宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
采桑子·画船载酒西湖好
Tune: 'Cai Sang Zi' — A Painted Boat Carries Wine, the West Lake Is Fair
画船载酒西湖好，急管繁弦，玉盏催传，稳泛平波任醉眠。
行云却在行舟下，空水澄鲜，俯仰留连，疑是湖中别有天。
The drifting clouds lie beneath the moving boat; empty water, clear and bright; looking up and down, loath to leave — as if within the lake there were another heaven.
Meaning
A leisurely boating song on the West Lake at Yingzhou. The upper part revels in sound and wine — painted boats, music, and jade cups passed around as the boat drifts and the drinkers doze. The lower part turns to the mirror-calm water where clouds seem to float beneath the boat, suggesting a second heaven in the lake. The whole lyric celebrates idle pleasure and the lake's uncanny beauty.
画船载酒西湖好，急管繁弦，玉盏催传，稳泛平波任醉眠。 行云却在行舟下，空水澄鲜，俯仰留连，疑是湖中别有天。
Appreciation
Ouyang Xiu wrote ten 'Cai Sang Zi' lyrics on the West Lake of Yingzhou in his late years; this one is a hymn to idle pleasure. [Plain Paraphrase] A painted boat bears wine across a beautiful lake; pipes clamor and jade cups circulate while the vessel rides the calm waves and the drinkers sink into drunken sleep. Then the scene shifts: clouds drift beneath the boat, water and sky are limpid, and the poet, gazing up and down, suspects a second heaven within the lake. [Structure] The upper stanza accumulates sensory opulence — sound (urgent pipes), sight (painted boat), and touch (jade cups, calm waves) — to stage indulgence. The lower stanza suddenly falls silent and clears: the noisy foreground drops away, leaving only clouds, clear water, and a wondering mind. [Imagery] The miracle is the inverted reflection: 'clouds lie beneath the boat' turns the sky into a floor, making the lake a complete world. The phrase 'another heaven' lifts leisure into the marvelous. The movement from bustle to limpid stillness, then to fantasy, is the poem's quiet engine.
【白话串讲】 欧阳修写《采桑子·画船载酒西湖好》：“画船载酒西湖好，急管繁弦，玉盏催传，稳泛平波任醉眠”——“行云却在行舟下，空水澄鲜，俯仰留连，疑是湖中别有天”——他写西湖泛舟。 【意象与手法】 此词写西湖，以游乐写西湖，是欧阳修的名篇。上阕写载酒：「画船载酒西湖好，急管繁弦，玉盏催传，稳泛平波任醉眠」写画船载酒西湖好、急管繁弦、玉盏催传——写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠；下阕写水天：「行云却在行舟下，空水澄鲜，俯仰留连，疑是湖中别有天」写行云却在行舟下、空水澄鲜、俯仰留连——写尽湖中别有的天。全词以游乐写西湖，写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠与湖中别有的天，是欧阳修的代表作。 【情感与主旨】 此词写西湖，以游乐写西湖，是欧阳修的名篇。此词为欧阳修咏颍州西湖之作，写其载酒泛舟的乐趣。欧阳修晚年知颍州，作《采桑子》十首咏西湖，此为其一。此词写画船载酒西湖好，急管繁弦，玉盏催传，稳泛平波任醉眠；行云却在行舟下，空水澄鲜，俯仰留连，疑是湖中别有天。此词写载酒：画船载酒西湖好，急管繁弦，玉盏催传，稳泛平波任醉眠——写画船载酒西湖好、急管繁弦、玉盏催传，写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠；行云却在行舟下，空水澄鲜，俯仰留连，疑是湖中别有天——写行云却在行舟下、空水澄鲜、俯仰留连，写尽湖中别有的天。全词以游乐写西湖——那「稳泛平波任醉眠」写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠，「疑是湖中别有天」写尽湖中别有的天，写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠与湖中别有的天，是理解欧阳修西湖词的重要篇章。 【名句点睛】 常考「画船载酒西湖好，急管繁弦，玉盏催传」写稳泛平波的任醉眠；「疑是湖中别有天」写湖中别有的天；以及全词以游乐写西湖、以倒影写西湖的手法。
Background
Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072), courtesy name Yongshu, art names Zuiweng ('Drunkard') and Liuyi Jushi, was born in Yongfeng, Jiangxi. A Northern Song statesman who rose to vice grand councilor and a towering man of letters — counted among the 'Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song' and, with Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, and Su Shi, the 'Four Great Essayists of All Ages.' As a lyricist he led the graceful (婉约, wanyue) mode. In his later years, while serving at Yingzhou, he composed ten 'Cai Sang Zi' songs on its West Lake; this is one, a record of boating with wine and the lake's serene wonder.
