All poems

先秦 Pre-Qin · 诗经 Classic of Poetry

鸿雁

The Wild Geese

诗经

Book of Songs

民生/讽喻livelihood, satire 战争/徭役war, corvee

鸿雁于飞，肃肃其羽。
之子于征，劬劳于野。
爰及矜人，哀此鳏寡。
鸿雁于飞，集于中泽。
之子于垣，百堵皆作。
虽则劬劳，其究安宅？
鸿雁于飞，哀鸣嗷嗷。
维此哲人，谓我劬劳。
维彼愚人，谓我宣骄。

The wild geese go flying; solemn, solemn their wings.
Those men go on the march, toiling in the open field.
And with them the pitiable ones, pity these widowers and widows.
The wild geese go flying, settling in the central marsh.
Those men build the wall; a hundred lengths of wall all rise.
Though they toil so, where at last will they dwell?
The wild geese go flying, their mournful cry ao-ao.
Only this wise man says I toil; that foolish man says I flaunt and boast.

Listen

Meaning

The wild geese spread their wings in flight, their feathers humming solemnly. Those men go off to serve, laboring in the wilderness. And among them the woeful ones, pity these widowers and widows. The wild geese fly, settling in the mid-marsh. Those men build the wall, and a hundred walls are raised. Though they labor so hard, in the end where will they lodge? The wild geese fly, their mournful cry ao-ao. Only this wise man knows my toil; that foolish man says I show off and rage.

鸿雁展翅飞，翅膀肃肃作响。那些人远行服役，在野地辛勤劳苦。连带那些可悯之人，更哀怜这无妻无夫的孤寡。鸿雁展翅飞，停留在沼泽中央。那些人筑墙垣，百堵高墙皆建起。虽然劳苦不堪，到头来何处安身？鸿雁展翅飞，哀鸣之声嗷嗷。唯有这明哲之人，知我劳苦；那些愚昧之人，反说我骄横逞强。

Appreciation

All three stanzas open by 'the wild geese go flying'; the wild goose, a migratory bird with fixed journeys and mournful flocks, is used by the poet to symbolize the drifting and crying of the exiled, conscripted people, the stirring image is whole. The three stanzas move from 'toiling in the field' to 'a hundred walls rise' to 'mournful cry', layer by layer showing the conscripted people's passage from labor, to wall-building, to crying their wrong. In phrasing, 'those men go on the march' and 'those men build the wall' use 'those men' to mean the laborers broadly and vaguely; the last stanza's contrast of 'this wise man, that foolish man' points out the world's reversed black and white, especially grievous. Comparison and stir together, from object to person, plain in language yet heavy in feeling, a model of the Xiao Ya's 'the hungry sing of their food, the toilers sing of their work'.

【白话串讲】 “鸿雁于飞，肃肃其羽”——大雁飞过，翅膀肃肃响。“之子于征，劬劳于野”——那人远行，在野外辛苦劳作。“维此哲人，谓我劬劳。维彼愚人，谓我宣骄”——懂我的人说我辛苦，不懂我的人说我张扬。【意象与手法】全诗三章皆以“鸿雁于飞”起兴，鸿雁本为候鸟，迁徙有定、哀鸣成群，诗人借以象征流离役民之飘泊与悲鸣，兴象浑成【情感与主旨】《鸿雁》为《诗经·小雅》中的役民之诗。《毛诗序》谓“美宣王也，万民离散，不安其居，而能劳来还定安集之，故劳之” 【名句点睛】中高考常考：一、起兴手法，“鸿雁于飞，肃肃其羽”如何以雁喻人、奠定漂泊悲鸣基调

Background

The Wild Geese is a poem of conscripted people in the Book of Songs, Xiao Ya. The Mao Preface says 'praise of King Xuan: the myriad people scattered, not at peace in their dwellings, yet he could labor, bring back, settle and gather them, hence he toils them'; yet reading the poem's sense, it truly writes the Zhou corvee people forced to migrate afar and build cities in toil, and the differing attitudes of the 'wise man' and 'foolish man' toward their hardship. The lines 'those men build the wall, a hundred lengths all rise' write the wall-building corvee; 'widowers and widows' writes the misery of dispersal; 'flaunt and boast' speaks the wrong of laborers being called arrogant. The old reading ties it to King Xuan's revival and the return of scattered people, but the poem's lament of toil without home more reflects the common hardship of bottom-layer people under the pre-Qin corvee system, a realistic work full of the people's suffering.

