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明 Ming · 文 Prose

虎丘记

A Record of Tiger Hill

袁宏道

Yuan Hongdao

山水landscape 感怀reflection

虎丘去城可七八里。
其山无高岩邃壑，独以近城，故箫鼓楼船，无日无之。
凡月之夜，花之晨，雪之夕，游人往来，纷错如织，而中秋为尤胜。
每至是日，倾城阖户，连臂而至。
衣冠士女，下迨蔀屋，莫不靓妆丽服，重茵累席，置酒交衢间。
从千人石上至山门，栉比如鳞。
布席之初，唱者千百，声若聚蚊，不可辨识。
分曹部署，竟以歌喉相斗。
未几而摇手顿足者，得数十人而已；
已而明月浮空，石光如练，一切瓦釜，寂然停声，属而和者，才三四辈；
一箫一寸管，一人缓板而歌，竹肉相发，清声亮彻，听者魂销。
比至夜深，月影横斜，则一夫登场，四座屏息，音若细发，响彻云际。
剑泉深不可测，飞岩如削。
而北为平远堂故址，空旷无际，仅虞山一点在望。
堂废已久，余与江进之谋所以复之，欲祠韦苏州、白乐天诸公于其中；
而病寻作，余既乞归，恐进之之兴亦阑矣。
山川兴废，信有时哉！

Tiger Hill lies some seven or eight li from the city. The hill has no lofty crags or deep ravines; only because it is near the city are there pipe-and-drum pleasure boats upon it, not a day without them. On every moonlit night, flowering morning and snowy evening, visitors come and go, criss-crossing like a woven cloth, and Mid-Autumn is the finest of all.
On that day the whole city empties and every household is shut, and people come arm in arm. Gentry and their ladies, down to the poorest hut-dwellers, all in fresh paint and fine clothes, spread mat upon mat and set out wine along the open roads. From the Thousand-Men Rock up to the mountain gate they are packed close as fish scales.
When the mats are first laid, the singers number a hundred or a thousand, their voices like a swarm of mosquitoes, impossible to tell apart. They divide into companies and take their places, and vie with one another in the contest of throats. Before long only a few dozen are left who can wave a hand and stamp a foot in time; then the bright moon floats in the sky, the rock shines like white silk, all the crockery-pot voices fall silent, and those who take up the tune are but three or four. One flute, one small pipe, one man singing to a slow clapper: pipe and voice answer one another, the clear sound rings through, and the listener's soul melts away. When the night deepens and the moon's shadow slants, one man alone takes the stage; the whole company holds its breath; the note is fine as a hair and yet rings to the edge of the clouds.
Sword Spring is unfathomably deep, its flying cliff sheer as if cut. To the north is the old site of the Hall of Level Distance, empty and boundless, with only a speck of Mount Yu in view. The hall has long been in ruins; Jiang Jinzhi and I planned how to restore it, wishing to set up in it a shrine to Wei of Suzhou, Bai Letian and other worthies. But illness soon came upon me, and having already begged leave to go home, I fear that Jinzhi's enthusiasm too has waned. The rise and ruin of hills and streams—truly they have their appointed time!

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Meaning

A record of Tiger Hill outside Suzhou, which draws crowds not because of any grandeur in its scenery but because it lies close to the city. On Mid-Autumn night the whole city pours out, mats are spread from the Thousand-Men Rock to the mountain gate, and a singing contest begins: at first a thousand voices indistinguishable as mosquitoes, then a few dozen, then three or four with a flute, and at last one man singing alone while the crowd holds its breath. The author then turns to Sword Spring and the ruined Hall of Level Distance, which he had hoped to restore as a shrine to Wei Yingwu and Bai Juyi, and closes, after illness and his own resignation, with the reflection that the rise and ruin of hills and streams have their appointed time.

