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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

水调歌头·送杨民瞻

To the Tune Shuidaogetou: Seeing Off Yang Minzhan

辛弃疾

Xin Qiji

送别Farewell 感慨Stirred Reflections

日月如磨蚁，万事且浮休。
君看檐外江水，滚滚自东流。
风雨飘泉夜半，花草雪楼春到，老子已菟裘。
岁晚问无恙，归计橘千头。
梦连环，歌弹铗，赋登楼。
黄鸡白酒，君去村社一番秋。
长剑倚天谁问，夷甫诸人堪笑，西北有神州。
此事君自了，千古一扁舟。

Sun and moon revolve like ants on a millstone; let all human affairs drift and rest.
Look at the river beyond the eaves, rolling eastward of its own accord.
Wind and rain over Piao Spring at midnight, flowers and grass at Snow Tower when spring comes — this old man already has his Tuqiu retreat.
At the year's end I ask after your health, and your plan to retire: a thousand orange trees.
Dreams of interlocked rings; singing as one taps the sword; composing the Rhapsody on Climbing the Tower.
Yellow chicken and white wine — you go to the village festival for one more autumn.
Who now asks after the long sword leaning on the sky? Wang Yifu and his like are laughable — the northwest still holds our lost heartland.
This cause you must settle yourself; for a thousand ages, a single small boat.

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Meaning

Written to see off his friend Yang Minzhan, the song begins with a Daoist-flavoured meditation on the vanity of time — sun and moon grinding like mill-ants, all affairs floating and resting — and settles into the quiet contentment of retirement. In the second stanza the tone changes: the poet recalls frustrated heroes of old, mocks the pure-talkers who lost the north, and reminds his friend that the lost heartland still awaits men of resolve. It closes on the image of a solitary boat, blending reclusion with undying patriotic commitment.

日月如磨蚁，万事且浮休。君看檐外江水，滚滚自东流。风雨飘泉夜半，花草雪楼春到，老子已菟裘。岁晚问无恙，归计橘千头。梦连环，歌弹铗，赋登楼。黄鸡白酒，君去村社一番秋。长剑倚天谁问，夷甫诸人堪笑，西北有神州。此事君自了，千古一扁舟。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The sun and moon turn like ants on a millstone, and all affairs may well be left to drift and rest; look at the river beyond the eaves, rolling east. In wind and rain at Piao Spring, in flowers at Snow Tower, the poet already has his retreat prepared, and he asks after his friend's plan to retire to a thousand orange trees. The second stanza recalls the talents of old, sends the friend off to a village autumn festival, then breaks into the cry that no one now asks after the sky-leaning sword.<br>[Structure] The poem is built on a double turn: the upper stanza meditates on time and retirement, the lower stanza on friendship and frustrated ambition, and the final line fuses the two into the image of the single boat.<br>[Imagery] Cosmic images (mill-ants, the east-flowing river) frame personal ones (orange trees, yellow chicken and white wine), so that a private farewell is set against the turning of the heavens.<br>[Effect] Xin Qiji's gift is to make a farewell song carry the weight of a nation's grief: from 'let all affairs drift and rest' to 'the northwest still holds our lost heartland' is the whole journey of his life in eight lines.

