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汉 Han · 诗 Poem

却东西门行

Crossing the East and West Gates

曹操

Cao Cao

征夫The marching soldier / conscript 思乡Homesickness

鸿雁出塞北，乃在无人乡。
举翅万余里，行止自成行。
冬节食南稻，春日复北翔。
田中有转蓬，随风远飘扬。
长与故根绝，万岁不相当。
奈何此征夫，安得去四方。
戎马不解鞍，铠甲不离傍。
冉冉老将至，何时返故乡。
神龙藏深泉，猛兽步高冈。
狐死归首丘，故乡安可忘。

Wild geese fly out beyond the northern frontier, dwelling in lands where no man lives.
Lifting their wings for ten thousand li, in flight and rest they move as a file.
In winter they feed on southern rice; in spring they soar once more to the north.
In the fields is a tumbleweed, drifting far upon the wind.
Long severed from its old root, for ten thousand years it shall not meet again.
Alas for this marching soldier—how can he leave the four corners of the world?
His warhorse is never unsaddled; his armor never leaves his side.
Slowly old age draws near; when shall he return to his native home?
The divine dragon hides in the deep spring; the fierce beast walks the high ridge.
A fox, dying, turns its head toward the mound—how can the homeland ever be forgotten?

Listen

Meaning

Cao Cao's 'Crossing the East and West Gates' is a yuefu ballad lamenting the conscript exiled far from home. Through the migrating wild goose and the rootless tumbleweed it voices the soldier's endless drifting and his deep, unforgettable longing for his native place.

鸿雁出塞北，乃在无人乡。举翅万余里，行止自成行。冬节食南稻，春日复北翔。田中有转蓬，随风远飘扬。长与故根绝，万岁不相当。奈何此征夫，安得去四方。戎马不解鞍，铠甲不离傍。冉冉老将至，何时返故乡。神龙藏深泉，猛兽步高冈。狐死归首丘，故乡安可忘。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The poem opens with wild geese beyond the northern frontier that fly south in winter and north in spring, then turns to a tumbleweed in the field drifting on the wind, severed forever from its root. From these natural images it shifts to the marching soldier, never unsaddled, never free of his armor, growing old far from home, and closes with the fox that dies facing its native mound. [Structure] The first eight lines establish the imagery of goose and tumbleweed; the middle four center on the conscript's plight; the last six turn to homesickness, ending on the fox's inborn loyalty to its birthplace. [Imagery] The tumbleweed (zhuan peng) and the fox returning to its mound (hu si gui shou qiu) are the poem's hinges—one figures rootless drift, the other the inborn pull of home. [Tone] The whole sings in a plain, desolate yuefu voice, building its pathos by moving from things to the man, so that the conscript's sorrow is felt through the very creatures he compares himself to.

