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汉 Han · 古诗 Ancient poem

孟冬寒气至

The Cold Arrives in Early Winter

古诗十九首（无名氏）

Anonymous (Nineteen Old Poems)

爱情Love 相思Longing 思乡Homesickness 羁旅Theme

孟冬寒气至，北风何惨栗。
愁多知夜长，仰观众星列。
三五明月满，四五蟾兔缺。
客从远方来，遗我一书札。
上言长相思，下言久离别。
置书怀袖中，三岁字不灭。
一心抱区区，惧君不识察。

The cold breath comes in early winter; how bitter the north wind's chill.
With many cares I know the long night; I lift my gaze to the scattered stars.
On the fifteenth the bright moon is full; by the twentieth the hare-in-moon wanes.
A traveller comes from far away and brings me a letter.
Its first lines speak of endless longing; its last, of long parting.
I hide the letter in my sleeve; three years, the writing not faded.
My one heart holds its devoted love, fearing you may not know it.

Listen

Meaning

Early winter's cold arrives; how grim the north wind's shiver. Burdened with sorrow I learn the long night's length, and look up to the host of stars. On the fifteenth the moon is full; after the twentieth the moon-hare wanes. A guest comes from afar and brings me a letter. It says above of constant longing, and below of long separation. I keep the letter in my breast-sleeve; three years, its words not worn away. My whole heart holds this true devotion, only fearing you may not perceive it.

初冬时节寒气袭来，北风何等凄厉，令人战栗。愁绪繁多，才知长夜难挨，仰头观看，天上众星列布。十五之夜明月正圆，到了二十，月中的蟾兔便见缺损。有客从远方而来，捎给我一封书信。信的开头说长相思念，结尾说久已离别。我把书信藏在怀中袖里，过了三年，字迹依然不曾磨灭。一心怀抱这拳拳的深情，只担心你不知晓、不能体察。

Appreciation

One of the Nineteen Old Poems, this piece opens in winter scene: 'The cold breath comes in early winter; how bitter the north wind's chill' sets a desolate mood, and 'with many cares I know the long night' writes the night through inner feeling, scene shaped by emotion. The full and waning moon hints that reunion is rare and the parting long. The finest moment is the small detail 'I hide the letter in my sleeve; three years, the writing not faded', with its intensity of treasuring; the close 'fearing you may not know it' turns a further fold, showing dread within faith - a deep, oblique portrait of the heart.

【白话串讲】 “孟冬寒气至，北风何惨栗”——孟冬，北风寒。丈夫从远方寄来一封信：“上言长相思，下言久离别”。她“置书怀袖中，三岁字不灭”——把信放在袖子里三年，字迹都没磨灭。【意象与手法】诗以冬景起兴，寒气、北风、星列营造凄清之境，以『愁多知夜长』的心理笔法写长夜难眠，景为情设；以『三五明月满，四五蟾兔缺』的月相圆缺暗喻团圆难期、离别之久；以『置书怀袖中，三岁字不灭』的细节写珍藏之切；结以『惧君不识察』翻进一层，于笃信中见忧惧，心理刻画幽深婉曲。【情感与主旨】诗写汉末思妇于冬夜得远客捎书、珍藏三载的痴情与忧惧：以得书为结构，由景入事、由事入心，将相思写得深沉而卑微——不怕你不归，只怕你不知。是《古诗十九首》思妇主题中以细节写情的名篇。【名句点睛】『置书怀袖中，三岁字不灭』以怀袖贴身、三年护惜的细节写痴情，无一字言情而情深无限，历来被视为汉诗细节描写的极致；结句『一心抱区区，惧君不识察』由笃信忽转忧惧，翻进一层，最见《十九首》语短情长之妙。

Background

Among the Nineteen Old Poems, generally set to an anonymous hand of the late Eastern Han. The wars and corvee of that time sent men far to war and office, and the long separation of husband and wife became a common tragedy. The poem writes of a longing wife who, on a cold early-winter night, receives a letter from her husband borne by a passing traveller; she reads it, and keeps it three years, voicing a deep yet anxious love. It is a famed piece of the collection built on the structure of 'receiving a letter'.

