All poems

唐 Tang · 古诗 Ancient poem

田家行

Song of the Farming Household

王建

Wang Jian

乐府Theme 悯农Farmers' hardship 赋税Theme 田园Pastoral life

男声欣欣女颜悦，人家不怨言语别。
五月虽热麦风清，檐头索索缲车鸣。
野蚕作茧人不取，叶间扑扑秋蛾生。
麦收上场绢在轴，的知输得官家足。
不望入口复上身，且免向城卖黄犊。
田家衣食无厚薄，不见县门身即乐。

The men's voices are cheerful, the women's faces bright; the household bears no grudge, though words fall short.
Wheat is gathered to the threshing floor, raw silk wound on the spool - they know for certain they have paid the authorities in full.
For the farming household, clothing and food are neither rich nor poor; so long as they need not appear at the county gate, they count themselves happy.

Listen

Meaning

A peasant family's sole joy is having paid the tax and thus not been summoned to the yamen.

男人们欢声笑语，女人们面带喜色，家家户户不再抱怨，说的话也与往常不同。五月虽热，麦风却清爽，屋檐下缲车索索作响。野蚕结茧无人收取，叶间秋蛾扑扑飞生。麦子收上场、绢帛缠在机轴，确知足够交纳官家。不指望粮食入口、绢帛上身，只求免得进城卖掉小黄牛。农家衣食本无厚薄之分，只要不被抓进县衙便觉欢乐。

Appreciation

Wang Jian lets the peasants sound happy - then reveals their happiness means only 'we have not been summoned to the yamen.' The softer the tone, the harder the verdict.

【白话串讲】 “男声欣欣女颜悦，人家不怨言语别”——王建写田家行：农家男女都高兴。“五月虽热麦风清，檐头索索缲车鸣”——“麦收上场绢在轴，的知输得官家足”——“不望入口复上身，且免向城卖黄犊”——他们不敢盼着穿，只求别卖牛。【意象与手法】以“欲抑先扬”的乐府笔法，前半极写麦茧双收的农家乐，后半陡转为“的知输得官家足”的辛酸；末二句“不见县门身即乐”以可怜的满足写深沉的痛苦，以反讽收束。前后巨大反差是唐人新乐府“缘事而发”的范例。【情感与主旨】中唐新乐府代表作，写赋税之下农民“丰年亦苦”的共性命运，不露锋芒而含蓄深厚，与白居易《杜陵叟》直斥、杜荀鹤《蚕妇》个体自诉互为表里，共同构成唐代悯农书写中“以乐写哀”的双璧。【名句点睛】常考“麦收上场绢在轴，的知输得官家足”以麦绢尽输官家写赋税之苛；“不望入口复上身，且免向城卖黄犊”以不望入口写农民之悲。

Background

Wang Jian (c.768-c.835) wrote both palace and rustic poems; this yuefu depicts a peasant family's grim contentment after taxes are paid - happiness defined merely as absence of official summons.

王建这首《田家行》，是中唐新乐府『缘事而发』的范例，大约作于贞元、元和间。彼时藩镇虽平、中央稍安，然两税法行后苛敛仍重，农民丰年亦苦、荒年更惨，已是朝野共见的事实。王建久处下层，曾任县尉、侍御史一类小官，对民间疾苦体察甚深，其乐府多写田家、宫怨、边塞，号称『王司马体』。此诗写的正是夏收时节的农家：麦风清爽、缲车索索，看似一派丰乐；可笔锋一转，『的知输得官家足』道破天机——所谓欢乐，不过是够交官税后的短暂松口气。唐人写赋税之害，白居易《杜陵叟》直斥『剥我身上帛』，王建则不露锋芒，以『欲抑先扬』的乐府笔法，让农家自己说出『不见县门身即乐』。读懂这首诗，要看见它欢景背后的辛酸，那才是中唐农民真实的生存底色。王建此诗最可贵的，是写出了『乐』的虚假与『哀』的真实之间的那层薄纸。表面上农人欢天喜地，内里却只是够交税后的一丝松快；这种『高兴』是被赋税定义出来的，因此格外令人心酸。把它放进两税法行后的历史语境，更能见出制度如何重塑了农民的情感基准：他们的欢喜，早已不是丰收的欢喜，而是『没被抓走』的欢喜。一首小诗，竟成了一代经济制度的侧影，这正是新乐府『为事而作』的力量。

Art

The irony is structural: surface cheerfulness is measured against the low bar of 'not being dragged to the county office.' Understatement carries the critique.

