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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

醉落魄·离京口作

The, Drunk, the, Downfall, the, Written, at, the, Leaving, the, Jing, the, Mouth

苏轼

Su Shi

羁旅Theme 离别Parting

轻云微月，二更酒醒船初发。
孤城回望苍烟合。
记得歌时，不记归时节。
巾偏扇坠藤床滑，觉来幽梦无人说。
此生飘荡何时歇。
家在西南，常作东南别。

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Meaning

A poem of the parting and the drifting, written by Su Shi. The light clouds the faint moon, the second watch the wine sober the boat just setting out — the parting of the opening. Looking back the lonely city the blue mist closing in, remembering the time of the singing, not remembering the season of the returning — the memory of the middle. And the close's this life the drifting wandering when will it cease, the home in the southwest, always making the parting of the southeast — the close's drifting. The poem is the parting and the drifting: the boat, the memory, and the close's drifting.

轻云微月，二更酒醒船初发。孤城回望苍烟合。记得歌时，不记归时节。巾偏扇坠藤床滑，觉来幽梦无人说。此生飘荡何时歇。家在西南，常作东南别。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The, light, clouds, the, faint, moon, the, second, watch, the, wine, sober, the, boat, just, setting, out. Looking, back, the, lonely, city, the, blue, mist, closing, in, remembering, the, time, of, the, singing, not, remembering, the, season, of, the, returning. The, kerchief, askew, the, fan, fallen, the, rattan, bed, slippery, waking, up, the, faint, dream, no, one, telling, of, it. This, life, the, drifting, wandering, when, will, it, cease, the, home, in, the, southwest, always, making, the, parting, of, the, southeast. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the parting of the boat with the wine sober, through the memory of the singing with the not remembering, to the close's the drifting of the when will it cease. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the close of the drifting: this life the drifting wandering when will it cease, and the close's the home in the southwest always making the parting of the southeast — the parting gathered in the memory and the close's drifting. [Emotional Tone] Drifting, reminiscent, and sorrowful: the poem is the boat, the dream and the close's drifting.

【白话串讲】苏轼写《醉落魄·离京口作》：“轻云微月，二更酒醒船初发”——“孤城回望苍烟合”——“记得歌时，不记归时节”——“此生飘荡何时歇。家在西南，常作东南别”——他离开京口——此生飘荡何时歇。【意象与手法】此词写羁旅，以离别写羁旅，是苏轼的名篇。上片写离京口：「轻云微月，二更酒醒船初发。孤城回望苍烟合。记得歌时，不记归时节」写轻云微月、二更酒醒船初发——写尽二更的酒醒；下片写飘荡：「巾偏扇坠藤床滑，觉来幽梦无人说。此生飘荡何时歇。家在西南，常作东南别」写巾偏扇坠藤床滑、觉来幽梦无人说——写尽幽梦的无说。全词以离别写羁旅，写尽二更的酒醒与幽梦的无说，是苏轼的代表作。【情感与主旨】此词写羁旅，以离别写羁旅，是苏轼的名篇。此词为苏轼离京口（今江苏镇江）时所作，写旅途酒醒、孤城回望的羁旅情怀。苏轼宦游四方，常在东南一带任职，此词写离京口而作，感慨行踪飘荡。此词写轻云微月，二更酒醒船初发；孤城回望苍烟合；记得歌时，不记归时节；巾偏扇坠藤床滑，觉来幽梦无人说；此生飘荡何时歇；家在西南，常作东南别。此词写离京口：轻云微月，二更酒醒船初发——写轻云微月、二更酒醒船初发，写尽二更的酒醒；孤城回望苍烟合——写孤城回望苍烟合，写尽回望的苍烟；记得歌时，不记归时节——写记得歌时、不记归时节，写尽归时的忘却；巾偏扇坠藤床滑，觉来幽梦无人说——写巾偏扇坠藤床滑、觉来幽梦无人说，写尽幽梦的无说；此生飘荡何时歇——写此生飘荡何时歇，写尽飘荡的此生；家在西南，常作东南别——写家在西南、常作东南别，写尽东南的离别。全词以离别写羁旅——那「孤城回望苍烟合」写尽回望的苍烟，「常作东南别」写尽东南的离别，写尽二更的酒醒与幽梦的无说，是理解苏轼羁旅词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「轻云微月，二更酒醒船初发」写二更的酒醒；「家在西南，常作东南别」写东南的离别；以及全词以离别写羁旅、以对照写飘荡的手法。

