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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

诉衷情·夜来沉醉卸妆迟

Telling, the, Feeling, at, the, Heart: Last, Night, Deeply, Drunk, the, Makeup, Removed, Late

李清照

Li Qingzhao

闺情Theme 梅Theme

夜来沉醉卸妆迟，梅萼插残枝。
酒醒熏破春睡，梦远不成归。
人悄悄，月依依。
翠帘垂。
更挼残蕊，更捻余香，更得些时。

Last, night, deeply, drunk, the makeup, removed, late,
The plum, calyxes, stuck, in, the withered, branches.
The wine, waking, the fragrance, broken, the spring, sleep,
The dream, far, not, becoming, the return.
The people, quietly, quiet, the moon, clinging, clinging.
The emerald, curtains, hanging.
Again, rubbing, the withered, stamens,
Again, twisting, the remaining, fragrance,
Again, gaining, a, little, while.

Listen

Meaning

A lyric of the boudoir and the longing, written by Li Qingzhao. Last night deeply drunk the makeup removed late, the plum calyxes stuck in the withered branches — the night of the opening. The wine waking the fragrance broken the spring sleep, the dream far not becoming the return — the longing of the middle. The people quietly quiet the moon clinging clinging, the emerald curtains hanging — the scene of the middle. And the close's again rubbing the withered stamens, again twisting the remaining fragrance, again gaining a little while — the close's lingering. The lyric is the boudoir and the longing: the night, the dream, and the close's lingering.

夜来沉醉卸妆迟，梅萼插残枝。酒醒熏破春睡，梦远不成归。人悄悄，月依依。翠帘垂。更挼残蕊，更捻余香，更得些时。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Last, night, deeply, drunk, the makeup, removed, late, the plum, calyxes, stuck, in, the withered, branches. The wine, waking, the fragrance, broken, the spring, sleep, the dream, far, not, becoming, the return. The people, quietly, quiet, the moon, clinging, clinging. The emerald, curtains, hanging. Again, rubbing, the withered, stamens, again, twisting, the remaining, fragrance, again, gaining, a, little, while. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the night of the drunkenness and the plum, through the longing of the dream and the return, to the close's the rubbing and the twisting of the remaining fragrance. [Key Technique] The lyric's art is the close of the lingering: again rubbing the withered stamens, and the close's again gaining a little while — the longing gathered in the scene and the close's lingering. [Emotional Tone] Lonely, tender, and lingering: the lyric is the night, the dream and the close's fragrance.

【白话串讲】李清照写《诉衷情·夜来沉醉卸妆迟》：“夜来沉醉卸妆迟，梅萼插残枝”——“酒醒熏破春睡，梦远不成归”——“人悄悄，月依依。翠帘垂”——“更挼残蕊，更捻余香，更得些时”——她夜醉难眠，揉搓着残梅——她写相思。【意象与手法】此词写闺怨，以怀人写闺怨，是李清照的名篇。上片写醉眠：「夜来沉醉卸妆迟，梅萼插残枝。酒醒熏破春睡，梦远不成归」写夜来沉醉卸妆迟、梅萼插残枝——写尽醉眠的残梅；下片写独坐：「人悄悄，月依依。翠帘垂。更挼残蕊，更捻余香，更得些时」写人悄悄、月依依、翠帘垂——写尽独坐的惆怅。全词以怀人写闺怨，写尽醉眠的残梅与独坐的惆怅，是李清照的代表作。【情感与主旨】此词写闺怨，以怀人写闺怨，是李清照的名篇。此词写李清照与赵明诚分别后的孤寂情怀。李清照婚后与赵明诚聚少离多，夜来独酌沉醉，卸妆迟，梅萼插残枝；酒醒而熏破春睡，梦远而不成归；人悄悄而月依依，翠帘垂；更挼残蕊，更捻余香，更得些时。此词写醉眠：夜来沉醉卸妆迟，梅萼插残枝——写夜来沉醉卸妆迟、梅萼插残枝，写尽醉眠的残梅；酒醒熏破春睡，梦远不成归——写酒醒熏破春睡、梦远不成归，写尽梦远的春睡；人悄悄，月依依。翠帘垂——写人悄悄、月依依、翠帘垂，写尽独坐的惆怅；更挼残蕊，更捻余香，更得些时——写更挼残蕊、更捻余香、更得些时，写尽捻香的时光。全词以怀人写闺怨——那「梅萼插残枝」写尽醉眠的残梅，「更得些时」写尽捻香的时光，写尽醉眠的残梅与独坐的惆怅，是理解李清照闺怨词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「夜来沉醉卸妆迟，梅萼插残枝」写醉眠的残梅；「更挼残蕊，更捻余香，更得些时」写捻香的时光；以及全词以怀人写闺怨、以细节写愁怀的手法。