【白话串讲】曹操写《却东西门行》：“鸿雁出塞北，乃在无人乡”——“田中有转蓬，随风远飘扬”——“长与故根绝，万岁不相当”——“奈何此征夫，安得去四方”——“冉冉老将至，何时返故乡”——他写征夫思乡——何时返故乡。【意象与手法】此诗写征夫，以思乡写征夫，是曹操的名篇。前八句写飞蓬：「鸿雁出塞北，乃在无人乡」写鸿雁出塞北、乃在无人乡——写尽鸿雁的远飞；「田中有转蓬，随风远飘扬」写田中有转蓬、随风远飘扬——写尽转蓬的飘荡；中四句写征夫：「奈何此征夫，安得去四方」写奈何此征夫、安得去四方——写尽征夫的飘零；「戎马不解鞍，铠甲不离傍」写戎马不解鞍、铠甲不离傍——写尽征夫的征战；后六句写思乡：「冉冉老将至，何时返故乡」写冉冉老将至、何时返故乡——写尽征夫的思乡；「狐死归首丘，故乡安可忘」写狐死归首丘、故乡安可忘——写尽思乡的深挚。全诗以思乡写征夫，写尽征夫的飘零与思乡，是曹操的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写征夫，以思乡写征夫，是曹操的名篇。此诗为乐府诗，写征夫的思乡。曹操身处乱世，征战四方，深知征夫之苦。此诗写飞蓬：鸿雁出塞北，乃在无人乡——写鸿雁出塞北、乃在无人乡，写尽鸿雁的远飞；举翅万余里，行止自成行——写举翅万余里、行止自成行，写尽鸿雁的迁徙；冬节食南稻，春日复北翔——写冬节食南稻、春日复北翔，写尽鸿雁的往返；田中有转蓬，随风远飘扬——写田中有转蓬、随风远飘扬，写尽转蓬的飘荡；长与故根绝，万岁不相当——写长与故根绝、万岁不相当，写尽转蓬的失根。中段写征夫：奈何此征夫，安得去四方——写奈何此征夫、安得去四方，写尽征夫的飘零；戎马不解鞍，铠甲不离傍——写戎马不解鞍、铠甲不离傍，写尽征夫的征战；冉冉老将至，何时返故乡——写冉冉老将至、何时返故乡，写尽征夫的思乡。后段写思乡：神龙藏深泉，猛兽步高冈——写神龙藏深泉、猛兽步高冈，写尽猛兽的栖息；狐死归首丘，故乡安可忘——写狐死归首丘、故乡安可忘，写尽思乡的深挚。全诗以思乡写征夫——那「随风远飘扬」写尽转蓬的飘荡，「故乡安可忘」写尽思乡的深挚，写尽征夫的飘零与思乡，是理解曹操乐府诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「田中有转蓬，随风远飘扬」写转蓬的飘荡；「戎马不解鞍，铠甲不离傍」写征夫的征战；「狐死归首丘，故乡安可忘」写思乡的深挚；以及全诗以思乡写征夫、以兴寄写思乡的手法。

Background

Cao Cao (155–220), style name Mengde, was a native of Qiao (modern Bozhou, Anhui), a paramount statesman, strategist, and poet of the late Eastern Han and the leading figure of Jian'an literature. This poem is a yuefu ballad on the theme of the conscript's homesickness. Living through the turmoil of the late Han, when warfare was constant and the people were scattered, Cao Cao knew the soldier's suffering at first hand. In the disordered close of the dynasty, the separation of conscripts from home became a major subject of yuefu poetry. The poem sets the drifting tumbleweed and the migrating goose against the lonely soldier, and so stands as an important window onto Cao Cao's yuefu treatment of the common people's hardships.

此诗写征夫，以思乡写征夫，是曹操的名篇。曹操（155—220），字孟德，沛国谯（今安徽亳州）人，东汉末年杰出的政治家、军事家、文学家，建安文学的领袖。此诗为乐府诗，写征夫的思乡。曹操身处乱世，征战四方，深知征夫之苦。东汉末年，战乱频仍，人民流离，征夫思乡成为乐府诗的重要主题。此诗写飞蓬：「鸿雁出塞北，乃在无人乡」写鸿雁出塞北、乃在无人乡——写尽鸿雁的远飞；「田中有转蓬，随风远飘扬」写田中有转蓬、随风远飘扬——写尽转蓬的飘荡；「长与故根绝，万岁不相当」写长与故根绝、万岁不相当——写尽转蓬的失根。中段写征夫：「奈何此征夫，安得去四方」写奈何此征夫、安得去四方——写尽征夫的飘零；「戎马不解鞍，铠甲不离傍」写戎马不解鞍、铠甲不离傍——写尽征夫的征战；「冉冉老将至，何时返故乡」写冉冉老将至、何时返故乡——写尽征夫的思乡。后段写思乡：「神龙藏深泉，猛兽步高冈」写神龙藏深泉、猛兽步高冈——写尽猛兽的栖息；「狐死归首丘，故乡安可忘」写狐死归首丘、故乡安可忘——写尽思乡的深挚。全诗以思乡写征夫，写尽征夫的飘零与思乡，是理解曹操乐府诗的重要篇章。

