清 Qing · 词 Ci lyric
浣溪沙·红桥
Wash-Stream Sand · Red Bridge
浣溪沙·红桥北郭清溪一带流，红桥风物眼中秋，绿杨城郭是扬州。
西望雷塘何处是？
香魂零落使人愁，淡烟芳草旧迷楼。
West I gaze: where is the Lei Pond now? Fragrant souls scattered move one to grief; pale mist and fragrant grass, the old Lost Pavilion.
Meaning
North of the city wall a clear stream winds like a belt; the sights of Red Bridge fill the eye with autumn; green willows and a walled town — this is Yangzhou. West I gaze: where is the Lei Pond now? The fragrant souls long scattered move one to grief; pale mist and fragrant grass cover the old Lost Pavilion.
城北的清溪如带蜿蜒流淌，红桥一带的风光景物在眼中呈现一派秋意，绿树环绕的城郭正是扬州。向西遥望雷塘旧址如今可在？当年的香魂早已零落消散，徒然惹人生愁，唯有淡烟笼罩着芳草，那昔日的迷楼早已无处寻觅。
Appreciation
The first part plainly writes the scene before the eye: 'North of the wall a clear stream flows like a belt', 'the sights of Red Bridge fill the eye this autumn', and 'green willows and a walled town — this is Yangzhou' move from water to bridge to town, in plain description sketching the bright, clear autumn ground of Yangzhou; the line 'green willows and a walled town — this is Yangzhou' is condensed and vivid, becoming a timeless famous line summing up Yangzhou's face. The second part turns from real to unreal: 'West I gaze: where is the Lei Pond' leads the nostalgia with a question; 'fragrant souls scattered' and 'pale mist and fragrant grass, the old Lost Pavilion' end the rise-and-fall sigh in a hazy scene. The whole lyric breeds real and unreal, clear and graceful, blaming yet not angry — most showing the reserved manner of the spirit-resonance school.
【白话串讲】 “北郭清溪一带流，红桥风物眼中秋”——王士禛写扬州红桥：清溪一带，红桥秋色。“绿杨城郭是扬州”——这句成了扬州的名片。“西望雷塘何处是？香魂零落使人愁”——他想起隋炀帝。 【意象与手法】 此诗为清王士禛之作，精要赏析详见下方深度赏析。 【情感与主旨】 王士禛（1634—1711），号阮亭，又号渔洋山人，清初诗坛宗主，倡'神韵说' 【名句点睛】 本词为王士禛代表作。考点：一、'绿杨城郭是扬州'的炼句之妙与白描传神；二、上片实写下片虚写、情景交融的结构
Background
Wang Shizhen (1634–1711), styled Ruan Ting, also Fisherman of Yuyang, was the leading poet of the early-Qing world and advocated the 'spirit-resonance' theory. This lyric was written in the first year of Kangxi (1662) when he was judge of Yangzhou. Red Bridge lies in the northwest suburb of Yangzhou, built in the late Ming, a famous pleasure spot. The poet often held rites and drank under the bridge with friends; on an autumn day he viewed the sights, gazed north to the Lei Pond, the tomb of the Sui Emperor Yang, and the Lost Pavilion ruins, and from the clear autumn scene before him thought of the Sui dynasty's fall — beyond the pleasure a faint nostalgic regret.
《浣溪沙·红桥》为清代王士禛所作，是写扬州红桥秋景、怀古之感的词。王士禛（1634—1711），字子真，号阮亭，又号渔洋山人，新城人，清代诗人。此词：北郭清溪一带流，红桥风物眼中秋，绿杨城郭是扬州。西望雷塘何处是？香魂零落使人愁，淡烟芳草旧迷楼。全词写扬州红桥秋景、怀古之感，是王士禛词的名篇。
Art
The first part plainly writes the scene before the eye: 'North of the wall a clear stream flows like a belt', 'the sights of Red Bridge fill the eye this autumn', and 'green willows and a walled town — this is Yangzhou' move from water to bridge to town, in plain description sketching the bright, clear autumn ground of Yangzhou; the line 'green willows and a walled town — this is Yangzhou' is condensed and vivid, a famous line summing up Yangzhou's face. The second part turns from real to unreal: 'West I gaze: where is the Lei Pond' leads the nostalgia with a question; 'fragrant souls scattered' and 'pale mist and fragrant grass, the old Lost Pavilion' end the rise-and-fall sigh in a hazy scene. The whole lyric breeds real and unreal, clear and graceful, blaming yet not angry — most showing the reserved manner of the spirit-resonance school.
