元 Yuan · 散曲 Sanqu song
凭栏人·江夜
The Railing-Leaning Man, A River Night
江水澄澄江月明，江上何人搊玉筝？
隔江和泪听，满江长叹声。
On the river, who plucks the jade zither?
Across the river I listen through tears; the whole river fills with sighing.
Meaning
The river water is clear and limpid, the moon on the river bright and empty; above the river, who is it that plucks the jade zither? Across the river I listen with tears; the whole river seems to echo with a long, lingering sigh.
江水清澈澄碧，江中月影空明；江面之上，不知是何人在拨弄玉筝？隔着江水和着泪静听，整条江仿佛都回荡起悠悠的长叹之声。
Appreciation
The whole song is barely twenty-odd characters, yet it sketches a clear and distant picture of listening to a zither on a river night. The first line, river water and moon answering each other, clear and empty, first lays a still scene; the second line, with the question 'who,' brings in the zither sound and breaks the loneliness. The last two lines, 'across the river' and 'the whole river' repeatedly embed the word 'river,' moving from the person to the river, closing with the river's long sigh, turning formless sorrow into a tangible wave of sound—painting the powder on the back, the language pale yet the feeling deep, a few words with endless lingering.
【白话串讲】 “江水澄澄江月明，江上何人搊玉筝”——张可久写江夜：江水澄澈江月明，谁在江上弹筝？“隔江和泪听，满江长叹声”——隔江听的人流着泪，满江都是长叹声。 【意象与手法】 全曲仅二十余字，却勾勒出一幅清远的江夜听筝图。首句江水和月相映，澄澈空明，先布静景；次句以「何人」问句引出筝声，打破寂寥。后两句「隔江」「满江」反复嵌「江」字，由人及江，以江涛的长叹收束，将无形的哀怨化为有形的声浪，背面敷粉，语淡情深，寥寥数语而余味悠长不尽。 【情感与主旨】 此曲当作于张可久漫游江南、客居羁旅之时。作者一生仕途坎坷，久任下级吏员，足迹遍及湘、鄂、苏、浙，常于舟中江畔度夜。某个月白风清的夜晚，他泊舟江上，忽闻对岸传来幽怨的筝声，触动身世飘零之感，遂信笔写成这首小令，以江夜闻筝写羁旅孤怀。 【名句点睛】 常考「澄澄」「何人」如何营造澄澈幽寂的意境；「隔江和泪听」以泪写情、以听者反应写筝声之哀；四句皆嵌「江」字的嵌字体巧思；以江涛长叹收束的背面敷粉手法。
Background
This song was likely written when Zhang Kejiu roamed the south and lodged as a traveller. The author's official career was bumpy all his life; long a lower clerk, his footsteps covered Xiang, E, Su and Zhe, and he often spent nights on boats by the river. On a moon-bright, wind-clear night he moored on the river and suddenly heard a plaintive zither from the opposite shore, which stirred his feeling of drifting and rootlessness, and he wrote this songlet on the spot, using the river-night listening to a zither to write the lone breast of travel, lodging the lament of a man stranded at the world's end.
张可久（约1270—1348后），字小山，庆元人，元代散曲大家，与乔吉并称「曲中双璧」，一生专力散曲，存世小令八百余首，为元曲存曲之最。张可久一生仕途坎坷，只做过路吏、典史等下级小吏，久沉下僚，足迹遍及湘、鄂、苏、浙等地，常于舟中江畔度夜，羁旅之苦、身世之叹，时时形诸笔端。此《凭栏人·江夜》当作于其漫游江南、客居羁旅之时：某个月白风清的夜晚，词人泊舟江上，忽闻对岸传来幽怨的筝声，触动身世飘零之感，遂信笔写成这首小令。全曲以江夜闻筝写羁旅孤怀，寄寓天涯沦落之慨，是张可久清丽派小令中写景抒情俱臻化境的名篇，与白居易《琵琶行》「同是天涯沦落人」之慨异代同悲，而其体制则浓缩为二十四字。张可久一生沉沦下僚，只做过桐庐典史等小吏，晚年更贫病交加，其散曲多写羁旅、怀古、隐逸之思，语言清丽，意境幽远，为元曲清丽派的代表，与乔吉并称「乔张」。此曲写江夜闻筝，其「隔江和泪听」之泪，正含其一生漂泊之悲——闻筝而落泪，非仅悲弹者，亦悲己之天涯沦落；「满江长叹声」，正是其「同是天涯沦落人」的自伤。读此曲者，当于清丽之语中见其沉哀，于短章之中见其胸次，此曲实为张可久身世之感最凝练的写照。
Art
The whole song is barely twenty-odd characters, yet it sketches a clear and distant picture of listening to a zither on a river night. The first line, river water and moon answering each other, clear and empty, first lays a still scene; the second line, with the question 'who,' brings in the zither sound and breaks the loneliness. The last two lines, 'across the river' and 'the whole river' repeatedly embed the word 'river,' moving from the person to the river, closing with the river's long sigh, turning formless sorrow into a tangible wave of sound—painting the powder on the back, the language pale yet the feeling deep, a few words with endless lingering.
