先秦 Pre-Qin · 诗经 Classic of Poetry
鹊巢
The Magpie's Nest
维鹊有巢，维鸠居之。
之子于归，百两御之。
维鹊有巢，维鸠方之。
之子于归，百两将之。
维鹊有巢，维鸠盈之。
之子于归，百两成之。
This maiden goes to her new home; a hundred carriages ride out to meet her.
The magpie has a nest; the dove takes possession.
This maiden goes to her new home; a hundred carriages escort her.
The magpie has a nest; the dove fills it full.
This maiden goes to her new home; a hundred carriages complete the rite.
Meaning
A magpie builds its nest, and a turtledove moves in. This maiden is marrying; a hundred carriages of horses welcome her. A magpie builds its nest, and the dove occupies it. This maiden is marrying; a hundred carriages escort her. A magpie builds its nest, and the dove fills it. This maiden is marrying; a hundred carriages complete the wedding.
喜鹊筑成了巢，斑鸠住了进去。这位女子出嫁，百辆车马迎接她。喜鹊筑成了巢，斑鸠占了它。这位女子出嫁，百辆车马护送她。喜鹊筑成了巢，斑鸠住满了它。这位女子出嫁，百辆车马成就这婚礼。
Appreciation
This is a wedding song from the Book of Songs, its art lying in the use of stir-and-compare (a xing that also compares) and in its repeated-stanza structure. All three stanzas open with 'The magpie has a nest, the dove dwells, takes, fills within': the magpie builds well, the dove comes to live, this introduces the marriage theme and hints at the rite of a woman joining her husband's house. The closing lines, 'a hundred carriages meet, escort, complete her', write the splendor of the procession; only the words meet, escort, complete change across the three stanzas, moving from welcome to escort to the fulfilled rite. The refrain sung in repetition, stately in rhythm, shows in plain language the solemn air of Zhou ritual music, a typical Airs marriage hymn, bright in image and joyful in feeling.
【白话串讲】 “维鹊有巢，维鸠居之”——喜鹊筑了巢，布谷鸟来住。这是《诗经》里的婚礼歌：姑娘出嫁，百辆车来迎娶。“之子于归，百两御之”——三千年前嫁女儿，也这么风光。 【意象与手法】 本诗艺术妙在「兴而比」的运用与重章复沓的结构。三章皆以「维鹊有巢，维鸠居之（方之、盈之）」起兴：鹊善筑巢，鸠来居之，既引出「之子于归」的婚嫁主题，又暗含「女归男室」的礼教隐喻；后二句「百两御（将、成）之」以「百两」车马写送迎之盛，三章仅易「御、将、成」三字，由迎接、护送而至成就婚礼，层次递进。 【情感与主旨】 《鹊巢》属《诗经·国风·召南》，为先秦周代作品，年代约当西周初年至春秋间，作者佚名，为周人集体创作的民歌或乐官所采之诗，是祝贺贵族女子出嫁的颂婚乐歌。 【名句点睛】 考试重点：①「兴」的运用——以「鹊有巢、鸠居之」起兴引出婚嫁；②「百两」的礼制内涵；③「鹊巢鸠占」成语的源流与语义演变。
Background
The Magpie's Nest belongs to the Book of Songs, Airs, Shao Nan, a pre-Qin Zhou work, its author anonymous, a collectively made folk song or a piece gathered by the music officers. Its old reading mostly takes it as singing of 'the lord's lady' or 'a prince's daughter' marrying, for its hundred carriages of splendor plainly mark an aristocratic wedding, not a commoner's simple rite. The Mao Preface says 'The Magpie's Nest is the virtue of the lady: the lord accumulated deed and merit to gain his rank, the lady rose from her house to dwell in it, and only with the virtue of a dove could she be his match', reading it politically; Zhu Xi's Poetry Commentary plainly takes it as 'a daughter of the southern princes married to a prince, praised by her family'. Whatever the exact reference, its nature as a wedding hymn blessing a noble maiden's marriage is undisputed, reflecting the lofty rites of Zhou matrimony.
