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先秦 Pre-Qin · 诗 Poem

九章·怀沙（节选）

The Nine Elegies: 'Huai Sha' (Excerpt)

屈原

Qu Yuan

楚辞Chu Elegies 抒情Lyric

滔滔孟夏兮，草木莽莽。
伤怀永哀兮，汩徂南土。
眴兮杳杳，孔静幽默。
郁结纡轸兮，离愍而长鞠。
抚情效志兮，冤屈而自抑。
刓方以为圜兮，常度未替。
易初本迪兮，君子所鄙。
章画志墨兮，前图未改。
内厚质正兮，大人所盛。
巧倕不斲兮，孰察其揆正。
玄文处幽兮，矇瞍谓之不章。
离娄微睇兮，瞽以为无明。
变白以为黑兮，倒上以为下。
凤皇在笯兮，鸡鹜翔舞。
同糅玉石兮，一概而相量。

Wild and towering is the fourth month,
And the grass and trees are in wild profusion.
My heart is wounded, my sorrows unending,
As I hurry away toward the southern land.
Dark, and endlessly remote,
How still it is, how quietly sombre.
Suffocation and anguish, knotted within me,
Along with trouble, and long destitution.
I lay a hand on my feelings and test my purpose:
Wronged, I bend and press myself down.
They square the square and make of it the round,
Yet the constant measure has never been abandoned.
To change the beginning and the foundations —
The gentleman contemns it.
Markers drawn, the plumb-line set,
And the earlier chart is not altered.
Thick within, correct in substance —
The great man praises such a man.
The skillful craftsman does not carve,
But who examines the true measure of his work?
Black-patterned silk laid away in the dark,
And the blind say it is unornamented.
Li Lou looks askance,
And the blind man thinks he sees no light.
They turn white into black,
And turn what is above into what is below.
The phoenix sits in its coop,
While the hens and geese strut and dance.
Rock and jade tumble together,
And all are weighed by the same flat scale.

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Meaning

This excerpt from 'Huai Sha', the last of Qu Yuan's 'Nine Elegies', sets out the poet's inner case. He describes his anguish at being driven into exile, then asserts that he will not alter his principles: squareness turned into roundness corrupts the true measure, and the gentleman rejects such easy adaptation. The final movement is a catalogue of inversions — black called white, above called below, a phoenix in a coop while hens dance, jade and stone weighed together — so that the whole poem becomes an indictment of a world that judges by its own standard rather than by the upright one.

滔滔孟夏兮，草木莽莽。伤怀永哀兮，汩徂南土。眴兮杳杳，孔静幽默。郁结纡轸兮，离愍而长鞠。抚情效志兮，冤屈而自抑。刓方以为圜兮，常度未替。易初本迪兮，君子所鄙。章画志墨兮，前图未改。内厚质正兮，大人所盛。巧倕不斲兮，孰察其揆正。玄文处幽兮，矇瞍谓之不章。离娄微睇兮，瞽以为无明。变白以为黑兮，倒上以为下。凤皇在笯兮，鸡鹜翔舞。同糅玉石兮，一概而相量。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] He begins with the lush fourth month and his own unending grief at being sent south, then moves to a defense of an unaltered self: the constant measure is not abandoned, the earlier chart is not changed, and the gentleman's praise belongs to those who are thick within and correct in substance. [Structure] The thirty-odd lines fall into three clear movements — anguish, the resolution to keep the measure, and the indictment of the world — and the third movement supplies the evidence for the second. [Imagery] Mostly negative: what is wrongly praised — black-patterned silk called unornamented, the phoenix in a coop, jade mixed with stone — so that the reader is asked to picture the whole order turned upside down. [Rhetoric] The储藏 of inverted values is delivered in a series of balanced couplets of unusual coldness, and the restraint of that delivery is what makes the final line ('all are weighed by the same flat scale') so bitter. The passage is famous as the emblem of resolved judgement: having stated his case, the poet can go forward to death.

