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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

鹊桥仙·夜闻杜鹃

Que Qiao Xian — Hearing the Cuckoo at Night

陆游

Lu You

羁旅Wandering 思乡Homesickness

茅檐人静，蓬窗灯暗，春晚连江风雨。
林莺巢燕总无声，但月夜、常啼杜宇。
催成清泪，惊残孤梦，又拣深枝飞去。
故山犹自不堪听，况半世、飘然羁旅。

By the thatched eaves, all is still;
The bamboo-window lamp is dim;
Late spring, wind and rain over the endless river.
The forest orioles and nesting swallows make no sound at all —
Only in the moonlit night the cuckoo constantly cries.
It urges forth clear tears, startles the broken lone dream,
Then picks a deep branch and flies away.
My old hills I could hardly bear to hear it —
How much more, half a lifetime a drifting wanderer.

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Meaning

On a rainy spring night far from home, the poet hears only the cuckoo's plaintive cry among silent birds. Its call draws tears and breaks his dream; he reflects that even in his homeland the bird is unbearable, let alone in lifelong exile. The poem is a classic of wandering and homesickness.

茅檐人静，蓬窗灯暗，春晚连江风雨。林莺巢燕总无声，但月夜、常啼杜宇。催成清泪，惊残孤梦，又拣深枝飞去。故山犹自不堪听，况半世、飘然羁旅。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Lu You's 'Que Qiao Xian — Hearing the Cuckoo at Night': 'By the thatched eaves, all is still; the bamboo-window lamp is dim; late spring, wind and rain over the endless river' — 'the forest orioles and nesting swallows make no sound at all — only in the moonlit night the cuckoo constantly cries' — 'it urges forth clear tears, startles the broken lone dream, then picks a deep branch and flies away' — 'my old hills I could hardly bear to hear it; how much more, half a lifetime a drifting wanderer.' He hears the cuckoo at night — my old hills I could hardly bear to hear it. [Imagery] The lyric writes wandering through homesickness. The upper part writes the night scene: thatched eaves still, bamboo-window lamp dim, late-spring river wind-rain, the silent orioles and swallows, only the moonlit cuckoo — exhausting the wanderer's night. The lower writes homesickness: clear tears urged, lone dream startled, the old hills unbearable, half a lifetime wandering — exhausting the wanderer's homesickness. The whole writes wandering through homesickness, exhausting the night scene and the homesickness. [Feeling] Lu You wrote this when, on travel or official posting, he heard the cuckoo at night and thought of home. The cuckoo is Du Yu, said to be the soul of the Shu king, its cry bitter like 'go home, go home,' so the wanderer hears it and longs the more for home.

