All poems

五代 Five Dynasties · 词 Ci lyric

虞美人·风回小院庭芜绿

Yu Meiren · The Wind Turns Back and the Small Court's Grass Is Green

李煜

Li Yu

感怀Recollections of the Past 春景Spring Scenery

风回小院庭芜绿，柳眼春相续。
凭阑半日独无言，依旧竹声新月似当年。
笙歌未散尊罍在，池面冰初解。
烛明香暗画堂深，满鬓清霜残雪思难任。

The wind turns back, and the small court's grass is green; the willow's eyes renew the spring.
For half a day I lean on the rail and say nothing; the bamboo sounds and the new moon are still as in years past.
The song had not dispersed and the wine cups still stood; on the pond surface the ice has just begun to melt.
The candle burns bright, the incense darkens, the painted hall is deep; my temples are white with frost and white with the last of the snow, and the thought is more than I can bear.

Listen

Meaning

Spring has come again to the small court: the wind returns, the grass is green, the willow puts out budding eyes. The speaker stands at the railing for half a day without speaking, because the bamboo sounds and the new moon are exactly what they were in the years when she was still in her father's palace. Below, the wine of last night's party has not been cleared away and the pond's ice has begun to melt, so both past and present are present in the same room. But the candle is still burning, the incense has gone dark, the hall is deep, and her hair is white - and the weight of what she is thinking is more than she can bear.

风回小院庭芜绿，柳眼春相续。凭阑半日独无言，依旧竹声新月似当年。笙歌未散尊罍在，池面冰初解。烛明香暗画堂深，满鬓清霜残雪思难任。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The poem sets a spring day against a winter night in the same room, and the speaker's grief is made of that overlap. [Structure] The upper stanza is all scenery and half a line of stillness; the lower stanza moves from the remains of the party into the dark hall and ends on her own white hair. The two stanzas are short and each holds four lines. [Imagery] The poem's most deliberate image is 柳眼, the willow's eyes - buds that look like eyes opening - which makes the spring an act of looking at her, and that is what she cannot answer. The second is the doubled white of 清霜 and 残雪 on her temples: frost and last snow, both cold and both white, applied to hair. [Technique] The poem works by putting two times in the same place: the party that had not dispersed and the ice that has just melted mean that the past is inside the present; the moon that is new is also the moon of 当年. [Language] The last line is the poem's whole thesis compressed into seven characters - 思难任, the thought is more than I can bear - and it is the only place in the poem where the speaker admits anything directly.

【白话串讲】李煜写《虞美人·风回小院庭芜绿》：“风回小院庭芜绿，柳眼春相续”——“凭阑半日独无言，依旧竹声新月似当年”——“烛明香暗画堂深，满鬓清霜残雪思难任”——又是春天，他却两鬓如霜——他写亡国后的故国之思。【意象与手法】此词写怀旧，以亡国写怀旧，是李煜的名篇。上阕写春景：「风回小院庭芜绿，柳眼春相续。凭阑半日独无言，依旧竹声新月似当年」写风回小院庭芜绿、柳眼春相续——写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年；下阕写悲怀：「笙歌未散尊罍在，池面冰初解。烛明香暗画堂深，满鬓清霜残雪思难任」写笙歌未散尊罍在、池面冰初解——写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任。全词以亡国写怀旧，写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年与满鬓清霜残的雪思难任，是李煜的代表作。【情感与主旨】此词写怀旧，以亡国写怀旧，是李煜的名篇。此词为李煜后期之作，写其降宋后对故国的追怀。李煜亡国后，此词写其春日的怀旧。此词写风回小院庭芜绿，柳眼春相续；凭阑半日独无言，依旧竹声新月似当年；笙歌未散尊罍在，池面冰初解；烛明香暗画堂深，满鬓清霜残雪思难任。此词写春景：风回小院庭芜绿，柳眼春相续——写风回小院庭芜绿、柳眼春相续，写尽柳眼春相的续；凭阑半日独无言，依旧竹声新月似当年——写凭阑半日独无言、依旧竹声新月似当年，写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年；笙歌未散尊罍在，池面冰初解——写笙歌未散尊罍在、池面冰初解，写尽池面冰初的解；烛明香暗画堂深，满鬓清霜残雪思难任——写烛明香暗画堂深、满鬓清霜残雪思难任，写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任。全词以亡国写怀旧——那「依旧竹声新月似当年」写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年，「满鬓清霜残雪思难任」写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任，写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年与满鬓清霜残的雪思难任，是理解李煜亡国词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「凭阑半日独无言，依旧竹声新月似当年」写依旧竹声新的月似当年；「满鬓清霜残雪思难任」写满鬓清霜残的雪思难任；以及全词以亡国写怀旧、以今昔对照写怀旧的手法。

