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宋 Song · 文 Prose

岳阳楼记·版本三

Record of Yueyang Tower (Version Three)

范仲淹

Fan Zhongyan

写景scenery 骈散parallel-and-prose 名篇masterpiece

至若春和景明，波澜不惊，上下天光，一碧万顷；
沙鸥翔集，锦鳞游泳；
岸芷汀兰，郁郁青青。
而或长烟一空，皓月千里。

When spring is mild and the scene bright, the waves lie still; heaven's light and water's color meet above and below in one vast emerald expanse. Sand gulls wheel and settle; brocade-scaled fish swim and play; on the banks the iris, on the islets the orchid, lush and green. And then, when the long mist clears entirely, the bright moon shines over a thousand li.

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Meaning

This excerpt describes the bright spring scene of Dongting Lake seen from Yueyang Tower: calm waters, gulls and fish, fragrant plants, and a clear moonlit night. It corresponds to the joyful mood of the refined visitor 'cheered in heart, forgetting favor and disgrace.' The passage bridges the essay's scenery and its later philosophical climax of 'not rejoicing in things, not mourning in oneself.'

至于春风和煦、阳光明媚之时，湖面波澜不起，天光与水色上下相接，一片碧绿无边无际；沙洲上的白鸥时而飞翔时而栖止，美丽的鱼儿游来游去；岸边的香芷、小洲上的兰草，茂盛而青翠。有时长空中的烟雾完全消散，皎洁的明月照耀千里。

Appreciation

The art lies in parallel four-character phrases building a layered, architectural picture, with movement and stillness interplaying. 'Waves lie still' is static, 'gulls wheel and fish swim' dynamic; the 'and then' turn shifts from bright day to clear moon, light and shade born together. Color and light are tuned from emerald to green to bright, painting a rich Dongting spring-night scroll.

【白话串讲】范仲淹写《岳阳楼记》的春景：“春和景明，波澜不惊，上下天光，一碧万顷”——“沙鸥翔集，锦鳞游泳”——“岸芷汀兰，郁郁青青”——“而或长烟一空，皓月千里，浮光跃金，静影沉璧”——他写岳阳楼的绝美风光。【意象与手法】本段属《岳阳楼记》的写景段落，与「霪雨霏霏」之景对举。句式上四字句连用，骈偶整饬：「上下天光，一碧万顷」「沙鸥翔集，锦鳞游泳」「岸芷汀兰，郁郁青青」层层铺排，声韵铿锵；「而或」二字陡转，引出皓月千里的新境，明暗相生，动静相宜。【情感与主旨】「览物之情，得无异乎」——此段所写清明之景，正对应迁客骚人「心旷神怡，宠辱偕忘」的喜乐之情，为后文「不以物喜，不以己悲」的升华蓄势。【名句点睛】「上下天光，一碧万顷」「皓月千里」皆为写洞庭的千古名句，水天一色、月色无垠，以极简之笔写出极阔之境。

Background

Fan Zhongyan (989–1052), styled Xiwen, a Northern Song statesman, military leader, and writer famous for 'be the first to bear the world's worry, last to enjoy its joy.' In 1043 he launched the Qingli Reform, offended conservatives, and in 1046, while exiled as prefect of Dengzhou, wrote 'Record of Yueyang Tower' at the request of his friend Teng Zijing, who had been demoted to Yuezhou and rebuilt the tower. The lines 'not rejoicing in things, not mourning in oneself' and 'first to worry, last to enjoy' are self-encouragement and consolation to his friend. This version excerpts the 'spring mild, scene bright' descriptive passage. Fan never visited Yueyang, writing wholly from a painted 'Dongting Autumn Scene' and imagination, yet captured the lake's grandeur — showing his inner vision. This scenic passage is the hinge between the essay's 'feelings from scenery' and its 'mind of the ancient noble.'

