All poems

元 Yuan · 曲 Qu song

水仙子·寻梅

Song of the Water Fairy: Seeking the Plum Blossom

乔吉

Qiao Ji

散曲Sanqu 咏物Object-chanting 寻梅Seeking the Plum Blossom

冬前冬后几村庄，溪北溪南两履霜，树头树底孤山上。
冷风来何处香？
忽相逢缟袂绡裳。
酒醒寒惊梦，笛凄春断肠，淡月昏黄。

冬前冬后几村庄，溪北溪南两履霜，树头树底孤山上。
冷风来何处香？忽相逢缟袂绡裳。
酒醒寒惊梦，笛凄春断肠，淡月昏黄。

Listen

Meaning

This short lyric depicts the obsession of seeking plum blossoms and the joy of finding them. The poet traverses several villages before and after winter, his shoes frosted from crossing streams, and searches the trees on Solitary Hill. Suddenly, a fragrance arrives in the cold wind, and he meets the plum blossom like a white-robed fairy. Then, in the dim moonlight, he wakes from wine, cold startles his dream, and a mournful flute breaks his heart.

冬前冬后走遍几个村庄，溪北溪南踏破两鞋清霜，树头树底寻遍孤山之上。冷风里何处飘来一阵幽香？忽然相逢，是那白衣如雪的梅花姑娘。酒醒时寒意惊破残梦，笛声凄切教人春心断肠，只见淡月昏黄。

Appreciation

The poem uses repetition and spatial progression to show the persistence of the search. 'Two shoes of frost' vividly conveys the hardship. The personification of the plum as a 'white-sleeved, gauze-gowned' maiden turns a static scene into a dynamic encounter, expressing sudden joy. The final lines shift to melancholy with wine, cold, flute, and moonlight, leaving a lingering, ethereal beauty.

【白话串讲】为了找一株梅花，乔吉冬天走遍几个村庄，鞋底都踏了霜。忽然一阵冷风送来香气，梅花就在那里——踏雪寻梅，成了中国文人最执拗也最浪漫的仪式。【意象与手法】此诗为元乔吉之作，精要赏析详见下方深度赏析。【情感与主旨】乔吉（字梦符）是元后期散曲大家，一生潦倒江湖，长期寄情山水风月，与张可久并称“乔张”，风格清丽【名句点睛】常考咏梅与“寻”字贯穿全篇之结构，以及复沓手法；“缟袂绡裳”拟人与由喜转怅的情致为赏析要点

Background

Qiao Ji (style name Mengfu) was a major Sanqu writer in the late Yuan dynasty. He spent his life wandering among rivers and lakes, often expressing his lofty and solitary feelings through nature. This piece, written while seeking plum blossoms in winter, uses the plum as a metaphor for his own aloofness and disdain for worldly fame, reflecting his unrestrained, drunken-immortal temperament. The poem moves from search to encounter, from joy to melancholy, and is a pure example of plum blossom poetry in Yuan qu.

《水仙子·寻梅》为元后期散曲大家乔吉所作。乔吉（约一二八〇—一三四五年），字梦符，号笙鹤翁，太原人，流寓杭州，一生潦倒江湖，长期寄情山水风月，与张可久并称『乔张』，风格清丽。此曲当为其漂泊江南、寒冬寻梅时所作，具体年次难详，然『冬前冬后几村庄』的奔波与『淡月昏黄』的孤寂，正折射出落拓才士的羁旅之况。在中国文学传统上，咏梅一脉自《诗经·摽有梅》以降，经林逋『疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏』（山园小梅）而定型为孤高隐逸的象征，陆游《卜算子·咏梅》更以梅写坚贞。乔吉此曲不写静态咏梅，而写『寻梅』之动态过程，将寻访的执着、相逢的惊喜与别后的怅惘打成一片，上承唐宋咏梅诗，下开元人咏物小令『以寻为脉、以情贯串』的写法，是元散曲清丽派写物的佳作。又元曲咏物多即物即情，乔吉以『寻』字经纬全篇，使梅成为牵引情思之线而非孤立之象，此种构思于同调中别具手眼，亦见其『清丽』一脉之善于运思。

Art

The language is clear and beautiful, with reduplicative and repetitive structures reminiscent of folk songs. The opening three lines use spatial repetition to emphasize the obsession: 'Before winter, after winter...', 'North of the stream, south of the stream...', 'Above the trees, below the trees...'. The personification 'white-sleeved, gauze-gowned' animates the plum. The final three lines form a triple parallel (triple foot) that ends the poem with scene and emotion, shifting from joy to lingering sadness.

