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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

卜算子·我住长江头

Song of Divination: I Live at the Head of the Long River

李之仪

Li Zhiyi

爱情Love 抒情Lyric

我住长江头，君住长江尾。
日日思君不见君，共饮长江水。
此水几时休，此恨何时已。
只愿君心似我心，定不负相思意。

I live at the head of the Long River, and you live at the tail of the Long River.
Day after day I think of you and do not see you, yet we both drink of the water of the Long River.
When will this water cease, when will this regret end?
Only may your heart be like my heart, and certainly not disappoint the meaning of the longing.

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Meaning

A famous work of the Northern Song ci poet Li Zhiyi. The whole ci takes the Long River as the clue, circling and returning, advancing layer on layer: 'I live at the head of the Long River, and you live at the tail of the Long River'—the head and the tail of the river for the distance of the two places apart; 'day after day I think of you and do not see you, yet we both drink of the water of the Long River'—the consolation of the longing with the drinking of the same water, the thinking and the not-seeing, and the 'both' character the connection of the two places by the shared water, the deep helplessness in it; 'when will this water cease, when will this regret end?'—the river endless and the regret endless, the water and the regret in one; and 'only may your heart be like my heart, and certainly not disappoint the meaning of the longing'—the mutual pledge of the hearts, the constancy of the love, the close of the longing.

我住在长江的上游，你住在长江的下游。天天思念你却见不到你，我们共饮着这一江春水。这江水什么时候才能流尽，这离恨什么时候才能了结。只愿你的心像我的心一样，一定不会辜负这份相思的情意。

Appreciation

The most striking features of the art of the ci are the folk-song device of the circling and the return and the clever conception of the water for the feeling. The whole ci takes the Long River as the clue, circling and returning, advancing layer on layer: 'I live at the head of the Long River, and you live at the tail of the Long River,' the head and the tail for the distance of the two places apart, the two characters of the head and the tail both the distance of the space and the meaning of the head and the tail connected; 'day after day I think of you and do not see you, yet we both drink of the water of the Long River,' the consolation of the longing with the drinking of the same water, the thinking and the not-seeing, and the 'both' character the connection of the two places by the shared water, the deep helplessness in the helplessness; 'when will this water cease, when will this regret end?'—the endless water against the endless regret, the question of the water and the regret; and the close, 'only may your heart be like my heart, and certainly not disappoint the meaning of the longing,' the mutual pledge of the hearts, the constancy of the love. The whole ci, with the plain language and the folk-song repetition, writes the longing of the two places with the deep feeling, the model of the 'the deep feeling with the plain words.'

【白话串讲】李之仪写卜算子：“我住长江头，君住长江尾。日日思君不见君，共饮长江水”——“此水几时休，此恨何时已”——“只愿君心似我心，定不负相思意”——中国最深情的情诗之一。【意象与手法】此词以长江起兴，以水为线，回环往复：江头江尾写相隔，共饮江水写慰藉，此水几时休写离恨，层层递进。语言明白如话，深得民歌之神韵，是词中少见的上口之作。【情感与主旨】全词写深挚的相思与忠贞的誓言，以江水之无穷喻离恨之无尽，以君心似我心相期许，把两地相思写得既缠绵又坚定，是宋词中写爱情的千古名篇。【名句点睛】常考『日日思君不见君，共饮长江水』的深情，以及『只愿君心似我心，定不负相思意』的坚贞誓言。

Background

The ci is a famous work of the Northern Song ci poet Li Zhiyi. Li Zhiyi, courtesy name Duanshu, styled himself the Hermit of the Gu Stream, a native of Wudi, Cangzhou, rising to the Grand Master of the Court. In his early years he was appreciated by Su Shi and was close to Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, and others; when Su Shi was demoted he was involved, and his official career was full of the reverses, and in his later years he lived in Dangtu. According to the tradition, this ci was sent by Li Zhiyi in his later years to the singing girl Yang Shu, and there is also the view that it was a piece of the longing sent to his wife; though the specific story cannot be verified, the feeling of the two places apart and the endless longing written in the ci is true. Li Zhiyi's official career rose and fell all his life, long sojourning in the foreign land, separated from his family, deeply tasting the bitterness of the parting, and this ci is the crystallization of this life experience. Li Zhiyi learned the ci of Liu Yong, the language popular, the feeling sincere, and this ci is the most famous of his works.

