水调歌头

Meaning

A lyric of the military hero, written by Liu Guo, the bold poet of the Southern Song. Ten thousand horses do not neigh; one sound of the cold horn, and the order runs through the willow camp — the discipline of the army. He sees the autumn plain like the palm of a hand, the spears and the swords thrusting out, the iron cavalry racing like stars, the battle formations stretching crosswise. A man is in the oil-curtained tent, holding the whole art of war, the feather-fan easy, the fur-and-belt light — the commander at ease in the midst of the war. Do you know? He is the stock of the generals of the West Mountain, who once tied the covenant of the poetry band — the warrior who is also a poet. The dragons and the serpents fly over the paper; the falling brush startles the four feasts with wind and rain — the poet's own power. Then, through the dust and the sand, out of the pass — the marquisate of ten thousand li, the seal of gold like the dipper, not yet contenting his whole life. He brushes the side of his waist — the hair-splitting sword is there; if he does not cut down the Loulan — the enemy — his heart will not be at peace. And the close: returning late, he hears the army's drums and pipes, already carrying the sound of the frontier. The lyric is the portrait of the warrior-poet: the commander at ease and the writer of the startling brush, bound to the sword of the frontier.

万马不嘶，一声寒角，令行柳营。见秋原如掌，枪刀突出，星驰铁骑，阵势纵横。人在油幢，戎韬总制，羽扇从容裘带轻。君知否，是山西将种，曾系诗盟。龙蛇纸上飞腾。看落笔四筵风雨惊。便尘沙出塞，封侯万里，印金如斗，未惬平生。拂拭腰间，吹毛剑在，不斩楼兰心不平。归来晚，听随军鼓吹，已带边声。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Ten thousand horses do not neigh — one sound of the cold horn, and the order runs through the willow camp. I see the autumn plain like the palm of a hand, the spears and the swords thrusting out, the iron cavalry like the racing stars, the battle formations stretching crosswise. A man is in the oil-curtained tent, holding the whole art of war, the feather-fan easy, the fur-and-belt light. Do you know? He is the stock of the generals of the West Mountain, who once tied the covenant of the poetry band. The dragons and the serpents fly and race over the paper — see the falling of the brush: the four feasts are startled by the wind and the rain. Then, through the dust and the sand, out of the pass — the marquisate of ten thousand li, the seal of gold like the dipper, not yet contenting his whole life. He brushes the side of his waist — the hair-splitting sword is there; if he does not cut down the Loulan, his heart will not be at peace. Returning late, he hears the army's drums and pipes, already carrying the sound of the frontier. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the discipline of the camp — the silent horses and the horn — through the portrait of the commander — the art of war and the easy feather-fan — to the poet's own power of the brush, and then to the frontier — the marquisate and the sword, the cutting down of the Loulan — and the close on the drums and pipes of the return, carrying the sound of the frontier. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the double portrait: the commander at ease in the war and the poet of the startling brush are the same man — the warrior-poet of the Southern Song, bound to the sword and the covenant of the poetry band. [Emotional Tone] Bold, easy, and patriotic: the lyric is the portrait of the hero, the feather-fan and the hair-splitting sword, the marquisate and the covenant, and the heart not at peace until the enemy is cut down.

【白话串讲】 刘过写《水调歌头》：“万马不嘶，一声寒角，令行柳营”——“见秋原如掌，枪刀突出，星驰铁骑，阵势纵横”——“人在油幢，戎韬总制，羽扇从容裘带轻”——“君知否，是山西将种，曾系诗盟”——他写军旅——星驰铁骑。 【意象与手法】 “万马不嘶，一声寒角，令行柳营”写军令之严；“见秋原如掌，枪刀突出，星驰铁骑，阵势纵横”写铁骑阵势；“人在油幢，戎韬总制，羽扇从容裘带轻”写儒将风度；结以“归来晚，听随军鼓吹，已带边声”写边声。豪放激昂。 【情感与主旨】 刘过写咏怀爱国之作，写军旅之盛与儒将从容，寄托抗金报国之情，体现刘过词豪放激昂的风格。 【名句点睛】 常考“万马不嘶，一声寒角，令行柳营”以一声寒角写军令之严；“星驰铁骑，阵势纵横”以星驰铁骑写军威。

Allusions

'The willow camp' (liuying) alludes to the camp of the Han general Zhou Yafu, whose army was so disciplined that even the emperor's entourage was halted at the willow camp. 'The feather-fan' (yushan) is the fan of the strategist — the easy fan of Zhuge Liang, the commander at ease. 'The West Mountain' (Xishan) is the stock of the generals of the frontier; 'the Loulan' (Loulan) is the enemy state of the western frontier of the Han, the classic object of the sword — 'to cut down the Loulan' is to destroy the enemy. 'The hair-splitting sword' (chuimao jian) is the sword so sharp it splits a hair blown against it.

