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元 Yuan · 曲 Qu song

醉太平·讥贪小利者

Drunk in Peace: Satirizing the Petty Greedy One

无名氏（元）

Anonymous (Yuan)

讽刺Satire 世情Worldly Affairs 讥时Mocking the Times

夺泥燕口，削铁针头，刮金佛面细搜求，无中觅有。
鹌鹑膆里寻豌豆，鹭鸶腿上劈精肉，蚊子腹内刳脂油，亏老先生下手！

Snatch mud from the swallow's beak, shave iron from the needle's point, scrape gold from Buddha's face—search with care, find something where nothing is.
Seek a pea in a quail's crop, split lean flesh from a heron's leg, carve fat from a mosquito's belly—how could the old gentleman bring himself to do it!

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Meaning

This short song lampoons a grasping, petty profiteer through a cascade of absurd, near-impossible images: stealing mud from a swallow, shaving iron from a needle, scraping gold off a Buddha, and then squeezing a pea from a quail's throat, flesh from a heron's leg, and fat from a mosquito's belly. The final line twists into ironic praise—'the old gentleman' is willing to do such things—turning admiration into a cold, stinging mockery.

从燕子口中夺泥，从针尖上削铁，从佛像面上刮金细加搜求，于无中生有处也要榨取。鹌鹑嗉里寻豌豆，鹭鸶腿上劈精肉，蚊子腹内刳取脂油，亏得老先生下得去手！

Appreciation

The song achieves its effect by piling up increasingly impossible extractions, from the tiny and ordinary to the sacred and the microscopic. In plain, colloquial language, it exposes greed as an obsessive, pathological force that respects no boundary. The final exclamation, phrased as a compliment, is a masterstroke of satirical reversal.

【白话串讲】元代无名氏写《醉太平·讥贪小利者》：“夺泥燕口，削铁针头，刮金佛面细搜求”——从燕子嘴里夺泥，从针头上削铁。“鹌鹑膆里寻豌豆，鹭鸶腿上劈精肉，蚊子腹内刳脂油”——“亏老先生下手”——骂贪官刻薄到极点。【意象与手法】连用“夺泥燕口，削铁针头，刮金佛面细搜求”排比写搜刮无所不用其极；“鹌鹑膆里寻豌豆，鹭鸶腿上劈精肉，蚊子腹内刳脂油”以层层递进的荒诞意象将贪者刻画入木三分；末句“亏老先生下手”以反语收束。纯用白描、比喻奇绝，以俗为雅、以谐写愤。【情感与主旨】元散曲中讥时刺世之作，以夸张到荒诞的笔法刻画贪婪刻薄的剥削者形象，反映元末社会尖锐的阶级矛盾，是元散曲中讽喻小令的典范之作。【名句点睛】常考“夺泥燕口，削铁针头，刮金佛面细搜求”以排比写搜刮无度；“亏老先生下手”以反语冷嘲写贪者刻薄。

Background

This anonymous song belongs to the Yuan sanqu tradition of directly confronting social ills. Under Yuan rule, oppressive governance, official corruption, and ethnic hierarchies left common people suffering, while many disaffected literati turned to sanqu to vent their frustration. This poem's finger points squarely at the exploitative petty-minded profiteer. Its anonymity is typical: such caustic songs often circulated without a name, blending street wit with genuine anger, and reflecting the sharp class contradictions of the late Yuan.

这首小令作者不详，署为无名氏，收入元散曲讥时刺世一类作品中。元曲（尤其是散曲小令）有一个突出的传统，便是面向市井、直面现实，敢于以嬉笑怒骂之笔揭露社会黑暗，与诗词的「温柔敦厚」大异其趣。元代社会等级森严，民族压迫与阶级剥削并存，吏治败坏，苛敛横行，底层百姓深受其苦，而文人在异族统治下仕进无门，往往借散曲浇胸中块垒、刺世间丑恶。这首《醉太平》正产生于这样的土壤。它不写风花雪月，而把笔锋直指贪婪刻薄的剥削者——那些锱铢必较、于无中生有处也要榨取的小人。全曲以夸张到荒诞的笔法，层层堆叠搜刮的意象，把「贪小利者」的嘴脸刻画得入木三分。值得注意的是，这类作品多不署真名，或因其锋芒太露、恐招祸端，或因其本就是市井流传、集体创作的讽谣。无论作者为谁，它都真实记录了元末社会尖锐的阶级矛盾与民间对贪暴的愤怒。读懂这一点，才能明白此曲何以要写得如此「狠」——它不是文人雅谑，而是被压榨者用笑声包裹的控诉，是元曲「蒜酪之风」最典型的体现。

