元 Yuan · 散曲 Sanqu song
哨遍·高祖还乡
Shao Bian: Emperor Gaozu Returns to His Hometown
[般涉调·哨遍] 社长排门告示，但有的差使无推故。
这差使不寻俗。
一壁厢纳草也根，一边又要差夫，索应付。
又言是车驾，都说是銮舆，今日还乡故。
王乡老执定瓦台盘，赵忙郎抱着酒胡芦。
新刷来的头巾，恰糨来的绸衫，畅好是妆幺大户。
[耍孩儿] 瞎王留引定火乔男妇，胡踢蹬吹笛擂鼓。
见一颩人马到庄门，匹头里几面旗舒。
Show full original poem
[般涉调·哨遍] 社长排门告示，但有的差使无推故。
这差使不寻俗。
一壁厢纳草也根，一边又要差夫，索应付。
又言是车驾，都说是銮舆，今日还乡故。
王乡老执定瓦台盘，赵忙郎抱着酒胡芦。
新刷来的头巾，恰糨来的绸衫，畅好是妆幺大户。
[耍孩儿] 瞎王留引定火乔男妇，胡踢蹬吹笛擂鼓。
见一颩人马到庄门，匹头里几面旗舒。
一面旗白胡阑套住个迎霜兔，一面旗红曲连打着个毕月乌，一面旗鸡学舞，一面旗狗生双翅，一面旗蛇缠葫芦。
[五煞] 红漆了叉，银铮了斧，甜瓜苦瓜黄金镀。
明晃晃马镫枪尖上挑，白雪雪鹅毛扇上铺。
这几个乔人物，拿着些不曾见的器仗，穿着些大作怪的衣服。
[四煞] 辕条上都是马，套顶上不见驴。
黄罗伞柄天生曲。
车后若干递送夫，车前一火軃着些半截黄幡。
[三煞] 那大汉下的车，众人施礼数。
那大汉觑得人如无物。
众乡老展脚舒腰拜，那大汉挪身着手扶。
猛可里抬头觑，觑多时认得，险气破我胸脯。
[二煞] 你须身姓刘，你妻须姓吕。
把你两家儿根脚从头数。
你本身做亭长耽几杯酒，你丈人教村学读几卷书。
曾在俺庄东住，也曾与我喂牛切草，拽坝扶锄。
[一煞] 春采了桑，冬借了俺粟，零支了米麦无重数。
换田契强称了麻三秤，还酒债偷量了豆几斛。
有甚糊涂处，明标着册历，现放着文书。
[尾] 少我的钱，差发内旋拨还；
欠我的粟，税粮中私准除。
只道刘三，谁肯把你揪捽住？
白甚么改了姓、更了名，唤做汉高祖！
On one side, gather hay and roots; on the other, draft laborers—must comply.
They say the imperial carriage, they call it the royal palanquin, today returns home.
Old man Wang holds a clay tray, busy Zhao carries a wine gourd.
Newly washed headcloth, freshly starched silk gown—pretending to be a grand household.
[Shua Hai Er] Blind Wang leads a gang of freaks, noisily blowing flutes and beating drums.
See a troop of horsemen reach the village gate, at the front several banners unfurl:
one banner a white circle trapping a frost-defying rabbit,
one banner a red ring striking a moon crow,
one banner a chicken learning to dance,
one banner a dog with wings,
one banner a snake coiling around a gourd.
[Wu Sha] Red-lacquered forks, silver-plated axes, melons and gourds gold-plated.
Bright stirrups hoisted on spear tips, snowy goose-feather fans spread out.
These strange fellows hold unseen weapons, wear outlandish clothes.
[Si Sha] The shafts are all horses, no donkeys in the traces.
Yellow silk umbrella handle naturally curved.
Behind the cart a crowd of bearers, before it a bunch carrying half-yellow pennants.
[San Sha] That big man gets off the cart, everyone bows.
He looks at people as if they were nothing.
The village elders stretch legs and bend waists in obeisance; he shifts and helps them up.
