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明 Ming · 文 Prose

核舟记·版本二

The Carved Boat (Version Two)

魏学洢

Wei Xueyi

名篇Masterpiece 说明Expository 微雕Micro-carving 技艺Craftsmanship

舟首尾长约八分有奇，高可二黍许。
中轩敞者为舱，箬篷覆之。
旁开小窗，左右各四，共八扇。

The boat from stem to stern is some eight fen and a fraction in length, and about two millet grains in height.
What is high and open in the middle is the cabin, covered by a bamboo-leaf awning.
By its side are small windows opened, four on the left and right, eight in all.

Listen

Meaning

The piece first gives the boat's tiny size—about eight fen and a fraction long, some two millet grains high—then describes its structure: the high, open middle is the cabin, covered by a bamboo-leaf awning, with small windows cut on the sides, four left and right, eight in total. In a few lines the outline of an exquisite micro-carving already stands clear.

核舟从头到尾长约八分多，高度大约两个黄米粒那么高。中间高起而宽敞的部分是船舱，用箬竹叶做的船篷覆盖着它。船舱旁边开有小窗，左右各四扇，一共八扇。

Appreciation

The Carved Boat records how the Ming marvel Wang Shuyuan carved a peach stone into a boat of Su Shi's Red Cliff voyage. This part first gives the size—small beyond small—then the structure: the open cabin, the bamboo awning, the eight windows. With precise numbers and clear positions, overall-to-part, it lays out the outline. Writing 'small' reveals 'clever,' foreshadowing the later hair-fine details—a model of 'seeing the great in the small.'

【白话串讲】魏学洢写《核舟记》：核舟“舟首尾长约八分有奇”——不到一寸长。“中轩敞者为舱，箬篷覆之”——“旁开小窗，左右各四，共八扇”——“启窗而观，雕栏相望焉”——小小的核舟上，雕了苏轼、佛印、鲁直和船夫，“罔不因势象形”——鬼斧神工。【意象与手法】此段以说明为主，数字精确（八分、二黍、四扇、八扇），方位清晰（中、旁、左右），先总后分、由整体到局部，条理井然。写「小」而见「巧」，为下文写窗上题字、船头人物、船尾楫子的纤毫毕现蓄势，是「以小见大」的典范。【情感与主旨】本文通过对核舟工艺的细致描绘，赞美了王叔远「技亦灵怪矣哉」的高超技艺，也寄寓了作者对明代微雕艺术的惊叹与对苏东坡赤壁之游的文化追慕——一枚核舟，承载的正是文人心中的「大苏泛赤壁」雅趣。【名句点睛】常考「舟首尾长约八分有奇，高可二黍许」的精确数字与「中轩敞者为舱，箬篷覆之」的空间方位：一写其小，一写其巧，数字与方位词的准确运用，正是说明文「言之有序、言之有据」的典范。

Background

The Carved Boat is the famous work of the Ming essayist Wei Xueyi (c. 1596–1625), selected into Zhang Chao's New Accounts of the Cabinet. Wei, son of the martyred official Wei Dazhong, died young at twenty-nine. The New Accounts collected strange men and deeds; this piece records a wondrous craft. The Ming was the heyday of decorative arts—Jiading bamboo carving, Suzhou stone-carving, Jingdezhen porcelain—and micro-carving flourished; on a fruit stone or grain of rice men carved words and figures as a scholar's fashion. The boat here is by the 'strange skill' Wang Shuyuan, who could carve an inch of wood into rooms, vessels, figures, birds, beasts, wood, stone, each true to form, once making a peach stone into Su Shi's Red Cliff voyage. The theme 'Great Su floats the Red Cliff' condenses the most elegant night-rowing of Song letters into an inch—the union of scholarly taste and craft. This excerpt is the opening, setting the spatial frame for the later window-inscriptions and figures.

