五代 Five Dynasties · 词 Ci lyric
醉花间·晴雪小园
Tipsy in Flowers · Clear Snow in the Small Garden
晴雪小园春未到，池边梅自早。
高树鹊衔巢，斜月明寒草。
山川风景好，自古金陵道，少年看却老。
相逢莫厌醉金杯，别离多，欢会少。
On the high tree a magpie bears a twig to its nest; the slanted moon lights the cold grass.
The hills and streams are fair; the Jin-ling road since olden times — the youth looks yet grown old.
When we meet, tire not of the golden cup's drunk; partings are many, reunions few.
Meaning
In the small garden after snow, clear and bright, spring has not yet come, yet by the pool the plum blossoms have already opened early. On the high tree a magpie bears a twig to build its nest; the slanted moon lights the cold grass. The hills and streams are fair; the Jin-ling road since olden times keeps its scene, but the youth in a blink looks grown old. When we meet, do not tire of the drunken golden cup, for partings are many and reunions few.
雪后初晴的小园里春天还未到，池边的梅花却已早早开放。高树上喜鹊衔枝筑巢，斜月照着寒草。山川风景美好，自古金陵道上风光依旧，而少年人转眼就看老了。相逢时莫要推辞醉了金杯，只因别离常多、欢会常少。
Appreciation
The upper part's four lines are pure scene: from 'small garden, clear snow' to 'early plum by the pool', then to 'magpie's nest on the high tree' and 'slanted moon on cold grass', shifting at every step, one scene per line; the third and fourth lines 'magpie bears a twig' and 'slanted moon lights cold grass' form a fine antithesis, clear, cold and deep. The lower part turns from scene to feeling: 'the hills and streams are fair' contrasts with 'the youth looks yet grown old', leading to the advice 'when we meet, tire not of the golden cup's drunk; partings are many, reunions few', feeling born of scene, bright yet not dissipated, the structure round.
【白话串讲】 “晴雪小园春未到，池边梅自早”——雪晴的小园，春天还没到，梅花先开了。“相逢莫厌醉金杯，别离多，欢会少”——冯延巳说：相逢就别怕喝醉，因为别离多，欢会少。 【意象与手法】 上片四句纯写景，由「小园晴雪」到「池边早梅」，再到「高树鹊巢」「斜月寒草」，移步换形、一句一境，三、四句「高树鹊衔巢，斜月明寒草」构成精工对偶，意境清冷深邃。下片由景入情，以「山川风景好」与「少年看却老」反跌，引出惜聚之劝。 【情感与主旨】 冯延巳（903—960），字正中，广陵人，南唐宰相，生活优裕而国势渐下，词集名《阳春集》。此词写雪后小园早春，并由此生发出「山川不老、少年易老」「别离多、欢会少」的人生慨叹，风格俊朗高远，不同于一般花间绮靡。 【名句点睛】 考查方向：一、写景层次，上片如何移步换形写早春；二、名句赏析，「高树鹊衔巢，斜月明寒草」的画面与意境；三、「少年看却老」反跌手法的哲理意味。
Background
Feng Yansi (903–960), also named Yansi, courtesy Zhengzhong, from Guangling, was prime minister of Southern Tang; his life was comfortable yet the state's fortune waned, and his lyric collection is called 'Yangchun Collection'. This lyric writes the small garden in early spring after snow, and from it draws the life's sigh that 'the hills do not age, the youth ages easily' and 'partings are many, reunions few' — a portrait of the leisure of a scholar-official, yet holding a faint sorrow that time passes and good meetings are rare; its manner is bright and lofty, unlike the ordinary ornate softness of the Huajian school.
