All poems

唐 Tang · 词 Ci lyric

长相思·汴水流

Everlasting Longing · The Bian Waters Flow

白居易

Bai Juyi

闺怨Theme 相思Longing 词Theme 婉约Refined style

汴水流，泗水流，流到瓜洲古渡头。
吴山点点愁。
\n思悠悠，恨悠悠，恨到归时方始休。
月明人倚楼。

The Bian waters flow, the Si waters flow, flowing on to the ancient ferry at Guazhou. The Wu hills, dot by dot, are sorrow.
My longing is long, my regret is long; the regret will only end when you come home. Beneath the bright moon, a lonely figure leans on the tower.

Listen

Meaning

A woman watches the rivers flow toward her absent lover and leans by the tower under the bright moon, her longing and regret endless until his return.

汴水长流，泗水长流，一直流到瓜洲古老的渡口。远处的吴地群山座座，仿佛也带着点点哀愁。思念悠长，怨恨悠长，这愁恨要直到你归来时才肯罢休。明月当空，我独自倚着高楼远望。

Appreciation

Bai Juyi's "Everlasting Longing · The Bian Waters Flow" is a miniature of feminine longing in the Mid-Tang ci tradition, admired for turning geography into grief. Structurally the lyric is built on repetition and parallel: the tripling of "flow" (Bian, Si, Guazhou) in the upper stanza mimics the ceaseless outward rush of the rivers—and of the wife's thoughts—toward her absent husband, while the doubled "longing… regret" (si youyou, hen youyou) in the lower stanza voices the emotion's endless recurrence. The device of reduplication, typical of early ci, gives the piece its low, lingering music. Crucially, the landscape is never neutral: "the Wu hills, dot by dot, are sorrow" lends feeling to feelingless things, so that river and hill alike are dyed with the speaker's melancholy. The poem closes not on a feeling-word but on a single still image—"beneath the bright moon, a figure leans on the tower"—controlling emotion through scenery, the highest method of scenery-feeling fusion in Chinese lyric. As one of Bai Juyi's most celebrated short lyrics, it helped establish the wan-yue (graceful, restrained) line of literati ci and anticipated the Song dynasty's parting-lament lyrics, its technique of "hearing thunder in silence" later prized by critics such as Chen Tingzhuo.

【白话串讲】 “汴水流，泗水流，流到瓜洲古渡头。吴山点点愁”——白居易写长相思：汴水泗水，流到瓜洲。“思悠悠，恨悠悠，恨到归时方始休。月明人倚楼”——相思悠悠，月光下她倚着楼。【意象与手法】上片全写水与山，汴水、泗水、瓜洲渡、吴山，似纯然写景而思妇之心已随流水奔赴远方；下片以悠悠写思恨之绵长，以“月明人倚楼”收束。用回环复沓句式，三个“流”字、两个“悠悠”，造成低徊缠绵之韵，以水喻情、以山写愁。【情感与主旨】写闺中少妇月夜倚楼怀人，思悠悠、恨悠悠，恨到归时方始休。言简意富、词浅昧深，是白居易婉约小令之名作，足为早期文人词婉约一脉之佳范，启宋人离情词之先声。【名句点睛】常考“汴水流，泗水流，流到瓜洲古渡头。吴山点点愁”以水流喻情思奔流；“思悠悠，恨悠悠，恨到归时方始休”以叠词写离愁绵长。

Background

Bai Juyi (772–846), a leading poet of the Mid-Tang and master of the accessible, feeling-filled style. 'Everlasting Longing' (Chang Xiang Si) is a ci lyric tune.

白居易，字乐天，号香山居士，唐代伟大现实主义诗人。此《长相思》写闺中思妇对远行爱人的绵长相思，约作于其贬谪或游宦江州、杭州期间，或谓代内子之作，难以确考。长相思为唐教坊曲，多写离别相思。白居易于新乐府、长恨歌外，亦擅小令，此词以汴水、泗水起兴，写水流不尽、思亦不尽。汴水、泗水皆淮水支流，东入运河，瓜洲为长江渡口，吴山指江南一带山峦。中唐士人羁旅频仍，闺怨相思为词中常题，乐天以明白晓畅之笔写深婉之情，水喻相思，一气流转，最见其老妪能解而又情韵悠长之风格，小词亦如其诗之平易而深至，于浅语中藏千回百转。乐天此词以流水喻相思，天然凑泊而无斧凿痕；中唐士人羁旅频仍，闺怨为词中常题，而乐天以平易之笔写深婉之情，老妪能解而情韵自长，是其小词亦如其诗之风格，浅近之中自见深至。汴水泗水皆实有之水，经其点化便成情之血脉，可见白诗善用常景常语，于平淡处见经营，不务奇险而自能动人肺腑。白居易此词写于宦游江南之际，彼时诗人远离故园，思归之情与江水同长。中唐士人常以词抒写闺情行旅，白氏《长相思》一组即借水喻愁之代表。汴水泗水皆流经中原而入淮，瓜洲古渡则为南北通津，地理线索暗含行人去远、归途杳然。吴山点点愁将江南山色拟人，足见羁旅者对山川风物的敏感。词虽短小，却以空间之远写心绪之长，是香山居士闲适之外的另一种深婉怀抱。

