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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

水龙吟·过南剑双溪楼

To the Tune Shuilongyin: Passing the Twin-Stream Tower at Nanjian

辛弃疾

Xin Qiji

怀古Musing on Antiquity 感慨Stirred Reflections

举头西北浮云，倚天万里须长剑。
人言此地，夜深长见，斗牛光焰。
我觉山高，潭空水冷，月明星淡。
待燃犀下看，凭栏却怕，风雷怒，鱼龙惨。
峡束苍江对起，过危楼、欲飞还敛。
元龙老矣，不妨高卧，冰壶凉簟。
千古兴亡，百年悲笑，一时登览。
问何人又卸，片帆沙岸，系斜阳缆。

Raising my head, in the northwest float the clouds; for the thousand miles that prop up the sky, a long sword is needed.
They say that at this place, deep in the night, one long sees sword-fire flaming between the Dipper and the Ox.
I feel the mountains high, the pool empty, the water cold, the moon bright, the stars pale.
I would light a rhinoceros horn and look down into the depths; yet, leaning on the rail, I fear the raging wind and thunder, the wretched fish and dragons.
The gorges grip the grey river as its waters rise facing each other; passing the towering tower, they would fly yet are held back.
Yuanlong has grown old — why not lie at ease on an ice jar and a cool mat?
The rise and fall of a thousand ages, the sorrow and laughter of a hundred years — all are gathered in this one climb.
Ask who has moored his lone sail on the sandy bank, tying the cable to the slanting sun.

Listen

Meaning

Climbing the Twin-Stream Tower at Nanjian, the poet looks northwest toward the occupied heartland and calls for the sword that will recover it. Awe at the night's sword-fire between the constellations gives way to cold, empty landscape, then to fear — he who would probe the depths dreads the storm and the dragons below, a figure for the dangers that dog men of resolve. Invoking the aged Chen Deng, he admires heroic withdrawal even as the river's held-back fury mirrors his own constrained will, and the climb ends in the melancholy image of a sail moored to the setting sun.

举头西北浮云，倚天万里须长剑。人言此地，夜深长见，斗牛光焰。我觉山高，潭空水冷，月明星淡。待燃犀下看，凭栏却怕，风雷怒，鱼龙惨。峡束苍江对起，过危楼、欲飞还敛。元龙老矣，不妨高卧，冰壶凉簟。千古兴亡，百年悲笑，一时登览。问何人又卸，片帆沙岸，系斜阳缆。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] I raise my head: clouds hang over the northwest, and for all the thousand miles propping the sky, one long sword is needed. People say that here at night one sees the fire of a legendary sword between the Dipper and the Ox. But I find the mountains high, the pool empty, the water cold, the moon bright, the stars pale. I would burn a rhinoceros horn to look into the water — yet leaning on the rail I fear the thunder and the dragons. The gorges grip the grey river, which longs to fly but is checked. Chen Deng is old; let him lie on his cool mat. The rise and fall of ages, the sorrow and laughter of a lifetime — all in this one climb. Who moors his sail on the sand and ties the cable to the setting sun?<br>[Structure] Upper stanza: gaze, legend, landscape, fear. Lower stanza: river, hero in retirement, historical summation, and the closing image of the moored sail — the poet's own thwarted departure.<br>[Imagery] Sword-fire in the sky, wind and thunder, fish and dragons: the whole landscape is charged with menace, every natural feature doubling as a political condition.