冯延巳（903—960），一名延嗣，字正中，广陵（今江苏扬州）人，南唐中主李璟朝官至宰相，词集名《阳春集》。他生活于南唐由盛转衰之际：身为宰相，位极人臣，然南唐北有强敌（后周、北宋），国势日蹙，内政外交皆有隐忧，其词多写闺情闲愁，而于闲逸中常含「忧生念乱」的深意。此词写雪后小园早春之景，并由此生发出「山川不老、少年易老」「别离多、欢会少」的人生慨叹：前四句纯写景，清丽中见俊朗；后五句转入人生感叹，由景入情、由情入理。全词风格俊朗高远，不同于一般花间词的绮靡浓艳，是其士大夫闲逸生活的写照，也暗含对光阴易逝、良会难常的淡淡哀愁，是理解冯延巳「于闲适处见忧思」词风的重要作品。冯延巳身处南唐末世，相位之上忧谗畏讥，其词多托闺情闲愁以写「忧生念乱」之怀；此词由雪园早春之美景，转入「少年看却老」「别离多，欢会少」的感慨，正是其身为宰相而目睹国势日下的深层忧患的曲折投影，写景之乐与感时之忧，一体两面。
Art
The upper part's four lines are pure scene: from 'small garden, clear snow' to 'early plum by the pool', then to 'magpie's nest on the high tree' and 'slanted moon on cold grass', shifting at every step, one scene per line; the third and fourth lines form a fine antithesis, clear, cold and deep. The lower part turns from scene to feeling: 'the hills and streams are fair' contrasts with 'the youth looks yet grown old', leading to the advice 'when we meet, tire not of the golden cup's drunk; partings are many, reunions few', feeling born of scene, bright yet not dissipated, the structure round.
上片四句纯写景，由「小园晴雪」到「池边早梅」，再到「高树鹊巢」「斜月寒草」，移步换形、一句一境，镜头由近及远、由低到高、由动到静，层次分明：晴雪初霁，园中尚是冬景，而池边梅花已独自早放，一「早」字写出春之先兆，于清冷中透出生机；「高树鹊衔巢」写鹊鸟衔枝筑巢的动态，见春意之萌动；「斜月明寒草」写斜月照着经霜的寒草，「明」字作动词用，写月光照亮寒草，境界清冷深邃。三、四句「高树鹊衔巢，斜月明寒草」构成精工对偶，一高一下、一动一静，意境清寒而有骨力。下片由景入情：「山川风景好」承上片之美景，「少年看却老」陡转反跌，写出山川不老而人易老的怅惘；结以「相逢莫厌醉金杯，别离多，欢会少」的惜聚之劝，情由景生，俊朗而非颓唐，章法圆融。此外，全词以「早—明—好—老—少」五字立骨：梅之早、月之明、景之好，皆写眼前之乐；而「看却老」之老、「欢会少」之少，陡转写时光与人事之悲，五字之间乐与悲、今与昔、常与变层层对照，章法之圆融，正是冯词「深美闳约」的体现，亦见其以景写心、以乐衬哀的功力。
Allusions
This lyric uses very few allusions: 'Jin-ling' is today's Nanjing, pointing to the Southern Tang capital region, hinting at place and age; 'tire not' means 'do not refuse', from common drinking talk. Though 'magpie bears a twig' and 'slanted moon lights cold grass' show no clear allusion, Wang Guowei's 'Words on Lyrics in the Human World' ranks them with 'fireflies cross the high pavilion' of Wei Yingwu and 'thin rain drips the plane trees' of Meng Haoran, 'which they do not surpass' — weighed by the bone of Tang poetry, showing that this lyric leaves the ornate Huajian colour and nears the clear distance of Wei and Meng.
本词用典极少，正见冯延巳「以白描写深情」的本色。「金陵」即今南京，为南唐都城，词人写「自古金陵道」，暗点地理与时代，把眼前小园之景置于「自古金陵」的历史时空之中，山川之永恒与人生之须臾的对照由此而生。「莫厌」即莫辞、莫推辞，语出劝饮常语，是文人聚饮时惯用的口头语。至于「高树鹊衔巢，斜月明寒草」两句，虽无显典，却被王国维《人间词话》推为「韦苏州之『流萤渡高阁』、孟襄阳之『疏雨滴梧桐』不能过也」，以唐代韦应物、孟浩然的清远之境相衡，可见其脱去花间秾艳、近韦孟清远之境的艺术渊源——冯词看似无典，实则暗承唐诗清远一脉的意象传统，以高树、斜月、寒草这些寻常物象营造不寻常的意境，正是其「深美闳约」词风的体现。「自古金陵道」又暗含金陵「六朝古都」的兴亡记忆：六朝皆都金陵而皆短祚，冯延巳身处南唐（亦都金陵），「自古」二字中实含「金陵王气黯然收」的历史忧思，山川风景好而朝代屡更，正是此词「以古鉴今」的深层意蕴。
Commentary
Wang Guowei's 'Words on Lyrics in the Human World' says: 'Apart from a dozen or so famous lines in Zhengzhong's 'Magpie on a Branch' and 'Bodhisattva Barbarian', such as in 'Tipsy in Flowers', 'magpie bears a twig, slanted moon lights cold grass', I hold that Wei Yingwu's 'fireflies cross the high pavilion' and Meng Haoran's 'thin rain drips the plane trees' do not surpass them.' This comment best shows the lyric's place, leaving the ornate colour for clear distance, long praised by critics.