【白话串讲】辛弃疾写《水调歌头·送杨民瞻》：“日月如磨蚁，万事且浮休”——“君看檐外江水，滚滚自东流”——“风雨飘泉夜半，花草雪楼春到，老子已菟裘”——“岁晚问无恙，归计橘千头”——“长剑倚天谁问，夷甫诸人堪笑，西北有神州”——他送杨民瞻——西北有神州。【意象与手法】此词写送别，以感慨写送别，是辛弃疾的名篇。上阕写感慨：「日月如磨蚁，万事且浮休。君看檐外江水，滚滚自东流。风雨飘泉夜半，花草雪楼春到，老子已菟裘。岁晚问无恙，归计橘千头」写日月如磨蚁、万事且浮休——写尽归计橘的千头；下阕写送别：「梦连环，歌弹铗，赋登楼。黄鸡白酒，君去村社一番秋。长剑倚天谁问，夷甫诸人堪笑，西北有神州。此事君自了，千古一扁舟」写梦连环、歌弹铗、赋登楼——写尽千古一扁的舟。全词以感慨写送别，写尽归计橘的千头与千古一扁的舟，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。此词为辛弃疾送杨民瞻之作，写其送别中的感慨与期望。辛弃疾此词写其送杨民瞻时的情怀。此词写日月如磨蚁，万事且浮休；君看檐外江水，滚滚自东流；风雨飘泉夜半，花草雪楼春到，老子已菟裘；岁晚问无恙，归计橘千头；梦连环，歌弹铗，赋登楼；黄鸡白酒，君去村社一番秋；长剑倚天谁问，夷甫诸人堪笑，西北有神州；此事君自了，千古一扁舟。此词写感慨：日月如磨蚁，万事且浮休——写日月如磨蚁、万事且浮休，写尽万事且浮的浮休；君看檐外江水，滚滚自东流——写君看檐外江水、滚滚自东流，写尽滚滚自东的东流；风雨飘泉夜半，花草雪楼春到，老子已菟裘——写风雨飘泉夜半、花草雪楼春到、老子已菟裘，写尽老子已菟的菟裘；岁晚问无恙，归计橘千头——写岁晚问无恙、归计橘千头，写尽归计橘的千头。下阕写送别：梦连环，歌弹铗，赋登楼——写梦连环、歌弹铗、赋登楼，写尽歌弹铗的赋登楼；黄鸡白酒，君去村社一番秋——写黄鸡白酒、君去村社一番秋，写尽君去村社的一番秋；长剑倚天谁问，夷甫诸人堪笑，西北有神州——写长剑倚天谁问、夷甫诸人堪笑、西北有神州，写尽西北有的神州；此事君自了，千古一扁舟——写此事君自了、千古一扁舟，写尽千古一扁的舟。全词以感慨写送别——那「归计橘千头」写尽归计橘的千头，「千古一扁舟」写尽千古一扁的舟，写尽归计橘的千头与千古一扁的舟，是理解辛弃疾送别词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「日月如磨蚁，万事且浮休」写万事且浮的浮休；「长剑倚天谁问，夷甫诸人堪笑，西北有神州」写西北有的神州；以及全词以感慨写送别、以用典写感慨的手法。

Background

Xin Qiji (1140-1207), courtesy name You'an, sobriquet Jiaxuan, was born in Licheng (modern Jinan, Shandong) in territory occupied by the Jin. As a young man he raised a volunteer force, crossed south to the Song court, and argued all his life for the recovery of the north, yet was repeatedly sidelined by the peace party and spent long years in retirement at Shangrao and Qianshan in Jiangxi. This song was written to see off his friend Yang Minzhan during those years of enforced leisure (late twelfth century). The places named in it — Piao Spring and Snow Tower — were his own retreat buildings, so the poem folds private contentment and public frustration into one farewell.

