宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
水龙吟
Water Dragon's Chant
问春何苦匆匆，带风伴雨如驰骤。
幽葩细萼，小园低槛，壅培未就。
吹尽繁红，占春长久，不如垂柳。
算春常不老，人愁春老，愁只是、人间有。
春恨十常八九。
忍轻辜、芳醪经口。
那知自是，桃花结子，不因春瘦。
世上功名，老来风味，春归时候。
纵樽前痛饮，狂歌似旧，情难依旧。
Coming with the wind, accompanied by the rain, as if racing past?
You blow away all the red blossoms —
Those that hold the spring long —
Are not equal to the weeping willow.
How would I know that of itself
The peach-blossom bears its fruit,
And does not grow thin for the spring?
The feelings of the parting and the sorrow of the evening
Would not have been given, after all,
To the swan's letter and the fish's letter.
I calculate: the spring is always not old,
And the man grieves that the spring is old —
The grief is only, only in the world of men.
Meaning
A lyric of the spring's passing, written by the Su Shi disciple Chao Buzhi. He asks the spring: why must you be so hurried, coming with the wind, accompanied by the rain, as if racing past? The wind blows away all the red blossoms; those that hold the spring long are not equal to the weeping willow — the willow holds the spring in its green. But how would he know that of itself the peach-blossom bears its fruit, and does not grow thin for the spring? The feelings of the parting and the sorrow of the evening would not have been given, after all, to the swan's letter and the fish's letter — the letters of the distant, the messages of the separation. And the close: I calculate that the spring is always not old, and the man grieves that the spring is old — the grief is only in the world of men. The lyric is the philosophical consolation of the spring: the peach-blossom does not grow thin for the spring, the spring is always not old, and the grief is only in the world of men.
问春何苦匆匆，带风伴雨如驰骤。幽葩细萼，小园低槛，壅培未就。吹尽繁红，占春长久，不如垂柳。算春常不老，人愁春老，愁只是、人间有。春恨十常八九。忍轻辜、芳醪经口。那知自是，桃花结子，不因春瘦。世上功名，老来风味，春归时候。纵樽前痛饮，狂歌似旧，情难依旧。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] I ask the spring: why must you be so hurried, coming with the wind, accompanied by the rain, as if racing past? You blow away all the red blossoms — those that hold the spring long — are not equal to the weeping willow. How would I know that of itself the peach-blossom bears its fruit, and does not grow thin for the spring? The feelings of the parting and the sorrow of the evening would not have been given, after all, to the swan's letter and the fish's letter. I calculate: the spring is always not old, and the man grieves that the spring is old — the grief is only, only in the world of men. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the question to the spring, through the blossoms and the willow, to the realization of the peach-blossom's fruit, and the close's calculation: the spring is always not old, and the grief is only in the world of men. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the philosophical consolation: the blossoms blown away, the willow holding the spring, and the peach-blossom bearing its fruit without growing thin — the spring's constancy against the man's grief, resolved in the close's calculation. [Emotional Tone] Tender, philosophical, and consoling: the lyric is the meditation on the spring's passing, the grief of the world of men answered by the constancy of the spring.
【白话串讲】 晁补之写《水龙吟》：“问春何苦匆匆，带风伴雨如驰骤”——“吹尽繁红，占春长久，不如垂柳”——“算春常不老，人愁春老，愁只是、人间有”——“春恨十常八九”——他写惜春——春恨十常八九。 【意象与手法】 “问春何苦匆匆，带风伴雨如驰骤”以问春写春去匆匆；“吹尽繁红，占春长久，不如垂柳”以垂柳写春长久；“算春常不老，人愁春老，愁只是、人间有”写春老之愁；“那知自是桃花结子、不因春瘦”以桃花结子写释怀；结以“纵樽前痛饮，狂歌似旧，情难依旧”写情难依旧。含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 晁补之写伤春惜时之作，写春去匆匆与春老之愁，又以桃花结子自解，于感伤中见旷达，是晁补之词的代表。 【名句点睛】 常考“问春何苦匆匆，带风伴雨如驰骤”以问春写春去匆匆；“算春常不老，人愁春老，愁只是、人间有”写春老之愁。
Background
Chao Buzhi (1053–1110) was one of the four disciples of Su Shi, famous for the philosophical clarity of his lyrics. This 'Water Dragon's Chant' is a meditation on the passing of the spring, resolved in the philosophical consolation: the peach-blossom bears its fruit and does not grow thin for the spring; the spring is always not old, and the grief is only in the world of men. The lyric shows the Su school's manner of resolving the feeling in the reason — the 'discharging of the feeling by the principle' of the Su Shi circle.
