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汉 Han · 文 Prose

屈原列传·节选

The Biography of Qu Yuan (Excerpt)

司马迁

Sima Qian

史传Historical Biography 发愤著书Writing in Indignation 屈原Qu Yuan 离骚Li Sao

屈平疾王听之不聪也，谗谄之蔽明也，邪曲之害公也，方正之不容也，故忧愁幽思而作《离骚》。
离骚者，犹离忧也。
夫天者，人之始也；
父母者，人之本也。

Qu Ping grieved that the king's hearing was not keen, that the slanderers and the flatterers blinded the clear sight, that the crooked harmed the public good, and that the upright were not tolerated, and therefore, in his sorrow and his deep thought, he made the Li Sao. The Li Sao is like the 'encountering the sorrow.' Now heaven is the beginning of man, and the father and the mother are the root of man.

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Meaning

The opening of the 'Biography of Qu Yuan' of the Records of the Grand Historian, explaining the occasion and the meaning of the Li Sao. 'Qu Ping grieved that the king's hearing was not keen, that the slanderers and the flatterers blinded the clear sight, that the crooked harmed the public good, and that the upright were not tolerated, and therefore, in his sorrow and his deep thought, he made the Li Sao'—the four grievances of Qu Yuan against the court of Chu, the dark governance of Chu written to the full, and the making of the Li Sao the expression of the sorrow and the deep thought. 'The Li Sao is like the encountering the sorrow' explains the title: the 'li' (encounter) of 'suffering,' 'sao' the sorrow, the 'Li Sao' the 'encountering the sorrow,' the source of Sima Qian's interpretation. 'Now heaven is the beginning of man, and the father and the mother are the root of man' then the cry of the wronged: heaven is the beginning of man and the parents the root of man, and when the man is in the utmost of the hardship, he does not but call to heaven and to his parents, the cry of the injustice of Qu Yuan.

屈原痛心楚怀王听信谗言而耳朵不够清明，谗佞谄媚之人蒙蔽了君王的光明，奸邪歪曲之人损害了公理正道，端方正直之人却不被朝堂容纳，因此满怀忧愁、深思苦虑而写下了《离骚》。所谓「离骚」，就是遭遇忧患的意思——「离」通「罹」，训为遭受，屈原遭遇谗害、放逐、乱世的重重忧患，尽在二字之中。上天是人的本源，父母是人的根本。人到了走投无路的绝境，就会呼天呼父母，这是人的天性使然。司马迁以此立论，说明屈原正是被逼到这种境地，才把满腔幽愤倾注于《离骚》之中。

Appreciation

This passage is the typical Han historical-biography prose, with the rigor of the argumentative prose and the vehemence of the lyric prose at once. The opening uses the four 'ye' sentences in parallel—'grieved that the king's hearing was not keen, that the slanderers and the flatterers blinded the clear sight, that the crooked harmed the public good, and that the upright were not tolerated'—four sentences and four layers: first the dimness of the king's hearing, then the blaze of the slander and the flattery, then the spread of the crooked, then the loneliness of the upright, from the 'king' to the 'slanderers and the flatterers,' from the 'crooked' to the 'upright,' the objects of Qu Yuan's grievance laid out to the full; the former two sentences, the 'hearing' and the 'blinding,' and the latter two, the 'harming' and the 'not tolerated,' the positive and the negative against each other, the turbidity of the court of Chu as if before the eyes. Then the 'therefore, in his sorrow and his deep thought, he made the Li Sao' carries over, the 'sorrow and deep thought' four characters the vein of the whole passage, and the 'the Li Sao is like the encountering the sorrow' the interpretation of the title, the 'encountering the sorrow' the key of the reading of the whole Li Sao; and the close, 'now heaven is the beginning of man, and the father and the mother are the root of man,' the cry to the heaven and the parents, the grief and the indignation of the wronged to the utmost.

