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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

贺新郎·把酒长亭说

He Xin Lang: Drinking at the Long Pavilion

辛弃疾

Xin Qiji

送别Farewell 感慨Sorrow and Lament

把酒长亭说。
看渊明、风流酷似，卧龙诸葛。
何处飞来林间鹊，蹙踏松梢微雪。
要破帽多添华发。
剩水残山无态度，被疏梅料理成风月。
两三雁，也萧瑟。
佳人重约还轻别。
怅清江、天寒不渡，水深冰合。
路断车轮生四角，此地行人销骨。
问谁使、君来愁绝？
铸就而今相思错，料当初、费尽人间铁。
长夜笛，莫吹裂。

Drinking, we talk at the long pavilion.>
In your bearing you are Yuanming's, in your spirit Zhuge Liang's.>
From where does the magpie come, to press the thin snow off the pine tops?>
It only adds grey hair to my broken cap.>
The remaining waters and the ruined hills have no grace at all; only the sparse plum arranges them into a scene of wind and moon.>
Two or three wild geese — even they are desolate.>
The fair one honours our promise, yet parts too lightly.>
I grieve that the clear river cannot be crossed in this bitter season, so deep the water, so hard the ice.>
The road is cut; the wheels grow four corners; the travellers here are ground to the bone.>
Ask who it was that brought you to this utter grief.>
The mistake of longing for you is cast in iron today; I know that at the beginning the iron of the whole world was spent in vain.>
O flute of the long night, do not blow until you crack.

Listen

Meaning

This tune turns farewell into lament. Cup in hand at the roadside pavilion, the speaker tells his departing friend that the two are kindred spirits — free as Tao Yuanming, buried as Zhuge Liang. Snow on the pine tops, grey hair under a broken cap, sparse plum, two or three geese: the landscape is stripped of every comfort before the friend even leaves. Then he goes, and the river is iced over, the road broken so that wheels seem to grow horns, and the parting itself grinds the traveller to the bone. The heart of the poem is the couplet on the error cast in iron — a self-indictment that forgives nothing and blames everything on the speaker's own heart.

把酒长亭说。看渊明、风流酷似，卧龙诸葛。何处飞来林间鹊，蹙踏松梢微雪。要破帽多添华发。剩水残山无态度，被疏梅料理成风月。两三雁，也萧瑟。佳人重约还轻别。怅清江、天寒不渡，水深冰合。路断车轮生四角，此地行人销骨。问谁使、君来愁绝？铸就而今相思错，料当初、费尽人间铁。长夜笛，莫吹裂。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The poem speaks at a long pavilion to a friend about to leave. It says plainly that the friend is like Yuanming and like Zhuge Liang; it watches a magpie shake the snow from the pines; it grieves over a river that will not be crossed and a road that has broken.[Structure] The two stanzas fall cleanly apart. The first holds the scene of the parting — pavilion, wine, snow, plum, geese — and ends on the desolate geese. The second turns to the grief of separation: iced river, broken road, a question with no answer, and finally the self-reproach over a love that cost the iron of the world.[Imagery] Almost every noun is diminished: 'remaining waters' and 'ruined hills,' a 'sparse' plum, 'two or three' geese. Even the magpie, a bird of luck, only shakes snow onto a head already grey. Nothing in the picture is whole or warm.[Sentiment] The farewell is not softened; it is swallowed. 'Ask who it is that brought you to this' is never answered, and the flute at the end is left unplayed — an instrument that must not be blown open. The famous couplet then converts personal loss into a manufactured object: regret that can be weighed, and paid for.

