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汉 Han · 乐府 Yuefu ballad

艳歌行

Song of the Fair Lady

汉乐府

Han Yuefu (anonymous)

民生/讽喻common life / satire 爱情/相思love / longing

翩翩堂前燕，冬藏夏来见。
兄弟两三人，流宕在他县。
故衣谁当补，新衣谁当绽。
赖得贤主人，揽取为吾绽。
夫婿从门来，斜柯西北眄。
语卿且勿眄，水清石自见。
石见何累累，远行不如归。

The swallows flit before the hall; in winter they hide, in summer they return.
Two or three brothers drift and wander in a foreign county.
Who will mend the old clothes, who will stitch the new?
Lucky to meet a worthy hostess, who takes and stitches them for me.
The husband comes in at the gate, leaning askew, glancing northwest.
I say to you, glance not so — when water clears the stones show plain.
How the stones lie piled and clear; better to go home than wander far.

Listen

Meaning

The swallows flutter before the hall, hiding in winter and returning in summer. Two or three brothers drift and wander in a foreign county. Who will mend the old clothes, who will stitch the new? Fortunate to meet a worthy hostess, who takes and stitches them for me. The husband comes in at the gate, leaning askew and glancing northwest. I say to him, do not glance so — when the water is clear the stones show themselves, my heart is open and needs no suspicion. The stones lie piled and clear; wandering far is not worth returning home.

堂前燕子翩翩飞舞，冬天蛰藏，夏天又飞回。兄弟两三个人，却漂泊流浪在他乡。旧衣有谁来缝补？新衣有谁来连缀？幸亏遇到贤惠的女主人，她揽过衣裳替我缝好。忽然丈夫从门外回来，斜倚门框，向西北斜眼瞟来。我对他说：你且莫要斜眼疑我，水清了，石头自然显现，心地光明，何须猜疑？石块垒垒，清晰可见，远走他乡，终究不如归家。

Appreciation

This is an old yuefu lyric of the 'Xiang He Ge Ci · Se Diao' category, author unknown, roughly from the mid-to-late Eastern Han. It opens with the image of 'swallows flitting before the hall', using the natural rhythm of the migratory bird — hidden in winter, seen in summer — to lead into the wandering life of the traveler far from home; the image is light yet the feeling heavy. The middle spreads in plain description: who will mend the old and stitch the new, the worthy hostess takes and stitches — a warm, thick touch; then suddenly 'the husband comes in at the gate, leaning askew, glancing northwest', and with 'leaning' and 'glancing' two dynamic details it writes the husband's suspicion and pride. It closes with the double meaning of 'when water clears the stones show' and 'better to go home than wander' — both excusing innocence and voicing the grief of sojourn. The language is plain as talk, the turns natural, hiding wind and sting within the household trifle, fully the seamless wonder of yuefu folk song, and suits the middle-school points of 'xing device', 'detail description', and 'household grievance'.

【白话串讲】兄弟三人流浪异乡，衣服破了没人补。好心的女主人帮他们缝补，她丈夫回来却起了疑心。游子说：“水清石自见”——清者自清，可“远行不如归”，漂泊的人，最想回家。【意象与手法】全诗以「翩翩堂前燕」起兴，借候鸟冬藏夏见的自然节律，反衬游子流宕他乡、有去无归，意象轻灵而情思沉重。中间以白描铺叙寄居缝衣的日常，忽以「夫婿从门来，斜柯西北眄」的细节写夫妻猜忌，结以「水清石自见」「远行不如归」双关收束，质朴如话而转折自然。【情感与主旨】《艳歌行》为汉乐府《相和歌辞·瑟调曲》古辞，作者佚名，约产生于东汉中后期。诗写游子行役他乡、寄居人家，女主人代为缝衣，却被归来的丈夫误会的一段生活小景，于琐事中见人情冷暖、羁旅之悲与夫妻间微妙的猜忌，是「感于哀乐，缘事而发」创作精神的典型体现。【名句点睛】常考「翩翩堂前燕」的起兴手法、「斜柯西北眄」的细节传神、「水清石自见」的双关妙用，以及「远行不如归」点题收束的章法安排。

