先秦 Pre-Qin · 诗经 Classic of Poetry
简兮
The Drumbeat (Jian Xi)
简兮简兮，方将万舞。
日之方中，在前上处。
硕人俣俣，公庭万舞。
有力如虎，执辔如组。
左手执籥，右手秉翟。
赫如渥赭，公言锡爵。
山有榛，隰有苓。
云谁之思？
西方美人。
彼美人兮，西方之人兮。
The sun stands at its noon; the dancer takes the front, upper place.
That tall man, stately and strong, performs the great dance in the lord's court.
His strength is like a tiger's; he holds the reins as if they were a silken braid.
In his left hand the flute-pipe; in his right he bears the pheasant plume.
Glowing like reddened ochre, the lord speaks and grants him a cup.
On the hills grow hazels; in the lowlands grows the ling herb.
Whom, then, do I ponder? The beauty of the west.
That beauty of mine, a man of the western land.
Meaning
The drum sounds jian-xi; the great dance is about to be performed. The sun is at its height, and the dancer stands in the front upper place. That tall, stalwart man performs the great dance in the lord's courtyard; his strength is like a tiger's, and he holds the reins as easily as a silken cord. In his left hand a reed-pipe, in his right a pheasant feather; his face glows as if daubed with red ochre, and the lord speaks and grants him a cup of wine. On the mountain grow hazels, in the marsh the ling herb. Who is it I think of? The beauty of the west. That beauty, a man of the western land.
鼓声简简作响啊，正要表演万舞。太阳正当中天，舞者在前排上位。那高大的人儿魁梧健美，在公庭跳着万舞。有力气像猛虎，执着马缰如执丝带般从容。左手拿着籥管，右手举着雉羽。红光满面如涂赭石，公侯开口赐他酒爵。山上有榛树，洼地有苓草。说是思念谁呢？是那西方的美人。那美人啊，是西方的人儿啊。
Appreciation
This poem's art lies in the tension between spreading description and the turning close. The first three stanzas move like a tracking shot: first we hear the drum jian-xi and the naming of the great dance, then the dancer's place 'at the sun's noon, in front above', then a close-up of the dancer's stature 'tall and grand', his 'tiger strength, reins like a braid', his 'flute-pipe and plume', and his honored 'glowing face, the lord's cup', layer upon layer of vivid, sculpted motion. The last stanza suddenly shifts key: 'On the hills grow hazels, in the lowlands the ling' stirs the thought, leading to 'Whom do I ponder? The beauty of the west', a private longing dropping from the grand public scene into intimate admiration, opening wide then closing near. Masculine vigor and tender feeling stand side by side; the image is bright yet the aftertone lingers, one of the most dramatic pieces in the Airs.
【白话串讲】 “简兮简兮，方将万舞。硕人俣俣，公庭万舞”——《简兮》写一个舞者：高大健美，在公庭上跳万舞。“有力如虎，执辔如组”——有力如虎，握缰如丝。“云谁之思？西方美人”——她在思念一个西方来的舞者。 【意象与手法】本诗艺术在「铺陈」与「转结」的张力。前三章如镜头推移：先闻鼓声「简兮」、点明「万舞」，再写日中舞者「在前上处」的位置，继而特写舞师「硕人俣俣」的魁伟、「有力如虎，执辔如组」的英武、「左手执籥，右手秉翟」的优雅，以及「赫如渥赭，公言锡爵」的荣宠，层层渲染，画面极具雕塑感与动感。末章忽作变调：「山有榛，隰有苓」起兴，引出「云谁之思？西方美人」的幽微相思，由壮阔的公开场面跌入私密的倾慕，大开大合。全诗阳刚与柔情并峙，兴象明朗而复余韵绵邈。 【情感与主旨】《简兮》属《诗经·国风·邶风》，为先秦周代作品，作者佚名。关于诗旨，历来分歧甚大：《毛诗序》谓「刺不用贤也」，以舞师为沉沦下僚的贤者自况；朱熹《诗集传》亦从「贤者隐于伶官」说。然自清人方玉润起，多以为此乃「女子观舞、倾慕舞师」之作，末章「西方美人」为女子对所慕男子的昵称。 【名句点睛】本诗为《诗经》选读篇目，考试重点：①「有力如虎，执辔如组」的比喻与人物形象；②末章「山有榛，隰有苓」的起兴与「西方美人」的所指之争；③铺陈与转结的章法。
Background
Jian Xi belongs to the Book of Songs, Airs, Bei Feng, a pre-Qin Zhou work, its author anonymous. On the poem's meaning opinions have long diverged: the Mao Preface says 'satire on not employing the worthy; the worthy man of Wei, serving as a music officer, had his ability unspent and was left unused', taking the dancer as a worthy man grieving his own obscurity; Zhu Xi's Poetry Commentary also follows the 'worthy man hidden among the music officers' reading. Yet since the Qing scholar Fang Yurun, many take it as 'a woman watching the dance and admiring the dancer', with the last stanza's 'beauty of the west' a term of endearment for the man she admires ('west' meaning the Zhou capital or a direction). Whether a worthy man's self-sorrow or a man-and-woman admiration, the 'great dance' scene is historically real, the great dance was a major Zhou ceremonial dance, martial and civil, common in ancestral sacrifice and court assembly. The poem preserves for us a vivid record of Western Zhou dance, and also reflects the ancients' praise of stalwart beauty.