虎丘离城大约七八里。此山并无高峻岩石与幽深沟壑，只因靠近城市，所以箫鼓画船，没有一天没有。凡是月夜、花晨、雪夕，游人往来，交错如织，而以中秋最为盛况。每到这一天，全城关门闭户，携手而来。士绅男女，下至贫家，无不盛妆丽服，层层席垫，在通衢摆酒。从千人石到山门，密如鱼鳞。刚开始排席，唱歌的上千上百，声如聚蚊难辨。分班安排，竞相以歌喉争胜。不久能摇手顿足相和的只剩数十人；继而明月浮空，石色如练，一切庸音寂然停歇，相和的才三四人；一箫一管，一人缓板而歌，箫声歌声相发，清亮彻耳，听者销魂。等到夜深，月影横斜，则一人登场，四座屏息，声细如发，响彻云际。剑泉深不可测，飞岩如削。北面是平远堂旧址，空旷无际，只望见虞山一点。堂废已久，我与江进之谋划修复，想在堂中祭祀韦苏州、白乐天诸公；而我不久生病，既已乞归，怕进之的兴致也尽了。山川的兴废，确实自有其时啊！

Appreciation

Yuan Hongdao, courtesy name Zhonglang and styled Shigong, from Gong'an in Huguang, took his doctorate in the twentieth year of the Wanli reign and governed Wu county with a good name, later resigning to travel; with his elder brother Zongdao and younger brother Zhongdao he formed the Three Yuans, the core of the Gong'an school. The finest part of the piece is the singing contest at Mid-Autumn, built by what critics call the peeling of a bamboo shoot: a thousand singers at the laying of the mats, then a few dozen, then three or four, and at last one man on the stage with the whole company holding its breath. From voices like a swarm of mosquitoes to a clear sound ringing through, the essay passes from noise into stillness, writing sound and manner together so that one seems to hear and see it. Its many-sided similes for the press of visitors, its easy unforced language, and the sudden bleakness of the closing sigh over the rise and ruin of hills and streams fuse landscape, custom, music and human feeling in a single furnace.

【白话串讲】袁宏道写苏州虎丘的中秋夜：“倾城阖户，连臂而至”——全城的人都来了。“箫鼓楼船，无日无之”。“凡月之夜，花之晨，雪之夕，游人往来，纷错如织”——他写虎丘的月色、歌声，是明代最热闹的游记。【意象与手法】文章最妙处在写中秋竞歌一段，采用“剥笋法”层层推进：布席之初唱者千百，继而数十，再而三四，终至一人登场、四座屏息【情感与主旨】袁宏道，字中郎，号石公，湖广公安人，万历二十年进士，授吴县知县，颇有政声，后辞官漫游，与兄宗道、弟中道并称“三袁” 【名句点睛】常考“白描手法与场面描写”“由闹至静的层次”“性灵说在文中的体现”。命题示例：分析写歌者一段的层次与效果。答

Background

Yuan Hongdao, courtesy name Zhonglang and styled Shigong, a native of Gong'an in Huguang, took his doctorate in the twentieth year of the Wanli reign and was appointed magistrate of Wu county, where he governed with a good reputation; afterwards he resigned and travelled widely. With his elder brother Zongdao and his younger brother Zhongdao he was known as one of the Three Yuans and formed the core of the Gong'an school. Tiger Hill lies outside the Chang Gate of Suzhou and is a famous beauty spot of the Jiangnan region. In the twenty-third year of Wanli, while serving as magistrate of Wu, Yuan Hongdao often visited it in his free time, and so wrote A Record of Tiger Hill. In the middle and later Ming, writers had grown weary of the archaism and imitation of the Former and Later Seven Masters, and Yuan raised the banner of native spirit; this essay is his representative landscape sketch, writing the pleasures of a townspeople's outing in homely language, wholly unlike either the court style or the archaist manner.

