南北朝 Northern and Southern Dynasties · 赋 Fu rhapsody
别赋（节选）
The Lament of Parting (excerpt)
黯然销魂者，唯别而已矣！
况秦吴兮绝国，复燕宋兮千里。
或春苔兮始生，乍秋风兮暂起。
是以行子肠断，百感凄恻。
风萧萧而异响，云漫漫而奇色。
舟凝滞于水滨，车逶迟于山侧。
棹容与而讵前，马寒鸣而不息。
掩金觞而谁御，横玉柱而沾轼。
Show full original poem
黯然销魂者，唯别而已矣！
况秦吴兮绝国，复燕宋兮千里。
或春苔兮始生，乍秋风兮暂起。
是以行子肠断，百感凄恻。
风萧萧而异响，云漫漫而奇色。
舟凝滞于水滨，车逶迟于山侧。
棹容与而讵前，马寒鸣而不息。
掩金觞而谁御，横玉柱而沾轼。
居人愁卧，怳若有亡。
日下壁而沉彩，月上轩而飞光。
见红兰之受露，望青楸之离霜。
巡层楹而空掩，抚锦幕而虚凉。
知离梦之踯躅，意别魂之飞扬。
故别虽一绪，事乃万族。
至若龙马银鞍，朱轩绣轴，帐饮东都，送客金谷。
琴羽张兮箫鼓陈，燕赵歌兮伤美人；
珠与玉兮艳暮秋，罗与绮兮娇上春。
惊驷马之仰秣，耸渊鱼之赤鳞。
造分手而衔涕，感寂漠而伤神。
乃有剑客惭恩，少年报士，韩国赵厕，吴宫燕市，割慈忍爱，离邦去里，沥泣共诀，抆血相视。
驱征马而不顾，见行尘之时起。
方衔感于一剑，非买价于泉里。
金石震而色变，骨肉悲而心死。
或乃边郡未和，负羽从军。
辽水无极，雁山参云。
闺中风暖，陌上草薰。
日出天而曜景，露下地而腾文。
镜朱尘之照烂，袭青气之烟煴。
攀桃李兮不忍别，送爱子兮沾罗裙。
至如一去绝国，讵相见期。
视乔木兮故里，决北梁兮永辞。
左右兮魄动，亲宾兮泪滋。
可班荆兮赠恨，唯尊酒兮相离。
值秋雁兮飞日，当白露兮下时。
怨复怨兮远山曲，去复去兮长河湄。
又若君居淄右，妾家河阳。
同琼珮之晨照，共金炉之夕香。
君结绶兮千里，惜瑶草之徒芳。
惭幽闺之琴瑟，晦高台之流黄。
春宫閟此青苔色，秋帐含兹明月光。
夏簟清兮昼不暮，冬釭凝兮夜何长！
织锦曲兮泣已尽，回文诗兮影独伤。
傥有华阴上士，服食还山，术既妙而犹学，道已寂而未传。
守丹灶而不顾，炼金鼎而方坚。
驾鹤上汉，骖鸾腾天。
暂游万里，少别千年。
惟世间兮重别，谢主人兮依然。
下有芍药之诗，佳人之歌。
桑中卫女，上宫陈娥。
春草碧色，春水渌波。
送君南浦，伤如之何！
至乃秋露如珠，秋月如珪。
明月白露，光阴往来。
与子之别，思心徘徊。
是以别方不定，别理千名。
有别必怨，有怨必盈。
使人意夺神骇，心折骨惊。
虽渊云之墨妙，严乐之笔精，金闺之诸彦，兰台之群英，赋有凌云之称，辩有雕龙之声，谁能摹暂离之状，写永诀之情者乎！
The sorrow of parting is one thread, yet its forms are ten thousand. Take the dragon-horse with silver saddle, the vermilion carriage with embroidered axle; the feast by the tent east of the capital, the seeing-off at the Golden Valley. The feather-zither is struck, the flutes and drums arrayed; the songs of Yan and Zhao grieve the beauties. Pearls and jade brighten the late autumn; gauze and silk grace the early spring. They startle the four horses to raise their fodder; they make the deep fish lift their red scales. At the parting they choke on tears; in the loneliness their spirit is wounded.
