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先秦 Pre-Qin · 诗经 Classic of Poetry

河广

The River Is Wide

诗经

Book of Songs

思乡/羁旅homesickness and travel 爱情/相思love and longing

谁谓河广？
一苇杭之。
谁谓宋远？
跂予望之。
谁谓河广？
曾不容刀。
谁谓宋远？
曾不崇朝。

Who says the river is wide? A single reed could ferry across.
Who says Song is far? I could stand on tiptoe and see it.
Who says the river is wide? It could not hold a small knife.
Who says Song is far? It would not take a whole morning.

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Meaning

Who says the Yellow River is wide? A single bundle of reeds could ferry across it. Who says the state of Song is far? Standing on tiptoe I could see it. Who says the Yellow River is wide? It could not even hold a small knife. Who says Song is far? It would not take a whole morning to arrive.

谁说黄河宽广？一束芦苇便能渡过。谁说宋国遥远？踮起脚尖就能望见。谁说黄河宽广？竟容不下一把小刀。谁说宋国遥远？用不了一个早晨就到。

Appreciation

This is a famous poem from the 'Wei Feng' section of the Book of Songs; the old reading takes it as the song of the mother of Duke Xiang of Song (a woman of Wei) who longed to return but could not, while later readers follow the 'a Song man sojourning in Wei, sighing toward home' reading. Wei lies north of the Yellow River, Song south of it; the one river between them becomes a world apart. The poem's wonder is in saying the river is 'not wide' and Song 'not far', to set off the impossibility of going home and the sorrow of being master of none. The Qing critic Fang Yurun said 'take the broken chapter for its meaning, and the aftertaste curves and contains'.

【白话串讲】 “谁谓河广？一苇杭之”——谁说黄河宽？一束芦苇就能渡过去。“谁谓宋远？跂予望之”——谁说宋国远？踮起脚就能望见。一个在卫国的宋国人，想家想得厉害。【意象与手法】全诗四章仅三十二字，却以“设问—作答”的复沓结构层层递进【情感与主旨】《河广》为《诗经·卫风》名篇，旧说以为宋襄公母（卫女）思归不得之作，后人多从“宋人侨居卫地、望乡兴叹”之说【名句点睛】本诗为高考古诗鉴赏常见篇目，命题多聚焦：一、反衬手法——以“河不广”“宋不远”反写归乡之不可得

Background

'The River Is Wide' is a famous piece from the 'Wei Feng' section of the Book of Songs. The old reading takes it as the song of the mother of Duke Xiang of Song (a woman of Wei) who longed to return but could not; later readers follow the 'a Song man sojourning in Wei, sighing toward home' reading. Wei lay north of the Yellow River, Song south of it; the one river between them became a world apart. The poem was probably made in the Spring and Autumn, long read as the fountainhead of the 'homesick' poem. Its wonder is in saying the river is 'not wide' and Song 'not far', to set off the impossibility of going home and the sorrow of being master of none.

《河广》为《诗经·卫风》中的一篇，是写思归宋国的诗。全诗两章：谁谓河广？一苇杭之；谁谓宋远？跂予望之；谁谓河广？曾不容刀；谁谓宋远？曾不崇朝。全诗以反问写河之不广、宋之不远，正是思归之情切的表现，是《诗经》中写思归的名篇。

Art

The whole poem has but four stanzas and thirty-two characters, yet uses a 'question, answer' returning structure that progresses layer by layer. Each stanza opens with the easy rhetorical question 'who says the river is wide' 'who says Song is far', and the next line answers with 'a single reed could ferry' 'I could stand on tiptoe and see' 'could not hold a small knife' 'would not take a whole morning', stressing the nearness. This strong contrast, writing the 'far' through the 'near', the 'hard' through the 'easy', condenses the regret of a fingertip's distance being a world apart into the barest strokes; the shallower the language, the deeper the feeling, opening the way for later 'wish to return but cannot' homesickness poems.

