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魏晋 Wei-Jin · 诗 Poem

拟行路难·其六

Imitating 'Hard Is the Way' VI

鲍照

Bao Zhao

忧愤/感时indignation / time 豪情/壮志passion / ambition

对案不能食，拔剑击柱长叹息。
丈夫生世会几时？
安能蹀躞垂羽翼！
弃置罢官去，还家自休息。
朝出与亲辞，暮还在亲侧。
弄儿床前戏，看妇机中织。
自古圣贤尽贫贱，何况我辈孤且直！

Before my tray I cannot eat; I draw my sword and strike the post with a long sigh.
How long in life can a great man last? How can he shuffle about with drooping wings!
I throw it aside, leave office and go, home to rest myself.
At dawn I go out and take leave of my kin; at dusk I am back at their side.
I play with my child before the bed; I watch my wife at her loom weave.
Since old times the sages all knew poverty; how much more we, lone and upright!

Listen

Meaning

Before his tray he cannot eat; he draws his sword and strikes the post with a long sigh. How long in this life can a great man last? How can he shuffle about with drooping wings! He throws it all aside, leaves office and goes home to rest. At dawn he goes out and takes leave of his kin; at dusk he is back at their side. He plays with his child before the bed; he watches his wife weaving at her loom. Since old times the sages all knew poverty; how much more we, who are lone and upright!

对着食案却难以下咽，拔剑击柱发出长长的叹息。大丈夫立身于世能有多久？岂能如小步徘徊、垂下羽翼般委曲求全！索性丢开职事辞官而去，回到家乡自在地休养。清晨出门与亲人辞别，傍晚又回到亲人身旁。在床前逗弄小儿嬉戏，看妻子在机杼上织布。自古以来圣贤多陷于贫贱，何况我们这样孤高而耿直的人！

Appreciation

Bao Zhao, styled Mingyuan, was a Liu-Song literatus of humble birth. Known for his wit under the Linchuan prince Liu Yiqing, he stayed in low posts because of the 'no humble house in the upper ranks' caste system. This is the sixth of his eighteen 'Imitating Hard Is the Way', using the Han yuefu old title to voice the scholar's straits. The poem is carried by a strong lyric 'I': the opening 'before my tray I cannot eat; I draw my sword and strike the post' paints inward anger by a highly tense action, with strong visual shock. The middle turns from rage to the ease of going home — 'play with my child', 'watch my wife weave' by plain description shows the joy of family — making a fall against the first half. It closes 'since old times the sages all knew poverty; how much more we, lone and upright', ending in argument, lifting a private grief to history's height, deep and bleak. The language is plain and strong, five- and seven-character lines mixed, the rhythm free-running — typical of Bao Zhao's 'handsome and free' yuefu style.

【白话串讲】 “对案不能食，拔剑击柱长叹息”——鲍照面对饭桌吃不下，拔剑砍柱子长叹。“丈夫生世会几时？安能蹀躞垂羽翼”——大丈夫能活多久，怎么能垂头丧气？“自古圣贤尽贫贱，何况我辈孤且直”——圣贤都贫贱，何况我们这些孤直的人。【意象与手法】本诗以强烈的抒情主人公自我形象贯穿始终，起笔‘对案不能食，拔剑击柱’以极富张力的动作刻画内心愤懑，极具视觉冲击力【情感与主旨】鲍照字明远，南朝宋文学家，出身寒门，虽以文才知名于临川王刘义庆门下，却因‘上品无寒门’的门阀制度久居卑位【名句点睛】中高考常以此诗考查‘怀才不遇’主题与鲍照乐府风格。命题多聚焦：一、首二句动作描写对刻画人物心理的作用

Background

Bao Zhao, styled Mingyuan, was a Liu-Song (Southern Dynasties) literatus of humble birth. Famous for his wit under the Linchuan prince Liu Yiqing, he stayed in low posts because of the 'no humble house in the upper ranks' caste system. This is the sixth of his eighteen 'Imitating Hard Is the Way', using the Han yuefu old title to voice the scholar's straits. After the Eastern Jin, the great clans monopolized office; the humble-born had no door in. Bao Zhao sank in low office all his life, his great will unspent, so he voiced his unjust grievance in wine and poem. 'Lone and upright' is both self-mockery and a stand against a corrupt age, mirroring the collective plight of the Southern-dynasty humble-born writer.

