汉 Han · 乐府 Yuefu ballad
孤儿行
The Orphan's Song
孤儿生，孤子遇生，命独当苦。
父母在时，乘坚车，驾驷马。
父母已去，兄嫂令我行贾。
南到九江，东到齐与鲁。
腊月来归，不敢自言苦。
头多虮虱，面目多尘。
大兄言办饭，大嫂言视马。
上高堂，行取殿下堂，孤儿泪下，泪不可止。
索衣，衣当是，持作衣。
冬无复襦，夏无单衣。
居生不乐，不如早去，下从地下黄泉。
春气动，草萌芽。
三月蚕桑，六月收瓜。
将是瓜车，来到还家。
瓜车反覆，助我者少，啖瓜者多。
愿还我蒂，兄与嫂严，独且急归。
兄言疾，嫂令还顾。
孤儿已孤，便可是，那可久行！
手为错，足下无菲。
怆怆履霜，中多蒺藜。
拔断蒺藜，肠月中怆欲悲。
使我朝行汲，暮得水来归。
兄弟相后，谁当早起？
While parents lived, he rode the sturdy carriage, drove the four horses.
Parents gone, his brother and sister-in-law sent him trading far.
South to Jiujiang, east to Qi and Lu.
He returns at year's end, daring not to speak his hardship.
Lice thick on his head, dust over his face.
The elder brother says, 'Make the meal'; the sister-in-law says, 'Mind the horses'.
Up the hall, then down to fetch from the lower rooms - the orphan's tears fall, cannot be stopped.
He asks for clothes; what he gets is a worn rag passed for a coat.
No padded coat in winter, no single robe in summer.
Life brings no joy; better to die soon, and follow beneath to the yellow spring.
Spring breath moves; the grass puts forth buds.
In the third month the silkworms and mulberries; in the sixth, the melons are gathered.
He pushes the melon-cart, homeward on the road.
The melon-cart overturns; few help him, many eat the melons.
He wishes they would return the stems; brother and sister are stern - he can only hurry home alone.
The brother says he is ill; the sister-in-law bids him turn and look.
The orphan, already lone, must suffer this - how can he labour long!
His hands are cracked, his feet without sandals.
Sorrowing he treads the frost; the ground is thick with caltrops.
He tears out the caltrops; his gut aches, he would weep.
They send him at dawn to draw water, and at dusk he returns with it.
Brothers shift the task - who should rise early?
Meaning
An orphan is born into a hard fate. While his parents lived he rode fine carriages and drove four horses; after their death his brother and sister-in-law sent him far to trade - south to Jiujiang, east to Qi and Lu. Returning at year's end, he dares not speak his toil: lice on his head, dust on his face. The brother orders him to cook, the sister-in-law to tend the horses; he runs between hall and rooms, tears unstoppable. Given only rags for clothes, he has no padded coat in winter nor light robe in summer, and wishes he were dead. In spring he tends silkworms and in summer gathers melons; when the melon-cart overturns, few help and many eat the fruit. His hands crack, his feet have no shoes; treading frost among caltrops, he is sent at dawn to draw water and home at dusk, while the brothers shift the chore - who should rise early?
孤儿降生，孤子偶然生于世上，命运独独让他受苦。父母健在时，乘坐坚固的车，驾驭四匹马。父母亡故后，兄嫂命我远行经商。向南到九江，向东到齐地与鲁地。腊月归来，不敢说自己辛苦。头上长满虮虱，脸上满是尘土。大哥说去备饭，大嫂说去看马。登上高堂，又跑去堂下取物，孤儿泪落不止，眼泪止也止不住。讨要衣服，给的却是破衣充当好衣。冬天没有夹袄，夏天没有单衣。活着不快乐，不如早早死去，下到地下黄泉追随父母。春气萌动，草木发芽。三月养蚕采桑，六月收瓜。推着瓜车，来到家前。瓜车翻倒，帮忙的人少，吃瓜的人多。只愿把瓜蒂还我，兄嫂严厉，独自且急忙归去。兄长说我迟慢，嫂嫂命我回头照看。孤儿已然孤苦，就这样罢了，可怎能长久行役！手冻得皲裂，脚下没有草鞋。凄怆地踩着寒霜，地上多生蒺藜。拔断蒺藜，肠中悲怆欲绝。让我早晨去打水，傍晚才得水归来。兄弟互相推诿，谁该早起劳作？
Appreciation
This yuefu ballad, from the 'Xianghe' tunes of the Han music bureau, is a named folk narrative. The orphan is a type of the Han underling - a fatherless child ruled by a harsh brother and sister-in-law. The poem uses the orphan's own first-person voice and the fu-style of plain exposition, narrating in time-order the stark contrast of life before and after his parents' death. Its language is plain, using repetition and speech ('tears fall and fall', 'no padded coat in winter, no single robe in summer') to heighten the rhythm of grief. Vivid details - the overturned melon-cart, pulling caltrops, drawing water at dawn - show their force through bare description. The close, an unanswered question of who should rise early, leaves the pain unfinished: the very spirit of Han yuefu, 'moved by sorrow and joy, arising from events'.
