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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

苏轼·行香子·述怀

Xing Xiang Zi · Speaking My Breast

苏轼

Su Shi

哲理philosophy 旷达openness

行香子·述怀清夜无尘，月色如银。
酒斟时、须满十分。
浮名浮利，虚苦劳神。
叹隙中驹，石中火，梦中身。
虽抱文章，开口谁亲。
且陶陶、乐尽天真。
几时归去，作个闲人。
对一张琴，一壶酒，一溪云。

A clean night without dust; the moon is like silver.
When the wine is poured, fill the cup full ten.
Empty fame, empty gain—vainly we weary the spirit.
Alas, a horse in the crevice, a spark from the stone, a body in a dream.
Though I bear fine letters, who draws near when I speak?
Then let me be merry, enjoy to the full my natural innocence.
When shall I go home, and be an idle man—
With one zither, one pot of wine, one stream of cloud?

Listen

Meaning

A quiet night with not a speck of dust; the moonlight is bright as silver. When the wine is poured, fill the cup full ten measures. Those empty names and empty gains are but vainly wearying the heart and mind. Alas, life is like a white horse through the crevice, a spark struck from stone, a body in a dream—gone in an instant. Though I bear fine letters in my breast, who draws near when I open my mouth? Let me be merry and cheerful, enjoy to the full that natural, innocent joy. When shall I quit office and go home, to be an idle man—facing one zither, one pot of wine, one stream of cloud, free and at ease?

清静的夜晚纤尘不染，月色如同白银般皎洁。斟酒的时候，定要斟满十分。那些浮名浮利，不过是白白让人劳神苦心。可叹人生如缝隙里的白马、击石迸出的火花、梦幻中的身躯，瞬息即逝。我虽怀抱锦绣文章，开口说话又有谁肯亲近？姑且欢畅自得，享尽那份天真烂漫。何时才能辞官归去，做个闲散之人。对着一张古琴、一壶美酒、一溪白云，自在逍遥。

Appreciation

This lyric enters the ci with prose rhythm, its thought clear and empty. The upper part strings together three metaphors—'a horse in the crevice, a spark from the stone, a body in a dream'—borrowing the Zhuangzi and Buddhist tales to write life's brevity to the utmost. The lower part closes with three things—'one zither, one pot of wine, one stream of cloud'—a sparse, pale picture yet with long interest. The language is unworked yet naturally round; the three-character short lines fall like beads, turning abstract philosophy into a dwelling one can live and roam in—enough to show Su Dongpo's transcendent, self-contented artistic realm.

【白话串讲】 “清夜无尘，月色如银”——苏轼在清夜对月。“浮名浮利，虚苦劳神。叹隙中驹，石中火，梦中身”——人生像白驹过隙，石头打火，一场梦。“几时归去，作个闲人。对一张琴，一壶酒，一溪云”——他想要的，就这么简单。【意象与手法】本词以散文笔法入词，运思清空。上片连用“隙中驹、石中火、梦中身”三组比喻，化用《庄子》与佛典，极写人生短促【情感与主旨】此词约作于宋神宗元丰前后，苏轼身陷新旧党争，屡遭贬谪与排挤，政治上颇感失意【名句点睛】赏析常考：一、三组比喻的修辞效果与哲理内涵；二、“琴酒云”意象组合的意境特点；三、全词旷达风格与作者贬谪心境的关系

Background

This lyric was likely written around the Yuanfeng years of Emperor Shenzong, when Su Shi, caught in the New and Old party strife, was often banished and crowded out, and felt rather defeated in politics. He had always kept himself by blending Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist learning; thus on a clean night under the moon, cup in hand, he poured out his breast through the Xing Xiang Zi, a slow tune apt for reasoning, voicing his weariness of empty fame and his longing for a leisurely, retired life. Though the lyric holds grievance, its tone settles into calm—just the portrait of his open breast after the storms.

