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先秦 Pre-Qin · 诗经 Classic of Poetry

摽有梅

Plums Are Falling

诗经

Shijing (Book of Songs)

爱情/相思Theme 婚姻/祝颂Theme

摽有梅摽有梅，其实七兮。
求我庶士，迨其吉兮。
摽有梅，其实三兮。
求我庶士，迨其今兮。
摽有梅，顷筐塈之。
求我庶士，迨其谓之。

Plums are falling, seven remain.
You who would court me, come on a lucky day.

Plums are falling, three remain.
You who would court me, come today.

Plums are falling, filling the basket.
You who would court me, only say the word.

Listen

Meaning

A young woman sees plums falling and urges eligible men to propose to her before she grows too old.

梅子纷纷落地，树上还剩七分。追求我的小伙子们，趁这吉日快来吧。梅子纷纷落地，树上还剩三分。追求我的小伙子们，趁现在就来吧。梅子落满地，用斜口筐来收。追求我的小伙子们，只要开口说一声就行。

Appreciation

This poem from the Book of Songs captures the urgency of a woman nearing marriageable age. The falling plums symbolize her fading youth, and the repeated lines with decreasing numbers intensify her plea, revealing the bold and sincere voice of ancient folk women.

【白话串讲】 “摽有梅，其实七兮”——梅子熟了，树上的果子落了七成。“求我庶士，迨其吉兮”——想娶我的小伙子，趁好日子快来。“顷筐塈之”——果子都落光了，“求我庶士，迨其谓之”——你快点开口吧！三千年前，一个姑娘催婚。【意象与手法】此诗为先秦诗经之作，精要赏析详见下方深度赏析。【情感与主旨】《摽有梅》为《诗经·国风·召南》的一篇，约产生于西周至春秋间江汉流域的周人聚居地【名句点睛】中高考常考：①分析「梅子」意象的作用，须答出以梅落喻青春将逝、兴中有比

Background

This poem is from the Zhaonan section of the Book of Songs, originating in the Jiang-Han region during the Western Zhou to Spring and Autumn period. At that time, marriages were often facilitated during the spring festival, and women feared missing the appropriate age. The poem reflects the relatively open courtship customs of the era.

《摽有梅》为《诗经·召南》篇，是写女子求偶急切之情的诗。此诗：摽有梅，其实七兮。求我庶士，迨其吉兮。摽有梅，其实三兮。求我庶士，迨其今兮。摽有梅，顷筐塈之。求我庶士，迨其谓之。全诗以梅实渐少为喻写求偶之切，是《诗经》的名篇。

Art

The poem consists of three stanzas with repetitive lines and a progressive structure. The decreasing number of plums (seven, three, then all gathered) symbolizes the passage of time. The tone shifts from polite suggestion ('come on a lucky day') to urgent demand ('come today') to direct acceptance ('just say the word'), vividly portraying the woman's growing anxiety and boldness.

《摽有梅》艺术上以梅实的层递与求偶之切的深婉见长。全诗三章，层层写来：一章写梅实七兮——“摽有梅，其实七兮。求我庶士，迨其吉兮”写梅实七兮、求士迨吉；二章写梅实三兮——“摽有梅，其实三兮。求我庶士，迨其今兮”写梅实三兮、求士迨今；三章写顷筐塈之——“摽有梅，顷筐塈之。求我庶士，迨其谓之”写顷筐塈之、求士迨谓。全诗以梅实渐少写求偶之切，正是《诗经》重章叠句的笔法。

Allusions

The word 'biao' means 'to fall', and 'you' is a prefix without lexical meaning. The phrase 'qi shi qi xi' counts the remaining plums. 'Dai' means 'to take advantage of', and 'ji' refers to a lucky day for marriage, as per Zhou ritual. 'Wei zhi' means 'to speak', indicating that the man only needs to propose. The plum later became a cultural symbol for 'matchmaking' and 'passing youth', originating from this poem.