《浣溪沙·红桥》艺术上以扬州秋景的描摹与怀古之感的清雅见长。全词分两片：上片写红桥秋景——“北郭清溪一带流，红桥风物眼中秋，绿杨城郭是扬州”写北郭清溪、红桥秋景、绿杨扬州；下片写怀古之感——“西望雷塘何处是？香魂零落使人愁”写西望雷塘、香魂零落，“淡烟芳草旧迷楼”写淡烟芳草、旧迷楼。全词以扬州秋景写怀古之感，正是王士禛词清雅的笔法。
Allusions
The Sui-dynasty allusions are natural and reserved. 'Lei Pond' lies north of Yangzhou, the burial site of the Sui Emperor Yang; 'West I gaze: where is the Lei Pond' uses a question to link history. 'Fragrant souls' stands for the emperor and his harem's souls, broadly the Sui palace ruins; 'scattered' says they are gone. 'Lost Pavilion' was the lavish palace the Sui Emperor Yang built in Yangzhou, with a thousand doors and rooms where one got lost; 'the old Lost Pavilion' ends in wild mist and fragrant grass, quietly hinting the rise-and-fall of a dynasty. The two allusions leave no trace, borrowing the Sui's fall to vent the sigh of vicissitude, avoiding repression for clarity and distance.
《浣溪沙·红桥》用典在“雷塘”“香魂”“迷楼”。“雷塘”写扬州雷塘（隋炀帝葬地）；“香魂”写香魂（隋宫美人）；“迷楼”写隋炀帝迷楼（扬州行宫）。全词以这些典故写扬州怀古，用典自然而清雅自见，正是王士禛词的笔法。
Commentary
Wang Shizhen led the early-Qing poetry world and advocated the 'spirit-resonance' theory, prizing reserve, clarity and distance. This lyric is praised as a fine piece among his lyrics; the line 'green willows and a walled town — this is Yangzhou' spread very widely, and critics say 'seven characters write out all of Yangzhou'. A modern critic said it 'clear and lovely, with the leftover charm of Hua Jian yet a higher manner'; mourning the past without a trace, it exactly fits the spirit-resonance aim, and is rightly a model of the spirit-resonance lyric.
《浣溪沙·红桥》是王士禛词的名篇，也是清词中写扬州秋景、怀古之感的代表作。此词写扬州红桥秋景、怀古之感，向为论者称道。论者多赏其扬州秋景的描摹与怀古之感的清雅——“北郭清溪一带流，红桥风物眼中秋”写北郭清溪、红桥秋景，清雅之极；“绿杨城郭是扬州”写绿杨城郭、扬州如画，更见其美；“西望雷塘何处是？香魂零落使人愁”用雷塘香魂之典写怀古，尤见其愁；“淡烟芳草旧迷楼”写淡烟芳草、旧迷楼，尤见其慨。王士禛为神韵派领袖，其诗词以清雅著称，此词正是其代表——以扬州秋景写怀古之感，正是其词风。
Prosody
Line by line
北郭清溪一带流，红桥风物眼中秋，绿杨城郭是扬州。
A clear stream winds along the northern wall; at the Red Bridge, the sights before my eyes are autumn; the city of green willows — that is Yangzhou.
北郭清溪一带流，红桥风物眼中秋，绿杨城郭是扬州。
A clear stream flows along the northern outskirts; by the Red Bridge, the scenery before my eyes is autumn; the city wall girdled by green willows — that is Yangzhou.
上片写红桥秋景，是全词写扬州之景的起点。“北郭清溪一带流，红桥风物眼中秋”写北郭清溪、红桥秋景——“北郭清溪一带流”写城北清溪一带长流，“红桥风物眼中秋”写红桥风物、眼中见秋——北郭清溪，红桥秋景；“绿杨城郭是扬州”写绿杨扬州——“绿杨城郭是扬州”写绿杨掩映的城郭是扬州——绿杨城郭是扬州。三句写红桥秋景：北郭清溪一带流，红桥风物眼中秋，绿杨城郭是扬州。以“北郭清溪一带流”写城北清溪长流，以“红桥风物眼中秋”写红桥风物、满眼秋色，以“绿杨城郭是扬州”写绿杨城郭、正是扬州，正是王士禛词写扬州之景的起点——清溪红桥，绿杨扬州。
The first stanza writes the autumn scene at the Red Bridge, the starting point of the ci's scenery of Yangzhou. A clear stream winds along the northern wall writes the long clear stream north of the city; at the Red Bridge, the sights before my eyes are autumn writes the Red Bridge scenery, autumn in the eyes. The city of green willows — that is Yangzhou writes the willow-shadowed city as Yangzhou. Three lines: the northern clear stream, the Red Bridge autumn, the green-willow city. Writing the long stream north of the wall, the autumn colors at the Red Bridge, and the willow-girdled city that is Yangzhou, is the starting point of Wang Shizhen's Yangzhou scenery: clear stream, Red Bridge, green willows, Yangzhou.
