宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
沁园春
Qinyuanchun (An Old Reunion)
昔别是何处，相逢皆老夫。
故人还寂寞，削迹共艰虞。
自失论文友，空知卖酒垆。
平生飞动意，见尔不能无。
We meet again, and both of us are old.
My old friend is still obscure,
His traces cut off, sharing the same hardship.
Since I lost the friend with whom I talked of letters,
I know only the wine-shop's counter now.
The soaring spirit of all my life —
Seeing you, it cannot but rise again.
Meaning
A poem of reunion in old age and hardship. The speaker meets an old friend from whom he parted long ago; both are old now. The friend is still obscure, his traces cut off, sharing the same difficulties. Since losing the friend with whom he once discussed literature, the speaker has known only the wine-shop's counter — the life of poverty and drink. But the soaring spirit of his whole life, seeing the old friend, cannot but rise again. The poem is the classic expression of the reunion of old friends in hardship, the revival of a youth's spirit at the sight of the one who shared it.
昔别是何处，相逢皆老夫。故人还寂寞，削迹共艰虞。自失论文友，空知卖酒垆。平生飞动意，见尔不能无。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] Where was it that we parted? We meet again — both old men. The old friend is still lonely and obscure, his traces cut off, sharing the same hardship. Since I lost the friend with whom I talked of literature, I know only the wine-shop's counter. The soaring spirit of all my life — seeing you, it cannot but rise. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the reunion and the fact of age, through the friend's obscurity and the shared hardship, to the memory of the lost friend of letters and the wine-shop life, and closes on the rising of the old spirit at the sight of the friend. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the double movement of decline and revival: everything in the middle speaks of loss and poverty — the obscure friend, the cut-off traces, the wine-shop counter — and the final couplet reverses it all with the soaring spirit that rises at the reunion. [Emotional Tone] Wistful and warm: the melancholy of the two old men in hardship is suddenly lit by the revival of the old spirit — the friendship that restores, for a moment, the youth it remembers.
【白话串讲】 刘克庄写《沁园春》：“昔别是何处，相逢皆老夫”——“故人还寂寞，削迹共艰虞”——“自失论文友，空知卖酒垆”——“平生飞动意，见尔不能无”——他写故人重逢——相逢皆老夫。 【意象与手法】 “昔别是何处，相逢皆老夫”写重逢之叹；“故人还寂寞，削迹共艰虞”写故人寂寞；“自失论文友，空知卖酒垆”写失友之痛；结以“平生飞动意，见尔不能无”写见故人之喜。含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 刘克庄写感怀念友之作，写故人重逢、皆已老去与生平论文之谊，体现刘克庄词对友情的珍视与人生的感慨。 【名句点睛】 常考“昔别是何处，相逢皆老夫”以相逢皆老夫写重逢之叹；“平生飞动意，见尔不能无”以见尔不能无写见故人之喜。
Background
Liu Kezhuang (1187–1269), courtesy name Qianfu, styled himself the Later Village (Hou Cun), was one of the most prolific and influential poets of the late Southern Song. This piece — transmitted in the main library under the title 'Qinyuanchun' with Liu Kezhuang as author — is in fact composed in the five-character ancient-verse manner, its theme the reunion of two old friends in hardship and obscurity. Whatever the textual history, the poem belongs to the long Chinese tradition of reunion poems, and its closing couplet — the soaring spirit rising at the sight of the old friend — gives it a permanent place in that tradition.
《沁园春》为南宋诗人刘克庄所作诗。刘克庄（1187—1269），字潜夫，号后村居士，莆田（今福建莆田）人，南宋诗人、词人，为江湖诗派重要作家。此诗写感怀念友。诗中「昔别是何处，相逢皆老夫」写昔别是何处，相逢皆老夫；「故人还寂寞，削迹共艰虞」写故人还寂寞，削迹共艰虞；「自失论文友，空知卖酒垆」写自失论文友，空知卖酒垆；「平生飞动意，见尔不能无」写平生飞动意，见尔不能无。刘克庄此诗以感怀念友、见尔不能无写其怀友之情，含蓄深婉，是刘克庄诗中的名篇。此篇《沁园春》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《沁园春》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 the art of the compressed reunion. The opening question — 'where was it we parted?' — is the standard gesture of the reunion poem, the vagueness of the place marking the length of the time. The middle is all decline: the old friend obscure, his traces cut off, the shared hardship, the lost friend of letters, the wine-shop counter — the whole inventory of a life reduced to poverty. The final couplet then performs the reversal: the soaring spirit of a lifetime, seeing the friend, cannot but rise. The poem is built on this single turn — from the inventory of loss to the revival of the spirit — and the turn is the whole art.
