先秦诗歌 Poems of the Pre-Qin Days

《诗经》这是中国古代最早的一部诗歌总集，是中国诗歌的开源之作。全书收录诗歌305篇，分为“风”、“雅”、“颂”三大类。“风”主要反映民风和习俗，即广大下层人民的生活；“雅”主要反映贵族上层人物的生活；“颂”主要收录祭祀祖先、祝告神灵的诗歌。

《诗经》中的诗歌产生于周朝初期（前11世纪）至春秋中叶（前6世纪），时间跨度有500多年，即使晚期的作品距今也有约2500年了。时间的久远、语言的变迁、社会环境的根本变化，都使《诗经》的语言、内容以及所反映的思想感情和社会状况与今天的读者之间产生了很大的距离，因此，阅读和理解《诗经》中的作品，对于今天的读者来说是一件相当困难的事。但无论如何，《诗经》却不可不读，因为它不仅是中国诗歌的鼻祖，更是一部珍贵的史书，反映着几千年前中国社会的真实面貌。《诗经》中的大多数诗歌来自民间，少数诗歌是王侯贵族的作品。每一首诗的具体作者都已无法查考，只有诗歌中鲜活的形象和内容，以及精炼准确的语言，依旧为我们展现出中国古代历史那多彩的画卷。

An Introduction to The Book of Songs

The Book of Songs is the very first general collection of ancient Chinese poems，and is the source of the Chinese poetry．It is composed of three hundred and five poems，divided into the“Feng”，the“Ya”and the“Song”．The“Feng”mainly reflects the local traits and customs，or the life of the broad masses of the people from the lower classes；the“Ya”reflects the life of the nobles and upper circles；and the“Song”comprises poems used when people are sacrificing to ancestors and praying to spiritual beings.

The poems in The Book of Songs were composed from the early Zhou Dynasty to the mid-Spring and Autumn Period，spanning a time of more than 500 years，and even the latest pieces were about 2500 years old．Since The Book of Songs is of the remote past，and fundamental changes have taken place in language and the social environment，the language，content，feelings and the social situation it reflects differ from what they are today．Therefore，it is rather difficult for the readers today to read and understand the pieces in The Book of Songs．Anyhow，The Book of Songs must be read because it is not only the originator of the Chinese poetry，but also valuable historical records，reflecting the real social situation of the China thousands of years ago．The vast majority of the poems in The Book of Songs came from the ordinary people，while a small number were composed by princes，marquises and the nobles．The exact author of each poem can’t be traced，and only the vivid figures and contents in the poems，and the refined and precise language reveal for us a colourful historical scene of the ancient China.

