Listen to this article黄君实 草书：李商隐《锦瑟》
【释文】锦瑟无端五十弦，一弦一柱思华年。庄生晓梦迷蝴蝶，望帝春心托杜鹃。沧海月明珠有泪，蓝田日暖玉生烟。此情可待万追忆，只是当时已惘然。
【款识】李义山诗。黄君实书。
【简析】
这首《锦瑟》，是李商隐的代表作，爱诗的无不乐道喜吟，堪称最享盛名；然而它又是最不易讲解的一篇难诗。自宋元以来，揣测纷纷，莫衷一是。
诗题“锦瑟”，是用了起句的头二个字。旧说中，原有认为这是咏物诗的，但近来注解家似乎都主张：这首诗与瑟事无关，实是一篇借瑟以隐题的“无题”之作。我以为，它确是不同于一般的咏物体，可也并非只是单纯“截取首二字”以发端比兴而与字面毫无交涉的无题诗。它所写的情事分明是与瑟相关的。
起联两句，从来的注家也多有误会，以为据此可以判明此篇作时，诗人已“行年五十”，或“年近五十”，故尔云云。其实不然。“无端”，犹言“没来由地”、“平白无故地”。此诗人之痴语也。锦瑟本来就有那么多弦，这并无“不是”或“过错”；诗人却硬来埋怨它：锦瑟呀，你干什么要有这么多条弦？瑟，到底原有多少条弦，到李商隐时代又实有多少条弦，其实都不必“考证”，诗人不过借以遣词见意而已。据记载，古瑟五十弦，所以玉谿写瑟，常用“五十”之数，如“雨打湘灵五十弦”，“因令五十丝，中道分宫徵”，都可证明，此在诗人原无特殊用意。
“一弦一柱思华年”，关键在于“华年”二字。一弦一柱犹言一音一节。瑟具弦五十，音节最为繁富可知，其繁音促节，常令听者难以为怀。诗人绝没有让人去死抠“数字”的意思。他是说：聆锦瑟之繁弦，思华年之往事；音繁而绪乱，怅惘以难言。所设五十弦，正为“制造气氛”，以见往事之千重，情肠之九曲。要想欣赏玉谿此诗，先宜领会斯旨，正不可胶柱而鼓瑟。宋词人贺铸说：“锦瑟华年谁与度？”（《青玉案》）元诗人元好问说：“佳人锦瑟怨华年！”（《论诗三十首》）华年，正今语所谓美丽的青春。玉谿此诗最要紧的“主眼”端在华年盛景，所以“行年五十”这才追忆“四十九年”之说，实在不过是一种迂见罢了。
起联用意既明，且看他下文如何承接。
颔联的上句，用了《庄子》的一则寓言典故，说的是庄周梦见自己身化为蝶，栩栩然而飞……浑忘自家是“庄周”其人了；后来梦醒，自家仍然是庄周，不知蝴蝶已经何往。玉谿此句是写：佳人锦瑟，一曲繁弦，惊醒了诗人的梦景，不复成寐。迷含迷失、离去、不至等义。试看他在《秋日晚思》中说：“枕寒庄蝶去”，去即离、逝，亦即他所谓迷者是。晓梦蝴蝶，虽出庄生，但一经玉谿运用，已经不止是一个“栩栩然”的问题了，这里面隐约包涵着美好的情境，却又是虚缈的梦境。本联下句中的望帝，是传说中周朝末年蜀地的君主，名叫杜宇。后来禅位退隐，不幸国亡身死，死后魂化为鸟，暮春啼苦，至于口中流血，其声哀怨凄悲，动人心腑，名为杜鹃。杜宇啼春，这与锦瑟又有什么关联呢？原来，锦瑟繁弦，哀音怨曲，引起诗人无限的悲感，难言的冤愤，如闻杜鹃之凄音，送春归去。一个“托”字，不但写了杜宇之托春心于杜鹃，也写了佳人之托春心于锦瑟，手挥目送之间，花落水流之趣，诗人妙笔奇情，于此已然达到一个高潮。
看来，玉谿的“春心托杜鹃”，以冤禽托写恨怀，而“佳人锦瑟怨华年”提出一个“怨”字，正是恰得其真实。玉谿之题咏锦瑟，非同一般闲情琐绪，其中自有一段奇情深恨在。
律诗一过颔联，“起”“承”之后，已到“转”笔之时，笔到此间，大抵前面文情已然达到小小一顿之处，似结非结，含意待申。在此下面，点笔落墨，好象重新再“起”似的。其笔势或如奇峰突起，或如藕断丝连，或者推笔宕开，或者明缓暗紧……手法可以不尽相同，而神理脉络，是有转折而又始终贯注的。当此之际，玉谿就写出了“沧海月明珠有泪”这一名句来。