此诗最突出的艺术是『欲抑先扬』的跌宕结构。前四句极写农家乐：男声欣欣、女颜悦悦，五月麦风清凉、檐下缲车索索，野蚕无人取、秋蛾扑扑生——画面丰饶而安宁，几乎是一首田园牧歌。中间『麦收上场绢在轴，的知输得官家足』是转折的支点：原来前面的乐，只因为算准了够交官税。后二句『不望入口复上身，且免向城卖黄犊』『田家衣食无厚薄，不见县门身即乐』再跌一层，把『乐』压到最低——不指望粮入口、绢上身，只求不卖小牛、不被抓进县衙。这种由乐到哀的巨大反差，正是全诗的力量所在。王建不直斥赋敛，而让农家以『满足』的口吻说出『不满足』的真相，含蓄深厚，较白氏直笔更耐寻味，是元白、张王乐府『同调异趣』的生动注脚。王建的笔法，可名之曰『以乐写哀之极』。他不写农民如何哭，而写他们如何笑——笑得越真切，背后的悲就越无从言说。前幅的欣欣、悦悦、索索、扑扑，一连串轻快的字眼，到中幅『的知输得官家足』忽然落地，原来所有的轻快都悬在完税这一根细线上。这种结构上的大起大落，比平直的哭诉更具冲击力。元稹、白居易皆写悯农，王建却以叙事的跌宕取胜，让读者自己从欢喜里读出辛酸，这正是他乐府老到的地方。

Allusions

The authorities are the tax-collecting state; the county gate is where villagers were summoned for corvee or punishment.

此诗用典不多，却深得汉乐府『感于哀乐，缘事而发』的神髓。《诗经·豳风·七月》写农夫『同我妇子，馌彼南亩』『九月筑场圃，十月纳禾稼』，已开农事时序之笔；王建『男声欣欣女颜悦』正承其家人共作之意。『缲车』即缫丝车，古乐府《木兰诗》有『唧唧复唧唧』的机杼之声，此处『檐头索索缲车鸣』以声写忙，手法一脉。『黄犊』用幼牛代指农家仅有的生产资料，汉乐府《相逢行》『黄金为君门』写豪富，与此『卖黄犊』写贫苦恰成对照。最值得注意的是结句化用乐府『知足』语式——表面说『无厚薄』『身即乐』，实则是被剥夺后的退让，与《田家行》一类民间谣谚『岁岁相见莫相嗔』同调。诗人不引经据典，却把千年农事书写的血脉，化入一幅夏收小景。此诗的乐府血脉，还可追溯到汉《陌上桑》《东门行》一类带有叙事性的民歌，王建取其『叙事见情』之法，而不取其铺排。『不望入口复上身』暗合古谣式的退让语式——农民把自己的需求压到最低，竟似一种美德。最巧在『不见县门身即乐』化用民间『知足』谣谚，表面是满足，实则是被剥夺后的自我安慰。王建不引雅典，专取里巷常谈入诗，使这首乐府既古且新，既雅且俗，恰是新乐府『采民心声』主张的生动实践。

Commentary

A quiet indictment of the tax state: the peasants' only joy is eluding it. The poem's surface calm is its sharpest weapon.

此诗在王建乐府中与《簇蚕辞》《水夫谣》等并峙，历来被视为中唐悯农佳作。宋人王安石编《四家诗》，推重王建乐府『意匠深刻』；明人胡应麟《诗薮》称张籍、王建乐府『元白流亚，而语稍刻』，正指此类以平淡语写沉痛的本领。清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》选此诗，赞其『写出田家真景真情』。近人论新乐府，多将其与白居易《观刈麦》、杜荀鹤《蚕妇》并提，认为三诗同写赋税，而王建以『欲抑先扬』最见含蓄：前乐后哀的反差，比直诉其苦更具穿透力。今人注本更指出，末句『不见县门身即乐』以可怜的满足写深沉的痛苦，与《蚕妇》『底事浑身着苎麻』同以反讽收束，二诗并读恰成中唐悯农『以乐写哀』的双璧。一首七言古诗，竟把一代农民的命运收进夏收的一瞬。近人论中唐乐府，常以张王并称，此诗正是王建『看似平淡、实极深刻』一面的代表。它与白居易《杜陵叟》同写赋敛，白诗怒而此诗冷，白诗直而此诗曲，两路互补，共构新乐府的丰富性。更值得一提的是，诗中『田家衣食无厚薄』一语，道破了小农经济均贫的实质——不是不愿好，是根本无差可别。一首七言古诗，能于夏收一景中容纳经济、制度与心理三层观察，足见王建观察之细、用笔之省，确为唐代悯农诗的上乘之作。