Background

Li Qingzhao (1084-c. 1155), the greatest poetess of the ci of the Song, wrote this 'Telling, the, Feeling, at, the, Heart' of the boudoir and the longing — the loneliness of the waiting. The drunkenness of the night with the plum calyxes, the dream far with the return, and the close's the rubbing of the stamens with the lingering — the lyric gathers the loneliness of the poetess, the tenderness of the longing. The lyric is one of the famous works of the poetess's lyrics of the boudoir.

此词写闺怨，以怀人写闺怨，是李清照的名篇。李清照（1084—约1155），号易安居士，齐州章丘（今山东济南）人，宋代婉约派词人，有「千古第一才女」之称。此词写李清照与赵明诚分别后的孤寂情怀。李清照婚后与赵明诚聚少离多，夜来独酌沉醉，卸妆迟，梅萼插残枝；酒醒而熏破春睡，梦远而不成归；人悄悄而月依依，翠帘垂；更挼残蕊，更捻余香，更得些时。此词写醉眠：「夜来沉醉卸妆迟，梅萼插残枝」写夜来沉醉卸妆迟、梅萼插残枝——写尽醉眠的残梅（夜来沉醉卸妆迟，梅萼插残枝）；「酒醒熏破春睡，梦远不成归」写酒醒熏破春睡、梦远不成归——写尽梦远的春睡（酒醒熏破春睡，梦远不成归）；「人悄悄，月依依。翠帘垂」写人悄悄、月依依、翠帘垂——写尽独坐的惆怅（人悄悄，月依依。翠帘垂）；「更挼残蕊，更捻余香，更得些时」写更挼残蕊、更捻余香、更得些时——写尽捻香的时光（更挼残蕊，更捻余香，更得些时）。全词以怀人写闺怨，写尽醉眠的残梅与独坐的惆怅，是理解李清照闺怨词的重要篇章。

Art

The lyric's art is the art of the lingering. The night opens: last, night, deeply, drunk, the makeup, removed, late — the drunkenness of the makeup removed late; the plum, calyxes, stuck, in, the withered, branches — the plum calyxes of the withered branches. The longing follows: the wine, waking, the fragrance, broken, the spring, sleep — the wine of the broken sleep; the dream, far, not, becoming, the return — the dream of the return; the people, quietly, quiet, the moon, clinging, clinging — the moon of the clinging; the emerald, curtains, hanging — the curtains of the hanging. And the close gathers the lingering: again, rubbing, the withered, stamens — the rubbing of the withered stamens; again, twisting, the remaining, fragrance — the twisting of the remaining fragrance; again, gaining, a, little, while — the gaining of the little while — the night, the longing and the close's lingering, gathered in the lyric.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以细节写残梅。「梅萼插残枝」以细节写残梅——那「梅萼插残枝」写尽插枝的残梅，以细节写尽醉眠的残梅。其二，以对照写春睡。「酒醒熏破春睡」以对照写春睡——那「梦远不成归」写尽梦远的春睡，以对照写尽梦远的春睡。其三，以白描写月夜。「人悄悄，月依依」以白描写月夜——那「月依依」写尽依依的明月，以白描写尽独坐的惆怅。其四，以重复写捻香。「更挼残蕊，更捻余香」以重复写捻香——那「更挼」「更捻」写尽连更的捻香，以重复写尽捻香的时光。此外，此词上片写醉眠的残梅，下片写独坐的惆怅，由眠及坐，正是闺怨词「以细节写愁」的写法。四重手法，使此词以怀人写闺怨，写尽醉眠的残梅与独坐的惆怅，是李清照的代表作。此词还善于以「酒醒熏破春睡」的「熏破」写熏梦之破——那「熏破春睡」写尽酒香熏梦，正是以熏写破，以「熏破」写尽梦远的春睡。又善以「月依依。翠帘垂」的「依依」「垂」写月帘之静——那「月依依」「翠帘垂」写尽依依的月帘，以「依依」写尽独坐的惆怅。

Allusions

'The plum calyxes' (mei e) are the plum calyxes — the calyxes of the plum, the withered branches of the hairpin; 'the spring sleep' (chun shui) is the spring sleep — the sleep of the spring, the broken of the wine; 'the emerald curtains' (cui lian) are the emerald curtains — the curtains of the emerald, the hanging of the boudoir.