【白话串讲】屈原写《九章·怀沙》：“滔滔孟夏兮，草木莽莽”——“伤怀永哀兮，汩徂南土”——“刓方以为圜兮，常度未替”——“易初本迪兮，君子所鄙”——他在怀沙中写下绝笔，“知死不可让，愿勿爱兮”。【意象与手法】此诗写守志，以愤世写守志，是屈原的名篇。前段写伤怀：「滔滔孟夏兮，草木莽莽。伤怀永哀兮，汩徂南土。眴兮杳杳，孔静幽默。郁结纡轸兮，离愍而长鞠。抚情效志兮，冤屈而自抑」写滔滔孟夏兮、草木莽莽——写尽伤怀永哀的汩徂南土；中段写守志：「刓方以为圜兮，常度未替。易初本迪兮，君子所鄙。章画志墨兮，前图未改。内厚质正兮，大人所盛」写刓方以为圜兮、常度未替——写尽内厚质正的所盛；后段写愤世：「巧倕不斲兮，孰察其揆正。玄文处幽兮，矇瞍谓之不章。离娄微睇兮，瞽以为无明。变白以为黑兮，倒上以为下。凤皇在笯兮，鸡鹜翔舞。同糅玉石兮，一概而相量」写巧倕不斲兮、孰察其揆正——写尽一概而相的量。全诗以愤世写守志，写尽伤怀永哀的汩徂南土与一概而相的量，是屈原的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写守志，以愤世写守志，是屈原的名篇。此诗为屈原《九章·怀沙》节选，写其放逐之痛与守志之坚。屈原此诗写其怀沙自沉前的愤世守志。此诗写滔滔孟夏兮，草木莽莽；伤怀永哀兮，汩徂南土；眴兮杳杳，孔静幽默；郁结纡轸兮，离愍而长鞠；抚情效志兮，冤屈而自抑；刓方以为圜兮，常度未替；易初本迪兮，君子所鄙；章画志墨兮，前图未改；内厚质正兮，大人所盛；巧倕不斲兮，孰察其揆正；玄文处幽兮，矇瞍谓之不章；离娄微睇兮，瞽以为无明；变白以为黑兮，倒上以为下；凤皇在笯兮，鸡鹜翔舞；同糅玉石兮，一概而相量。此诗写伤怀：滔滔孟夏兮，草木莽莽——写滔滔孟夏兮、草木莽莽，写尽草木莽的莽；伤怀永哀兮，汩徂南土——写伤怀永哀兮、汩徂南土，写尽伤怀永哀的汩徂南土；眴兮杳杳，孔静幽默——写眴兮杳杳、孔静幽默，写尽孔静幽的默；郁结纡轸兮，离愍而长鞠——写郁结纡轸兮、离愍而长鞠，写尽离愍而长的鞠；抚情效志兮，冤屈而自抑——写抚情效志兮、冤屈而自抑，写尽冤屈而自的抑。中段写守志：刓方以为圜兮，常度未替——写刓方以为圜兮、常度未替，写尽常度未的替；易初本迪兮，君子所鄙——写易初本迪兮、君子所鄙，写尽君子所的鄙；章画志墨兮，前图未改——写章画志墨兮、前图未改，写尽前图未的改；内厚质正兮，大人所盛——写内厚质正兮、大人所盛，写尽内厚质正的所盛。后段写愤世：巧倕不斲兮，孰察其揆正——写巧倕不斲兮、孰察其揆正，写尽孰察其揆的正；玄文处幽兮，矇瞍谓之不章——写玄文处幽兮、矇瞍谓之不章，写尽矇瞍谓之的不章；离娄微睇兮，瞽以为无明——写离娄微睇兮、瞽以为无明，写尽瞽以为无的明；变白以为黑兮，倒上以为下——写变白以为黑兮、倒上以为下，写尽倒上以为的下；凤皇在笯兮，鸡鹜翔舞——写凤皇在笯兮、鸡鹜翔舞，写尽鸡鹜翔的舞；同糅玉石兮，一概而相量——写同糅玉石兮、一概而相量，写尽一概而相的量。全诗以愤世写守志——那「伤怀永哀兮，汩徂南土」写尽伤怀永哀的汩徂南土，「一概而相量」写尽一概而相的量，写尽伤怀永哀的汩徂南土与一概而相的量，是理解屈原守志诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「刓方以为圜兮，常度未替」写常度未的替；「变白以为黑兮，倒上以为下」写倒上以为的下；以及全诗以愤世写守志、以对比写愤世的手法。

