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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

贫交行

On Friendship Made in Poverty

杜甫

Du Fu

讽刺Satire 交谊Friendship

翻手为云覆手雨，纷纷轻薄何须数。
君不见管鲍贫时交，此道今人弃如土。

Turn the hand over and it is cloud; turn it back and it is rain;
Such shallow folk crowd in their numbers — why count them at all?
Can you not see the friendship of Guan and Bao in their poor days?
This way of friendship men today cast aside like earth.

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Meaning

Du Fu writes a severe little poem about the way human dealings turn with a man's fortune. A hand turned over brings clouds, turned back it brings rain: friends who were warm one season are cold the next. There are so many such light and frivolous people that it is not even worth reckoning them. Then the poet asks whether one has not heard of the friendship between Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya, formed when both were poor — and declares that this ancient bond is what people of his own day throw away as carelessly as a handful of soil.

翻手为云覆手雨，纷纷轻薄何须数。君不见管鲍贫时交，此道今人弃如土。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The first couplet compares a shifting friend to weather made by a turning hand, and then throws up its hands at the crowd of such people. The second couplet lifts the poem by asking a question and answers only by naming the opposite case. [Structure] The movement is from the present to the past and back: a generalized complaint, then a named example, then a present-tense verdict. The famous turn is the last word, 'earth', which makes the loss sound as cheap as the friendship was costly. [Imagery] The single image of the hand is doing all the work — palm up is cloud, palm down is rain, and the friend changes with the same ease as the sky over a field. Around that one image gathers a whole climate of fickleness: a crowd of shallow men, and then a contrast of one true friendship from the past.

【白话串讲】杜甫写《贫交行》：“翻手为云覆手雨，纷纷轻薄何须数”——“君不见管鲍贫时交，此道今人弃如土”——他写世态炎凉——管鲍之交如今被人弃如尘土。【意象与手法】此诗写世态，以感慨写世态，是杜甫的名篇。前二句写轻薄世态：「翻手为云覆手雨，纷纷轻薄何须数」写翻手为云覆手雨、纷纷轻薄何须数——写尽世态的炎凉；后二句写贫交传统：「君不见管鲍贫时交，此道今人弃如土」写君不见管鲍贫时交、此道今人弃如土——写尽今人的弃交。全诗以感慨写世态，写尽世态的炎凉与今人的弃交，是杜甫的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写世态，以感慨写世态，是杜甫的名篇。此诗写杜甫对势利之交的感慨。唐代门第观念与势利之风盛行，交友多趋炎附势，杜甫有感而作此诗，以管鲍贫交对照今人的轻薄。此诗写世态：翻手为云覆手雨，纷纷轻薄何须数——写翻手为云覆手雨、纷纷轻薄何须数，写尽世态的炎凉；君不见管鲍贫时交，此道今人弃如土——写君不见管鲍贫时交、此道今人弃如土，写尽今人的弃交。全诗以感慨写世态——那「翻手为云覆手雨」写尽世态的炎凉，「此道今人弃如土」写尽今人的弃交，写尽世态的炎凉与今人的弃交，是理解杜甫世情诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「翻手为云覆手雨，纷纷轻薄何须数」写世态的炎凉；「君不见管鲍贫时交，此道今人弃如土」写今人的弃交；以及全诗以感慨写世态、以典写交情的手法。

Background

Du Fu (712–770) spent the decade after the rebellion of 755 trapped in Chang'an, poor, sick, unable to obtain office and dependent on others, and it was during this stagnation that he wrote this poem. The tang had its powerful families and its habit of patronage, and association itself was a way of seeking advancement; the poet saw about him men who attached themselves where power was and dropped it where it was not. He titled the piece after the friendship of the poor — the tie that survives when there is nothing to gain. Du Fu's own friendships were real and lasting; he kept them with Li Bai and with Yan Wu, and he had ample cause to measure the present against the past.

