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元 Yuan · 曲 Qu song

降桑椹蔡顺奉母・逍遥乐

Descending the Mulberry: Cai Shun Serves His Mother - Free and Easy Song

刘唐卿

Liu Tangqing

孝亲Theme 杂剧Theme 至情Theme 祈祷Theme

俺母亲骨岩岩身躯老耄，(带云)叹母亲这病，(唱)恰便似风里杨花，水亡幻泡。
(兴儿云)小哥不要心焦，到家里把奶奶的病，我替他害了罢。
(正末唱)好教我便展转的添焦，俺母亲眼睁睁病枕难熬。
我可便心似油煎身如火燎，仰穹苍痛哭嚎啕。
(带云)蔡顺一片孝心，惟天可表也。
(唱)则愿的母病安妥，父命延长，子寿愿夭。

My mother's frame is gaunt, aged; (aside) alas my mother's illness - (sings) it is just like poplar catkins in the wind, or bubbles vanished on the water.
(Xing'er: Little brother, do not fret; at home I'll bear your grandmother's sickness for her.)
(The lead sings) it only adds to my restless worry; my mother lies open-eyed upon her sickbed, hard to endure.
I am as if my heart fried in oil, my body burned by fire; I gaze to the vast heaven and weep aloud.
(aside) Cai Shun's filial heart is known only to heaven.
(sings) I only wish my mother's illness eased, my father's life prolonged, and my own years cut short.

Listen

Meaning

In a Yuan drama, the filial son Cai Shun despairs at his mother's illness and offers his own life for hers.

母亲的病体,恰恰就像风中的杨花、水面上的浮泡,飘摇无定,随时都会消逝。我的母亲眼睁睁地躺在病枕上,这一身的病痛,如何熬受得住。我只觉得心像在油锅里煎熬,身子像被烈火焚烧,不禁仰望苍天,痛哭嚎啕。只愿母亲病体安稳,父亲寿命绵长,我情愿以自己的阳寿折减,来换取双亲的康宁。

Appreciation

Cai Shun's heart is fried in oil as his mother lies dying; he would trade his own years for hers. The Yuan stage turns Confucian duty into a son's naked grief.

【白话串讲】元杂剧《降桑椹蔡顺奉母》：孝子蔡顺的母亲病重。“俺母亲骨岩岩身躯老耄”——“恰便似风里杨花，水亡幻泡”——兴儿说：“把奶奶的病，我替他害了罢”——元代戏曲写孝道。【意象与手法】此曲写情入骨,全在「以喻写痛、以愿见诚」。起首以「风里杨花」「水亡幻泡」两喻写母病之危,一写飘摇,一写易灭;中段以「心似油煎」「身如火燎」两叠喻写孝子之痛,由心及身,步步加剧;末段陡然转平,化作「子寿愿夭」的至诚之祷。全曲由形入心、由心入愿,语愈浅而情愈深,正是北曲本色当行的笔法。【情感与主旨】此曲为元杂剧《降桑椹蔡顺奉母》中蔡顺侍母所唱。母亲病骨支离、朝不保夕,孝子心如油煎、痛哭嚎啕,末以「子寿愿夭」愿折己寿换双亲康宁,把孝心推向极致。此曲以市井俗语写至性真情,字字见血,既是元代孝亲文学的道德理想,亦见民间信仰中「至孝动天」的朴素信念,令人肃然泫然。【名句点睛】「子寿愿夭」:夭折本是人生最忌讳的字眼,孝子却甘愿自承,愿以己寿折减换双亲安康。一字之重,压过千言,前文所有焦灼痛哭至此都有了归宿,是「至情无文」的极致。

Background

From a Yuan zaju (variety play) on the paragon of filial piety Cai Shun, who is said to have wept mulberries into white and black for his mother. This aria is his anguished soliloquy.

