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汉 Han · 诗 Poem

薤露行

Xie Lu Xing: Dew on the Leek

曹操

Cao Cao

咏史Writing on the Past 乱离Turbulence and Separation

惟汉廿二世，所任诚不良。
沐猴而冠带，知小而谋强。
犹豫不敢断，因狩执君王。
白虹为贯日，己亦先受殃。
贼臣持国柄，杀主灭宇京。
荡覆帝基业，宗庙以燔丧。
播越西迁移，号泣而且行。
瞻彼洛城郭，微子为哀伤。

The Han, now in its twenty-second line of emperors, has placed in office men who truly were not fit for it.
A monkey dressed in cap and sash: small his wit, yet vast his schemes.
Hesitant, unable to decide, he seized his ruler while out hunting.
A white rainbow pierces the sun, and he was the first to reap the calamity.
A traitorous minister took hold of the state's helm; he killed his lord and destroyed the capital.
Overturning the imperial foundation, the ancestral temples burned and were lost.
The court was flung westward in flight, wailing as they went.
Looking to the walls and moat of Luo, I grieve as the Earl of Wei grieved.

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Meaning

Cao Cao indicts the late Han for governing with unworthy men, and then lets the consequences run: a hesitant regent seizes his sovereign, a minister of treason seizes the state, the sovereign is killed, the capital is razed, the ancestral temples burn, and the court drifts west with its people wailing. The poem closes on the ruined city of Luoyang, where the speaker places himself beside the Earl of Wei, the loyal relation of a fallen house, and claims the same grief. Blame, catastrophe and lament are folded into eight lines; the drama is in having to watch it happen.

惟汉廿二世，所任诚不良。沐猴而冠带，知小而谋强。犹豫不敢断，因狩执君王。白虹为贯日，己亦先受殃。贼臣持国柄，杀主灭宇京。荡覆帝基业，宗庙以燔丧。播越西迁移，号泣而且行。瞻彼洛城郭，微子为哀伤。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The poem is a short historical narrative. It opens with a verdict on the line of Han emperors, moves through the failures of one of them, and then records the ruin of the capital and the flight of the court west before Luo. The last couplet turns the ruin into a scene of the speaker's own grief.<br>[Structure] The architecture is strictly causal. Sentence one judges; two and three trace two decisions to their fateful consequences; four records the omen that both promised and failed to prevent; five, six and seven describe the ruin in escalating order — minister, killers, city, temples, flight; eight turns from history to the reader's own emotion. Nothing in the middle could be removed without breaking the chain.<br>[Imagery] The poem has only three figurative touches in eight lines, and each is a hammer: the monkey in court dress, the white rainbow piercing the sun, and the comparison with the Earl of Wei. Everything else is reported plainly, which is why the figures land. The choice of figures is also exact: a monkey for a ruler who wears the regalia but not the office, a rainbow for an omen read as a portent, and a loyal descendant for the speaker, who claims the right to mourn a dynasty he served.

