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西江月
朱敦儒
世事短如春梦[1]，
人情薄似秋云。
不须计较[2]苦劳心，
万事原来有命。
幸遇三杯酒好，
况逢一朵花新。
片时欢笑且[3]相亲，
明日阴晴未定。
注释：
[1]春梦：春日午睡时候的短梦。
[2]计较：算计。
[3]且：姑且，聊且。
The Moon over the West River
Zhu Dunru
Life is as short as a spring dream;
Love is fleetinglike autumn stream.
Don’t on gain or loss speculate!
We can’t avoid our fate.
I’m lucky to have three cups of good wine.
What’s more, I can enjoy fresh flower.
Make merry in laughter for an hour.
Who knows if tomorrow it will be fine.
注释：
The poet cannot but accept his failure.
《西江月·世事短如春梦》是南宋词人朱敦儒所作的一首词。这首小词以散文语句入词，表现了词人暮年对世情的一种彻悟，流露出一种闲适旷远的风致。起首二句是饱含辛酸的笔触，形象地表达了作者对人生的认识。接下来，笔锋一转，把世事人情的种种变化与表现归结为“命”的力量。结语两句，则又是天道无常，陷入更深的叹息。这首词对仗工整，比喻熨贴而自然，自然流转，若不经意，全词如骏马注坡，一气直下，上下文的议论，亦使得对应句尤其清新有趣。
“The Moon over the West River” is a lyric written by Zhu Dunru, a lyricist of the Southern Song Dynasty. This small lyric is written in prose, expressing the lyricist’s understanding of the world in his twilight years and revealing an idle and distant style. The first two lines are full of sour strokes, expressing the author’s understanding of life in a graphic way. Next, the author turns to attribute the changes and manifestations of world affairs and human feelings to the power of “fate”. In the two concluding lines, the author again sighs in deeper sorrow at the unpredictability of heaven’s ways. The lines are well-crafted, the metaphors are ironic and natural, and the words flow naturally, if not inadvertently, like a stallion injecting a slope in one breath.