【白话串讲】司马迁写《屈原列传》：屈原“信而见疑，忠而被谤”，被楚王放逐，“忧愁幽思而作《离骚》”。他“行吟泽畔，颜色憔悴”，渔父劝他随波逐流，他说：“举世皆浊我独清，众人皆醉我独醒”——最后“怀石遂自投汨罗以死”。【意象与手法】开篇四句「也」字排比，由君听之昏、谗谀之炽、邪曲之张、方正之孤层层推进，铺陈楚廷之浊，气势逼人；「故忧愁幽思而作《离骚》」以「故」字收束，因果分明。继而以「离骚者，犹离忧也」作训诂式释题，笔调忽转舒缓；末以「天者人之始，父母者人之本」两个判断句宕开，为下文「呼天呼父母」预埋伏笔。整散相间，急缓有致，是史传散文中以情驭笔的典范。【情感与主旨】司马迁写屈原，实为自况。「忧愁幽思而作」是「发愤著书」说的文学表达——圣贤之志郁结于中，不得已而发之于文。全文在痛惜屈原「方正之不容」的同时，寄寓着太史公本人遭宫刑而忍辱著史的孤愤，是中国文学「穷而后工」母题的原初文献。【名句点睛】「离骚者，犹离忧也」六字为全段之枢：一字训诂，揭开题义；「忧」字定调，总摄全篇。后世王逸、洪兴祖注《楚辞》皆从此出，可谓《离骚》研究两千年的总纲。

Background

Sima Qian (c. 145–c. 87 BC), courtesy name Zichang, a native of Xiayang of the Western Han, succeeded to his father Sima Tan's office of the Grand Historian, and, having incurred the wrath of Emperor Wu of Han over the disaster of Li Ling and been subjected to the punishment of castration, endured the humiliation and wrote the Records of the Grand Historian in indignation, in 130 chapters and over 520,000 characters, praised by Lu Xun as 'the swan song of the historians, the Li Sao without the rhyme.' The 'Biographies of Qu Yuan and Jia Yi' is one of the seventy biographies of the Records, jointly transmitting Qu Yuan and Jia Yi, lodging Sima Qian's own grief of the talent unrecognized in his age. This passage is from the opening of the chapter. Qu Yuan (c. 340–c. 278 BC), named Ping, courtesy name Yuan, a man of Chu of the Warring States, of the same clan as the King of Chu, widely learned and of strong memory, clear about the order and the disorder, skilled in the language, served as the Left Minister and the Officer of the Three Families, advocated the alliance with Qi against Qin and the cultivation of the laws, yet was slandered by the Senior Grand Master Shangguan Jin Shang and Prince Zilan, the young son of King Huai, twice exiled to the region of the rivers Jiang and Xiang, and at last drowned himself in the Miluo River. This passage explains the occasion of the making of the Li Sao and the cry of the wronged Qu Yuan.

司马迁（约前145—约前87），字子长，西汉夏阳人，继父司马谈之职任太史令，因李陵之祸触怒汉武帝而受宫刑，忍辱发愤著成《史记》，凡一百三十篇、五十二万余字，鲁迅誉为「史家之绝唱，无韵之离骚」。《屈原贾生列传》是《史记》七十列传之一，将屈原与贾谊合传，寄寓着司马迁自身怀才不遇的身世之痛。本节选自传文开端。屈原（约前340—约前278），名平，字原，战国楚人，与楚王同姓，博闻强志，明于治乱，娴于辞令，曾任左徒、三闾大夫，主张联齐抗秦、修明法度，却遭上官大夫靳尚、怀王稚子子兰等谗害，两度放逐于江湘之间，最终自沉汨罗。此段所写，正是屈原遭谗被疏后「忧愁幽思而作《离骚》」的创作缘由。值得注意的是，司马迁在此不仅为屈子立传，更借屈子之遭际自明心志——「发愤著书」是《史记》的创作纲领，本段「忧愁幽思」四字正是这一纲领在屈原身上的落实。后世论《离骚》之创作动机，无不以此为据，故此节实为中国文学「发愤抒情」传统的源头文献。

Art

The art is the four 'ye' sentences in parallel opening: 'the king's hearing was not keen, the slanderers and the flatterers blinded the clear sight, the crooked harmed the public good, and the upright were not tolerated'—four sentences and four layers, the positive and the negative against each other, the turbidity of the court of Chu as if before the eyes. Then the 'in his sorrow and his deep thought, he made the Li Sao' carries over, the 'sorrow and deep thought' the vein; and the close, 'heaven is the beginning of man, and the father and the mother are the root of man,' the cry to the heaven and the parents, the grief and the indignation to the utmost.

