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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

鹧鸪天·彩袖殷勤捧玉钟

Partridge Sky: Colored Sleeves Lift the Jade Cup

晏几道

Yan Jidao

宋词Theme 婉约Refined style 爱情Love 重逢Theme 梦Theme

彩袖殷勤捧玉锺。
当年拼却醉颜红。
舞低杨柳楼心月，歌尽桃花扇影风。
从别后，忆相逢。
几回魂梦与君同。
今宵剩把银釭照，犹恐相逢是梦中。

In colored sleeves she earnestly lifts the jade cup.
In those years I let my face flush red with drink.
The dance lowered the moon at the willow tower's heart; the song spent the wind of the peach-blossom fan's shadow.
Since we parted, I recall our meeting.
How many times in soul and dream have I been with you the same!
Tonight I lift the silver lamp to gaze again and again, still fearing our meeting is a dream.

Listen

Meaning

A reunion so longed-for the lover still fears it is a dream.

穿着彩衣的她殷勤地捧着玉杯向我劝酒。舞到楼心杨柳掩住了西沉的明月，歌到桃花扇影里风声也渐渐歇息。有多少次，我的魂魄在梦中与你同在。今夜只管举起银灯细细照看你，仍怕这相逢只是一场梦。

Appreciation

He remembers the night the dance outlasted the moon, and now, holding the real her by the silver lamp, still cannot believe she is not a dream. Love here is the refusal to trust happiness.

【白话串讲】晏几道写鹧鸪天：“彩袖殷勤捧玉锺。当年拼却醉颜红”——他想起当年的歌女。“舞低杨柳楼心月，歌尽桃花扇影风”——“从别后，忆相逢。几回魂梦与君同”——“今宵剩把银釭照，犹恐相逢是梦中”——他怕重逢是梦。【意象与手法】以乐衬哀、以梦证真双重反差。「舞低杨柳楼心月，歌尽桃花扇影风」一联把通宵欢娱凝为动态夜宴图；结于「银釭照」「犹恐梦中」。【情感与主旨】写聚短散长、真幻难辨的恋情，乐极而生疑惧，是古典重逢主题中的绝唱，痴情令人回肠荡气。【名句点睛】「今宵剩把银釭照，犹恐相逢是梦中」化用杜甫、司空曙，把重逢的狂喜压成不敢置信的颤栗，一字一泪。

Background

Yan Jidao (c.1030-c.1106), son of Yan Shu, wrote lyrics of refined, melancholy romance. This is his most beloved, on a courtesan he loved and met again years later.

晏几道《鹧鸪天》（彩袖殷勤捧玉钟）是《小山词》中传诵最广的恋情名篇之一，写词人与一位歌妓（或即小山词中常见的莲、鸿、蘋、云之一）由当年欢宴、别后魂梦到今宵重逢的全过程。晏几道，字叔原，号小山，晏殊第七子，虽出相门而一生落拓，仅仕微职，晚年退居京师，潦倒以终。其词独守晚唐五代令词传统，专写男女情爱之深婉凄楚，与乃父之雍容并峙而情韵更幽。此词调寄《鹧鸪天》，双调五十五字，上片三平韵、下片三平韵，音节和婉，最宜写低回不尽之情。上片「彩袖殷勤捧玉钟。当年拼却醉颜红。舞低杨柳楼心月，歌尽桃花扇影风」追忆当年欢会：歌女殷勤劝酒、词人拼醉，歌舞通宵直至月落风歇；下片「从别后，忆相逢。几回魂梦与君同。今宵剩把银釭照，犹恐相逢是梦中」写别后魂梦相寻、今宵重逢而疑真疑幻。全词以「当年—别后—今宵」的时间纵轴结构全篇，由极乐而极悲而复归于疑惧，将一段「聚短散长、梦真难辨」的恋情写得回肠荡气。其「今宵剩把银釭照，犹恐相逢是梦中」二句，与杜甫「夜阑更秉烛，相对如梦寐」、司空曙「乍见翻疑梦，相悲各问年」同一机杼，而情更挚、语更婉，是古典重逢主题中的绝唱。

Art

The middle couplet is a famous feat: 'the dance lowered the moon' makes time itself yield to pleasure. The close inverts the usual dream-of-reunion into a real reunion doubted as dream.

