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南北朝 Northern and Southern Dynasties · 乐府 Yuefu ballad

子夜歌·始欲识郎时

Midnight Songs: When I First Came to Know You

南朝民歌

Anonymous (Southern Dynasties folk song)

爱情love 谐音双关homophonic punning 吴声歌曲songs of the Wu region

始欲识郎时，两心望如一。
理丝入残机，何悟不成匹。

When I first came to know you,
I hoped our two hearts would become one.
But it was like threading fine silk onto a broken loom -
how could I have guessed it would never make a whole bolt.

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Meaning

A woman looks back on the beginning of a love affair, when she believed the two of them would be of one mind, and finds that the hope has come to nothing. She likens it to good silk set on a ruined loom, which can never be woven into a finished bolt and so can never make a match.

当初刚要与你相识的时候，只盼着两颗心能合成一颗心。谁知这就像把理好的丝线装上残破的织机，哪里想得到竟织不成一匹布、结不成一双人。

Appreciation

The whole poem turns on a household comparison drawn from the woman's own daily work. The silk is good silk; it is the loom that is broken, so the fault for the failed weaving lies not with her feeling but with the man who proved unworthy of it. Two puns carry the meaning: the word for silk sounds like the word for longing, and the word for a bolt of cloth sounds like the word for a matched pair. The poem opens on hope and closes on a startled question, saying nothing at all about what happened in between, and that silence is what makes the loss so complete. It is a rueful question rather than an accusation, and in twenty syllables it holds both the joy and the disenchantment of a country girl in love.

【白话串讲】 “始欲识郎时，两心望如一”——子夜歌写：当初认识你时，两心如一。“理丝入残机，何悟不成匹”——把丝理上破旧的织机，却织不成匹。“匹”谐音“匹配”——她叹：我们的姻缘，终究成不了。【意象与手法】南朝吴声歌曲最擅长谐音双关，此诗四句中后两句连用两处：“丝”谐“思”，“匹”谐“匹配”。女子日日与丝机为伴，信手拈来眼前之物作譬，既贴切自然，又含蓄不露。更妙的是“残机”二字——织不成布，过错不在丝而在机，言外之意是：情思本无亏欠，是那人先自不堪托付。一层譬喻里藏着两层意思。【情感与主旨】全诗以“望”起，以“何悟”收，一头是热烈的期待，一头是彻骨的失落，中间的过程一字未提，却让人尽可想见。这不是激烈的控诉，而是一声怅然的自问，有懊悔，有埋怨，也有对痴心女子的隐隐告诫。短短二十字，写尽了民间女子在爱情中的欢欣与幻灭。【名句点睛】 “理丝入残机，何悟不成匹”是南朝民歌双关体的典范。表面全是织布的家常话，底下却句句是相思与匹配的隐语；语言愈朴素，意蕴愈曲折。后世如“春蚕到死丝方尽”一路的写法，其源头正在这类吴声歌曲之中。

Background

The Midnight Songs belong to the Wu-region songs among the Pure Music lyrics of the yuefu tradition. The Tang treatise on music attributes the melody to a woman named Ziye of the Jin dynasty, while the words themselves came from the common people. Guo Maoqian's Song dynasty anthology of yuefu poetry preserves forty-two of them, mostly love songs in a woman's voice, and this is the most famous of the group.

《子夜歌》是南朝吴声歌曲的代表，相传为晋代女子子夜所创，故以人名名调，多写江南女子的爱情与相思，语言清浅而情致深婉，是六朝乐府民歌的精华。此首始欲识郎时为《子夜歌》组诗中的一首，属清商曲辞系统，当出于建康（今南京）一带的民间歌咏。南朝时期，江南经济繁荣、都市声色鼎盛，吴声西曲在贵族与民间同时流行，其内容多涉男女私情，却因出自里巷女儿之口而别具天真。此诗以织丝为喻，写一个女子从初识时的同心期盼，到最终织不成匹的幻灭，短短二十字，把爱情中的欢欣与失落凝为一组精妙的谐音双关。理解此诗，须置于南朝民歌以日常物事（丝、布、藕、莲）寄托情思的传统之中，方能领会其含蓄之妙与哀婉之深，子夜歌出建康里巷，多写儿女之情而别具天真；此首以织事寄情，于二十字中凝欢欣与失落为一，是南朝吴声以日常物事写心的典型标本。。

Art

Four lines fall into two movements: the first two state the hope held at the outset, the last two use the image of weaving to state today's disappointment, and the voice drops from eager to subdued. The comparison is taken from the objects immediately at hand, and homophonic punning keeps the meaning veiled while the picture stays vivid.