Background

Qu Yuan (c. 340–278 BCE) was a nobleman of the state of Chu who served at the court of King Huai as a minister of justice and was twice exiled, finally drowned himself in the Miluo river after the capital Ying was captured by the state of Qin in 278 BCE. 'Huai Sha' is generally dated to the last year or two before his death and is often spoken of as his last poem. The two lines chosen here, together with the pledge 'I know death cannot be avoided — I only ask that you not be reluctant to grant it' from the ending of the piece, are the closest things in Chinese poetry to a suicide note written in advance.

此诗写守志，以愤世写守志，是屈原的名篇。屈原（约前340—前278），名平，字原，又自云名正则，字灵均，战国时期楚国诗人、政治家，楚辞的创立者和代表作家，被尊为「楚辞之祖」。此诗为屈原《九章·怀沙》节选，写其放逐之痛与守志之坚。屈原此诗写其怀沙自沉前的愤世守志。此诗写滔滔孟夏兮，草木莽莽；伤怀永哀兮，汩徂南土；眴兮杳杳，孔静幽默；郁结纡轸兮，离愍而长鞠；抚情效志兮，冤屈而自抑；刓方以为圜兮，常度未替；易初本迪兮，君子所鄙；章画志墨兮，前图未改；内厚质正兮，大人所盛；巧倕不斲兮，孰察其揆正；玄文处幽兮，矇瞍谓之不章；离娄微睇兮，瞽以为无明；变白以为黑兮，倒上以为下；凤皇在笯兮，鸡鹜翔舞；同糅玉石兮，一概而相量。此诗写伤怀：「滔滔孟夏兮，草木莽莽」写滔滔孟夏兮、草木莽莽——写尽草木莽的莽（滔滔孟夏兮，草木莽莽）；「伤怀永哀兮，汩徂南土」写伤怀永哀兮、汩徂南土——写尽伤怀永哀的汩徂南土（伤怀永哀兮，汩徂南土）；「眴兮杳杳，孔静幽默」写眴兮杳杳、孔静幽默——写尽孔静幽的默（眴兮杳杳，孔静幽默）；「郁结纡轸兮，离愍而长鞠」写郁结纡轸兮、离愍而长鞠——写尽离愍而长的鞠（郁结纡轸兮，离愍而长鞠）；「抚情效志兮，冤屈而自抑」写抚情效志兮、冤屈而自抑——写尽冤屈而自的抑（抚情效志兮，冤屈而自抑）。中段写守志：「刓方以为圜兮，常度未替」写刓方以为圜兮、常度未替——写尽常度未的替（刓方以为圜兮，常度未替）；「易初本迪兮，君子所鄙」写易初本迪兮、君子所鄙——写尽君子所的鄙（易初本迪兮，君子所鄙）；「章画志墨兮，前图未改」写章画志墨兮、前图未改——写尽前图未的改（章画志墨兮，前图未改）；「内厚质正兮，大人所盛」写内厚质正兮、大人所盛——写尽内厚质正的所盛（内厚质正兮，大人所盛）。后段写愤世：「巧倕不斲兮，孰察其揆正」写巧倕不斲兮、孰察其揆正——写尽孰察其揆的正（巧倕不斲兮，孰察其揆正）；「玄文处幽兮，矇瞍谓之不章」写玄文处幽兮、矇瞍谓之不章——写尽矇瞍谓之的不章（玄文处幽兮，矇瞍谓之不章）；「离娄微睇兮，瞽以为无明」写离娄微睇兮、瞽以为无明——写尽瞽以为无的明（离娄微睇兮，瞽以为无明）；「变白以为黑兮，倒上以为下」写变白以为黑兮、倒上以为下——写尽倒上以为的下（变白以为黑兮，倒上以为下）；「凤皇在笯兮，鸡鹜翔舞」写凤皇在笯兮、鸡鹜翔舞——写尽鸡鹜翔的舞（凤皇在笯兮，鸡鹜翔舞）；「同糅玉石兮，一概而相量」写同糅玉石兮、一概而相量——写尽一概而相的量（同糅玉石兮，一概而相量）。全诗以愤世写守志，写尽伤怀永哀的汩徂南土与一概而相的量，是理解屈原守志诗的重要篇章。

