汉代诗歌 Poems of the Han Dynasty

刘邦（前256或前247—前195），字季，沛县（今属江苏省）人。曾任过乡间小吏（泗水亭长）。公元前209年，秦二世当政，在暴政和穷困的压力下，爆发了陈胜领导的农民大起义。刘邦（当时人称“沛公”）也起兵响应，并不断壮大自己的队伍。公元前206年，他率兵首先攻占秦国首都咸阳，推翻了秦朝的统治。由于项羽领导的另一支起义军势力更加强大，刘邦不得不暂时退守巴蜀、汉中地区，称汉王，开始了与项羽之间长达五年的楚汉战争。于公元前202年战胜项羽，建立汉朝，即皇帝位，史称汉高祖。

Liu Bang（256 B.C.or 247 B.C．-195 B.C.），whose courtesy name was Ji，was a native of Pei County（now in Jiangsu Province）．He was once a low-ranking village official．During the reign of the second Emperor of the Qin Dynasty，a great peasant uprising led by Chen Sheng broke out in 209 B.C．due to the Emperor’s despotic rule and the poverty of the working class．In response，Liu Bang also rose in rebellion and his ranks were growing steadily．In 206 B.C．Liu Bang was the first to capture Xianyang，the capital of Qin，overthrowing the rule of the Qin Dynasty．Since another insurrection army led by Xiang Yu was more powerful，Liu Bang had to withdraw his troops temporarily and stand on the defensive in the present day’s Sichuan and southern Shaanxi Province．He proclaimed himself King of Han，starting the five-year-long war with Xiang Yu．At last Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu in 202 B.C．and established the Han Dynasty．He ascended the throne and became the Emperor，known as the Great-Great-Grand father of the Han Dynasty.

大风歌

〇刘邦

大风起兮云飞扬^（1），

威加海内^（2）兮归故乡。

安得猛士兮守四方^（3）！

【注释】

(1) 大风起兮云飞扬：这句话的表面意思是刮起了大风，天空的浓云也翻滚动荡；暗指的含义是天下大乱，群雄争斗，国家的形势动荡不安。兮（xī）：语气词，相当于现代汉语中的“啊”。

(2) 威加海内：加是施加、力量可以达到的意思。海内是四海之内，即全国的意思。古代人认为陆地周围都是海，四海之内即所有的土地。刘邦写此诗时已即皇帝位，所以他认为自己的威力无比巨大，震慑管辖着全国所有的地方。

(3) 安得猛士兮守四方：怎样才能得到许许多多勇猛的将士，帮助我镇守国土的四面八方？安：怎样才能。猛士：勇猛的将士。

Song of the Great Wind

by Liu Bang

A great wind rises，oh！clouds are driven away.

Home am I，oh！now the world is under my sway.

Where are brave men，oh！to guard my four frontiers today！

【赏析】

刘邦是中国历史上第一个时间长、版图大的封建王朝——西汉政权的创立者。他读书不多，文化程度不高，但少有大志，胸怀谋略，从一个乡村的亭长，经过千难万险，击败众多敌手，特别是击败了不可一世的西楚霸王项羽，最终登上大汉皇帝的宝座。他不是文人，不擅诗歌，但很喜欢家乡的音乐。在公元前195年10月，他亲自率兵击败英布叛军后，回到自己的家乡沛县，召集父老乡亲、好友宾朋欢聚一堂。在酒席宴上，他做了这首短诗，并让一百二十个孩子和着家乡音乐的曲调同声歌唱，他自己还离席起舞。回想自己艰难的一生，感谢父老乡亲们的深情厚谊，刘邦竟不觉泪流满面，全场人为之唏嘘。做此诗后不久，刘邦即逝世。

这首诗的第一句用“风起”和“云飞”作比喻，写出了秦朝末年天下大乱的政治形势，简练形象，气势磅礴，显示出一位大政治家、军事家的胸怀。第二句写自己统一天下，做了皇帝，现在又衣锦还乡，显示出胜利者的得意和满足。最后一句写出了作者的愿望和理想，就是在打下江山之后希望能永久地守住江山。然而“安得”两个字在希望的同时隐含着深深的忧虑。俗话说“创业难，守业更难”，刘邦对此深有体会。全诗短短的三句话，分别写了创业、成功和守业三个阶段的情况，可谓充实、完整、言简意赅（gāi）；更加上语言浅显易懂，感情诚恳真挚，气魄博大宏伟，使此诗历经两千年而不衰，至今受到人们的喜爱。现代人喜欢用“风起云涌”来形容政治形势的变幻正是源于这首诗。

