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汉 Han · 乐府 Yuefu ballad

古艳歌

An Old Song of Beauty

无名氏

Anonymous

弃妇abandoned wife 念旧remembering the old 乐府民歌yuefu folk song

茕茕白兔，东走西顾。
衣不如新，人不如故。

A lone white hare runs east, looking back to the west.
For clothes, nothing is better than new; for people, nothing is better than old.
Listen

Meaning

A solitary hare flees eastward yet keeps turning its head to look back. The woman speaking is that hare: forced to leave, she reminds the man she leaves behind that new clothes may be best, but old companions are not so easily replaced.

孤零零的白兔向东奔逃，却一次次回过头来向西张望。 衣裳自然是新做的好，人却还是旧相识更值得珍惜。

Appreciation

In sixteen characters the poem does two things: it offers an image and then it draws a conclusion. The hare's contradictory motion, body going one way and gaze the other, makes an abstract reluctance visible as a single physical gesture. The second half abandons metaphor entirely and sets clothing beside human beings, new against old, so that the deepest sort of loyalty is argued from the most ordinary household observation. There is no accusation and no weeping, and the calm is what makes it hurt. This is the plain, unliterary force that the Han folk songs command.

【白话串讲】 “茕茕白兔，东走西顾。衣不如新，人不如故”——一只孤单的白兔，东奔西顾。“衣不如新，人不如故”——衣服是新的好，人是旧的好。汉代一首失恋诗，成了千古名言。 【意象与手法】 全诗只有十六字，却兼用了比兴与对比两种手法。开篇以白兔起兴，兴中含比：兔之“茕茕”即人之孤苦，兔之“东走西顾”即人之身去心留，抽象的眷恋被落实为一个可见的动作。后两句陡然转入议论，把“衣”与“人”并置，以“新”与“故”相较，用最朴素的生活常理托出最深沉的人情之理，质木无文而力透纸背。 【情感与主旨】 这是一首弃妇之辞。前两句写“被弃”的处境与不舍，后两句写“规劝”的心意与希冀。女子并不控诉，也不哭闹，只是平静地提醒对方：新人再好，也抵不过多年相守的旧情。愈是平静，愈见其痛；愈是通达，愈见其不甘。汉乐府“感于哀乐，缘事而发”的本色，于此可见。 【名句点睛】 “衣不如新，人不如故”八字，是从个人身世里熬出来的普遍真理。它跳出了具体的弃妇情境，成为后世劝人念旧、珍重故交的常语，两千年来被反复引用而不觉其陈，正因为它道破了人心深处最朴素的那一点温热。

Background

The poem first appears in scroll six hundred and eighty-nine of the Song encyclopedia Taiping Yulan under the title 'An Old Song of Beauty', with no author named. Ming and Qing anthologies often attribute it to the wife of Dou Xuan under the title 'An Old Song of Resentment', but the account in scroll thirty of the Yiwen Leiju records only that her letter contained a similar remark about clothes and people, and says nothing of a song; the present text therefore follows the Taiping Yulan and treats it as an anonymous Han yuefu piece.

《古艳歌》最早见录于《太平御览》卷六百八十九，题作《古艳歌》，不著撰人，属汉代乐府古辞。明清以来选本或题为窦玄妻《古怨歌》，然考《艺文类聚》卷三十所载窦玄妻事，仅言其书信中有衣不厌新、人不厌故之语，并未明言其作歌，故今从《太平御览》，视此为汉代无名氏所作之乐府民歌。汉乐府采自民间，感于哀乐、缘事而发，多存里巷歌谣之真。此诗以一只失群白兔起兴，写弃妇的孤苦与对故人的眷恋，篇幅虽仅十六字，却浓缩了古代妇女在婚姻中任人弃置的悲剧命运。其作者虽不可考，却因情真语直而流传两千年，成为汉语中劝人念旧、珍重故交的源头性文本之一，亦可见早期乐府以极简之笔写极深之痛的艺术传统，此诗虽仅十六字，却浓缩弃妇之孤与念旧之诚，历两千年而为人乐道，足证民间歌谣不假雕饰自有其不朽；其作者虽佚，而价值为选家所共认。。

Art

Structurally the first two lines set a scene and raise the theme while the last two state a principle outright, moving from image to argument and from the concrete to the abstract. In technique, metaphor and contrast work together. The four-syllable line and the pairing of the couplets give the poem a clipped, decisive rhythm whose resonance continues after the words stop.