此诗四句，结构上前二句叙情、后二句喻理，由热烈期盼跌入清醒失落，章法简净而张力十足。始欲识郎时，两心望如一以直笔写初识之心：那时刚要结识情郎，两颗心都盼着能合成一颗，望如一三字写尽女子对爱情最天真也最圆满的想象。后二句理丝入残机，何悟不成匹陡然转折，由情入事、由事及喻：她把理好的丝线装入残破的织机，哪里想得到竟织不成一匹整布。匹字双关匹配，表面写织布不成，实写姻缘不谐，两层意思叠在一处，含蓄不尽。其艺术精髓全在双关：丝谐思、匹谐匹配，皆取女子日常习见之物，信手拈来而意蕴深曲。全诗由望如一的圆满到不成匹的残缺，中间过程一字不提，留白极多，令人尽可想见其间种种，是南朝情歌以浅语写深哀的典型，前二句直叙同心之愿，后二句以丝机为喻陡落，中间过程尽付空白，由满到缺的跌宕全在言外，是六朝情歌以浅语写深哀的妙处所在。。

Allusions

The word for silk thread is a homophone of the word for longing, and the word for a bolt of cloth also means a match or a mate. The treatise on food and money in the History of the Han records that cloth two feet two inches wide and four zhang long makes one bolt. The broken loom stands for a lover who cannot be relied upon, and the phrase in the last line means simply how could I have known.

丝：谐音思，是南朝吴声歌曲最惯用的双关语，如《子夜歌》他处所谓理丝等句皆以丝代相思之思；此处理丝既写女子理线入机之实，又暗指理其相思之情，一语双绾。匹：本指布帛之量词（一匹布），此处谐音匹配、匹偶，织不成匹即结不成夫妻，是南朝民歌以生产术语寄情爱之思的典型手法。残机：残破的织机，是诗中关键的意象——丝虽好而机已残，织不成布，过错不在丝而在机，言外之意是情思本无亏欠，是那人（或那境遇）先自不堪托付。机与丝对举，暗喻女方情意真切而男方（或外力）有负。子夜歌整体善用此类谐音双关，与《读曲歌》《华山畿》同属吴声系统，其双关之法上承汉乐府谐音传统，下启后世春蚕到死丝方尽的写法，是六朝民歌对中国诗歌含蓄美学的重要贡献，丝谐思、匹谐匹配、残机点出失偶之由，皆吴声双关之常法；以生产术语寄男女之思，使私情得普遍可感之形，启后世李商隐温庭筠一路。。

Commentary

This piece is the model of the punning manner of Southern Dynasties folk song: the words are plain but the thought runs deep, wit sparkles everywhere, and two homophones inside four lines keep the poem lively and indirect without ever losing its sincerity.

《子夜歌》历来被视为南朝情歌的典范，此首尤以双关精妙著称。明清选家如《乐府诗集》《古诗源》皆收录之，近人论六朝乐府，每以此与《西洲曲》并观，认为同写女子相思而一凝练一铺展。其经典意义在于：把爱情中最朴素的期盼与最痛切的幻灭，凝入织丝这一日常动作之中，丝与匹的双关使私人情感获得普遍可感的形式，遂成千古名句之祖。后世如李商隐春蚕到死丝方尽、温庭筠玲珑骰子安红豆一路以物寄情、谐音见意的写法，其源头正可溯至此类吴声歌曲。要之，此诗以二十字写尽从同心到失偶的全过程，语愈浅而意愈曲，欢欣与怅惘俱在丝机之间，诚南朝民歌含蓄深婉的绝佳标本，亦足证民间歌谣以双关写情的不二法门，要之，此诗以极短之制、极常之物写极深之情，双关之妙使其超越一时一地；春蚕到死丝方尽之语，其源正可溯至此等吴声歌曲，足证其不朽。。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain南朝吴声歌曲（五言四句，子夜歌体）

Rhyme The usual form of the Wu-region songs; the rhyme words yi and pi both belong to the entering-tone zhi rhyme, and the lines are short.如、匹古音相近，吴声歌曲多随意协韵，此首以如一、不成匹收束，音节清浅如谣。

Tone pattern Short, clipped lines in the manner of the Wu songs, closing on entering-tone rhymes that give the ending its abruptness.五言二二一顿，不依后世平仄，纯以自然口语成调，节奏轻快而带婉转，宜于女子轻歌。

Reading note A short love song of the Southern Dynasties which uses the puns on silk and on a matched bolt to say that the union was never made. The language is simple and the feeling deep, which is typical of the Midnight Songs of Wu.此诗属南朝吴声歌曲《子夜歌》系统，形制为五言四句，是六朝民间情歌的典型体式。吴声歌曲本出于建康一带的里巷歌咏，多写儿女之情，以清浅委婉、善用双关著称。用韵方面，吴声本不甚拘守官韵，往往随方音自然协律，此首以如一、不成匹收束，读来轻婉如谣，与女子低诉的语气相合。句式上五言二二一顿，如始欲、识郎、两心等皆自然断句，不加雕饰，最宜口头传唱。其艺术重心不在声律而在双关：丝谐思、匹谐匹配，以织事寄情事，语浅而意曲。要之，此诗以极短之制、极常之物，写极深之情，双关之妙使其超越一时一地，成为南朝乐府含蓄美学的标本，亦足见民间歌诗以机智写哀婉的不二法门。

Line by line

始欲识郎时，两心望如一。

When I first came to know you, I hoped our two hearts would become one. The poem opens on the innocence of a first meeting, plain as speech.