【白话串讲】辛弃疾写《水龙吟·过南剑双溪楼》：“举头西北浮云，倚天万里须长剑”——“人言此地，夜深长见，斗牛光焰”——“待燃犀下看，凭栏却怕，风雷怒，鱼龙惨”——“元龙老矣，不妨高卧，冰壶凉簟”——他过双溪楼——倚天万里须长剑。【意象与手法】此词写登楼望西北的感慨，以剑写壮志，以怕写感慨，是辛弃疾的名篇。上阕写登楼的所见与感慨：「举头西北浮云」写举头西北浮云，「倚天万里须长剑」写倚天万里须长剑，「人言此地，夜深长见，斗牛光焰」写人言此地夜深长见斗牛光焰，「我觉山高，潭空水冷，月明星淡」写我觉山高潭空水冷月明星淡，「待燃犀下看，凭栏却怕，风雷怒，鱼龙惨」写待燃犀下看凭栏却怕风雷怒鱼龙惨；下阕写登楼的感慨：「峡束苍江对起，过危楼、欲飞还敛」写峡束苍江对起过危楼欲飞还敛，「元龙老矣，不妨高卧，冰壶凉簟」写元龙老矣不妨高卧冰壶凉簟，「千古兴亡，百年悲笑，一时登览」写千古兴亡百年悲笑一时登览，「问何人又卸，片帆沙岸，系斜阳缆」写问何人又卸片帆沙岸系斜阳缆。全词以剑写壮志、以怕写感慨，写尽报国无门的感慨，是辛弃疾的代表作。【情感与主旨】此词写登楼望西北的感慨，以剑写壮志，以怕写感慨，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，南宋伟大的爱国词人，与苏轼并称「苏辛」，是宋词豪放派的代表。此词写登览：举头西北浮云，倚天万里须长剑——写举头望西北的浮云，须倚天万里的长剑（剑指西北，收复中原）；人言此地，夜深长见，斗牛光焰——写人说此地夜深常能见到斗牛（北斗、牵牛）之间的光焰（剑气）；我觉山高，潭空水冷，月明星淡——写我感觉山高、潭空、水冷、月明、星淡；待燃犀下看，凭栏却怕，风雷怒，鱼龙惨——写待燃犀（燃犀照水，用温峤燃犀之典）下看，凭栏却怕风雷怒、鱼龙惨；峡束苍江对起，过危楼、欲飞还敛——写峡谷束住苍江对起，过危楼欲飞还敛；元龙老矣，不妨高卧，冰壶凉簟——用陈登（元龙）之典，写自己如元龙老矣，不妨高卧冰壶凉簟；千古兴亡，百年悲笑，一时登览——写千古兴亡、百年悲笑，一时登览；问何人又卸，片帆沙岸，系斜阳缆——写问何人又卸片帆于沙岸、系斜阳之缆。全词以剑写壮志、以怕写感慨——那「倚天万里须长剑」写尽收复中原的壮志，那「凭栏却怕，风雷怒，鱼龙惨」写尽壮志难酬的感慨，写尽报国无门的感慨，是理解辛弃疾爱国词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「举头西北浮云，倚天万里须长剑」写收复中原的壮志；「待燃犀下看，凭栏却怕，风雷怒，鱼龙惨」写壮志难酬的感慨；「元龙老矣，不妨高卧」用陈登之典写英雄迟暮；以及全词以剑写壮志、以怕写感慨的手法。

Background

Xin Qiji (1140-1207), courtesy name You'an, sobriquet Jiaxuan, from Licheng (modern Jinan, Shandong), was the leading patriot poet of the Southern Song, ranked with Su Shi as 'Su-Xin'. Born under Jin occupation, he led volunteers south and devoted his life to arguing for recovery of the north, but the peace party kept him unposted for most of his career. This song was written in the early 1190s, while he held local office in Fujian and passed the Twin-Stream Tower at Nanjian (modern Nanping, Fujian) on the Jian River. The northwest gaze that opens the poem is the constant direction of his hope and grief: from Fujian, the lost Central Plain lay far beyond the horizon.

