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魏晋 Wei-Jin · 诗 Poem

五君咏·阮步兵

Five Gentlemen Songs · Ruan the Infantry (Wu Jun Yong · Ruan Bu Bing)

颜延之

Yan Yanzhi

咏史History 隐逸Hermitage

阮公虽沦迹，识密鉴亦洞。
沉醉似埋照，寓辞类托讽。
长啸若怀人，越礼自惊众。
物故不可论，途穷能无恸。

Master Ruan, though sunk in traces, his insight subtle yet his judgment clear.
Deep drunkenness seems to hide his light; his words lodge a gentle satire.
His long whistle seems to miss a friend; overstepping rite startles the crowd.
Things as they are cannot be told; at the road's end, can he not weep?

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Meaning

Yan Yanzhi's Five Gentlemen Songs, five pieces on Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, Liu Ling, Ruan Xian, Xiang Xiu—all of the Seven Sages. By the Song Shu biography, Yan dropped Shan Tao and Wang Rong (who thrived in Jin) as unfit for his 'sing the worthy' intent, taking only the five sunk and unmet, lodging his own talented-yet-proud fate. This sings Ruan Ji—lends the ancient's cup to his own block; Yan too was often demoted for pride.

阮公虽然隐迹于世，识见精微而鉴察也明彻。沉醉看似埋没光采，寄托文辞类似讽谏。长啸仿佛在怀念故人，逾越礼法自然惊动众俗。世事本不可评说，路穷之时岂能不恸哭。

Appreciation

Only twenty characters yet ordered tight: the opening 'Master Ruan, though sunk in traces, his insight subtle yet clear' first lowers then raises, his outer dark inner bright. 'Deep drunkenness seems to hide his light; his words lodge gentle satire' writes his feigned madness by near-words, the wording exact. 'His long whistle seems to miss a friend; overstepping rite startles the crowd' writes his wild air. End 'things cannot be told; at the road's end, can he not weep' closes with Ruan's road-end weeping, the question holds grief. Each line writes the man yet shows history; a short piece with a thousand-li spread.

【白话串讲】颜延之写阮籍：“沉醉似埋照，寓辞类托讽”——装醉是为了藏起光芒，写诗是为了讽刺时世。“途穷能无恸”——走到绝路，怎么会不痛哭？【意象与手法】全诗八句而章法森然：起句『阮公虽沦迹，识密鉴亦洞』先抑后扬，点其外晦内明；『沉醉似埋照，寓辞类托讽』以近似语写其佯狂寄讽，炼字极精；『长啸若怀人，越礼自惊众』写风神狂放；末『物故不可论，途穷能无恸』以阮籍穷途之哭收束，问中含悲。句句写人而句句见史，短章有尺幅千里之势。【情感与主旨】颜延之《五君咏》五首分咏阮籍、嵇康、刘伶、阮咸、向秀，皆『竹林七贤』中人。据《宋书》本传，延之删去山涛、王戎，因二人仕晋显达，不合其『咏贤』之旨，独取沦落不遇之五君，寄托自身『负才傲俗』的身世之感。此首咏阮籍，正借古人杯酒，浇自己磊块，时颜延之亦因傲岸屡遭贬黜。【名句点睛】中高考可设：①人物形象——分析阮籍『沦迹』而『识密』、『沉醉埋照』的处世智慧；②『途穷能无恸』的用典与抒情；③咏史组诗借古抒怀的手法。

Background

Yan Yanzhi's Five Gentlemen Songs, five on Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, Liu Ling, Ruan Xian, Xiang Xiu—Seven Sages. By Song Shu, Yan dropped Shan Tao and Wang Rong (thrived in Jin) as unfit, taking only the five unmet, lodging his own talented-yet-proud fate. This sings Ruan Ji—lends the ancient's cup to his block; Yan too often demoted for pride.

