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南北朝 Northern and Southern Dynasties · 赋 Fu rhapsody

恨赋

Rhapsody on Regret

江淹

Jiang Yan

忧愤/感时grief and anger/mourning the times 离别/抒情parting/lyric feeling

试望平原，蔓草萦骨，拱木敛魂。
人生到此，天道宁论！
于是仆本恨人，心惊不已。
直念古者，伏恨而死。
至如秦帝按剑，诸侯西驰，削平天下，同文共规。
剑客惭恩，少年报士，韩国赵厕，吴宫燕市，割慈忍爱，离邦去里。
或有孤臣危涕，孽子坠心，迁客海上，流戍陇阴，一去无还，丧魂零失。

Try to look upon the open plain—trailing grass enwinds the bones, arched trees gather the wandering souls.
That life should come to this—who can plead the way of Heaven!
And I, born a man of regret, am struck with endless dread.
I think straight of the ancients, who lay down and died with regret unspent.
As when the First Qin Emperor laid hand on his sword and the feudal lords fled west,
Who levelled the realm and unified its script and its rule.
The swordsman shamed by kindness, the youth repaying his patron,
At Han, at Zhao's privy, at Wu's court, at Yan's mart—
Each cut his tenderness, forsook his love, left his state and his home.
Or there were the lone minister whose tears hung perilous, the base-born son whose heart plummeted,
The banished guest upon the sea, the exile posted to Long's shadow,
Who went and returned no more, their souls scattered and lost.

Listen

Meaning

Behold the open plain, where trailing grass enwinds the dried bones and the old trees gather the wandering souls. That life should reach such a pass—who can argue the way of Heaven! And I, a man full of regret by nature, am struck with unceasing dread. I think only of those of old who died with their regrets unspent. As for the First Qin Emperor who laid hand on his sword and made the feudal lords flee west, who levelled the realm and unified its script and its laws. The swordsman shamed by kindness, the youth repaying his friend—at Han, at Zhao's privy, at Wu's court, at Yan's mart they went to their deaths. Each cut away his tenderness and forsook his love, leaving his state and his village. And there were the lone minister weeping, the base son whose heart fell, the exile drifting on the sea, the conscript sent to Long's northern shade—gone and never returning, their souls scattered and lost.

试看那平原之上，蔓草缠绕着枯骨，老树收敛着游魂。人生到了这般境地，天道又哪里说得清！于是我本是个满怀遗恨的人，心下惊怖不已。直念古来那些人，都是怀着遗恨而死。至于那秦始皇按剑而起，诸侯向西奔驰，削平天下，同文字共法度。剑客惭于恩遇，少年报答知己，韩国、赵厕、吴宫、燕市四处赴死。割舍慈爱，忍离邦里。又有孤臣落泪，孽子坠心，迁客漂于海上，戍卒流放陇阴，一去不返，丧魂零落。

Appreciation

The art of this fu lies first in its enumerative structure of 'grouping by kind': it opens with the desolate scene of 'trailing grass enwinding bones' to set the tone, then in turn recounts the First Emperor's unification, the swordsmen's repayment of kindness, the far marriage of the Bright Consort, the lone ministers and base sons, the banished guests and exiled conscripts—each class of regret unfolds like a scroll, closing with 'died with regret unspent,' vast in force yet running through to one end. The language is matched in four-six parallelism, the antitheses finely wrought: 'At Han, at Zhao's privy, at Wu's court, at Yan's mart' packs four places of the assassins into a few words; 'trailing grass enwinds the bones, arched trees gather the souls' uses scene to begin the lament. The allusions are dense and ornate yet the feeling-line never breaks; it makes the abstract 'regret' concrete in countless historical faces—a model of the Six Dynasties lyric fu that 'embodies things and writes the intent.'

【白话串讲】 “试望平原，蔓草萦骨，拱木敛魂”——江淹写《恨赋》：望平原，蔓草缠着白骨。“人生到此，天道宁论”——人生到这一步，还谈什么天道。“仆本恨人，心惊不已”——他写尽千古的恨：帝王、将相、美人，都带着遗憾死去。【意象与手法】此赋艺术首在“以类相从”的铺排结构【情感与主旨】《恨赋》为南朝梁江淹（444—505）早年赋作，与《别赋》并称“江郎双赋” 【名句点睛】中高考若节选此赋，考点多在三处

