宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
八声甘州
Eight Beats of the Ganzhou Melody — Meditating on the Past at Lingyan (To the Tune of Basheng Ganzhou)
渺空烟四远，是何年、青天坠长星。
幻苍崖云树，名娃金屋，残霸宫城。
箭径酸风射眼，腻水染花腥。
时靸双鸳响，廊叶秋声。
宫里吴王沈醉，倩五湖倦客，独钓醒醒。
问苍波无语，华发奈山青。
水涵空、阑干高处，送乱鸦、斜日落渔汀。
连呼酒，上琴台去，秋与云平。
In what year did a long star fall from the blue heavens?
It conjures gray cliffs and cloud-like trees,
The golden house of the famed beauty,
The palace city of a broken hegemon.
Along the arrow path the sour wind stings the eyes;
The greasy water dyes the flowers with a fishy reek.
Then comes the dragging sound of twin-mandarin-duck slippers —
The corridor leaves rustle with autumn.
In the palace, King Wu lies deep in his cups,
While the weary traveler of the Five Lakes
Fishes alone, sober and clear.
I ask the gray waves; they answer nothing —
White hair against the eternal green of the hills.
Water holds the empty sky; high on the balustrade
I watch the straggling crows and the slanting sun
Sink toward the fishing shallows.
Again and again I call for wine;
Let us climb the Qin Terrace —
Autumn stretches level with the clouds.
Meaning
Climbing the Lingyan cliffs above Lake Tai — said to be the site of a fallen star — Wu Wenying evokes the ruined palace city of King Fucha of Wu, the famed beauty Xi Shi, and the sober escape of Fan Li. Beneath the dense pageant of history runs a personal note: white hair against the eternal green hills, and a final toast on the terrace where autumn lies level with the clouds.
渺空烟四远，是何年、青天坠长星。幻苍崖云树，名娃金屋，残霸宫城。箭径酸风射眼，腻水染花腥。时靸双鸳响，廊叶秋声。宫里吴王沈醉，倩五湖倦客，独钓醒醒。问苍波无语，华发奈山青。水涵空、阑干高处，送乱鸦、斜日落渔汀。连呼酒，上琴台去，秋与云平。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] Gazing from Lingyan's heights, the poet asks in what year a long star fell from the blue sky — the legend of the mountain's origin. The falling star 'conjures' the whole Wu kingdom: gray cliffs, the golden house of the famed beauty Xi Shi, and the ruined palace of the hegemon king. Along the arrow path (the fragrance-gathering path) the sour wind stings the eyes, and the sound of Xi Shi's slippers still seems to echo from the corridor. In the palace King Fucha lies drunk, while Fan Li, the weary traveler of the Five Lakes, fishes alone, sober. Asked, the gray waves are silent: white hair cannot answer the hills' eternal green. The poem ends with the poet calling for wine and climbing the Qin Terrace, where autumn air lies level with the clouds. [Structure] The lyric moves in widening circles: a cosmic question (the fallen star), then historical conjuring (the Wu palace), then the contrast of drunk king and sober fisherman, then the poet's own confrontation with the waves, and finally a gesture — wine and the terrace — that opens rather than closes. The turn is the question to the waves, which receive no answer. [Imagery] Wu Wenying's hallmark is dense, jeweled color — gray cliffs, golden house, sour wind, greasy water — but here the colors are deliberately tarnished: 'sour,' 'greasy,' 'fishy' make splendor smell of decay. Only the last image, autumn lying level with the clouds, is clean and vast, lifting the elegy into open air.
