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答客诮

Answering a Guest's Ridicule

鲁迅

Lu Xun

无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫。
知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟。

To be without tender feeling is not necessarily to be a true hero;
to love one's child—how could that fail to make a real man?
Do you know the one who stirs up the wind and roars his wild cry?
Even he turns his head to gaze now and then upon his little tiger cub.
Listen

Meaning

Lu Xun replies to someone who mocked him for doting on his child. He argues that a true hero need not be cold and unfeeling, and that a man's love for his child is itself a mark of genuine humanity. Using the image of a fierce tiger looking back fondly at its cub, the poem defends paternal tenderness against worldly prejudice.

无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫。知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The poem opens with two rhetorical lines: heartlessness does not make a true hero, and loving one's child is no less than the conduct of a real man. It closes with a pointed question—do you know the wind-stirring, roaring beast?—who still turns to look upon his little cub. [Structure] A tight four-line quatrain: the first couplet states the thesis by negation and reversal; the second couplet clinches it with a zoological analogy. [Imagery] The 'little tiger cub' (xiaowutu, a Chu-dialect name for a tiger) is the poem's decisive image, transforming an abstract defence of feeling into a concrete, almost tender snapshot of a predator's protective gaze. [Tone] Though brief, the verse is intensely confident—'how could that fail' rings with moral certainty—and the tiger metaphor lends it a rugged, generous warmth that overturns the stereotype of the 'hero' as cold and aloof.

【白话串讲】 鲁迅写《答客诮》：“无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫”——“知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟”——有人讥笑他爱孩子，他答：无情未必真豪杰——怜子如何不丈夫。 【意象与手法】 “无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫”以反诘立论；“知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟”以猛虎“於菟”回眸护子的细节作比。短小精悍、理直气壮，以猛虎喻人。 【情感与主旨】 回应别人讥笑他爱孩子的诗，主张真正的豪杰并非无情，表达对子女的深爱与对世俗偏见的反驳，体现鲁迅作为父亲温情的另一面。 【名句点睛】 常考“无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫”以反诘写父爱；“知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟”以猛虎回眸写护子深情。

Background

Lu Xun (1881–1936), pen name of Zhou Shuren, styled Yucai, was born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang. A major modern writer, thinker, and revolutionary, he is widely regarded as the father of modern Chinese literature. 'Answering a Guest's Ridicule' (Da Ke Qiao) is a short lyrical poem written in response to a friend who teased him for being affectionate toward his son, Haiying. Composed in the classical seven-character quatrain form, it belongs to Lu Xun's late body of regulated-style verse, in which he often turned to old forms to express personal conviction and quiet feeling beneath a public persona of fierce satirist.

《答客诮》为现代文学家鲁迅所作诗。鲁迅（1881—1936），原名周树人，字豫才，浙江绍兴人，现代文学家、思想家、革命家。此诗写言志哲理，为答客诮之作。诗中「无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫」写无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫；「知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟」写知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟。鲁迅此诗以言志哲理、回眸时看小於菟写其言志之情，慷慨豪迈，是鲁迅诗中的名篇。此篇《答客诮》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《答客诮》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《答客诮》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。

Art

The poem's art lies in its economy and its use of reversal and analogy. The first couplet works by negating a received cliché: rather than praising the 'hero' for his coldness, Lu Xun inverts the value, asserting that tenderness is compatible with—indeed required by—true manhood. The rhetorical question 'how could that fail to make a real man?' gives the claim the force of self-evidence. The second couplet shifts from assertion to image, invoking the tiger (wutu), a beast of awesome power, and showing it 'turning its head' to glance at its cub. This single domestic detail humanizes the savage and seals the argument: even the fiercest creature loves its young. The classical allusion to 'wutu' as the Chu name for a tiger adds a layer of erudition without weighing the poem down. Few words, firm logic, and a memorable image make this one of Lu Xun's most quoted occasional verses.

