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垓下之围·节选

The Siege of Gaixia (Excerpt)

司马迁

Sima Qian

史传Historical biography 叙事Narrative 英雄Heroism

项王军壁垓下，兵少食尽，汉军及诸侯兵围之数重。
夜闻汉军四面皆楚歌，项王乃大惊曰：汉皆已得楚乎？
是何楚人之多也！

King Xiang's army made camp at Gaixia, few in soldiers and exhausted in provisions, surrounded layer upon layer by the Han troops and the armies of the vassal lords. In the night he heard the Han army singing Chu songs on every side, and the King was greatly startled, saying: 'Has Han already taken all of Chu? Why are there so many Chu men!'

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Meaning

This excerpt from Sima Qian's 'Basic Annals of Xiang Yu' records the turning point of the Chu–Han war: surrounded and starving at Gaixia, Xiang Yu hears Chu songs rising from every side of the Han camp and realizes his homeland is lost. The brief scene condenses a hero's collapse into a single startled question.

项王的军队在垓下修筑营垒驻扎下来，兵士已经很少，粮食也吃光了，汉军和各路诸侯的军队把他们重重包围了好几层。夜里，项王听到汉军阵营的四面八方都唱起了楚地的歌谣，于是大为吃惊地说：「汉军难道已经把楚地全部占领了吗？为什么楚人竟有这么多呢！」

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Xiang Yu's army is pinned at Gaixia, low in men and food, ringed by Han and allied troops; in the night he hears Chu songs all around and cries out in alarm that Han must have taken all of Chu. [Structure] The passage tightens in three beats — encampment and scarcity, the many-ringed siege, then the night of Chu songs that cracks the hero's heart — building like a drawn bow. [Imagery] 'Chu songs on every side' is the key image: a sound, not a weapon, that dissolves an army's will; it becomes the prototype of total isolation. The two rhetorical questions turn a lost battle into one cry of astonishment, and Sima Qian's bare narration lets the hero condemn himself in his own voice. The prose is history that reads like drama.

【白话串讲】司马迁写《垓下之围》：项羽被围垓下，“夜闻汉军四面皆楚歌”——“汉皆已得楚乎？是何楚人之多也”。他唱：“力拔山兮气盖世，时不利兮骓不逝”——虞姬和之，自刎。项羽“无颜见江东父老”，在乌江自刎——霸王别姬。【意象与手法】史笔极简而传神：以「兵少食尽」写物质之困，以「围之数重」写形势之危，以「四面皆楚歌」写心理之溃，三笔层层收紧；「乃大惊」与两重反问直接呈现英雄的惊疑与不甘，对话入文，如闻其声；以「楚歌」这一声音意象写军心瓦解，虚实相生，为后世「四面楚歌」成语立源。【情感与主旨】既写英雄末路的悲壮，又含作者「不以成败论英雄」的史识。司马迁于败亡之际仍称「项王」，笔端有叹惋、有敬惜，塑造了刚愎自用而光明磊落、力能扛鼎而儿女情长的悲剧英雄。【名句点睛】「四面楚歌」自此成为中国文学中「众叛亲离、陷入绝境」的原型意象；「汉皆已得楚乎？是何楚人之多也」两句，以问代叹，将千军万马的溃败凝为一声惊问。

Background

Sima Qian (c. 145–c. 87 BCE), style name Zichang, was a Western Han historian and man of letters who completed the Shiji, China's first comprehensive biographical history from the Yellow Emperor to Emperor Wu, praised by Lu Xun as 'the historian's supreme song, a Li Sao without rhyme.' The 'Basic Annals of Xiang Yu' is the only annals granted to a loser, showing Sima Qian's refusal to judge by success alone. The siege of Gaixia (202 BCE) ends the Chu–Han war: after years of stalemate, Xiang Yu — abandoned by Han Xin, Ying Bu, and Peng Yue — retreated to Gaixia, where five Han armies closed in. This short excerpt is the hinge from battlefield narrative to psychological tragedy, and the source of the idiom 'Chu songs on every side.'