Art

The poem's craft may be read in four moves. First, it figures drift through analogy (bi-xing): the tumbleweed 'drifting far upon the wind' stands for the conscript's rootlessness. Second, it writes hopeless return through contrast: 'long severed from its old root' sets the plant's lost source against the soldier's lost home. Third, it renders campaign life in plain description: 'never unsaddled,' 'never leaves his side' capture the grind of war in two bare phrases. Fourth, it deepens homesickness through reversal: 'a fox, dying, turns to its mound' praises the beast's loyalty to its birthplace so as to throw the soldier's exile into sharper relief. The first part writes the tumbleweed's drift, the last the conscript's longing—moving from object to man, the classic yuefu method of 'entrusting meaning to things.' The threefold analogy builds layer upon layer: the goose still has its north-south journey; the tumbleweed is wholly rootless; and the soldier's 'never unsaddled' answers the tumbleweed's plight. Then 'the dragon hides, the beast walks' opens a wider vista in which all creatures have their place, setting off the soldier's homelessness; the fox's return seals the contrast. Such measured deepening is the mark of Cao Cao's 'ancient, direct, and desolate' yuefu.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以比兴写飘零。「田中有转蓬，随风远飘扬」以比兴写飘零——那「转蓬」写尽飞蓬，以比兴写尽征夫的飘零。其二，以对照写无归。「长与故根绝，万岁不相当」以对照写无归——那「长与故根绝」写尽失根，以对照写尽转蓬的无归。其三，以白描写征战。「戎马不解鞍，铠甲不离傍」以白描写征战——那「不解鞍」「不离傍」写尽征战的苦，以白描写尽征夫的征战。其四，以反衬写思乡。「狐死归首丘，故乡安可忘」以反衬写思乡——那「狐死首丘」写尽狐之恋乡，以反衬写尽思乡的深挚。此外，此诗前写飞蓬之飘零，后写征夫之思乡，由物及人，正是乐府诗「托物言志」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以思乡写征夫，写尽征夫的飘零与思乡，是曹操的代表作。此外，此诗尤可注意其三重比兴的层层推进：先以「鸿雁」起兴——鸿雁出塞北、举翅万余里、冬节食南稻、春日复北翔，尚有南北往来之程；次以「转蓬」为喻——转蓬随风远飘扬、长与故根绝，则漂泊无归、根蒂全失；由雁及蓬，飘零愈甚，而征夫「戎马不解鞍，铠甲不离傍」之困正与转蓬相应。后复以「神龙藏深泉，猛兽步高冈」宕开一笔，写万物各得其所，反衬征夫之无归；更以「狐死归首丘」收束，物犹恋乡而人独难归，层层跌宕，愈转愈深，正是曹公「以比兴写民瘼」的沉郁。

Allusions

The poem's language is steeped in the yuefu and homesickness tradition. 'Wild geese beyond the north' echoes the image of the migrating goose in the Shi Jing ('wild geese fly'), and the 'tumbleweed' recalls Cao Zhi's 'the tumbleweed leaves its root, drifting on the long wind.' 'Warhorse never unsaddled' recalls the warhorse of the Laozi ('warhorses born in the suburbs') and Du Fu's 'warhorses by the passes.' 'The fox dies facing its mound' derives from the Li Ji ('a fox dies with its head to the mound, for it is ren') and the Chu Ci ('the bird flies home, the fox dies facing its mound'). 'How can the homeland be forgotten' continues the homesickness of the Nineteen Old Poems. Drawing on the goose, the tumbleweed, and the fox's loyalty, the poem writes the conscript through homesickness, showing Cao Cao's mastery of the yuefu tradition in voicing the people's hardships. The allusion is unobtrusive—'used without breaking the surface'—yet precisely placed.

