All poems

宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

浣溪沙·细雨斜风

Tune: Silk-Washing Stream — Fine Rain and Slanting Wind

苏轼

Su Shi

山水landscape 时序seasons 哲理philosophy

细雨斜风作晓寒。
淡烟疏柳媚晴滩。
入淮清洛渐漫漫。
雪沫乳花浮午盏，蓼茸蒿笋试春盘。
人间有味是清欢。

Fine rain and slanting wind make the dawn chill.
Faint mist and sparse willows grace the clear shoal.
The clear Luo, entering the Huai, grows vast and boundless.
Snow-foam, milk-flower, floats in the midday cup; tender smartweed and reed shoots try the spring plate.
In this world the truest savor is pure joy.

Listen

Meaning

Composed on a winter outing with a friend after his transfer from Huangzhou, the lyric moves from dawn scenery to a simple midday meal. Watching fine rain, sparse willows, and the widening river, then sipping tea and tasting spring vegetables, the poet concludes that life's deepest flavor lies not in riches but in quiet, natural delight. It captures Su Shi's hard-won contentment during his exile years.

细雨斜风之中，清晨透出料峭的寒意；淡淡的烟雾笼罩着稀疏的柳树，晴日里的溪滩显得格外明媚。清澈的洛涧水流入淮河，渐渐浩渺无边。中午时分，盏里的茶汤泛起雪白的泡沫，如乳花一般；蓼芽和蒿笋，正好用来品尝新一年的春盘。人世间最有滋味的，原来是这样清淡的欢愉。

Appreciation

The upper stanza paints scene, the lower stanza narrates incident, and the closing line states a philosophy—an orderly yet flowing structure. Vivid verbs like 'grace' and 'try' animate the landscape and the ritual of tasting spring, while the final aphorism elevates a humble picnic into a life attitude typical of Su Shi's 'learned playfulness.' The whole piece, light in color yet profound in implication, embodies his 'pure joy' as both image and creed.

【白话串讲】苏轼写浣溪沙：“细雨斜风作晓寒。淡烟疏柳媚晴滩”。“雪沫乳花浮午盏，蓼茸蒿笋试春盘”——“人间有味是清欢”——他写品茶的清欢。【意象与手法】以「寒」「媚」「漫」写景之层次，由近及远；「试春盘」以细节写生活之趣；结句议论收束，把日常饮食升华为人生态度，是典型的东坡式「理趣」。【情感与主旨】黄州贬谪之后，苏轼于清苦生活中悟出「清欢」真味：人间至味不在肥甘声色，而在平淡自然。【名句点睛】「人间有味是清欢」成为千古名句，后世以「清欢」二字概括一种朴素而有味的人生境界。

Background

In the twelfth month of 1084 (Yuanfeng 7), Su Shi, transferred from Huangzhou toward Ruzhou, passed through Sizhou and toured South Mountain with the prefect Liu Qianshu; the prefatory note reads 'On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth month of Yuanfeng 7, I toured South Mountain with Liu Qianshu of Sizhou.' He was then forty-nine, nearly five years after the WuTai Poems case sent him to Huangzhou. Those years transformed him from a literatus into a philosopher, turning a near-fatal literary inquisition into a transcendent equanimity. This lyric, written on the transfer journey, shows a brighter, more relaxed mood than the Huangzhou period, so its dawn chill and milk-flowers all carry a joyful self-contentment. The closing 'In this world the truest savor is pure joy' is the insight tempered by five years of exile: finding life's essence in a cup of tea and a plate of spring vegetables, turning Zen's ordinary mind into a poetic philosophy. The scenes and incidents above and below are faithful records of the journey, so the realization of pure joy is tasted, not merely preached.

