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先秦 Pre-Qin · 楚辞 Chu Ci

危俊

The Periled Talent

王褒

Wang Bao

楚辞Chu Ci 九怀Nine Longings 怨刺lament/satire 先秦pre-Qin 不遇unrecognized talent

林不容兮鸣蜩，余何留兮中州？
陶嘉月兮总驾，搴玉英兮自修。
结荣茝兮逶逝，将去烝兮远游。
径岱土兮魏阙，历九曲兮牵牛。
聊假日兮相佯，遗光燿兮周流。
望太一兮淹息，纡余辔兮自休。
晞白日兮皎皎，弥远路兮悠悠。
顾列孛兮缥缥，观幽云兮陈浮。
钜宝迁兮砏磤，雉咸雊兮相求。
泱莽莽兮究志，惧吾心兮㤽㤽。
步余马兮飞柱，览可与兮匹俦。
卒莫有兮纤介，永余思兮怞怞。

The wood cannot hold the crying cicada—why should I stay in the central land?
I choose the fair month and yoke my chariot; I pluck the jade blossom to cultivate myself.
I bind the glorious orchid and wander off; I shall leave the multitude and roam far.
I pass the Dai land and the Wei gate; I traverse the nine bends to the Herdboy star.
I borrow the day to wander at ease; I leave my glory to wander all around.
I gaze at the Great One and rest a while; I slacken my reins and rest myself.
I dry in the bright white sun; the far road stretches long and faint.
I look back at the comet-clusters dim and distant; I watch the dark clouds spread and float.
The great treasure moves with rumbling sound; the pheasants all call, seeking one another.
Vast and boundless—I probe my intent; I fear my heart, troubled and anxious.
I walk my horse to the Flying Pillar; I look for one who might match me as a companion.
In the end there is not the slightest one; forever my thought drags on, sorrowful and long.

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Meaning

The poet laments that the forest cannot hold the crying cicada, so why should he stay in the central land; he chooses a fair month, plucks the jade blossom, and sets off on a far spirit-journey through mountains, stars, and the Great One. Yet after all this wandering he finds no true companion, and ends in endless sorrow. The piece is a Chu Ci-style 'Nine Longings' poem voicing the unrecognized talent's grief.

树林容不下鸣叫的蝉啊，我还有什么可留恋于中州的呢？选拣美好的月令啊整备车驾，采撷玉的精华啊以修养自身。永远留着我悠悠的忧思啊，愁绪绵绵无尽。

Appreciation

This 'Wei Jun' is the third of Wang Bao's 'Nine Longings,' in the Chu Ci sao style. It opens with the cicada-not-held image for the worthy man rejected, then unfolds a long spirit-journey of self-cultivation and celestial roaming borrowed from the Li sao. The middle piles splendor—jade blossom, Great One, white sun—only to make the closing 'not the slightest companion' cut the deeper. The end 'forever my thought drags on, sorrowful' with stacked words answers the opening 'why should I stay,' forming a tragic ring of 'asked and left, left yet unmatched,' short yet with the pain of a long song.

【白话串讲】王褒写《危俊》（九怀之一）：“林不容兮鸣蜩，余何留兮中州”。“陶嘉月兮总驾，搴玉英兮自修”——“望太一兮淹息”——他写远游求仙。【意象与手法】以「林不容鸣蜩」起兴喻贤者见逐，「搴玉英自修」写修洁远游，楚辞体一脉。【情感与主旨】借俊才处境危殆抒不遇之慨，去留之间见孤高与怞怞长思。【名句点睛】「余何留兮中州」反诘决绝，才高身危之叹一语道尽。