此词写西湖，以游乐写西湖，是欧阳修的名篇。欧阳修（1007—1072），字永叔，号醉翁、六一居士，吉州永丰（今江西吉安）人，北宋政治家、文学家，官至参知政事，为「唐宋八大家」之一，与韩愈、柳宗元、苏轼合称「千古文章四大家」。此词为欧阳修咏颍州西湖之作，写其载酒泛舟的乐趣。欧阳修晚年知颍州，作《采桑子》十首咏西湖，此为其一。此词写画船载酒西湖好，急管繁弦，玉盏催传，稳泛平波任醉眠；行云却在行舟下，空水澄鲜，俯仰留连，疑是湖中别有天。此词写载酒：「画船载酒西湖好，急管繁弦，玉盏催传，稳泛平波任醉眠」写画船载酒西湖好、急管繁弦、玉盏催传——写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠（画船载酒西湖好，急管繁弦，玉盏催传，稳泛平波任醉眠）；「行云却在行舟下，空水澄鲜，俯仰留连，疑是湖中别有天」写行云却在行舟下、空水澄鲜、俯仰留连——写尽湖中别有的天（行云却在行舟下，空水澄鲜，俯仰留连，疑是湖中别有天）。全词以游乐写西湖，写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠与湖中别有的天，是理解欧阳修西湖词的重要篇章。
Art
The art works through contrast and inversion. First, direct assertion: 'a painted boat carries wine — the West Lake is fair' states pleasure outright, then 'urgent pipes and thronging strings' floods the line with sound. Second, plain sketch for revelry: 'jade cups pressed round' and 'steady it floats... free to drunken sleep' render intoxication unpretentiously, letting the body's ease carry the feeling. Third, the central device is the inverted reflection: 'the drifting clouds lie beneath the moving boat' places the sky under the hull, so the lake becomes a second, complete cosmos; 'empty water, clear and bright' prepares this optical wonder. Fourth, imagination closes the turn: 'as if within the lake there were another heaven' lifts fact into fantasy. The upper stanza is all noise and color, the lower all clarity and wonder; bustle sets off emptiness, motion sets off stillness, and the final line opens a virtual realm — Ouyang Xiu's masterstroke of 'writing beauty through pleasure, truth through fantasy.'
此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以直抒写西湖。「画船载酒西湖好」以直抒写西湖——那「急管繁弦」写尽急管的繁弦，以直抒写尽画船载酒的西湖好。其二，以白描写游乐。「玉盏催传」以白描写游乐——那「稳泛平波任醉眠」写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠，以白描写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠。其三，以倒影写水天。「行云却在行舟下」以倒影写水天——那「空水澄鲜」写尽空水的澄鲜，以倒影写尽湖中别有的天。其四，以想象写奇幻。「疑是湖中别有天」以想象写奇幻——那「俯仰留连」写尽俯仰的留连，以想象写尽湖中别有的天。此外，此词上阕写稳泛平波的任醉眠，下阕写湖中别有的天，由乐及幻，正是西湖词「以幻写美」的写法。四重手法，使此词以游乐写西湖，写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠与湖中别有的天，是欧阳修的代表作。又，此词上阕极写声色之盛（急管繁弦、玉盏催传），下阕忽转水天澄澈之静（行云在舟下、空水澄鲜），以热闹衬清空、以动衬静；结句「疑是湖中别有天」由实景生出虚境，把西湖之美推至奇幻，正是欧阳修「以乐写美、以幻写真」的高妙处。
Allusions
The vocabulary belongs to the long traditions of the West Lake and of outings with wine. 'Painted boat' recalls 'sleeping to the rain in a painted boat'; 'carries wine' the old custom of floating cups in scholarly gatherings; 'the West Lake is fair' echoes Su Shi's 'why not compare the West Lake to Lady Xi.' 'Urgent pipes and thronging strings' summons Bai Juyi's 'Pipa Xing' ('loud strings like sudden rain'), and 'jade cups' the golden goblets of Li Bai. 'Drifting clouds' evokes 'clouds and flowing water,' while 'empty water, clear and bright' consciously cites Xie Lingyun's 'empty water shares one clear brightness.' Drawing on this reservoir, Ouyang Xiu writes leisure through pleasure, his graceful plainness carrying forward the West Lake tradition.
