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先秦 Pre-Qin · 诗经 Classic of Poetry

凯风

Happy Wind

诗经

Book of Songs

亲情Family affection 孝道Theme 讽谕Theme

凯风自南，吹彼棘心。
棘心夭夭，母氏劬劳。
凯风自南，吹彼棘薪。
母氏圣善，我无令人。
爰有寒泉，在浚之下。
有子七人，母氏劳苦。
睍睆黄鸟，载好其音。
有子七人，莫慰母心。

The happy wind comes from the south,
Blowing the thorn's tender heart.
The thorn's heart is young and thriving;
My mother laboured and toiled.

The happy wind comes from the south,
Blowing the thorn's faggots.
My mother is sage and good—
I am no worthy man.

There is the cold spring,
Below the Jun wall.
She has seven sons,
And my mother is weary.

The pretty oriole
Sends forth its fair sound.
She has seven sons,
Yet none can comfort the mother's heart.

Listen

Meaning

The gentle south wind comes from the south, blowing the tender heart of the thorn bush. The thorn seedling is full of life, yet my mother toiled so hard. The gentle south wind comes from the south, blowing the thorn's branches. My mother is sage and good, but I am no worthy son. There is a cold spring, flowing below the Jun wall. She bore seven sons, and my mother is weary. The pretty oriole sends forth its fair song. She bore seven sons, yet none can comfort the mother's heart.

和煦的南风从南方吹来，吹拂着那酸枣树的嫩心。酸枣树苗生机勃勃，母亲却那样劳苦辛勤。和煦的南风从南方吹来，吹拂着那酸枣树的枝条。母亲圣明而善良，我却不成一个好儿郎。那里有寒冷的泉水，在浚城之下流淌。母亲生了七个儿子，母亲是多么劳苦。美丽婉转的黄鸟，发出悦耳的鸣唱。母亲生了七个儿子，竟没有谁能安慰母亲的心。

Appreciation

This poem's art centres on 'xing' (evocation). The first two chapters evoke with the south wind (happy wind) blowing the thorn (tender heart, faggots), using the thorn's growth under the wind to figure the mother's rearing of her children; the latter two chapters turn to the cold spring and the oriole as comparison—the cold spring can quench thirst yet figures the mother's toil, the oriole has fair sound yet sets off the sons' silence. Repeated chapters and stacked lines return and cycle; 'she has seven sons' appears four times, layering the grieving tone. The language is plain and natural, unworked, yet phrases like 'my mother laboured and toiled' and 'none can comfort the mother's heart' strike straight to the heart, showing deepest feeling in plainness, with the pure rustic beauty of a folk ballad.

【白话串讲】 “凯风自南，吹彼棘心”——和暖的南风吹着酸枣树，那是母亲的爱。“有子七人，母氏劳苦”——母亲养大七个孩子，劳苦一生。这是中国最早的写母亲的诗。【意象与手法】本诗艺术上以「兴」为核心。首二章以南风（凯风）吹拂棘树（棘心、棘薪）起兴，以棘树得风而长喻母亲养育子女；后二章转以寒泉、黄鸟为比——寒泉可解渴而解不了母劳，黄鸟有好音而比不了子之无声。重章叠句、回环往复，「有子七人」四见，层层递进哀婉之情。【情感与主旨】《凯风》出自《诗经·邶风》，为西周至春秋间邶地民歌。诗写一位劳苦母亲的七个儿子感念母恩、自责不孝，旧说以为美孝子之作，或以为刺七子不能慰母，反映周代以孝为本的伦理取向，是《诗经》中罕见的母爱颂歌与自省之作。【名句点睛】常考「凯风」「棘心」的比兴义（凯风喻母、棘心喻子）、重章叠句的章法、「母氏劬劳」「莫慰母心」的情感力度，以及后世「凯风」「寒泉」成为颂母典故的流变。

Background

Kai Feng comes from the 'Airs of the States · Bei' in the Book of Songs, a Bei-area folk-song of the Western Zhou to Spring-and-Autumn time. The poem evokes with the 'happy wind' (south wind) blowing the thorn, using thing to figure person, writing a weary mother's seven sons mindful of her grace and blaming themselves for unfilialness. The old reading took it as praising a filial son, or as satirizing the seven sons' failure to comfort the mother. The poem arose in a Zhou time thick with clan-blood ethics, reflecting the filial-centred moral bent. Four chapters move in order, from the mother's toil to the sons' guilt, feeling true—a rare song of mother-love and self-examination in the Book of Songs.