颜延之（384—456），字延年，琅琊临沂（今山东临沂）人，南朝宋诗人，与谢灵运并称『颜谢』。其《五君咏》五首分咏阮籍、嵇康、刘伶、阮咸、向秀，皆『竹林七贤』中人。据《宋书》本传，颜延之负才傲俗，触怒权贵，出为永嘉太守，意甚不平，乃作《五君咏》以咏七贤，删去山涛、王戎二人，理由是二人仕晋显达，不合咏贤之旨，独取沦落不遇之五君，寄托自身身世之感。此首咏阮籍：阮籍（210—263）为三国魏诗人，竹林七贤之首，身处司马氏与曹魏争权的血腥时代，以醉酒避祸、口不臧否人物、白眼待俗著称，晚年为步兵校尉，故称阮步兵。颜延之借咏阮籍，正以古人杯酒浇自己磊块：阮籍以佯狂避祸于魏晋易代之际，颜延之亦以傲岸触忤于晋宋更迭之时，古今同慨，借古人之酒杯，浇一己之块垒，正是咏史以抒怀的典型。此诗为颜延之《五君咏》中最具分量的一首，既见其对阮籍的深致理解，又见其以咏史抒怀的良苦用心，是六朝咏史诗的典范之作。

Art

Twenty characters yet ordered tight: opening first lowers then raises, outer dark inner bright; 'deep drunkenness seems to hide his light' writes feigned madness by near-words, exact; 'long whistle seems to miss a friend' writes wild air; end 'things cannot be told; at road's end, can he not weep' closes with Ruan's weeping, question holds grief. Each line the man yet history—short piece, thousand-li spread.

全诗八句而章法森然，句句写人而句句见史，短章有尺幅千里之势。起句『阮公虽沦迹，识密鉴亦洞』先抑后扬：『沦迹』写其隐迹于世、外示颓放，『识密鉴亦洞』则写其识见精微、鉴察明彻，点出阮籍外晦内明的人格核心，『虽』『亦』二字呼应，一转即扬。次联『沉醉似埋照，寓辞类托讽』写其处世与著述：沉醉如埋藏光采，实为避祸；《咏怀诗》等寓辞托讽，实为寄慨，以『似』『类』两个疑似之词写其言行的表层与深层，炼字极精。三联『长啸若怀人，越礼自惊众』写其风神：善啸若怀人，越礼而惊众，狂放之态跃然纸上。末联『物故不可论，途穷能无恸』以阮籍穷途之哭收束，『能无』以问句出之，问中含悲，把阮籍一生的悲慨凝于一笔。全诗八句，层层递进，由识而醉而啸而哭，写尽阮籍的一生风神与深层悲哀。全诗以史笔写人物，句句贴切而神理自见，正是咏史正法，其简劲有骨的风格，在六朝诗中独树一帜，为后世咏史组诗开一法门。

Allusions

'Deep drunkenness seems to hide his light' uses Ruan's drunken escape and never judging men; 'hide his light' means conceal his shine. 'Long whistle seems to miss a friend' uses Ruan's skill at whistling (the Su Men whistle). 'Overstep rite' his scorning rites, blue-and-white eyes. 'At road's end, can he not weep' uses the Jin Shu Ruan biography ('drove at will, where the track ended, wept and turned back'). All from histories and Bamboo-Grove tales, fitting Ruan's life, no word vain.

此诗句句用阮籍故实，无一字虚设，是咏史诗中密合本事的典范。『沦迹』写其隐迹避世；『识密鉴亦洞』写其识见精微，洞察世情。『沉醉似埋照』用阮籍醉酒避祸之典：阮籍为避司马氏之祸，常酣饮沉醉，口不臧否人物，『埋照』谓埋藏光采，以沉醉埋没自己的锋芒，正是其自保之策。『寓辞类托讽』指阮籍《咏怀诗》八十二首，托物言志、隐晦寄托，钟嵘《诗品》称其『言在耳目之内，情寄八荒之表』，正此意也。『长啸若怀人』用阮籍善啸之典，阮籍尝于苏门山遇隐士孙登，相对长啸，声如鸾凤，故有『苏门啸』之故实。『越礼自惊众』写其蔑弃礼法：居母丧而饮酒食肉、醉卧邻家少妇之侧、以青白眼待俗士，皆越礼惊众之事。『途穷能无恸』用《晋书·阮籍传》之典：『时率意独驾，不由径路，车迹所穷，辄恸哭而反。』诸典皆出正史与竹林遗事，密合阮籍生平。全诗句句用阮籍本事而无一处虚设，典与人、史与情浑然一体，正是六朝咏史诗密合本事的最高境界，也是颜延之炼事炼意的代表作。

Commentary

Song Shu Yan biography records his 'talented yet proud,' wrote Five Gentlemen Songs to show intent. Qing's Shen Deqian: 'each tied to the subject, yet the spirit shows—this is the right method of singing history.' Qian Zhongshu says Yan's poetry 'dense as brocade yet slightly less force,' but this short piece writing Ruan's air is terse and bony—a variation in Yan's works.

