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元 Yuan · 散曲 Sanqu song

落梅风·远浦归帆

Falling Plum Wind: Returning Sails off the Distant Shore

马致远

Ma Zhiyuan

写景scenic description 羁旅travel and wandering

夕阳下，酒旆闲，两三航未曾着岸。
落花水香茅舍晚，断桥头卖鱼人散。

The sun sinks low;
the wine-shop banner idles;
two or three boats have yet to touch the shore.
Fallen petals scent the water, dusk settles on the thatched huts;
at the head of the broken bridge the fish-sellers have drifted away.

Listen

Meaning

The setting sun slants across the river, the wine-shop banner flutters idly, and two or three homebound boats have still not touched the shore. Fallen petals drift with the fragrant water, the thatched huts are wrapped in dusk, and at the head of the broken bridge the fish-sellers have all drifted away.

夕阳斜照江面，酒旗儿悠闲地飘着，两三只归航的船儿还未曾靠岸。落花随水飘香，茅舍笼罩在暮色里，断桥头上卖鱼的人也渐渐散去。

Appreciation

The marvel of this piece is that it carries feeling entirely through the language of scene: the word for sorrow is never used, and yet the leisure of a traveller near his rest emerges of itself. The opening, with the sun going down and the wine-shop banner at ease, strikes the theme in a warm colour, and the word 'idles' is tempered into perfect stillness; 'two or three boats have yet to touch the shore' hides motion inside a still scene and leaves something over. It closes with petals scenting the water, dusk on the thatched huts and the fish-sellers drifting away from the broken bridge, joining sight to sound in a spare, open composition like a wash of pale ink. The language is clean and sparing, the parallels come naturally, and the piece takes deeply after the clear and empty strain of Yuan song.

【白话串讲】 “夕阳下，酒旆闲，两三航未曾着岸”——夕阳西下，酒旗闲挂，两三艘船还没靠岸。“落花水香茅舍晚，断桥头卖鱼人散”——马致远把江边归帆的黄昏，写得安静极了。【意象与手法】此曲艺术之妙在全以景语传情，不着一'愁'字而羁旅闲适之致自出。起句'夕阳下，酒旆闲'以暖色点题，'闲'字炼得极静【情感与主旨】马致远曾任江浙行省务官，晚年淡泊功名，长期浪迹江南。此曲当为退隐前后行旅中所见水乡暮景的实录【名句点睛】中高考若选此曲，命题多集中于：一、意象赏析，要求说明'夕阳''酒旆''落花''断桥'如何共同营造闲适意境

Background

Ma Zhiyuan once held a post in the Jiangzhe branch secretariat, and in his later years, indifferent to office and reputation, he wandered long in the south. This song is most likely a record of a water-country evening seen while travelling around the time of his withdrawal. Men of letters in the Yuan often used the san-qu song to voice a longing for retirement, and Ma Zhiyuan in particular wrote out the whole distance of the rivers and lakes in subjects of the Eight Views of Xiao and Xiang kind. Returning sails off a distant shore was itself a traditional subject for painting, and the poet turns a painter's scene into a song, lodging in the sunset, the wine banner and the boats not yet moored a faint contentment at a journey soon to end and a heart already turned toward the fields.

马致远（约1250—1321以后），号东篱，大都人，元曲四大家之一，曾为江浙行省务官，晚年淡泊功名，长期浪迹江南。〔双调·落梅风〕一名〔寿阳曲〕，是马致远常用的曲牌。此首题为《远浦归帆》，属其咏「潇湘八景」的组曲之一。潇湘八景之名，源于北宋画家宋迪所绘《潇湘八景图》，沈括《梦溪笔谈》卷十七最早著录其八景名目，即山市晴岚、远浦归帆、平沙落雁、潇湘夜雨、烟寺晚钟、渔村夕照、江天暮雪、洞庭秋月。此八景经米芾题诗、法常、牧溪等画家图写，广为传布，并东传日本、朝鲜，成为东亚绘画与诗文的共同母题。「远浦归帆」写的是江畔远望归舟的景致。马致远此曲，当为其退隐前后、行旅江南时所见水乡暮景的实录，写夕阳之下，酒旗闲挂，两三归帆，卖鱼人散，一片安闲宁谧的江村晚色。曲中无一「愁」字，而羁旅者于暮色中望归帆、见人散而生出的淡淡的栖迟之感，自然流露于景物之外，是「以景传情」的典范。「远浦归帆」是八景中较具生活气息的一景，写的是江边望归舟的寻常景致，而马致远以其冲淡之笔，写得安闲自足、天趣盎然。元代文人于仕途多所失望，遂寄情山水，以写景小令自遣，此曲正是这种心境下的产物，于清丽的景物之中，寄寓了曲家淡泊自适的人生情怀。此曲遂成元曲写景小令中清丽一格的典范。

