All poems

元 Yuan · 散曲 Sanqu song

水仙子·夜雨

Song of Water Immortal · Night Rain

徐再思

Xu Zaisi

羁旅Traveling in a Strange Land 秋雨Autumn Rain

一声梧叶一声秋，一点芭蕉一点愁，三更归梦三更后。
落灯花，棋未收，叹新丰逆旅淹留。
枕上十年事，江南二老忧，都到心头。

One falling parasol leaf brings one note of autumn, one raindrop on banana leaf adds one touch of sorrow, after midnight the homecoming dream comes after midnight.
The lamp wick flowers have fallen, the chess pieces remain uncollected, alas, like Ma Zhou stranded at Xinfeng inn, I linger long.
On the pillow, ten years' memories, worries of my old parents south of the River, all surge into my heart.

Listen

Meaning

A traveler listens to the autumn rain at night. The falling of parasol leaves and raindrops on banana leaves stir his homesickness. He wakes from a dream of returning home and finds the lamp wick burnt out and the chessboard unfinished. He laments his long stay in a strange inn, recalling ten years of memories and worrying about his aged parents back home in Jiangnan. All these feelings rush into his heart.

一声梧叶飘落便添一声秋意，一点芭蕉雨滴便增一点愁绪，归乡之梦直到三更之后才来。灯花已落，残棋未收，可叹我如马周困居新丰逆旅般久留他乡。枕上回思十年往事、江南双亲之忧，点点滴滴都涌上心头。

Appreciation

The poem employs repetition and parallelism in the first three lines, associating each sound with an emotion, which intensifies the traveler's melancholy. The images of fallen lamp wick and uncollected chess pieces depict a sleepless night. The allusion to Ma Zhou at Xinfeng inn deepens the sense of unfulfilled ambition and homesickness.

【白话串讲】一声梧叶一声秋，一点芭蕉一点愁。徐再思在驿站听了一夜雨，“枕上十年事，江南二老忧，都到心头”——游子的雨夜，装着十年的漂泊和父母的白发。【意象与手法】此曲全篇不着一「雨」字而夜雨满纸，以梧叶、芭蕉、灯花、残棋、归梦诸象织成一片秋夜声境。「一声」「一点」数词叠用，回环如雨滴淅沥，以声写愁；三句鼎足对与三字短句错落其间，节奏顿挫有致，声情并茂，结以「都到心头」将十年漂泊与二老之忧一并收束，余味深长。【情感与主旨】徐再思，字德可，号甜斋，嘉兴（今属浙江）人，元后期散曲名家，与贯云石并称「酸甜乐府」。此曲写于羁旅秋夜，以久客不归之叹、十年往事之忆、江南二老之忧，道尽天涯倦客的羁旅愁思与思亲之情，亦折射元代文人沉沦下僚、流落江湖的共同命运。【名句点睛】默写易错：「一声梧叶一声秋」之「梧」勿作「吾」；「一点芭蕉一点愁」之「蕉」易误作「焦」；「三更归梦三更后」之「更」读平声，勿误写；「新丰逆旅」之「逆」勿作形近字误写。全曲常考「以声写愁」的手法、「新丰」用典（马周事）以及「灯花」反用报喜之意的深意。

Background

Xu Zaisi (style name Deke, called Sweet Studio) was a noted sanqu writer of the late Yuan dynasty. He served as an official but later wandered. This poem was written during his travels. 'Two old parents' refer to his mother and father in Jiangnan, and the allusion to Ma Zhou suggests his own unsettled life and frustrated ambitions.

徐再思，字德可，号甜斋，嘉兴（今属浙江）人，元后期散曲名家，与贯云石（号酸斋）并称「酸甜乐府」。其生卒年不详，约活动于元泰定、天历年间（十四世纪前期）。据《录鬼簿》等记载，他曾任嘉兴路吏，后仕途坎坷，久客不归，浪迹江湖。此首〔双调·水仙子〕《夜雨》即写于羁旅途中的秋夜。曲题虽仅「夜雨」二字，而全篇无一「雨」字，纯以梧叶声、芭蕉声侧面烘托夜雨，正是元散曲小令以简驭繁的典型笔法。曲中「江南二老」指远在故乡的父母——徐氏为江南嘉兴人，故以「江南」称其乡里；「新丰逆旅」用唐代马周困居新丰旅舍之典自况，隐见其怀才不遇、久客他乡的身世之感。从「十年事」与「三更归梦」等语推之，此曲当作于诗人宦游或漂泊生涯的中后期，彼时功名未遂、归期无望，遂将满腔羁愁尽付此一夜秋雨。元代科举时废时兴，知识分子地位低下，许多文人沉沦下僚、流落江湖，徐再思此曲正是这一时代文人共同命运的缩影，故历来被视为元曲羁旅题材的代表作之一。

