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先秦 Pre-Qin · 辞 Ci verse

九歌·少司命

Nine Songs: Shao Siming, the God of Children

屈原

Qu Yuan

楚辞Chu Ci / Elegies of Chu 祭祀Sacrificial Ritual

秋兰兮麋芜，罗生兮堂下。
绿叶兮素华，芳菲菲兮袭予。
夫人自有兮美子，荪何以兮愁苦？
秋兰兮青青，绿叶兮紫茎。
满堂兮美人，忽独与余兮目成。
入不言兮出不辞，乘回风兮载云旗。
悲莫悲兮生别离，乐莫乐兮新相知。
荷衣兮蕙带，儵而来兮忽而逝。
夕宿兮帝郊，君谁须兮云之际？
与女游兮九河，冲风至兮水扬波。
与女沐兮咸池，晞女发兮阳之阿。
望美人兮未来，临风怳兮浩歌。
孔盖兮翠旍，登九天兮抚彗星。
竦长剑兮拥幼艾，荪独宜兮为民正。

Autumn orchids and sweet-grass, growing thick beneath the hall.
Green leaves and white blossom, fragrant, fragrant, pressing on me.
Each man has his own fair child — why, O God, should you be sad?
Autumn orchids, so green, green leaves and purple stems.
Full of the hall are the beautiful ones; suddenly one meets my eye alone.
She enters without speaking, she departs without a word of farewell,
riding the returning wind, borne on cloud-banners.
Sorrow beyond sorrow: parting of the living.
Joy beyond joy: a new friend met.
Lotus-robe, orchid-girdle — here she comes, and there she is gone in an instant.
At night she lodges at the edge of the sky; whom does she wait for among the clouds?
I roam with you in the Nine Rivers, where the fresh wind rises and the water lifts its waves.
I bathe with you at the Pool of Xiancchi, and dry your hair on the sunny slope.
Waiting for the fair one who does not come, I stand in the wind, dazed, and raise a loud song.
Her canopy is a peacock's, her pennant green jade; she mounts the nine heavens and strokes the comet.
Lifting a long sword, sheltering the young and the helpless — you alone are fit to be the people's judge.

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Meaning

A Chu shamanic hymn addressed to Shao Siming, the deity who presides over children and life. The poet, speaking as the human host of the rite, meets the god at the spring sacrifice: the whole hall is full of celebrants, yet one alone returns his gaze. Then the goddess departs on the wind, and the poem turns from the joy of new understanding to the pain of separation, 「Sorrow beyond sorrow is parting of the living; joy beyond joy is a new friend met」. It closes with a hymn of praise: the god who wields a long sword in defence of the young and is alone fit to be the people's judge. Longing and liturgy are fused in a single voice.

秋兰兮麋芜，罗生兮堂下。绿叶兮素华，芳菲菲兮袭予。夫人自有兮美子，荪何以兮愁苦？秋兰兮青青，绿叶兮紫茎。满堂兮美人，忽独与余兮目成。入不言兮出不辞，乘回风兮载云旗。悲莫悲兮生别离，乐莫乐兮新相知。荷衣兮蕙带，儵而来兮忽而逝。夕宿兮帝郊，君谁须兮云之际？与女游兮九河，冲风至兮水扬波。与女沐兮咸池，晞女发兮阳之阿。望美人兮未来，临风怳兮浩歌。孔盖兮翠旍，登九天兮抚彗星。竦长剑兮拥幼艾，荪独宜兮为民正。

Appreciation

[Structure] The poem moves in three movements: the preparation and receiving of the god (autumn orchids, sweet-grass, the fragrance that floods the hall); the encounter and the parting (the silent entry, the cloud-banners, the sorrow of separation); and finally the praise and commission of the deity at the close. [Imagery] Almost every image is a sensory token of the sacred: orchids and purple stems plant the rite in a garden, a peacock canopy and green jade pennant dress the god's carriage, a comet is stroked in the nine heavens. Nothing is described twice in the same words, and the shifts of scenery — hall, sky, river, sun-bath — give the poem the rapid, processional motion of a sacrifice. [Voice] The speaker is both shaman and lover: kneeling toward the god with the candour of a person in love, and this double posture is what lets the poem be at once ritual and confession.

