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再别康桥·正式

Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again

徐志摩

Xu Zhimo

名篇famous poem 现代诗modern poetry 抒情诗lyric poem 离别parting

轻轻的我走了，正如我轻轻的来；
我轻轻的招手，作别西天的云彩。
那河畔的金柳，是夕阳中的新娘；
波光里的艳影，在我的心头荡漾。

Softly I go, just as softly I came; softly I wave my hand, to say goodbye to the clouds in the western sky.
That riverside golden willow is a bride in the setting sun; its bright reflection in the shimmering waves lingers in my heart.
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Meaning

The first stanza strikes the poem's gentle posture—the speaker leaves as softly as he came, waving farewell not to people but to the clouds of the western sky, afraid to disturb Cambridge's sanctity. The second stanza fixes the poem's brightest image: the golden willow by the river is a bride in the sunset, and its radiant reflection trembles in his heart, showing how sacred Cambridge stood in the poet's mind.

轻轻地我走了，正如我轻轻地来；我轻轻地招手，作别西天的云彩。那河畔的金柳，是夕阳中的新娘；波光里的艳影，在我的心头荡漾。

Appreciation

A perfect practice of the Crescent School's 'three beauties': the repetition of 'softly' and the rhymes 'came/clouds,' 'bride/trembles' form a musical return; the color combination of golden willow, bride, shimmering light is painterly; the two symmetrical stanzas form architectural beauty. The anaphoric return of 'softly' and the metaphor 'golden willow as bride' write parting with graceful sway—the most famous opening of modern Chinese poetry and the peak of its 'painterly beauty.'

【白话串讲】 徐志摩写《再别康桥》：“轻轻的我走了，正如我轻轻的来；我轻轻的招手，作别西天的云彩”。“悄悄的我走了，正如我悄悄的来；我挥一挥衣袖，不带走一片云彩”——他告别康桥，把最美的诗句留给剑桥。 【意象与手法】 新月派「三美」的完美实践：「轻轻」的复沓与「来／彩」「娘／漾」的押韵构成回环的音乐美；金柳、新娘、波光、艳影的色彩组合如油画般鲜明，构成绘画美；两节对称的句行构成建筑美；「轻轻」的顶真式回环与「金柳如新娘」的比喻，把离别写得摇曳生姿。 【情感与主旨】 以「轻轻的来去」写对康桥的深情眷恋与不忍惊扰的温柔：金柳如新娘、艳影荡心头，可见康桥在诗人心中的神圣地位——这是甜蜜而惆怅的别离，是「深爱而不扰」的深情，也是徐志摩对「精神故乡」的告别。 【名句点睛】 「轻轻的我走了，正如我轻轻的来」以回环句式写离别姿态之轻、情感之重，是中国现代诗最著名的开篇；「那河畔的金柳，是夕阳中的新娘」以新娘喻金柳，是「绘画美」的巅峰。

Background

This excerpt is taken from Xu Zhimo's 'Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again,' the opening two stanzas of the standard published version. Xu Zhimo (1897–1931), original name Zhang Xu, styled Yousen, was born in Haining, Zhejiang, a representative poet of the Crescent School, author of the collections 'Zhimo's Poems,' 'A Night in Florence,' 'The Tiger,' 'Wandering.' In 1921–1922 Xu gave up his Columbia doctoral studies to study at King's College, Cambridge, whose college scenery and English romantic literature (Byron, Shelley, Keats) deeply influenced him; he said 'my eyes were opened by Cambridge, my thirst for knowledge stirred by Cambridge, my self-consciousness embryoed by Cambridge'—Cambridge was truly his 'spiritual homeland.' In autumn 1928, on his third visit to England, he found the place changed (his marriage broken, his career unsettled), and on November 6, on the voyage home (or aboard the homebound ship), wrote 'Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again.' The poem was formally published in the December 1928 issue of the Crescent Monthly, volume 1 number 10, later included in 'The Tiger' (1931), seven stanzas in all; this version records the opening two stanzas of the standard final text, writing the farewell posture of 'soft coming and going' and the attachment image of 'golden willow, bride,' the emotional and artistic core of the whole. Note that, compared with 'version two' (excerpt), the standard version's opening 'softly I go' and closing 'quietly I go' echo head-to-tail, forming the 'softly—quietly' return structure; the two stanzas recorded here are exactly the start of that structure and the most famous part of the poem. Xu Zhimo pursued all his life 'love, freedom, beauty'; his Cambridge love was the origin of his spirit, and 'Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again' is the farewell rite of that love, its art making it the most widely circulated masterpiece of modern Chinese poetry.

此诗节选自徐志摩《再别康桥》，是「正式」通行本的起首两节。徐志摩（1897—1931），原名章垿，字槱森，浙江海宁人，新月派代表诗人，著有诗集《志摩的诗》《翡冷翠的一夜》《猛虎集》《云游》等。1921—1922年，徐志摩放弃哥伦比亚大学博士学位，赴英国剑桥大学皇家学院就读，剑桥的学院风光与英伦浪漫主义文学（拜伦、雪莱、济慈）深深影响了他；他自述「我的眼是康桥教我睁的，我的求知欲是康桥给我拨动的，我的自我的意识是康桥给我胚胎的」，康桥于他实为「精神故乡」。1928年秋，徐志摩第三次赴英，故地重游而物是人非（此际其婚姻破裂、事业颠沛），11月6日归国途中（一说归国船中）写下《再别康桥》。此诗正式发表于《新月》月刊1928年12月第一卷十号，后收入《猛虎集》（1931），为全诗七节；本「版本」即正式定本的开篇两节，写「轻轻的来去」的告别姿态与「金柳新娘」的眷恋意象，是全诗情感与艺术的核心所在。值得注意的是，与「版本二」（节选本）相比，正式本首节「轻轻的我走了」与末节「悄悄的我走了」首尾呼应，构成全诗「轻轻—悄悄」的回环结构，本「版本」所录首两节正是这结构的起点，也是全诗最负盛名的部分。徐志摩一生追求「爱、自由、美」，康桥之恋是其精神的原点，《再别康桥》正是这恋情的告别式，其艺术成就使其成为中国新诗史上流传最广的名篇。