《拟行路难·其六》是南朝宋诗人鲍照的名作。鲍照（约414—466），字明远，东海人，出身寒门，仕途坎坷，官至临海王参军，后死于乱军之中。其《拟行路难》十八首，是模拟乐府《行路难》的组诗，多写寒士的愤懑与人生的感慨。此首写诗人罢官家居的情状与不平之气：对案不能食，拔剑击柱长叹息，叹丈夫生世几何、安能垂羽；然弃置罢官归家，却有弄儿床前、看妇织机的天伦之乐；末以“自古圣贤尽贫贱，何况我辈孤且直”作结，把个人的失意升华为寒士的普遍命运。此诗是鲍照“孤且直”人格的写照，也是寒门士子在门阀制度下被压抑的愤懑之声。南朝门阀森严，“上品无寒门，下品无势族”，鲍照以寒士之身写此愤慨，遂成千古传诵的孤愤之作。

Art

The poem is carried by a strong lyric 'I'. The opening 'before my tray I cannot eat; I draw my sword and strike the post' paints inward anger by a highly tense action, strong visual shock. The middle turns from rage to the ease of going home — 'play with my child', 'watch my wife weave' by plain description shows the joy of family — making a fall against the first half. It closes 'since old times the sages all knew poverty; how much more we, lone and upright', ending in argument, lifting a private grief to history's height, deep and bleak. The language is plain and strong, five- and seven-character mixed, the rhythm free-running — typical of Bao Zhao's 'handsome and free' yuefu.

《拟行路难·其六》艺术上以直抒愤懑与刚柔相济见长，是鲍照歌行的代表作。全诗十二句，前四句写愤：“对案不能食，拔剑击柱长叹息”以“不能食”“拔剑击柱”“长叹息”三个动作写其愤懑难平，起笔即如火山爆发；“丈夫生世会几时？安能蹀躞垂羽翼”以两个问句写其不甘——“生世几时”叹人生短暂，“蹀躞垂羽”叹英雄失路。中四句写归家之乐：“弃置罢官去，还家自休息”写其决然罢官；“朝出与亲辞，暮还在亲侧”写晨昏侍亲的天伦之乐；“弄儿床前戏，看妇机中织”以床前弄儿、机中看妇两个镜头，写人间最温馨的画面。后四句转出感慨：“自古圣贤尽贫贱，何况我辈孤且直”以圣贤之贫贱为据，为自己的失意找到慰藉，又以“孤且直”自许，把愤懑升华为孤高。全诗以刚起、以柔承、以慨结，愤懑与温情相激、不平与自许相生，正是鲍照“俊逸”诗风的代表。

Allusions

'Hard Is the Way' was originally a Han yuefu mixed-tune old title, mostly writing the road's peril and parting grief; Bao Zhao made eighteen imitations in his own voice. 'Shuffle' (die xie) originally means to walk in small steps, hesitating; here it figures being bound and unable to stretch. 'Drooping wings' uses a bird folding its wings for self-abasement. 'Lone and upright' reworks the Analects' 'upright was Shi Yu' and the lone, high-minded sense, hinting a self-grief at his blunt character. The whole uses allusion without a seam, mostly daily images and action to carry feeling, so though few clear allusions, the grievance shows itself.