此词艺术之胜，首在「以乐衬哀、以梦证真」的双向反差结构。上片纯写乐境：起二句「彩袖殷勤捧玉钟。当年拼却醉颜红」以「彩袖」之丽、「玉钟」之贵、「醉颜」之酣，勾勒出一场豪兴淋漓的欢宴；三、四句「舞低杨柳楼心月，歌尽桃花扇影风」以一联精警的流水对，写歌舞之尽情——「舞低」者，舞至月为楼心杨柳所掩而低沉；「歌尽」者，歌至扇影中风息而歇，把通宵欢娱写到极致。这四句越是写得秾丽酣畅，下片的悲与疑便越是锥心。下片转写别后：「从别后，忆相逢」六字以散句顿挫，由乐跌入忆；「几回魂梦与君同」写梦中之聚，已含「梦」字埋下伏笔；结二句「今宵剩把银釭照，犹恐相逢是梦中」以「银釭」（灯）照人、以「犹恐」写疑，把重逢的狂喜压成不敢置信的颤栗。章法上，「舞低」「歌尽」的「尽」「低」与「犹恐……梦中」的「恐」构成「满—空」的反跌；「梦」字上片隐于「魂梦」、下片显于「是梦中」，首尾呼应。全词色香俱足而骨力内含，是令词中「以艳笔写孤怀、以乐境写深悲」的巅峰之作。

Allusions

'Willow tower' and 'peach-blossom fan' are stock images of the singing-girl's quarter. The silver lamp is the bedside lamp of parting and meeting.

此词用典虽淡，而意象渊源与化用之迹极深，最可玩索者为「银釭」「梦中」与「舞低楼心月」三处。「银釭」即银制的灯盏，古诗词中每以「釭」「缸」写夜灯，如南朝《读曲歌》「明灯照空局，悠然未有期」、李白「金釭泫夜泣」、李商隐「飒飒东风细雨来，芙蓉塘外有轻雷」虽非直接，而「银烛」「金釭」写夜审之景自六朝已然；小山「剩把银釭照」正承此脉，写重逢之夜秉灯细看、唯恐是梦的痴态。「犹恐相逢是梦中」则明显化用杜甫《羌村》「夜阑更秉烛，相对如梦寐」与司空曙《云阳馆与韩绅宿别》「乍见翻疑梦，相悲各问年」——杜诗写乱离重逢之疑真，司空曙写久别乍见之疑幻，小山移以写恋人重逢，把家国离乱之悲转为儿女缱绻之惧，意象同而情境移，是「夺胎换骨」的妙手。「舞低杨柳楼心月」化用李白「妓拥纤腰杨柳」、白居易「杨柳小蛮腰」之杨柳写舞姿，而以「楼心月低」写舞之久，更是小山独有的时空凝缩笔法。综之，此词于浅近语中暗运杜、司空及六朝灯意象，使艳情小令兼有沉郁之骨。

Commentary

A summit of the 'dream vs. reality' motif in Chinese love lyric; its tenderness is in the small, repeated gesture of lifting the lamp.

晏几道此首《鹧鸪天》（彩袖殷勤捧玉钟）在《小山词》中与「小令尊前见玉箫」诸阕并推为压卷，历来选家与论者皆极重之。清人先著《词洁》评小山词「字字娉娉袅袅」，近人王国维《人间词话》虽未专评此章，而其论「境界」与「隔」之说，与此词「今宵剩把银釭照，犹恐相逢是梦中」之直写真境、不隔不饰恰相吻合。今人唐圭璋《宋词鉴赏辞典》释此词，尤重上片「舞低杨柳楼心月，歌尽桃花扇影风」的警联与下片「犹恐相逢是梦中」的结法，以为「欢极而悲、疑真而幻，一字一泪」。又，此词与晏几道另一首《鹧鸪天》「小令尊前见玉箫。银灯一曲太妖娆」同调同写歌席重逢，而彼写初见之艳、此写别后之疑，可并读见小山恋情词「欢—散—梦」的常态结构。要之，此词以极妍丽之笔写极深沉之惧，艳而不靡、密而有骨，将「乐极生悲、真疑成梦」的人类普遍情感体验凝定为十四字的千古绝唱，是北宋令词由花间、南唐一脉发展至小山而臻于化境的标尺，亦为后世「久别重逢」题材（如戏曲中之「惊梦」「团圆」）提供了最精炼的词学原型。