此段为典型的汉代史传散文，兼具议论文的严整与抒情文的激切。开篇连用四个「也」字句构成排比——「疾王听之不聪也，谗谄之蔽明也，邪曲之害公也，方正之不容也」，四句四层：先言君听之昏，次言谗谀之炽，再言邪曲之张，后言方正之孤，由「王」及「谗谄」、由「邪曲」及「方正」，把屈原所「疾」的对象铺陈殆尽；前两句一「听」一「蔽」、后两句一「害」一「不容」，正反对举，楚国朝局之浊浊如在目前。「故忧愁幽思而作《离骚》」一句以「故」字收束因果，点出全段题眼「忧」。继以「离骚者，犹离忧也」作训诂式释题，仿佛史家按下激愤、冷静解说，节奏由急转缓、由刚转柔。末二句「夫天者，人之始也；父母者，人之本也」以判断句式宕开一笔，由人事升至天道人伦，为下文「疾痛惨怛，未尝不呼天也……未尝不呼父母也」预作伏笔。全段句式整散相间：排比句整饬有力，释题句散淡悠远，断案句庄重端凝，形成「整—散—整」的节奏起伏，语言古直而情韵深长，足见太史公以情驭笔、以理纬情的史笔之高。

Allusions

The two characters 'Li Sao' are the key of the understanding of this passage and even of all the Songs of Chu. The 'li' is the same as 'li' (to suffer), glossed as 'to encounter, to meet,' hence the 'Li Sao' is the 'encountering the sorrow,' the interpretation of Sima Qian; Wang Yi's Commentary on the Songs of Chu glosses 'li, parting; sao, sorrow,' explaining it as 'the sorrow of the parting.' The two interpretations, one weighing the 'encountering' and one the 'parting,' both return to the 'sorrow,' and Sima Qian's taking of the 'encountering the sorrow' emphasizes the 'encountering' of Qu Yuan and his misfortune, in the same vein as the later cry of the 'calling to heaven and to the parents.'

「离骚」二字是理解全文乃至全部楚辞的钥匙。「离」通「罹」，训为「遭逢、遭遇」，故「离骚」即「遭遇忧患」，此司马迁之说；王逸《楚辞章句》则解「离，别也；骚，愁也」，释为「离别之愁」。两说一重「遭」、一重「别」，而皆归于「忧」，司马迁取「遭忧」之义，更突出屈原之「遇」而不幸，与后文「呼天呼父母」的呼号正相呼应。全段之「幽思」承《诗·小雅》怨诽传统而来：屈原《离骚》自云「长太息以掩涕兮，哀民生之多艰」「路漫漫其修远兮，吾将上下而求索」，正是「忧愁幽思」四字的具体展开；司马迁又援引儒家天人观念，以「天者，人之始也；父母者，人之本也」为屈子之哭确立人伦哲学的根基——人穷极呼天、痛极呼父母，乃天性之发，故屈子之「忧」非一己之私怨，而是合乎天理人情的至痛。王逸《楚辞章句序》明言屈原「忧愁幽思而作《离骚》」，即本于《史记》此文。司马迁又援《诗经》「怨而不怒」之旨，谓屈子之忧发于忠爱，怨诽而不乱，故其「幽思」非一己之私怨，实关乎国家兴亡、生民哀乐，此即「骚」之所以传千古而不朽者。此后两千年间一切关于《离骚》题义的讨论，无不以此为原点。

Commentary

This passage carries great weight in the Records of the Grand Historian, regarded by the later ages as one of the source documents of the theory of the 'writing in indignation.' Sima Qian, in his 'Letter to Ren An,' recounts that 'King Wen of the West, imprisoned, performed the Changes; Zhongni, in distress, wrote the Spring and Autumn... the three hundred poems, for the most part the works of the sages and the worthies made in their indignation,' the same as this passage's 'in his sorrow and his deep thought, he made the Li Sao'—the Grand Historian, writing Qu Yuan, is in truth writing himself, writing all the disappointed and the writers in indignation of the world, the 'swan song of the historians, the Li Sao without the rhyme' of Lu Xun's verdict, the very echo of the grief of Sima Qian and Qu Yuan.