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」，有「词中之龙」之称。此词为辛弃疾送杨民瞻之作，写其送别中的感慨与期望。辛弃疾此词写其送杨民瞻时的情怀。此词写日月如磨蚁，万事且浮休；君看檐外江水，滚滚自东流；风雨飘泉夜半，花草雪楼春到，老子已菟裘；岁晚问无恙，归计橘千头；梦连环，歌弹铗，赋登楼；黄鸡白酒，君去村社一番秋；长剑倚天谁问，夷甫诸人堪笑，西北有神州；此事君自了，千古一扁舟。此词写感慨：「日月如磨蚁，万事且浮休」写日月如磨蚁、万事且浮休——写尽万事且浮的浮休（日月如磨蚁，万事且浮休）；「君看檐外江水，滚滚自东流」写君看檐外江水、滚滚自东流——写尽滚滚自东的东流（君看檐外江水，滚滚自东流）；「风雨飘泉夜半，花草雪楼春到，老子已菟裘」写风雨飘泉夜半、花草雪楼春到、老子已菟裘——写尽老子已菟的菟裘（风雨飘泉夜半，花草雪楼春到，老子已菟裘）；「岁晚问无恙，归计橘千头」写岁晚问无恙、归计橘千头——写尽归计橘的千头（岁晚问无恙，归计橘千头）。下阕写送别：「梦连环，歌弹铗，赋登楼」写梦连环、歌弹铗、赋登楼——写尽歌弹铗的赋登楼（梦连环，歌弹铗，赋登楼）；「黄鸡白酒，君去村社一番秋」写黄鸡白酒、君去村社一番秋——写尽君去村社的一番秋（黄鸡白酒，君去村社一番秋）；「长剑倚天谁问，夷甫诸人堪笑，西北有神州」写长剑倚天谁问、夷甫诸人堪笑、西北有神州——写尽西北有的神州（长剑倚天谁问，夷甫诸人堪笑，西北有神州）；「此事君自了，千古一扁舟」写此事君自了、千古一扁舟——写尽千古一扁的舟（此事君自了，千古一扁舟）。全词以感慨写送别，写尽归计橘的千头与千古一扁的舟，是理解辛弃疾送别词的重要篇章。

Art

The craft of the poem lies in four moves. First, metaphor carries cosmic time: the mill-ant image, drawn from the Book of Jin, compresses the turning of sun and moon into a single grinding wheel. Second, the river beyond the eaves, rolling east, objectifies the meditation as pure scene — a landscape that thinks. Third, a dense cluster of allusion in the lower stanza (Feng Xuan tapping his sword, Wang Can's Rhapsody on Climbing the Tower) voices both the friend's unappreciated talent and the poet's own. Fourth, argumentative directness: the rhetorical question 'who asks after the sword?' and the derision of Wang Yifu and his pure-talkers turn a farewell into patriotic exhortation. The structure moves from self to friend, from reclusion to commitment, closing on the boat that belongs at once to Fan Li's retirement and to all ages of unfulfilled heroes.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以比喻写光阴。「日月如磨蚁」以比喻写光阴——那「万事且浮休」写尽万事且浮的浮休，以比喻写尽万事且浮的浮休。其二，以写景写东流。「君看檐外江水」以写景写东流——那「滚滚自东流」写尽滚滚自东的东流，以写景写尽滚滚自东的东流。其三，以用典写感慨。「歌弹铗」以用典写感慨——那「赋登楼」写尽弹铗的赋登楼，以用典写尽歌弹铗的赋登楼。其四，以议论写神州。「长剑倚天谁问」以议论写神州——那「夷甫诸人堪笑，西北有神州」写尽西北有的神州，以议论写尽西北有的神州。此外，此词上阕写归计橘的千头，下阕写千古一扁的舟，由己及人，正是送别词「以慨写别」的写法。四重手法，使此词以感慨写送别，写尽归计橘的千头与千古一扁的舟，是辛弃疾的代表作。又，此词上阕「日月如磨蚁」用《晋书》「磨蚁」之喻写光阴之流转，「万事且浮休」化《庄子》「其生若浮，其死若休」之意，一起笔便笼罩全篇，写尽万古苍茫；「君看檐外江水，滚滚自东流」以眼前江水印证日月流转，景语即是理语；「风雨飘泉」「花草雪楼」点出自己居处，自述「老子已菟裘」之归隐心绪。下阕「梦连环」「歌弹铗」「赋登楼」连用三典，以冯谖弹铗、王粲登楼写君之怀抱；「长剑倚天谁问」一问陡起，「夷甫诸人堪笑」痛斥清谈误国，末以「西北有神州」点出题旨，把送别个人升华为志士共勉，正是辛弃疾「以词写志、雄深雅健」的本色。