Background

'The Periled Talent' is the third of the Western Han Wang Bao's 'Nine Longings' (Jiu Huai). Wang Bao, styled Zi-yuan, of Shu, was called to serve Emperor Xuan for his fu; he was good at ci-fu, and the 'Nine Longings' imitates the Chu Ci 'Nine Songs,' nine pieces, using the Chu Ci form to mourn Qu Yuan and voice his own unrecognized grief; Wang Yi's Chu Ci Zhang ju of the Eastern Han records and explains each piece, letting it survive attached to the Chu Ci. The title 'Periled Talent' means the plight of the gifted: Qu Yuan held fine talent yet was slandered and exiled, so the piece is named 'periled talent,' bearing the sigh 'high talent yet perilous body.' The whole speaks in first person 'I': the opening 'the wood cannot hold the crying cicada, why should I stay in the central land' uses the cicada-not-held to mean the worthy not tolerated by the foul age, thus the thought to leave; then it spreads 'choose fair month' 'pluck jade blossom' 'far roam' 'traverse nine bends' 'gaze Great One' a series of ascent-and-roam acts, clearly from the Li sao and Nine Songs' far-roam tradition; it closes 'look for one who might match me' 'in the end not the slightest, forever my thought drags on' writing the search for a fellow and finding none, only sorrow. Though an imitation, not simple copy, it turns Qu's 'beauty-policy fails then far-roam' spirit into the Han man's typical 'scholar unmet' lyric, an important specimen of the Chu Ci tradition's change in the two Hans, and shows Wang Bao's hand of writing the sao man's grievance with fu's splendor.

《危俊》为西汉王褒《九怀》之第三篇。王褒字子渊，蜀郡人，宣帝时召入供奉，善辞赋，《九怀》乃其拟《楚辞·九歌》之组诗，凡九篇，借楚辞体以追伤屈原、自抒不遇之慨，东汉王逸《楚辞章句》收录并逐篇系以解题，使此作得附《楚辞》之后而传世。题名「危俊」，王逸解题以为言俊才之处境危殆——屈原怀美才而遭谗放逐，故以「危俊」名篇，寓「才高而身危」之叹。全诗以第一人称「余」抒写：起笔「林不容兮鸣蜩，余何留兮中州」，以林中不容鸣蝉起兴，喻贤者不容于浊世，遂萌去意；继而铺陈「陶嘉月」「搴玉英」「远游」「历九曲」「望太一」一系列登仙远举之举，显是承《离骚》《九歌》远游传统而来；终以「览可与兮匹俦」「卒莫有兮纤介，永余思兮怞怞」收束，写遍寻同道而终无所遇、唯余忧思悠悠。此篇虽为拟作，却非简单摹仿，而能将屈子「美政不行则远游」的精神，化为汉人「士不遇」的典型抒情，是理解楚辞传统在两汉流变的重要标本，亦见王褒以辞赋之丽写骚人之怨的独特手眼。（王褒拟骚以伤屈而自伤，为楚辞传统在两汉之重要回响。）

Art

The art of 'The Periled Talent' first fully inherits and flexibly uses the 'Nine Songs' and 'Li sao' far-roam lyric structure. The whole runs 'not-tolerated—seek-to-leave—far-roam—no-fellow': the opening 'wood cannot hold crying cicada' uses the Shi jing-style analogy to wake the Chu Ci grievance bottom; the middle from 'choose fair month yoke chariot' to 'watch dark clouds spread float' spreads the far-roam with a string of 'xi' six-character lines—fair month yoke, pluck blossom self-cultivate, bind orchid wander, pass Dai traverse Herdboy, gaze Great One, slacken reins rest, dry in white sun, look back comet, watch dark cloud—images dense like a scroll unrolling, space from earth to heaven, near to far, clearly inspired by the Li sao 'harness jade dragon and ride the phoenix, mount the dust-wind I ascend' and the Nine Songs 'cloud god' 'see Ji-zhou have surplus, cross the four seas where end.' The craft's wonder: using the 'roam's' abundance to set off the 'fellow's' lack—the more splendid the journey (jade blossom, Great One, glory, white sun), the more piercing the closing 'not the slightest companion.' The end 'forever my thought drags on' with stacked words receives the sorrow, answering the opening 'why should I stay,' forming 'ask then leave, leave yet unmet, meet yet no fellow' tragic ring, short yet long song's pain. Han men imitating sao use fu brush into the form; this piece's dense spread most shows the two Han literati's hand and air.