《河广》艺术上以反诘的口气与夸张的笔法见长。全诗两章，层层写来：首章写一苇可渡——“谁谓河广？一苇杭之”写河广而一苇可渡，“谁谓宋远？跂予望之”写宋远而踮脚可望；次章写不崇朝可至——“谁谓河广？曾不容刀”写河广而不容小舟，“谁谓宋远？曾不崇朝”写宋远而不崇朝可至。全诗以反问写河之不广、宋之不远，夸张之笔写思归之情切，正是《诗经》以反诘写情的笔法。

Allusions

The poem uses no obvious allusion, pure fu description, yet quietly holds the early pattern of the Songs' 'water-parting' motif. The 'single reed' is double-meaning: it describes a light reed-boat, yet also hints a frail strength that cannot cross the flood; 'a whole morning' (chong zhao) is old speech for the time from dawn to the morning meal (a full morning), stressing the road's shortness. This manner, no reliance on allusion, winning by colloquial rhetorical question, is exactly the folk nature of the airs' 'the hungry sing of their food, the toilers sing of their work', and is the origin of the later 'say the opposite to show the meaning' device.

《河广》用典少而比喻自明。“河”指黄河，写卫宋之间的黄河；“一苇杭之”写以一束苇草可渡河；“曾不容刀”写河窄不容小舟；“崇朝”写终朝、一个早晨。全诗以这些比喻写河之不广、宋之不远，不用深典而思归之情自切，正是《诗经》以夸张写情的笔法。

Commentary

Zhu Xi's Commentary on the Songs says: 'Wei suffered the Di invasion; Duke Huan of Song welcomed them; the river and Song being near, its people still longed for it.' Fang Yurun's Origin of the Songs says it 'uses the barest language, yet the meaning is very deep'. The modern Yu Guanying, in Songs Selected, calls it 'a short poem with lingering taste'. Its metaphor 'a single reed could ferry' became the source of the later idiom 'a single reed can cross', showing how far its influence reached.

《河广》是《诗经·卫风》中的名篇，也是中国诗歌中写思归之情切的代表作。此诗写思归宋国，以反问写河之不广、宋之不远，向为论者称道。论者多赏其夸张的笔法——“谁谓河广？一苇杭之”写一苇可渡，正是思归情切的夸张；“谁谓宋远？跂予望之”写踮脚可望，更见其情。此诗以反诘写情、以夸张写思，正是《诗经》写思归的代表作，为后世“河广”之典所本。

Prosody

Form Book of Songs, Wei Feng (four-character)四言诗（风诗）

Rhyme Stanzas 1 and 3: ferry, see, knife, morning (near in old sound), returning stanzas shift rhyme《河广》为《诗经·卫风》中的四言诗，两章，每章四句，押韵。此诗用韵：广、杭、远、望（阳部）、广、刀、远、朝（宵部），两章换韵，音节轻快。

Tone pattern Mostly four-character, two-two beat《诗经》四言诗以音节短促、节奏鲜明见长。此诗两章复沓，每章以“谁谓”反问起，音节轻快而情切。全诗以四言贯底，声调与思归情切的内容相合，是《诗经》风诗中以反诘写情的一路。

Reading note Typical returning-stanza form of the Songs; four stanzas same structure with word-changes progressing.《河广》为《诗经·卫风》中的四言诗，是写思归宋国的诗。全诗两章复沓：以“谁谓河广？一苇杭之”写一苇可渡，以“谁谓宋远？跂予望之”写踮脚可望，以“曾不容刀”“曾不崇朝”写河不容刀、宋不崇朝。以反诘写情、以夸张写思，思归之情切尽在其中，为后世“河广”之典所本，正是《诗经》写思归的代表作。

Line by line

谁谓河广？一苇杭之。

Who says the river is wide? A single reed could ferry across.

谁说黄河宽广？一束苇草就可以渡过。

Who says the Yellow River is wide? A single reed-leaf would ferry me across.

首章前两句写河之不广，是全诗思归之情的起点。“谁谓河广”写谁说河广——“谁谓”写谁说，“河广”写黄河宽广；“一苇杭之”写一苇可渡——“一苇”写一束苇草，“杭”通航，写渡河——谁说黄河宽广？一束苇草就可以渡过。两句写河之不广：谁说河广，一苇可渡。以“谁谓河广”的反问写河之不广，以“一苇杭之”的夸张写其可渡，正是《诗经》以反诘夸张写思归情切的笔法——思归心切，河亦不广。

The reed. Who says the Yellow River is wide? A single reed-leaf would ferry me across. The who-says-river-wide and the single-reed-ferry are the longing. To have said the river was wide would be a saying; the who-says-the-yellow-river-is-wide-a-single-reed-leaf-would-ferry-me-across is the saying.

