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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

如梦令·常记溪亭日暮

Dreamlike Song: Always Remember the Sunset at the Creek Pavilion

李清照

Li Qingzhao

闲适Leisurely 生活Life

常记溪亭日暮，沉醉不知归路。
兴尽晚回舟，误入藕花深处。
争渡，争渡，惊起一滩鸥鹭。

Always remember the creek pavilion at sunset,
Drunk, I forgot the way back.
When joy ended, late I turned my boat,
By mistake entered the deep lotus flowers.
Struggling to cross, struggling to cross,
Startled a flock of gulls and herons from the shore.

Listen

Meaning

A nostalgic memory of a carefree outing: a young woman drinks at a creek pavilion until sunset, gets lost in intoxication, accidentally rowing into a lotus grove, and frantically paddles away, startling a flock of waterbirds.

常常记起那次在溪边亭台的黄昏，沉醉之中竟忘了归去的路。游兴尽了，天色已晚才掉转船头，却不留神误闯进了荷花丛生的深处。奋力划呀，奋力划呀，惊起了沙滩上一滩鸥鹭。

Appreciation

This is a vivid youthful recollection. The bright images of 'creek pavilion', 'sunset', 'lotus flowers', and 'gulls and herons' paint a summer river scene. The repetition 'struggling to cross' conveys urgency and playful clumsiness. The ending with startled birds creates a lively, lingering effect, full of vitality without a single word of sorrow.

【白话串讲】少女李清照喝醉了酒，划船误入荷花深处，惊起一滩鸥鹭。这大概是宋词里最可爱的一个傍晚——后来她写尽哀愁，而这首小令替她永远留住了少女时代。【意象与手法】截取生活小景，用语活泼灵动。起笔“常记”点题，以“沉醉不知归路”写尽兴；“误入藕花深处”埋下波澜【情感与主旨】此为李清照早年居汴京（今开封）时所作，写少女时代的一次溪亭出游【名句点睛】常考“争渡，争渡，惊起一滩鸥鹭”的活泼节奏与意外之趣，及李清照早期清丽自然的风格特点（与《声声慢》对照）

Background

Written during Li Qingzhao's early years in Bianjing (Kaifeng), this poem captures a girlhood outing. Born into an official family with a comfortable life, her early style is fresh and innocent, contrasting sharply with her later sorrowful works after the Jin invasion. The joy in 'drunk' and 'struggling' reflects the leisurely life of a young lady of that era.

此词一般认为是李清照早年之作，写少女时代一次溪亭泛舟的经历。李清照生于元丰七年（1084），父李格非为礼部员外郎，学有渊源，属苏门后学，母亦出于士族，家中藏书甚富；她少年时代生活优裕，得以自由读书、出游、赋咏，这在宋代女子中极为难得。词中所写沉醉泛舟、误入荷丛、惊起水鸟的情景，正是这样一段无忧岁月的实录。关于创作地点，历来有两说：一说作于随父居汴京之时，一说作于章丘明水故里；词中溪亭一名，或以为即济南七十二泉之一的溪亭，或以为只是泛指溪边的亭子，两说皆无确证，而于词意并无妨碍。词调《如梦令》本名《忆仙姿》，为五代后唐庄宗李存勖所创，因原名不雅，后人取其词中如梦如梦一语改称《如梦令》，此调单片三十三字，短小轻捷，最宜写一时之情景，李清照以之写少女游赏，可谓体与题合。版本方面，此词异文有二处最须留意：常记一作尝记，二字义近，尝为曾经，常为时常，作常则见回想之频，情味更长；争渡一作怎渡，此则关涉全词最后的情境，作争则是奋力划船之状，作怎则是不知如何得出的困窘，二说各有拥护者，历来聚讼未定。就词史脉络言，此篇与《点绛唇·蹴罢秋千》同属李清照早期作品，其清丽自然、不假雕饰的风调，与她晚年南渡之后的沉痛之作恰成两极。

Art

It captures a small life scene with lively language. The opening 'always remember' sets a nostalgic tone. 'Drunk forgetting the way' expresses full enjoyment. 'Accidentally entered the deep lotus' introduces a twist. The repeated 'struggling to cross' mimics the sound and motion of frantic rowing. The final line 'startled a flock of gulls and herons' turns stillness into motion, ending with a dynamic image. In just 33 characters, it vividly portrays the girl's naivety and vitality, showcasing superb plain sketching.