《孟冬寒气至》为《古诗十九首》之一，依《文选》编次位居第十七，作者为东汉末年无名氏。东汉末年，政治黑暗，战乱频仍，徭役繁重，男子或从军征戍，或被迫游宦，或避乱他乡，夫妇长期暌隔成为社会性的普遍悲剧，《十九首》中思妇之作（如《行行重行行》《青青河畔草》《明月何皎皎》）即由此而来。本篇之思妇，当是丈夫远行经年不归的独守之人：孟冬之际，寒气骤至，北风惨烈，长夜难眠；忽有远客捎来丈夫的书信，她反复捧读，珍藏三年，字迹犹在，而人犹未归。全诗以『得书』为枢纽，由景入事、由事入心，层层写出思妇由惊喜到追忆再到忧惧的复杂心绪。汉末战乱中，书信往往就是生离死别的唯一凭据，『三岁字不灭』的细节，正凝聚着那个时代无数思妇痴情守望的血泪，故诗虽短小而分量极重。此诗与《客从远方来》《行行重行行》等同列《十九首》思妇系列，历代选本多将其与闺怨题材并举；诗中孟冬、北风、星月等节候物象的运用，亦为后世秋冬怀人诗（如杜甫《秋兴》、李清照《声声慢》）提供了以时令写相思的典范路径，其影响所及，远不止于汉末一代。

Art

The poem rises from winter scene: 'The cold breath comes in early winter' sets desolation; 'with many cares I know the long night' writes the long night through psychology, scene for feeling's sake. 'On the fifteenth the moon is full; by the twentieth the hare wanes' uses the moon's round and wane to hint that reunion is rare and the parting long. The wonder is the detail 'I hide the letter in my sleeve; three years, the writing not faded', writing the urgency of keeping it; the close 'fearing you may not know it' turns a further fold, dread within faith, a subtle, deep carving of the heart.

此诗最见功力处，在以景起兴、以书为骨、以心作结的三层递进结构。起四句纯写冬夜景候：『孟冬寒气至，北风何惨栗』以寒气、北风立起凄清之境，『愁多知夜长』一句尤为精妙——夜之长短本不因愁而变，诗人却以心理写时间，愁多之人方觉夜长，主观感受与客观物象合一，道出思妇辗转难眠之状；『仰观众星列』写其百无聊赖，仰看星斗排列，孤寂之态宛然。次四句写月与书：『三五明月满，四五蟾兔缺』以月相圆缺暗示时光流转、离别之久，十五月圆而人不圆，正是以乐景衬哀情；『客从远方来，遗我一书札』陡转，如一缕亮色破寒夜而入，然书信虽至而人未归，惊喜中已伏悲哀。后四句层层翻进：『上言长相思，下言久离别』写信中之语，句句如见其人；『置书怀袖中，三岁字不灭』以细节写珍藏，怀袖贴身、三年不弃，痴情可掬；结句『一心抱区区，惧君不识察』更翻进一层，笃信之中忽转忧惧——怕的是自己一片痴心，对方并不知晓。全诗景、事、心三层环环相扣，心理刻画幽深婉曲，是《十九首》思妇诗中的上乘之作。

Allusions

'Hare-in-moon' names the moon (from the old myth of the toad and jade hare in the moon), inheriting the Chu-ci 'Heaven Questions' lore of the moon's spirit; 'fifteenth' and 'twentieth' use the Songs' 'fifteenth in the east' style of number-for-day (the fifteenth, the twentieth), writing the moon's phases; 'devoted love' means sincere and earnest, common in Han yuefu. All are traditional images and familiar phrases, used to write a love that deepens with the years.

此诗用典皆融化于日常意象之中，不见斧凿之痕。『蟾兔』指月亮，源自上古月精神话：古传月中有蟾蜍与玉兔，屈原《天问》已有『夜光何德，死则又育』之问，汉人《淮南子》等更言嫦娥奔月、月中蟾兔，故以蟾兔代月，兼含缺而复圆之意，暗喻团圆难期。『三五』『四五』以数字代日期，三五即十五，四五即二十，此法《诗经·小雅·大东》已有『三五在东』之例，汉代乐府诗中习见，用以写月相变化：十五月圆，二十月缺，圆缺之间便是岁月流逝，离别之久不言自明。『区区』为拳拳挚切之意，汉代乐府诗中习见（如《陌上桑》之『一心抱区区』），为当时口语化的情感表达，此诗沿用之，写思妇一片痴心。『书札』意象则承先秦以来鱼雁传书的传统：远客捎书、怀袖珍藏，使人想起古乐府『客从远方来，遗我双鲤鱼。呼儿烹鲤鱼，中有尺素书』的著名意象。全诗无生僻典故，然每一意象都负载着深厚的文化积淀，朴拙之中自有渊雅。