司马迁（约前145—约前87），字子长，西汉史学家、文学家，继其父司马谈之志著《史记》。《史记》是我国第一部纪传体通史，上起黄帝、下迄汉武帝太初年间，凡一百三十篇，鲁迅誉为「史家之绝唱，无韵之离骚」。《项羽本纪》列于本纪第十二，是司马迁唯一以失败者入本纪的特例，可见其不以成败论英雄的史识。垓下之围写公元前二〇二年楚汉决战的尾声：此前项羽在彭城、荥阳与刘邦对峙多年，终因战略失当、众叛亲离（韩信、英布、彭越皆背楚归汉）而退至垓下；十二月，汉军五路合围，项羽兵少食尽，夜闻楚歌，军心瓦解，遂有「四面楚歌」一幕。此节文字为《项羽本纪》最脍炙人口的段落之一，与「鸿门宴」「霸王别姬」「乌江自刎」等并称名段，历代诗文、戏曲、小说取材不绝。节选虽仅数十字，却是全篇由战场叙事转入心理悲剧的枢纽，集中体现了司马迁叙事如画、传神写心的史传艺术。

Art

Though only a few dozen words, the passage is a model of 'controlling the complex with the simple.' It follows time strictly: encampment, scarcity, siege, then the night of songs, each step tightening the string. It writes the scene through sound: Chu songs, invisible, fill the air on every side, replacing sight with hearing so the crumbling morale is felt. Character is drawn through speech: 'greatly startled' first shows shock, then two rhetorical questions show doubt — the urgency of the questions mirrors his deepening alarm, the first crack in the 'power to pull mountains' king. The prose mixes short, knife-clean statements with lingering exclamations, its rhythm rising with feeling; the 'interlocking method' lets Xiang Yu's frankness contrast with Liu Bang's craft elsewhere, sharpening both portraits.

此节篇幅极短而戏剧张力极强，可称中国史传文学「以简驭繁」的典范。章法上严守时间顺序：先写「军壁垓下」之驻，次写「兵少食尽」之困，再写「围之数重」之危，最后以「夜闻楚歌」引爆全篇，层层铺垫、步步收紧，如弓弦越拉越满。笔法上以声写境：楚歌本不可见，作者却以「四面皆楚歌」五字写其弥漫之势，以听觉代视觉，把军心瓦解写得可闻可感，虚实相生。人物刻画上借对话传神：「乃大惊曰」三字先写其惊，再以「汉皆已得楚乎？是何楚人之多也」两重反问写其疑，问句之急促正见惊疑之深——这位「力拔山兮气盖世」的霸王，首次在文字中露出动摇之色。语言上散句为主，间用「也」「乎」等语气词调节节奏，叙事句简洁如刀，惊叹句纡徐如叹，文气随情感起伏。又善用「互见法」与其他篇目互文：《高祖本纪》记刘邦之机变，《项羽本纪》记项羽之坦直，两相对照，人物性格愈见分明，体现了《史记》整体叙事的匠心。

Allusions

The core cultural gene is 'Chu songs on every side' (si mian chu ge), which became an idiom for isolation and hopeless encirclement. Its meaning has three layers: first, homeland in song — the Chu tunes awaken the soldiers' homesickness and war-weariness, showing that hearts fall before blades; second, the great trend in sound — Chu lost means Chu men defected, the concrete shape of 'the righteous win many helpers, the unrighteous few'; third, the hero in song — followed by Xiang Yu's 'Song of Gaixia' and Yu Ji's answer, the 'Farewell My Concubine' motif. Later poets reuse it: Li Qingzhao's 'still we think of Xiang Yu,' Du Mu's 'east of the river many talents.' The 'hero's end' image, layered by drama and fiction, became the archetype of 'better to shatter than to bend' in Chinese tragic aesthetics.

「四面楚歌」是此节最核心的文化基因，后世遂成成语，泛指孤立无援、四面受敌的绝境，如《三国志》注引及历代史论常用之。其文化内涵有三层：其一，以乡音写乡愁——楚歌唤起楚卒对故土的眷恋与对战争的厌倦，歌声比刀兵更早攻陷军心，揭示「攻心为上」的战争智慧；其二，以声音写大势——楚地尽失则楚人尽叛，楚歌之多是楚军失道寡助的具象化，暗合孟子「得道多助，失道寡助」之论；其三，以悲歌写英雄——此节之后项羽尚有《垓下歌》「力拔山兮气盖世，时不利兮骓不逝」，虞姬和之，遂成「霸王别姬」母题，京剧《霸王别姬》、梅兰芳之剑舞皆源于此。后世诗文屡用其典：李清照「至今思项羽，不肯过江东」，杜牧「江东子弟多才俊，卷土重来未可知」，皆从垓下败局生发议论。此节所立之「英雄末路」意象，经楚汉传奇、唐宋诗词、元明清戏曲层层叠加，已成为中国悲剧美学中「宁为玉碎」的原型。