此词三十三字而有完整的叙事、转折与高潮，是宋代小令中结构最见巧思的作品之一。全篇以常记二字发端，先立一个回想的视角：所写并非眼前之事，而是久藏心中、时时忆及的一段旧游，故通篇虽写热闹而底色是温柔的追怀。溪亭日暮五字点明地点与时辰，日暮尤要紧——天色将晚而人尚未归，下文的迷路才有着落。沉醉不知归路承之，一个醉字既写酒意，也写游赏之兴之浓，不知归路四字看似写失路之窘，实则写尽兴之乐：唯其乐而忘返，方至于连来路都记不清。兴尽晚回舟是全词的转折点，兴尽二字承上，说明并非被迫而归，而是玩到再无余兴；晚字再一次提醒时间之迟，回舟则是动作的开始。误入藕花深处忽起波澜：本欲归去，却一头闯进荷花丛中，方向全失。误字下得极妙，全是无心，而正因无心，才有下文的意外之趣。至争渡、争渡、惊起一滩鸥鹭，全词推向高潮：两个叠句写慌乱中反复用力的划桨之状，节奏急促如喘息可闻；末句忽然写一群水鸟扑翅飞起，画面由荷丛的幽闭一举打开，声音由人的喧闹转为鸟的哗然，全词遂在最热闹处收笔。妙在通篇不着一个抒情之语，情绪全由动作与画面自行传出；且结句不写此后如何脱出荷丛，把结局留在飞鸟腾空的一瞬，余韵遂不尽。以最短的篇幅、最少的说明，写出一段有声有色的少女行乐，此即小令的极致。

Allusions

The poem uses no deep allusions; it is a pure depiction of everyday life. 'Drunk forgetting the way' and 'joy ended, late returning' echo the free-spirited feasts of Wei-Jin literati. 'Lotus flowers' and 'gulls and herons' are ordinary images. Success lies in unadorned natural charm, aligning with her early belief that 'ci poetry is a separate school', in contrast to her later works dense with allusions.

此词全用白描，不使故实，然所涉数处词语的训释历来有辨。最著名的是争渡之争。一说争为宋人口语，与怎通用，则争渡即怎渡，谓不知如何才能划出荷丛，写困窘中的着急；一说争即争先、竞力之义，则争渡是奋力划桨、急欲脱出的动作，两字叠用尤见其手忙脚乱。二说皆通，而以后说于全词的动感更为吻合：唯有奋力乱划，才能扰动荷丛而惊起满滩水鸟；若只是茫然自问，则下句的哗然难有着落。藕花即荷花，藕为其根，古人常以藕花称荷，取其亲切；荷丛茎叶密集，小舟入其中则四顾皆碧、方向难辨，此为误入二字的实景根据。鸥鹭连称，泛指水边禽鸟，鸥为水鸟，鹭为长脚涉禽，二者常聚于浅滩。此一意象另有一层文化背景：《列子》记海上之人好鸥鸟，鸥鸟至其所者百数，后世遂以鸥鹭忘机比喻人与自然相忘无猜，是隐逸情趣的象征。李清照此处未必有意用典，然满滩鸥鹭安然栖息、忽被人惊起的画面，恰暗合这一传统中人与物两不设防的天真，故读来格外可亲。溪亭之名，或指济南泉名，或泛指溪边亭榭，无确证；一滩之滩，指水边平沙，一字见鸟之多而聚。

Commentary

This poem, from her girlhood, is often contrasted with her later 'Slow Slow Song'. It shows her early life of prosperity and her later life of wandering—a glimpse of her dramatic life changes through a single poem. The early carefree style is vividly displayed, and when set against her later works, the pathos of her life becomes even more poignant.

