元 Yuan · 曲 Qu song
拨不断·酒杯深
Bu Duan (Unbroken) · 'The Wine Cup Is Deep'
酒杯深，故人心，相逢且莫推辞饮。
君若歌时我慢斟，屈原清死由他恁。
醉和醒争甚？
If you sing, I'll pour slowly; let Qu Yuan die pure—let him be as he will.
What is there to quarrel between drunk and sober?
Meaning
A buoyant qu lyric on drinking with an old friend. It exhorts seizing the cup, pours slowly to a friend's song, and shrugs off Qu Yuan's tragic purity—asking what real difference there is between drunkenness and sobriety, a defiant, free-and-easy stance.
酒杯深，故人心，相逢且莫推辞饮。君若歌时我慢斟，屈原清死由他恁。醉和醒争甚？
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] The cup is deep, the old friend's heart true; on meeting, don't refuse the wine. If you sing, I pour slow; let Qu Yuan die in purity—let him be. What is there to fight over, drunk or sober? [Structure] Three moves: toast the friend, pour to his song with Qu Yuan dismissed, then the closing question that dissolves the drunk/sober distinction. [Imagery] Wine, the old friend's heart, and Qu Yuan's martyrdom supply the contrast between worldly ease and rigid virtue. The final line is the fist of the poem: a carefree, almost cynical liberation. Bold and uninhibited, it is typical of Ma Zhiyuan's qu style.
【白话串讲】 马致远写《拨不断·酒杯深》：“酒杯深，故人心，相逢且莫推辞饮”——“君若歌时我慢斟，屈原清死由他恁”——“醉和醒争甚”——他写拨不断——醉和醒争甚。 【意象与手法】 “酒杯深、故人心”写酒杯深；“相逢且莫推辞饮”写相逢且莫推辞饮；“君若歌时我慢斟、屈原清死由他恁”写屈原清死由他恁；结以“醉和醒争甚”写醉和醒争甚。慷慨豪迈。 【情感与主旨】 马致远写感怀饮酒之作，写酒杯深、相逢且莫推辞饮与醉和醒争甚的旷达，是马致远曲中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“酒杯深，故人心，相逢且莫推辞饮”写相逢饮酒；“屈原清死由他恁……醉和醒争甚”写旷达。
Background
Ma Zhiyuan (c. 1250–c. 1321), courtesy name Dongli, was a Yuan-dynasty dramatist and sanqu (lyric song) master from Dadu (modern Beijing), ranked among the "Four Great Masters of Yuan Drama" with Guan Hanqing, Bai Pu and Zheng Guangzu. Flourishing in an era when literati were barred from office, he turned to the qu form and to themes of retreat, wine and detachment. "Bu Duan · The Wine Cup Is Deep" is a sanqu that voices the carefree, wine-soaked consolation of a frustrated scholar. Its brisk, colloquial tune and bold dismissal of the martyred Qu Yuan reflect the Yuan literatus's blend of worldly ease and quiet defiance.
《拨不断·酒杯深》为元代戏曲家、散曲家马致远所作散曲。马致远（约1250—约1321），号东篱，大都（今北京）人，元代散曲家、杂剧家，与关汉卿、白朴、郑光祖并称「元曲四大家」。此曲写感怀饮酒。曲中「酒杯深，故人心，相逢且莫推辞饮」写酒杯深，故人心，相逢且莫推辞饮；「君若歌时我慢斟，屈原清死由他恁」写君若歌时我慢斟，屈原清死由他恁；「醉和醒争甚」写醉和醒争甚。马致远此曲以感怀饮酒、醉和醒争甚写其感怀之情，慷慨豪迈，是马致远曲中的名篇。此篇《拨不断·酒杯深》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《拨不断·酒杯深》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 qu's art is "bold and free, feeling carried by wine." It opens with a punchy triplet—"cup deep, friend's heart true, don't refuse the drink"—establishing intimacy through parallel brevity. The second sentence shifts to dramatic partnership: "if you sing, I pour slow," turning drinking into a duet of friends. Then comes the audacious allusion: "let Qu Yuan die pure—let him be," casually setting aside the paragon of virtuous suicide to justify present pleasure. The close, "what is there to quarrel between drunk and sober?" delivers the thesis as a rhetorical question, dissolving the moral opposition that preoccupied earlier poets. Colloquial ease ("by him be"), short lines and a driving rhyme give the piece its spontaneous, toast-like energy. The whole is a model of Yuan qu's natural, unbuttoned manner—feeling worn lightly yet knowingly.
