宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
定风波
Calming the Waves
万里黔中一漏天。
屋居终日似乘船。
及至重阳天也霁。
催醉。
鬼门关外蜀江前。
莫笑老翁犹气岸。
君看。
几人黄菊上华颠。
戏马台南追两谢。
驰射。
风流犹拍古人肩。
Housed indoors all day, it is as if one were riding in a boat.
By the time the Double Ninth arrived, the sky had cleared too.
Wine presses us on to drunkenness.
Beyond the Ghost Gate Pass, before the waters of the Shu River.
Do not laugh that the old man still keeps his proud air.
Just look:
how many can pin yellow chrysanthemums to their hoary temples?
South of the Xima Terrace I would chase after the two Xies;
racing and shooting,
my romantic grace could still clap the ancients on the shoulder.
Meaning
Written in exile in Qianzhong, this song opens with the misery of endless rain, then the Double Ninth brings clear skies and drunken cheer. From the desolate Ghost Gate Pass the speaker turns to defiant self-portraiture: an old man, unbowed, pinning chrysanthemums to his white hair and measuring his talent against the ancients. The poem finds boldness in hardship.
万里黔中一漏天。屋居终日似乘船。及至重阳天也霁。催醉。鬼门关外蜀江前。莫笑老翁犹气岸。君看。几人黄菊上华颠。戏马台南追两谢。驰射。风流犹拍古人肩。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] The first stanza describes the endless rain of Qianzhong: the very sky leaks like a roof, and staying indoors all day is like riding in a boat. When the Double Ninth Festival arrives the sky clears, and wine presses the poet on to drunkenness beyond the Ghost Gate Pass by the Shu River. The second stanza turns to the poet himself: do not laugh at the old man for his proud air, just look how few can wear yellow chrysanthemums on their hoary temples. [Structure] The song moves from miserable weather to festival release, then from scenery to self-portrait, ending on a romantic boast. [Imagery] The leaking sky and the boat turn hardship into humor; chrysanthemums on white hair join the old man to the autumn festival; clapping the ancients on the shoulder sets his talent beside the greatest poets of the past.
【白话串讲】 黄庭坚写《定风波》：“万里黔中一漏天。屋居终日似乘船”——“及至重阳天也霁。催醉。鬼门关外蜀江前”——“莫笑老翁犹气岸”——“风流犹拍古人肩”——他在黔中——莫笑老翁犹气岸。 【意象与手法】 “万里黔中一漏天。屋居终日似乘船”以漏天乘船写黔中多雨；“及至重阳天也霁。催醉。鬼门关外蜀江前”以重阳霁晴写开怀；“莫笑老翁犹气岸”以气岸写老而弥坚；结以“戏马台南追两谢。驰射。风流犹拍古人肩”以追慕古人写豪气。豪放旷达、以俗为雅。 【情感与主旨】 黄庭坚贬黔中重阳之作，于困厄中见旷达，写老翁气岸、追慕古人的豪情，体现山谷词“以俗为雅、兀傲不群”的风格。 【名句点睛】 常考“莫笑老翁犹气岸”以气岸写老而弥坚；“风流犹拍古人肩”以拍古人肩写追慕豪气。
Background
Huang Tingjian (1045-1105), courtesy name Luzhi, style name Shangu Daoren, was a native of Fenning (modern Xiushui, Jiangxi). A poet, calligrapher, and founder of the Jiangxi school of poetry, he was one of the Four Scholars of the Su School. During the Shaosheng era (1094-1098) he was banished to Qianzhou (modern Pengshui, Chongqing), a land of damp, flooded valleys. This ci was written at his place of banishment, turning a miserable rainy exile into a bold autumn festival.
