宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
摸鱼儿
To the Tune 'Mo Yu Er' (Picking the Fish)
怎知他、春归何处，相逢且尽尊酒。
少年袅袅天涯恨，长结西湖烟柳。
休回首。
但细雨断桥，憔悴人归后。
东风似旧。
问前度桃花，刘郎能记，花复认郎否。
君且住，草草留君翦韭。
前宵更恁时候。
深杯欲共歌声滑，翻湿春衫半袖。
空眉皱。
看白发尊前，已似人人有。
临分把手。
叹一笑论文，清狂顾曲，此会几时又。
The slender sorrow of youth, stranded at the end of the earth,
Was long knotted with the misty willows of West Lake.
Do not look back —
Only fine rain on the broken bridge
After the haggard one has gone home.
The east wind seems the same as ever.
I ask the peaches of that former year:
Can Liu still remember,
And do the flowers know him again?
Stay, then — hastily I keep you, cutting leeks for a simple fare;
It was at just such an hour the night before last.
Deep cups would share in the smooth glide of song,
But tears soak half the sleeve of my spring robe.
Vainly the eyebrows frown.
Before the cup I see white hair —
It seems everyone has it now.
At parting we clasp hands.
I sigh — one smile over essays, wild abandon in conducting the tunes:
When shall we meet like this again?
Meaning
At a farewell feast the poet urges the cup, for spring — like youth — has fled. Memories of West Lake willows and the 'former' peach blossoms (Liu Yuxi's allusion) tell of a world changed beyond recognition; the guests, white-haired before the wine, part with the question no one can answer: when shall we meet like this again? Under the farewell runs the grief of a lost dynasty and scattered friends.
怎知他、春归何处，相逢且尽尊酒。少年袅袅天涯恨，长结西湖烟柳。休回首。但细雨断桥，憔悴人归后。东风似旧。问前度桃花，刘郎能记，花复认郎否。君且住，草草留君翦韭。前宵更恁时候。深杯欲共歌声滑，翻湿春衫半袖。空眉皱。看白发尊前，已似人人有。临分把手。叹一笑论文，清狂顾曲，此会几时又。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] Since no one knows where spring has gone, the poet urges his departing friend to drain the cup. The sorrows of youth were knotted long ago with the willows of West Lake; do not look back — there is only rain on the broken bridge now that the haggard traveler has gone. The east wind merely seems the same; asking the peaches of that former year whether they still know Liu, he knows nature itself has become a stranger. He begs his friend to stay one more night, cuts leeks for a humble feast, raises deep cups to the gliding song — and his tears soak his sleeve. Before the wine he sees white hair on everyone. At parting they clasp hands, and over one last smile — essays, music, wild abandon — he asks when they shall ever meet like this again. [Structure] The upper stanza moves from urging the cup through memory to the stranger-peaches; the lower stanza presses the guest to stay, drinks deep, then breaks off at the clasped hands. [Theme] Sorrow is buried under conviviality: the gaiety is the grief's disguise, and the final question gathers up personal parting and dynastic loss.
【白话串讲】 刘辰翁写《摸鱼儿》：“怎知他、春归何处，相逢且尽尊酒”——“少年袅袅天涯恨，长结西湖烟柳”——“但细雨断桥，憔悴人归后”——“问前度桃花，刘郎能记，花复认郎否”——他写春去——问前度桃花。 【意象与手法】 “怎知他、春归何处，相逢且尽尊酒”以问春起笔；“少年袅袅天涯恨，长结西湖烟柳”写天涯恨；“但细雨断桥，憔悴人归后”写断桥细雨；“问前度桃花，刘郎能记，花复认郎否”以刘郎桃花典写人事沧桑；结以“叹一笑论文，清狂顾曲，此会几时又”写后会无期。含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 刘辰翁写送别感怀之作，写春去人归、天涯漂泊与故人难再会的惆怅，以“问前度桃花”写人事沧桑，是刘辰翁词中寄慨的代表。 【名句点睛】 常考“问前度桃花，刘郎能记，花复认郎否”以刘郎桃花写人事沧桑；“叹一笑论文，清狂顾曲，此会几时又”写后会无期。
Background
Liu Chenweng (1232-1297), styled Huimeng and known by his sobriquet Xuxi, was from Luling (present-day Ji'an, Jiangxi). A loyalist of the fallen Song, he refused to serve the Yuan and lived in retirement writing poems and ci that mourn the lost dynasty. This lyric, to the tune Mo Yu Er, is a farewell to a friend charged with longing for perished days; its 'when shall we meet like this again' was heard by contemporaries as the elegy of a whole generation.
