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汉 Han · 乐府 Yuefu ballad

长歌行

Long Song Ballad

汉乐府

Han yuefu (anonymous)

励志Inspirational 惜时Cherish time 汉乐府Han yuefu

青青园中葵，朝露待日晞。
阳春布德泽，万物生光辉。
常恐秋节至，焜黄华叶衰。
百川东到海，何时复西归？
少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲。

Green, green the garden mallow, morning dew awaits the sun to dry.
Spring spreads its grace, all things shine bright.
I often fear autumn's arrival, when leaves turn yellow and fall.
Hundreds of rivers flow east to the sea, when will they ever return west?
If in youth you do not strive, in old age you will vainly grieve.

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Meaning

This poem uses imagery of garden mallow, morning dew, and rivers flowing east to illustrate the fleeting nature of youth and time, urging the young to work hard lest they regret in old age.

园中葵菜青翠盈盈，晨露晶莹，只待朝阳升起便将晒干；温暖的春天广布恩泽，万物沐浴光辉，一派生机。可心中总担忧秋节一到，繁华绿叶便要枯黄凋零。看那百川奔腾东入大海，何时才能折返西归？可知少年若不勤奋努力，等到年老，便只剩空自伤悲了。

Appreciation

The poem begins with vivid spring scenes, then contrasts with autumn decay and the irreversible flow of rivers, culminating in the famous exhortation to strive in youth. It uses nature as metaphor to convey a timeless moral.

【白话串讲】 “少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲”——汉朝人用园子里的葵菜和东流的河水，讲了一个最简单的道理：时光不会等人。这句话从汉朝说到今天，还是最常被长辈念的那一句。【意象与手法】诗以比兴为骨：首二句“青青园中葵，朝露待日晞”即景起兴，以葵之青、露之暂暗喻青春短暂【情感与主旨】《长歌行》属汉乐府“相和歌辞·平调曲”，为汉代无名氏民间歌诗，具体作者已不可考【名句点睛】常考“少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲”的惜时主旨，以及比兴说理（葵、露、流水喻时光）的手法

Background

This poem is from the Han Dynasty yuefu folk songs, author unknown. It expresses the sentiment of cherishing time and is a classic of exhortation.

《长歌行》见于宋人郭茂倩《乐府诗集》卷三十，隶属相和歌辞平调曲，为汉代无名氏所作的乐府民歌，作者与确切年代均已不可考。所谓长歌，《乐府解题》以为与短歌相对，就声调之舒长促短而言：长歌宜于铺陈说理、反复咏叹，短歌则激切促节。汉武帝立乐府之官，采赵、代、秦、楚之谣以观风俗，此诗当出于这一采诗入乐的系统，故语言质朴无雕饰，节奏舒缓而可歌，与文人拟作之精整者异趣。今存文本以《乐府诗集》为最要，明清选本如《古诗源》《古诗赏析》亦多收录，故流传甚广。字句略有异文：焜黄一作蔫黄，又作熇黄；华叶之华即花之古字；少壮一本作少年，而以少壮与老大相对为工。就文学传统而言，此诗上承《诗经》比兴之法与《楚辞》托物寄意之风，下启建安以来的惜时之咏。汉人对时间的焦虑，一半来自天人之际的宇宙意识，一半来自乱世中个体生命的脆弱感；此诗以园葵之荣、朝露之短、百川之逝三层意象层层逼出劝勉之语，正是这种时代情绪最朴素而有力的民间表达。后世曹操之对酒当歌、陶潜之盛年不重来，声气皆与此篇相通，可见其在惜时主题谱系中的源头位置。

Art

The poem uses the technique of bi xing (metaphor and simile) with the imagery of mallow and morning dew symbolizing youth, spring and autumn contrasting prosperity and decline, and rivers representing the irreversibility of time. The structure is layered, leading to the concluding lesson.

章法上，全诗十句而三层井然。前四句写盛：青青园中葵与阳春布德泽，色泽饱满，气象和暖，是一派生长之势；中二句转折，常恐秋节至，焜黄华叶衰，以一恐字暗转，由荣入衰，由现在推向未来；后四句由物及人，先以百川东到海、何时复西归设一无解之问，再落到少壮不努力、老大徒伤悲的结论，说理而不觉其枯。这种由景入理、由物及人的推衍，是汉乐府说理诗最常见也最见功力的结构。手法上以比兴为骨：葵与露皆眼前实景，又皆自带时间的短暂性，兴中含比，不着一喻字而喻意自明；流水一喻则由空间的单向性转出时间的不可逆，比前二喻更为斩截。语言上多用叠字与对举：青青写色之匀润，口语气息鲜活；布德泽与生光辉、东到海与复西归，皆两两相形，节奏匀齐。全篇不用僻典、不使难字，而以物象的自然递进代替议论的层层堆砌，故虽为教训之辞而不落说教，虽为民间歌谣而具哲思深度，此其艺术上最可称者。尤可注意的是色彩的调度：青青、光辉、焜黄三色依次推移，构成一条视觉上的衰变轨迹，比任何抽象陈述都更能让人直感时间的力量。

Allusions

'Changge xing' is a yuefu song title. 'Kui' (mallow) has been a common vegetable since the Book of Songs. 'Morning dew' often symbolizes the brevity of life.

