清 Qing · 诗 Poem
三元里
Sanyuanli
三元里前声若雷，千众万众同时来。
因义生愤愤生勇，乡民合力强徒摧。
家室田庐须保卫，不待鼓声群作气。
妇女齐心亦健儿，犁锄在手皆兵器。
乡分远近旗斑斓，什队百队连肛门。
众夷相视忽变色，黑旗死仗难生还。
晴空骤雨忽倾盆，凶夷无所施其暴。
岂特火器无所施，夷足不惯行滑泥。
下者田塍苦踯躅，高者冈阜愁颠挤。
分获既均各鼓舞，四方歼夷如拉朽。
Righteousness breeds wrath, and wrath breeds courage; the villagers join their strength and crush the brutes.
Home and field and cottage must be defended; they wait for no drumbeat to rouse the whole crowd's spirit.
Women of one mind are stout fighters too; plough and hoe in their hands are every one a weapon.
Village by village, near and far, the banners blaze with colour; squads by tens and hundreds link in one long line.
The foreign soldiers look at one another and change colour: against the black banners, a fight to the death, and few return alive.
Out of a clear sky the rain comes down in torrents; the savage invader has no room to work his violence.
Not only are his firearms of no use at all—foreign feet are unused to walking slippery mud.
Those on the low ground flounder on the paddy dykes; those on the high ground dread a tumble from the slopes.
The spoils divided evenly, every man takes heart; on all four sides they wipe the invader out as one snaps rotten wood.
Meaning
Before Sanyuanli the war cries are like thunder, and thousands upon thousands of the people come surging up at once. Out of righteousness comes wrath, and out of wrath comes courage, so that the villagers together beat down the marauders. Homes and fields must be defended, and before a drum is struck the whole crowd is roused. Women, united, are as good as strong young fighters; a plough or hoe in the hand becomes a weapon. The villages muster under banners of many colours, near and far, squad after squad linked in a long line. The foreign soldiers look at one another and turn pale: against the black banners this is a fight to the death, and few will get away. Then out of a clear sky a downpour falls, and the invader can no longer work his violence. It is not only that his guns will not serve—foreign feet are not used to slippery mud. Those on the low ground struggle along the paddy dykes; those on the higher ground fear a fall from the slopes. When the spoils have been shared out fairly, each man takes fresh heart, and on every side the enemy is destroyed as easily as rotten wood is snapped.
三元里前杀声如雷，成千上万的民众同时涌来。因大义而生愤恨，愤恨又生出勇气，乡民合力将逞凶之徒挫败。家园田庐必须保卫，不等擂鼓便群情激昂。妇女齐心也足当健儿，犁锄在手便都是兵器。乡众按远近分旗色彩斑斓，十队百队相连。众夷兵相顾忽然变色，黑旗死战也难生还。晴空忽降倾盆骤雨，凶夷无处施展暴行。岂止火器用不上，夷人脚力更不惯走滑泥。低处的在田埂上苦于徘徊，高处的在山冈上愁于倾跌。分获战利既均，众人各自鼓舞，四面歼敌如摧枯拉朽。
Appreciation
Zhang Weiping, a native of Panyu in Guangdong and a jinshi of the second year of Daoguang, served as magistrate of Huangmei and of Guangji before resigning to lecture; his early verse, in the manner of the 'Seven Masters of Eastern Guangdong', was mild and plain, but the Opium War turned it grieved and vehement. The poem breaks in without preamble on 'Before Sanyuanli the war cries roll like thunder; thousands upon thousands come surging at once', using thunder for the anger of the crowd and sheer numbers for its scale, so that the reader is carried away at the first stroke. It then lays bare the cause, righteousness breeding wrath and wrath breeding courage, and in 'Women of one mind are stout fighters too; plough and hoe in their hands are every one a weapon' shows a whole people under arms, heroic in the plainest words. The middle records the rout of the enemy, and from 'Out of a clear sky the rain comes down in torrents' the storm and the mud become heaven's own help, giving the narrative an almost legendary colour. Written throughout in plain, spreading description, the scenes are broad, the rhythm advances like drumbeats, and a people's war is set down with a magnificence entirely free of stale bookishness.