此诗写世态，以感慨写世态，是杜甫的名篇。杜甫（712—770），字子美，自号少陵野老，祖籍襄阳（今湖北襄阳），生于河南巩县，唐代现实主义诗人，被誉为「诗圣」，其诗被称为「诗史」。此诗写杜甫对势利之交的感慨。唐代门第观念与势利之风盛行，交友多趋炎附势，杜甫有感而作此诗，以管鲍贫交对照今人的轻薄。此诗写世态：「翻手为云覆手雨，纷纷轻薄何须数」写翻手为云覆手雨、纷纷轻薄何须数——写尽世态的炎凉（翻手为云覆手雨，纷纷轻薄何须数）；「君不见管鲍贫时交，此道今人弃如土」写君不见管鲍贫时交、此道今人弃如土——写尽今人的弃交（君不见管鲍贫时交，此道今人弃如土）。全诗以感慨写世态，写尽世态的炎凉与今人的弃交，是理解杜甫世情诗的重要篇章。此诗写于杜甫客居长安时期。杜甫困守长安十年，饱尝世态炎凉，求仕无门、困顿潦倒，对趋炎附势的势利之交深有感触，故以「贫交」为题，追怀古人的贫贱之交而叹今人的凉薄。杜甫一生交游多真诚之士，如李白、严武等，然亦见惯人情翻覆，此诗正是其世情阅历的写照。

Art

This poem is built on one metaphor and then on one contrast. The hand is the whole first couplet: two halves, cloud and rain, and no comment; the bitter precision is carried by the bare verb of turning, which suggests a gesture so small and so common. The second couplet does the opposite — it names a specific historical pair, Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya, so that the abstract complaint acquires a standard. And the closing phrase is chosen for its humiliation: these men do not despise the old friendship, they discard it, and discard it as useless earth. Du Fu also opens with the address 'can you not see', the phrasing by which a poem catches a reader in its own argument. The shape is that of the indignant quatrain compressed to the length of a verdict.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以比喻写世态。「翻手为云覆手雨」以比喻写世态——那「为云」「覆手雨」写尽翻覆的世态，以比喻写尽世态的炎凉。其二，以议论写轻薄。「纷纷轻薄何须数」以议论写轻薄——那「纷纷轻薄」「何须数」写尽轻薄的众多，以议论写尽世态的炎凉。其三，以典故写贫交。「君不见管鲍贫时交」以典故写贫交——那「管鲍贫时交」用管鲍之交之典，以典故写尽贫交的珍贵。其四，以对照写弃交。「此道今人弃如土」以对照写弃交——那「弃如土」写尽今人的弃交，以对照写尽世态的炎凉。此外，此诗前二句写世态的炎凉，后二句写今人的弃交，由今及古，正是感慨诗「先刺今后怀古」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以感慨写世态，写尽世态的炎凉与今人的弃交，是杜甫的代表作。此诗还善于以「翻手」「覆手」的对举写交情之无常——那「翻手为云覆手雨」写一翻手为云、一覆手为雨，正是以手的瞬间翻覆写交情的瞬息万变，比喻警切而有力。又善以「君不见」的呼告唤起注意——「君不见管鲍贫时交」以呼告引出典故，正是以古今对照写感慨的写法，使诗更有感染力。

Allusions

The poem rests on two inherited things. 'Turning the hand and it is cloud, turning it and it is rain' has become a proverb about inconstancy; beneath it lies the older memory of the wandering lawyers of the Warring States who served whichever state paid them, and of the idiom this poem gave the language. The other is the story of Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya from the Records of the Grand Historian: the two traded together in their youth, and when they split the money Guan took the larger share, which Bao never judged greed, knowing his friend was poor; when they served different lords, standing by each other through defeat, Guan sighed that his mother gave him life and Bao understanding. Hence the standard phrase for friendship that does not falter in poverty. Du Fu sets the second story against the first and lets the reader do the arithmetic.