Suddenly I look up, recognize him after a long stare—almost bursts my lungs with rage.
[Er Sha] You must be surnamed Liu, your wife must be née Lü.
Let me count your origins from the start:
you yourself were a petty officer fond of drink, your father-in-law taught in a village school with a few books.
You once lived east of our village, fed cattle for me, cut grass, pulled harrows, and hoed.
[Yi Sha] In spring you picked mulberries, in winter borrowed our grain, countless loans of rice and wheat.
When exchanging land deeds, you forcibly weighed three measures of flax; to pay wine debts, you secretly measured several bushels of beans.
What is unclear? Records are clearly marked, documents are at hand.
[Wei] Money you owe me—deduct from my corvée payment; grain you owe me—subtract from my tax levy.
Just call me Liu the Third, who would dare to seize you?
Why did you change your surname, alter your name, and call yourself Han Gaozu!
Meaning
The poem narrates from a peasant's perspective the preparations for Emperor Gaozu's return, ridiculing the imperial procession through vulgar eyes, and ultimately revealing the emperor's former lowly identity, deflating his divine image with humor and satire.
社长挨家挨户通告：凡有差使都不许推托，这次的差使可不寻常。一壁厢要纳草料、带草根，一边又要派差夫，都要应付。又说是车驾，都说是銮舆，今天皇上还乡来了。王乡老端着瓦台盘，赵忙郎抱着酒葫芦。新刷来的头巾，刚浆洗过的绸衫，真个是装模作样摆大户的派头。瞎王留带着一伙怪模怪样的男男女女，乱踢蹬着吹笛擂鼓。只见一彪人马来到庄门，当头几面旗子舒展开来：一面旗白圈套着个玉兔，一面旗红圈打着只金乌，一面旗是鸡学跳舞，一面旗是狗生双翅，一面旗是蛇缠葫芦。红漆了叉，银镀了斧，甜瓜苦瓜都镀了黄金。明晃晃的马镫挂在枪尖上挑着，白雪雪的鹅毛扇铺在扇面上。这几个怪模怪样的人物，拿着些不曾见过的器仗，穿着些奇形怪状的衣服。辕条上套的都是马，套顶上不见驴。黄罗伞的伞柄天生弯曲。车后有若干递送夫，车前有一伙人垂着些半截黄幡。那大汉下了车，众人施礼数。那大汉看人如看无物一般。众乡老展脚舒腰跪拜，那大汉才挪动身子伸手来扶。猛可里抬头细看，看了多时认出来，险些气破我的胸脯。你本来姓刘，你妻子姓吕。把你两家儿的根脚从头数一数：你本人做亭长时贪杯好酒，你丈人在村学里教几卷书。你曾在俺庄东住过，也曾与我喂牛切草，拽坝扶锄。春天采了我的桑，冬天借了我的粟，零星赊欠的米麦数也数不清。换田契时强行称了我三秤麻，还酒债时偷偷量了我几斛豆。有什么糊涂处？明明白白标在册历上，现放着文书。欠我的钱，从差发里拨还；欠我的粟，从税粮中扣除。你只管叫刘三，谁肯把你揪住不放？平白无故改什么姓、更什么名，唤做汉高祖！
Appreciation
The whole piece adopts a colloquial rural viewpoint, using vulgar metaphors to 'translate' royal regalia into grotesque objects in the eyes of villagers. The satirical tone strips the emperor of his divine aura, exposing his true origins with humorous and sharp criticism, culminating in the shocking question in the coda.