《拟行路难·其六》用典少而化用深。“行路难”本为乐府古题，写世路艰难、人生坎坷，鲍照拟之，正承此传统；“蹀躞”本义小步行走，此处写垂羽徘徊之态；“孤且直”之“直”，承《论语》“直道而事人”的传统，写其正直不阿。诗中“自古圣贤尽贫贱”化用《史记·孔子世家》“累累若丧家之狗”及孔孟周游列国、困厄终身的史实，以圣贤之贫贱为寒士之失意张本。全诗以乐府旧题写寒士新愤，以圣贤自解、以孤直自许，正是鲍照把个人命运融入历史传统的高处。

Commentary

Shipin says of Bao Zhao 'gifted yet lowly placed, hence buried in his age', speaking his straits. Du Fu praised 'handsome and free, Bao the adjutant', exactly this style. The Ming critic Hu Yinglin said his yuefu 'like Wu Ding hewing the mountain, opens what the world had not', meaning his brush is strong. This poem writes the caste-system pain in a humble scholar's grievance; critics of all ages grant it both 'upright stand' and 'deep bleak', a fine structure of Southern-dynasty lyric poetry.

《拟行路难·其六》是鲍照最著名的作品之一，也是南朝寒士文学的代表作。诗中“对案不能食，拔剑击柱长叹息”以三个动作写愤懑之极，向为论者激赏；而“弄儿床前戏，看妇机中织”以天伦之乐写失意后的慰藉，更是千古名句。沈德潜《古诗源》评鲍照“如五丁凿山，开人世所未有”，正指其以奇崛之笔写愤激之情。此诗最动人处在“刚柔相济”：前写拔剑击柱之愤，中写弄儿看织之柔，末以“孤且直”自许，愤懑与温情交织，正是寒士复杂心绪的真实写照。与左思《咏史》“郁郁涧底松”同为寒士不平之鸣，而鲍照此诗更见个人性情的倔强与温柔。

Prosody

Form Yuefu poem (Imitating 'Hard Is the Way', mixed lines)七言歌行（拟乐府《行路难》）

Rhyme Free shifting rhyme, sometimes oblique, not bound to one《拟行路难·其六》为七言歌行，十二句，用韵：息、翼（职部）、侧、织（职部）、直（职部），一韵到底（入声职部）。入声韵短促急促，正合愤懑不平之情。七言句式的流转与入声韵的顿挫相配，声情激越。

Tone pattern Mixed-line song-form, level-oblique as feeling, not ruled by regulation七言歌行自鲍照始盛，此诗七言句式流转自如，音节跌宕。前四句以“不能食”“击柱”“长叹”写愤，声情激越；中六句以“朝出暮还”“弄儿看妇”写柔，声情舒缓；末二句以议论收束，声情沉痛。全诗以七言写愤、写柔、写慨，声情随情转，正是鲍照七言歌行“俊逸”而“奇崛”的风格。

Reading note Five- and seven-character lines mixed, long-short broken; gains the Han yuefu free-running breath.《拟行路难·其六》为七言歌行，是鲍照对七言诗的开拓之作。七言诗在鲍照之前多用于乐府，且句句用韵，节奏板滞；鲍照将七言用于抒情言志，并开创“转韵”之法，使七言诗真正成为自由抒情的诗体。此诗一韵到底（入声职部），音节短促顿挫，正合愤懑之情。其结构“愤——柔——慨”的三层递进，以刚起、以柔承、以慨结，把寒士的愤懑、温情与自许写得跌宕生姿。鲍照对七言诗的开拓，直接影响后世李白《行路难》等七言歌行的创作，是七言诗发展史上的里程碑。

Line by line

对案不能食，拔剑击柱长叹息。丈夫生世会几时？安能蹀躞垂羽翼！

Before the tray I cannot eat; I draw my sword, strike the pillar, and sigh long. How long does a man live in the world? How can he trot small steps with drooping wings!

