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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

浣溪沙·游蕲水清泉寺

Silk-Washing Stream: Visiting the Clear Spring Temple on Qishui River

苏轼

Su Shi

写景Landscape 旷达Optimism 励志Inspirational 暮春Late Spring

山下兰芽短浸溪，松间沙路净无泥。
萧萧暮雨子规啼。
谁道人生无再少？
门前流水尚能西。
休将白发唱黄鸡。

Under the hill, orchid shoots short soak in the creek;
Among pines, the sandy path is clean without mud.
In the evening rain, cuckoos cry.
Who says one cannot regain youth?
Before the gate, the water still flows west.
Do not sing the yellow cock's song of old age with white hair.

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Meaning

The poet describes a spring scene at the foot of the mountain, with orchids soaking in the creek and a clean sandy path, while hearing cuckoos in the evening rain. He then questions the idea that one cannot become young again, using the westward-flowing stream as proof, and urges not to lament old age.

山脚下兰草的嫩芽刚刚萌发，短短的，浸在溪水里；松林间的沙路洁净得没有一点泥土。萧萧的暮雨中传来子规（杜鹃）的啼叫声。谁说人生不能再回到少年时光？你看门前的流水尚且能够向西流淌。不要对着白发，去唱那黄鸡催晓的悲歌。

Appreciation

The poem uses vivid imagery and a bold philosophical turn. The first three lines paint a pure and tranquil scene, while the last three lines deliver an uplifting message of optimism, reversing traditional tropes of lamenting age and fleeting time.

【白话串讲】别人都说人老了就像东流的河水回不来，苏轼偏说：“谁道人生无再少？门前流水尚能西”——他站在溪边，不服老。这首词，是写给所有中年人的打气话。【意象与手法】上片三句写暮春清景，「山下兰芽短浸溪」写兰芽初发之鲜嫩，「松间沙路净无泥」写雨后沙路之洁净，白描如画；「萧萧暮雨子规啼」以声衬静，子规悲啼本易生伤感，却为下片的反问蓄势。下片「谁道人生无再少？门前流水尚能西」以反问振起，借兰溪水西流的实景翻案立论；「休将白发唱黄鸡」以劝止语收束，反用白居易叹老之意。全词由景入理、由理入情，以理遣情，翻案生新，清空刚健。【情感与主旨】元丰五年（1082）三月，苏轼因「乌台诗案」贬居黄州已四年有余，游蕲水（今湖北浠水）清泉寺，寺临兰溪，溪水西流，遂作此词。词人一反迁客伤老之叹，借溪水西流之实景写乐观奋发之襟怀，与《定风波》「一蓑烟雨任平生」同见其老而弥坚、旷达超脱的人生态度，是黄州时期「以理遣情」的小令代表。【名句点睛】重点掌握「反用典故／翻案法」手法：以「流水尚能西」破「百川东到海」的常理；赏析「谁道人生无再少」的乐观主旨；理解上片暮春景物描写为下片翻案蓄势的作用。

Background

In the third year of the Yuanfeng era (1082), Su Shi visited the Clear Spring Temple on Qishui River (now Xishui, Hubei). The temple faced Lan Stream, which flowed westward. At the time, Su Shi had been in exile in Huangzhou for several years. This poem, written around the same time as 'Calming Wind and Waves,' expresses a positive and forceful spirit despite his circumstances.

元丰五年（1082）三月，苏轼因「乌台诗案」被贬为黄州（今湖北黄冈）团练副使，此时已谪居黄州四年有余。暮春时节，他游蕲水（今湖北浠水）清泉寺，寺临兰溪，溪水竟然向西流淌，诗人见之，深有所感，遂作此词。苏轼在黄州期间，心境由贬谪之初的苦闷惶恐渐转为旷达超脱，《定风波·莫听穿林打叶声》《念奴娇·赤壁怀古》及前后《赤壁赋》皆作于此时，此词为其「旷达」词风的代表作之一。蕲水在黄州东南，与黄州一水相通，苏轼常往来游赏；兰溪水西流本为罕见的地理现象，诗人却于此反常之景中悟出「人生可再少」的哲理，遂反用「逝者如斯」「百川到海」的旧说，写下这首乐观奋发的小令。全词把贬谪生活的困顿与游春的闲适、伤老的传统与奋发的襟怀熔于一炉，是苏轼历尽忧患而愈挫愈勇的人格写照。全词短短四十二字，却完成了从暮春山景到人生哲理的飞跃，在黄州诸作中别具一格，历来为选家所重。

Art

The first three lines depict a late spring scene using simple strokes: 'orchid shoots short soak in the creek' and 'sandy path clean without mud' are like a painting, while 'cuckoos cry in the evening rain' uses sound to set off stillness. The last three lines reverse the conventional meaning of 'water flowing east' and 'the yellow cock urging dawn,' employing a rhetorical question to create a fresh argument, blending reason into the lyrics with clarity and vigor.

