All poems

宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

鹧鸪天·鹅湖归病起作

Partridge in the Sky: Written on Returning Ill from the Goose Lake

辛弃疾

Xin Qiji

愁思sorrow 山水Landscape

枕簟溪堂冷欲秋。
断云依水晚来收。
红莲相倚浑如醉,白鸟无言定自愁。
书咄咄,且休休。
一丘一壑也风流。
不知筋力衰多少,但觉新来懒上楼。

The pillow and the mat, the brook hall, the cold, about to, the autumn.
The broken clouds, by the water, the evening, coming, gathered.
The red lotuses, leaning each other, all, as if, drunken,
The white birds, without the words, certainly, from themselves, the sorrow.
Writing, the tut tut, and, the rest, the rest.
One hill, one valley, also, the elegant.
Not knowing, the sinews and the strength, decayed, how much,
But, feeling, the new, lately, lazy, ascending, the tower.
Listen

Meaning

A lyric of the illness and the age, written by Xin Qiji. The pillow and the mat of the brook hall cold about to the autumn, the broken clouds by the water gathered in the evening, and the red lotuses leaning each other as if drunken with the white birds without the words — the scene of the illness. Writing the tut tut and the rest the rest, one hill one valley also the elegant — the resignation of the poet. And the close's not knowing the sinews and the strength decayed how much, but feeling the lazy ascending the tower — the age of the close. The lyric is the illness and the age: the brook hall, the resignation, and the close's lazy ascending the tower.

溪边的堂屋里,枕席已觉清冷,仿佛秋意将至;傍晚时分,断云依着水面渐渐收拢。池中红莲两两相倚,仿佛醉了;白鸟默默无言,料想它定在自愁。我且像殷浩那样书空「咄咄」,又像司空图那样「休休」自遣——这一丘一壑的山居,也算风流自在。只是不知筋力衰减了多少,只觉得近来连上楼都懒得上了。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The pillow and the mat, the brook hall, the cold, about to, the autumn. The broken clouds, by the water, the evening, coming, gathered. The red lotons, leaning each other, all, as if, drunken, the white birds, without the words, certainly, from themselves, the sorrow. Writing, the tut tut, and, the rest, the rest. One hill, one valley, also, the elegant. Not knowing, the sinews and the strength, decayed, how much, but, feeling, the new, lately, lazy, ascending, the tower. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the cold of the brook hall and the scene of the lotuses, through the resignation of the tut tut and the rest, to the close's not knowing the strength decayed, the lazy ascending the tower. [Key Technique] The lyric's art is the close of the age: the not knowing the strength decayed, and the close's lazy ascending the tower — the age gathered in the not knowing and the close's laziness. [Emotional Tone] Resigned, sorrowful, and aged: the lyric is the illness, the resignation and the close's lazy tower.

【白话串讲】 辛弃疾从鹅湖回来,病中写鹧鸪天:“枕簟溪堂冷欲秋。断云依水晚来收”。“红莲相倚浑如醉,白鸟无言定自愁”——“不知筋力衰多少,但觉新来懒上楼”——他叹自己老了。 【意象与手法】 上阕写景:枕簟之冷、断云之收、红莲之醉、白鸟之愁,四组意象由室内到室外、由静到动,皆带病起之人的主观色彩——景物之「冷」「愁」正是心境的投影。下阕用典抒怀:「书咄咄」「且休休」连用《世说新语》殷浩与司空图二典,写愤懑与自嘲;结以「懒上楼」的生理细节,将壮志消磨写得具体可感。 【情感与主旨】 此词作于辛弃疾被弹劾罢官、闲居江西上饶带湖期间,写病起后的衰颓心境。词人由身体之衰(筋力衰、懒上楼)见壮志之消(万里平戎之志无从施展),于自嘲自解中深藏悲愤,是辛词「豪放而沉郁」的又一典型。 【名句点睛】 「不知筋力衰多少,但觉新来懒上楼」以病体细节写英雄迟暮,不着一「愤」字而悲凉自见,俞陛云谓其「写病起之况,情真语挚」,遂为辛词名句。