此词的用语深植于闺怨与怀人传统。「沉醉」令人想到「沉醉」写酣醉的意象——也令人想到「沉醉不知归路」（李清照）的意象；「梅萼」令人想到「梅萼」写梅花花萼的意象——也令人想到「梅萼插残枝」的意象；「春睡」令人想到「春睡」写春睡的意象——也令人想到「春眠不觉晓」（孟浩然）的意象；「依依」令人想到「依依」写依恋的意象——也令人想到「杨柳依依」（《诗经》）的意象；「翠帘」令人想到「翠帘」写翠色帘幕的意象——也令人想到「帘卷西风」（李清照）的意象；「挼」令人想到「挼」写揉搓的意象——也令人想到「挼碎」的意象。全词化用沉醉、梅萼、春睡、依依、翠帘、挼的意象，以怀人写闺怨，正是李清照「婉约」而善白描、承闺怨传统写愁怀之本领。「梅萼」令人想到「梅萼」写梅花花萼的意象——也令人想到「梅花落」（乐府）的意象；「翠帘」令人想到「翠帘」写翠色帘幕的意象——也令人想到「小院闲窗春色深」（李清照）的意象，以翠帘写垂帘独坐。

Commentary

This lyric is one of the famous works of Li Qingzhao's lyrics of the boudoir, quoted for the tenderness of its scene and the lingering of its close. The wine waking the spring sleep, and the three agains of the close, are among the admired passages of the poetess's lyrics. Critics praise the lyric's tenderness: the night gathered in the longing, to the close's lingering.

此词历来被推为李清照闺怨词的名篇，也是宋词写独居愁怀的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以怀人写闺怨，细腻深婉」；近人更指出「更挼残蕊，更捻余香，更得些时」写捻香的时光，是此词的名句。在词史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以两片的小令写尽醉眠的残梅与独坐的惆怅——那夜来，那沉醉，那卸妆迟，那梅萼，那插残枝，那酒醒，那熏破春睡，那梦远，那不成归，那人悄悄，那月依依，那翠帘垂，那更挼残蕊，那更捻余香，那更得些时，都写尽了李清照笔下的诉衷情；那「更得些时」更以重复写尽捻香的时光。此词与李清照《如梦令》（「昨夜雨疏风骤」）同为独居名篇，一写「绿肥红瘦」的惜春（如梦令），一写「梦远不成归」的怀人（诉衷情）；又与温庭筠「懒起画蛾眉」的闺怨传统一脉相承，可见中国词写闺怨的传统。对于今日读者，此词是理解李清照闺怨词的窗口，也是宋词写独居愁怀的经典——那捻香的时光，穿越千年，仍在诉说着独坐的惆怅。

Prosody

Form A short ci lyric of the boudoir (ci diao)词·诉衷情

Rhyme The lyric rhymes on the level and the oblique of the group — the cadence of the short ci that carries the tender longing.诉衷情，押「迟」「枝」「归」「垂」「时」韵（平声），平韵到底

Tone pattern The cadence is that of the lingering: the level opening with the night, the turning with the longing, and the close's fall with the three agains.此词为诉衷情词调，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节缠绵，正合闺怨的缠绵。

Reading note The lyric's sound matches its tenderness: the cadences of the short ci, and the close — 'geng de xie shi' — falls with the while, the sound of the lingering of the lonely poetess.此词为诉衷情词调，两片——上片「夜来沉醉卸妆迟，梅萼插残枝。酒醒熏破春睡，梦远不成归」；下片「人悄悄，月依依。翠帘垂。更挼残蕊，更捻余香，更得些时」，押平韵（迟、枝、归、垂、时），一韵到底，音节缠绵。全词以怀人写闺怨：上片写醉眠的残梅（夜来沉醉卸妆迟、梦远不成归），下片写独坐的惆怅（人悄悄月依依、更得些时）。两片短章，前写醉眠，后写独坐，以「更得些时」写尽捻香的时光，正见李清照「婉约」的本色。诵读此词，宜以缠绵的语调读「梅萼插残枝」的残梅，以低回的语调读「更得些时」的时光，结句要读得缠绵而有余韵，方能传达出李清照的细腻深婉。李清照词以「婉约」著称，此词正是其闺怨词的典范。

Line by line

更挼残蕊，更捻余香，更得些时

I crush the faded petals, twist the lingering scent, and linger a little longer.

