近现代 近现代 · 诗 Poem
祖国啊,我亲爱的祖国·版本
My Motherland, My Dear Motherland — A Version
我是你河边上破旧的老水车,数百年来纺着疲惫的歌;
我是你额上熏黑的矿灯,照你在历史的隧洞里蜗行摸索;
我是干瘪的稻穗,是失修的路基,是淤滩上的驳船。
Spinning, for hundreds of years, the tired song;
I am the smoke-blackened miner's lamp on your forehead,
Lighting you, groping in the tunnel of the history;
I am the withered ear of the rice, the unrepaired roadbed,
And the barge on the shoal —
Drawing the rope,
Deep in the mud,
Pulling, with the deep, deep scar on the shoulder.
Meaning
The opening of Shu Ting's famous poem 'My Motherland, My Dear Motherland.' I am the old waterwheel by your riverbank, spinning, for hundreds of years, the tired song — the motherland's age and weariness, the poet as the waterwheel. I am the smoke-blackened miner's lamp on your forehead, lighting you, groping in the tunnel of the history — the miner's lamp of the history, groping through the dark. I am the withered ear of the rice, the unrepaired roadbed, and the barge on the shoal — drawing the rope, deep in the mud, pulling, with the deep, deep scar on the shoulder — the poor and the worn of the motherland, the barge of the toil. The poem is the identification of the poet with the motherland's weariness and toil: the old waterwheel, the miner's lamp, the withered ear, and the barge pulling through the mud.
我是你河边上破旧的老水车,数百年来纺着疲惫的歌;我是你额上熏黑的矿灯,照你在历史的隧洞里蜗行摸索;我是干瘪的稻穗,是失修的路基,是淤滩上的驳船。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] I am the old waterwheel by your riverbank, spinning, for hundreds of years, the tired song; I am the smoke-blackened miner's lamp on your forehead, lighting you, groping in the tunnel of the history; I am the withered ear of the rice, the unrepaired roadbed, and the barge on the shoal — drawing the rope, deep in the mud, pulling, with the deep, deep scar on the shoulder. [Structure and Thought] The passage moves through the identifications of the poet with the motherland: the old waterwheel of the tired song, the smoke-blackened miner's lamp of the groping, and the withered ear and the barge of the toil — the weariness and the labor of the motherland, the poet as its image. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the identification through the worn images: the waterwheel spinning the tired song, the lamp groping in the history, the barge pulling through the mud — the poet is the worn and the laboring of the motherland, the identification of the child with the mother's weariness. [Emotional Tone] Sorrowful, tender, and identifying: the passage is the poet's identification with the motherland's weariness and toil, the tired song and the deep, deep scar.
【白话串讲】 舒婷写《祖国啊,我亲爱的祖国》:“我是你河边上破旧的老水车,数百年来纺着疲惫的歌”。“我是你额上熏黑的矿灯,照你在历史的隧洞里蜗行摸索”——“我是干瘪的稻穗,是失修的路基”——她把自己比作祖国的一部分。 【意象与手法】 朦胧诗「意象抒情」的典范:以「我是你……」的拟物排比,把「我」化入祖国的山河器物,物我交融;「破旧」「熏黑」「干瘪」「失修」「淤滩」等词密集罗列苦难的质感;「老水车纺着疲惫的歌」以通感写岁月,「蜗行摸索」以动作写历史,意象新颖而情感沉郁。 【情感与主旨】 以「我即祖国、祖国即我」的血肉认同,写一代人对祖国苦难历史的承担:不回避贫穷与伤痕,而把个体的命运与祖国的命运紧紧绑在一起,是「忧患与挚爱并存」的爱国情怀,也是朦胧诗「反思后的深情」的代表。 【名句点睛】 「我是你河边上破旧的老水车,数百年来纺着疲惫的歌」以水车纺歌的通感意象,写尽古老祖国的疲惫与坚韧,是朦胧诗「以意象写历史」的经典句。
Background
Shu Ting (1952–) wrote 'My Motherland, My Dear Motherland' as the poem of the child's identification with the motherland — one of the most famous poems of the modern Chinese poetry of the motherland. The poet is the old waterwheel of the tired song, the smoke-blackened miner's lamp groping in the history, the withered ear and the barge pulling through the mud — the motherland's weariness and toil identified with; and the close of the poem — the new ideal, the blooming of the new age, the child's love for the motherland — turns the weariness to the hope. This version carries the opening of the poem, the identification with the motherland's toil.