Background

Xin Qiji (1140–1207), the great patriotic poet of the Song, wrote this 'Partridge in the Sky: Written on Returning Ill from the Goose Lake' of the illness and the age — the resignation of the old. The cold of the brook hall with the drunken lotuses, the tut tut with the rest the rest, and the close's not knowing the strength decayed, the lazy ascending the tower — the lyric gathers the resignation of the old poet, the sorrow of the age. The lyric is one of the famous works of the poet's lyrics of the age.

辛弃疾(1140—1207),字幼安,号稼轩,南宋著名爱国词人。此词题为「鹅湖归病起作」,作于辛弃疾闲居江西上饶带湖时期。淳熙八年(1181),辛弃疾被言官以「用钱如泥沙,杀人如草芥」等罪名弹劾罢官,退居上饶带湖,此后长期赋闲;鹅湖在铅山县(今江西铅山),南宋时是著名的理学与文人聚会之地(朱熹、陆九渊曾会讲于鹅湖寺),辛弃疾晚年亦卜居铅山瓢泉,与鹅湖关系密切。此词当写于辛弃疾游鹅湖归来、病后初愈之时:上饶夏秋之际,溪堂小憩,枕簟生凉,词人于病起闲居中感时伤怀,遂成此作。词中「书咄咄」用殷浩被废后终日书空「咄咄怪事」之典,「且休休」用司空图晚年隐居王官谷筑「休休亭」自号「耐辱居士」之典,皆写罢官闲居的愤懑与自解;「一丘一壑」语出《汉书·叙传》班固自述「渔钓于一壑,则万物不奸其志;栖迟于一丘,则天下不易其乐」,是文人以山水自遣的常用语。辛弃疾以「归正人」身份南渡,一生志在恢复中原,却报国无门、屡遭排挤,此词正是其闲居岁月中心灵状态的忠实记录——身在山林而心系九州,愈是自嘲自解,愈见悲愤之深。

Art

The lyric's art is the art of the age. The scene opens: the pillow and the mat, the brook hall, the cold, about to, the autumn — the cold of the brook hall; the broken clouds, by the water, the evening, coming, gathered — the gathered clouds; the red lotuses, leaning each other, all, as if, drunken — the drunken lotuses; the white birds, without the words, certainly, from themselves, the sorrow — the sorrow of the white birds. The resignation follows: writing, the tut tut, and, the rest, the rest — the resignation of the tut tut; one hill, one valley, also, the elegant — the elegant of the hill and the valley. And the close gathers the age: not knowing, the sinews and the strength, decayed, how much — the strength decayed not known; but, feeling, the new, lately, lazy, ascending, the tower — the lazy ascending the tower — the scene, the resignation and the close's age, gathered in the lyric.

此词章法为「上景下情」的典型,而妙在景物皆带病者心影、情语皆藏英雄悲愤。上阕四句写溪堂晚景,句句是「病起」的眼光:「枕簟溪堂冷欲秋」由体感写起——枕席生凉,一个「冷」字兼写节气与病体,秋意未至而体感先秋,生理的敏感正是病余之征;「断云依水晚来收」写天际景象,断云依水、傍晚渐收,云之聚散本属自然,而「收」字带出时间将尽的苍茫;「红莲相倚浑如醉」写池中红莲,两两相倚、艳如醉态,「醉」字以拟人写花之慵懒,实为词人自况——病起之人如醉未醒;「白鸟无言定自愁」写白鸟默立,似有愁怀,以「无言」写愁之深,花鸟皆愁,正是「以我观物,故物皆著我之色彩」的注脚。下阕转写情怀:「书咄咄,且休休」连用两典,短句顿挫,写愤懑之后自劝自解;「一丘一壑也风流」宕开一笔,以山水自遣,故作旷达;末二句「不知筋力衰多少,但觉新来懒上楼」陡然一转,以最具体的生理细节收束——「懒上楼」三字,写尽英雄迟暮:不是不愿登高,而是力不从心。全词由景入情、由物及身,层层收拢到「衰」字上,豪放中见沉郁,是辛词「肝肠似火,色貌如花」的典型体现。