【白话串讲】 1841年，广州三元里：“三元里前声若雷，千众万众同时来”——乡民们拿起农具，“犁锄在手皆兵器”，“妇女齐心亦健儿”——连妇女都上阵。这是鸦片战争里，老百姓最扬眉吐气的一仗。 【意象与手法】诗以「三元里前声若雷，千众万众同时来」破空而起，以雷声喻众怒、以「千众万众」写规模，先声夺人。继以「因义生愤愤生勇」揭示动因，「妇女齐心亦健儿，犁锄在手皆兵器」写全民皆兵，于朴素中见壮烈。中段「黑旗死仗难生还」写敌溃，「晴空骤雨忽倾盆」以下借天助暴雨泥泞困敌，叙事带传奇色彩。全诗白描铺排，场面壮阔，节奏如鼓点递进。 【情感与主旨】张维屏，广东番禺人，道光二年进士，官黄梅、广济知县，后辞官讲学。其人早年属「粤东七子」，诗风冲淡；晚年遭鸦片战争，诗风一变，悲愤激越。《三元里》作于道光二十一年（1841）五月，广州三元里一百零三乡民众自发武装，包围英军于牛栏岗，恰逢暴雨，英军火器失效、泥泞难行，大败而逃。诗人身居广州，亲睹其事，愤而命笔，为中国文学史上第一首正面歌颂人民反侵略斗争的长篇，开近代爱国诗先声。 【名句点睛】考点一：内容——概括三元里人民抗英的过程与精神（因义生勇、全民抗暴）。考点二：手法——「声若雷」的比喻、「千众万众」的规模描写、「妇女齐心亦健儿」的全民形象、「歼夷如拉朽」的胜利场面。考点三：情感——对人民力量的讴歌与对侵略者的蔑视。
Background
Zhang Weiping, from Panyu in Guangdong, took his jinshi degree in the second year of Daoguang and served as magistrate of Huangmei and of Guangji before resigning to teach. In his early years he belonged to the 'Seven Masters of Eastern Guangdong' and wrote in a mild, plain manner; in his last years the Opium War changed his poetry utterly, making it grieved and impassioned. 'Sanyuanli' was written in the fifth month of the twenty-first year of Daoguang (1841), when the people of one hundred and three villages around Sanyuanli, near Guangzhou, armed themselves of their own accord and surrounded the British force at Niulangang; a rainstorm happened to fall, the British firearms failed, the ground turned to mud, and the troops fled in defeat. The poet was living in Guangzhou and saw the affair himself; he took up his brush in indignation and produced the first long poem in Chinese literary history to celebrate a popular struggle against invasion directly, sounding the first note of modern patriotic verse.
张维屏（1780—1859），字子树，号南山，广东番禺人，道光二年（1822）进士，官黄梅、广济知县，后辞官讲学，晚年居广州，有《松心诗集》。其人早年属「粤东七子」，诗风冲淡清雅；晚年亲历鸦片战争，目睹英军入侵与广州人民抗英斗争，诗风一变，悲愤激越。《三元里》作于道光二十一年（1841）五月。是年五月，英军攻陷广州，统帅奕山屈辱求和，英军四出骚扰，抢掠行凶。五月二十九日，三元里民众鸣锣聚众，与英军战于牛栏岗，广州城北一百零三乡农民及附近手工工人、渔民闻讯赴援，妇女儿童亦执械助战；恰逢天降暴雨，英军火药尽湿、枪炮失灵，且不惯泥泞水田，狼狈溃逃，死伤甚众。诗人身居广州，亲睹其事，愤而命笔，以白描铺排写此人民抗英的壮烈场面，是中国文学史上第一首正面歌颂人民反侵略斗争的长篇，开近代爱国诗先声，也是鸦片战争文学的标志性作品。三元里抗英是鸦片战争中中国人民自发反抗外来侵略的第一次大规模斗争，其胜利虽未能改变清政府屈辱求和的局面，却向世界展示了中国人民不可侮的力量；诗人将这一历史性的事件以诗歌形式记录下来，使此诗兼具文学与史学的双重价值，是中国近代史与文学史交叉地带的重要文本。
Art
The poem breaks in without preamble on 'Before Sanyuanli the war cries roll like thunder; thousands upon thousands come surging at once', thunder standing for the anger of the crowd and the great numbers for its scale, so that the opening carries all before it. 'Righteousness breeds wrath, and wrath breeds courage' then reveals the motive, while 'Women of one mind are stout fighters too; plough and hoe in their hands are every one a weapon' shows a whole people in arms, heroic in the plainest terms. In the middle section 'against the black banners, a fight to the death, and few return alive' marks the enemy's collapse, and from 'Out of a clear sky the rain comes down in torrents' onward the storm and the mud pin the invader down with heaven's help, lending the narrative a legendary cast. Throughout, the plain descriptive style spreads out broad scenes, the rhythm mounts like drumbeats, and a people's war is written with sweeping force and not a trace of pedantry.
