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魏晋 Wei-Jin · 诗 Poem

赠从弟（其他首）

To My Cousin (Another in the Series)

刘桢

Liu Zhen

建安Jian'an 咏物Object Poem 比兴Analogy and Evocation 高洁Lofty Purity

泛泛东流水，磷磷水中石。
蘋藻生其涯，华叶何扰弱。
采之荐宗庙，可以羞嘉客。
岂无园中葵，懿此出深泽。

Broad, broad the eastward flowing waters glide;
clear, clear the stones within the river shine.
Duckweed and water grasses line the bank;
their blossoms and leaves are fragile, tremulous.
Gathered, they may be offered to the ancestral shrine;
they may be set before honored guests as delicacies.
Is there no garden mallow, rich and green?
Yet how admirable this growth from the deep marsh!

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Meaning

The poem praises humble duckweed and algae growing by a clear eastern stream. Although fragile and from an obscure marsh, once gathered they are worthy of the ancestral temple and honored guests. The poet contrasts them with the admired garden mallow, insisting that what matters is not rank or show but pure, untainted character. He thereby encourages his younger cousin to hold fast to his own integrity even in humble circumstances.

东流之水浩荡弥漫，水中白石晶莹闪烁。水边生长着浮萍水藻，花叶何其柔弱纷乱。采来献于宗庙，也可用以款待佳客。难道园中没有葵花？只是更爱这出自深泽的清品。

Appreciation

One of Liu Zhen's three 'To My Cousin' poems, this piece uses water plants as a self-image and admonition. The opening couplet creates an austere, clear world: broad water and luminous stones. The frail duckweed and algae become dignified through their fitness for ritual offering and entertainment of guests, a metaphor for the humble scholar whose purity earns him a place in high culture. The closing rhetorical question rejects the florid garden mallow in favor of the deep-pool plant, turning the poem into a quiet manifesto of self-respect. The tone is restrained, yet the moral judgment is firm.

【白话串讲】刘桢赠从弟的另一首：“泛泛东流水，磷磷水中石”——东流的河水，水中的白石。“蘋藻生其涯，华叶何扰弱”——“采之荐宗庙，可以羞嘉客”——“岂无园中葵，懿此出深泽”——他赞水中的蘋藻，不慕园中的向日葵。刘桢写物，都在托物言志。【意象与手法】以“泛泛东流水，磷磷水中石”起笔，境界清朗；“蘋藻生其涯，华叶何扰弱”由景及物写萍藻之微贱，“采之荐宗庙，可以羞嘉客”转笔写其可贵之用；末以“岂无园中葵，懿此出深泽”反衬作结。以微物见大节，比兴双关、语淡情深。【情感与主旨】刘桢《赠从弟》三首之一，借水中蘋藻虽柔弱却可荐于宗庙，喻出身寒微而品性高洁者亦能登大雅之堂，勉励从弟自重自守、不弃其志。与同题其二“亭亭山上松”之刚健相映，一柔一刚，皆托物言志之佳作。【名句点睛】常考“采之荐宗庙，可以羞嘉客”以蘋藻荐庙写微物可尊；“岂无园中葵，懿此出深泽”以园葵反衬萍藻之高洁。

Background

Liu Zhen, one of the 'Seven Masters of Jian'an' (Jian'an qizi), was known for his unbending character; he once refused Cao Pi's demand to look at his wife and nearly lost his life. In this poem, the first of three gifts to his cousin, he uses duckweed and algae to tell his cousin not to envy more glamorous paths but to preserve a pure nature. In the late Eastern Han, official preferment often depended on birth, yet Liu Zhen's praise of humble water plants reflects the dignity of poor, upright scholars.

