宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
扬州慢·淮左名都
Slow Song of Yangzhou: Famous Capital East of the Huai
淮左名都，竹西佳处，解鞍少驻初程。
过春风十里，尽荠麦青青。
自胡马窥江去后，废池乔木，犹厌言兵。
渐黄昏，清角吹寒，都在空城。
杜郎俊赏，算而今、重到须惊。
纵豆蔻词工，青楼梦好，难赋深情。
二十四桥仍在，波心荡、冷月无声。
念桥边红药，年年知为谁生。
I unsaddle and briefly rest at the start of my journey.
Past the ten-li spring breeze,
All is shepherd's purse and wheat, lush green.
Since the Tartar horses looked toward the river and left,
Deserted pools and ancient trees still loathe to speak of war.
Gradually dusk falls, clear bugles blow cold,
All in this empty city.
Du Mu, keen appreciator, I reckon if he came again today, he'd be startled.
Though his cardamom verses were exquisite, his green-tower dreams fine,
He could not express this deep feeling.
The Twenty-Four Bridges still stand,
Water ripples at their heart, a cold moon silent.
Think of the red peonies by the bridge,
Year after year, for whom do they bloom?
Meaning
The poet passes through Yangzhou after war, witnessing desolation where once was prosperity. He laments the destruction, using the imagined return of Du Mu to highlight the city's change. The cold moon and blooming peonies emphasize the emptiness and sorrow of a once-glorious city.
淮水东边名城扬州，竹西亭美好的地方，我解下马鞍稍作停留，这是初到旅程的第一站。走过曾经春风十里的繁华街道，如今满眼只有荠菜和麦子一片青绿。自从金兵渡江离去之后，只剩下废毁的池塘和古老的大树，人们至今还厌恶谈起战乱。渐渐到了黄昏，凄清的号角吹送寒意，全都回荡在这座空城。杜牧当年善于游赏，算起来若他今日重来必定惊心。即便他「豆蔻」词写得精工、「青楼」梦做得美好，也难以抒发此刻的深情。二十四桥依然还在，水波荡漾、冷月无声。想那桥边的红芍药，年年为谁而生？
Appreciation
The poem contrasts past splendor with present ruin, using vivid imagery like 'shepherd's purse and wheat' and 'deserted pools and ancient trees' to depict war's aftermath. The personification of 'ancient trees still loathe to speak of war' conveys deep trauma. The conclusion with 'cold moon silent' and 'red peonies for whom' leaves a lingering sorrow, embodying the 'sorrow of the millet's decline'—a poignant meditation on dynastic fall.
【白话串讲】 姜夔路过扬州，当年的繁华都市已成空城，废池乔木，清角吹寒。他想起杜牧笔下扬州的繁华，忍不住说：就算杜牧再来，也会被眼前的荒凉惊到。 【意象与手法】 手法上今昔对照极烈：以杜牧笔下「春风十里」的繁华，对写今日「荠麦青青」的荒凉；「废池乔木，犹厌言兵」将无情之物拟人，移情于景；下片设想「杜郎重到须惊」，以古人惊心衬己之悲；结以「冷月无声」「红药为谁生」的静景收束，以景结情，清空峭拔。 【情感与主旨】 词有小序：「淳熙丙申至日，予过维扬。夜雪初霁，荠麦弥望。入其城，则四顾萧条，寒水自碧，暮色渐起，戍角悲吟。予怀怆然，感慨今昔，因自度此曲。」姜夔于南宋淳熙三年（1176）冬至过扬州，距金兵两度南侵已十五年，名城仍为废墟，遂作此自度曲以抒怆痛，千岩老人萧德藻以为「有黍离之悲」。 【名句点睛】 考点：其一，「荠麦青青」「废池乔木」的今昔对比与拟人；其二，「冷月无声」以景结情的清空笔法；其三，化用杜牧诗句的作用——借名都旧誉反衬今日残破，倍增黍离之悲。
Background
The poem has a preface: 'On the winter solstice of the Bingwu year (1176), I passed through Weiyang (Yangzhou). The snow had just cleared, and shepherd's purse and wheat stretched as far as the eye could see. Entering the city, I found desolation on all sides, cold water a natural blue, dusk rising, and garrison bugles mournfully sounding. My heart was pained, moved by the contrast of past and present, so I composed this melody.' Jiang Kui visited Yangzhou fifteen years after the Jin invasion, finding the famous city still in ruins.
