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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

沁园春·孤馆灯青

Qinyuanchun: The Blue Lamp in a Lonely Inn

苏轼

Su Shi

行旅Travel 感慨Reflection

孤馆灯青，野店鸡号，旅枕梦残。
渐月华收练，晨霜耿耿，云山摛锦，朝露漙漙。
世路无穷，劳生有限，似此区区长鲜欢。
微吟罢，凭征鞍无语，往事千端。
当时共客长安，似二陆初来俱少年。
有笔头千字，胸中万卷，致君尧舜，此事何难。
用舍由时，行藏在我，袖手何妨闲处看。
身长健，但优游卒岁，且斗尊前。

Blue burns the lamp in the lonely inn; at the country inn a cock crows; on the traveller's pillow the dream lies broken.
By degrees the moonlight furls its silken train, the morning frost glints clear, the clouded hills unfold their brocade, the dawn dew gathers round and full.
The roads of the world are endless, the toiling life is brief; in so narrow a compass, lasting joy is rare.
My low chanting ended, I lean on the travelling saddle, speechless - a thousand threads of bygone things.
Once we were fellow guests at Chang'an, like the two Lus newly arrived, both of us young.
A thousand characters at the brush's tip, ten thousand scrolls within the breast - to make our prince a Yao or a Shun: how hard could that be?
To be used or set aside is a matter of the age; to serve or to withdraw rests with me. Why not fold one's hands and watch from a quiet place?
Let the body but stay strong, and I will wander at ease to the end of my years, and match cups before the wine.

Listen

Meaning

Written on the road to Mizhou, the lyric opens on a sleepless dawn in a lonely inn, where a broken dream, a crowing cock and the fading moonlight define the traveller's desolation. From that chill scene the poet reflects that the world's roads are endless while a toiling life is short, so lasting joy is rarely to be found. The second half recalls the young Su brothers arriving in the capital full of ambition, confident that a thousand words and ten thousand scrolls could make their ruler a sage-king. Since office depends on the times but withdrawal depends on oneself, he resolves to keep his health, live at ease and drink while he may.

孤馆灯青，野店鸡号，旅枕梦残。渐月华收练，晨霜耿耿，云山摛锦，朝露漙漙。世路无穷，劳生有限，似此区区长鲜欢。微吟罢，凭征鞍无语，往事千端。当时共客长安，似二陆初来俱少年。有笔头千字，胸中万卷，致君尧舜，此事何难。用舍由时，行藏在我，袖手何妨闲处看。身长健，但优游卒岁，且斗尊前。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Su Shi's lyric moves from a freezing roadside dawn - blue lamp, crowing cock, broken dream - through the whitening frost and dewy hills of morning, to the lament that life is short and joy scant. The lower half turns to memory: the two young brothers in Chang'an, their learning and their political faith, and finally a deliberately light conclusion about health, leisure and wine. [Structure] The two stanzas are built on a single contrast: the first presents the traveller's present solitude in scene after scene; the second opposes to it the remembered ardour of youth. Sense-images dominate the upper stanza, argument and recollection the lower. [Imagery] The opening triad - lonely inn, country cock, broken dream - compresses an entire night of unrest into nine words. The word gradually governs the whole second line, so that moonlight, frost, cloud-hills and dew are seen not as a static picture but as the slow advance of dawn. Such writing turns a miserable lodging into something spacious and clear, and it is this clarity that lets the closing stanza sound resigned without sounding defeated.