范仲淹（989—1052），字希文，北宋苏州吴县人，著名的政治家、军事家、文学家，「先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐」是他的千古名言。宋仁宗庆历三年（1043），范仲淹推行「庆历新政」改革，触犯守旧势力，次年罢参知政事，出知邠州、邓州等地。庆历六年（1046），他贬知邓州时，应好友滕子京之请写下《岳阳楼记》。滕子京与范仲淹同科进士，因被诬告贬官岳州，重修岳阳楼后请范仲淹作文以记。文中「不以物喜，不以己悲」「先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐」等句，既是自勉，也是劝慰仕途失意的友人，更抒发了作者不以个人得失为念、以天下为己任的怀抱。本版本节选的是文中「春和景明」的写景段落。岳阳楼始建于唐，为历代文人登临赋咏之地，范仲淹并未亲至岳阳，全凭《洞庭秋景图》与想象成文，却写尽洞庭朝晖夕阴、气象万千之态，足见其胸中丘壑。此段景物描写正是全文「览物之情」与「古仁人之心」之间的枢纽。

Art

The 'Record' is a famed prose piece blending narration, description, lyric, and argument, a 'record' form with parallel-fu beauty. This excerpt concentrates the 'spring mild, scene bright' scene; its art is 'parallel phrasing for scene, movement-stillness interplay, layered expansion.' One: parallel four-character structure — 'waves lie still,' 'one vast emerald,' 'gulls wheel and settle,' 'fish swim and play,' 'iris and orchid,' 'lush green' pair and layer, building architectural rhythm; 'when' (zhiruo) and 'and then' (erhuo) conjunctions shift from bright scene to moon scene, clear layers. Two: movement-stillness — 'waves lie still' static, 'gulls wheel, fish swim' dynamic, peace and life interplay; 'long mist clears' dispersing, 'bright moon shines' illuminating, real to void, near to far. Three: color and light — 'one vast emerald' water color, 'lush green' plants, 'bright moon' moonlight, from emerald to green to bright, a layered Dongting spring-night. All show Fan's masterful 'parallel within prose, scene fused with feeling.'

从文体看，《岳阳楼记》是融叙事、写景、抒情、议论于一体的散文名篇，属「记」体而兼有骈赋之美。本段为全文中「春和景明」之景的集中描绘，其艺术特色可括为「以骈偶写景、以动静相生、以层次铺展」三点。其一，句式骈偶整饬：全段以四字句为主，「波澜不惊」「一碧万顷」「沙鸥翔集」「锦鳞游泳」「岸芷汀兰」「郁郁青青」两两相对、层层铺排，构成极具建筑美的画面节奏；「至若」与「而或」两个转接连词相呼应，由明丽之景转入朗月之景，层次分明。其二，动静相生：「波澜不惊」是静，「沙鸥翔集」「锦鳞游泳」是动，动静之间，湖面之平和与生命之活泼交相辉映；「长烟一空」是散，「皓月千里」是照，一散一照，境界由实转虚、由近转远。其三，色彩与光感的调配：「一碧万顷」写水色，「郁郁青青」写草木之色，「皓月千里」写月光，由碧而青而皓，色彩由浓转淡、由实转明，绘出一幅层次丰富的洞庭春夜图。凡此种种，皆见范仲淹「以骈入散、情景交融」的高超笔力。

Allusions

This scene is rooted in the Chinese literary 'Dongting imagery' and 'clear wind bright moon' tradition. One: 'spring mild, scene bright' inherits the 'Monthly Ordinances' seasonal description of late spring's vital qi. Two: 'sand gull' often implies leisure and freedom (Du Fu 'what am I like, a sand gull between heaven and earth'), 'brocade scales' takes Zhuangzi's fish-joy; both write harmony with nature. Three: 'iris and orchid on bank and islet' takes the Chu Ci fragrant-plant metaphor — Qu Yuan used iris and orchid for the noble gentleman's purity; here their lushness hints the gentleman's virtuous fragrance. Four: 'bright moon over a thousand li' inherits Xie Zhuang's 'Moon Fu' and Zhang Jiuling's moon tradition, writing expansive clarity. The whole pairs with the essay's 'drizzling rain' gloomy scene — one writes grief, one joy — using the 'scene expresses feeling' tradition to pave the way for 'not rejoicing in things.'

