先秦 Pre-Qin · 楚辞 Chu Ci
天问
Heaven's Questions
曰：遂古之初，谁传道之？
上下未形，何由考之？
冥昭瞢闇，谁能极之？
冯翼惟象，何以识之？
明明暗暗，惟时何为？
阴阳三合，何本何化？
圜则九重，孰营度之？
惟兹何功，孰初作之？
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曰：遂古之初，谁传道之？
上下未形，何由考之？
冥昭瞢闇，谁能极之？
冯翼惟象，何以识之？
明明暗暗，惟时何为？
阴阳三合，何本何化？
圜则九重，孰营度之？
惟兹何功，孰初作之？
斡维焉系？
天极焉加？
八柱何当，东南何亏？
九天之际，安放安属？
隅隈多有，谁知其数？
天何所沓？
十二焉分？
日月安属？
列星安陈？
出自汤谷，次于蒙汜。
自明及晦，所行几里？
夜光何德，死则又育？
厥利维何，而顾菟在腹？
女岐无合，夫焉取九子？
伯强何处？
惠气安在？
何阖而晦？
何开而明？
角宿未旦，曜灵安藏？
不任汩鸿，师何以尚之？
佥曰“何忧”，何不课而行之？
鸱龟曳衔，鲧何听焉？
顺欲成功，帝何刑焉？
永遏在羽山，夫何三年不施？
伯禹腹鲧，夫何以变化？
纂就前绪，遂成考功。
何续初继业，而厥谋不同？
洪泉极深，何以窴之？
地方九则，何以坟之？
应龙何画？
河海何历？
鲧何所营？
禹何所成？
康回冯怒，墬何故以东南倾？
九州安错？
川谷何洿？
东流不溢，孰知其故？
东西南北，其修孰多？
南北顺椭，其衍几何？
昆仑县圃，其尻安在？
增城九重，其高几里？
四方之门，其谁从焉？
西北辟启，何气通焉？
日安不到？
烛龙何照？
羲和之未扬，若华何光？
何所冬暖？
何所夏寒？
焉有石林？
何兽能言？
焉有虬龙，负熊以游？
雄虺九首，鯈忽焉在？
何所不死？
长人何守？
靡蓱九衢，枲华安居？
灵蛇吞象，厥大何如？
黑水玄趾，三危安在？
延年不死，寿何所止？
鲮鱼何所？
鬿堆焉处？
羿焉彃日？
乌焉解羽？
禹之力献功，降省下土四方。
焉得彼嵞山女，而通之于台桑？
闵妃匹合，厥身是继。
胡维嗜不同味，而快鼌饱？
启代益作后，卒然离蠥。
何启惟忧，而能拘是达？
皆归韣簒，而无害厥躬。
何后益作革，而禹播降？
启棘宾商，《九辩》《九歌》。
何勤子屠母，而死分竟地？
帝降夷羿，革孽夏民。
胡射夫河伯，而妻彼雒嫔？
冯珧利决，封豨是射。
何献蒸肉之膏，而后帝不若？
浞娶纯狐，眩妻爰谋。
何羿之射革，而交吞揆之？
阻穷西征，岩何越焉？
化而为黄熊，巫何活焉？
咸播秬黍，莆雚是营。
何由并投，而鲧疾修盈？
白蜺婴茀，胡为此堂？
安得夫良药，不能固臧？
天式从横，阳离爰死。
大鸟何鸣，夫焉丧厥体？
蓱号起雨，何以兴之？
撰体协胁，鹿何膺之？
鳌戴山抃，何以安之？
释舟陵行，何之迁之？
惟浇在户，何求于嫂？
何少康逐犬，而颠陨厥首？
女歧缝裳，而馆同爰止。
何颠易厥首，而亲以逢殆？
汤谋易旅，何以厚之？
覆舟斟寻，何道取之？
桀伐蒙山，何所得焉？
妺嬉何肆，汤何殛焉？
舜闵在家，父何以鳏？
尧不姚告，二女何亲？
厥萌在初，何所亿焉？
璜台十成，谁所极焉？
登立为帝，孰道尚之？
女娲有体，孰制匠之？
舜服厥弟，终然为害。
何肆犬体，而厥身不危败？
吴获迄古，南岳是止。
孰期去斯，得两男子？
缘鹄饰玉，后帝是飨。
何承谋夏桀，终以灭丧？
帝乃降观，下逢伊挚。
何条放致罚，而黎服大说？
简狄在台，喾何宜？
玄鸟致贻，女何喜？
该秉季德，厥父是臧。
胡终弊于有扈，牧夫牛羊？
干协时舞，何以怀之？
平胁曼肤，何以肥之？
有扈牧竖，云何而逢？
击床先出，其命何从？
恒秉季德，焉得夫朴牛？
何往营班禄，不但还来？
昏微遵迹，有狄不宁。
何繁鸟萃棘，负子肆情？
眩弟并淫，危害厥兄。
何变化以作诈，而后嗣逢长？