《卜算子·我住长江头》是北宋词人李之仪的名作。李之仪字端叔，自号姑溪居士，沧州无棣人，官至朝请大夫。他早年受知于苏轼，与苏轼、黄庭坚等交往密切，苏轼被贬时他曾受牵连，仕途多舛，晚年寓居当涂。据传此词是李之仪晚年寄给歌女杨姝的，也有说法认为是寄给妻子的相思之作，具体本事虽不可确考，但词中所写两地相隔、相思无尽的情感却是真切的。李之仪一生宦海浮沉，长期客居他乡，与亲人分离，深味离别之苦，此词正是这种人生体验的结晶。李之仪词学柳永，语言通俗，善用民歌手法，此词即为其代表作：以长江起兴，以水喻情，语言明白如话，却又深婉动人，把深挚的相思写得朗朗上口，千百年来传诵不衰，还被谱成现代歌曲，足见其生命力之长久。此词代表了李之仪词通俗而深情的特色，也是宋词中民歌化程度最高的名篇之一。

Art

The art is the folk-song device of the circling and the return and the clever conception of the water for the feeling: the Long River as the clue circling and returning, the head and the tail for the distance, the 'both drinking' the consolation of the shared water, the endless water for the endless regret, and the close the mutual pledge of the hearts—the plain language and the deep feeling, the model of the 'the deep feeling with the plain words.'

此词在艺术上最突出的特点是回环复沓的民歌手法与以水喻情的巧妙构思。全词以长江为线索，回环往复，层层推进：我住长江头，君住长江尾，以江头江尾写两地相隔之远，头尾二字，既写空间的距离，又暗含首尾相连之意；日日思君不见君，共饮长江水，以共饮一江之水写相思的慰藉，思而不得见，唯有共饮之水把两地相连，一个共字，写尽无可奈何中的深情；此水几时休，此恨何时已，由水及恨，以水之无尽写恨之无尽，水不流尽，恨不了结；只愿君心似我心，定不负相思意，由恨转愿，以誓言作结，把相思升华为忠贞的承诺。全词五处用江、水，回环复沓而不觉重复，反而一唱三叹，如民歌般自然流转。语言上全用口语，我住、君住、日日思君、只愿、定不负，明白如话，却情真意切，是词中以俗为雅、以浅写深的典范。全词以第一人称出之，如对君倾诉，亲切动人，是民歌体中抒情方式最直接也最见功力的一首。

Allusions

Though the ci is mainly of the folk-song style, the use of the allusions and the images is still deeply rooted. 'I live at the head of the Long River, and you live at the tail of the Long River,' the head and the tail of the Long River for the two places apart, covertly matching the device of the direction-repetition of the 'the fish plays east of the lotus leaves' of the yuefu folk songs, and near to the tradition of the 'the river of a spring flows east' of the Tang for the water. 'We both drink of the water of the Long River,' the two of the two places drinking of the water of the same river, this conception may be traced to the Southern Dynasties yuefu of the sharing of the water of the same river for the connection of the two places; and the 'this water' and the 'this regret' of the question the endless water for the endless regret, the folk-song device of the water and the regret in one.