【白话串讲】 刘邦回乡威风八面，可乡民眼里：不就是那个种地的刘三吗？睢景臣用乡民的口吻，把皇帝回乡的排场写成了笑话——中国文学里最解构权力的一篇。 【意象与手法】 构思新奇，全曲采用第一人称乡农叙事视角，以陌生化手法写帝王威仪：龙旗被说成「白胡阑套住个迎霜兔」，仪仗被看作「大作怪的衣服」。语言大量运用方言俚语（如「胡阑」「曲连」「乔」「妆幺」），幽默诙谐。结构上层层递进，由远及近、由景及人，终以〔尾〕点题，讽刺水到渠成。 【情感与主旨】 睢景臣，元散曲家。此〔般涉调·哨遍〕《高祖还乡》为其代表作。作品借历史题材讽喻现实，以乡民口吻写汉高祖刘邦衣锦还乡，拆穿「真龙天子」的神话，讥刺封建皇权的虚伪与骄奢，也暗含对元代统治者繁苛差役的揭露。 【名句点睛】 默写易错：「社长排门告示」中「排」勿作「派」；「酒胡芦」之「芦」易误作「卢」；「畅好是妆幺大户」之「妆幺」易误写。理解「陌生化」手法与「代言体」叙述视角是赏析重点。
Background
Sui Jingchen, a Yuan dynasty sanqu writer. This Shao Bian suite is his masterpiece, using historical subject to satirize reality. It tells the story of Liu Bang's return home through the voice of a fellow villager, demystifying the 'Son of Heaven' and mocking feudal authority.
睢景臣（约1275—约1330），一作舜臣，字景贤，扬州人，元代散曲家，生平事迹记载甚少，仅知他自幼读书，酷好音律，以散曲知名于扬州曲坛。元人咏「高祖还乡」题材者不止一家，钟嗣成《录鬼簿》载「维扬诸公，俱作《高祖还乡》套数，唯公〔哨遍〕制作新奇，皆出其下」。此套曲以汉高祖刘邦衣锦还乡的史事为题材，却别出机杼，以一位与刘邦同村的乡农为叙述者，用第一人称的乡村视角，把皇帝卤簿仪仗的庄严威仪一一拆解成滑稽怪诞的村野见闻，最终揭穿「真龙天子」的神话。作品名为咏史，实为讽今，借乡农之口讥刺封建皇权的虚伪与骄奢，也暗含对元代统治者繁苛差役的揭露与不满。元代散曲盛行「借古讽今」之风，此套以其视角之新奇、语言之泼辣而独步，是元代讽刺散曲的巅峰之作。此曲题材虽取自《史记·高祖本纪》所载刘邦还乡宴父老事，然睢景臣另辟蹊径，全从乡民视角着笔，遂使旧题焕然一新，成为元曲「翻案文章」的典范。
Art
Innovative conception: first-person peasant narrative, defamiliarization of imperial dignity. Language uses rural slang and humor. Structure progresses from scene to person, culminating in the final [Wei] satirical punch. The sequence of banners is a famous defamiliarizing passage.
此套曲艺术上最突出的成就在于「叙事视角的独创」与「陌生化手法」。全曲以第一人称乡农为叙述者，皇帝还乡的盛大仪仗、前呼后拥的排场，在乡农眼中全然是另一番模样：龙旗被说成「白胡阑套住个迎霜兔」（月旗）、「红曲连打着个毕月乌」（日旗），仪仗兵仗被看作「拿着些不曾见的器仗，穿着些大作怪的衣服」，这种「以俗解雅」的陌生化处理，把皇权的威严降到乡野的日常，庄重的仪式顿成笑谈，讽刺不着一字而尽得风流。语言上大量运用方言俚语与市井口语（「胡阑」「曲连」「乔」「妆幺」「一颩」「踢蹬」等），鲜活泼辣，妙趣横生。结构上由「接驾」到「看仪仗」再到「认人」「数旧账」，层层递进，由远及近、由景及人，终以〔尾〕索债点题，把对皇帝神圣性的解构推向高潮，讽刺水到渠成，浑然一体。全曲更以「刘三」的市井称呼贯穿始终，从「那大汉」到「刘三」，称谓的步步降格，正是皇权神圣性步步瓦解的过程，构思之巧，堪称独步。
Allusions
Han Gaozu refers to Liu Bang, 'tingzhang' his former post, 'Liu San' his nickname. Banner descriptions allude to imperial flags (moon banner, sun banner) but are defamiliarized. Also satirizes Yuan rulers' extravagance and hypocrisy through historical allegory.