《水龙吟》为北宋词人晁补之所作词。晁补之（1053—1110），字无咎，号归来子，济州巨野（今山东巨野）人，北宋文学家，「苏门四学士」之一。此词写伤春惜时。词中「问春何苦匆匆，带风伴雨如驰骤」写问春匆匆；「幽葩细萼，小园低槛，壅培未就」写幽葩细萼；「吹尽繁红，占春长久，不如垂柳」写春不如垂柳；「算春常不老，人愁春老，愁只是、人间有」写人愁春老；「春恨十常八九」写春恨八九；「那知自是，桃花结子，不因春瘦」写桃花结子；「世上功名，老来风味，春归时候」写功名老来；「纵樽前痛饮，狂歌似旧，情难依旧」写情难依旧。晁补之此词以问春匆匆、春恨八九写伤春惜时之情，含蓄深婉，是晁补之词中的名篇。此篇《水龙吟》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 art is the art of the philosophical consolation. The question to the spring opens: why must you be so hurried, racing past with the wind and the rain? The blossoms are blown away; those that hold the spring long — the willow — are not equal to the weeping willow, the green that holds the spring. Then the turn of the realization: how would he know that of itself the peach-blossom bears its fruit, and does not grow thin for the spring — the blossom's passing is the fruit's coming, the passing is the constancy. The feelings of the parting and the sorrow of the evening would not have been given, after all, to the letters — the messages of the separation. And the close gathers the philosophy: he calculates that the spring is always not old, and the man grieves that the spring is old — the grief is only, only in the world of men. The constancy of the spring against the grief of the man: the consolation resolved in the close's calculation.
此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、以理写情」见长。全词上片写问春匆匆与春不如垂柳，下片写春恨八九与情难依旧。上片「问春何苦匆匆，带风伴雨如驰骤」写问春匆匆：问春何苦匆匆，带风伴雨如驰骤；「幽葩细萼，小园低槛，壅培未就」写幽葩细萼：幽葩细萼，小园低槛，壅培未就；「吹尽繁红，占春长久，不如垂柳」写春不如垂柳：吹尽繁红，占春长久，不如垂柳；「算春常不老，人愁春老，愁只是、人间有」写人愁春老：算春常不老，人愁春老，愁只是、人间有。下片「春恨十常八九。忍轻辜、芳醪经口」写春恨八九：春恨十常八九，忍轻辜、芳醪经口；「那知自是，桃花结子，不因春瘦」写桃花结子：那知自是，桃花结子，不因春瘦；「世上功名，老来风味，春归时候」写功名老来：世上功名，老来风味，春归时候；「纵樽前痛饮，狂歌似旧，情难依旧」写情难依旧：纵樽前痛饮，狂歌似旧，情难依旧。全词含蓄深婉，以理写情，是晁补之词中的名篇。
Allusions
The lyric carries no learned allusion; its art is the plain philosophy. 'The swan's letter and the fish's letter' (yanshu yu shu) are the letters of the distant — the messages carried by the swan and the fish of the tradition, here the messages of the separation; 'the weeping willow' (chuiliu) is the willow that holds the spring in its green; and 'the peach-blossom bears its fruit' (taohua jiezi) is the blossom's passing into the fruit, the spring's constancy.