此曲艺术之妙在以『寻』字贯穿全篇、章法层递有致。起三句『冬前冬后几村庄，溪北溪南两履霜，树头树底孤山上』以三组方位复沓（冬前冬后、溪北溪南、树头树底）写寻梅之遍与痴，『几村庄』见空间之广，『两履霜』见奔走之久、寒侵之深，『孤山上』点出杭州孤山（林逋隐居咏梅之地）这一文化坐标，三层由远及近、由地及山，铺足『寻』的执着。继而『冷风来何处香？忽相逢缟袂绡裳』由寻转遇，以『何处香』的疑问写暗香袭来，以『缟袂绡裳』拟人写梅之清丽，惊喜之情跃然。末三句『酒醒寒惊梦，笛凄春断肠，淡月昏黄』由喜转怅，以酒醒、笛凄、淡月写相逢后的孤寂与春心断肠，情致由扬转抑。全曲结构『寻—逢—怅』起伏如波，意象清冷而设色淡雅，是元曲小令情景相生、以虚写实的上乘。其章法之密，在三层复沓如螺旋逼近，逼出『忽相逢』之一瞬，由极忙转极静，由极热转极冷，张弛之间最见小令经营之妙。

Allusions

Solitary Hill alludes to Lin Bu of the Northern Song, who lived in reclusion there and regarded the plum as his wife and cranes as his children, highlighting the hermit's purity and elegance. 'White-sleeved, gauze-gowned' continues the tradition of likening plum blossoms to immortals, as seen in Su Shi's poems. 'Two shoes of frost' evokes the image of treading snow in search of plum blossoms. Qiao Ji integrates these allusions to blend object-chanting, personal feeling, and reclusive tradition.

本曲用典与意象多本咏梅传统。『孤山』为林逋隐居杭州孤山、『梅妻鹤子』之典（见沈括《梦溪笔谈》），乔吉『树头树底孤山上』明点其地，既写实景亦暗袭林逋咏梅之孤高血脉。『缟袂绡裳』以白衣仙子喻梅，本于苏轼『玉雪为骨冰为魂』及以美人喻梅的悠久传统（如寿阳公主梅花妆、何逊咏梅），『缟袂』（白袖）『绡裳』（薄纱衣）写梅之素洁如仙子临凡，是拟人化的清丽笔墨。『暗香』遥承林逋『暗香浮动月黄昏』，『何处香』即以暗香定位梅花。『笛凄』用笛曲《梅花落》之典（乐府横吹曲，多写离别），李白『黄鹤楼中吹玉笛，江城五月落梅花』即其绪，此处『笛凄春断肠』以笛写愁，与梅之清艳相衬成怅。『淡月昏黄』则化用林逋『月黄昏』之句而略变，写相逢后月色朦胧的孤寂。诸典皆融化于寻梅之脉，清丽中自见厚积，非徒以词藻为工者所及，足证乔吉『清丽』之下实有唐宋诗学之根柢。又『寻梅』一事亦承王维、杜甫踏雪寻梅之逸事，乔吉以『寻』为曲眼，使访梅雅事兼具行程之叙事，典故与身世交融，遂令一己之痴具有文人传统的普遍意涵。

Commentary

Ming critic Li Kaixian praised Qiao Ji for being 'implicit and graceful, romantic and teasing.' This piece, with its obsession for seeking plum blossoms and its clear, sharp style, exemplifies his 'clear and beautiful' school. Modern scholar Ren Ne also regarded him as a 'drunken immortal of the rivers and lakes,' seeing in his unrestrained manner a solitary nobility.