词中「万马不嘶」「寒角」「令行柳营」「秋原如掌」「枪刀突出」「星驰铁骑」「阵势纵横」「油幢」「戎韬总制」「羽扇从容」「裘带轻」「山西将种」「诗盟」「龙蛇纸上」「落笔四筵风雨惊」「尘沙出塞」「封侯万里」「印金如斗」「未惬平生」「吹毛剑」「斩楼兰」「边声」等语，皆含典故故实。「万马不嘶」写万马无声（写军纪严明）；「寒角」写寒角之声；「令行柳营」用周亚夫细柳营军纪严明之典，写军令严明；「秋原如掌」写秋原平坦如掌；「枪刀突出」写枪刀突出；「星驰铁骑」写铁骑如星驰；「阵势纵横」写阵势纵横；「油幢」写油布之帐幕；「戎韬总制」写总揽军事韬略；「羽扇从容」用诸葛亮羽扇纶巾之典，写从容指挥；「裘带轻」写轻裘缓带（用羊祜缓带轻裘之典）；「山西将种」用《汉书·赵充国传》「山东出相，山西出将」之意，写将种；「诗盟」写诗友之盟；「龙蛇纸上」写纸上笔势如龙蛇（用李白「笔落惊风雨」之意）；「落笔四筵风雨惊」写落笔使四座风雨皆惊（化用杜甫「笔落惊风雨，诗成泣鬼神」之意）；「尘沙出塞」写出塞尘沙；「封侯万里」用班超投笔封侯万里之典；「印金如斗」写金印如斗；「未惬平生」写未惬平生之志；「吹毛剑」写吹毛立断之利剑；「斩楼兰」用傅介子斩楼兰王（西汉傅介子斩楼兰王）之典，写破敌；「边声」写边地之声。词人以细柳营、羽扇、轻裘缓带、山西将种、班超、傅介子斩楼兰等典入词，不着痕迹，而把爱国壮志写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。

Commentary

This lyric is one of Liu Guo's boldest works, quoted for the double portrait of the warrior-poet. The discipline of the willow camp and the commander at ease with the feather-fan, the brush that startles the four feasts and the sword that must cut down the Loulan — the images are among the most admired in the Southern Song. Critics praise the lyric's boldness and ease: the hero of the war and the writer of the poetry band, bound to the frontier.

这首《水调歌头》，是刘过写咏怀爱国之作，写万马不嘶、柳营令行、不斩楼兰之情，豪放激昂。上片写令行柳营与铁骑阵势：「万马不嘶，一声寒角，令行柳营」——万马不嘶，一声寒角，令行柳营。写令行柳营：万马不嘶、一声寒角，令行柳营（用周亚夫细柳营之典）——万马无声、寒角一声、令行柳营；「见秋原如掌，枪刀突出，星驰铁骑，阵势纵横」——见秋原如掌，枪刀突出，星驰铁骑，阵势纵横。写铁骑阵势：见秋原如掌、枪刀突出、星驰铁骑、阵势纵横——秋原如掌、铁骑星驰、阵势纵横；「人在油幢，戎韬总制，羽扇从容裘带轻」——人在油幢，戎韬总制，羽扇从容裘带轻。写羽扇从容：人在油幢、戎韬总制，羽扇从容、裘带轻（用诸葛亮羽扇、羊祜缓带之典）——油幢之中、羽扇从容；「君知否，是山西将种，曾系诗盟」——君知否，是山西将种，曾系诗盟。写山西将种：君知否、是山西将种（用山东出相山西出将之意），曾系诗盟——山西将种、曾结诗盟。下片写封侯万里与不斩楼兰：「龙蛇纸上飞腾。看落笔四筵风雨惊」——龙蛇纸上飞腾，看落笔四筵风雨惊。写落笔风雨惊：龙蛇纸上飞腾、看落笔四筵风雨惊（化用笔落惊风雨之意）——纸上龙蛇飞腾、落笔风雨皆惊；「便尘沙出塞，封侯万里，印金如斗，未惬平生」——便尘沙出塞，封侯万里，印金如斗，未惬平生。写封侯万里：便尘沙出塞、封侯万里（用班超投笔封侯之典），印金如斗、未惬平生——出塞封侯、印金如斗而未惬平生；「拂拭腰间，吹毛剑在，不斩楼兰心不平」——拂拭腰间，吹毛剑在，不斩楼兰心不平。写不斩楼兰：拂拭腰间、吹毛剑在，不斩楼兰心不平（用傅介子斩楼兰之典）——吹毛剑在、不斩楼兰心不平；「归来晚，听随军鼓吹，已带边声」——归来晚，听随军鼓吹，已带边声。写已带边声：归来晚、听随军鼓吹，已带边声——归来闻随军鼓吹、已带边声。这「归来晚，听随军鼓吹，已带边声」，是全词之结：以已带边声写其从军之情。全词豪放激昂，以典写志，正是刘过词中的名篇。

Prosody

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