Background

The Rhapsody on Regret was the early work of Jiang Yan of the Liang (444–505), alongside the Rhapsody on Parting known as the 'twin rhapsodies of Jiang.' Jiang served the Song, Qi and Liang, poor and orphaned in youth and fond of study; this fu was likely written in his unsettled young manhood, using 'regret'—the common name for life's lack—to spread forth the varied tragedies of heroes, beauties, exiles and lone ministers who 'died with regret unspent.' The fu speaks as 'I, a man of regret,' but is in truth a collective sigh over the fickleness of life and the difficulty of fulfilling great aims in the troubled Six Dynasties. Jiang is later famous for the tale of 'Jiang Lang's spent talent,' yet the Rhapsody on Regret and Rhapsody on Parting, with their deep parallel feeling, are truly the peak of Southern lyric fu and greatly shaped the Tang fu.

《恨赋》为南朝梁江淹所作，是写古今之人遗恨的赋。江淹（444—505），字文通，济阳考城人，南朝梁文学家。此赋节选部分：试望平原，蔓草萦骨，拱木敛魂；人生到此，天道宁论！于是仆本恨人，心惊不已；直念古者，伏恨而死。至如秦帝按剑，诸侯西驰，削平天下，同文共规。全赋写古今帝王将相、志士美人伏恨而死的遗恨，是江淹“恨赋”之名篇。

Art

This fu's craft lies first in its enumerative structure of 'grouping by kind': it opens with the desolate scene of 'trailing grass enwinding bones' to set the tone, then in turn enumerates the First Emperor's unification, the swordsmen's repayment of kindness, the Bright Consort's far marriage, the lone ministers and base sons, the banished guests and exiled conscripts—each class of regret unfolds like a scroll, closing with 'died with regret unspent,' vast in force yet single in thread. The language is matched in four-six parallelism, the antitheses finely wrought: 'At Han, at Zhao's privy, at Wu's court, at Yan's mart' packs four assassins' deaths into brief space; 'trailing grass enwinds the bones, arched trees gather the souls' uses scene to open the lament, with the personifying 'gather the souls' making even heaven and earth grieve at regret. The allusions are dense and ornate yet the feeling-line never breaks; it makes the abstract 'regret' concrete in countless historical faces—a model of the Six Dynasties lyric fu that 'embodies the thing and writes the intent.'

《恨赋》艺术上以排比的结构与悲怆的情调见长。此节选八句，层层写来：前四句写望平原之悲——“试望平原，蔓草萦骨，拱木敛魂”写平原蔓草拱木，“人生到此，天道宁论”写人生到此、天道难论；中四句写仆本恨人——“于是仆本恨人，心惊不已”写恨人惊心，“直念古者，伏恨而死”写古者伏恨；后四句写秦帝之恨——“至如秦帝按剑，诸侯西驰”写秦帝按剑，“削平天下，同文共规”写削平天下。全赋以排比写古今之恨，悲怆沉郁，正是江淹“恨赋”的笔法。

Allusions

The fu's references are dense yet all bear on 'regret.' 'At Han, at Zhao's privy, at Wu's court, at Yan's mart' comprises the four great assassins: Nie Zheng assassinating the Han minister Xia Lei (Han), Yu Rang assassinating the Zhao ruler Xiangzi (Zhao's privy), Zhuan Zhu assassinating the Wu king Liao (Wu's court), Jing Ke assassinating the Qin king (Yan's mart)—all types who repaid kindness and went to their deaths with regret unspent. 'The First Qin Emperor laid hand on his sword, the feudal lords fled west' refers to the First Emperor swallowing the six states. 'The Bright Consort's going' and 'the lone minister's perilous tears' use the tales of Wang Zhaojun's exile to the frontier and the banishments of Qu Yuan and Jia Yi. Jiang Yan uses allusion as brick to build the hall of 'regret,' giving individual grief the depth of history—a superior case of using the past in service of feeling.

《恨赋》用典在“天道宁论”“秦帝按剑”。“天道宁论”写天道难论，出《史记》“天道无亲，常与善人”之叹；“秦帝按剑”写秦始皇按剑而临诸侯；“同文共规”写秦统一文字制度（书同文、车同轨）。全赋以这些典故写古今之恨，用典自然而悲怆自深，正是江淹“恨赋”的笔法。

Commentary

The Literary Anthology, among lyric fu, especially records the Rhapsody on Regret and the Rhapsody on Parting; Crown Prince Zhaoming held they 'send grief where feeling goes, draw tears where the text comes.' The Tang commentator Li Shan, in his notes to the Anthology, cites them with high praise; Du Mu and Li Shangyin owe much to them in their fu. The Qing scholar Xu Lian, in his Six Dynasties Pure Writings, comments: 'a stretch of cold and desolate, paper full of sobs—this regret has no end.' Lu Xun, in his Outline History of Han Literature, also takes Jiang Yan's fu as a representative of 'feeling and ornament combined.' Only later ages mock his late-life 'spent talent,' yet the twin fu stand on their own. In sum, this fu writes deep lament in parallelism—a singular wonder of the Six Dynasties.