此词篇幅至短而传诵至广，历代评家所称多在天然二字。宋人论李清照词，尤重其以浅近之语写深细之情，不假雕琢而自成风韵，此篇正是显例：通篇皆是口头语，无一个僻字、无一处用典，而一段情景宛在目前。后世论小令之法者，常举此篇为范，以为三十三字之内有起、有承、有转、有合，且高潮在末，收在最热闹处而不加收束，是短调中最难做到的章法。清代评家论李清照早期词，多以清丽、自然、真率相许，而将此篇与《如梦令·昨夜雨疏风骤》并举为双璧，一写游乐之欢，一写惜花之情，皆以极简之笔摄一时之神。争渡二叠句尤为历代激赏，评者以为此二字若换作寻常叙述，全词的慌乱与生气便荡然无存，正见叠句在小令中的功用。传播史上，此词自宋以来即入选各类词选，明清以下更几乎无选本不载；近现代因其语言浅显、情趣天真，长期入选小学与中学教材，是许多人接触宋词的第一篇作品。就经典地位言，此篇的意义不仅在艺术之精，更在它保存了一个宋代少女自由行乐的鲜活形象——在传统文献中，女子的这类生活极少被自己写下来，而李清照以第一人称写出了沉醉、迷路、慌乱与欢笑，其文献价值与文学价值同样难得。与其晚年《声声慢》合读，则一生的悲欢首尾相照，愈见此篇之可贵。

Prosody

Form Ci poetry set to 'Dreamlike Song' (monotonic 33 characters, five oblique rhymes with one repeated rhyme)词，《如梦令》调，单调（单片）三十三字，七句。此调原名《忆仙姿》，为五代后唐庄宗李存勖所创，后人以其名不雅，取原词中如梦如梦一语改称《如梦令》

Rhyme Rhymes with the fourth group of 'Ci Lin Zheng Yun' (yu, wu, yu tones), rhyming characters: 暮, 路, 处, 渡, 鹭押仄声韵（去声为主），韵脚为暮、路、处、渡、渡、鹭，依词韵属第四部（鱼、虞、御、遇诸韵通押）。其中争渡、争渡为此调规定的叠句，两个渡字连押，韵脚遂在结处密集叠出

Tone pattern Short tune with brief sentences; the repeated '争渡' is the poetic eye, shifting from stillness to motion at the end.句式为六、六、五、六、二、二、六，以六言为主而中夹五言，末前插入两个二字叠句，节奏由平稳骤转急促再放开。全调不拘诗律粘对，惟以句式长短与叠句制造顿挫，属短调中变化最著者之一

Reading note Written as a travelogue to express a young girl's feelings; 'accidental entry' and 'struggling to cross' are full of life, typical of Li Qingzhao's early graceful style.此调声律之妙，全在末尾两个二字叠句上，而李清照恰把全词的高潮安放在这里，可谓因声成文。前四句皆为五、六言长句，节奏舒缓匀停，读来如小舟平稳而行，与沉醉、回舟的情境相合；至争渡、争渡，句式忽然缩为两个二字短读，字少而顿密，读时不得不连续用力、急促断气，那种一桨接一桨的慌乱遂由声音直接传出。此处若改用长句叙述，纵然意思不变，急迫之感必然荡然。紧接末句六言一气放开，惊起一滩鸥鹭，音节由促转纵，如憋住的一口气终于吐出，恰似鸟群腾空、天地忽宽。短—短—长的声音曲线，与紧张—爆发的情绪曲线完全同步，故三十三字读来毫不局促，反觉波澜起伏。押韵方面，全篇一色仄声，暮、路、处、渡、鹭诸字多为去声，收音沉着而有落定之感，与词中一连串确定的动作相配；而叠句处两个渡字连押，韵脚密集，声音的重复又强化了动作的重复。此调篇幅至短而能容起承转合，其可能性正建立在这样一套声律安排之上，李清照用之而毫无凑合痕迹，故此篇历来被举为小令的范本。

Line by line

常记溪亭日暮，沉醉不知归路。

Always remember the creek pavilion at sunset, drunk, I forgot the way back. The opening 'always remember' recalls past joyful outings, setting a light, nostalgic tone.

