All poems

宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

卜算子·黄州定慧院寓居作

Song of Divination · Living at Dinghui Temple in Huangzhou

苏轼

Su Shi

咏物Borrowing Objects to Express Aspirations 孤独Loneliness 贬谪Exile 托物言志Conveying Ambition through Objects

缺月挂疏桐，漏断人初静。
谁见幽人独往来，缥缈孤鸿影。
惊起却回头，有恨无人省。
拣尽寒枝不肯栖，寂寞沙洲冷。

A waning moon hangs on sparse parasol trees;
The watchman's knock is heard, men sink in ease.
Who sees the hermit pacing all alone?
A lonely swan's shadow on the air is blown.

He starts from sleep, but turns his head to glance;
With a deep grief, none know it in the gloom.
On every twig he'd pick, he won't take rest;
On the cold sandbar he'd make his lonely room.

Listen

Meaning

A solitary figure wanders at night under a waning moon, compared to a lonely swan that refuses to perch on any branch, ultimately settling on a cold sandbar. This symbolizes the poet's own isolation and steadfastness in exile.

残月斜挂在稀疏的梧桐枝头，更漏声断，万籁初静。有谁看见那幽居之人独自往来，身影恍若缥缈孤鸿。它受惊飞起却又频频回头，满腔幽恨无人懂得。挑尽了寒枝也不肯栖息，最终落在寂寞的沙洲上承受清冷。

Appreciation

The poem masterfully uses the image of the solitary swan to express the poet's inner world. The upper stanza creates a desolate atmosphere, while the lower stanza personifies the swan, highlighting its—and the poet's—refusal to compromise. The language is concise yet powerful, conveying deep emotion.

【白话串讲】被贬黄州，苏轼住在寺庙里，半夜看缺月挂上疏桐。他把自己比作一只孤鸿：“拣尽寒枝不肯栖，寂寞沙洲冷”——宁可孤独，也不肯将就。【意象与手法】全词以孤鸿为意象核心，托物言志。上片“缺月挂疏桐，漏断人初静”以景造境，“缥缈孤鸿影”将幽人与孤鸿叠合【情感与主旨】元丰三年（1080）苏轼因“乌台诗案”贬谪黄州，寓居定慧院【名句点睛】重点掌握托物言志手法与“孤鸿”象征义；赏析“拣尽寒枝不肯栖”的孤高品格；理解“幽人”“孤鸿”叠映的结构

Background

Su Shi was exiled to Huangzhou in 1080 after the Crow Terrace Poetry Incident. He lived at Dinghui Temple, feeling isolated and misunderstood. This poem was written during that time as a self-portrait.

苏轼《卜算子·黄州定慧院寓居作》作于宋神宗元丰三年（1080）初。元丰二年，苏轼因「乌台诗案」下御史台狱，几罹死罪，赖多方营救，于年底贬为黄州团练副使，本州安置，不得签书公事。元丰三年二月，苏轼抵达黄州，初寓居定慧院（一作定惠院），随僧蔬食，闭门却扫，此词即作于这一最落寞的时期。定慧院在黄州城东，苏轼《黄州安国寺记》及《定惠院寓居》诸诗，皆记此段居处。「缺月挂疏桐，漏断人初静」的荒寒夜景，正是初到黄州时心境的投影。此时的苏轼，刚刚从一场几乎断送性命的文字狱中脱身，惊魂未定，孤寂惶恐，又值贬谪远方、举目无亲，故其笔下之「幽人」「孤鸿」，皆是自身处境的写照。此词题曰「寓居作」，实是东坡以词代笔，自写其贬谪黄州初期孤独、忧惧而又不肯屈节的心境，与稍后《定风波》「一蓑烟雨任平生」的旷达相比，更见其刚历大难时的真实情状。定慧院之寓居，是苏轼贬谪生涯的起点，也是其思想由「致君尧舜」转向「人生如梦」的转折期。苏轼《黄州安国寺记》自述初到黄州时「舍馆粗定，衣食稍给，闭门却扫，收召魂魄」，正与此词「幽人独往来」「有恨无人省」的孤独相印证。此词之后，苏轼又作《定慧院寓居月夜偶出》诸诗，其「江云有态清自媚，竹露无声浩如泻」的孤清，与此词同出一辙，可见其初贬时心境之一斑。

Art

The technique is 'conveying ambition through objects' (托物言志). The entire poem revolves around the swan as a symbol. The first stanza sets the scene with imagery of a waning moon and sparse trees, and the second stanza describes the swan's behavior, mirroring the poet's own.