Interpretation

Liu Bang was the founder of the Western Han，the first long-lasting dynasty with a vast territory in the Chinese history．Being a man of resources and astuteness，he was ambitious even when young though he was not well educated．From a low-ranking village official to the Emperor of the great Han Dynasty eventually，Liu Bang had gone through innumerable hardships and defeated many enemies，especially the overweeningly arrogant Hegemon King Xiang Yu．He was not a man of letters，nor was he good at composing poems，but he liked the music of his hometown very much．In October，195 B.C．after he led his troops himself and defeated Ying Bu’s rebel army，Liu Bang returned to his hometown Pei County convening the elders and fellow villagers，and they gathered happily．He composed this short poem at the banquet and had 120 children sing it in chorus in tune with the music of his hometown，and he himself left his seat dancing．Recalling his life full of hardships and feeling indebted to his villagers for their profound sentiments of friendship，he couldn’t help shedding tears with all those present sobbing for this．Liu Bang died not long after the composition of this poem.

Using“a gale rising”and“clouds surging”as metaphors to describe the political situation of the great confusion in the last years of the Qin Dynasty，the poet starts his poem with a succinct and vivid line full of power and grandeur，displaying a great statesman and strategist’s broad vision．The second line demonstrates his pride and contentedness as a victor，who had unified the whole empire and become the emperor，and now he was back to his native place after acquiring wealth and honor．The last line voices Liu Bang’s aspirations．Now that he had won the state power，he hoped to keep it forever．However，“where will I find”also implies his deep worries．As the saying goes“if it is difficult for a man to set up a business，it is even more so for his heirs to keep it”，and Liu Bang had a deep understanding of this．The three short lines of the poem have described respectively the situation of the three stages：building of state power，winning success，and safeguarding of the state power，and can be viewed as substantial，complete and compendious．Moreover，the poem is plain and easy to understand，sincere with feelings and of imposing grandeur，and it has thus existed for 2000 years and has been liked by people up to the present days.“Feng Qi Yun Yong”or“winds rising and clouds scudding”used today to describe the constant changes of political situation just originated from this poem.

乐府诗“乐府”是由官府设立的专门管理音乐的机关。西汉汉武帝时机构扩大，人员增多，它的任务是搜集整理民间各地的音乐和歌辞，同时也制作和排演各种音乐歌曲节目，供朝廷典礼和宴会时演唱。后来，人们把这个机关搜集来准备配曲的诗辞统称为乐府诗。魏晋以后历代文人又仿照乐府诗的形式创作了大量诗歌。到了南宋后期，郭茂倩把从上古到唐五代的各种乐章、歌词、歌谣以及历代文人创作的乐府诗汇总成集，编成《乐府诗集》100卷。全书分成十二大类，对各种曲调和歌词都作了注解，介绍它们的起源和发展，内容十分丰富，成为记录和介绍我国古代音乐、诗歌的重要史料。遗憾的是对所有乐曲或歌词都没有说明它们的作者。本书所选《上邪》《长歌行》《敕勒歌》和《木兰诗》即出自《乐府诗集》。

An Introduction to

Yuefu Poetry

Yuefu，Music Bureau，was a government office established during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty，whose mission was to collect folk songs and music，and compose and rehearse them for ceremonial occasions and banquets at court．Such folk songs are generally called yuefu poetry．Literary men after Wei and Jin Dynasties composed a great number of poems in imitation of yuefu．In the late Southern Song Dynasty，Guo Maoqian collected various kinds of music，songs，ballads and yuefu poems of the past dynasties，compiling a 100-volume Collections of Yuefu Poetry．The collection is classified into 12 categories with notes on each kind of music and songs to introduce their origins and development．The collection is very rich in content，but has not given the name of the author of each piece of music or song．The present poem and other three poems in this book are from Collections of Yuefu Poetry.

上邪

〇汉乐府诗

上邪^（1）！

我欲与君^（2）相知^（3），

长命无绝衰^（4）。

山无陵^（5），

江水为竭^（6），

冬雷震震^（7），

夏雨雪^（8），

天地合^（9），

乃敢与君绝^（10）！

【注释】

(1) 上邪：“上”指天和天上主宰人们命运的神灵。邪（yé）：语气词，相当于“啊”。

(2) 君：古代对男子的尊称，这里指姑娘所爱的人。

(3) 相知：这里指相爱，并永远厮（sī）守在一起。

(4) 长命无绝衰：（我对你的爱情）天长地久永不衰（shuāi）竭（jié）。

(5) 山无陵：山没有了尖峰，变成平地。陵（líng）：山陵。

(6) 江水为竭：江水变枯干。竭（jié）：完结，耗尽。

(7) 冬雷震震：冬天出现夏天才有的震雷。

(8) 夏雨雪：夏天下起冬天才有的大雪。雨（yù）：这里是动词，表示落下。

(9) 天地合：天和地合在一起。

(10) 乃敢与君绝：（我）才能与你断绝感情。乃：才。敢：敢于，能够。绝：断绝、绝交。

The Pledge

Yuefu Poetry in Han Dynasty

Oh，Heaven high！

I will love him forever till I die，

Till mountains crumble，

Rivers run dry，

In winter thunder rumble，

In summer snow fall far and nigh，

And the earth mingle with the sky，

Not till then will my love die.

