Poem of Secluded Indignation (幽愤诗) by Ji Kang · Chinese Poem Audio and Explanation

Meaning

Alas, my scant fortune—young I met with family misfortune. Grievous and unknowing, I lay still in swaddling clothes. Mother and brother nurtured me, with kindness but no sternness. Relying on their love I grew willful and spoiled, taking no teaching, bowing to no master. When I came of age and donned the cap, still by favour I gave myself rein. My heart aspired high to the ancients, following whatever I revered.

可叹我福薄，幼年便遭家道不幸。孤苦无知，还在襁褓之中。母亲兄长抚育我，只有慈爱没有威严。倚仗宠爱放纵娇蛮，不受训诫不拜师门。到了成年加冠，仍凭宠任性放达。心志高抗仰慕古人，任随自己所崇尚的性情。

Appreciation

Ji Kang, styled Shuye, was a man of Qiaoguo Zhai, leader of the 'Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove' in the Wei-Jin transition, devoted to Lao-Zhuang, light of ritual, forging iron in the eastern market and breaking ties with Shan Tao, of stern and lofty bearing. In the Jingyuan years, Lü An was falsely accused by his brother Lü Xun of unfiliality; Ji Kang testified to Lü An's innocence and was in turn charged with 'licentious talk, scorning the canonical codes' and cast in prison. At the execution ground in the eastern market, three thousand students of the Imperial Academy petitioned to take him as teacher, and were refused; he was forty. In prison he made the Poem of Secluded Indignation, singing his life's lot and heart as he went to his death. This excerpt is its opening, recalling his weak orphaned start and his innate wish to nurture the natural self—a key text for understanding his tragic fate and the Wei-Jin scholar temper. The whole is four-character, bred of the Shi Jing yet clear and stern. It opens with 'Alas, my scant fortune,' a long sigh setting the tone of secluded indignation; 'Mother and brother nurtured me, all kindness, no sternness' writes the orphan's tenderness in a warm brush; 'by their love I grew willful, untaught' seems self-reproach yet calmly claims the untrammelled nature; 'my heart aspired to the ancients' lays bare his intent. It seems plain self-narration, yet every word holds grievance; with a calm brush it writes thunderous wrath—resentful yet not violent, indignant yet able to be still: the very spirit of Ji Kang.

【白话串讲】嵇康被诬下狱，写《幽愤诗》：“嗟余薄祜，少遭不造”——我命不好，小时候就遭难。“恃爱肆姐，不训不师”——他反省自己太放任。“内负宿心，外恧良朋”——他悔恨。不久后，他在刑场上弹《广陵散》，说：“广陵散于今绝矣！” 【意象与手法】全篇四言，胎息《诗经》而气格清峻。开篇'嗟余薄祜'一声长叹，定幽愤之调；'母兄鞠育，有慈无威'以温笔写孤稚【情感与主旨】嵇康字叔夜，谯国铚人，魏晋之际'竹林七贤'领袖，尚老庄、轻礼法，锻铁东市、与山涛绝交，风骨凛然【名句点睛】常考其'四言自叙'的体式与'表面自悔、实则以狂明志'的深层情感；亦考'不造''希古'等用典

Background

Ji Kang, styled Shuye, was a man of Qiaoguo Zhai, leader of the 'Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove' in the Wei-Jin transition, devoted to Lao-Zhuang, light of ritual, forging iron in the eastern market and breaking ties with Shan Tao, of stern and lofty bearing. In the Jingyuan years, Lü An was falsely accused by his brother Lü Xun of unfiliality; Ji Kang testified to Lü An's innocence and was in turn charged with 'licentious talk, scorning the canonical codes' and cast in prison. At the execution ground in the eastern market, three thousand students of the Imperial Academy petitioned to take him as teacher, and were refused; he was forty. In prison he made the Poem of Secluded Indignation, singing his life's lot and heart as he went to his death. This excerpt is its opening, recalling his weak orphaned start and his innate wish to nurture the natural self—a key text for understanding his tragic fate and the Wei-Jin scholar temper.