曲中史实与典故皆取之于汉初史事而加以戏谑化处理：「汉高祖」即刘邦，沛县丰邑人，秦末起兵，建立汉朝；「亭长」指刘邦曾任泗水亭长，秦制十里一亭，亭长掌治安驿传，是最低级的乡官；「刘三」为刘邦的小名（刘邦排行第三，故称刘季、刘三）；「你妻须姓吕」指刘邦之妻吕雉。「白胡阑套住个迎霜兔」暗指仪仗中的月旗（玉兔为月中之兽），「红曲连打着个毕月乌」暗指日旗（金乌为日中之禽），「鸡学舞」「狗生双翅」「蛇缠葫芦」则分别戏指凤旗、麒麟旗（或天马旗）、龙旗，乡农不识礼制，遂以家常物事解之。这些描写表面上写乡民无知，实则借古讽今，把皇权仪仗的神圣符号还原为乡野笑谈，暗含对元代统治者骄奢排场与虚伪面目的讥刺，正是元散曲「借古讽今」传统的集中体现。曲末「白甚么改了姓、更了名」更以俗语解构「汉高祖」这一庙号——庙号本是尊崇之典，此处反成笑柄，足见作者善以俚俗消解庄严的讽刺才能。
Commentary
Zhong Sicheng's Record of Ghosts praises this piece as novel. Sui Shusen's Complete Yuan Sanqu lists it as a masterpiece of satire. Later critics call it 'laughter and anger all become literature', a pinnacle of Yuan satirical sanqu.
钟嗣成《录鬼簿》将睢景臣列于「名公才人」，并载其《高祖还乡》套「制作新奇」，为「维扬诸公」同类作品之冠，可见此曲在元代即负盛名。明清以来，此曲备受曲论家推崇，被认为是以俗为雅、嬉笑怒骂的讽刺典范。近人隋树森辑《全元散曲》收此套为元散曲讽刺名篇，评价极高；现代文学史家多从「解构皇权」「平民视角」的角度予以阐发，认为它以乡农之眼戳穿了「真龙天子」的封建神话，体现了元代市民阶层的思想觉醒。全曲七支曲牌一气贯通，从接驾的忙乱写到认人的愤怒，再到索债的痛快，喜剧效果层层累积，讽刺锋芒直指最高统治者，嬉笑怒骂皆成文章。在元散曲乃至整个中国讽刺文学史上，如此大胆、如此彻底地以平民视角解构帝王神圣性的作品，实属罕见，故其文学史地位历久弥坚。今之选本几无例外皆收此曲，其以平民视角解构皇权的思想锋芒，至今仍具强烈的现实启示意义。
Prosody
Line by line
[般涉调·哨遍] 社长排门告示，但有的差使无推故。这差使不寻俗。
[In Ban-she Mode, Shao-bian] The village head goes from door to door with the notice: any service levied must not be refused. This service, they say, is no ordinary one.
社长挨家挨户地通告：凡是有差使的都不许推托，这次的差使可不寻常。
The village head goes door to door announcing: whoever is assigned must on no account decline; this task is no ordinary business.
套曲开篇即以村社接驾的忙乱拉开讽刺序幕。「社长排门告示」写社长挨家挨户传达命令，「排门」二字活画出逐户敲门的急促，「但有的差使无推故」写官差之严苛——凡有差使，不许推托，一个「但」字（凡）见出摊派的无理与强横；「这差使不寻俗」写乡民对此次差使的郑重猜测，为后文皇帝还乡的真相埋下悬念。接下来的「一壁厢纳草也根，一边又要差夫，索应付」写纳草、派夫的双重压榨，「王乡老执定瓦台盘，赵忙郎抱着酒胡芦」写乡民手忙脚乱地备办接驾，「新刷来的头巾，恰糨来的绸衫，畅好是妆幺大户」以「妆幺大户」四字写尽乡民刻意摆阔、趋炎附势的可笑神态，喜剧气氛由此弥漫开来。
The suite opens with the village's bustle of welcoming the emperor, raising the satirical curtain. 'The village head goes from door to door with the notice' — the head carrying the order from house to house, the words 'from door to door' vividly rendering the haste of knocking at each gate; 'any service levied must not be refused' — the rigor of official duty, the word 'any' showing the arbitrariness and force of the imposition; 'this service, they say, is no ordinary one' the villagers' awed guessing at the task to come, priming the suspense of the emperor's homecoming. The lines that follow — fodder here, porters there, all to be supplied; old Wang holding the earthen tray, busy Zhao hugging the wine gourd; newly whitened headcloths, newly starched silk gowns, playing the grand gentry — write the villagers' flustered preparations, and the phrase 'playing the grand gentry' captures the absurd pose of village folk aping wealth, and the comedy spreads.
