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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

满江红·东武会流杯亭

Man Jiang Hong: A Gathering at the Floating-Cup Pavilion, Eastwu

苏轼

Su Shi

春景Spring Scene 感慨Reflection

东武南城，新堤固、涟漪初溢。
隐隐遍、长林高阜，卧红堆碧。
枝上残花吹尽也，与君更向江头觅。
问向前、犹有几多春，三之一。
官里事，何时毕。
风雨外，无多日。
相将泛曲水，满城争出。
君不见兰亭修禊事，当时坐上皆豪逸。
到如今、修竹满山阴，空陈迹。

The southern city of Eastwu, a new embankment holding firm, and the ripples just beginning to spread.
Hidden from view on every side, the long woods and the high mounds, with red lying down and green piled up.
The last blossoms on the branches have all been blown away — with you I will go looking again at the river's head.
I ask you, before us, how much spring is left? One third of it at most.
Official business — when will it ever be finished?
Outside the wind and rain, there are not many days.
Let us go together upon the winding water, and the whole town comes out to join.
Can you not see the Lanting xie gathering — everyone seated at that table was noble and unrestrained?
Now, instead: tall bamboo covers all Shanyin's shade, and there remains only an empty trace.

Listen

Meaning

Su Shi, prefect of Mizhou, gathered his guests at the floating-cup pavilion south of the city of Eastwu, in what is now Zhucheng in Shandong, for the spring water rite and drank as the cups went floating along the stream. The poem moves from the new embankment and the reddened hills to the loss of the last blossoms on the branches and the search for spring by the river; then to the unfinished business of the office and the short span of fair weather; then to the crowd coming out on the winding water; and finally to the thought of Lanting, where the wisest men of the fourth century sat in the same spring, so that now only green bamboo and an empty trace are left.

东武南城，新堤固、涟漪初溢。隐隐遍、长林高阜，卧红堆碧。枝上残花吹尽也，与君更向江头觅。问向前、犹有几多春，三之一。官里事，何时毕。风雨外，无多日。相将泛曲水，满城争出。君不见兰亭修禊事，当时坐上皆豪逸。到如今、修竹满山阴，空陈迹。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The first half of the poem is a landscape: the dike holding, ripples spreading, long woods and high mounds with fallen red and piled green, then the empty branches. The second half turns to time — how much spring remains, when the official work will end, how few days lie outside wind and rain — and then to a company going out on the stream with the whole town behind them, and then to the memory of Lanting. [Structure] The turn is from looking at a place to measuring a span of time, and the two are joined by the single image of a cup going along the water. [Imagery] The writing is unusually concrete for Su Shi: 'red lying down' and 'green piled up' are what a man picks up with his eyes in one glance on a hillside. The closing image is a reversal — where once there were famous drinkers under the trees, there is now only bamboo and a trace. The poem's feeling is not despair: the fair weather is short, but the poet calls his friend out anyway, and it is doing something rather than suiting a mood.