《幽愤诗》为三国魏嵇康所作，是嵇康因吕安事系狱时所写的抒愤诗。嵇康（224—263），字叔夜，谯国铚人，三国魏文学家，“竹林七贤”之一。此诗写其少时之养与系狱之愤：嗟余薄祜，少遭不造；哀茕靡识，越在襁褓；母兄鞠育，有慈无威；恃爱肆姐，不训不师；爰及冠带，凭宠自放；抗心希古，任其所尚。全诗自叙身世而写幽愤，是嵇康狱中抒愤的代表作。

Art

The whole is four-character, bred of the Shi Jing yet clear and stern. It opens with 'Alas, my scant fortune,' a long sigh setting the tone of secluded indignation; 'Mother and brother nurtured me, all kindness, no sternness' writes the orphan's tenderness in a warm brush; 'by their love I grew willful, untaught' seems self-reproach yet calmly claims the untrammelled nature; 'my heart aspired to the ancients' lays bare his intent. It seems plain self-narration, yet every word holds grievance; with a calm brush it writes thunderous wrath—resentful yet not violent, indignant yet able to be still: the very spirit of Ji Kang.

《幽愤诗》艺术上以自叙的沉痛与四言的雅正见长。此节选十二句，层层写来：前四句写少遭不幸——“嗟余薄祜，少遭不造”写嗟叹薄福，“哀茕靡识，越在襁褓”写幼年孤苦；中四句写母兄之养——“母兄鞠育，有慈无威”写母兄鞠育，“恃爱肆姐，不训不师”写恃爱不训；后四句写任其所尚——“爰及冠带，凭宠自放”写及冠自放，“抗心希古，任其所尚”写希古任尚。全诗自叙身世而写幽愤，四言雅正，正是嵇康狱中抒愤的笔法。

Allusions

'Untimely woe' comes from the Shi Jing's 'Ode of Zhou, I the Little One: meeting my house's untimely woe,' meaning bereavement and family decline; 'swaddling' means infant weakness; 'cap' stands for coming of age (cap at twenty); 'aspire to the ancients' means honouring the pure air of high antiquity and following Lao-Zhuang's 'transcending the names and rites to follow the natural.' Using the language of the Shi yet not bound by its sense, it sets the personal lot within the classical tradition of 'the scholar not met,' giving Ji Kang's private indignation the shared tragic colour of the Wei-Jin worthy.

《幽愤诗》用典在“薄祜”“不造”“鞠育”“抗心希古”。“薄祜”写出《诗经》“薄祜”写福薄；“不造”写出《诗经》“遭家不造”写家道不幸；“鞠育”写出《诗经》“母兮鞠我”写养育；“抗心希古”写高举其心、追慕古人。全诗以这些典故自叙身世，用典雅正而沉痛自深，正是嵇康四言诗写幽愤的笔法。

Commentary

The 'History of Jin, Biography of Ji Kang' records that at execution he 'looked at the sun's shadow, called for his lute and played,' and composed this poem; Liu Xie said 'Shuye is gallant and chivalrous, hence his feeling is high and his ornament bright'; Ming scholars said 'the Poem of Seclusion, every word blood and tears, yet its bearing is composed.' Moderns hold this poem 'uses the four-character form most honoured by Wei-Jin men to write the most unbearable prison grievance,' opening Tao Yuanming's 'On Not Meeting Worthies,' a bloody specimen of the scholar's spiritual history.

《幽愤诗》是嵇康狱中抒愤的名篇，也是魏晋四言诗中抒写个人身世之愤的代表作。此诗自叙身世而写幽愤，向为论者称道。论者多赏其自叙的沉痛——“嗟余薄祜，少遭不造”写少遭不幸，身世之痛尽在其中；“抗心希古，任其所尚”写希古任尚，更见其志。嵇康为“竹林七贤”之一，其诗以四言雅正、孤高自许著称，此诗正是其代表——以自叙写幽愤，正是其狱中悲愤的写照。

