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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

念奴娇·登多景楼

Niannujiao · Ascending Duojing Tower

陈亮

Chen Liang

爱国词Patriotic Ci 登临怀古Ascending and Recalling the Past 南宋Southern Song

危楼还望，叹此意、今古几人曾会。
鬼设神施，浑认作、天限南疆北界。
一水横陈，连岗三面，做出争雄势。
六朝何事，只成门户私计。
因笑王谢诸人，登高怀远，也学英雄涕。
凭却长江，管不到、河洛腥膻无际。
正好长驱，不须反顾，寻取中流誓。
小儿破贼，势成宁问强对。

From this lofty tower I gaze afar, sighing—how few through the ages have grasped this intent.
By ghostly work and godly craft, yet all take it as Heaven-set southern frontier and northern bound.
One river lies athwart, hills gird three sides, forming a stance for the struggle of supremacy.
What did the Six Dynasties achieve? Only private schemes of gate and clan.
I laugh at the Wangs and Xies, who, climbing high and longing far, imitate heroes' tears.
Relying on the Yangtze, they cannot reach the boundless reek and stench of the lost heartland.
Now is the time to drive straight on, never look back, to seek again the vow sworn midstream.
The young ones have broken the foe—when the tide has turned, why ask about the mighty rival?

Listen

Meaning

Climbing the Duojing Tower, Chen Liang laments that few understand the strategic value of the terrain. He criticizes the Six Dynasties and the Southern Song court for relying on the Yangtze as a natural barrier instead of using it to launch a northern expedition. He calls for resolute action, citing historical vows and victories to inspire confidence.

我登上高楼纵目远望，感叹这番用意，古往今来有几个人曾经领会。江山如鬼斧神工般造就，却全被认作天然隔断南北的疆界。一条江水横亘眼前，三面连着山岗，显出争雄的形势。六朝究竟为了什么，只成就了私家门户的算计。于是笑那王导、谢安诸人，登高望远，也学着英雄洒泪。倚仗着长江天险，却管不到中原河洛一片腥膻无边。正好长驱北伐，不必回头反顾，去寻取中流击楫的誓言。年轻人破敌建功，形势既成又何必问强敌相对。

Appreciation

Chen Liang, styled Tongfu and known as Longchuan, was a Southern Song thinker and writer of the Yongkang school. In the fifteenth year of Chunxi, he climbed Duojing Tower on Beigu Mountain in Zhenjiang, where the Yangtze and the Grand Canal meet—a key strategic point. At a time when peace advocates dominated the court, he stood for northern recovery. The upper stanza depicts the terrain and history: the river and hills are not mere natural boundaries but a stage for contention. The lower stanza mocks the Wang and Xie families, who shed heroic tears without action, and ends by invoking Zu Ti's midstream vow and the victory at Feishui to assert that the time for advance has come. The poem fuses political argument into ci form, breaking the delicate tradition and heralding the Xin school of bold, patriotic verse.

【白话串讲】陈亮登多景楼：“危楼还望，叹此意、今古几人曾会”。“一水横陈，连岗三面，做出争雄势”——“六朝何事，只成门户私计”——他骂六朝只顾私利。“因笑王谢诸人，登高怀远，也学英雄涕”——他笑那些假惺惺的“英雄”。“凭却长江，管不到、河洛腥膻无际”——他主张北伐，收复中原。陈亮是主战派，词也写得气势如虹。【意象与手法】上片写多景楼形胜，“一水横陈、连岗三面，做出争雄势”写其为争雄要冲；“六朝何事，只成门户私计”暗讽南渡君臣苟安江左。下片“因笑王谢诸人，登高怀远，也学英雄涕”批判士族空洒英雄泪而无北伐实功；末以“中流击楫、小儿破贼”典故断言形势既成、何惧强敌。议论风发、气势磅礴，以文为词、直抒政见。【情感与主旨】陈亮登北固山多景楼时所作，借登楼所见抒发统一中原的壮怀，批判偏安苟且。其与辛弃疾相呼应，开辛派先声，在南宋爱国词中别具一格，展现改革家的胸襟与锋芒。【名句点睛】常考“六朝何事，只成门户私计”以门户私计批判偏安苟且；“因笑王谢诸人，登高怀远，也学英雄涕”以笑王谢写空谈误国。

