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先秦 Pre-Qin · 诗 Poem

大司命

The Great Director of Destinies

屈原

Qu Yuan

楚辞Theme 九歌Theme 神灵Theme 寿命Theme

广开兮天门，纷吾乘兮玄云。
令飘风兮先驱，使涷雨兮洒尘。
君回翔兮以下，踰空桑兮从女。
纷总总兮九州，何寿夭兮在予。
高飞兮安翔，乘清气兮御阴阳。
吾与君兮斋速，导帝之兮九坑。
灵衣兮被被，玉佩兮陆离。
壹阴兮壹阳，众莫知兮余所为。
折疏麻兮瑶华，将以遗兮离居。
老冉冉兮既极，不寖近兮愈疏。
乘龙兮辚辚，高驰兮冲天。
结桂枝兮延伫，羌愈思兮愁人。
愁人兮奈何，愿若今兮无亏。
固人命兮有当，孰离合兮可为。

Wide open are the gates of Heaven; I ride forth upon dark clouds.
I bid the whirlwind go before as herald; I send the drizzling rain to wash the dust.
You wheel and hover, descending; crossing Mount Kongsang, you come to follow me.
Crowded, crowded are the Nine Provinces; who shall live long, who die young—that rests with me.
Soar high and hover at ease; riding the pure breath, I command the powers of yin and yang.
I and you hasten in reverence, guiding the God-Emperor through the nine hills.
My spirit-robe streams long; my jade pendants flash in shifting light.
Now shadow, now light—none among the many can know what I do.
I break the sparse hemp, its jade-white blossom, to send to the one who dwells apart.
Old age comes on slowly to its fullness; if you draw not near, we grow the more estranged.
I mount the dragon, its wheels rumbling; rising high, I gallop toward the heavens.
I tie a sprig of cassia and stand long waiting; the more I think, the more my heart aches.
Heartache—what can be done? I only wish that, as now, you suffer no loss.
For man's life has its appointed lot; who can alter the partings and meetings of fate?

Listen

Meaning

A Chu-ci hymn to the god who holds the power of life and death, blending divine pageantry with a mortal's quiet sorrow.

敞开那天门，我驾着黑云纷然降临。命旋风为前驱，遣冻雨洒扫尘埃。大司命回旋而降，越过空桑来相随。九州之人众多，谁寿谁夭皆由我掌。高高飞翔安然翱，乘着清气驾驭阴阳。我与君洁净疾行，引导天帝巡于九冈。神衣长长飘动，玉佩光彩斑斓。忽阴忽阳变化，众人难测我所为。折下疏麻玉色花，要将它赠予离居人。衰老渐渐已至，不亲近便越发疏离。乘龙车声辚辚，高高驰骋直冲天。编结桂枝久伫立，越是思念越愁人。愁人啊可奈何，但愿如如今无亏缺。人本有定命，谁能使聚散改变。

Appreciation

'Da Siming' (The Great Director of Destinies) is a ritual hymn from the Chu-ci 'Nine Songs' (Jiu Ge), voiced by or addressed to the god who governs human longevity and death. Qu Yuan's craft binds cosmic spectacle to intimate feeling. The deity arrives in majesty — the heavenly gate swings open, he rides dark clouds with whirlwind and downpour as outriders, soaring on clear qi and mastering yin and yang — while the chant-like '兮' (xi) caesura gives every line a breathing, incantatory rhythm. Against this grandeur the mortal worshipper appears small and tender: offering a broken hemp flower and jade blossom, waiting as old age creeps near, grieving the distance that grows with neglect. The poem thus holds majesty and melancholy in a single breath, its divine procession counterpointed by human longing. In its closing turn it shifts from myth to aphorism — 'fate has its fixed course; who can govern parting and meeting?' — sealing the song with fatalistic calm. As a companion to 'Shao Siming' (The Lesser Director), which treats propagation, 'Da Siming' reveals the Chu cult of destiny and Qu Yuan's own sense of separation from his lord, and remains a landmark of early Chinese mythic and ritual poetry.