【白话串讲】屈原写《九歌·少司命》：“秋兰兮麋芜，罗生兮堂下”——“满堂兮美人，忽独与余兮目成”——“悲莫悲兮生别离，乐莫乐兮新相知”——“入不言兮出不辞，乘回风兮载云旗”——他写少司命——悲莫悲兮生别离。【意象与手法】此篇祭少司命，以祭神写相思，是屈原的名篇。前段写迎神：「秋兰兮麋芜，罗生兮堂下」写秋兰兮麋芜、罗生兮堂下——写尽迎神的布置；「满堂兮美人，忽独与余兮目成」写满堂兮美人、忽独与余兮目成——写尽人神的相悦；中段写别离：「悲莫悲兮生别离，乐莫乐兮新相知」写悲莫悲兮生别离、乐莫乐兮新相知——写尽相知的深挚；「望美人兮未来，临风怳兮浩歌」写望美人兮未来、临风怳兮浩歌——写尽相思的怅惘；后段写赞神：「竦长剑兮拥幼艾，荪独宜兮为民正」写竦长剑兮拥幼艾、荪独宜兮为民正——写尽少司命的职责。全篇以祭神写相思，写尽人神相悦与相思的怅惘，是屈原的代表作。【情感与主旨】此篇祭少司命，以祭神写相思，是屈原的名篇。少司命为楚人所祀司子嗣、佑幼主之神。《九歌》为屈原根据楚地祭歌改写的组诗。此篇写迎神：秋兰兮麋芜，罗生兮堂下——写秋兰兮麋芜、罗生兮堂下，写尽迎神的布置；绿叶兮素华，芳菲菲兮袭予——写绿叶兮素华、芳菲菲兮袭予，写尽兰香的袭人；满堂兮美人，忽独与余兮目成——写满堂兮美人、忽独与余兮目成，写尽人神的相悦；入不言兮出不辞，乘回风兮载云旗——写入不言兮出不辞、乘回风兮载云旗，写尽神行的飘忽；悲莫悲兮生别离，乐莫乐兮新相知——写悲莫悲兮生别离、乐莫乐兮新相知，写尽相知的深挚；荷衣兮蕙带，儵而来兮忽而逝——写荷衣兮蕙带、儵而来兮忽而逝，写尽神来的倏忽；夕宿兮帝郊，君谁须兮云之际——写夕宿兮帝郊、君谁须兮云之际，写尽神候的云端；望美人兮未来，临风怳兮浩歌——写望美人兮未来、临风怳兮浩歌，写尽相思的怅惘；孔盖兮翠旍，登九天兮抚彗星——写孔盖兮翠旍、登九天兮抚彗星，写尽神行的九天；竦长剑兮拥幼艾，荪独宜兮为民正——写竦长剑兮拥幼艾、荪独宜兮为民正，写尽少司命的职责。全篇以祭神写相思——那「目成」写尽人神的相悦，「悲莫悲兮生别离」写尽相知的深挚，写尽人神相悦与相思的怅惘，是理解屈原《九歌》的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「满堂兮美人，忽独与余兮目成」写人神的相悦；「悲莫悲兮生别离，乐莫乐兮新相知」写相知的深挚；「望美人兮未来，临风怳兮浩歌」写相思的怅惘；以及全篇以祭神写相思、以人神相悦写相思的手法。

Background

Qu Yuan (c. 340–278 BCE), given name Ping and courtesy name Yuan, was a Scion of the Chu royal house who served King Huai and was finally exiled; his 离骚 Li Sao and the 九歌 Jiu Ge are the foundations of the Chu Ci tradition. The Jiu Ge is a group of eleven songs — Eastern God of Supreme Unity, Cloud Middle Lord, Xiang Jun, Xiang Fu Ren, Grand Siming, Shao Siming, Eastern Lord, River Lord, Mountain Ghost, National Dead, and the Final Offering — rewritten by Qu Yuan from the folk sacrifices of the Chu states. Shao Siming (少司命) is the lesser Lord of Fate, who bestows children and watches over the young; the worship is attested in the Chu capitals of Jiangling and Shouchun and in the recently excavated Mawangdui texts.

