Song lyric · ci to the tune Ye You Gong宋词 · 词·夜游宫

yè夜yóu游gōng宫·yè叶xià下xié斜yáng阳zhào照shuǐ水

zhōu周bāng邦yàn彦Zhou Bangyan · Song宋

Night Journey to the Palace: Leaves Fall, the Setting Sun on the Water

yè叶xià下xié斜yáng阳zhào照shuǐ水

juǎn卷qīng轻làng浪

chén沉chén沉qiān千lǐ里

qiáo桥shàng上suān酸fēng风shè射móu眸zǐ子

lì立duō多shí时

kàn看huáng黄hūn昏

dēng灯huǒ火shì市

gǔ古wū屋hán寒chuāng窗dǐ底

tīng听jǐ几piàn片

jǐng井tóng桐fēi飞zhuì坠

bú不liàn恋dān单qīn衾zài再sān三qǐ起

yǒu有shuí谁zhī知

wèi为xiāo萧niáng娘

shū书yì一zhǐ纸

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。

In the usual text line three uses chén chén, deep and dark. The source text uses an old way of writing the same character. The meaning is the same, so we use the usual form.

通行本第三句作“沉沉千里”。这里的底本作“沈沈”，“沈”是“沉”的古写，意思一样，现在按通行本写作“沉”。

Line by line逐句翻译

叶下斜阳照水Leaves fall, and the setting sun shines on the water.树叶纷纷落下，夕阳照在水面上，
卷轻浪It rolls up small, light waves水面卷起细细的波浪，
沉沉千里that stretch dark and deep for a thousand miles.深沉暗淡，一直流向千里之外。
桥上酸风射眸子On the bridge a bitter wind stings my eyes.站在桥上，刺骨的冷风直吹得眼睛发酸。
立多时I stand there a long time,我在那里站了很久，
看黄昏watching dusk come on看着黄昏降临，
灯火市and the lamps light up in the market.街市上亮起了灯火。
古屋寒窗底Back in the old house, beneath a cold window,回到古老的屋子，坐在冷清的窗下，
听几片I hear a few leaves听见几片叶子，
井桐飞坠drift down from the parasol tree by the well.从井边的梧桐树上飘落。
不恋单衾再三起I cannot stay under my thin quilt and get up again and again.我躺在薄被里睡不着，一次又一次地起来。
有谁知Who knows有谁知道，
为萧娘that it is all for her,这都是为了她，
书一纸for the one letter I write to her?为了写给她的一封信。

Words字词注释

叶下yè xià: yè xià: leaves fall.叶下：树叶落下。
斜阳xié yáng: xié yáng: the setting sun.斜阳：快要落山的太阳。
沉沉chén chén: chén chén: deep, wide and darkening.沉沉：水又深又远、颜色暗沉的样子。
酸风suān fēng: suān fēng: a sharp wind that stings the eyes. The phrase comes from a line by Li He.酸风：刺得眼睛发酸的冷风。这是借用李贺的诗句“东关酸风射眸子”。
射眸子shè móu zǐ: shè móu zǐ: shoots into the eyes like an arrow.射眸子：像箭一样直吹眼睛。眸子，眼珠。
灯火市dēng huǒ shì: dēng huǒ shì: the lamps light up in the market streets.灯火市：街市上亮起了灯火。
寒窗底hán chuāng dǐ: hán chuāng dǐ: beneath a cold window.寒窗底：冷清的窗下。
井桐jǐng tóng: jǐng tóng: the parasol tree beside the well.井桐：井边的梧桐树。
飞坠fēi zhuì: fēi zhuì: to drift down.飞坠：飘落下来。
不恋bú liàn: bù liàn: not wanting to stay in.不恋：不贪恋，待不住。
单衾dān qīn: dān qīn: a thin, single-layer quilt.单衾：薄薄的单层被子。
再三起zài sān qǐ: zài sān qǐ: getting up again and again.再三起：一次又一次地起床。
萧娘xiāo niáng: xiāo niáng: Lady Xiao, a common name in Tang and Song poems for a beloved woman.萧娘：唐宋诗词里常用来称呼所爱的女子。
书一纸shū yì zhǐ: shū yī zhǐ: wrote a single letter. Shū means to write.书一纸：写了一封信。书，写。

How to read it读音

子zǐ: In everyday speech the zi in móu zi is toneless; in reciting the poem it is read zǐ, rhyming with shuǐ, lǐ and shì.“眸子”的“子”在口语里读轻声，这里按诗词诵读读 zǐ，和“水、里、市”押韵。
为wèi: Here it means for the sake of, read wèi.这里是“为了”的意思，读 wèi。

Background创作背景

The poem follows one autumn evening into the deep of night. The poet stands on a bridge for a long time. Back at his lodging he cannot sleep and keeps getting up. At the end we learn it is all because of a letter to the woman he loves. The poem does not say when or where it was written, and no reliable record tells us who Lady Xiao was.

这首词写一个秋天的黄昏到深夜。词人在桥上久久站立，回到住处又睡不着，一次次起来，原来是为了给心上人写一封信。词中没有说明写作的时间和地点，也没有可靠的记载说明“萧娘”是谁。

The poet作者

Zhou Bangyan (1056 to 1121) was a Northern Song ci poet and a master of music. Under Emperor Huizong he ran the court music office. His poems are carefully built. He lays out scenes layer by layer and names the feeling only at the end. This poem does exactly that: scenery first, then feeling, and the secret comes out only in the last line.

周邦彦（1056—1121），北宋词人，精通音乐，宋徽宗时主管过朝廷的音乐机构大晟府。他的词结构讲究，善于一层一层地铺陈景物，最后才点出心事。这首词就是先写景、后写情，到最后一句才揭开谜底。

The mood意境

This poem is like a story with a mystery. The first half is dusk: falling leaves, the low sun, a river a thousand miles long. The cold wind stings his eyes, yet he stands on the bridge a long time, until the lamps come on in the streets. Why does he stay so long? The poem does not say yet. The second half moves back to the old house. The night is so still he can hear a few leaves fall from the parasol tree. He cannot sleep and keeps getting up. Now we want to know the reason even more. Only the last three lines reveal it: it is all for her, for one letter. Suddenly all the coldness and restlessness before make sense. The more carefully the scenes are drawn, the deeper the feeling at the end seems.

这首词像一个悬念故事。上阕写黄昏：落叶、斜阳、千里的江水，冷风吹得眼睛发酸，词人却在桥上站了很久，一直看到街上亮灯。他为什么站这么久？词里先不说。下阕回到古屋，夜里很静，静得能听见几片梧桐叶落下的声音。他睡不着，一次次起床。到这里读者更想知道原因了。最后三句才揭开：原来是为了她，为了写一封信。前面所有的冷清和不安，一下子都有了答案。写景越细，最后的情就越显得深。