此词的用语深植于西湖与游乐传统。「画船」令人想到「画船」写画船的意象——也令人想到「画船听雨眠」的意象；「载酒」令人想到「载酒」写载酒的意象——也令人想到「载酒问字」的意象；「西湖好」令人想到「西湖好」写西湖的意象——也令人想到「欲把西湖比西子」（苏轼）的意象；「急管繁弦」令人想到「急管繁弦」写乐声的意象——也令人想到「大弦嘈嘈如急雨」（白居易）的意象；「玉盏」令人想到「玉盏」写玉杯的意象——也令人想到「金樽清酒斗十千」（李白）的意象；「催传」令人想到「催传」写传杯的意象——也令人想到「飞觞走斝」的意象；「醉眠」令人想到「醉眠」写醉眠的意象——也令人想到「醉卧沙场君莫笑」（王翰）的意象；「行云」令人想到「行云」写行云的意象——也令人想到「行云流水」的意象；「空水」令人想到「空水」写水天的意象——也令人想到「空水共澄鲜」（谢灵运）的意象；「澄鲜」令人想到「澄鲜」写澄澈的意象——也令人想到「空水共澄鲜」的意象；「留连」令人想到「留连」写留连的意象——也令人想到「留连戏蝶时时舞」（杜甫）的意象。全词化用画船、载酒、西湖好、急管繁弦、玉盏、催传、醉眠、行云、空水、澄鲜、留连的意象，以游乐写西湖，正是欧阳修「婉约」而善白描、承西湖传统写游乐之本领。
Commentary
Long ranked a masterpiece of Ouyang Xiu's West Lake lyrics and a representative Song treatment of boating on the lake, the piece earns high praise: Qing critics called it 'leisure through the lake, lucid and spacious,' and modern readers prize 'a painted boat carries wine... jade cups pressed round' as its famous passage. It belongs to the same set as 'Cai Sang Zi · A Light Skiff with Short Oars,' where one sings 'green water winds on' and this one 'a painted boat carries wine' — one spare, one opulent, together showing the range of the ten Yingzhou lyrics. For the modern reader it opens a window onto his lake verse, and that 'another heaven within the lake' still speaks of drifting ease across the centuries.
此词历来被推为欧阳修西湖词的名篇，也是宋词写泛舟西湖的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以游乐写西湖，清丽疏朗」；近人更指出「画船载酒西湖好，急管繁弦，玉盏催传」写稳泛平波的任醉眠，是此词的名句。在诗歌史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以小令写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠与湖中别有的天——那画船，那载酒，那西湖好，那急管，那繁弦，那玉盏，那催传，那稳泛，那平波，那任醉眠，那行云，那却在行舟下，那空水，那澄鲜，那俯仰，那留连，那疑是，那湖中，那别有天，都写尽了欧阳修笔下的采桑子画船载酒西湖好；那「疑是湖中别有天」更以想象写尽湖中别有的天。此词与欧阳修《采桑子·轻舟短棹西湖好》「轻舟短棹西湖好」同组，一写「绿水逶迤」的轻舟短棹，一写「画船载酒」的载酒西湖；一写清空，一写繁盛。两词对读，可见欧阳修西湖十首的多样。对于今日读者，此词是理解欧阳修西湖词的窗口，也是宋词写泛舟西湖的经典——那湖中别有的天，穿越千年，仍在诉说着稳泛平波的任醉眠。
Prosody
Line by line
画船载酒西湖好，急管繁弦，玉盏催传，稳泛平波任醉眠
A painted boat carries wine — the West Lake is fair; urgent pipes and thronging strings, jade cups pressed round, steady it floats the calm waves, free to drunken sleep.