此诗的用语深植于世态与交友传统。「翻手为云覆手雨」令人想到「翻云覆雨」写反复无常的意象——也令人想到「人心难测」的意象；「轻薄」令人想到「轻薄」写轻浮的意象——也令人想到「轻薄儿」的意象；「管鲍」令人想到「管鲍之交」用管仲鲍叔牙之典——《史记》载管仲曰「生我者父母，知我者鲍子也」，也令人想到「管鲍贫时交」的意象；「弃如土」令人想到「弃如土」写弃之不惜的意象——也令人想到「视如敝屣」的意象。全诗化用翻手为云、轻薄、管鲍、弃如土的意象典故，以感慨写世态，正是杜甫「沉郁」而善议论、承交友传统写世情之本领。「管鲍贫时交」典出《史记·管晏列传》——管仲与鲍叔牙少时交好，管仲家贫，分财多取，鲍叔不以我为贪；管仲叹「生我者父母，知我者鲍子也」，后世以「管鲍之交」写贫贱不移的友情。杜甫以此对照今人「弃如土」，正见其古今之叹。又「翻手为云覆手雨」令人想到战国纵横家「朝秦暮楚」的反复无常，也令人想到成语「翻云覆雨」的由来，杜甫以此写势利之交的变幻，正见其以俗语入诗的警辟。

Commentary

The poem has always been read as one of Du Fu's indictments of his age, and critics have singled out the hand metaphor, which carries in four characters a whole weather of changing allegiance. Its later reputation rests equally on the last word: the true friendship is not valued, but thrown away like soil. It stands beside the long poem presented to the Left Grand Secretary, where the same poet complains that silk-clad youths do not starve while the learned wear the mistakes of their learning; and it continues the long line of writing in which a friendship is tested by poverty rather than by absence.

此诗历来被推为杜甫世情诗的名篇，也是中国诗写贫交的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以感慨写世态，沉郁顿挫」；近人更指出「翻手为云覆手雨」写世态的炎凉，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以四句的绝句写尽世态的炎凉与今人的弃交——那翻手为云，那覆手雨，那纷纷轻薄，那何须数，那管鲍，那贫时交，那此道，那今人，那弃如土，都写尽了杜甫笔下的贫交行；那「此道今人弃如土」更以对照写尽今人的弃交。此诗与杜甫《奉赠韦左丞丈二十二韵》（「纨袴不饿死」）同为世情名篇，一写「儒冠多误身」的感慨（奉赠韦左丞），一写「此道今人弃如土」的叹交（贫交行）；又与《史记》管鲍之交的典故传统一脉相承，可见中国诗写交友的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解杜甫世情诗的窗口，也是中国诗写贫交的经典——那弃如土的贫交，穿越千年，仍在诉说着世态的炎凉。

Prosody

Form A seven-jueju quatrain (jueju) of four lines诗·七言绝句

Rhyme Rhymes on the oblique 'yu' tones — to count, to earth — through in one rhyme. The obliqueness gives the closing a hard, downward sound, which matches the harshness of the subject.七绝，押「数」「土」韵（上声七麌/上声六语），一韵到底，音节沉郁

Tone pattern Four lines of seven characters, rhyming on a departing or rising oblique tone rather than a level one; the rhythm is clipped and the antithesis of hand against hand gives the first couplet a quick bounce before the poem stops.此诗为七言绝句，押仄声韵，一韵到底，音节沉郁，正合世态的沉郁。