Allusions

'The broken clouds' (duan yun) are the broken clouds — the clouds of the broken, gathered by the water; 'the red lotuses' (hong lian) are the red lotuses — the lotuses of the red, leaning each other; 'the tut tut' (du du) is the tut tut — the writing of the tut tut, the resignation; 'one hill, one valley' (yi qiu yi he) are one hill, one valley — the hill and the valley of the hermit, the elegant.

此词用典密集而贴切,最见辛弃疾「以文为词」的本领。「书咄咄」用《世说新语·黜免》之典:殷浩被废为庶人后,终日以手指在空中书写「咄咄怪事」四字,以泄胸中不平——辛弃疾罢官闲居,与殷浩同有「被废」之痛,故书空自遣;「且休休」用《旧唐书·隐逸传》司空图之典:司空图晚年隐居王官谷,筑亭名「休休」,自号「耐辱居士」,谓「休,美也,既休而美具」,以退隐为乐——辛弃疾「且休休」,是自劝:罢官也罢,且休养身心。两典一愤一旷,正见词人矛盾的心理:既如殷浩之不平,又效司空图之自解,愤与旷交织,正是英雄失路的常态。「一丘一壑」语出班固《汉书·叙传》「渔钓于一壑,则万物不奸其志;栖迟于一丘,则天下不易其乐」,本是自述守道自乐之志,辛弃疾用以自嘲自慰——既然不能「了却君王天下事」,且寄情一丘一壑。「红莲相倚浑如醉」的「醉」字,暗合词人闲居时借酒自遣的生活;「白鸟无言」则令人想起辛弃疾《水调歌头·盟鸥》「凡我同盟鸥鹭,今日既盟之后,来往莫相猜」——与鸥鹭结盟、以禽鸟为友,本是稼轩闲居词的一大特色,此处白鸟无言,正是「盟鸥」意象的延续。全词用典如盐入水,无一句隔涩,正体现辛词「熔铸经史、驱使庄骚」的大家本色。

Commentary

This lyric is one of the famous works of Xin Qiji's lyrics of the age, quoted for the resignation of its middle and the age of its close. The drunken lotuses, and the lazy ascending the tower, are among the admired passages of the poet's lyrics. Critics praise the lyric's resignation: the age gathered in the tut tut, to the close's lazy tower.

此词是辛弃疾闲居词中「沉郁顿挫」的代表作,历代评家多赏其「景中寓情、情真语挚」。上阕写景之妙,在于以病者的眼光摄取「冷」「收」「醉」「愁」四态,将秋意、暮色、花容、鸟态一网打尽,而无一景不著词人心影——清人陈廷焯《白雨斋词话》评辛词「沉郁苍凉,跳跃动荡」,此词正是「沉郁」一格的标本:景物愈是明丽(红莲如醉),愈衬出心情的沉重。下阕用典之妙,在于以古人自况而不露痕迹:殷浩、司空图、班固三典连用,皆是文人失意后的自处之道,词人拈来即用,既写出罢官闲居的真实处境,又显出以文史自娱的文人本色。结句「不知筋力衰多少,但觉新来懒上楼」最受推重:俞陛云《唐五代两宋词选释》谓其「写病起之况,情真语挚」,缪钺亦常引此句论辛词「于豪放中见沉郁」;「懒上楼」三字以最平凡的生理细节,写尽一位曾「壮岁旌旗拥万夫」的英雄的暮年衰颓,其悲不在痛哭而在沉默,愈淡愈悲。此词与辛弃疾《破阵子·为陈同甫赋壮词以寄之》《水龙吟·登建康赏心亭》等壮词并读,可见其词风的两极:壮则金戈铁马、气吞万里,悲则红莲白鸟、懒上高楼;而这「懒」字的背后,恰是「气吞万里」不得施展的深哀,是以闲淡之笔写慷慨之怀的典范。