【白话串讲】陆游写《鹊桥仙·夜闻杜鹃》：“茅檐人静，蓬窗灯暗，春晚连江风雨”——“林莺巢燕总无声，但月夜、常啼杜宇”——“催成清泪，惊残孤梦，又拣深枝飞去”——“故山犹自不堪听，况半世、飘然羁旅”——他夜里听杜鹃——故山犹自不堪听。【意象与手法】此词写羁旅，以思乡写羁旅，是陆游的名篇。上片写夜景：「茅檐人静，蓬窗灯暗，春晚连江风雨。林莺巢燕总无声，但月夜、常啼杜宇」写茅檐人静、蓬窗灯暗、春晚连江风雨、但月夜、常啼杜宇——写尽羁旅的夜境；下片写乡思：「催成清泪，惊残孤梦，又拣深枝飞去。故山犹自不堪听，况半世、飘然羁旅」写催成清泪、惊残孤梦、故山犹自不堪听——写尽羁旅的乡思。全词以思乡写羁旅，写尽羁旅的夜境与羁旅的乡思，是陆游的代表作。【情感与主旨】此词写羁旅，以思乡写羁旅，是陆游的名篇。此词写陆游在旅途或宦游中夜闻杜鹃啼声而思乡。杜鹃即杜宇，相传为蜀帝杜宇魂魄所化，啼声哀切，如「不如归去」，故游子闻之倍思乡。此词写夜景：茅檐人静，蓬窗灯暗，春晚连江风雨——写茅檐人静、蓬窗灯暗、春晚连江风雨，写尽羁旅的夜境；林莺巢燕总无声，但月夜、常啼杜宇——写林莺巢燕总无声、但月夜、常啼杜宇，写尽夜闻的杜宇；催成清泪，惊残孤梦，又拣深枝飞去——写催成清泪、惊残孤梦、又拣深枝飞去，写尽闻啼的清泪；故山犹自不堪听，况半世、飘然羁旅——写故山犹自不堪听、况半世、飘然羁旅，写尽羁旅的乡思。全词以思乡写羁旅——那「常啼杜宇」写尽羁旅的夜境，「故山犹自不堪听」写尽羁旅的乡思，写尽羁旅的夜境与羁旅的乡思，是理解陆游羁旅词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「林莺巢燕总无声，但月夜、常啼杜宇」写夜闻的杜宇；「故山犹自不堪听，况半世、飘然羁旅」写羁旅的乡思；以及全词以思乡写羁旅、以声写愁的手法。

Background

This lyric writes wandering through homesickness, a famous piece by Lu You. Lu You (1125–1210), styled Wu-guan, hao Fang-weng, from Shanyin (modern Shaoxing, Zhejiang), was a Southern Song patriotic poet. The lyric was written when, on travel or official posting, he heard the cuckoo at night and thought of home. The cuckoo is Du Yu, said to be the soul of the Shu king, its cry bitter like 'go home, go home,' so the wanderer hears it and longs the more. The upper part writes the night scene; the lower homesickness — from scene to feeling, exactly the wandering lyric's 'sound gives rise to feeling.'

此词写羁旅，以思乡写羁旅，是陆游的名篇。陆游（1125—1210），字务观，号放翁，越州山阴（今浙江绍兴）人，南宋爱国诗人。此词写陆游在旅途或宦游中夜闻杜鹃啼声而思乡。杜鹃即杜宇，相传为蜀帝杜宇魂魄所化，啼声哀切，如「不如归去」，故游子闻之倍思乡。此词写夜景：「茅檐人静，蓬窗灯暗，春晚连江风雨」写茅檐人静、蓬窗灯暗、春晚连江风雨——写尽羁旅的夜境（茅檐人静，蓬窗灯暗，春晚连江风雨）；「林莺巢燕总无声，但月夜、常啼杜宇」写林莺巢燕总无声、但月夜、常啼杜宇——写尽夜闻的杜宇（林莺巢燕总无声，但月夜、常啼杜宇）；「催成清泪，惊残孤梦，又拣深枝飞去」写催成清泪、惊残孤梦、又拣深枝飞去——写尽闻啼的清泪（催成清泪，惊残孤梦）；「故山犹自不堪听，况半世、飘然羁旅」写故山犹自不堪听、况半世、飘然羁旅——写尽羁旅的乡思（故山犹自不堪听，况半世、飘然羁旅）。全词以思乡写羁旅，写尽羁旅的夜境与羁旅的乡思，是理解陆游羁旅词的重要篇章。