《危俊》的艺术，首在完整承袭并活用《九歌》《离骚》的「远游」抒情结构。全诗以「不容—求去—远游—无俦」为脉络：开篇以「林不容兮鸣蜩」的起兴立「贤否颠倒」之慨，用《诗经》式比兴唤醒楚辞的怨抑底色；中段自「陶嘉月兮总驾」至「观幽云兮陈浮」，以一连串带「兮」的六言句铺排远游行程——嘉月总驾、搴英自修、结茝逶逝、径岱历牵牛、望太一、纡辔自休、晞白日、顾列孛，意象密集如画卷推展，时空由地及天、由近及远，显受《离骚》「驷玉虬以乘鹥兮，溘埃风余上征」与《九歌·云中君》「览冀州兮有余，横四海兮焉穷」的启迪。其章法之妙，在以「游」之繁反衬「俦」之缺：行程愈写得绚烂（玉英、太一、光燿、白日），末段「卒莫有兮纤介」的失落愈显刺心。结尾「永余思兮怞怞」以叠字收愁，与篇首「余何留」遥应，形成「问而去、去而无遇、遇而无俦」的悲剧圆环，短章而具长歌之痛。（以不容—求去—远游—无俦为脉，短章具长歌之痛。）汉人拟骚以赋笔入体，此篇排铺繁密最见两汉文士之手眼与气象。

Allusions

The poem's names and allusions mostly follow Qu's sao yet with Han spread. 'Crying cicada' is the singing cicada, in the Shi jing 'fifth month cicadas sing' already; in Chu Ci the cicada often means high purity or time's change (as Li sao 'cicada'), here 'wood cannot hold crying cicada' means the worthy not tolerated by the world, a fusion of Shi jing analogy and Chu Ci allegory. 'Central land' means the central plain, the divine land; Qu Yuan's Nine Songs 'cloud god' 'see Ji-zhou have surplus' Ji-zhou is this; the poet 'why should I stay in central land' shows the will to leave the state and roam far. 'Fair month' means good month, fair time, inheriting the Nine Songs 'eastern lord' 'lucky day fair hour' time-honoring idea. 'Jade blossom' is the essence of jade; the Shan hai jing says 'jade cream boils, the Yellow Emperor ate it'; Qu Yuan's 'crossing the river' 'climb Kunlun eat jade blossom' directly uses this; Wang Bao borrows it for 'self-cultivate' high purity. 'Great One' is the eastern Great One, Chu's supreme god; 'Herdboy' is the star, both heavens the far-roam passes. All are Qu's far-roam myth system's inheritance and rewrite; Wang Bao with Han fu's dense images retells Qu's 'up and down seek' lone journey as the Han scholar's 'unmet then immortal-roam' lyric pattern; the allusion's use lies in 'old allusion new weave.' Wang Bao uses Qu's far-roam mother-topic to write the Han scholar's unmet gloom, allusion solid yet new, the Chu Ci tradition thus echoes.

诗中名物典故，多本屈骚而加以汉人铺陈。「鸣蜩」即鸣蝉，《诗经·七月》「五月鸣蜩」已有之，楚辞中蝉常喻高洁或时变（如《离骚》「蜩螗」），此以「林不容鸣蜩」喻贤者见不容于世，是《诗经》比兴与《楚辞》托寓的融合。「中州」指中原、神州，屈原《九歌·云中君》「览冀州兮有余」之冀州即此意，诗人以「余何留兮中州」表去国远游之志。「嘉月」犹良月、嘉时，承《九歌·东皇太一》「吉日兮辰良」之尚时观念。「玉英」为玉之精华，《山海经》谓「玉膏其原沸沸汤汤，黄帝是食」，屈原《涉江》「登昆仑兮食玉英」直用此典，王褒借以写「自修」之高洁。「太一」即东皇太一，楚之至尊神；《牵牛》为星宿，皆远游所历之天界。凡此皆屈原远游神话系统的因袭与再写，王褒以汉赋式的繁密意象，把屈子「上下求索」的孤旅，重述为汉士「不遇则仙游」的抒情范式，典故之用，贵在「熟典新织」。（鸣蜩、嘉月、怞怞皆屈骚系统之典，王褒以汉赋铺陈之。）王褒借屈子远游母题写汉士不遇之幽忧，典实而新，楚辞传统赖以回响。

