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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

柳永·鹤冲天·黄金榜上

He Chong Tian · On the Golden List

柳永

Liu Yong

婉约graceful 抒怀self-expression

鹤冲天·黄金榜上黄金榜上，偶失龙头望。
明代暂遗贤，如何向。
未遂风云便，争不恣狂荡。
何须论得丧。
才子词人，自是白衣卿相。
烟花巷陌，依约丹青屏障。
幸有意中人，堪寻访。
且恁偎红翠，风流事、平生畅。
青春都一饷。
忍把浮名，换了浅斟低唱。

On the golden list, I chanced to miss the top-rank hope. In an enlightened age a worthy man is briefly passed over—what am I to do?
Since the wind-and-cloud fortune came not, why not give free rein to wild abandon? Why reckon gain and loss?
A gifted man and lyricist, of myself I am a minister in white.
In the lanes of fireworks, faintly the painted screens.
Fortunate to have a beloved, worthy to seek out.
Let me lean on red and green, the romantic affair, the ease of a lifetime.
Youth is but a moment.
How can I bear to trade the empty fame for this shallow cup and low song?

Listen

Meaning

On the list inscribed in gold, I by chance missed the hope of topping it. In an enlightened age a worthy man is briefly passed over—what am I to do? Since I have not won the wind-and-cloud fortune, why not freely indulge in wild abandon? Why discuss gain and loss? A gifted man and lyricist is of himself a minister in white robes. In the lanes of song and mist, faintly visible the painted screens. Fortunate to have a beloved one, worthy to go seek. Let me lean on red and green, the romantic things, the ease of this life. Youth passes in a single moment. How could I bear to trade the empty name for this shallow pouring and low singing?

金字题名的榜上，我偶然失去了状元之望。圣明的朝代暂且遗落了贤才，叫我怎么办？既然没能乘风云得志，何不恣意狂放。何必计较得失。才子词人，本就是白衣中的公卿宰相。在烟花巷陌，隐约可见丹青屏障。幸而有意中之人，值得去寻访。且这样依偎红翠，那风流之事、平生的欢畅。青春不过一饷之间。怎忍将那虚浮的功名，换了这浅斟低唱。

Appreciation

According to Song anecdote, Liu Yong went to the capital for the exam in his early years and wrote 'He Chong Tian' to vent his anger after failing. The line 'How can I bear to trade the empty fame for this shallow cup and low song' spread widely; later Emperor Renzong, reading his lyric, said 'go and pour the shallow cup and sing low, why need empty fame', and Liu Yong thence called himself 'filling lyrics by imperial decree'. This lyric is truly the wild words of a disappointed talent: it writes both the grievance of failure and his proud, self-assured, untrammelled nature that scorns the worldly net.

【白话串讲】 “黄金榜上，偶失龙头望”——柳永科举落榜：偶然失去了中状元的希望。“才子词人，自是白衣卿相”——才子词人，就是白衣卿相。“忍把浮名，换了浅斟低唱”——把浮名换作低唱。这首词惹恼了宋仁宗，他从此仕途无望。【意象与手法】上片直抒胸臆，以“偶失”“暂遗”故作宽解，旋以“争不恣狂荡”转为放达，气脉顿挫【情感与主旨】据宋人笔记，柳永早年赴京应试，落第后作《鹤冲天》抒愤【名句点睛】考点：一、“白衣卿相”的狂傲内涵；二、结句“忍把浮名，换了浅斟低唱”的表层放达与深层牢骚

Background

According to Song private notes, Liu Yong went to the capital for the exam in his early years and, after failing, wrote 'He Chong Tian' to vent his anger. The line 'How can I bear to trade the empty fame for this shallow cup and low song' spread widely; later Emperor Renzong, reading his lyric, said 'go and pour the shallow cup and sing low, why need empty fame', and Liu Yong thence called himself 'filling lyrics by imperial decree'. This lyric is truly the wild words of a disappointed talent: it writes both the injustice of failure and his proud, self-assured, untrammelled nature that scorns the worldly net.

