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汉 Han · 诗 Poem

留别妻

Farewell to My Wife

苏武

Su Wu

爱情Love 送别Farewell 相思Longing

结发为夫妻，恩爱两不疑。
欢娱在今夕，嬿婉及良时。
征夫怀远路，起视夜何其。
参辰皆已没，去去从此辞。
行役在战场，相见未有期。
握手一长叹，泪为生别滋。
努力爱春华，莫忘欢乐时。
生当复来归，死当长相思。

At our hair-binding we became man and wife; our love sure, neither doubting.
Our joy is in this night; tender and sweet through the good hour.
The conscript broods on the far road; he rises to see how the night wears.
The Shen and Chen stars have both sunk; go, go, and take leave from now.
He serves on the battlefield; our meeting has no fixed time.
We clasp hands and sigh long; tears well for this living parting.
Strive to cherish your spring bloom; forget not the hour of joy.
In life I shall return; in death I shall ever think of you.

Listen

Meaning

Bound by hair we became husband and wife, loving and doubting nothing. Our pleasure is in this night, tender and sweet in the good time. The conscript thinks of the far road, rises to see how the night goes. The Shen and Chen stars have both set; go, go, and take leave from now. He serves on the battlefield; our meeting has no set time. We clasp hands and sigh long; tears arise for this parting of life and death. Strive to cherish your spring youth; forget not the time of joy. In life I will return; in death I will ever long for you.

结发成为夫妻，恩爱两相不疑。欢乐在今宵，柔情欢好正值良时。征夫心念远方之路，起身看夜色几时将尽。参星辰星都已隐没，去吧，从此辞别。行役在战场，相见不知何期。握手一声长叹，泪为生离死别流淌。努力珍惜青春年华，莫忘今日欢乐之时。生当再归来，死也长久相思。

Appreciation

This 'Farewell to My Wife' is recorded in the Wen Xuan and the Yu Tai Xin Yong, traditionally attributed to Su Wu (style Ziqing), written as Su Wu's farewell to his wife on the eve of his mission to the Xiongnu; yet most modern scholars take it as one of the 'Su-Li poems' forged by a literatus of the late Eastern Han. In the first year of Tian Han of Western Han (100 BCE) Su Wu was sent to the Xiongnu and held nineteen years; his loyal service abroad and the death-parting from his wife were endlessly sung by later ages. The poem writes the conscript's night-farewell to his wife on the eve of departure, likely written against the late-Eastern-Han background of frequent war and unending corvee, using the Su Wu story to voice the common grief of husband and wife parted by death in turbulent times — the most plaintive and moving of the 'Su-Li poems', and an important item in high-school 'farewell poetry' and 'love poetry' appreciation.

【白话串讲】苏武奉命出使匈奴前，对妻子说：“结发为夫妻，恩爱两不疑”。“行役在战场，相见未有期”——这一别可能再也见不到。他说：“努力爱春华，莫忘欢乐时”。后来他牧羊十九年，这份爱等了一生。【意象与手法】诗以「结发为夫妻，恩爱两不疑」的笃厚起笔，先立恩爱之基，愈显离别之痛。中间由「欢娱在今夕」的温柔，急转「征夫怀远路」「参辰皆已没」的催行，时间的推移（夜将尽）与心理的压迫交织；「握手一长叹，泪为生别滋」以白描写尽死别之悲；末以「生当复来归，死当长相思」的叮咛收束，哀而不伤，于绝望中存执念。【情感与主旨】《留别妻》载《文选》及《玉台新咏》，旧题苏武作，为苏武出使匈奴前夕与妻子诀别之作；今人多以为东汉末年文人假托苏武的「苏李诗」之一。诗写征夫临行与妻夜别，借苏武故事抒写乱世夫妻生离死别的普遍悲怆，是「苏李诗」中最哀婉动人的一篇。【名句点睛】常考「生当复来归，死当长相思」的生死之誓、「泪为生别滋」中「滋」字的炼字、时间的推移（欢娱—夜何其—参辰没）在章法中的作用，以及「苏李诗」真伪之辨下的情感价值。