【白话串讲】 吴文英写《八声甘州》：“渺空烟四远，是何年、青天坠长星”——“幻苍崖云树，名娃金屋，残霸宫城”——“箭径酸风射眼，腻水染花腥”——“宫里吴王沈醉，倩五湖倦客，独钓醒醒”——他写灵岩怀古——宫里吴王沉醉。 【意象与手法】 “渺空烟四远，是何年、青天坠长星”以奇想起笔；“幻苍崖云树，名娃金屋，残霸宫城”以“幻”字写灵岩沧桑；“箭径酸风射眼，腻水染花腥”以酸风腻水写历史遗痕；结以“连呼酒，上琴台去，秋与云平”以呼酒登台写豪兴。意象奇崛、时空交叠。 【情感与主旨】 吴文英登灵岩怀古之作，借吴王夫差与西施旧事写历史兴亡，寄寓南宋将亡的忧思，是梦窗词中怀古的巅峰之作。 【名句点睛】 常考“宫里吴王沈醉，倩五湖倦客，独钓醒醒”以吴王沉醉写昏君亡国；“幻苍崖云树，名娃金屋，残霸宫城”以幻字写沧桑。
Background
Wu Wenying (c. 1200–c. 1260), styled Junte and known by his sobriquet Mengchuang ('Dream Window'), was a native of Siming (modern Ningbo, Zhejiang) and the leading craftsman of the late-Southern-Song 'dense and ornate' (mili) lyric style. He never held high office and lived much of his life as a guest among officials and merchants. This lyric was written on a climb to Lingyan Mountain above Lake Tai in Suzhou, the site of the palace of King Fucha of Wu (5th century BCE) and the Guanwa Palace built for Xi Shi. Written as the Southern Song itself neared collapse, the ruins of the Wu kingdom mirror the poet's foreboding for his own dynasty.
《八声甘州》为南宋词人吴文英所作词。吴文英（约1200—约1260），字君特，号梦窗，四明（今浙江宁波）人，南宋词人，词风密丽深婉，为「梦窗词」之宗。此词为登灵岩之作，是怀古词。词中「渺空烟四远，是何年、青天坠长星」写渺空烟四远；「幻苍崖云树，名娃金屋，残霸宫城」写幻苍崖云树；「箭径酸风射眼，腻水染花腥」写酸风射眼；「时靸双鸳响，廊叶秋声」写廊叶秋声；「宫里吴王沈醉，倩五湖倦客，独钓醒醒」写吴王沈醉；「问苍波无语，华发奈山青」写华发奈山青；「水涵空、阑干高处，送乱鸦、斜日落渔汀」写送乱鸦斜日；「连呼酒，上琴台去，秋与云平」写秋与云平。吴文英此词以怀古登临、秋与云平写其怀古之情，含蓄深婉，是吴文英词中的名篇。此篇《八声甘州》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。
Art
The lyric's opening is one of the most celebrated flights in Chinese poetry: a meteor legend becomes a magic lantern from which the whole fallen kingdom is conjured — 'it conjures gray cliffs and cloud-like trees, the golden house of the famed beauty, the palace city of a broken hegemon.' Wu Wenying then packs sensation into single lines: 'the sour wind stings the eyes; the greasy water dyes the flowers with a fishy reek' makes decay almost tasteable. The central couplet sets the drunk king against the sober fisherman, condensing the rise and fall of states into one antithesis. The ending — 'again and again I call for wine; let us climb the Qin Terrace — autumn stretches level with the clouds' — refuses easy consolation: the vastness is exhilarating and empty at once, the 'dream window' poet's signature blend of splendor and desolation.