此诗节选出自舒婷《祖国啊,我亲爱的祖国》,作于1979年4月,发表于《诗刊》1979年7月号,是朦胧诗的代表作之一。舒婷(1952—),原名龚佩瑜,福建厦门人,当代著名诗人,朦胧诗派的主要代表,著有诗集《双桅船》《会唱歌的鸢尾花》等,与北岛、顾城、江河、杨炼并称朦胧诗五大家。1979年正是文革结束、改革开放启动的历史转折点:十年浩劫使一代人饱经苦难,而「伤痕文学」「反思文学」刚刚兴起;舒婷此诗正写于这一「觉醒与反思」的时代氛围中——她以「我」的身份直呼「祖国啊,我亲爱的祖国」,不回避祖国的贫穷与伤痕(老水车、矿灯、稻穗、路基、驳船皆破旧衰败之象),而以血肉相连的认同承担这一切,表达了「与祖国共患难、同奋起」的深情。此「版本」截取全诗第一节(「我是你……淤滩上的驳船」)的排比意象群,是全诗苦难记忆的集中呈现;其后各节尚有「我是你簇新的理想」「我是你雪被下古莲的胚芽」「我是新刷出的雪白的起跑线」等新生意象与「那就从我的血肉之躯上去取得你的富饶」的誓言,本版本虽未收,然苦难之象既立,深情之基已成。舒婷的诗以「细腻的抒情、新颖的意象、深沉的思索」见长,此诗正是其「大我抒情」的巅峰。
Art
The passage's art is the art of the identification through the worn images. The waterwheel opens: I am the old waterwheel by your riverbank, spinning, for hundreds of years, the tired song — the age and the weariness, the spinning of the tired song. The lamp follows: I am the smoke-blackened miner's lamp on your forehead, lighting you, groping in the tunnel of the history — the dark of the history, the groping of the light. And the toil gathers the passage: I am the withered ear of the rice, the unrepaired roadbed, and the barge on the shoal — drawing the rope, deep in the mud, pulling, with the deep, deep scar on the shoulder — the poor and the worn, the barge of the toil, the deep scar of the labor. The poet is the motherland's weariness: the tired song, the groping lamp, and the pulling barge — the identification of the child with the mother's toil.
此诗是朦胧诗「意象抒情」的典范,艺术上以「拟物排比、意象群建构、物我交融」见长。其一是拟物的核心手法:全诗以「我是你……」的句式,让「我」直接化身为祖国的一系列物象——老水车、矿灯、稻穗、路基、驳船,「我是」二字不是比喻(像),而是等同(是),把个体与祖国彻底融为一体:我不是旁观者,我就是这破旧水车本身、这熏黑矿灯本身,祖国的苦难即我的苦难。其二是意象群的建构:五个意象(老水车、矿灯、稻穗、路基、驳船)全部取自劳动与民生——水车(农耕)、矿灯(矿工)、稻穗(农人)、路基(筑路)、驳船(航运),覆盖了古老中国的生产图景,而修饰语「破旧」「熏黑」「干瘪」「失修」「淤滩」则全部指向苦难与衰败,意象的选择与修饰的定向高度一致,构成一个完整的「苦难祖国」意象群。其三是通感与拟人:「纺着疲惫的歌」把水车转动的机械动作与「纺歌」的音乐动作叠合,又让「歌」带上「疲惫」的情感色彩,视觉、听觉、感觉通感并作;「蜗行摸索」以蜗牛的缓慢动作写历史隧洞中的前行,把抽象的历史进程化为具体的肢体动作。其四是情感的克制:全节不写一个「爱」字、一个「痛」字,而以意象的罗列让读者自己去感受,这正是朦胧诗「以意象表情、以间接抒情」的美学原则,情感沉郁而不直露,深挚而不煽情。
Allusions
The poem carries no learned allusion; its art is the modern image. 'The old waterwheel' (pojiu de lao shuiche) is the worn waterwheel, spinning the tired song of the years; 'the smoke-blackened miner's lamp' (xunhei de kuangdeng) is the lamp of the mine, blackened by the smoke, groping in the tunnel of the history; 'the withered ear of the rice' (ganbie de daosui) and 'the unrepaired roadbed' (shixiu de luji) are the poor and the worn of the motherland; 'the barge on the shoal' (yutan shang de bochuan) is the barge of the toil, drawing the rope through the mud.
