宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
柳永·少年游·长安古道马迟迟
Young Roamer · Slow Horse on the Chang'an Old Road
少年游·长安古道马迟迟长安古道马迟迟，高柳乱蝉嘶。
夕阳鸟外，秋风原上，目断四天垂。
归云一去无踪迹，何处是前期。
狎兴生疏，酒徒萧索，不似少年时。
By the tall willows the cicadas cry in a riot.
Beyond the birds, the setting sun; upon the plain, the autumn wind—
My gaze breaks off where the four skies bend down.
The returning cloud is gone without a trace;
Where is the former tryst?
My taste for pleasure has grown thin,
My drinking friends are scattered—
Not as in my young years.
Meaning
On the Chang'an old road the horse moves slow; among the tall willows the cicadas cry in a riot. Beyond the birds, the setting sun; upon the plain, the autumn wind—my gaze breaks off where the four skies bend down. The returning cloud is gone without a trace; where is the former tryst? My taste for pleasure has grown thin, my drinking friends are scattered—not as in my young years.
长安古道上马行迟缓，高柳间乱蝉嘶鸣。夕阳飞鸟之外，秋风掠过原野，极目望断四野天垂。归云一去无踪迹，何处才是旧日期约？狎游兴致已疏，酒朋萧索，全不似少年时光景。
Appreciation
This lyric, from Liu Yong's later, down-and-out wandering (or, by one account, a journey after failing the exam), opens on an autumn-border scene where the traveler's sorrow shows itself. 'The horse moves slow' writes the fatigue of travel; 'the cicadas cry in a riot' writes a restless heart. 'Beyond the birds, the setting sun; upon the plain, the autumn wind—my gaze breaks off where the four skies bend down' closes the upper part with a vast, dim space, grand in weather. The lower part's 'the returning cloud is gone' figures the failed tryst; 'my taste for pleasure has grown thin' contrasts with the young years, double-locking present and past. The whole lodges feeling in scene, sparse and grieved—a work among Liu's where the powder is washed away.
【白话串讲】 “长安古道马迟迟，高柳乱蝉嘶”——柳永走在长安古道，马走得慢，蝉叫得乱。“狎兴生疏，酒徒萧索，不似少年时”——当年一起喝酒的人散了，他也老了。 【意象与手法】 此词上片纯写秋景而羁愁自见：起句「长安古道马迟迟」以「迟迟」状行役之倦，马行之缓正见心绪之沉；「高柳乱蝉嘶」以「乱」字兼写蝉声之嘈杂与心绪之烦乱，以声写情；「夕阳鸟外，秋风原上，目断四天垂」以夕阳、飞鸟、秋风、原野、四天铺开苍茫空间，「目断」写极目远望而天垂四野，羁旅之人在天地间的渺小与无依毕现。下片转写身世：「归云一去无踪迹」以归云喻旧日期约之落空，「何处是前期」一问，见前路渺茫；「狎兴生疏，酒徒萧索，不似少年时」以今昔对照收束，当年冶游之乐、酒朋之聚皆成陈迹，沉郁苍凉，洗尽铅华。 【情感与主旨】 此词约作于柳永晚年潦倒、漫游各地之时（一说为落第后行旅之作）。词人以「长安古道」起笔，并非实指唐都，而是借前代都城意象写漂泊失路之悲——长安是功名之都、繁华之都，而词人匹马古道、目断天垂，功名与繁华皆与自己无缘。上片之秋景即心景，下片之「归云」「酒徒」皆昔日之影：旧日狎游之兴已疏，当年酒朋亦已萧索，盛年不再、知己零落，唯有古道西风伴我行役。全词于苍茫秋色中写尽一个失意文人的暮年之感，是柳永「羁旅行役」词中沉郁苍凉一路的代表，与早年冶游软媚之作迥异。 【名句点睛】 常考「马迟迟」「乱蝉嘶」的动作与听觉描写如何烘托心境；「夕阳鸟外，秋风原上，目断四天垂」的空间铺展与「目断」的炼字之妙；「归云一去无踪迹，何处是前期」以云喻期约成空的比兴手法；以及「不似少年时」今昔对照的沉郁收束。
Background
This lyric was probably written in Liu Yong's later, down-and-out wandering (or, by one account, as a travel piece after failing the exam). Opening on the 'Chang'an old road', he does not mean the Tang capital literally but borrows the image of a former dynasty's capital to write the grief of drifting with no road. The upper part writes the autumn-plain traveler's scene; the lower part sighs that the returning cloud has no trace and pleasure is scattered—among his 'travel and service' lyrics it is the sinking, desolate vein, far different from his early wanton, soft works.
