All poems

汉 Han · 古诗 Ancient poem

客从远方来

A Guest from Afar

古诗十九首（无名氏）

Anonymous (Nineteen Old Poems)

爱情/相思love / longing 婚姻/祝颂marriage / blessing

客从远方来，遗我一端绮。
相去万余里，故人心尚尔。
文彩双鸳鸯，裁为合欢被。
著以长相思，缘以结不解。
以胶投漆中，谁能别离此。

A guest has come from lands far away, and brought me a length of figured silk;
Though ten thousand li now divide us, my far-off love's heart stays just the same.
With paired mandarin ducks embroidered bright, I cut it into a coverlet of joy;
I stuff it full of endless longing, and bind its edge with a knot none can undo.
Like glue cast into lacquer — who could ever part the two of us?

Listen

Meaning

A guest arrives from afar bearing a gift of fine silk from the poet's distant beloved. Though they are separated by ten thousand li, the beloved's heart remains unchanged. The silk is patterned with paired mandarin ducks, so the poet cuts it into a wedding coverlet, fills it with perpetual longing, and trims its edge with an unbreakable knot. In the end the poet declares that, like glue poured into lacquer, nothing can ever separate them.

客人从远方而来，捎给我一端绮罗。彼此相距万余里，故人的心意依然如此。那绮上织有双鸳鸯的纹彩，我把它裁成合欢被。被里絮进长长的相思，被缘缀上解不开的结。如同把胶投进漆中，谁又能将我们分离？

Appreciation

This poem is the eighteenth of the Nineteen Old Poems and stands out from the group's usual sorrow by its bright, ardent tone. It opens plainly with a guest arriving from afar and a gift of silk, then turns at once to the emotional claim that distance cannot dim the lover's constancy. The middle moves from the silk's paired-duck pattern to a series of domestic acts — cutting the coverlet, stuffing it with longing, knotting its edge — that turn an abstract feeling into something touched and made. It closes with the homely simile of glue in lacquer, stating love's inseparability with flat, unanswerable force. The language is lucid and rising, tender within its strength, a warm exception inside a generally mournful collection.

【白话串讲】 “客从远方来，遗我一端绮”——客人从远方来，送我一匹绸缎。“文彩双鸳鸯，裁为合欢被”——上面绣着鸳鸯，她做成合欢被。“以胶投漆中，谁能别离此”——像胶投进漆里，谁能把我们分开？【意象与手法】本诗构思精巧，以「绮」为线索贯穿全篇。起首「客从远方来，遗我一端绮」叙事平起，「相去万余里，故人心尚尔」陡转深情，空间之远反衬情意之近。中段由「文彩双鸳鸯」自然生发出裁被寄情的一系列动作，「裁为合欢被」「著以长相思」「缘以结不解」，将抽象相思化为可触的织物工艺，比喻新奇而贴切。末以「以胶投漆中，谁能别离此」收束，用胶漆相投的俗语作喻，把爱情之不可拆离写得斩钉截铁。【情感与主旨】《客从远方来》为《古诗十九首》第十八首（依《文选》）。《古诗十九首》多写东汉末年士人游宦、思妇离别之悲，此首则从思妇（或收到赠物者）视角，写远方故人遣客赠绮、织被寄情之事，一反组诗常见的悲苦基调，以明快热烈之笔写坚贞不移的爱，是组诗中难得的温馨暖调。【名句点睛】「以胶投漆中，谁能别离此」以俗语作喻，写爱情之坚不可分，斩钉截铁；「著以长相思，缘以结不解」以织物工艺写相思，双关巧妙，为常考之句。

Background

The poem is the eighteenth of the Nineteen Old Poems as ordered in the Wen Xuan, a body of late-Han five-character verse that laments separation, official wandering, and the brevity of life. Most pieces in the group speak from a woman left behind or a wanderer adrift; this one takes the rare warm turn of a love affirmed rather than lost. In the unsettled end of the Han, travel was long and letters rare, and fine silk was a common token of affection. The 'length of silk', the 'paired ducks', the 'coverlet of joy', the 'longing' and the 'unknotted knot' are all woven imagery for a steadfast, married love, giving the poem its unusual, consoling brightness.