Background

Li Yu (937-978), originally named Congjia, courtesy name Chongguang, sobriquet Zhongyin and Lianfeng jushi, was the last ruler of the Southern Tang and is known by posterity as the Lord of the Southern Tang:Tang. He surrendered the state to the Song in 975, was taken to the Song capital Bianjing, and lived out the rest of his life as a captive, dying there - on the traditional account, brought to his death by his own poem about the spring flowers and autumn moon. Most of the lyrics he is remembered for were written afterCapture, and this one belongs to that group: a man who has lost everything, writing about a spring that cannot be distinguished from the spring he used to have.

此词写怀旧，以亡国写怀旧，是李煜的名篇。李煜（937—978），初名从嘉，字重光，号钟隐、莲峰居士，南唐最后一位国君，世称「南唐后主」「李后主」，五代十国时期南唐词人，被俘后死于汴京。此词为李煜后期之作，写其降宋后对故国的追怀。李煜亡国后，此词写其春日的怀旧。此词写风回小院庭芜绿，柳眼春相续；凭阑半日独无言，依旧竹声新月似当年；笙歌未散尊罍在，池面冰初解；烛明香暗画堂深，满鬓清霜残雪思难任。此词写春景：「风回小院庭芜绿，柳眼春相续」写风回小院庭芜绿、柳眼春相续——写尽柳眼春相的续（风回小院庭芜绿，柳眼春相续）；「凭阑半日独无言，依旧竹声新月似当年」写凭阑半日独无言、依旧竹声新月似当年——写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年（凭阑半日独无言，依旧竹声新月似当年）；「笙歌未散尊罍在，池面冰初解」写笙歌未散尊罍在、池面冰初解——写尽池面冰初的解（笙歌未散尊罍在，池面冰初解）；「烛明香暗画堂深，满鬓清霜残雪思难任」写烛明香暗画堂深、满鬓清霜残雪思难任——写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任（烛明香暗画堂深，满鬓清霜残雪思难任）。全词以亡国写怀旧，写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年与满鬓清霜残的雪思难任，是理解李煜亡国词的重要篇章。

Art

Three techniques do the work. First, 以乐景写哀 - the spring scenery is at its most attractive - green grass, returning wind, waking buds - and it is precisely because the scenery is charming that the speaker cannot join in. Second, the doubled comparison that runs through the upper stanza: 依旧 and 似当年 both say that things are unchanged, and the unchangedness is what makes her change unbearable. Third, the shift of scale in the lower stanza: from the wine cups on the table to the pond's melting ice to the deep dark hall to her own temples, so that the poem moves outward from a room into a body and finally stops at the hair. The poem's most economical line is 'the bamboo sounds and the new moon are still as in years past': three ordinary things, one verb of sameness, and the whole of her心痛 folded into 依旧. The closing line refuses any consolation and simply states the weight; Li Yu's characteristic gesture in the later lyrics is to name the unbearable exactly, and this is the clearest instance of it.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以写景写春景。「风回小院庭芜绿」以写景写春景——那「柳眼春相续」写尽柳眼春相的续，以写景写尽柳眼春相的续。其二，以对照写怀旧。「依旧竹声新月似当年」以对照写怀旧——那「凭阑半日独无言」写尽凭阑半日的独无言，以对照写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年。其三，以白描写今昔。「笙歌未散尊罍在」以白描写今昔——那「池面冰初解」写尽池面冰初的解，以白描写尽池面冰初的解。其四，以直抒写悲怀。「满鬓清霜残雪思难任」以直抒写悲怀——那「烛明香暗画堂深」写尽烛明香暗的堂深，以直抒写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任。此外，此词上阕写依旧竹声新的月似当年，下阕写满鬓清霜残的雪思难任，由景及情，正是亡国词「以乐写哀」的写法。四重手法，使此词以亡国写怀旧，写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年与满鬓清霜残的雪思难任，是李煜的代表作。

Allusions

The poem's borrowed material is light but precise. 柳眼, the willow's eyes, is a standard figure for the first buds of the willowhe willow and belongs to the whole tradition of 咏柳. 凭阑, leaning on the rail, is the posture of waiting - and Li Yu uses it himself in 'Better not to lean alone on the railing'; the railing is what he knows to be dangerous. 新月, the new moon, suggests waiting and longing, and its thinness echoes the thinness of what remains to her. 笙歌 and 尊罍 belong to the banquet of the past that has not been cleared away. 烛明香暗 is the exact opposite pairing of light and darkness, and in Chinese poetry the candle that is still burning while everything else has gone dark is the figure of a memory that will not lie down. 清霜 and 残雪 on the hair follow the convention of white hair as frost or snow, used by poets from the Tang onward.