《简兮》属《诗经·国风·邶风》，为先秦周代作品，作者佚名。关于诗旨，历来分歧甚大：《毛诗序》谓「刺不用贤也。卫之贤者，仕于伶官，能者无所施，而不见用」，以为舞师乃沉沦下僚的贤者，诗写其怀才不遇之慨；朱熹《诗集传》亦从「贤者隐于伶官」说。然自清人方玉润《诗经原始》起，多以为此乃「女子观舞、倾慕舞师」之作，末章「西方美人」为女子对所慕男子的昵称（西方指周都或方位），闻一多《风诗类钞》亦主此说。无论贤者自伤或男女相慕，诗中所写「万舞」场景真实可考：「万舞」为周代大型乐舞，分武舞（执干戚）与文舞（执羽籥），用于宗庙祭祀与朝会，见于《左传》《墨子》等典籍。此诗为我们保留了西周乐舞的生动实况，亦折射出古人对健硕之美的赞赏，是研究先秦礼乐制度与审美观念的重要文献。《简兮》所写的万舞，是周代礼乐制度的重要组成部分，此诗为后世保留了万舞表演的生动细节，其史料价值与文学价值并重；无论诗旨作何解释，诗中舞师形象之英武、乐舞场面之盛大，皆真实反映了周代庙堂乐舞的盛况，是研究先秦礼乐文化与诗歌关系的珍贵文献。
Art
The poem's craft lies in the tension between spreading description and the turning close. The first three stanzas track like a camera: we hear the drum jian-xi, learn of the great dance, see the dancer 'at the sun's height, in front above', then a close-up of his 'tall and grand' frame, his 'tiger strength, reins like a braid', his 'flute and plume', and his 'glowing, lord-granted cup', built up in layers, sculptural and kinetic. The last stanza suddenly changes mode: 'On the hills grow hazels, in the lowlands the ling' stirs and leads to 'Whom do I ponder? The beauty of the west', from the vast public spectacle down to a private devotion, a grand opening and a near close. Strength and tenderness face each other; the image lucid, the resonance long, among the Airs a highly dramatic page.
本诗艺术在「铺陈」与「转结」的张力。前三章如镜头推移，层层渲染：首章先闻鼓声「简兮简兮」，以声起兴，点明「方将万舞」，再写「日之方中，在前上处」，以日中与前列写舞者登场之瞩目；二章特写舞师「硕人俣俣」的魁伟身姿，「有力如虎，执辔如组」以虎喻力、以组（丝带）喻执缰之从容，英武中见优雅；三章续写其「左手执籥，右手秉翟」的娴熟技艺与「赫如渥赭，公言锡爵」的荣宠场面，由舞姿写到赏赐，画面极具雕塑感与动感。末章忽作变调：「山有榛，隰有苓」起兴，引出「云谁之思？西方美人」的幽微相思，由壮阔的公开场面跌入私密的倾慕，大开大合。全诗阳刚与柔情并峙，兴象明朗而复余韵绵邈，是国风中极富戏剧性的一篇。全诗前三章以铺陈写舞师之全：由登场而形貌而技艺而荣宠，层层推进，如雕塑之逐一成形；末章以起兴转出相思，由公开场面转入私密情怀，一放一收，大开大合，这种章法上的强烈对比，在《诗经》中极为罕见，正是此诗艺术上的独到之处。
Allusions
The 'great dance' was a famous Zhou ceremonial dance, recorded in the Zuo Commentary and the Mozi, divided into martial (shield-and-axe) and civil (feather-and-pipe) parts, used in ancestral sacrifice and court assembly; here the dancer masters both ('reins like a braid' the martial, 'flute and plume' the civil), showing his skill. The 'flute-pipe' is a three-holed pipe, the 'plume' a pheasant feather, both civil-dance props. 'Grant a cup' means to present a wine-cup, the ancient rite of honoring after the dance. 'The beauty of the west', 'west' has three old readings: the west as the Zhou capital (King Wen's seat), a direction, or the man the woman admires. The phrase 'beauty of the west' later came to stand for the ideal worthy or the longed-for one. All allusions rest on Zhou ritual-music institutions; nothing obscure, yet culturally rich.