Background

This 'Yan Ge Xing' is an old lyric of the 'Xiang He Ge Ci · Se Diao' category, author unknown, roughly from the mid-to-late Eastern Han. The poem writes of a traveler serving in a foreign place, lodging with a household, the hostess mending his clothes, and the returned husband misunderstanding — a small slice of daily life. In the late Han, society was in turmoil and leaving home to wander was the norm, so the experience of 'drifting in a foreign county' was widespread in yuefu folk song. The poem clips a daily fragment in plain description, showing through the trifle the warmth and coldness of human feeling and the subtle jealousy between husband and wife — a typical embodiment of the yuefu folk spirit of 'moved by grief and joy, arising from the event'.

《艳歌行》为汉乐府《相和歌辞·瑟调曲》古辞，作者佚名，约产生于东汉中后期，郭茂倩《乐府诗集》卷三十九收入《相和歌辞·瑟调曲》，注明「古辞」。《艳歌行》为乐府旧题，「艳」在音乐上或指曲前引子（艳、趋、乱之「艳」），《艳歌行》即配合艳曲的歌辞，后世文人多借题拟作。诗写游子兄弟流宕他乡、寄人篱下，女主人代为缝衣，其夫归而见疑，游子以「水清石自见」自明心迹的一段生活小景。汉末社会动荡，土地兼并、战乱频仍，百姓离乡背井、转徙流亡成为常态，班固《汉书·食货志》所载流民之众，乐府中「行行重行行」「悲歌可以当泣」等游子之歌，皆是这一时代背景的投影；此诗「兄弟两三人，流宕在他县」正是千千万万流民处境的缩影。诗以白描笔法截取日常生活的一个片段，不铺陈离乱之惨状，而于一件缝衣小事中写出羁旅的窘迫、人情的冷暖与夫妻间微妙的猜忌，以小见大，正是汉乐府「感于哀乐，缘事而发」创作精神的典型体现，也是研究汉代社会生活与民间心理的珍贵材料。

Art

The whole opens with 'swallows flitting before the hall', using the natural rhythm of the migratory bird — hidden in winter, seen in summer — to lead into the wandering life of the traveler far from home; the image is light yet the feeling heavy. The middle spreads in plain description: who will mend the old and stitch the new, the worthy hostess takes and stitches for me — a warm, thick touch; then suddenly 'the husband comes in at the gate, leaning askew, glancing northwest', and with 'leaning' and 'glancing' two dynamic details it writes the husband's suspicion and pride. It closes with the double meaning of 'when water clears the stones show' and 'better to go home than wander' — both excusing innocence and voicing the grief of sojourn. The language is plain as talk, the turns natural, hiding wind and sting within the household trifle, fully the seamless wonder of yuefu folk song.

此诗章法浑成，可括为「起兴—叙事—突转—自明—点题」五层。起笔「翩翩堂前燕，冬藏夏来见」以燕子起兴：燕为候鸟，冬藏而夏见，去而复来、年年有期；游子却流宕他县，去而不归、归期渺茫。以燕之「来见」反衬人之「无归」，起兴轻灵而情思沉重，是全诗的立骨之笔。中间四句白描叙事：「兄弟两三人，流宕在他县」点出身世，「故衣谁当补，新衣谁当绽」以两个问句写羁旅之窘——衣敝无人补，正是无家可归的具象化；「赖得贤主人，揽取为吾绽」写贤惠的女主人揽衣代缝，「贤」「揽」二字写尽温厚与热肠，人情之暖在此处一度回升。忽而「夫婿从门来，斜柯西北眄」一笔突转，如平地风波：「斜柯」写斜倚门框的姿态，「眄」写斜眼打量，两字传神，把丈夫的疑忌与傲慢写得如在目前，暖意陡转为猜疑的冷气。于是「语卿且勿眄，水清石自见」以游子的劝慰应答，化俗语为双关，自明心迹；结句「石见何累累，远行不如归」由辩解宕开，陡落归思，点破全诗主旨。全诗语言质朴如话，转折自然无痕，先暖后冷、先叙后叹，于家常小事中藏风刺与哀愁，极见乐府民歌「质而不俚，浅而能深」的浑成之妙。