画船载酒西湖好，急管繁弦，玉盏催传，稳泛平波任醉眠。
A painted boat carrying wine—how fine is West Lake; shrill pipes and busy strings, jade cups passed round in haste, we drift steadily on the calm waves and let ourselves sleep off the wine.
此四句是全词写载酒的核心，以画船载酒西湖好写西湖好，以急管繁弦写繁弦，以玉盏催传写催传，以稳泛平波任醉眠写醉眠，写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠，是千古名句。「画船载酒西湖好」写画船载酒西湖好——那「画船载酒」写画船载酒，「西湖好」写西湖好，写尽画船载酒的西湖好；「急管繁弦」写急管繁弦——那「急管」写急管，「繁弦」写繁弦，写尽急管的繁弦；「玉盏催传」写玉盏催传——那「玉盏」写玉盏，「催传」写催传，写尽玉盏的催传；「稳泛平波任醉眠」写稳泛平波任醉眠——那「稳泛平波」写稳泛平波，「任醉眠」写任醉眠，写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠。这句的深意在于：它以「画船载酒西湖好」的西湖好、「急管繁弦」的繁弦、「玉盏催传」的催传与「稳泛平波任醉眠」的醉眠，写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠——画船载酒西湖好，那「画船载酒西湖好」写尽画船载酒的西湖好——画船载酒西湖好，正是画船载酒泛西湖的写照，那「西湖好」写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠；急管繁弦，那「急管繁弦」写尽急管的繁弦——急管繁弦，正是管弦交奏的写照，那「繁弦」写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠；玉盏催传，那「玉盏催传」写尽玉盏的催传——玉盏催传，正是玉杯传饮的写照，那「催传」写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠；稳泛平波任醉眠，那「稳泛平波任醉眠」写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠——稳泛平波任醉眠，正是泛舟醉眠的写照，那「醉眠」写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠；那「画船载酒西湖好」写尽画船载酒的西湖好，那「急管繁弦」写尽急管的繁弦，那「玉盏催传」写尽玉盏的催传，那「稳泛平波任醉眠」写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠，一写西湖好，一写繁弦，一写催传，一写醉眠，写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠——画船载酒而泛舟醉眠，正是游乐的写照；此四句以西湖好、繁弦、催传、醉眠写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠，也为下文的行云作铺垫，也让此四句成为全词写载酒的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「画船载着酒游西湖很好，急管繁弦，玉杯催传，稳稳地泛在平波上任凭醉眠」，则失其疏朗；唯以「画船载酒西湖好」写西湖好、「急管繁弦」写繁弦、「玉盏催传」写催传、「稳泛平波任醉眠」写醉眠，写尽稳泛平波的任醉眠，也让此四句成为全词写载酒的核心。
Ouyang Xiu opens his West Lake cycle by announcing the pleasure and then refusing to hurry it. A painted boat loaded with wine declares the occasion; the shrill pipes and busy strings and the jade cups passed in a hasty circle set the music going; but the climax is drift—the boat gliding steadily on the level waves while the drinker lets himself fall asleep. The rush of the feast (busy strings, hurried cups) is deliberately set against the perfect calm of the water, and the poem's point is that the good time is not the noise but the safe drowse it leads to. To have described a lively party on the lake would miss the relaxation; the steady floating and the sleep are the luxury.
行云却在行舟下，空水澄鲜，俯仰留连，疑是湖中别有天
The drifting clouds lie beneath the moving boat; empty water, clear and bright; looking up and down, loath to leave — as if within the lake there were another heaven.
行云却在行舟下，空水澄鲜，俯仰留连，疑是湖中别有天。
Drifting clouds are actually beneath the moving boat; sky and water are one clear freshness, looking up and down I linger—could the lake hold another heaven?