Art

The art of this song lies in conveying feeling entirely through scene: not one word of sorrow appears, and yet the leisurely ease of the traveller comes out of itself. The opening, with the sun sinking and the wine banner idle, sets the theme in a warm colour, and the word 'idles' is tempered to extreme stillness; 'two or three boats have yet to touch the shore' conceals movement within a still picture and leaves an aftertaste. It ends with fallen petals scenting the water, dusk over the thatched huts and the fish-sellers dispersing at the broken bridge, sight and sound combined, open and well spaced like a sketch in light ink. The language is spare and clean, the parallels natural, and the whole catches the essence of the clear and empty line in Yuan song.

此曲的艺术妙处，在全以景语传情，不着一字抒情而闲适之致自出。起句「夕阳下，酒旆闲」，以「夕阳」的暖色点题，「下」字写日之将落，「酒旆」即酒旗，着一「闲」字，写酒旗在无风或微风中的静垂之态，一个「闲」字炼得极静，为全曲定下安闲的基调。次句「两三航未曾着岸」，「两三航」写归船之少而疏，「未曾着岸」写船尚在江心、缓缓归来，动态之中仍有从容。三四句「落花水香茅舍晚，断桥头卖鱼人散」，写近岸之景：「落花水香」四字，写落花飘于水上、水带花香，是嗅觉入诗；「茅舍晚」写暮色笼罩茅屋；「断桥头卖鱼人散」写桥头卖鱼之人陆续散去，一天的渔市就此收场。全曲的意象——夕阳、酒旆、归帆、落花、茅舍、断桥、卖鱼人，皆寻常江村之物，而一经马致远的点染，遂成一片安详自足的水乡暮色。章法上，由远而近：先写天际的夕阳、岸边的酒旗，再写江心的归帆，最后落到近岸的落花、茅舍、断桥与散去的卖鱼人，视线层层收拢，画面井然有序。不着一「愁」字，而日暮人散、归帆未着的淡淡怅惘，自在言外。全曲不着一字抒情，而情自景出，正是王国维《人间词话》所谓「一切景语皆情语」的体现。夕阳、酒旆、归帆、落花、茅舍、断桥、卖鱼人，皆寻常之物，而一经作者的经营，遂成一片有声有色的江村暮景，其从容、其安闲、其淡淡的怅惘，皆从景中自然流出。

Allusions

The song uses no obvious allusion, taking the scene before the eyes and the ordinary business of life as its material, in keeping with the preference of Yuan san-qu for directness over ornament. Only the title, returning sails off the distant shore, quietly follows the Tang and Song painting subject of the Eight Views of Xiao and Xiang, of which Song Di of the Northern Song painted a 'Returning Sails off the Distant Shore'. The poet borrows that traditional frame to compose his picture, so that an ordinary river evening carries an elegance in which poem and painting speak to each other, and yet nothing is heaped up and the natural flavour of plain description is preserved.

此曲不用生僻之典，而其意象皆有深厚的传统渊源。「酒旆」即酒旗，是水村山郭的标志性风物，杜牧「千里莺啼绿映红，水村山郭酒旗风」以酒旗写江南春色，马致远移以写江村暮色，一春一暮，各得其宜。「归帆」是唐诗宋词中习见的意象，写游子思归或行人望远，柳永「想佳人、妆楼颙望，误几回、天际识归舟」以归舟写盼归之情，温庭筠「过尽千帆皆不是」以帆影写望断之恨；马致远「两三航未曾着岸」则脱去愁怨，只写归帆的从容，另开一路。「落花水香」写落花随水，其源可追《楚辞·九歌》「落英」与王维「落花」诸句，而以「水香」二字写嗅觉，则得唐人「荷风送香气」之趣。「断桥」一词，本指残破之桥，白居易「乱花渐欲迷人眼，浅草才能没马蹄」近处有西湖断桥，然马致远此处的「断桥」当泛指江村的断桥，与「茅舍」并置，愈见野趣。「卖鱼人」则是渔村生活的写照，与张志和「青箬笠，绿蓑衣」的渔父意象相通。诸意象皆取之日常，而经作者点化，遂成一片天趣。「夕阳」「归帆」「断桥」「卖鱼人」诸意象，皆出于唐诗宋词的传统：杜牧「水村山郭酒旗风」以酒旗写江南，温庭筠「过尽千帆皆不是」以帆影写望归，张志和「青箬笠，绿蓑衣」以渔父写隐逸，马致远融诸家于一曲，而归于自家冲淡清丽的面目，是元曲写景小令对唐诗写景传统的继承与新变。