西望雷塘何处是？香魂零落使人愁。
Looking west, where is the Lei Pond? The fallen fragrant souls bring grief to me.
西望雷塘何处是？香魂零落使人愁。
Looking westward, where is the Lei Pond? The scattered fragrant souls of the past make me sorrowful.
此二句写西望雷塘、香魂零落，是全词写怀古之感的深化。“西望雷塘何处是”写西望雷塘——“西望雷塘何处是”用雷塘之典写西望雷塘在何处（隋炀帝葬地）——西望雷塘何处是；“香魂零落使人愁”写香魂零落使人愁——“香魂零落使人愁”写隋宫香魂零落、使人愁——香魂零落使人愁。二句写西望雷塘、香魂零落：西望雷塘何处是？香魂零落使人愁。以“西望雷塘何处是”用雷塘之典写西望雷塘、不知何处，以“香魂零落使人愁”写隋宫香魂零落、使人含愁，正是王士禛词写怀古之感的深化——雷塘何处，香魂零落。
The two lines write looking west to the Lei Pond and the fallen fragrant souls, the deepening of the ci's meditation on the past. Looking west, where is the Lei Pond? uses the allusion to the Lei Pond, burial place of Emperor Yang of the Sui, writing the westward gaze and the unknown site. The fallen fragrant souls bring grief to me writes the scattered fragrant souls of the Sui palace, and the grief they bring. Two lines: where is the Lei Pond, the fragrant souls fallen. Writing, through the allusion, the westward gaze that finds no site, and the scattered souls of the Sui court that bring sorrow, is the deepening of the historical grief: where is the Lei Pond, the fragrant souls fallen.
淡烟芳草旧迷楼。
In pale mist above fragrant grass stands the old Maze Tower.
淡烟芳草旧迷楼。
Through faint mist and fragrant grass, the old Maze Tower rises.
末写淡烟芳草、旧迷楼，是全词写怀古之感的归结。“淡烟芳草旧迷楼”写淡烟芳草、旧迷楼——“淡烟芳草旧迷楼”用迷楼之典写淡烟芳草之间、旧日迷楼——淡烟芳草旧迷楼。一句写淡烟芳草、旧迷楼：淡烟芳草旧迷楼。以“淡烟芳草旧迷楼”用迷楼之典写淡烟芳草之间、旧日迷楼（隋炀帝行宫），正是王士禛词写怀古之感的归结——迷楼犹在，芳草萋萋。
The close writes the pale mist, the fragrant grass, the old Maze Tower, the conclusion of the ci's meditation on the past. In pale mist above fragrant grass stands the old Maze Tower uses the allusion to the Maze Tower, the pleasure palace of Emperor Yang of the Sui, writing the old tower amid the pale mist and fragrant grass. One line: pale mist, fragrant grass, the old Maze Tower. Writing, through the allusion, the old Sui pleasure tower amid faint mist and grass, is the conclusion of the historical grief: the Maze Tower remains, the grasses grow rank.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
王士禛《真州绝句》写真州江乡之景，与本首同为王士禛写江南。差异在体裁：浣溪沙红桥为词；真州绝句为诗。一写“桥”之景，一写“州”之景。两者并读，可见王士禛写江南景致的两种体裁。
秦淮杂诗 Miscellaneous Poems on the Qinhuai (First) 王士禛 · 同为王士禛诗写怀古，一写扬州红桥一写秦淮旧事，皆清雅 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
王士禛《秦淮杂诗》写秦淮旧事，与本首同为王士禛写怀古。差异在对象：浣溪沙红桥写扬州；秦淮杂诗写秦淮。一写“扬”之秋，一写“秦”之旧。两者并读，可见王士禛写怀古的两种对象。
寄扬州韩绰判官 Sent to Judge Han Chuo of Yangzhou 杜牧 · 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.
此处关联杜牧《寄扬州韩绰判官》，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。