All poems

汉 Han · 文 Prose

鸿门宴·节选

The Banquet at Hongmen (Excerpt)

司马迁

Sima Qian

名篇Masterpiece 历史History 人物Characters 叙事Narrative

沛公旦日从百余骑来见项王，至鸿门，谢曰：臣与将军戮力而攻秦，将军战河北，臣战河南，然不自意能先入关破秦，得复见将军于此。
今者有小人之言，令将军与臣有郤。
项王曰：此沛公左司马曹无伤言之；
不然，籍何以至此？

The next morning, Duke Pei, with more than a hundred horsemen following, came to see King Xiang, and, reaching Hongmen, apologized, saying: 'Your servant and the General, with joined strength, attacked Qin; the General fought north of the River, and your servant fought south of the River, yet I did not expect to be able to enter the Pass first and destroy Qin, and to see the General again here. Now there is the word of a mean man, which has made the General and your servant have a grudge.' King Xiang said: 'This is the word of Cao Wushang, the Left Commander of Duke Pei; otherwise, how could I (Ji) have come to this?'

Listen

Meaning

Selected from the 'Basic Annals of Xiang Yu' of the Records of the Grand Historian, the famous passage of the turning point of the Chu-Han contention. 'The next morning, Duke Pei, with more than a hundred horsemen following, came to see King Xiang, and, reaching Hongmen, apologized'—the opening: Liu Bang, with more than a hundred horsemen, coming to Hongmen to apologize, the simplicity of the apology and the peril of the place; 'your servant and the General, with joined strength, attacked Qin; the General fought north of the River, and your servant fought south of the River, yet I did not expect to be able to enter the Pass first and destroy Qin, and to see the General again here'—the apology: the recounting of the merit of the joined attack, the unexpectedness of the entering the Pass first, the yielding and the humility; 'now there is the word of a mean man, which has made the General and your servant have a grudge'—the shift: attributing the grudge to the word of the mean man, the excuse and the appeasement; and the answer of Xiang Yu, 'this is the word of Cao Wushang, the Left Commander of Duke Pei; otherwise, how could I have come to this?'—the directness of Xiang Yu, the naming of Cao Wushang, the simplicity and the impatience of the valiant, and the peril of Liu Bang in it.

沛公刘邦第二天带着一百多名随从骑马赶来见项王，到了鸿门，向项王谢罪说：我和将军合力攻打秦国，将军在黄河以北作战，我在黄河以南作战，然而我自己也没有想到能先进入关中攻破秦国，得以在这里再次见到将军。如今有小人搬弄是非，使将军和我之间产生了隔阂。项王说：这是沛公你的左司马曹无伤说的；不然的话，我怎么会气到这种地步呢？

Appreciation

The piece is historical-biographical prose, the selected passage promoting the plot with the dialogue and depicting the characters with the language, the composition rigorous and the brush unhurried. In the structure, it opens with the narrative—'Duke Pei, with more than a hundred horsemen, came to see King Xiang, and, reaching Hongmen'—giving the time, the characters, and the place, the one 'with more than a hundred horsemen' writing the sincerity and the precaution, the one 'reaching Hongmen' pointing out the dangerous place; then the 'apologizing' leads a long speech of the apology, and the answer of Xiang Yu closes it, the one advance and one retreat turning the sword-drawn tension before the banquet into the surface of the peace. The art of the characters: the apology of Liu Bang, the recounting the merit, the attributing the grudge to the mean man, the every word the caution and the craft; the answer of Xiang Yu, 'this is the word of Cao Wushang... how could I have come to this?' the directness and the impatience, the name of Cao Wushang revealed at once, the simplicity of the valiant, and the contrast of the two, the very model of the character of the Records of the Grand Historian.