Then there are the swordsman ashamed of unpaid grace, the youth repaying a friend; the deeds of Han and Zhao, the Zhao privy and the Wu palace and the Yan market; cutting off love and kindness, leaving home and village; weeping out their tears in farewell, wiping blood they gaze at one another. They drive the war-horse and look not back; they see the road-dust rise from time to time. They are moved by a single sword, not selling their lives in the underworld. When metal and stone quake their color changes; when flesh and blood grieve, the heart dies.
Or when the border lands are not at peace, bearing arrows they join the army. The Liao River has no end; the Wild-Goose Mountain pierces the clouds. In the chamber the breeze is warm; by the road the grass is fragrant. The sun mounts the sky and shines bright; the dew falls to earth and glows. The red dust mirrors its splendor; the green vapor rises soft. They cling to the peach and plum and cannot bear to part; she sees her dear son off, wetting her silken skirt.
As for one who goes to a far severed land, when shall they meet again? They look on the tall trees of the old home; they part at the north bridge in eternal farewell. Attendants tremble in spirit; kin and guests shed tears. They spread thorns on the ground to share their regret; only the cup of wine marks the parting. On the day the autumn geese fly; at the time the white dew falls. Grief upon grief in the far mountain's bend; gone and gone by the long river's shore.
Again, if the lord dwells right of the Zi, and the lady's home is at Heyang. They shared the jade pendant in the morning light; they breathed together the golden censer's evening scent. The lord tied his seal-cord a thousand li away; she grieves that the fairy grass blooms in vain. She is ashamed of the lonely lute in her chamber; the high tower's yellow silk is dimmed. The spring chamber hides this moss-green hue; the autumn curtain holds this bright moonlight. The summer mat is cool—the day never ends; the winter lamp congeals—how long the night! She weaves the brocade song till her tears are spent; the palindrome poem leaves her shadow alone in sorrow.
Perhaps there is the high adept of Huayin, who takes elixirs and returns to the mountains; his art is wondrous yet he still learns, his Way is still yet not transmitted. He guards the cinnabar furnace and cares for nothing else; he tempers the golden crucible, his resolve firm. He rides the crane to the Milky Way; he yokes the phoenix and mounts the sky. Briefly he roams ten thousand li; a small parting lasts a thousand years. Yet the world still prizes parting; he takes leave of his host, still as before.
Below are the poems of the peony, the songs of the fair one. The Wei maid of the Mulberry Grove, the Chen beauty of the Upper Palace. Spring grass in emerald; spring water in clear ripples. Seeing you off at the southern shore—how can one bear the grief! Then the autumn dew like pearls, the autumn moon like a jade disk. Bright moon and white dew; time goes and comes. In parting from you, my longing heart lingers.
Thus the forms of parting are not fixed; the reasons for parting are a thousand names. Where there is parting there must be grief; where there is grief it must be full. It robs the mind and shocks the spirit; it breaks the heart and startles the bone. Though there be the fine ink of Yuan and Yun, the keen brush of Yan and Le, the talented gentlemen of the golden cabinet, the brilliant hosts of the Orchid Terrace—whose fu earned the praise of 'riding the clouds,' whose eloquence earned the name 'carving dragons'—who could sketch the shape of a brief parting or write the feeling of eternal farewell!
Meaning
An excerpt from 'The Lament of Parting' surveys every kind of farewell—the traveler and the one who stays, the noble feast, the swordsman, the conscript, the separated couple, the Daoist adept, the lovers—and concludes that no writer, however gifted, can fully capture the pain of parting.
