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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

丑奴儿·书博山道中壁

Chou Nu'er: Inscribed on a Wall on the Road to Mount Bo

辛弃疾

Xin Qiji

言愁Sorrow 抒情Lyrical 感慨Reflection

少年不识愁滋味，爱上层楼。
爱上层楼，为赋新词强说愁。
而今识尽愁滋味，欲说还休。
欲说还休，却道天凉好个秋。

In my youth I did not know the taste of sorrow,
I loved to climb the tower.
I loved to climb the tower,
To write new verses I forced myself to talk of sorrow.
Now I have known the taste of sorrow thoroughly,
I want to speak but stop.
I want to speak but stop,
Instead I say: 'What a cool autumn day!'

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Meaning

The poem contrasts the poet's youth and present. As a youth, he did not know sorrow and forced himself to talk of it for the sake of poetry. Now, having fully experienced sorrow, he wants to speak but stops, only uttering a casual remark about the cool autumn day.

少年时哪里懂得愁的滋味，偏偏爱登上高楼远望。爱上层楼，不过是为了写一首新词，勉强说些无端的愁绪。如今尝尽了愁的滋味，想要说出口却又止住不说。想要说出口却又止住不说，最后只淡淡道一句：天凉了，好一个秋天。

Appreciation

This ci poem uses a stark contrast between youth and old age. The repetition of phrases creates a circular structure. The deep sorrow is veiled under plain language, especially the final line which conveys immense grief through a light remark.

【白话串讲】少年时为写新词强说愁，中年后尝尽愁滋味，却只轻描淡写一句“却道天凉好个秋”。辛弃疾用这首小词，写尽了一个人从矫情到沉默的一生。【意象与手法】通篇用今昔对比与回环复沓：上片两用“爱上层楼”，下片两用“欲说还休”，看似重复，实则由浅入深、由戏谑入沉痛【情感与主旨】此词题为“书博山道中壁”，约作于辛弃疾闲居信州（今江西上饶）带湖、博山一带时【名句点睛】常考少年“强说愁”与老来“欲说还休”的强烈反差，及“以淡语写深愁”的手法；名句“却道天凉好个秋”

Background

Written on a wall at Mount Bo during Xin Qiji's retirement in Xinzhou (modern Shangrao, Jiangxi). Frustrated by his unfulfilled ambitions to reclaim the north, he expresses his deep but suppressed sorrow.

辛弃疾（一一四〇—一二〇七），字幼安，号稼轩，山东历城人，南宋豪放词之巨擘。此词原题《丑奴儿·书博山道中壁》，约作于闲居信州（今江西上饶）带湖、博山一带之时，具体在淳熙八年（一一八一）遭劾落职、退居上饶之后。博山在信州城南，辛弃疾常往来其间，多有题壁之作。其时他南归已近二十载，自青年献《美芹十论》《九议》陈恢复大计，却屡遭猜忌排挤，壮志难伸，遂以词抒怀。词以少年与而今对照，写愁之由戏谑而沉痛，实则其愁非个人闲愁，乃家国身世之悲，是志士投闲置散后血泪所成。自《楚辞·九章》「愁郁郁之无快兮」以降，诗骚言愁成为深厚传统，至唐人已多写少年不识愁（如白居易「尽日无人属阿谁」之闲愁），宋人尤好以说愁自况。此词在词牌运用上，借《丑奴儿》（即《采桑子》）上下片各四句、后两句叠句之体，正宜回环复沓，故两用爱上层楼、欲说还休，章法自见巧思。版本上，此词异文甚少，通行本作「为赋新词强说愁」，亦有本作「为赋新诗强说愁」者，然词字更协词体自道，今从常本。要之，此词表面游戏笔墨，内里却是一生抑塞之总括，读之不可轻以少年语视之。

Art

The poem employs contrast between past and present and repetitive phrasing. The final line transitions from emotion to scenery, using plain words to conceal profound sadness.

