宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
满庭芳·三十三年
Man Ting Fang: Thirty-Three Years
三十三年，今谁存者，算只君与长江。
凛然苍桧，霜干苦难双。
闻道司州古县，云溪上、竹坞松窗。
江南岸，不因送子，宁肯过吾邦。
𪭢𪭢。
疏雨过，风林舞破，烟盖云幢。
愿持此邀君，一饮空缸。
居士先生老矣，真梦里、相对残釭。
歌舞断，行人未起，船鼓已逄逄。
Stately the dark cypress: its frost-bitten trunk is hard to pair.
I hear of the old county of Sizhou, above the cloud-wreathed stream a bamboo grove and pine windows.
On the southern shore: were it not to see you off, would I ever cross over to this land of ours?
Thrum, thrum.
The sparse rain has passed; the wind dances through the grove and tears it apart; smoke like canopies, clouds like banners.
With this cup I invite you, let us drain the vat at one drinking.
The layman-scholar has grown old, truly, in a dream, we face each other by the guttering lamp.
The song and dance have ended; the traveler has not yet risen; the boat drum already booms, thrum-thrum.
Meaning
A farewell lyric of unusual dignity. Su Shi opens with the arithmetic of survival: of everyone he knew thirty-three years ago, only his friend and the Yangtze River remain. He praises the friend's character through the image of a frost-bitten cypress, unmatched and unyielding, and pictures his retreat by cloudy streams and pine windows. The poem moves through shared wine to the ache of old age, the layman-scholar has grown old, and ends at the moment of parting: the feast is over, the traveler still seated, and the boat's drum already thundering. Time, friendship and the cruelty of farewells are distilled into a single scene.
三十三年，今谁存者，算只君与长江。凛然苍桧，霜干苦难双。闻道司州古县，云溪上、竹坞松窗。江南岸，不因送子，宁肯过吾邦。𪭢𪭢。疏雨过，风林舞破，烟盖云幢。愿持此邀君，一饮空缸。居士先生老矣，真梦里、相对残釭。歌舞断，行人未起，船鼓已逄逄。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] Thirty-three years, who still lives? Counting, I find only you and the Yangtze. Majestic the dark cypress, its frost-scarred trunk impossible to match. I hear that in Sizhou's old county, above a stream wreathed in cloud, you dwell among bamboo groves and pine windows. On the southern shore, were it not to see you off, would I ever cross to this land of ours? Thrum-thrum: the light rain has passed, the wind whips the woods apart, smoke stands like canopies, clouds like banners. With this bowl I invite you, let us drain the vat at one bout. The retired scholar is old now; truly it seems a dream that we sit facing each other by the dying lamp. The music has stopped, the traveler has not risen, and the boat-drum is already booming. [Structure and Feeling] The poem's grandeur is quiet. It begins with the largest possible time-scale, thirty-three years and the river itself, then narrows deliberately to a single cypress, a dwelling, a cup, a lamp and finally a drum, each narrowing concentrating feeling. The closing triad, the song and dance has ended, the traveler has not yet risen, the boat drum already booms, is pure scene, without comment, yet the cruelty of departure is complete: the feast dies, the friend lingers, the boat waits.
