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宋 Song · 文 Prose

醉翁亭记·版本三

The Record of the Pavilion of the Drunken Old Man, Version Three

欧阳修

Ouyang Xiu

名篇Theme 山水游记mountain / water 骈散结合Theme

若夫日出而林霏开,云归而岩穴暝,晦明变化者,山间之朝暮也。
野芳发而幽香,佳木秀而繁阴,风霜高洁,水落而石出者,山间之四时也。

As for, the sun, coming out, and the woods and the forests, the mist, opening,
The clouds, returning, and the rock caves, darkening,
The obscure and the bright, the changes,
The mornings and the evenings of the mountains.
The wild flowers, blooming, and the hidden, the fragrance,
The fine trees, elegant, and the dense, the shade,
The wind and the frost, the high and the pure,
The water, falling, and the stones, coming out,
The four seasons of the mountains.
Listen

Meaning

A record of the seasons of the mountains, written by Ouyang Xiu. The sun coming out with the mist opening, the clouds returning with the rock caves darkening, the obscure and the bright with the changes — the mornings and the evenings of the mountains. The wild flowers with the hidden fragrance, the fine trees with the dense shade, the wind and the frost with the high and the pure, and the water falling with the stones coming out — the four seasons of the mountains. The record is the seasons: the mornings and the evenings, and the close's four seasons.

要说那太阳升起,林间的雾气散开;云气聚拢,山谷就变得昏暗,这明暗交替变化的,是山间的清晨和傍晚。野花开放,散发出清幽的香气;好树秀美,形成浓密的绿荫;天高气爽,霜色洁白;水位下落,石头显露出来——这些,是山间的四季景象。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] As for, the sun, coming out, and the woods and the forests, the mist, opening, the clouds, returning, and the rock caves, darkening, the obscure and the bright, the changes, the mornings and the evenings of the mountains. The wild flowers, blooming, and the hidden, the fragrance, the fine trees, elegant, and the dense, the shade, the wind and the frost, the high and the pure, the water, falling, and the stones, coming out, the four seasons of the mountains. [Structure and Thought] The record moves from the mornings and the evenings of the obscure and the bright, through the four seasons of the flowers and the shade, the wind and the frost, the water and the stones, to the close's four seasons of the mountains. [Key Technique] The record's art is the close of the seasons: the mornings and the evenings of the opening, and the close's four seasons — the record gathered in the time and the close's seasons. [Emotional Tone] Clear, bright, and leisurely: the record is the mornings, the evenings and the close's four seasons.

【白话串讲】 欧阳修写《醉翁亭记》的四时之景:“日出而林霏开,云归而岩穴暝”——朝暮变化。“野芳发而幽香,佳木秀而繁阴,风霜高洁,水落而石出”——四时不同——“朝而往,暮而归,四时之景不同,而乐亦无穷也”——他写山水之乐。 【意象与手法】 此节选为《醉翁亭记》第二段,专写琅琊山朝暮四时的景色变化。上句写朝暮:「日出而林霏开」「云归而岩穴暝」,一明一暗、一开一暝,对仗工整;下句写四时:「野芳发而幽香,佳木秀而繁阴,风霜高洁,水落而石出」,春华、夏荫、秋高、冬显,四组景物递相转换。句式骈散相间,节奏舒徐,如山水画卷徐徐展开。 【情感与主旨】 以极富画意的笔触写尽山间朝暮四时之美,明写景而暗写情:唯有真正「在乎山水之间」的醉翁,才能如此细腻地捕捉山水的每一个时辰、每一个季节,字里行间是对滁州山水的深挚眷恋与自得其乐。 【名句点睛】 「水落而石出」一句写秋冬之景,形象鲜明,后世凝为成语「水落石出」,比喻真相大白,是此段流传最广的名句;「野芳发而幽香,佳木秀而繁阴」则把春之香、夏之荫写得如在目前。

Background

Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072), the great essayist of the Song, wrote this excerpt of 'The Record of the Pavilion of the Drunken Old Man' of the seasons of the mountains — the delight of the nature. The mornings and the evenings with the obscure and the bright, the four seasons with the flowers and the shade, the wind and the frost, the water and the stones — the excerpt gathers the delight of the nature, the seasons of the mountains. The excerpt is one of the famous passages of the poet's masterpiece.