一面旗白胡阑套住个迎霜兔，一面旗红曲连打着个毕月乌，一面旗鸡学舞，一面旗狗生双翅，一面旗蛇缠葫芦。
One banner — a white ring enclosing a frost-foreseeing hare; one banner — a red ring beating the Bi-moon crow; one banner — a chicken learning to dance; one banner — a dog that has grown wings; one banner — a snake coiling around a gourd.
那旗子一面是白圈套着个兔子，一面是红圈打着只乌鸦，一面是鸡学跳舞，一面是狗长了翅膀，一面是蛇缠着葫芦。
One banner shows a white ring around a rabbit, another a red circle beating a crow, another a chicken learning to dance, another a dog with wings, another a snake twined about a gourd.
此曲写乡民眼中皇家仪仗的旗帜，是「陌生化」手法的集中体现。「白胡阑套住个迎霜兔」——「胡阑」即「环」的反切语（元曲中称反切为「切脚」，以两字切一字，「胡阑」切「环」），「迎霜兔」指月旗上的玉兔；「红曲连打着个毕月乌」——「曲连」切「圈」，「毕月乌」指日旗上的金乌；「鸡学舞」「狗生双翅」「蛇缠葫芦」则分别指凤旗、麒麟旗、龙旗。乡农不识皇家礼制，把庄严肃穆的日月龙凤之旗，说成白圈套兔、红圈打乌、鸡学跳舞、狗生翅膀、蛇缠葫芦的怪诞之物，以最俚俗的物象解构最神圣的符号，化庄重为滑稽，排比连用，语势流利，讽刺意味浓郁，是「以俗写雅、以庄为谐」的绝唱。
This song writes the imperial banners through the villagers' eyes, the gathering of the 'defamiliarization' device. 'A white ring enclosing a frost-foreseeing hare' — 'ring' is spelled by two split characters, the moon-banner's jade hare; 'a red ring beating the Bi-moon crow' — 'ring' again split, the sun-banner's golden crow; 'a chicken learning to dance,' 'a dog that has grown wings,' 'a snake coiling around a gourd' — the phoenix, qilin, and dragon banners. The villagers, unknowing court ritual, describe the solemn sun-moon-phoenix-dragon banners as a white ring around a hare, a red circle beating a crow, a chicken learning to dance, a dog with wings, a snake about a gourd — the most vulgar images deconstructing the most sacred symbols, solemn turned comic, the排比 fluent in cadence, the satire rich, the masterpiece of 'writing elegance through the vulgar, the solemn through the comic.'
[三煞] 那大汉下的车，众人施礼数。那大汉觑得人如无物。众乡老展脚舒腰拜，那大汉挪身着手扶。
[Third Closing] The tall fellow climbs down from the carriage; the crowd perform their bows. The tall fellow looks through the people as if they were nothing. The village elders stretch their legs and bend their backs to kowtow; the tall fellow shifts his body and lends a hand.
那大汉下了车，众人都上前行礼。那大汉看人像看无物一般。众乡老舒展腰脚跪拜，那大汉才挪动身子伸手来扶。
The tall fellow steps down from the carriage; the crowd come forward to bow. The tall fellow looks at people as if at nothing. The village elders stretch themselves in prostration; only then does the tall fellow shift and reach out a hand.
