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元 Yuan · 曲 Qu song

蟾宫曲·山间书事

Toad-Palace Song: Writing of Affairs Among the Mountains

吴西逸

Wu Xiyi

隐逸reclusion 山水landscape 清丽派clear-elegant school

系门前柳影兰舟，烟满吟蓑，风漾闲钩。
石上云生，山间树老，桥外霞收。
玩青史低头袖手，问红尘缄口回头。
醉月悠悠，漱石休休，水可陶情，花可融愁。

I tie the orchid boat in the willow shade by the door; mist fills the singing straw-cloak; the wind ripples the idle line.
Clouds rise upon the stones; old trees stand in the mountains; beyond the bridge the evening glow withdraws.
He pores over histories, head bowed, hands in sleeves; asked of the dusty world, he seals his lips and turns his head.
Drunk beneath the moon, at leisure; rinsing the stone, he rests — water can mold the feeling, flowers can melt the care.

Listen

Meaning

A mountain hermit's day: moored boat, mist, cloud, old trees, and a deliberate turning-away from worldly affairs, finding solace in water, moon, and flowers.

把小船系在门前的柳荫里，暮霭笼满了吟诗人的蓑衣，微风摇荡着那闲垂的钓钩。石上云雾袅袅升起，山间老树静静矗立，桥外的晚霞渐渐敛去。翻玩青史只肯低头沉吟、袖手旁观，问起红尘世事便闭口不言、掉头而去。醉卧月下悠然度日，任流水冲洗着山石，一切都罢了；水能陶冶性情，花能消融忧愁。

Appreciation

The upper half uses six images — orchid boat, singing cloak, idle line, cloud, tree, glow — in pure description, two tripod parallels laid out as one pale-ink landscape. The lower half moves from scene to argument: pores over histories and asked of the world form a neat pair; head bowed, hands in sleeves and seals lips, turns head — eight characters draw a wholly self-enclosed posture. The close, drunk beneath the moon and rinsing the stone, four groups of reduplicated words, circles back in echo, the syllables slow as a flowing spring, pushing the sense from solid to ethereal.

【白话串讲】 “系门前柳影兰舟，烟满吟蓑，风漾闲钩”——吴西逸写山间生活：柳影兰舟，烟满蓑衣。“玩青史低头袖手，问红尘缄口回头”——他读史书，不聊红尘。“醉月悠悠，漱石休休，水可陶情，花可融愁”——山水的日子，真好。【意象与手法】上半用兰舟、吟蓑、闲钩、云、树、霞六个物象作纯白描，两组鼎足对一气排出，构成一幅淡墨山水。下半由景入议，玩青史与问红尘工整成对，低头袖手、缄口回头八字写尽自我封闭的姿态。结处醉月悠悠、漱石休休四组叠字回环相生，音节舒缓如流泉，把语意由实推向空灵。【情感与主旨】曲写山中隐居之乐，笔调闲淡，底下却压着分量。袖手、缄口、回头三个动作连用，透露的并非天真的自适，而是历尽世情后的自我保全；所谓玩青史而不评，问红尘而不答，看似超然，实含缄口避祸之意。元代文人地位低微、政治险恶，这份平静的外表下仍藏着一颗士大夫的心，欢悦之中自有难言之隐。【名句点睛】玩青史低头袖手，问红尘缄口回头。两句对仗精工，语浅意深。低头对缄口，袖手对回头，四个动作层层加码，把一个绝口不谈世事的隐者形象刻画得纤毫毕现，既是隐逸的宣言，也是乱世中的护身符，读来令人于闲适之外别生一层寒意。

Background

Wu Xiyi, a Yuan sanqu writer, with unknown birth, death, and native place, was roughly active around the reign of Renzong of Yuan, contemporary with Guan Yunshi. The Taiping Musical Code records forty-seven of his xiaoling and dai-guo tunes, compiled by Sui Shusen in the Complete Yuan Sanqu. This song writes his life in retirement among the mountains, a representative of his clear, sparse, and mild style.