词有小序：「淳熙丙申至日，予过维扬。夜雪初霁，荠麦弥望。入其城，则四顾萧条，寒水自碧，暮色渐起，戍角悲吟。予怀怆然，感慨今昔，因自度此曲。」淳熙丙申即南宋孝宗淳熙三年（1176），冬至之日，姜夔经过扬州。扬州地处淮水之南，是两宋之际的战略要冲：建炎三年（1129）金兵南下，烧掠扬州，繁华尽毁；绍兴三十一年（1161）金主完颜亮再度南侵，扬州再遭兵燹。姜夔过此之时，距金兵两度南侵虽已十余年，而名城疮痍未复，城中萧条冷落，唯有荠麦弥望、戍角悲吟。姜夔（约1155—约1221），字尧章，号白石道人，鄱阳人，南宋格律词派代表词人，一生布衣，依人游食，往来于江湖之间。此词即其扬州之行所感，由其岳父萧德藻（号千岩老人）赏评，以为有《诗经·王风·黍离》之悲，遂成南宋伤乱词的扛鼎之作。姜夔一生未仕，依人作客，浪迹湖山，其词多写清空幽冷之境；然此词以自度曲写国家之痛，一改其幽韵冷香之常调，可见家国沧桑对词人心灵的震动，亦可见南宋文人于偏安之局中普遍的忧患意识。
Art
The poem uses stark contrasts between past and present, drawing on Du Mu's poetic depictions of Yangzhou's glory. Personification ('ancient trees loathe to speak of war') and sensory imagery ('cold moon silent') create a haunting atmosphere. The self-composed melody (Yangzhou Man) features a slow, measured rhythm that suits the melancholic tone, with abrupt pauses that underscore the sorrow.
此词艺术上以今昔对照为骨，以虚写实为神，清空峭拔，余味不尽。上片写扬州劫后之景：「淮左名都，竹西佳处」先以杜牧笔下的繁华旧誉起笔，「过春风十里，尽荠麦青青」陡转今景，繁华与荒凉对照极烈；「废池乔木，犹厌言兵」将废池、乔木拟人，仿佛连无情之物都还厌恶谈起战乱，移情于景，把惨痛记忆写得刻骨铭心；「渐黄昏，清角吹寒，都在空城」以黄昏戍角之声写尽空城之悲，声景交融。下片专从虚处着笔：设想杜牧「重到须惊」，即便「豆蔻词工，青楼梦好」也「难赋深情」，以古人惊心衬己之悲，翻进一层；结以「二十四桥仍在，波心荡、冷月无声」的静景与「念桥边红药，年年知为谁生」的反问收束，以景结情，花仍开而无人赏，黍离之悲绵邈无尽。全词虚实相生、情景交融，是清空词风的典范。尤可注意者，词中「过」「自」「渐」「纵」「念」等领字错落，一领一逗，节节推进，把触目之景、怀古之思、自伤之情绾为一气，章法缜密而神理贯通，正是白石「清空」之中见「峭拔」的独特造诣。
Allusions
The poem heavily alludes to Du Mu's poems about Yangzhou: 'spring breeze ten miles' from 'Farewell to a Beauty,' 'cardamom verses' from 'Farewell to a Girl,' 'green-tower dreams' from 'Reminiscence,' and 'Twenty-Four Bridges' from 'To Han Chuo of Yangzhou.' By invoking Du Mu's romanticized past, Jiang Kui amplifies the tragic present.