当初刚要与你相识的时候，只盼着两颗心能合成一颗心。

When first we came to know each other, I hoped our two hearts would become one.

起二句以追忆之笔写初识时的心愿，是全诗欢欣的底色。始欲识郎时写时间之起点——当初刚刚要结识情郎的那一刻，一个始字把读者拉回故事最初、最干净的瞬间。两心望如一以最朴素的语言写最圆满的期盼：两颗心都盼着能合成一颗心，望是期望，如一是合一、同心，五字之中既有少女的天真，也有对爱情浑然一体的想象。这一句是全诗的情感高点，所有的甜都浓缩在此，与后文的不成匹形成触目惊心的反差。南朝民歌写情多直而能深，此句看似白话，却把爱情初起时那种毫无保留的信赖写得动人，为后文的失落蓄足了势能——正因其望如一，后来的织不成匹才格外摧折。

The beginning. When first we came to know each other, I hoped our two hearts would become one. The first-came-know and the two-hearts-become-one are the bright hope. To have hoped to become one would be a hoping; the when-first-we-came-to-know-each-other-i-hoped-our-two-hearts-would-become-one is the hoping.

理丝入残机，何悟不成匹。

It was like setting well-combed silk on a broken loom - who could have guessed it would never make a whole bolt. Silk puns on longing and bolt puns on a matched pair, so the ruined loom that weaves no cloth becomes a marriage that never happens: the ingenuity of folk song at its best.

谁知这就像把理好的丝线装上残破的织机，哪里想得到竟织不成一匹布、结不成一双人。

I thread the silk into the broken loom—how was I to know it would never weave a pair?

后二句由情入事、由事及喻，是全诗的转折与灵魂。理丝入残机写女子日常劳作：把理好的丝线装入织机，本是成布的必经；残机二字却埋下败因——机已残破，纵有好丝亦难成匹。何悟不成匹以一声怅然的自问收束：哪里想得到竟织不成一匹布呢。匹字双关，既指布匹，亦指匹配、夫妻，所以不成匹既是织布失败，更是姻缘不谐。这一转极妙：表面全是织布的家务话，底下却句句是相思与匹配的隐语。更值得玩味的是残机——丝（情思）本无过错，错在机（境遇或对方）之不堪，诗人把女子的委屈与不甘，全部藏进这一个残字里。二十字由望如一的热望跌至不成匹的冰冷，欢欣与幻灭俱在丝机之间，含蓄而痛切。

The broken loom. I thread the silk into the broken loom—how was I to know it would never weave a pair? The thread-silk-broken-loom and the how-knew-never-weave-pair are the disillusion. To have threaded the silk would be a threading; the i-thread-the-silk-into-the-broken-loom-how-was-i-to-know-it-would-never-weave-a-pair is the threading.

Study

Word focus

丝 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 理丝入残机之丝，是南朝吴声歌曲最经典的谐音双关字，谐相思之思。此处丝既指女子手中理好的蚕丝、是织布的真实原料，又暗指她心中绵绵的相思之情，一物而兼实写与暗写两层，是典型的民歌双关手法。以丝代思的妙处，在于把抽象而私密的情感，落实为女子日常可见、可触、可理的具象之物——她理丝的动作，正是她理其情思的动作，物我之间悄然合一。这一谐音传统源远流长，汉乐府中已见端倪，至南朝吴声而大盛，并直接启后世李商隐春蚕到死丝方尽以丝写思的名句。一个丝字，使私情获得了普遍可感的物象外壳，含蓄而不晦涩，正是六朝民歌以浅语寄深情的看家本领。

匹 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 不成匹之匹，是全诗双关的第二个枢纽，谐音匹配、匹偶。匹本为布帛的量词，织成一匹布是纺织的常目标；诗人却借此谐音，把织布之不成转写为姻缘之不成——织不成一匹布，亦即结不成一对人。这一双关的巧妙在于两义同构：布之不成与偶之不成，原因都在残机，故而无论取哪一层，悲剧都成立，两层彼此印证、互为注脚。以生产术语寄男女之情，是南朝民歌特有的机智，它让最私密的婚恋失落，借日常劳动自然流出，不见呼号而痛自深。匹字与丝字一脉相连，共构此诗谐音双关的核心，亦开后世以物谐情、以事喻爱的一派，足见民间诗人点铁成金的巧思。

残机 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 理丝入残机之残机，是诗中看似寻常却最承重的一个意象。机即织机，残言其破敝不全。丝虽理得齐整、情虽满腔真心，奈何所托之机已残，纵有好丝亦织不成匹——过错显然不在丝（情思），而在机（境遇或所托非人）。这一个残字，藏着女子的全部委屈：她的相思本无亏欠，是外部条件或对方先已不堪托付。残机因此成为整首诗悲剧根源的隐喻，使不成匹的失落有了具体的着落。以残机反衬良丝，物象之间暗含判词，含蓄而锋利。南朝民歌善用对立物象（丝与机、新与故）造境，残机正是其中极具张力的一例，足见民间歌诗于浅白中寓深意的手段。