Background

Su Shi (1037-1101), the great poet of the Song, wrote this 'The, Drunk, the, Downfall, the, Written, at, the, Leaving, the, Jing, the, Mouth' of the parting and the drifting — the drifting of the parting at the leaving the Jing the Mouth. The parting of the boat with the wine sober, and the close's the drifting of the when will it cease — the poem gathers the sorrow of the poet, the drifting of the life. The poem is one of the famous works of the poet's poems of the parting.

此词写羁旅，以离别写羁旅，是苏轼的名篇。苏轼（1037—1101），字子瞻，号东坡居士，眉州眉山（今四川眉山）人，北宋文学家、书画家，唐宋八大家之一，与辛弃疾并称「苏辛」。此词为苏轼离京口（今江苏镇江）时所作，写旅途酒醒、孤城回望的羁旅情怀。苏轼宦游四方，常在东南一带任职，此词写离京口而作，感慨行踪飘荡。此词写轻云微月，二更酒醒船初发；孤城回望苍烟合；记得歌时，不记归时节；巾偏扇坠藤床滑，觉来幽梦无人说；此生飘荡何时歇；家在西南，常作东南别。此词写离京口：「轻云微月，二更酒醒船初发」写轻云微月、二更酒醒船初发——写尽二更的酒醒（轻云微月，二更酒醒船初发）；「孤城回望苍烟合」写孤城回望苍烟合——写尽回望的苍烟（孤城回望苍烟合）；「记得歌时，不记归时节」写记得歌时、不记归时节——写尽归时的忘却（记得歌时，不记归时节）；「巾偏扇坠藤床滑，觉来幽梦无人说」写巾偏扇坠藤床滑、觉来幽梦无人说——写尽幽梦的无说（巾偏扇坠藤床滑，觉来幽梦无人说）；「此生飘荡何时歇」写此生飘荡何时歇——写尽飘荡的此生（此生飘荡何时歇）；「家在西南，常作东南别」写家在西南、常作东南别——写尽东南的离别（家在西南，常作东南别）。全词以离别写羁旅，写尽二更的酒醒与幽梦的无说，是理解苏轼羁旅词的重要篇章。

Art

The poem's art is the art of the drifting. The parting opens: the, light, clouds, the, faint, moon — the light clouds of the faint moon; the, second, watch, the, wine, sober, the, boat, just, setting, out — the boat of the wine sober; looking, back, the, lonely, city, the, blue, mist, closing, in — the lonely city of the blue mist; remembering, the, time, of, the, singing — the singing of the remembering; not, remembering, the, season, of, the, returning — the not remembering of the season of the returning; the, kerchief, askew, the, fan, fallen, the, rattan, bed, slippery — the kerchief of the rattan bed; waking, up, the, faint, dream, no, one, telling, of, it — the faint dream of the no one telling. And the close gathers the drifting: this, life, the, drifting, wandering, when, will, it, cease — the drifting of the when will it cease; the, home, in, the, southwest — the home of the southwest; always, making, the, parting, of, the, southeast — the parting of the southeast — the parting, the memory and the close's drifting, gathered in the poem.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以景语写酒醒。「轻云微月」以景语写酒醒——那「二更酒醒船初发」写尽二更的酒醒，以景语写尽二更的酒醒。其二，以回望写苍烟。「孤城回望苍烟合」以回望写苍烟——那「苍烟合」写尽回望的苍烟，以回望写尽回望的苍烟。其三，以细节写幽梦。「巾偏扇坠藤床滑」以细节写幽梦——那「觉来幽梦无人说」写尽幽梦的无说，以细节写尽幽梦的无说。其四，以对照写飘荡。「家在西南，常作东南别」以对照写飘荡——那「家在西南」写尽家在的西南，以对照写尽东南的离别。此外，此词上片写二更的酒醒，下片写幽梦的无说，由醒及梦，正是羁旅词「以醒写梦」的写法。四重手法，使此词以离别写羁旅，写尽二更的酒醒与幽梦的无说，是苏轼的代表作。此词还善于以「孤城回望苍烟合」的「回望」写回望之苍茫——那「孤城回望」写尽回望的孤城，正是以回写望，以「回望」写尽回望的苍烟。又善以「记得歌时，不记归时节」的「记得」「不记」写记忆之取舍——记得歌时而不记归时，正见醉中记忆的恍惚，以「记得」写尽归时的忘却。