【白话串讲】 父母死后，孤儿被兄嫂虐待：“大兄言办饭，大嫂言视马”——让他做饭、看马、挑水。“孤儿生，孤子遇生，命独当苦”——他生下来，就是来受苦的。汉乐府里最催泪的一首。 【意象与手法】 全诗以孤儿第一人称自诉，采用赋体铺陈，按时间顺序历叙父母在时与亡后的巨大反差。语言质朴无华，多用叠词与口语，强化悲苦节奏。细节描写极生动：瓜车翻覆、拔蒺藜伤足、朝汲暮归，皆以白描见力。结尾兄弟相后、谁当早起以反问收束，余痛不尽，极具汉乐府感于哀乐、缘事而发的写实精神。 【情感与主旨】 此诗为汉乐府相和歌辞瑟调曲，写孤儿父母亡后遭兄嫂虐待、役使无度之苦。诗中孤儿为东汉社会中失怙、受制于兄嫂的弱子典型，其行贾、蚕桑、收瓜、汲水之劳，皆见宗法家庭内部的不公与残忍。全诗以血泪自述揭露底层弱者的真实命运，是乐府诗悯孤伤穷、反映民生的典范之作。 【名句点睛】 「瓜车反覆，助我者少，啖瓜者多」以白描写尽世态凉薄，是千古传诵的写实名句；「冬无复襦，夏无单衣」以对句极写衣不蔽体之惨，常被引为汉乐府反映民生疾苦的代表语。
Background
'The Orphan's Song' belongs to the Han yuefu 'Xianghe' tunes, a named folk narrative ballad. The orphan is the typical weak child of Eastern-Han society - bereft, subject to a brother and sister-in-law. In the Han, filial and clan norms were strict; after parents died the elder brother stood as father, yet the orphan was exploited and driven - to trade, to raise silkworms and melons, to draw water at dawn and home at dusk, never a moment's peace. Through the orphan's blood-and-tears confession the poet exposes the injustice and cruelty within the patriarchal household; it is a Han music-bureau 'collect songs to view the customs' piece, reflecting the real fate of the oppressed poor.
《孤儿行》属汉乐府相和歌辞瑟调曲，为无名氏民间歌谣，是汉乐府中最著名的悯孤之作。汉代以孝治天下，宗法伦常观念极重，父母亡后长兄如父，本应抚养孤弟，诗中兄嫂却视孤儿为奴仆，役使无度，正揭露了宗法家庭内部温情面纱下的残酷现实。孤儿行贾远至九江、齐鲁，蚕桑收瓜、朝汲暮归，皆为当时底层民众劳作的常态，诗中细节多采自真实生活，可作汉代社会经济与家庭关系的史料观。此诗当为东汉社会采诗观风所得，乐府采诗本以观民风、知疾苦，孤儿之血泪自述正是民间苦痛的真实投影。其感人处在于以第一人称直诉，不假雕饰，字字从肺腑流出，故能历千载而犹令人动容，为乐府叙事诗写实传统奠定了基石。又此诗所写行贾之役，正合汉代商人地位低下之社会现实：孤儿被迫弃农经商，其苦不仅在风霜之劳，更在兄嫂之无情。诗中腊月来归、不敢自言苦一语，最见孤儿之隐忍，而隐忍愈深，其苦愈烈。后世以《孤儿行》为汉乐府悯孤第一作，良有以也。其所以感人，正在于不加粉饰、直书其事，使千年之后犹能想见孤儿行贾、汲水、拾薪之劳形，与汉代宗法社会下层弱者之真实处境。
Art
The whole poem is the orphan's first-person confession, using the fu-mode of exposition, narrating in time-order the great contrast before and after his parents' death. The language is unadorned, with much repetition and colloquial speech, strengthening the rhythm of misery. Detail is vivid: the overturning cart, the plucked caltrops and hurt feet, the dawn drawing of water - all shown by plain sketch. The close, 'brothers shift the task - who should rise early', ends on a question, the pain never spent, fully the Han yuefu spirit of 'moved by grief, arising from the event'.