此曲自明代即入散曲选本，与张可久同调清丽之作并传，近世因写寻梅之痴与相逢之怅而广受推赏。其经典地位在将『咏梅』化为『寻梅』——不静态描摹梅之形神，而动态写寻访的过程与心理起伏，使梅成为牵引情思的线索而非孤立的物象，这一『以寻为经、以情为纬』的构思，在元人咏物小令中别具一格。评家多赞其『三层写寻，层层逼紧；末写怅，淡而弥深』。在传播史上，它因语言清丽、章法灵动而被视作乔吉代表作之一，亦常作为元曲清丽派『乔张』风格的范例。需留意者，乔吉一生不遇，『寻梅』之痴实则是才士寻求精神知音与高洁自守的隐喻——梅之不遇于寒冬、人之不遇于浊世，同此孤清，故『淡月昏黄』的结句，既是景语，亦是落拓才士身世的淡淡自伤，清丽之表下藏着沉郁之底。读此曲者，当于明丽设色之外，味其孤怀之寂寞，方得乔吉之本心。近世论元曲者，每以乔吉与张可久并举为清丽派宗主，此曲章法、设色、用典俱堪为『乔张』一格之范，而孤寂自伤一层尤为乔吉本色——烟花风月、江湖途中，唯梅与孤月可共此心，遂使清词丽句终归沉厚。读其曲者宜兼观《录鬼簿》所传潦倒身世，方知寻梅非止寻花，乃才士于浊世自守高洁之寓言。

Prosody

Form Shuangdiao · Shuixianzi (Qiao Ji style)元曲小令，双调·水仙子

Rhyme Xiaoling (short lyric) using Shuangdiao tonal pattern; the first three lines form a triple parallel with mixed sentence lengths.押江阳韵（中原音韵），霜、香、裳、黄（黄属江阳）及庄、伤类协韵，一韵到底，声情清冷悠扬，与寻梅孤寂相协。

Tone pattern The first half has three parallel lines (before winter/after winter, north stream/south stream, above trees/below trees), followed by a question-and-answer, then concluding with scene descriptions, giving a rhythm of density and openness.水仙子句式为七七七、五五、三三三（或七七七、五六、七七），平仄依北曲双调腔格，不似诗词拘严；起三句七字复沓对仗协律，末『酒醒寒惊梦，笛凄春断肠，淡月昏黄』三句递收，长短错落，重在可歌。

Reading note The triple parallel sets out the process of seeking, and the ending with scenic language is clear and sharp, cold and restrained, representing Qiao Ji's 'clear and beautiful' Sanqu style.双调声情『健捷激袅』，然乔吉此作以清丽出之，正见其『清丽派』对宫调声情的个性化处理。用韵上『霜』『香』『裳』『黄』皆江阳开口平声，诵来清亮而微寒，与冬寻梅的冷境相应；『淡月昏黄』以平声收束，余韵悠长如月色未散。句式前三句以复沓（冬前冬后、溪北溪南、树头树底）层层逼紧写寻，中『何处香』『忽相逢』以轻转写遇，末三句以酒醒、笛凄、淡月递跌写怅，节奏由密而疏、由扬而抑。北曲尚本色，乔吉却能于本色调中融入词之雅（缟袂绡裳、暗香月黄），声律与设色相生，唱之如见寒江寻梅、淡月孤往，是元散曲清丽派小令的声律范本。双调之健捷与寻梅之幽冷相调剂，遂成清丽而不薄、怅惘而有韵之佳作。

Line by line

冬前冬后几村庄，

Before winter, after winter, through how many villages;

冬前冬后走遍几个村庄

Before winter and after winter, through village after village.

起句以『冬前冬后』写时间跨度之长，『几村庄』写空间奔走之广，合见寻梅之痴与执着。梅开于冬，作者竟冬前冬后遍访村庄，可见其非偶遇而是苦寻。『几』字含奔波之多与收获之难，淡淡数字已铺出落拓才士寒冬独行的背影。此句为全曲『寻』字之始，以时间与空间的双重延展确立寻觅的基调，亦暗含对高洁之物的渴慕——梅在乔吉笔下实为精神知音的象征，遍访村庄正是寻求契合的隐喻。起笔平平而意已遥深，寻梅之痴由此一发而不可收。

The opening writes the long span of time in 'before winter, after winter,' and the wide run of space in 'how many villages,' together showing the folly and persistence of seeking the plum. The plum blooms in winter, yet the poet visits villages before and after winter — no chance encounter, but a hard search. The word 'how many' holds the number of journeys and the difficulty of finding; a plain numeral spreads the back of the down-and-out scholar walking alone in the cold. This line is the start of the song's 'seeking,' fixing the mood through the double stretch of time and space, and darkly holding the longing for what is pure — in Qiao Ji's brush the plum is the symbol of the spiritual kindred, and the villages visited the metaphor of seeking one's match. The opening plain, the meaning already far, the folly of seeking the plum loosed beyond recall.