本段写景深植于中国文学「洞庭意象」与「光风霁月」的文化传统。其一，「春和景明」四字承《礼记·月令》「季春之月……生气方盛，阳气发泄」的时令描写，暗含春气勃发、万物和畅之意；其二，「沙鸥」意象在古典文学中常寓闲适自由（杜甫「飘飘何所似，天地一沙鸥」），「锦鳞」则取《庄子》「鲦鱼出游从容，是鱼之乐也」的鱼乐之趣，皆写与自然相得之乐；其三，「岸芷汀兰」取《楚辞》香草之喻——屈原以芷兰喻君子高洁之德，此处写芷兰郁郁，暗含君子德行芳洁的文化意味；其四，「皓月千里」承谢庄《月赋》「隔千里兮共明月」与张九龄「海上生明月，天涯共此时」的月之传统，以明月照千里写境界之澄明旷远。整段以「清明」之景写「喜」情，正与《岳阳楼记》「淫雨霏霏」段以「阴晦」之景写「悲」情相对，两段合用《楚辞》以降「以物写情、情景相生」的抒情传统，为后文「不以物喜，不以己悲」的超越之论铺垫了审美基础。此段之妙，正在于将传统意象融于一炉而不露痕迹，化用无痕而意蕴自深。

Commentary

This is among the most widely circulated descriptive passages of the 'Record,' a classic brush for Dongting Lake in Chinese prose history. 'Heaven's light and water's color, one vast emerald' and 'bright moon over a thousand li' stand beside Du Fu's 'Wu and Chu split southeast; heaven and earth float day and night' and Meng Haoran's 'mist steams the Yunmeng marsh; waves shake the Yueyang city' — Du and Meng write its grandeur, Fan its brightness, each supreme. In form history, this four-character parallel scenery shows Song prose's 'parallel within prose' aesthetic, retaining six-dynasty ornament yet adding prose's ease, a model for later travel sketches (e.g., 'The Zuiweng Pavilion'). In thought history, this scene's link to 'feelings from scenery' is the key of the 'scene-feeling-principle' triad: bright scene breeds joy, yet the ancient noble's 'not rejoicing' transcends it — from individual feeling to world concern. Today Yueyang Tower is famed by this essay; 'first worry, last joy' became the symbol of scholar spirit; this bright scene is its indispensable luminous ground.

此段是《岳阳楼记》中流传最广的写景名段之一，也是中国散文史上写洞庭湖景的经典笔法。从文学史看，「上下天光，一碧万顷」与「皓月千里」等句，与杜甫「吴楚东南坼，乾坤日夜浮」、孟浩然「气蒸云梦泽，波撼岳阳城」的洞庭名句并列而自有面目：杜孟写洞庭之雄阔，范仲淹写洞庭之明丽，一壮一秀，各极其致。从文体史看，本段以骈偶四字句写景，体现了宋代散文「以骈入散、骈散相济」的审美追求，既保留了六朝骈文的藻采，又注入散文的疏宕之气，为后世游记与写景散文（如《醉翁亭记》）提供了范式。从思想史看，此段景物与「览物之情」的关联，正是「景—情—理」三段结构的关键环节：清明之景生喜乐之情，而古仁人之「不以物喜」正超越此情，作者借景写情、由情生理，完成了从个体情感到天下情怀的升华。今日岳阳楼因这篇记文而名扬天下，「先忧后乐」更成为士人精神的象征，此段写景正是这一精神图景中不可或缺的明丽底色。

Prosody

Form A parallel-and-prose scenic passage within Song prose (the 'record' form's descriptive exposition)宋代散文中的骈散相济写景段（「记」体之景物铺陈）