此曲艺术上以「慷慨豪迈、以酒写情」见长。全曲由酒杯深而相逢且莫推辞饮而屈原清死由他恁。起「酒杯深，故人心，相逢且莫推辞饮」写酒杯深：酒杯深，故人心，相逢且莫推辞饮；「君若歌时我慢斟，屈原清死由他恁」写屈原清死由他恁：君若歌时我慢斟，屈原清死由他恁；结「醉和醒争甚」写醉和醒争甚：醉和醒争甚。全曲以酒写情，由酒杯深而醉和醒争甚，慷慨豪迈，是马致远曲中的名篇。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。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 central allusion is to Qu Yuan (c. 340–278 BCE), the Chu poet-minister who, failing to save his state, drowned himself in the Miluo River and became the archetype of the pure, wronged loyalist—commemorated in the Dragon Boat Festival. "Qu Yuan died pure" references his self-chosen death as a moral absolute. By saying "let him be as he will," the speaker declines Qu Yuan's martyrdom in favour of wine and friendship, a deliberately provocative contrast between rigid virtue and easy living. The "wine cup" and "old friend's heart" echo the long banquet-poetry tradition (e.g., "old friends feast, wine cup deep"). Ma Zhiyuan thus mobilises a founding martyr of Chinese literature only to laugh him off, a hallmark of Yuan qu's ironic freedom.
曲中「酒杯深故人心相逢且莫推辞饮」「君若歌时我慢斟屈原清死由他恁」「醉和醒争甚」等语，皆含典故故实。「酒杯深故人心相逢且莫推辞饮」写酒杯深故人心相逢且莫推辞饮；「君若歌时我慢斟屈原清死由他恁」用屈原之典（屈原清死写屈原沉江），写君若歌时我慢斟屈原清死由他恁；「醉和醒争甚」写醉和醒争甚。曲人以屈原之典入曲，不着痕迹，而把感怀饮酒之情写得慷慨淋漓，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。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
Readers value "The Wine Cup Is Deep" as a quintessential Ma Zhiyuan qu: brisk, witty and liberating. Where Song ci often lingered on regret, Yuan qu like this one asserts a blunt, life-affirming ease. Critics note its daring—dismissing Qu Yuan, the very symbol of integrity, would be unthinkable in orthodox lyric; the qu's licence is precisely its charm. The closing question "what to quarrel, drunk or sober?" is frequently quoted as the poet's manifesto of detachment. Set beside his famous "Autumn Thoughts" ("Old vines, old trees, evening crows"), this piece shows Ma's other face: not the melancholy traveller but the convivial drinker. For students it exemplifies how Yuan sanqu used colloquial vigour and ironic allusion to refresh the lyric tradition.
这首《拨不断·酒杯深》，是马致远写感怀饮酒之作，写酒杯深、相逢且莫推辞饮、屈原清死由他恁、醉和醒争甚之情，慷慨豪迈。起「酒杯深，故人心，相逢且莫推辞饮」——酒杯深，故人心，相逢且莫推辞饮。写酒杯深：酒杯深、故人心、相逢且莫推辞饮——酒杯深、故人心、相逢莫推辞饮；「君若歌时我慢斟，屈原清死由他恁」——君若歌时我慢斟（用屈原之典），屈原清死由他恁。写屈原清死由他恁：君若歌时我慢斟、屈原清死由他恁——歌时慢斟、清死由他恁；结「醉和醒争甚」——醉和醒争甚。写醉和醒争甚：醉和醒争甚——醉醒争甚。这「醉和醒争甚」，是全曲之结：以醉和醒争甚写其感怀。全曲慷慨豪迈，以酒写情，正是马致远曲中的名篇。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
酒杯深，故人心，相逢且莫推辞饮。
The wine cup is deep, an old friend's heart is true—meeting thus, do not refuse the drink.
酒杯深，故人心，相逢且莫推辞饮。
Fill the cup deep — the hearts of old friends run deep. Since we have met, do not refuse to drink.
起句写酒杯深，起笔即见其情。「酒杯深」写酒杯深，「酒杯」写酒杯、「深」写深；「故人心」写故人心，「故人」写故人、「心」写心；「相逢且莫推辞饮」写相逢且莫推辞饮，「相逢」写相逢、「且莫推辞饮」写莫推辞饮。三句一写酒杯深、一写故人心、一写相逢且莫推辞饮，以酒杯深写杯深、以故人心写故人心、以相逢且莫推辞饮写相逢莫辞饮，写尽酒杯深、故人心、相逢且莫推辞饮之情。以酒起兴，慷慨而豪迈，是「以酒起兴」的妙笔。
The opening strikes its note at once: a deep wine cup, the deep hearts of old friends. The three phrases move from cup to heart to meeting, urging that since old friends have found each other again, no toast should be declined. The song rises on wine itself — generous, forthright, high-spirited, a fine stroke of making wine the springboard of feeling.