Prosody

Form A short ci lyric of the age (ci diao)词(双调五十五字,《鹧鸪天》)
Rhyme The lyric rhymes on the level and the oblique of the group — the cadence of the short ci that carries the resigned sorrow.全词押平声「尤」韵:秋、收、愁、休、流、楼为韵脚,一韵到底,韵脚疏朗圆转,声调平缓悠长,正合《鹧鸪天》以平韵为主的体式。
Tone pattern The cadence is that of the age: the level opening with the scene, the turning with the resignation, and the close's fall with the lazy ascending the tower.《鹧鸪天》上阕四句七言、下阕五句(含两个三字句),句式整饬中见参差;三字句「书咄咄,且休休」顿挫有力,与七言句的舒徐形成节奏对比,声情由舒缓转急促、再转舒徐,正合情感由景入情的转折。
Reading note The lyric's sound matches its resignation: the cadences of the short ci, and the close — 'dan jue xin lai lan shang lou' — falls with the tower, the sound of the lazy of the old poet.《鹧鸪天》为双调小令,五十五字,上阕四句、下阕五句,上下阕各三平韵,一韵到底;句式上以七言为主,下阕起拍用两个三字句(书咄咄,且休休),是此调最显著的节奏特征——七言的舒展与三言的顿挫相间,正合词中「豪放」一脉以短句蓄势、以长句抒怀的需要。辛弃疾此词严守《鹧鸪天》格律:上阕「枕簟溪堂冷欲秋」等四句皆七言,平仄大体合律(如「枕簟溪堂冷欲秋」为仄仄平平仄仄平,末字「秋」平声入韵),下阕「书咄咄,且休休」两个三字句节奏铿锵,「一丘一壑也风流」七言再舒,末句「不知筋力衰多少,但觉新来懒上楼」七言长收,全词音律在「七—七—三—三—七」的错落中起伏,正与情感的「景—情—愤—旷—衰」的层层递进相应。用韵上,全押「尤」韵(秋、收、愁、休、流、楼),韵部字音圆转而略带幽咽,宜于抒写沉郁之情;辛弃疾以「懒上楼」的「楼」字收束全韵,韵脚与词意同归于「楼」,音义双关,可见其「以律就情」的用心。作为稼轩闲居期的名作,此词格律工稳而不见雕琢,正体现辛词「大声鞺鞳、小声铿鍧」(刘克庄评)之外以淡语出之的另一面。

Line by line

枕簟溪堂冷欲秋。

In the stream-side hall the pillow mat is chill, almost autumn.

溪边堂屋中,枕席已觉清冷,秋意仿佛将至。

In the hall beside the stream, pillow and mat already feel cold; autumn seems near.

起句由体感写起,是全词「病起」心境的定调。「枕簟」是枕席,溪堂是临溪的堂屋,起笔即勾勒出一个病后小憩的场景;「冷欲秋」三字最妙——不是「已秋」,而是「欲秋」:秋意尚未真正到来,而枕席先已生冷,这是病体对节候的过分敏感,也是词人对时序将晚的预感。「冷」字兼写三义:体感之凉(病后畏寒)、节气之变(夏秋之交)、心境之冷(罢官闲居的萧索)。病起之人,方觉天地先冷;英雄闲置,便觉岁月如秋。一句七个字,写尽身与心的双重「秋意」,为全词奠定了清冷苍凉的基调,也为后文「红莲」「白鸟」的景物蒙上了一层主观的冷色,全词的沉郁之气从这第一句起便已弥漫开来。