《鹊巢》属《诗经·国风·召南》，为先秦周代作品，年代约当西周初年至春秋间，作者佚名，为周人集体创作的民歌或乐官所采之诗。其本事，旧说多以为咏「国君之夫人」或「诸侯之女」出嫁，以其「百两」（百辆）车马之盛，显系贵族婚仪，非民间小户的简约。《毛诗序》谓「《鹊巢》，夫人之德也。国君积行累功，以致爵位，夫人起家而居有之，德如鸠，乃可以配焉」，以政治伦理释之；朱熹《诗集传》则径以为「南国诸侯之女，嫁于诸侯，而其家人美之」，近于本义。无论具体所指为何，其作为祝贺贵族女子出嫁的颂婚乐歌性质，古今无大异议。周代婚礼有「六礼」之制（纳采、问名、纳吉、纳征、请期、亲迎），亲迎之礼尤重车马之盛，「百两御之」「百两将之」「百两成之」正是亲迎、送嫁、成礼三个环节的车马铺陈，反映了周代贵族婚礼崇隆的礼制风貌，亦是召南之地（今河南西南部、湖北北部一带）民歌对贵族婚仪的讴歌。
Art
The poem's craft resides in the stir-and-compare opening and the repeated-stanza form. Each stanza begins 'The magpie has a nest, the dove dwells, takes, fills'; the magpie's nest-building and the dove's moving in both launches the marriage subject and covertly figures the propriety of a woman returning to the man's house. The latter half, 'a hundred carriages meet, escort, complete her', writes the grandeur of the send-off; the three stanzas change only meet, escort, complete, progressing from reception through escort to the accomplished wedding. Sung in recurrence, the rhythm is dignified, and in simple words we sense the gravity of Zhou court music, a classic Airs marriage ode, lucid in image and cheerful in mood.
本诗艺术妙在「兴而比」的运用与重章复沓的结构。三章皆以「维鹊有巢，维鸠居之（方之、盈之）」起兴：鹊善筑巢，鸠来居之——既有「鹊巢」之兴，引出「之子于归」的婚嫁主题，又有「鸠居鹊巢」之比，暗含「女归男室」的礼教隐喻（女子出嫁，入居夫家，如鸠之居鹊巢）。后二句「百两御（将、成）之」以「百两」车马写送迎之盛，三章仅易「御、将、成」三字，由迎接（御）、护送（将）而至成就婚礼（成），层次递进，写出婚仪由迎亲、送嫁到礼成的完整过程。全诗复沓之歌反复咏叹，节奏雍容，于简朴语言中见出宗周礼乐的庄重气象。首章「居之」写鸠之入居，次章「方之」写鸠之占有，末章「盈之」写鸠之住满，三字递进，鸠之「居」由入而占而盈，鹊巢之归属渐次落实，兴象的展开与婚仪的推进同步，正是「兴而比」手法的精妙所在。再就比兴的递进言，「居」「方」「盈」三字不唯写鸠之安巢，亦暗含婚仪的推进与家室的繁衍：居者，始入夫家也；方者，居而有之也；盈者，人丁兴旺、室家充盈也——由「居」而「方」而「盈」，正合婚姻由亲迎、成礼到生息繁衍的全过程，兴象的层次与祝福的层次严丝合缝，可见民歌作者虽不著一字议论，而寄意之深婉不亚于文人，正是「兴而比」艺术的至高境界。
Allusions
The 'magpie's nest, dove's dwelling' is the poem's core image and later became the idiom 'the magpie's nest usurped by the dove' (originally meaning a woman's marriage, each finding its place; later turned to mean seizing another's dwelling, its sense shifted). 'This maiden goes to her new home' is a set phrase of Book of Songs marriage poems: 'this maiden' means this young woman, 'goes to her new home' means a woman's marriage (gui, 'to return', takes the husband's house as her home), seen also in 'Peach Tree Sapling'. 'A hundred carriages' means a hundred carts, signifying the lavish wedding escort, the Mao Commentary says 'a hundred carriages, a hundred teams', reflecting the Zhou noble 'personal reception' rite. Though using no obscure allusion, the pair of magpie and dove fixes the Zhou people's plain notion of marriage and home, deeply influencing later wedding poetry.