全词最著者，在于今昔对照与回环复沓之章法。上片写少年，连用两爱上层楼，后句紧承前句，由不识愁到强说愁，层层递进，写出少年为文造情之态；下片写而今，亦连用两欲说还休，由识尽愁滋味到却道天凉好个秋，以退为进，反见愁之深重。两片句式相仿而情调迥异，形成强烈反差。修辞上，少年强说愁与老来欲说还休构成反讽式对照；末句以天凉好个秋这样极淡极平之语收束，以景语代情语，正是以淡语写深愁之妙。结构上，上片轻快戏谑，下片沉郁顿挫，由浅入深、由外而内。意象虽简，仅层楼、天凉、秋数端，却以留白取胜，不言愁而愁自见，颇得司空图「不着一字，尽得风流」之致。整体语言俚俗晓畅，近于口语，却于浅近中藏沉痛，是稼轩闲居词中似易实难之代表作。历来论者或以其浅近而轻之，不知浅近处正见炉火纯青，所谓大巧若拙，此词有焉。

Allusions

No obscure allusions; instead it transforms common phrases. The ending alludes to the tradition of autumn melancholy in Tang poetry but uses a casual tone. It exemplifies 'elevating the vulgar to elegance' in Song ci poetry.

词题《丑奴儿》即唐教坊曲《采桑子》之别名，音节和婉，本多写闺情，辛弃疾移以写愁，是旧瓶装新酒。意象上，愁滋味承《楚辞》「愁郁郁之无快兮」以降诗骚言愁传统；层楼登高望远，自王粲《登楼赋》「登兹楼以四望兮，聊暇日以销忧」已开登高生愁之先河，唐人诗中层楼意象屡见（如李白「危楼高百尺」），宋人诗词中爱上层楼更成一种文化符号，辛弃疾反用其意，少年登楼非为真愁，只为赋词。强说愁则化用前人少年不识愁之谓，写少年为文造情之态，与李商隐「年少因何有愁绪」同一机杼而反其意。末句天凉好个秋表面用白描写秋，实以秋之萧瑟暗喻心境；秋在古典诗词中为悲之传统意象（宋玉悲秋、杜甫「万里悲秋常作客」），此处却以闲淡出之，是反用悲秋套路。字词上强字（勉强）点出少年造作，休字（停止）见老来吞吐，皆精当。版本异文新词与新诗之争，亦可见宋人词诗之辨，而词字更见自我身份之确认。

Commentary

Liu Xizai of the Qing dynasty praised 'emptiness and lightness' in ci poetry. This poem achieves that with its seemingly light lines hiding heavy sorrow. Wang Guowei's dictum that 'all scenery language is emotional language' applies perfectly to the final line.

此词历来被视为辛弃疾闲居词中以浅语写深愁的典范。明人杨慎《词品》、清人陈廷焯《白雨斋词话》论稼轩多称其沉郁，对此词之回环复沓亦多致意，以为「转转折折，极似《庄子》之文」。近世论者尤重其少年强说愁与老来欲说还休的人生况味，王国维《人间词话》虽未专评此词，其「古今之成大事业者」三境说，与此词识尽愁滋味之生命体验可相发明。此词因语言近乎白话、对比鲜明，极利于记诵，遂成中小学教材常选篇目，现代传播极广，几乎无人不晓。在流行文化中，为赋新词强说愁更衍为成语式表达，用以调侃少年无病呻吟，反使原词深意被稀释，然亦见其生命力之强。经典地位上，它与《摸鱼儿·更能消几番风雨》一沉郁一疏淡，共见稼轩词风之两面；论愁之由浅入深，则足与李煜问君能有几多愁、李清照怎一个愁字了得并观，而独以说愁之反讽姿态立骨，别具一格。学者每以之为辛词入门，实则其浅中有深，非初学所能尽解。

Prosody

Form Ci to the tune 'Ugly Servant' (also known as 'Picking Mulberries', 44 syllables, level tone)词（小令）·《丑奴儿》（即《采桑子》）

Rhyme Level rhyme (lower level rhyme 'you'): lou, lou, chou, xiu, xiu, qiu. Repeated lines: 'I loved to climb the tower', 'I want to speak but stop'.上下片皆押平声尤侯韵（楼、愁、休、秋），一韵到底，回环复沓，声情低回绵长。

