All poems

元 Yuan · 散曲 Sanqu song

蟾宫曲·梦中作

Song of the Moon Palace: Written in a Dream

郑光祖

Zheng Guangzu

爱情Love 感怀Reminiscence

半窗幽梦微茫，歌罢钱塘，赋罢高唐。
风入罗帏，爽入疏棂，月照纱窗。
缥缈见梨花淡妆，依稀闻兰麝余香。
唤起思量，待不思量，怎不思量。

By the half-open window, a dim dream, faint and hazy.
Finished singing of Qiantang, finished composing of Gaotang.
Wind enters the gauze curtain, coolness enters the lattice window, moonlight shines on the screen.
Vaguely I see her pear-blossom pale makeup, faintly I smell the lingering fragrance of orchid musk.
It awakens longing; I try not to long, but how can I not long?

Listen

Meaning

The poet recounts a dream of a lost love, evoking a hazy romantic encounter, then wakes to an inescapable longing.

半窗幽梦朦胧迷茫，歌罢钱塘旧曲，又赋罢高唐云雨之章。风儿吹入罗帐，清爽透进疏窗，月光照上纱窗。恍惚间见她梨花般淡雅的妆饰，依稀闻到兰麝的缕缕余香。这梦境唤起无尽思量，想要不再思量，却又怎生能够不思量。

Appreciation

The first five lines depict the dream's blurriness: the faint dream, the songs and rhapsodies of Qiantang and Gaotang subtly hint at love. The three lines beginning with 'wind' describe the clear scene before and after waking. The next two lines, with 'vaguely' and 'faintly,' show the beloved barely visible and audible. The last three lines cycle through 'longing,' pushing the yearning to its extreme.

【白话串讲】郑光祖写一个梦：半窗幽梦，钱塘的歌、高唐的赋。风入罗帷，月照纱窗。梦里的梨花淡妆、兰麝余香——“唤起思量，待不思量，怎不思量”。想忘，忘不掉。【意象与手法】此曲结构以梦为经、以思为纬。起句半窗幽梦微茫点题，随以歌罢钱塘、赋罢高唐暗写梦中情事；风入罗帏、爽入疏棂、月照纱窗三句鼎足对，以触觉、视觉勾勒梦回之清境，句法轻俊。下片缥缈见梨花淡妆、依稀闻兰麝余香，于恍惚中见伊人，虚实相生。末三句唤起思量、待不思量、怎不思量以回环句式层层递进，将思念推至无可解脱之境，情致缠绵。【情感与主旨】此曲为元代杂剧家郑光祖的散曲小令，追忆昔日相知情侣，借梦境写现实之相思。梦中的欢会愈是美好，醒后的思念愈是深苦，末三句回环往复，正是欲忘不能、欲断还续的刻骨相思，缠绵悱恻，一往情深。【名句点睛】「唤起思量，待不思量，怎不思量」以回环句式写相思之无解，脱化于李清照词笔，一唱三叹；「缥缈见梨花淡妆，依稀闻兰麝余香」以虚写实，色香并举，是曲中写梦忆伊人的妙笔。

Background

Zheng Guangzu (dates unknown, active late 13th–early 14th century), courtesy name Dehui, was a Yuan dynasty playwright, one of the 'Four Great Masters of Yuan Drama,' and also a composer of sanqu (non-dramatic songs). This song, written about a dream of longing for a lover, likely dates from his later years when reminiscing about a past romance. The title 'Written in a Dream' blurs reality and illusion.

郑光祖（生卒年不详），字德辉，平阳襄陵（今山西临汾）人，元代杂剧作家，与关汉卿、白朴、马致远并称元曲四大家，代表作《倩女离魂》写离魂相思，缠绵动人。此《蟾宫曲·梦中作》为其散曲小令，蟾宫曲即双调折桂令的别名。郑氏长期出入歌台舞榭，与伶人歌伎交好，晚年客居杭州，漂泊无定，此曲当为追忆某位相知情侣而作。以梦中作为题，借梦境写现实之相思，正是其杂剧离魂主题在散曲中的变奏：梦是现实的补偿，亦是现实的反衬，梦中愈欢，醒后愈悲。元代文人社会地位低下，浪迹勾栏，多借男女相思寄托身世之感，此曲缠绵之外，亦隐约可见才人漂泊之悲。元世祖至元末至英宗朝，郑光祖南游至杭州，以儒者入路吏之职，位卑禄薄，与勾栏艺人交厚，其《倩女离魂》写倩女魂魄追随情人王文举，正寄托其情深不渝之理想。此曲以梦中作为题，正是离魂之思的缩影：梦中欢会愈真切，醒后追忆愈酸楚，然其情终不因梦醒而减，待不思量、怎不思量，遂成千古痴语。元曲作家多借男女相思写身世失意，郑氏此曲于缠绵之外，亦寄寓才人沦落、知音难觅之慨，读之须于情语之外更求深意，方不负曲家一片苦心。