诗以「三元里前声若雷，千众万众同时来」破空而起，以雷声喻众怒之盛、以「千众万众」写民众之众，先声夺人，气势磅礴。继以「因义生愤愤生勇，乡民合力强徒摧」揭示抗英动因——义、愤、勇层层递进，见人民战争的精神逻辑；「家室田庐须保卫，不待鼓声群作气」写自发自卫，无须动员而群情激昂；「妇女齐心亦健儿，犁锄在手皆兵器」写全民皆兵，以健儿与犁锄的反差写出民众的朴素与壮烈。中段「众夷相视忽变色，黑旗死仗难生还」写敌之溃，前后呼应；「晴空骤雨忽倾盆」以下借天助暴雨、泥泞困敌，写英军火器失灵、寸步难行，叙事带传奇色彩；末以「分获既均各鼓舞，四方歼夷如拉朽」收束，写人民胜利之鼓舞。全诗白描铺排，场面壮阔，节奏如鼓点递进，将一场人民战争写得气势磅礴，毫无酸腐气。全诗节奏如战鼓频催，句式短促而气脉连贯，正合战斗之紧张；尤其善用对比：千众万众与两夷相视、犁锄与火器、倾盆骤雨与凶夷暴行、拉朽之歼与溃败之逃，多重对比之中，人民力量的伟大与侵略者的虚弱纤毫毕现，是近代诗歌中运用对比手法最成功的作品之一。
Allusions
In this poem 'the brutes' means the British troops who raided Sanyuanli; the 'black banners' were the flags used by the local resistance bands of the time, such as the volunteers of Chaozhou, and a 'fight to the death' means a battle with no retreat. 'Foreign feet are unused to walking slippery mud' is literal record: the British mostly wore leather boots and could not manage the flooded paddy fields of the far south, so in the downpour they could hardly move a step. The poem uses no obvious classical allusion, taking a present-day battle straight into verse, and in this it anticipates the 'new matter in old verse' of the eve of the 'poetic revolution'; its 'righteousness breeding courage' also agrees quietly with Mencius on the flood-like breath that is 'vast and utterly firm', though the poet keeps to a plain record of events rather than to bookish reference.
诗中「强徒」指窜扰三元里的英国侵略军，以「徒」称之，贬斥中见民族正气，不称夷狄而称强徒，正是将其置于与乡民对等的「暴徒」地位；「黑旗」为当时民间抗英武装所用旗帜（如潮州义军之黑旗），「死仗」谓决死之战，写义军抱定必死之心而战。「夷足不惯行滑泥」写实：英军多穿皮靴，不惯岭南水田泥泞，暴雨中寸步难行，此细节本于当时实况而写入诗中。「歼夷如拉朽」以摧枯拉朽喻歼敌之易，见人民力量之伟。本诗无明显古典典故，而以当下战事实录入诗，正是「诗界革命」前夜「以新事入诗」的先声；其「因义生勇」亦暗合孟子「浩然之气」「至大至刚」之说，惟不落典实而直书时事，是古典诗体写近代现实的成功尝试。全诗不用古典而用今事，正体现了古典诗歌在近代转型中的新变：当传统的意象体系不足以表现船坚炮利、火器泥泞等新事物时，诗人以白描直录时事，反而获得了震撼人心的力量；其以俗为雅的语言，与杜甫「诗史」传统一脉相承，而内容之新，则已开近代诗界革命之先声。
Commentary
This poem has always been required reading in histories of modern literature; Qian Zhonglian, in his 'Anthology of Modern Poetry', called it 'vehement in voice and feeling, worthy to be called poetic history'. A Ying reprinted it in full in his 'Literary Collection of the Opium War' and ranked it first among poems of resistance to invasion. Later readers hold that this late work of Zhang Weiping's 'washes away his usual mildness' and writes the soul of a nation with a commoner's brush. Critics observe that although it keeps to the scale of the old ancient-style form, its subject matter broke entirely new ground, and that it may fairly be called the founding work of modern Chinese patriotic poetry.
