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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

书愤·其五

Written in Fury, No. 5

陆游

Lu You

报国Patriotism 感慨Lament

清汴逶迤贯旧京，宫墙春草几番生。
剖心莫写孤臣愤，抉眼终看此虏平。
天地固将容小丑，犬羊何足计长城。
书生老死无他念，愿拜苏辛学短檠。

The clear Bian River winds its way through the old capital;
spring grass on the palace walls has grown how many times.
Cut out my heart — still it could not write a lone minister's grief;
pluck out my eyes — I would yet see these captors subdued.
Heaven and Earth will surely put up with petty clowns;
what can dogs and sheep weigh against the Great Wall?
An old bookish man, dying, has no other thought —
he would gladly bow to Su and Xin and study by a short lamp.

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Meaning

The poem opens on the Bian River flowing through the fallen capital Kaifeng, its palace walls buried in grass year after year. Unable to write down his loyal fury, the poet invokes the martyrs Bi Gan and Wu Zixu and swears to see the invaders crushed. He scorns the Jurchens as dogs and sheep, unworthy of the Great Wall's defenders, and ends with a wry, self-mocking vow: dying at his desk, his only wish is to learn from the great ci poets Su Shi and Xin Qiji.

清汴逶迤贯旧京，宫墙春草几番生。剖心莫写孤臣愤，抉眼终看此虏平。天地固将容小丑，犬羊何足计长城。书生老死无他念，愿拜苏辛学短檠。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The clear Bian River still winds through the old capital, and the palace walls' spring grass has sprouted how many seasons since the Jurchens came? The poet's grief is too deep to cut from his heart; like Wu Zixu he would watch even from the grave until the invaders are destroyed. Heaven and Earth apparently tolerate such petty villains — dogs and sheep, that is all they are — and no match for the defenders of the Great Wall. An old scholar at death's door has one wish only: to bow to Su Shi and Xin Qiji as masters and keep writing by the light of a short lamp. [Structure] Again eight lines of regulated verse, moving from scene (the fallen capital) to feeling (unwritable grief, an oath of vengeance) to judgment (the enemy's worthlessness) and finally to self-mockery (the old scholar's lamp-lit ambition). [Imagery] The opening's winding river and sprouting grass make the lost capital feel both present and forever absent. The poem's central images are bodily — a cut-out heart, plucked eyes — turning abstract loyalty into physical extremity, before the closing lamp pulls everything back into the scholar's study.

【白话串讲】陆游写《书愤·其五》：“清汴逶迤贯旧京，宫墙春草几番生”——“剖心莫写孤臣愤，抉眼终看此虏平”——“天地固将容小丑，犬羊何足计长城”——“书生老死无他念，愿拜苏辛学短檠”——他写孤愤——剖心莫写孤臣愤。【意象与手法】此诗写报国，以感慨写报国，是陆游的名篇。前四句写孤愤：「清汴逶迤贯旧京，宫墙春草几番生。剖心莫写孤臣愤，抉眼终看此虏平」写清汴逶迤贯旧京、宫墙春草几番生——写尽旧京的春草；后四句写壮志：「天地固将容小丑，犬羊何足计长城。书生老死无他念，愿拜苏辛学短檠」写天地固将容小丑、犬羊何足计长城——写尽长城的犬羊。全诗以感慨写报国，写尽旧京的春草与长城的犬羊，是陆游的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写报国，以感慨写报国，是陆游的名篇。此诗为陆游《书愤》组诗之五，写其报国无门、老死书斋的愤慨与壮志。陆游一生力主抗金，此诗写其晚年对国事的愤慨。此诗写清汴逶迤贯旧京，宫墙春草几番生；剖心莫写孤臣愤，抉眼终看此虏平；天地固将容小丑，犬羊何足计长城；书生老死无他念，愿拜苏辛学短檠。此诗写孤愤：清汴逶迤贯旧京，宫墙春草几番生——写清汴逶迤贯旧京、宫墙春草几番生，写尽旧京的春草；剖心莫写孤臣愤，抉眼终看此虏平——写剖心莫写孤臣愤、抉眼终看此虏平，写尽孤臣的愤；天地固将容小丑，犬羊何足计长城——写天地固将容小丑、犬羊何足计长城，写尽长城的犬羊；书生老死无他念，愿拜苏辛学短檠——写书生老死无他念、愿拜苏辛学短檠，写尽苏辛的短檠。全诗以感慨写报国——那「宫墙春草几番生」写尽旧京的春草，「愿拜苏辛学短檠」写尽苏辛的短檠，写尽旧京的春草与长城的犬羊，是理解陆游报国诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「清汴逶迤贯旧京，宫墙春草几番生」写旧京的春草；「剖心莫写孤臣愤，抉眼终看此虏平」写孤臣的愤；以及全诗以感慨写报国、以用典写忠愤的手法。

