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先秦 Pre-Qin · 诗经 Classic of Poetry

山有扶苏

On the Hill Grows the Foxtail

诗经

Book of Songs

爱情/相思love and longing 隐逸/忧愤reclusion and grievance

山有扶苏，隰有荷华。
不见子都，乃见狂且。
山有桥松，隰有游龙。
不见子充，乃见狡童。

On the hill grows the fu su; in the lowlands the lotus flower. I see not Zidu, but meet a mad fellow.
On the hill grows the tall pine; in the lowlands the swimming dragon. I see not Zichong, but meet a sly boy.

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Meaning

On the hill grows the fu su; in the lowlands the lotus blooms. I did not see the handsome Zidu, but met a mad fellow. On the hill grows the tall pine; in the lowlands the swimming dragon-flower. I did not see the fair Zichong, but met a sly boy.

山上有扶苏，洼地有荷花。没见到子都，却遇见个狂徒。山上有桥松，洼地有游龙花。没见到子充，却遇见个小狡童。

Appreciation

This is a love poem from the 'Zheng Feng' section of the Book of Songs; the old 'satire of Hu' reading (that Duke Zhao of Zheng would not marry the Qi princess and used the wrong men) is set aside by modern readers who take it as a folk, jesting love lyric. The poem opens with 'on the hill grows x, in the lowlands grows x' as xing (evocation), writing the woman's appointed meeting where she sees not her beloved (Zidu, Zichong, both names for a fair man) but bumps into a comical 'mad fellow' 'sly boy', her annoyance holding intimacy. The Zheng land's custom prized love and outings; this poem shows just that lively frankness, probably a work of the mid-Spring and Autumn.

【白话串讲】 “山有扶苏，隰有荷华”——山上长着扶苏，湿地开着荷花。“不见子都，乃见狂且”——没见到美男子子都，却见到你这个狂徒。一个女子娇嗔的情歌：明明是心上人，偏说他是“狂且”。【意象与手法】诗用“兴而比”手法：前二句写山上扶苏、洼地荷华（桥松、游龙），以草木对生起兴，暗喻男女相配之常理【情感与主旨】《山有扶苏》为《诗经·郑风》情诗，旧有“刺忽”之说（谓郑昭公忽不娶齐女，所用非人），然今人多视为民间玩笑式的爱情短章【名句点睛】本诗为古诗鉴赏次常见篇目，考点：一、起兴手法——“山有扶苏，隰有荷华”以对生草木兴起男女相悦

Background

'On the Hill Grows the Foxtail' is a love poem from the 'Zheng Feng' section of the Book of Songs. The old 'satire of Hu' reading (that Duke Zhao of Zheng would not marry the Qi princess and used the wrong men) is set aside by modern readers who take it as a folk, jesting love lyric. The poem opens with 'on the hill grows x, in the lowlands grows x' as xing, writing of a woman's appointed meeting where she sees not her beloved (Zidu, Zichong, both stand-in names for a fair man) but bumps into a comical 'mad fellow' 'sly boy', her annoyance holding intimacy. The Zheng land's custom prized love and outings; this poem shows just that lively frankness, probably a work of the mid-Spring and Autumn.

《山有扶苏》为《诗经·郑风》中的一篇，是写女子戏谑情郎的诗。全诗两章：山有扶苏，隰有荷华；不见子都，乃见狂且；山有桥松，隰有游龙；不见子充，乃见狡童。全诗以“不见子都，乃见狂且”写女子对情郎的戏谑，是《诗经》中写爱情戏谑的名篇。

Art

The poem uses the 'xing with bi' device: the first two lines write the fu su on the hill and the lotus in the lowland (or the tall pine, the swimming dragon), using the paired growth of plants as xing, hinting the natural matching of man and woman; the next two lines turn sharply, saying 'I see not Zidu (the fair) but meet a mad fellow (the ugly, comic)', forming the comic contrast of fair against ugly, expectation against void. The returning stanzas change words (du/chong, mad fellow/sly boy) progressing, the tone coquettish. This displacement of 'see not the gentleman, but meet the comic' makes humour, a distinctive 'teasing form' among the airs' love poems.