此诗仅四句十六字，却兼用比兴与对比两种手法，结构极简而意蕴极厚。前二句茕茕白兔，东走西顾以物起兴，兴中含比：白兔之茕茕即人之孤苦，兔之东走西顾即人之身去心留，抽象的眷恋被落实为一个可见可感的动作。后二句衣不如新，人不如故陡然转入议论，把衣与人并置，以新与故相较，用最朴素的生活常理托出最深沉的人情之理。章法上一象一议、由具体到抽象，节奏上前二句舒缓如叹、后二句斩截如决，两句一顿而余味不尽。尤其妙在通篇不着一个怨字、一个哭字，只以白兔之顾、衣故之喻淡淡道出，质木无文而力透纸背，正是汉乐府民歌不假雕饰、以真取胜的至高境界，亦开后世以浅语写深哀的一脉，前二句比兴兼施，以失群白兔写身去心留；后二句以衣故为喻，由物及理。章法极简而张力极厚，质木无文而力透纸背，是汉乐府以真胜之范。。

Allusions

The word rendered 'lone' describes solitude without support and already appears in the Book of Songs, in the piece from the Airs of Tang that speaks of walking alone. 'Old' here means an old acquaintance or long-standing friend, in opposition to 'new'. The saying about clothes and people shares a source with the remark preserved in the Yiwen Leiju from the letter of Dou Xuan's wife, that one does not tire of new clothes or of old companions, and the two texts confirm each other.

茕茕：孤独无依之貌，《诗经·唐风·杕杜》已有独行茕茕之语，形容孤身而行、无所依傍，此处用以写白兔之失群，亦暗喻弃妇之孤单。故：指旧识、旧交、旧人，与新高对举，在诗中既指旧日情好，亦泛指历久弥珍的人际关系。衣不如新，人不如故与《艺文类聚》所载窦玄妻书中衣不厌新、人不厌故同出一源，可互证其作为民间常语的悠久。白兔：在汉魏诗文中常作明月或纯洁、孤独的象征，此处以失群白兔喻女子被弃后形单影只的处境，兴象天然。东走西顾：走是奔逃，顾是回头，一走一顾写身与心相背，是全诗最具张力的一组动作，亦可见上古诗歌以对立动词造境的惯技。用典虽简，却字字有本，足见民歌亦自有其语言渊源，茕茕、故、顾诸字皆有所本，而用于此则浑如天成；衣不如新、人不如故与窦玄妻书语同源，可见此理早已为民间常谚，非一时一人之私，民歌之妙，常在无意于典而自合于典，此诗其尤者也。。

Commentary

As an old text of the yuefu tradition it is direct in feeling and language; the first two lines raise an image that also serves as comparison, the last two urge remembrance and carry a hope within them, and the whole has the flavor of folk song.

《古艳歌》历来为选家所重，收入《乐府诗集》古辞系统，情真语直，前二句以物起兴而兼寓比，后二句劝人念旧而含希冀，颇具民歌风味。其经典地位在于以十六字浓缩了人类共通的念旧之情，衣不如新，人不如故更跳出具体的弃妇情境，成为后世劝人珍重故交、不忘旧好的常语，两千年来被反复征引而不觉其陈。近人论汉乐府，每以此诗与《上山采蘼芜》《陌上桑》并观，认为同写女性命运而一凄婉一刚健。此诗之不可及，正在其于极短篇幅中兼具比兴之巧、对比之明与哲理之深，看似孩童可诵，实含千回百转的身世之痛，诚汉语诗歌中以少胜多、以浅寓深的典范，亦足证民间歌谣自有其不朽的生命力，综之，此诗以十六字兼比兴之巧、对比之明与哲理之深，看似可诵而含千回百转之痛，诚汉乐府弃妇诗言约意丰之绝唱，亦显民歌真声之永生，其传诵两千年而不衰，正以真情能穿越阶层与时代之故。。