【白话串讲】苏轼写《满江红·东武会流杯亭》：“东武南城，新堤固、涟漪初溢”——“枝上残花吹尽也，与君更向江头觅”——“问向前、犹有几多春，三之一”——“官里事，何时毕”——“相将泛曲水，满城争出”——他写流杯亭的春游。【意象与手法】此词写春景，以感慨写春景，是苏轼的名篇。上片写春景：「东武南城，新堤固、涟漪初溢。隐隐遍、长林高阜，卧红堆碧。枝上残花吹尽也，与君更向江头觅」写东武南城、新堤固、涟漪初溢——写尽涟漪的初溢；下片写感慨：「君不见兰亭修禊事，当时坐上皆豪逸。到如今、修竹满山阴，空陈迹」写君不见兰亭修禊事、当时坐上皆豪逸——写尽兰亭的修禊。全词以感慨写春景，写尽涟漪的初溢与兰亭的修禊，是苏轼的代表作。【情感与主旨】此词写春景，以感慨写春景，是苏轼的名篇。此词为苏轼任密州知州时，于东武（今山东诸城）南城流杯亭修禊宴饮而作，由春景感怀、叹时光流逝。东武，密州治所。苏轼于流杯亭会客泛曲水，作此词。此词写东武南城，新堤固、涟漪初溢；隐隐遍、长林高阜，卧红堆碧；枝上残花吹尽也，与君更向江头觅；问向前、犹有几多春，三之一；官里事，何时毕；风雨外，无多日；相将泛曲水，满城争出；君不见兰亭修禊事，当时坐上皆豪逸；到如今、修竹满山阴，空陈迹。此词写春景：东武南城，新堤固、涟漪初溢——写东武南城、新堤固、涟漪初溢，写尽涟漪的初溢；隐隐遍、长林高阜，卧红堆碧——写隐隐遍、长林高阜，卧红堆碧，写尽堆碧的卧红；枝上残花吹尽也，与君更向江头觅——写枝上残花吹尽也、与君更向江头觅，写尽江头的觅花；问向前、犹有几多春，三之一——写问向前、犹有几多春，三之一，写尽三之一的残春；官里事，何时毕——写官里事、何时毕，写尽官里的何时；风雨外，无多日——写风雨外、无多日，写尽风雨的无多；相将泛曲水，满城争出——写相将泛曲水、满城争出，写尽满城的争出；君不见兰亭修禊事，当时坐上皆豪逸——写君不见兰亭修禊事、当时坐上皆豪逸，写尽兰亭的修禊；到如今、修竹满山阴，空陈迹——写到如今、修竹满山阴、空陈迹，写尽山阴的陈迹。全词以感慨写春景——那「枝上残花吹尽也」写尽残花的吹尽，「空陈迹」写尽山阴的陈迹，写尽涟漪的初溢与兰亭的修禊，是理解苏轼感慨词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「枝上残花吹尽也，与君更向江头觅」写残花的吹尽；「君不见兰亭修禊事，当时坐上皆豪逸」写兰亭的修禊；以及全词以感慨写春景、以用典写时光的手法。

Background

Su Shi (1037–1101), courtesy name Zizhan, called himself Dongpo Jushi, was from Meishan in Sichuan, and is one of the eight great masters of the Tang and Song. He served as prefect of Mizhou from 1074 to 1077, and Eastwu was the old name of the prefectural seat, today Zhucheng in Shandong. The floating-cup pavilion took its name from the third-month rite in which cups were set afloat on a winding stream, the custom that gives Wang Xizhi's Lanting preface its fame. Su Shi had already made enemies in the Reform politics of Shenzong's reign and would soon be banished further still, and the middle of this poem — the office that will never end, the days outside wind and rain — carries the annoyance of a man who has to stay at his desk while the season runs away.

此词写春景，以感慨写春景，是苏轼的名篇。苏轼（1037—1101），字子瞻，号东坡居士，眉州眉山（今四川眉山）人，北宋文学家、书画家，唐宋八大家之一，与辛弃疾并称「苏辛」。此词为苏轼任密州知州时，于东武（今山东诸城）南城流杯亭修禊宴饮而作，由春景感怀、叹时光流逝。东武，密州治所。苏轼于流杯亭会客泛曲水，作此词。此词写东武南城，新堤固、涟漪初溢；隐隐遍、长林高阜，卧红堆碧；枝上残花吹尽也，与君更向江头觅；问向前、犹有几多春，三之一；官里事，何时毕；风雨外，无多日；相将泛曲水，满城争出；君不见兰亭修禊事，当时坐上皆豪逸；到如今、修竹满山阴，空陈迹。此词写春景：「东武南城，新堤固、涟漪初溢」写东武南城、新堤固、涟漪初溢——写尽涟漪的初溢（东武南城，新堤固、涟漪初溢）；「隐隐遍、长林高阜，卧红堆碧」写隐隐遍、长林高阜，卧红堆碧——写尽堆碧的卧红（隐隐遍、长林高阜，卧红堆碧）；「枝上残花吹尽也，与君更向江头觅」写枝上残花吹尽也、与君更向江头觅——写尽江头的觅花（枝上残花吹尽也，与君更向江头觅）；「问向前、犹有几多春，三之一」写问向前、犹有几多春，三之一——写尽三之一的残春（问向前、犹有几多春，三之一）；「官里事，何时毕」写官里事、何时毕——写尽官里的何时（官里事，何时毕）；「风雨外，无多日」写风雨外、无多日——写尽风雨的无多（风雨外，无多日）；「相将泛曲水，满城争出」写相将泛曲水、满城争出——写尽满城的争出（相将泛曲水，满城争出）；「君不见兰亭修禊事，当时坐上皆豪逸」写君不见兰亭修禊事、当时坐上皆豪逸——写尽兰亭的修禊（君不见兰亭修禊事，当时坐上皆豪逸）；「到如今、修竹满山阴，空陈迹」写到如今、修竹满山阴、空陈迹——写尽山阴的陈迹（到如今、修竹满山阴，空陈迹）。全词以感慨写春景，写尽涟漪的初溢与兰亭的修禊，是理解苏轼感慨词的重要篇章。