Prosody

Form Lyric in Zhe Gu Tian (Partridge Sky) tune鹧鸪天（词·双调五十五字）

Rhyme Rhymes on 'cup' (zhong), 'red' (hong), 'wind' (feng), 'meet' (feng), 'same' (tong), 'dream' (meng) - level-tone groups.词林正韵第一部（东冬）平声，上片三平韵（钟、红、风），下片三平韵（逢、同、中）

Tone pattern Song lyric; two stanzas with a turning point at 'since we parted.'双调五十五字，上片三平韵、下片三平韵，句式以七言为主、下片起二句作三三豆

Reading note Yan Jidao's signature; the 'dance lowered the moon' couplet is justly famous.此词调寄《鹧鸪天》，双调五十五字，脱胎于唐代七绝而增字衍声，是北宋最流行的令词之一。其格律以七言句式为主干，上片四句、下片五句，平韵体，声情和婉而略带顿挫，最宜写低回不尽之情。本词用韵：上片「彩袖殷勤捧玉钟」「当年拼却醉颜红」「舞低杨柳楼心月，歌尽桃花扇影风」三句（钟、红、风）押平声，下片「从别后，忆相逢」「几回魂梦与君同」「犹恐相逢是梦中」三句（逢、同、中）押平声，合计六平韵，皆属词林正韵第一部（东冬）平声——「钟」属冬韵、「红」「风」「逢」「同」「中」属东韵，东冬在词韵中同部相通，故读来浑成无碍。句式上，上片起二句为七言对起，三、四句「舞低杨柳楼心月，歌尽桃花扇影风」为精警流水对；下片起二句「从别后，忆相逢」破为三三豆，与后面七字句「几回魂梦与君同」连成一气，形成「三三—七—七七」的特殊节奏，较常规鹧鸪天更显跳脱。平仄上，「彩袖殷勤捧玉钟」约为「仄仄平平仄仄平」，合起句常格；「犹恐相逢是梦中」约为「平仄平平仄仄平」，以平收稳结。整体看，此词虽为艳情小令，而声律精严、用韵疏朗、句式错落有致，色香俱足而不失法度，是晏几道令词「清壮顿挫」在形式层面的完美体现。

Line by line

彩袖殷勤捧玉锺。

In colored sleeves she earnestly lifts the jade cup.

穿着彩衣的她殷勤地捧着玉杯向我劝酒。

In her colored sleeves she pressed the jade cup on me with tender care.

此句为全词起拍，以「彩袖」与「玉钟」两个色彩鲜丽、质感温润的物象，瞬间点亮一场久远的欢宴记忆。「彩袖」代指那位歌舞侑酒的歌女——以衣代人，是古典诗词写美人的惯用省笔（如李白「风吹柳花满店香，吴姬压酒劝客尝」之以事写人），而「彩」字先给全词敷上一层秾丽的暖色；「殷勤」二字写其劝酒之态，不是应制的敷衍，而是出自真情的反复相劝，暗含二人情谊之厚；「捧玉钟」则以「玉」饰酒器，既写宴席之华，也以「捧」字的珍重姿态写出伊人的恭敬与柔婉。七字之中，人（彩袖）、情（殷勤）、物（玉钟）三者俱足，却无一字直写容貌，纯以衣与器烘托其人，正合中国诗学「以物存人」之诀。从结构言，此句与次句「当年拼却醉颜红」构成「劝—醉」的因果，开启上片整个乐境；而「彩袖」之暖，恰与下片「银釭」之冷、「梦中」之虚形成对照，是整首悲欢交响的第一个明亮音符。小山以相门公子写歌席，下字如此精醇，正见其「淡语皆有味」的腕力。