Art

The piece is structured with 'dream' as the warp and 'longing' as the weft. The opening line introduces the dream, followed by two allusions to romantic encounters. The three parallel lines 'wind enters... coolness enters... moonlight shines' use touch and sight to depict the clear scene after waking, with a light, skillful syntax. The final three lines, with their cyclical repetition of 'longing,' create an irresolvable emotional spiral, deeply affectionate.

此曲结构以梦为经、以思为纬，虚实相生。起句半窗幽梦微茫点题，半窗写梦之残存，微茫写梦之迷离，定下全曲恍惚基调。歌罢钱塘、赋罢高唐以对句暗写梦中情事，不写欢会之实而写歌赋之虚，含蓄蕴藉。风入罗帏、爽入疏棂、月照纱窗三句鼎足对，由触觉之爽、视觉之月层层写梦回清境，句法轻俊，如一幅幽窗夜月图。缥缈见梨花淡妆、依稀闻兰麝余香，一写视觉一写嗅觉，以淡妆余香点染伊人，不着一字形容其容貌而风韵自见。末三句唤起思量、待不思量、怎不思量以回环递进收束，待字一顿，怎字一宕，将欲忘不能的相思层层逼出，情致缠绵，余韵不尽。全曲由梦入景、由景见人、由人及情，章法细密而气韵流动，如雾中观花，愈看愈真。又妙在写人处不及其容貌，只以淡妆余香两点轻轻带过，而伊人之清丽自见；写情处不直说刻骨，只以回环三句吞吐，而相思之深自明。此正元曲含蓄蕴藉、以少总多之胜境，较之直露言情之作，格调自高一筹，可见郑氏虽以杂剧名家，其小令造境之工亦不让词人。

Allusions

'Qiantang' alludes to the romantic tales of Su Xiaoxiao and West Lake, also implying a singing-girl setting. 'Gaotang' uses Song Yu's 'Gaotang Fu' about King Xiang of Chu dreaming of the goddess of Mount Wu, hinting at amorous dream events. 'Pear-blossom pale makeup' evokes Bai Juyi's line 'pear blossom bring spring rain' to describe a beauty's delicacy, and 'orchid musk' refers to fine perfumes.

钱塘暗用钱塘苏小小之典。苏小小为南齐钱塘名妓，才色双绝，墓在西泠，唐宋诗词中钱塘遂成为风流情事之代称；歌罢钱塘即谓梦中重温昔日钱塘欢会之歌。高唐用宋玉《高唐赋》楚襄王梦遇巫山神女事，神女旦为朝云、暮为行雨，后世遂以高唐云雨喻男女欢会，赋罢高唐正暗写梦中云雨之私。二典一写歌地、一写欢情，皆以曲笔藏于歌罢赋罢之中，不露痕迹而情意自见。梨花淡妆化用白居易长恨歌玉容寂寞泪阑干、梨花一枝春带雨之句，以梨花喻女子清丽娇美；兰麝为名贵香料，古乐府与宫体诗中多以兰麝写美人气息，此处以余香写人去后之回味，尤见深情。典实融化无迹，雅俗相济，正是元曲本色。又歌罢、赋罢两罢字，暗含欢会已终、余韵犹存之意，与结拍待不思量、怎不思量遥相呼应，一开一合，针线细密。梨花淡妆之喻，亦与《倩女离魂》中倩女之淡雅形象相映，可见郑氏笔下女子多具清丽脱俗之美。兰麝余香更以嗅觉写记忆，较之纯以目见，多一层恍惚缥缈之感，正合梦忆之情境。全曲用典四处，皆曲笔藏锋，不作直白之语，而情味愈深，足见郑氏词心之细、笔意之婉。

Commentary

Although few of Zheng Guangzu's sanqu survive, this piece is famous. Modern critics praise it as 'clear, beautiful, and deeply affectionate, carrying the legacy of Song ci poetry.' The last three lines echo Li Qingzhao's technique in 'Slow Slow Song' ('how can a single word 'sorrow' capture it?'), and have been described as 'deep feeling in a winding gut,' complementing the soul-departing longing in his drama 'The Soul of Qiannu.'