【白话串讲】辛弃疾写《贺新郎·把酒长亭说》：“把酒长亭说”——“看渊明、风流酷似，卧龙诸葛”——“剩水残山无态度，被疏梅料理成风月”——“两三雁，也萧瑟”——“佳人重约还轻别”——他写与陈亮的长亭话别。【意象与手法】此词写送别，以感慨写送别，是辛弃疾的名篇。上阕写长亭：「把酒长亭说。看渊明、风流酷似，卧龙诸葛。何处飞来林间鹊，蹙踏松梢微雪。要破帽多添华发。剩水残山无态度，被疏梅料理成风月。两三雁，也萧瑟」写把酒长亭说、看渊明、风流酷似——写尽看渊明的风流酷似；下阕写愁绝：「佳人重约还轻别。怅清江、天寒不渡，水深冰合。路断车轮生四角，此地行人销骨。问谁使、君来愁绝？铸就而今相思错，料当初、费尽人间铁。长夜笛，莫吹裂」写佳人重约还轻别、怅清江、天寒不渡——写尽怅清江的天寒不渡。全词以感慨写送别，写尽看渊明的风流酷似与怅清江的天寒不渡，是辛弃疾的代表作。【情感与主旨】此词写送别，以感慨写送别，是辛弃疾的名篇。此词为辛弃疾送别友人而作，写其长亭送别之情与感慨。辛弃疾此词写其与友人长亭把酒话别。此词写把酒长亭说；看渊明、风流酷似，卧龙诸葛；何处飞来林间鹊，蹙踏松梢微雪；要破帽多添华发；剩水残山无态度，被疏梅料理成风月；两三雁，也萧瑟；佳人重约还轻别；怅清江、天寒不渡，水深冰合；路断车轮生四角，此地行人销骨；问谁使、君来愁绝；铸就而今相思错，料当初、费尽人间铁；长夜笛，莫吹裂。此词写长亭：把酒长亭说——写把酒长亭说，写尽把酒长亭的说；看渊明、风流酷似，卧龙诸葛——写看渊明、风流酷似、卧龙诸葛，写尽看渊明的风流酷似；何处飞来林间鹊，蹙踏松梢微雪——写何处飞来林间鹊、蹙踏松梢微雪，写尽蹙踏松梢的微雪；要破帽多添华发——写要破帽多添华发，写尽破帽多添的华发；剩水残山无态度，被疏梅料理成风月——写剩水残山无态度、被疏梅料理成风月，写尽被疏梅料理的风月；两三雁，也萧瑟——写两三雁、也萧瑟，写尽两三雁的萧瑟。下阕写愁绝：佳人重约还轻别——写佳人重约还轻别，写尽佳人重约的轻别；怅清江、天寒不渡，水深冰合——写怅清江、天寒不渡、水深冰合，写尽怅清江的天寒不渡；路断车轮生四角，此地行人销骨——写路断车轮生四角、此地行人销骨，写尽此地行人的销骨；问谁使、君来愁绝——写问谁使、君来愁绝，写尽君来愁绝的问谁；铸就而今相思错，料当初、费尽人间铁——写铸就而今相思错、料当初、费尽人间铁，写尽费尽人间铁的相思错；长夜笛，莫吹裂——写长夜笛、莫吹裂，写尽长夜笛的莫吹裂。全词以感慨写送别——那「看渊明、风流酷似」写尽看渊明的风流酷似，「铸就而今相思错」写尽费尽人间铁的相思错，写尽看渊明的风流酷似与怅清江的天寒不渡，是理解辛弃疾送别词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「把酒长亭说。看渊明、风流酷似，卧龙诸葛」写看渊明的风流酷似；「铸就而今相思错，料当初、费尽人间铁」写费尽人间铁的相思错；以及全词以感慨写送别、以用典写送别的手法。

Background

Xin Qiji (1140–1207), courtesy name You'an, so-called Jiaxuan, was born in Licheng, present-day Jinan, and spent his life as a southern official who never abandoned the wish to recover the northern lands lost to the Jin. Paired with Su Shi as the two great 'heroic' cipai writers, he is also called, with Li Qingzhao, one of the 'two masters of Jinan.' His long tunes are the shape in which his grievance found voice. This ci, written at a roadside pavilion while seeing a friend departure, has long ranked among his farewell masterpieces, and modern readers of the poem usually know it through the single couplet about the iron.