【白话串讲】司马迁写《鸿门宴》：项羽在鸿门设宴，刘邦来谢罪。“项庄拔剑起舞”，想要杀刘邦——“项伯亦拔剑起舞，常以身翼蔽沛公”。樊哙闯进帐里，“瞋目视项王”——最后刘邦借口如厕逃走。鸿门宴上，项羽放走了刘邦，也放走了天下。【意象与手法】史传散文，以对话推动情节、以语言刻画人物。“沛公旦日从百余骑来见项王”一个“从百余骑”写足诚意与防备；刘邦谢罪之辞步步为营——先言“戮力而攻秦”以旧谊唤起共鸣、次划战线示无争、再说“不自意能先入关破秦”自贬侥幸、终归“今者有小人之言”推责谗言，四层递进，句句示弱而句句设防，谦辞里藏着机锋。【情感与主旨】鸿门宴一节历来被推为《史记》叙事艺术的巅峰，以对话传神、以白描见骨，体现司马迁“不虚美、不隐恶”的实录精神。【名句点睛】常考“沛公旦日从百余骑来见项王”写足诚意与防备；“今者有小人之言，令将军与臣有郤”四层递进的谦辞中步步设防。

Background

Sima Qian (c. 145–c. 87 BC), courtesy name Zichang, a native of Xiayang, West Han (present-day Hancheng, Shaanxi), succeeding his father Sima Tan as the Grand Historian, and, for the disaster of the Li Ling, imprisoned and castrated, enduring the humiliation and writing with the indignation the Records of the Grand Historian in one hundred and thirty chapters, the twelve basic annals, the ten tables, the eight treatises, the thirty hereditary houses, the seventy biographies, the first chronological-history book of China, praised by Lu Xun as 'the perfect song of the historians, the Li Sao without the rhyme.' The 'Banquet at Hongmen' is selected from the 'Basic Annals of Xiang Yu' of the Records of the Grand Historian, writing the turning point of the Chu-Han contention: at the end of the Qin, the world in great disorder, King Huai of Chu made the appointment with the generals that 'who first enters and settles Guanzhong shall be its king,' Liu Bang leading his army westward, in the third year of the Second Emperor of Qin (207 BC) first entering Xianyang in the tenth month, and, in accordance with the appointment of the King Huai, intending to be the king of Guanzhong, guarding the Pass and refusing the armies; Xiang Yu, having destroyed the main force of Qin at Julu, leading his army westward, the forty thousand of Liu Bang against the four hundred thousand of Xiang Yu, the strong and the weak clear at a glance. Cao Wushang of Liu Bang's camp revealed the plot to Xiang Yu, and Xiang Yu, enraged, planned to attack Liu Bang on the next day; Xiang Bo, the uncle of Xiang Yu, having been saved by Zhang Liang, went in the night to warn Zhang Liang, and Liu Bang, through the matchmaking of Xiang Bo, went the next morning to Hongmen to apologize—the 'Banquet at Hongmen.'

司马迁（约前145—约前87），字子长，西汉夏阳（今陕西韩城）人，继父司马谈之志任太史令，因李陵之祸下狱受宫刑，忍辱发愤著成《史记》一百三十篇，凡十二本纪、十表、八书、三十世家、七十列传，是我国第一部纪传体通史，鲁迅誉之为「史家之绝唱，无韵之离骚」。《鸿门宴》节选自《史记·项羽本纪》，写的是楚汉相争的转折关头：秦末天下大乱，楚怀王与诸将相约「先入定关中者王之」，刘邦率军西进，于秦二世三年（前207）十月先入咸阳，与民约法三章；项羽则于巨鹿之战破秦主力，率四十万大军西入函谷关，屯兵鸿门（今陕西临潼东北），闻刘邦左司马曹无伤密报刘邦欲王关中，大怒欲击之。项伯夜驰告故人张良，刘邦遂亲赴鸿门谢罪，宴上范增屡举玉玦示意杀刘，项庄舞剑意在沛公，赖项伯翼蔽、樊哙闯帐斥责，刘邦方借如厕脱身。本篇即节选刘邦赴宴、谢罪、项羽泄密的一段。此会之后楚汉形势急转：刘邦以退为进，项羽坐失良机，鸿门宴成为「历史天平」倾斜的标志。司马迁记史贵在实录而长于传神，此节人物对话如闻其声、如见其人，正是纪传文学以言语写性格的典范。

Art

The art is the promotion of the plot with the dialogue and the depiction of the characters with the language: the apology of Liu Bang, the recounting the merit and the attributing the grudge to the mean man, the every word the caution and the craft; the answer of Xiang Yu, the naming of Cao Wushang, the directness and the impatience—the contrast of the two, the very model of the character of the Records of the Grand Historian.

