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五代 Five Dynasties · 词 Ci lyric

归国遥·何处笛

Return to the Distance · Where Blows the Flute

冯延巳

Feng Yansi

离别Parting 相思Longing 感怀Reminiscence

何处笛？
深夜梦回情脉脉，竹风檐雨寒窗隔。
离人几岁无消息，今头白，不眠特地重相忆。

Where blows the flute?
Deep night, from dreams I wake, my heart is mute;
Bamboo wind and eaves rain through cold window shoot.
For years my love has sent no word—such is my lot;
Now my hair is white,
Sleepless, I recall him with a special heart.

Listen

Meaning

The poet is awakened from a deep dream by a flute at night. He feels a profound longing for a loved one who has been separated for years with no news. The cold wind and rain outside accentuate his isolation. Now his hair has turned white from worry, yet he cannot sleep and deliberately brings the loved one to mind.

不知何处传来笛声？夜深从梦中醒来，情意脉脉，千言万语却无从说起；竹林间的风、屋檐下的雨，将一扇寒窗与人隔成两个世界。离人一去几年全无消息，如今我的头发都已斑白，却偏要彻夜不眠，特意在这漫漫深夜里，把那个人一遍又一遍地深深追忆。

Appreciation

This ci opens with an interrogative 'Where blows the flute?' which suddenly stirs sorrow. The line 'Bamboo wind and eaves rain' uses auditory and visual imagery to create a cold, isolated atmosphere. The shift from scene to personal lament—'For years my love has sent no word'—highlights long separation and time's passage. The closing line, 'Sleepless, I recall him with a special heart,' uses a deliberately foolish tone to convey unwavering affection. The work exemplifies Feng's broad emotional scope (堂庑特大) and deep, restrained lyricism.

【白话串讲】 “何处笛？深夜梦回情脉脉”——冯延巳半夜被笛声惊醒，“离人几岁无消息，今头白”——离别几年没有消息，头发都白了。【意象与手法】本词艺术上最突出的是以声起情、以景衬情、以痴收情的章法。起句「何处笛」以三字设问陡起，如空谷传声，无端笛声惊破好梦，笼罩全篇；「深夜梦回情脉脉」点明时间与心境，满怀情意欲诉无言；「竹风檐雨寒窗隔」由情转景，竹风檐雨是实写，一个「隔」字将寒窗内外隔成两界，外界风雨喧哗，内室孤灯独对，视听交错、冷暖相生，景语即情语。下片「离人几岁无消息」以「几岁」极言离别之久，由景及人；「今头白」三字短句如一声叹息，凝岁月蹉跎于倏忽之间；结句「不眠特地重相忆」以「特地」翻进一层，不是偶然想起，而是偏要苦忆，明知无益而甘愿沉溺，痴绝之态跃然纸上，正是冯词深于情而不迫于语的典型风神。【情感与主旨】冯延巳（903—960），字正中，广陵（今江苏扬州）人，南唐中主朝官至宰相，词集名《阳春集》。此词写深夜闻笛、梦回怀远的离愁：上片由笛声入梦回，风雨寒窗，写出独处之孤寂；下片由「几岁无消息」写到「今头白」，将离别之久、相思之深、岁月之逝层层逼出；结句「不眠特地重相忆」更以自虐式的执着，写出明知无望而不肯放手的深情。表面是男女相思，骨子里却融入了士大夫对人生易老、聚散无常的感慨，所谓「闲情」之中自有一份深衷，故王国维谓冯词「堂庑特大，开北宋一代风气」，此词正是其典型。【名句点睛】中高考常考「不眠特地重相忆」：一个「特地」点出这忆不是被动的偶然浮现，而是主动的、执拗的沉溺，痴情至此，不言愁而愁自深。又常考「竹风檐雨寒窗隔」的「隔」字，写尽物我两隔、相见无期的无奈。答题时注意把握全词由笛声、梦回、风雨到白发、不眠的层递脉络，理解以景衬情、以痴写情的手法。

Background

Feng Yansi (903–960), courtesy name Zhengzhong, was prime minister of Southern Tang. He composed many ci about idle emotions and parting sorrow, greatly influencing Northern Song poets like Yan Shu and Ouyang Xiu. This poem, likely written during leisure in office, typifies his elegant, brooding lyricism.