Prosody

Form Yuefu-style mixed-length song (gexing)七言古诗（新乐府，句式以七言为主，间以散句，不依近体粘对）

Rhyme Rhymes on 'short' (bie), 'full' (zu), 'happy' (le) - an oblique/level mix typical of yuefu.此诗句句押韵、随转自如，如『别』『清』『鸣』『生』『足』『犊』『乐』等以平声相叶，古乐府歌行本色，读来舒缓如谣。

Tone pattern Free yuefu rhythm rather than strict regulated tone.七言古诗本不拘严整平仄，此诗以平声韵贯串，句法顺畅；前写乐景处韵脚轻快，后写哀情处韵脚沉缓，声随情转。

Reading note A New Yuefu style social poem; its irony lies in what it leaves unstated.作为新乐府歌行，此诗不取近体绝句的严整，而用七言古诗的舒卷自由，这正适合铺展一幅夏收长卷。它句句押韵、一韵多转，读来如田垄上信口唱出的谣曲，与『缘事而发』的乐府精神相称。前四句写乐，韵脚轻清（『清』『鸣』『生』），似有麦风拂过；中二句『足』字一顿，乐景开始下沉；末三句『犊』『乐』收束，韵转沉缓，把那点可怜的满足托成一声长叹。王建不靠格律的拗峭来造势，而靠结构的跌宕与韵脚的由轻到重来蓄悲，这正是古乐府『自然成调』的高明——看似随意，实则每一处转折都落在情绪的节点上。七言古诗的舒卷，还体现在它允许句子长短伸缩、随情换韵，王建借此把一幅夏收长卷写得如谣如诉。前幅写乐，韵脚轻清，似有麦风拂过；中幅写『足』，一顿之后，后幅写『乐』，韵转沉缓，把那点可怜的满足托成一声长叹。这种声随情转的处理，比严守一韵更见匠心。读此诗宜缓，缓则能体会农民笑声里藏着的颤音；若急读，便只看见一片丰乐，辜负了诗人布置的层层跌宕。

Line by line

男声欣欣女颜悦，人家不怨言语别。

The men's voices are cheerful, the women's faces bright; the household bears no grudge, though words fall short.

男人们欢声笑语，女人们面带喜色，家家户户不再抱怨，说的话也与往常不同。

Men's voices are merry, women's faces bright; households no longer complain, and their talk has changed from the usual.

起二句是全篇『扬』的起点，却藏着最深的悲。『男声欣欣女颜悦』写一家人难得的和乐，『人家不怨言语别』写邻里也不再抱怨、说话都变了调——表面是丰乐，实则是一种久旱逢甘的松弛。妙在『语别』二字：平日必是怨声载道，今日才『不怨』，可见抱怨才是常态，不怨反成了异常。诗人不写去年如何苦，只写今日『不怨』，便把常年重压反衬出来。这两句越是欢喜，后面『的知输得官家足』的真相就越刺心——原来这点欢喜，只是够交税后的暂松一口气。以乐景蓄哀，起手便埋下伏笔。

The opening two lines are the starting point of the poem's rising motion, yet hide its deepest grief. Men's voices merry, women's faces bright writes a family's rare harmony; households no longer complain, their talk changed from the usual writes neighbors no longer murmuring - surface prosperity, in truth a relaxation after long drought and sweet rain. Exquisite in talk has changed: on ordinary days complaints must fill the air; only today is there no complaint - so complaining is the norm, and not complaining the anomaly. The poet does not write last year's hardship, only today's no complaint, and the long year of pressure stands revealed. The more joyful these two lines, the more piercing the later truth of knowing for certain the officials are paid in full: this joy is merely the relief of having just enough for taxes. Storing grief in joyful scenery, the伏笔 is laid from the first stroke.

麦收上场绢在轴，的知输得官家足。

Wheat is gathered to the threshing floor, raw silk wound on the spool - they know for certain they have paid the authorities in full.

麦子收上场、绢帛缠在机轴，确知足够交纳官家。

Wheat is harvested on the threshing ground, silk is wound on the loom; they know for certain they can pay the officials in full.