此曲写皇帝下车受礼的场面，乡农视角下「真龙天子」的骄横毕露。「那大汉下的车」——乡农不知其为皇帝，只以一个「大汉」称之，皇权神话在称谓上已被降格；「众人施礼数」写群臣乡民趋拜，「那大汉觑得人如无物」以「觑」字写其目光之轻蔑——看众人如同看无物，一「如无物」三字写尽皇帝的骄矜傲慢；「众乡老展脚舒腰拜，那大汉挪身着手扶」写众人叩拜与皇帝假意搀扶，一拜一扶，动作对比鲜明，皇帝的虚伪做作与乡民的天真敬畏同台演出。最后「猛可里抬头觑，觑多时认得，险气破我胸脯」，以「险气破我胸脯」的夸张写出乡民认出刘邦后的愤怒，平民对皇权的不屑与讽刺于此喷薄而出。
This song writes the emperor's descent and the bows, the arrogance of the 'true dragon son of heaven' laid bare in the villagers' view. 'The tall fellow climbs down from the carriage' — the villagers, not knowing him as emperor, call him only 'the tall fellow,' the imperial myth downgraded in the very name; 'the crowd perform their bows' the court and villagers pressing forward; 'the tall fellow looks through the people as if they were nothing' the word 'looks' writing the contemptuous gaze — seeing the crowd as seeing nothing, three words writing the imperial hauteur; 'the village elders stretch their legs and bend their backs to kowtow; the tall fellow shifts his body and lends a hand' the prostration and the feigned assistance, the bow and the helping hand in sharp contrast, the emperor's hypocrisy and the villagers' naive awe on one stage. The closing — 'suddenly I looked up, stared long, and recognized him; I nearly burst my ribs with rage' — the hyperbole of 'nearly burst my ribs' writing the villager's anger on recognizing Liu Bang, the common man's disdain and satire pouring out.
[二煞] 你须身姓刘，你妻须姓吕。把你两家儿根脚从头数。你本身做亭长耽几杯酒，你丈人教村学读几卷书。
[Second Closing] You yourself are surnamed Liu, and your wife is surnamed Lü. Your two families' whole records, I'll count from the first. You were the head of a pavilion, fond of a few cups; your father-in-law taught a few books in the village school.
你本来姓刘，你妻子姓吕。把你两家的老底从头数一数：你本人当亭长时贪杯好酒，你丈人在村学里教几卷书。
You, after all, are named Liu, and your wife, after all, is named Lü. I'll count the whole record of both your families from the beginning: you yourself were a pavilion warden, addicted to wine; your father-in-law taught a few scrolls in the village school.
此曲是乡民当面数落皇帝的开端，以「根脚从头数」的市井口吻揭开刘邦的寒微身世。「你须身姓刘，你妻须姓吕」以「你」直呼皇帝，全无尊称，「须」字带出不容置疑的揭底语气；「把你两家儿根脚从头数」是市井斗嘴、翻旧账的口吻，「根脚」一词极俚，把开国皇帝与乡邻无赖拉到同一张饭桌上。「你本身做亭长耽几杯酒」写刘邦曾为泗水亭长，贪杯好酒；「你丈人教村学读几卷书」写其岳丈不过是村学先生。两句历数其微时旧业，句句皆史有所据而语语鄙俚，把「真龙天子」还原为同村共井的寻常人，「神圣」与「平常」的落差愈大，讽刺愈有力，皇权的神秘面纱于此彻底揭开。
This song begins the villager's reckoning to the emperor's face, the market voice of 'count your family records from the first' opening Liu Bang's humble origins. 'You yourself are surnamed Liu, and your wife is surnamed Lü' — the plain 'you,' no honorific, the word 'after all' carrying the unanswerable tone of exposure; 'your two families' whole records, I'll count from the first' the market quarrel of settling old accounts, the word 'records' most vulgar, seating the founding emperor at the same table as the village rogue. 'You were the head of a pavilion, fond of a few cups' — Liu Bang, once the warden of Sishui pavilion, a wine-bibber; 'your father-in-law taught a few books in the village school' — his father-in-law nothing but a village schoolmaster. Two lines recounting the trades of his low days, every word grounded in history, every word vulgar, reducing the 'true dragon' to an ordinary neighbor; the greater the gap between 'sacred' and 'ordinary,' the sharper the satire, the imperial mystery fully lifted.