此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、密丽以情」见长。全词上片写渺空烟四远与吴王宫城，下片写吴王沈醉与秋与云平。上片「渺空烟四远，是何年、青天坠长星」写渺空烟四远：渺空烟四远，是何年、青天坠长星；「幻苍崖云树，名娃金屋，残霸宫城」写幻苍崖云树：幻苍崖云树，名娃金屋，残霸宫城；「箭径酸风射眼，腻水染花腥」写酸风射眼：箭径酸风射眼，腻水染花腥；「时靸双鸳响，廊叶秋声」写廊叶秋声：时靸双鸳响，廊叶秋声。下片「宫里吴王沈醉，倩五湖倦客，独钓醒醒」写吴王沈醉：宫里吴王沈醉，倩五湖倦客，独钓醒醒；「问苍波无语，华发奈山青」写华发奈山青：问苍波无语，华发奈山青；「水涵空、阑干高处，送乱鸦、斜日落渔汀」写送乱鸦斜日：水涵空、阑干高处，送乱鸦、斜日落渔汀；「连呼酒，上琴台去，秋与云平」写秋与云平：连呼酒，上琴台去，秋与云平。全词含蓄深婉，密丽以情，是吴文英词中的名篇。
Allusions
Lingyan Mountain was said to have been formed by a falling star, hence the opening question. 'The famed beauty' is Xi Shi, and the 'golden house' echoes the phrase 'a golden house to hide the beauty,' referring to the Guanwa Palace built for her by King Fucha of Wu. 'The arrow path' is the Caixiang (fragrance-gathering) path of the Wu king's garden; the 'greasy water' is the powder-laden water where Xi Shi's attendants bathed, said to smell of cosmetics. 'The dragging of twin-mandarin-duck slippers' evokes the Xiangxie (echoing-slipper) corridor where Xi Shi's footfalls made the mountain echo. 'King Wu drunk' alludes to the story that Fucha's infatuation with Xi Shi destroyed Wu. 'The weary traveler of the Five Lakes' is Fan Li, who after Wu's defeat sailed away and fished on the Five Lakes, sober where the king was drunk. The 'Qin Terrace' is a landmark of Lingyan.
词中「渺空烟四远」「青天坠长星」「幻苍崖云树」「名娃金屋」「残霸宫城」「箭径酸风射眼」「腻水染花腥」「时靸双鸳响」「廊叶秋声」「宫里吴王沈醉」「倩五湖倦客」「独钓醒醒」「问苍波无语」「华发奈山青」「水涵空阑干高处」「送乱鸦斜日落渔汀」「连呼酒上琴台去」「秋与云平」等语，皆含典故故实。「渺空烟四远」写渺空烟四远；「青天坠长星」写青天坠长星（灵岩为陨星所坠）；「幻苍崖云树」写幻苍崖云树；「名娃金屋」写名娃金屋（名娃指西施，金屋用「金屋藏娇」之意，指馆娃宫）；「残霸宫城」写残霸宫城；「箭径酸风射眼」写箭径酸风射眼（箭径为采香径）；「腻水染花腥」写腻水染花腥；「时靸双鸳响」写时靸双鸳响（双鸳为女子之鞋，写响屧廊）；「廊叶秋声」写廊叶秋声；「宫里吴王沈醉」写宫里吴王沈醉（用西施亡吴之典）；「倩五湖倦客」写倩五湖倦客（五湖倦客指范蠡，功成泛舟五湖）；「独钓醒醒」写独钓醒醒；「问苍波无语」写问苍波无语；「华发奈山青」写华发奈山青；「水涵空阑干高处」写水涵空阑干高处；「送乱鸦斜日落渔汀」写送乱鸦斜日落渔汀；「连呼酒上琴台去」写连呼酒上琴台去（琴台为灵岩古迹）；「秋与云平」写秋与云平。词人以馆娃宫、响屧廊、西施亡吴、范蠡泛舟等典入词，不着痕迹，而把怀古登临之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。
Commentary
Among Wu Wenying's lyrics this one is almost universally ranked first. Critics since the Song have marveled at the opening lines, calling them strange and grand, and the closing 'autumn stretches level with the clouds' is cited as the perfect 'open ending.' Zhou Ji and other Qing-dynasty theorists of the 'dense' school found in it the model of density joined to depth. Some readers, from the Ming critic Yang Shen onward, have found the diction too recherché and the allusions too crowded; others answer that the density is exactly right for a poem about a kingdom's opulent decay. It remains the standard example of the Song 'meditation on the past' lyric.
