五代 Five Dynasties · 词 Ci lyric
捣练子·深院静
Deep Courtyard Still
深院静，小庭空，断续寒砧断续风。
无奈夜长人不寐，数声和月到帘栊。
Intermittent cold pounding, intermittent wind.
Helplessly the long night keeps me awake,
A few sounds and moonlight reach the window screen.
Meaning
The poem depicts a silent deep courtyard and an empty small garden, with the intermittent sound of pounding clothes and wind. The poet lies awake all night, hearing the pounding and seeing moonlight through the window, expressing deep loneliness and sorrow.
幽深的庭院一片寂静，小小的天井空阔无人，断断续续的捣衣声伴着断断续续的秋风。无奈长夜漫漫，人总难成眠，几声砧声和着月光，一同来到窗栊之前。
Appreciation
Li Yu, last ruler of Southern Tang, possibly wrote this after his capture, using the scene of autumn night pounding to express sleepless sorrow and longing for his homeland. The poem contrasts stillness with sound, ending with moonlight and pounding sounds blending into the window, leaving a lingering melancholy.
【白话串讲】 “深院静，小庭空，断续寒砧断续风”——李煜写深秋的夜：庭院空，捣衣声断断续续。“无奈夜长人不寐”——夜太长，睡不着。被俘后的李煜，连寂寞都写进了声音里。 【意象与手法】 此词篇幅极短而层折入深。起二句「深院静，小庭空」以六字写尽幽闭孤寂；第三句「断续寒砧断续风」以两「断续」叠用，将捣衣声与秋风声交织，以声写静、以动衬寂，声情摇曳。「无奈夜长人不寐」由景及人，直揭长愁；结句「数声和月到帘栊」不写情而情自见——砧声与月色并入窗前，以景结情，空灵含蓄 【情感与主旨】 李煜（937—978），字重光，号钟隐，南唐后主。此《捣练子》（一名《深院静》）或以为写于幽居汴京期间，以秋夜捣衣之景寄托孤寂长愁；亦有学者视为其早期宫怨小令。无论何属，皆见「以哀景写哀情」之妙，二十七字的小令写尽深院秋夜、砧声月色中的长愁 【名句点睛】 本词为五代词抒情名篇，中高考可考：一、意境鉴赏，概括「清冷、孤寂、哀婉」的秋夜意境；二、「断续寒砧断续风」以声写静、以动衬寂的手法；三、「数声和月到帘栊」以景结情的含蓄
Background
Li Yu (937-978), styled Chongguang, was the last ruler of Southern Tang. He surrendered to Song in 975 and was taken to Bianjing, where he died three years later. His ci poetry divides into early works on palace life and later works on his fallen kingdom. This poem is thought to be written during his captivity in Bianjing, using autumn night pounding to convey loneliness, though some scholars consider it an early palace complaint.
李煜（937—978），字重光，号钟隐，又号莲峰居士，南唐中主李璟第六子，961年嗣位为南唐国主，世称李后主。嗣位时南唐国势已危，宋太祖开宝八年（975）宋军破金陵，李煜肉袒出降，被俘至汴京，封违命侯，三年后被宋太宗毒死，时年四十二。其词以亡国为界，前期多写宫廷宴乐与男女情思，风格绮丽；后期则沉哀入骨，多故国之思，境界大开。此《捣练子》（一名《深院静》）或以为写于幽居汴京期间，以秋夜捣衣之景寄托孤寂长愁；亦有学者视为其早期宫怨小令。无论何属，皆见「以哀景写哀情」之妙：二十七字的小令，写尽深院秋夜、砧声月色中的长愁，是李煜小令中「以少胜多」的典范，也是理解其词风由绮丽转向沉哀的重要作品。此词向为词选所收，俞平伯、唐圭璋等学者均有赏评，其以二十七字写长夜之愁的成就，为五代小令中不可多得之作，也是研究李煜词风演变的重要作品。
Art
The poem is extremely short but layered. The first two lines depict deep courtyard stillness; the third line uses repeated 'intermittent' to weave pounding and wind sounds, using sound to highlight silence. 'Helpless' directly reveals sleepless sorrow; the final line blends moonlight and pounding to end with scene, leaving emotion implicit. The language is simple yet deeply sorrowful, using dynamic sounds to contrast static setting.