此词写送别，以感慨写送别，是辛弃疾的名篇。辛弃疾（1140—1207），字幼安，号稼轩，历城（今山东济南）人，南宋豪放派词人，与苏轼并称「苏辛」，与李清照并称「济南二安」。此词为辛弃疾送别友人而作，写其长亭送别之情与感慨。辛弃疾此词写其与友人长亭把酒话别。此词写把酒长亭说；看渊明、风流酷似，卧龙诸葛；何处飞来林间鹊，蹙踏松梢微雪；要破帽多添华发；剩水残山无态度，被疏梅料理成风月；两三雁，也萧瑟；佳人重约还轻别；怅清江、天寒不渡，水深冰合；路断车轮生四角，此地行人销骨；问谁使、君来愁绝；铸就而今相思错，料当初、费尽人间铁；长夜笛，莫吹裂。此词写长亭：「把酒长亭说」写把酒长亭说——写尽把酒长亭的说（把酒长亭说）；「看渊明、风流酷似，卧龙诸葛」写看渊明、风流酷似、卧龙诸葛——写尽看渊明的风流酷似（看渊明、风流酷似，卧龙诸葛）；「何处飞来林间鹊，蹙踏松梢微雪」写何处飞来林间鹊、蹙踏松梢微雪——写尽蹙踏松梢的微雪（何处飞来林间鹊，蹙踏松梢微雪）；「要破帽多添华发」写要破帽多添华发——写尽破帽多添的华发（要破帽多添华发）；「剩水残山无态度，被疏梅料理成风月」写剩水残山无态度、被疏梅料理成风月——写尽被疏梅料理的风月（剩水残山无态度，被疏梅料理成风月）；「两三雁，也萧瑟」写两三雁、也萧瑟——写尽两三雁的萧瑟（两三雁，也萧瑟）。下阕写愁绝：「佳人重约还轻别」写佳人重约还轻别——写尽佳人重约的轻别（佳人重约还轻别）；「怅清江、天寒不渡，水深冰合」写怅清江、天寒不渡、水深冰合——写尽怅清江的天寒不渡（怅清江、天寒不渡，水深冰合）；「路断车轮生四角，此地行人销骨」写路断车轮生四角、此地行人销骨——写尽此地行人的销骨（路断车轮生四角，此地行人销骨）；「问谁使、君来愁绝」写问谁使、君来愁绝——写尽君来愁绝的问谁（问谁使、君来愁绝）；「铸就而今相思错，料当初、费尽人间铁」写铸就而今相思错、料当初、费尽人间铁——写尽费尽人间铁的相思错（铸就而今相思错，料当初、费尽人间铁）；「长夜笛，莫吹裂」写长夜笛、莫吹裂——写尽长夜笛的莫吹裂（长夜笛，莫吹裂）。全词以感慨写送别，写尽看渊明的风流酷似与怅清江的天寒不渡，是理解辛弃疾送别词的重要篇章。

Art

Four techniques carry the poem. First, allusion: the friend is measured against Yuanming and Zhuge Liang in a single breath, so the compliment becomes a prophecy of a greatness the age will waste. Second, plain description: 'from where does the magpie come, to press the thin snow from the pine tops' keeps the small reported facts of an ordinary day. Third, exaggeration: 'the wheels grow four corners' and 'travellers here are ground to the bone' swell the road until landscape and grief have become the same object. Fourth, wild fancy: the error of longing is literally cast, at the cost of the iron of the whole human world. Between the stanzas the movement runs from other men to oneself, the standard way of a farewell poem to reach its own heart. A further subtlety: magpie, pines, plum and geese belong to the world of the eye, while the flute belongs to the world of the ear — the poem changes its sense at the turn.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以用典写渊明。「看渊明、风流酷似」以用典写渊明——那「卧龙诸葛」写尽卧龙的诸葛，以用典写尽看渊明的风流酷似。其二，以白描写长亭。「把酒长亭说」以白描写长亭——那「何处飞来林间鹊」写尽蹙踏松梢的微雪，以白描写尽把酒长亭的说。其三，以夸张写销骨。「此地行人销骨」以夸张写销骨——那「路断车轮生四角」写尽车轮生四角的路断，以夸张写尽此地行人的销骨。其四，以奇想写相思。「铸就而今相思错」以奇想写相思——那「料当初、费尽人间铁」写尽费尽人间铁的相思错，以奇想写尽费尽人间铁的相思错。此外，此词上阕写看渊明的风流酷似，下阕写怅清江的天寒不渡，由人及己，正是送别词「以别写愁」的写法。四重手法，使此词以感慨写送别，写尽看渊明的风流酷似与怅清江的天寒不渡，是辛弃疾的代表作。又，此词以「何处飞来林间鹊，蹙踏松梢微雪」写眼前之景，以「两三雁，也萧瑟」写别后之景，即景生情、情景相生，正是辛词长调铺叙之妙。