Background

Chen Liang, styled Tongfu and known as Longchuan, was a native of Yongkang in Wuzhou, a Southern Song thinker and writer, a representative of the Yongkang school, famed for his philosophy of practical utility and his resolute advocacy for resisting the Jin and recovering the north. In the fifteenth year of Chunxi, Chen Liang, traveling to the capital for examinations, passed through Zhenjiang and climbed Duojing Tower on Beigu Mountain, overlooking the Yangtze, and wrote this ci. At that time, the Southern Song had been content with partial sovereignty for over half a century, and peace advocates dominated the court. Chen Liang repeatedly submitted memorials for recovery, including the 'Five Discourses on Revival' and direct appeals to the emperor, but he was often slandered. Duojing Tower sits on Beigu Mountain, overlooking the Yangtze, facing the Jiang-Huai battlefront—a strategic vantage that naturally stirs thoughts of recovery. This ci borrows the geographical grandeur to express his determination to unify the Central Plains, subtly mocking the court for relying on natural defenses without aggressive intent. His style, using political insight in ci, stands out among Southern Song patriotic works. Though the immediate occasion was a civil service exam, his reflections far exceeded academic success, revealing his sense of responsibility for the realm.

陈亮，字同甫，号龙川，婺州永康人，南宋思想家、文学家，永康学派代表人物，以事功之学著称，力主抗金恢复。宋孝宗淳熙十五年，陈亮赴京应试途经镇江，登北固山多景楼，纵目长江，感时而作此词。时南宋偏安江南已逾半纪，朝中主和之声甚嚣，孝宗虽有恢复之志而屡受制于廷臣。陈亮一生屡上恢复之书，曾于淳熙五年撰《中兴五论》，又数次诣阙上书，倡言北伐、批判苟安，其慷慨刚直，屡遭构陷。多景楼踞北固山，下临长江，隔江即江淮战场，为南北争雄之形胜，登此最易生恢复之思。此词即借江山形胜，发统一中原之壮怀，亦暗讥南渡君臣徒凭天险而不思进取。其以政治家之笔为词，议论风发，在南宋爱国词中别具锋芒。此行虽为赴试，而其登楼所感，早已超出场屋得失，直指恢复大计，足见其以天下为己任的襟怀与担当。登楼之举，本为壮游，而胸中恢复之念一发，便成此慷慨之词，足见其志不在山水之间。

Art

The upper stanza describes physical terrain and historical commentary; the lower stanza shifts to satire and oath-taking, all woven into argumentative verse. The opening 'lofty tower' and the lament over few who understand establish a bold judgment. The lines 'By ghostly work and godly craft' depict the landscape as a divine creation, yet it is mistaken for a natural division; 'One river lies athwart, hills gird three sides' reveals a land meant for contention—a direct rebuttal to the cowardly reliance on natural defenses. 'What did the Six Dynasties achieve?' uses history as a blade against partial-rule regimes. The laughter at the Wangs and Xies and the critique that relying on the Yangtze cannot reach the lost Central Plains sharpen the satire. The final allusions to Zu Ti's midstream vow and the 'young lads break the foe' assert that when the tide turns, why fear the mighty enemy? The poem breaks with graceful restraint, employing prose-like argument, grand in scope and sharp in tone, a precursor to the Xin school. Its energy flows like the Yangtze, and its structural completion—from ascent and viewing to oath and victory—shows the hand of a master strategist.