郑光祖散曲存世虽少，此曲却脍炙人口，被收入多种元曲选本。明人朱权《太和正音谱》评郑氏之词如九天珠玉，虽多就其杂剧而言，移评此曲亦当。近人论其清丽绵邈，有宋词遗风。末三句唤起思量、待不思量、怎不思量，明显脱化于李清照《声声慢》怎一个愁字了得之反接笔法，而回环过之，前人评为九曲回肠、一往情深。全曲以寥寥数十言写一场残梦、一段旧情，不铺叙本事而情韵自深，正得含蓄蕴藉之妙，与《倩女离魂》之离魂相思相映成趣，可见郑氏于情之一字体会之深，为元散曲言情小令中不可多得之作。又近人任讷《散曲概论》论元人小令，以郑氏此曲与贯云石、张可久诸家并称，谓其词情婉丽、声调谐美，为双调小令之上品。此曲一唱三叹之余韵，正得曲体之妙：曲尚直白，此曲却能于直白中见含蓄，于流丽中见深挚，兼有词之婉约与曲之流畅，是元曲文人化的成功典范。其末三句回环之笔，后人仿作者甚众，然皆不及此曲之自然浑成，盖情真而后语切，非徒学其句法所能至。

Prosody

Form Yuan sanqu, Double Tune, Moon Palace (or Broken Cassia Branch, short song)元散曲·双调·蟾宫曲（折桂令，小令）

Rhyme Rhymes: mang, tang, chuang, xiang, liang, liang (Jiangyang rhyme in Zhongyuan Yinyun)押茫、唐、窗、香、量、量，中原音韵江阳韵

Tone pattern Variable line lengths, many parallel couplets, final three lines repeated words, no strict tonal pattern句式长短参差，多俪对，末三句叠语回环，曲体不拘平仄

Reading note The Moon Palace tune is also called Broken Cassia Branch; its form is flexible. Zheng Guangzu uses it to write a dream of longing.蟾宫曲即折桂令，双调曲牌，定格句式多变，此曲为七句体正格。全曲以三字、四字、五字句错落相间，音节疏密有致：起句五字缓起，二、三句四字对偶，中段三句四字鼎足对，音律流转，如珠走盘。末三句唤起思量、待不思量、怎不思量，以叠字复沓收束，待、怎二字作衬，句句回环，一唱三叹，正是曲体宜于言情处。郑光祖以杂剧家之手写小令，音节谐婉，声情相称，梦之迷离、思之缠绵，皆于旋律中自然流出，足见其驾驭曲律之精，是元散曲言情小令的典范之作。起句五字以幽梦微茫缓起，定下迷离基调；中段三句鼎足对，音节齐整，如行云流水；末三句回环叠唱，一字一顿，如泣如诉，声情与词情高度统一。蟾宫曲本为北曲小令，郑氏以南方清音出之，遂具婉约之致，可见元代南北曲交融之迹。全曲用韵疏密相间，江阳韵响亮悠扬，与梦之迷离形成微妙对照，愈显其音节之妙。

Line by line

半窗幽梦微茫

By the half-window, a dim dream, faint and hazy - this opening line sets the misty, elusive tone of the dream.

半窗幽梦朦胧迷茫。

Across half the window, a faint dream, vague and drifting.