此节在《史记》中分量极重，被后世视为「发愤著书」说的源头文献之一。司马迁于《报任安书》自述「西伯拘而演《周易》，仲尼厄而作《春秋》……《诗》三百篇，大底圣贤发愤之所为作也」，与本文「忧愁幽思而作《离骚》」互为表里——太史公写屈原，实为写自己，写天下一切失意而著书之人。刘安《离骚传》称《离骚》「国风好色而不淫，小雅怨诽而不乱，若《离骚》者，可谓兼之矣」，虽成文略早于《史记》，而司马迁此节正是以史笔落实这一评价：屈原之「怨」，怨而能「思」，思而能「作」，怨而不失方正，哀而不失其节。鲁迅《汉文学史纲要》以「逸响伟辞，卓绝一世」许《离骚》，其「伟辞」之根正在「忧愁幽思」四字。此文自汉至今历代传诵，入选多种教材与选本，既是认识屈原其人其作的入门文献，也是理解「穷而后工」「发愤抒情」这一中国文学核心命题的经典文本，其影响早已溢出史传之域，成为民族精神中「士不遇而著书」的精神原型。

Prosody

Form Han historical-biography prose (loose prose, with the parallel and the antithesis)汉代史传散文（散体，兼有排偶）

Rhyme Unrhymed, the cadence regulated wholly by the syntax and the particles. The four sentences of the opening, ending with the 'ye,' form the parallel, one 'ye' one pause, the syllables short and the breath ever tighter, like the burst of the continuous firecrackers; then the 'in his sorrow and his deep thought' turns不押韵，全凭句法与虚字调节声情。段首四句以「也」字煞尾构成排比，一「也」一顿，音节短促而气愈紧，如连珠炮发；「故忧愁幽思而作《离骚》」一句转长，气随语舒；「离骚者，犹离忧也」「夫天者，人之始也；父母者，人之本也」又复归「也」字句，收束沉稳。虚词「之」「也」「者」「夫」「犹」穿插其间，形成舒缓凝重的朗读节奏。

Tone pattern The four 'ye' sentences press layer on layer, the 'in his sorrow and his deep thought' turns deep, and the 'heaven is the beginning of man' rises high—the whole from the grievance to the sorrow to the cry, the grief and the indignation carried by the rhythm句式以四字、六字为主的散句与「……也」判断句相间，整散错落。排比处声促气盛，如诉如控；释题处声缓气和，如解如说；断案处声庄气重，如立如判。语气由激而缓、由疾而徐，先以四「也」逼出「疾」字，再以「犹」「夫」宕开道理，句式的长短变化即情感的张弛变化。

Reading note The four 'ye' sentences and the high close carry the grievance and the cry of Qu Yuan, the rhythm of the 'writing in indignation.'此段虽为散文，其声情之美丝毫不让韵文，妙处在「以虚字为节奏、以排比为气势」。四句「也」字排比是声情的高峰：「疾」「蔽」「害」「不容」四个动词分居句首，一仄一仄、一平一仄，交错跌宕；「王听之不聪」「谗谄之蔽明」「邪曲之害公」「方正之不容」四句字数齐整（七字），读来如鼓点般铿锵，把屈原胸中的愤激步步逼出。「故忧愁幽思而作《离骚》」以「故」字转折，由促转缓，仿佛长叹一声。「离骚者，犹离忧也」六字问答，音节尤为疏朗，「者」「犹」「也」三个虚字撑起全句的摇曳之姿。末二句判断句「夫天者，人之始也；父母者，人之本也」，以「者……也」双峰并峙，声调庄重端凝，如钟磬之鸣。全文押韵虽无，而虚字与句式自成一格之乐：急促处如金戈交鸣，舒缓处如流水潺湲，正是太史公「以情驭声」的本领，故后世古文家（如归有光、方苞）无不从此等处揣摩神韵。

Line by line

屈平疾王听之不聪也，谗谄之蔽明也，邪曲之害公也，方正之不容也，故忧愁幽思而作《离骚》。

Qu Ping grieved that the king's hearing was not keen, that the slanderers and the flatterers blinded the clear sight, that the crooked harmed the public good, and that the upright were not tolerated, and therefore, in his sorrow and his deep thought, he made the Li Sao. (The four 'ye' sentences in parallel, the four grievances against the court of Chu written to the full, and the making of the Li Sao the expression of the sorrow and the deep thought.)