Art

The lyric's art can be read in four aspects. First, plain description of the night scene: 'by the thatched eaves, all is still; the bamboo-window lamp is dim' writes the night with plain description. Second, contrast for the cuckoo: 'the forest orioles and nesting swallows make no sound at all — only in the moonlit night the cuckoo constantly cries' writes the orioles silent and the cuckoo alone crying, by contrast. Third, personification of the cry: 'it urges forth clear tears, startles the broken lone dream' writes the cry urging tears and startling the dream. Fourth, contrast for homesickness: 'my old hills I could hardly bear to hear it; how much more, half a lifetime a drifting wanderer' writes the old hills against the wandering. Moreover the upper part writes the night scene, the lower homesickness, scene to feeling — the wandering lyric's 'hearing sound, giving rise to feeling.' Especially notable are the characters 'urge' and 'startle' — 'urges forth clear tears' with 'urge' writes the cry urging tears, 'startles the broken lone dream' with 'startle' writes the cry startling the dream, one urge one startle showing the cuckoo's strong touch on the wandering heart. And 'then picks a deep branch and flies away' closes with lingering resonance — the bird gone yet its cry still in the ear, the 'empty hill, no man seen, but voice heard' way of writing stillness through motion, letting the cuckoo's bitterness echo long.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以白描写夜境。「茅檐人静，蓬窗灯暗」以白描写夜境——那「人静」「灯暗」写尽茅檐的寂静，以白描写尽羁旅的夜境。其二，以反衬写杜宇。「林莺巢燕总无声，但月夜、常啼杜宇」以反衬写杜宇——那「总无声」「常啼」写尽莺燕无声而杜宇独啼，以反衬写尽夜闻的哀切。其三，以拟人写啼声。「催成清泪，惊残孤梦」以拟人写啼声——那「催成」「惊残」写尽啼声的催泪惊梦，以拟人写尽闻啼的乡思。其四，以对照写乡思。「故山犹自不堪听，况半世、飘然羁旅」以对照写乡思——那「故山」「羁旅」写尽故山与羁旅的对照，以对照写尽羁旅的乡思。此外，此词上片写羁旅的夜境，下片写羁旅的乡思，由景及情，正是羁旅词「闻声生情」的写法。四重手法，使此词以思乡写羁旅，写尽羁旅的夜境与羁旅的乡思，是陆游的代表作。此词还善于以「催」「惊」二字写鹃啼之感人——那「催成清泪」以「催」写啼声催泪，「惊残孤梦」以「惊」写啼声惊梦，一催一惊，正见鹃啼对羁旅之心的强烈触动。又善以「又拣深枝飞去」的余韵收束上意——鹃鸟飞去，而啼声犹在耳际，正是「空山不见人，但闻人语响」式的以动写静，使鹃啼的哀切久久回荡。

Allusions

The lyric's language is deep in the wandering-and-homesickness tradition. 'Du Yu' recalls the 'Du Yu' allusion of the king-of-Shu turned cuckoo — the Shu king Du Yu, titled Wang Di, after death his soul became the cuckoo, its cry bitter, also the 'cuckoo cries blood' image; 'bamboo-window' the bamboo-window image — a thatched hut's window, also Du Fu's 'the thatched gate opens for you today'; 'forest orioles and nesting swallows' the orioles-and-swallows image — also Bai Juyi's 'here and there early orioles contend for warm trees'; 'clear tears' the tears image — also Du Fu's 'feeling the time, flowers splash tears'; 'lone dream' the dream image — also 'old friends enter my dream'; 'old hills' the hometown image — also 'where is the village gate?' The whole transforms Du Yu, bamboo-window, orioles-and-swallows, clear tears, lone dream, old hills imagery — Lu You's 'deep and grave' (chen yu) skill with the wandering tradition. The cuckoo-crying-blood is an old folk tale: the Shu king Du Yu (Wang Di) after losing his state became the cuckoo, crying till blood, its voice like 'go home, go home,' so the wanderer hears it and longs the more — Bai Juyi's 'Pipa Xing' uses this; Lu You's 'constantly crying Du Yu' continues it, and 'my old hills I could hardly bear to hear it' turns a new idea — the hometown cuckoo already unbearable, how much more in wandering, showing the depth of his homesickness.