【赏析】

这是一首著名的古代爱情诗歌，诗中主人公是一位年轻女子，她向天发誓，要永生永世追随自己所爱的人，永远不变心。

诗的第一句是发誓前向上天的高声呼喊，既引起神灵的注意，也表达了主人公的决心，可以理解为：“天上的神灵啊，你们听着！”

诗的二、三句从正面写，直言要与心上人相爱，绝不变心。

从诗的第四句开始，作者采用了“反证”的手法。她告诉神灵，只有当某些特殊情况发生时，她才会离开自己心爱的人，而这些特殊情况是：高山变为平地，江河之水枯竭，冬夏气候混乱，天地合为一体。在古代科学技术不发达的时候，自然界的种种现象是人力无法改变的，因而诗中列举的特殊情况是根本不可能发生的。既然这些情况不会发生，她就永远不会离开自己所爱的人。

这首诗感情炽烈，直率开放，没有含羞柔曼的作风，没有婉转悲哀的情调，表达了中国古代女子对爱情执着的追求，对幸福生活的向往。主人公的爱情，结果究竟是成功还是失败，后人不得而知；但从全诗坚定的语气中，可以体会出主人公“不幸福，毋宁死”的决心，而这一决心又出自一位女子之口，更令人敬佩。它反映出古代妇女不屈从于命运的安排，不甘受他人的摆布，为追求幸福而勇敢斗争的精神。

这首诗语句长短不齐，每一句有二、三、四、五、六字不等，音韵也不十分讲究，说明古代诗歌语言艺术还处在萌芽时期，尚未成熟，或许这是一首民间流传的诗歌，没有经过后世文人刻意的修饰，因而还保持着人民大众粗犷（guǎng）朴实的文风。

这首诗感情的热烈和对爱情的坚定使它广为流传，脍炙人口，影响着后世几千年中的青年男女，今天人们还常用“山盟海誓”、“海枯石烂心不变”等类似的语言来表示对爱情的忠贞。

Interpretation

This is a well-known love poem in the ancient China．The heroine in the poem was a young woman who swore to heaven that she would follow her beloved forever and never change her mind.

The first line is her pleading to heaven before making a pledge to draw the God’s attention and express her determination，which can be understood as“please listen to me，my God on heaven！”

In the second and third lines she directly states that she would never change her love for her beloved.

From the fourth line，“counterevidence”is used．The heroine tells God that only in some special circumstances can she leave her beloved．These exceptional cases are：high mountains turn into flat ground；water in rivers has dried up；the four seasons are confused and heaven and earth merge into an organic whole．In ancient times when science and technology were not well-developed，natural phenomena were beyond the control of human beings，thus it was simply impossible for the above cases to occur．Now that they could not occur，she would never leave her beloved.

This poem conveys passionate feelings and its way of expression is frank and open，without implicit or sad sentimentalism．It fully expresses an ancient Chinese woman’s persevering pursuit for love and her expectation for a happy life．Later generations are unable to find out whether the heroine’s love was a success or not，but from the firm speaking manner of the entire poem，one can feel the heroine’s determination，“I’d rather die than live unhappily，”which is really admirable．It reflects ancient women’s spirit and courage of not yielding to their set destiny，not willing to be at the mercy of others and their brave striving for happiness.

This poem consists of lines varying in length from 2 to 6 characters，and its tonal pattern and rhyme scheme are not very strict，which shows that the linguistic skill of the ancient poetry was still in its embryonic stage and not very sophisticated．Or perhaps this is a folk song without any polish by later literary men，therefore maintaining a bold and simple writing style of the people.

This poem has spread far and wide and enjoys great popularity for its enthusiasm and faithful love．It has had great influence on young people for thousands of years．Today people often use“Shan Meng Hai Shi”（make a solemn pledge of love）and“Hai Ku Shi Lan Xin Bu Bian”（the seas may run dry and the rocks may crumble，but our hearts will always remain loyal）and the like to express loyal love.