全词上片写景、下片议论，景中藏理、以理遣情，章法精妙。上片三句写暮春清景：「山下兰芽短浸溪」写兰草嫩芽初生、浸于溪水，见暮春万物之生机；「松间沙路净无泥」写雨后沙路洁净无尘，白描如画，清新明丽；「萧萧暮雨子规啼」以声衬静，暮雨萧萧、子规啼鸣，本是传统诗中的悲意象（子规啼血、暮春雨夜皆易惹愁），此处却以悲景蓄壮情，为下片的振起蓄势。下片「谁道人生无再少？门前流水尚能西」以反问立论，借兰溪西流的眼前实景翻案——水尚能西流，人生岂不能重返青春？「休将白发唱黄鸡」以劝止语收束，反用白居易「黄鸡催晓」的叹老之意。全词由景入理、由理入情，把哲理融入眼前实景，无一句说教而理趣盎然，清空中有刚健，是苏词「以诗为词」「以理入词」的小令典范。尤其「谁道」二句以口语入词，问得突兀，答得斩截，如当头棒喝，是苏词议论中最为警策之笔。

Allusions

The line 'water still flows west' reverses the common idea of 'time flowing east like water' from Confucius and the usual 'a hundred rivers flow east to the sea.' It uses the real scene of Lan Stream flowing west to argue against the inevitability of aging. 'Sing the yellow cock' alludes to Bai Juyi's 'Drunk Song' where 'the yellow cock urges dawn,' originally lamenting age, but Su Shi reverses its meaning, urging not to mourn old age.

「流水尚能西」反用孔子「逝者如斯夫，不舍昼夜」及汉乐府「百川东到海，何时复西归」的旧说。孔子临川叹逝，以流水喻时光一去不返；乐府亦以百川东流不可复西喻青春难再，二者皆成「水向东流、时光不再」的文化定见。苏轼偏借兰溪水西流的实景立论：既然水可西流，可见世事并非一成不变，人生亦不当以「老」自限。此句又暗含《周易》「天行健，君子以自强不息」的自强之意，把「流水西流」这一自然反常之景，转化为「人老志不衰」的精神力量。「唱黄鸡」化用白居易《醉歌示妓人商玲珑》「黄鸡催晓丑时鸣，白日催年酉前没」——白诗以黄鸡报晓、白日催年写时光飞逝、人生易老之叹，苏轼反其意而用之，劝人「休将白发唱黄鸡」，不要对镜自伤、徒然悲老，正是典型的「反用典故」或「翻案法」，可见东坡善化用旧典、翻出新意的本领。此外，兰溪本为浠水支流，其水西流是地理实景，苏轼就地取譬，使典故与现实相互印证，翻案而不失真，正是「用典贵活」的范例。

Commentary

This poem, along with 'Calming Wind and Waves' ('I'll face wind and rain with ease'), showcases Su Shi's indomitable spirit. Qing critic Chen Tingzhuo said it shows 'the more sorrowful, the more unrestrained,' but this piece shines with optimism.

此词与《定风波》「一蓑烟雨任平生」同作于黄州贬所，皆见东坡历尽忧患而老而弥坚的胸襟。清人陈廷焯《白雨斋词话》谓东坡词「愈悲郁，愈豪放」，然《定风波》以「也无风雨也无晴」的淡泊胜，此词则以「谁道人生无再少」的昂扬胜，一淡一豪，同出旷达。《浣溪沙》本为唐教坊曲，多写伤春叹逝、儿女柔情，晏殊「无可奈何花落去」即其正格；苏轼此词却以「流水尚能西」翻案立论，把哀婉的小令写成励志的壮词，正是「以诗为词」的体现。近人论东坡词，多谓其「无意不可入，无事不可言」，此词于短短四十二字中融写景、议论、理趣于一炉，乐观奋发，鼓舞人心，是历代教材与诵读中最常选录的苏词之一。近人俞陛云《唐五代两宋词选释》谓此词「以溪水西流，证人生之可再少，语极新颖」，正点出其以小令写大道理的独创。此词至今仍被广泛传诵，其「谁道人生无再少」的乐观精神，已成为中国人面对衰老与逆境时的精神凭仗。