这首《八声甘州》，是吴文英写怀古登临之作，写渺空烟四远、吴王沈醉、秋与云平之情，含蓄深婉。上片写渺空烟四远与吴王宫城：「渺空烟四远，是何年、青天坠长星」——渺空烟四远，是何年、青天坠长星。写渺空烟四远：渺空烟四远、是何年青天坠长星——空烟四远、青天坠长星；「幻苍崖云树，名娃金屋，残霸宫城」——幻苍崖云树，名娃金屋（用金屋藏娇之意），残霸宫城。写幻苍崖云树：幻苍崖云树、名娃金屋，残霸宫城——幻苍崖云树、名娃金屋、残霸宫城；「箭径酸风射眼，腻水染花腥」——箭径酸风射眼，腻水染花腥。写酸风射眼：箭径酸风射眼、腻水染花腥——箭径酸风射眼、腻水染花腥；「时靸双鸳响，廊叶秋声」——时靸双鸳响（写响屧廊），廊叶秋声。写廊叶秋声：时靸双鸳响、廊叶秋声——双鸳响、廊叶秋声。下片写吴王沈醉与秋与云平：「宫里吴王沈醉，倩五湖倦客，独钓醒醒」——宫里吴王沈醉（用西施亡吴之典），倩五湖倦客（用范蠡泛舟之典），独钓醒醒。写吴王沈醉：宫里吴王沈醉、倩五湖倦客，独钓醒醒——吴王沈醉、五湖倦客独钓醒醒；「问苍波无语，华发奈山青」——问苍波无语，华发奈山青。写华发奈山青：问苍波无语、华发奈山青——问苍波无语、华发对山青；「水涵空、阑干高处，送乱鸦、斜日落渔汀」——水涵空、阑干高处，送乱鸦、斜日落渔汀。写送乱鸦斜日：水涵空阑干高处、送乱鸦斜日落渔汀——水涵空、高栏送鸦、斜日落渔汀；「连呼酒，上琴台去，秋与云平」——连呼酒，上琴台去，秋与云平。写秋与云平：连呼酒上琴台去、秋与云平——呼酒上琴台、秋与云平。这「连呼酒，上琴台去，秋与云平」，是全词之结：以秋与云平写其登临之旷。全词含蓄深婉，密丽以情，正是吴文英词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
渺空烟四远，是何年、青天坠长星。
Thin haze spreads far on every side of the empty sky — in what year did a long star fall from the blue heavens?
渺空烟四远，是何年、青天坠长星。
Vast, the empty smoke stretches on all sides — in what year fell the long star from the azure sky?
首二句写渺空烟四远，起笔即见其境。「渺空烟四远」写渺空烟四远，「渺空烟」写渺远之空烟、「四远」写四望遥远；「是何年、青天坠长星」写是何年青天坠长星，「是何年」写是何年、「青天坠长星」写青天坠落长星。两句一写渺空烟四远、一写是何年青天坠长星，以渺空烟四远写空烟之远、以青天坠长星写灵岩之由，写尽渺空烟四远、青天坠长星之情。以境起兴，含蓄而苍茫，是「以境起兴」的妙笔。
The first two lines write the vast empty smoke, the scene at the opening. Vast, the empty smoke stretches on all sides writes the far-stretching empty smoke and the four-fold distance; in what year fell the long star from the azure sky? writes the when and the falling star. Two lines, one the vast empty smoke, one the azure star's fall, the empty smoke for the distance, the fallen star for the origin of Lingyan Rock, exhausting the scene. Beginning in realm, restrained and vast, the fine brush.
幻苍崖云树，名娃金屋，残霸宫城。
It conjures gray cliffs and cloud-like trees, the golden house of the famed beauty, the palace city of a broken hegemon.
幻苍崖云树，名娃金屋，残霸宫城。
Illusion: the gray crags and cloud-wrapped trees, the fair girl's golden house, the fallen overlord's palace town.