屈原痛心楚怀王听信谗言而耳朵不够清明，谗佞谄媚之人蒙蔽了君王的光明，奸邪歪曲之人损害了公理正道，端方正直之人却不被朝堂容纳，因此满怀忧愁、深思苦虑而写下了《离骚》。

Qu Yuan grieved that the king's hearing was dim, that flatterers clouded his sight, that the crooked harmed justice, and that the upright were not suffered; therefore, in sorrow and brooding, he composed the Li Sao.

此句为全段总纲，以四重「也」字排比写屈原之「疾」，笔力千钧。屈原所痛恨的不是一两个小人，而是整个朝局的颠倒：君上之「不聪」是病根，谗谄之「蔽明」是其表现，邪曲之「害公」是其后果，方正之「不容」是其归宿——四句由君及臣、由因及果、由恶及善，层层紧逼，把屈原所处「众芳芜秽」的环境写尽。而「故忧愁幽思而作《离骚》」一句，「故」字绾结因果，以「忧愁」写情之郁结，以「幽思」写思之深广，终归于「作」，点出文学创作正是受压迫者的精神出路。司马迁在此揭示的，是中国文学史上最重要的创作论之一：忧愤出诗，穷而后工。句中以「也」字连缀四个短语，音节短促而声情激越，诵读时如闻叹息。

The list. Qu Yuan grieved that the king's hearing was dim, flatterers clouded his sight, the crooked harmed justice, and the upright were not suffered; therefore, in sorrow and brooding, he composed the Li Sao. The four-beat list (king, flatterers, crooked, upright) is the whole sick court, and the therefore makes the poem its product. To have summarized Qu Yuan's political grievance would be a summary; the four clauses of grievance and the resulting Li Sao are the summary.

离骚者，犹离忧也。

The Li Sao is like the 'encountering the sorrow.' (The interpretation of the title: the 'li' the 'encountering,' the 'sao' the sorrow, the 'Li Sao' the 'encountering the sorrow,' the key of the reading of the whole Li Sao.)

所谓「离骚」，就是遭遇忧患的意思——「离」通「罹」，训为遭受，屈原遭遇谗害、放逐、乱世的重重忧患，尽在二字之中。

Li Sao means encountering sorrow—li (罹) is to meet, and Sao is grief.

六字释题，为全段乃至全部楚辞研究之枢纽。「离骚者」与「离忧也」对举，中间一个「犹」字，轻轻一问一答，把诗题的含义说得明明白白——「离」通「罹」，训「遭遇」；「骚」即「忧」，训「忧愁」。此解与王逸「离别之愁」之说略有出入，而司马迁取「遭忧」之义，用意更深：屈原非自寻烦恼，而是「遭」遇了时代加于他的忧患，是不得已而忧愁、不得已而抒写。这一定义与开篇「忧愁幽思」四字呼应，与下文「呼天呼父母」的人伦之痛呼应，把《离骚》从个人哀怨提升为对苦难的承担与书写。后世班固、王逸、洪兴祖、朱熹诸家注骚，皆须先面对司马迁这一定义，故这六个字实为打开《离骚》之门的第一把钥匙。

The etymology. Li Sao means encountering sorrow—li (罹) is to meet, Sao is grief. Sima Qian's famous gloss: the poem's title is not parting-sorrow but suffered-sorrow. The definition makes Qu Yuan's grief an imposed fate. To have defined the title would be a gloss; the li-sao meaning encountered-sorrow is the gloss.

夫天者，人之始也；父母者，人之本也。

Now heaven is the beginning of man, and the father and the mother are the root of man. (The close, the cry of the wronged: heaven is the beginning of man and the parents the root of man, and when the man is in the utmost of the hardship, he does not but call to heaven and to his parents, the cry of the injustice of Qu Yuan.)

上天是人的本源，父母是人的根本。人到了穷途末路的时候，必然会呼天、呼父母，这是出于人的天性。

Heaven is the origin of man; parents are the root of man.

