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宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric

唐多令

The Tang of Many Orders

刘过

Liu Guo

芦叶满汀洲。
塞沙带浅流。
二十年、重过南楼。
柳下系舟犹未稳，能几日、又中秋。
黄鹤断矶头。
故人今不在。
旧江山，浑是新愁。
欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游。

The reed leaves fill the sandbar.
The frontier sand carries the shallow current.
Twenty years, passing again the South Tower.
Under the willows, the moored boat not yet steady,
How many days, and again the Mid-Autumn.
The Yellow Crane at the broken cliff-head.
The old friends, now not present.
The old rivers and hills,
All are the new sorrows.
Wishing to buy the osmanthus and to carry the wine together,
In the end, it is not like the roaming of the youth.
Listen

Meaning

A lyric of the passing again and the new sorrows, written by Liu Guo. The reed leaves fill the sandbar — the frontier sand carries the shallow current — the autumn scene of the river. Twenty years, passing again the South Tower — the years of the passing again. Under the willows, the moored boat not yet steady, how many days, and again the Mid-Autumn — the hurried passing of the time. The Yellow Crane at the broken cliff-head — the old friends, now not present — the absent friends. The old rivers and hills, all are the new sorrows — the old scene with the new sorrows. Wishing to buy the osmanthus and to carry the wine together, in the end, it is not like the roaming of the youth — the wished-for pleasure, not like the youth. The lyric is the passing again of the poet: the reed leaves of the autumn, the absent friends, and the close's not like the roaming of the youth.

芦叶满汀洲。塞沙带浅流。二十年、重过南楼。柳下系舟犹未稳，能几日、又中秋。黄鹤断矶头。故人今不在。旧江山，浑是新愁。欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The reed leaves fill the sandbar. The frontier sand carries the shallow current. Twenty years, passing again the South Tower. Under the willows, the moored boat not yet steady, how many days, and again the Mid-Autumn. The Yellow Crane at the broken cliff-head. The old friends, now not present. The old rivers and hills, all are the new sorrows. Wishing to buy the osmanthus and to carry the wine together, in the end, it is not like the roaming of the youth. [Structure and Thought] The lyric moves from the autumn scene of the reed leaves, through the twenty years of the passing again and the hurried Mid-Autumn, and the absent friends with the new sorrows, to the close's wish: to buy the osmanthus and carry the wine — in the end, not like the roaming of the youth. [Key Technique] The lyric's art is the contrast of the past and the present: the twenty years of the passing again against the not yet steady moored boat; the old friends not present against the new sorrows; and the close's wished-for wine against the roaming of the youth — the passing again gathered in the contrasts. [Emotional Tone] Sorrowful, reminiscent, and lingering: the lyric is the passing again of the poet, the old rivers and hills, and the close's not like the youth.

【白话串讲】 刘过写《唐多令》：“芦叶满汀洲。塞沙带浅流”——“二十年、重过南楼”——“柳下系舟犹未稳，能几日、又中秋”——“欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游”——他重过南楼——终不似少年游。 【意象与手法】 “芦叶满汀洲。塞沙带浅流”写汀洲秋景；“二十年、重过南楼”写重过南楼；“柳下系舟犹未稳，能几日、又中秋”写时光匆匆；“黄鹤断矶头、故人今不在”写故人不在；结以“欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游”以桂花载酒写少年游不再。含蓄深婉。 【情感与主旨】 刘过写重游怀旧之作，写二十年后重过南楼、故人不在与少年游不再的深沉感慨，是刘过词中“慷慨生哀”的代表。 【名句点睛】 常考“欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游”以桂花载酒写少年游不再；“二十年、重过南楼”写重过南楼。

Background

Liu Guo (1154–1206), the heroic lyric master of the Southern Song, wrote this 'Tang of Many Orders' at the passing again of the South Tower — twenty years after the first passing. The reed leaves of the autumn sandbar, the hurried Mid-Autumn under the willows, the Yellow Crane at the broken cliff, the absent friends and the new sorrows of the old rivers and hills — and the close's wishing to buy the osmanthus and carry the wine, in the end not like the roaming of the youth — the lyric gathers the sorrow of the passing again, the old scene and the new sorrows. The lyric is one of the famous works of the master's lyric.