君若歌时我慢斟，屈原清死由他恁。
If you sing, I'll pour slowly; let Qu Yuan die pure—let him be as he will.
君若歌时我慢斟，屈原清死由他恁。
When you sing, I will pour slowly; as for Qu Yuan's dying for purity — let him do as he liked.
此二句写屈原清死由他恁，是全曲以典写情的关键。「君若歌时我慢斟」写君若歌时我慢斟，「君若歌时」写君若歌时、「我慢斟」写我慢斟；「屈原清死由他恁」用屈原之典写屈原清死由他恁，「屈原清死」写屈原清死、「由他恁」写由他去。两句一写君若歌时我慢斟、一写屈原清死由他恁，以君若歌时我慢斟写歌时慢斟、以屈原清死由他恁写清死由他，写尽君若歌时我慢斟、屈原清死由他恁之情。以典写情，慷慨而豪迈，是「以典写情」的点睛之笔。
The allusion to Qu Yuan is the turning point. While the friend sings, the speaker pours at leisure; then comes the provocation: let Qu Yuan keep his pure, self-inflicted death, if that was his choice. Built on classical memory — the poet who drowned in the Miluo rather than serve a corrupt court — the speaker's shrug is both bold and weary: one man's integrity is another man's story; we who meet tonight will simply drink. Wine and allusion together make the emotion generous and defiant, the stroke that points the song.
醉和醒争甚？
What is there to quarrel between drunk and sober?
醉和醒争甚？
What is there to argue between being drunk and being sober?
结句写醉和醒争甚，是全曲立意的落点。「醉和醒争甚」写醉和醒争甚，「醉和醒」写醉和醒、「争甚」写争什么。一句写醉和醒争甚，以醉和醒争甚写醉醒无争，写尽醉和醒争甚之情。醉醒无争，正是以酒写情的点睛之笔，言有尽而意无穷，是全曲最动人处，把感怀之情写到了极致。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 closing line lands the song's whole point. Drunk or sober — what difference worth arguing? The question dissolves the very distinction: sober purity achieved nothing better than Qu Yuan's river, while drunken friendship has this night. In a few plain words the poet reaches depth, the flavor lingering after the sense is done. Its ripples lie hidden beneath the plain surface, and only slow, fond chewing brings out its inner meaning.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Yan Shu's 'Huan Xi Sha' ('helpless, the flowers fall; familiar, the swallows return') writes drinking with gentle regret. Ma Zhiyuan's 'Bu Duan' ('cup deep, friend's heart true, don't refuse') writes drinking with bold ease. Both are drinking lyrics: Yan in gentle regret over time, Ma in carefree toast. Yan is gentle, Ma is bold—two faces of 'drinking and feeling.'
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」，写饮酒感怀，是宋词小令的名篇；马致远《拨不断·酒杯深》则以「酒杯深，故人心，相逢且莫推辞饮」「醉和醒争甚」写酒杯深、醉和醒争甚。两曲同写饮酒感怀、无可奈何：一写无可奈何花落去、以花落燕归写惜时，一写酒杯深故人心相逢且莫推辞饮、以酒写感怀；一为晏殊之温润、一为马致远之豪迈，并读正可见曲写「饮酒感怀」的两种笔法，皆于饮酒之中见感怀。
山园小梅 Small Plum in the Mountain Garden 林逋 · 同写隐逸清雅、以物寄情，一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、一写酒杯深故人心相逢且莫推辞饮，皆于隐逸之中见清雅 Both express reclusive ease through an object—one the plum, one the wine.Lin Bu's 'Small Plum in the Mountain Garden' ('sparse shadows slant on clear water; faint fragrance floats at dusk moon') writes reclusive purity through the plum. Ma's 'Bu Duan' writes easy retirement through wine and the friend. Both express reclusive ease by an object: Lin by the plum's purity, Ma by wine's freedom. Lin is detached, Ma is convivial—two approaches to 'ease in retirement.'
林逋《山园小梅》「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」，写梅之清雅、隐逸之趣，是宋诗咏物的绝唱；马致远《拨不断·酒杯深》则以「酒杯深，故人心，相逢且莫推辞饮」「君若歌时我慢斟，屈原清死由他恁」写酒杯深、屈原清死由他恁。两曲同写隐逸清雅、以物寄情：一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、以梅写清雅，一写酒杯深故人心相逢且莫推辞饮、以酒写闲情；一为林逋之清逸、一为马致远之旷达，并读正可见曲写「隐逸寄情」的两种笔法，皆于隐逸之中见清雅。