《鸿雁》是《诗经·小雅》中的一篇，属《鸿雁之什》之首。关于此诗主旨，历来众说纷纭，主要有三说：一是《毛诗序》以为“美宣王也。万民离散，不安其居，而能劳来还定安集之”，谓周宣王使流民安定；二是《诗三家义集疏》以为“宣王劳使臣也”；三是朱熹《诗集传》以为“流民以鸿雁哀鸣自比而作此歌”。综观全诗三章，以鸿雁起兴，写“之子于征”的劬劳，兼及鳏寡孤独之哀，及“维此哲人，谓我劬劳；维彼愚人，谓我宣骄”的慨叹，当是流民或役者自道其劳苦之作。周宣王中兴之际，百姓离散，徭役繁重，诗人借鸿雁之哀鸣写人间之劳苦，正是《诗经》以鸟兽草木起兴、托物言志的典型。

Art

All three stanzas open by 'the wild geese go flying'; the wild goose, a migratory bird with fixed journeys and mournful flocks, is used by the poet to symbolize the drifting and crying of the exiled, conscripted people, the stirring image is whole. The three stanzas move from 'toiling in the field' to 'a hundred walls rise' to 'mournful cry', step by step showing the conscripted people's passage from labor, to wall-building, to crying their wrong. In phrasing, 'those men go on the march' and 'those men build the wall' use 'those men' to generalize the laborers, implicit yet wide; the last stanza's contrast of 'this wise man, that foolish man' points out the world's reversed right and wrong, especially grievous. Bi and xing together, from object to person, plain in language yet heavy in feeling, a model of the Xiao Ya's 'the hungry sing of their food, the toilers sing of their work'.

此诗艺术上以“鸿雁”起兴贯穿三章，兴中有比、比中有赋，层层递进。首章“鸿雁于飞，肃肃其羽”以鸿雁振翅的“肃肃”之声起兴，引出“之子于征，劬劳于野”的役者之劳，复以“爰及矜人，哀此鳏寡”点出对孤弱者的哀悯——鸿雁之飞，正比流民之奔波。二章“鸿雁于飞，集于中泽”写鸿雁栖止于泽中，引出“之子于垣，百堵皆作”的筑城之劳，“虽则劬劳，其究安宅”以反问写劳者无居所的悲哀——鸿雁尚有泽可集，劳者竟无宅可安。三章“鸿雁于飞，哀鸣嗷嗷”以哀鸣写鸿雁之悲，引出“维此哲人，谓我劬劳；维彼愚人，谓我宣骄”的知音之叹——知我者谓我心忧，不知我者谓我何求。三章以鸿雁的飞行姿态（飞、集、鸣）为线索，由振翅而栖止而哀鸣，情思也由劳苦而悲凉而愤慨，兴象与情意浑然一体。全诗语言质朴，重章叠句，一唱三叹，正是《诗经》民歌风调的典范。

Allusions

The 'wild goose' as a symbol of mournful drifting has one of its classic sources here; later 'mournful wild geese fill the field' and the 'wild goose' of 'wild geese carry letters', the 'mournful goose' image stems from this (the Book of Songs uses the wild goose to figure the scattered people). 'Widowers and widows' comes from Mencius: 'old without a wife is gui, old without a husband is gua'; here set beside 'the pitiable ones' to write the misery of dispersal. 'Flaunt and boast', 'flaunt' means to show, display; 'says I flaunt and boast' means they accuse the toiler of showing off and raging, writing the wrong in reverse. 'A hundred walls rise' uses the Book of Songs' common building phrase (as in 'A hundred walls all rise' of Da Ya). The allusions are plain, all touching the people's hardship, fitting the Xiao Ya's 'ya means correct' politico-moral tradition.