刘唐卿,太原人,元初杂剧作家,天一阁本《录鬼簿》载其名,记其曾任太府监,与白朴、王和卿辈同时。所撰杂剧《降桑椹蔡顺奉母》,敷演东汉孝子蔡顺的故事,今存于明人赵琦美《脉望馆钞校本古今杂剧》,是元人杂剧中孝亲题材的代表作之一。蔡顺事亲至孝,母病笃思桑椹,时值隆冬,顺叩树泣血,上天感其孝诚,桑椹竟得降生,故剧名「降桑椹」。此「逍遥乐」一曲,为剧中正末所唱,写蔡顺侍奉老母病榻之侧,见母骨瘦如柴、病势危笃,不禁心如刀绞、泪下沾襟,遂仰天祈祷,愿以身寿换取母安。曲中「骨岩岩」「风里杨花」「水亡幻泡」诸语,写老母之衰与病之危,真切动人;「心似油煎身如火燎」「仰穹苍痛哭嚎啕」,写孝子之痛与心之诚,肝胆俱裂;末句「子寿愿夭」,更以折寿换母之语,把孝心推向极致。此曲既见元代孝亲文学的道德理想,亦见北曲俚俗质朴而情真意切的本色,是研究元杂剧与《二十四孝》传播的重要材料。

Art

Mingles spoken asides with sung lines; the imagery (catkins, bubbles, oil-fried heart) is popular and emotional, building to the self-sacrificing wish.

此曲为北曲【商调·逍遥乐】,体制短小,而写情入骨,全在「以喻写痛、以愿见诚」八字。曲分三层:起首以「骨岩岩身躯老耄」写母之形,以「恰便似风里杨花,水亡幻泡」写母之危,连用两个比喻,一喻其飘摇,一喻其易灭,把老病垂危的可怕写得如在目前,而孝子惊惧无措之情,已隐然其中。中段「好教我便展转的添焦,俺母亲眼睁睁病枕难熬」,由母及己,一「添焦」一「难熬」,母子相怜,如烈火煎心;「我可便心似油煎身如火燎,仰穹苍痛哭嚎啕」,更以「油煎」「火燎」两个叠喻,把内心的焦灼外化为肉体的痛楚,声泪俱下,呼天抢地,是情绪的顶点。末段陡然一转,由痛入愿:「则愿的母病安妥,父命延长,子寿愿夭」,以己之寿,换亲之安,一「愿」一「夭」,孝心尽化为此一至诚之祷,全曲在此处收束,如裂帛之音,戛然而止,而感人之深,绵延不尽。全曲由形入心,由心入愿,层层递进,语愈浅而情愈深,正是元曲「本色当行」的本领。

Allusions

Cai Shun is a Han-era exemplar of filial piety in the 'Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars.' 'Free and Easy Song' (Xiao Yao Le) is the aria's tune name.

此曲虽属北曲俚歌,而化用典故,亦自有渊源。「水亡幻泡」,本于佛经「如梦幻泡影」之喻,《金刚经》有「一切有为法,如梦幻泡影,如露亦如电」之偈,元曲中以「泡影」写人生无常、事物易灭,已成习语,此处以「水亡幻泡」写母亲病体之危,如水面浮沤,一触即灭,取喻精切而哀婉。「风里杨花」,亦本唐人以杨花喻飘零无定之意,与「幻泡」连用,一写其轻,一写其脆,两喻相叠,老母垂危之态,尽在其中。而全曲骨子里的孝亲之诚,则遥承《孝经》「孝天之经也,地之义也」之训与《礼记》「子之事亲也,三谏而不听,则号泣而随之」之义,蔡顺本事见《后汉书》及元郭居敬《二十四孝》,「降桑椹」之情节,即自「蔡顺拾椹供母」的传说演化而来。曲末「子寿愿夭」之誓,亦本古来「以身代亲」的孝行母题,如晋人杨香打虎救父之属,一脉相承,是孝亲叙事的文学化表达。凡此诸典,皆如盐著水,融入俚俗曲文之中,不使人觉,既见元曲家腹笥之富,亦见佛道观念与儒家孝道在民间文艺中的水乳交融,此正是元曲作为「一代之文学」所承载的思想厚度。

Commentary

Yuan drama arias like this brought Confucian filial rhetoric to the popular stage in urgent, vernacular feeling.