【白话串讲】 苏轼写《满庭芳·三十三年》：“三十三年，今谁存者，算只君与长江”——“凛然苍桧，霜干苦难双”——“闻道司州古县，云溪上、竹坞松窗”——“愿持此邀君，一饮”——他送别友人——三十三年，算只君与长江。 【意象与手法】 “三十三年，今谁存者，算只君与长江”以三十三年与长江对照写友情；“凛然苍桧，霜干苦难双”以苍桧写友人品格；“闻道司州古县，云溪上、竹坞松窗”写友人居所；结以“歌舞断，行人未起，船鼓已逄逄”以船鼓写别离。旷达深挚。 【情感与主旨】 苏轼送别友人之作，写三十三年友情与对友人的称许，于旷达中见深情，体现苏轼词豪放与真挚兼备的风格。 【名句点睛】 常考“三十三年，今谁存者，算只君与长江”以君与长江写友情长久；“凛然苍桧，霜干苦难双”以苍桧写友人品格。
Background
Su Shi (1037-1101), courtesy name Zizhan, studio name Dongpo Jushi (Layman of the Eastern Slope), was a native of Meizhou (modern Meishan, Sichuan), the supreme poet, essayist and calligrapher of the Northern Song and one of the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song prose. This Man Ting Fang is a farewell lyric of his later years, addressed to a friend he had known for thirty-three years, a bond reaching back to the beginning of his official career. Its tone, elegiac, warm and unhurried, belongs to Su Shi's maturity, after the Crow Terrace Poetry Case and the Huangzhou exile had burned away youthful ardor without diminishing his capacity for affection. The old county of Sizhou and the cloud-wreathed stream locate the friend's retreat, and the closing boat-drum marks the moment of parting on the river. The poem's stately cadence shows Su Shi expanding a tune usually given to delicate love-lyrics into a register of mature elegy.
《满庭芳·三十三年》为北宋词人苏轼所作词。苏轼（1037—1101），字子瞻，号东坡居士，眉州眉山（今四川眉山）人，北宋文学家，「唐宋八大家」之一。此词写感怀友情，为送别之作。词中「三十三年，今谁存者，算只君与长江」写三十三年，今谁存者，算只君与长江；「凛然苍桧，霜干苦难双」写凛然苍桧，霜干苦难双；「闻道司州古县，云溪上、竹坞松窗」写闻道司州古县，云溪上、竹坞松窗；「居士先生老矣，真梦里、相对残釭」写居士先生老矣，真梦里、相对残釭；「歌舞断，行人未起，船鼓已逄逄」写歌舞断，行人未起，船鼓已逄逄。苏轼此词以感怀友情、船鼓已逄逄写其友情之情，旷达深挚，是苏轼词中的名篇。此篇《满庭芳·三十三年》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 poem's art is one of scale-reduction. It opens with the maximum scale, thirty-three years and the long river, then shrinks deliberately: one cypress, one stream, one dwelling, one cup, one lamp, one drum. Each narrowing concentrates feeling. The cypress image, its frost-bitten trunk is hard to pair, does double duty, praising the friend's frost-tested integrity and stating the uniqueness of the bond. The thrum-thrum interlude works as a hinge, its onomatopoeia carrying the turn from scenery to wine to farewell. The close is a masterstroke of indirection: three short clauses, feast over, traveler still seated, boat-drum already sounding, let the reader feel the parting's pressure without a single adjective of grief. Throughout, the prosody's broad level-tone -ang rhyme sustains a wide, unhurried cadence, the verbal equivalent of an old friendship that does not need to hurry.
此词艺术上以「旷达深挚、以景写情」见长。全词共九句，由三十三年而凛然苍桧而闻道司州古县。起「三十三年，今谁存者，算只君与长江」写三十三年：三十三年，今谁存者，算只君与长江；「凛然苍桧，霜干苦难双」写凛然苍桧：凛然苍桧，霜干苦难双；「闻道司州古县，云溪上、竹坞松窗」写闻道司州古县：闻道司州古县，云溪上、竹坞松窗；「江南岸，不因送子，宁肯过吾邦」写江南岸：江南岸，不因送子，宁肯过吾邦；结「歌舞断，行人未起，船鼓已逄逄」写歌舞断：歌舞断，行人未起，船鼓已逄逄。全词以景写情，由三十三年而船鼓已逄逄，旷达深挚，是苏轼词中的名篇。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 lyric works through image rather than explicit quotation. The dark cypress with its frost-bitten trunk draws on the classical praise of cypress and pine as emblems of endurance in cold, the gentlemen of the tree world in Confucian symbolism. The old county of Sizhou locates the friend's retreat, an ancient prefecture whose name evokes the depth of history beneath a private dwelling. The cloud-wreathed stream, bamboo grove and pine windows echo the ideal of the recluse's mountain hermitage. To drain the vat at one drinking belongs to the banquet tradition of emptying a cask in a single bout, the generosity of farewell. The guttering lamp is the classic token of late-night talk between old friends, when the wick burns low and the conversation still runs. The closing boat-drum is the drum that beats the hours for departure on river boats, the bureaucracy of travel turned into the rhythm of sorrow.