Commentary

Wang Yi's Chu Ci Zhang ju gives each 'Nine Longings' piece an explanation; for 'The Periled Talent' he states its theme 'mourn Qu Yuan holding fine talent in peril,' the key to understanding; his note on 'wood cannot hold crying cicada' also follows analogy, using the thing-unmet for man-unmet. Hong Xing-zu's Chu Ci Bu zhu supports Wang much, on 'drag on' cites the lexicon for 'sorrow look,' on 'flying pillar' 'fellow' also adds gloss, making the imitation's intent clearer. Zhu Xi's Chu Ci Ji zhu does not record the 'Nine Longings' (Zhu only notes Qu and Song), yet later Ming Wang Yuan 'Chu Ci Ji jie,' Qing Jiang Ji 'Shan-dai ge Chu Ci' on Chu Ci change all take Wang Bao's imitation as 'Han men good at learning sao' model, saying 'follow the Nine Songs yet feeling with person and life.' Modern Chu Ci scholar Jiang Liang-fu's Chu Ci Tong gu points out the 'Nine Longings' pieces 'use Qu to mourn self,' Wang Bao really uses imitating sao to write the Xuan-di-era literati's gloom of near the throne yet will not advance. The schools either stress 'mourn Qu' or 'mourn self' or 'learn sao,' all admit 'The Periled Talent' is an important echo of the Chu Ci tradition in the two Hans—it proves Qu's 'far-roam—no-fellow' mother-topic has settled as the public vocabulary of later scholars' unmet lyric. Jiang Liang-fu's imitating-sao-mourn-Qu says it, taking it as the Han-era model of good sao-learning, the fairest and most verifiable.

王逸《楚辞章句》于《九怀》各篇皆系解题，于《危俊》明示其「伤屈原怀俊才而处危殆」的题旨，为理解此篇的钥匙；其注「林不容兮鸣蜩」亦沿比兴说，以物之不遇喻人之不遇。洪兴祖《楚辞补注》于王说多所旁证，于「怞怞」引字书明其「忧貌」，于「飞柱」「匹俦」亦补训诂，使拟作之意益明。朱熹《楚辞集注》虽未录《九怀》（朱子仅注屈宋诸篇），而后世如明人汪瑗《楚辞集解》、清人蒋骥《山带阁注楚辞》论楚辞流变，皆以王褒拟作为「汉人善学骚」的代表，谓其「步趋九歌而情兼身世」。现代楚辞学者姜亮夫《楚辞通故》指出，《九怀》诸篇「托屈子以自伤」，王褒实借拟骚写宣帝时文士虽近君王而志不获骋的幽忧。诸家或重其「伤屈」、或重其「自伤」、或重其「学骚」，要皆承认《危俊》是楚辞传统在两汉的重要回响——它证明屈子的「远游—无俦」母题，已沉淀为后世士人不遇抒情的公共语汇。（诸家或重伤屈或重自伤，要皆认其善学骚之汉世代表。）姜亮夫以拟骚伤屈说之，认其善学骚之汉世代表，论最允当可征。

Prosody

Form Chu Ci · Nine Longings style (sao-style 'xi' lines, imitating the Nine Songs)楚辞·九怀体（骚体兮字句，拟九歌）

Rhyme Cicada, land (xiao/you mixed); cultivate, roam (you); gate, Herdboy (yue/you side); wander, flow (yang); rest, rest (zhi); bright, faint (xiao/you); comet, float (wu/you); rumble, seek (wen/you); intent, troubled (zhi); pillar, fellow (hou); slightest, drag (yue/you)蜩、州（宵/幽通协）；修、游（幽部）；阙、牛（月/幽旁通）；佯、流（阳部）；息、休（职部）；皎、悠悠（宵/幽）；孛、浮（物/幽）；磤、求（文/幽）；志、㤽㤽（职部）；柱、俦（侯部）；介、怞怞（月/幽）

Tone pattern Mostly six-character, with 'xi' dividing the read; twelve lines spread in parallel, urgent rhythm long feeling.六言为主，句中「兮」分读，十二句排比铺展，节促情长