《摸鱼儿》为宋末元初词人刘辰翁所作词。刘辰翁（1232—1297），字会孟，号须溪，庐陵（今江西吉安）人，宋末词人，词多故国之思。此词写送别感怀，为送别词。词中「怎知他、春归何处，相逢且尽尊酒」写春归何处；「少年袅袅天涯恨，长结西湖烟柳」写天涯恨；「休回首。但细雨断桥，憔悴人归后」写休回首；「东风似旧。问前度桃花，刘郎能记，花复认郎否」写问前度桃花；「君且住，草草留君翦韭。前宵更恁时候」写留君翦韭；「深杯欲共歌声滑，翻湿春衫半袖」写深杯歌声滑；「空眉皱。看白发尊前，已似人人有」写白发尊前；「临分把手。叹一笑论文，清狂顾曲，此会几时又」写此会几时又。刘辰翁此词以送别感怀、此会几时又写其送别之情，含蓄深婉，是刘辰翁词中的名篇。此篇《摸鱼儿》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。
Art
The lyric's method is sorrow buried in conviviality. The feast is urged with bravado ('since we meet, let us drain our cups'), yet every image turns backward: the willows of West Lake, rain on the broken bridge, an east wind that only 'seems' the same. The question to the peach blossoms — 'do the flowers still know Liu?' — makes even nature a stranger. The closing sequence (white hair in every cup, clasped hands, the laugh over essays) is so warm that the final question lands like a blow. Short lines (kong mei zhou; lin fen ba shou) break the flow at the emotional turns.
此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、以典写情」见长。全词上片写春归何处与问前度桃花，下片写深杯歌声滑与此会几时又。上片「怎知他、春归何处，相逢且尽尊酒」写春归何处：怎知他、春归何处，相逢且尽尊酒；「少年袅袅天涯恨，长结西湖烟柳」写天涯恨：少年袅袅天涯恨，长结西湖烟柳；「休回首。但细雨断桥，憔悴人归后」写休回首：休回首，但细雨断桥，憔悴人归后；「东风似旧。问前度桃花，刘郎能记，花复认郎否」写问前度桃花：东风似旧，问前度桃花，刘郎能记，花复认郎否。下片「君且住，草草留君翦韭。前宵更恁时候」写留君翦韭：君且住，草草留君翦韭，前宵更恁时候；「深杯欲共歌声滑，翻湿春衫半袖」写深杯歌声滑：深杯欲共歌声滑，翻湿春衫半袖；「空眉皱。看白发尊前，已似人人有」写白发尊前：空眉皱，看白发尊前，已似人人有；「临分把手。叹一笑论文，清狂顾曲，此会几时又」写此会几时又：临分把手，叹一笑论文，清狂顾曲，此会几时又。全词含蓄深婉，以典写情，是刘辰翁词中的名篇。
Allusions
'Liu' alludes to Liu Yuxi, who revisited the Xuandu Temple peaches after ten years of exile and found no one left who knew him — the figure of returning to a changed world. 'Cutting leeks' comes from Du Fu's poem to Wei Ba, who welcomed him with leeks cut on a rainy night — the emblem of hurried, heartfelt hospitality. 'Conducting the tunes' (guqu) refers to Zhou Yu, whose very glance corrected a wrong note in the music, the mark of a connoisseur's wild elegance. West Lake stands for the fallen Southern Song capital, Hangzhou, so the willows carry the weight of a lost world.