此词上片写形胜与史论，下片写讥讽与誓师，通篇以议论为词，气势磅礴。起句危楼还望，叹此意今古几人曾会，登高纵目而直抒恢复之志，开篇即立大判断。鬼设神施四句，写江山如天工造就，却被误认作天然南北分界；而一水横陈、连岗三面，实乃争雄之地，一反一正，翻尽时人凭险苟安之见。六朝何事，只成门户私计，以史为鉴，直斥偏安政权空有天险而谋私计。下片因笑王谢诸人，登高怀远，也学英雄涕，借东晋王导谢安讥南宋士族空洒泪而无实功；凭却长江数句，揭长江管不到河洛腥膻之尴尬。末以中流击楫、小儿破贼二典，断言形势既成何惧强敌。全词打破婉约藩篱，以文为词，将战略见解熔铸词体，格局宏大，锋芒毕露，是辛派先声。全词一气贯注，如长江大河奔流而下，是南宋以论为词一派的代表作，气象之宏，在宋词中亦不多见。起处登高望远，收处誓师破敌，中间以史论贯穿，结构之完密，非老于文阵者不能。

Allusions

This ci uses allusions densely yet with precision. 'Midstream vow' refers to Zu Ti, who, crossing the Yangtze, struck his oar and swore to clear the Central Plains or never return. 'The lads have broken the foe' uses Xie An's words during the Battle of Feishui—'the lads have already defeated the enemy'—to convey calm confidence in victory. The 'Wangs and Xies' are the aristocratic families of the Eastern Jin; Chen Liang laughs at their going through the motions of heroic tears without real action. 'Hen and Luo reek' uses the Central Plains region to denote lands lost to non-Han rule, highlighting their desolation. Allusions serve the theme of recovery, giving the poem historical depth and martial ardor, demonstrating Chen Liang's mastery of integrating scholarship with lyric.

此词用典密集而精当。中流誓用祖逖事：《晋书》载祖逖渡江，中流击楫而誓曰，不能清中原而复济者，有如大江，词中寻取中流誓即此，喻北上恢复之决心。小儿破贼用谢安事：淝水之战，谢安得捷报，徐曰小儿辈遂已破贼，词中小儿破贼以此状战胜之从容自信。王谢诸人指东晋王导谢安，东晋偏安江左，虽有北伐之议而少成功，陈亮笑其登高怀远亦学英雄涕，是以古讽今。河洛腥膻以河洛代中原，腥膻代异族，极写沦陷区之惨。鬼设神施本形容天工，暗合江山形胜之奇。诸典皆紧扣恢复主题，或立志、或讥怯、或状胜，使一首登临之作兼具史论之厚重与誓师之豪情，足见陈亮以学术为词、以天下为念的格局。诸典相生，非徒炫耀学问，而是为恢复主题服务，可见其以学术润词章、以词章载政见的过人本领。用祖逖谢安故事，非徒征典，乃以古人壮语助自己声威，是善用故实者。

Commentary

This ci stands out in Southern Song ci for its boldness. Critics often praise its heroic spirit. Its value lies not in lyrical grace but in using the ci form to expound political views, pioneering the Xin Qiji school. Liu Xizai in his 'Overview of Ci' noted that Chen Liang, a close friend of Xin Qiji, also produced many bold verses. Indeed, Chen and Xin exchanged ideas at the Goose Lake meeting, and their styles influenced each other. What especially stands out here is the integration of geography and political judgment: 'One river lies athwart, hills gird three sides, forming a stance for the struggle of supremacy' is a strategic insight, not mere scene-painting. 'What did the Six Dynasties achieve? Only private schemes of gate and clan' is a sharp critique of the appeasement policy since the southward flight. Qing critics may call his style unrefined, but it is precisely this unapologetic directness that gives him a statesman's breadth rarely seen in patriotic ci. Reading it today, one can still see the impassioned scholar pointing at the river and hills, his integrity a model for later generations.