此三句写幻苍崖云树，是全词写怀古的关键。「幻苍崖云树」写幻苍崖云树，「幻」写幻化、「苍崖云树」写苍崖云树；「名娃金屋」写名娃金屋，用金屋藏娇之意写名娃金屋；「残霸宫城」写残霸宫城，「残霸」写残败之霸业、「宫城」写宫城。三句一写幻苍崖云树、一写名娃金屋、一写残霸宫城，以幻写其境之幻、以名娃金屋写馆娃之宫、以残霸宫城写霸业之残，写尽幻苍崖云树、名娃金屋、残霸宫城之情。以典怀古，含蓄而深婉，是「以典怀古」的点睛之笔。
The three lines write the illusion of gray crags and cloud trees, the key of the ci's meditation on the past. Illusion: the gray crags and cloud-wrapped trees writes the illusion and the crags and trees; the fair girl's golden house uses the golden-house-hidden-beauty meaning for the palace of Xishi; the fallen overlord's palace town writes the ruined hegemony and the palace. Three lines, the illusion for the dreamlike realm, the golden house for the Guanwa Palace, the fallen overlord for the ruined hegemony, exhausting the scene. Meditating the past through allusion, restrained and tactful, the pointed brush.
宫里吴王沈醉，倩五湖倦客，独钓醒醒。
In the palace King Wu lies deep in his cups, while the weary traveler of the Five Lakes fishes alone, sober and clear.
宫里吴王沈醉，倩五湖倦客，独钓醒醒。
In the palace, the King of Wu lay dead drunk; the weary traveler of the five lakes alone fished, sober and awake.
此三句写吴王沈醉，是全词写兴亡之慨的关键。「宫里吴王沈醉」写宫里吴王沈醉，用西施亡吴之典写吴王沈醉；「倩五湖倦客」写倩五湖倦客，用范蠡泛舟之典写五湖倦客；「独钓醒醒」写独钓醒醒，「独钓」写独钓、「醒醒」写清醒。三句一写宫里吴王沈醉、一写倩五湖倦客、一写独钓醒醒，以吴王沈醉写其醉、以五湖倦客写其去、以独钓醒醒写其醒，写尽吴王沈醉、五湖倦客独钓醒醒之情。以醉写醒，含蓄而深挚，是「以醉写醒」的点睛之笔。
The three lines write the King of Wu's drunkenness, the key of the ci's sigh over rise and fall. In the palace, the King of Wu lay dead drunk uses the Xishi-ruined-Wu allusion for the drunken king; the weary traveler of the five lakes uses the Fan Li boating-on-the-lake allusion for the weary traveler; alone fished, sober and awake writes the lone fishing and the sober wakefulness. Three lines, the drunkenness for his wine, the weary traveler for his going, the lone sober fishing for his wake, exhausting the scene. Writing wakefulness through drunkenness, restrained and deep, the pointed brush.
问苍波无语，华发奈山青。
I ask the gray waves; they answer nothing — white hair against the eternal green of the hills.
问苍波无语，华发奈山青。
I ask the gray waves, silent; my white hair — what can it do against the green mountains?
此二句写华发奈山青，是全词写身世之慨的关键。「问苍波无语」写问苍波无语，「问」写发问、「苍波无语」写苍波无语；「华发奈山青」写华发奈山青，「华发」写花白之发、「奈山青」写奈何山青。两句一写问苍波无语、一写华发奈山青，以问苍波写其问、以苍波无语写波之无言、以华发奈山青写华发对山青，写尽问苍波无语、华发奈山青之情。以问写慨，含蓄而深挚，是「以问写慨」的点睛之笔。
The two lines write the white hair against the green mountains, the key of the ci's sigh over the self. I ask the gray waves, silent writes the question and the waves' silence; my white hair — what can it do against the green mountains? writes the white hair and the helplessness against the green. Two lines, the asking of the waves and the waves' silence and the white hair against the green, exhausting the scene. Writing the sigh through the question, restrained and deep, the pointed brush.
