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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

临江仙·夜登小阁忆洛中旧游

Riverside Daffodils: Remembering My Old Trip in Luozhong While Climbing a Small Pavilion at Night

陈与义

Chen Yuyi

忆旧Remembering the past 家国Homeland and nation 沉郁Somber and deep

忆昔午桥桥上饮,坐中多是豪英。
长沟流月去无声。
杏花疏影里,吹笛到天明。
二十余年如一梦,此身虽在堪惊。
闲登小阁看新晴。
古今多少事,渔唱起三更。

Recalling how at Noon Bridge we once drank wine,
With many gallant heroes in the hall,
The moon in the long ditch silently flowed away.
In the thin shade of apricot flowers,
We played the flute till the break of day.
Twenty years like a dream have passed away,
Though I survive, how can I not be amazed?
Leisurely I climb the small pavilion to enjoy the new sun.
Many things have taken place since olden days.
At midnight fishermen’s songs rise and fall.
Listen

Meaning

The poet recalls a youthful banquet at Noon Bridge with many heroes, enjoying the moonlit night and playing flute till dawn in apricot blossoms. Then the poem shifts to the present: twenty years have passed like a dream, and though he is still alive, the changes shock him. Now he climbs a small pavilion to view the new daylight, reflecting that all historical events ultimately fade into the fishermen's midnight songs.

回忆当年在午桥上宴饮,座中多是豪杰英才。长长的水沟流着月光悄然无声。在杏花稀疏的影子里,吹笛直到天明。二十多年如一梦,此身虽在却令人心惊。闲来登上小阁眺望新晴。古往今来多少事,都化作渔人三更的歌声。

Appreciation

The first stanza paints a bright, pure scene of past joy with images of flowing moonlight and flute music in apricot shadows. The second stanza turns abruptly to sorrow, contrasting the dreamlike past with present shock. The final lines use the fisherman's song to sublimate personal grief into a broader, resigned reflection on history. The poem balances beauty and anguish, achieving a profound yet restrained melancholy.

【白话串讲】 二十多年前,陈与义和朋友们在洛阳午桥喝酒,杏花影里吹笛到天明。如今“二十余年如一梦”,他一个人登上小阁,听渔歌三更。这首词,是南宋人对繁华北宋的集体回忆。 【意象与手法】 上片「长沟流月去无声」「杏花疏影里,吹笛到天明」以清空明秀之笔写往昔之乐;下片「二十余年如一梦,此身虽在堪惊」陡转悲凉,今昔对照强烈;结句「渔唱起三更」以景结情,以旷达语写沉哀,含蓄不尽。 【情感与主旨】 陈与义为南北宋之交杰出词人。此词作于南宋初,靖康之变后流落江南,夜登小阁追忆北宋沦陷前洛阳午桥豪游,于今昔对照中寄寓国破家亡、身世飘零之痛,是《无住词》中沉郁苍凉之作。 【名句点睛】 必考上片乐景与下片哀情之对照、「如一梦」的沧桑感及结句以景结情之妙;亦考靖康背景下的家国之痛,与「杏花疏影里,吹笛到天明」清丽语写沉哀的反衬手法。

Background

Chen Yuyi was a prominent poet of the Northern-Southern Song transition. This poem was written in the early Southern Song after the Jingkang Incident, when the poet had fled south. Climbing a small pavilion at night, he recalled his carefree youth in Luoyang (Luozhong) before the fall of the north, contrasting the lost golden days with his present refugee life. It reflects the deep pain of national ruin and personal displacement characteristic of the era.

