小编导读:《前赤壁赋》是宋神宗元丰五年(1082年)苏轼贬谪黄州(今湖北黄冈)时所作的赋,通过月夜泛舟、饮酒赋诗引出主客对话的描写,表现了作者吊古伤今的情感,矢志不移的情怀。全赋情韵深致、理意透辟。
苏轼 《前赤壁赋》
壬戌之秋,七月既望,苏子与客泛舟,游于赤壁之下。清风徐来,水波不兴。举酒属客,诵明月之诗,歌窈窕之章。少焉,月出于东山之上,徘徊于斗牛之间。白露横江,水光接天。纵一苇之所如,凌万顷之茫然。浩浩乎如冯虚御风,而不知其所止;飘飘乎如遗世独立,羽化而登仙。
于是饮酒乐甚,扣舷而歌之。歌曰:“桂棹兮兰桨,击空明兮泝流光。渺渺兮予怀,望美人兮天一方。”客有吹洞箫者,倚歌而和之。其声呜呜然,如怨如慕,如泣如诉;余音嫋嫋,不绝如缕。舞幽壑之潜蛟,泣孤舟之嫠妇。
苏子愀然,正襟危坐而问客曰:“何为其然也?”客曰:“月明星稀,乌鹊南飞,此非曹孟德之诗乎?西望夏口,东望武昌,山川相缪,郁乎苍苍,此非孟德之困于周郎者乎?方其破荆州,下江陵,顺流而东也,舳舻千里,旌旗蔽空,酾酒临江,横槊赋诗,固一世之雄也,而今安在哉?况吾与子渔樵于江渚之上,侣鱼鰕而友麋鹿,驾一叶之扁舟,举匏樽以相属。寄蜉蝣于天地,渺沧海之一粟。哀吾生之须臾,羡长江之无穷。挟飞仙以遨游,抱明月而长终。知不可乎骤得,托遗响于悲风。”
苏子曰:“客亦知夫水与月乎?逝者如斯,而未尝往也;盈虚者如彼,而卒莫消长也。盖将自其变者而观之,则天地曾不能以一瞬;自其不变者而观之,则物与我皆无尽也,而又何羡乎?且夫天地之间,物各有主,苟非吾之所有,虽一毫而莫取。惟江之清风,与山间之明月,耳得之而为声,目遇之而成色;取之无禁,用之不竭。是造物者之无尽藏也,而吾与子之所共适。”
客喜而笑,洗盏更酌。肴核既尽,杯盘狼藉。相与枕藉乎舟中,不知东方之既白。
Boating at the Red Cliff
Su Shi
In the seventhmonth of the year Renxu, when an autumnal full moon was just a little on thewane, I, Su Shi, went boating with my guests in the river near the Red Cliff. Afresh breeze was blowing our way and the waves were utterly calm. I raised mywinecup and toasted my guests, joining them in chanting the Ode to the BrightMoon and the Song of Sylphs. A little later, the moon rose above the easternhills, loitering between the mansions of the Dipper and the Ox. A broad stretchof dewy white lay across the river. The sheen of the waters merged with thehues of the sky. The boat, once set adrift, traversed an immense expanse ofthousands of hectares. What an ecstasy! It was as if we were harnessing thewind, riding through the ethereal vacant space, not knowing when to come to hahalt, while the divine joy was as if we were forsaking the world and becomingwinged deities, ascending to the land of immortals.
Then we drankwine, and feeling exhilarated, tapped the gunwale and sang the song: “O ye oarsof laurel and orchid, strike and pierce ye the lambent and limpid waters, andbrave ye the moon-lit swift currents. Unbounded is my mind, longing for the manin my heart who is beyond the horizon.” A Xiao player among the guestsaccompanied the song, which produced a woeful tune, now like someone murmuringand languishing for love, now like someone sobbing and complaining. Thelingering sound was as unbroken as silk, capable of stirring a dragon hidden inan abyss to dance and moving a widow in a solitary boat to weep.
Saddened by themelancholy song, I sat tight and asked the guests, “Why was your music sodisconsolate?”
The guest said,”The moon is bright, the stars are far between, and the crows are southwardbound.’ Is this not the poem of Cao Mengde? You see Xiakou in the west andWuchang in the east. The hills and rivers are interlinked and enshrouded in asomber green. Is it not where Cao was besieged by Zhou Yu? At that time, Caotook Jingzhou, seized Jiangling, then sailed eastward down the Yangtze River,with ships in battle array, extending a thousand li, their flags and pennantseclipsing the sunlight. He filled his winecup before the rolling river, andholding his spear in both hands, composed and declaimed his poems. He wasindeed the hero of his time. But where is he now? As for you and me, we merelydo fishing and firewood-cutting in the river and on its islets, associatingwith fish and shrimps, and making friends with reindeer. We row a boat, toasteach other, depositing our ephemeral life in the universe, our being asinfinitely small as a grain in the ocean. Lamenting our fleeting existence andenvying the everlasting Yangtze River, I wish I could travel with fairies inheaven and hold the bright moon in my arms through eternity. Yet I know thiscannot so soon come true, I can but charge the sad autumn wind to be thevehicle of my plaintive music.”
I said, “Haveyou ever speculated upon the river and the moon? Though the former runs withoutcease, it remains there forever. Though the latter waxes and wanes, it neverincreases or diminishes. If it is viewed from the angle of change, the universecan hardly be the same for a moment. However, when seen from the angle ofconstancy, then everything and we ourselves are blessed with immortality. Whatcould so much deserve our envy? Besides, all things under heaven have theirseparate owners. If a thing does not belong to me, not even a mite of it shouldbe taken as mine. Only the refreshing breeze on the river and the bright moonover the hills, which generate in our ears a pleasant sound and in our eyes adreamy colour, are inexhaustible and can be freely enjoyed. They are animmeasurable treasure granted to us by our Creator as a grace, for our commonhappiness.”
My guests weregladdened and smiled. Having cleaned the winecups, we renewed our drinking. Thedishes, fruits and tidbits were all consumed. The trays, plates and drinkingvessels were scattered in confusion. We slept close to each other in the boat,unaware that it was dawning in the east.