先秦 Pre-Qin · 辞 Ci verse
湘夫人
The Lady of the Xiang River
帝子降兮北渚，目眇眇兮愁予。
袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下。
登白薠兮骋望，与佳期兮夕张。
鸟何萃兮蘋中，罾何为兮木上。
沅有芷兮澧有兰，思公子兮未敢言。
荒忽兮远望，观流水兮潺湲。
麋何食兮庭中，蛟何为兮水裔。
朝驰余马兮江皋，夕济兮西澨。
闻佳人兮召予，将腾驾兮偕逝。
捐余袂兮江中，遗余褋兮醴浦。
搴汀洲兮杜若，将以遗兮远者。
时不可兮骤得，聊逍遥兮容与。
I gaze into the distance, my heart filled with woe.
Gently blows the autumn wind,
On Dongting Lake waves rise, and leaves fall from the trees.
I climb the white artemisia-covered bank and look far away,
For the evening tryst I have set up the tent.
Why do the birds gather among the duckweed?
Why is the fishnet hung on the treetops?
Yuan has angelica, Li has orchids,
I think of the lady but dare not speak.
Dimly I gaze into the distance,
Watching the flowing water, murmuring on.
Why does the elk feed in the courtyard?
Why does the dragon lie on the water's edge?
In the morning I gallop my horse along the river bank,
In the evening I cross to the western shore.
I hear my beloved calling to me,
I will drive my winged chariot and go with her.
I throw my sleeve into the river,
I leave my robe on the bank of the Li.
I pluck the thoroughwort from the islet,
To give to my distant one.
Such moments cannot be seized again,
For now I wander at ease, lingering.
Meaning
The poem recounts the longing of the Xiang River god for the goddess of the Xiang River (the Lady). Opening with the goddess's descent on the northern shoal, the speaker's sorrow is deepened by the autumn scene. He then lists a series of unnatural phenomena symbolizing his failed expectations, imagines meeting the goddess, and ends with a resigned acceptance, throwing his garments into the river as an offering.
湘夫人啊你降临在北岸沙洲，我极目远望，只觉满心忧愁。秋风轻轻吹拂，洞庭泛起波涛，树叶飘然落下。我登上长着白薠的岸畔纵目远望，为与佳人的约会傍晚便张设帷帐。为何鸟儿聚集在水草中，为何鱼网张挂在大树之上——所爱不来，万物皆反常。沅水有白芷，澧水有兰花，思念你啊却不敢明言。恍惚间向远方眺望，只见流水潺潺。麋鹿为何跑进食堂庭院，蛟龙为何困在水边浅滩——期待落空，景象错乱。清晨我驰马在江边高地，傍晚又渡过西岸水滨。恍惚听见佳人召唤我，我将腾驾飞车与她同去。我把衣袖抛入江中，把单衣遗在醴水之滨，又拔取汀洲上的杜若，将要赠给远方的人。良辰难再骤得，且自逍遥徘徊，聊以宽慰。
Appreciation
This poem is one of the 'Nine Songs' (Jiu Ge) by Qu Yuan. It expresses the longing of the male god (the Xiang Lord) for the female goddess (the Lady of the Xiang). The opening lines 'The autumn breeze, gently blowing; on Dongting Lake, waves rise and leaves fall' are celebrated as the earliest portrayal of autumn melancholy in Chinese poetry. The four unnatural images (birds in water, nets in trees, elk in courtyard, dragon on shore) vividly convey the speaker's emotional turmoil. The poem blends shamanistic ritual with romantic yearning, and through the 'fragrant herbs' (like angelica and orchid) symbolizes loyalty and unfulfilled longing.
【白话串讲】 湘君在洞庭湖边等湘夫人，等到秋风起、木叶落，人还没来。屈原把这等不来的爱写得美而凄迷——“袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下”，两千年前的等待，美得像一幅画。 【意象与手法】 诗境奇丽，“袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下”以景起情，开创中国文学“悲秋”母题 【情感与主旨】 《湘夫人》为屈原《九歌》十一篇之一 【名句点睛】 常考“袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下”的意境与地位（千古悲秋之祖）；反常景物描写的象征意义（以错位写求而不得）
Background
The poem is from the 'Nine Songs', a set of eleven shamanistic hymns from the Chu region. Qu Yuan revised them during his exile, embedding his own political frustrations. The Xiang River deities were believed to be the daughters of the mythical Emperor Yao (Ehuang and Nüying), who were married to Shun. The poem thus carries a layer of unspoken loyalty and sorrow at being separated from one's sovereign, typical of Qu Yuan's 'fragrant herb and beautiful lady' allegory.