此词以「孤鸿」为核心意象，托物言志，是宋代咏物词「物我合一」的典范。上片起二句「缺月挂疏桐，漏断人初静」，以景造境：缺月、疏桐、漏断、人静，四个意象并置，营造出夜深人静、万籁俱寂的荒寒氛围。「谁见幽人独往来，缥缈孤鸿影」，是全词结构的关钥——「幽人」与「孤鸿」于此叠合，写幽人独往独来，其身影飘忽，竟如一只缥缈的孤鸿；或者说，那缥缈的孤鸿，正是幽人的化身。人与鸿，至此合而为一，难分彼此。下片「惊起却回头，有恨无人省」，写孤鸿受惊飞起、频频回头的姿态，「惊」「回头」「恨」「无人省」四者，皆双关鸿与人——鸿之惊，即人之惊；鸿之恨，即人之恨。「拣尽寒枝不肯栖，寂寞沙洲冷」，写鸿之不肯随枝而栖，宁栖于寂寞沙洲，其孤高与自守，正是苏轼宁受贬谪之苦、不肯与世同流的人格写照。全词句句写鸿，句句写人，而终不点破，含蓄蕴藉，达到咏物词「不即不离」的至境。此词的艺术，又在于「景语皆情语」的浑成。「缺月」「疏桐」「寒枝」「沙洲」诸景，无一不是清冷之物，又无一不是词人心境的投影——缺月是其身世之缺，疏桐是其知交之疏，寒枝是其处境之寒，沙洲是其孤独之所。而「孤鸿」则是这一切冷景的核心，它将散落的冷意象串成一线，使全词成为一个有机的整体。这种「以冷景写孤心」的手法，将咏物、写景、抒情熔于一炉，是此词高出一般咏物词之处。

Allusions

The swan (鸿) is a traditional symbol of a noble person. The phrase '拣尽寒枝不肯栖' echoes the idea of a gentleman who would rather endure hardship than associate with the vulgar.

此词用典不繁，而意象皆有深源。「幽人」一语，出《周易·履卦》「履道坦坦，幽人贞吉」，指幽居静守之人，本有「守正」之意。苏轼以「幽人」自指，既写其贬谪后幽居的状态，又暗含其虽处困厄而坚守正道的自勉。「孤鸿」的意象，源远流长：鸿雁本为候鸟，春来秋往，故常被用以寄羁旅飘零之感，《诗经·小雅·鸿雁》「鸿雁于飞，哀鸣嗷嗷」已开其端；嵇康《赠秀才入军》「目送归鸿，手挥五弦」又以鸿寄高远之志。苏轼此处以「孤鸿」自况，兼取「飘零」与「孤高」二义。「拣尽寒枝不肯栖」一句，历来有歧说：或谓化用杜甫《孤雁》「谁怜一片影，相失万重云」，或谓鸿雁本不栖于枝，「寒枝」乃词人虚拟以状其不肯苟且。此句实暗用《庄子·秋水》鹓鶵「非梧桐不止，非练实不食，非醴泉不饮」之意——凤凰非梧桐不栖，孤鸿则拣尽寒枝而不肯栖，皆是以「择木而栖」喻「择主而事」「择地而处」的操守。苏轼以鸿自况，谓己宁栖寂寞沙洲，不肯随俗俯仰，其孤高自守之志，正与鹓鶵之清高相通。又「惊起却回头」之「回头」，亦暗含《诗经·小雅·鸿雁》「鸿雁于飞，肃肃其羽」的惴惴之态，以及嵇康《赠秀才入军》「目送归鸿」的孤往之姿。而「有恨无人省」之「省」，则与杜甫《孤雁》「谁怜一片影，相失万重云」的「谁怜」同一悲慨——孤鸿之恨，无人省察，正如孤雁之影，无人怜惜。苏轼以鸿自喻的孤独，遂因这「无人省」三字，而与古往今来一切「怀才不遇、知音难觅」者相贯通。

Commentary

Huang Tingjian remarked that the verse seems not to come from one who eats mortal food, praising its transcendent quality. It is considered one of the finest poems about the swan.