Background

Lu You (1125–1210) wrote his 'Written in Fury' series in retirement at Shanyin in the Southern Song, decades after the loss of the north. This fifth poem is directed at the fallen capital Kaifeng — the 'old capital' of the Northern Song, now under Jurchen rule. Its final couplet reveals a less familiar Lu You: in old age he taught himself to write ci lyrics, admiring Su Shi's breadth and Xin Qiji's fire, and here he makes that late apprenticeship a point of pride. The poem thus carries a double edge — patriotic fury at the occupation, and self-mockery at a poet-scholar who can do nothing but write.

此诗写报国，以感慨写报国，是陆游的名篇。陆游（1125—1210），字务观，号放翁，越州山阴（今浙江绍兴）人，南宋爱国诗人，与尤袤、杨万里、范成大并称「中兴四大诗人」。此诗为陆游《书愤》组诗之五，写其报国无门、老死书斋的愤慨与壮志。陆游一生力主抗金，此诗写其晚年对国事的愤慨。此诗写清汴逶迤贯旧京，宫墙春草几番生；剖心莫写孤臣愤，抉眼终看此虏平；天地固将容小丑，犬羊何足计长城；书生老死无他念，愿拜苏辛学短檠。此诗写孤愤：「清汴逶迤贯旧京，宫墙春草几番生」写清汴逶迤贯旧京、宫墙春草几番生——写尽旧京的春草（清汴逶迤贯旧京，宫墙春草几番生）；「剖心莫写孤臣愤，抉眼终看此虏平」写剖心莫写孤臣愤、抉眼终看此虏平——写尽孤臣的愤（剖心莫写孤臣愤，抉眼终看此虏平）；「天地固将容小丑，犬羊何足计长城」写天地固将容小丑、犬羊何足计长城——写尽长城的犬羊（天地固将容小丑，犬羊何足计长城）；「书生老死无他念，愿拜苏辛学短檠」写书生老死无他念、愿拜苏辛学短檠——写尽苏辛的短檠（书生老死无他念，愿拜苏辛学短檠）。全诗以感慨写报国，写尽旧京的春草与长城的犬羊，是理解陆游报国诗的重要篇章。

Art

The poem builds on three techniques. First, scene as indictment: the Bian River and palace-wall grass of the fallen capital make time itself an enemy — 'how many times' the grass has grown counts the years of occupation. Second, bodily hyperbole for loyalty: 'cut out my heart' and 'pluck out my eyes' translate unwritable, unbearable grief into physical acts borrowed from Bi Gan and Wu Zixu, and the oxymoronic vow to see victory after death turns helplessness into ferocity. Third, contempt as measurement: calling the invaders dogs and sheep shrinks the 'Great Wall' question — the regime that cannot defeat such a foe is beneath contempt. The closing self-deprecation (bowing to Su and Xin by a short lamp) is the poem's most original stroke, letting fury end in a scholar's humility.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以写景写故国。「宫墙春草几番生」以写景写故国——那「清汴逶迤贯旧京」写尽旧京的清汴，以写景写尽旧京的春草。其二，以用典写忠愤。「剖心莫写孤臣愤」以用典写忠愤——那「剖心」用比干剖心典写忠愤，以用典写尽孤臣的愤。其三，以蔑视写敌寇。「犬羊何足计长城」以蔑视写敌寇——那「天地固将容小丑」写尽天地的容丑，以蔑视写尽长城的犬羊。其四，以自嘲写老死。「愿拜苏辛学短檠」以自嘲写老死——那「书生老死无他念」写尽老死的书生，以自嘲写尽苏辛的短檠。此外，此诗前四句写旧京的春草，后四句写长城的犬羊，由愤及志，正是报国诗「以愤写志」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以感慨写报国，写尽旧京的春草与长城的犬羊，是陆游的代表作。此诗还善于以「天地固将容小丑」的「固将容」写天地之容丑——那「天地固将」写尽天地的固将，正是以容写天，以「容小丑」写尽长城的犬羊。又善以「书生老死无他念」的「无他念」写书生之无念——书生老死无他念，正见书生无念的写照，以「无他念」写尽苏辛的短檠。

Allusions

'Cut out my heart' recalls Bi Gan, the Shang loyalist whose heart was torn out for remonstrating with the tyrant Zhou. 'Pluck out my eyes' recalls Wu Zixu, who asked that his eyes be hung on the east gate of Wu so he could watch the city fall to Yue. 'Dogs and sheep' is the classical contemptuous term for the northern pastoral invaders. The 'Great Wall' stands for the northern frontier defenses and the generals who man them. 'Su and Xin' are Su Shi and Xin Qiji, the two masters of the bold-and-free ci style, and the 'short lamp' is the emblem of a poor scholar's night study.