《醉翁亭记》作于宋仁宗庆历五年(1045),是欧阳修被贬滁州知州任上的名篇。欧阳修(1007—1072),字永叔,号醉翁、六一居士,吉州永丰人,北宋文坛领袖,「唐宋八大家」之一。庆历三年,范仲淹推行「庆历新政」,欧阳修力挺新政、直言敢谏;新政失败后,范仲淹等相继被贬,欧阳修亦被构陷,贬知滁州。他在滁州任上并未颓唐自弃,而是宽简为政、与民同乐,常游琅琊山,与僧人智仙结为挚友,于山间筑亭,自号「醉翁」,作《醉翁亭记》以记之。此节选为文章第二段,专写山间朝暮四时之景,是全文「写景」的核心段落:前段(版本一、二所录)写环滁皆山、酿泉泻出、亭之得名与「醉翁之意不在酒,在乎山水之间也」的题旨;本段由亭及景,铺写山水四时之美;后段(版本四所录)写宴酣之乐、禽鸟之乐与太守之乐,层层递进,收束于「醉能同其乐,醒能述以文者,太守也」。全文以「乐」字为眼,景乐、宴乐、禽鸟之乐、百姓之乐层层推出太守之乐,是欧阳修「与民同乐」政治理想的艺术表达。

Art

The record's art is the art of the seasons. The mornings and the evenings open: as for, the sun, coming out, and the woods and the forests, the mist, opening — the mist of the sun; the clouds, returning, and the rock caves, darkening — the darkening of the rock caves; the obscure and the bright, the changes — the changes of the obscure and the bright; the mornings and the evenings of the mountains — the mornings and the evenings. The four seasons follow: the wild flowers, blooming, and the hidden, the fragrance — the hidden fragrance of the wild flowers; the fine trees, elegant, and the dense, the shade — the dense shade of the fine trees; the wind and the frost, the high and the pure — the wind and the frost; the water, falling, and the stones, coming out — the stones of the water falling. And the close gathers the seasons: the four seasons of the mountains — the four seasons of the close — the mornings and the evenings and the close's four seasons, gathered in the record.

此节选的文体属「记」体散文,其艺术最妙处在「骈散相间、以简驭繁」的句法经营。其一,对仗的工整:上句「日出而林霏开,云归而岩穴暝」,日出对云归、林霏对岩穴、开对暝,一明一暗、一开一合,写尽朝暮的阴阳流转;下句「野芳发而幽香,佳木秀而繁阴,风霜高洁,水落而石出」,四组景物两两相对,春对夏、秋对冬,写尽四时的代谢轮回。其二,句式的骈散相间:全段以「若夫」领起,如画家开卷;「……者,……也」的判断句式反复出现(「晦明变化者,山间之朝暮也」「……者,山间之四时也」),一骈一散、一景一理,节奏舒徐有致,正是宋代「记」体散文骈散相济的典范——既得骈文的整饬之美,又保有散文的自然之趣。其三,以简驭繁的取景:四时之景、朝暮之变,景物不可胜数,作者只各取一个最具特征的镜头——春取花(野芳发而幽香)、夏取木(佳木秀而繁阴)、秋取气与霜(风霜高洁)、冬取水与石(水落而石出),以少总多,四时之景尽收笔底,正是中国画「以一角写全山」的写意精神在散文中的运用。其四,动词的传神:「开」「暝」「发」「秀」「落」「出」六字,写尽景物在时间中的动态变化,山水的生命感扑面而来。

Allusions

'The mornings and the evenings of the mountains' (shan jian zhi chao mu) are the mornings and the evenings of the mountains — the changes of the day; 'the wild flowers' (ye fang) are the wild flowers — the flowers of the wild, the hidden fragrance; 'the fine trees' (jia mu) are the fine trees — the trees of the fine, the dense shade; 'the wind and the frost, the high and the pure' (feng shuang gao jie) are the wind and the frost, the high and the pure — the high and the pure of the autumn.