成汤东巡，有莘爰极。
何乞彼小臣，而吉妃是得？
水滨之木，得彼小子。
夫何恶之，媵有莘之妇？
汤出重泉，夫何辠尤？
不胜心伐帝，夫谁使挑之？
会朝争盟，何践吾期？
苍鸟群飞，孰使萃之？
列击纣躬，叔旦不嘉。
何亲揆发，足周之命以咨嗟？
授殷天下，其位安施？
反成乃亡，其罪伊何？
争遣伐器，何以行之？
并驱击翼，何以将之？
昭后成游，南土爰底。
厥利惟何，逢彼白雉？
穆王巧梅，夫何为周流？
环理天下，夫何索求？
妖夫曳衒，何号于市？
周幽谁诛？
焉得夫褒姒？
天命反侧，何罚何佑？
齐桓九会，卒然身杀。
彼王纣之躬，孰使乱惑？
何恶辅弼，谗谄是服？
比干何逆，而抑沉之？
雷开阿顺，而赐封之？
何圣人之一德，卒其异方？
梅伯受醢，箕子详狂。
稷维元子，帝何竺之？
投之于冰上，鸟何燠之？
何冯弓挟矢，殊能将之？
既惊帝切激，何逢长之？
伯昌号衰，秉鞭作牧。
何令彻彼岐社，命有殷国？
迁藏就岐，何能依之？
殷有惑妇，何所讥之？
受赐兹醢，西伯上告。
何亲就上帝罚，殷之命以不救？
师望在肆，昌何识之？
鼓刀扬声，后何喜之？
武发杀殷，何所悒之？
载尸集战，何所急之？
伯林雉经，维其何故？
何感天抑墬，夫谁畏惧？
皇天集命，惟何戒之？
受礼天下，又使至代之？
初汤臣挚，后兹承辅。
何卒官汤，尊食宗绪？
勋阖梦生，少离散亡。
何壮武历，能流厥严？
彭铿斟雉，帝何飨？
受寿永多，夫何久长？
中央共牧，后何怒？
蜂蛾微命，力何固？
惊女采薇，鹿何祐？
北至回水，萃何喜？
兄有噬犬，弟何欲？
易之以百两，卒无禄？
薄暮雷电，归何忧？
厥严不奉，帝何求？
伏匿穴处，爰何云？
荆勋作师，夫何长？
悟过改更，我又何言？
吴光争国，久余是胜。
何环穿自闾社丘陵，爰出子文？
吾告堵敖以不长。
何试上自予，忠名弥彰？
Above and below were yet unformed—how could one inquire?
Who plumbs the bright and dark, the turning of light and shade?
Yin and yang in threefold union—what the root, what the change?
The round heaven's ninefold vault—who measured and planned?
Where is the pivot of the turning heavens tied, the pole set?
The eight pillars—what uphold them; why sinks the southeast low?
Where are sun and moon fixed, how arrayed the ranked stars?
What virtue has the night-light, that dying it is born again?
What profit the hare cradled within the moon's womb?
Gunk dammed the flood in vain; how did his son Yu transform it?
Gonggong's wrath—why did the earth tilt down to the southeast?
Where is the candle-dragon that lights where the sun never reaches?
Thus it questions, line on line, the cosmos, the gods, and the deeds of ancient kings.
