No. 78 · Song lyric · ci lyric in two stanzas, 60 characters第 78 首 · 宋词 · 词（双调，六十字）

yì一jiǎn剪méi梅·hóng红ǒu藕xiāng香cán残yù玉diàn簟qiū秋

lǐ李qīng清zhào照Li Qingzhao · Song宋

A Sprig of Plum Blossom: Red Lotus Fragrance Fades, the Jade Mat Turns Autumn-Cool

hóng红ǒu藕xiāng香cán残yù玉diàn簟qiū秋

qīng轻jiě解luó罗cháng裳

dú独shàng上lán兰zhōu舟

yún云zhōng中shuí谁jì寄jǐn锦shū书lái来

yàn雁zì字huí回shí时

yuè月mǎn满xī西lóu楼

huā花zì自piāo飘líng零shuǐ水zì自liú流

yì一zhǒng种xiāng相sī思

liǎng两chù处xián闲chóu愁

cǐ此qíng情wú无jì计kě可xiāo消chú除

cái才xià下méi眉tóu头

què却shàng上xīn心tóu头

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 line about the letter, the corpus has 'in the snow'. Textbooks and standard editions have 'in the clouds', because the letter is imagined as carried by wild geese through the sky. This page follows the textbook.

资料库中“云中谁寄锦书来”一句作“雪中”，课本和通行本都作“云中”：书信由天上的大雁带来，所以说“云中”。这里用“云中”。

Line by line逐句翻译

红藕香残玉簟秋The red lotus has faded and lost its scent; the smooth bamboo mat feels autumn-cool.红色的荷花凋残了，香气也淡了，光滑的竹席透出秋凉。
轻解罗裳Gently I loosen my silk skirt我轻轻解开丝绸的裙子，
独上兰舟and step alone into a little boat.独自登上小船。
云中谁寄锦书来Who will send me a letter through the clouds?天上的云里，有谁会寄来书信呢？
雁字回时By the time the geese fly back in their lines,等到大雁排着队飞回来的时候，
月满西楼moonlight fills the west tower.月光已经洒满了西楼。
花自飘零水自流Flowers fall on their own, and water flows on its own.花儿自顾自地飘落，流水自顾自地流去。
一种相思We share the same longing,我们有着同样的相思，
两处闲愁yet each of us grieves in a different place.却在两个地方各自发愁。
此情无计可消除There is no way to get rid of this feeling:这份感情没有办法消除，
才下眉头no sooner does it leave my brows刚刚从眉头上散开，
却上心头than it rises in my heart.又涌上了心头。

Words字词注释

红藕hóng ǒu: hóng ǒu: red lotus flowers.红藕：红色的荷花。
玉簟yù diàn: yù diàn: a fine bamboo sleeping mat, smooth and cool as jade.玉簟：光滑精美、像玉一样凉的竹席。
秋qiū: qiū: autumn; here, the mat already feels autumn-cool.秋：这里指竹席已经透出秋天的凉意。
罗裳luó cháng: luó cháng: a skirt of light, soft silk.罗裳：用轻软的丝织品做的裙子。
兰舟lán zhōu: lán zhōu: a boat of magnolia wood, a pretty name for a small boat.兰舟：用木兰树做的船，是对小船的美称。
锦书jǐn shū: jǐn shū: a brocade letter. Legend says that long ago a woman named Su Hui wove a poem of longing into brocade and sent it to her husband, so the word came to mean love letters between husband and wife.锦书：书信。相传前秦时苏蕙把思念丈夫的诗织在锦缎上寄给他，后来就用锦书指夫妻之间的书信。
雁字yàn zì: yàn zì: goose letters. Wild geese fly in lines shaped like characters, and people once believed geese could carry letters.雁字：大雁飞的时候排成“一”字或“人”字形，所以叫雁字。古人传说大雁能传递书信。
西楼xī lóu: xī lóu: the west tower, here the place where she lives.西楼：西边的楼，这里指作者住的地方。
飘零piāo líng: piāo líng: petals falling and blowing away.飘零：花瓣凋落，随风飘散。
一种相思yì zhǒng xiāng sī: yì zhǒng xiāng sī: the same longing.一种相思：同样的思念。
两处liǎng chù: liǎng chù: two places, meaning she and her husband are apart.两处：两个地方，指她和丈夫分在两地。
闲愁xián chóu: xián chóu: a sorrow with no clear cause that will not go away.闲愁：说不出原因、却一直放不下的忧愁。
无计wú jì: wú jì: no way, no means.无计：没有办法。
才下眉头cái xià méi tóu: cái xià méi tóu: the frown has only just eased from her brows.才下眉头：皱着的眉头刚刚舒展开。
却上心头què shàng xīn tóu: què shàng xīn tóu: the sorrow rises again in her heart.却上心头：愁思又涌上了心里。

How to read it读音

裳cháng: This character here is the lower garment people once wore, like a skirt, read cháng. In the modern word for clothes it is read shang.裳是古人穿的下衣（像裙子），读 cháng。现在“衣裳”一词读 yī shang。
谁shuí: This character is read shuí here; shéi is also correct.谁读 shuí，也可以读 shéi。

Background创作背景

This lyric is usually read as one Li Qingzhao wrote after parting from her husband, Zhao Mingcheng, to tell how much she missed him. They loved each other deeply and often studied poems and antiques together. Sources disagree on exactly when it was written. A Yuan-dynasty book says that when Zhao Mingcheng went away to study, Li Qingzhao could not bear to part and wrote this lyric on a silk handkerchief for him. But that story is not very reliable.

这首词一般认为是李清照和丈夫赵明诚分别以后写的，表达对丈夫的思念。两人感情很好，常常一起研究诗词和古物。至于具体写于什么时候，说法不一。元代有一本书说，赵明诚出外求学，李清照舍不得他，把这首词写在锦帕上送给他。但这个说法不太可靠。

The poet作者

Li Qingzhao (1084–about 1155), who called herself the Lay Buddhist Yi'an, is the most famous woman writer of ci in the Song. In the first half of her life she lived in peace and happiness, and her lyrics were about a girl's joys and missing her husband when they were apart. In the second half her country fell and her family was lost, and her lyrics became very sorrowful. This lyric is a famous example of her early poems of parting and longing.

李清照（1084—约1155），号易安居士，宋代最有名的女词人。她前半生生活安定美满，词多写少女的快乐和夫妻分别的思念；后半生国破家亡，词变得非常悲苦。这首词是她前期写离别相思的代表作。

The mood意境

The first seven characters set the season: the lotus has faded, the mat is cool, autumn has come. She steps into a boat alone to ease her heart, but she is really waiting for a letter. When will the geese bring word from him? By the time the geese return, moonlight fills the west tower, and she is still waiting. The second stanza says flowers fall and water flows on their own; no one can hold them back, just like time and parting. But then she adds: we feel the same love, only in two places. Thinking this way is both sweet and bitter. The last three lines are the most famous. The sorrow has just left her brows, and it climbs into her heart. Brows outside, heart inside: the lines bring to life a longing that simply cannot be shaken off.

开头七个字就把季节说清楚了：荷花谢了，竹席凉了，秋天来了。她一个人上了小船，想散散心，心里却在盼信：大雁什么时候带来他的书信？等大雁飞回来，月亮已经照满西楼，她还在等。下片说花自己落，水自己流，谁也留不住，就像时间和分离。可她马上又说：我们想念的是同一份情，只是分在两个地方。这样一想，又甜又苦。最后三句最有名：愁思刚从眉头散去，又爬上了心头。眉头和心头一外一里，把那种怎么也甩不掉的思念写得活灵活现。