Art

The artistry lies in using absurdity to expose truth and using accumulation to sharpen the edge. The first half strings together four paradoxical acts—snatching mud from a swallow, shaving iron from a needle, scraping gold from a Buddha, and seeking something from nothing—to show greed that stops at nothing. The second half goes even further: a quail's crop, a heron's leg, a mosquito's belly, each smaller and more impossible than the last, with verbs growing more violent. The final line drops into a six-syllable ironic exclamation that cuts the whole song off sharply, like a sword returning to its sheath.

这首小令的艺术，全在「以荒诞写真实」与「以堆叠见锋芒」两处。上段连用「夺泥燕口，削铁针头，刮金佛面细搜求，无中觅有」四个排比，构成一个愈缩愈小的搜刮序列：从燕子口里夺泥、从针尖上削铁、从佛像面上刮金，直到于「无」中也要「觅有」。意象之荒诞，已到违背常识的地步，可正因荒诞，才把贪者「无所不用其极」的本性夸张得惊心动魄。下段更进一层：「鹌鹑膆里寻豌豆，鹭鸶腿上劈精肉，蚊子腹内刳脂油」，以蜂腰式堆叠，把搜刮的对象指向愈来愈小、愈来愈不可能的事物，节奏愈紧、锋芒愈利；末句「亏老先生下手」陡转冷嘲，以反语收束，力透纸背。全曲纯用白描，比喻奇绝，夸张而不失尖锐，语言通俗如口语，却极具讽刺张力。它不靠华丽辞藻，而靠意象的密集与递进制造喜剧效果与批判力度，是元散曲「以俗为雅、以谐写愤」的典范，于市井口语中见出犀利锋芒。

Allusions

Although this satirical song rarely uses classical allusions, 'scraping gold from Buddha's face' carries a powerful cultural reversal. In traditional society, a Buddha image is sacred and inviolable; even the most corrupt would hesitate to desecrate it. Here, the greedy figure scrapes it anyway, showing that greed has burst through every ethical and religious barrier. Meanwhile, 'old gentleman' (lao xiansheng) is an honorific normally reserved for respectable elders; applying it to this despicable scavenger makes the final irony cuts deeper. The song draws on the folk tradition of praising in order to condemn.

此曲虽为讽刺小令，较少用事，但其「刮金佛面」一语，却暗含一个深长的文化反讽，值得拈出。佛像在传统文化中是庄严神圣、不可侵犯之物，即便在世俗搜刮中，佛面金身也属禁忌——没人敢去刮取。而曲中的贪者，连佛面上的金也要刮下来，这一笔的荒诞里，藏着极沉痛的真实：当贪婪突破一切伦常底线，连神圣都可亵渎，可知其贪已无边界。它不是用典，而是用一个人人都懂的「禁忌符号」，把贪者的无所顾忌写到极致。此外，「老先生」一词在元曲中常用来称呼官僚、乡绅或幕僚中的长者，带一定的敬称外壳；曲末以「亏老先生下手」反用之，表面是「佩服」其手段，实则是冷峭的讥刺——把本该德高望重的人，写成下得去手的刻薄之徒，敬称与劣迹之间的落差，正是讽刺的利器。这类手法，继承了民间谣谚「正话反说」的传统，不引经据典而自具锋芒，是元曲直面现实、以俗破雅的典型策略，比掉书袋的讽喻更接地气、更见血。

Commentary

This song is often celebrated as a masterwork of Yuan sanqu satire, not for refined diction but for its critical power and folk vitality. Critics have long admired the way it escalates impossible images—from swallow's mouth to mosquito's belly—until comedy and condemnation are one. It abandons the traditional poetic ideal of 'gentle, restrained complaint' and instead embraces direct, laughing abuse. Its anonymity only reinforces the sense that it represents a generation's shared anger. Today it still amuses and disturbs, reminding us that good satire never grows old.

