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先秦 Pre-Qin · 诗经 Classic of Poetry

黍离

Shu Li (Millet Drooping)

诗经

Book of Songs (Shijing)

忧国Grief for the Country 沧桑Vicissitudes

彼黍离离，彼稷之苗。
行迈靡靡，中心摇摇。
知我者，谓我心忧；
不知我者，谓我何求。
悠悠苍天，此何人哉？
彼黍离离，彼稷之穗。
行迈靡靡，中心如醉。
知我者，谓我心忧；
不知我者，谓我何求。
悠悠苍天，此何人哉？
彼黍离离，彼稷之实。
行迈靡靡，中心如噎。
知我者，谓我心忧；
不知我者，谓我何求。
悠悠苍天，此何人哉？

The millet droops heavy,
The sorghum sprouts green.
I walk with slow, halting steps,
My heart sways within.
Those who know me say my heart is sad;
Those who do not know me ask what I seek.
Vast, vast blue heaven,
Who has brought this about?

The millet droops heavy,
The sorghum forms ears.
I walk with slow, halting steps,
My heart is as if drunk.
Those who know me say my heart is sad;
Those who do not know me ask what I seek.
Vast, vast blue heaven,
Who has brought this about?

The millet droops heavy,
The sorghum bears grain.
I walk with slow, halting steps,
My heart is as if choked.
Those who know me say my heart is sad;
Those who do not know me ask what I seek.
Vast, vast blue heaven,
Who has brought this about?

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Meaning

The poet walks past the ruins of the former capital, seeing millet and sorghum growing where temples and palaces once stood. His heart is heavy with grief for his fallen country. No one understands his sorrow; some even think he is looking for something. He cries out to heaven, asking who is responsible for this devastation.

那黍米离离成行，那稷苗正在生长。我步履迟缓、心思摇摇。了解我的人，说我心有忧伤；不了解我的人，以为我有所贪求。悠悠苍天，这（造成此况）的是何人啊？第二章写稷已结穗，我心如醉；第三章写稷已结实，我心如噎。反复咏叹，写尽故国残破、徘徊不去的黍离之悲。

Appreciation

The poem uses repetition with slight variations across three stanzas. Only a few words change: the sorghum goes from sprouts to ears to grain, while the poet's heart goes from swaying to drunken to choked. This gradual progression intensifies the feeling of despair. The contrast between the lush crops and the ruined city is a powerful use of scenery to express sorrow. The famous lines about being understood or misunderstood capture the loneliness of a patriot.

【白话串讲】 “知我者，谓我心忧；不知我者，谓我何求”——一个周朝人路过旧都，看着长满黍子的废墟，问苍天：这是谁造成的啊？三千年前，中国人已经懂得了家国之痛。【意象与手法】全诗三章重章叠句，结构高度统一，仅以“苗、穗、实”与“摇摇、如醉、如噎”六字递进变化，以稷之生长喻忧思之加深，于复沓【情感与主旨】此诗为先秦诗经之作，精要赏析详见下方深度赏析。【名句点睛】默写易错：“彼黍离离”之“黍”勿作“暑”，“离离”易误作“漓漓”；“行迈靡靡”之“靡”易误作“糜”

Background

Shu Li is the first poem in the 'Winds of the Royal Domain' section of the Book of Songs. According to tradition, after the fall of the Western Zhou, a Zhou official traveled to the old capital Haojing and found it overgrown with crops. He wrote this poem in grief. It established the 'shu li sorrow' as a literary motif for national ruin.

《黍离》收在《诗经·王风》，是「黍离之悲」这一文化母题的源头。王风之「王」，指东周王畿之地，地在今河南洛阳一带，平王东迁后，周室衰微，故《王风》多写忧时伤乱之作。此诗的本事，《毛诗序》言之甚明：「《黍离》，闵宗周也。周大夫行役至于宗周，过故宗庙宫室，尽为禾黍。闵周室之颠覆，彷徨不忍去，而作是诗也。」宗周即西周故都镐京，地在今陕西西安西南。周幽王昏乱，犬戎入寇，镐京陷落，幽王被杀，平王东迁洛邑，西周遂亡。数十年后，一位东周大夫行役路过故都，但见昔日巍峨的宗庙宫室已荡然无存，唯余黍稷离离、禾苗青青，遂触目伤怀，徘徊不忍离去，写下此诗。朱熹《诗集传》从《毛诗序》之说，更点出「行役」与「故国」的时空张力。后世学者或于「周大夫」的具体身份有所补证，或于「闵宗周」的题旨偶有异辞，然于「过故都而伤周室之亡」这一基本事实，历来无大分歧。此诗的产生，正在西周既亡、东周初立的历史转折点上，一个王朝覆灭之后的废墟景象，与一个士大夫的故国之思，于此凝结为一。它没有史书那样的宏大叙事，却以一己的行迈与呼天，写尽了家国兴亡对个体心灵的巨大冲击，其历史的分量，正在于这「以一人之哀写一代之亡」的笔力，一己之哀，遂成一代之悲，其历史容量，正在于此。