冯延巳（903—960），字正中，广陵（今江苏扬州）人，南唐中主李璟朝官至宰相。他身居高位而内心敏感，词多写男女之情与闲愁别恨，词集名《阳春集》，被视为由唐入宋词风转变的关键人物。宋陈世修《阳春集序》称其「思深辞丽，韵逸调新」。《归国遥》是唐五代流行的曲调（又名《归国谣》），本词以「何处笛」领起，写深夜闻笛、梦回怀远的愁思。南唐偏安江南，君臣多耽于词酒，冯延巳作为历经烈祖、中主两朝的重臣，久处党争倾轧与国势日蹙的忧惧之中，其闲情词正产生于这种优裕而压抑的氛围：表面是男女相思，骨子里却融入了士大夫对人生易老、聚散无常、好景不长的深沉感慨，故王国维《人间词话》谓其词「虽不失五代风格，而堂庑特大，开北宋一代风气」。此词具体作年已不可考，据「今头白」之语，当作于冯氏中年以后；词中那位「几岁无消息」的离人，固可解作相思的对象，亦可读作对逝去年华、远去故人的怅望，这正是冯词「寄托遥深」的所在。

Art

The poem begins with the flute sound to trigger emotion, setting scene to express feeling. 'Bamboo wind and eaves rain' combines sound and touch, cold and warmth. Words like 'deep feelings' and 'specially' are delicate and indirect, reflecting Feng's broad and profound style. The shift from external scene to inner grief (long separation, white hair) is smooth, and the closing line forms a strong emotional climax.

本词艺术上最突出的是「以声起情、以景衬情、以痴收情」的章法。起句「何处笛」以三字设问陡起，如空谷传声，无端笛声直入梦境，不写笛声如何凄清，只写一声惊破好梦，便已笼罩全篇。次句「深夜梦回情脉脉」点明时间与心境，「脉脉」二字写满怀情意欲诉无言，情态宛然；「竹风檐雨寒窗隔」由情转景，竹风、檐雨皆为实写，而「隔」字将寒窗内外隔成两界——外界风雨喧哗，内室孤灯独对，视听交错、冷暖相生，景语即情语。下片「离人几岁无消息」以「几岁」极言离别之久，「无消息」极言音书之断，由景及人，情绪陡然下沉；「今头白」三字短句如一声叹息，将岁月蹉跎、相思无望的沉痛凝于一瞬。结句「不眠特地重相忆」以「特地」二字翻进一层：不是「偶然想起」，而是「偏要苦忆」，明知无益而甘愿沉溺，痴绝之态跃然纸上。全词由梦回而风雨、由风雨而白发、由白发而重忆，层层逼进；首句「梦回」与结句「不眠」遥相环合，「寒窗隔」与「无消息」一写空间之隔、一写音讯之绝，上下片对举互文，针线极密。通篇无一句直说愁苦，而愁苦满纸，正是冯词「深于情而不迫于语」的典型风神。

Allusions

The opening echoes Li Bai's 'From whose house do the hidden flute sounds fly?' in 'Hearing a Flute on a Spring Night in Luoyang'. 'Deep feelings' (情脉脉) derives from ancient poetry: 'A stretch of water between, they gaze but cannot speak.' The bamboo wind and eaves rain imagery draws on Bai Juyi's style. No obscure allusions, but refined imagery and lingering emotion show Feng's scholarly lyricism.

本词用典不事堆砌，妙在化用唐诗意境而不着痕迹。「何处笛」遥承李白《春夜洛城闻笛》「谁家玉笛暗飞声，散入春风满洛城」的闻笛起愁之格，而改「谁家」为「何处」，更添空茫无着之感；笛声在古典诗词中素与思乡怀人相连，如王之涣「羌笛何须怨杨柳」以笛写征夫之怨、李白「黄鹤楼中吹玉笛，江城五月落梅花」以笛写迁客之愁，此处笛声所引发的正是对离人的深忆，暗含《折杨柳》《梅花落》一类别离曲调的传统联想。「竹风檐雨」化用唐人写夜窗风雨的句法，如白居易「竹风醒晚醉，窗雨见秋阴」一类，以风雨之寒写心境之寒，物象清冷；「寒窗」一词后世更凝为孤寂苦读的代称，此处以寒窗对风雨，写独处之清苦。「情脉脉」语本《古诗十九首》「盈盈一水间，脉脉不得语」，以「脉脉」写含情相望而不得相通，正切离人之思。「今头白」则遥应李白「君不见高堂明镜悲白发，朝如青丝暮成雪」的白发母题，以头白写相思之煎熬、岁月之无情。全词无一冷僻典故，而意象典雅、情致绵长，正是冯正中「堂庑特大」、以自然语言熔铸深厚情思的士大夫词风。