Allusions

The poem is woven from classical echoes. 'Ants on a millstone' comes from the Book of Jin's description of sun and moon turning like ants on a grindstone. 'Float and rest' echoes Zhuangzi: 'Life is a float, death is a rest.' 'Tuqiu' alludes to the Zuo Tradition, where an elder asks to have his retreat at Tuqiu built for his old age. 'A thousand orange trees' refers to the Records of the Grand Historian's tale of Jiangling's thousand orange trees, a byword for a comfortable retirement. 'Interlocked rings' recalls the puzzle of nine linked rings presented to the Qi court. 'Tapping the sword' is Feng Xuan, who sang 'O long sword, let us go home' at Mengchang Jun's table. 'Climbing the Tower' is Wang Can's famous rhapsody of homesickness. 'Sword leaning on the sky' derives from Song Yu's Great Words Rhapsody. 'Wang Yifu' is Wang Yan of the Western Jin, whose pure-talk metaphysics is blamed for the loss of the north; 'the lost heartland' refers to the occupied Central Plain; and the closing small boat recalls Fan Li, who sailed away over the Five Lakes.

此词的用语深植于送别与感慨传统。「日月如磨蚁」令人想到「日月如磨蚁」写日月的意象——《晋书》「日月如磨蚁，日自东而月自西」，也令人想到「日月如梭」的意象；「浮休」令人想到「浮休」写浮休的意象——《庄子》「其生若浮，其死若休」，也令人想到「浮生若梦」的意象；「江水东流」令人想到「江水东流」写东流的意象——也令人想到「大江东去」（苏轼）的意象；「飘泉」令人想到「飘泉」写泉名的意象——辛弃疾居铅山飘泉，也令人想到「飘泉夜雨」的意象；「雪楼」令人想到「雪楼」写楼名的意象——也令人想到「雪楼春到」的意象；「菟裘」令人想到「菟裘」写归隐的意象——《左传》「使营菟裘，吾将老焉」，也令人想到「菟裘归老」的意象；「橘千头」令人想到「橘千头」写橘树的意象——《史记·货殖列传》「江陵千树橘」，也令人想到「千头木奴」的意象；「梦连环」令人想到「梦连环」写连环的意象——《战国策》解连环事，也令人想到「连环难解」的意象；「歌弹铗」令人想到「歌弹铗」写弹剑的意象——《战国策》冯谖弹铗「长铗归来乎」，也令人想到「弹铗而歌」的意象；「赋登楼」令人想到「赋登楼」写登楼的意象——王粲《登楼赋》，也令人想到「登楼怀远」的意象；「黄鸡白酒」令人想到「黄鸡白酒」写村酒的意象——也令人想到「黄鸡白酒，春社秋社」的意象；「村社」令人想到「村社」写村社的意象——也令人想到「箫鼓追随春社近」（陆游）的意象；「长剑倚天」令人想到「长剑倚天」写长剑的意象——宋玉《大言赋》「长剑耿介，倚天之外」，也令人想到「倚天长剑」的意象；「夷甫」令人想到「夷甫」写王衍的意象——《晋书》王衍清谈误国，也令人想到「清谈误国」的意象；「神州」令人想到「神州」写神州的意象——也令人想到「神州陆沉」的意象；「一扁舟」令人想到「一扁舟」写扁舟的意象——也令人想到「五湖泛舟」的意象。全词化用日月如磨蚁、浮休、江水东流、飘泉、雪楼、菟裘、橘千头、梦连环、歌弹铗、赋登楼、黄鸡白酒、村社、长剑倚天、夷甫、神州、一扁舟的意象典故，以感慨写送别，正是辛弃疾「豪放」而善用典、承苏轼词传统写感慨之本领。

Commentary

Critics have long ranked this among Xin Qiji's finest farewell songs. Qing commentators praised it for 'writing a farewell through indignant feeling, bold and bleak', and modern readers single out the opening couplet as one of his most compressed statements on time. Its special place in the ci tradition lies in the way it enlarges the farewell genre: what begins as retirement musing ends as a reminder that the northwest heartland is still lost, so private parting becomes shared purpose. Read beside 'Shuilongyin: Climbing the Heart-Watching Tower at Jiankang', with its 'I look over my Wu hook and beat the rails all over', it shows the two faces of Xin Qiji's indignant style — one at a tower, one at a parting.

