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先秦 Pre-Qin · 楚辞 Chu Ci

渔父

The Fisherman

屈原

Qu Yuan

楚辞Theme 屈原Theme 隐逸Hermitage 清浊之辨Theme 对话体Theme

屈原既放，游于江潭，行吟泽畔，颜色憔悴，形容枯槁。
渔父见而问之曰：「子非三闾大夫与？
何故至于斯？
」屈原曰：「举世皆浊我独清，众人皆醉我独醒，是以见放。
」渔父曰：「圣人不凝滞于物，而能与世推移。
世人皆浊，何不淈其泥而扬其波？
众人皆醉，何不餔其糟而歠其醨？
何故深思高举，自令放为？
」屈原曰：「吾闻之，新沐者必弹冠，新浴者必振衣；
安能以身之察察，受物之汶汶者乎？
宁赴湘流，葬于江鱼之腹中。
安能以皓皓之白，而蒙世俗之尘埃乎？
」渔父莞尔而笑，鼓枻而去，乃歌曰：「沧浪之水清兮，可以濯吾缨；
沧浪之水浊兮，可以濯吾足。
」遂去，不复与言。

Qu Yuan, having been banished, wandered by the riverside, chanting as he walked along the marsh's edge, his face haggard, his form withered. The fisherman saw him and asked, 'Are you not the Lord of the Three Lanes? How have you come to this?' Qu Yuan said, 'All the world is muddy and I alone am clear; all men are drunk and I alone am sober—therefore I was banished.'
The fisherman said, 'The sage is not fixed to things, but can shift with the world. If all the world is muddy, why not stir the mud and raise the waves? If all men are drunk, why not share the lees and sip the thin wine? Why think so deep and rise so high, only to bring banishment on yourself?'
Qu Yuan said, 'I have heard that one who has just washed his hair must brush his cap, and one who has just bathed must shake his robe—how could I let my spotless body suffer the world's defilement? I would rather throw myself into the Xiang river and be buried in the belly of the river fish. How could I let my shining whiteness be smirched by the dust of the vulgar world?'
The fisherman smiled, tapped his oar, and went his way, singing: 'When the Canglang's waters are clear, they can wash my cap-ties; when the Canglang's waters are foul, they can wash my feet.' Then he departed and spoke with him no more.

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Meaning

A chance encounter between the exiled Qu Yuan and a fisherman becomes a debate on how to live: yield to a corrupt world, or keep one's purity at any cost.

屈原遭到放逐以后，游荡在江潭之畔，一边行走一边吟唱，面色憔悴，身形枯瘦。渔父见了问他道：「您不是三闾大夫吗？为什么竟落到这步田地？」屈原说：「普天之下都混浊只有我清白，众人都沉醉只有我清醒，因此才被放逐。」渔父说：「圣人不拘泥执着于外物，而能够随世道一同推移。世上人都混浊，何不搅浑泥水、扬起浊波？众人都沉醉，何不一起吃酒糟、饮薄酒？为什么思虑深沉、行为高洁，竟让自己落到被放逐的下场？」屈原说：「我听说，刚洗过头的一定要弹去冠上灰尘，刚洗过澡的一定要抖落衣上污垢；怎能让清清白白的身子，去承受外物的污浊呢？我宁愿投身湘水，葬身在江鱼腹中。怎能让皎皎清白之身，去蒙受世俗的尘埃呢？」渔父微微一笑，敲着船桨离去，于是唱道：「沧浪的水清澈啊，可以洗我的帽缨；沧浪的水浑浊啊，可以洗我的双脚。」便径自离去，不再与屈原说话。

Appreciation

"The Fisherman" is not a lyric but a short philosophical fable preserved in the Chu Ci, cast as a dialogue between the exiled Qu Yuan and an old fisherman he meets on the riverbank. Through its question-and-answer frame, the piece stages the central ethical conflict of Qu Yuan's life: whether to preserve one's purity at all costs or to bend with a corrupt world. The fisherman speaks for flexibility and survival—"saintly men are not bound to things"—while Qu Yuan answers with his famous defiance, preferring death in the Xiang river to any stain upon his "white" innocence. The stylistic achievement lies in its restraint: rather than resolving the debate, the poem lets the fisherman laugh, pole away, and sing his closing song of the Canglang waters, which wash the cap-ties when clear and the feet when foul. That proverb turns a quiet dismissal into the last word, leaving Qu Yuan's lofty resolve both unanswered and absolute. Across Chinese literature the scene became the archetypal image of the loyal minister who will not compromise, and a touchstone for later writers weighing integrity against accommodation.