Prosody

Form Four-syllable form四言体（杂言短章，乐府古辞）
Rhyme Only two rhyme words: gu ('look back') and gu ('old'), both in the departing-tone 'yu' group, with a single rhyme carried throughout, so that the regular lines still fall with a checked emphasis.顾、故同押去声遇韵，一韵到底；句式整齐而语气顿挫。
Tone pattern A single rhyme runs to the end; the lines are even in length but the voice is halting, and the syllables are short and abrupt.二二节奏，四言短句，两句一顿；虽不依后世平仄，而音节短促、近乎谣谚，与民间歌咏之节奏相合。
Reading note A short piece in mixed measure that opens with an image and closes with a maxim; the two lines about clothes and people are plain and cutting, and stand as the finest of the Han yuefu poems of the abandoned wife.此诗形制近四言，然已带杂言短章之趣，属汉代乐府古辞系统。用韵上，顾、故同属去声遇韵，一韵到底，韵脚短促而收束有力，与弃妇决绝中带眷恋的语气相合。句式以四言为主，二二节拍，茕茕白兔、衣不如新皆两两顿开，读来朗朗上口，最接近里巷歌谣的原生节奏。全诗虽仅十六字，却具备起兴、对比、议论的完整结构，前二句比兴、后二句说理，章法俨然。汉乐府本采自民间、感于哀乐而发，此诗不以文采胜，而以真情胜，音节之朴正与其情感之真相表里。要之，此诗以极短之制、极浅之语，写极深之痛，韵促情长，诚汉乐府弃妇诗中言约意丰的绝唱，亦足见上古民歌不假雕饰而能传世的生命力。

Line by line

茕茕白兔，东走西顾。

A lone white hare running east and looking west opens the poem with a creature separated from its kind, glancing about without support, an image of the abandoned woman's solitude.

孤零零的白兔向东奔逃，却一次次回过头来向西张望。

A forlorn white hare, fleeing east, yet looking back west.

起二句以白兔起兴，是全诗情感的第一层铺垫。茕茕写白兔的孤独无依，失群之兔本已可怜，更以向东奔逃、向西顾盼的动作写出其彷徨——身虽被迫东去，心却系于西边原处。这一走一顾，正是弃妇自身的写照：她被逐离家，脚步已远，魂魄却仍留在故人身旁。以兔喻人，是民歌最天然的比兴手法，不须说明，读者自能从失群白兔的顾盼中看见一个回望旧巢的女子。茕茕二字极重，写尽孤苦无告；东走西顾四字则以一组相反方向的动词造出强烈张力，身与心相背，去与留相争，为后文衣故之喻蓄足了情绪。起笔极淡，而悲已深。

The abandoned woman opens with a hare. A forlorn white hare, fleeing east, yet looking back west. The hare's body goes one way, its gaze the other: the displaced animal is the displaced woman, dragged from the home she still longs for. The forlorn word and the two opposed directions (east, west) are the torn self. To have said she was like a lost rabbit would be a simile; the hare fleeing east and looking west is the simile.

衣不如新，人不如故。

Clothes are best new and people best old: the comparison is drawn from garments and applied to human beings, and the plainness of the thought is what makes its grief so heavy, in the manner of the best folk song.

衣裳自然是新做的好，人却还是旧相识更值得珍惜。

Clothes are better new, but people are best when old.

后二句由兴入理，是全诗的警策与灵魂。衣不如新，人不如故以衣与人对举，新与故相较：衣裳本就用新为好，这是人人皆知的生活常识；然而人却相反，旧相识、旧情好才最值得珍惜。两句一正一反，以最朴素的日常之理，托出最深沉的人情之理。其所以动人，在于它道破了人性中一种普遍的悖论——我们往往喜新，却唯有故旧能予人真正的安稳与温热。此语原是弃妇对负心人的委婉规劝与最后希冀：新人再好，也抵不过多年相守的旧情。愈是平静，愈见其痛；愈是通达，愈见其不甘。十六字中，前二句之哀至此化为一句千古名言，跳出个人遭际而成为劝世箴言，足证真诗之能穿越时代。

The aphorism. Clothes are better new, but people are best when old. The first clause is universal truth (new clothes are better); the second reverses it for human affection. The plain proverb is the rejected wife's quiet appeal to the man who chose the new. To have said new clothes are fine but old love is better would be a saying; the clothes-new, people-old couplet is the saying.

