唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
杜陵叟
The Old Man of Duling
杜陵叟，杜陵居，岁种薄田一顷余。
三月无雨旱风起，麦苗不秀多黄死。
九月降霜秋早寒，禾穗未熟皆青干。
长吏明知不申破，急敛暴征求考课。
典桑卖地纳官租，明年衣食将何如。
剥我身上帛，夺我口中粟。
虐人害物即豺狼，何必钩爪锯牙食人肉。
不知何人奏皇帝，帝心恻隐知人弊。
白麻纸上书德音，京畿尽放今年税。
昨日里胥方到门，手持尺牒牓乡村。
十家租税九家毕，虚受吾君蠲免恩。
In the third month no rain, the drought wind rises; the wheat seedlings fail to ear and mostly yellow, dying.
In the ninth month frost falls, autumn cold comes early; the grain ears not yet ripe all wither green-dry.
The magistrate knows clearly yet does not report the disaster, urgently taxing and violently extorting to seek appraisal.
Pawn the mulberries, sell the land to pay the official rent; next year's clothing and food—what then?
Strip the silk from my body, seize the grain from my mouth.
Who tortures men and harms creatures is a jackal and wolf; why must one have hooked claws and saw teeth to eat human flesh?
I know not who reported to the emperor; the emperor's heart took pity and knew the people's plight.
On white-hemp paper is written the gracious edict; the capital region wholly remits this year's tax.
Only yesterday the village head came to the door, holding the measure-tablet to post in the village.
Ten households' tax nine households already paid; in vain we received our lord's grace of remission.
Meaning
This poem from Bai Juyi's 'Songs of the Qin Region' depicts an old farmer's plight under drought and extortion. The old man of Duling tills a meager hundred-odd mu; with no rain in spring the wheat yellows and dies, and early frost withers the unripe grain. The magistrate, far from reporting the disaster, extorts taxes to please his superiors, forcing the farmer to pawn mulberries and sell land. In the old man's own voice the poet cries, 'Strip the silk from my body, seize the grain from my mouth,' and brands such officials 'jackals and wolves.' When at last the emperor remits the tax, the edict arrives too late—nine of ten households have already paid, so the grace is received in vain. It is a pinnacle of Bai Juyi's satirical, 'people-centered' poetry.
杜陵的老人，住在杜陵，每年种着薄田一顷多。三月没有下雨，旱风又起，麦苗不能抽穗，多已枯黄而死。九月降霜，秋天早早寒冷，禾穗没有成熟都已青干。长吏明知灾情却不申报，反而急敛暴征以求考课。典卖桑树田地来交官租，明年的衣食又将如何。剥我身上的布帛，夺我口中的粟米。虐待人、残害物就是豺狼，何必一定要有钩爪锯牙才吃人肉。不知何人奏报了皇帝，皇帝心怀恻隐，知道百姓的疾苦。白麻纸上书写德音，京畿的租税今年全部放免。昨天里胥才来到门口，手持公文张榜于乡村。十家的租税九家已经交毕，白白领受了君王蠲免的恩典。
Appreciation
Plain paraphrase: The old man of Duling, dwelling in Duling, yearly plants a thin field of over a hundred mu. In the third month no rain, the drought wind rises; the wheat seedlings fail to ear and mostly yellow, dying. In the ninth month frost falls, autumn cold comes early; the grain ears not yet ripe all wither green-dry. The magistrate knows clearly yet does not report the disaster, urgently taxing and violently extorting to seek appraisal. Pawn the mulberries, sell the land to pay the official rent; next year's clothing and food—what then? Strip the silk from my body, seize the grain from my mouth. Who tortures men and harms creatures is a jackal and wolf; why must one have hooked claws and saw teeth to eat human flesh? I know not who reported to the emperor; the emperor's heart took pity and knew the people's plight. On white-hemp paper is written the gracious edict; the capital region wholly remits this year's tax. Only yesterday the village head came to the door, holding the measure-tablet to post in the village. Ten households' tax nine households already paid; in vain we received our lord's grace of remission. Imagery and technique: This is one of Bai Juyi's ten 'Songs of the Qin Region,' writing the old farmer's miserable fate under drought and harsh tax, a masterpiece of his satirical poetry. The first twelve lines write heaven's calamity and man's disaster; the middle four lines write the old man's accusation; the last eight lines write the vanity of remission. Feeling and theme: Written about 809, it reveals the harsh reality that local officials, to seek appraisal, hid the disaster and extorted tax, so the people 'received the grace of remission in vain'—a powerful indictment of 'harsh government worse than a tiger.' Famous lines: 'Strip the silk from my body, seize the grain from my mouth' and 'Who tortures men and harms creatures is a jackal and wolf' are eternal famous lines.