此词写登楼望西北的感慨，以剑写壮志，以怕写感慨，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，南宋伟大的爱国词人，与苏轼并称「苏辛」，是宋词豪放派的代表。辛弃疾生于沦陷的北方，青年起义抗金，南归后力主北伐，然遭主和派排挤，长期投闲置散，壮志难酬。此词写登南剑州（今福建南平）双溪楼的感慨：举头西北浮云，倚天万里须长剑——写举头望西北（中原沦陷之地）的浮云，须倚天万里的长剑；人言此地，夜深长见，斗牛光焰——写人说此地夜深常能见到斗牛之间的光焰（传说宝剑之精上彻于天，此处暗写剑气、亦写雄心）；我觉山高，潭空水冷，月明星淡——写我感觉山高潭空、水冷星淡；待燃犀下看，凭栏却怕，风雷怒，鱼龙惨——用温峤燃犀照水之典，写待燃犀下看，凭栏却怕风雷怒、鱼龙惨——既想探明水中之秘（暗写想有所作为），又怕风雷鱼龙（暗写阻挠与凶险）；峡束苍江对起，过危楼、欲飞还敛——写峡谷束住苍江、两岸对起，过危楼欲飞还敛——以江水欲飞还敛写壮志受抑；元龙老矣，不妨高卧，冰壶凉簟——用陈登（元龙）之典，写自己如元龙老矣，不妨高卧冰壶凉簟——写英雄迟暮、壮志难酬；千古兴亡，百年悲笑，一时登览——写千古兴亡、百年悲笑，尽在一时登览；问何人又卸，片帆沙岸，系斜阳缆——写问何人又卸片帆于沙岸、系斜阳之缆——写归隐的微意与迟暮的感慨。全词以剑写壮志、以怕写感慨，写尽报国无门的感慨，是理解辛弃疾爱国词的重要篇章。

Art

Four devices carry the poem. First, the sword as the organising symbol: the sky-leaning sword of the opening is the will to reconquer the north, and the night's sword-fire between the constellations makes that will visible in the heavens. Second, temperature: the cold mountain pool, pale stars, ice jar and cool mat — the whole poem is chilled, so that heroism is felt as something scarce and shivering. Third, fear as a psychological masterpiece: the poet wants to light the rhinoceros horn and see the truth, yet dreads the thunder and the dragons beneath, exposing the ambivalence of a man who longs to act and knows action means destruction. Fourth, the river as self-portrait: the gorge-bound grey river that 'would fly yet is held back' is the poet's own checked ambition, and the closing sail tied to the setting sun quietly confirms it.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以剑写壮志。起二句「举头西北浮云，倚天万里须长剑」以剑写壮志——那「举头西北浮云」写尽西北的浮云（中原沦陷），「倚天万里须长剑」写尽倚天长剑的壮志，以剑写尽收复中原的壮志。其二，以传说写剑气。「人言此地，夜深长见，斗牛光焰」以传说写剑气——那「斗牛光焰」写尽传说中斗牛之间的剑光，以传说写尽剑气的郁勃与雄心的未灭。其三，以怕写感慨。「待燃犀下看，凭栏却怕，风雷怒，鱼龙惨」以怕写感慨——那「待燃犀下看」用温峤燃犀之典写想探明水秘，「凭栏却怕，风雷怒，鱼龙惨」写尽怕风雷鱼龙的顾虑，以怕写尽壮志难酬的感慨。其四，以用典写迟暮。「元龙老矣，不妨高卧，冰壶凉簟」以用典写迟暮——那「元龙老矣」用陈登之典写英雄迟暮，「不妨高卧」写高卧的无奈，以用典写尽英雄迟暮、壮志难酬的感慨。四重手法，使此词以剑写壮志、以怕写感慨，写尽报国无门的感慨，是辛弃疾的代表作。

Allusions

The poem's allusions concentrate its patriotic grief. 'Floating clouds in the northwest' echoes the tradition in which clouds obscuring the sun figure the court's corruption, and points to Xin Qiji's own 'looking northwest toward Chang'an, alas so many mountains'. 'A sword propping the sky' comes from Song Yu's Great Words Rhapsody: 'the long sword glistens beyond the sky'. 'Sword-fire between the Dipper and the Ox' draws on the legend that the essences of the swords Longquan and Tai'e rose as a glow between those constellations. 'Lighting the rhinoceros horn' is Wen Jiao, who burned a horn to illuminate the water at Niuzhu Ford and saw strange shapes — here the poet would see the truth below. 'Yuanlong' is Chen Deng of the Three Kingdoms, famed for heroic scorn of petty men and for lying aloft while guests slept in the cold; the 'ice jar and cool mat' belong to that story of high, chill retirement. The closing sail recalls Fan Li, who left success behind and sailed the Five Lakes.