Reading note Four lines only: the first couplet mocks, the second condemns, and the rhyme lands on the two closing words, 'count' and 'earth'. Because the rhyme is oblique, every ending of the lines is a slight snap rather than a ring, and that snap suits a poem of denunciation. Inside the first couplet, 'turn the hand' stands against 'turn the hand over' in quick succession, while the second couplet carries the whole contrast in its two proper names. Read the opening as a shrug, and the last four characters so that the discard sounds careless; this is the compressed, unornamented end of Du Fu's quatrains.此诗为七言绝句，四句——「翻手为云覆手雨，纷纷轻薄何须数。君不见管鲍贫时交，此道今人弃如土」，押仄韵（数、土），一韵到底，音节沉郁。全诗以感慨写世态：前二句写世态的炎凉（翻手为云覆手雨、纷纷轻薄何须数），后二句写今人的弃交（君不见管鲍贫时交、此道今人弃如土）。四句短章，前写世态，后写弃交，以「此道今人弃如土」写尽今人的弃交，正见杜甫「沉郁」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以沉郁的语调读「翻手为云覆手雨」的世态，以低回的语调读「此道今人弃如土」的弃交，结句要读得沉郁而有余韵，方能传达出杜甫的沉郁顿挫。杜甫绝句以「沉郁顿挫」著称，此诗正是其世情绝句的典范。

Line by line

翻手为云覆手雨，纷纷轻薄何须数

Turn the hand and it is cloud, turn it back and it is rain; such shallow men crowd by the score — why should anyone count them?

翻手为云覆手雨，纷纷轻薄何须数。

Turn the hand, cloud; turn it back, rain—the fickle crowd, why count them?

此二句是全诗写世态的核心，以翻手为云覆手雨写翻覆，以纷纷轻薄何须数写轻薄，写尽世态的炎凉，是千古名句。「翻手为云覆手雨」写翻手为云覆手雨——那「翻手为云」写翻手为云，「覆手雨」写覆手雨，写尽翻覆的世态；「纷纷轻薄何须数」写纷纷轻薄何须数——那「纷纷轻薄」写纷纷轻薄，「何须数」写何须数，写尽轻薄的众多。这句的深意在于：它以「翻手为云覆手雨」的翻覆与「纷纷轻薄何须数」的轻薄，写尽世态的炎凉——翻手为云覆手雨，那「翻手为云覆手雨」写尽翻覆的世态——翻手为云，覆手为雨，正是反复无常的写照，那「翻手」「覆手」写尽世态的炎凉；纷纷轻薄何须数，那「纷纷轻薄何须数」写尽轻薄的众多——纷纷轻薄，何须计数，正是趋炎附势的写照，那「何须数」写尽世态的炎凉；那「翻手为云覆手雨」写尽翻覆的世态，那「纷纷轻薄何须数」写尽轻薄的众多，一写翻覆，一写轻薄，写尽世态的炎凉——翻云覆雨而轻薄纷纷，正是势利之交的写照；此二句以翻覆、轻薄写尽世态的炎凉，也为后文的管鲍对照作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写世态的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「人心变得很快，势利小人很多」，则失其警辟；唯以「翻手为云覆手雨」写翻覆、「纷纷轻薄何须数」写轻薄，写尽世态的炎凉，也让此二句成为全诗写世态的核心。

The clouds. Turn the hand, cloud; turn it back, rain—the fickle crowd, why count them? The turn-hand-cloud and the turn-back-rain-fickle-crowd are the worldliness. To have turned the hand would be a turning; the turn-the-hand-cloud-turn-it-back-rain-the-fickle-crowd-why-count-them is the turning.

君不见管鲍贫时交，此道今人弃如土

Can you not see the friendship of Guan and Bao in their poor days? This way of friendship, men of today throw away like earth.

君不见管鲍贫时交，此道今人弃如土。

Do you not see Guan and Bao's friendship in poverty? This way modern men cast away like dirt.