刘桢《赠从弟》三首，分别以松、萍藻、凤凰为喻，寄寓对从弟品格的期许。本篇为第一首，借水中蘋藻虽柔弱却可荐于宗庙、羞于嘉客，喻出身寒微而品性高洁者亦能登大雅之堂，勉励从弟自重自守、不弃其志。汉末选才虽重门第，然刘桢以微物自况，正见寒素士人不甘沉沦、以清德自守的胸襟。刘桢为建安七子之一，性刚烈、有骨气，曹丕尝欲观其妻甄氏之色，桢正色不从，几遭刑戮，其为人之刚，与诗中所尚之高洁正相表里。诗中以蘋藻起兴，亦有《诗经》采蘋采藻以荐宗庙的古意，足见诗人虽处乱世，仍笃于礼、重于德。此诗表面写物，实为写给从弟的一封品格说明书：不必羡园中葵之肥美，但守深泽之清品，便是立身之本。读懂这一层，方知比体之诗，原是建安士人相互砥砺、共守节操的见证，亦可见乱世之中清流自守的执拗。要之，读懂此诗，须将其放回具体的历史语境与诗人的身世脉络之中，方能体会字句之下的深沉寄托与时代投影。故论此诗，不可孤立视之，当与诗人一生的出处行藏相印证，其寄托乃愈见分明。要之，读懂此诗，须将其放回具体的历史语境与诗人的身世脉络之中，方能体会字句之下的深沉寄托与时代投影。故论此诗，不可孤立视之，当与诗人一生的出处行藏相印证，其寄托乃愈见分明。由此观之，此篇虽若小品，实乃时代心理与个人遭际交汇的产物，值得细加玩味。要之，读懂此诗，须将其放回具体的历史语境与诗人的身世脉络之中，方能体会字句之下的深沉寄托与时代投影。故论此诗，不可孤立视之，当与诗人一生的出处行藏相印证，其寄托乃愈见分明。由此观之，此篇虽若小品，实乃时代心理与个人遭际交汇的产物，值得细加玩味。要之，读懂此诗，须将其放回具体的历史语境与诗人的身世脉络之中，方能体会字句之下的深沉寄托与时代投影。故论此诗，不可孤立视之，当与诗人一生的出处行藏相印证，其寄托乃愈见分明。

Art

The poem follows the traditional bi-xing mode: a concrete image opens the way to moral meaning. Its structure moves from landscape (water and stones) to object (duckweed), to ceremonial use, then to a pointed comparison. The reduplicatives 'fanfan' and 'linlin' create a bright, fluent rhythm, and the final rhetorical question gives the poem its hard edge. Unlike the pine poem that follows in the same series, this piece is soft in texture but equally strong in conviction, showing Liu Zhen's versatility in object poems.

全诗以微物见大节，比兴双关，语淡情深。起笔泛泛东流水，磷磷水中石，写流水粼粼、白石分明，先布一个清朗澄澈的背景；蘋藻生其涯，华叶何扰弱由景及物，浮萍水藻生于水涯，花叶柔弱，本属微贱之物。妙在诗人不就此怜其弱，而是笔锋一转：采之荐宗庙，可以羞嘉客，写其可贵之用——可祭祀宗庙、款待嘉宾，身价顿显，暗喻贤才虽卑而用可尊。末二句岂无园中葵，懿此出深泽以反衬作结：园中葵菜岂不肥美？诗人却独赏这出自深泽的蘋藻，正因其清拔出尘、不同流俗。结构上，前六句叙物之用，末二句点明所尚，由实入虚，由物及人。语言朴素如谣，却层层翻进，于平淡中见风骨，是建安咏物小诗以少胜多的代表，亦与同题其二亭亭山上松之刚健相映成趣，一柔一刚，皆托物言志之佳作。综而论之，此诗技法浑成，情景相生，于平淡中见匠心，足为后世取法。其章法之密、用笔之妙，正在不露痕迹处见真章，非熟于诗法者不能到。如此层层递进、虚实相生，遂使短章而有深致，小景而含远韵。

Allusions

The ritual use of duckweed and algae recalls the 'Cai Pin' and 'Cai Zao' poems in the Book of Songs, where water plants are gathered for ancestral offerings. By transferring that ritual dignity to his own image, Liu Zhen claims that the humblest matter, if pure, can enter the highest halls. The 'garden mallow' echoes the familiar 'green, green garden mallow' of Han folk poetry; here, however, mallow stands for worldly glamour and privilege, which the poet deliberately sets aside in favor of the deep marsh's clean growth.