此词的用语深植于爱国与壮志难酬的传统。「举头西北浮云」令人想到「西北浮云」写中原沦陷之地的意象——「西北望长安，可怜无数山」（辛弃疾《菩萨蛮》），也令人想到「浮云」写蔽日浮云的意象——「总为浮云能蔽日」（李白）；「倚天万里须长剑」令人想到「倚天长剑」写长剑的意象——「长剑倚天外」（宋玉《大言赋》），也令人想到「倚天」写顶天立地的意象；「斗牛光焰」令人想到「斗牛」写北斗牵牛星的意象，也令人想到「光焰」写剑光的意象——传说龙泉、太阿之剑，其精上彻于天，见斗牛之间，也令人想到「剑气冲斗牛」的典故；「燃犀下看」用温峤燃犀之典——《晋书》温峤至牛渚矶，燃犀照水，见水中奇形异状，令人想到「燃犀」写照水的典故，也令人想到「温峤燃犀」写探幽的意象；「风雷怒，鱼龙惨」令人想到「风雷」写风雷的意象，也令人想到「鱼龙」写水中怪物的意象——「鱼龙混杂」；「峡束苍江对起」令人想到「峡」写峡谷的意象——「巫山巫峡气萧森」（杜甫《秋兴》），也令人想到「苍江」写苍碧江水的意象；「欲飞还敛」令人想到「欲飞」写欲飞的意象，也令人想到「还敛」写收敛的意象——以江水欲飞还敛写壮志受抑；「元龙老矣」用陈登之典——陈登字元龙，三国名士，豪气凌云，令人想到「元龙豪气」写豪气的典故——「元龙豪气」，也令人想到「陈登高卧」的典故；「冰壶凉簟」令人想到「冰壶」写盛冰之壶的意象——「一片冰心在玉壶」（王昌龄），也令人想到「凉簟」写凉席的意象——高卧冰壶凉簟，写闲居；「千古兴亡」令人想到「千古兴亡」写历史兴亡的意象——「千古兴亡多少事」（辛弃疾《南乡子》），也令人想到「兴亡」写盛衰的意象；「百年悲笑」令人想到「百年」写一生的意象，也令人想到「悲笑」写悲喜的意象；「片帆沙岸，系斜阳缆」令人想到「片帆」写孤帆的意象——「孤帆远影碧空尽」，也令人想到「斜阳缆」写夕阳系缆的意象——写迟暮归隐。全词化用倚天长剑、斗牛光焰、燃犀、元龙、千古兴亡的典故与意象，以剑写壮志、以怕写感慨，正是辛弃疾「豪放悲壮」而善用典、承爱国传统写壮志难酬的本领。

Commentary

This has long been ranked among the greatest of Xin Qiji's patriotic songs. Qing critics praised its 'writing heroic resolve through the sword, writing indignant grief through fear, bold and tragic'; modern scholars read the fear of wind, thunder and dragons as a psychological portrait of the Southern Song patriot caught between the will to act and the reality of proscription. Its place in the tradition rests on the way a single climb holds cosmic legend, chill landscape, heroic self-mockery and historical summation together. Read beside 'Pusaman: Written on the Wall at Zaokou' with its 'looking northwest toward Chang'an, alas so many mountains', and beside 'Shuilongyin: Climbing the Heart-Watching Tower', it shows the consistency of Xin Qiji's northwest gaze and the richness of his climbing songs.