起句点题定调，半窗二字极妙：梦如残月只照半窗，既写梦之将残、将醒未醒，又暗示欢会之短暂不全，一窗之内唯余半窗幽梦，境界迷离。微茫写梦影之缥缈恍惚，如烟如雾，不可捉摸，为全曲蒙上一层朦胧纱幕。五字写尽梦醒之际的怅惘：欢会已散，残梦犹存，遂有下文风月依然、伊人不见之慨。此句以景起情，句短韵长，奠定全曲凄迷柔婉的抒情基调，是元曲以少总多的典范。此句与白居易花非花之迷离一脉相承，皆于似有若无之间写情之深处，梦耶非梦，唯余惆怅。

The opening fixes the tone; 'half window' is the masterstroke. The dream, like a waning moon, lights only half the window — suggesting the dream already fading, half-waking, and the meeting incomplete, leaving only a hazy dream behind one pane. 'Vague' renders dream-shadows as mist, intangible, draping the whole song in gauze. Five characters capture the sadness of waking: the tryst dispersed, the dream remaining, which leads to what follows — moon and wind unchanged, the beloved gone. Landscape opens emotion; a brief line, a long resonance, in the same vein as Bai Juyi's dreamy 'flowers are not flowers.'

歌罢钱塘，赋罢高唐

Finished singing of Qiantang, finished composing of Gaotang - these two allusions hint at romantic encounters in the dream.

歌罢钱塘旧曲，又赋罢高唐云雨之章。

The songs of Qiantang are ended; the Gaotang rhapsody has been chanted to its close.

两句对仗，以典藏情，写尽梦中欢会之旧事。钱塘暗指昔日与伊人歌舞相会之地，高唐则用楚襄王梦遇巫山神女之典，暗写云雨之欢。歌罢赋罢，一罢字点出欢会已终、好梦将醒，于热闹之中暗伏离散之悲。两句不写欢会之具体情状，只以典事轻轻带过，含蓄蕴藉，将旖旎情事化为雅致笔致，既见才人之学养，又见其用笔之含蓄，是曲中暗用典实的典范，为下片写醒后相思蓄足情势。

Two balanced lines, turning allusion into feeling, recall the tryst within the dream. 'Qiantang' quietly names the place where she once sang and danced with the poet; 'Gaotang' invokes the King of Chu's dream meeting with the goddess of Wu Mountain, the classic allusion to love's congress. The word 'ended,' twice, marks the meeting over, the dream at its edge: beneath the splendor lies the sorrow of parting. Nothing of the tryst itself is described; allusion touches it and passes, converting sensual memory into elegant brushwork — a display of learning and of restraint that prepares the longing after waking.

风入罗帏，爽入疏棂，月照纱窗

Wind enters the gauze curtain, coolness enters the lattice window, moonlight shines on the screen - these three parallel lines depict the clear, quiet scene after waking.

风儿吹入罗帐，清爽透进疏窗，月光照上纱窗。

Wind enters the gauze curtains; coolness slips through the lattice; moonlight falls on the gauze window.

三句鼎足对，以风、月写梦回之清境。风入罗帏写触觉之凉，爽入疏棂写肌肤之感，月照纱窗写视觉之明，由内而外、由身及景，层次井然。罗帏、疏棂、纱窗皆为闺阁常见之物，点出所思为闺中之人，而风月无情，独照空窗，更见人去楼空之寂寞。三句纯写景而情寓其中：梦醒之际，唯见风月依然，伊人已杳，物是人非之感油然而生。句法轻俊，对仗工整而不板滞，如清光流泻，是元散曲写景句中的上乘笔墨，为下片见人闻香作了环境铺垫。

A three-part balanced couplet, painting the clear world of returning from dream through wind and moon. Wind in the curtains is the touch of cool; coolness through the lattice is its feel on the skin; moonlight on the window is sight — inner to outer, body to scene, ordered. Gauze curtains, lattice, window are boudoir things, fixing the loved one as a woman of chambers; wind and moon, careless, light the empty window alone, and the loneliness of the vacated room is all the keener. Pure landscape, emotion within: at waking only wind and moon remain, she nowhere, and the ache of things unchanged while the person is gone rises of itself.

缥缈见梨花淡妆，依稀闻兰麝余香

Vaguely I see her pear-blossom pale makeup, faintly I smell the lingering fragrance of orchid musk - the poet blurs reality and dream to evoke the beloved.

恍惚间见她梨花般淡雅的妆饰，依稀闻到兰麝的缕缕余香。

Dimly I see her, lightly made up as pear blossoms are; faintly I smell the lingering scent of orchid and musk.