袁宏道，字中郎，号石公，湖广公安人，万历二十年进士，授吴县知县，颇有政声，后辞官漫游，与兄宗道、弟中道并称三袁，为公安派核心。虎丘在苏州阊门外，为江南名胜，相传吴王阖闾葬此，有剑池、千人石诸迹。万历二十三年袁宏道任吴令，公余多游其间，因作《虎丘记》。时明中后期文人厌弃前后七子复古摹拟、句拟字摹之风，袁氏标举性灵说，主张独抒性灵、不拘格套，非从自己胸臆流出不肯下笔。此文即其山水小品代表作，以家常笔墨写市井游观之趣，与台阁体、复古派文风迥异。文章记中秋竞歌之盛，于喧嚣中见清音，于游观后忽作山川兴废之叹，既见性灵派不避俗、不避闹的审美取向，亦隐含作者对世事沧桑、名胜兴废的深沉感慨。更须留意者，虎丘去城近而游人杂，袁宏道独能于俗闹中辨出清唱之高格，正见其性灵说所谓「从自己胸臆流出」的鉴赏主体性，是晚明小品文由雅入俗、以俗为雅的典范之作，在游记文学史上别开生面。

Art

The finest passage is the account of the Mid-Autumn singing contest, which advances by what may be called the peeling of a bamboo shoot: when the mats are first laid the singers number a hundred or a thousand, then a few dozen, then three or four, and at last one man takes the stage while the whole company holds its breath. From voices like a swarm of mosquitoes to a clear sound ringing through, the writing passes from noise into stillness, rendering sound and manner together so that one seems to hear and to see. The author is also skilled at heaped similes for the throng of visitors, like geese settling on level sand, like sunset cloud spread over a river, like rolling thunder and darting lightning, and the images fly. The language is easy and natural, unpolished yet full of life, fusing landscape, custom, music and human feeling in a single furnace.

文章最妙处在写中秋竞歌一段，采用剥笋法层层推进：布席之初唱者千百，声若聚蚊，不可辨识；分曹部署，竟以歌喉相斗；未几而摇手顿足者得数十人而已；已而明月浮空，石光如练，一切瓦釜寂然停声，属而和者才三四辈；一箫一寸管，一人缓板而歌，竹肉相发，清声亮彻，听者魂销；比至夜深，月影横斜，则一夫登场，四座屏息，音若细发，响彻云际。由声若聚蚊到清声亮彻，由闹入静，声态并写，如闻如见。又善以博喻状游人之盛，如雁落平沙、霞铺江上、雷辊电霍，意象飞动。语言平易自然，不事雕琢而生气充盈，将山水、风俗、音乐、人情熔于一炉。结处由歌者之盛忽转平远堂废址之思，文势跌宕，于热闹中收以苍凉，见出作者不仅善写俗趣，亦能于闲笔中寄兴废之慨，章法疏密有致。要之，此文以平民视角写喧阗竞歌，以剥笋笔法写清音独出，以由闹归静复归沧桑收束，确立了晚明游记不避日常、善写常景的新范式，是性灵小品的神品。

Allusions

At the end of the essay the wish to set up a shrine to Wei of Suzhou and Bai Letian refers to the Tang poet Wei Yingwu, once prefect of Suzhou, and to Bai Juyi, who also governed Suzhou; both left behind good administration and poems on the place, and both have long been honoured in the literary lineage of the city, so that in wishing to sacrifice to them in the Hall of Level Distance Yuan Hongdao expresses reverence for earlier worthies and a desire to continue their tradition. The Hall of Level Distance is an old site on Tiger Hill. For the rest the essay uses plain description and seldom old stories, in keeping with his doctrine of trusting the wrist and trusting the mouth. It also transforms earlier writers' methods of describing sound, and yet shows a fresh face of its own.

