Song lyric · ci to the tune Zhu Ying Tai Jin, 77 characters in two stanzas宋词 · 词，词牌《祝英台近》，双调七十七字

zhù祝yīng英tái台jìn近·chú除yè夜lì立chūn春

wú吴wén文yīng英Wu Wenying · Song宋

Zhu Ying Tai Jin: New Year's Eve Falling on the Start of Spring

jiǎn剪hóng红qíng情

cái裁lǜ绿yì意

huā花xìn信shàng上chāi钗gǔ股

cán残rì日dōng东fēng风

bú不fàng放suì岁huá华qù去

yǒu有rén人tiān添zhú烛xī西chuāng窗

bù不mián眠qīn侵xiǎo晓

xiào笑shēng声zhuǎn转xīn新nián年yīng莺yǔ语

jiù旧zūn尊zǔ俎

yù玉xiān纤céng曾bò擘huáng黄gān柑

róu柔xiāng香xì系yōu幽sù素

guī归mèng梦hú湖biān边

hái还mí迷jìng镜zhōng中lù路

kě可lián怜qiān千diǎn点wú吴shuāng霜

hán寒xiāo销bú不jìn尽

yòu又xiāng相duì对luò落méi梅rú如yǔ雨

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 old edition writes the first word, to cut, in an older form. It means the same thing; we use the common modern form.

古籍本首字作“翦”，是“剪”的旧写法，意思一样。这里按通行本写作“剪”。

Line by line逐句翻译

剪红情People cut red shapes full of feeling,人们剪出红色的花样，
裁绿意Snip green shapes full of spring,裁出绿色的春意，
花信上钗股And the news of flowers already rides on their hairpins.春天的消息已经戴在了发钗上。
残日东风On the last day of the year, the east wind has come,一年的最后一天，春风已经吹来，
不放岁华去Not letting the year's time slip away.不让旧年的时光就这样走掉。
有人添烛西窗Someone adds candles by the west window;有人在西窗下添上蜡烛，
不眠侵晓No one sleeps, right until dawn,一夜不睡，一直守到天亮，
笑声转新年莺语And laughter turns into soft, oriole-like voices of the new year.笑声变成了新年里黄莺般的软语。
旧尊俎I remember the feasts of old;想起从前的酒席，
玉纤曾擘黄柑Her jade-white fingers once split a yellow tangerine for me,她那双白玉般的手曾为我掰开黄柑，
柔香系幽素And its soft fragrance tied up the deep feelings in my heart.柔柔的香气，系住了我心底的深情。
归梦湖边My dreams fly back to the lakeside,我的梦飞回了湖边，
还迷镜中路But still lose their way on the mirror-bright path.却还是在镜子般的湖光里迷了路。
可怜千点吴霜Sadly, the thousand white hairs on my head, like frost of Wu,可怜我头上千点白发，像吴地的霜，
寒销不尽Hold a cold that never melts away;这份寒冷怎么也化不尽，
又相对落梅如雨Once again I face plum petals falling like rain.又一次独自对着雨一样飘落的梅花。