《鹤冲天·黄金榜上》为北宋词人柳永所作。柳永（约987—约1053），字耆卿，崇安人，北宋婉约词派的代表，有“凡有井水处，即能歌柳词”之誉。此词写科举失意后的狂放：黄金榜上，偶失龙头望；明代暂遗贤，如何向；未遂风云便，争不恣狂荡；何须论得丧，才子词人，自是白衣卿相。下片烟花巷陌，依约丹青屏障；幸有意中人，堪寻访；且恁偎红倚翠，风流事、平生畅；青春都一饷，忍把浮名，换了浅斟低唱。全词写柳永科举落第后的狂放与不羁，是其青年时期的代表作，也因“忍把浮名，换了浅斟低唱”而传为佳话。

Art

The first part speaks straight from the breast, with 'chanced to miss' and 'briefly passed over' feigning composure, then turns with 'why not give free rein to wild abandon' into abandon, the breath arrested and released. 'A gifted man and lyricist, of myself a minister in white' rises like a strange peak, with lofty bone. The second part turns to the pleasure quarters, closing with 'lean on red and green' and 'shallow cup and low song', colloquial and frank. The whole spreads by the fu method of exposition, generous yet with mockery, fully showing Liu's prose-like, colloquial character.

《鹤冲天·黄金榜上》艺术上以狂放的语气与自解的旷达见长。全词结构分明：上片写落第之狂——“黄金榜上，偶失龙头望”写落第，“明代暂遗贤，如何向”写怀才不遇，“未遂风云便，争不恣狂荡”写狂荡之由，“何须论得丧，才子词人，自是白衣卿相”写自解；下片写风月之乐——“烟花巷陌，依约丹青屏障”写烟花之地，“幸有意中人，堪寻访”写意中之人，“且恁偎红倚翠，风流事、平生畅”写风流之乐，“青春都一饷，忍把浮名，换了浅斟低唱”写浮名之弃。全词以“忍把浮名，换了浅斟低唱”写其对浮名的鄙弃，狂放而不失旷达，正是柳永词“俚俗而深情”的风格。

Allusions

'Top-rank hope' means topping the exam; the top graduate was anciently called the 'dragon head'. 'Minister in white' compares a commoner to a minister, raising his own status. 'Wind-and-cloud fortune' uses the Changes 'clouds follow the dragon, wind the tiger', a figure for meeting one's chance. These are familiar allusions yet melted into common speech, unworked. The lyric has no obscure allusion, but writes the complaint of a wild scholar in common language—exactly the folk nature of Liu Yong's 'wherever there is a well, the song can be sung'.

《鹤冲天·黄金榜上》用典在“龙头望”“白衣卿相”。“龙头望”指状元之望，古代科举以状元为龙头；“白衣卿相”以“白衣”（无官职者）与“卿相”对举，写才子词人虽无官职而自比卿相；“明代暂遗贤”写圣明之世暂时遗弃贤才，暗含讽刺；“风云便”出《周易·乾》“云从龙，风从虎”，写际遇之会。全词以这些典故写科举失意与自解，正是柳永以才子自居、鄙弃浮名的写照。

Commentary

Song Wu Zeng's Neng Gai Zhai Man Lu records Emperor Renzong's 'go and pour the shallow cup and sing low', enough to show this lyric's influence. Later critics say Liu's lyrics are 'plain yet homely', yet this piece has lofty bone, not mere amorous verse. Feng Menglong said his 'grievance words are the truest', wild yet showing the true colour of a talent—an alternative manner of Song lyric self-expression.

