Song lyric · ci lyric in two stanzas, 60 characters宋词 · 词（双调，六十字）

dié蝶liàn恋huā花·mèng梦rù入jiāng江nán南yān烟shuǐ水lù路

yàn晏jǐ几dào道Yan Jidao · Song宋

Butterflies Love Flowers: In a Dream I Entered the Misty Waterways of the South

mèng梦rù入jiāng江nán南yān烟shuǐ水lù路

xíng行jìn尽jiāng江nán南

bù不yǔ与lí离rén人yù遇

shuì睡lǐ里xiāo消hún魂wú无shuō说chù处

jué觉lái来chóu惆chàng怅xiāo消hún魂wù误

yù欲jìn尽cǐ此qíng情shū书chǐ尺sù素

fú浮yàn雁chén沉yú鱼

zhōng终liǎo了wú无píng凭jù据

què却yǐ倚huǎn缓xián弦gē歌bié别xù绪

duàn断cháng肠yí移pò破qín秦zhēng筝zhù柱

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。

The corpus writes "sinking fish" with an older form of the character for sink. Today's editions use the modern form, which we follow.

语料作“浮雁沈鱼”，“沈”是“沉”的旧写法。现在通行本写作“沉”。这里用通行写法。

Line by line逐句翻译

梦入江南烟水路In a dream I came to the south, along misty waterways.我在梦里来到江南，走在雾气迷蒙的水路上，
行尽江南I walked all over the south走遍了整个江南，
不与离人遇but never met the one I had parted from.也没有遇到那个分别的人。
睡里消魂无说处In my sleep I was heartbroken, with no one to tell.梦里伤心得失魂落魄，却没有地方诉说；
觉来惆怅消魂误Waking, I felt worse: even that heartbreak in the dream was for nothing.醒来更加惆怅，原来梦里的伤心也是一场空。
欲尽此情书尺素I want to pour all this feeling into a letter,我想把这份感情全都写进书信里，
浮雁沉鱼but the geese have flown off and the fish have sunk,可是大雁飞远了，鱼儿沉下去了，
终了无凭据and in the end there is no way to send it.到底没有办法把信送到。
却倚缓弦歌别绪So I sing my sorrow of parting to slow, loosened strings,我只好和着低缓的琴弦，唱出离别的愁绪，
断肠移破秦筝柱and in my deepest grief I move every bridge of the zither.伤心到极点，把秦筝的弦柱都移遍了。

Words字词注释

江南jiāng nán: jiāng nán: the land south of the lower Yangtze, full of water and lovely scenery.江南：长江下游以南的地方，水多，风景秀美。
烟水路yān shuǐ lù: yān shuǐ lù: misty waterways.烟水路：雾气笼罩的水路。
行尽xíng jìn: xíng jìn: to walk all over.行尽：走遍。
离人lí rén: lí rén: the one who has parted, here the person he misses.离人：分别了的人，这里指他思念的那个人。
消魂xiāo hún: xiāo hún: so sad it is as if one's soul were melting away.消魂：伤心得像丢了魂一样。
无说处wú shuō chù: wú shuō chù: no one to tell.无说处：没有地方可以诉说。
觉来jué lái: jué lái: after waking.觉来：睡醒以后。
惆怅chóu chàng: chóu chàng: disappointed and sad.惆怅：失意、伤感。
消魂误xiāo hún wù: xiāo hún wù: all that heartbreak in the dream came to nothing. Wù means wasted, in vain.消魂误：梦里那番伤心，原来是白白的一场。误，落空、白费。
欲尽此情yù jìn cǐ qíng: yù jìn cǐ qíng: to want to pour out all this feeling.欲尽此情：想把这份感情全部说出来。
书shū: shū: to write.书：写。
尺素chǐ sù: chǐ sù: a letter. People of old wrote letters on white silk about a foot long.尺素：书信。古人在一尺来长的白绢上写信。
浮雁沉鱼fú yàn chén yú: fú yàn chén yú: people of old said wild geese and carp could carry letters. But the geese have flown far and the fish have sunk, so the letter cannot be sent.浮雁沉鱼：古人说大雁和鲤鱼能传送书信。可是大雁飞远了，鱼沉到水底了，信送不出去。
终了zhōng liǎo: zhōng liǎo: in the end, after all.终了：到底，始终。
凭据píng jù: píng jù: something to rely on, here a way to get the letter there.凭据：可以依靠的东西，这里指能把信送到的办法。
倚yǐ: yǐ: to lean on, here to sing along with.倚：靠着，这里指和着、伴着。
缓弦huǎn xián: huǎn xián: loosened strings, which give a low, slow sound.缓弦：放松了的琴弦，弹出的声音低沉缓慢。
别绪bié xù: bié xù: the sorrow of parting.别绪：离别的愁绪。
断肠duàn cháng: duàn cháng: "broken bowels", the deepest grief.断肠：形容伤心到极点。
移破yí pò: yí pò: to move again and again, all the way.移破：把……移遍了。
秦筝柱qín zhēng zhù: qín zhēng zhù: the little bridges under the strings of the zheng zither; moving them changes the pitch. The Qin zheng is the zither still called guzheng today.秦筝柱：秦筝上支撑琴弦的小柱子，移动它可以调音。秦筝是一种弦乐器，就是古筝。