《核舟记》是明代散文家魏学洢（约1596—1625）的名篇，选自清人张潮所编《虞初新志》。魏学洢字子敬，嘉善（今浙江嘉善）人，明代文学家魏大中之子，其父因弹劾阉党魏忠贤而下狱被害，学洢奔走营救未果，父死后亦悲伤而卒，年仅二十九岁，著有《茅檐集》。《虞初新志》是清初文言短篇小说与笔记的选集，多收奇人异事，《核舟记》即其中记工艺奇绝的一篇。明代是我国工艺美术的鼎盛时期，嘉定竹刻、苏州核雕、景德镇瓷器皆名闻天下，微雕艺术尤为发达——在果核、米粒上刻字雕物，是明代文人雅士标榜技艺的时尚。本文所记的核舟，出自「奇巧人」王叔远之手：他「能以径寸之木，为宫室、器皿、人物，以至鸟兽、木石，罔不因势象形，各具情态」，曾以一枚桃核刻成苏东坡泛舟赤壁之景。核舟本以「大苏泛赤壁」为题材，苏东坡《赤壁赋》《后赤壁赋》所写的月夜泛舟、扣舷而歌，是文人心中最风雅的意境，王叔远将其缩于盈寸之间，正是「以小见大」的文人趣味与工匠巧思的结合。本文所录为核舟描写的开篇部分，先写舟之尺寸与舱窗结构，为后文写窗刻「山高月小，水落石出」、船头苏黄佛印、船尾舟子等细节立下空间框架，是全文「由整体到局部」说明顺序的起点。

Art

Though few lines, the expository art is already fine, seen in three points. First, overall-to-part, outside-to-in: the size first, then the cabin, then the windows, with 'middle,' 'side,' 'left and right' locating clearly—the model of 'orderly words.' Second, precise number and measure: 'eight fen and a fraction' in length, 'two millet grains' in height—the ancients set the scale by millet, making the abstract size sensible; 'four,' 'eight' leave no vagueness, the mark of 'well-grounded words.' Third, 'small' answers 'clever': the smaller the boat yet complete in cabin, awning, windows, the more the carving's wonder shows, foreshadowing 'each true to form' and 'how strange the skill.' The language is mainly plain, exact, with no exaggeration yet wonder appears—typical Ming note-prose 'writing the strange by plain.'

此段虽只数句，说明文的章法已臻精妙，可析为三端。其一，先总后分、由外到内的空间顺序：「舟首尾长约八分有奇，高可二黍许」先总写舟的整体尺寸，给读者一个「小」的直观印象；「中轩敞者为舱，箬篷覆之」再由外入内、由舟体到舱室，写其核心结构；「旁开小窗，左右各四，共八扇」再分写细部，方位词「中」「旁」「左右」层层定位，空间关系一目了然，正是说明文「言之有序」的典范。其二，数字与比量的精确：「八分有奇」以长度单位言其小，「二黍许」以黄米粒之高为比——古人以黍粒定尺度，一黍约为一分，二黍即约二分高，以日常之物作比，使抽象的尺寸化为可感的形象；「四扇」「八扇」数目明确，无一虚语，体现说明文「言之有据」的特质。其三，「小」与「巧」的呼应：全段反复渲染舟之小（八分、二黍），而所写结构却一应俱全（舱、篷、窗），越小越见雕刻之巧，为后文「罔不因势象形，各具情态」的总体评价与「技亦灵怪矣哉」的由衷赞叹预埋伏笔。语言上以散句为主、简洁准确，无一处夸饰而精巧自现，是明代笔记散文「以白描写奇巧」的典型笔法。

Allusions

Though expository, the passage is rich in culture. First, the boat's theme: 'Great Su floats the Red Cliff' from Su Shi's Red Cliff Odes—the later window-inscription 'high mountain, small moon; water falls, rock emerges' is from the Second Ode, a whole night-voyage in an inch, the union of literary and craftsman's mind. Second, the millet-scale: 'two millet grains' rests on the ancient metrology of 'piling millet to set the foot,' both precise and antique. Third, the bamboo awning: a southern water folk's practical cover, giving the inch-boat real breath and the literati's riverside joy. Fourth, micro-carving's place: with Ming masters like Lu Zigang, stone-carving became a refined play; Wei's 'strange' shows the late-Ming respect for craft, laying the textual base for the piece's wide spread via the New Accounts.

