近现代 近现代 · 诗 Poem
红烛
The Red Candle (Hongzhu)
红烛啊！
这样红的烛！
诗人啊！
吐出你的心来比比，可是一般颜色？
红烛啊！
是谁制的蜡——给你躯体？
是谁点的火——点着灵魂？
Meaning
The prefatory poem (the opening piece) of Wen Yiduo's collection 'The Red Candle' (1923), written around 1923 when Wen Yiduo, having graduated from the Tsinghua School, was studying in America at the Art Institute of Chicago. The poem, in the triple structure of the 'on the object, the symbol, and the question,' elevates the red candle from the ordinary object to the spiritual totem. 'O red candle! O candle so red! O poet! Spit out your heart and compare it—is it of the same color?'—the poet would 'spit out' his heart and compare it with the heart of the candle, the color of the red candle against the color of the heart of the poet, the redness of the devotion; 'O red candle! Who made the wax—to give you the body? Who lit the fire—to light the soul?'—the making of the wax and the lighting of the fire, the body and the soul of the candle, the asking of the origin of the red candle, the asking of the origin of the poet's own devotion.
红烛啊！这样红的烛！诗人啊！吐出你的心来比比，可是一般颜色？红烛啊！是谁制的蜡——给你躯体？是谁点的火——点着灵魂？
Appreciation
The artistic personality of the 'Red Candle' lies in the triple structure of the 'on the object, the symbol, and the question,' elevating the red candle from the ordinary object to the spiritual totem. The whole poem (including the following stanzas) runs through with the call of the 'O red candle!' as the refrain of the main melody; the opening, 'O candle so red,' writes its color with the exclamation, the one 'red' character setting the burning tone of the whole poem; then the sudden peak—'O poet! Spit out your heart and compare it—is it of the same color?'—the poet would 'spit out' his heart and compare it with the heart of the candle, this imagination extremely bold: how can the heart be 'spit out'? Yet precisely this 'spit out' writes the directness and the intensity of the devotion; then the asking of the 'who made the wax, who lit the fire,' the asking of the origin of the red candle, the body and the soul, the deepening of the questioning; and below, the poem will answer with the 'the wax of the candle, the tears of the candle, the burning of the candle,' the whole poem in the question and the answer, the devotion of the red candle written to the full.
【白话串讲】 闻一多写《红烛》：“红烛啊！这样红的烛！诗人啊！吐出你的心来比比，可是一般颜色”——“是谁制的蜡——给你躯体？是谁点的火——点着灵魂”——“红烛啊！莫问收获，但问耕耘”——他写奉献。 【意象与手法】 全诗是咏物言志的杰作，以红烛象征诗人自己与献身精神：先以「这样红的烛」的惊叹定调，继以「吐心比比」的奇想将烛与诗人相认，再以「谁制蜡、谁点火」的双问追索生命的来源，层层推进；写法上呼告、设问、复沓并用，「红烛啊」的反复呼唤如一声声扣问，短句密集，节奏急促，情感炽烈。 【情感与主旨】 闻一多以红烛自喻，写尽「莫问收获，但问耕耘」的献身精神——烛泪是血，烛光是心，燃烧自己而照亮人间，正是诗人对艺术与祖国的赤诚；「是谁点的火——点着灵魂」一问，更把个体的燃烧追问到生命的本源，使献身升华为自觉的宿命。 【名句点睛】 「吐出你的心来比比，可是一般颜色」以惊人的想象把烛心与诗心相照，成为新诗史上最著名的自白之一；「是谁制的蜡——给你躯体？是谁点的火——点着灵魂」以双问写生命的由来，躯体与灵魂、蜡与火的对举，言简意深，常为论者称引。
Background
Wen Yiduo (1899–1946), originally named Wen Jiahua, a native of Xishui, Hubei, a modern Chinese poet, scholar, and democratic fighter, a representative poet of the Crescent School, with the collections 'The Red Candle' (1923) and 'Dead Water' (1928), his poetry known for the vivid imagery, the burning feeling, and the strict structure, and in his later years famous for the democratic movement of the rising to his feet in anger. The 'Red Candle' is the prefatory poem of the collection, written around 1923. At that time Wen Yiduo had just graduated from the Tsinghua School and gone to America for the study, studying the art and the literature at the Art Institute of Chicago, the drifting of the foreign land, the sting of the racial discrimination, and the worry and the indignation over the poverty and the weakness of the motherland, interwoven into the burning and the somber emotional keynote of his early poems. The collection 'The Red Candle' is the first collection of Wen Yiduo, and the 'Red Candle' of the prefatory poem, the devotion of the poet to the art and the motherland.