【白话串讲】 白居易写《杜陵叟》：“杜陵叟，杜陵居，岁种薄田一顷余”——“三月无雨旱风起，麦苗不秀多黄死”——“长吏明知不申破，急敛暴征求考课”——“典桑卖地纳官租，明年衣食将何如”——“剥我身上帛，夺我口中粟”——他写苛税之苦。 【意象与手法】 此诗是白居易《秦中吟》十首之一，写老农在旱灾与苛税下的悲惨命运，是白居易讽喻诗的名篇。前十二句写天灾与人祸：「杜陵叟，杜陵居，岁种薄田一顷余」写老农的贫苦；「三月无雨旱风起，麦苗不秀多黄死」写旱灾的严重；「九月降霜秋早寒，禾穗未熟皆青干」写霜灾的加害；「长吏明知不申破，急敛暴征求考课」写官吏的苛征，是灾上加祸的关键；「典桑卖地纳官租，明年衣食将何如」写老农典卖桑地的悲惨。中四句写老农的控诉：「剥我身上帛，夺我口中粟」以老农口吻直陈被夺之苦；「虐人害物即豺狼，何必钩爪锯牙食人肉」以豺狼喻贪官，是千古名句。后八句写蠲免的虚妄：「不知何人奏皇帝，帝心恻隐知人弊」写皇帝下诏免租；「白麻纸上书德音，京畿尽放今年税」写放税的命令；「昨日里胥方到门，手持尺牒牓乡村」写命令下达到乡村；「十家租税九家毕，虚受吾君蠲免恩」写放税的虚妄——十家租税九家已交毕，放免只是空恩。全诗以老农的口吻直陈，控诉与讽刺交织，是白居易讽喻诗中最沉痛的作品之一。 【情感与主旨】 此诗约作于唐宪宗元和四年（809），是白居易《秦中吟》十首之一，写京畿（长安附近）旱灾中老农的悲惨命运。元和三年至四年，关中（京畿）大旱，庄稼歉收，而地方官吏为求考课（政绩考核），「明知不申破，急敛暴征」，照常催逼租税；农民典桑卖地、卖儿鬻女，仍难以完租；等到朝廷下诏蠲免租税时，租税早已收毕，百姓「虚受蠲免恩」。诗中「长吏明知不申破，急敛暴征求考课」写官吏的苛征——他们明知灾情却隐瞒不报，反而急敛暴征以求政绩，正是「苛政猛于虎」的写照；「剥我身上帛，夺我口中粟」「虐人害物即豺狼，何必钩爪锯牙食人肉」写老农的控诉——那贪官污吏，就是吃人的豺狼，不必有钩爪锯牙，也照样食人血肉；「十家租税九家毕，虚受吾君蠲免恩」写放税的虚妄——皇帝的德音下达时，十家租税九家已交毕，那蠲免之恩只是「虚受」。全诗以老农的口吻直陈，把苛政之毒、官吏之贪、蠲免之虚层层写出，是白居易「唯歌生民病」精神的最强音，也是理解中唐民生疾苦与白居易讽喻精神的核心作品。 【名句点睛】 常考“剥我身上帛，夺我口中粟”以老农口吻直陈被夺之苦；“虐人害物即豺狼，何必钩爪锯牙食人肉”以豺狼喻贪官，控诉苛政。
Background
This poem was written about the fourth year of the Yuanhe era (809) of Emperor Xianzong, one of Bai Juyi's ten 'Songs of the Qin Region.' In winter of the third year of Yuanhe, the Guanzhong (capital) region suffered great drought; the next spring drought continued, and the harvest failed severely. Bai Juyi, then serving as a Reminder (Zuo Shiyi), witnessed the capital region's people in their miserable plight under drought and harsh tax, and composed this poem. According to history, in spring of 809 Bai submitted memorials such as 'On the Purchase of Grain' asking to remit the capital region's tax; the court later did issue an edict remitting the afflicted areas' tax. But this poem reveals a harsh reality: local officials, to seek appraisal (performance evaluation), 'knew clearly yet did not report the disaster, urgently taxing and violently extorting,' hiding the disaster while pressing collection; by the time the court's edict of remission came, 'only yesterday the village head came to the door'—the order arrived belatedly, and 'ten households' tax nine households already paid'—the tax was long collected, the people 'received our lord's grace of remission in vain.' 'The old man of Duling, dwelling in Duling' writes the capital-region farmer (Duling lies southeast of Chang'an, capital land); 'yearly plants a thin field of over a hundred mu' writes his thin land. This poem is a peak of Bai Juyi's satirical poetry, together with 'The Extravagant and the Frugal' and 'Buying Flowers' forming the 'Songs of the Qin Region' group, revealing from various sides the mid-Tang reality of 'harsh government worse than a tiger'—a core work for understanding mid-Tang popular suffering and Bai Juyi's satirical spirit.