Art

Qu Yuan's technique in this passage is argument rather than lyric: each line is a claim, and the couplets are built as a chain of antitheses (square/round, above/below, white/black, phoenix/hens, jade/stone) so that the reader is led to see that the corruption of judgement is repetitive and mechanical. Twoecraft is notable for being economical — the poet names a medium, an instrument and an action ('markers drawn, the plumb-line set') and trusts the reader to supply the carpenter's workshop as a figure for moral measurement. The 'xi' (兮) particle, placed mid-line rather than at the line end, keeps the rhythm moving forward without settling, an appropriate sound for a passage that refuses to come to any conclusion except death.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以写景写伤怀。「滔滔孟夏兮」以写景写伤怀——那「草木莽莽」写尽草木莽的莽，以写景写尽伤怀永哀的汩徂南土。其二，以直抒写守志。「刓方以为圜兮」以直抒写守志——那「常度未替」写尽常度未的替，以直抒写尽常度未的替。其三，以对比写愤世。「变白以为黑兮」以对比写愤世——那「倒上以为下」写尽倒上以为的下，以对比写尽倒上以为的下。其四，以用典写愤世。「巧倕不斲兮」以用典写愤世——那「孰察其揆正」写尽孰察其揆的正，以用典写尽孰察其揆的正。此外，此诗前写伤怀永哀的汩徂南土，后写一概而相的量，由情及世，正是守志诗「以愤写志」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以愤世写守志，写尽伤怀永哀的汩徂南土与一概而相的量，是屈原的代表作。又，此诗前段以孟夏莽莽之景兴起伤怀，中段一连四句直陈守志不移（常度未替、前图未改、大人所盛），后段连用「矇瞍」「瞽」「变白为黑」「凤皇在笯」「玉石同糅」五重比喻，层层递进地写出贤愚颠倒、是非混淆的世道，比兴之富、声情之烈，正是屈原骚体「惊采绝艳」的典范。

Allusions

Several figures are drawn from the court and the workshop. 'Li Lou', the famously keen-eyed sight of the state of Lu, and 'MengSou', the blind musician of Chu, are paired in the classical sources as the extreme examples of good and bad eyesight, and Qu Yuan uses them to show that there is no catching the world's judgement on either side. 'Qiao Chui', the mythical skillful craftsman, and 'Luli', the legendary painter with the eyes of Li Lou, turn the whole passage into a court of false judgement. The 'constant measure' (常度) and 'the earlier chart' (前图) are the shamanist and astronomical diagrams traditionally attributed to the Chu royal astrologers, giving his moral claim the authority of a technical standard rather than of sentiment.