【白话串讲】 “广开兮天门，纷吾乘兮玄云”——屈原写《九歌·大司命》：大司命打开天门，乘着玄云。“纷总总兮九州，何寿夭兮在予”——“高飞兮安翔，乘清气兮御阴阳”——他掌管生死。【意象与手法】写神祇降临与离去的整个过程，“广开兮天门”写天门洞开，“令飘风兮先驱”写神之威仪；“壹阴兮壹阳，众莫知兮余所为”写其变化莫测；后半由神及人，“折疏麻兮瑶华”写赠别之缠绵，“老冉冉兮既极”感叹人寿有限。语言清远飘举，极富飞动之势。【情感与主旨】《九歌》中祭祀主宰寿命之神的乐歌，与《少司命》一写寿夭、一写繁育，相映成趣。将神话想象与人生感慨结合，于浪漫想象中透出对生命无常的理性之光，是研究楚地神祀观念与屈原生命意识的重要作品。【名句点睛】常考“高飞兮安翔，乘清气兮御阴阳”以乘清气御阴阳写神之威仪；“壹阴兮壹阳，众莫知兮余所为”以阴阳变化写其幽微难测。

Background

Da Siming ('Great Director of Destinies') is one of the nine hymns to spirits in the Chu-ci 'Nine Songs' (Jiu Ge), traditionally attributed to Qu Yuan. The poem is voiced by or addressed to the deity who controls human longevity and mortality. In the ritual drama of the Chu court, such hymns were sung to summon and entertain the god; here the divine speaker descends in splendor, grants or withholds life, and parts from a mortal worshipper, leaving a lingering melancholy that reflects Qu Yuan's own sense of separation from his lord.

《大司命》是屈原《九歌》中祭祀主宰寿命之神的乐歌。大司命掌人间寿夭，与《少司命》掌子嗣相对，一写寿夭之必然，一写繁育之温柔，合为楚人神灵谱系中司命二神。九歌本为楚地祭歌，经屈原改写，大司命一篇写神祇降临与离去的整个过程，既铺陈神的威仪，又由神及人，抒发对生命无常、聚散难期的深沉喟叹。理解大司命，先要明白楚人观念里的司命：他不是慈善的赐寿者，而是冷峻的掌籍官，何寿夭兮在予，生杀予夺尽在掌握，这本身带着先民的敬畏与无力。屈原写他，既写神的神秘莫测，也写人与神的离合，更在结尾归于固人命兮有当的达观。这种由神事落到人事、由神秘落到哲理的写法，使大司命在九歌中独具哲思意味。它不只是娱神之歌，更是屈原借神谕叩问生命的一首哲理诗——在战国那个战乱频仍、人命如芥的时代，寿夭之问格外沉重，而大司命恰好替世人把这份沉重唱了出来。楚人的司命信仰源远流长，星有司命、人有司命，屈原把他写成一个有威仪、有离情、有命数结论的复杂形象，正是楚地巫风与中原天命观交融的产物。读懂大司命，要先懂得先民面对死亡时的那份敬畏，以及屈原在敬畏里掺进的那份达观。

Art

The poem moves between grand cosmic spectacle and intimate feeling. Parallel '兮' (xi) caesuras lend the line a chant-like, breathing rhythm. Divine procession (clouds, whirlwind, dragon-car) is counterpointed by human smallness (the gift of a flower, the ache of waiting), so that majesty and grief are held in the same breath. The closing couplet shifts from myth to aphorism, sealing the poem with a fatalistic calm.