Meaning
The poem asks: at the very beginning of antiquity, who transmitted the story of creation? With heaven and earth not yet shaped, how can one investigate their making? Who fathoms the bright and dark, the alternation of light and shade, the threefold union of yin and yang—what is its root, what its change? The round heaven has nine vaults—who measured them; what work was this, who first made it? Where is the pivot of the turning heavens tied, where is the pole placed; what uphold the eight pillars, why is the southeast sunken? At the borders of the nine heavens, how are they set and joined; who knows the count of all the corners and recesses? Where does heaven meet earth, how are the twelve divisions marked; where are sun and moon fixed, how arrayed the stars? They rise from the Tang valley and rest at the Meng flood—from light to dark, how many li do they travel? What virtue gives the moon its death and rebirth; what the hare within its womb? Nu Qi had no mate—how bore she nine sons? Where is Bo Qiang the plague-demon, where the benign vapour; what shuts brings darkness, what opens brings light? Before the Horn star dawned, where hid the shining sun? It then asks of Gunk, who failed to control the flood yet was upheld by the people; of Yu, born from Gunk's body, who completed his father's work; of Gonggong's wrath that tilted the earth southeast; of Kunlun's height, the candle-dragon, the sun-birds shot down by Yi, and the cosmic floods. It moves through the deeds of the sage-kings and tyrants—Qi's seizure of the throne from Yi, Jie's ruin by Mo Xi, King Zhou's fall, King Wu's victory, the travels of Kings Zhao and Mu, the disaster of You of Zhou and Bao Si—questioning, without answer, the whole inherited myth and history of the world, and closing on the poet's own loyalty and grief.
请问：远古之初，谁人传述下来？上下未分，从何考究？昼夜明暗，谁究其极？阴阳三合，何为本何所化？天圆九重，谁人度量？这等功绩，谁初创制？天体枢纽系于何处？八柱何当，东南何缺？九天之际，如何分属？天在何处与地合？十二辰如何划分？日月何在？列星如何排列？出自汤谷，次于蒙汜。自明及晦，所行几里？月亮何德，死而复生？腹中顾菟，所利为何？女岐无夫，怎得九子？伯强（疫鬼）何处？惠气安在？何阖而晦？何开而明？角宿未旦，曜灵（太阳）安藏？ 鲧不胜任治水，众人何以举之？都说“何忧”，何不先试而行？鸱龟曳衔，鲧何听从？顺欲成功，帝何刑之？永遏羽山，为何三年不放？伯禹腹中生出，何以变化？继承前业，终成父功。续初继业，何谋不同？洪泉极深，何以填之？地方九则，何以分界？应龙何画？河海何历？鲧何所营？禹何所成？ 共工（康回）愤怒，大地何故东南倾？九州安错？川谷何洼？东流不溢，谁知其故？东西南北，孰长？南北顺椭，其衍几何？昆仑悬圃，其根安在？增城九重，其高几里？四方之门，谁从此出？西北开启，何气通焉？日何不到？烛龙何照？羲和未扬鞭，若华何光？何所冬暖？何所夏寒？焉有石林？何兽能言？焉有虬龙，负熊而游？雄虺九首，倏忽焉在？何所不死？长人何守？靡蓱九衢，枲华安居？灵蛇吞象，其大何如？黑水玄趾，三危安在？