此词的用语深植于羁旅与思乡的传统。「杜宇」令人想到「杜宇」用望帝化鹃之典——相传蜀王杜宇号望帝，死后魂魄化为杜鹃，啼声哀切，也令人想到「杜鹃啼血」的意象；「蓬窗」令人想到「蓬窗」写窗的意象——蓬窗为茅屋之窗，也令人想到「蓬门今始为君开」（杜甫）的意象；「林莺巢燕」令人想到「林莺巢燕」写莺燕的意象——也令人想到「几处早莺争暖树」（白居易）的意象；「清泪」令人想到「清泪」写泪的意象——也令人想到「感时花溅泪」（杜甫）的意象；「孤梦」令人想到「孤梦」写梦的意象——也令人想到「故人入我梦」的意象；「故山」令人想到「故山」写故乡的意象——也令人想到「乡关何处是」的意象。全词化用杜宇、蓬窗、林莺巢燕、清泪、孤梦、故山的意象，以思乡写羁旅，正是陆游「沉郁」而善写羁旅、承思乡传统写乡愁的本领。杜鹃啼血为古代民间传说——蜀王杜宇（望帝）失国后化为杜鹃，啼至血出乃止，其声似「不如归去」，故游子闻之倍思乡，白居易《琵琶行》「其间旦暮闻何物？杜鹃啼血猿哀鸣」亦用此意。陆游以「常啼杜宇」写夜闻鹃啼，正承此传统，而「故山犹自不堪听」更翻出新意——故乡之鹃啼已不堪听，何况身在羁旅，正见其思乡之深。

Commentary

This lyric has long been praised as a famous wandering piece by Lu You and a representative Southern Song lyric on hearing the cuckoo at night. Critics rate it highly: a Qing reader called it 'wandering through homesickness, bitter and moving'; a modern notes 'my old hills I could hardly bear to hear it; how much more, half a lifetime a drifting wanderer' as a famous line. Its special value: in the double-tune Que Qiao Xian it exhausts the wanderer's night scene and homesickness — the thatched eaves, the bamboo-window, the dim lamp, the river wind-rain, the orioles and swallows, the moonlit night, the cuckoo, the clear tears, the lone dream, the deep branch, the old hills, the half-lifetime, the wandering — all Lu You's hearing-the-cuckoo-at-night; 'my old hills I could hardly bear to hear it' ends homesickness with contrast. It differs from Lu You's 'Chai Tou Feng' ('the mountain oath still stands, the letter hard to send') which writes love, while this writes the 'old hills unbearable' thought; and it continues Xin Qiji's 'alas, white hair born' wandering feeling — showing the Southern Song lyric's wandering tradition. For today's reader it is a window onto Lu You's wandering lyrics and a classic of Chinese cuckoo verse — that constantly crying cuckoo still speaks, across millennia, the wanderer's homesickness.

此词历来被推为陆游羁旅词的名篇，也是南宋词写夜闻鹃啼的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以思乡写羁旅，哀婉动人」；近人更指出「故山犹自不堪听，况半世、飘然羁旅」写羁旅的乡思，是此词的名句。在词史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以双调的鹊桥仙写尽羁旅的夜境与羁旅的乡思——那茅檐，那蓬窗，那灯暗，那连江风雨，那林莺巢燕，那月夜，那杜宇，那清泪，那孤梦，那深枝，那故山，那半世，那羁旅，都写尽了陆游笔下的夜闻杜鹃；那「故山犹自不堪听」更以对照写尽羁旅的乡思。此词与陆游《钗头凤》（「红酥手」）等词不同，一写「山盟虽在，锦书难托」的情（钗头凤），一写「故山犹自不堪听」的思（鹊桥仙）；又与辛弃疾「可怜白发生」的羁旅感慨一脉相承，可见南宋词写羁旅的传统。对于今日读者，此词是理解陆游羁旅词的窗口，也是中国词写鹃啼的经典——那常啼的杜宇，穿越千年，仍在诉说着羁旅的乡思。