此段虽为说明文字，其文化内涵却极为丰厚。其一，核舟题材的文学典故：「大苏泛赤壁」是核舟的主题，源自苏轼《赤壁赋》——「壬戌之秋，七月既望，苏子与客泛舟游于赤壁之下」，后文所写窗上「山高月小，水落石出」八字，正出自《后赤壁赋》，一枚核舟浓缩了宋代文学最风雅的一场夜游，是「文心」与「匠心」的结合。其二，黍尺的文化渊源：「二黍许」之「黍」是古代度量衡的基准——汉人定黄钟律管、以黍粒排定尺长，后世遂有「累黍定尺」之说，以黍言高度，既精确又古雅，暗合中国度量文化的悠久传统。其三，箬篷的意象：箬篷是江南水乡船家的实用之物，以箬竹叶编成，《赤壁赋》中「驾一叶之扁舟」的「一叶」，到核舟的「箬篷覆之」，舟的意象一脉相承——箬篷使盈寸之核舟更添真实感与烟火气，也暗写文人向往的江湖之趣。其四，微雕技艺的文化定位：明代嘉定朱氏、苏州陆子冈等工艺名家辈出，核雕更成为文玩雅物，「八分有奇」「二黍许」的精确记述，正是明代士大夫对「奇技淫巧」由鄙视转向欣赏的时代风气的写照——魏学洢以「灵怪」许之，可见晚明审美对工匠精神的尊重，亦为清代《核舟记》入选《虞初新志》而广传奠定了文体基础。

Commentary

The Carved Boat is a classic of ancient expository prose, long in middle-school texts, valued in three ways. First, as a model of exposition: with overall-part structure, exact numbers, and clear space, it stands with 'Movable Type' and 'Ventriloquism' as the three great ancient expository pieces. Second, as a document of craft aesthetics: though the boat is lost, its precise size and structure leave a precious record of Ming micro-carving, and its phrases 'each true to form' and 'how strange the skill' set the classic discourse on the art. Third, its wide influence: via the New Accounts and textbooks, 'carved boat' became a byword for 'ghostly craft,' a cultural symbol of Chinese craft spirit and literati taste. In style it writes the exquisite in plain lines, representative of Ming xiaopin prose's 'clear and concise' manner.

《核舟记》是中国古代说明文的经典之作，长期入选中学语文教材，其价值可从三方面论之。其一，说明文体的典范：全文以「总—分—总」的结构、精确的数字、清晰的空间方位，条理井然地记述核舟的每一个细节，是文言说明文「言之有序、言之有据」的教科书式文本，与《活板》记印刷、《口技》记声音艺术并称古代说明文的三大名篇。其二，工艺美学的文献价值：本文所记核舟虽已不传，但其「长约八分」「高可二黍」的精确尺寸、「箬篷覆之」「旁开小窗」的结构细节，为后世留下了明代核雕工艺的珍贵文字档案，是研究中国微雕史、工艺美术史的难得史料；文中「罔不因势象形，各具情态」「技亦灵怪矣哉」的评价，也确立了后世品评微雕艺术的经典话语。其三，文化传播的深远影响：经《虞初新志》收录及教材选编，《核舟记》成为「微雕」「鬼斧神工」的代名词，「核舟」一词更成为中国工匠精神与文人雅趣结合的文化符号——从现代核雕艺术家的创作到非遗传承的叙事，皆溯源于这篇三百余年前的美文。其四，文学上，本文以洗练的白描写精巧之物，字字落到实处、句句见出条理，是明代小品文「清丽简洁」风格的代表，张潮编入《虞初新志》正是看重其「奇而实」的特质，至今读来，仍令人惊叹于一枚桃核上的匠心与一支笔下的功力。

Prosody

Form Ming note-prose (expository, a thing-recording piece in the New Accounts).明代笔记散文（说明文，《虞初新志》所收记物之文）

Rhyme This is prose exposition, not rhymed, yet its music is in the rhythm of numbers and the neatness of form. 'Eight fen and a fraction,' 'two millet grains,' 'four each,' 'eight in all' are strewn like counting treasures; 'what is high and open is the cabin, covered by the awning' alternates six and four characters, even-paced; 'by its side are windows, four left and right, eight in all' shortens step by step, like tallying, with a leisurely 'examining treasure' rhythm.本段为散体说明，不押韵，而以数字的节奏与句式的整齐构成音律：「八分有奇」「二黍许」「各四」「八扇」等数目词错落分布，如数家珍；「中轩敞者为舱，箬篷覆之」以六字、四字相间，节奏匀整；「旁开小窗，左右各四，共八扇」三句递短，如计数报数，节拍分明，读来有一种「盘点珍宝」般的从容韵律。

