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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

八声甘州·寄参寥子

Eight Beats of Ganzhou: To Monk Canliao

苏轼

Su Shi

友情Friendship 旷达Detachment

有情风、万里卷潮来，无情送潮归。
问钱塘江上，西兴浦口，几度斜晖。
不用思量今古，俯仰昔人非。
谁似东坡老，白首忘机。
记取西湖西畔，正春山好处，空翠烟霏。
算诗人相得，如我与君稀。
约他年、东还海道，愿谢公雅志莫相违。
西州路，不应回首，为我沾衣。

A sentient wind rolls the tide from ten thousand li away; a heartless one sends the tide back home.
I ask above the Qiantang River, at the Xixing ferry—how many slanting suns have we seen?
No need to brood on past and present; in a moment the men of old are gone.
Who is like old Dongpo, white-haired, heedless of schemes?
Remember the west shore of West Lake, where spring hills were at their best, mist and emerald haze drifting.
Count the poets who truly understand—few are like you and me.
I pledge that in coming years, returning east by sea, may the noble intent of Xie Gong not be betrayed.
On the road to Xizhou, do not look back and wet your robe for me.

Listen

Meaning

Su Shi sends this lyric to his close friend the monk Canliao (Daoqian) as a parting gift, blending vast seascape with tender friendship. It conveys both his lofty detachment—'white-haired, heedless of schemes'—and a warm hope that their bond and shared lofty ideals will endure beyond separation.

有情风、万里卷潮来，无情送潮归。问钱塘江上，西兴浦口，几度斜晖。不用思量今古，俯仰昔人非。谁似东坡老，白首忘机。记取西湖西畔，正春山好处，空翠烟霏。算诗人相得，如我与君稀。约他年、东还海道，愿谢公雅志莫相违。西州路，不应回首，为我沾衣。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] A feeling wind brings the tide from afar, a feelingless one returns it; the poet asks how many sunsets he and his friend have watched by the Qiantang. He urges no brooding on the past, and praises his own white-haired unconcern. He recalls West Lake's spring hills and mist, counts their rare poet-friendship, and pledges a future eastern return in Xie An's noble spirit, asking his friend not to weep on the Xizhou road.

[Structure] The upper stanza sweeps from tide to time to self; the lower turns to memory, friendship, and the parting pledge, moving from scene to feeling.

[Imagery] The tide 'sentient' yet 'heartless' frames parting as the rhythm of nature; 'white-haired, heedless of schemes' crystallizes Su Shi's ease. The closing 'do not wet your robe for me' transforms grief into a gentle command. A model of Su Shi's 'detached yet deep' lyricism: vast and clear, it carries friendship without heaviness.

