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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

张元干·石州慢·己酉秋吴兴舟中作

Slow Song of Shizhou: Written on a Boat at Wu-xing, Autumn of the Jiyou Year

张元干

Zhang Yuangan

豪放heroic (hao-fang) 感怀reflection

石州慢·己酉秋吴兴舟中作雨急云飞，惊散暮鸦，微弄凉月。
谁家疏柳低迷，几点流萤明灭。
夜帆风驶，满湖烟水苍茫，菰蒲零乱秋声咽。
梦断酒醒时，倚危樯清绝。
心折。
长庚光怒，群盗纵横，逆胡猖獗。
欲挽天河，一洗中原膏血。
两宫何处，塞垣祗隔长江，唾壶空击悲歌缺。
万里想龙沙，泣孤臣吴越。

Rain urgent, clouds fly; startled, the dusk crows scatter; a cool moon faintly plays.
Whose sparse willows hang low and dim? A few fireflies flicker and fade.
The night sail rides the wind; the whole lake misty and vast; the reeds and rushes in disorder, the autumn sound sobs.
Dream broken, wine sober, I lean on the high mast, pure to the extreme.
My heart breaks. The Long Geng star glares in wrath; bandits run rampant; the rebel Hu rage unchecked.
I would seize the River of Heaven to wash the Central Plain's blood and gore.
Where are the Two Palaces? The frontier lies but a Yangtze away; in vain I strike the spittoon, my sad song broken.
A myriad li I think of the Dragon Sands; a lone minister weeps in Wu and Yue.

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Meaning

Urgent rain crosses the clouds, startles the dusk crows, then bares a cold, clear moon. Whose sparse willows hang dim and low; a few fireflies flicker and fade. The night sail rides the wind; the whole lake is misty and vast; reeds and rushes in disorder, the autumn wind sobs. Dream broken, wine sober, alone I lean on the tall mast, cold to the extreme. My heart is torn. The Venus star glares in wrath; the bandits run rampant; the Jin invaders rage unchecked. I would draw the heavenly river to wash clean the blood of the Central Plain. Where are the two emperors now? The frontier lies only a Yangtze River apart; in vain I strike the spittoon, my sad song broken. Far away I think of the Dragon Sands; a lone minister weeps in Wu and Yue.

急雨过云，惊散暮鸦，忽露清冷明月。谁家稀疏柳枝模糊低垂，几点流萤忽明忽灭。夜帆乘风疾驶，满湖烟水苍茫，菰蒲零乱西风呜咽。梦断酒醒，独倚高桅，清冷到了极点。伤心欲碎。金星怒光，内乱纵横，金兵猖狂。想挽天河之水，洗尽中原血污。徽钦二帝今在何处，边塞只隔一条长江，空击唾壶悲歌欲缺。遥想万里外龙沙，孤臣在吴越泣下。

Appreciation

This is a heroic, mournful lyric by Zhang Yuangan, a patriotic poet of the early Southern Song. The upper part is pure night scene yet every line holds feeling: 'rain urgent, clouds fly' 'startled dusk crows' hint at a turmoil, 'sparse willows dim' 'fireflies flicker' render a desolate haze, 'reeds in disorder, autumn sobs' write grief through sound, 'lean on the high mast, pure to the extreme' lifts the lone minister's figure. Scene holds a man; stillness holds motion; clarity holds sorrow. The lower part bursts with 'my heart breaks', a short rhyme like rending silk, into direct feeling: 'the Long Geng star glares in wrath' writes the disaster by star-omen; 'seize the River of Heaven' transforms Du Fu; 'strike the spittoon in vain' uses the Wang Dun allusion for a thwarted will. It closes 'a myriad li I think of the Dragon Sands; a lone minister weeps', where vast space and endless time meet, grief to the utmost.