The opening starts from bodily feeling, fixing the mood of the ci's 'rising from sickness.' 'Pillow and mat' are the sleeping gear, 'stream-side hall' the chamber by the water; the first stroke sketches a scene of resting after illness. The words 'chill, almost autumn' are most exquisite — not 'already autumn' but 'almost autumn': autumn breath not truly arrived, yet the mat already turns cold; this is the sick body's over-sensitivity to the season, and the poet's foreboding of the season's lateness. The word 'chill' carries three senses: bodily cool (the sick fearing cold), the turn of season (between summer and autumn), the coldness of mood (the desolation of dismissal and retirement). One risen from sickness feels heaven and earth turn cold first; a hero set aside feels the years like autumn. Seven characters exhaust the double 'autumn' of body and heart, fixing the ci's cold, desolate keynote and laying a subjective cold tint over the later 'red lotuses' and 'white birds'; the ci's somber air spreads from this first line.

断云依水晚来收。

Broken clouds lean on the water; at evening they gather in.

傍晚时分,飘散的云朵依着水面渐渐收拢、散去。

At evening, the broken clouds along the water gradually gather and disperse.

次句写溪堂外的天空,由室内转室外、由体感转视觉。「断云」是离散的云片,「依水」写云与水相接、云影入水的景象,「晚来收」写傍晚云气渐收渐散的过程——「收」字用拟人,仿佛云自己知道日暮而收拢归去。此句的妙处在静中有动、闲中有意:断云聚散本是寻常天象,但在病起闲居的词人眼中,云之「收」恰似时光之收、年华之收——一日将尽,一年将秋,一生渐老。「断云」的「断」字亦非闲笔:云是断的、散的,正如词人离散的故旧、破碎的雄心。写景至此,虽无一字言愁,而愁已在云水之间;此句与「枕簟冷」的室内之冷相衔接,溪堂内外,皆是一片清冷苍茫的暮色,为下文花鸟的「醉」「愁」铺设了含愁的背景。

The second writes the sky beyond the stream hall, moving from room to out-of-doors, from bodily feeling to sight. 'Broken clouds' are scattered cloud fragments, 'lean on the water' writes cloud meeting water, cloud shadow entering the flood; 'at evening they gather in' writes the gradual drawing-in and dispersal of evening haze — the word 'gather' personifies, as if the clouds themselves know dusk and fold away. The line's genius is motion within stillness and meaning within leisure: broken clouds gathering and scattering is an ordinary sky, yet in the eyes of the sick, retired poet, the clouds' 'gathering' is like the gathering-in of time, of years — the day ending, the year turning autumn, the life growing old. The word 'broken' in 'broken clouds' is no idle brush: clouds are broken and scattered, like the poet's scattered old friends, his shattered ambition. Writing scenery thus, not one word of grief yet grief is already between cloud and water; this line links with the indoor 'pillow mat cold,' and within and without the stream hall is one cold, vast dusk, laying a grief-laden background for the later 'drunken' and 'sorrowful' birds and flowers.

红莲相倚浑如醉,白鸟无言定自愁。

The red lotuses, leaning each other, all, as if, drunken, the white birds, without the words, certainly, from themselves, the sorrow.

池中红莲两两相依,仿佛醉了;白鸟默默无语,料想它一定自有愁怀。

Red lotuses lean on one another, quite as if drunk; white birds stand silent, surely nursing their own grief.

此联是上阕的景物核心,以拟人写花鸟,而花鸟实为词人之自况。「红莲相倚浑如醉」写池中红莲:花瓣红艳,两两相倚,如醉后倚靠之态——「浑如醉」的「浑」字(简直、全然)把相似的程度推到极致,花的娇慵醉态扑面而来;「白鸟无言定自愁」写池畔白鸟:默然独立,仿佛满怀愁绪——「定」字以猜测的语气坐实鸟之愁,是典型的「以我观物」:词人心中自愁,故见白鸟亦愁。一红一白、一醉一愁、一倚一立,色彩与姿态都成对照,而「醉」「愁」二字正是全词情感的两个关键词——醉是借酒自遣的暂忘,愁是清醒难排的常怀。花鸟本无情,词人著以「醉」「愁」,遂使整个溪堂晚景都成为他心绪的镜像,王国维所谓「以我观物,故物皆著我之色彩」,此联是最佳注脚。