Allusions

'The Jing the Mouth' (jing kou) is the Jing the Mouth — the mouth of the Jing, the leaving of the opening; 'the second watch' (er geng) is the second watch — the watch of the second, the night of the opening; 'the faint dream' (you meng) is the faint dream — the dream of the faint, the waking of the middle.

此词的用语深植于羁旅与离别传统。「轻云微月」令人想到「轻云微月」写轻云微月的意象——也令人想到「月明星稀」的意象；「二更」令人想到「二更」写二更的意象——也令人想到「三更灯火五更鸡」的意象；「孤城」令人想到「孤城」写孤城的意象——也令人想到「孤城落日斗兵稀」（高适）的意象；「苍烟」令人想到「苍烟」写苍烟的意象——也令人想到「苍烟落照」的意象；「藤床」令人想到「藤床」写藤床的意象——也令人想到「藤床纸帐」的意象；「西南」令人想到「西南」写西南的意象——苏轼家在四川（西南），也令人想到「蜀道难」的意象。全词化用轻云微月、二更、孤城、苍烟、藤床、西南的意象，以离别写羁旅，正是苏轼「清旷」而善白描、承羁旅传统写离别之本领。「轻云微月」令人想到「轻云微月」写云月的意象——也令人想到「月出皎兮」（《诗经》）的意象；「藤床」令人想到「藤床」写藤床的意象——也令人想到「藤床竹枕」的意象，以藤床写舟中。

Commentary

This poem is one of the famous works of Su Shi's poems of the parting, quoted for the dreaminess of its opening and the depth of its close. The lonely city of the blue mist, and the drifting of the when will it cease, are among the admired passages of the poet's poems. Critics praise the poem's drifting: the parting gathered in the memory, to the close's wandering.

此词历来被推为苏轼羁旅词的名篇，也是宋词写旅途情怀的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以离别写羁旅，清旷中见深情」；近人更指出「此生飘荡何时歇。家在西南，常作东南别」写东南的离别，是此词的名句。在词史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以两片的小令写尽二更的酒醒与幽梦的无说——那轻云，那微月，那二更，那酒醒，那船初发，那孤城，那回望，那苍烟合，那记得歌时，那不记归时节，那巾偏，那扇坠，那藤床滑，那觉来，那幽梦，那无人说，那此生，那飘荡，那何时歇，那家在西南，那常作，那东南别，都写尽了苏轼笔下的醉落魄；那「常作东南别」更以对照写尽东南的离别。此词与苏轼《江城子·湖上与张先同赋》同为羁旅名篇，一写「凤凰山下雨初晴」的湖上（江城子），一写「常作东南别」的京口（醉落魄）；又与苏轼《醉落魄·栖乌飞绝》同调异篇，可见苏轼对醉落魄词调的偏爱。对于今日读者，此词是理解苏轼羁旅词的窗口，也是宋词写旅途情怀的经典——那常作的东南别，穿越千年，仍在诉说着此生的飘荡。

