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先秦 Pre-Qin · 诗经 Classic of Poetry

燕燕

The Swallows (Yan Yan)

诗经

Shi Jing

送别Farewell 怀人Remembering someone

燕燕于飞，差池其羽。
之子于归，远送于野。
瞻望弗及，泣涕如雨。
燕燕于飞，颉之颃之。
之子于归，远于将之。
瞻望弗及，伫立以泣。
燕燕于飞，下上其音。
之子于归，远送于南。
瞻望弗及，实劳我心。
仲氏任只，其心塞渊。
终温且惠，淑慎其身。
先君之思，以勖寡人。

Swallow, swallow, on the wing, your wings uneven as you fly. That lady goes to her home; I see her off far into the wild. I watch till she is gone, and tears fall like rain.
Swallow, swallow, on the wing, rising and sinking through the air. That lady goes to her home; I escort her farther still. I watch till she is gone, and stand weeping.
Swallow, swallow, on the wing, your cry rising and falling. That lady goes to her home; I see her off to the south. I watch till she is gone, and my heart is in pain.
My second sister is true and good, her heart deep and sincere. Gentle and kind, she guards her conduct well. Thinking of the late lord's charge, she urges me, the widow, on.

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Meaning

One of the earliest farewell poems in Chinese literature. The speaker sees a lady (the 'second sister') off on her marriage journey, watching the swallows fly until she is out of sight, then turns to praise the lady's deep virtue and the late lord's charge that binds them.

燕子飞翔在天上，舒展参差不齐的翅膀。这位女子要出嫁，远远送她到郊野。遥望不见她的身影，泪落如雨。燕子飞翔在天上，忽上忽下地翻飞。这位女子要出嫁，送她到更远的地方。遥望不见，久立而泣。燕子飞翔在天上，上下鸣叫。这位女子要出嫁，远送到南方。遥望不见，实在劳我心伤。仲氏（二妹）诚实可信，她的心地诚实深沉。既温柔又和顺，善良谨慎修持自身。想着先君的教诲，以此勉励我这寡人。

Appreciation

Four stanzas: the first three open with 'swallow, swallow on the wing,' writing the bird's flight three ways (uneven wings, rising and sinking, cry rising and falling) as a hidden image of parting; 'I watch till she is gone' runs through, painting the scene of seeing a friend off and weeping again and again. The last stanza turns to recall the 'second sister's' virtue—'deep and sincere,' 'gentle and kind'—moving from scene to person, the feeling deepening. Refrain and image-and-comparison weave a circling, lingering, mournful tone, opening the later farewell tradition of 'ending with scene.'

【白话串讲】燕子双双飞，姑娘要远嫁，一直送到野外。“瞻望弗及，泣涕如雨”——看着她的背影消失，眼泪像雨一样。这是中国最早的送别诗，一送就送了三千年的深情。【意象与手法】全诗四章，前三章以「燕燕于飞」起兴，差池、颉颃、下上三写飞态，暗喻人之离合；「瞻望弗及」贯穿始终，将目送友人远去、泪下沾襟的画面反复渲染。末章笔锋转向对「仲氏」品德的追怀——塞渊、温惠、淑慎，由景及人，情思转深。重章叠句与比兴手法交融，营造出回环往复、哀婉不尽的抒情基调，开后世送别诗「以景结情」之先河。【情感与主旨】《燕燕》是《诗经·邶风》的著名篇章，也是中国文学史上最早的送别诗之一，被清代王士禛推为「万古送别之祖」。传统说法依《毛诗序》，认为此诗是卫庄公夫人庄姜送陈女戴妫归国所作，诗中「仲氏」即指戴妫。【名句点睛】中考高考常从以下角度设题：①起兴手法——分析「燕燕于飞」如何引出送别之情，体会物象与人事的关联；②「瞻望弗及，泣涕如雨」的送别画面与情感；③重章叠句的抒情效果。

Background

'The Swallows' is a famous poem in the 'Airs of Bei' section of the Book of Songs, and one of the earliest farewell poems in Chinese literary history, praised by the Qing critic Wang Shizhen as 'the ancestor of all farewells under heaven.' By the traditional reading (the Mao preface), it was written by the lady Zhuang Jiang of Wey, seeing off the lady Dai Gui of Chen as she returned to her state. Dai Gui's son Huan was made ruler, then killed in the Zhou-xu troubles; Dai Gui was forced back to Chen, and Zhuang Jiang saw her off and made this poem. 'Second sister' refers to Dai Gui. Hard to prove, but the farewell scene and deep bond show it grew from real parting.

