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清 Qing · 诗 Poem

赴戍登程口占示家人

On Setting Out for Exile, an Impromptu Poem for My Family

林则徐

Lin Zexu

爱国patriotism 亲情family love 言志Theme

力微任重久神疲，再竭衰庸定不支。
苟利国家生死以，岂因祸福避趋之。
谪居正是君恩厚，养拙刚于戍卒宜。
戏与山妻谈故事，试吟断送老头皮。

My strength is slight, my charge is great; long my spirit has been spent,
Were I to drain this worn and feeble frame again, I could not stand.
If it serves the state, I stake my life—how could I shun ill or seek gain?
Why turn from peril, court fortune, by my own weal and woe restrained?
Exile is but the sovereign's deepest grace; to hide my dullness suits a guard,
In jest I tell my old wife an old tale, and chant the line that sends off an old scalp.

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Meaning

My strength is slight yet my burden is heavy, and for long my spirit has been worn and spent; if I were again to exhaust this aging, mediocre body it surely could not hold up. If it benefits the country, I will lay down my life without hesitation—how could I avoid harm or seek gain for my own sake? To be banished and live in remoteness is itself the emperor's deep grace, and to hide my inadequacy as a frontier soldier suits me well. In jest I tell my old wife an old story, and try to chant the verse about sending off one's old scalp.

我能力微薄却担当重任，长久以来精神疲惫；若再竭尽这衰老庸碌之身，定然难以支撑。只要对国家有利，便将生死付之度外，又怎会因个人祸福而避害趋利？贬谪远居，正是皇上的深恩厚泽；藏拙守愚，正合做一个戍卒。我笑着对老妻讲起古人的故事，也试着吟出那「断送老头皮」的诗句。

Appreciation

This regulated poem opens with self-deprecation: 'My strength is slight, my charge is great; long my spirit has been spent' and 'Were I to drain this worn frame again, I could not stand' lower the poet before his reader. The second couplet then lifts and rings out—'If it serves the state, I stake my life—how could I shun ill or seek gain?'—and becomes the spine of the whole. The third couplet affects a cheerful acceptance, calling exile 'the sovereign's deepest grace' and his frontier post a fit place 'to hide my dullness.' The closing couplet turns to his wife in jest, retelling an old tale and chanting the comic line about sending off an old scalp. Outwardly composed, inwardly heavy, the poem joins iron resolve with tender feeling, showing both the man and his art.

【白话串讲】林则徐被贬新疆，临行前写诗给家人：“苟利国家生死以，岂因祸福避趋之”——只要对国家有利，生死都可以付出，哪会因祸福而逃避。这是林则徐留给中国最硬的一句话。【意象与手法】首联以「力微任重」「衰庸不支」自抑起笔；颔联「苟利国家生死以，岂因祸福避趋之」振起，掷地有声，为全诗脊骨；颈联故作「君恩厚」「养拙宜」之宽语；尾联「戏与山妻谈故事，试吟断送老头皮」以诙谐宽妻。外旷达内沉郁，刚健兼温婉，见其人其诗。【情感与主旨】林则徐字少穆，福建侯官人，民族英雄。道光间主持虎门销烟，后遭谗贬新疆伊犁。道光二十二年（1842）赴戍途中经西安，登程时口占此七律示家人，时国难方殷而自身远谪，诗人以达观语慰亲，刚肠柔情并集于此诗，是近代爱国诗的名篇。【名句点睛】常考颔联化用《左传》子产之语所体现的爱国精神、「戏与」「试吟」的诙谐与章法作用，以及全诗外旷达内沉郁的情感层次。

Background

Lin Zexu, courtesy Shaomu, was a native of Houguan in Fujian and a national hero. During the Daoguang reign he led the destruction of opium at Humen, then was slandered and banished to Ili in Xinjiang. In the twenty-second year of Daoguang, on his way to exile, he passed through Xi'an and, as he mounted his journey, improvised this seven-character regulated poem for his family. With the nation in crisis yet himself far banished, he comforted his kin in a voice of seeming ease, and in it firmness and tenderness meet.

