shēng生zhā查zǐ子·yuán元xī夕xì戏chén陈jìng敬sǒu叟

Yuanxi is the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, when every home hangs lanterns and people go out to see them. Chen Jingsou was a friend of Liu Kezhuang. The word xì in the title means teasing. It is usually read like this: Chen was away from home that night, and Liu teased him by imagining his wife at home bowing to the moon and longing for him to return. Another view says the second half is about a woman Chen loved. The year is not known.

元夕就是正月十五元宵节的夜晚，家家户户挂花灯、看灯会。陈敬叟是刘克庄的朋友。题目里的“戏”是开玩笑的意思。一般理解为：这一夜陈敬叟不在家，刘克庄跟他开玩笑，想象他家中的妻子正对月下拜，盼他回来。一说下阕写的是陈敬叟的意中人。写作年份不详。

Liu Kezhuang (1187–1269), known as Houcun, came from Putian in today's Fujian. He was a major writer of song lyrics in the late Southern Song. He admired Xin Qiji, and many of his lyrics deal with the fate of the country in a bold, strong voice. This small poem, though, is light and playful, and shows his gentle, delicate side.

刘克庄（1187—1269），字潜夫，号后村，莆田（今福建莆田）人，南宋后期的大词人。他很佩服辛弃疾，很多词写国家大事，豪迈有力。这首小词却写得轻松风趣，可以看到他细腻、温和的另一面。

The first half shows the bustle of Lantern Night. There are so many lanterns that they outshine the moon, and the drums go on until dawn. Then the poet turns: the sights are the same as before, but in middle age the feeling is different. When young, you just enjoy the lanterns. In middle age, you feel something you cannot quite name. The second half turns to a woman. She lightly paints her brows, bows deeply to the moon, and makes a silent wish. One word is light and one is deep: the makeup is light, but the longing is deep. At the end the crowds leave and the streets go quiet. After the noise, sorrow arrives.

上阕写元宵夜的热闹：花灯多得把月光都盖过了，锣鼓一直敲到天亮。可是词人话锋一转：景色和从前一样，到了中年，感受却不同了。年轻时看灯只觉得开心，中年人看灯，心里多了些说不清的东西。下阕画面换到一个女子身上：她淡淡地画好眉，对着月亮深深一拜，在心里许下心愿。一个“浅”，一个“深”，画眉是浅的，心事却是深的。最后人散了，街上安静了，热闹过后，愁也来了。