三国诗歌 Poems of the Three Kingdoms Period
曹操（155—220），汉魏年间的政治家、军事家和诗人。字孟德，小字阿瞒。曹操的父亲是宦官的养子。在尔虞我诈的宫廷斗争影响下，曹操自幼心有智谋，善用权术。东汉末年，爆发了黄巾农民大起义，曹操趁镇压农民起义军的机会，开始建立并逐步发展壮大自己的武装力量，并将汉献帝迎于洛阳，形成了“挟天子以令诸侯”的政治局面，最终统一了中国的北方。汉献帝建安时期，曹操任大将军、丞相，后封魏王。经过长期的争斗，中国大地上形成北魏曹操、东吴孙权、西蜀刘备三足鼎立的“三国时期”。然而“三国”之中，北魏最为强大。曹操死后，其子曹丕（pī）称帝，追封其父曹操为武帝，故后世称曹操为魏武帝。
曹操对文学、书法、音乐等都有精深的造诣（yì）。他写的诗歌虽不多，但气魄宏伟，慷慨悲壮。由于曹操对文学的重视和推崇，使建安时期的文学在战乱中仍得到蓬勃的发展，出现了曹丕、曹植、蔡琰、孔融等一大批优秀的文学家，这一时期的诗歌文学作品也因其特有的慷慨悲凉、直面现实的风格而被称为“建安文学”。
Cao Cao（155-220）was a statesman，strategist and poet during the Han and Wei dynasties．His courtesy name was Mengde，and childhood name Aman．His father was the adopted son of a eunuch．Influenced by the imperial court full of deception and fraud，Cao Cao was resourceful and good at playing politics when he was young．The Yellow Turbans Uprising broke out at the close of the Eastern Han Dynasty．Seizing the opportunity to put down the uprising，Cao Cao started to build up and gradually expand his own armed forces．Cao Cao welcomed Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to Luoyang，and began the political situation of “controlling the emperor and commanding the nobles”．Cao Cao unified northern China finally．During the reign of Jian’an of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty，Cao Cao took the posts of Grand General and Prime Minister，and was granted the title of “King of Wei”．After a long process of fighting，there formed the triangular balance of power of the three kingdoms，Cao Cao’s Wei in the north，Sun Quan’s Wu in the east and Liu Bei’s Shu in the west．Wei is the most powerful among the three kingdoms．After Cao Cao’s death，his son Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor，and Cao Cao was given the posthumous title of Emperor Wu，which he was called by later generations.
Cao Cao was of great attainments in literature，calligraphy，music，and so on．His poems，though not in a great number，are full of grandeur and solemn fervour．Since Cao Cao paid great attention to and had a great esteem for literature，the literature developed flourshingly during the Jian’an period despite the chaos caused by war．There emerged large numbers of excellent writers，such as Cao Pi，Cao Zhi，Cai Yan and Kong Rong．The poems and works of literature of this period are called “Literature of Jian’an”for their unique characteristics.
观沧海
〇曹操
东临碣石（1），以观沧海（2）。
水何澹澹（3），山岛竦峙（4）。
树木丛生，百草丰茂（5）。
秋风萧瑟（6），洪波涌起（7）。
日月之行，若出其中（8）；
星汉灿烂（9），若出其里（10）。
幸甚至哉 （11），歌以咏志 （12）。
【注释】
(1) 东临碣石：登上碣石山顶，面向东眺望。临：从高处往低处看。碣（jié）石：地名，即碣石山，在河北省昌黎县城北，是燕山余脉，因东距渤海仅15公里，自古即为观海胜地。
(2) 以观沧海：为了观看、眺望大海。以：在这里表示目的，即为什么（要来这里）。沧海：即大海，“沧”表示深绿色。
(3) 水何澹（dàn）澹：海水是那样深邃（suì）广阔又波浪起伏。何：副词，多么。澹澹：海水波浪起伏的样子。
(4) 山岛竦（sǒng）峙（zhì）：海中突出的小山形成的岛屿高高地直立在水面上。竦：高出，同耸（sǒng）。峙：直立。
(5) 百草丰茂：各种各样的花木野草品种繁多，长势茂盛。
(6) 秋风萧瑟：秋风吹动草木，使人感到阵阵寒意。萧瑟（xiāo sè）：常用来形容秋天草木衰败时凄凉的景色。
(7) 洪波涌起：海水在强劲海风的吹动下一浪高似一浪。洪：水很大、很多。
(8) 日月之行，若出其中：太阳和月亮的运行，似乎都是从大海中发生的。
(9) 星汉灿烂：夜晚天空的银河光辉灿烂。星汉：即银河。
(10) 若出其里：似乎是从大海里面出来的。
(11) 幸甚至哉：我感到满足和庆幸。幸甚：非常高兴和满意。至：到头。哉（zāi）：语气词，表示感叹。
12 歌以咏志：写这首诗用来表达自己的思想和抱负。
Viewing the Boundless Sea
by Cao Cao
I come to view the boundless ocean
From Stony Hill on eastern shore.