【白话串讲】 “举世皆浊我独清，众人皆醉我独醒，是以见放”——屈原被放逐，渔父问他：为什么沦落至此？屈原答：举世皆浊我独清。渔父劝他随波逐流，他说：“宁赴湘流，葬于江鱼之腹中”——宁肯跳江，也不肯同流合污。【意象与手法】对话体结构、鲜明的对比与精警的譬喻。以屈原与渔父的问答结构全篇，一方是“举世皆浊我独清”的孤忠独醒者，一方是“与世推移”的随遇通达者；“弹冠振衣”“沧浪濯缨”以譬喻写洁身自好；渔父歌《沧浪》飘然而去，以“不言之教”收束。【情感与主旨】以“举世皆浊我独清，众人皆醉我独醒”写屈原被放逐的原因，两种人生态度在江潭泽畔交锋，“宁赴湘流，葬于江鱼之腹中”见其宁折不弯。它既是屈原人格的雕像，也是后世失意者照见自我的镜子，影响直贯陶渊明、李白、苏轼一脉。【名句点睛】常考“举世皆浊我独清，众人皆醉我独醒”以清浊对照写孤忠独醒；“沧浪之水清兮，可以濯吾缨”以譬喻写洁身自好的两难。

Background

Qu Yuan (c. 340–278 BCE), the great Chu poet and patriot, was slandered and exiled by the corrupt court of Chu. This piece, preserved in the 'Chu Ci', is cast as a dialogue that crystallizes his unyielding integrity against the fisherman's worldly flexibility.

《渔父》的著作权与创作背景历来有争议。司马迁《史记·屈原贾生列传》在叙屈原生平后并未收录此篇，东汉王逸《楚辞章句》始题屈原作，并云「屈原放逐，在江湘之间，忧愁叹吟，故复作《渔父》以见其志」。自宋代洪兴祖、朱熹至现代学者，多认为此篇当为楚辞后学拟托屈原口吻之作，借渔父之问以彰显屈原之志，时代约在战国后期至汉初。其产生的精神背景，则是屈原遭谗见疏、两度放逐（汉北、江南）的悲剧命运：一个曾经「明于治乱、娴于辞令」的三闾大夫，在楚国朝政昏浊、郢都濒危的绝境中，被迫面对「独清」与「同浊」的终极选择。渔父这一形象，渊源于先秦「渔隐」传统（如《庄子》中屡见渔父、舟子点化世人的寓言），作者借他之口提出「与世推移」的另一种活法，恰恰反衬出屈原「宁赴湘流」的不可妥协。故本篇虽为短章，却承载着楚辞由庙堂讽谏转向个体人格张扬的关键转折。

Art

The work uses a question-and-answer frame to stage a philosophical contrast rather than narrate events. The fisherman's closing song—'clear water washes the crown, foul water washes the feet'—turns a proverb into a quiet dismissal, leaving Qu Yuan's defiance unanswered and thus absolute.

《渔父》最显著的艺术特征是虚拟对话体的运用与对比结构的经营。全篇以「屈原曰」「渔父曰」交替推进，如同一场江畔的微型戏剧：起手以「颜色憔悴，形容枯槁」的白描定调悲剧氛围，随即由渔父的发问引出两种人生观的正面交锋。其对比手法极为经济而有力——渔父主张「淈泥扬波」「餔糟歠醨」的随俗，屈原坚守「新沐弹冠」「新浴振衣」的洁身，一「浊」一「清」、一「推移」一「独醒」，对照鲜明而不落说教。譬喻的运用尤见巧思：「弹冠」「振衣」以日常洁净之事喻人格不可辱，「沧浪濯缨濯足」以水流清浊喻处世取舍，皆深入浅出。结尾「莞尔而笑，鼓枻而去」「遂去，不复与言」，以渔父的飘然与沉默作结，不置可否而余味无穷，正所谓「不言之教」，使全篇在辩难之后归于空灵，章法跌宕而韵味悠长。此种以辩为经、以歌为纬的体式，使《渔父》在楚辞中别开生面，既不同于《离骚》的绵长独白，也不同于《九歌》的巫风歌舞，而自成一种冷峻空灵的寓言品格。

Allusions

The 'Canglang' song is an old folk formula also cited in the 'Mencius', used here to voice a Daoist-like wisdom of adapting to circumstances.