闻一多（1899—1946），原名闻家骅，湖北浠水人，中国现代诗人、学者、民主斗士，新月派代表诗人，诗集有《红烛》（1923）、《死水》（1928），其诗以意象鲜明、感情炽烈、结构谨严著称，后期更以拍案而起的民主运动闻名于世。《红烛》一诗是诗集《红烛》的序诗（卷首之作），写于1923年前后。此时闻一多刚从清华学校毕业赴美留学，在芝加哥艺术学院研习美术与文学，异国他乡的漂泊、种族歧视的刺痛、对祖国积贫积弱的忧愤，交织成他早期诗作中炽烈而沉郁的情感基调。诗集《红烛》题名即取自本诗，也是他全部早期诗思的总纲：以红烛自况，写艺术与生命在燃烧中的奉献。此诗以李白《秋浦歌》「炉火照天地，红星乱紫烟」式的想象为血脉，又以李商隐「蜡炬成灰泪始干」的意象为底色，把中国传统咏烛诗的献身精神与现代诗人的自我意识熔于一炉，是新诗初期「中西合璧」的典型产物，也预示着闻一多此后从唯美诗人走向殉道斗士的精神轨迹。
Art
The art lies in the triple structure of the 'on the object, the symbol, and the question': the 'O red candle!' the refrain running through, the one 'red' character the burning tone, the 'spit out your heart' the bold imagination, and the asking of the 'who made the wax, who lit the fire' the deepening of the questioning—the devotion of the red candle elevated to the spiritual totem, the model of the poetry of the devotion.
《红烛》的艺术个性，在于以「咏物—象征—追问」三重结构，把红烛从寻常物象升华为精神图腾。全诗（含后续各节）以「红烛啊！」的呼告贯穿始终，形成复沓的主旋律；起笔「这样红的烛」以惊叹写其色，一个「红」字定下全诗炽热的基调；随即奇峰突起——「诗人啊！吐出你的心来比比，可是一般颜色？」诗人要「吐出」自己的心与烛心相照，这一想象极大胆：心如何能「吐出」？「吐出」二字把抽象的心化为可触可比的实物，烛心之赤与诗人之赤在此相认，咏物与言志瞬间合一。接着是两句追问：「是谁制的蜡——给你躯体？是谁点的火——点着灵魂？」躯体与灵魂、蜡与火，两组对举构成生命的双重来历——蜡给了形体，火给了精神；诗人不满足于观赏红烛，而要追究它生命的本源，这一问，把静止的物象写成了有来历、有灵魂的存在，也为后文「烧吧！烧罢！烧破世人的梦，烧沸世人的血」的献身主题铺路。写法上，呼告（红烛啊）、惊叹（这样红的烛）、反问（可是一般颜色）、设问（是谁……）四种句式迭用，短句密排、语气步步紧逼，全诗如一声声叩问灵魂的鼓点；而「红烛啊」的三次呼唤，如乐曲的副歌，把情感的强度逐节推高。这种「以物写我、以我问物」的手法，正是闻一多「新诗格律化」之外的另一面——以炽烈的情感驱动意象，是新月派诗歌中「浪漫主义」一脉的极致。
Allusions
The cultural import of the 'Red Candle' is deeply rooted in the long-standing tradition of the image of the 'candle' of the Chinese literature, and injects the self-consciousness of the modern poet. The candle in the poetry, the most famous is Li Shangyin's 'Untitled,' 'the spring silkworm to the death spins the silk to the end, the wax torch to the ashes the tears begin to dry'—with the wax tears writing the torment of the longing and with the ashes writing the exhaustion of the life, establishing the lineage of the imagery of the 'candle, the tears, and the devotion'; and the 'spit out your heart to compare' of Wen Yiduo, the candle of the devotion of the poet, with the color and the burning, inheriting the tradition of the candle and the tears and adding the direct questioning of the modern poet.