《唐多令》为南宋词人刘过所作词。刘过（1154—1206），字改之，号龙洲道人，吉州太和（今江西泰和）人，南宋词人，词风豪放而兼深婉。此词写重游怀旧，为重过武昌南楼之作。词中「芦叶满汀洲。塞沙带浅流」写汀洲秋景；「二十年、重过南楼。柳下系舟犹未稳，能几日、又中秋」写重过南楼；「黄鹤断矶头。故人今不在」写故人不在；「旧江山，浑是新愁。欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游」写不似少年游。刘过此词以重游怀旧、少年游写其怀旧之情，含蓄深婉，是刘过词中的名篇。此篇《唐多令》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《唐多令》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 passing again. The autumn scene opens: the reed leaves fill the sandbar — the frontier sand carries the shallow current — the autumn of the river. The years follow: twenty years, passing again the South Tower — the twenty years of the passing again; under the willows, the moored boat not yet steady, how many days, and again the Mid-Autumn — the hurried time, the boat not yet steady and the Mid-Autumn again. The absent: the Yellow Crane at the broken cliff-head — the old friends, now not present — the absent friends of the passing; the old rivers and hills, all are the new sorrows — the old scene with the new sorrows. And the close gathers the contrast: wishing to buy the osmanthus and to carry the wine together, in the end, it is not like the roaming of the youth — the wished-for pleasure, not like the youth's roaming — the sorrow of the passing again, the old rivers and hills with the new sorrows, the close's not like the youth.

此词艺术上以「含蓄深婉、今昔对照」见长。全词上片写汀洲秋景与重过南楼，下片写故人不在与不似少年游。上片「芦叶满汀洲。塞沙带浅流」写汀洲秋景：芦叶满汀洲，塞沙带浅流；「二十年、重过南楼。柳下系舟犹未稳，能几日、又中秋」写重过南楼：二十年、重过南楼，柳下系舟犹未稳，能几日、又中秋。下片「黄鹤断矶头。故人今不在」写故人不在：黄鹤断矶头，故人今不在；「旧江山，浑是新愁。欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游」写不似少年游：旧江山，浑是新愁，欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游。全词含蓄深婉，今昔对照，是刘过词中的名篇。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 South Tower' (Nan Lou) is the tower of the passing again — the famous tower of the region, the South Tower of the Ezhou; 'the Yellow Crane at the broken cliff' (Huanghe duan ji) is the Yellow Crane of the cliff — the famous place of the region, the Yellow Crane tower; 'the old friends, now not present' (gu ren jin bu zai) is the absence of the old friends; 'the osmanthus' (gui hua) is the osmanthus of the autumn — the buying of the osmanthus and the carrying of the wine, the wished-for pleasure.

词中「芦叶满汀洲」「塞沙带浅流」「二十年重过南楼」「柳下系舟」「又中秋」「黄鹤断矶头」「故人今不在」「旧江山」「新愁」「桂花同载酒」「少年游」等语，皆含典故故实。「芦叶满汀洲」写芦叶满汀洲；「塞沙带浅流」写塞上之沙、带浅流；「二十年重过南楼」写二十年重过南楼（南楼用庾亮南楼之典，亦指武昌南楼）；「柳下系舟」写柳下系舟；「又中秋」写又将中秋；「黄鹤断矶头」写黄鹤矶头（用崔颢《黄鹤楼》「昔人已乘黄鹤去」之意，黄鹤矶为武昌名胜）；「故人今不在」写故人今已不在；「旧江山」写旧日之江山；「新愁」写新添之愁；「桂花同载酒」写买桂花载酒同游；「少年游」写少年时之游。词人以芦叶、塞沙、南楼、黄鹤矶、桂花载酒、少年游等语入词，不着痕迹，而把重游怀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 the famous works of Liu Guo, quoted for the sorrow of its close. The old rivers and hills with the new sorrows, and the in the end not like the roaming of the youth, are among the most admired lines of the lyric. Critics praise the lyric's sorrow: the passing again of the poet, the old scene and the new sorrows, and the youth that cannot be returned to.