Art

Four devices. First, plain scene-painting: 'red lying down and green piled up' is a pair of verbs chosen so that the hillside is seen as an accident of looking, the fallen petals as though laid down and the leaves as though heaped. Second, an amount stated rather than felt — 'how much spring is left? one third' — which turns a mood into a quantity. Third, the historical present: 'can you not see the Lanting gathering' is asked as though it were happening now, so the fourth-century company is brought beside the ninth-century one instead of being buried in the past. Fourth, the reversal in the last three characters, where the famous gathering is replaced by bamboo and an empty trace. The poem also keeps its two halves joined by the cup on the water, so the parallel with Lanting is prepared rather than added.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以白描写春景。「东武南城」以白描写春景——那「卧红堆碧」写尽堆碧的卧红，以白描写尽涟漪的初溢。其二，以设问写残春。「问向前、犹有几多春」以设问写残春——那「三之一」写尽三之一的残春，以设问写尽残花的吹尽。其三，以用典写兰亭。「君不见兰亭修禊事」以用典写兰亭——那「兰亭修禊」用王羲之《兰亭集序》典写兰亭，以用典写尽兰亭的修禊。其四，以对照写陈迹。「到如今、修竹满山阴，空陈迹」以对照写陈迹——那「空陈迹」写尽山阴的陈迹，以对照写尽空空的陈迹。此外，此词上片写涟漪的初溢，下片写兰亭的修禊，由春及古，正是感慨词「以古写今」的写法。四重手法，使此词以感慨写春景，写尽涟漪的初溢与兰亭的修禊，是苏轼的代表作。此词还善于以「卧红堆碧」的「卧」「堆」写落花之堆积——那「卧红堆碧」写尽卧红的堆碧，正是以卧写落，以「堆」写尽堆碧的卧红。又善以「官里事，何时毕」的「何时」写官事之无期——官里事何时毕，正见官事缠身的感慨，以「何时」写尽官里的何时。

Allusions

Everything in the second half hangs on one event. The xie rite was the third-day-of-third-month ceremony of washing away ill fortune by water, and the gathering at Lanting in 353 brought together the literati of the day beside a winding stream with cups afloat; Wang Xizhi's preface records that the wise, the talented, the old and the young were all there, and ends with the thought that those who come after will look on the present as we look on the past. Shanyin is the district where Lanting stands. The floating cup itself is the pivot: the same object that carries the guests' wine here once carried the cups of that eastern gathering. The poem's closing half-line turns the preface's own argument into a scene.