《宋书·颜延之传》载其『负才傲俗』，作《五君咏》以见志，可见此诗在颜延之生平中的重要位置。清人沈德潜《古诗源》评此诗：『逐项贴说，而神理自见，此咏史正法。』所谓『逐项贴说』，即句句贴切阮籍本事；『神理自见』，则指不徒罗列故实，而能写出阮籍的风神与悲慨，正是咏史诗的上乘境界。近人钱钟书《谈艺录》谓颜诗『密藻如锦，而风力稍逊』，然此篇短章写阮籍风神，简劲有骨，为颜诗中别调。此诗在文学史上的价值有二：其一，开咏史组诗『一人一咏』的体制，后世杜甫《咏怀古迹》五首、龚自珍《己亥杂诗》咏史诸作皆承此脉；其二，以咏史抒身世之感，把对前贤的咏叹与自身的遭遇融为一体，为后世咏史诗借古抒怀提供了典范，其影响深远。此诗所开创的咏史组诗体制与借古抒怀手法，在文学史上影响深远，历代咏史之作多奉为圭臬，其价值已超越六朝而及于后世。其简劲处尤不可及，足为咏史短章之标范。

Prosody

Form Five-character ancient poem (singing-history sequence)五言古诗（咏史组诗）

Rhyme Ping-shui, song/dong mixed, ancient洞、讽、众、恸押韵，属上古东、送、冬部通押，古体不拘严韵。

Tone pattern ancient, level-oblique free五言古体，不讲近体平仄，以二二一或二一二的自然节奏行文，偶句押韵，句式整齐而气脉贯通。

Reading note Yan's Five Gentlemen Songs opened the one-man-one-song form; every line allusive yet natural此诗为五言古诗，八句四十字，属颜延之《五君咏》组诗之一，是咏史诗中体制短小而内涵深沉的典范。用韵上，韵脚『洞、讽、众、恸』属上古东部、送部、冬部通押，魏晋人用韵不若后世之严，多依口语自然相叶，正见古诗自由质朴的本色；偶句押韵，一韵到底，八句一气贯注，声情与辞情相谐。句法上，全诗以偶句两两成对：『沉醉似埋照，寓辞类托讽』、『长啸若怀人，越礼自惊众』，对偶工整而不板滞，以『似』『类』『若』『自』四个虚词领起，写阮籍言行的表象与实质，虚词传神，正是颜延之炼字见力的地方。章法上，八句四联：首联总写识鉴，颔联写沉醉著述，颈联写风神狂放，尾联写穷途之哭，由内而外、由行而情，层层递进，写尽阮籍的一生。全诗以古体运史笔，不拘声律而自有法度，正是咏史组诗『一人一咏』体制的奠基之作，其后杜甫《咏怀古迹》等皆承此脉。

Line by line

阮公虽沦迹，识密鉴亦洞

Master Ruan, though sunk in traces, his insight subtle yet his judgment clear.

阮公虽然隐迹于世，识见精微而鉴察也明彻。

Master Ruan concealed his traces from the world, yet his insight was subtle and his perception piercingly clear.

起句总写阮籍的人格核心，先抑后扬，为全诗立骨。『阮公虽沦迹』写其表面之隐：沦迹即隐迹、埋没行迹，阮籍身处魏晋易代之际，司马氏篡权，名士多有杀身之祸，故佯狂纵酒、隐迹避世，一个『沦』字写尽其不得已而隐匿的处境；『识密鉴亦洞』写其内在之明：识密谓识见精微周密，鉴洞谓鉴察明彻透辟，阮籍洞察世情，看透时局，故能于乱世全身，其外晦而内明，正是其人格的深层结构。『虽』『亦』二字呼应，一抑一扬，先把读者引入其沦迹的表象，再揭示其识鉴的真相，转折之间，阮籍的形象由隐晦转见明彻。此起笔之妙，在以八字概括阮籍一生为人的根本，为下文醉、文、啸、哭的展开提供了理解的总纲，正是咏史以传神为先的典范开篇。