《客从远方来》为《古诗十九首》第十八首（依《文选》）。《古诗十九首》多写东汉末年士人游宦、思妇离别之悲，时代背景是汉末社会动荡、游子离乡、音书难递，缯绮之类贵重织物常作相思信物。此首则别开生面：写远方故人遣客赠绮，思妇得绮而织被寄情，全诗一反组诗常见的悲苦基调，以明快热烈之笔写坚贞不移的爱。「一端绮」乃半匹生绢（一端的长度，说法不一，或二丈或六丈），绮为素地织纹的丝织物，汉世常作馈赠信物；「双鸳鸯」纹寓夫妻和合，「合欢被」「长相思」「结不解」皆以织物意象写缠绵之情。诗中思妇得绮而喜、织被寄情的心理过程，正是一个独守空闺的女子在漫长等待中抓住一点希望、将全部深情注入织物的一幅生动图画，是《古诗十九首》中难得的温馨暖调，也是汉末思妇题材诗歌中情调最明快的一首。又，据学者考证，《客从远方来》与《孟冬寒气至》等篇或与汉代「征妇」题材有关，东汉末年以来，游宦与征戍使大量夫妻离散，缯绮馈赠、尺素传书成为维系情感的常见方式，此诗写思妇得绮织被，正是这一社会背景下的温馨一页，其情调之明快，反衬出那个时代多少无告的离人，读之愈觉珍贵。

Art

The art lies in the single thread of the 'silk' that runs from opening through image to metaphor. 'A guest comes from afar, bringing a length of figured silk' begins in plain narration; 'ten thousand li apart, yet the loved one's heart is still thus' swings sharply into feeling, letting distance throw closeness into relief. From the embroidered paired ducks the poem naturally unfolds a chain of making — 'cut into a coverlet of joy', 'stuffed with long longing', 'edged with a knot none undo' — translating abstraction into a tangible craft, a figure both strange and exact. It ends 'like glue cast into lacquer, who could part us', a common saying lifted to a firm close. The diction is bright and flowing, climbing step by step from story to feeling, gentle yet unyielding.

本诗构思精巧，以「绮」为线索贯穿全篇，由叙事而抒情而比喻，层层递升。起首「客从远方来，遗我一端绮」叙事平起，以客来赠绮这一具体事件开篇，亲切自然；「相去万余里，故人心尚尔」陡转深情，「万余里」极言空间之远，「尚尔」写情意之不变，以空间之远反衬情意之近，一「尚」字写出故人之心历久弥坚。中段由「文彩双鸳鸯」自然生发出裁被寄情的一系列动作：「裁为合欢被」「著以长相思」「缘以结不解」，将抽象的相思化为可触的织物工艺，被、絮、结三物各有所喻，比喻新奇而贴切，层层推进，把织被的过程写成倾诉相思的过程。末以「以胶投漆中，谁能别离此」收束，用胶漆相投的俗语作喻，把爱情之不可拆离写得斩钉截铁。全诗语言明丽流转，由喜而深、由深而坚，情感逐层升温，刚健中见温柔，是《古诗十九首》中结构最完整、情调最明快的篇章之一。全诗结构以「绮」为线索，一线贯穿：得绮是喜之始，观绮（双鸳鸯）是情之起，裁绮是爱之深，著绮是思之切，结绮是誓之坚，一环扣一环，层层递进，而末句「以胶投漆中」以比喻总收，将前文的叙事抒情化为斩钉截铁的誓言，正是汉诗「以小物写深情、以线索贯全篇」的典范结构。

Allusions

A 'length' (duan) was a Han measure of cloth, two or six zhang; 'silk' (qi) was figured satin often given as a love token. The paired mandarin ducks were a stock Han brocade motif standing for a harmonious couple; the 'coverlet of joy', 'long longing' and 'unknotted knot' all borrow bedding and knots to carry love — the same phrasing appears in Han ballads. 'Glue cast into lacquer' reworks the folk saying 'as glue and lacquer' for a bond nothing can sunder. The allusions are all Han objects and everyday speech, plain and warm.