此诗向为近代文学史必录名篇，钱仲联《近代诗钞》称其「声情激越，足称诗史」；阿英《鸦片战争文学集》全文采录，推为反侵略诗歌之冠。近人以为张维屏晚年此作「一洗平日冲淡」，以布衣之笔写民族之魂——诗人辞官讲学、本以吟咏山水为事，值国难当头，遂以诗笔记录民众抗英的壮举，其由「冲淡」转「激越」的诗风转变，正是一个时代裂变的缩影。论者谓其虽未脱古体规模，而题材开天辟地：以农民、妇女为主角，以犁锄为兵器，以民间自发斗争为内容，在中国诗歌史上实属首创，堪称中国近代爱国诗的奠基之作，也为此后黄遵宪、康有为、梁启超诸人的爱国诗潮开了先河。近代文学研究者一致肯定此诗的开创意义：它是中国诗歌史上第一次以农民为主体、以人民战争为题材、以胜利为结局的长篇叙事诗，其人民性的立场与昂扬的基调，在古典诗歌中前所未有；此诗与张维屏《书愤》诸作，共同标志其诗风由冲淡向激越的转变，也标志着中国近代爱国诗歌的正式诞生。
Prosody
Line by line
三元里前声若雷，千众万众同时来。
Before Sanyuanli, the clamor rises like thunder; ten thousand thousand folk come on at once.
三元里前杀声如雷，成千上万的民众同时涌来。
Before Sanyuanli, the war-cries rose like thunder; thousands upon thousands of common folk poured forth at one and the same time.
以雷喻怒、以数写势，破空而起，先声夺人：「声若雷」写民众呐喊之声如雷霆震动，未见其面而先闻其声，声势夺人；「千众万众」写人数之众，叠用「千」「万」极言规模之浩大，「同时来」三字更见众志成城、闻声齐至的自觉与团结。两句以声写势、以数写众，把三元里抗英的爆发场面写得排山倒海，是全诗的总起，定下高昂激越的基调，也为下文「因义生愤」的动因揭示与全民抗暴的描写蓄势。
Using thunder for wrath and numbers for force, the line bursts from the void, winning the ear by its sound: the clamor rises like thunder writes the people's shouts shaking like thunder, before seeing their faces hearing their voice, the force stunning. Ten thousand thousand folk come on at once writes the multitude; repeating thousand and ten thousand presses the scale to the utmost, and at once writes the resolve of shared purpose, coming at the sound. Two lines writing force through sound, numbers through the multitude, the eruption of the resistance at Sanyuanli rendered overwhelming; the general opening of the poem, fixing the high, impassioned tone and storing force for the motive of wrath from righteousness and the description of the whole people's resistance below.
因义生愤愤生勇，乡民合力强徒摧。
Righteousness breeds rage, rage breeds courage; the villagers join strength, and the ruffians are broken.
因大义而生愤恨，愤恨又生出勇气；乡民合力，将逞凶之徒挫败。
Righteousness gives birth to rage, rage gives birth to courage; the villagers joining their strength crush the ruffians.