此二句是全诗写弃交的核心，以君不见管鲍贫时交写管鲍，以此道今人弃如土写弃交，写尽今人的弃交，是千古名句。「君不见管鲍贫时交」写君不见管鲍贫时交——那「君不见」写君不见，「管鲍贫时交」写管鲍贫时交，写尽管鲍的贫交；「此道今人弃如土」写此道今人弃如土——那「此道」写此道，「今人弃如土」写今人弃如土，写尽今人的弃交。这句的深意在于：它以「君不见管鲍贫时交」的管鲍与「此道今人弃如土」的弃交，写尽今人的弃交——君不见管鲍贫时交，那「君不见管鲍贫时交」写尽管鲍的贫交——君不见管鲍贫时之交，正是贫交的写照，那「管鲍贫时交」写尽贫交的珍贵；此道今人弃如土，那「此道今人弃如土」写尽今人的弃交——此道今人弃如土，正是弃交的写照，那「弃如土」写尽今人的弃交；那「君不见管鲍贫时交」写尽管鲍的贫交，那「此道今人弃如土」写尽今人的弃交，一写管鲍，一写今人，写尽今人的弃交——管鲍贫交而今人弃之，正是今不如古的写照；此二句以管鲍、弃交写尽今人的弃交，也让此二句成为全诗写弃交的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「现在没有人讲真交情了」，则失其沉痛；唯以「君不见管鲍贫时交」写管鲍、「此道今人弃如土」写弃交，写尽今人的弃交，也让此二句成为全诗写弃交的核心。

Guan and Bao. Do you not see Guan and Bao's friendship in poverty? This way modern men cast away like dirt. The Guan-Bao-poverty-friendship and the modern-men-cast-away-dirt are the allusion. To have seen their friendship would be a seeing; the do-you-not-see-guan-and-bao's-friendship-in-poverty-this-way-modern-men-cast-away-like-dirt is the seeing.

Study

Word focus

翻 In 'turn the hand and it is cloud', the verb is to turn over, and it carries the whole first couplet: the same palm produces cloud and rain, so the friend's change is a trick of one gesture rather than a turning of fortune. 'Change' or 'become' would keep the sense but lose the mockery — the poet is naming a small, careless, repeatable action. 「翻手为云覆手雨」之「翻」字是写世态的关键词，一个「翻」字写尽世态的翻覆。翻者，翻转、反复也。杜甫以「翻手为云覆手雨」写世态，这个「翻」字至少有双重意味：其一，写云之翻——那「翻手为云覆手雨」写翻手为云覆手雨，那「翻」字写尽云雨的翻覆——翻手为云，正是反复无常的写照，那「翻」字写尽世态的炎凉；其二，写情之薄——那「翻」字更是写薄——翻，正见交情的翻覆，那「翻」字写尽势利的凉薄。以「翻」字写世态，正是杜甫写世情的枢纽——若换作「变」「化」等字，则或失其与「手为云」「覆手雨」的配合，或失其写翻的意味；唯「翻」字，以翻手为云覆手雨写尽云雨的翻覆与交情的凉薄，与「纷纷轻薄何须数」的轻薄相合，写尽世态的炎凉，也让「翻手为云覆手雨」成为全诗写世态的名句。

弃 In 'men of today throw it away like earth', the verb is to cast off, and the object that matters is the whole way of friendship. Its force is lightness: the tie is not hated or broken in anger but simply dropped as useless, and that indifference is what the closing image of earth confirms. A word meaning to deny or to abandon would be heavier, and would blunt the poet's surprise. 「此道今人弃如土」之「弃」字是写弃交的关键词，一个「弃」字写尽今人的弃交。弃者，抛弃、丢弃也。杜甫以「此道今人弃如土」写弃交，这个「弃」字至少有双重意味：其一，写道之弃——那「此道今人弃如土」写此道今人弃如土，那「弃」字写尽今人的弃道——弃如土，正是弃交的写照，那「弃」字写尽今人的弃交；其二，写情之薄——那「弃」字更是写薄——弃，正见交情的凉薄，那「弃」字写尽世态的炎凉。以「弃」字写弃交，正是杜甫写世情的枢纽——若换作「抛」「轻」等字，则或失其与「此道」「如土」的配合，或失其写弃的意味；唯「弃」字，以此道今人弃如土写尽今人的弃道与交情的凉薄，与「君不见管鲍贫时交」的管鲍相合，写尽今人的弃交，也让「此道今人弃如土」成为全诗写弃交的名句。

贫交行