Its water rolls in rhythmic motion
And islands stand amid its roar.
Tree on tree grows from peak to peak;
Grass on grass looks lush far and nigh.
The autumn wind blows drear and bleak;
The monstrous billows surge up high.
The sun by day，the moon by night
Appear to rise from the sea deep.
The Milky Way with stars so bright
Sinks down into the sea in sleep.
How happy I feel at this sight！
I croon this poem in delight.
【赏析】
这首诗是曹操在建安十二年，即公元207年，追歼袁绍余部，大获全胜，回师途中，登碣石山，向东眺望大海时写下的。
据史书记载，公元前215年和公元前110年，秦始皇与汉武帝曾先后登上碣石山，观望大海。此二人都是中国统治者中统一天下、扩土封疆、集权统治成绩卓著者。几百年后，曹操登临此山，面对大海，凭吊古人，又正值战争中大获全胜之时，胸中满怀统一天下之大志，怎能不见景生情、一吐为快？
全诗分为写景与想象两部分。前半部分写眼睛看到的实景：波浪涌动的水面、水中突起的小岛、岛上丰茂的草木、带来寒意的秋风。内容朴实无华，语言浅显易懂。写到此处，与一般诗人的写景诗并无两样。然而从“日月之行”一句起，写想象中的景物，仿佛日、月、星辰，甚至宇宙中其他的事物都是由大海孕育，并从大海中诞生的。这一突然间大胆的夸张和想象，使全诗意境深远，顿生华章，非一般文人所能做到。作者用日月星辰这些世间最伟大的事物来赞颂大海的伟大，是大海孕育了它们，才使它们得以诞生，因而大海似乎成了日月星辰的母亲。但大海宁静深邃，不事张扬，亦无光华，其博大、包容、完美的精神，在世间没有其他事物可与之相比。这样，诗人对大海的赞扬就达到了至高无上的境地。而作者在诗的末句说“歌以咏志”，可见，这并非一首写景诗，而是一首咏志诗，是作者以大海自比，表达自己的志向。他希望自己如海一般博大，能吸纳百川、包容天下、驾驭万物、一统江山。全诗借景抒情，以物言志，言简意深，胸怀博大，为观海诗中的上乘之作，也是四言古诗中的优秀作品。
毛泽东深爱此诗，曾于1954年夏在北戴河写下《浪淘沙》词一首，其中的后半阕（què）为：“往事越千年，魏武挥鞭，东临碣石有遗篇。萧瑟秋风今又是，换了人间。”正是对此诗的回应。
自曹操“观沧海”诗出后，北魏文成帝、北齐文宣帝、唐朝唐太宗等人也纷纷登临碣石山，以观沧海，可惜均未有诗篇遗后。
Interpretation
This poem was composed in the twelfth year of the reign of Jian’an，i.e．A.D.207，after Cao Cao ascended the Jieshi Mountain and looked eastward at the sea．At that time he had just wiped out the remnants of Yuan Shao’s forces and won a complete victory，and was moving his troops back.
According to historical records，the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty，both of whom were among the Chinese rulers who had achieved outstanding success in unifying the country，expanding the territory and centralizing state power，visited the Jieshi Mountain to enjoy the sea respectively in 215 B.C．and 110 B.C．Several hundred years later，Cao Cao ascended the mountain and pondered over the past incidents just after he had won a complete victory．He cherished high ideals of unifying the country，so it’s no wonder that he was moved by the scene and was unable to take a rest until he got them off his chest.