Allusions

The poem uses no obvious allusion, composed purely of everyday scenes, relying on no historical or classical source, exactly showing the folk nature of Han yuefu's 'arising from the event'. Only the line 'when water clears the stones show' is semantically close to the common saying 'clear water shows the stones', using the riverbed stones, clear and discernible, as a metaphor that the heart is open and right and wrong are self-evident — a contemporary folk phrase rather than a strict allusion. Later critics may link this line with the meaning of 'the clear clears itself', but its root is still market-place plain speech, not from the classics. The poem's strength lies precisely in not using allusion yet feeling runs deep, writing the wanderer's grievance and homesickness in the plain tone of husband and wife, the more showing its natural, unworked wonder.

此诗不用史事典实，而以民间习语与生活意象构成，正见汉乐府「缘事而发」的民间本色。「翩翩堂前燕」的燕子意象，本于《诗经·邶风·燕燕》「燕燕于飞，差池其羽」的送别传统，而此处反其意而用之：燕去而能复来，人离而竟不归，以候鸟的有期反衬游子的无期。「故衣谁当补」暗合古艳歌「衣不如新，人不如故」之语——古艳歌以「茕茕白兔，东走西顾」起兴，歌咏故人之思，艳歌行则反用其意，写游子衣敝而故人不在，只有异乡主人代为缝补，衣虽得补而故人终不可得，借「衣」的母题写「人」的离散。「水清石自见」为当时民间俗语，以水清则石现比喻心地光明、是非自明，与后世「水落石出」「清者自清」意脉相通，游子借此自明心迹，质朴而有力；「石见何累累」承上句「石自见」而生，「累累」写石之清晰可见，复以「见」字回环，强调清白终将自明。「远行不如归」则上承《诗经·王风·君子于役》「君子于役，不知其期」的思归传统，下启汉乐府《悲歌》「悲歌可以当泣，远望可以当归」的望归之叹，把个案的误会升华为游子群体的普遍悲慨。全诗不用一典而情自深，以寻常夫妻口吻写尽漂泊者的委屈与思归，本色天然，正是「古质而今妍」的汉乐府神韵。

Commentary

Shen Deqian in 'Source of Ancient Poetry' says of Han yuefu 'heaven-made beauty, open and large', and this poem answers to it. The modern Yu Guan Ying in 'Selected Yuefu Poems' says it 'writes the awkwardness of the wanderer's lodging; the last two lines are finest, excusing himself by clear water showing stones, and sighing that far wandering is not worth returning'. Yuefu scholars mostly take it as a Eastern-Han folk work, praising it 'without ornament, yet feeling and event like a picture'. The Ming critic Hu Yinglin said Han yuefu is 'plain yet not vulgar, shallow yet able to be deep', exactly transferable to this piece. The whole has not one line of argument, yet the husband's slight jealousy and the grief of sojourn are all within it — truly a top piece of 'street songs'.