《湘夫人》是屈原《九歌》十一篇之一，与《湘君》为姊妹篇。《九歌》本是楚国民间的祭神乐歌，王逸《楚辞章句》谓「昔楚国南郢之邑，沅湘之间，其俗信鬼而好祠，其祠必作歌乐鼓舞以乐诸神」，屈原流放沅湘之间，见其辞鄙陋，遂加以改作，成为一组祭神的乐章。湘君、湘夫人为湘水之神，旧说多附会为舜与娥皇、女英，谓舜南巡崩于苍梧，二妃投湘水而死，遂为湘水之神；亦有学者认为湘君、湘夫人本为楚地民间祭祀的一对水神配偶，与舜妃之说无涉。二说并存，学界迄无定论。《湘夫人》写男巫（扮演湘君）迎接湘夫人、候之不来、怅然若失的经过，是一首祭神而兼寓人神恋情的乐歌。诗中以「袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下」写候人不至的萧瑟秋景，开中国文学「悲秋」之先声。此篇与《湘君》一迎一候，合而观之，方见《九歌》祭神乐歌的完整结构。《九歌》十一篇中，《湘君》《湘夫人》自成一组，写湘水二神相望相候而终于不得相见的怅惘。旧注多附会舜与娥皇、女英的传说，谓舜南巡崩于苍梧之野，二妃奔丧，泪洒斑竹，投湘水而死，遂为湘水之神；然近世学者如闻一多、游国恩等，多认为湘君、湘夫人本为楚地民间所祀的水神配偶，与舜妃之说无关，二说并存，迄今无定论。此篇写男巫扮湘君迎候湘夫人，自晨至夕，候之不至，遂有「时不可兮骤得」之叹，其「求而不得」的怅惘，历来又被读作屈子思君不遇的寄托。
Art
The poetic artistry is exquisite: the opening couplet creates a mood of wistful autumn melancholy; the use of misplaced natural images as symbols of disarray; the lavish description of a mythical water palace (though not fully quoted here, it appears later in the original) with lotus, magnolia, and other fragrant plants; the alternation between real and imagined scenes. The free use of the particle 'xi' (兮) gives the lines a rhythmic, sighing quality.
《湘夫人》的艺术特色在于以景起情、以反常写失落，营造出奇丽而怅惘的诗境。开篇「帝子降兮北渚，目眇眇兮愁予」写望之神态，「眇眇」状极目远望而不可得，愁绪已生；「袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下」以秋风、微波、落叶三景写秋之萧瑟，景中见情，是全篇最著名的写景名句，明胡应麟《诗薮》誉为「千古言秋之祖」。以下「登白薠兮骋望，与佳期兮夕张」写登高远望、张设帷帐的殷勤等候；「鸟何萃兮蘋中，罾何为兮木上」写鸟集水草、网挂树上的反常景象，以错位暗示所爱不至、万物失序；「沅有芷兮澧有兰，思公子兮未敢言」以香草起兴、暗写相思；「麋何食兮庭中，蛟何为兮水裔」再以反常写期待落空；「朝驰余马兮江皋，夕济兮西澨」写一日奔寻的徒劳；结以「捐余袂兮江中，遗余褋兮醴浦」，仿湘君捐玦遗佩之意，以弃物赠草、聊自逍遥作结。全诗以等候为经、以反常为纬，虚实相生，情致缠绵。此篇的写景尤负盛名。开篇「袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下」三句，纯以景语写情，秋风吹拂、洞庭波起、木叶飘落，层层铺开一幅萧瑟的秋江图，而候神不至的怅惘尽在不言之中。全篇多处以反常景物写求而不得，如「鸟何萃兮蘋中，罾何为兮木上」「麋何食兮庭中，蛟何为兮水裔」，以物失其所的错位，暗示所爱不来的反常，正是「以错位写失落」的巧思。结以「聊逍遥兮容与」，把怅惘化为从容，情感由激而缓，余韵不尽。
Allusions
'Imperial daughter' (帝子) alludes to the daughters of Yao. 'Yuan has angelica, Li has orchids' (沅有芷兮澧有兰) uses local herbs to evoke the beloved, a common trope in Chu poetry. 'Throwing sleeve and robe' (捐袂遗褋) reflects a shamanistic ritual of casting garments into water as an offering to spirits. The 'nine peaks' (九嶷) later in the poem refers to Mount Jiuyi, where Shun is buried, connecting the goddess to her legendary husband.