陈与义为南北宋之交的杰出词人,与苏轼、黄庭坚并称于诗坛而有「简斋体」之称。此词作于南宋初年,靖康之变后,中原沦陷,他辗转南渡,流落江南。一个夜晚,词人独自登上小阁,望着雨后初晴的天色,忽然追忆起二十多年前在洛阳午桥的豪游胜事,今昔对照,悲从中来,遂成此词。午桥在洛阳城南,是北宋时名士宴游之地;「忆昔午桥桥上饮,坐中多是豪英」写的是徽宗政和年间洛阳文酒之会的盛况,那时国家尚承平,座中多是意气风发的豪杰英才。二十余年过去,故国沦丧、身世飘零,当年的豪英或死或散,词人自己亦饱经离乱,于是「如一梦」「堪惊」的沉痛,便从这乐极生悲的对照中倾泻而出。此词是《无住词》中沉郁苍凉之作,也是南渡词风转变的关键篇章。陈与义早年以诗名世,其《墨梅》诗为徽宗所赏,名动京师;靖康之变后,他辗转南渡,历经国破家亡、颠沛流离,诗风由清新明快转为沉郁悲壮,被后人推为江西诗派后期的重要诗人。此词作于南渡之后,词中『忆昔』与『堪惊』的对照,正是其人生前后两期的缩影:午桥之饮是承平岁月的余响,夜登小阁则是乱离时代的低吟,一盛一衰之间,个人的身世与国家的命运交织在一起,使这阕小词成为一代士人心灵的实录。

Art

The poem excels in juxtaposing past and present. The first half uses ethereal, clear images—silent flowing moonlight and shadowy apricot blossoms—to evoke a world of beauty and leisure. The second half abruptly shifts to a blunt confession of shock ('twenty years like a dream') and then expands to a detached, philosophical conclusion. The final line uses the image of a fisherman's song to dissolve personal pain into universal history, leaving a lingering aftertaste.

此词的艺术核心在「今昔对照」的章法。上片全力写昔:起句「忆昔午桥桥上饮,坐中多是豪英」总写当年宴饮之盛,「长沟流月去无声」写月光随水悄然流去,境界清空明秀;「杏花疏影里,吹笛到天明」写月下杏花、笛声达旦,是词中最著名的清丽之句,把往昔之乐写到极处——乐景写得愈美,下片的哀情愈重。下片陡转伤今:「二十余年如一梦,此身虽在堪惊」以「如一梦」写时光的恍惚,「堪惊」写劫后余生的惊悸,六字写尽南渡离乱后的心境;「闲登小阁看新晴」以「闲」字反衬内心的不闲,举重若轻;结句「古今多少事,渔唱起三更」以景结情,把个人之惊、家国之痛,都化入三更渔唱的苍茫歌声里,由沉痛转达观,含蓄不尽,余韵悠长。上片清空、下片沉郁,一乐一哀,大开大合,正是南渡词由婉约转豪放的过渡特征。此词在结构上还有一个妙处:上片写昔而不点破今,下片写今而不离开昔,今昔之变全靠『二十余年如一梦』一句绾合,举重若轻;而结句『渔唱起三更』更把时间推到深夜,与上片『吹笛到天明』遥遥相对——笛声之旦与渔唱之宵,一为欢乐的终宵、一为苍凉的深夜,两个时间意象的对照,正暗写盛衰之变,章法之细,令人叹服。

Allusions

Noon Bridge (午桥) alludes to Tang dynasty minister Pei Du's estate at Lüye Hall, a famous gathering place for literati. The fisherman's song (渔唱) carries echoes of Du Mu's 'merchant woman ignorant of national ruin' and Liu Yuxi's nostalgic poems, continuing the tradition of 'fishermen and woodcutters discussing rise and fall'—a common trope in classical Chinese poetry for expressing dynastic change and detachment.

「午桥」用唐代名相裴度故事:裴度晚年于洛阳午桥庄建绿野堂,与白居易、刘禹锡等诗酒往还,一时传为名士雅集佳话,陈与义借「午桥」暗指北宋洛阳的承平文会,以唐事写宋事,含蓄地点出当年盛游的名士风流。「渔唱」化用杜牧「商女不知亡国恨」的兴亡感慨与刘禹锡「怀旧空吟闻笛赋」的沧桑之意,以渔歌代兴亡之叹;「渔樵闲话」本是六朝以来文人书写兴亡的传统母题,如苏轼《念奴娇》「浪淘尽」、张昇「六朝旧事随流水」,陈与义承此传统,以三更渔唱收束古今兴亡,把一己之痛放入历史长河,遂使悲慨化为旷远。全词用典含蓄,皆融于即目之景,不露痕迹。『杏花疏影』暗含林逋《山园小梅》『疏影横斜水清浅,暗香浮动月黄昏』的意象,林逋以疏影写梅之清,陈与义以疏影写杏花之逸,取其清空之致;而『吹笛』又承杜牧『二十四桥明月夜,玉人何处教吹箫』的扬州旧梦,暗写洛阳当年的风流。词人融林逋、杜牧之句意入词,不着痕迹,正是江西诗派夺胎换骨之法在词中的运用,使清丽的画面承载起沉厚的家国记忆。

Commentary

Hu Zi in his 'Tiaoxi Yuyinconghua' praised this poem as 'pure and beautiful, wonderfully refined.' Kuang Zhouyi in 'Huifeng Cihua' called it 'bones elegant, spirit clear.' Chen Yuyi's work bridges Su Shi and Xin Qiji, representing the transition of Song lyrics from delicate to heroic during the Southern Song.