《鹤冲天·黄金榜上》是柳永青年时期的代表作，也是其因词得罪宋仁宗、终身潦倒的导火索。相传柳永此词传出后，宋仁宗临轩放榜，特落之曰“且去浅斟低唱，何要浮名”，故柳永自称“奉旨填词柳三变”。此词写科举失意后的狂放与不羁，向为论者称道。论者多赏其“才子词人，自是白衣卿相”的自解——以才子自居、以白衣自比卿相，狂放而不失气骨；“忍把浮名，换了浅斟低唱”写其鄙弃浮名，更见其狂。此词虽为落第之词，而气骨昂扬，正是柳永词“俚俗而深情”的体现。

Prosody

Form Lyric, 'He Chong Tian' double-tune eighty-four characters词牌·鹤冲天

Rhyme Oblique rhyme, by Ci Lin Zheng Yun, parts shift rhyme《鹤冲天》为双调，上下片各九句，押仄声韵。此词用韵：望、向、荡（漾部）、相（漾部）、障、访、畅、唱（漾部），上下片同韵，音节奔放。

Tone pattern Level and oblique mixed; at the turn the sound-feeling is impassioned《鹤冲天》句式以五、四、七言相间，音节奔放。此词上片写落第之狂，音节激昂，如“争不恣狂荡”；下片写风流之乐，音节流丽，如“浅斟低唱”。全词以仄韵贯底，声调与狂放不羁的内容相合，是宋词中狂放自解的一路。

Reading note 'He Chong Tian' has a pressing tune, fit for venting grievance; Liu Yong uses it for failure complaint, sound and feeling matching.《鹤冲天·黄金榜上》为词牌《鹤冲天》，是柳永青年时期的代表作。此词写科举落第后的狂放与自解：偶失龙头、暂遗贤才写其不甘，才子词人、白衣卿相写其自许，偎红倚翠、浅斟低唱写其风流。以“忍把浮名，换了浅斟低唱”收束，鄙弃浮名、纵情风月，狂放而不失旷达。相传此词传至宋仁宗，仁宗特落其名，故柳永自称“奉旨填词”。此词虽为落第之作，而气骨昂扬，是柳永词的代表。

Line by line

黄金榜上，偶失龙头望。明代暂遗贤，如何向。未遂风云便，争不恣狂荡。

On the golden roster, I missed by chance the champion's hope. An age bright as this, and yet for the moment a talent left behind — what is to be done? Since the wind-and-cloud hour was not granted, how can I not give myself to wild abandon.

黄金榜上，偶然失去了状元之望。圣明之世暂时遗弃贤才，我将何往？未能遂了风云际会之愿，怎能不恣意狂荡？

On the golden examination roster, I chanced to lose the hope of the first rank. In this enlightened age a talent is for the moment overlooked — what is to become of me? Since the wind-and-cloud hour was not granted, how can I not give myself over to wildness.

上片写落第之狂与怀才不遇。“黄金榜上，偶失龙头望”写落第——“黄金榜”写科举金榜，“偶失龙头望”写偶然失去状元之望；“明代暂遗贤，如何向”写怀才不遇——“明代”写圣明之世，“暂遗贤”写暂时遗弃贤才，“如何向”写何往；“未遂风云便，争不恣狂荡”写狂荡之由——“未遂风云便”写未逢际遇，“争不恣狂荡”写怎能不恣意狂荡。五句由落第写到不遇，再写到狂荡：偶失龙头是落第之痛，暂遗贤是怀才之叹，恣狂荡是自解之狂。以“偶失”写其不甘，以“暂遗”写其不遇，以“争不恣狂荡”写其狂放，正是柳永落第后狂放自解的笔法。

The first stanza writes the fallen-exam wildness and the talent-unchanced. On the golden roster, I missed by chance the champion's hope writes the exam failure — the golden roster the examination list, the missed champion's hope the chance loss of the first place; an age bright as this, and yet for the moment a talent left behind — what is to be done? writes the talent-unchanced — the bright age the enlightened times, the temporary left-behind talent the moment's overlook, the what-is-to-be-done the whither; since the wind-and-cloud hour was not granted, how can I not give myself to wild abandon. writes the cause of the wildness — the not-meeting the lack of the timely chance, the how-can-I-not the self-abandon. Five lines, from the failure to the unchanced, to the wildness: the missed champion the failure's pain, the left-behind talent the unchanced sigh, the wild abandon the self-soothing wildness. The chance writes the unwillingness, the temporary the unchanced, the how-can-I-not the wildness — precisely Liu Yong's brush of the wild self-soothing after the failure.