关雎

〇《诗经》

关关雎鸠^（1），在河之洲^（2）。

窈窕淑女^（3），君子好逑^（4）。

参差荇菜^（5），左右流之^（6）。

窈窕淑女，寤寐求之^（7）。

求之不得^（8），寤寐思服^（9）。

悠哉悠哉^（10），辗转反侧 ^（11）。

参差荇菜，左右采之。

窈窕淑女，琴瑟友之 ^（12）。

参差荇菜，左右芼之 ^（13）。

窈窕淑女，钟鼓乐之 ^（14）。

【注释】

(1) 关关雎鸠：水鸟在一声声不停地歌唱。关关：水鸟鸣叫的声音。雎（jū）鸠（jiū）：河边生活的水鸟。

(2) 在河之洲：（水鸟唱歌的地方）在河流中由沙石、泥土、水草淤（yū）积而成的沙丘之上。

(3) 窈窕淑女：身材美好又温和善良的女子。窈窕（yǎo tiǎo）：身段美丽，心地美好。淑：温和善良。

(4) 君子好逑：（美丽善良的姑娘）正是我所喜爱和追求的。君子：古代对男子的尊称。好（hào）：喜爱。逑（qiú）：配偶。另一说为追求。

(5) 参差荇菜：（河中长着）高低不齐的水荇菜。参差（cēn cī）：长短不齐。荇（xìng）菜：多年生水草。

(6) 左右流之：向左，向右，顺着水流采摘荇菜。流：顺流采摘。

(7) 寤寐求之：醒着睡着都想得到她。寤（wù）：睡醒。寐（mèi）：睡着。求：追求。之：代词，代指美丽的姑娘。

(8) 求之不得：想得到姑娘又得不到。

(9) 寤寐思服：醒着睡着想念姑娘想得好苦。思：想念。服：仰慕、崇拜。

(10) 悠哉悠哉：想啊想啊。悠（yōu）：忧愁思念的样子，恍惚飘然的心情。哉（zāi）：语气词，相当于“啊”。

(11) 辗转反侧：翻来覆去睡不着。

(12) 琴瑟友之：用奏琴鼓瑟的方式向姑娘表示友好。琴瑟（qín sè）：奏乐的工具，乐器。

13 芼（mào）：采摘、选择。

(14) 钟鼓乐之：敲钟击鼓使姑娘快乐。乐（lè）之：“乐”在这里作动词用，使某人快乐。之：代词，指姑娘。

Cooing and Wooing

in the Book of Songs

By riverside a pair

Of water birds are cooing;

There is a maiden fair

A good young man is wooing.

Water flows left and right

Of cress long here，short there;

The youth yearns day and night

For the good maiden fair.

His yearning grows so strong，

He cannot fall asleep，

But tosses all night long，

So deep in love，so deep！

Now gather left and right

Cress long or short and tender！

O lute，play music bright

For the bride sweet and slender！

Feast Friends at left and right

On cress cooked till tender！

O bells and drums，delight

The bride so sweet and slender！

【赏析】

这首诗是《诗经》305篇诗歌的第一篇，属于“国风”类。古代学子学习《诗经》都要从“关关雎鸠”开始背诵，因此，它是《诗经》中最著名的一首，也许可以称为“中国第一诗”。就诗本身而言，学者认为它来自民间，因为诗中对生活的描写朴实自然，如河边的水鸟、采摘荇菜的姑娘。全诗的中心内容是表达一位男子对一位美丽姑娘的思念和追求。诗的语言真切生动，如“关关雎鸠”仿佛让人听到水鸟的叫声；“辗转反侧”仿佛让人看到主人公因思念姑娘而彻夜不眠的形象。从这首诗还可以看到，古代中国劳动人民中，男女爱情是大胆、率直、热烈而且纯真的，不像封建社会晚期有那么多礼教的约束，也不像贵族上层那样看重人的地位和财产。“中国第一诗”是一篇真诚的爱情诗，可见“爱情”是诗歌重要而且永恒的主题之一。这首诗对后世有重大的影响，所以其中的词汇有不少被原样照搬或稍加改动后成为汉语中固定的说法，如“窈窕淑女”、“寤寐以求”、“求之不得”、“辗转反侧”等。汉语中有很多四字成语，或许正是由此开始的。

Interpretation

This is the first piece of the three hundred and five poems in The Book of Songs，and it is classified to Guo Feng or ballads from the States．In the ancient China，students who learned The Book of Songs must begin with the recitation of “Guan Guan sings the water bird”，thus it is one of the most well-known pieces of The Book of Songs．It can be rated as“the first poem of China”．With regard to the poem itself，scholars think it came from the people，since its description of life is simple and natural，such as the water bird by the river，and the girl who was picking water plants．The central idea of the poem is to convey a man’s yearning for and wooing to a beautiful lady．The language of the poem is vivid and lively．For example，“Guan Guan sings the water bird”makes us feel as if we were listening to the singing of the water bird；while “he tossed and turned”portrays the man who was lying awake all night thinking of the lady．From the poem we can understand that in the ancient China love between a man and a woman was bold and unreserved as well as warm and pure，unlike in the late feudal society where there were so many restrictions of the feudal ethics，and the nobles regarded status and property as supremely important.“The first poem of China”is a sincere love poem，so it is evident that“love”is one of the important and eternal subjects of poetry．This poem has exerted great influence on the literature of later ages，therefore quite a few of its words and phrases have become fixed idioms of the Chinese language used as original or by making slight changes，such as“Yao Tiao Shu Nü”—a lovely and good lady，“Wu Mei Yi Qiu”—long for something day and night，“Qiu Zhi Bu De”—all one could wish for and“Zhan Zhuan Fan Ce”—toss and turn，etc．There are many four-character idioms in Chinese，which may have begun with this poem.