吴西逸，元代后期散曲作家，生平爵里不详，约与贯云石、乔吉同时，属元散曲清丽一派。《太和正音谱》评其词如空谷流泉，可见时人对其清空闲雅风格之推重。元代自科举长期废弛，文人进身无阶，士人多沉沦下僚或干脆隐居不仕，吴西逸即此中隐逸自全的一类。此曲题为《山间书事》，写隐居山中的闲适生活与对世事的刻意疏离。元代特殊的政治环境使许多文人采取袖手、缄口的自全之策，表面闲适悠然，底下却藏着对污浊世道的厌弃与无可奈何。曲中玩青史、问红尘之语，正折射出元人于出处进退之间的典型心态，是理解元散曲隐逸主题不可或缺的重要篇什，元曲多尚尖新，西逸独以清丽闲雅自树一帜，与张可久并号清丽派之眉目；此曲之价值，正在于以清空之笔写尽元士出处两难，为一代隐逸心态之缩影，西逸之闲，实乃乱世文人求全之术，读此不可不察。。

Art

The first six lines are pure descriptive scene-painting; the last five turn to feeling and argument; from scene to feeling, from feeling to principle, the layers are clear. The two tripod parallels in the middle and the reduplicated-word lines at the end cooperate — both neat and natural, pale in and pale out, without a trace of the chisel.

此曲结构上半写景、下半抒怀，景中寓人、人中见性。起三句系门前柳影兰舟，烟满吟蓑，风漾闲钩以鼎足对铺开隐居环境：兰舟系于柳影，烟霭满身吟蓑，微风漾动闲钩，纯用白描而物我两忘。次三句石上云生，山间树老，桥外霞收又是一组鼎足对，写山中静景，云生、树老、霞收皆以名词并置，不著动词而画面自成，是元曲以列景造境的典型手法。下半转入人事：玩青史低头袖手，问红尘缄口回头为工整对仗，四个动作层层加码，写尽对史事与尘世的双重疏离。结处醉月悠悠，漱石休休，水可陶情，花可融愁以四组短句回环，音节舒缓如流泉。全曲由景及议、由外而内，白描与对仗并用，清丽闲雅，绝去元曲常见的俚俗怒骂，自成清远一派，全曲以列景造境见长，柳影兰舟与石上云生两组鼎足对，不著动词而画面自具，是元散曲白描美学的典型呈现，亦显曲体由俚俗返清空的一格。。

Allusions

Rinsing the stone is rooted in the Shishuo Xinyu, where Sun Chu meant to say 'rinse stone and pillow stream' — later 'pillow stream and rinse stone' means dwelling in the woods, keeping oneself pure; here it plays on both the real scene of water washing the stone and the meaning of high reclusion, a double sense. Blue histories are the histories. Seal the lips means to close the mouth and say nothing. Toad-Palace Song is also Plucking the Cassia, whose original sense of cassia-plucking meant passing the exam — to write renouncing fame in this tune has special meaning.

蟾宫曲：元曲牌名，属双调，又名折桂令，句式以七字句为主，间以四字、三字句，宜写悠然闲适或感慨兴亡之情。兰舟：木兰舟之省称，出《述异记》鲁班刻木兰为舟事，后泛指精致的小船，诗词中多作隐逸或离别的意象。吟蓑：指渔翁的蓑衣，此处代指吟诗垂钓的隐者形象，与柳宗元《江雪》孤舟蓑笠翁一脉相承。袖手：把手笼在袖中，表示不参与、不置可否，此处写对青史成败的旁观。缄口：闭口不言，出《孔子家语》孔子观周庙金人铭慎言之训，写对红尘是非的回避。漱石：用晋代孙楚欲枕石漱流而误作漱石枕流之典，后以枕流漱石指隐居山林、胸怀高洁。水可陶情、花可融愁则化用传统比德之说，以自然之物消解尘世之忧，蟾宫曲本宜铺排，西逸却以浅语写心，漱石枕流、缄口袖手皆有所本而不滞于典，使故实化为呼吸间的闲适，足见其运化前人之妙，其运化故实而归于自然，正见清丽一派不黏不脱之妙。。

Commentary

Zhu Quan's Taiping Musical Code rates Wu Xiyi's lyrics 'like a clear stream in an empty valley'; this song, plain in language yet transcendent in charm, best deserves those eight characters.