Tone pattern Mainly plain sentences with some neatness: judgment sentences state the part, narrative sentences the structure, number sentences the count—the tone is calm, with no exaggeration yet wonder appears. Read steadily and clearly, pausing at 'eight fen and a fraction' and 'two millet grains' to show its smallness and cleverness.句式以散句为主而略见整齐：判断句（中轩敞者为舱）交代部位，叙述句（箬篷覆之）交代结构，数目句（左右各四，共八扇）交代数量，句式随说明对象而变，语气平实从容，无夸饰之辞而精巧自现。诵读时宜平稳清晰、一字一顿，如逐件把玩核舟，于「八分有奇」「二黍许」处稍作停顿，以见其小、其巧。

Reading note The sound-beauty of exposition is not in rhyme but in the rhythm of 'number' and clarity of 'order.' Three sentences: the first with 'eight fen' and 'two millet' beats short and exact, like measuring the boat; the second 'middle cabin, awning cover' reads steady and slow, like the eye moving to the cabin; the third 'four left, eight in all' with numbers like pearls, the beat tightening. Three sentences from whole to part, large to small, the lines shortening—like a lens drawing near, a rhythm of 'layer by layer, hair by hair.' Wei writes the strange in plain lines; the order of numbers, positions, verbs makes the peculiar 'order-beauty' of exposition, distinct from poetry's sound.说明文的声韵之美，不在押韵，而在「数」的节奏与「序」的清晰。此段凡三句：首句「舟首尾长约八分有奇，高可二黍许」以「八分」「二黍」两个比量词起拍，短促而精确，如尺量核舟，音节与量度相合；次句「中轩敞者为舱，箬篷覆之」以「中—舱」「篷—覆」两对词性相对的结构，读来平稳舒缓，如目光由舟体移至舱室；末句「旁开小窗，左右各四，共八扇」以「四」「八」两个数字连缀，「各四」「八扇」如珠落玉盘，节拍渐密，写出窗前细看的节奏。三句由总到分、由大到小，句幅由长而短，恰如镜头由远及近的推移，读之自有一种「层层逼近、纤毫毕现」的韵律感。魏学洢以白描记奇巧，不求音韵之美而音韵自生：数目词的准确、方位词的清晰、动词的凝练，共同构成了说明文特有的「秩序之美」——这种以「实」为骨、以「序」为脉的文体节奏，正是中国古代说明文区别于诗词韵文的独特声情，也是《核舟记》读来齿颊生香、如见其物的原因所在。

Line by line

舟首尾长约八分有奇，高可二黍许。

The boat from stem to stern is some eight fen and a fraction in length, and about two millet grains in height. — The opening gives the tiny size with exact measures, the bedrock of the piece. 'Eight fen' is under an inch, 'and a fraction' a bit over, precise as a ruler; 'two millet grains' compares by the grain, making the height sensible. The two numbers give the boat's 'small' a measurable scale, foreshadowing that cabin, awning, windows, figures must all show in an inch—'small' is the ground for 'clever.'

核舟从头到尾长约八分多一点，高度大约两个黄米粒那么高。

The boat, stem to stern, is about eight-hundredths of a foot long, and perhaps two grains of millet high.

开篇两句以精确的尺寸总写核舟之小，是全文立意的基石。「首尾长约八分有奇」以长度记舟——「八分」不足一寸，「有奇」言其略有余数，数字精确如尺量，见出作者观察之细；「高可二黍许」以高度记舟——「二黍」以黄米粒为比，古以黍定尺度，「许」表约数，写其高仅两粒黍米。「八分」「二黍」两个数字一出，核舟之「小」便有了可感的标尺，读者未睹其形，已觉其微。此二句的深意在于「以小伏巧」：舟愈小，则雕刻愈难，后文所写舱、篷、窗、人、字皆需在盈寸之间纤毫毕现，「小」正是「巧」的铺垫。同时以「黍」作比，既承古代「累黍定尺」的度量传统，又使抽象尺寸化为日常可感之物，是说明文「化抽象为具体」的典型手法，读之如持核舟于掌上。

The size. The boat, stem to stern, is about eight-hundredths of a foot long, and perhaps two grains of millet high. The eight-tenths and two-millet measurements establish the tiny scale. To have measured the boat would be a measurement; the boat-stem-to-stern-about-eight-hundredths-of-a-foot-long-and-perhaps-two-grains-of-millet-high is the measurement.