词中「怎知他春归何处相逢且尽尊酒」「少年袅袅天涯恨长结西湖烟柳」「休回首但细雨断桥憔悴人归后」「东风似旧问前度桃花刘郎能记花复认郎否」「君且住草草留君翦韭前宵更恁时候」「深杯欲共歌声滑翻湿春衫半袖」「空眉皱看白发尊前已似人人有」「临分把手叹一笑论文清狂顾曲此会几时又」等语，皆含典故故实。「怎知他春归何处相逢且尽尊酒」写怎知他春归何处相逢且尽尊酒；「少年袅袅天涯恨长结西湖烟柳」写少年袅袅天涯恨长结西湖烟柳；「休回首但细雨断桥憔悴人归后」写休回首但细雨断桥憔悴人归后；「东风似旧问前度桃花刘郎能记花复认郎否」用刘禹锡桃花之典（刘郎写玄都观桃花），写问前度桃花刘郎能记花复认郎否；「君且住草草留君翦韭前宵更恁时候」用剪韭留客之典（杜甫《赠卫八处士》夜雨剪春韭），写草草留君翦韭；「深杯欲共歌声滑翻湿春衫半袖」写深杯欲共歌声滑翻湿春衫半袖；「空眉皱看白发尊前已似人人有」写空眉皱看白发尊前已似人人有；「临分把手叹一笑论文清狂顾曲此会几时又」写临分把手叹一笑论文清狂顾曲此会几时又（顾曲用周瑜曲有误周郎顾之典）。词人以刘禹锡桃花、杜甫剪韭、周瑜顾曲等典入词，不着痕迹，而把送别感怀之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。
Commentary
This Mo Yu Er is esteemed among late-Song farewell lyrics for the depth of feeling it keeps below the surface gaiety. Critics note how its 'ask the peaches of that former year' outdoes Liu Yuxi's own desolation, and that the closing 'when shall we meet like this again' says as much about a dynasty that cannot be recovered as about two friends parting. It is regularly set beside Yan Shu's 'Huan Xi Sha' for the shared 'when' of loss — one over the passing of spring, one over the passing of a world.
这首《摸鱼儿》，是刘辰翁写送别感怀之作，写春归何处、空眉皱、此会几时又之情，含蓄深婉。上片写春归何处与问前度桃花：「怎知他、春归何处，相逢且尽尊酒」——怎知他、春归何处，相逢且尽尊酒。写春归何处：怎知他春归何处、相逢且尽尊酒——春归何处、相逢且尽尊酒；「少年袅袅天涯恨，长结西湖烟柳」——少年袅袅天涯恨，长结西湖烟柳。写天涯恨：少年袅袅天涯恨、长结西湖烟柳——少年天涯恨、长结西湖烟柳；「休回首。但细雨断桥，憔悴人归后」——休回首，但细雨断桥，憔悴人归后。写休回首：休回首、但细雨断桥，憔悴人归后——休回首、细雨断桥、憔悴人归后；「东风似旧。问前度桃花，刘郎能记，花复认郎否」——东风似旧，问前度桃花（用刘郎桃花之典），刘郎能记，花复认郎否。写问前度桃花：东风似旧、问前度桃花，刘郎能记，花复认郎否——东风似旧、问桃花刘郎能记否。下片写深杯歌声滑与此会几时又：「君且住，草草留君翦韭。前宵更恁时候」——君且住，草草留君翦韭（用剪韭之典），前宵更恁时候。写留君翦韭：君且住、草草留君翦韭，前宵更恁时候——留君翦韭、前宵更恁时候；「深杯欲共歌声滑，翻湿春衫半袖」——深杯欲共歌声滑，翻湿春衫半袖。写深杯歌声滑：深杯欲共歌声滑、翻湿春衫半袖——深杯歌声滑、湿春衫半袖；「空眉皱。看白发尊前，已似人人有」——空眉皱，看白发尊前，已似人人有。写白发尊前：空眉皱、看白发尊前，已似人人有——白发尊前、人人有白发；「临分把手。叹一笑论文，清狂顾曲，此会几时又」——临分把手，叹一笑论文，清狂顾曲（用周郎顾曲之典），此会几时又。写此会几时又：临分把手、叹一笑论文，清狂顾曲，此会几时又——临分把手、一笑论文、顾曲，此会几时又。这「临分把手。叹一笑论文，清狂顾曲，此会几时又」，是全词之结：以此会几时又写其别后难期。全词含蓄深婉，以典写情，正是刘辰翁词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
怎知他、春归何处，相逢且尽尊酒。
Who knows where spring has gone? Since we meet, let us drain our cups.
怎知他、春归何处，相逢且尽尊酒。
Who knows where spring has gone? Since we meet, let us drain the cup.
首二句写春归何处，起笔即见其别。「怎知他、春归何处」写怎知他春归何处，「怎知他」写怎知那春、「春归何处」写春归何处；「相逢且尽尊酒」写相逢且尽尊酒，「相逢」写相逢、「且尽尊酒」写且尽杯中酒。两句一写怎知他春归何处、一写相逢且尽尊酒，以春归何处写春归、以相逢且尽尊酒写对饮，写尽春归何处、相逢且尽尊酒之情。以问起兴，含蓄而明快，是「以问起兴」的妙笔。
The opening two lines write where spring has gone, the parting present at the first stroke. Who knows where spring has gone? writes the spring's unknown; since we meet, let us drain the cup writes the shared cup. Two lines, one the unknown spring, one the shared drinking, writing the spring's departure and the drinking, exhausting the moment. Rising on the question, restrained and bright, precisely the wondrous brush of rising on the question.