Allusions

'Long pavilion' (长亭) carries the whole tradition of roadside farewell, echoing Li Bai's 'where is the road home? Long pavilion, then shorter pavilions.' 'Yuanming' is Tao Qian, who chose poverty and wine over office; 'Zhuge' is Zhuge Liang, who died before his land was whole — the friend is praised by being given both an exile's integrity and a strategist's futility. 'Grey hair' returns in Su Shi's 'early grey hair.' The 'sparse plum' recalls Lin Bu's 'slender shadows slanting beside clear shallow water.' 'Desolate' gathers the sound of Cao Cao's 'wind and thunders all desolate.' 'Ground to the bone' revives the old slander of the phrase that slander grinds men to the bone; 'the cast error' turns the proverb about forging a great blunder into a thing still smoking.

此词的用语深植于送别与感慨传统。「长亭」令人想到「长亭」写长亭的意象——也令人想到「何处是归程？长亭更短亭」（李白）的意象；「渊明」令人想到「渊明」写陶渊明的意象——也令人想到「采菊东篱下」的意象；「卧龙」令人想到「卧龙」写诸葛亮的意象——也令人想到「卧龙岗」的意象；「诸葛」令人想到「诸葛」写诸葛亮的意象——也令人想到「鞠躬尽瘁」的意象；「松梢」令人想到「松梢」写松梢的意象——也令人想到「月上松梢」的意象；「破帽」令人想到「破帽」写破帽的意象——也令人想到「破帽遮颜过闹市」（鲁迅）的意象；「华发」令人想到「华发」写白发的意象——也令人想到「早生华发」（苏轼）的意象；「剩水残山」令人想到「剩水残山」写残山剩水的意象——也令人想到「残山剩水」的意象；「疏梅」令人想到「疏梅」写梅的意象——也令人想到「疏影横斜水清浅」（林逋）的意象；「萧瑟」令人想到「萧瑟」写萧瑟的意象——也令人想到「秋风萧瑟」（曹操）的意象；「销骨」令人想到「销骨」写销骨的意象——也令人想到「积毁销骨」的意象；「相思错」令人想到「相思错」写错铸的意象——也令人想到「铸成大错」的意象；「长夜笛」令人想到「长夜笛」写笛的意象——也令人想到「羌笛何须怨杨柳」（王之涣）的意象。全词化用长亭、渊明、卧龙、诸葛、松梢、破帽、华发、剩水残山、疏梅、萧瑟、销骨、相思错、长夜笛的意象典故，以感慨写送别，正是辛弃疾「豪放」而善用典、承送别传统写感慨之本领。

Commentary

The poem has always been ranked among the farewell cipai of Xin Qiji and stands as a representative of the form. Qing readers prized it as 'sorrow written through farewell, deep and heroic'; modern readers single out 'the mistake of longing for you is cast in iron today' as the line that makes the poem. Its special place is that a long tune devotes itself, front and back, to two halves of parting — the scenery left behind and the self left regretful — and it is the second half that is remembered. Read beside 'He Xin Lang: How Dearly I Am Wasted,' the other masterpiece in the same metre, it shows both faces of one man: one turning to the green mountains, one counting the iron spent on an error.