此诗艺术上以「含蓄深婉、以情见长」见长。全诗共四联八句，由昔别是何处、故人还寂寞而自失论文友、平生飞动意。首联「昔别是何处，相逢皆老夫」写昔别是何处：昔别是何处，相逢皆老夫；颔联「故人还寂寞，削迹共艰虞」写故人还寂寞：故人还寂寞，削迹共艰虞；颈联「自失论文友，空知卖酒垆」写自失论文友：自失论文友，空知卖酒垆；尾联「平生飞动意，见尔不能无」写见尔不能无：平生飞动意，见尔不能无。全诗以情见长，由昔别是何处而见尔不能无，含蓄深婉，是刘克庄诗中的名篇。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 friend with whom I talked of letters' (lunwen you) is the friend of literary talk — the intimate of the study, whose loss leaves the speaker only the wine-shop. 'The wine-shop's counter' (maijiu lu) is the stock property of the impoverished poet, from the tradition of the poet-pauper who knows only the drinking-shop. 'The soaring spirit' (feidong yi) is the high, flying ambition of youth — the same phrase appears in Du Fu's praise of the poet's unconquerable spirit; its revival at the reunion is the poem's whole point.
诗中「昔别是何处相逢皆老夫」「故人还寂寞削迹共艰虞」「自失论文友空知卖酒垆」「平生飞动意见尔不能无」等语，皆含典故故实。「昔别是何处相逢皆老夫」写昔别是何处相逢皆老夫；「故人还寂寞削迹共艰虞」写故人还寂寞削迹共艰虞；「自失论文友空知卖酒垆」用卖酒垆之典（酒垆写饮酒之地），写自失论文友空知卖酒垆；「平生飞动意见尔不能无」写平生飞动意见尔不能无。诗人以酒垆之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把感怀念友之情写得真切可感，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。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 poem, whatever its textual confusions, is a moving member of the great tradition of reunion poems. Its final couplet — 'the soaring spirit of all my life — seeing you, it cannot but rise again' — is the classic statement of the friendship that revives youth, and the poem is often quoted beside the great reunion poems of Du Fu and the Tang masters. Critics note the perfect economy of the decline-and-revival structure, the whole life reduced to the wine-shop and restored by the sight of the friend.
这首《沁园春》，是刘克庄写感怀念友之作，写昔别是何处、故人还寂寞、平生飞动意、见尔不能无之情，含蓄深婉。首联「昔别是何处，相逢皆老夫」——昔别是何处，相逢皆老夫。写昔别是何处：昔别是何处、相逢皆老夫——昔别何处、相逢皆老夫；颔联「故人还寂寞，削迹共艰虞」——故人还寂寞，削迹共艰虞。写故人还寂寞：故人还寂寞、削迹共艰虞——故人寂寞、共艰虞；颈联「自失论文友，空知卖酒垆」——自失论文友（用酒垆之典），空知卖酒垆。写自失论文友：自失论文友、空知卖酒垆——失论文友、空知酒垆；尾联「平生飞动意，见尔不能无」——平生飞动意，见尔不能无。写见尔不能无：平生飞动意、见尔不能无——飞动意、不能无。这「平生飞动意，见尔不能无」，是全诗之结：以见尔不能无写其怀友。全诗含蓄深婉，以情见长，正是刘克庄诗中的名篇。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。
Prosody
Line by line
昔别是何处，相逢皆老夫。
Where was it we parted, long ago? We meet again, and both of us are old.
昔别是何处，相逢皆老夫。
Where was it we parted long ago? Meeting again, we are both old men.
首联写昔别是何处，起笔即见其别。「昔别是何处」写昔别是何处，「昔别」写昔时离别、「是何处」写是何处；「相逢皆老夫」写相逢皆老夫，「相逢」写重逢、「皆老夫」写都是老夫。两句一写昔别是何处、一写相逢皆老夫，以昔别是何处写昔日离别、以相逢皆老夫写相逢皆老，写尽昔别是何处、相逢皆老夫之情。以别起兴，含蓄而深婉，是「以别起兴」的妙笔。
The opening couplet writes where-was-it-we-parted, the parting present at the first stroke. Where was it we parted long ago? writes the old parting and the place; Meeting again, we are both old men writes the reunion and the both-old. Two lines, the old-parting-where through the where-was-it, the reunion-both-old through the meeting-again-both-old, exhausting the where-we-parted and the meeting-as-old-men feeling. Rising on parting, restrained and graceful, a wondrous brush of rising-on-parting.
故人还寂寞，削迹共艰虞。
My old friend is still obscure, his traces cut off, sharing the same hardship.
故人还寂寞，削迹共艰虞。
The old friend is still lonely; our traces erased, we shared the hard times.