《卜算子·黄州定慧院寓居作》是苏轼词中备受推崇的名篇，其接受史以黄庭坚的评语最著。黄庭坚《跋东坡乐府》评此词曰：「语意高妙，似非吃烟火食人语。非胸中有万卷书，笔下无一点尘俗气，孰能至此。」此评一出，遂为此词定下「超尘绝俗」的基调，后世论者多承其说。清代黄苏《蓼园词选》则谓此词「借鸿自况，托物言志」，点出其咏物而自寓的章法。陈廷焯《白雨斋词话》对此词评价极高，谓「幽人、孤鸿，两相映发，愈见孤洁」，并推其为东坡「性情之至者」的体现。近代王国维《人间词话》论「词以境界为最上」，尝引此词为「有境界」之例，其「缺月挂疏桐」之荒寒，「寂寞沙洲冷」之凄清，皆是「能写真景物、真感情者」。此词在传播史上，因其「孤鸿」意象的精妙与「拣尽寒枝不肯栖」的孤高，成为苏轼「孤傲自守」人格的象征，后世凡论苏轼贬谪时期的心境与词艺，鲜有不引此词者。其「咏物而不滞于物」的写法，也对南宋姜夔、张炎诸家的咏物词产生了深远影响，堪称宋代咏物词的一座高峰。此词在苏轼词中的地位，亦因「拣尽寒枝不肯栖」一句而特显。这句既是对孤鸿「择木而栖」的实写，又是对苏轼「不肯随俗」的自誓，其孤高之志，遂成苏轼人格的象征。后世论苏轼者，凡言其「虽九死而不悔」的气节，多引此句。而「寂寞沙洲冷」的凄清，则又为这孤高添了一层悲凉的底色，使苏轼的形象，既有孤鸿的傲岸，又有沙洲的落寞，两相映衬，愈见其人格的丰富与深沉。

Prosody

Form Pattern of 'Busuanzi' (双调四十四字，上下片各四句、两仄韵)词（卜算子，小令）

Rhyme Oblique rhyme (仄韵): jing, ying, xing, leng押仄声韵，属词林正韵第十一部（梗梗韵），上片韵脚为静、影，下片为省、冷，上下片各两仄韵，一韵到底。

Tone pattern The pattern is characterized by oblique tones, creating a desolate and cold feeling.小令依谱填词，此词通篇仄韵，声调短促而沉郁，与荒寒孤寂的词境相合。上片「缺月挂疏桐」句，平仄相间而收于平，「漏断人初静」以仄韵收束，声如更漏之断；下片「拣尽寒枝不肯栖」以「栖」字平声一顿，再接「寂寞沙洲冷」的仄韵，一扬一抑，见出孤鸿盘旋后终落沙洲的无奈。

Reading note This poem uses the traditional 'Busuanzi' form with four lines per stanza and two oblique rhymes. The rhythm is regular with a pause after the first two lines.《卜算子》为小令，双调四十四字，上下片各四句、两仄韵，上下片句式相同，皆五字、七字、五字、五字。此调多用仄韵，声情宜于凄婉沉郁。苏轼此词用韵全押第十一部梗韵上声，韵脚静、影、省、冷，皆属上声，音色清冷而短促，与「缺月」「疏桐」「沙洲」的荒寒意象正相契合。上声韵的运用尤见匠心——上声字本有「先降后升」的声调特点，读来似有哽咽之致，恰好传写出词人「有恨无人省」的抑郁与低回。换头处「惊起却回头」五字，以「惊」「却」两个入声字陡起，如孤鸿受惊之态；末句「寂寞沙洲冷」以「冷」字的上声短促收束，戛然而止，余寒不绝。全词仄韵一韵到底，声调之清冷与意境之荒寒，达到了高度的声文合一。黄庭坚谓其「似非吃烟火食人语」，其超尘脱俗，一半在词境，一半正在这清冷绝尘的声韵。此词上片「静」「影」、下片「省」「冷」皆上声梗韵，四韵一色，声口清冽，如闻秋夜之漏、如触沙洲之寒。

Line by line

缺月挂疏桐，漏断人初静

A broken moon hangs on the sparse paulownia; the water clock spent, the people are still.

残月斜挂在稀疏的梧桐枝头，更漏声断，万籁初静

The waning moon hangs slanting on the sparse paulownia; the water-clock sound ceases, all is still.