林则徐（1785—1850），字元抚，又字少穆，晚号俟村老人，福建侯官（今福州）人，嘉庆十六年进士，历官湖广总督、两广总督等，道光十九年（1839）以钦差大臣赴广东主持禁烟，虎门销烟，抗击英军，后遭投降派诬陷，被革职遣戍伊犁。此诗作于道光二十二年（1842）七月，林则徐赴戍途中经西安，告别家人，登程时口占此七律。此时鸦片战争失败、南京条约即将签订，国难方殷，而这位主持禁烟的民族英雄却以「罪臣」之身远戍万里，妻子儿女留居西安，生离死别之际，诗人没有怨天尤人，而是以达观之语慰亲：首联自抑力微任重，颔联立报国之志，颈联强作宽慰，尾联以谐谑宽妻。全诗刚肠与柔情并集：对国家的忠诚、对亲人的眷恋、对遭遇的旷达，交织于八句之中，是林则徐人格精神的集中体现，也是近代爱国诗的不朽名篇。林则徐赴戍伊犁途中，沿途百姓争相迎送，其感慨见于《赴戍登程口占》诸作；此诗作于西安与家人作别之际，『力微任重』的自谦与『苟利国家』的自誓并见，正是这位民族英雄于人生低谷仍不失其志的写照，也是近代士人精神在国难之际的缩影。

Art

The first couplet begins by restraining itself with 'slight strength, heavy charge' and 'feeble frame cannot stand.' The second couplet, 'If it serves the state, I stake my life—how could I shun ill or seek gain,' rises and strikes like a stone, the poem's backbone. The third couplet deliberately offers the soothing words 'the sovereign's grace' and 'suits a guard' to soften the blow. The last couplet, 'In jest I tell my old wife an old tale, and chant the line that sends off an old scalp,' uses wit to console her. Calm without, heavy within, firm yet gentle, the poem reveals the man and his verse.

全诗章法严谨、情感多层，是七律「外旷达内沉郁」的典范。首联「力微任重久神疲，再竭衰庸定不支」以自抑起笔——「力微任重」写己之难胜，「久神疲」写积劳之态，「衰庸」自谦，「定不支」自断，两句写尽老病之身难当重任的实情，为后文「苟利国家」的决绝作铺垫：明知力不能支而仍不惜身，正是爱国者明知不可为而为之的悲壮。颔联「苟利国家生死以，岂因祸福避趋之」是全诗脊骨——化用《左传》子产「苟利社稷，死生以之」，以「生死以」「避趋之」的对举，写尽以国为先、不顾祸福的决绝，掷地有声，是林则徐一生的座右铭。颈联「谪居正是君恩厚，养拙刚于戍卒宜」故作宽语——贬谪说是君恩，戍卒说是养拙，于自嘲中见忠厚，怨而不怒。尾联「戏与山妻谈故事，试吟断送老头皮」以谐谑收束——用杨朴妻诗之典，以玩笑宽慰老妻，轻语之中愈见深情。四联由自抑而明志而宽慰而谐谑，情感层层转折，外旷达内沉郁，正是林则徐「达观而深情」的人格写照。

Allusions

The line 'If it serves the state, I stake my life' adapts Zichan's words in the Zuo Zhuan (Duke Zhao, year 4): 'If it benefits the altars, I give my life to it.' 'How could I shun ill or seek gain' rests on the Doctrine of the Mean: 'The gentleman dwells in ease and awaits his fate; the small man risks danger to seize luck,' together with the idea of choosing between fortune and misfortune. 'Sending off an old scalp' uses the comic allusion of Yang Pu of the Song, whose wife, when he was summoned to court, gave him a poem: 'Today they drag you off to the yamen—this time you send off your old scalp.' Lin borrows it to comfort his family with humor.