全诗以孤儿第一人称自诉，采用赋体铺陈之法，按时间顺序历叙父母在时之乐与亡后之苦，前后形成巨大反差：乘坚车、驾驷马与手为错、足下无菲对照，昔乐今苦，如天壤之别。语言质朴无华，全用口语，多用叠词（怆怆、萧萧）与感叹（独且急归、那可久行），强化悲苦节奏。细节描写极见功力：瓜车反覆、助我者少、啖瓜者多，寥寥数字写尽路人趁乱啖瓜的凉薄世态；拔断蒺藜、肠中怆欲悲，以肉体之痛写内心之悲；朝行汲、暮得水，以一日之劳写终年无歇。结尾兄弟相后、谁当早起以反问收束，不写孤儿之怨而怨自深，余痛不尽。全诗以白描见力，缘事而发，感于哀乐，是汉乐府写实精神的最高体现。全诗层次极分明：首写命运之悲，次写昔乐今苦之反差，再写役使之繁，继写饥寒之迫，后写世态之凉，终写劳作之无歇，九段一线，如泣如诉。又善以寻常细节传神：虮虱满首、面目多尘写行贾之劳顿，索衣得破衣写寄人篱下之屈辱，愿还我蒂写孤儿连瓜蒂亦不敢失之的卑微，皆于极琐细处见极深悲，正是乐府写实艺术之独擅。
Allusions
The poem uses no clear allusion, winning purely by plain narrative - this is the very nature of Han folk yuefu. A few words carry the Songs' echo: 'follow beneath to the yellow spring' - 'yellow spring' from the 'Zuo Zhuan' ('ere we reach the yellow spring we shall not meet'), here meaning the place of the dead; 'padded coat' is a short padded jacket. The poem borrows no ornament, stacking only life's details into grief, and so feels the truer. This very 'use of no allusion' is what distinguishes yuefu narrative from the literati lyric - it moves by event, not by erudition.
本诗纯以白描叙事取胜，无明显用典，此正汉乐府民歌本色。个别语词承先秦典籍余绪：如下从地下黄泉之黄泉，出自《左传·隐公元年》郑庄公不及黄泉、无相见也之语，本指地下深处，后世借指阴间死地，此处言孤儿生不如死、愿下黄泉从父母于地下，语极沉痛。复襦之襦为短袄，见《说文》，冬无复襦、夏无单衣以对句写衣不蔽体，襦衣之用正见贫寒之甚。行贾即经商，汉代重农抑商，孤儿被迫行贾，亦见其处境之卑。蒺藜为田野常见有刺之草，《诗经》已有墙有茨之咏，此处写孤儿赤足履霜、拔蒺藜而伤，以田间实物入诗，真切可感。全诗不假典丽，唯以生活细节堆叠成悲，反而更见真切，这种无典之用恰是乐府叙事诗区别于文人诗的重要特征，以事动人而非以典炫学。又本诗语言之妙，在能以口语入诗而自成雅韵：独且急归、那可久行、谁当早起等语，皆当时市井口语，一经入诗，便觉声情毕肖，正是乐府民歌本色。其以悲苦之实事、质朴之语言写悲剧之人生，不假修饰而感人至深，较之文人诗之用典使事，别有一种动人心魄的力量，亦可见汉代民歌艺术之高度成熟。
Commentary
Shen Deqian's 'Source of Ancient Poetry' said of Han yuefu 'plain yet not vulgar, shallow yet able to go deep' - a sentence that fits this piece. Later, Du Fu's 'Three Officers' and 'Three Partings' mourning the war-torn, and Bai Juyi's 'New Yuefu' 'made for the event', inherit this realist line. The Ming critic Hu Yinglin said Han yuefu like 'The Orphan's Song' and 'The Wife's Illness Song' are 'utmost feeling and nature, a thousand tears a word' - enough to show its deep moving power, a model of yuefu narrative.
