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汉 Han · 乐府 Yuefu ballad

古歌

Ancient Song

汉乐府

Han Yuefu

思乡/羁旅Homesickness/Exile 隐逸/忧愤Reclusion/Grief and Anger

秋风萧萧愁杀人，出亦愁，入亦愁。
座中何人，谁不怀忧？
令我白头。
胡地多飙风，树木何修修。
离家日趋远，衣带日趋缓。
心思不能言，肠中车轮转。

The autumn wind soughs and soughs, sorrow kills.
Going out I sorrow, coming in I sorrow.
Who among those present does not harbor grief?
It turns my hair white.
The barbarian land is full of violent winds;
how sparse and bare the trees grow.
Each day I leave home farther,
each day my belt grows looser.
My heart's thoughts cannot be spoken;
my bowels turn like cartwheels.

Listen

Meaning

This poem depicts the deep homesickness of a traveler in the northern borderlands. The autumn wind intensifies his grief, which is shared by all around. The farther he goes, the thinner he becomes. His sorrow is inexpressible, churning like wheels in his belly.

秋风萧萧愁杀人，出门也愁，进门也愁。座中这些人啊，谁不怀抱忧愁？令我白了头。胡地多暴风，树木何等修长萧瑟。离家一天比一天远，衣带一天比一天宽松。心中思虑说不出，肠中如车轮旋转。

Appreciation

The poem opens with the autumn wind and sorrow, then uses repetitive phrasing ('going out... coming in') to show inescapable grief. It expands from personal to communal sorrow. The images of violent winds and bare trees evoke the desolate border. The progression of distance and loosening belt vividly portrays physical decline due to longing. The final metaphor of churning cartwheels powerfully conveys unutterable anguish.

【白话串讲】 “秋风萧萧愁杀人，出亦愁，入亦愁”——汉乐府写：秋风愁死人，出也愁入也愁。“座中何人，谁不怀忧？令我白头”——谁不忧愁？愁得我白了头。“离家日趋远，衣带日趋缓”——离家越远，衣带越松。“心思不能言，肠中车轮转”。【意象与手法】本诗艺术以“愁”字为眼，以秋风为脉。起句“秋风萧萧愁杀人”景中直嵌情语，劈空而来【情感与主旨】《古歌》属汉乐府《杂曲歌辞》，“古歌”乃乐府旧题之称，非特指一人之作，此篇当为东汉或两汉之际描写远戍边地（“胡地”）【名句点睛】本诗中高考要点：一、“秋风萧萧愁杀人”的情景关系与开篇力量；二、“出亦愁，入亦愁”的回文短句的表达效果

Background

This poem is a Han Yuefu piece from the 'Miscellaneous Songs' category. It likely dates to the Eastern Han or the period of frequent border campaigns. It reflects the suffering of soldiers garrisoned in the northern barbarian lands, facing harsh winds and hopeless exile. The line about the belt loosening echoes a similar line in the 'Nineteen Old Poems' (行行重行行), showing a common motif of lovesickness.

《古歌》为汉乐府篇，是写游子思乡之愁的诗。此诗：秋风萧萧愁杀人，出亦愁，入亦愁。座中何人，谁不怀忧？令我白头。胡地多飙风，树木何修修。离家日趋远，衣带日趋缓。心思不能言，肠中车轮转。全诗写游子离家、思乡之愁，是汉乐府的名篇。

Art

The artistry centers on the word 'sorrow' with the autumn wind as a thread. The opening line directly blends scene and emotion. The repetitive short phrases in '出亦愁，入亦愁' create a sense of unrelenting grief. From personal to collective sorrow with '令我白头'. The shift to border landscape with '飙风' and '修修' trees sets a desolate mood. The two '日趋' lines intensify the progressive distance and wasting. The final metaphor is strikingly concrete.

《古歌》艺术上以愁绪的直白与思乡之情的深沉见长。全诗写游子思乡：首写秋风之愁——“秋风萧萧愁杀人，出亦愁，入亦愁”写秋风萧萧、出入皆愁，“座中何人，谁不怀忧？令我白头”写座中怀忧、令我白头；中写胡地之景——“胡地多飙风，树木何修修”写胡地飙风、树木萧疏；末写思乡之深——“离家日趋远，衣带日趋缓”写离家日远、衣带日缓，“心思不能言，肠中车轮转”写心思难言、肠中车轮转。全诗以直白写思乡，正是汉乐府的笔法。

Allusions

The imagery has roots in the Book of Songs and Han dynasty travel poetry. '秋风萧萧' echoes the '风雨潇潇' from the Book of Songs. '胡地多飙风' describes the harsh border. '修修' describes sparse, trembling trees. '衣带日趋缓' alludes to the common Han motif of lovesickness causing weight loss, as in '行行重行行'. '肠中车轮转' is an original metaphor.