Prosody

Form A ci of the parting (zui luo po)词·醉落魄

Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level of the group — the cadence of the ci that carries the drifting sorrow.醉落魄，押「月」「发」「合」「节」「滑」「说」「歇」「别」韵（入声），仄韵到底

Tone pattern The cadence is that of the drifting: the level opening with the parting, the turning with the memory, and the close's fall with the parting.此词为醉落魄词调，押入声仄韵，一韵到底，音节顿挫，正合离别的顿挫。

Reading note The poem's sound matches its sorrow: the cadences of the ci, and the close — 'chang zuo dong nan bie' — falls with the parting, the sound of the drifting of the farewell poet.此词为醉落魄词调，两片——上片「轻云微月，二更酒醒船初发。孤城回望苍烟合。记得歌时，不记归时节」；下片「巾偏扇坠藤床滑，觉来幽梦无人说。此生飘荡何时歇。家在西南，常作东南别」，押入声仄韵（月、发、合、节、滑、说、歇、别），一韵到底，音节顿挫。全词以离别写羁旅：上片写二更的酒醒（轻云微月、孤城回望苍烟合），下片写幽梦的无说（巾偏扇坠藤床滑、常作东南别）。两片短章，前写酒醒，后写飘荡，以「常作东南别」写尽东南的离别，正见苏轼「清旷」的本色。诵读此词，宜以顿挫的语调读「孤城回望苍烟合」的苍烟，以低回的语调读「常作东南别」的离别，结句要读得顿挫而有余韵，方能传达出苏轼的清旷深情。苏轼词以「清旷」著称，此词正是其羁旅词的典范。

Line by line

家在西南，常作东南别

My home lies in the southwest; yet I am forever taking leave in the southeast.

家在西南，常作东南别。

My home lies in the southwest, yet I am forever saying farewell in the southeast.

此二句是全词写飘荡的核心，以家在西南写家在西南，以常作东南别写东南别，写尽东南的离别，是千古名句。「家在西南」写家在西南——那「家」写家，「在西南」写在西南，写尽家在的西南；「常作东南别」写常作东南别——那「常作」写常作，「东南别」写东南别，写尽东南的离别。这句的深意在于：它以「家在西南」的西南与「常作东南别」的东南别，写尽东南的离别——家在西南，那「家在西南」写尽家在的西南——家在西南，正是家在西蜀的写照，那「西南」写尽东南的离别；常作东南别，那「常作东南别」写尽东南的离别——常作东南别，正是常作别离的写照，那「东南别」写尽东南的离别；那「家在西南」写尽家在的西南，那「常作东南别」写尽东南的离别，一写西南，一写东南，写尽东南的离别——家在西南而常在东南别离，正是飘荡的写照；此二句以西南、东南写尽东南的离别，也让此二句成为全词写飘荡的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「家在西南四川，却常常在东南与人作别」，则失其顿挫；唯以「家在西南」写家在西南、「常作东南别」写东南别，写尽东南的离别，也让此二句成为全词写飘荡的核心。

These two lines are the core of the ci's wandering, 'my home lies in the southwest' the southwest, 'yet I am forever taking leave in the southeast' the southeast parting, writing the southeast farewell, a famous line. 'My home lies in the southwest' - the home in western Shu; 'yet I am forever taking leave in the southeast' - forever parting in the southeast. The home in the southwest and the constant southeast farewells, the portrait of the wanderer; one line the southwest, one the southeast, the wandering complete. If one said plainly 'my home is in Sichuan in the southwest, yet I'm forever parting in the southeast,' the rhythm would be lost; only the home in the southwest and the constant southeast farewells hold the wandering.

轻云微月，二更酒醒船初发

Light clouds, a faint moon; at the second watch, waking from wine, the boat just sets out.

轻云微月，二更酒醒船初发。

Light clouds, a slender moon; at the second watch, waking from wine, the boat sets out.