此词虽以民歌风为主，但用典与意象的运用仍深有渊源。我住长江头，君住长江尾，以长江头尾写两地相隔，暗合乐府民歌中鱼戏莲叶东，鱼戏莲叶西的方位复沓手法，也近于唐人一江春水向东流写水的传统。共饮长江水，写两地之人共饮一江之水，这一构思可溯至南朝乐府《懊侬歌》江陵去扬州，三千三百里，以及《西洲曲》海水梦悠悠的江水意象，写水之相通而情之相通。此水几时休，此恨何时已，化用古乐府《上邪》江水为竭，乃敢与君绝的意象，以江水为誓，写情之坚贞；也近于白居易天长地久有时尽，此恨绵绵无绝期的笔意。只愿君心似我心，定不负相思意，与《诗经·王风·大车》谷则异室，死则同穴的誓言一脉相承，也暗合唐五代词中同心结、相思意的意象传统。李之仪将这些传统意象化入民歌式的语言，了无痕迹，既通俗又典雅。李之仪此词化用前人意象而自出新境，可谓善学古人者。

Commentary

The ci is an eternal masterpiece of the love of the Song ci and one of the most folk-song-like literary ci. The value of the ci lies first in the deep feeling with the plain words: not one unfamiliar character in the whole, not one place of the carving, yet the longing of the two places written with the lingering and the constant, 'day after day I think of you and do not see you, yet we both drink of the water of the Long River' the eternal lines, and the 'only may your heart be like my heart, and certainly not disappoint the meaning of the longing' the eternal vow of the love, the ci has been recited for a thousand years as the eternal voice of the Chinese love, and the image of the 'the water of the Long River' has become the eternal image of the longing of the Chinese literature.

《卜算子·我住长江头》是宋词中写爱情的千古名篇，也是民歌化程度最高的文人词之一。此词的价值首先在于以浅语写深情：全词没有一个生僻字，没有一处雕琢，却把两地相思写得缠绵悱恻、坚贞不渝，日日思君不见君，共饮长江水，只愿君心似我心，定不负相思意，明白如话而情真意切，正是元好问问世间情为何物，直教生死相许所咏的那种深情。其次在于回环复沓的艺术：全词以江水贯串，一唱三叹，如民歌般自然流转，却比民歌更见锤炼，江头江尾、共饮江水、此水几时休，层层推进，把相思之苦写得淋漓尽致。再次在于其广泛的影响：此词自问世以来传诵不衰，现代作曲家青主曾为其谱曲，成为艺术歌曲的经典，可见其超越时代的力量。李之仪在词史上声名不显，但仅此一词，已足使其不朽，正如词论家所说，一首词成就一个词人。其情之真、语之朴、韵之永，正得民歌三昧。

Prosody

Form Tune 'Song of Divination,' double, forty-four characters词牌卜算子，双调四十四字

Rhyme Four sentences and two oblique rhymes in each half: wei, shui, yi, yi, the rhyme-words of the rising and the departing tones of the Pingshui rhymes joined, one rhyme-group to the end上下片各四句两仄韵，尾、水、已、意等韵脚皆属平水韵上声纸、尾韵与去声寘韵通押，一韵到底，音调低回悠长，宜于抒写相思。

Tone pattern The 'I live at the head of the Long River' is plain, the 'day after day I think of you' is deep, the 'when will this water cease' is eager, and the 'only may your heart be like my heart' is firm—the whole from the distance to the pledge, the longing carried by the oblique rhymes全词以五言、七言句式相间，上片我住长江头，君住长江尾（五言对句），日日思君不见君（七言），共饮长江水（五言），长短错落，节奏舒缓；下片同构，末二句以五言对句收束，声情于低回中见坚定。

Reading note The oblique rhymes and the plain tone carry the longing of the two places, the constancy of the love.卜算子又名卜算子令、百尺楼，双调四十四字，上下片各四句两仄韵，是词中短小的令词。此词句式以五言为主，间以七言：上片我住长江头，君住长江尾，共饮长江水皆为五言，日日思君不见君为七言，长短相间，读来如民歌般自然流畅；下片此水几时休，此恨何时已，只愿君心似我心，定不负相思意，句式与上片相同，回环复沓，一唱三叹。全词押仄声韵，尾、水、已、意四字皆收于细弱之音，低回婉转，正合相思的缠绵；词中我、君、长江、此水等字反复出现，回环往复而不觉重复，反而增强了音韵的回旋之美，如江流宛转。卜算子此调本就短小易诵，李之仪以民歌式的语言入词，语言与音律高度统一，读来朗朗上口，声情并茂，是宋词中音韵与内容完美结合的典范。

Line by line

我住长江头，君住长江尾。

I live at the head of the Long River, and you live at the tail of the Long River. (The opening: the head and the tail of the river for the distance of the two places, the folk-song device of the direction.)