《行香子·述怀》为北宋词人苏轼所作。苏轼（1037—1101），字子瞻，号东坡居士，眉州眉山人，北宋文坛领袖，诗词文赋皆工，为“唐宋八大家”之一。此词写夜饮述怀：清夜无尘，月色如银，酒斟时须满十分；浮名浮利，虚苦劳神，叹隙中驹、石中火、梦中身；虽抱文章，开口谁亲，且陶陶乐尽天真；几时归去，作个闲人，对一张琴、一壶酒、一溪云。全词写对浮名浮利的厌倦与对归隐闲适的向往，是苏轼旷达词的代表作。苏轼一生宦海浮沉，此词正是其晚年看破名利的写照。

Art

This lyric enters the ci with prose rhythm, its thought clear and empty. The upper part strings together three metaphors—'a horse in the crevice, a spark from the stone, a body in a dream'—borrowing the Zhuangzi and Buddhist tales to write life's brevity to the utmost; the lower part closes with three things—'one zither, one pot of wine, one stream of cloud'—a sparse, pale picture yet with long interest. The language is unworked yet naturally round; the three-character short lines fall like beads, turning abstract philosophy into a dwelling one can live and roam in—enough to show Su Dongpo's transcendent, self-contented artistic realm.

《行香子·述怀》艺术上以三叠句式的节奏与旷达的理趣见长。全词结构分明：上片写夜饮与厌世——“清夜无尘，月色如银”写清夜月明，“酒斟时须满十分”写夜饮之乐，“浮名浮利，虚苦劳神”写名利之虚，“叹隙中驹、石中火、梦中身”以三喻写人生之短；下片写归隐之愿——“虽抱文章，开口谁亲”写有才而无人相亲，“且陶陶乐尽天真”写陶然自乐，“几时归去，作个闲人”写归隐之愿，“对一张琴、一壶酒、一溪云”以三对写闲适之乐。全词以“隙中驹、石中火、梦中身”与“一张琴、一壶酒、一溪云”的三叠句式为工，写人生之短与归隐之乐，旷达而有理趣，正是苏轼词“旷达”的风格。

Allusions

'A horse in the crevice' comes from the Zhuangzi, 'in the midst of heaven and earth, life is like a white horse flashing past a crevice', allegorizing time's flight; 'a spark from the stone' is originally Buddhist, as the Jingde Record of the Lamp uses the stone-spark for life's suddenness; 'a body in a dream' transforms the Guan Yin Zi and the Tang men's 'floating life is like a dream'. The three allusions stacked all point to life's fleeting moment—not showing off learning, but serving the argument, giving the reasoning a root so it does not float empty; one sees the poet's apt use of allusion.

《行香子·述怀》用典在“隙中驹、石中火、梦中身”。“隙中驹”出《庄子·知北游》“人生天地之间，若白驹之过隙”，写人生短暂如白驹过隙；“石中火”出《庄子·盗跖》或佛典，写人生短暂如石中击火；“梦中身”出《庄子·齐物论》梦蝶之喻，写人生虚幻如梦中身；“陶陶”出《诗经·王风·君子阳阳》“君子陶陶”，写欢乐之貌。全词以这些典故写人生之短暂与虚幻，正是苏轼“以庄禅入词”的体现——以道家佛家之思看破名利，向往归隐。

Commentary

A modern critic of Dongpo's ci says 'nothing cannot enter, nothing cannot be spoken'. This lyric wins by its interest in principle; Zheng Wenzhuo judged Su's ci 'clear, grand, open', which may well be shifted to this piece. Later men often see the line 'an idle man' as his mind of taking things as they come, of a piece with 'A River Immortal' ('from now the little boat departs')—a model of Song principle-interest ci.

《行香子·述怀》是苏轼旷达词的代表作，也是其晚年看破名利的写照。此词以夜饮述怀写对浮名的厌倦与归隐的向往，向为论者称道。论者多赏其“隙中驹、石中火、梦中身”的三喻——以白驹过隙、石火击火、梦中幻身写人生之短，比喻精妙；“对一张琴、一壶酒、一溪云”写归隐之乐，更见旷达。苏轼一生宦海浮沉，历经乌台诗案等磨难，其词多写旷达超脱，此词正是其晚年心境的写照——看破名利，向往闲适，正是东坡“一蓑烟雨任平生”的精神。

