Tune: Butterflies in Love with Flowers (Yan Shu)
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
六曲阑干偎碧树，杨柳风轻，展尽黄金缕。谁把钿筝移玉柱，穿帘海燕双飞去。
English translation
A six-bend railing leans against green trees. A light breeze stirs the willows, spreading their golden threads. Who has shifted the bridges on the ornamented zither? Through the curtain, a pair of swallows flies away.
Original Chinese text
满眼游丝兼落絮，红杏开时，一霎清明雨。浓睡觉来莺乱语，惊残好梦无寻处。
English translation
The view is full of floating gossamer and fallen willow fluff. As red apricots bloom, a brief Qingming shower passes. Waking from deep sleep, the speaker hears orioles chattering; the pleasant dream has been broken and cannot be found again.
词句注释 · Notes
上片 · First stanza
上片由栏杆、绿树、柳丝写春日庭院，再让筝声和双燕加入画面。“玉柱”是筝上的弦柱；谁在弹筝并未明说，保留画面中的悬想。
The railing, trees, and willow threads establish a spring courtyard before the zither and paired swallows enter. The “jade bridges” are the zither’s movable bridges; the player is left unnamed.
下片 · Second stanza
下片以游丝、落絮和清明雨写春日易逝，继而转入午睡梦醒。莺声本是春景，却惊破好梦；“无寻处”把梦境消散与春光难留叠在一起。
Gossamer, willow fluff, and a Qingming shower suggest how fleeting spring is. The orioles’ song belongs to the season but breaks the dream; “nowhere to find” joins the vanished dream to passing spring.