此词篇幅极短而层折入深，以声写静、以动衬寂，声情摇曳。起二句「深院静，小庭空」以六字写尽幽闭孤寂：「深院」写院之深，「静」写院之寂，「小庭」写庭之小，「空」写庭之空——深、静、小、空四字叠用，层层写尽幽深空寂之境。第三句「断续寒砧断续风」以两「断续」叠用，将捣衣声与秋风声交织：砧声断续、风声断续，两种声音时断时续、若隐若现，以声写静——声之断续反衬境之空寂，以动衬寂，声情摇曳。「无奈夜长人不寐」由景及人，直揭长愁：「无奈」二字写尽无可奈何，长夜难眠之状毕现。结句「数声和月到帘栊」不写情而情自见：砧声数声、月光一片，一同来到窗前——砧声如愁、月光如愁，愁随声月入窗，以景结情，空灵含蓄。全词二十七字，由院而庭、由声而月、由景而人，层折入深，是李煜小令艺术的巅峰。全词二十七字，无一字写「愁」而愁满纸间，正是「不着一字，尽得风流」的典范。其声情相生之处，尤足细味。
Allusions
The poem uses no explicit allusions but relies on traditional imagery. 'Cold pounding' refers to the stone block for pounding clothes, a classic image of longing and separation (e.g., Li Bai's 'Moonlight on the capital' poem). 'Window screen' is a common poetic term. The poem inherits the late Tang Five Dynasties style but is more sparse, using ordinary scenes to express deep sorrow.
此词无明显使事用典，纯以白描写境，而意象自有传统渊源。「寒砧」指秋寒时捣练（捣衣）的石砧，是古典诗词写闺怨、思远的经典意象：秋夜捣衣，为远人准备寒衣，砧声起处，闺中思妇望断天涯——自六朝谢惠连《捣衣诗》以来，砧声即是离愁的符号；李白《子夜吴歌》「长安一片月，万户捣衣声」更将砧声与月色并写，成为秋夜思归的千古意象。李煜此处借「寒砧」写长夜孤寂，正承此传统而更见清疏。「帘栊」即窗棂，为诗词常语，代指闺阁。全词不假典实而意象自足：深院、小庭、寒砧、秋风、长夜、月光、帘栊，皆寻常物色，而组织成一片清冷孤寂之境，承晚唐五代花间余风而更见清疏，以寻常物色写极深哀愁，正是李煜「粗服乱头，不掩国色」的本色。此外，「深院」「小庭」之设，亦暗合花间词「庭院深深」的传统空间意象，李煜承之而更见空寂，正是五代词由秾丽转清疏的过渡标志。此正见其「化俗为雅」的才力。
Commentary
Modern critics admire Li Yu's natural beauty. Yu Pingbo said this poem 'writes out the long night's sorrow in a few words', especially the final line 'ends with scene, leaving infinite meaning'. Wang Guowei's remark 'all scene language is emotion language' applies perfectly here.
近人论李煜小令，多推其「粗服乱头不掩国色」之天然，此《捣练子》即其例。俞平伯先生评此词「寥寥数语，写尽长夜之愁」，又谓「数声和月到帘栊」一句「以景语结情，含蓄无尽」——二十七字的小令，写尽深院长夜之愁，正是李煜「以少胜多」的本领。王国维《人间词话》虽未专评此词，然其「一切景语皆情语」之论，正可移评此篇：深院、小庭、寒砧、秋风、月光、帘栊，无一景语不是情语，无一物色不染愁绪。此词在词史上的意义，在于以最短的体制写最深的愁：上承花间词写闺怨的传统，下开宋词写愁绪的多种法门；其以声写静、以景结情的手法，更为后世词人（如李清照「梧桐更兼细雨，到黄昏、点点滴滴」）所祖，是五代小令中艺术成就最高的作品之一。其「以景结情」的手法，为后世词人（如晏殊「无可奈何花落去」、李清照「梧桐更兼细雨」）所广泛取法，影响深远。其艺术成就，实为词史所公认。
Prosody
Line by line
深院静，小庭空
Deep courtyard still, small garden empty: Six characters depict closed-off loneliness, setting a sorrowful tone.
幽深的庭院一片寂静，小小的天井空阔无人
Deep the courtyard, still; small the court, empty.