此诗虽为现代自由诗,其文化意蕴却深植于中国诗歌的爱国传统与「物我合一」的哲学。其一是「我即物、物即我」的认同方式:承《庄子》「天地与我并生,而万物与我为一」的齐物观,亦承屈原《橘颂》「后皇嘉树,橘徕服兮」以物自况的传统——屈原以橘自比,舒婷以水车、矿灯自比,皆是将个体生命化入物象的认同;而「我是你……」的句式更把「我」与「你」(祖国)直接等同,比「比喻」更进一步,是「血肉相连」的认同宣言。其二是「水车」与「纺歌」的农耕意象:水车是古老农耕文明的象征,「数百年来」写其岁月之久,承《诗经》「七月流火」以来「农事」母题的厚重;「纺着疲惫的歌」更令人想起中国漫长的农业社会——千百年间,农民在土地上如纺车般循环劳作,歌是劳作的歌,疲惫是历史的疲惫。其三是「矿灯」「隧洞」的工业意象:矿灯照「历史的隧洞」,「蜗行摸索」写民族在黑暗中的摸索前行,承近代以来中国「救亡图存」的艰难历程——从鸦片战争的炮火到文革的浩劫,民族如矿工在隧洞中举灯前行,此意象既有现实的工业质感,又有历史的象征深度。其四是「淤滩上的驳船」:驳船是近代航运的工具,「淤滩」是泥沙淤积的浅滩,船陷淤滩,进退两难,正是民族停滞与困顿的写照;此象与艾青《我爱这土地》「被暴风雨所打击着的土地」的苦难意象一脉相承,可见朦胧诗与三四十年代现实主义诗歌在「忧患意识」上的精神传承。
Commentary
This poem is one of the most famous of the modern Chinese poetry of the motherland, quoted for the identification of its opening. The old waterwheel and the miner's lamp, and the barge pulling with the deep scar, are among the most quoted lines of the modern tradition. Critics praise the poem's identification: the poet as the motherland's weariness and toil, the child's sorrowful, tender love.
此诗是朦胧诗的代表作,也是中国当代爱国诗传统的转折点,此「版本」(第一节)更是其艺术精华所在。就诗学史言,朦胧诗兴起于文革后的「思想解放」浪潮,以意象的晦涩与情感的含蓄挑战了此前直白空洞的政治抒情诗;舒婷此诗却以「朦胧」写「大我」,把抽象的爱国情感落实为具体的物象(水车、矿灯、驳船),既保持了朦胧诗的艺术探索,又承接了爱国诗的情感传统,故能雅俗共赏,成为朦胧诗中最具大众接受度的名篇之一。就思想史言,此诗的意义在于「反思中的深情」:此前的爱国诗多写祖国的辉煌与伟大,舒婷却直面祖国的贫穷与伤痕(破旧、熏黑、干瘪、失修、淤滩),并以「我是你……」的认同承担这一切——爱不是歌颂,而是分担;不是旁观,而是血肉相连。这种「忧患与挚爱并存」的爱国观,正是文革后一代人「反思后的觉醒」,也是中国爱国传统由「颂扬」走向「承担」的现代转型。就影响言,此诗入选各级教材,被反复诵读,其「我是你河边上破旧的老水车」的意象群已成为一代人的集体记忆,与艾青《我爱这土地》、北岛《回答》共同构成了中国当代诗歌「土地与祖国」主题的经典序列。此「版本」虽为节选,然苦难之象既立、认同之情已成,独立成篇,气象不亏,是朦胧诗「以意象写历史」的最高成就之一。
Prosody
Line by line
我是你河边上破旧的老水车,数百年来纺着疲惫的歌;
I am the old waterwheel by your riverbank, spinning, for hundreds of years, the tired song;
我是你河边上那破旧的老水车,数百年来一直转动着,纺出疲惫的歌。
I am your broken old waterwheel by the river, turning for hundreds of years, spinning out a weary song.