《燕燕》是《诗经·邶风》中的著名篇章，也是中国文学史上最早的送别诗之一，清代王士禛推为「万古送别之祖」。关于其本事，传统说法多依《毛诗序》，认为是卫庄公夫人庄姜送陈女戴妫归国所作。据《左传》隐公三年等记载，庄姜为齐庄公之女，嫁卫庄公为夫人，贤而无子；陈女戴妫生子名完，立为太子（即后来的卫桓公）。后庄公嬖妾之子州吁作乱，弑桓公，戴妫被迫归陈，庄姜远送于野，作此诗以赠。诗中「仲氏」即指戴妫——仲为排行，戴妫为陈国女子、庄姜之妹辈，故称仲氏。此说虽因时代久远难确考，但诗中所写送别场景之真切与情谊之深挚，足证其源于真实的离别体验，是研究先秦送别礼仪与女性情谊的重要文献。从文学史的角度看，《燕燕》的出现具有开创意义：它是中国诗歌中第一首完整的送别之作，其以燕起兴、以景写情的手法，为后世送别诗奠定了基本范式。诗中庄姜与戴妫的情谊，也反映了先秦贵族女性之间深挚的友谊，是研究先秦女性生活与情感的重要材料，故其价值不限于文学，更有历史文化意义。

Art

Four stanzas: the first three open with 'swallow, swallow on the wing,' writing the bird's flight three ways as a hidden image of meeting and parting; 'I watch till she is gone' runs through, painting the scene of seeing a friend off and weeping again and again. The last stanza turns to recall the 'second sister's' virtue—'deep and sincere,' 'gentle and kind,' 'guarding her conduct'—moving from scene to person, the feeling deepening. Refrain and image-and-comparison weave a circling, lingering, mournful tone, opening the later farewell tradition of 'ending with scene.'

全诗四章，前三章以「燕燕于飞」起兴，反复咏叹：一章「差池其羽」写燕翅参差之飞态，二章「颉之颃之」写燕忽上忽下之翻飞，三章「下上其音」写燕上下鸣叫之声，三写飞态、三换角度，暗喻人之离合无常、送者之心绪起伏。「瞻望弗及」贯穿三章，将目送友人远去、泪下沾襟的画面反复渲染——望其行、望其远、望其不见，一层深似一层，由「泣涕如雨」到「伫立以泣」再到「实劳我心」，情感逐章加深。末章笔锋一转，追怀「仲氏」之品德：「其心塞渊」「终温且惠」「淑慎其身」，由景及人，由送别之悲转为人格之颂。重章叠句与比兴手法交融，回环往复、哀婉不尽，开后世送别诗以景结情之先河。重章叠句在此诗中的运用尤为精妙：三章结构相同而意象层进，燕之飞态由差池而颉颃而下上，送别之地由野而途而南，情感由泣涕而伫立而劳心，回环而不重复，递进而有层次；末章忽转写人，由景入情、由情入德，章法之变，正是全诗情感由哀转深的关键。

Allusions

'Tears like rain' and 'stand weeping' draw on common farewell images in the 'Airs of Bei'; 'thinking of the late lord's charge, to urge me on' quietly uses the historical fact that Zhuang Jiang, by the late lord's charge, urges herself on—this is a matter-based allusion, not ornament. The poem has no dense allusion, using only plain description and refrain to voice parting, so few set allusions. The word 'xu' (urge on) means exactly that, here pointing clearly to Zhuang Jiang urging herself by the late lord's teaching—the one concrete tiny allusion in the poem.