此词历来被推为辛弃疾爱国词的名篇，也是南宋词的代表作。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以剑写壮志、以怕写感慨，豪放悲壮」；近人更指出「举头西北浮云，倚天万里须长剑」写收复中原的壮志，是此词的名句。在词史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以十三句的长调写尽登楼望西北的感慨与报国无门的悲愤——那西北的浮云，那倚天万里须长剑的壮志，那斗牛光焰的传说，那山高潭空水冷月明星淡的冷落，那燃犀下看的想望，那凭栏却怕的顾虑，那风雷怒鱼龙惨的凶险，那欲飞还敛的苍江，那老矣的元龙，那冰壶凉簟的高卧，那千古兴亡百年悲笑的一时登览，那卸片帆系斜阳缆的迟暮，都写尽了辛弃疾报国无门的感慨；那「举头西北浮云，倚天万里须长剑」更写尽收复中原的壮志。此词与辛弃疾的《水龙吟·登建康赏心亭》（「把吴钩看了，栏杆拍遍」）同为登览感慨名篇，一写登建康赏心亭，一写过南剑双溪楼；又与辛弃疾《菩萨蛮·书江西造口壁》（「西北望长安，可怜无数山」）的西北情结一脉相承，可见辛弃疾爱国词写收复中原的执着。对于今日读者，此词是理解辛弃疾爱国词的窗口，也是中国词写报国无门的经典——那倚天万里的长剑，穿越千年，仍在诉说着壮志难酬的悲愤。

Prosody

Form Ci poem to the tune Shuilongyin (Water Dragon Song), a double-stanza long tune词·水龙吟（长调）

Rhyme Oblique-tone rhyme held throughout — jian, yan, dan, can, lian, dian, lan, lan — the falling and rising tones of the yan and jian rhyme groups in a single rhyme; its stern, heavy cadence matches the tragic mood.水龙吟，押「剑」「焰」「淡」「惨」「敛」「簟」「览」「缆」韵（去声二十九艳、上声二十八俭），一韵到底，音节悲壮

Tone pattern Shuilongyin is a long tune of about a hundred characters in two stanzas; its oblique rhymes give a solemn, stirring music, here bent to grief rather than spectacle.此词为水龙吟，双调一百零二字，押仄声韵，一韵到底，音节悲壮，正合感慨的悲壮。

Reading note The upper stanza moves from the raised gaze to legend, to the chill landscape, and to fear at the rail; the lower stanza moves from the river's checked fury, through the retired hero, to the historical summation and the moored sail. The oblique rhyme lands with weight on sword, fire, pale, wretched, held back, mat, survey and cable — each rhyme word a station in the argument. Read the opening couplet at full force, slow down through the cold mountains, and let the final question fade into the rhyme on lan, as a sail fades into the setting sun.此词为水龙吟，双调，上阕「举头西北浮云，倚天万里须长剑。人言此地，夜深长见，斗牛光焰。我觉山高，潭空水冷，月明星淡。待燃犀下看，凭栏却怕，风雷怒，鱼龙惨」，下阕「峡束苍江对起，过危楼、欲飞还敛。元龙老矣，不妨高卧，冰壶凉簟。千古兴亡，百年悲笑，一时登览。问何人又卸，片帆沙岸，系斜阳缆」，押仄声韵（剑、焰、淡、惨、敛、簟、览、缆），一韵到底，音节悲壮。全词以剑写壮志、以怕写感慨：上阕写登楼所见与感慨（举头西北浮云，倚天万里须长剑；人言此地，夜深长见，斗牛光焰；我觉山高，潭空水冷，月明星淡；待燃犀下看，凭栏却怕，风雷怒，鱼龙惨），下阕写登览感慨与迟暮（峡束苍江对起，过危楼、欲飞还敛；元龙老矣，不妨高卧，冰壶凉簟；千古兴亡，百年悲笑，一时登览；问何人又卸，片帆沙岸，系斜阳缆）。诵读此词，宜以激昂的语调读「倚天万里须长剑」的壮志，以悲慨的语调读「凭栏却怕，风雷怒，鱼龙惨」的顾虑，结句「系斜阳缆」要读得迟暮而有余韵，方能传达出辛弃疾的悲壮。辛弃疾词以「豪放悲壮」著称，此词正是其登览感慨长调的典范。

Line by line

举头西北浮云，倚天万里须长剑

Raising my head I see floating clouds in the northwest; for the thousand miles that prop up the sky, a long sword is needed.

