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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

浪淘沙·借问江潮与海水

Ripple Sand: I ask of the river tide and the sea water

白居易

Bai Juyi

爱情Love 民歌Folk Song

借问江潮与海水，何似君情与妾心？
相恨不如潮有信，相思始觉海非深。

I ask of the river tide and of the sea water:
How do they compare with your love for me and my heart?
How I hate that you are not as the tide, which keeps its word,
And only now, in missing you, do I find the sea is not so deep.

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Meaning

A woman sings to her lover, who has been absent and unfaithful. She questions the tides and the sea about the difference between his conduct and her own devotion, and reaches two conclusions: his love is less reliable than the tide, which at least returns on time, and her own longing is so vast that the sea, for all its size, is shallower than it. The poem takes the plainest possible voice and uses familiar natural things to measure a broken affair.

借问江潮与海水，何似君情与妾心？相恨不如潮有信，相思始觉海非深。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The whole lyric is one question and its answer. She begins by appealing to two bodies of water as witnesses, which is the folk-song habit of arguing with nature; the answer arrives in the last two lines and falls into two halves — his fault, then her own measure.[Structure] Each couplet is a comparison: 'tide and sea' with 'you and I', then 'tide keeps its word' against 'you do not', then 'the sea is not deep' against her longing. The poem therefore progresses as a set of scales, and the final line tips.[Imagery] The images are everywhere available and deliberately unpoetic — a tide, a stretch of sea. Their plainness is the point: the speaker is not a court lady composing, she is a woman who knows the river and the boats. The phrase 'keeps its word' is the hinge, because the tide's punctuality becomes a reproach to a lover who failed to come back.

【白话串讲】白居易写《浪淘沙·借问江潮与海水》：“借问江潮与海水，何似君情与妾心”——“相恨不如潮有信，相思始觉海非深”——他说江潮有信而君情无信——相思比海还深——他写女子对薄情郎的怨。【意象与手法】此词写爱情，以民歌写爱情，是白居易的名篇。前二句写发问：「借问江潮与海水，何似君情与妾心」写借问江潮与海水、何似君情与妾心——写尽君情的发问；后二句写相思：「相恨不如潮有信，相思始觉海非深」写相恨不如潮有信、相思始觉海非深——写尽相思的深挚。全词以民歌写爱情，写尽君情的发问与相思的深挚，是白居易的代表作。【情感与主旨】此词写爱情，以民歌写爱情，是白居易的名篇。此词写闺中女子对负心男子的怨情与相思。白居易《浪淘沙》词多写民歌风的爱情，此词以江潮与海水为比，写君情不如潮水守信，而妾心深于海水，正是民歌中常见的「以物起兴」写法。此词写发问：借问江潮与海水，何似君情与妾心——写借问江潮与海水、何似君情与妾心，写尽君情的发问；相恨不如潮有信，相思始觉海非深——写相恨不如潮有信、相思始觉海非深，写尽相思的深挚。全词以民歌写爱情——那「何似君情与妾心」写尽君情的发问，「相思始觉海非深」写尽相思的深挚，写尽君情的发问与相思的深挚，是理解白居易爱情词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「借问江潮与海水，何似君情与妾心」写君情的发问；「相恨不如潮有信，相思始觉海非深」写相思的深挚；以及全词以民歌写爱情、以比兴写相思的手法。

Background

Bai Juyi (772–846) collected and wrote many lyrics in the style of the Yuefu and the southern folk songs, and this little piece belongs to that practise rather than to his official verse. He was eager to popularise poetry, and the Ripple Sand tune was widely sung; his imitations were meant to be understood by everyone. The poem is one of a group of Ripple Sand lyrics in which he adopts a woman's voice to complain of a lover's absence. Its matter is old — the sea, the tide and the faithless man go back to Han and Six Dynasties ballads — but its directness is unmistakably Tang and unmistakably his.

