水调歌头

Meaning

A lyric of the return to the rivers of the south, written by Zhang Xiaoxiang, the patriotic poet of the Southern Song. He washes his feet in the night rapids and dries his hair in the cold north wind — the gestures of the ancient purity; he has wandered through the mountains and the lakes of Wu and Chu, only lacking the visit to the Xiao and the Xiang — the rivers of the south, the land of the ancient Chu. He has bought the little boat to go back; this matter Heaven has given to him — in the sixth month, to go down into the blue waves. He has shed the cicada's shell outside the dust, and dreams the butterfly's dream in the water-cloud land. He makes his coat of the lotus leaves, knots his girdle of the thoroughwort, and holds the fragrant jade — the garments of the ancient Chu poet Qu Yuan. The goddesses of the Xiang dance and smile; they stroke the zither and play the clear Shang; they wake the loyal indignation of the Nine Songs and brush clean the writings of the Three Wardens — Qu Yuan's writings — that they may vie with the sun in light. And the close: do not let the young ones know — this joy is not yet exhausted. The lyric is the return of the patriot to the rivers of Qu Yuan: the garments of the lotus and the thoroughwort, and the writings that vie with the sun.

濯足夜滩急，晞发北风凉。吴山楚泽行遍，只欠到潇湘。买得扁舟归去，此事天公付我，六月下沧浪。蝉脱尘埃外，蝶梦水云乡。制荷衣，纫兰佩，把琼芳。湘妃起舞一笑，抚瑟奏清商。唤起九歌忠愤，拂拭三闾文字，还与日争光。莫遣儿辈觉，此乐未渠央。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] I wash my feet in the night rapids' haste, and dry my hair in the cold north wind. I have wandered through the mountains and the lakes of Wu and Chu — only lacking the visit to the Xiao and the Xiang. I have bought the little boat to go back — this matter Heaven has given to me: in the sixth month, to go down into the blue waves. I have shed the cicada's shell, outside the dust — the butterfly's dream, in the water-cloud land. I make my coat of the lotus leaves, knot my girdle of the thoroughwort, and hold the fragrant jade. The goddesses of the Xiang dance, and smile — they stroke the zither and play the clear Shang. They wake the loyal indignation of the Nine Songs, brush clean the writings of the Three Wardens — that they may vie with the sun in light. Do not let the young ones know — this joy is not yet exhausted. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the preparations of the return — the washing and the drying, the boat bought — through the transformation — the cicada's shell and the butterfly's dream, the garments of the lotus and the thoroughwort — to the meeting with the goddesses of the Xiang and the wake of Qu Yuan's writings, and the close's keeping of the joy from the young ones. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the layering of the Chu: the garments of the lotus and the thoroughwort, the goddesses of the Xiang, the Nine Songs and the Three Wardens — the whole lyric is the return to the world of Qu Yuan, the patriot's inheritance of the ancient loyalty. [Emotional Tone] Free, lofty, and patriotic: the lyric is the return to the rivers of the south, the joy of the transformation and the wake of the ancient writings that vie with the sun.

【白话串讲】 张孝祥写《水调歌头》：“濯足夜滩急，晞发北风凉”——“吴山楚泽行遍，只欠到潇湘”——“买得扁舟归去，此事天公付我，六月下沧浪”——“蝉脱尘埃外，蝶梦水云乡”——他写湘水之行——蝉脱尘埃外。 【意象与手法】 “濯足夜滩急，晞发北风凉”以濯足晞发写高洁；“吴山楚泽行遍，只欠到潇湘”写行遍江湖；“买得扁舟归去，此事天公付我，六月下沧浪”写归隐之志；“蝉脱尘埃外，蝶梦水云乡”以蝉蜕蝶梦写超脱；结以“莫遣儿辈觉，此乐未渠央”写此乐未央。豪放洒脱。 【情感与主旨】 张孝祥写咏怀归隐之作，写湘水之行与归隐之志，以“蝉脱尘埃外”写超脱尘世，体现于湖词豪放洒脱的风格。 【名句点睛】 常考“濯足夜滩急，晞发北风凉”以濯足晞发写高洁；“蝉脱尘埃外，蝶梦水云乡”以蝉蜕蝶梦写超脱。

Allusions

The lyric is dense with the allusions of the Chu: 'the coat of the lotus leaves, the girdle of the thoroughwort' (zhihe yi, ren lan pei) are the garments of Qu Yuan in the 'Songs of Chu' — the fragrant, noble dress of the loyal exile. 'The goddesses of the Xiang' (Xiangfei) are the goddesses of the Xiang River of the ancient Chu; 'the Nine Songs' (Jiu Ge) and 'the Three Wardens' (San Lu) are the works and the title of Qu Yuan — the writings brushed clean, to vie with the sun in light. 'The cicada's shell' (chan tuo) is the shedding of the cicada's shell — the Daoist figure of the transcendence; 'the butterfly's dream' (die meng) is the dream of Zhuangzi's butterfly. The washing of the feet and the drying of the hair are the gestures of the ancient purity.