王国维《人间词话》云：「正中词除《鹊踏枝》《菩萨蛮》十数阕最煊赫外，如《醉花间》之『高树鹊衔巢，斜月明寒草』，余谓韦苏州之『流萤渡高阁』、孟襄阳之『疏雨滴梧桐』不能过也。」此评最足见本词的地位：冯延巳词向以深婉幽约著称，而此词却以清远高朗见长，脱去花间秾艳，直逼唐诗清远之境，正是其词「堂庑特大」的表现之一。冯延巳词上承温庭筠、韦庄的花间传统，下开晏殊、欧阳修及北宋婉约词一脉，王国维《人间词话》又以「深美闳约」许之，谓「冯正中词虽不失五代风格，而堂庑特大，开北宋一代风气」，此词正是其「堂庑特大」的例证：于小园雪景中写出人生感慨，以小见大、由近及远，既有花间词的婉约，又有士大夫词的思致，在五代词向北宋词的演进中居于枢纽地位。此词的艺术地位，王国维之评已足为定论，而其「堂庑特大」的意义更在于：冯延巳将花间词人的闺情小令，拓展为士大夫抒写人生感慨的载体，晏殊「无可奈何花落去」、欧阳修「人生自是有情痴」皆承此脉，此词正是五代词向北宋词过渡的关键一环。
Prosody
Line by line
晴雪小园春未到，池边梅自早
Clear snow in the small garden, spring not yet come; by the pool the plum blossoms open early on their own
雪后初晴的小园里春天还未到，池边的梅花却已早早开放。
The cleared snow, the small garden—spring not yet come; by the pool the plum blossoms are early of themselves.
起笔写雪后小园早春之景，以「自」字见梅之孤芳，转折中透出生机。「晴雪小园」四字写景清丽：雪后初晴，园中积雪未消，一片洁白宁静，正是冬末春初的典型景致；「春未到」点明时令，春天尚未真正来临；而「池边梅自早」陡转一笔——池边的梅花却已早早开放，「自」字最见精神：梅花不待春来，独自早放，仿佛在宣告春天的消息。一个「早」字，把梅花报春的先知先觉写出，于「春未到」的清冷中透出「梅已放」的生机，正是冬与春交替时刻最动人的景致。此句以「未到」与「自早」对举，一冷一暖、一迟一早，起笔即见冯延巳炼字的精审与写景的层次。
The opening writes the early spring garden after snow, the word 'of themselves' showing the plum's isolated grace, life stirring within the turning. 'The cleared snow, the small garden' paints a clear scene: after snow, the snow in the garden not yet gone, all white and quiet, the typical end-of-winter, early-spring sight. 'Spring not yet come' fixes the season, spring not yet truly arrived. 'By the pool the plum blossoms are early of themselves' turns suddenly—the plum by the pool has already opened early, and the word 'of themselves' is most spirited: the plum waits not for spring but opens alone, as if announcing the news of spring. The word 'early' writes the plum's prescience in heralding spring, and within the cold of 'spring not yet come' shows the life of 'the plum has opened,' the most moving sight of the season's turning. The line sets 'not yet come' against 'early of themselves,' one cold one warm, one late one early, the opening already showing Feng Yan's precision in diction and the layered writing of scenery.
高树鹊衔巢，斜月明寒草
On the high tree a magpie bears a twig to its nest; the slanted moon lights the cold grass
高树上喜鹊衔枝筑巢，斜月照着寒草。
In the tall tree the magpie carries twigs to its nest; the slanting moon lights the cold grass.