汉乐府自六朝以来即受推重，此诗历代评家多有品题。郭茂倩《乐府诗集》卷三十九著录此篇于《相和歌辞·瑟调曲》，注明「古辞」，保存了汉代的原始文本。清人沈德潜《古诗源》评汉乐府「天成之美，落落大方，不假雕琢而情事如画」，此诗正可当之：全篇无一字雕饰，而夫妻微嫌、羁旅之悲尽在眼前。明人胡应麟《诗薮》谓汉乐府「质而不俚，浅而能深」，移评此篇最为贴切——「斜柯西北眄」之疑、「水清石自见」之辩，皆家常到极处，而人心世态之微、漂泊者之委屈，亦深到极处。近人余冠英《乐府诗选》选录此诗，评曰「写游子寄居的尴尬，末二句最妙，借水清石见自明心迹，又叹远行不如归」，点出其以小见大的章法。就文学史价值而言，此诗是汉代「游子文学」的重要一环：上承《诗经》行役诗，下开古诗十九首游子题材与后世「客中寄居」的叙事，其白描对话的手法与「误会—自明」的情节结构，更直接启发了《陌上桑》《羽林郎》等乐府叙事诗的冲突设计；诗中贤主人与疑夫婿的对照，亦为后世「寄人篱下」「瓜田李下」的叙事母题提供了最早的雏形，堪称以寥寥数语写尽人情冷暖的乐府小品。

Prosody

Form Han yuefu · Xiang He Ge Ci Se Diao汉乐府·相和歌辞·瑟调曲（五言古体）

Rhyme Not strict in rhyme, mixed lines together主体押上古元部韵：见、县、绽、眄、见，皆以鼻音收尾，音调舒展悠长；末句「归」字转入微部，换韵收束，声情随主旨转折而变

Tone pattern Not traceable通篇五言，二二一或二一二节奏，句句五字，整齐中见质朴；汉乐府无严格平仄，以自然语调行腔，近于歌唱的口语节律

Reading note Yuefu folk song, originally with no strict level-oblique rule, moving by natural intonation.《艳歌行》为相和歌辞瑟调曲，属汉代「街陌讴谣」系统，本以丝竹相和、依声歌唱，故不讲究近体的平仄对仗，而以自然语调节奏行腔。全诗十四句，句句五言，是汉乐府由杂言向五言定型过程中的成熟形态；用韵上主体押上古元部（见、县、绽、眄、见），一韵到底，音调舒展悠长，正合叙事歌谣一唱三叹的声情，末句「归」字转韵，如一声长叹，把归思收在换韵的转折处，声情与辞情相凑。「见」字在诗中凡三见（冬藏夏来见、水清石自见、石见何累累），既是韵脚的回环，也是语义的回环——燕之来见、石之自见、石之累累，三个「见」字把有期与无期、清白与猜疑、自明与归思层层绾合，是民歌复沓手法的高妙运用。较之文人诗的雕琢，此诗以自然天成为尚，正体现汉乐府「感于哀乐，缘事而发」的本色，其音乐性虽已不可尽考，而节奏之美至今可诵。

Line by line

翩翩堂前燕，冬藏夏来见。

Lightly, lightly, the swallows before the hall; in winter they hide, in summer they return.

堂前燕子翩翩飞舞，冬天蛰藏，夏天又飞回来。

Lightly flit the swallows before the hall; they hide in winter and reappear in summer.

起笔以燕子起兴，是全诗的立骨之笔。「翩翩」叠字写燕子轻快翻飞的姿态，堂前点出燕子与人居相近的亲近关系；「冬藏夏来见」则写燕子的生活节律——冬天藏匿，夏天复来，年年如此，去而复返。燕子是候鸟，冬去夏来、来去有期，这本是极平常的自然现象，诗人却以此反衬游子：「兄弟两三人，流宕在他县」，燕子尚知按时归来，人却漂泊他乡、归期渺茫，以物之有期反衬人之无期，禽鸟之有情反衬羁旅之无情。起兴之妙在于不着一字议论，而「人不如燕」的悲慨已在不言之中；「翩翩」的轻快与「流宕」的沉重两相对照，更添一层黯然。此句既定了全诗「以物衬人」的比兴基调，又暗伏末句「远行不如归」的归思，首尾遥应，章法浑然，正是汉乐府起兴「兴而兼比」的典范。

The swallows. Lightly flit the swallows before the hall; they hide in winter and reappear in summer. The swallows' regular return is the standard: they come back on time, but the wandering husband does not. To have described the swallows would be scenery; the lightly flitting hall swallows that hide in winter and return in summer are the scenery.

