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先秦 Pre-Qin · 楚辞 Chu Ci

九辩

Nine Arguments (Jiu Bian)

宋玉

Song Yu

隐逸/忧愤reclusion / indignation 写景/田园scenery / pastoral

悲哉，秋之为气也！
萧瑟兮草木摇落而变衰。
憭栗兮若在远行，登山临水兮送将归。
泬寥兮天高而气清；
寂寥兮收潦而水清。
憯悽增欷兮，薄寒之中人；
怆怳懭悢兮，去故而就新；
坎廪兮贫士失职而志不平；
廓落兮羁旅而无友生；
惆怅兮而私自怜。
燕翩翩其辞归兮，蝉寂漠而无声。
雁廱廱而南游兮，鹍鸡啁哳而悲鸣。
独申旦而不寐兮，哀蟋蟀之宵征。
时亹亹而过中兮，蹇淹留而无成。

How sad, the breath of autumn! In the bleak wind the grass and trees shake loose and fade. Chilled, as if on a far journey, I climb the hill and face the water to see the parting one off. The sky is high and the air clear; the waters stilled, limpid. Grief upon grief—the light cold enters me; lost and adrift, I leave the old and take the new; a poor scholar stripped of place, my will is not at peace; alone in a strange land, with no friend; in melancholy I pity myself in secret.
The swallows flutter, taking leave and returning; the cicada is silent, soundless. The wild geese honk, journeying south; the kun-bird cries, shrill and sad. Alone, awake from night to dawn, I mourn the cricket's night march. Time steals past the mid-point; I linger on, and achieve nothing.

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Meaning

Song Yu's 'Nine Arguments' is the first work in Chinese literature to make autumn's mood a sustained lyric theme. Written when he was out of favor at the Chu court and living in exile, it binds the autumn air to a scholar's unmet promise—founding the 'lamenting autumn' and 'scholar unrecognized' traditions.

悲凉啊，这秋天的气象！萧瑟啊草木摇落而衰败。凄凉啊如在远行，登山临水送人归去。空阔啊天高气清；寂静啊积水退去水清。凄怆频叹啊，微寒侵人；失意怅惘啊，去旧而就新；坎坷啊贫士失职而志气不平；孤独啊羁旅而无知己；惆怅啊暗自怜伤。燕子翩翩辞归，秋蝉寂寞无声。大雁和鸣向南飞，鹍鸡啁哳悲鸣。独醒达旦不能寐，哀怜蟋蟀夜行。时光渐进过半，淹留于此竟无成就。

Appreciation

The opening cry 'How sad, the breath of autumn' leads the whole piece; reduplicatives like 'bleak,' 'chilled,' 'empty' paint the clear desolation of autumn, then turn naturally to the human grief of 'the light cold entering me,' 'a poor scholar stripped of place,' 'alone in a strange land.' Scene-sad and heart-sad merge as one. The 'xi' particle set mid-line makes a broken, sighing rhythm; chains of binomes like 'rough,' 'lonely,' 'melancholy' press in like the autumn air. The second part sets the returning swallows, silent cicada, southward geese, and crying kun against the single sleepless orphan—stillness and motion contrasted, the sorrow deepened.

【白话串讲】 “悲哉，秋之为气也”——宋玉一声叹息，开创了中国文学里的“悲秋”传统。从此秋天不再只是秋天，它是漂泊、是失意、是每个读书人的愁。【意象与手法】首段以一声“悲哉，秋之为气也”提领全篇，随即以“萧瑟”“憭栗”“泬寥”“寂寥”等叠词铺写秋景之凄清，并自然转入“薄寒【情感与主旨】《九辩》为屈原之后楚辞大家宋玉的代表作。“九辩”本为古乐曲名，宋玉借以抒怀。此作约作于其仕楚失意、羁旅客居之时【名句点睛】中高考常考：一、情景交融——分析秋景如何烘托失意之悲；二、悲秋母题——认识“宋玉悲秋”的文学史地位

Background

'Nine Arguments' is the masterwork of Song Yu, the great Chu-ci writer after Qu Yuan. 'Jiu bian' was an old tune name that Song Yu borrowed to voice his feeling. It was likely written when, frustrated in his Chu service, he lived as an exile. In the late Warring States the Chu state was beset within and without; though gifted, Song Yu sank to low rank and his great ambition could not stretch. Lines like 'a poor scholar stripped of place, my will not at peace' and 'alone in a strange land, with no friend' are direct writing of his own state. It first joined 'autumn's breath' with 'the scholar unmet' as a system, and from then 'lamenting autumn' became an unbroken lyric tradition—called the ancestor of 'Song Yu's autumn grief.'