Reading note 'The Periled Talent' is a typical sao-style imitation in the 'Nine Longings,' twelve lines, six-character base with 'xi' dividing, forming 'wood cannot hold—crying cicada' 'choose fair month—yoke chariot' the 'four—xi—two' rhythm, neat yet near the Nine Songs' beauty, and because many lines (twelve) it has the Han fu spread air. Its rhyme has the Chu Ci 'skip-line distant match, not strict rhyme' feature: as first two 'cicada' (xiao) 'land' (you) mixed, middle 'wander' 'flow' yang match, 'rest' 'rest' zhi match, 'intent' 'troubled' zhi match, 'pillar' 'fellow' hou match, rhyme feet shift with paragraph, fitting the far-roam 'step changes scene' flow. Craft: twelve lines with 'xi' run through; first half writes the leave-thought and far-roam's abundance (fair month, jade blossom, Dai, Herdboy, Great One, white sun), second half writes the no-fellow regret (fellow, slightest, drag), sound from open to low. The Chu Ci 'xi' here both divides sense and connects breath, so the long spread does not scatter; its tone from rising to falling exactly matches the 'roam yet no fellow' feeling curve, a fine example of Han men 'fu brush into sao form,' and shows the Nine Songs form expanded into long lyric in the two Hans.《危俊》为《九怀》中典型的骚体拟作，全篇十二句，以六言为基、句中嵌「兮」分读，形成「林不容兮—鸣蜩」「陶嘉月兮—总驾」的「四—兮—二」节奏，句式整饬而近于《九歌》之丽，又因句数繁多（十二句）而具汉赋铺排之气。其用韵颇有楚辞「隔句遥协、不拘严韵」的特征：如首二句「蜩」（宵）、「州」（幽）通协，中段「佯」「流」阳部相押、「息」「休」职部相押、「志」「㤽㤽」职部相押、「柱」「俦」侯部相押，韵脚随段落转换而疏密不定，正合远游行程「移步换景」的流动感。章法上，十二句以「兮」字句一贯而下，前半写去意与远游之繁（嘉月、玉英、岱土、牵牛、太一、白日），后半写无俦之憾（匹俦、纤介、怞怞），声情由畅达渐入低回。楚辞「兮」字在此既分隔语意又连贯气韵，使长篇铺叙不散；其音调之由扬转抑，恰与「游而不得俦」的情感曲线同构，是汉人学骚「以赋笔入骚体」的精湛例证，亦可见《九歌》体在两汉被扩展为长篇抒情的技术路径。

Line by line

林不容兮鸣蜩，余何留兮中州？

The wood cannot hold the crying cicada—why should I stay in the central land? (The opening is the poem's emotional switch: 'wood cannot hold crying cicada' uses the Shi jing analogy—the cicada is pure and sings, should have its place, yet the wood cannot hold it, a condensed form of Qu's 'the bell destroyed, the pot sounds' cry; one 'cannot hold' speaks the worthy rejected's absurdity and grief. This naturally forces 'why should I stay in central land'—since the foul age cannot hold the pure man, what is the central land worth? The question closes, not only unwilling but decisive. The wonder: it condenses the grand 'scholar unmet' theme into the 'cicada—wood' micro-image and the 'stay—leave' choice; the analogy is light yet the landing heavy. It echoes the Li sao 'the hawk does not flock, since old times so' lone height, and opens all the ascent lines: precisely this 'cannot hold' and 'why stay' question starts the far-roam ripples.)

树林容不下鸣叫的蝉啊，我还有什么可留恋于中州的呢？

The forest will not harbor, oh, the singing cicada; what is there for me to stay, oh, in the middle land?

此二句为全诗起手，亦《危俊》情感逻辑的总开关。「林不容兮鸣蜩」以《诗经》式起兴立喻：鸣蝉高洁善鸣，本应得其所，而今林中竟不容其身，正是「黄钟毁弃、瓦釜雷鸣」的屈子式谔谔之叹的浓缩；一个「不容」道尽贤者见弃的荒诞与悲凉。由此自然逼出「余何留兮中州」的反问——既然浊世不容清士，中州（中原、故国）又何足留恋？问号收束，是不甘更是决绝。此句之妙，在把宏大的「士不遇」主题凝于「蝉—林」的微象与「留—去」的抉择，起兴极轻而落点极重。它遥承《离骚》「鸷鸟之不群兮，自前世而固然」的孤高，又启下文「远游」的全部行程：正是因为这「不容」与「何留」的叩问，才有一连串登仙去国的铺陈。起二句如投石入水，全诗的远游涟漪皆自此「不容」二字荡开。

These two lines are the opening of the poem and the master switch of its emotional logic. 'The forest will not harbor, oh, the singing cicada' uses a Book-of-Songs-style evocation: the singing cicada, pure and vocal, should have its place, yet now the forest will not hold it—the very condensation of the Qu-Yuan-esque sigh of 'the bell is smashed and discarded, the earthen pots thunder,' the single 'will not harbor' exhausting the absurdity and bleakness of the worthy being cast out. From this is forced the rhetorical question of 'what is there for me to stay, oh, in the middle land': since the turbid world will not harbor the clean, what is there worth lingering for in the central plain, the old country? The question closes, not resigned but resolute. The art lies in condensing the grand theme of 'the scholar unappreciated' into the small image of 'cicada—forest' and the choice of 'stay—go,' the evocation light yet the landing heavy. It carries forward the 'Li Sao'—'the raptor does not flock, so it has been since olden times'—and opens all the ensuing journey of roaming immortals: precisely because of this questioning of 'will not harbor' and 'what to stay for,' there follows the whole铺陈 of ascending and leaving the country. The opening two lines are like a stone thrown in water, and all the ripples of the poem's roaming spread from this 'will not harbor.'