《大司命》的艺术，妙在把抽象的命运之神写得既威严又亲切，既神秘又可感。开篇广开兮天门，纷吾乘兮玄云，写神从天门驾玄云而降，先声夺人，确立神的至高地位；令飘风兮先驱，使涷雨兮洒尘，以飘风、涷雨为仪仗，写神之威仪被自然之力簇拥。随后笔锋转入人与神的互动：吾与君兮斋速，导帝之兮九坑，写人引导神巡行；折疏麻兮瑶华，将以遗兮离居，写赠别之缠绵，神与人之间竟有离情。这种人神相恋的笔法，是大司命最动人处——命运之神不再是冷冰冰的判官，而是会与人折花相赠、让人愁思绵绵的对象。第三是变化观的写出：壹阴兮壹阳，众莫知兮余所为，以阴阳消长写神之不可测，已含楚地哲学意味。最后是结构的收束：从降临到离去，再到人间的余思，最后归于固人命兮有当的达观喟叹。全诗如一场神人交往的完整戏剧，起承转合皆有法度，而情感由崇敬到眷恋到无奈，层层递转，余味悠长。更值得称道的是，全诗的抒情重心不在神之威，而在人之恋与命之思，这使得一场祭歌，最终落成了对生命限度的沉思，楚辞的浪漫想象在此透出了理性的光。

Allusions

Da Siming is a Chu-state god of fate and lifespan, paired with Shao Siming (the 'Lesser Director'). 'Nine Provinces' (jiu zhou) is the classical name for the Chinese world. 'Kongsang' is a mythic mountain; 'cassia' (gui) sprigs were carried as tokens of longing or as offerings to the dead. The 'sparse hemp' (shu ma) with jade-white blossom is a parting gift, echoing the custom of presenting flowers to those who depart.

《大司命》的用典与思想渊源，主要在楚地的司命信仰与阴阳哲学。司命本为星辰之神，《史记·天官书》载文昌六星有司命，主老幼寿命；楚人更立大司命、少司命二神分掌寿夭与子嗣，足见其信仰之盛。屈原写何寿夭兮在予，正承此星神掌籍的观念。壹阴兮壹阳句，则明显折射楚地阴阳消长的哲学——阴阳更替、变化无常，正是神之所为众莫能知的根由，这与《老子》万物负阴而抱阳、《易传》一阴一阳之谓道的思想相通，可见战国思想交融之迹。折疏麻兮瑶华以赠别，疏麻即神麻，古人以为食之寿考，瑶华是玉色之花，折以赠离居之人，这一意象影响到后世游仙诗以采药赠远为母题。至于固人命兮有当，孰离合兮可为，则把命运归为定数，与《论语》死生有命、富贵在天及汉儒天命论一脉相承，是先秦命运观的诗化表达。大司命因此不仅是一首祭歌，更是研究楚地神祀观念、阴阳哲学与屈原生命意识的重要文本。从司命星到阴阳变，再到定命之思，大司命把神话、哲学、命运三层叠在一起，是九歌中最具思想密度的一篇。

Commentary

Scholars read the 'Nine Songs' as coded political allegory: the descending, then departing, deity mirrors the prince who favored Qu Yuan and then cast him off. The line 'who shall live long, who die young—that rests with me' is often cited as the god's chilling assertion of absolute power over mortal life, while the final 'who can alter parting and meeting' is taken as Qu Yuan's resigned acceptance of his own estrangement from the throne.

《大司命》在九歌中的地位，向与《少司命》并提，二篇相映成趣。王逸《楚辞章句》释大司命掌人生死寿夭，谓屈原陈事神之敬；朱熹《楚辞集注》则重于其命数之思，以为诗人托神以言死生有命之意。历代论者多注意到，本篇之妙在不即不离：写神之威，不堕于怪；写人之恋，不流于艳；写到结尾，又能于浪漫想象中透出理性之光，归为固人命兮有当的达观。这种达观，不是冷漠认命，而是乱世中一种无奈而自尊的生存姿态——既然寿夭离合非人所能为，不如守其无亏，把能把握的当下守住。近世学者从神话学角度读九歌，多视大司命为楚地司命祭祀的乐舞脚本，屈原予以哲理化提升，使其超越一般祭歌，成为对生命限度的沉思。它与少司命一刚一柔、一写必然一写温柔，共同构成屈原对生命两端的凝视。读懂大司命，便知楚辞不仅有奔放的想象，也有静穆的哲思；屈原不仅是个抒情诗人，也是个面对命运发问的思想者。大司命之重，正在于它让一场娱神的祭典，最终停在了人对命运的那一声沉着的长叹上。

