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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

苏幕遮·怀旧

Su Mu Zhe · Nostalgia

范仲淹

Fan Zhongyan

乡愁Homesickness 秋思Autumn Thoughts 边塞Frontier Fortress

碧云天，黄叶地，秋色连波，波上寒烟翠。
山映斜阳天接水，芳草无情，更在斜阳外。
黯乡魂，追旅思，夜夜除非，好梦留人睡。
明月楼高休独倚，酒入愁肠，化作相思泪。

Clouds in azure sky, leaves in yellow dye,
Autumn tints blend with waves cold and green.
Hills steeped in slanting sunlight, sky and waves seem one;
Unfeeling grass grows sweet and fine beyond the setting sun.
My soul wanders for home, my thoughts follow my journey;
Only in sweet dreams can I have a restful sleep.
In moonlit high tower, do not lean alone!
Wine in sorrowful heart turns to tears of longing.

Listen

Meaning

This lyric expresses the poet's deep homesickness while stationed at the frontier. The first stanza paints a vast autumn landscape; the second turns to direct emotional outpouring, climaxing in the famous line where wine turns to tears.

碧蓝的云天，铺着枯黄的叶地，秋色连绵着江波，波心浮起一片寒烟般的苍翠。远山映着斜阳，天边与水际相接，那无情的芳草，更延伸到斜阳之外。乡愁黯然销魂，羁旅的愁思缠追不休，除非夜夜有美梦，方能留人安睡。明月下高楼，切莫独自凭倚，酒一旦入了愁肠，便都化作了相思的泪水。

Appreciation

Fan Zhongyan blends the grandeur of frontier scenery with tender longing, breaking the narrow feminine style of earlier ci. The poem is noted for its broad atmosphere and vivid imagery.

【白话串讲】 “酒入愁肠，化作相思泪”——镇守边关的范仲淹，在秋色连波的傍晚，把乡愁写进了这首词。碧云天黄叶地，从此成了宋词里秋天的标准开场。【意象与手法】上片即景抒情，气象阔远：“碧云天，黄叶地”对仗起笔，以天地之大衬孤客之小【情感与主旨】范仲淹于宋仁宗朝任陕西经略副使，镇守西北边塞多年，抵御西夏，戎马倥偬。此词当为戍边思乡之作【名句点睛】常考羁旅乡愁主题及“碧云天，黄叶地”所写阔大秋景；亦考“酒入愁肠，化作相思泪”化虚为实的手法

Background

Fan Zhongyan served as a military commander in the northwest during the Song dynasty, defending against the Western Xia. This poem was likely written during his frontier posting, reflecting his personal yearning for home amid martial duties.

范仲淹（九八九—一〇五二），字希文，吴县（今苏州）人，北宋名臣、文学家，以《岳阳楼记》「先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐」名世，文武兼资。《苏幕遮·怀旧》约作于宋仁宗康定、庆历年间（一〇四〇—一〇四三），范仲淹任陕西经略副使，镇守西北边塞，抵御西夏，戎马倥偬之时。词写秋日边塞的阔远之景与浓重的乡愁羁思，当为戍边思乡之作。就文学传统而言，秋思与羁旅自宋玉《九辩》「悲哉秋之为气也」发端，至王粲《登楼赋》、谢朓《宣城郡内登望》以秋景写乡思，唐人边塞诗（如范云、王之涣）更以西北秋色入诗。范仲淹以词体写边塞秋怀，将豪放的军旅气象与婉约的乡愁揉为一体，开宋词边塞怀土一新境。版本上，此词异文不多，寒烟翠一本作寒烟翠（通行），芳草无情之无情亦未见异文，今从通行本。其词虽写闲愁，而胸次之阔已非寻常婉约可及。范仲淹以儒臣兼帅才，镇边之余作词，遂使边塞之气与婉约之情相融；此词之阔远，正由其胸襟之宏廓所出，非寻常闺阁词人所能及。

Art

The first stanza uses high-and-low perspective with vivid colors (azure, yellow, green) to create a vast, bleak scene. The second stanza shifts to direct emotion, with the line 'wine turns to tears' transforming abstract longing into tangible image.