Art

The first three lines use a repeating pattern of 'one...one...' to match sounds with emotions, creating a rhythmic effect like falling raindrops. The short phrases 'fallen lamp wick' and 'uncollected chess' vividly depict a sleepless night. The final three lines culminate in a powerful climax as personal memories and filial concerns converge.

此曲艺术上最显著的特点是「以声写愁、以叠传情」。起三句「一声梧叶一声秋，一点芭蕉一点愁，三更归梦三更后」构成一组鼎足对，「一声」对「一点」对「三更」，数字、量词回环叠用，音节如雨滴般淅沥而下，把听觉（梧叶、芭蕉、更漏）与愁思一一对应，秋声愈密则愁绪愈浓，未着一「雨」字而夜雨满纸。三句之中，「一声」「一点」两句先写秋声雨声，第三句「三更归梦三更后」陡转至梦境，「归梦」至三更之后方来，正见归思之切与归期之杳，梦醒时分更添悲凉。次二句「落灯花，棋未收」以两个三字句白描夜深孤景：灯花已落而不剪，残棋未收而不理，细节之微、情态之懒，全在不言之中，于短促的句式中见出悠悠长夜。末三句「枕上十年事，江南二老忧，都到心头」又以鼎足对收束，「十年事」写宦游之久，「二老忧」写亲情之牵，「都到心头」将时空、身世、亲情一并凝于枕上一瞬，语淡而情浓。全曲由远及近、由景及情、由外而内，以「雨」贯之、以「愁」结之，数词叠用的回环节奏与秋雨淅沥的声境浑然一体，堪称元散曲小令中以声写情的神品。

Allusions

Xinfeng inn alludes to Ma Zhou of the Tang dynasty, who was once stranded at an inn before achieving high office. The poet uses this to express his own frustration and longing for recognition. 'Lamp wick flowers' falling traditionally symbolizes good news (as lamp wick flower-shaped embers were considered omens), but here the fallen wick ironically underscores loneliness.

「新丰逆旅」用《新唐书·马周传》之典：马周少孤贫，西游长安，宿于新丰（今陕西临潼东北）逆旅，店主见其贫寒，慢待之，马周遂独酌自若，后为中郎将常何门客，代常何草疏论事，唐太宗奇其才，召见大悦，累官至中书令。徐再思曲中以马周自况，取其「困居逆旅、暂不得志」之况——马周终得明主而显达，而诗人却久客不归、功名无成，「叹」字一出，自嘲之中更见深悲。又「灯花」亦含典故意味：古人以灯花爆结为喜事之兆，所谓「灯花报喜」，俗谚有「灯花爆，喜事到」；此曲写「落灯花」，正是反用其意——灯花已落而喜讯终无，孤灯将尽，唯余长夜，以「应喜之兆」写「无喜之实」，翻迭之中倍见寂寥。至于「二老」，本出《孟子·离娄上》「二老者，天下之大老也」（指伯夷、太公望），后世遂以「二老」泛指父母双亲，曲中「江南二老」即指故乡父母，语极亲切而情极沉痛。三处故实，一典自况身世、一俗反衬孤寂、一成词直诉亲情，熔铸自然，不见斧凿，正见元人小令用典「化俗为雅、以浅写深」的功夫。

Commentary

Ren Zhongmin in 'Introduction to Sanqu' paired Xu Zaisi with Guan Yunshi as 'sweet and sour music' (Sweet Studio and Sour Studio). Critics praise this piece for using numbers to express sorrow, calling it a masterpiece of Yuan travel lyrics.

