All poems

元 Yuan · 曲 Qu song

山坡羊·燕城述怀

Hill Like a Sheep: Lament at Yan City

刘致

Liu Zhi

元曲Yuan Qu 咏怀Expressing Feelings 隐逸Hermitage 旷达Detachment

云山有意，轩裳无计，被西风吹断功名泪。
去来兮，便休提。
青山尽解招人醉，得失到头皆物理。
得，他命里；
失，他命里。

Cloudy mountains seem intent, but for official robes I have no plan—
The west wind blows away my tears for fame.
Go back home, no more to say.
Green hills fully know how to make men drunk;
Gain and loss in the end are all natural law.
Gain, it's in your fate;
Loss, it's in your fate.

Listen

Meaning

The poet laments his failed pursuit of official career, decides to return to nature, and accepts gain and loss as fate.

云山似乎有意留我，可功名轩冕我却无计求得，被西风吹断了我的功名泪。回去吧，这些事便不要再提。青山全然懂得让人沉醉，得与失到头来都是天理。得，是命里该有；失，也是命里注定。

Appreciation

The poem contrasts the allure of mountains with the frustration of officialdom, using vivid imagery like 'the west wind blows away my tears for fame.' The final short lines on fate show a resigned yet detached attitude, typical of Yuan sanqu.

【白话串讲】刘致在燕城感叹：山有意思，官场没意思。得失到头都是命——“得，他命里；失，他命里”。元朝文人看破世事的通透，都在这一句里。【意象与手法】此曲艺术在直抒胸臆而能顿挫有致：起以「云山有意，轩裳无计」对举，见出处之困；「被西风吹断功名泪」以景绾情，意象新警；「青山尽解招人醉」以青山解人反衬尘网之苦；结「得，他命里；失，他命里」以两组三字短句蝉联，如谣如谚，把沉郁化为洒脱。【情感与主旨】刘致为元中后期散曲家，历任永新州判、翰林待制等职，仕途并不得志。此曲题「燕城述怀」，当为其在京任职、郁郁不得志时所作，抒写功名无计、萌退隐之念，是元代士人出处困境的缩影。【名句点睛】常考「被西风吹断功名泪」的以景写情、意象新警；结句「得，他命里；失，他命里」的短句蝉联与宿命抒怀；「去来兮」用陶渊明《归去来兮辞》之典。

Background

Liu Zhi served in minor official posts and was often frustrated. This piece, written in Yan (Beijing), reflects the limited career opportunities for literati in the Yuan dynasty and his decision to retreat.

刘致（约1258—1335后），字时中，号逋斋，石州宁乡（今山西中阳）人，元中后期散曲家。他历任永新州判、翰林待制、太常博士、江浙行省都事等职，仕途并不得志。此曲题「燕城述怀」，燕城约指大都（今北京）一带，当为其在京任职、郁郁不得志时所作。元代文人入仕之途较前代狭隘：科举长期停废，士人多由吏进身、屈沉下僚，即使得官亦多卑微冷官，加之民族等级森严，汉族士人备受压抑，许多士人困于下僚，遂生出「归去来兮」之叹。刘致借燕城之咏，抒写功名无计、萌退隐之念，正是那个时代士人出处困境的缩影。曲中以「云山」与「轩裳」对举、以「得失皆物理」自解，于失意中求旷达，是元代散曲「以俗为雅、以理遣情」本色的典型体现。尤可注意者，此曲以「云山」与「轩裳」对举开篇，以「命里」收束，把庄子的安命哲学与民间宿命观熔于一炉，正是元代文人于困顿中寻求解脱的普遍心态。此曲虽短，而一位失意士人由怨到悟、由悟到达的心路历程，尽在其中。

Art

The poem uses contrasts (mountains vs. official robes), personification (mountains 'intent,' hills 'know'), and a condensed structure with short lines for impact, especially the final two-line repetition on fate.