Art

Short and musical, the piece stacks parallel water-words ('flow… flow', 'longing… regret') to mimic the relentless recurrence of emotion, ending on a single still image—the moonlit figure at the rail.

此词上片写景，下片写情，景情以水流为线索贯之。起三句汴水流，泗水流，流到瓜洲古渡头，叠用流字，如波浪相推，写出水流之远、之长；瓜洲古渡点出行人所去之地。吴山点点愁，以山拟人，远山如黛，似亦含愁，移情于物。过片思悠悠，恨悠悠，恨到归时方始休，叠用悠悠，与水流相应，写相思之绵长无尽；归时方始休，以条件句写恨之深锢。结句月明人倚楼，以景结情，明月高楼，孤影倚栏，余韵凄然。全词重字叠句，回环往复，如江流呜咽，最是相思绝调，声情与辞情相生，宜于红牙按拍而歌。重字叠句如江流回环，上片写景、下片写情以水流一贯；月明人倚楼以景结情，孤影倚栏而余韵凄然，声情与辞情相生，最宜于红牙按拍而歌。三句叠用流字如波涌，过片叠用悠悠如肠转，章法回环往复而气脉不断。中唐小令之声情之美于此词可见一斑，以复沓为节奏，以明月收远思，浑成流转，宜歌宜诵。全词叠字用韵极见匠心，汴水流泗水流以复沓起势，如波澜层叠；思悠悠恨悠悠再以叠词递进，情与恨皆成绵延之物。流到瓜洲古渡头一句将抽象愁思具象为水的行程，吴山点点愁更以山之多喻愁之密。月明人倚楼收束于一个静立剪影，以景结情，不言苦而苦自深。短章之中起伏开合，复沓而不板滞，诚为小令章法之妙品。

Allusions

The Bian and Si rivers and Guazhou ferry were real waterways on the route between the south and the Tang capitals; 'Wu hills' denotes the lover's distant region.

长相思本唐教坊曲名，李白曾作长相思在长安，以山水喻远念，乐天此词亦以流水起兴，承太白之绪。汴水、泗水为隋唐运河要津，瓜洲古渡为南北通津，皆实有地名，暗指行人踪迹所至。吴山点愁，化用杜牧青山隐隐水迢迢与温庭筠吴山楚水之意，以远山寓愁。思悠悠、恨悠悠，悠悠出《诗经》与古诗，状情之长。月明人倚楼，倚楼望月本闺怨熟典，见于李白、温庭筠诸作。乐天熔地名、水象、月象于一炉，不僻不奥，以常语写至情，正是其平易中之深婉，亦见中唐小令融诗入词之迹。汴水泗水瓜洲皆实有地名，暗指行人踪迹所至；吴山点愁化用前人诗意，月明倚楼本闺怨熟典；乐天熔地名、水象、月象于一炉，以常语写至情，不见堆垛而情自深。长相思本唐教坊曲，白氏依调写闺情，承太白以水喻远念之绪而更趋平易。最见中唐小令融诗入词之迹，以俗地名入雅词而浑然无间。悠悠一语承《诗经》暨古诗十九首以来悠远绵长之抒情传统，此处兼写思与恨，化无形为可量。瓜洲古渡自六朝即为送别要津，文人题咏极夥，词人信手拈来便带历史厚度。吴山点点暗用江南意象群，与中原汴泗形成空间对照。此类用典不着痕迹，皆融化于水程山色之中，既得民歌复沓之趣，又存文人使事之雅，足见白氏融会俗雅之手段。

Commentary

A classic example of the feminine-longing ci, where landscape itself is tinted with the speaker's grief.

