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先秦 Pre-Qin · 诗经 Classic of Poetry

四牡

Four Stallions (Si Mu)

诗经

Shi Jing

战争War 思乡Homesickness

四牡騑騑，周道倭迟。
岂不怀归？
王事靡盬，我心伤悲。
四牡騑騑，啴啴骆马。
岂不怀归？
王事靡盬，不遑启处。
翩翩者鵻，载飞载下，集于苞栩。
王事靡盬，不遑将父。
翩翩者鵻，载飞载止，集于苞杞。
王事靡盬，不遑将母。
驾彼四骆，载骤骎骎。
岂不怀归？
是用作歌，将母来谂。

Four stallions, never resting; the royal road winds long. Do I not long to go home? The king's affairs have no end, and my heart is sore.
Four stallions, never resting; the white-muzzled horses pant. Do I not long to go home? The king's affairs have no end, no time to sit or rest.
The turtledove flutters, now rising, now lowering, and rests on the clustered oak. The king's affairs have no end, no time to care for my father.
The turtledove flutters, now flying, now resting, and rests on the clustered medlar. The king's affairs have no end, no time to care for my mother.
I drive the four white-muzzled horses, galloping swift. Do I not long to go home? So I make this song, to tell my mother of my thought.

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Meaning

A court envoy, forever on the road for the king's affairs, cannot return to care for his aging parents. The turtledove, free to fly home and rest, only deepens his grief. He ends by turning his longing into song.

四匹公马不停奔走，大道迂回漫长。难道不想回家？王事没有休止，我的心里悲伤。四匹公马不停奔走，骆马喘息声啴啴。难道不想回家？王事没有休止，无暇安居。翩翩的鹁鸠，忽飞忽落，停在丛生的柞树。王事没有休止，无暇奉养父亲。翩翩的鹁鸠，忽飞忽止，停在丛生的杞树。王事没有休止，无暇奉养母亲。驾着四匹骆马，疾驰骎骎。难道不想回家？因此作此歌，把思母之情来诉说。

Appreciation

Five stanzas: the first two open with 'four stallions never resting' and the direct cry 'do I not long to go home? the king's affairs have no end'; the third and fourth turn to 'the turtledove flutters,' freely flying down to rest on the oak and medlar—using the bird's free return to set off the traveler's 'no time to care for father / mother,' image holding comparison, the object-and-self contrast piercing; the last stanza writes the gallop again and closes with 'so I make this song, to tell my mother of my thought,' the longing for mother condensed into song. 'The king's affairs have no end' appears like a refrain's drumbeat, hammering the helpless pain again and again.

【白话串讲】 “岂不怀归？王事靡盬”——我怎么会不想回家？只是公事没完。一个在外奔波的官吏，四匹马跑累了，他的思念也跑累了。三千年前，打工人的乡愁。【意象与手法】全诗五章，首二章以「四牡騑騑」起笔直抒「岂不怀归？王事靡盬」的行役之悲；三、四章笔锋一转，写「翩翩者鵻」自由飞落、集于柞杞，以鸟之得归、得息反衬行人「不遑将父」「不遑将母」——兴中有比，物我对照动人心魄；末章「驾彼四骆，载骤骎骎」再写疾驰，以「是用作歌，将母来谂」收束，思母之情凝为歌声。「王事靡盬」四现如复沓鼓点，将身不由己之痛层层捶打。【情感与主旨】《四牡》为《诗经·小雅》篇什，旧说为周朝使臣（或诸侯之臣）行役在外、勤于王事而不得归养父母的抒怀之作。《左传》曾引此诗，可见其在春秋时已为通行乐章。诗中「王事靡盬」点明悲剧根源——公役无尽，私情难全；「不遑将父」「不遑将母」则直写孝思受阻。作为「劳者歌其事」的代表，它反映了周代职役制度下士人「公」「私」两难的真实困境。【名句点睛】常考「鵻」之得归反衬行人思归的反衬手法；「王事靡盬」四现的复沓强化；「是用作歌，将母来谂」的以歌写情；《诗经》赋比兴手法的运用。

Background

'Four Stallions' is a poem in the 'Lesser Court' (Xiao Ya) section of the Book of Songs; the old reading is that it is by a Zhou envoy (or a vassal's minister) who, while away on the king's affairs and busy with duty, could not return to care for his parents. The Zuo Zhuan cites this poem, so it was already a common air in the Spring and Autumn. 'The king's affairs have no end (gu)' points to the root of the tragedy—public service without end, private feeling unfulfilled; 'no time to care for father / mother' directly writes the blocked filial love. As a model of 'the toiler sings his deed,' it reflects the real dilemma of the Zhou service system, where the scholar is torn between public and private.