此节选的文化意蕴,深植于中国山水文学「以景写情、以物观我」的传统。其一是「朝暮四时」的观照方式:以朝暮、四时为框架写山水,始于六朝山水诗(谢灵运「昏旦变气候,山水含清晖」已开其端),至唐代柳宗元《小石潭记》「潭中鱼可百许头」以下,已善写景物的时间变化;欧阳修此段把朝暮与四时并置,两笔收尽琅琊山一年的光景,正是对六朝以来「四时山水」母题的集大成式提炼,其「晦明变化」四字尤见《周易》「一阴一阳之谓道」的变易观。其二是「风霜高洁」的秋之意象:秋在古典文学中多与悲愁相连(宋玉「悲哉秋之为气也」),而欧阳修写秋独取「高洁」——天高气爽、霜色洁白,一扫悲秋传统,见出其被贬而旷达自适的心境;这与他的《秋声赋》写秋之萧瑟恰成对照,一在滁州之乐、一在京师之悲,可见同一作家笔下「秋」的两种色调。其三是「水落石出」的意象:此语本为记实之景——秋冬水枯,溪石显露;后世凝为成语,比喻真相大白,由景物描写升华为哲理表达,是「景语即理语」的绝佳例证,与苏轼《赤壁赋》「山高月小,水落石出」的化用相映成趣。其四是「若夫」的开篇程式:此词本为转语之词,欧阳修用以领起写景段落,如画幅展开,其后「野芳发而幽香」四句,正合《文心雕龙》「写气图貌,既随物以宛转」的景物描写传统。

Commentary

This excerpt is one of the famous passages of Ouyang Xiu's masterpiece, quoted for the clearness of its seasons and the completeness of its close. The obscure and the bright of the mornings and the evenings, and the four seasons of the mountains, are among the admired passages of the essay. Critics praise the excerpt's clearness: the time gathered in the changes, to the close's four seasons.

此节选在文学史上的价值,首在其为「宋代游记写景」树立了范式。就文体言,欧阳修将六朝以来的山水散文由「模山范水」推进到「情景相融」,此段写景不作客观描摹,而是处处流着醉翁的目光与心境——「晦明变化」「风霜高洁」皆是带着情感的取景,为后段「太守之乐」张本,开宋代游记「景中有人」的先河,苏轼《记承天寺夜游》「庭下如积水空明」、张岱《湖心亭看雪》「天与云与山与水,上下一白」皆承此脉。就思想言,此段所写朝暮四时之美,是欧阳修「与民同乐」「自得其乐」心态的写照:贬谪滁州,不以迁谪为悲,反以山水为乐,这种「不以物喜,不以己悲」的旷达,与范仲淹《岳阳楼记》「先天下之忧而忧,后天下之乐而乐」并峙,共同构成宋代士大夫「穷达皆乐」的精神范式。就影响言,「水落石出」凝为成语、「醉翁之意不在酒」成为熟语,皆出自此文前后段落,足见其渗透汉语之深;此节选因写景的精美,历来是《醉翁亭记》中最受称道的段落之一,明清古文选本莫不收录,今更入选中学语文教材,与《岳阳楼记》《小石潭记》并列,成为中国人接触「山水游记」的启蒙名篇。