诗中「燕燕于飞」既是起兴之景，亦暗含典故色彩：燕子春来秋去、双飞双宿，历来为离别与相思的象征，此诗以燕起兴，实开后世「燕」意象抒写离情之端（如刘禹锡「旧时王谢堂前燕」、晏殊「似曾相识燕归来」）。「泣涕如雨」「伫立以泣」化用《邶风》常见的送别与哭泣意象，质朴而深挚。「先君之思，以勖寡人」暗用卫庄公遗命之本事——庄姜以先君之教勉励自己不负所托，属本事性用典而非藻饰，其中「勖」字本义为勉励，在此明确指向庄姜以先君之训自励、郑重守志的心迹。全诗并无繁复典事，纯以白描与重章抒写离情，其典故之少、情感之真，正是国风「饥者歌其食，劳者歌其事」的本色。燕子的意象在此诗中已具双重意蕴：既是起兴之物象，也是离别的象征——双燕同飞而人将远行，燕之相伴反衬人之分离，此后燕与离别便结下不解之缘；「瞻望弗及」四字更成为送别的经典场景，历代送别诗写目送远行者，无不暗承此意，可见此诗意象原型的影响力。

Commentary

Zhu Xi (Southern Song): 'As the swallows fly above and below, their sounds harmonize—this is an image.' Wang Shizhen (Qing): 'the ancestor of all farewells under heaven.' Fang Yurun (Qing): 'the four characters “I watch till she is gone” stand for countless tears.' Modern scholar Chen Zizhan calls it 'true feeling, the source that later farewell poems follow.' Critics through the ages value its writing of deep grief in plain words and its founding of the farewell genre.

宋人朱熹《诗集传》释此诗：「譬如燕燕飞于上下，而其声音相和也。此以兴也」，认为燕子上下和鸣正是以兴法写人之别离。清人王士禛《分甘余话》推其为「万古送别之祖」；方玉润《诗经原始》评「瞻望弗及」四字「抵多少眼泪语」，极赏其以最简之语写最深之悲。近人陈子展《诗经直解》谓其「情真意挚，为后世送别诗所祖述」。自古论者皆重其以浅语写深悲、开送别一体之地位：此诗之前，送别之情或融于祭祀、田猎诸事之中；此诗之后，「送别」成为中国诗歌最重要的母题之一，王维、李白、柳永等历代送别名篇，皆可溯源于此。诗以燕子起兴、以品德作结的结构，也为后世送别诗「即景生情、由景及人」提供了范式。从《燕燕》到王维《送元二使安西》、李白《送友人》，中国送别诗的发展脉络清晰可循：《燕燕》定其基调、立其手法，后世在此基础上不断丰富；王士禛以「万古送别之祖」许之，正是从文学史的高度肯定其开创地位，此评已成为中国文学批评史上的定论。

Prosody

Form Book of Songs · Airs of Bei · Airs of the States诗经·邶风·国风（四言诗，重章叠句）

Rhyme Four stanzas shift rhyme: ye/rain, jiang/qi, nan/xin, yuan/shen/ren, roughly the zhi and zhen groups四章换韵，野、雨、羽，将、泣、颃，南、心、音，渊、身、人等，大致押鱼部、阳部、侵部、真部

Tone pattern Not datable (pre-Qin poetry has no level-oblique rules)不可考（先秦诗歌无平仄格律），四言为主，节奏铿锵

Reading note Mostly four-character, repeated stanzas, a circling structure《燕燕》为《诗经·国风·邶风》中的四言诗，全诗四章，每章六句，采用典型的重章叠句结构：前三章仅更换数字（差池其羽、颉之颃之、下上其音；远送于野、远于将之、远送于南；泣涕如雨、伫立以泣、实劳我心），反复咏唱，而每章所易之字皆有深意——飞态由参差而翻飞而和鸣，送别由野而途而南，情感由泣涕而伫立而劳心，层层递进。四章换韵，大致押鱼部（羽、野、雨）、阳部（颃、将、泣）、侵部（音、南、心）、真部（渊、身、人），依上古音韵部通押，回环复沓而有变化。末章四句转为直接称颂（仲氏任只……以勖寡人），句式整饬，庄重典雅。全诗以重章叠句造成一唱三叹的音乐效果，与送别之情的缠绵深挚相得益彰，是《诗经》重章手法的典范之作，也是研究先秦诗歌结构艺术的标本。

Line by line

燕燕于飞，差池其羽。

The swallows fly, fly in the air, their wings outspread in uneven, graceful flight.

