Tune: Rain-Bell (Liu Yong)
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
寒蝉凄切,对长亭晚,骤雨初歇。都门帐饮无绪,留恋处、兰舟催发。执手相看泪眼,竟无语凝噎。念去去、千里烟波,暮霭沉沉楚天阔。
English translation
Cicadas cry in grief beside the post-station pavilion at dusk, just after a sudden shower. A farewell drink outside the capital brings no pleasure; while the lovers linger, the boat is already urging departure. They clasp hands and meet each other’s tearful gaze, unable to speak through their sobs. The journey will stretch on through miles of misty water, beneath the vast, darkening sky of Chu.
Original Chinese text
多情自古伤离别,更那堪、冷落清秋节!今宵酒醒何处?杨柳岸、晓风残月。此去经年,应是良辰好景虚设。便纵有千种风情,更与何人说?
English translation
Those who love deeply have always suffered at parting; how much more so in the desolate season of late autumn. Where will I wake from drink tonight? Perhaps on a willow-lined shore, in the dawn wind beneath a fading moon. Years will pass; even fine days and beautiful scenes will feel wasted. And even if a thousand tender feelings remain, to whom could I tell them?
词句注释 · Notes
上片 · First stanza
上片把离别落在一连串具体动作中:设帐饯行、船催启程、执手凝噎。结尾由眼前长亭推向千里烟波和楚天暮霭,空间骤然拉远。
The stanza makes parting concrete through a sequence of actions: a farewell tent, a boat urging departure, hands clasped, and speech choked off. Its ending moves from the nearby pavilion to miles of mist and the broad dusk sky, suddenly widening the distance.
下片 · Second stanza
下片先以“自古”概括离情,随即落到“今宵”酒醒的想象。杨柳、晓风、残月并非实景记录,而是离人预想的孤旅清晨;末句把愁绪收束到无人可诉。
The stanza begins with a broad reflection on separation, then narrows to an imagined dawn after tonight’s drinking. The willow, morning wind, and fading moon are not a report of what has happened, but the traveler’s anticipated loneliness. The final question leaves the speaker with no one to confide in.