No. 47 · Song lyric · ci to the tune Cai Sang Zi, 44 characters in two stanzas第 47 首 · 宋词 · 词，词牌《采桑子》，双调四十四字

cǎi采sāng桑zǐ子·qún群fāng芳guò过hòu后xī西hú湖hǎo好

ōu欧yáng阳xiū修Ouyang Xiu · Song宋

Cai Sang Zi: After the Flowers Are Gone, West Lake Is Lovely

qún群fāng芳guò过hòu后xī西hú湖hǎo好

láng狼jí籍cán残hóng红

fēi飞xù絮méng蒙méng蒙

chuí垂liǔ柳lán阑gān干jìn尽rì日fēng风

shēng笙gē歌sàn散jìn尽yóu游rén人qù去

shǐ始jué觉chūn春kōng空

chuí垂xià下lián帘lóng栊

shuāng双yàn燕guī归lái来xì细yǔ雨zhōng中

Underlined words have notes: tap one. The Pinyin button below shows or hides all pinyin. 一 and 不 are marked with the tone you actually say.字下有虚线的，点开有注释。下方的“拼音”按钮可以显示或隐藏全部拼音。“一”“不”标的是实际读出来的变调。

Line by line逐句翻译

群芳过后西湖好After all the flowers are gone, West Lake is still lovely:百花开过以后，西湖依然美好，
狼籍残红fallen petals lie scattered everywhere,落花散落一地，
飞絮蒙蒙willow fluff drifts in a misty haze,柳絮飘飘，一片迷蒙，
垂柳阑干尽日风and the drooping willows by the railing sway in the wind all day.垂柳挨着栏杆，整天在风里摇摆。
笙歌散尽游人去The music and songs have ended, the visitors have left,音乐歌声都散了，游人也走了，
始觉春空and only now do I feel that spring is empty.这才觉得春天好像空了。
垂下帘栊I let down the curtain at the window,我放下窗帘，
双燕归来细雨中and a pair of swallows flies home through the fine rain.看见一对燕子在细雨中飞回来。

Words字词注释

群芳qún fāng: qún fāng: all kinds of flowers.群芳：各种各样的花。
过后guò hòu: guò hòu: after they are past, that is, after the flowers have faded.过后：花期过去以后，也就是花都谢了以后。
西湖xī hú: xī hú: here the West Lake of Yingzhou, in today's Fuyang, Anhui.西湖：这里指颍州西湖，在今安徽阜阳。
狼籍láng jí: láng jí: scattered all over in a mess.狼籍：也写作“狼藉”，乱七八糟、散落一地的样子。
残红cán hóng: cán hóng: fallen petals. Red here stands for flowers.残红：落下来的花瓣。红，代指花。
飞絮fēi xù: fēi xù: flying willow fluff. These are willow seeds with white down that float like cotton.飞絮：飘飞的柳絮。柳絮是柳树的种子，带着白色的绒毛，像棉花一样飘。
蒙蒙méng méng: méng méng: hazy and misty.蒙蒙：迷迷茫茫、模模糊糊的样子。
阑干lán gān: lán gān: a railing.阑干：栏杆。
尽日jìn rì: jìn rì: all day long.尽日：一整天。
笙歌shēng gē: shēng gē: music and singing. Shēng is a mouth organ made of bamboo pipes.笙歌：音乐和歌声。笙，一种用竹管做的乐器。
散尽sàn jìn: sàn jìn: all gone, all ended.散尽：全都散了，停了。
始觉shǐ jué: shǐ jué: only then feel.始觉：才觉得。
春空chūn kōng: chūn kōng: spring feels empty, all its bustle is gone.春空：春天好像一下子空了，春天的热闹都过去了。
帘栊lián lóng: lián lóng: the curtain and the window. Lóng means a window.帘栊：窗帘和窗户。栊，窗户。
双燕shuāng yàn: shuāng yàn: a pair of swallows.双燕：一对燕子。

Background创作背景

This is one of Ouyang Xiu's ten lyrics to the tune Cai Sang Zi. The set describes the West Lake of Yingzhou (today's Fuyang, Anhui) at different times of the year. The first line of each ends with "West Lake is lovely". They are usually thought to be written after he retired to Yingzhou in 1071. This one is about late spring, when spring is about to end.

这是欧阳修十首《采桑子》中的一首。这组词写颍州（今安徽阜阳）西湖一年中不同时候的美景，每首第一句都以“西湖好”结尾。一般认为是他在宋神宗熙宁四年（1071年）退休住到颍州以后写的。这一首写的是暮春，也就是春天快要结束的时候。

The poet作者

Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072), called the Old Drunkard and later the Retired Scholar Six-One, was a Northern Song writer and one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of Tang and Song. He held high office, and in old age retired to the West Lake of Yingzhou that he loved. After a life of ups and downs, he took things calmly and could find beauty where others saw only loneliness.

欧阳修（1007—1072），号醉翁，晚年又号六一居士，北宋文学家，“唐宋八大家”之一。他做过大官，晚年辞官回到心爱的颍州西湖边。经历了一生的起落，他看事情更淡然，能在别人觉得冷清的地方看到美。

The mood意境

Most people think spring is no longer pretty once the flowers fall. Ouyang Xiu says the opposite: after the flowers are gone, West Lake is still lovely. He describes petals on the ground, willow fluff flying, willow branches swaying in the wind. These things could feel sad, but in his hands they feel calm and free. In the second stanza the visitors leave and everything grows quiet, and only then does he feel spring is empty. Yet he is not upset. He just lets down the curtain and watches a pair of swallows fly home in the fine rain. The ending is light and soft, like an ink painting. It gives the peaceful feeling of coming back from noise to quiet.

一般人觉得花谢了，春天就不好看了。欧阳修偏偏说：群芳过后，西湖还是好。他写落花满地、柳絮乱飞、柳条在风里摇，这些本来有点伤感的景物，在他笔下却显得安静、自在。下阕写游人散了，四周一下子安静下来，他才觉得春天空了。可是他并不难过，只是放下窗帘，看一对燕子在细雨里飞回家。这个结尾很轻很淡，像一幅水墨画，让人感到一种从热闹回到安静的舒服。