此诗的用语深植于乐府与思乡的传统。「鸿雁出塞北」令人想到「鸿雁」写候鸟的意象——《诗经》「鸿雁于飞」已写鸿雁，也令人想到「鸿雁来宾」的意象；「转蓬」令人想到「转蓬」写飞蓬的典故——曹植《杂诗》「转蓬离本根，飘飖随长风」已写转蓬，也令人想到「蓬飘」的意象；「戎马不解鞍」令人想到「戎马」写战马的意象——《老子》「戎马生于郊」已写戎马，也令人想到「戎马关山北」（杜甫）的意象；「狐死归首丘」令人想到「狐死首丘」的典故——《礼记·檀弓》「狐死正丘首，仁也」，也令人想到「代马依北风，飞鸟栖故巢」的古谚；「故乡安可忘」令人想到「故乡」写思乡的意象——《古诗十九首》「行行重行行」已写思乡，也令人想到「狐死首丘」的思乡传统。全诗化用鸿雁、转蓬、狐死首丘的意象典故，以思乡写征夫，正是曹操「古直悲凉」而承乐府传统写民生的本领。又「鸿雁出塞北」可联系《诗经》与汉乐府写征夫的传统：《诗经·小雅·采薇》「昔我往矣，杨柳依依；今我来思，雨雪霏霏」已写征夫之思归；汉乐府《饮马长城窟行》「远道不可思，宿昔梦见之」亦写征夫思妇。而「狐死归首丘」一语，本《礼记·檀弓》「狐死正丘首，仁也」及《楚辞·九章·哀郢》「鸟飞反故乡兮，狐死必首丘」，曹公化用此典，以狐之不忘其本，反衬征夫思乡之深，正是「用典而不隔」的典范；又以「神龙」「猛兽」各得其所，衬出「戎马」「铠甲」之征夫的失所，可见其谋篇之周密。

Commentary

This poem has long been ranked among Cao Cao's finest yuefu and a representative Jian'an treatment of the conscript's homesickness. Critics prize it for writing homesickness through the soldier 'with a desolate, brooding power.' Its special value lies in condensing, in twenty-two yuefu lines, the whole arc of drifting and longing—the goose, the tumbleweed, the conscript, the warhorse, the armor, the coming old age, and the fox's mound all belong to Cao Cao's conscript's world; and 'how can the homeland be forgotten' crowns the feeling by reversal. Read beside the Nineteen Old Poems ('walking on and on')—one through 'the northern horse leans to the north wind,' this through 'the fox dies facing its mound'—and beside Wang Can's 'Rhapsody on Climbing the Tower' ('fair, yet not my land'), it shows the late-Han tradition of writing the conscript's homesickness. For today's reader it is both a window onto Cao Cao's yuefu and a classic of Chinese poetry's homesickness—the wind-blown tumbleweed still speaks, across a thousand years, of the soldier's longing.

此诗历来被推为曹操乐府诗的名篇，也是建安写征夫思乡的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以思乡写征夫，悲凉沉郁」；近人更指出「狐死归首丘，故乡安可忘」写思乡的深挚，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以二十二句的乐府写尽征夫的飘零与思乡——那出塞北的鸿雁，那无人的乡，那万余里的举翅，那成行的行止，那南稻，那北翔，那转蓬，那故根，那征夫，那戎马，那铠甲，那冉冉的老，那故乡，那神龙，那猛兽，那首丘的狐，都写尽了曹操笔下的征夫；那「故乡安可忘」更以反衬写尽思乡的深挚。此诗与《古诗十九首·行行重行行》（「行行重行行，与君生别离」）同为思乡名篇，一写「胡马依北风」的思乡（行行重行行），一写「狐死归首丘」的思乡（却东西门行）；又与王粲《登楼赋》「虽信美而非吾土」的思乡传统一脉相承，可见汉末写征夫思乡的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解曹操乐府诗的窗口，也是中国诗写征夫思乡的经典——那随风飘扬的转蓬，穿越千年，仍在诉说着征夫的思乡。

Prosody

Form Yuefu ballad (five-character line)诗·乐府

Rhyme A yuefu with rhymes on xiang, hang, xiang, yang, dang, fang, bang, xiang, gang, wang—an open, sparse rhyme scheme whose somber sound suits the conscript's desolation.乐府，押「乡」「行」「翔」「扬」「当」「方」「傍」「乡」「冈」「忘」韵（平声/仄声转换），音节悲凉

Tone pattern As a yuefu the poem rhymes sparsely and with a desolate music, fitting exactly the soldier's bleak mood.此诗为乐府诗，押韵疏朗，音节悲凉，正合征夫的悲凉。