更挼残蕊，更捻余香，更得些时。

I crush the faded petals, twist the lingering scent, and linger a little longer.

此句是全词写时光的核心，以更挼残蕊写残蕊，以更捻余香写余香，以更得些时写些时，写尽捻香的时光，是千古名句。「更挼残蕊」写更挼残蕊——那「更挼」写更挼，「残蕊」写残蕊，写尽残蕊的揉挼；「更捻余香」写更捻余香——那「更捻」写更捻，「余香」写余香，写尽余香的捻弄；「更得些时」写更得些时——那「更得」写更得，「些时」写些时，写尽些时的独坐。这句的深意在于：它以「更挼残蕊」的残蕊与「更捻余香」的余香与「更得些时」的些时，写尽捻香的时光——更挼残蕊，那「更挼残蕊」写尽残蕊的揉挼——更挼残蕊，正是再揉残花的写照，那「残蕊」写尽捻香的时光；更捻余香，那「更捻余香」写尽余香的捻弄——更捻余香，正是再捻余香的写照，那「余香」写尽捻香的时光；更得些时，那「更得些时」写尽些时的独坐——更得些时，正是再待片刻的写照，那「些时」写尽捻香的时光；那「更挼残蕊」写尽残蕊的揉挼，那「更捻余香」写尽余香的捻弄，那「更得些时」写尽些时的独坐，一写挼蕊，一写捻香，一写得时，写尽捻香的时光——挼蕊捻香而独坐些时，正是愁怀的写照；此句以残蕊、余香、些时写尽捻香的时光，也让此句成为全词写时光的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「又把残花揉一揉，又捻捻余香，再多坐一会儿」，则失其细腻；唯以「更挼残蕊」写残蕊、「更捻余香」写余香、「更得些时」写些时，写尽捻香的时光，也让此句成为全词写时光的核心。

This line is the core of the whole lyric's writing of time, writing through crushing the faded petals, twisting the lingering scent, and lingering a little longer, to the full the hours of twisting incense, the famous line of a thousand ages. The deep meaning lies in that it uses the faded petals, the lingering scent, and the little while to write to the full the hours of twisting incense - crushing the faded petals, twisting the lingering scent, and sitting alone a little longer, exactly the picture of the sorrowful heart. One writing the crushing of petals, one writing the twisting of incense, one writing the lingering of time, writing to the full the slow empty hours. This line writes to the full the hours of twisting incense through the faded petals, the lingering scent, and the little while, and makes it the core of the whole lyric's time and a famous line of a thousand ages. If one instead directly said I crushed the faded flowers again, twisted the lingering scent, and sat a while longer, one would lose the fineness; only writing the faded petals through crush the faded petals, the lingering scent through twist the lingering scent, and the little while through linger a little longer, writing to the full the hours of twisting incense, makes this line the core of the whole lyric's time.

夜来沉醉卸妆迟，梅萼插残枝

That night I came home drunk and delayed to unrobe; plum calyxes were set in the withered bough.

夜来沉醉卸妆迟，梅萼插残枝。

That night I came home drunk and delayed to unrobe; plum calyxes were set in the withered bough.