【白话串讲】苏轼写《沁园春·孤馆灯青》：“孤馆灯青，野店鸡号，旅枕梦残”——“世路无穷，劳生有限，似此区区长鲜欢”——“微吟罢，凭征鞍无语，往事千端”——“当时共客长安，似二陆初来俱少年”——他写旅途与怀旧。【意象与手法】此词写行旅，以感慨写行旅，是苏轼的名篇。上片写旅夜：「孤馆灯青，野店鸡号，旅枕梦残。渐月华收练，晨霜耿耿，云山摛锦，朝露漙漙」写孤馆灯青、野店鸡号、旅枕梦残——写尽旅夜的孤馆；下片写感慨：「当时共客长安，似二陆初来俱少年。有笔头千字，胸中万卷，致君尧舜，此事何难」写当时共客长安、似二陆初来俱少年——写尽当年的豪情。全词以感慨写行旅，写尽旅夜的孤馆与当年的豪情，是苏轼的代表作。【情感与主旨】此词写行旅，以感慨写行旅，是苏轼的名篇。此词为苏轼赴密州途中经苏州时所作，写旅途孤馆与当年豪情。苏轼早年与弟苏辙同入京应举，抱负不凡；然仕途多舛，此词于旅途中追怀往事，感慨人生。上片写孤馆灯青，野店鸡号，旅枕梦残；渐月华收练，晨霜耿耿，云山摛锦，朝露漙漙；世路无穷，劳生有限，似此区区长鲜欢；微吟罢，凭征鞍无语，往事千端。下片写当时共客长安，似二陆初来俱少年；有笔头千字，胸中万卷，致君尧舜，此事何难；用舍由时，行藏在我，袖手何妨闲处看；身长健，但优游卒岁，且斗尊前。此词写旅夜：孤馆灯青，野店鸡号，旅枕梦残——写孤馆灯青、野店鸡号、旅枕梦残，写尽旅夜的孤馆；渐月华收练，晨霜耿耿，云山摛锦，朝露漙漙——写渐月华收练、晨霜耿耿、云山摛锦、朝露漙漙，写尽收练的月华；世路无穷，劳生有限，似此区区长鲜欢——写世路无穷、劳生有限、似此区区长鲜欢，写尽有限的劳生；微吟罢，凭征鞍无语，往事千端——写微吟罢、凭征鞍无语、往事千端，写尽无语的往事；当时共客长安，似二陆初来俱少年——写当时共客长安、似二陆初来俱少年，写尽二陆的当年；有笔头千字，胸中万卷，致君尧舜，此事何难——写有笔头千字、胸中万卷、致君尧舜、此事何难，写尽致君的家情；用舍由时，行藏在我，袖手何妨闲处看——写用舍由时、行藏在我、袖手何妨闲处看，写尽闲处的行藏；身长健，但优游卒岁，且斗尊前——写身长健、但优游卒岁、且斗尊前，写尽优游的尊前。全词以感慨写行旅——那「孤馆灯青」写尽旅夜的孤馆，「且斗尊前」写尽优游的尊前，写尽旅夜的孤馆与当年的豪情，是理解苏轼行旅词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「孤馆灯青，野店鸡号，旅枕梦残」写旅夜的孤馆；「用舍由时，行藏在我，袖手何妨闲处看」写闲处的行藏；以及全词以感慨写行旅、以对照写豪情的手法。

Background

Su Shi (1037-1101), courtesy name Zizhan, styled Dongpo Jushi, was born in Meishan, Sichuan. A towering figure of Northern Song letters, he excelled as poet, prose writer, calligrapher and painter, and is counted among the Eight Masters of Tang and Song; with Xin Qiji he forms the paired reputation of Su-Xin in song-lyrics. This lyric was written while he was travelling to take up his post at Mizhou, as he passed through Suzhou. Years earlier he and his younger brother Su Zhe had gone up to the capital for the examinations together, full of confidence in their talents and their mission. His official career proved full of reversals, however, and here, on the road, he looks back over that early ambition from the middle of a journey, measuring the distance between the young man who thought nothing was hard and the traveller watching the dawn from a lonely inn.