Prosody

Form Wei-Jin four-character autobiographical poem (Ya/Song style)四言古诗

Rhyme woe, swaddling, sternness, mentor, rein, revered—ancient rhymes in accord《幽愤诗》为四言古诗，此节选十二句，押韵。此诗用韵：造、褓（宵部）、威、师（微部）、放、尚（阳部），随段换韵，音节雅正。

Tone pattern Not traceable (four-character archaic)四言古诗以音节雅正、气格端凝见长。此节选自叙身世，音节雅正而沉痛。全诗以四言贯底，声调与幽愤的内容相合，是魏晋四言诗写抒愤的一路。

Reading note All four-character, rooted in the Shi Jing yet clear and stern, writes anger with calm《幽愤诗》为三国魏嵇康所作，是嵇康系狱时写幽愤的诗。此节选自叙身世：以“嗟余薄祜，少遭不造”写幼年孤苦，以“母兄鞠育，有慈无威”写母兄之养，以“恃爱肆姐，不训不师”写其自放，以“抗心希古，任其所尚”写其希古之志。自叙沉痛、四言雅正，正是嵇康狱中抒愤的代表作。

Line by line

嗟余薄祜，少遭不造。哀茕靡识，越在襁褓。

Alas for me, of slender fortune, who in youth met an ill-fated house; pitiful and orphaned, knowing nothing, still in my swaddling clothes.

嗟叹我福薄，年少遭逢家道不幸。哀我孤苦无知，还在襁褓之中。

Alas, my blessings were slight; in youth I met the misfortunes of my house. Orphaned and pitiful, still an infant, I lay in swaddling clothes.

前四句写少遭不幸，是全诗自叙身世的起点。“嗟余薄祜，少遭不造”写嗟叹薄福——“嗟余薄祜”写嗟叹我福薄，“少遭不造”写出《诗经》“遭家不造”，写年少遭家道不幸——我福薄，少遭不幸；“哀茕靡识，越在襁褓”写幼年孤苦——“哀茕靡识”写哀我孤苦无知，“越在襁褓”写还在襁褓之中——我孤苦无知，尚在襁褓。四句写少遭不幸：嗟余薄祜、少遭不造，哀茕靡识、越在襁褓。以“嗟余薄祜”写福薄之叹，以“少遭不造”写幼年之难，以“哀茕靡识，越在襁褓”写孤苦之状，正是嵇康自叙身世、为幽愤之本张本的笔法——幼年孤苦，故其性刚介。

The first four lines write the poet's early misfortune, the starting point of the autobiographical opening. 'Alas for me, of slender fortune, who in youth met an ill-fated house' draws on the Book of Songs' 'met an ill-fated house' to write early calamity. 'Pitiful and orphaned, knowing nothing, still in my swaddling clothes' writes the orphaned helplessness of infancy. The lines write the sigh of slender fortune, the hardship of early years, and the orphaned state, the method by which Ji Kang sets the source of his 'hidden grief'—left alone in infancy, his nature grew rigid and upright.

母兄鞠育，有慈无威。恃爱肆姐，不训不师。

My mother and brother raised me, with kindness but no strictness; leaning on their love I grew willful, taught by no precept, schooled by no master.

母亲兄长养育我，有慈爱而无威严。依恃慈爱而放纵，不受教训，不拜师傅。

My mother and elder brother nurtured me, affectionate but with no sternness. Relying on their love I grew willful, receiving neither instruction nor a master.

中四句写母兄之养与恃爱自放，是全诗自叙身世的深化。“母兄鞠育，有慈无威”写母兄鞠育——“母兄鞠育”写出《诗经》“母兮鞠我”，写母亲兄长养育我，“有慈无威”写有慈爱而无威严——“恃爱肆姐，不训不师”写恃爱自放——“恃爱肆姐”写依恃慈爱而放纵，“不训不师”写不受教训、不拜师傅。四句写母兄之养与恃爱自放：母兄鞠育、有慈无威，恃爱肆姐、不训不师。以“母兄鞠育，有慈无威”写母兄之慈而无威，以“恃爱肆姐，不训不师”写其恃爱而放纵，正是嵇康自叙其性之所由来的笔法——慈而无威，故其性任放。

The middle four lines write the nurture of mother and brother and the self-indulgence that followed, deepening the autobiography. 'My mother and brother raised me, with kindness but no strictness' adapts the Book of Songs' 'O mother, you nurtured me.' 'Leaning on their love I grew willful, taught by no precept, schooled by no master' writes the indulgence that lacked correction. The lines write kindness without authority and the self-indulgence it bred, the method by which Ji Kang explains the origin of his nature—loved without strictness, he grew unrestrained.