《定风波》为北宋词人黄庭坚所作词。黄庭坚（1045—1105），字鲁直，号山谷道人，洪州分宁（今江西修水）人，北宋文学家、书法家，「苏门四学士」之一，江西诗派开山。宋绍圣年间黄庭坚被贬黔州（今重庆彭水），此词即写于黔州贬所。词中「万里黔中一漏天。屋居终日似乘船」写黔中之雨；「及至重阳天也霁。催醉。鬼门关外蜀江前」写重阳霁晴；「莫笑老翁犹气岸。君看。几人黄菊上华颠」写老翁气岸；「戏马台南追两谢。驰射。风流犹拍古人肩」写追慕古人。黄庭坚被贬黔中而不失旷达，此词以重阳霁晴、老翁气岸写其旷达之怀，豪放旷达，是黄庭坚词中的名篇。此篇《定风波》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。此篇《定风波》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 song's craft lies in its movement from wry humor to heroic self-assertion. The opening image of the sky as a leaking roof exaggerates the rain until it becomes comic, and the line about being housed indoors like riding in a boat continues the joke, easing hardship through laughter. The turn at the Double Ninth clearing changes the emotional weather, and wine presses the poet on to drunkenness. In the second stanza, the old man speaks directly to the reader, and the rhetorical question about chrysanthemums on hoary temples converts age into distinction. The closing image of clapping the ancients on the shoulder borrows from Guo Pu's immortal poems to claim equality with the past.
此词艺术上以「豪放旷达、以旷写达」见长。全词上片写黔中之雨与重阳霁晴，下片写老翁气岸与追慕古人。上片「万里黔中一漏天。屋居终日似乘船」写黔中之雨：万里黔中一漏天，屋居终日似乘船；「及至重阳天也霁。催醉。鬼门关外蜀江前」写重阳霁晴：及至重阳天也霁，催醉，鬼门关外蜀江前。下片「莫笑老翁犹气岸。君看。几人黄菊上华颠」写老翁气岸：莫笑老翁犹气岸，君看，几人黄菊上华颠；「戏马台南追两谢。驰射。风流犹拍古人肩」写追慕古人：戏马台南追两谢，驰射，风流犹拍古人肩。全词豪放旷达，以旷写达，是黄庭坚词中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。
Allusions
The leaking sky alludes to Loudtian (Leaking Heaven) in Yazhou, a place famous for endless rain, hinting at the damp exile of Qianzhong. The Ghost Gate Pass lies east of modern Fengjie in Chongqing and marks a remote, perilous region. Chrysanthemums on hoary heads recalls the Double Ninth custom of wearing chrysanthemums, here a sign of undiminished vigor. The Xima Terrace in Xuzhou was where the founding emperor of Song climbed on the Double Ninth, and the two Xies are Xie Lingyun and Xie Zhan, who composed poems there; Huang wishes to rival their outing. Clapping the ancients on the shoulder adapts Guo Pu's line about patting the shoulders of immortals, meaning to stand equal with the great ancients.
词中「一漏天」「似乘船」「鬼门关」「气岸」「黄菊上华颠」「戏马台」「两谢」「拍古人肩」等语，皆含典故故实。「一漏天」写黔中多雨、天如漏，「漏天」为蜀地地名（雅州有漏天），暗含其地多雨；「似乘船」写屋中积水如乘船，暗含屋漏之状；「鬼门关」为地名（在今重庆奉节东），亦写其地之险远；「气岸」写其气概高傲；「黄菊上华颠」写簪菊于白发，暗含重阳簪菊之俗；「戏马台」为地名，在江苏徐州，南朝宋武帝刘裕曾于重阳登戏马台，谢灵运、谢瞻（两谢）曾作诗咏其事，「戏马台南追两谢」写欲于重阳追步谢灵运、谢瞻之游；「拍古人肩」用郭璞《游仙诗》「左挹浮丘袖，右拍洪崖肩」之意，写与古人比肩。词人以漏天、乘船、鬼门关、戏马台、两谢、拍古人肩等典入词，不着痕迹，而把旷达之怀写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。
Commentary
Critics have long prized this song as the boldest of Huang Tingjian's ci, written in the depths of political disgrace yet refusing self-pity. Where Su Shi's famous Calming the Waves dissolves wind and rain into philosophical calm, Huang answers misery with swagger: rain becomes a joke, exile becomes a setting for festival, and old age becomes a warrant for pride. The final line, in which the poet's grace can still clap the ancients on the shoulder, has been quoted as the essence of his unbowed character in adversity.
