先秦 Pre-Qin · 诗经 Classic of Poetry
北风
North Wind
北风北风其凉,雨雪其雱。
惠而好我,携手同行。
其虚其邪?
既亟只且!
北风其喈,雨雪其霏。
惠而好我,携手同归。
其虚其邪?
既亟只且!
莫赤匪狐,莫黑匪乌。
惠而好我,携手同车。
其虚其邪?
既亟只且!
Those who are kind and love me, let's walk hand in hand.
Why so slow? It's already urgent!
North wind so sharp, snow flies so thick.
Those who are kind and love me, let's go home hand in hand.
Why so slow? It's already urgent!
No fox but red, no crow but black.
Those who are kind and love me, let's ride hand in hand.
Why so slow? It's already urgent!
Meaning
Amidst a harsh winter storm, the poet urges a loved one to flee quickly, as the world has become corrupt and dangerous. The repeated refrain emphasizes the urgency of escaping the impending disaster.
北风多么凉,大雪纷纷扬。顺心而爱我的,携手一同走。还犹豫什么?已经危急了啊!北风急啸,大雪纷飞。相爱的人携手同归。莫再迟疑,危急了!没有不红的狐狸,没有不黑的乌鸦。相爱的人携手同车。危急了,快走!
Appreciation
This poem from the Book of Songs uses the north wind and snow as a metaphor for political oppression. The three stanzas gradually intensify the sense of crisis through slight variations in wording. The final metaphor of foxes and crows suggests that all are corrupt, leaving no place to stay.
【白话串讲】 “北风其凉,雨雪其雱。惠而好我,携手同行”——北风寒冷,大雪纷飞,那人说:你待我好,我们一起走。“其虚其邪?既亟只且”——别犹豫了,情况已经很紧急。三千年前,一首逃难歌。 【意象与手法】 全诗三章重章叠句,前两章以“北风其凉/其喈”“雨雪其雱/其霏”起兴,风雪交加隐喻危局 【情感与主旨】 《北风》为《诗经·邶风》篇,约作于西周末年至春秋间乱世。诗写君臣(或友朋、爱侣)于祸乱将至时相呼速逃 【名句点睛】 中高考常考:一、重章叠句与换字(凉—喈、雱—霏、行—归—车)的情感推进
Background
Composed during the chaotic transition from the Western Zhou to Eastern Zhou period, this poem is believed to depict people fleeing from misrule. The Mao tradition interprets it as a satire on the cruel governance of the state of Wei, while others see it as a love song about escape.
《北风》为《诗经·邶风》中的一篇,是写祸乱将至、携手避难的诗。全诗三章:北风其凉,雨雪其雱;惠而好我,携手同行;其虚其邪?既亟只且!北风其喈,雨雪其霏;惠而好我,携手同归;其虚其邪?既亟只且!莫赤匪狐,莫黑匪乌;惠而好我,携手同车;其虚其邪?既亟只且!全诗以北风、雨雪写祸乱之将至,以携手同行写相携避难,是《诗经》中写忧患意识的名篇。
Art
The poem employs repeated stanzas with incremental variation (same structure, different words for wind and snow), building urgency. The abrupt final stanza introduces a striking metaphor, compressing the theme of universal corruption into two lines.
《北风》艺术上以兴象的萧瑟与紧迫的节奏见长。全诗三章复沓,层层写来:每章前两句写兴象——“北风其凉,雨雪其雱”写北风寒凉、雨雪纷飞,“北风其喈,雨雪其霏”写风声凄厉、雨雪霏霏,“莫赤匪狐,莫黑匪乌”写狐乌之黑赤;中两句写相携——“惠而好我,携手同行”写与善我者同行,“携手同归”写同归,“携手同车”写同车;末两句写紧迫——“其虚其邪?既亟只且”写勿迟缓,时已急。三章复沓,兴象由凉而喈,相携由行而车,紧迫之意层层加深,正是《诗经》重章叠句、以兴写忧的手法。
Allusions
The line 'No fox but red, no crow but black' is a proverbial expression of a world where nothing is redeeming. 'Xū' and 'xié' (虚邪) are archaic words for 'slow' or 'hesitant', and 'jǐ jí' (既亟) means 'already urgent'.
《北风》用典在“北风”“雨雪”“狐”“乌”。“北风”“雨雪”以风雪的严寒写祸乱之将至;“莫赤匪狐,莫黑匪乌”写天下赤者皆狐、黑者皆乌,喻坏人当道、无善可依;“惠而好我”写仁爱而喜我之人。全诗以这些兴象写祸乱将至、无善可依的忧患,不用深典而忧思自深,正是《诗经》以兴写忧的笔法。
Commentary
Mao's Commentary reads this as a critique of the tyrannical rule of Wei, with the speaker urging friends to leave. Zhu Xi emphasizes the metaphor of a court full of villains. Fang Yurun suggests it is about friends retreating together from society. All agree on the poem's desperate tone.