【白话串讲】苏轼写《八声甘州·寄参寥子》：“有情风、万里卷潮来，无情送潮归”——“问钱塘江上，西兴浦口，几度斜晖”——“不用思量今古，俯仰昔人非”——“谁似东坡老，白首忘机”——他写与参寥子的友情——白首忘机。【意象与手法】此词写怀人，以旷达写怀人，是苏轼的名篇。上阕写潮来：「有情风、万里卷潮来，无情送潮归。问钱塘江上，西兴浦口，几度斜晖。不用思量今古，俯仰昔人非。谁似东坡老，白首忘机」写有情风、万里卷潮来、无情送潮归——写尽卷潮的有情风；下阕写相得：「记取西湖西畔，正春山好处，空翠烟霏。算诗人相得，如我与君稀。约他年、东还海道，愿谢公雅志莫相违。西州路，不应回首，为我沾衣」写记取西湖西畔、正春山好处、空翠烟霏——写尽西湖的西畔。全词以旷达写怀人，写尽卷潮的有情风与西湖的西畔，是苏轼的代表作。【情感与主旨】此词写怀人，以旷达写怀人，是苏轼的名篇。此词为苏轼寄参寥子（僧道潜）而作，写其与友相得之情与旷达之怀。苏轼守杭州时与参寥子交厚，此词写其临别寄赠。此词写有情风、万里卷潮来，无情送潮归；问钱塘江上，西兴浦口，几度斜晖；不用思量今古，俯仰昔人非；谁似东坡老，白首忘机；记取西湖西畔，正春山好处，空翠烟霏；算诗人相得，如我与君稀；约他年、东还海道，愿谢公雅志莫相违；西州路，不应回首，为我沾衣。此词写潮来：有情风、万里卷潮来，无情送潮归——写有情风、万里卷潮来、无情送潮归，写尽卷潮的有情风；问钱塘江上，西兴浦口，几度斜晖——写问钱塘江上、西兴浦口、几度斜晖，写尽钱塘的斜晖；不用思量今古，俯仰昔人非——写不用思量今古、俯仰昔人非，写尽昔人的俯仰；谁似东坡老，白首忘机——写谁似东坡老、白首忘机，写尽白首的忘机。下阕写相得：记取西湖西畔，正春山好处，空翠烟霏——写记取西湖西畔、正春山好处、空翠烟霏，写尽西湖的西畔；算诗人相得，如我与君稀——写算诗人相得、如我与君稀，写尽如我与君的稀；约他年、东还海道，愿谢公雅志莫相违——写约他年、东还海道、愿谢公雅志莫相违，写尽谢公的雅志；西州路，不应回首，为我沾衣——写西州路、不应回首、为我沾衣，写尽为我沾衣的西州路。全词以旷达写怀人——那「无情送潮归」写尽卷潮的有情风，「为我沾衣」写尽为我沾衣的西州路，写尽卷潮的有情风与西湖的西畔，是理解苏轼怀人词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「有情风、万里卷潮来，无情送潮归」写卷潮的有情风；「算诗人相得，如我与君稀」写如我与君的稀；以及全词以旷达写怀人、以用典写雅志的手法。

Background

Su Shi (1037–1101), styled Zizhan, known as Dongpo Jushi, was a native of Meishan, Meizhou (present-day Sichuan) and a leading man of letters of the Northern Song—one of the 'Three Sus,' paired with Huang Tingjian as 'Su-Huang,' and a chief of the豪放 (bold and unrestrained) lyric school. This lyric was addressed to the monk Canliao (Daoqian), with whom Su Shi formed a deep friendship while serving in Hangzhou; it is a parting gift on his leaving the city. The piece moves from the Qiantang tide through West Lake's spring hills to a pledge of future reunion, embodying both the warmth of their understanding and the poet's characteristic ease—an important window onto Su Shi's friendship lyrics.

此词写怀人，以旷达写怀人，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，与父苏洵、弟苏辙并称「三苏」，与黄庭坚并称「苏黄」，是豪放派词人的代表。此词为苏轼寄参寥子（僧道潜）而作，写其与友相得之情与旷达之怀。苏轼守杭州时与参寥子交厚，此词写其临别寄赠。此词写有情风、万里卷潮来，无情送潮归；问钱塘江上，西兴浦口，几度斜晖；不用思量今古，俯仰昔人非；谁似东坡老，白首忘机；记取西湖西畔，正春山好处，空翠烟霏；算诗人相得，如我与君稀；约他年、东还海道，愿谢公雅志莫相违；西州路，不应回首，为我沾衣。此词写潮来：「有情风、万里卷潮来，无情送潮归」写有情风、万里卷潮来、无情送潮归——写尽卷潮的有情风（有情风、万里卷潮来，无情送潮归）；「记取西湖西畔，正春山好处，空翠烟霏」写记取西湖西畔、正春山好处、空翠烟霏——写尽西湖的西畔（记取西湖西畔，正春山好处，空翠烟霏）；「算诗人相得，如我与君稀」写算诗人相得、如我与君稀——写尽如我与君的稀（算诗人相得，如我与君稀）；「西州路，不应回首，为我沾衣」写西州路、不应回首、为我沾衣——写尽为我沾衣的西州路（西州路，不应回首，为我沾衣）。全词以旷达写怀人，写尽卷潮的有情风与西湖的西畔，是理解苏轼怀人词的重要篇章。