文末欲祠韦苏州、白乐天诸公于其中，韦苏州即唐代诗人韦应物，曾任苏州刺史，有《滁州西涧》等名篇，政宽民安，为苏州文脉所宗；白乐天即白居易，亦刺苏州，疏浚山塘河，均有惠政与吟咏，二人素为苏州士人所景仰，袁宏道欲于平远堂祀之，以示景仰前贤、接续风流。平远堂为虎丘旧迹，踞山临江，空旷无际，仅虞山一点在望，堂废已久，作者与江进之谋所以复之，欲祠韦白，而病寻作，余既乞归，恐进之之兴亦阑矣，遂有山川兴废，信有时哉之叹。其余多用白描，鲜用古事，与其信腕信口、不拘格套的性灵主张相合。亦化用前人写声之法，如《礼记》写乐、《赤壁赋》写箫，而能自出清新面目，以家常语写清唱之妙，不借典重而自饶韵味。如此以唐贤祠祀与江南古迹为典，使一篇记游获得深远的人文纵深，是性灵文外放而内厚的显证。袁宏道以吴令之身记吴中胜迹，字里行间自有桑梓之深情，故用典虽简而情韵不薄，此亦晚明游记所以能动人之处。

Commentary

Zhang Dai's Dream Recollections of Tao'an follows the same method in writing of Tiger Hill. The modern scholar Qian Bocheng remarked that Yuan Zhonglang's travel writing uses a fresh brush to write worldly pleasures, something unknown before him. A Record of Tiger Hill has long been included in readers of classical prose, and critics say that it paints a townspeople's outing as if in a picture and then suddenly turns bleak at the close, so that the movement of the writing rises and falls. The Gong'an school advocated native spirit, and this piece is the most widely recited of its productions, holding its own beside the lonely austerity of Liu Zongyuan's landscape records and the free breadth of Su Shi's travel pieces.

张岱《陶庵梦忆》写虎丘亦承其法，记中秋游人歌呼联网，可相参看，二人同为晚明小品巨擘，一写市井之闹，一写故国之思，而白描血脉相通。近人钱伯城评袁中郎游记以清新之笔写世俗之乐，前所未有。其《虎丘记》历来选入古文读本，论者谓写市井游观如画，结处忽作苍凉之语，文势跌宕。公安派倡性灵，此篇最为人传诵，与柳宗元山水记之孤峭、苏轼游记之旷达各擅胜场。柳记借山水写贬谪之郁，苏记以哲理化解游兴，袁记则以性灵写俗趣，于热闹中见真趣，于清唱中见高格。后世如袁枚、郑燮之小品，皆受其沾溉。要之，《虎丘记》以不避喧阗的平民视角、层层递减的竞歌描写、以及由闹归静复归沧桑的章法，确立了晚明游记新范式，其文学史意义远超一篇记游小品本身，实为性灵派散文美学的集中体现。后世论明文者每以秦汉唐宋为宗，而此篇以小见大、以俗见雅，足为明代散文自立格局之证。

Prosody

Form Travel sketch in prose (Ming essay)游记小品文（明文）

Rhyme Prose, unrhymed, written in free form文不押韵，散体行文

Tone pattern Not traceable (prose does not follow poetic tone patterns)不可考（散文无平仄格律）

Reading note A native-spirit sketch of the Gong'an school: easy, natural language winning by plain description and graded layers, breaking the older mould of the travel record.公安派性灵小品，语言平易自然，以白描与层次描写取胜，打破传统游记格局。《虎丘记》虽为散文，其内在声律却极讲究：写竞歌一段，由唱者千百到一夫登场，句长句短随声态变化，初则短句密集如聚蚊声乱，继而长句舒展如清声亮彻，至夜深月影横斜则以简净短句收束，语句节奏与所写音乐同构，读来如闻其声。又多用口语虚字才仅已而比至，使文气流转如话，与其信腕信口的主张相表里。整体不以对偶藻绘为工，而以一种近乎说话的自然顿挫取胜，正是晚明小品以文为戏、以俗为雅的声态特征，在散文史上别具一格，亦可见性灵文虽破格而自有其内在的声情节律。

Line by line

其山无高岩邃壑，独以近城，故箫鼓楼船，无日无之。

The hill has no towering crags or deep ravines; simply because it is near the city, the flute-and-drum boats are there every day.

