宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
青玉案·三年枕上吴中路
Green Jade Table: Three Years Dreaming on the Pillow of the Road to Wu
三年枕上吴中路。
遣黄耳、随君去。
若到松江呼小渡。
莫惊鸥鹭，四桥尽是，老子经行处。
辋川图上看春暮。
常记高人右丞句。
作个归期天已许。
春衫犹是，小蛮针线，曾湿西湖雨。
Let the yellow-eared dog carry my message and follow you.
If you reach the Song River, call the little ferry,
And do not startle the gulls and herons: the four bridges are all places I have walked in my old age.
Looking at the Wangchuan painting, I see the spring evening —
I always remember the lines of the great hermit of the Right Assistant Directorship.
Make a date for my return — Heaven has already granted it.
The spring shirt is still the one sewn by Xiaoman's needle,
Once wetted by the rain of the West Lake.
Meaning
A lyric of parting and return, written by Su Shi when seeing off a friend who was going to his old home in Wuzhong (the Lake Tai region). The poet has dreamed for three years on the pillow of the road to Wu — his longing for the south; he asks the friend to carry his message, and names the places of his old wanderings: the Song River, the four bridges where the gulls and herons know him. He recalls the Wangchuan painting of the spring evening and the lines of the great hermit poet Wang Wei; he asks for a date of return, which Heaven has granted — the spring shirt is still the one sewn by Xiaoman's needle, once wetted by the rain of the West Lake. The lyric is the classic expression of the official's longing for his southern home, the memory of places and persons made sharper by parting.
三年枕上，梦回吴中路。遣黄耳、随君去。若到松江呼小渡。莫惊鸥鹭，四桥尽是，老子经行处。辋川图上看春暮。常记高人右丞句。作个归期天已许。春衫犹是，小蛮针线，曾湿西湖雨。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] Three years I have dreamed on the pillow of the road to Wu; send the yellow-eared dog with my message to follow you. If you reach the Song River, call the little ferry; do not startle the gulls and herons — the four bridges are all places of my old walks. Look at the Wangchuan painting, the spring evening; I always remember the lines of the Right Assistant Director. Set a date for my return — Heaven has already granted it. The spring shirt is still the one sewn by Xiaoman's needle, once wet by the West Lake rain. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the three-year dream of the south, through the message and the named places, to the remembered painting and poem, and closes on the return and the shirt — the intimate object that gathers the whole longing. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the accumulation of specific memories — the four bridges, the Wangchuan painting, the Right Assistant Director's lines, Xiaoman's needle, the West Lake rain — each one a thread binding the poet to the south, until the shirt, once wetted by the rain, becomes the emblem of the whole lost world. [Emotional Tone] Warm, fond, and melancholy: the poet's longing for his southern home is carried in homely particulars, and the shirt sewn by Xiaoman's needle gives the lyric its quiet heart.
【白话串讲】 苏轼写《青玉案·三年枕上吴中路》：“三年枕上吴中路。遣黄耳、随君去”——“若到松江呼小渡。莫惊鸥鹭，四桥尽是，老子经行处”——“作个归期天已许。春衫犹是，小蛮针线，曾湿西湖雨”——他送别——曾湿西湖雨。 【意象与手法】 “三年枕上吴中路。遣黄耳、随君去”以黄耳（犬）典写送别；“若到松江呼小渡。莫惊鸥鹭，四桥尽是，老子经行处”写嘱托之语；“辋川图上看春暮、常记高人右丞句”忆友之情；结以“春衫犹是，小蛮针线，曾湿西湖雨”以春衫写忆旧。情真意切。 【情感与主旨】 苏轼送别苏伯固之作，写送别之情与忆吴中之意，以“小蛮针线”“西湖雨”写对往昔的追忆，是苏轼送别词中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“春衫犹是，小蛮针线，曾湿西湖雨”以小蛮针线写忆旧；“若到松江呼小渡。莫惊鸥鹭”以莫惊鸥鹭写嘱托。
Background
Su Shi (1037–1101), courtesy name Zizhan, styled himself Dongpo (the Eastern Slope), was the supreme literary genius of the Northern Song — the greatest poet and prose writer of his age, who served in official posts throughout the empire and was repeatedly exiled. This lyric was written when he was seeing off a friend bound for Wuzhong, the region of his beloved former posts (he had served in Hangzhou, where the West Lake is). The 'Right Assistant Director' (Youcheng) is Wang Wei, the great Tang poet-painter, whose 'Wangchuan' villa and paintings were the type of the cultivated retreat; 'Xiaoman' is the name of Bai Juyi's singing-girl, used here for the poet's own serving-girl who sewed his shirt.