胡仔《苕溪渔隐丛话》推此词「清婉奇丽」,正指其上片写昔的清空明秀。况周颐《蕙风词话》称其「骨秀神清」,谓其风骨秀逸、神情清远。近人论南渡词,多以此词为陈与义《无住词》的压卷:它上承苏轼的清旷,下启辛弃疾的沉郁,是南渡词由婉约转豪放的过渡代表。词中「二十余年如一梦,此身虽在堪惊」二句,与李煜「四十年来家国」同一机杼而更见劫后余生的惊悸;「古今多少事,渔唱起三更」则把个人之痛升华为历史之叹,境界遂大。此词在词史上的意义,在于它以清丽的语言承载沉重的家国之痛,是「以乐景写哀」的典范,也是靖康之变后一代士人共同心境的写照。近人论陈与义词,多谓其于苏、黄之外自成一家:其词既无苏轼的清旷疏放,亦无黄庭坚的生新瘦硬,而是以清丽的语言写沉痛的感慨,情真语挚,自成面目。此词与李清照《永遇乐·落日熔金》同为南渡词人写家国之痛的名篇,一写夜登小阁之忆、一写元宵独处之悲,可以互证南渡词坛的共同心境。以『清婉奇丽』之笔写『身世飘零』之痛,正是陈与义词独特的美学价值,也是宋代词史在靖康之变后的必然转向。

Prosody

Form Ci poem to the tune of 'Linjiangxian', double stanza, 54 characters, each stanza 5 lines with 3 level tones.词牌《临江仙》,双调五十四字,上下片各五句三平韵
Rhyme Rhymes on level tone (Pingshui rhyme, lower 8th Geng): ying, sheng, ming, jing, qing, geng.押平声韵,韵脚为「英、声、明、惊、晴、更」,属平水韵下平八庚韵,上下片各三韵。
Tone pattern First stanza recalls the past (joyful gathering, flute playing till dawn), second stanza laments the present (dream-like shock). The transition line 'Twenty years like a dream' sharply shifts tone, creating a dramatic contrast.上片忆旧(豪英欢聚、吹笛达旦),下片伤今(一梦堪惊),过片「二十余年如一梦」陡转,大开大合;句式以七言、五言、六言相间,音节疏朗。
Reading note A representative work of Chen Yuyi after his southward flight, using beautiful language to express grief for his country. It is praised as 'sad and stirring in tone, profound in meaning.'《临江仙》为双调小令,此词五十四字,上下片结构对称而情感大起大落,恰成对照。上片五句写昔:起句「忆昔午桥桥上饮,坐中多是豪英」以七言领起,语势畅达,次句「长沟流月去无声」转五言,节奏放缓,接「杏花疏影里,吹笛到天明」以七言收束,由疏朗入悠长,音节随情感的欢愉而舒展。下片五句写今:「二十余年如一梦,此身虽在堪惊」以对偶起,音节短促凝重,骤然转悲;「闲登小阁看新晴」再转疏淡;结句「古今多少事,渔唱起三更」以「古今」对「三更」,时空对照,音节苍茫悠远。全词平仄依谱而声情随境流转,上片清空、下片沉郁,被论者评为「音节悲凉,含蕴深远」,正是其词牌声情与家国情怀相得益彰的体现。

Line by line

忆昔午桥桥上饮,坐中多是豪英

I remember the drinking on the Wu Bridge; among the company were many heroes.

回忆当年在午桥上宴饮,座中多是豪杰英才。

I recall the old drinking on the Wu Bridge; most of those seated were heroes and talents.