The poem is composed of two parts，the scenery depiction and his imagination．The first part describes the real scene：the waves surging，small islands towering aloft，plants and trees flourishing，and the autumn wind soughing．It’s simple and easy to understand．So far the poem is not different from other scenery depicting ones，but from the line“the move of the sun and the moon”，it starts to describe imaginary things．It seems as if the sea had given birth to the sun，the moon，the stars and everything in the universe，all of which had emerged from the sea．This unexpected and bold exaggeration and imagination make the whole poem magnificently conceived and beyond the accomplishments of ordinary men of letters．The poet eulogized the grandeur of the sea with mighty things in the world，like the sun，the moon and the stars，which he thought to be born of the sea．The sea thus seems to be the mother of these heavenly bodies，for nothing in the world could be compared with the sea，which is quiet，deep，restrained and broad and magnanimous．The last line“chant this poem to reveal my ideal”shows it’s a poem of his heart rather than one of scenery depiction，in which the poet likened himself to the sea and expressed his ambitions．The poet hoped that he could be as broad-minded as the sea which contained hundreds of rivers and that he could be magnanimous enough to control all things on the earth and unify the whole country．The poem，which is concise but profound with meanings，is a first-class one in describing the sea and one of the excellent four-character-line ancient poems.
Mao Zedong loved this poem very much and composed a piece of ci entitled Lang Tao Sha in Beidaihe in the summer of 1954，the latter half of which reads，“nearly two thousand years ago，wielding his whip，the Emperor Wu of Wei rode eastward to Jieshi；his poem survives．Today the autumn wind still soughs，but the world has changed！”It was exactly in response to Cao Cao’s poem.
After Cao Cao’s visit，emperors such as Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei，Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty ascended the Jieshi Mountain one after another to view the sea，but no poems have been left behind.
龟虽寿 （1）
〇曹操
神龟虽寿，犹有竟时（2）。
腾蛇乘雾，终为土灰（3）。
老骥伏枥，志在千里（4）；
烈士暮年，壮心不已（5）。
盈缩之期，不但在天（6）；
养怡之福，可得永年（7）。
幸甚至哉，歌以咏志（8）。
【注释】
(1) 龟虽寿：本诗的名称取自诗文第一句。一般认为乌龟寿命长，传说中的神龟寿命更长，能活三千岁。
(2) 神龟虽寿，犹有竟时：神龟虽然能活很长时间，但最终仍不免一死。犹：仍然。竟：终结，尽头。
(3) 腾蛇乘雾，终为土灰：能够飞腾的神蛇虽然会腾云驾雾，最后也将化为土灰。
(4) 老骥伏枥，志在千里：千里马老了，趴伏在马槽上，心中仍怀有驰骋（chí chěng）千里的强烈愿望。骥（jì）：千里马，良马。枥（lì）：马槽，让马吃草料的木槽。
(5) 烈士暮年，壮心不已：胸怀大志的人，就是到了老年，那种渴望建功立业、成就大事的心愿也不会消失和停止。烈士：壮怀激烈的人，重成就轻生死的人，胸有大志的人。壮心：雄壮豪迈的心愿。已：完了，停止。
(6) 盈缩之期，不但在天：人的寿命的长短，并不完全由上天来决定。盈缩：长短。不但：不仅仅。“但”在这里是“只、仅仅”的意思。
(7) 养怡（yí）之福，可得永年：如果能够怡养精神，陶冶情操，生活得乐观豁达，就可以获得长寿。养怡：培养乐观的精神和情趣。永年：长寿。
(8) 幸甚至哉，歌以咏志：此二句与正文无关，是曹操喜欢使用的诗歌结尾，意思是：我庆幸自己能用诗歌来表达心中的情感和愿望。
Though Long Lives the Tortoise
by Cao Cao
Although long lives the tortoise wise，
In the end he cannot but die.
The serpent in the mist may rise，
But in the dust he too shall lie.
Although the stabled steed is old，
He dreams to run a thousand li.
In life’s December heroes bold
Indomitable still will be.
It’s not up to Heaven alone
To lengthen or shorten our days.
To a great age we can live on，
If we make the best of our ways.
How happy I feel at this thought！
I croon this poem as I ought.