The opening lights up a memory of a long-ago feast with two images of bright color and warm texture, the colored sleeve and the jade cup. Colored sleeve stands for the singing girl who danced and served wine - using the dress for the person, the classical economy for a beauty, and the word colored first lays a warm, rich tone over the whole ci. Tender care writes her way of pressing the cup, not perfunctory service but repeated urging from the heart, hinting the depth of their bond. Pressing the jade cup adorns the vessel with jade, writing both the feast's splendor and, in the gesture of pressing it, her reverence and softness. In seven words, person, feeling and object are all present, yet no word directly describes her looks, and the dress and cup conjure her - the Chinese art of storing a person through things. Structurally it joins the next line that year I wagered my drunk face red in a cause-and-effect of urging and drunkenness, opening the upper stanza's whole world of joy; its warm color sets off the lower stanza's cold lamp and dream-like unreality, the first bright note of the symphony of joy and sorrow.

舞低杨柳楼心月，歌尽桃花扇影风。

The dance lowered the moon at the willow tower's heart; the song spent the wind of the peach-blossom fan's shadow.

舞到楼心杨柳掩住了西沉的明月，歌到桃花扇影里风声也渐渐歇息。

They danced until the moon by the willows sank low above the tower; they sang until the wind in the peach-blossom fan died away.

此句为全词最警策的一联，向与「今宵剩把银釭照」并称为小山词中的双绝，其妙在把「时间的流逝」与「欢娱的极致」凝缩为一幅动态的夜宴图。「舞低杨柳楼心月」写舞：楼心杨柳掩映中，明月渐渐西沉而被舞影「低」却——「低」字以月的下沉反衬舞之久、舞之酣，仿佛不是月在走，而是舞姿把月逼低；「歌尽桃花扇影风」写歌：桃花扇影里风声渐息，歌亦唱「尽」——「尽」字以风的停歇反衬歌之满、歌之彻。两句对仗工稳而一气流转，是流水对而非拘对，「低」与「尽」两个动词尤见炼意：它们把不可见的「通宵欢娱」化为可见的「月低风息」，时空在此被高度凝缩。从渊源看，「杨柳」写舞姿本自李白「杨柳小蛮腰」、白居易「杨柳舞春风」一脉，「桃花扇」则点化唐人「桃花马上石榴裙」的绮丽；小山熔铸故实而自铸伟词，使这一联既有齐梁宫体的秾丽，又有北宋令词的精警。后世论者谓此联「一联中藏一夜」，诚非虚誉，它是全词乐境的顶点，也是下片悲境最沉重的反衬。

This couplet is the ci most striking pair, ranked with tonight I hold up the silver lamp as one of Yan's twin masterpieces; it condenses the passing of time and the height of delight into one living picture of a night feast. They danced until the moon by the willows sank low above the tower writes the dance: amid the willows at the tower's heart, the moon slowly sinks and is lowered by the dance - the word lowered uses the moon's descent to set off how long and how deep the dancing, as if not the moon but the dance forced it down. They sang until the wind in the peach-blossom fan died away writes the song: in the fan's peach-blossom shadow the wind stills and the song ends - the word ended uses the wind's stopping to set off how full and thorough the singing. The two lines are a flowing couplet, parallel yet unbroken, and the verbs lowered and ended are the crafted core: they turn the invisible all-night delight into the visible low moon and still wind, condensing time and space. Later critics say one couplet holds a whole night - no empty praise.

几回魂梦与君同。

How many times in soul and dream have I been with you the same!

有多少次，我的魂魄在梦中与你同在。

How many times my soul in dreams has been with you.

