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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

四时田园杂兴

Miscellaneous Rural Poems of the Four Seasons

范成大

Fan Chengda

田园pastoral 农家farm household 劳动labor 夏日summer 儿童children

昼出耘田夜绩麻，村庄儿女各当家。
童孙未解供耕织，也傍桑阴学种瓜。

In the fields by day they weed, by night they spin hemp thread;
Every son and daughter in the village takes on household care.
The little grandsons, not yet taught to plow or weave,
Still play at planting melons in the mulberry shade.

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Meaning

The poem depicts a summer day in a farming village: adults work unceasingly—men weeding fields during the day and women spinning hemp at night—each fulfilling their role. Children, too young for real farm work, imitate their elders by planting melons beneath the mulberry tree.

白天出去锄草，夜晚在家搓麻，村庄里的男男女女各自担当着家里的活计。小孙子还不懂怎样从事耕织，也靠近桑树荫下学着种瓜。

Appreciation

This quatrain brilliantly captures both the intense labor of rural summer and the innocent charm of children. The first couplet uses parallel structure to show the division of labor, while the second turns to a child's playful imitation, suggesting that farming traditions are passed down naturally through everyday observation. The language is plain yet vivid, making it one of the most beloved pastoral poems in the classical tradition.

【白话串讲】 “昼出耘田夜绩麻，村庄儿女各当家”——范成大写田园：白天耕田，晚上纺麻。“童孙未解供耕织，也傍桑阴学种瓜”——小孙子不懂耕织，也学着在桑树下种瓜。最有生活气息的田园诗。【意象与手法】前两句“昼出耘田夜绩麻，村庄儿女各当家”以对仗写成年男女昼耕夜织的繁忙，昼与夜、男与女、耘田与绩麻对照严整；后两句“童孙未解供耕织，也傍桑阴学种瓜”笔锋转向儿童，以未解而仍学种瓜的稚气写农事传统在游戏中延续。语言平白如话而生活气息扑面。【情感与主旨】范成大晚年退居石湖所作组诗的第一首，写初夏乡村昼夜不息的劳作与天真的童趣，开宋人大型田园组诗之先。既有对农家勤劳的赞颂，也有对儿童天真的疼爱，继承陶渊明田园诗的质朴与《诗经·七月》的农事传统，是古典田园诗中最脍炙人口的一篇。【名句点睛】常考“昼出耘田夜绩麻，村庄儿女各当家”以对仗写农家繁忙；“童孙未解供耕织，也傍桑阴学种瓜”以童趣写农事传承。

Background

Fan Chengda wrote this series of sixty poems in 1186 (the thirteenth year of Emperor Xiaozong's Chunxi reign), when he was sixty-one and had retired to his native Shihu near Suzhou after years of official service. Living quietly in his lakeside retreat, he composed poems on rural life in all four seasons. This first poem of the series focuses on early summer. In the Southern Song, the Jiangnan region epitomized a delicate, small-scale farming economy where men plowed and women wove—a way of life Fan observed with both scholarly appreciation and real sympathy.

范成大《四时田园杂兴》六十首作于宋孝宗淳熙十三年，时诗人六十一岁，因疾退居故乡石湖，距罢参知政事已数年。石湖在今苏州西南，范成大于此筑别墅，优游田园，遂以四时分咏，成此巨制，写尽江南农村春夏秋冬的景物、农事、风俗与忧乐。本首为组诗第一首，写初夏。宋自靖康南渡后，经济文化重心南移，江南农耕细作、男耕女织的家庭经济形态尤为典型，范成大以中兴四大诗人之一的身份，放下使金时的慷慨，转以平和笔触记录家乡风物，既有士大夫的欣赏，也隐含对农人辛劳的体认。组诗题名杂兴，取随兴写来、无固定题材之意，本首即以白描起手，先立农家昼夜劳作的总纲，再及儿童学种瓜的细景，是小中见大的开篇。理解其退隐石湖、闲观农事 background，方能懂诗中赞劳而不悯穷的从容语调，那是一个经历过宦海、回到田园的诗人对乡土的亲和与敬意。

Art

The art of this poem lies in its extreme economy: twenty-eight characters produce three vivid scenes. The opening couplet sets up a rigorous parallelism (day against night, weeding against spinning) to convey the unceasing work of adults. The final couplet shifts to children, 'not yet understanding' yet 'learning to plant melons,' a touch that merges childlike mimicry with cultural continuity. The colloquial diction—easy yet exact—exemplifies the Song-dynasty preference for drawing poetry from ordinary life.