燕子飞翔在天上，舒展参差不齐的翅膀。

Swallows, oh swallows, take to the air, their wings outspread in uneven, graceful flight.

起兴兼起调，是全诗的开端与基调：「燕燕」叠字呼告，如见双燕于眼前翻飞；「差池其羽」写燕翅参差之态，两翼不齐、上下错落，正是燕子初飞或将离时的景象。以飞燕起兴，暗喻人之将别——燕犹能双飞双宿，而人却要劳燕分飞；翅之参差，亦如人心之错落不齐。兴象与人事若即若离，不着痕迹，却为全诗的离愁定下基调，是《诗经》比兴手法的典范运用，亦开后世以燕写离情之先河。

Rising image and opening strain together, the start and keynote of the poem: swallows, oh swallows is a reduplicated call, as if the pair were turning before the eyes; their wings outspread in uneven flight writes the unequal sweep of the wings, two pinions not level, rising and falling, just as swallows first take wing, or are about to part. Rising on the flying swallows, it secretly figures human parting: swallows may still fly and roost in pairs, yet the lovers must part like the swallows; the uneven wings, too, are like the uneven heart. The image and human event touch and draw back, without a seam, yet set the keynote of parting sorrow for the whole, a model use of Shijing bi and xing, opening the later tradition of writing parting through swallows.

瞻望弗及，泣涕如雨。

I gaze after her until she is out of sight, and my tears fall like rain.

遥望不见她的身影，泪落如雨。

I strain my gaze until she is gone beyond sight, and my tears pour down like rain.

白描送别瞬间，画面感极强，千古送别名句：「瞻望」写目送之专注，一直望到「弗及」——人影已远，望之不及；「泣涕如雨」写泪如雨下，悲不自胜。四字一句，由动作到情态，把送别者伫立远望、望而不见、泪落如雨的完整过程凝于八言之中。方玉润评此四字「抵多少眼泪语」，正指其以最简之语写最深之悲，不加形容而形容自至，是国风白描手法的极致，后世「孤帆远影碧空尽，唯见长江天际流」一类写法皆祖于此。

A plain depiction of the instant of seeing off, intensely visual, an age-famed farewell couplet. I gaze after her writes the fixed intentness of the eyes, gazing until out of sight: the figure far, beyond the reach of sight. My tears fall like rain writes weeping past control. Four characters, one clause; from action to state, the whole process of the one seeing off, standing, gazing, sight failing, tears like rain, is condensed into eight words. Fang Yurun said these four characters are worth many words of tears, meaning precisely that the simplest language writes the deepest grief: no ornament, and ornament is there of itself, the extreme of the Airs' plain style, the ancestor of later lines such as the lone sail's far shadow fades into blue emptiness; I see only the Yangtze flowing to the edge of heaven.

终温且惠，淑慎其身。

She was ever gentle and kind, virtuous and guarded in all her conduct.

既温柔又和顺，善良谨慎，修持自身。

She was at once gentle and considerate, kind and circumspect in all her bearing.

