元 Yuan · 词 Ci lyric
摸鱼儿·雁丘词
Song of the Wild Geese Mound
乙丑岁赴试并州，道逢捕雁者云：“今旦获一雁，杀之矣。
其脱网者悲鸣不能去，竟自投于地而死。
”予因买得之，葬之汾水之上，垒石为识，号曰“雁丘”。
同行者多为赋诗，予亦有《雁丘词》。
旧所作无宫商，今改定之。
问世间，情是何物，直教生死相许？
天南地北双飞客，老翅几回寒暑。
欢乐趣，离别苦，就中更有痴儿女。
君应有语：渺万里层云，千山暮雪，只影向谁去？
横汾路，寂寞当年箫鼓，荒烟依旧平楚。
招魂楚些何嗟及，山鬼暗啼风雨。
天也妒，未信与，莺儿燕子俱黄土。
千秋万古，为留待骚人，狂歌痛饮，来访雁丘处。
That binds two souls till death?
Two birds flew from south to north,
Wings worn by many summers and winters.
In joy is pleasure, in parting pain,
And among them, there are even more foolish children.
You must have words: over vast clouds and endless snow,
Under evening sky, alone, to whom shall you go?
On the road by Fen River, where once pipes and drums were heard,
Now only lonely mist over level plains.
In vain I call your spirit with Chu elegies,
The mountain spirit weeps in wind and rain.
Even heaven is jealous, and cannot believe
That with orioles and swallows you share the same yellow earth.
Through a thousand autumns and ten thousand years,
You wait for poets to come, singing wildly and drinking deep,
To visit this hill of wild geese.
Meaning
The poet, on his way to the imperial examination, heard a hunter's story: one wild goose was killed, and its mate, unable to leave, cried and then threw itself to the ground and died. The poet bought the geese, buried them by the Fen River, and built a stone mound called 'Hill of Geese'. The first stanza questions what love is, that it makes two souls pledge life and death. It describes the pair of geese flying from north to south through many seasons, sharing joys and sorrows. The second stanza contrasts the lonely present by the Fen River with its past grandeur during Emperor Wu of Han's visits, using the haunting imagery of Chu elegies and mountain spirits to underscore the lone goose's grief, and affirms that this love will not turn to dust like common birds but will be remembered by poets forever.
请问人世间，情究竟是什么东西，竟能让它们以生死相许？天南地北双飞的大雁，凭老翅经历几度寒来暑往。相聚的欢乐，离别的痛苦，其中更有痴情的儿女。殉情之雁似有话说：渺茫的万里层云、千山暮雪之中，孤身一只又能飞向谁处？汾水之滨，当年箫鼓的繁华早已寂寞，荒烟依旧笼罩着平林。招魂的楚些之辞，何嗟何及；山鬼在风雨中暗暗啼哭。天也嫉妒此情，却不相信它会与莺儿燕子一同化为黄土。千秋万古，为留待后世骚人，狂歌痛饮，来此凭吊雁丘。
Appreciation
The poem begins with a startling question about love, elevating the birds' emotion to universal human love. The first stanza depicts the pair's lifelong companionship and their inability to live alone after loss, using vast space and time to highlight solitude. The second stanza contrasts historical splendor with desolation, employing ghostly allusions to enhance sorrow. The ending shifts to a transcendent vision of eternal remembrance, blending deep feeling with philosophical reflection. Key lines 'Pray, what is love, that binds two souls till death?' are among the most famous in Chinese literature.
【白话串讲】 一只雁被捕杀，另一只脱网后悲鸣着撞地而死。元好问买了这对雁埋了，写下“问世间，情为何物，直教生死相许”——从此这句话成了中国人的爱情圣经。 【意象与手法】 上片以「问世间」三字提挈，将禽鸟之情升华为人类普世之「情」，由具体（雁）到抽象（情）再回到具体（只影），章法跌宕。下片用「横汾」怀古与「招魂」「山鬼」幽渺之境烘托，虚实相生。结以「狂歌痛饮，来访雁丘」，由悲转旷，余韵悠长。 【情感与主旨】 元好问（1190—1257），字裕之，号遗山，金末元初文坛领袖。此词作于金章宗泰和五年（乙丑，1205年），时年十六，赴并州应试，道遇捕雁者，感其殉情之事而作，后改定。小序详记本事，为词中少见之长序，足见其郑重。 【名句点睛】 默写易错：「直教生死相许」之「教」勿作「叫」；「老翅几回寒暑」之「翅」易误作「翼」。常考「问世间，情是何物」的抒情手法与「只影向谁去」的设问效果。
Background
Yuan Haowen (1190-1257), courtesy name Yuzhi, literary name Yishan, was a leading literary figure in the late Jin and early Yuan dynasties. This poem was written in 1205 (the fifth year of Taihe, Jin Emperor Zhangzong) when he was sixteen, on his way to take the imperial examination in Bingzhou (modern Taiyuan). He encountered a goose hunter and was moved by the story of the geese's faithful love. The original version was not set to music; he later revised it. The long preface detailing the incident is rare in ci poetry, showing his seriousness.