陈亮此词在南宋词坛别具一格，历来评家多许其豪宕。其价值不在婉丽，而在以词体发政论，开辛弃疾一派先声。刘熙载《艺概》论词，谓陈同甫与稼轩为友，其词亦多壮语，正指此类。陈亮与辛弃疾交厚，二人鹅湖之会纵论恢复，词风亦相激荡；辛词多以豪放出之，陈词则更带纵横家议论锋芒。此词尤可注意者，是将地理形势与政治判断结合：一水横陈、连岗三面，做出争雄势，实乃对长江防务的战略洞察，非徒写景。六朝何事只成门户私计，更是对南渡以来和议政策的尖锐批评。清人谓其词粗豪少蕴藉，然正是这份不事含蓄的痛快，成就了南宋爱国词中少有的政治家气度。今读其词，仍可想见那个拍案而起、指画江山的书生壮怀，其风骨足为后世法。后世论南宋爱国词，每以辛稼轩为宗，而陈同甫此词实为之先声，其导夫先路之功，不可不察。读其词如见其人，龙川之刚直豪迈，尽在此长短句中，诚南宋一大家也。

Prosody

Form Niannujiao, a double-stanza tune of 100 characters, oblique-tone rhyme scheme, following the heroic style pioneered by Su Shi's 'Red Cliff' version.念奴娇，双调一百字，仄韵体，依苏轼赤壁怀古一脉之仄韵格，属豪放词牌

Rhyme The entire ci rhymes with oblique tones: hui, jie, shi, ji, ti, ji, shi, dui—falling into the oblique-tone category. A single rhyme throughout, with an intense and mournful sound that matches the heroic emotion.全词押仄声韵，会、界、势、计、涕、际、誓、对，大致属意见祭等仄韵，一韵到底，声情激越，与悲慨豪迈之情相协。

Tone pattern Niannujiao has a fixed tonal pattern. Chen Liang uses many inflected lines for a vigorous effect, as in 'Wei lou huan wang, tan ci yi, jin gu ji ren ceng hui' (危楼还望，叹此意、今古几人曾会), with broken phrasing and forceful pauses.念奴娇为固定词调，平仄依谱，此词多拗句以助苍劲，如危楼还望、叹此意今古几人曾会，句读错落，诵读顿挫有力。

Reading note Niannujiao, a new long tune in the Northern Song, suits heroic sentiment. Su Shi's 'Da jiang dong qu' opened the style; Chen Liang inherits its spirit and adds argumentative breadth. The oblique-tone rhyme, with final consonants that are short and forceful, perfectly matches the tone of a man pointing at the river and scolding in high places—utterly unlike the softness of graceful ci. The frequent use of leading characters and three-character caps (e.g., 'tan ci yi,' 'ping que,' 'zheng hao,' 'xun qu') makes the rhythm flow like prose. This prose-like, argumentative approach is a hallmark of the Xin school. Chen Liang fuses geography, history, and oath in this tune, achieving unity of form and content—bold but not coarse, vigorous but structured, a high style among Southern Song patriotic ci.念奴娇为北宋新兴长调，宜抒豪情，苏轼大江东去开其端，陈亮此词承其气而益以纵横议论。其声韵以仄声一韵到底，会、界、势、计、涕、际、誓、对皆仄收，发音促而有力，恰配登高指画、慷慨指斥的语调，绝无婉约词的绵软。句式上，词中多用一字领、三字领（如叹此意、凭却、正好、寻取），使文气流转如论辩，打破长短句单纯的抒情节奏，而具散文之势。这种以文为词、以议论入律的做法，正是辛派词的重要特征。陈亮于此牌中熔地理、史论、誓师于一炉，形式与内容高度统一，故能豪而不粗、壮而有骨，在南宋爱国词中自成高格。

Line by line

一水横陈，连岗三面，做出争雄势。

One river lies athwart, hills gird three sides, forming a stance for the struggle of supremacy. This is the poetic and strategic core of the ci: the river as a front line, the hills as flanking formations, and the terrain itself seems deliberately shaped for contention. The word 'zuo chu' (making) implies that the land actively invites a heroic advance. It contrasts sharply with the earlier line about being misread as a natural boundary, revealing Chen Liang's view that the terrain favors a northern expedition.