沈德潜《古诗源》评汉乐府质而不俚，浅而能深，正可移评此篇。乐府古辞《孤儿行》最早见于《乐府诗集》卷三十八相和歌辞瑟调曲，题下注引《古今乐录》谓其曲调流传有序，可见其在汉魏之际即已广为传唱。明人胡应麟《诗薮》称汉乐府如孤儿行、妇病行等篇，皆至情至性，一字一泪，足见其感人至深。此诗之价值，一在文学：以第一人称白描叙事，开后世叙事诗写实传统，杜甫三吏三别之悯农伤乱、白居易新乐府为事而作，皆承此血脉；二在史料：孤儿遭兄嫂役使之苦，为汉代宗法社会弱者命运之实录，与妇病行、东门行等同为乐府观风问俗之珍贵文献，其批判锋芒直指家庭伦理之虚伪，尤具思想深度，为乐府叙事之典范。又此诗于文学史之意义，尤在其叙事视角之开创：以当事人第一人称自诉，较之旁观叙述更见真切，后世如蔡琰《悲愤诗》之自述身世，正承此体。诗中白描细节之工，亦为后世叙事诗所宗，王建《田家行》、张籍《野老歌》诸作，皆可见其流风余韵。读《孤儿行》，不仅读一孤儿之苦，更可窥见汉代社会底层之全貌，其文献价值与文学价值，并世无两。
Prosody
Line by line
孤儿生，孤子遇生，命独当苦
An orphan is born; an orphan's lot in life is singled out for suffering.
孤儿降生，孤子偶然生于世上，命运独独让他受苦。
An orphan is born; the orphan's chance meeting with life is fated to suffer alone.
开篇三句以孤儿自诉起，定下全诗悲苦基调。孤儿生言其来到人世，孤子遇生之遇通偶，言其偶然生于世上，命独当苦则直斥命运不公：人人皆生，而苦独归于孤儿。三句回环反复，孤儿、孤子、独三词叠用，如重锤连击，将生而即苦的宿命感写足。此句不写具体苦事，先以命运之不公发端，为下文历叙行贾、役使、饥寒之苦蓄势，亦见孤儿对自身处境的清醒认知与不平之鸣，起笔即具有撼人心魄的力量，是乐府诗开门见山、直抒胸臆的典范。
The orphan's own opening. An orphan is born; the orphan's lot in life is singled out for suffering. The repeated word orphan and the singled-out are the hammer-beginning: life itself has chosen him for hardship. To have said an orphan's life is hard would be a statement; the born-orphan and the singled-out fate are the statement.
父母在时，乘坚车，驾驷马
While his parents lived, he rode in strong carriages, drove teams of four horses.
父母健在时，乘坐坚固的车，驾驭四匹马。
While his parents lived, he rode in stout carriages, drove four-horse teams.
此句以回忆写昔时之乐，为后文写今时之苦作强烈反衬。乘坚车、驾驷马，写家中殷实、出行排场，坚、驷二字点出家境之富与受宠之深，可见孤儿本非贫贱出身，父母在时亦曾娇养。着一在时二字，暗示好景不长，为父母已去转笔埋下伏线。全诗以昔乐今苦对照，乐处写得愈足，苦处愈见惨烈：昔日乘坚车驾驷马之娇儿，今日竟沦为行贾、汲水、拾薪之役夫，天壤之别的命运落差，正是全诗悲剧力量之所在，此句实为全篇对比结构之基石。
The memory. While his parents lived, he rode in stout carriages, drove four-horse teams. The comfort of the memory makes the present suffering worse: he was not born poor. The phrase while his parents lived is the hinge to loss. To have said he was once rich would be a fact; the stout carriages and four-horse teams of the parents' time are the fact.
冬无复襦，夏无单衣
In winter he has no lined jacket; in summer no thin shirt.
冬天没有夹袄，夏天没有单衣。
In winter no lined coat, in summer no unlined shirt.
两句以对偶写衣不蔽体之惨，是汉乐府反映民生疾苦的代表句。复襦为有里子的夹袄，单衣为无里子的薄衫，冬当有复襦而冬无，夏当有单衣而夏无，一年四季竟无衣可蔽体，其困苦可知。两句对举冬夏，以时间之全覆盖写匮乏之无时不在，语言极简而含蕴极丰。前文索衣、衣当是、持作衣写讨衣而不得好衣，此处则以无襦无衣写其衣之极缺，层层递进，将孤儿衣不蔽体的处境写到极致。此联以最朴素的日常语道出最残酷的现实，不着一泪字而令人泫然，是乐府白描艺术的上乘境界。
The clothing. In winter no lined coat, in summer no unlined shirt. The two seasons, the two missing garments: nothing to keep warm, nothing to keep cool. The plainness is the poverty. To have said he had no clothes for any season would be a detail; the missing winter coat and the missing summer shirt are the detail.
瓜车反覆，助我者少，啖瓜者多
The melon cart overturned; few came to help, many came to eat the melons.
瓜车翻倒，帮忙的人少，吃瓜的人多。
The melon cart overturned; those who helped me were few, those who ate the melons were many.