珠生于蚌，蚌在于海，每当月明宵静，蚌则向月张开，以养其珠，珠得月华，始极光莹……。这是美好的民间传统之说。月本天上明珠，珠似水中明月；泪以珠喻，自古为然，鲛人泣泪，颗颗成珠，亦是海中的奇情异景。如此，皎月落于沧海之间，明珠浴于泪波之界，月也，珠也，泪也，三耶一耶？一化三耶？三即一耶？在诗人笔下，已然形成一个难以分辨的妙境。我们读唐人诗，一笔而有如此丰富的内涵、奇丽的联想的，舍玉谿生实不多觏。
那么，海月、泪珠和锦瑟是否也有什么关联可以寻味呢？钱起的咏瑟名句不是早就说“二十五弦弹夜月，不胜清怨却飞来”吗？所以，瑟宜月夜，清怨尤深。如此，沧海月明之境，与瑟之关联，不是可以窥探的吗？
对于诗人玉谿来说，沧海月明这个境界，尤有特殊的深厚感情。有一次，他因病中未能躬与河东公的“乐营置酒”之会，就写出了“只将沧海月，高压赤城霞”的句子。如此看来，他对此境，一方面于其高旷皓净十分爱赏，一方面于其凄寒孤寂又十分感伤：一种复杂的难言的怅惘之怀，溢于言表。
晚唐诗人司空图，引过比他早的戴叔伦的一段话：“诗家美景，如蓝田日暖，良玉生烟，可望而不可置于眉睫之前也。”这里用来比喻的八个字，简直和此诗颈联下句的七个字一模一样，足见此一比喻，另有根源，可惜后来古籍失传，竟难重觅出处。今天解此句的，别无参考，引戴语作解说，是否贴切，亦难断言。晋代文学家陆机在他的《文赋》里有一联名句：“石韫玉而山辉，水怀珠而川媚。”蓝田，山名，在今陕西蓝田东南，是有名的产玉之地。此山为日光煦照，蕴藏其中的玉气（古人认为宝物都有一种一般目力所不能见的光气），冉冉上腾，但美玉的精气远察如在，近观却无，所以可望而不可置诸眉睫之下，—这代表了一种异常美好的理想景色，然而它是不能把握和无法亲近的。玉谿此处，正是在“韫玉山辉，怀珠川媚”的启示和联想下，用蓝田日暖给上句沧海月明作出了对仗，造成了异样鲜明强烈的对比。而就字面讲，蓝田对沧海，也是非常工整的，因为沧字本义是青色。玉谿在词藻上的考究，也可以看出他的才华和工力。
颈联两句所表现的，是阴阳冷暖、美玉明珠，境界虽殊，而怅恨则一。诗人对于这一高洁的感情，是爱慕的、执着的，然而又是不敢亵渎、哀思叹惋的。
尾联拢束全篇，明白提出“此情”二字，与开端的“华年”相为呼应，笔势未尝闪遁。诗句是说：如此情怀，岂待今朝回忆始感无穷怅恨，即在当时早已是令人不胜惘惘了—话是说的“岂待回忆”，意思正在：那么今朝追忆，其为怅恨，又当如何！诗人用两句话表出了几层曲折，而几层曲折又只是为了说明那种怅惘的苦痛心情。诗之所以为诗者在于此，玉谿诗之所以为玉谿诗者，尤在于此。
玉谿一生经历，有难言之痛，至苦之情，郁结中怀，发为诗句，幽伤要眇，往复低徊，感染于人者至深。他的一首送别诗中说：“瘐信生多感，杨朱死有情；弦危中妇瑟，甲冷想夫筝！……”则筝瑟为曲，常系乎生死哀怨之深情苦意，可想而知。循此以求，我觉得如谓锦瑟之诗中有生离死别之恨，恐怕也不能说是全出臆断。
【Simple Translation】
This poem, “Jinse”, is Li Shangyin’s masterpiece, and all poetry lovers are happy to recite it, so it is the most famous; however, it is also one of the most difficult poems to explain. Since the Song and Yuan dynasties, there have been many speculations, and there is no consensus.