词中「三十三年今谁存者算只君与长江」「凛然苍桧霜干苦难双」「闻道司州古县云溪上竹坞松窗」「江南岸不因送子宁肯过吾邦」「疏雨过风林舞破烟盖云幢」「愿持此邀君一饮空缸」「居士先生老矣真梦里相对残釭」「歌舞断行人未起船鼓已逄逄」等语，皆含典故故实。「三十三年今谁存者算只君与长江」写三十三年今谁存者算只君与长江；「凛然苍桧霜干苦难双」写凛然苍桧霜干苦难双；「闻道司州古县云溪上竹坞松窗」写闻道司州古县云溪上竹坞松窗；「江南岸不因送子宁肯过吾邦」写江南岸不因送子宁肯过吾邦；「疏雨过风林舞破烟盖云幢」写疏雨过风林舞破烟盖云幢；「愿持此邀君一饮空缸」写愿持此邀君一饮空缸；「居士先生老矣真梦里相对残釭」写居士先生老矣真梦里相对残釭；「歌舞断行人未起船鼓已逄逄」写歌舞断行人未起船鼓已逄逄。词人以苍桧、云幢等语入词，不着痕迹，而把感怀友情之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。
Commentary
Su Shi's Man Ting Fang is among the most quoted farewell lyrics of the Northern Song, chiefly for its opening gambit: thirty-three years, of those who remain I count only you and the long river. Later critics admired how the poem grounds feeling in arithmetic, the river, the oldest companion, set beside the friend as the two survivors of time, so friendship is quietly measured against eternity. The closing scene has been praised as an example of description without comment: the feast ends, the guest does not rise, the drum sounds, and the reader understands everything. In the history of the Man Ting Fang tune, the piece stands as Su Shi's expansion of its capacity for elegiac grandeur, complementing the more delicate achievements of Zhou Bangyan and Qin Guan in the same form.
这首《满庭芳·三十三年》，是苏轼写感怀友情之作，写三十三年、凛然苍桧、闻道司州古县、江南岸、居士先生老矣之情，旷达深挚。起「三十三年，今谁存者，算只君与长江」——三十三年，今谁存者，算只君与长江。写三十三年：三十三年、今谁存者、算只君与长江——三十三年、谁存者、君与长江；「凛然苍桧，霜干苦难双」——凛然苍桧，霜干苦难双。写凛然苍桧：凛然苍桧、霜干苦难双——苍桧、苦难双；「闻道司州古县，云溪上、竹坞松窗」——闻道司州古县，云溪上、竹坞松窗。写闻道司州古县：闻道司州古县、云溪上竹坞松窗——司州古县、竹坞松窗；「江南岸，不因送子，宁肯过吾邦」——江南岸，不因送子，宁肯过吾邦。写江南岸：江南岸、不因送子、宁肯过吾邦——送子、过吾邦；结「歌舞断，行人未起，船鼓已逄逄」——歌舞断，行人未起，船鼓已逄逄。写歌舞断：歌舞断、行人未起、船鼓已逄逄——歌舞断、行人未起、船鼓逄逄。这「歌舞断，行人未起，船鼓已逄逄」，是全词之结：以船鼓已逄逄写其友情。全词旷达深挚，以景写情，正是苏轼词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
三十三年，今谁存者，算只君与长江。
Thirty-three years, of those who remain I count only you and the long river.
三十三年，今谁存者，算只君与长江。
Thirty-three years; who survives now? I reckon only you and the Long River.