这首诗的艺术在以极省之笔写极丰之景，二十八字而具三幅画面。前两句用对仗与互文：昼出耘田夜绩麻，昼对夜、出对绩、耘田对绩麻，男耕女织的分工跃然；村庄儿女各当家则以各当家三字总括，写出农家无人闲处的责任感。句式上七字一顿，节奏明快，与农事之繁忙相应。后两句由成人转到儿童，童孙未解供耕织，也傍桑阴学种瓜，以未解反衬也傍，写出儿童虽不懂正经农活，却本能地模仿大人，桑阴学种瓜一句尤为传神，把童趣与农事传承轻轻绾合。手法上先面后点、先整后碎：先写村庄儿女的全体忙碌，再聚焦一个学种瓜的童孙，由宏观到微观，章法井然。语言全用白话，不事雕琢，却因各当家、学种瓜等词的准确，使全诗既朴素又鲜活，是宋诗即事写生、以俗为雅的范例，也是田园诗由雅趋平、由隐趋农的代表。范成大以组诗六十首分咏四时，此首以清新开局，先立农忙总纲再点儿童天真，章法先整后碎、先成人后童孙，最见宋诗即事写生、以俗为雅的本领。

Allusions

The poem inherits the agrarian imagery of the Book of Songs (e.g., 'July') and the pastoral tradition of Tao Yuanming. Weeding and spinning hemp are classic symbols of male and female labor. The mulberry shade suggests home and native place ('sangzi' is a traditional metonym for one's birthplace). Fan reframes these ancient images within a realistic, observed scene, giving new life to conventional pastoral motifs.

诗中意象承《诗经·豳风·七月》农事诗传统与陶渊明田园诗而来。耘田即除草，绩麻指把麻搓成线，二者分属男耕女织的典型劳作，自《七月》八月载绩、九月筑场圃以来，便是中国田园书写的基本符号。村庄儿女各当家的当家，写农家各司其职，近于《诗经》中农夫之子的日常。童孙未解供耕织，也傍桑阴学种瓜，则化用陶诗儿童相见无杂言、但道桑麻长的田园亲子意象，又别出心裁以学种瓜写童稚模仿，与后来杨万里稚子金盆脱晓冰一类儿童题材一脉。桑阴既写实（桑间可种瓜），也暗含桑梓、故乡的温情符号。这组意象皆源于农耕文明最朴素的经验，范成大将它们以组诗杂兴的方式重新排布，使田园诗从隐逸者的精神乐土，回到真实农人的昼夜劳作，意象虽旧而观察全新，正见宋人田园诗写生重实的特点。耘田、绩麻、桑阴、种瓜皆农耕文明最朴素的符号，范成大以组诗杂兴重新排布，使田园诗从隐逸乐土回到真实农人的昼夜，意象虽旧而观察全新。

Commentary

The poem is masterfully ordered: the first two lines give a wide-angle view of adult labor, and the last two zoom in on a single child imitating that labor. It neither complains about hardship nor celebrates abundance, but offers a warm, matter-of-fact portrait of rural order and family bonds. The tone is gentle and positive, which explains its popularity as a memorization piece for children and its position as the inaugural poem in Fan's sixty-poem cycle.