《凯风》出自《诗经·邶风》，为西周至春秋间邶地（今河南淇县一带）的民歌。《诗经》分风、雅、颂三体，风为十五国风，多采自民间，邶风即邶地民歌。此诗写一位劳苦母亲的七个儿子感念母恩、自责不孝：前二章以和煦的南风（凯风）吹拂酸枣树（棘）起兴，以棘树得风而长喻母亲养育子女，写母亲之劬劳圣善；后二章以寒泉、黄鸟为比，寒泉在浚之下可解渴，黄鸟有好音可娱人，而七子却无人能慰母心，自责之情层层加深。诗产生于宗法血缘观念浓厚的周代，周人以孝为本，《诗经》中多有孝子思亲之作（如《小雅·蓼莪》），此诗即其中代表。旧说以为美孝子之作（《毛诗序》：「美孝子也」），或以为刺七子不能慰母，两说虽异，而其核心皆在母恩之深与子德之薄，反映周代以孝为本的伦理取向与古代母亲养育子女的辛劳。此诗产生于宗法伦理森严的周代，其以『母氏劬劳』写母恩、以『莫慰母心』写子愧，正是周人『孝悌』观念的诗歌表达，与《小雅·蓼莪》《唐风·鸨羽》等共同构成了《诗经》写父母之恩的传统，也是中国孝亲文学最早的典范。

Art

This poem's art centres on 'xing' (evocation). The first two chapters evoke with the south wind (happy wind) blowing the thorn tree (tender heart, faggots), using the thorn's growth under the wind to figure the mother's rearing of her children; the latter two chapters turn to the cold spring and the oriole as comparison—the cold spring can quench thirst yet figures the mother's toil, the oriole has fair sound yet sets off the sons' silence. Repeated chapters and stacked lines return and cycle; 'she has seven sons' appears four times, layering the grieving tone. The language is plain and natural, unworked, yet phrases like 'my mother laboured and toiled' and 'none can comfort the mother's heart' strike straight to the heart, showing deepest feeling in plainness, with the pure rustic beauty of a folk ballad.

本诗艺术上以「兴」为核心，比兴相生，重章叠句，是《诗经》抒情艺术的典范。首二章以「凯风自南，吹彼棘心」「凯风自南，吹彼棘薪」起兴：南风和煦，吹拂棘树——「棘心」写酸枣树的嫩心，喻子女之幼小；「棘薪」写酸枣树长成的枝条，喻子女之成人，由「心」到「薪」，暗写子女成长的过程，而以「凯风」喻母亲的和煦长养，棘树得风而长，正如子女赖母而生，兴中有比，物我相融。后二章转以寒泉、黄鸟为比：「爰有寒泉，在浚之下」写寒泉虽可解渴而不能解母之劳，「睍睆黄鸟，载好其音」写黄鸟有好音而子无好行，以物之有用反衬子之无用，自责愈深。全诗四章，重章叠句、回环往复，「有子七人」四见，层层递进哀婉之情，语言朴素自然，不事雕琢，以平实见深挚，极具民间歌谣的浑朴之美。尤妙者在『棘心』至『棘薪』的变化——棘为贱木，得风而长，喻子女虽卑而赖母育，由嫩芽到成薪，暗写养育之全程，比兴之细密正见民歌作者观察之精微，亦是重章叠句以换字推进层次的花例。

Allusions

Kai Feng is itself a folk lyric, with no clear historical allusion. Only the word 'happy wind' comes from Erya 'the south wind is called the happy wind', a gentle, nurturing-wind elegant name; 'thorn's heart' and 'thorn's faggots' use the thorn tree from tender to grown to figure the children's growth, faintly using the 'plant-and-person' xing comparison tradition. The later 'cold spring' was mostly taken by readers as in Bei Feng's 'cold spring below Jun' figuring the mother's virtue, and became the source of the later 'cold-spring thought' (thought of mother) allusion; 'the pretty oriole' also takes the Book of Songs' common bird-cry evocation, citing no specific history or person.

《凯风》为民间抒情之作，无明显历史典故，然其词语意象多成后世典故的源头。「凯风」一词源自《尔雅·释天》「南风谓之凯风」——凯风和煦，长养万物，故以凯风喻母爱的温厚长养，后世遂以「凯风」为颂母之典，孟郊《游子吟》「谁言寸草心，报得三春晖」正承此脉；「棘心」指酸枣树的嫩芽，后世以「棘心」喻子女初生之微，暗用「草木喻人」的比兴传统。「寒泉」在浚城之下，《诗经》以此写母劳，后世遂有「寒泉之思」的典故，谓子女思母之深，晋代束皙《补亡诗》「嗷嗷林鸟，受哺于子。养隆敬薄，惟禽之似」即化用此意；「睍睆」为形容黄鸟鸣声清和婉转之貌，亦见《诗经》以鸟鸣起兴的常见手法。此诗词语虽不用典，而其所创之「凯风」「寒泉」意象，皆成后世孝思文学的源头，正是《诗经》作为文学典源的意义所在。又『夭夭』一词承《桃夭》『桃之夭夭』之传统，本写少壮盛美，此处移以写棘苗之生机，与母氏之劬劳对照，愈见母恩之重；词语承袭而情境翻新，正是《诗经》内部意象互文的特点。