Art

The craft unfolds on four fronts. First, contrast shapes the tide: 'a sentient wind' versus 'a heartless one sends the tide back' sets feeling against indifference, figuring parting as nature's own rhythm. Second, a rhetorical question evokes time: 'I ask above the Qiantang… how many slanting suns' lets the sunset stand for passing years. Third, allusion carries ideals: 'may the noble intent of Xie Gong not be betrayed' borrows Xie An's seagoing ambition to voice his own lofty purpose. Fourth, direct statement seals the bond: 'few are like you and me' states their rare understanding plainly. The upper stanza dwells on the feeling tide, the lower on West Lake's shore, moving from tide to feeling—the classic 'scene-to-sentiment' curve of a friendship lyric. The verbs 'remember' and 'do not look back' turn memory and restraint into feeling, giving the long tune its clear, heroic ease.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以对比写潮来。「有情风」与「无情送潮归」以对比写潮来——那「万里卷潮来」写尽卷潮的万里，以对比写尽卷潮的有情风。其二，以设问写今古。「问钱塘江上」以设问写今古——那「几度斜晖」写尽几度的斜晖，以设问写尽钱塘的斜晖。其三，以用典写雅志。「愿谢公雅志莫相违」以用典写雅志——那「谢公雅志」用谢安典写雅志，以用典写尽谢公的雅志。其四，以直抒写相得。「算诗人相得，如我与君稀」以直抒写相得——那「如我与君稀」写尽如我与君的稀，以直抒写尽如我与君的稀。此外，此词上阕写卷潮的有情风，下阕写西湖的西畔，由潮及情，正是怀人词「以潮写情」的写法。四重手法，使此词以旷达写怀人，写尽卷潮的有情风与西湖的西畔，是苏轼的代表作。此外，此词还善于以「记取西湖西畔」的「记取」写西湖之记取——那「记取」写尽记取的西湖，正是以记写情，以「空翠烟霏」写尽西湖的西畔。又善以「不应回首，为我沾衣」的「不应回首」写回首之不应——不应回首，正见不回首的深情，以「为我沾衣」写尽沾衣的西州路。

Allusions

The language draws on the traditions of parting and detachment. 'Qiantang River' and its tide; 'Xixing ferry' on the Qiantang; 'slanting sun' echoing Wen Tingyun's 'the slanting light, the endless water.' 'Heedless of schemes' recalls the Liezi fisherman who forgot his guile, and the omen-free gulls. 'West shore of West Lake' names the Xizi Lake; 'noble intent of Xie Gong' invokes Xie An's Eastern Mountain ambition; 'road to Xizhou' alludes to Yang Tan weeping at the Xizhou gate for Xie An—a trope of grief for a departed worthy. The lyric thus weaves river, ferry, sunset, forgetfulness, lake, Xie's ambition, and the Xizhou road into one detached yet affectionate farewell, showing Su Shi's ease with allusion in the parting tradition.

此词的用语深植于怀人与旷达传统。「钱塘江」令人想到「钱塘江」写钱塘江的意象——也令人想到「浙江潮」的意象；「西兴浦口」令人想到「西兴浦口」写西兴渡的意象——钱塘西兴，也令人想到「西兴渡头」的意象；「斜晖」令人想到「斜晖」写斜阳的意象——也令人想到「斜晖脉脉水悠悠」（温庭筠）的意象；「忘机」令人想到「忘机」写忘机心的意象——《列子》海翁忘机，也令人想到「鸥鹭忘机」的意象；「西湖西畔」令人想到「西湖西畔」写西湖西岸的意象——也令人想到「西子湖」的意象；「谢公雅志」令人想到「谢公雅志」写谢安的意象——谢安泛海之志，也令人想到「东山之志」的意象；「西州路」令人想到「西州路」写西州门的意象——羊昙哭谢安，也令人想到「西州之恸」的意象。全词化用钱塘江、西兴浦口、斜晖、忘机、西湖西畔、谢公雅志、西州路的意象典故，以旷达写怀人，正是苏轼「旷达」而善用典、承怀人传统写旷达之本领。