此词大量化用杜牧咏扬州的诗句，是词中用典的著名范例。「春风十里」出自杜牧《赠别》「春风十里扬州路，卷上珠帘总不如」，写扬州歌楼之盛；「豆蔻词工」用《赠别》「娉娉袅袅十三余，豆蔻梢头二月初」，以豆蔻喻少女之美；「青楼梦好」用《遣怀》「十年一觉扬州梦，赢得青楼薄幸名」，写杜牧当年在扬州的冶游生涯；「二十四桥」用《寄扬州韩绰判官》「二十四桥明月夜，玉人何处教吹箫」，写扬州月夜的繁华。姜夔借杜牧旧句写扬州昔日之盛，正是为了反衬今日之残破：同样的扬州，杜牧笔下何等繁华，而今荠麦弥望、冷月无声，旧典新用，倍增今昔之悲。此外，「黍离之悲」出自《诗经·王风·黍离》「彼黍离离」，本写周大夫过故宗庙见禾黍而悲，此处借指故国之思与盛衰之感。如此密集的化用，若才力不足，极易流于堆砌；姜夔却能以「今昔对照」的章法统摄诸典，使杜牧诗句成为昔日繁华的镜像，与眼前废池空城互为表里，用典而不为典所役，正是白石词「以故为新」的至高境界。
Commentary
Zhang Yan's *Ciyuan* praises Jiang Kui's 'clear and ethereal' style, calling lines like 'The Twenty-Four Bridges still stand, water ripples at their heart, a cold moon silent' as 'wild clouds flying alone, leaving no trace.' Chen Tingzhuo's *Baiyuzhai Cihua* says the poem depicts post-war scenes so vividly that 'it breaks the reader's heart,' ranking it as the best Southern Song poem on war devastation.
此词历来被推为南宋伤乱词之冠，评家赞不绝口。张炎《词源》论姜夔词标举「清空」二字，谓其词如「野云孤飞，去留无迹」，此词正具此境；陈廷焯《白雨斋词话》称其「写兵燹后情景逼真，令读者魂断」，又谓「犹厌言兵」四字「包括无限伤乱语」。就词史地位而言，姜夔是南宋格律词派的宗主，以清刚峭拔之笔写黍离之悲，上承周邦彦的浑雅，下启吴文英、张炎的清空，一洗晚唐以来词坛的绮靡软媚。此词自度新曲，词牌《扬州慢》即因姜夔此词而创，其小序自述创作缘起，开词序结合之风；而「二十四桥仍在，波心荡、冷月无声」等句，意境清空高远，千百年来写扬州之句无出其右，与杜牧「二十四桥明月夜」隔代相映，一繁华一荒凉，共同铸成扬州的文化记忆。后代词人步武此调者代不乏人，南宋末郑觉斋、周密等皆有和作，然皆不能过之；姜夔以一自度曲定格一座城市的伤悼，其词其调，遂与扬州永远相系，是词史上词牌与地名互为表里的罕见佳话。
Prosody
Line by line
淮左名都，竹西佳处，解鞍少驻初程。
Famous capital east of Huai, the Bamboo West's fine spot, I unsaddle and briefly rest at the start of my journey.
淮水东边名城扬州，竹西亭美好的地方，我解下马鞍稍作停留，这是初到旅程的第一站。
The famous city east of the Huai, the lovely spot of Zhuxi — I loose my saddle and pause a while, first stage of the journey.
起笔写扬州之盛名与初到之情形，为全词的今昔对照立下「昔」的标尺。「淮左名都」点明扬州的地位——淮水之东的著名都会，隋唐以来天下最繁华的商业城市之一；「竹西佳处」用杜牧诗意，竹西亭在扬州城北禅智寺侧，是唐人游赏胜地，四字既写地理，又暗带风流旧事。两句以「名都」「佳处」铺陈扬州昔日的声名，笔调从容。第三句「解鞍少驻初程」才落到自身：解下马鞍，稍作停留，这是旅程的第一站。三句由地名写到人事，由虚名写到实历，似乎只是平淡的纪行，实则「名都」「佳处」的盛名与下文「尽荠麦青青」的荒凉构成强烈的反差，繁华之忆已在此暗暗埋下伏笔，章法上是以盛起、以衰承的典型手法。
The opening writes Yangzhou's fame and the arrival's condition, the whole ci's past-present contrast's establishing the past's ruler. The famous-city-east-of-the-Huai pointing out Yangzhou's status — the Huai's east's famous metropolis, the Sui-Tang's the world's most prosperous commercial city's one; the lovely-spot-of-Zhuxi using Du Mu's poetic meaning, the Zhuxi pavilion's at Yangzhou's north's Chanzhi temple's side, the Tang people's recreation resort, four words' at once writing the geography, and yet secretly carrying the romantic old affairs. Two lines using the famous-city-and-lovely-spot's layering Yangzhou's bygone renown, the brush's composed. The third line's loose-my-saddle-and-pause-a-while-first-stage-of-the-journey's the landing on the self: the saddle's loosed, the brief pause, this's the journey's first station. Three lines from the place-name's to the human-affair, from the empty-fame's to the real-experience, the seeming's only the plain record, actually's the famous-city-and-lovely-spot's renown and the below's all-is-wild-greens-and-barley's desolation's forming the strong contrast, the prosperity's memory's already's here's the secret ground-laying, the craft's the prosperity-opening-and-decline-inheriting typical method.