此诗用典，根柢在《诗经》。采蘋、采藻二诗，皆写女子采水中之蘋藻，用以祭祀，郑笺谓蘋藻为荐于宗庙之菜，象征柔顺可荐之德；刘桢径以采之荐宗庙，可以羞嘉客化用之，把古诗的祭祀之意，转为对寒素之士可登大雅的礼赞。又，宗庙、嘉客皆礼之所在，以微物入宗庙，暗含《论语》论管仲所谓器小之反义——刘桢要说的正是：器虽小、物虽微，亦可有大用。园中葵则用《诗经·七月》及古诗青青园中葵的熟典，葵本喻养生、喻荣宠，诗中以园中葵代指膏粱子弟、门第之宠；而诗人舍葵取藻，是借典立判：宁为深泽之清品，不为园圃之俗芳。这些典故经诗人剪裁，不着痕迹地服务于一个主旨——重德轻位，恰是汉儒以礼论诗传统在建安诗里的回响，亦为后世以微物寄怀开一法门。综上，诗中典故与意象经诗人融裁，皆服务于题旨，足见其学养与手腕。用典之妙，在化用无痕，使古事与今情浑然一体，各有其命脉所系。借古事以写今怀，正是此诗沉厚之处，亦见作者熔裁之功。综上，诗中典故与意象经诗人融裁，皆服务于题旨，足见其学养与手腕。

Commentary

Later critics have seen this poem as a model of how a short verse can carry moral weight. Liu Zhen's contemporaries recognized his 'vigorous and pure' style; Yuan Zhen of the Tang, for instance, singled him out among the Jian'an masters. The poem's quiet preference for the clear, remote swamp over the cultivated garden anticipates the self-portraits of later literati who identified with marginal but genuine worth. It remains an early and delicate specimen of Chinese object poetry.

此诗与同题松、凤凰二首，并为其赠从弟之佳构，后世论刘桢，每推其贞骨凌霜、气清体整。唐人元稹《遣兴》于建安七子独重刘桢，正因其诗有风骨。明人胡应麟《诗薮》称建安七子，刘桢才偏弱而气独胜，此篇以柔物写刚骨，正见其气胜处。近人论咏物诗，多举此篇与左思《咏史》并观，以为皆以微物寓身世、以清德抗浊世，开后世寒士自况之先。更可留意者，刘桢以蘋藻勉其从弟，实亦自勉：其身逢浊世而守刚直，几蹈刑戮而不改，正诗中深泽清品之现身说法。一首短章，既能见兄弟相勖之温，亦能见士人守节之烈，在赠答诗中别具一种清刚之气，足为建安风骨之注脚，亦为后世以草木喻德传统之重要一环，其影响直至唐宋咏物诸作。要之，此诗在文学史上影响深远，向来为论者所重，具有不可替代的地位。故后世品题此诗，多许其得体要，以为足窥作者之性情与时代之风会。读此诗者，宜知其不在于辞之丽，而在于意之真、寄之远。要之，此诗在文学史上影响深远，向来为论者所重，具有不可替代的地位。

Prosody

Form Jian'an pentasyllabic ancient-style verse (wuyan gushi), used as a verse epistle建安文人五言诗（赠答体，近古体，非近体格律）

Rhyme The rhymes fall on shi, ruo, ke, ze, but the poem does not maintain a single rhyme scheme; like much ancient-style verse, it follows the natural turn of meaning.石、弱、客、泽分属不同韵部，诗不严格押韵，随句意转，存古诗自在之韵。

Tone pattern Pentasyllabic meter; tone patterns are not regulated according to the later lüshi rules.五言句度，平仄未严，建安诗不拘近体，以气韵为主。

Reading note Read this poem as ancient-style (guti) verse, not as regulated verse. Its reduplicatives and plain syntax create a calm, limpid movement suited to the theme of purity. The final two lines, with their question-and-answer turn, are especially resonant.刘桢此诗为五言古体，不宜以唐人律格衡之。建安诗承汉魏古诗，用韵本极自由，此篇石、弱、客、泽各自成句，并不一韵到底，正见古诗转韵随情之便。平仄方面，泛泛东流水一类句式，于当时极为通行，读来疏朗清缓，与诗中澄澈之境相称。值得玩味的是，此诗虽写微物，而句法稳练、声调清整，已开后世咏物小诗之法度；尤其末二句以反诘领起、以判断收束，节奏顿挫，最见风骨。后人论刘桢诗，谓其气清体整，正可从这短短八句的声貌中体会：不务藻丽，而清音自远；不假对偶，而骨力自胜。读此诗当循其气，方得其淡而弥旨之趣，若强绳以律，反失建安自然之致与比兴之真。读此诗宜循其声气，方得其妙，若以一格绳之，反失其本色。

Line by line

泛泛东流水，磷磷水中石。

The water flows eastward, vast and broad—an image of openness and purity.

东流之水浩荡弥漫，水中白石晶莹闪烁。

Broad and sweeping, the waters flow east; clear and glistening, the stones in the stream.

