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先秦 Pre-Qin · 诗经 Classic of Poetry

东方未明

Before the East Is Bright

诗经

Shi Jing

民生/讽喻Satire on Governance 战争/徭役War and Forced Labor

东方未明，颠倒衣裳。
颠之倒之，自公召之。
东方既白，颠倒裳衣。
倒之颠之，自公令之。
折柳樊圃，狂夫瞿瞿。
不能辰夜，不夙则莫。

The east not yet bright,
I donned my clothes inside out.
Upside down, inside out,
Called by the duke's command.

The east is already white,
I still don my clothes wrong.
Inside out, upside down,
Ordered by the duke's decree.

Break willows to fence the garden,
The fierce overseer glares.
I cannot keep day and night,
Not early enough, then too late.

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Meaning

The poem depicts a laborer summoned by officials before dawn, frantically dressing in reverse, and suffering from an impossible schedule. It criticizes the oppressive and disorderly nature of government-imposed corvée labor.

东方还没放亮，急得衣裳都穿颠倒。颠来倒去穿好了，只因公府召唤催得紧。东方已经发白，衣裳依旧颠倒穿。倒去颠来忙不停，只因公府命令逼得急。折下柳枝围菜园，监工凶汉瞪眼四顾。分不清晨昏昼夜，不是太早便是太晚。

Appreciation

This poem, from the 'Qi Airs' section of the Book of Songs, uses the simple act of dressing in haste to symbolize the hardship of excessive labor demands. The repetition and reversal of phrases emphasize chaos and urgency. The final stanza shifts to a garden scene with a fierce overseer, highlighting constant surveillance and impossible timing.

【白话串讲】 “东方未明，颠倒衣裳”——天还没亮，公家就来催，急得他衣服都穿倒了。“颠之倒之，自公召之”——穿倒了又穿倒，因为公家来召唤。“折柳樊圃，狂夫瞿瞿”——三千年前，一个被使唤得团团转的小官吏。【意象与手法】本诗艺术之妙，在以极平常的晨起动静写极深重的徭役之苦。“东方未明”而“颠倒衣裳”，起笔即是一幅仓皇图景【情感与主旨】《东方未明》属《诗经·齐风》十一篇之一【名句点睛】本诗中高考常见考点：一、“颠倒衣裳”“颠之倒之”的细节描写作用，要求指出其以动作写慌乱、以小见大揭露徭役苛酷

Background

According to the Mao Preface, this poem satirizes the lack of moderation in the court of Qi, where the ruler's activities were irregular and orders came at odd hours. Zhu Xi also considered it a satire on the government. The references to 'duke's call' and 'duke's decree' point directly to Qi state officialdom.

《东方未明》为《诗经·齐风》篇，是写劳役之人的怨刺之诗。此诗：东方未明，颠倒衣裳。颠之倒之，自公召之。东方未晞，颠倒裳衣。倒之颠之，自公令之。折柳樊圃，狂夫瞿瞿。不能辰夜，不夙则莫。全诗写公家之召、劳役之苦，是《诗经》的名篇。

Art

The poem's artistry lies in using an ordinary morning scene to convey profound suffering. The image of 'dressing upside down' is both realistic and symbolic. The repetitive structure 'upside down, inside out' vividly captures the worker's panic. The two stanzas progress from 'not yet bright' to 'already bright' and from 'call' to 'decree', intensifying pressure. The final stanza's shift to fence-mending with a glaring overseer contrasts with personal struggle, exposing harsh supervision.

《东方未明》艺术上以颠倒衣裳的写实与怨刺的含蓄见长。全诗三章，层层写来：一章写东方未明、颠倒衣裳——“东方未明，颠倒衣裳。颠之倒之，自公召之”写东方未明、颠倒衣裳、自公召之；二章写东方未晞、颠倒裳衣——“东方未晞，颠倒裳衣。倒之颠之，自公令之”写东方未晞、颠倒裳衣、自公令之；三章写折柳樊圃——“折柳樊圃，狂夫瞿瞿。不能辰夜，不夙则莫”写折柳樊圃、狂夫瞿瞿、不能辰夜。全诗写劳役之苦，正是《诗经》重章叠句的笔法。

Allusions

The poem uses everyday language without obscure references. 'Fan' (樊) means to fence, related to the name 'Fan Chi' in the Analects. 'Quju' (瞿瞿) describes a glaring look, also found in 'Tang Airs: Cricket'. 'Chenye' (辰夜) means day and night. The key image of 'upside-down clothes' is both realistic and metaphorical for chaos brought by bad governance.

