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元 Yuan · 曲 Qu song

一枝花·不伏老（节选）

Yizhihua: Unyielding at Heart (Excerpt)

关汉卿

Guan Hanqing

散曲Sanqu 自况Self-portrayal 傲骨Proud spirit

我是个蒸不烂、煮不熟、捶不匾、炒不爆、响珰珰一粒铜豌豆，恁子弟每谁教你钻入他锄不断、斫不下、解不开、顿不脱、慢腾腾千层锦套头？
我玩的是梁园月，饮的是东京酒，赏的是洛阳花，攀的是章台柳。
我也会围棋、会蹴鞠、会打围、会插科、会歌舞、会吹弹、会咽作、会吟诗、会双陆。
你便是落了我牙、歪了我嘴、瘸了我腿、折了我手，天赐与我这几般儿歹症候，尚兀自不肯休。
则除是阎王亲自唤，神鬼自来勾，三魂归地府，七魄丧冥幽。
天哪，那其间才不向烟花路儿上走！

I am a copper pea that cannot be steamed soft, boiled tender, hammered flat, or fried open—a clanging, hard copper pea.
You young gentlemen, who taught you to burrow into that slow, thousand-layered brocade noose that cannot be cut, hacked, untied, or shaken off?
I enjoy the moon over Liang Garden, drink the wine of Eastern Capital, admire the flowers of Luoyang, and caress the willows of Zhangtai.
I am skilled at weiqi, cuju, hunting, clowning, singing and dancing, blowing and plucking, acting, composing poems, and playing shuanglu.
Even if you knock out my teeth, twist my mouth, lame my leg, break my hand—Heaven has bestowed these stubborn ailments on me, I still refuse to stop.
Only when King Yan summons me in person, and ghosts and gods come to drag me away, when my three souls return to the underworld and my seven spirits sink into darkness—
Heaven! Only then will I cease to walk the path of the pleasure quarters.

Listen

Meaning

The poet declares himself an unyielding character, likening himself to a 'copper pea' that cannot be destroyed. He boasts of his indulgent lifestyle and diverse talents, and vows to never abandon his bohemian ways except by death.

我是一颗蒸不烂、煮不熟、捶不扁、炒不爆、响当当的一粒铜豌豆，你们这些子弟谁教你们钻进那锄不断、砍不下、解不开、脱不掉、慢腾腾的千层锦套头？我玩赏的是梁园明月，饮的是东京美酒，赏的是洛阳名花，攀的是章台垂柳。我也会下围棋、踢蹴鞠、打围猎、插科打诨、唱歌跳舞、吹弹吟诗、双陆博弈。哪怕你打落我的牙、歪了我的嘴、瘸了我的腿、折断我的手，老天偏给我这几般坏毛病，却依旧不肯罢休。除非是阎王亲自来唤，神鬼自来勾魂，三魂归了地府，七魄丧入幽冥。天哪，到那时才不再向那烟花路上走！

Appreciation

This self-portrayal sanqu begins with the metaphor of a 'copper pea'—steam-proof, boil-proof, hammer-proof, fry-proof—a clanging hard core. Then it lists his roving life of moonlit gardens, fine wine, famous flowers, and willows, along with his manifold skills. With bold and unbridled language, full of street-wise energy, the poem is a declaration of personal freedom and resistance against societal oppression in the Yuan dynasty.

【白话串讲】 “我是个蒸不烂、煮不熟、捶不匾、炒不爆、响珰珰一粒铜豌豆”——关汉卿把自己比作铜豌豆，怎么折腾都不服老。这大概是元曲里最硬气的一段自我宣言。【意象与手法】泼辣恣肆，排比如联珠，将市井语言淬炼成金石之音。“蒸不烂、煮不熟、捶不匾、炒不爆”以复沓写硬度【情感与主旨】关汉卿是元杂剧奠基人，终身混迹勾栏瓦舍，自号“普天下郎君领袖，盖世界浪子班头” 【名句点睛】常考散曲自述抒情与“铜豌豆”所喻之坚不可摧、傲骨铮铮；排比、复沓手法为赏析重点

Background

Guan Hanqing, founder of Yuan drama, spent his life in entertainment quarters, calling himself 'the lord of all lovers, the chief of the world's playboys.' In the Yuan dynasty, scholars held low status (the saying goes 'eight prostitutes, nine scholars, ten beggars'). Guan uses this sanqu to defiantly embrace his bohemian life, a rebellious answer to the age's oppression.