起句写三十三年，起笔即见其年。「三十三年」写三十三年，「三十三」写三十三、「年」写年；「今谁存者，算只君与长江」写今谁存者，算只君与长江，「今谁存者」写今谁存者、「算只君与长江」写算只君与长江。两句一写三十三年、一写今谁存者算只君与长江，以三十三年写三十三年、以今谁存者算只君与长江写谁存者，写尽三十三年、今谁存者，算只君与长江之情。以年起兴，旷达而深挚，是「以年起兴」的妙笔。
The opening writes the thirty-three years, the year present at the first stroke. Thirty-three years writes the years; who survives now? I reckon only you and the Long River writes the who-survives and the reckoning. Two lines, one the years, one the surviving, writing the time and the reckon, exhausting the years and the two survivors. Rising on the year, detached and deep, precisely the wondrous brush of rising on the year.
凛然苍桧，霜干苦难双。
Stately the dark cypress: its frost-bitten trunk is hard to pair.
凛然苍桧，霜干苦难双。
The austere dark cypress, its frost-bitten trunk hard to match.
此二句写凛然苍桧，是全词写苍桧之态的关键。「凛然苍桧」写凛然苍桧，「凛然」写凛然、「苍桧」写苍桧；「霜干苦难双」写霜干苦难双，「霜干」写霜干、「苦难双」写苦难双。两句一写凛然苍桧、一写霜干苦难双，以凛然苍桧写苍桧、以霜干苦难双写苦难双，写尽凛然苍桧、霜干苦难双之情。以桧写情，旷达而深挚，是「以桧写情」的点睛之笔。
These two lines write the austere dark cypress, the key of the ci's cypress mood. The austere dark cypress writes the cypress; its frost-bitten trunk hard to match writes the trunk's hardness. Two lines, one the cypress, one the trunk, writing the tree and the frost, exhausting the cypress. Writing feeling through the cypress, detached and deep, precisely the telling stroke of writing feeling through the cypress.
闻道司州古县，云溪上、竹坞松窗。
I hear of the old county of Sizhou, above the cloud-wreathed stream a bamboo grove and pine windows.
闻道司州古县，云溪上、竹坞松窗。
I hear that in the old Sizhou county, by the cloud stream, the bamboo gully and pine window.
此二句写闻道司州古县，是全词写司州之态的关键。「闻道司州古县」写闻道司州古县，「闻道」写闻道、「司州古县」写司州古县；「云溪上、竹坞松窗」写云溪上、竹坞松窗，「云溪上」写云溪上、「竹坞松窗」写竹坞松窗。两句一写闻道司州古县、一写云溪上竹坞松窗，以闻道司州古县写司州古县、以云溪上竹坞松窗写竹坞松窗，写尽闻道司州古县、云溪上竹坞松窗之情。以县写情，旷达而深挚，是「以县写情」的点睛之笔。
These two lines write the old Sizhou county, the key of the ci's county mood. I hear that in the old Sizhou county writes the heard place; by the cloud stream, the bamboo gully and pine window writes the dwelling. Two lines, one the county, one the stream and window, writing the place and the dwelling, exhausting the news. Writing feeling through the county, detached and deep, precisely the telling stroke of writing feeling through the county.
居士先生老矣，真梦里、相对残釭。
The layman-scholar has grown old, truly, in a dream, we face each other by the guttering lamp.
居士先生老矣，真梦里、相对残釭。
The Master Jushi is old now; truly, as in a dream, we face the dying lamp.