Prosody

Form To the tune of 'Silk-Washing Stream' (42 characters double, upper stanza three lines three rhymes, lower stanza three lines two rhymes)词牌《浣溪沙》（双调四十二字，上片三句三平韵，下片三句两平韵）

Rhyme Rhymes with the eighth rhyme category (上平八齐): xi, ni, ti (upper three rhymes); xi, ji (lower two rhymes)押上平八齐韵：溪、泥、啼（上片三韵）；西、鸡（下片两韵）。

Tone pattern Upper stanza has mixed three- and seven-character lines; lower stanza has seven-character lines with two seven-character couplets. The transition line 'who says' starts a rhetorical question, shifting from scene to reason.上片「山下兰芽短浸溪」为平仄平平仄仄平，「松间沙路净无泥」为平平平仄仄平平，「萧萧暮雨子规啼」为平平仄仄仄平平；下片「谁道人生无再少」为平仄平平平仄仄，「门前流水尚能西」为平平平仄仄平平，「休将白发唱黄鸡」为平平仄仄仄平平。

Reading note The upper stanza describes a late spring mountain scene; the lower stanza uses the 'water can flow west' to reverse the habit of lamenting age, showing a broad-minded and soaring spirit. It is a representative short lyric of Su Shi's 'using reason to dispel emotion.'《浣溪沙》为双调四十二字的小令，上片三句、下片三句，皆七言，上片三句三平韵、下片两句平韵（下片第三句不押韵，此词「少」字不入韵，故为两平韵），句式整齐，声调流利，宜于写景抒情。此词押上平八齐韵，韵脚「溪、泥、啼、西、鸡」皆为齐齿呼的平声字，音色清亮而略细，与全词清新明快的格调相合。节奏上，上片三句两两成对、一句单收，「山下兰芽」对「松间沙路」，「短浸溪」对「净无泥」，对仗工整而自然；下片「谁道人生无再少」以仄声「少」字拗收振起，继以「门前流水尚能西」平收，「休将白发唱黄鸡」再以平收，两句连平，语势由振起到舒缓，正合「立论—例证—劝止」的章法。全词以「子规啼」的悲景收上片，以「流水西流」的壮语开下片，过片转接有力，由景入理而不觉突兀，是小令「以理遣情」的典范，读来声情朗畅，乐观奋发。

Line by line

山下兰芽短浸溪，松间沙路净无泥。

Orchid shoots at the foot of the hill are short and soak in the stream; the sandy path among pines is clean without mud. 'Short soak' highlights the freshness of new orchid shoots, and 'clean without mud' describes the clarity after rain, creating a vivid picture of a late spring mountain hike.

山脚下兰草的嫩芽刚刚萌发，短短的，浸在溪水里；松林间的沙路洁净得没有一点泥土。

Below the hills, short orchid shoots are soaked in the stream; among the pines, the sandy path is clean, without mud.

上片首二句写暮春山行所见，白描如画，清新明丽。「兰芽短浸溪」写兰草嫩芽方生、尚短，浸于溪水之中，「短」字状其初生之态，「浸」字写其与水相亲，一静一动，见出暮春时节万物生长的生机——兰芽虽短，却预示蓬勃的生命。「松间沙路净无泥」转写脚下之路：雨后沙路被冲刷得洁净无泥，「净无泥」三字极写环境的清幽明净，与「短浸溪」的溪水相映，构成一幅水清、路净、芽嫩、松翠的暮春山行图。两句一写溪水一写沙路，一低一高，色彩清丽，为全词定下明净开朗的基调，也暗伏「此景可游、此心可乐」的意趣，与贬谪词人惯写的愁苦形成对照。

The first two lines write the late-spring mountain walk, plain drawing as fresh as a painting. Below the hills, short orchid shoots are soaked in the stream writes the orchid's new shoots, still short, dipping in the water, the word short the newborn state, the word soaked their intimacy with the stream, one still one moving, showing the growth of late spring — the shoot though short presages the swelling life. Among the pines, the sandy path is clean, without mud turns to the path beneath the feet: the rain-washed sand road clean of mud, the three words clean of mud writing the quiet purity of the place, answering the stream below, composing a picture of clear water, clean road, tender shoots, green pines. Two lines, one stream one path, one low one high, the colors fresh, setting the ci's clear, open tone and hiding the pleasure of the wanderable scene and the joyable heart, contrasting the grief of the exiled poet's usual verse.