《古歌》用典少而意象自明。“胡地”写胡人之地（边地）；“飙风”写狂风；“衣带日趋缓”写衣带渐宽（思乡消瘦）；“肠中车轮转”写愁肠如车轮辗转。全诗以这些意象写思乡之愁，不用深典而深沉自见，正是汉乐府的笔法。

Commentary

Shen Deqian praised the six-character phrase '出亦愁，入亦愁' as worth a thousand words. Chen Zuoming called the wheel metaphor 'writing out the indescribable sorrow'. Yu Guanying linked it with '行行重行行' as typical of Han lament. Wang Yunxi considered it a fine example of miscellaneous songs with autumn wind thread and striking metaphor.

《古歌》是汉乐府的名篇，也是中国诗歌中写游子思乡的代表作。此诗写游子离家、思乡之愁，向为论者称道。论者多赏其愁绪的直白与思乡之情的深沉——“秋风萧萧愁杀人，出亦愁，入亦愁”写出入皆愁，愁绪之极；“离家日趋远，衣带日趋缓”写衣带日缓，更见思乡之深；“心思不能言，肠中车轮转”写愁肠辗转，尤见其痛。汉乐府以直白写情见长，此诗正是其代表——以直白写思乡，正是其笔法。

Prosody

Form Han Yuefu · Miscellaneous Song (Ancient Song)杂言乐府

Rhyme Loose rhyme: first section rhymes on -ou (愁/忧/头), last on -uan (缓/转)《古歌》为杂言乐府，句式参差。此诗用韵：愁、愁、忧、头（幽部）、修、缓（元部）、转（元部）等，随段换韵，音节悲凉。

Tone pattern Mixed tones, folk song style杂言乐府以音节悲凉、句式参差见长。此诗写游子思乡之愁，音节悲凉而深沉。全诗句式参差，随段换韵，声调与思乡之愁的内容相合，是汉乐府中悲凉的一路。

Reading note A famous Han homesickness poem, autumn wind thread, wheel metaphor《古歌》为汉乐府篇，是写游子思乡之愁的诗。此诗以“秋风萧萧愁杀人，出亦愁，入亦愁”写秋风之愁，以“离家日趋远，衣带日趋缓”写人愁日瘦，以“心思不能言，肠中车轮转”写愁肠辗转。以直白写思乡，正是汉乐府的名篇。

Line by line

秋风萧萧愁杀人，出亦愁，入亦愁。座中何人，谁不怀忧？令我白头。

The autumn wind whistles, grief kills a man; going out, grief, coming in, grief. Who among this company is not heavy with sorrow? It makes my hair turn white.

秋风萧萧，愁杀人。出亦愁，入亦愁。座中何人，谁不怀忧？令我白头。

The autumn wind soughs, grief is killing me; out is grief, in is grief. Who here does not carry sorrow? It turns my hair white.

首写秋风之愁，是全诗思乡之愁的起点。“秋风萧萧愁杀人，出亦愁，入亦愁”写秋风出入皆愁——“秋风萧萧愁杀人”写秋风萧萧、愁杀人，“出亦愁，入亦愁”写出也愁、入也愁——秋风萧萧，出入皆愁；“座中何人，谁不怀忧？令我白头”写座中怀忧——“座中何人，谁不怀忧”写座中何人、谁不怀忧，“令我白头”写令我白头——座中怀忧，令我白头。五句写秋风之愁：秋风萧萧愁杀人、出亦愁入亦愁，座中何人谁不怀忧、令我白头。以“秋风萧萧愁杀人，出亦愁，入亦愁”写秋风萧萧、无时无刻不愁，以“座中何人，谁不怀忧？令我白头”写座中之人谁不怀忧、愁至白头，正是汉乐府写思乡之愁的起点——秋风起而愁生，无出无处不愁。

The homesick soldier's cry. The autumn wind soughs, grief is killing me; out is grief, in is grief. The two directions (going out, coming in) show the grief has no door; then the question: who here does not carry sorrow? It turns my hair white. The shared suffering is his comfort: we are all exiles. To have said autumn made him homesick would be a feeling; the out-grief and in-grief that whiten the hair are the feeling.

胡地多飙风，树木何修修。离家日趋远，衣带日趋缓。

The barbarian land is full of raging winds; the trees stand gaunt and bare. Each day I am farther from home, each day my belt grows looser.