《红烛》的文化意蕴，深植于中国文学源远流长的「烛」意象传统，又注入现代诗人的自我意识。蜡烛入诗，最著名者莫过于李商隐《无题》「春蚕到死丝方尽，蜡炬成灰泪始干」——以蜡泪写相思之煎熬、以成灰写生命之耗尽，确立了「烛—泪—献身」的意象谱系；闻一多「吐出你的心来比比」的奇想，正可与李商隐「蜡炬成灰」对读：李诗写烛之「泪」，是情之所至的被动燃烧；闻诗写烛之「心」，是自觉的奉献，主动「吐出」以相照。红烛之「红」也别有深意：红色在中国文化中象征赤诚、热血与牺牲——「赤心」「丹心」皆以红喻忠，文天祥「留取丹心照汗青」的「丹心」正与「红烛」同调；而「是谁制的蜡——给你躯体？是谁点的火——点着灵魂」的追问，则暗合屈原《天问》的叩问精神与道家「形神」之辨——躯体为蜡所制、灵魂为火所点，形与神、物与灵的分合，正是中国哲学的核心命题。闻一多借一支红烛，把中国诗学的「蜡炬成灰」、忠义传统的「赤心报国」、哲理思辨的「形神之问」熔为一炉，而归于「莫问收获，但问耕耘」的献身宣言，使这首咏物小诗获得了超越咏物的文化纵深，也可见新月派诗人「以中化西」的努力——用中国的意象与精神，写现代人的自我觉醒。
Commentary
As the prefatory poem of the collection 'The Red Candle,' the poem has always been a classic of the on-the-object declaration of the will of the new poetry history since its appearance in 1923, and the first key to the understanding of Wen Yiduo the man and his poetry. On the level of the literary history, it marks the establishment of the early poetic style of Wen Yiduo: with the burning feeling, the vivid imagery, and the strict structure writing the theme of the 'devotion,' together with the later 'Dead Water' the two extremes of the poetic style of Wen Yiduo, and the 'red candle' has become the spiritual image of the Chinese poet's devotion to the art and the nation, and Wen Yiduo's own life of the rising to his feet in anger is the very fulfillment of the red candle.
《红烛》作为诗集《红烛》的序诗，自1923年问世以来，始终是新诗史上咏物言志的经典，也是理解闻一多其人其诗的第一把钥匙。在文学史层面，它标志着闻一多早期诗风的确立：以炽烈的情感、鲜明的意象、严谨的结构写「献身」主题，与《死水》的沉郁冷峭恰成对照——如果说《死水》以「一沟绝望的死水」写尽丑恶，是冷静的批判；《红烛》则以「吐出你的心来比比」写尽赤诚，是燃烧的宣言。这种由「红烛」到「死水」的转变，正对应闻一多从唯美诗人到现实斗士的精神历程，故论者常以二诗并观，作为研究闻一多思想发展的枢纽。在文化层面，红烛意象从此进入现代汉语的诗学谱系，与「春蚕」「蜡炬」一起成为「奉献」的代名词；此诗长期入选中学语文教材，其中「莫问收获，但问耕耘」一句更成为激励几代人的座右铭。1946年，闻一多因抗议国民党独裁统治被暗杀于昆明，以生命实践了「烧破世人的梦」的誓言——诗人与红烛的象征关系，最终以最惨烈的方式完成，使这首诗在后人读来，更添一层宿命般的悲壮。从艺术史看，《红烛》证明新诗完全可以承载传统咏物诗的精神遗产而自铸新境，它是中国现代诗中「托物言志」传统最成功的现代转化之一，其影响及于后来的革命抒情诗与政治抒情诗，堪称新诗咏物传统的枢纽之作。
Prosody
Line by line
红烛啊！这样红的烛！诗人啊！吐出你的心来比比，可是一般颜色？
O red candle! O candle so red! O poet! Spit out your heart and compare it—is it of the same color? (The opening: the redness of the candle and the heart of the poet compared, the 'spit out your heart' the bold imagination, the devotion written to the full.)