《恨赋》是江淹的代表作，也是中国辞赋中写遗恨的名篇。此赋写古今之人伏恨而死，向为论者称道。论者多赏其排比的结构——“试望平原，蔓草萦骨，拱木敛魂”写平原之悲，起笔即苍凉；“人生到此，天道宁论”写天道难论，更见其恨。江淹以“恨赋”“别赋”并称，此赋正是其代表——以排比写古今之恨，悲怆沉郁，正是其“恨”之名的由来。

Prosody

Form Southern-Dynasty parallel rhapsody (lyric short fu)抒情小赋

Rhyme Rhapsody form, shifting rhyme by section, sentences mainly in four-six parallelism《恨赋》为南朝抒情小赋，此节选以骈散相间，押韵。此赋用韵：魂、论（文部）、已、死（之部）、驰、规（支部），随段换韵，音节悲怆。

Tone pattern Parallel fu values tone and antithesis, level-oblique in easy accord南朝抒情小赋以音节悲怆、辞采华茂见长。此节选以“试望平原”起，以“同文共规”收，音节悲怆而苍凉。全赋以骈体贯底，声调与写恨的内容相合，是南朝抒情赋中写恨的一路。

Reading note With the Rhapsody on Parting called the 'twin rhapsodies of Jiang,' peak of Six-Dynasty lyric fu.《恨赋》为南朝梁江淹所作，是写古今之人遗恨的赋。此节选以“试望平原，蔓草萦骨，拱木敛魂”写墓地之惨，以“人生到此，天道宁论”写天道之叹，以“仆本恨人，心惊不已”写恨人惊心，以“秦帝按剑……同文共规”写秦帝之业。以排比写古今之恨，悲怆沉郁，正是江淹“恨赋”之名篇。

Line by line

试望平原，蔓草萦骨，拱木敛魂。人生到此，天道宁论！

Gaze out over the plain: tangled vines wind round bones, arching trees gather souls. Man's life has come to this—what becomes of Heaven's way!

试看那平原之上，蔓草缠绕白骨，拱木收聚灵魂。人生到了这一步，天道还怎么论说！

Look out over the plain: tangled vines wind about bones, arching trees gather souls. Life has come to this—what of Heaven's way now!

前四句写望平原之悲，是全赋恨之情的起点。“试望平原，蔓草萦骨，拱木敛魂”写平原之悲——“试望平原”写试看平原，“蔓草萦骨”写蔓草缠绕白骨，“拱木敛魂”写拱木（墓木）收聚灵魂——平原之上，蔓草白骨、拱木敛魂；“人生到此，天道宁论”写天道难论——“人生到此”写人生到了这一步，“天道宁论”写天道还怎么论说。四句写望平原之悲：蔓草萦骨、拱木敛魂，人生到此、天道宁论。以“蔓草萦骨，拱木敛魂”写墓地之惨，以“人生到此，天道宁论”写天道之叹，正是江淹写恨之情的起点——见白骨而悲，悲人生之无常。

The plain. Gaze out over the plain: tangled vines wind round bones, arching trees gather souls. Man's life has come to this—what becomes of Heaven's way! The tangled-vines-round-bones and the arching-trees-gather-souls are the opening. To have wound round bones would be a winding; the gaze-out-over-the-plain-tangled-vines-wind-round-bones-arching-trees-gather-souls-man's-life-has-come-to-this-what-becomes-of-heaven's-way is the winding.

于是仆本恨人，心惊不已。直念古者，伏恨而死。

Then I, already a man of regrets, my heart stirred without cease; I think of those of old who lay down and died with their grief.

于是我这个本有遗恨的人，心惊不已。一直想起古来的人，伏恨而死。

Then I, who was already a man of regrets, my heart trembling without end; I think of the ancients who lay down and died with their grievances.