【白话串讲】 1129年，金兵南下，张元干在吴兴舟中：“雨急云飞，惊散暮鸦，微弄凉月”。“心折。长庚光怒，群盗纵横，逆胡”——国破家亡，他心碎。南宋词人把山河之痛写进了这首词。【意象与手法】此诗为宋张元干之作，精要赏析详见下方深度赏析。【情感与主旨】张元干（1091—约1170），字仲宗，北宋末南宋初爱国词人，主战派【名句点睛】中高考常考：一、上片景物描写的作用——如何以凄景衬悲情、暗示危局；二、名句“欲挽天河，一洗中原膏血”的用典与情感

Background

Zhang Yuangan (1091-c. 1170), courtesy Zhongzong, was a patriotic lyricist of the late Northern and early Southern Song, of the war party. This lyric was written in autumn of the Jiyou year (1129), when the Jin armies drove south and Gaozong fled south across the Yangtze in panic, the north bank all lost. The poet, fleeing the turmoil southward, wrote it on a night boat at Wu-xing (modern Huzhou). The title 'Written on a Boat at Wu-xing, Autumn of the Jiyou Year' is strongly documentary. The upper part writes the desolate autumn night seen from the boat; the lower part states outright the wrath at the national calamity and the family feud, a heroic, solemn work of the early Southern Song that 'uses the lyric as history', and opens the way for Xin Qiji's school. Its five words 'a lone minister weeps in Wu and Yue' voice the helplessness and loyal wrath of the scholars who crossed south.

《石州慢·己酉秋吴兴舟中作》为南宋词人张元干所作。张元干（1091—约1170），字仲宗，号芦川居士，永福人，南宋初词人。此词写吴兴舟中见秋景而怀国事之慨：雨急云飞，惊散暮鸦，微弄凉月；谁家疏柳低迷，几点流萤明灭；夜帆风驶，满湖烟水苍茫，菰蒲零乱秋声咽；梦断酒醒时，倚危樯清绝。下片心折，长庚光怒，群盗纵横，逆胡猖獗；欲挽天河，一洗中原膏血；两宫何处，塞垣只隔长江，唾壶空击悲歌缺；万里想龙沙，泣孤臣吴越。全词以秋景写国事之悲，是张元干爱国词的名篇。

Art

The upper part is pure night scene yet every line carries feeling: 'rain urgent, clouds fly' 'startled dusk crows' shadow the troubled times; 'sparse willows hang low' 'fireflies flicker' render a dim, hazy mood; 'reeds in disorder, the autumn sound sobs' writes grief through sound; 'lean on the high mast, pure to the extreme' lifts the lone-minister figure. Scene holds a man; stillness holds motion; clarity holds sorrow. The lower part: the two characters 'heart breaks' fall like a short rhyme rending silk, and the brush turns sharply to feeling: 'the Long Geng star glares in wrath' writes the war-disaster by star-omen; 'seize the River of Heaven' transforms Du Fu's 'would that a brave man draw the heavenly river' yet more urgent; 'strike the spittoon in vain' uses the Wang Dun allusion to write the thwarted will. It closes 'a myriad li I think of the Dragon Sands; a lone minister weeps in Wu and Yue', where vast space and endless time meet, grief to the uttermost.

《石州慢·己酉秋吴兴舟中作》艺术上以景中含情、悲壮沉郁见长。全词结构分明：上片写舟中夜景——“雨急云飞，惊散暮鸦，微弄凉月”写秋雨之景，“谁家疏柳低迷，几点流萤明灭”写疏柳流萤，“夜帆风驶，满湖烟水苍茫，菰蒲零乱秋声咽”写夜帆湖景，“梦断酒醒时，倚危樯清绝”写倚樯清绝；下片写国事之悲——“心折，长庚光怒”写心折，“群盗纵横，逆胡猖獗”写国难，“欲挽天河，一洗中原膏血”写洗雪之愿，“两宫何处，塞垣只隔长江”写两宫被掳，“唾壶空击悲歌缺”写悲歌之愤，“万里想龙沙，泣孤臣吴越”写孤臣之泣。全词以秋景写国事之悲，景中含情、悲壮沉郁，正是张元干爱国词的风格。

Allusions

The allusions are precise: 1) 'the Long Geng star glares in wrath', the Historical Records says Venus governs war, here the star-omen shows the national crisis rising; 2) 'seize the River of Heaven to wash the Central Plain's blood and gore' transforms Du Fu's 'Washing the Horses' ('would that a brave man draw the heavenly river, to wash the armour and cease its use'), reversing its sense in hatred that he cannot wash the blood clean; 3) 'strike the spittoon in vain, my sad song broken' uses the Tales of the World story of Wang Dun striking his spittoon with a ruyi until its mouth was broken, writing the crushed great ambition; 4) 'Dragon Sands' originally the Bailongdui desert, borrowed for the far north where the two emperors were taken; 5) 'the Two Palaces' means Huizong and Qinzong. All these allusions bear on the rise and fall of the state, solemn and grieving, with not a wasted stroke.