《四牡》是《诗经·小雅》中的一篇，属于「小雅·鹿鸣之什」。《毛诗序》谓「《四牡》，劳使臣之来也」，即天子慰劳出使归来的使臣之诗；朱熹《诗集传》亦主此说，谓「此劳使臣之诗，以答《皇皇者华》也」——周代天子遣使臣出使四方，归来后设宴慰劳，使臣即以诗中自述行役之苦、思归之情作答，故《四牡》与《皇皇者华》相为唱和。另有一说认为是行役之臣自伤劳苦、思念父母之作。无论主使臣自述还是天子代述，诗中「岂不怀归？王事靡盬」的忠孝两难、「不遑将父」「不遑将母」的孝思受阻，都是周代职役制度下士人的普遍处境。《左传·襄公四年》载晋侯使魏绛盟诸戎，魏绛辞谢时引《四牡》「王事靡盬，不遑启处」以言勤于王事，可见此诗在春秋时已是贵族间通行的乐章，其「忠君与孝亲」的双重主题，正是《诗经》时代士人精神世界的真实投影。此诗在《诗经》中的位置也值得注意：它属于「小雅」首组「鹿鸣之什」，与《鹿鸣》《四牡》《皇皇者华》《常棣》《伐木》等篇同列，这一组诗多写燕飨、使臣、兄弟朋友之情，是周代礼乐文化「亲亲尊尊」精神的集中体现。《四牡》写使臣行役思亲，正与《鹿鸣》之宴乐群臣、《皇皇者华》之君遣使臣相为呼应，构成一组完整的君臣酬唱乐章。诗中「忠孝两难」的主题，在周代「以孝治天下」的礼法背景下尤显沉重，其「王事靡盬，不遑将母」的叹息，正是礼法规范与人间真情冲突的实录，也是《诗经》「温柔敦厚」之教下人性之真的流露。

Art

全诗五章，结构回环往复，层层递进，是《诗经》复沓章法的典型。首二章以「四牡騑騑」起笔，写四匹公马不停奔走于迂回漫长的大道，直抒「岂不怀归？王事靡盬」的行役之悲——「岂不怀归」以反诘出之，思归之切与身不由己之痛同时托出；「我心伤悲」「不遑启处」由心理到处境，写尽行役的辛劳。三、四章笔锋一转，不写马而写鸟：「翩翩者鵻，载飞载下，集于苞栩」，鹁鸠翩翩飞翔、忽上忽下，自由自在地栖止于柞树杞树之上——以鸟之得归、得息反衬行人「不遑将父」「不遑将母」，兴中有比，物我对照，动人心魄。末章「驾彼四骆，载骤骎骎」再写疾驰，回应开篇，以「是用作歌，将母来谂」收束全篇：思母之情无处排遣，只能化作歌声。全诗「王事靡盬」四现如复沓鼓点，一章一捶，将身不由己之痛层层加深，正是《诗经》复沓手法以重复求深化的典范。此诗在复沓之中还暗藏递进的结构匠心：五章之间，前二章写「怀归」之思（我心伤悲、不遑启处），是行役之劳；三、四章写「不遑将父」「不遑将母」，由一己之劳推进到人伦之痛，是情感的深化；末章「是用作歌，将母来谂」，由痛而歌，是情感的升华。而「翩翩者鵻」的起兴插入三、四章之间，如乐章中的间奏，以鸟之自由反衬人之困顿，使全诗在复沓的咏叹中有了张弛与对照，正是《诗经》「兴」法的妙用。全诗五章，往复回环而层层深入，正是「一唱三叹」的典范。

Allusions

The 'turtledove' (zhui) was anciently held a filial bird that feeds its parent in return; hence the poet uses 'the turtledove flutters' freely returning to its nest to set off his own not caring for parents—quietly using the 'crow feeds back' family-duty image, a tiny allusion within image-and-comparison. 'No end (gu)' comes from a set phrase in the Songs (also in 'the king's affairs have no end' from Tang's 'The Wild Geese'), meaning the king's affairs never cease. 'To tell my mother of my thought'—'shen' means to tell, a common word. The poem uses the returning bird to sting its own unfiliality; the comparison is light yet the meaning deep.