The title of the poem, “Jinse”, is the first two words of the opening line. The old saying that this is an aria poem, but recent commentators seem to claim: this poem has nothing to do with the matter of thur, is actually a thur to hide the title of the “untitled” work. In my opinion, it is indeed different from ordinary chanting objects, but it is not just an untitled poem that simply “intercepts the first two words” to start a comparison and has nothing to do with the words. It is a poem about something that is clearly related to Arthur.
The first two lines of the poem have been misunderstood by many commentators, who thought that the poet was already “fifty years old” or “nearly fifty years old” when the poem was written. In fact, it is not. The word “unprovoked” means “for no reason” or “for no reason at all”. This poet’s idiotic language. Jinseer originally had so many strings, this is not “not” or “fault”; but the poet is hard to complain about it: Jinseer ah, why do you have so many strings? Thur, in the end, the original number of strings, to Li Shangyin era and how many strings, in fact, do not need to “test”, the poet but to use the words to see the meaning. According to the records, the ancient thur had fifty strings, so when Yuquan wrote about thur, he often used the number of “fifty”, such as “the rain beat Xiangling fifty strings” and “because of the fifty silk, the middle way is divided into palace and lexicon”, all of which can prove that this is in The poet had no special intention.
The key to the phrase “a string and a pillar to think of the year” is the word “year”. A string and a pillar is like a tone and a section. The poet has fifty strings, the most complicated and rich syllables can be seen, and its complicated sound and rapid syllables, often make the listener unhappy. The poet never let people to die to key the “number” of meaning. He said: “Listening to the complicated strings of Jinse, thinking about the past of the Chinese years; the sound is complicated and confusing, and it is difficult to speak. The fifty strings are set to “create an atmosphere”, in order to see the thousands of past events and the nine curves of emotions. In order to appreciate this poem, one should first understand the meaning of the poem, and not to drum the chorus. The Song lyricist He Chuan said, “Who will spend the golden years with you?” （Yuan poet Yuan Haowen said, “A beautiful woman complains about the years of her life! (Thirty Poems on Poetry). The most important point of this poem is the youthfulness of the poet, so the saying that the poet recalls the “forty-nine years” when he is “fifty years old” is just a pedantic view.
Since the intention of the initial couplet is clear, let us see how he follows it.
The first line of the first couplet uses an allegorical allusion from Zhuangzi, saying that Zhuangzhou dreamed that he was transformed into a butterfly and flew vividly …… forgetting that he was Zhuangzhou; later, when he woke up from his dream, he was still Zhuangzhou, not knowing where the butterfly had gone. The poet’s dream was awakened by a song of a beautiful woman’s jinxer, and the poet could no longer sleep. The meaning of “lost” includes lost, departed, and not arrived. In his “Autumn Evening Thoughts”, he says, “The pillow is cold and the butterfly is gone”. The dawn dream of butterflies, though from Zhuang Sheng, is more than a matter of “vividness” when applied by Yu Squabbling, which vaguely encompasses a beautiful situation, but is a vague dream. In the next line of this couplet, Wang Di is the legendary monarch of Shu in the late Zhou Dynasty, named Du Yu. After his death, his soul turned into a bird, crying bitterly in the spring, bleeding from his mouth, and his voice was so sorrowful and sad that it moved people’s hearts, named Du Yu. The cuckoo cries in spring, what is the connection with the Jinsei? It turns out that the Jinxer, with its complex strings, mournful sound and grievous song, arouses the poet’s infinite sadness, unspeakable grievances, such as hearing the mournful sound of the cuckoo, sending the spring back. The poet’s wonderful brush has already reached a climax here.
It seems that Yuquan’s “spring heart to the cuckoo”, with the injustice bird to write the hatred, and “the beautiful woman’s jinther complaining about the years” proposes a word “complaint”, which is exactly the real one. The inscriptions of Yu Squabble’s chanting of Jinse are not ordinary idle sentiments, but a strange and deep hatred in it.
The poem is a little more than a couplet, and after “starting” and “bearing”, it is time to “turn” the pen. In this following, the point of the pen to drop ink, as if to “start” again. The pen is either like a strange peak, or like a broken root, or pushing the pen to open up, or the bright slow and dark tight …… techniques can vary, but the divine logic of the vein, is to have a turn and always consistent. The first line of the story is “The moon is bright and the pearl has tears”.