此句是全诗的起句,也是「苦难祖国」意象群的第一个意象,定下全节沉郁的基调。「我是你河边上破旧的老水车」——「我」直接化身为「你」(祖国)河边的一架水车,「我是」而非「我像」,把个体与祖国彻底等同:水车之破旧即我之破旧,祖国之沧桑即我之沧桑;「河边」点出水车的所在(傍水而转,灌溉农田),「破旧」「老」写其年久失修、历尽沧桑。妙在次句「数百年来纺着疲惫的歌」——水车转动本无声响或只吱呀作响,诗人以「纺着歌」的通感写其转动:仿佛水车像纺车一样纺织着岁月,纺织出的不是布匹而是「歌」;而歌又「疲惫」——「疲惫」本是人的感觉,移以写歌,通感之外更见拟人:数百年来,这架水车如一位疲惫的老者,唱着一支古老的歌,歌中满是岁月与劳作的辛酸。「数百年来」更把时间拉长到数百年的尺度,水车的歌便是这数百年农耕史的歌,是古老中国默默劳作的歌。此句以「我是」的认同、通感的修辞、漫长的时光,把个体的我与历史的国凝于一体,是全诗立骨之句。
The wheel. I am your broken old waterwheel by the river, turning for hundreds of years, spinning out a weary song. The broken old waterwheel spinning a weary song for hundreds of years is the first image. To have spun the weary song would be a spinning; the i-am-your-broken-old-waterwheel-by-the-river-turning-for-hundreds-of-years-spinning-out-a-weary-song is the spinning.
我是你额上熏黑的矿灯,照你在历史的隧洞里蜗行摸索;
I am the smoke-blackened miner's lamp on your forehead, lighting you, groping in the tunnel of the history;
我是你额上那盏被熏黑的矿灯,照着你在历史的隧道里像蜗牛一样缓慢前行、摸索。
I am your soot-blackened miner's lamp on your brow, lighting you as you crawl like a snail through history's tunnel.
此句是意象群的第二个意象,由农耕(水车)转入工业(矿灯),由「纺歌」转入「蜗行」,写民族在黑暗中艰难前行的历史。「我是你额上熏黑的矿灯」——「额上」二字极妙:灯不在手中,而在「额上」,仿佛这盏灯是祖国额头上的眼睛,是祖国探路的器官,「我」即祖国额前的光;「熏黑」写矿灯经年累月被煤烟熏黑,灯的陈旧与矿工的艰苦尽在其中。「照你在历史的隧洞里蜗行摸索」——「你」指祖国,「历史的隧洞」把历史比作一条幽深黑暗的隧道,民族如矿工在其中行进;「蜗行摸索」是全句的诗眼:以蜗牛的缓慢写民族前行的艰难——不是奔跑,不是行走,而是蜗行;不是看清道路,而是摸索——黑暗之中,只能以最慢的速度、最不确定的方式前进。「照」字则见灯的价值:纵然熏黑、纵然破旧,这盏灯仍在发光,照着祖国在黑暗里一步步前行——苦难中的坚持,正是此句最动人的地方。此句以「矿灯—隧洞—蜗行」三个意象层层叠加,把近代以来民族救亡图存的艰难历程写得具体可感,是「以意象写历史」的典范。
The lamp. I am your soot-blackened miner's lamp on your brow, lighting you as you crawl like a snail through history's tunnel. The soot-blackened miner's lamp lighting the snail-crawl through history's tunnel is the second image. To have lit the tunnel would be a lighting; the i-am-your-soot-blackened-miner's-lamp-on-your-brow-lighting-you-as-you-crawl-like-a-snail-through-history's-tunnel is the lighting.
我是干瘪的稻穗,是失修的路基,是淤滩上的驳船。
I am the withered ear of the rice, the unrepaired roadbed, and the barge on the shoal.
我是干瘪的稻穗,是失修的路基,是搁浅在淤滩上的驳船。
I am the shriveled rice ear, the broken roadbed, the barge stranded on the mudflat.