此诗约作于唐宪宗元和四年（809），是白居易《秦中吟》十首之一。元和三年冬，关中（京畿一带）大旱，次年春又旱，庄稼严重歉收。白居易时任左拾遗，目睹京畿百姓在旱灾与苛税下的悲惨处境，遂作此诗。据史载，元和四年春，白居易上《论和籴状》等奏章，请减免京畿租税；朝廷后来确曾下诏放免受灾地区的租税。但白居易此诗揭示了一个严酷的现实：地方官吏为求考课（政绩考核），「长吏明知不申破，急敛暴征」，明知灾情却隐瞒不报，反而加紧催征；等到朝廷下诏蠲免时，「昨日里胥方到门」——命令姗姗来迟，而「十家租税九家毕」——租税早已收毕，百姓「虚受吾君蠲免恩」。诗中「杜陵叟，杜陵居」写京畿的农户（杜陵在长安城东南，是京畿之地）；「岁种薄田一顷余」写其田之薄；「三月无雨旱风起，麦苗不秀多黄死」「九月降霜秋早寒，禾穗未熟皆青干」写旱灾与霜灾的双重打击；「典桑卖地纳官租」写其典卖桑地以完租的惨状；「剥我身上帛，夺我口中粟」以老农的口吻直陈被夺之苦；「虐人害物即豺狼」以豺狼喻贪官。此诗是白居易讽喻诗的巅峰之一，与《轻肥》《买花》等同为《秦中吟》组诗，从不同侧面揭示了中唐社会「苛政猛于虎」的现实，是理解中唐民生疾苦与白居易讽喻精神的核心作品。
Art
The art of this poem may be read on four levels. First, narration in the old man's own voice: the latter part of the whole ('strip the silk from my body, seize the grain from my mouth,' 'who tortures men and harms creatures is a jackal and wolf,' 'in vain we received our lord's grace of remission') is spoken in the first-person voice of the old man, letting the victim speak for himself—the accusation of 'strip me, seize me' is more direct and shocking than third-person narration, the gift of Bai Juyi's satirical poetry 'speaking for the people.' Second, the double thread of heaven's calamity and man's disaster: the poem first writes heaven's calamity (third month no rain, wheat yellow dying; ninth month frost, grain green-dry), then man's disaster (magistrate not reporting, urgent tax and extortion, pawning mulberries and selling land), letting the reader see that what drives the old man to desperation is not only heaven's calamity but man's disaster—the two lines 'the magistrate knows clearly yet does not report the disaster, urgently taxing and violently extorting to seek appraisal' point to the theme 'harsh government worse than a tiger.' Third, the metaphor of jackal and wolf for the greedy official: 'who tortures men and harms creatures is a jackal and wolf; why must one have hooked claws and saw teeth to eat human flesh' compares the greedy official to a jackal and wolf—the official tortures and harms, he is a jackal and wolf, needing no hooked claws and saw teeth (the beast's sharp claws and teeth), he still eats human flesh; the metaphor is biting and profound. Fourth, irony writing the vanity of remission: the last part 'only yesterday the village head came to the door, holding the measure-tablet to post in the village. Ten households' tax nine households already paid; in vain we received our lord's grace of remission' writes the vanity of remission—the emperor's gracious edict arrives belatedly, the tax long collected, that grace of remission is 'received in vain,' using irony to write the failure of the court's grace, the satire deeper. These four devices advance layer by layer, making this poem one of the most sorrowful of Bai Juyi's satirical works.