Commentary

Feng Xu praised Feng Yansi's 'broad emotional scope' and influence on Northern Song. Wang Guowei noted his ci 'lose none of the Five Dynasties style but are broad in scope, opening the Northern Song style'. Modern critics admire the dense, delicate emotion and restrained language of this piece.

冯煦《宋六十一家词选例言》谓冯延巳「词虽五代风格，而堂庑特大，开北宋一代风气」，王国维《人间词话》亦持此论，可见其在词史上的枢纽地位。本词作为其小令代表作，最见「深婉」二字：全词无一字直说「愁」字，而笛声、风雨、寒窗、白发、不眠层层烘托，愁思自肺腑中流出。清人评冯词「缠绵悱恻，委婉尽致」，正可移评此作。与同时代花间词人如温庭筠多写秾丽闺情不同，冯延巳将身世之感打入艳情，词的境界由「娱宾遣兴」向「自我抒情」转化，实开北宋晏殊、欧阳修一派之先声：晏殊「无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来」的闲愁，欧阳修「离愁渐远渐无穷，迢迢不断如春水」的绵长，皆可于此词「不眠特地重相忆」的痴语中觅得消息。近人叶嘉莹论冯词特重其「忧患意识」：看似闲情，实则深衷，本词于离思之外那股欲罢不能的执着，正是南唐士大夫在国势日蹙、党争倾轧中精神苦闷的折射。以此观之，这首三十余字的小令，实是五代词由艳情走向抒情、由唐入宋的关键一环。

Prosody

Form ci, to the tune 'Return to the Distance', monostanza 38 characters词（小令）·《归国遥》，又名《归国谣》，唐教坊曲，本词为单调小令，全词六句三十四字（不含标点）

Rhyme Entering tone rhyme: di, ge, xi, bai, yi (rime groups mo, xi, zhi)全词句句押韵，一韵到底，押「笛、隔、息、白、忆」五字，皆为入声仄韵，属中古锡、陌、职韵通押，声情短促哽咽

Tone pattern Line pattern: 3,7,7,7,3,7, every line rhymes句式为三、七、七、七、三、七，句句入韵，音节短促而流利；首句三字短句如奇峰突起，中间七字句跌宕舒展，末以三字与七字收束，节奏先促后缓、复归促迫

Reading note The tune was originally a Tang court music piece. The short three-character opening creates a pressing rhythm suitable for expressing emotion.《归国遥》本为唐教坊曲名，五代时转为词调，《花间集》中温庭筠、冯延巳皆有作，冯作一体又题《归国谣》。本词为单调小令，全词六句，句式三、七、七、七、三、七，句句押韵，一韵到底，五韵字「笛、隔、息、白、忆」全押入声——入声韵收尾急促短涩，如哽咽之声，正与深夜闻笛、梦回怀远的凄清情调相合，是「声情与辞情相凑」的范例。三字短句「何处笛」「今头白」在长句之间两度突起，如一声惊问、一声叹息，造成节奏上的顿挫；七字句流利婉转，如诉如慕，先促后缓再促的节奏变化，恰与词情由惊起而缠绵、由缠绵而沉痛、由沉痛而痴绝的情感曲线同步。作为唐五代早期小令，此调尚未定型为双调，句式长短错落，已具词体「依声填词」的雏形，冯延巳以此短调写出如此深婉之情，可见其「堂庑特大」的功力。

Line by line

何处笛？

Where blows the flute? The interrogative beginning immediately triggers melancholy, ethereal and evocative.

不知何处传来凄清的笛声？

From where comes the flute?