Tone pattern Double stanza, 44 syllables, each stanza three level rhymes. Contrast and repetition structure.双调四十四字，上下片各四句三平韵；句式以七言、四言为主，平仄协调，上片『少年不识愁滋味』仄平仄仄平平仄，下片『而今识尽愁滋味』平平仄仄平平仄，仅首字平仄略异以见变化。

Reading note This tune uses contrast between youth and now and repetition to express sorrow, a unique approach in Xin's ci poetry.此词虽为小令，章法却极见经营。《丑奴儿》本调上下片各四句，后两句为叠句，辛弃疾巧借其体，于上片后二句、下片后二句分别复用爱上层楼、欲说还休，形成回环复沓之节奏，读来如叹如诉，恰合说愁之题。押韵上，全词六句落脚点皆收于平声尤侯韵，一韵到底，声情绵长而低回，与愁绪之缠绵相协。平仄方面，上下片首句少年不识与而今识尽平仄微异，余则大体相合，于整齐中见错落。下片末句却道天凉好个秋以平淡口语收束全篇，声吻疏散，与前文紧促之复沓形成弛张，以声写愁，淡而有味。整体格律与内容相得益彰，是调与情合的佳例，亦见小令虽短而可纳沉郁之致。

Line by line

少年不识愁滋味，爱上层楼。

In youth I knew not the taste of grief, and loved to climb the high towers.

少年时哪里懂得愁的滋味，偏偏爱登上高楼远望。

In youth I knew not the taste of sorrow, yet loved climbing the high towers to gaze far.

此句为全词上片之起笔，以少年不识愁滋味反挑出少年为赋新词强说愁的戏谑基调。爱上层楼本是登高销忧的古典意象，王粲登楼以销忧，此处少年登楼却并非真有愁苦，只是为写词而勉强造情。一个不字与后文识尽形成全篇最重要的今昔对照，少年之无忧与老来之沉痛由此奠定。稼轩以极浅近之语写极深长之人世感慨，看似平淡，实已将一生的身世之悲压缩于少年与而今的两相对照之中，读来先觉轻巧，再味方知沉痛。此句之妙，全在不动声色而暗伏千钧，是大家起笔的范本。

The line is the opening of the first stanza, using in youth I knew not the taste of grief to set off the teasing tone of the youth's grieving to order new verses. Loved to climb the high towers is by nature the classical image of climbing to dispel sorrow — Wang Can climbed the tower to dispel grief, and here the youth climbing the tower has no real sorrow, but only the forced feeling for writing. The single word not and the later tasted-all form the whole's most important present-past contrast, the youth's carefree and the old age's grief fixed from here. Xin Qiji, in the plainest words, writes the deepest worldly grief, seemingly plain, and yet already compressing a lifetime's life-grief into the two contrasts of youth and now, reading first light, and tasting and knowing the grief. The beauty of the line lies wholly in the quietness that secretly carries a thousand jun, the model of the master's opening.

而今识尽愁滋味，欲说还休。

Now I have tasted all grief, and would speak, and hold my tongue.

如今尝尽了愁的滋味，想要说出口却又止住不说。

Now I have tasted the full taste of sorrow, and would speak, and stop.

下片由少年转至今日，识尽二字道尽半生坎坷，与不识遥遥相对。最妙在欲说还休四字，既写出愁之深重以至于无从说起，又写出老来为人处世之克制与无奈。与不识愁时强说愁的造作相比，此刻是真愁却不愿、亦不必向外人道，这种吞咽式的表达比直抒胸臆更具力量。稼轩南归后屡遭排挤，恢复之志终成泡影，此中愁绝非闲愁，乃家国身世之悲，而欲说还休正写出了志士暮年有口难言的孤愤。四字之中，多少辛酸尽在其中，是古来写愁名句之一。

The second stanza turns from the youth to today; the two words tasted-all exhaust the half lifetime of hardship, set far against knew-not. The beauty lies in the four words would speak, and hold my tongue, at once writing the grief's depth to the point of no speaking, and the restraint and helplessness of the old man's bearing. Compared with the forced grief of the knew-not days, now the grief is real and yet not willing, not needing, to tell the world; this swallowed expression is more forceful than the direct outpouring. Xin Qiji, after returning south, repeatedly pushed aside, the restoration's ambition at last a bubble, this grief no idle grief, but the grief of country and lot, and would speak, and hold my tongue precisely writes the loyalist old age's lone grief beyond words. Within four words, how much bitterness, one of the famous lines on grief since the ages.