元丰七年（1084）十二月，苏轼自黄州量移汝州，途经泗州（今江苏盱眙一带），与泗州太守刘倩叔（名士彦）同游南山，作此词，词前有序：「元丰七年十二月二十四日，从泗州刘倩叔游南山。」其时苏轼四十九岁，距乌台诗案贬谪黄州已近五年。黄州岁月是苏轼人生的转折点：他于东坡躬耕自给，写下了「一蓑烟雨任平生」「也无风雨也无晴」等句，完成了从文士到哲人的蜕变，把一场几乎丧命的文字狱，转化为旷达超然的人生境界。此词写于量移途中，心情较黄州时期更为明朗疏放，故笔下的晓寒晴滩、雪沫乳花，无不带着欣悦自足之致。末句「人间有味是清欢」正是五年贬谪生活磨出来的真感悟：在物质贫乏的处境中，从一杯茶、一盘春蔬里品出人生的至味，把禅宗「饥来吃饭困来眠」的平常心，化为诗意的人生哲学。此词上片之景、下片之事，皆是一路行来的实录，故其清欢之悟，不是悬空的道理，而是从山水与茶蔬里亲口尝出来的滋味。

Art

The whole lyric arranges scene above, incident below, and philosophy at the end, orderly yet vitally connected. The upper stanza weaves 'chill' and 'grace': 'Fine rain and slanting wind make the dawn chill' gives the cold and rainy morning, the word 'make' showing chill born of wind and rain; 'Faint mist and sparse willows grace the clear shoal' turns to brightness, the word 'grace' bringing the shoal to life—the eye of the upper stanza; 'The clear Luo entering the Huai grows vast' pushes from near to far, the waters merging and broadening. The lower stanza writes tea with fine brush: Song people whisked tea so foam like milk rose—'Snow-foam, milk-flower floats in the midday cup' shows keen observation; 'tender smartweed and reed shoots try the spring plate' records the custom of tasting spring, the word 'try' capturing novelty. The closing line leaps from concrete to abstract, ending with argument yet never dry—the unique charm of Su Shi's 'making lyrics from poetry.'

全词上片写景、下片写事、末句言理，章法井然而气脉贯通。上片三句皆写「晴」与「寒」的交织：「细雨斜风作晓寒」先点出清晨的寒意与雨意，一个「作」字写寒意由风雨生出，触肤可感；「淡烟疏柳媚晴滩」一转，雨渐收、烟渐淡、柳疏朗，一个「媚」字把晴光下溪滩的明媚写得活灵活现，是上片的词眼；「入淮清洛渐漫漫」再拓开一笔，由近景推向远景，洛涧之水汇入淮河，水面渐渐浩渺，气象随之上开，空间由小渐大。下片「雪沫乳花浮午盏」以细笔写煎茶——宋人点茶，茶汤面浮起细白泡沫，谓之「乳花」，词人观察入微，写出午间的安闲；「蓼茸蒿笋试春盘」写立春尝新的习俗，蓼芽蒿笋是春盘中的时鲜，「试」字见出尝新之趣，由茶及菜，写出野餐的清雅。结句「人间有味是清欢」陡然由具体升华为抽象，以议论收束全词，理趣盎然而不觉枯涩，正是东坡「以诗为词」、以理入词的独特魅力。全词五句写景叙事、一句说理，详略得宜，重心落在结句，如画龙点睛，一点而全龙皆活。

Allusions

This lyric uses few allusions, yet its images and customs are sourced. 'Clear Luo' refers to the Luo stream, a tributary of the Huai at Sizhou; its entering the muddy Huai, boundaries dissolving, hints at the philosophic oneness of things. 'Snow-foam, milk-flower' are Song tea terms—Cai Xiang's 'Tea Record' details whisking, and Su Shi's own 'Boiling Tea at the Examination Hall' notes 'flowers of milk float light and round,' a footnote to this line. 'Spring plate' is the Lichun seasonal dish of smartweed, reed shoots, and yellow chives—Du Fu's 'Lichun' sings 'fine fresh vegetables on the spring plate.' 'Pure joy,' though self-coined, inherits Tao Yuanming's simplicity and Bai Juyi's ease, raising physical appetite to a spiritual state. Thus every word is sourced, a practice of Su Shi's claim that 'nothing cannot enter, nothing cannot be said.'