揭示动因，义、愤、勇递进，见人民战争之理：「因义生愤」写大义激发愤怒——英军烧杀抢掠，践踏家园，义愤填膺；「愤生勇」写愤怒转化为勇气——愤怒至极，遂无畏无惧；一个「生」字顶针递进，环环相扣，写出民众由义而愤、由愤而勇的精神逻辑。「乡民合力强徒摧」以合力与摧对举，写万众一心则强徒必摧——单人之力有限，合力则势不可挡。两句由因到果，由理到事，是理解全诗精神内核的关键，也见诗人对人民力量的深刻认识。
Revealing the motive: righteousness, rage, and courage in progression, the logic of a people's war. Righteousness breeds rage writes great right arousing wrath — the British burning and killing, trampling the homes, wrath filling the breast. Rage breeds courage writes wrath turning to fearlessness — wrath at its height becomes courage. The single word breeds links the chain, ring within ring, writing the people's spirit from right to rage, from rage to courage. The villagers join strength, and the ruffians are broken sets joined strength against broken, writing that a united host must crush the bully. Two lines from cause to effect, from reason to deed, the key to the poem's spiritual core, showing the poet's deep understanding of the people's force.
妇女齐心亦健儿，犁锄在手皆兵器。
The women, of one heart, are as brave as men; plough and hoe in hand, all become weapons.
妇女齐心也足当健儿；犁锄在手，便都是兵器。
The women, of one mind, are as stout as fighting men; ploughshares and hoes in hand are all weapons.
写全民皆兵，于朴素中见壮烈：「妇女齐心亦健儿」写妇女亦上阵抗敌——在传统观念中，妇女本不当战，而此刻妇孺皆兵，见出御侮之情的普遍；「犁锄在手皆兵器」写农具亦可为武器——平日耕田的犁锄，战时便是杀敌的利器，写民众以最朴素的方式投入最壮烈的斗争。两句以「亦」「皆」两个虚字点睛，把全民动员、物尽其用的抗英场景写得真切感人，既见民众的质朴，更见民族的觉醒，是近代诗歌中塑造人民形象最成功的笔法之一。
Writing the whole people under arms, the heroic in the plain. The women, of one heart, are as brave as men writes the women also taking the field — by tradition women did not fight, yet now women and children are all soldiers, showing how universal the will to resist. Plough and hoe in hand, all become weapons writes farm tools turned to arms — the plough and hoe of daily farming, in battle become the weapons of the foe's death; the people's plainest means put to the most heroic struggle. Two lines, pointed by the two particles also and all, writing the general mobilization and the turning of all things to use with truth and feeling, showing the people's simplicity and the nation's awakening, among the most successful portraits of the people in modern poetry.
晴空骤雨忽倾盆，凶夷无所施其暴。
From a clear sky, a sudden downpour tips like a basin; the fierce barbarians have no place to show their cruelty.
晴空忽降倾盆骤雨，凶夷无处施展其暴行。
From a cloudless sky, a sudden storm poured in sheets; the fierce foreigners could no longer put their cruelty to use.
以天助写克敌，叙事带传奇色彩，气势淋漓：正当鏖战之际，「晴空骤雨忽倾盆」——晴空万里忽然暴雨倾盆，一个「忽」字写天气骤变之奇，如天助义民；「凶夷无所施其暴」写英军暴行无处施展——火药尽湿，枪炮失灵，凶暴之师顿成困兽。两句一写天变、一写敌困，把一场现实的战斗写得颇具传奇意味，可见诗人对这场人民胜利的由衷快意；骤雨倾盆既是实写当日天气，亦暗含民心天意的朴素的正义想象，为下文「夷足不惯行滑泥」的困敌之状张本。
Writing the victory through heaven's aid, the narrative legen-dary, the force unspent. At the height of the fight, from a clear sky, a sudden downpour tips like a basin writes the clear sky suddenly pouring; the single sudden writes the wonder of the weather's turn, as if heaven aiding the righteous folk. The fierce barbarians have no place to show their cruelty writes the British unable to use their violence — the gunpowder soaked, the guns failing, the brutal host suddenly a cornered beast. Two lines, one of heaven's change, one of the enemy's trap, turning a real battle to legend, showing the poet's delight in this people's victory; the pouring rain is at once the real weather of the day and the plain, righteous fancy that the people's heart is heaven's will, preparing the enemy's plight of unaccustomed feet on the slippery mud below.