柳永（约987—约1053），原名三变，字景庄，后改名永，字耆卿，崇安（今福建武夷山）人，北宋词坛婉约派的代表作家。其出身仕宦之家而科场蹭蹬，早年屡试不第，尝作《鹤冲天》有「忍把浮名，换了浅斟低唱」之句，传为宋仁宗所黜，遂放浪市井，流连歌楼酒肆，为教坊乐工填词，词名满天下；晚年方中进士，官至屯田员外郎，世称柳屯田。其词长于慢词，大量创制长调，铺叙展衍，善写羁旅行役与男女恋情，对宋词发展影响极大。此词约作于其晚年潦倒、漫游各地之时，一说为落第后行旅之作。词人匹马行于长安古道，以古道之迟行、秋原之苍茫、归云之无踪写尽漂泊失路之悲。「长安」在此并非实指唐都，而是借前代都城意象，寄寓功名无成、繁华无份的失意——长安是天下功名荟萃之地，而词人古道匹马、目断天垂，与这功名之都无缘相对，其悲凉更进一层。此词与其早期「忍把浮名」的疏狂遥相呼应，而少年意气已尽，唯余暮年萧索，正是柳永一生际遇的浓缩写照，亦可见北宋士人于仕隐之间徘徊的普遍心态。
Art
The upper part purely writes the autumn scene yet the traveler's sorrow shows itself: 'the horse moves slow' writes the fatigue of travel; 'the cicadas cry in a riot' writes a restless heart; 'beyond the birds, the setting sun; upon the plain, the autumn wind—my gaze breaks off where the four skies bend down' closes with a vast space, grand in weather. The lower part's 'the returning cloud is gone' figures the failed tryst; 'my taste for pleasure has grown thin' contrasts with the young years, double-locking present and past. The whole lodges feeling in scene, sparse and grieved—a fine work among Liu's where the powder is washed away.
此词章法上片写景、下片写情，而景中含情、情中见景，今昔双锁。上片五句纯写秋景：「长安古道马迟迟」起笔点出行旅之状，「迟迟」写马行之缓，外写行役之倦，内寓心绪之沉；「高柳乱蝉嘶」继以听觉，「乱」字双关蝉声之嘈杂与心绪之烦乱，以声写情、物我同构；「夕阳鸟外，秋风原上，目断四天垂」三句由近及远、由实入虚——夕阳、飞鸟、秋风、原野四层意象层层推开，至「目断四天垂」以极目远望而四野天垂作结，空间苍茫阔大，羁旅之人的渺小与无依尽在其中。下片转写身世：「归云一去无踪迹，何处是前期」以归云之去喻旧日期约之落空，一问之中前路渺茫；「狎兴生疏，酒徒萧索」以「生疏」「萧索」对举，写旧日冶游之兴已疏、当年酒朋亦已零落；结句「不似少年时」以今昔对照，五字收束全篇，举重若轻。全词疏朗悲慨，景语皆情语，与柳永慢词的铺叙秾丽迥异，于短调中见苍凉沉郁，是其「洗尽铅华」的佳作。
Allusions
This lyric uses no obvious allusion, purely white description and imagery to build its realm. 'Chang'an' is the conventional capital symbol in poetry (not literal), carrying the collective memory of frustrated scholars; 'the returning cloud' transforms Jiang Yan's 'at dusk the green clouds gather, the fair one comes not yet' and the ancient poem's 'floating clouds hide the white sun', figuring the tryst come to nothing and the road ahead dim. Though few explicit allusions, every line has a source, showing sinking feeling within the plain.