《摽有梅》用典少而取兴自然。“摽有梅”以梅实落地为兴（摽为落）；“其实七兮”“其实三兮”写梅实之少；“顷筐塈之”写以顷筐取之（梅实将尽）。全诗以梅实为兴写求偶之切，不用深典而深婉自见，正是《诗经》比兴的笔法。

Commentary

The Mao Prefaces interpret this as a call for timely marriage. Zhu Xi calls it an urgent poem about marriage. Modern scholar Wen Yiduo regards it as a folk song about courtship, praising its healthy and natural vitality. Compared to other poems like 'Guan Ju', this one is more direct, reflecting the rustic and sincere style of the 'Guo Feng'.

《摽有梅》是《诗经·召南》的名篇，也是中国诗歌中写求偶之切的代表作。此诗以梅实渐少为喻写求偶之切，向为论者称道。论者多赏其梅实的层递与求偶之切的深婉——“摽有梅，其实七兮”写梅实尚多，求士尚可迨吉；“摽有梅，顷筐塈之”写梅实将尽，求士急欲迨谓。三章层递，其求偶之切、时光之迫尽在其中。《诗经》以比兴写情，此诗正是其代表——以梅实为喻写求偶之切，正是其笔法。

Prosody

Form Shijing·Guofeng·Zhaonan (four-character verse with repetitive stanzas)四言诗（诗经体）

Rhyme First stanza rhymes 七(qi) and 吉(ji); second stanza rhymes 三(san) and 今(jin); third stanza rhymes 塈(ji) and 謂(wei)《摽有梅》为四言诗，三章，每章四句。此诗用韵：七、吉（质部），三、今（侵部），之、谓（之部），随章换韵，音节自然。

Tone pattern Mainly four-character lines with stanza rhyme changes; tone patterns not reconstructable四言诗经体以音节自然、重章叠句见长。此诗以梅实渐少为喻写求偶之切，音节自然而深婉。全诗三章重章叠句，声调与求偶之切的内容相合，是《诗经》中深婉的一路。

Reading note Typical repetitive stanza structure of the Shijing, using xing (stimulus) together with bi (comparison) to express the longing for marriage.《摽有梅》为《诗经·召南》篇，是写女子求偶急切之情的诗。此诗以“摽有梅，其实七兮”写梅实尚多、迨吉，以“摽有梅，其实三兮”写梅实渐少、迨今，以“摽有梅，顷筐塈之”写梅实将尽、迨谓。以梅实渐少写求偶之切，正是《诗经》的名篇。

Line by line

摽有梅，其实七兮。求我庶士，迨其吉兮。

The plums are falling; of the fruit, seven remain. You youths who seek me, come while the days are auspicious.

梅子落地，其实还有七分。追求我的众多男子，趁这吉日而来。

Plums are falling; seven of the fruit still hang. You young men who would court me, come while the days are lucky.

一章写梅实七兮、求士迨吉，是全诗求偶之切的起点。“摽有梅，其实七兮”写梅实七兮——“摽有梅”以梅子落地为兴，“其实七兮”写梅实还有七分——梅子落地，实有七兮；“求我庶士，迨其吉兮”写求士迨吉——“求我庶士”写追求我的众多男子，“迨其吉兮”写趁这吉日而来——求我庶士，迨其吉兮。四句写一章之求偶：摽有梅、其实七兮，求我庶士、迨其吉兮。以“摽有梅，其实七兮”写梅实尚多、时光尚裕，以“求我庶士，迨其吉兮”写求士趁吉日而来，正是《诗经》写求偶之切的起点——梅实尚多，犹可迨吉。

The plums. The plums are falling; of the fruit, seven remain. You youths who seek me, come while the days are auspicious. The falling-plums-seven-remain and the youths-come-auspicious are the opening. To have fallen would be a falling; the the-plums-are-falling-of-the-fruit-seven-remain-you-youths-who-seek-me-come-while-the-days-are-auspicious is the falling.

摽有梅，其实三兮。求我庶士，迨其今兮。

The plums are falling; of the fruit, three remain. You youths who seek me, come—this very day.

梅子落地，其实只剩三分。追求我的众多男子，趁今日而来。

Plums are falling; only three of the fruit remain. You young men who would court me, come this very day.