此曲艺术在直抒胸臆而能顿挫有致，最见元曲当行本色。起以「云山有意，轩裳无计」对举，一写自然之召唤、一写仕途之绝望，出处之困立现；「被西风吹断功名泪」以景绾情，把无形的功名之悲化为可被秋风吹断的实物，意象新警，力透纸背；「去来兮，便休提」化用陶渊明《归去来兮辞》语意而口语化，三字短句一顿，决绝中见旷达；「青山尽解招人醉」以拟人写山之多情善诱，反衬人世之寡情，议论中见情趣。结「得，他命里；失，他命里」以两组三字短句蝉联，如谣如谚，把沉郁化为洒脱，冷峭中透出看破的旷达。全曲由困到决、由决到悟、由悟到达，层层转折，直抒胸臆而不失顿挫之致，是散曲小令「以俗语写真情」的典范。又「便休提」之口语、「他命里」之谣谚，皆以最俗之语写最真之情，俗而不俚，正是散曲「本色当行」之所在。全曲由困到决、由决到悟、由悟到达，四层转折一气呵成，而止于两句谣谚，举重若轻，最见元人小令的顿挫之功。

Allusions

'Go back home' alludes to Tao Yuanming's 'Returning Home.' 'Official robes' (xuanshang) symbolize rank and salary. 'Physical law' (wuli) refers to natural principles, here equated with fate.

「去来兮」显用陶渊明《归去来兮辞》「归去来兮，田园将芜胡不归」，表归隐之志，陶渊明挂冠归田、不为五斗米折腰的精神，正是元代失意士人借以自解的精神资源；「轩裳」即轩冕车服，代指官位利禄，语出《庄子·缮性》「轩冕在身，非性命也」，「轩裳无计」写求取功名而不可得；「物理」指事物常理、天命，语近《庄子》「安时而处顺」之旨；「云山」「青山」则承谢朓「云山」、王维「青霭入看无」的山水传统，与陶渊明「采菊东篱下，悠然见南山」一脉相通，写自然之召唤。结句「得，他命里；失，他命里」化用传统「命里有时终须有」的俚谚，以宿命观消解得失之苦，是元曲融雅入俗的典型——把《庄子》的安命哲学与民间谚语熔于一炉，庄语与俗谚并存，正见散曲「雅俗共赏」的文体特性。此外，「被西风吹断功名泪」之「功名泪」暗承杜甫「凭轩涕泗流」的泪意象，而化沉郁为轻巧，亦可见曲家对诗语的点化之功。要之，此曲用典不多而皆切，庄语与俗谚并陈，正合散曲「雅俗兼收」的文体本色。

Commentary

Critics praise the poem's 'sharp and forthright' tone. The final lines turn personal disappointment into philosophical acceptance, showing the Yuan literati's characteristic mix of bitterness and detachment.

近人任讷《散曲概论》列刘致于元代名家，谓其「爽辣」，小令「多牢骚语而能旷达」，此曲正是「爽辣」与「旷达」并存的代表。元人散曲多写叹世归隐，张养浩「兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦」以史论警世，刘致此曲则以命数看破得失，同是元人面对世事的两种姿态：一者愤激而关怀天下，一者冷峭而自求解脱。此曲于失意中作旷达语，「得，他命里；失，他命里」以谣谚式的短句把得失之叹说得斩截，虽带元代士人特有的无奈与冷眼，却也见其于困顿中自我排遣的胸次。在散曲史上，「山坡羊」一调因张养浩、刘致等人的述怀之作而成为叹世抒怀的常见曲牌，此曲以短句蝉联、冷峭收束的写法，向为选家所重，是元代小令「以俗为雅」的标本。要之，此曲以谣谚式短句写看破得失的旷达，冷峭而不失真率，是元代文人叹世之作中别具一格的名篇。较之张养浩「兴亡」之叹的沉痛，刘致此曲以「命里」之解自宽，虽略逊其社会关怀，而于个体安顿处见其通透，亦自有不可废者。

Prosody

Form Northern Qu, Zhonglü mode, Hill Like a Sheep tune北曲·中吕宫·山坡羊（小令）

Rhyme Mixed level and oblique rhymes; rhymes at 意, 计, 泪, 兮, 提, 醉, 理, 里, 里.中吕宫小令，北曲平仄通押，韵脚：意、计、泪、兮、提、醉、理、里、里（齐微、支思等韵部相协）。

Tone pattern Mainly four- and seven-character lines, with three-character interludes for abrupt transitions.句式以四字、七字句为主，间以三字短句（去来兮、得、失），参差错落；多用三字短句造成顿挫，是散曲小令典型节奏。

