No. 87 · Song lyric · ci lyric to the tune Ta Suo Xing, in two stanzas第 87 首 · 宋词 · 词·踏莎行（双调）

tà踏suō莎xíng行·chēn郴zhōu州lǚ旅shè舍

qín秦guān观Qin Guan · Song宋

To the Tune of Ta Suo Xing: At an Inn in Chenzhou

wù雾shī失lóu楼tái台

yuè月mí迷jīn津dù渡

táo桃yuán源wàng望duàn断wú无xún寻chù处

kě可kān堪gū孤guǎn馆bì闭chūn春hán寒

dù杜juān鹃shēng声lǐ里xié斜yáng阳mù暮

yì驿jì寄méi梅huā花

yú鱼chuán传chǐ尺sù素

qì砌chéng成cǐ此hèn恨wú无chóng重shù数

chēn郴jiāng江xìng幸zì自rào绕chēn郴shān山

wèi为shuí谁liú流xià下xiāo潇xiāng湘qù去

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 heading "At an Inn in Chenzhou" is the title used in common editions. The corpus gives only the tune name.

词题“郴州旅舍”是通行本的题目，资料库里只有词牌“踏莎行”。

Line by line逐句翻译

雾失楼台The fog swallows the towers.大雾弥漫，楼台都看不见了，
月迷津渡The hazy moon hides the ferry landing.月色朦胧，渡口也找不到了。
桃源望断无寻处I gaze till my eyes give out, but there is no Peach Blossom Spring to be found.望穿双眼，也找不到桃花源在哪里。
可堪孤馆闭春寒How can I bear being shut in a lonely inn in the spring cold,怎么受得了一个人关在旅店里，忍着春天的寒冷，
杜鹃声里斜阳暮hearing the cuckoo call as the sun goes down?听杜鹃一声声叫，看太阳慢慢落下。
驿寄梅花Friends send plum blossoms by the post,朋友托人寄来梅花，
鱼传尺素and letters come from far away.又带来远方的书信，
砌成此恨无重数But they only pile up my sorrow, layer on layer past counting.可这只让我的愁恨越堆越多，数也数不清。
郴江幸自绕郴山The Chen River was meant to wind around the Chen hills.郴江本来是绕着郴山流的，
为谁流下潇湘去For whom does it flow away to the Xiao and Xiang?它是为了谁，要流到潇湘去呢？

Words字词注释

雾失楼台wù shī lóu tái: wù shī lóu tái: in the fog, the towers vanish.雾失楼台：大雾里，楼台都看不见了。
月迷津渡yuè mí jīn dù: jīn dù: a ferry landing. In the hazy moonlight, the ferry landing is lost.津渡：渡口，过河坐船的地方。月迷津渡，月色朦胧，渡口也找不到了。
桃源táo yuán: táo yuán: the Peach Blossom Spring. Tao Yuanming wrote of a hidden, happy place cut off from the world. It is said to lie near Wuling, not far north of Chenzhou.桃源：桃花源。陶渊明写过一个与世隔绝、人人快乐的地方叫桃花源，相传就在郴州北边不远的武陵一带。
望断wàng duàn: wàng duàn: gazing until the eyes can see no more.望断：望到看不见为止，望穿了眼。
可堪kě kān: kě kān: how can one bear.可堪：哪里受得了。
孤馆gū guǎn: gū guǎn: a lonely inn.孤馆：孤零零的旅店。
杜鹃dù juān: dù juān: the cuckoo. People of old thought its call sounded like "better to go home", and it made them homesick.杜鹃：一种鸟。古人觉得它的叫声像“不如归去”，听了让人想家。
斜阳暮xié yáng mù: xié yáng mù: the sun sinking, evening falling.斜阳暮：太阳偏西，天快黑了。
驿寄梅花yì jì méi huā: yì: an old post station that carried letters. Yì jì méi huā means a friend sends plum blossoms as a greeting, from the old story of Lu Kai sending plum blossoms to Fan Ye.驿：古代传送公文、书信的驿站。驿寄梅花，指朋友托人带来梅花，表示问候。这用的是南北朝陆凯给范晔寄梅花的故事。
鱼传尺素yú chuán chǐ sù: chǐ sù: a foot-long piece of white silk used for writing, meaning a letter. Yú chuán chǐ sù comes from an old poem about a carp-shaped letter case brought from far away. It means receiving letters from afar.尺素：写信用的一尺长的白绢，就是书信。鱼传尺素，出自古诗“客从远方来，遗我双鲤鱼”，指收到远方的来信。
砌成qì chéng: qì chéng: piled up brick by brick, like building a wall.砌成：像砌墙一样一块一块堆起来。
无重数wú chóng shù: wú chóng shù: too many layers to count.无重数：数不清有多少层。
郴江chēn jiāng: chēn jiāng: the Chen River, which flows out of the Chen hills and north into the Xiang River.郴江：郴州的一条河，从郴山流出，向北流进湘江。
幸自xìng zì: xìng zì: by nature, it was meant to.幸自：本来是。
潇湘xiāo xiāng: xiāo xiāng: the Xiao and Xiang rivers in today's Hunan.潇湘：潇水和湘江，在今天的湖南。