此词的用语深植于怀旧与亡国传统。「风回」令人想到「风回」写风回的意象——也令人想到「风回小院」的意象；「庭芜」令人想到「庭芜」写庭草的意象——也令人想到「庭芜绿」的意象；「柳眼」令人想到「柳眼」写柳芽的意象——也令人想到「柳眼初开」的意象；「凭阑」令人想到「凭阑」写凭栏的意象——也令人想到「独自莫凭栏」（李煜）的意象；「竹声」令人想到「竹声」写竹声的意象——也令人想到「风摇竹影」的意象；「新月」令人想到「新月」写新月的意象——也令人想到「月上柳梢头」（欧阳修）的意象；「笙歌」令人想到「笙歌」写笙歌的意象——也令人想到「笙歌归院落」的意象；「尊罍」令人想到「尊罍」写酒器的意象——也令人想到「金尊玉罍」的意象；「冰初解」令人想到「冰初解」写解冻的意象——也令人想到「冰泮雪消」的意象；「烛明」令人想到「烛明」写烛光的意象——也令人想到「烛影摇红」的意象；「香暗」令人想到「香暗」写香气的意象——也令人想到「暗香浮动」（林逋）的意象；「画堂」令人想到「画堂」写画堂的意象——也令人想到「画堂春深」的意象；「清霜」令人想到「清霜」写白发的意象——也令人想到「鬓如霜」的意象；「残雪」令人想到「残雪」写残雪的意象——也令人想到「残雪压枝」的意象。全词化用风回、庭芜、柳眼、凭阑、竹声、新月、笙歌、尊罍、冰初解、烛明、香暗、画堂、清霜、残雪的意象，以亡国写怀旧，正是李煜「哀婉」而善白描、承南唐传统写亡国之本领。

Commentary

This lyric is among the most praised of Li Yu's later works, and readers have long admired the way a couple of ordinary observations - wine not yet cleared, ice begun to melt - become a whole history. The usual judgement is that it is '哀婉深至' - sad, delicate, and far-reaching - and that its weight comes from a single device: the spring outside cannot tell that anything has changed, so the speaker is left alone with the difference. It is customarily compared with his other great 'Yu Meiren', which queries the spring flowers and autumn moon and closes by asking how much sorrow a man could carry; the two are the same sensibility in different keys - one asking, this one admitting. Read with 'Xiangjian Huan', where he climbs the west tower silently with a hooked moon, the three together are as complete a record as exists of a poet learning to say the unbearable in plain words.

此词历来被推为李煜亡国词的名篇，也是五代词写怀旧的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以亡国写怀旧，哀婉深至」；近人更指出「凭阑半日独无言，依旧竹声新月似当年」写依旧竹声新的月似当年，是此词的名句。在词史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以小令写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年与满鬓清霜残的雪思难任——那风回，那小院，那庭芜绿，那柳眼，那春相续，那凭阑，那半日，那独无言，那依旧，那竹声，那新月，那似当年，那笙歌，那未散，那尊罍在，那池面，那冰初解，那烛明，那香暗，那画堂深，那满鬓，那清霜，那残雪，那思难任，都写尽了李煜笔下的虞美人风回小院庭芜绿；那「满鬓清霜残雪思难任」更以直抒写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任。此词与李煜《虞美人·春花秋月何时了》「春花秋月何时了」同为虞美人名篇，一写「问君能有几多愁」的春花秋月，一写「依旧竹声新月似当年」的风回小院；一写直抒，一写含蓄。两词对读，可见李煜虞美人的两种写法。对于今日读者，此词是理解李煜亡国词的窗口，也是五代词写怀旧的经典——那满鬓清霜残的雪思难任，穿越千年，仍在诉说着依旧竹声新的月似当年。

Prosody

Form Ci to the tune 'Yu Meiren'; a short xiaoling in two stanzas词·虞美人

Rhyme The two stanzas change rhyme: the upper rhymes on xu (续), nian (年), and the lower on jie (解), ren (任) - a change of register from flat to oblique, which matches the poem's move from scenery to admission.虞美人，上阕押「续」「年」，下阕押「解」「任」（仄韵仄声、平声韵交替），上下阕各换韵