《东方未明》用典少而意象自明。“颠倒衣裳”写衣裳颠倒（慌忙）；“自公召之”写公家相召；“折柳樊圃”写折柳为园圃之藩篱；“狂夫瞿瞿”写狂夫瞿瞿而视（刺监督之人）。全诗以这些意象写劳役之苦，不用深典而含蓄自见，正是《诗经》的笔法。

Commentary

Zhu Xi commented: 'The poet thus satirizes his ruler, speaking of his own suffering.' Fang Yurun praised the line 'dressing upside down' as capturing the common people's panic. Chen Zizhan translated 'cannot keep day and night' as 'cannot pass the day and night properly, always either too early or too late', directly revealing the complaint about irregular labor periods.

《东方未明》是《诗经·齐风》的名篇，也是中国诗歌中写劳役怨刺的代表作。此诗写公家之召、劳役之苦，向为论者称道。论者多赏其颠倒衣裳的写实与怨刺的含蓄——“东方未明，颠倒衣裳。颠之倒之，自公召之”写东方未明、慌忙颠倒衣裳、公家相召，劳苦之极；“不能辰夜，不夙则莫”写不分昼夜，更见其怨。此诗写劳役之苦，正以颠倒衣裳写其劳，正是《诗经》怨刺诗的笔法。

Prosody

Form Book of Songs: Qi Airs (Four-character meter)四言诗（诗经体）

Rhyme First stanza: 明 (ming), 裳 (chang), 召 (zhao) - Yang and Yao rhyme. Second stanza: 白 (bai), 衣 (yi), 令 (ling) - Xi and Zhen rhyme. Third stanza: 圃 (pu), 瞿 (qu), 夜 (ye), 莫 (mo) - Yu, Hou, Duo, Duo rhyme.《东方未明》为四言诗，三章，每章四句。此诗用韵：明、裳、裳（阳部）、晞、衣、衣（微部）、圃、瞿、莫（鱼部），随章换韵，音节急促。

Tone pattern Four-character lines without later tonal patterns; stanzaic repetition with rhyme change.四言诗经体以音节急促、重章叠句见长。此诗写劳役之苦，音节急促而怨刺。全诗三章重章叠句，声调与劳役之苦的内容相合，是《诗经》中怨刺的一路。

Reading note A piece from the Qi Airs, using repetitive stanzas and everyday details to satirize governance.《东方未明》为《诗经·齐风》篇，是写劳役之人的怨刺之诗。此诗以“东方未明，颠倒衣裳。颠之倒之，自公召之”写天未明而公召，以“折柳樊圃，狂夫瞿瞿”写监督苛严，以“不能辰夜，不夙则莫”写昼夜之劳。写劳役之苦，正是《诗经》的名篇。

Line by line

东方未明，颠倒衣裳。颠之倒之，自公召之。

The east is not yet light; I put my clothes on wrong, topsy-turvy, for the lord summons me.

东方未明，颠倒衣裳。颠之倒之，是公家相召。

The east is not yet bright; I put my clothes on inside out, upside down, for the lord calls me.

一章写东方未明、颠倒衣裳，是全诗劳役之苦的起点。“东方未明，颠倒衣裳”写东方未明、颠倒衣裳——“东方未明”写东方还未明，“颠倒衣裳”写颠倒衣裳（慌忙穿错）——东方未明，颠倒衣裳；“颠之倒之，自公召之”写自公召之——“颠之倒之”写颠之倒之（反复穿倒），“自公召之”写是公家相召——颠倒再三，公家相召。三句写一章之苦：东方未明、颠倒衣裳，颠之倒之、自公召之。以“东方未明，颠倒衣裳”写天未明而慌忙颠倒衣裳，以“颠之倒之，自公召之”写如此慌忙只因公家相召，正是《诗经》写劳役之苦的起点——天未明而公召，衣裳颠倒。

The dawn. The east is not yet light; I put my clothes on wrong, topsy-turvy, for the lord summons me. The east-not-light-clothes-wrong and the lord-summons-me are the opening. To have been not yet light would be a being; the the-east-is-not-yet-light-i-put-my-clothes-on-wrong-topsy-turvy-for-the-lord-summons-me is the being.

东方未晞，颠倒裳衣。倒之颠之，自公令之。

The east has not yet dawned; I put my lower and upper garments wrong, all upside down, for the lord orders me.

东方未晞，颠倒裳衣。倒之颠之，是公家所令。

The east has not yet dawned; I put my garments on wrong, all upside down, for the lord orders me.

