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元 Yuan · 曲 Qu song

山坡羊·潼关怀古

Song of the Hillside Sheep: Recalling the Past at Tong Pass

张养浩

Zhang Yanghao

怀古Nostalgia for the past 民生People's livelihood

峰峦如聚，波涛如怒，山河表里潼关路。
望西都，意踌躇。
伤心秦汉经行处，宫阙万间都做了土。
兴，百姓苦；
亡，百姓苦。

Peaks like a gathering crowd,
Waves like a raging storm,
Within and without mountains and rivers, the road to Tong Pass.
Gazing toward the western capital,
My mind hesitates and falters.
Grieving over the places where Qin and Han once passed,
Ten thousand palace halls have all turned to dust.
Flourishing, the people suffer;
Perishing, the people suffer.

Listen

Meaning

The poet passes Tong Pass, feeling the grandeur of the landscape and then lamenting that imperial palaces from the Qin and Han dynasties have crumbled to dust. He concludes that whether a dynasty rises or falls, the common people always suffer.

群山像是在奔涌聚拢，波涛像是在愤怒咆哮，险要的山河拱卫着通往潼关的大路。遥望那西都长安，心绪久久徘徊难平。伤心啊，那秦汉遗迹经过的地方，万千宫阙都化作了尘土。王朝兴盛，百姓受苦；王朝灭亡，百姓也受苦。

Appreciation

The opening lines use personification ('gathering' and 'raging') to vividly depict the steep terrain and turbulent Yellow River. The poem shifts from scenery to history, contrasting former splendor with present ruin. The final two lines ('Flourishing, the people suffer; perishing, the people suffer') transcend typical nostalgic poetry, elevating it to a profound critique of dynastic cycles and a compassionate cry for the people.

【白话串讲】 “兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦”——张养浩路过潼关，把几千年的王朝更替看穿成一句话。这首元曲，是中国文学里最锋利的一声质问。【意象与手法】小令尺幅之中融写景、怀古、议论于一炉：前三句以"聚""怒"炼字写潼关形胜，中三句由景入史，结尾以"兴，百姓苦【情感与主旨】元文宗天历二年（1329），关中大旱，饥民相食，张养浩被征召为陕西行台中丞赴陕赈灾【名句点睛】常考结尾"兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦"的民本主旨及其对怀古传统的突破；"峰峦如聚，波涛如怒"的拟人炼字与潼关地势之险

Background

In 1329 (the second year of Tianli, Yuan dynasty), a severe drought struck Guanzhong, forcing people to eat each other. Zhang Yanghao was appointed as assistant censor of Shaanxi to relieve the famine. On his way to Tong Pass, moved by the strategic terrain and ancient ruins, he wrote this song. He later exhausted his fortune helping the victims and died from overwork, making this piece a deep reflection before his death.

《山坡羊·潼关怀古》为元代张养浩所作，系元文宗天历二年（一三二九年）关中大旱、饥民相食，朝廷特拜张养浩为陕西行台中丞前往赈灾途中所写。张养浩（一二七〇—一三二九），字希孟，号云庄，济南人，历官翰林直学士、礼部尚书，为政敢言，致仕后隐居故乡。此次赴陕，他散尽家财、沿途赈济，到任四月便劳瘁而卒，此曲实为其绝笔前的血泪之作。潼关在今陕西潼关县北，当黄河之滨、华山之阴，为秦汉以来东西咽喉、兵家必争之地，『山河表里』出《左传》『表里山河』，极言其险固。在文学传统上，怀古题材自魏晋（左思《咏史》、李白《登金陵凤凰台》）至唐宋（杜牧《赤壁》、苏轼《念奴娇》）多以感慨兴亡、悲叹英雄为主，张养浩却于此中翻出新意，将笔墨由帝王将相转向芸芸黔首，遂使怀古小令具有了民本思想的厚重，在元散曲中独标一帜。又元散曲多写闲适隐逸、儿女风情，张养浩以宰臣之身作忧民之曲，格局特大，此篇遂为元曲中罕见的『诗人之曲』。

Art

Within the short lyric form, the poet seamlessly blends scene description, historical reflection, and argument. The verbs 'gather' and 'rage' capture the essence of Tong Pass's terrain. The middle lines transition from scenery to history, and the concluding short lines 'Flourishing, the people suffer; perishing, the people suffer' break free from traditional nostalgia, offering a stark social critique. The twenty-eight characters show both a historian's insight and a poet's passion.