此诗的艺术特色可从四个层面解析。其一，以老农口吻直陈的叙事。全诗后段（「剥我身上帛，夺我口中粟」「虐人害物即豺狼」「虚受吾君蠲免恩」）以老农的第一人称口吻直陈，让受害者自己发声——那「剥我」「夺我」的控诉，比第三人称的叙述更直接、更震撼，是白居易讽喻诗「代民立言」的本领。其二，天灾与人祸的双线并写。全诗先写天灾（三月无雨、麦苗黄死、九月降霜、禾穗青干），再写人祸（长吏不申破、急敛暴征、典桑卖地），让读者看到：使老农陷入绝境的，不仅是天灾，更是人祸——「长吏明知不申破，急敛暴征求考课」两句，点出「苛政猛于虎」的主旨。其三，以豺狼喻贪官的比喻。「虐人害物即豺狼，何必钩爪锯牙食人肉」以豺狼喻贪官——贪官虐人害物，就是豺狼，不必有钩爪锯牙（豺狼的利爪利齿），也照样吃人血肉，比喻辛辣而深刻。其四，以反讽写蠲免的虚妄。末段「昨日里胥方到门，手持尺牒牓乡村。十家租税九家毕，虚受吾君蠲免恩」写放税的虚妄——皇帝的德音姗姗来迟，租税早已收毕，那蠲免之恩只是「虚受」，以反讽写朝廷恩典的落空，讽刺更为深沉。四重手法层层推进，使此诗成为白居易讽喻诗中最沉痛的作品之一。
Allusions
The imagery and diction of this poem are rooted in the satirical and yuefu traditions. 'The old man of Duling'—Duling lies southeast of Chang'an, the grave-town of Han Xuandi; in the Tang it was capital land; Du Fu also styled himself 'the old man of Duling,' and Bai Juyi uses 'the old man of Duling' for the capital-region farmer, evoking Du Fu's self-style and his care for capital livelihood. 'Yearly plants a thin field of over a hundred mu' writes his thin land; 'thin field' evokes Tao Yuanming's 'planting beans below the southern hill' and the Shijing's 'you who neither sow nor reap, why take three hundred sheaves.' 'In the third month no rain, the drought wind rises; the wheat seedlings fail to ear and mostly yellow, dying' writes drought, evoking the Shijing's 'Great Drought' ('the drought is very great, steaming and swarming'). 'The magistrate knows clearly yet does not report the disaster, urgently taxing and violently extorting to seek appraisal' writes the official's extortion; 'appraisal' (kaokou) is the Tang evaluation of officials' performance, writing his seeking merit while oppressing the people; 'not reporting the disaster' evokes Confucius's 'harsh government is worse than a tiger' (Liji·Tangong). 'Pawn the mulberries, sell the land to pay the official rent' writes his pawning mulberries to pay rent, evoking the livelihood theme of Bai Juyi's companion piece and Du Fu's 'entering the door hear wailing, the youngest child already dead of hunger.' 'Strip the silk from my body, seize the grain from my mouth' uses the two verbs 'strip' and 'seize' for the agony of being robbed, 'the silk from my body' and 'the grain from my mouth' writing the source of clothing and food, evoking the Shijing's 'The Giant Rat' ('three years I've served you, yet you care not for me'); 'who tortures men and harms creatures is a jackal and wolf; why must one have hooked claws and saw teeth to eat human flesh' compares the greedy official to a jackal and wolf; 'hooked claws and saw teeth' writes the beast's sharp claws and teeth (the Shanhaijing writes monsters with 'hooked claws and saw teeth'), Bai Juyi reverses its meaning—the official needs no hooked claws and saw teeth, he still eats men, the satire biting. 'I know not who reported to the emperor; the emperor's heart took pity and knew the people's plight' writes the emperor's edict remitting tax; 'pity' transforms the Mencius 'the heart of pity is in all men,' writing the emperor's compassionate heart; 'on white-hemp paper is written the gracious edict' writes the court's edict—the Tang used white-hemp paper for appointing ministers, and for gracious edicts too; 'the capital region wholly remits this year's tax' writes the remission order. 'Only yesterday the village head came to the door, holding the measure-tablet to post in the village' writes the order's delivery—the village head (lixu, the hamlet official) holding the measure-tablet (official document) to post in the village, 'only came to the door' writing its belatedness. 'Ten households' tax nine households already paid; in vain we received our lord's grace of remission' writes the vanity of remission, 'received in vain' writing the receiving for nothing, evoking the Shijing's 'I shall leave you, to that happy land' protest. The whole transforms the Shijing, Mencius, and Liji traditions, speaking in the old man's voice and comparing the official to a jackal and wolf—precisely Bai Juyi's satirical gift of 'singing the matter directly.'