中四句写仆本恨人、念古者伏恨，是全赋转入历数之恨的枢纽。“于是仆本恨人，心惊不已”写恨人惊心——“于是”写于是，“仆本恨人”写我这个本有遗恨的人，“心惊不已”写心惊不已——我本恨人，心惊不已；“直念古者，伏恨而死”写念古者伏恨——“直念古者”写一直想起古来的人，“伏恨而死”写伏恨而死——想起古人，伏恨而死。四句写恨人惊心、念古者伏恨：仆本恨人、心惊不已，直念古者、伏恨而死。以“仆本恨人”写己之有恨，以“直念古者，伏恨而死”写古者之恨，正是江淹写恨赋转入历数帝王将相遗恨的枢纽——恨人念恨人，古今同恨。

The regrets. Then I, already a man of regrets, my heart stirred without cease; I think of those of old who lay down and died with their grief. The man-of-regrets-heart-stirred and the ancients-lay-down-died-with-grief are the turn. To have been a man of regrets would be a being; the then-i-already-a-man-of-regrets-my-heart-stirred-without-cease-i-think-of-those-of-old-who-lay-down-and-died-with-their-grief is the being.

至如秦帝按剑，诸侯西驰，削平天下，同文共规。

As when the Qin Emperor rested on his sword, the lords galloped west, he leveled the empire, and unified script and law.

至于秦始皇按剑而立，诸侯向西奔驰，削平天下，统一文字制度。

As for the Qin Emperor resting on his sword, the lords galloped west; he leveled the empire and unified script and institutions.

后四句写秦帝之恨，是全赋历数古今之恨的开始。“至如秦帝按剑，诸侯西驰”写秦帝按剑——“至如”写至于，“秦帝按剑”写秦始皇按剑而立，“诸侯西驰”写诸侯向西奔驰（朝秦）——秦帝按剑，诸侯西驰；“削平天下，同文共规”写削平天下——“削平天下”写削平天下，“同文共规”写统一文字制度（书同文、车同轨）——削平天下，同文共规。四句写秦帝之业：秦帝按剑、诸侯西驰，削平天下、同文共规。以“秦帝按剑”写其威，以“削平天下，同文共规”写其业，正是江淹历数古今之恨的开端——纵如秦皇之雄，亦有伏恨之日（下文写其求仙不死之恨）。

The emperor. As when the Qin Emperor rested on his sword, the lords galloped west, he leveled the empire, and unified script and law. The Qin-Emperor-on-sword and the leveled-empire-unified-script are the history. To have leveled the empire would be a leveling; the as-when-the-qin-emperor-rested-on-his-sword-the-lords-galloped-west-he-leveled-the-empire-and-unified-script-and-law is the leveling.

Study

Word focus

蔓草萦骨 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “蔓草萦骨”之“蔓草萦骨”，写蔓草缠绕白骨，是全赋写墓地之惨的关键词。“蔓草”写蔓延之草，“萦骨”写缠绕白骨——蔓草缠绕白骨。这一词写墓之惨：不是绿草之景，而是蔓草萦骨；不是安宁之墓，而是白骨狼藉。以“蔓草萦骨”写墓地，正是江淹写恨之情起笔苍凉的笔法。

拱木敛魂 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “拱木敛魂”之“拱木敛魂”，写墓木收聚灵魂，是全赋写墓地之悲的关键词。“拱木”写两手合抱之墓木，“敛魂”写收聚灵魂——拱木收聚灵魂。这一词写墓之悲：不是寻常之树，而是拱木；不是生气之景，而是敛魂之象。以“拱木敛魂”写墓地，与“蔓草萦骨”相对，正是江淹写恨之情悲怆的笔法。

天道宁论 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “天道宁论”之“天道宁论”，写天道还怎么论说，是全赋写天道之叹的关键词。“天道”写上天之道，“宁论”写还怎么论说——人生到此，天道宁论。这一词写对天道的质疑：不是赞天道，而是宁论；不是可明之理，而是难论之叹。以“天道宁论”写天道难论，正是江淹写恨之人对命运悲叹的笔法。

同文共规 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “削平天下，同文共规”之“同文共规”，写统一文字制度，是全赋写秦帝之业的关键词。“同文”写书同文，“共规”写车同轨——削平天下，统一文字制度。这一词写秦之统一：不是割据之业，而同文共规；不是偏安之功，而一天下之制。以“同文共规”写秦帝之业，正是江淹历数古今之恨、以雄业衬伏恨的笔法。

恨赋