Commentary

Students of Yuan song generally praise Ma Zhiyuan's short lyrics for a vigour of spirit that rises within their clarity and grace. This piece and his famous 'Sky-Clear Sand: Autumn Thoughts' make an exact pair, the one writing the bitterness of travel and the other the ease of retirement. Earlier critics said of him that he did not prize learned reference and that his brush moved with an unconstrained air, and again that within his spaciousness there is a leisured remoteness, remarks that transfer well to the descriptive art of this song.

马致远散曲，明初朱权《太和正音谱》推为元曲家之首，称其词「如朝阳鸣凤」，又谓「其词典雅清丽，可与《灵光》《景福》相颉颃」。此首《远浦归帆》正是「典雅清丽」一格的体现。马致远的潇湘八景组曲，是元曲中写景小令的翘楚，论者常以其与《天净沙·秋思》并称——后者以苍凉写秋思，前者以清丽写水乡，一苍一清，皆臻绝诣。此曲之妙，在「不着一字，尽得风流」：全曲无一抒情之字，而日暮人散的栖迟之感、归帆未着的怅望之情，皆从景中自然流出。这种「以景传情」的手法，上承唐诗写景的含蓄一路，下开元曲写景小令的法门。在潇湘八景的题咏史上，自宋迪作画、米芾题诗以来，画家诗人各逞其技，而马致远以散曲分咏八景，把这一绘画性极强的母题，转化为文字上的「有声之画」，其「远浦归帆」一曲，尤为清丽可诵。后世凡写江村暮色、渔市归帆者，多从此曲取境。此曲与《天净沙·秋思》同出马致远之手，而风格迥异，正可见其写景的多副笔墨。潇湘八景的题咏，自宋至元，代有佳作，而马致远以散曲分咏八景，把这一绘画性极强的母题，转化为文字上的有声之画，其「远浦归帆」一曲，尤为清丽可诵。后世凡写江村暮色、渔市归帆者，多从此曲取境，其影响及于明清的山水题咏与散曲创作。

Prosody

Form San-qu song, shuangdiao mode, to the tune Falling Plum Wind (also called Shouyang Melody)散曲小令，〔双调·落梅风〕（又名〔寿阳曲〕）

Rhyme Rhyming on the words for idle, shore, dusk and dispersed, in the hanshan and huanhuan groups of the Central Plains rhymes, which northern song treats loosely押《中原音韵》寒山韵，韵脚为「闲」「岸」「晚」「散」，平仄通押

Tone pattern Line pattern: oblique level oblique; oblique oblique level; oblique level level oblique level level departing; then level level oblique level level departing rising; oblique level level oblique level level departing此曲句式三、三、七、七、七，共五句。韵脚「闲」为平声，「岸」「晚」「散」为仄声，平仄互叶。全曲以仄声韵脚收束者多，声调由平而仄、由舒而收，与日暮人散的意境相合。

Reading note The short lyric runs in brief lines and often closes on a departing tone, so that sound and feeling are loose and scattered.〔落梅风〕即〔寿阳曲〕，句式三、三、七、七、七，短句与长句相间，宜于写景。此曲韵脚「闲」「岸」「晚」「散」同属《中原音韵》寒山韵，四字之中，「闲」平而开，「岸」「晚」「散」仄而合，由平入仄，声调由舒而收，如夕阳之西沉、人事之渐散。「夕阳下」三字，两平一仄，声调平和，如暮色之柔；「酒旆闲」三字，一仄一仄一平，末字平声拖出，如酒旗之闲垂；「两三航未曾着岸」七字，平仄相间，「未曾着岸」四个仄声连缀，声调顿挫，如船行之迟；「落花水香茅舍晚」七字，「落花水香」四字声调清扬，如花香之飘；末句「断桥头卖鱼人散」，「断桥头」一仄一平一平，「卖鱼人散」一仄一平一仄，以「散」字仄声戛然收住，如集市之散场。全曲声调的舒缓与清丽，正与江村暮色的安闲互为表里。以「寒山」韵之开，写江村之旷，声情舒缓，如夕阳之渐沉、人烟之渐散，是元曲写景小令中以声传景的范例。

Line by line

夕阳下

The setting sun descends.