Art

This poem is a perfect practice of the Crescent School's 'three beauties' theory, excelling in 'musical return, painterly color, architectural symmetry.' First, musical beauty: the word 'softly' repeats three times in the first stanza (softly I go / I softly come / I softly wave), like a triple movement of light music, making the parting steps audible; the slant rhymes 'come / clouds' (ai) and 'bride / trembles' (ang) are sparse, their syllables round; the line lengths vary (five characters 'softly I go' and seven 'say goodbye to the clouds in the western sky'), creating a flowing rhythm. Second, painterly beauty: the golden willow (a bride in the setting sun)—the willow as bride, color golden (setting sun), form tender, the visual focus; the bright reflection in the shimmering light—light and shadow blending, bright and dark crossing; the clouds in the western sky—'clouds' rather than 'cloud' for farewell, stronger in color; the two stanzas descend from 'sky (clouds)—riverside (golden willow)—shimmering light (bright reflection),' like a lens from far to near, outside to inside, finally resting on 'the heart,' picture and feeling fused. Third, architectural beauty: each of the two stanzas has four lines, the line count neat yet lengths varying (five to seven characters), forming the symmetric structure 'first stanza sets the pattern, second unfolds,' exactly the Crescent School's 'even sections, balanced lines.' Fourth, the use of rhetoric: metaphor (willow as bride), personification (bidding farewell to clouds), synesthesia (reflection trembling in the heart) together write parting's tenderness with graceful sway. As the opening of the standard text, these two stanzas are especially refined: the first sets the whole poem's gentle tone with 'softly,' the second raises its brightest image with 'golden willow'—one posture, one attachment, two faces of one cloth, laying the emotional and artistic foundation for the later 'watercress, rainbow, seeking dreams, singing, quietly.'

此诗是新月派「三美」理论的完美实践，艺术上以「音乐的回环、绘画的色彩、建筑的对称」见长。其一是音乐美：「轻轻」一词在首节三次复沓（轻轻的我走了／我轻轻的来／我轻轻的招手），如轻音乐的三重奏，把离别的脚步写得轻柔可闻；「来／彩」（ai韵）与「娘／漾」（ang韵）的隔句押韵，韵脚疏朗，音节圆转；句子的长短参差（「轻轻的我走了」五字与「作别西天的云彩」七字），造成行云流水般的节奏。其二是绘画美：金柳（夕阳中的新娘）——以新娘喻柳，色彩金黄（夕阳）、形态娇美，是视觉的焦点；波光里的艳影——光与影的交融，明暗交错；西天的云彩——以「云彩」而非「云」作别，色彩感更强；两节意象由「天空（云彩）—河畔（金柳）—波光（艳影）」层层下降，如镜头由远及近、由外及内，最终落于「心头」，画面与情感交融。其三是建筑美：两节各四行，行数整齐而句长参差（五至七字），成「首节定格、次节展开」的对称结构，正是新月派「节的匀称、句的均齐」的体现。其四是修辞的运用：比喻（金柳如新娘）、拟人（作别云彩）、通感（艳影荡漾心头）并用，把别离的柔情写得摇曳生姿。作为正式定本的开篇，此两节尤为讲究：首节以「轻轻」定调全诗轻柔的格调，次节以「金柳」立起全诗最鲜明的意象，一姿态一眷恋，互为表里，为后文「青荇、彩虹、寻梦、放歌、悄悄」的层层展开奠定了情感与艺术的基础。

Allusions

Though a modern free poem, its cultural meaning is rooted in the meeting of Chinese and Western traditions; as the opening of the standard text, its cultural craft is especially deliberate. First, the cultural image of 'Cambridge' (Cambridge University): Cambridge is both the geographic university and the holy land of English romantic literature (home of Byron, Shelley, Keats), and the symbol of Xu Zhimo's 'spiritual homeland'—'Cambridge opened my eyes,' and the 'again' of 'saying goodbye again' hides a triple time structure of 'came—returned—farewell'; what is left is not only Cambridge but the former self. Second, the cultural meaning of 'bidding farewell to the clouds in the western sky': 'western sky' in Chinese context means both the West (England is west) and covertly the aftertaste of Buddhism's 'western paradise'; bidding farewell to 'clouds' not 'people' takes a lofty, empty purity, transforming the object of parting from a concrete person to natural clouds—exactly the modern transformation of the Chinese classical 'writing feeling through objects' tradition, also covertly matching the seeing-off tradition of 'floating clouds, wanderer's intent' (Li Bai's 'floating clouds, wanderer's intent; setting sun, old friend's feeling'). Third, the imagistic tradition of 'golden willow as bride': metaphorizing with 'bride' inherits the Shi Jing's 'the peach is young, bright and blooming' using a new bride for peach blossoms—peach like bride, willow like bride, both give nature the warmth and sacred glow of life's fairest image (bride); also covertly matching the English Lake Poets' (Wordsworth) romantic imagining of nature as bride, a Chinese-Western fusion. Fourth, the theoretical background of the Crescent School: Wen Yiduo advocated 'three beauties' (musical, painterly, architectural), and Xu's poem is its practice specimen; the repetition of 'softly' and echo of 'quietly' (final stanza) show the Crescent School's conscious pursuit of 'metricized, musical' poetry. As the standard text, these two stanzas are especially condensed in cultural meaning: the cloud's farewell, the willow's bride, the wave's bright reflection—each image carries the double memory of Chinese and Western lyric traditions.