溪北溪南两履霜，

North of the stream, south of the stream, two boots of frost;

溪北溪南踏破两鞋清霜

North of the stream and south of the stream, two boots trodden in frost.

承句以『溪北溪南』的方位复沓继『冬前冬后』，将寻访由村庄推至溪畔，空间愈细而寻觅愈切。『两履霜』三字极凝练——双鞋踏霜，既写寒气之侵骨，亦写奔走之久远，『两履』以物写人，见其不惮寒苦。此句与起句对仗，『冬前冬后』对『溪北溪南』（时间对空间），『几村庄』对『两履霜』，章法工稳而口吻自然，是元曲小令以复沓写执着的典型。霜履之寒与后文『相逢』之暖形成对照，寻觅的辛苦正为相逢的惊喜蓄势，一笔写尽寻梅人之坚忍与痴绝，最见小令以少总多之能。

The answering line continues 'north of the stream, south of the stream,' the spatial repetition following 'before winter, after winter,' moving the search from villages to the stream's edge, the space finer, the search keener. 'Two boots of frost' is most condensed — both boots treading frost, writing at once the cold biting the bone and the length of the journey; 'two boots' writing the man through the thing, showing his unflinching in cold. The line pairs the opening: 'before winter, after winter' against 'north of the stream, south of the stream' (time against space), 'how many villages' against 'two boots of frost,' the structure balanced, the voice natural — the typical Yuan short song writing persistence through repetition. The cold of the frosted boots sets off the warmth of the 'meeting' to come; the toil of seeking primes the surprise of finding, one line writing the seeker's steadfastness and folly, the short song's gift of the few defeating the many.

树头树底孤山上。

Above the tree, below the tree — on Lonely Hill.

树头树底寻遍孤山之上

Above the tree and below the tree — on Lonely Hill.

三句以『树头树底』再一复沓，将寻访由地面收束到孤山一树的上下细觅，『孤山上』点出杭州孤山——林逋『梅妻鹤子』的咏梅圣地，既是实写亦暗袭其孤高传统。三层复沓（冬前冬后、溪北溪南、树头树底）由远及近、由广及精，如镜头推近，寻梅之痴写得层叠逼紧。『孤』字双关：既指山，亦指寻梅人自身之孤，与梅之孤高冥契。至此『寻』的铺垫圆满，遂自然引出下句暗香之遇，结构之水到渠成可见乔吉构曲之匠心，三层复沓如螺旋，终逼出相逢之一瞬。

The third line repeats 'above the tree, below the tree' once more, drawing the search from the ground to the fine上下 of a single tree on Lonely Hill; 'Lonely Hill' names the Hangzhou height — Lin Bu's sacred ground of plum-worship ('plum wife, crane children'), both real and drawing on the tradition of solitary purity. Three layers of repetition — before/after winter, north/south stream, above/below tree — from far to near, broad to fine, like a camera pushing in, the folly layered and tight. The word 'lonely' doubles: the hill, and the seeker's own loneliness, answering the plum's solitary purity. The buildup of 'seeking' complete, the meeting with the hidden fragrance follows of itself; the structure's water-to-channel ease shows Qiao Ji's craft, three layers like a spiral, at last forcing out the instant of meeting.

冷风来何处香？

Where does the fragrance come from, in the cold wind?

冷风里何处飘来一阵幽香

A cold wind rises — from where, this scent?

