All poems

先秦 Pre-Qin · 楚辞 Chu Ci

九歌·湘夫人

The Lady of the Xiang River

屈原

Qu Yuan

神恋Divine Love 爱情Romance 楚辞Songs of Chu

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。
鸟何萃兮苹中，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。
筑室兮水中，葺之兮荷盖。
荪壁兮紫坛，播芳椒兮成堂。
桂栋兮兰橑，辛夷楣兮药房。
罔薜荔兮为帷，擗蕙櫋兮既张。
白玉兮为镇，疏石兰兮为芳。
芷葺兮荷屋，缭之兮杜衡。
合百草兮实庭，建芳馨兮庑门。
九嶷缤兮并迎，灵之来兮如云。
捐余袂兮江中，遗余褋兮澧浦。
搴汀洲兮杜若，将以遗兮远者。
时不可兮骤得，聊逍遥兮容与。

The emperor's daughter descends to the northern isle;
I gaze afar, but see her not, and my heart grieves.
The autumn breeze sighs soft and slow,
On Dongting's waves the fallen leaves drift low.
I climb the grassy height and strain my view,
For the appointed tryst at dusk I have prepared all things anew.
Why do the birds gather among the duckweed's green?
Why does the fishing net hang from the trees' tall screen?
The Yuan has its angelica, the Li its orchid rare;
I long for my lord, but dare not speak my care.
Dim and distant, I gaze afar,
Watching the flowing water, murmuring on afar.
Why does the elk feed in the courtyard's bound?
Why does the flood-dragon rest on the water's ground?
At dawn I drive my steeds along the river's side,
At dusk I cross to the western shore, where waters glide.
I hear my fair one call to me,
I will speed my team to join her, wild and free.
Let us build a chamber amidst the water's flow,
Thatched with lotus leaves, where we may dwell below.
With angelica walls and purple shell terrace bright,
Pounded pepper spreads fragrance through the hall of light.
Cassia beams, orchid rafters, magnolia lintels,
White flag-rooms, with woven fig vine curtains,
And orchid hangings, all spread in due order fine,
With white jade weights to hold the mat, and orchids to entwine.
Stone orchids scattered for their fragrance,
White flag thatching, lotus roof, with asarums in abundance.
All hundred herbs to fill the courtyard,
Sweet scents that reach the gate and hall's regard.
The nine peaks of Doubt in concourse come to greet,
The spirits descend like clouds, a glorious fleet.
I cast my sleeves into the river's tide,
I throw my girdle on the Li's banks, where waters glide.
I pick the angelica on the islet's shore,
To give to the one who is far, whom I adore.
The time cannot be seized again in haste;
Let me wander at leisure, my heart to brace.

Listen

Meaning

The lady of the Xiang River, waiting for her divine lover, expresses her longing and sorrow through the autumn scene of Dongting Lake. She fantasizes about building a fragrant chamber with him, but the vision fades, leaving her with a parting gift and quiet resignation.

帝子降临北边小洲，望而不见啊使我忧愁。秋风轻轻吹拂，洞庭生波啊木叶飘落。登上白薠啊纵目远望，与佳人相约啊在黄昏陈设。鸟为何聚在苹草中，渔网为何挂在树梢上？沅水有芷啊澧水有兰，思念公子啊却不敢言。恍惚啊远望，看流水啊缓缓。麋鹿为何食在庭中，蛟龙为何在水边？清晨驰马江皋，傍晚渡过西澨。闻佳人召唤我，将腾驾车马啊同去。在水中筑室，以荷叶为盖。荪草为壁啊紫贝为坛，播撒芳椒啊涂饰厅堂。桂木为栋啊兰木为椽，辛夷为楣啊白芷为房。编织薜荔啊作帷帐，掰开蕙草的隔扇啊已然张设。白玉啊为镇席，分陈石兰啊播其芳香。白芷覆屋啊荷叶为顶，环绕啊杜衡。聚合百草啊满庭，建起芳馨啊庑门。九嶷众神缤纷并迎，神灵到来啊如云。捐弃我的衣袖啊江中，遗留我的单衣啊澧浦。攀折汀洲杜若，将赠予啊远方的人。时机不可啊骤然得，暂且逍遥啊徘徊。