此诗虽为现代自由诗，其文化意蕴却深植于中西传统的交汇，作为「正式」定本的开篇，更见其文化经营的匠心。其一是「康桥」（Cambridge，剑桥）的文化意象：康桥既是地理的剑桥大学，也是英国浪漫主义文学的圣地（拜伦、雪莱、济慈的母校），更是徐志摩「精神故乡」的象征——「康桥教我睁了眼」，「再别」之「再」字暗含「曾来—重来—告别」的三重时间结构，别离的不仅是康桥，更是旧日的自己。其二是「作别西天的云彩」的文化意蕴：「西天」一词，在中国语境中既指西方（英国在西方），又暗含佛家「极乐西天」的余韵；以「云彩」作别而不言「人」，取景高洁而情致空灵，别离的对象由具体的人抽象为自然的云，正是中国古典诗「以物写情」传统的现代转化，亦暗合「浮云游子意」的送别传统（李白「浮云游子意，落日故人情」）。其三是「金柳如新娘」的意象传统：以「新娘」喻物，承《诗经》「桃之夭夭，灼灼其华」以新嫁娘写桃花的传统——桃花如新娘、金柳如新娘，皆以人生最美的形象（新娘）赋予自然之物以人的温度与神圣的光辉；亦暗合英国湖畔诗人（华兹华斯）以自然为新娘的浪漫想象，中西合璧。其四是新月派的理论背景：闻一多倡「三美」（音乐美、绘画美、建筑美），徐志摩此诗正是「三美」的实践标本；其「轻轻」的复沓与「悄悄」的呼应（全诗末节），更见新月派对诗歌「格律化」「音乐化」的自觉追求。作为正式定本，此两节在文化意蕴上尤为凝练：云的作别、柳的新娘、波的艳影，每一意象都承载着中西抒情传统的双重记忆。

Commentary

'Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again' is among the most widely circulated and influential masterpieces of modern Chinese poetry; this version (opening two stanzas of the standard text) is its artistic essence. In poetic value, the poem pushes the Crescent School's 'three beauties' to the extreme: musically, the repetition of 'softly' and the rhymes 'come/clouds,' 'bride/trembles' form one of the most beautiful melodies in Chinese new poetry; imagistically, the color and light of golden willow, clouds, shimmering reflection compose an impressionist oil painting; structurally, the two stanzas symmetric yet lengths varying are a model of 'architectural beauty'—as the opening of the standard text, these two stanzas lay the emotional tone and artistic paradigm for all seven, influencing countless later lyric poems. In literary-historical standing, the poem marks the Crescent School's move from 'metric experiment' to 'artistic maturity,' one of the few modern vernacular poems artistically comparable to classical masterpieces since the May Fourth; the opening 'softly I go' became a classic voice of Chinese modern poetry, repeatedly quoted, imitated, set to music. In cultural influence, 'saying goodbye to Cambridge again' has become a double metaphor for Chinese intellectuals' 'spiritual homeland' and 'vanished youth'; the poem is in textbooks at every level, set to music, nurturing generations' taste; the emotional posture of 'deep love yet no disturbance' conveyed by 'soft coming and going' has become a universal life mood beyond parting. In textual terms, the differences between the standard text and the draft and excerpt (version two) also reflect Xu Zhimo's repeated polishing—the standard text's head-tail echo of 'softly—quietly' is the witness of its metric craft. The poem's artistic life endures nearly a century, a true classic of Chinese new poetry.

《再别康桥》是中国现代诗史上流传最广、影响最深的名篇之一，本「版本」（正式定本的开篇两节）更是其艺术精华所在。就诗学价值言，此诗把新月派「三美」主张推至极致：音乐上「轻轻」的复沓与「来／彩」「娘／漾」的押韵，构成中国新诗中最优美的旋律之一；意象上金柳、云彩、波光、艳影的色彩与光影组合，如一幅印象派油画；结构上两节对称而句行参差，是「建筑美」的典范——作为「正式」定本的开篇，此两节为全诗七节奠定了情感基调与艺术范式，其影响及于后世无数抒情诗。就文学史地位言，此诗标志着新月派由「格律试验」走向「艺术成熟」，是五四以来白话新诗在艺术上足以与古典名篇比肩的少数杰作；「轻轻的我走了」开篇即成为中国现代诗的经典声口，被反复引用、模仿、谱曲。就文化影响言，「再别康桥」已成为中国知识分子对「精神故乡」与「逝去青春」的双重隐喻，此诗被选入各级教材、谱曲传唱，哺育了几代人的审美；「轻轻的来去」所传达的「深爱而不扰」的情感姿态，更成为一种超越离别主题的普遍人生况味。就版本言，正式定本与初稿、节选本（版本二）的差异，也折射出徐志摩对这首诗的反复打磨——正式本首尾「轻轻—悄悄」的呼应，正是其格律经营的见证。此诗的艺术生命历近百年而不衰，是中国新诗史上真正的经典。