此诗的用语深植于守志与愤世传统。「孟夏」令人想到「孟夏」写初夏的意象——也令人想到「孟夏草木长」（陶渊明）的意象；「莽莽」令人想到「莽莽」写草木的意象——也令人想到「草木莽莽」的意象；「汩徂」令人想到「汩徂」写疾行的意象——也令人想到「汩汩南行」的意象；「郁结」令人想到「郁结」写郁结的意象——也令人想到「郁结于中」的意象；「纡轸」令人想到「纡轸」写盘旋的意象——也令人想到「纡轸其怀」的意象；「离愍」令人想到「离愍」写罹忧的意象——也令人想到「离愍长鞠」的意象；「长鞠」令人想到「长鞠」写穷困的意象——也令人想到「鞠躬穷困」的意象；「抚情」令人想到「抚情」写抚心的意象——也令人想到「抚心自问」的意象；「效志」令人想到「效志」写明志的意象——也令人想到「效志明心」的意象；「刓方为圜」令人想到「刓方为圜」写削方的意象——也令人想到「斫方为圆」的意象；「常度」令人想到「常度」写法度的意象——也令人想到「常度未替」的意象；「易初」令人想到「易初」写变节的意象——也令人想到「易初本迪」的意象；「本迪」令人想到「本迪」写初志的意象——也令人想到「守其本迪」的意象；「章画志墨」令人想到「章画志墨」写守绳的意象——也令人想到「画墨守绳」的意象；「前图」令人想到「前图」写前图的意象——也令人想到「前图未改」的意象；「内厚质正」令人想到「内厚质正」写质正的意象——也令人想到「内美修能」的意象；「巧倕」令人想到「巧倕」写巧匠的意象——《庄子》「巧者劳而智者忧」，也令人想到「巧倕不斲」的意象；「揆正」令人想到「揆正」写标准的意象——也令人想到「揆度其正」的意象；「玄文」令人想到「玄文」写玄文的意象——也令人想到「玄文处幽」的意象；「矇瞍」令人想到「矇瞍」写盲人的意象——也令人想到「矇瞍不章」的意象；「离娄」令人想到「离娄」写明目的意象——《孟子》「离娄之明」，也令人想到「离娄微睇」的意象；「瞽」令人想到「瞽」写盲人的意象——也令人想到「瞽者无明」的意象；「凤皇」令人想到「凤皇」写凤凰的意象——也令人想到「凤皇在笯」的意象；「鸡鹜」令人想到「鸡鹜」写鸡鸭的意象——也令人想到「鸡鹜翔舞」的意象；「玉石」令人想到「玉石」写玉石的意象——也令人想到「玉石俱焚」的意象。全诗化用孟夏、莽莽、汩徂、郁结、纡轸、离愍、长鞠、抚情、效志、刓方为圜、常度、易初、本迪、章画志墨、前图、内厚质正、巧倕、揆正、玄文、矇瞍、离娄、瞽、凤皇、鸡鹜、玉石的意象典故，以愤世写守志，正是屈原「瑰丽」而善用典、承楚辞传统写守志之本领。

Commentary

Later critics have usually read this passage as the clearest statement of Qu Yuan's ethical self-possession:Wang Yi, the Han commentator, took the 'constant measure never abandoned' line as proof that the poet refused all compromise, and the Song Confucian Zhu Xi read the excerpt as a lesson in what a gentleman owes his own nature. Modern scholarship has been more attentive to its literary quality, especially the way the catalogue of inversions anticipates the 'Xiang Wang Fu' riddles of Han rhymed prose. The lines remain the most quoted part of the poem in Chinese education and are regularly cited in discussions of integrity in public life.

此诗历来被推为屈原守志诗的名篇，也是楚辞写愤世守志的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：汉人评此诗「以愤世写守志，直而多怨」；近人更指出「变白以为黑兮，倒上以为下」写倒上以为的下，是此诗的名句。在文学史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以节选写尽伤怀永哀的汩徂南土与一概而相的量——那滔滔，那孟夏兮，那草木莽莽，那伤怀，那永哀兮，那汩徂，那南土，那眴兮，那杳杳，那孔静，那幽默，那郁结，那纡轸兮，那离愍，那而长鞠，那抚情，那效志兮，那冤屈，那而自抑，那刓方，那以为圜兮，那常度，那未替，那易初，那本迪兮，那君子，那所鄙，那章画，那志墨兮，那前图，那未改，那内厚，那质正兮，那大人，那所盛，那巧倕，那不斲兮，那孰察，那其揆正，那玄文，那处幽兮，那矇瞍，那谓之，那不章，那离娄，那微睇兮，那瞽，那以为，那无明，那变白，那以为黑兮，那倒上，那以为下，那凤皇，那在笯兮，那鸡鹜，那翔舞，那同糅，那玉石兮，那一概，那而相量，都写尽了屈原笔下的九章怀沙；那「一概而相量」更以比喻写尽一概而相的量。此诗与屈原《九章·涉江》「余幼好此奇服兮」同为守志名篇，一写「吾不能变心以从俗兮」的涉江，一写「常度未替」的怀沙；一写行吟，一写怀沙。两诗对读，可见屈原守志诗的连贯。对于今日读者，此诗是理解屈原守志诗的窗口，也是楚辞写愤世守志的经典——那一概而相的量，穿越千年，仍在诉说着伤怀永哀的汩徂南土。