Commentary

Zhu Xi, in Poetry Commentary, says: 'Happy wind, the gentle wind, means the summer wind.… The mother figures the mother, the thorn figures the son.' Rating it 'the seven sons' self-blaming words'. Fang Yurun, in Origin of the Book of Songs, says: 'the filial son blames himself, feeling shown in the words.' The Mao Commentary Preface takes it as 'praising the filial son'. Later 'happy wind' became an allusion for praising the mother, in one line with Meng Jiao's 'Song of the Wandering Son'. Qing critic Yao Jihang also said this poem 'feeling true and words plain, of itself supreme writing', enough to show how deeply it moves.

此诗历来被视为《诗经》中孝道诗的典范，评价极高。《毛诗序》云：「《凯风》，美孝子也。」朱熹《诗集传》释之：「凯风，和风也，谓夏时之风。……母以喻母，棘以喻子」，并评其「七子自责之辞」——七子感母恩而自责不孝，情真语切。方玉润《诗经原始》称：「孝子自责，情见乎词。」清人姚际恒谓此诗「情真语切，自是至文」，正是就其以平实语写真挚情而言。此诗在文化史上的影响尤为深远：后世遂以「凯风」为颂母之典，「寒泉之思」为思母之典，孟郊《游子吟》、陆游《十月二十八日夜风雨大作》等写母爱的诗篇，皆承《凯风》一脉；与《小雅·蓼莪》「哀哀父母，生我劬劳」并为《诗经》写父母之恩的双璧。作为《诗经》中罕见的母爱颂歌与子女自省之作，《凯风》以真挚的情感、朴素的比兴、回环的章法，奠定了中国孝亲文学的基本范式。就接受史而言，『凯风』『寒泉』二典历两千年而不衰，历代孝子诗文中每见引用，正见此诗意象的原型力量；其以朴素的比兴写深挚的孝思，奠定了中国孝亲文学的基本范式，影响及于今日，孟郊《游子吟》即其一脉。

Prosody

Form Book of Songs · Airs of the States · Bei (four-character poem)诗经·国风·邶风（四言诗）

Rhyme Chapter one qin rhyme (heart, toil); chapters two-three zhen/han shifting; chapter four wen rhyme (sound, heart); roughly rhyme shifts by chapter四章十六句，首章押侵韵（心、劳），二三章真寒相转，末章押文韵（音、心），大致随章换韵，隔句押韵。

Tone pattern Mostly four-character, two-two beat; the Book of Songs form does not mark level-oblique四言为主，二二节拍，《诗经》体不究平仄，以重章叠句的复沓回环为声律特征。

Reading note Repeated chapters and stacked lines, returning and cycling; a typical Airs lyric of feeling.此诗为《诗经》国风体四言诗，全诗四章、每章四句，是《诗经》最典型的章法结构。其格律特点有三：一是四言句式，二二节拍（如「凯风／自南」「吹彼／棘心」），音节短促有力、质朴浑厚，是《诗经》的基本句式，也是中国诗歌最古老的节奏形态；二是重章叠句，四章句式大致相同，仅更换少量关键词（棘心—棘薪、劬劳—圣善—劳苦—慰母心），回环往复、一唱三叹，是《诗经》民歌最典型的章法，其作用在于以复沓强化情感、以换字推进层次——由棘心到棘薪写子女成长，由劬劳到劳苦写母劳之深，由感恩到自责写情感之进；三是随章换韵，各章押韵不拘一格（心、劳、音等），韵脚多落在句尾，节奏齐整而用韵灵活。《凯风》以四言重章之体写深挚孝思，章法回环而情感递进，是《诗经》民歌体式的典范，也是理解四言诗声律与章法的基础文本。

Line by line

凯风自南，吹彼棘心。棘心夭夭，母氏劬劳。

The warm wind from the south blows on the thorn's tender shoots. The shoots flourish; my mother has toiled sore.

和煦的南风从南方吹来，吹拂着那酸枣树的嫩心。酸枣树苗生机勃勃，母亲却那样劳苦辛勤。

The warm wind comes from the south, blowing on the thorn's tender shoots. The shoots grow lush; my mother has toiled sore.