起句以「忆昔」领起全词,把时间拉到二十多年前的洛阳午桥。「午桥桥上饮」写当年宴饮之地与事,语势畅达;「坐中多是豪英」写座中人物,皆是意气风发、才华横溢的豪杰英才。这一句只写宴饮之盛,不着一字哀愁,却为全词埋下伏笔——当年的豪英越是英姿勃发,如今的家国沦丧、人物星散就越显沉痛。同时「午桥」暗用裴度午桥庄名士雅集之典,以唐人之盛事写北宋承平之文会,境界更厚。开篇八字的欢愉语气,与下片「堪惊」的惊悸语气形成强烈的今昔反差,正是全词「以乐景写哀」的开端。

The opening leads the whole ci with the words I remember, pulling time back more than twenty years to the Wu Bridge in Luoyang. The drinking on the Wu Bridge writes the old place and event, the tone fluent; among the company were many heroes writes the figures of the table, all high-spirited, brilliant talents. This line writes only the abundance of the feast, not one word of grief, and yet stores the ci's foreshadowing: the more gallant the old heroes, the more grievous the present fall of the country and the scattering of the men. At the same time, Wu Bridge secretly uses the Pei Du Wu Bridge Villa allusion of the scholars' elegant gathering, writing the Northern Song peaceful literary meeting through the Tang splendor, the realm thicker. The opening eight characters' joyful tone sets the sharp now-and-then contrast against the second stanza's the startling, precisely the beginning of the ci's writing grief through delighted scene.

长沟流月去无声。杏花疏影里,吹笛到天明

The long ditch streams the moon away in silence. In the sparse shadows of the apricot blossoms, we played the flute until dawn.

长长的水沟流着月光悄然无声。在杏花稀疏的影子里,吹笛直到天明。

The moon flows away on the long canal in silence. In the sparse shadows of the apricot blooms, we played the flute until dawn.

此三句是上片的写景核心,也是全词最著名的清丽之句。「长沟流月去无声」写月光映在长长的水沟里,随水悄然流去——月影无声地流走,暗示时光无声地流逝,清空之中暗含怅惘;「杏花疏影里,吹笛到天明」写宴罢之后,众人于杏花疏落的影子里吹笛达旦,笛声悠扬,通宵不歇,把承平之世的欢乐写到极致。「疏影」「天明」写景之疏朗与时间之久,一以当十。这三句以乐景写乐事,声色俱美,然而「流月无声」已暗藏时光易逝的预感,为下片「如一梦」的陡转埋下伏笔,是「以乐衬哀」的绝妙铺垫。

These three lines are the first stanza's scenic core, and the ci's most famous clear, fair lines. The moon flows away on the long canal in silence writes the moonlight on the long canal, flowing off quietly with the water — the moon's shadow flowing silently hints the time's silent passage, the wistfulness hidden in the lucidity; in the sparse shadows of the apricot blooms, we played the flute until dawn writes the post-feast playing of the flute through the night among the apricot's sparse shadows, the melody lingering, unbroken all night, writing the peaceful age's joy to the extreme. The sparse shadows and the dawn write the sparseness of the scene and the length of time, one worth ten. These three lines write the delight through the delighted scene, sound and sight both fair, and yet the moon flowing in silence already hides the presentiment of time's swift flight, storing ground for the sudden turn to like a dream below, the wondrous foreshadowing of writing grief through delight.

二十余年如一梦,此身虽在堪惊

Twenty-odd years have passed like a dream; this body, though alive, is startling.

二十多年如一梦,此身虽在却令人心惊。

Twenty-odd years are like a dream; this body, though it survives, is frightening.

过片陡转,是全词的词眼所在。「二十余年如一梦」把上片铺写的盛世欢游一笔收尽:二十年光阴,回首竟如一梦,既写时光流逝之速,更写国破家亡后往事如梦的恍惚之感;「此身虽在堪惊」进一步写劫后余生的心境——人虽还活着,却惊魂未定,「虽在」与「堪惊」对举,写出「活着」本身都令人心惊的乱世况味。这两句是南渡士人共同的心声:故国沦丧、亲友离散、身世飘零,纵使侥幸存活,又怎能不惊?「如一梦」「堪惊」六字,把二十年的沧桑与一瞬的惊悸熔于一炉,沉痛之极,是今昔对照章法的枢纽。