此词艺术之妙，首在阔远之景与深挚之情的交融。上片即景抒情，碧云天，黄叶地，秋色连波，波上寒烟翠，以天地之大、秋色之连写阔远气象，对仗起笔，设色青黄相间，苍凉而明丽；山映斜阳天接水，芳草无情，更在斜阳外，由近及远，以芳草无情反衬人有情，景愈阔而乡愁愈深。下片由景入情，黯乡魂，追旅思，夜夜除非，好梦留人睡，写乡愁之缠缚与梦中之暂释；明月楼高休独倚，酒入愁肠，化作相思泪，以劝诫语写孤愁，酒化相思泪将无形之愁化为有形之泪。章法上，上片写景由天到地、由水到山，下片写情由魂到思、由梦到泪，景情相生。语言清丽而气象阔大，是范词豪放与婉约兼美之代表，亦见其以军旅之胸襟写婉约之情的独特风貌。上片写景由天及水、由近及远，下片写情由魂及泪、由梦及徘徊；景愈阔而愁愈细，以宏大空间反衬微茫心绪，是情景相生手法的妙用。

Allusions

'My soul wanders for home' alludes to Jiang Yan's 'Fu on Parting' ('黯然销魂者，唯别而已矣'). 'Unfeeling grass' echoes the tradition in Chu ci where grass symbolizes longing absent traveler.

词中意象多承古典而能翻新。碧云天，黄叶地化用《诗经·小雅》及江淹《休上人怨别》「日暮碧云合，佳人殊未来」之意，以云天叶地写秋之辽阔，后世王实甫《西厢记·长亭送别》「碧云天，黄花地」即脱胎于此。秋色连波本于谢朓「余霞散成绮，澄江静如练」之水天相接写法。芳草无情用《楚辞·招隐士》「王孙游兮不归，春草生兮萋萋」芳草代离愁之典，白居易「远芳侵古道」亦以草写别，范词反以芳草无情衬人之多情。黯乡魂化用江淹《别赋》「黯然销魂者，唯别而已矣」。化作相思泪暗承李白及唐人「酒入愁肠」之意，将酒与泪、愁与思打成一片。整体用典融化无痕，是大家手笔。其化用而不泥古，故能自成一格。碧云黄叶、寒烟、芳草、黯魂、相思泪，皆自楚辞、江淹、李杜诗赋中化出；经范公点染，遂成秋思词之经典意象谱系，泽被后世词人甚广。此类意象经范公点染定型，遂为后世秋思词所沿承，影响宋词甚巨。

Commentary

Critics praise this lyric for its 'broad and uplifted' atmosphere. It pioneers the inclusion of frontier themes in ci, foreshadowing the heroic style of Su Shi and Xin Qiji.

此词向来被誉为宋词中写秋思、乡愁的绝唱，与范仲淹《渔家傲·秋思》并称边塞词双璧。明人杨慎《词品》称其「丽语」「柔情」，清人彭孙遹《金粟词话》以为「虽是赋体，而情致婉转」。碧云天，黄叶地一联，尤为千古名句，不仅为词中绝唱，更被王实甫《西厢记》化为「碧云天，黄花地」，足见其影响之深远。此词因意境阔美、情感深挚，历来入选总集与教材，现代传播极广。在经典地位上，它标志范仲淹作为政治家而兼词人、能将边塞气象与婉约柔情熔于一炉的独异风貌；而论宋词秋思主题之阔远，则足与欧阳修《玉楼春》、柳永《八声甘州》并峙。学者多以范词「军中亦有婉笔」评之，此篇即其证。此词与《渔家傲》刚柔相济，共立范词之两途；而其碧云天一联更入元曲名段，可见名篇之跨代再生，影响早已越出宋词之畛域。一阔一柔，并峙生辉，足证范仲淹词虽少而篇篇皆可为典则。故范词虽仅传数阕，而皆为后世仰止之范式。

Prosody

Form Ci form 'Su Mu Zhe', double stanza, 62 characters, oblique rhyme词（小令）·《苏幕遮》（唐教坊曲，本西域舞曲）

Rhyme Ground, emerald, water, beyond, journey, sleep, alone, tears此词上下片皆押仄声韵，地、翠、外、睡、倚、泪等同叶仄韵，声情低回掩抑，与怀旧乡愁之调相协。

Tone pattern First stanza: lines of 4, 3, 4, 4 characters; second stanza: starts with a 3-character line, followed by varied lengths.双调六十二字，上下片各七句，四仄韵，句式以四、三、五错落，平仄协调，宜于写阔远而低回之情。

