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元 Yuan · 散曲 Sanqu song

山坡羊·未央怀古

Sheep on the Slope, Meditating on the Past at Weiyang

张养浩

Zhang Yanghao

怀古meditating on the past 咏史History 感怀reflection

三杰当日，俱曾此地，殷勤纳谏论兴废。
见遗基，怎不伤悲！
山河犹带英雄气，试上最高处闲坐地。
东，也在图画里；
西，也在图画里。

The three heroes of that day had all been here, urging counsel on rise and fall.
To see the ruined foundation—how not grieve!
The hills and streams still bear the heroes' spirit;
I try climbing to the highest place and sit a while.
East—also within the picture;
West—also within the picture.

Listen

Meaning

Zhang Liang, Xiao He and Han Xin, the three heroes of that day, had all been in this Weiyang Palace, earnestly debating policy and the rise and fall of states. To come upon the remnant foundation—how can one not grieve! The hills and streams still carry the heroes' spirit of old. Let me climb to the highest place and sit a while. Look east, and it too is within the painting; look west, and it too is within the painting.

汉初三杰当日，都曾在这未央宫里，恳切地向君王进谏、共论天下兴废存亡的道理。如今见到残存的宫殿基址，怎能不令人悲伤感慨！眼前的山河，仿佛还萦绕着当年的英雄气概。姑且试着登上最高处，闲闲地坐下来眺望。向东看，江山也在图画之中；向西看，江山也在图画之中。

Appreciation

This song is strong in the tension between 'the heroes' spirit' and 'within the picture.' The opening three lines, 'The three heroes of that day had all been here, urging counsel on rise and fall,' recall the glory of the early-Han worthy ministers and good generals debating statecraft; the narrative is spare and forceful. 'To see the ruined foundation—how not grieve!' turns from glory to decay, directly voicing the lament of the visit. The finest stroke is 'The hills and streams still bear the heroes' spirit; I try climbing to the highest place and sit a while'—the hills and streams endure while the heroes are gone; climbing and sitting, one stands alone in the vast. The close, 'East—also within the picture; West—also within the picture,' uses repeated short lines to write that the rivers and hills are like a painting and all ages are the same; on the surface calm, it turns the grief of rise and fall into a gaze upon eternal nature, closing deep feeling in pale words, attaining the Yuan song's quality of 'bold yet vast' and yet 'clear and empty.'

【白话串讲】张养浩凭吊未央宫：“三杰当日，俱曾此地，殷勤纳谏论兴废”——萧何、张良、韩信曾在这里议兴亡。“山河犹带英雄气”——山河还带着英雄气。“东，也在图画里；西，也在图画里”——东西望去，都是画。【意象与手法】全曲以凭吊为经、以登临为纬，由昔入今、由实入虚。起三句追忆三杰议政之盛，叙事简劲而有古直之气；「见遗基，怎不伤悲」陡然转跌，直抒凭吊之恸；「山河犹带英雄气」以山河拟人，将英雄之气赋予自然，物我交融；结拍「东，也在图画里；西，也在图画里」以两组短句回环对举，写江山如画、古今同此，以淡语收浓情，于平静超然中见兴废之悲，深得元曲豪辣灏烂而又清空蕴藉之致。【情感与主旨】此曲作于张养浩晚年赈灾关中途中。未央宫为汉高祖刘邦所建、萧何营构之朝宫，是汉初三杰辅政论兴之所。诗人经长安见宫阙残基，念汉家开国英雄与后世陵谷变迁，借古抒慨，寄沧桑兴废之叹，亦暗含对当世治乱的隐忧，与《潼关怀古》《骊山怀古》同为其关中怀古组曲。【名句点睛】常考「山河犹带英雄气」的拟人与物我对照，以及结拍「东，也在图画里；西，也在图画里」重复短句的表达效果——以江山永恒反衬人事兴废，淡语藏深悲。常与《潼关怀古》「兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦」合读，把握张养浩怀古曲以曲写史、语语沉痛的风格。