夫婿从门来，斜柯西北眄。

The husband comes in the door, leaning sideways and glancing northwest with suspicion.

女主人家的丈夫从门外回来，斜倚门框，向西北斜眼瞟来。

The husband comes in the door, leaning on the frame and squinting suspiciously to the northwest.

这是全诗戏剧冲突的爆发点，也是白描传神的典范。此前四句写游子衣敝、主人代缝，人情暖意正浓；「夫婿从门来」五字陡转，如平地起风波，「从门来」三字写出丈夫毫无预兆地出现，把寄居的游子与缝衣的女主人一同卷入尴尬的境地。「斜柯西北眄」一句尤妙：「斜柯」写斜倚门框的姿态——倚门而立，不即不离，摆出主人审视的架子；「眄」是斜眼看人，目光不正视而斜瞟，一个「眄」字把丈夫的疑忌、傲慢与故作姿态写得入木三分。他不发一言，而满腹狐疑尽在眼角；他不质问，而空气已然凝固。此句不写一句心理，而心理全出，正是「不著一字，尽得风流」的白描神技，也是全诗由暖转冷、由叙事转入冲突的枢纽，让一场小小的缝衣小事顿时有了戏剧的张力。

The husband. The husband comes in the door, leaning on the frame and squinting suspiciously to the northwest. The sideways lean and the sidelong glance are the whole suspicion, without a word said. To have described the husband entering suspiciously would be a scene; the door-entering husband leaning and squinting northwest are the scene.

语卿且勿眄，水清石自见。

I say to you: do not glare so; when the water is clear, the stones will show themselves.

我对他说：你且莫要斜眼疑我，水清了，石头自然显现，是非自会分明。

I tell you: do not glare; when the water clears, the stones will show themselves.

这是游子的答话，以劝慰的口吻自明心迹，是全诗的辩白核心。「语卿且勿眄」五字，语气恳切而不卑不亢：「卿」是相称之词，示以客气，「且勿眄」直承上句的「眄」，劝他莫要斜眼猜疑，一句答话接住一句眼色，针锋相对而又不失分寸。「水清石自见」是当时民间俗语，以水清则石现比喻心地光明、是非自明，此处语带双关：既是我与尊夫人并无苟且、真相终会大白，也是我虽寄人篱下，品行却如水之清、如石之坚，任凭猜疑，清白自见。妙在俗语入诗而力重千钧：不辩解、不哀求，只借一个朴素的比喻守住做人的底线，既维护了自己的清白，也给了对方台阶，质朴中见风骨。以家常俗语写庄严的自白，正是乐府民歌以俗为雅、以浅写深的看家本领，也是全诗由冲突转向自明、由外境转向内心的关键一句。

The answer. I tell you: do not glare; when the water clears, the stones will show themselves. The folk saying (clear water shows the stones) is the lodger's defense: my conduct will be plain when the water settles. To have said the truth would come out would be a defense; the do-not-glare against the clear-water-stones-show-themselves is the defense.

石见何累累，远行不如归。

The stones stand out, how thick they lie; traveling far is not as good as going home.

石块垒垒，清晰可见，远走他乡，终究不如归家。

The stones show themselves, piled thick; traveling far is not as good as going home.

结句由辩白陡转归思，是全诗的收束点睛之笔。「石见何累累」承上句「水清石自见」而来：「累累」写水清之后石块清晰罗列之状，呼应前文的「自见」，强调清白终将自明；然而清白虽可自明，寄居的尴尬却无法消解——即便误会澄清，游子依旧是寄人篱下的异乡人，依旧要仰人鼻息、受人眼色。「远行不如归」五字如冷水浇背，把全诗的情感从一桩小小的误会宕开到整个漂泊生涯的悲慨：与其在异乡受疑受窘，不如早早归家，可是归家的路又在何方？「归」字与前文「冬藏夏来见」的燕子遥相呼应——燕子能归，人却不能，问而不答，余味无穷。此句以家常语点破主旨，把个人的委屈升华为游子群体的普遍感叹，戛然而止而悲意弥漫，正是「一篇之警策」，也是汉乐府以结句收束全篇、以情语化开叙事的典型章法。