本词用典不多，而意象与风俗皆有来历。其一，「清洛」指洛涧水：泗州治所在淮水之滨，洛涧为淮水支流，「入淮清洛渐漫漫」写实景而兼有「百川归海」的浩渺意味，清水入浑淮，界线渐次消融，暗含「万物归于一体」的理趣。其二，「雪沫乳花」是宋代斗茶、点茶的专门术语——宋人煎茶用茶筅击拂，茶汤表面泛起细白如乳的泡沫，谓之「乳花」「雪沫」；蔡襄《茶录》详述点茶之法，黄庭坚亦有「汤响松风」之句，苏轼《试院煎茶》「汤发云腴酽白，盏浮花乳轻圆」正是此词注脚，可见文人茶事入词的时新风尚。其三，「春盘」是唐宋立春前后的节令食品：以蓼芽、蒿笋、韭黄等时蔬装盘尝新，谓之「试春盘」；杜甫《立春》「春日春盘细生菜」即咏此俗。其四，「清欢」二字虽为自铸新词，却承陶渊明「采菊东篱下」的淡泊传统与白居易「乐天知命」的闲适哲学，把口腹之欲升华为精神境界。凡此种种，足见此词虽短，而无一字无来历、无一俗字入词，是东坡「无意不可入，无事不可言」的词学主张的具体实践。

Commentary

Once 'In this world the truest savor is pure joy' appeared, it nearly became a byword for Chinese life aesthetics. Song literati prized 'learned playfulness,' and this line is its extreme in small lyric form—no allusion, just a plain truth: true savor lies not in luxury but in a peaceful heart. Later Lin Qingxuan titled an essay collection after it; today's talk of 'small certainties' and 'minimalism' traces back to this line. In lyric history, it is a successful case of Su Shi's 'making lyrics from poetry': the upper stanza traditional, the lower ending in argument, opening the Song school of philosophical lyric. The light, clear palette (fine rain, faint mist, sparse willows, snow-foam, milk-flower) shows no poverty of spirit—a direct embodiment of 'pure joy' and proof of his spiritual victory in exile.

「人间有味是清欢」一出，几乎成为中国人生活美学的代名词。宋人重「理趣」，东坡此句正是以哲理入小词的极致——它不借助任何典故与高深语，只以家常语说出一个朴素的真理：真正的滋味不在锦衣玉食，而在心境的平和与对生活的深情。后世林清玄著有散文集《人间有味是清欢》，直接以此句为题；当代人谈「小确幸」「极简生活」，其精神源头皆可追溯到这句词。就词史而言，此词是苏轼「以诗为词」的成功实践：上片仍是传统的情景交融，下片却以议论作结，开宋词说理一派，直接影响辛弃疾「以议论为词」与南宋哲理词。全词笔触疏淡、色相清丽（细雨、淡烟、疏柳、晴滩、雪沫、乳花），而无一丝寒俭之气，正是「清欢」二字的直观呈现，也是东坡贬谪生涯中精神胜利的明证。就接受史而言，此词早已超越文学，成为中国人生活方式的注脚——「清欢」二字，至今仍是许多人安顿身心的座右铭。

Prosody

Form Silk-Washing Stream (shuangdiao, 42 characters; upper 3 lines 3 level rhymes, lower 3 lines 2 level rhymes)浣溪沙（双调四十二字，上片三句三平韵，下片三句两平韵）

Rhyme Rhymes with the 'han' rhyme (chill, shoal, vast, plate, joy), one rhyme throughout, bright and lingering.押上平十四寒韵（寒、滩、漫、盘、欢），一韵到底，韵字响亮悠长。