《降桑椹蔡顺奉母》一剧,在元代杂剧中非属上乘,然此支【逍遥乐】,却以情真语切,为后世选家所称。历代曲话评元人本色语,每以「家常语写至性」相推许,此曲「俺母亲骨岩岩身躯老耄」「心似油煎身如火燎」诸句,全用俗语白描,不假雕饰,而母子之情,字字见血,正是元曲「曲尽人情」的本色当行。与文人曲之雕章琢句者不同,此曲之妙,全在一个「真」字:病者之形、孝子之痛、祈天之诚,无一处不真切,无一句不作实,读之如闻其声,如见其人,令人动容。明人王骥德《曲律》论曲,谓「本色语不可求之字句间」,此曲正是本色语的典范。且曲中「子寿愿夭」之愿,以折寿代母,虽属俗套,而发乎至情,犹足感人,较之后世浮泛的孝亲颂歌,此曲以其血泪淋漓的写法,更见元代民间道德信仰的质朴与真诚,其文学与民俗价值,俱不容轻觑。要之,元曲之佳,往往不在文人赏鉴的雅趣,而在民间伦理的真情;此曲以市井之语,写至性之情,正是元曲「自然」一格的代表,后之治曲者,当于此细加涵泳。

Prosody

Form Yuan zaju aria (qu) in the Free and Easy Song (Xiao Yao Le) mode北曲·商调·逍遥乐（杂剧套曲之一支）

Rhyme Rhymes on 'water' (pao), 'endure' (ao), 'aloud' (tao), 'short' (yao) - the Yuan 'ao/iao' rhyme group.押萧豪韵（耄、泡、焦、熬、燎、啕、夭）,句句押韵,一韵到底

Tone pattern Qu lyric; mixed long and short lines with stage asides.商调声情凄怆怨慕,曲句长短错落,多用三字叠字与俗语衬字,平仄不拘,以声写情

Reading note A vernacular filial aria; its emotion is direct and popular.【逍遥乐】属北曲商调,元人周德清《中原音韵》论宫调声情,谓「商调凄怆怨慕」,正合此曲写哀写痛之情境。此曲押萧豪韵,「耄、泡、焦、熬、燎、啕、夭」七韵,一韵到底,句句押韵,韵字多属高亢激切之音,如「焦」「熬」「燎」「嚎」,声调昂而促,恰与蔡顺心急如焚、呼天抢地的声口相合。曲体句式长短错落:起二句「俺母亲骨岩岩身躯老耄,(带云)叹母亲这病,(唱)恰便似风里杨花,水亡幻泡」,七字、四字、四字相间,顿挫有致;「我可便心似油煎身如火燎,仰穹苍痛哭嚎啕」,十字、七字,一气贯注,如瀑泻泉涌;末「则愿的母病安妥,父命延长,子寿愿夭」,四、四、四,句句短促,如斩钉截铁,把誓愿之决绝,写得斩然有声。曲中「骨岩岩」「眼睁睁」「展转的」「油煎」「火燎」诸语,或以叠字,或以衬字,增其口语之态,正是北曲「衬字」法度的运用,使声腔既合宫调,又近人语,声情相生,凄怆动人,是元曲声律与文情完美结合的一例。

Line by line

恰便似风里杨花，水亡幻泡。

Just like poplar catkins in the wind, or bubbles vanished on the water.

母亲的病体,恰恰就像风中的杨花、水面上的浮泡,飘摇无定,随时都会消逝。

My mother's illness is just like willow catkins in the wind, a floating bubble on the water - drifting, uncertain, ready to vanish at any moment.

此二句以两个比喻写母亲病势之危,是全曲最哀婉的一笔。「风里杨花」,写其轻而飘,一任风吹,不知吹向何处,正是老病之躯朝不保夕的写照;「水亡幻泡」,本佛经「如梦幻泡影」之喻,写其脆而幻,如水面浮沤,一触即灭。两个比喻一写「飘」,一写「灭」,把「病危」这一难以言说的状态,写得可感可触,而孝子眼睁睁看着至亲如杨花浮泡般消逝而无可奈何的痛楚,也就在这比喻之中弥漫开来。此二句承「叹母亲这病」而来,是蔡顺内心惊惧的第一层外化,为下文「添焦」「难熬」「油煎火燎」的层层加剧,作了最有力的铺垫,写病写哀,皆入骨髓。

These two lines use two metaphors for the mother's critical state, the song's most plaintive stroke. 'Willow catkins in the wind' writes light and drifting, at the wind's mercy, the image of the aged, failing body; 'a bubble on the water that soon bursts,' from the Buddhist 'like a dream, illusion, bubble, shadow,' writes the brittle and the illusory. Two metaphors, one of 'drifting,' one of 'bursting,' making the hard-to-say 'critical illness' palpable; and the filial son's agony, watching his closest vanish like catkin and bubble, helpless, spreads within.

