Song lyric · ci lyric宋词 · 词

gāo高yáng阳tái台·luò落méi梅

wú吴wén文yīng英Wu Wenying · Song宋

Gao Yang Tai: Fallen Plum Blossoms

gōng宫fěn粉diāo雕hén痕

xiān仙yún云duò堕yǐng影

wú无rén人yě野shuǐ水huāng荒wān湾

gǔ古shí石mái埋xiāng香

jīn金shā沙suǒ锁gǔ骨lián连huán环

nán南lóu楼bú不hèn恨chuī吹héng横dí笛

hèn恨xiǎo晓fēng风

qiān千lǐ里guān关shān山

bàn半piāo飘líng零

tíng庭shàng上huáng黄hūn昏

yuè月lěng冷lán阑gān干

shòu寿yáng阳kōng空lǐ理chóu愁luán鸾

wèn问shuí谁tiáo调yù玉suǐ髓

àn暗bǔ补xiāng香bān瘢

xì细yǔ雨guī归hóng鸿

gū孤shān山wú无xiàn限chūn春hán寒

lí离hún魂nán难qiàn倩zhāo招qīng清suò些

mèng梦gǎo缟yī衣

jiě解pèi佩xī溪biān边

zuì最chóu愁rén人

tí啼niǎo鸟qíng晴míng明

yè叶dǐ底qīng青yuán圆

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 title follows the common text, which adds the subject: fallen plum blossoms.

题目按通行本补上“落梅”。

Line by line逐句翻译

宫粉雕痕Plum petals, pale as palace powder, leave their faded marks.像宫中白粉一样的梅花，凋落后留下痕迹，
仙云堕影Like a fairy's cloud dropping its shadow, they fall像仙女的白云落下了影子，
无人野水荒湾onto wild water in an empty, lonely cove.落在没有人的野水和荒凉的水湾。
古石埋香By old stones the fragrance lies buried,古老的石头边埋着落花的香，
金沙锁骨连环like the fairy of linked bones buried in golden sand.像传说中锁骨仙女埋在金沙里。
南楼不恨吹横笛I do not blame the flute playing in the south tower;我不怨南楼上有人吹笛，
恨晓风I blame the dawn wind只怨清晨的风，
千里关山that blows the petals over a thousand li of passes and peaks.把花瓣吹过千里关山。
半飘零Half the blossoms have drifted away.花已经飘落了一半，
庭上黄昏Dusk falls on the courtyard,院子里到了黄昏，
月冷阑干and the moon shines cold on the railing.月光冷冷地照着栏杆。
寿阳空理愁鸾Princess Shouyang sits at her mirror in vain, sad.寿阳公主白白地对着镜子发愁打扮。
问谁调玉髓Who, I ask, can mix the jade paste请问谁能调好玉髓，
暗补香瘢and quietly mend the scars where the flowers fell?悄悄补好花落后枝上的疤痕？
细雨归鸿In fine rain the wild geese fly home,细雨里，大雁飞回北方，
孤山无限春寒and endless spring cold lies over Lone Hill.孤山上春寒无边。
离魂难倩招清些The plum's departed soul is hard to call back with the old soul-summoning song.梅花离去的魂，难以请人用招魂歌招回来，
梦缟衣I can only dream of a fairy in white只能梦见白衣仙子，
解佩溪边untying her jade pendant by the stream.在溪边解下佩玉。
最愁人What saddens me most:最让人发愁的是，
啼鸟晴明the weather turns clear, the birds sing,天晴了，鸟儿在叫，
叶底青圆and under the leaves the round green plums have grown.叶子下面已经长出青青圆圆的梅子。