此诗虽不用故事之典，然其意象皆有传统渊源。朝露之喻在汉代已成套语：《汉书·苏武传》载李陵语人生如朝露，何久自苦如此，曹操《短歌行》亦云譬如朝露，去日苦多，可见以朝露状生命之短促，是汉人共有的感受方式；此诗待日晞三字尤妙在写出露之将干而未干，把短促写成一个正在进行的过程。葵为汉代常见蔬菜，《说文》训葵为菜也，其叶随日而转，古有葵藿倾阳之说，故以葵起兴，既取其青青可爱，亦暗含向阳而生之意。百川东到海，何时复西归，其思致可上溯《论语·子罕》子在川上曰逝者如斯夫、不舍昼夜，以流水喻时间之不可返，遂成中国诗学中最基本的时间隐喻之一。训诂上争议最大者为焜黄二字：多数注家释焜黄为枯黄衰败之色，谓草木失其光润；一说焜通曛，指日色昏黄映照下草木凋零之状；《说文》训焜为煌也，本谓光明，则焜黄或含由光烁转为惨黄的色变过程，愈见其可惜。华叶之华即花之古字，华叶连言犹言花与叶，非偏义复词。衰字旧读cuī，与晞、辉、归、悲相协，今人多读shuāi，读音虽变而韵理宜知。

Commentary

Li Shan's commentary in the Wen Xuan interpreted it as a carpe diem poem, while modern readings emphasize the positive exhortation. It is considered a masterpiece of natural reasoning.

《长歌行》的经典化，很大程度上得力于《乐府诗集》的编次与明清选本的推举。郭茂倩将其列入相和歌辞平调曲，使这首无名氏之作获得了乐府正声的位置；明清以来，论者论汉乐府每以质而不俚、浅而能深称之，此诗正是这一评价的标本：通篇无一奇字，而由物及人一气贯下，读之如闻长者叮咛。清代选家沈德潜论汉人之诗多以为出于自然、不烦绳削而合，此诗前四句写春物之盛全用白描，正合此论；而后四句由问而断，又见民间歌谣善于以最简的语言下最重的判断。传播史上，此诗的影响主要落在末二句：少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲，早已脱离原诗语境而成为独立的格言，与劝学类文献中的一寸光阴一寸金等语并传，广见于书塾对联、格言选本与今日中小学教材，是汉乐府中普及度最高的句子之一。就经典地位而言，它与《古诗十九首》中人生天地间、忽如远行客一系共同奠定了中国诗歌的惜时主题；不同的是，《十九首》多归于及时行乐或对酒排遣，而此诗独归于努力，把生命的短暂转化为进取的理由，格调因此显得健朗。这种由悲慨而奋发的转向，使它在漫长的接受史中始终具有教化与励志的双重生命力。

Prosody

Form Han yuefu, five-character ancient poem (乐府)汉乐府五言古体，属相和歌辞平调曲，本为入乐歌辞

Rhyme Primarily five-character lines, with metaphor leading to direct statement.韵脚为晞、辉、衰、归、悲，以古韵微部为主而与脂部通押，隔句用韵，一韵到底；衰字旧读cuī，正为协韵，今读shuāi则韵感稍隔

Tone pattern Free and unconstrained, not regulated.不受后世平仄格律约束，句式整齐为五言而节奏取上二下三，全篇以自然音节与语意停顿为主，无对仗程式与粘对之限

Reading note Yuefu style of 'feeling moved by sorrow and joy, events inspire song'; uses natural imagery to convey moral.此诗的声情之美，正在整齐句式与舒缓韵调的配合。全篇十句皆五言，双句押韵，一韵到底，微部之韵开口不大而收音悠长，宜于咏叹而不宜激越，与长歌之名相称。前四句押晞、辉，声调和平，配合春物之盛；中间衰字一韵，旧读cuī，音促意惨，恰当由荣入衰之转；末以归、悲收束，归为问声，悲为断语，一扬一沉，全诗遂在低回中结住。汉乐府未有平仄之律，然此诗自然音节颇为讲究：青青园中葵起句以叠字领起，声音饱满；何时复西归以疑问语气拖长尾音，与前后陈述句形成节奏上的顿宕；少壮不努力、老大徒伤悲两句结构全同而意义相承，读来如两记落槌。可歌性亦在此：句式匀齐便于反复，韵字疏朗便于延声，故它虽为说理之作，读之却有歌谣的回环之感。说理与音乐性并不相妨，这是汉乐府区别于后世议论诗的重要之处。

Line by line

青青园中葵，朝露待日晞。

Green garden mallow and morning dew symbolize beautiful but fleeting youth, setting up the theme.

园中葵菜青翠盈盈，晨露晶莹，只待朝阳升起便将晒干

Green, green the sunflowers in the garden; the morning dew waits for the sun to dry it away.