Prosody

Form Lyric (ci) — Que Qiao Xian (Magpie Bridge Immortal)词·鹊桥仙

Rhyme Rhymes on yu, yu, qu, lu — all departing-tone (Yu category), one rhyme to the end, a bitter, gentle music.押「雨」「宇」「去」「旅」韵（去声六御），一韵到底，音节哀婉

Tone pattern This is the Que Qiao Xian tune, rhyming in oblique (departing) tone, one rhyme to the end, a bitter, gentle music fitting the homesickness's tenderness.此词为鹊桥仙词牌，押仄声韵，一韵到底，音节哀婉，正合乡思的哀婉。

Reading note Que Qiao Xian is a double-tune of 56 characters. Upper: 'By the thatched eaves, all is still; the bamboo-window lamp is dim; late spring, wind and rain over the endless river. The forest orioles and nesting swallows make no sound at all — only in the moonlit night the cuckoo constantly cries.' Lower: 'It urges forth clear tears, startles the broken lone dream, then picks a deep branch and flies away. My old hills I could hardly bear to hear it; how much more, half a lifetime a drifting wanderer.' It rhymes in the Yu category (yu, yu, qu, lu), one rhyme to the end, a bitter, gentle music. The whole writes wandering through homesickness: upper the wanderer's night scene (thatched eaves still, cuckoo constantly crying), lower the wanderer's homesickness (urges clear tears, old hills unbearable). The double short lyric first writes night scene, then homesickness, ending with 'my old hills I could hardly bear to hear it' to exhaust the homesickness — exactly Lu You's 'deep and grave' nature. Read it with a bitter, gentle tone on 'constantly crying Du Yu,' a low, returning tone on 'my old hills I could hardly bear to hear it,' the closing line bitter with lingering resonance, to convey Lu You's bitter movingness. Lu You's lyrics are famed for 'bold yet deep and grave'; this is a model of his wandering lyrics.此词为《鹊桥仙》双调，上片四句、下片四句，共五十六字——「茅檐人静，蓬窗灯暗，春晚连江风雨。林莺巢燕总无声，但月夜、常啼杜宇。催成清泪，惊残孤梦，又拣深枝飞去。故山犹自不堪听，况半世、飘然羁旅」，押「御」韵（雨、宇、去、旅），一韵到底，音节哀婉。全词以思乡写羁旅：上片写羁旅的夜境（茅檐人静、常啼杜宇），下片写羁旅的乡思（催成清泪、故山犹自不堪听）。双调短章，上写夜境，下写乡思，以「故山犹自不堪听」写尽羁旅的乡思，正见陆游「沉郁」的本色。诵读此词，宜以哀婉的语调读「常啼杜宇」的夜境，以低回的语调读「故山犹自不堪听」的乡思，结句要读得哀婉而有余韵，方能传达出陆游的哀婉动人。陆游词以「豪放沉郁」著称，此词正是其羁旅词的典范。

Line by line

故山犹自不堪听，况半世、飘然羁旅

My old hills I could hardly bear to hear it — / How much more, half a lifetime a drifting wanderer.

故山犹自不堪听，况半世、飘然羁旅。

Even in my own hills I could hardly bear to hear it; how much less now, in a half-life of drifting exile.