The conclusion. The stones show themselves, piled thick; traveling far is not as good as going home. The visible stones close the water metaphor, and the poem turns from defense to homesickness: innocence established, but still a stranger in someone else's house. To have said he should go home would be a conclusion; the stones showing piled thick and the traveling-far-not-as-good-as-returning-home are the conclusion.

Study

Word focus

眄 To glance sideways — accurately writes the husband, on suddenly seeing a stranger at home, harboring suspicion yet putting on airs; one word captures the state. 「眄」是斜眼看，与「视」「望」不同，专指不正视的斜瞟，是揣度、猜疑、轻慢之态的眼神。此字用于「夫婿从门来，斜柯西北眄」，与「斜柯」（斜倚门框）相配，一写身形、一写目光，把丈夫归家见陌生人时的满腹狐疑写得活灵活现：他不直问，不怒斥，只是倚门斜瞟，目光从西北方斜斜扫来，仿佛要把游子与妻子的关系一眼看穿。一个「眄」字，胜似十句心理描写——疑而不言，怒而不发，猜忌的暗流全在眼角眉梢；同时「眄」字又带出空间感（西北），暗示丈夫目光投注的方向与游子所处的位置，细节真实如摄影。此字是白描传神的关键，也是全诗由暖转冷的枢纽：前有「贤主人」的「揽取」，后有「且勿眄」的劝解，一个「眄」字把温厚与猜疑、热肠与冷眼对照得格外分明，一字尽态，堪称汉乐府炼字的典范。

绽 To stitch, to seam — set against 'mend', it writes the hostess's worthiness in stitching for the wanderer, a warm detail. 「绽」本义为衣缝裂开，此处作动词用，指把裂开的衣缝缝合、连缀，与「补」对举：补是补破洞，绽是缝裂口，二字合言缝补之事。「故衣谁当补，新衣谁当绽」以两个问句写游子衣敝无人缝补的窘迫——旧衣破了没人补，新衣（指待缝的衣裳）裂了没人缝，叠用「补」「绽」而不嫌重复，正写出羁旅中衣食无着的狼狈；「赖得贤主人，揽取为吾绽」复以「绽」字落笔，写女主人揽衣代缝，一个「揽」字见其主动热肠，「为吾绽」三字见其不避嫌疑，与上文「谁当绽」的无人之境形成对照。一「绽」字两见于「无人」与「有人」之间，冷暖立判：先是无人缝补的凄凉，后是有人代缝的温暖，而这份温暖旋即又引来夫婿的猜忌，一个小小的「绽」字竟牵动全诗冷暖交替的脉络，炼字虽朴而意蕴极厚，是白描中见匠心的好例。

流宕 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「流宕」即漂泊流浪、流转不定，「宕」本义为放荡、流荡，与「流」同义连用，加重漂泊无依、居无定所之意。「兄弟两三人，流宕在他县」一句，写兄弟结伴离家，流落异县，「两三人」见其结伴而行、尚有一线相依，而「流宕」二字则把这相依也写得风雨飘摇——如水之流、如舟之宕，随波逐流，身不由己。「他县」二字尤见苍凉：不是「远方」，不是「天涯」，只是一个无名的邻县，而连这一个「他县」都容不下安身之所，更见流民之境的普遍与绝望。此语与《古诗十九首》「游子不顾反」「浮云蔽白日」的游子意象同调，而更带汉乐府口语的质朴；「流宕」二字状尽漂泊之态，正是全诗「远行不如归」的归思所由生发的根因——正因为流宕之苦如此深重，那场缝衣的误会才显得格外辛酸，末句的归思也才格外沉痛，一字之设，牵动全篇。

艳歌行