此诗艺术上以「慷慨豪迈、以论写志」见长。全诗共四句，由无情未必真豪杰而怜子如何不丈夫而知否兴风狂啸者。起「无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫」写无情未必真豪杰：无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫；「知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟」写回眸时看小於菟：知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟。全诗以论写志，由无情未必真豪杰而回眸时看小於菟，慷慨豪迈，是鲁迅诗中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。

Allusions

The central allusion is to 'wutu' (於菟), the Chu-state dialect word for a tiger, recorded in the Zuo Zhuan and later glosses; by invoking it Lu Xun casts the protective father as a noble beast of antiquity. The phrase 'stirs up the wind and roars' (xingfeng kuangxiao) evokes the traditional aura of the tiger as a wind-raising, mountain-shaking creature. There is also a submerged echo of the perennial Chinese debate over 'hero' versus 'worthy man' (haojie vs. zhangfu): Lu Xun deliberately pairs the two terms to insist that gentleness of feeling does not disqualify one from either. The allusion is worn lightly, serving the argument rather than displaying learning, which is typical of Lu Xun's classical-style poems.

诗中「无情未必真豪杰怜子如何不丈夫」「知否兴风狂啸者回眸时看小於菟」等语，皆含典故故实。「无情未必真豪杰怜子如何不丈夫」写无情未必真豪杰怜子如何不丈夫；「知否兴风狂啸者回眸时看小於菟」用於菟之典（於菟为楚人呼虎之词），写知否兴风狂啸者回眸时看小於菟。诗人以於菟之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把言志哲理之情写得慷慨淋漓，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。

Commentary

Later readers have treasured this quatrain as the most intimate glimpse of Lu Xun the father, counterbalancing his public image as a merciless critic. Critics note how the poem converts personal defensiveness into a general statement about humanity: the 'guest' who ridiculed him stands for a wider social prejudice that equates feeling with weakness. The tiger analogy has been praised for its unexpected tenderness, and the line 'to love one's child—how could that fail to make a real man?' has entered common quotation as a defence of paternal affection. Within Lu Xun's classical verse it is considered a minor masterpiece, distinguished by its candour and its refusal to posture.

这首《答客诮》，是鲁迅写言志哲理之作，写无情未必真豪杰、怜子如何不丈夫、回眸时看小於菟之情，慷慨豪迈。起「无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫」——无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫。写无情未必真豪杰：无情未必真豪杰、怜子如何不丈夫——无情未必豪杰、怜子如何不丈夫；「知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟」——知否兴风狂啸者（用於菟虎之典），回眸时看小於菟。写回眸时看小於菟：知否兴风狂啸者、回眸时看小於菟——兴风狂啸者、回眸看小於菟。这「知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟」，是全诗之结：以回眸时看小於菟写其言志。全诗慷慨豪迈，以论写志，正是鲁迅诗中的名篇。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (qijue)诗（七言绝句）
Rhyme A four-line regulated quatrain. The even-numbered lines rhyme on 'fu' (夫) and 'tu' (菟), both in the Yu rhyme class of the level tone, giving a single sustained level-tone rhyme that matches the poem's calm, assured argument.此诗为七言绝句，共四句，两句一联。押平声韵：「夫」「菟」押虞部韵。诗体依绝句而定，句式整齐，音节随情起伏，正与写言志哲理的慷慨豪迈相称，也见其以绝句写言志的自然。
Tone pattern The first couplet moves in brisk, clear syllables suited to its declarative reversal; the second couplet rises in grandeur with the tiger image. The level-tone rhyme and regular metre let the sentiment flow from crisp assertion to magnanimous close, fitting a poem that is at once a reply and a quiet manifesto of feeling.句式上，「无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫」写无情未必真豪杰，音节明快；「知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟」写回眸时看小於菟，音节豪迈。全诗音节随情起伏，由明快而豪迈，正合绝句「含蓄」之妙，读来如言志哲理、回眸时看小於菟之音，慷慨而动人。
Reading note As a seven-character quatrain this is one of Lu Xun's most accessible classical poems. Its distinction is the union of conviction and tenderness: the rhetorical opening and the tiger analogy together produce a voice that is both firm and warm. The level-tone rhyme reinforces the composure of the speaker, while the concise form makes the defence instantly memorable.此诗为七言绝句，是鲁迅写言志哲理之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「慷慨豪迈、以论写志」：「无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫」写无情未必真豪杰、「知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟」写回眸时看小於菟。全诗慷慨豪迈，以论写志。尤为精妙者，是「知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟」用於菟虎之典；而「无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫」写尽怜子之论，正是鲁迅诗「慷慨豪迈」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《答客诮》一诗之所以读来声情并茂，正在于诗人以声韵配合情思、以节奏烘托意境，音节之长短、平仄之起伏，皆与诗意相为表里，此亦可见中国古典诗歌声律之美与匠心之工。