This couplet is the scenic core of the upper stanza, personifying flowers and birds that are really the poet's own image. 'Red lotuses lean on one another, quite as if drunk' writes the pond's red lotuses: petals crimson, leaning together like the reclining posture of drunkenness; the word 'quite' (simply, utterly) pushes the degree of likeness to the limit, the flowers' drowsy drunkenness pressing on the reader. 'White birds stand silent, surely nursing their own grief' writes the white birds by the pond: standing mute, as if full of sorrow; the word 'surely' confirms the birds' grief in a tone of conjecture, the typical 'viewing through my own self': the poet grieves in his heart, so the white birds grieve too. One red one white, one drunk one sorrowful, one leaning one standing — color and posture both set off; and the words 'drunk' and 'sorrowful' are the two key emotions of the ci: 'drunk' the temporary oblivion of drowning feeling in wine, 'sorrowful' the constant grief of waking and hard to dispel. Flowers and birds are originally unfeeling; the poet loads them with 'drunk' and 'sorrowful,' so that the whole stream-hall evening becomes a mirror of his mood. Wang Guowei's 'viewing things through my own self, so all things take my coloring' has no better footnote than this couplet.

书咄咄,且休休。

I write 'Amazing!' — and then, enough, enough.

我且像殷浩那样书写「咄咄怪事」以遣怀,又像司空图那样以「休休」自解自劝。

Like Yin Hao I write 'amazing!' in the air; like Sikong Tu I tell myself 'enough, enough.'

此句是下阕的起拍,由写景转入抒怀,连用两个典故,短句顿挫。「书咄咄」用《世说新语》殷浩被废后终日书空「咄咄怪事」之典,写胸中不平——辛弃疾罢官闲居,功业成空,其愤懑正与殷浩相类;「且休休」用司空图筑「休休亭」自遣之典,写自我劝解——既然天不假年、时不我与,不如休养身心。两个三字短句,一愤一旷,正见词人矛盾的心境:既不能忘情于功业(咄咄),又不得不自劝自解(休休)。「且」字尤妙:是「姑且」「暂且」之意,带着无可奈何的勉强——休休不是甘心的归宿,而是无奈的退守。词人的悲愤与自嘲,尽在这六个字的两重转折之间,也正是稼轩「欲说还休」式吞吐笔法的典型体现。

This line opens the lower stanza, turning from scenery to lyric, using two allusions in short, cadenced phrases. 'I write Amazing!' uses the allusion from A New Account of the Tales of the World of Yin Hao, after his dismissal, writing in the air all day 'amazing, strange things,' writing the injustice in his breast — Xin Qiji dismissed and retired, achievement turned to nothing, his indignation exactly like Yin Hao's. 'And then, enough, enough' uses Sikong Tu's building of the 'Enough Hall' to console himself, writing self-persuasion — since heaven grants no years and the times refuse him, better to rest body and mind. Two three-character phrases, one indignant one open, showing the poet's contradictory mood: unable to forget achievement ('amazing'), yet compelled to console himself ('enough'). The word 'then' is exquisite: 'for now,' 'temporarily,' carrying the reluctance of helplessness — 'enough' is not a willing refuge but a forced retreat. The poet's grief and self-mockery are all between the double turns of these six characters, precisely the typical 'wishing to speak yet holding back' cadence of Jiaxuan.

不知筋力衰多少,但觉新来懒上楼。

Not knowing, the sinews and the strength, decayed, how much, but, feeling, the new, lately, lazy, ascending, the tower.

不知道筋力衰减了多少,只觉得近来连登楼都懒得登了。

I know not how far my strength has failed; I only feel that lately I am too lazy to climb the tower.