Art

The poem is highly structured with three nearly identical stanzas, each changing only two key words. This repetitive form, common in the Book of Songs, creates a chant-like, obsessive quality that mirrors the poet's lingering sorrow. The shift from 'sprouts' to 'ears' to 'grain' marks the passage of time, while the shift in the heart's state shows deepening grief. The poem begins with description, moves to action (walking), then to direct speech and a cry to heaven.

此诗的艺术，在于以「重章叠句」的严密结构与「黍稷生长」的递进意象，写出一种徘徊不去、愈加深沉的亡国之悲。全诗三章，结构高度统一，每章仅在「苗、穗、实」与「摇摇、如醉、如噎」两处换字，其余一字不易。这一「易字递进」的手法极见匠心：「苗」是初生之苗，「穗」是抽穗之穗，「实」是结实之实，写的是黍稷从苗到穗、从穗到实的生长过程，也就是时间流逝的过程——故国荒芜愈久，禾黍愈盛，则亡国之痛愈深，以草木之荣反衬宗庙之衰，正是「黍离」意象的核心；与此对应，「摇摇」是心神不定，「如醉」是恍恍惚惚，「如噎」是哽咽难言，写的是诗人忧思由浅入深、由恍惚到哽咽的递进。一荣一哀，草木愈荣而人心愈哀，这种「以景之盛写情之衰」的反衬，与《采薇》「以乐景写哀」同一机杼。此外，每章中段「知我者，谓我心忧；不知我者，谓我何求」四句不变，是全诗反复咏叹的轴心——「我」的忧，知者少而不知者多，孤独之感与亡国之痛交织；末句「悠悠苍天，此何人哉」的呼天诘问，亦三章不变，把「悲」推向了「问」的顶点。这种于复沓中见递进、于不变中见深化的章法，正是《诗经》重章体最成熟的运用。此种「以景之盛写情之衰」的笔法，与《采薇》「以乐景写哀」同源，而更见历史之纵深，因为黍稷之荣所反衬的，已不止是个人的悲欢，而是一个王朝的兴亡。

Allusions

Shu li (millet drooping) became a classical allusion for the sorrow of seeing a once-great capital in ruins. Later poets like Cao Zhi and Xiang Xiu used it. 'Sorghum' (ji) was a sacred grain associated with the state's altars; thus its growth on temple grounds symbolized the loss of the kingdom. 'Vast blue heaven' is a common invocation in the Book of Songs, expressing helplessness.

此篇的意象源流，当从「黍稷」与「呼天」两端来探。「黍稷」是先秦最重要的粮食作物，又是宗庙祭祀的祭品，故「黍稷」在《诗经》中往往与宗庙、社稷相连。《小雅·楚茨》「我黍与与，我稷翼翼」写丰收以祭祖，黍稷是宗庙之盛的象征；《王风·黍离》则反其意而用之——昔日的宗庙宫室，今已尽为黍稷之田，黍稷之盛，恰是宗庙之亡的见证。这一「以黍稷之荣写宗庙之亡」的意象反转，遂使「黍离」「禾黍」成为后世「故国之思」「亡国之悲」的固定语汇，历代沿用不衰。「悠悠苍天」的呼告，则是《诗经》中常见的怨天方式，《唐风·鸨羽》「悠悠苍天，曷其有所」、《鄘风·柏舟》的怨天之词，皆与此篇同源。古人对天既敬且怨，当人间无路可诉时，便仰而呼天，把不可解的悲愤、不可问的疑问，一并抛向苍天。「此何人哉」的诘问，问的不是具体某个人，而是那个造成亡国惨剧的「时」与「命」，其情感的深度，正在于这「无人可答」的呼号本身。一黍稷、一苍天，一实一虚，共同构成了此诗以物写亡、以天寄悲的抒情结构。「黍离」一词入诗之后，其语义不断扩展，由「过故都而伤周亡」的本事，泛化为「故国之思」「沧桑之感」的通称，遂使后世凡涉「禾黍」「离离」之词，皆染此悲。这一由「本事」到「母题」、由「专名」到「通称」的演化，正是文学意象生成的一个典型标本。