Reading note The final two three-character lines split 'gain' and 'loss' to emphasize fate, a hallmark of Liu Zhi's style.此曲为北曲中吕宫《山坡羊》小令，句式以四字、七字句为主，间以三字短句，参差错落。北曲用韵较诗词为宽，平仄通押，「意、计、泪、兮、提、醉、理、里、里」诸韵脚以齐微、支思等韵部相协，且「得」「失」两个短句插入韵脚之间，形成「得，他命里；失，他命里」的叠收增韵效果。全曲节奏之妙在顿挫：起句「云山有意，轩裳无计，被西风吹断功名泪」为四、四、七字句，前两短后一长，如蓄势而后发；「去来兮，便休提」陡转三字短句，如快刀截断愁绪；「青山尽解招人醉，得失到头皆物理」复归七字对句，平缓推进；结句「得，他命里；失，他命里」以两组三字短句蝉联，如谣如谚，冷峭收束。山坡羊一调向以顿挫见长，此曲正得其中三昧：以短句造顿挫、以谣谚写旷达，把沉郁化为洒脱，是元代小令「以俗为雅」的典范，也是刘致此曲在格律上最见功力的地方。

Line by line

云山有意，轩裳无计，被西风吹断功名泪。

Cloudy mountains seem intent to keep me, but I have no scheme for official rank; the west wind cuts off my tears for fame—a vivid image of giving up ambition.

云山似乎有意留我，功名轩冕我却无计求得，西风吹落了我为功名而流的眼泪。

Clouds and hills seem to keep me; carriage and robes I cannot win; the west wind snaps the tears I shed for fame.

起笔三组短句，是全曲立骨之句。「云山有意」写自然之召唤：云山似有情留我归隐，一个「有意」把云山写得有情，反衬人世之无情；「轩裳无计」写仕途之绝望：轩冕车服、功名利禄，求之而不可得，「无计」二字写尽无可奈何；「被西风吹断功名泪」以景绾情，把无形的功名之痛化为可被秋风吹断的实物——不是「流」泪，而是「吹断」泪，仿佛泪已成线、秋风一吹即断，比直说伤心沉痛十倍。三句以「云山」对「轩裳」，自然与荣利对照，出处之困立现；「有意」与「无计」对举，山之多情与人世之无情相映，开篇即定全曲「困而思归」的基调，意象新警，力透纸背。

The opening three short lines are the bone of the song. 'Clouds and hills seem to keep me' the call of nature: clouds and hills as if with feeling, keeping the poet from retreat, the word 'seem' writing the hills as feeling, setting off the world's feelinglessness; 'carriage and robes I cannot win' the despair of office: the carriage, robes, rank and salary, sought and unattainable, the words 'cannot' writing utter helplessness; 'the west wind snaps the tears I shed for fame' gathering feeling in scene, turning the invisible pain of fame into a thing the autumn wind can snap — not tears that 'flow,' but tears 'snapped,' as if the tears had become threads, broken by the wind, ten times more sorrowful than plain grief. Three lines, 'clouds and hills' against 'carriage and robes,' nature against rank, the plight of retreat and office at once; 'seem' against 'cannot,' the hills' feeling against the world's feelinglessness, fixing at the opening the song's tone of 'hard-pressed, longing to return,' the imagery fresh and arresting, the force through the page.

去来兮，便休提。

Go back home! Let it be—an allusion to Tao Yuanming's resignation.

回去吧，归隐之事便不要再提起。

Go back, then — and let it all drop.