Prosody

Form Free verse (Crescent School metricized free verse, two-line stanza form).自由诗（新月派格律化自由诗，二行一节式）
Rhyme The two stanzas rhyme sparsely yet with return: the first stanza's 'come / clouds' (ai rhyme) slant-rhymes across lines, the end words 'come' and 'clouds' echoing afar, sparse and round; the second stanza's 'bride / trembles' (ang rhyme) slant-rhymes, the rhyme long like the shimmering light. The whole does not force rhyme yet its charm is natural; the repeated 'softly' and the recurring 'I' form a returning musical effect, exactly the Crescent School's 'musical beauty' realized.两节诗押韵疏朗而回环：首节「来／彩」（ai韵）隔句相押，尾字「来」与「彩」遥相呼应，韵脚疏朗，音节圆转；次节「娘／漾」（ang韵）隔句相押，韵脚悠长，如波光荡漾。全诗不刻意押韵而韵致天然，「轻轻」的叠词复沓与「我」的重复出现，构成回环往复的音乐效果，正是新月派「音乐美」的落实。
Tone pattern Line lengths vary (five to nine characters), stretching with feeling: the first stanza's three 'softly' short lines continue, like a triple movement of light music, gentle and slow; 'say goodbye to the clouds in the western sky' is slightly longer, like a soft sigh; the second stanza's 'that riverside golden willow is a bride in the setting sun' states slowly like a gaze; 'lingers in my heart' lengthens the syllables with 'trembles,' like the heart's tide, long aftertaste. The whole tone is gentle, low, one chant and three sighs.句式长短参差（五至九字），随情感起伏而伸缩：首节三「轻轻」短句连绵，如轻音乐的三重奏，节奏轻柔舒缓；「作别西天的云彩」稍长，如一声轻叹；次节「那河畔的金柳，是夕阳中的新娘」以判断句舒缓道来，如凝神注视；「在我的心头荡漾」以「荡漾」二字拖长音节，如心潮起伏，余韵悠长。全诗语调轻柔、低回，一唱三叹。
Reading note As a practice specimen of the Crescent School's 'three beauties,' this poem's rhythmic beauty lies in 'form within freedom, return within gentleness'; as the opening of the standard text, its rhythm was repeatedly polished by Xu Zhimo. In rhyme, the poem uses a loose 'slant rhyme across lines' (first stanza ai, second ang), not dense rhyme but sparse feet, exactly fitting the gentle tone of 'soft farewell'—dense rhyme tends urgent, sparse rhyme alone shows composure; 'come/clouds' and 'bride/trembles,' one closing one opening (ai closes on a front vowel, ang opens on a back nasal), like two soft sighs, one short one long. In rhythm, the triple repetition of 'softly' is the core: like a thematic motive in music, each appearance evokes the auditory impression of 'gentle'; the four appearances of 'I' (I go / I softly come / I softly wave / my heart) make the whole like a self-speaking monologue, intimate and low. In line form, both stanzas take four lines as a unit, the count neat yet lengths varying (five to nine characters), like the rise-develop-turn-conclude of a musical phrase: the first line short opens (softly I go), the second continues with 'just as,' the third turns (I softly wave), the fourth closes (say goodbye to the clouds in the western sky), a melody within one stanza; the second 'that riverside golden willow is a bride in the setting sun' states slowly like a gaze, 'its bright reflection lingers in my heart' closes lengthening with 'trembles' like the heart's after-wave. This design of 'repeated word as motive, sparse rhyme as frame, varying length as rhythm' is the Crescent School's conscious pursuit of 'dancing in shackles'; and as the standard text, these two stanzas' rhythm echoes the final stanza's 'quietly I go, just as I quietly came' with 'quietly'—'softly' and 'quietly' both repeated words, both gentle; the standard text uses these two words to set the head and tail, its metric craft being exactly why 'Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again' is a rhythmic model of Chinese new poetry—free yet not loose, gentle yet not slick; read softly, slowly, low, to show its musical beauty.作为新月派「三美」主张的实践标本，此诗的韵律之美在「自由中见格律、轻柔中见回环」，作为「正式」定本的开篇，其韵律更经徐志摩的反复打磨。押韵上，全诗采用「隔句押韵」的松散韵律（首节ai韵、次节ang韵），不押密韵而韵脚疏朗，正合「轻轻的告别」的轻柔格调——密韵易显急促，疏韵方显从容；「来／彩」与「娘／漾」的韵尾一收一放（ai收于前元音、ang放于后鼻音），如两声轻叹，一短一长。节奏上，叠词「轻轻」的三次复沓是全诗节奏的核心：如音乐中的主题动机，每次出现都唤起「轻柔」的听觉印象；「我」字的四次出现（我走了／我轻轻的来／我轻轻的招手／我的心头），又使全诗如自白式的独语，亲切而低回。句式上，两节皆以四行为单元，行数整齐而句长参差（五至九字），如乐句的起承转合：首行短句起（轻轻的我走了），次行以「正如」承接（正如我轻轻的来），三行转（我轻轻的招手），四行收（作别西天的云彩），一节之内自成旋律；次节「那河畔的金柳，是夕阳中的新娘」以判断句式舒缓道来，如凝视，「波光里的艳影，在我的心头荡漾」以「荡漾」二字拖长音节收束，如心潮的余波。这种「以叠词为动机、以疏韵为骨架、以参差为节奏」的韵律设计，正是新月派「戴着镣铐跳舞」的自觉追求；而作为正式定本，此两节的韵律与全诗末节「悄悄的我走了，正如我悄悄的来」的「悄悄」形成首尾呼应——「轻轻」与「悄悄」同是叠词、同表轻柔，正式本以此二词定全诗的首尾，其格律经营之精，正是《再别康桥》成为中国新诗韵律典范的原因——自由而不散漫，轻柔而不浮滑，诵读时宜轻、宜缓、宜低回，方见其音乐美。

Line by line

轻轻的我走了，正如我轻轻的来；我轻轻的招手，作别西天的云彩。

Softly I go, just as softly I came; softly I wave my hand, to say goodbye to the clouds in the western sky. (The first stanza is the poem's most famous opening and the setter of its emotion and rhythm; as the opening of the standard text, its repetition of 'softly' is exactly the start of the whole poem's 'softly—quietly' return structure. 'Softly I go, just as softly I came' writes the symmetry of 'come—go' with a returning syntax: coming is soft, going is soft, as if nothing were disturbed—'softly' repeats three times, like a triple movement of light music, making the parting steps audible, and writing the emotional posture of 'deep love yet reluctant to disturb' to the full: precisely because the love for Cambridge is too deep, the farewell is with the lightest steps, afraid to disturb this pure land and the cherished memory within. 'I softly wave my hand, to say goodbye to the clouds in the western sky' raises the object of farewell from 'people' to 'clouds'—bidding farewell not to a person but to clouds, lofty and empty in framing, gentle in feeling: clouds are of the western sky, fleeting, bidding farewell to clouds is bidding farewell to that cloud-like old time; 'say goodbye' is solemn yet not sad, like a soft sigh. The returning syntax (softly I go, just as softly I came) is like an anaphora, syllables flowing, one chant and three sighs, writing the lingering reluctance—becoming the most classic farewell voice of Chinese modern poetry; and 'softly' also echoes the final stanza's 'quietly I go,' the standard text's head-tail return beginning here.)