《青玉案·三年枕上吴中路》为北宋文学家苏轼所作词。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、书画家，「唐宋八大家」之一，词开豪放一派。此词为送别苏伯固（苏坚）之作。词中「三年枕上吴中路。遣黄耳、随君去」写送别之意；「若到松江呼小渡。莫惊鸥鹭，四桥尽是，老子经行处」写嘱托之语；「辋川图上看春暮。常记高人右丞句」写忆友之情；「作个归期天已许」写归期之许；「春衫犹是，小蛮针线，曾湿西湖雨」写忆旧之情。苏坚将归吴中（苏州一带），苏轼作此词送之，情真意切，是苏轼送别词中的名篇。此篇《青玉案·三年枕上吴中路》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。此篇《青玉案·三年枕上吴中路》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 lyric's art is the art of the particular memory. Every element is specific and intimate: the three-year dream, the yellow-eared dog (the legendary messenger-dog of the Jin dynasty), the Song River and its little ferry, the four bridges and their unstartled gulls, the Wangchuan painting, Wang Wei's lines, the return that Heaven has granted, and the spring shirt sewn by Xiaoman's needle, once wetted by the West Lake rain. The accumulation of these particulars makes the longing concrete: this is not a general homesickness but the specific love of a man for his places and his things. The final object — the shirt, with its needle and its rain — is the poem's heart, the intimate thing that carries the whole weight of memory.
此词艺术上以「虚实相生、情真意切」见长。全词上片写送别之意与嘱托之语，下片写忆友之情与忆旧之情。上片「三年枕上吴中路。遣黄耳、随君去」写送别之意：三年枕上，梦回吴中路；遣黄耳、随君去；「若到松江呼小渡。莫惊鸥鹭，四桥尽是，老子经行处」写嘱托之语：若到松江呼小渡，莫惊鸥鹭，四桥尽是，老子经行处。下片「辋川图上看春暮。常记高人右丞句」写忆友之情：辋川图上看春暮，常记高人右丞句；「作个归期天已许」写归期之许；「春衫犹是，小蛮针线，曾湿西湖雨」写忆旧之情：春衫犹是，小蛮针线，曾湿西湖雨。全词虚实相生，情真意切，是苏轼送别词中的名篇。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 yellow-eared dog' (Huang'er) is the messenger-dog of the Jin dynasty that carried letters between Lu Ji and his family in the capital; sending the message with the dog to follow the friend is the playful way of saying: carry my letter home. 'The gulls and herons' are the birds that trust the true man of the old Zhuangzi story — the birds that do not fly away from a pure heart; that the poet asks the friend not to startle them means the places are his, and the birds know him. 'The Wangchuan painting' is Wang Wei's painted record of his estate; 'the Right Assistant Director' is Wang Wei himself, whose lines the poet remembers. 'Xiaoman's needle' evokes Bai Juyi's singing-girl Xiaoman, the type of the beloved domestic companion; 'the West Lake rain' fixes the shirt to the poet's own time in Hangzhou.
词中「黄耳」「松江」「鸥鹭」「四桥」「辋川图」「右丞」「小蛮」等语，皆含典故故实。「黄耳」用《晋书·陆机传》陆机之犬黄耳能传书之典，「遣黄耳、随君去」写遣犬传书、随君而去，写送别传信之意；「松江」即吴淞江，「呼小渡」写呼渡船；「鸥鹭」用《列子》海鸥忘机之典，「莫惊鸥鹭」写莫惊水鸟，暗含超然忘机之意；「四桥」指吴中四桥（垂虹桥等）；「辋川图」指王维《辋川图》，「右丞」指王维（王维官至尚书右丞），「辋川图上看春暮。常记高人右丞句」写以王维之高致忆友；「小蛮」用白居易歌姬小蛮（善舞，白居易有「樱桃樊素口，杨柳小蛮腰」之句），「春衫犹是，小蛮针线」写春衫犹是旧人所缝。词人以黄耳、鸥鹭、辋川图、右丞、小蛮等典入词，不着痕迹，而把送别之情与忆旧之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。
Commentary
This lyric is one of Su Shi's most loved works, quoted for the warmth and particularity of its memory. The closing image — the spring shirt sewn by Xiaoman's needle, once wetted by the West Lake rain — is often ranked among the most intimate closings in the history of the ci, the piece of clothing that carries a whole world. Critics praise the lyric's balance of playful allusion and deep feeling: the yellow-eared dog, the gulls, the painting and the needle are all woven into a single fabric of longing.
