元 Yuan · 曲 Qu song
蟾宫曲·寒食新野道中
Chan Gong Qu (Moon Palace Song) · 'On the Road at Xin Ye During Cold Food'
柳濛烟梨雪参差，犬吠柴荆，燕语茅茨。
老瓦盆边，田家翁媪，鬓发如丝。
桑柘外秋千女儿，髻双鸦斜插花枝。
转眄移时，应叹行人，马上哦诗。
By the old earthenware bowl, village old folk, their hair white as silk.
Beyond the mulberries, a girl on the swing, twin raven coils aslant, a flower sprig in her hair.
She turns her eyes, lingering a moment—surely she sighs at the passing traveller, who hums a poem atop his horse.
Meaning
A fresh, bright qu sketch of a village during the Cold Food Festival. Layered spring images—misty willows, pear snow, barking dogs, chattering swallows, white-haired elders, a swinging girl—build a tranquil pastoral, closing on the traveller-poet who, moved, hums verse on his horse.
柳濛烟梨雪参差，犬吠柴荆，燕语茅茨。老瓦盆边，田家翁媪，鬓发如丝。桑柘外秋千女儿，髻双鸦斜插花枝。转眄移时，应叹行人，马上哦诗。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] Misty willows and snow-like pears; dogs bark at the gate, swallows talk at the thatch. By an old crock, white-haired village elders; beyond the mulberries a girl swings, raven-coiled, flower in hair. She glances over, lingers, and surely sighs at the traveller humming poetry on his horse. [Structure] The scene widens from nature (willows, dogs, swallows) to people (elders, girl) to the observing poet—a classic landscape-to-lyric movement. [Imagery] "Pear snow," "raven coils," "hair white as silk" are crisp, colourful brushstrokes; the closing traveller frames the whole as a painted moment. Fresh and brisk, the qu is a model of Yuan pastoral lightness.
【白话串讲】 卢挚写《蟾宫曲·寒食新野道中》：“柳濛烟梨雪参差，犬吠柴荆，燕语茅茨”——“老瓦盆边，田家翁媪，鬓发如丝”——“桑柘外秋千女儿，髻双鸦斜插花枝”——他写寒食道中——桑柘外秋千女儿。 【意象与手法】 “柳濛烟梨雪参差、犬吠柴荆、燕语茅茨”写柳濛烟梨雪参差；“老瓦盆边、田家翁媪、鬓发如丝”写老瓦盆边；“桑柘外秋千女儿、髻双鸦斜插花枝”写桑柘外秋千女儿；结以“转眄移时，应叹行人，马上哦诗”写马上哦诗。清新明快。 【情感与主旨】 卢挚写寒食新野道中之作，写柳濛烟梨雪参差、桑柘外秋千女儿的田家春景，是卢挚曲中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“柳濛烟梨雪参差，犬吠柴荆，燕语茅茨”写田家春景；“桑柘外秋千女儿，髻双鸦斜插花枝”写秋千女儿。
Background
Lu Zhi (c. 1242–c. 1314), courtesy name Chudao, literary name Shuzhai, was a Yuan-dynasty sanqu master from Zhuojun (modern Zhuozhou, Hebei). A senior official and prolific lyricist, he excelled in bright, graceful qu that depict travel, seasons and rural life. "Chan Gong Qu · On the Road at Xin Ye During Cold Food" records a spring scene witnessed while travelling through Xin Ye (in modern Henan) at the Cold Food Festival—a day of forbidden hearth-fires and outings before the Qingming tomb-sweeping. The piece belongs to his celebrated vein of fresh, pictorial pastoral songs.