Appreciation

This poem masterfully interweaves scene, emotion, and illusion. The opening autumn imagery—sighing wind, rippling waves, falling leaves—sets a tone of gentle melancholy. The recurring motif of things misplaced (birds in duckweed, nets in trees) conveys the lover's disorientation and hope. The middle section, a sumptuous vision of a water palace built of fragrant plants, evokes the ecstasy of imagined union, while the final farewell, with the casting of garments into the river, brings a poignant return to reality. The whole is a delicate, dreamy expression of longing that transcends the divine subject to touch human love.

【白话串讲】 “帝子降兮北渚，目眇眇兮愁予”——屈原写《九歌·湘夫人》：湘夫人降临北渚。“袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下”——秋风袅袅，洞庭起波，树叶飘落。“沅有芷兮澧有兰，思公子兮未敢言”——他思念却不敢说。【意象与手法】景、情、幻交织。“袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下”以洞庭秋景写凄凉，遂成千古名句；“鸟萃苹中、罾木上”以反常物事写盼而不得的错乱；中段“荪壁紫坛、桂栋兰橑”以瑰丽想象写水中筑室的幻境。语言清丽婉转，是楚辞中最婉转清丽的一篇。【情感与主旨】写女神候湘君不至的怅惘、幻想中同偕隐居的甜蜜，以及终成虚幻的失落。从“目眇眇兮愁予”的望而不见到“思公子兮未敢言”的含蓄相思，写神恋而极尽人间相思之态，与《湘君》为配对恋歌。【名句点睛】常考“袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下”以秋景写离愁的千古名句；“沅有芷兮澧有兰，思公子兮未敢言”以香草起兴写含蓄相思。

Background

This poem is one of the eleven pieces in Qu Yuan's 'Nine Songs' (Jiu ge), a set of shamanistic hymns reworked by the poet during his exile in the southern Chu region. The Lady of the Xiang and the Lord of the Xiang are paired divine lovers associated with the Xiang River; legend identifies her with the daughters of Emperor Yao who drowned in the river. The poem likely reflects the ritual practice of a shamaness singing as the goddess, yet Qu Yuan infuses it with his own political longing—the hoped-for union with an elusive sovereign may echo his own frustrated relationship with the king of Chu. The geography alludes to the lake and river regions where he wandered.

《湘夫人》为屈原《九歌》十一篇之一，与《湘君》相对，同咏湘水二神之恋。湘君、湘夫人本为楚地湘水男女二神（或谓尧女舜妃，投湘水为神），民间原有祭祀乐歌，屈原流放沅湘时据以改作，注入身世之慨。诗中帝子指湘夫人（尧女称帝子），北渚、江皋、西澨、澧浦皆楚地水名，可见其地理背景在洞庭、湘江一带，正屈原流放所经。关于抒情主体，旧说以为湘君候湘夫人，然《九歌》本由女巫扮神而歌，此篇实以女神口吻写候男神不至，与《山鬼》同法。屈原借神恋写君臣：帝子、佳人、公子皆喻楚王，望而不见、思而未敢言，正是逐臣对君的忠爱不达。故《湘夫人》既是清丽的神恋诗，也是屈子幽怨的托寓，其洞庭秋景与幻想筑室，开后世水神恋与江南怀人传统之先。湘夫人为湘水女神，与湘君为偶，此篇写期而不遇之怅；筑室水中、捐袂遗褋，皆幻境写痴情，楚辞一绝。楚辞抒情，此为隽永。

Art

The poem is celebrated for its lyrical complexity: it shifts from realistic autumn setting to psychological dislocation, to brilliant fantasy, and back to grief. The juxtaposition of vast landscape (Dongting waves) and tiny detail (falling leaves) creates a powerful atmospheric effect. The unnatural images—elk in the courtyard, dragon by the water, nets in trees—are symbolic of a world out of joint, mirroring the lover's frustrated expectations. The water palace passage, with its profusion of fragrant plants and precious materials, builds a rich sensory tapestry that represents the ideal of pure and harmonious love. The diction is ornate yet fluid, with the refrain-like 'xi' particles lending a musical, incantatory quality.