此词历来被推为辛弃疾送别词的名篇，也是宋词写长亭送别的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以感慨写送别，沉郁豪放」；近人更指出「铸就而今相思错，料当初、费尽人间铁」写费尽人间铁的相思错，是此词的名句。在诗歌史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以长调写尽看渊明的风流酷似与怅清江的天寒不渡——那把酒，那长亭说，那看渊明，那风流酷似，那卧龙，那诸葛，那何处，那飞来，那林间鹊，那蹙踏，那松梢，那微雪，那要破帽，那多添华发，那剩水残山，那无态度，那被疏梅，那料理成风月，那两三雁，那也萧瑟，那佳人，那重约，那还轻别，那怅清江，那天寒不渡，那水深冰合，那路断，那车轮生四角，那此地，那行人销骨，那问谁使，那君来愁绝，那铸就，那而今，那相思错，那料当初，那费尽人间铁，那长夜笛，那莫吹裂，都写尽了辛弃疾笔下的贺新郎把酒长亭说；那「铸就而今相思错」更以奇想写尽费尽人间铁的相思错。此词与辛弃疾《贺新郎·甚矣吾衰矣》「甚矣吾衰矣」同为贺新郎名篇，一写「我见青山多妩媚」的甚矣吾衰矣，一写「铸就而今相思错」的把酒长亭说；一写怀古，一写送别。两词对读，可见辛弃疾贺新郎的两面。对于今日读者，此词是理解辛弃疾送别词的窗口，也是宋词写长亭送别的经典——那费尽人间铁的相思错，穿越千年，仍在诉说着看渊明的风流酷似。

Prosody

Form Ci in the 'He Xin Lang' tune, a long double stanza of one hundred and sixteen words.词·贺新郎

Rhyme 'He Xin Lang' is rhmed throughout on the entering tones: the first stanza on shuo, ge, xue, fa, yue, se; the second on bie, he, gu, jue, tie, lie (the -ot/-uet group of the moon-weapon division).贺新郎，上阕押「说」「葛」「雪」「发」「月」「瑟」，下阕押「别」「合」「骨」「绝」「铁」「裂」（入声月屑韵），仄韵到底

Tone pattern Because the whole piece rhymes on entering-tone syllables and never switches, the cadence is abrupt and hammered, with no opening to a longer vowel. That hardness is exactly the register of a man reproaching himself.此词为贺新郎长调，押入声韵，仄韵到底，音节顿挫，正合感慨的顿挫。

Reading note The tune is built from two near-equal stanzas. The first opens 'drinking, we talk at the long pavilion,' that is, in the plainest possible words; it then accumulates the short四条 of snow, plum and geese. The second opens on parting and closes on the cast error. All the rhymes are entering-tone words — shuo, ge, xue, fa, yue, se, bie, he, gu, jue, tie, lie — so the voice stops short at every ending rather than gliding away. That stop is the prosodic figure of the poem: feeling that will not dissolve. When reciting, the pavilion line should be read heavily, the couplet about cast iron slowly and with weight, and the final 'do not blow until you crack' held on its last syllable. In this way the thickened rhythm of the tune becomes the thickened heart of the poem.此词为贺新郎长调，上下两阕——上阕「把酒长亭说。看渊明、风流酷似，卧龙诸葛。何处飞来林间鹊，蹙踏松梢微雪。要破帽多添华发。剩水残山无态度，被疏梅料理成风月。两三雁，也萧瑟」，下阕「佳人重约还轻别。怅清江、天寒不渡，水深冰合。路断车轮生四角，此地行人销骨。问谁使、君来愁绝？铸就而今相思错，料当初、费尽人间铁。长夜笛，莫吹裂」，押入声韵（说、葛、雪、发、月、瑟、别、合、骨、绝、铁、裂），仄韵到底，音节顿挫。全词以感慨写送别：上阕写看渊明的风流酷似（把酒长亭说、被疏梅料理成风月），下阕写怅清江的天寒不渡（佳人重约还轻别、铸就而今相思错）。长调铺叙，前写长亭，后写相思，以「铸就而今相思错」写尽费尽人间铁的相思错，正见辛弃疾「豪放」的本色。诵读此词，宜以顿挫的语调读「把酒长亭说」的长亭，以沉郁的语调读「铸就而今相思错」的相思，结句要读得顿挫而有余韵，方能传达出辛弃疾的沉郁豪放。辛弃疾长调以「豪放」著称，此词正是其送别词的典范。

Line by line

把酒长亭说。

Drinking, we talk at the long pavilion.