《九辩》是战国末期楚辞作家宋玉的代表作，今所节选为其开篇两段。宋玉生平史载甚略，据《史记·屈原贾生列传》及刘向《新序》、王逸《楚辞章句》等零星记载，约为屈原之后的楚人，或谓屈原弟子，尝事楚顷襄王，官不过大夫，后遭谗被黜，落魄失职。王逸《楚辞章句》解题曰「《九辩》者，楚大夫宋玉之所作也。辩者，变也」，又以「闵惜其师屈原，忠而放逐，故作《九辩》以述其志」说其主旨，此说自汉至宋影响极广。然今人游国恩、刘永济、姜亮夫诸家据篇中「贫士失职而志不平」「羁旅而无友生」「去乡离家兮徕远客」等语，多主此篇乃宋玉自伤身世之作，非徒代屈原立言。「九辩」本上古乐曲之名，与《九歌》相类，宋玉借古题以抒怀。节选部分所写，正是秋气肃杀之下，一位失职贫士、羁旅孤客的穷愁——草木摇落、天高气清、燕去蝉寂，无一不映照其年华空逝、淹留无成之悲。全篇在《楚辞》众作中体制恢宏，句式参差，此开篇两段先以「悲哉，秋之为气也」劈空领起，遂成中国文学「悲秋」母题的千古第一声，杜甫「摇落深知宋玉悲」即指此而言。又此节选虽仅全篇什一，然「悲秋」定调之重，正在于此：宋玉以「气」总摄秋景，由物候之衰及士人之穷，遂使「秋」由节令升为文人心象，其开山之功，历来为论者所重，几成中国感伤文学的第一块基石。

Art

The opening cry 'How sad, the breath of autumn' leads the whole piece; reduplicatives like 'bleak,' 'chilled,' 'empty' paint the clear desolation, then turn to the human grief of 'the light cold entering me,' 'a poor scholar stripped of place,' 'alone in a strange land'—scene and feeling merge. The 'xi' particle set mid-line makes a broken, sighing rhythm; chains of binomes like 'rough' and 'lonely' press in like the autumn air. The second part sets the returning swallows, silent cicada, southward geese, crying kun against the single sleepless orphan—stillness and motion contrasted, the sorrow deeper.

此篇的艺术枢纽在情景交融。开篇「悲哉，秋之为气也」以一声喟叹提领全篇，随即以「萧瑟」「憭栗」「泬寥」「寂寥」等叠韵联绵词密集铺写秋景：草木摇落写其形，天高气清写其色，收潦水清写其象，薄寒中人写其感，由目见而肤感，由物象而心境，层层逼入。写景之后，笔锋一转，「坎廪兮贫士失职而志不平」数句把秋之萧瑟与人之穷愁直接勾连，物我之间不设过渡而自然合一，这正是中国抒情诗「借景言情」的经典范式。第二段转入禽鸟意象，燕归、蝉寂、雁南、鹍鸡悲鸣，四组意象皆含「离去」与「凄清」之意，以群动之各得其所反衬一己之独守无依。末以「时亹亹而过中兮，蹇淹留而无成」收束，时光流逝与功业无成的两相对照，点破全篇命意。句式上，此篇将《离骚》的「兮」字句与散文句法熔铸一炉，「悲哉」「憭栗兮」「坎廪兮」或叹或衍，长短错落，开阖跌宕，音节上极尽悲凉顿挫之致。后世评其「千古悲秋之祖」，正着眼于它以文人之笔将节候感伤提升为个体命运的悲剧书写。刘勰《文心雕龙·物色》「物色之动，心亦摇焉」，正可移评此篇——其写秋，非止状物，实写心物交感、情景互生的过程，故能于数百年「悲秋」书写中独树一帜，为后世无数悲秋之作悬为标的。此篇以景写情的密度与纯度，亦为此后悲秋之作难以逾越的典范，其「篇中无一句无秋，句中无一句无悲」的浑然，正是宋玉高于后之效颦者的关键。

Allusions

'Climb the hill and face the water to see the parting one off' transforms the travel imagery of the Chu-ci 'Nine Songs' and the Book of Songs, opening the autumn-elegy tone of farewell literature. 'A poor scholar stripped of place' quietly carries Qu Yuan's loyal-indignation tradition from the 'Li Sao' ('grieved that the wise lord changes so often'); 'kun-bird' is a crane-like great bird of old myth, seen in the 'Er Ya.' 'From night to dawn' means from night till morning. The poem uses few allusions, drawing mostly on settled Chu-ci images, folding a personal unmet fate into the grand 'autumn-scholar' lyric pattern, influencing Cao Zhi and Du Fu's autumn poems.