此词历来被推为辛弃疾送别词的名篇，也是宋词写送别感慨的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以感慨写送别，豪放苍凉」；近人更指出「日月如磨蚁，万事且浮休」写万事且浮的浮休，是此词的名句。在词史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以中调写尽归计橘的千头与千古一扁的舟——那日月，那如磨蚁，那万事，那且浮休，那君看，那檐外，那江水，那滚滚，那自东流，那风雨，那飘泉，那夜半，那花草，那雪楼，那春到，那老子，那已菟裘，那岁晚，那问无恙，那归计，那橘千头，那梦连环，那歌弹铗，那赋登楼，那黄鸡，那白酒，那君去，那村社，那一番秋，那长剑，那倚天，那谁问，那夷甫，那诸人，那堪笑，那西北，那有神州，那此事，那君自了，那千古，那一扁舟，都写尽了辛弃疾笔下的水调歌头送杨民瞻；那「西北有神州」更以议论写尽西北有的神州。此词与辛弃疾《水龙吟·登建康赏心亭》「楚天千里清秋」同为感慨名篇，一写「把吴钩看了，栏杆拍遍」的水龙吟，一写「长剑倚天谁问」的水调歌头；一写登临，一写送别。两词对读，可见辛弃疾感慨词的两面。对于今日读者，此词是理解辛弃疾送别词的窗口，也是宋词写送别感慨的经典——那千古一扁的舟，穿越千年，仍在诉说着西北有的神州。

Prosody

Form Ci poem to the tune Shuidaogetou (Prelude of the Water Melody), a double-stanza medium-length tune词·水调歌头

Rhyme The upper stanza rhymes on xiu, liu, qiu and tou, the lower on lou, qiu and zhou — all level-tone words of the you rhyme group, held in a single rhyme throughout.水调歌头，上阕押「休」「流」「裘」「头」，下阕押「楼」「秋」「舟」（平声尤韵），一韵到底

Tone pattern Shuidaogetou is a medium-length double-stanza tune; its level-tone rhymes give a broad, ringing cadence, here suited to the poem's lofty, melancholy tone.此词为水调歌头中调，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节豪放，正合感慨的豪放。

Reading note The tune divides into two stanzas of five and four lines. The upper stanza moves from cosmic meditation to the river, to the poet's own retreat and his friend's retirement plan; the lower stanza compresses three allusions into three-word bursts (dream of interlocked rings, singing as one taps the sword, the Rhapsody on Climbing the Tower) before the turn of argument at 'who now asks after the sword'. Read the opening slowly, as cosmic rumination; let the three-word allusions tumble quickly; and give the final couplet a solemn ring, since the level rhyme on zhou carries both reclusion and patriotism.此词为水调歌头中调，上下两阕——上阕「日月如磨蚁，万事且浮休。君看檐外江水，滚滚自东流。风雨飘泉夜半，花草雪楼春到，老子已菟裘。岁晚问无恙，归计橘千头」，下阕「梦连环，歌弹铗，赋登楼。黄鸡白酒，君去村社一番秋。长剑倚天谁问，夷甫诸人堪笑，西北有神州。此事君自了，千古一扁舟」，押平韵（休、流、裘、头、楼、秋、舟），一韵到底，音节豪放。全词以感慨写送别：上阕写归计橘的千头（日月如磨蚁、风雨飘泉夜半），下阕写千古一扁的舟（歌弹铗、长剑倚天谁问）。中调铺叙，前写感慨，后写送别，以「千古一扁舟」写尽千古一扁的舟，正见辛弃疾「豪放」的本色。诵读此词，宜以豪放的语调读「日月如磨蚁」的感慨，以苍凉的语调读「西北有神州」的悲慨，结句要读得豪放而有余韵，方能传达出辛弃疾的豪放苍凉。辛弃疾中调以「豪放」著称，此词正是其送别词的典范。

Line by line

日月如磨蚁，万事且浮休

Sun and moon revolve like ants on a millstone; let all affairs simply float and rest.

