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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

游金山寺

Visiting the Jinshan Temple

苏轼

Su Shi

纪游travel record 长江Yangtze River 苏轼Su Shi

我家江水初发源，宦游直送江入海。
闻道潮头一丈高，天寒尚有沙痕在。
中泠南畔石盘陀，古来出没随涛波。
试登绝顶望乡国，江南江北青山多。
羁愁畏晚寻归楫，山僧苦留看落日。
微风万顷靴纹细，断霞半空鱼尾赤。
是时江月初生魄，二更月落天深黑。
江心似有炬火明，飞焰照山栖鸟惊。
怅然归卧心莫识，非鬼非人竟何物？
江山如此不归山，江神见怪惊我顽。
我谢江神岂得已，有田不归如江水。

My home is where the river first springs; official wandering has borne me straight to where the river meets the sea.
They say the tide-head stands a zhang high; in the cold sky the sand marks still remain.
South of the Zhongling spring the rocks are huge and rounded, since old times appearing and vanishing with the waves.
I try climbing the summit to gaze toward my homeland; south and north of the river the green hills are many.
My traveler's sorrow fears the late hour; I seek my boat to return, but the mountain monk earnestly keeps me to watch the sunset.
A light wind over ten thousand acres makes fine boot-pattern ripples; broken rosy clouds in mid-sky are red like a fish's tail.
Just then the river moon was newly waxing; at the second watch the moon set and the sky grew deep black.
In the heart of the river there seemed a torch's bright flare; flying flames lit the hill and startled the roosting birds.
Disquieted, I lay down, my mind not understanding—was it not ghost, not man, what thing after all?
The rivers and hills so fair, yet I do not retire to the mountains; the river god, finding it strange, startles my stubbornness.
I thank the river god: how could I help it? If I have fields and still do not return, may I be like this river water.

Listen

Meaning

A night visit to Jinshan Temple, the poem moves from the river's source and the poet's wandering, through the day's scenery and a strange midnight torch-flare on the river, to a vow before the river god to retire from official life—surface travel deepening into a wish to go home.

我家就在江水最初发源的地方，为官漂泊一直被江水送到了入海口。听说潮头有一丈高，天寒时节沙岸上还留着潮痕。中泠泉南畔的石头盘陀巨大，古来随波涛出没。试着登上绝顶眺望故乡，江南江北青山重重。羁旅的愁绪怕天晚，想寻船归去，山僧苦苦留我看落日。微风里万顷江面如靴纹细密，半空断霞如鱼尾般赤红。这时江月初生将圆，二更时月落天色深黑。江心似乎有火炬般的光明，飞动的火焰照山惊起栖鸟。怅然归来卧下，心里不明所以，那非鬼非人的究竟是什么？江山如此美好却不归隐山林，江神见怪要惊我冥顽。我向江神答谢：岂是得已，若有田产不归便如这江水（立誓必归）。

Appreciation

The river runs as a thread through the whole piece, moving from day to night, from real to phantom. The passage of the river-heart torch is strange and trance-like, closing on a question that leaves endless space. The brush ranges freely; a long seven-character ancient poem whose breath never breaks. Its famous lines 'the rivers and hills so fair, yet I do not retire... the river god startles my stubbornness' write the depth of love for the landscape through the god's 'strangeness'—whimsical and alive.

【白话串讲】苏轼游金山寺：“我家江水初发源，宦游直送江入海”——他家在岷江边，江水流入大海。“试登绝顶望乡国，江南江北青山多”——“微风万顷靴纹细，断霞半空鱼尾赤”——他看落日。“江神见怪惊我顽”——他写自己不能归乡的怅惘。【意象与手法】以江水为线索贯穿全篇，由昼入夜、由实入幻。江心炬火一段奇诡恍惚，以疑问收，留白无穷。笔势纵横，七古长篇而气脉不断。【情感与主旨】表面记游，实写宦游漂泊、望乡思归与对江山的惊爱，末以'有田不归如江水'立誓，抒归隐之愿。坡公七古豪放中见幽渺。【名句点睛】江山如此不归山，江神见怪惊我顽——以江神之'怪'反写爱江山之深，奇趣横生。

Background

This poem was written when Su Shi, as assistant prefect of Hangzhou (1071–1074), visited Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang, in his thirties, wandering as an official in Jiangnan, gazing homeward and longing to return, uttering his retirement vow through the river god's words.