本文为史传散文，选段以对话推动情节、以语言刻画人物，章法精严而笔致从容。结构上先叙事起笔——「沛公旦日从百余骑来见项王，至鸿门」，交代时间、人物、地点，一个「从百余骑」写足诚意与防备，一个「至鸿门」点出险地；继以「谢曰」领起一大段谢罪之辞，再以项羽答语收束，一进一退之间，已将宴前的剑拔弩张化为表面的谦恭周旋。语言特色上，刘邦之辞步步为营：先言「戮力而攻秦」，以并肩作战的旧谊唤起共鸣；次述「将军战河北，臣战河南」，划清战线以示无争；再说「不自意能先入关破秦」，自贬侥幸以消其怒；终归「今者有小人之言，令将军与臣有郤」，把责任推给谗言而保全自己——四层递进，句句示弱而句句设防，谦辞里藏着机锋。项羽之语则直来直去：「此沛公左司马曹无伤言之；不然，籍何以至此」，三句道破告密者，又自辩清白，坦率得近乎天真，刚愎与轻信并见。两段对话一柔一刚、一藏一露，人物性格不待描写而自现。选段文字高度凝练，无一赘字，叙事起讫完整，堪称以少总多、以言传神的经典笔法。

Allusions

The 'Banquet at Hongmen' has now become one of the most famous allusions of the Chinese culture, metaphorically referring to the banquet hiding the murderous intention; and the 'Xiang Zhuang dances the sword, the intention is on Duke Pei' derived from this passage has become a household saying, showing the deep cultural influence of the passage. Within the text, this passage uses many ancient words and meanings of the pre-Qin: the 'joined strength' of the 'with joined strength, attacked Qin' from the 'with one heart and joined strength' of the Book of Documents and the Zuo Commentary; the 'grudge' of the 'have a grudge' the old meaning of the 'the gap,' the fissure of the relation; and the 'how could I have come to this' the self-reference of 'Ji' of Xiang Yu, the ancient style of the self-reference by the name, the ancient air full.

「鸿门宴」如今已成为中国文化中最著名的典故之一，喻指暗藏杀机的宴会；由此节衍生的「项庄舞剑，意在沛公」更成为家喻户晓的成语，可见此文文化影响力之深。就文本内部而言，此节多用先秦古语古义：「戮力」本《尚书》《左传》「戮力同心」之语，写同心协力；「郤」通「隙」，指嫌隙、隔阂；「籍」是项羽的名（项羽名籍，字羽），古人自称名以表谦恭，项羽「籍何以至此」的自称，既见贵族仪节，也见其率性。情节上的照应尤见匠心：「先入关破秦」暗含楚怀王「先入定关中者王之」之约，是刘邦谢罪的底气与项羽恼怒的根源；「曹无伤」的告密上承前文密谋，下启宴后刘邦「立诛杀曹无伤」的果决，草蛇灰线，千里伏脉。从文化内涵看，鸿门宴不仅是楚汉两家之争，更是两种人格与两种伦理的碰撞：项羽重信义、讲豪气，恪守旧贵族的光明磊落；刘邦重利害、善权变，代表了乱世中新兴的政治智慧。司马迁于此不动声色，褒贬自在叙事的取舍之间，深得「春秋笔法」之旨，而「鸿门宴」三字，也从此成为汉语中权谋与危机的代名词。

Commentary

The 'Banquet at Hongmen' has always been held as the peak of the narrative art of the Records of the Grand Historian and the model passage of the Chinese historical prose. Gui Youguang of the Ming commented on this piece of the Records of the Grand Historian that 'the whole piece takes the character of the apology as the bone,' and Wu Jiansi of the Qing, in his 'Discourses on the Records of the Grand Historian,' said that it is 'like a painting in the plain strokes, the spirit and the bearing all visible without the colors,' both pointing out its high art of the narrative and the characterization: the whole piece, with the apology of Liu Bang and the answer of Xiang Yu, writing the caution and the craft of Liu Bang and the directness and the impatience of Xiang Yu, the 'the perfect song of the historians' of the Records of the Grand Historian, and the 'Banquet at Hongmen' has become the eternal scene of the Chinese historical prose.