一条江水横亘眼前，三面连着山岗，显出争雄的形势。

One river lies across, the linked hills ring it on three sides, making the posture of contending for hegemony.

此三句为全词眼目，亦是最具战略眼光之笔。一水横陈写长江横亘，连岗三面写山峦环卫，寥寥数字便勾勒出多景楼所处之军事地理：大江为前障，群山为侧翼，形胜天成。做出争雄势的做出二字尤妙，仿佛江山主动呈露其可争雄之姿，暗含人当乘势进取之意。这与上句浑认作天限南疆北界形成尖锐对照——时人视天险为隔断南北的界限，陈亮却看作战可以取胜的依托。一正一反之间，恢复之志与苟安之见高下立判。此非寻常写景，而是以地理论证政治，足见其永康之学经世致用的本色。

These three lines are the ci's eye, and the most strategically far-sighted stroke. One river lies across writes the Long River's barring, the linked hills ring it on three sides writes the mountains' enclosing, the few characters outlining the Duojing tower's military geography: the great river the front barrier, the linked mountains the flanks, the natural stronghold. The making-the-posture's two words making the wonder, as if the land and water actively revealing its contending posture, secretly carrying the man's shouldering-the-moment enterprising meaning. This forms the sharp contrast with the above's mistaking-the-heavenly-barrier-for-the-north-south-boundary — the age's men seeing the natural barrier as the north-south divide, and Chen Liang seeing it as the support for the war's victory. Between the positive and the reverse, the recovery will and the contentment-with-the-status-quo view's high and low at once judged. This not the ordinary scenic writing, but using geography to argue politics, showing his Yongkang school's statecraft bent.

六朝何事，只成门户私计。

What did the Six Dynasties achieve? Only private schemes of gate and clan. This line turns history into a weapon against partial-rule regimes. The Six Dynasties (Wu, Eastern Jin, Song, Qi, Liang, Chen) all relied on the Yangtze yet failed to recover the north. Chen Liang asks: with such advantages, what was accomplished? Only the selfish interests of aristocratic families. This critique implicitly targets the Southern Song court, which preferred peace for personal gain. The phrase 'only' is filled with scorn and regret, showing how the natural barrier was wasted.

六朝究竟为了什么，只成就了私家门户的算计。

What was the Six Dynasties about? They achieved only the private scheming of their own clans.

此二句以史为刃，直刺偏安政权之病根。六朝指建都江南的孙吴、东晋及宋齐梁陈，皆凭长江之险而偏安，终未能恢复中原。陈亮诘问：六朝拥此形胜，所成就者何？不过世家大族门户之私计而已。此语表面评古，实指南宋——南渡君臣依仗长江，不思北伐，唯谋一己权位与苟安之局。只成二字饱含轻蔑与惋惜，道尽偏安政权辜负天险的悲剧。以古喻今，举重若轻，将一篇登临之作拔高为政治檄文，是陈亮以论为词的典型笔法，亦是全词最犀利处。

These two lines take history as the blade, directly striking the ensconced regime's root disease. The Six Dynasties means the Wu, Eastern Jin, and the Song-Qi-Liang-Chen of the Jiangnan capitals, all relying on the Long River's barrier and ensconced, never recovering the central plain. Chen Liang asks: the Six Dynasties holding this stronghold, what did they achieve? Nothing but the great clans' private scheming. This language on the surface judging the ancient, in truth pointing at the Southern Song — the south-fleeing rulers and ministers relying on the Long River, not thinking of the northern expedition, only scheming their own rank and the settled half-country. The two words only achieved, full of contempt and regret, exhausting the ensconced regime's tragedy of betraying the natural barrier. Using the ancient to figure the present, the weight lifted with ease, raising a climb piece to a political manifesto, precisely Chen Liang's argument-as-ci typical brush, and the ci's sharpest place.