此词的用语深植于春景与感慨传统。「东武」令人想到「东武」写东武的意象——密州治所，也令人想到「东武吟」的意象；「涟漪」令人想到「涟漪」写涟漪的意象——也令人想到「涟漪清浅」的意象；「卧红堆碧」令人想到「卧红堆碧」写落花碧草的意象——也令人想到「绿肥红瘦」（李清照）的意象；「修禊」令人想到「修禊」写上巳节临水祓禊的意象——也令人想到「永和九年」的意象；「兰亭」令人想到「兰亭」写兰亭的意象——王羲之《兰亭集序》，也令人想到「兰亭序」的意象；「山阴」令人想到「山阴」写山阴的意象——兰亭所在，也令人想到「山阴道上」的意象。全词化用东武、涟漪、卧红堆碧、修禊、兰亭、山阴的意象典故，以感慨写春景，正是苏轼「清旷」而善用典、承感慨传统写时光之本领。「东武」令人想到「东武」写东武的意象——密州治所，也令人想到「东武城」的意象；「流杯亭」令人想到「流杯亭」写流杯曲水的意象——也令人想到「曲水流觞」的意象，以流杯写修禊。

Commentary

This has been counted among Su Shi's reflective lyrics and among the Song ci that take up a literary gathering and give it back as a meditation on time. Critics have singled out the pairing of 'red lying down' and 'green piled up' for its plainness, and the closing reversal, in which the famous company is left as an empty trace under bamboo. Its place is beside Wang Xizhi's own preface, where the same day is described rather than mourned, and beside Su Shi's later Linjiang Xian, in which the same poet, banished in Huangzhou, answers a similar question about escaping the world by getting into a small boat and giving himself to river and sea. The two share the movement out of an official place toward something that cannot be administered.

此词历来被推为苏轼感慨词的名篇，也是宋词写修禊怀古的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以感慨写春景，清旷俊逸」；近人更指出「君不见兰亭修禊事，当时坐上皆豪逸」写兰亭的修禊，是此词的名句。在词史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以两片的长调写尽涟漪的初溢与兰亭的修禊——那东武，那南城，那新堤固，那涟漪初溢，那隐隐遍，那长林高阜，那卧红堆碧，那枝上残花，那吹尽也，那与君更向江头觅，那问向前，那犹有几多春，那三之一，那官里事，那何时毕，那风雨外，那无多日，那相将泛曲水，那满城争出，那君不见，那兰亭修禊事，那当时坐上皆豪逸，那到如今，那修竹满山阴，那空陈迹，都写尽了苏轼笔下的满江红；那「空陈迹」更以对照写尽山阴的陈迹。此词与王羲之《兰亭集序》「后之视今，亦犹今之视昔」的修禊传统一脉相承，可见中国词写修禊怀古的传统。对于今日读者，此词是理解苏轼感慨词的窗口，也是宋词写修禊怀古的经典——那空陈迹的修竹，穿越千年，仍在诉说着兰亭的修禊。

Prosody

Form A ci lyric in the tune Man Jiang Hong, two stanzas词·满江红

Rhyme Rhymes on the entering tone — spread, green, seek, one, done, day, come, free, trace — one rhyme carried through. The entering tones are clipped, which gives the fast, uneven cadence the tune is known for.满江红，押「溢」「碧」「觅」「一」「毕」「日」「出」「逸」「迹」韵（入声），仄韵到底

Tone pattern The tune is a long one of two unequal stanzas; the lines are uneven in length and swing from short kicks to long sweeps, with many oblique endings against a few level ones.此词为满江红词调，押入声仄韵，一韵到底，音节激越，正合感慨的激越。

Reading note The first stanza paints the place: dike, ripples, woods, mounds, fallen red, heaped green, bare branches, river, and a measured remnant of spring. The second turns to time and to the company, and closes on the Lanting memory and the bamboo that covers Shanyin. The rhyme is one entering-tone rhyme throughout, so every line falls to the same kind of stop, and the tune's uneven line lengths keep the eye moving; that unevenness is what lets the short four-character clauses — official business, when finished, outside wind and rain — hit hard between the longer lines. Read the spring scene evenly, let the short clauses be clipped and impatient, and hold the last three characters so the empty trace is left standing.此词为满江红词调，两片——上片「东武南城，新堤固、涟漪初溢。隐隐遍、长林高阜，卧红堆碧。枝上残花吹尽也，与君更向江头觅。问向前、犹有几多春，三之一」；下片「官里事，何时毕。风雨外，无多日。相将泛曲水，满城争出。君不见兰亭修禊事，当时坐上皆豪逸。到如今、修竹满山阴，空陈迹」，押入声仄韵（溢、碧、觅、一、毕、日、出、逸、迹），一韵到底，音节激越。全词以感慨写春景：上片写涟漪的初溢（东武南城、枝上残花吹尽也），下片写兰亭的修禊（君不见兰亭修禊事、空陈迹）。两片短章，前写春景，后写感慨，以「空陈迹」写尽山阴的陈迹，正见苏轼「清旷」的本色。诵读此词，宜以激越的语调读「枝上残花吹尽也」的残春，以低回的语调读「空陈迹」的陈迹，结句要读得激越而有余韵，方能传达出苏轼的清旷俊逸。苏轼词以「清旷」著称，此词正是其感慨词的典范。