Prosody

Form Chu Ci (Nine Elegies), sao-style line with the 'xi' particle楚辞·九章

Rhyme The passage rhymes in an irregular, overlapping way on the dying-tone level: mang/mang (profusion) in the opening couplet; tu/mo; yu/ju; yi/ci/tai/gai; sheng/zheng; zhang/ming; xia/wu; and liang in the closing line. Because the rhyme changes mid-passage several times, there is no single sustained sound; the design is closer to a series of short emblem-like groups than to a continuous chain.全诗以「莽」「土」「默」「鞠」「抑」「替」「鄙」「改」「盛」「正」「章」「明」「下」「舞」「量」等字押韵，多为「兮」字句

Tone pattern The line is built as a long—short—long measure with the particle 'xi' (兮) inserted before the main caesura in many lines, so the basic rhythm runs 'TAO— TAO— xxi— MENG— XIA— xi'. This produces a rolling, unstoppable cadence that never gives the line a firm close, which suits a passage of argument that is preparing to go on to death. Where the earlier 'Li Sao' uses the particle for lament, here it functions almost as a comma of emphasis, marking each stage of the argument.此诗为楚辞骚体，句多「兮」字，短长错落，音节跌宕，正合愤世的跌宕。

Reading note The sao-style line is the formal signature of the Chu Elegies, and the displaced 'xi' is what distinguishes it from the six-syllable line of the later fu. Note how the verse's lack of fixed length mirrors the content: an argument with no closing sentence, a grief with no resolution. Reading aloud the particle should be quickly and lightly, connecting rather than punctuating, so that the lines run together like the breath of someone speaking his case to a court that is not listening.此诗为楚辞骚体——「滔滔孟夏兮，草木莽莽。伤怀永哀兮，汩徂南土。……同糅玉石兮，一概而相量」，句多「兮」字，音节跌宕。全诗以愤世写守志：前写伤怀永哀的汩徂南土（滔滔孟夏兮、郁结纡轸兮），中写常度未的替（刓方以为圜兮、内厚质正兮），后写一概而相的量（变白以为黑兮、同糅玉石兮）。骚体铺叙，前写伤怀，中写守志，后写愤世，以「一概而相量」写尽一概而相的量，正见屈原「瑰丽」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以跌宕的语调读「伤怀永哀兮」的伤怀，以激昂的语调读「变白以为黑兮」的愤世，结句要读得跌宕而有余韵，方能传达出屈原的直而多怨。屈原楚辞以「瑰丽」著称，此诗正是其守志诗的典范。

Line by line

刓方以为圜兮，常度未替

They square the square and make of it the round, yet the constant measure has never been abandoned.

刓方以为圜兮，常度未替。

They may carve the square into a circle, but my constant measure is not abandoned.

此二句是全诗写守志的核心，以刓方以为圜兮写以为圜，以常度未替写未替，写尽常度未的替，是千古名句。「刓方以为圜兮」写刓方以为圜兮——那「刓方」写刓方，「以为圜兮」写以为圜兮，写尽刓方的以为圜；「常度未替」写常度未替——那「常度」写常度，「未替」写未替，写尽常度的未替。这句的深意在于：它以「刓方以为圜兮」的以为圜与「常度未替」的未替，写尽常度未的替——刓方以为圜兮，那「刓方以为圜兮」写尽刓方的以为圜——刓方以为圜兮，正是削方为圆的写照，那「以为圜」写尽常度未的替；常度未替，那「常度未替」写尽常度的未替——常度未替，正是法度不废的写照，那「未替」写尽常度未的替；那「刓方以为圜兮」写尽刓方的以为圜，那「常度未替」写尽常度的未替，一写以为圜，一写未替，写尽常度未的替——削方为圆而法度不废，正是守志的写照；此二句以以为圜、未替写尽常度未的替，也为下文的易初作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写守志的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「把方削成圆吧，法度却没有改变」，则失其慷慨；唯以「刓方以为圜兮」写以为圜、「常度未替」写未替，写尽常度未的替，也让此二句成为全诗写守志的核心。

The measure. They may carve the square into a circle, but my constant measure is not abandoned. The carving of the square into a circle (the demand to compromise) and the not-abandoned constant measure are Qu Yuan's final stand. To have said the world wanted him to conform but he would not would be a stand; the carve-the-square-into-a-circle against the constant-measure-not-abandoned is the stand.