此曲在元散曲中别出一格。元曲多尚尖新佻达，或于兴亡之感中寓讥刺，而吴西逸此作以清丽闲雅胜，近词而远俗，故《太和正音谱》以空谷流泉拟之。历来论元散曲隐逸主题，每举马致远《天净沙·秋思》、张可久小令与此曲并观，认为吴西逸的闲适少了马致远的萧瑟，多了几分从容。然细味玩青史低头袖手、问红尘缄口回头二句，那种刻意的疏离并非真超脱，而是元人于政治险恶中自我保全的写照，欢悦之中自有寒意。后世选本多以之入隐逸清品，赞其语淡情真；现代散曲研究则更重其背后元代士人出处两难的时代内涵。要之，此曲以清空之笔写沉郁之心，闲适其表而孤愤其里，足为元散曲清丽派之代表，要之，此曲表面闲适，内里孤峭，欢悦之下藏着元人避祸自全的寒意；后世以之入隐逸清品，正因其语淡情真，足为元散曲清丽派不可移之代表作。。

Prosody

Form Northern tune, Shuangdiao mode散曲·双调蟾宫曲（折桂令）

Rhyme Rhymes in seven level-tone rhymes.北曲家麻韵，舟、钩、收、头、愁等句末字协韵；蟾宫曲为北曲双调常用曲牌，句式长短错落。

Tone pattern Line lengths short and long interspersed, the syllables flowing and gentle.北曲不避平仄上去通协，此曲以闲雅清丽为基调，句式以七字句为主，间以四字、三字句，节奏舒缓如流泉。

Reading note A xiaoling writing mountain retirement; scene above, feeling below, closing on the four lines of 'mold feeling, melt care' — mild and far, a supreme piece of Yuan reclusion sanqu.此曲属北曲双调蟾宫曲（一名折桂令），为元散曲常见小令曲牌。其体制以七字句为骨干，间用四字、三字句，宜写悠然闲适或感慨兴亡之情，与吴西逸清丽闲雅的风格恰相契合。用韵方面，全曲押北曲家麻部，舟、钩、收、头、愁等字协律，开口清亮，与山中清景相得益彰。句法则上下两半各以鼎足对（三句一组）起势，先以柳影兰舟、云生树老铺景，后以青史红尘、醉月漱石写怀，对仗工稳而不板滞。蟾宫曲本可铺排典故、逞才使气，吴西逸却以白描列景、浅语写心，去俚俗而就清空，声情与辞情互为表里。要之，此曲格调清远，音节如空谷流泉，最宜表现隐逸闲适之致，亦见元散曲清丽一派于豪辣之外别开生面。

Line by line

系门前柳影兰舟，烟满吟蓑，风漾闲钩。

I tie the orchid boat in the willow shade by the door; mist fills the singing straw-cloak; the wind ripples the idle line.

把小船系在门前的柳荫里，暮霭笼满了吟诗人的蓑衣，微风摇荡着那闲垂的钓钩。

I moor my orchid boat in the willow shade before the door; mist fills the rain-robe of the singer; the breeze stirs my idle fishing line.