《湘夫人》艺术之胜，在景、情、幻三层的交织与以反常写心理。起二句帝子降兮北渚，目眇眇兮愁予，由望立愁；袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下，以洞庭秋景烘愁，景语即情语。登白薠骋望写候人之切，鸟何萃兮苹中，罾何为兮木上，以鸟不当萃于苹、罾不当挂于木的反常物事，喻所求失其应处，是屈子特有的以错位写失落；沅有芷澧有兰，思公子未敢言，以香草起兴而吞声写情，含蓄之至。中段闻佳人召予陡转，由实入幻：筑室水中、荷盖荪壁、桂栋兰橑、百草芳馨，以极尽工巧的想象写同偕之欢，绮丽如梦。末捐袂遗褋、搴杜若，由幻归实，时不可骤得，聊逍遥容与，以闲放收悲，余韵不尽。全篇由愁而幻而失，如潮起潮落，婉转清丽，是楚辞抒情最柔软的一章。由待而幻而失，情致层转，想象丽密而哀婉动人；香草美人、水殿龙堂，构筑出最秾丽之失落，楚辞之胜在焉。失落之丽，楚辞之胜。

Allusions

'Emperor's daughter' refers to the Lady of the Xiang, as she is said to be a daughter of the mythical Emperor Yao. 'Nine peaks of Doubt' alludes to the Nine Doubt Mountains, where Emperor Shun was buried; the mountain gods are depicted coming to welcome the divine couple. The fragrant plants—angelica, orchid, cassia, lotus, pepper, etc.—are traditional symbols of virtue and beauty in Chu culture. The act of throwing sleeves and girdle into the river echoes ancient rites of offering or farewell; similarly, plucking angelica to give to a distant one recalls the 'Peach Blossom' and 'Pei' traditions in the Book of Songs. The poem's 'time cannot be seized again' conveys a resigned acceptance of missed opportunities, a common theme in classical Chinese poetry.

帝子本指尧女（湘夫人为帝尧之女），此处称湘夫人；北渚、江皋、西澨、澧浦皆实指楚地水滨，点明候人方位。白薠为近水秋草，骋望即纵目。鸟萃苹中、罾木上以物之失所喻人之失偶，是诗经式比兴在楚辞的沿用。沅有芷澧有兰化用楚地香草，芷、兰皆喻所思之高洁，思公子未敢言写情之敛；公子为贵族子女通称，此指湘君（亦喻楚王）。麋食庭中、蛟在水裔亦反常之象，与鸟萃罾木同法，写盼极而生错乱。筑室水中以下，荷盖、荪壁、紫坛（紫贝坛）、芳椒、桂栋、兰橑、辛夷楣、药房（白芷房）、薜荔帷、蕙櫋、白玉镇、石兰、杜衡、百草芳馨，皆香草香木，以铺张的居室描写喻爱情之芬芳纯净，是屈子香草象喻的集大成。九嶷指九嶷山（舜葬处），缤兮并迎写众神来贺。捐袂（袖）、遗褋（单衣）以弃衣赠水写诀别；搴汀洲杜若遗远者，以折香草赠远人，承诗经赠芍药遗佩传统。时不可骤得、聊逍遥容与，骤得犹屡得，容与即闲放，写无奈中的自我宽慰。

Commentary

From the first line, the poem plunges into the tension of presence and absence: the goddess descends, but she herself is not seen, only 'gazed at' with longing. The autumn scene is perceived through this veil of desire, making the natural world throb with unspoken emotion. The middle section is a vision of wish-fulfillment, where human and divine realms blend in an architecturally impossible yet emotionally resonant chamber made of all precious and fragrant things. This is Qu Yuan's characteristic 'beautiful woman and fragrant grass' symbolism, turning ordinary materials into tokens of moral and romantic purity. The abrupt return to reality with the casting of garments is a masterstroke: it transforms the imagined union into a tangible symbol of separation, yet the gesture is also a gift, preserving a connection across distance and time.