这首《青玉案·三年枕上吴中路》，是苏轼送别苏伯固之作，写送别之情与忆吴中之意，情真意切。上片写送别之意与嘱托之语：「三年枕上吴中路。遣黄耳、随君去」——三年枕上，梦回吴中路；遣黄耳、随君去。写送别之意：三年以来，枕上魂梦，常在吴中之路，今君归吴，遣犬传书、随君而去——这三年的思念，便寄托于随君而去之书；「若到松江呼小渡。莫惊鸥鹭，四桥尽是，老子经行处」——若到松江呼小渡。莫惊鸥鹭，四桥尽是，老子经行处。写嘱托之语：若到松江呼渡船，莫惊鸥鹭，那四桥一带，都是我曾经行之处——嘱君莫惊鸥鹭，正见其对吴中山水之熟、之恋，这「老子经行处」，亲切而深情。下片写忆友之情与忆旧之情：「辋川图上看春暮。常记高人右丞句」——辋川图上看春暮。常记高人右丞句。写忆友之情：以王维之辋川图、右丞句写忆友之高致，君归吴中，如高人归山水；「作个归期天已许」——作个归期天已许。写归期之许：许个归期，天已应许，写其盼再会；「春衫犹是，小蛮针线，曾湿西湖雨」——春衫犹是，小蛮针线，曾湿西湖雨。写忆旧之情：身上春衫，犹是旧人所缝之针线，曾湿西湖之雨——这春衫、这针线、这西湖雨，写尽往昔之情。全词虚实相生，情真意切，以吴中、西湖、春衫针线写深情，正是苏轼送别词中的名篇。
Prosody
Line by line
三年枕上吴中路。
Three years I have dreamed on the pillow of the road to Wu —
三年枕上，梦回吴中路。
Three years, and in dreams on my pillow I keep returning to the roads of Wu.
首句写三年梦回吴中，起笔即见其情。「三年枕上吴中路」写三年枕上、梦回吴中路，「三年」写其思念之久，「枕上」写其于睡梦中，「吴中路」写吴中之路。一句写三年以来，枕上魂梦常回吴中之路，写尽其思念吴中、思念友人之深之久——梦魂所系，尽是吴中。以「枕上」写梦、以「三年」写久，起笔即见深情，为全词送别作铺垫，是「以梦起兴」的妙笔。
The opening writes three years of dreaming back to Wu, the deep affection present at the first stroke. Three years on the pillow, dreaming the Wu roads: the three years naming the longing's length, the pillow naming the dream, the Wu roads naming the place. Three years of sleep, and the spirit keeps returning to the roads of Wu — the deep, long longing for that region and its friends. Rising on dream, restrained and deep, the farewell ci's ground already stored.
莫惊鸥鹭，四桥尽是，老子经行处。
Do not startle the gulls and herons: the four bridges are all places I have walked in my old age.
莫惊鸥鹭，那四桥一带，都是我曾经行之处。
Do not startle the gulls and egrets; all around the Four Bridges are the very places I once walked.
此三句写嘱托之语，是全词写情深的关键。「莫惊鸥鹭」写莫惊鸥鹭，「莫惊」写其嘱托，「鸥鹭」用海鸥忘机之典，写水鸟；「四桥尽是，老子经行处」写四桥一带都是我曾经行之处，「四桥」指吴中四桥，「尽是」写到处都是，「老子经行处」写其曾经行之处。三句一写莫惊鸥鹭、一写四桥尽是经行处，以「莫惊鸥鹭」写其嘱君莫惊水鸟、暗含忘机之意，以「四桥尽是，老子经行处」写其对吴中山水之熟之恋，亲切而深情。以嘱托写情，含蓄而真挚，是「以嘱写情」的点睛之笔。
These three lines write the parting injunction, the ci's deep-affection key. Do not startle the gulls and egrets (using the seagull's forgotten-machine allusion); all around the Four Bridges are the very places I once walked: the injunction not to startle the water birds secretly carrying the forgotten-machine ease, and the Four Bridges line writing Su Shi's old familiarity and love of Wu's waters and hills, the tone familiar and deep. Writing affection through injunction, restrained and sincere.
辋川图上看春暮。
Looking at the Wangchuan painting, I see the spring evening —
辋川图上看春暮。
I watch the late spring on the Wangchuan scroll.