此句是全曲的转折，由困转决。「去来兮」化用陶渊明《归去来兮辞》「归去来兮，田园将芜胡不归」，三字短句一顿，决绝中见旷达——既然轩裳无计，不如效渊明归去；「便休提」写既已决定归隐，那些功名得失之事便不再提起，「休提」二字以口语出之，把前文「功名泪」的沉重轻轻放下，举重若轻。两句之妙在顿挫：前句「云山有意，轩裳无计，被西风吹断功名泪」是长句铺陈、愁思萦回，此句陡转三字短句，如快刀斩乱麻，把愁绪一刀截断；「去来兮」用典而口语化，「便休提」纯是市井口语，雅俗相济，正是散曲小令「当行本色」的节奏，为下文「青山尽解招人醉」的旷达张本。

This line is the song's turning, from hard-pressed to resolved. 'Go back, then' adapts Tao Yuanming's 'go back home, the fields and gardens will grow to weeds, why not return?' — three short characters, a beat, resolve holding detachment: since carriage and robes cannot be won, better to follow Tao home; 'and let it all drop' — since the retreat is decided, the gains and losses of fame are no longer spoken of, the words 'let it drop,' in vernacular, setting down the weight of the earlier 'tears for fame' with a light touch, weightless handling. The genius of the two lines lies in the turning: the earlier 'clouds and hills seem to keep me; carriage and robes I cannot win; the west wind snaps the tears' is a long line of brooding grief; this line suddenly turns to three short characters, like a sharp blade through tangled hemp, cutting off the sorrow; 'go back, then' in allusion yet colloquial, 'and let it all drop' pure market speech, elegance and vernacular together, the native rhythm of the short song, priming the detachment of 'the green hills know how to make me drunk' below.

青山尽解招人醉，得失到头皆物理。

Green hills fully know how to make one drunk; gain and loss in the end are all natural law—a turn to philosophical acceptance.

青山全然懂得让人沉醉，得与失到头来都是天理使然。

The green hills know full well how to make me drunk; gain and loss, at the last, are the way of things.

此句写归隐之乐与得失之悟，是全曲议论的眼目。「青山尽解招人醉」以「尽解」拟人，写山之多情善诱——青山全然懂得如何引人沉醉，一个「解」字把山写得有情有知，与首句「云山有意」呼应；「醉」字既写山水之美令人陶醉，亦暗含陶渊明「此中有真意」的忘机之乐，反衬尘网之苦。「得失到头皆物理」由景入理：得与失，到头来都是天理常道使然，「物理」二字将个人荣辱纳入天道，以理遣情，把功名无计的失意消解于对天命的体认。两句一景一理：青山招醉是归隐之乐，得失物理是解脱之悟，由乐而悟，由景而理，把上句「便休提」的决绝落到实处，是全文议论眼目，为结句「得，他命里；失，他命里」的谣谚式收束作了铺垫。

This line writes the joy of retreat and the enlightenment of gain and loss, the eye of the song's argument. 'The green hills know full well how to make me drunk' — 'know full well' personifies, writing the hills' feeling and persuasiveness: the green hills know exactly how to draw one into drunkenness, the word 'know' writing the hills as feeling and understanding, answering the opening 'clouds and hills seem to keep me'; the word 'drunk' at once the beauty of hill and water that intoxicates, and the dark allusion to Tao's 'within this is the true meaning,' the forgetful joy, setting off the pain of the dusty net. 'Gain and loss, at the last, are the way of things' — from scene to principle: gain and loss, in the end, are the constant way of heaven, the words 'way of things' taking personal honor and disgrace into the order of heaven, dispelling feeling through principle, dissolving the disappointment of fame-without-issue in the understanding of fate. Two lines, scene and principle: the green hills inviting drunkenness the joy of retreat; gain and loss as nature's way the enlightenment of release — from joy to enlightenment, scene to principle, landing the resolve of 'let it all drop' on solid ground, the eye of the whole argument, priming the proverb-like close of 'gain — his fate; loss — his fate.'

得，他命里；失，他命里。

Gain, it's in his fate; loss, it's in his fate—repetition for emphasis, showing resignation.

得，是命里该有；失，也是命里注定。

Gain — it was in his fate; loss — it was in his fate.