这首《定风波》，是黄庭坚被贬黔中时写重阳旷达之作，写黔中风雨、重阳霁晴、老翁气岸之情，豪放旷达。上片写黔中之雨与重阳霁晴：「万里黔中一漏天。屋居终日似乘船」——万里黔中一漏天，屋居终日似乘船。写黔中之雨：万里黔中，天如漏，屋居终日似乘船——黔中多雨、屋漏积水，其苦可知，然以「似乘船」写之，苦中见谐趣；「及至重阳天也霁。催醉。鬼门关外蜀江前」——及至重阳天也霁，催醉，鬼门关外蜀江前。写重阳霁晴：及至重阳，天也放晴，催人一醉，于鬼门关外、蜀江之前——重阳天霁，正可一醉，虽在鬼门关外、蜀江之前，亦不改其豪。下片写老翁气岸与追慕古人：「莫笑老翁犹气岸。君看。几人黄菊上华颠」——莫笑老翁犹气岸，君看，几人黄菊上华颠。写老翁气岸：莫笑老翁犹有气岸，君看，几人能于白发上簪黄菊——以黄菊簪华颠，正是重阳簪菊，老翁犹自气岸不衰；「戏马台南追两谢。驰射。风流犹拍古人肩」——戏马台南追两谢，驰射，风流犹拍古人肩。写追慕古人：于戏马台南追步两谢，驰射，风流犹可拍古人肩——以戏马台两谢之典，写其追慕古人、不甘后人。这「风流犹拍古人肩」，是全词之结：以拍古人肩写其风流自许。全词豪放旷达，以旷写达，正是黄庭坚被贬不失旷达的写照，也是其词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
万里黔中一漏天。
Ten thousand miles of Qianzhong, and the sky itself is a leaking roof.
万里黔中一漏天。
Ten thousand li of Qianzhong, a sky leaking through.
首句写黔中之雨，起笔即见其苦。「万里黔中一漏天」写万里黔中一漏天，「万里黔中」写黔中之远（黔中在今贵州、重庆一带），「一漏天」写天如漏。一句以「万里」写其地之远、以「一漏天」写其雨之多，写尽贬所黔中多雨之状——天如漏，其苦可知。起笔写其地之远、雨之漏，为全词写重阳霁晴与旷达作铺垫，是「以景起兴」的妙笔。
The opening line writes the Qianzhong rain, the hardship at the first stroke. Ten thousand li of Qianzhong, a sky leaking through: the ten-thousand-li Qianzhong writes the distance of Qianzhong (in today's Guizhou and Chongqing), the leaking sky writes the sky as if leaking. One line, the ten thousand li for the place's distance, the leaking sky for the rain's abundance, exhausting the rainy exile Qianzhong — the sky as if leaking, the hardship to be known. Opening on the place's distance and the sky's leaking, preparing the ci's Double Ninth clearing and breadth, the fine brush of rising in scene.
及至重阳天也霁。
By the time the Double Ninth arrived, the sky had cleared too.
及至重阳天也霁。
And when the Double Ninth comes, the sky clears.
此句写重阳霁晴，是全词由苦转乐的关键。「及至重阳天也霁」写及至重阳天也霁，「及至重阳」写到了重阳，「天也霁」写天也放晴。一句以「及至」写其等待之久、以「天也霁」写其放晴之喜，写尽多雨之后、重阳天霁之欣喜——久雨逢晴，正逢重阳。以晴写喜，含蓄而明快，是「以景写喜」的点睛之笔，也是全词由写苦转入写乐的枢纽。
The line writes the Double Ninth clearing, the key of the ci's turning from hardship to joy. And when the Double Ninth comes, the sky clears: the until-the-Double-Ninth writes the reaching of the festival, the sky also clears writes the clearing. One line, the until for the waiting's length, the also-clears for the joy of the clearing, exhausting the joy after the long rain and the Double Ninth's clearing — the long rain meeting the clear, precisely at the Double Ninth. Writing joy through the clearing, restrained and bright, the pointed brush, and the hinge of the ci's turning from the hardship to the joy.
莫笑老翁犹气岸。
Do not laugh that the old man still keeps his proud air.
莫笑老翁犹气岸。
Laugh not, this old man, still lofty of spirit.
