ChineseStudy

Tune: Confiding What Is in the Heart (Ouyang Xiu)

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English translation

At dawn, the curtains are raised on a light frost. She warms her hands with her breath and tries a plum-blossom style of makeup. Since parting sorrow is already within her, she draws her brows long like distant hills.

Thinking of the past and mourning time’s passing soon turns to pain. She means to sing, then composes her face; she tries to smile, yet frowns again. This wavering between song and sorrow is what most breaks the heart.

词句注释 · Notes

上片 · First stanza

“梅妆”是以梅花为饰的妆容典故；“远山”在词中又形容修长的眉。妆饰和眉形把内心离恨落到具体动作上，词里没有交代离别缘由。

“Plum-blossom makeup” alludes to a traditional style of adornment, while “distant hills” describes long, graceful brows. The act of dressing gives visible form to sorrow, though the cause of separation is left unstated.

下片 · Second stanza

下片连续写“拟歌”“欲笑”又收敛、皱眉，情绪在强作轻松与难抑愁苦间摇摆。“流芳”兼指美好时光与青春，不必限定为某一件往事。

The stanza shows an unsettled face: she intends to sing or smile, but grief interrupts each gesture. “Passing fragrance” can suggest both a lovely season and youth; the poem does not tie it to one particular memory.

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