褰裳

Meaning

The speaker, a young woman, tells her lover that if he truly misses her, he should lift his skirt and wade the river to come to her. If he does not miss her, there are plenty of other men. She teasingly calls him a silly lad.

你若真心思念我，就撩起衣裙涉过溱水来。你若不想我，难道就没有别人？你这狂妄的小子真是狂得可以！你若真心思念我，就撩起衣裙涉过洧水来。你若不想我，难道就没有别的男子？你这狂妄的小子真是狂得可以！

Appreciation

This is a love song from the Zheng Airs, depicting a woman's playful reproach and self-confidence towards her lover, showing the bold and frank nature of pre-Qin folk love. The poem contrasts 'if you miss me' with 'if you do not miss me', expressing deep love through the action of wading the river, and showing self-respect by saying there are plenty of other men, ending with a teasing exclamation. The repetitive structure with only the river name and the term for man changed, and the bold, sharp language, vividly portray the woman's willful and lively character, quite different from the more subtle style of other poems in the Book of Songs.

【白话串讲】 一个女子对情郎说：你要是想我，就提起衣裳趟过河来找我；你要是不想我，难道我就没有别人了吗？——三千年前的姑娘，说话这么直接这么酷。 【意象与手法】 二章重章，仅易『溱』为『洧』、『人』为『士』，章法简净。首句『子惠思我，褰裳涉溱』以行动写深情——为见情人甘涉水，热烈直白；次句『子不我思，岂无他人』陡转，以退为进，看似负气实则自信；末句『狂童之狂也且』以『狂』字叠用，似骂实亲，俏皮淋漓。 【情感与主旨】 《褰裳》属《诗经·郑风》。郑地濒溱、洧二水，水滨本为男女游观欢会之所（参见《溱洧》）。旧说多视郑风为『淫奔』之诗，乃后世礼教眼光；今人则视为反映先秦民间自由恋爱、女子主动表情的率真情歌，是研究先秦婚恋观的鲜活材料。 【名句点睛】 考点：①《郑风》爱情诗大胆率真的风格特征；②『子惠思我』与『子不我思』的对照心理描写；③『狂童之狂也且』的戏谑语气。

Allusions

'Lift your skirt' means to raise the lower garment; wading water in the Book of Songs often symbolizes going to meet a lover (e.g., in 'Bottle Gourd with Bitter Leaves': 'If the river is deep, wade across'). 'Zhen' and 'Wei' are two rivers in Zheng, also appearing in the poem 'Zhen Wei', a place for male-female gatherings. 'Kuǎng' (狂) means reckless or frivolous, 'yě qiě' (也且) is an exclamatory particle, similar to 'zāi qiě'. This poem has no obscure allusions, using colloquial language and dialect, which gives it vivid freshness and exemplifies the colloquial style of the Airs.

此诗用典不多而民俗意象皆有来历。『褰裳』即撩起下裳，先秦男女涉水赴约之时撩起衣裾以利行，《诗经》中涉水多象征求爱赴约，如《邶风·匏有苦叶》『济有深涉』即写涉水与婚恋之事；『溱』『洧』为郑地二水，亦见于《郑风·溱洧》，乃郑国男女集会游观之地，涉溱涉洧皆指向水滨欢会的民俗场景。『惠』为爱、顺之意，《诗经》中『惠』多训爱，『子惠思我』即你若真心思念我；『狂童』之『狂』谓狂妄轻薄，《诗经》中常以『狂』字写少年情态，如《郑风·山有扶苏》『乃见狡童』之『狡童』与此『狂童』同指心爱之人的戏称；『也且』为语气词，犹『哉且』，表轻俏感叹。本诗无深僻用典，纯以口语、方言入诗，反见生香真趣，是《国风》口语化的典范。全诗以口语、方言入诗而不事雕琢，反见生香真趣，是《国风》口语化的典范，也为后世保存了先秦方言与民俗的珍贵材料，其语言之鲜活，至今读来仍觉亲切动人，堪称两千年前情歌的活标本。

Commentary

Zhu Xi in Collected Commentaries on the Book of Songs says: 'The wanton woman tells her lover: if you truly think of me, you should lift your skirt and wade the Zhen to come...' Although he calls it wanton, he acknowledges its playful interest. Yu Guanying in Selected Poems of the Book of Songs comments: 'The woman seems a little uneasy about her lover, so she deliberately uses a pouting tone to test him, showing a lively and forthright character.'

《褰裳》在《诗经》学史上颇有聚讼，正见其情歌本色的冲击力。朱熹《诗集传》云：『淫女语其所私者曰：子惠然而思我，则当褰裳而涉溱以从之。子不我思，则岂无他人乎？狂童之狂也且！』虽以『淫』字目之，却已承认其为女子对情人的戏谑之词，并赞其『狂童之狂也且』之句语带调侃。今人余冠英《诗经选》评此诗：『这女子似乎对她的情人有些不放心，故意用赌气的口吻来试探他，表现出一种泼辣、爽朗的性格。』方玉润《诗经原始》则谓此诗『谑而近真』，最得其趣。现代学者多从此诗见郑风爱情诗大胆率真的风格特征，与《静女》之含蓄、《子衿》之怨慕并列为《郑风》情歌的三种典型：或热烈泼辣，或温柔含蓄，或缠绵怨慕，可见先秦民间情歌的丰富面貌，亦可见中国诗歌现实主义传统在源头的勃勃生机。此诗与《静女》《子衿》并列为《诗经》爱情诗的名篇，其对女性心理的刻画与泼辣性格的塑造，至今仍是文学教学与民俗研究的热点。

Prosody

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