中轩敞者为舱，箬篷覆之。

What is high and open in the middle is the cabin, covered by a bamboo-leaf awning. — From the whole boat to its core: 'middle' locates, 'high and open' describes—'high' rising, 'open' roomy, exact yet vivid. 'Covered by' writes the awning's relation to the cabin in one verb. The wonder is 'seeing the great in the small': an inch boat yet complete in cabin and awning, matching the real boat's proportions—the 'each true to form' made concrete; 'bamboo awning' adds southern-water breath, making it a sensible skiff.

中间高起而宽敞的部分是船舱，用箬竹叶编成的船篷覆盖在舱上。

The raised, open part in the middle is the cabin, covered by a woven rush canopy.

此句由舟的整体转入核心结构，写舱之形制与篷之覆盖。「中轩敞者为舱」以方位「中」定位、以「轩敞」写形——「轩」言其高起，「敞」言其开阔，四字写尽船舱居中、高敞的特点，说明语言准确而生动；「箬篷覆之」以「覆」字写篷与舱的关系——箬篷（箬竹叶编的船篷）覆盖舱顶，一「覆」字写出上下关系，简洁传神。此句的妙处在「以小见大」：盈寸之舟，而舱、篷一应俱全，且与真实舟船的比例结构毫无二致，正是「罔不因势象形」的具体呈现；「箬篷」一词更添江南水乡的生活气息，使这枚核舟不仅是工艺品，更是一叶可感的扁舟。从句法看，「中轩敞者为舱」是判断句，点明部位功能；「箬篷覆之」是叙述句，写出覆盖关系，两相结合，说明与描写兼擅，为下文「旁开小窗」的细部刻画作了自然的过渡。

The cabin. The raised, open part in the middle is the cabin, covered by a woven rush canopy. The raised open cabin and the rush canopy are the structure. To have described the cabin would be a structure; the raised-open-part-in-the-middle-is-the-cabin-covered-by-a-woven-rush-canopy is the structure.

旁开小窗，左右各四，共八扇。

By its side are small windows opened, four on the left and right, eight in all. — The start of fine detail and a foreshadow of the later window-inscriptions. 'By its side' follows the 'middle' above, clear in space; 'four each, eight in all' with numbers exact and symmetric. Deeper: the windows are not mere—later they open to carved rails and the sixteen-character odes, eight windows all openable and inscribed, revealing 'how strange the skill.' It also shows the expository order: boat to cabin to window to count, layer by layer.

船舱旁边开有小窗，左右两边各四扇，合起来一共八扇，位置对称、数目清楚。

Small windows are cut in the sides, four on the left and four on the right, eight in all.

此句写舱旁小窗的布局，是全段细部刻画的开始，也是后文写窗刻字句的伏笔。「旁开小窗」写窗之位置——「旁」紧承上文「中轩敞者」的「中」，方位明确，船舱居中、小窗开于两侧，空间关系清楚如画；「左右各四，共八扇」以数字写窗之数——左右对称、各四共八，「各」字见其对称，「共」字总其总数，精确而简洁。此句的深意有二：其一，见核雕之巧的递进——先写舟小，再写舱篷，此句写窗，且窗非虚设，后文即写「启窗而观，雕栏相望」及窗上「山高月小，水落石出」「清风徐来，水波不兴」十六字题刻，八扇小窗皆可开合、皆有字迹，盈寸之间如此精细，方见「技亦灵怪矣哉」；其二，见说明之序的严谨——由整体（舟）到局部（舱），由舱到窗，由窗到窗数，层层收拢、步步细化，正是说明文「先总后分、由粗及精」的顺序典范，读来如镜头由远及近，核舟全貌渐次清晰。

The windows. Small windows are cut in the sides, four on the left and four on the right, eight in all. The eight windows, four each side, are the detail. To have described the windows would be a detail; the small-windows-cut-in-the-sides-four-on-the-left-and-four-on-the-right-eight-in-all is the detail.