起二句以六字写尽幽闭孤寂，是全词意境的基石。「深院静」写院之深与静：庭院幽深，重门深锁，寂然无声；「小庭空」写庭之小与空：天井逼仄，空阔无人，了无生趣。「深、静、小、空」四字，一字一景，层层叠写：深写其幽，静写其寂，小写其仄，空写其虚——深而静，是无人之院；小而空，是无人之庭。六字之中，不见人影而人自在其中：正是独居深院之人，方觉院之深、庭之空；正是长夜难眠之人，方感静之极、空之甚。此二句以写景而写心境，景之深静空小，即心之幽独孤寂，物我一体，为全词定下清冷孤寂的基调，也为后文砧声、月色、长愁的展开提供了空寂的背景。
The opening two lines write, in six characters, seclusion and loneliness, the foundation of the lyric's mood. 'Deep the courtyard, still' writes the depth and quiet of the court: a deep courtyard, its gates locked, silence. 'Small the court, empty' writes its smallness and void: a cramped little yard, empty of people, devoid of life. The four words—deep, still, small, empty—each a scene, layered: deep writes the seclusion, still the silence, small the narrowness, empty the void. Deep and still make a courtyard with no one; small and empty make a court with no one. In six characters, no figure is seen, yet the person is within: only one dwelling alone in the deep court would feel its depth, its quiet; only one sleepless through the long night would feel stillness at its extreme, void at its fullest. Writing the mind through scenery, the deep, still, empty smallness of the scene is the dark loneliness of the heart, object and self as one, setting the cold, lonely keynote and the empty background for the anvil sounds, moonlight, and long grief to follow.
断续寒砧断续风
Intermittent cold pounding, intermittent wind: The repeated 'intermittent' blends sound and wind, using dynamic sound to contrast stillness, rhythmic and emotionally charged.
断断续续的捣衣声伴着断断续续的秋风
Broken and renewed, the cold anvil; broken and renewed, the wind.
此句是全词最见功力的一句，以声写静、以动衬寂，声情摇曳。「断续」两字叠用，是全句的机关：捣衣之声断续——时远时近、时起时歇；秋风之声亦断续——时来时去、时弱时强，两种声音交织在一起，此起彼伏、若断若续。「寒砧」写捣衣之声，秋夜捣衣，为征人远客制衣，砧声本是离愁之音，着一「寒」字，更添秋夜之冷清；「断续」写声之疏密，亦写听者之心绪——长夜独听，砧声断续，风声断续，声声入耳，正是愁绪之萦回不断。此句以声写静：境本空寂，唯闻断续之声；声愈断续，愈显境之空寂。以动衬寂、以声写静，是古典诗词写静的最高手法，李煜此句得其神髓。
The line is the most crafted of the lyric, writing stillness through sound and solitude through motion, its feeling swaying. The repeated 'broken and renewed' is the mechanism of the line: the sound of washing clothes comes in bursts—now far, now near, now rising, now falling; the autumn wind too comes in bursts—now coming, now going, now faint, now strong—the two sounds interweaving, rising and falling, now broken, now resumed. 'Cold anvil' writes the beating of clothes: in the autumn night, clothes are beaten for distant soldiers and travelers, and the anvil sound is by nature a music of parting; the word 'cold' adds the chill of the autumn night. 'Broken and renewed' writes the density of the sound, and the listener's mood: alone through the long night, the anvil bursts, the wind bursts, each sound entering the ear, the grief winding without end. The line writes stillness through sound: the place is empty and quiet, and only the broken sounds are heard; the more broken the sound, the emptier the place. Writing solitude through motion and stillness through sound is the highest classical way of writing quiet, and Li Yu has caught its spirit.
无奈夜长人不寐
Helplessly the long night keeps me awake: Shifts from scene to person, directly revealing sleepless sorrow; 'helpless' is poignant.
无奈长夜漫漫，人总难成眠
Helpless against the long night, one cannot sleep.
此句由景及人，直揭长愁，是全词由写景转入抒情的关键。「无奈」二字是全句乃至全词的枢纽：长夜漫漫，无可奈何；人不寐，亦无可奈何——「无奈」写尽无能为力之感，既是怨夜之漫长，亦是恨愁之难遣，无可奈何之情溢于言表。「夜长」点明时间：秋夜渐长，而人不寐，更觉夜之漫长——时间的漫长与心绪的焦灼互为因果，夜愈长，愁愈深；「人不寐」点明处境：独处深院、长夜难眠，此前砧声、风声中独听之人，至此现身，原来正是这位不寐之人。此句不写愁之形、不写愁之状，只写「夜长」「不寐」两个事实，而长愁之状毕现：不是睡不下，而是愁难眠，愁之深、之重，尽在「无奈」二字之中。
The line moves from scene to person, directly naming the long grief, the key turning where the lyric passes from scenery to feeling. The words 'helpless' are the hinge of the line and the whole: the night is long, and there is no help; the person cannot sleep, and there is no help—'helpless' writes the feeling of powerlessness, at once resenting the length of the night and hating the grief that cannot be driven away, helplessness overflowing the words. 'The night is long' fixes the time: the autumn night grows long, and the person sleepless feels its length the more—the length of time and the anxious mind causing each other, the longer the night, the deeper the grief. 'One cannot sleep' fixes the situation: alone in the deep court, sleepless through the long night—the person who alone heard the anvil and wind now appears, and it is this very sleepless one. The line writes neither the shape nor the look of grief, only the two facts of 'long night' and 'cannot sleep,' and the long grief is fully present: not that she cannot lie down, but that grief will not let her rest, the depth and weight of it all within 'helpless.'
