Song lyric · ci to the tune Gu Yan Er (also called Yu Jie Xing), 78 characters in two stanzas宋词 · 词，词牌《孤雁儿》（又名《御街行》），双调七十八字

gū孤yàn雁ér儿·téng藤chuáng床zhǐ纸zhàng帐zhāo朝mián眠qǐ起

lǐ李qīng清zhào照Li Qingzhao · Song宋

Gu Yan Er: Rising from My Rattan Bed

téng藤chuáng床zhǐ纸zhàng帐zhāo朝mián眠qǐ起

shuō说bú不jìn尽wú无jiā佳sī思

chén沉xiāng香duàn断xù续yù玉lú炉hán寒

bàn伴wǒ我qíng情huái怀rú如shuǐ水

dí笛lǐ里sān三nòng弄

méi梅xīn心jīng惊pò破

duō多shǎo少chūn春qíng情yì意

xiǎo小fēng风shū疏yǔ雨xiāo萧xiāo萧dì地

yòu又cuī催xià下qiān千háng行lèi泪

chuī吹xiāo箫rén人qù去yù玉lóu楼kōng空

cháng肠duàn断yǔ与shuí谁tóng同yǐ倚

yì一zhī枝zhé折dé得

rén人jiān间tiān天shàng上

méi没gè个rén人kān堪jì寄

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。

Common editions put a short preface before the lyric. It says: people who write lyrics about plum blossoms fall into cliché as soon as they start; I tried writing one myself and found this is true. Also, the old edition writes the word for agarwood in an older form; we use the common modern form.

通行本词前有一段小序：“世人作梅词，下笔便俗。予试作一篇，乃知前言不妄耳。”意思是：世人写梅花的词，一下笔就俗气，我试着写一首，才知道这话不假。另外古籍本作“沈香”，“沈”是“沉”的古写法，这里写作“沉香”。

Line by line逐句翻译

藤床纸帐朝眠起In the morning I rise from my rattan bed behind paper curtains;早晨，我从藤床纸帐里睡醒起来，
说不尽无佳思Endless sorrow, and no heart for anything.说不尽的愁，没有一点好心情。
沉香断续玉炉寒The agarwood smoke comes and goes, and the jade burner grows cold;沉香时断时续，快要烧完，玉炉也冷了，
伴我情怀如水All that keeps me company is a heart as cold as water.陪着我的，是像水一样冷清的心情。
笛里三弄A flute plays "Three Variations on Plum Blossoms";笛子吹起了《梅花三弄》，
梅心惊破The plum buds seem startled into bloom,梅花的花苞仿佛被惊醒绽开，
多少春情意Bringing so much feeling of spring.带来了多少春天的情意。
小风疏雨萧萧地Light wind and thin rain whisper on and on,微风细雨，萧萧地下个不停，
又催下千行泪Drawing out a thousand lines of tears again.又催得我流下千行眼泪。
吹箫人去玉楼空The flute player is gone, and the jade tower stands empty;吹箫的人已经走了，楼上空空荡荡，
肠断与谁同倚Heartbroken, with whom can I lean on the railing now?伤心到极点，又能和谁一起倚着栏杆？
一枝折得I pick a branch of plum blossom,我折下一枝梅花，
人间天上But on earth or in heaven,可是人间天上，
没个人堪寄There is no one left to send it to.却没有一个人可以寄给他。

Words字词注释

藤床纸帐téng chuáng zhǐ zhàng: téng chuáng zhǐ zhàng: a bed of woven rattan and a bed curtain made of paper. Paper curtains were often painted with plum blossoms. These are simple, cool, plain things.藤床纸帐：藤条编的床，纸做的帐子。纸帐是用藤皮纸做的，上面常画梅花。这些都是简朴、清冷的东西。
朝眠起zhāo mián qǐ: zhāo mián qǐ: getting up from sleep in the morning.朝眠起：早上睡醒起来。
无佳思wú jiā sī: wú jiā sī: in no good mood, with no spirit for anything.无佳思：没有好心情，提不起兴致。
沉香chén xiāng: chén xiāng: agarwood, a costly incense that smells sweet when burned.沉香：一种名贵的香料，点燃后有香气。
断续duàn xù: duàn xù: the incense smoke comes and goes, nearly burned out.断续：香烟时有时无，快要烧完了。
玉炉yù lú: yù lú: a fine incense burner.玉炉：精美的香炉。
情怀如水qíng huái rú shuǐ: qíng huái rú shuǐ: my heart is as cold and still as water.情怀如水：心情像水一样冷清。
笛里三弄dí lǐ sān nòng: dí lǐ sān nòng: a flute plays "Three Variations on Plum Blossoms", a famous tune in which one melody is played three times over.笛里三弄：笛子吹着《梅花三弄》。这是一首有名的笛曲，同一段曲调反复吹三遍。
梅心惊破méi xīn jīng pò: méi xīn jīng pò: the plum buds seem startled awake by the flute and burst open.梅心惊破：梅花的花苞好像被笛声惊醒，绽开了。
萧萧地xiāo xiāo dì: xiāo xiāo dì: the sound of wind and rain.萧萧地：形容风雨声。
吹箫人去玉楼空chuī xiāo rén qù yù lóu kōng: chuī xiāo rén qù yù lóu kōng: legend says the daughter of Duke Mu of Qin married Xiao Shi, who played the bamboo flute. They lived in a tower and later flew away on phoenixes. Here the flute player stands for her dead husband, Zhao Mingcheng.吹箫人去玉楼空：传说秦穆公的女儿弄玉嫁给会吹箫的萧史，两人住在楼上，后来一起乘凤凰飞走了。这里借指死去的丈夫赵明诚。
肠断cháng duàn: cháng duàn: heartbroken, sad beyond words.肠断：伤心到了极点。
同倚tóng yǐ: tóng yǐ: to lean on the railing together.同倚：一起靠着栏杆。
没个人堪寄méi gè rén kān jì: méi gè rén kān jì: there is no one to send it to. People of old would pick a plum branch and send it to a loved one far away.没个人堪寄：没有一个人可以寄给他。古人有折梅花寄给远方亲友的习惯。