分获既均各鼓舞，四方歼夷如拉朽。
The spoils divided justly, all are encouraged; wiping out the barbarians on four sides is like rotting wood snapped.
分获战利既均，众人各自鼓舞；四面歼敌，如摧枯拉朽。
The spoils shared equally, every man was inspired; destroying the foreigners on all sides was like pulling down rotten wood.
写胜利之鼓舞，收束全诗，气势淋漓：「分获既均各鼓舞」写缴获战利品平均分配、人人欢欣鼓舞——以「均」字写义军的公平均等，见其组织之严与士气之振；「四方歼夷如拉朽」以摧枯拉朽喻歼敌之易，写英军如朽木腐草，一触即溃，「四方」二字更见四面合围、围歼之盛。两句由内而外、由士气到战果，把三元里大捷写得痛快淋漓，是全诗的高潮与收束；以民众的鼓舞与敌人的溃败相对照，讴歌了人民力量的伟大，也宣告了中国人民反侵略斗争的第一声胜利。
Writing the exhilaration of victory, closing the poem, the force unspent. The spoils divided justly, all are encouraged writes the equal sharing of the captured booty, all rejoicing — the single equal writing the fair and equal cause of the volunteer force, its strict order and high spirit. Wiping out the barbarians on four sides is like rotting wood snapped uses breaking dry wood to figure the ease of the slaughter, the British like rotten wood and withered grass, crumbling at the touch; the four sides writing the encirclement on all sides. Two lines, from within to without, from morale to result, rendering the great victory at Sanyuanli with joyous force, the climax and close of the poem; setting the people's exhilaration against the enemy's rout, singing the greatness of the people's force and announcing the first victorious note of the Chinese people's resistance to invasion.
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白居易《卖炭翁》写宫市强夺老翁炭车的暴行，张维屏《三元里》写民众抗击英军入侵的斗争。两诗同属现实主义叙事传统、同以民众为主角，而时代与主旨迥异：卖炭翁写的是暴政之下的屈辱与悲苦，民众是受害者，诗人寄以同情；三元里写的是外侮之下的奋起与反抗，民众是胜利者，诗人寄以讴歌。从卖炭翁的「惜不得」到三元里的「歼夷如拉朽」，可见中国诗歌中民众形象由被压迫者到反抗者的历史性转变，亦见现实主义精神在近代的延续与升华。
养马行 Ballad of Raising Horses 梁佩兰 · 同写清代社会现实与民生关怀 Same (both write of Qing social reality and of concern for the people's livelihood)Both are Qing poems attentive to common life and realistic in spirit, and may be compared for their handling of factual description and narrative.
梁佩兰《养马行》以「昔闻市骏马，今闻市民马」写清代驿站养马之弊与民生之艰，张维屏《三元里》写民众抗英之壮举。两诗同为清代诗人关注现实之作，而笔调迥异：养马行以讽刺笔法写民生疾苦，含蓄而沉痛；三元里以激昂笔法写人民斗争，直白而壮烈。一写内政之弊，一写外侮之御，可见清代诗歌反映现实的两种面向，以及由清初到鸦片战争时期诗歌精神由讽喻到抗争的演变轨迹。
鹧鸪天·祖国 Partridge Sky · The Motherland 秋瑾 · 同具爱国救亡主题 Same (both carry a theme of patriotism and national salvation)One writes of a people resisting violence, the other of modern patriotic resolve; both are famous patriotic pieces of the Qing.
秋瑾《鹧鸪天》「祖国沉沦感不禁，闲来海外觅知音……危局如斯敢惜身，愿将生命作牺牲」，以词写爱国救亡之志；张维屏《三元里》以诗写人民抗英之壮举。两作同为近代爱国文学，而主角不同：三元里写的是民众的集体反抗，秋瑾写的是志士的个人牺牲；三元里作于鸦片战争之初，讴歌人民的自发斗争；鹧鸪天作于清末革命之际，抒发志士的自觉献身。从三元里的民众抗英到秋瑾的以身许国，可见中国近代爱国文学由自发到自觉、由集体到个人的演进，亦见两个时代民族觉醒的不同深度。