此句是全词写酒醒的核心，以轻云微月写微月，以二更酒醒船初发写船初发，写尽二更的酒醒，是千古名句。「轻云微月」写轻云微月——那「轻云」写轻云，「微月」写微月，写尽轻云的微月；「二更酒醒船初发」写二更酒醒船初发——那「二更酒醒」写二更酒醒，「船初发」写船初发，写尽二更的酒醒。这句的深意在于：它以「轻云微月」的微月与「二更酒醒船初发」的船初发，写尽二更的酒醒——轻云微月，那「轻云微月」写尽轻云的微月——轻云微月，正是云淡月微的写照，那「微月」写尽二更的酒醒；二更酒醒船初发，那「二更酒醒船初发」写尽二更的酒醒——二更酒醒船初发，正是酒醒船发的写照，那「船初发」写尽二更的酒醒；那「轻云微月」写尽轻云的微月，那「二更酒醒船初发」写尽二更的酒醒，一写微月，一写酒醒，写尽二更的酒醒——云淡月微而酒醒船发，正是离别的写照；此句以微月、酒醒写尽二更的酒醒，也为下文的回望作铺垫，也让此句成为全词写酒醒的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「轻云淡月，二更时酒醒了船刚出发」，则失其意境；唯以「轻云微月」写微月、「二更酒醒船初发」写船初发，写尽二更的酒醒，也让此句成为全词写酒醒的核心。

This line is the core of the ci's waking from wine, 'light clouds, a faint moon' the faint moon, 'at the second watch, waking from wine, the boat just sets out' the boat's departure, writing the second-watch waking, a famous line. 'Light clouds, a faint moon' - the thin clouds and the pale moon; 'at the second watch, waking from wine, the boat just sets out' - the wine wearing off at the second watch, the boat just casting off. The pale moon through light clouds and the wine wearing off as the boat leaves, the portrait of parting; one line the moon, one the waking, the scene complete. If one said plainly 'thin clouds and pale moon, at the second watch I woke from wine and the boat just left,' the mood would be lost; only the light clouds and faint moon, and the second-watch waking as the boat sets out, hold the waking.

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Word focus

初 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「二更酒醒船初发」之「初」字是写酒醒的关键词，一个「初」字写尽船初的发。初者，刚刚、初始也。苏轼以「二更酒醒船初发」写酒醒，这个「初」字至少有双重意味：其一，写发之初——那「二更酒醒船初发」写二更酒醒船初发，那「初」字写尽船初的发——船初发，正是船刚开的写照，那「初」字写尽二更的酒醒；其二，写情之始——那「初」字更是写始——初，正见离别伊始的怅惘，那「初」字写尽苏轼的羁旅。以「初」字写酒醒，正是苏轼写离别的枢纽——若换作「方」「刚」等字，则或失其与「二更酒醒」「船初发」的配合，或失其写初的意味；唯「初」字，以二更酒醒船初发写尽船发之初起与离别之伊始，与「轻云微月」的微月相合，写尽二更的酒醒，也让「二更酒醒船初发」成为全词写酒醒的名句。

常 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「常作东南别」之「常」字是写飘荡的关键词，一个「常」字写尽常作的离别。常者，常常、经常也。苏轼以「常作东南别」写飘荡，这个「常」字至少有双重意味：其一，写别之常——那「常作东南别」写常作东南别，那「常」字写尽常作的离别——常作东南别，正是常在东南作别的写照，那「常」字写尽东南的离别；其二，写身之飘——那「常」字更是写飘——常，正见行踪飘荡的常态，那「常」字写尽苏轼的羁旅。以「常」字写飘荡，正是苏轼写离别的枢纽——若换作「每」「总」等字，则或失其与「作东南别」「家在西南」的配合，或失其写常的意味；唯「常」字，以常作东南别写尽别离之频繁与飘荡之常态，与「家在西南」的西南相合，写尽东南的离别，也让「常作东南别」成为全词写飘荡的名句。