徐再思与贯云石并称「酸甜乐府」，贯云石号酸斋，徐再思号甜斋，二人曲风一豪放一清丽，恰成对照。任中敏《散曲概论》谓甜斋曲「清丽工巧，善写闺情旅思」，此《夜雨》即其旅思之作的代表。近人论此曲，多推赏其数词叠用之法，以为「以数词叠用写愁，巧而不纤」——叠而不腻、复而不滞，数字的机械回环反而生出雨滴般绵密的声情，是「以声传情」的典范。全曲仅八句数十言，而秋夜、孤灯、残棋、归梦、亲情、身世尽纳其中，以小令之体而具长调之思，足见甜斋炼意之精。其影响亦深远：明清曲选如《乐府群珠》《词林摘艳》皆录此曲，后世写羁旅秋雨者，多有从此化出之句。就文学史而言，此曲与马致远《天净沙·秋思》一写夕照断肠、一写夜雨归梦，并称元代羁旅小令双璧；徐再思以一介吏员之身，于散曲一道与关、马、白、郑诸大家并驰，其「清丽工巧」一路更直接影响后世南曲散套的雅化，故论元曲者不可不重甜斋，论元人羁旅之愁者，亦不可不读此《夜雨》。

Prosody

Form Sanqu short piece (Shuangdiao · Water Immortal)散曲小令（双调·水仙子）

Rhyme Autumn, sorrow, midnight, linger, heart (rhyme in 'ou' vowel)秋、愁、后、留、头——同押尤侯韵，一韵到底

Tone pattern Mixed line lengths, first three lines form a triplet句式长短相间：前三句为七字鼎足对，中段「落灯花，棋未收」为三字短句，末三句为五字句收束，短长错落、节奏多变；「一声」「一点」「三更」等数字叠用，声韵回环如雨滴淅沥。

Reading note The first three lines are a triplet describing autumn night sorrow, a famous travel piece.此曲为北曲〔双调·水仙子〕小令，一名《凌波仙》《湘妃怨》，共八句，句式以七字句领起，中杂三字短句，末以五字句收束，长短相间、整散错落，是元散曲小令中极见声律功力的一体。全曲押尤侯韵，「秋、愁、后、留、头」五字一韵到底，无一例外；尤侯韵韵母为「ou」「iu」，读来圆润悠长，正合秋夜雨声的绵延与羁客愁绪的低回，韵情与词情相凑。平仄节奏上，前三句以「一声梧叶一声秋，一点芭蕉一点愁」的「一」字领起，数字叠用、平仄回环，第四句「三更归梦三更后」以「更」字相叠，三句鼎足相对而声调各异，读来如雨滴错落；中段「落灯花，棋未收」骤转三字短句，音节急促，如叹如咽，与前后七字长句形成「长—短—长」的节奏顿挫；末三句「枕上十年事，江南二老忧，都到心头」复归齐句，以短句收束，戛然而止而余韵袅袅。元人论曲重「声情相称」，此曲数字叠用、短长相间，声律之回环正仿夜雨之淅沥，堪称「以声写情」的声情典范，亦为徐再思羁旅名作声律美的集中体现。

Line by line

一声梧叶一声秋，一点芭蕉一点愁，三更归梦三更后。

Each falling parasol leaf brings a note of autumn, each raindrop on banana leaf adds a touch of sorrow, the homecoming dream after midnight arrives after midnight. These three lines use parallelism and repetition to correlate sounds with feelings, intensifying the traveler's melancholy.

一声梧叶飘落便添一声秋意，一点芭蕉雨滴便增一点愁绪，归乡之梦直到三更之后才来。

Each plane leaf falling adds one sound of autumn; each raindrop on banana leaves adds one drop of sorrow; the homeward dream comes only after the third watch.

前三句鼎足对是此曲最见功力之处。古人以「梧叶报秋」（一叶落而知天下秋）与「芭蕉夜雨」为秋夜愁苦的传统意象，徐再思将二者对举，以「一声」「一点」两组叠词连环推进，把听觉转化为情绪的计量单位——每一声梧叶飘落便添一分秋意，每一点雨滴便增一分愁思，声与愁同步递增，愁绪如雨丝般绵密不绝。第三句「三更归梦三更后」更以「三更」两见点明时分与梦境：归梦至三更之后方来，正见辗转难眠、归思深重；而「归梦」偏又短暂易醒，梦醒之后四顾萧然，悲凉倍增。三句皆为鼎足对，数字「一」「一」「三」与量词「声」「点」「更」回环错落，节奏如秋雨淅沥，声情并茂，将秋声、雨声、乡愁熔铸一体，是「以声写愁」的典范句。