词中「濯足」「晞发」「吴山楚泽」「潇湘」「扁舟」「天公付我」「沧浪」「蝉脱」「尘埃」「蝶梦」「水云乡」「荷衣」「兰佩」「琼芳」「湘妃」「抚瑟」「清商」「九歌」「忠愤」「三闾」「与日争光」「儿辈」「此乐未渠央」等语，皆含典故故实。「濯足」用《孟子·离娄上》「沧浪之水清兮，可以濯我缨；沧浪之水浊兮，可以濯我足」之意（亦用屈原「濯足沧浪」）；「晞发」用屈原《九歌·少司命》「晞汝发兮阳之阿」之意，写晒干头发；「吴山楚泽」写吴楚之地；「潇湘」写湘江一带；「扁舟」用范蠡泛五湖之典，写归隐之舟；「天公付我」写天公付我；「沧浪」写沧浪之水；「蝉脱」写如蝉蜕壳而脱尘；「蝶梦」用《庄子·齐物论》庄周梦蝶之典，写蝶梦；「水云乡」写水云之乡；「制荷衣」「纫兰佩」用《离骚》「制芰荷以为衣兮，集芙蓉以为裳」「纫秋兰以为佩」之意，写高洁之服佩；「琼芳」用屈原「被石兰兮带杜衡，折芳馨兮遗所思」之意，写琼芳；「湘妃」用湘水之神湘夫人（娥皇女英）之典；「抚瑟」写抚琴；「清商」写清商之曲；「九歌」用屈原《九歌》；「忠愤」写忠愤；「三闾」写屈原（屈原为三闾大夫）；「与日争光」用《史记·屈原贾生列传》「虽与日月争光可也」之意；「儿辈」写小辈；「此乐未渠央」写此乐未央。词人以濯足晞发、扁舟、蝉脱蝶梦、荷衣兰佩、湘妃、三闾、九歌等典入词，不着痕迹，而把咏怀归隐之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。

Commentary

This lyric is one of Zhang Xiaoxiang's most famous works, quoted for its layering of the allusions of the Chu and its patriotic freedom. The garments of the lotus and the thoroughwort, the goddesses of the Xiang, and the writings that vie with the sun are among the most admired images of the Southern Song. Critics praise the lyric's loftiness: the return to the rivers of Qu Yuan, and the joy kept from the young ones.

这首《水调歌头》，是张孝祥写咏怀归隐之作，写濯足晞发、蝉脱尘埃、三闾文字之情，豪放洒脱。上片写濯足晞发与扁舟归去：「濯足夜滩急，晞发北风凉。吴山楚泽行遍，只欠到潇湘」——濯足夜滩急，晞发北风凉，吴山楚泽行遍，只欠到潇湘。写濯足晞发：濯足夜滩急、晞发北风凉（用沧浪濯足、晞发之典），吴山楚泽行遍、只欠到潇湘——濯足晞发、吴山楚泽行遍；「买得扁舟归去，此事天公付我，六月下沧浪」——买得扁舟归去，此事天公付我，六月下沧浪。写扁舟归去：买得扁舟归去，此事天公付我、六月下沧浪——买扁舟归去、六月下沧浪（用范蠡泛舟之典）；「蝉脱尘埃外，蝶梦水云乡」——蝉脱尘埃外，蝶梦水云乡。写蝉脱蝶梦：蝉脱尘埃外、蝶梦水云乡——如蝉脱壳而脱尘埃、如蝶梦于水云乡。下片写制荷衣与三闾文字：「制荷衣，纫兰佩，把琼芳」——制荷衣，纫兰佩，把琼芳。写制荷衣：制荷衣、纫兰佩、把琼芳（用离骚荷衣兰佩之典）——以高洁之服佩自处；「湘妃起舞一笑，抚瑟奏清商」——湘妃起舞一笑，抚瑟奏清商。写湘妃起舞：湘妃起舞一笑、抚瑟奏清商——湘妃起舞、清商之曲；「唤起九歌忠愤，拂拭三闾文字，还与日争光」——唤起九歌忠愤，拂拭三闾文字，还与日争光。写三闾文字：唤起九歌忠愤、拂拭三闾文字，还与日争光——九歌忠愤、三闾文字与日争光；「莫遣儿辈觉，此乐未渠央」——莫遣儿辈觉，此乐未渠央。写此乐未央：莫遣儿辈觉、此乐未渠央——莫使小辈觉、此乐未央。这「莫遣儿辈觉，此乐未渠央」，是全词之结：以此乐未央写其自得。全词豪放洒脱，以典写怀，正是张孝祥词中的名篇。

Prosody

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