最令人黯然神伤的，唯有离别罢了！何况秦吴燕宋相隔绝远，春苔初生、秋风乍起更易牵愁。于是远行之人柔肠寸断，百感凄恻：风声萧萧别有意味，云色漫漫异样惨淡；船滞水滨、车缓山侧，桨迟疑而不前、马悲鸣而不息；放下酒杯谁人共饮，抚琴泪湿车轼。居家者愁卧若有所失，日沉壁、月升轩，见红兰承露、青楸经霜，巡空楹、抚凉幕，知梦中徘徊、别魂飞扬。 离别之情虽一，其事却千差万别：或豪门饯别、金谷张乐，琴箫并举、美人伤歌，珠玉耀秋、罗绮娇春，令马仰秣、鱼耸鳞，临分衔涕、寂寞伤神。 又有剑客感恩、少年报恩，效韩赵刺客、吴宫燕市，割爱离乡、泣血诀别，驱马不顾、行尘时起，感于一剑而非求死价，金石震而色变、骨肉悲而心死。 边郡不宁、负箭从军，辽水无极、雁山入云；闺中春暖、陌上草香，攀桃李不忍别、送爱子泪湿裙。 一去绝国、何期再见，望故木、决北梁永辞，左右魄动、亲宾泪滋，班荆赠恨、尊酒相离，秋雁飞日、白露下时，怨远山、去长河。 又若夫戍远方、妻留故乡，同佩晨照、共炉夕香，君结绶千里、惜瑶草徒芳，闺中琴瑟惭、高台流黄晦，春苔秋月、夏簟冬釭，织锦回文、泣尽影伤。 或有方外道士服食还山，守丹灶、炼金鼎，驾鹤骖鸾，暂游万里少别千年，仍叹世间重别。 更兼男女相思，芍药佳人、桑中卫女，春草碧、春水绿，送君南浦、伤如之何，秋露如珠、秋月如珪，思心徘徊。 是以别无定方、理有千名，有别必怨、有怨必盈，令人意夺神骇、心折骨惊；纵有渊云之墨、严乐之笔、兰台群英，谁能描摹暂离之状、永诀之情呢！
Appreciation
The excerpt opens with the famous line that nothing shatters the soul like parting, then catalogs farewells of every sort: the traveler and the one at home, the noble banquet, the grateful swordsman, the frontier conscript, the husband and wife torn apart, the Daoist recluse, and the lovelorn pair. Each is rendered with opulent parallel prose and vivid scene. The closing rhetorical question declares that even the greatest writers cannot paint parting's form. It is the most concentrated literary summation of human leave-taking in all its kinds.
【白话串讲】 “黯然销魂者，唯别而已矣”——江淹写《别赋》：最让人黯然销魂的，只有离别。“风萧萧而异响，云漫漫而奇色”——“舟凝滞于水滨，车逶迟于山侧”——他写各种离别的场景。千古写别离的巅峰之作。 【意象与手法】全篇骈俪精工，善用铺陈与类叙：以“风萧萧”“云漫漫”“舟凝滞”“马寒鸣”等景物烘托行子之哀，以“红兰受露”“青楸离霜”“归云白”“落晖红”等丽景反衬居人之孤；句式以“兮”字句与四六骈句交错，声色并茂。 【情感与主旨】抒发对一切离别的悲慨。江淹遍历离乱，将行役、恩怨、戍边、闺怨、求仙、相思各类别情汇于一赋，揭示“有别必怨，有怨必盈”的普世之痛，是对人类离愁最集中的文学总结。 【名句点睛】“黯然销魂者，唯别而已矣。”——开篇一句定调千古，此后“黯然销魂”成为离别书写的成语与定评；以极简之语总摄全篇万种离愁，是六朝抒情小赋的点睛之笔。
Background
Jiang Yan (444–505), courtesy name Wen Tong, was a Liang-dynasty man of letters who lived through the Song, Qi, and Liang; 'The Lament of Parting' and 'The Lament of Regret' are paired masterworks, this being his early lyric fu on every sorrow of parting.
《别赋·节选》为南朝江淹所作，是写离别之悲、百感凄恻的骈赋。江淹（444—505），字文通，济阳考城人，南朝文学家。此赋节选写行子肠断、居人愁卧，历写富贵之别、剑客之别、从军之别、绝国之别、夫妇之别、方外之别、情人别等多种离别，是江淹赋的名篇。
Art
It is launched by the single line 'What shatters the soul is none but parting'; below it narrates in turn the traveler, the one at home, the swordsman, the conscript, the couple, the recluse, the lovers—spreading and deepening layer by layer. The parallel prose is exquisite; lines like 'the wind moans' and 'the clouds spread' write grief through scene, rich in sound and color—the peak of Southern-Dynasty lyric fu.