此词以流水为相思之象，最为天然。汴水泗水，流到瓜洲，水流不尽，正如思妇之念不绝；吴山点点，亦似愁痕。过片思悠悠、恨悠悠，叠字一唱三叹，把无形之思写得如江河奔注。恨到归时方始休，痴绝亦痛绝：恨之消歇，全系于人之归来，除此别无解脱。结以月明人倚楼，不写如何悲，只写一倚字，便见痴立之久、盼归之切。全词语语平常，却语语入骨，貌似疏淡，实极沉挚。乐天小词，不似诗中之讽谕，而于此等儿女情致，亦能写得流水行云、动人心魄，足见其才之广，短调之中自有千钧之力。水流不尽如思不尽，恨到归时方始休，痴绝亦痛绝；全词语语平常而语语入骨，貌似疏淡实极沉挚，乐天于儿女情致亦能写得流水行云、动人心魄。思悠悠恨悠悠，叠字一唱三叹，把无形之思写得如江河奔注。结以月明人倚楼，不写悲而写倚，痴立之久、盼归之切皆在言外，足见其才之广，短调之中自有千钧之力。综而论之，此词以水之无尽喻思之无尽，回环复沓而气脉不断，中唐小令之声情之美于此可见；乐天以平易写深婉，老妪能解而情自长，是其本色。三句叠流、过片叠悠，章法如江流呜咽，最宜红牙按拍而歌，声情与辞情相生，短调而具长篇之回环往复。月明人倚楼，以景结情而痴立之态如见；思悠悠恨悠悠，叠字一唱三叹，把无形之思写得如江河奔注。读此词当于汴泗瓜洲之远、吴山月明之孤中，想见那位倚楼望归的女子之心，方知其短调之中原有千钧之力，乐天小词之妙尽在流水行云、动人心魄处。综而论之，此词以水之无尽喻思之无尽，回环复沓而气脉不断，中唐小令之声情之美于此可见；乐天以平易写深婉，老妪能解而情自长，是其本色。三句叠流、过片叠悠，章法如江流呜咽，最宜红牙按拍而歌，声情与辞情相生，短调而具长篇之回环往复。此词之妙，在以女子口吻写羁旅之思，亦不妨视作诗人自道身世。水之流与愁之长是同一运动，归时方始休则以决绝语写无尽期，矛盾中见痴绝。月明人倚楼一片澄澈孤寂，千载之下犹能动人。白居易专长叙事，而此小令纯以情胜，复沓如谣，朗朗上口，是词体由民间入文人之过渡佳作。读之但觉江水呜咽、山色含颦，离恨之深不待铺陈而自出。

Prosody

Reading note A miniature of feminine longing in the Mid-Tang ci tradition.《长相思》双调三十六字，上下片各四句，三平韵一叠韵。此词上片：汴水流（仄仄平），泗水流（仄仄平），流到瓜洲古渡头（平仄平平仄仄平），吴山点点愁（平平仄仄平），「流」「头」「愁」相叶；下片：思悠悠（平平平），恨悠悠（仄平平），恨到归时方始休（仄仄平平平仄平），月明人倚楼（仄平平仄平），「悠」「休」「楼」相叶。上下片起二句俱用叠韵，回环复沓，节奏如水流汩汩，与绵绵相思之旨天然相契。更值得注意的是，上下片句式全然对称，由景到情、由水到楼，声律亦随之流转，是唐调正体之范例，亦可见词体初起时即能借声律以助情、以复沓成韵的成熟匠心。此词双调小令，上下片各以三字句领起，汴水流泗水流、思悠悠恨悠悠皆用叠字与重复句式，节奏回环如波浪。押平声尤韵，流头愁楼悠休皆协，一韵贯通。上片写景兼点愁，下片写情兼写景，景情交织。句法长短错落，三三七五之排布于短章中见摇曳。尤可注意者，复沓非简单重复，而是情感之累积推进，声情绵邈，宜于低吟，最见小令以浅语写深愁之体性。

Line by line

吴山点点愁。

The Wu hills, dot by dot, are sorrow.

The Wu hills, point by point, are sorrow.