Tone pattern The voice lowers as the poem goes. The upper stanza is spoken evenly and exteriorly - grass, buds, the moon on the water - and the lower slows until the last line, which is delivered as a statement of weight rather than a song.此词为虞美人小令，上下阕各换韵，音节低回，正合怀旧的低回。

Reading note The tune 'Yu Meiren' is one of the few short measures with a fixed rhyme change between the two stanzas, and here the change is the poem's structure: the upper stanza holds one rhyme on the flat tone and the lower changes to an oblique rhyme, so that the music turns as the subject turns from scene to self. The oblique rhyme on -en is closed and heavy, which suits a line that admits 'the thought is more than I can bear'. In recitation the upper stanza should be level and unhurried, and the last line should be spoken slowly with no lift at the end, so that the poem closes on weight rather than on melody. Li Yu's小令 are described as 哀婉 and this one shows why: the prosody does not console, and that is the point.此词为虞美人小令，上下两阕——上阕「风回小院庭芜绿，柳眼春相续。凭阑半日独无言，依旧竹声新月似当年」，下阕「笙歌未散尊罍在，池面冰初解。烛明香暗画堂深，满鬓清霜残雪思难任」，上下阕各换韵，音节低回。全词以亡国写怀旧：上阕写依旧竹声新的月似当年（风回小院庭芜绿、凭阑半日独无言），下阕写满鬓清霜残的雪思难任（笙歌未散尊罍在、烛明香暗画堂深）。小令短章，前写春景，后写悲怀，以「满鬓清霜残雪思难任」写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任，正见李煜「哀婉」的本色。诵读此词，宜以低回的语调读「依旧竹声新月似当年」的怀旧，以沉痛的语调读「满鬓清霜残雪思难任」的悲怀，结句要读得低回而有余韵，方能传达出李煜的哀婉深至。李煜小令以「哀婉」著称，此词正是其亡国词的典范。

Line by line

凭阑半日独无言，依旧竹声新月似当年

For half a day I lean on the rail and say nothing; the bamboo sounds and the new moon are still as in years past.

凭阑半日独无言，依旧竹声新月似当年。

Leaning on the railing for half the day, silent and alone; still the bamboo's murmur, the new moon, as in years gone by.

此二句是全词写怀旧的核心，以凭阑半日独无言写独无言，以依旧竹声新月似当年写似当年，写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年，是千古名句。「凭阑半日独无言」写凭阑半日独无言——那「凭阑半日」写凭阑半日，「独无言」写独无言，写尽凭阑半日的独无言；「依旧竹声新月似当年」写依旧竹声新月似当年——那「依旧竹声」写依旧竹声，「新月似当年」写新月似当年，写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年。这句的深意在于：它以「凭阑半日独无言」的独无言与「依旧竹声新月似当年」的似当年，写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年——凭阑半日独无言，那「凭阑半日独无言」写尽凭阑半日的独无言——凭阑半日独无言，正是凭栏无言的写照，那「独无言」写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年；依旧竹声新月似当年，那「依旧竹声新月似当年」写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年——依旧竹声新月似当年，正是景物如旧的写照，那「似当年」写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年；那「凭阑半日独无言」写尽凭阑半日的独无言，那「依旧竹声新月似当年」写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年，一写独无言，一写似当年，写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年——凭栏无言而景物如旧，正是怀旧的写照；此二句以独无言、似当年写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年，也为下文的笙歌作铺垫，也让此二句成为全词写怀旧的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「凭栏半天独自无言，依旧是竹声新月像当年」，则失其哀婉；唯以「凭阑半日独无言」写独无言、「依旧竹声新月似当年」写似当年，写尽依旧竹声新的月似当年，也让此二句成为全词写怀旧的核心。

These two lines are the core of the ci's remembrance - a famous line. 'Leaning on the rail, half a day, silent and alone' the wordless leaning; 'still the bamboo sounds, the new moon, as in those years' the scenery unchanged. Leaning speechless, the scenery as of old - the longing of the fallen ruler, priming the song and dance below.

烛明香暗画堂深，满鬓清霜残雪思难任

The candle burns bright, the incense darkens, the painted hall is deep; my temples are white with frost and white with the last of the snow, and the thought is more than I can bear.