Reading note This is a twenty-line yuefu in the five-character line, rhyming openly on xiang, hang, xiang, yang, dang, fang, bang, xiang, gang, wang, with a sparse, mournful music. It moves from the tumbleweed's drift (goose beyond the north, tumbleweed on the wind) through the conscript's campaign (never unsaddled, old age near) to deep homesickness (fox to its mound, homeland unforgotten). The three sections pass from object to man, layer upon layer—the typical 'entrust meaning to things' structure of Cao Cao's yuefu. It should be read with a desolate tone on the tumbleweed's drift and a low, lingering close on 'how can the homeland be forgotten.'此诗为乐府诗，二十句——「鸿雁出塞北，乃在无人乡。举翅万余里，行止自成行。冬节食南稻，春日复北翔。田中有转蓬，随风远飘扬。长与故根绝，万岁不相当。奈何此征夫，安得去四方。戎马不解鞍，铠甲不离傍。冉冉老将至，何时返故乡。神龙藏深泉，猛兽步高冈。狐死归首丘，故乡安可忘」，五言句式，押韵疏朗（乡、行、翔、扬、当、方、傍、乡、冈、忘），音节悲凉。全诗以思乡写征夫：前段写转蓬之飘零（鸿雁出塞北、随风远飘扬），中段写征夫之征战（戎马不解鞍、冉冉老将至），后段写思乡之深挚（狐死归首丘、故乡安可忘）。三段由物及人，层层写尽征夫的飘零与思乡，正是曹操乐府诗托物言志的典型结构。诵读此诗，宜以悲凉的语调读「随风远飘扬」的飘零，以深沉的语调读「故乡安可忘」的思乡，结句要读得低回而有余韵，方能传达出曹操的悲凉。曹操乐府诗以「古直悲凉」著称，此诗正是其乐府诗的典范。

Line by line

狐死归首丘，故乡安可忘

A fox, dying, turns its head toward the mound—how can the homeland ever be forgotten?

狐死归首丘，故乡安可忘。

A fox, when it dies, turns its head toward its native hill; how can a man forget his home?

此二句是全诗写思乡的核心，以狐死归首丘写狐，以故乡安可忘写乡，写尽思乡的深挚，是千古名句。「狐死归首丘」写狐死归首丘——那「狐死」写狐死，「归首丘」写归首丘，写尽狐的恋乡；「故乡安可忘」写故乡安可忘——那「故乡」写故乡，「安可忘」写安可忘，写尽思乡的深挚。这句的深意在于：它以「狐死归首丘」的狐与「故乡安可忘」的乡，写尽思乡的深挚——狐死归首丘，那「狐死归首丘」写尽狐的恋乡——狐死而首丘，正是狐不忘其本的写照，那「归首丘」写尽狐的恋乡；故乡安可忘，那「故乡安可忘」写尽思乡的深挚——故乡岂可忘，正是征夫思乡的写照，那「安可忘」写尽思乡的深挚；那「狐死归首丘」写尽狐的恋乡，那「故乡安可忘」写尽思乡的深挚，一写狐，一写乡，写尽思乡的深挚——狐死犹归首丘，而人岂可忘故乡，正是思乡的深挚；此二句以狐、乡写尽思乡的深挚，也让此二句成为全诗写思乡的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我很想回家」，则失其悲凉；唯以「狐死归首丘」写狐、「故乡安可忘」写乡，写尽思乡的深挚，也让此二句成为全诗写思乡的核心。

Cao Cao's soldiers' song closes with the oldest pathos in the language. Even a dying fox, the poem says, turns its head toward the hill where it was born; how then can a man forget his home? The animal instinct is the argument—creatures without philosophy still orient themselves toward their birthplace—and the rhetorical question presses the point home to the men campaigning far from home. Coming after the images of the drifting weed below, the line justifies the soldiers' homesickness as something even beasts understand. To have said I long for home would be self-pity; the fox's dying look is the proof.

田中有转蓬，随风远飘扬

In the fields is a tumbleweed, drifting far upon the wind.

田中有转蓬，随风远飘扬。

In the field there is a tumbleweed, blown far away by the wind.