Background

Zhang Yanghao (1270–1329) was a great master of Yuan songs, who rose to Censor-in-Chief; in the second year of Tianli (1329) a great drought struck the Guanzhong region and he was specially appointed Pacification Commissioner of Shaanxi to relieve it, and the meditation songs written along the way are all collected in his Cloud Manor Leisure Songs. This song laments the Weiyang Palace—the audience hall built by Liu Bang, founded by Xiao He, where the early-Han 'three heroes' (Zhang Liang, Xiao He, Han Xin) aided the ruler and debated rise and fall. Passing Chang'an, Zhang saw the palace's ruined base, thought of the Han founders' heroism and the later shift of mounds and valleys, and poured out his feeling through the past. His meditation suite also includes Meditating on the Past at Lishan and Meditating on the Past at Tong Pass; this one is dedicated to Weiyang, lodging a sigh of vicissitude in the contrast of 'heroes' spirit' and 'within the picture,' and also hinting a hidden worry about the order and disorder of his own time.

此曲为元散曲家张养浩晚年关中赈灾途中所作的怀古小令。张养浩（1270—1329），字希孟，号云庄，济南人，历官监察御史、礼部尚书，以直言敢谏著称，曾因上书论政触怒权贵而多次辞官，晚年归隐济南云庄。元文宗天历二年（1329）关中大旱，饥民相食，朝廷特拜他为陕西行台中丞，前往赈灾。他散尽家财，亲赴灾区，途中作《山坡羊》怀古组曲，包括《潼关怀古》《骊山怀古》《未央怀古》等，皆收于《云庄休居自适小乐府》。未央宫为汉高祖刘邦七年（前200）由丞相萧何主持营建，是西汉最重要的朝会宫殿，汉初君臣多在此议政决策，张良、萧何、韩信三杰辅政论兴，皆与未央宫相系。张养浩途经长安，凭吊未央宫残基，追想汉初三杰辅政论兴废的盛况，抚今追昔，遂有此作，既寄沧桑兴废之叹，亦隐含对当世治乱的深忧。此曲与其赈灾途中悯民之作互为表里，是元散曲怀古题材的典范之作。

Art

This song is strong in the tension between 'the heroes' spirit' and 'within the picture.' The opening three lines, 'The three heroes of that day had all been here, urging counsel on rise and fall,' recall the early-Han worthy ministers and good generals debating statecraft; the narrative is spare and forceful. 'To see the ruined foundation—how not grieve!' turns from glory to decay, directly voicing the lament of the visit. The finest stroke is 'The hills and streams still bear the heroes' spirit; I try climbing to the highest place and sit a while'—the hills and streams endure while the heroes are gone; climbing and sitting, one stands alone in the vast. The close, 'East—also within the picture; West—also within the picture,' uses repeated short lines to write that the rivers and hills are like a painting and all ages are the same; on the surface calm, it turns the grief of rise and fall into a gaze upon eternal nature, closing deep feeling in pale words, attaining the Yuan song's quality of 'bold yet vast' and yet 'clear and empty.'

全曲以追忆与凭吊为线索，章法由昔入今、由实入虚，跌宕有致。起三句「三杰当日，俱曾此地，殷勤纳谏论兴废」以赋笔直陈，追想张良、萧何、韩信三杰当年在未央宫中恳切进谏、共论兴亡的盛事，叙事简劲而气象开张；「见遗基，怎不伤悲」陡然转跌，以今日之残基对当日之盛况，直抒凭吊之恸，一扬一抑之间，沧桑之感油然而生。中间「山河犹带英雄气」宕开一笔，写山河不改而英雄已逝，将人事之无常置于天地之永恒中观照；「试上最高处闲坐地」以「闲坐」二字转出登临远眺的从容姿态，于极静处蓄极深之情，散曲口语衬字入调，平添疏宕之味。结拍「东，也在图画里；西，也在图画里」以两组短句回环对举，写江山如画、四望皆景，表面平静超脱，实则将兴废之悲化入永恒的自然图景，以淡语收浓情。全曲先盛后衰、由悲入静，层层转跌而气脉一贯，深得元曲豪辣灏烂而清空蕴藉之致，尺幅之内有万里之势，正见张养浩以曲写史的大家手笔。

Allusions

The song's 'three heroes' uses an explicit allusion, referring to the early-Han Zhang Liang, Xiao He and Han Xin; the Records of the Grand Historian records Liu Bang saying 'these three are all heroes of men.' 'Weiyang' is the Weiyang Palace, whose site was at Chang'an, built under Xiao He's direction, the Western-Han audience hall; Ban Gu's Western Capital Rhapsody extols its grandeur at length. 'Urging counsel on rise and fall' darkly refers to the early-Han ruler-minister debates and the rites set by Shu Suntong. The close 'within the picture' transforms Su Shi's 'the rivers and hills like a painting' and Wang Wei's 'within the painting' image, gathering the rise and fall of history into nature's eternity. The allusions are all familiar Han histories, picked up at hand, not hindering the song's popular manner.

