原文

四孝烈

岁甲午，新会县被围，城中粮尽，守将屠居人以食。有莫氏者，诸生林应雒之妻，姑将就烹，莫请于兵曰："姑老矣，肉不可食，妾幸膏腴，可以供君大嚼也。"兵从之，姑得释，而莫就死。有李氏者，兵欲食其夫，哭拜曰："吾夫五十无子，请君食我。"杀之，以首还其夫，使葬焉。有梁氏女者，其父诸生学谦，女年十一，请代父死，兵不忍杀。女谓兵曰："君以女儿身小，不足以充一饱乎。"将夺兵刀自刭，兵乃杀之。诸生吴师让妻黄氏，亦代夫死，兵哭而杀之。是为新会四孝烈。予哭之有云："可怜窈窕三罗敷，肌如冰雪颜如荼。再拜乞充君庖厨，解妆请代姑与夫。妾年尚少甘且脆，姑与夫老肉不如。请君先割妾膏腴，味香不负君刀殳。食之若厌饫，愿还妾头颅。姑老夫无子，妾命敢踟蹰。有女年十余，缇萦亦不殊。哀求赴汤镬，保父千金躯。"

白话

中文

四位孝烈女子

甲午年（清顺治十一年，1654年），新会县城被围困，城中粮食耗尽，守城的将领（指清军，一说为南明军队）开始屠杀城中居民充作军粮。有一位莫氏，是生员林应雒的妻子，她的婆婆即将被抓去烹食，莫氏向士兵请求说：“我婆婆年纪大了，肉肯定不好吃，我侥幸还年轻丰腴，可以供给各位大快朵颐。”士兵听从了她的话，婆婆得以释放，而莫氏则代替赴死。有一位李氏，士兵想要吃她的丈夫，她哭着下拜说：“我丈夫已经五十岁了还没有儿子，请您吃我吧。”士兵便杀了她，把她的头颅还给了她的丈夫，让他安葬。有一位梁氏女子，她的父亲是生员梁学谦，女儿才十一岁，请求代替父亲去死，士兵不忍心杀她。女孩对士兵说：“您是嫌我小女孩身体瘦小，不够您饱餐一顿吗？”说着就要抢夺士兵的刀自刎，士兵于是杀了她。生员吴师让的妻子黄氏，也是代替丈夫赴死，士兵（被其感动）哭着杀了她。这四位就是新会县的“四孝烈”。我（屈大均）为她们悲哭而作诗道：“可怜三位美丽的女子（指莫氏、李氏、黄氏），肌肤如同冰雪般洁白，容颜像荼花一样娇美。她们再三叩拜请求充当士兵的食物，卸下妆容请求代替婆婆和丈夫。‘我年纪尚轻，肉质鲜嫩甘甜，婆婆和丈夫年老，肉质比不上我。请您先割取我肥美的身体，味道鲜香绝不会辜负您的刀俎。如果您吃腻了，希望能归还我的头颅。婆婆年老，丈夫无子，我的性命怎敢犹豫不决？’还有一位十多岁的女孩（指梁氏女），（其孝行）与古代的缇萦（代父受刑的孝女）也没有什么不同。她哀声请求让自己被烹煮，以保全父亲宝贵的身体。”

英文

Four Filial and Chaste Women

In the Jiawu year (1654, the 11th year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty), Xinhui County was under siege. Food ran out within the city walls, and the defending general (referring to Qing troops, though some say Southern Ming forces) began slaughtering residents for food. There was a woman named Mo, the wife of the scholar Lin Yingluo. When her mother-in-law was about to be taken to be cooked, Mo pleaded with the soldiers, saying: "My mother-in-law is old, her flesh must be tough. Fortunately, I am young and plump, enough for you gentlemen to feast upon." The soldiers agreed; the mother-in-law was released, and Mo went to her death instead. There was a woman named Li. When soldiers wanted to eat her husband, she knelt down crying and said: "My husband is fifty and has no son, please eat me instead." They killed her and returned her head to her husband for burial. There was a girl surnamed Liang, whose father was the scholar Liang Xueqian. The daughter, only eleven years old, asked to die in her father's place. The soldiers couldn't bear to kill her. The girl said to the soldiers: "Do you think a little girl's body is too small to make a satisfying meal?" She then tried to snatch a soldier's knife to kill herself, whereupon the soldiers killed her. Huang, the wife of the scholar Wu Shirang, also died in place of her husband; the soldier (reportedly moved) wept as he killed her. These were the "Four Filial and Chaste Women" of Xinhui. I (Qu Dajun) lamented them in verse: "Pitiable were the three graceful beauties (referring to Mo, Li, Huang), skin like ice and snow, faces like the blooming Tu flower. They bowed repeatedly, begging to fill the soldiers' kitchens, removing their makeup, asking to replace mother-in-law and husband. 'I am still young, sweet and tender; mother-in-law and husband are old, their flesh is inferior. Please cut my plump flesh first; its fragrant taste will not betray your knives. If you tire of eating, I wish you return my head. Mother-in-law is old, husband has no son; how could I hesitate with my life?' There was also a girl of just over ten (referring to Liang), whose filial piety was no different from Tiying of old (a filial daughter who offered herself to save her father from punishment). She pleaded tearfully to face the boiling cauldron, to preserve her father's precious body."