《四牡》的「用典」主要体现在《诗经》特有的兴象传统与伦常意象上。「四牡騑騑」之「四牡」即四匹公马，是《诗经》写行役的经典意象（《小雅·车攻》《鲁颂·駉》皆有「四牡」），以马的奔劳写人的行役，物我同构。「岂不怀归」的反诘句式，是《诗经》行役诗（如《小雅·采薇》「曰归曰归，心亦忧止」）惯用的抒情方式。「王事靡盬」为《诗经》习语，「靡盬」即无休止，亦见《唐风·鸨羽》「王事靡盬，不能艺稷黍」，是周代行役诗的核心语汇，言王事之无尽、归期之无期。最值得注意的是「翩翩者鵻」之「鵻」：鵻即鹁鸠，古人以为孝鸟，能反哺其母，故诗人以鹁鸠自由归巢反衬己之不得养亲，暗用「乌鹊反哺」的伦常意象——鸟尚能反哺，人却不能奉养父母，比德用事虽轻而意在深长，正是《诗经》以微物寄深意的兴象传统。「将母来谂」之「谂」为告、念之意，用常语而情深。全诗以反哺之鸟起兴刺己不孝，比兴之间，伦常之义与行役之悲交织，正是《诗经》「温柔敦厚」之教的体现。

Commentary

The Mao preface: 'Four Stallions, laboring the envoy who comes.' Zhu Xi: 'this is a poem laboring the envoy, answering The Glorious One.' Fang Yurun: '“no time to care for father,” “no time to care for mother” write the hidden pain of the wanderer to the end.' Modern readers see it as a representative of Zhou service poetry, affirming its craft of 'bird returns, man does not' and the heavy, repressed rhythm made by repeating 'the king's affairs have no end.'

《四牡》自汉代以来即为《诗经》学的重要篇目。《毛诗序》「劳使臣之来也」的定位，确立了此诗「慰劳行役」的解读传统；郑玄《毛诗笺》进一步申说「使臣既还，天子劳之」，朱熹《诗集传》则谓「此劳使臣之诗，以答《皇皇者华》也」，将《四牡》与《皇皇者华》配为君臣唱和之作。清·方玉润《诗经原始》则别出新解，谓「'不遑将父''不遑将母'，写尽羁人隐痛」，强调其行役思亲的普遍人情。近人论此诗，多从「行役诗」与「思亲诗」的角度立说，肯定其以「鸟之得归」反衬「人之不归」的艺术巧思，以及「王事靡盬」复沓所造成的沉郁节奏。作为《诗经》中行役题材的代表作之一，此诗与《采薇》《东山》同为写征人行役之苦的名篇，而自有其特色：《采薇》写思归与战事，《东山》写还乡的想象，《四牡》则专写「公义与私情」的两难，以忠孝不能两全的深刻矛盾，为后世无数行役诗、思亲诗提供了永恒的情感母题，其影响及于汉乐府《饮马长城窟行》、唐诗「王事靡盬」的反复咏叹而不衰。

Prosody

Form Book of Songs · Lesser Court (Xiao Ya) · Court hymn《诗经·小雅》四言体

Rhyme Five stanzas shift rhyme: chi/bei, ma/chu, xu/fu, qi/mu, qin/shen全诗五章，章五句，各章换韵：首章「騑、迟、悲」、次章「騑、马、处」、三章「翩、下、栩、父」、四章「翩、止、杞、母」、五章「骆、骎、谂」等，句句或隔句押韵，古韵自由。