日月如磨蚁，万事且浮休。

The sun and moon are like ants on a millstone; all affairs now rise, now rest.

此二句是全词写感慨的核心，以日月如磨蚁写磨蚁，以万事且浮休写浮休，写尽万事且浮的浮休，是千古名句。「日月如磨蚁」写日月如磨蚁——那「日月」写日月，「如磨蚁」写如磨蚁，写尽日月的如磨蚁；「万事且浮休」写万事且浮休——那「万事」写万事，「且浮休」写且浮休，写尽万事的且浮休。这句的深意在于：它以「日月如磨蚁」的磨蚁与「万事且浮休」的浮休，写尽万事且浮的浮休——日月如磨蚁，那「日月如磨蚁」写尽日月的如磨蚁——日月如磨蚁，正是日月周旋的写照，那「磨蚁」写尽万事且浮的浮休；万事且浮休，那「万事且浮休」写尽万事的且浮休——万事且浮休，正是万事浮休的写照，那「浮休」写尽万事且浮的浮休；那「日月如磨蚁」写尽日月的如磨蚁，那「万事且浮休」写尽万事的且浮休，一写磨蚁，一写浮休，写尽万事且浮的浮休——日月周旋而万事浮休，正是感慨的写照；此二句以磨蚁、浮休写尽万事且浮的浮休，也为下文的江水作铺垫，也让此二句成为全词写感慨的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「日月像磨上的蚂蚁，万事且浮且休」，则失其苍凉；唯以「日月如磨蚁」写磨蚁、「万事且浮休」写浮休，写尽万事且浮的浮休，也让此二句成为全词写感慨的核心。

The two lines are the core of the ci's meditation, writing the mill-ants through the sun and moon are like ants on a millstone and the rise-rest through all affairs now rise, now rest, exhausting the floating rest of all things, an immortal line. The sun and moon are like ants on a millstone is precisely the picture of the circling sun and moon; all affairs now rise, now rest precisely the picture of the floating rest. One writes the ants, one the rest, exhausting the meditation. Were it said plainly the sun and moon are like ants on a mill, all things rise and rest, the desolation would be softened; only through the mill-ants and the floating rest is the meditation exhausted, preparing the river below and making the lines the core of the ci.

长剑倚天谁问，夷甫诸人堪笑，西北有神州

Who now asks after the long sword leaning on the sky? Wang Yifu and his like are laughable — in the northwest still lies our lost heartland.

长剑倚天谁问，夷甫诸人堪笑，西北有神州。

The long sword leaning on the sky — who asks? Wang Yan and his kind are laughable; in the northwest lies the lost homeland.

此三句是全词写神州的核心，以长剑倚天谁问写谁问，以夷甫诸人堪笑写堪笑，以西北有神州写神州，写尽西北有的神州，是千古名句。「长剑倚天谁问」写长剑倚天谁问——那「长剑倚天」写长剑倚天，「谁问」写谁问，写尽长剑倚天的谁问；「夷甫诸人堪笑」写夷甫诸人堪笑——那「夷甫诸人」写夷甫诸人，「堪笑」写堪笑，写尽夷甫诸人的堪笑；「西北有神州」写西北有神州——那「西北」写西北，「有神州」写有神州，写尽西北有的神州。这句的深意在于：它以「长剑倚天谁问」的谁问、「夷甫诸人堪笑」的堪笑与「西北有神州」的神州，写尽西北有的神州——长剑倚天谁问，那「长剑倚天谁问」写尽长剑倚天的谁问——长剑倚天谁问，正是倚剑无人问的写照，那「谁问」写尽西北有的神州；夷甫诸人堪笑，那「夷甫诸人堪笑」写尽夷甫诸人的堪笑——夷甫诸人堪笑，正是清谈误国的写照，那「堪笑」写尽西北有的神州；西北有神州，那「西北有神州」写尽西北有的神州——西北有神州，正是西北沦陷的写照，那「神州」写尽西北有的神州；那「长剑倚天谁问」写尽长剑倚天的谁问，那「夷甫诸人堪笑」写尽夷甫诸人的堪笑，那「西北有神州」写尽西北有的神州，一写谁问，一写堪笑，一写神州，写尽西北有的神州——倚剑无人而清谈误国，正是神州陆沉的写照；此三句以谁问、堪笑、神州写尽西北有的神州，也为下文的君自了作铺垫，也让此三句成为全词写神州的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「倚天长剑无人问，王衍那班人可笑，西北还有沦陷的神州」，则失其苍凉；唯以「长剑倚天谁问」写谁问、「夷甫诸人堪笑」写堪笑、「西北有神州」写神州，写尽西北有的神州，也让此三句成为全词写神州的核心。