此词写行旅，以感慨写行旅，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」。此词为苏轼赴密州途中经苏州时所作，写旅途孤馆与当年豪情。苏轼早年与弟苏辙同入京应举，抱负不凡；然仕途多舛，此词于旅途中追怀往事，感慨人生。上片写孤馆灯青，野店鸡号，旅枕梦残；渐月华收练，晨霜耿耿，云山摛锦，朝露漙漙；世路无穷，劳生有限，似此区区长鲜欢；微吟罢，凭征鞍无语，往事千端。下片写当时共客长安，似二陆初来俱少年；有笔头千字，胸中万卷，致君尧舜，此事何难；用舍由时，行藏在我，袖手何妨闲处看；身长健，但优游卒岁，且斗尊前。此词写旅夜：「孤馆灯青，野店鸡号，旅枕梦残」写孤馆灯青、野店鸡号、旅枕梦残——写尽旅夜的孤馆（孤馆灯青，野店鸡号，旅枕梦残）；「渐月华收练，晨霜耿耿，云山摛锦，朝露漙漙」写渐月华收练、晨霜耿耿、云山摛锦、朝露漙漙——写尽收练的月华（渐月华收练，晨霜耿耿，云山摛锦，朝露漙漙）；「世路无穷，劳生有限，似此区区长鲜欢」写世路无穷、劳生有限、似此区区长鲜欢——写尽有限的劳生（世路无穷，劳生有限，似此区区长鲜欢）；「微吟罢，凭征鞍无语，往事千端」写微吟罢、凭征鞍无语、往事千端——写尽无语的往事（微吟罢，凭征鞍无语，往事千端）；「当时共客长安，似二陆初来俱少年」写当时共客长安、似二陆初来俱少年——写尽二陆的当年（当时共客长安，似二陆初来俱少年）；「有笔头千字，胸中万卷，致君尧舜，此事何难」写有笔头千字、胸中万卷、致君尧舜、此事何难——写尽致君的豪情（有笔头千字，胸中万卷，致君尧舜，此事何难）；「用舍由时，行藏在我，袖手何妨闲处看」写用舍由时、行藏在我、袖手何妨闲处看——写尽闲处的行藏（用舍由时，行藏在我，袖手何妨闲处看）；「身长健，但优游卒岁，且斗尊前」写身长健、但优游卒岁、且斗尊前——写尽优游的尊前（身长健，但优游卒岁，且斗尊前）。全词以感慨写行旅，写尽旅夜的孤馆与当年的豪情，是理解苏轼行旅词的重要篇章。

Art

Four techniques carry the lyric. First, the scene speaks for the lodging: the blue lamp, the country cock and the broken dream never name loneliness, yet they define it exactly. Second, parallelism accumulates the morning: moonlight, frost, cloud-hills and dew are set side by side, and the adverb gradually gives the whole series the movement of light spreading across the sky. Third, allusion summons the past: the two Lus - the Western Jin writers Lu Ji and Lu Yun, who arrived in Luoyang as brilliant young men - stand for Su Shi and his brother entering the capital. Fourth, the closing gesture of open-handed detachment transforms disappointment into poise. Two verbal choices deserve notice. The single word gradually makes the dawn a process rather than a picture, so the reader watches the night being folded away. And the pairing of endless against limited sets the boundless world's roads against the brief toiling life, concentrating the whole philosophical complaint into one measured antithesis. Together these devices let a stanza of complaint end in good humour.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以景语写孤馆。「孤馆灯青」以景语写孤馆——那「野店鸡号」写尽野店的鸡鸣，以景语写尽旅夜的孤馆。其二，以排比写晨景。「渐月华收练」以排比写晨景——那「晨霜耿耿」「朝露漙漙」写尽晨霜的朝露，以排比写尽收练的月华。其三，以用典写当年。「似二陆初来俱少年」以用典写当年——那「二陆」用陆机陆云典写当年，以用典写尽二陆的当年。其四，以旷达写行藏。「袖手何妨闲处看」以旷达写行藏——那「用舍由时，行藏在我」写尽由时的行藏，以旷达写尽闲处的行藏。此外，此词上片写旅夜的孤馆，下片写当年的豪情，由旅及情，正是行旅词「以旅写慨」的写法。四重手法，使此词以感慨写行旅，写尽旅夜的孤馆与当年的豪情，是苏轼的代表作。此词还善于以「渐月华收练」的「渐」字写晨景之推移——那「渐月华收练」写尽月华的收练，正是以渐写移，以「渐」字写尽收练的月华。又善以「世路无穷，劳生有限」的「无穷」「有限」写世路之感慨——世路无穷而劳生有限，正见人生有限的深慨，以「无穷」写尽有限的劳生。

