Ode to the Red Cliff

Ode to the Red Cliff (赤壁賦)

Su Shi (蘇軾, 1036-1101), Song Dynasty (960-1279)

Handscroll, ink on paper, 23.9 x 258 cm, National Palace Museum, Taipei

       In the fifth year of Emperor Shenzong (神宗)'s Yuanfeng (元豐) reign (1082) in the Northern Song period, more than 800 years after the epic Battle of Red Cliff, the famous poet-official Su Shi (Dongpo) and friends made two trips to Red Nose Cliff (赤鼻磯) west of the town Huangzhou (黃州). To commemorate these trips, Su wrote two rhapsodies that would earn him universal praise in the annals of Chinese literature: "Odes to the Red Cliff." Afterwards, Red Nose Cliff at Huangzhou became known as "Dongpo's Red Cliff," which is actually not the place of the battle but not very far from it.

       For Su Shi, this was also a time when he had to endure the hardships of exile from court that resulted from the Wutai Poem Incident (烏台詩案). In his rhapsodies Su yearned nostalgically for the daring bravura of heroes who fought at Red Cliff centuries earlier, while also facing the realities of life's brevity and the hypocritical nature of people. Consequently, he was able to develop a clear and philosophical form of critical self-examination on the aspects of change and permanence. It was exactly the predicaments of his personal difficulties at this time that made it possible for Su to see through the veil of history and make the trips to his Red Cliff passed down and commemorated through the ages. For example, dramas based on stories revolving around Su Shi and Red Cliff were produced in great numbers during the following Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Countless calligraphers also repeatedly transcribed Su's two rhapsodies on Red Cliff, which likewise became popular among painters wishing to illustrate and celebrate Su Shi and Red Cliff.

       This Ode was written upon the invitation of his friend Fu Yaoyu (傅堯俞, 1024-1091), and from the phrase "Shi composed this Ode last year" at the end of the scroll, one deduces that it was probably written during the 6th Year of Yuanfeng, when Su was 48 years of age. From Su's particular reminders of "living in fear of more troubles", and "by your love for me, you will hold this Ode in secrecy", one has a sense of Su's fear as a result of being implicated in the emperor's displeasure over writings.

       The start of the scroll is damaged and is missing 36 characters, which were supplemented by Wen Zhengming (文徵明, 1470-1559) with annotations in small characters, although some scholars believe that the supplementations were actually written by his son Wen Peng (文彭). The entire scroll is composed in regular script, the characters broad and tightly written, the brushstrokes full and smooth, showing that Su had achieved perfect harmony between the elegant flow in the style of the Two Wang Masters [Wang Xizhi (王羲之, 303-361) and Wang Xianzhi(王獻之, 344-386)] that he learned from in his early years, and the more heavy simplicity in the style of Yan Zhenqing (顏真卿, 709-785) that he learned in his middle ages.

釋文：
壬戌之秋，七月既望，蘇子與客泛舟遊於赤壁之下。清風徐來，水波不興。舉酒屬客，誦明月之詩，歌窈窕之章。少焉，月出於東山之上，徘徊於鬥牛之間。白露橫江，水光接天。 縱一葦之所如，陵萬頃之茫然。浩浩乎如馮虛禦風，而不知其所止；飄飄乎如遺世獨立，羽化而登仙。
於是飲酒樂甚，扣舷而歌之。歌曰：“桂棹兮蘭槳，擊空明兮溯流光。渺渺兮余懷，望美人兮天一方。”客有吹洞簫者，倚歌而和之。其聲嗚嗚然，如怨如慕，如泣如訴，余音嫋嫋，不絕如縷。 舞幽壑之潛蛟，泣孤舟之嫠婦。　
蘇子愀然，正襟危坐，而問客曰：“何為其然也？”客曰：“‘月明星稀，烏鵲南飛’，此非曹孟德之詩乎？西望夏口，東望武昌。山川相繆，郁乎蒼蒼，此非孟德之困於周郎者乎？ 方其破荊州，下江陵，順流而東也， 艫千裏，旌旗蔽空，釃酒臨江，橫槊賦詩，固一世之雄也，而今安在哉？況吾與子漁樵於江渚之上，侶魚蝦而友麋鹿，駕一葉之扁舟，舉匏樽以相屬。 寄蜉蝣於天地，渺浮海之一粟。哀吾生之須臾，羨長江之無窮。挾飛仙以遨遊，抱明月而長終。知不可乎驟得，托遺響於悲風。”　
蘇子曰：“客亦知夫水與月乎？逝者如斯，而未嘗往也；盈虛者如彼，而卒莫消長也。蓋將自其變者而觀之，則天地曾不能以一瞬；自其不變者而觀之，則物與我皆無盡也，而又何羨乎？ 且夫天地之間，物各有主，茍非吾之所有，雖一毫而莫取。惟江上之清風，與山間之明月，耳得之而為聲，目遇之而成色，取之無禁，用之不竭，是造物者之無盡藏也，而吾與子之所共食。”
客喜而笑，洗盞更平酌。肴核既盡，杯盤狼籍。相與枕藉乎舟中，不知東方之既白。
軾去歲作此賦，未嘗輕出以示人。見者蓋一二人而已。欽之有使至，求近文，遂親書以寄。多難畏事，欽之愛我，必深藏之不出也。又有後赤璧賦，筆倦未能寫。當俟後信。軾白。