红烛啊！这样红的烛！诗人啊！吐出你的心来比一比，是不是一样的颜色？
O red candle! Such a red candle! O poet, spit out your heart and compare it—is it the same color?
起段三句，是全文的情感爆破点，也是咏物言志的「相认」仪式。「红烛啊」以呼告起句，一声呼唤，物我之间的界限开始松动；「这样红的烛」继之以惊叹，一个「红」字是全部情感的颜色——红的烛光、红的热烈、红的赤诚，尽在一字之中。第三句「诗人啊！吐出你的心来比比，可是一般颜色？」是全诗最惊人的想象：诗人不写「观烛」「咏烛」，而要「吐出心来」与烛心相「比」——「吐出」二字粗犷而决绝，把心从胸腔里掏出，摊在烛光下对照；「可是一般颜色」一问，把诗人与红烛的命运绑在一起：若心同烛红，则诗人即是红烛，红烛即是诗人，咏物至此完成向言志的飞跃。这三句的节奏也极具匠心：两句惊叹短促如心跳，第三句陡然拉长，「比比」的重复如鼓点，「可是一般颜色」以问作结，把悬念与赤诚同时悬在读者面前，为全诗定下炽烈而决绝的基调。
The candle. O red candle! Such a red candle! O poet, spit out your heart and compare it—is it the same color? The red candle and the spit-out-heart comparison are the opening. To have spit out the heart would be a gesture; the o-red-candle-such-a-red-candle-o-poet-spit-out-your-heart-and-compare-it-is-it-the-same-color is the gesture.
红烛啊！是谁制的蜡——给你躯体？是谁点的火——点着灵魂？
O red candle! Who made the wax—to give you the body? Who lit the fire—to light the soul? (The asking: the making of the wax and the lighting of the fire, the body and the soul of the candle, the asking of the origin of the devotion.)
红烛啊！是谁制的蜡——给了你躯体？是谁点的火——点着了你的灵魂？
O red candle! Who shaped the wax—giving you a body? Who lit the fire—kindling your soul?
此段由相认转入追问，是全诗的哲思核心，也是「咏物」向「问物」的深化。「红烛啊」再次呼告，情感在复沓中升温；随即两问并出：「是谁制的蜡——给你躯体？是谁点的火——点着灵魂？」前问追究形质——蜡是红烛的躯体，谁造了它？后问追究精神——火是红烛的灵魂，谁点燃了它？躯体与灵魂、蜡与火，两两对举，构成一支红烛的完整来历：躯体由蜡而来，灵魂因火而生。这双问的高妙处，在于把静止的物象写成有本源、有生命的存在——红烛不再是一根蜡烛，而是一个被「制造」又被「点燃」的生命；同时，「制蜡」与「点火」的分工，又暗含形神二元的结构——形体是外来的赋予，精神是燃烧的赋予，追问至此已从咏物进入哲学。而答案并不给出：是谁？是造物、是命运、是时代、还是诗人自己？——两问悬而不答，正把读者引向对生命本源的沉思，也为后文「烧吧！烧罢！」的献身呼唤蓄满力量，是全诗由「看烛」到「问烛」再到「化烛」的转折枢纽。
The question. O red candle! Who shaped the wax—giving you a body? Who lit the fire—kindling your soul? The wax-made-body and the fire-lit-soul are the double question. To have questioned the candle would be a questioning; the o-red-candle-who-shaped-the-wax-giving-you-a-body-who-lit-the-fire-kindling-your-soul is the questioning.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
The 'Dead Water'—'this is a ditch of the hopelessly dead water, and the clear wind cannot raise the slightest wave... in it, the drowning frog... the decaying heart of the dead water'—and the 'Red Candle' are both of the Crescent poet Wen Yiduo, yet the two poles of his poetic style: the 'Red Candle' the burning of the devotion, 'spit out your heart to compare,' the burning of the poet's heart; the 'Dead Water' the corruption of the despair, 'the ditch of the hopelessly dead water,' the satire and the grief of the ugly reality. One the burning and one the corruption; one the red of the candle and one the decay of the water—the two extremes of Wen Yiduo's poetry, the devotion and the despair, the light and the darkness of the same poet, the 'the more the poet loves, the more he hates' of the Crescent school.