此篇祭少司命，以祭神写相思，是屈原的名篇。屈原（约前340—约前278），名平，字原，战国楚国人，中国第一位伟大的爱国诗人，楚辞的创立者。少司命为楚人所祀之神，主管子嗣、护佑幼主。《九歌》十一篇，是屈原根据楚地民间祭歌改写而成的组诗，依次为《东皇太一》《云中君》《湘君》《湘夫人》《大司命》《少司命》《东君》《河伯》《山鬼》《国殇》《礼魂》。此篇写迎神：「秋兰兮麋芜，罗生兮堂下」写秋兰兮麋芜、罗生兮堂下——写尽迎神的布置（秋兰兮麋芜，罗生兮堂下）；「满堂兮美人，忽独与余兮目成」写满堂兮美人、忽独与余兮目成——写尽人神的相悦（满堂兮美人，忽独与余兮目成）；「悲莫悲兮生别离，乐莫乐兮新相知」写悲莫悲兮生别离、乐莫乐兮新相知——写尽相知的深挚（悲莫悲兮生别离，乐莫乐兮新相知）；「望美人兮未来，临风怳兮浩歌」写望美人兮未来、临风怳兮浩歌——写尽相思的怅惘（望美人兮未来，临风怳兮浩歌）；「竦长剑兮拥幼艾，荪独宜兮为民正」写竦长剑兮拥幼艾、荪独宜兮为民正——写尽少司命的职责（竦长剑兮拥幼艾，荪独宜兮为民正）。全篇以祭神写相思，写尽人神相悦与相思的怅惘，是理解屈原《九歌》的重要篇章。

Art

Four devices carry the poem. First, the drug-plant vocabulary: 秋兰, 麋芜, 荪 and 荷衣/蕙带 form an autumnal, green world in which the sacred appears, so that the god is seemly rather than described. Second, the single word 目成 — a look completed — replaces any language of courtship: in a hall full of beautiful people one glance is enough, and the poem manages exclusivity without a verb of love. Third, the paired maxim 悲莫悲兮生别离，乐莫乐兮新相知 sets absolute sorrow against absolute joy in parallel grammatical shape, so that the two halves sharpen each other. Fourth, the poem refuses to stop at grief: the closing couplet swings from the private voice to an official function — 为民正, to be the people's judge — and the personal loss is absorbed into a public blessing.

此篇的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以香草写环境。「秋兰兮麋芜，罗生兮堂下」以香草写环境——那「秋兰」「麋芜」写尽香草，以香草写尽迎神的布置。其二，以目成写相悦。「忽独与余兮目成」以目成写相悦——那「目成」写尽目之传情，以目成写尽人神的相悦。其三，以对比写深挚。「悲莫悲兮生别离，乐莫乐兮新相知」以对比写深挚——那「悲莫悲」「乐莫乐」写尽悲乐之极，以对比写尽相知的深挚。其四，以浩歌写怅惘。「临风怳兮浩歌」以浩歌写怅惘——那「临风怳」写尽临风之怅，以浩歌写尽相思的怅惘。此外，此篇前写迎神之布置，后写相思之怅惘，由迎及思，正是《九歌》「以人神写情思」的写法。四重手法，使此篇以祭神写相思，写尽人神相悦与相思的怅惘，是屈原的代表作。此外，此篇尤可注意其「人神合一」的抒情结构：篇中「余」既是以巫者身份迎神的祭者，又融入屈原自身的孤高与情思——「满堂兮美人，忽独与余兮目成」写神我独契，正是屈原「举世皆浊我独清」的孤高之投影；「望美人兮未来，临风怳兮浩歌」写企盼之怅惘，又暗含屈原望君不遇的忠爱缠绵。而「竦长剑兮拥幼艾，荪独宜兮为民正」忽以赞神之语收束，由个人的情思转回对神祇庇佑子民、主持公正的颂祷，正见《九歌》「上陈事神之敬，下见己之冤结」的双重意蕴，人神之间，恍惚难分。

Allusions

The vocabulary is thick with inherited image. 秋兰 and 麋芜 (the herb 蘼芜) continue the Chu custom of growing fragrant plants about the shrine; 荪 is the sweet-scented herb with which the Chu adores the deity, and recurs in 荪壁兮紫坛 from the 湘夫人. 咸池 is the Pool of the Sun, where the daily sun bathes according to the Huainanzi (日出于旸谷，浴于咸池); by bathing the god there Qu Yuan links Shao Siming with the sun-god of the 东君. 九天 is the ninefold heaven of the Tian Wen question (圜则九重，孰营度之), and smiting the comet there marks the god's power over fate and omens. 为民正 recalls the Book of Documents ideal of governing in the people's interest. The final image, 孔盖兮翠旍 — peacock-plume canopy, kingfisher-feather pennant — shows how far the local rite has been refined into high art.