首二句帝子降兮北渚，目眇眇兮愁予，写女神降临北渚却望而不见，愁从中来；袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下，以洞庭秋风落叶烘出空阔凄凉，遂成名句。登白薠兮骋望，与佳期兮夕张，写登草远望、为约会布置，候人之切可见；鸟何萃兮苹中，罾何为兮木上，以反常物事喻所求失所，盼极而生错乱。沅有芷兮澧有兰，思公子兮未敢言，以香草起兴、吞声写情；荒忽兮远望，观流水兮潺湲，以流水写怅惘。麋何食兮庭中，蛟何为兮水裔，再写反常，深化失落。朝驰余马兮江皋，夕济兮西澨，写终日奔波寻觅。闻佳人兮召予，将腾驾兮偕逝，忽入幻境：筑室水中、荷盖荪壁、桂栋兰橑、百草芳馨，极写同住之欢。九嶷缤兮并迎，灵之来兮如云，以众神来贺铺张。末捐余袂兮江中，遗余褋兮澧浦，搴汀洲兮杜若，将以遗兮远者，回到诀别与赠远；时不可兮骤得，聊逍遥兮容与，以闲放收悲。全篇景、情、幻三层回环，把神恋写得如人间别恨。景、情、幻三层回环，由愁而幻而失，如潮起潮落，婉转清丽迥异于《山鬼》之奇诡，是楚辞抒情最柔软的一章。

Prosody

Reading note The lines vary from six to seven syllables, with the 'xi' particle serving as a breathing space. This fluidity suits the shamanistic singing and the poem's shifting moods. The passage describing the water palace is particularly notable for its lists of fragrant materials, which produce an incantatory, accumulative rhythm.《湘夫人》属楚辞体（骚体），句式以六言、七言为主，句中或句尾间以兮字，曼声摇曳，宜于祭歌的歌舞抒情。用韵依楚音，此篇韵脚约转入渚、予、下、张、上、兰、言、湲、裔、澨、逝、盖、坛、堂、橑、房、帷、张、芳、衡、门、云、浦、者、与等，换韵自由而随情转：写愁则用予、下、张等悠远韵，写筑室则用盖、坛、堂、橐、房等敞亮韵，写失落则用浦、者、与等收敛韵，声情与内容相应。兮字承担语顿与抒情功能，如袅袅兮秋风、洞庭波兮木叶下，于长句中分段，使景语摇曳生姿。句式上帝子降兮北渚类短促，宜写望而不见之惊；筑室兮水中、葺之兮荷盖类铺排长句，宜写幻想之绮丽。全篇不重对仗而重回旋与铺陈，尤其筑室一段连用荪壁、紫坛、桂栋、兰橑、辛夷楣、药房、薜荔帷、蕙櫋、白玉镇、石兰、杜衡、百草，以香草铺排成赋，开汉赋铺张扬厉之先声。整体格律与《山鬼》同调而异趣，一清丽一奇诡。

Line by line

袅袅兮秋风，洞庭波兮木叶下。

Gentle is the autumn breeze; waves rise on Dongting, and leaves fall.

Gentle, oh, the autumn wind; the waves of Dongting, oh, the leaves falling.

这两句是《湘夫人》的诗眼，也是中国文学写秋景的千古绝唱。袅袅兮秋风，袅袅形容微风轻柔连绵，写秋风之有形有态；洞庭波兮木叶下，写洞庭湖面生波、树叶飘落，一水一木，动静相生。两句妙在把极广大的洞庭秋景与极细微的木叶飘落并置，以秋风之柔反衬落叶之萧，景愈阔而愁愈深。它不写人愁而愁自在景中——唯有人独立北渚、望而不见，方见此风此波此落木皆成凄凉。这两句对后世影响至巨：杜甫无边落木萧萧下、王维木末芙蓉花皆其嗣响，而秋风木叶更成为江南怀人、摇落悲秋的永恒意象。以最简净的八字写最悠远的秋愁，是楚辞景物抒情的最高境，也是屈子以景代情、言有尽而意无穷的典范。