Prosody

Form English explanation is being prepared.楚辞体（九歌祭歌，句式长短错落，以兮字为节奏眼，不入近体诗律）

Rhyme English explanation is being prepared.全篇随情换韵，门、云、尘、女、予、阳、坑、离、为、居、疏、冲、天、人、亏、当、可为等交错相叶，声情由神秘而缠绵而达观，流转自然。

Tone pattern English explanation is being prepared.楚辞不依隋唐平仄，以兮字分句读，句读长短随歌咏起伏；大司命句式整饬而气脉幽渺，仄声与平声相间以助神秘悠远之调，非律诗粘对所能范围。

Reading note Composed in the Chu-ci meter: lines of uneven length built around the expletive '兮' (xi, 'oh'), placed mid-line as a pause. Tone and pace are free compared with the strict regulated verse of later ages; the music lies in repetition, parallelism, and the rising-and-falling cadence of the '兮' beats rather than in tonal rhyme schemes.大司命的声律，同样以兮字为骨。全诗句句带兮，把每个句子切成两截，读来如巫者在神前低唱慢吟。与东君的奔放、山鬼的幽凄不同，大司命的节奏更显幽渺从容——写神降用开阔舒缓之韵，写离合用缠绵宛转之韵，写命数用沉静收束之韵，声随情走，自然成调。尤其值得玩味的是结尾固人命兮有当，孰离合兮可为，两句以当、为押韵，语气由断言转为反问，像一声长长的叹息落地，把前面所有浪漫想象都沉淀为哲理的静穆。若用近体诗平仄去量，这些句子必然句句不合，但大司命本不是案头诗，而是祭场上的乐歌，它的格律是舞步的格律、是神人对话的呼吸。读懂它，要在兮字处放慢，在阴阳、寿夭、离合这些词上稍作停顿，让那份对命运的沉思，慢慢沉进心里。

Line by line

广开兮天门，纷吾乘兮玄云。

Wide open are the gates of Heaven; I ride forth upon dark clouds.

敞开那天门，我驾着黑云纷然降临。

Wide open, oh, the gates of heaven; in glory I ride, oh, on the dark clouds.

这是全诗起笔，写大司命自天界降临，气象森严而飘逸。广开兮天门，一个广开写出天门豁然洞开、毫无阻拦的壮阔，暗示神之来去自如、地位尊崇；纷吾乘兮玄云，纷是盛多之貌，吾是神自道，乘玄云则点明其乘黑云而下——玄色属水、属阴，正合掌寿夭之神幽微神秘的气质。这两句先声夺人，把读者直接从人间拉到天界，确立全诗的神话基调。更妙在它不写神的形貌，而写神的出场方式：天门为他开，玄云为他驾，天地都成了他的仪仗。这种以环境写身份的写法，比直接描摹更有力量，也预示了后面何寿夭兮在予的至高权威。

This is the opening of the poem, writing the Great Master of Fate's descent from heaven, the air austere yet ethereal. 'Wide open, oh, the gates of heaven'—the single 'wide open' writes the gates of heaven flung open without hindrance, suggesting the god's freedom and his high station. 'In glory I ride, oh, on the dark clouds'—'in glory' is the appearance of abundance, 'I' the god speaking of himself, riding the black clouds down; black belongs to water and to yin, fitting the subtle, mysterious nature of the god who holds life and death. These lines seize the reader at once, pulling earth to heaven and establishing the poem's mythic keynote. The art lies not in describing the god's form but his manner of arrival: heaven opens for him, dark clouds are his chariot, all heaven and earth his retinue. This way of writing rank through setting has more force than direct depiction, and foreshadows the supreme authority of 'whose is long life, whose is early death.'

何寿夭兮在予。

Who shall live long and who shall die young—that rests with me.

九州之人众多，谁寿谁夭皆由我掌。

Whose long life, whose early death—lies in my hand.