诗中用典精切，皆贴切于处境与心境。「苟利国家生死以」化用《左传·昭公四年》子产之语——「苟利社稷，死生以之」，子产执政郑国，不畏谤言，以社稷为先，林则徐引以自誓：只要有利于国家，生死皆可置之度外，正是其禁烟抗英、明知会得罪洋人与权贵而毅然为之的精神自白；「岂因祸福避趋之」本于《论语》「君子喻于义」及祸福取舍之义，与上句对举，写尽不以祸福易其志的坚定。「断送老头皮」用宋真宗时隐士杨朴之典——杨朴被召入京，其妻赠诗云「更休落魄耽杯酒，且莫猖狂爱咏诗。今日捉将官里去，这回断送老头皮」，真宗闻之大笑，放其归山。林则徐以「断送老头皮」自嘲远戍，既见其幽默旷达，又暗含对君恩的忠诚——杨朴被捉是祸，诗人戍边自视为「君恩」，以古人之事宽慰老妻，典故之用于此恰到好处。又『山妻』称妻，语出《列女传》梁鸿孟光『荆钗布裙』故事，以隐士之妻自况其妻，既见夫妻情深，亦暗含诗人自许隐逸之意，用典之妙正在于以家常语含深意，与『断送老头皮』的谐谑之典相映成趣。

Commentary

The couplet 'If it serves the state, I stake my life' has, in the words of a modern critic, 'been on every lip for a hundred years, almost sung in every home.' Liang Qichao said of Lin Zexu that 'at fifty, though cast out for fault, his poetry grew only the more vigorous.' The firm, grand spirit of this poem stands beside Fan Zhongyan's 'sorrow first for the world's sorrow, joy last for its joy.'

此诗历被推为近代爱国诗的代表作，尤其「苟利国家生死以，岂因祸福避趋之」一联，近人谓「百余年来传诵人口，几于家弦户诵」，成为无数志士仁人的座右铭。梁启超称林则徐「五十之年，乃以罪废，而其诗乃益壮」——此诗正可印证：诗人以老病之身、罪臣之名远戍万里，而诗无一语哀怨，反以「苟利国家」自誓、以「断送老头皮」自嘲，正是「其诗乃益壮」的所在。论者或以「外旷达内沉郁」评此诗：旷达是其修养与人格，沉郁是其处境与怀抱，二者相反而相成，恰见这位民族英雄「达观而深情」的精神境界。此诗与林则徐在伊犁期间的诗作（如《出嘉峪关感赋》）并观，可见其贬戍生涯中心志不渝、以国为念的完整轨迹，其刚大之气，足与范仲淹「先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐」并垂千古，是近代中国爱国诗歌的开篇之作。此诗自道光末年传诵以来，激励了无数志士——戊戌变法、辛亥革命时期的仁人志士每引『苟利国家生死以』以自励，可见其精神力量已超越诗艺，成为近代中国民族精神的重要表达，也是爱国主义教育的经典文本。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated poem (seven-character lü)七言律诗

Rhyme Ping-shui rhyme, upper-level four zhi group (spent, stand, gain, guard, scalp); first line enters rhyme韵脚为疲、支、之、宜、皮，押平水韵上平四支韵，首句「疲」字入韵，平起平收，一韵到底，音节明快而沉实。

Tone pattern Level-onset, first-line-enters-rhyme form; level-oblique per rule平起首句入韵式；中二联对仗精严，「生死以」对「避趋之」、「君恩厚」对「戍卒宜」，颔联为全诗脊骨，音节铿锵。