轻轻地我走了，正如我轻轻地来；我轻轻地招手，与西天的云彩作别。首节以「轻轻」的复沓写离别姿态之轻柔，奠定全诗轻柔惆怅的基调。

Gently I go, as gently I came; I gently wave farewell to the clouds of the western sky.

首节是全诗最著名的开篇，也是全诗情感与节奏的定调，作为「正式」定本的开篇，其「轻轻」的复沓正是全诗「轻轻—悄悄」回环结构的起点。「轻轻的我走了，正如我轻轻的来」以回环的句式写「来—去」的对称：来是轻轻的，走也是轻轻的，仿佛不曾惊动什么——「轻轻」三次复沓（轻轻的我走了／我轻轻的来／我轻轻的招手），如轻音乐的三重奏，把离别的脚步写得轻柔可闻，也把「深爱而不忍惊扰」的情感姿态写得淋漓尽致：正因为对康桥爱之太深，才以最轻的脚步告别，怕惊动这片净土，也怕惊动自己心中珍藏的记忆。「我轻轻的招手，作别西天的云彩」更把告别的对象从「人」升华为「云彩」——不与人道别而与云彩道别，取景高洁，情致空灵：云彩是西天的、是飘忽的，与云彩作别，即与那一段云彩般的旧日时光作别；「作别」二字郑重而不悲伤，如一声轻叹。句式的回环（轻轻的我走了，正如我轻轻的来）如顶真，音节流转，一唱三叹，把「欲说还休」的惆怅写得婉转低回，遂成中国现代诗中最经典的告别声口——而「轻轻的」亦与全诗末节「悄悄的我走了」遥相呼应，正式定本的首尾回环，于此句已开其端。

The going. Gently I go, as gently I came; I gently wave farewell to the clouds of the western sky. The gently go and gently come and the waved-farewell western clouds are the opening. To have gone gently would be a going; the gently-i-go-as-gently-i-came-i-gently-wave-farewell-to-the-clouds-of-the-western-sky is the going.

那河畔的金柳，是夕阳中的新娘；波光里的艳影，在我的心头荡漾。

That riverside golden willow is a bride in the setting sun; its bright reflection in the shimmering waves lingers in my heart. (The second stanza is the poem's brightest image, using the 'bride' metaphor for the willow's beauty, the peak of 'painterly beauty' and the most famous two lines of the standard text. 'That riverside golden willow is a bride in the setting sun'—golden willow: the riverside drooping willow gilded by the setting sun; bride: using life's fairest image (bride) for the willow, tender, sacred, shy, personifying and vivifying the natural scene, like Wordsworth's romantic imagining of nature as bride—the willow was heartless, yet with the 'bride' metaphor gains human warmth; 'in the setting sun' points the source of color: the willow's gold comes exactly from the sunset's glow, light and color fused, like an impressionist oil painting; and 'setting sun' covertly holds the melancholy of 'the setting sun is infinitely fine, only near dusk'—within the golden beauty already lies parting's sorrow, the scene fairer the harder the leave. 'Its bright reflection in the shimmering waves lingers in my heart'—'bright reflection' writes the willow's shadow in the waves, shimmering bright; 'lingers in my heart' with 'trembles' writes the heart's motion: the bright reflection in the waves not only enters the eye but trembles into the heart, unforgettable—from 'riverside (golden willow)' to 'shimmering light (bright reflection)' to 'heart (trembles),' the lens moves outside to inside, object to heart, internalizing Cambridge's beauty into the heart's deep attachment. This stanza follows the first's 'soft farewell': precisely because the heart trembles with Cambridge's bright reflection, the farewell must be so soft—one writes posture, one writes attachment, two faces of one cloth, the poem's tenderness now swaying, also building feeling for the later 'seeking dreams,' 'singing,' 'taking not a cloud'.)

那河畔的金柳，是夕阳中的新娘；它倒映在波光里的美丽身影，在我的心头荡漾不去。次节以「新娘」喻金柳，写康桥之美在心头挥之不去。

The golden willows by the river are a bride in the sunset; her bright image mirrored in the waves ripples on in my heart.

次节是全诗意象最鲜明的一节，以「新娘」之喻写康桥之美，是「绘画美」的巅峰，也是正式定本中最负盛名的两行。「那河畔的金柳，是夕阳中的新娘」——金柳：夕阳下河畔的垂柳，被夕阳镀成金色；新娘：以人生中最美的形象（新娘）喻柳，娇美、神圣、含羞，把自然之景拟人化、生命化，正如华兹华斯以自然为新娘的浪漫想象——柳本无情，因「新娘」之喻而有了人的温度；「夕阳中」三字更点出色彩的来源：金柳之金，正因夕阳之辉，光与色交融，如一幅印象派油画；而「夕阳」又暗含「夕阳无限好，只是近黄昏」的惆怅——金色的美景中已含离别的哀愁，景愈美而别愈难。「波光里的艳影，在我的心头荡漾」——「艳影」写柳影倒映波中，波光粼粼，影亦明艳；「在我的心头荡漾」以「荡漾」写心潮之动：波光里的艳影，不只是映入眼帘，更荡入心头，挥之不去——从「河畔（金柳）」到「波光（艳影）」再到「心头（荡漾）」，镜头由外及内、由物及心，把康桥之美内化为心灵深处的眷恋。此节承首节「轻轻的告别」而来：正因为心头荡漾着康桥的艳影，告别才须如此轻柔——两节一写姿态、一写眷恋，互为表里，全诗的柔情至此已摇曳生姿，也为后文「寻梦」「放歌」「不带走一片云彩」的层层展开蓄足了情。