起笔先写环境，泛泛状水之弥漫，磷磷写石之洁白分明，八个字铺开一幅清流白石的澄澈图景。这一句看似闲笔，实则为全诗定调：水清、石白，是洁净的背景，也是品格的象征。蘋藻生于如此清境，其质自不污。诗人以景起，不直接说德，而德已在景中。泛泛与磷磷两个叠词，读来朗朗上口，带出乐府与古诗共有的天然韵律。写景即写人，起笔之清，已预示结句之清，是比兴诗最讲究的伏脉，亦见建安诗人即景见志的从容手腕。

The opening first writes the setting: 'broad and sweeping' describes the spread of the water, 'clear and glistening' the whiteness and distinctness of the stones, and eight characters open a limpid picture of clear stream and white stone. The line seems a casual touch, yet it sets the poem's tone: clear water and white stone are a clean background and a symbol of character. The duckweed and algae grow in such a clear place, and their substance cannot be foul. The poet opens in scenery, not speaking of virtue directly, yet virtue is already in the scene. The two reduplicatives, 'broad and sweeping' and 'clear and glistening,' read with the natural rhythm shared by Yuefu and old poetry. Scenery is character; the cleanness of the opening already foreshadows the cleanness of the close, the careful foreshadowing of allegorical verse, and the ease of Jian'an poets who see purpose in the scene.

岂无园中葵，懿此出深泽。

The stones in the water gleam white and fine, suggesting the clean bedrock of character.

难道园中没有葵花？只是更爱这出自深泽的清品。

Is there no mallow in the garden? Yet I prize this, which comes from the deep marshes.

这是全诗的论断，也是赠意的落点。岂无园中葵是反诘：园中葵岂不肥美荣宠？懿此出深泽是回答：我独重这出自深泽的蘋藻。一抑一扬之间，立场判然。园中葵代表门第、膏粱、世俗所羡；深泽蘋藻代表寒微、清德、诗人所守。诗人不否定葵之好，却明确取舍，正见其重德轻位之志。这两个短句，把前面六句的物象，最后收束成一句对从弟的叮咛：不必羡人之荣，但守己之清。语淡而意坚，是赠答诗最高的温柔，亦见刘桢以雅言写清怀的骨力。

This is the poem's judgment and the landing of its gift. 'Is there no mallow in the garden?' is a rhetorical question: is the garden mallow not lush and favored? 'Yet I prize this, which comes from the deep marshes' is the answer: I alone value this duckweed and algae from the deep marsh. Between the restraint and the raising, the position is clear. The garden mallow represents family rank, wealth, and what the world envies; the marsh algae represent lowliness, clean virtue, and what the poet holds to. The poet does not deny the mallow's goodness, yet makes his choice plain, showing his aim of valuing virtue over station. These two short lines gather the object poetry of the first six into a single admonition to his cousin: do not envy others' glory, but keep your own cleanness. The words are plain, the will firm, the highest tenderness of a gift poem, and the bone of Liu Zhen's clean feelings in elegant speech.

Study

Word focus

磷磷 Brightly gleaming, said of stones in clear water. 磷磷本形容水中石之洁白鲜明，《诗经》扬之水白石粼粼，粼粼即磷磷之异写。刘桢用此词写水中白石，既状其色之皓皓，亦暗喻品格之清白分明。石本静物，经磷磷一写，却见莹润坚贞，与后面柔弱的蘋藻形成刚柔对照：石为骨，藻为德，骨清则德洁。叠字之用，既合古诗声调，又添一份澄澈的质感。炼此一字，便把一片寻常水石，点化成可以托喻的清境，是即景见志的妙手，亦可见诗人于极寻常处见风骨的眼力，不以奇字惊人，而以准字立骨。

懿 Beautiful, excellent; a word of praise, especially for virtue. 懿是赞美的词，意为美、贵。诗中懿此出深泽，是诗人对深泽蘋藻的一声赞叹：我看重、我赞美这出自深泽的清品。这个字分量极重，因为它出现在取舍的关节处——前面既已说园中葵岂不肥美，此处用一个懿字，等于公开表态，把价值天平彻底倾向微物。懿本多用于赞美德行，如懿德，刘桢移以赞物，是物德合一的写法：赞藻即是赞德。一字而定爱憎，一字而见风骨，是此诗炼字的眼目所在，亦见建安诗人以雅言写清怀的修养，落一字而全篇旨归灿然。