此词写爱情，以民歌写爱情，是白居易的名篇。白居易（772—846），字乐天，号香山居士，又号醉吟先生，下邽（今陕西渭南）人，唐代诗人，与元稹并称「元白」，与新乐府运动相关，为唐代存诗最多的诗人。此词写闺中女子对负心男子的怨情与相思。白居易《浪淘沙》词多写民歌风的爱情，此词以江潮与海水为比，写君情不如潮水守信，而妾心深于海水，正是民歌中常见的「以物起兴」写法。此词写发问：「借问江潮与海水，何似君情与妾心」写借问江潮与海水、何似君情与妾心——写尽君情的发问（借问江潮与海水，何似君情与妾心）；「相恨不如潮有信，相思始觉海非深」写相恨不如潮有信、相思始觉海非深——写尽相思的深挚（相恨不如潮有信，相思始觉海非深）。全词以民歌写爱情，写尽君情的发问与相思的深挚，是理解白居易爱情词的重要篇章。白居易晚年居洛阳时所作的《浪淘沙》六首，多写江海风涛与民歌风韵的男女之情。此词借江潮与海水起兴，写闺中怨情，正是唐代文人仿民间歌谣的作品。唐代江潮（钱塘潮）与海水的意象常被用来写爱情，民歌中「潮有信」喻守信之人，此词反用其意。

Art

The technique is the technique is bi-xing,: the tide provides a standard against which the lover fails, and the sea is suddenly revealed as shallow beside the speaker's own longing. The twist is that both comparisons come from the same two images, so the poem gains its force by turning a natural fact into a moral one — the tide is trustworthy, the sea is small, and the man who should know both is where he is not. The language is deliberately simple to the point of colloquialism, which is what makes it sing; there is no decorative epithet anywhere.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以发问写怨情。「借问江潮与海水」以发问写怨情——那「借问」写尽江潮海水的发问，以发问写尽君情的质疑。其二，以比兴写相思。「何似君情与妾心」以比兴写相思——那「君情」「妾心」写尽君情妾心的对照，以比兴写尽爱情的深挚。其三，以对照写守信。「相恨不如潮有信」以对照写守信——那「潮有信」写尽潮水的守信，以对照写尽君情的不信。其四，以夸饰写深挚。「相思始觉海非深」以夸饰写深挚——那「海非深」写尽海水的不深，以夸饰写尽相思的深挚。此外，此词前二句写君情的发问，后二句写相思的深挚，由问及答，正是民歌词「先问后答」的写法。四重手法，使此词以民歌写爱情，写尽君情的发问与相思的深挚，是白居易的代表作。此词还善于以「君情」「妾心」的并置写两情之对照——那「君情」写对方之情，「妾心」写己方之心，两相对照，正见情之厚薄。又善以「不如潮有信」「海非深」的两重否定写怨思——先以潮之信衬君之情薄，再以海之深衬妾之情厚，一抑一扬，正是民歌中层层递进的手法。

Allusions

The piece is built out of the common stock of the folk lyric rather than a single citation. The tides keeping their promise is the old Yuefu contrast between the constancy of the river and the inconstancy of men — 'the tide has no heart' is a familiar formula, and she turns it against her lover by crediting the tide with better manners than he has. The shallowness of the sea echoes the popular saying that the sea is deep; overturning it is a small wit that gives the last line its unexpected turn.

此词的用语深植于爱情与民歌传统。「江潮」令人想到「江潮」写江潮的意象——也令人想到「潮平两岸阔」（王湾）的意象；「海水」令人想到「海水」写海水的意象——也令人想到「曾经沧海难为水」（元稹）的意象；「君情」令人想到「君情」写君情的意象——也令人想到「君情与妾心」的意象；「妾心」令人想到「妾心」写妾心的意象——也令人想到「妾心古井水」的意象；「潮有信」令人想到「潮有信」写潮信如期的意象——也令人想到「潮信」的意象；「海非深」令人想到「海非深」写海不深的意象——也令人想到「情深似海」的意象。全词化用江潮、海水、君情、妾心、潮有信、海非深的意象，以民歌写爱情，正是白居易「平易」而善比兴、承民歌传统写相思之本领。「潮有信」典出唐民歌及李益《江南曲》「早知潮有信，嫁与弄潮儿」之句，以潮水涨落有时喻守信之人，白居易以「不如潮有信」写君情之薄，正是反用李益诗意；「海非深」令人想到「曾经沧海难为水」的意象，反以海水之深衬相思之更深。

Commentary

Bai Juyi's popular lyrics were enormously widely circulated in the ninth century and this one has remained among his most-quoted short works. Later readers praise especially the last two lines for the trick of measuring love in a unit that turns out to be the wrong one — the sea, the very image of vast depth, is found shallow. Because the poem is handed down in a female voice, anthologists have also treated it as evidence for how far the Tang lyric had moved toward plain speech.