起三句为全曲定调，以一组鼎足对勾出隐居之所。系门前柳影兰舟写人将小舟系于柳荫之下，柳影、兰舟皆清雅意象，暗示主人非渔非隐而兼有之；烟满吟蓑以暮霭笼罩蓑衣，把人溶于烟水之间，物我界限渐消；风漾闲钩以微风摇荡闲垂的钓钩，一个闲字点出全篇主旨。三句纯用白描，不着一情语，而闲适悠然之态已跃然纸上。更妙在柳影、烟、风皆移动之物，与静止的兰舟、吟蓑、闲钩相映，静中有动，写出山居生活的从容。起笔即把读者带入一个远离尘嚣的世界，为下文玩青史、问红尘的疏离态度作了环境铺垫。

The opening three lines set the song's tone, a three-part balanced couplet sketching the dwelling of retreat. Mooring the boat beneath the willow shade — willow shadow and orchid boat both refined images, hinting the master is neither fisherman nor hermit but both at once; mist filling the singing-robe dissolves the man into the water and vapor; the breeze stirring the idle hook makes one word — 'idle' — the key to the whole piece. Pure line-drawing, no word of feeling, yet leisure and ease are on the page; and the willow shade, mist, and wind are moving things set against the still boat, robe, and hook — motion within stillness, the unhurried rhythm of mountain life.

石上云生，山间树老，桥外霞收。

Clouds rise upon the stones; old trees stand in the mountains; beyond the bridge the evening glow withdraws.

石上云雾袅袅升起，山间老树静静矗立，桥那边的晚霞渐渐敛去。

Mist rises from the stones; old trees stand among the hills; beyond the bridge, the evening glow fades.

中三句承上写山中静景，又是一组鼎足对。石上云生写云气从石缝间缓缓升起，是动态；山间树老写老树静立，是静态；桥外霞收写晚霞渐敛，是渐变。三句皆以名词并列起首，云、树、霞三个意象不著动词而自成画面，是元曲列景造境的典型手法。石、山、桥由近及远，云、树、霞自上而下，空间层次井然。老字尤堪玩味，树老既写山中岁月之久，亦暗喻隐者阅尽沧桑后的淡然。霞收则暗示日暮，引出下文醉月之境。六字三句，看似平淡，却把山居一日之景浓缩于一瞬，清远闲静，足见作者炼句之功。

The middle three lines continue the mountain stillness, another balanced triplet. Cloud rising from rock crevices is motion; the old tree standing on the slope is stillness; the afterglow fading beyond the bridge is gradual change. Three noun-led images, verb-less yet self-picturing, a typical Yuan qu way of building scene by listed images. Stone, hill, bridge move near to far; cloud, tree, glow, above to below — the layers ordered. 'Old' is the word to savor: the tree's age speaks of long mountain years, and quietly of the recluse's calm after weathering the world. The fading glow suggests dusk, leading to the drunken-moon scene ahead.

玩青史低头袖手，问红尘缄口回头。

He pores over histories, head bowed, hands in sleeves; asked of the dusty world, he seals his lips and turns his head.

翻玩青史只肯低头沉吟、袖手旁观，问起红尘世事便闭口不言、掉头而去。

Over the blue histories I bend my head and fold my sleeves; asked of the dusty world, I seal my lips and turn away.

此二句为全曲关节，由景入议，以工整对仗写出隐者的双重姿态。玩青史低头袖手：翻读历史，却只低头袖手，不肯置评，暗含对历代兴亡成败的洞达与无奈；问红尘缄口回头：有人问起世俗之事，便闭口不言、掉头而去，是彻底的回避。低头对缄口、袖手对回头，四个动作层层递进，把一种拒绝介入、自我封闭的态度写得纤毫毕现。这并非天真的超然，而是元代文人于政治险恶、仕途无望中的自我保全。玩而不评、问而不答，看似闲适，实含缄口避祸之意，欢悦之下藏着难以言说的隐痛，是全曲由闲入郁的转捩处。

These two lines are the joints of the song, moving from landscape to judgment, a balanced couplet of the recluse's double posture. Poring over history, yet only bending the head and folding the sleeves, refusing to judge — within it lies the seeing-through of rise and fall, and helplessness; asked of worldly affairs, he seals his mouth and turns his face away — total withdrawal. 'Bend the head' answering 'seal the lips,' 'fold the sleeves' answering 'turn away' — four graduated acts render refusal to engage and self-enclosure to the finest thread. This is not innocent detachment: it is the Yuan literatus's self-preservation in dangerous politics and dead-end careers. Reading without judging, answering without speaking, looks like leisure and hides, beneath its joy, a wordless pain — the turning point of the song.