此二句写居士先生老矣，是全词写老矣之态的关键。「居士先生老矣」写居士先生老矣，「居士先生」写居士先生、「老矣」写老矣；「真梦里、相对残釭」写真梦里、相对残釭，「真梦里」写真梦里、「相对残釭」写相对残釭。两句一写居士先生老矣、一写真梦里相对残釭，以居士先生老矣写老矣、以真梦里相对残釭写相对残釭，写尽居士先生老矣、真梦里相对残釭之情。以梦写情，旷达而深挚，是「以梦写情」的点睛之笔。
These two lines write the Master Jushi old now, the key of the ci's old age. The Master Jushi is old now writes the old; truly, as in a dream, we face the dying lamp writes the dream and the lamp. Two lines, one the old age, one the dream lamp, writing the aging and the facing, exhausting the old. Writing feeling through the dream, detached and deep, precisely the telling stroke of writing feeling through the dream.
歌舞断，行人未起，船鼓已逄逄。
The song and dance have ended; the traveler has not yet risen; the boat drum already booms.
歌舞断，行人未起，船鼓已逄逄。
The song and dance are done; the traveler has not risen, and the boat drums already beat.
结句写歌舞断，是全词立意的落点。「歌舞断」写歌舞断，「歌舞」写歌舞、「断」写断；「行人未起，船鼓已逄逄」写行人未起，船鼓已逄逄，「行人未起」写行人未起、「船鼓已逄逄」写船鼓已逄逄。两句一写歌舞断、一写行人未起船鼓已逄逄，以歌舞断写歌舞断、以行人未起船鼓已逄逄写船鼓逄逄，写尽歌舞断、行人未起，船鼓已逄逄之情。以鼓写情，旷达而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以鼓写情」的点睛之笔。
The close writes the song and dance done, the landing of the ci's theme. The song and dance are done writes the break; the traveler has not risen, and the boat drums already beat writes the traveler and the drums. Two lines, one the broken song, one the drums, writing the ending and the departure, exhausting the moment. Writing feeling through the drum, detached and deep, the ci's most moving place, and the telling stroke of writing feeling through the drum.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Shui diao ge tou consoles separation with the philosophical blessing of the shared moon, transforming grief into cosmic serenity. The Man Ting Fang admits no consolation: its arithmetic of survivors, friend and river, and its boat-drum end in plain, unsoftened parting. One is Su Shi's transcendence, the other his endurance; read together they show the two faces of his farewell genius.
苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「但愿人长久，千里共婵娟」，写感怀友情、旷达超然，是宋词长调的名篇；苏轼《满庭芳·三十三年》则以「三十三年，今谁存者，算只君与长江」「居士先生老矣，真梦里、相对残釭」写三十三年谁存者、相对残釭。两词同写感怀友情、旷达超然：一写但愿人长久、以千里共婵娟写思亲，一写三十三年今谁存者算只君与长江、以苍桧写友情；一为长调之清雄、一为满庭芳之深挚，并读正可见词写「感怀友情」的两种笔法，皆于感怀之中见旷达。
八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Ba sheng gan zhou: Facing the Dusk Rain Spilling over River and Sky 柳永 · 同写羁旅感怀、深挚凝望，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写闻道司州古县云溪上竹坞松窗，皆于羁旅之中见感怀 Both write of the traveler's lot, one facing the dusk rain that pours over river and sky, the other standing on the southern shore to see a friend off.Liu Yong's 'facing the dusk rain that pours over river and sky, a washing of clear autumn' views the journey from the departing man's own eyes, the traveler's melancholy spread diffuse and lyrical across landscape. Su Shi stands on the shore as the one left behind, his farewell bounded by the Yangtze and a cypress; Liu Yong drifts, Su Shi remains. Both are Song farewell masterpieces, one of motion and one of vigil.
柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「对潇潇暮雨洒江天，一番洗清秋」，写羁旅感怀、深挚凝望，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；苏轼《满庭芳·三十三年》则以「闻道司州古县，云溪上、竹坞松窗」「歌舞断，行人未起，船鼓已逄逄」写司州古县、船鼓逄逄。两词同写羁旅感怀、深挚凝望：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写闻道司州古县云溪上竹坞松窗、以送别写友情；一为柳永之清丽、一为苏轼之旷达，并读正可见词写「羁旅感怀」的两种笔法，皆于羁旅之中见感怀。