Commentary

The Mao Commentary says: 'Shu Li laments the Zhou. A Zhou official on a mission to the former capital saw that the temples and palaces had become fields of grain, grieved over the fall of the Zhou, and could not bear to leave, so he wrote this poem.' Zhu Xi's Collected Commentaries on the Book of Songs says: 'The grief is so deep that it overflows in these verses.'

《黍离》的接受史，与「黍离之悲」这一文化符号的形成相伴而行。《毛诗序》「闵宗周」之说，郑玄、孔颖达皆循而疏之，把此诗确立为「亡国之音」的经典。朱熹《诗集传》承之，而更重其「行役」「故国」的时空张力与「彷徨不忍去」的情感。此后千余年，「黍离」「禾黍」成为汉语中「故国之思」的最高代称，其影响之深远，几乎无一篇《诗经》可比。历代文人于国破家亡之际，无不引「黍离」以寄怀：曹植《情诗》「游子叹黍离」，向秀《思旧赋》「叹黍离之愍周兮」，姜夔《扬州慢》小序明言「予怀怆然，感慨今昔，因自度此曲，千岩老人以为有黍离之悲也」，皆是其例。清人方玉润《诗经原始》盛赞此诗「专以描摹虚神擅长」，以为其妙在「不言周之亡，而周亡之象宛然在目」。近人亦多以此诗为「亡国哀思」的母本，用以考察中国文学中「怀古」「黍离」两大主题的源头。一首来自东周初年的无名之作，经三千年而成为整个汉语文化「家国兴亡之感」的原型，其接受史，几乎就是一部浓缩的中国怀古文学史。今人论中国文学的「怀古」传统，几乎必以《黍离》为起点：它以「过废墟而兴感」的程式，奠定了后世怀古诗、怀古词的抒情骨架，刘禹锡的「旧时王谢堂前燕」、李白的「吴宫花草埋幽径」，其「以眼前之荒写昔日之盛」的笔法，皆可视为《黍离》的嫡传。

Prosody

Form Book of Songs (four-character poem)四言诗（《诗经·王风》）

Rhyme 苗/摇 (miao/yao), 忧/求 (you/qiu), 天/人 (tian/ren?)三章分押「苗、摇、忧、求、哉」，「穗、醉、忧、求、哉」，「实、噎、忧、求、哉」，每章以「哉」字呼天收束，声调哀婉悠长。

Tone pattern four-character lines, repeated stanzas四言二拍为基调，重章叠句，仅「苗、穗、实」「摇摇、如醉、如噎」换字，于复沓中见递进，读来一唱三叹，如诗人在废墟上的徘徊低吟。

Reading note Each stanza rhymes internally and the refrain '悠悠苍天，此何人哉？' appears in all stanzas.《黍离》在声韵上最突出的特点，是重章叠句与「呼天收束」的结合。全诗三章，每章十句，句式与字句几乎完全重复，仅在两处换字：一是「彼稷之苗、之穗、之实」，写黍稷的生长；二是「中心摇摇、如醉、如噎」，写忧思的加深。这种「易字递进」的重章体，本是《诗经》合乐而歌的体制，此处却用出了极强的情感层次——三章反复咏唱，每唱一遍，忧便深一层，而字句的几乎不变，又营造出一种「绕梁不去、徘徊无已」的声情效果，正合诗人在废墟上「彷徨不忍去」的行迹。其用韵亦极讲究：每章韵脚由「苗、摇」或「穗、醉」或「实、噎」转到中段「忧、求」，最终以「哉」字收束。「忧、求」相叶，声调悠长，反复咏叹那「知我」「不知我」的孤独；而每章末句「悠悠苍天，此何人哉」以「哉」字煞尾，是全诗唯一呼天的声音，一声「哉」，拖腔而叹，把「问天不语」的怅惘推向极致。三章三「哉」，如三声深长的叹息，在读者耳边久久不散。以重章生层次、以换韵见递进、以「哉」字作呼告，此种声情互生的艺术，使一首亡国的哀歌，读来回环往复、余哀袅袅，正是《黍离》声韵之妙的所在。

Line by line

彼黍离离，彼稷之苗

There the millet grows in rank on rank; there the sorghum's young shoots rise green.