烛明香暗画堂深，满鬓清霜残雪思难任。

The candles burn bright, the incense fades, the painted hall is deep; on my temples, clear frost and withered snow - sorrow beyond bearing.

此二句是全词写悲怀的核心，以烛明香暗画堂深写画堂深，以满鬓清霜残雪思难任写思难任，写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任，是千古名句。「烛明香暗画堂深」写烛明香暗画堂深——那「烛明香暗」写烛明香暗，「画堂深」写画堂深，写尽烛明香暗的堂深；「满鬓清霜残雪思难任」写满鬓清霜残雪思难任——那「满鬓清霜残雪」写满鬓清霜残雪，「思难任」写思难任，写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任。这句的深意在于：它以「烛明香暗画堂深」的堂深与「满鬓清霜残雪思难任」的思难任，写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任——烛明香暗画堂深，那「烛明香暗画堂深」写尽烛明香暗的堂深——烛明香暗画堂深，正是深堂独坐的写照，那「堂深」写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任；满鬓清霜残雪思难任，那「满鬓清霜残雪思难任」写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任——满鬓清霜残雪思难任，正是白发愁重的写照，那「思难任」写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任；那「烛明香暗画堂深」写尽烛明香暗的堂深，那「满鬓清霜残雪思难任」写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任，一写堂深，一写思难任，写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任——深堂独坐而白发愁重，正是悲怀的写照；此二句以堂深、思难任写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任，也让此二句成为全词写悲怀的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「烛明香暗画堂深深，满鬓白发像清霜残雪，愁思难忍」，则失其哀婉；唯以「烛明香暗画堂深」写堂深、「满鬓清霜残雪思难任」写思难任，写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任，也让此二句成为全词写悲怀的核心。

These two lines are the core of the ci's grief - a famous line. 'Candles bright, incense faint, the painted hall deep' the deep hall, the solitary sitting; 'temples full of clear frost and leftover snow, grief beyond bearing' the white hair, the heavy sorrow. The deep hall alone, the white hair and grief - the bereaved monarch's lament.

Study

Word focus

独 In 'for half a day I lean on the rail and say nothing', the adverb 独 means alone, and it is the poem's quietly load-bearing word: the swallows returned in pairs, but no one comes to this railing. It is also the same character Li uses when he climbs the west tower alone. 「凭阑半日独无言」之「独」字是写怀旧关键词，一个「独」字写尽凭阑半日的独无言。独者，独自、孤独也。李煜以「凭阑半日独无言」写怀旧，这个「独」字至少有双重意味：其一，写人之独——那「凭阑半日独无言」写凭阑半日独无言，那「独」字写尽凭阑半日的独无言——独无言，正是独处无言的写照，那「独」字写尽凭阑半日的独无言；其二，写心之孤——那「独」字更是写孤——独，正见孤寂难言的意味，那「独」字写尽李煜的哀伤。以「独」字写怀旧，正是李煜写亡国的枢纽——若换作「自」「静」等字，则或失其与「凭阑半日独无言」「依旧竹声新月似当年」的配合，或失其写独的意味；唯「独」字，以凭阑半日独无言写尽独处之无言与孤寂之难言，与「依旧竹声新月似当年」的似当年相合，写尽凭阑半日的独无言，也让「凭阑半日独无言」成为全词写怀旧的名句。

任 In 'the thought is more than I can bear', the verb 任 means to bear, to carry or to be equal to - used here of a mind carrying more than it can hold. Its plainness makes the line the poem's only direct statement, and its brevity gives the ending its finality. 「满鬓清霜残雪思难任」之「任」字是写悲怀关键词，一个「任」字写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任。任者，承受、担当也。李煜以「满鬓清霜残雪思难任」写悲怀，这个「任」字至少有双重意味：其一，写愁之任——那「满鬓清霜残雪思难任」写满鬓清霜残雪思难任，那「任」字写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任——难任，正是难以承受的写照，那「任」字写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任；其二，写情之重——那「任」字更是写重——任，正见愁重难当的意味，那「任」字写尽李煜的哀伤。以「任」字写悲怀，正是李煜写亡国的枢纽——若换作「当」「受」等字，则或失其与「满鬓清霜残雪思难任」「烛明香暗画堂深」的配合，或失其写任的意味；唯「任」字，以满鬓清霜残雪思难任写尽愁思之难当与白发之悲重，与「烛明香暗画堂深」的堂深相合，写尽满鬓清霜残的雪思难任，也让「满鬓清霜残雪思难任」成为全词写悲怀的名句。