此词无明显用典，纯以白描与意象营境，然语语有本、意象含传统。其一，「长安」为诗词惯用的都城符号，自汉唐以来承载着功名、繁华、帝都的记忆——唐人「春风得意马蹄疾，一日看尽长安花」「长安一片月，万户捣衣声」皆以长安为功名或闺思之中心，而柳永「长安古道马迟迟」反其意而用之，以古道之迟行写功名之无份，「长安」遂成失意文人集体记忆中的伤心之地，此承唐人长安意象之传统而翻出新境。其二，「归云」化用江淹《休上人怨别》「日暮碧云合，佳人殊未来」及古诗「浮云蔽白日，游子不顾反」的传统——云之来去无迹，正喻期约之成空、故人之难期，「归云一去无踪迹」以云喻人、喻期约，比兴自然。其三，「蝉」为古典诗词中高洁而悲秋的意象，虞世南《蝉》写其高洁，骆宾王《在狱咏蝉》写其悲切，柳永「高柳乱蝉嘶」以蝉鸣之乱写秋之萧条、心之烦乱，承悲秋传统而更见烦躁。其四，「目断」一词为词人习语，王维「目断南飞云」、温庭筠「目断秋江」皆以极目远望写望而不见之悲，柳永用之，正见其于羁旅词中融铸前人的功力。
Commentary
Though the Qing Wang Guowei, in his Remarks on Lyrics from the Human World, slighted Liu's lyrics, he also said his 'impromptu works' have 'weather'. The modern Xue Lisuo judged: 'This lyric is loose yet controlled, among the Shen and Liu collections a sinking, stern work alongside Eight Sounds of Ganzhou.' The upper part's autumn plain is wide and far; the lower part's fate is desolate—washed of Qiqing's soft habits, fully showing his talent for both long and short tunes.
柳永词向以婉约、俚俗著称，而此词疏朗悲慨、洗尽铅华，为论者所重。清人王国维《人间词话》虽薄柳词为「词人之词」，然亦谓其「伫兴之作」有「气象」；近人薛砺若评此词「疏宕有致，与《八声甘州》同为柳集中沉雄之作」，以为其苍茫气象可与《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》并观。上片「夕阳鸟外，秋风原上，目断四天垂」之阔大，下片「狎兴生疏，酒徒萧索」之苍凉，皆非早年「杨柳岸晓风残月」的婉约可比，足见柳永长调短令兼擅、软媚沉郁两副笔墨的才华。此词在文学史上的价值有三：其一，以五十字短调写尽羁旅飘零与今昔之慨，是宋词「羁旅行役」主题的经典之作；其二，「长安古道」「目断四天垂」等意象的苍茫阔大，开后世羁旅词以空间写悲情之先声——元代马致远《天净沙·秋思》之「古道西风瘦马」即由此取径；其三，以「不似少年时」收束，将个人身世之感升华为普遍的盛年不再之叹，故能超越一时一地，引起后世无数失意文人的共鸣，与晏殊「无可奈何花落去」之叹异曲同工。
Prosody
Line by line
长安古道马迟迟，高柳乱蝉嘶。
On the ancient Chang'an road the horse goes slowly; in the tall willows the tangled cicadas cry.
长安古道上马行迟缓，高柳间乱蝉嘶鸣。
On the ancient Chang'an road the horse moves slowly; among the tall willows the restless cicadas chirp.
起拍以行旅之状与秋声之乱写烦倦之心。「长安古道」点出地点与身份——古道是功名之路、离乡之路，匹马行于其上，正是羁旅行役的写照；「马迟迟」以叠字写马行之缓，外写行役之疲惫，内寓心绪之沉重，马之迟行正是人之踟蹰。「高柳乱蝉嘶」转写听觉：高柳之上蝉声四起，「乱」字双关——既是蝉声之杂乱，又是听者心绪之烦乱，以声写情、物我同构。两句一视觉一听觉、一行役一秋声，已将羁旅之倦与秋日之悲和盘托出，为全词定下苍凉的基调，起笔即见大家手笔。
The opening writes the travel's plight and the autumn's confused sound for the weary heart. The ancient Chang'an road names the place and the identity — the ancient road the road of rank, the road of exile, the lone horse on it precisely the portrait of the traveler; the horse slowly writes the horse's slowness in the repeated word, outer the service's weariness, inner the mood's heaviness, the horse's slow walk being the man's lingering. The tangled cicadas in the tall willows turns to hearing: the cicada cries on the tall willows rising on all sides, the word tangled double — at once the cicada's disorder and the listener's troubled heart, writing feeling through sound, thing and self one. Two lines, one sight one sound, one service one autumn cry, already laying out the travel weariness and the autumn grief, setting the ci's bleak tone, the master's hand at the first stroke.