《蟾宫曲·寒食新野道中》为元代散曲家卢挚所作散曲。卢挚（约1242—约1314），字处道，号疏斋，涿郡（今河北涿州）人，元代散曲家。此曲写景田园，为寒食新野道中之作。曲中「柳濛烟梨雪参差，犬吠柴荆，燕语茅茨」写柳濛烟梨雪参差，犬吠柴荆，燕语茅茨；「老瓦盆边，田家翁媪，鬓发如丝」写老瓦盆边，田家翁媪，鬓发如丝；「桑柘外秋千女儿，髻双鸦斜插花枝」写桑柘外秋千女儿，髻双鸦斜插花枝；「转眄移时，应叹行人，马上哦诗」写转眄移时，应叹行人，马上哦诗。卢挚此曲以写景田园、马上哦诗写其田园之情，清新明快，是卢挚曲中的名篇。此篇《蟾宫曲·寒食新野道中》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《蟾宫曲·寒食新野道中》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。
Art
The qu's art is "fresh and brisk, feeling carried by scene." It opens with a triadic nature shot—"willows misted in smoke, pear blossoms like snow, uneven"—using synesthetic colour (pear as snow) and the verb "uneven" to suggest natural irregularity rather than neat rows. Then sound enters: dogs bark, swallows chatter, animating the village. The middle shifts to figures: the "old earthenware bowl" and "white-haired elders" ground the scene in humble, durable rural life; the girl on the swing, "twin raven coils aslant, flower in hair," is the qu's bright focal point, her movement contrasting the still elders. The close pulls back to the traveller: "she turns her eyes… sighs at the passing traveller, who hums a poem on his horse"—a self-aware frame that converts observation into lyric. Tight, pictorial structure and light, quick rhyme give the piece its characteristic Yuan pastoral grace.
此曲艺术上以「清新明快、以景写情」见长。全曲由柳濛烟梨雪参差而老瓦盆边而桑柘外秋千女儿。起「柳濛烟梨雪参差，犬吠柴荆，燕语茅茨」写柳濛烟梨雪参差：柳濛烟梨雪参差，犬吠柴荆，燕语茅茨；「老瓦盆边，田家翁媪，鬓发如丝」写老瓦盆边：老瓦盆边，田家翁媪，鬓发如丝；「桑柘外秋千女儿，髻双鸦斜插花枝」写桑柘外秋千女儿：桑柘外秋千女儿，髻双鸦斜插花枝；结「转眄移时，应叹行人，马上哦诗」写马上哦诗：转眄移时，应叹行人，马上哦诗。全曲以景写情，由柳濛烟梨雪参差而马上哦诗，清新明快，是卢挚曲中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。
Allusions
The "Cold Food" (Hanshi) reference invokes the festival tracing to the loyal minister Jie Zitui, when fires were forbidden and people ate cold food—a traditional occasion for spring outings, hence the swinging girls (qiuqian), a classic Cold Food pastime since the Tang. "Raven coils" (shuang ya) for a girl's double hair-knot is standard beauty imagery from yuefu and Tang poetry. "Old earthenware bowl" (lao wa pen) evokes the plain vessel of rustic feasting, while "thatch" (maoci) and "brushwood gate" (chaijing) are staples of the pastoral topos descending from Tao Yuanming. By assembling these conventional markers Lu Zhi paints a thoroughly traditional village yet keeps it immediate through sharp, colloquial qu diction—"dogs bark," "swallows chatter.
曲中「柳濛烟梨雪参差犬吠柴荆燕语茅茨」「老瓦盆边田家翁媪鬓发如丝」「桑柘外秋千女儿髻双鸦斜插花枝」「转眄移时应叹行人马上哦诗」等语，皆含典故故实。「柳濛烟梨雪参差犬吠柴荆燕语茅茨」写柳濛烟梨雪参差犬吠柴荆燕语茅茨；「老瓦盆边田家翁媪鬓发如丝」写老瓦盆边田家翁媪鬓发如丝；「桑柘外秋千女儿髻双鸦斜插花枝」写桑柘外秋千女儿髻双鸦斜插花枝；「转眄移时应叹行人马上哦诗」写转眄移时应叹行人马上哦诗。曲人以秋千、哦诗等语入曲，不着痕迹，而把写景田园之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。
Commentary
Critics prize this qu as a flawless example of Yuan pastoral lightness. Unlike the melancholy travel songs of the era, Lu Zhi's piece is purely celebratory, a verbal genre-painting in which each image is placed like a brushstroke. The swing-girl passage is often singled out as the qu's gem—"twin raven coils aslant, flower in hair" condensing youth and spring in a single line. The traveller's self-framing ("hums a poem on his horse") is noted as the Yuan qu's characteristic self-awareness, turning a static scene into living lyric. Read beside Ma Zhiyuan's "Autumn Thoughts," Lu Zhi shows the sunny side of Yuan sanqu: not the road's sorrow but the road's delight. For students it is a key text in the "fresh pastoral" subgenre.
