Tune: Treading on Grass I (Yan Shu)
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
祖席离歌，长亭别宴，香尘已隔犹回面。居人匹马映林嘶，行人去棹依波转。
English translation
Farewell songs sound at the parting feast beside the long pavilion. Though the scented road dust already lies between them, the departing figure still turns back. The one who remains sits on a horse that neighs by the trees; the traveler’s boat turns with the current.
Original Chinese text
画阁魂消，高楼目断，斜阳只送平波远。无穷无尽是离愁，天涯地角寻思遍。
English translation
In the painted pavilion, the heart sinks; from the high tower, the gaze reaches its limit. The setting sun can only accompany the level waves as they carry the traveler away. Parting sorrow seems endless, thought roaming to every edge of the earth.
词句注释 · Notes
上片 · First stanza
上片把送别双方分别写出：一人在岸上骑马，一人乘舟远行。“犹回面”与马嘶、船转都是临别动作，让离别从抽象情绪落在可见场景中。
The stanza gives each side of the farewell its own image: one remains on horseback, the other departs by boat. A backward glance, a neigh, and the turning vessel make separation visible.
下片 · Second stanza
下片由远望转入内心。“目断”写视线追到尽头，“只送”写夕阳无法代人挽留。结尾以“寻思遍”表达反复思量，不是说真的遍历天涯。
The stanza turns from watching to inward feeling. The gaze follows until sight fails, while the sun can only accompany the water. “Thinking to every horizon” conveys restless reflection, not literal travel.