Background

This 'Farewell to My Wife' is recorded in the Wen Xuan and the Yu Tai Xin Yong, traditionally attributed to Su Wu (style Ziqing), as his farewell to his wife on the eve of his mission to the Xiongnu; yet most modern scholars take it as one of the 'Su-Li poems' forged by a literatus of the late Eastern Han. In the first year of Tian Han of Western Han (100 BCE) Su Wu was sent to the Xiongnu and held nineteen years; his loyal service abroad and the death-parting from his wife were endlessly sung by later ages. The poem writes the conscript's night-farewell to his wife on the eve of departure, likely written against the late-Eastern-Han background of frequent war and unending corvee, using the Su Wu story to voice the common grief of husband and wife parted by death in turbulent times — the most plaintive and moving of the 'Su-Li poems'.

《留别妻》载《文选》及《玉台新咏》，旧题苏武（字子卿）作，历来被当作苏武出使匈奴前夕与妻子诀别之作；然自六朝以来，学者多疑其非苏武亲笔，以为东汉末年文人假托苏武之名的「苏李诗」（苏武、李陵赠答诗）之一。西汉天汉元年（前100），苏武奉命以中郎将使持节出使匈奴，被扣留十九年，拒不投降，牧羊北海，后获释归汉，其羁旅忠节与夫妻死别为后世不断吟咏。此诗写征夫临行与妻夜别：从「欢娱在今夕」的温柔，到「征夫怀远路」的催行，到「参辰皆已没」的夜尽，再到「握手一长叹」的死别之悲，最后以「生当复来归，死当长相思」的生死之誓收束。约作于东汉战乱频仍、征役不绝的背景下，借苏武故事抒写乱世夫妻生离死别的普遍悲怆，是「苏李诗」中最哀婉动人的一篇，也是汉诗写离别之情的重要篇章。此诗之动人，正在其以具体夫妻口吻写普遍乱离之痛——借苏武之名，写的是无数征夫思妇共同的生死诀别，故能超越真伪之辨而传诵千古，正是『借古人之酒杯，浇今人之块垒』的典型，也是『苏李诗』虽经考证系伪托而仍不失其文学价值的根本原因。

Art

The poem opens with the deep, firm line 'at our hair-binding we became man and wife; our love sure, neither doubting', first establishing the base of love, the more to show the pain of parting. In the middle, from the tenderness of 'our joy is in this night' it suddenly turns to 'the conscript broods on the far road' and 'the Shen and Chen stars have both sunk', the pressing of time (night ending) and of mind intertwining. 'We clasp hands and sigh long; tears well for this living parting' writes the death-parting grief in plain description, shaking the heart. It closes with the charge 'strive to cherish your spring bloom' and 'in life I shall return; in death I shall ever think of you', grieving yet not wounded, keeping an obsession amid despair. The language is plain as talk, the feeling deep and gentle; the five-character form's ease fits its lingering, truly the height of 'ancient poem' lyric.

诗以「结发为夫妻，恩爱两不疑」的笃厚起笔，先立恩爱之基，愈显离别之痛——结发夫妻、两不相疑，感情越深厚，诀别越惨烈。全诗以时间推移为经、以心理变化为纬，章法谨严：从「欢娱在今夕」的温柔缱绻，到「征夫怀远路，起视夜何其」的心系远路，再到「参辰皆已没，去去从此辞」的夜尽催行，一夜之间，由欢到悲、由聚到散，时间的流逝步步紧逼，心理的压迫层层加深——妻子恨不得夜长，征夫却要趁夜尽前赶路，一留一催的矛盾尽在「起视夜何其」的辗转之中。「握手一长叹，泪为生别滋」以白描写尽生离死别之悲：握手、长叹、泪流，三个动作直击人心，不事雕琢而撼人心魄。末以「努力爱春华」「生当复来归，死当长相思」的叮咛收束，哀而不伤，于绝望中存执念，情深意重，余韵悠长。语言平易如话而情致深婉，五言体的舒展恰配其缠绵，诚为「古诗」抒情之极则。全诗以夜为时间框架，由欢娱而夜半而星沉，一夜之短写尽一生之思，正是古诗『以时间写情感』的浓缩笔法，也是此诗章法上最见匠心的所在。