《别赋·节选》艺术上以离别之悲的描摹与骈俪之文的华美见长。此赋层层写来：首写黯然销魂——“黯然销魂者，唯别而已矣”写黯然销魂、唯别而已；中写行子肠断——“是以行子肠断，百感凄恻”写行子肠断、百感凄恻，写居人愁卧、日下月上；末写别方不定——“是以别方不定，别理千名”写别方不定、别理千名，“谁能摹暂离之状，写永诀之情者乎”写谁能摹状写情。全赋以离别之悲写骈俪之文，正是江淹赋华美的笔法。
Allusions
'Anran xiaohun' (soul-shattering) is Jiang Yan's own coinage, later an idiom for parting; 'golden cup' and 'jade pillar' mean wine-vessel and instrument; 'ban jing' uses the Zuo Zhuan tale of sitting on thorn-branches to talk of old times; 'palindrome poem' refers to Su Hui's brocade palindrome; 'carving dragons' uses Zou Shuo's epithet for eloquence; 'riding the clouds' uses Sima Xiangru's 'a breeze as if riding the clouds.'
《别赋·节选》用典在“秦吴燕宋”“金谷”“韩国赵厕吴宫燕市”“织锦回文”“南浦”“渊云严乐”。“秦吴燕宋”写绝国千里；“金谷”写石崇金谷园饯别；“韩国赵厕吴宫燕市”写聂政荆轲报恩；“织锦回文”写苏蕙回文锦；“南浦”写送别之地（《楚辞》）；“渊云严乐”写扬雄王褒严安徐乐（文士）。全赋以这些典故写离别之悲，用典繁富而华美自见，正是江淹赋的笔法。
Commentary
The Qing scholar Xu Lian praised it: 'The feeling and phrasing are gentle and lovely, the manner graceful.' This fu, grouping by kind and layering its renderings, paints the abstract sorrow of parting in a thousand postures—the crown of Six-Dynasties lyric fu.
《别赋·节选》是江淹赋的名篇，也是六朝骈赋中写离别的代表作。此赋写离别之悲、百感凄恻，向为论者称道。论者多赏其离别之悲的描摹与骈俪之文的华美——“黯然销魂者，唯别而已矣”写黯然销魂、唯别而已，华美之极；“风萧萧而异响，云漫漫而奇色”写风萧云漫、异响奇色，更见其凄；“见红兰之受露，望青楸之离霜”写红兰受露、青楸离霜，尤见其丽；“是以别方不定，别理千名”写别方不定、别理千名，尤见其概。江淹为南朝文宗，此赋正是其代表——以离别之悲写骈俪之文，正是其赋风。
Prosody
Line by line
黯然销魂者，唯别而已矣！
What breaks the soul with grief is parting, and parting alone!
黯然销魂者，唯别而已矣！
What breaks the spirit with grief is parting, and parting alone.
首写黯然销魂、唯别而已，是全赋写离别之悲的总起。“黯然销魂者”写黯然销魂者——“黯然销魂者”写使人黯然神伤的——黯然销魂者；“唯别而已矣”写唯别而已矣——“唯别而已矣”写唯有离别罢了——唯别而已矣。二句写黯然销魂、唯别而已：黯然销魂者，唯别而已矣！以“黯然销魂者”写黯然销魂、神伤魂断，以“唯别而已矣”写唯有离别、最令人伤，正是江淹赋写离别之悲的总起——销魂之悲，唯别而已。
The parting. What breaks the soul with grief is parting, and parting alone. The soul-breaking grief and the parting-alone are the opening. To have broken the soul would be a breaking; the what-breaks-the-soul-with-grief-is-parting-and-parting-alone is the breaking.
是以行子肠断，百感凄恻。
So the wayfarer's bowels are snapped, a hundred griefs wring his heart.