The first three lines, a balanced triplet, are the song's most crafted point. The ancients used 'plane leaves heralding autumn' (one leaf falling, the world knows autumn) and 'banana leaves in night rain' as the traditional images of autumn-night grief; Xu Zaisi sets the two against each other, the doubled words 'one sound' and 'one drop' advancing in chain, turning hearing into the measure of emotion — each plane leaf adds a touch of autumn, each raindrop a touch of sorrow, sound and grief rising together, the grief dense as rain-threads without end. The third line, 'the homeward dream comes only after the third watch,' repeats 'third watch' to mark the hour and the dream: the homeward dream arriving only after midnight, showing the tossing wakefulness, the deep home-thought; and the homeward dream, brief and easily broken, leaves the waking man staring at emptiness, the grief doubled. The three lines are a balanced triplet, the numerals 'one,' 'one,' 'three' and the measure-words 'sound,' 'drop,' 'watch' looping and varied, the rhythm like autumn rain, sound and feeling together, fusing autumn sound, rain sound, and homesickness — the model line of 'writing grief through sound.'

落灯花，棋未收，叹新丰逆旅淹留。

The lamp wick flowers have fallen, the chess pieces remain uncollected, alas, like Ma Zhou stranded at Xinfeng inn, I linger long. These lines depict a sleepless night through concrete details and use an allusion to express frustration at being stranded.

灯花已落而无人剪理，残棋未收而无人续弈，可叹我如马周困居新丰旅舍一般，久留他乡。

The lamp-snuff has fallen and no one trims it; the half-finished chess stands, no one to play; alas, I linger like a stranded traveler at Xinfeng.

此三句由室外雨声转入室内孤景，笔法由铺陈转为白描。「落灯花，棋未收」以两个三字句写尽深夜的静与冷：灯花落尽而不剪，说明主人枯坐已久、心不在灯；残棋未收而不理，暗示对弈之人早已散去，唯余孤身。两个细节，一灯一棋，皆是人去楼空的痕迹，以物之残写人之孤，比直说寂寞更见含蓄。第三句「叹新丰逆旅淹留」笔锋陡转，「叹」字一字领起，直抒胸臆；「新丰逆旅」用马周困居新丰之典，自比怀才不遇、困顿他乡的潦倒客子，马周终遇唐太宗而显达，诗人却不知归期何在，一典之中自嘲与自怜兼而有之。此三句由景入事、由物及人，短句急促而情意悠长，是承上启下的枢纽，也是全曲由客观写景转入主观抒怀的关键转折。

These three lines turn from the outdoor rain to the indoor solitude, the brush from spread to plain description. 'The lamp-snuff has fallen, the chess not cleared,' two three-character lines writing the depth of night's stillness and cold: the lamp-snuff fallen and not trimmed, showing the master long sitting, his heart not in the lamp; the half-played chess uncleared, hinting the playmates long gone, the man alone. Two details, a lamp and a chess, both traces of an emptied house, the thing's remnant writing the man's loneliness, more reserved than saying 'lonely' outright. The third line, 'alas, I linger, a stranger at Xinfeng inn,' the pen turning sharply, the word 'alas' leading, speaking the heart outright; 'Xinfeng inn' uses the allusion of Ma Zhou stranded at Xinfeng, the poet likening himself to the unrecognized, stranded traveler; Ma Zhou at last met Emperor Taizong and rose, while the poet knows not the day of his return — self-mockery and self-pity within one allusion. The three lines, from scene to event, thing to person, short lines urgent, the feeling long, the hinge carrying the part above to the part below, the key turn from objective scenery to subjective lyric.

枕上十年事，江南二老忧，都到心头。

On the pillow, ten years' memories, worries of my old parents south of the River, all surge into my heart. The final lines bring personal and filial feelings together, creating a powerful climax.

枕上回思十年漂泊的往事，江南双亲的忧念，点点滴滴都涌上心头。

On the pillow, ten years of wanderings; in the south, the two old parents' anxiety — all of it comes to the heart.