此诗的意象与用语深植于讽喻与乐府传统。「杜陵叟」的「杜陵」在长安城东南，是汉代宣帝的陵邑，唐代为京畿之地，杜甫亦号「杜陵野老」，白居易以「杜陵叟」写京畿老农，令人想到杜甫的自号与京畿民生的关怀。「岁种薄田一顷余」写其田之薄，「薄田」令人想到陶渊明「种豆南山下」的薄田与《诗经》「不稼不穑，胡取禾三百廛兮」的控诉。「三月无雨旱风起，麦苗不秀多黄死」写旱灾，令人想到《诗经·大雅·云汉》「旱既大甚，蕴隆虫虫」写大旱的忧虑；「九月降霜秋早寒，禾穗未熟皆青干」写霜灾，「禾穗未熟」写庄稼未熟即枯。「长吏明知不申破，急敛暴征求考课」写官吏的苛征，「考课」是唐代对官吏的政绩考核，写其求政绩而虐民，「不申破」写其隐瞒灾情，令人想到孔子「苛政猛于虎也」（《礼记·檀弓》）的名言。「典桑卖地纳官租」写其典卖桑地以完租，「典桑」写其连桑树都典卖了，令人想到白居易《杜陵叟》姊妹篇的民生主题与杜甫「入门闻号啕，幼子饥已卒」的民生写照。「剥我身上帛，夺我口中粟」以「剥」「夺」两个动词写被夺之苦，「我身上帛」「我口中粟」写其衣食之源，令人想到《诗经·魏风·硕鼠》「三岁贯女，莫我肯顾」的控诉传统；「虐人害物即豺狼，何必钩爪锯牙食人肉」以豺狼喻贪官，「钩爪锯牙」写豺狼的利爪利齿（《山海经》写怪物「钩爪锯牙」），白居易反其意而用之——贪官不必有钩爪锯牙，也照样食人，讽刺辛辣。「不知何人奏皇帝，帝心恻隐知人弊」写皇帝下诏免租，「恻隐」化用《孟子》「恻隐之心，人皆有之」，写皇帝的恻隐之心；「白麻纸上书德音」写朝廷的诏书——唐代任命大臣用白麻纸，写德音（皇帝恩诏）亦用白麻纸；「京畿尽放今年税」写放税的命令。「昨日里胥方到门，手持尺牒牓乡村」写命令的下达——里胥（里正，乡官）手持尺牒（公文）到乡村张榜，「方到门」写其姗姗来迟。「十家租税九家毕，虚受吾君蠲免恩」写放税的虚妄，「虚受」写白白领受，令人想到《诗经》「逝将去女，适彼乐土」的抗议。全诗化用《诗经》《孟子》《礼记》的传统，以老农口吻直陈、以豺狼喻贪官，正是白居易「直歌其事」的讽喻本领。
Commentary
This poem has long been ranked among the most biting in satire and most sorrowful in feeling of Bai Juyi's 'Songs of the Qin Region,' and is the source of the eternal famous line 'who tortures men and harms creatures is a jackal and wolf.' Critics through the ages have prized it highly: a Qing critic Shen Deqian said of this poem 'in the old farmer's voice, it writes the poison of harsh government, every character blood and tears'; modern scholars note that the two lines 'the magistrate knows clearly yet does not report the disaster, urgently taxing and violently extorting to seek appraisal' directly point at the corruption of mid-Tang officialdom, the peak of Bai Juyi's satirical poetry and its 'singing only the people's ills' spirit. Its special value in literary history lies in this: it speaks in the old farmer's first-person voice, writing the theme 'harsh government worse than a tiger' incisively—the accusation of 'strip the silk from my body, seize the grain from my mouth,' the curse of 'who tortures men and harms creatures is a jackal and wolf,' the irony of 'in vain we received our lord's grace of remission,' are all the strongest voice speaking for the people. The two lines 'the magistrate knows clearly yet does not report the disaster, urgently taxing and violently extorting to seek appraisal' write the local official's ugliness of hiding the disaster and pressing collection to seek merit, pointing at how the 'harshness' of harsh government lies not only in the tax itself but in the officials' deceiving above and oppressing below; 'ten households' tax nine households already paid; in vain we received our lord's grace of remission' uses irony to write the failure of the court's grace—when the emperor's edict arrives, the tax is long collected, that grace of remission is 'received in vain,' the satiric arrow pointing at the dysfunction of the whole bureaucratic system. Together with 'The Extravagant and the Frugal' and 'Buying Flowers' as the 'Songs of the Qin Region' group, it reveals mid-Tang society's contradictions from three sides: eunuchs' extravagance, the powerful's luxury, and harsh-tax exploitation. For today's readers, this poem is a window onto mid-Tang popular suffering and Bai Juyi's satirical spirit, and a model of Chinese literature's tradition of 'pleading for the weak'—that accusation of stripping silk and seizing grain, that curse of jackal-and-wolf eating men, that irony of receiving grace in vain, still speak, across a millennium, for every age's oppressed.