首章以凯风起兴，是全诗比兴的基石。「凯风」即和煦的南风，《尔雅》「南风谓之凯风」，凯风和暖，长养万物，故以凯风喻母亲——母爱的温厚长养，正如南风之和煦；「吹彼棘心」写南风吹拂酸枣树的嫩心——「棘心」喻子女，棘树虽贱（酸枣木），得风而长，正如子女虽幼，赖母而生。「棘心夭夭」写树苗生机勃勃——「夭夭」本形容少壮之貌，《桃夭》「桃之夭夭」写桃花之盛，此写棘苗之荣，以子女之茁壮反衬母劳之深；「母氏劬劳」直写母亲劳苦——「劬劳」为《诗经》写母劳的专用语，辛劳之义。四句比兴相生：棘得风而长，子赖母而育，风之温厚与母之辛劳对照，母爱之深、养育之艰尽在其中。

The warm wind. The warm wind from the south blows on the thorn's tender shoots. The shoots flourish; my mother has toiled sore. The warm-wind-south and the blows-thorn-tender-shoots and the shoots-flourish and the mother-toiled-sore are the opening. To have blown on the shoots would be a blowing; the the-warm-wind-from-the-south-blows-on-the-thorn's-tender-shoots-the-shoots-flourish-my-mother-has-toiled-sore is the blowing.

凯风自南，吹彼棘薪。母氏圣善，我无令人。

The warm wind from the south blows on the thorn's grown wood. My mother is sage and kind; I am no worthy son.

和煦的南风从南方吹来，吹拂着那酸枣树的枝条。母亲圣明而善良，我却不成一个好儿郎。

The warm wind comes from the south, blowing on the thorn's ripe wood. My mother is sage and good; I am no worthy man.

次章重章叠唱，由「棘心」进为「棘薪」，由母劳进为子愧，情感加深一层。「吹彼棘薪」写南风吹拂长成的酸枣枝条——由「心」（嫩芽）到「薪」（枝条），暗写子女由幼及长的成长过程，而南风依旧和煦，正如母亲养育之恩始终如一，比兴之意贯穿两章；「母氏圣善」赞美母亲之圣明善良——「圣善」二字，是《诗经》中对母亲品格最高的赞美，知事明理而心性善良；「我无令人」自责不成好儿郎——「令人」即善人、贤人，「我无令人」是自责之辞：母亲如此圣善，我却不成材，德不配母恩。四句以母之圣善对子之无令，赞母愈高，责己愈深，由感恩转入自责，是全诗情感深化的关键一章。

The thorn wood. The warm wind from the south blows on the thorn's grown wood. My mother is sage and kind; I am no worthy son. The warm-wind-south and the blows-thorn-grown-wood and the mother-sage-kind and the I-no-worthy-son are the self-reproach. To have blown on the wood would be a blowing; the the-warm-wind-from-the-south-blows-on-the-thorn's-grown-wood-my-mother-is-sage-and-kind-i-am-no-worthy-son is the blowing.

爰有寒泉，在浚之下。有子七人，母氏劳苦。

There is a cold spring below Xun. Seven sons she bore; my mother's toil is sore.

那里有寒冷的泉水，在浚城之下流淌。母亲生了七个儿子，母亲是多么劳苦。

There is a cold spring below the walls of Xun. Seven sons she bore; my mother's toil is sore.

三章转以寒泉为比，写法由「兴」转「比」，自责之情进一步深化。「爰有寒泉，在浚之下」写浚城之下有寒泉流淌——「寒泉」是清冽的泉水，可解口渴、可涤烦热，是「有用」之物；「有子七人」点出七子之多——母亲养育七子，劳苦可想而知；「母氏劳苦」直写母亲之辛劳，与首章「母氏劬劳」呼应而更见沉重。此章的比兴深意在于：寒泉在浚下，人可用之，母亲却用不了——泉水虽有用，不能解母劳；七子虽众多，不能慰母心。以寒泉之「有用」反衬七子之「无用」，自责之意含而不露。由感恩（首章）而自责（次章）而深愧（三章），层层递进，情感如泉流之绵长，正是重章叠句「层递」手法的妙用。

The spring. There is a cold spring below Xun. Seven sons she bore; my mother's toil is sore. The cold-spring-below-Xun and the seven-sons-bore and the mother-toil-sore are the deepening. To have been below Xun would be a being; the there-is-a-cold-spring-below-xun-seven-sons-she-bore-my-mother's-toil-is-sore is the being.