Rhyme Mostly four-character parallel lines, paired phrases harmonious; foot characters 'still' (jing), 'expanse' (qing), 'swim' (yong), 'green' (qing) alternate level-oblique, clear-turbid, sung resonant; 'wheel and settle' (xiangji), 'swim and play' (yongyong) are double-phoneme rhymes, 'lush green' (yuyuqingqing) reduplicated, rounded and flowing; the 'and then' turn ends with 'clear' (kong), 'li' (li), from urgent to ease, lingering.本段以四字骈句为主，偶句相谐，声韵铿锵：「惊」「顷」「泳」「青」等句脚字平仄相间、清浊相济，读来琅琅上口；「翔集」「游泳」双声叠韵，「郁郁青青」连绵词叠用，声调圆转流美；「而或」一转，「空」「里」收束，由急促转疏宕，余韵悠长。

Tone pattern Mostly four-character lines, paired, regular beats: 'waves lie still,' 'one vast emerald,' 'gulls wheel and settle,' 'fish swim and play' all two-character pauses, read like bells and drums; 'when' (zhiruo) and 'and then' (erhuo) conjunctions lead from exposition to turn, tone rising and gathering, dense and sparse, flowing.句式以四字句为主，两两成对、节拍整饬：「波澜不惊」「一碧万顷」「沙鸥翔集」「锦鳞游泳」等句皆两字一顿、四字一读，节奏如钟鼓齐鸣；「至若」「而或」两个连词领起，由铺陈转入转折，句调一扬一收，疏密相间，气韵流动。

Reading note This passage is the most musical scenic section of the 'Record.' Its sound beauty first comes from four-character lines: the whole is mainly four-syllable, 'spring mild scene bright,' 'waves lie still,' 'heaven light water color,' 'one vast emerald,' 'gulls wheel settle,' 'brocade scales swim,' 'iris orchid,' 'lush green,' 'long mist clears,' 'bright moon thousand li' — ten groups of four-character lines, uniform beat, distinct pauses, read like drumbeats and pearls, matching Dongting's vast waves. Second, tonal tuning: foot characters 'still, expanse, swim, green' alternate level-oblique (still-level, expanse-oblique, swim-oblique, green-level), clear-turbid blended, making the exposition full yet not stiff; 'wheel and settle,' 'swim and play' double-phoneme rhymes, 'lush green' reduplicated, add rounded flow. Third, the turn's rhythm control: 'when' (zhiruo) begins slowly like a new movement; 'and then' (erhuo) pauses, turning from day to moon night, tone from bright to clear, 'clears' and 'thousand li' end in oblique, sound from rising to sinking, lingering. The whole blends parallel and prose, sound with feeling — a Song aesthetic of 'using prose as poetry, parallel within prose'; read with clear beats and ease to capture Dongting's spring mood and sound beauty.本段是《岳阳楼记》中最具音律美的写景段落。其声韵之美首先来自四字句的铺排：全段以四言为主，「春和景明」「波澜不惊」「上下天光」「一碧万顷」「沙鸥翔集」「锦鳞游泳」「岸芷汀兰」「郁郁青青」「长烟一空」「皓月千里」凡十组四字句，节拍统一、顿挫分明，读来如鼓点齐鸣、珠落玉盘，与洞庭湖水的浩荡气势相称。其次是声调的调配：「惊」「顷」「泳」「青」等句脚字平仄交错（惊—平、顷—仄、泳—仄、青—平），清音浊音相济，使铺陈之句声情饱满而不板滞；「翔集」「游泳」双声叠韵，「郁郁青青」连绵复沓，更添声调的圆转流美。其三是转接的节奏控制：「至若」缓起，如乐曲转入新章；「而或」一顿，由白日转入月夜，句调由明快转澄澈，「一空」「千里」以仄声收束，声调由扬入沉，余韵袅袅。整段骈散相济、声情并茂，体现了宋人「以文为诗、以骈入散」的审美追求，诵读时宜节拍分明、舒缓有致，方得洞庭春景之气象与声韵之美。

Line by line

至若春和景明，波澜不惊，上下天光，一碧万顷；沙鸥翔集，锦鳞游泳；岸芷汀兰，郁郁青青。

When spring is mild and the scene bright, the waves lie still; heaven's light and water's color meet above and below in one vast emerald expanse — sand gulls wheel and settle, brocade-scaled fish swim and play; on the banks the iris, on the islets the orchid, lush and green.