以精工对偶写园中清景，一高一下、一动一静，境界清冷有骨力，是王国维激赏的名句。「高树鹊衔巢」写喜鹊衔枝筑巢的忙碌，是动景：鹊巢新筑，正见春意之萌动、万物之复苏；「斜月明寒草」写斜月照着经霜的寒草，是静景：「明」字作动词用，写月光照亮寒草，草因月而愈显其寒，月因草而愈见其明，清冷之境如在目前。两句对举，树之高与草之低、鹊之动与月之静、筑巢之生趣与寒草之萧疏，形成多重对照，画面既生动又清寒。此联不着一个情字，而词人凝望早春、静观天地的闲适与微茫的时序之感已在其间，以景语写情，正合韦应物、孟浩然清远之境，是冯词「深美闳约」的集中体现。
Crafted parallelism writes the garden's clear scene, high and low, motion and stillness, the realm cold and sinewy, a celebrated line admired by Wang Guowei. 'In the tall tree the magpie carries twigs to its nest' writes the magpie's busy carrying of twigs, a moving scene: the new nest showing the stirrings of spring and the revival of all things. 'The slanting moon lights the cold grass' writes the slanting moon on the frost-touched grass, a still scene: the word 'lights' used as a verb, the moonlight illuminating the cold grass, the grass the colder for the moon, the moon the brighter for the grass, the cold realm present to the eyes. The two lines pair the high tree and the low grass, the moving magpie and the still moon, the life of the nest and the bleakness of the cold grass, forming multiple contrasts, the picture at once lively and cold. The couplet uses not one word of feeling, yet the poet's quiet gazing at early spring and the faint sense of time's passage are within it, scenery writing feeling, fitting the remote purity of Wei Yingwu and Meng Haoran, the concentrated embodiment of Feng's 'profound and beautiful.'
山川风景好，自古金陵道，少年看却老
The hills and rivers are fair; since ancient times, the road to Jinling—the young man has watched and grown old.
山川风景美好，自古金陵道上风光依旧，而少年人转眼就看老了。
The hills and streams are beautiful; from old times the road to Jinling has kept its look, yet the young man watching has grown old.
由景入情、以景反跌，写山川不老而少年易老的怅惘，是下片的情感转折点。「山川风景好」承上片美景，笔势一扬；「自古金陵道」更把时空推开——这金陵古道，从古至今，风景依旧如此美好，山川之永恒昭然可见；而「少年看却老」陡转反跌：风景依旧，看风景的少年人却转眼就老了。以「山川好」与「少年老」对举，一恒一暂、一久一促，永恒的风景反衬须臾的人生，怅惘之情油然而生。此句是冯延巳「士大夫忧生」之叹的典型表达：身居宰相而国势日下，眼看少年成白头、风景依旧而人事已非，这既是人生之叹，也暗含时代之悲，由眼前的早春小景写出宇宙人生的感慨，以小见大，正是冯词「堂庑特大」的体现。
Moving from scene to feeling, and turning feeling against scene, writing the wistfulness of immortal hills and rivers while the young age, the emotional turning point of the lower stanza. 'The hills and rivers are fair' carries the beauty above, the brush rising; 'since ancient times, the road to Jinling' pushes time and space further—this ancient Jinling road, from old to now, the scenery still as fair, the eternity of hills and rivers plain to see. 'The young man has watched and grown old' turns sharply and falls: the scenery unchanged, yet the young man who watched it has grown old in a moment. Setting 'the hills are fair' against 'the young man old,' one eternal one brief, one long one short, the eternal scenery setting off the fleeting life, wistfulness arising of itself. This line is the typical expression of Feng Yan's 'the scholar's grief at life': as a chief minister with the state declining day by day, he watches youth turn to white hair and the scenery remain while men change; this is at once the sigh at life and the hidden grief of the age, writing the cosmic sigh from the small early-spring scene, the small seen through the great, the embodiment of Feng's 'vast scope.'
相逢莫厌醉金杯，别离多，欢会少
When we meet, tire not of the golden cup's drunk; partings are many, reunions few
相逢时莫要推辞醉了金杯，只因别离常多、欢会常少。
When we meet, refuse not to be drunk from the golden cup: partings are many, glad meetings few.