全曲仅二十四字，却勾勒出一幅清远的江夜听筝图，章法精妙。首句「江水澄澄江月明」写江水和月相映，澄澈空明，先布静景，为下文筝声的出场营造幽寂的舞台；次句「江上何人搊玉筝」以「何人」问句引出筝声，打破寂寥，弹者身份不明，添神秘朦胧之感，亦含「同是天涯沦落人」的悬想。后两句「隔江和泪听，满江长叹声」由听者写到江水：隔着江水和泪而听，泪已说明筝声之哀；而「满江长叹声」由人及江，以江涛的长叹收束，将无形的哀怨化为有形的声浪，以景结情，背面敷粉——不直写己悲，而写满江皆叹，则己悲之深自见。语淡情深，寥寥数语而余味悠长不尽，正合张可久「清丽而不失于弱，华美而不流于俗」的一贯风格。又此曲之妙在以声写境、以境写情：「江水澄澄江月明」是无声之静，静到极致；「江上何人搊玉筝」是无声之问，问而引人；「隔江和泪听」是听者之泪，泪而无言；「满江长叹声」是江声之叹，叹而弥哀。四句由静入声、由声入泪、由泪入叹，层层递进，而无一字直写弹者之哀，全以听者之反应衬出，正是背面敷粉的至高法度。且「江」字四嵌，句句回环，音节如江流之往复，声情与辞情浑然一体，为巧体中寓深情的典范，亦见元曲「巧体」并非徒逞技。
Allusions
The song uses no obvious allusion, pure description of a river-night listening to a zither. Only 'jade zither' is a fine name for the ancient zither, an elegant name for a thing rather than an allusion; the word 'pluck' (chou) by its root means to pluck the strings, here precise and vivid. The whole piece borrows no classical reference, relying wholly on scene-before-the-eye and feeling, exactly fitting the sanqu's native, natural character, and also showing the Yuan songlet's aesthetic of 'valuing the popular and the true,' in contrast with the poetry-lyric tradition of valuing the elegant and the allusive.
本曲无明显用典，纯以白描铺叙江夜闻筝，正合散曲「直率天然」的体性，亦可见元人小令「尚俗尚真」的审美取向，与诗词尚雅尚典的传统形成对照。「玉筝」为古筝之美称，属器物雅称而非典故，然「筝」之一物，自来与哀怨相连：古乐府有《秦筝歌》，唐人李端《听筝》「欲得周郎顾，时时误拂弦」写筝声之动人，白居易《琵琶行》写琵琶之哀怨亦近此境，张可久以「搊玉筝」起哀，正承此「弦上哀音」的文学传统。「搊」字本义为拨弄弦索，是方言俗语，入曲而精准传神。全篇不假典实，全凭即景即情取胜，以清江明月、玉筝哀音、和泪而听、满江长叹四层意象，层层递进，织成一曲清远的江夜哀歌，正是元曲「以俗为雅、以真为美」的典范。又「筝」之为物，自来与哀怨相连：《秦筝歌》写筝声之激越，李端《听筝》「鸣筝金粟柱，素手玉房前」写筝声之动情，白居易《夜筝》「弦凝指咽声停处，别有深情一万重」写筝声之幽怨，皆以筝写哀；张可久取「玉筝」以写江夜之哀，正承此「筝声即哀声」的传统。又「玉筝」之「玉」，写筝之精雅，正与「江水澄澄」「江月明」之清雅相映，物之雅与境之清、情之哀相谐，正是张可久「清丽」风格的体现，亦见元曲于俗体之中自具雅致。
Commentary
The Ming scholar Zhu Quan, in his Correct Tone of the Supreme Harmony, records that Jiang Kangzhi 'moored at Pengli Lake by night and sang this lyric; the lakeside folk all wrapped their quilts to listen, the whole river as if with a sighing sound'—showing how deeply it moved. Modern critics praise it as 'building a distant mood, few words with long meaning,' hailing it a condensed Song of the Pipa, proving a short piece can also breathe deep sorrow, a songlet with the feeling of a long work.