结句是全词的落点,也是辛词写英雄迟暮最著名的句子之一。「不知筋力衰多少」以反诘语气写病后体衰,「不知」二字看似茫然,实为不堪细数——衰了多少,心中本有数,只是不敢、不愿去算;「但觉新来懒上楼」以最具体的生理细节作答:什么都不必说,近来连上楼都懒了。「懒上楼」三字是全词的点睛之笔:登楼本是辛弃疾的豪举——「把吴钩看了,栏杆拍遍」(《水龙吟·登建康赏心亭》)是登楼,「更能消几番风雨」是登楼,登楼望远是英雄抒怀的惯常姿态;如今连楼都懒得上了,不是意兴阑珊,而是筋力已衰、雄心已老。以「懒」写「衰」,以日常写悲壮,不言悲而悲已入骨——一位曾「壮岁旌旗拥万夫」的英雄,暮年竟衰颓至此,其间的苍凉,尽在「懒上楼」三字的沉默之中。

The closing is the landing of the ci and one of Xin's most famous lines on the hero's declining years. 'I know not how far my strength has failed' writes post-illness weakness in a tone of self-questioning; 'know not' seems blank yet is really unable to count — how far it has failed, the heart knows, only dares not and will not reckon. 'I only feel that lately I am too lazy to climb the tower' answers in the most concrete physical detail: nothing need be said, lately even climbing the tower is too much effort. The words 'lazy to climb the tower' are the illuminating stroke of the ci: climbing the tower was Xin's bold gesture — 'looking at the Wu hook, slapping the railing all round' (Water Dragon Chant, Climbing the Pleasant Pavilion at Jiankang) is climbing, 'how many more storms can it bear' is climbing, gazing from a height is the hero's habitual pose for voicing feeling; now he is too lazy even to climb, not that his zest is spent but that his strength has failed and his ambition grown old. Writing 'decline' through 'lazy,' writing the tragic through the everyday, not naming grief yet grief in the bone: a hero who in 'strong years led ten thousand troops under banners' has declined in old age to this; the desolation between is all in the silence of 'lazy to climb the tower.'

Study

Word focus

冷 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「枕簟溪堂冷欲秋」之「冷」字,是全词起拍的词眼,兼写体感、节气与心境。「冷」先是生理的:病后初愈,气血两亏,枕席触手生凉,一个「冷」字写尽病体的畏寒;其次是节气的:夏秋之交,暑气渐退,秋意初萌,「冷欲秋」以体感预告季节,比直写「秋来」更见敏感;再次是心理的:罢官闲居,壮志难酬,词人心中自有一片萧瑟,「冷」字将外界的凉意与内心的寒意打成一片。尤妙在与「欲秋」相连——秋尚未至而冷已先知,恰似病尚未愈而衰已先觉。辛弃疾以「冷」字起笔,使全词景物皆著冷色:断云之收、白鸟之愁、筋力之衰,皆从这一个「冷」字生发,一字立骨,全词苍凉,正见稼轩「于豪放中见沉郁」的本色。
收 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「断云依水晚来收」之「收」字,是写云气聚散最见神理的一笔。云本无意志,「收」字却赋予它主动的收敛——仿佛断云知道日暮将临,便依着水面渐渐收拢、归于无形。「收」字之妙有三:一是写景之准,傍晚云气渐收是实有的天象,「晚来收」三字点出时间与状态,画面由开阔转入敛静;二是传情之深,「收」与「断」相对——云本已断,又复收去,正像词人的壮志、故旧、年华,一件件离散收尽;三是结构之功,此「收」字与首句「冷」相承接,室内冷而室外收,天地同趋于静,为下文红莲之醉、白鸟之愁铺设了「万物归寂」的暮境。一个「收」字,写尽云影与时光的双重敛去,是炼字以虚写实的佳例,也见出稼轩于寻常景物中寄托身世之感的本领。
懒 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「但觉新来懒上楼」之「懒」字,是全词的结穴,也是辛弃疾写英雄迟暮最狠的一笔。「懒」本是惰态之词,而此处写尽悲壮:辛弃疾是登楼之人——「把吴钩看了,栏杆拍遍」是他,「举头西北浮云,倚天万里须长剑」是他,登楼望远、拍栏抒愤,是其一生抒怀的惯常姿态;如今「新来懒上楼」,不是意兴阑珊、不是清高自守,而是筋力已衰、雄心已冷,连登高远眺都无力亦无意了。「懒」字以最平凡的生理惰性,写出最沉重的精神衰竭:英雄的暮年不在痛哭,而在连哭都懒的沉默;「新来」二字更见其衰是近来的骤变,仿佛一病之后,人便老了。以一字写尽一生之转折,故能成为千古传诵的「英雄迟暮」名句,其分量之重,非深于稼轩者不能体会。