词中「驰骤」「幽葩细萼」「壅培」「繁红」「垂柳」「芳醪」「桃花结子」「春瘦」「樽前」「狂歌」等语，皆含典故故实。「驰骤」写春行如驰骤、疾驰而过；「幽葩细萼」写幽花细蕊；「壅培」写培土壅养；「繁红」写繁花（红指花）；「垂柳」写柳之常青，「吹尽繁红，占春长久，不如垂柳」写繁红吹尽而垂柳常青；「芳醪」写美酒；「桃花结子，不因春瘦」暗含「桃花结子，本自有之，不因春去而瘦」之理，以桃结子喻万物自有其理；「樽前」写于樽前；「狂歌」写纵情高歌。词人以驰骤、幽葩细萼、壅培、繁红、垂柳、芳醪、桃花结子等语入词，不着痕迹，而把伤春惜时之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸意象的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。
Commentary
This lyric is one of Chao Buzhi's most famous meditations, quoted for the philosophical consolation of its close. The peach-blossom bearing its fruit and the grief only in the world of men are among the most admired passages of the Su school's lyrics. Critics praise the lyric's clarity: the feeling discharged by the principle, the grief of the spring resolved in the constancy.
这首《水龙吟》，是晁补之写伤春惜时之作，写问春匆匆、春恨八九、情难依旧之情，含蓄深婉。上片写问春匆匆与春不如垂柳：「问春何苦匆匆，带风伴雨如驰骤」——问春何苦匆匆，带风伴雨如驰骤。写问春匆匆：问春何苦去得这样匆匆，带风伴雨、如驰骤而过——以驰骤写春去之速，问春而惜春；「幽葩细萼，小园低槛，壅培未就」——幽葩细萼，小园低槛，壅培未就。写幽葩细萼：幽花细蕊，种于小园低槛，壅培未成——花未培成而春已去；「吹尽繁红，占春长久，不如垂柳」——吹尽繁红，占春长久，不如垂柳。写春不如垂柳：繁红吹尽，而占春长久者，不如垂柳——繁红易谢，垂柳常青，以柳之长久反衬花之易谢；「算春常不老，人愁春老，愁只是、人间有」——算春常不老，人愁春老，愁只是、人间有。写人愁春老：算来春常不老，人自愁春老，愁只是人间有——春本不老，人自愁之，转出以理写情。下片写春恨八九与情难依旧：「春恨十常八九。忍轻辜、芳醪经口」——春恨十常八九，忍轻辜、芳醪经口。写春恨八九：春恨十常八九，忍轻辜负、芳醪经口——春恨多而欢少，忍辜负美酒；「那知自是，桃花结子，不因春瘦」——那知自是，桃花结子，不因春瘦。写桃花结子：那知桃花结子，本自有之，不因春去而瘦——以桃结子喻万物自有其理，春去而桃已结子，不必伤春；「世上功名，老来风味，春归时候」——世上功名，老来风味，春归时候。写功名老来：世上功名、老来风味，都如春归时候——功名老来，正似春归，转出对人生之慨；「纵樽前痛饮，狂歌似旧，情难依旧」——纵樽前痛饮，狂歌似旧，情难依旧。写情难依旧：纵使樽前痛饮、狂歌似旧，而情已难依旧——狂歌虽似旧，情已不似旧。这「纵樽前痛饮，狂歌似旧，情难依旧」，是全词之结：以狂歌似旧、情难依旧写其伤春惜时、功名老来之慨。全词含蓄深婉，以理写情，正是晁补之词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
问春何苦匆匆，带风伴雨如驰骤。
I ask the spring: why must you be so hurried, coming with the wind, accompanied by the rain, as if racing past?
问春何苦匆匆，带风伴雨如驰骤。
I ask the spring: why this haste? It goes, wind and rain together, like a galloping steed.