【白话串讲】曹操写《薤露行》：“惟汉廿二世，所任诚不良”——“沐猴而冠带，知小而谋强”——“贼臣持国柄，杀主灭宇京”——“荡覆帝基业，宗庙以燔丧”——他写汉末的丧乱。【意象与手法】此诗写咏史，以丧乱写咏史，是曹操的名篇。前六句写误国：「惟汉廿二世，所任诚不良。沐猴而冠带，知小而谋强。犹豫不敢断，因狩执君王。白虹为贯日，己亦先受殃」写惟汉廿二世、所任诚不良——写尽沐猴而冠的带；后六句写丧乱：「贼臣持国柄，杀主灭宇京。荡覆帝基业，宗庙以燔丧。播越西迁移，号泣而且行。瞻彼洛城郭，微子为哀伤」写贼臣持国柄、杀主灭宇京——写尽微子为哀的伤。全诗以丧乱写咏史，写尽沐猴而冠的带与微子为哀的伤，是曹操的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写咏史，以丧乱写咏史，是曹操的名篇。此诗为曹操咏汉末董卓之乱之作，写其哀伤国难。曹操此诗写董卓之乱、汉室之衰。此诗写惟汉廿二世，所任诚不良；沐猴而冠带，知小而谋强；犹豫不敢断，因狩执君王；白虹为贯日，己亦先受殃；贼臣持国柄，杀主灭宇京；荡覆帝基业，宗庙以燔丧；播越西迁移，号泣而且行；瞻彼洛城郭，微子为哀伤。此诗写误国：惟汉廿二世，所任诚不良——写惟汉廿二世、所任诚不良，写尽所任诚不的良；沐猴而冠带，知小而谋强——写沐猴而冠带、知小而谋强，写尽沐猴而冠的带；犹豫不敢断，因狩执君王——写犹豫不敢断、因狩执君王，写尽因狩执的君王；白虹为贯日，己亦先受殃——写白虹为贯日、己亦先受殃，写尽己亦先受的殃；贼臣持国柄，杀主灭宇京——写贼臣持国柄、杀主灭宇京，写尽杀主灭宇的京；荡覆帝基业，宗庙以燔丧——写荡覆帝基业、宗庙以燔丧，写尽宗庙以燔的丧；播越西迁移，号泣而且行——写播越西迁移、号泣而且行，写尽号泣而且的行；瞻彼洛城郭，微子为哀伤——写瞻彼洛城郭、微子为哀伤，写尽微子为哀的伤。全诗以丧乱写咏史——那「沐猴而冠带」写尽沐猴而冠的带，「微子为哀伤」写尽微子为哀的伤，写尽沐猴而冠的带与微子为哀的伤，是理解曹操咏史诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「沐猴而冠带，知小而谋强」写沐猴而冠的带；「瞻彼洛城郭，微子为哀伤」写微子为哀的伤；以及全诗以丧乱写咏史、以写实写咏史的手法。

Background

Cao Cao (155–220), styled Mengde, was a politician and general of the late Han who rose from a commandery liutenant to the power behind the throne, and finally founded the state of Wei; he was the father of Cao Pi and Cao Zhi, and the dominating figure of Jian'an letters. This poem takes the old yuefu title Xie Lu Xing, a song of the dew that falls and cannot be kept, and converts it into an elegy for the house of Han. Its subject is the sequence of disasters that ended the dynasty — the hesitant regent, the rising minister, the burning of Luoyang in 190 and the flight of the court to Chang'an and then Luoyang again — events which Cao Cao both lived through and,in his own way, caused. The companion piece 'Hao Li Xing' takes the same ruined age from the side of the soldiers and the lords.

此诗写咏史，以丧乱写咏史，是曹操的名篇。曹操（155—220），字孟德，沛国谯县（今安徽亳州）人，东汉末年杰出的政治家、军事家、文学家，曹魏政权的奠基者，与子曹丕、曹植合称「三曹」，建安文学的领袖。此诗为曹操咏汉末董卓之乱之作，写其哀伤国难。曹操此诗写董卓之乱、汉室之衰。此诗写惟汉廿二世，所任诚不良；沐猴而冠带，知小而谋强；犹豫不敢断，因狩执君王；白虹为贯日，己亦先受殃；贼臣持国柄，杀主灭宇京；荡覆帝基业，宗庙以燔丧；播越西迁移，号泣而且行；瞻彼洛城郭，微子为哀伤。此诗写误国：「惟汉廿二世，所任诚不良」写惟汉廿二世、所任诚不良——写尽所任诚不的良（惟汉廿二世，所任诚不良）；「沐猴而冠带，知小而谋强」写沐猴而冠带、知小而谋强——写尽沐猴而冠的带（沐猴而冠带，知小而谋强）；「犹豫不敢断，因狩执君王」写犹豫不敢断、因狩执君王——写尽因狩执的君王（犹豫不敢断，因狩执君王）；「白虹为贯日，己亦先受殃」写白虹为贯日、己亦先受殃——写尽己亦先受的殃（白虹为贯日，己亦先受殃）；「贼臣持国柄，杀主灭宇京」写贼臣持国柄、杀主灭宇京——写尽杀主灭宇的京（贼臣持国柄，杀主灭宇京）；「荡覆帝基业，宗庙以燔丧」写荡覆帝基业、宗庙以燔丧——写尽宗庙以燔的丧（荡覆帝基业，宗庙以燔丧）；「播越西迁移，号泣而且行」写播越西迁移、号泣而且行——写尽号泣而且的行（播越西迁移，号泣而且行）；「瞻彼洛城郭，微子为哀伤」写瞻彼洛城郭、微子为哀伤——写尽微子为哀的伤（瞻彼洛城郭，微子为哀伤）。全诗以丧乱写咏史，写尽沐猴而冠的带与微子为哀的伤，是理解曹操咏史诗的重要篇章。