把酒长亭说。看渊明、风流酷似，卧龙诸葛。

Wine in hand at the long pavilion, we talk.

此句是全词写长亭的开篇，以把酒长亭说写长亭说，以看渊明写渊明，以风流酷似写酷似，以卧龙诸葛写诸葛，写尽看渊明的风流酷似，是千古名句。「把酒长亭说」写把酒长亭说——那「把酒长亭」写把酒长亭，「说」写说，写尽把酒长亭的说；「看渊明」写看渊明——那「看」写看，「渊明」写渊明，写尽看的渊明；「风流酷似」写风流酷似——那「风流」写风流，「酷似」写酷似，写尽风流的酷似；「卧龙诸葛」写卧龙诸葛——那「卧龙」写卧龙，「诸葛」写诸葛，写尽卧龙的诸葛。这句的深意在于：它以「把酒长亭说」的长亭说、「看渊明」的渊明、「风流酷似」的酷似与「卧龙诸葛」的诸葛，写尽看渊明的风流酷似——把酒长亭说，那「把酒长亭说」写尽把酒长亭的说——把酒长亭说，正是长亭把酒话别的写照，那「长亭说」写尽看渊明的风流酷似；看渊明，那「看渊明」写尽看的渊明——看渊明，正是看那渊明的写照，那「渊明」写尽看渊明的风流酷似；风流酷似，那「风流酷似」写尽风流的酷似——风流酷似，正是风流相似的写照，那「酷似」写尽看渊明的风流酷似；卧龙诸葛，那「卧龙诸葛」写尽卧龙的诸葛——卧龙诸葛，正是如卧龙的写照，那「诸葛」写尽看渊明的风流酷似；那「把酒长亭说」写尽把酒长亭的说，那「看渊明」写尽看的渊明，那「风流酷似」写尽风流的酷似，那「卧龙诸葛」写尽卧龙的诸葛，一写长亭说，一写渊明，一写酷似，一写诸葛，写尽看渊明的风流酷似——长亭话别而看渊明风流，正是送别的写照；此四句以长亭说、渊明、酷似、诸葛写尽看渊明的风流酷似，也为下文的林间鹊作铺垫，也让此四句成为全词写长亭的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「在长亭把酒话别，看渊明的风流很像卧龙诸葛亮」，则失其豪放；唯以「把酒长亭说」写长亭说、「看渊明」写渊明、「风流酷似」写酷似、「卧龙诸葛」写诸葛，写尽看渊明的风流酷似，也让此四句成为全词写长亭的核心。

The farewell. Wine in hand at the long pavilion, we talk. The opening sets the wine, the pavilion, and the talk. To have said they drank at the parting pavilion would be a scene; the wine-in-hand-at-the-long-pavilion-talking is the scene.

铸就而今相思错，料当初、费尽人间铁

The mistake of longing for you is cast in iron today; I know that at the beginning the iron of the whole world was spent in vain.

铸就而今相思错，料当初、费尽人间铁。

Cast, and now this error of longing—back then, they must have spent all the iron in the world.