诗中用典皆本汉代实物与常语，朴茂温情。「一端绮」之「端」为古代布帛计量单位（一说二丈为一端，一说六丈），「绮」为素地织纹的丝绢，汉世常作馈赠信物，「遗我一端绮」写客赠绮之礼，实为故人寄情之凭。「双鸳鸯」纹乃汉代织锦常见题材，鸳鸯双宿双飞，象征夫妻和鸣，织于绮上，暗寓夫妇团圆之愿。「合欢被」为夫妻合用之被，取其和合之意；「长相思」本是丝绵的谐音双关（「思」谐「丝」），又兼「长久的思念」之意；「结不解」以被缘打结喻情思缠绵难解。此三句以织物工艺写情，与汉乐府「著以长相思，缘以结不解」句式同出一源。「胶投漆中」化用「如胶似漆」俗语，喻爱情坚不可分。诸典皆取自当时的生活实物与民间常语，不事雕琢而情意自深。另，「鸳鸯」「合欢」皆为汉代织品与婚俗的常用意象：鸳鸯为汉代织锦常见纹样，合欢被为婚礼所用之被，皆寓夫妻和合，诗人选用这些意象，正是取其文化内涵的约定俗成；「长相思」谐音双关「长丝绵」，则是汉乐府「谐音取义」手法的经典案例，与「结不解」的象征互为表里，将汉代婚俗与爱情表达融为一体。

Commentary

Zhong Rong's Shipin ranks the Nineteen Old Poems in the top grade, calling them 'gentle yet ornate, grieved yet far'. This piece alone keeps a warm key. The Ming critic Hu Yinglin's Shisou says the Nineteen 'make their own rhyme and their own charm as they go'; the line 'like glue into lacquer' here is wholly unforced. The modern scholar Ye Jiaying observes that, though separated by ten thousand li and unlikely to meet, the poem begins gladly with a guest and a gift and ends on the glue-lacquer image, writing human longing as at once passionate and certain — a divergent tune within the Nineteen.

钟嵘《诗品》列《古诗十九首》于上品，谓其「文温以丽，意悲而远」，然此首在组内情调独暖，为论者所注目。明人胡应麟《诗薮》称《十九首》「随语成韵，随韵成趣」，此诗「以胶投漆」一句浑然天成，正是「随语成趣」的范例。清人张庚《古诗十九首解》谓此诗「极写深情，而不觉其苦」，点出其于热烈中不见悲苦的独特情调。近人叶嘉莹评此诗：「明明是相隔万里、别离难聚，却偏从『客来遗绮』的喜笔写起，末以胶漆之喻作结，将人间相思写得既热烈又笃定，是《十九首》中的别调。」此诗的价值，一在它以明快热烈的笔调写坚贞的爱情，与组内诸篇的悲苦基调形成对照，可见《古诗十九首》情感基调的丰富性；二在它以织物工艺写抽象相思的构思，是「化虚为实」的典范；三在其胶漆之喻的斩钉截铁，为后世写坚贞爱情的诗歌提供了经典意象。又，此诗在《古诗十九首》中地位独特：组诗多写悲苦，此首独写欢愉，学者或以之为「组诗中的别调」，或以之为思妇题材的圆满想象，无论何种解读，其「以喜写情、以誓作结」的结构与「胶漆」之喻，皆为后世爱情诗提供了经典范式，其明快的格调在古诗中尤为难得。

Prosody

Form Han five-character ancient poem (one of the Nineteen Old Poems)古诗·五言古诗（东汉五言诗，《古诗十九首》之一）

Rhyme qi, er, bei, jie, ci (zhi/ge/zhi mixed rhyme); five-character form绮、尔、被、解、此，属支微部通韵，隔句押韵，转韵自由

Tone pattern Natural five-character level-oblique, free ancient form五言古体，自然平仄，节奏明快，句式整齐中见变化

Reading note Threads the 'silk' throughout; bright and warm, a divergent tune within the group.此诗为五言古诗，属《古诗十九首》之一，东汉文人五言诗的成熟形态。用韵上，全诗十二句，韵脚「绮」「尔」「被」「解」「此」大致属上古支微部通韵，隔句押韵而转韵自由，古体诗不避重韵、不避邻韵通押，读来流转自然。五言古体不依唐人平仄格律，以自然声调与句式的节奏感取胜：全诗皆为五言句，节奏整齐，如「客从/远方/来，遗我/一端/绮」，二二一的节奏明快流畅；而「裁为合欢被。著以长相思，缘以结不解」连用三个五言句，一韵到底，节奏紧凑，正合织被过程的一气呵成。章法上，全诗十二句，前四句叙事，中四句抒情，后四句比喻立誓，由事入情、由情入理，层层递进，句式随内容而变，明快温馨的情调与流畅的节奏相谐。此诗是汉五言古诗中以日常题材写深挚情感的代表，也是研究汉魏五言诗格律演变的重要文本。

Line by line

客从远方来，遗我一端绮

A guest has come from lands far away, and left me a length of figured silk;

客人从远方而来，捎给我一端绮罗。

A traveler comes from far away, bringing me a bolt of patterned silk.