【赏析】
这首诗与《观沧海》诗，都是公元207年曹操平定乌桓（乌桓wū huán：中国古代民族的名称），消灭了袁绍的残余势力，获胜回师途中所作。此时，曹操的心情处在胜利的喜悦之中，因而他渴望建立更大的功业，更希望实现统一天下的宏图大愿。但掐指一算，自己已是52岁的年纪。驰骋沙场、挥戈杀敌对50多岁的人来说已是力不从心，因而宏伟的抱负与日渐衰弱的体力形成尖锐的矛盾。这首诗正反映了曹操这种矛盾的心理。
诗的前两句用龟和蛇这两种神话中长寿的动物作比喻，说明生生死死是宇宙间不可抗拒的规律。任何生物个体无论怎样长寿，终究会有生命停止的那一天。接下来的两句，用老马虽老仍希望驰骋千里作比喻，引出本诗的中心思想，即有大志的人，就是老了也不会服老，还想继续建功立业。最后几句是作者对自己晚年生活的安慰，也表达了以良好的生活方式求得长寿的愿望。
这首诗富含深刻的哲理，既是唯物的，又是辩证的。作者意识到老之将至，人无不死，但诗中没有流露出丝毫的悲伤和消极，反而充满积极向上、务求进取的精神。正是这种精神激励作者奋斗到最后一息。“烈士暮年，壮心不已”的豪言壮语也因这首诗的享誉天下而成为鼓励老者奋发有为、继续前进的名句。
Interpretation
This poem and Viewing the Boundless Sea were both composed in A.D.207 when Cao Cao was moving his troops back after he had put down the Wuhuan Rebellion and wiped out the remnants of Yuan Shao’s forces．At that time Cao Cao was joyful with his success，and eager to make greater achievements so that he could realize his great ambition of unifying the whole country．But he was already 52 years old then．He keenly felt that at that age he was unable to gallop across the battlefield any more and fight the enemy as much as he would like to．His physical strength getting weaker day by day was a big barrier to the realization of his great ambition．This poem is just the result of Cao Cao’s mixed feelings.
With an analogy of the tortoise and the snake which are said to be longevous in myth，the first two lines illustrate that life and death are an irresistible law of the universe；and no matter how long one lives，he is to die eventually．The next two lines，using “an old steed in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand li”as a metaphor，lead to the conclusion of the poem：an old hero still cherishes high aspirations．The rest of the lines are what the poet used to console himself in his old age and convey his wishes to live long through good life style.
The poem contains a profound philosophy，which is both materialistic and dialectical．The poet realized that he was aging rapidly and that death befell all men alike，but he did not，in the slightest degree，reveal his pessimism，and he was vigorous and enterprising，instead．The proud words“A noble-hearted man retains his high aspirations even in old age”have thereupon become a well-known phrase used to encourage old people to be promising and enterprising.
曹植（192—232），字子建，三国时期魏国的杰出诗人，是著名政治家、军事家曹操的第三个儿子。
曹植自幼聪慧，深得曹操喜爱，十几岁时就已精通诗文，出口成章。因为受家庭的影响，曹植有强烈的功名事业心。不幸的是，他在与其兄曹丕争夺太子之位的斗争中失败了，这一失败决定了他的后半生必将在郁闷与悲愤中度过。曹操死后，曹丕废汉帝而自立为魏文帝，他对曹植处处限制，严酷打击，这种状况持续到曹丕死后都没有好转。所以，曹植的一生，以曹丕即位为界分成截然不同的两个时期：前一个时期，他雄心勃勃，奋发向上；后一个时期，他郁郁寡欢，愤怒而又无奈。
尽管一生曲折多艰，但曹植勤于著述，成果颇丰，诗、赋、散文，都有出色的作品留世，其数量和质量，都达到了当时文学创作的最高峰。他的诗文，感情真挚强烈，用词华丽生动，内容丰富多彩，比喻巧妙形象。曹植是建安文学的集大成者，对后世文学发展有重要影响。他40岁英年早逝，但诗文却流传千古。
Cao Zhi（192-232），whose courtesy name was Zijian，was an outstanding poet of Wei，one of the Three Kingdoms．He was the third son of the famous politician and strategist Cao Cao.
Cao Zhi had been intelligent since childhood and had a good command of literature when he was a teenager．Cao Cao liked him very much．Influenced by his family，Cao Zhi had a strong desire to seek fame and make achievements．But unfortunately，he was defeated by his elder brother Cao Pi in their scramble for crown prince，which made him spend the rest of his life in depression，grief and indignation．After Cao Cao’s death，Cao Pi dethroned the emperor of the Han Dynasty and he himself came to the throne as Emperor Wen of Wei．Cao Pi imposed restrictions on Cao Zhi in all respects and struck various blows at him，and this state of affairs continued even after Cao Pi died．Cao Zhi’s life was divided into two completely different periods by Cao Pi’s ascending the throne．He was very ambitious and enterprising in his early days but depressed，indignant and helpless in his later period.
Although his life was one of frustrations，Cao Zhi was diligent in writing and was a prolific author．His splendid poems，fu，and prose reached the summit of literary composition at that time，both in quantity and in quality．His feelings in his literary works are sincere and his poems are rich in content and vivid in metaphors．Cao Zhi synthesized the literary achievements during the Jian’an period，making a strong impact on the development of the literature of later generations．Cao Zhi died young at only forty，but his literary works have been handed down over the ages.