至于春风和煦、阳光明媚之时，湖面波澜不起，天光与水色上下相接，一片碧绿无边无际；沙洲上的白鸥时而飞翔时而栖止，美丽的鱼儿游来游去；岸边的香芷、小洲上的兰草，茂盛而青翠。

As for warm spring and bright sunlight, the lake barely ripples; sky and water blend, a vast emerald stretch; gulls on the sand fly and settle, bright scales swim by; angelica on the banks and orchids on the islets grow lush and green.

此句是「春和景明」之景的展开，骈偶整饬，层层铺展，构成一幅立体的洞庭春景图。「春和景明」四字总起，定下和煦明丽的基调；「波澜不惊，上下天光，一碧万顷」写湖面之静、水天之阔，静中见大；「沙鸥翔集，锦鳞游泳」写鸟鱼之动，以动衬静，生机盎然；「岸芷汀兰，郁郁青青」写草木之茂，香草意象暗含君子之德。三组对句由湖面而空中而岸芷，视线由远及近、由平及岸，层次井然；「翔集」「游泳」双声叠韵，「郁郁青青」连绵词叠用，声韵流美。凡此皆见作者以骈偶写景之工，为「心旷神怡」的喜情作了最充分的铺垫。

This line expands the 'warm spring, bright sunlight' scene in ordered parallelism, unfolding layer by layer into a three-dimensional spring view of Dongting. 'Warm spring and bright sunlight' opens the four phrases and sets the mild, luminous keynote. 'The lake barely ripples; sky and water blend, a vast emerald stretch' writes the water's stillness and the breadth of sky and water, seeing greatness in calm. 'Gulls on the sand fly and settle, bright scales swim by' writes the motion of birds and fish, motion setting off stillness and filling it with life. 'Angelica on the banks and orchids on the islets grow lush and green' writes the luxuriance of plants, the fragrant grass carrying the hidden virtue of a noble person. Three parallel couplets move from the lake surface to the air to the bank herbs, the eye moving from far to near, from level to shore, in clear layers. 'Fly and settle' and 'swim' use alliteration and assonance, 'lush and green' repeats connected words for flowing sound. All shows the author's craft in painting scenery through parallelism, preparing most fully for the joy of 'heart and spirit refreshed' below.

而或长烟一空，皓月千里。

And then, when the long mist clears entirely, the bright moon shines over a thousand li.

有时长空中的烟雾完全消散，皎洁的明月照耀千里。

Or when the long mist has wholly dissolved and the bright moon shines over a thousand li.

「而或」二字陡转，由白日的明丽转入月夜的澄明，章法上另开一境。「长烟一空」写烟霭散尽，天宇澄澈，为明月出场所作的空间准备；「皓月千里」四字以「皓」状月之明、以「千里」写月之远，极简之笔写出极阔之境，与「一碧万顷」的水色相映，构成「碧水—皓月」的色彩对偶。「一空」「千里」两个数量词一内一外，把洞庭月夜的空旷澄明写得如在目前。此句境界之澄澈光明，正与后文「心旷神怡，宠辱偕忘」的忘我之乐相呼应，是全文由写景转向抒情的枢纽，亦是「不以物喜，不以己悲」超越之境的前奏。

The words 'or when' turn abruptly, passing from daylight brightness to moonlit clarity and opening another world in craft. 'The long mist has wholly dissolved' writes the dispersal of haze, the sky grown pellucid, the spatial preparation for the moon's appearance. 'The bright moon shines over a thousand li' uses 'bright' for the moon's clarity and 'a thousand li' for its reach; the simplest brushstroke paints the widest realm, setting off the 'vast emerald' water in a color couplet of 'green water — bright moon.' The two quantity words, 'wholly' within and 'a thousand li' without, make the empty clarity of the Dongting night seem present before the eyes. The limpid luminosity of this scene answers the later joy of 'heart and spirit refreshed, favor and disgrace both forgotten'; it is the hinge where the essay turns from landscape to lyric, and the prelude to the transcendence of 'not delighted by things, not grieved by self.'