鸿门宴一节历来被推为《史记》叙事艺术的巅峰，也是中国历史散文的典范段落。明人归有光评《史记》此篇「通篇以『谢』字作骨」，清人吴见思《史记论文》谓其「如一幅白描画，不设色而神情毕现」，皆指出其以对话传神、以白描见骨的长处。从文学史看，它以纪传体确立「以人系事」的叙事体制，以对话塑造人物性格的写法为后世小说、戏曲所继承，唐传奇的宾白、宋元话本的说话、明清小说的对话描写，皆可溯源于此。从文化史看，「鸿门宴」「项庄舞剑，意在沛公」等语汇已成为汉语的公共记忆，京剧、影视、评书屡演不衰，其意象渗透进政治、外交、商战的日常言说。从史学看，此节体现司马迁「不虚美、不隐恶」的实录精神与「通古今之变」的史识：他不把成败简单归于天命，而是从性格与抉择中寻找历史的原因，项羽之败的伏笔早在鸿门宴上已经写就。作为经典课文，此节更是文言学习的枢纽：实词「郤」「籍」「谢」、句式「何以至此」的宾语前置等，皆在短短百余字中集中呈现，文言的密度与叙事的精彩在此合而为一，历千年而生气不灭。

Prosody

Form Historical-biographical prose (loose narrative prose)史传散文（散体叙事文）

Rhyme This piece is loose prose, not rhymed, nor of the level and oblique antithesis, with the natural rhythm of the long and short sentences and the pauses of the tone本文为散体之文，不押韵，亦不讲平仄对仗，以句子的长短错落与语气的顿挫自然成韵。两段对话各具节奏：刘邦谢辞以「攻秦—河北—河南—破秦—于此」五层递进，多用四字、六字短语（如「戮力而攻秦」「战河北」「战河南」「先入关破秦」），节奏匀称而绵密，如层层退让的潮水；项羽答语「此沛公左司马曹无伤言之；不然，籍何以至此」，先长后短、先实后虚，语速由缓转急，恰似其直率急躁的性情。全段以「曰」字两度领起对话，问答之间形成呼应回环的声气。

Tone pattern The 'Duke Pei, with more than a hundred horsemen' is steady, the 'your servant and the General, with joined strength' is yielding, and the 'how could I have come to this' is abrupt—the whole from the apology to the answer, the contrast of the characters carried by the tone句式以散句为主，兼用排比（「将军战河北，臣战河南」句式齐整）、设问（「籍何以至此」以反诘语气收束），长短相间、骈散相济。陈述处语气平缓，谢罪处语气谦卑，反问处语气激切，语调随人物心理起伏，读来如闻其声。

Reading note The long and short sentences and the pauses carry the caution and the directness of the two characters, the tension of the banquet.作为史传散文，鸿门宴选段的音韵之美不在押韵，而在「以气运句」的散文节奏。司马迁行文讲究句子的长短搭配：叙事的短句干净利落（「至鸿门」「谢曰」），对话的长句委曲周详（刘邦之辞四层递进，一气贯注），问答之间以「曰」字领起，形成声气的开阖。刘邦谢辞多用「而」「然」「能」等虚词勾连，语势绵缓，与其谦恭周旋的心理相合；项羽答语则几乎不用虚词堆叠，「此沛公左司马曹无伤言之；不然，籍何以至此」直截了当，节奏陡促，与其直率自负的性情相契。这种「句式随人物而变」的声情相应，正是《史记》散文高出一般史书之处：它不只记录说了什么，更通过怎么说——句子的长短、虚词的疏密、语气的缓急——让读者感受到说话人的神态与心机。诵读此节，宜于刘邦处放慢，细品其绵里藏针；于项羽处加快，体会其脱口而出，则文气、声情、人物三者皆活。

Line by line

臣与将军戮力而攻秦，将军战河北，臣战河南，然不自意能先入关破秦，得复见将军于此。

Your servant and the General, with joined strength, attacked Qin; the General fought north of the River, and your servant fought south of the River, yet I did not expect to be able to enter the Pass first and destroy Qin, and to see the General again here. (The apology: the recounting of the merit of the joined attack, the unexpectedness of the entering the Pass first, the yielding and the humility, the craft of Liu Bang.)