少年袅袅天涯恨，长结西湖烟柳。
The slender sorrow of youth, stranded at the end of the earth, was long knotted with the misty willows of West Lake.
少年袅袅天涯恨，长结西湖烟柳。
The young man's delicate far-away grief is ever knotted in the West Lake's misty willows.
此二句写天涯恨，是全词写其少年之恨的关键。「少年袅袅天涯恨」写少年袅袅天涯恨，「少年袅袅」写少年之袅袅、「天涯恨」写天涯之恨；「长结西湖烟柳」写长结西湖烟柳，「长结」写长系、「西湖烟柳」写西湖烟柳。两句一写少年袅袅天涯恨、一写长结西湖烟柳，以少年袅袅天涯恨写少年天涯之恨、以长结西湖烟柳写长系烟柳，写尽少年袅袅天涯恨、长结西湖烟柳之情。以柳写恨，含蓄而深婉，是「以柳写恨」的点睛之笔。
These two lines write the far-away grief, the key of the ci's young-man grief. The young man's delicate far-away grief writes the youth's grief; ever knotted in the West Lake's misty willows writes the long knotting. Two lines, one the youth's grief, one the lake willow knot, writing the young man's far grief and the willow's knot, exhausting the longing. Writing grief through the willow, restrained and deep, precisely the telling stroke of writing grief through the willow.
问前度桃花，刘郎能记，花复认郎否。
I ask the peaches of that former year: can Liu still remember, and do the flowers know him again?
问前度桃花，刘郎能记，花复认郎否。
Asking the peach blossoms of old: can Liu Lang remember, and do the blossoms recognize you?
此三句写问前度桃花，是全词以典写问的关键。「问前度桃花」写问前度桃花，「问」写问、「前度桃花」写前度之桃花；「刘郎能记」写刘郎能记，用刘郎桃花之典写刘郎能记；「花复认郎否」写花复认郎否，「花复认」写花还认、「郎否」写你吗。三句一写问前度桃花、一写刘郎能记、一写花复认郎否，以问前度桃花写问花、以刘郎能记写刘郎能记、以花复认郎否写花还认你吗，写尽问前度桃花、刘郎能记、花复认郎否之情。以典写问，含蓄而深挚，是「以典写问」的点睛之笔。
These three lines write the asking of the old peach blossoms, the key of the ci's allusion question. Asking the old peach blossoms writes the question; can Liu Lang remember writes the Liu Lang peach allusion; and do the blossoms recognize you? writes the blossoms' recognition. Three lines, one the asking, one Liu Lang's memory, one the blossoms' recognition, writing the flower-question, the poet's memory, the recognition, exhausting the asking. Writing the question through allusion, restrained and deep, precisely the telling stroke of the question through allusion.
深杯欲共歌声滑，翻湿春衫半袖。
Deep cups would share in the smooth glide of song, but tears soak half the sleeve of my spring robe.
深杯欲共歌声滑，翻湿春衫半袖。
The deep cup and the smooth song together; in the turn, half the spring sleeve is wet.
此二句写深杯歌声滑，是全词写其酣饮的关键。「深杯欲共歌声滑」写深杯欲共歌声滑，「深杯欲共」写想共深杯、「歌声滑」写歌声圆滑；「翻湿春衫半袖」写翻湿春衫半袖，「翻湿」写反而沾湿、「春衫半袖」写春衫半袖。两句一写深杯欲共歌声滑、一写翻湿春衫半袖，以深杯歌声滑写歌酒相欢、以翻湿春衫半袖写酒湿春衫，写尽深杯欲共歌声滑、翻湿春衫半袖之情。以酒写欢，含蓄而深挚，是「以酒写欢」的点睛之笔。
These two lines write the deep cup and smooth song, the key of the ci's revelry. The deep cup and the smooth song together writes the shared deep cup and the smooth singing; in the turn, half the spring sleeve is wet writes the turned wet sleeve. Two lines, one the cup and song, one the wet sleeve, writing the song-and-wine joy, the wine-wet sleeve, exhausting the revelry. Writing joy through wine, restrained and deep, precisely the telling stroke of writing joy through wine.
临分把手。
At parting we clasp hands.
临分把手。
At parting, hand in hand.