此篇的用语深植于楚辞与香草的传统。「秋兰」令人想到「秋兰」写兰草的意象——《楚辞》多以兰写高洁，也令人想到「秋兰兮青青」的意象；「麋芜」令人想到「麋芜」写香草的意象——麋芜即蘼芜，香草名，也令人想到「上山采蘼芜」的古乐府意象；「荪」令人想到「荪」写香草的意象——《楚辞》以荪指所祭之神，也令人想到「荪壁兮紫坛」的意象；「咸池」令人想到「咸池」写天池的典故——《淮南子》载咸池为日浴之处，也令人想到「咸池升日庆」的意象；「九天」令人想到「九天」写天之九重的典故——《楚辞·天问》「圜则九重，孰营度之」，也令人想到「九天揽月」的意象；「为民正」令人想到「为民正」写为民作主的典故——《尚书》「以义制事」，也令人想到「司命」掌生育的意象。全篇化用秋兰、麋芜、咸池、九天的意象典故，以祭神写相思，正是屈原「惊采绝艳」而承楚辞传统写情思的本领。又「咸池」「九天」之典可深味：「咸池」本为日浴之处，《淮南子·天文训》谓「日出于旸谷，浴于咸池」，屈原写「与女沐兮咸池，晞女发兮阳之阿」，以日神之浴写神人之沐，正见其想象之雄奇；「九天」出《楚辞·天问》「圜则九重，孰营度之」，写少司命「登九天兮抚彗星」，抚彗星而主吉凶，正是司命之神职；而「孔盖兮翠旍」以孔雀之羽为盖、翠鸟之羽为旍，皆写神行之华美，可见楚地祭神之盛。全篇熔铸香草、天象、神祇于一炉，正是《九歌》「惊采绝艳」的本色。

Commentary

Ever since Wang Yi's Chu Ci Zhangju the Jiu Ge have been read as double-layered: 上陈事神之敬，下见己之冤结 — outwardly the reverence paid to the gods, inwardly the poet's own wounded heart. Shao Siming is often singled out as the most human of the eleven for exactly this reason, and 「悲莫悲兮生别离，乐莫乐兮新相知」is among the most quoted lines in the whole corpus. In the Western canon the poem is frequently compared with 湘夫人: one sings of a water-goddess missed from the shore, the other of a cloud-goddess glimpsed and lost. Read with the Book of Songs ode 蒹葭, which longs for an 伊人 beyond a river, the poem shows two neighbouring traditions — the northern Book of Songs and the southern Chu Ci — already singing the same longing in different dialects.

此篇历来被推为《九歌》的名篇，也是楚辞写人神相悦的代表。历代论者对此篇评价极高：王逸《楚辞章句》注《九歌》「上陈事神之敬，下见己之冤结」；清人评此篇「以祭神写相思，恍惚缠绵」。在辞史上，此篇的特殊价值在于：它以长句的骚体写尽人神相悦与相思的怅惘——那秋兰，那麋芜，那绿叶，那素华，那美人，那目成，那回风，那云旗，那荷衣，那蕙带，那帝郊，那云际，那九河，那咸池，那浩歌，那孔盖，那彗星，那长剑，那幼艾，都写尽了屈原笔下的少司命；那「悲莫悲兮生别离，乐莫乐兮新相知」更以对比写尽相知的深挚。此篇与《九歌·湘夫人》（「帝子降兮北渚」）同为《九歌》名篇，一写「目眇眇兮愁予」的湘水之思（湘夫人），一写「临风怳兮浩歌」的云中之思（少司命）；又与《诗经》「蒹葭苍苍」的相思传统一脉相承，可见中国诗写相思的传统。对于今日读者，此篇是理解屈原《九歌》的窗口，也是中国辞写人神相悦的经典——那目成的满堂美人，穿越千年，仍在诉说着相思的怅惘。

Prosody

Form Sao-style Chu verse (楚辞骚体); lines broken by the particle 兮辞·楚辞骚体

Rhyme Rhyming is loose and changes with each movement: 下/予/苦 open the hymn, 茎/成/旗/知 run through the second stanza, 逝/际/波 through the third, and 歌/星/正 close it. The level and oblique tones alternate, and the 兮 pause lets the same word resume the rhyme across the caesura.骚体，句中多用「兮」字，押「下」「予」「苦」「茎」「成」「旗」「知」「逝」「际」「波」「阿」「歌」「星」「正」韵（平仄交替），音节摇曳

Tone pattern The insistent 兮 — one in almost every line — gives the verse a rocking, breathable cadence, slower and more lingering than the Book of Songs four-character measure, and suited to a rite that is chanted rather than sung.此篇为楚辞骚体，句中多用「兮」字，音节摇曳，正合相思的摇曳。