《一枝花·不伏老》为元曲奠基人关汉卿的散套代表作，全套由【一枝花】【梁州第七】【隔尾】诸曲组成，此为节选的【梁州第七】主体。关汉卿（约一二二〇—约一三〇〇），号已斋叟，大都人，毕生混迹勾栏瓦舍，自署『普天下郎君领袖，盖世界浪子班头』。元代废科举数十年，文人进身无门，大批才士沉抑市井，关汉卿即其中佼佼——他不求仕进，转而投身杂剧与散曲创作，以『书会才人』身份与艺伎伶人相往来。此曲正作于这种身份处境之中，以『铜豌豆』自况，写其傲然不屈、游戏风月、至死方休的浪子风骨。在文学传统上，它脱胎于文人自嘲与咏怀（如嵇康《与山巨源绝交书》之疏狂、李白『天生我材必有用』之傲），却以市井泼辣语出之，将传统『狂士』形象改写为勾栏中的『铜豌豆』，是元散曲『酣畅磊落、以俗为雅』本色的典型，亦见元初文人于压抑中自放的时代精神。其不仕之选择，与白朴、马致远同调，皆易代之际读书人守节自全之一途。

Art

Bold and unbridled, with parallelisms like strings of pearls, the street language is tempered into metallic sound. Phrases like 'steam not soft, boil not tender, hammer not flat, fry not burst' repeat to emphasize hardness; 'knock out teeth, twist mouth, lame leg, break hand' escalate the torment to highlight his stubborn refusal. The whole piece boasts of 'degeneracy' with pride, a rare self-assertive rebellion in Chinese literature, vividly portraying Guan's image as the 'chief of playboys.'

此曲艺术之妙在排比、复沓与市井比喻的恣肆运用。开篇『蒸不烂、煮不熟、捶不匾、炒不爆、响珰珰一粒铜豌豆』以五组『不』字复沓写『硬度』，将抽象的性格坚毅化为可蒸煮捶炒的铜豆，比喻新奇泼辣、声口如闻；『响珰珰』以象声词添金石之声，形态毕肖。继而『锄不断、斫不下、解不开、顿不脱、慢腾腾千层锦套头』以对仗复沓写『缠缚』，与铜豆之『不可毁』相映成趣。中段『玩的是梁园月……攀的是章台柳』『会围棋……会双陆』两串排比（四组与九组『会』字），如联珠迸泻，铺陈其风流才艺。后段『落了我牙、歪了我嘴、瘸了我腿、折了我手』以四『了』字排比写摧残，反衬『尚兀自不肯休』之倔；结以『则除是阎王亲自唤……才不向烟花路儿上走』层层递进，将『不伏老』推向死而后已的决绝。全曲章法如长江大河，一气奔放，是元散曲豪辣恣肆风格的巅峰。其以复沓造势、以排比铺情，句愈排而气愈盛，最见北曲散套的体性之长。

Allusions

'Copper pea' was a Yuan period slang for an experienced frequenter of brothels; Guan reappropriates it as a symbol of indomitable toughness. 'Liang Garden moon,' 'Eastern Capital wine,' 'Luoyang flowers,' and 'Zhangtai willows' evoke historical prosperous sites for romance; 'Zhangtai willow' alludes to Han Hong's poem about a courtesan, hinting at his life in entertainment quarters.

本曲用典与市井语交织，雅俗共赏。『铜豌豆』为元时市井隐语，指勾栏中久历风月、百折不挠的老狎客（亦喻坚贞不屈之辈），关汉卿以之自况，既写其混迹风月的身份，亦写其百折不磨的硬骨，是元曲特有的『以俗喻雅』。『梁园月』『东京酒』『洛阳花』『章台柳』皆用典：梁园为汉梁孝王兔园，代指游乐胜地；东京指汴京；洛阳花即牡丹，喻风流；章台柳出韩翃『章台柳，章台柳，昔日青青今在否』，代指歌伎。四句以地名风物写其流连声色，暗含对中原繁华的记忆（宋遗民情怀隐隐在焉）。『蹴鞠』『双陆』为宋元流行游艺，『插科』『咽作』『吹弹』皆戏曲行当术语，足见其书会才人本色。『三魂七魄』『地府冥幽』本于道教魂魄之说与冥界想象。全曲虽多市井语，其『不伏老』之志却遥承嵇康『刚肠疾恶』与李白傲岸，俗骨中自藏名士风流。『铜豌豆』之喻，更与《庄子》『百炼钢化为绕指柔』反其意而用之，写柔中之刚。