起二句以极简的笔墨，勾勒出一个荒寒而寂静的深夜。「缺月」非满月，是残月，光线微弱；「疏桐」非繁叶，是稀落的梧桐，枝影萧疏。一个「挂」字，写缺月悬于疏桐之上的静定，如一幅剪影。接着「漏断」写更漏声止，夜深已极；「人初静」写万籁俱寂，天地间唯余一片清冷。四个意象层层叠加，缺月的「缺」、疏桐的「疏」、漏断的「断」、人静的「静」，皆指向一种「残缺」与「空寂」，而这正是苏轼初到黄州、惊魂未定、独处荒院的心境外化。此二句不写情而情自见，是「以景写心」的典范，也为下文「幽人」「孤鸿」的出场，铺就了一片清冷空旷的舞台。

The opening two lines, in the sparsest brush, outline a desolate, silent deep night. The broken moon, not the full moon, is the waning moon, its light faint; the sparse paulownia, not the dense leaves, the scattered tree, its branches thin. The single word hang writes the stillness of the broken moon suspended above the sparse tree, like a silhouette. Then the water clock spent writes the watch's sound ended, the night at its deepest; the people are still writes all sound ceased, between heaven and earth but a stretch of cold. Four images layered, the broken of the moon, the sparse of the tree, the spent of the clock, the still of the people, all pointing to a brokenness and emptiness, precisely the outward projection of Su Shi's mind on first arriving in Huangzhou, his fright not yet calmed, alone in the desolate courtyard. The two lines write not feeling and the feeling shows of itself, the model of writing the heart through scene, and spreading a cold, empty stage for the hidden man and the lone goose below.

谁见幽人独往来，缥缈孤鸿影

Who sees the hidden man come and go alone, the shadow of the lone wild goose, dim and remote?

有谁看见那幽居之人独自往来，身影恍若缥缈孤鸿

Who sees the secluded man walking alone, his figure like the dim, distant shadow of a lone wild goose?

此二句是全词结构的枢纽，「幽人」与「孤鸿」于此首次叠合。「谁见」二字设问，把「幽人独往来」置于无人问津的境地——这贬谪的幽人，深夜独行，有谁看见？正因无人见，才愈见其孤独。而紧接着的「缥缈孤鸿影」，既是写眼前实景（真有孤鸿掠过），又是写「幽人」的幻影（幽人的身影飘忽如孤鸿）。人与鸿，实与虚，于此句叠印为一：幽人即孤鸿，孤鸿即幽人。这种「物我叠映」的手法，是此词托物言志的核心——从此而下，写鸿即是写人，写人即是写鸿，两相映发，难解难分，其孤独与孤高，遂被这「一影」二字统摄无遗。

The two lines are the structural hinge of the ci, where the hidden man and the lone goose first overlay. Who sees asks, placing the hidden man's coming and going alone in the land where no one asks — this exiled hidden man walking alone in the deep night, who sees him? Precisely because no one sees, the loneliness the deeper. And at once the shadow of the lone wild goose, at once the real scene (a lone goose truly passing), and the phantom of the hidden man (the hidden man's figure drifting like the lone goose). Man and goose, real and virtual, overlay into one in this line: the hidden man is the lone goose, the lone goose is the hidden man. This method of thing-self overlaying is the core of the ci's object-as-purpose — from here on, writing the goose is writing the man, writing the man is writing the goose, the two reflecting, hard to part, their loneliness and loftiness all gathered in the two-word shadow.

惊起却回头，有恨无人省

Startled, it rises, yet turns its head; harboring a grievance, understood by no one.

它受惊飞起却又频频回头，满腔幽恨无人懂得

Startled into flight, it turns its head again and again; full of hidden grief, no one understands.

此二句写孤鸿的动态，而字字双关。「惊起」是鸿受惊飞起，也是苏轼经历乌台诗案后的惊魂未定——那一场文字狱，如一只无形的手，时时惊扰着他。「却回头」写鸿飞起后仍频频回顾，是不舍，也是惊疑，更见其心中未平。而「有恨无人省」五字，直剖其心——鸿有幽恨而无人知晓，苏轼心中的冤屈与愤懑，同样无人省察。一个「省」字，是「省察、懂得」之意，道尽了「知音难觅」的孤独。此二句以鸿之惊、之回顾、之恨，写人之惊、之回顾、之恨，字字是鸿，字字是人，物我两忘，是全词情感最沉痛处。

The two lines write the lone goose's motion, and every word double-meaning. Startled, it rises is the goose's alarm, and also Su Shi's fright not yet calmed after the Wutai Poetry Case — that literary inquisition, like an invisible hand, startling him at every moment. Yet turns its head writes the goose, once flown, still looking back again and again: the reluctance, the alarm, the inner unrest not yet stilled. And the five words harboring a grievance, understood by no one lay bare the heart — the goose has hidden grief and no one knows; Su Shi's wrong and indignation in his breast, likewise unperceived. The single word perceived means discerned, understood, exhausting the loneliness of no soulmate. The two lines, through the goose' startle, its looking back, its grief, write the man's startle, looking back, grief, every word goose, every word man, thing and self forgotten, the most sorrowful place of the ci's feeling.

