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南北朝 Northern and Southern Dynasties · 诗 Poem

别范安成

Farewell to Fan Ancheng

沈约

Shen Yue

离别/抒情Farewell/Lyric 爱情/相思Love/Missing each other

生平少年日，分手易前期。
及尔同衰暮，非复别离时。
勿言一樽酒，明日难重持。
梦中不识路，何以慰相思。

In youthful days, we parted lightly, expecting future meetings bright.
But now both aged, we part no more, for this may be our last goodnight.
Don't say a cup of wine is small, tomorrow we may not share it.
If in dreams I know not your way, what solace for this aching spirit?

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Meaning

The poem contrasts the ease of youthful separations with the finality of old-age farewells. The poet tells his old friend not to dismiss a single cup of wine, for tomorrow they may never drink together again. Even in dreams, he cannot find his friend's path, so his longing remains unconsoled.

想那生平少年之时，分手轻易便约定来日再会。如今与你同至衰暮之年，已不是当年轻易言别的年纪。莫说区区一杯薄酒，明日只怕难得再共持。梦中都不识寻你的道路，拿什么来安慰这相思。

Appreciation

This farewell poem to an old friend uses the contrast between youth and old age to express the deep sorrow of parting in later years. Written in simple language yet rich in emotion, it exemplifies Shen Yue's poetic principle of 'three easiness' (easy to understand, easy to recognize characters, easy to recite).

【白话串讲】 “生平少年日，分手易前期”——沈约送别老友范安成：年轻时分别，总觉得还有重逢。“及尔同衰暮，非复别离时”——如今我们都老了，这一别可能就是永别。“勿言一樽酒，明日难重持”——别说这杯酒，明天未必能再举杯。【意象与手法】此诗以“时间对照”为骨：首联“生平少年日，分手易前期”追忆青春轻别，以为后会可期【情感与主旨】范安成即范岫，曾任安成内史，与沈约交契数十年。此诗为沈约晚年赠别老友之作【名句点睛】此诗常见于“南朝赠答诗”或“离别诗”专题。考点一

Background

Fan Ancheng (Fan Xiu) was a lifelong friend of Shen Yue, serving as the governor of Ancheng. This poem was written in Shen Yue's later years when Fan Xiu was about to take a distant post. Having experienced the loss of many old friends and the frailty of age, Shen Yue expresses the fear that this parting may be final. The line 'even in dreams I cannot find your way' echoes a Han yuefu poem, intensifying the sorrow.

《别范安成》为南朝梁沈约所作，是写晚年送别友人的诗。沈约（441—513），字休文，吴兴武康人，南朝梁文学家、史学家，“永明体”的创始人。此诗：生平少年日，分手易前期；及尔同衰暮，非复别离时；勿言一樽酒，明日难重持；梦中不识路，何以慰相思。全诗写晚年送别之难，是沈约送别诗的代表作。

Art

The poem is structured around temporal contrast: the first couplet recalls youthful lighthearted partings, the second shifts to the present where both are old and parting is unbearable. The third couplet uses the act of offering wine to convey the fear of eternal separation. The final couplet deepens the pathos by adding the impossibility of even dream encounters. The language is plain yet powerful, demonstrating Shen Yue's 'three easiness' aesthetic.

《别范安成》艺术上以今昔对比与情意的深沉见长。全诗八句，层层写来：前四句写今昔之别——“生平少年日，分手易前期”写少年时分别易约再会，“及尔同衰暮，非复别离时”写衰暮时非复别离之时；后四句写此别之难——“勿言一樽酒，明日难重持”写一樽酒难再持，“梦中不识路，何以慰相思”写梦中不识路。全诗以今昔对比写晚年送别之难，正是沈约“永明体”写情的笔法。

Allusions

The closing line 'If in dreams I know not your way' alludes to the Han yuefu 'Drinking by the Great Wall' and a parting poem in the Wen Xuan: 'If in dreams I cannot find the road, how can I console my longing?' Shen Yue adapts this to express the unique pain of parting from an old friend, seamlessly merging old text with new feeling.