元好问（1190—1257），字裕之，号遗山，太原秀容人，金末元初文坛领袖，兼擅诗、词、文、史。此词作于金章宗泰和五年（乙丑，1205年），时年十六岁，赴并州（今太原）应试，道遇捕雁者云：今日捕获一雁，已杀之，其脱网之伴悲鸣不去，竟自投于地而死。元好问感其事，买雁葬于汾水之上，垒石为识，号曰「雁丘」，并作《雁丘词》。原作未协律，后改定，即今传本。小序详记本事始末，为词中少见之长序，足见年方十六的作者对此事的郑重。金代虽为女真政权，然女真族崇尚忠贞，汉地士人亦重节义，此词以雁之殉情立言，实暗含金末士人重情重义、宁死不贰的精神底色，少年之作已见其超越常人的情思深度。遗山论诗主「一语天然万古新，豪华落尽见真淳」，其词亦然，不以雕琢取胜而自然深挚；金源一代文风质朴雄健，此词十六岁所作而气格老成，正见其早慧与天分，亦见金代文士于戎马倥偬间重情重义的集体气质。
Art
The first stanza opens with 'Pray, what is love,' elevating the birds' emotion to universal human love, moving from the concrete (wild geese) to the abstract (love) and back to the concrete (lonely shadow). The second stanza uses historical allusion to the Fen River and the haunting atmosphere of Chu elegies and mountain spirits, blending reality and illusion. It ends with 'singing wildly and drinking deep, to visit this hill of wild geese,' turning from sorrow to a broad-minded release, leaving a lingering aftertaste. The whole piece begins with a question and ends with a visit, intertwining deep emotion and philosophy.
上片以「问世间，情是何物，直教生死相许」三句提挈全篇，石破天惊，将禽鸟之情升华为人类普世之「情」；随后由具体（天南地北双飞客）到抽象（欢乐趣、离别苦）再回到具体（只影向谁去），章法跌宕有致。「君应有语」四字代雁设言，以万里层云、千山暮雪的苍茫之境衬孤雁只影，凄清入骨。下片笔势一转，用「横汾路」怀古：当年汉武帝泛舟汾水、箫鼓喧阗，今日荒烟依旧、平楚苍茫，今昔对照，历史沧桑与雁情之悲交织；「招魂楚些」「山鬼暗啼」更以幽渺的楚辞之境烘托哀思，虚实相生。「天也妒，未信与，莺儿燕子俱黄土」以天妒之情反证雁情之烈，坚信至情不与寻常同朽。结以「狂歌痛饮，来访雁丘处」，由悲转旷，把生死之叹升华为对至情的礼赞，余韵悠长。全词以问起、以访结，深情与哲理交织，堪称咏情词的绝唱。全词节奏亦随情流转：上片以问句起、以设问结，如浪相逐；下片转入怀古，节奏放缓，至「天也妒」复振，结以「狂歌痛饮」的入声字顿挫收束，声情起伏，与情感的跌宕相表里，正是「以健笔写柔情」的典型声貌。
Allusions
The 'road by Fen River' alludes to Emperor Wu of Han's 'Autumn Wind Ballad', which describes the grand boat procession and music on the Fen River, contrasting past splendor with present desolation. 'Call your spirit with Chu elegies' refers to the 'Summons of the Soul' from the Chu Ci, using the final particle 'xie'. The 'mountain spirit' comes from the 'Nine Songs' of the Chu Ci, depicting a goddess weeping in wind and rain, creating a haunting atmosphere. Emperor Wu's poem and the goose hill are both set by the Fen River, contrasting past and present to deepen the sense of vicissitude.