延年不死，寿何所止？鲮鱼何所？鬿堆焉处？羿何射日？乌何解羽？ 禹建功献绩，下省四方。焉得嵞山女，通于台桑？闵妃匹合，继嗣其身。何嗜味不同，而快一朝之饱？启代益作君，猝遭忧患。何启有忧，而能脱拘达出？皆归篡夺，而无害其身。何后益被革，而禹裔播降？启急宾天，《九辩》《九歌》由作。何勤子而屠母，死分竟地？ 帝降夷羿，革新夏民。何射河伯，而妻雒嫔？冯珧利决，封豨是射。何献蒸肉之膏，而后帝不悦？寒浞娶纯狐，眩妻共谋。何羿善射革，而交相吞灭？阻穷西征，岩何越焉？化而为黄熊，巫何活之？咸播秬黍，莆雚是营。何由并投，而鲧罪盈满？白蜺婴茀，胡为此堂？安得良药，不能固藏？天式纵横，阳离爰死。大鸟何鸣，丧其体？蓱号起雨，何以兴之？撰体协胁，鹿何膺之？鳌戴山抃，何以安之？释舟陵行，何所迁之？ 浇在户，何求于嫂？何少康逐犬，而颠陨其首？女歧缝裳，馆同爰止。何颠易其首，而亲以逢殆？汤谋易旅，何以厚之？覆舟斟寻，何道取之？桀伐蒙山，何所得？妺嬉何肆，汤何殛之？舜闵在家，父何以鳏？尧不告姚，二女何亲？厥萌在初，何所亿？璜台十成，谁所极？登立为帝，孰道尚之？女娲有体，孰制匠之？舜服其弟，终然为害。何肆犬体，而身不危败？ 吴获迄古，南岳是止。孰期去斯，得两男子？缘鹄饰玉，后帝是飨。何承谋夏桀，终以灭丧？帝乃降观，下逢伊挚。何条放致罚，而黎民大悦？简狄在台，喾何宜？玄鸟致贻，女何喜？该秉季德，厥父是臧。胡终弊于有扈，牧夫牛羊？干协时舞，何以怀之？平胁曼肤，何以肥之？有扈牧竖，云何而逢？击床先出，其命何从？恒秉季德，焉得朴牛？何往营班禄，不但还来？昏微遵迹，有狄不宁。何繁鸟萃棘，负子肆情？眩弟并淫，危害厥兄。何变化作诈，而后嗣逢长？ 成汤东巡，有莘爰极。何乞彼小臣，而吉妃是得？水滨之木，得彼小子。夫何恶之，媵有莘之妇？汤出重泉，夫何罪尤？不胜心伐帝，夫谁使挑之？会朝争盟，何践吾期？苍鸟群飞，孰使萃之？列击纣躬，叔旦不嘉。何亲揆发，足周之命以咨嗟？授殷天下，其位安施？反成乃亡，其罪伊何？争遣伐器，何以行之？并驱击翼，何以将之？ 昭后成游，南土爰底。厥利惟何，逢彼白雉？穆王巧梅，夫何为周流？环理天下，夫何索求？妖夫曳衒，何号于市？周幽谁诛？焉得褒姒？天命反侧，何罚何佑？齐桓九会，卒然身杀。彼纣之躬，孰使乱惑？何恶辅弼，谗谄是服？比干何逆，而抑沉之？雷开阿顺，而赐封之？何圣人一德，卒其异方？梅伯受醢，箕子详狂。 稷维元子，帝何竺之？投之于冰上，鸟何燠之？何冯弓挟矢，殊能将之？既惊帝切激，何逢长之？伯昌号衰，秉鞭作牧。何令彻彼岐社，命有殷国？迁藏就岐，何能依之？殷有惑妇，何所讥之？受赐兹醢，西伯上告。何亲就上帝罚，殷命以不救？师望在肆，昌何识之？鼓刀扬声，后何喜之？武发杀殷，何所悒之？载尸集战，何所急之？伯林雉经，维其何故？何感天抑地，夫谁畏惧？ 皇天集命，惟何戒之？受礼天下，又使至代之？初汤臣挚，后兹承辅。何卒官汤，尊食宗绪？勋阖梦生，少离散亡。何壮武历，能流厥严？彭铿斟雉，帝何飨？受寿永多，夫何久长？中央共牧，后何怒？蜂蛾微命，力何固？惊女采薇，鹿何祐？北至回水，萃何喜？兄有噬犬，弟何欲？易之以百两，卒无禄？ 薄暮雷电，归何忧？厥严不奉，帝何求？伏匿穴处，爰何云？荆勋作师，夫何长？悟过改更，我又何言？吴光争国，久余是胜。何环穿自闾社丘陵，爰出子文？吾告堵敖以不长。何试上自予，忠名弥彰？
Appreciation
Heaven's Questions is a singular work in Qu Yuan's Chu Ci, and Wang Yi's commentary attributes it to Qu Yuan, saying that after his exile he saw the temples of former kings with paintings of heaven, earth, mountains, rivers, and spirits, and wrote his questions upon the wall. The whole poem strings together more than a hundred and seventy questions, probing from the origin of the cosmos, celestial myth, and the flood of Gunk and Yu down to the rise and fall of Xia, Shang, and Zhou and the affairs of Chu. It is a summa of the pre-Qin spirit of rational doubt and of mythic and historical lore, probably composed in the poet's late years of southern exile. Its formal originality—asking without answering—and its sweeping coverage of cosmology, myth, and history make it a perennial focus of literary study, with famous lines such as 'Where are sun and moon fixed, how arrayed the stars' and 'What virtue has the night-light, that dying it is born again.'