诗中「鹊巢鸠居」为全诗核心兴象，后演变为成语「鹊巢鸠占」，其源流与语义演变值得细究。本诗中「维鹊有巢，维鸠居之」本无贬义：鹊善筑巢而鸠拙于营巢，以鹊巢喻夫家之业、鸠居喻女子归嫁，是「各得其所」的婚嫁之喻；后世「鹊巢鸠占」则转喻强占他人居所、坐享其成，语义已由中性或褒义转为贬义。「之子于归」为《诗经》婚嫁诗习语——「之子」犹「是子、这位女子」，「于归」谓女子出嫁（以夫家为归），见于《桃夭》《鹊巢》等篇，后世「于归之喜」即本此。「百两」即百辆，《毛传》「百两，百乘也」，指迎亲车马之盛，为周代贵族婚礼「亲迎」礼制的反映。全诗用字率真，虽无深僻典故，却以「鹊鸠」这一对自然物象，凝定了周人关于婚姻、家室的质朴观念，影响后世婚诗意象极深。又，「鹊」「鸠」二鸟之择，亦有其深意：鹊善筑巢，为「知时之鸟」，古人以鹊噪为喜兆（后世「喜鹊」之称即本于此），以鹊巢喻夫家基业之成，正合喜气；鸠（布谷）有「知时善鸣」之性，《诗经》屡咏之（《关雎》之雎鸠亦鸠类），其居巢而不自作，正喻女子归嫁而安于夫家。二鸟一筑一居、一施一受，天然构成「男营其室、女安其家」的婚姻图景，兴象之贴切，令人叹服。
Commentary
The Magpie's Nest has drawn varied commentary. The Mao Preface reads it as 'the virtue of the lady', forcing a political-moral gloss; Zhu Xi's Poetry Commentary holds it is 'a daughter of the southern princes married to a prince, praised by her family', closer to fact. The Qing scholar Fang Yurun, in Origin of the Book of Songs, said 'others have fame yet may not dwell the magpie's nest as steady as the dove', valuing the image's original sense. The modern scholar Yu Guanying reads 'the magpie's nest' in folklore as a symbol, a symbol of the woman's dwelling. Critics generally praise its 'cheerful and dignified' tone as the proper mode of Airs marriage hymns; 'the magpie's nest usurped by the dove' even became a common idiom, proof of its lasting life.
《鹊巢》历来注家纷纭，其接受史本身即是《诗经》阐释学的标本。《毛诗序》以「夫人之德」立说，附会政教，把一首婚嫁祝歌解释为后妃之德之教；朱熹《诗集传》则拨开迷雾，直解为「诸侯之女嫁于诸侯，家人美之」，近于本义；清人方玉润《诗经原始》谓「他人有名未必能如鸠之居鹊巢，安而稳也」，重其兴象本义，又讥旧说之迂。近人闻一多《诗经研究》从民俗学释「鹊巢」为女性居所之象征，鸠之居巢即女子归嫁夫家，为新说。论者多以「欢畅雍容」评其基调，以为国风中婚颂之正格，与《桃夭》并称《诗经》婚嫁双璧——一写民间婚嫁之祝（《桃夭》以桃花起兴），一写贵族婚仪之颂（《鹊巢》以车马为盛），合观可见周代婚俗之全貌。而「鹊巢鸠占」衍为熟典，流传至今，足见此诗文化生命力的悠长。从经学阐释史看，此诗的注疏史本身即是中国解释学的缩影：《毛传》以「鹊巢鸠居」附会后妃之德，郑玄《笺》进一步坐实为「夫人有德，君积行累功」；至朱熹《诗集传》方还其「颂婚」本相；清代方玉润、近人闻一多又各以文学、民俗学视角重释，遂使「鹊巢」由政教符号回归生活意象。这一「去政治化」的接受过程，与《桃夭》《关雎》等篇的阐释史同构，可见《诗经》研究由经学走向文学的范式转换，而《鹊巢》正是这一转换的典型标本。
Prosody
Line by line
维鹊有巢，维鸠居之。之子于归，百两御之。
The magpie has built her nest; the turtledove dwells therein. This maiden goes to her new home, a hundred chariots come to meet her.
喜鹊筑成了巢，斑鸠住了进去。这位女子出嫁，百辆车马迎接她。
The magpie has built her nest and the turtledove has moved in. When this maiden is married off, a hundred chariots and horsemen come to receive her in welcome.