变白以为黑兮，倒上以为下

They turn white into black, and turn what is above into what is below.

变白以为黑兮，倒上以为下。

They take white for black, and turn above into below.

此二句是全诗写愤世的核心，以变白以为黑兮写以为黑，以倒上以为下写以为下，写尽倒上以为的下，是千古名句。「变白以为黑兮」写变白以为黑兮——那「变白」写变白，「以为黑兮」写以为黑兮，写尽变白的以为黑；「倒上以为下」写倒上以为下——那「倒上」写倒上，「以为下」写以为下，写尽倒上的以为下。这句的深意在于：它以「变白以为黑兮」的以为黑与「倒上以为下」的以为下，写尽倒上以为的下——变白以为黑兮，那「变白以为黑兮」写尽变白的以为黑——变白以为黑兮，正是白黑颠倒的写照，那「以为黑」写尽倒上以为的下；倒上以为下，那「倒上以为下」写尽倒上的以为下——倒上以为下，正是上下颠倒的写照，那「以为下」写尽倒上以为的下；那「变白以为黑兮」写尽变白的以为黑，那「倒上以为下」写尽倒上的以为下，一写以为黑，一写以为下，写尽倒上以为的下——白黑颠倒而上下易位，正是愤世的写照；此二句以以为黑、以为下写尽倒上以为的下，也为下文的凤皇作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写愤世的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「把白说成黑，把上颠倒为下」，则失其尖锐；唯以「变白以为黑兮」写以为黑、「倒上以为下」写以为下，写尽倒上以为的下，也让此二句成为全诗写愤世的核心。

The reversal. They take white for black, and turn above into below. The white-as-black and above-as-below reversals are the age's moral chaos. To have said the world reversed values would be a statement; the taking-white-for-black against the turning-above-into-below is the statement.

Study

Word focus

替 'Ti,' to yield, to stand aside, to substitute; in 'chang du wei ti' (the constant measure has never been abandoned) it means to give way, so that 'not abandoned' and 'not yielded' are the same thing. Qu Yuan's exacting use of a word that is usually trivial is what gives the line its weight: the measure survives not by being defended loudly but by never once stepping aside. 「常度未替」之「替」字是写守志关键词，一个「替」字写尽常度的未替。替者，废弛、改变也。屈原以「常度未替」写守志，这个「替」字至少有双重意味：其一，写度之未替——那「常度未替」写常度未替，那「替」字写尽常度的未替——未替，正是未曾废弛的写照，那「替」字写尽常度的未替；其二，写志之坚——那「替」字更是写坚——替，正见宁死不屈的坚定，那「替」字写尽屈原的守志。以「替」字写守志，正是屈原写愤世的枢纽——若换作「废」「改」等字，则或失其与「常度未替」「刓方以为圜兮」的配合，或失其写替的意味；唯「替」字，以常度未替写尽法度之不废与守志之坚定，与「刓方以为圜兮」的以为圜相合，写尽常度的未替，也让「常度未替」成为全诗写守志的名句。

量 'Liang,' to measure, to weigh; in 'yi gai er xiang liang' (all are weighed by the same flat scale) it names the act of appraisal itself. The choice is significant because unlike 'to praise' or 'to blame' it is neither moral nor impartial but mechanical, so the poet paints the age's judgements as a process unwittingly performed rather than as an ill will deliberately held. 「一概而相量」之「量」字是写愤世关键词，一个「量」字写尽一概而相的量。量者，衡量、比量也。屈原以「一概而相量」写愤世，这个「量」字至少有双重意味：其一，写比之量——那「一概而相量」写一概而相量，那「量」字写尽一概而相的量——相量，正是等量齐观的写照，那「量」字写尽一概而相的量；其二，写世之混——那「量」字更是写混——量，正见玉石不分之混，那「量」字写尽屈原的愤激。以「量」字写愤世，正是屈原写守志的枢纽——若换作「比」「衡」等字，则或失其与「一概而相量」「同糅玉石兮」的配合，或失其写量的意味；唯「量」字，以一概而相量写尽玉石之不分与世道之混浊，与「同糅玉石兮」的玉石相合，写尽一概而相的量，也让「一概而相量」成为全诗写愤世的名句。