萧萧暮雨子规啼。

In the drizzling evening rain, cuckoos cry. The 'cuckoo cry' usually brings sadness, but here it sets up the rhetorical question in the next part, hiding philosophical insight within the scene.

萧萧的暮雨中传来子规（杜鹃）的啼叫声。

In the pattering evening rain, the cuckoo cries.

此句是上片的收束，以声衬静，兼作全词转折的枢纽。「萧萧」拟暮雨之声，写雨势绵密、天色向晚；「子规」即杜鹃，相传为蜀帝杜宇魂魄所化，啼声哀切，古诗词中常与「不如归去」的乡思、伤春的愁绪相连，如李白「又闻子规啼夜月，愁空山」。苏轼此处偏在雨萧萧、啼切切的暮春暮雨之境中收住上片，乍看是写愁，实则不然——子规的悲啼恰为下片「谁道人生无再少」的豪语蓄势：正因为世人皆因子规悲啼、暮春雨夜而伤春叹老，诗人偏要说「休将白发唱黄鸡」。以悲景蓄壮情，先抑后扬，正是东坡此词章法上「以哀景写乐情」的妙用，景中已暗藏翻案的机锋。

This line closes the first stanza, setting the sound against the stillness and serving as the hinge of the ci's turn. The pattering imitates the evening rain, the dense fall, the day's declining; the cuckoo, said to be the transformed soul of the Shu emperor Du Yu, its cry mournful, in classical verse joined to the homeward longing of better return and the grief of spring's end. Su Shi here closes the first stanza in the pattering rain and the crying cuckoo; on the surface sorrowful, yet not so — the cuckoo's mournful cry stores force for the bold who says life cannot grow young again below: precisely because all the world grieves spring and age at the cuckoo's cry, the poet insists on do not sing the yellow-rooster's song. Storing bold feeling in a sorrowful scene, first pressing then lifting, the cleverness of Su Shi's writing joy through sorrow, the counter-stroke already hidden in the scene.

谁道人生无再少？门前流水尚能西。

Who says one cannot become young again? The water before the gate still flows west. Using 'water can flow west' to break the common belief that life only ages, the rhetorical question expresses the pride of refusing to grow old, full of philosophical charm.

谁说人生不能再回到少年时光？你看门前的流水尚且能够向西流淌。

Who says life cannot grow young again? The flowing water before the gate can even run west.

此二句是全词的哲理核心，以反问振起，翻案生新。「谁道」二字以反问立论，语气斩截，先声夺人，把「人生不再少」这一千古常谈一笔扫倒；「门前流水尚能西」以眼前实景作答——兰溪之水竟向西流，可见水不必然东去，人生又岂必然老衰？苏轼以「尚能」二字强调其反常而真实，字里行间充满发现的喜悦与自信。这两句的妙处在于以实景破虚理：不引经据典、不作空论，而是就地取材，以溪水西流这一活生生的自然现象，推翻「百川东到海，何时复西归」的陈旧定见，把「老当益壮」「奋发有为」的道理说得亲切自然、理趣盎然，是「以理入词」而毫无说教气的典范。

These two lines are the philosophical core of the ci, rising on the rhetorical question and turning the table. Who says writes the argument by counter-question, the tone decisive, sweeping away the commonplace that life cannot grow young again in one stroke; the flowing water before the gate can even run west answers from the present sight — the Lanxi water actually flows west, showing that water need not east, and why must life decline? Su Shi emphasizes by the word even that the abnormal is real, the lines charged with the joy and confidence of discovery. The beauty lies in breaking the empty argument with the real scene: no classics cited, no empty talk, but the living phenomenon of the westward stream overturning the old lesson that all rivers flow east to the sea and never return west, saying the grow-old-but-become-strong truth with natural charm, the model of introducing philosophy into the ci without a trace of preaching.

休将白发唱黄鸡。

Do not sing the yellow cock's song with white hair. The direct advice 'do not' reverses Bai Juyi's lament, ending with a spirited and optimistic tone, fully displaying Su Shi's broad-mindedness.