How to read it读音

觉jué: Here this character is read jué; jué lái means on waking, not jiào.“觉”在这里读 jué，“觉来”是睡醒的意思，不读 jiào。
了liǎo: Here this character is read liǎo; zhōng liǎo means in the end, after all, not le.“了”在这里读 liǎo，“终了”是到底、始终的意思，不读 le。

Background创作背景

This lyric is about longing. In a dream the poet goes south to look for someone he has parted from, but cannot find them. On waking he wants to write a letter, but has no way to send it, so he plays the zither and sings to ease his heart. Many of Yan Jidao's lyrics miss singers and friends he once knew. We no longer know who this one is about or the year it was written.

这是一首写相思的词。词人在梦里到江南去找分别的人，却怎么也找不到；醒来想写信，又没有办法寄出去，只好弹筝唱歌来排解。晏几道很多词都在怀念从前相识的歌女和朋友，这首写的是谁、写于哪一年，已经不清楚。

The poet作者

Yan Jidao (about 1038 to about 1110), also called Xiaoshan, was the youngest son of Yan Shu, a prime minister and poet. When young he lived in wealth, often drinking and listening to songs with friends. Later his family fell on hard times, and he only ever held small posts. His lyrics are mostly about partings and missing the happy gatherings of the past. Their feeling is true and their words are beautiful. His collection is called Xiaoshan Ci.

晏几道（约1038—约1110），字叔原，号小山，是宰相词人晏殊的小儿子。他年轻时过着富贵的生活，常和朋友饮酒听歌。后来家道中落，一生只做过小官。他的词多写离别和对旧日欢聚的怀念，感情真，语言美，有《小山词》。

The mood意境

This lyric goes deeper layer by layer. First comes the dream: he walks all over the south and still does not see her. The dream is already sad, and waking is sadder, because even the sorrow in the dream was wasted. Then he wants to write, but neither geese nor fish can help, so the letter cannot be sent. In the end he can only play the zither and sing, moving the bridges back and forth, playing one tune after another, and still the pain will not let go. From dream to waking, from letter to music, every road is closed, and his longing grows heavier bit by bit.

这首词一层比一层深。先是做梦：梦里走遍了江南，还是没见到她。梦里已经很伤心了，醒来更伤心，因为连梦里的伤心都是白费。再想写信，可大雁和鱼都帮不上忙，信寄不出去。最后只能弹筝唱歌，把弦柱移来移去，一首接一首地弹，心里的苦还是放不下。从梦到醒，从写信到弹琴，每一条路都走不通，思念就这样一点点加重。