Commentary

The passage holds the highest literary rank. Ban Gu called the Shiji 'good at ordering affairs, plain yet not vulgar' — and Gaixia is the model of that plainness: no flourish, yet a tragic breath spans the ages. Later critics marvel at Sima Qian's craft; modern scholars see it as a mark of mature Chinese narrative. Its reach far exceeds history: the Peking opera 'Farewell My Concubine,' the Mei school arias, films and plays never fade; 'Chu songs on every side' and 'Farewell My Concubine' are common idioms; Xiang Yu's refusal to cross the river has been debated for a millennium — Du Mu regrets his lack of patience, Li Qingzhao praises his death unstained. By placing Xiang Yu in the annals and infusing the siege with sympathy, Sima Qian broke the 'winner writes history' habit and founded the tradition of judging heroes beyond victory or defeat.

此节之文学地位极高。班固《汉书·司马迁传》称《史记》「善序事理，辩而不华，质而不俚」，垓下一节正是「质而不俚」的典范：不铺陈、不夸饰，数十言而悲壮之气横绝千古。后世评点者多于此节叹服司马迁的叙事功力：金圣叹评《史记》「文成法立」，垓下之围即其极例；现代学者更以「中国叙事文学的成熟标志」视之。从接受史看，此节影响远超史书：京剧《霸王别姬》、梅派名段、电影戏曲屡演不衰；「四面楚歌」「霸王别姬」已成为汉语常用成语；项羽「不肯过江东」的抉择更引发千年争论——杜牧惋惜其不能忍辱负重，李清照盛赞其宁死不辱，毛泽东亦有「宜将剩勇追穷寇，不可沽名学霸王」之训，皆以此节为话头。就史识而言，司马迁将项羽列入本纪，又在垓下之围中注入深挚的同情与敬意，突破了「成王败寇」的历史书写惯性，确立了「不以成败论英雄」的评判传统，对中国人的历史观、英雄观影响深远。此节虽短，实为中国悲剧精神的文学源头之一。

Prosody

Form Classical prose biography (Shiji annals style) — unrhymed, free of parallel coupling文言散体史传散文（《史记》纪传体），不押韵、不拘骈偶

Rhyme The passage has no rhyme; rhythm comes from function words and clause length: the three four-character clauses 'made camp at Gaixia,' 'few in soldiers,' 'exhausted in provisions' beat like a quick drum, while the nine-character 'he heard the Han army singing Chu songs on every side' stretches the song's spread, and the closing rhetorical question rises in alarm.全节无韵，以散句行文，靠虚词与句式长短制造节奏：「军壁垓下」「兵少食尽」「围之数重」三组四字短句短促迫促，如战鼓骤紧；「夜闻汉军四面皆楚歌」以九字长句舒缓拉长，歌声弥漫之势随之展开；末句「汉皆已得楚乎？是何楚人之多也」以反诘收束，声调上扬，惊疑之态如见。

Tone pattern Narrative clauses are terse, mostly three-to-five characters, with a ringing pace; the character's speech uses反问 (rhetorical questions) and exclamations ('hu,' 'ye'), shifting from calm account to startled cry as Xiang Yu's mind breaks.叙事句简洁凝练，多三、四、五字短句，节奏铿锵；人物语言用反问句与感叹句（「乎」「也」），语调由平叙转激越，由冷静转惊惶，文气随项羽心理的崩塌而陡转。

Reading note Though prose, its sound rivals rhyme. Sima Qian uses uneven clauses for tension: the opening three four-character phrases are short and dense, mimicking the closing siege; then 'he heard the Han army singing Chu songs on every side' lengthens, the song flooding in; the closing speech chains a question and an exclamation, the particles 'hu' and 'ye' rising and falling like the hero's startle. This 'writing the heart through clause shape' is the unique music of biographical prose, proving rhythm needs no rhyme — only length, particles, and feeling.此节虽为散文，声情之妙不让韵文。司马迁以长短错落的散句制造紧张感：开头三组四字句（「军壁垓下」「兵少食尽」「围之数重」）短促密集，模拟战事迫近、包围收紧的节奏；继而「夜闻汉军四面皆楚歌」以一长句展开，歌声如潮水漫溢，语速放慢、气息拉长；末句人物语言以「汉皆已得楚乎」的反问与「是何楚人之多也」的感叹连缀，「乎」「也」两个语气词一升一降，恰似项羽由惊到疑、由疑到叹的心路。这种「以句式写心境」的手法，是史传散文区别于韵文的独特声情艺术。诵读此节，宜前半沉实（叙事），后半激越（惊问），方能还原垓下之夜由静入动、由实入虚的戏剧进程。它证明散文的节奏美不依赖押韵，而在于句式的长短、虚词的顿挫与情感的自然灌注，此即刘勰所谓「声转于吻，玲玲如振玉」的散文音律观在史传中的体现。