这首《蟾宫曲·寒食新野道中》，是卢挚写景田园之作，写柳濛烟梨雪参差、老瓦盆边、桑柘外秋千女儿、马上哦诗之情，清新明快。起「柳濛烟梨雪参差，犬吠柴荆，燕语茅茨」——柳濛烟梨雪参差，犬吠柴荆，燕语茅茨。写柳濛烟梨雪参差：柳濛烟梨雪参差、犬吠柴荆、燕语茅茨——柳濛烟、梨雪参差、犬吠柴荆、燕语茅茨；「老瓦盆边，田家翁媪，鬓发如丝」——老瓦盆边，田家翁媪，鬓发如丝。写老瓦盆边：老瓦盆边、田家翁媪、鬓发如丝——瓦盆边、翁媪鬓发如丝；「桑柘外秋千女儿，髻双鸦斜插花枝」——桑柘外秋千女儿，髻双鸦斜插花枝。写桑柘外秋千女儿：桑柘外秋千女儿、髻双鸦斜插花枝——秋千女儿、斜插花枝；结「转眄移时，应叹行人，马上哦诗」——转眄移时，应叹行人，马上哦诗。写马上哦诗：转眄移时、应叹行人、马上哦诗——转眄移时、行人马上哦诗。这「转眄移时，应叹行人，马上哦诗」，是全曲之结：以马上哦诗写其田园。全曲清新明快，以景写情，正是卢挚曲中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
柳濛烟梨雪参差，犬吠柴荆，燕语茅茨。
Willows misted in smoke, pear blossoms like snow, uneven—dogs bark at the brushwood gate, swallows chatter by the thatch.
柳濛烟梨雪参差，犬吠柴荆，燕语茅茨。
Willows are veiled in mist, pear blossoms scatter like uneven snow; a dog barks at the wattle gate; swallows chatter under the thatch.
起句写柳濛烟梨雪参差，起笔即见其景。「柳濛烟梨雪参差」写柳濛烟梨雪参差，「柳濛烟」写柳濛烟、「梨雪参差」写梨花如雪参差；「犬吠柴荆」写犬吠柴荆，「犬吠」写犬吠、「柴荆」写柴荆；「燕语茅茨」写燕语茅茨，「燕语」写燕语、「茅茨」写茅茨。三句一写柳濛烟梨雪参差、一写犬吠柴荆、一写燕语茅茨，以柳濛烟梨雪参差写柳烟梨雪、以犬吠柴荆写犬吠柴荆、以燕语茅茨写燕语茅茨，写尽柳濛烟梨雪参差、犬吠柴荆、燕语茅茨之情。以景起兴，清新而明快，是「以景起兴」的妙笔。
The opening line fixes the scene at once. Willows veiled in mist, pear blossoms like uneven snow — then a dog barking at the brushwood gate, swallows twittering beneath the thatched eaves. From misty willow and snowy pear to farmyard sounds, the verse paints the village at Cold Food Festival fresh and bright, a masterstroke of scene as the song's springboard.
老瓦盆边，田家翁媪，鬓发如丝。
By the old earthenware bowl, village old folk, their hair white as silk.
老瓦盆边，田家翁媪，鬓发如丝。
Beside the old earthenware bowl, the farming couple — their temple hairs already like threads of silk.
此三句写老瓦盆边，是全曲写田家之态的关键。「老瓦盆边」写老瓦盆边，「老瓦盆」写老瓦盆、「边」写边；「田家翁媪」写田家翁媪，「田家」写田家、「翁媪」写翁媪；「鬓发如丝」写鬓发如丝，「鬓发」写鬓发、「如丝」写如丝。三句一写老瓦盆边、一写田家翁媪、一写鬓发如丝，以老瓦盆边写瓦盆边、以田家翁媪写田家翁媪、以鬓发如丝写鬓发如丝，写尽老瓦盆边、田家翁媪、鬓发如丝之情。以景写人，清新而明快，是「以景写人」的点睛之笔。
These three lines portray the farming household. The old clay bowl, the peasant husband and wife, their sideburns silken white — the pottery sets the rustic table, the couple its lifelong labor, and the white hair its years. People emerge through things, fresh and bright, the telling touch of people rendered in scene.
桑柘外秋千女儿，髻双鸦斜插花枝。
Beyond the mulberries, a girl on the swing, twin raven coils aslant, a flower sprig in her hair.
桑柘外秋千女儿，髻双鸦斜插花枝。
Beyond the mulberry and silkworm thorn, a girl at the swing; her double crow-black buns wear a slanted spray of flowers.