Prosody

Form Ci, 'Xing Xiang Zi', double-tune sixty-six characters词牌·行香子

Rhyme Level rhyme to the end, by the Ci Lin Zheng Yun, upper and lower stanzas same group《行香子》为双调，上下片各八句，押平声韵。此词用韵：银、分、神、身（真部）、亲、真、人、云（真部），上下片同韵，音节流丽。

Tone pattern Level and oblique in harmony; upper and lower stanzas mix four-, five-, three-character lines《行香子》句式以四、三、七言相间，音节流转。此词上片以“清夜无尘，月色如银”的四言起，音节清朗；至“叹隙中驹，石中火，梦中身”的三字三叠，音节顿挫；下片以“对一张琴，一壶酒，一溪云”的三字三叠收，音节流丽。全词以平韵贯底，声调与旷达述怀的内容相合，是宋词中理趣旷达的一路。

Reading note Xing Xiang Zi has a slow, even syllable, fit for leisurely reasoning; Su Shi uses it to write openness, most apt to the tune.《行香子·述怀》为词牌《行香子》，是苏轼旷达词的代表作。此词上片写清夜夜饮与看破名利，下片写有才不遇与归隐之愿，以“隙中驹、石中火、梦中身”三喻写人生之短，以“一张琴、一壶酒、一溪云”三对写归隐之乐，旷达而有理趣。苏轼一生宦海浮沉，其词多写旷达超脱，此词正是其晚年看破名利、向往闲适的写照。

Line by line

清夜无尘，月色如银。酒斟时、须满十分。浮名浮利，虚苦劳神。叹隙中驹，石中火，梦中身。

The clear night is dustless, moonlight like silver; when wine is poured, let it fill the cup to the brim. Floating fame, floating gain — vainly they toil the spirit. Alas, the colt at the crack, the spark on the stone, the body in a dream.

清静的夜晚没有尘埃，月色如银。斟酒时，须斟满十分。浮名浮利，都是虚妄，徒然劳神。可叹人生如白驹过隙、如石中击火、如梦中幻身。

The clear night dustless, moonlight like silver; when pouring wine, let it fill to the brim. Floating fame and floating gain, vainly they toil the spirit. Alas, the colt at the crack, the spark on the stone, the body in a dream.

上片写清夜夜饮与看破名利。“清夜无尘，月色如银”写清夜月明——“无尘”写夜之清静，“如银”写月之皎洁；“酒斟时、须满十分”写夜饮之豪——“须满十分”写其斟满豪饮；“浮名浮利，虚苦劳神”写名利之虚——“浮”写其轻浮，“虚苦劳神”写其为虚妄所苦；“叹隙中驹，石中火，梦中身”以三喻写人生之短——“隙中驹”写如白驹过隙，“石中火”写如石中击火，“梦中身”写如梦中幻身。六句由清夜写起，写到夜饮，写到名利之虚，再写到人生之短，层层递进。以“浮名浮利”写其看破，以“隙中驹、石中火、梦中身”三喻写人生之短促虚幻，正是苏轼旷达词的开篇——既写夜饮之乐，亦写看破名利的旷达。

The first stanza writes the clear-night drinking and the fame-and-gain's seeing-through. The clear-night-dustless-moonlight-like-silver writing the clear night's bright moon — the dustless writing the night's quiet, the like-silver writing the moon's luster; the when-wine-is-poured-let-it-fill-to-the-brim writing the night drinking's boldness; the floating-fame-floating-gain-vainly-they-toil-the-spirit writing the gain's vanity; the alas-the-colt-at-the-crack-the-spark-on-the-stone-the-body-in-a-dream using three metaphors for life's shortness. Six lines from the clear night, to the night drinking, to the fame's vanity, to life's shortness, layer on layer's advance. Using the floating-fame-floating-gain for the seeing-through, and the three metaphors for life's shortness-and-illusion, precisely Su Shi's open-ci opening — at once writing the night-drinking joy, and the fame-seeing-through openness.

虽抱文章，开口谁亲。且陶陶、乐尽天真。几时归去，作个闲人。对一张琴，一壶酒，一溪云。

Though I hold the scholar's gifts, to whom do I speak? Let me be joyful, to the full in natural innocence. When shall I return, and be an idle man? Facing one qin, one pot of wine, one stream of clouds.