此句写忆友之情，是全词写情的关键。「辋川图上看春暮」写辋川图上看春暮，「辋川图」指王维之辋川图，写山水之美，「看春暮」写观图中之春暮。一句以辋川图写忆友之高致——君归吴中，如高人居于山水之间，而我可以于辋川图中看那春暮，遥想君之所居。以图写情，含蓄而雅致，是「以图写情」的妙笔，也是全词由写景转入写忆友的枢纽。
This line writes the friend-memory affection, the ci's feeling key. I watch the late spring on the Wangchuan scroll: the Wangchuan scroll referring to Wang Wei's painted estate, the watching-the-late-spring naming the gazing into the picture's fading season. The friend returning to Wu will dwell among the hills and waters like a lofty man, and I may watch that late spring on the Wangchuan scroll, far-imagining his home. Writing feeling through the scroll, restrained and elegant, the ci's hinge from scene to friend-memory.
春衫犹是，小蛮针线，曾湿西湖雨。
The spring shirt is still the one sewn by Xiaoman's needle, once wetted by the rain of the West Lake.
春衫犹是，小蛮的针线，曾湿西湖之雨。
The spring robe is still the same, sewn by Xiaoman's needle; it was once wet by the West Lake rain.
尾三句写忆旧之情，是全词立意的落点。「春衫犹是」写春衫犹是，「春衫」写身上之衣，「犹是」写依旧是；「小蛮针线」写小蛮的针线，「小蛮」用白居易歌姬小蛮之典，写旧人所缝；「曾湿西湖雨」写曾湿西湖雨，「曾湿」写其曾经被湿，「西湖雨」写西湖之雨。三句一写春衫犹是、一写小蛮针线、一写曾湿西湖雨，以春衫、针线、西湖雨写尽往昔之情——身上春衫，犹是旧人所缝之针线，曾湿西湖之雨。以物写情，含蓄深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以物写情」的点睛之笔。
The closing three lines write the old-affair memory, the landing of the ci's theme. The spring robe is still the same, sewn by Xiaoman's needle (using Bai Juyi's singer Xiaoman allusion); it was once wet by the West Lake rain: the robe, the needlework, and the lake rain exhausting the past feeling — the spring robe on the body, still the old beloved's stitching, once wetted by the West Lake rain. Writing feeling through the thing, restrained and deep, the ci's most moving place.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Su Shi's 'Prelude to Water Melody' asks the moon of the return; the 'Green Jade Table' is the same poet's practical version — the three years of dreaming of Wu, the gulls and herons not to be startled, and the spring shirt still sewn by Xiaoman's needle, wetted by the rain of the West Lake.
苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「但愿人长久，千里共婵娟」，写中秋怀弟苏辙之思，是宋词怀人名篇；《青玉案·三年枕上吴中路》则以「三年枕上吴中路」「春衫犹是，小蛮针线，曾湿西湖雨」写送友归吴、忆旧之情。两词同出苏轼之手、同写怀人：一写中秋怀弟之思、以明月写情、超旷，一写送友归吴之念、以春衫针线写情、深挚；一为怀亲、一为送友，并读正可见苏轼词写情「超旷」与「深挚」两种风貌，皆于词中见深挚之情。
临江仙·送钱穆父 Immortals at the River: Seeing Qian Mufu Off 苏轼 · 同出苏轼之手，同写送别友人，一写人生如逆旅之旷达、一写春衫针线之深挚，皆于送别中见真情 Both are Su Shi's poems of the departure and the constancy — the unchanged spring wind of the one, the unchanged spring shirt of the other.Su Shi's 'Immortals at the River: Seeing Qian Mufu Off' — 'the spring wind does not know what it is to be bitter' — parts with the friend in the constancy of the world; the 'Green Jade Table' keeps the same constancy in the garment — the shirt still Xiaoman's needlework, wetted by the West Lake rain.
苏轼《临江仙·送钱穆父》「人生如逆旅，我亦是行人」，写送别钱穆父之旷达，是苏轼送别名篇；《青玉案·三年枕上吴中路》则以「若到松江呼小渡。莫惊鸥鹭，四桥尽是，老子经行处」「春衫犹是，小蛮针线，曾湿西湖雨」写送别苏伯固之深情。两词同出苏轼之手、同写送别友人：一写人生如逆旅之旷达、以理宽解，一写春衫针线之深挚、以物写情；一为旷达、一为深情，并读正可见苏轼送别词「旷达」与「深挚」两种情味，皆于送别中见真情。