首章起兴点题，是全诗之始。「维鹊有巢，维鸠居之」：喜鹊筑成了巢，斑鸠住了进去——鹊善筑巢而鸠拙营巢，鸠居鹊巢，兴而兼比：既以「鹊巢」之兴引出婚嫁主题，又暗含「女归男室」之喻——女子出嫁，入居夫家，如鸠之安居鹊巢。「之子于归，百两御之」：这位女子出嫁，百辆车马迎接她——「于归」指女子出嫁，「百两」即百辆，写迎亲车马之盛，「御」训迎接，写亲迎之礼。四句由兴象到婚仪，鹊巢之成与婚礼之盛相映：鸠有巢可居，女有家可归，各得其所，正是周人婚嫁观念的形象表达。首章立下「兴—婚—迎」的范式，音节雍容，庄重明快。
The opening stanza rises on a xing image and states the theme, marking the very beginning of the whole poem. The magpie is skilled at building, the dove clumsy at nesting, so the dove's dwelling in the magpie's nest works at once as xing and bi: it introduces the wedding theme while carrying the hidden metaphor of a woman leaving her natal home for her husband's house, as the dove takes its ease in another's nest. Yugui denotes a woman's marriage; a hundred chariots speaks of the grandeur of the bridal procession; yu is read as 'to receive', depicting the rite of personal escort. From the rising image to the wedding ceremonial, the completed nest and the splendid rite mirror each other: the dove has a nest to dwell in, the woman a home to return to, each in its proper place. This is the concrete expression of Zhou-dynasty ideals of marriage. The stanza establishes the pattern of rising image, marriage, and escort, its cadence dignified, grave yet bright.
维鹊有巢，维鸠方之。之子于归，百两将之。
The magpie has built her nest; the turtledove takes possession of it. This maiden goes to her new home, a hundred chariots escort her on her way.
喜鹊筑成了巢，斑鸠占了它。这位女子出嫁，百辆车马护送她。
The magpie has built her nest and the turtledove has taken it over. When this maiden is married off, a hundred chariots and horsemen escort her away.
次章重章复沓，易字见进。「维鹊有巢，维鸠方之」：喜鹊筑成了巢，斑鸠占了它——「方」训「有之」（占有），较首章「居之」（入居）进一层，鸠由「居」而「方」（占有），鹊巢之归属渐次落实，亦喻新娘渐安于夫家；「之子于归，百两将之」：这位女子出嫁，百辆车马护送她——「将」训「送」，写送嫁之礼，较首章「御」（迎）进一环节，婚仪由迎亲进于送嫁。重章叠句而层次递进：鸠之居巢由「居」而「方」，婚仪之车马由「迎」而「送」，兴象的展开与婚礼的进程同步，正是《诗经》重章「同中有异、异中见进」的典型笔法。两句音节与首章同构，反复咏叹，愈唱愈见婚仪之盛。
The second stanza repeats the pattern of the first, advancing by a single changed word. Fang is read as 'to possess', one step beyond the first stanza's 'dwells in': from dwelling to owning, the claim on the nest is gradually fixed, mirroring the bride's growing settlement in her husband's family. Jiang is read as 'to send off', depicting the rite of seeing the bride away, one stage beyond the first stanza's 'meet'; the ceremony moves from welcome at arrival to escort on departure. The refrain deepens by increment: the dove's relation to the nest moves from dwell to possess; the chariots' role moves from meet to escort. The unfolding of the image keeps pace with the progress of the wedding, the classic Zhou-poem technique of variation within repetition, where difference reveals advance. The music echoes the first stanza; the more it is sung, the more splendid the rite appears.
维鹊有巢，维鸠盈之。之子于归，百两成之。
The magpie has built her nest; the turtledove fills it to the full. This maiden goes to her new home, a hundred chariots consummate the wedding.
喜鹊筑成了巢，斑鸠住满了它。这位女子出嫁，百辆车马成就这婚礼。
The magpie has built her nest and the turtledove fills it to overflowing. When this maiden is married off, a hundred chariots bring the wedding to completion.