山无深壑，只因近城，箫鼓楼船无日无之。

The hill has no high crags or deep gorges; only because it is near the city, the flute-and-drum boats come every day.

起笔先抑后扬，以山无高岩邃壑写虎丘非以奇险取胜，独以近城二字道尽虎丘所以盛游之由，笔法简净而眼力独到。近城既写地理之便，亦暗点此山属于市井、属于常人，非隐士独往之地，故箫鼓楼船无日无之，喧阗乃其常态。袁宏道不写名山之幽，偏写近城之闹，正见性灵派不避俗、善写俗的审美取向，亦为后文竞歌一段埋下热闹的伏笔，是全篇由俗入雅、由闹归静的逻辑起点。尤为可取者，独以二字以极简虚词提挈全篇因果，于平淡起笔中已暗藏作者不薄今人、于近处觅真趣的性灵眼光，非寻常游记袭用名山旧套者可比。

The hill. The hill has no towering crags or deep ravines; simply because it is near the city, the flute-and-drum boats are there every day. The no-crags, the near-city, and the daily pleasure boats are the opening. To have said the hill owed its fame to the city would be a reason; the hill-has-no-towering-crags-or-deep-ravines-simply-because-it-is-near-the-city the flute-and-drum-boats-are-there-every-day is the reason.

布席之初，唱者千百，声若聚蚊，不可辨识。

When the mats are first laid, a thousand sing, their noise like a swarm of mosquitoes, indistinguishable.

初时歌者千百，声如聚蚊难辨。

At the start, a thousand sing; their voices are like a swarm of gnats, impossible to distinguish.

以聚蚊为喻写初歌之嘈杂，形象而诙谐，反衬后文清唱之妙，铺垫层次极精。唱者千百写参与之众，声若聚蚊写声之杂而无章，不可辨识写喧嚣未分高下，恰是剥笋法第一层。袁宏道以家常比喻状难写之众声，不避俚俗，反得其真，既写出中秋竞歌初始的混沌热闹，又为下文层层递减、终至一人清唱的递进建立对照，可见其场面描写的章法功力与白描手段。更妙在聚蚊一喻以微小卑俗之物写喧阗之声，正合性灵派以俗为雅的旨趣，使喧嚣获得一种近乎喜剧的生动，为后文清音之出蓄势极足，章法之密于此可见。

The swarm. When the mats are first laid, a thousand sing, their noise like a swarm of mosquitoes, indistinguishable. The thousand voices like a swarm of mosquitoes are the comic opening. To have compared the singing crowd to mosquitoes would be a simile; the when-the-mats-are-first-laid-a-thousand-sing-their-noise-like-a-swarm-of-mosquitoes-indistinguishable is the simile.

一箫一寸管，一人缓板而歌，竹肉相发，清声亮彻

One flute, one small pipe, one man singing to a slow clapper: pipe and voice answer one another, and the clear sound rings through.

一箫一管一人缓歌，箫歌相和，清亮彻耳。

One flute, one pipe, one man beating time as he sings; wind and voice together, the clear sound rings through.

此句写竞歌之极致，由千百之闹归于一人之清，是全文最精微处。一箫一寸管，一人缓板而歌，数一字叠用，愈显清空简净；竹肉相发写箫管与歌喉相和，清声亮彻写声之透亮直达听者肺腑，听者魂销则侧面烘托其感染力。袁宏道以性灵之笔写俗世清音，不假雕饰而境界全出，将市井竞歌升华为艺术化的审美瞬间，是晚明小品善写世俗之乐的代表笔墨，亦见作者于喧闹中能辨真趣的赏鉴眼光。其用笔由闹转清、由众转独，正合剥笋法之妙，而清声亮彻四字以爽朗之音收束前文之闹，声态并写、如闻如见，足见白描之能事。

The solo. One flute, one pipe, one man beating time as he sings; wind and voice together, the clear sound rings through. The single flute, single pipe, single singer, and the clear ring are the refinement after the swarm. To have described the final solo would be a scene; the one-flute-one-pipe-one-man-beating-time-as-he-sings-wind-and-voice-together-the-clear-sound-rings-through is the scene.