此词用典精妙，皆化入词境。「横汾路」化用汉武帝《秋风辞》「泛楼船兮济汾河」「箫鼓鸣兮发棹歌」，以昔日天子巡幸的箫鼓繁华衬今日荒烟平楚的寂寥，武帝《秋风辞》与雁丘同处汾水，今昔对照，深化沧桑之慨。「招魂楚些」用《楚辞·招魂》「魂兮归来」之「些」字尾声，招魂本为招亡者之魂，此处暗指为殉情之雁招魂，而「何嗟及」三字又叹其不可复生，哀婉入骨。「山鬼」出《楚辞·九歌·山鬼》，以巫山神女在风雨中暗啼渲染凄迷之境，人鬼同悲。「君应有语」暗用代言体传统，代物立言，如屈原笔下的湘君湘夫人。「天也妒」则化用俗语「天妒红颜」而翻出新境。全词用典熔铸《楚辞》、汉乐府于一炉，而归于浑成自然，无一字生硬，足见遗山熔铸典故的天才。又「平楚」一词，本出谢朓《郡内登望》「寒城一以眺，平楚正苍然」，指平远之林，遗山取以写荒烟笼罩的苍茫原野，古雅而贴切；「莺儿燕子」则取俗语「黄莺紫燕」之属，以寻常物象反衬至情之不朽，雅俗相济，正是遗山熔铸众典而归于自然的功夫。
Commentary
Liu Xizai of the Qing dynasty in his 'Yigai' said Yuan Haowen's ci have 'a spacious and lively tone with subtle charm'. Kuang Zhouyi in his 'Huifeng Cihua' praised the 'Hill of Geese' as 'a work of nature, truly a saint of emotion'. Modern scholar Xia Chengtao commented that Yuan Haowen 'used a vigorous brush to write tender emotions, pioneering the style of Nalan Xingde and Gu Zhengguan in the Qing dynasty', showing its lasting influence.
此词为元好问十六岁少年之作，却已是词史上的不朽名篇。清人刘熙载《艺概》谓遗山词「疏快之中，有蕴藉之致」；况周颐《蕙风词话》称此词「一片化工，直是情圣」，推崇至极。近人夏承焘评其「以健笔写柔情，开清代纳兰性德、顾贞观一派先声」，足见其沾溉后人之深。词以「问世间，情是何物，直教生死相许」发问，遂成千古咏情名句，后世戏曲小说多所化用，金庸《神雕侠侣》即引此句为情之注脚，可见其超越时代的影响力。就词史而言，此词以咏物写深情，物我交融、大开大阖，既是金词的最高成就之一，也是中国咏情文学的巅峰之作，少年元气淋漓与老成深沉气象并存，令人惊叹。自金元以降，此词为历代词选必录之作；近世金庸《神雕侠侣》引「问世间，情为何物」为全书题旨，使此句借武侠小说之翼传遍华人世界，凡言深情者莫不吟之。一曲雁丘，由元好问十六岁的惊问，到千年后的共鸣，足见至情之思跨越时代、跨越文体的不朽力量。
Prosody
Line by line
问世间，情是何物，直教生死相许？
A startling question that elevates 'love' to a level beyond life and death, setting the tone for the entire piece.
请问人世间，情究竟是什么东西，竟能让它们以生死相托？
I ask the world: what on earth is love, that it makes them pledge each other through life and death?
以石破天惊之问开篇，三句一问，振起全篇。世间万物皆可问，诗人独问「情是何物」，已见立意之高；「直教生死相许」更以「生死相许」四字把情推至超越生命的极致——情之所以为情，正在于能以生死相托。「直教」二字语气斩钉截铁，强调情之力大至斯。此问不作回答，而答案尽在双雁殉情之事中，以问作答，深沉有力。此三句把禽鸟之情升华为人类普世之问，遂成千古咏情名句，凡谈情者莫不引之。
Opening on a heaven-splitting question, three lines, one question, shaking the whole piece. Of all things in the world one may ask, the poet asks only 'what is love,' already showing the height of the theme; 'that it can pledge itself through life and death' pushes love, in the four words 'pledge through life and death,' to the extreme beyond life itself — love is love precisely in pledging through life and death. The words 'that it can' are clipped, emphasizing love's power to such a pitch. The question is not answered, the answer lying whole in the two geese's dying for love, question as answer, deep and forceful. The three lines lift the birds' feeling to a universal human question, becoming the age-famous line on love, which all who speak of love quote.
天南地北双飞客，老翅几回寒暑。
Recalls the pair's journey across vast distances and through many seasons, emphasizing their long companionship and the poignancy of loss.
天南地北双飞的大雁，凭老翅经历几度寒来暑往。
The two companions flying south to the northern sky — how many winters and summers those old wings have known.