Tone pattern Mostly seven-character lines with a smooth, flowing meter; both stanzas begin on oblique tones (fine, snow); the lower opening couplet is a neat seven-character antithesis; the closing 'In this world the truest savor is pure joy' ends on the level 'joy,' with long resonance.浣溪沙以七言句为主，音节舒缓流丽；上下片首句均以仄声字起（细、雪），平仄相间；下片前二句「雪沫乳花浮午盏，蓼茸蒿笋试春盘」为七言工对，末句「人间有味是清欢」以平声「欢」收束全篇，余韵悠长。

Reading note Silk-Washing Stream, from a Tang music bureau tune, is a double-mode lyric of 42 characters: upper three lines with three level rhymes, lower three lines with two, all seven-character, smooth and elegant, ideal for leisurely scene. All five rhymes use the 'han' rhyme—chill, shoal, vast, plate, joy—open and bright, suiting the clear shoal; and 'chill' as base, 'joy' as destination, the rhyme itself hides the emotional journey from cold to joy. The lower opening couplet is the conventional seven-character antithesis, neat yet fresh, the most accomplished metric moment. The closing line, level in tone and ending on 'joy,' is composed and calm, exactly matching the peaceful mind of pure joy—Su Shi's law and feeling always mutually arise.浣溪沙为唐教坊曲名，后用作词牌，双调四十二字，上片三句三平韵、下片三句两平韵，句式全为七言（亦有六字异体），音节舒缓流丽，最宜写闲雅之景。本词五韵皆押上平十四寒韵：寒、滩、漫、盘、欢，韵字开口响亮、余韵悠长，正合疏朗明媚的晴滩气象；且「寒」为基调、「欢」为归宿，起于寒而终于欢，韵脚本身就暗藏全词情感由寒转欢的历程。下片前二句「雪沫乳花浮午盏，蓼茸蒿笋试春盘」为词谱惯例的七言对仗：雪沫对蓼茸、乳花对蒿笋、浮对试、午盏对春盘，名词、动词、意象一一相对，工稳中见清新，是全词格律最见功力处。末句「人间有味是清欢」平仄为平平仄仄仄平平，平声四字（人、间、清、欢），以平声「欢」字收束，声调从容淡定，正合「清欢」的平和心境——东坡词之律与情，总是如此相生相发。

Line by line

细雨斜风作晓寒。

Fine rain and slanting wind make the dawn chill.

细雨斜风之中，清晨透出料峭的寒意，正是江南早春特有的清爽晨光。

Fine rain and slanting wind bring the dawn chill.

起句写清晨游山时的天气与感受，是全词的基调句。「细雨斜风」四字写风雨之态：「细」写雨之疏、之柔，「斜」写风之向、之疾，风雨相织、斜斜地扫来，一幅江南早春晨景如在目前；「作晓寒」之「作」字最妙——寒意不是天然存在，而是由风雨「作」出来的，仿佛风雨在制造寒冷，把抽象的「寒」写得有了动态与来处，触肤可感。此句以平实之笔起，不着一个生僻字，而晨寒、风雨、行旅之态全出；它定下全词「清」的基调——细雨斜风中的清晨，不是阴惨的，而是清爽的，为下文的「晴滩」「清欢」埋下伏笔，正是东坡「清」字美学的起笔。

The opening writes the weather and feeling of the morning mountain walk, the ci's tone-setting line. Fine rain and slanting wind four characters write the rain and wind: the fine the rain's thinness and softness, the slanting the wind's direction and swiftness, rain and wind woven, sweeping slantwise, a Jiangnan early-spring morning before the eyes; bring the dawn chill: the word bring the finest — the chill not naturally there, but brought about by rain and wind, as if the wind and rain were manufacturing cold, giving the abstract chill motion and source, skin-felt. The line opens in the plain brush, no rare word, and the morning chill, the wind and rain, the travel bearing all appear; it sets the ci's pure tone — the morning in fine rain and slanting wind is not gloomy, but fresh, storing the ground for the clear shore and the pure joy below, the opening of Su Shi's aesthetics of purity.