我住在长江的上游，你住在长江的下游。

I live at the Yangtze's head, and you live at its tail.

起笔两句点出两地相隔，是全词抒情的基础。我住长江头，君住长江尾，头尾二字，写出空间上的遥远：一个在江之上游，一个在江之下游，相隔千里，天各一方。这两句的妙处有三：一是以江水为纽带，虽然相隔遥远，却同处一江，为下文的共饮长江水埋下伏笔；二是句式的回环，我住对君住，长江头对长江尾，两两相对，如民歌的对唱，音韵上朗朗上口；三是暗含相思的绵长，江水自头流到尾，正如思念自始至终，绵绵不断。这两句以最平实的语言道出最深沉的距离感，不着一字愁怨，而离愁已在不言之中，正是民歌式起兴的高妙之处，也为全词定下了深情而含蓄的基调。

The opening two lines mark the separation of the two places, the ground of the ci's lyric. I live at the Yangtze's head, and you live at its tail: the two words head and tail write the spatial distance — one at the river's upper reach, one at its lower, a thousand li apart, each under a different sky. The beauty is threefold: first, the river as the bond, though far apart, yet on one river, planting the foreshadowing for drinking of the same Yangtze water below; second, the circling phrasing, I live against you live, the head against the tail, paired like a folk antiphon, the music easy on the ear; third, the hidden length of the longing, the river flowing from head to tail, like the longing from beginning to end, unbroken. The two lines, in the plainest words, speak the deepest sense of distance, not one word of grief, and the parting sorrow is within the silence, precisely the folk-style rising, fixing the ci's deep, restrained tone.

日日思君不见君，共饮长江水。

Day after day I think of you and do not see you, yet we both drink of the water of the Long River. (The longing: the thinking and the not-seeing, and the 'both drinking' the connection of the two places by the shared water, the consolation and the helplessness in one.)

天天思念你却见不到你，我们共饮着这一江春水。

Day by day I think of you and see you not, yet we drink of the same Yangtze water.

这两句是全词最动人的句子，写尽相思的痴情与无奈。日日思君不见君，日日写思念之频，没有一天不想；不见君写相见之难，想了千百回也见不到，思念的绵长与相见的渺茫形成强烈的对比，痴情之苦尽在其中。共饮长江水，笔锋一转，以共饮一江之水自我宽慰：虽然见不到你，但我们共饮着同一条江的水，这江水自你那里流来，便仿佛带着你的气息，一个共字，把天各一方的两人通过一江之水连在一起。这两句的妙处在于以无可奈何的自我安慰写相思之深，共饮江水本是平常事，在此却成了痴情的寄托，越是自我宽慰，越见相思之苦，越是平淡的语气，越有动人的力量，是民歌手法写深情的典范，千百年来令人低回不已。

The two lines are the most moving of the ci, writing the doting helplessness of the longing. Day by day I think of you and see you not: day by day writes the frequency of the longing, not a day without it; see you not writes the difficulty of meeting, thought a thousand times and the meeting impossible, the length of the longing and the uncertainty of the meeting set in strong contrast, the pain of the doting within. Yet we drink of the same Yangtze water, the brush turning, comforting himself in the same drink of one river: though you cannot be seen, yet we drink the same river's water, the water flowing from your place as if carrying your breath; the single same joins the two under different skies through one river's water. The beauty lies in the helpless self-comfort writing the depth of the longing — the same drink of the river an ordinary thing, here become the vehicle of the doting; the more the self-comfort, the deeper the longing; the plainer the tone, the more moving the force, the model of folk method writing deep feeling, moving the ages.

此水几时休，此恨何时已。

When will this water cease, when will this regret end? (The question: the endless water against the endless regret, the water and the regret in one, the folk-song device.)