These two lines are the poem's eye and an age-old masterpiece of autumn scenery in Chinese literature. 'Gentle, oh, the autumn wind'—'gentle' describes the soft, continuous breeze, writing the autumn wind with form and bearing. 'The waves of Dongting, oh, the leaves falling' writes the heaving of Dongting's lake and the falling of tree leaves, water and tree, motion and stillness feeding each other. The art lies in setting the vastest Dongting autumn beside the finest falling leaf, the softness of the autumn wind set against the bleakness of the falling leaves—the wider the scene, the deeper the grief. It writes no human sorrow, yet sorrow is in the scene: only one standing alone on the northern isle, looking and not seeing, would find this wind, these waves, these falling leaves all turned to desolation. These lines were immensely influential: Du Fu's 'endless falling leaves, whistling down' and Wang Wei's 'hibiscus at the treetop' both echo them, and autumn wind and falling leaves became the eternal image of southern longing and autumn grief. In the simplest eight characters is written the farthest autumn sorrow, the highest realm of Chuci's scenery-for-feeling, the model of words exhausted while meaning endures.

沅有芷兮澧有兰，思公子兮未敢言。

The Yuan has angelica, the Li has orchids; I think of my lord but dare not speak.

The Yuan has, oh, angelica, the Li has, oh, orchids; I long for the lord, oh, yet dare not speak.

这两句是全诗最含蓄的情语，也是屈子托寓的关键。沅有芷兮澧有兰，以沅澧二水皆生香草（芷、兰）起兴，香草在楚辞中恒喻所思之高洁，此处兼写楚地风物与对所爱（公子，即湘君，亦喻楚王）的称美。思公子兮未敢言，则由景入情，写思念之深却不敢吐露——一个未敢言，把幽约、畏惧、敛抑的复杂心理写得入骨。其妙在吞声：明明思极，偏说不敢言，比直抒相思更见分量，也暗合逐臣对君不敢尽言的政治处境。这两句上承鸟萃罾木之错乱，下启筑室水中之幻欢，是实写相思的枢纽。香草起兴与不敢言的收束，构成屈子特有的含蓄蕴藉，开后世芳草美人、欲言又止的抒情传统，影响及于汉赋与六朝情诗。

These two lines are the most reserved love-language of the poem and the key to Qu Yuan's allegory. 'The Yuan has, oh, angelica, the Li has, oh, orchids' opens through the fragrant plants on the two rivers Yuan and Li; fragrant plants in Chuci always symbolize the purity of the beloved, here writing at once the Chu landscape and the praise of the loved one (the 'lord,' i.e., the Xiang Lord, also allegorically the king of Chu). 'I long for the lord, oh, yet dare not speak' moves from scene to feeling, writing the depth of longing yet not daring to utter it—the single 'dare not' writes to the bone the complex psychology of reserve, awe, and restraint. The art lies in swallowing the sound: longing to the extreme, yet saying 'dare not to speak,' weightier than direct confession, and secretly fitting the political condition of the exiled subject who dares not speak his full mind to the ruler. These lines, opening with the fragrant plant and closing on 'dare not to speak,' form Qu Yuan's characteristic reserve, founding the later lyrical tradition of fragrant plants and beauties, of feeling checked on the tongue, influencing Han rhapsody and Six Dynasties love verse.

捐余袂兮江中，遗余褋兮澧浦。

I cast my sleeve into the river; I leave my undergarment on the bank of the Li.

I cast my sleeve, oh, into the river; I leave my shift, oh, on the Li bank.