《山有扶苏》艺术上以起兴的巧妙与戏谑的口气见长。全诗两章，层层写来：首章写不见子都——“山有扶苏，隰有荷华”写山有扶苏、隰有荷华，“不见子都，乃见狂且”写不见美男子、乃见狂童；次章写不见子充——“山有桥松，隰有游龙”写山有桥松、隰有游龙，“不见子充，乃见狡童”写不见美男子、乃见狡童。全诗以高下相对起兴，以“不见……乃见……”写女子戏谑情郎，正是《诗经》以兴写情的笔法。

Allusions

In the poem 'Zidu' and 'Zichong' are names standing for ancient fair men; the Mencius ('as for Zidu, none under heaven does not know his beauty') shows 'Zidu' was already a fair-man allusion; 'mad fellow', the 'ju' is a particle, earlier readers explained it as 'ju' (ape, for frivolous), modern readers follow the 'mad man' reading. 'Swimming dragon' means the red knotweed (hong), not a real dragon; 'tall pine' is the high pine (qiao, a variant for 'tall'). The whole poem uses stand-ins and plant evocation, showing no deep allusion, yet through the one word 'Zidu' activates the pre-Qin aesthetic symbol of 'prizing the fair man'.

《山有扶苏》用典在“子都”“子充”“狂且”“狡童”。“子都”用春秋郑国美男子子都之典，写美男子；“子充”亦写美男子；“狂且”写狂愚之人；“狡童”写狡黠的少年，此处为女子对情郎的昵称。全诗以这些称谓写女子对情郎的戏谑，用典自然而情致活泼，正是《诗经》写爱情戏谑的笔法。

Commentary

Zhu Xi's Commentary, citing 'some say', calls this poem 'a satire of Hu', and also says 'mad fellow, a man of mad conduct'. The modern Chu Binjie, in The Songs Fully Annotated, takes it 'a love song, the woman's teasing of her lover'. Wen Yiduo's Classified Songs of the Winds says 'mad fellow, sly boy, both jesting names for her beloved', rejecting the satire reading. Its 'on the hill grows x, in the lowlands grows x' evocation pattern is a model of the Songs' 'paired-text xing'.

《山有扶苏》是《诗经·郑风》中的名篇，也是中国诗歌中写爱情戏谑、打情骂俏的源头。此诗写女子戏谑情郎，向为论者称道。论者多赏其起兴的巧妙——“山有扶苏，隰有荷华”以高下相对起兴，正见女子与情郎之相对；“不见子都，乃见狂且”写不见美男而见狂童，正见戏谑之意。此诗以戏谑写爱情，正是《诗经》风诗写恋爱活泼真率的代表，为后世“子都”“狡童”之语所本。

Prosody

Form Book of Songs, Zheng Feng (four-character)四言诗（风诗）

Rhyme Stanza 1: flower, fellow (yu group); stanza 2: dragon, boy (dong group), each stanza one rhyme《山有扶苏》为《诗经·郑风》中的四言诗，两章，每章四句，押韵。此诗用韵：苏、华、且（鱼部）、松、龙、童（东部），两章换韵，音节轻快。

Tone pattern Four-character, two-two beat《诗经》四言诗以音节短促、节奏鲜明见长。此诗两章复沓，每章以“山有……隰有……”起兴，以“不见……乃见……”收，音节轻快而活泼。全诗以四言贯底，声调与恋爱戏谑的内容相合，是《诗经》风诗中写恋爱的一路。

Reading note Typical returning stanzas; two stanzas word-changes progress, xing and bi combined.《山有扶苏》为《诗经·郑风》中的四言诗，是写女子戏谑情郎的诗。全诗两章复沓：以“山有扶苏，隰有荷华”“山有桥松，隰有游龙”起兴，以“不见子都，乃见狂且”“不见子充，乃见狡童”戏谑。以兴写情、以谑见爱，正是《诗经》写恋爱活泼真率的代表作，为后世“子都”“狡童”之语所本。

Line by line

山有扶苏，隰有荷华。不见子都，乃见狂且。

On the high hills grow the catalpa trees; in the low marshes bloom the lotuses. I saw not the handsome Zidu, but only this wild, mad boy.

山上有扶苏树，洼地里有荷花。不见美男子子都，却见到你这个狂童。

On the mountain grows the shu tree; in the marsh hollow blooms the lotus. Instead of the handsome youth Zidu, I have met you, this wild, mad boy.