这首《唐多令》，是刘过写重游怀旧之作，写芦叶汀洲、重过南楼、少年游之情，含蓄深婉。上片写汀洲秋景与重过南楼：「芦叶满汀洲。塞沙带浅流」——芦叶满汀洲，塞沙带浅流。写汀洲秋景：芦叶满汀洲、塞沙带浅流——芦叶满汀洲、塞沙浅流，写尽秋景；「二十年、重过南楼。柳下系舟犹未稳，能几日、又中秋」——二十年、重过南楼，柳下系舟犹未稳，能几日、又中秋。写重过南楼：二十年重过南楼、柳下系舟犹未稳，能几日又中秋——二十年重过南楼、又将中秋。下片写故人不在与不似少年游：「黄鹤断矶头。故人今不在」——黄鹤断矶头，故人今不在。写故人不在：黄鹤断矶头、故人今不在——黄鹤矶头、故人已不在；「旧江山，浑是新愁。欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游」——旧江山，浑是新愁，欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游。写不似少年游：旧江山浑是新愁，欲买桂花同载酒、终不似少年游——旧江山新愁、买酒载酒终不似少年游。这「欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游」，是全词之结：以不似少年游写其今昔之慨。全词含蓄深婉，今昔对照，正是刘过词中的名篇。

Prosody

Form Tangduoling (The Tang of Many Orders), a short lyric词（唐多令，小令）
Rhyme The lyric rhymes on the level-tone zhou, liu, qiu, tou, chou and you of the group — the even, level rhyme that carries the lingering sorrow.此词为《唐多令》调，小令六十字，上片下片各五句。押平声韵：「洲」「流」「楼」「秋」「头」「愁」「游」押尤部韵。词体依词谱而定，句式长短错落，音节随情起伏，正与写重游怀旧的含蓄深婉相称，也见其以词写怀旧的自然。
Tone pattern The cadence is that of the passing again: the level opening with the autumn scene, the rising with the years and the absent friends, and the close's fall with the not like the roaming of the youth.句式上，上片「芦叶满汀洲。塞沙带浅流」写汀洲秋景，音节萧疏；「二十年、重过南楼。柳下系舟犹未稳，能几日、又中秋」写重过南楼，音节低回；下片「黄鹤断矶头。故人今不在」写故人不在，音节怅惘；「旧江山，浑是新愁。欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游」写不似少年游，音节绵长。全词音节由萧疏而低回、由怅惘而绵长，正合词体「长短句」之妙，读来如重游怀旧、不似少年游之音，含蓄而动人。
Reading note The lyric's sound matches its sorrow: the short, level rhymes carry the cadence of the passing again, and the close — 'yu mai guihua tong zai jiu, zhong bu si, shaonian you' — falls with the youth's roaming, the sound of the pleasure that cannot be returned to.此词为《唐多令》调，是刘过写重游怀旧之作，也是其词中的名篇。全词的艺术特色在于「含蓄深婉、今昔对照」：上片「芦叶满汀洲。塞沙带浅流」写汀洲秋景、「二十年、重过南楼。柳下系舟犹未稳，能几日、又中秋」写重过南楼；下片「黄鹤断矶头。故人今不在」写故人不在、「旧江山，浑是新愁。欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游」写不似少年游。全词含蓄深婉，今昔对照。尤为精妙者，是「二十年、重过南楼」以时间跨度写重游之慨；而「欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游」以不似少年游写今昔之慨，正是刘过词「含蓄深婉」的典范，为历代词选所常收。

Line by line

芦叶满汀洲。

The reed leaves fill the sandbar.

芦叶满汀洲。

Reed leaves cover the sandbar.