此句为由寻转逢的关键，『冷风』承前『履霜』之寒，『何处香』以疑问写暗香忽至的惊喜与迷离。梅以暗香动人，作者不写见梅而先写闻香，以嗅觉领起相逢，更显寻访将得的悸动。『何处』二字写出香之飘忽、寻之将遇未遇的悬念，情感由执着的辛苦陡转为期待的欣然。它遥承林逋『暗香浮动』，却以问句出之，平添寻梅特有的灵动与惊喜，是小令由铺叙转入抒情的巧妙转枢，足见乔吉写物能摄其神的功力，一问而全曲气脉由忙转闲，由实转虚。

This line is the turning from seeking to meeting: 'cold wind' carries the cold of the earlier 'boots of frost'; 'where does the fragrance come from?' writes, in a question, the surprise and vagueness of the hidden scent's sudden arrival. The plum moves through its hidden fragrance; the poet writes not the seeing of the plum but the smelling first, leading the meeting with scent, the more showing the tremor of finding near. 'Where does' writes the scent's drifting, the suspense of the search nearly met, not yet met; feeling turns from the toil of persistence to the gladness of expectation. The line answers Lin Bu's 'hidden fragrance drifting,' yet in a question, adding the peculiar liveliness and surprise of plum-seeking — the clever hinge by which the short song turns from narrative to lyric, showing Qiao Ji's power to seize the thing's spirit; one question, and the song's vein turns from busy to idle, solid to void.

淡月昏黄。

A pale, dim moon.

只见淡月昏黄

Only a pale, dim moon.

结句以『淡月昏黄』收束全曲，景语中藏着深长的怅惘。它化用林逋『暗香浮动月黄昏』而删为四字，写相逢之后月色朦胧、清辉淡远的孤寂——梅虽寻得，而人仍漂泊，淡月昏黄恰是落拓才士心境的投射。由『忽相逢』的惊喜跌回『酒醒寒惊梦，笛凄春断肠』的凄凉，末以景语淡收，余味不尽。『淡』『昏黄』皆冷色调，与起句霜寒呼应，首尾一贯的清冷中，寻梅之痴、相逢之喜、别后之怅皆凝于此四字，是元曲小令以景结情、含蓄不尽的典范收束，亦乔吉孤怀之写照。

The closing gathers the song in 'a pale, dim moon,' the scenery holding a long wistfulness within. It adapts Lin Bu's 'hidden fragrance drifting in the dim moonlight,' compressed to four characters, writing after the meeting the hazy moon, the pale, distant glow — the plum found, yet the man still wandering, the pale dim moon the projection of the down-and-out scholar's mood. From the surprise of the 'sudden meeting,' falling back to the desolation of 'waking from wine, the chill startling the dream; the flute's wail breaking the spring heart,' the close in faint scenery, the aftertone endless. 'Pale' and 'dim' are both cold tones, answering the opening's frosty cold; in the consistent chill of首尾, the folly of seeking, the joy of meeting, the wistfulness after parting, all condensed into these four characters — the model close of Yuan short songs closing feeling in scenery, and the portrait of Qiao Ji's own solitary heart.

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两履霜 Two shoes of frost — depicts the hardship and persistence of the search, the poet's obsession. 『两履霜』三字是全曲写『寻』之痴的最凝练一笔。『履』即鞋，『两履霜』写双鞋皆沾寒霜，既状冬日溪畔奔走之久、寒气侵骨之深，又以物代人、以局部写全程，极俭省而极传神。它上承『冬前冬后几村庄』的时间广远，下启『树头树底孤山上』的空间细觅，将寻梅的辛苦具象为一双踏霜的鞋。这一意象之妙在化虚（执着）为实（霜履），不言痴而痴自见，是元曲小令『以少许胜多许』的炼字范例，亦暗喻才士为寻高洁知音而不惮寒苦的孤诣。三字之中，风雪江湖、羁旅孤怀俱在其中，最耐吟味。

缟袂绡裳 White sleeves and gauze gown — metaphor for the plum blossom as a fairy, emphasizing its purity and elegance. 『缟袂绡裳』是以仙子喻梅的清丽笔墨，『缟袂』（素白衣袖）『绡裳』（薄纱下裳）写梅之素洁如临凡白衣仙子。它本于以美人喻梅的悠久传统（寿阳梅花妆、苏轼『玉雪为骨』），乔吉于此以『忽相逢』领起，将寻得梅花写为猝然邂逅一位清丽佳人，惊喜与倾慕溢于言表。二字组皆从衣饰着笔，设色淡雅而不秾艳，恰合梅之孤高，亦见乔吉清丽派的设色之长。以人拟梅，使物具性情，『相逢』遂由物遇升为精神契合——寻梅人终于得遇其孤高之知己，是全曲由寻转喜的华彩一笔。四字写尽梅之仙姿与人之痴心，清丽之至而不涉轻佻。