The bride. The golden willows by the river are a bride in the sunset; her bright image mirrored in the waves ripples on in my heart. The golden-willow bride and the rippling-on-in-my-heart are the image. To have been the bride would be a being; the the-golden-willows-by-the-river-are-a-bride-in-the-sunset-her-bright-image-mirrored-in-the-waves-ripples-on-in-my-heart is the being.

Study

Word focus

轻轻 'Softly' is the first keyword of 'Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again,' appearing three times in the first stanza (softly I go / I softly come / I softly wave), the pivot of the poem's musicality and emotional tone; as the opening word of the standard text, it especially shows its 'tone-setting' power. Its subtleties are four: first, writing heavy with light—the softer the parting posture, the heavier the feeling; 'softly' is like tiptoeing farewell, afraid to disturb Cambridge's every grass and tree, also afraid to disturb the cherished memory, lightening the heavy being the most moving place of this poem; second, forming musicality—'softly' is a reduplicated word, read gentle and soft, three repetitions like a triple movement of light music, with the 'come/clouds' rhyme, syllables round, one chant and three sighs, exactly the Crescent School's 'musical beauty'; third, shaping the posture of 'go'—'softly go' echoes the final stanza's 'quietly go,' the standard text's head-tail symmetry of 'softly—quietly' pivots on this word—'softly' is the opening posture, 'quietly' the closing posture, one soft one quiet, the poem's 'deep love yet no disturbance' completing its return within these two words; fourth, varying position—in 'softly I go' 'softly' is fronted as an adverbial, highlighting its lightness; in 'I softly come' it is centered; in 'I softly wave' fronted again, the three positions staggered, the syntax flexible, avoiding the reduplicated word's stiffness. The use of these two characters makes the poem's feeling light as a feather yet long as a thread, a model of Xu Zhimo's 'controlling the heavy with the light,' and one of the most famous reduplicated words in Chinese new poetry. 「轻轻」二字是《再别康桥》的第一关键词，首节三见（轻轻的我走了／我轻轻的来／我轻轻的招手），是全诗音乐性与情感基调的支点，作为正式定本的开篇之词，更见其「定调」之功。其妙处有四：其一，以轻写重——离别的姿态越轻，情感越重，「轻轻」二字如踮起脚尖的告别，怕惊动康桥的一草一木，也怕惊动心中珍藏的记忆，举重若轻正是此诗最动人的地方；其二，构成音乐性——「轻轻」为叠词，读来轻柔绵软，三次复沓如轻音乐的三重奏，与「来／彩」的押韵相配合，音节圆转，一唱三叹，正是新月派「音乐美」的落实；其三，塑造「走」的姿态——「轻轻的走」与全诗末节「悄悄的走」相呼应，正式定本首尾「轻轻—悄悄」的对称，正是以此词为枢纽——「轻轻」是开篇的姿态，「悄悄」是收束的姿态，一轻一悄，全诗「深爱而不扰」的情感在此二词间完成回环；其四，位置的变化——「轻轻的我走了」中「轻轻」前置，如状语前置，突出其轻；「我轻轻的来」中「轻轻」居中；「我轻轻的招手」又前置，三处位置错落，句式灵动，避免了叠词的呆板。二字之用，使全诗的情感如羽毛般轻盈而绵长，是徐志摩炼字「以轻驭重」的典范，也是中国新诗中最著名的叠词之一。
金柳 'Golden willow' (in 'that riverside golden willow') is one of the poem's brightest images, the focus of 'painterly beauty,' and the most color-gifted creation of the standard text. 'Golden willow' is the drooping willow gilded by the setting sun: the willow by the river is common, nothing strange, but with the word 'gold' color is born—the sunset's afterglow on the willow, willow threads like golden filaments hanging, light and color fused, like an impressionist oil painting. Its subtleties are three: first, writing the sacred with color—'gold' is the color of sacredness and splendor, the golden willow like a bride in a temple, giving the river's ordinary scene a sacred glow, exactly Cambridge as 'spiritual homeland' in Xu Zhimo's eyes—the common riverside willow sacred through 'gold'; second, building for the 'bride' metaphor—precisely because the willow is 'gold,' it deserves to be 'a bride in the setting sun,' color and metaphor mutually completing, like a wedding's splendor; third, covertly writing the dusk of time—'gold' comes from 'setting sun,' and the setting sun is the hour of parting, the melancholy time, within the golden beauty already lies the faint sorrow of 'the setting sun is infinitely fine, only near dusk,' the scene fairer the harder the leave. Compared with the classical 'willow' seeing-off tradition (the Shi Jing's 'when I left, the willows were drooping'), 'golden willow' recasts the 'willow—parting' image with color, both inheriting tradition and renewed—the willow is still the seeing-off willow, but 'gold' gives it modern radiance, exactly Xu Zhimo's proudest image-forging and the classic example of the Crescent School's painterly beauty. 「那河畔的金柳」之「金柳」二字，是全诗最鲜明的意象之一，也是「绘画美」的焦点，更是正式定本中最具色彩感的创造。「金柳」即夕阳下被镀成金色的垂柳：柳为河畔常见之物，本不足奇，而着一「金」字，色彩顿生——夕阳的余晖洒在柳树上，柳丝如金线垂拂，光与色交融，如一幅印象派油画。其妙处有三：其一，以色彩写圣洁——「金」是神圣、华美的颜色，金色的柳如圣殿中的新娘，使康桥的寻常之景焕发出神圣的光辉，这正是徐志摩眼中「精神故乡」的康桥——寻常的河柳因「金」而神圣；其二，为「新娘」之喻蓄势——正因为柳是「金」的，才配作「夕阳中的新娘」，色彩与比喻相须而成，如婚礼的华彩；其三，暗写时间的黄昏——「金」来自「夕阳」，而夕阳正是离别的时刻、惆怅的时分，金色的美景中已含「夕阳无限好，只是近黄昏」的淡淡哀愁，景愈美而别愈难。与古典诗词中「杨柳」的送别传统（《诗经》「昔我往矣，杨柳依依」）相比，「金柳」以色彩重铸了「柳—离别」的意象，使其既承传统又焕然一新——柳仍是送别之柳，而「金」字赋予其现代的光辉，正是徐志摩意象炼铸的得意之笔，也是「新月派」绘画美最经典的例证。
荡漾 'Trembles' (in 'lingers in my heart') is the second stanza's close and the hinge of the poem's emotional internalization. 'Tremble/ripple' means water's slight motion, undulating; originally writing the water's surface, Xu Zhimo moves it to write 'the heart'—the bright reflection trembles in the heart, the heart's tide like water undulating, feeling like shimmering light flowing. Its subtleties are four: first, writing the heart with water—'trembles' is originally the wave's state, moved to write the heart, giving abstract feeling the substance of water: the heart is not calm but undulates like a water surface, Cambridge's bright reflection stirs the heart's tide, the feeling's motion tangible; second, bridging before and after—'trembles' comes from 'its bright reflection in the shimmering waves': the waves tremble, so the reflection trembles; the reflection trembles on the waves, also in the heart—from 'shimmering waves' to 'heart,' one word connects, object and self fused, exactly the wonder of 'writing feeling through scene'; third, writing the unforgettable—'trembles' is a continuing, repeating undulation, not a moment's ripple but a long unceasing rise and fall—the bright reflection trembles in the heart unforgettable, exactly the lingering of the Cambridge love, providing the emotional ground for 'soft farewell': precisely because the heart trembles, the farewell must be so soft; fourth, the softness of syllables—'trembles' is a double syllable (dang yang), long and low in tone, read like shimmering light, the heart's tide rising and falling, matching the reduplicated 'softly' etc., exactly the Crescent School's 'musical beauty' at the word-sound level. With these two characters, Cambridge's beauty moves from the bright reflection before the eyes to the heart's feeling-tide, the poem's tenderness reaching its extreme, also paving for the later 'in the soft waves of the Cam, I would gladly be a water-plant.' 「在我的心头荡漾」之「荡漾」二字，是次节的收束，也是全诗情感内化的枢纽。「荡漾」训水波微动、起伏不定，本写水面的波动，徐志摩移以写「心头」——艳影在心头荡漾，心潮如水波起伏，情思如波光流动。其妙处有四：其一，以水写心——「荡漾」本是波光之态，移以写心，使抽象的情感有了水的质感：心头不是平静的，而是如水面般荡漾起伏，康桥的艳影搅动了心潮，情感的波动具体可感；其二，承上启下——「荡漾」承「波光里的艳影」而来：波光荡漾，故艳影荡漾；艳影荡漾于波，亦荡漾于心——由「波光」到「心头」，一词贯通，物我交融，正是「以景写情」的妙笔；其三，写挥之不去——「荡漾」是持续的、反复的波动，不是一时的涟漪，而是久久不息的起伏——艳影在心头荡漾不去，正是康桥之恋挥之不去的写照，为「轻轻的告别」提供了情感的依据：正因为心头荡漾，告别才须如此轻柔；其四，音节的绵软——「荡漾」双声叠韵（dang yang），音调悠长低回，读来如波光粼粼、心潮起伏，与「软软的」「轻轻的」等叠词相配，正是新月派「音乐美」在词音上的体现。二字一出，康桥之美便由眼前的艳影化为心头的情潮，全诗的柔情至此而极，也为后文「在康河的柔波里，我甘心做一条水草」的深情预作了铺垫。