首句写芦叶汀洲，起笔即见其景。「芦叶满汀洲」写芦叶满汀洲，「芦叶」写芦苇之叶、「满汀洲」写满于水中沙洲。一句以「芦叶」写秋芦、以「满汀洲」写其满，写尽芦叶满汀洲之秋景。以景起兴，含蓄而萧疏，是「以景起兴」的妙笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

The opening line writes the reed leaves and sandbar, the first stroke at once seeing the scene. The reed-leaves-cover-the-sandbar writing the reed leaves and their covering of the islet, exhausting the reed-leaves-autumn scene. Using the scene's uprising, reserved and sparse, the scene-uprising wondrous brush.

二十年、重过南楼。

Twenty years, passing again the South Tower.

二十年、重过南楼。

Twenty years on, I pass the South Tower again.

此句写重过南楼，是全词写今昔的关键。「二十年、重过南楼」写二十年重过南楼，「二十年」写二十年之后、「重过南楼」写重经南楼。一句以「二十年」写时之隔、以「重过南楼」写重经旧地，写尽二十年后再过南楼之情——岁月已逝、旧地重游。以时写慨，含蓄而深沉，是「以时写慨」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

This line writes the passing-the-South-Tower-again, the whole ci's past-present key. The twenty-years-on-I-pass-the-South-Tower-again writing the twenty-year interval and the old-ground's revisiting, exhausting the twenty-years-later return's feeling — the years' gone and the old place's revisited. Using the time for the sigh-writing, reserved and deep, the time-writes-sigh telling stroke.

黄鹤断矶头。

The Yellow Crane at the broken cliff-head.

黄鹤断矶头。

The yellow crane is gone, at the bluff's head.

此句写黄鹤断矶，是全词写旧地之景的关键。「黄鹤断矶头」写黄鹤断矶头，「黄鹤」用崔颢黄鹤楼之意、「断矶头」写黄鹤矶之头。一句以「黄鹤」写黄鹤矶（武昌名胜）、以「断矶头」写矶头，写尽黄鹤矶头之景——昔人已乘黄鹤去，此地空余黄鹤楼。以典写景，含蓄而苍茫，是「以典写景」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

This line writes the yellow-crane bluff, the whole ci's old-place scene key. The yellow-crane-is-gone-at-the-bluff's-head using Cui Hao's Yellow Crane Tower allusion and the Wuchang bluff, exhausting the bluff scene — the old person's already riding the yellow crane away, this place's empty Yellow Crane Tower. Using the allusion for the scene-writing, reserved and vast, the allusion-writes-scene telling stroke.

欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游。

Wishing to buy the osmanthus and to carry the wine together, in the end, it is not like the roaming of the youth.

欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游。

I would buy cassia flowers and carry wine with me; yet it is not, after all, the wandering of youth.

尾二句写不似少年游，是全词立意的落点。「欲买桂花同载酒」写欲买桂花同载酒，「欲买」写想买、「桂花同载酒」写买桂花载酒同游；「终不似、少年游」写终不似少年游，「终不似」写终究不像、「少年游」写少年时之游。两句一写欲买桂花同载酒、一写终不似少年游，以欲买载酒写其欲重寻旧乐、以终不似少年游写其不可复得，写尽买酒载酒终不似当年少年游之情。以慨写情，含蓄而深挚，是全词最动人处，也是「以慨写情」的点睛之笔。

The closing two lines write the not-like-youth's-wandering, the whole ci's intention landing. The I-would-buy-cassia-flowers-and-carry-wine-with-me writing the buy-and-carry; yet-it-is-not-after-all-the-wandering-of-youth writing the not-like after all. Two lines one writing the would-buy-and-carry, one the not-like-youth, using the would-buy-and-carry for the would-relive-old-joy, and the not-like-youth for the irrecoverable, exhausting the buy-wine-and-carry-and-yet-not-like-the-young-wandering feeling. Using the sigh for the feeling-writing, reserved and deep, the whole ci's most moving place, the sigh-writes-feeling telling stroke.