Line by line

项王军壁垓下，兵少食尽，汉军及诸侯兵围之数重。

King Xiang's army fortified itself at Gaixia; soldiers were few and food exhausted; the Han army and the troops of the feudal lords encircled them in many rings.

项王的军队在垓下修筑营垒驻扎下来，兵士已经很少，粮食也吃光了，汉军和各路诸侯的军队把他们重重包围了好几层。

The King of Xiang fortified his camp at Gaixia; his soldiers were few, his food exhausted, and the Han and lords' troops encircled him in layer after layer.

开篇三短句为全节定下绝境基调，字字是实写而句句含张力。「壁」字名词活用为动词，写项羽退守垓下、筑垒固守之状，一个「壁」字既见军事布置之紧，又暗含强弩之末的仓皇。「兵少食尽」四字两顿，兵之少、食之尽，物质层面的穷途一并道出，为后文军心瓦解预埋根因。「围之数重」以「数重」强调包围之密、突围之难，汉军及诸侯兵联合作战，项羽已成孤军。三句由驻到困、由困到危，层层收紧，节奏短促如战鼓；而司马迁不下任何评语，仅以白描叙事，便令读者感到黑云压城之势，这正是史笔「以叙代议」的高妙。有此铺垫，下文「夜闻楚歌」之惊变才显得水到渠成，英雄末路的悲剧感也由此起笔。

The situation in three short phrases. The king fortified his camp at Gaixia—the fortified camp is the last dignity; his soldiers were few, his food exhausted, and the Han and lords' troops encircled him in layer after layer. The historian offers no judgment; the facts judge. To have said Xiang Yu was trapped would be a summary; the few soldiers, the gone food, and the layered rings are the trap.

夜闻汉军四面皆楚歌

In the night he heard the Han army on all sides singing Chu songs.

夜里听到汉军阵营的四面八方都唱起了楚地的歌谣。

At night he heard the Han host on every side singing the songs of Chu.

此句是全节由实写转入心理的枢纽，也是「四面楚歌」成语的源头。「夜」字点明时间，夜静更深，歌声格外清晰，写尽楚军彻夜难眠的惊惶；「闻」字从听觉落笔，楚歌本不可见，司马迁不写旌旗、不写刀兵，只写一阵歌声，便以声写败、以虚写实。「四面皆」三字极有分量：非一处、非一角，而是「四面皆然」，歌声从四面八方漫来，如潮水合围，令楚军感到退路全无、故土尽失。楚歌意味着楚地已被汉军占领、楚人已经归附刘邦，故此声一起，楚军思乡厌战之心顿生，军心不战自溃。歌声本是和平与乡情的符号，此处却成为最锋利的攻心之器，项羽闻之而「大惊」，正是因为这歌声比任何刀剑都更直接地宣判了楚国的灭亡。司马迁以五字写尽一场心理战的溃败，虚实相生、以简驭繁，堪称中国叙事文学中以声音写战争的神来之笔。

The sound. At night he heard the Han host on every side singing the songs of Chu. The night is the time of fear; the singing replaces weapons. The idiom four-sided Chu song is born here: psychological warfare more devastating than assault. To have said enemy soldiers sang his folk songs would be a detail; the songs rising on every side in the dark are the detail.

项王乃大惊曰：汉皆已得楚乎？是何楚人之多也！

Then King Xiang was greatly alarmed and said: 'Has Han already won all of Chu? Why are there so many Chu men!'

项王于是大为吃惊地说：汉军难道已经把楚地全部占领了吗？为什么楚人有这么多呢！

The King was greatly alarmed and said: Has Han taken all of Chu? Why are there so many men of Chu!