Line by line

君不见兰亭修禊事，当时坐上皆豪逸

Can you not see the Lanting xie gathering — everyone seated at that table was noble and unrestrained?

君不见兰亭修禊事，当时坐上皆豪逸。

Do you not know the Lanting spring purification? At that time all who sat there were spirited and free.

此二句是全词写兰亭核心，以君不见兰亭修禊事写修禊事，以当时坐上皆豪逸写皆豪逸，写尽兰亭的修禊，是千古名句。「君不见兰亭修禊事」写君不见兰亭修禊事——那「君不见」写君不见，「兰亭修禊事」写兰亭修禊事，写尽兰亭的修禊；「当时坐上皆豪逸」写当时坐上皆豪逸——那「当时坐上」写当时坐上，「皆豪逸」写皆豪逸，写尽当时的豪逸。这句的深意在于：它以「君不见兰亭修禊事」的修禊事与「当时坐上皆豪逸」的皆豪逸，写尽兰亭的修禊——君不见兰亭修禊事，那「君不见兰亭修禊事」写尽兰亭的修禊——君不见兰亭修禊事，正是兰亭修禊的写照，那「修禊事」写尽兰亭的修禊；当时坐上皆豪逸，那「当时坐上皆豪逸」写尽当时的豪逸——当时坐上皆豪逸，正是座上皆豪的写照，那「皆豪逸」写尽兰亭的修禊；那「君不见兰亭修禊事」写尽兰亭的修禊，那「当时坐上皆豪逸」写尽当时的豪逸，一写兰亭，一写豪逸，写尽兰亭的修禊——兰亭修禊而坐上豪逸，正是盛会的写照；此二句以兰亭、豪逸写尽兰亭的修禊，也为下文的陈迹作铺垫，也让此二句成为全词写兰亭核心与千古名句。若换作直说「你没见过兰亭修禊的事吗，当时坐上都是豪迈俊逸的人」，则失其感慨；唯以「君不见兰亭修禊事」写修禊事、「当时坐上皆豪逸」写皆豪逸，写尽兰亭的修禊，也让此二句成为全词写兰亭核心。

Lanting. Do you not know the Lanting spring purification? At that time all who sat there were spirited and free. The Lanting rite and the spirited company are the allusion to Wang Xizhi. To have cited the Lanting gathering would be an allusion; the do-you-not-know-the-Lanting-spring-purification against the all-who-sat-there-were-spirited-and-free is the allusion.

枝上残花吹尽也，与君更向江头觅

The last blossoms on the branches have all been blown away; with you I will go looking again at the river's head.

枝上残花吹尽也，与君更向江头觅。

The last blossoms on the boughs are all blown away; with you I go once more to the river's edge to seek them.

