《鹊踏枝·花外寒鸡》是唐代词人冯延巳创作的一首词。冯延巳是五代十国时期著名词人、宰相。仕于南唐烈祖、中主二朝，三度拜相，官终太子太傅，卒谥忠肃。他的词多写闲情逸致，文人的气息很浓，对北宋初期的词人有比较大的影响。宋初《钓矶立谈》评其“学问渊博，文章颖发，辩说纵横”，有词集《阳春集》传世。
The poem ‘Magpies Treading on Branches, Cold Chicken Outside Flowers’ was created by the Tang Dynasty poet Feng Yansi. Feng Yansi was a famous poet and prime minister during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He served in the Southern Tang Dynasty’s Liezu and Zhongzhu reigns, and was appointed as a prime minister three times. He was eventually promoted to the position of Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince and posthumously honored with the title of Zhongsu. His poems often depict leisurely emotions and a strong literary atmosphere, which had a significant influence on the poets of the early Northern Song Dynasty. In the early Song Dynasty, the book “Diaoji Litan” praised him for his “profound knowledge, outstanding writing, and excellent argumentation”. There is a collection of poems called “Yangchun Collection” that has been passed down.
冯延巳·《鹊踏枝·花外寒鸡》
花外寒鸡天欲曙，
香印成灰，
起坐浑无绪。
檐际高桐凝宿雾，
卷帘双鹊惊飞去。
屏上罗衣闲绣缕，
一晌关情，
忆遍江南路。
夜夜梦魂休谩语，
已知前事无寻处。
To “Ch’üeh T’a Chih” (IV)
Feng Yen-ssu
Beyond the blossoms, cold cockcrow, the day about to dawn:
Incense cakes have turned to ashes;
Up or at rest, I am utterly distracted.
Tall phoenix trees at the edge of the eaves transfix the overnight fog;
I roll up the blinds and a pair of magpies flies away in alarm.
Draped over a screen, a gossamer gown, idle embroidered strands;
Just for a moment my heart is full,
As I remember all the roads of the sunny south.
Night after night my dreaming soul gives up its empty fantasies,
For now I know that nowhere can the bygone past be sought.
（Daniel Bryant 译）