此词历来被推为白居易爱情词的名篇，也是唐人写民歌风爱情的典型。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以民歌写爱情，真挚婉转」；近人更指出「相恨不如潮有信，相思始觉海非深」写相思的深挚，是此词的名句。在词史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以双调的小令写尽君情的发问与相思的深挚——那借问，那江潮，那海水，那何似，那君情，那妾心，那相恨，那不如，那潮有信，那相思，那始觉，那海非深，都写尽了白居易笔下的爱情；那「相思始觉海非深」更以夸饰写尽相思的深挚。此词与白居易《长相思·汴水流》（「汴水流，泗水流」）同为爱情名篇，一写「思悠悠，恨悠悠」的长相思（长相思），一写「相思始觉海非深」的浪淘沙（借问江潮）；又与刘禹锡《竹枝词》「东边日出西边雨」的民歌传统一脉相承，可见中国词写民歌爱情的传统。对于今日读者，此词是理解白居易爱情词的窗口，也是中国词写相思的经典——那不如潮信的君情，穿越千年，仍在诉说着相思的深挚。

Prosody

Form Ci in the short tune Ripple Sand词·浪淘沙

Rhyme Rhymes on the Qin category — 'heart' and 'deep' — level tone, one rhyme throughout.押「心」「深」韵（下平十二侵），一韵到底，音节婉转

Tone pattern Level tone, the soft and lingering sound suiting the plaintive song.此词为浪淘沙词牌，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节婉转，正合爱情的婉转。

Reading note Four lines of seven characters, the popular short lyric form. The whole piece turns on the pair of comparisons in lines three and four, which supply the rhythm of complaint and counter-complaint.此词为《浪淘沙》小令，四句——「借问江潮与海水，何似君情与妾心？相恨不如潮有信，相思始觉海非深」，押「侵」韵（心、深），一韵到底，音节婉转。全词以民歌写爱情：前二句写君情的发问（借问江潮与海水、何似君情与妾心），后二句写相思的深挚（相恨不如潮有信、相思始觉海非深）。四句短章，前写发问，后写深挚，以「相思始觉海非深」写尽相思的深挚，正见白居易「平易」的本色。诵读此词，宜以婉转的语调读「何似君情与妾心」的发问，以深挚的语调读「相思始觉海非深」的相思，结句要读得婉转而有余韵，方能传达出白居易的真挚婉转。白居易词以「平易清新」著称，此词正是其民歌爱情词的典范。

Line by line

相恨不如潮有信，相思始觉海非深

How I hate that you are not as the tide, which keeps its word, and only now, in missing you, find the sea is not so deep.

相恨不如潮有信，相思始觉海非深。

I grieve that you are not as faithful as the tide; in longing I know the sea is not deep.

此二句是全词写相思的核心，以相恨不如潮有信写潮有信，以相思始觉海非深写海非深，写尽相思的深挚，是千古名句。「相恨不如潮有信」写相恨不如潮有信——那「相恨」写相恨，「不如潮有信」写不如潮有信，写尽恨其不如潮；「相思始觉海非深」写相思始觉海非深——那「相思」写相思，「始觉海非深」写始觉海非深，写尽海非深的深挚。这句的深意在于：它以「相恨不如潮有信」的潮有信与「相思始觉海非深」的海非深，写尽相思的深挚——相恨不如潮有信，那「相恨不如潮有信」写尽恨其不如潮——不如潮有信，正是君情不信的写照，那「不如潮有信」写尽怨情；相思始觉海非深，那「相思始觉海非深」写尽海非深的深挚——海非深，正是海水不深的写照，那「始觉海非深」写尽相思的深挚；那「相恨不如潮有信」写尽恨其不如潮，那「相思始觉海非深」写尽海非深的深挚，一写恨，一写思，写尽相思的深挚——恨君不信而思深于海，正是以海潮写爱情的写照；此二句以潮有信、海非深写尽相思的深挚，也让此二句成为全词写相思的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我很想你，比海还深」，则失其比兴；唯以「相恨不如潮有信」写潮有信、「相思始觉海非深」写海非深，写尽相思的深挚，也让此二句成为全词写相思的核心。

The tide. I grieve that you are not as faithful as the tide; in longing I know the sea is not deep. The unfaithful man against the faithful tide, and the longing that makes the sea shallow, are the complaint. To have said her longing exceeded the sea's depth would be a claim; the grieve-you-are-not-as-faithful-as-the-tide against the longing-that-knows-the-sea-is-not-deep is the claim.