Allusions

The poem uses no obvious classical allusion, speaking straight in the husband-wife voice. Only the word 'hair-binding' comes from the ancient wedding custom of 'binding hair to make a wife' (the man as adult bound his hair, and the wife bound hers with his), later used for the original wife; the poem uses this common phrase, not an obscure allusion. 'Shen and Chen' means the Shen star and the Chen star (Shen and Shang), originally from the Zuo Zhuan's 'Shen and Shang do not meet', a metaphor for parting and hard reunion; the poet softens its meaning to write the night ended and stars sunk, from now forever parted — a natural allusion, not piled. The whole uses household words for the deepest feeling, the allusion melted into nothingness, the more showing its deep gentleness.

此诗无明显经史典故，纯以夫妻口吻直抒，唯数处词语暗含古义。「结发」一词源出古代婚礼「结发为妻」之俗——新婚之夜，男女各剪一绺头发绾结在一起，以为夫妻结合的信物（一说男子成年束发，妻与之结发），后以「结发」代指原配夫妻，诗中「结发为夫妻」即用此常语，非生僻典，却极见夫妻情分之重。「参辰」指参星与辰星（商星），二星此出彼没、永不相见，本出《左传》「参商不相见」之典意，喻离别难逢；诗人以「参辰皆已没」写夜尽星沉、天明在即，既是眼前实景，又暗含从此如参商永隔之意，化典于无形。「嬿婉」为古语，安顺柔好貌；「生别」用《楚辞·九歌·少司命》「悲莫悲兮生别离」之意，生离之悲更甚死别。全诗以家常语写至情，典故化于无形，益见深婉。又『参辰皆已没』兼写实景与用典——参商二星此出彼没，本喻离隔，诗人以之写夜尽天明、从此永隔，一语双关，正是汉诗『化典于无形』的所在；『生别』之悲与『死当长相思』之誓，皆承《楚辞》深情传统，一脉而下。

Commentary

The Wen Xuan records this poem under 'gifts and replies', titled Su Wu. Zhong Rong's 'Shi Pin' ranks the Su-Li poems in the top grade, saying 'the writing is warm and fair, the meaning sad and far'. The modern Liang Qichao says of the Su-Li poems 'one word one tear, yet the manner is natural'. Contemporary scholars, though they find it not Su Wu's own hand, still highly praise its 'using the forged to write the true feeling, thus becoming a timeless supreme text'. It shares with 'Line upon Line, Going Away' of the Nineteen Old Poems the writing of parting-and-disorder longing, but this piece closes with 'in death I shall ever think of you', the obsession deeper — truly the swan-song of Han poetry's lyric.

《文选》录此诗于「赠答」类，题为苏武；《玉台新咏》亦载。钟嵘《诗品》列苏李诗于上品，谓「文温以丽，意悲而远」，此诗正是注脚——文辞温厚美丽，情意悲切深远。近人梁启超评苏李诗「一字一泪，而风度自然」，尤以此诗为最：虽是生离，却写得如死别般惨烈，而「生当复来归」的誓言又给绝望留一线光明，哀而不伤，正是汉诗「温柔敦厚」的体现。当代学者虽考定其非苏武亲笔，仍盛赞其「以假托写真情，遂成千古至文」——假托苏武，正是借历史人物的忠节故事，写乱世中无数征夫思妇的共同悲怆，反而获得了超越个人遭遇的普遍意义。其与《古诗十九首·行行重行行》同写离乱相思，而此篇以「死当长相思」收束，执念更深，诚为汉诗抒情之绝唱，对后世送别诗、边塞诗的夫妻诀别题材影响深远。在文学史上，此诗与《行行重行行》并为汉诗写离别相思的双璧，其『生当复来归，死当长相思』的生死之誓，成为后世爱情诗的最高范式，历代传诵不衰，正见其情感力量与艺术生命之长久。