Reading note This is the standard sao metre: a variable-length line cut in two by 兮, the first half carrying the image and the second the completion of the thought. Recite the opening (秋兰兮麋芜) in a rising, flowery voice, the couplet 悲莫悲兮生别离 in a slow and heavy one, and let the final lines (登九天兮抚彗星，竦长剑兮拥幼艾) sound martial and settled. Because the rhyme shifts so often, the poem should be heard as a sequence of small climatic rhymes rather than as one long chained 韵. The 九歌 are normally performed to a drum and plucked strings, and the rhythm of the text preserves that accompaniment.此篇为楚辞骚体，全篇句句用「兮」字——「秋兰兮麋芜，罗生兮堂下……竦长剑兮拥幼艾，荪独宜兮为民正」，骚体句式（上七下六、上六下七等），押韵灵活（下、予、苦、茎、成、旗、知、逝、际、波、阿、歌、星、正），音节摇曳。全篇以祭神写相思：前段写迎神的布置与人神的相悦（秋兰兮麋芜、满堂兮美人、忽独与余兮目成），中段写神行的飘忽与相思的怅惘（悲莫悲兮生别离、望美人兮未来、临风怳兮浩歌），后段写少司命的职责（登九天兮抚彗星、竦长剑兮拥幼艾）。三段由迎及思，层层写尽人神相悦与相思的怅惘，正是《九歌》以人神写情思的典型结构。诵读此篇，宜以摇曳的语调读「秋兰兮麋芜」的迎神，以深沉的语调读「悲莫悲兮生别离」的相思，结句要读得悠长而有余韵，方能传达出屈原的缠绵。楚辞以「惊采绝艳」著称，此篇正是《九歌》的典范。

Line by line

悲莫悲兮生别离，乐莫乐兮新相知

Sorrow beyond all sorrow is the parting of two living souls; joy beyond all joy is a friend newly known. In one couplet the poem names the maximum of grief and the maximum of delight, and in doing so admits that the same meeting contains both.

悲莫悲兮生别离，乐莫乐兮新相知。

No grief greater than the grief of living parting; no joy greater than the joy of a new-found friend.

此二句是全篇写深挚的核心，以悲莫悲兮生别离写别离，以乐莫乐兮新相知写相知，写尽相知的深挚，是千古名句。「悲莫悲兮生别离」写悲莫悲兮生别离——那「悲莫悲」写悲莫悲，「生别离」写生别离，写尽别离之悲；「乐莫乐兮新相知」写乐莫乐兮新相知——那「乐莫乐」写乐莫乐，「新相知」写新相知，写尽相知之乐。这句的深意在于：它以「悲莫悲兮生别离」的别离与「乐莫乐兮新相知」的相知，写尽相知的深挚——悲莫悲兮生别离，那「悲莫悲兮生别离」写尽别离之悲——生别离，正是人间至悲，那「莫悲兮」写尽别离的至悲；乐莫乐兮新相知，那「乐莫乐兮新相知」写尽相知之乐——新相知，正是人间至乐，那「莫乐兮」写尽相知的至乐；那「悲莫悲兮生别离」写尽别离之悲，那「乐莫乐兮新相知」写尽相知之乐，一写悲，一写乐，写尽相知的深挚——生别离至悲而新相知至乐，正是相知的深挚；此二句以悲、乐写尽相知的深挚，也让此二句成为全篇写深挚的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「离别很悲伤，认识你很快乐」，则失其沉痛；唯以「悲莫悲兮生别离」写别离、「乐莫乐兮新相知」写相知，写尽相知的深挚，也让此二句成为全篇写深挚的核心。

The two lines are the core of the song's depth of feeling, writing parting through no grief greater than the grief of living parting and friendship through no joy greater than the joy of a new-found friend, exhausting the depth of the bond, an immortal line. Living parting is precisely the grief of human extremest; new-found friendship is precisely the joy of human extremest. One writes grief, one joy, exhausting the depth of the bond. Were it said plainly parting is sad and knowing you is joyful, the sorrow would be softened; only through the extremest grief and the extremest joy is the depth exhausted, making the lines the core of the song.

满堂兮美人，忽独与余兮目成

The hall is full of the beautiful ones, and suddenly one of them meets my eye alone. Amid the congregation a single exchange of looks is singled out; 目成, a glance completed, marks the moment the human and the divine recognize each other.