Prosody

Form A prose excerpt of the record宋代「记」体散文(骈散相间的写景段)
Rhyme The record moves on the cadence of the parallel prose — the rhythm of the four seasons that carries the clear delight.不押韵,而以句式的骈散相间构成声律:上句「日出而林霏开,云归而岩穴暝」两两相对,音节齐整如骈文;下句「野芳发而幽香,佳木秀而繁阴,风霜高洁,水落而石出」四组排比,音节错落有致;「……者,……也」的判断句式两次出现,如乐章的和声,收束全段。
Tone pattern The cadence is that of the record: the level opening with the mornings and the evenings, the turning with the four seasons, and the close's fall with the seasons of the mountains.全段以「若夫」的舒缓语气领起,如长卷徐展;写景句节奏明快,动词(开、暝、发、秀、落、出)在句中闪光,读来如观画中之景的流动;两处「……者,……也」的判断句收束,语气转为肯定与从容,如画幅落款,庄重而余味悠长。
Reading note The record's sound matches its clearness: the cadences of the parallel prose, and the close — 'shan jian zhi si shi ye' — falls with the four seasons, the sound of the seasons of the mountains.此节选的韵律之美,在于「骈散相间」的节奏经营:骈句给整饬,散句给自由,二者交替,正合山水流动、时间流转的内容。全段可分三层声部:第一层「若夫日出而林霏开,云归而岩穴暝」——两个七言对句,音节齐整如钟磬相和,「开」「暝」两个仄声动词收尾,一扬一抑,写出朝暮光影的转换;第二层「晦明变化者,山间之朝暮也」——转为散句,「……者,……也」的判断句式使语气放缓,如乐曲的过门,把前两句的对仗之美收拢为理性的概括;第三层「野芳发而幽香,佳木秀而繁阴,风霜高洁,水落而石出」——四组景物,字数由七言、七言、四言到四言,音节由绵长渐趋短促,如四季在句中次第流转,春之舒缓、夏之丰茂、秋之高旷、冬之清峻,声情与物候完全同步;末以「者,山间之四时也」收束,与第二层遥相呼应,形成「对仗—散句—排比—散句」的完整回环。全段诵读时,宜缓不宜急,宜静不宜躁,如与醉翁同坐亭中,看朝暮四时在眼前流转——这种「以句式的骈散写景物的流转」的节奏艺术,正是欧阳修古文「纡徐委备」风格(苏洵语)的典型体现,也是宋代散文区别于汉唐骈文的声学标志。

Line by line

若夫日出而林霏开,云归而岩穴暝,晦明变化者,山间之朝暮也。

As for, the sun, coming out, and the woods and the forests, the mist, opening, the clouds, returning, and the rock caves, darkening, the obscure and the bright, the changes, the mornings and the evenings of the mountains.

要说那太阳升起,林间的雾气散开;云气聚拢,山谷就变得昏暗,这明暗交替变化的,是山间的清晨和傍晚。上句以对仗写朝暮,一开一暝,一明一暗。

When the sun rises, the forest mists disperse; when clouds gather back, the rocky caves grow dark. These changes of darkness and light are the mountain dawns and dusks.

「上句以『若夫』领起,如画家徐徐展开画卷,专写山间朝暮的变化。『日出而林霏开』写朝:太阳升起,林间的雾气(霏)渐渐散开,一个『开』字写雾散之缓慢舒展,如轻纱揭去,山色渐明;『云归而岩穴暝』写暮:云气聚拢归山,岩穴为之昏暗,一个『暝』字写天色渐沉,如夜幕四合。两句对仗精工:日出对云归(天象)、林霏对岩穴(山林)、开对暝(明暗),朝暮的两种光景在工整的对仗中互相映衬,而『开』『暝』两个动词一阳一阴,正写出山中光线由明转暗、由暗转明的流转。『晦明变化者,山间之朝暮也』以判断句收束,把具体的光影变化归拢为『晦明变化』四字——晦者暝也,明者开也,朝暮的实质正是阴阳晦明的交替,这四字既是对前两句的概括,又暗含《周易》『一阴一阳之谓道』的变易之理。值得注意的是,作者写朝暮不写人的活动,纯以山林云气着色,让景物自己在时间中流转,这正是『在乎山水之间』的醉翁视角:唯有静观山水之人,才能捕捉到林霏开、岩穴暝这样细微的时辰变化。」