《别范安成》用典在“梦中不识路”。“梦中不识路”用《韩非子》张敏与高惠相思、梦中往寻而迷路之典，写相思之深而不得相见；“易前期”写少年时分别而再会可期。全诗以这些典故写晚年送别之难，用典自然而情意深沉，正是沈约“永明体”用典写情的笔法。

Commentary

Shen Yue advocated the 'three easiness' theory (easy to find allusions, easy to recognize characters, easy to recite), and this poem is a concrete example. Zhong Rong's Shipin ranks Shen Yue in the middle grade, praising his five-character poems. The friendship between Shen and Fan was deep, making this poem sincere. Qing critic Shen Deqian praised it as 'full of true spirit, surpassing ornate carving.' While Yan Yu of the Song Dynasty criticized Shen's poetry as 'refined but lacking in bone strength,' this piece compensates with deep feeling, epitomizing the Yongming style's 'pure melancholy' vein.

《别范安成》是沈约送别诗的代表作，也是“永明体”诗中的名篇。此诗写晚年送别之难，向为论者称道。论者多赏其今昔对比的写法——“生平少年日，分手易前期”写少年分别之易，与“及尔同衰暮，非复别离时”写衰暮分别之难相对，正是晚年送别之痛的深婉；“梦中不识路，何以慰相思”写相思无慰，更见其情。沈约为“永明体”创始人，其诗讲究声律，此诗正是其代表——以声律写深情，正是其“永明体”的风格。

Prosody

Form Five-character ancient verse (Southern Dynasties Yongming style farewell poem)五言古诗（永明体）

Rhyme Level tone Zhi rhyme, consistent throughout《别范安成》为五言古诗，八句，押平声韵。此诗用韵：期、时、持、思（之部），一韵到底，音节流转。此诗已讲究声律，是“永明体”的先声。

Tone pattern Yongming style emphasizes tonal patterns, but this poem is closer to ancient style with looser tonal constraints五言古诗以音节流转、情致深沉见长。此诗写晚年送别之难，音节流转而深沉。全诗以五言贯底，讲究声律，声调与送别之情的内容相合，是“永明体”诗中的一路。

Reading note Representative of Shen Yue's 'three easiness' poetic teaching; simple language conveys genuine emotion.《别范安成》为南朝梁沈约所作，是写晚年送别友人的诗。此诗以“生平少年日，分手易前期”写少年之别易，以“及尔同衰暮，非复别离时”写衰暮之别难，以“勿言一樽酒，明日难重持”写一樽酒难再持，以“梦中不识路，何以慰相思”写相思无慰。以今昔对比写晚年送别之难，正是沈约“永明体”写情的代表作。

Line by line

生平少年日，分手易前期。及尔同衰暮，非复别离时。

In our young days parting was easy, a meeting soon promised; now we are both in our decline—this is no time to part.

回想少年之时，分手时轻易地约定再会之期。如今与你同是衰暮之年，已不是当年别离之时。

In our youth parting lightly promised a quick reunion; now we are both old, and this is no time to say goodbye.

前四句写今昔之别，是全诗晚年送别之难的起点。“生平少年日，分手易前期”写少年之别——“生平少年日”写回想少年之时，“分手易前期”写分手时轻易约定再会之期——少年时分别，易约再会；“及尔同衰暮，非复别离时”写衰暮之别——“及尔同衰暮”写如今与你同是衰暮之年，“非复别离时”写已不是当年别离之时——衰暮之年，非复少时。四句写今昔之别：少年日分手易前期，衰暮时非复别离时。以“分手易前期”写少年时之乐观，以“及尔同衰暮，非复别离时”写衰暮时之别难，正是沈约写晚年送别之难的起点——少时一别，易约再会；老来一别，恐难再见。

The decline. In our young days parting was easy, a meeting soon promised; now we are both in our decline—this is no time to part. The young-days-parting-easy and the now-both-decline-no-time-to-part are the contrast. To have parted easily would be a parting; the in-our-young-days-parting-was-easy-a-meeting-soon-promised-now-we-are-both-in-our-decline-this-is-no-time-to-part is the parting.