追忆双雁昔日相伴的寻常而珍贵。「天南地北」以空间的广袤写双雁形影不离，「双飞客」三字亲切，如称故友；「老翅几回寒暑」则以时间的绵长写岁岁相随——寒来暑往、年复一年，一对老雁凭疲惫的翅膀飞越万里。寻常的相伴，因「几回寒暑」的岁月沉淀而愈显珍贵；愈写相伴之乐之深，愈见失侣之痛之烈。此句以乐景写哀，看似平叙，实为下文「只影向谁去」的孤绝蓄满力量，今昔对照，摧人心肝。
Recalling the pair's former companionship, common yet precious. 'South and north of heaven and earth,' in the breadth of space, writes the two geese's never-parted shadow; 'the pair that flew together' the three words affectionate, as naming old friends; 'how many winters and summers those old wings bore,' in the length of time, writes the years following each other — winter to summer, year after year, the old pair bearing ten thousand li on their tired wings. Common companionship, the more precious for the years' settling; the more the joy of companionship is written deep, the more the pain of losing the mate is shown sharp. The line writes grief through joy, seemingly plain narrative, yet charging the loneliness of 'to whom shall I fly alone' below; the present against the past, breaking the heart.
欢乐趣，离别苦，就中更有痴儿女。
From geese to humans, pointing out that 'foolish children' of love exist among people, blending the two realms.
相聚的欢乐，离别的痛苦，其中更有痴情的儿女。
The joy of union, the pain of parting — and in the midst of them, foolish devoted lovers.
由雁及人，把雁情推广到人间。「欢乐趣，离别苦」以三字短句对举，概括情之常态的两极；「就中更有痴儿女」则指出在常情之外，更有如双雁般以生死相许的痴情之人——「痴」字是词眼，不痴不足以言至情，不痴不足以轻生死。此句在章法上是全词由咏雁转入咏情的枢纽：雁犹如此，人何以堪？雁情与痴儿女之情互为映照，物我交融，词境由此拓宽，从一雁之悲升华为对天下痴情的咏叹。
From the geese to the human, extending the geese' feeling to the world. 'The joy of being together, the pain of parting,' short three-character lines set against each other, summing the two poles of love's common lot; 'and among them, foolish, loving hearts' points out that beyond common feeling, there are those who pledge through life and death like the two geese — the word 'foolish' is the poem's eye: not foolish, not worth the name of utmost feeling; not foolish, not worth lightly treating life and death. Structurally the line is the poem's hinge from singing the geese to singing love: if the geese are so, what of men? The geese' feeling and the foolish lovers' feeling mirror each other, thing and self fused, the poem's realm widened, from one goose's grief to the ode of all the world's devotion.
君应有语：渺万里层云，千山暮雪，只影向谁去？
Imagines the surviving goose speaking: surrounded by vast clouds and snow, alone, where can it go? This explains why it chose death.
殉情之雁似在说：万里层云、千山暮雪，孤身一个又能去向谁处？
The dead goose seems to speak: ten thousand li of layered clouds, a thousand hills of evening snow — alone, to whom shall I fly?
替雁设语，是全词最凄绝处。「君应有语」四字，以拟人代雁立言，设身处地，体贴入微。「渺万里层云，千山暮雪」以苍茫辽阔之境写失侣之后的天地之大——云海万里、雪山千重，世界依旧广阔，而孤雁只影，竟不知何处是归程；「只影向谁去」一问问尽生之无趣：伴侣既亡，纵有万里山川、无限春光，又与我何干？此句以苍茫衬孤绝，以天地之大反衬只身之小，把「生死相许」的缘由——失侣则生不如死——写得淋漓尽致，呼应以「直教生死相许」，天衣无缝。
Speaking for the goose, the poem's most forlorn point. 'You must be saying,' four words, personifying, speaking in the goose's place, putting himself in its place with finest care. 'Over ten thousand li on layer upon layer of cloud, over a thousand hills in the evening snow' — the vast, boundless realm writing the world's greatness after the mate is lost: cloud-seas ten thousand li, snow-hills a thousand fold, the world still wide, yet the lone goose, its single shadow, knows not where the homeward way; 'to whom shall I go?' one question asking out all the dullness of life: the mate gone, though ten thousand li of mountains and rivers, infinite spring, what are they to me? The line sets off loneliness with the vast, the small lone body against the great heaven and earth, writing to the full the reason of 'pledging through life and death' — life not worth living after the mate is lost — answering 'that it can pledge itself through life and death,' seamless.
横汾路，寂寞当年箫鼓，荒烟依旧平楚。
Where the Fen River crosses the road, the pipes and drums of that year are silent now; the wasteland smoke still veils the level woods.
汾水之滨，当年箫鼓的繁华早已寂寞，荒烟依旧笼罩平林。
By the Fen River, the pipes and drums of that year are gone to silence; the wild smoke still lies over the level forest.