《石州慢·己酉秋吴兴舟中作》用典在“长庚”“天河”“两宫”“唾壶”“龙沙”。“长庚”即金星（太白），古代以为兵象；“天河”用杜甫“安得壮士挽天河”句意，写洗雪中原；“两宫”指被金人掳去的徽钦二帝；“唾壶”用王敦击唾壶咏“老骥伏枥”之典，写悲歌之愤；“龙沙”指塞外，代指二帝所在。全词以这些典故写国事之悲，用典贴切而情感激昂，正是张元干爱国词“悲壮沉郁”的风格。

Commentary

The Complete Library catalogue said of Zhang Yuangan 'his lyric style is rather vigorous, with many thoughts beyond the world; when the Shaoxing peace was debated, an accuser struck at him and he was stripped of office, and his lyrics then turned utterly grieving and angry'. The modern scholar Xia Chengtao said this lyric 'upper part clear, lower part solemn, opening the Xin school'. Later critics pair 'a lone minister weeps in Wu and Yue' with Xin Qiji's 'I strike the railing', reading it as a monument of the 'use the lyric to keep history' of the south-crossing lyrics; its patriotic breadth and artistic tension stand with Su Shi and Xin Qiji as a tripod.

《石州慢·己酉秋吴兴舟中作》是张元干爱国词的名篇，也是南宋初爱国词的代表作。此词写舟中见秋景而怀国事，悲壮沉郁，向为论者称道。论者多赏其“欲挽天河，一洗中原膏血”的壮语——以“挽天河”写洗雪中原之愿，气象宏大；“唾壶空击悲歌缺”写悲歌之愤，更见激昂。张元干为南宋初爱国词人，其词多写国事之悲，此词正是其代表——以秋景写国难，正是其悲壮沉郁的风格。

Prosody

Form Lyric, 'Slow Song of Shizhou' (Shi Zhou Man), double-tune one hundred two characters词牌·石州慢

Rhyme Oblique rhyme (moon, fade, sob, extreme, break, unchecked, blood, broken, Yue, etc.)《石州慢》为双调，上下片各十一句，押仄声韵。此词用韵：月、灭（屑部）、咽、绝（屑部）、折、獗、血、缺、越（屑部），上下片同韵，音节悲壮。

Tone pattern Long-short lines per the Shi Zhou Man score, many oblique-binding lines《石州慢》句式以四、五、六、七言相间，音节悲壮。此词上片写舟中秋景，音节萧疏，如秋声咽；下片写国事之悲，音节激昂，如挽天河。全词以入声仄韵贯底，声调与忧国悲壮的内容相合，是宋词中爱国悲壮的一路。

Reading note Scene above, feeling below; solemn and grieving, opening the Xin school.《石州慢·己酉秋吴兴舟中作》为词牌《石州慢》，是张元干爱国词的名篇。此词写吴兴舟中见秋景而怀国事：上片写雨急云飞、疏柳流萤、秋声呜咽之秋景，下片写群盗纵横、逆胡猖獗之国难与欲挽天河、一洗中原之壮愿。以秋景写国难，悲壮沉郁，正是张元干南宋初爱国词的风格，也是其“芦川”词风的代表。

Line by line

雨急云飞，惊散暮鸦，微弄凉月。谁家疏柳低迷，几点流萤明灭。

Rain urgent, clouds flying; crows of dusk are scattered; a cool moon plays faintly. Whose sparse willows hang dim? A few wandering fireflies glow and fade.