Opened by the transitional as for, the line unrolls like a painter scroll to depict the mountain alternations of dawn and dusk. The sun rises, and the forest mists disperse is dawn: as light climbs, the vapors slowly part, and the word disperse gives their gradual unrolling like a gauze lifted from the hills. Clouds gather back, and the rocky caves grow dark is dusk: as cloud returns to the peaks, the grottoes dim, and grow dark traces the sinking of light like the closing of curtains. The two lines are a crafted parallel - sunrise against cloud-return, forest mist against rocky caves, disperse against darken - the two times of day setting each other off, and the two verbs, one bright, one somber, trace the turning of light. The closing judgment folds these concrete changes into changes of darkness and light: dusk is the darkening, dawn the opening, and the essence of morning and evening is just this alternation of yin and yang, echoing the Classic of Changes that a yin and a yang are what is called the Way. Notably, the author writes dawn and dusk without any human activity, coloring the scene only through forest mist and cloud, letting the landscape turn in time by itself - precisely the Drunken Old Man gaze, which cares for the hills and waters: only one who watches them in stillness can catch such minute changes of the hour.

野芳发而幽香,佳木秀而繁阴,风霜高洁,水落而石出者,山间之四时也。

The wild flowers, blooming, and the hidden, the fragrance, the fine trees, elegant, and the dense, the shade, the wind and the frost, the high and the pure, the water, falling, and the stones, coming out, the four seasons of the mountains.

野花开放,散发出清幽的香气;好树秀美,形成浓密的绿荫;天高气爽,霜色洁白;水位下落,石头显露出来——这些,是山间的四季景象。下句以四组景物写春夏秋冬。

Wild flowers open with faint fragrance; fine trees flourish in dense shade; wind and frost are clear and bright; waters sink and rocks emerge. These are the mountain four seasons.

「下句以四组景物写尽四季,每季只取一个最典型的镜头,以少总多。春曰『野芳发而幽香』:野花开放,幽香四溢,『发』写花开之盛,『幽香』写香之清远,春的生机尽在花与香中;夏曰『佳木秀而繁阴』:好树枝叶秀美,浓荫繁密,『秀』写木之拔萃,『繁阴』写荫之浓绿,夏的浓烈尽在木与荫中;秋曰『风霜高洁』:天高气爽,霜色洁白,不写落叶萧瑟而独取『高洁』,一扫宋玉以来悲秋的哀音,见出醉翁秋日的旷达心境;冬曰『水落而石出』:水位下落,石头显露,四字形象鲜明,是四季写景中流传最广的句子——由水之落见石之出,写出冬的清旷,后世更凝为成语,以喻真相大白。四组景物,春取花、夏取木、秋取气、冬取水石,两两相对(芳发对木秀、风霜对水石),构成工整的季节排比;末以『山间之四时也』的判断句收束,与上句『山间之朝暮也』遥相呼应。此段之妙,在于把无穷的四时景物收进四组对仗之中,如四帧山水小景次第展开,正是中国画『写意』精神的文字呈现,也暗含着醉翁对滁州山水一年四季的深挚眷恋。」

Four sets of scenery render the four seasons, taking one typical image per season to sum the many. Spring: wild flowers open with faint fragrance - open gives the bloom fullness, faint fragrance its distant scent, and spring life lies in flower and scent. Summer: fine trees flourish in dense shade - flourish marks the trees vigor, dense shade the deep green canopy, and summer richness lies in wood and shade. Autumn: wind and frost are clear and bright - instead of the usual mournful falling leaves, only clear and bright is chosen, sweeping away the sorrowing autumn tradition since Song Yu and revealing the Drunken Old Man open-hearted mood. Winter: waters sink and rocks emerge - four vivid words, the most widely loved line in the seasonal passage; the falling water laying bare the rocks renders winter clarity, and the phrase later became an idiom for the truth laid bare. Four sets of images, flower in spring, wood in summer, air in autumn, water and rock in winter, pair against each other in a crafted seasonal parallel; the closing judgment echoes the mountain dawns and dusks above. The beauty lies in folding the infinite scenery of the seasons into four parallel couplets, like four small landscape paintings unfolding in turn - a literary realization of Chinese painting sketching ideas, and the sign of the Drunken Old Man deep affection for the hills and streams of Chuzhou through the whole year.