全诗仅四句，却层次分明。起句昼出耘田夜绩麻，以昼夜对举总写农忙：白天男子下田除草，夜晚女子在家搓麻绳，一句之中包举男女、昼夜、内外，节奏紧凑如农事本身。次句村庄儿女各当家，由各人具体劳作上升到村庄整体，各当家三字点出农家自给自足、人人有责的伦理，也是对勤劳风气的赞美。第三句童孙未解供耕织，笔锋转折向儿童，未解说小孩还不会正式参加耕织，暗示农事之艰难非童子所能任。末句也傍桑阴学种瓜，以也傍二字救活全篇：虽未解，却已在桑树荫下模仿大人种瓜，把农事传统写成一种不须教导、自然熏染的本能。四句合看，前两句写成人的担当，后两句写儿童的承续，昼夜不息、代际相传的乡村生命力尽在其中。不写愁苦、不写丰歉，只写当家与学种瓜，语气温暖，是范成大田园诗最可人心处，也最宜童蒙记诵。不写丰歉、不写愁苦，只写各当家与学种瓜，语气温暖而意在言外，把乡村初夏的热烈与代际传承一并写出，故最宜童蒙记诵，也最见石湖居士的田园体贴。范成大退居石湖，以六十首组诗写尽四时风物，此首居其首，以最寻常的耘田绩麻、学种瓜起手，看似平淡，却为整组定了即事写生、不务奇险的基调。其后写夏之昼眠、秋之打稻、冬之雪钓，皆从此家常笔法流出，故读此一首可窥石湖田园全体之温厚。

Prosody

Reading note The open, bright 'ma' rhyme matches the cheerful summer scene. The poem is rhythmically smooth and easy to chant, one reason it has been a favorite for elementary education.《四时田园杂兴》其一为七言绝句，押平声麻韵，韵脚麻、家、瓜，属平水韵下平六麻，一韵到底，声调舒朗，与初夏明丽、乡村和乐的内容相称。平仄合七绝仄起首句入韵式：昼出耘田夜绩麻为仄仄平平仄仄平，村庄儿女各当家为平平平仄仄平平，童孙未解供耕织为平平仄仄平平仄，也傍桑阴学种瓜为仄仄平平仄仄平，粘对基本工整。句式上以七字句为主，前两句意对（昼对夜、耘田对绩麻），后两句以未解对也傍形成转折，章法先整后碎、先成人后儿童。麻韵字开口度大、音色清亮，用于写农忙与童趣，读来明快而不沉闷，最宜童蒙讽诵。范成大以组诗六十首分咏四时，皆用七绝，体制整齐而内容富变，此首以清新开局，已定组诗平易写生的基调。七绝体制整齐而内容富变，此首以清新开局，已定组诗平易写生、以俗为雅的基调。

Line by line

昼出耘田夜绩麻，村庄儿女各当家。

In the daytime they go out to weed the fields; at night they twist hemp fibers into thread.

Out at dawn to weed the fields, at night to twist hemp; the village men and women each run their own household.

这是全诗的总纲，也是中国田园诗写农忙最凝练的一联。昼出耘田是男子白天的田间劳动，夜绩麻是女子夜晚的家务劳作，昼夜相继、男女分工，仅七字便勾勒出小农经济男耕女织的完整循环。村庄儿女各当家则以各当家三字收束，写出农家无人闲散、各任其责的自觉，既有对勤劳的赞美，也暗含对宗法农耕社会秩序的体认。这一联妙在互文见义：并非男只耘田、女只绩麻，而是昼夜交替中农事家务从不间断。它上承《诗经·七月》的农事白描，下开后世田园组诗的写实之风，语言平易却容量极大，把乡村初夏紧张而有序的劳动氛围一笔写足，是全诗得以成立的基石。

This is the whole poem's master plan, and the Chinese pastoral poem's farming-busiest most condensed couplet. The out-at-dawn-to-weed-the-fields the man's daytime field labor, the at-night-hemp-twisting the woman's night home labor, day-and-night's succession and man-and-woman division, only seven characters and outlining the small-farm economy's men-plough-women-weave complete cycle. The village-men-and-women-each-run-their-own-household then using the each-run-their-own-household three words for the close, writing the farm household's no-idler and each-takes-its-duty consciousness, at once the diligence praise, and secretly the patriarchal farming social-order recognition. This couplet's wonder in the mutual-explanation-meaning: not the man-only-weeding-and-woman-only-twisting, and yet the day-night alternation's farming-and-household's never-ceasing. It inherits the Book of Songs's July farming plain description, and opens the later pastoral verse-sequence realism air, the language plain and yet the capacity's immense, writing the rural early-summer's tense-and-yet-orderly labor atmosphere in one stroke, the whole poem's able-to-stand cornerstone.