The course's turn is sudden, the eye of the ci. Twenty-odd years are like a dream gathers the whole splendid outing of the first stanza in one stroke: twenty years, looking back, like a dream, writing at once the time's swift passage and the dreamlike trance after the broken country and family; this body, though alive, is startling further writes the post-disaster mood — the man still living, and yet the soul not settled, the though alive and the startling set in contrast, writing the disordered age where being alive itself is startling. These two lines are the shared voice of the south-fleeing scholars: the lost country, the scattered kin, the drifting fate, and even surviving by luck — how can it not be startling? The like a dream and the startling, six characters, fuse the twenty years of vicissitude and the instant's fright into one furnace, the grief extreme, the hinge of the now-and-then structure.

闲登小阁看新晴

In idleness I climb the small pavilion to watch the new-cleared sky.

闲来登上小阁眺望雨后初晴的天色。

In leisure I climb the small pavilion to gaze at the newly cleared sky.

此句承上启下,写词人当下的行动。「闲登」写登阁之由似乎只是闲来无事,「新晴」写雨后初晴的明净天色,语气看似轻闲,实则暗藏深意:国破家亡之际,何来真正的「闲」?所谓「闲」,不过是无可奈何的自遣。以「闲」字反衬内心之沉重,以「新晴」对照回忆中的旧欢,轻描淡写之中,悲慨自见。此句又是「看新晴」引出结句的过渡:登阁远望,天青云白,词人由眼前景忽而想到古往今来的兴亡,遂有「古今多少事」之叹,章法上由个人之身世推向历史之苍茫,境界为之一开,是全词由「惊」转「旷」的关键。

This line inherits above and opens below, writing the poet's present action. In idleness I climb writes the reason for the ascent seeming only the idle nothing to do; the new-cleared sky writes the clear weather after rain, the tone seeming light and yet hiding depth: amid the broken country and family, how can there be true idleness? The so-called idleness is only the helpless self-diversion. The word idle sets the inner heaviness in contrast; the new-cleared sky sets the old joy of memory against the present, the light brush and the self-seen grief. The line is also the transition where watching the new clear opens the close: climbing the pavilion and gazing far, the sky blue and the clouds white, the poet from the present scene suddenly thinks of the rise and fall through the ages, hence the sigh of how many things, ancient and modern; the craft turning from personal fate to the historical vastness, the realm opening, the key of the ci's turn from fright to equanimity.

古今多少事,渔唱起三更

How many affairs of past and present; the fisherman's song rises in the third watch.

古往今来多少事,都化作渔人三更的歌声。

How many things, ancient and modern, have all turned into the fisherman's song at the third watch.

结句以景结情,是全词境界的升华。「古今多少事」把个人的二十年、国家的兴亡,都放进古往今来的历史长河里,视野陡然开阔;「渔唱起三更」写三更时分,远处传来渔人的歌声——渔夫不知今古,只顾放歌,而古往今来的兴亡盛衰,都在这歌声中化为乌有。以渔唱收束,把家国之痛、身世之惊,都归入苍茫的夜歌之中,由沉痛转达观,含蓄不尽。这一结化用「渔樵闲话」的传统母题,却以「三更」的夜歌出之,更添苍凉;景语即情语,无声处自有千钧,是宋词「以景结情」的典范收束,余韵悠长,令人低回不已。

The close ends feeling in scene, the elevation of the ci's realm. How many things, ancient and modern places the personal twenty years and the country's rise and fall into the long river of history, the view suddenly broad; the fisherman's song rises in the third watch writes the fisherman's song drifting at the third watch — the fisherman knows not past and present, only sings, and all the rise and fall of the ages dissolve in this song. Closing on the fisherman's song, gathering the national grief and the personal fright into the vast night chant, from grief to equanimity, restrained and unending. The close borrows the fisherman and woodcutter's idle talk motif, and yet renders it through the third-watch night song, adding bleakness; the scene words are the feeling words, the silent place carrying a thousand jun, the model close of Song ci's ending feeling in scene, the aftertone long, the reading lingering.