对着饭桌却吃不下饭，拔剑击柱，长长叹息。大丈夫活在世上能有几时？怎能小步徘徊、垂下羽翼！

Before the table I cannot eat; I draw my sword, strike the pillar, and heave a long sigh. How long does a man live in this world? How can he mince along with drooping wings!

起四句以一连串动作写愤懑之极，是全诗情感的第一个爆发点。“对案不能食”写食不下咽——愤懑塞胸，连饭都吃不下；“拔剑击柱长叹息”以“拔剑”“击柱”“长叹息”三个动作写其激愤——拔剑欲有所为，却只能击柱泄愤，最终化作一声长叹。这一连串动作，把寒士有才不得施的愤懑写得淋漓尽致。“丈夫生世会几时？安能蹀躞垂羽翼”以两个问句写不甘——人生短暂，岂能蹀躞徘徊、垂羽不振？“安能”二字，见其倔强与不甘。四句以刚烈起笔，如火山喷发，为全诗定下“不平”的基调。

The opening four lines use a chain of actions for extreme grief, the poem's first emotional explosion. Before-the-tray-I-cannot-eat writes the inability to eat - grief chokes the chest, even food won't go down. I-draw-my-sword-strike-the-pillar-and-sigh-long uses three actions - draw sword, strike pillar, long sigh - for the indignation: draw the sword wanting to act, yet can only strike the pillar to vent, finally turning into a long sigh. This chain of actions exhausts the poor scholar's talent-unused indignation. How-long-does-a-man-live-how-can-he-mince-along-with-drooping-wings! uses two questions for the unwillingness - life is short, how can I mince along with drooping wings? The how-can character shows stubbornness and refusal. The four lines open with fierceness, like a volcano, setting the poem's不平 tone.

弃置罢官去，还家自休息。朝出与亲辞，暮还在亲侧。弄儿床前戏，看妇机中织。

I cast it aside, leave office, and go home to rest. In the morning I leave with a word to my parents; in the evening I return to their side. I play with my son before the bed, watch my wife weave at the loom.

抛弃官职离开，回到家中自己休息。早晨出门与父母辞别，傍晚回来还在父母身边。在床前逗弄孩子玩耍，看着妻子在织机前织布。

I cast it off, resign my post, go home and rest. In the morning I leave with a bow to my parents; in the evening I return to their side. I play with my child before the bed, watch my wife weave at the loom.

中六句写罢官归家的天伦之乐，是全诗的转折与温情所在。“弃置罢官去，还家自休息”写其决然弃官——既然不能展志，便弃官归家；“朝出与亲辞，暮还在亲侧”写晨昏侍亲的安稳——“朝出”“暮还”，一日之间不离双亲左右；“弄儿床前戏，看妇机中织”以两个镜头写人间最温馨的画面——床前逗弄幼子，机边静看妻子织布。这六句与开篇的拔剑击柱形成强烈的对照：愤懑的诗人，回到家中却是温柔的父亲、儿子、丈夫。鲍照写这“退一步”的天伦之乐，既是对失意的自我安慰，也暗含“失之东隅，收之桑榆”的人生况味。

The middle six lines write the family joy of resigning and returning home, the poem's turn and warmth. I-cast-it-off-leave-office-go-home-and-rest writes the decisive resignation - since cannot realize the will, leave office for home. In-the-morning-I-leave-with-a-word-to-my-parents-in-the-evening-I-return-to-their-side writes the stable morning-evening service to parents - morning out, evening back, never leaving parents all day. I-play-with-my-son-before-the-bed-watch-my-wife-weave-at-the-loom writes two shots of the warmest human scene - playing with the infant before the bed, watching the wife weave by the loom. These six lines form strong contrast with the opening's sword-drawn-pillar-struck: the indignant poet, returning home, is a gentle father, son, husband. Bao Zhao writes this step-back family joy, both self-consolation for disappointment, and the人生 taste of losing in the east, gaining in the west.

自古圣贤尽贫贱，何况我辈孤且直！

Since old times the sages all knew poverty; how much more we, lone and upright!