末三句是全曲情感的收束与升华，以鼎足对将全篇愁绪凝于一点。「枕上十年事」写时间的纵深——十年宦游、十年漂泊，多少往事在夜雨声中一一翻检；「江南二老忧」写空间的牵挂——故乡父母之衰老、之忧念，与游子之愁遥遥相对；「都到心头」则以四字总收，十年之事、二老之忧如百川归海，尽注于枕上不眠人的心头。此处「心头」与首句「一声秋」遥相呼应：秋声自外入耳，愁绪自内涌心，内外交攻，遂成不寐之夜的完整图景。三句句式齐整而情感层层加码，先时空、后亲情、终归结于一「心」，语极平淡而情极深挚，所谓「语淡情浓」，正是此曲余味深长的根本所在，亦使全曲由「夜雨」之境自然收于「心头」之情，章法浑然。

The last three lines are the song's gathering and lifting of feeling, the balanced triplet condensing the whole grief to one point. 'On the pillow: ten years of affairs' the depth of time — ten years of office, ten years of wandering, how many past things turned over one by one in the night rain; 'in the south, two elders' anxiety' the reach of space — the parents' aging, their anxiety in the home country, set far against the wanderer's grief; 'all come to the heart' four characters gathering all, ten years of affairs, two elders' anxiety, like a hundred streams to the sea, pouring into the wakeful man on the pillow. Here 'heart' answers the opening's 'one sound of autumn': autumn sound entering the ear from without, grief surging from the heart within, inner and outer attacking together, forming the complete picture of a sleepless night. Three lines, even in form, feeling layer on layer added, first time and space, then family love, closing at last on one 'heart,' the words plain to the extreme, the feeling deep to the extreme — the so-called 'plain words, rich feeling,' the very root of the song's long aftertone, closing the 'night rain' realm naturally in the 'heart' feeling, the architecture whole.

Study

Word focus

一声…一声…、一点…一点… Repetition of 'one...one...' correlates each sound with an emotion, creating a cyclical intensification of sorrow. 两组叠用是此曲的立骨之笔。「一声」「一声」与「一点」「一点」同字相叠、隔句回环，形成连锁式的节奏，如雨滴敲阶、声声入耳，把抽象的「秋」与「愁」化为可以计数、可以累积的声音与雨滴。其妙有三：其一，以声写愁，秋意不直接说出而由梧叶声传出，愁绪不直接表白而由芭蕉雨滴出，含蓄蕴藉；其二，数量递增，「一声」添「一声」、「一点」增「一点」，愁随声涨，愈积愈浓，正合秋夜听雨时情绪渐次加深的心理真实；其三，声韵相协，「声」「秋」「蕉」「愁」同押尤侯韵，读来如秋雨连绵，声情与辞情高度统一。至第三句变「一」为「三」，数词的推进又暗含时间之久（三更）、思乡之切（归梦），层层递进，无一处闲笔，足见甜斋炼字炼声之精。

叹 A single word expressing a sigh, introducing the allusion to Xinfeng inn and the poet's lament. 「叹」字是全曲唯一的抒情动词，一字直揭胸臆，是承上启下的关键。此前两句纯写景：梧叶、芭蕉、灯花、残棋，皆客观物象；「叹」字一出，诗人从物象中抽身而出，正面剖白心迹，由写景转入写人、由状物转入抒怀，章法上形成明显转折。「叹」的对象是「新丰逆旅淹留」——以马周自况，叹的是久客不归、功名未遂、知音难遇；而马周终得明主，自己却不知何日能归，故一「叹」之中既有自嘲（效马周而不得马周之遇），又有自怜（年华虚度、归期渺茫）。此字领起后三句，使前文累积的秋声雨声之愁找到情感的落点，也使「枕上十年事」「二老忧」的涌上心头有了心理的根由，一字之妙，全曲生色，是元散曲「直抒而深」笔法在炼字上的典型体现。

淹留 Means 'to linger long', expressing the desolation of being stranded away from home and unable to return. 「淹留」意为长久停留、滞留异乡，语出《楚辞·九辩》「蹇淹留而无成」，本已含「久留无成」的悲凉意味，徐再思用之可谓深得楚骚遗意。此词与「叹」字配合，道尽漂泊他乡、归期无望的沦落之感：「淹」写时间之长，十年如一日地困守逆旅；「留」写身不由己，欲归而不得归。「淹留」二字音节沉滞，读来如重石坠心，正合羁客滞留难行的心理节奏。且「淹留」与「逆旅」对举——逆旅言其地之暂（旅舍本非久居之所），淹留言其人之久（偏偏在此久留），一暂一久的反差，更见漂泊之悲。与末句「都到心头」呼应，正是这「淹留」之悲积压既久，方有十年往事、二老之忧的倾泻而出，炼字之精、造句之工，俱见甜斋本色。