伐檀（节选）

〇《诗经》

坎坎^（1）伐檀^（2）兮^（3），

寘之河之干^（4）兮。

河水清且涟猗^（5）。

不稼^（6）不穑^（7），

胡^（8）取禾^（9）三百廛 ^（10）兮？

不狩不猎 ^（11），

胡瞻尔庭有县貆兮^（12）？

彼君子兮^（13），

不素餐兮^（14）！

【注释】

(1) 坎坎（kǎn kǎn）：砍伐树木的声音。

(2) 伐檀：砍伐檀（tán）树。檀树是一种坚硬高大的乔木，树干是制造家具、农具、乐器的好材料。

(3) 兮（xī）：语气助词，相当于现代语言中的“啊”。

(4) 寘之河之干：把（砍下的檀木）放在河岸边上。寘（zhì）：相当于“置”，放置。干：岸边。之：句子中的两个“之”字意思和用法不同。第一个“之”是代词，代指檀木；第二个“之”字是助词，表示所属关系，相当于“的”。

(5) 河水清且涟猗（lián yī）：河水清澈（chè），水面泛起微波。且：连词，表示递进关系“不仅……而且……”。涟：风吹水面形成波浪为“涟”。猗：语气助词，相当于“啊”。

(6) 不稼：不种地。稼（jià）：耕种土地，种植谷物。

(7) 不穑：不收割谷物。穑（sè）：收割谷物。

(8) 胡：为什么。

(9) 取禾：拿走粮食。禾：谷物，粮食。

10 廛（chán）：一捆，一束。

11 不狩不猎：不捕捉禽兽。狩（shòu）：冬天打猎。猎：打猎。

(12) 胡瞻尔庭有县貆兮：为什么看见你的庭院里挂满了幼貉（hé）？貆（huán）：幼小的貉，貉是一种哺乳动物。瞻（zhān）：向高处看。尔：你的。庭：庭院。县（xuán）：这里同“悬”，悬挂。

13 彼君子兮：那些贵族老爷们哪！

14 不素餐（cān）兮：不白吃闲饭哪！素餐：不做事白吃饭。

The Woodcutter’s Song（A Selected Stanza）

in the Book of Songs

Chop，chop，our blows on elm trees go;

On rivershore we pile up wood.

The clear and rippling waters flow.

How can those who nor reap nor sow

Have three hundred sheaves of corn in their place？

How can those who nor hunt nor chase

Have in their courtyard badgers of each race？

Those lords are good

Who need not work for food！

【赏析】

“伐檀”出自“国风”中的“魏风”，是反映魏国民俗的诗歌中的一首。它借一位伐木人之口表达了下层穷苦劳动人民对不劳而获而又过着富足生活的上层贵族的不满。

前三句写劳动的场面：一下一下地砍树，将砍倒的树干放到河边，看到清清的河水在微风吹动下泛起涟漪。中间四句是非常大胆的质问：不种地，不收获，为什么拿走很多粮食？不辛苦，不打猎，为什么家中挂满生肉？最后的两句是总结，也是愤怒的抗议：那些养尊处优的贵族老爷们哪，你们都是不干活白吃闲饭的人！整首诗以相同的句式和近似的内容重复了三次，本书只选取了第一段。由于这首诗表达了劳动人民的心声，揭露了不公平的社会现象，因而受到广大人民的喜爱，千百年来万口相传，成为《诗经》中的名篇。

Interpretation

The Book of Songs is classified into three sections，the“Feng”，the“Ya”and the“Song”．The full name of the“Feng”is“Guo Feng”，which consists of ballads from the States，recording and reflecting the customs and habits as well as the living conditions of the different States and regions.

Fa Tan，or Cutting Down the Hardwood Trees，comes from“Ballads of the State of Wei”in“Ballads from the States”，mirroring the folk customs of the State of Wei．The poem quotes a lumberman to convey the impoverished working people’s resentment against the nobles，who led a rich life without labouring.