文化解读/分析

此条目记述了清初新会围城期间发生的四位女性为保全亲人（婆婆、丈夫、父亲）而主动献身、代替被食的惨烈事迹，具有极其震撼的文化与伦理意涵：

1. 极端环境下的伦理抉择：故事发生在战争围城、人相食的极端残酷背景下。这四位女性（莫氏、李氏、梁氏女、黄氏）面对亲人将被屠杀烹食的绝境，做出了牺牲自我、保全亲人的选择。这集中体现了儒家伦理中“孝”（对父母/公婆）、“悌”（对丈夫，虽非兄弟但有类似顺从义务）、“义”（舍生取义）的最高要求，但在非人道的环境下显得尤为悲壮和扭曲。
2. “孝烈”的赞誉与道德标榜：她们的行为被冠以“孝烈”之名。“孝”指其动机是为了保全长辈或丈夫，“烈”则指其行为之刚烈、牺牲之壮烈，符合传统社会对女性德行的最高赞誉之一（尤其在涉及贞操与牺牲时）。将她们并称为“四孝烈”，并由屈大均这样的名士记载、作诗传颂，意在将其树立为超越生死的道德楷模。
3. 性别化的牺牲：值得注意的是，牺牲者均为女性。她们的牺牲逻辑是：婆婆年老（肉不好吃，且是长辈）、丈夫无后（需要保全以传宗接代）、父亲是家庭支柱。而她们自己（年轻女性）则被视为可以替代的牺牲品，甚至用“膏腴”、“甘且脆”来形容自身，将自己物化为食物以换取亲人生存。这深刻反映了在父权社会结构下，女性往往被置于从属和可牺牲的地位，其价值依附于对男性亲属（公婆、丈夫、父亲）的责任。
4. 战争的残酷与人性的泯灭：该记载赤裸裸地揭示了战争，特别是长期围城所能导致的极端残酷和人伦丧失。“守将屠居人以食”本身就是骇人听闻的暴行（无论是清军还是南明军队所为），而士兵面对主动求死的女性，虽有犹豫（对梁氏女不忍杀）甚至动容（哭而杀黄氏），但最终还是执行了杀戮。这反映了在极端暴力和生存压力下人性的脆弱与异化。
5. 地方历史的惨痛记忆：此事发生在广东新会，是地方历史上一段极其惨痛的记忆。屈大均的记载不仅保存了这段史实，也通过诗歌表达了深切的同情与哀悼，使之成为控诉战争罪行、反思人性与伦理的重要文本。将梁氏女比作缇萦，是将地方性的悲剧纳入了更广阔的中国孝道文化叙事中。

总而言之，“四孝烈”的故事以其极端性和悲剧性，深刻揭示了传统孝悌伦理在特定历史情境下的表现、性别角色在牺牲中的固化、战争对人性的摧残以及地方历史记忆的形成，是研究明清易代之际社会动荡、伦理观念、性别文化和战争创伤的沉重案例。

关键词

四孝烈, 新会, 围城, 甲午年, 清初, 莫氏, 李氏, 梁氏女, 黄氏, 林应雒, 梁学谦, 吴师让, 孝道, 烈女, 代死, 牺牲, 食人, 战争残酷, 儒家伦理, 性别角色, 父权制, 屈大均, 广东新语, 地方历史, 缇萦