起句三字设问，如天外一声玉笛陡然划破寂静。全词不先写人、不先写景，而以一声无端的笛问领起，破空而来，将读者猝然带入深夜独醒的氛围。这个问句妙在「何处」二字：笛声不知从何而来，恰似愁思不知因何而起，无端无绪，空茫无着，既点出笛声之远、之轻，又暗写听者之孤、之寂。以问句开篇，悬念陡生，为下文「梦回」「重相忆」的绵绵愁绪作了最自然的情感铺垫，是词家「以声起情」的经典笔法。

The opening three characters ask a question, like a jade flute from beyond the sky suddenly tearing the silence. The lyric begins neither with the person nor the scene but is led by a pointless question of the flute, arriving out of nowhere and suddenly plunging the reader into the mood of deep night and lonely waking. The art lies in the words 'from where': the flute sound comes from no known source, just as grief arises from no known cause—groundless, purposeless, blank and adrift, at once naming the distance and lightness of the flute and covertly writing the loneliness and stillness of the listener. Opening on a question, suspense rises at once, preparing most naturally the emotional ground for the later 'waking from a dream' and 'remembering once more,' the classic lyric method of 'awakening feeling through sound.'

深夜梦回情脉脉，竹风檐雨寒窗隔

Deep night, from dreams I wake, my feelings deep and still; Bamboo wind and eaves rain, the cold window separates. This line combines sounds and sights, cold and warmth, using the wind and rain to express loneliness after waking.

夜深从梦中醒来，情意脉脉难诉；竹间的风、檐下的雨，把一扇寒窗与人隔成两处。

In the deep night, waking from the dream, feeling is tender and unspoken; wind through the bamboos, rain under the eaves, part cold window from me.

此句是全词情景交融的核心。上句「情脉脉」写梦回之后的千般情意欲诉无言，用《古诗十九首》「脉脉不得语」之语，含情而不露；下句「竹风檐雨寒窗隔」陡转写景，竹风、檐雨是秋夜的典型声响，视听兼具，「隔」字是句眼——风雨把寒窗内外的世界隔成两界，外界喧哗而内室孤寂，物理之隔正是心理之隔、相见无期之隔。梦回本已凄凉，风雨更添寒峭，情与景在此层层相生，一个「寒」字既写窗寒亦写心寒，为下片「今头白」「重相忆」蓄足了势。

The line is the core of the lyric's fusion of scene and feeling. The first half, 'feeling is tender and unspoken,' writes the thousand feelings after waking from the dream that cannot be told, using the old poem's 'tender, unable to speak,' feeling without disclosure. The second half, 'wind through the bamboos, rain under the eaves, part cold window from me,' turns suddenly to scenery: wind in the bamboos and rain under the eaves are the typical sounds of an autumn night, sight and hearing together, and the word 'part' is the eye of the line—the wind and rain divide the world outside the cold window from the room within, the outer world clamorous, the inner room solitary, the physical division being the psychological one, the division of meeting no more. Waking from the dream is already desolate, and the wind and rain add a chill; feeling and scene beget each other layer by layer, and the single word 'cold' writes both the cold window and the cold heart, storing momentum for the lower stanza's 'now white-haired' and 'remember once more.'

离人几岁无消息，今头白

My love for years no message sends—now my hair is white. Shifting from scene to person, it speaks of long separation and the passage of time, with deep sorrow understated.

离人一去几年全无消息，如今我的头发都已斑白。

The parted man has sent no word for years; now my hair has turned white.

由景及人，是情绪转折的枢纽。「几岁」极言离别之久，「无消息」极言音书之断，久别而音信全无，相思便成了没有回应的独白；「今头白」三字以最凝练的笔墨写岁月流逝，白发与几岁相照，离别之久与相思之深在此合流。这一句把前文的景物渲染收束到「人」身上，由笛声、风雨的触媒转入对自身境遇的慨叹，情调由含蓄转为沉痛，而其力量全在「今」字——不是少年不识愁滋味，而是白发苍苍仍无消息，希望早已耗尽，只有等待本身还在继续。

The line moves from scene to person, the hinge of emotional turning. 'For years' writes the length of parting; 'no word' writes the brokenness of messages—long parting and no news, so that longing becomes a monologue with no answer. 'Now my hair has turned white' writes the passage of years in the most economical brush: white hair set against 'for years,' the length of parting and the depth of longing converging here. The line gathers the scenery of the foregoing onto the 'person,' turning from the touchstones of flute and rain to the lament over one's own lot, the tone moving from reserve to grief, and its force lies entirely in the word 'now': not the youth who knew not the taste of grief, but white-haired and still without word, hope long spent, only the waiting itself continuing.