此二句写桑柘外秋千女儿，是全曲写女儿之态的关键。「桑柘外秋千女儿」写桑柘外秋千女儿，「桑柘外」写桑柘外、「秋千女儿」写秋千女儿；「髻双鸦斜插花枝」写髻双鸦斜插花枝，「髻双鸦」写髻如双鸦、「斜插花枝」写斜插花枝。两句一写桑柘外秋千女儿、一写髻双鸦斜插花枝，以桑柘外秋千女儿写秋千女儿、以髻双鸦斜插花枝写斜插花枝，写尽桑柘外秋千女儿、髻双鸦斜插花枝之情。以景写人，清新而明快，是「以景写人」的点睛之笔。
These two lines sketch the village girl. Beyond the mulberry rows, the swing; her double crow-black buns, a flower twig aslant in them. The orchard gives the place, the swing the play of festival, the slanted flower spray the vanity of girlhood — again people through scene, fresh and bright.
转眄移时，应叹行人，马上哦诗。
She turns her eyes, lingering a moment—surely she sighs at the passing traveller, who hums a poem atop his horse.
转眄移时，应叹行人，马上哦诗。
She glances away and lingers a moment; she must be wondering at the traveler murmuring verses in the saddle.
结句写马上哦诗，是全曲立意的落点。「转眄移时」写转眄移时，「转眄」写转眼、「移时」写移时；「应叹行人」写应叹行人，「应叹」写应叹、「行人」写行人；「马上哦诗」写马上哦诗，「马上」写马上、「哦诗」写哦诗。三句一写转眄移时、一写应叹行人、一写马上哦诗，以转眄移时写转眄移时、以应叹行人写叹行人、以马上哦诗写马上哦诗，写尽转眄移时、应叹行人、马上哦诗之情。以人写情，清新而明快，是全曲最动人处，也是「以人写情」的点睛之笔。
The closing lands the song's meaning. She turns her eyes a moment, lingering; likely she is sighing at this passerby who murmurs poetry on horseback. The village's quiet tableaux — dog, swallows, old couple, swing girl — now receive the traveler's own image through her glance: the eye that noticed him is the poem's human point, fresh and moving.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Yan Shu's 'Huan Xi Sha' ('helpless, the flowers fall… familiar, the swallows return') writes rural feeling with gentle regret. Lu Zhi's 'Chan Gong Qu' ('misty willows and pear snow, dogs bark, swallows chatter') writes a bright village. Both are fresh rural lyrics: Yan in gentle regret over time, Lu in bright pastoral. Yan is gentle, Lu is clear—two faces of 'fresh scene.'
晏殊《浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯》「无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来」，写田园感怀，是宋词小令的名篇；卢挚《蟾宫曲·寒食新野道中》则以「柳濛烟梨雪参差，犬吠柴荆，燕语茅茨」「老瓦盆边，田家翁媪，鬓发如丝」写柳濛烟梨雪、田家翁媪。两曲同写田园写景、清新蕴藉：一写无可奈何花落去、以花落燕归写惜时，一写柳濛烟梨雪参差犬吠柴荆燕语茅茨、以春景写田园；一为晏殊之温润、一为卢挚之明快，并读正可见曲写「田园写景」的两种笔法，皆于田园之中见清新蕴藉。
山园小梅 Small Plum in the Mountain Garden 林逋 · 同写田园清雅、以景寄情，一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、一写桑柘外秋千女儿髻双鸦斜插花枝，皆于田园之中见清雅 Both write elegant rural purity through scene—one the plum, one the village.Lin Bu's 'Small Plum in the Mountain Garden' ('sparse shadows slant on clear water; faint fragrance at dusk moon') writes reclusive purity through the plum. Lu Zhi's 'Chan Gong Qu' writes village purity through willows, elders and the swing-girl. Both express elegant rural feeling by scene: Lin by the plum's detachment, Lu by the village's liveliness. Lin is detached, Lu is bright—two approaches to 'elegant scene.'
林逋《山园小梅》「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」，写梅之清雅、田园之趣，是宋诗咏物的绝唱；卢挚《蟾宫曲·寒食新野道中》则以「桑柘外秋千女儿，髻双鸦斜插花枝」「柳濛烟梨雪参差，犬吠柴荆，燕语茅茨」写秋千女儿、柳濛烟梨雪。两曲同写田园清雅、以景寄情：一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、以梅写清雅，一写桑柘外秋千女儿髻双鸦斜插花枝、以女儿写田园；一为林逋之清逸、一为卢挚之明快，并读正可见曲写「田园清雅」的两种笔法，皆于田园之中见清雅。