这首《醉太平》历来被视为元散曲讽喻小令的压卷之作，其地位不在文辞之雅，而在批判之力与民间气骨。明人臧懋循编《元曲选》，虽重杂剧，于散曲亦收此类讽世之作；近人任讷《散曲概论》、卢前《散曲选》等，皆将此曲列为讥时名篇，以为「元人讽刺之工，于此可见」。论者多赏其「堆叠递进」的章法：从燕口、针头、佛面，到鹌鹑、鹭鸶、蚊子，物愈小、愈不可能，而贪者的手伸得愈长，喜剧与批判的双重张力随之递增，至「亏老先生下手」一收，如匕首回鞘，余痛犹在。这种「愈写愈苛」的蜂腰结构，是民间讽刺艺术的精华。与诗词比，此曲最突出的，是它彻底摆脱了「怨而不怒」的温柔敦厚，而以直面丑恶、嬉笑怒骂为能事。这既是元曲「蒜酪之风」的体现，也是元代文人借俗文学发泄积愤的独特方式。它不必署名为谁，因为它本就是一代人共通的愤怒。在今天读来，仍令人忍俊而又警觉——好的讽刺，从不过时。

Prosody

Form Sanqu short song (xiaoling) in the northern tune pattern 'Drunk in Peace'; lines run 4, 4, 7, 4, then 7, 7, 7, 6, with flexible padding words.散曲小令，北曲，《醉太平》正格，句式长短错落，句式为：四、四、七、四，下片七、七、七、六，共八句，多押平声或入声韵，宜于讽刺。

Rhyme Close rhyme on the line endings (tou, qiu, you, dou, rou, you, shou), following the Yuan-dynasty 'Central Plains Rhymes' in which level and oblique tones may mix. The dense rhyme creates a rapid, drumming effect.依北曲《醉太平》格，上片「头」「求」「有」与下片「豆」「肉」「油」「手」大致协韵（元曲用《中原音韵》，平仄通协，此处以口语节奏自然成韵），韵位密集，读来如连珠迸发，与讽刺的急促节奏相合。

Tone pattern Northern sanqu does not strictly alternate level and oblique tones; this tune favors falling and entering monosyllables (duo, xiao, gua, kui) for choppy force, while colloquial padding words like 'li' and 'funei' add natural spoken rhythm.北曲不重平仄粘对而重板式与衬字。《醉太平》多用去声、上声字振起，如「夺」「削」「刮」「亏」等皆仄声重读，形成斩截的力度；衬字（如「细」「里」「腹内」）可自由添加，使口语化的夸张得以充分展开，这正是散曲胜于诗词的活泼处。

Reading note The musical setting serves the satire perfectly: short lines and dense rhymes rush forward without pause, matching the piling-up of impossible images. The final shortened line stops abruptly, like a snap of cold laughter, leaving the sting in the air.这支小令的声律，完全服务于它的讽刺目的。北曲《醉太平》本就宜于痛快淋漓的抒写，句式短促、韵位密，读来如连珠炮般不容喘息——这正配合了「夺泥」「削铁」「刮金」一路紧逼的意象堆叠。尤其可贵的是它对衬字的运用：曲中「鹌鹑膆里」「鹭鸶腿上」「蚊子腹内」等，都是加在句式之外的口语衬字，使荒诞的搜刮对象得以具体铺陈而不伤板格。北曲不似诗词拘于平仄粘对，反而给了民间讽刺以自由挥洒的天地。末句「亏老先生下手」以六字短收，戛然而止，像一记冷笑收尾，声断而意不绝。整体看，这支曲的格律不是束缚，而是助燃——它用北曲特有的明快板眼，把讽刺的火焰烧得更旺。

Line by line

夺泥燕口，削铁针头，刮金佛面细搜求，无中觅有

Snatch mud from a swallow's beak, shave iron from a needle's point, scrape gold from a Buddha's face, search it carefully—find something where nothing exists. This opening series builds an impossible ladder: each act is more absurd and more invasive than the last, showing greed as a relentless urge that respects neither scarcity, smallness, nor sanctity.