此句是意象群的收束,连用三个「是」字短句,把苦难的意象推向密集与极致。「我是干瘪的稻穗」——稻穗本应饱满,而「干瘪」写其歉收:不是丰收的稻穗,而是干瘪的稻穗,写尽农民与土地的苦难;「是失修的路基」——路基本应坚实,而「失修」写其倾颓:道路失修,交通阻隔,写尽建设的停滞;「是淤滩上的驳船」——驳船本应在江河中航行,而「淤滩上的」写其搁浅:泥沙淤积,船陷滩涂,进退不得,写尽民族的困顿。三个意象(稻穗—路基—驳船)分别指向农业(粮食)、交通(道路)、航运(运输),覆盖了国家民生的基本面向,而修饰语「干瘪」「失修」「淤滩」全部指向匮乏与停滞——句式的排比(是……是……是……)与意象的同类(皆民生之象、皆破败之象)双重复沓,如连珠炮般把苦难罗列在读者面前,情感的重量层层累积。此句在节奏上尤见匠心:前两句四字短句(干瘪的稻穗、失修的路基),第三句六字稍长(淤滩上的驳船),由短而长、由急而缓,收束全节的排比,如鼓点渐密后的一声长叹。三「是」连用,每一「是」都是一次认同、一次承担——我就是这干瘪的稻穗、失修的路基、搁浅的驳船,祖国的苦难无一不与我血肉相连,全节的深情至此而极。
The barge. I am the shriveled rice ear, the broken roadbed, the barge stranded on the mudflat. The shriveled rice ear and broken roadbed and stranded barge are the close. To have been the barge would be a being; the i-am-the-shriveled-rice-ear-the-broken-roadbed-the-barge-stranded-on-the-mudflat is the being.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Ai Qing's 'I Love This Land' — 'why do my eyes always hold the tears? Because I love this land so deeply' — is the sorrowful love of the land; Shu Ting's 'My Motherland, My Dear Motherland' is the identifying love — the poet as the waterwheel and the barge — the two loves of the modern poetry of the motherland, the one weeping, the other pulling.
艾青《我爱这土地》「为什么我的眼里常含泪水?因为我对这土地爱得深沉」以「嘶哑的喉咙」歌唱「被暴风雨所打击着的土地」,是抗战时期忧患之爱的绝唱;舒婷《祖国啊,我亲爱的祖国》「我是你河边上破旧的老水车」以「我是你……」的认同承担祖国的苦难,是文革后反思之爱的名篇。二诗同以「苦难的土地/祖国」为抒情对象,同以「我」与「土地/祖国」的血肉相连为情感核心,差异在时代与手法:艾青写于民族危亡之际,情感炽烈直露,如烈火;舒婷写于历史转折之后,情感沉郁内敛,如深潭。艾青以「鸟」自况(我是一只鸟),舒婷以「水车、矿灯」自况,皆物我交融;「忧患与挚爱并存」的爱国传统,由艾青传至舒婷,一脉相承而各有时代之声。
致橡树 To the Oak Tree 舒婷 · 同为舒婷代表作,一写男女之爱一写家国之爱,共见「我」的觉醒 Both are the famous poems of Shu Ting — the equality of the love, the identification of the motherland — the two declarations of the same poet.Shu Ting's 'To the Oak Tree' declares the equal love — the kapok standing with the oak; 'My Motherland, My Dear Motherland' declares the identification — the poet as the motherland's waterwheel and barge — the two declarations of Shu Ting, the one of the love, the other of the motherland.
《致橡树》「我如果爱你——绝不像攀援的凌霄花,借你的高枝炫耀自己」以木棉与橡树的并立写独立平等的爱情,是舒婷最著名的爱情诗;《祖国啊,我亲爱的祖国》「我是你河边上破旧的老水车」以「我是你……」的认同写血肉相连的家国之爱。二诗同为舒婷代表作,同为「我」的宣言:致橡树中「我必须是你近旁的一株木棉」是「我」的独立,祖国诗中「我是你河边上破旧的老水车」是「我」的承担——一在爱情中确立自我的独立人格,一在祖国中确立自我的担当意识,合观可见舒婷笔下「我」的两重面向:既要有独立之姿,也要有共难之义。同用「我是……」的排比(木棉/水车、矿灯),同以物象立骨,正见舒婷「意象抒情」的一贯风格。
回答 The Answer 北岛 · 同为文革后朦胧诗代表作,一冷峻反叛一深情承担,共见一代人的觉醒 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
北岛《回答》「卑鄙是卑鄙者的通行证,高尚是高尚者的墓志铭」以冷峻的警句宣告对旧世界的怀疑与反叛,是朦胧诗的「怀疑」之声;舒婷《祖国啊,我亲爱的祖国》「我是你河边上破旧的老水车」以深情的认同承担祖国的苦难,是朦胧诗的「深情」之声。二诗同为文革后朦胧诗的代表作,同为「我」的觉醒,而姿态迥异:北岛之「我」以「我不相信」的姿态反叛一切,舒婷之「我」以「我是你……」的姿态认同祖国——一个以怀疑撕裂旧世界,一个以深情重建新认同。合观可见朦胧诗内在的张力:既有北岛式的决绝反叛,也有舒婷式的温柔承担,共同构成文革后一代人精神觉醒的完整图景,也可见朦胧诗并非铁板一块,而是在「怀疑」与「深情」之间各有其声。