举头望西北的浮云，须倚天万里的长剑。

Raising my head, northwest, the drifting clouds; leaning on the sky for ten thousand li, I need the long sword.

此联是全词写壮志的核心，以西北浮云写中原沦陷，以倚天长剑写收复壮志，是千古名句。「举头西北浮云」写举头望西北的浮云——那「举头西北」写举头望向西北（中原沦陷之地），「浮云」写浮云蔽日，写尽西北的沦陷与浮云的蔽日；「倚天万里须长剑」写须倚天万里的长剑——那「倚天万里」写顶天立地、绵延万里，「须长剑」写须一把长剑，写尽倚天长剑的壮志。这句的深意在于：它以「举头西北浮云」的望与「倚天万里须长剑」的壮志，写尽收复中原的壮志——举头望向西北，那「西北浮云」写尽中原沦陷之地的阴霾——西北望中原，山河破碎，如浮云蔽日，那「浮云」暗写沦陷的国难；须倚天万里的长剑，那「倚天万里须长剑」写尽倚天长剑的壮志——要收复中原，须倚天万里的长剑，那「长剑」正是收复失地的雄心壮志；那「举头西北浮云」写尽国难的沉痛，那「倚天万里须长剑」写尽壮志的凌云，一写国难，一写壮志，写尽辛弃疾收复中原的凌云壮志——正因西北沦陷，才须倚天长剑，正是爱国词人的心声；此联开篇即写尽壮志，为全词写壮志难酬定下基调，也让此联成为全词写壮志的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我想收复中原」，则失其意象；唯以「举头西北浮云」写沦陷、「倚天万里须长剑」写壮志，写尽收复中原的凌云壮志，也让此联成为全词写壮志的核心。

The couplet is the core of the ci's ambition, writing the fallen central plain through raising my head, northwest, the drifting clouds and the recovery through leaning on the sky for ten thousand li, I need the long sword, an immortal line. Raising my head, northwest, the drifting clouds writes the northwest (the occupied central plain), the drifting clouds veiling the sun; leaning on the sky for ten thousand li, I need the long sword writes the ambition of the sky-reaching sword. The deep meaning: the gaze and the sword exhausting the ambition to recover the central plain — the northwest's drifting clouds secretly write the national calamity; the long sword is precisely the ambition to recover the lost land. Were it said plainly I want to recover the central plain, the imagery would be lost; only through the drifting clouds and the long sword is the ambition exhausted, setting the tone of the ci's unfulfilled resolve and making the couplet the core of the ci.

千古兴亡，百年悲笑，一时登览

The rise and fall of a thousand ages, the sorrow and laughter of a hundred years — all gathered in this one climb.

千古的兴亡，百年的悲笑，尽在一时登览。

Ages of rise and fall, a lifetime of grief and laughter — all, in one moment's ascent.

此三句是全词写感慨的核心，以千古兴亡、百年悲笑写登览的感慨，是千古名句。「千古兴亡」写千古的兴亡——那「千古」写历史之久，「兴亡」写王朝的盛衰，写尽历史兴亡的感慨；「百年悲笑」写百年的悲笑——那「百年」写一生，「悲笑」写悲与笑，写尽人生悲欢的感慨；「一时登览」写尽在一时登览——那「一时登览」写一时的登高览胜，写尽登览时的感慨万千。这句的深意在于：它以「千古兴亡，百年悲笑，一时登览」的对照，写尽登览时的历史感慨与人生感慨——千古的兴亡，那「千古兴亡」写尽历史的兴亡更替——多少王朝，兴亡相继，尽收眼底；百年的悲笑，那「百年悲笑」写尽人生的悲欢离合——百岁人生，悲笑相随；而这一切，尽在一时登览，那「一时登览」写尽登楼时的感慨万千——千古兴亡、百年悲笑，一时尽览，正是登高望远、俯仰古今的深沉感慨；那「千古兴亡」写尽历史的深广，那「百年悲笑」写尽人生的感慨，那「一时登览」写尽登览的贯通，一写历史，一写人生，一写登览，写尽辛弃疾登楼望西北、俯仰古今的感慨——这感慨，正是壮志难酬而历史兴亡尽在眼底的悲慨。若换作直说「登楼感慨万千」，则失其深沉；唯以「千古兴亡，百年悲笑，一时登览」的对照写尽登览的感慨，也让此三句成为全词写感慨的核心与千古名句。