Related Reading

再别康桥·版本二 Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again (Version Two) 徐志摩 · 同诗不同版本，一为节选一为正式定本，共见全诗结构的首尾回环 Same poem, different versions—one an excerpt, one the standard text, together showing the head-tail return of the whole structure.

'Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again (Version Two)' and 'Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again (Standard)' both come from Xu Zhimo's poem; version two is an excerpt (first two stanzas), the standard is the seven-stanza final text (this version records its opening two stanzas). Read together they show the whole's structure and mood: the first two stanzas (identical in both versions) write 'soft coming and going' and 'golden willow, bright reflection,' setting the farewell posture and presenting the core image; the standard then has 'watercress on the soft mud,' 'a pool under the elm shade,' 'seeking dreams? pole a long punt,' 'but I cannot sing,' 'quietly I go' stanzas, moving from riverside willow to watercress below, rainbow above, then to the 'seeking dreams' memory and the restraint of 'cannot sing,' finally closing with 'quietly I go, just as I quietly came; I wave my sleeve, taking not a cloud'—echoing the first stanza's 'softly,' forming a complete return structure. Version two opens with 'softly' and stops at the first two stanzas; the standard opens with 'softly' and closes with 'quietly,' one soft one quiet, exactly the head-tail completion of the 'deep love yet no disturbance' posture. From excerpt to whole, the layers of the Cambridge love (posture—attachment—memory—restraint—wave) become complete, and the standard's first two stanzas are exactly the start of this complete structure.