谁谓宋远？跂予望之。

Who says Song is far? I stand on tiptoe and see it.

谁说宋国遥远？踮起脚就可以望见。

Who says Song is far? I stand on tiptoe and gaze toward it.

首章后两句写宋之不远，是全诗思归之情的加深。“谁谓宋远”写谁说宋远——“谁谓”写谁说，“宋远”写宋国遥远；“跂予望之”写踮脚可望——“跂”写踮起脚尖，“望之”写望见宋国——谁说宋国遥远？踮起脚就可以望见。两句写宋之不远：谁说宋远，踮脚可望。以“谁谓宋远”的反问写宋之不远，以“跂予望之”写其可望，正是《诗经》以反诘写思归情切的笔法——思归心切，宋亦不远。思归之人，望眼欲穿。

The tiptoe. Who says Song is far? I stand on tiptoe and see it. The who-says-Song-far and the tiptoe-see are the deepened longing. To have stood on tiptoe would be a standing; the who-says-song-is-far-i-stand-on-tiptoe-and-see-it is the standing.

谁谓河广？曾不容刀。谁谓宋远？曾不崇朝。

Who says the river is wide? It scarce holds a skiff. Who says Song is far? Before morning it is reached.

谁说黄河宽广？竟然容不下一只小船。谁说宋国遥远？竟然要不了一个早晨。

Who says the Yellow River is wide? It scarcely holds a small boat. Who says Song is far? You reach it before the morning is over.

次章写河不容刀、宋不崇朝，是全诗思归之情的归结。“谁谓河广？曾不容刀”写河不容刀——“曾不容刀”写竟容不下一只小船——谁说河广，竟不容刀；“谁谓宋远？曾不崇朝”写宋不崇朝——“曾不崇朝”写竟要不了一个早晨——谁说宋远，竟不崇朝可至。四句写河之不广、宋之不远的极点：谁说河广，竟不容刀；谁说宋远，竟不崇朝。以“曾不容刀”写河之窄，以“曾不崇朝”写宋之近，夸张至极端，正是《诗经》以夸张写思归情切的归结——思归心切，河不容刀，宋不崇朝。

The morning. Who says the river is wide? It scarce holds a skiff. Who says Song is far? Before morning it is reached. The who-says-river-wide-scarcely-holds-skiff and the who-says-Song-far-before-morning-reached are the close. To have held a skiff would be a holding; the who-says-the-river-is-wide-it-scarce-holds-a-skiff-who-says-song-is-far-before-morning-it-is-reached is the holding.

Study

Word focus

谁谓 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “谁谓河广”之“谁谓”，写谁说，是全诗反诘语气的关键词。“谁”写何人，“谓”写说——谁说黄河宽广？这一词以反诘写河之不广：不是直陈河狭，而是反问谁谓河广；不是客观陈述，而是情切之反诘。以“谁谓”写反诘，正是《诗经》以反问写思归情切的笔法——思归心切，故疑河之广。

一苇杭之 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “一苇杭之”之“一苇杭之”，写一束苇草即可渡河，是全诗夸张笔法的关键词。“一苇”写一束苇草，“杭”（通航）写渡河——一束苇草，即可渡过黄河。这一词以“一苇”写渡河之易：不是乘舟而渡，而是一苇可渡；不是河之可渡，而是思归心切。以“一苇杭之”写河之不广，正是《诗经》以夸张写情的笔法——思归心切，一苇可渡。

跂予望之 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “跂予望之”之“跂予望之”，写踮脚望见，是全诗写宋之不远的关键词。“跂”写踮起脚尖，“望之”写望见——踮起脚，就可以望见宋国。这一词写望宋之切：不是登高远望，而是跂予望之；不是望而不见，而是踮脚可望。以“跂予望之”写宋之不远，正是《诗经》以动作写思归情切的笔法——望眼欲穿，踮脚可望。

崇朝 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “曾不崇朝”之“崇朝”，写终朝、一个早晨，是全诗写宋之近的关键词。“崇”写终尽，“朝”写早晨——到宋国，竟要不了一个早晨。这一词写宋之近：不是几日之程，而是不崇朝；不是遥遥无期，而是晨可至。以“曾不崇朝”写宋之近，夸张至极端，正是《诗经》以夸张写思归情切的归结——思归心切，宋不崇朝。

河广