《湘夫人》的意象与母题源远流长。「帝子」指湘夫人，旧注谓其为天帝之女，或指娥皇、女英，以「帝子」称之，见其尊贵；「北渚」为湘水之畔的沙洲，是候神的地点。「袅袅兮秋风」的「袅袅」状秋风之微动，木叶之「下」，开悲秋母题，后世宋玉《九辩》「悲哉秋之为气也，萧瑟兮草木摇落而变衰」正承此而来，杜甫「无边落木萧萧下」亦遥接其绪。「沅有芷兮澧有兰」以沅水之芷、澧水之兰起兴，香草之喻承《诗经》比兴传统，又为楚辞「香草美人」体系之一环，以芷兰之芳洁兴思慕之幽情。「麋」「蛟」等反常景象，其写法可溯至《诗经》中「兴」与「比」的错置，以物失其所暗示人事之乖，是屈原对传统比兴的创造性运用。「捐袂」「遗褋」「搴杜若」诸事，为沅湘祭神巫风中以衣佩赠神、结信祈福的仪式遗存，王逸注谓「捐弃衣袖以与神约信」，故诗中弃物赠草，实为祭祀巫仪的艺术化。「帝子」之称，或以为即指娥皇、女英，王逸注「帝子，谓尧女也」，后世遂多以舜妃之典解此篇；然亦有学者谓「帝子」泛指天帝之女，不必坐实为舜妃，此说亦见《湘夫人》训释的歧异。「白薠」「芷」「兰」「杜若」诸香草，皆为楚辞「香草美人」体系之一环，以香草之芳洁衬神境之清芬与人情之幽洁。「捐袂」「遗褋」二事，王逸注谓「捐弃衣物以与神约信」，是沅湘巫风中以衣佩赠神、结信祈福的仪式遗存，故诗中弃物赠草，实为祭祀巫仪的艺术化，而非寻常的男女赠答。
Commentary
Wang Yi's 'Chu Ci Zhangju' comments that Qu Yuan, in his distress, redrafted local sacrificial songs to express his own sorrow. Hu Yinglin's 'Shisou' calls the autumn lines 'the forefather of a thousand years of autumn poetry'. Modern scholar You Guoen praises the 'Nine Songs' for their 'splendid emotion and colorful texture', and this poem is considered one of the finest lyrical pieces in Chu Ci.
《湘夫人》在《九歌》中备受推重，尤以「袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下」为千古绝唱。胡应麟《诗薮》谓此二句「形容秋景入画」「千古言秋之祖」。刘勰《文心雕龙·辨骚》论楚辞「朗丽以哀志」「绮靡以伤情」，正可移评此篇候神不至的怅惘。朱熹《楚辞集注》谓《九歌》「托以事神，而寓其忠君爱国之意」，后人遂多以《湘夫人》之候神不至比附屈子之思君不遇。王夫之《楚辞通释》则还原其祭歌本义，谓「此盖山川之神，为巫觋所事」。近世郭沫若、闻一多皆从神话与民俗角度考释《九歌》，闻一多《什么是九歌》论证其为「人神恋爱」的宗教剧，影响甚大。此篇因「袅袅秋风」的写景名句而广为传诵，被今人选入多种教材，是《九歌》中最能代表楚辞「惊采绝艳」风格的作品之一，其对悲秋母题的开创，更使其在中国文学史上具有里程碑的意义。「袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下」二句，历代推为写秋的绝唱。明胡应麟《诗薮》谓其「形容秋景入画」「千古言秋之祖」，清沈德潜《说诗晬语》亦谓「此种写景，后人无能为役」。此二句上承《诗经》「蒹葭苍苍，白露为霜」的秋水伊人之思，下启宋玉《九辩》「悲哉秋之为气也」、杜甫「无边落木萧萧下」的悲秋传统，是中国文学「悲秋」母题的发端之作。近人闻一多《什么是九歌》以「人神恋爱」解读此篇，谓湘君候湘夫人之不来，乃巫神相恋而不得的宗教剧，其说影响深远，遂使此篇的解读由「思君」转向「人神恋」，成为《九歌》研究的一大转折。
Prosody
Line by line
帝子降兮北渚，目眇眇兮愁予
The princess descends upon the islet in the north; my eyes strain far, and sorrow fills me.