Tone pattern Not datable四言为主，句式整齐，复沓咏叹，节奏舒缓沉重，声情与行役之悲相应。

Reading note Mostly four-character, fu and bi joined, refrain heavy and repressed《四牡》为《诗经》四言体，是《诗经》最基本、最典型的诗体形式。全诗五章，章五句，句式以四言为主，整齐划一，正合《诗经》「一言以蔽之，思无邪」的庄重品格。其韵律特点在于复沓：五章之间，章章反复咏叹「岂不怀归」「王事靡盬」等核心句式，仅换少量字词（如「我心伤悲」「不遑启处」「不遑将父」「不遑将母」），形成一唱三叹的节奏。这种复沓不是简单的重复，而是情感的层层递进：首章悲在「我心」，次章叹在「启处」（无暇安居），三、四章痛在「将父」「将母」（无暇养亲），一章一进，由一己之劳到人伦之痛，情感由浅入深。四言体节奏短促而平稳，正合行役者疲惫而沉重的脚步；「岂不怀归」的反诘句插入四言之中，语气陡转，如叹息，如叩问，打破了四言的平板。全诗以四言为骨、以复沓为神、以反诘为气，声情与辞情高度统一，是《诗经》复沓艺术与音乐性结合的典范，读来如闻周代行役者那沉重而绵长的脚步声与叹息声。

Line by line

四牡騑騑，周道倭迟

Four stallions, never resting; the royal road winds long.

四匹公马不停奔走，大道迂回漫长。

Four stallions press on in ceaseless gallop; the royal road winds away, long and endless.

起句以马写人，是全诗行役之苦的起点。「四牡騑騑」写四匹公马不停奔走——「騑騑」叠字写马行之劳，马不停蹄，人亦无休，以马的奔劳暗写人的行役，物我同构，起笔即见行役之辛。「周道倭迟」写周朝的大道迂回漫长——「倭迟」即逶迤，写大道蜿蜒曲折、望不到尽头，路的漫长暗喻归期的渺茫与王事的无尽。两句一写马之劳、一写路之远，视觉上先铺开一幅行役图：一队车马奔驰在迂回漫长的官道上，尘土飞扬，日复一日。马是疲惫的马，路是无尽的路，行役之人的辛劳与无奈已在不言之中，为下句「岂不怀归」的反诘蓄足了势。此起笔以最具体的物象写最普遍的行役之苦，正是《诗经》「即物起兴」的本色。

The opening writes through the horses, the starting point of the poem's hardship of official travel. Four stallions press on in ceaseless gallop: the reduplicative writes the labor of the running horses, hooves never still, men never resting; through the horses' toil the man's conscripted travel is written, object and self fused from the first stroke. The royal road winds away, long and endless: winding describes the road's coils, stretching out of sight; the long road secretly mirrors the distant, uncertain homecoming and the endlessness of the king's business. Two lines: the horses' toil, the road's distance; visually first spreading a scene of forced travel, a company of chariots galloping on the winding official road, dust rising, day after day. The horses are spent, the road endless; the traveler's toil and helplessness lie between the lines, preparing the challenge of do I not long to return? that follows. Writing the universal toil of official service through the most concrete object is the native Shijing art of rising on things.

岂不怀归？王事靡盬

Do I not long to go home? The king's affairs have no end.

难道不想回家？王事没有休止。

Do I not long to return home? Yet the king's business knows no rest.

此二句是全诗的核心矛盾，也是全篇反复咏叹的主旋律。「岂不怀归」以反诘出之：难道我不想回家吗？当然想——「岂不」二字先以反问承认思归之切，情感坦荡而炽烈；「王事靡盬」紧接着给出答案：可是王事没有休止——「靡盬」即无止息，王事如巨石压顶，归期遥遥无期。一问一答之间，「公」与「私」的矛盾、「忠」与「孝」的冲突，赤裸裸地摆在读者面前：思归是人的天性，王事是人的职责，二者不可得兼，而选择权并不在行役者手中。此二句以最简练的句式写尽最深刻的困境，正是《诗经》「辞约而旨丰」的典范。全诗五章，「岂不怀归」三现、「王事靡盬」四现，这反复的叩问与无奈的答复，一章深似一章，把身不由己之痛捶打进读者心里。