此诗历来被推为白居易《秦中吟》中讽刺最辛辣、情感最沉痛的作品之一，也是「虐人害物即豺狼」这一千古名句的出处。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人沈德潜评此诗「以老农之口，写苛政之毒，字字血泪」，近人更指出此诗「长吏明知不申破，急敛暴征求考课」两句，直指中唐吏治的腐败，是白居易讽喻诗「唯歌生民病」精神的巅峰。在文学史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以老农的第一人称口吻直陈，把「苛政猛于虎」的主题写得入木三分——那「剥我身上帛，夺我口中粟」的控诉，那「虐人害物即豺狼」的痛骂，那「虚受吾君蠲免恩」的反讽，都是代民立言的最强音。诗中「长吏明知不申破，急敛暴征求考课」两句，把地方官吏为求政绩而隐瞒灾情、加紧催征的丑态写得淋漓尽致，直指「苛政」之「苛」不仅在赋税本身，更在官吏的欺上瞒下；「十家租税九家毕，虚受吾君蠲免恩」更以反讽写朝廷恩典的落空——皇帝的德音下达时，租税早已收毕，那蠲免之恩只是「虚受」，讽刺的矛头直指整个官僚系统的失灵。此诗与《轻肥》《买花》等同为《秦中吟》组诗，从宦官骄奢、权贵豪奢、苛税盘剥三个侧面揭示了中唐社会的矛盾。对于今日读者，此诗是理解中唐民生疾苦与白居易讽喻精神的窗口，也是感受中国文学「为民请命」传统的典范——那剥帛夺粟的控诉、豺狼食人的痛骂、虚受恩典的反讽，穿越千年，仍在为每一个时代的弱者发声。
Prosody
Line by line
剥我身上帛，夺我口中粟。
These two lines are the loudest note of the old man's accusation and eternal famous lines, using the two verbs 'strip' and 'seize' for the agony of being robbed, every character blood and tears. 'Strip the silk from my body' writes the robbing of clothing—the character 'strip' (bo) is extremely fierce: not 'take,' not 'levy,' but 'strip'—like stripping skin, tearing the silk from my body; 'strip' exhausts the violence of forcible seizure. 'Seize the grain from my mouth' writes the robbing of food—the character 'seize' (duo) is extremely heavy: not 'collect,' not 'levy,' but 'seize'—seizing the grain from my mouth; 'the grain from my mouth' writes that the grain is food in the mouth, the ration of life; to seize it is to seize life. The two lines, one writing 'clothing' one writing 'food,' stating directly 'from my body' and 'from my mouth,' write the agony of being robbed concretely and shockingly—the silk is the clothing on the body, the grain is the ration of life, now both 'stripped' and 'seized,' the old man has nothing, no clothing no food. The deep intent: it states the cruelest reality in the most direct voice—not the abstract 'heavy tax,' but the concrete deprivation of 'strip the silk from my body, seize the grain from my mouth'; not third-person narration, but the victim's own accusation. Using 'strip' for clothing and 'seize' for food is precisely Bai Juyi's gift of 'speaking for the people,' making these two lines eternal famous lines on 'harsh government,' that accusation of stripping silk and seizing grain still speaks for every exploited person across a millennium.
剥我身上的布帛，夺我口中的粟米。
Tear the cloth from my back, seize the grain from my mouth.
这两句是老农控诉的最强音，也是千古名句，以「剥」「夺」两个动词写被夺之苦，字字血泪。「剥我身上帛」写衣之被夺——「剥」字极狠：不是「取」，不是「征」，而是「剥」——像剥皮一样夺走我身上的布帛，那「剥」字写尽强夺之暴；「夺我口中粟」写食之被夺——「夺」字极重：不是「收」，不是「征」，而是「夺」——夺走我口中的粟米，「口中粟」写那粟米是口中的食物，是活命的口粮，夺走它等于夺走生命。两句一写「衣」、一写「食」，以「我身上」「我口中」直陈，把被夺之苦写得具体而震撼——那布帛是遮体的衣，那粟米是活命的粮，如今都被「剥」走、「夺」走，老农一无所有、衣食无着。这两句的深意在于：它以最直接的口吻写最残酷的现实——不是抽象的「赋税沉重」，而是「剥我身上帛，夺我口中粟」的具体剥夺；不是第三人称的叙述，而是受害者自己的控诉。以「剥」写衣、以「夺」写食，正是白居易「代民立言」的本领，也让这两句成为写「苛政」的千古名句，那剥帛夺粟的控诉，穿越千年，仍在为每一个被盘剥者发声。
The two lines are the old farmer's indictment at its strongest, and a famous line through the ages, using the two verbs tear and seize for the agony of being robbed, every word blood and tears. Tear the cloth from my back writes the clothing's robbery - the word tear is most ruthless: not take, not levy, but tear - tearing the cloth from my back as if flaying it, the word tear writing to the full the violence of the robbery. Seize the grain from my mouth writes the food's robbery - the word seize is most heavy: not collect, not levy, but seize - seizing the grain from my mouth, the grain from my mouth the food at the lips, the ration of life, seizing it equal to seizing life. The two lines, one writing clothing, one food, with on my back and from my mouth directly stated, writing the robbery's agony concrete and heart-stirring - the cloth the clothing to cover the body, the grain the food to sustain life, now both torn away and seized, the old farmer left nothing, without clothes or food. The deep meaning of the two lines lies in: using the most direct tone for the cruelest reality - not the abstract heavy taxes, but the concrete robbery of tearing the cloth and seizing the grain; not third-person narration, but the victim's own accusation. Using tear for the clothing and seize for the food, exactly Bai Juyi's craft of speaking for the people, making these two lines the age-famous writing of oppressive rule, that indictment of tearing cloth and seizing grain, crossing a thousand years, still speaking for every plundered one.