俺母亲眼睁睁病枕难熬。

My mother lies open-eyed upon her sickbed, hard to endure.

我的母亲眼睁睁地躺在病枕上,这一身的病痛,如何熬受得住。

My mother lies on the sickbed, wide-eyed, and how can she endure this suffering?

此句是全曲最见白描功力的一笔,也是母子之情最直接的交汇点。「眼睁睁」三字,极写病中母亲的无力与无奈:睁着双眼,却无从挣扎,病痛噬体,只能苦捱;而「难熬」二字,则把这种苦楚从母亲身上传递到儿子心上——母亲难熬,看母亲病痛的蔡顺,更难熬。一句之中,母子两面的煎熬,俱已写足,而无一字涉「孝」,孝心却自涌出。元曲最重「不隔」,此句直说其事,如当面见病人,如亲闻呻吟声,不假任何藻饰,而感人至深,正是北曲白描的至高境界,较之文人词曲的纤丽,别是一种血泪淋漓的力度。

This line is the song's most crafted plain description, the direct meeting point of mother and son. The three words 'wide-eyed' write the sick mother's helplessness to the extreme: eyes open, yet no struggle, the illness gnawing the body, only bitter endurance; and the words 'can scarcely endure' pass the suffering from the mother to the son. In one line, the torment of both mother and son is written to the full, yet not one word touches 'filial piety,' the filial heart welling of itself.

我可便心似油煎身如火燎，仰穹苍痛哭嚎啕。

I am as if my heart fried in oil, my body burned by fire; I gaze to the vast heaven and weep aloud.

我只觉得心像在油锅里煎熬,身子像被烈火焚烧,不禁仰望苍天,痛哭嚎啕。

I feel my heart fried in oil, my body scorched by fire; I look up to the blue heavens and wail aloud.

此二句是蔡顺情绪的顶点,以两叠喻写至极之痛,全曲至此,声泪俱下。「心似油煎」,写焦灼之烈,如心在沸油中翻滚;「身如火燎」,写痛楚之广,如全身上下被烈火舔舐,一内一外,把「痛不欲生」写得血肉淋漓。而「仰穹苍痛哭嚎啕」,更把这种痛化为呼天抢地的哭号:绝望之中,唯有苍天可问,唯有痛哭可泄。元曲写情,最善以俚俗之语写剧烈之情,此二句正是「语不惊人死不休」式的直写,不讲究含蓄,不追求雅致,而以一股真挚到近乎粗野的力量,把孝子的悲恸砸向读者,令人不忍卒读,正是北曲「以俗为真」的当家本领,亦是全曲最见性情的一节。

These two lines are the peak of Cai Shun's emotion, two layered metaphors for the extreme pain, voice and tears together. 'My heart is as if fried in oil' the fierceness of the anguish; 'my body as if scorched by fire' the breadth of the pain, one within one without, writing 'pain past bearing' in flesh and blood. And 'I look up to the vault of heaven and weep aloud' turns the pain into heaven-calling wailing: in despair, only heaven to ask, only weeping to vent. The two lines are the 'not astonishing to death' kind of direct writing, no reserve, no elegance, but with a sincere, almost rough force.

则愿的母病安妥，父命延长，子寿愿夭。

I only wish my mother's illness eased, my father's life prolonged, and my own years cut short.

只愿母亲病体安稳,父亲寿命绵长,我情愿以自己的阳寿折减,来换取双亲的康宁。

I only wish my mother's illness to settle, my father's life to stretch; for my own span, I wish it shortened.

