Song lyric · ci lyric in two stanzas宋词 · 词·双调

shū疏yǐng影·yǒng咏hé荷yè叶

zhāng张yán炎Zhang Yan · Song宋

Shu Ying: On Lotus Leaves

bì碧yuán圆zì自jié洁

xiàng向qiǎn浅zhōu洲yuǎn远zhǔ渚

tíng亭tíng亭qīng清jué绝

yóu犹yǒu有yí遗zān簪

bù不zhǎn展qiū秋xīn心

néng能juǎn卷jǐ几duō多yán炎rè热

yuān鸳yāng鸯mì密yǔ语tóng同qīng倾gài盖

qiě且mò莫yǔ与huàn浣shā纱rén人shuō说

kǒng恐yuàn怨gē歌hū忽duàn断huā花fēng风

suì碎què却cuì翠yún云qiān千dié叠

huí回shǒu首dāng当nián年hàn汉wǔ舞

pà怕fēi飞qù去màn谩zhòu皱liú留xiān仙qún裙zhé折

liàn恋liàn恋qīng青shān衫

yóu犹rǎn染kū枯xiāng香

hái还tàn叹bìn鬓sī丝piāo飘xuě雪

pán盘xīn心qīng清lù露rú如qiān铅shuǐ水

yòu又yí一yè夜xī西fēng风chuī吹zhé折

xǐ喜jìng静kàn看pǐ匹liàn练qiū秋guāng光

dào倒xiè泻bàn半hú湖míng明yuè月

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

碧圆自洁The round green leaves are clean by nature.碧绿的圆荷叶，本来就那样干净。
向浅洲远渚By shallow islets and far-off sandbars,在浅水的小洲边、远处的小岛旁，
亭亭清绝they stand tall, pure and lovely.它们高高地立着，清秀极了。
犹有遗簪There are young leaves rolled up like dropped hairpins,还有像簪子一样卷着的新叶，
不展秋心they will not open, like a heart hiding sorrow,卷着不打开，像心里藏着愁，
能卷几多炎热and how much summer heat can they roll away?又能卷走多少暑热呢？
鸳鸯密语同倾盖Mandarin ducks whisper beneath a leaf that shades them like a canopy.鸳鸯躲在荷叶底下说着悄悄话，
且莫与浣纱人说Do not tell it to the girls who wash silk.可别把这话告诉洗纱的姑娘。
恐怨歌忽断花风I fear their sad songs may suddenly break the flower breeze,只怕她们哀怨的歌声，忽然打断了吹花的风，
碎却翠云千叠and shatter the thousand layers of green cloud.把千层绿云一样的荷叶弄碎。
回首当年汉舞I think back to Zhao Feiyan dancing in the Han palace.回想当年赵飞燕在汉宫跳舞，
怕飞去谩皱留仙裙折For fear she would fly away, her skirt was creased in vain.怕她被风吹走，白白把裙子拉出了褶子。
恋恋青衫The beloved green robe那叫人舍不得的青衫，
犹染枯香still carries the scent of dried leaves,还沾着枯荷的香气，
还叹鬓丝飘雪and I sigh that the hair by my ears is white as falling snow.又叹息鬓边的头发白得像飘雪。
盘心清露如铅水The dew in the leaf's heart is heavy as lead.荷叶中间的露水像铅水一样沉重，
又一夜西风吹折Another night, and the west wind snaps it.又过了一夜，西风把它吹断了。
喜静看匹练秋光Still I am glad to watch, in quiet, the autumn light like a bolt of white silk,高兴的是还能静静地看那像白绸一样的秋光，
倒泻半湖明月as the bright moon pours down over half the lake.半个湖的明月光倒泻下来。