金山寺在宋时镇江（古润州）江心孤岛上，屹立长江波涛之中，为江南名刹。苏轼约于宋神宗熙宁年间出蜀后沿江东下、赴任杭州通判途中，经润州游金山寺，因作此长篇七古。东坡家眉山，地近岷江，正处长江初发源处，故开篇即云「我家江水初发源」，以江水为血脉勾连故乡与宦游之地。时值王安石变法前夕，朝廷政局渐趋紧张，苏轼对新政已存保留，内心兼有壮志与退志。诗中由白昼登临、望乡，至日暮山僧留看落日，再入夜半江心炬火之奇，终以「有田不归如江水」立誓，表面记游，实含宦海飘零、思归林泉的深衷。江心炬火一事，或谓渔火、或谓磷光、或谓舟灯，东坡以「非鬼非人竟何物」存疑，正见其好奇而旷达的诗人本色。金山寺在宋时镇江江心孤岛上，屹立长江波涛之中，为江南名刹。苏轼约于熙宁年间出蜀后沿江东下、赴任杭州通判途中经润州游金山寺，因作此长篇七古。东坡家眉山近岷江，正处长江初发源处，故开篇即云「我家江水初发源」。时值王安石变法前夕，政局渐紧，诗中「有田不归如江水」已暗寓退隐之志，表面记游而实含宦海飘零之深衷。

Art

Seven-character ancient style, with the character 'river' (jiang) threading the whole; moving from scene to phantom to vow, its waves rise layer on layer; the torch-flare passage is a stroke of genius, seeming real yet unreal.

此诗以「江水」为全场线索，章法如江流宛转，由昼入夜、由实入幻、由景入情，一气贯注而波澜屡生。开篇「我家江水初发源，宦游直送江入海」以江之源流统摄身世，起笔便有万里之势；继而沙痕、盘陀、登顶望乡，层层铺写白昼之景。至「山僧苦留看落日」一转，微风断霞、江月初生，由明入暝；「江心似有炬火明」忽作奇笔，飞焰惊鸟，景物陡变诡谲，以疑问「非鬼非人竟何物」收束幻境，留白无穷。末段「江山如此不归山，江神见怪惊我顽」以江神之怪反写爱江山之深，终以立誓归隐作结。全篇七古长篇而气脉不断，叙事、写景、悬念、抒情相生，豪放中见幽渺，是东坡七古「行云流水」之境的代表。此诗以「江水」为全场线索，章法如江流宛转，由昼入夜、由实入幻、由景入情，一气贯注而波澜屡生。开篇以江之源流统摄身世，起笔便具万里之势；继而沙痕盘陀、登顶望乡，层层铺写白昼之景。至山僧留看落日一转，微风断霞、江月初生，由明入暝；江心炬火忽作奇笔，飞焰惊鸟，景物陡变诡谲，以疑问收束幻境，留白无穷。

Allusions

'Zhongling': the Zhongling spring, a famed spring at Jinshan; 'sheng po': the sixteenth of the lunar month, the moon about to be full; 'river god finds it strange': adapting the 'river god and Hebo' thought from 'Shiji'; 'like the river water': swearing by the water.

诗中用事虽少而皆有关身世与地望。其一为「中泠」，即中泠泉，在金山之畔，自古为天下第一泉，东坡拈以写寺下江石之险；盘陀石「古来出没随涛波」暗含江山永恒、人事倏忽之思。其二为「生魄」，语出《尚书·武成》「既生魄」，指农历每月初三四之月相（月始生明），东坡用以写江月初生之景，兼带时光初动之意。其三为「江神见怪」，化用屈原《九歌·山鬼》及水神传说，以江神之「惊我顽」反衬诗人爱江山之痴，是拟人化的浪漫笔法。其四为结句「有田不归如江水」，以江水为誓，暗用「指水为盟」之意，较之《论语》「逝者如斯」之叹，更添归隐决绝，数典皆融化入江景，不落痕迹。诗中用事皆有关身世与地望：「中泠」即中泠泉，在金山之畔，自古为天下第一泉，东坡拈以写寺下江石之险；「生魄」语出《尚书》指月初生明之相，用以写江月初生兼带时光初动之意；「江神见怪」化用水神传说，以江神之「惊我顽」反衬爱江山之痴，是拟人化浪漫笔法；结句「有田不归如江水」以江水为誓，暗用指水为盟之意，较「逝者如斯」更添归隐决绝。

Commentary

This piece read together with 'Former Red Cliff Rhapsody' both show the Master suddenly stirring strange fancies amid mountains and waters, settling into broad-minded ease—among seven-character ancient poems it is truly a masterpiece.