曲中「三杰」用《史记·高祖本纪》典故，汉高祖刘邦尝言：「运筹策帷帐之中，决胜于千里之外，吾不如子房；镇国家，抚百姓，给馈饷，不绝粮道，吾不如萧何；连百万之军，战必胜，攻必取，吾不如韩信。此三者，皆人杰也。」此即三杰之典源，张良运筹帷幄、萧何镇国安民、韩信百战百胜，三杰并称，遂为汉初开国气象的象征。「未央」指未央宫，故址在今陕西西安西北汉长安故城，萧何营建，规模壮丽，班固《西都赋》盛称其「重轩三阶，闺房周通」，为西汉朝会号令之所，故曲中「俱曾此地」暗含此地即汉家基业所系。「殷勤纳谏」暗含汉初君臣纳谏议政、叔孙通制礼等史事，写其君明臣贤、上下相得。「图画里」化用苏轼《念奴娇·赤壁怀古》「江山如画」之意境，以如画江山对照人事沧桑，将眼前景物提升为历史哲思的载体。全曲用典皆系汉史熟典与诗家成语，信手拈来，自然浑融，不碍曲体通俗之本色，典与情、史与景水乳交融，正见元人怀古以曲运典的高妙。

Commentary

Zhang Yanghao's meditation songs stand unique among Yuan songs; the Ming scholar Zhu Quan, in his Correct Tone of the Supreme Harmony, ranks his lyrics 'like a jade tree in the wind.' This Meditating on the Past at Weiyang, with Meditating on the Past at Tong Pass ('when risen, the people suffer; when fallen, the people suffer'), is named together; the Qing scholar Li Diaoyuan, in his Rain Village Talk on Songs, says 'he held a will to aid the age in his breast, so in mourning the past and grieving the present every word is heavy.' The preface to Cloud Manor Songs says 'having left office to retire, now and then I filled a lyric,' yet the pieces written on the Guanzhong relief journey especially show his care for the state. The modern Ren Zhongmin, in his Outline of Sanqu, ranks it the crown of Yuan meditation songs. In sum, writing history in song, bold and yet deep-gentle.

张养浩怀古小令在元曲中独树一帜，明人朱权《太和正音谱》列其词「如玉树临风」，赞其清峻高华。此《未央怀古》与《潼关怀古》并称，一写宫阙兴废，一写山河形胜，皆以苍茫之笔寄兴亡之慨；《潼关怀古》结句「兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦」直刺历代兴亡中百姓的苦难，尤为后世传诵。清人李调元《雨村曲话》称其「胸中自有济世之志，故吊古伤今，语语沉痛」。《云庄乐府》自序言「辞官归隐，时复填词」，而关中赈灾途中所作尤见忧国本色，可见其怀古并非徒发思古之幽情，而是以史为鉴、心系苍生，身当大旱饥馑而吊汉家宫阙，其沉痛自有现实的血肉。近人任中敏《散曲概论》推为元代怀古之冠。要之，此曲以曲写史，豪宕而深婉，借汉家旧事抒当世之忧，将个人身世之感与历史兴亡之慨熔于一炉，是元散曲怀古题材的典范之作，对后世以曲咏史、借古讽今的创作有深远的影响。

Prosody

Form Sanqu, Zhonglu mode, Sheep on the Slope (meditation song)散曲·中吕·山坡羊（怀古小令）

Rhyme Northern song, Central Plain rhyme, zhi-si/qi-wei etc., irregular lines北曲《中原音韵》，地、悲、气、地、里、里相押，属齐微韵，一韵到底