起句叙事平起，以客来赠绮开篇。「客从远方来」写有客自远方而至，「远方」二字点出空间之遥，为后文「相去万余里」张本；「遗我一端绮」写客赠我一端绮罗，「遗」即赠送，「一端绮」点出赠物之具体，「一端」为布帛计量单位，绮为素地织纹的丝绢，是当时贵重的馈赠之物，也是相思的常见信物。两句以极平实的叙述开篇，不写思念、不写悲苦，只写一个赠绮的事件，亲切自然，如话家常。然而读者自能领会：客自远方来，所携之绮，必是远方故人托其捎来，这一端绮罗之中，藏着故人的情意与牵挂。起笔之平，正是为后文深情之陡转蓄势，平处见奇，是《古诗十九首》叙事起笔的典型笔法。

The arrival. A traveler comes from far away, bringing me a bolt of patterned silk. The plain narrative hides the excitement: the silk has been sent by the absent husband, and the bolt is the whole letter. The word gift (遗) is the formal word for receiving from afar. To have said a traveler brought me a gift from my husband would be a story; the bolt of silk from the traveler is the story.

相去万余里，故人心尚尔

So far apart, yet my loved one's heart remains the same;

彼此相距万余里，故人的心意依然如此。

Though we are ten thousand li apart, my old friend's heart is still the same.

此句陡转深情，是全诗情感的第一层升华。「相去万余里」承上句「远方」而来，将空间之远推到极致，「万余里」以夸张之笔写相距之遥，万里之隔，音书难通，相见无期；「故人心尚尔」陡然一转，「尚尔」即「依然如此」，写故人之心历久不变、隔远弥坚，一个「尚」字，写尽故人深情之不可磨灭。两句以空间之远反衬情意之近：距离越远，越见情意之珍贵，万里之外犹能托客赠绮，其心之诚可知。此句由叙事转入抒情，是全诗情感升温的起点，思妇得绮而喜、而感、而念故人的心理活动，尽在这两句的对照之中，也为下文织被寄情的热烈作了情感铺垫。

The feeling. Though we are ten thousand li apart, my old friend's heart is still the same. The ten thousand li is the distance; the still-the-same is the gift's true message. The word still carries the relief. To have said he still loved me despite the distance would be a statement; the ten thousand li and the heart that is still the same are the statement.

裁为合欢被。著以长相思，缘以结不解

I cut it into a coverlet of joy; I stuff it with endless longing, and bind its edge with a knot none can undo;

我把它裁成合欢被，被里絮进长长的相思，被缘缀上解不开的结。

I cut it into a bedcover of joined joy; I line it with long longing, and edge it with knots that will not untie.

此三句是全诗的核心，以织物工艺写抽象相思，化虚为实。「文彩双鸳鸯」的绮上织着双鸳鸯，思妇见之而心动，遂「裁为合欢被」——裁成夫妻合用的被，取和合之意；「著以长相思」以「长相思」双关，既谐音「长丝绵」（被中絮入的丝绵），又指长久的思念，将相思之丝絮进被中，化思念为实物；「缘以结不解」以被缘打结喻情思缠绵难解，「结」字双关，既是实物之结，也是情思之结。三句层层递进，裁被、絮丝、打结，一道工序一道深情，思妇将全部的爱意缝进被中，等待与故人共眠。此三句比喻新奇而贴切，以最具体的织物工艺写最抽象的情感，是《古诗十九首》中「化虚为实」的典范。

The making. I cut the silk into a bedcover of joined joy; I line it with long longing (long silk floss, punning on long love), and edge it with knots that will not untie. The three steps of sewing (cut, line, edge) each carry a love word: the joined-joy coverlet, the long longing floss, the knot that will not untie. To have said I made the silk into a quilt for us would be an action; the joined-joy quilt lined with long longing and edged with knots that won't untie is the action.

以胶投漆中，谁能别离此

Like glue cast into lacquer — who could ever sunder us two?

如同把胶投进漆中，谁又能将我们分离？

Like glue thrown into lacquer—who can tear us apart?