「悲秋」之感的源头，其实早于宋玉。《诗经》中已见秋日伤怀之绪：《秦风·蒹葭》「蒹葭苍苍，白露为霜」以秋晨霜露起兴写求而不得的怅惘；《豳风·七月》「七月在野，八月在宇，九月在户，十月蟋蟀入我床下」以蟋蟀节候推移写农事与流光。然《诗经》之秋，多为起兴之景或农时之记，尚未形成稳定的「悲秋」心理图式。至宋玉《九辩》，方首次以整段铺排的秋景，构建起「秋—衰—贫士失意」的完整象征链，把自然节候的衰减与士人命运的穷蹇绾合为一，使「悲秋」由偶发之感升为自觉的抒情传统。此中「草木摇落」直接化用《离骚》「惟草木之零落兮，恐美人之迟暮」的时序之思，而「贫士失职」则深得屈子「信而见疑，忠而被谤」的幽愤。叠词联绵语如「萧瑟」「憭栗」「泬寥」「寂寥」「怆怳」「懭悢」「坎廪」「廓落」，多用双声叠韵，本于《诗经》《楚辞》的语音修辞传统，而以密集连用为特色。学界歧说主要在于作者与主旨：或谓屈原自作，或谓宋玉代屈原言，或谓宋玉自伤，今人从文本内证多取宋玉自伤之说，然王逸「闵惜其师」的旧解亦未可尽废。此外，「蝉寂漠而无声」「蟋蟀之宵征」诸语，亦可于《诗经·七月》「十月蟋蟀入我床下」见其先声，宋玉化农时之记为羁旅之叹，正见其「以旧象写新愁」的熔铸功夫，此亦学界讨论《九辩》意象源流时常举之例。

Commentary

Liu Xie (Liang): 'Song Yu held talent; he first made the 'reply-question'… 'Nine Arguments' is fine and dense, feeling exquisitely wrought.' Du Fu: 'the falling leaves make me know Song Yu's grief deeply'; Li Shangyin: 'Chu's sky and cloud-rain are all to be doubted'—both follow his autumn grief. Wang Fuzhi (Qing): 'Nine Arguments is a change within the sao form, yet deep feeling and lone grace make their own style.' Modern readers see it as the ancestor of both the 'lamenting autumn' and 'scholar unmet' traditions, second only to the 'Li Sao.'

《九辩》在文学史上的地位，几乎系于「悲秋」二字。王逸《楚辞章句》首为注释，列其于《楚辞》之内，奠定了其经典位置。南朝刘勰《文心雕龙·物色》谓「屈平所以能洞监风骚之情者，抑亦江山之助乎」，虽未专论《九辩》，而其「春秋代序，阴阳惨舒，物色之动，心亦摇焉」之论，正是对《九辩》情景相生的理论升华。钟嵘《诗品》置宋玉于中品，评「其源出于屈原」，已见源流之辨。至唐，杜甫《咏怀古迹》「摇落深知宋玉悲，风流儒雅亦吾师」，以「摇落」二字精准概括《九辩》悲秋之义，成为后世理解此篇的通行入口。朱熹《楚辞集注》承王逸之注而详加疏通，其序亦重宋玉「悲秋」之独创。近人鲁迅《汉文学史纲要》称《九辩》「虽驰神逞想，不如《离骚》，而凄怨之情，实为独绝」，一语道出其在凄婉一路上的独造。此后，「宋玉悲秋」成为古典诗文的固定典故，自曹丕、潘岳、庾信以迄杜甫、李商隐、陆游，代有回响，遂使《九辩》开篇两段成为中国古代感伤文学的精神源头之一。历代《楚辞》选本与文学总集无不收录此篇，其「悲秋」主题亦被反复征引阐发，影响力绵延两千余年而不衰。降至近现代，文学史著作如刘大杰《中国文学发展史》、游国恩《中国文学史》，皆以「悲秋之祖」定位《九辩》，其开篇两段更被反复征引，成为古典文学「感时伤逝」书写的源头样本，足见其经典地位历久弥坚。