Study

Word focus

茕茕 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 茕茕白兔之茕茕，是全诗的第一个情感音符。茕茕本形容孤身独处、无所依傍之貌，语出《诗经·唐风·杕杜》独行茕茕，本写征人行旅之孤，此处移用于失群白兔，既是写物，亦是写人。这一个叠字，以声音的回环模拟出形单影只的寂寥，读来便有孤苦之感萦绕不去。它奠定了全诗的悲剧基调：不是喧嚣的哭诉，而是静默的孤单。更妙在茕茕与后文东走西顾相连，孤兔奔走而仍回首，孤上加孤、去中带恋，层层加深。以叠字起兴，是《诗经》以来民间歌谣的古老传统，汉乐府承之而用于弃妇之题，字简而情长，足见民歌炼字虽朴、用意却深。
顾 The single most skillful word in the poem is the verb 'look back'. 东走西顾之顾，是诗中最为传神的一个动词。顾本为回头看，与走（奔逃）方向相反，一走一顾，写出身体被迫前行、目光却频频回望的矛盾姿态。这一个字，把弃妇身去心留、既离难舍的心理写得纤毫毕现：她的脚步是不得不走，她的眼睛却无论如何舍不得离开故处。顾与走构成一组对立，身体的向东与心神的向西相背而行，张力全在于此一字。在汉语诗歌中，顾常与盼、望相连，是眷恋的具象化，《古诗十九首》中亦多回顾之笔；此处以顾收束起兴，为后文人不如故的议论埋下最深情的一笔，是以动作写心理的典范。
故 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 人不如故之故，是与新相对的核心字眼，亦是全诗价值的落点。故指旧识、旧交、旧日相好，与衣之新形成鲜明对照。诗人偏要在这组对比中说人不如故，挑战了常人喜新的本能，提出一种更厚重的人伦价值：人情之贵，贵在历久。故字之力量，在于它承载了时间——新衣无所谓时间，而故人意味着多年相守、共历悲欢的记忆与信任。弃妇以故字作最后的挽留，不是指责，而是提醒：你眼前的新人虽好，却无我们共同的来路。这一个字，把一时的情爱升华为恒久的牵念，使此诗由弃妇之怨升格为普遍的人情箴言，足见民歌于极简中寓极深之妙。

Related Reading

敕勒歌 Song of the Chile Plain 北朝民歌 · 同属乐府民歌传统 Both are folk-style yuefu from around the Northern and Southern Dynasties period.

Each takes hold of its images in plain speech without ornament; the Chile song excels in breadth and this one in delicacy, and together they show the two poles of the folk manner.

《敕勒歌》与《古艳歌》同出民间乐府一脉，皆以质朴口语直取物象，不假雕琢。敕勒歌以天苍苍、野茫茫的壮阔写北地风光，气象雄浑；古艳歌以茕茕白兔的幽微写弃妇之心，情致凄婉。一壮阔一幽微，恰可见民歌风格的两极：同是不事文饰的真声，而一写天地之大、一写人心之细。二诗皆以最简之笔成就最广之境，合观之，正可见汉魏南北朝乐府虽题材迥异，而贵真、贵朴、贵以口语入诗的精神则一，亦显民间歌诗不朽之缘由。

 木兰诗 The Ballad of Mulan 北朝民歌 · 同属乐府民歌，同写女性 Both are yuefu folk songs and both concern a woman.

The ballad of Mulan spreads out into narrative and excels at incident, while this piece compresses into feeling and excels at figurative speech; writing the same subject of a woman's fate, one is vigorous and one plaintive, and they set each other off exactly.

《木兰诗》与《古艳歌》同属乐府民歌、同写女子命运，而取径大异。木兰诗铺陈叙事、长于情节，以唧唧复唧唧起笔，写木兰代父从军的刚健之举；古艳歌凝练抒情、长于譬喻，以白兔起兴写弃妇的凄婉之思。一刚健一凄婉，恰成对照：同是女子，一以立功显名，一以被弃哀鸣，正折射出古代妇女命运的两极。二诗皆语言浅白而情感深挚，足为乐府双璧之侧的证明。合读之，可窥民歌写女性之一刚一柔、一叙事一抒情，各极其致而同臻不朽。

 上山采蘼芜 I Go Up the Mountain to Gather Hedge-Parsley (Version 2) 无名氏 · 同写弃妇题材 Related reading

Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.

《上山采蘼芜》与此诗同写弃妇命运，皆出自汉代民间乐府。上山采蘼芜以弃妇偶遇故夫的对话展开，写新人不如故人的具体比较，叙事详切；古艳歌则以白兔起兴、衣故为喻，抒情凝练。二诗同以故旧之念对抗喜新之俗，一借对话显其怨、一借比兴显其哀，手法一繁一简而主旨同源。合观之，可见汉乐府弃妇诗的两副笔墨：一长于铺叙人情，一长于提炼哲理，皆情真语直，足为研究汉代妇女境遇与民间伦理的珍贵文本。