此诗的用语深植于报国与感慨传统。「清汴」令人想到「清汴」写汴河的意象——汴京汴河，也令人想到「汴水东流」的意象；「逶迤」令人想到「逶迤」写绵延的意象——也令人想到「逶迤带绿水」的意象；「旧京」令人想到「旧京」写旧都汴京的意象——也令人想到「汴京」的意象；「剖心」令人想到「剖心」写剖心的意象——比干剖心，也令人想到「比干谏而死」（《论语》）的意象；「抉眼」令人想到「抉眼」写抉眼的意象——伍子胥抉目悬门，也令人想到「抉目东门」的意象；「长城」令人想到「长城」写长城的意象——也令人想到「万里长城」的意象。全诗化用清汴、逶迤、旧京、剖心、抉眼、长城的意象典故，以感慨写报国，正是陆游「沉郁」而善用典、承报国传统写感慨之本领。「旧京」令人想到「旧京」写旧都汴京的意象——也令人想到「汴京」的意象；「长城」令人想到「长城」写长城的意象——也令人想到「万里长城」的意象，以长城写报国。「短檠」令人想到「短檠」写短灯檠的意象——也令人想到「寒窗短檠」的意象，以短檠写书生。

Commentary

Of the 'Written in Fury' series this is the most bitterly ironic. Critics have long noted the couplet 'Cut out my heart — still it could not write a lone minister's grief; pluck out my eyes — I would yet see these captors subdued' as the series' emotional peak. The closing couplet has attracted special attention because it reveals Lu You's late ambition as a ci poet: to sit at the feet of Su Shi and Xin Qiji. Read together, the couplets show Lu You's double identity — the loyal minister who never got his war, and the poet who, denied the battlefield, conquered it in verse.

此诗历来被推为陆游报国诗的名篇，也是宋诗写书愤的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以感慨写报国，忠愤激烈」；近人更指出「剖心莫写孤臣愤，抉眼终看此虏平」写孤臣的愤，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以八句的七律写尽旧京的春草与长城的犬羊——那清汴，那逶迤，那贯旧京，那宫墙，那春草，那几番生，那剖心，那莫写，那孤臣愤，那抉眼，那终看，那此虏平，那天地，那固将，那容小丑，那犬羊，那何足，那计长城，那书生，那老死，那无他念，那愿拜，那苏辛，那学短檠，都写尽了陆游笔下的书愤其五；那「愿拜苏辛学短檠」更以自嘲写尽苏辛的短檠。此诗与陆游《书愤》「早岁那知世事艰」同为书愤名篇，一写「楼船夜雪瓜洲渡」的书愤其一，一写「愿拜苏辛学短檠」的书愤其五；一写早岁，一写老死。两诗对读，可见陆游书愤组诗的连贯。对于今日读者，此诗是理解陆游报国诗的窗口，也是宋诗写书愤的经典——那孤臣的愤，穿越千年，仍在诉说着苏辛的短檠。

Prosody

Form A seven-character regulated verse (qiyan lüshi): eight lines in four couplets.诗·七言律诗

Rhyme The poem rhymes on jing, sheng, ping, cheng, qing — all in the geng rhyme group of the level tone — one rhyme throughout, its clipped, ringing endings giving the verse a tense urgency.七律，押「京」「生」「平」「城」「檠」韵（下平八庚），一韵到底，音节激越

Tone pattern The level-oblique alternation is steely here: the opening couplet flows long like the river, the second couplet breaks like a vow, the third tightens with scorn, and the last falls into the scholar's quiet, self-deprecating close.此诗为七言律诗，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节激越，正合报国的激越。

