and drums clamor; shadows of people cross and recross; musk drifts over all the road' writes the throng — flutes and drums clamorous, shadows crossing, musk drifting on the road; flutes and drums, crossing shadows, drifting musk. Five lines write the throng: plain robes, the Chu girls' slender waists; clamorous flutes and drums, crossing shadows, musk on the road. Writing the charm of the Chu women through the first two, and the clamor and crowd through the last three, is precisely the deepening of Zhou's Lantern splendor — Chu women like clouds, musk on every road.

因念都城放夜。望千门如昼，嬉笑游冶。钿车罗帕。相逢处，自有暗尘随马。

I think of the capital's unlocked night: looking down on a thousand gates bright as day, people sporting and laughing. The jeweled carriages, the silk handkerchiefs; wherever they meet, a hidden dust rises behind the horses.

因念都城放夜。望千门灯火如昼，嬉笑游冶。钿车罗帕。相逢之处，自有暗尘随马。

Then I think of the capital's open night: a thousand gates bright as day, people merry and roaming. Jeweled carriages, silk kerchiefs; wherever they meet, the hidden dust follows the horses.

此六句写都城旧事，是全词由盛转感的转折。“因念都城放夜。望千门如昼，嬉笑游冶”写都城放夜——“因念都城放夜”写因念都城放夜（元宵不禁夜），“望千门如昼”写望千门灯火如昼，“嬉笑游冶”写嬉笑游冶——都城放夜，千门如昼；“钿车罗帕。相逢处，自有暗尘随马”写钿车相逢——“钿车罗帕”写钿车罗帕，“相逢处，自有暗尘随马”用苏味道“暗尘随马去”之句意写相逢之处暗尘随马——钿车罗帕，暗尘随马。六句写都城旧事：因念都城放夜、望千门如昼嬉笑游冶，钿车罗帕相逢处、自有暗尘随马。以“因念都城放夜。望千门如昼，嬉笑游冶”写都城元宵不禁夜、千门如昼之盛，以“钿车罗帕。相逢处，自有暗尘随马”写钿车罗帕、相逢暗尘随马之旧事，正是周邦彦词由盛转感的转折——由今宵之盛，念都城之旧。

These six write old capital memories, the ci's turning from splendor to feeling. 'I think of the capital's unlocked night: looking down on a thousand gates bright as day, people sporting and laughing' writes the capital's unlocked night — thinking of the capital's Lantern night (no curfew), a thousand gates bright as day, sporting and laughing; unlocked night, thousand gates as day. 'The jeweled carriages, the silk handkerchiefs; wherever they meet, a hidden dust rises behind the horses' writes the carriages and meetings — jeweled carriages and silk kerchiefs, adapting Su Weidao's 'hidden dust follows the horses' for the dust rising behind horses where they meet; jeweled carriages, dust following horses. Six lines write old capital memories: thinking of the unlocked night, thousand gates as day and merry roaming; jeweled carriages, meetings with hidden dust following horses. Writing the capital's no-curfew splendor through the first three, and the old memory of jeweled carriages and dust-following meetings through the last three, is precisely Zhou's turning from splendor to feeling — from tonight's glory to the capital's past.

年光是也。唯只见、旧情衰谢。清漏移，飞盖归来，从舞休歌罢。

The years are as they were; only, old feeling has faded and withered. The clear clock moves; I drive my flying canopy home, letting the dance end and the song cease.

年光还是如此。只见得、旧情衰谢。清漏移，飞盖归来，任凭舞休歌罢。

The season is the same; only old feeling has faded. The clear water-clock moves; I drive my flying canopy home, letting dance and song end.

末五句写羁旅之感、旧情衰谢，是全词感慨的归结。“年光是也。唯只见、旧情衰谢”写旧情衰谢——“年光是也”写年光还是如此，“唯只见、旧情衰谢”写只见得旧情衰谢——年光依旧，旧情衰谢；“清漏移，飞盖归来，从舞休歌罢”写飞盖归来——“清漏移”写清漏渐移，“飞盖归来”写飞盖归来，“从舞休歌罢”写任凭舞休歌罢——清漏移，飞盖归来。五句写羁旅之感：年光是也、唯只见旧情衰谢，清漏移、飞盖归来、从舞休歌罢。以“年光是也。唯只见、旧情衰谢”写年光依旧而旧情衰谢，以“清漏移，飞盖归来，从舞休歌罢”写漏移夜深、飞盖归来、任凭歌舞休罢，正是周邦彦词写羁旅之感、旧情衰谢的归结——盛景如昔，而旧情已谢。

The last five write the feeling of exile and the fading of old passion, the conclusion of the ci's sigh. 'The years are as they were; only, old feeling has faded and withered' writes faded passion — the years as they were, only old feeling seen to wither; years unchanged, old feeling gone. 'The clear clock moves; I drive my flying canopy home, letting the dance end and the song cease' writes the return of the flying canopy — the clear clock slowly moving, the flying canopy returning, letting dance and song end; clock moved, canopy returned. Five lines write the feeling of exile: years the same, only old passion withered; clock moved, flying canopy returned, letting dance and song cease. Writing the unchanged years with withered feeling through the first two, and the late hour, the returning canopy, the letting dance and song end through the last three, is precisely Zhou's conclusion of exile and faded passion — the splendor as of old, yet old feeling gone.

Study

Word focus

桂华流瓦 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “桂华流瓦”之“桂华流瓦”，用月中桂树之典，写月华流于瓦上，是全词写元宵月色之美的关键词。“桂华”写月华（月中桂树），“流瓦”写流于瓦上——月华流于瓦上。这一词写月色之美：不是寻常之月，而桂华；不是直照之光，而流于瓦上。以“桂华流瓦。纤云散，耿耿素娥欲下”写月色皎洁、嫦娥欲下，正是周邦彦词写元宵夜景典丽的笔法。

楚女纤腰 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “看楚女、纤腰一把”之“楚女纤腰”，用楚女细腰之典，写楚地女子之纤腰，是全词写元宵游人之娇美的关键词。“楚女”写楚地女子，“纤腰一把”写纤腰一把——看楚女、纤腰一把。这一词写女子之态：不是寻常之态，而楚女纤腰；不是粗拙之姿，而纤腰一把。以“衣裳淡雅。看楚女、纤腰一把”写楚地女子之娇美，正是周邦彦词写元宵盛景的笔法。

放夜 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “因念都城放夜”之“放夜”，写元宵不禁夜（金吾不禁夜），是全词写都城元宵之盛的关键词。“放夜”写开放夜禁——因念都城放夜。这一词写元宵之制：不是寻常之夜，而放夜；不是可禁之宵，而金吾不禁。以“因念都城放夜。望千门如昼，嬉笑游冶”写都城放夜、千门如昼之盛，正是周邦彦词写都城旧事的笔法。

旧情衰谢 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “唯只见、旧情衰谢”之“旧情衰谢”，写旧情衰谢，是全词写羁旅之感的归结词。“旧情”写旧日之情，“衰谢”写衰谢——只见得旧情衰谢。这一词写情之衰：不是如昨之情，而旧情衰谢；不是可追之欢，而衰谢难寻。以“年光是也。唯只见、旧情衰谢”写年光依旧而旧情衰谢，正是周邦彦词写羁旅之感的归结。