The three lines are the core of the ci's meditation, writing the ascent's reflection through ages of rise and fall, a lifetime of grief and laughter — all, in one moment's ascent, an immortal line. Ages of rise and fall writes the dynasties' succession; a lifetime of grief and laughter writes the human joys and sorrows; all, in one moment's ascent writes the thousand thoughts at the climb. The deep meaning: history's depth, life's span, and the ascent's gathering — the poet climbing the tower and gazing northwest, bending over the ages, the grief of the unfulfilled ambition with history's rise and fall in view. Were it said plainly the climb fills me with thoughts, the depth would be lost; only through the contrast of the three is the meditation exhausted, making the lines the core of the ci.

Study

Word focus

须 Must, need. 'A long sword is needed' — the word carries the force of necessity, turning the landscape into a demand: only such a sword can clear the clouds from the northwest, and the poet's resolve is stated as an axiom of the scene itself. 「倚天万里须长剑」之「须」字是写壮志的关键字，一个「须」字写尽收复中原的必须。须者，必须、须要也。辛弃疾以「须长剑」写倚天万里，这个「须」字至少有双重意味：其一，写必须之决——那「倚天万里须长剑」写须倚天万里的长剑，那「须」字写尽收复中原必须长剑的决心——要收复失地，必须倚天长剑；其二，写壮志之坚——那「须」字更是写壮志——须长剑，正是壮志的必须，那「须」字写尽收复中原的凌云壮志。以「须」字写壮志，正是辛弃疾开篇的枢纽——若换作「用」「仗」等字，则或失其必须的力度，或失其与「倚天万里」的配合；唯「须」字，以一字写尽收复中原必须倚天长剑的决心与凌云壮志，与「举头西北浮云」的国难相合，写尽收复中原的壮志，也让「倚天万里须长剑」成为全词写壮志的名句。

怕 Fear. The plain, almost spoken 'afraid' in 'leaning on the rail, I fear' is a crack in the heroic facade: the poet who demands a sky-propping sword also dreads the thunder and the dragons, revealing how political danger haunts his highest courage. 「凭栏却怕，风雷怒，鱼龙惨」之「怕」字是写感慨的关键字，一个「怕」字写尽壮志难酬的顾虑。怕者，害怕、惧怕也。辛弃疾以「凭栏却怕」写燃犀下看，这个「怕」字至少有双重意味：其一，写顾虑之深——那「凭栏却怕，风雷怒，鱼龙惨」写凭栏却怕风雷怒、鱼龙惨，那「怕」字写尽面对风雷鱼龙的顾虑——想探明水秘（暗写想有所作为），又怕风雷鱼龙（暗写阻挠与凶险）；其二，写壮志难酬——那「怕」字更是写感慨——凭栏却怕，正见壮志受抑、报国无门，那「怕」字写尽壮志难酬的感慨。以「怕」字写感慨，正是辛弃疾写壮志难酬的枢纽——若换作「畏」「惧」等字，则或失其口语的力度，或失其与「待燃犀下看」的呼应；唯「怕」字，以一字写尽凭栏却怕风雷鱼龙的顾虑与壮志难酬的感慨，与「倚天万里须长剑」的壮志相对照，写尽报国无门的悲愤，也让「凭栏却怕，风雷怒，鱼龙惨」成为全词写感慨的名句。