连呼酒，上琴台去，秋与云平。
Again and again I call for wine; let us climb the Qin Terrace — autumn stretches level with the clouds.
连呼酒，上琴台去，秋与云平。
Again and again calling for wine, we climb to the Lute Terrace; the autumn lies level with the clouds.
尾三句写秋与云平，是全词立意的落点。「连呼酒」写连呼酒，「连呼」写连声呼唤、「酒」写酒；「上琴台去」写上琴台去，「上琴台」写登上琴台、「去」写去；「秋与云平」写秋与云平，「秋」写秋色、「与云平」写与云一样平。三句一写连呼酒、一写上琴台去、一写秋与云平，以连呼酒写呼酒之豪、以上琴台去写登台、以秋与云平写秋云平，写尽连呼酒、上琴台去、秋与云平之情。以旷写怀，含蓄而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以旷写怀」的点睛之笔。
The closing three lines write the autumn level with the clouds, the landing point of the ci's purpose. Again and again calling for wine writes the repeated calling and the wine; we climb to the Lute Terrace writes the ascent; the autumn lies level with the clouds writes the autumn and the cloud-level. Three lines, the calling for wine for the boldness, the climbing for the ascent, the autumn level for the autumn-cloud, exhausting the scene. Writing the heart through the breadth, restrained and deep, the most moving place, the pointed brush.
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Liu Yong's 'facing the pattering evening rain over the river sky, a washing of clear autumn' is the Song lyric's archetype of the traveler's autumn climb; Wu Wenying's 'thin haze spreads far on every side, in what year did a long star fall' turns the same height and season toward history. Both use the Basheng Ganzhou tune for vast autumn vistas: Liu Yong is direct and conversational, Wu Wenying dense and allusive. Read together, they show the tune's two faces — personal sorrow and historical meditation.
柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「对潇潇暮雨洒江天，一番洗清秋」，写登临望秋、羁旅之愁，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；吴文英《八声甘州》则以「渺空烟四远，是何年、青天坠长星」「连呼酒，上琴台去，秋与云平」写渺空烟四远、秋与云平。两词同写登临望极、秋景苍茫：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写渺空烟四远、以空烟写远；一为柳永之清丽、一为吴文英之密丽，并读正可见宋词写「登临望秋」的两种笔法，皆于登临望秋之中见苍茫。
定风波·莫听穿林打叶声 Dingfengbo: 'Don't listen to the rain beating through the trees' 苏轼 · 同写身世之慨、旷达自遣，一写一蓑烟雨任平生、一写问苍波无语华发奈山青，皆于风雨苍波之中见旷达 Both face life's 'wind and rain' with a gesture of release, one walking in a straw cape through the rain, the other calling for wine on the terrace where autumn meets the clouds; each answers sorrow with breadth of mind.Su Shi's 'why fear? one straw cape lets me live out my life in the smoke and rain' is the Song lyric's classic of philosophical breadth; Wu Wenying's 'again and again I call for wine; let us climb the Qin Terrace — autumn stretches level with the clouds' answers historical grief with a gesture rather than a creed. Both confront life's 'wind and rain' with release: Su Shi reasons his way to equanimity, Wu Wenying climbs his way into vastness. Read together, they show two modes of Song breadth — the reasoned and the atmospheric.
苏轼《定风波·莫听穿林打叶声》「竹杖芒鞋轻胜马，谁怕？一蓑烟雨任平生」，写身世之慨、旷达自遣，是宋词写旷达的名篇；吴文英《八声甘州》则以「问苍波无语，华发奈山青」「连呼酒，上琴台去，秋与云平」写华发奈山青、秋与云平。两词同写身世之慨、旷达自遣：一写一蓑烟雨任平生、以烟雨写旷达，一写问苍波无语华发奈山青、以苍波写慨；一为苏轼之旷达、一为吴文英之密丽，并读正可见宋词写「身世旷达」的两种笔法，皆于风雨苍波之中见旷达。