人物语言直写心理，是司马迁「传神写心」的典范。「乃大惊」三字先写反应：叱咤风云、破釜沉舟的西楚霸王，一生纵横无敌，此处第一次在文字中露出「惊」色，惊字一现，大势已去。继而以连续两问道出心迹：「汉皆已得楚乎」是反问，问的是江山；「是何楚人之多也」是感叹，叹的是人心——第一问见其对战局的判断（楚地尽失），第二问见其对人心的震动（连楚人都在唱楚歌）。两问一句比一句急切，正是项羽由惊而疑、由疑而惧的心理进程。「乎」「也」两个语气词一升一沉，恰似惊呼与长叹。更妙在司马迁不直接说「楚军将败」，而让项羽自己说出败亡之兆，以当事人的惊疑代替作者的议论，读者由此直接进入英雄的心境，感受到末路的苍凉。此后虞姬自刎、乌江悲歌，皆由此「大惊」二字蓄势而来。

The two questions. The king was greatly alarmed and said: Has Han taken all of Chu? Why are there so many men of Chu! The first question asks about territory, the second about loyalty—and the second is the more terrible: the singers are his own people. The alarm is the first crack in the hero. To have said he was shaken would be a statement; the two questions about Chu are the shaking.

Study

Word focus

壁 Camp / to fortify. In 'King Xiang's army made camp at Gaixia' (bi), a noun used as a verb, shows the army building a stockade to hold fast; that very wall becomes the ring Han encloses, setting the trapped space and the irony of the tragedy in a single character. 「项王军壁垓下」之「壁」字，名词活用为动词，作「修筑营垒、驻军」解，是此节第一处炼字。「壁」本义为墙壁，引申为营垒、壁垒，此处以名词作动词，写项羽率残军退至垓下、就地筑垒固守之状：一个「壁」字既见军事行动的仓促与防御姿态的明确，又暗含「壁垒森严以待敌」的强弩之末气象。若用「屯」「驻」「次」等字，只写停留，不及「壁」字之「筑垒固守」的视觉感与决绝意味。同时，「壁」与下句「围之数重」形成对照：项羽自筑之壁，恰为汉军所围之壁，一筑一围，攻守之势已判，封闭的营垒反而成了瓮中之鳖的牢笼，讽刺与悲凉尽在其中。司马迁以一字立起全节的空间框架，足见史笔炼字之精。

楚歌 Chu songs. In 'singing Chu songs on every side' (chu ge), the Chu folk tunes are the key image and the hinge from fact to psychology; they mean Chu is lost and its men defected, so the songs — peace and homeland — become the sharpest weapon of war, and the phrase became the idiom for total isolation. 「四面皆楚歌」之「楚歌」，是此节题眼，亦是全篇由实写转入心理的枢纽。「楚歌」指楚地的民间歌谣，以楚方言演唱，是楚人共同的文化记忆与乡音符号。项羽为楚人，其军多为楚地子弟；汉军多关中人，本不唱楚歌，今「四面皆楚歌」，只能说明楚地已为汉所得、楚人已归附刘邦，故项羽惊问「汉皆已得楚乎」。此词的文化意涵在于：歌声本是和平与乡情的载体，此处却成为攻心之利器——楚卒闻乡音而思乡厌战，军心不战自溃；项羽闻楚歌而知大势已去，英雄气短。司马迁不写刀兵相接，只写一阵歌声，便写尽了楚军的心理崩溃，此即「以声写败」的高妙处。「楚歌」二字遂成典故，与「四面楚歌」同义，千年传诵不衰，成为中国文学中「众叛亲离、陷入绝境」的原型意象。

乃 Then / thereupon. In 'then King Xiang was greatly alarmed' (nai), the adverb marks the instant link between hearing the songs and his reaction; 'then greatly startled' lands in three words the sudden crack in the once-invincible king, a tiny particle that drives the narrative's turn. 「项王乃大惊曰」之「乃」字，副词，作「于是、就」解，看似平常，实含深意。此「乃」字承接「夜闻汉军四面皆楚歌」而来，写出项羽的反应是闻歌之后的即时心理活动，两事之间不容喘息的衔接，「乃」字正是这层紧逼关系的语法标记。且「乃大惊」三字连用，「乃」表时之紧，「大」表惊之甚，「惊」字直揭心理，三字一顿，如惊雷骤至。以《史记》笔法论，司马迁写项羽一生，前有「破釜沉舟」之勇、鸿门宴之傲，此处始见其「惊」，则大势之去、时局之危，尽在一「惊」字中。「乃」字虽虚，却是推动叙事、传写人物心理的枢机，可见司马迁于虚词用笔之细，所谓「史家之绝唱」，其精微正在于此等不为人注意处。