拣尽寒枝不肯栖，寂寞沙洲冷

It has chosen all the cold branches and will not roost; lonely on the sandbar, the cold.

挑尽了寒枝也不肯栖息，最终落在寂寞的沙洲上承受清冷

It has picked through all the cold branches and will not rest; at last it lands on the lonely sandbar, bearing the cold.

结二句是全词的题旨所在，也是千古名句。「拣尽寒枝不肯栖」，写孤鸿挑遍了寒枝，却不肯随意栖息——「拣尽」见其挑剔之严，「不肯」见其坚守之决，一个不肯苟且、不肯随俗的孤高形象，跃然纸上。此句化用《庄子》鹓鶵「非梧桐不止」之意，以鸿之「择木而栖」喻己之「择地而处」——苏轼宁受贬谪之苦，也不肯随波逐流、与世俯仰。而「寂寞沙洲冷」，写鸿最终栖于寂寞的沙洲，承受着无边的清冷——这既是实景（沙洲水冷），又是心境的写照（独处荒凉、无人问津）。以「冷」字作结，寒入骨髓，把全词的孤寂与孤高，都收束于这一片彻骨的清冷之中。

The closing two lines are the theme of the ci and the immortal line. It has chosen all the cold branches and will not roost writes the lone goose having picked through all the cold branches, and yet not willing to settle at will — chosen all shows the strictness of its choosing, will not shows the resolve of its keeping, a lofty image that will not compromise, will not follow the vulgar, leaping onto the paper. The line transforms the Zhuangzi phoenix's not resting but on the paulownia, using the goose' choosing its tree to figure his own choosing his ground — Su Shi, rather than bear the exile's hardship, would not drift with the current or bend with the world. And lonely on the sandbar, the cold writes the goose at last resting on the lonely sandbar, bearing the boundless cold — at once the real scene (the sandbar's cold water), and the image of the mind (alone in the desolation, no one asking). Closing in the word cold, the chill to the bone, gathering the whole ci's loneliness and loftiness into this bone-deep cold.

Study

Word focus

挂 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「缺月挂疏桐」的「挂」字，是写景的炼字。月悬于天，本为「照」「映」之态，而苏轼以「挂」字状之，遂使缺月如一件静物，被静静地挂在疏桐的枝头。「挂」字既写出了月之低垂（近于树梢，故似可挂），又写出了深夜的静谧（月与桐皆静，如画中物）。更妙的是，「挂」字暗含一种「悬而不落」的状态——缺月挂在疏桐之上，如词人的一颗心悬在半空，无着无落。此字与「疏桐」的「疏」相配，疏枝挂残月，画面极简而意境极寒，正是苏轼初到黄州时荒寒心境的绝妙外化。以一字而兼写形、境、情，正是东坡炼字的功力。

省 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「有恨无人省」的「省」字，是此词情感的关键。省者，省察、懂得也。鸿有幽恨，而无人「省」——不是说无人看见，而是说无人懂得。这个字把「孤独」从「形单影只」的层面，提升到了「无人理解」的层面：肉体上的孤独尚有排解之法，而精神上的孤独——满腹冤屈、满心幽恨却无一人省察——才是最深的孤独。苏轼乌台诗案后，虽得以生还，然其内心的冤屈与愤懑，却无从向人诉说，正是一个「省」字所道尽的悲凉。以「省」字状「无人」，其孤绝之感，力透纸背。

冷 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「寂寞沙洲冷」的「冷」字，是全词的收束，也是意境的终点。冷者，寒也，凉也。沙洲本为水滨之地，夜寒而水冷，是物理之冷；而「寂寞」所衬出的，更是心理之冷——独处荒洲，无人问津，身心俱冷。苏轼以「冷」字作结，把上文的「缺月」「漏断」「惊起」「有恨」所积累的清寒、孤寂、冤屈，一并收束于这一「冷」字，如一片寒冰，覆于全词之上。且「冷」字为上声梗韵字，读来短促而沉郁，声情与词情相合，遂使这最后一字，成为全词凄清意境的最终定格。