Words字词注释

剪红情jiǎn hóng qíng: jiǎn hóng qíng, cái lǜ yì: at the start of spring, people cut colored silk or paper into flowers, swallows and other shapes to wear in the hair. Red and green, every cut shape carries the feeling of spring.剪红情，裁绿意：立春时，人们用彩色的绸子或纸剪成花朵、燕子等样子，戴在头上迎春。红的绿的，剪出来的都是春天的心意。
花信huā xìn: huā xìn: news of flowers blooming, that is, news that spring has come.花信：花开的消息，就是春天来了的消息。
钗股chāi gǔ: chāi gǔ: a hairpin. A chāi is a two-pronged hair ornament.钗股：发钗。钗是插在头发上的首饰，有两股。
残日cán rì: cán rì: the last day of the year, New Year's Eve.残日：一年的最后一天，就是除夕。
岁华suì huá: suì huá: the time of the year, the passing days.岁华：时光，这一年的光阴。
侵晓qīn xiǎo: qīn xiǎo: until close to dawn.侵晓：快到天亮。
莺语yīng yǔ: yīng yǔ: the song of orioles; here, the soft, lovely sound of girls laughing and talking.莺语：黄莺的叫声，这里形容女子说笑的声音又软又好听。
尊俎zūn zǔ: zūn zǔ: wine cups and meat trays; a feast.尊俎：酒杯和放肉的盘子，指酒席。
玉纤yù xiān: yù xiān: slender fingers white as jade, the hands of a beloved woman.玉纤：像玉一样白嫩纤细的手指，指心爱的女子的手。
黄柑huáng gān: huáng gān: a yellow tangerine, a winter fruit.黄柑：黄色的柑子，冬天吃的水果。
幽素yōu sù: yōu sù: deep, quiet feelings kept in the heart.幽素：心底深藏的情意。
镜中路jìng zhōng lù: jìng zhōng lù: the lake is smooth as a mirror, and the lakeside path shows in it. Some read it as a path as unreal as one in a mirror.镜中路：湖面平得像镜子，湖边的路倒映在水里。也有人认为指像镜子里一样虚幻的路。
吴霜wú shuāng: wú shuāng: frost of the Wu region, meaning white hair. The Tang poet Li He used the same image.吴霜：吴地的霜，比喻白头发。唐代李贺有“吴霜点归鬓”的句子。
销xiāo: xiāo: to melt away.销：消融，化掉。

How to read it读音

擘bò: This character is read bò here, meaning to split open with the fingers. The everyday word bāi means much the same.“擘”这里读 bò，意思是用手分开。口语里“掰”读 bāi，意思相近。
还hái: Here this character is read hái, meaning still. Another view reads it huán, meaning to go back in a dream.“还”这里读 hái，意思是仍然。一说读 huán，指梦里回去。

Background创作背景

In some years, the first day of spring falls on New Year's Eve. This lyric was written on such a night, as its title says. Wu Wenying was probably living around Suzhou then. While others stayed up laughing to see in the new year, he remembered spending the festival with a woman he loved. She is usually thought to be his companion in his Suzhou years, who later left him, but the details are no longer clear.

有的年份，立春正好赶上除夕，这首词就写在这样一个晚上。题目“除夜立春”说的就是这件事。吴文英当时大约住在苏州一带。这一夜别人在守岁欢笑，他却想起了从前和一位心爱的女子一起过节的情景。一般认为，这位女子是他在苏州时的伴侣，后来离开了他，但具体情况已经说不清。

The poet作者

Wu Wenying (about 1200 – about 1260), known by his pen name Mengchuang, came from Siming, today's Ningbo in Zhejiang. He never won an official post and spent most of his life as a guest adviser to powerful families in Suzhou and Hangzhou. His lyrics use rich, delicate words and jump from picture to picture, like pieces of brocade stitched together, so they are not easy to follow. Many of them remember a lost love, and this is one.

吴文英（约1200—约1260），号梦窗，四明（今浙江宁波）人。他一生没有考取功名，长期在苏州、杭州等地给达官贵人做门客。他的词用字精美，画面跳跃，像一块块拼起来的锦缎，不太好懂。他写了很多怀念旧日恋人的词，这首也是其中之一。

The mood意境

The first stanza is lively. Girls cut paper shapes and wear spring in their hair. New Year's Eve should end the year, yet the spring wind hurries in as if to hold time back. Candles shine by the west window, everyone stays up till dawn, and the laughter sounds like orioles. But all this joy belongs to others. The second stanza turns to the past. At a feast just like this, she split a tangerine for him with her slender hands, and its scent never left his heart. Now he can only return to the lake in dreams, and even there he loses the way. At the end he looks at his white hair, like frost that will not melt, and faces plum petals falling like rain. Set beside the cheer of the new spring, his loneliness feels even colder.

上片热闹：女孩子们剪彩纸迎春，把春天戴在头上；除夕本来是一年的结束，春风却赶来了，好像不让时光溜走；西窗下烛光通明，大家守岁到天亮，笑声像黄莺在叫。可这些热闹都是别人的。下片一转，词人想起从前：也是这样的酒席，她用纤细的手为他掰开黄柑，香气一直留在他心里。如今只能在梦里回到湖边，却连路都找不到了。最后，他看着自己满头白发，像化不开的霜，对着纷纷飘落的梅花。新春的喜气和他心里的冷清放在一起，越显得孤单。