不眠特地重相忆

Sleepless, I recall him with a special heart. The closing line uses a deliberately foolish tone, revealing deep affection and endless longing.

偏偏不肯睡去，特意在这深夜里把那个人一遍遍深深追忆。

Sleepless on purpose, I remember him again and again.

结句是全词的「词眼」，以痴绝之语收束全篇。「不眠」回应开头的「深夜梦回」，形成首尾环合；「特地」二字最见精神——它不是「偶然想起」，而是「偏要苦忆」，是主动选择、执拗沉溺，明知忆之无益、思之无望，却偏要以失眠为代价去重温往昔，痴情至此，不言愁而愁自深。「重」字则写忆之反复，一遍又一遍，绵绵无尽。全词至此由笛声之触发、风雨之烘托、白发之感慨，最终落实为这一个自虐式的动作，深婉中见执着，正是冯延巳「深于情而不迫于语」词风的绝佳注脚。

The closing line is the 'eye' of the lyric, ending the whole in a stroke of utter devotion. 'Sleepless' answers the opening 'deep night, waking from a dream,' rounding start and finish. The words 'on purpose' show the spirit most: it is not 'happened to think of him' but 'insistently grieving memory'—a chosen, willful immersion, knowing memory useless and longing hopeless, yet paying the price of insomnia to relive the past, devotion to the point where no word of sorrow is needed and sorrow deepens of itself. The word 'again and again' writes the repetition of memory, again and again, endlessly. The lyric, moved by the flute, heightened by wind and rain, and grieved by white hair, lands at last on this self-lacerating act, persistence within tenderness—the perfect footnote to Feng Yansi's style of 'deep in feeling, not pressed in speech.'

Study

Word focus

脉脉 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「深夜梦回情脉脉」之「脉脉」，写满怀情意含而不吐、欲诉无言之态。此词语本《古诗十九首》「盈盈一水间，脉脉不得语」，本写织女隔河与牛郎相望而不得语，冯延巳移以写梦回之人，赋予其深情而无奈的双重意味：情之深，故「脉脉」含情；情之阻，故「不得语」。二字叠用，音节舒缓，与「深夜梦回」的静态氛围相合，情态宛然如见。与下句「寒窗隔」的「隔」字遥相呼应——「脉脉」是心之相向，「隔」是身之相阻，一内一外，将相思的炽热与现实的冰冷并置，词境遂深。此字不着一个「愁」字，而愁绪已满纸。

隔 The character 'ge' (separate) describes both the physical barrier of the wind and rain and the emotional distance of longing, serving a double function. 「竹风檐雨寒窗隔」之「隔」，是全词的关键字眼，一字而数义并见。就实景言，「隔」写竹风、檐雨在窗外喧哗，寒窗之内的人与之相隔，风雨自风雨，孤眠自孤眠，物我判然两界；就心理言，「隔」写离人音信断绝，天各一方，相见无期，「几岁无消息」正是「隔」的注脚；就情感言，「隔」又暗合「脉脉不得语」的阻隔母题，相思愈深而阻隔愈坚。一个「隔」字，把物理之隔、人事之隔、心理之隔打成一片，写尽独处之孤寂与相望之无望，与李商隐「相见时难别亦难」的阻隔之叹异曲同工，是炼字见工的典范。

特地 'Tedi' (specially) means deliberately or willfully, expressing stubborn determination to remember despite the pain, adding a tender, tenacious quality. 「不眠特地重相忆」之「特地」，意为特意、偏要，是全词情感的转折点。若说「不眠」是被动的辗转难寐，则「特地」是主动的执意苦忆——词人明明知道「几岁无消息」的离人早已渺不可寻，偏偏不肯放下，偏要以彻夜不眠为代价，把那个人一遍遍从记忆里唤回。一个「特地」，把无可奈何的相思写得深婉而执着，痴绝之态跃然纸上：不是愁来寻人，而是人去寻愁。这种自虐式的深情，正是冯延巳词「缠绵悱恻」的本色，也为北宋晏殊、欧阳修一路的「闲愁」词风开了先声。二字口语入词，浅近而力透纸背。