七步诗（1）
〇曹植
煮豆燃豆萁（2），
豆在釜中泣（3）。
本是同根生，
相煎何太急（4）！
【注释】
(1) 七步诗：据《世说新语》一书记载，曹丕即位后，想害死曹植。一日，他命曹植在走完七步的时间内做成一首诗，否则就杀头。曹植在无比愤恨之中，以烧豆萁（豆科植物的茎）煮豆子为比喻，怒斥曹丕残害亲生兄弟的行径，故称“七步诗”。
(2) 煮豆燃豆萁：豆萁（qí）：即豆秸（jiē），豆类植物的茎秆。本句指锅下用豆萁作为燃料烧火，锅里用水煮豆子。
(3) 豆在釜中泣：釜（fǔ）：一种锅。本句指豆子在锅中哭泣，这是一种拟人手法。
(4) 本是同根生，相煎何太急：豆子与豆萁本是从同一个根中生长出来的，为什么现在豆萁要用烈火煎熬豆子，非要置它于死地不可呢？
A Poem Written While Taking Seven Paces
by Cao Zhi
Beanstalks burned to cook peas，
The peas weep in the pot.
Grown from same root，O please，
Why should you burn us hot？
【赏析】
这首小诗用浅显生动的比喻，揭露了骨肉间相互迫害残杀的卑劣行径。烧豆秆煮豆子是人们常见的现象，聪明的作者正是抓住了这一点来作比。他把曹丕与自己分别比作豆秆与豆子，指出本是同根生的亲兄弟，就应该血肉相连、生死与共；然而现在曹丕不仅毫无兄弟之情、关爱之心，反而嫉贤妒能、打击迫害，其手段之狠毒、方法之卑劣令人发指。曹植在“七步成诗，否则处死”的处境下，面对已经成为皇帝的亲哥哥，长期以来积蓄在心中的满腔悲愤如今喷涌而出，化作“本是同根生，相煎何太急”这铿锵有力又不失含蓄的诗句。这首诗并没有怒骂与诅咒，只有发自肺腑的反问，令作恶者无地自容。据说，曹丕因此未敢对曹植下手。
然而，历史上这样兄弟间反目成仇、互相杀戮（lù）的悲剧又何止这一起。小到家庭，大到民族、国家与全人类，手足相残的悲剧难计其数。正因为人们痛恨这种行径，又因为这首小诗出自亲身经历者之口，比喻贴切，批判巧妙，所以“七步诗”成为千百年来人们熟悉且喜爱的诗歌。1941年1月17日，震惊中外的“皖南事变”发生后，重庆《新华日报》大字刊登了周恩来写的“千古奇冤，江南一叶，同室操戈，相煎何急！？”一诗，用以揭露国民党枪口对内的反动罪行，其中引用的是这首“七步诗”的典故。
Interpretation
With a plain and vivid metaphor，this poem exposes the dishonorable fratricidal behavior．Burning beanstalks to cook beans is a common scene，but the clever poet made use of it to form an analogy．Likening his brother Cao Pi and himself to beanstalks and beans respectively，he pointed out that blood brothers should be as close as flesh and blood and share a common destiny．But Cao Pi who was envious of his younger brother’s ability retaliated and persecuted the latter without the slightest brotherly affection．His vicious tricks and mean methods make us bristle with anger．Cao Zhi was ordered to compose a poem within seven paces，otherwise he would be executed．In face of his brother who was now the emperor，Cao Zhi was filled with grief and indignation，which gushed out and turned into meaningful，rhythmic and forceful lines.“Grown from same root，O please，/Why should you burn us hot？”Here without any curse，the rhetorical question straight from his heart made the evil doer feel too ashamed to show his face．Cao Pi，therefore，did not dare to lay murderous hands on Cao Zhi.
However，fratricidal tragedies within a family，nationality，nation and mankind have been innumerable．As people detest the kind of act described in this poem，this Seven-Pace Song，showing the poet’s personal experience with an appropriate metaphor and clever criticism，has been known to all and loved by people through the ages．On January 17，1941，after the occurrence of the “South Anhui Slaughter”which shocked the country and the whole world，Xinhua Daily in Chongqing published in large-size characters a poem by Zhou Enlai，“An unexpected injustice throughout the ages，was what had happened in the South．Members of one family drew swords on each other，why brothers bitter against each other！？”exposing the Kuomintang’s reactionary crime of internal strife．The literary quotation used here came from this Seven-Pace Song.