Commentary

Zheng Zhenduo praised Guan as 'born stubborn, unyielding even in death.' This piece, using the copper pea as a self-metaphor, showcases the unyielding pride of a streetwise scholar, and is seen as a portrait of Yuan literati's defiant spirit; its gall is the true color of the 'chief of playboys.'

此曲自明代即享盛名，臧懋循《元曲选》序推关汉卿为曲坛领袖，近人王国维《宋元戏曲史》称其『一空倚傍，自铸伟词』，此散套正是『伟词』范本。其经典地位在『铜豌豆』所凝铸的元曲作家自我形象：于科举废弃、文人沉沦的时代，关汉卿不怨不颓，反以游戏风月、傲骨铮铮自许，将社会边缘的身份转化为精神优越的宣言，具有强烈的个性解放与职业尊严意味。评家多赞其『如铸铁成山，泼辣痛快』。在传播史上，它因比喻新奇、排比酣畅而成为关汉卿最具代表性的自况之作，『响珰珰一粒铜豌豆』成为文学典故。需留意者，『烟花路』『章台柳』写其混迹倡优，固为实写，更是以极端姿态挑战士大夫清誉传统——关汉卿以『不识字』『不伏老』的市井骄傲，反讽了那套虚伪的功名价值，其反抗虽在风月，其精神实指向自由与尊严，故能穿越时代而动人。后世论元曲作家，每举此曲为关汉卿人格之写照，良有以也。

Prosody

Form Nanlü Gong mode, Yizhihua tune (first song of Guan Hanqing's 'Unyielding' suite)元散套，南吕·一枝花（节选，属【梁州第七】）

Rhyme Suite with linked stanzas, rhymes according to mode; lines vary in length, many parallelisms and extra characters, colloquial and pungent tone.南吕宫散套，此节选依原套用韵（尤侯等部），『头』『休』『幽』『走』等协韵，一韵到底，声情豪辣痛快。

Tone pattern Led by parallel phrases 'I am', 'I enjoy', 'I also', the tone is forceful and unrestrained, like a waterfall.一枝花及梁州第七句式长短错落，大量衬字（如『蒸不烂、煮不熟』『恁子弟每』『尚兀自』）为北曲散套特色，平仄依腔格，重在可歌与口吻酣畅，不似诗词拘严。

Reading note A self-portrayal sanqu, using overwhelming exposition to convey the pride of 'unyielding', epitomizing the popular and bold style of Yuan sanqu.南吕宫声情『感叹伤悲』，然此曲以豪辣恣肆出之，正见关汉卿『以悲写傲』的翻案笔法。用韵与排比相生：长句铺陈处如联珠迸泻，短句收束处（『不肯休』『才不……走』）如铁钉定音。衬字的大量运用（『响珰珰』『慢腾腾』『尚兀自』『天哪』）使曲文脱离诗词语脉，获得说话般的泼辣口吻，最合散套『放恣才情』的体性。北曲散套本尚铺排，此曲以复沓（五『不』、四『会』、四『了』）造成节奏的累积与爆发，声情由恣肆趋决绝，唱之令人觉其骨力铮铮、不可羁勒，是元散曲豪辣风格的代表性声律实践。南吕之叹与铜豌豆之傲相激，遂成散套自况之绝唱。

Line by line

我是个蒸不烂、煮不熟、捶不匾、炒不爆、响珰珰一粒铜豌豆，

I am a copper pea — not steamed soft, not boiled tender, not pounded flat, not popped crisp, ringing, clangorous, a single solid pea.

我是一颗蒸不烂、煮不熟、捶不扁、炒不爆、响当当的一粒铜豌豆

I am a copper pea that no steaming can rot, no boiling soften, no pounding flatten, no frying burst — a single ringing, clangorous pea.