Prosody

Form Chu-ci · Nine Arguments (saoti rhapsody)楚辞骚体（《九辩》节选，散体赋句式与「兮」字句交融）

Rhyme Long lines mainly; 'xi' mid-line as rhythm; free rhyme shifts (shuai/gui, qing/qing, ren/xin/ping/sheng/lian)节选部分大体以「气」「衰」「归」为韵（上古音微部），其后「清」「清」「人」「平」「生」「怜」递相叶韵，隔句用韵，韵脚疏密随文势而变

Tone pattern Not datable句式参差错落，四言、五言、六言、七言相杂，「兮」字或居句中（如「萧瑟兮草木摇落而变衰」），或居句尾（如「燕翩翩其辞归兮」），节奏顿挫跌宕，以「悲哉」二言叹语起势

Reading note Saoti style, scene and feeling merged, the ancestor of autumn grief《九辩》属楚辞骚体，其句式较《离骚》更为自由，往往在一段之内杂用二言、四言、五言、六言、七言，而以「兮」字为节奏标志。开篇「悲哉，秋之为气也」以二言叹词领起，接以散文式判断句，是全篇声调的最高点，如悲从中来，不可遏抑。其后「萧瑟兮草木摇落而变衰」为典型的上二下七（或上二下六）的「兮」字句，「兮」字居句腹，前短后长，形成先顿后曳的节律，读来有一步三叹之感。用韵方面，节选文字隔句相叶，「气」「衰」「归」属上古微部，韵字音色偏于幽微低回，与悲秋之意正相贴合；其后转入「清」「人」「平」「生」「怜」等字，韵部递换，声情随之起伏。句尾「兮」字处或押或否，疏密由文势而定，不似《诗经》四言那般整饬，反见出楚辞体「依骚为声、随情制韵」的自由品格。这种以参差之句、顿挫之节、低回之韵写萧瑟之秋、穷愁之怀的声律安排，正是《九辩》「凄怨独绝」的声学根由。

Line by line

悲哉，秋之为气也

How sad, the breath of autumn.

悲凉啊，这秋天的气象

Sad beyond words, this breath of autumn.

此句以「悲哉」二字劈空领起，先声夺人，将全篇定调于一个「悲」字。「秋之为气也」是判断句式，以「气」言秋，赋予秋以某种弥漫天地、无孔不入的生命实体——秋不是某处景物，而是充塞宇宙的一种气象、一种氛围、一种可感而不可拒的压迫。宋玉以「气」统摄秋，遂使下文草木、天宇、流水、薄寒诸景皆成为这一「气」的具体展开。作为中国文学「悲秋」主题的开山之言，此句的意义在于它首次把「悲」这一情绪明确归属于「秋」这一季节，确立了二者在文人心理中的固定联结，自此「秋」在诗歌中几乎成为感伤的代名词，杜甫「万里悲秋常作客」的悲秋二字，正遥承此句而来。

The sadness. Sad beyond words, this breath of autumn. The sad-beyond-words and the breath-autumn are the opening. To have been sad beyond words would be a being; the sad-beyond-words-this-breath-of-autumn is the being.

萧瑟兮草木摇落而变衰

In the bleak wind the grass and trees shake loose and fade.

萧瑟啊草木摇落而衰败

Soughing, soughing, the plants sway down and wither.

「萧瑟」是秋声，草木摇落是秋象，「变衰」是秋之总势，一句之中声、象、势三者俱全。诗人不写一草一木之凋零，而以「草木」二字总括全体，写其「摇落」的动态过程——非静默之枯，而是风中摇颤、纷纷坠落，一个「摇」字见出秋风的摧折之力，一个「落」字见出生命的委顿之态。「变衰」二字更点出节候推移的不可逆转，草木由荣而枯，正如人生由盛而衰。此句以极其凝练的笔法勾勒出秋之整体风貌，与上句「悲哉」的感叹互为表里，既是写景，更是写心，奠定了全篇以景语传情语的基调。

The soughing. Soughing, soughing, the plants sway down and wither. The soughing and the plants-sway-down-wither are the decay. To have soughing would be a soughing; the soughing-soughing-the-plants-sway-down-and-wither is the soughing.

坎廪兮贫士失职而志不平

A poor scholar stripped of place, my will is not at peace.

坎坷啊贫士失职而志气不平

Harsh and hard, the poor scholar dismissed from office, his spirit unappeased.