此二句是全词写乡思的核心，以故山犹自不堪听写故山，以况半世、飘然羁旅写羁旅，写尽羁旅的乡思，是千古名句。「故山犹自不堪听」写故山犹自不堪听——那「故山」写故山，「犹自不堪听」写犹自不堪听，写尽故山的鹃啼；「况半世、飘然羁旅」写况半世、飘然羁旅——那「半世」写半世，「飘然羁旅」写飘然羁旅，写尽半生的飘泊。这句的深意在于：它以「故山犹自不堪听」的故山与「况半世、飘然羁旅」的羁旅，写尽羁旅的乡思——故山犹自不堪听，那「故山犹自不堪听」写尽故山的鹃啼——即使在故乡，鹃啼已不堪听，正是闻啼伤情的写照，那「不堪听」写尽鹃啼的哀切；况半世、飘然羁旅，那「况半世、飘然羁旅」写尽半生的飘泊——何况半世飘然，正是羁旅的写照，那「飘然羁旅」写尽羁旅的乡思；那「故山犹自不堪听」写尽故山的鹃啼，那「况半世、飘然羁旅」写尽半生的飘泊，一写故山，一写羁旅，写尽羁旅的乡思——故乡已不堪听，何况半世羁旅，正是层层递进的乡思；此二句以故山、羁旅写尽羁旅的乡思，也让此二句成为全词写乡思的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我很想家」，则失其哀婉；唯以「故山犹自不堪听」写故山、「况半世、飘然羁旅」写羁旅，写尽羁旅的乡思，也让此二句成为全词写乡思的核心。

The two lines are the core of the ci's homesickness, an age-famed couplet. Even in my own hills I could hardly bear to hear it: the old hills write home, hardly bear the poignancy of the cuckoo's cry. How much less now, in a half-life of drifting exile: half a lifetime the years, drifting exile the wandering. The hidden art: even at home, the cuckoo's cry would already be unbearable; how much more so now, when half a life has passed in rootless exile. The progression, home already unbearable, how much more exile, writes the homesickness layer by layer; to have said baldly that I miss my home would lose the pathos, and the couplet is the heart of the ci.

林莺巢燕总无声，但月夜、常啼杜宇

The forest orioles and nesting swallows make no sound at all — / Only in the moonlit night the cuckoo constantly cries.

林莺巢燕总无声，但月夜、常啼杜宇。

The forest orioles and nesting swallows are all silent; only in the moonlit night does the cuckoo cry on and on.

此二句是全词写杜宇的核心，以林莺巢燕总无声写莺燕，以但月夜、常啼杜宇写杜宇，写尽夜闻的哀切，是千古名句。「林莺巢燕总无声」写林莺巢燕总无声——那「林莺巢燕」写林莺巢燕，「总无声」写总无声，写尽莺燕的无声；「但月夜、常啼杜宇」写但月夜、常啼杜宇——那「月夜」写月夜，「常啼杜宇」写常啼杜宇，写尽杜宇的独啼。这句的深意在于：它以「林莺巢燕总无声」的莺燕与「但月夜、常啼杜宇」的杜宇，写尽夜闻的哀切——林莺巢燕总无声，那「林莺巢燕总无声」写尽莺燕的无声——林莺巢燕，皆已无声，正是夜深人静的写照，那「总无声」写尽夜境的寂静；但月夜、常啼杜宇，那「但月夜、常啼杜宇」写尽杜宇的独啼——唯有月夜，常啼杜宇，正是鹃啼独鸣的写照，那「常啼」写尽杜宇的哀切；那「林莺巢燕总无声」写尽莺燕的无声，那「但月夜、常啼杜宇」写尽杜宇的独啼，一写无声，一写独啼，写尽夜闻的哀切——莺燕无声而杜宇独啼，正是以静衬哀的写照；此二句以莺燕、杜宇写尽夜闻的哀切，也为下片的清泪作铺垫，也让此二句成为全词写杜宇的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「晚上杜鹃在叫」，则失其哀切；唯以「林莺巢燕总无声」写莺燕、「但月夜、常啼杜宇」写杜宇，写尽夜闻的哀切，也让此二句成为全词写杜宇的核心。

The two lines are the core of the ci's cuckoo, an age-famed couplet. The forest orioles and nesting swallows are all silent: orioles and swallows the common birds, all silent the hush. Only in the moonlit night does the cuckoo cry on and on: moonlit night the time, cuckoo the lone bird. The hidden art: orioles and swallows are all silent, writing the dead quiet of deep night; only in the moonlit night the cuckoo cries alone, its plaint the only sound. Silence set against the lone cry uses stillness to set off sorrow, and prepares the clear tears of the next stanza; to have said baldly that the cuckoo is crying at night would lose the poignancy, and the couplet is the heart of the ci.