How to read it读音

朝zhāo: Here this character means morning and is read zhāo.“朝”这里是早晨的意思，读 zhāo。
思sī: Here this character means mood or spirits and is read sī today. In old times, with this meaning it was read sì, which rhymes with the other line endings.“佳思”的“思”指心情、兴致，现在读 sī。古代这个意思读去声 sì，和“起、水、意”等押韵。
地dì: This character works like a word ending here, and in speech it is often read de. Because it sits in a rhyme position, it is usually read dì.“萧萧地”的“地”相当于“的”，口语里常读 de。这里在押韵的位置，一般读 dì。
行háng: Qiān háng lèi means line upon line of tears, so this character is read háng.“千行泪”指一行行的眼泪，“行”读 háng。

Background创作背景

On the surface this lyric is about plum blossoms, but it really mourns her husband. In 1129, Li Qingzhao's husband Zhao Mingcheng fell ill and died. The lyric is usually thought to be written after his death. In a short preface she says that lyrics about plum blossoms are easily trite, and she wanted to write a different one. In the end she joined the plum blossom to the pain of losing her husband, and wrote a lyric of mourning.

这首词表面写梅花，其实是怀念丈夫。宋高宗建炎三年（1129年），李清照的丈夫赵明诚病死。一般认为，这首词写于赵明诚去世以后。词前小序说，世人写梅花词容易俗气，她想写一首不一样的。结果她把梅花和自己的丧夫之痛连在一起，写成了一首悼念亡夫的词。

The poet作者

Li Qingzhao (1084 – about 1155), known as the Lay Buddhist of Yi'an, came from Jinan. She is the most famous woman lyric poet of the Song dynasty. She and her husband Zhao Mingcheng loved each other dearly and collected old bronzes, stone carvings, books and paintings together. When the Northern Song fell, she fled south, and soon her husband died. After that she wandered alone. Her later lyrics tell of losing her country and her home, in plain words that move people deeply.

李清照（1084—约1155），号易安居士，济南人，宋代最有名的女词人。她和丈夫赵明诚感情很好，一起收集金石书画。北宋灭亡后，她逃到南方，丈夫又病死了，从此孤身漂泊。她后期的词多写国破家亡的悲哀，语言平易，却非常感人。

The mood意境

It opens on a cold, quiet morning: a rattan bed, paper curtains, incense nearly out, a burner gone cold, and a heart as cool as water. Then comes the flute tune of plum blossoms. The plum seems startled into bloom, and spring is in the air, but this spring only makes her sadder. In the second stanza, wind and rain outside bring line after line of tears. "The flute player is gone, the jade tower is empty." The one who once kept her company is no longer here, and however sad she is, no one leans on the railing beside her. At last she picks a plum branch to send to him, but in heaven or on earth there is no one left to receive it. The words are very plain, yet they reach the deepest part of her loneliness.

开头是一个冷清的早晨：藤床、纸帐、快灭的香、冷了的炉子，心情也像水一样凉。这时传来《梅花三弄》的笛声，梅花好像被惊醒开了，春天的气息来了，可这春意只让她更难过。下片写窗外的风雨，又让她流下一行行眼泪。“吹箫人去玉楼空”，那个曾经陪她的人已经不在了，再伤心也没有人一起倚栏。最后她折下一枝梅，想寄给他，可天上人间，已经找不到可以寄的人。这一句写得非常平淡，却把她失去丈夫的孤独说到了最深处。