诗中「万舞」为周代著名乐舞，《左传》庄公二十八年载「楚令尹子元欲蛊文夫人，为馆于其宫侧而振万焉」，言万舞为武舞；《墨子·非乐》亦载万舞之用。万舞分武舞（执干戚以象战阵）与文舞（执羽籥以象文治），此诗写舞师「执辔如组」状其武、「执籥秉翟」状其文，兼擅二者，可见其技艺之全。「籥」为三孔笛类乐器，「翟」为雉羽，皆文舞道具；「锡爵」即赐酒爵，古者礼成赐爵以示荣宠，见《周礼》饮酒之礼。「西方美人」之「西方」，旧有三说：一指周都镐京之西（周人西土），以喻贤者；二指方位；三指女子所慕男子。成语「西方美人」后世遂用以代指理想中的贤者或所思之人，其典即出此诗。全诗用典皆本于周礼乐制度，无生僻故实而文化含量丰厚。籥翟之执、锡爵之赐，皆有周礼可考：籥为文舞之器，翟为雉羽，执籥秉翟正见其兼擅文武；锡爵之礼，则见公侯对其技艺的认可，舞师由艺人而受赏，其荣耀可见。诗中礼乐制度的细节如此精确，正见诗人对周礼的熟悉，也使我们得以借此一窥西周乐舞文化的堂奥。
Commentary
The meaning of Jian Xi has been debated for ages. The Mao Preface holds 'satire on not employing the worthy', with the dancer as a worthy man grieving his own obscurity; Zhu Xi follows it. The Qing scholar Fang Yurun, in Origin of the Book of Songs, offered a fresh reading: 'a woman merely seeing the dancer's beauty and longing for him', opening the 'man-and-woman admiration' reading, which moderns mostly accept. Wen Yiduo's Classified Poems of the Airs also takes it as admiration of the dancer. Critics prize its 'spread then turn' structure: after the grand dance suddenly comes 'the beauty of the west', one deep feeling, strength and tenderness facing each other; 'the beauty of the west' became a common phrase in later poetry, proof of its far reach.
《简兮》旨意，古今聚讼。《毛诗序》主「刺不用贤」，以舞师为贤者自伤；朱熹从之，以为「贤者隐于伶官」。清人方玉润《诗经原始》独出新解，以为「此女徒见舞师之美，而思慕之词」，开「男女相慕」一说，近人闻一多《风诗类钞》、高亨《诗经今注》多从之。论者或以「前铺后转」赏其章法：于壮阔万舞之后忽接「西方美人」的一往情深，阳刚柔情并峙，大开大合，在国风中别具一格。诗中「有力如虎，执辔如组」的英武形象，与末章「云谁之思」的缠绵相思，构成强烈的戏剧性对照，无论作何解读，其塑造人物之生动、章法转折之奇峭，皆为后世所称赏。「西方美人」一词更成为后世诗文习用语，足见其影响之深远。《简兮》诗旨虽聚讼纷纭，然其文学价值则众论一致：无论作「刺不用贤」的贤者自伤读，还是作「女子慕舞师」的倾慕之词读，诗中对人物的塑造、对场景的铺陈、对情感的表达，皆臻于妙境；此诗与《关雎》《蒹葭》等同为国风名篇，其旨趣之多元，正体现了《诗经》文本的开放性，也是其历久弥新的魅力所在。
Prosody
Line by line
简兮简兮，方将万舞。
Beat on, beat on the drums; the Great Dance is about to begin.
鼓声简简作响，正要表演万舞。
Beat on, beat on the drums; the great dance is just about to begin.
以鼓声起兴，点明乐舞场面：「简兮简兮」是摹拟鼓声的象声词，叠用之下，如闻鼓点骤起、声势夺人；「方将万舞」写万舞即将开始，一个「方」字点出演出的时序。两句先声夺人，未见舞者而鼓声已至，为舞师的登场营造了浓烈的仪式氛围。以声起兴是《诗经》惯技，此处更以鼓声定下全诗雄壮威武的基调，与后文舞师的阳刚之美相呼应，是开篇即见功力的起兴。
The drums. Beat on, beat on the drums; the Great Dance is about to begin. The beat-on-drums and the Great-Dance-about-begin are the opening. To have beaten on the drums would be a beating; the beat-on-beat-on-the-drums-the-great-dance-is-about-to-begin is the beating.
有力如虎，执辔如组。
Strong as a tiger, he holds the reins as lightly as a silken braid.