Art

The poem's craft is in compression and in the management of tone. It holds three registers at once — judgement (the emperors were not fit), narrative (the minister killed his lord and burnt the capital), and lyric (I grieve) — and moves between them without a connective, so that history seems to report itself. The grim irony of the second couplet is that the unfortunate man is called the first to suffer what everyone else later suffered, and Cao Cao achieves this with the particle yi, too. The accumulation of catastrophes in lines five to seven climbs by escalation rather than by imagery: a stolen helm, a murdered lord, a destroyed capital, burnt ancestral temples, a court driven west. The final couplet refuses to add anything to the record and instead inserts the speaker, which is what turns a report into a poem. The syntax is plain and unornamented throughout, in the old yuefu manner, and the whole force of the piece rests on that restraint.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以写实写误国。「惟汉廿二世」以写实写误国——那「所任诚不良」写尽所任诚不的良，以写实写尽所任诚不的良。其二，以讽刺写无能。「沐猴而冠带」以讽刺写无能——那「知小而谋强」写尽知小而谋的强，以讽刺写尽知小而谋的强。其三，以叙事写丧乱。「贼臣持国柄」以叙事写丧乱——那「杀主灭宇京」写尽杀主灭宇的京，以叙事写尽杀主灭宇的京。其四，以用典写哀伤。「瞻彼洛城郭」以用典写哀伤——那「微子为哀伤」写尽微子为哀的伤，以用典写尽微子为哀的伤。此外，此诗前写沐猴而冠的带，后写微子为哀的伤，由朝及野，正是咏史诗「以史写哀」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以丧乱写咏史，写尽沐猴而冠的带与微子为哀的伤，是曹操的代表作。又，此诗前半叙祸乱之由（所任不良、沐猴冠带、犹豫不断），后半叙祸乱之状（贼臣窃柄、宗庙燔丧、播越号泣），末以「瞻彼洛城郭」自比微子收束，叙事、议论、抒情熔于一炉，层次分明而情感一贯，正是曹操「以史入乐府」的开创之功。

Allusions

Three references are loaded. 'A monkey dressed in cap and sash' carries the saying that a monkey may be given a hat and a girdle and remains a monkey — an image of rule worn without being ruled, applied in the centuries after to Xiang Yu and here, probably, to a late Han regent. 'A white rainbow pierces the sun' is the famous omen of the assassin's outcome in the strategies of the Warring States, where a white rainbow thrusting through the sun foretells a killing; Cao Cao uses it as a sign that the warning was seen and unheeded. The closing figure is the Earl of Wei, that is, the founder of the state of Song in the last days of Shang, the loyal kinsman who survived his house's ruin; by naming him the poet claims to mourn the Han as a faithful subject should. The dew of the title runs underneath all of this: what falls cannot be held.