何须论得丧，才子词人，自是白衣卿相。

Why weigh the gain and loss? A poet of genius is, by right, a minister in plain cloth.

何必论什么得失，才子词人，自然就是白衣卿相。

Why speak of gain and loss? A talented poet is, of himself, a minister in plain cloth.

此数句写自解，是全词气骨所在。“何须论得丧”写不必论得失——“何须”写不必，“论得丧”写计较得失；“才子词人，自是白衣卿相”写才子自比——“才子词人”写其以才子词人自居，“自是白衣卿相”写无官而自比卿相。三句以“何须论得丧”写其豁达，以“白衣卿相”写其自许：科举得失，何须计较；才子词人，自比卿相。以“白衣卿相”写其狂放而不失气骨，正是柳永自解的笔法——虽无官职，而才气自比卿相。这一自解，把落第之痛化为才子之傲，正是全词气骨所在。

These lines write the self-soothing, the ci's backbone. Why weigh the gain and loss? writes the not weighing of the gain and loss — the why need not, the weigh the reckoning; a poet of genius is, by right, a minister in plain cloth. writes the genius's self-figuring — the talented poet the self-as-poet, the minister in plain cloth the officialless self-comparison. Three lines, the why-weigh the equanimity, the minister in plain cloth the self-claim: the examination's gain and loss, why reckon; the poet of genius, self-comparison to the minister. The minister in plain cloth writes the wildness and yet the backbone — precisely Liu Yong's self-soothing brush: though no office, the talent self-comparable to the minister. This self-soothing turns the failure's pain into the poet's pride, precisely the ci's backbone.

烟花巷陌，依约丹青屏障。幸有意中人，堪寻访。且恁偎红倚翠，风流事、平生畅。

The quarters of song and pleasure, vague as a painted screen. Fortunately there is a heart's one, worth seeking. Just to cling to the red and the green, the love affairs of a lifetime's ease.

烟花巷陌之中，依稀如丹青屏障。幸有意中之人，可以寻访。且这样偎红倚翠，风流之事，平生畅快。

The streets of pleasure, faintly like painted screens. Fortunately there is one after my heart, worth seeking. Thus to cling to red and lean on green, the amorous affairs of a lifetime's delight.

下片起写风月之乐。“烟花巷陌，依约丹青屏障”写烟花之地——“烟花巷陌”写歌楼妓馆，“依约丹青屏障”写其如丹青屏障般美好；“幸有意中人，堪寻访”写意中之人——“幸有”写所幸有，“意中人”写心意之人，“堪寻访”写可寻访；“且恁偎红倚翠，风流事、平生畅”写风流之乐——“且恁”写姑且如此，“偎红倚翠”写依偎红翠（女子），“风流事、平生畅”写风流之事平生畅快。五句由烟花之地写到意中之人，再写到风流之乐：落第之后，转而寻访意中人，偎红倚翠，自得其乐。以“幸有意中人”写其有所寄托，以“平生畅”写其自得其乐，正是柳永落第后转向风月、以风流自解的笔法。

The second stanza opens on the pleasure-love delight. The streets of pleasure, faintly like painted screens writes the pleasure quarter — the quarters of song and pleasure the singing houses, the faint painted screens the beauty like painted screens; fortunately there is a heart's one, worth seeking writes the beloved — the fortunately the lucky having, the heart's one the person of the heart, the worth-seeking the seekable; thus to cling to red and lean on green, the amorous affairs of a lifetime's delight writes the love delight — the just-thus the thus, the cling-to-red-lean-on-green the clinging to the women, the love affairs the lifetime's ease. Five lines, from the pleasure quarter to the beloved, to the love delight: after the failure, turning to seek the heart's one, clinging to the red and green, the self-delight. The fortunately the heart's one writes the having of something to hold, the lifetime's delight the self-delight — precisely Liu Yong's brush of turning to the pleasure quarter and soothing himself in love after the failure.