How to read it读音

处chù: Chù here means place, read chù.“无寻处”的“处”是“地方”，读 chù。
重chóng: Wú chóng shù means countless layers. Chóng means layer, read chóng, not zhòng.“无重数”是“数不清有多少层”，“重”读 chóng。
数shù: Shù here is a noun, number, read shù, not shǔ.“重数”的“数”是名词“数目”，读 shù。
郴chēn: This place-name character is read chēn.“郴”读 chēn，是地名。
为wèi: Wèi shuí means for whom, read wèi.“为谁”是“为了谁”，读 wèi。
谁shuí: Shéi is the common spoken reading. In poems people often say shuí. Both are correct.“谁”口语多读 shéi，读诗时常读 shuí，两种都对。

Background创作背景

Under Emperor Zhezong, the court group that opposed the new reforms lost power. Because Qin Guan was Su Shi's student, he was sent away again and again. In 1096 he was banished to Chenzhou in today's Hunan, and the next spring he wrote this lyric at an inn there. A Song-dynasty notebook says Su Shi loved the last two lines so much that he wrote them on his fan. After Qin Guan died, Su Shi sighed that even ten thousand people could not buy him back.

宋哲宗时，朝廷里反对新法的一派失势，秦观因为是苏轼的学生，接连被贬。绍圣三年（1096年）他被贬到郴州（今湖南郴州），第二年春天在郴州的旅店里写下这首词。据宋人笔记记载，苏轼非常喜欢最后两句，把它们写在扇子上。秦观去世后，苏轼叹息说，就是一万个人也换不回他。

The poet作者

Qin Guan (1049–1100), also called Shaoyou and known as the Retired Scholar of Huaihai, came from Gaoyou in today's Jiangsu. He was one of the Four Scholars of Su Shi's circle. His lyrics are gentle and delicate, often about parting and sadness, and he is a leading poet of the graceful style. In his last years he was banished again and again, and this lyric shows the deepest despair in his heart.

秦观（1049—1100），字少游，号淮海居士，高邮（今江苏高邮）人，是“苏门四学士”之一。他的词温柔细腻，多写离别和伤感，是婉约派的代表词人。晚年被一贬再贬，这首词写出了他心里最深的绝望。

The mood意境

The first three lines are all mist and confusion. Fog hides the towers, the ferry landing is lost in the moonlight, and the lovely Peach Blossom Spring is nowhere to be seen. It is like his future, which he cannot see at all. Next comes the scene before him: shut alone in an inn, the spring air cold, the cuckoo calling, the sun going down. He could not be lonelier. In the second stanza, friends send plum blossoms and letters. They are meant to comfort him, but they pile his sorrow higher, like bricks in a wall. At the end he asks the Chen River: you were meant to wind around the Chen hills, so why flow off to the Xiao and Xiang? He asks the river, but he is really asking himself: my life was fine, so why was I swept so far away?

开头三句是一片迷茫：雾遮住了楼台，月色里找不到渡口，那个美好的桃花源也看不见了。这也像他的前途，一片茫然。接着写眼前：一个人关在旅店里，春寒冷冷，杜鹃在叫，太阳落山，孤单到了极点。下片说，朋友寄来梅花和书信，本是安慰，却让愁越堆越高，像砌墙一样。最后他问郴江：你本来绕着郴山流，为什么要流到潇湘去？问江水，其实是问自己：我本来好好的，为什么会被冲到这么远的地方来？