此二句是全词写相思的核心，以铸就而今相思错写相思错，以料当初费尽人间铁写人间铁，写尽费尽人间铁的相思错，是千古名句。「铸就而今相思错」写铸就而今相思错——那「铸就而今」写铸就而今，「相思错」写相思错，写尽铸就而今的相思错；「料当初、费尽人间铁」写料当初费尽人间铁——那「料当初」写料当初，「费尽人间铁」写费尽人间铁，写尽料当初的费尽人间铁。这句的深意在于：它以「铸就而今相思错」的相思错与「料当初、费尽人间铁」的人间铁，写尽费尽人间铁的相思错——铸就而今相思错，那「铸就而今相思错」写尽铸就而今的相思错——铸就而今相思错，正是铸错成恨的写照，那「相思错」写尽费尽人间铁的相思错；料当初、费尽人间铁，那「料当初、费尽人间铁」写尽料当初的费尽人间铁——料当初费尽人间铁，正是当初费铁铸错的写照，那「人间铁」写尽费尽人间铁的相思错；那「铸就而今相思错」写尽铸就而今的相思错，那「料当初、费尽人间铁」写尽料当初的费尽人间铁，一写相思错，一写人间铁，写尽费尽人间铁的相思错——铸错成恨而费尽人间铁，正是相思的写照；此二句以相思错、人间铁写尽费尽人间铁的相思错，也让此二句成为全词写相思的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「铸就了如今的相思错，料想当初费尽了人间的铁」，则失其奇想；唯以「铸就而今相思错」写相思错、「料当初、费尽人间铁」写人间铁，写尽费尽人间铁的相思错，也让此二句成为全词写相思的核心。

The cast error. Cast, and now this error of longing—back then, they must have spent all the iron in the world. The metal-casting metaphor (the error of parting, cast from all the world's iron) is the parting's cost. To have compared parting to a cast error would be a metaphor; the now-cast-error-of-longing against the all-the-world's-iron-spent-back-then is the metaphor.

Study

Word focus

铸 Cast, founded (铸). In 'the mistake of longing for you is cast in iron today,' this verb turns an emotion into a solid, permanent object, so that regret can be spoken of as a thing manufactured — and, in the next clause, paid for out of the whole world's iron. 「铸就而今相思错」之「铸」字是写相思关键词，一个「铸」字写尽铸就而今的相思错。铸者，铸造、铸成也。辛弃疾以「铸就而今相思错」写相思，这个「铸」字至少有双重意味：其一，写错之铸——那「铸就而今相思错」写铸就而今相思错，那「铸」字写尽铸就而今的相思错——铸就，正是铸成的写照，那「铸」字写尽铸就而今的相思错；其二，写恨之深——那「铸」字更是写深——铸，正见铸错成恨的深痛，那「铸」字写尽辛弃疾的感慨。以「铸」字写相思，正是辛弃疾写送别的枢纽——若换作「结」「酿」等字，则或失其与「铸就而今」「相思错」的配合，或失其写铸的意味；唯「铸」字，以铸就而今相思错写尽相思错之铸就与情恨之深重，与「料当初、费尽人间铁」的人间铁相合，写尽铸就而今的相思错，也让「铸就而今相思错」成为全词写相思的名句。

错 Error, blunder (错). It is the object of 铸: the 'cast error' (相思错). The word holds both senses of a thing wrongly made and of a wrong committed, so the line reads as a fault the speaker forged himself and cannot now melt down. 「铸就而今相思错」之「错」字是写相思关键词，一个「错」字写尽铸就而今的相思错。错者，错事、大错也。辛弃疾以「铸就而今相思错」写相思，这个「错」字至少有双重意味：其一，写错之大——那「铸就而今相思错」写铸就而今相思错，那「错」字写尽铸就而今的相思错——相思错，正是相思铸错的写照，那「错」字写尽铸就而今的相思错；其二，写悔之深——那「错」字更是写悔——错，正见铸错难回之悔，那「错」字写尽辛弃疾的感慨。以「错」字写相思，正是辛弃疾写送别的枢纽——若换作「恨」「债」等字，则或失其与「铸就而今」「相思错」的配合，或失其写错的意味；唯「错」字，以铸就而今相思错写尽相思之铸错与情恨之深悔，与「料当初、费尽人间铁」的人间铁相合，写尽铸就而今的相思错，也让「铸就而今相思错」成为全词写相思的名句。