雪沫乳花浮午盏，蓼茸蒿笋试春盘。

Snow-foam and milk-flower float in the midday cup; tender smartweed tips and reed shoots try the spring plate.

中午时分，盏里的茶汤泛起雪白的泡沫如乳花一般；蓼芽和蒿笋，正好用来品尝新一年的春盘。

Snowy foam and milky blooms float on the noon cup; smartweed shoots and artemisia bamboo shoots are tasted on the spring plate.

此联是全词写得最细、最有生活情味的两句，写中午野餐的清雅之趣。「雪沫乳花浮午盏」写煎茶：宋人点茶，以茶筅击拂，茶汤泛起细白如乳、如雪沫的泡沫，「雪沫」「乳花」两个比喻既写出泡沫之白细，又写出茶汤之清甘，观察入微；「浮午盏」点出时间（正午）与物象（茶盏），安闲自足之态尽出。「蓼茸蒿笋试春盘」写尝春：蓼芽与蒿笋都是早春的时蔬嫩芽，装进春盘品尝，「试」字写尝新之趣，如小儿初见春味般欣喜。两句一茶一蔬、一白一绿，工整相对，把贬谪途中一顿简单的野餐写得色香味俱全，见出东坡在任何境遇里都能发现生活之美的天性，正是「清欢」的具体呈现。

This couplet is the ci's finest, most lifelike pair, writing the elegance of the noon picnic. Snowy foam and milky blooms float on the noon cup writes the tea: the Song tea whisked with the bamboo whisk, the tea surface rising in fine white foam like milk, like snow, the two metaphors writing the foam's whiteness and fineness, the tea's clarity, the observation minute; floats on the noon cup names the time (noon) and the object (the cup), the at-ease bearing complete. Smartweed shoots and artemisia bamboo shoots are tasted on the spring plate writes the spring tasting: smartweed shoots and artemisia shoots both the early-spring tender greens, set on the spring plate to taste, the word try the joy of the first tasting, like a child meeting the spring flavor. Two lines, one tea one green, one white one green, in steady parallel, writing a simple picnic on the exile road as if fragrant and colorful, showing Su Shi's nature of finding the beauty of life in any lot, the concrete showing of pure joy.

人间有味是清欢。

In this world the truest savor is pure joy.

人世间最有滋味的，原来是这样清淡的欢愉，而非肥甘声色、功名利禄。

In the human world, the true flavor is pure joy.

结句是全词的灵魂，以一句议论收束全篇，把一顿野餐升华为人生哲学，是东坡「以议论为词」的名句。「人间有味」四字先宕开一笔，仿佛要历数人间种种滋味——肥甘、声色、功名；「是清欢」三字猛然收拢，断言至味竟是这一盏茶、一盘春蔬、一个晴日的清淡欢愉。这七个字的力量在于「反」：世人皆以为味在厚，东坡偏说味在淡；这正是黄州五年贬谪磨出来的觉悟——当外在的荣华尽数剥落，人反而看见了生活本来的滋味。清欢者，清而能欢，心清则物皆可欢。此句不借助任何典故，以家常语说透天理，遂成千古名句，「清欢」二字也从此成为中国美学中「平淡有致」的代名词。

The close is the soul of the ci, gathering the whole in one sentence of argument, raising a picnic into a life philosophy, the famous line of Su Shi's argument-as-ci. In the human world, the true flavor opens wide, as if to enumerate the world's flavors — richness, sound and color, rank; is pure joy closes suddenly, pronouncing that the highest flavor is this cup of tea, this plate of spring greens, this clear day's quiet joy. The seven characters' force lies in the reversal: the world believes flavor lies in the rich, and Su Shi says flavor lies in the plain; precisely the awareness ground out by five years of Huangzhou exile — when the outer splendor has peeled away, one sees the original flavor of life. Pure joy: pure and yet joyful, the heart pure and all things joyful. The line uses no allusion, saying the highest truth in the household word, and becomes a famous line; the two words pure joy have since become the synonym of the Chinese aesthetic's plainness with savor.