虐人害物即豺狼，何必钩爪锯牙食人肉。
These two lines are the old man's cursing stroke of accusation and eternal famous lines, comparing the greedy official to a jackal and wolf, the metaphor biting and profound. 'Who tortures men and harms creatures is a jackal and wolf' writes the official's essence—who tortures men and harms creatures is a jackal and wolf; 'is a jackal and wolf' in three characters equates the official with the jackal and wolf—no need to distinguish, no need to argue, the torturer-and-harmer is a jackal and wolf; that 'is' (ji) writes the decisiveness of the judgment. 'Why must one have hooked claws and saw teeth to eat human flesh' writes that eating men needs no form—the jackal and wolf eats men and still needs hooked claws and saw teeth (sharp claws and teeth), but the official needs no hooked claws and saw teeth, he still eats human flesh and blood—they use the soft knife of 'urgent tax and violent extortion' and 'pawning mulberries and selling land' to eat men, more cruel than the jackal's hard teeth. The deep intent: it writes the official's man-eating essence incisively through the 'jackal and wolf' metaphor—the official is not 'like' a jackal and wolf, but 'is' a jackal and wolf; they eat men, needing no the beast's claws, because their 'hooked claws and saw teeth' are invisible—the system of appraisal, the document of urgent extortion, the means of 'urgent tax and violent extortion.' Using 'is a jackal and wolf' for essence and 'why must one have hooked claws and saw teeth' for invisible man-eating is precisely the biting quality of Bai Juyi's satirical poetry, making these two lines eternal famous lines—that cursing voice still prosecutes for the exploited across a millennium.
虐待人、残害物就是豺狼，何必一定要有钩爪锯牙才吃人肉。
Whoever harries men and harms creatures is a wolf; why must he have talons and saw-teeth to eat human flesh?
这两句是老农控诉的痛骂之笔，也是千古名句，以豺狼喻贪官，比喻辛辣而深刻。「虐人害物即豺狼」写贪官的本质——虐待人、残害物的，就是豺狼，「即豺狼」三字，把贪官与豺狼划上等号——不必分辨，不必论证，虐人害物者，就是豺狼，那「即」字写尽判定的决绝；「何必钩爪锯牙食人肉」写吃人之不必有形——豺狼吃人，还要有钩爪锯牙（利爪利齿），而贪官不必有钩爪锯牙，也照样吃人血肉——他们用「急敛暴征」「典桑卖地」的软刀子吃人，比豺狼的硬牙齿更残忍。这两句的深意在于：它以「豺狼」的比喻，把贪官的吃人本质写得淋漓尽致——贪官不是「像」豺狼，而是「即」豺狼；他们吃人，不必有豺狼的利爪，因为他们的「钩爪锯牙」是隐形的——是那考课的制度、是那催征的公文、是那「急敛暴征」的手段。以「即豺狼」写本质、以「何必钩爪锯牙」写隐形的吃人，正是白居易讽喻诗的辛辣，也让这两句成为千古名句——那痛骂之声，穿越千年，仍在为被盘剥者讨伐。
The two lines are the old farmer's curse, and a famous line through the ages, using the jackal-wolf for the corrupt official, the simile bitter and deep. Whoever harries men and harms creatures is a wolf writes the official's essence - he who harries men and harms creatures is a wolf, the three words is a wolf putting the corrupt official on the line with the jackal-wolf - no need to distinguish, no need to argue, he who harries men and harms creatures is a wolf, the word is writing to the full the verdict's resolve. Why must he have talons and saw-teeth to eat human flesh? writes the eating of men's not needing shape - the jackal-wolf eats men yet needs talons and saw-teeth (sharp claws and fangs), yet the corrupt official needs no talons and saw-teeth, yet eats men's flesh and blood all the same - they eat with the soft knives of urgent extortion and mortgaging the mulberries and selling the fields, crueler than the jackal-wolf's hard fangs. The deep meaning of the two lines lies in: using the jackal-wolf simile to write the corrupt official's man-eating essence to the full - the official is not like a jackal-wolf, but is a jackal-wolf; they eat men, needing no jackal-wolf's sharp claws, because their talons and saw-teeth are invisible - the system of assessment, the documents of collection, the means of urgent extortion. Using is a wolf for the essence and why must he have talons and saw-teeth for the invisible man-eating, exactly Bai Juyi's bitter satiric verse, making these two lines the age-famous - that voice of cursing, crossing a thousand years, still campaigning for the plundered.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Bai Juyi's 'Buying Flowers'—'one clump of deep-colored flowers, the tax of ten middle households'—writes, through the old field-man's sigh, the luxury of the powerful buying flowers and the heaviness of tax, a 'Songs of the Qin Region' work satirizing the powerful. This poem, 'The Old Man of Duling'—'strip the silk from my body, seize the grain from my mouth,' 'who tortures men and harms creatures is a jackal and wolf'—writes, through the old man's accusation, the exploitation of harsh tax, a 'Songs of the Qin Region' work satirizing officialdom. Same satiric group: one writes the heaviness of burden through 'the tax of ten middle households,' the other the poison of exploitation through 'jackal and wolf'; one writes the luxury of buying flowers, the other the misery of paying rent. Read together, they show the 'people-centered' spirit of Bai Juyi's satiric poetry—he writes both the powerful's luxury and the farmer's suffering, precisely the portrait of 'singing only the people's ills.'