满堂兮美人，忽独与余兮目成。

The hall is full of fair ones; suddenly, only with me, she has plighted her troth with a glance.

此二句是全篇写相悦的核心，以满堂兮美人写满堂，以忽独与余兮目成写目成，写尽人神的相悦，是千古名句。「满堂兮美人」写满堂兮美人——那「满堂」写满堂，「美人」写美人，写尽满堂的盛况；「忽独与余兮目成」写忽独与余兮目成——那「忽独」写唯独，「与余兮目成」写与余目成，写尽目成的传情。这句的深意在于：它以「满堂兮美人」的满堂与「忽独与余兮目成」的目成，写尽人神的相悦——满堂兮美人，那「满堂兮美人」写尽满堂的盛况——满堂美人，正是迎神的盛况，那「满堂」写尽堂中的盛况；忽独与余兮目成，那「忽独与余兮目成」写尽目成的传情——满堂美人而独与余目成，正是神我相悦的写照，那「目成」写尽目成的传情；那「满堂兮美人」写尽满堂的盛况，那「忽独与余兮目成」写尽目成的传情，一写满堂，一写目成，写尽人神的相悦——满堂美人而独目成，正是人神相悦的写照；此二句以满堂、目成写尽人神的相悦，也让此二句成为全篇写相悦的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「神很喜欢我」，则失其含蓄；唯以「满堂兮美人」写满堂、「忽独与余兮目成」写目成，写尽人神的相悦，也让此二句成为全篇写相悦的核心。

The two lines are the core of the song's mutual liking, writing the hall full through the hall is full of fair ones and the glance-plighted troth through suddenly, only with me, she has plighted her troth with a glance, exhausting the liking between god and man. The hall is full of fair ones is precisely the grandeur of the god-welcoming rite; suddenly, only with me, she has plighted her troth with a glance precisely the picture of the mutual liking. One writes the hall, one the glance, exhausting the god-man liking. Were it said plainly the goddess likes me, the restraint would be lost; only through the hall full of fair ones and the sudden glance is the mutual liking exhausted, making the lines the core of the song.

Study

Word focus

目成 ACompleted look: the glance by which two people silently acknowledge and commit themselves to one another. In 忽独与余兮目成 the word carries speed (忽), exclusivity (独) and mutual exchange at once, and is the whole of the poem's courtship compressed into two characters. 「忽独与余兮目成」之「目成」是写相悦的关键词，一个「目成」写尽目之传情。目成者，以目传情而成也。屈原以「忽独与余兮目成」写相悦，这个「目成」至少有双重意味：其一，写传情之速——那「忽独与余兮目成」写忽独与余目成，那「目成」写尽传情之速——忽然而目成，正是传情之速，那「目成」写尽目之传情；其二，写相悦之深——那「目成」更是写深——目成，正见相悦之深，那「目成」写尽人神的相悦。以「目成」写相悦，正是屈原写情思的枢纽——若换作「目交」「目送」等词，则或失其与「满堂兮美人」的配合，或失其写目成的意味；唯「目成」二字，以忽独与余兮目成写尽传情之速与相悦之深，与「满堂兮美人」的满堂相合，写尽人神的相悦，也让「忽独与余兮目成」成为全篇写相悦的名句。

怳 Lost, dazed, bereft — the state of one who stands in the wind with nothing to hold on to. In 临风怳兮浩歌 the character names the speaker's emptiness and, by extension, the emptiness of a world in which the god does not come; the loud song (浩歌) is the outward sign of an inward void. 「临风怳兮浩歌」之「怳」字是写怅惘的关键词，一个「怳」字写尽临风的怅惘。怳者，失意、恍然也。屈原以「临风怳兮浩歌」写怅惘，这个「怳」字至少有双重意味：其一，写怅惘之态——那「临风怳兮浩歌」写临风怳兮浩歌，那「怳」字写尽怅惘的神态——临风而怳，正是失意的写照，那「怳」字写尽临风的怅惘；其二，写相思之深——那「怳」字更是写深——怳而浩歌，正见相思之深，那「怳」字写尽相思的怅惘。以「怳」字写怅惘，正是屈原写情思的枢纽——若换作「怅」「惘」等字，则或失其与「临风」「浩歌」的配合，或失其写怳的意味；唯「怳」字，以临风怳兮浩歌写尽怅惘的神态与相思的深挚，与「望美人兮未来」的未来相合，写尽相思的怅惘，也让「临风怳兮浩歌」成为全篇写怅惘的名句。