此四句是全词写水天的核心，以行云却在行舟下写行舟下，以空水澄鲜写澄鲜，以俯仰留连写留连，以疑是湖中别有天写别有天，写尽湖中别有的天，是千古名句。「行云却在行舟下」写行云却在行舟下——那「行云」写行云，「却在行舟下」写却在行舟下，写尽行云的行舟下；「空水澄鲜」写空水澄鲜——那「空水」写空水，「澄鲜」写澄鲜，写尽空水的澄鲜；「俯仰留连」写俯仰留连——那「俯仰」写俯仰，「留连」写留连，写尽俯仰的留连；「疑是湖中别有天」写疑是湖中别有天——那「疑是」写疑是，「湖中别有天」写湖中别有天，写尽湖中别有的天。这句的深意在于：它以「行云却在行舟下」的行舟下、「空水澄鲜」的澄鲜、「俯仰留连」的留连与「疑是湖中别有天」的别有天，写尽湖中别有的天——行云却在行舟下，那「行云却在行舟下」写尽行云的行舟下——行云却在行舟下，正是云影映水的写照，那「行舟下」写尽湖中别有的天；空水澄鲜，那「空水澄鲜」写尽空水的澄鲜——空水澄鲜，正是水天澄澈的写照，那「澄鲜」写尽湖中别有的天；俯仰留连，那「俯仰留连」写尽俯仰的留连——俯仰留连，正是左顾右盼的写照，那「留连」写尽湖中别有的天；疑是湖中别有天，那「疑是湖中别有天」写尽湖中别有的天——疑是湖中别有天，正是湖中有天的写照，那「别有天」写尽湖中别有的天；那「行云却在行舟下」写尽行云的行舟下，那「空水澄鲜」写尽空水的澄鲜，那「俯仰留连」写尽俯仰的留连，那「疑是湖中别有天」写尽湖中别有的天，一写行舟下，一写澄鲜，一写留连，一写别有天，写尽湖中别有的天——云影映水而湖中有天，正是奇幻的写照；此四句以行舟下、澄鲜、留连、别有天写尽湖中别有的天，也让此四句成为全词写水天的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「行云却在行舟下面，水天澄澈，俯仰流连，疑心湖中别有天地」，则失其奇幻；唯以「行云却在行舟下」写行舟下、「空水澄鲜」写澄鲜、「俯仰留连」写留连、「疑是湖中别有天」写别有天，写尽湖中别有的天，也让此四句成为全词写水天的核心。
The second stanza discovers that the lake has turned the world inside out. The drifting clouds, which ought to be overhead, are actually beneath the boat—reflected in water so still and clear that sky and lake become one luminous surface. Looking up and looking down become the same act, and the lingering on either side makes the poet wonder whether the lake contains a separate heaven. The wonder is precise: it is not that the water is beautiful, but that the reflection has abolished the difference between above and below. This is Ouyang Xiu at his most serene. To have said the lake was so clear you could see the sky in it would be observation; the suspicion of a second heaven is the feeling.
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Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
欧阳修《采桑子·轻舟短棹西湖好》「轻舟短棹西湖好，绿水逶迤」写西湖，是欧阳修的名篇。此词《采桑子·画船载酒西湖好》则「画船载酒西湖好」写西湖。同为欧阳修西湖词，一写「绿水逶迤」的轻舟短棹，一写「急管繁弦」的载酒西湖；一写清空，一写繁盛。两词对读，可见欧阳修西湖十首的多样。
饮湖上初晴后雨 Drinking on the Lake, First Clear Then Rain 苏轼 · 同写西湖，一欲把西湖比西子一画船载酒西湖好 Both depict the West Lake: one 'why not compare the West Lake to Lady Xi,' one 'a painted boat carries wine.'Su Shi's 'Drinking on the Lake, First Clear Then Rain' ('shimmering water at sunrise, misty hills in rain') is a famous West Lake poem. This 'Cai Sang Zi' also sings the lake with 'a painted boat carries wine.' Both depict the West Lake — one's 'why not compare it to Lady Xi' is a poem, the other's 'as if within the lake there were another heaven' is a lyric; one in shi, one in ci. Read together they show two brushes on the same lake.
苏轼《饮湖上初晴后雨》「水光潋滟晴方好，山色空蒙雨亦奇」写西湖，是苏轼的名篇。此词《采桑子·画船载酒西湖好》则「画船载酒西湖好」写西湖。同写西湖，一写「欲把西湖比西子」的饮湖上初晴后雨，一写「疑是湖中别有天」的采桑子；一写诗，一写词。两作对读，可见写西湖的两种笔墨。