二章写梅实三兮、求士迨今，是全诗求偶之切的深化。“摽有梅，其实三兮”写梅实三兮——“摽有梅”以梅子落地为兴，“其实三兮”写梅实只剩三分——梅子落地，实有三兮；“求我庶士，迨其今兮”写求士迨今——“求我庶士”写追求我的众多男子，“迨其今兮”写趁今日而来——求我庶士，迨其今兮。四句写二章之求偶：摽有梅、其实三兮，求我庶士、迨其今兮。以“摽有梅，其实三兮”写梅实渐少、时光渐迫，以“求我庶士，迨其今兮”写求士趁今日而来，正是《诗经》写求偶之切的深化——梅实渐少，迨吉而迨今。

The three. The plums are falling; of the fruit, three remain. You youths who seek me, come—this very day. The falling-plums-three-remain and the youths-come-this-day are the urgency. To have remained three would be a remaining; the the-plums-are-falling-of-the-fruit-three-remain-you-youths-who-seek-me-come-this-very-day is the remaining.

摽有梅，顷筐塈之。求我庶士，迨其谓之。

The plums are falling; take the basket and gather them. You youths who seek me, speak the word and I will come.

梅子落地，用顷筐取之。追求我的众多男子，趁此谓（相告）之。

Plums are falling; fill the slanting basket with them. You young men who would court me, speak the word and I will come.

三章写顷筐塈之、求士迨谓，是全诗求偶之切的归结。“摽有梅，顷筐塈之”写顷筐塈之——“摽有梅”以梅子落地为兴，“顷筐塈之”写用顷筐取之——梅子落地，顷筐取之；“求我庶士，迨其谓之”写求士迨谓——“求我庶士”写追求我的众多男子，“迨其谓之”用《传》“谓，归也”之意写趁此相告而归之——求我庶士，迨其谓之。四句写三章之求偶：摽有梅、顷筐塈之，求我庶士、迨其谓之。以“摽有梅，顷筐塈之”写梅实将尽、顷筐取之，以“求我庶士，迨其谓之”写求士趁此相告，正是《诗经》写求偶之切的归结——梅实将尽，迨今而迨谓，其情愈切。

The basket. The plums are falling; take the basket and gather them. You youths who seek me, speak the word and I will come. The falling-plums-basket-gather and the youths-speak-word-come are the close. To have gathered them would be a gathering; the the-plums-are-falling-take-the-basket-and-gather-them-you-youths-who-seek-me-speak-the-word-and-i-will-come is the gathering.

Study

Word focus

摽有梅 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “摽有梅，其实七兮”之“摽有梅”，以梅子落地为兴，是全诗取兴的关键词。“摽”写落（坠落），“梅”写梅子——梅子落地。这一词以梅落起兴：不是他物之兴，而摽有梅；不是可讳之喻，而梅实渐落。以“摽有梅，其实七兮”写梅子落地、为求偶之切取兴，正是《诗经》比兴的笔法。

其实七兮 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “摽有梅，其实七兮”之“其实七兮”，写梅实还有七分，是全诗写时光尚裕的关键词。“其实”写其梅实，“七兮”写七分——梅实还有七分。这一词写梅实之多：不是已尽之实，而其实七兮；不是无时之迫，而尚可待吉。以“摽有梅，其实七兮”写梅实尚多、求偶尚可迨吉，正是《诗经》写求偶之切、时光层递的笔法。

顷筐塈之 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “摽有梅，顷筐塈之”之“顷筐塈之”，写用顷筐取之，是全诗写梅实将尽的关键词。“顷筐”写斜口之筐，“塈之”写取之——梅子落地，用顷筐取之。这一词写梅实之尽：不是尚多之实，而顷筐塈之；不是可待之时，而将尽之梅。以“摽有梅，顷筐塈之”写梅实将尽、顷筐尽取，正是《诗经》写求偶之切、时光迫尽的笔法。

迨其谓之 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “求我庶士，迨其谓之”之“迨其谓之”，写趁此相告（归）之，是全诗写求偶之切的归结词。“迨其”写趁此，“谓之”用《传》意写相告归之——趁此相告而归之。这一词写求偶之急：不是可缓之求，而迨其谓之；不是尚可待之时，而急欲相告。以“求我庶士，迨其谓之”写求士趁此相告，正是《诗经》写求偶之切的归结。

摽有梅