这是大司命自我宣示的权柄，也是全诗最硬的一句。何是疑问代词作强调，寿夭即长寿与夭折，在予即由我掌握。五个字，把一个冷峻的掌籍之神写得不容置疑——人间谁生谁死、谁寿谁夭，全在他一念。这句话分量极重，因为它把全诗从娱神的欢腾，骤然拉到生命限度的冷酷命题上。值得注意的是，屈原让神自己说出这句话，正合祭歌代神立言的体例；而读者从这话里听出的，不只是神的威严，更是先民面对无常命运时的敬畏与无力。寿夭二字，是整首诗的题眼，后面所有的人神离合、老冉冉、固人命，都是围着它转的。

This is the Master's self-declared authority, the hardest line of the poem. 'Whose' is an interrogative used for emphasis, 'long life and early death' the span of years, 'in my hand' controlled by me. Five characters render a cold, ledger-keeping god beyond question—who is born, who dies, who lives long, who dies young, all in his single thought. The weight is enormous because it suddenly pulls the poem from the merriment of honoring the god to the cold proposition of life's limit. Notably, Qu Yuan lets the god himself speak, fitting the hymn's convention of speaking for the god; and what the reader hears is not only divine majesty but the awe and helplessness of early men before fickle fate. 'Long life and early death' is the poem's thesis, around which all the god-human meetings, the aging, the fixed lot revolve.

折疏麻兮瑶华，将以遗兮离居。

I break the sparse hemp, its jade-white blossom, to send to the one who dwells apart.

折下疏麻玉色花，要将它赠予离居人。

I pluck the argive hemp's jade-colored flower, to give it, oh, to the parted one.

这是全诗最温柔的一笔，写人神赠别。疏麻是神麻，古人以为可令人寿考；瑶华是玉色之花；遗是赠；离居指离别独处之人（或指神将离去、与人相离）。折下仙花赠予将别之人，这个动作极富人情味——威严的司命之神，竟也与人折花相赠，依依不舍。它把前面冷峻的权威，瞬间写成一个有情的离别对象，是全诗人神关系最动人的转折。这一笔也透出楚地巫祭的真精神：神不是高高在上的审判者，而是与人共悲欢的伴侣。疏麻瑶华作为赠物，更暗含长寿之祝，使离情里带着祝福，哀而不伤。

This is the tenderest stroke of the poem, writing the god-human farewell. The argive hemp is a divine plant thought in old times to prolong life; the jade-colored flower its bloom; 'give' means to present; 'the parted one' the person about to leave and be alone. Plucking the immortal flower to offer the departing one is an action full of human warmth—the austere Master of Fate yet plucks a flower to give, loath to part. It turns the foregoing cold authority at once into an affectionate parting, the most moving turning of the god-human relation. It reveals the true spirit of Chu shaman sacrifice: the god is no high judge but a companion who shares human joy and sorrow. The argive hemp and jade flower as gifts secretly carry the wish for long life, so the parting is edged with blessing, grievous yet not broken.

固人命兮有当，孰离合兮可为。

For man's life has its appointed lot; who can alter the partings and meetings of fate?

人本有定命，谁能使聚散改变。

Man's lot, oh, is fixed by fate; who can change, oh, meeting and parting?

这是全诗的收束，也是屈原借神谕给出的命运结论。固是本来、固然；人命有当，谓人生寿夭本有定数；孰离合兮可为，是谁能让聚散改变呢？答案当然是不能。这两句把前面所有的神威、离情、愁思，都收束为一个达观而无奈的喟叹：命运自有定规，聚散非人力可改。这不是消极认命，而是乱世中一种自尊的生存姿态——既然改变不了，便守住当下的无亏。结句以反问作收，余味悠长，让整首祭歌在哲理的静谧中落下。它既是大司命的台词，也是屈原自己的生命宣言：我承认命运的界限，但我仍要折花、仍要延伫、仍要不亏。