夕阳鸟外，秋风原上，目断四天垂。
The setting sun beyond the birds, the autumn wind on the plain, my gaze broken where the four skies droop.
夕阳飞鸟之外，秋风掠过原野，极目望断四野天垂。
The setting sun beyond the birds, the autumn wind over the plain, my gaze reaches the horizon where the sky droops on all sides.
三句以空间铺展写羁愁之苍茫，是全词气象最阔大处。「夕阳鸟外」写飞鸟在夕阳中远去，视线随鸟而远，愈远愈见天地之阔；「秋风原上」写秋风掠过原野，以无形之风写有形的萧条，满目秋色；「目断四天垂」以「目断」写极目远望而望不见尽头，唯见四野天垂、天地相接——空间至此完全打开，而羁旅之人在此苍茫天地间孑然一身，渺小而无依。三句由近及远、由实入虚，以「外」「上」「垂」三个方位词层层推开，苍凉之气弥漫四野，是柳永词中罕见的阔大之景，亦为下片身世之叹蓄足气势。
These three lines write the vastness of the travel grief through the unfolding space, the ci's broadest moment. The setting sun beyond the birds writes the birds receding in the sunset, the gaze following the birds farther, the farther the vaster the heaven and earth; the autumn wind on the plain writes the wind sweeping the plain, the formless wind writing the visible desolation, the autumn colors everywhere; my gaze broken where the four skies droop writes the extreme gaze and yet no end in sight, only the four-sided drooping sky, the heaven and earth meeting — the space fully opened, and the traveler alone, small and unsupported in the vast world. Three lines, from near to far, from the real to the imagined, pushed layer on layer by the words beyond, on, droop, the bleakness spread over the plain, the rare broad scene in Liu Yong's ci, and the force stored for the second stanza's fate sigh.
归云一去无踪迹，何处是前期。
The returning cloud is gone without trace; where, now, is the promised time.
归云一去无踪迹，何处才是旧日期约？
The returning cloud has gone, leaving no trace; where is the old promise now.
换头以归云起兴，写期约成空、前路渺茫。「归云」化用古诗浮云之喻，云之来去无迹，正喻旧日之人、旧日之约一去不返——归云尚有「归」之名，而词人欲归无路、欲期无凭，人不如云；「一去无踪迹」五字写尽消逝之彻底，连踪迹也无从寻觅。紧接「何处是前期」一问：前期即旧日期约、旧日理想，当年的期约如今在何处？一问之中，前路渺茫、往事成空，羁旅之悲由眼前之景转入身世之感。以云喻人、以问写悲，比兴自然、语气沉痛，正是柳永羁旅词中情与景、今与昔交织的枢纽。
The course opens on the returning cloud, writing the promise turned to void and the road ahead's blur. The returning cloud borrows the old poem's floating-cloud metaphor, the cloud's coming and going without trace, precisely figuring the old person and the old promise gone and not returned — the returning cloud has the very name return, and the poet would return and has no road, would promise and has no pledge, the man less than the cloud; the five words gone without trace exhaust the completeness of the vanishing, not even the trace to seek. Followed by the question where, now, is the promised time: the promised time means the old pledge, the old ideal, where is that promise now? In one question, the road ahead's blur and the past's void, the travel grief turning from the present scene to the fate. Figuring the man through the cloud, writing grief through the question, the bixing natural, the tone grief-stricken, precisely the hinge of Liu Yong's travel ci where feeling and scene, now and then, interweave.
狎兴生疏，酒徒萧索，不似少年时。
The roving mood grown strange, the drinking friends scattered — not like the days of youth.
狎游兴致已疏，酒朋萧索，全不似少年时光景。
The mood for pleasure has grown faint, the wine companions scattered — nothing like youth.