此句为下片腹心，以「魂梦」二字把上片的现实欢宴与下片的重逢疑惧连为一气，是全词由「忆」入「梦」、由「实」入「虚」的枢纽。「几回」二字极有分量，不是「一回」「偶尔」，而是「多少次」——别后的漫漫长夜里，词人一次次在梦中与伊人重聚，梦成了唯一的相逢之所，反比清醒时的「别」更显真切。「魂梦与君同」五字，写魂魄离身、赴约梦中，与白居易「梦寻来不来」、李商隐「梦为远别啼难唤」同一机杼，而小山更以「同」字强调二人在梦中并肩同在的温润，与醒时「隔水高楼」「音书断绝」的孤绝形成刺心对照。从结构言，此句上承「从别后，忆相逢」的散句跌顿，下启「今宵剩把银釭照」的现实重逢，是「梦」与「真」的过渡桥——正因为「几回魂梦」太过真实，才导致今宵真见时「犹恐是梦中」的疑惧。一句之中，把古典相思文学中「梦为慰藉亦为虐」的悖论写得既深且婉，是小山「古之伤心人」以梦为忏的典型笔法，亦见北宋令词将「魂梦」意象发展到极致的一例。

This is the heart of the lower stanza, using the word soul-dreams to bind the upper stanza's real feast and the lower stanza's doubt of reunion into one current, the hinge from memory to dream, from real to illusory. How many times carries weight: not once or occasionally but how many - through the long nights after parting, the poet met her again again in dreams, and dream became the only place of meeting, more real than the waking parting. Soul in dreams has been with you writes the soul leaving the body to keep tryst, kin to Bai Juyi dreamed of coming and did not, and Li Shangyin dreams of far parting and wakes in weeping; Yan adds the word together, stressing the warmth of standing side by side in the dream, set against the waking isolation of the riverside tower and the cut-off letters. Structurally it follows from after parting, I recall our meeting and opens tonight I hold up the silver lamp - the bridge between dream and truth: precisely because those soul-dreams were so real, the true meeting tonight is feared to be a dream. In one line the paradox of classical love poetry - dream as solace and as torment - is written deeply and tenderly.

今宵剩把银釭照，犹恐相逢是梦中。

Tonight I lift the silver lamp to gaze again and again, still fearing our meeting is a dream.

今夜只管举起银灯细细照看你，仍怕这相逢只是一场梦。

Tonight I keep holding up the silver lamp to look at you, still fearing this meeting is only a dream.

此句为全词之结穴与千古绝唱，以「银釭照」的痴态与「犹恐」的疑惧，把重逢的狂喜压成不敢置信的颤栗。「今宵」点明时间由昔（当年）而别（别后）而终于「今」，叙事完成闭环；「剩把银釭照」五字写词人重逢后唯恐是梦，反复举起银灯细细照看伊人——「剩把」犹言「只管把」「频频把」，写出一种近乎孩子气的执拗与痴；「银釭」即银灯，六朝以来写夜审之景的常物，此处以灯照人，光晕中的面容更增不真实感。最撼心者「犹恐相逢是梦中」七字：「犹恐」二字把「喜极」翻转为「惧极」——怕眼前人忽焉消失，怕欢会只是另一场梦的延续。此句明显化用杜甫「夜阑更秉烛，相对如梦寐」与司空曙「乍见翻疑梦」，而杜司空写乱离骨肉重逢之悲，小山移写儿女缱绻重逢之惧，情境虽移，而「疑真疑幻」的人类共感则一。一结以「梦中」收束，与上片「魂梦」遥应，使全词首尾皆萦于「梦」字，乐也是梦、真也疑梦，把一段聚短散长、真幻难辨的恋情写到回肠荡气、一字一泪，是古典重逢主题中无可逾越的巅峰之笔。

This is the ci closing and an immortal piece, using the obsession of the silver lamp and the dread of still fearing to press the rapture of reunion into a trembling of disbelief. Tonight fixes the time from that year, through after parting, to now, closing the narrative loop. I keep holding up the silver lamp to look at you writes the poet, after reunion, fearing it is a dream, repeatedly raising the silver lamp to study her - keep holding means again and again, a childlike stubbornness. The silver lamp is the silver lamp, long used for night scenes; here its light on her face only deepens the unreality. Most piercing is still fearing this meeting is only a dream: still fearing turns the height of joy into the depth of dread - fear the figure before him will vanish, fear the feast is only another dream's continuation. The line transforms Du Fu's late at night we trim the candle, face to face as if in a dream, and Sikong Shu's suddenly seeing and doubting it a dream; where Du and Sikong wrote the grief of kinsmen reunited in chaos, Yan writes the dread of lovers reunited in tenderness - the setting shifts, but the common human feeling of doubting truth and illusion is one. Closing in dream, it answers the soul-dreams above, so that head and tail hang on the word dream: joy is dream, truth is doubted dream. It is the unsurpassed peak of the classical theme of reunion.