过春风十里，尽荠麦青青。
Past the ten-li spring breeze, all is shepherd's purse and wheat, lush green.
走过曾经春风十里的繁华街道，如今满眼只有荠菜和麦子一片青绿。
Past the spring-breeze-long-street, all is wild greens and barley, green and green.
此二句是全词今昔对照的枢纽，落差之大、笔力之重，为词史所罕见。「春风十里」化用杜牧「春风十里扬州路」，本是写扬州歌楼珠帘、繁华热闹的旧句，此处却接以「尽荠麦青青」——当年的十里春风之地，如今放眼望去，尽是荠菜与野麦的青绿。一个「尽」字，写繁华涤尽、触目荒芜，力量千钧：不仅写荠麦之多，更写旧日繁华之荡然无存。「春风十里」是记忆中的盛景，「荠麦青青」是眼前的荒芜，中间只隔一个「过」字，仿佛一步跨过，便是两个世界。以虚（昔日繁华）写实（今日荒凉），以乐景（春风十里）衬哀情（荠麦弥望），不言悲而悲已极，是姜夔以清空之笔写沉痛之情的典范。
These two lines are the whole ci's past-present contrast hinge, the gap's magnitude and the brush's weight, the ci-history's rare. The spring-breeze-long adapted from Du Mu's the-spring-breeze-ten-li-Yangzhou-road, originally's writing Yangzhou's song-towers' pearl-curtains and the prosperous-bustle's old line, here's and yet followed by all-is-wild-greens-and-barley-green-and-green — the year's spring-breeze's ten-li place, now's the gaze's all wild greens and wild barley's green. The one jin word's writing the prosperity's washing-out and the touch-the-eye's desolation, the force's a thousand jun: not only writing the wild-greens'-abundance, and yet the old-prosperity's gone-without-a-trace. The spring-breeze-long's the memory's prosperity, the wild-greens-and-barley's the present desolation, the middle's only's one guo word's separation, as if the one-step's crossed's, then's the two worlds. Using the void (the bygone prosperity) for the solid (today's desolation), using the joy-scene (spring-breeze-long) for the grief-set-off (wild-greens'-gaze), not speaking the grief and yet the grief's the extreme, Jiang Kui's empty-brush-writes-the-deep-feeling model.
自胡马窥江去后，废池乔木，犹厌言兵。
Since the Tartar horses looked toward the river and left, deserted pools and ancient trees still loathe to speak of war.
自从金兵渡江离去之后，只剩下废毁的池塘和古老的大树，人们至今还厌恶谈起战乱。
Since the barbarian cavalry peered at the river and withdrew, the ruined pools and old trees still hate to speak of war.