此句写老翁气岸，是全词下片写人的关键。「莫笑老翁犹气岸」写莫笑老翁犹气岸，「莫笑」写劝人莫笑，「老翁」写其自称老翁（黄庭坚时年近五十），「犹气岸」写犹有气岸。一句以「莫笑」写其自许、以「犹气岸」写其老而气概不衰，写尽老翁虽贬而气岸不衰之态——莫笑我老翁，犹自有气岸。以气写人，含蓄而豪迈，是「以气写人」的点睛之笔。
The line writes the old man's lofty spirit, the key of the second stanza's writing of the person. Laugh not, this old man, still lofty of spirit: the laugh-not writes the asking not to laugh, the old man his self-name (Huang Tingjian then near fifty), the still lofty of spirit writes the lofty bearing unbroken. One line, the laugh-not for his self-estimation, the still lofty for the old and the spirit unbroken, exhausting the old man exiled and yet the lofty spirit unbroken — laugh not at my old self, still lofty. Writing the person through the spirit, restrained and bold, the pointed brush.
风流犹拍古人肩。
My romantic grace could still clap the ancients on the shoulder.
风流犹拍古人肩。
Still, in my grace, I clap the ancients on the shoulder.
尾句写追慕古人，是全词立意的落点。「风流犹拍古人肩」写风流犹拍古人肩，「风流」写其风流，「犹拍古人肩」用郭璞《游仙诗》「右拍洪崖肩」之意，写与古人比肩。一句以「拍古人肩」写其与古人比肩、以「犹」写其虽老而犹然，写尽其追慕古人、不甘后人之风流自许——虽老虽贬，风流犹可与古人比肩。以古写己，含蓄而豪迈，是全词最动人处，也是「以古写己」的点睛之笔。
The closing writes the admiring of the ancients, the landing point of the ci. Still, in my grace, I clap the ancients on the shoulder: the grace writes his grace, the still clapping the ancients on the shoulder uses Guo Pu's the Right Hand Strikes Hongya's Shoulder of the Wandering Immortal poems, writing standing shoulder to shoulder with the ancients. One line, the clap-the-ancients'-shoulder for the standing with the ancients, the still for the old and yet still, exhausting his admiring of the ancients and the grace that will not lag behind — old and exiled, and yet the grace standing with the ancients. Writing the self through the ancients, restrained and bold, the most moving place, the pointed brush.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Su Shi's famous song answers a rainstorm on the road to Shahu with the calm of no rain, no shine; Huang Tingjian's answers the floods of Qianzhong with the swagger of an old man pinning chrysanthemums to his white hair. Su's composure is philosophical, Huang's heroic; together they show how the Su-school poets carried adversity into boldness.
苏轼《定风波·莫听穿林打叶声》「莫听穿林打叶声，何妨吟啸且徐行」「回首向来萧瑟处，归去，也无风雨也无晴」，写沙湖道中遇雨而旷达，是宋词写旷达最著名的词；黄庭坚《定风波》则以「万里黔中一漏天。屋居终日似乘船」「及至重阳天也霁」写黔中久雨、重阳天霁。两词同用定风波词牌写旷达：一写遇雨不避、吟啸徐行、风雨无晴，一写久雨屋漏、天霁催醉、老翁气岸；一为苏轼之超然、一为黄庭坚之豪迈，并读正可见「苏门」词人写困境旷达的传承，皆于困境中见旷达。
鹧鸪天·彩袖殷勤 Partridge Sky: Colorful Sleeves, Attentively 晏几道 · 一写重阳簪菊老翁气岸、一写彩袖殷勤旧欢如梦，同为宋词名篇，而一豪放一婉约，正可见宋词两种词风 Both are celebrated Song ci, one bold and one gentle, showing the two faces of the Song lyric.Yan Jidao's song recalls old banquets and dreams of reunion in the gentle, delicate manner; Huang Tingjian's writes chrysanthemums on hoary hair and clapping the ancients' shoulders in the bold manner. Read together they show the range of the Song lyric between the gentle and the bold.
晏几道《鹧鸪天·彩袖殷勤》「彩袖殷勤捧玉钟，当年拚却醉颜红」「犹恐相逢是梦中」，写当年之欢与相逢如梦，是婉约词的名篇；黄庭坚《定风波》则以「莫笑老翁犹气岸。君看。几人黄菊上华颠」「风流犹拍古人肩」写重阳簪菊、老翁气岸。两词同为宋词名篇：一写彩袖旧欢、婉约深婉，一写黄菊华颠、豪放旷达；一为小山之婉约、一为山谷之豪放，并读正可见宋词「婉约」与「豪放」两种词风的不同风貌，皆见宋词之成就。