湘夫人啊你降临在北岸沙洲，我极目远望，只觉满心忧愁。
O Lady of the Xiang, you alight on the northern shoal; I strain my gaze afar, and my heart is filled with grief.
「帝子」指湘夫人，以天帝之女称之，见其尊贵而渺远。「降兮北渚」写湘夫人降临北岸沙洲，然此「降」或是巫者的想象与期待，未必实至，故下一句即转「目眇眇兮愁予」——「眇眇」状极目远望而望眼欲穿之态，望之愈久，愁之愈深。二句一写神降之渺茫，一写人望之急切，虚实相生，把候神不至的怅惘写得真切动人。以「愁予」点明情绪，是全篇抒情基调的奠定，也为下文的秋风落叶之景预设了愁绪的心境。以「愁予」点题，遂使下文一切景物皆染愁色。
Princess names the Xiang Lady, calling her a child of the heavenly emperor, noble, and remote. Descends upon the islet in the north writes her coming to the northern shoal, yet this descending may be the shamaness' imagination and hope, not an actual arrival; hence the next line turns to my eyes strain far, and sorrow fills me: strain pictures eyes staring to their limit, longing stretched to breaking, the longer the gaze, the deeper the grief. One line writes the uncertainty of the god's coming, the other the urgency of human waiting; real and imagined play into each other, making the disappointment of waiting for the god without arrival truly felt. The words sorrow fills me name the emotion, fixing the lyric tone of the whole and preparing a heart already steeped in melancholy for the autumn wind and falling leaves that follow; from this point, every scene to come is tinged with grief.
袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下
Soft, soft the autumn wind; the waves rise on Dongting Lake, and the forest leaves fall.
秋风轻轻吹拂，洞庭泛起波涛，树叶飘然落下。
Gently sighs the autumn wind; the waves heave on Dongting, and the leaves drift down from the trees.
二句写候神之际的洞庭秋景，是千古名句。「袅袅」状秋风之轻柔绵长，「洞庭波」写风吹水面的涟漪，「木叶下」写树叶飘落，三景由风及波、由波及叶，层层递进，把秋之萧瑟写得既轻柔又苍凉。此二句妙在以景写情，不言愁而愁自见——秋风落叶之中，久候不来的怅惘愈发浓重。明胡应麟誉之为「千古言秋之祖」，正因它开后世悲秋文学的先河，宋玉《九辩》「悲哉秋之为气也」即承此而来，其写景抒情的艺术，成为中国古代悲秋诗的不祧之祖。
The two lines write the autumn scene on Dongting while waiting for the god, and are an age-famed couplet. Soft, soft pictures the light, long-drawn autumn wind; the waves rise on Dongting writes the ripples the wind raises; the forest leaves fall writes the drifting foliage; three scenes, from wind to waves to leaves, advancing layer by layer, writing autumn's bleakness as at once tender and desolate. The lines excel in writing emotion through scene: no word of sorrow, yet sorrow is everywhere, in the autumn wind and falling leaves, the disappointment of long waiting grows heavier. The Ming critic Hu Yingling praised them as the ancestor of all autumn-writing through the ages, precisely because they open the later literature of autumn sorrow; Song Yu's sad, sad is the breath of autumn in Nine Arguments descends from them, and their art of scene and feeling becomes the unshiftable ancestor of Chinese autumn-elegy.