此三句是全词情感的至深之处，以拟人写尽兵燹创痛。「自胡马窥江去后」点出荒凉之由——金兵渡江进犯之后，扬州便再未恢复元气；「废池乔木」四字写劫后之物：池已废毁，木唯乔木（大树），昔日园林亭台尽成荒芜，只剩这些无言的老树还立在那里。最奇的是「犹厌言兵」四字：废池与乔木本是无情之物，词人却说它们至今还厌恶谈论战争——连草木池沼都怕提起那段惨痛，何况于人？这是将无情之物拟人化的神来之笔，把扬州人（乃至词人自己）对兵燹的惨痛记忆，移情于无言的景物之上，沉痛至极而不着一字议论。陈廷焯赞此四字「包括无限伤乱语」，正因它以最少的笔墨，写出了最深最广的创痛，是移情于景、以物写人的典范。
These three lines are the whole ci's emotion's deepest place, using the personification's exhausting the war's wound. Since-the-barbarian-cavalry-peered-at-the-river-and-withdrew pointing out the desolation's cause — the Jin cavalry's river-crossing invasion's after, Yangzhou's hence's no-longer-recovering; the ruined-pools-and-old-trees four words' writing the post-calamity objects: the pool's already ruined, the wood's only the tall trees, the year's garden pavilions' all's the desolation, only's these wordless old trees's still standing there. The wondrous's in the still-hate-to-speak-of-war four words: the ruined-pool-and-old-tree's originally the feelingless thing, and yet the poet's saying they're still's the hating-to-mention-the-war — even the grass-trees-and-pools's fearing-to-mention-that-pain, let-alone the person? This's the feelingless thing's personification's inspired stroke, turning the Yangzhou people's (and even the poet's own) war's painful memory, the transference onto the wordless scenery, the grief's extreme and yet not-landing-one-word's argument. Chen Tingzhuo's praising these four words' the includes-the-endless-war-sorrow words, precisely because of it's the fewest brush's writing the deepest-and-broadest wound, the emotion's transference-to-scene and thing-writes-person model.
二十四桥仍在，波心荡、冷月无声。
The Twenty-Four Bridges still stand, water ripples at their heart, a cold moon silent.
二十四桥依然还在，水波荡漾、冷月无声。
The Twenty-Four Bridges are still there; in the wave's heart the cold moon trembles, soundless.
此句是词史上传诵最广的以景结情名句，清空之境在此达到极致。「二十四桥」用杜牧《寄扬州韩绰判官》「二十四桥明月夜，玉人何处教吹箫」，本是写扬州月夜之繁华旖旎；如今桥「仍在」，而吹箫的玉人、往日的繁华俱已不在。「波心荡」写桥下水流波荡漾，似乎还有一线生息；「冷月无声」却以冷月之无声写尽死寂——月仍是那轮明月，却已冷寂无声，默默照着空城。一个「冷」字，既写月色之凄清，又写空城之寒寂，物我双关；「无声」二字，把二十四桥的往昔笙歌与今日死寂对照于无言的月光之中，繁华落尽、万籁俱寂，悲凉之气扑面而来。以景结情，不言悲而悲意自浓，正是姜夔清空峭拔词风的最高表现，读之令人魂断。
This line's the ci-history's most-recited's scene-close-feeling famed line, the empty realm's here's the extreme. The Twenty-Four-Bridges using Du Mu's send-Yangzhou-Inspector-Han-Chuo's the-twenty-four-bridges'-bright-moon-night-and-the-jade-person-where-teach-the-flute, originally's writing Yangzhou's moonlit-night's prosperity-and-gentility; now the bridge's still-there, and yet the flute-playing jade-person and the bygone prosperity's both's gone. The in-the-wave's-heart-the-cold-moon-trembles-soundless writing the bridge's water's under-the-wave's tremor, as if's still's the one-thread-of-life; the cold-moon-soundless's and yet using the cold-moon's-silence's exhausting the death-stillness — the moon's still's that bright moon, and yet's already cold-silent, silently shining on the empty city. The one leng word's at once writing the moonlight's bleakness, and yet the empty-city's cold-stillness, the thing-and-self double meaning; the soundless two words, turning the Twenty-Four-Bridges' bygone song-and-dance and today's death-stillness's the contrast within the wordless moonlight, the prosperity's fallen-and-the-ten-thousand-sounds'-silent, the bleakness's face's coming. Using the scene's feeling-close, not speaking the grief and yet the grief's self-thick, precisely Jiang Kui's empty-and-steep ci-style's highest expression, reading it's making the soul's breaking.
念桥边红药，年年知为谁生。
Think of the red peonies by the bridge, year after year, for whom do they bloom?
想那桥边的红芍药，年年为谁而生？
Think of the red peonies by the bridge: year after year, for whom do they bloom?