Related Reading

西江月·夜行黄沙道中 Moon over the West River · Walking on the Yellow Sand Path at Night 辛弃疾 · 同为辛弃疾闲居上饶写景之作,一写夏夜欢愉一写秋暮沉郁 Related reading

Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.

《西江月·夜行黄沙道中》「明月别枝惊鹊,清风半夜鸣蝉。稻花香里说丰年,听取蛙声一片」与《鹧鸪天·鹅湖归病起作》同为辛弃疾闲居上饶时期写景抒怀的名篇,而情调恰成对照:西江月写夏夜乡村,明月清风、稻香蛙声,是丰收在望的欣悦,词人身心皆融入田园;鹧鸪天写秋暮溪堂,枕簟冷、断云收、白鸟愁,是病起衰颓的沉郁,词人于景物中自照愁怀。同一位词人、同一片山水,一写田园之乐、一写英雄之悲,可见辛弃疾闲居生活的两面:既有「稻花香里说丰年」的乡土之爱,又有「懒上楼」的壮志难酬;而两词皆以自然景物写心境,正是稼轩「借景抒情」的一贯手法。

丑奴儿·书博山道中壁 Chou Nu'er: Inscribed on a Wall on the Road to Mount Bo 辛弃疾 · 同写闲居之愁,一以「说愁」自嘲一以「衰懒」自况 Related reading

Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.

《丑奴儿·书博山道中壁》「少年不识愁滋味,爱上层楼。爱上层楼,为赋新词强说愁。而今识尽愁滋味,欲说还休。欲说还休,却道天凉好个秋」与《鹧鸪天》同为辛弃疾闲居上饶时的名篇,且两词都写到「上楼」——丑奴儿以「爱上层楼」写少年,以「欲说还休,却道天凉好个秋」写如今;鹧鸪天以「但觉新来懒上楼」写病起之衰。两词对照,恰成一组「登楼」的隐喻序列:少年为赋词强登楼,如今识尽愁滋味却懒登楼;丑奴儿以「说愁」自嘲,鹧鸪天以「衰懒」自况,一放一收,皆以淡语写尽英雄失路的深愁,是辛词「沉郁顿挫」的两帧特写。

定风波·莫听穿林打叶声 Ding Feng Bo: Don't Listen to the Rain Beating Through the Forest 苏轼 · 同写困境自解,一旷达一沉郁 Related reading

Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.

苏轼《定风波·莫听穿林打叶声》「莫听穿林打叶声,何妨吟啸且徐行……回首向来萧瑟处,归去,也无风雨也无晴」与《鹧鸪天》同写人生困境中的自我开解,而态度判然有别:苏轼以「何妨」「也无风雨也无晴」的齐物之思化解风雨,是理悟后的旷达,困境不能扰其心;辛弃疾以「且休休」「一丘一壑也风流」自劝,却终以「懒上楼」收束,是压抑中的自嘲,困境深锁其怀。同为宋代士大夫的失意书写:东坡能「忘」,故风雨无碍;稼轩不能「忘」,故景物皆愁。两词并读,可见宋人面对贬谪闲居的两种精神路径——以禅理超越,或以悲愤沉潜,而稼轩的「懒上楼」,恰是后者最沉痛的表达。