凭却长江，管不到、河洛腥膻无际。

Relying on the Yangtze, they cannot reach the boundless reek and stench of the lost heartland. This line sharpens the satire: the Yangtze defense may block a southern invasion, but it cannot restore the polluted Central Plains. The contrast between 'relying on' and 'cannot reach' exposes the paradox of a defensive policy that abandons the north. The word 'xing shan' (reek and stench) is charged with ethnic resentment, intensifying the pain and prompting the call for action.

倚仗着长江天险，却管不到中原河洛一片腥膻无边。

Relying on the Long River, they could not govern the boundless stench of the Heluo lands.

此句将讽刺推向极致，亦见陈亮论事之冷峻。凭却长江，写南宋倚仗天险而自安；管不到三字骤转，揭出长江防线的虚妄——它挡得住北兵南下，却守不住已失的中原，河洛一带仍陷于腥膻（异族统治）之中，无边无际。一凭一管不到，自信与无力并现，极写偏安政策的悖谬：守江者自以为固，而江山半壁早已沦丧。腥膻一词带强烈民族情绪，是南宋爱国词常见语汇，于此更显痛切。此句承上启下，由批判自然引向末幅的长驱恢复之论。

This line pushing the satire to the extreme, and showing Chen Liang's argument's cold clarity. Relying on the Long River writes the Southern Song's relying on the barrier and settling; the three words could not govern suddenly turning, revealing the Long River line's illusion — it can stop the north's southward march, and cannot keep the already-lost central plain, the Heluo region still sunk in the stench (the alien rule), boundless. The relying and the could-not-govern, the confidence and the powerlessness at once shown, extreme writing the ensconced policy's absurdity: the river-guarder thinking himself secure, and the half of the rivers and mountains already fallen. The word stench carrying the strong national emotion, the Southern Song patriotic ci's common vocabulary, here the grief the keener. This line inherits above and opens below, from the criticism naturally leading to the close's long-march recovery argument.

寻取中流誓。

To seek again the vow sworn midstream. This short line anchors the poem's spirit, evoking Zu Ti's oath to recover the north. 'Seek' implies an active pursuit, resonating with the earlier lament that few have understood this intent. It turns the satire of the preceding lines into a resolute call to action, setting the stage for the confident 'young ones have broken the foe.'

去寻取中流击楫的誓言。

Go and seek out the midstream oath.

此句虽短，却是全词精神之锚。中流誓用祖逖渡江击楫而誓的典故，祖逖以大江为证，立不清中原不复济之志，千年后陈亮登楼，正欲追寻此等气概。寻取二字有主动追寻、身体力行之意味，与上片叹此意今古几人曾会呼应：古来真解此意者少，然正因少，更当有人起而寻之。此句一扫前文讥讽之沉郁，转为昂扬的行动召唤，为末句小儿破贼的必胜信念蓄势。一词之中，史鉴、地略、壮志熔于一炉，足见陈亮以恢复为己任的政治家情怀。

This line though short, is the ci's spiritual anchor. The midstream oath uses Zu Ti's river-crossing and oar-striking allusion: Zu Ti taking the great river as witness, swearing not to recross until the central plain is recovered, and a thousand years later Chen Liang climbing the tower, precisely wishing to seek out such spirit. The two words go and seek carrying the active seeking and the practicing meaning, echoing the first stanza's sigh that few through the ages have understood this: the ancients who truly understood this are few, and precisely because few, the more someone should rise and seek it. This line sweeping away the above satire's somberness, turning to the spirited action call, storing the force for the close's the young men routed the bandits' certainty of victory. Within one ci, the historical lesson, the geography, the lofty will fused, showing Chen Liang's politician's heart of taking the recovery as his own duty.