有力气像猛虎，执着马缰如执丝带般从容。
Strong as a tiger, he holds the reins as though they were a silken braid.
比喻写武舞英武，两句写尽舞师的力与艺：「有力如虎」以猛虎喻其力，写万舞武舞的刚健雄武；「执辔如组」以丝带（组）喻其执缰之从容，写其驭马的娴熟与身姿的优雅——力如虎而执辔如组，刚猛与从容兼于一身，正是舞师技艺超群的写照。两句一刚一柔、一猛一雅，比喻精切，形象立体，把万舞武舞的力之美与舞者的风度之美写到极致，是《诗经》中状写人物最传神的比喻之一。
The tiger. Strong as a tiger, he holds the reins as lightly as a silken braid. The strong-as-tiger and the holds-reins-silken-braid are the prowess. To have been strong as a tiger would be a being; the strong-as-a-tiger-he-holds-the-reins-as-lightly-as-a-silken-braid is the being.
山有榛，隰有苓。云谁之思？西方美人。
On the hill the hazel grows; in the marsh the licorice. Of whom do I think? The fair one of the west.
山上有榛树，洼地有苓草。说是思念谁呢？是那西方的美人。
On the hill grows the hazel; in the marsh grows the licorice. Of whom do I think? The fair lady of the west.
起兴转结，由壮景跌入幽微相思，余韵绵邈：末章前此皆写公庭万舞的公开场面，至此忽以「山有榛，隰有苓」起兴，山隰对举、榛苓并见，本《诗经》以草木起兴言情的常法，引出「云谁之思？西方美人」的自问自答。一问一答之间，把观者对舞师的倾慕之心轻轻托出——不说己思，而托之「云谁之思」，含蓄幽微；「西方美人」指代所慕之人，情意缱绻。此章由壮阔跌入私密，大开大合，是全诗最富余味的一笔。
The beauty. On the hill the hazel grows; in the marsh the licorice. Of whom do I think? The fair one of the west. The hill-hazel and the marsh-licorice and the of-whom-think-fair-west are the close. To have grown on the hill would be a growing; the on-the-hill-the-hazel-grows-in-the-marsh-the-licorice-of-whom-do-i-think-the-fair-one-of-the-west is the growing.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both Airs poems that turn from outward scene to inner feeling; Picking Ferns ends in home-longing, Jian Xi in admiration, compare their structural turns.
《诗经·小雅·采薇》「昔我往矣，杨柳依依。今我来思，雨雪霏霏」，写征戍之苦与归乡之悲；《简兮》写公庭万舞之盛与观者倾慕之情。两诗同出《诗经》而题材迥异：采薇写战争与乡愁，情感沉痛苍凉；简兮写乐舞与爱慕，情感雄壮缠绵。合观两诗，可见《诗经》题材之丰富——既有征夫之泪，亦有舞者之美；既有小雅之哀怨，亦有国风之明快，正见「饥者歌其食，劳者歌其事」的诗歌总集本色。
诗经·蒹葭 The Reed 诗经 · 同以「美人/所思」收束 Same (Airs, longing)Both Airs with a sought, distant figure; Jian Xi's 'beauty of the west' and the Reed's 'man on the water', compare the Airs' modes of longing.
《诗经·秦风·蒹葭》「蒹葭苍苍，白露为霜。所谓伊人，在水一方」，以秋水伊人写可望不可即的相思；《简兮》末章「云谁之思？西方美人」亦以美人写幽微之思。两诗同以所思之人收束、同以景起兴，而情调迥异：蒹葭以蒹葭白露的凄清之景写求而不得的怅惘，缠绵悱恻；简兮以山榛隰苓的草木起兴写一见倾心的爱慕，明快含蓄。一为远慕（伊人在水一方），一为近赏（美人当庭而舞），可比较《诗经》中「相思」母题的两种形态。
诗经·关雎 The Guan Ju 诗经 · 同出《诗经》国风，皆写爱慕 Same (Airs, love and rite)Both Airs touching love; Guan Ju the courtly hymn, Jian Xi the admiring gaze, compare their openings.
《诗经·周南·关雎》「关关雎鸠，在河之洲。窈窕淑女，君子好逑」，以雎鸠起兴写君子对淑女的爱慕；《简兮》以万舞起兴写观者对舞师的倾慕。两诗同属国风、同写爱慕之情，而主角性别相反：关雎是男子慕女子，简兮（依方玉润说）是女子慕男子；关雎以雎鸠和鸣的贞专起兴，简兮以万舞的雄壮场面起兴。两诗对照，可见《诗经》时代两性爱慕书写的对称结构，及其以物象起兴写情的共同手法。