起兴二句全是眼前景，却句句关合题旨。青青叠用，写葵叶的匀润饱满，是视觉上最盛的时刻；朝露则是一日之中最短暂的存在，待日晞三字尤为吃紧：不说露已干，而说正等着太阳来晒干，把一个必然的消失写成正在逼近的过程，短暂之感因此有了紧迫的时间刻度。葵之青与露之亡并置于一联，繁盛与消逝同时呈现，兴中带比，不着一字议论而青春易逝之意已在其中，为下文的层层推衍埋下根子，也为全诗定下由盛入衰的基调。

The yuefu opens on the garden. Green, green the sunflowers in the garden; the morning dew waits for the sun to dry it away. The reduplicated green is the peak of lushness; the dew that waits to be dried shows the poem's method: every thriving thing has an appointed end already pressing on it. Lushness and evaporation in one couplet. To have described a sunny garden morning would be a scene; the waiting-to-be-dried dew on the green garden is the scene's hidden arrow.

百川东到海，何时复西归？

Rivers flowing east to sea never return, metaphor for time's irreversibility.

看那百川奔腾东入大海，何时才能折返西归

All the hundred rivers flow east to the sea; when will they ever flow back west again?

此联从植物转到江河，从一园之内推到天地之间，境界忽然阔大。百川东流入海是空间上的单向运动，何时复西归以问句出之，明知不可而故问，问中已含斩然的否定，比直说不可复返更觉沉重。其思致远绍孔子在川上之叹，而语言全出口语，不见书卷气。更要紧的是位置：它插在草木由荣入衰与人事之努力与否之间，起着由自然律推向人生律的枢纽作用，读者顺着流水的不可逆，自然接受了下文的劝勉，说理遂无强加之感。

The scale widens. All the hundred rivers flow east to the sea; when will they ever flow back west again? The rhetorical question knows its own answer, and the question itself is the force: time's rivers only run one way. The allusion to Confucius on the river is felt but not quoted—the folk voice carries it. To have said time flows one way would be a proverb; the hundred eastward rivers and the unanswered when will they return west are the one-wayness.

少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲。

Final exhortation: if youth is not spent striving, old age brings only vain sorrow.

可知少年若不勤奋努力，等到年老，便只剩空自伤悲了

If in youth and strength one does not strive, in old age there is only grief for nothing.

结二句是全诗的落点，也是它区别于一般感时之作的关键。前八句只写物之必衰、时之必逝，至此忽以少壮与老大对举，把自然的规律换算成人生的选择：可变者不是时间，而是人在时间中的作为。徒字最重，伤悲本已可哀，加一徒字则连哀伤也成了无用之物，把懊悔的空洞感写到彻底，从反面逼出努力二字的分量。语言全是俗语常谈，而因前文物象层层垫足，读来只觉沉着有力，不觉其为教训之辞。

The moral, spoken straight. If in youth and strength one does not strive, in old age there is only grief for nothing. The word for nothing is the knell: grief is bad enough, but wasted grief is worse. The plainness of the language is earned by the preceding images—every dewdrop, every river has been saying this. To have said don't waste your youth would be advice; the old age of grief for nothing is the advice's edge.

Study

Word focus

晞 To dry in the sun, implying the briefness of morning dew and youth. 晞谓晒干、干燥，《说文》训晞为干也，《诗经·小雅·湛露》有湛湛露斯、匪阳不晞之语，可见此字自古即与露、阳相连。诗中不用露易干、露将尽一类平说，而以待日晞三字构句：待字赋朝露以主动的等待姿态，日晞则指出消失的确定原因与确定时刻。一字之下，短暂不再是抽象的判断，而成为可以指认的过程，读者仿佛看见露珠在晨光中一点点缩小。此字既承上文青青之盛，又暗启下文秋节之衰，是全诗时间意识的第一个支点。

焜黄 Yellow and withered, describing autumn decay, contrasting with spring's glory. 焜黄二字写草木由盛转衰的色变，是全诗最见分量的用色之笔。《说文》训焜为煌也，本指光明烁然，而此处与黄字连用，遂生出由明润转为惨黄的动态：不是一开始就黄，而是曾经光泽照眼者如今转成枯黄，惋惜之意全在这一转之中。注家于此字聚讼：多数释焜黄为枯黄衰败之貌，一说焜通曛，谓日色昏黄映照下的凋残景象，亦有径作蔫黄、熇黄者。无论取何说，其效果都在以强烈的视觉反差与前文的青青、光辉相激，使秋节之至不止是季节的更替，更是生命光彩的丧失。

徒 Vainly or in vain, highlighting the regret if one does not strive. 徒本训步行，引申为空、白白地，此处作副词用，是结句的关节所在。老大伤悲，情已足哀；而诗人偏要加一徒字，判定这份哀伤全无用处、于事无补，于是悲的性质发生了变化：它不再是可以博得同情的抒情，而成了对自身虚度的清算。一字之力，把结句从感叹推成警戒，也把全诗的悲慨扭转为奋发。汉乐府善以最俗的虚字下最重的断语，此其一例；后世格言化用此句而必存徒字，正因去此一字则筋骨尽失。

长歌行