睍睆黄鸟，载好其音。有子七人，莫慰母心。

The golden oriole, bright and clear, sings its lovely song. Seven sons she bore; not one comforts her heart.

美丽婉转的黄鸟，发出悦耳的鸣唱。母亲生了七个儿子，竟没有谁能安慰母亲的心。

The bright, clear oriole sings its lovely note. Seven sons she bore; none comforts her heart.

末章以黄鸟作结，是全诗情感的高潮与点题之章。「睍睆黄鸟，载好其音」写黄鸟鸣声清和婉转——「睍睆」形容鸟声清脆悦耳，黄鸟有好音，能娱人悦耳，是「有用」之物；「有子七人，莫慰母心」写七子竟无人能安慰母亲的心——「莫慰母心」四字是全诗的题眼，七子之多，竟不如一鸟之能慰人，自责之深、愧疚之切，于此达到顶点。此章的深意在于「以物比人」：黄鸟尚有好音可娱人，七子却无一能慰母心——人不如鸟，此恨何极。全诗四章，由棘心之喻到棘薪之喻，由寒泉之比到黄鸟之比，比兴层层深入，情感层层递进，而以「莫慰母心」的直白告白收束，哀婉动人，是《诗经》写孝道最感人的篇章之一。

The oriole. The golden oriole, bright and clear, sings its lovely song. Seven sons she bore; not one comforts her heart. The golden-oriole-bright-clear and the sings-lovely-song and the seven-sons-bore and the not-one-comforts-heart are the close. To have sung its song would be a singing; the the-golden-oriole-bright-and-clear-sings-its-lovely-song-seven-sons-she-bore-not-one-comforts-her-heart is the singing.

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Word focus

凯风 The gentle south wind, symbolizing the mother-love's warm nurturing, setting the whole poem's tender tone. 「凯风自南」之「凯风」二字，是全诗比兴的核心意象，也是中国文学中「颂母」典故的源头。「凯风」本义为和煦的南风，《尔雅·释天》：「南风谓之凯风。」「凯」有和乐、温厚之意，南风自南方吹来，和暖长养，使万物生长，故《诗经》以凯风喻母亲——母爱之温厚长养，正如南风之和煦抚育。此二字之妙有三：一是以风喻人，母爱的特质（温厚、长养、无私）与南风的特质（和煦、吹拂、生养）高度契合，比兴贴切自然；二是奠定全诗基调，凯风之和煦与棘心之夭夭相映，写母爱之温厚，为后文「母氏劬劳」「莫慰母心」的自责作了情感的铺垫；三是开后世典源，自《凯风》以降，「凯风」成为颂母的代名词，孟郊《游子吟》「谁言寸草心，报得三春晖」正承此意象一脉。

劬劳 To labour, to toil. A heavy brush writing the mother's hardship, feeling grave. 「母氏劬劳」之「劬劳」二字，是《诗经》写父母辛劳的专用语，凝重而情深。「劬」本义为劳累、劳苦，《说文》：「劬，劳也。」「劬劳」连用，极言劳苦之甚——不是一般的辛苦，而是殚精竭虑、积劳成疾的辛劳。此二字之妙有三：一是凝练传神，二字写尽母亲养育子女的全部艰辛——十月怀胎、一朝分娩、哺乳抚养、操持家务，皆以「劬劳」二字括之，言简意丰；二是情感凝重，与《小雅·蓼莪》「哀哀父母，生我劬劳」同一语脉，是《诗经》中写父母恩最沉重、最经典的词汇之一，后世遂以「劬劳」为父母养育之恩的代称；三是以母劳衬子愧，母亲越劬劳，儿子越愧疚，「母氏劬劳」与「我无令人」「莫慰母心」层层对照，正是全诗自责之情的情感支点。

慰 To comfort. Reversing with 'none can', it stresses the sons' self-blame and guilt. 「莫慰母心」之「慰」字，是全诗的点题之字，一字定全诗之旨。「慰」本义为安慰、宽慰，此处写子女安慰母亲之心——「莫慰母心」即没有谁能安慰母亲的心。此字之妙有三：一是以「慰」点题，「慰」字直指子女对母亲应有的回报——慰母之心，是孝道的核心，而「莫慰」二字，把七子不能尽孝的愧疚与自责凝于一字，是全诗情感的爆发点；二是以「莫」写绝，「莫」即没有、无人，七子之多而无一能慰，以数目之众反衬慰母之无，自责之深无以复加；三是以「心」收束，「母心」是母亲情感的归宿，慰母心即体母情、报母恩，全诗由母之劳写到母之心，由身外之劳深入到心内之情，情感层层深入，正是《诗经》写孝道「由形入神」的深意所在。

凯风