这江水什么时候才能流尽，这离恨什么时候才能了结。

When will this water cease to flow? When will this grief come to an end?

这两句由水及恨，以水之无尽写恨之无尽，是全词情感的深化。此水几时休，问江水何时流尽，江水滔滔，亘古长流，自然不会休止；此恨何时已，问离恨何时了结，恨随思念而生，思念不绝，恨便不已。两句一问水、一问恨，以水之长喻恨之长，以水之无穷衬恨之无穷，把相思之苦推向极致。其妙有三：一是明知故问，江水不会流尽，此恨不会了结，问句本身已含答案，更见无奈与绝望；二是物我交融，以江水的永恒对照离恨的无尽，江水无情而恨有情，更显情的沉重；三是句式工整，此水对此恨，几时休对何时已，回环复沓，如江水回旋。这两句与上片的共饮长江水呼应，江水既是慰藉，又是离恨的见证，情感层层深入，为末句的誓言作了铺垫。

The two lines move from the water to the grief, writing the grief's endlessness through the water's endlessness, the deepening of the ci's feeling. When will this water cease to flow? asks the river when it will run out; the river rolls on, flowing from of old, and will not cease; when will this grief come to an end? asks when the parting grief will end; the grief born with the longing, and the longing unbroken, the grief unending. Two lines, one question of the water, one of the grief, the water's length figuring the grief's length, the water's infinity setting off the grief's infinity, pushing the longing's pain to the extreme. The beauty is threefold: first, the knowing question, the water will not run out, the grief will not end, the question itself carrying the answer, the helplessness and the despair the more; second, the fusion of thing and self, the water's eternity set against the grief's infinity, the water feelingless and the grief feeling, the feeling the heavier; third, the ordered phrasing, this water against this grief, when will cease against when will end, circling and repeated like the river's eddies. The two lines answer the same drink of the Yangtze water above, the river at once the solace and the witness of the parting grief, the emotion deepening layer on layer, preparing the closing vow.

只愿君心似我心，定不负相思意。

Only may your heart be like my heart, and certainly not disappoint the meaning of the longing. (The pledge: the mutual pledge of the hearts, the constancy of the love, the eternal vow of the longing.)

只愿你的心像我的心一样，一定不会辜负这份相思的情意。

Only may your heart be like my heart; then surely you will not betray this love.

末二句是全词的高潮，以誓言收束，把相思升华为忠贞的承诺。只愿君心似我心，一个只愿，写尽要求的卑微与用情的专一，不求相见，不求团聚，只求你的心像我的心一样，君心似我心，是爱情中最深切的信任与期许；定不负相思意，一个定字，斩钉截铁，是对自己忠贞的承诺，也是对对方深情的回应。这两句的妙处在于以退为进：明知相见无期，只求两心如一；以己心推君心，以不负相期许，把相思之苦化为坚贞之誓，悲中有壮，哀而不伤。至此，全词由相隔之远写到相思之深，由相思之深写到离恨之无尽，最后以誓言收束，情感层层升华，余韵悠长。这两句与《上邪》山无陵，江水为竭，乃敢与君绝的誓语一脉相承，而更见含蓄，是宋词中写爱情坚贞的名句。

The closing two lines are the climax of the ci, closing in the vow, raising the longing to the loyal promise. Only may your heart be like my heart: the single only writes the lowness of the request and the singleness of the devotion, asking not the meeting, not the reunion, only that your heart be like mine; your heart like my heart is the deepest trust and expectation in love. Surely you will not betray this love: the single surely, decisive as cut metal, the promise of his own loyalty, and the answer to the other's depth. The beauty lies in the advance through retreat: knowing the meeting without date, asking only that the two hearts be one; measuring his own heart against the other's, expecting the no-betrayal, turning the longing's pain into the steadfast vow, grief within boldness, sorrow without harm. Here the ci, from the far separation to the deep longing, from the deep longing to the endless grief, closing at last in the vow, the emotion sublimating layer on layer, the aftertone long. The two lines descend in the line of the Shang Ye oath's unless the mountains crumble, the rivers run dry, then dare I part from you, yet more restrained, the famous line of Song ci writing loyal love.