明人朱权《太和正音谱》评张可久词「如瑶天笙鹤」，又谓其曲「清而且丽，华而不艳」，此曲正是其「清丽」风格的典型。明蒋一葵《尧山堂外纪》载：蒋康之「夜泊彭蠡，歌此词，湖上之民莫不拥衾而听，满江如有长叹之声」，可见此曲感人至深，歌之能使满江动容，正与曲中「满江长叹声」之境互为印证。近人论张可久，多许其「造境淡远，语短意绵」，此曲以二十四字写江夜闻筝之哀，被誉为浓缩之《琵琶行》，足见短章亦能吞吐深哀，小令而有长篇之慨。与马致远《天净沙·秋思》并称元人写景小令双璧：一写陆路行旅之悲，一写江夜听筝之哀，皆以极短之章写极深之情，为元曲小令写景抒情的巅峰。又明人论张可久，多许其「清而且丽，华而不艳」（朱权《太和正音谱》），此曲正是「清丽」二字的注脚：江月之清、筝声之丽、哀情之深，三者浑然一体，而无一丝俗艳之气。近人评此曲为「浓缩之《琵琶行》」，谓其以二十四字写尽《琵琶行》「同是天涯沦落人」之慨，短章而有大篇之气，正见小令以少胜多的容量。又此曲与《凭栏人·春思》同调而异趣，一写江夜之哀、一写春日之思，可见张可久于同一曲牌下随情变调的本领，亦见元人小令清丽派的一贯风神。
Prosody
Line by line
江水澄澄江月明
The river water clear, clear; the river moon bright;
江水清澈澄碧，江中月影空明。
The river water clear and bright, the river moon shining.
开篇布境，澄澈宁谧，是全曲静景的底色。「江水澄澄」写江水清澈澄碧，「澄澄」叠字炼出水的清透，如见江水在月光下粼粼可鉴；「江月明」写江中月影空明，水月相映，澄明一片。此句之妙有三：一是叠字之工，「澄澄」以叠字写水之清，音节舒缓，正合江夜之静谧；二是水月相映，江清则月明，月明则江愈清，二者互为因果，境界空明澄澈；三是为下文蓄势——先布一片清幽空明之境，则筝声之来，如清夜一声，格外惊心；静景愈静，哀音愈哀，全曲的情感波澜正是从这澄澈宁谧的底色上生发出来的。
The opening sets the scene, limpid and still, the ground color of the song's quiet. 'The river water clear and bright' — the clear, jade-green water, the reduplicated word drawing its transparency, the river gleaming under the moon; 'the river moon shining' — the moon's reflection in the river, moon and water answering each other, one expanse of clarity. The genius is threefold: the reduplicated 'clear and bright' writes water's purity in slow cadence, suiting the river night's stillness; moon and water in answer — clear water brightens the moon, bright moon clarifies the water, cause and effect, a realm limpid and void; and the charge it stores: first to spread a stretch of clear, void stillness, then the zither's coming is like a single note in the clear night, the more startling — the quieter the scene, the sadder the sound, and the song's emotional ripples rise from this limpid, still ground.
江上何人搊玉筝？
On the river, who plucks the jade zither?
江面之上，不知是何人在拨弄玉筝？
Who is it on the river, plucking the jade zither?
此句以问句聚焦人物与事件，是全曲由静入动的转折。「江上」点明筝声来处——江面之上、隔水而来，空间感顿生；「何人」以疑问发之，弹者身份不明，添神秘朦胧之感，亦含「同是天涯沦落人」的悬想——弹者何人，为何夜半操筝？其身份越是不明，越引人遐想；「搊玉筝」写拨弄玉筝之态，「搊」字本义为拨弄弦索，是方言俗语，精准传神。此句以「何人」一问，打破前句的澄澈寂寥，由静入动，由景入声，筝声未闻而其哀已在——夜半何人独奏，必是伤心之人，一问之中，哀怨的预感已然弥漫江上。
This line focuses person and event in a question, the turning from stillness to motion. 'On the river' fixes the zither's source — across the water, the sense of space at once; 'who' opens in doubt, the player unknown, mystery and vagueness, and the hint of 'fellow outcast under heaven' — who is the player, why at midnight? The more unknown, the more the imagination stirs; 'plucking the jade zither' — the word 'pluck' is dialect vernacular, precise and vivid. The question 'who' breaks the limpid solitude of the last line, turning still to motion, scene to sound; the zither not yet heard, its sorrow already there — who plays alone at midnight? A heart in grief, surely; within the question, the foreboding of sorrow already fills the river.