此曲尺幅之中融写景、怀古、议论于一炉，章法井然而气势沉雄。起三句『峰峦如聚，波涛如怒，山河表里潼关路』以『聚』『怒』两个拟人化炼字写潼关山攒水汹之势，既是实景描摹，亦暗喻历史风云的激荡；『如聚』『如怒』以动态动词赋静物以生命，潼关之险顿生咄咄逼人之感。中二句『望西都，意踌躇』由景入情，『踌躇』写出面对长安废墟的徘徊难平。继而『伤心秦汉经行处，宫阙万间都做了土』由情入史，以宫阙化土收束怀古。结尾『兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦』陡然振起，以六字对比的警句将全曲推向思想高峰。其艺术妙处尤在由形胜之壮转入兴亡之悲、再转入生民之叹的三层跌宕，末句如奇峰突起，化铺叙为箴言，是元曲小令以少胜多的典范。更可注意者，『聚』『怒』炼字与『兴亡』对仗互为表里，前以景之动写历史之动，后以理之静写民生之恒，章法大开大合而一线贯穿。前人谓怀古易落窠臼，此曲以民本收结，遂脱常格，良为难能，亦见作者识力之特出，非徒以吊古为工者可比。

Allusions

'Western capital' refers to Chang'an (modern Xi'an), the capital of Western Han; the phrase 'palace halls all turned to dust' echoes Du Fu's 'nine-tiered palace' imagery and symbolizes the inevitable decay of imperial power. 'Hesitates and falters' (chóuchú) originates from the Chu Ci, indicating a hesitant, pensive mood, skillfully linking geography to historical meditation.

本曲用典与语典皆有所本。『山河表里』直用《左传·僖公二十八年》『表里山河』形容晋国地势险固，此处易『山』为『河』以切合潼关黄河华山之实，属灵活运用古语。『西都』指长安，班固《两都赋》以长安为西都、洛阳为东都，汉唐皆都长安，故『望西都』即遥想历代帝王之都。『宫阙万间』化用杜牧《阿房宫赋》『覆压三百余里，隔离天日』及『楚人一炬，可怜焦土』之意，亦遥承白居易写兴亡之句。末句『百姓苦』虽为自铸，其民本精神则可上溯孟子『民为贵，社稷次之，君为轻』与杜甫『朱门酒肉臭，路有冻死骨』的恤民传统。历来注家于『秦汉经行处』所指（指作者途经之秦汉遗迹）无异议，然『宫阙』究指长安抑或泛指历代都城，则略有伸缩，要之皆为兴亡见证。『踌躇』一词本出《楚辞·九辩》『蹇淹留而踌躇』，在此写望古伤今之徘徊，用典而人不觉。『踌躇』『宫阙』诸词皆有所本，而浑化无迹，可见作者熔裁之工，用事而不为事使，此正用典之高境。

Commentary

Ming literary critic Li Kaixian praised Zhang's nostalgic songs for 'piercingly pointing out the suffering of the common people.' Modern scholars often rank this piece as the most ideologically profound work in Yuan opera, as it transcends typical lamentation to deliver a sharp critique with deep compassion for the people, creating a new, somber yet vigorous style in the short lyric form.

此曲自明代即入各种散曲选本，与张可久、乔吉之作并传，现代更因『兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦』的民本箴言而列为语文教材必读篇目。其经典地位首在结尾二句对怀古传统的突破：前人怀古多悲帝王之兴废、英雄之末路，张养浩却将视角落在无声的百姓身上，揭示无论王朝兴替，承受苦难的永远是底层民众，这一见识在等级森严的古代社会极为罕见，具有朴素唯物主义与民主主义的光辉。清人评语多赞其『结句断案，前所未有』。在传播史上，它既是元曲『豪放』一脉的代表，亦因其思想深度超越一般叹老嗟卑的散曲，被后世视为『诗人之曲』。需注意者，张养浩另有同调《骊山怀古》，言『赢输皆土』，与此篇『百姓苦』立意互补，合观方见其怀古组曲的完整关怀。此曲之伟大，正在于以区区小令承载了超越时代的良知，至今读之犹令人肃然。元曲多绮靡侧艳之作，此篇独以风骨与良知胜，故能直立于古典诗歌之林而无愧色，非寻常叹老嗟卑之曲所可同日语。

Prosody

Form Dramatic lyric (sanqu) to the tune 'Hill of Sheep' (Shānpōyáng), Middle Palace mode (zhōnglǚ gōng), mixing level and oblique tones元曲小令，中吕·山坡羊

Rhyme Rime category: Fish-and-Wood (yúmó) of Zhongyuan Yinyun; rime words: jù, nù, lù, chú, chù, tǔ, kǔ押鱼模韵（中原音韵），聚、怒、路、躇、处、土、苦等协韵，一韵到底，声情悲郁顿挫。