Study

Word focus

总 In 'the forest orioles and nesting swallows make no sound at all,' the character (zong, 'all / without exception') exhausts the silence of the orioles and swallows. means 'all, uniformly.' Lu You uses 'make no sound at all' to write the night scene: the character carries two senses — first, all-silent: the orioles and swallows are all silent, the portrait of deep-night stillness; second, setting off the bitterness: silent exactly shows the cuckoo crying alone in bitterness. Using for the night scene is the hinge of Lu You's wandering — swap for jie or jin and it loses thecoordinate with 'forest orioles and nesting swallows, no sound' or the sense of 'all'; only, with 'forest orioles and nesting swallows make no sound at all,' exhausts their uniform silence and the cuckoo's lone bitterness, joining 'only in the moonlit night the cuckoo constantly cries' to exhaust the night's bitterness, making this line a famous night-scene phrase. 「林莺巢燕总无声」之「总」字是写夜境的关键词，一个「总」字写尽莺燕的无声。总者，一概、皆也。陆游以「林莺巢燕总无声」写夜境，这个「总」字至少有双重意味：其一，写皆无声——那「林莺巢燕总无声」写林莺巢燕总无声，那「总」字写尽莺燕的一概无声——林莺巢燕，总皆无声，正是夜深人静的写照，那「总」字写尽夜境的寂静；其二，写衬之哀——那「总」字更是写衬——总无声，正见杜宇独啼之哀，那「总」字写尽夜闻的哀切。以「总」字写夜境，正是陆游写羁旅的枢纽——若换作「皆」「尽」等字，则或失其与「林莺巢燕」「无声」的配合，或失其写总的意味；唯「总」字，以林莺巢燕总无声写尽莺燕的一概无声与杜宇独啼的哀切，与「但月夜、常啼杜宇」的常啼相合，写尽夜闻的哀切，也让「林莺巢燕总无声」成为全词写夜境的名句。

况 In 'how much more, half a lifetime a drifting wanderer,' the character (kuang, 'how much more') exhausts the progression of homesickness. means 'much less / moreover.' Lu You uses 'how much more, half a lifetime a drifting wanderer' to write homesickness: the character carries two senses — first, the advance of feeling: the hometown already unbearable, how much more half a lifetime wandering, the portrait of layer-on-layer progression; second, the depth of feeling: shows the depth of homesickness. Using for homesickness is the hinge of Lu You's wandering — swap for geng or you and it loses thecoordinate with 'half a lifetime, drifting wanderer' or the sense of 'how much more'; only, with 'how much more, half a lifetime a drifting wanderer,' exhausts the progression of homesickness and the deep sorrow of wandering, joining 'my old hills I could hardly bear to hear it' to exhaust the homesickness, making this line a famous homesickness phrase. 「况半世、飘然羁旅」之「况」字是写乡思的关键词，一个「况」字写尽乡思的递进。况者，何况、况且也。陆游以「况半世、飘然羁旅」写乡思，这个「况」字至少有双重意味：其一，写思之进——那「况半世、飘然羁旅」写况半世、飘然羁旅，那「况」字写尽乡思的递进——故乡已不堪听，何况半世羁旅，正是层层递进的写照，那「况」字写尽羁旅的乡思；其二，写情之深——那「况」字更是写深——况，正见乡思之深，那「况」字写尽羁旅的愁绪。以「况」字写乡思，正是陆游写羁旅的枢纽——若换作「更」「又」等字，则或失其与「半世」「飘然羁旅」的配合，或失其写况的意味；唯「况」字，以况半世、飘然羁旅写尽乡思的递进与羁旅的深愁，与「故山犹自不堪听」的不堪听相合，写尽羁旅的乡思，也让「况半世、飘然羁旅」成为全词写乡思的名句。