篇中意象与典故多有所本，且深刻影响了后世文学。「三闾大夫」为屈原所任官职，掌昭、屈、景三姓王族事务，自此成为屈原的专属符号。「独清独醒」的对举，渊源于《老子》「众人皆有余，而我独若遗」式的孤高语体，而被屈原凝定为士人操守的范式。「新沐者必弹冠，新浴者必振衣」化用先秦「洁身」观念，与《礼记》「沐稷而靧粱」的礼仪相通，以身体洁净隐喻精神不可污。「沧浪之水」之歌，其源甚古，《孟子·离娄》已引孔子曰「沧浪之水清兮，可以濯我缨；沧浪之水浊兮，可以濯我足」，可见此歌本为楚地民歌，屈原始引之以明「清斯濯缨，浊斯濯足，自取之也」的自主取舍。后世「濯缨」「濯足」遂成出处行藏的典故母题，王维、李白、苏轼诗中屡见，其意象谱系正发端于此篇。「独清独醒」四字更越出楚辞，成为此后两千余年士人自况的通用语，凡言孤高、言不遇、言守节者往往溯源于此，足见《渔父》虽短却为士大夫精神史埋下一粒种子。

Commentary

Scholars debate whether the piece is by Qu Yuan himself or a later admirer, but its power lies in presenting two honorable choices—purity or accommodation—without resolving the tension.

全篇可分四层。首层为叙事引子：「屈原既放……形容枯槁」，八句白描勾勒出放逐者的形销骨立，为后文问答蓄势。「渔父见而问之曰」至「是以见放」为第二层，渔父以「子非三闾大夫与」的惊诧发问，屈原以「举世皆浊我独清，众人皆醉我独醒」作答，一句话立起全篇精神坐标——「独」字是屈原理想的孤峰。第三层是核心辩难：渔父劝以「圣人不凝滞于物，而能与世推移」，并连下「淈泥扬波」「餔糟歠醨」两组反诘，劝其随俗保身；屈原则以「弹冠振衣」之喻坚拒，发出「宁赴湘流，葬于江鱼之腹中」的决绝誓言，将清白置于生命之上。第四层写渔父的反应：不争不辩，「莞尔而笑，鼓枻而去」，歌《沧浪》以明「清浊由己」之理，终「不复与言」。渔父的沉默并非认输，而是一种更高的通达；屈原则以死守洁，二人各得其所。篇末不着评判，让读者自味「独醒」与「推移」之间永无终局的张力。这种张力之所以动人，正因它拒绝给出标准答案：屈子的死与渔父的笑同为对污浊世道的回应，孰高孰下留与读者各自血脉里的抉择去回答。

Prosody

Reading note A founding text of the 'farewell to the world' (yin yi) tradition in Chinese literature.《渔父》属楚辞体，而以散文化对话为主，句式介于韵文与散文之间，节奏自由跌宕，最宜于江畔问答的戏剧性。其韵散处理方式极有讲究：叙事与问答主体用散文句式（如「屈原既放，游于江潭」），唯渔父所歌「沧浪之水清兮……可以濯吾足」用典型楚辞「兮」字句，前后散、中嵌韵，形成「散文叙事—韵语点题」的回环结构。全篇「兮」字仅见于渔父之歌与屈原引语（如「新沐者必弹冠」虽无兮而用对偶），可见作者有意以韵语标识「歌」的身份，以散文承载「辩」的内容。「清兮—缨」「浊兮—足」平仄相协、清浊对仗，且「缨」「足」古音分属耕部、屋部，虽非严韵，却因「清—浊」语义对照而自成铿锵。整体句式长短错落，多用反诘（「何故……」「安能……」「何不……」），读来如江流激石，于自由中见顿挫，是楚辞由《离骚》长篇抒情转向短章寓言后的重要体式创新。

Line by line

举世皆浊我独清，众人皆醉我独醒，是以见放。

The whole world is foul and I alone am clean; all men are drunk and I alone am sober—that is why I am exiled.