Reading note The regulated form again serves the argument — capital, grief, contempt, self-mockery — one couplet per stage. The poem should be read with a hard edge on 'cut heart, pluck eyes' and a dry, wry laugh on 'bowing to Su and Xin.'此诗为七言律诗，八句——「清汴逶迤贯旧京，宫墙春草几番生。剖心莫写孤臣愤，抉眼终看此虏平。天地固将容小丑，犬羊何足计长城。书生老死无他念，愿拜苏辛学短檠」，押「庚」韵（京、生、平、城、檠），一韵到底，音节激越。全诗以感慨写报国：前四句写旧京的春草（清汴逶迤贯旧京、抉眼终看此虏平），后四句写长城的犬羊（天地固将容小丑、愿拜苏辛学短檠）。八句短章，前写孤愤，后写壮志，以「愿拜苏辛学短檠」写尽苏辛的短檠，正见陆游「沉郁」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以激越的语调读「剖心莫写孤臣愤」的孤愤，以坚定的语调读「愿拜苏辛学短檠」的短檠，结句要读得激越而有余韵，方能传达出陆游的忠愤激烈。陆游律诗以「沉郁」著称，此诗正是其报国诗的典范。

Line by line

剖心莫写孤臣愤，抉眼终看此虏平

Cut out my heart — still it could not write a lone minister's grief; pluck out my eyes — I would yet see these captors subdued.

剖心莫写孤臣愤，抉眼终看此虏平。

Cut open the heart and still the lone minister's wrath cannot be written; gouge out the eyes, yet I shall live to see these barbarians crushed.

此二句是全诗写孤愤的核心，以剖心莫写孤臣愤写孤臣愤，以抉眼终看此虏平写此虏平，写尽孤臣的愤，是千古名句。「剖心莫写孤臣愤」写剖心莫写孤臣愤——那「剖心莫写」写剖心莫写，「孤臣愤」写孤臣愤，写尽孤臣的愤；「抉眼终看此虏平」写抉眼终看此虏平——那「抉眼终看」写抉眼终看，「此虏平」写此虏平，写尽此虏的平。这句的深意在于：它以「剖心莫写孤臣愤」的孤臣愤与「抉眼终看此虏平」的此虏平，写尽孤臣的愤——剖心莫写孤臣愤，那「剖心莫写孤臣愤」写尽孤臣的愤——剖心莫写孤臣愤，正是剖心难写的写照，那「孤臣愤」写尽孤臣的愤；抉眼终看此虏平，那「抉眼终看此虏平」写尽此虏的平——抉眼终看此虏平，正是抉眼见平的写照，那「此虏平」写尽孤臣的愤；那「剖心莫写孤臣愤」写尽孤臣的愤，那「抉眼终看此虏平」写尽此虏的平，一写剖心，一写抉眼，写尽孤臣的愤——剖心难写而抉眼见平，正是忠愤的写照；此二句以剖心、抉眼写尽孤臣的愤，也为下文的犬羊作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写孤愤的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「剖开心也难以写尽孤臣的愤慨，挖出眼睛也要看到胡虏平定」，则失其激烈；唯以「剖心莫写孤臣愤」写孤臣愤、「抉眼终看此虏平」写此虏平，写尽孤臣的愤，也让此二句成为全诗写孤愤的核心。

The two lines are the core of the poem's lonely wrath, writing the lone minister's wrath through cut open the heart and still the lone minister's wrath cannot be written and the crushed barbarians through gouge out the eyes, yet I shall live to see these barbarians crushed, exhausting the lone minister's wrath, an immortal line. Cut open the heart and still the lone minister's wrath cannot be written is precisely the picture of the heart cut open and still inadequate; gouge out the eyes, yet I shall live to see these barbarians crushed precisely the picture of the gouged eyes seeing the peace. One writes the cut heart, one the gouged eyes, exhausting the loyal wrath. Were it said plainly cut open the heart and still the lone minister's wrath cannot be written, gouge out the eyes and still see the barbarians crushed, the vehemence would be softened; only through the cut heart and the gouged eyes is the wrath exhausted, preparing the dogs and sheep below and making the lines the core of the poem.

清汴逶迤贯旧京，宫墙春草几番生

The clear Bian River winds its way through the old capital; spring grass on the palace walls has grown how many times.

清汴逶迤贯旧京，宫墙春草几番生。

The clear Bian River winds through the old capital; spring grass on the palace walls — how many times has it grown?