Commentary

Zhong Rong's 'Gradations of Poets' famed the Nineteen Old Poems as 'a thousand coins a word'. The Ming critic Lu Shiyong, in 'Poetry Mirror', called them 'deep feeling in a plain face, short words yet long love'. Modern readers hold this piece 'structured on the receipt of a letter, writing the wife's devotion'; especially 'I hide the letter in my sleeve; three years, the writing not faded' captures the state of treasuring and attachment, a pinnacle of Han psychological portraiture.

《孟冬寒气至》在《古诗十九首》中向以心理刻画细腻著称。钟嵘《诗品》列古诗于上品，称其『文温以丽，意悲而远，惊心动魄，可谓几乎一字千金』；明代陆时雍《诗镜》评《十九首》为『深衷浅貌，语短情长』，本篇正是此评的绝佳注脚——全诗仅十六句八十言，却写尽思妇经年累月的等待、一瞬间的惊喜、三载不渝的珍藏与隐含的忧惧，可谓以少总多、情貌无遗。尤其是『置书怀袖中，三岁字不灭』二句，以怀袖贴身、三年护惜的细节，将抽象的相思化为可触可感的动作，历来被视为汉诗心理刻画与细节描写的极致，其痴情之状，与《行行重行行》『衣带日已缓』异曲同工。今人评此诗，多称其为『以得书为结构』的思妇名篇，以为其价值正在于以一件小事（收信藏信）写尽一种深情（相思忧惧），于平淡处见奇崛。全诗于绝望处存一线希望，又于希望中藏更深忧惧，正见汉末女性在战乱离散中的真实处境，故千载之下犹能动人。

Prosody

Form Ancient poem (five-character; from the Nineteen Old Poems)五言古诗（《古诗十九首》·汉）

Rhyme chill / stars, wane / letter, parting / faded / perceive - sectioned rhymes (Han-Wei old phonology)韵脚为至、栗、列（质月两部通押），缺、札（月部），别、灭、察（月部），以入声韵为主，随内容推进而分段换转。

Tone pattern Five-character ancient poem, no fixed level-oblique rule五言古体不拘近体平仄，以句内音节的自然流走与偶句押韵构成声情，全诗四句一意、层层递进。

Reading note Structured on the receipt of a letter; scene - letter - heart, layer by layer.此诗为汉代五言古诗，属《古诗十九首》体。五言句以上二下三或上四下一为常，音节两字一顿、五字成句，较四言容量扩大而节奏流走，是文人五言诗成熟的标志。全诗十六句，以入声韵为主：首四句韵脚至、栗、列，质月两部通押，入声字短促急收，正合冬夜凄寒、心绪惨栗的声情；中四句以缺、札为韵，入声依旧，写月缺书来之事，声调沉实；末八句别、灭、察相押，一韵贯注，将珍藏三载、忧惧难言的深情收束于急促的入声之中，读来如闻哽咽。全诗两句一联、四句一意：首段写景（寒夜星列），次段写月与书（月缺客来），三段写书（上言下言、怀袖珍藏），末段写心（抱区区、惧不识察），由外而内、由物及心，层层深入。句法上多用口语化的虚词（何、知、从、一），自然流转，无斧凿痕，正合陆时雍『深衷浅貌，语短情长』之评，是汉古诗声情并茂的典范。

Line by line

孟冬寒气至，北风何惨栗。

In the first month of winter the cold air arrives; how cutting the north wind!

初冬时节寒气袭来，北风何等凄厉，令人战栗。

In early winter the cold arrives; how fierce and shivering the north wind.