数声和月到帘栊
A few sounds and moonlight reach the window screen: Ends with scene, merging pounding and moonlight, leaving emotion implicit and lingering.
几声砧声和着月光，一同来到窗栊之前
A few notes, together with the moonlight, reach the lattice screen.
结句以景结情，是全词最空灵含蓄的一句。「数声」承前「断续寒砧」而来：砧声断续，最终剩得数声，声声入耳；「和月」写月光与砧声相伴——月光照入，砧声入耳，声与月一同到来，视与听交织；「到帘栊」写声月之来处：穿过帘栊，直入窗前——帘栊之内，正是长夜不寐之人。此句不写情而情自见：砧声数声，是愁声；月光一片，是愁色；声色同到窗前，愁亦随之入心——砧声如愁、月光如愁，愁随声月入窗，无孔不入，挥之不去。以景结情，将前面的砧声、风声、长夜、不寐尽收于「数声和月到帘栊」七字之中，空灵含蓄，言有尽而意无穷，是李煜「以景语结情」的经典收束，也是此词「含蓄无尽」之评的由来。
The closing line ends in scenery, the most ethereal and reserved passage of the lyric. 'A few notes' follows from the earlier 'broken and renewed, the cold anvil': the anvil bursts and renews, until only a few notes remain, each entering the ear. 'Together with the moonlight' writes moonlight and anvil sound as companions—the moonlight shines in, the anvil sound enters the ear, sound and moon arriving together, sight and hearing interwoven. 'Reach the lattice screen' writes where sound and moon come to: through the curtain and lattice, straight to the window—within the lattice is the sleepless one of the long night. The line names no feeling, yet feeling shows of itself: a few anvil notes are the sound of grief; a sheet of moonlight is the color of grief; sound and color come together to the window, and grief enters the heart with them—the anvil like grief, the moonlight like grief, grief entering the window with sound and moon, insinuating itself into every crack and cannot be waved away. Ending in scenery, it gathers up the anvil, the wind, the long night, the sleeplessness into these seven characters, ethereal and reserved, words exhausted yet meaning endless—the classic close of Li Yu's 'ending feeling in scenery' and the source of the lyric's praise for 'reserve without end.'
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both by Li Yu; compare this autumn night's solitude with the deep sorrow of his famous national fall poem.
《虞美人·春花秋月何时了》以「春花秋月何时了，往事知多少」「问君能有几多愁，恰似一江春水向东流」写亡国之痛，沉哀入骨，愁如春水，滔滔不尽；此词以「断续寒砧断续风」「数声和月到帘栊」写深院秋夜之愁，幽寂含蓄。两词同出李煜，同写愁，而《虞美人》为亡国后的绝唱，愁是国破家亡的沉哀，境界阔大；《捣练子》之愁是独处长夜的孤寂，境界幽深。比较二词，可见李煜写愁从幽寂到沉哀的演进，也可体会其词风由宫怨小令到亡国绝唱的变化轨迹，以及「愁」在李煜词中的不同形态。
相见欢·无言独上西楼 Joy of Meeting: Silently I Ascend the West Tower 李煜 · 皆李煜写愁小令，可比较手法异同 Same author/themeBoth are short lyrics on sorrow; compare this poem's use of scene to express resentment with 'Joy of Meeting''s direct expression of parting sorrow.
《相见欢·无言独上西楼》以「无言独上西楼，月如钩。寂寞梧桐深院锁清秋」「剪不断，理还乱，是离愁」写愁，直抒与比喻并用，愁如乱丝、剪理不断；此词以「深院静，小庭空」「断续寒砧断续风」写愁，以景写怨、以声写愁，含蓄空灵。两词皆李煜写愁的小令，皆写深院、秋夜、孤寂，而《相见欢》直抒「剪不断理还乱」，此词含蓄「数声和月到帘栊」——一显一隐、一直一婉，可见李煜写愁的两种手法。比较二词，既能体会李煜小令「以少胜多」的共同特点，也能见其写愁从含蓄到直露的多种面目。