首二句写问春匆匆，起笔即见其惜。「问春何苦匆匆」写问春何苦匆匆，「问春」写其问春，「何苦匆匆」写何苦去得匆匆；「带风伴雨如驰骤」写带风伴雨如驰骤，「带风伴雨」写春去时携风带雨，「如驰骤」写如驰骤而过。两句一问春何苦匆匆、一写春去如驰骤，以「问」写其惜春、以「驰骤」写春去之速，写尽问春而惜春之情。以问起笔，含蓄而深情，是「以问起兴」的妙笔。
The opening two lines writing the ask-the-spring's-haste, the spring-pity present at the first stroke. I-ask-the-spring-why-this-haste writes the asking-spring and the why-the-hasty-departure; it-goes-wind-and-rain-together-like-a-galloping-steed writes the spring's-departure's wind-and-rain-bringing and the galloping-past. Two lines, one the ask-the-spring-why-the-haste and one the spring's-departure's-galloping, using the ask for the spring-pity, using the galloping for the spring's-departure's speed, exhausting the ask-the-spring's spring-pity. Rising on the question, restrained and deep, a wondrous brush of rising-on-question.
吹尽繁红，占春长久，不如垂柳。
You blow away all the red blossoms — those that hold the spring long — are not equal to the weeping willow.
吹尽繁红，占春长久，不如垂柳。
The lush reds are all blown away; as for long possession of the spring — the weeping willow is better.
此三句写春不如垂柳，是全词写花易谢的关键。「吹尽繁红」写吹尽繁红，「吹尽」写风吹尽，「繁红」写繁花；「占春长久，不如垂柳」写占春长久者不如垂柳，「占春长久」写占据春光之久，「不如垂柳」写不如垂柳常青。三句以繁红吹尽与垂柳常青相对，写春去而繁红尽落、占春长久者不如垂柳——繁红易谢，垂柳常青。以对比写理，含蓄而深沉，是「以对比写理」的点睛之笔。
These three lines writing the spring's-not-as-good-as-the-weeping-willow, the ci's flower-easy-to-fade key. The-lush-reds-are-all-blown-away writes the wind's blowing-to-the-end and the lush flowers; as-for-long-possession-of-the-spring—the-weeping-willow-is-better writes the long-occupation-of-the-spring and the not-as-good-as-the-evergreen-willow. Three lines, the lush-red's-blown-away set against the willow's evergreen, writing the spring's-departure and the lush-red's full-falling, the long-occupier's no-match-for-the-willow — the lush reds easy to fade, the willow evergreen. Writing reason through contrast, restrained and deep, a telling stroke of reason-through-contrast.
那知自是，桃花结子，不因春瘦。
How would I know that of itself the peach-blossom bears its fruit, and does not grow thin for the spring?
那知自是，桃花结子，不因春瘦。
Who knows: the peach bears its fruit of itself; it does not thin because the spring goes.
此三句写桃花结子，是全词写理的关键。「那知自是」写那知自是，「那知」写哪知，「自是」写本自有之；「桃花结子」写桃花结子，「桃花结子」写桃落而结子；「不因春瘦」写不因春去而瘦，「不因春瘦」写桃花不因春去而瘦。三句以桃花结子喻万物自有其理，写春去而桃已结子、不必伤春——桃花落而结子，本自有之，不因春去而瘦。以理写情，含蓄而旷达，是「以理写情」的点睛之笔，也是全词由伤春转入旷达的枢纽。
These three lines writing the peach's bearing-fruit, the ci's reason key. Who-knows-of-itself writes the who-knows and the by-nature-having; the-peach-bears-its-fruit writes the peach's falling-and-fruiting; it-does-not-thin-because-the-spring-goes writes the spring's-departure's no-thinning. Three lines, the peach's fruiting as the all-things'-own-reason metaphor, writing the spring's-departure and the peach's already-fruiting, the no-need-to-grieve-the-spring — the peach's falling and fruiting, by nature its own, not thinning because of the spring's going. Writing feeling through reason, restrained and yet detached, a telling stroke of feeling-through-reason, and the whole ci's grief-the-spring-to-detachment hinge.