This is the close of the poem, the conclusion of fate that Qu Yuan gives through the god's oracle. 'Fixed' means by nature, of course; 'man's lot is fixed' means the span of life and death has its appointed number; 'who can change meeting and parting?' means who can alter coming and going? The answer of course is no. These lines gather all the divine majesty, the parting, the grief into a resigned yet philosophical sigh: fate has its rule, parting and meeting beyond human power to change. This is not passive submission but a self-respecting posture in a disordered age—since it cannot be changed, one holds fast to the present without fault. Closing on a rhetorical question, the echo long, the whole hymn falling in the stillness of philosophy. It is at once the Master's line and Qu Yuan's own declaration of life: I acknowledge the limit of fate, yet still I pluck the flower, still I linger, still I keep myself blameless.

Study

Word focus

天门 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 天门即天界之门，楚辞中常写神出入之所。广开兮天门以天门洞开写神降，既显神之尊，也构建了人神交接的空间。天门在此不是地理名词，而是连接凡圣的阈限，它的敞开意味着神临、祭成。二字极简，却撑起整首诗的神话舞台，让后面的所有神迹都有了入口。在九歌诸篇里天门每每是神人相通的第一道关口，东君、云中君皆由此降临；屈原独以天门之开写大司命之尊，正见此神在楚神谱里的至高位置。读懂天门，便读懂一场祭典如何借一扇门把人间与天界接在一起。

玄云 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 玄云即黑云，玄属幽深之色，正合大司命掌阴司命的神秘气质。纷吾乘兮玄云写神乘黑云而下，以云为驾，是楚辞典型的神话交通想象。玄字选得精——它暗示这位神与光明的东君相反，是幽冥寿夭的执掌者，颜色即身份。一个玄字，把神的性格先写在天上。玄色在楚辞里常属幽冥，与东君的赤日、云中君的皎洁恰成对照；大司命乘玄云而下，正以颜色的幽深暗示其掌阴司命的神秘身份。一个玄字，把楚地尚黑尚北的方位观念，也悄悄写进了神的出场里。

寿夭 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 寿是长命，夭是短折，寿夭并列即生与死的两种结局。何寿夭兮在予以二字概括人间一切命运，是诗的题眼。寿夭之问，在战乱频仍的战国格外沉重，屈原借神之口把它提出，使祭歌升格为生命之思。这两个字，是整首诗的命门，所有的威、恋、愁、达，都绕着它转。寿与夭本是人间最重的两种结局，屈原却以何寿夭兮在予五个字，把不可说的命运交给一位神去宣示。战国干戈不止，人对寿夭的焦虑尤为深重，这一问遂不只是祭歌的套语，而是乱世众生对生死限度的共同诘问。二字虽短，压着的却是整个时代的重量。

壹阴壹阳 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 壹是独、专，壹阴壹阳写神之变化忽阴忽阳、莫测一端。这句折射楚地阴阳消长哲学，把神的不可知性归因于阴阳更替。四字凝练，既写神性，又含哲理，是大司命由神话通向思想的桥梁。没有这一句，大司命就只是一场祭舞；有了它，祭舞里便有了先秦思想的光。阴阳消长在楚地思想里本是很深的命题，屈原借大司命之口说出，等于把星神的变化之道与天地运行的法则连在一起。后人读此，常把它与老子万物负阴而抱阳、易传一阴一阳之谓道并观，正见战国诸子与楚辞之间的思想暗流。四个字，是神话，也是哲理，更是楚人宇宙观的一角。

有当 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 当有定、本分之意，人命兮有当谓人生寿夭本有定数。这是全诗的结论词，把前面所有的神秘与离情，收束为对命运限度的承认。有当二字极平，却重千钧——它既是无奈，也是自尊：承认界限，然后守住当下。它是大司命留给读者最后的那一声沉着。有当之有，古训为本分、定数，与庄子所谓注然、老子所谓常，气息相近；它把一个沉重的命定感，落在最平实的二字上。大司命以有当收束全篇，等于替楚人把生死寿夭交还给天道，也把人从该有的挣扎里轻轻放下。读懂有当，便读懂楚辞里那份于无奈中见从容的达观。

大司命