Commentary

This lyric is ranked among Su Shi's finest friendship songs and a representative Song lyric addressed to Canliao. Critics have praised it as 'detached yet deep, clear and heroic'; the opening tide lines are often cited as its famous passage. Its special worth is condensing, in a long tune, the feeling tide and West Lake's shore—the wind, the ten-thousand-li tide, the heartless return, the Qiantang question, the white-haired ease, the spring hills and mist, the rare friendship, the eastern pledge, the Xizhou road—all in Su Shi's hand. With 'Prelude to Water Melody' it shows two faces of his detachment: one for a brother, one for a friend. For readers it opens his friendship lyrics and stands as a classic of the parting tradition—the feeling tide still speaking of West Lake across the centuries.

此词历来被推为苏轼怀人词的名篇，也是宋词写寄参寥子的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以旷达写怀人，清雄旷达」；近人更指出「有情风、万里卷潮来，无情送潮归」写卷潮的有情风，是此词的名句。在诗歌史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以长调写尽卷潮的有情风与西湖的西畔——那有情风，那万里卷潮来，那无情，那送潮归，那问钱塘江上，那西兴浦口，那几度斜晖，那不用思量今古，那俯仰昔人非，那谁似东坡老，那白首忘机，那记取西湖西畔，那正春山好处，那空翠烟霏，那算诗人相得，那如我与君稀，那约他年，那东还海道，那愿谢公雅志，那莫相违，那西州路，那不应回首，那为我沾衣，都写尽了苏轼笔下的八声甘州寄参寥子；那「为我沾衣」更以直抒写尽为我沾衣的西州路。此词与苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》同为旷达名篇，一写「但愿人长久」的水调歌头，一写「白首忘机」的八声甘州；一写怀弟，一写寄友。两词对读，可见苏轼旷达词的两面。对于今日读者，此词是理解苏轼怀人词的窗口，也是宋词写寄参寥子的经典——那卷潮的有情风，穿越千年，仍在诉说着西湖的西畔。

Prosody

Form Lyric, Eight Beats of Ganzhou (Ba Sheng Gan Zhou)词·八声甘州

Rhyme Ba Sheng Gan Zhou: upper stanza rhymes on 'gui' (归), 'hui' (晖), 'fei' (非), 'ji' (机); lower on 'fei' (霏), 'xi' (稀), 'wei' (违), 'yi' (衣) (Wei-Qi class), one rhyme throughout.八声甘州，上阕押「归」「晖」「非」「机」，下阕押「霏」「稀」「违」「衣」（微齐韵），一韵到底

Tone pattern A long Ba Sheng Gan Zhou tune with sustained level-tone rhyme; its clear, heroic music suits the poem's detached grandeur.此词为八声甘州长调，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节清雄，正合旷达的清雄。

Reading note This is the long tune Ba Sheng Gan Zhou in two stanzas—upper: 'a sentient wind… white-haired, heedless of schemes'; lower: 'remember the west shore… do not wet your robe for me'—rhyming on Wei-Qi (归, 晖, 非, 机, 霏, 稀, 违, 衣), one rhyme throughout, with a clear, heroic cadence. The upper stanza dwells on the feeling tide, the lower on West Lake's shore, ending on the Xizhou road. The long form unfolds scene then bond, and 'do not wet your robe' closes with clear, lingering ease—Su Shi's typical detachment. Read the opening tide with a heroic lift and the close with deep, restrained warmth.此词为八声甘州长调，上下两阕——上阕「有情风、万里卷潮来，无情送潮归。问钱塘江上，西兴浦口，几度斜晖。不用思量今古，俯仰昔人非。谁似东坡老，白首忘机」，下阕「记取西湖西畔，正春山好处，空翠烟霏。算诗人相得，如我与君稀。约他年、东还海道，愿谢公雅志莫相违。西州路，不应回首，为我沾衣」，押微齐韵（归、晖、非、机、霏、稀、违、衣），一韵到底，音节清雄。全词以旷达写怀人：上阕写卷潮的有情风（有情风、白首忘机），下阕写西湖的西畔（记取西湖西畔、为我沾衣）。长调铺叙，前写潮来，后写相得，以「为我沾衣」写尽为我沾衣的西州路，正见苏轼「旷达」的本色。诵读此词，宜以清雄的语调读「有情风、万里卷潮来」的潮来，以深情的语调读「算诗人相得」的相得，结句要读得清雄而有余韵，方能传达出苏轼的清雄旷达。苏轼长调以「旷达」著称，此词正是其怀人词的典范。