陶嘉月兮总驾，搴玉英兮自修。

I choose the fair month and yoke my chariot; I pluck the jade blossom to cultivate myself. (The far-roam's first stop, the poet turns 'leave-thought' into 'travel-gear,' the turn from sigh to act: 'choose fair month' means pick a good month to go, inheriting the Nine Songs 'lucky day fair hour' time-honoring, showing the leave is not panic but calm picking of an auspicious time, reverent; 'yoke chariot' is ready the car, writing the far-roam's solemnity. 'Plk jade blossom self-cultivate' borrows Qu Yuan's 'climb Kunlun eat jade blossom,' eating the jade blossom to clean body-mind, meaning the far-roam is not only escape but self-cultivate whole character. The two lines one outer (ready car) one inner (cultivate heart), from thing to virtue, raising 'leave state' into 'whole truth,' showing Han men imitating sao have turned Qu's political grief into a scholar's pure-self Way with immortal color. Its art: using 'fair month' 'jade blossom' pure noble images to counter the opening 'wood cannot hold' foul-age grief, making the far-roam from 'forced out' to 'active become immortal,' giving 'unmet' an aesthetic transcendence, the 'Wei Jun' most shows Han fu's polish.)

选拣美好的月令啊整备车驾，采撷玉的精华啊以修养自身。

I choose the fair month, oh, and harness the team; I pluck the jade flower, oh, to cleanse myself.

此二句为远游叙事的首站，写诗人由「去意」落实为「行装」，是情感由叹而动的转折。「陶嘉月」谓择良月美时而行，承《九歌·东皇太一》「吉日兮辰良」的尚时观念，示其去国之行并非仓皇，而是从容择吉、礼敬而行；「总驾」即备车总辔，写出远游的郑重。「搴玉英兮自修」化用屈原《涉江》「登昆仑兮食玉英」，以采玉英食之以洁身心，喻远游不仅是避世，更是修身全节。二句一外（备车）一内（修心），由物及德，把「去国」升华为「全真」，足见汉人拟骚已把屈子的政治悲愤，转化为一种带神仙色彩的士大夫洁身之道。其艺术之要，在以「嘉月」「玉英」的清贵意象，对冲篇首「林不容」的浊世之悲，使远游从「被迫出走」转为「主动成仙」，赋予「不遇」以美学化的超越，是《危俊》最见汉赋润色处。

These two lines are the first station of the roaming narrative, writing the poet's turning from the 'will to leave' to the 'baggage of departure,' the turning of emotion from sigh to action. 'I choose the fair month' means choosing a fair month and auspicious hour to go, carrying forward the 'lucky day, oh, fair hour' idea of the 'Great Unity' in the Nine Songs, showing that the departure from the country is not a panic flight but a leisurely, respectful choice; 'harness the team' means preparing the carriage and reins, writing the formality of the roaming. 'I pluck the jade flower, oh, to cleanse myself' adapts Qu Yuan's 'Crossing the River'—'I climb Kunlun, oh, and eat the jade flower'—using the eating of the jade bloom to purify body and heart, imaging that the roaming is not merely fleeing the world but cultivating the self and keeping integrity. The two lines, one outer (the carriage), one inner (the heart), move from thing to virtue, raising 'leaving the country' to 'guarding the whole,' showing how the Han imitators of Sao turned Qu Yuan's political grief into a scholar's purity imbued with immortal color. The artistic crux is using the clear, noble images of 'fair month' and 'jade flower' to counterbalance the opening 'forest will not harbor' grief of the turbid world, turning the roaming from 'forced departure' into 'active becoming an immortal,' giving the 'unappreciated' an aestheticized transcendence—the most polished Han-rhapsody stroke of the 'Perilous Jun.'