Tone pattern Middle Palace mode; first five lines describe scenery and narrative; the final two short lines 'Flourishing... Perishing...' directly express emotion, creating a rhythmic shift with the scattered prosody of sanqu.山坡羊句式为七七七、三三、七七、三三（末『兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦』为三四三参差带过），平仄依北曲腔格，不似诗词拘严，重在可歌协律，『聚』『怒』等仄声字顿挫有力。

Reading note From the strategic terrain to the rise and fall of dynasties, the conclusion with 'people suffer' breaks new ground. This is a masterpiece of Zhang Yanghao's sanqu, blending nostalgia with compassion for the people.中吕宫声情『高下闪赚』，宜写感慨跌宕之怀，与此曲由形胜之壮入兴亡之悲、再入生民之叹的三层跌宕正相契合。句式上起三句七字铺写景势，『聚』『怒』仄声如鼓点催迫；中『望西都，意踌躇』三三短句一收，显踌躇之态；末『兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦』以三三短促对仗作结，如惊堂木拍下，斩钉截铁。全曲用韵密而声情沉，长短句错落如泣如诉，北曲豪放本色与民本深情于此高度统一，故能唱之令人酸鼻、思之令人竦然。中吕之『闪赚』正宜此种由怒而悲、由悲而断的声情转折，宫调与题旨于此相得益彰。中吕之调写兴亡之慨，声情与辞意两相激发，由怒而悲、由悲而断，宫调之助岂细故哉，故能唱之令人酸鼻而思之竦然。

Line by line

峰峦如聚，

Peak on peak, as if gathered;

群山像是在奔涌聚拢

The mountain peaks seem to crowd together;

起句写潼关群山攒聚之状，『聚』字以拟人笔法将静态山峦写为奔涌收拢的动势，既状地势之险要，亦暗喻历史风云于此汇聚。一个『如』字点明是主观观感而非纯客观描摹，山因人的凝望而『聚』，已带情感投射。潼关本为兵家必争之地，群峰之『聚』恰似千百年争夺于此的刀兵与英雄，起笔便以雄浑意象为全曲的怀古之思奠定地理与心理的双重基座。『聚』字以动写静，使山峦有了意志与重量，潼关之险由此不只是地貌，更成了历史重压的象征，为后文『百姓苦』的沉痛蓄势于无形。

The opening writes the gathering of the peaks at Tong Pass: the word 'gathered' personifies, turning the still mountains into a rushing, closing motion, writing both the terrain's peril and the dark gathering of history's storms here. The word 'as if' marks a subjective seeing, not pure description — the mountains 'gather' through the watcher's gaze, already holding emotional projection. Tong Pass, the strategic point of war, the peaks' 'gathering' like the spears and heroes of a thousand years contending here; the opening, in a grand image, lays the dual geographic and psychological ground of the song's historical mourning. The word 'gathered' writes stillness through motion, giving the mountains will and weight — the peril of Tong Pass no longer mere terrain, but the symbol of history's pressure, charging the grief of 'the people suffer' below unseen.

波涛如怒，

Waves on waves, as if wrathful;

波涛像是在愤怒咆哮

The great waves seem to rage and roar;

承句写黄河波涛，以『怒』字继『聚』字再施拟人，使水势具愤激之情。『如怒』既状浊浪排空之险，更与上文『如聚』呼应，山聚水怒，天地似皆含不平之气，暗合诗人对历史上生民涂炭的愤懑。『聚』『怒』二字炼字精警，一静一动、一山一水，将潼关形胜写得咄咄逼人，亦为后文『百姓苦』的悲慨蓄满自然的暴烈之势，是以景写情、情景相生的典范。黄河之怒，实是诗人心中之怒的外化——怒天道之不公、怒兴亡之无常、怒百姓之恒苦，二字炼而全曲之气已具。

The answering line writes the Yellow River's waves, following 'gathered' with 'wrath,' again personification, giving the flood the feeling of indignation. 'As if wrathful' writes the peril of turbid waves hurled skyward, and answers the earlier 'as if gathered' — mountains gathered, waters wrathful, heaven and earth seeming to hold an air of grievance, suiting the poet's indignation at the suffering of the people through history. The words 'gathered' and 'wrath' are the poem's crafted eyes: still and moving, mountain and water, writing the terrain of Tong Pass as pressing in on the reader, charging the natural violence for the grief of 'the people suffer' — a model of scene writing feeling, feeling born of scene. The Yellow River's wrath is the externalization of the poet's own wrath — at heaven's injustice, at the inconstancy of rise and fall, at the people's constant suffering; two words crafted, and the song's whole air is there.