[一煞] 春采了桑，冬借了俺粟，零支了米麦无重数。换田契强称了麻三秤，还酒债偷量了豆几斛。
[First Closing] In spring you picked my mulberries; in winter you borrowed my millet; the petty advances of rice and wheat are past counting. When exchanging the land deed, you forcibly weighed three steelyards of my hemp; when settling the wine debt, you stole a few bushels of my beans.
春天采了我的桑，冬天借了我的粟，零星赊欠的米麦数也数不清。换田契时强行称了我三秤麻，还酒债时偷偷量了我几斛豆。
In spring you took my mulberry leaves, in winter you borrowed my millet; the small arrears of rice and wheat are beyond count. When trading the land deed, you forcibly weighed out three steelyards of my hemp; when repaying the wine debt, you stole a few bushels of my beans.
此曲继续翻旧账，把刘邦的「劣迹」一件件抖落出来，是〔二煞〕的递进。「春采了桑，冬借了俺粟，零支了米麦无重数」三句以春、冬、零支的时间序列，写出刘邦常年向乡邻借贷索取的旧事，「无重数」极言其多；「换田契强称了麻三秤，还酒债偷量了豆几斛」更揭其强取豪夺：「强称」写借换田契之机强行多称麻，「偷量」写还酒债时偷偷少给豆，一强一偷，市井无赖的嘴脸毕现。最妙的是乡民连这些细账都记得分毫不差，正说明刘邦当年在乡间的种种行为何等深入人心。堂堂开国皇帝，在乡民口中不过是赊欠赖账的「刘三」，皇权的神圣性在琐碎的市井账目中被彻底解构，讽刺之犀利，令人绝倒。
This song continues the settling of old accounts, shaking out Liu Bang's 'misdeeds' one by one, the advance of the Second Closing. 'In spring you picked my mulberries; in winter you borrowed my millet; the petty advances of rice and wheat are past counting' — the time sequence of spring, winter, and small advances, writing Liu Bang's lifelong borrowing and taking from the neighbors, the words 'past counting' heaping the number; 'when exchanging the land deed, you forcibly weighed three steelyards of my hemp; when settling the wine debt, you stole a few bushels of my beans' the plunder exposed: 'forcibly weighed' the seizing under cover of the land deed; 'stole' the short measure of beans in repayment — force and theft, the rogue's face fully visible. Best of all, the villager remembers every petty account to the grain, showing how deeply Liu Bang's old village ways were imprinted. The grand founding emperor, in the villager's mouth, is nothing but Liu No. Three, the man who ran up debts and dodged them; the sacredness of emperordom deconstructed in the trivial market ledger, the satire so sharp it makes the reader gasp.
[尾] 少我的钱，差发内旋拨还；欠我的粟，税粮中私准除。只道刘三，谁肯把你揪捽住？白甚么改了姓、更了名，唤做汉高祖！
[Tail] The money you owe me — pay it back from the labor levy; the grain you owe me — deduct it secretly from the tax quota. Only call yourself Liu No. Three; who would think of seizing you by the collar? For no reason at all you changed your surname and altered your name, calling yourself Emperor Gao of Han!
欠我的钱，从差发里拨还；欠我的粟，从税粮中扣除。你只管叫刘三，谁肯揪住你不放？平白无故改什么姓、更什么名，叫汉高祖！
The money you owe me, repay it at once from the levies; the millet you owe me, set it off privately against the grain tax. Just keep the name Liu No. Three — who would drag you up by the collar? Why on earth change your clan and alter your name, and call yourself Emperor Gao of Han!