三句写瓜车翻覆之突发事件，是世态凉薄的绝妙写真。孤儿推车运瓜，车覆于途，路人不但不助，反而趁机啖瓜：助我者少、啖瓜者多，一少一多，对比鲜明，将人情的冷漠、世态的炎凉一笔写尽。啖字尤为传神，写路人趁火打劫、大嚼其瓜之丑态，反衬孤儿孤立无援之惨。此段以最生动的细节写最深刻的批判：瓜虽小物，而人情之薄可见，孤儿连一车瓜亦不能自保，其处境之可悲不言而喻。此句不著议论而批判自明，正是乐府缘事而发、以事寓讽的精髓，为全诗最脍炙人口的写实名句。
The famous incident. The melon cart overturned; those who helped me were few, those who ate the melons were many. The few and the many are the world's arithmetic: bystanders help themselves rather than help. The eating word is the crowd's self-enrichment at the orphan's loss. To have said passersby stole his melons would be a theft; the overturned cart and the few helpers against many eaters are the theft.
兄弟相后，谁当早起？
Brothers shift the task - who should rise early?
兄弟互相推诿，谁该早起劳作？
Brothers push the duty back and forth; who will be the one to rise early?
结句以反问收束，余痛不尽。兄弟相后写兄嫂兄弟互相推诿、谁也不肯早起操劳，谁当早起一句以反诘出之，看似发问，实则无人应承，孤儿日夜操劳而兄弟坐享其成，其不平与孤愤尽在此一问之中。全诗至此戛然而止，不写孤儿之哭而读者为之泪下：行贾之劳、役使之苦、饥寒之迫、世态之凉，层层累积的情感在此一问中喷薄而出。此句以问作结，含蓄有力，比直诉更见沉痛，亦暗示孤儿之苦将永无了期，是乐府诗以平淡收束而余味无穷的典范，千载之下犹令人怅然。
The closing question. Brothers push the duty back and forth; who will be the one to rise early? The orphan has worked while his brothers avoided it. The question is never answered. To have said his brothers shirked would be a complaint; the pushed-back duty with no one rising early is the complaint.
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Both Han yuefu on the orphaned and the sick, both narrating the lowly's suffering in plain sketch; compare their narrative viewpoint and emotional key.
两诗同为汉乐府相和歌辞中反映底层苦难的名篇：妇病行写病妇临终托孤、孤儿无衣啼哭之惨，孤儿行写孤儿受兄嫂役使之苦，皆以白描叙写民间疾苦，字字血泪。妇病行以旁观叙述为主，孤儿行以第一人称自诉，视角不同而悲痛如一。比较二诗，可见汉乐府写实精神之一贯：不避丑陋，不饰苦难，以最质朴的语言写最惨痛的人生，为后世杜甫、白居易悯民诗开启先河，是乐府诗中最撼动人心的姊妹篇。
东门行 Song of the East Gate 汉乐府 · 同揭露东汉社会不公与民生艰难 Same (theme - life of the people / satire)Both expose the injustice and hardship of Eastern-Han society - one the orphan, one the poor man driven to risk all; mutually illuminating.
东门行写贫民出东门、拔剑欲行险，为饥寒所迫铤而走险，妻子牵衣劝阻，终以咄嗟之叹收束；孤儿行写孤儿受兄嫂虐待，行贾劳役、饥寒交迫，忍无可忍而愿下黄泉。两诗皆揭露东汉社会下层民众生存之艰难：一写成年贫民为饥寒所逼之反抗，一写弱小孤儿受宗法压迫之悲鸣，一刚烈一凄楚，而批判社会不公之旨则一。比较二诗，可互文见义，全面认识汉乐府反映民生疾苦的深度与广度。
艳歌行 Song of the Yan 汉乐府 · 同以质朴语言写民间悲情 Same (yuefu nature - plain sketch)Both write folk sorrow in plain language; compare the yuefu realist style of 'arising from the event'.
艳歌行写游子在外、衣裳绽裂、得贤女缝补而遭主人猜疑之事，笔调轻婉，略带谐趣；孤儿行写孤儿孤苦无告之惨，沉痛悲凉。两诗同以质朴语言写民间情事，而一为游子琐细之悲欢，一为孤儿血泪之控诉，题材、情感基调各异，然皆以白描见长，不事雕饰，可见汉乐府民歌题材之广与风格之多样。比较二诗，既可体会乐府缘事而发的写实风格，亦可窥见其于悲喜之间从容驾驭的叙事功力。