Song lyric · ci lyric to the tune Ta Suo Xing, in two stanzas宋词 · 词·踏莎行（双调）

tà踏suō莎xíng行·zǔ祖xí席lí离gē歌

yàn晏shū殊Yan Shu · Song宋

Treading on Sedge: Farewell Songs at the Parting Feast

zǔ祖xí席lí离gē歌

cháng长tíng亭bié别yàn宴

xiāng香chén尘yǐ已gé隔yóu犹huí回miàn面

jū居rén人pǐ匹mǎ马yìng映lín林sī嘶

xíng行rén人qù去zhào棹yī依bō波zhuǎn转

huà画gé阁hún魂xiāo消

gāo高lóu楼mù目duàn断

xié斜yáng阳zhǐ只sòng送píng平bō波yuǎn远

wú无qióng穷wú无jìn尽shì是lí离chóu愁

tiān天yá涯dì地jiǎo角xún寻sī思biàn遍

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

祖席离歌At the farewell feast, parting songs are sung,送别的酒席上唱起离别的歌，
长亭别宴a goodbye banquet laid out at the roadside pavilion.在长亭摆下告别的宴席。
香尘已隔犹回面The rising dust already comes between us, yet he still turns back to look.扬起的尘土已经把人隔开，他还在回头张望。
居人匹马映林嘶The horse of the one staying behind neighs by the trees,送行人骑的马在树林边嘶叫，
行人去棹依波转while the traveler's boat follows the waves around the bend and away.远行人坐的船顺着水波转弯远去。
画阁魂消In the painted room, the heart is broken;在彩画的楼阁里伤心得失了魂，
高楼目断from the tall tower, one looks until the eyes can go no farther.登上高楼望到看不见为止。
斜阳只送平波远The setting sun only lights the calm water stretching far away.夕阳只是照着平静的水面一直伸向远方。
无穷无尽是离愁What has no end at all is the sorrow of parting;没有尽头的，是这离别的愁苦，
天涯地角寻思遍the longing goes everywhere, to the ends of the earth.思念跟着他，想遍了天涯海角。

Words字词注释

祖席zǔ xí: zǔ xí: a farewell feast. In old times people made an offering to the god of roads before a journey, called zǔ, so a send-off feast was named after it.祖席：送别时摆的酒席。古人出远门前要祭路神，叫“祖”，后来送行的酒宴也叫祖席。
离歌lí gē: lí gē: songs sung at a parting.离歌：送别时唱的歌。
长亭cháng tíng: cháng tíng: a roadside pavilion where travelers rested. People often said goodbye there.长亭：古时路边供行人歇脚的亭子，常常在这里送别。
香尘xiāng chén: xiāng chén: the dust kicked up by the cart and horses. Calling it fragrant is just a pretty way of speaking.香尘：车马走过扬起的尘土。说它“香”，是一种美称。
已隔yǐ gé: yǐ gé: already cut off by the dust, hard to see.已隔：已经被尘土隔开，看不清了。
犹回面yóu huí miàn: yóu huí miàn: still turning back to look. Yóu means still; huí miàn means turning one's face back.犹回面：还在回头张望。犹，还；回面，回过头来。
居人jū rén: jū rén: the one who stays behind, the one seeing someone off.居人：留下来的人，就是送行的人。
映林嘶yìng lín sī: yìng lín sī: the horse neighs among the trees, half hidden and half seen.映林嘶：马在树林那边嘶叫，人影被树林遮着，时隐时现。
行人xíng rén: xíng rén: the one leaving on the journey.行人：出远门的人。
去棹qù zhào: qù zhào: the boat going away. Zhào is an oar, and here it stands for the boat.去棹：远去的船。棹，划船的桨，这里代指船。
依波转yī bō zhuǎn: yī bō zhuǎn: following the waves around the bend, slowly out of sight.依波转：顺着水波转弯，渐渐看不见了。
画阁huà gé: huà gé: a painted, decorated upper room.画阁：有彩画装饰的楼阁。
魂消hún xiāo: hún xiāo: so sad it is as if one's soul has melted away.魂消：伤心得像丢了魂一样。
目断mù duàn: mù duàn: looking until the eyes can see no farther.目断：望到眼睛看不见的地方为止，望穿了眼。
只送zhǐ sòng: zhǐ sòng: only seeing it off, as if nothing can be kept.只送：只是送着，好像什么也留不住。
平波píng bō: píng bō: the calm surface of the water.平波：平静的水面。
天涯地角tiān yá dì jiǎo: tiān yá dì jiǎo: the edge of the sky and the corner of the earth, meaning the farthest places.天涯地角：天的边上、地的尽头，指非常远的地方。
寻思遍xún sī biàn: xún sī biàn: thinking of every place. The longing follows the traveler everywhere. Xún sī means to think over, to miss.寻思遍：想遍了，思念跟着去到每一个地方。寻思，想念、琢磨。

Background创作背景

This ci is about seeing someone off. We no longer know who it was for or what year it was written. The first stanza shows the moment of parting: the feast ends, the horses raise dust, and the boat drifts away on the water. The second stanza shows what happens after: the one left behind climbs a tower to look into the distance. One reading says the second stanza is about a woman waiting at home. Others think it is the poet himself, who saw his friend off.

这是一首写送别的词，具体写给谁、写在哪一年，已经说不清了。上片写分别的那一刻：酒席散了，车马扬起尘土，船也顺水走远。下片写人走以后，留下的人登楼远望。一说下片写的是一位在家等候的女子，也有人认为写的就是送行的词人自己。

The poet作者

Yan Shu (991–1055) was a Northern Song ci poet who rose to be chief minister. As a boy he was a famous child prodigy and was sent to the court in his early teens. His ci are gentle and graceful. He often wrote about quiet sadness and parting, without strong words, keeping his feelings soft and hidden. His son Yan Jidao was also a famous ci poet.

晏殊（991—1055），北宋词人，做官做到宰相。他从小就是有名的“神童”，十几岁就被推荐进朝廷。他的词温和雅致，常写闲愁和离别，不用激烈的词句，愁也写得很含蓄。他的儿子晏几道也是著名词人。

The mood意境

This ci is like a camera slowly pulling back. First we see the feast and hear the songs, and the friend is still close. Then the dust rises and he can hardly be seen, but he still looks back. Then a horse neighs by the trees and a boat turns a bend in the river, and the two drift farther and farther apart. In the second stanza the camera stops on a tall tower. Someone looks and looks, but sees only the setting sun on the calm water reaching into the distance. The last two lines say it plainly: this sorrow of parting has no end, and the heart follows him to the ends of the earth. The farther the scene goes, the longer the feeling grows.

这首词像一组慢慢拉远的镜头。先是酒席、歌声，人还在眼前；接着车马扬尘，人已经看不清，却还在回头；然后马在林边叫，船在水上转弯，两个人越离越远。到了下片，镜头停在高楼上：人望了又望，只看见夕阳照着平静的水面一直铺向远方。最后两句把愁说透了：这份离愁没有尽头，心跟着那个人走遍了天涯海角。景越远，情越长。