结三句是全曲的「愿」,也是全曲精神的归结,由极痛转入至诚,笔势骤转而分量千钧。前文写病危、写煎熬、写哭号,至此忽然平静下来,化作一桩心头的誓愿:「则愿的母病安妥,父命延长」,先为双亲求安求寿;「子寿愿夭」,再以己之寿相抵,愿以折己之阳寿,换亲之安康。这三句,是孝子穷极呼天之后唯一的出路,把前文所有的焦灼、痛楚、绝望,都收束为一个甘愿牺牲自己的决绝之愿,一「愿」一「夭」,孝心至此,可谓至矣尽矣。曲至此戛然而止,不作任何评价,而「至孝动天」的剧意,已尽在其中,读之令人肃然,亦令人泫然。

The closing three lines are the song's 'wish,' the resolution of its spirit, turning from extreme pain to utmost sincerity. The part before writes the critical illness, the torment, the wailing; here suddenly stilled, becoming one vow: 'only may my mother's illness be whole, my father's years be long' - first asking peace and long life for both parents; 'and my own life, I wish, cut short' - then setting his own span against it, wishing to shorten his years for their health. The filial son's only way out after crying to heaven in the extreme, gathering all the anguish above into one resolute vow to sacrifice himself.

Study

Word focus

骨岩岩 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「俺母亲骨岩岩身躯老耄」之「骨岩岩」,是写病中老母最传神的一字。「骨岩岩」即瘦骨嶙峋、骨骼棱棱外露之状,以「岩岩」状骨,把枯瘦如山的病体写得具体可怖:皮包骨立,骨如岩壁,嶙峋突兀,几乎要撑破皮肤。着一「骨」字,更见其瘦之甚,仿佛人已成骨,只余残躯。此三字出自市井口语,不用「瘦削」「羸弱」等文雅字面,而用「岩岩」这种土俗而生动的叠词,正是元曲白描的本色:一字入目,老母病卧床褥、形销骨立的形象,便如在眼前,而蔡顺侍疾时触目惊心的痛,亦不待言而自明,是北曲「以俗字写真景」的典型,亦是全曲哀情的最初源头。

添焦 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「好教我便展转的添焦」之「添焦」,是写焦灼之情层层叠加的妙字。「焦」本谓火烧焦物,引申为焦灼、焦急,着一「添」字,则这焦灼不是一次到顶,而是层层添加、愈积愈深:眼见母亲病势日重,儿子的焦心便一日重似一日,如薪加火,越烧越旺。「展转」二字,又写其坐卧不宁、翻来覆去的神态,与「添焦」相合,则蔡顺夜不成寐、寸心如焚的煎熬,宛然在目。此二字皆寻常俗语,而连用之下,把抽象的「焦急」写得有过程、有层次、有温度,正是元曲以口语写心理的功夫。较之诗词中的「寸心焦」「心如焚」,「展转的添焦」更见北曲的散文化节奏与叙事性笔致,是曲体「当行本色」的语言艺术。

如燎 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「身如火燎」之「燎」,是叠喻之中最见火急的一字。「燎」本指烧、烤,火燎之义,比「烧」「炙」更见火势之猛、蔓延之疾:大火燎原,一触即燃,瞬息蔓延,无物可当。以「身如火燎」写蔡顺之痛,则这痛不是局部的、可以忍受的,而是全身心的、无从躲避的,如身陷火海,烈焰燎身,皮焦肉烂。而「心似油煎」与「身如火燎」对举,一内一外,一煎一燎,把焦灼从心底烧到周身,从精神烧到肉体,字字灼人。着一「燎」字,且合其声韵之促,读之仿佛真有烈焰扑面,声情并切,把孝子痛极而狂、热极而颠的状态,写得酣畅淋漓,正是元曲「语质而情烈」的本色,亦是全曲情感最炽烈的一字。

夭 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「子寿愿夭」之「夭」,是全曲最见孝心、也最见分量的一字。「夭」本指夭折、短命,是人生最忌讳的字眼,蔡顺却甘愿以之自承,「子寿愿夭」,愿以自己折寿短命,换取母亲病愈、父亲长寿。此字一出,孝子之心,已无保留:他不惜以最重的代价——自己的生命——去兑换亲人的安康,前文的焦灼、痛哭,到此皆有了最终的归宿。且「夭」字与「安妥」「延长」对举,一损一益,一己一亲,对比何等鲜明,牺牲又何等彻底。以平易之字作至重之誓,不夸张,不修饰,而分量的重,直压心头,正是元曲「至情无文」的极致,读此一字,全曲的孝亲精神,便已圆满自足。