Line by line

无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫。

To be without tender feeling is not necessarily to be a true hero; to love one's child—how could that fail to make a real man?

无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫。

The man without feeling is not necessarily a true hero; how can he who loves his child not be a man?

首二句写无情未必真豪杰，起笔即见其论。「无情未必真豪杰」写无情未必真豪杰，「无情未必」写无情未必、「真豪杰」写真豪杰；「怜子如何不丈夫」写怜子如何不丈夫，「怜子如何」写怜子如何、「不丈夫」写不丈夫。两句一写无情未必真豪杰、一写怜子如何不丈夫，以无情未必真豪杰写无情未必豪杰、以怜子如何不丈夫写怜子不丈夫，写尽无情未必真豪杰、怜子如何不丈夫之情。以论起兴，慷慨而豪迈，是「以论起兴」的妙笔。

The argument. The man without feeling is not necessarily a true hero; how can he who loves his child not be a man? The reversed saying (no feeling is not heroism; loving one's child is manhood) is Lu Xun's rebuke. To have said a hero can love his child would be a saying; the no-feeling-not-necessarily-true-hero against the loving-a-child-how-is-he-not-a-man is the saying.

知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟。

Do you know the one who stirs up the wind and roars his wild cry? Even he turns his head to gaze now and then upon his little tiger cub.

知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟。

Do you know the wind-raising, roaring beast still turns its head to look at its little whelp?

尾二句写回眸时看小於菟，是全诗立意的落点。「知否兴风狂啸者」写知否兴风狂啸者，「知否」写知否、「兴风狂啸者」写兴风狂啸者；「回眸时看小於菟」用於菟虎之典写回眸时看小於菟，「回眸时看」写回眸时看、「小於菟」写小於菟。两句一写知否兴风狂啸者、一写回眸时看小於菟，以知否兴风狂啸者写狂啸者、以回眸时看小於菟写回眸看於菟，写尽知否兴风狂啸者、回眸时看小於菟之情。以典写志，慷慨而豪迈，是全诗最动人处，也是「以典写志」的点睛之笔。

The tiger. Do you know the wind-raising, roaring beast still turns its head to look at its little whelp? The roaring tiger that still looks back at its cub is the proof. To have said even tigers love their young would be an image; the wind-raising-roaring-beast against the turns-its-head-to-look-at-the-little-whelp is the image.