Study

Word focus

做出 'Zuo chu' (making): This verb is the most spirited choice. Where others might use static terms like 'form' or 'present,' Chen Liang chooses 'make,' suggesting the terrain actively creates a competitive stance. It contrasts with the earlier 'wholly taken as' (hun ren zuo)—while others passively see a boundary, heroes actively see an arena. This word choice reveals Chen Liang's practical philosophy, turning scenery into argument. 做出争雄势的做出二字，是全词炼字最见精神处。通常写形胜，人多用工于、成、具等静态字，陈亮偏用做出这一带主动意味的动词，仿佛江山有意呈露其可争雄之态势，静景顿生活力。更妙在做出与上文浑认作天限南疆北界相对：世人被动地认天险为界，英雄却主动地从中看出争雄之势。一字之择，立场与胆识毕现。此字亦见宋人以文为词、好发议论的特质——写景亦在说理，状物亦在判势，是陈亮永康事功之学在词中的投影。

笑 'Xiao' (laugh): The word 'laugh' introduces the satire of the lower stanza. It is not a light laugh but one of contempt and pity: the Wang and Xie families of the Eastern Jin did climb high and long for far places, yet only imitated heroes' tears without real campaigns. The laugh sweeps away the historical regret of the upper stanza and targets present-day weakness, showing Chen Liang's preference for direct political statement over soft sentiment. 因笑王谢诸人、也学英雄涕，一个笑字挈起下片讥讽之意。此笑非轻松之笑，而是带着轻蔑与悲悯的冷笑：东晋王导谢安辈，登高能怀远，却只学英雄洒泪，终无北伐实功；南宋士族亦复如是。笑字以极简之态，收束了上片六朝门户私计的史论，并开启对当朝的影射，举重若轻。陈亮以笑破涕，以痛快破感伤，正见其不尚婉约、直抒政见的词风。一个笑字，把登临怀古的怅惘，扭转为指点江山的浩然之气。

腥膻 'Xing shan' (reek and stench): This term commonly denotes the non-Han rulers of the north, carrying strong disgust and grief. Here it vividly portrays the suffering of the lost Central Plains. Unlike vague terms like 'war dust,' this sensory word makes the loss tangible, intensifying the emotional impact and contrasting with the false security of relying on the river. 河洛腥膻无际，腥膻本指腥臭与膻气，宋人诗词中常以之代指北方游牧民族统治，含强烈厌弃与痛惜。此处写中原沦陷区在异族治理下的惨状，无边无际，触目惊心。此词若换用胡尘、烽烟等泛称，则情绪稍淡；唯腥膻直击感官，将政治沦丧化为可嗅之痛，极具南宋爱国词的民族书写特征。它既是地理实写（河洛已非我有），更是情感爆发点，与凭却长江的虚妄自足形成刺痛对照，使全词由议论转入血性，提振恢复之志。

宁问 'Ning wen' (why ask): An emphatic rhetorical phrase meaning 'how could one ask?' It asserts absolute confidence. After invoking Xie An's calm victory, 'the tide has turned' (shi cheng) refers to the formation of a favorable situation. This phrase sweeps aside all worries about the powerful enemy, echoing the earlier 'seek the midstream vow' and revealing Chen Liang's strategic certainty as a reformer, not mere bravado. 势成宁问强对，宁问犹言岂问、何必问，是反问中见必胜之信。小儿破贼用谢安语，写战胜之从容；势成则指北伐大势一旦形成。宁问二字把对强敌的顾虑一笔扫空，语气斩钉截铁，与前面寻取中流誓的主动进取一脉相承。此词若止于誓师尚嫌不足，得此宁问收束，方见陈亮作为改革家的果决——他不是空发豪情，而是基于形势判断得出的战略自信。一个反问，把全词的豪宕推向顶点，余味却是冷静的必胜。