末章是全诗的收束，重章而进于圆满。「维鹊有巢，维鸠盈之」：喜鹊筑成了巢，斑鸠住满了它——「盈」训「满」，较次章「方」（占有）更进一层：鸠之居巢由「居」而「方」而「盈」，鹊巢住满，家室充盈，喻新娘之归带来人丁兴旺、家室美满；「之子于归，百两成之」：这位女子出嫁，百辆车马成就这婚礼——「成」训「成就」，写婚礼之成，较前二章「迎」「送」更进：亲迎、送嫁、成礼，三环节至此圆满。三章「居—方—盈」「御—将—成」，层层递进，鸠之安巢与婚之成礼同步完成，祝福之意臻于极致。末章以「成之」收束，如乐之终章，婚仪既成、家室既安，全诗于欢畅雍容中圆满作结。
The final stanza gathers the poem to its close, advancing by refrain toward perfect fulfillment. Ying means 'to fill', one step beyond 'possess': dwell, possess, fill; the nest brims over, the household is replete, a metaphor that the bride's coming brings many children and a flourishing home. Cheng means 'to bring to completion', the rite reaching its full act after welcome and escort; the three stages of receiving, sending off, and consummating are now complete. Across the three stanzas, dwell, possess, fill and receive, escort, consummate mount layer by layer; the dove's settling and the wedding's fulfillment arrive together, and the blessing reaches its height. The closing word 'consummate' falls like the final movement of a piece of music: the rite is done, the household at peace, and the whole poem ends in joyous, measured completeness.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both are Shao Nan Airs marriage hymns; Peach Tree Sapling blesses the bride's fertility and household, Magpie's Nest blesses her procession, read the Zhou wedding odes together.
《桃夭》与此诗同属国风婚嫁颂歌，并称《诗经》婚嫁双璧，而一写民间婚嫁之祝、一写贵族婚仪之颂，恰成对照：《桃夭》属《周南》，以桃花起兴，写女子之美与宜室宜家，情致明快，是「兴而比」之清新者；《鹊巢》属《召南》，以鹊巢鸠居起兴，写车马之盛与婚仪之隆，情致雍容，是「兴而比」之庄重者。两诗并读，可见周代婚嫁诗的两副笔墨——或以花喻人、或以物兴礼，而皆归于「宜其家室」的祝福，合观可全面把握《诗经》婚嫁颂歌的丰富面貌，亦可比较周南、召南两地民歌风格的异同。
诗经·关雎 The Guan Ju 诗经 · 同出《诗经·国风》，一写求偶一写婚嫁 Same (Airs, love and rite)Both open the Airs and center on love and marriage; Guan Ju is the courtly love hymn, Magpie's Nest the procession hymn, compare their xing openings.
《关雎》与此诗同为「风」之正格，一写求偶、一写婚嫁，可对照《诗经》婚恋主题的完整图景：《关雎》「窈窕淑女，君子好逑」写男子求偶之思，以雎鸠和鸣起兴，写婚前之恋；《鹊巢》「之子于归，百两御之」写女子出嫁之仪，以鹊巢鸠居起兴，写婚后之归。一为求之、一为归之，一写男子之思、一写女子之嫁，合观可见周人婚恋从「好逑」到「于归」的完整链条。两诗皆以禽鸟起兴（雎鸠、鸠），而雎鸠喻和鸣之好、鸠喻安居之归，比兴各有所宜，正是《诗经》比兴艺术的高妙。
诗经·卷耳 Rolling Up the Mouse-Ear 诗经 · 同出《诗经·国风》，题材迥异 Same (Airs, woman and longing)Both Airs poems touching a woman's world; Mouse-Ear writes a wife's longing, Magpie's Nest a maiden's marriage, compare the female-centered Airs.
《卷耳》「采采卷耳，不盈顷筐」写女子采卷耳而思念远行之夫，与其夫登山怀归之辞互文，是「思念之诗」；《鹊巢》写女子出嫁、车马相迎，是「婚嫁之颂」。一写婚后之相思、一写出嫁之欢庆，一愁一喜、一婉一庄，同出《诗经·国风》而题材、情调迥异，合观可见国风题材之广——既有婚嫁祝颂的欢畅，亦有怀人相思的惆怅，正是「十五国风」抒情面向之丰富的体现，亦见周人婚恋生活的完整写照：出嫁之喜与别离之愁，本是人生一体两面。