童孙未解供耕织，也傍桑阴学种瓜。

The young men and women of the village each take charge of their own household duties.

The small grandchildren cannot yet plough or weave, yet in the mulberry shade they learn to plant melons.

这是全诗最灵动的句子，也是儿童题材入田园诗的经典之笔。童孙指幼小的孙子一辈，未解供耕织说他们还不会正式从事耕织，是实写孩童的稚弱；也傍桑阴学种瓜却以也傍二字翻转，写出儿童虽不懂正经农活，却本能地靠近桑树荫下模仿大人种瓜。学字极妙，把农事写成一种耳濡目染、不需言教的自然传承，桑阴则既点明夏令实景，又带出桑梓家园的温暖。这两句与前两句形成对照：成人当家是责任，儿童学种瓜是游戏，而游戏中正藏着传统的延续。不写悲苦、不写说教，只写学种瓜的憨态，却让全诗有了生机与希望，也最见范成大观察细腻、语带温情的笔致，是宋诗以俗为雅的绝佳例子。

This is the whole poem's most vivid line, and the child-subject's entering-the-pastoral-poem classic stroke. The small-grandchild meaning the young grandchild generation, the cannot-yet-plough-or-weave saying their not-yet-formally-undertake-ploughing-and-weaving, the real writing of the child's childish-weakness; the yet-in-the-mulberry-shade-they-learn-to-plant-melons and yet using the yet-in two words for the turn, writing the child's though not-understanding the proper farm work, and yet instinctively approaching the mulberry shade and imitating the adults' melon-planting. The learn word the wonder, turning the farming into a ear-and-eye, no-verbal-teaching natural transmission, the mulberry shade at once pointing out the summer real scene, and bringing the mulberry-tree-home warmth. These two lines and the above two lines form the contrast: the adult's running-the-household the responsibility, the child's learning-to-plant-melons the game, and within the game precisely hiding the tradition's continuation. Not writing the grief, not writing the moralizing, only writing the learning-to-plant-melons' simple pose, and yet making the whole poem have life and hope, and the most seeing Fan Chengda's fine observation and warm-intonation brush, the Song-poem's vulgar-as-elegant superb example.

Study

Word focus

各当家 each one taking charge of household tasks 当家本指主持家政，范成大用以写村庄儿女各自承担一份生计，各字极重：不是有人闲着，而是人人有职。这个词把农家的劳动伦理写得既有尊严又自然，暗含对乡村自组织能力的赞美。它上接《诗经》农夫之子的传统，下启后世庄稼汉各顾各的口语，却在此处雅驯得体。若易为各勤劳便直露，易为各努力便板滞；唯各当家三字，既见责任又见家常，把艰辛的农活写成一种理所当然的担当，温厚而不滥情，是范诗田园组诗总纲句的点睛之笔，也最见宋人善用常语入诗的本领。

学种瓜 learning to plant melons 学种瓜三字是全诗童趣的凝聚。学字写出模仿与生长，种瓜则是农事中最具体可见的一幕；儿童在桑阴下学种瓜，不是真能收获，而是把大人的世界当成游戏。这个意象的妙处在于它把农事传统化为一种本能的熏染：不必督促，孩子自然靠近、自然仿效。桑阴既写实景（桑树下可点瓜豆），又暗含家园、桑梓的温情符号。与成人昼耘夜绩的沉重相比，学种瓜轻灵可喜，使全诗于繁忙中透出希望。后来杨万里、辛弃疾写村童皆从此路数，可见其开启性。二字浅近，却把乡村生命代际传递写得极活，是白描胜境。