雨急云飞，惊散了暮鸦，微弄凉月。谁家的疏柳低迷，几点流萤明灭。

Rain beats down, clouds race; evening crows are startled and scattered; a cool moon faintly plays. Whose sparse willows hang low and dim? A few wandering fireflies gleam and die.

上片起写舟中秋景。“雨急云飞，惊散暮鸦，微弄凉月”写秋雨之景——“雨急云飞”写雨急云飞，“惊散暮鸦”写惊散暮鸦，“微弄凉月”写微弄凉月——秋雨既急，云飞鸦散，凉月微露；“谁家疏柳低迷，几点流萤明灭”写疏柳流萤——“疏柳低迷”写疏柳低垂迷离，“几点流萤明灭”写几点流萤明灭不定。六句写舟中秋景：雨急云飞，暮鸦惊散，凉月微露；疏柳低迷，流萤明灭。以“雨急云飞”写秋之肃杀，以“疏柳低迷”“流萤明灭”写秋之萧疏，正是张元干以景写情的笔法——秋景萧疏，正见其心之忧。

The upper stanza opens with the autumn scene in the boat. 'Rain urgent, clouds flying; crows of dusk are scattered; a cool moon plays faintly' writes the autumn rain — urgent rain and flying clouds, startled dusk crows, the cool moon faintly showing; rain urgent, clouds flying, crows scattered, the cool moon emerging. 'Whose sparse willows hang dim? A few wandering fireflies glow and fade' writes sparse willows and fireflies — 'sparse willows dim' the drooping, misty branches, 'a few fireflies glow and fade' the flickering points. Six phrases write the boatboard autumn scene: urgent rain, flying clouds, startled crows, faint cool moon; dim sparse willows, flickering fireflies. 'Urgent rain, flying clouds' writes the severity of autumn; 'dim sparse willows' and 'flickering fireflies' its sparseness; this is precisely Zhang Yuangan's brush of writing feeling through scenery — the sparse autumn scene shows his anxious heart.

夜帆风驶，满湖烟水苍茫，菰蒲零乱秋声咽。梦断酒醒时，倚危樯清绝。

At night the sail speeds in the wind; all the lake is mist and waters vast; wild rice and reeds are tangled, autumn sounds sobbing. When the dream breaks and wine clears, I lean on the tall mast, pure to the bone.

夜帆乘风疾驶，满湖烟水苍茫，菰蒲零乱，秋声呜咽。梦断酒醒之时，倚着高高的桅樯，清绝。

At night the sail runs swift before the wind; the whole lake is misty waters, vast; wild rice and reeds in disarray, autumn sounds sobbing. When the dream breaks and the wine wears off, I lean on the tall mast, utterly chill and clear.

此数句写夜帆湖景与倚樯清绝，是全词承上启下的关键。“夜帆风驶”写夜帆疾驶——“夜帆”写夜行之帆，“风驶”写乘风疾驶；“满湖烟水苍茫”写湖景苍茫——“满湖烟水”写满湖烟水，“苍茫”写其苍茫无际；“菰蒲零乱秋声咽”写秋声呜咽——“菰蒲零乱”写菰蒲零乱，“秋声咽”写秋声呜咽；“梦断酒醒时，倚危樯清绝”写倚樯清绝——“梦断酒醒”写梦醒酒醒，“倚危樯清绝”写倚着高樯，清绝。八句写夜帆湖景：夜帆风驶，满湖烟水苍茫，菰蒲零乱、秋声呜咽；梦断酒醒，倚樯清绝。以“秋声咽”写秋之悲，以“倚危樯清绝”写其孤独，正是张元干以景写情、承上启下的笔法——清绝之夜，正是忧国之夜。

