Song lyric · ci to the tune Sheng Zha Zi宋词 · 词·生查子

shēng生zhā查zǐ子·guān关shān山hún魂mèng梦cháng长

yàn晏jǐ几dào道Yan Jidao · Song宋

Sheng Zha Zi: Long Are the Dreams Across Mountain Passes

guān关shān山hún魂mèng梦cháng长

yú鱼yàn雁yīn音chén尘shǎo少

liǎng两bìn鬓kě可lián怜qīng青

zhǐ只wèi为xiāng相sī思lǎo老

guī归mèng梦bì碧shā纱chuāng窗

shuō说yǔ与rén人rén人dào道

zhēn真gè个bié别lí离nán难

bú不sì似xiāng相féng逢hǎo好

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

关山魂梦长Across many mountain passes, my dreams travel a long way.隔着重重关山，我在梦里走了很远的路。
鱼雁音尘少Yet letters and news from you are so few.可是你的书信、消息却那么少。
两鬓可怜青The hair at my temples was still so black,我两鬓的头发本来还那么黑，
只为相思老and only from missing you, I have grown old.只因为想你，人就变老了。
归梦碧纱窗In a dream I come back to your green-gauze window,梦里我回到了你那绿纱窗前，
说与人人道and tell you, my dear, what is in my heart:把心里话说给亲爱的你听：
真个别离难Being apart is truly hard;分别真的太难受了，
不似相逢好nothing is as good as being together.怎么也比不上相聚的好。

Words字词注释

关山guān shān: guān shān: mountain passes and ranges; a long road with many mountains in between.关山：关口和山岭，指路途遥远、隔着重重山关。
魂梦长hún mèng cháng: hún mèng cháng: in dreams the soul travels a long, long way to find the loved one.魂梦长：在梦里走了很远很远的路去找对方。
鱼雁yú yàn: yú yàn: fish and geese. Old stories said both could carry letters, so the words came to mean letters.鱼雁：古人传说鱼和大雁都能帮人传递书信，所以用“鱼雁”代指书信。
音尘yīn chén: yīn chén: news, word from someone.音尘：音信、消息。
两鬓liǎng bìn: liǎng bìn: the hair on both sides of the face, near the ears.两鬓（bìn）：脸两旁靠近耳朵的头发。
可怜青kě lián qīng: kě lián qīng: kě lián here means lovely, dear; qīng means black. The hair is still black; the person is still young.可怜：可爱，让人疼惜。青：黑色。可怜青：两鬓还是乌黑的，人还年轻。
只为zhǐ wèi: zhǐ wèi: only because.只为：只是因为。
相思xiāng sī: xiāng sī: missing someone far away.相思：想念远方的人。
归梦guī mèng: guī mèng: going home in a dream.归梦：梦里回到家。
碧纱窗bì shā chuāng: bì shā chuāng: a window covered with green gauze; here, the room of the loved one.碧纱窗：糊着绿纱的窗子，这里指心上人住的房间。
人人rén rén: rén rén: in Song-dynasty speech, a loving name for a dear one, like "my dear".人人：宋代口语里对亲爱的人的称呼，就像“亲爱的”。
真个zhēn gè: zhēn gè: truly, really.真个：真的，实在。

Background创作背景

This ci is in Yan Jidao's collection, Xiaoshan Ci. It is about someone far from home who misses the one he loves. When it was written is not known. An almost identical ci is also given to Wang Guan, with a few words changed. Most anthologies give it to Yan Jidao. In the tune name Sheng Zha Zi, the middle word is read zhā.

这首词收在晏几道的词集《小山词》里，写一个在远方的人思念家中的爱人。写作时间不详。另有一首几乎一样的词被题为王观所作，只有几个字不同，比如“鱼雁音尘”作“塞雁音书”，“只为”作“一夜”。一般选本把它算作晏几道的作品。词牌“生查子”的“查”读 zhā。

The poet作者

Yan Jidao, also called Shuyuan and Xiaoshan, was a Northern Song ci poet. He was the youngest son of the chief minister Yan Shu, and the two are called "the two Yans". After his family's fortunes fell, he never did well in life. His ci are mostly about love, parting and missing the past, with true feeling and clear, lovely words. This ci, written in plain speech, shows his direct and tender side.

晏几道，字叔原，号小山，北宋词人，是宰相晏殊的小儿子，和父亲一起被称为“二晏”。他家道中落后，一生不得志，词里多写相思、离别和对往日的怀念，感情真挚，语言清丽。这首词用的都是口语，很能看出他直白深情的一面。

The mood意境

The first half is about missing someone far away. The road is long, so he can only look for her in dreams. Letters are few; even the fish and geese do not help. The most moving lines are about his hair: it is still black, yet missing her has made him old. They make the pain of longing feel real. The second half is a dream. He comes back to her window and says something very simple: being apart is hard, being together is better. But it is only a dream; when he wakes they are still apart, and that makes it sadder. There are no fancy words. It sounds like ordinary talk, and that is why it feels honest.

上片写远方的思念：路远，只能在梦里去找；信少，连鱼和雁都不帮忙。“两鬓可怜青，只为相思老”是全词最动人的地方，头发明明还黑，人却因为想念而老了，把想念的苦说得很真切。下片写梦：梦里回到爱人的窗前，说的话非常简单，就是“分开真难受，还是在一起好”。可这一切只是梦，醒来还是分离，读来更让人心酸。没有华丽的词，像普通人说的大白话，反而让人觉得真诚可信。