此句为上半片之眼，亦全词点晴之笔。前文写汴、泗二水奔流，纯然地理，至此忽着一「愁」字，将无情山水尽化为有情之物。吴山本秀润明朗，词人却言其「点点愁」，盖因望山人愁，故山亦含愁，是以我观物、物皆著我之色。陈廷焯称「五字精警」，正在于不言人愁而写山愁，于虚处传神，通体虚明而含情无际，是情景交融之至高手法。此句之妙，在以山代人、以景收情，使前文所有流水皆成愁波，一笔提挈全篇，足见词人于山水点染中寄情之敏，于无声处听惊雷。吴山本是无情物，词人却著一愁字，使江南山色皆染羁愁，足见离人观物之主观与痴绝。

This line is the upper half's eye, also the ci piece's finishing stroke. The previous text writes the Bian and Si rivers rushing, purely geography; here suddenly adding one sorrow word, converting the feelingless hills and waters into feeling things. Wu hills are originally fresh and bright, yet the lyricist says point by point sorrow - precisely because gazing at hills the person is sorrowful, hence the hills also hold sorrow; this is my viewing things, things all dyed with my color. Chen Tingzhuo called five characters refined and startling, precisely in not saying the person's sorrow but writing the hills' sorrow; transmitting spirit in the void place, the whole body void-bright yet holding feeling without bound - the highest method of scenery-feeling fusion. This line's subtlety lies in using hills for the person, closing feeling in scenery, making all the previous flowing water into sorrow waves; one stroke raising the whole poem, showing the lyricist's keenness in lodging feeling among hills-and-waters dyeing, hearing thunder in the silent place. Wu hills originally feelingless, the lyricist adding one sorrow word dyes all Jiangnan hills with exile sorrow, showing the parted one's subjective, infatuated viewing.

月明人倚楼。

Beneath the bright moon, a figure leans on the tower.

The moon brightens, and she leans on the tower.

此句为全词收束，以景结情，余韵无穷。月明写清辉满楼之境，人倚楼写思妇伫立之态，二者并列而无一情语，而孤寂、期盼、怅惘尽在其中。明月千里，最易牵动相思，倚楼则是望归之典型动作。结于景而非结于情，使读者于画面中自品其味，恰如俞陛云所言「昔日愁眼中山色江光，皆入倚楼一笑」，以不尽写尽，是唐人小令含蓄之极致。于明月孤楼间收束万里相思，不著一泣字而凄婉满纸，是白词以景摄情、余味悠长的典范收法。月明人倚楼一片澄澈孤寂，以静立剪影收束全篇，不言苦而苦自深，是为小令以景结情之最高手段。

This line is the ci piece's close, closing feeling in scenery, aftertaste endless. The moon brightens writes the clear light filling the tower; she leans on the tower writes the longing wife's standing posture; the two placed side by side, not one feeling word, yet loneliness, expectation, and disappointment all within. The bright moon across a thousand li most easily stirs longing; leaning on the tower is the typical action of gazing toward return. Closing in scenery rather than closing in feeling, letting the reader taste the flavor within the picture; precisely as Yu Biyun said: the hills and river light seen through sorrowful eyes of old all enter the leaning-on-tower smile. Using the endless to write the ended - the extreme of Tang short lyric reserve. Closing the ten-thousand-li longing between the bright moon and lone tower, not one word of weeping yet melancholy filling the page - Bai's ci's model closing of controlling feeling through scenery, aftertaste long. The moonlit tower, clear and lonely, closes the whole piece in a still silhouette; not speaking of hardship yet hardship self-deep, the short lyric's highest method of closing feeling in scenery.

Study

Word focus

悠悠 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 思悠悠，恨悠悠，叠用悠悠，是全词情感之主调。悠悠本形容水流长远、时空邈远，此处移以写思与恨，将抽象之情物化为如汴泗之水般绵长不绝，与上片「流」字遥相呼应。一写思之深，一写恨之切，思恨交织，无尽无休。叠词本身即具回环往复、低徊不尽之音乐性，读来如泣如诉，极尽婉约之致。此二字既是辞情亦是声情，于双声叠韵中先声夺人，使全词的绵长相思获得形式与内容的双重支撑，是民间乐府重章叠句手法入词后焕发新生的明证。悠悠叠用写思与恨之绵延，化无形为可量之物，是小令复沓抒情之筋脉。

方始 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 恨到归时方始休，方始二字极见痴绝。方始，才肯之意，谓此恨除非离人归来，否则永无休止。非不知归期难卜，而偏作此决绝之盼，是以无理之语写至情，较之「才下眉头，却上心头」更添一份执拗。二字将思妇之痴、之怨、之盼一笔收束，看似平淡，实含千回百转。是白词以浅语写深衷的典型笔法，于寻常虚字中见出深情之不可解，把人间相思那种明知无望仍痴等的心绪，凝练成不可动摇的誓言般的执着。方始休以决绝语写无尽期，矛盾中见痴绝，道出归期之不可期的深痛。