Prosody

Form Five-character ancient verse (Su-Li poem / archaic-style poem)五言古诗（苏李诗/拟古诗）

Rhyme Rhymes in the zhi-wei group, changing rhyme naturally押支微韵（疑、时、其、辞、期、滋、时、思），隔句押韵，转韵自然，不拘平仄，属汉魏古体。

Tone pattern Not traceable文人五言，尚处古诗阶段，无近体严密格律；以五言双音节为主的节奏与「起视」「握手」等动作的顿挫相谐。

Reading note Literatus five-character, still at the ancient-verse stage, no strict near-style rule.此诗为五言古诗，全诗十六句，属于汉魏古体，尚处于五言诗由乐府民歌向文人诗过渡的阶段，不讲究近体诗的平仄对仗与严格用韵，而以自然流转的气韵见长。其格律特点有三：一是用韵自由，押支微韵而转韵自然，不拘平仄，隔句押韵，读来如行云流水；二是句式整齐，全为五言，每句二三节奏（如「结发／为夫妻」「恩爱／两不疑」），音节舒展，正宜写缠绵悱恻之情；三是章法以时间为经，由「欢娱在今夕」的良夜，到「起视夜何其」的夜半，到「参辰皆已没」的夜尽，一夜之间层层推进，时间的流逝与情感的深化同步，是古体诗「以时间写情感」的典范。作为「苏李诗」的代表作，此诗体现了汉末文人五言诗抒情艺术的成熟，为后世五言古诗确立了「质直情深、自然流转」的典范，也是揣摩汉魏古体声律与章法的重要文本。

Line by line

结发为夫妻，恩爱两不疑。

Our hair was bound and we became husband and wife; in love and devotion we trust each other utterly.

结发成为夫妻，恩爱两相不疑。

Our hair was bound in marriage; in love and devotion neither of us doubts the other.

起笔以「结发」立恩爱之基，是全诗情感的逻辑起点。「结发」为古代婚礼之俗，新婚之夜以发相结，以为夫妻信物，故此二字一出，夫妻名分之重、情分之深自在其中；「恩爱两不疑」写夫妻情笃——「两」字点出双向，不是单方面的深情，而是两心相印、互不猜疑，恩爱之深尽在一个「疑」字上作文章：正因为从不怀疑，离别才格外惨烈。此句的妙处有二：一是先立其厚，恩爱越笃厚，后文死别越沉痛，以乐写哀、以合衬离，正是「先扬后抑」的章法；二是语言质直，如夫妻夜语，不加修饰而情深意切，正是汉诗「质直而情深」的本色，为全诗定下真挚恳切的基调。

The marriage. Our hair was bound in marriage; in love and devotion neither of us doubts the other. The bound hair is the wedding rite; the two-way trust (mutual, on both sides) is the foundation. The deeper the opening trust, the worse the coming parting. To have said we trusted each other would be a statement; the bound hair and the two-way doubtlessness are the statement.

欢娱在今夕，嬿婉及良时。

Our joy is in this one night; let us be tender while the good hour lasts.

欢乐在今宵，柔情欢好正值良时。

Our joy is only this one evening; let us be tender while the good hour lasts.