此诗的用语深植于咏史与丧乱传统。「廿二世」令人想到「廿二世」写汉代的意象——也令人想到「汉廿二世」的意象；「沐猴而冠」令人想到「沐猴而冠」写沐猴的意象——《史记》「沐猴而冠」，也令人想到「沐猴而冠带」的意象；「知小而谋强」令人想到「知小而谋强」写智小谋大的意象——也令人想到「智小谋大」的意象；「因狩执君王」令人想到「因狩执君王」写执君的意象——也令人想到「田猎劫君」的意象；「白虹贯日」令人想到「白虹贯日」写白虹贯日的意象——《战国策》「白虹贯日」，也令人想到「白虹贯日」的意象；「国柄」令人想到「国柄」写国政的意象——也令人想到「执掌国柄」的意象；「帝基业」令人想到「帝基业」写帝业的意象——也令人想到「汉家基业」的意象；「宗庙」令人想到「宗庙」写宗庙的意象——也令人想到「宗庙社稷」的意象；「燔丧」令人想到「燔丧」写焚毁的意象——也令人想到「燔烧」的意象；「播越」令人想到「播越」写流离的意象——也令人想到「播越流离」的意象；「微子」令人想到「微子」写微子的意象——《尚书》微子，也令人想到「微子去之」的意象。全诗化用廿二世、沐猴而冠、知小而谋强、因狩执君王、白虹贯日、国柄、帝基业、宗庙、燔丧、播越、微子的意象典故，以丧乱写咏史，正是曹操「沉雄」而善写实、承乐府传统写咏史之本领。

Commentary

The poem has long stood as the model of Cao Cao's historical writing and as one of the earliest of the yuefu pieces that turn an old song into a complaint about the present. Later readers have prized it for its fusion of report and mourning: the disaster is described in the flat language of an annalist, and only the last two lines admit a sufferer. Beginning with it and with 'Hao Li Xing', the northern disaster-poem of the Jian'an period establishes a mode that returns in Du Fu's 'Spring View' a hundred and fifty years later — a broken state seen through the ordinary objects of spring. The poem's afterlife is unchanged in China: it is still the standard short text for the fall of the Han, and its final couplet is quoted wherever a ruined capital is being mourned.

此诗历来被推为曹操咏史诗的名篇，也是建安诗写汉末丧乱的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以丧乱写咏史，悲慨沉雄」；近人更指出「沐猴而冠带，知小而谋强」写沐猴而冠的带，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以短篇写尽沐猴而冠的带与微子为哀的伤——那惟汉，那廿二世，那所任，那诚不良，那沐猴，那而冠带，那知小，那而谋强，那犹豫，那不敢断，那因狩，那执君王，那白虹，那为贯日，那己亦，那先受殃，那贼臣，那持国柄，那杀主，那灭宇京，那荡覆，那帝基业，那宗庙，那以燔丧，那播越，那西迁移，那号泣，那而且行，那瞻彼，那洛城郭，那微子，那为哀伤，都写尽了曹操笔下的薤露行；那「微子为哀伤」更以用典写尽微子为哀的伤。此诗与曹操《蒿里行》「关东有义士」同为丧乱名篇，一写「白骨露于野」的蒿里行，一写「微子为哀伤」的薤露行；一写诸侯，一写汉室。两诗对读，可见曹操咏史诗的连贯。对于今日读者，此诗是理解曹操咏史诗的窗口，也是建安诗写汉末丧乱的经典——那微子为哀的伤，穿越千年，仍在诉说着沐猴而冠的带。

Prosody

Form Yuefu song: the old poem Xie Lu Xing乐府·薤露行

Rhyme A five-character old poem rhymed in the level tone of the Yang and Geng rhymes and held to one rhyme throughout: unfit, schemes, ruler, calamity, capital, lost, went, grieved. The rhyme is a level rhyme of falling and departing things, and because it never changes, the eight lines sound like one long falling sentence.全诗押「良」「强」「王」「殃」「京」「丧」「行」「伤」（平声阳庚韵），一韵到底

Tone pattern The voice is level and unhurried, in the manner of an annalist; it hardens in the lines of ruin, where the rhythm quickens, and it lowers in the final couplet as the speaker steps forward. The whole poem should be read without haste and without rising pitch.此诗为乐府五言古诗，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节沉雄，正合咏史的沉雄。