Study

Word focus

未必 Not necessarily; 'wei bi' qualifies the common assumption that a hero must be heartless, opening the poem's central reversal by allowing that feeling and heroism can coexist. 「未必」写无情未必真豪杰，是写未必之态的关键。「无情未必真豪杰」着一「未必」，写未必——着一「未必」，写无情未必真豪杰，见其论之新。两字写尽未必之态，是「以词写论」的妙笔。「未必」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
丈夫 A real man / true gentleman; 'zhangfu' here denotes full adult humanity and moral stature, so that loving one's child is presented not as weakness but as proof of manhood. 「丈夫」写怜子如何不丈夫，是写丈夫之态的关键。「怜子如何不丈夫」着一「丈夫」，写丈夫——着一「丈夫」，写怜子如何不丈夫，见其丈夫之态。两字写尽丈夫之态，是「以词写夫」的点睛之词。「丈夫」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
兴风 To stir up the wind; 'xing feng' evokes the tiger's traditional aura as a creature that raises the wind, lending the beast in the last line its awesome, mythic force. 「兴风」写知否兴风狂啸者，是写兴风之态的关键。「知否兴风狂啸者」着一「兴风」，写兴风——着一「兴风」，写知否兴风狂啸者，见其风之兴。两字写尽兴风之态，是「以词写风」的点睛之词。「兴风」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
回眸 To turn the head and gaze; 'hui mou' captures the tender, backward glance of the tiger at its cub, the concrete image on which the whole defence of paternal love rests. 「回眸」写回眸时看小於菟，是写回眸之态的关键。「回眸时看小於菟」着一「回眸」，写回眸——着一「回眸」，写回眸时看小於菟，见其眸之回。两字写尽回眸之态，是「以词写眸」的点睛之词。「回眸」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯 Tune: 'Silk-washing Stream' — 'One new song, one cup of wine' 晏殊 · 同写感怀言志、无可奈何，一写无可奈何花落去、一写无情未必真豪杰怜子如何不丈夫，皆于感怀之中见言志 Both poems voice feeling and conviction in the face of helplessness—one through 'flowers fall, beyond my power to stop', the other through 'heartless is not a hero, love for one's child makes a man'—each finding aspiration within melancholy.

Yan Shu's 'Silk-washing Stream' ('flowers fall, beyond my power to stop; swallows return, as if known before') is a famous Song lyric of reflective melancholy. Lu Xun's 'Answering a Guest's Ridicule' answers mockery with the lines on the non-heroic heartless man and the tiger's cub. Both turn personal feeling into a larger statement: Yan Shu's is gentle and rueful, Lu Xun's firm and proud, yet each shows aspiration persisting within a mood of quiet helplessness.

晏殊《浣溪沙·一曲新词酒一杯》「无可奈何花落去，似曾相识燕归来」，写感怀言志，是宋词小令的名篇；鲁迅《答客诮》则以「无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫」「知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟」写无情未必豪杰、回眸看小於菟。两诗同写感怀言志、无可奈何：一写无可奈何花落去、以花落燕归写惜时，一写无情未必真豪杰怜子如何不丈夫、以怜子写言志；一为晏殊之温润、一为鲁迅之豪迈，并读正可见诗写「感怀言志」的两种笔法，皆于感怀之中见言志。

 山园小梅 Small Plum by the Mountain Garden 林逋 · 同写言志寄情、以物喻志，一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、一写知否兴风狂啸者回眸时看小於菟，皆于言志之中见寄情 Both use an object or creature to embody aspiration—Lin Bu's plum in 'sparse shadows, clear water' versus Lu Xun's tiger cub in 'turning to gaze'—each projecting feeling through a natural image.

Lin Bu's 'Small Plum by the Mountain Garden' ('sparse shadows lie aslant on clear shallow water; faint fragrance drifts at dusk under the moon') is the supreme Song ode to the pure plum. Lu Xun's poem embodies aspiration in the tiger that looks back at its cub. Both project inner feeling onto a natural image—Lin Bu's plum for quiet elegance, Lu Xun's tiger for rugged tenderness—showing two ways of writing aspiration through things.

林逋《山园小梅》「疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏」，写梅之清雅、言志，是宋诗咏物的绝唱；鲁迅《答客诮》则以「知否兴风狂啸者，回眸时看小於菟」「无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫」写回眸看小於菟、怜子不丈夫。两诗同写言志寄情、以物喻志：一写疏影横斜水清浅暗香浮动月黄昏、以梅写清雅，一写知否兴风狂啸者回眸时看小於菟、以虎写言志；一为林逋之清逸、一为鲁迅之豪迈，并读正可见诗写「言志寄情」的两种笔法，皆于言志之中见寄情。