These phrases write the night-sail lake scene and leaning at the mast in pure cold, the key bridge of the ci. 'At night the sail speeds in the wind' writes the night canvas driving — 'night sail' the canvas under way, 'speeds in the wind' racing before it. 'All the lake is mist and waters vast' writes the lake's haze — 'all the lake mist' the veiled water, 'vast' its boundlessness. 'Wild rice and reeds are tangled, autumn sounds sobbing' writes the autumn cry choking — 'tangled wild rice and reeds' the disordered plants, 'autumn sounds sobbing' the weeping air. 'When the dream breaks and wine clears, I lean on the tall mast, pure to the bone' writes the mast's pure cold — 'dream breaks, wine clears' waking from dream and drink, 'lean on the tall mast, pure to the bone' the sharp chill. Eight phrases: night sail speeding, the whole lake vast in mist, tangled rice and reeds with sobbing autumn; dream broken and wine clear, leaning at the mast in pure cold. 'Autumn sounds sobbing' writes autumn grief; 'lean on the tall mast, pure to the bone' his solitude; this is precisely Zhang's bridge of writing feeling through scenery — the pure-cold night is the night of anxious love for the country.

心折，长庚光怒，群盗纵横，逆胡猖獗。欲挽天河，一洗中原膏血。

Heart broken. The Evening Star glows angry; bandits spread across the land, the barbarian rebels run wild. I would draw the River of Heaven to wash clean the blood of the Central Plain.

心中摧折。长庚星怒，群盗纵横，逆胡猖獗。想挽天河之水，一洗中原的膏血。

My heart is broken. The planet Venus glows angry; rebel bands spread everywhere, the barbarian hounds run riot. I would draw the Silver River to wash away the blood of the Central Plain.

下片起写国事之悲，是全词情感的爆发。“心折，长庚光怒”写心折星怒——“心折”写心中摧折，“长庚光怒”写长庚（太白）光怒，以为兵象；“群盗纵横，逆胡猖獗”写国难——“群盗纵横”写内忧之盗纵横，“逆胡猖獗”写外患之胡猖獗；“欲挽天河，一洗中原膏血”写洗雪之愿——“欲挽天河”用杜甫“安得壮士挽天河”句意，“一洗中原膏血”写洗尽中原之血。六句写国事之悲：心折而长庚光怒，群盗纵横、逆胡猖獗；欲挽天河，一洗中原膏血。以“群盗纵横，逆胡猖獗”写国难之重，以“欲挽天河，一洗中原膏血”写洗雪之愿，正是张元干爱国词的壮语——挽天河以洗中原，气象宏大。

The lower stanza opens with grief for the state, the explosion of the ci's feeling. 'Heart broken. The Evening Star glows angry' writes the broken heart and raging star — 'heart broken' the heart torn, 'Evening Star glows angry' Venus, a portent of war. 'Bandits spread across the land, the barbarian rebels run wild' writes the national calamity — 'bandits spread' the internal rebels, 'barbarians run wild' the external foe. 'I would draw the River of Heaven to wash clean the blood of the Central Plain' writes the wish for vengeance — 'draw the River of Heaven' adapts Du Fu's 'could a strong man draw the River of Heaven,' 'wash clean the blood of the Central Plain' to purge the land's blood. Six phrases: heart broken while Venus glows angry, bandits spread and barbarians run wild; would draw the River of Heaven to wash the Central Plain clean. 'Bandits spread, barbarians run wild' writes the weight of national disaster; 'would draw the River of Heaven to wash the blood' the wish for vengeance; this is precisely the bold language of Zhang Yuangan's patriotic ci — draw the celestial river to cleanse the Central Plain, the bearing vast.

两宫何处，塞垣只隔长江，唾壶空击悲歌缺。万里想龙沙，泣孤臣吴越。

Where are the Two Emperors? The frontier wall is cut off only by the Long River. In vain I strike the spittoon till the sad song's rim is chipped. Ten thousand li I think of Dragon Sands; a lone official weeps in Wuyue.

两宫（徽钦二帝）在何处？塞垣只隔着长江。唾壶空击，悲歌缺。万里遥想龙沙，孤臣在吴越哭泣。

Where are the Two Courts? The frontier is cut off by nothing but the Long River. In vain I strike the spittoon, till the sad song chips its rim. Ten thousand li I think of Dragon Sands; a lone servant weeps in Wuyue.