The opening line establishes Ruan Ji's essential character by first concealing and then revealing him. He is said to have 'sunk his traces'—under the perilous regime of the Sima usurpation, when so many famous men were killed, Ruan feigned madness and drowned himself in wine. The single word 'sunk' captures the forced necessity of his withdrawal. Yet beneath the concealment, his judgment was dense and his discernment piercing: he saw through the age completely, which is what let him survive. The words 'although' and 'also' set up a deliberate turn—surface obscurity giving way to inward clarity. In eight characters the poem fixes the double structure of Ruan's life, giving the key to all that follows: the drunkenness, the writing, the whistling, the weeping.

沉醉似埋照，寓辞类托讽

Deep drunkenness seems to hide his light; his words lodge a gentle satire.

沉醉看似埋没光采，寄托文辞类似讽谏。

His deep drunkenness seems to bury his brilliance, and the words he entrusted to writing read like veiled satire.

此联写阮籍的处世与著述，是阮籍形象的进一步展开。上句『沉醉似埋照』写其醉酒：阮籍以酣饮沉醉闻名，醉态之下，锋芒深藏，『埋照』谓埋藏光采，阮籍的沉醉不是单纯的纵欲，而是以醉自晦、以醉避祸的生存智慧，『似』字点明沉醉只是表象，埋照才是实质；下句『寓辞类托讽』写其著述：阮籍《咏怀诗》八十二首，托物言志、隐晦曲折，『类托讽』写其文辞表面上似泛咏时事，实则是有所寄托的讽谏，『类』字与上句『似』字对举，皆写表象与实质的张力。两句一写行为、一写文辞，以两个疑似之词写尽阮籍言行的表里两层：外在的沉醉与隐晦，正是内在的清醒与锋芒的伪装。此联之妙，在以看似推测的语气写出确凿的洞察，正是史家笔法，炼字精微，阮籍佯狂避祸的一生尽在此十四字中。

This couplet develops Ruan's self-concealment through conduct and literature alike. His legendary intoxication appears to 'bury his light,' but the word 'seems' exposes it as strategy rather than dissipation—drunkenness as a survival tactic. His eighty-two 'Singing My Heart' poems, similarly, seem at first like vague meditations, yet their word 'seems to be' satire marks them as oblique criticism: beautiful on the surface, barbed underneath. The two words 'seems' and 'appears' frame a consistent structure—the outer dissolute poet is the disguise of an inner clear-eyed one. The historian's tone, supposing what it nonetheless knows, compresses a lifetime of calculated madness into fourteen characters.

长啸若怀人，越礼自惊众

His long whistle seems to grieve for absent friends; his defiance of ritual startles the crowd of its own accord.

长啸仿佛在怀念故人，逾越礼法自然惊动众俗。

His piercing whistle seems to carry longing for old friends, and his flouting of the rites naturally astonishes the vulgar crowd.

此联写阮籍的风神气度，由内在的识鉴转向外在的狂放。上句『长啸若怀人』写其啸：阮籍善啸，尝于苏门山与隐士孙登相对长啸，声震山谷，其啸声高亢悠长，若有所怀，『若怀人』写啸声中的情思绵邈，仿佛怀念故人、追慕高士，一啸之中，魏晋名士的孤高与深情并见；下句『越礼自惊众』写其越礼：阮籍蔑弃礼法，居母丧饮酒食肉、醉卧邻妇之侧、青白眼待俗，皆惊世骇俗之举，『自惊众』之『自』字写出其我行我素、不避物议的态度，越礼而自若，惊众而自得。两句一写声之放、一写行之狂，长啸是内在性情的自然流露，越礼是外在行为的惊世之举，内外呼应，把阮籍放诞不羁的名士风神写得活灵活现。此联之妙，在以两个最具标志性的行为写尽阮籍的风神，正是咏史以细节传神的笔法。

This couplet turns from inward judgment to outward bearing, capturing Ruan Ji's legendary air. He was famous for his 'long whistle,' once exchanged with the recluse Sun Deng on Mount Sumen, its sound filling the valleys; the line 'seems to grieve for absent friends' hears in that wild sound a lonely, aching nostalgia. His defiance of ritual—drinking and eating meat while in mourning, lying drunk beside a neighbor's wife, greeting common people with the whites of his eyes—is rendered by 'of its own accord,' which shows he flouted convention not for effect but because he simply did not care. The whistle reveals inner feeling; the defiance reveals outer freedom. Together they give the iconic portrait of a Wei-Jin gentleman.