此二句是全诗写飘零的核心，以田中有转蓬写蓬，以随风远飘扬写飘，写尽转蓬的飘荡，是千古名句。「田中有转蓬」写田中有转蓬——那「田中」写田中，「有转蓬」写有转蓬，写尽转蓬的存在；「随风远飘扬」写随风远飘扬——那「随风」写随风，「远飘扬」写远飘扬，写尽转蓬的飘荡。这句的深意在于：它以「田中有转蓬」的蓬与「随风远飘扬」的飘，写尽转蓬的飘荡——田中有转蓬，那「田中有转蓬」写尽转蓬的存在——田中一蓬，正是无根之草的写照，那「转蓬」写尽无根的蓬；随风远飘扬，那「随风远飘扬」写尽转蓬的飘荡——随风远扬，正是身不由己的写照，那「远飘扬」写尽转蓬的飘荡；那「田中有转蓬」写尽转蓬的存在，那「随风远飘扬」写尽转蓬的飘荡，一写蓬，一写飘，写尽转蓬的飘荡——转蓬随风，正是征夫飘零的写照；此二句以蓬、飘写尽转蓬的飘荡，也为全诗写征夫作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写飘零的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「征夫四处漂泊」，则失其比兴；唯以「田中有转蓬」写蓬、「随风远飘扬」写飘，写尽转蓬的飘荡，也让此二句成为全诗写飘零的核心。

The poem's central metaphor is the tumbleweed. A weed in the field, once its root dries, breaks free and rolls where the wind takes it, farther and farther. The soldier himself is the weed: uprooted from his village, driven across the frontier by wars not his choosing, with no say in his own direction. The image is deliberately humble—a common wild plant, not a noble bird—and that ordinariness is its force. It prepares the fox's-homecoming thought that follows, by showing what the soldier has been cut off from. To have said soldiers wander homeless would be reportage; the tumbleweed blown by the wind is the wandering.

Study

Word focus

绝绝 (jue), 'to sever,' in 'long severed from its old root' is the key word for lost rootedness. It marks both the long duration of estrangement and the pain of having no return. Through this one word Cao Cao captures the tumbleweed's—and the conscript's—rootlessness. 「长与故根绝」之「绝」字是写失根的关键词，一个「绝」字写尽转蓬的失根。绝者，断绝也。曹操以「长与故根绝」写转蓬，这个「绝」字至少有双重意味：其一，写失根之久——那「长与故根绝」写长与故根绝，那「绝」字写尽失根之久——长与故根断绝，正是失根长久的写照，那「绝」字写尽转蓬的失根；其二，写无归之痛——那「绝」字更是写痛——故根绝，正见无归之痛，那「绝」字写尽转蓬的无归。以「绝」字写失根，正是曹操写飘零的枢纽——若换作「离」「断」等字，则或失其与「长与故根」的配合，或失其写绝的意味；唯「绝」字，以长与故根绝写尽失根之久与无归之痛，与「随风远飘扬」的远飘扬相合，写尽转蓬的飘荡，也让「长与故根绝」成为全诗写失根的名句。

安安 (an), a rhetorical adverb meaning 'how / how could,' in 'how can the homeland be forgotten?' conveys homesickness as a反问—'how could one forget?'—and the firmness of an unforgetting heart. It is the word that seals the poem's deep attachment to home. 「故乡安可忘」之「安」字是写思乡的关键词，一个「安」字写尽思乡的深挚。安者，岂、哪也。曹操以「故乡安可忘」写思乡，这个「安」字至少有双重意味：其一，写思乡之切——那「故乡安可忘」写故乡安可忘，那「安」字写尽思乡的反问——故乡岂可忘，正是思乡的深挚，那「安」字写尽思乡的殷切；其二，写不忘之坚——那「安」字更是写坚——安可忘，正见不忘之坚，那「安」字写尽不忘的坚决。以「安」字写思乡，正是曹操写深挚的枢纽——若换作「岂」「怎」等字，则或失其与「故乡」「可忘」的配合，或失其写安的意味；唯「安」字，以故乡安可忘写尽思乡的反问与不忘的坚决，与「狐死归首丘」的首丘相合，写尽思乡的深挚，也让「故乡安可忘」成为全诗写思乡的名句。