结句以两组三字短句叠收，是全曲点睛之笔。「得，他命里；失，他命里」，把「命」字分拆说尽：得，是命里该有，不必狂喜；失，是命里注定，不必悲哀。两个「他命里」蝉联对举，句式如谣如谚，斩截干脆，把前文「得失到头皆物理」的议论落到最凝练的短句上，冷峭中透出看破的旷达。此句之妙有三：一是以短句收束，全曲由「被西风吹断功名泪」的长句铺陈，至此化为两字一顿的谣谚，节奏由沉郁转轻快，正合「把沉郁化为洒脱」的曲意；二是以命数自解，化用「命里有时终须有」的俚谚，把庄子的安命哲学与民间宿命观熔于一炉，是元曲融雅入俗的典型；三是收束顿挫，散曲小令惯以短句作结，此二句分承「得失」二字，章法冷峭，是刘致山坡羊述怀的标志性收束。

The closing, two groups of three short characters in叠 close, is the finishing stroke of the song. 'Gain — it was in his fate; loss — it was in his fate,' splitting the word 'fate' to say all: gain, what fate held, no need for rapture; loss, what fate decreed, no need for grief. The two 'his fate' looping against each other, the form like proverb and folk-saying, clipped and final, landing the argument of 'gain and loss, at the last, are the way of things' on the most condensed short lines, detachment shining through the coldness. The genius is threefold: closing in short lines, the song, from the long line of 'the west wind snaps the tears,' becomes a proverb beating two characters at a time, the rhythm from somber to light, suiting the song's meaning of 'turning somber into free'; consolation through fate, adapting the folk saying 'what is fated in the end must be,' fusing Zhuangzi's acceptance of fate with popular fatalism, typical of Yuan qu fusing elegance into the vernacular; and the closing turn, the short song's habit of closing in short lines, these two承接 'gain' and 'loss,' the structure cold and sharp, the signature close of Liu Zhi's mountain-song confession.

Study

Word focus

吹断 blows away (literally 'cuts off,' a forceful image) 「被西风吹断功名泪」之「吹断」，是全曲最著炼字之功的意象，妙在将无形的功名之悲化为可被秋风「吹断」的实物，力透纸背。「断」字与「泪」字组合极奇：泪本是流出来的，此处却写泪被西风吹「断」，仿佛泪已成线、悬于秋风之中，风过而线断，比直说伤心沉痛十倍。「吹」字写秋风之力，既写自然之秋风，亦暗喻岁月、时势之摧折——功名梦被现实之风吹断，正如泪被秋风之吹断，一语双关；「西风」又暗含时序之衰飒、行路之艰难，与「断」字相合，凄凉倍增。此词之妙在化虚为实：功名之悲本是抽象的，经「吹断」二字，化为可听可见的动态意象，意象新警，力透纸背，是散曲「以俗语造奇境」的典范，向为论者所称。

尽解 fully understand (personification of hills) 「青山尽解招人醉」之「尽解」，以拟人写山之多情善诱，炼字轻巧而意深。「解」是懂得、理解之意，「尽解」写青山全然懂得如何引人沉醉，一个「解」字把无情的青山写得有情有知，与首句「云山有意」的「有意」遥相呼应，构成全曲「山有情而人无计」的对照：山之多情反衬人世之寡情，自然之招引反衬仕途之绝望。「尽」字更进一层，写青山解人之深、招人之切，仿佛山亦怜人、劝人归隐。此词之妙有三：一是拟人而不着痕迹，山本无情，因诗人有情而觉山有情，物我相融；二是与「醉」配合，「尽解招人醉」写山以美色引人沉醉，暗含陶渊明「悠然见南山」的忘机之乐；三是反衬之工，山愈多情，世愈无情，归隐之念愈坚，炼「尽解」二字而全句皆活，是散曲炼字「以轻巧见功力」的典型。

物理 natural law (here, fate) 「得失到头皆物理」之「物理」，是全曲议论的收束字，一字而定达观基调，见元曲以理遣情的本色。「物理」指事物的常理、天命，语近《庄子》「安时而处顺」之旨，「得失到头皆物理」写得失到头来都是天理常道使然——得非侥幸，失非冤屈，皆在天理运数之中，把个人荣辱纳入天道，以理遣情，消解了「功名泪」的沉重。此字之妙有三：一是以理胜情，失意之人最易怨天尤人，刘致却以「物理」二字自解，把无奈化为通达；二是承上启下，上承「青山尽解招人醉」的归隐之乐，下启「得，他命里；失，他命里」的谣谚收束，「物理」正是中间枢纽；三是庄语入曲，以哲学语汇入小令而能不隔，与民间谚语「命里有时终须有」相映成趣，是元曲融雅入俗、以理遣情的典型炼字。