Reading note The middle two couplets are strictly antithetical; the second couplet is the spine, grand and heavy.此诗为七言律诗，八句四联，是近代七律的典范之作。章法上严格遵循律诗起承转合：首联「力微任重久神疲，再竭衰庸定不支」起笔自抑，写老病之身难当重任，为全诗蓄势；颔联「苟利国家生死以，岂因祸福避趋之」承写报国之志，是全诗的脊骨，情感振起；颈联「谪居正是君恩厚，养拙刚于戍卒宜」转写个人遭际，故作宽慰，情感由激而缓；尾联「戏与山妻谈故事，试吟断送老头皮」合写与家人作别，以谐谑收束，情感由缓而深。四联起承转合，一扬一抑、一刚一柔，情感层次丰富。平仄为平起平收式，「疲、支、之、宜、皮」同押四支韵，韵脚均为平声，音节明快而沉实，正合此诗刚健沉郁的风格；颔联「苟利国家生死以，岂因祸福避趋之」对仗精严，「苟利」对「岂因」、「国家」对「祸福」、「生死以」对「避趋之」，词性、结构皆工，是近代七律对仗的典范。全诗格律谨严而气韵流动，是揣摩七律章法、对仗与声情的优秀范本。

Line by line

苟利国家生死以，岂因祸福避趋之。

If it be for the benefit of the country, I will stake my life on it; how should I, for personal weal or woe, turn aside or draw near?

只要对国家有利，便将生死付之度外，又怎会因个人祸福而避害趋利？

If it is of benefit to the country, I will give my life for it; how could I, for the sake of personal weal or woe, choose to flee harm or court advantage?

颔联是全诗的脊骨，也是千古传诵的爱国名句。「苟利国家生死以」化用《左传·昭公四年》子产「苟利社稷，死生以之」——「苟」作「只要」解，「以」为「付与、用在」之意，「生死以」即生死置之度外：只要有利于国家，无论生死，皆可为之，一个「苟」字斩钉截铁，见其以国为先的决绝；「岂因祸福避趋之」以反诘出之——岂能因个人祸福而避害趋利？「岂」字反问，语气坚定，与上句对举，一正一反，写尽不以祸福易其志的刚毅。此联的妙处有三：一是用典精切，子产执政而以身许国，林则徐禁烟而以身许国，古今相映；二是对仗工稳，「生死以」对「避趋之」，词性相对而意义互补；三是掷地有声，是林则徐一生的写照，也是近代中国爱国精神的最强音。

The second couplet is the spine of the poem, and the patriotic line read through the ages. If it be for the benefit of the country, I will stake my life on it transforms Zi Chan's words in the Zuo Tradition, for the benefit of the altars, life or death I will give it: if means provided that, yi means to stake upon, life or death I will give it means setting life and death at nought — provided the country benefits, life and death alike are his to spend; the word if is decisive, showing the resolve that puts the country first. How should I, for personal weal or woe, turn aside or draw near? is spoken as a challenge: should he, for personal fortune or misfortune, flee harm and court gain? The word how carries the rhetorical question, the tone firm, set against the upper line; one affirmation, one negation, writing the resolve that changes not its will for weal or woe. The beauty of the couplet is threefold: first, the precision of the allusion, Zi Chan governing and giving his life for the state, Lin Zexu suppressing opium and giving his life for the state, old and new mirroring each other; second, the craft of the couplet, life or death I will give it against turn aside or draw near, parts of speech matched and meanings complementary; third, the words that fall like thrown stones, the portrait of Lin Zexu's whole life, and the strongest note of patriotic spirit in modern China.

谪居正是君恩厚，养拙刚于戍卒宜。

Banishment to this distant place is precisely the emperor's great grace; keeping my simplicity suits me well for the life of a garrison soldier.

贬谪远居，正是皇上的深恩厚泽；藏拙守愚，正合做一个戍卒。

To be exiled here is precisely the emperor's profound favor; nursing my clumsiness is just right for a garrison soldier's lot.