Reading note First stanza describes scene from high to low, distant to near, with emotion implied; second stanza directly expresses longing.《苏幕遮》为双调小令，句式长短错落，最宜写即景抒情、阔远低回之作。范仲淹此词上下片对称，上片由天到地、由水到山写秋景之阔，下片由魂到思、由梦到泪写乡愁之深，结构如画卷由景及情。押韵上，全词落于仄声韵，声情掩抑低回，与怀旧之题相协，读来如叹如诉。平仄方面，四字句（碧云天）与三字句（黄叶地）相对起笔，节奏舒朗；继以五字句铺展，至结句酒入愁肠，化作相思泪以三、四、三短句收束，声吻轻婉而情致深长。整体格律与内容相生，是以声调助秋思的典范，亦见范词熔豪放气象与婉约柔情于一炉的独异风貌。其韵抑而情长，声与景俱远。

Line by line

碧云天，黄叶地，秋色连波，波上寒烟翠。

Skies are azure, earth yellow with leaves; autumn colors spread to the waves; over the waves rises cold mist, emerald green.

碧蓝的云天，铺着枯黄的叶地，秋色连绵着江波，波心浮起一片寒烟般的苍翠。

Blue clouds in the sky, yellow leaves on the ground; autumn hues stretch to the waves, and on the waves a cold mist of green.

起拍四句，是宋词中写秋景的千古绝唱。碧云天，黄叶地以六字对仗起笔，上写高远之天、下写满地之叶，青碧与枯黄设色相对，既阔远又苍凉，一笔勾出秋的立体空间。继以秋色连波，波上寒烟翠，由天地的静态转入水波的流动，寒烟翠写江上烟霭之苍翠而带寒意，景中已暗含孤客之凄。这一组意象不仅画面开阔，更以景之博大反衬下片人之渺小孤愁。其句法之整炼、设色之明丽，直接启发了王实甫《西厢记》「碧云天，黄花地」的化用，足见其经典地位与跨文体生命力。

The opening four lines are the Song ci's autumn-view through-the-ages swan song. The blue-clouds-in-the-sky-yellow-leaves-on-the-ground in six-character parallel opening, above writing the lofty sky, below writing the ground-full leaves, the blue-green and withered-yellow setting-off, at once broad-and-bleak, one stroke outlining autumn's three-dimensional space. Then the autumn-hues-stretch-to-the-waves-and-on-the-waves-a-cold-mist-of-green, from the heaven-and-earth stillness turning to the water's flow, the cold-mist-green writing the river mist's green-and-yet-chilled, the scene already secretly storing the lone traveler's bleakness. This image group not only the open picture, and yet using the scene's vastness for the below's person's small lonely grief. The syntax's compactness and the color's brightness, directly inspiring Wang Shifu's Western Chamber's blue-clouds-in-the-sky-yellow-flowers-on-the-ground adaptation, seeing its classic status and cross-genre vitality.

山映斜阳天接水，芳草无情，更在斜阳外。

Hills reflect the setting sun, sky meets water; heartless grass grows lush and far beyond the sunset.

远山映着斜阳，天边与水际相接，那无情的芳草，更延伸到斜阳之外。

The hills take the setting sun, sky meets water; the heartless fragrant grass stretches beyond the setting sun.

此句由上片景语转入情语之媒。山映斜阳天接水写远山斜阳与水天相接的浑茫之景，空间由近推远；芳草无情，更在斜阳外则以芳草无情反衬游子之多情——芳草本代离愁（楚辞「王孙游兮不归，春草生兮萋萋」），此处却说它无情，延伸至斜阳之外、目力难及的远方，暗喻乡愁之广漠无边。一个更字，将景之远与愁之远叠合，由实写转入虚想。以无情之物衬有情之人，是古典诗词常见的反跌手法，此处用得浑成，为下片黯乡魂蓄势。其由景及情，过渡自然如无缝。

This line from the first stanza's scene-words turning to the feeling-words' medium. The hills-take-the-setting-sun-sky-meets-water writing the far-hills setting-sun and water-sky-meeting's blurred scene, the space from near pushing far; the heartless-fragrant-grass-stretches-beyond-the-setting-sun then using the heartless grass for the traveler's many-feeling's setting-off — the fragrant grass originally meaning the parting grief (the Elegies of Chu's the wanderer goes and returns not, the spring grass grows thick), here precisely calling it heartless, stretching beyond the setting sun and the eye's reachable far, secretly the homesickness's boundless vastness. The beyond word, folding the scene's far and the grief's far, from the real writing turning to the imagined thought. Using the heartless thing for the feeling person's setting-off, the classical poetry's common reverse-stroke method, here used fused, storing the ground for the below's darkened-homesick-soul. Its scene-to-feeling transition, natural and seamless.