此句写诀别之夜的温柔缱绻，是全诗唯一的一抹亮色，也是「以乐写哀」的关键一笔。「欢娱在今夕」点明今夜之欢——明知明日将别，今夜更须珍惜，一个「今夕」写尽聚散无常的悲凉底色；「嬿婉及良时」写夫妻柔情欢好正值良辰——「嬿婉」为古语，安顺柔好貌，写尽夫妻情意绵绵之态，「及良时」谓正当其时，要趁这最后的良夜尽情欢好。此句的妙处在于：表面写欢乐，骨子里写悲凉——越是欢乐，越知此乐将尽；越是缠绵，越觉分离在即。与《古诗十九首》「今日良宴会，欢乐难具陈」同一机杼，以乐景写哀情，一倍增其哀乐，为下文「征夫怀远路」的催行作了最强烈的反差铺垫。

The last night. Our joy is only this one evening; let us be tender while the good hour lasts. The only-this-one-night is the knowledge of the dawn. The tenderness is sharpened by the countdown. To have said this would be our last night together would be a fact; the joy confined to tonight and the tender while-the-hour-lasts are the fact.

征夫怀远路，起视夜何其。

The soldier thinks of the far road; he rises to see how far the night has gone.

征夫心念远方之路，起身看夜色几时将尽。

The soldier thinks of the long road ahead; he rises to look and ask how late the night is.

此句是时间的转折，由欢娱之乐转入催行之迫，是全诗章法的枢纽。「征夫怀远路」写丈夫心系征途——怀抱远行之志，身负远役之任，心中早已盘算着行程；「起视夜何其」写其起身察看夜色——「夜何其」语出《诗经·小雅·庭燎》「夜如何其？夜未央」，以设问写夜之将尽、行之在即。一个「起」字写尽辗转反侧：良夜苦短，缠绵未已，而征夫不得不起身看夜，看夜即是催行，催行即是告别。此句的妙处有二：一是以动作写心理，「起视」二字，把丈夫不忍离别又不得不行的矛盾、妻子依依不舍又无从挽留的无奈，尽在不言之中；二是以时间写压迫，夜将尽，别将至，时间的流逝步步紧逼，为下句「参辰皆已没」的诀别蓄势。

The dawn check. The soldier thinks of the long road ahead; he rises to look and ask how late the night is. The action of rising to check the hour is the lover's conflicted body: he does not want to leave, but duty forces him to watch the night end. To have said he woke to check the time would be a detail; the rising to ask how the night is going is the detail.

握手一长叹，泪为生别滋。

Hand in hand, we heave one long sigh; tears well up at this living parting.

握手一声长叹，泪为生离死别流淌。

Holding hands, one long sigh; tears well up at this living separation.

此句以白描写尽生离死别之悲，是全诗情感的高潮，撼人心魄。「握手」写临别之际双手紧握——千言万语，尽在一握之中，握得越紧，越见不舍；「一长叹」写一声长叹——叹世事之无奈、叹聚散之无常，无言可对，唯有一叹；「泪为生别滋」点明泪之所由——「生别」即生离，用《楚辞》「悲莫悲兮生别离」之意，生离之悲更甚死别，因死别已无望，而生离尚有牵挂、尚有悬念，最是磨人；「滋」字炼得极妙，写泪水滋生、汩汩而流，如泉涌出。此句的震撼力在于三个动作的连缀：握手、长叹、泪流，不加任何修饰，纯以白描出之，而生死之悲、夫妻之痛尽在其中，正是汉诗「质直而情深」的最高境界，也是「一字一泪」的典范。

The farewell. Holding hands, one long sigh; tears well up at this living separation. The three actions (hand-hold, sigh, tears) are plain and final. The living parting is the Chuci phrase—worse than death because there is still hope. To have said they said goodbye weeping would be a scene; the held hands, the long sigh, and the tears of the living parting are the scene.

生当复来归，死当长相思。

If I live, I will come back; if I die, I will long for you forever.

生当再归来，死也长久相思。

Alive, I shall return; dead, I shall long for you forever.