这是全篇点题之句，也是由写景转入写人的枢纽。「坎廪」即坎坷困顿，状人生境遇之蹇；「贫士失职」四字道破身世——一个失去了职守、陷入贫困的读书人；「志不平」三字则是全部悲愁的根源，失职尚可忍，唯「志」之不平，如骨鲠在喉，日夜难消。此句把前文所写的满目秋色，骤然落到一个具体的人身上，此前萧瑟的草木、清冷的天宇，遂都成为这个失职贫士心境的投影。宋玉借此句自道其穷愁，也写出了千百年间一切怀才不遇者的共同心声，遂使《九辩》超越了个人牢骚，成为士人不遇的集体悲歌。

The scholar. Harsh and hard, the poor scholar dismissed from office, his spirit unappeased. The harsh-hard and the poor-scholar-dismissed and the spirit-unappeased are the grief. To have been dismissed from office would be a dismissing; the harsh-and-hard-the-poor-scholar-dismissed-from-office-his-spirit-unappeased is the dismissing.

燕翩翩其辞归兮，蝉寂漠而无声

The swallows flutter, taking leave and returning; the cicada is silent, soundless.

燕子翩翩辞归，秋蝉寂寞无声

The swallows flutter off on their homeward way; the cicada is silent and still.

此句以燕、蝉两种物象写秋之深。燕为候鸟，秋至则辞归南翔，「翩翩」写其飞姿之轻快，暗示其有所归；蝉为夏虫，入秋则噤声，「寂漠」写其沉默，暗示其失时。一归一去之间，天地间充满离意与消歇。诗人以禽鸟昆虫之「各得其所」或「各失其时」，反衬自身「淹留而无成」的困顿——燕子尚有南归之路，蝉虽寂尚有可藏之枝，而自己既无归处，又无成事，其孤绝尤过之。这种以物衬人的手法，正是骚体「引类譬喻」的遗风，而意象的选取如此细微，又见出宋玉观察物候的敏锐。

The swallows. The swallows flutter off on their homeward way; the cicada is silent and still. The swallows-flutter-homeward and the cicada-silent-still are the close. To have fluttered off would be a fluttering; the the-swallows-flutter-off-on-their-homeward-way-the-cicada-is-silent-and-still is the fluttering.

Study

Word focus

萧瑟 The sound and look of the autumn wind; the very first image already carries grief, becoming a classic term of autumn sorrow. 「萧瑟」是双声联绵词，本状秋风摇木之声，后引申为萧索凄凉之貌。在此篇中，它是「秋之为气」的第一声具体显现，以听觉写秋，先声夺人。诗人把它置于「兮」字之前独立成顿，读来如闻秋风过木、万叶飒飒。「萧」「瑟」二字皆齿音清声，发音时气流摩擦而出，声感本身即带清寒萧索之意，可谓声义相协。此后「萧瑟」遂与悲秋结下不解之缘，曹丕「秋风萧瑟天气凉」、杜甫「萧萧班马鸣」之「萧萧」，皆可视为这一语汇的流风余韵，足见此词在确立悲秋声境上的开创之功。

泬寥 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「泬寥」为叠韵联绵词，状天空高远空旷之貌。「泬」本水从穴出之状，「寥」为空廓，二字相合，写秋日天宇之清、之旷、之虚。宋玉以此词写「天高而气清」，不着秋字而秋意自足，因为春之天是温润的、夏之天是闷热的，唯有秋日雨后，天空才显得如此高远澄澈、一无挂碍。然而这种空廓在天本为清景，在失意之人眼中却转化为一种无所依傍的孤独与荒凉，天越空，人越显渺小无依。一词而兼写物态与心境，正是宋玉以景写情的精微处。

坎廪 Rough and uneven; a binome of double initials, picturing the poor scholar's hard, blocked path—a repressed, weighed word. 「坎廪」亦作「坎壈」，为叠韵联绵词，义为困顿、不得志。「坎」为坑穴，「廪」通「凛」，有危惧之意，二字连用，形象地写出人生道路之坑洼不平、行走其间之惴惴危惧。宋玉以「坎廪兮」置于「贫士失职而志不平」之前，先以一个音声滞重的叹词状其境遇，再以散句直言其事，声与义互为强化。此词后成为士人穷愁的固定语汇，杜甫「坎壈缠身世」、李白「坎壈何所迫」皆承此而来，而「坎廪」与「志不平」的搭配，更成为后世「怀才不遇」主题的经典表达式，可见其源出《九辩》的影响之深。

九辩