【白话串讲】 “曰：遂古之初，谁传道之”——屈原问：远古最初的事，是谁传下来的？“上下未形，何由考之”——天地未分时，怎么考证？他一口气问了170多个问题，从天地到人事。中国最早的“十万个为什么”。 【意象与手法】 《天问》体制独创：通篇以问句组成，四言为主间杂长短，几乎不用作答，以“曰”领起，疑古问天，气势磅礴 【情感与主旨】 《天问》为屈原《楚辞》中的奇绝之作，王逸《楚辞章句》题“屈原所作”，谓屈原放逐后“见楚有先王之庙及公卿祠堂，图画天地 【名句点睛】 《天问》为文学常识与鉴赏重点，考点：一、体制创新——通篇问句、连问结构；二、内容——宇宙论+神话+历史三大板块
Background
Heaven's Questions is a singular work in Qu Yuan's Chu Ci. Wang Yi's 'Chu Ci Commentary' attributes it to Qu Yuan, saying that after his exile he 'saw the temples of former kings and the halls of the lords and ministers, where heaven, earth, mountains, rivers, spirits, and strange beings were painted; marvelling at their prodigies and the deeds of ancient sages and monsters, he wrote on the wall and questioned it aloud.' The poem strings together more than a hundred and seventy questions, from the origin of the cosmos, celestial myth, and the flood of Gunk and Yu, down to the rise and fall of Xia, Shang, and Zhou and the affairs of Chu, probing heaven, earth, and all antiquity. It is a summa of the pre-Qin spirit of rational doubt and of mythic and historical lore, composed probably in the poet's late years of exile in the south.
《天问》为战国时期楚国诗人屈原所作，是《楚辞》中的一篇奇作。此篇以一连串问句对天地自然、神话传说、历史兴亡提出质疑：曰：遂古之初，谁传道之？上下未形，何由考之？冥昭瞢闇，谁能极之？冯翼惟象，何以识之？明明暗暗，惟时何为？阴阳三合，何本何化？圜则九重，孰营度之？……全篇一百七十余问，从宇宙开辟问到历史兴亡，是中国文学史上罕见的问体奇作。
Art
The form of Heaven's Questions is unique: the whole is built of questions, mainly four-character lines with some irregular longer ones, almost never answered, opened by the word 'said' and pouring out a doubting of antiquity and heaven with overwhelming force. Its art lies in the 'chained question'—a landslide of queries that shatters every established authority, submitting myth, history, and nature alike to rational scrutiny. The imagination is wild, as in 'what virtue has the night-light, that dying it is born again' and 'the giant turtle bears the mountains and leaps'; the structure moves in order from myth to history, its lines uneven yet its breath unbroken, and the work has been praised as 'the strangest composition of all ages,' extolled by Li Bai and Jiang Ji alike.
《天问》艺术上以问体的独特与思辨的宏阔见长。全篇以“曰”字领起，一连串问句直贯而下：从“遂古之初，谁传道之”问宇宙开辟，到“上下未形，何由考之”问天地未形，到“冥昭瞢闇，谁能极之”问混沌之象，到“明明暗暗，惟时何为”问昼夜变化，到“阴阳三合，何本何化”问阴阳之本，到“圜则九重，孰营度之”问天有九重。全篇以问为体，从自然问到人事，思辨宏阔，正是屈原“发愤以抒情”而独创的奇体。
Allusions
The poem is itself a treasury of allusion. On the mythic plane it cites Nu Qi and her nine sons, Bo Qiang the plague-demon, the candle-dragon, Xi He, the weak-flowering tree, Gunk and Yu taming the flood, Yi shooting the suns, Kunlun's suspended garden, the spirit-snake swallowing an elephant, all drawn from the Classic of Mountains and Seas; on the historical plane, Qi and Yi contending for the throne, Han Zhuo wedding the fox-spirit, Shao Kang destroying Jiao, Jie doting on Mo Xi, Zhou doting on Da Ji, Bigan's heart torn out, Mei Bo minced, Hou Ji sowing grain, King Wen receiving the mandate, King Wu smiting Zhou, King Zhao's southern tour, King Mu's wandering, You of Zhou and Bao Si—all from the canonical records. Using questions in place of narration, it is Qu Yuan's evidential reconstruction of the whole mythic-historical line.