此诗本身是《诗经》中“以鸟起兴”的源头作品，后世“鸿雁”意象即由此而来。“鸿雁”自此成为漂泊流离、哀鸣无告的象征，后世诗歌中“鸿雁传书”“哀鸿遍野”等意皆滥觞于此。诗中“肃肃其羽”“哀鸣嗷嗷”以声写形，是《诗经》状物起兴的典型手法；“鳏寡”一词指老而无妻、老而无夫者，出《孟子》“老而无妻曰鳏，老而无夫曰寡”，亦是经典语汇。“哲人”“愚人”相对，见出知音难遇之叹，遥启后世“知我者谓我心忧”一系的感慨。全诗用典无痕，而本身即是典故之源，正可见《诗经》作为中国诗歌源头的不朽价值。

Commentary

The Mao Preface holds the 'praise of King Xuan' reading, that he gathered the scattered people; Zhu Xi's Poetry Commentary follows the preface. Yet the Qing Fang Yurun, in Origin of the Book of Songs, already doubted it, taking the poem as 'truly writing the toiling people's hardship'. The modern Yu Guanying, in his Selection, plainly calls it 'a conscripted people's sad song'; lines like 'pity these widowers and widows' and 'says I flaunt and boast' exhaust the pain of the bottom layer crying wrong with no door. Its 'mournful goose' image reached far, becoming a classic sign in later writing for the people's hardship.

《鸿雁》一诗，是《诗经》中写劳苦与哀鸣的名篇。朱熹《诗集传》以为“流民以鸿雁哀鸣自比”，最能得此诗之神；《毛诗序》以为“美宣王”，虽属美刺附会，然亦见周人安集流民之意。今人多取流民自伤之说，以为此诗写役者或流民之劳苦。全诗三章，重章叠句，一唱三叹，以鸿雁起兴而兴象天然，正是《诗经》“兴”体的典范。后二句“维此哲人，谓我劬劳；维彼愚人，谓我宣骄”，以哲人、愚人对举，写出劳者不被理解的悲哀，尤为沉痛。此诗与《诗经》中《式微》《北门》等同为劳苦怨刺之作，而此诗以鸿雁为喻，意象更为鲜明，故后世“哀鸿”遂成流民之代称。

Prosody

Form Book of Songs, Xiao Ya (four-character verse)四言诗（《诗经·小雅》）

Rhyme wings, field, widows (fish group); marsh, rise, dwell (duo group); cry, toil, boast (xiao group). Three stanzas change rhyme《鸿雁》三章，每章六句，四言为主。用韵：首章“羽、野、寡”（鱼部），二章“泽、作、宅”（铎部），三章“嗷、劳、骄”（宵部），各章一韵，重章叠句，一唱三叹。四言句式整齐，音节短促，与劳苦哀鸣的内容相称。

Tone pattern Four-character, two-two beat, tone follows the music《诗经》四言，以二字一顿、四字成句，节奏齐整而沉稳。此诗三章皆以“鸿雁于飞”起兴，重章叠句，声情往复；每章末二句转出悲慨，如“哀此鳏寡”“其究安宅”“谓我宣骄”，句式顿挫，情感层层加深。四言的质朴与重章的往复，正合民歌一唱三叹的风调，是《诗经》正格。

Reading note Repeated stanzas led by 'the wild geese go flying', from object to person, step by step.《鸿雁》为《诗经·小雅》四言正体。四言诗以两字一顿、四字成句，节奏沉稳而单纯，正宜于歌咏劳动与哀怨。《诗经》之体，重章叠句是其最大特色，此诗三章句式几乎全同，仅换数字而意境递进——由“肃肃其羽”之飞，到“集于中泽”之集，再到“哀鸣嗷嗷”之鸣，鸿雁的情态层层推进，劳者的悲慨也随之加深。这种“重章叠句、层层递进”的章法，正是《诗经》民歌的核心技法，对后世《古诗十九首》、乐府民歌的复沓章法有深远影响。四言虽短，而兴象之富、情思之深，尽在其中。

Line by line

鸿雁于飞，肃肃其羽。之子于征，劬劳于野。爰及矜人，哀此鳏寡。

The wild geese fly, whirring their wings. That man sets out to serve, toiling in the wilds; and this hardship touches the wretched, pitiable the widowed and the lone.