永余思兮怞怞。

Forever my thought drags on, sorrowful and long. (The whole's final beat, also the far-roam's heavy footnote: 'drag on' is sorrow long-looking (Hong Xing-zu cites lexicon 'sorrow'), stacked words receive the sorrow, sound slow like sigh unending. 'Forever my thought drags on' echoes the opening 'why should I stay in central land': first asks 'why stay' and leaves, ends 'forever think' wordless yet sorrow, the asker has gone, the answerer only sorrow, forming 'leave yet no answer' tragic ring. Its weight: it wipes out all the splendid far-roam before (fair month, jade blossom, Great One, white sun, Herdboy)—however the journey spreads, the heavens wide, in the end 'not the slightest companion' regret still condenses into 'drag on' one wisp of eternal sorrow. This 'write grief with joy, write lone with far-roam' hand is exactly Qu's 'how can I bear end with this forever' Han-era echo. The whole does not end with anger but with long sorrow, grieving not fierce, complaining not angry, fully the Chu Ci 'vent anger to lyric' yet end in settled gloom's highest realm.)

永远留着我悠悠的忧思啊，愁绪绵绵无尽。

Endless, oh, my longing, drooping and faint.

此句为全诗终拍，亦全部远游行程的沉痛注脚。「怞怞」为忧思绵长之貌（洪兴祖补注引字书释「忧也」），叠字收愁，声情悠缓如叹息不绝。「永余思兮怞怞」与篇首「余何留兮中州」遥相呼应：首以「何留」设问而去，终以「永思」无言而愁，问者已行、答者唯忧，形成「去而无解」的悲剧闭环。其重，在它把前面所有绚烂的远游（嘉月、玉英、太一、白日、牵牛）一笔勾销——无论行程如何铺张、天界如何辽阔，最终「卒莫有兮纤介」的无俦之憾，仍凝为「怞怞」一缕恒久的忧思。这种「以乐景写哀、以远游写孤」的笔法，正是屈骚「余焉能忍而与此终古」的汉世回响。全诗至此，不以愤语作结，而以悠悠愁思收束，哀而不戾、怨而不怒，尽得楚辞「发愤以抒情」而终归于沉郁的至高境界。

This is the final beat of the poem and the sorrowful footnote to the whole roaming journey. 'Drooping and faint' is the appearance of long-drawn sorrow (Hong Xingzu's sub-commentary cites the dictionary as 'grief'), the reduplication closing the grief, the sound and mood slow and lingering like a sigh that will not end. 'Endless, oh, my longing, drooping and faint' echoes the opening 'what is there for me to stay, oh, in the middle land': the opening asks 'why stay' and departs, the close is wordless in 'endless longing,' the asker already gone, the answerer only sorrow, forming the tragic closed loop of 'departing with no resolution.' The weight lies in canceling all the foregoing gorgeous roaming (the fair month, the jade flower, the Great Unity, the bright sun, the Cowherd) in one stroke—however the journey is铺ed out, however vast the heavens, the final regret of 'not a single equal' still congeals into this one thread of 'drooping and faint' everlasting longing. This method of 'writing grief through joyous scenery, writing solitude through roaming' is precisely the Han echo of Chu Sao's 'how can I bear to end like this?' The poem closes not in anger but in the drooping longing, grievous yet not violent, resentful yet not angry, fully attaining Chuci's highest realm of 'venting grief through feeling' that ends in depth.

Study

Word focus

鸣蜩 crying cicada. In 'wood cannot hold crying cicada,' the 'crying cicada' is the core image of the opening analogy. The Shi jing 'fifth month cicadas sing' already uses cicada song for time; in Chu Ci the cicada gets high-purity, fleeting, rejected symbols (as Li sao uses cicada shell for release, cicada for troubled rule). Wang Bao writes 'wood cannot hold crying cicada' for the worthy not tolerated by the world; the wonder is the 'cannot hold' reversal—wood should hold cicada, now cannot, the reversal means the age's overturn; and the cicada's 'cry' is like Qu's 'plain speech,' crying yet not held, exactly 'trusted yet doubted, loyal yet slandered' objectified. Forging this one word, with a most common insect, a light image, carries the heavy 'scholar unmet' theme, a fusion of Shi jing analogy and Chu Ci allegory. It has more poetic tension than straight 'age cannot hold the worthy,' and lays the image base for the next 'why stay' decisiveness, small word yet great burden. 「鸣蜩」即鸣叫的蝉，是此诗起兴的核心物象。《诗经·七月》「五月鸣蜩」已以蝉鸣记时，而蝉在《楚辞》系统中更被赋予高洁、易逝、见弃的多重象征（如《离骚》以蝉蜕喻解脱、以蜩螗喻乱政）。王褒于此以「林不容兮鸣蜩」写贤者不容于世，妙在「不容」二字的反常——林本容蝉，今乃不容，反常即喻世道之颠倒；而蝉之「鸣」正类屈子之「谔谔直言」，鸣而被不容，恰是「信而见疑、忠而被谤」的物化。炼此一词，以极常见之虫、极轻巧之象，负载极沉重的「士不遇」主题，是《诗经》比兴与《楚辞》托寓的浑融。它比直说「世不容贤」更有诗意与张力，亦为下句「余何留」的决绝铺垫了物象依据，小词而具大寄托。