是以行子肠断，百感凄恻。
So the traveler's bowels are broken, a hundred feelings of sorrow.
此二句写行子肠断、百感凄恻，是全赋写离别之悲的展开。“是以行子肠断”写是以行子肠断——“是以行子肠断”写于是远行之人柔肠寸断——是以行子肠断；“百感凄恻”写百感凄恻——“百感凄恻”写百感交集、凄恻难当——百感凄恻。二句写行子肠断、百感凄恻：是以行子肠断，百感凄恻。以“是以行子肠断”写行子肠断、柔肠寸结，以“百感凄恻”写百感交集、凄恻满怀，正是江淹赋写离别之悲的展开——行子肠断，百感凄恻。
The bowels. So the wayfarer's bowels are snapped, a hundred griefs wring his heart. The snapped bowels and the hundred griefs are the expansion. To have snapped the bowels would be a snapping; the so-the-wayfarer's-bowels-are-snapped-a-hundred-griefs-wring-his-heart is the snapping.
见红兰之受露，望青楸之离霜。
He sees the red orchids taking the dew, the green catalpa stripped of frost.
见红兰之受露，望青楸之离霜。
Seeing the red orchids receiving the dew, gazing at the green catalpa stripped by frost.
此二句写红兰受露、青楸离霜，是全赋写居人愁卧之景的深化。“见红兰之受露”写见红兰之受露——“见红兰之受露”写看见红兰承受露水——见红兰之受露；“望青楸之离霜”写望青楸之离霜——“望青楸之离霜”写望见青楸披离秋霜——望青楸之离霜。二句写红兰受露、青楸离霜：见红兰之受露，望青楸之离霜。以“见红兰之受露”写红兰受露、秋色凄清，以“望青楸之离霜”写青楸离霜、霜华惨淡，正是江淹赋写居人愁卧之景的深化——红兰受露，青楸离霜。
The orchids. He sees the red orchids taking the dew, the green catalpa stripped of frost. The red orchids in dew and the green catalpa in frost are the imagery. To have seen the orchids would be a seeing; the he-sees-the-red-orchids-taking-the-dew-the-green-catalpa-stripped-of-frost is the seeing.
是以别方不定，别理千名。
Thus the place of parting is unset, the reason for parting has a thousand names.
是以别方不定，别理千名。
Thus the places of parting are not fixed, the reasons of parting have a thousand names.
末写别方不定、别理千名，是全赋写离别之概的归结。“是以别方不定”写是以别方不定——“是以别方不定”写因此离别方式不定——是以别方不定；“别理千名”写别理千名——“别理千名”写离别之理有千万种名目——别理千名。二句写别方不定、别理千名：是以别方不定，别理千名。以“是以别方不定”写别方不定、离别种种，以“别理千名”写别理千名、情味各异，正是江淹赋写离别之概的归结——别方不定，别理千名。
The names. Thus the place of parting is unset, the reason for parting has a thousand names. The unset parting-place and the thousand-named parting-reasons are the close. To have had a thousand names would be a naming; the thus-the-place-of-parting-is-unset-the-reason-for-parting-has-a-thousand-names is the naming.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
江淹《恨赋》写人生遗恨、种种恨事，与本首同为江淹赋。差异在主题：别赋写离别之悲；恨赋写遗恨之慨。一写“别”之悲，一写“恨”之深。两者并读，可见江淹赋写人生之慨的两种主题。
哀江南赋序 Lament for the South: Preface 庾信 · 同为六朝赋写身世之悲，一写别离一写故国之思，皆沉痛 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
庾信《哀江南赋序》写故国之思、身世之悲，与本首同为六朝赋写悲慨。差异在主题：别赋写离别之悲；哀江南赋序写故国之思。一写“别”之悲，一写“国”之思。两者并读，可见六朝赋写身世之悲的两种主题。
别赋 Fu on Separation 江淹 · 与本首相关联的同类或同作者作品，供对比阅读 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
此处关联江淹《别赋》，与本首在主题、体裁或作者上相关联，可对比阅读以见其同异。