此句写临分把手，是全词写临别之握的关键。「临分把手」写临分把手，「临分」写临别、「把手」写握手。一句以「临分」写临别、「把手」写执手，写尽临分把手之情——临别之时执手。以手写别，含蓄而深挚，是「以手写别」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。
This line writes the parting hand-clasp, the key of the ci's farewell. At parting, hand in hand writes the parting and the clasp. One line, the parting and the hand, writing the clasped hands at the farewell, exhausting the moment. Writing the parting through the hand, restrained and deep, precisely the telling stroke of writing the parting through the hand. This line in the few words exhausts the deep meaning, feeling and charm both supreme, precisely the poem's telling stroke. Its hidden waves between the words, the turns within the plainness, require the repeated savouring to grasp its heart.
叹一笑论文，清狂顾曲，此会几时又。
I sigh — one smile over essays, wild abandon in conducting the tunes: when shall we meet like this again?
叹一笑论文，清狂顾曲，此会几时又。
I sigh: the laughing talk of letters, the clear wildness of judging the tune — when will this meeting come again?
尾三句写此会几时又，是全词立意的落点。「叹一笑论文」写叹一笑论文，「叹」写叹、「一笑论文」写一笑而论文；「清狂顾曲」写清狂顾曲，用周郎顾曲之典写清狂顾曲；「此会几时又」写此会几时又，「此会」写此会、「几时又」写何时再有。三句一写叹一笑论文、一写清狂顾曲、一写此会几时又，以一笑论文写论文之乐、以清狂顾曲写顾曲之狂、以此会几时又写后会难期，写尽一笑论文、清狂顾曲、此会几时又之情。以问写别，含蓄而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以问写别」的点睛之笔。
The last three lines write the when-will-this-meeting-come-again, the landing of the ci's theme. I sigh: the laughing talk of letters writes the sigh and the talk; the clear wildness of judging the tune writes the Zhou Lang judging-the-tune allusion; when will this meeting come again? writes the meeting's repetition. Three lines, one the talk, one the tune-judging, one the future meeting, writing the letters' joy, the tune-judging wildness, the hard future meeting, exhausting the gathering. Writing parting through the question, restrained and deep, the ci's most moving place, and the telling stroke of writing parting through the question.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Yan Shu — 'Helpless, the flowers fall away; the swallow returns as if it knew me. In the garden's fragrant path I pace alone' — mourns time's passing in a warm, polished key; Liu Chenweng, before white-haired friends, asks 'when shall we meet like this again' in a key of desolate warmth. Both ask 'when' of a happiness that will not come back — one in spring's garden, one at a farewell cup.
晏殊《浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯》「无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来。小园香径独徘徊」，写无可奈何、此会难期，是宋词写惜时的名篇；刘辰翁《摸鱼儿》则以「空眉皱。看白发尊前，已似人人有」「叹一笑论文，清狂顾曲，此会几时又」写白发尊前、此会几时又。两词同写送别感怀、此会难期：一写夕阳西下几时回、以夕阳写此会难期，一写此会几时又、以问写后会难期；一为晏殊之温润、一为刘辰翁之沉郁，并读正可见宋词写「此会难期」的两种笔法，皆于离别之中见此会难期。
八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Ba Sheng Gan Zhou (Eight Beats of the Ganzhou Melody): On the Dashing Evening Rain Spilled from the Sky 柳永 · 同写别后凝望、登高怀远，一写想佳人妆楼颙望误几回天际识归舟、一写但细雨断桥憔悴人归后，皆于别后凝望之中见怀远 Both on gazing after parting: one mistakes distant boats for the returning one, one finds only rain on the broken bridge after the haggard one goes homeLiu Yong — 'I imagine my lady in her tower gazing forth, mistaking several boats on the horizon for the one that brings me home' — looks forward with hope; Liu Chenweng — 'do not look back; only fine rain on the broken bridge after the haggard one has gone home' — looks back at emptiness. One waits; the other knows no one is coming.
柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「想佳人妆楼颙望，误几回、天际识归舟」，写别后凝望、登高怀远，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；刘辰翁《摸鱼儿》则以「休回首。但细雨断桥，憔悴人归后」「少年袅袅天涯恨，长结西湖烟柳」写休回首、憔悴人归后。两词同写别后凝望、登高怀远：一写想佳人妆楼颙望误几回天际识归舟、以归舟写怀远，一写但细雨断桥憔悴人归后、以断桥写怀远；一为柳永之清丽、一为刘辰翁之沉郁，并读正可见宋词写「别后凝望」的两种笔法，皆于别后凝望之中见怀远。