《游金山寺》是苏轼七古中纪游与言志交融的佳作，向为论者激赏。其最特出者在「江心炬火」一段：白日江山之壮阔忽转为夜半幽怪之疑，飞焰照山、栖鸟惊起，诡谲恍惚如入异境，而诗人以「非鬼非人竟何物」轻轻收住，不求解谜，留无穷之味，足见东坡好奇尚异、不以常理自囿的诗人气质。收束处「江山如此不归山，江神见怪惊我顽」以江神之怪写爱江山之深，奇趣横生；「有田不归如江水」更以江水立誓，将一时游兴升为终身归隐之愿，开后世「江海寄余生」之先声。此诗叙事如画、设景如梦、收束如潮，七古长篇而章法不乱，是宋诗以文为诗、以理入景而能不失兴象的范例，亦折射出变法前夕士人去就两难的普遍心结。《游金山寺》是苏轼七古中纪游与言志交融的佳作。其最特出者在「江心炬火」一段：白日江山之壮阔忽转为夜半幽怪之疑，飞焰照山、栖鸟惊起，诡谲恍惚，而以「非鬼非人竟何物」轻轻收住，留无穷之味。收束处「有田不归如江水」以江水立誓，将一时游兴升为终身归隐之愿，开后世「江海寄余生」之先声，亦折射出变法前夕士人去就两难的普遍心结。

Prosody

Form Seven-character ancient-style poem七言古诗（七古长篇）

Rhyme Rhyme not specified in the source.古体诗转韵自由，此诗随势换韵：海（贿）、在（队）、波（歌）、多（歌）、日（质）、赤（昔）、黑（德）、惊（庚）、物（物）、顽（删）、水（纸）等，平仄韵交错，不主故常

Tone pattern Tone not specified in the source.七言古体，不尚近体严整平仄，句式以七言为主，间以散文之气，以意驭律、随情转韵，符合七古「破除声病、纵笔所如」的体性

Reading note An eleven-line seven-character ancient poem, from the river's source to the strange encounter of the river torch; the scene is strange and the feeling sudden, closing on the vow to retire like the river water—among the Master's free-ranging travel poems in seven-character ancient style.《游金山寺》为七古长篇，凡十一联二十二句，皆七言，依古体之法而不拘近体声病，最见东坡「大略如行云流水」的七古手笔。其声律之妙在随景转韵、以韵助情：开篇「我家江水初发源，宦游直送江入海」以平声贿韵起，江流开阔；继而沙痕、盘陀转仄，登顶望乡复归平（多），由抑而扬。日暮一段「看落日」「鱼尾赤」仄韵促急，写暮色之迫；入夜「天深黑」「栖鸟惊」仄声收束，幽怪之气暗生。末段「惊我顽」「如江水」平仄相参，誓语沉凝。全篇不以一韵终始，而每段换韵皆与情境相协——昼景宽平、暮色急仄、夜境幽冷、誓归沉厚，声文互为表里。七古长篇最忌气散，此诗以江为脉贯穿，转韵如波，读来如乘舟顺流，是宋人七古「以文为诗」而不失歌行之妙的典范。

Line by line

我家江水初发源，宦游直送江入海。

My home is where the river first springs; official wandering has borne me straight to where the river meets the sea.

我家就在江水最初发源的地方，为官漂泊一直被江水送到了入海口

My home lies where the river first rises; in my wanderings as an official I have followed it all the way to the sea.

此联为全篇纲领，以江水绾合地理与身世，起笔即具万里奔流之势。「我家江水初发源」点出眉山近岷江、处长江之源的故乡坐标，暗含「饮水思源」的归依感；「宦游直送江入海」写己身沿江西行东下、直抵江海，一「送」字将江水拟人，似命运推人离乡万里。两句一静一动、一源一流，把个人的漂泊史凝缩为一条大江的旅程，既交代游金山寺的来由（顺江而下至此），又埋下全诗「江」的意象主线。更深层看，「初发源」与「入海」构成人生由始到流的隐喻，与篇末「有田不归如江水」的立誓遥相呼应，是东坡以地理写心史的典型起手，气度从容而情蓄其中。