不要对着白发，去唱那黄鸡催晓的悲歌。

Do not, facing your white hair, sing the yellow-rooster's song of declining years.

结句以劝止语气收束全篇，翻案之意最为显豁。「休将」即不要、别要，语气恳切而坚决，仿佛诗人对天下所有的老人乃至对自己说：别再对着镜中白发自伤自叹了！「白发」是衰老的象征，「唱黄鸡」化用白居易「黄鸡催晓丑时鸣」的叹老名句——白诗以黄鸡报晓喻时光催人，苏轼反其意而用之：黄鸡报晓本是自然之事，何必因之悲叹时光飞逝？上句以「流水尚能西」立「人生可再少」之论，此句以「休将白发」断「叹老悲秋」之情，一立一破，收束得斩截有力。全词由「谁道」的反问到「休将」的劝止，豪情贯注到底，昂扬奋发，尽显东坡历尽贬谪而愈挫愈勇、乐观旷达的人生态度，是苏词「旷达」精神的绝佳注脚。

The close ends the whole ci in the forbidding tone, the counter-turn most plain. Do not means forbid, the tone earnest and firm, as if the poet were saying to all the world's old men, and to himself: no more grieving before the white hair in the mirror! The white hair the symbol of age; sing the yellow-rooster's song borrows Bai Juyi's yellow rooster heralds the dawn at the chou hour, the sigh for advancing years — Bai's rooster as the memento of time's urging, and Su Shi reverses it: the rooster's dawn is nature's own, why grieve at time's flight? The upper line establishes life can grow young again through the westward stream; this line forbids the grief of white hair and autumn, establishing and overturning in turn, the close decisive. The ci, from the who says question to the do not forbid, carries bold feeling through to the end, high-spirited, showing Su Shi's optimism through repeated exile, the best note of his open temper.

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短浸溪 The new orchid shoots are just sprouting and soaked in the creek, depicting the vitality and freshness of late spring with refined wording. 「山下兰芽短浸溪」之「短」字状兰芽初生之态，「浸」字写其与溪水相亲，两字连用，极状暮春兰芽的鲜嫩与生机。「短」不写其小、弱，而写其「方生未长」的时令感——暮春三月，兰芽初萌，尚短而未足，正是生命最蓬勃的起点；「浸」字写出兰芽半浸水中、摇曳生姿的动态，水之清、芽之嫩，宛然在目。两字以白描出之，不事雕琢而清新可掬，与「净无泥」的沙路相映，营造出明净开朗的意境。苏轼炼字善于「以常字出新意」，「短」「浸」皆寻常字眼，一经点染，暮春山行的生机与诗人的游兴便跃然纸上，也为此词「乐观奋发」的主旨暗中定下基调。

尚能西 The unusual scene of water flowing west breaks the conventional idea that time passes like flowing water, preparing for the argument that one can regain youth, with striking philosophical charm. 「门前流水尚能西」之「尚能」是全词翻案立论的支点。「尚」是「尚且、竟然还」之意，带出惊喜与发现：水向东流本是常识，此间溪水竟能向西，一「尚」字写出诗人初见时的惊讶与雀跃；「能」字强调其真实可能，非虚言、非幻想，而是眼前实景。两字连用，「尚能西」三字如奇峰突起，把一个反常的自然现象转化为论证「人生再少」的坚实例证——连水都能西流，人生又岂能自限于老？「尚能西」三字以极简的笔墨完成从「惊」到「悟」的转折，理趣与情趣兼备，是苏词炼字「以一字立骨」的典范，千古传诵。

休将 The imperative 'do not' reverses Bai Juyi's lamenting tone, directly expressing the determination not to lament old age, ending forcefully. 「休将白发唱黄鸡」之「休将」是祈使语气的劝阻之词，「休」即不要，「将」即拿、对着，两字连用，语气恳切而斩截，仿佛诗人正面对劝慰的对象——包括读者、包括自己——断然说道：不要再对着白发悲叹了！此二字是全词情感的收束，也是翻案法最直接的体现：前人叹老，诗人偏劝「莫叹」；前人伤时，诗人偏说「莫伤」。「休将」一出，前文「谁道人生无再少」的豪情便有了落脚处——不止是理论上的「可再少」，更是行动上的「不叹老」。二字语气虽轻，分量极重，把东坡乐天知命、老而弥坚的人格力量凝于笔端，收束得干净利落，余味悠长。