笔势顿转，由雁情拓入历史时空。「横汾路」点出葬雁之地即汉武帝当年泛舟欢歌的汾水之滨；「寂寞当年箫鼓」写昔日天子箫鼓喧阗的盛况已荡然无存，只剩今日的寂寞；「荒烟依旧平楚」更以荒烟笼罩平林的萧瑟之景，坐实繁华落尽、唯余苍茫。以历史之盛衬今日之衰，再以今日之衰衬雁情之悲，层层叠加，把一己之情放入古今盛衰的大背景中观照——盛衰无常，而唯有真情可垂千古。此句怀古与伤情交织，境界顿阔，为结句「千秋万古」的展望预埋伏笔。
The brush turns abruptly, from the geese' feeling into historical time. 'Where the Fen River crosses the road' names the burial place of the geese, the very Fen bank where Emperor Wu of Han once sailed and sang; 'the pipes and drums of that year are silent now' writing the gone-forever splendor of the emperor's pipes and drums, leaving only today's silence; 'the wasteland smoke still veils the level woods' further, in the bleak scene of wild smoke over level forest, confirming splendor fallen, only vastness left. The splendor of history setting off today's decline, today's decline setting off the geese' grief, layer on layer, placing personal feeling within the broad background of rise and fall through the ages — rise and fall are uncertain, only true feeling enduring a thousand autumns. The line weaves historic remembrance with grief, the realm suddenly broad, priming the 'through a thousand autumns, ten thousand ages' outlook below.
千秋万古，为留待骚人，狂歌痛饮，来访雁丘处。
Through a thousand autumns, ten thousand ages, it has been kept for the poets: wild songs, deep cups, to come and visit the goose's mound.
千秋万古，为留待后世骚人，狂歌痛饮，来此凭吊雁丘。
Through a thousand autumns, ten thousand ages, kept for the poets of later days: wild singing, deep drinking, to come and pay homage at the Goose Mound.
收束全篇，由悲转旷，余韵悠长。「千秋万古」以时间的无限对抗死亡的有限——雁身虽化黄土，雁情却将流传万古；「为留待骚人」点出至情自有千古知音，「骚人」即能解此情之人；「狂歌痛饮，来访雁丘处」更以狂放不羁的姿态写后世凭吊：不是凄凄惨惨的祭奠，而是狂歌痛饮的礼赞——因为至情至性，本就当以最慷慨的方式纪念。结句把生死之叹升华为对至情的礼赞，格局高远，深情与旷达并存，遂成千古咏情的绝唱。
Gathering the whole poem, from grief to breadth, the aftertone long. 'Through a thousand autumns, ten thousand ages' opposes time's infinity to death's finitude — the goose's body turned to dust, the goose's feeling to endure ten thousand ages; 'it has been kept for the poets' pointing out that utmost feeling has its thousand-century knowers, 'poets' those who can understand this feeling; 'wild songs, deep cups, to come and visit the goose's mound' further, in the unrestrained pose, writing the later homage: no mournful sacrifice, but a wild-singing, deep-drinking celebration — because utmost feeling and utmost nature deserve to be commemorated in the most generous way. The closing lifts the sigh of life and death into a celebration of utmost feeling, the stature lofty, deep feeling and broad-mindedness together, becoming the age-defying ode to love.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
The Hill of Geese uses geese to write about love unto death, while Lu You's Ode to the Plum Blossom uses the plum to write about unyielding will. Both rely on objects to convey profound meaning.
《雁丘词》借雁写情之生死相许，《卜算子》借梅写志之坚贞不屈，皆咏物而寄深意、物我交融。差异在于：元好问以雁殉情之事直问「情是何物」，情之烈以生死为度；陆游以梅之零落犹香写志之孤高，志之坚以不移为度。一咏情一咏志，一同生死一守节操，而皆以物之品格映照人之精神，足见咏物词托物寄兴的深厚传统。
声声慢·寻寻觅觅 声声慢·寻寻觅觅 (Slow Slow Song · Searching and Seeking) 李清照 · 同写深情哀婉之词 Both express deep sorrow and emotionOne portrays the tragic intensity of love unto death, the other the desolate loneliness of bereavement. Both are heartfelt and moving.
一写生死至情之壮烈，一写孤寂愁苦之凄婉，皆情真意切、动人心魄。《雁丘词》以问句直逼情之本质，格调悲壮；《声声慢》以叠字直写愁之况味，格调凄婉。元好问由双雁殉情见至情之不朽，李清照由独守空闺见至愁之难遣，一雄健一低回，恰成深情词的两极。两词对照，可见中国词史写情的两种极致境界。