两个判断句以「者也」收束，庄重端凝，是全段立论的人伦基石。司马迁先立「天为人之始、父母为人之本」之理，正是为下文「疾痛惨怛，未尝不呼天也……未尝不呼父母也」预作伏笔：屈原遭谗被放、穷愁至极，其呼号发之于天性，其《离骚》即是这种呼号的艺术化。这两句看似闲笔，实则深意重重：其一，以天道人伦为屈子之「忧」正名，使其哀痛超越个人恩怨而合于天地；其二，暗示屈原「背绳墨以追曲兮，竞周容以为度」的守正，正与「天」「父母」所象征的本源之善同其纯洁。司马迁将一己孤愤安放于天人之际，使史笔兼具哲思，此二句正是全文由叙事转入议论、由人事上升天道的转捩点。

The premise. Heaven is the origin of man; parents are the root of man. The two judgments ground the biography's later cry (when a man is desperate, he calls on heaven and his parents). The origin-and-root framing makes Qu Yuan's lament universal. To have said heaven and parents are man's source would be a premise; heaven as the beginning and parents as the root are the premise.

Study

Word focus

疾 To grieve at (to resent). The word of the grievance: 'Qu Ping grieved that the king's hearing was not keen'—the resentment of Qu Yuan against the dimness of the court of Chu, the four grievances laid out after, the first word of the whole passage. 「屈平疾王听之不聪也」之「疾」字，是全段的感情支点。此处「疾」训「痛恨、痛心」，比「恨」「怨」更深一层——「恨」出于私，「怨」近乎怨望，而「疾」兼有痛惜与憎恶之意：痛君听之昏，惜正道之衰，憎谗谄之炽，三种情绪凝于一「疾」。下文四句排比，正是这一「疾」字的具体展开：君不聪、谗蔽明、邪害公、正不容，凡此种种，皆「疾」之对象。司马迁选「疾」而不选「怨」，别具深心：屈原之不满非为一己之得失，而是痛心国事之败坏，故「疾」字下笔，忠爱之情自见，与《离骚》「岂余身之惮殃兮，恐皇舆之败绩」的忧国情怀正相表里。一字之炼，可见屈子之忠、太史公之识，亦可见史传笔法以一字定褒贬的春秋精神。

离 To encounter (to suffer). The word of the title: 'the Li Sao is like the encountering the sorrow'—the 'li' the same as the 'li' of the 'suffering,' the 'encountering the sorrow,' Sima Qian's interpretation of the title of the Li Sao, the key of the whole reading. 「离骚者，犹离忧也」之「离」字，是训诂学上著名的「通假」例证。此「离」通「罹」（lí），训「遭遇、遭受」，与《诗经·王风·兔爰》「我生之初，尚无为；我生之后，逢此百罹」之「罹」同义，「离骚」即「遭逢忧患」之意。这一训释的关键在：它把《离骚》的题义从「离别之愁」转为「遭遇之痛」——屈原不是因离别而愁，而是因遭遇谗害、遭遇放逐、遭遇乱世而痛，忧愁是加于其身的外来苦难，抒写则是他对此苦难的回应。司马迁此解一锤定音，后世王逸虽释「离」为「别」，然论《离骚》之旨终不能外乎「遭忧」。由一字之训，可见「离骚」题义之争实为「发愤著书」论在训诂学上的投影。

幽思 Deep thought. The word of the making: 'in his sorrow and his deep thought, he made the Li Sao'—the sorrow and the deep thought of Qu Yuan, the vein of the whole passage, the 'writing in indignation' of the making of the Li Sao. 「忧愁幽思」四字中，「幽思」最见司马迁炼字之工。「幽」本义为深隐、暗昧，此处形容思之深、思之远、思之不可见——不是一般的心事重重，而是把苦痛沉入心底反复咀嚼，如深渊之水，表面平静而暗流汹涌；「思」则明言这种沉淀是主动的思索，是屈原对自身遭际、对国家命运的反省与求索。二字连用，写尽屈原创作时的精神状态：忧愁是情，幽思是思，情思交结，郁结于中，不得已而发为《离骚》。值得注意的是，「幽思」并非消极的哀伤，而是通向创作的沉思——它与《离骚》「路漫漫其修远兮，吾将上下而求索」的求索精神一脉相通。司马迁以「幽思」二字为屈原立心，也为自己立心：忍辱著史，正是另一种「幽思」。