结句以反问收束全词，把黍离之悲推向无尽的绵延。扬州芍药自古有名，桥边的红药（芍药）年年应时而开，本是一城春色、游人如织时最动人的景致；然而今日空城寂寂，无人游赏，这年年盛开的红药，究竟为谁而生呢？「念」字领起，是词人驻足桥边的怅然遥想；「年年」写花之依旧，与人事之全非对照；「知为谁生」以反问作结，花仍开而人已非、景依旧而情已变，问花实是问人、问世，是感叹繁华不再、故人难觅，也是无人可语之痛的自我追问。这一问，问得空灵，答得无尽，把前文铺展的今昔之悲、废池之叹、冷月之寒，一并收拢于红药盛开的无声画面中，以景结情，余韵悠长，正是「黍离之悲」的无尽回响。
The closing line using the rhetorical question's the whole ci's close, turning the millet-grief's pushing to the endless stretch. Yangzhou's peony's since-of-old famous, the bridge's red peonies' year-after-year's the season's blooming, originally's the city's spring and the visitors'-throng's most moving scenery; and yet today's the empty-city's silence, no one's viewing-and-admiring, this year-after-year's blooming red peonies, precisely for-whom's blooming? The nian word's the leading-out, the poet's stopped-at-the-bridge's wistful gazing; the year-after-year writing the flower's as-ever, with the human-affair's wholly-different contrast; the for-whom-do-they-bloom using the rhetorical question's close, the flower's still-blooming and yet the person's changed, the scene's as-ever and yet the feeling's changed, asking-the-flower's actually asking-the-person-and-asking-the-age, the exclamation's the prosperity's no-longer and the old-friends'-hard-to-find, and also the no-one-to-speak grief's self-question. This one question, the asking's ethereal, the answering's endless, turning the above's spread's past-present grief, the ruined-pool's sigh, the cold-moon's chill, all's gathered into the red-peony's-blooming's wordless picture, using the scene's feeling-close, the aftertone long, precisely the millet-grief's endless echo.
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Compare Du Mu's original poems with Jiang Kui's 'if he came again, he'd be startled' to see the shift from Tang romanticism to Song melancholy.
杜牧《泊秦淮》「商女不知亡国恨，隔江犹唱后庭花」写金陵秦淮河畔的末世繁华，以商女犹唱亡国之音讽当世之醉生梦死；姜夔此词写扬州之废池空城，以「犹厌言兵」的草木写劫后之惨痛。一写承平之末的隐忧，一写兵燹之后的残破，皆以眼前之景寄盛衰之慨。就化用而言，姜夔大量借杜牧咏扬州之句（春风十里、豆蔻词工、青楼梦好、二十四桥）反衬今日之荒凉，是「翻案」式的用典——杜牧笔下的扬州越繁华，姜夔笔下的空城越凄凉。二作隔代相映，可见唐诗的俊爽与宋词的清空之别，也可见扬州作为文化意象在唐宋两代的不同书写。
永遇乐·京口北固亭怀古 Song of Eternal Happiness: Meditations at the Northern Pavilion on Jingkou 辛弃疾 · 同怀古伤乱，同写南宋半壁江山之痛 Both express nostalgia for the past and grief over war, writing about the ruins of the Central Plains under Song rule.Jiang Kui writes of Yangzhou's emptiness, while Xin Qiji writes of the northern frontier; both embody the Southern Song sorrow of dynastic decline.
辛弃疾《永遇乐·京口北固亭怀古》「想当年，金戈铁马，气吞万里如虎」追怀刘裕北伐，抒发对南宋偏安的激愤与恢复中原的渴望；姜夔此词写扬州空城之悲，于荒凉寂寥中暗含对国势的忧伤。二者皆南宋伤乱词的代表，而风格迥异：辛词以历史典故写英雄气概，笔力雄健，词风豪放；姜词以眼前景物写黍离之悲，意境清空，词风婉约。辛词问的是「凭谁问：廉颇老矣，尚能饭否」，是壮士的悲愤；姜词问的是「年年知为谁生」，是文人的哀婉。同写半壁江山的伤痛，一激越一低回，合观可见南宋词坛豪放与清空两大词风在伤乱主题上的不同表达。