《天问》用典广博，遍及神话传说与历史故实。“遂古之初”写远古之初；“冯翼惟象”写元气冯翼之象；“阴阳三合”写阴阳参合；“圜则九重”写天有九重。全篇历问遂古、阴阳、九重、鲧禹、尧舜、夏商周之兴亡，用典极博而问意深挚，正是屈原以问写愤、穷极天人的笔法。
Commentary
Wang Yi's 'Chu Ci Commentary' says: 'Qu Yuan, exiled and grieving, wandered the hills and streams; seeing the paintings in the former kings' temples and halls, he wrote on the wall and questioned them aloud.' Liu Xie in 'The Literary Mind' says: 'Heaven's Questions is marvellous and strange, yet its phrasing is deft and cunning.' Li Bai and Jiang Ji greatly extolled its strangeness. The modern scholar You Guoen, in 'An Outline of Chu Ci,' calls it 'a summa of Chinese myth.' Its unique questioning form became the ancestor of later Heaven-questioning writings, such as Liu Zongyuan's 'Answers to Heaven' and Yang Wanli's 'Questions to Heaven's Answers.'
《天问》是屈原的代表作之一，也是中国文学史上独一无二的问体奇作。此篇以一百七十余问对天地自然、历史兴亡提出质疑，向为论者称道。论者多赏其问体的独特——“遂古之初，谁传道之”问宇宙开辟，开篇即奇；“明明暗暗，惟时何为”问昼夜变化，思辨宏阔。此篇以问写愤、穷极天人，正是屈原“发愤以抒情”的极致，也是其浪漫主义精神的体现，为后世问体之祖。
Prosody
Line by line
曰：遂古之初，谁传道之？
Ask: in the utter beginning of old, who handed down its making?
请问：远古的初始，是谁传说下来的？
I ask: in the very beginning of far-off antiquity, who first told of it and handed it down?
开篇一问，是全篇问体的起点。“遂古之初”写远古的初始——“遂古”写远古，“之初”写其初始；“谁传道之”写谁传说下来——“谁”写何人，“传道之”写传说道之。两句写问宇宙开辟：远古之初，谁传道之？以“遂古之初”写宇宙之始，以“谁传道之”问其源流，正是屈原以问写思的笔法——宇宙开辟之始，何人所传？开篇即入宏阔之境。
The opening question is the starting point of the poem's interrogative mode. Sui-gu writes remoteness, the beginning its origin. Who transmitted it? The two lines ask about the opening of the cosmos: at the beginning of time, who passed the tale down? Using the beginning of far-off antiquity to write the origin of the universe, and who told of it to ask its source, is Qu Yuan's way of thinking through questioning: at the dawn of creation, who was the teller? The opening steps at once into the vast.
上下未形，何由考之？冥昭瞢闇，谁能极之？
When heaven and earth were yet unshaped, by what means could it be examined? When dark and light were one blind blur, who could ever fathom it?
天地尚未成形，从哪里考究它？昼夜混沌不明，谁能穷尽它？
Before heaven and earth had taken form, how could one examine it? When darkness and light were a chaos unknowable, who could ever penetrate it?
此数句问天地未形与混沌之象，是全篇思辨的展开。“上下未形，何由考之”问天地未形——“上下未形”写天地尚未成形，“何由考之”写从哪里考究；“冥昭瞢闇，谁能极之”问混沌之象——“冥昭瞢闇”写昼夜混沌不明，“谁能极之”写谁能穷尽。四句写问天地未形：天地未形，何由考之；冥昭瞢闇，谁能极之。以“上下未形”问天地之始，以“冥昭瞢闇”问混沌之象，正是屈原穷极天人、追问本源之思的体现——天地未形，混沌不明，谁能知之。
The lines question the unshaped heaven and earth and the chaos before form, the unfolding of the poem's speculation. When heaven and earth were yet unshaped, by what means could it be examined? asks the unformed state. When dark and light were one blind blur, who could ever fathom it? asks the chaos: blind blur writes the confusion of dark and light, fathom means to reach the end. Four lines ask the unformed cosmos: heaven and earth not yet shaped, by what means examined? dark and light a blur, who could fathom it? From unshaped to blind blur, Qu Yuan's thought presses to the limits of heaven, man, and origin: when form was not yet and darkness was whole, who could have known?