Words字词注释

碧圆bì yuán: bì yuán: a round green thing, meaning a lotus leaf.碧圆：碧绿的圆东西，指荷叶。
自洁zì jié: zì jié: clean by nature.自洁：本身就很干净。
浅洲远渚qiǎn zhōu yuǎn zhǔ: qiǎn zhōu yuǎn zhǔ: shallow islets and far-off sandbars, small pieces of land in the water.浅洲远渚：浅水里的小洲，远处的小岛。洲、渚，都是水中的小块陆地。
亭亭tíng tíng: tíng tíng: standing tall and graceful.亭亭：直直地立着，很好看的样子。
清绝qīng jué: qīng jué: pure and lovely beyond compare.清绝：清秀极了。
遗簪yí zān: yí zān: a dropped hairpin. Here it means a young lotus leaf still rolled up, shaped like a long hairpin.遗簪：掉下的簪子。簪，古人别头发用的长针。这里指刚长出、还卷着的新荷叶，样子像一根簪子。
不展秋心bù zhǎn qiū xīn: bù zhǎn qiū xīn: the rolled leaf will not open, like a heart that hides its sorrow. Put together, the characters for autumn and heart make the character for sorrow.不展秋心：卷着的叶子不打开，像心里藏着愁。“秋心”合起来就是一个“愁”字。
能卷几多炎热néng juǎn jǐ duō yán rè: néng juǎn jǐ duō yán rè: rolled up like that, how much summer heat can it roll away?能卷几多炎热：它卷起来，又能卷走多少暑热呢。
倾盖qīng gài: qīng gài: the canopies of two carriages tilted together, an old phrase for meeting and talking closely. Here the lotus leaf shades the mandarin ducks like a canopy.倾盖：两辆车的车盖靠在一起，原指路上相遇、谈得投机。这里指鸳鸯躲在荷叶下，荷叶像伞盖一样把它们遮住。
浣纱人huàn shā rén: huàn shā rén: a girl washing silk by the water. Legend says the beauty Xi Shi once did so.浣纱人：在水边洗纱的女子。传说美女西施曾在溪边浣纱。
怨歌yuàn gē: yuàn gē: a sad song, usually taken as the songs of girls picking lotus.怨歌：带着哀怨的歌，一般理解为采莲女子的歌声。
花风huā fēng: huā fēng: the breeze among the lotus flowers.花风：吹着荷花的风。
翠云千叠cuì yún qiān dié: cuì yún qiān dié: layer upon layer of leaves, like green clouds.翠云千叠：一层层像绿云一样的荷叶。
汉舞hàn wǔ: hàn wǔ: the dance of Zhao Feiyan of the Han dynasty. Legend says she was so light that the wind nearly blew her away, and her maids grabbed her skirt and creased it.汉舞：汉代赵飞燕的舞。传说她身体很轻，跳舞时差点被风吹走，宫女拉住她的裙子，把裙子拉出了褶子。
谩màn: màn: in vain.谩：白白地，徒然。
留仙裙liú xiān qún: liú xiān qún: a pleated skirt. Legend says that after Zhao Feiyan's skirt was creased, the palace women copied it and called it the skirt that kept the fairy. Here it stands for the folds of a lotus leaf.留仙裙：有褶子的裙子。传说赵飞燕的裙子被拉出褶子后，宫里人都学着做，叫“留仙裙”。这里用来比荷叶上的皱纹。
恋恋青衫liàn liàn qīng shān: liàn liàn qīng shān: a beloved green robe. The lotus leaf is compared to a green robe; some say it also means the poet's own clothes.恋恋青衫：舍不得的青色衣衫。这里把荷叶比作青衫，一说也指词人自己的衣服。
枯香kū xiāng: kū xiāng: the scent that stays even when the leaf has dried.枯香：荷叶枯了还留着的香气。
鬓丝飘雪bìn sī piāo xuě: bìn sī piāo xuě: the hair by the ears is white as snow. It pictures the leaf's withered edge, and the poet growing old.鬓丝飘雪：耳边的头发白得像雪。这里比荷叶边枯白，也写词人自己老了。
盘心pán xīn: pán xīn: the middle of the leaf, which is shaped like a round plate.盘心：荷叶中间。荷叶像一只圆盘。
铅水qiān shuǐ: qiān shuǐ: water heavy and pale like lead. The Tang poet Li He compared tears to it, so it also hints at tears.铅水：像铅一样沉重、发白的水。唐代李贺写过“忆君清泪如铅水”，这里也暗指眼泪。
吹折chuī zhé: chuī zhé: blown and snapped.吹折：吹断。
匹练pǐ liàn: pǐ liàn: a whole bolt of white silk, picturing the moonlight on the water.匹练：一整匹白绸子，比喻洒满水面的月光。
倒泻dào xiè: dào xiè: pouring down.倒泻：倒下来，泻下来。

