Song lyric · ci lyric to the tune Yu Mei Ren, in two stanzas宋词 · 词·虞美人（双调）

yú虞měi美rén人·jì寄gōng公dù度

shū舒dǎn亶Shu Dan · Song宋

The Beauty Yu: Sent to Gongdu

fú芙róng蓉luò落jìn尽tiān天hán涵shuǐ水

rì日mù暮cāng沧bō波qǐ起

bèi背fēi飞shuāng双yàn燕tiē贴yún云hán寒

dú独xiàng向xiǎo小lóu楼dōng东pàn畔yǐ倚lán阑kàn看

fú浮shēng生zhǐ只hé合zūn尊qián前lǎo老

xuě雪mǎn满cháng长ān安dào道

gù故rén人zǎo早wǎn晚shàng上gāo高tái台

zèng赠wǒ我jiāng江nán南chūn春sè色yì一zhī枝méi梅

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 title Sent to Gongdu comes from common editions; the corpus gives only the tune name. In line three the corpus uses an older form of the character tiē (to cling); common editions use the modern one. The meaning is the same.

词题“寄公度”是通行本的题目，资料库只有词牌。第三句资料库作“帖云寒”，通行本作“贴云寒”，意思相同。

Line by line逐句翻译

芙蓉落尽天涵水The lotus flowers have all fallen, and the sky lies in the water;荷花已经落尽，天空倒映在水里，
日暮沧波起at dusk, blue-green waves rise.傍晚时分，青绿的水波涌起。
背飞双燕贴云寒A pair of swallows fly apart, back to back, close against the cold clouds;一对燕子背对背飞去，贴着寒冷的云层，
独向小楼东畔倚阑看alone, I go to the east side of the little tower and lean on the rail to look.我独自来到小楼东边，靠着栏杆远望。
浮生只合尊前老This floating life is fit only for growing old before the wine cup;漂泊的人生，只适合在酒杯前慢慢变老，
雪满长安道snow covers the road to the capital.大雪铺满了通往京城的大路。
故人早晚上高台Old friend, some day when you climb a high terrace,老朋友啊，哪天你登上高台的时候，
赠我江南春色一枝梅send me a sprig of plum, a piece of Jiangnan's spring.请寄给我一枝江南的梅花，捎来春天。

Words字词注释

芙蓉fú róng: fú róng: lotus flowers.芙蓉：荷花。
落尽luò jìn: luò jìn: all fallen, which shows it is late autumn.落尽：全部凋落了，说明已经是秋末。
天涵水tiān hán shuǐ: tiān hán shuǐ: the sky is held in the water, water and sky become one. Hán means to contain, to soak in.天涵水：天空倒映在水中，水天连成一片。涵，包含、沉浸。
沧波cāng bō: cāng bō: blue-green waves.沧波：青绿色的水波。
背飞bèi fēi: bèi fēi: flying back to back, in opposite directions.背飞：背对着背，朝相反的方向飞。
贴云寒tiē yún hán: tiē yún hán: flying close against the cold clouds.贴云寒：贴着寒冷的云层飞。
东畔dōng pàn: dōng pàn: the east side.东畔：东边。
倚阑yǐ lán: yǐ lán: leaning on the railing.倚阑：靠着栏杆。
浮生fú shēng: fú shēng: this floating life. People of old felt life drifts like something on water, never settled.浮生：人生。古人觉得人生像水上漂浮的东西，没有定准。
只合zhǐ hé: zhǐ hé: should only, is only fit for.只合：只应该、只适合。
尊前zūn qián: zūn qián: before the wine cup, that is, drinking. Zūn is a wine vessel.尊前：酒杯前，指饮酒。尊，酒杯。
长安道cháng ān dào: cháng ān dào: the road to the capital. Chang'an was the capital of Han and Tang; here it stands for the Northern Song capital, Bianjing.长安道：通往京城的路。长安本是汉唐的都城，这里代指北宋的京城汴京。
故人gù rén: gù rén: an old friend, here Gongdu.故人：老朋友，这里指公度。
早晚zǎo wǎn: zǎo wǎn: some day, or before long.早晚：什么时候，或者不久以后。
一枝梅yì zhī méi: yī zhī méi: a sprig of plum. Long ago Lu Kai picked a plum branch in Jiangnan and sent it to his far-off friend Fan Ye, with a poem saying Jiangnan had nothing better, so he sent one branch of spring. The line borrows this story, hoping the friend will send greetings.一枝梅：南北朝时陆凯从江南折梅花寄给远方的朋友范晔，写诗说“江南无所有，聊赠一枝春”。这里用这个故事，盼朋友寄来问候。

How to read it读音

看kàn: Today this is read kàn. Here it ends a rhyming line, and in old times it was read kān, rhyming with hán.“看”今天读 kàn。这里在韵脚上，古代读平声 kān，和“寒”押韵。

Background创作背景

Shu Dan wrote this ci for his friend Gongdu. The title word jì means to send something to someone far away. Fallen lotus and snow-covered roads show the scene is late autumn into winter. The poet climbs a tower alone, sees swallows flying apart, and thinks of his distant friend. We no longer know who Gongdu was or what year it was written. One reading says the snowy road to the capital shows that the way there is long and hard, and also hints that his life as an official is not going well.

这是舒亶写给朋友公度的词。“寄”就是寄给远方的人。从荷花落尽、大雪满路来看，写的是秋末到冬天的景色。词人独自登楼，看见燕子分飞，想起了远方的朋友。公度是谁，具体写在哪一年，已经说不清了。下片“雪满长安道”，一说是写去京城的路又远又难走，也暗指做官的路不顺。

The poet作者

Shu Dan (1041–1103) came from Cixi in Mingzhou, near today's Ningbo in Zhejiang. He was a Northern Song official and ci poet. As a censor he helped bring charges against Su Shi in the famous Crow Terrace poetry case, so history does not remember him kindly. Yet his ci are fresh and gentle, and this is his best-known work.

舒亶（1041—1103），字信道，明州慈溪（今浙江宁波一带）人，北宋官员、词人。他做御史时，参与弹劾苏轼，就是有名的“乌台诗案”，所以历史上名声不太好。可是他的词写得清新含蓄，这首是他最有名的作品。

The mood意境

The first stanza is a cold, lonely picture. The lotus has faded, water and sky are one color, and waves rise at dusk. A pair of swallows fly apart, back to back, close to the cold clouds. Swallows should stay in pairs, but these have split, just like the poet and his friend. He leans on the rail alone for a long time. The second stanza speaks from the heart. Life drifts and is never settled, so he might as well pass the days drinking. Outside, snow blocks the roads, and the world does not go his way either. Then the last lines turn: he hopes that when his friend climbs a high place, he will think of him and send a sprig of Jiangnan plum. One plum branch on a snowy day is a little piece of spring, and the warmest greeting between friends.

上片是一幅冷清的画：荷花谢了，水天一色，傍晚起了波浪；一对燕子却背对背飞开，贴着冷冷的云。燕子本该成双，现在分开了，就像词人和朋友。他一个人靠着栏杆看了很久。下片说心里话：人生漂泊不定，不如喝酒度日；外面大雪封路，世事也不顺心。最后一转，盼着朋友登高时想起他，寄来一枝江南的梅花。雪天里的一枝梅，就是一点春天，也是朋友之间最暖的问候。