此二句是全诗写故国的核心，以清汴逶迤贯旧京写贯旧京，以宫墙春草几番生写几番生，写尽旧京的春草，是千古名句。「清汴逶迤贯旧京」写清汴逶迤贯旧京——那「清汴逶迤」写清汴逶迤，「贯旧京」写贯旧京，写尽旧京的清汴；「宫墙春草几番生」写宫墙春草几番生——那「宫墙春草」写宫墙春草，「几番生」写几番生，写尽旧京的春草。这句的深意在于：它以「清汴逶迤贯旧京」的贯旧京与「宫墙春草几番生」的几番生，写尽旧京的春草——清汴逶迤贯旧京，那「清汴逶迤贯旧京」写尽旧京的清汴——清汴逶迤贯旧京，正是汴水贯京的写照，那「贯旧京」写尽旧京的春草；宫墙春草几番生，那「宫墙春草几番生」写尽旧京的春草——宫墙春草几番生，正是宫草几生的写照，那「几番生」写尽旧京的春草；那「清汴逶迤贯旧京」写尽旧京的清汴，那「宫墙春草几番生」写尽旧京的春草，一写清汴，一写宫墙，写尽旧京的春草——汴水贯京而宫草几生，正是故国的写照；此二句以清汴、宫墙写尽旧京的春草，也为下文的剖心作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写故国的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「清汴河蜿蜒穿过旧都，宫墙边的春草长了几番」，则失其沉痛；唯以「清汴逶迤贯旧京」写贯旧京、「宫墙春草几番生」写几番生，写尽旧京的春草，也让此二句成为全诗写故国的核心。

The two lines are the core of the poem's old country, writing the old capital through the clear Bian River winds through the old capital and the several growths through spring grass on the palace walls — how many times has it grown?, exhausting the old capital's spring grass, an immortal line. The clear Bian River winds through the old capital is precisely the picture of the Bian through the capital; spring grass on the palace walls — how many times has it grown? precisely the picture of the palace grass' several growths. One writes the Bian, one the palace wall, exhausting the old country. Were it said plainly the clear Bian winds through the old capital, spring grass by the palace walls has grown how many times, the sorrow would be softened; only through the winding Bian and the several growths is the old country exhausted, preparing the cut heart below and making the lines the core of the poem.

Study

Word focus

愤 Grief and fury — here the 'indignation' of the series title itself. It is a public, loyal anger at the lost capital and the court's appeasement, not a private resentment, which is why it takes Bi Gan's cut-out heart to express it. 「剖心莫写孤臣愤」之「愤」字是写孤愤关键词，一个「愤」字写尽孤臣的愤。愤者，愤慨、悲愤也。陆游以「剖心莫写孤臣愤」写孤愤，这个「愤」字至少有双重意味：其一，写臣之愤——那「剖心莫写孤臣愤」写剖心莫写孤臣愤，那「愤」字写尽孤臣的愤——孤臣愤，正是孤臣的愤慨，那「愤」字写尽孤臣的愤；其二，写情之烈——那「愤」字更是写烈——愤，正见忠愤激烈的壮怀，那「愤」字写尽陆游的报国。以「愤」字写孤愤，正是陆游写报国的枢纽——若换作「怨」「愁」等字，则或失其与「剖心莫写」「孤臣愤」的配合，或失其写愤的意味；唯「愤」字，以剖心莫写孤臣愤写尽孤臣之愤慨与忠愤之激烈，与「抉眼终看此虏平」的此虏相合，写尽孤臣的愤，也让「剖心莫写孤臣愤」成为全诗写孤愤的名句。

拜 To bow to, to take as one's master. In the closing couplet it expresses the old poet's humility and ambition at once: his dying wish is not for office or revenge but to sit at the feet of Su Shi and Xin Qiji and learn to write ci. 「愿拜苏辛学短檠」之「拜」字是写志趣关键词，一个「拜」字写尽苏辛的短檠。拜者，拜服、学习也。陆游以「愿拜苏辛学短檠」写志趣，这个「拜」字至少有双重意味：其一，写师之拜——那「愿拜苏辛学短檠」写愿拜苏辛学短檠，那「拜」字写尽苏辛的短檠——愿拜，正是甘愿拜服的写照，那「拜」字写尽苏辛的短檠；其二，写志之坚——那「拜」字更是写坚——拜，正见书生向学的坚定，那「拜」字写尽陆游的报国。以「拜」字写志趣，正是陆游写报国的枢纽——若换作「学」「师」等字，则或失其与「愿拜苏辛」「学短檠」的配合，或失其写拜的意味；唯「拜」字，以愿拜苏辛学短檠写尽苏辛之拜服与向学之坚定，与「书生老死无他念」的老死相合，写尽苏辛的短檠，也让「愿拜苏辛学短檠」成为全诗写志趣的名句。