鸿雁振翅飞翔，羽毛发出肃肃之声。这个人出行服役，在旷野中辛苦劳作。这种劳苦牵连到孤苦之人，可哀的是那些鳏夫寡妇。

The wild geese fly, whirring their wings. That man goes forth on service, toiling in the wilds; the hardship reaches even the pitiable—the widowed and the alone.

首章以鸿雁起兴，写役者之劳。“鸿雁于飞，肃肃其羽”以鸿雁振翅的肃肃之声起兴，声象俱现，点出奔波之态；“之子于征，劬劳于野”由鸿雁转写役者——那远行服役的人，在旷野中劬劳不止。以“劬劳”二字写役之重，以“于野”写地之荒。末二句“爰及矜人，哀此鳏寡”由个体推向群体——“矜人”是可怜之人，“鳏寡”是无依之民，劳苦已不独役者身受，更波及孤弱无告者。一个“哀”字，是全章的情感核心：诗人不是冷眼旁观，而是满含悲悯地注视着这些苦命人。首章由鸿雁而役者而鳏寡，由物及人、由人及群，层层推开，见出《诗经》写劳苦的深度。

The geese. The wild geese fly, whirring their wings. That man sets out to serve, toiling in the wilds; and this hardship touches the wretched, pitiable the widowed and the lone. The wild-geese-fly-whirring-wings and the man-sets-out-toil-wilds and the hardship-touches-wretched-widowed-lone are the opening. To have flown would be a flying; the the-wild-geese-fly-whirring-their-wings-that-man-sets-out-to-serve-toiling-in-the-wilds-and-this-hardship-touches-the-wretched-pitiable-the-widowed-and-the-lone is the flying.

鸿雁于飞，集于中泽。之子于垣，百堵皆作。虽则劬劳，其究安宅？

The wild geese fly, settling in the marsh. That man builds walls, a hundred walls all raised. Though he toils so sorely, where shall his own dwelling be?

鸿雁飞翔，栖止于泽中。这个人筑墙劳作，百堵高墙都已筑成。虽然如此辛劳，最终哪里能安身呢？

The wild geese fly and settle in the middle of the marsh. That man builds walls; a hundred partitions all rise. Though he toils so hard, where is his own home?

二章写役者筑城的劳苦与无居的悲哀。“鸿雁于飞，集于中泽”写鸿雁栖止于泽中，有枝可依、有泽可集；“之子于垣，百堵皆作”写役者筑墙——“垣”是墙，“百堵”极言其多，“皆作”写其尽力。鸿雁能集于泽，役者筑成百堵之墙，却“虽则劬劳，其究安宅”——这样辛劳，最终又有何处安身？这一反问是全章的警策：筑墙者无墙可居，造屋者无屋可住，与《诗经·伐檀》“不稼不穑”的批判一脉相承。以鸿雁之集反衬役者之无宅，兴象与悲慨相激，是《诗经》以乐景写哀的早期范例。

The walls. The wild geese fly, settling in the marsh. That man builds walls, a hundred walls all raised. Though he toils so sorely, where shall his own dwelling be? The wild-geese-settle-marsh and the man-builds-walls-hundred-raised and the though-toils-where-own-dwelling are the irony. To have settled in the marsh would be a settling; the the-wild-geese-fly-settling-in-the-marsh-that-man-builds-walls-a-hundred-walls-all-raised-though-he-toils-so-sorely-where-shall-his-own-dwelling-be is the settling.

鸿雁于飞，哀鸣嗷嗷。维此哲人，谓我劬劳。维彼愚人，谓我宣骄。

The wild geese fly, wailing their mournful cry. Only the wise man says, "he toils"; the fool says, "he boasts and swaggers."