The three lines are the core of the ci's homeland, writing the who-asks through the long sword leaning on the sky — who asks? and the laughable through Wang Yan and his kind are laughable and the homeland through in the northwest lies the lost homeland, an immortal line. The long sword leaning on the sky — who asks? is precisely the picture of the sword leaned and unregarded; Wang Yan and his kind are laughable precisely the picture of the idle talk that ruined the state; in the northwest lies the lost homeland precisely the picture of the occupied northwest. One writes the who-asks, one the laughable, one the homeland, exhausting the sorrow. Were it said plainly the long sword against the sky and no one asks, Wang Yan's crowd is laughable, the northwest has the lost homeland, the desolation would be softened; only through the three strokes is the scene exhausted, preparing the concluding lines and making the lines the core of the ci.

Study

Word focus

磨 The millstone. In 'sun and moon like ants on a millstone' it is the cosmic grindstone around which the heavenly bodies crawl, an image from the Book of Jin for the ceaseless rotation of time; in context it compresses the vanity of all human effort into one turning wheel. 「日月如磨蚁」之「磨」字是写光阴关键词，一个「磨」字写尽日月的如磨蚁。磨者，磨盘、磨转也。辛弃疾以「日月如磨蚁」写光阴，这个「磨」字至少有双重意味：其一，写转之磨——那「日月如磨蚁」写日月如磨蚁，那「磨」字写尽日月的如磨蚁——如磨蚁，正是日月周旋的写照，那「磨」字写尽日月的如磨蚁；其二，写时之速——那「磨」字更是写速——磨，正见光阴飞逝的意味，那「磨」字写尽辛弃疾的感慨。以「磨」字写光阴，正是辛弃疾写送别的枢纽——若换作「轮」「转」等字，则或失其与「日月如磨蚁」「万事且浮休」的配合，或失其写磨的意味；唯「磨」字，以日月如磨蚁写尽日月之周旋与光阴之飞逝，与「万事且浮休」的浮休相合，写尽日月的如磨蚁，也让「日月如磨蚁」成为全词写光阴的名句。

谁 Who. The rhetorical 'who' of 'who now asks after the sword?' — no one does. It voices the hero's loneliness and, by extension, the Southern Song court's neglect of its defenders, turning a question into quiet indictment. 「长剑倚天谁问」之「谁」字是写神州关键词，一个「谁」字写尽长剑倚天的谁问。谁者，何人、有谁也。辛弃疾以「长剑倚天谁问」写神州，这个「谁」字至少有双重意味：其一，写问之谁——那「长剑倚天谁问」写长剑倚天谁问，那「谁」字写尽长剑倚天的谁问——谁问，正是无人问及的写照，那「谁」字写尽长剑倚天的谁问；其二，写世之慨——那「谁」字更是写慨——谁，正见英雄无人的意味，那「谁」字写尽辛弃疾的悲慨。以「谁」字写神州，正是辛弃疾写感慨的枢纽——若换作「何」「孰」等字，则或失其与「长剑倚天谁问」「夷甫诸人堪笑」的配合，或失其写谁的意味；唯「谁」字，以长剑倚天谁问写尽倚剑之无问与英雄之无遇，与「夷甫诸人堪笑」的堪笑相合，写尽长剑倚天的谁问，也让「长剑倚天谁问」成为全词写神州的名句。