山河表里潼关路。

Land and river, within and without — the road to Tong Pass.

险要的山河拱卫着通往潼关的大路

Land and river guarding it, inner and outer — the road through Tong Pass.

此句以『山河表里』（本《左传》『表里山河』）总括潼关之险固，收束前三句写景，并点明『路』——既是地理通道，亦是历史通道。多少王朝凭借这天险立国，又有多少征战由此通过，『路』字将自然形胜与人文兴亡绾合。一句而兼具地理考证与历史纵深，看似平叙，实则为下文遥望西都、伤悼秦汉作好过渡，是全曲由景入史的关键纽结。『表里』二字写尽潼关依山带河之固，而『路』字轻轻一转，便将读者由山水引入千百年来的政权更迭，章法之妙在举重若轻。

This line, 'land and river, within and without' (from the Zuo Zhuan, 'within and without, mountains and rivers'), sums the peril of Tong Pass, gathering the three opening lines of scenery, and naming the 'road' — at once the geographic passage and the historical passage. How many dynasties founded themselves on this natural rampart; how many campaigns passed this way; the word 'road' joining natural terrain to human rise and fall. One line holding geographic learning and historical depth, seemingly plain narrative, in truth the transition for the distant gazing west and the mourning of Qin and Han below, the key hinge of the song from scene to history. The words 'within and without' write the strength of Tong Pass, backed by hills and girt by the river; the word 'road' turns lightly, leading the reader from hill and water into the centuries of dynastic change — the craft of weightless handling.

兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦。

Flourishing, the people suffer; perishing, the people suffer.

王朝兴盛，百姓受苦；王朝灭亡，百姓也受苦

When a dynasty rises — the people suffer; when a dynasty falls — the people suffer.

结尾六字为全曲灵魂，亦是中国文学史上罕见的民本箴言。作者以『兴』『亡』对举，指出无论王朝盛衰，底层百姓皆难逃苦难——兴则徭役赋税重，亡则兵燹饥馑频。此语打破历来怀古只悲帝王英雄的惯例，将同情给予无声的黔首，见识超越时代。句式短促如断案，与前面铺叙形成强烈节奏反差，戛然收束而重若千钧，遂使一首小令具有了史诗般的思想重量，至今读来犹撼人心。张养浩以宰臣之身、赈灾之际发此一叹，非徒文字之工，乃良知之自然流露，故能穿透八百年而仍灼灼如新。

The closing six characters are the soul of the song, and a rare people-centered maxim in Chinese literature. Setting 'rises' and 'falls' against each other, the poet points out that whether the dynasty flourishes or perishes, the common people cannot escape suffering: in prosperity, corvée and taxes press; in ruin, war and famine follow. The words break the old habit of mourning only emperors and heroes, giving sympathy to the voiceless masses, a sight beyond its age. The line is short, like a verdict, in sharp rhythmic contrast with the narrative above, closing short and weighty, giving a short song the thought-weight of an epic, still striking after eight hundred years. Zhang Yanghao, a chief minister mourning the people through disaster relief, spoke this sigh not by craft alone, but as conscience's natural outflow — which is why it still burns fresh after eight centuries.

Study

Word focus

聚 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 『聚』字是起句炼字之眼。潼关四周山峦本静立不移，诗人却以『如聚』写其奔涌收拢之态，赋予群山以主动聚合的生命力。这一拟人既准确传达了峰峦簇拥、关隘紧缩的地貌特征，又暗喻历史上政治军事力量在此处的反复集结与碰撞。相较静态的『耸』『峙』，『聚』更具动态与压迫感，使山峦仿佛蓄势待发，与下句『怒』字的水势相激荡，共同营造出天地含愤、风云欲来的悲慨基调，足见张养浩炼字之雄健。一字而兼写景、写史、写情三重功能，是元曲小令炼字『响当当』的范本。

苦 The repeated 'suffer' in the final lines overturns conventional nostalgia, asserting that both rise and fall bring misery to the people, revealing the poet's people-centered thought. 『苦』字是全曲思想的最终落点，两现于结句，分量千钧。它超越了一己之悲与一时之叹，直指制度性、历史性的民众苦难。在元曲中，『苦』多用于叹穷嗟卑，张养浩却将其提升为对兴亡规律的冷峻判断——无论谁家天下，吃苦的总是百姓。一字而凝缩了孟子民本思想与杜甫诗史精神，使小令获得超越体裁的思想深度。『苦』以最朴素的口语收束最沉痛的洞察，正是散曲『本色当行』却又能载道的上乘例证。其力量不在雕琢，而在将人人心中所有、笔下所无的真相，以六字断案式道破，遂成千古不刊之论。