结拍以今昔对照收束全篇，沉郁苍凉。「狎兴生疏」写旧日冶游之兴已疏——当年流连歌楼、浅斟低唱的家兴如今提不起来；「酒徒萧索」写当年酒朋亦已零落——一起纵酒狂欢的朋友四散凋零；「不似少年时」五字总收，点出一切变化的根源：少年不再。三句层层递进，从兴致之疏到朋友之散，再到年华之逝，盛年不再、知己零落、意气消沉，百感交集而归于一句平淡的叹息。此结以今昔对照写尽暮年之悲，不事雕琢而力透纸背，与上片之秋景遥相呼应，使全词首尾圆合，正是「洗尽铅华」的沉郁之作。
The close gathers the whole piece in the now-and-then contrast, somber and bleak. The roving mood grown faint writes the old pleasure-roaming mood now faded — the old lingering at the singing houses, the slow sips and low songs, the mood now unrisen; the wine companions scattered writes the old drinking friends now dispersed — the old carousing friends scattered and withered; the five words not like the days of youth gather the whole, naming the root of every change: youth gone. Three lines advancing layer on layer, from the mood's fading to the friends' dispersal, to the years' passing, the prime no more, the kindred scattered, the spirit sunk, the hundred feelings gathered into one plain sigh. The close writes the old age's grief through the now-and-then contrast, no carving and yet the force through the paper, echoing the first stanza's autumn scene, the ci's head and tail fused, precisely the somber work washed of all paint.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both from Qiqing's hand; one writes love, one writes travel—see his two brushes, the soft and the sinking.
《定风波》与《少年游》同出柳永之手，而风格迥异，正可见其两副笔墨。《定风波》「自春来惨绿愁红，芳心是事可可」写闺中思妇的百无聊赖，「早知恁么，悔当初、不把雕鞍锁」以俚俗之语写痴情，婉约软媚、情致细腻，是其「词人之词」的代表；《少年游》「长安古道马迟迟，目断四天垂」写羁旅之人的苍茫悲慨，「不似少年时」沉郁顿挫，疏朗洗练，是其晚年「洗尽铅华」之作。一写闺情之柔，一写羁旅之悲；一以铺叙秾丽见长，一以白描疏宕见胜。二词并观，可见柳永词风由早期软媚到晚年沉郁的演变轨迹，亦见其长调短令兼擅的全面才华。
柳永·戚氏·晚秋天 Liu Yong · Qi Shi · Late Autumn Sky 柳永 · 同写秋日羁旅身世之悲，长调短令可互参 SameBoth write autumn travel and the grief of fate; long tune and short tune may be compared.
《戚氏》与《少年游》同写秋日羁旅、身世之悲，而体制迥异，恰可互参。《戚氏》为二百一十二字的长调，铺叙展衍，「晚秋天，一霎微雨洒庭轩」层层展开客馆秋夜的所见所思，将羁旅之悲写得淋漓尽致，是柳永慢词铺叙手法的极致；《少年游》为五十字短调，疏朗洗练，「夕阳鸟外，秋风原上，目断四天垂」数语即拓开苍茫境界，以少总多。一以铺叙之繁写悲，一以白描之简写悲；一为长调之展开，一为短调之凝练，而情感之沉郁、意象之苍凉如出一辙。二词并观，可见柳永驾驭长短体制皆能写尽羁旅之悲的才华，亦知其词「能状难状之景，达难达之情」的功力所在。
柳永·八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 柳永·八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 柳永 · 同写羁旅秋思，慢词与短调双璧 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
《八声甘州》与《少年游》同为柳永羁旅词的名篇，一慢一短，双璧并峙。《八声甘州》「对潇潇暮雨洒江天，一番洗清秋」以暮雨江天写秋之洗练，「不忍登高临远，望故乡渺邈，归思难收」直写归思，气象雄浑而情致深婉，是柳永慢词的压卷之作；《少年游》「长安古道马迟迟，目断四天垂」以古道秋原写羁愁之苍茫，「不似少年时」写身世之慨，疏朗悲慨而意蕴深长。二词同以秋景起、同写羁旅之悲，而《八声甘州》重在写归思之难收，《少年游》重在写少年之不再；一以铺叙之阔大见长，一以凝练之沉郁见胜。并观二词，可见柳永羁旅词的两重境界，亦见其秋日意象运用的深厚功力。