The pearl is born in the mussel, the mussel is in the sea, whenever the moon is bright and quiet at night, the mussel opens to the moon to feed its pearl, the pearl gets the moon’s splendor and starts to be extremely bright ……. This is a beautiful folk tradition says. The moon is a pearl in the sky, beads like the moon in the water; tears to beads metaphor, since ancient times, the shark weeping tears, each into a pearl, but also the sea is a strange and exotic scene. So, the moon falls between the sea, the pearl bath in the world of tears, the moon, beads, tears, too, three yeah a yeah? One becomes three? Three is one? In the poet’s writing, an indistinguishable realm has been formed. When we read the poems of the Tang Dynasty, there are not many poets who have such rich connotations and beautiful associations in one stroke.
So, is there any connection between the sea moon, teardrops and jinther that can be found? The famous line of QIAN Qi’s chanting of the serpent has long been said “twenty-five strings play the moon at night, not to overcome the clear complaint but to fly”? Therefore, it is suitable for the moonlight night, and the clear complaint is especially deep. In this way, is it not possible to find out the connection between the realm of the bright moon of the ocean and the serpent?
For the poet Yuquan, the realm of the bright moon and the ocean has a special deep feeling. On one occasion, when he was sick and could not go to the meeting with the Duke of Hedong, he wrote the line “Only the moon of the ocean, the high pressure of the red city”. So it seems that he appreciated this realm very much on the one hand for its high openness and purity, and on the other hand for its cold and loneliness: a complex and unspeakable feeling of despair is overflowing.
The late Tang poet Sikongtu quoted a passage from Dai Shulun, who was earlier than him: “The beauty of poetry, like the warmth of the blue field sun and the smoke of the good jade, can be hoped for but cannot be placed before the eyebrows.” The eight words used as a metaphor here are exactly the same as the seven words in the next line of the neck line of this poem, which shows that this metaphor has other roots, but it is a pity that the ancient texts have been lost and it is difficult to find the source. There is no reference to this line today, and it is difficult to say whether it is appropriate to quote Dai’s words as an explanation. The literary scholar Lu Ji of the Jin Dynasty had a famous line in his “Wen Fu”: “The stone suspends the jade and the mountain shines, the water carries the pearl and the river wins.” Lantian, the name of the mountain, is located in the southeast of Lantian in present-day Shaanxi Province, which is famous for producing jade. This mountain is famous for producing jade. This mountain is illuminated by the sunlight, and the jade gas contained in it (the ancients believed that treasures have a kind of light gas that cannot be seen by the eyes) is rising up, but the essence of beautiful jade can be seen from afar, but not up close, so it can be looked at but not placed under the eyebrows, which represents an exceptionally beautiful ideal scenery, but it cannot be grasped and cannot be approached. Here, it is with the inspiration and association of “Suspended jade mountains shine, and the pearl river winks” that the blue field sun warms up the previous line, creating a contrast with the brightness of the ocean and the moon. The word “blue field” is also very neat, because the original meaning of the word “C” is green. Yu Squab’s exquisite lyricism also shows his talent and workmanship.
The two lines of the neck couplet are about the warmth of yin and yang, and the beauty of jade and pearl, although the realms are different, the regret is the same. The poet is in love with this noble feeling, but he does not dare to desecrate it, and he laments and sighs.
The final couplet brings together the whole poem, clearly proposing the word “this feeling”, which echoes the opening words “Chinese years”. The poem is to say: such feelings, not to be recalled today to feel endless frustration, that is, at that time has long been overwhelming confusion – words is to say “not to be recalled”, meaning: so today to recall, its frustration, and how! The poet uses two sentences to show several layers of twists and turns, and several layers of twists and turns just to illustrate the bitterness of the disappointment. This is what makes a poem a poem, and this is what makes a poem by Yuquan a poem by Yuquan.
In his life, Yuquan had unspeakable pains and bitter feelings, and they were all knotted up in his heart. In one of his farewell poems, he said, “Maltreating the letter of life is full of feelings, Yang Zhu died with love; the strings are in danger in the woman’s chest, the armor is cold thinking of the husband’s zheng! ……”, which means that the zheng and the ceremonial are often linked to the deep feelings and bitterness of life and death grievances. I think that if the poem of Jinse is said to have the hatred of parting from life and death, I am afraid that it is not all conjecture.