The first three lines portray a scene of physical work：the lumbermen are cutting down the trees blow after blow，placing what have been hewed on the river bank，and the clear water is rippling under the gentle breeze．The four lines in the middle of the poem are boldly questioning the nobles：why have you taken so much grain away from us while you neither sow nor reap？Where have you got the raw meat hanging up in your courtyards while you neither toil nor go hunting？The last two lines summarize the poem and make an angry protest：those officers and noblemen，who live in clover，why do you acquire and enjoy like parasites without any proper services performed？The same sentence pattern and similar content have been repeated three times，and what is selected here is the first stanza．The poem has voiced the great indignation of the working people and exposed the unjust social phenomenon，therefore，it is liked by the broad masses of the people and handed down through the ages．It has become one of the most famous pieces in The Book of Songs.

屈原（约前340—约前278），本名屈平，字原，又在诗中自称名正则，字灵均。他是战国时期楚国的贵族，遍读百书，学识渊博，文才出众，忠心爱国，成为中国历史上第一位有名有姓的伟大诗人。他曾任三闾（lǘ）大夫（楚国贵族中最显赫的三姓氏族的首脑），辅佐楚怀王，后遭人谗言革去官职，并被长期流放在现在湖南的沅江、湘江一带。楚国首都被秦国攻破后，他为祖国的沦亡而伤心，对统治者的腐败无比愤恨而又无可奈何，遂自投汨（mì）罗江而死。他一生写了大量的诗歌，诗文语言华美，想象奇特，篇幅宏大，内容丰富，成为继《诗经》之后彪炳诗坛的伟大杰作，后人尊其为“可与日月争光”。其中《离骚》为其代表作，主要是叙述作者自己的身世、表达自己的志趣、揭露和指斥统治者的昏庸。《离骚》以外还有其他多篇作品，诸如《天问》提出了关于自然现象和社会历史方面的许多问题，表现出作者对事物的观察、思考和探索的精神；《九歌》则是优美的祭神乐歌。屈原之后，宋玉等人承袭屈原文体的形式，运用楚国的方言音韵写成多篇文赋，后人统称其为“楚辞”。“楚辞”是中国文学史中一个特定历史时期的文学形式，也是中国古代文学遗产中的瑰宝。

Qu Yuan（about 340 B.C.-about 278 B.C.）was originally called Qu Ping．His courtesy name was Yuan and his style name Lingjun．In his poems he called himself Zhengze．Qu Yuan was a nobleman of the State of Chu，one of the Warring States．Being the first great poet and writer with established identity in the Chinese history，Qu Yuan had read all the books and was learned with outstanding literary talents，and he was loyal and devoted to his motherland．Qu Yuan used to be a senior official assisting King Huai of Chu in governing the country，but he was calumniated and dismissed from his post later，and had been in exile for a long period of time in today’s Yuan River and Xiang River areas in Hunan Province．After the capital city of the State of Chu was captured by Qin’s army，Qu Yuan was so broken-hearted for his country’s subjugation and detested the corruption of the ruling class that he plunged into the Miluo River and was drowned．During his life Qu Yuan composed a great number of poems whose languages are magnificent with unusual imaginations，and they are very long with rich and various contents．Being great masterpieces shining in the poetical world following The Book of Songs，his literary works are respectfully described as“shining forever like the sun and the moon”．Li Sao is one of Qu Yuan’s representative works which mainly recounts his life experiences，expressing his aspirations and interests，exposing and denouncing the fatuousness of the rulers．His other works，such as Questions About Heaven，ask a lot of questions about natural phenomena and about the society and history，showing the writer’s sensitive observation，deep thinking and exploration of matters．The Nine Songs by him is an exquisite sacrificial music song．Using the dialect and rhyme of Chu，Song Yu and others followed Qu Yuan’s style and verse form and composed many literary compositions，which are generally called The Songs of the South by later generations.