Study

Word focus

有奇 And a fraction (a bit over). — Means 'surplus, a little more,' read 'you ji,' where 'ji' is the remainder; a fixed classical expression for 'slightly more than.' 'Eight fen and a fraction' means a bit over eight fen, pinpointing the boat's minuteness; with 'and a fraction' it is as if measured by a ruler to the hair, showing the author's careful eye. The word also fits the ancient habit of 'and a fraction' for remainders (as in the Shangshu), giving both elegant antique tone and expository exactness—fewest words, truest measure. 「长约八分有奇」之「有奇」义为「有余、略多」，读作「有jī」，「奇」训零数、余数，是文言中表示「略多于某数」的固定表达，同于《孟子》「数口之家可以无饥」之类以约数言量的用法。「八分有奇」即八分多一点，以「奇」字点出不足一寸而略过八分，极言核舟之微——若作「八分」，则嫌笼统；加「有奇」，如以尺细量，精确到分毫，见出作者对工艺品的审察之细与记述之实。此词亦暗通古人度量的习惯：先秦以降，以「有奇」「有零」表余数（如《尚书》「期三百有六旬有六日」），魏学洢用之于工艺说明，既有典雅的文言韵味，又合说明文「言之有据」的要求。一词之中，既见数字之精确，又见语言之简古，是说明文中炼字的典范——以最少的字传达最准的量，正是「核舟记」以文写微的绝佳注脚。

轩敞 High and open. — Describes the cabin's form: 'high' rising, 'open' unblocked, together the cabin is high and roomy, the most conspicuous middle part. Using 'high and open' for an inch cabin is 'great words for a small thing': though only fen-wide, it gains a hall's air, showing the carver's spacious imagining and the author's architectural eye. It also echoes Su Shi's 'a reed-like boat on a boundless expanse'—the open cabin gives Su and guest room to 'beat the gunwale and sing,' revealing the boat's elegance in one word. 「中轩敞者为舱」之「轩敞」义为高敞、宽敞，是写船舱形态的核心形容词。「轩」本指古代车前高而有帷幕的车，引申为高起、轩昂，《诗经》「如辇如轩」已见其义；「敞」言开阔无蔽，二字连用，写舱既高且阔，占舟之中部而最为醒目。以「轩敞」写盈寸之核舟的船舱，妙在以「大词写小物」：舱不过数分见方，而以「轩敞」状之，恰见工匠在寸木之中经营出厅堂般的气派，也见作者以欣赏建筑的眼光审视核舟，赋予微雕以「宏阔」的想象空间。同时「轩敞」暗合《赤壁赋》「纵一苇之所如，凌万顷之茫然」的放达意境——舱之轩敞，正为苏子与客「扣舷而歌」提供了适意的空间，核舟之雅趣，由一词而显。若作「宽大」「开阔」则失其文言韵味与分寸感，「轩敞」二字，精确而雅致，是说明文中形容词运用的上乘之选。

覆 Cover. — Means to cover, one verb stating the awning's relation to the cabin, the finest verb here. It has both 'shelter' and 'fit' senses—the awning fits the cabin tightly, the 'each true to form' of micro-carving. Its merits: exact (the awning's function), concise (not 'placed on top' but 'cover it'), and vivid (the awning seems to actively shelter, giving the small boat life). Later 'open' and 'view' echo it—one cover, one open, motion born, the cabin lives between the two verbs. 「箬篷覆之」之「覆」义为覆盖，一字写尽箬篷与船舱的关系，是全段动词运用的精妙之笔。「覆」本义为翻转遮盖，《诗经》「谓天盖高，不敢不局」之「盖」即近义，此处写箬篷自上而下覆于舱顶，既有空间上的「笼罩」义，又有结构上的「贴合」义——蓬与舱严丝合缝，正是核雕「因势象形」的体现。以「覆」写篷，妙在三点：其一，准确——箬篷的功能本是覆盖船体以遮风雨，一字道明其位置与作用；其二，简洁——不说「盖于其上」「置舱之上」，而单用「覆之」，文言动词的凝练尽显；其三，传神——「覆」字有主动笼罩的意味，仿佛箬篷亲覆其舱，小小的核舟因此有了生气。后文写「启窗而观，雕栏相望」的「启」「观」「望」，皆与「覆」字呼应，一覆一启，动静相生，核舟的船舱便在这两个动词之间活了起来，可见说明文中动词选择之精，往往决定文字的传神程度。