The two lines are the core contradiction of the poem and the main theme of its repeated singing. Do I not long to return home? is spoken as a challenge: of course I long to; the two words do I not first admit, in the form of a question, how sharp the longing is, open and ardent. Yet the king's business knows no rest immediately gives the answer: the king's task has no end; no rest means no cessation, the royal burden pressing like a boulder, homecoming indefinitely postponed. In one question and one answer, the conflict of public and private, of loyalty and filial duty, is laid bare: longing for home is human nature, the king's business is human duty; the two cannot both be met, and the choice is not the traveler's to make. The two lines write the deepest predicament in the fewest words, the model of Shijing brevity with rich meaning. Across the five stanzas, do I not long to return recurs three times and the king's business knows no rest four times; the repeated questioning and helpless reply deepen stanza by stanza, pounding the pain of being unable to act as one wishes into the reader's heart.

翩翩者鵻，载飞载下，集于苞栩

Gracefully fly the turtledoves, now up, now down, alighting on the thick clumps of oak.

鹁鸠翩翩飞翔，忽飞忽落，停在丛生的柞树上。

The turtle-doves flutter gracefully, flying now up, now down, settling on the dense clumps of oak trees.

此二句是全诗最富巧思的一笔，以鸟之自由反衬人之身不由己。「翩翩者鵻」写鹁鸠翩翩飞翔——「翩翩」叠字写鸟飞之轻盈自在；「载飞载下，集于苞栩」写它忽飞忽落，自由自在地停栖在丛生的柞树上。这鹁鸠想飞就飞、想停就停，来去自如，何等逍遥！而反观行役之人，四牡騑騑、周道倭迟，身不由己地奔驰在王命的大道上，想归而不能归。更深的用意在于「鵻」的伦常意味：古人以为鹁鸠是孝鸟，能反哺其母，故诗人以鹁鸠自由归巢反衬己之不得养亲——鸟尚能随时归巢奉养，人却「不遑将父」，连孝鸟都不如，悲怆入骨。此二句兴中有比、物我对照，以最寻常的鸟事写出最深沉的孝思，正是《诗经》比兴手法的巅峰。

The two lines are the poem's most ingenious stroke, using the bird's freedom to set off the man's lack of freedom. Gracefully fly the turtledoves: the reduplicative writes the lightness and ease of their flight. Now up, now down, alighting on the thick clumps of oak writes them rising and settling at will, freely resting on the clustered oaks. These doves fly when they will, rest when they will, coming and going as they please: what ease! Yet the traveler: four galloping stallions, the endless winding road, galloping against his will on the king's highway, longing to return and unable. Deeper still is the ethical meaning of the dove: the ancients counted it a filial bird that feeds its mother in return; the poet uses the dove's free return to its nest to set off his own inability to care for his parents: the bird can at any time go home to nourish its mother, while he cannot even tend his father; he is less than a filial bird, and the grief cuts to the bone. Rising image with hidden comparison, object and self set against each other; writing the deepest filial longing through the most ordinary bird, the peak of the Shijing art of bi and xing.

是用作歌，将母来谂

So I make this song, to tell my mother of my thought.

因此作此歌，把思母之情来诉说。

Therefore I make this song, to set forth my longing for my mother.

末二句是全诗的收束，思母之情无处排遣，只能凝为歌声，余韵悠长。「是用作歌」写诗人作此歌的缘由——王事无尽、归期无期，奉养父母之愿付诸东流，千言万语无从说起，唯有「作歌」一途，把满腔的思亲之情倾注于歌声之中；「将母来谂」点明歌的内容与目的——「将」是奉养、「母」是母亲、「谂」是告诉、诉说，意谓要把奉养母亲的心愿与思念诉说给母亲听。全诗五章，前四章反复咏叹行役之苦、孝思之阻，至此以「作歌」收束：既然不能亲身归养，便以歌声代行——歌声飞越千山万水，把儿子的思念与愧疚送到母亲身边。这个收束哀而不伤、怨而不怒，正是《诗经》「温柔敦厚」的典范：行役之悲没有化为怨怼，而是升华为一支深情的歌，千百年来感动着无数行役在外、思亲不得归的游子。