Study

Word focus

媚 In 'Faint mist and sparse willows grace the clear shoal,' the word 'grace' (mei) is the eye of the upper stanza, giving the bright, charming shoal under clear light. Originally a feminine charm, here transferred to scenery—the mist and willows seem to 'charm' the viewer, animating the spring with life; it is the poet's cheerful mood projected outward. Paired with the previous 'make' (cold arising) and this 'grace' (warmth arriving), the two words write the turn from weather to mood. 「淡烟疏柳媚晴滩」之「媚」字，是上片的词眼，写晴光下溪滩的明媚动人。媚本指女子娇媚之态，此处移以写景——淡烟笼罩、柳枝稀疏，在雨后初晴的阳光里，溪滩仿佛有了生命，主动地「媚」人，把一派明媚春意写得活色生香。此字妙在「以人拟物」：景本无情，着一「媚」字，溪滩便有了情态、有了媚眼，是词人心情愉悦的投射——心中欢喜，故觉万物皆媚。它与上句「作」字相映成趣：「作晓寒」写寒意之生，「媚晴滩」写暖意之至，一寒一暖、一阴一晴，短短两句写出天气的转变与心情的由沉转朗，炼字之精、写情之活，俱见东坡手段。

试 In 'tender smartweed and reed shoots try the spring plate,' the word 'try' (shi) writes the pleasure of first tasting, the most life-filled word in the poem. 'Try' means to taste for the first time—the earliest spring shoots, so tender they seem to burst with juice, placed on the plate and lightly 'tried,' spring's freshness blooming on the tongue. It conveys the delight of a 'first time,' the tenderness of the vegetables, and the custom of 'trying spring,' all in one word, showing Su Shi's affection for life's detail. 「蓼茸蒿笋试春盘」之「试」字，写尝新之趣，是全词最有生活气息的字。试者，初尝、尝试也——蓼芽蒿笋是早春第一茬的时蔬，嫩得能掐出水来，装进春盘，轻轻一「试」，春天的新鲜滋味便在舌尖绽开。着一「试」字，有几层妙处：其一，写出「第一次」的欣喜，如小儿初见春味，郑重而新奇；其二，写春蔬之嫩，嫩到只能「试」而不敢大嚼；其三，暗含「试探春意」之意，与立春「试春盘」的习俗相合——宋人以时蔬尝新谓之「试」，杜甫《立春》「春日春盘细生菜」犹未及此字之妙。一个「试」字，把饮食之趣、时序之感、生命之欣都写进去了，见出东坡对生活细节的深情与玩味。

清欢 In 'In this world the truest savor is pure joy,' the phrase 'pure joy' (qinghuan) is Su Shi's self-coined term and the lyric's philosophical essence, later a classic concept in Chinese life aesthetics. 'Pure' means plain, clear, tranquil; 'joy' means delight. Together they name a delight rooted in plainness—not sensual revelry or official success, but the contentment of a cup of tea, a plate of spring vegetables, a clear day. 'Pure' is the soul of the poem: when the heart is pure, even plain things delight, and the true joy endures. 「人间有味是清欢」之「清欢」二字，是东坡自铸的新词，也是全词的哲学结晶，后来更成为中国生活美学的经典概念。清者，清淡、清澈、清静也；欢者，欢愉、欣悦也——二字组合，指一种以清淡为本色的欢愉：不是纵情声色的狂欢，不是功成名就的得意，而是一盏茶、一盘春蔬、一个晴日里从容品味的欢喜。「清」字为此词之魂：清欢之所以有味，正在于「清」——心清则物淡，物淡则味长，无欲故无累，无累故能真欢。此词上片写清景（细雨淡烟）、下片写清事（茶蔬春盘），末以「清欢」总括，景、事、理三清合一。后世以「清欢」概括一种朴素而有味的人生境界，其源头正在东坡这七个字。