青春都一饷，忍把浮名，换了浅斟低唱。

Youth is but a moment; how can I bear to trade the empty fame for slow sipping and low singing.

青春都不过一饷工夫，我怎忍把浮名，换了浅斟低唱？

Youth is all but a moment; can I bear to trade the empty fame for slow sips and low songs.

末三句写浮名之弃，是全词的归结与名句。“青春都一饷”写青春短暂——“一饷”写片刻，青春不过一饷；“忍把浮名，换了浅斟低唱”写弃浮名之决——“忍把”写怎忍把（反语，实为毅然把），“浮名”写虚名，“换了浅斟低唱”写换来浅斟低唱之乐。三句以“青春都一饷”写时光短暂，以“忍把浮名，换了浅斟低唱”写其弃浮名之决：青春短暂，何苦为浮名所累；不如以浮名换浅斟低唱之乐。以“忍把”写其决绝，以“浅斟低唱”写其风流，正是全词的归结——鄙弃浮名、纵情风月，狂放而不失旷达。这一名句遂为后世传诵，也成柳永“奉旨填词”的由来。

The last three lines write the rejection of the empty fame, the gathering of the ci and the famous line. Youth is but a moment writes the brief youth — the moment the instant, the youth but an instant; can I bear to trade the empty fame for slow sips and low songs. writes the resolve of the rejection — the can-I-bear the how-bear (the reverse, in truth the resolute), the empty fame the vain name, the traded slow sips and low songs the delight of the slow drinking. Three lines, the youth-but-a-moment the time's briefness, the can-I-bear-to-trade-the-empty-fame the resolve: the youth brief, why be burdened by the empty fame; better to trade the fame for the slow-drinking delight. The can-I-bear writes the resolve, the slow sips and low songs the love, precisely the gathering of the ci — the scorn of the vain name, the surrender to the love, wild and yet not fallen. This famous line was recited through the ages, and became the source of Liu Yong's by-imperial-order-writes-verse legend.

Study

Word focus

偶失 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “偶失龙头望”之“偶失”，写偶然失去状元之望，是全词写落第而不甘的关键词。“偶”写偶然，“失”写失去——黄金榜上，偶然失去龙头望。这一词写落第之不甘：不是才不如人，而是偶然失手；不是必然落第，而是偶失龙头。以“偶失”写落第，正是柳永以才子自许、不甘失败的笔法。

暂遗 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “明代暂遗贤”之“暂遗”，写圣明之世暂时遗弃贤才，是全词写怀才不遇的关键词。“暂”写暂时，“遗”写遗弃——明代暂遗贤。这一词写其不遇：不是终被遗弃，而是暂时遗贤；不是己之无才，而是世之暂遗。以“暂遗”写不遇，正是柳永自信其才、暂遭遗弃的笔法，暗含对科举不公的讽刺。

白衣卿相 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “自是白衣卿相”之“白衣卿相”，以无官之白衣自比卿相，是全词气骨的关键词。“白衣”写无官职者，“卿相”写朝中重臣——才子词人，自是无官而比卿相。这一词写柳永以才子自许：虽无官职，而才气自比卿相；虽落金榜，而气骨不坠。以“白衣卿相”自比，正是柳永狂放而不失气骨的笔法。

忍把 'bear to trade': 'bear' feigns resolution yet holds reluctance, writing grievance in irony, light yet hiding deep pain. “忍把浮名，换了浅斟低唱”之“忍把”，写怎忍把（反语，实为毅然把），是全词弃浮名的关键词。“忍”写忍心、怎忍，“把”写将——怎忍把浮名，换了浅斟低唱。这一词以反问写其决绝：不是舍不得浮名，而是怎忍为浮名所累；不是无奈弃名，而是毅然弃名。以“忍把”写弃名，正是柳永狂放自解、鄙弃浮名的笔法。