〔尾〕是全曲的点题之笔，以索债收束，把讽刺推向高潮。「少我的钱，差发内旋拨还；欠我的粟，税粮中私准除」——乡民竟要求皇帝用差发、税粮来抵偿旧债，以国家赋税偿还个人赊欠，设想荒诞而逻辑严密，令人捧腹之余，又觉其揭穿了「皇权即私产」的真相。「只道刘三，谁肯把你揪捽住」写乡民并不稀罕皇帝身份，只要你还是那个刘三，旧账照算，谁敢揪你？「白甚么改了姓、更了名，唤做汉高祖」以「白甚么」的质问收束：平白无故改什么名号？「汉高祖」这一至尊庙号，在乡民口中竟成了「改名换姓」的把戏，皇权的神圣性被彻底消解。全曲在索债与质问中戛然而止，辛辣嘲讽、幽默犀利，是元代讽刺散曲的巅峰之笔。
The Tail is the song's statement of theme, closing in a debt-collection, driving the satire to its height. 'The money you owe me — pay it back from the labor levy; the grain you owe me — deduct it secretly from the tax quota' — the villager actually demanding that the emperor repay old debts through state levies and taxes, public revenue settling private arrears, the conceit absurd yet logically airtight, making the reader laugh and then see through the truth: that imperial power is private property. 'Only call yourself Liu No. Three; who would think of seizing you by the collar' — the villager caring nothing for the imperial station; so long as you are still Liu No. Three, the old accounts stand, and who would drag you off? 'For no reason at all you changed your surname and altered your name, calling yourself Emperor Gao of Han!' closes in the question 'for no reason at all': without cause, what name have you changed? 'Emperor Gao of Han,' the most sacred temple name, becomes, in the villager's mouth, a trick of renaming, the sacredness of emperordom wholly dissolved. The song stops short in the demanding and the questioning, pungent and mocking, witty and sharp — the peak of Yuan satirical sanqu.
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One uses a peasant voice to mock the emperor, the other laments rise and fall; both directly criticize reality and care for the people.
睢景臣《哨遍·高祖还乡》与张养浩《山坡羊·潼关怀古》同为元散曲中以历史为题材的讽喻名篇，而手法一谐一庄，适成对照。《高祖还乡》以乡农口吻嘲弄开国皇帝，把帝王神话解构为村野笑谈，嬉笑怒骂，喜剧性极强；《潼关怀古》以怀古之笔叹兴亡，「兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦」，直指历代王朝更迭中百姓苦难的实质，沉郁悲凉，悲剧性极浓。一以「嘲」解构皇权，一以「叹」关怀民瘼，立意却相通——都对统治者的骄奢与历史的残酷予以揭露，都站在平民的立场上发言。二曲并读，可见元代散曲「直刺现实、关注民生」的讽喻传统，也可见元散曲讽刺风格的多元：既可泼辣诙谐，亦可深沉痛切。
山坡羊·骊山怀古 Mountainside Sheep: Mount Li in Retrospect 张养浩 · 同属元散曲怀古题材 Both belong to Yuan sanqu historical themesBoth use historical rise and fall as subject, with simple language and profound meaning, embodying Yuan sanqu's satirical spirit.
张养浩《山坡羊·骊山怀古》「骊山四顾，阿房一炬，当时奢侈今何处」与《高祖还乡》同以历史兴衰为题材，同见对统治者的讽刺，而视点各异。《骊山怀古》站在历史之上俯瞰：骊山依旧，阿房成灰，当年的奢侈繁华而今安在？以「今何处」的追问写尽王朝的虚幻，讽刺是哲理性的、宏观的；《高祖还乡》则钻入历史之中旁观：以一个乡农的琐碎视角，把皇帝还乡的盛典拆解成赊账赖账的闹剧，讽刺是喜剧性的、微观的。一纵览千年兴亡，一聚焦一时一地；一冷峻，一泼辣。二曲皆语言质朴而寄意深远，体现元代散曲家以历史题材寄寓现实感慨的共同取向，也展示了怀古讽喻题材在元曲中的多样写法。