鸿雁飞翔，发出嗷嗷的哀鸣。只有这明智的人，知道我的辛劳；那些愚昧的人，反说我骄纵放肆。

The wild geese fly, wailing their mournful cry. Only the wise man says of me, "he toils"; the fool says of me, "he shows off."

三章写不被理解的悲哀，是全诗情感的高潮。“鸿雁于飞，哀鸣嗷嗷”以鸿雁的哀鸣起兴——由首章的“肃肃其羽”（振翅声）到二章的“集于中泽”（栖止）再到此章的“哀鸣嗷嗷”，鸿雁之声由振翅而哀鸣，情思也由劳苦而悲愤。“维此哲人，谓我劬劳”写知音之理解——“哲人”知我辛苦；“维彼愚人，谓我宣骄”写愚者之误解——“愚人”反说我骄纵。“宣骄”二字尤为沉痛：劳者最怕的不是辛苦，而是辛苦被人歪曲为骄纵。全章以哲人、愚人对举，写出劳者孤独的处境，也写出诗人深沉的愤慨。此章与《黍离》“知我者谓我心忧，不知我者谓我何求”同一机杼，是《诗经》写知音难遇的千古绝唱。

The cry. The wild geese fly, wailing their mournful cry. Only the wise man says, "he toils"; the fool says, "he boasts and swaggers." The wild-geese-wail-mournful and the wise-man-says-toils and the fool-says-boasts are the close. To have wailed would be a wailing; the the-wild-geese-fly-wailing-their-mournful-cry-only-the-wise-man-says-he-toils-the-fool-says-he-boasts-and-swaggers is the wailing.

Study

Word focus

肃肃 The word 'solemn' (a reduplicative) writes the sound of the geese's wings, at once the hush of flight and the grave, mournful air that sets the whole poem's drifting, lamenting tone. “鸿雁于飞，肃肃其羽”之“肃肃”，状鸿雁振翅之声。叠字写声，是《诗经》的典型手法——“肃肃”双声，读来如闻羽翼搏击之声，声象俱现。此字既是实写鸿雁飞动之声，也暗含肃杀劳苦之意：飞鸿振翅，正似役者奔波。以声起兴，由声入情，一个叠字即见《诗经》状物之精。

劬劳 'Toil' means hard, weary labor; repeated across the stanzas it gathers the conscripted people's suffering into one heavy, recurring word. “之子于征，劬劳于野”之“劬劳”，指辛苦劳累，是全诗写役者之苦的核心词。“劬”本义劳苦，“劬劳”连用，加重语气，极言其劳累。此词自《诗经》而出，后世遂为“劳苦”的经典语汇（如《孟子》“父母劬劳”）。在诗中，“劬劳”不仅写体力之劳，更含精神之哀——劳于野而无所归，劳于心而无入解，正是“劬劳”的深层意蕴。

哀鸣 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “鸿雁于飞，哀鸣嗷嗷”之“哀鸣”，写鸿雁的悲鸣，是全诗由物及情的枢纽。“嗷嗷”本写众声喧杂，此处写鸿雁群飞之哀鸣，声悲而情切。鸿雁之“哀鸣”，实是劳者心声的投射——飞鸿无依而哀鸣，劳者无告而悲吟。以哀鸣写悲情，兴象与情意合一，正是《诗经》“兴”体的高境。后“哀鸿遍野”之语，即由此“哀鸣嗷嗷”化出。

宣骄 'Flaunt and boast', 'flaunt' means to show or display; 'says I flaunt and boast' means the toiler is accused of showing off and raging, the reversed charge that writes their unredressed wrong. “维彼愚人，谓我宣骄”之“宣骄”，意为骄纵放肆，是全诗最见愤慨的一词。劳者辛苦，愚人反讥其骄纵——“宣”有张扬、显露之意，谓其把辛劳张扬成骄态。这一误解对劳者而言，比辛苦本身更难忍受：身已劬劳，心复受谤，正是“维彼愚人”的悲哀。“宣骄”二字，把不被理解的愤慨写得入骨，是全诗情感爆发的焦点。

鸿雁