明月楼高休独倚，酒入愁肠，化作相思泪。

In the bright moonlight, do not lean alone on the high tower; wine enters my sorrowful heart, turning into tears of longing.

明月下高楼，切莫独自凭倚，酒一旦入了愁肠，便都化作了相思的泪水。

Beneath the bright moon, lean not alone from the high tower; wine entering the grieving bowels turns into tears of longing.

下片结句是全词情感的高潮与收束。明月楼高休独倚以劝诫口吻写乡愁之深——因怕触景生愁，故劝自己莫独倚高楼望月；一个休字，写出克制中的无力。酒入愁肠，化作相思泪则将无形之愁化为有形之泪，酒本浇愁，入愁肠却反酿成相思之泪，化虚为实，意象凄美。这一结尾由景及情、由劝及泣，把戍边孤客的乡愁写到极致。它与上片阔远之景形成强烈反差：景愈美而愁愈深，正是以乐景写哀、以宏景衬微愁的典范。其收束余味悠长，令人低回不已。

The second stanza's closing line is the whole ci's emotional climax and close. The beneath-the-bright-moon-lean-not-alone-from-the-high-tower using the admonitory tone for the homesickness's depth — because of fearing the scene-triggered grief, hence advising himself the not-alone-tower-leaning moon-watching; the one word xiu, writing the restraint's powerlessness. The wine-entering-the-grieving-bowels-turns-into-tears-of-longing then turning the shapeless grief into the shaped tears, the wine originally the grief-dousing, entering the grieving bowels and yet brewing the longing tears, the void-to-solid turning, the image beautiful-and-bitter. This ending from the scene to the feeling and from the admonition to the weeping, writing the frontier lone traveler's homesickness to the extreme. It and the first stanza's broad scene form the strong contrast: the scene the more beautiful and the grief the deeper, precisely the joy-scene-grief-writing and the vast-scene-small-grief model. Its closing aftertaste long, making the reader linger.

Study

Word focus

无情 heartless (attributed to grass, contrasting with the poet's deep feelings) 芳草无情之无情，是全词以物衬人的关键。芳草本是古典诗词中代指离愁与相思的意象（楚辞、乐府皆然），范仲淹却反其意而用之，说芳草无情——它自生自长、不关人愁。这一「无情」实则为反跌：正因芳草无情，方显游子之多情；正因物之漠然，方显人之羁愁。更在斜阳外则将这种无情的芳草推至目力之外，暗喻乡愁之广漠不可穷。一字而翻转传统意象，既出新意又更深沉，是范词融化典故、反用其意的妙笔。其翻新之处，正见大家不蹈袭的勇气。

黯 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 黯乡魂之黯字，化用江淹《别赋》「黯然销魂者，唯别而已矣」。黯本指色泽暗淡，此处作动词，写乡愁之黯然销魂，将抽象的精神创伤化为可感的暗淡之光。一个黯字，把上片阔远之景骤然收束为内心的阴郁，是景情转折的枢纽。它与下片追旅思相接，写魂魄为乡思所黯、为旅愁所追，情感由外景转入内身。用典极自然，不着痕迹而力重千钧，是范词以炼字写深哀的范例。其以一字挈景情之转，章法之法亦在其中。

化 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 酒入愁肠，化作相思泪，化字是结句创意之眼。它将酒与愁、愁与泪的转化过程以一化字拎起，使无形之愁、无味之酒，最终凝为有形之相思泪。酒本用以浇愁，入愁肠却反化为泪，这一转化写出乡愁之不可排遣、反因酒而愈浓。化字一出，愁由抽象变为可感的液体，创意近于李清照「载不动许多愁」的实体化手法，而更具流动之美。一字收束全词，举重若轻，是范仲淹以婉约笔写豪放边愁的奇笔。其后词家写愁，多祖此「化」字之法。