此二句是全词写残春的核心，以枝上残花吹尽也写吹尽也，以与君更向江头觅写江头觅，写尽残花的吹尽，是千古名句。「枝上残花吹尽也」写枝上残花吹尽也——那「枝上残花」写枝上残花，「吹尽也」写吹尽也，写尽残花的吹尽；「与君更向江头觅」写与君更向江头觅——那「与君更向」写与君更向，「江头觅」写江头觅，写尽江头的觅花。这句的深意在于：它以「枝上残花吹尽也」的吹尽也与「与君更向江头觅」的江头觅，写尽残花的吹尽——枝上残花吹尽也，那「枝上残花吹尽也」写尽残花的吹尽——枝上残花吹尽也，正是残花吹尽的写照，那「吹尽也」写尽残花的吹尽；与君更向江头觅，那「与君更向江头觅」写尽江头的觅花——与君更向江头觅，正是江头觅花的写照，那「江头觅」写尽残花的吹尽；那「枝上残花吹尽也」写尽残花的吹尽，那「与君更向江头觅」写尽江头的觅花，一写吹尽，一写觅花，写尽残花的吹尽——残花吹尽而江头觅春，正是惜春的写照；此二句以吹尽、觅花写尽残花的吹尽，也为下文的兰亭作铺垫，也让此二句成为全词写残春的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「枝上的残花都吹尽了，我同你再到江边去寻找」，则失其感慨；唯以「枝上残花吹尽也」写吹尽也、「与君更向江头觅」写江头觅，写尽残花的吹尽，也让此二句成为全词写残春的核心。

The seeking. The last blossoms on the boughs are all blown away; with you I go once more to the river's edge to seek them. The all-blown-away blossoms and the going with the friend to the river's edge are the late spring. To have described seeking blown blossoms would be a scene; the last-blossoms-on-the-boughs-all-blown-away against the with-you-going-once-more-to-the-river's-edge-to-seek-them is the scene.

Study

Word focus

溢 In 'the ripples just begin to spread', the verb means to overflow and fill. It is the first thing the new embankment does: the water has come up to the top of the dike and spreads. Besides describing the spring flood, it sets the poem's mood of a thing at its beginning and full — and it is the opposite of the loss described two lines further on, when the blossoms are blown away. 「新堤固、涟漪初溢」之「溢」字是写春景的关键词，一个「溢」字写尽涟漪的初溢。溢者，溢出、漫溢也。苏轼以「新堤固、涟漪初溢」写春景，这个「溢」字至少有双重意味：其一，写水之溢——那「新堤固、涟漪初溢」写新堤固、涟漪初溢，那「溢」字写尽涟漪的初溢——涟漪初溢，正是涟漪漫溢的写照，那「溢」字写尽涟漪的初溢；其二，写春之盛——那「溢」字更是写盛——溢，正见春水初盛的生机，那「溢」字写尽苏轼的春景。以「溢」字写春景，正是苏轼写感慨的枢纽——若换作「漾」「泛」等字，则或失其与「新堤固」「涟漪初溢」的配合，或失其写溢的意味；唯「溢」字，以新堤固、涟漪初溢写尽涟漪之漫溢与春水之生机，与「卧红堆碧」的堆碧相合，写尽涟漪的初溢，也让「新堤固、涟漪初溢」成为全词写春景的名句。

空 In 'there remains only an empty trace', the word means having nothing inside, left empty. It stands with the preceding half-line, where tall bamboo now covers the shade of Shanyin, and it is what is left of the whole crowded gathering. The poet is not saying that nothing happened; he is saying that the place keeps only the trace, so the lyric closes on absence rather than on memory. 「修竹满山阴，空陈迹」之「空」字是写感慨的关键词，一个「空」字写尽山阴的陈迹。空者，空留、徒然也。苏轼以「修竹满山阴，空陈迹」写感慨，这个「空」字至少有双重意味：其一，写迹之空——那「空陈迹」写空陈迹，那「空」字写尽山阴的陈迹——空陈迹，正是徒留陈迹的写照，那「空」字写尽兰亭的修禊；其二，写情之慨——那「空」字更是写慨——空，正见时光空逝的感慨，那「空」字写尽苏轼的感慨。以「空」字写感慨，正是苏轼写春景的枢纽——若换作「只」「徒」等字，则或失其与「修竹满山阴」「陈迹」的配合，或失其写空的意味；唯「空」字，以修竹满山阴、空陈迹写尽陈迹之空留与时光之空逝，与「君不见兰亭修禊事」的兰亭相合，写尽山阴的陈迹，也让「空陈迹」成为全词写感慨的名句。