《死水》与《红烛》同出闻一多之手，一写于1923年诗集《红烛》时期、一写于1928年诗集《死水》时期，恰成其诗风与心境的两极。《红烛》以「吐出你的心来比比」的炽烈写献身，是燃烧的浪漫主义——诗人如烛，主动地烧自己以照他人；《死水》以「这是一沟绝望的死水，清风吹不起半点漪沦」的冷峭写腐朽，是沉郁的象征主义——诗人以丑写丑，在「死水」的恶臭中发出「不如让它丑恶到开一朵恶花」的决绝反讽。一红一黑、一燃一腐、一热一冷，正是闻一多从唯美诗人到现实批判者、从「红烛精神」到「死水态度」的转变轨迹。合而观之，可见一位诗人如何以两种截然相反的意象系统，完成对自我与时代的双重书写，也可见新月派诗歌从浪漫抒情到格律讽刺的演进脉络。
我爱这土地 I Love This Land 艾青 · 现代诗「献身」母题的双峰：烛之燃与鸟之鸣 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
艾青《我爱这土地》与《红烛》同属现代诗中「以身相许」的献身母题，而取象与旨趣各异。艾青以鸟自喻——「假如我是一只鸟，我也应该用嘶哑的喉咙歌唱」，鸟以啼鸣歌唱土地，直至「连羽毛也腐烂在土地里面」，是歌者式的献身，落脚于对土地的挚爱；闻一多以烛自喻——「吐出你的心来比比」，烛以燃烧照亮暗夜，直至「成灰」而「泪始干」，是燃者式的献身，落脚于对光明的赤诚。一以声音、一以火光，一者融入土地（羽毛腐烂）、一者照亮世界（烧破世人梦），恰成现代抒情诗中献身主题的两大范式。二诗皆以「我」直接投入物象，物我合一，可见新诗如何把传统咏物诗的精神改造为现代自我的宣言，也可见闻一多的炽烈与艾青的沉郁，是现代诗献身美学的两面旗帜。
无题 Untitled (Hard to meet, hard to part) 李商隐 · 「蜡炬成灰」的古今回响：从情泪到赤诚 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
李商隐《无题》「春蚕到死丝方尽，蜡炬成灰泪始干」是「烛」意象的古典源头，闻一多《红烛》正是对这一传统意象的现代重写。李商隐之烛，以「泪」为核心——蜡泪是相思之泪、是情到深处的煎熬，燃烧是被动的、宿命的，烛为情而灰；闻一多之烛，以「心」为核心——「吐出你的心来比比」，烛心是赤诚之心、是主动的奉献，烛为志而燃。由「泪」到「心」、由被动到主动、由儿女情长到志士情怀，正见同一意象在古典与现代之间的精神位移：古典之烛照亮的是个人的相思，现代之烛照亮的是时代与理想。二诗相隔千余年而对读，可见「蜡炬成灰」的传统如何在闻一多手中完成现代转化——他保留了烛的燃烧与成灰，却把「泪」换成了「心」，把「情」升华为「志」，这正是新诗「化古为新」的典范，也是咏烛诗从李商隐到闻一多的完整谱系。