Line by line

有情风、万里卷潮来，无情送潮归

A sentient wind rolls the tide from ten thousand li away; a heartless one sends the tide back home.

有情风、万里卷潮来，无情送潮归。

A wind that feels, rolls the tide in from ten thousand li; a wind that feels not, escorts the tide home again.

此三句是全词写潮来的核心，以有情风写有情，以万里卷潮来写卷潮来，以无情送潮归写送潮归，写尽卷潮的有情风，是千古名句。「有情风」写有情风——那「有情」写有情，「风」写风，写尽有情的风；「万里卷潮来」写万里卷潮来——那「万里卷潮」写万里卷潮，「来」写来，写尽卷潮的来；「无情送潮归」写无情送潮归——那「无情送潮」写无情送潮，「归」写归，写尽送潮的归。这句的深意在于：它以「有情风」的有情、「万里卷潮来」的卷潮来与「无情送潮归」的送潮归，写尽卷潮的有情风——有情风，那「有情风」写尽有情的风——有情风，正是有情之风卷潮的写照，那「有情风」写尽卷潮的有情风；万里卷潮来，那「万里卷潮来」写尽卷潮的来——万里卷潮来，正是潮卷万里的写照，那「卷潮来」写尽卷潮的有情风；无情送潮归，那「无情送潮归」写尽送潮的归——无情送潮归，正是潮归无情的写照，那「送潮归」写尽卷潮的有情风；那「有情风」写尽有情的风，那「万里卷潮来」写尽卷潮的来，那「无情送潮归」写尽送潮的归，一写有情，一写卷潮，一写送潮，写尽卷潮的有情风——有情卷来而无情送归，正是人生的写照；此三句以有情、卷潮、送潮写尽卷潮的有情风，也为下文的斜晖作铺垫，也让此三句成为全词写潮来的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「有情风万里卷着潮水来，无情地又送潮水归去」，则失其对照；唯以「有情风」写有情、「万里卷潮来」写卷潮来、「无情送潮归」写送潮归，写尽卷潮的有情风，也让此三句成为全词写潮来的核心。

These opening lines set the Qiantang tide as the poem's central image, and Su Shi charges the wind with a double face: loving as it rolls the tide in from ten thousand li, unloving as it sends the same tide home again. The personification is the whole point—nature is neither kind nor cruel, yet the poet reads affection into its arrival and indifference into its departure. In that alternation he mirrors human parting: what comes with warmth goes without a backward glance. The vast movement of the tide also prepares the later image of slanting sun, anchoring the whole ci in the riverscape before the poem turns to friendship. To have described the tide literally would lose the double inflection; it is precisely the feeling wind against the feelingless wind that makes the lines famous.

算诗人相得，如我与君稀

Count the poets who truly understand—few are like you and me.

算诗人相得，如我与君稀。

Count among poets those who truly understood each other—few indeed, such as you and I.