那黍米离离成行，那稷苗正在生长。

The millet stands in thick, spreading rows; the sorghum seedlings are just putting forth their green shoots.

开篇写眼前之景，却暗藏无限的今昔之感。「离离」状黍米成行、繁茂披离之态，「彼稷之苗」则写稷苗正青、生机勃勃。这满眼繁茂的禾黍，本是丰收的景象，然而在诗人眼中，它们生长的土地，正是昔日宗庙宫室所在之地——黍稷越繁盛，越反衬出故都的荒废与亡国的惨痛。一个「彼」字，遥遥一指，仿佛诗人正站在废墟之前，望着那片本不该出现的禾黍发怔。以草木之荣写宗庙之亡，以眼前之景含历史之悲，两句看似平淡的写景，实已把「黍离之悲」的全部内涵，浓缩在离离禾黍与青青稷苗之间。

The opening describes the scene before the eyes while hiding infinite sorrow for the past. Rank on rank pictures the millet in dense, spreading rows; the sorghum's young shoots picture green, living growth. This wealth of grain should be a harvest scene, yet to the poet the very soil it grows on is the site of the old ancestral temple and palace: the more luxuriant the millet, the more it sets off the desolation of the fallen capital and the agony of a ruined state. The single word 'there' points afar, as if the poet stands before the ruins, staring at grain that should not be growing there. Writing the fall of the temple through the flourishing of plants, lodging historical grief in the present scene: these two lines of plain description already condense the entire meaning of the sorrow of the millet into the spreading rows and green shoots.

行迈靡靡，中心摇摇

I walk with slow, dragging steps; my heart trembles and wavers within.

我步履迟缓、心思摇摇。

My steps drag slowly; my heart reels, restless and unmoored.

「行迈」写诗人缓缓行走于故都废墟之上，「靡靡」状其步履之迟缓、踟蹰，一个「靡」字，把那种沉重得迈不开步、徘徊不忍去的情态写得如在目前。「中心摇摇」则转写内心：摇者，不安也，心神摇曳、六神无主之状。外有步履之迟，内有心神之摇，一外一内，把「彷徨不忍去」的亡国大夫形象刻画得入木三分。为何行得这样慢？为何心摇得这样厉害？诗人不直说，只以「靡靡」「摇摇」两个叠字状之，那份欲哭无泪、欲说还休的沉痛，遂在不言之中弥漫开来，比任何直白的悲号都更撼动人心。

The poet moves slowly over the ruins of the old capital; slow, dragging steps pictures his hesitation, and the word 'drag' alone brings before the eyes the heavy, unwilling steps of a man who cannot move on and will not leave. 'My heart trembles and wavers within' turns inward: to tremble is to be unquiet, a mind adrift, devoid of composure. Slow steps without, a wavering heart within: outer and inner together carve the ruined-state minister lingering, unable to tear himself away. Why walk so slowly? Why does his heart shake so? The poet says neither; he lets the two reduplicatives carry it, and the grief of one who wants to weep and cannot, wants to speak and dare not, diffuses itself in silence, more moving than any outright cry.

知我者，谓我心忧；不知我者，谓我何求

Those who know me say my heart is sore; those who do not know me ask what it is I seek.

了解我的人，说我心有忧伤；不了解我的人，以为我有所贪求。

Those who understand me say my heart is grieved; those who do not understand me think I am searching for something.