由景及人，转写仲氏之德，情思转深：前三章反复渲染送别之悲，至此忽转入对送别之人品德的追怀——「终温且惠」写其性情之温柔和顺，「淑慎其身」写其操守之善良谨慎，四字一句，德容并见。以如此贤淑之人为友为妹，而今一别，不知何日再会，则别情之重，正因人之难得；颂德即所以深悲，由悲转颂、以颂衬悲，情感层次丰富，是《诗经》于抒情中写人的典范，也为末章「先君之思」作了铺垫。

Moving from scene to person, it turns to the virtue of Zhong-shi, and the feeling deepens: the first three stanzas have again and again rendered the sorrow of farewell; here it suddenly turns to recollecting the character of the one departed. She was ever gentle and kind writes her tender, gracious nature; virtuous and guarded in all her conduct writes her good, careful integrity: four characters a clause, virtue and bearing together. To have had such a woman as friend and sister, and now this parting, who knows when the meeting again: the weight of farewell lies precisely in the rarity of such a person. Praising her virtue is the way to deepen the grief: sorrow turns to ode, ode sets off sorrow; the layers of feeling are rich, the Shijing model of writing character within lyric, and the preparation for the final line's thoughts of our late lord.

先君之思，以勖寡人。

Mindful of our late father's charge, she exhorted me, this lonely ruler.

想着先君的教诲，以此勉励我这寡人。

Mindful of the teachings of the late lord, she used them to encourage me, his lonely ruler.

点明送别的精神根由，沉郁郑重：「先君」指已故的卫庄公，「寡人」为诸侯自称，此为庄姜自指。思念先君之教，以此勉励自己——庄姜与戴妫之别，不仅是闺中姊妹之别，更因桓公遇害、国事纷乱而带政治的分量：庄姜以先君之训自励，守志不移，不负所托。一个「勖」字见其郑重的心迹，使全诗由个人的离愁上升到家国忧患的层面，情感由哀婉转沉郁，章法上以德收悲、以志结情，是国风诗思想深度的重要体现。

It names the spiritual ground of the farewell, solemn and somber: our late lord is the deceased Duke Zhuang of Wey; lonely ruler is a ruler's self-address, here Zhuang Jiang speaking of herself. Remembering the late lord's teaching, she used it to encourage herself: the parting of Zhuang Jiang and Dai Gui is no mere separation of sisters within the palace, but, after the murder of Duke Huan and the turmoil of the state, carries political weight. Zhuang Jiang strengthens herself on the late lord's charge, keeping her purpose unshaken, true to the trust laid on her. The word exhorted shows the earnestness of her intent; it lifts the poem from personal parting sorrow to the plane of national peril, the feeling moving from lament to gravity; in structure, sorrow is closed by virtue, emotion by resolve, an important instance of the intellectual depth of the Airs.

Study

Word focus

差池 Describes the swallow's uneven wings; it writes the flight and hints at the unevenness of human parting—a fine choice of word. 「燕燕于飞，差池其羽」之「差池」，形容燕翅参差不齐之貌，既写飞态，又暗喻人心离别之参差，炼字精妙。差池本是状物之词，此处却物我双关：燕子双飞而翅不齐，正如送者与行者两心错落、行将分离；翅之参差即人心之参差，兴象与人事妙合无垠。此词后世演为「差池」一义（差错、失误），而其初义正在此诗，可见此诗用字之早之妙，是《诗经》状物与比兴结合得最紧密的语汇之一。

勖 To urge on; Zhuang Jiang urges herself by the late lord's teaching—one word shows a solemn, careful heart. 「以勖寡人」之「勖」，勉励之意，庄姜以先君遗训自励，一字见庄重心迹。勖字本义为勉励、劝勉，此处用于庄姜自勉，郑重而有分量——不是泛泛的自我宽慰，而是以先君之教为准则，在国难家变之际守志不移。此字使全诗由私人别情升华为家国忧患，是诗意的升华之字；其古奥庄重的语感，也与末章「仲氏任只」的称颂口吻相配，见出《诗经》用字的精审。

伫立 To stand long; describes how long the see-er watches, deepening the attachment. 「瞻望弗及，伫立以泣」之「伫立」，久立之意，状送者凝望之久，深化眷恋。伫立者，久久站立、不忍离去之貌：行人已远，身影已没，而送者仍久久伫立，唯以泪水送之。此二字与首章的「泣涕如雨」不同——泣涕是情不能已的当下之悲，伫立则是悲定之后仍不肯归去的深长之思，一急一缓，送别之情由爆发转绵长，更见眷恋之深，是重章中情感递进的关键字眼。

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