这是全诗转折的支点，也是欢景破灭的一瞬。前面积蓄的喜悦，到这两句忽然露出底牌：男欢女悦，并非因为富足，而只是算准了『麦与绢够交官税』。『的知』二字极沉，是农民一笔一笔算出来的踏实，也是被赋税规训出的『小确幸』——他们的满足感，基准线竟然只是『够交税』。这一句把前面的田园牧歌瞬间拉回现实：所谓乐，是税后的余生；所谓喜，是没被抓走的庆幸。王建不写官吏如何催逼，只写农家如何算账，剥削的阴影便从字缝里透出来。两句承上启下，是全诗由扬转抑的关键枢纽。

This is the pivot of the poem's turn, the instant the joyful scene breaks. The joy stored up suddenly shows its cards here: men merry, women bright, not because they are rich, but because they have reckoned that wheat and silk just cover the official tax. Know for certain is heavy: a farmer's patient calculation, and the small certainty disciplined by taxation - their baseline of satisfaction is, shockingly, enough for the tax. The line yanks the pastoral idyll back to reality: so-called joy is the remainder after taxes; so-called happiness is the luck of not being seized. Wang Jian does not write how the officials press for payment, only how the farm family reckons; the shadow of exploitation seeps through the characters. The two lines carry above and below, the key hinge from rising to falling.

田家衣食无厚薄，不见县门身即乐。

For the farming household, clothing and food are neither rich nor poor; so long as they need not appear at the county gate, they count themselves happy.

农家衣食本无厚薄之分，只要不被抓进县衙便觉欢乐。

For farm families, food and clothing are neither better nor worse; if only they do not see the county yamen, they are happy.

这是全诗的收束，也是中唐农民命运最凝练的写照。『田家衣食无厚薄』看似说农家本就淡泊，实则是被剥夺后的退让——不是不想好，是早没了念想。紧接『不见县门身即乐』，把『乐』的门槛压到最低：只要不被抓进衙门，便是欢乐。一个『即』字写尽无奈中的知足，也写尽不知足就不配活的辛酸。这两句以反讽收束，与王建一贯的含蓄深厚相合：他不让农家喊苦，而让农家自己说出『不进县门就是福』，读者读完脊背发凉。所谓以乐写哀，至此抵达极致——欢景全是假象，这点『乐』才是真的痛。

This is the poem's close, and the most concentrated portrait of a mid-Tang farmer's lot. Farm families' food and clothing neither better nor worse seems to say peasants are naturally plain; in truth it is the concession after dispossession - not that they do not want better, but that they have long ceased to hope. Then comes if only they do not see the county yamen, they are happy: the threshold of happiness pressed to its lowest - so long as they are not dragged into the yamen, it is joy. One word already exhausts contentment within helplessness, and the bitterness that discontent means death. The two lines close in irony, fit for Wang Jian's characteristic reserve: he will not let the farmers cry out; he lets them themselves say not entering the yamen is blessing, and the reader's spine chills. Writing grief through joy reaches its extreme here - the merry scene is all illusion, and this little joy is the real pain.

Study

Word focus

欣欣 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 『欣欣』是起句里最亮的一个词，却亮得让人心酸。它写男人们的欢声，是整幅夏收图里最先跃出的暖色。可这个暖色一旦放进全诗语境便变了味：农家平日绝无『欣欣』之理，今日之喜只因算准了够交官税。于是『欣欣』不再是单纯的快乐，而是一种『税后的松弛』，是被长期压抑后的一次短暂喘息。诗人用一个极寻常的叠词，把农民快乐感的来源悄悄暴露——他们的欢喜如此廉价，又如此来之不易。这个词的妙处，正在它表面的明亮与实质的辛酸之间的落差。

的知 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 『的知』即确知、明明知道，是全诗转折处最沉的两个字。它不是猜测，而是农民一笔一笔算出来的踏实：麦收上场、绢缠在轴，确确实实够交官家了。这『确知』背后，是一整套被赋税规训出的生存算术——农人最关心的不是丰收与否，而是『够不够税』。两个字的重量在于：它把前面所有『欣欣』『颜悦』的快乐，全都锚定在『完税』这一个残酷的基准线上。没有『的知』，前面的乐只是泛泛的田园；有了『的知』，乐便有了精确的、带着血腥气的成因。是全诗由扬转抑的枢纽词。

身即乐 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 『身即乐』三字是全诗反讽的落点，也是农民命运的最低刻度。『即』是『就是』，把『乐』的定义压到不能再低：只要人没被抓进县门，这辈子就算快乐了。这三个字以最平实的口吻，说出了最沉的剥夺——一个人的幸福基准，竟然是不被官府拘禁。它表面是满足，内里是绝望后的退让；读来不像哀鸣，倒像一句认命的喃喃。王建乐府『语稍刻』的本领，正在这种不喊痛却字字痛的收束里。三个字收住全篇，把前面所有欢景都反衬成假象，是中唐悯农诗最锋利的一记轻拿。

田家行