Reading note The poem is regular ancient verse — five characters to the line, no tonal contrasts, no parallel couplets — and its music is made by the one-rhyme-to-the-end structure and by the speed of the catastrophe lines. Because the rhyme words are all level and all point downward in meaning (unfit, ruin, gone, grieved), the sound already carries the sense before the reader reaches the last couplet. Recite the middle of the poem steadily, letting 'killed his lord and destroyed the capital' and the lines after it follow one another like blows; then slow down at 'looking to the walls of Luo', where the poem turns from event to grief. That slowing is the whole point of the ending.此诗为乐府五言古诗——「惟汉廿二世，所任诚不良。沐猴而冠带，知小而谋强。犹豫不敢断，因狩执君王。白虹为贯日，己亦先受殃。贼臣持国柄，杀主灭宇京。荡覆帝基业，宗庙以燔丧。播越西迁移，号泣而且行。瞻彼洛城郭，微子为哀伤」，押平韵（良、强、王、殃、京、丧、行、伤），一韵到底，音节沉雄。全诗以丧乱写咏史：前写沐猴而冠的带（惟汉廿二世、因狩执君王），后写微子为哀的伤（贼臣持国柄、瞻彼洛城郭）。短章八句，前写误国，后写哀伤，以「微子为哀伤」写尽微子为哀的伤，正见曹操「沉雄」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以沉雄的语调读「沐猴而冠带」的误国，以悲慨的语调读「微子为哀伤」的哀伤，结句要读得沉雄而有余韵，方能传达出曹操的悲慨沉雄。曹操乐府以「沉雄」著称，此诗正是其咏史诗的典范。

Line by line

沐猴而冠带，知小而谋强

A monkey dressed in cap and sash: small his wit, yet vast his schemes.

沐猴而冠带，知小而谋强。

A macaque dressed in cap and sash, with little wit yet scheming great things.

此二句是全诗写误国的核心，以沐猴而冠带写冠带，以知小而谋强写谋强，写尽沐猴而冠的带，是千古名句。「沐猴而冠带」写沐猴而冠带——那「沐猴」写沐猴，「而冠带」写而冠带，写尽沐猴的冠带；「知小而谋强」写知小而谋强——那「知小」写知小，「而谋强」写而谋强，写尽知小而谋的强。这句的深意在于：它以「沐猴而冠带」的冠带与「知小而谋强」的谋强，写尽沐猴而冠的带——沐猴而冠带，那「沐猴而冠带」写尽沐猴的冠带——沐猴而冠带，正是沐猴戴冠的写照，那「冠带」写尽沐猴而冠的带；知小而谋强，那「知小而谋强」写尽知小而谋的强——知小而谋强，正是智小谋大的写照，那「谋强」写尽知小而谋的强；那「沐猴而冠带」写尽沐猴的冠带，那「知小而谋强」写尽知小而谋的强，一写冠带，一写谋强，写尽沐猴而冠的带——沐猴戴冠而智小谋大，正是误国的写照；此二句以冠带、谋强写尽沐猴而冠的带，也为下文的执君王作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写误国的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「像猕猴戴着帽带，才智小而谋略大」，则失其讽刺；唯以「沐猴而冠带」写冠带、「知小而谋强」写谋强，写尽沐猴而冠的带，也让此二句成为全诗写误国的核心。

These lines are the heart of the poem on the betrayal of the state, 'macaque in cap and sash' against 'little wit, great schemes.' The macaque in robes mocks the upstart warlords who seize power without the capacity; 'little wit yet scheming great' sharpens the satire—small intelligence reaching for enormous power. The phrase alludes to the old gibe at Xiang Yu as a 'macaque in a cap,' here turned on the tyrants of the late Han. If stated as 'fools in power with small minds,' the bite would be lost; only through the macaque image and the 'small/great' contrast does the scorn for incompetent rulers cut.

瞻彼洛城郭，微子为哀伤

Looking to the walls and moat of Luo, I grieve as the Earl of Wei grieved.

瞻彼洛城郭，微子为哀伤。

I gaze on the walls and towers of Luoyang; like Prince Wei, I grieve.