Study

Word focus

无声 silently; noiselessly 「长沟流月去无声」的「无声」二字,是上片由乐转哀的暗线。月光映水,本是无声之景,词人偏以「无声」点出,其妙有二:一是以「无声」写静夜之幽,月光悄然流走,境界清空明净,正是承平之夜的美好;二是以「无声」写时光之逝——月影无声地流去,恰如青春与盛世无声地消逝,待到惊觉,已是「二十余年如一梦」。这「无声」里藏着对时间流逝的潜意识警觉,使上片的乐景暗含哀音,与下片「堪惊」的惊悸遥相呼应。一个看似写景的词,实为全词今昔对照的伏笔,炼字之妙,正在于以不动声色的两个字,为后文的巨变蓄势。
堪惊 enough to shock; how can one not be startled 「此身虽在堪惊」的「堪惊」二字,是全词情感的顶点,一字写尽南渡士人的劫后心境。「堪」作「可、足以」解,「堪惊」即足以令人心惊。此身虽在——人还活着,这本来是值得庆幸的事,词人却说「堪惊」:正因经历了国破家亡、九死一生,活着本身都令人心悸,回忆往事更令人后怕。「虽在」与「堪惊」构成强烈的反差,把劫后余生的惊悸与茫然写得入骨。这一词与前句「如一梦」配合,前写恍惚、后写惊悸,把二十年的沧桑巨变凝缩为六个字,其沉痛之深、力度之大,直逼李煜「四十年来家国」之叹,是南渡词中写乱离心境最警策的字眼。
渔唱 fisherman's song; folk songs of fishermen 「渔唱起三更」的「渔唱」二字,是全词由个人之痛升华为历史之叹的关键。渔人本是江上打鱼之人,其歌与世无争、不知今古;以「渔唱」收束「古今多少事」,正取渔樵闲话兴亡的传统母题——帝王将相的功业、朝代更迭的兴衰,在渔夫樵子的歌声里,都不过是过往云烟。陈与义用此二字,把靖康之变的家国之痛、自身飘零的惊悸,都化入三更的渔歌中,以旷达之语写沉哀之情,含蓄不尽。同时「三更」点出夜深人静,渔唱自远方飘来,渺茫苍凉,正与词人独登小阁、凭栏望月的孤寂心境相映,景与情浑然一体,故论者称此结「以景结情,言有尽而意无穷」。

Related Reading

临江仙·夜归临皋 Riverside Daffodils: Returning to Lingao at Night 苏轼 · 同词牌、同含人生感慨而格调迥异 Same tune, both contain reflections on life

Su Shi's detachment ('life is like a lodging') contrasts with Chen Yuyi's shock ('like a dream'), showing different attitudes toward life's vicissitudes.

苏轼《临江仙·夜归临皋》「长恨此身非我有,何时忘却营营」写其谪居黄州、夜饮归来的旷达自解,末以「小舟从此逝,江海寄余生」的超脱作结;陈与义此词同用《临江仙》词牌,却写国破家亡后的今昔之惊,末以「渔唱起三更」的苍茫收束。同是感慨人生,苏词是个人失意中的旷达,陈词是家国离乱中的沉痛;苏词的「江海余生」是主动的超脱,陈词的「此身虽在堪惊」是被动的惊悸。二词同牌而异调,一旷一沉,正可对照看出北宋承平词与南渡乱离词的精神差异,是理解《临江仙》词牌声情与时代心境的绝佳对读。

虞美人·春花秋月何时了 The Beautiful Lady Yu: When Will Spring Flowers and Autumn Moon End? 李煜 · 同写人生如梦的沧桑与今昔之变 Both express the sorrow of life as a dream

Li Yu's grief over national subjugation and Chen Yuyi's lament over the fall of the north both hinge on the contrast between past and present.

李煜《虞美人》「春花秋月何时了,往事知多少」以亡国之君的切肤之痛写「恰似一江春水向东流」的愁恨,陈与义此词则以南渡士人的劫后之感写「二十余年如一梦」的惊悸。二词同以今昔对照为骨:李煜由「故国不堪回首月明中」的今昔之比写身家之痛,陈与义由午桥豪游与今日飘零之比写家国之痛。不同的是,李煜之痛是一己亡国之痛,血泪俱下;陈与义之痛是士人共同的乱离之痛,沉痛中更多一层历史的苍茫,故能以「古今多少事」的达观收束。一为词的绝命之音,一为南渡的先声,合观正可见「今昔之变」这一母题在词史上的延续与深化。