Allusions

The diction is saturated with the conventions of travel writing and of reflection. The lonely inn and its blue lamp belong to a long line of nights away from home, from Gao Shi's cold lamp in a hostel to Lu You's remembered lamplight. The country cock echoes Wen Tingyun's cock-crow, moon over the thatched inn. Cloud-hills spreading brocade recalls the stock phrase of brocaded cloud and rosy dawn. The two Lus refers to Lu Ji and Lu Yun, the Western Jin brothers famous as a pair, whose arrival in the capital became a byword for youthful brilliance. To make the prince a Yao or a Shun adapts Du Fu's famous line about lifting his ruler above Yao and Shun. Finally, to be used or set aside echoes the Confucian commonplace that office depends on the age while withdrawal depends on oneself. Su Shi's art lies in pressing these inherited materials into the service of one particular dawn.

此词的用语深植于行旅与感慨传统。「孤馆」令人想到「孤馆」写孤寂馆舍的意象——也令人想到「旅馆寒灯独不眠」（高适）的意象；「灯青」令人想到「灯青」写青灯的意象——也令人想到「青灯有味是儿时」（陆游）的意象；「野店鸡号」令人想到「野店鸡号」写野店鸡鸣的意象——也令人想到「鸡声茅店月」（温庭筠）的意象；「摛锦」令人想到「摛锦」写铺展锦绣的意象——也令人想到「云霞摛锦」的意象；「二陆」令人想到「二陆」写陆机陆云的意象——西晋文学家，也令人想到「陆机入洛」的意象；「致君尧舜」令人想到「致君尧舜」写辅君为尧舜的意象——杜甫「致君尧舜上」，也令人想到「尧舜之治」的意象。全词化用孤馆、灯青、野店鸡号、摛锦、二陆、致君尧舜的意象典故，以感慨写行旅，正是苏轼「清旷」而善用典、承行旅传统写感慨之本领。「旅枕梦残」令人想到「旅枕梦残」写旅枕残梦的意象——也令人想到「梦回吹角连营」（辛弃疾）的意象；「二陆」令人想到「二陆」写陆机陆云的意象——西晋文学家，兄弟齐名，也令人想到「机云入洛」的意象，以二陆写当年豪情。

Commentary

The lyric has long been ranked among Su Shi's finest travel pieces and is a standard example of Song reflection on the road. Qing critics praised it for rendering travel through reflection, finding heroic ease within clarity and openness; modern readers single out the line about using and setting aside as its signature. Its particular value in the history of the form is that a long two-stanza lyric is made to hold both an entire night of discomfort and an entire youth of ambition. Read beside Su Shi's other Qinyuanchun lyrics, and beside his poem on Shengchi - where life is likened to a swan goose treading snow - it shows the same mind turning chance and transience into composure. For readers today the piece remains the clearest window onto the travel lyric of Su Shi: a blue lamp in a roadside inn that still speaks, across a thousand years, of a man making his peace with the road.