两句虚实相生，写梦忆伊人之情状。缥缈依稀，皆写似有若无之态，恰合梦中之境：人已远去，唯有淡妆倩影在记忆深处浮现，兰麝余香犹在鼻端萦回。梨花淡妆以梨花喻其清丽，淡妆见其素雅，不着浓艳之词而风韵自出；兰麝余香以名香写其气息，余字尤妙，香已散去而余味犹存，正如人已离去而情思不断。一用视觉一用嗅觉，色香并举，将不可捉摸的思念写得可感可触，虚实相生之间，伊人形象呼之欲出，是全曲写情最见功力之处。

Two lines where the real and the imagined interweave, rendering the dream-memory of her. 'Dimly' and 'faintly' both name the almost-thereness that belongs to dreams: she is gone, yet the lightly painted image rises from deep memory, the scent lingering at the nostrils. 'Pear-blossom light makeup' likens her clear loveliness to pear flowers, pale elegance without ornament; 'lingering orchid and musk' — the word 'lingering' is the masterstroke, scent dispersed yet taste remaining, as she has left yet feeling endures. Sight and smell, color and fragrance together, make intangible longing palpable — the beloved almost before the eyes, the song's finest achievement in feeling.

唤起思量，待不思量，怎不思量

It awakens longing; I try not to long, but how can I not long? - The repetition of 'longing' creates a spiral of unresolvable yearning.

这梦境唤起无尽思量，想要不再思量，却又怎生能够不思量。

This dream has woken endless longing; I try not to think — and how could I not think?

末三句以回环句式层层递进，是全曲情感之高潮。唤起思量写梦醒后相思如潮涌起，待不思量写欲加排遣之挣扎，怎不思量写排遣之不可能，三句一步一折，将欲忘不能、欲断还续的刻骨相思逼到极致。待字写出迟疑与努力，怎字以反诘收束，语尽而情不尽，一唱三叹。此句式脱化于前人回文回环笔法而更见自然，以极平易的语言道出极深挚的情感，如春蚕吐丝，绵绵不尽，是元散曲中写相思之绝唱，千载以下犹能动人。

The three closing lines, in an echoing turn, are the emotional peak. The dream summons longing that surges on waking; 'I try not to think' is the struggle to be rid of it; 'and how could I not think?' proves release impossible — three steps, each a turn, driving the aching love that cannot be forgotten, cannot be broken. 'Try' writes the hesitation and effort; 'how' closes in a question, sense ended, feeling unended, a triple sigh. The pattern, developed from older looping forms yet more natural, says the deepest feeling in the plainest words — like a silkworm spinning thread, endless, one of Yuan sanqu's supreme songs of lovesickness, moving people across the centuries.

Study

Word focus

微茫 Dim and hazy - sets the dreamlike atmosphere of the whole piece. 微茫写梦影之隐约迷离，微言其细，茫言其远，二字连用，将将醒未醒之际的梦境写得如烟如雾，不可捉摸。若用分明、清晰，则梦成实境，索然无味；微茫一出，全曲遂笼罩于朦胧纱幕之中，与下文缥缈、依稀诸语一脉相承，构成统一的迷离美感。此词写梦而不实写梦中之欢，正赖微茫二字定调，使后文风月、淡妆、余香皆在似有若无之间，含蓄蕴藉，韵致悠长，是全曲炼意炼境的关键字眼。

待 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 待不思量之待字，是末三句回环中的枢纽。待有将要、想要、待到数义，此处写思量既起，欲加遏制而未果的刹那迟疑：想要不思量，却又不能。一个待字，将主观努力与客观不能之间的挣扎写得纤毫毕现，若径用欲不思量，则直露少味；着一待字，便有欲说还休、欲止还起之态，语气婉转，情致缠绵。此字以虚字传神，是元曲炼虚字见工力的典型例证，一字之置，全句皆活。

怎 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 怎不思量之怎字，以反诘收束全曲，力重千钧。怎即如何、怎么，一句反诘，将前两句的排遣努力尽行推翻：不是不思量，而是根本无法不思量。此字以问句出之，不直说思之深而令人自会其深，语尽而情不尽，正得含蓄之妙。与李清照怎一个愁字了得之怎字同一机杼，皆以反诘写愁情之不可解。一怎字，写尽相思之无解、思念之无法摆脱，是回环句式的句眼，亦是全曲情感喷薄而出之处，千回百转，尽在此一字。