自古以来，圣贤都是贫贱的，何况我们这些孤高而又正直的人呢！

Since olden times sages have all been poor; how much more we, lone and upright!

末二句以议论收束，是全诗情感的最后升华。“自古圣贤尽贫贱”以圣贤为据——孔孟周游列国而困厄终身，圣贤尚且贫贱，何况我等；“何况我辈孤且直”以“孤且直”自许——“孤”写其孤立无援（寒门无势族之援），“直”写其正直不阿（不肯屈节逢迎）。两句一推一进：圣贤贫贱，故我辈贫贱不足悲；而“孤且直”正是贫贱之因，也是贫贱中的骄傲。这二句把个人的失意升华为寒士的普遍命运，又以“孤且直”自守其节，愤懑中见孤高，悲凉中见倔强，是全诗的点睛之笔。

The closing two lines resolve in argument, the poem's final emotional elevation. Since-olden-times-sages-have-all-been-poor uses sages as evidence - Confucius and Mencius traveled the states yet were trapped all their lives; sages were poor, let alone us. How-much-more-we-lone-and-upright! uses lone-and-upright for self-claim: lone writes isolation (poor clan without powerful backing), upright writes straightness (refusing to bend). The two lines push then advance: sages poor, hence our poverty not to be grieved; yet lone-and-upright is the cause of poverty, and the pride within poverty. These two lines elevate personal disappointment into the common fate of poor scholars, and through lone-and-upright keep integrity; indignation with isolation, grief with stubbornness. This is the poem's finishing stroke.

Study

Word focus

击柱 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “拔剑击柱长叹息”之“击柱”，写拔剑而击柱的泄愤之态，是全诗最见愤懑的一笔。剑本应击敌，此处却只能“击柱”——有剑而不能用，有力而无处使，只得向柱子发泄。这一动作写尽了寒士的处境：不是没有才能，而是有才无处施展。以“击柱”写愤懑，比直呼“不平”更有力度，正是鲍照“俊逸”中的奇崛之笔。

蹀躞 Originally 'walk in small steps'; here it figures a bound, restrained state, answering 'drooping wings', writing the pain of being pressed down. “安能蹀躞垂羽翼”之“蹀躞”，写小步徘徊、踌躇不前之态，与“垂羽翼”相配，写英雄失路的猥琐之态。“蹀躞”本指小步行走，此处写屈身俯就、不敢舒展的样子；“垂羽翼”以鸟垂翼写志气消沉。鲍照以“安能”反问——大丈夫岂能如此蹀躞垂羽？“蹀躞”二字，把寒士在权贵面前的屈辱姿态写得形象，也反衬出诗人的不甘与倔强。

弄 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “弄儿床前戏”之“弄”，写逗弄幼子的温情，是全诗由愤转柔的关纽字。“弄”本义把玩、逗弄，此处写父亲逗弄小儿——“弄儿”一词，写尽慈爱之态。这一字与前文“拔剑击柱”的刚烈形成鲜明对照：同一双手，方才拔剑击柱，此刻却逗弄小儿。以“弄”写柔，正是鲍照此诗“刚柔相济”的体现，也见出寒士失意后在天伦中寻得的慰藉。

孤且直 'Lone and upright' — 'lone' for a house with no backing, 'upright' for a blunt, unbending temper; three words condense the humble scholar's self-grief and proud bone; the poem's eye. “何况我辈孤且直”之“孤且直”，是全诗的自画像，也是寒士精神的写照。“孤”写其孤立——寒门无势族之援，孤立于门阀之外；“直”写其正直——不肯屈节逢迎、随波逐流。“孤且直”三字，既是贫贱之因（孤而无援、直而招忌），也是贫贱中的骄傲（宁孤宁直而不改其志）。鲍照以“孤且直”自许，正是寒士在门阀重压下最倔强的宣言。