明明暗暗，惟时何为？阴阳三合，何本何化？
Now bright, now dark: what work is this? When the two breaths join in threefold union, what is the root, what the transformation?
光明与黑暗交替，这是为什么？阴阳参合，何为根本何为变化？
Brightness alternating with darkness: what is it that is doing this? When yin and yang blend together, which is the root and which the change?
此数句问昼夜与阴阳，是全篇思辨的深化。“明明暗暗，惟时何为”问昼夜变化——“明明暗暗”写光明黑暗交替，“惟时何为”写这是为什么；“阴阳三合，何本何化”问阴阳之本——“阴阳三合”写阴阳参合，“何本何化”写何为根本何为变化。四句写问昼夜阴阳：明明暗暗，惟时何为；阴阳三合，何本何化。以“明明暗暗”问昼夜之变，以“阴阳三合”问阴阳之本，正是屈原以问写哲思的笔法——昼夜之变，阴阳之本，皆穷其理。
The lines question day and night and the yin-yang, deepening the poem's speculation. Now bright, now dark: what work is this? asks the alternation of day and night. When the two breaths join in threefold union, what is the root, what the transformation? asks the ground of yin and yang: join in threefold union writes their blending, root and transformation ask foundation and change. Four lines on night, day, yin, yang: brightness and darkness, what is happening? The two breaths blend, root and change? From the turning of light to the source of the breaths, Qu Yuan's philosophy works through questions: the turning of day and night, the root of yin and yang, each pressed to its principle.
圜则九重，孰营度之？
The round heavens rise in ninefold layers; who built and measured them?
天有九重，是谁营造测量的？
The heavens on high have nine concentric tiers; who was it that built and measured them?
此句问天有九重，是全篇问天的归结。“圜则九重”写天有九重——“圜”写天圆，“九重”写九重之高；“孰营度之”写谁营造测量——“孰”写谁，“营度之”写营造测量。两句写问天：天圆九重，孰营度之？以“圜则九重”写天之高远，以“孰营度之”问其营造者，正是屈原穷极天问的笔法——天有九重，谁为之营造？此问宏阔，正见其追问天地之精神。
The line asks of the ninefold heavens, the conclusion of the skyward questioning. Round writes the circular sky, nine layers its height. Who built and measured them? ying-du means to plan and measure. Two lines ask the sky: the round nine-tiered heaven, who built it? From the height of the nine layers to the question of its builder, this is Qu Yuan pressing his inquiry to heaven: the ninefold sky, who wrought it? The grandeur of the question shows the spirit of one who interrogates heaven and earth.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both by Qu Yuan; compare the two Chu Ci paradigms of 'lyric long-song' and 'questioning form'.
屈原《离骚》“路漫漫其修远兮，吾将上下而求索”写求索之志，与本首同为屈原《楚辞》长篇。差异在体式：天问以问为体，问天问地；离骚以自叙为体，抒愤言志。一写“问”之奇，一写“志”之坚。两者并读，可见屈原《楚辞》的两种体式。
九辩 Nine Arguments (Jiu Bian) 宋玉 · 同为《楚辞》之作，一问天穷理一悲秋抒怀，皆骚体传情 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
宋玉《九辩》“悲哉秋之为气也，萧瑟兮草木摇落而变衰”写悲秋之情，与本首同为《楚辞》之作。差异在主题：天问问天地自然，穷极天理；九辩悲秋抒怀，感伤身世。一写“问”之奇，一写“悲”之深。两者并读，可见《楚辞》的两种抒情路径。
九歌·国殇 The Fallen for the State (Guo Shang) 屈原 · 同为屈原《楚辞》，一问天问地一颂殉国将士，皆发愤抒情 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
屈原《九歌·国殇》“诚既勇兮又以武，终刚强兮不可凌”颂殉国将士，与本首同为屈原《楚辞》。差异在主题：天问问天地历史，穷极天理；国殇颂将士忠勇，悲壮激越。一写“问”之奇，一写“勇”之壮。两者并读，可见屈原《楚辞》的两种精神。