颈联故作宽语，是全诗「外旷达」的典型体现，也是「怨而不怒」的温柔敦厚之笔。「谪居正是君恩厚」把贬谪说成君恩——被遣戍万里，却说「正是君恩厚」，表面是颂圣，骨子里是自嘲：贬谪本是惩罚，诗人却以「君恩」解之，既是忠君观念的体现，也是无可奈何的自宽；「养拙刚于戍卒宜」把戍边说成养拙——「养拙」即守拙藏愚，「刚」作「恰好、正合」解，戍卒之役，正合我这拙者的身份，自嘲之中见豁达。此句的妙处有二：一是以宽语写深悲，贬谪万里、去国离乡，何尝不痛？而诗人偏以「君恩」「养拙」解之，宽慰之语愈宽，沉痛之情愈深，正是「怨而不怒」的含蓄；二是章法的转折，前联立报国之志，此联转写个人遭际，一刚健一宽柔，情感张弛有度，为尾联的谐谑作铺垫。

The third couplet deliberately assumes a broad tone, the typical showing of the poem's outward ease, and the gentle, firm brush of resenting without anger. Banishment to this distant place is precisely the emperor's great grace makes of banishment an imperial favor: sent into exile ten thousand li away, yet he says precisely the emperor's great grace; on the surface praising the sovereign, at heart self-mockery — banishment is a punishment, yet the poet explains it as imperial favor, at once the showing of loyalist principle and a helpless self-consolation. Keeping my simplicity suits me well for the life of a garrison soldier makes of frontier duty the nursing of simplicity: keeping simplicity means guarding one's plainness, gang means exactly, just right; the toil of a garrison soldier suits precisely the station of a plain man, self-mockery with ease within. The beauty of the line is twofold: first, writing deep grief through broad words, banished ten thousand li, parted from the country — how could it not be pain? Yet the poet explains it through imperial favor and keeping simplicity; the broader the consolation, the deeper the grief, the restraint of resenting without anger; second, the turn of the craft: the previous couplet sets forth the will to serve the country, this turns to personal lot, one vigorous, one gentle, the emotional tension well paced, preparing the playful closing couplet.

戏与山妻谈故事，试吟断送老头皮。

Joking with my plain wife over old tales, I try to chant the verse about sending this old head to its end.

我笑着对老妻讲起古人的故事，也试着吟出那「断送老头皮」的诗句。

I joke with my old wife about tales of the past, and try to recite the line that sends this old head of mine off.

尾联以谐谑收束，轻语写深悲，是全诗情感的最高潮。「戏与山妻谈故事」写诗人笑着与老妻谈古事——「戏」字写玩笑之态，「山妻」是隐士对妻子的谦称（语出《列女传》「妾恐其不与我偕亡」之梁鸿妻孟光故事，后以「山妻」为自称其妻的谦词），临别之际，夫妻相对而「戏」，愈见情深；「试吟断送老头皮」写吟咏杨朴妻「这回断送老头皮」之诗——宋真宗召隐士杨朴，杨朴妻赠诗有「今日捉将官里去，这回断送老头皮」之句，诗人引以自嘲：我此番远戍，也正如那被捉去的老头子。此句的妙处有三：一是以典宽妻，以古人的谐谑故事宽慰老妻，越是故作轻松，越见深情；二是「戏」「试吟」的轻语与「断送老头皮」的自嘲相映，外旷达内沉郁，于笑声中见苍凉；三是章法的收束，全诗由自抑而明志而宽慰而谐谑，以一笑作结，举重若轻，余味不尽。