Study

Word focus

满 'Fill' — the reed leaves filling the sandbar, the deep autumn of the river. 「满」字写芦叶满汀洲，是写芦叶之盛的关键。「芦叶满汀洲」着一「满」，写满——着一「满」字，写芦叶满于汀洲，见秋景之深。一字写尽芦叶之满，是「以一字写景」的妙笔。「满」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
重 'Again' — the passing again, the twenty years of the return. 「重」字写重过南楼，是写重游的关键。「二十年、重过南楼」着一「重」，写再次——着一「重」字，写二十年后再过南楼，见其重游之慨。一字写尽重过之意，是「以一字写慨」的点睛之词。「重」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
故 'Old' — the old friends, now not present, the absence of the past. 「故」字写故人今不在，是写故旧之思的关键。「故人今不在」着一「故」，写旧——着一「故」字，写故人今已不在，见其怀旧之深。一字写尽故人之思，是「以一字写情」的点睛之词。「故」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
终 'In the end' — the final not like, the pleasure that cannot be returned to. 「终」字写终不似少年游，是写今昔之慨的关键。「终不似、少年游」着一「终」，写终究——着一「终」字，写终不似当年少年游，见其今昔之慨。一字写尽不似之意，是「以一字写慨」的点睛之词。「终」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

雨霖铃·寒蝉凄切 Bells Ringing in the Rain: The Cicadas, Cold and Sorrowful 柳永 · 同写离别重游、系舟送别，一写兰舟催发执手相看泪眼、一写柳下系舟犹未稳终不似少年游，皆于舟中见今昔之慨 Both are the lyrics of the boat and the parting — the urged boat of Liu Yong, the moored boat of Liu Guo — the two boats of the parting and the passing.

Liu Yong's 'Bells Ringing in the Rain' — 'the orchid boat urges the departure' — is the parting of the two at the boat; Liu Guo's 'Tang of Many Orders' — 'under the willows, the moored boat not yet steady' — is the passing again at the boat — the two boats of the parting and the passing, the one of the leaving, the other of the return.

柳永《雨霖铃·寒蝉凄切》「留恋处，兰舟催发。执手相看泪眼，竟无语凝噎」，写离别之凄切，是宋词写离别的名篇；刘过《唐多令》则以「柳下系舟犹未稳，能几日、又中秋」「欲买桂花同载酒，终不似、少年游」写系舟未稳、不似少年游。两词同写离别重游、系舟送别：一写兰舟催发执手相看泪眼、以催发写别，一写柳下系舟犹未稳终不似少年游、以系舟写慨；一为柳永之婉约、一为刘过之深婉，并读正可见宋词写「系舟别绪」的两种笔法，皆于舟中见今昔之慨。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Eight Beats of Ganzhou: Facing the Evening Rain That Spatters the Long River 柳永 · 同写登临怀旧、旧愁新恨，一写不忍登高临远望故乡渺邈、一写旧江山浑是新愁，皆于登临之中见旧愁新恨 Both are the lyrics of the climbing and the old sorrows — the unwilling climbing of Liu Yong, the new sorrows of Liu Guo — the two sorrows of the old scene.

Liu Yong's 'Eight Beats of Ganzhou' — 'unwilling to climb high and look far' — is the longing of the old sorrows; Liu Guo's 'Tang of Many Orders' — 'the old rivers and hills, all are the new sorrows' — is the new sorrows of the old scene — the two sorrows of the old scene, the one of the distance, the other of the return.

柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「不忍登高临远，望故乡渺邈，归思难收」，写登高临远、归思难收，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；刘过《唐多令》则以「旧江山，浑是新愁」「二十年、重过南楼」写旧江山新愁、重过南楼。两词同写登临怀旧、旧愁新恨：一写不忍登高临远望故乡渺邈、以登高写思，一写旧江山浑是新愁、以旧江山新愁写慨；一为柳永之婉约、一为刘过之深婉，并读正可见宋词写「登临旧愁」的两种笔法，皆于登临之中见旧愁新恨。