Song lyric · ci (song lyric)宋词 · 词

yù玉lóu楼chūn春·bié别hòu后bù不zhī知jūn君yuǎn远jìn近

ōu欧yáng阳xiū修Ouyang Xiu · Song宋

Jade Tower Spring: Since We Parted, I Do Not Know How Far You Are

bié别hòu后bù不zhī知jūn君yuǎn远jìn近

chù触mù目qī凄liáng凉duō多shǎo少mèn闷

jiàn渐xíng行jiàn渐yuǎn远jiàn渐wú无shū书

shuǐ水kuò阔yú鱼chén沉hé何chù处wèn问

yè夜shēn深fēng风zhú竹qiāo敲qiū秋yùn韵

wàn万yè叶qiān千shēng声jiē皆shì是hèn恨

gù故qī欹dān单zhěn枕mèng梦zhōng中xún寻

mèng梦yòu又bù不chéng成dēng灯yòu又jìn尽

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 source text writes the chén (sink) in the fourth line with an older form of the character. Here it uses the common modern form.

底本第四句作“水阔鱼沈”。“沈”是“沉”的古写法，这里按通行写法作“沉”。

Line by line逐句翻译

别后不知君远近Since we parted, I do not know whether you are far or near.分别以后，不知道你离我是远还是近。
触目凄凉多少闷All I see is cold and lonely, and my heart is full of gloom.眼前看到的都是冷清，心里有说不完的烦闷。
渐行渐远渐无书You go farther and farther, and little by little no letters come.你越走越远，渐渐连一封信也没有了。
水阔鱼沉何处问The water is wide and the fish have sunk; where can I ask for news of you?江水宽阔，鱼沉水底，我到哪里去打听你的消息？
夜深风竹敲秋韵Deep in the night, the wind knocks autumn sounds out of the bamboo.夜深了，风吹竹子，敲出一片秋声，
万叶千声皆是恨Thousands of leaves, thousands of sounds, and every one is sorrow.千万片叶子的声音，听起来全是离愁。
故欹单枕梦中寻On purpose I lean on my lonely pillow, hoping to find you in a dream,我特意斜靠着孤单的枕头，想到梦里去找你，
梦又不成灯又尽but no dream comes, and the lamp burns out too.可是梦没做成，灯也烧完了。

Words字词注释

君jūn: jūn: you, the one who has gone far away.君：你，指远行的那个人。
触目chù mù: chù mù: wherever the eyes fall.触目：眼睛看到的地方。
凄凉qī liáng: qī liáng: cold, lonely and sad.凄凉：冷清、悲凉。
多少闷duō shǎo mèn: duō shǎo mèn: how much gloom; that is, so much gloom.多少闷：多少烦闷，说烦闷很多。
书shū: shū: a letter.书：书信。
水阔鱼沉shuǐ kuò yú chén: shuǐ kuò yú chén: the water is wide and the fish have sunk. People once said fish could carry letters, so sunken fish mean no letters come.水阔鱼沉：江水宽阔，鱼也沉到水底。古人有鱼能传信的说法，鱼沉了，就是没有书信。
何处问hé chù wèn: hé chù wèn: where can I go to ask?何处问：到哪里去打听呢。
风竹fēng zhú: fēng zhú: bamboo moved by the wind.风竹：被风吹动的竹子。
敲秋韵qiāo qiū yùn: qiāo qiū yùn: to knock out the sounds of autumn.敲秋韵：敲出秋天的声音。
万叶千声wàn yè qiān shēng: wàn yè qiān shēng: the sounds of thousands of bamboo leaves.万叶千声：成千上万片竹叶发出的声音。
恨hèn: hèn: the sorrow of parting.恨：离别的愁苦。
故gù: gù: on purpose.故：特意、故意。
欹qī: qī: to lean on.欹：斜靠着。
单枕dān zhěn: dān zhěn: a single pillow, meaning sleeping alone.单枕：一个人的枕头，说一个人孤单地睡。
又尽yòu jìn: dēng yòu jìn: the lamp oil has burned out too, and the light is gone.灯又尽：灯油也烧完了，灯灭了。

How to read it读音

欹qī: This character means to lean, and is read qī.“欹”是斜靠的意思，读 qī。
尽jìn: Here the character means the lamp oil has burned out, so it is read jìn.“灯又尽”的“尽”是灯油烧完了，读 jìn。

Background创作背景

This lyric is about a woman missing her love far away. It is a common old kind of poem about a woman waiting and longing at home. We do not know when or why it was written. The woman and the traveler have been apart a long time, and even the letters have stopped, so she can only miss him alone on an autumn night. Many Tang and Song lyrics share this theme, and Ouyang Xiu writes it with special care.

这首词写一位女子思念远方的爱人，是古代常见的“闺怨”题材，也就是写女子在家中等待、思念的心情。具体写作时间和背景都不清楚。词里的人和远行的人分别很久，连书信都断了，只能在秋夜里独自想念。这种题材在唐宋词里很多，欧阳修写得格外细腻。

The poet作者

Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072), who called himself the Old Drunkard and later the Retired Scholar of Six Ones, was a Northern Song writer and one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of Tang and Song. His essays aim to be plain and natural, and his lyrics are fresh and tender. He often wrote about longing and parting in a woman's voice, in simple words with deep feeling, as in this lyric.

欧阳修（1007—1072），号醉翁，晚年又号六一居士，北宋文学家，“唐宋八大家”之一。他写文章讲究平易自然，写词则清新深情。他常常借女子的口吻写相思离别，语言浅白，感情却很深，这首词就是一个例子。

The mood意境

The first half shows, step by step, how all news is lost. First she does not know where he is. Then he goes farther and farther, and the letters grow fewer. At last there is nowhere even to ask. The third line uses the word jiàn, little by little, three times, like footsteps fading away, and it is lovely to read aloud. The second half is an autumn night. The wind stirs the bamboo, thousands of sounds, and to her every one is sorrow. She tries to fall asleep and meet him in a dream, but the dream will not come, and the lamp goes out. Each layer is lonelier than the last, until only the dark night and she are left.

上半首一步一步写断了消息：先是不知道你在哪儿，再是越走越远、越来越没有信，最后连打听都没处打听。“渐行渐远渐无书”连用三个“渐”字，像脚步声越来越轻，读起来特别有味道。下半首写秋夜：风吹竹叶，千声万声，在她听来全是愁。她想干脆睡着，到梦里去见他，可偏偏梦也做不成，灯也灭了。一层比一层更孤单，最后只剩黑夜和她自己。