以惜聚之劝收束全词，由人生之叹落到当下之劝，俊朗而非颓唐。既知山川不老而少年易老，那么眼前的相逢便更显珍贵——「相逢莫厌醉金杯」，劝友人不要推辞痛饮，一醉方休，正是珍惜眼前、及时行乐的俊朗态度；「别离多，欢会少」则道出劝饮的原因：人生聚少离多，别离是常态，欢会是难得，正因如此，相逢之刻才更应尽欢。此句以「多」与「少」对举，把人生感慨凝为最朴素的道理，不作颓唐之语，而以畅饮相劝，于感伤中自见旷达，正见冯延巳「于忧生中不失雍容」的士大夫风度。全词由景入情、由情入理，至此收束，惜聚之情与人生之慨交融，余味悠长。
Closing with the exhortation to cherish the meeting, moving from the sigh at life to the present urging, bright rather than defeated. Knowing the hills are immortal while the young age, the present meeting is the more precious—'when we meet, refuse not to be drunk from the golden cup' urges the friend not to refuse a full drink, to be drunk once, precisely the bright attitude of treasuring the present and seizing the hour. 'Partings are many, glad meetings few' gives the reason for the urging: life is mostly parting, parting the norm, glad meetings rare; precisely for this, the hour of meeting should be enjoyed to the full. The line sets 'many' against 'few,' condensing the sigh at life into the plainest truth, speaking no defeated word, urging instead a full draught, finding openness within sorrow, precisely the bearing of Feng Yan's 'the scholar untroubled in his grief.' The whole moves from scene to feeling, from feeling to reason, closing here, the urge to cherish the meeting and the sigh at life interwoven, the afterecho long.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both from Zhengzhong; compare his clear distance and deep grace.
两词同出冯延巳《阳春集》，皆为其代表作而风格有别。《鹊踏枝》「庭院深深深几许」写深闺思妇的愁苦，「泪眼问花花不语，乱红飞过秋千去」以景结情，情感深婉幽约，是其「深婉」一面的典型；《醉花间》则写雪园早春之景，笔致清朗俊远，由景生情、由情入理，是其「清远」一面的代表。一深婉一清朗，一写闺情之怨、一写人生之慨，合观正见冯词风格的多面性：既能写花间式的缠绵，也能写士大夫式的俊朗，这正是其「堂庑特大、开北宋一代风气」的内涵所在。
谒金门·风乍起 Pacing the Golden Gate (Wind Rises Sudden) 冯延巳 · 同作者写闲愁春情，风格可互参 Same (same author, on idle sorrow and spring feeling)Both representative Feng lyrics; styles cross-reference.
两词同出冯延巳手笔，皆以写景写情见长。《谒金门·风乍起》「风乍起，吹皱一池春水」以春水之皱写思妇心绪之乱，「终日望君君不至，举头闻鹊喜」写盼人不至而闻鹊转喜，情感细腻婉转；《醉花间》则写「高树鹊衔巢，斜月明寒草」的早春清景，由景入情，感慨人生聚散。一写春水之动、一写寒月之静；一写闺思之缠绵、一写人生之感慨。两词并读，可见冯延巳无论写闺情还是写人生，皆能以景写情、以动写心，其词笔之细腻与意境之深远一以贯之，正是「深美闳约」的全面体现。
菩萨蛮·人人尽说江南好 Bodhisattva Barbarian (All Say Jiangnan Is Good) 韦庄 · 同属五代词写江南情思，可比较西蜀南唐风调 Same (both Five-Dynasties ci, on Jiangnan feeling)Contemporary Five-Dynasties ci cross-reference; see Western Shu and Southern Tang styles.
两词同属五代词而地域、风调各异。韦庄《菩萨蛮》「人人尽说江南好，游人只合江南老」写西蜀（成都）游子对江南的追忆与「未老莫还乡，还乡须断肠」的乡愁，语言清丽疏朗，情感直白缠绵，是西蜀词人的本色；冯延巳《醉花间》写南唐金陵雪园早春，由景入情，感慨人生，语言俊朗含蓄，情感深微内敛，是南唐词人的风调。一写江南之忆、一写金陵之景；一疏朗一深婉。两词并读，可见五代词坛西蜀、南唐两大词群的不同面貌，亦可体会花间词由温韦到冯延巳的演进轨迹。