夕阳斜照江面

The sinking sun lies on the river.

起句三字，以「夕阳」点出时辰，「下」字写日之将落，是一幅画面的整体色调与光线的交代。「夕阳」的暖色，给全曲敷上了一层柔和的金黄，与后文的「落花」「茅舍」的清冷形成对照；「下」字则暗含时间的流动，夕阳正在沉落，白昼将尽，暮色将临，一种「日之夕矣」的归思，已在这三字中悄然萌动。以「夕阳下」三字起篇，是元曲小令常见的开门见山之法，然马致远用字极省，三字既写光，又写时，既状景，又含情，为全曲的「暮归」主题定下了基调。这个「下」字，也预示着全曲的节奏——一切都向着「散」去，向着「归」去。

The opening three characters: 'setting sun' marks the hour, 'descends' the sun about to fall, giving the whole color and light of the picture. The warm gold of the setting sun lays a soft hue over the song, set against the cool of the 'fallen blossoms' and 'thatched cottages' to come; 'descends' holds the flow of time — the sun sinking, day ending, dusk nearing, and the homeward longing of 'the day declines' already stirring in these three characters. Opening on 'the setting sun descends' is the plain, direct way of Yuan short songs; yet Ma Zhiyuan uses his words sparingly — three characters give light and hour, scene and feeling — fixing the song's theme of dusk and return. The word 'descends' also foretells the rhythm: all things move toward 'scattering,' toward 'returning.'

酒旆闲

The wine banner hangs idle.

酒旗儿悠闲地飘着

The wine flag flutters at leisure.

此句三字，是全曲炼字的典范。「酒旆」即酒旗，是江村酒家的标志；「闲」字则是全句之眼——酒旗本是迎风招展之物，着一「闲」字，则风静或风微，旗儿懒懒地垂着、轻轻地飘着，不摇不晃，一副安闲自得之态。这「闲」字表面写酒旗，实则写整个江村的气氛：夕阳西下，风也闲了，旗也闲了，人也闲了，天地之间一片宁谧。以「闲」字写景，是把人的闲适心境投射到物上，物之闲正是人之闲的写照。马致远《远浦归帆》全曲以「闲」字领起，后文的归帆、落花、茅舍、卖鱼人散，皆是这一「闲」字的展开，三字而为一篇之纲。

These three characters are the model of the song's word-craft. 'Wine banner' is the wineshop sign of the river village; 'idle' is the eye of the line — the flag, meant to stream in the wind, hangs lazy with the word 'idle': wind still or faint, the flag drooping and drifting, not flapping, a posture of calm content. The 'idle' seems to write the flag, in truth writing the whole river village's mood: sun descending, wind idle, flag idle, people idle, a stillness filling heaven and earth. Writing scenery with 'idle' projects the poet's own leisure onto things — the thing's ease is the mirror of the man's. Ma Zhiyuan's Homecoming Sail at the Far Shore opens on 'idle'; the returning sails, fallen blossoms, thatched cottages, and dispersing fish-sellers that follow are all the unfolding of this one word — three characters, the framework of the whole piece.

两三航未曾着岸

Two or three boats have yet to touch the shore.

两三只归航的船儿还未曾靠岸

Two or three homeward craft have not yet made the shore.

此句写江心的归帆，是「远浦归帆」的点题之笔。「两三航」写船之少而疏，不是千帆竞发的热闹，而是三三两两、稀稀疏疏，愈见江村之静；「未曾着岸」写船尚在江中，缓缓行驶，还未靠岸，动态之中透出从容。这「两三航」的归船，是全曲唯一的动态意象，然其「动」也是闲的——不是疾驰，不是争渡，而是悠悠地、不紧不慢地向着岸边行来。「未曾着岸」四字尤为含蓄，它写的是「归而未至」的中间状态，船在途中，家在望中，一种将归未归的期待与闲适，尽在这四字之中。此句与首句「夕阳下」相承，写尽日暮江上归帆点点的安详。

This line writes the returning sails in mid-river, the point of the title 'homecoming sail at the far shore.' 'Two or three' writes the few and sparse craft — not the bustle of a thousand sails, but two or three, scattered, the more showing the river village's stillness; 'have not yet made the shore' writes the boats still in the river, moving slowly, not yet landed, leisure within motion. These two or three returning craft are the only moving image in the song, yet their motion is idle — not racing, not vying to cross, but drifting, unhurried, toward the bank. 'Have not yet made the shore' is especially reserved: it writes the middle state of 'returning yet not arrived' — boat on the way, home in sight, the expectation and leisure of the nearly-returned all within the four characters. Following the opening 'setting sun descends,' the line exhausts the calm of dusk sails on the river.