The closing couplet ends in banter, writing deep grief in light words, the emotional peak of the poem. Joking with my plain wife over old tales writes the poet, laughing, telling old stories to his wife: the word play writes the jesting manner; plain wife is the recluse's modest term for his wife, descending from the story of Meng Guang, wife of Liang Hong, in the Biographies of Exemplary Women; at the moment of parting, husband and wife at play, the deeper the affection. I try to chant the verse about sending this old head to its end writes the poet reciting the verse by the wife of the recluse Yang Pu: when Emperor Zhenzong summoned Yang Pu, his wife sent him the lines, today they drag you off to the emperor's court, and this will be the end of this old head of yours; the poet quotes it in self-mockery: this distant garrison of his is just like the old man being dragged off. The beauty of the line is threefold: first, using the allusion to console the wife, easing her with the playful old story; the more deliberately light, the deeper the feeling. Second, the light words of play and try to chant set against the self-mockery of sending this old head to its end: outward ease, inward somberness, desolation in the laughter. Third, the close of the craft: the poem moves from self-deprecation to declaring his will, to consolation, to banter, ending on a smile, weight borne lightly, the aftertone endless.

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Word focus

苟 An initial particle meaning 'if, provided that'; it opens the condition on which the poet stakes his life, lending the famous line its unconditional, resolute ring. 「苟利国家生死以」之「苟」字，是千古名联的诗眼，一字定全诗之骨。「苟」为古汉语假设连词，作「只要」解，《论语》「苟志于仁矣，无恶也」、《孟子》「苟为不畜，终身不得」皆用此义。此字之妙有三：一是以「苟」立决，只要有利于国家，便生死以之——「苟」字把报国之志的条件降到最低：不须功业可成，不须成功可期，只要「利国家」三字，便赴汤蹈火在所不惜，决绝之意斩钉截铁；二是以「苟」破执，报国本不需条件，而「苟」字反以条件立论，愈见其志之纯——不是为了功名，不是为了得失，唯以国家为念；三是与「岂」字呼应，「苟」定其必为，「岂」绝其不为，一正一反，如铁石相击，正是林则徐人格精神的凝练，一字而境界全出。

戏 Means 'in jest, playfully'; it softens the parting with his wife, masking deep sorrow under a light tone—loose without, tense within. 「戏与山妻谈故事」之「戏」字，是尾联的关节，也是全诗情感最复杂的一字。「戏」本义为嬉戏、玩笑，此处写诗人与老妻谈古事时的玩笑之态——临别之际，夫妻相对而笑谈，仿佛不是生离，而是寻常的闲话家常。此字之妙有三：一是以「戏」写情之深，越是生死离别，越要以玩笑掩饰——不敢认真，怕一认真就撑不住，故「戏」字之下是深深的眷恋与不舍，愈戏愈见情真；二是以「戏」写性之达，林则徐素以刚毅果敢著称，而此处一笑，正是其旷达人格的自然流露——万里戍边，谈笑自若，非大胸襟者不能为；三是与「试吟」呼应，「戏与」是笑着谈，「试吟」是试着吟，轻描淡写的语气之下，是「断送老头皮」的苍凉自嘲，一字一词皆见外旷达内沉郁的情感层次。

刚 Means 'just, exactly befits'; a feigned contentment that, by claiming the exile just suits him, only sharpens the pain of banishment. 「养拙刚于戍卒宜」之「刚」字，是颈联的自嘲之眼，一字而见豁达。「刚」在古汉语中作「恰好、正合」解，杜甫《北征》「所遇多被伤，呻吟更流血」之「刚」即用此义（一说「刚」为「正好」），此处「养拙刚于戍卒宜」即藏拙守愚，恰好正合做一名戍卒。此字之妙有三：一是以「刚」写自得，被贬戍边本是不幸，诗人却说戍卒之役「刚」合我这拙者——仿佛不是遭贬，而是适得其所，自嘲之中见豁达，怨而不怒；二是以「刚」破执，不怨天、不尤人，反以「刚宜」自解，正是林则徐「不以物喜，不以己悲」的修养境界；三是与「正是」呼应，「谪居正是君恩厚」的「正是」与「养拙刚于戍卒宜」的「刚」相映，一颂圣一自嘲，宽慰之语愈宽，沉郁之情愈深，一字而全联的温柔敦厚之旨尽出。