《买花》「一丛深色花，十户中人赋」以田舍翁的长叹写权贵买花的豪奢与赋税的沉重，是《秦中吟》中「讽权贵」之作。此诗《杜陵叟》则「剥我身上帛，夺我口中粟」「虐人害物即豺狼」，以老农的控诉写苛税盘剥，是《秦中吟》中「讽吏治」之作。同组讽喻诗，一以「十户中人赋」写负担之重，一以「豺狼」写盘剥之毒；一写买花的豪奢，一写纳租的惨状。两诗对读，可见白居易讽喻诗「以民为本」的精神——他既写权贵的奢，也写农夫的苦，正是「唯歌生民病」的写照。
轻肥 The Extravagant and the Frugal 白居易 · 同组讽喻诗，一写骄奢一写苛征 Same satiric group—one on arrogance, one on harsh extortion.Bai Juyi's 'The Extravagant and the Frugal'—'fed full, the heart is at ease; wine warmed, the spirit swells' and 'this year Jiangnan drought, in Quzhou men ate men'—contrasts the eunuchs' arrogance with Jiangnan's famine, a 'Songs of the Qin Region' work satirizing eunuchs. This poem, 'The Old Man of Duling'—'the magistrate knows clearly yet does not report the disaster, urgently taxing and violently extorting to seek appraisal'—writes, through the old man's accusation, the officials' harsh extortion, a 'Songs of the Qin Region' work satirizing officialdom. Same satiric group: one writes the extremity of misery through 'in Quzhou men ate men,' the other the poison of extortion through 'urgent tax and violent extortion'; one writes the eunuchs' arrogance, the other the officials' harshness. Read together, they show the comprehensiveness of Bai Juyi's satire—satirizing both eunuch arrogance and official harshness, both models of 'singing the matter directly.'
《轻肥》「食饱心自若，酒酣气益振」「是岁江南旱，衢州人食人」以宦官的骄奢与江南的饥荒对照，是《秦中吟》中「讽宦官」之作。此诗《杜陵叟》则「长吏明知不申破，急敛暴征求考课」，以老农的控诉写官吏的苛征，是《秦中吟》中「讽吏治」之作。同组讽喻诗，一以「衢州人食人」写惨状之烈，一以「急敛暴征」写盘剥之毒；一写宦官的骄，一写官吏的苛。两诗对读，可见白居易讽喻的全面——既讽宦官的骄，也讽官吏的苛，都是「直歌其事」的典范。
卖炭翁 The Old Man Who Sells Charcoal 白居易 · 同为白居易写民生疾苦，一写宫市一写苛税 Both Bai Juyi on popular suffering—one on the palace market, one on harsh tax.Bai Juyi's 'The Old Man Who Sells Charcoal'—'pitiful, his clothes are thin, yet he worries the charcoal cheap, wishing the cold weather come'—writes the old charcoal-seller's plight under the palace market (eunuchs' forced purchase), a famous 'new yuefu' satiric work. This poem, 'The Old Man of Duling'—'strip the silk from my body, seize the grain from my mouth'—writes, through the old man's accusation, the harm of harsh-tax exploitation, a famous 'Songs of the Qin Region' satiric work. Both are Bai Juyi on popular suffering: one writes the harm of forced purchase by the 'palace market' (the old man who sells charcoal), the other the poison of forced levy by 'harsh tax' (the old man of Duling); one writes harm through 'the yellow-robed envoy and white-shirted lad' forced purchase, the other through 'the magistrate's urgent tax and violent extortion.' Read together, they show the comprehensiveness of Bai Juyi's 'people-centered' satiric poetry—he writes both palace-market harm and harsh-tax poison, both portraits of 'singing only the people's ills.'
《卖炭翁》「可怜身上衣正单，心忧炭贱愿天寒」以卖炭老人的遭遇写宫市（宦官强买强卖）之害，是白居易「新乐府」讽喻的名篇。此诗《杜陵叟》则「剥我身上帛，夺我口中粟」，以老农的控诉写苛税盘剥之害，是《秦中吟》讽喻的名篇。同为白居易写民生疾苦，一写「宫市」的强买（卖炭翁），一写「苛税」的强征（杜陵叟）；一以「黄衣使者白衫儿」写强买之害，一以「长吏急敛暴征」写苛征之毒。两诗对读，可见白居易讽喻诗「以民为本」的全面——他既写宫市之害，也写苛税之毒，都是「唯歌生民病」的写照。