The whole world is turbid, I alone am clean; all men are drunk, I alone am sober—therefore I am exiled.

这是屈原自我人格的宣言，也是全篇的文眼。「举世皆浊」对「我独清」、「众人皆醉」对「我独醒」，以两组工整的反义对举，把个体与群体的断裂写得惊心动魄。一个「独」字，既是骄傲也是孤独，它宣告屈原拒绝以同流合污换取安稳，宁可被放逐也要守住内心的清白。「浊」与「清」、「醉」与「醒」两组意象，原是楚辞惯用的二元象征（浊世与清士、昏君与清醒），经此浓缩成中国士人「遗世独立」的原型语汇。而「是以见放」四字，以平静的因果句式收束，把巨大的悲剧轻轻带过，愈见其哀——他并非不知代价，只是选择了代价。此句后经司马迁采入《屈原列传》，成为千古忠臣孤愤的定调之音。

This is Qu Yuan's declaration of his own character and the文眼 of the piece. 'The whole world is turbid' set against 'I alone am clean,' 'all men are drunk' against 'I alone am sober,' two neat antithetical pairs writing the rupture between individual and mass with shocking force. The single 'alone' is at once pride and loneliness; it declares that Qu Yuan refused to buy safety through compromise, and would keep his inner purity even at the cost of exile. The two image-pairs, 'turbid and clean,' 'drunk and sober,' are the Chuci binary symbols (the turbid age and the clean scholar, the benighted lord and the clear-hearted), here condensed into the prototype vocabulary of the Chinese scholar's standing apart from the world. The four characters 'therefore I am exiled' close in a calm causal sentence, passing over the huge tragedy lightly, the more sorrowful—he was not ignorant of the price, but chose it. This line was later taken by Sima Qian into the 'Biography of Qu Yuan,' becoming the defining note of the lonely grief of loyal officials through the ages.

沧浪之水清兮，可以濯吾缨；沧浪之水浊兮，可以濯吾足。

When the Canglang's waters are clear, they can wash my cap-ties; when the Canglang's waters are foul, they can wash my feet.

When the Canglang waves are clear, oh, they wash my hat-strings; when the Canglang waves are turbid, oh, they wash my feet.

渔父的结篇之歌，是全篇最具超越性的声音。「清」则濯缨、「浊」则濯足，表面写依水之清浊而择所洗，实则隐喻人当依世之清浊而自处：世清则仕而匡时，世浊则隐而全节，取舍由己，不必如屈原般以死相抗。此歌渊源极古，早于屈原便已在楚地流传，《孟子》已引孔子释之，可见其为民歌旧调。屈原引渔父歌此，妙在让「对手」以最柔和的方式收束争辩——不反驳、不说服，只唱一首水边的歌便飘然离去。自此，「濯缨」「濯足」成为出处行藏的经典意象，王维「高明《渔父》篇，千古一文伯」、李白「沧浪吾有曲，寄入棹歌声」皆承其绪，足见这短短两句对后世隐逸文学的塑造之力。

The Fisherman's closing song is the most transcendent voice of the piece. 'Clear' then washing the hat-strings, 'turbid' then washing the feet—on the surface choosing what to wash according to the water's clearness, in truth a metaphor for how a man should carry himself by the age's clearness or turbidness: when the world is clear, take office and set it right; when turbid, withdraw and keep one's integrity, the choice in one's own hands, no need for Qu Yuan's resistance unto death. This song is of very ancient source, circulating in Chu before Qu Yuan, and Mencius already quoted Confucius explaining it, showing it to be an old folk tune. Qu Yuan's art in having the Fisherman sing it is letting the 'opponent' close the debate in the softest way—not refuting, not persuading, but singing a waterside song and drifting off. Since then, 'washing the hat-strings' and 'washing the feet' became the classic images of choosing office or retirement; Wang Wei's 'the lofty Fisherman's piece, a master essay through the ages' and Li Bai's 'I have a Canglang tune to send into the oarsman's song' both carry the stream, showing the formative power of these short lines on later recluse literature.

宁赴湘流，葬于江鱼之腹中。

I would rather throw myself into the Xiang river and be buried in the belly of the river fish.