我和将军合力攻打秦国，将军在黄河以北作战，我在黄河以南作战，然而我自己也没有想到能先进入关中攻破秦国，得以在这里再次见到将军。

Your servant and Your Excellency joined strength against Qin; Your Excellency fought north of the river, your servant south of the river, yet unexpectedly I entered the Pass first and defeated Qin, and now I am fortunate to see Your Excellency here again.

这是刘邦谢罪之辞的核心，也是全文最见心机的文字。其妙在「示弱以自保」：先说「戮力而攻秦」，以并肩作战的旧谊唤起项羽的认同，化解敌意；再说「将军战河北，臣战河南」，用明确的分工暗示自己从未觊觎项羽的地盘，洗刷争功之嫌；然后以「不自意」三字自贬——我并未存心抢先，只是机缘凑巧「先入关破秦」，轻描淡写地消解了项羽「欲王关中」的怒意；最后「得复见将军于此」一句，把紧张的会面说成旧友重逢，温情脉脉。四层意思层层递进，句句示弱而句句设防，谦卑的外衣下藏着周密的算计。司马迁不着一字褒贬，只让刘邦自己说话，其机心之深、辞令之工便跃然纸上，与后文项羽的直率泄密形成鲜明对照，性格对比不待言而自明。

The apology, extended. Your servant and Your Excellency joined strength against Qin; Your Excellency fought north of the river, your servant south; yet unexpectedly I entered the Pass first, and now I am fortunate to see Your Excellency here again. The final fortunate-to-see-you-again converts the military confrontation into a friendly reunion. Each clause weakens the case against him while seeming to admit it. To have said Liu Bang humbled himself would be an interpretation; the four yielding clauses ending in the pleasure of meeting again are the humility.

今者有小人之言，令将军与臣有郤。

Now there is the word of a mean man, which has made the General and your servant have a grudge. (The shift: attributing the grudge to the word of the mean man, the excuse and the appeasement, the caution of Liu Bang.)

如今有小人搬弄是非，使将军和我之间产生了隔阂。

Now, some petty man has spoken, sowing ill feeling between Your Excellency and your servant.

这一句是刘邦谢罪的收束，也是全文转折的枢纽。它把「将军与臣有郤」的责任轻轻推给「小人之言」，既替自己洗脱了「欲王关中」的嫌疑，又为项羽留足台阶——不是将军你要杀我，而是我们之间被人离间。于是项羽的怒气失了目标，只能顺着台阶而下。妙处还在于这句话的伏脉作用：刘邦口中泛泛而指的「小人」，项羽紧接着便以「此沛公左司马曹无伤言之」坐实，刘项嫌隙的源头由此揭开，而曹无伤这一人物的告密、泄密与最终被诛，全由这一句话牵动，形成「言者无心，听者有意」的连锁反应。司马迁以极简之笔写极深之机：一句谦辞，既救了刘邦一命，又埋下曹无伤之死的伏笔，还让项羽的轻信与刘邦的工于心计在对照中双双显影，是《史记》以言传神的绝佳例证。

The pivot. Now, some petty man has spoken, sowing ill feeling between Your Excellency and your servant. The nameless petty man takes all blame: not Xiang Yu's anger, not Liu Bang's ambition, but a slanderer. The face-saving is perfect—and the next line names the slanderer. To have said he blamed a third party would be a move; the petty man who sowed the rift is the move.

项王曰：此沛公左司马曹无伤言之；不然，籍何以至此？

King Xiang said: 'This is the word of Cao Wushang, the Left Commander of Duke Pei; otherwise, how could I (Ji) have come to this?' (The answer: the naming of Cao Wushang, the directness and the impatience of Xiang Yu, the simplicity of the valiant, and the peril of Liu Bang in it.)

项王说：这是沛公您的左司马曹无伤说的；不然的话，我怎么会气到这种地步呢？

The King of Xiang said: It was your own Left Marshal Cao Wushang who told me; otherwise, why would I have come to this?