How to read it读音

谩màn: Here it is read màn, meaning in vain.“谩”在这里读 màn，意思是白白地，同“漫”。
折zhé: In qún zhé the character means the pleats of a skirt. We mark the common reading zhé; some read it zhě.“裙折”的“折”同“褶”，指裙子上的褶子，这里按通行读法标 zhé。一说读 zhě。

Background创作背景

This ci describes a thing: lotus leaves. Shu Ying is the name of the tune. When Zhang Yan used it for lotus leaves, he renamed it Lü Yi, meaning green thoughts, so some books use that title. Zhang Yan lived through the fall of the Southern Song. We do not know when this ci was written. Many readers think that, by moving from fresh summer leaves to dry autumn ones, it also carries his own life story and his grief for the lost country.

这是一首咏物词，写的是荷叶。“疏影”是词牌名，张炎用这个曲调写荷叶时，把它改名叫“绿意”，所以有的书题作《绿意》。张炎生活在南宋灭亡前后，这首词写在什么时候已经说不清。很多人认为，词里从夏天的新荷写到秋天的枯荷，也寄托着他自己的身世和亡国的伤感。

The poet作者

Zhang Yan (1248–about 1320), also called Yutian, was a ci poet of the late Southern Song. He came from a noble family; his ancestor was the famous general Zhang Jun. After the Southern Song fell, his family lost everything, and he drifted from place to place. In later life he once kept a fortune-telling stall in Siming, today's Ningbo. He was good at ci about things, and the things he describes often carry his own wandering and sadness.

张炎（1248—约1320），字叔夏，号玉田，南宋末年词人。他出身贵族，祖上是南宋名将张俊。南宋灭亡后家道败落，他四处漂泊，晚年曾在四明（今浙江宁波）摆摊算卦为生。他擅长写咏物词，笔下的东西常常带着自己漂泊、伤感的影子。

The mood意境

The whole ci is about lotus leaves, yet the word lotus never appears. The first stanza is summer. The round leaves are clean and stand tall in the water. Young leaves curl like hairpins, as if hiding a secret. Mandarin ducks whisper beneath them, and the poet worries that the songs of lotus girls might shatter this green cloud. The second stanza is autumn. The leaves wrinkle like Zhao Feiyan's creased skirt. They dry and whiten at the edges, like an old man's hair. One night of west wind snaps them. But at the end the mood turns: moonlight spreads over the lake like white silk, and the heart grows calm. Writing the leaf from young to old, he also seems to write a life.

这首词通篇写荷叶，却一个“荷”字都没有用。上半首是夏天：圆圆的荷叶干干净净，高高地立在水里；新叶卷着像簪子，像藏着心事；鸳鸯在叶下说悄悄话，词人还担心采莲女的歌声把这片绿云惊碎。下半首到了秋天：荷叶皱了，像赵飞燕被拉出褶子的裙子；叶子枯了，边上发白，像人老了头发变白；一夜西风，就把它吹断了。可是结尾一转，湖上月光像白绸一样铺开，又让人心里静下来。写荷叶从新到老，也像在写一个人从年轻到老去。