Study

Word focus

头 The head. The word of the place: 'I live at the head of the Long River'—the head of the river, against the tail of the river, the distance of the two places, the beginning of the longing. 我住长江头之头字，与下句的尾字相对，是全词起笔的炼字。头本指物体的顶端或开端，此处写长江的上游。其妙有三：一是以头尾写距离，江头江尾，一在源头，一在入海，相隔万里，头尾二字形象地写出两地之远，比写长江上游下游更见意趣；二是暗含首尾相应之意，头与尾同属一江，虽远而相连，为共饮长江水埋下伏笔，也暗含两人虽隔千里而情意相牵；三是音韵的响亮，头字读来干脆利落，与君住长江尾的尾字相对，一开口一闭口，音韵上形成对比，朗朗上口。若换上游、下游便觉平淡，头尾二字以人的身体部位喻江的两端，生动形象，且带有民歌的亲切感，是化俗为雅、以浅写深的炼字典范。

共 Both (together). The word of the consolation: 'we both drink of the water of the Long River'—the two places connected by the shared water of the river, the consolation of the longing in the helplessness, the one 'both' character the deep feeling. 共饮长江水之共字，是全词最见深情的虚词，也是全词情感的关键。共本指共同、一起，此处写两人共饮一江之水。其妙有三：一是化远为近，两人相隔千里，本不相见，一个共字，却让两人通过一江之水产生了联系——你饮的水流到我这里，我也在饮着，仿佛与你同在，空间的距离在心理上被拉近；二是以平常写深情，共饮本是极平常之事，在此却成为相思的唯一慰藉，越是平常，越见相思之深、相见之难；三是为下文的此水几时休作铺垫，正因为共饮此水，此水才与离恨相连，水的无尽才成为恨的无尽的见证。一个共字，是全词的词眼，把天各一方的两人联系在一起，写出了无可奈何中的深情与慰藉，也写尽了痴情人的痴语，是全词最动人的一字。

已 To end. The word of the regret: 'when will this regret end?'—the endless water against the endless regret, the regret never ending, the folk-song device of the water and the regret in one. 此恨何时已之已字，与上句的休字相对，是全词写恨的关键字。已本有停止、了结之意，此处写离恨何时了结。其妙有三：一是以问写恨，何时已三字明知故问，恨随思念生，思念不断，恨便不会了结，问句之中已暗含绝望的答案，更见无奈；二是与休字相对，此水几时休，此恨何时已，水休恨已，水不流尽恨不终了，以水的无尽写恨的无尽，两字对举，回环复沓，如江水回旋；三是声韵的短促，已字读来短促急收，正合恨之郁结难解，声情相合。若用尽字便觉平淡，用止字则太实，唯已字既有了结之意，又带文言韵味，与整首词民歌式的语言形成微妙的雅俗相济。一个已字，写尽离恨的无期，也让这句与古乐府江水为竭的誓言遥相呼应，是全词炼字见功力的一笔。

定 Certainly. The word of the pledge: 'certainly not disappoint the meaning of the longing'—the certainty of the pledge, the constancy of the love, the firmness of the close. 定不负相思意之定字，是全词誓言的点睛之笔，斩钉截铁，掷地有声。定本有必定、一定之意，此处写一定不会辜负相思之情。其妙有三：一是表决心之坚，定字是决然的语气，不容置疑，比必字、誓字更见口语的干脆，写出了对忠贞的坚定承诺；二是与只愿相呼应，只愿君心似我心是期许，定不负相思意是承诺，一愿一诺，由期望对方到要求自己，情感层层推进，显出用情的专一；三是音韵的铿锵，定字读来短促有力，与不负、相思意相连，节奏干脆，如誓言落地，朗朗上口。这一个定字，把相思之苦升华为坚贞之誓，让全词在缠绵之外更添一种决绝的力量，正是李之仪以俗语入词而情韵俱胜的体现，也是这句誓言千百年来打动无数读者的关键所在。