借问江潮与海水，何似君情与妾心

I ask of the river tide and the sea water: how do they compare with your love for me and my heart?

借问江潮与海水，何似君情与妾心。

Tell me: the river tide and the sea water—how do they compare with your love and my heart?

此二句是全词写发问的核心，以借问江潮与海水写江潮海水，以何似君情与妾心写君情妾心，写尽君情的发问，是千古名句。「借问江潮与海水」写借问江潮与海水——那「借问」写借问，「江潮与海水」写江潮与海水，写尽江潮海水的发问；「何似君情与妾心」写何似君情与妾心——那「何似」写何似，「君情与妾心」写君情与妾心，写尽君情妾心的对照。这句的深意在于：它以「借问江潮与海水」的江潮海水与「何似君情与妾心」的君情妾心，写尽君情的发问——借问江潮与海水，那「借问江潮与海水」写尽江潮海水的发问——借问江潮海水，正是以潮海起兴的写照，那「借问」写尽君情的发问；何似君情与妾心，那「何似君情与妾心」写尽君情妾心的对照——君情妾心，正是两心相比的写照，那「何似」写尽君情的发问；那「借问江潮与海水」写尽江潮海水的发问，那「何似君情与妾心」写尽君情妾心的对照，一写潮海，一写情心，写尽君情的发问——潮海何似情心，正是以物比情的写照；此二句以江潮海水、君情妾心写尽君情的发问，也为下文的潮信作铺垫，也让此二句成为全词写发问的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「你的情意比不上江水潮水」，则失其含蓄；唯以「借问江潮与海水」写江潮海水、「何似君情与妾心」写君情妾心，写尽君情的发问，也让此二句成为全词写发问的核心。

The question. Tell me: the river tide and the sea water—how do they compare with your love and my heart? The addressed tide and sea, and the how-compared question, are the opening. To have asked the waters to compare would be an opening; the tell-me-the-river-tide-and-sea-water against the how-compare-with-your-love-and-my-heart is the opening.

Study

Word focus

信 Word, promise, keeping one's word. Here it is the tide's punctuality that the lover should have imitated. 「相恨不如潮有信」之「信」字是写守约的关键词，一个「信」字写尽潮水的守信。信者，信用、如期也。白居易以「相恨不如潮有信」写怨情，这个「信」字至少有双重意味：其一，写潮之信——那「相恨不如潮有信」写相恨不如潮有信，那「信」字写尽潮水的守信——潮有信，正是潮汐如期的写照，那「信」字写尽君情的不信；其二，写情之约——那「信」字更是写约——信，正见情约的失信，那「信」字写尽相思的怨情。以「信」字写守约，正是白居易写爱情的枢纽——若换作「期」「约」等字，则或失其与「潮有」「不如」的配合，或失其写信的意味；唯「信」字，以相恨不如潮有信写尽潮水的守信与情约的失信，与「相思始觉海非深」的海非深相合，写尽怨情，也让「相恨不如潮有信」成为全词写守约的名句。

始 Only now, for the first time. It marks a discovery made painfully through the absence, not apiece of knowledge long held. 「相思始觉海非深」之「始」字是写深挚的关键词，一个「始」字写尽海非深的觉悟。始者，方才、才也。白居易以「相思始觉海非深」写深挚，这个「始」字至少有双重意味：其一，写觉之始——那「相思始觉海非深」写相思始觉海非深，那「始」字写尽海非深的觉悟——始觉海非深，正是相思后的醒悟，那「始」字写尽相思的深挚；其二，写情之深——那「始」字更是写深——始，正见相思之深，那「始」字写尽爱情的深挚。以「始」字写深挚，正是白居易写爱情的枢纽——若换作「才」「方」等字，则或失其与「相思」「觉海非深」的配合，或失其写始的意味；唯「始」字，以相思始觉海非深写尽海非深的觉悟与相思之深，与「相恨不如潮有信」的潮有信相合，写尽相思的深挚，也让「相思始觉海非深」成为全词写深挚的名句。