项羽的答语只有三句，却把性格写得纤毫毕现。第一句「此沛公左司马曹无伤言之」，脱口而出，毫无戒备地出卖了告密者——他既不掩饰情报来源，也不顾忌说出之后曹无伤的死活，坦率得近乎天真，也冷酷得近乎无情；第二句「不然」，一个转折，表示自己本无动武之意，怒气全因谗言而起；第三句「籍何以至此」，以自称名的谦恭方式反问，既自辩清白，又透着贵族式的自负——我项籍岂是那等暗算之人！三句话一气呵成，把项羽的直率、轻信、自负与光明磊落和盘托出。对照刘邦方才的千回百转，一个绵里藏针，一个胸无城府；一个句句设防，一个句句漏风。司马迁不写二人的表情动作，仅凭这一来一往的对白，就完成了两种政治人格的塑造，也让「曹无伤」三字成为汉语中告密者的代称，文字之省、笔力之辣，令人叹服。

Xiang Yu's answer. It was your own Left Marshal Cao Wushang who told me; otherwise, why would I have come to this? The speaker immediately names the informer, destroying his own spy and proving his fatal openness. The self-reference by name (Ji, his personal name) is the aristocrat's inadvertent candor. To have said Xiang Yu was gullible would be a judgment; the instant betrayal of Cao Wushang is the gullibility.

Study

Word focus

谢 To apologize. The word of the apology: 'came to see King Xiang... apologized'—the apology of Liu Bang, the whole piece taking the apology as the bone, the caution and the craft of Liu Bang in the apology. 「谢曰」之「谢」，此处为「谢罪、道歉」义，是全段情节的枢纽字。古汉语中「谢」义项极多——感谢、辞别、推辞、凋谢，而此处取「谢罪」一义，表明刘邦此行不是寻常拜访，而是负荆请罪式的低姿态，一个「谢」字奠定了全段谦抑的基调。刘邦的「谢」并非真心服软，而是以退为进的政治表演：他谢的是「先入关」的僭越之嫌，护的是自己的身家性命与关中基业。司马迁以「谢曰」领起整段谢辞，又让项羽以「籍何以至此」回应，一谢一答之间，谦恭与坦率、机心与天真，尽在这一字之中。后世读鸿门宴，常以「刘邦善谢、项羽不善谢」概括二人高下，可见此字分量之重。文言学习中，「谢」字一词多义的辨析亦是常考点，而在此处，它不只是一个词，更是人物性格与历史命运的交汇点。

郤 The grudge (the gap). The word of the estrangement: 'have a grudge'—the old meaning of 'the gap,' the fissure of the relation, Liu Bang attributing the grudge to the mean man, the excuse and the appeasement. 「令将军与臣有郤」之「郤」，通「隙」，本义为墙壁上的裂缝，引申为嫌隙、隔阂，是全文情感冲突的关键词。刘邦避开「项羽要杀我」的直说，而用「有郤」这样委婉的措辞，把剑拔弩张的冲突淡化为两人之间的一点裂痕，为和解留足余地，可见其辞令之工。从训诂看，「郤」为「隙」的古字，同属「谷」声，音近义通，保留着先秦两汉的用字习惯，是文言通假现象的典型例证；后世通行本或作「隙」，本版作「郤」，正可借此辨析古今字与通假字的区别。从叙事看，「有郤」是全段矛盾的起点：没有嫌隙，便没有鸿门之会；而嫌隙的制造者是曹无伤，坐实者是项羽，化解者却是刘邦的这番谢辞。一字之微，牵动全篇情节，也照见刘邦善于弥缝、项羽不善弥缝的性格分野。

不然 Otherwise. The word of the directness: 'otherwise, how could I have come to this?'—the other explanation, the directness of Xiang Yu, the naming of Cao Wushang, the simplicity and the impatience of the valiant. 「不然，籍何以至此」之「不然」，意为「不是这样的话」，是项羽答语中的转折虚词，也是他性格的试金石。项羽先用「此沛公左司马曹无伤言之」坐实谗言来源，随即以「不然」自辩：如果没有人挑拨，我根本不会兴师问罪。这个转折词把项羽的怒气解释为「被动受惑」，他既不承认自己有称霸天下的野心，也想不到刘邦的谢罪只是缓兵之计，坦率中带着自负，自负中透着天真。虚词在文言中最易被轻看，而此处一个「不然」，既衔接上下文，又见出人物心理：它让项羽的答话显得理直气壮、光明正大，恰与刘邦的闪烁其词相对照。司马迁驾驭虚词之妙，于此可见一斑——「不然」二字，看似平常，实则是整段对话从「告密」滑向「和解」的枢纽，也是项羽政治幼稚病的症候所在。