二章写东方未晞、颠倒裳衣，是全诗劳役之苦的深化。“东方未晞，颠倒裳衣”写东方未晞、颠倒裳衣——“东方未晞”写东方未晞（天未明），“颠倒裳衣”写颠倒裳衣——东方未晞，颠倒裳衣；“倒之颠之，自公令之”写自公令之——“倒之颠之”写倒之颠之，“自公令之”写是公家所令——倒之颠之，公家所令。三句写二章之苦：东方未晞、颠倒裳衣，倒之颠之、自公令之。以“东方未晞，颠倒裳衣”写天未明而慌忙颠倒裳衣，以“倒之颠之，自公令之”写如此慌忙只因公家所令，正是《诗经》写劳役之苦的深化——未明未晞，颠倒不已。

The dawn again. The east has not yet dawned; I put my lower and upper garments wrong, all upside down, for the lord orders me. The east-not-dawn-garments-wrong and the lord-orders-me are the deepening. To have not yet dawned would be a not-dawning; the the-east-has-not-yet-dawned-i-put-my-lower-and-upper-garments-wrong-all-upside-down-for-the-lord-orders-me is the not-dawning.

折柳樊圃，狂夫瞿瞿。不能辰夜，不夙则莫。

I break willow twigs to fence the garden; the stern overseer glares. I cannot tell day from night; it is either too early or too late.

折柳为圃之藩篱，狂夫瞿瞿而视。不能辨辰夜，不是太早就是太晚。

I break willow twigs to fence the garden; the stern man watches me narrowly. I cannot tell the time of day or night; it is either too early or too late.

三章写折柳樊圃、不能辰夜，是全诗劳役之苦的归结。“折柳樊圃，狂夫瞿瞿”写折柳樊圃、狂夫瞿瞿——“折柳樊圃”写折柳为园圃之藩篱，“狂夫瞿瞿”写狂夫瞿瞿而视（监督之吏）——折柳樊圃，狂夫瞿瞿；“不能辰夜，不夙则莫”写不能辰夜——“不能辰夜”写不能分辨昼夜，“不夙则莫”写不是太早就是太晚——不能辰夜，不夙则莫。三句写三章之苦：折柳樊圃、狂夫瞿瞿，不能辰夜、不夙则莫。以“折柳樊圃，狂夫瞿瞿”写折柳为藩、狂夫瞪视之苛，以“不能辰夜，不夙则莫”写昼夜不分、非早即晚之劳，正是《诗经》写劳役之苦的归结——监督苛严，昼夜不暇。

The overseer. I break willow twigs to fence the garden; the stern overseer glares. I cannot tell day from night; it is either too early or too late. The break-willow-fence-garden and the stern-overseer-glares and the cannot-tell-day-night-too-early-late are the close. To have broken the willow would be a breaking; the i-break-willow-twigs-to-fence-the-garden-the-stern-overseer-glares-i-cannot-tell-day-from-night-it-is-either-too-early-or-too-late is the breaking.

Study

Word focus

颠倒衣裳 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “东方未明，颠倒衣裳”之“颠倒衣裳”，写衣裳颠倒，是全诗写慌忙之态的关键词。“颠倒”写颠倒穿错，“衣裳”写衣裳——颠倒衣裳。这一词写慌忙之态：不是从容之穿，而颠倒衣裳；不是可整之服，而慌忙错乱。以“东方未明，颠倒衣裳”写天未明而慌忙颠倒衣裳，正是《诗经》写劳役之苦的笔法。

自公召之 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “颠之倒之，自公召之”之“自公召之”，写公家相召，是全诗写劳役之因的关键词。“自公”写由于公家，“召之”写相召——是公家相召。这一词写劳役之因：不是自为之劳，而自公召之；不是可辞之命，而公家相召。以“颠之倒之，自公召之”写如此慌忙只因公家相召，正是《诗经》写劳役之怨的笔法。

狂夫瞿瞿 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “折柳樊圃，狂夫瞿瞿”之“狂夫瞿瞿”，写狂夫瞿瞿而视，是全诗刺监督者苛严的关键词。“狂夫”写监督之吏（狂狷之人），“瞿瞿”写瞿瞿而视（瞪视）——狂夫瞿瞿而视。这一词写监督之苛：不是宽仁之吏，而狂夫；不是可安之视，而瞿瞿瞪视。以“折柳樊圃，狂夫瞿瞿”写监督之吏瞪视苛严，正是《诗经》写劳役之苦的笔法。

不夙则莫 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “不能辰夜，不夙则莫”之“不夙则莫”，写不是太早就是太晚，是全诗写劳役无时的归结词。“不夙”写不是太早，“则莫”写就是太晚（莫通暮）——不是太早就是太晚。这一词写作息之乱：不是有常之时，而不夙则莫；不是可息之劳，而昼夜颠倒。以“不能辰夜，不夙则莫”写昼夜不分、非早即晚之劳，正是《诗经》写劳役之苦的归结。