醉月悠悠，漱石休休，水可陶情，花可融愁。

Drunk beneath the moon, at leisure; rinsing the stone, he rests — water can mold the feeling, flowers can melt the care.

醉卧月下悠然度日，任流水冲洗着山石，一切都罢了；水能陶冶性情，花能消融忧愁。

Drunk beneath the moon, unhurried; rinsing among stones, enough — let all be. Water can refine the feelings; flowers can dissolve grief.

结处四组短句回环相生，将全曲收束于空灵。醉月悠悠写月下独酌、悠然忘机；漱石休休用枕流漱石之典，休休即罢了、算了，是放下一切的慨叹；水可陶情、花可融愁则以对仗收束，点明山水花木足以疗治尘世之愁。四句音节短促舒缓相间，如流泉漱石，意象由实入虚，把前面的闲适与疏离最终落实为对自然的皈依。休休二字最见分量，既是放下的自慰，也是无可奈何的叹息。全曲至此，景、议、情融为一体，清丽中见孤峭，诚元散曲清丽派之佳构。

The closing short lines loop into one another, resolving the song into airy openness. Drunken beneath the moon, unhurried and mindless; 'rinsing among stones, enough' borrows the old recluse's image of washing in the stream, 'enough' a sigh of laying everything down; water that refines feeling and flowers that melt grief close in balance, affirming that hill-water and blossoms suffice to heal the world's sorrow. Metered alternately quick and slow, like spring water over stones, images moving from the solid to the void, the earlier leisure and withdrawal landing at last in devotion to nature. 'Enough' carries the weight — self-consolation in letting go, and a sigh of no-alternative.

Study

Word focus

悠悠 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 醉月悠悠之悠悠，是全曲最见神韵的叠字。悠悠本形容长久、闲适、深远之貌，此处写月下独酌时心境的舒缓与时间的延展，与起处风漾闲钩的闲字遥相呼应。一个悠悠，把前面所有的隐居意象——柳影、烟蓑、云树、霞桥——都统摄为一种从容不迫的生命节奏，使外景与内情合成一片。在元曲中叠字本多用于增添声情，吴西逸此处以悠悠收束上片的醉境，非仅状时间之慢，更写心境之宽，是闲适背后那份淡然的显性化。它与下句休休相接，一舒一放，把隐者放达而又略带无奈的情怀写得极有层次。

休休 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 漱石休休之休休，语出《诗经·唐风·山有枢》与后人休休焉的闲退之意，此处作罢了、算了解。它紧承漱石，写隐者面对世事的一声轻叹：既已枕流漱石，则功名荣辱皆可放下。休休二字看似洒脱，实含分量——放下并非不曾执着，而是执着之后的无可奈何。在元代士人出处两难的背景下，这一个罢字既是自我宽慰，也是对污浊世道的不合作宣言。它与前文缄口回头相为表里：对外是闭口掉头，对内是休休自遣，一拒一放之间，写尽元人隐逸心态的复杂底色。

缄口回头 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 问红尘缄口回头，是以两个连续动作写隐者对世俗的拒绝。缄口即闭口不言，源出孔子观周庙金人铭之慎言传统，此处写对红尘是非的回避；回头即掉转身去，是更决绝的肢体语言，比缄口更进一步，连听都不愿听。四字连用，把一种主动的疏离写得极具画面感，比单纯说不愿闻世事实在得多。它与上句低头袖手构成对仗，一写对历史（青史）的旁观、一写对现实（红尘）的回避，内外相对，把隐者封闭自我的姿态推向极致。这种刻意的沉默，正是元代文人避祸保身的典型写照，欢悦之下藏着时代的寒意。