Study

Word focus

彩袖 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「彩袖」二字是全词起拍的眼目，其炼字之妙在以衣代人、以色传情。在中国诗学传统中，以服饰局部指代人物（借代）是写美人的省笔妙法，如「罗衣」「翠袖」「玉钗」皆是；小山不写「歌女」「佳人」而独写「彩袖」，一则避直露、存含蓄，二则「彩」字先给全词敷上秾丽的暖色——彩色的衣袖在灯宴中翻飞，其人便活在其中。「袖」尤可玩：袖可舞、可捧、可掩面，是中国女性体态语言最富韵致的部分，以「袖」代「人」，比「彩衣」「翠裙」更显灵动。炼字之要，在「彩袖」与「殷勤」的搭配：袖本是无情物，经「殷勤」一点，便成了有情的劝酒之手，物与人浑然莫辨。又，「彩袖」之暖丽，恰与下片「银釭」之清冷、「梦中」之虚幻构成色彩与温度的双重反差，是全词悲欢交响的第一个明亮音符。小山以相门公子写歌席，下字如此精醇而不涉狎亵，正见其「艳而不靡」的分寸——「彩袖」二字，便是这分寸的基点。

舞低 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「舞低」二字（连同「杨柳楼心月」）是全词最凝缩时空的一处炼字，其力量在以月的下沉反衬舞之久酣。「低」本形容位置的下沉，小山于此用作动词的使动——不是月自低，而是「舞」把楼心杨柳掩映中的明月「低」了下去，仿佛舞姿的绵延不息逼退了时间、压低了月轮。这种「以人夺天、以舞移月」的写法，把不可见的「通宵欢娱」化为可见的「月沉楼心」，是时空凝缩的至高笔法。炼字之妙，尤在「低」与下句「尽」的对仗呼应：「舞低」对「歌尽」，一写视觉之月沉，一写听觉之风息，二者合力把一场宴乐写到极致饱满而后歇，恰如将一夜浓缩为七个字。溯源而言，「杨柳」写舞姿自李白「杨柳小蛮腰」、白居易「杨柳舞春风」已然，而「楼心月低」则是小山独有的意象创造——前人写月多重其高洁孤悬，小山独写其被舞「低」，赋予明月以被欢娱驯服的温柔，是点化故典以写新境的绝佳示范。二字置于警联之首，已定下全联「以景写久」的基调。

银釭 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「银釭」二字（连同「剩把……照」）是全词下片最见痴态的一处炼字，其分量在「釭」这一古字的选用与「照」这一动作的执拗。「釭」本指灯盏，特指有油的铜银灯，《说文》「釭，车釭也」后引申为灯，六朝乐府与唐人诗中「金釭」「银釭」写夜审之景屡见（如「明灯照空局」「银釭暗秋月」），小山用「银」饰之，既写灯之华，也以冷银之光反衬重逢之暖，光晕中的面容更添一层不真实感。炼字之要，在「剩把银釭照」五字所凝定的动作：词人重逢后唯恐是梦，频频举起银灯细细照看——「剩把」犹言「只管把」「反反复复把」，写出一种近乎孩子气的执拗与痴，比直写「喜极而泣」更含蓄、更锥心。又，「银釭」之清冷与「彩袖」之暖丽首尾对照，把上片的乐境与下片的疑境在色彩温度上扣成一体；而「照」字以视觉的确认对抗「梦中」的虚幻，正是全词「疑真」主题的动作化呈现。二字（银釭）承载着从六朝到北宋的夜灯意象传统，小山以令词短章一点，便使个人的重逢痴态接通了民族性的「秉烛认人」母题。