此词历来被推为苏轼行旅词的名篇，也是宋词写旅途感慨的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以感慨写行旅，清旷中见豪放」；近人更指出「用舍由时，行藏在我，袖手何妨闲处看」写闲处的行藏，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旅夜的孤馆与当年的豪情——那孤馆，那灯青，那野店鸡号，那旅枕梦残，那渐月华收练，那晨霜耿耿，那云山摛锦，那朝露漙漙，那世路无穷，那劳生有限，那似此区区长鲜欢，那微吟罢，那凭征鞍无语，那往事千端，那当时共客长安，那似二陆初来俱少年，那有笔头千字，那胸中万卷，那致君尧舜，那此事何难，那用舍由时，那行藏在我，那袖手何妨闲处看，那身长健，那但优游卒岁，那且斗尊前，都写尽了苏轼笔下的沁园春；那「且斗尊前」更以旷达写尽优游的尊前。此词与苏轼《沁园春·情若连环》同为沁园春名篇，一写「有情风、万里卷潮来」的送别（八声甘州），一写「孤馆灯青」的行旅（沁园春）；又与苏轼《和子由渑池怀旧》「人生到处知何似」的行旅感慨一脉相承，可见中国词写行旅感慨的传统。对于今日读者，此词是理解苏轼行旅词的窗口，也是宋词写旅途感慨的经典——那孤馆的青灯，穿越千年，仍在诉说着优游的尊前。

Prosody

Form Song lyric to the tune Qinyuanchun, in two stanzas词·沁园春

Rhyme Level-tone rhyme sustained throughout on the words for broken, round, joy, threads, young, hard, watch and before; one rhyme carried from opening to close without change.沁园春，押「残」「漙」「欢」「端」「年」「难」「看」「前」韵（平声），平韵到底

Tone pattern The tune uses level-tone rhyme throughout, giving a spacious, unhurried and rather heroic music that suits a lyric of the open road and an unbowed temper.此词为沁园春词调，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节豪放，正合行旅的豪放。

Reading note The upper stanza runs from the lonely inn through the dawn scene to the complaint about life and closes on a thousand threads of the past; the lower stanza runs from Chang'an through youthful ambition to the resolve to withdraw and drink. Line lengths alternate between short four-character phrases and long sweeping lines, so the music swells and contracts. In reading, the confident couplet about making the prince a sage-king should be declaimed at full voice, while the closing line about matching cups before the wine should be lightened, ending with a lingering ease. The result is the clarity and openness for which Su Shi's lyrics are known.此词为沁园春词调，两片——上片「孤馆灯青，野店鸡号，旅枕梦残。渐月华收练，晨霜耿耿，云山摛锦，朝露漙漙。世路无穷，劳生有限，似此区区长鲜欢。微吟罢，凭征鞍无语，往事千端」；下片「当时共客长安，似二陆初来俱少年。有笔头千字，胸中万卷，致君尧舜，此事何难。用舍由时，行藏在我，袖手何妨闲处看。身长健，但优游卒岁，且斗尊前」，押平韵（残、漙、欢、端、年、难、看、前），一韵到底，音节豪放。全词以感慨写行旅：上片写旅夜的孤馆（孤馆灯青、旅枕梦残），下片写当年的豪情（当时共客长安、且斗尊前）。两片短章，前写孤馆，后写豪情，以「且斗尊前」写尽优游的尊前，正见苏轼「清旷」的本色。诵读此词，宜以豪放的语调读「致君尧舜，此事何难」的豪情，以旷达的语调读「且斗尊前」的尊前，结句要读得豪放而有余韵，方能传达出苏轼的清旷豪放。苏轼词以「清旷」著称，此词正是其行旅词的典范。

Line by line

用舍由时，行藏在我，袖手何妨闲处看

To be used or set aside is a matter of the age; to serve or to withdraw rests with me. Why not fold one's hands and watch from a quiet place?

用舍由时，行藏在我，袖手何妨闲处看。

Employment or rejection lies with the times; going forth or lying hidden lies with me. Hands in the sleeves, why not watch from an idle corner?