从燕子口中夺泥，从针尖上削铁，从佛像面上刮金细加搜求，于无中生有处也要榨取

Snatching mud from the swallow's mouth, scraping iron from the needle's point, scraping gold from the Buddha's face and searching it fine - finding something where there is nothing.

这一串排比是全曲讽刺的引擎，妙在它用「不可能」写出了「可能」——贪者的逻辑恰恰建立在违背常理之上。燕子口里的泥微乎其微，针尖上的铁近乎虚无，佛面上的金是神圣不可犯的禁忌，可贪者偏要从这些地方下手，而且还「细搜求」，还「无中觅有」。作者故意把搜刮的对象选得越来越小、越来越荒诞，让读者在忍俊之余，忽然脊背发凉：原来所谓贪婪，就是连没有也要榨出有的那种执念。这组意象不靠比喻的精巧，而靠梯次的荒谬制造力量——当荒诞累积到一定程度，它反而比直写「横征暴敛」更真实、更刺心。这是民间讽刺特有的智慧：用笑，把丑恶钉在耻辱柱上。

This chain of parallelism is the satire's engine, its genius in writing the 'possible' through the 'impossible' - the greedy man's logic built precisely on violating common sense. The mud in the swallow's beak is minute, the iron on the needle's point near nothing, the gold on the Buddha's face a sacred taboo, yet the greedy man starts from these places, and 'searches it fine,' and 'finds something where there is nothing.' The objects of extortion are chosen smaller and more absurd, making the reader, after laughing, suddenly chill at the spine: so greed is precisely the obsession that squeezes 'something' out of 'nothing.'

鹌鹑膆里寻豌豆，鹭鸶腿上劈精肉，蚊子腹内刳脂油

Seek a pea inside a quail's crop, split lean flesh from a heron's leg, carve fat from a mosquito's belly. The objects shrink to the almost microscopic, while the verbs grow fiercer—'seek,' 'split,' 'carve.' This escalation drives the satire to a pitch of grotesque comedy.

鹌鹑嗉里寻豌豆，鹭鸶腿上劈精肉，蚊子腹内刳取脂油

Seeking peas in the quail's craw, slicing lean meat from the heron's legs, scraping grease from the mosquito's belly.

下段这三句，是上段荒诞的升级版，也是全曲锋芒最利处。鹌鹑的嗉、鹭鸶的腿、蚊子的腹，一个比一个小，一个比一个不可能藏肉藏油，可贪者照样「寻」「劈」「刳」，动词一个比一个狠。这种蜂腰式的意象堆叠，是民间讽刺的拿手好戏：它不让读者喘息，把搜刮的序列一路压到荒谬的极点。尤其「蚊子腹内刳脂油」一句，已完全超出物理可能，却正因如此，把「贪」写成了一种病态的、停不下来的强迫——明明没有，偏要刳。这三句的节奏紧、密度高，像三记连击，把前面「无中觅有」的抽象，落实为一幅幅荒诞而真实的搜刮图，喜剧效果与批判力度在此同达到顶峰。

The next three lines are the upgrade of the above absurdity, the sharpest edge of the song. The quail's crop, the heron's legs, the mosquito's belly - each smaller, each more impossible to hold flesh or oil, yet the greedy man still 'seeks,' 'slices,' 'scrapes,' the verbs crueler by the turn. Especially 'scraping fat-oil from the mosquito's belly,' wholly beyond physical possibility, yet precisely for that, writing 'greed' as a pathological, unstoppable compulsion - where there is plainly nothing, he must scrape.

亏老先生下手

How could the old gentleman bring himself to do such a thing! This exclamation pretends to admire the man's skill, but the honorific 'old gentleman' is hollow. The word 'kui' ('how could he') rings with disdain, delivering a final, quiet blow that lingers after the laughter dies.

亏得老先生下得去手

It takes an old gentleman like you to have the heart to do such things.