爰及冠带，凭宠自放。抗心希古，任其所尚。

And when I came to manhood, still, trusting in their fondness, I let myself go; I set my heart high and emulated the ancients, following whatever I admired.

到了成年加冠，依恃宠爱而自我放任。高举其心追慕古人，任从其崇尚。

When I reached manhood and the capping ceremony, I still relied on fond indulgence and let myself be free. I held my heart high and emulated the ancients, following whatever I honored.

后四句写及冠自放、希古任尚，是全诗自叙身世的归结。“爰及冠带，凭宠自放”写及冠自放——“爰及冠带”写到了成年加冠，“凭宠自放”写依恃宠爱而自我放任——及冠之后，凭宠自放；“抗心希古，任其所尚”写希古任尚——“抗心希古”写高举其心追慕古人，“任其所尚”写任从其崇尚——抗心希古，任其所尚。四句写及冠自放、希古任尚：爰及冠带、凭宠自放，抗心希古、任其所尚。以“凭宠自放”写其自放之性，以“抗心希古，任其所尚”写其希古之志，正是嵇康自叙身世、为其幽愤之因作铺垫的笔法——性之任放、志之希古，正是其获罪之由。

The last four lines write the self-indulgence of manhood and the emulation of the ancients, the resolution of the autobiography. 'And when I came to manhood, still, trusting in their fondness, I let myself go' writes the freedom that came with the cap. 'I set my heart high and emulated the ancients, following whatever I admired' writes the lofty aim. The lines write the self-abandon of maturity and the aspiration to antiquity, the preparation for the cause of his hidden grief—an unrestrained nature and an antiquarian ambition being precisely why he offended the age.

Study

Word focus

薄祜 Scant fortune; 'alas my scant fortune' sighs his ill fate, leading the whole poem's note of grief. “嗟余薄祜”之“薄祜”，写出《诗经》“薄祜”写福薄，是全诗自叙身世的关键词。“薄”写微薄，“祜”写福——嗟叹我福薄。这一词写其福之薄：不是有福之人，而是薄祜；不是得天之佑，而是福薄之叹。以“薄祜”写福薄，正是嵇康自叙身世、写其幼年不幸的笔法。

不造 Untimely woe; from the Shi Jing, meaning the misfortune of losing his father in childhood. “少遭不造”之“不造”，写出《诗经》“遭家不造”写家道不幸，是全诗写幼年之难的关键词。“不造”写家道不幸——年少遭逢家道不幸。这一词写其少遭之难：不是寻常之困，而是不造；不是可避之祸，而是家道之不幸。以“不造”写幼年之难，正是嵇康用《诗经》之典自叙身世的笔法。

鞠育 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “母兄鞠育”之“鞠育”，写出《诗经》“母兮鞠我”写养育，是全诗写母兄之恩的关键词。“鞠育”写养育——母亲兄长养育我。这一词写母兄之恩：不是寻常之养，而是鞠育；不是一时之育，而是养育成长。以“鞠育”写母兄之恩，正是嵇康用《诗经》之典写其恩而自愧的笔法。

抗心希古 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “抗心希古”之“抗心希古”，写高举其心追慕古人，是全诗写其志的关键词。“抗心”写高举其心，“希古”写追慕古人——高举其心，追慕古人。这一词写其志之高：不是随俗之志，而是抗心；不是趋时之尚，而是希古。以“抗心希古”写其志，正是嵇康自叙其性高介、为幽愤之因作铺垫的笔法——抗心希古，故与时不合。

幽愤诗