虽然怀抱满腹文章，开口却无人亲近。姑且陶然自乐，尽情享受天真。几时才能归去，做个闲人，对着一张琴、一壶酒、一溪云？

Though I hold the scholar's gifts, to whom do I speak? Let me be joyful to the full in natural innocence. When shall I return and be an idle man, facing one qin, one pot of wine, one stream of clouds?

下片写有才不遇与归隐之愿。“虽抱文章，开口谁亲”写有才而不遇——“虽抱文章”写其满腹才华，“开口谁亲”写其无人亲近；“且陶陶、乐尽天真”写其陶然自乐——“且”写姑且，“陶陶”写欢乐，“乐尽天真”写尽情享受天真之乐；“几时归去，作个闲人”写归隐之愿——“几时”写何时，“作个闲人”写做个闲人；“对一张琴，一壶酒，一溪云”写闲适之乐——“一张琴”写琴，“一壶酒”写酒，“一溪云”写云，三物写尽闲适。六句由不遇写到自乐，再写到归隐，层层推进。以“开口谁亲”写其孤独，以“乐尽天真”写其自解，以“对一张琴、一壶酒、一溪云”写归隐之乐，正是苏轼旷达词的归结——虽怀才不遇，而能陶然自乐，向往闲适。

The second stanza writes the talent's no-meeting and the hermitage wish. The though-I-hold-the-scholar's-gifts-to-whom-do-I-speak writing the talent's no-recognition; the let-me-be-joyful-to-the-full-in-natural-innocence writing the self-delight; the when-shall-I-return-and-be-an-idle-man writing the hermitage wish; the facing-one-qin-one-pot-of-wine-one-stream-of-clouds writing the leisure joy. Six lines from the no-meeting to the self-delight, to the hermitage, layer on layer's advance. Using the to-whom-do-I-speak for the loneliness, the joyful-to-the-full for the self-consolation, the one-qin-one-wine-one-stream-of-clouds for the hermitage joy, precisely Su Shi's open-ci close — though the talent's unrecognized, and yet the joyful self-delight, the longing for leisure.

Study

Word focus

虚苦 'vainly' (in 'vainly we weary')—the word 'vainly' points the pointlessness of wearying the spirit, judging worldly fame and gain as futile in a single word, the intent alert. “虚苦劳神”之“虚苦”，写为虚妄之事劳神，是全词写看破名利的关键词。“虚”写其虚妄，“苦”写其劳苦——浮名浮利，虚苦劳神。这一词写名利之害：不是值得追求的实利，而是虚妄的浮名；不是值得付出的劳苦，而是虚苦的劳神。以“虚苦”写名利，正是苏轼看破名利的笔法——名利本虚，何必劳神。

隙中驹 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “隙中驹”之“隙中驹”，以白驹过隙喻人生短暂，是全词三喻之首。“隙”写门缝，“驹”写白马——人生如白驹过隙，倏忽即逝。这一词出《庄子·知北游》“人生天地之间，若白驹之过隙”，写人生之短暂。以“隙中驹”写人生之短，正是苏轼以庄学入词、看破人生的笔法。

陶陶 'merry' (here 'be merry')—the reduplicated word pictures a cheerful, self-contented look, writing fully the pure, happy heart after shedding fame and gain, sound and feeling together. “且陶陶、乐尽天真”之“陶陶”，写欢乐之貌，是全词写自乐的关键词。“陶陶”出《诗经》“君子陶陶”，写其乐融融之貌；此处写“且陶陶”，写其陶然自乐。这一词以“陶陶”写自乐之态，与上文的“虚苦劳神”对照——不为名利虚苦，而能陶陶自乐。以“陶陶”写乐，正是苏轼旷达词写自解的笔法。

闲人 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “作个闲人”之“闲人”，写做个闲散之人，是全词归隐之愿的关键词。“闲”写闲散，“人”写其人——几时归去，作个闲人。这一词写苏轼对闲适的向往：不是忙碌的官宦，而是闲散之人；不是追名逐利，而是归隐闲适。以“闲人”写归隐，正是苏轼旷达词写向往的笔法——闲人二字，正是其看破名利后的理想人生。