此二句是全词写残梅的核心，以夜来沉醉卸妆迟写卸妆迟，以梅萼插残枝写插残枝，写尽醉眠的残梅，是千古名句。「夜来沉醉卸妆迟」写夜来沉醉卸妆迟——那「夜来沉醉」写夜来沉醉，「卸妆迟」写卸妆迟，写尽沉醉的卸妆；「梅萼插残枝」写梅萼插残枝——那「梅萼插」写梅萼插，「残枝」写残枝，写尽插枝的残梅。这句的深意在于：它以「夜来沉醉卸妆迟」的卸妆迟与「梅萼插残枝」的插残枝，写尽醉眠的残梅——夜来沉醉卸妆迟，那「夜来沉醉卸妆迟」写尽沉醉的卸妆——夜来沉醉，正是夜饮沉醉的写照，那「卸妆迟」写尽醉眠的残梅；梅萼插残枝，那「梅萼插残枝」写尽插枝的残梅——梅萼插残枝，正是残梅插枝的写照，那「残枝」写尽醉眠的残梅；那「夜来沉醉卸妆迟」写尽沉醉的卸妆，那「梅萼插残枝」写尽插枝的残梅，一写沉醉，一写残梅，写尽醉眠的残梅——夜来沉醉而残梅插枝，正是独居的写照；此二句以沉醉、残梅写尽醉眠的残梅，也为下文的春睡作铺垫，也让此二句成为全词写残梅的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「夜里喝醉了，卸妆卸得很晚，梅花萼插在残枝上」，则失其细腻；唯以「夜来沉醉卸妆迟」写卸妆迟、「梅萼插残枝」写插残枝，写尽醉眠的残梅，也让此二句成为全词写残梅的核心。

These two lines are the core of the whole lyric's writing the faded plum, writing through came home drunk and delayed to unrobe and plum calyxes set in the withered bough, to the full the faded plum of the drunken sleep, the famous line of a thousand ages. The deep meaning lies in that it uses the delayed unrobing of that night I came home drunk and delayed to unrobe and the set withered bough of plum calyxes were set in the withered bough to write to the full the faded plum of the drunken sleep - drunk at night and the plum calyxes in the withered bough, exactly the picture of lonely dwelling. One writing drunkenness, one writing the faded plum, writing to the full the faded plum of the drunken sleep. These two lines write to the full the faded plum of the drunken sleep through drunkenness and the faded plum, lay a ground for the later spring sleep, and make them the core of the whole lyric's faded plum and a famous line of a thousand ages. If one instead directly said I got drunk at night and unrobed late, and plum calyxes were set in the withered bough, one would lose the fineness; only writing the delayed unrobing through that night I came home drunk and delayed to unrobe and the set withered bough through plum calyxes were set in the withered bough, writing to the full the faded plum of the drunken sleep, makes these two lines the core of the whole lyric's faded plum.

Study

Word focus

迟 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「夜来沉醉卸妆迟」之「迟」字是写愁怀的关键词，一个「迟」字写尽沉醉的卸妆。迟者，迟缓、晚也。李清照以「夜来沉醉卸妆迟」写愁怀，这个「迟」字至少有双重意味：其一，写卸之迟——那「夜来沉醉卸妆迟」写夜来沉醉卸妆迟，那「迟」字写尽沉醉的卸妆——卸妆迟，正是卸妆迟缓的写照，那「迟」字写尽醉眠的残梅；其二，写情之懒——那「迟」字更是写懒——迟，正见独居无绪的慵懒，那「迟」字写尽李清照的愁怀。以「迟」字写愁怀，正是李清照写闺怨的枢纽——若换作「晚」「慢」等字，则或失其与「夜来沉醉」「卸妆迟」的配合，或失其写迟的意味；唯「迟」字，以夜来沉醉卸妆迟写尽卸妆之迟缓与独居之慵懒，与「梅萼插残枝」的残梅相合，写尽醉眠的残梅，也让「夜来沉醉卸妆迟」成为全词写愁怀的名句。

挼 'The rubbing' — the rubbing of the stamens, the lingering of the close. 「更挼残蕊」之「挼」字是写时光的关键词，一个「挼」字写尽残蕊的揉挼。挼者，揉搓、捻弄也。李清照以「更挼残蕊」写时光，这个「挼」字至少有双重意味：其一，写蕊之挼——那「更挼残蕊」写更挼残蕊，那「挼」字写尽残蕊的揉挼——挼残蕊，正是揉搓残花的写照，那「挼」字写尽捻香的时光；其二，写情之寂——那「挼」字更是写寂——挼，正见独坐捻花的孤寂，那「挼」字写尽李清照的愁怀。以「挼」字写时光，正是李清照写闺怨的枢纽——若换作「揉」「捻」等字，则或失其与「更挼残蕊」「更捻余香」的配合，或失其写挼的意味；唯「挼」字，以更挼残蕊写尽残蕊之揉挼与独坐之孤寂，与「更得些时」的些时相合，写尽捻香的时光，也让「更挼残蕊」成为全词写时光的名句。