断桥头卖鱼人散

At the head of the broken bridge the fish-sellers have drifted away.

断桥头上卖鱼的人也渐渐散去

At the broken bridgehead, the fish-sellers have dispersed.

末句以「散」字收束，是全曲的落点。「断桥头」点出近岸的地景，断桥残存，更添江村的野趣与古意；「卖鱼人散」四字，写桥头卖鱼之人陆续收摊、渐渐散去，一天的渔市就此落幕。这「散」字与全曲的「闲」字遥相呼应——闲是日暮的氛围，散是日暮的归宿，酒旗闲挂，归帆未着，卖鱼人散，天地间的一切都向着「散」去，向着夜的宁静归去。「卖鱼人散」也暗含了人世的聚散：白日里桥头的喧嚷、交易的热闹，到黄昏都归于沉寂，热闹之后是散场，正如人生聚散之无常。全曲以「散」字作结，于清丽的景物之中，渗出一丝淡淡的怅惘，余味悠长。

The closing line, on the word 'dispersed,' is the settling point of the song. 'At the broken bridgehead' marks the near-shore place; the broken bridge, half-ruined, adds the wild, ancient charm of the river village; 'the fish-sellers have dispersed' — the sellers at the bridge gathering their stalls, scattering away, the day's fish market ended. The word 'dispersed' answers the song's 'idle' from afar: idle is the dusk atmosphere, dispersed the dusk's end; wine banner idle, returning sails not yet landed, fish-sellers dispersed — all things under heaven move toward 'scattering,' returning to night's quiet. 'The fish-sellers have dispersed' also holds the gathering and parting of human life: the bridgehead's bustle of day, the haggling, all sunk to silence at dusk; after the bustle, the dispersal — as in life's own gathering and parting, uncertain. Closing on 'dispersed,' the song, amid clear, fair scenery, seeps a faint wistfulness, long in aftertone.

Study

Word focus

闲 'Idles' renders both the still, gentle lift of the wine banner in the wind and, by implication, the unhurried calm of the poet's mind after his withdrawal; a single word governs the tranquil key of the whole song. 「闲」字是「酒旆闲」一句之眼，也是全曲的基调。此字本写人之闲适，马致远移以写物，谓酒旗在夕阳下懒懒地垂着、闲闲地飘着，不摇不晃，一派安闲。以「闲」字写酒旗，是「移情」的手法——旗本无闲忙之分，是观者的闲适心境投射到旗上，使旗也「闲」了起来。这一个「闲」字，写尽了江村日暮的宁谧气氛，也透露出曲家本人淡泊自适、随遇而安的心境。马致远晚年退隐，浪迹江南，其散曲多写这种安闲自足的意趣，此「闲」字正是其心境的外化。一字而兼写景、写人、写心，是此曲炼字的极致。

未曾 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「未曾」二字见于「两三航未曾着岸」，是写归帆状态的传神之笔。「未曾」是否定副词，写船「还没有」靠岸，处在将归而未归的途中。这二字妙在写出了一个「中间态」——船已归航，却尚未抵岸，一种将到未到的期待感、从容感，尽在这「未曾」之中。若作「已着岸」，则归程已尽，无余味；若作「未着岸」，则语气生硬；唯「未曾」二字，既肯定其归航（曾），又否定其抵岸（未），一正一反之间，把「归而未至」的微妙状态写得恰到好处。此二字亦暗合曲家自身的心境——功名之事，亦是「未曾着岸」的漂泊，此中深意，耐人寻味。

散 'Drifted away' shows the fish-sellers dispersing, and in that soundlessness the stillness of a river village at evening is made visible. 「散」字是全曲的收束之眼，见于末句「卖鱼人散」。「散」是聚的反面，卖鱼人白日聚于桥头，黄昏则各自散去，一个「散」字，写尽渔市的收场与人世的聚散。此字与起句「夕阳下」的「下」字遥相呼应——日落则人散，日之「下」正是人之「散」的时辰，时间的流转与人世的聚散在此合一。「散」字又承「酒旆闲」的「闲」字而来，闲是氛围，散是归宿，全曲的安闲，最终都落在这「散」字上，归于一片日暮人散的宁静。以「散」字收尾，如曲终人散，余音袅袅，把一个清丽的江村暮景，定格在聚散无常的淡淡怅惘之中。