末段写两宫之思与孤臣之泣，是全词的归结。“两宫何处”写两宫被掳——“两宫”指被金人掳去的徽钦二帝，“何处”写其不知所在；“塞垣只隔长江”写国门之近——“塞垣只隔长江”写边塞只隔着长江，形势危急；“唾壶空击悲歌缺”写悲歌之愤——“唾壶空击”用王敦击唾壶之典，“悲歌缺”写悲歌而壶缺——悲愤难抑，空击唾壶；“万里想龙沙，泣孤臣吴越”写孤臣之泣——“万里想龙沙”写万里遥想二帝所在之龙沙，“泣孤臣吴越”写孤臣在吴越哭泣。六句写两宫之思与孤臣之泣：两宫何在，塞垣只隔长江；空击唾壶，悲歌而缺；万里想龙沙，孤臣泣于吴越。以“两宫何处”写国耻之深，以“唾壶空击”写悲愤之烈，以“泣孤臣吴越”写孤臣之悲，正是张元干爱国词悲壮沉郁的归结。

The closing writes longing for the Two Courts and the lone official's tears, the conclusion of the ci. 'Where are the Two Emperors?' writes the Two Courts taken captive — 'Two Courts' refers to Huizong and Qinzong carried off by the Jin, 'where' their unknown place. 'The frontier wall is cut off only by the Long River' writes the nearness of the national gate — the border separated only by the Yangtze, the situation perilous. 'In vain I strike the spittoon till the sad song's rim is chipped' writes the indignation of the sad song — 'strike the spittoon in vain' uses Wang Dun's allusion of striking the spittoon while chanting, 'sad song's rim chipped' the vessel chipped by blows; grief and indignation beyond control, beating the spittoon to no purpose. 'Ten thousand li I think of Dragon Sands; a lone official weeps in Wuyue' writes the lone vassal's tears — 'ten thousand li I think of Dragon Sands' thinking from afar of the northern wastes where the Two Emperors dwell, 'a lone official weeps in Wuyue' the solitary servant weeping in the south. Six phrases: where are the Two Courts, the border cut only by the Long River; in vain striking the spittoon, the sad song chipping its rim; ten thousand li thinking of Dragon Sands, a lone vassal weeping in Wuyue. 'Where are the Two Courts' writes the depth of national shame; 'striking the spittoon in vain' the fierceness of grief; 'a lone official weeps in Wuyue' the vassal's sorrow; this is precisely the somber, tragic conclusion of Zhang Yuangan's patriotic ci.

Study

Word focus

秋声咽 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “菰蒲零乱秋声咽”之“秋声咽”，写秋声呜咽，是全词写秋之悲的关键词。“秋声”写秋之声，“咽”写呜咽——菰蒲零乱，秋声呜咽。这一词写秋声之悲：不是清朗之秋声，而是呜咽；不是寻常之秋景，而是悲秋。以“秋声咽”写秋之悲，正是张元干以景写情、为下片国事之悲张本的笔法。

心折 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “心折”之“心折”，写心中摧折，是全词由写景转入写国事的关键词。“心”写心志，“折”写摧折——由秋景而及国事，心中摧折。这一词写其心之痛：不是寻常之忧，而是心折；不是浅淡之感，而是深切之痛。以“心折”写忧国之痛，正是张元干爱国词情感的爆发点——秋景入目，国事萦心。

天河 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “欲挽天河”之“天河”，用杜甫“安得壮士挽天河”句意，写挽天河以洗中原，是全词写洗雪之愿的关键词。“天河”写天上之河——欲挽天河之水，一洗中原之膏血。这一词写洗雪之愿的宏大：不是小规模的雪耻，而是挽天河以洗之；不是寻常之愿望，而是悲壮之宏愿。以“挽天河”写洗雪中原，正是张元干爱国词气象宏大的壮语。

唾壶空击 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “唾壶空击悲歌缺”之“唾壶空击”，用王敦击唾壶之典，写悲歌之愤，是全词写悲愤的关键词。“唾壶”写承唾之壶，“空击”写空自击之——悲歌咏志，空击唾壶至于缺口。这一词写悲愤之烈：不是无声之悲，而是击壶而歌；不是能伸之愤，而是空击之悲。以“唾壶空击”写悲愤无由，正是张元干爱国词写悲愤的笔法——壮志难酬，空击唾壶。