此二句是全诗写哀伤的核心，以瞻彼洛城郭写洛城郭，以微子为哀伤写哀伤，写尽微子为哀的伤，是千古名句。「瞻彼洛城郭」写瞻彼洛城郭——那「瞻彼」写瞻彼，「洛城郭」写洛城郭，写尽瞻彼的洛城郭；「微子为哀伤」写微子为哀伤——那「微子」写微子，「为哀伤」写为哀伤，写尽微子的为哀伤。这句的深意在于：它以「瞻彼洛城郭」的洛城郭与「微子为哀伤」的哀伤，写尽微子为哀的伤——瞻彼洛城郭，那「瞻彼洛城郭」写尽瞻彼的洛城郭——瞻彼洛城郭，正是遥望洛阳的写照，那「洛城郭」写尽微子为哀的伤；微子为哀伤，那「微子为哀伤」写尽微子的为哀伤——微子为哀伤，正是如微子哀的写照，那「为哀伤」写尽微子为哀的伤；那「瞻彼洛城郭」写尽瞻彼的洛城郭，那「微子为哀伤」写尽微子的为哀伤，一写洛城郭，一写哀伤，写尽微子为哀的伤——遥望洛阳而如微子哀，正是丧乱的写照；此二句以洛城郭、哀伤写尽微子为哀的伤，也让此二句成为全诗写哀伤的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「遥望那洛阳的城郭，像微子一样哀伤」，则失其沉痛；唯以「瞻彼洛城郭」写洛城郭、「微子为哀伤」写哀伤，写尽微子为哀的伤，也让此二句成为全诗写哀伤的核心。

These lines are the grief heart of the poem, gazing at Luoyang and grieving as Prince Wei did. 'Gaze' lifts the eyes to the ruined capital; the allusion to Prince Wei of the Shang, who, passing the fallen capital, lamented its destruction, lets Cao Cao measure the present ruin of Luoyang against the ancient fall. 'For grief' is plain, yet the allusion carries the weight of a civilization's collapse. If stated as 'I gaze at the ruined city and grieve,' the depth would fade; only through the Prince Wei allusion does the personal sorrow join the grief of dynasties.

Study

Word focus

沐 Mu, in the compound mu hou (a monkey), gives the poem its sharpest image: an animal wearing human dress. The phrase reproaches rule that has the outward marks of office without the substance, and it is the one figure of the eight lines; the rest is reported plainly, so that this single word carries the poem's satire. 「沐猴而冠带」之「沐」字是写误国关键词，一个「沐」字写尽沐猴的冠带。沐者，沐浴、沐猴也。曹操以「沐猴而冠带」写误国，这个「沐」字至少有双重意味：其一，写猴之沐——那「沐猴而冠带」写沐猴而冠带，那「沐」字写尽沐猴的冠带——沐猴，正是猕猴的写照，那「沐」字写尽沐猴的冠带；其二，写讽之尖——那「沐」字更是写讽——沐，正见讥刺无能的意味，那「沐」字写尽曹操的讽刺。以「沐」字写误国，正是曹操写咏史的枢纽——若换作「猴」「猿」等字，则或失其与「沐猴而冠带」「知小而谋强」的配合，或失其写沐的意味；唯「沐」字，以沐猴而冠带写尽猕猴之戴冠与无能之讥刺，与「知小而谋强」的谋强相合，写尽沐猴的冠带，也让「沐猴而冠带」成为全诗写误国的名句。

伤 Shang, grief, is the word the poem ends on and the only place where the speaker's own feeling appears. It is also the rhyme of the closing couplet, so that the poet's private grief and the public ruin share one sound — the poet's mourning for the dynasty is measured by the same word as the ruin he has just described. 「微子为哀伤」之「伤」字是写哀伤关键词，一个「伤」字写尽微子的为哀伤。伤者，悲伤、哀伤也。曹操以「微子为哀伤」写哀伤，这个「伤」字至少有双重意味：其一，写哀之伤——那「微子为哀伤」写微子为哀伤，那「伤」字写尽微子的为哀伤——为哀伤，正是满怀悲伤的写照，那「伤」字写尽微子的为哀伤；其二，写情之痛——那「伤」字更是写痛——伤，正见国难之痛的深切，那「伤」字写尽曹操的悲慨。以「伤」字写哀伤，正是曹操写咏史的枢纽——若换作「悲」「哀」等字，则或失其与「微子为哀伤」「瞻彼洛城郭」的配合，或失其写伤的意味；唯「伤」字，以微子为哀伤写尽哀伤之深切与国难之沉痛，与「瞻彼洛城郭」的洛城郭相合，写尽微子的为哀伤，也让「微子为哀伤」成为全诗写哀伤的名句。

薤露行