欲说还休，却道天凉好个秋。

Would speak, and hold my tongue; and yet I say: what a cool autumn day.

想要说出口却又止住不说，最后只淡淡道一句：天凉了，好一个秋天。

Would speak, and stop; and at last say lightly: the weather has turned cool, what an autumn.

此句为全词收束，亦是最见功力之处。连用欲说还休再以却道急转，将万钧之愁轻轻收于一勺句平淡的天气感叹之中。天凉好个秋表面写秋日气候，实则以景语代情语，把沉郁难言的悲愁化作一句闲淡之语，正是以淡语写深愁的极致。这种举重若轻的笔法，较之呼天抢地更显沉痛，因它写出了真正的愁苦往往是无言可诉、只能付与天凉秋色的况味。全词至此，由戏谑入沉痛，余味悠长，恰如中之尾音，愈淡愈永，是辛词以白描胜雕琢的典型。

The line is the close of the ci, and the place where the craft shows most. Chaining would speak, and hold my tongue, and then the sudden turn of and yet I say, gathering the ten-thousand-jun grief lightly into one spoonful of the plain weather remark. What a cool autumn day on the surface writes the autumn weather, and in truth uses the scenic words for the emotional, turning the somber, unspeakable grief into one idle, plain phrase, precisely the extreme of writing the deep grief through the light words. This weight-handled-with-ease brush, compared with the wailing to heaven, the more sorrowful, because it writes the taste of the true grief's often being beyond words, only to be given to the cool autumn colors. The ci here, from the teasing to the somber, the aftertone long, precisely like the tail-note of a bell, the lighter the longer, the model of Xin ci's plain sketch triumphing over the carved.

Study

Word focus

强 The word 'qiang' (forced) highlights the youth's artificial sorrow, contrasting with later genuine sorrow. 强字（勉强）是上片点睛之字。少年本不识愁，却要为赋新词而强说愁，一个强字点破了少年为文造情的造作与无功。它与下片识尽形成对照：昔日之愁是勉强说来，今日之愁则是饱尝方知。强字既写出少年心性的天真矜弄，又暗含词人对此种造作的自嘲，更反衬出后文真愁的深重。一字之间，今昔两种说愁姿态跃然纸上，是稼轩以少胜多、炼字精当的范例。后人每引强说愁以嘲少年，殊不知稼轩正借此自嘲以写老来真愁，一字而兼今昔两重意味。

休 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 休字（停止、罢休）在下片两度出现，构成欲说还休的叠唱。它写出老来面对深愁时的吞咽与克制，想说又停，停了又想，最终归于沉默。与少年爱上层楼的主动造作相比，休字是一种被动的、无奈的收束，见出志士暮年有口难言的孤愤。两个休字叠用，节奏低回顿挫，声情与内容高度统一，把那种欲诉无门、只能付与沉默的悲凉写到了极致。此字看似寻常，实则是全词情感由外转内、由说转默的关键枢纽，非深于情者不能道。

层楼 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 层楼是词中核心意象。古典诗词中登高望远多为销忧解愁之举，王粲登楼以销忧、李白危楼高百尺皆其类。稼轩此处反用其意，少年爱上层楼并非真有愁可销，不过为赋词造景。至老来识尽愁滋味，词中却不再写登楼，暗示真正尝尽愁苦之人，反而无意亦无力再去登高望远。层楼由此成为少年造作与老来沉痛之间的一根隐线，意象虽简而意蕴甚丰，以一物之有无写尽一生心境之变迁，是辛词善用日常意象寄深沉感慨的范例。