《再别康桥·版本二》与《再别康桥·正式》同出徐志摩《再别康桥》，版本二为节选本（前两节），正式本为全诗七节的定本（本版本录其开篇两节）。合观二者，可见全诗的结构与意境：前两节（两版本相同）写「轻轻的来去」与「金柳艳影」，是告别姿态的定调与核心意象的呈现；正式版其后尚有「软泥上的青荇」「榆荫下的一潭」「寻梦？撑一支长篙」「但我不能放歌」「悄悄的我走了」诸节，由河畔金柳写到水底青荇、天上彩虹，再写到「寻梦」的回忆与「不能放歌」的克制，最终以「悄悄的我走了，正如我悄悄的来；我挥一挥衣袖，不带走一片云彩」收束，与首节「轻轻」遥相呼应，形成完整的回环结构。版本二以「轻轻」开篇而止于前两节；正式本以「轻轻」起、以「悄悄」收，一轻一悄，正是全诗「深爱而不扰」情感姿态的首尾完成。由节选入全篇，康桥之恋的层次（姿态—眷恋—回忆—克制—挥别）方告完整，而正式本首两节正是这完整结构的起点。

 沙扬娜拉 Sayonara 徐志摩 · 同为徐志摩告别名篇，一别康桥一别日本女郎，共见其「轻轻」诗风 Both are Xu Zhimo's famous farewell poems—one bids goodbye to Cambridge, one to a Japanese lady, together showing his 'softly' style.

'Sayonara' (1924) and 'Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again' are both Xu Zhimo's famous farewell poems: 'Sayonara' writes parting from a Japanese lady with 'most is that one低头 of tenderness, like a water-lily shy before the cool wind,' just five lines, writing the instant tenderness of 'one低头' movingly; 'Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again' writes parting from Cambridge with 'softly I go,' its opening two stanzas writing the lingering attachment of 'soft coming and going' with winding lowness. Both take 'tenderness' as基调, both excel at 'personifying object as human (water-lily / bride),' both write heavy parting feeling with a gentle tone; the difference is 'Sayonara' is addressed to a person, feeling concentrated in an instant's shyness and the farewell sound of 'take care,' while 'Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again' is self-lyric, feeling diffused through Cambridge's every grass and old time. One writes parting from 'person,' one from 'place'; read together they show the two sides of Xu Zhimo's 'softly' style—tender feeling and beautiful image—also the twin jewels of Crescent School lyric art.

《沙扬娜拉》（1924）与《再别康桥》同为徐志摩的告别名篇：《沙扬娜拉》以「最是那一低头的温柔，像一朵水莲花不胜凉风的娇羞」写与日本女郎的告别，短短五行，把「一低头」的瞬间温柔写得楚楚动人；《再别康桥》以「轻轻的我走了」写与康桥的告别，正式本开篇两节，把「轻轻的来去」的依依别情写得缠绵低回。二诗皆以「温柔」为基调，皆以「以物喻人（水莲花／新娘）」见长，皆以轻柔的语感写沉重的别情；差异在于，《沙扬娜拉》是赠人之作，情感集中在一瞬的娇羞与「珍重」的道别声中；《再别康桥》是自抒之作，情感弥漫于康桥的一草一木与旧日时光。二诗一写「人」之别、一写「地」之别，合观正见徐志摩「轻轻」诗风的两个侧面——情致之柔与意象之美，也是新月派抒情艺术的双璧。

 我所知道的康桥 The Cambridge I Know 徐志摩 · 同写康桥，一文一诗互为注脚，共见「康桥情结」的完整表达 Both write Cambridge—one essay, one poem, mutual annotations, together the complete expression of the 'Cambridge complex.'

Xu Zhimo's essay 'The Cambridge I Know' and his poem 'Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again' are sister pieces on Cambridge: the essay in tens of thousands of words details Cambridge's college life, field scenery, and the four seasons' mornings and dusks—'Cambridge's spirit is all in one river'—a poetic prose; the poem (seven stanzas of the standard text) condenses the attachment to Cambridge into images like 'softly,' 'golden willow,' 'bright reflection,' the essay's poeticization. Read together they show the complete expression of Xu Zhimo's 'Cambridge complex': the essay's self-confession 'my eyes were opened by Cambridge' is exactly the emotional root of the poem's 'say goodbye to the clouds in the western sky'; the essay's descriptions of 'golden willow on the river' and 'sunset in the western sky' are exactly the image prototypes of the poem's 'willow like bride' and 'bidding farewell to clouds.' One essay one poem, one exposition one condensation, one realist one lyric, exactly a fine contrast of 'same subject, two genres' in modern Chinese literature, also showing Xu Zhimo's creative path of 'raising poetry with prose, refining prose with poetry'—and the standard text's opening two stanzas' 'golden willow' and 'bright reflection' are exactly the most condensed poetic eyes from the essay's Cambridge memory.

徐志摩散文《我所知道的康桥》与诗《再别康桥》同为康桥题材的姊妹篇：散文以数万言的篇幅细写康桥的学院生活、田野风光与四季晨昏，「康桥的灵性全在一条河上」，是诗意的散文；诗（正式本七节）以精炼的笔墨，把对康桥的眷恋凝于「轻轻」「金柳」「艳影」等意象之中，是散文的诗化。合观二者，可见徐志摩「康桥情结」的完整表达：散文中「我的眼是康桥教我睁的」的自白，正是诗中「作别西天的云彩」的情感根源；散文里「河上的金柳」「西天的晚霞」的描写，正是诗中「金柳如新娘」「作别云彩」的意象原型。一文一诗，一铺陈一凝练，一写实一抒情，恰成中国现代文学中「同一题材、两种文体」的绝佳对照，也可见徐志摩「以散文养诗、以诗炼散文」的创作路径——而正式定本开篇两节的「金柳」「艳影」，正是从散文的康桥记忆中最凝练出的诗眼。