结句以生死之誓收束全诗，哀而不伤，是千古传诵的名句。「生当复来归」写生之誓——只要活着，就一定回来，是给妻子以希望；「死当长相思」写死之盟——纵使身死，此情不渝，长相思念，是给爱情以永恒。「生」「死」对举，「复来归」「长相思」相映，两句十字，把夫妻之情推到生死的高度：活着是归来的承诺，死了是相思的永恒，无论生死，此情不灭。此句的妙处有三：一是于绝望中存执念，明知行役战场、相见无期，仍立生死之誓，正是「知其不可而为之」的深情；二是哀而不伤，虽写死别而给人希望，正是汉诗「温柔敦厚」的体现；三是余韵悠长，以誓言作结，如金石掷地，千载之下犹觉其声铮铮，为后世爱情诗确立了「生死不渝」的最高范式。

The oath. Alive, I shall return; dead, I shall long for you forever. The two clauses (life-return, death-longing) cover both outcomes. The poem's famous promise has made the marriage vow a standard. To have said I will return or grieve forever would be a vow; alive-I-will-come-back and dead-I-will-long-forever are the vow.

Study

Word focus

嬿婉 Tender and sweet — writing the couple's blissful night, forming a strong fall with the later death-parting. 「嬿婉及良时」之「嬿婉」二字，是写夫妻柔情的神来之笔。「嬿婉」为古语，安顺柔好貌，二字叠韵，声调柔婉，读来如见夫妻温存之态——「嬿」写其安和，「婉」写其柔顺，合起来正是夫妻情意绵绵、温存缱绻的写照。此二字之妙有三：一是以声写情，叠韵连用，音节柔美绵长，正合写柔情蜜意，声情与辞情相谐；二是语古而情深，「嬿婉」是汉魏古语，雅致而不失亲切，写夫妻夜话之态如在目前；三是以欢衬悲，此二字写尽良宵之欢，而良宵将尽、生离在即，越是缠绵越是悲凉，以乐景写哀情，为全诗「由欢入悲」的转折作了最浓的一笔。炼字至此，二字而境界全出，正是汉诗以古语写深情的功力所在。

滋 To well, to flow — 'tears well for this living parting' writes tears born of the parting, one word condensing grief. 「泪为生别滋」之「滋」字，是炼字的点睛之笔，一字凝悲。「滋」本义为滋生、生长，此处写泪水之涌流——不说「流」而说「滋」，妙处有三：一是以「滋」写泪之源源不断，如泉眼之滋生、汩汩不绝，正合生离之悲的绵绵无尽；二是以「滋」写泪之不由己，泪水不是流出来的，而是「滋生」出来的，仿佛悲伤深处自然涌出，更见悲之深、情之切；三是与「生别」呼应，「生别」是生离，生离之悲如泪之滋生，无有尽时，比死别之恸更绵长磨人。若易以「流」「落」则失其绵长，若易以「涌」则失其含蓄，唯「滋」字以最平淡的词语写出最深沉的情感，一字而境界全出，正是「一字千金」的所在，也是汉诗炼字「以常语写深衷」的典范。

生别 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「泪为生别滋」之「生别」二字，是全诗情感定位的关键词。「生别」即生离，语出《楚辞·九歌·少司命》「悲莫悲兮生别离，乐莫乐兮新相知」，屈原早已道破：人生最悲者，莫过于生离。此二字之妙有三：一是点破悲之性质，此别非死别而更惨于死别——死别一了百了，生离则生死未卜、相见无期，牵挂与悬念无穷无尽，正是最磨人的悲；二是暗含典故，以《楚辞》之至悲为注脚，不著一字而悲意自深；三是为结句蓄势，正因为是「生别」，才有「生当复来归」的希望与「死当长相思」的誓言——由生别而生誓，由绝望而生执念，情感逻辑层层推进。二字点题，是理解全诗情感结构的一把钥匙，也是汉诗化用《楚辞》而不露痕迹的典范。

留别妻