隔江和泪听，满江长叹声
Across the river I listen through tears; the whole river echoes with the sound of long sighs.
隔着江水和着泪静听，整条江仿佛都回荡起悠悠的长叹之声。
Across the river, listening through tears; the whole river seems to resound with long-drawn sighs.
后两句以听者反应反衬乐声哀婉，将愁怨推进一步，是全曲情感的落点。「隔江和泪听」写听者隔着江水和泪而听，「隔江」写空间之远、闻声而不见人，愈隔愈觉其哀；「和泪」写听者已潸然泪下，未写筝声如何哀怨，而听者之泪已说明一切，背面敷粉，以听写声；「满江长叹声」由人及江，以江涛的长叹收束——听者之叹，化作满江之声，仿佛整条江都在为这哀音叹息。此句之妙在于以景结情：将无形的哀怨化为有形的声浪，人叹而江亦叹，物我交融，哀怨弥漫天地。语淡情深，含蓄不尽，是全曲「以听者写弹者、以江声写人叹」的典范。
The last two lines set the listener's reaction against the music's sorrow, advancing grief one notch, the settling point of the song. 'Across the river I listen through tears' — the listener, across the water, listening through tears; 'across the river' the far space, hearing yet not seeing the player, the farther the sadder; 'through tears' the listener already weeping — the zither's grief unwritten, yet the listener's tears say all, painting the sound from behind. 'The whole river echoes with the sound of long sighs' — from person to river, closing in the river's sigh: the listener's sigh turned into the river's voice, as if all the river were sighing at the sad music. The genius lies in closing feeling in scenery: intangible sorrow made into a visible wave, the person sighing and the river sighing, thing and self fused, sorrow filling heaven and earth. Light words, deep feeling, reserve inexhaustible — a model of the song's way of writing the player through the listener, the human sigh through the river's sound.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both are Yuan songlets, good at writing night scenes in short pieces—compare their scene-building and feeling methods.
贯云石《清江引·夜行》以「秋风不解人意，吹梦到天涯」等句写夜行之思，笔致清丽疏朗；张可久《凭栏人·江夜》以「江水澄澄江月明，江上何人搊玉筝」写江夜闻筝，笔致清远幽怨。二曲同为元人小令，同写羁旅夜境，同以清丽见长，而贯曲多写思乡之梦，明快疏朗；张曲专写听筝之哀，含蓄幽怨。一写「行」之思，一写「夜」之听；一以直抒见长，一以衬写取胜。并读可见元人小令写夜境的两重路数，亦见贯云石之豪放与张可久之清丽的不同面目。
天净沙·秋 Sky-Clean Sand, Autumn 白朴 · 同属元曲写景小令，意象组合之疏密可资比较 Same dynasty (Yuan), both sanqu songlets on scene; differ in imagery (desolate autumn vs clear river and moon)Both sketch river-sky night scenes with terse brush—compare the density and looseness of Yuan scene-writing.
白朴《天净沙·秋》以「孤村落日残霞，轻烟老树寒鸦」的疏朗意象写秋色，结以「青山绿水，白草红叶黄花」的明丽画面，纯以景物叠加成篇；张可久《凭栏人·江夜》以「江水澄澄江月明」的澄澈之境起笔，经「何人搊玉筝」的听觉介入，结以「满江长叹声」的物我交融，景中有声、声中有情。二曲同为元人写景小令，而白曲以静景叠印见长，疏朗明丽；张曲以动静相生见长，清远幽怨。并读可见元曲写景的两种笔法——纯以景语成篇，与景中寓情、以声写境，各有千秋。
凭栏人·春思 The Railing-Leaning Man, Spring Thought 张可久 · 同作者同曲牌，时令与情思之异可资比较 Same author, same tune The Railing-Leaning Man; differ in season and feeling (spring thought vs river night)Same author, same tune—best to compare the consistent grace of Zhang Kejiu's refined-school songlets.
张可久《凭栏人·春思》写春日怀人之思，情致婉转缠绵；《凭栏人·江夜》写江夜听筝之哀，情致清远幽怨。二曲同出张可久之手，同用「凭栏人」曲牌，同为小令写情，而一时令不同——一春一秋（江夜），一明丽一清冷；二情思不同——一写怀人之思，一写羁旅之哀。并读可见张可久于同一曲牌下随题赋情、随情变调的功力，亦见其清丽派小令的一贯风神：无论写春思还是江夜，皆以淡雅之笔写深婉之情，语短意绵，余味悠长。