此二句是全词写相得的核心，以算诗人相得写诗人相得，以如我与君稀写如我与君，写尽如我与君的稀，是千古名句。「算诗人相得」写算诗人相得——那「算诗人」写算诗人，「相得」写相得，写尽诗人的相得；「如我与君稀」写如我与君稀——那「如我与君」写如我与君，「稀」写稀，写尽如我与君的稀。这句的深意在于：它以「算诗人相得」的相得与「如我与君稀」的如我与君，写尽如我与君的稀——算诗人相得，那「算诗人相得」写尽诗人的相得——算诗人相得，正是诗人相得的写照，那「相得」写尽如我与君的稀；如我与君稀，那「如我与君稀」写尽如我与君的稀——如我与君稀，正是如我与君相知的写照，那「稀」写尽如我与君的稀；那「算诗人相得」写尽诗人的相得，那「如我与君稀」写尽如我与君的稀，一写诗人，一写如我，写尽如我与君的稀——诗人相得而如我与君，正是相知的写照；此二句以诗人、如我写尽如我与君的稀，也为下文的雅志作铺垫，也让此二句成为全词写相得的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「算来诗人相知相得，像我与君这样的很少」，则失其深情；唯以「算诗人相得」写诗人相得、「如我与君稀」写如我与君，写尽如我与君的稀，也让此二句成为全词写相得的核心。

The couplet moves from the riverscape to the bond between the poet and his fellow poet, the monk Canliao. "Count" sweeps across all literary history; "rare" measures the outcome: among poets who were fellow spirits, pairs like his and the addressee's are few. The seeming modesty is in fact a claim of the highest order—not merely "we are friends" but "of all the poets who ever met, only this few matched us." It prepares the way for the lofty shared ambition named just below, and by grounding the later farewell in rarity, Su Shi turns a parting into an elegy on friendship itself. A plain "we get along well" would empty the line of its weight; the count across history is what gives the rarity its force.

Study

Word focus

卷 To roll / to sweep up. In 'a sentient wind rolls the tide from ten thousand li,' juan depicts the tide being swept in by the wind. It carries both the surging motion of the water and the heroic breadth of Su Shi's vision, making the verb the key to the tide's personified grandeur. 「有情风、万里卷潮来」之「卷」字是写潮来关键词，一个「卷」字写尽卷潮的有情风。卷者，卷起、席卷也。苏轼以「有情风、万里卷潮来」写潮来，这个「卷」字至少有双重意味：其一，写潮之卷——那「有情风、万里卷潮来」写有情风、万里卷潮来，那「卷」字写尽卷潮的有情风——卷潮来，正是卷起潮水的写照，那「卷」字写尽卷潮的有情风；其二，写势之雄——那「卷」字更是写雄——卷，正见潮卷万里的雄阔，那「卷」字写尽苏轼的旷达。以「卷」字写潮来，正是苏轼写怀人的枢纽——若换作「掀」「涌」等字，则或失其与「有情风」「万里卷潮来」的配合，或失其写卷的意味；唯「卷」字，以有情风万里卷潮来写尽潮水之卷起与气势之雄阔，与「无情送潮归」的送潮相合，写尽卷潮的有情风，也让「有情风、万里卷潮来」成为全词写潮来的名句。

忘 To forget. In 'white-haired, heedless of schemes,' wang means to cast off calculating cares. It conveys both the forgetting of worldly guile and the calm, detached ease of Su Shi's heart—the very word that crystallizes his detachment in the lyric. 「谁似东坡老，白首忘机」之「忘」字是写旷达关键词，一个「忘」字写尽白首的忘机。忘者，忘却、忘掉也。苏轼以「白首忘机」写旷达，这个「忘」字至少有双重意味：其一，写机之忘——那「白首忘机」写白首忘机，那「忘」字写尽白首的忘机——忘机，正是忘却机心的写照，那「忘」字写尽白首的忘机；其二，写心之淡——那「忘」字更是写淡——忘，正见淡泊忘世的心境，那「忘」字写尽苏轼的旷达。以「忘」字写旷达，正是苏轼写怀人的枢纽——若换作「弃」「绝」等字，则或失其与「白首」「忘机」的配合，或失其写忘的意味；唯「忘」字，以白首忘机写尽机心之忘却与淡泊之忘世，与「谁似东坡老」的东坡相合，写尽白首的忘机，也让「白首忘机」成为全词写旷达的名句。