纵樽前痛饮，狂歌似旧，情难依旧。
Even drinking bitterly before the cup, the wild song as of old — the feeling is hard to keep as of old.
纵樽前痛饮，狂歌似旧，情难依旧。
Though I drink deeply before the cup, and sing wildly as of old, the feeling cannot be as of old.
尾三句写情难依旧，是全词立意的落点。「纵樽前痛饮」写纵樽前痛饮，「纵」写纵使，「樽前痛饮」写于樽前痛饮；「狂歌似旧」写狂歌似旧，「狂歌」写纵情高歌，「似旧」写还似旧日；「情难依旧」写情难依旧，「情难依旧」写其情已难似旧。三句一写纵樽前痛饮、一写狂歌似旧、一写情难依旧，写纵使樽前痛饮、狂歌似旧，而情已难依旧——狂歌虽似旧，情已不似旧。以情写慨，含蓄而深沉，是全词最动人处，也是「以情写慨」的点睛之笔。
The closing three lines writing the feeling's no-longer-as-of-old, the landing of the ci's theme. Though-I-drink-deeply-before-the-cup writes the though and the cup-front's deep drinking; and-sing-wildly-as-of-old writes the wild singing and the still-as-of-old; the-feeling-cannot-be-as-of-old writes the feeling's hard-to-be-as-of-old. Three lines, though the cup's deep drinking and the wild-song's-as-of-old, and yet the feeling already hard-to-be-as-of-old — the wild song though as of old, the feeling already not as of old. Writing the sigh through feeling, restrained and deep, the ci's most moving place.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Su Shi's 'Prelude to Water Melody' — 'people have joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, the moon has its waxing and waning' — resolves the human grief in the moon's constancy; Chao Buzhi's lyric resolves the grief of the spring in the spring's constancy — the peach-blossom bears its fruit, the spring is always not old, the grief only in the world of men — the disciple's continuation of the master's philosophy.
苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。但愿人长久，千里共婵娟」，以月有阴晴圆缺遣怀，超旷旷达，是苏轼最著名的词；晁补之《水龙吟》则以「那知自是，桃花结子，不因春瘦」「算春常不老，人愁春老，愁只是、人间有」写桃花结子自有其理、人自愁春老。两词同出苏门、同写对时之慨：一写月有阴晴圆缺、以理遣怀、超旷，一写桃花结子不因春瘦、以理遣情、旷达；一为中秋之怀、一为伤春之叹，并读正可见苏轼师徒以「理」遣「情」的传承，皆以理遣情。
浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯 Silk-Washing Stream: Whose Poem Falls on the Roof of the Red Painted Pavement 晏殊 · 同写惜春伤时、无可奈何之情，一写无可奈何花落去、一写春恨十常八九，皆于春去中见惜时之叹 Both are the lyrics of the Su school's feeling discharged by the principle — the river's constancy in the one, the spring's constancy in the other.Su Shi's 'Silk-Washing Stream' — 'who says that life can be young again? The water of the western stream can still flow westward' — is the master's consolation of the river; Chao Buzhi's 'Water Dragon's Chant' is the disciple's version — the spring always not old, the grief only in the world of men — the same philosophy of the constancy against the grief.
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」，写春逝之无可奈何，是宋词写惜时的名篇；晁补之《水龙吟》则以「问春何苦匆匆，带风伴雨如驰骤」「春恨十常八九」「情难依旧」写问春匆匆、春恨八九。两词同写惜春伤时、无可奈何之情：一写无可奈何花落去、以花落燕归写惜时，一写问春何苦匆匆、以春恨八九写伤春；一为晏殊之温润、一为晁补之之深婉，并读正可见宋词写「惜春伤时」的两种笔法，皆于春去中见惜时之叹。