起句点明时令，以景立境，为全诗定下凄清基调。孟冬为冬季之首月，『寒气至』三字直写节候之变，仿佛一股寒意扑面而来；『北风何惨栗』则进一步渲染：『何』字以感叹领起，写北风之烈出乎意料，『惨栗』连用，既写风之凄厉（惨）又写人之战栗（栗），风声与心颤合而为一。诗人不写思妇如何寒冷，而写风之惨栗，是移情于景、以景写心：寒夜的不仅是天气，更是思妇独守空闺的孤寂。此二句与《行行重行行》『胡马依北风』的北风意象相通，北风自古便与离别、漂泊相连。全诗由此切入，凄风苦寒之中，下文的长夜、星列、月缺、书信才都有了情感的底色，起兴之高，正在于一声叹息便已将读者带入那漫长的冬夜。

The winter. In the first month of winter the cold air arrives; how cutting the north wind. The exclamation how is the woman's shudder; the wind's cutting word carries both the weather and the loneliness. To have described a cold north wind would be weather; the arriving winter cold and the shivering north wind are the weather.

三五明月满，四五蟾兔缺。

On the fifteenth the moon is full; on the twentieth, the hare in the moon is already waning.

十五之夜明月正圆，到了二十，月中的蟾兔便见缺损。

On the fifteenth the bright moon is full; on the twentieth the toad-and-hare moon is already waning.

此二句以月相变化暗写时光流转，是全诗由景入事的过渡枢纽。三五即十五，四五即二十：十五月圆，二十月缺，一圆一缺之间，半月的光阴便已流逝。诗人不直说离别之久、等待之长，而以月之盈虚暗示，含蓄蕴藉，正是《十九首》『意悲而远』的典型笔法。『满』与『缺』对举，兼含团圆与分离的双关：月满而人不圆，月缺而人不归，月之圆缺愈显人之孤悬。『蟾兔』代指月亮，出自月中蟾蜍玉兔的古神话，用此古称更添岁月苍茫之感。此二句承上启下：上承冬夜星列之景，将目光由星引向月；下启远客捎书之事——正是这圆缺交替的漫长岁月里，思妇守着一轮月、等着一封信，月圆月缺几度，而人迹杳然，故下文书信之来，其惊喜与酸楚都可想而知。

The moon's months. On the fifteenth the bright moon is full; on the twentieth the moon is already waning. The arithmetic (three fives are fifteen, four fives are twenty) measures the wait in lunar phases. The full moon and the missing moon stand for reunion and absence. To have said the months passed as the moon waxed and waned would be a summary; the fifteenth full and twentieth waning moon are the summary.

置书怀袖中，三岁字不灭。

I hide the letter in my sleeve; three years, the writing not faded.

我把书信藏在怀中袖里，过了三年，字迹依然不曾磨灭。

I put the letter in my breast sleeve; for three years the writing has not faded.

此为全诗最动人处，以细节写痴情，一字千钧。『置书怀袖中』写思妇得书之后的动作：不置箱箧，不藏枕函，而是贴身藏在怀袖之中——怀袖是离心脏最近的地方，藏于此者，必是至爱至珍之物，一个动作便写尽珍重之情。『三岁字不灭』更进一层：三年之久，衣或已敝，纸或已黄，而字迹依然清晰，只因她时时捧读、细细摩挲，字迹之『不灭』，正见情意之不绝。此二句以物写人、以常写奇，无一字言情而情深无限，与《涉江采芙蓉》『采之欲遗谁，所思在远道』同工而异趣：彼以采芳赠远写情，此以藏信护字写情。后世诗词写书信珍藏者皆从此出，而简净古朴终不及此。三年不灭的哪里是墨迹，分明是思妇不肯熄灭的等待与希望。

The kept letter. I put the letter in my breast sleeve; for three years the writing has not faded. The breast sleeve is the place nearest the heart; the unfaded characters are the daily rereading. The small action is the poem's tenderness. To have said I kept his letter for years would be a detail; the breast sleeve and the unfaded characters after three years are the detail.

一心抱区区，惧君不识察。

My one heart holds its devoted love, fearing you may not know it.

一心怀抱这拳拳的深情，只担心你不知晓、不能体察。

With my whole heart I hold this devotion; I only fear you do not know it.