《北风》是《诗经·邶风》中的名篇,也是中国诗歌中写忧患意识、祸乱将至的源头。此诗以北风、雨雪写祸乱将至,向为论者称道。论者多赏其兴象的萧瑟——“北风其凉,雨雪其雱”写寒凉之象,忧患之意尽在景中;“其虚其邪?既亟只且”写紧迫之意,更见其忧。此诗以兴写忧、以景寓情,正是《诗经》风诗写忧患的代表作,为后世“北风雨雪”之典所本。
Prosody
Line by line
北风其凉,雨雪其雱。惠而好我,携手同行。
The north wind is cold; the snow falls thick. You who love me kindly, hand in hand we go together.
北风寒冷,雨雪纷飞。有仁爱而喜欢我的人,与我携手同行。
The north wind is chill; the snow falls fast. You who are kind and love me, hand in hand we go together.
首章前四句写兴象与相携,是全诗忧患意识的起点。“北风其凉,雨雪其雱”写兴象——“北风其凉”写北风寒凉,“雨雪其雱”写雨雪纷纷——以风雪的严寒起兴,写祸乱将至之象;“惠而好我,携手同行”写相携——“惠而好我”写仁爱而喜我,“携手同行”写携手同行——有善我者,相携避难。四句写兴象与相携:北风寒凉、雨雪纷飞,有惠而好我者,携手同行。以“北风其凉,雨雪其雱”写祸乱将至,以“惠而好我,携手同行”写相携避难,正是《诗经》以兴写忧、以景寓情的笔法——天寒如此,祸乱将至,唯有相携同行。
The wind. The north wind is cold; the snow falls thick. You who love me kindly, hand in hand we go together. The north-wind-cold-snow-thick and the kind-love-me-hand-in-hand-together are the opening. To have been cold would be a being; the the-north-wind-is-cold-the-snow-falls-thick-you-who-love-me-kindly-hand-in-hand-we-go-together is the being.
其虚其邪?既亟只且!
Can we linger? The hour is urgent!
还能迟缓从容吗?已经急迫了啊!
Can we linger and loiter? The moment is urgent now!
此句写紧迫之意,是全诗忧患的归结。“其虚其邪”写迟缓从容——“其虚”写虚缓,“其邪”(邪通徐)写从容——还能迟缓从容吗?“既亟只且”写已急迫——“既亟”写已经急迫,“只且”为语助——已经急迫了啊!两句写紧迫:其虚其邪?既亟只且!以“其虚其邪”的反问写勿迟缓,以“既亟只且”写时已急,正是《诗经》写忧患紧迫的笔法——祸乱将至,刻不容缓。三章皆以此二句收束,紧迫之意层层加深。
The haste. Can we linger? The hour is urgent! The can-we-linger and the hour-is-urgent are the warning. To have lingered would be a lingering; the can-we-linger-the-hour-is-urgent is the lingering.
莫赤匪狐,莫黑匪乌。惠而好我,携手同车。
No red thing but a fox; no black thing but a crow. You who love me kindly, hand in hand we ride together.
没有不是赤色的狐狸,没有不是黑色的乌鸦。有仁爱而喜欢我的人,与我携手同车。
No red thing is not a fox; no black thing is not a crow. You who are kind and love me, hand in hand we ride together.
末章前四句写无善可依与相携,是全诗忧患之深的关键。“莫赤匪狐,莫黑匪乌”写坏人当道——“莫赤匪狐”写天下赤者皆狐,“莫黑匪乌”写天下黑者皆乌——喻坏人当道、无善可依;“惠而好我,携手同车”写相携——“惠而好我”写仁爱而喜我,“携手同车”写携手同车。四句写无善可依与相携:天下皆狐皆乌,坏人当道;唯有惠而好我者,携手同车。以“莫赤匪狐,莫黑匪乌”写坏人当道、无善可依,以“携手同车”写相携之深,正是《诗经》写忧患之深的笔法——祸乱至此,唯有同车而逃。
The fox. No red thing but a fox; no black thing but a crow. You who love me kindly, hand in hand we ride together. The red-fox-black-crow and the kind-love-me-hand-in-hand-ride are the close. To have been a fox would be a being; the no-red-thing-but-a-fox-no-black-thing-but-a-crow-you-who-love-me-kindly-hand-in-hand-we-ride-together is the being.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
《诗经·郑风·风雨》“风雨凄凄,鸡鸣喈喈”以风雨起兴写怀人,与本首同为《诗经》风诗。差异在主题:北风以风雨雪写祸乱避乱,忧患;风雨以风雨鸡鸣写怀人,“既见君子,云胡不喜”喜悦。一写“忧”之避,一写“喜”之见。两诗并读,可见《诗经》以风雨起兴的两种寄托。
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《诗经·豳风·东山》“我徂东山,慆慆不归”写征人归家之思,与本首同为《诗经》之作。差异在内容:北风写祸乱将至、携手避难;东山写征人行役、思归之情。一写“避”之乱,一写“归”之思。两诗并读,可见《诗经》写乱世征行的两种情致。
采薇(节选) Picking Vetches (Excerpt) 《诗经·小雅》 · 同为《诗经》写乱世行役,一写避乱携归一写征夫思归,皆忧患 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
《诗经·小雅·采薇》“昔我往矣,杨柳依依”写征夫行役思归,与本首同为《诗经》写乱世。差异在处境:北风写祸乱将至、携手避难;采薇写征人行役、久役思归。一写“避”之乱,一写“役”之归。两诗并读,可见《诗经》写乱世行役的两种情致。