Study

Word focus

霏 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「『林霏开』之『霏』,是全段最见炼字功夫的字眼。『霏』本指雨雪纷飞之貌(《说文》:「霏,雨雪貌」),引申为云气、雾气(《广韵》:「霏,云气貌」),此处『林霏』即林间的雾气。此字之妙有三:其一,以动态写雾——『霏』字本身含着飘飞之意,林间雾气不是静态的烟霭,而是如雨雪般浮游飞动的轻纱,一个『霏』字使雾气有了生命的动感;其二,与『开』字配合——『林霏开』写日出雾散,雾之飘飞与消散的动态过程,正被『霏』『开』二字一虚一实地写出,如镜头缓缓推近,雾气在阳光下丝丝缕缕地退去;其三,音韵的清亮——『霏』为微部韵,读来轻扬绵长,与『开』的开口音相接,音节清越,正合清晨雾气初散的明亮光景。后世诗文写林雾多用『霏』(谢灵运『林霏敛暝色』、陆游『山气日夕佳,飞鸟相与还』之类),而欧阳修『林霏开』以一字点活整幅晨景,遂成写雾的经典句式,明人钟惺评《醉翁亭记》称其『字字有画意』,此『霏』字正是画意最浓处。」
暝 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「『岩穴暝』之『暝』,训昏暗(《说文》:「暝,翳也」,义为日暮昏暗),是全段与『开』相对的光影关键词。此字之妙有三:其一,以一字写暮色——『暝』不只写天黑,更写山中特有的『岩穴暝』:山谷岩穴本是幽深之处,云气聚拢,暮色自谷中升起,光线由明入暗,一个『暝』字写出暮色从山坳岩穴间漫溢而上的层次感,与平原旷野的『日暮』截然不同;其二,与『云归』配合——『云归』写云气聚拢归山,『岩穴暝』写暮色笼罩山谷,一写云的归、一写光的暝,云归而暝生,因果相生,正是山中暮景的独特逻辑:不是日落而暝,而是云合而暝;其三,与『开』字对举——『开』写雾散光明,『暝』写云合光暗,一开一暝,恰是朝暮两端的阴阳流转,也暗合《周易》『阖户谓之坤,辟户谓之乾』的开合意象。后世以『暝』写暮色者多矣(王维『山暝听猿愁』、李白『暝色入高楼』),而欧阳修置于『岩穴』之间,写尽琅琊山暮色的幽深,最见其体物之细。」
水落石出 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「『水落而石出』四字,是本段乃至全篇流传最广的句子,其妙在从记实之景中凝出永恒之理。就写景言,四字写冬季山中实景:秋冬水枯,溪涧水位下落,原本没于水中的石头显露出来,『落』『出』两个动词一降一升,写尽水与石的动态关系,画面清旷而富于生命感;就语言言,四字两两对仗,音节短促有力,如刀刻斧凿,形象鲜明得几乎可以入画;就哲理言,这四字由自然现象暗喻真相的显现——水位下落而石头显露,正如遮蔽的浮云散去,事实真相终会大白,故后世凝为成语『水落石出』,比喻事情真相完全显露,这一由景物描写到成语的转化,正是汉语中『景语』升华为『理语』的绝佳例证,与『醉翁之意不在酒』(言在此而意在彼)、『峰回路转』(比喻事情出现转机)同出自《醉翁亭记》一文,一文而三成语,足见欧阳修语言的生命力。苏轼《后赤壁赋》『山高月小,水落石出』亦用此景,可见此四字在后世文人中的深远影响。」

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