结句翻进一层，于笃信之中陡见忧惧，是全诗情感的深化与升华。『一心抱区区』写思妇痴情之专一：『一心』言其心无旁骛，『抱』字写其将深情紧抱于怀、不肯稍放，『区区』为拳拳挚切之意，三词叠用，将满腔深情和盘托出。若诗止于此，不过是寻常的相思表白；妙在『惧君不识察』五字忽转：她不是怕你不归，不是怕你变心，而是怕你根本不曾知晓这份深情——一别三年，信只一封，她怕自己的等待与痴心，在对方那里不过是无足轻重的尘埃。这一转，使全诗由直抒转为幽思，由笃信转入怀疑，思妇的卑微、无助与自尊交织在一起，读来令人心酸。以忧惧作结，而不以希望作结，正见《十九首》思妇诗之深挚：爱到深处，不是誓言，而是害怕对方不知道自己的爱。

The fear. With my whole heart I hold this devotion; I only fear you do not know it. The poem's turn is not fear of infidelity but fear of being unknown: she has waited three years, and he may not even know. The devotion held with the whole heart against the fear of not being perceived. To have said I feared he did not know how much I loved him would be a confession; the whole-hearted devotion against the fear of his not perceiving is the confession.

Study

Word focus

惨栗 Grim and shivering; depicts the north wind's cold and also sets off the heart's desolation - scene and feeling born together. 『北风何惨栗』之『惨栗』，是全诗起句的诗眼，一字兼写风与人。『惨』本指凄惨、残酷，写北风之烈如刀割肤；『栗』本指战栗、发抖，写人在寒风中的瑟缩。二字连用，风声之凄厉与人体之颤抖合而为一，分不清是风在惨还是人在栗，物我交融，正是以景写情的至高境界。若易为『凛冽』『萧瑟』，则只状风势而少人情；『惨栗』之妙，在于将客观的风与主观的感并置一炉，读之如闻寒风呼啸、如见思妇瑟缩。此二字亦为全诗定调：下文之『夜长』『星列』『月缺』，皆由此惨栗之境生发；思妇之孤寂、之煎熬，亦由此二字透出。后文『愁多』『区区』之愁之痴，皆可看作对『惨栗』二字的回应——身寒而心亦寒，风寒而情愈切，炼字之精，正在于此。

不灭 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 『三岁字不灭』之『不灭』，是全诗最凝重的两个字，写尽珍藏之切、情意之深。『灭』本指火熄、消失，此处用其引申义，指字迹磨灭、褪失；『不灭』即三年过去，墨迹依然清晰。表面写墨，实则写情：纸会泛黄，墨会褪色，而思妇三载护惜、时时捧读，使字迹历久如新——字之『不灭』，正因为情之『不灭』。此二字与『怀袖中』相呼应：藏得愈贴身，读得愈频繁，字便愈不灭；而字愈不灭，思念便愈煎熬。诗人不写『字犹存』『字尚新』等直白之语，独取『不灭』，以否定之词写肯定之情，更有斩钉截铁的力度，仿佛在向岁月宣告：任你三年五载，这封信、这份情，谁也磨灭不了。然而愈是坚定，愈见其悲——字不灭而人未归，珍藏愈久，等待愈长，痴情与绝望竟在二字之中并存。

区区 Devoted, earnest; 'holds its devoted love' writes a wholehearted attachment, answering 'fearing you may not perceive', plaintive and moving. 『一心抱区区』之『区区』，是汉代的习见熟语，意为拳拳、挚切，此处写思妇的一片痴心。『区区』本有微小、细小之义，引申为内心之赤诚微末，故『抱区区』即怀抱这微不足道却无比真挚的深情——自称其情为『区区』，正见思妇之谦卑：她不敢奢望对方同等回应，只求这一点痴心能被知晓。此词在汉代乐府中屡见（如《陌上桑》之『一心抱区区』），是当时口语化的情感表达，质朴而有古味，置于全诗结尾，与起句『惨栗』遥相呼应：一写身之寒，一写心之痴，寒愈甚而痴愈坚。『一心』『抱』『区区』三词连用，层层加强，将满腔深情凝聚于一处；而紧接的『惧君不识察』又陡然一转，使这拳拳之心蒙上忧惧的阴影。区区二字，看似谦卑，实则力重千斤，道出了古来思妇最深沉的痴情与最卑微的愿望。