常常记起那次在溪边亭台的黄昏，沉醉之中竟忘了归去的路。

Often I remember the evening at the stream pavilion, drunk and knowing not the road home.

起句以常记二字定全词的视角与温度：所写非眼前之事，而是时时忆及的一段旧游，故通篇虽热闹而底色是温柔的追怀，一个常字更见此事在心中被反复摩玩。溪亭日暮五字点明地点与时辰，日暮尤为要紧——天色将晚而人未归，为下文的迷路预留了根据。沉醉不知归路承之，醉字既写酒意，也写游兴之浓；不知归路表面是失路之窘，实则是尽兴之证：唯其乐而忘返，才连来路都记不清。以一个负面的事实写正面的欢愉，是极高明的侧写。

The opening using the often-remembered two words to set the whole ci's viewpoint and warmth: the written not the present affair, but an old outing recalled time and again, hence the whole piece though bustling and yet the base tone the tender remembrance, the one word often the clearer this affair's repeated savouring in the heart. The stream pavilion and the evening five characters naming the place and hour, the evening especially critical — the day about to darken and the person not yet returned, storing the ground for the below's lost way. Drunk and knowing not the road home inherits: the drunk at once writing the wine mood and the outing's fullness; knowing-not-the-road-home the surface's lost-way plight, in truth the joy's proof — only the joy's forgetting-to-return, hence even the coming way unremembered. Writing the positive joy through a negative fact, a most masterful side-writing.

兴尽晚回舟，误入藕花深处。

When joy ended, late I turned my boat, by mistake entered the deep lotus flowers. The 'mistake' creates unexpected charm, shifting the scene from carefree to dreamy, natural and lively.

游兴尽了，天色已晚才掉转船头，却不留神误闯进了荷花丛生的深处。

When the joy was spent, late I turned the boat, and strayed into the lotus's deep midst.

此二句是全词的转折。兴尽二字承上而结束前一段：不是被催促而归，是玩到再无余兴，可见其纵情之彻底；晚字再一次提醒时间之迟，回舟则是动作的开始。妙在归途之上忽起波澜：误入藕花深处，本欲出去，却一头闯进荷丛。误字全是无心，正因无心，才有下文的意外之趣；深处三字写荷丛茂密、四顾皆碧、方向尽失的实感。一转之间，由从容的归舟变为迷失的小船，情境骤紧，为高潮蓄足了势，而这一切仍是欢乐的一部分。

These two lines are the ci's turn. The joy-spent two words inheriting and ending the first section: not the driven-to-return, but the playing to the no-more-joy, seeing the heart's indulgence completeness; the late word once again reminding the time's lateness, the turned boat the action's beginning. The wonder in the return's sudden rising waves: strayed into the lotus's deep midst, intending the exit, and yet head-first into the lotus clump. The one word strayed wholly the unthinking, precisely because of the unthinking, hence the below's unexpected charm; the deep midst three characters writing the lotus clump's density, the green on every side, the direction's loss. One turn, from the composed returning boat to the lost small boat, the situation's sudden tightness, storing the force for the climax, and all this still the joy's part.

争渡，争渡，惊起一滩鸥鹭。

Struggling to cross, struggling to cross, startled a flock of gulls and herons from the shore. The repetition conveys urgency, 'startled' uses birds in flight to break the calm, leaving a vivid aftertaste.

奋力划呀，奋力划呀，惊起了沙滩上一滩鸥鹭。

Row across, row across — and startled a whole sandbar of gulls and egrets.