四句写的是「无人知我」的孤独，是此诗反复咏叹的轴心。「知我者，谓我心忧」——懂得我的人，知道我是为故国之亡而忧；「不知我者，谓我何求」——不懂得的人，还以为我在贪求什么。一「忧」一「求」，一字之差，却是理解与被理解的鸿沟。这四句的沉痛在于：身处乱世，一个人的亡国之痛，竟要被误解为个人的贪求，知音之稀、人心之隔，比亡国本身更令人绝望。它写的已不止是黍离之悲，更是古往今来一切「独醒者」的孤愤——在一片麻木与误解之中，那个独自为家国流泪的人，是何等的孤独。

The four lines write the loneliness of no one understanding me, the axis of the poem's repeated lament. Those who understand know he grieves for his fallen country; the rest imagine he is after some private gain. One word grief against one word seek: a single character's difference, yet the whole gulf between being understood and being misunderstood. The agony lies in this: in a disordered age, a man's grief for his ruined state is mistaken for personal greed; the rarity of kindred spirits and the wall between hearts prove more despairing than the ruin itself. It is no longer only the sorrow of the millet, but the age-old anger of every lone awakened man: the figure who, amid universal numbness and misunderstanding, weeps alone for home and country.

悠悠苍天，此何人哉

O boundless, boundless blue heaven; what manner of man has wrought this?

悠悠苍天，这（造成此况）的是何人啊？

O vast and distant heaven; who, who is responsible for this state of things?

末两句以呼天诘问收束，是全诗情感的最高点，也是「黍离之悲」最经典的定格。「悠悠苍天」，仰望苍穹，浩渺无垠，人的悲苦在天地的悠悠面前显得那样渺小，又那样无处安放；「此何人哉」四字，是仰天而问——造成这亡国惨剧的，究竟是什么人？这一问，问的既是幽王、犬戎这些具体的祸首，更是那个无可名状的「时」与「命」。天无语，人无言，这无人能答的诘问，遂成为人类面对家国兴亡时最深沉的一叹。以呼天起、以诘问结，把悲怆推向了形而上的高度，其震撼力，正在于这「问天天不语」的永恒怅惘。

The closing two lines end in a cry to heaven, the emotional peak of the poem and the classic tableau of the sorrow of the millet. Gazing up at the measureless sky, human grief seems tiny before the vastness, yet has nowhere to rest. The question flung at the sky asks who, after all, brought about this catastrophe of ruin. The question aims at concrete culprits, King You and the Quanrong invaders, yet also at the unnameable times and fate. Heaven is silent, man is silent, and this unanswered question becomes the deepest sigh humanity utters before the rise and fall of states. Opening with a look to heaven, closing with a challenge, the grief is raised to a metaphysical height; its power lies in the eternal melancholy of asking heaven, and heaven does not answer.

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离离 luxuriant, drooping 「离离」状黍米繁茂披离、成行成列之态，是「彼黍离离」的语眼。此字本有「分散、下垂」之意，用于状黍，则写出那禾黍穗实累累、披离下垂的繁茂之貌。一个「离离」，既是眼前丰收的实景，又是历史沧桑的隐喻——故都的宗庙宫室已然离散，唯余这离离禾黍，代代生长，仿佛在诉说着往昔的繁华。此词由此诗而出，遂成汉语中最富历史感的叠字之一，「黍离之悲」的「离」字，正是这「离离」所奠定的基调。后世白居易「离离原上草」虽写春草，其「离离」的苍茫之感，实亦暗承此处的历史意蕴。

靡靡 slow, hesitant 「靡靡」状步履之迟缓、踟蹰，是「行迈靡靡」的语眼。「靡」有「迟缓、软弱」之意，叠用之以状「行迈」，则写出诗人行走于废墟之上，脚步沉重、举步维艰的情态。这不是普通的慢，而是被巨大的悲痛压得迈不开腿、不忍离去的那种「慢」——每一步都像踩在历史的伤口上，每一停都是不忍作别故国的踟蹰。以「靡靡」写行，把内心的沉痛外化为步履的迟缓，情与行两相映照，一个「彷徨不忍去」的亡国大夫形象，遂由这二字的叠用而呼之欲出。

摇摇 swaying, disturbed 「摇摇」状心神之摇曳不定，是「中心摇摇」的语眼，与「靡靡」相对，一写足、一写心。「摇」本义是摆动不定，用于状「中心」，则写出内心如风中草木般摇曳、六神无主的状态。故都既见，亡国之痛如潮涌来，诗人心中那份怅惘、惊悸、迷乱，非言语所能尽，唯有「摇摇」二字，把那种心神俱乱、不能自持的情态写得入木三分。它与「靡靡」一内一外，共同写出了「行役大夫」面对故国废墟时，身心俱被悲痛攫住的完整状态，是《诗经》以叠字传情的又一范例。

黍离