此二句写故人还寂寞，是全诗写故人之态的关键。「故人还寂寞」写故人还寂寞，「故人」写故人、「还寂寞」写还寂寞；「削迹共艰虞」写削迹共艰虞，「削迹」写隐迹、「共艰虞」写同艰虞。两句一写故人还寂寞、一写削迹共艰虞，以故人还寂寞写故人寂寞、以削迹共艰虞写同艰虞，写尽故人还寂寞、削迹共艰虞之情。以友写情，含蓄而深婉，是「以友写情」的点睛之笔。
These two lines write the old friend's still-loneliness, the poem's old-friend-state key. The old friend is still lonely writes the old friend and the still-lonely; our traces erased, we shared the hard times writes the hidden traces and the shared hardship. Two lines, the old-friend-loneliness through the still-lonely, the shared-hardship through the traces-erased, exhausting the old friend's loneliness and the shared hardship. Writing feeling through the friend, restrained and graceful, a telling stroke of feeling-through-friend.
自失论文友，空知卖酒垆。
Since I lost the friend with whom I talked of letters, I know only the wine-shop's counter now.
自失论文友，空知卖酒垆。
Since I lost the friend with whom I discussed letters, I only know the wine stall in vain.
此二句写自失论文友，是全诗写失友之感的关键。「自失论文友」写自失论文友，「自失」写自己失去、「论文友」写论文之友；「空知卖酒垆」写空知卖酒垆，用酒垆之典写空知卖酒垆。两句一写自失论文友、一写空知卖酒垆，以自失论文友写失论文友、以空知卖酒垆写空知酒垆，写尽自失论文友、空知卖酒垆之情。以典写感，含蓄而深婉，是「以典写感」的点睛之笔。
These two lines write the lost letter-discussion friend, the poem's lost-friend feeling key. Since I lost the friend with whom I discussed letters, I only know the wine stall in vain: the self-lost writing the self's losing, the letter-discussion friend the friend of literary talk, the wine-stall-in-vain using the wine-stall allusion. Two lines, the lost letter-discussion friend through the loss, the wine-stall-in-vain through the empty knowing, exhausting the lost friend and the vain wine stall. Writing feeling through allusion, restrained and graceful, a telling stroke of allusion-through-feeling.
平生飞动意，见尔不能无。
The soaring spirit of all my life — seeing you, it cannot but rise again.
平生飞动意，见尔不能无。
All my life's soaring spirit — seeing you, it cannot but rise again.
尾联写见尔不能无，是全诗立意的落点。「平生飞动意」写平生飞动意，「平生」写平生、「飞动意」写飞动之意；「见尔不能无」写见尔不能无，「见尔」写见你、「不能无」写不能没有。两句一写平生飞动意、一写见尔不能无，以平生飞动意写飞动之意、以见尔不能无写见尔不能无，写尽平生飞动意、见尔不能无之情。以情写友，含蓄而深挚，是全诗最动人处，也是「以情写友」的点睛之笔。
The closing couplet writes the seeing-you-cannot-but, the landing of the poem's theme. All my life's soaring spirit writes the lifelong and the soaring spirit; seeing you, it cannot but rise again writes the seeing-you and the cannot-without. Two lines, the lifelong soaring will through the soaring spirit, the seeing-you-cannot-but through the cannot-without, exhausting the lifelong soaring will and the seeing-you's rising. Writing the friend through feeling, restrained and deep, the poem's most moving place.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Liu Yong's 'Eight Beats of Ganzhou' is the great lyric of the separation's grief; Liu Kezhuang's 'Spring in the Qin Garden' is the reunion of the old — the friends who parted long ago and meet again as old men, with the soaring spirit rising once more.
柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「想佳人妆楼颙望，误几回、天际识归舟」，写怀远感时，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；刘克庄《沁园春》则以「故人还寂寞，削迹共艰虞」「平生飞动意，见尔不能无」写故人寂寞、见尔不能无。两诗同写怀远感时、故人难见：一写误几回天际识归舟、以凝望写怀远，一写故人还寂寞削迹共艰虞、以故人写感时；一为柳永之清丽、一为刘克庄之沉郁，并读正可见诗写「怀远难见」的两种笔法，皆于怀远之中见难见。
浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯 Silk-Washing Stream: A New Song and a Cup of Wine 晏殊 · 同写感怀言志、无可奈何，一写无可奈何花落去、一写昔别是何处相逢皆老夫，皆于感怀之中见无可奈何 Both are the poems of the years and the meeting — Yan Shu's falling flowers and swallows, Liu Kezhuang's old friends and risen spirit.Yan Shu's 'Silk-Washing Stream' — 'the falling flowers are independent, the swallows fly in pairs' — is the philosophical poem of the years; Liu Kezhuang's reunion poem is its human version — the old friends met again, the hardship shared, and the soaring spirit of a lifetime risen at the sight.
晏殊《浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯》「无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来」，写感怀言志，是宋词小令的名篇；刘克庄《沁园春》则以「昔别是何处，相逢皆老夫」「平生飞动意，见尔不能无」写昔别何处、见尔不能无。两诗同写感怀言志、无可奈何：一写无可奈何花落去、以花落燕归写惜时，一写昔别是何处相逢皆老夫、以相逢皆老写感怀；一为晏殊之温润、一为刘克庄之沉郁，并读正可见诗写「感怀无可奈何」的两种笔法，皆于感怀之中见无可奈何。