沅有芷兮澧有兰，思公子兮未敢言
The Yuan has its angelica, the Li has its orchids; I long for my lord, yet dare not speak it.
沅水有白芷，澧水有兰花，思念你啊却不敢明言。
On the Yuan grows the white angelica, on the Li the fragrant orchid; I think of you, my lord, but dare not say it aloud.
二句以香草起兴，写欲言又止的相思。「沅有芷」「澧有兰」，以沅水之芷、澧水之兰兴思慕之情的芳洁与深长，香草既写景物之美，又喻情思之纯，是楚辞「香草美人」体系的典型运用。「思公子兮未敢言」的「未敢言」三字，写尽了爱慕之深而不敢表白的微妙心理——越是深情，越不敢轻言。二句以兴寓情，含蓄蕴藉，把候神者的思慕写得既炽烈又羞涩，与「袅袅秋风」的怅惘相映，构成全篇情感最细腻的一笔。欲言又止之间，情之深与礼之谨并见，是此篇最细腻的笔触。
The two lines rise on fragrant herbs, writing a longing that dares not speak. The Yuan has its angelica, the Li has its orchids rises on the angelica of the Yuan and the orchids of the Li to figure the purity and depth of the longing: the herbs are at once the beauty of the scene and the emblem of pure feeling, a typical use of the Chu-ci system of fragrant herbs and beauties. The words yet dare not speak it in I long for my lord, yet dare not speak exhaust the subtlety of deep love that dares not declare itself: the deeper the feeling, the less lightly it is spoken. The lines lodge emotion in the rising image, restrained and rich, writing the waiting devotee's longing as at once ardent and shy, set against the melancholy of the soft autumn wind, the most delicate stroke of the poem. Between the wish to speak and the restraint from speaking, the depth of feeling and the strictness of ritual appear together, the finest touch in this piece.
时不可兮骤得，聊逍遥兮容与
Such an hour cannot be seized again; I will wander awhile, and take my ease.
良辰难再骤得，且自逍遥徘徊，聊以宽慰。
A moment like this cannot be gained twice; I will wander gently now, and linger at my ease.
结句写候而不至之后的自我宽解，收束全篇。「时不可兮骤得」谓良辰吉日不可骤然再得，暗示此次相遇的落空与难再；「聊逍遥兮容与」谓姑且逍遥徘徊、从容自适，「聊」字见其无奈，「容与」写其踟蹰。二句把久候不至的怅惘化为一种从容的自我排遣，情感由激切转为舒缓，却于舒缓中更见深情——不是释然，而是把失望深深压在心底。以如此绵长的语气作结，与开篇「目眇眇兮愁予」遥相呼应，全篇的等候、怅惘、排遣遂成一条完整而回环的情感弧线。
The closing line writes the self-consolation after waiting in vain, gathering the poem together. Such an hour cannot be seized again says the auspicious moment cannot be quickly regained, hinting that this meeting has failed and will not easily return. I will wander awhile, and take my ease says only to drift and linger for now, at composure with oneself: the word only shows helplessness, take my ease writes hesitation. The two lines turn the disappointment of long waiting into a composed self-diversion; the feeling moves from urgency to quiet, yet in the quiet the depth shows all the more, not release, but disappointment pressed deep into the heart. Closing in such long-drawn tones, it echoes the opening my eyes strain far, and sorrow fills me; waiting, disappointment, and diversion form one complete, circling arc of feeling.
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蒹葭 The Reeds 《诗经·秦风》 · 秋水伊人、求而不得的母题源头 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
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山鬼 The Mountain Spirit 屈原 · 《九歌》中人神恋与等待的书写 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
《山鬼》「既含睇兮又宜笑，子慕予兮善窈窕」「风飒飒兮木萧萧，思公子兮徒离忧」写山鬼盛装候人不至的失落，与《湘夫人》写湘君候神不遇的怅惘同出《九歌》，同写人神之间的等待与失望。《山鬼》以「风飒飒兮木萧萧」写山间风雨，《湘夫人》以「袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下」写洞庭秋色，皆以景写候人之愁，而一凄迷一清朗，情调各异。二篇并读，可见《九歌》「人神恋爱」主题的丰富，及屈原以祭神乐歌寄寓人间情思的高超艺术。