离骚（节选）

〇屈原

长太息以掩涕兮^（1），

哀民生之多艰^（2）！

余虽好修姱以鞿羁兮^（3），

謇朝谇而夕替^（4）！

既替余以蕙兮^（5），

又申之以揽茝^（6）；

亦余心之所善兮^（7），

虽九死其犹未悔^（8）！

【注释】

(1) 长太息以掩涕兮：我忍不住一声声悲哀地叹息啊，用衣袖擦拭着满面的泪水。太息：十分痛苦地叹息。以：连词，表示同时。掩涕：掩面哭泣。

(2) 哀民生之多艰：人民生活中有那么多艰辛和痛苦，让我感到悲哀。

(3) 余虽好修姱以鞿羁兮：我只是因为喜欢修饰自己和保持美德就受到了许多的谗言和约束。余：古文中的“我”。虽：只是，因为。好（hào）：喜欢，爱好。修姱（kuā）：修饰得十分美好。鞿羁（jī jī）：马嚼子和马笼头，这里表示受人牵制和约束。

(4) 謇朝谇而夕替：早晨刚进谏陈述了自己的意见，晚上就丢了官。謇（jiǎn）：忠诚，正直。朝（zhāo）：早晨。谇（suì）：进谏，给帝王提意见。夕（xī）：傍晚。替：废弃，这里是被取代、被罢官的意思。

(5) 既替余以蕙兮：废黜我是因为我喜欢佩带美丽的蕙（huì）草。（xiāng）：佩带，佩饰。

(6) 又申之以揽茝：更加上我喜欢采摘芬芳的白芷（zhǐ）。申：加上。以：因为。揽（lǎn）：怀抱着，双臂搂着。茝（chǎi）：一种有香味的草，即香草，有人认为是白芷。

(7) 亦余心之所善兮：只要是我心里所喜欢的东西。亦：只要是。善：喜欢。

(8) 虽九死其犹未悔：就是死多少次也绝不后悔。虽：即使，纵然。

Sorrow After Departure（Selected Verse）

by Qu Yuan

I sigh and wipe away my tears，oh！

I’m grieved at a life full of woes.

Good and just，I hear only jeers，oh！

Morning and night I suffer blows.

I make a belt of grasses sweet，oh！

And add to it clovers and thymes.

My heart tells me it’s good and meet，oh！

I won’t regret to die nine times.

【赏析】

这几句诗选自屈原的长诗《离骚》（lí sāo）。有人认为，“离”是“离别”，“骚”是“忧愁”。不过，对“离骚”这两个字确切含义的解释历来有许多不同的说法。《离骚》全诗共373句，2490个字。在两千多年前的中国古代就出现了如此宏伟雄奇的长诗，这在世界诗歌史上也是值得中国人自豪的。由于全诗太长，文字也比较艰深难懂，本书只选取了其中八句。然而，这短短八句诗，已经鲜明地反映出屈原的个性和追求。一个忧国忧民、追求完美、愿为心中的理想而献身的爱国诗人形象活生生地站在我们眼前。

本书所选这部分诗中第一段的前两句和第二段的后两句是从远古传至今天的名句。“哀民生之多艰”反映了作者对广大劳苦人民艰难生活的关心和同情；“虽九死其犹未悔”反映了作者勇敢无畏的斗争精神和献身精神。

Interpretation

The above lines are selected from Li Sao，a long poem by Qu Yuan．It is considered that “Li”means“parting”，while“Sao”refers to“sorrow”．However，the exact explanation to the definition of“Li Sao”has acquired many different versions in history．Li Sao consists of all together 373 lines，2490 characters．Such a magnificent，powerful long poem composed in the ancient China more than 2000 years ago deserves the Chinese people’s pride in the world’s poetic history．Because the entire poem is too long to be understood by the readers，only eight lines are chosen in this book．However，these eight lines alone have vividly portrayed the poet’s personal characters and pursuits．Qu Yuan presented himself in our eyes as a patriotic poet who was concerned about his country and his people，aiming at perfection and being ready to give his life for his ideal.

In this selection，the first two lines of the first stanza and the last two lines of the second stanza have been handed down from ancient times and quoted very often．The line“bemoan the so many hardships of the people’s life”shows the poet’s concern and sympathy for the sufferings of the toiling masses.“I would never repent even if I had to die many times”reflects the poet’s spirits of dauntless struggle and devotion.