Tone pattern Song form not strict on level-oblique minutiae, values the 'core' and the breath曲体不苛求平仄，重务头与气脉，句尾多以去声收束，声情顿挫

Reading note One of Zhang Yanghao's meditation suite, named with Meditating on the Past at Tong Pass.山坡羊为北曲中吕宫常用曲牌，全曲句式参差错落，长短相间，由一字句至八字句不等，节奏疏密有致。此曲句句押韵，一韵到底，声情流畅而气势贯通，诵读时一气呵成，正合凭吊怀古的苍茫之气。结拍「东，也在图画里；西，也在图画里」以二字短句领起，与《潼关怀古》「兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦」的句式同一机杼，皆以对举短句收束全曲，短句与长句交替，形成回环往复的节奏感，把登临远望的视野与历史兴废的沉思统一于声情之中。张养浩关中怀古组曲皆用此调，遂成曲中怀古的定格，其以曲写史、以声传情的格律经营，深得北曲豪辣本色，为后世散曲怀古提供了范式。

Line by line

三杰当日，俱曾此地，殷勤纳谏论兴废。

The Three Heroes of that day were all here, earnestly offering counsel, debating rise and fall.

汉初三杰当日都曾在此地，恳切地向君王进谏、共论兴废

The Three Heroes of Han's founding once stood here, offering earnest counsel, debating rise and fall.

起笔以「三杰」总领，用《史记·高祖本纪》人杰之典，追想张良、萧何、韩信当年于未央宫中恳切纳谏、共论兴废的盛况，三句一气贯注，写出汉初君臣相得的鼎盛气象。「殷勤」二字尤见恳切之态，「论兴废」三字将议论对象直指天下兴亡，格局宏阔。此三句为全曲之「盛」，与下文「见遗基」之「衰」构成强烈对照，先扬后抑，为凭吊之悲蓄足气势，是元曲以曲写史的典型起法，叙事简劲而气象开张。

The opening leads with 'the Three Heroes,' using the Shiji's allusion to the 'human heroes,' recalling Zhang Liang, Xiao He, and Han Xin in their day at Weiyang Palace, earnestly offering counsel and debating rise and fall; three lines flowing in one breath, writing the prime of early Han, ruler and minister in perfect accord. The word 'earnestly' renders the devotion; 'debating rise and fall' points the argument straight at the fate of the realm, the bearing grand. These three lines are the song's 'prime,' set in sharp contrast with the 'decline' of the 'foundations below' — lifted first, then pressed, charging the grief of mourning, the typical opening of Yuan qu writing history, the narrative brief and strong, the bearing open.

见遗基，怎不伤悲！

Seeing the remains of the foundations — how can one not grieve?

见到残存的宫殿基址，怎能不令人伤悲

Seeing the ruined foundations, how can one not grieve?

「遗基」二字点出凭吊对象，昔日壮丽的未央宫如今只剩残砖断础，宫阙犹存而英雄已逝，物是人非之感油然而生。「怎不伤悲」以反问句式直抒胸臆，语气强烈而情感充沛，将前文追忆所蓄之势于此一总迸发。句尾感叹号更见情激，此句是全曲由「盛」转「衰」的枢纽，也是全曲情感的第一个高峰，为下文登临远望、寄慨自然作了情感铺垫，读来声情俱烈，动人肺腑。

The words 'ruined foundations' name the object of mourning: the once-magnificent Weiyang Palace, now only broken bricks and pedestals, the halls gone and the heroes gone, the ache of things remaining and people gone rising of itself. 'How can one not grieve?' opens in a rhetorical question, speaking the heart outright, the tone intense, the feeling full, gathering all the buildup of the recollection into one outburst. The exclamation at the line's end shows the passion; the line is the song's hinge from 'prime' to 'decline,' the first peak of feeling, charging the emotion for the gazing from the height below, read with voice and feeling both fierce, moving the vitals.