勿言一樽酒，明日难重持。

Do not scorn this one cup of wine; tomorrow it will be hard to raise it again.

不要说这一杯酒，明日难以再持杯共饮。

Do not dismiss this one cup of wine; tomorrow it will be hard to drink together again.

五六句写一樽酒难重持，是全诗送别之痛的深化。“勿言一樽酒”写不要说这一杯酒——“勿言”写不要说，“一樽酒”写一杯酒——不要说这一杯酒；“明日难重持”写明日难再持——“明日”写明日，“难重持”写难以再持杯共饮——明日难以再持。两句写一樽酒难重持：勿言一樽酒，明日难重持。以“勿言一樽酒”写眼前共饮之酒，以“明日难重持”写此别恐难再见，正是沈约写晚年送别之痛的笔法——今日一樽，明日难再。

The cup. Do not scorn this one cup of wine; tomorrow it will be hard to raise it again. The do-not-scorn-this-cup and the tomorrow-hard-to-raise-again are the sorrow. To have raised it again would be a raising; the do-not-scorn-this-one-cup-of-wine-tomorrow-it-will-be-hard-to-raise-it-again is the raising.

梦中不识路，何以慰相思。

Even in dreams I know not the way—what then can comfort my longing?

即使在梦中也不识得路径，用什么来安慰相思？

Even in dreams I cannot find the way; what can comfort this longing?

末二句写相思无慰，是全诗送别之难的归结。“梦中不识路”用《韩非子》张敏、高惠梦中迷路之典，写梦中也寻不到——“梦中不识路”写在梦中也不识得路径；“何以慰相思”写用什么来安慰相思——“何以”写用什么，“慰相思”写安慰相思。两句写相思无慰：梦中不识路，何以慰相思。以“梦中不识路”写相见之难（连梦中都难寻），以“何以慰相思”写相思无慰，正是沈约写晚年送别之难的归结——此别之后，相思难慰。

The dream. Even in dreams I know not the way—what then can comfort my longing? The dreams-know-not-the-way and the what-can-comfort-longing are the close. To have known not the way would be a not-knowing; the even-in-dreams-i-know-not-the-way-what-then-can-comfort-my-longing is the not-knowing.

Study

Word focus

易前期 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “分手易前期”之“易前期”，写轻易约定再会之期，是全诗写少年之别乐的关键词。“易”写轻易，“前期”写预定的再会之期——少年时分手，轻易约定再会之期。这一词写少年之别：不是知别之难，而是易前期；不是恐难再见，而是轻许再会。以“易前期”写少年之别，与“非复别离时”相对，正是沈约写今昔之别之难的笔法。

衰暮 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “及尔同衰暮”之“衰暮”，写衰老暮年，是全诗写晚年之别难的关键词。“衰”写衰老，“暮”写暮年——如今与你同是衰暮之年。这一词写其年之老：不是盛年之人，而是衰暮；不是可待之人，而是暮年将尽。以“衰暮”写晚年，与“少年”相对，正是沈约写晚年送别之难的笔法。

一樽酒 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “勿言一樽酒”之“一樽酒”，写一杯酒，是全诗写眼前共饮的关键词。“一樽”写一樽，“酒”写酒——不要说这一杯酒。这一词写眼前之酒：不是盛大的酒宴，而是一樽酒；不是寻常之饮，而是离别之酒。以“一樽酒”写眼前共饮，以“明日难重持”写此别之难，正是沈约写送别之痛的笔法——一樽酒尽，此别难再。

相思 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “何以慰相思”之“相思”，写相思之情，是全诗写别后之情的归结词。“相思”写彼此思念——用什么来安慰相思。这一词写别后之情：不是相聚之乐，而是相思；不是可解之情，而是难慰之思。以“何以慰相思”写相思无慰，正是沈约写送别之难的归结——别后相思，无可慰藉。