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一碧万顷 'One vast emerald expanse' (yibiwanqing) captures Dongting's spring water color and vastness in four characters — 'one' totals the pure unmingled color, 'emerald' the true green of clear spring water, 'ten-thousand qing' the boundless lake. With 'heaven's light and water's color' before it, the two together write the classic 'water and sky one color' scene, supporting later 'bright moon over a thousand li' as the two poles of the description. 「一碧万顷」四字写尽洞庭春水之色与势，是全文写景最凝练的妙笔。「一」字总括，言水色之纯一无杂；「碧」字着色，取青绿之正色，写春水之澄澈明净；「万顷」极言其广，顷为百亩，万顷则写湖面之浩渺无涯。四字连用，色与量兼举，以极小的字面撑起极大的空间，如画师以一管碧色横扫万里湖天。「上下天光」四字先写水天相映，「一碧万顷」继以总括，虚实相生——天光在水、水色连天，浑然一碧，正写洞庭「水天一色」的经典景观。此句与「皓月千里」对举，一碧一皓、一昼一夜，是全文写景的两极，亦为后世写湖光水色者所必引。

翔集 'Wheel and settle' (xiangji) writes the sand gulls' two states — flying and perching — a movement-stillness brush. 'Wheel' shows free flight (dynamic); 'settle' shows peaceful perching (static, as in the Shi Jing 'settling on the shrubs'). Together, one flying one resting, they echo the still lake and swimming fish, vividly writing spring's free life, and imply the peaceful abundance of a flourishing lake. 「沙鸥翔集」中的「翔集」二字，写沙鸥「飞翔与栖止」两种状态，是动静相生之笔。「翔」字见飞鸟翱翔之态，取其动态之自由；「集」字见群鸟栖止之状，取其静态之安宁（《诗经》「集于灌木」即用此义）。二字并举，一飞一止、一动一静，恰与「波澜不惊」的静湖、「锦鳞游泳」的游鱼构成多层次的动静呼应，把春和景明中生命的自在写得栩栩如生。「翔集」还暗含群鸟毕集的生机之象——鸥鸟翔集于沙洲，正是湖光丰美、生态和畅的写照，于写景中寄寓太平和乐之意，可见作者炼字之精微。

郁郁青青 'Lush green' (yuyuqingqing), the only reduplicated binome in the passage, writes the luxuriance of spring plants — 'lush' the thick growth, 'green' the fresh verdure. Used for bank iris and islet orchid, it also secretly carries the Chu Ci fragrant-plant analogy: iris and orchid symbolize the noble gentleman's purity, their lushness figures the fullness of virtuous fragrance. The reduplication's rounded sound echoes the preceding 'wheel and settle,' 'swim and play,' making the parallel lines harmonious and singable — a brush of 'scene writes virtue, sound carries meaning.' 「岸芷汀兰，郁郁青青」中的「郁郁青青」是全段唯一的叠字连绵词，写尽春草芳木之茂盛。「郁郁」写草木之繁茂浓郁，有生机扑面之感；「青青」写其色泽之鲜嫩苍翠，青绿相叠，色感鲜明。两词连用，既写「岸芷」（岸边的白芷）与「汀兰」（水洲的兰草）长势之旺，又暗以《楚辞》香草比德——芷兰本为屈原笔下君子高洁之德的象征，「郁郁青青」的繁茂之态，正喻君子德行之充实芬芳。叠字的声调亦圆转流美，与前后「翔集」「游泳」的连绵词呼应，使整段骈句声韵和谐、琅琅上口，是「以景写德、以声传意」的妙笔。