结处三句把全词推到高潮，也收在高潮之上。争渡叠用，是此调规定的叠句，而用在此处恰成神来之笔：两声急促的重复，写出慌乱中一桨接一桨、不容停歇的用力之状，读来如闻喘息与水声。末句忽然一转，写满滩水鸟被惊得扑翅飞起：画面由荷丛的幽闭一举打开，声音由人的喧闹转为群鸟的哗然，视线亦随之腾空而上。惊起二字最有力，一滩则见鸟之多而聚。妙在词至此便止，不说是否划出荷丛，把结局留在飞鸟满天的一瞬，欢声与羽声遂一同留在纸外。

The close's three lines pushing the whole ci to the climax, and closing on the climax. Row across repeated, this tune's prescribed reduplication, and yet used here precisely become the inspired stroke: two urgent repetitions, writing the flustered oar-after-oar's unceasing effort, reading it as if hearing the panting and the water sound. The last line's sudden turn, writing the whole sandbar's water birds startled into wing-beating flight: the picture from the lotus clump's seclusion at once opened, the sound from the man's bustle turned to the flock's clamor, the sight likewise soaring upward. The startled-up two words the most forceful, the whole sandbar seeing the birds' number and gathering. The wonder in the ci's stopping here, not saying whether the boat has left the lotus clump, leaving the ending in the flying-birds-sky moment, the joy sound and the feather sound hence together left beyond the paper.

Study

Word focus

常 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 常记之常，是全词的定调之字，看似平淡而实为关键。常训时常、每每，则此事非偶然想起，而是长久盘踞心中、时时被取出摩玩的一段记忆。一字之下，全词的时间结构便清楚了：所写是往事，而写它的人正在回望。故通篇虽满是动作与喧闹，底色却是温柔安静的。异文作尝记者，尝为曾经，只交代事情发生过，而无反复追怀之意，情味便薄了一层。且常字亦暗示此事之可珍——寻常的少女游赏之所以值得常记，正因它无忧无虑，是一生中不必设防的时光。

误 by mistake - not a real error but a tipsy confusion after joyful indulgence, creating an unexpected charm, revealing spontaneity. 误入藕花深处之误，是全词的枢纽之字，一切意外之趣皆由此生。误谓无心、不留神，它先否定了任何主观意图：既非探幽，也非贪看荷花，纯是天色已晚、酒意未消之下的方向失控。正因是误，此后的慌乱才显得可笑可爱而不带懊恼；若改作径入、直入，则成有意为之的雅兴，那份少女的憨态便消失了。此字又与上句沉醉不知归路呼应：先是不知归路，继而误入荷丛，两次失路层层递进，把醉意与兴致写到极处，而始终不曾出现一个醉字之外的解释。

争 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 争渡之争，是此词训诂上最著名的争议处，也是全词动感所系。一说争与怎通，为宋人口语，则争渡即怎渡，是不知如何得出的自问；一说争为竞力、奋争之义，则争渡是拼力划桨之状。二说皆有依据，而以后说于全词的画面更为吻合：唯有一桨接一桨地乱划，才能扰动满丛荷叶而惊起一滩水鸟；若只是茫然自问，则下句的群鸟哗然无从发生。且此字叠用两次，重复本身即是用力的重复，声音上急促可闻，与其后惊起二字的爆发恰成因果。一字之训不同，画面的动静便判然有别。

惊 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 惊起一滩鸥鹭之惊，是全词最后的爆发之字，也是收束全篇的力量所在。惊为受扰而骤动，它把此前一切人的动作的后果一举呈现：小舟的乱撞、水声的哗然，都不必细写，只须看这满滩水鸟同时扑翅飞起。此字妙在视角的转移——前面写的都是人，到此处忽然写鸟，人的慌乱遂由旁观者的反应得到印证，画面也随鸟群腾空而向上打开。且惊字含突然之意，与全词的意外之趣同调；若换作飞起、逐起，则只见鸟动而无那一瞬的骤然。词至此止，声与影俱在纸外，是短调收束的极佳法门。