长歌行

〇汉乐府诗

青青园中葵^（1），

朝露待日晞^（2）。

阳春布德泽^（3），

万物生光辉。

常恐秋节至^（4），

焜黄华叶衰^（5）。

百川东到海^（6），

何时复西归^（7）？

少壮不努力^（8），

老大徒伤悲^（9）。

【注释】

(1) 青青园中葵：园中生长着青绿色的葵花。葵（kuí）：葵花，一年生大型草本植物。

(2) 朝露待日晞：清晨花叶上的露珠等到太阳出来就晒干了。朝（zhāo）：早晨。待：等待，待到。晞（xī）：晒干，干燥。

(3) 阳春布德泽：春日灿烂的阳光给予所有的生命以无限的恩泽和好处。阳春：阳光灿烂、气候和暖的春天。布：广施，散布。德泽：恩德和光辉。

(4) 常恐秋节至：经常担心和惧怕秋天会到来。秋节：秋天的时节。

(5) 焜黄华叶衰：焜（kūn）：明亮。衰：一读为shuāi，衰老；另一读为cuī，减少。华叶：有人认为“华”同“花”；有人认为“华”是因华茂、光泽而显得朝气蓬勃的样子。本句意为植物叶子变黄，逐渐衰老以致枯萎。

(6) 百川东到海：大大小小的河流向东流入大海。

(7) 何时复西归：什么时候才能重新回到西边？言外之意，河水流入大海后永远也不会回来了，时间如河水一样，只能向前，不能倒退。

(8) 少壮不努力：少年壮年时不努力上进。

(9) 老大徒伤悲：年老力衰时再悲哀后悔年轻时没有珍惜时光就没有用了，来不及了。徒：白白地，空空地。老大：年老力衰、岁数越来越大的时候。

A Long Song

Yuefu Poetry in Han Dynasty

Sunflowers in the garden green in hue

Wait for the sun to dry the morning dew.

The radiant spring spreads its nourishing light

And everything becomes then fresh and bright.

I dread the coming of the autumn drear

When leaves turn yellow and red flowers sear.

Hundreds of streams flow eastwards to the sea.

When to return westwards can they be free？

If one does not make the most of his youth，

In vain will he pass his old age in ruth.

【赏析】

这首诗是一首民歌，中心思想是告诫人们要珍惜时间、珍惜生命；特别是在年轻的时候更要抓紧时间学习，力求有所作为，不要虚度一生、老时后悔。

诗的前半部分，借助叙述向日葵的生长过程来说明生命的短暂和可贵。诗的第一、二句写青绿初生的向日葵，盼望着清晨的阳光。这里用来比喻年轻的生命，美好、向上、充满希望。第三、四句写在阳光雨露的呵护下，生命茁壮成长。第五、六句写秋天到来时，绿色的叶子就会变黄，向日葵的生命也就快结束了，用来比喻人到暮年。写到这里，读者可以深深地体会到生命就是这样一代又一代快速地更替着。然而，作者仍然担心读者不能完全理解他的用心，于是又用“百川东到海，何时复西归”的反问句，直言地告诉人们，时间就如同奔泻的流水，一去不复回。最后两句，作者点明主题，人在年轻时不努力去实现自己的理想，年老时后悔也无济于事。本诗用比喻手法说理，具体生动，耐人寻味，以小喻大，打动人心。主题内容更是健康向上，催人奋进。因此，这首诗，特别是诗的最后两句“少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲”，几乎为所有中国人所熟知，并且成为不少人时时激励自己的座右铭。

Interpretation

The main idea of this folk song is to admonish people to value time and treasure life，and make the best use of time to accomplish as much as possible．The man who does not work hard in his youth will be grievous when he grows old.

The first half of the poem，by way of narrating the growing process of the sunflower，shows how short and valuable life is．The first and second lines depict the newborn green sunflower expecting the sun in the morning，and the sunflower is likened to young lives which are happy，vigorous and full of hope．The third and fourth lines describe all the lives thriving in the sunshine．The fifth and sixth lines convey the idea that the green leaves will turn yellow at the coming of autumn and the sunflower will grow old before long，which is likened to man’s old age．Reading this poem，one can deeply feel the rapid supersession of life．For feaving that he could not be understood completely，the writer used a rhetorical question line，“hundreds of rivers flow east and seawards，when can we see them return westwards？”to tell people directly that time is just like the flowing water，and once gone，it will never return．In the last two lines，the writer revealed the subject of the poem，that is，it’s of no use regretting in old age if one hasn’t worked hard to realize his ideal when young．The way that the poet used metaphors to illustrate truth is vivid and moving．Moreover，its theme is sound and rousing．Therefore，the poem，especially the last two lines，is almost known to all the Chinese and has become the impelling motto of many people.