末句是全曲的收束，也是讽刺艺术的点睛之笔。它用反语：「亏」字表面是「难得、佩服」，像在赞叹老先生手段了得；实则每一个读者都听得出那声冷笑——一个本该德高望重的人，竟连蚊子腹内的脂油都要刳，这哪里是能干，分明是刻薄到了没有底线。「老先生」本是敬称，用在这里，敬称与劣迹之间的落差，正是讽刺的利器：把礼法社会最看重的「长者德行」，撕开给众人看。这一句不接着写贪，而是突然收住、陡转冷嘲，像匕首入鞘前的那一下反转，余痛犹在。全曲的嬉笑怒骂，最终都凝在这六个字里，让人在笑声中读完，却久久笑不出来。

The closing line gathers the song, the finishing stroke of the satirical art. It uses inverted speech: the word 'only' on the surface meaning 'rare, admirable,' as if praising the old gentleman's skill; yet every reader hears the cold laugh beneath - a man who should be revered for his years, scraping even the grease from the mosquito's belly, this is no competence, but meanness without a bottom. 'Old gentleman' is properly an honorific; used here, the gap between the honorific and the misdeed is the satire's weapon.

Study

Word focus

夺 / 削 / 刮 Seize / shave / scrape. These violent verbs suggest forceful taking. Applied to absurdly tiny or holy objects, they turn ordinary labor words into instruments of criticism, revealing the gluttonous, unhallowed nature of the greed. 上段三个动词「夺」「削」「刮」，是全曲动作的核心，也是讽刺力度的来源。三者皆含「强行取走」之意，却因对象之荒谬而显出诡异：「夺」燕口之泥，是抢最弱者口中食；「削」针尖之铁，是从无中生有处抠取；「刮」佛面之金，是连神圣都不放过的亵渎。三个字由轻到重、由世俗到神圣，梯次递进，把贪者的手越写越长、越写越无所顾忌。尤为可玩的是，这些字本用于正当劳作（夺粮、削木、刮垢），此处却指向非分的搜刮，字面的「正用」与语境的「歪用」之间，生出反讽的张力。作者不选「取」「拿」「采」一类温软字，而专挑带暴力感的「夺削刮」，正是要让读者感到那双手的逼迫与不洁。

细搜求 To search carefully and persistently. Three ordinary characters that turn greed from a single act into a habit, an obsessive occupation that leaves no corner unsearched. 「刮金佛面细搜求」中的「细搜求」三字，看似平平，实则是把贪者的「病态认真」写活了的关键。「细」是仔细、不马虎，「搜求」是搜刮寻求——合起来，写的是一个不肯放过任何角落的执拗。前面「夺泥」「削铁」「刮金」已是荒诞，可若只是偶尔为之，尚算可笑；一旦加上「细搜求」，就变成一种全天候、无死角的贪婪，贪者不是在作案，而是在「工作」，而且极其敬业。这个词的份量，在于它把贪从「行为」写成了「习性」、从「一次」写成了「永远」。它与下段的「寻」「劈」「刳」同一机杼，共同构成一种停不下来的强迫式搜刮。三个字，让荒诞有了持续性，让讽刺有了重量。

亏 An interjection meaning 'how could...' or 'to think that...'. Used ironically, it flips the surface meaning of admiration into a sarcastic rebuke and gives the whole song its stinging final twist. 末句「亏老先生下手」的「亏」字，是全曲反语的眼目，也是讽刺收尾的利器。「亏」本有「幸亏、多亏」或「难得、竟至于」之意，此处作反语用：表面感叹「难得老先生竟有这等手段」，实则每一分「赞叹」都是刺。这个字最妙处，在于它把作者的态度彻底藏起来，不骂、不怒，只「佩服」，而读者自能从这声佩服里听出冷峭的讥刺。它与「老先生」的敬称配合，形成双重反讽：敬称越隆重，劣迹越刺眼；「亏」字越「由衷」，讽刺越锋利。元曲讽世，最忌直斥，而善用此类反语敛锋于笑，此字正是这种民间智慧的凝结——不喊打，却让被打者永远钉在耻辱柱上。