物故不可论，途穷能无恸

Things as they are cannot be told; at the road's end, can he not weep?

世事本不可评说，路穷之时岂能不恸哭。

The affairs of the age simply cannot be spoken of; and when the road ends, how could he not weep aloud?

末联以阮籍穷途之哭收束全诗，问中含悲，是阮籍形象的最终完成。上句『物故不可论』写其处世之叹：物故即世事、时局，阮籍身处易代之际，是非颠倒、黑白莫辨，世事本不可论说，说则招祸，故只能沉默自晦，一个『不可论』写尽乱世名士的难言与无奈；下句『途穷能无恸』用其穷途之哭的故实：阮籍率意独驾，不由径路，车迹所穷之处，辄恸哭而返，『能无恸』以反问出之——面对穷途，怎能不痛哭？问句之中，阮籍积郁一生的悲慨如决堤之水。此联之妙，在以哭收束全篇：前文所写沦迹、沉醉、越礼，皆是为避祸而作的伪装，唯有穷途之哭，是阮籍真情的一次爆发，写尽其佯狂背后的深沉悲哀。全诗至此戛然而止，余悲袅袅，正是咏史传神的最高境界。

The closing couplet completes the portrait through Ruan's famous weeping at the road's end. 'The affairs of the age cannot be spoken of': in a time when right and wrong had traded places, speech itself was lethal, and silence was the only possible honesty. Then comes the allusion—Ruan would drive off alone, following no fixed road, and whenever the track petered out he would weep bitterly before turning back. 'How could he not weep?' turns the story into a question that releases all his suppressed grief at once. Every earlier pose—the concealment, the drunkenness, the defiance—was a disguise; only this weeping at the dead end is the truth breaking through. The poem stops abruptly on that note, leaving the sorrow hanging in the air.

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Word focus

埋照 In 'deep drunkenness seems to hide his light,' 'hide his light' means conceal his shine—one word writes Ruan's drunken escape, never judging men; the life-philosophy is deep. 『沉醉似埋照』之『埋照』，是全诗写阮籍处世智慧最见功力的一词。『照』为光采、锋芒，『埋』为埋藏、隐没，『埋照』即埋藏自己的光采，使之不露于外。此词之妙，在化抽象为形象：阮籍的才华识鉴本是耀眼的光照，而身处司马氏屠戮名士的乱世，锋芒毕露者如嵇康即遭杀身之祸，阮籍遂以沉醉为掩护，把光采深埋起来，『埋照』二字正是这一生存策略的形象概括。一词既写其沉醉的表象，又写其避祸的苦心：醉不是目的，埋才是目的，沉醉只是埋照的手段，表层行为与深层动机一目了然。同时，『埋照』一词也暗含惋惜：光采本应照耀，却不得不深埋，一字之间，既有对阮籍处境的同情，又有对其智慧的理解，正是咏史诗炼字以传神的典范，一词而尽写阮籍一生为人的关键。

恸 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 『途穷能无恸』之『恸』，是全诗情感爆发的字眼。『恸』为痛哭、哀恸之极，较『哭』『泣』更为沉痛，写阮籍穷途之哭的激烈：率意独驾，车迹所穷，前路已断，遂恸哭而返，一个『恸』字写尽阮籍积郁一生的悲慨在瞬间的爆发。此字之妙，在以极情写极悲：阮籍一生以沉醉、隐晦、佯狂自晦，情感长期压抑，唯有穷途之哭，是真情的一次泄洪，『恸』字正是这决堤之势的写照。同时，『恸』字与上句『不可论』相映：世事不可论，故以哭代论；无路可走，故以恸泄愤，沉默到极点而爆发为恸哭，正是阮籍一生情感的完成式。『能无』以反问出之，问中含悲：面对穷途，岂能不恸？这一问既是代阮籍而问，亦是颜延之自问——身世之感与古人同慨，尽在这一『恸』字与一问之中，正是咏史诗借古抒怀的凝结点。