山川兴废，信有时哉

The rise and ruin of hills and streams—truly they have their appointed time!

山川的兴废，确实自有其时。

Rise and fall of hills and rivers—truly, there is a season for it all.

由游观之热闹忽转为沧桑之慨，淡语收束而余韵悠长。平远堂废址空旷，仅虞山一点在望，作者与江进之谋复之而未果，遂发此叹，信字斩截，哉字叹惋，将兴废无常、人事难凭的感慨凝于八字。前文极写喧阗竞歌，此处陡然苍凉，文势跌宕，见出作者并非只耽俗趣，亦能于闲笔中寄兴废之思。此结使一篇记游小品获得历史纵深，由一时之游上升为对山川命运、时代气运的沉吟，是性灵文不避深沉的明证。尤为动人者，信有时哉四字以旷达语写无奈事，举重若轻，于热闹全文之后忽作冷然一收，使文章气脉由沸反盈天归于江上清远，章法之跌宕、情怀之深沉，皆在此八字中见出。

The sigh. Rise and fall of hills and rivers—truly, there is a season for it all. The truly-there-is-a-season closes the gaiety with history. To have sighed at the rise and fall would be a sigh; the rise-and-fall-of-hills-and-rivers-truly-there-is-a-season-for-it-all is the sigh.

Study

Word focus

独以 The phrase 'only because' insists on a single cause and names the reason why a hill with no famous scenery never lacks visitors; two words that lift and carry the whole essay. 独以强调唯一缘由，将虎丘无名山之胜却游人不绝的症结点明，二字提挈全篇。若无独以近城一语，则后文箫鼓楼船无日无之便失其根；此词以副词之力，把地理便利转化为人文盛况的因果，简净有力。袁宏道炼字于不经意处见功力，独以一词既写出虎丘的市井属性，亦暗含作者不薄今人爱古人、于近处觅真趣的性灵眼光，是全篇立论的支点。更可玩味者，独以之独与篇末信有时哉之信遥相呼应，一写地理之独，一写兴废之定，虚实相生，使一篇记游在起结处皆有扛鼎之字，可见性灵文虽尚自然却非不炼。

剥（层层递减） The graded reduction takes the singers from a thousand down to one, strung together by light particles meaning 'only', 'merely' and 'before long', so that the rhythm moves like music and the mastery of plain description shows. 写歌者由千百至一人，才仅已而等虚字串联，节奏如乐，见白描功力。剥非实词，而指其剥笋式层层推进之法：布席千百、未几数十、已而三四、夜深一人，数目递减而清境递增，章法如抽丝剥茧，愈转愈清。袁宏道于此最见手段，以序数虚词控场，使喧阗自然归于澄明，是晚明小品场面描写的典范笔法，亦体现性灵派尚自然、恶堆砌的文体追求。尤为可取者，剥笋之法本于说话的自然次第，袁宏道以日常语气写音乐递进，看似无意而实具匠心，将难以言传的众声渐清之态写得层次井然，是真能于平易中见奇绝者。

信有时哉 The word 'truly' is decisive and the final particle a sigh, so that the sense of an inconstant rising and falling is gathered into four words, a heavy weight lifted lightly. 信字斩截肯定，哉字叹惋悠长，将兴废无常的感慨凝于四字，举重若轻。信有时哉置于文末，由前文极热闹的竞歌陡然收束为极苍凉的兴废之叹，文势于此一跌，余味悠长。二字（实四字短语）以短语承千钧，既写平远堂废址之实，亦写作者对世事沧桑的深沉体认，是性灵文能于俗趣中见深沉的关键一笔，淡语中有沉痛。其妙尤在信字所含的必然感与哉字所含的无奈感交织，使一句旷达语其实满含对人力不逮的怅惘，是袁宏道散文中最耐寻味的收束之一。

虎丘记