胡地多狂风，树木何萧疏。离家日趋远，衣带日趋缓。

The northern land is full of fierce winds; the trees stand stripped and bare. Day by day farther from home, day by day the belt grows looser.

此四句写胡地之景、衣带渐宽，是全诗思乡之愁的深化。“胡地多飙风，树木何修修”写胡地之景——“胡地多飙风”写胡地多狂风，“树木何修修”写树木何萧疏——胡地飙风，树木萧疏；“离家日趋远，衣带日趋缓”写离家日远、衣带日缓——“离家日趋远”写离家日趋远，“衣带日趋缓”写衣带日趋宽松（人渐瘦）——离家日远，衣带日缓。四句写胡地之景、衣带渐宽：胡地多飙风树木何修修，离家日趋远衣带日趋缓。以“胡地多飙风，树木何修修”写胡地风狂、树木萧疏之荒凉，以“离家日趋远，衣带日趋缓”写离家越远、人渐消瘦、衣带渐宽，正是汉乐府写思乡之愁的深化——离家日远，人愁日瘦。

The alien landscape. The northern land is full of fierce winds; the trees stand stripped and bare. Then the body: day by day farther from home, day by day the belt grows looser—the classic image of grief thinning the body. The two day-by-day clauses mirror distance and weight loss. To have said the frontier was harsh and he was wasting away would be a statement; the bare trees and the loosening belt are the statement.

心思不能言，肠中车轮转。

The grief in my heart cannot be spoken; a cart wheel turns and turns within my bowels.

心中思绪不能言说，肠中如车轮辗转。

The thoughts in my heart cannot be told; like a cart wheel they turn on and on in my bowels.

末二句写心思难言、愁肠辗转，是全诗思乡之愁的归结。“心思不能言”写心思不能言——“心思不能言”写心中思绪不能言说——心思不能言；“肠中车轮转”写肠中车轮转——“肠中车轮转”写愁肠如车轮辗转——肠中车轮转。二句写心思难言、愁肠辗转：心思不能言，肠中车轮转。以“心思不能言”写思乡之愁不可言说，以“肠中车轮转”写愁肠如车轮般辗转不休，正是汉乐府写思乡之愁的归结——愁不可言，如车轮转。

The closing metaphor. The thoughts in my heart cannot be told; like a cart wheel they turn on and on in my bowels. The wheel in the guts is the poem's famous homely image: grief as a mindless, ceasing mechanical grind. To have said he was heartbroken and speechless would be a cliché; the turning cart wheel in the bowels is the heartbreak.

Study

Word focus

愁杀人 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “秋风萧萧愁杀人”之“愁杀人”，写愁得杀人，是全诗写愁之甚的夸张词。“愁杀人”写愁苦得令人难耐——秋风萧萧，愁杀人。这一词写愁之甚：不是寻常之愁，而愁杀人；不是可解之忧，而几乎致命。以“秋风萧萧愁杀人，出亦愁，入亦愁”写秋风萧萧、出入皆愁，正是汉乐府写思乡之愁浓烈的笔法。

胡地多飙风 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “胡地多飙风”之“胡地多飙风”，写胡地多狂风，是全诗写边地荒凉的关键词。“胡地”写胡人之地（边地），“飙风”写狂风——胡地多狂风。这一词写边地之荒：不是中原之地，而胡地；不是温和之风，而飙风狂卷。以“胡地多飙风，树木何修修”写胡地风狂、树木萧疏，正是汉乐府写边地荒凉、为思乡张本的笔法。

衣带日趋缓 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “衣带日趋缓”之“衣带日趋缓”，写衣带渐宽，是全诗写人愁渐瘦的关键词。“衣带”写衣带，“日趋缓”写日渐宽松——衣带日趋宽松（人渐瘦）。这一词写人之瘦：不是无愁之身，而衣带日缓；不是可止之瘦，而日日消瘦。以“离家日趋远，衣带日趋缓”写离家越远、人渐消瘦，正是汉乐府写思乡之愁的笔法。

肠中车轮转 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “肠中车轮转”之“肠中车轮转”，写愁肠如车轮辗转，是全诗写思乡之愁的归结词。“肠中”写愁肠之中，“车轮转”写如车轮辗转——愁肠如车轮般辗转。这一词写愁之翻涌：不是静止之愁，而肠中车轮转；不是可止之思，而辗转不休。以“心思不能言，肠中车轮转”写愁不可言、如车轮转，正是汉乐府写思乡之愁的归结。

古歌