The closing two lines gather the poem: the longing for a mother has nowhere to pour out, and so congeals into song, its lingering tone long-drawn. Therefore I make this song gives the reason for the poem: the king's business endless, homecoming without a date, the wish to nourish his parents sunk in vain; ten thousand words find no outlet, and the only path left is to make a song, pouring all his longing into music. To set forth my longing for my mother names the content: nourish means support, mother is his mother, tell means to speak forth; he would speak to his mother of his wish to care for her, and of his longing. Across five stanzas the first four repeat the toil of travel and the blocked filial wish; here it closes in making a song: since he cannot go home to care for her in person, let the song act for him; the music crosses mountains and rivers, carrying a son's longing and guilt to his mother's side. The close grieves without wounding, resents without anger; it is the model of the Shijing virtue of gentle honesty: the sorrow of conscripted travel does not curdle into bitterness, but rises into a song of deep feeling that has moved, through the ages, every wanderer far from home.

Study

Word focus

靡盬 'gu' means to cease; 'no end' says the king's affairs never stop, a drumbeat of grief appearing four times. 「王事靡盬」之「靡盬」二字，是《四牡》全篇反复咏叹的核心语汇，也是理解此诗主旨的钥匙。「靡」为否定词，「盬」本义为盐池、引申为止息（一说为坚固、勤苦），「靡盬」即「无止息、无休止」，言王事没完没了、永无尽头。此词一出，「岂不怀归」的思归之切便被彻底封死：不是不想归，而是王事无休，归期无期。「靡盬」的语义之重，在于它把行役之苦从「一时之劳」提升为「无尽之役」——苦不在于今日的奔波，而在于看不到尽头的绝望。全诗「王事靡盬」四现，一词一章，如鼓点般反复捶打，每现一次，身不由己之痛便加深一层，正是《诗经》以复沓强化情感的手法的集中体现。此词亦见《唐风·鸨羽》，是周代行役诗共用的核心语汇，可见其早已成为那个时代士人共同的叹息。

倭迟 Winding and long; it writes the road and hints at the long-deferred homecoming. 「周道倭迟」之「倭迟」，即「逶迤」，写周朝大道的迂回漫长，是全诗写归路无期的一个关键叠韵词。「倭迟」以叠韵写道路蜿蜒曲折之状，一读便觉那大道曲曲折折、绵延无尽，望不到头——路之远即归期之渺茫，路之曲即归心之焦灼。此词不写路之「直」而写路之「迟」：直路尚有尽头，曲路则步步迂回，走得越久，离家乡越远，行役之人的疲惫与绝望尽在这「倭迟」二字之中。与「四牡騑騑」的「騑騑」相配，「騑騑」写马行之劳、「倭迟」写道路之远，一劳一远，互为因果，共同构成了行役之苦的视觉图景。以叠韵词写物态之曲，正是《诗经》语言「以声写形」的高妙处，一字一词，皆是千锤百炼的结晶。

谂 To tell, to think of; 'to tell my mother of my thought' condenses the longing for mother into song—a deep, weighed word. 「将母来谂」之「谂」字，是《四牡》末章的诗眼，写尽思母之情的深沉与无奈。「谂」本义为告知、诉说，此处写诗人要把奉养母亲的心愿诉说出来——不是「归」养，不是「往」养，而是「谂」，一个「说」字，道尽现实的残酷：行役之人连亲自奉养都做不到，只能以言语、以歌声来表达这份孝心。「谂」字之妙，在于它把「孝」从行动降格为诉说，正见其「不能」的悲怆——若能归养，何须谂之？正因为归不得、养不得，才只能「谂」，一字之中，多少愧疚与辛酸。与「将母」连用，「将」是奉养，是行动，「谂」是诉说，是语言，行动无法实现，只能退而为语言，这退让的一步，恰恰是孝子最沉痛的一步。「是用作歌，将母来谂」，以「谂」字收束全诗，思母之情凝为歌声，怨而不怒，正是《诗经》「温柔敦厚」诗教的绝唱。

四牡