Rather I would plunge into the Xiang stream, be buried in the belly of the river fish.

「宁赴湘流，葬于江鱼之腹中」是屈原对渔父劝诱的最决绝回答，也是《渔父》悲剧精神的最高音。「宁」字斩钉截铁，毫无游移；「湘流」「江鱼之腹」以具体的楚地水域与鱼腹意象，把抽象的「守洁」落实为可触的死亡抉择。它与《离骚》「既莫足与为美政兮，吾将从彭咸之所居」、《怀沙》「知死不可让，愿勿爱兮」构成互文，共同指向屈原以死明志的终极选择。值得注意的是，此处不言「投江」而言「赴湘流」「葬鱼腹」，语带从容甚至近乎坦然，似乎死亡对已玷污的尘世而言反是归处。正是这种将洁净置于生命之上的姿态，使屈原超越了单纯的失意臣子，成为中国文化中「以身殉道」的人格丰碑。

'Rather I would plunge into the Xiang stream, be buried in the belly of the river fish' is Qu Yuan's most absolute answer to the Fisherman's urging, the highest note of the 'Fisherman's' tragic spirit. The word 'rather' is nailed down, without wavering; 'the Xiang stream' and 'the belly of the river fish' take the concrete Chu waters and the fish's belly to make the abstract 'keeping clean' into a tangible choice of death. It is intertextual with the 'Li Sao'—'since there is none fit for fair governance, I will go to dwell by Peng Xian'—and the 'Huai Sha'—'knowing death cannot be refused, I will not spare my life'; together they point to Qu Yuan's final choice of dying for his cause. Notably, here he does not say 'throw into the river' but 'plunge into the Xiang stream,' 'buried in the fish's belly,' the diction calm, even almost composed, as though death were the homecoming for a world already soiled. Precisely this posture of holding purity above life raised Qu Yuan from a mere disappointed official to the monument in Chinese culture of 'dying for the Way.'

Study

Word focus

察察 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「安能以身之察察，受物之汶汶者乎」中「察察」与「汶汶」对举。「察察」形容洁白、清明的样子，本指水质清澈可辨（如《荀子》「察察而残」），此处引申为身躯与人格的清白无瑕；「汶汶」（音问）则形容污浊、昏暗之貌，指外物的玷辱。屈原以「身之察察」对「物之汶汶」，构成洁净本体与污浊外界的尖锐对立，从而导出「安能……受……乎」的反诘——清白之躯岂可接受污浊之染？叠字「察察」本身即带清明透亮的声音质感，与「汶汶」的沉浊形成听觉上的清浊对照，是楚辞炼字「以声写形、以形写德」的妙例，也奠定了后世「清流」对「浊世」的话语范式。

莞尔 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「渔父莞尔而笑」之「莞尔」，形容微笑、浅笑的样子，多用于形容不经意、宽容而含蓄的笑意。《论语·阳货》「夫子莞尔而笑」已用此词，可见其渊雅。在全篇剑拔弩张的价值辩难之后，渔父以「莞尔」一笑化解一切——他不怒、不辩、不劝，只是微微一笑便鼓枻而去。这一个「莞尔」，写尽了通达者面对执拗者的悲悯与超然：他早已看透屈原理想的壮烈与必然的悲剧，故不以言语相强，而以至柔之笑作别。相较屈原「颜色憔悴，形容枯槁」的沉重，渔父的「莞尔」如一缕清风，使全篇在紧张之后豁然开朗，也反衬出屈原「深思高举」之不可及。

凝滞 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「圣人不凝滞于物，而能与世推移」中「凝滞」意为黏着、拘泥、停滞不前的样子。「凝」本指冰冻结聚，「滞」指水停不流，合言则喻人执着固守、不能随顺变化。渔父以此劝屈原：真正的圣人不会死死黏着于外在境遇（无论是浊世还是个人的清名），而能随世道推移、与万物浮沉。这一「不凝滞」的处世哲学，渊源于《老子》「和光同尘」与《庄子》「安时处顺」的道家智慧，与屈原「虽九死其犹未悔」的儒家式坚执恰成对照。一个「凝滞」，精准点出二人分歧的根源：是守住内在的「是」，还是顺应外在的「势」？渔父以此词轻轻一点，便将形而上的出处之争收束为一念之间的取舍。

渔父