This couplet is the guiding theme of the whole poem, binding geography to biography through the river and opening with the momentum of a ten-thousand-li current. 'My home lies where the river first rises' fixes Meishan near the Min River, at the source of the Yangtze, and carries the homeward feeling of 'drinking from the source.' 'In official wanderings I have followed the river to the sea' describes how he has traveled downstream to the estuary; one verb 'follow' personifies the river as if fate itself were pushing him ten thousand li from home. Two clauses, one still and one moving, one source and one current, compress a lifetime of drift into the journey of a single great river: it explains why he visits Jinshan Temple (drifting downriver) and plants the river as the master image of the poem. On a deeper level, 'the first source' and 'the sea' form a metaphor of life from its beginning to its outflow, answering the closing vow 'if I have fields and do not return, let the river be my witness.' It is Su Shi's characteristic opening that writes inner history through geography, calm in bearing yet charged with feeling.

江山如此不归山，江神见怪惊我顽。

The rivers and hills so fair, yet I do not retire to the mountains; the river god, finding it strange, startles my stubbornness.

江山如此美好却不归隐山林，江神见怪要惊我冥顽

With rivers and hills so fair, why do I not return to the hills? The river god takes offense and chides my stubbornness.

此句为全篇由景转志的关捩，笔法奇绝。「江山如此」四字总收前文白昼登临、日暮落霞、夜半炬火所写之壮丽幽奇，一个「如此」饱含对江山的无尽惊爱；「不归山」三字陡然自责，由爱江山反生未能归隐的愧歉。最妙在「江神见怪惊我顽」——诗人不直写己之思归，而托江神之口「见怪」「惊我顽」，以神之嗔怪反衬人之痴恋，将爱江山与念归隐的矛盾化作一段童话般的对话，奇趣横生而又深情内蕴。此句上承炬火之疑、下启立誓之决，使纪游之作骤然升华为对出处进退的郑重叩问，是东坡善于以诙诡之笔写深衷的明证，亦开宋人「江海寄余生」归隐主题之先声。

This line is the hinge where scenery turns toward resolve, rendered with marvelous boldness. 'Rivers and hills so fair' gathers up the splendor, strangeness and dusk-glow described since dawn; the two words 'so fair' hold boundless wonder and love for the landscape. 'Why do I not return to the hills' suddenly blames himself: loving the rivers and hills gives rise to guilt for not retiring. Most inspired is 'the river god takes offense and chides my stubbornness' — the poet does not say directly that he longs to return but lends his voice to the river god's taking offense and chiding him; the deity's reproach sets off the man's infatuation, turning the tension between loving the landscape and longing for retirement into a fairy-tale dialogue, whimsical yet deeply felt. The line carries forward the night-fire wonder below and opens toward the closing resolve, lifting a travel record into a solemn question of when to serve and when to withdraw — proof that Su Shi could write deepest feeling through odd, playful strokes, and an early note of the Song theme of 'spending one's remaining years by river and sea.'

Study

Word focus

炬火 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「炬火」是诗中由实入幻的奇眼，也是全篇最具神秘张力的意象。其本义为火炬之光，置于「江心似有炬火明，飞焰照山栖鸟惊」之境，写夜半江心忽现飞动的光焰，照山惊鸟，诡谲恍惚。此火究为何物，东坡不言——或渔火、或磷光、或舟灯、或诗人醉眼之幻，皆不可必，故紧接「非鬼非人竟何物」以疑收束，正见其不妄断、存天地之奇的豁达。一个「炬火」由寻常物象转为全诗悬念的支点，使平铺的纪游陡生幽怪之气，打破七古常见的平实叙事，彰显东坡好奇尚异的诗人气质。后人或以「炬火」喻政治风波之预感，虽属引申，亦足证此词意象之丰、含蕴之深。

归山 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「归山」二字为篇末立誓之核，意谓归隐山林、退居泉石，是唐宋诗中表述隐退的习语（如「功成归山」）。东坡于「江山如此不归山」中以「不归山」自责，将前文对江山的惊爱转化为对未能抽身仕途的愧歉，使爱景与叹身互为因果。更重者，此词与结句「有田不归如江水」构成呼应——「归山」是愿望，「如江水」是誓辞，愿望之切方有立誓之决。一个「归山」浓缩了变法前夕士人去就两难的心结：既眷恋江山功业，又厌弃宦海风波。东坡不以直白道「欲隐」，而于嗔怪江神之后吐此二字，婉转见真，是宋诗以常语写深衷、炼字于不经意处的范例。