首章写不见子都而见狂且，是全诗戏谑之情的起点。“山有扶苏，隰有荷华”写起兴——“山有扶苏”写山上有扶苏，“隰有荷华”写低洼处有荷花——以山高隰低、扶苏荷花相对起兴；“不见子都，乃见狂且”写戏谑——“不见子都”写不见美男子子都，“乃见狂且”写却见到狂童——不见美男子，却见到你这个狂童。四句写女子戏谑情郎：山有扶苏、隰有荷华，不见子都、乃见狂且。以“山有扶苏，隰有荷华”起兴，以“不见子都，乃见狂且”戏谑，正是《诗经》写恋爱戏谑的笔法——口说不见美男，实则打趣眼前情郎。

The first stanza opens the playful tone of the poem: not seeing Zidu, but seeing this wild boy. The couplet 'on the high hills grow the catalpa trees, in the low marshes bloom the lotuses' is the rising image, pairing hilltop and marsh, tree and flower. 'I saw not the handsome Zidu, but only this wild, mad boy' delivers the tease: Zidu was a paragon of masculine beauty, yet the girl encounters this headstrong lover instead. The four lines are a girl's mockery of her sweetheart: hills and marsh, image and jest, all in turn. Rising on the paired landscape, she then pretends disappointment at not finding a famous beauty, only to land on the boy before her; this is the Shijing manner of lovers' banter, professing to miss a paragon while actually chiding, and flirting with, the man at her side.

山有桥松，隰有游龙。不见子充，乃见狡童。

On the high hills stand the lofty pines; in the low marshes spread the sprawling dragon-grass. I saw not the handsome Zichong, but only this sly, artful boy.

山上有高大的松树，洼地里有游龙草。不见美男子子充，却见到你这个狡童。

On the mountain stand tall pines; in the marsh hollow spreads the colorful knotweed. Instead of the handsome youth Zichong, I have met you, this artful boy.

次章写不见子充而见狡童，是全诗戏谑之情的加深。“山有桥松，隰有游龙”写起兴——“山有桥松”写山上有高大的松树，“隰有游龙”写洼地有游龙草——以山高隰低、松高草低相对起兴；“不见子充，乃见狡童”写戏谑——“不见子充”写不见美男子子充，“乃见狡童”写却见到狡童——不见美男子，却见到你这个狡童。四句写女子戏谑情郎：山有桥松、隰有游龙，不见子充、乃见狡童。以“山有桥松，隰有游龙”起兴，以“不见子充，乃见狡童”戏谑，“狡童”之称更见亲昵，正是《诗经》写恋爱戏谑之深的笔法——名为戏谑，实为昵称。

The second stanza deepens the teasing: not seeing Zichong, but this artful boy. 'On the high hills stand the lofty pines, in the low marshes spread the sprawling dragon-grass' rises again on the contrast of height and low, pine and grass. 'I saw not the handsome Zichong, but only this sly, artful boy' repeats the gibe with a changed name: Zichong, another paragon, replaced again by the boy before her. The epithet 'artful boy' is even more intimate than 'wild boy'; what sounds like mockery is in truth an endearment. The same structure of rising image and playful taunt carries the Shijing art of lovers' banter to a deeper pitch: called a rogue, he is loved the more for it.

Study

Word focus

扶苏 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “山有扶苏”之“扶苏”，写枝叶扶疏的大树，是全诗起兴的关键词。“扶苏”写枝叶扶疏——山上有扶苏树。这一词以高下相对起兴：山有扶苏，隰有荷华，以山之高与隰之低相对。以“扶苏”写山树，正是《诗经》以物起兴的笔法——一高一低，正见相配之意。

子都 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “不见子都”之“子都”，用春秋郑国美男子子都之典，是全诗写美男子的关键词。“子都”写美男子——不见美男子子都。这一词以“子都”代称美男子：不是泛称之美，而是以实有其人之子都为美男之代称。以“子都”写美男，正是《诗经》用典写情的笔法——美男之称，借子都以传。

狂且 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “乃见狂且”之“狂且”，写狂愚之人，是全诗戏谑情郎的关键词。“狂”写狂愚，“且”（通狙）写狡黠——却见到你这个狂童。这一词以“狂且”戏谑情郎：不是真骂其狂，而是打趣；不是恶语，而是昵称。以“狂且”戏谑，正是《诗经》写恋爱戏谑的笔法——名为狂且，实为情郎。

狡童 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “乃见狡童”之“狡童”，写狡黠的少年，是全诗戏谑情郎的归结词。“狡”写狡黠，“童”写少年——却见到你这个狡童。这一词以“狡童”称情郎：不是正称其美，而是戏称其狡；不是贬斥，而是亲昵。以“狡童”戏谑，正是《诗经》写恋爱亲昵的笔法——狡黠可爱，正见其情。