宋 Song · 文 Prose
醉翁亭记·版本三
The Record of the Pavilion of the Drunken Old Man, Version Three
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。
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.
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
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
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
范仲淹《岳阳楼记》与欧阳修《醉翁亭记》同作于庆历新政失败、二人先后被贬之际,同是贬谪者借山水言志的名篇,此节选更与《岳阳楼记》「若夫淫雨霏霏」「至若春和景明」两段同写四时朝暮之景,结构惊人地相似:皆以「若夫」「至若」领起,皆铺写阴晴四时的景物变化。差异在志趣:范仲淹写景是为「迁客骚人」之情作铺垫,最终归到「不以物喜,不以己悲」「先天下之忧而忧」的士大夫担当,写景是「议」的前奏;欧阳修写景则直归于「在乎山水之间」的闲适之乐,景即是乐,乐即是景,写景是「乐」本身。二文并读,可见宋代士大夫贬谪文学的两副面孔:一者由山水走向忧国忧民的政治承担,一者由山水走向自得其乐的精神安顿,正是宋代文人「穷则独善、达则兼济」精神的两端。
秋声赋 The Sound of Autumn (Opening Passage) 欧阳修 · 同出欧阳修之手,同写四季声色而心境迥异 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
《秋声赋》与《醉翁亭记·版本三》同出欧阳修笔下,皆写季节之声色,而色调截然相反:《秋声赋》作于嘉祐年间为官京师时,写秋声「初淅沥以萧飒,忽奔腾而砰湃」,极写秋之肃杀悲凉,归结为「物既老而悲伤」的哀感;《醉翁亭记》作于贬谪滁州时,写秋独取「风霜高洁」四字,天高气爽、霜色洁白,全无悲秋之音,反而见出高旷清朗之境。同一位作家,同样面对秋天,一悲一旷,正见心境对景色的决定性影响:京师之秋牵动官场沉浮的忧思,故秋声悲切;滁州之秋涵泳山水自得的闲情,故秋色高洁。二文并观,恰是欧阳修「穷则自乐、达则多忧」心态的最佳注脚,也可见同一作家驾驭赋体与记体、悲调与旷调两种风格的全面才力。
桃花源记·版本二 The Peach Blossom Spring (Version II) 陶渊明 · 同为「山水田园理想」的写景名篇,一虚一实 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
陶渊明《桃花源记》写渔人「复行数十步,豁然开朗。土地平旷,屋舍俨然」的世外桃源,欧阳修《醉翁亭记》写琅琊山「野芳发而幽香,佳木秀而繁阴」的山水四时,同为寄寓理想于山水田园的写景名篇。差异在理想的性质:桃花源是虚构的乌托邦——「阡陌交通,鸡犬相闻」的桃源是陶渊明对乱世中理想社会的想象,景为虚设,意在对现实的否定;醉翁亭是实有的山水——琅琊山的朝暮四时皆滁州实景,欧阳修以实景写实乐,意在对现世的安顿。一虚一实,正见晋宋隐逸与宋代士大夫两种山水观:陶渊明以桃花源否定尘世,欧阳修以山水融于政事(「醉能同其乐」);而二文皆以「乐」字收束——桃源之乐在乐土,醉翁之乐在乐境,合观可见中国山水文学由「理想之虚」走向「现实之乐」的演变轨迹。