这两句是幻想破灭后的诀别之笔，也是《湘夫人》由幻归实的转关。袂为衣袖、褋为贴身单衣，捐（弃）、遗（留）于江中澧浦，是以弃衣赠水写与所爱的最终分离——衣为人之近身，弃衣于水，犹留肢体之温以赠远，是极缠绵的诀别。其源可上溯诗经赠佩遗珮、投桃报李的赠物传统，而屈子以弃衣代赠，更见失落之痛：既不得偕逝，便以衣为别。这两句与《湘君》捐玦遗佩相呼应，构成二神恋歌的对称。妙在它不写啼哭，只写弃衣，以动作代情绪，余哀自生；且江中澧浦回扣前文沅芷澧兰的楚地水名，使全诗地理脉络浑成。一个弃衣的动作，把神恋的幻灭写得既绮丽又凄清，是楚辞以物写离的精致一笔。

These two lines are the farewell after the dream has broken, the turning of the 'Lady of the Xiang' from illusion to reality. The 'sleeve' is the outer sleeve, the 'shift' the close-fitting undergarment; casting and leaving them in the river and on the Li bank writes the final parting from the beloved through offering garments to the water—the garment worn near the body, cast to the water, as though leaving the warmth of limb to the distant one, an extreme tender farewell. Its source traces back to the Book of Songs' tradition of gifting pendants and exchanging peaches, yet Qu Yuan's substitution of abandoned garments for gifts shows the pain of loss: since we cannot go together, the garment is the farewell. These lines echo the 'Lord of the Xiang' casting the jade ring and leaving the pendant, forming the symmetry of the two divine love-songs. The art lies in writing no weeping, only the casting off of garments, the grief rising of itself through the action; and the river and Li bank call back the earlier angelica and orchid, making the poem's geography seamless. A single action of casting the garment writes the disillusion of divine love as at once gorgeous and bleak, the exquisite Chuci stroke of writing parting through objects.

Study

Word focus

眇眇 Gazing into the distance with a lost, longing look; conveys both physical vision and emotional emptiness. 眇眇形容远望而目光辽远、若有所失的样子。目眇眇兮愁予写女神（或扮神者）极目北渚却望不见帝子，目光愈远而愁愈深。这个词的妙在它把看不见的怅惘化为可见的目光姿态：不是号啕，而是久久地、空空地望，望中带着忧愁。眇眇与愁予相连，望之不见的动作与愁的情绪合一，开笔即定全篇望而不得的基调。在楚辞中，眇眇类词（又如渺渺）常用于写神游或远望的空茫，带一点仙气与失落；此处用于候人之女神，使神性中的人情更显真切。一个叠字，既写神之远望，也写人之孤愁，是《湘夫人》以景写情、以态写心的第一个落脚点。

潺湲 Describing water flowing slowly and continuously; suggests an endless, murmuring stream that mirrors endless thoughts. 潺湲形容水流缓慢、萦回不绝的样子。观流水兮潺湲写女神远望中只见流水缓缓，以流水的无尽反衬思念的难休。这个词的张力在于：流水本是眼前实景，却因观者之心而带上绵绵的愁意——水愈潺湲，人愈怅惘。它与前文沅有芷澧有兰、思公子未敢言相连，构成以水写思的段落：芷兰写所思之高洁，未敢言写思之敛，潺湲写思之绵，三层递转而不着一愁字。潺湲在楚辞中常写水（如湘君横流涕兮潺湲），亦常写泪，此处以水流暗喻泪流，是以景写哀的典型。一个摹水之词，被屈子赋予情的重量，是楚辞炼叠字以造境的范例。

容与 To linger or roam at ease; carries a sense of composed leisure, but here tinged with resignation and self-comfort. 容与意为闲放、徘徊、舒缓不迫。时不可兮骤得，聊逍遥兮容与，写时机不能骤然得到，姑且逍遥徘徊以自遣，是全诗最后的宽慰与收束。这个词的妙处在它的双关：既指行动的闲放（逍遥容与），也指心境的暂释，把失恋后的无可奈何写成一种从容的徘徊，怨而不伤。骤得犹屡得、速得，点明所期之难；聊字是暂且，带一点强自宽解的酸楚。容与在楚辞中多见（如离骚遵赤水而容与），皆写不急着前行的舒缓，此处用于结尾，使全诗在怅惘中归于悠然，余韵如流水不绝。一个词，收住前面所有的愁、幻、失，是屈子以闲笔写深悲的本领。