此句是全词写行藏的核心，以用舍由时写由时，以行藏在我写在我，以袖手何妨闲处看写闲处看，写尽闲处的行藏，是千古名句。「用舍由时」写用舍由时——那「用舍」写用舍，「由时」写由时，写尽用舍的由时；「行藏在我」写行藏在我——那「行藏」写行藏，「在我」写在我，写尽行藏的我主；「袖手何妨闲处看」写袖手何妨闲处看——那「袖手何妨」写袖手何妨，「闲处看」写闲处看，写尽闲处的观看。这句的深意在于：它以「用舍由时」的由时与「行藏在我」的在我与「袖手何妨闲处看」的闲处看，写尽闲处的行藏——用舍由时，那「用舍由时」写尽用舍的由时——用舍由时，正是用舍听天的写照，那「由时」写尽闲处的行藏；行藏在我，那「行藏在我」写尽行藏的我主——行藏在我，正是行藏自决的写照，那「在我」写尽闲处的行藏；袖手何妨闲处看，那「袖手何妨闲处看」写尽闲处的观看——袖手何妨闲处看，正是袖手旁观的写照，那「闲处看」写尽闲处的行藏；那「用舍由时」写尽用舍的由时，那「行藏在我」写尽行藏的我主，那「袖手何妨闲处看」写尽闲处的观看，一写由时，一写在我，一写闲看，写尽闲处的行藏——用舍听天而行藏在我，正是旷达的写照；此句以由时、在我、闲看写尽闲处的行藏，也让此句成为全词写行藏的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「用不用由时运，行不行由我自己，袖手旁观又有何妨」，则失其旷达；唯以「用舍由时」写由时、「行藏在我」写在我、「袖手何妨闲处看」写闲处看，写尽闲处的行藏，也让此句成为全词写行藏的核心。

The line is the core of the ci's going or hiding, writing the times through employment or rejection lies with the times, the self through going forth or lying hidden lies with me, and the idle watching through hands in the sleeves, why not watch from an idle corner?, exhausting the ease of the going and hiding. Employment or rejection lies with the times is precisely the picture of leaving promotion to heaven's will; going forth or lying hidden lies with me precisely the picture of the self's own decision; hands in the sleeves, why not watch from an idle corner? precisely the picture of standing by with folded arms. The deep meaning: employment waits on the times, yet the going and hiding rest with me, and I may stand aside at ease, precisely the picture of the broad-minded composure. Were it said plainly whether I am used lies with the age, whether I act lies with myself, and why not stand aside, the magnanimity would be lost; only through employment or rejection lies with the times, going forth or lying hidden lies with me, hands in the sleeves, why not watch from an idle corner? is the idle ease of the going and hiding exhausted, making the line the core of the ci.

孤馆灯青，野店鸡号，旅枕梦残

Blue burns the lamp in the lonely inn; at the country inn a cock crows; on the traveller's pillow the dream lies broken.

孤馆灯青，野店鸡号，旅枕梦残。

The lone inn, the lamp's blue flame; the wayside inn, the rooster's call; the traveler's pillow, the broken dream.

此句是全词写孤馆的核心，以孤馆灯青写灯青，以野店鸡号写鸡号，以旅枕梦残写梦残，写尽旅夜的孤馆，是千古名句。「孤馆灯青」写孤馆灯青——那「孤馆」写孤馆，「灯青」写灯青，写尽孤馆的青灯；「野店鸡号」写野店鸡号——那「野店」写野店，「鸡号」写鸡号，写尽野店的鸡鸣；「旅枕梦残」写旅枕梦残——那「旅枕」写旅枕，「梦残」写梦残，写尽旅枕的残梦。这句的深意在于：它以「孤馆灯青」的灯青与「野店鸡号」的鸡号与「旅枕梦残」的梦残，写尽旅夜的孤馆——孤馆灯青，那「孤馆灯青」写尽孤馆的青灯——孤馆灯青，正是孤馆灯暗的写照，那「灯青」写尽旅夜的孤馆；野店鸡号，那「野店鸡号」写尽野店的鸡鸣——野店鸡号，正是野店鸡鸣的写照，那「鸡号」写尽旅夜的孤馆；旅枕梦残，那「旅枕梦残」写尽旅枕的残梦——旅枕梦残，正是旅中残梦的写照，那「梦残」写尽旅夜的孤馆；那「孤馆灯青」写尽孤馆的青灯，那「野店鸡号」写尽野店的鸡鸣，那「旅枕梦残」写尽旅枕的残梦，一写灯青，一写鸡号，一写梦残，写尽旅夜的孤馆——孤馆青灯而野店鸡鸣，正是旅途的写照；此句以灯青、鸡号、梦残写尽旅夜的孤馆，也为下文的晨景作铺垫，也让此句成为全词写孤馆的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「孤寂的馆舍里灯色青暗，野店鸡叫，旅途中枕上的梦也残了」，则失其意境；唯以「孤馆灯青」写灯青、「野店鸡号」写鸡号、「旅枕梦残」写梦残，写尽旅夜的孤馆，也让此句成为全词写孤馆的核心。