起句以市井隐语『铜豌豆』自况，五组『不』字复沓加『响珰珰』象声，将性格之坚不可摧写得声口毕肖、形态如在目前。蒸煮捶炒皆不能毁，喻任何摧折不改其志；『响珰珰』更添金石清音，显其磊落光明。此句是全曲的『自我定义』，以最俗的比喻写最硬的骨气，关汉卿将勾栏老客的身份翻为骄傲的符号，既写其混迹风月的阅历，更写其百折不磨的傲骨。起笔即定下豪辣恣肆的基调，是元散曲『以俗为雅』的巅峰开篇。五『不』字如五锤连击，先声已夺人，遂为下文书会才人风流与至死不伏老张本。

The opening likens himself, in market cant, to the 'copper pea'; the five repetitions of 'not' plus the onomatopoeia 'ringing, clangorous' write his character's unbreakable hardness, voice and form before the eyes. Steaming, boiling, pounding, frying cannot destroy it — any breaking leaves his will unbent; 'ringing, clangorous' adds the clear tone of bronze, showing his open integrity. The line is the song's 'self-definition,' the vulgarest metaphor for the toughest backbone; Guan Hanqing turns the old playhouse habitue's identity into a proud sign, writing both his experience of the flower world and his uncrushable pride. The opening fixes the bold, unbridled tone, the peak opening of Yuan sanqu's 'the vulgar turned elegant.' Five 'not's like five hammer-strokes, the sound already carrying the day, priming the book-society wit and the till-death refusal below.

我玩的是梁园月，饮的是东京酒，赏的是洛阳花，攀的是章台柳。

A list of romantic activities, four 'am' parallelisms, flaunting his libertine lifestyle.

我玩赏的是梁园明月，饮的是东京美酒，赏的是洛阳名花，攀的是章台垂柳

What I have delighted in is the moon of Liang Garden; what I have drunk is the wine of the Eastern Capital; what I have admired is the flowers of Luoyang; what I have climbed is the willows of Zhang Terrace.

此句以四组『……的是……』排比铺陈其风流行迹，梁园、东京、洛阳、章台皆中原繁华符号，暗含对宋时都会风月的记忆与眷恋。『月』『酒』『花』『柳』层层设色，写尽书会才人的浪漫生涯，亦见其交游歌伎、流连声色的实况。四句如联珠，节奏明快，将『铜豌豆』的硬骨落实为具体的活法——不以功名为务，而以风月为乐。它既是对自我身份的坦然自陈，亦是对士大夫清誉传统的倔强反讽，排比之畅足见元曲本色。四地名中藏故国之思，繁华追忆愈见其不仕之决，非徒炫风流而已。

This line spreads the fourfold 'what I have...'排比 of his romantic course: Liang Garden, the Eastern Capital, Luoyang, Zhang Terrace, all symbols of central-plain splendor, holding the memory and longing for Song-era cities' flower world. Moon, wine, flowers, willow, layer on layer of color, writing the book-society wit's romantic life, and the reality of his intercourse with singers, his lingering in song and dance. Four lines like linked pearls, the rhythm bright, landing the 'copper pea's' hard bone in a concrete way of life — no care for office, only delight in the flower world. It is both the frank confession of his identity and the stubborn satire of the scholar-officials' pure-fame tradition, the fluent排比 showing Yuan qu's native manner. The four place-names hold the grief for the lost homeland; the more he recalls the splendor, the more resolved his refusal to serve — no mere showing off of romance.

尚兀自不肯休。

Still I will not rest.

却依旧不肯罢休

Yet still I will not give up.