Words字词注释

宫粉gōng fěn: gōng fěn: the face powder of palace ladies. Here it pictures the color of plum petals.宫粉：宫中女子用的白粉。这里比喻梅花花瓣的颜色。
雕痕diāo hén: diāo hén: the marks left after falling. Diāo here means to wither.雕痕：凋落后留下的痕迹。雕，同“凋”。
仙云堕影xiān yún duò yǐng: xiān yún duò yǐng: like a fairy's white cloud dropping its shadow. It pictures plum blossoms falling.仙云堕影：像仙女身边的白云落下了影子，比喻梅花飘落。
荒湾huāng wān: huāng wān: a lonely, empty bend of water.荒湾：荒凉的水湾。
埋香mái xiāng: mái xiāng: burying the fragrance, that is, fallen flowers buried by the stones.埋香：把香埋掉，指落花埋在土里石边。
锁骨连环suǒ gǔ lián huán: suǒ gǔ lián huán: a legend tells of a woman whose bones, after she died, were linked together like a chain. People called her a holy Buddhist figure. Here it pictures fallen plum blossoms buried in the sand, lovely as a fairy.锁骨连环：传说有一位女子死后，骨头像锁链一样连在一起，人称“锁骨菩萨”。这里用来比喻落梅埋在沙土里，美得像一位仙女。
横笛héng dí: chuī héng dí: playing the flute. There was an old flute tune called 'Plum Blossoms Fall', so poets often linked flute music with falling plum.吹横笛：吹笛子。古代有笛子曲叫《梅花落》，诗人常用笛声来写梅花飘落。
晓风xiǎo fēng: xiǎo fēng: the wind at dawn.晓风：清晨的风。
关山guān shān: guān shān: mountain passes and ranges, a very long way.关山：关口和山岭，指很远的路。
飘零piāo líng: piāo líng: petals drifting down.飘零：花瓣飘落。
阑干lán gān: lán gān: a railing.阑干：栏杆。
寿阳shòu yáng: shòu yáng: Princess Shouyang of the Southern Dynasties. Legend says a plum blossom fell on her forehead and left a five-petal mark, and palace ladies began painting plum blossoms on their faces.寿阳：南朝宋的寿阳公主。传说梅花落在她的额头上，留下五瓣花印，宫女们都学着画“梅花妆”。
愁鸾chóu luán: chóu luán: a mirror. Old mirrors often had a luan bird carved on the back. Here it means the plum has fallen, so dressing up at the mirror is no use.愁鸾：镜子。古代镜子背面常刻着鸾鸟，所以叫鸾镜。这里说梅花落了，公主对着镜子打扮也没用了。
玉髓yù suǐ: yù suǐ: a precious medicine. Legend says that in the Three Kingdoms a lady of Wu hurt her face, and it was treated with a paste mixed from jade and other rare things.玉髓：一种珍贵的药。传说三国时吴国一位夫人脸上受了伤，用玉髓等调成的药来治。
香瘢xiāng bān: xiāng bān: the little scars left on the branch after the flowers fall.香瘢：花落后枝上留下的疤痕。
归鸿guī hóng: guī hóng: wild geese flying back north.归鸿：飞回北方的大雁。
孤山gū shān: gū shān: a small hill by West Lake in Hangzhou with many plum trees. The Song poet Lin Bu lived there as a hermit, growing plum and keeping cranes.孤山：杭州西湖边的一座小山，种了很多梅花。宋代林逋曾隐居在这里，种梅养鹤。
离魂lí hún: lí hún: a soul that has left its body, here the soul of the plum.离魂：离开身体的魂，这里指梅花的魂。
招清些zhāo qīng suò: zhāo qīng suò: calling back the plum's pure soul with a song like the old Chu song 'Summoning the Soul'.招清些：用《楚辞·招魂》那样的歌，把梅花清白的魂招回来。
缟衣gǎo yī: gǎo yī: white clothes, meaning a plum fairy dressed in white.缟衣：白色的衣服，指穿白衣的梅花仙子。
解佩jiě pèi: jiě pèi: untying a jade pendant as a gift. An old legend tells of two goddesses by a river who untied their pendants for a young man.解佩：解下身上的佩玉送人。古代传说有两位仙女在江边解下佩玉送给一个年轻人。
晴明qíng míng: qíng míng: clear and bright weather.晴明：天气晴朗。
叶底青圆yè dǐ qīng yuán: yè dǐ qīng yuán: green round plums growing under the leaves.叶底青圆：叶子下面长出了青青圆圆的梅子。

How to read it读音

调tiáo: It means to mix and blend, so it is read tiáo.调，调和、调配，读 tiáo。
倩qiàn: It means to ask someone to do something for you, read qiàn.倩，请别人替自己做事，读 qiàn。
些suò: It is the sound word that ends each line of the old Chu song 'Summoning the Soul'. It is read suò, not xiē.些，《楚辞·招魂》里每句末尾用的语气词，读 suò，不读 xiē。
干gān: The word means a railing, so the character is read gān.阑干，就是栏杆，“干”读 gān。

Background创作背景

This is a lyric about an object: fallen plum blossoms. Wu Wenying spent most of his life around Suzhou and Hangzhou. Lone Hill in the lyric stands by West Lake in Hangzhou, a famous place to see plum. The poet uses many legends linked to plum blossoms and turns the fallen plum into a lovely lady who has gone away. The exact date is not known. Some readers think it also holds his longing for a woman he lost, but that is only one view.

这是一首咏物词，题目是“落梅”，写梅花凋落。吴文英一生大部分时间在苏州、杭州一带生活，词里的孤山就在杭州西湖边，是有名的赏梅地方。词人用了很多和梅花有关的传说，把落梅写成一位离去的美人。这首词的具体写作时间不清楚。有人认为词里也寄托着对某位离去女子的怀念，这只是一种说法。

The poet作者

Wu Wenying (about 1200 to about 1260), also called Mengchuang, was a Southern Song ci poet. He never held high office and often lived as a guest adviser in officials' homes. His lyrics use rich words, leaping images and many old stories, like layer upon layer of brocade, and need slow reading.

吴文英（约1200—约1260），号梦窗，南宋词人。他一生没有做过大官，常在官员家里做门客。他的词用字华丽，想象跳跃，典故很多，像一层层的锦绣，读起来要慢慢琢磨。

The mood意境

From start to finish the lyric never names the plum, yet every line is about it. The palace powder and fairy cloud at the start are falling petals. The old stones and golden sand are where the flowers are buried. The poet does not blame the flute, only the dawn wind that blows the flowers a thousand li away. Dusk, a cold moon and an empty railing feel lonely. In the second half, Princess Shouyang can no longer paint plum flowers on her face, and no one can mend the scars on the branch. Lone Hill is cold, the plum's soul cannot be called back, and the poet only meets a fairy in white in a dream. At the end the sky clears, birds sing, and green plums grow under the leaves. That should be happy, but it shows the flowers are gone for good. Using fresh green life to show a loss is what makes this lyric so sad.

这首词从头到尾没有说一个“梅”字，却处处在写梅。开头的白粉、仙云，是飘落的花瓣；古石、金沙，是花被埋进土里。词人不怨笛声，只怨晓风把花吹到千里外。黄昏、冷月、栏杆，让人感到冷清。下半首说寿阳公主再也没法画梅花妆，也没有人能补好枝上的伤痕；孤山春寒，梅魂难招，只能在梦里见到白衣仙子。最后天晴鸟叫，叶底长出青梅，本该高兴，可这正说明花彻底落完了。用热闹的新绿来写失去，是这首词最让人难过的地方。