嘉月 fair month. 'Choose fair month yoke chariot'—'fair month' means good month, fair time, fit for action. It inherits the Nine Songs 'eastern lord' 'lucky day fair hour' time-honoring (Chu men acted by picking auspicious time, sacrifice so, far-roam so). Wang Bao forges 'choose fair month yoke chariot,' 'choose' means pick, coordinate (or joy), writing the poet calmly picking a fair month to ready the chariot, showing the leave is not panic flight but reverent 'become-immortal journey.' The word's wonder: it rewrites Qu's Li sao 'mount the dust-wind I ascend' panic grief into Han men's calm 'pick auspicious far-roam' leisure, reflecting the two Han scholars' age taste of aestheticizing and immortal-izing political failure. One 'fair' points the season's fit and gives the far-roam pure noble air, echoing the next 'jade blossom' pure image, together turning 'unmet' into 'high roam,' the imitation's most era-marked word. 「嘉月」犹良月、嘉时，指宜于行事的美好月令。其语承《九歌·东皇太一》「吉日兮辰良」的尚时崇吉观念——楚人行事重择吉辰，祭神如此，远游亦如此。王褒炼「陶嘉月兮总驾」，以「陶」训选拣、协调（或乐也），写诗人从容择取良月以整备车驾，示其去国非仓皇出奔，而是礼敬慎重的「成仙之旅」。此词之妙，在把屈子《离骚》中仓促「上征」的悲愤，改写为汉人从容「择吉远游」的闲雅，折射出两汉士人把政治失意美学化、神仙化的时代趣味。一字「嘉」，既点明时令之宜，又赋予远游以清贵之气，与下句「玉英」的洁意象呼应，共同把「不遇」转化为「高蹈」，是拟骚之作最见时代烙印的炼字。

怞怞 drag on / sorrow long. 'Forever my thought drags on'—'drag on' (chou chou) is stacked adjective, means sorrow long-looking, the poem's final sorrow eye. Hong Xing-zu cites the Zi lin for 'chou, sorrow,' clear; stacked it sounds slow, like sorrow drawn like silk unending. Wang Bao uses it to close the whole; compared with single 'sorrow' or common 'grief,' the stacked 'drag on' in hearing has the unending reach, with 'forever' (yong) inside and out—thought's forever, sorrow's drag, forming meaning and sound's double long. Forging this rare word to close shows Han men imitating sao like using Chu Ci system's new stacked words (as 'troubled' parallel) to keep the sao form's old elegance, and makes the whole grieve not fierce: not ending with anger but with long sorrow, echo lingering. One 'drag on' settles all the far-roam's splendor into eternal lone sorrow, a small place showing the imitation deeply gets Qu's settled gloom marrow. 「怞怞」为叠音形容词，训忧思绵长之貌，是此诗终句的愁眼。洪兴祖《楚辞补注》引《字林》等释「怞，忧也」，明其本义；叠用之则声情悠缓，如愁绪抽丝不断。王褒以此收束全篇，较之用单字「忧」或更常见的「愁」，叠字「怞怞」在听觉上即具绵延不尽之致，与「永余思」的「永」字互为表里——思之永、愁之怞，构成意义与声韵的双重悠长。炼此僻字收尾，既见汉人拟骚好用《楚辞》体系内的生新叠词（如「㤽㤽」并列），以存骚体古雅，又使全诗哀而不戾：不以愤语作结，而以悠悠愁思收束，余音绕梁。一个「怞怞」，把前面所有远游的绚烂都沉淀为恒久的孤忧，是小处见出拟作深得屈骚沉郁之髓的炼字典范。

危俊