The line is the core of the ci's lone inn, writing the blue lamp through the lone inn, the lamp's blue flame, the rooster's call through the wayside inn, the rooster's call, and the broken dream through the traveler's pillow, the broken dream, exhausting the lone inn of the travel night. The lone inn, the lamp's blue flame is precisely the picture of the dim inn lamp; the wayside inn, the rooster's call precisely the picture of the rooster at the wayhouse; the traveler's pillow, the broken dream precisely the picture of the broken dream on the road. The deep meaning: the lone inn's blue lamp and the wayside rooster's call, exhausting the travel-night solitude. One writes the lamp, one the rooster, one the dream, the travel night's lone inn exhausted — the blue lamp of the lone inn and the rooster of the wayhouse, precisely the picture of the journey. Were it said plainly the lamp in the lonely inn is blue and dim, the rooster crows at the wayhouse, the traveler's dream broken, the mood would be lost; only through the three images is the travel night's lone inn exhausted, preparing the morning scene below and making the line the core of the ci.

Study

Word focus

残 In the broken dream on the traveller's pillow, this word means left over, breaking off, incomplete. It describes a dream cut short by waking, and at the same time the exhaustion of a body worn by the road, so that one syllable carries both the shattered night and the weary traveller. 「旅枕梦残」之「残」字是写孤馆的关键词，一个「残」字写尽旅枕的残梦。残者，将尽、残缺也。苏轼以「旅枕梦残」写孤馆，这个「残」字至少有双重意味：其一，写梦之残——那「旅枕梦残」写旅枕梦残，那「残」字写尽旅枕的残梦——梦残，正是残梦将尽的写照，那「残」字写尽旅夜的孤馆；其二，写情之困——那「残」字更是写困——残，正见旅途劳顿的困顿，那「残」字写尽苏轼的行旅。以「残」字写孤馆，正是苏轼写行旅的枢纽——若换作「断」「尽」等字，则或失其与「旅枕」「梦残」的配合，或失其写残的意味；唯「残」字，以旅枕梦残写尽旅枕之残梦与旅途之劳顿，与「孤馆灯青」的灯青相合，写尽旅夜的孤馆，也让「旅枕梦残」成为全词写孤馆的名句。

由 In the line about being used or set aside, this word means to be left to, to follow from. It makes office and dismissal depend wholly on the age rather than on the man, and precisely by surrendering what cannot be controlled it opens the way to the self-possession claimed in the following clause. 「用舍由时」之「由」字是写行藏的关键词，一个「由」字写尽用舍的由时。由者，听凭、由着也。苏轼以「用舍由时」写行藏，这个「由」字至少有双重意味：其一，写时之由——那「用舍由时」写用舍由时，那「由」字写尽用舍的由时——由时，正是听凭时运的写照，那「由」字写尽闲处的行藏；其二，写心之放——那「由」字更是写放——由，正见听天由命的旷达，那「由」字写尽苏轼的清旷。以「由」字写行藏，正是苏轼写行旅的枢纽——若换作「听」「随」等字，则或失其与「用舍」「时」的配合，或失其写由的意味；唯「由」字，以用舍由时写尽用舍之由时与听天由命之旷达，与「行藏在我」的在我相合，写尽闲处的行藏，也让「用舍由时」成为全词写行藏的名句。