此句为前段排比摧残后的收束语，『尚兀自』（仍旧、依然）为元时口语，力重千钧。前文写『落牙歪嘴瘸腿折手』种种残毁，常人早已屈服，作者却以五字断语『不肯休』翻出倔强——肉身可损，志节不可夺。『休』字收束『玩月饮酒攀柳』之乐与『会棋会鞠』之能，表明此生此志至死方已。五字短如铁钉，与前面长排比形成张弛，是全曲『不伏老』主题的第一次凝定，最见关汉卿老而弥坚的风骨。由『不』到『不肯休』，语气一脉相承，将百折不回之志写得斩钉截铁，令人动容。

This line is the close after the排比 of trials, the words 'still I will not' Yuan colloquialism, weight of a thousand catties. The preceding lines write 'fallen teeth, crooked mouth, crippled legs, broken hands' and every such ruin; an ordinary man would have yielded long ago, yet the author, in the five-word verdict 'will not rest,' turns out stubborn — the flesh may be damaged, the integrity cannot be taken. The word 'rest' closes the delights of 'playing the moon, drinking wine, climbing willows' and the skills of 'chess, ball,' declaring this life, this will, ended only at death. Five words short as an iron nail, set against the long排比 above in tension and release, the first fixing of the song's 'refusal to grow old' theme, most showing Guan Hanqing's old-in-spite-of-years spine. From 'not' to 'will not rest,' the tone in one vein, writing the unyielding will, clipped and moving.

天哪，那其间才不向烟花路儿上走！

Heaven above — only then shall I stop walking the road of the flower houses!

天哪，到那时才不再向那烟花路上走

Heaven above, not till then shall I cease to walk the road of the flower quarters!

结句是全曲情感与意志的总收束。『则除是阎王亲自唤……三魂归地府，七魄丧冥幽』层层递进，将『不伏老』推到死而后已的极端；『那其间才不……』以唯一条件句收煞，意为除非死，否则永向烟花路。『天哪』一声呼告，将市井骄傲托于苍天见证，悲慨与倔强交织。『烟花路』写其风月之志，实则是自由与尊严之路——关汉卿以此极端姿态宣示：宁做勾栏中不驯的铜豌豆，不做官场中驯顺的官吏。结句如洪钟，余音震烁千古，是元散曲自我书写的最强音，亦将全曲的浪子风骨升华为对人格独立的宣言。

The closing is the whole song's gathering of feeling and will. 'Unless the King of Hell himself calls... the three souls return to the underworld, the seven spirits lost in the dark,' layer on layer, pushing the 'refusal to grow old' to the extreme of death; 'only then shall I not...' closes in the single conditional: unless I die, I walk the flower road forever. 'Heaven above!' one cry, setting the market pride under heaven's witness, grief and stubbornness woven. 'The road of the flower houses' writes his vow of the flower world, in truth the road of freedom and dignity — Guan Hanqing, in this extreme pose, declares: better the untamed copper pea in the playhouse, than the docile official in the court. The closing like a great bell, the aftertone ringing through the ages, the strongest voice of Yuan sanqu's self-writing, lifting the prodigal's backbone into a declaration of personal independence.

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铜豌豆 copper pea (metaphor for a tough, unyielding person) 『铜豌豆』是全曲的灵魂喻象，亦是关汉卿自我形象的定型符号。它本是元时勾栏市井隐语，指久历风月、百折不回的老客；关汉卿却赋予其崭新的精神内涵——以铜之坚、豆之小，喻己身微而志刚、历劫而不可毁。『蒸不烂煮不熟捶不匾炒不爆』五重否定将『不可摧』写得穷形尽相，『响珰珰』更添声威。这一比喻之妙在『以俗喻雅』：将社会边缘的狎客身份翻转为傲骨的象征，既坦诚其混迹风月的实况，更彰显其不合作、不屈服的硬气。自关汉卿后，『铜豌豆』遂成文学中坚贞文人的代称，足见其铸造之力。五『不』字围绕此喻，将抽象之骨气化作可触可闻之象，是元曲意象创造之冠。

不肯休 refuse to stop 『不肯休』三字是『尚兀自不肯休』的重心，亦为全曲『不伏老』题眼的第一次凝定。前文铺陈落牙、歪嘴、瘸腿、折手种种肉身摧残，『不肯休』以最朴素的口语断然拒绝屈服，将外在残毁与内在不屈形成惊心反差。『休』字关合上文一切风流才艺与下文死方休的决绝，是连接『铜豌豆之硬』与『烟花路之志』的纽结。三字看似平淡，实则以退为进——肉身愈损，意志愈显，关汉卿以市井直语写名士风骨，恰见元散曲『当行本色』中深藏的刚健，是小令（套数）以浅语载深慨的典范。一『不肯』，写尽元初文人于沉沦中守住自我的倔强，最是动人。