结句以俗语作喻收束全诗，斩钉截铁。「以胶投漆中」化用「如胶似漆」的民间俗语：胶与漆都是黏性极强的物质，胶投入漆中，二者交融为一，再难分离；「谁能别离此」以反诘语气写爱情的坚不可摧，「谁能」的质问斩钉截铁，不容置疑，仿佛向全天下宣告：我与故人的情意，如胶投漆，无人能拆。此句以最朴素的比喻写最坚定的信念，将前文的喜悦与深情推向高潮，收束得干净有力。与前文的叙事、抒情不同，此句纯以比喻立论，语气坚定明快，正见思妇对爱情的笃定信心。全诗由得绮之喜、感故人之情、织被之痴，到此坚不可移之誓，层层递进，一气呵成，以热烈的笔调为《古诗十九首》写下一抹难得的亮色。

The oath. Like glue thrown into lacquer—who can tear us apart? The folk simile (glue and lacquer, inseparable) is the conclusion. The question brooks no answer. To have said our love was inseparable would be a declaration; the glue mixed in lacquer and the question who can separate us are the declaration.

Study

Word focus

一端 A Han measure of silk, two or six zhang; the small gift betrays great love — little cloth, deep feeling. 「遗我一端绮」之「一端」，是古代布帛的计量单位，为理解全诗的关键词。「端」指布帛的长度单位，一说二丈为一端，一说六丈为一端，汉世布帛以匹、端计量，一端即半匹。「一端绮」点出赠物之具体：不是整匹，只是一端，礼物并不丰厚，而情意却因此更见真挚——故人远在万里之外，托客捎来的不过一端绮罗，然礼轻而情重，贵不在物而在心。此二字还暗含当时的馈赠习俗：汉世缯绮之类贵重织物常作相思信物，一端绮罗正是思妇最珍视的慰藉。若泛写「赠我绮」则失之笼统，「一端」以具体的计量写出赠物之薄而情之厚，平实中见深情，正是《古诗十九首》以细节写情的笔法。

尚尔 'Still thus' — the word 'still' shows the loved one's constancy undimmed by time, answering the 'ten thousand li' from afar. 「故人心尚尔」之「尚尔」，即「依然如此」，是全句的情感枢纽。「尚」字写情意之持久，故人之心历经万里之遥、岁月之久而依然如故，一个「尚」字，既写时间的考验，也写空间的阻隔，都无法改变故人的深情；「尔」为代词，指代「如此」，与「故人心」相接，写出故人心意的具体内涵——依然如当初那般相爱相念。「尚尔」二字语言平易而意蕴深长：它遥应上句「相去万余里」，空间越远，「尚尔」越显珍贵；它又下启「裁为合欢被」的热烈行动，正因为故人心「尚尔」，思妇才愿意以全部深情织被相报。若换作「依旧」「如故」则或失之平淡、或失之直露，「尚尔」以虚词写情，含蓄而有分寸，正见汉五言炼字以虚传神的功力。

著 'To stuff, to fill' — 'stuffed with long longing' puts the feeling inside the quilt, making the abstract concrete. 「著以长相思」之「著」，读zhuó，意为絮、填，是全诗以织物工艺写情的关键动词。「著」本指放置、填入，此处写将丝绵絮入被中，是制被的一道工序；「著以长相思」以「著」字带出「长相思」，「长相思」双关：既谐音「长丝绵」，指被中所絮的丝绵，又指长久的思念，将相思之丝絮进被中，化抽象为具体。这个「著」字用得极妙：它本是制被的日常动作，却因「长相思」的双关而承载了深情，一道平凡的工序因此成了倾诉相思的过程。若换作「装」「填」则失之俚俗，「著」字雅俗兼得，既是工艺术语，又是抒情之笔，与下句「缘以结不解」的「缘」（缝边打结）相对，一絮一缘，将制被的全过程写成倾注相思的全过程，是《古诗十九首》炼字化俗为雅的典范。

结不解 'An unbreakable knot' at the edge — ties love's tangles into a clever, double-meaning bond. 「缘以结不解」之「结不解」，是全诗双关巧妙的凝结点。「缘」为缝边，即给被子的边缘打结收边；「结不解」字面义为打上解不开的结，深层义为情思缠绵、难解难分。此三字以实物之结写情思之结，双关巧妙：被缘的结解不开，正如我与故人的情意分不开；被成而结在，正如情定而心坚。若直写「情难分」则失之空泛，「结不解」以最具体的织物细节写最抽象的情感承诺，既有工艺的真实感，又有情感的真挚性，将相思写得触手可及。此三字还与「裁为合欢被」「著以长相思」构成完整的织被过程，一道工序一层深情，至「结不解」而情思凝结，为结句「以胶投漆中」的誓言作了铺垫，正是此诗「以物写情、双关见巧」艺术特色的集中体现。