山河犹带英雄气，

The hills and rivers still bear the heroes' spirit;

眼前的山河，仿佛还萦绕着当年的英雄气概

The hills and rivers before my eyes seem still to hold the heroes' spirit of old;

此句是全曲题眼。「山河」为自然之永恒，「英雄气」为人事之英华，诗人以「犹带」二字将二者绾合，仿佛山河至今仍萦绕着三杰的英雄之气，物我交融，古今贯通。以山河之不改反衬英雄之已逝，以自然之永恒对照人事之无常，时空错落之间，苍茫之感油然而生。此句承上启下，既收束凭吊之悲，又开启登临远眺的静观境界，境界阔大，余韵悠长，是元曲炼意造境的妙笔，也是全曲最具概括力的一句。

This line is the eye of the song. 'Hills and rivers' the permanence of nature; 'heroes' spirit' the glory of human deed; the poet joins the two in 'still bear,' as if the hills and rivers even now are wrapped in the heroes' air, thing and self fused, past and present joined. The hills unchanged set off the heroes gone; nature's permanence set against human inconstancy, the vastness rising in the dislocation of time and space. The line carries the part above to the part below, closing the grief of mourning and opening the calm gazing from the height — the realm grand, the aftertone long, a fine stroke of Yuan qu crafting meaning into mood, and the song's most comprehensive line.

东，也在图画里；

East — also within the painting;

向东看，江山也在图画之中

Looking east, the land and river lie within a painting;

结拍以两组结构相同的短句对举，「东」「西」对「图画里」，写登临最高处四望皆景、江山如画。此句妙在以淡语收浓情：表面写景之静美超然，实则暗含江山千古如画而英雄霸业已空的深沉感慨，以自然之永恒反衬人事之须臾，把兴废之悲化入永恒的山河图景。「也」字重复出现，语气从容，更见诗人将悲慨压入静观的深婉笔法。东望西望、一视同仁，正是登高者把历史兴亡放进自然永恒中观照的刹那心境，余味不尽。

The closing, two groups of short lines of the same form set against each other, 'east' and 'west' against 'within the painting,' writes the summit gazing, all directions scenery, the land and river like a painting. The genius lies in closing deep feeling in light words: on the surface the quiet beauty of scenery, within the deep lament that the land and river, painted through the ages, hold heroes and empire turned to void — nature's permanence set against human briefness, the grief of rise and fall dissolved into the eternal picture of hills and streams. The repeated word 'also' gives a calm tone, showing the poet's deep, reserved brush pressing grief into calm observation. East and west, all one look — the instant's mood of the climber gazing at history's rise and fall within nature's eternity, the aftertone endless.

Study

Word focus

犹 Still bears; it writes the heroes' spirit lingering on the hills and streams, darkly holding the desolation that men have changed while heaven and earth have not—a word of historical depth. 「山河犹带英雄气」之「犹」为全曲诗眼，意为仍然、依旧。此字将山河与英雄气绾合，写英雄虽逝而其气长留天地，赋予自然以历史纵深；同时以山河之不改反衬人事之无常，「犹」字轻轻一点，物是人非的苍凉便弥漫全曲。若去此字，则「山河带英雄气」直说英雄气在，少了时间流逝的对照；着一「犹」字，则古今之变、盛衰之叹尽在其中。炼一字而境界全出，是元曲以虚字传神的典范，正见张养浩炼字之精与寄慨之深。

闲坐 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「试上最高处闲坐地」之「闲坐」看似寻常口语，实则大有深意。「试上」写登临之举的迟疑试探，「闲坐」写登临之后的从容姿态，一「闲」字将前文「怎不伤悲」的激烈情感轻轻压下，转入静观。登高望远、闲坐观景，正是将满腔兴废之悲沉淀为对永恒山水的凝望，以闲淡之态写深沉之悲，愈淡愈浓。句尾「地」字为曲中衬字口语，使全句更显散淡自然，正见元曲以俗为雅、豪辣中见清空的本色，读来饶有曲味。

图画 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「东，也在图画里；西，也在图画里」之「图画」化用苏轼「江山如画」之境，写登临所见山河之美如展开的画幅。然此「图画」非纯然写景：诗人眼中之画，是涵容了历史兴废、英雄成败的山河长卷，画中美景愈是永恒，愈反衬人事之短暂，与「山河犹带英雄气」呼应，形成自然永恒与历史须臾的双重对照。以「图画」收束全曲，将悲慨化入审美静观，淡而有味，是元曲以景结情的典型手法，一字之设而全曲境界顿开，余韵悠长。