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南北朝 Northern and Southern Dynasties · 诗 Poem

相送

Seeing a Friend Off

何逊

He Xun

离别/抒情parting and lyric feeling 爱情/相思love and longing

客心已百念，孤游重千里。
江暗雨欲来，浪白风初起。

The traveller's heart already holds a hundred cares; a lone journey adds a thousand miles more.
The river darkens, the rain is about to come; the waves whiten, the wind has just begun to rise.

Listen

Meaning

The heart of a man living far from home already carries a thousand kinds of sorrow, and now a solitary journey adds a thousand miles to the distance. The face of the river grows dark and a sudden rain is about to fall; white waves are tumbling up and a strong wind has only just begun to rise.

客居之心已千万般愁绪，孤身远游更添千里之遥。江面昏暗、骤雨将要来临，白浪翻涌、劲风刚刚吹起。

Appreciation

Twenty characters, and the whole weight of a parting. The first couplet states it directly: a traveller's heart already holds a hundred cares, and a lone journey adds a thousand miles more, where 'already' and 'adds' pile the sorrow one stage higher. The second couplet says nothing about feeling at all and closes on scene: the river darkens as rain gathers, the waves whiten as the wind first rises. The contrast of dark and white, and the tension of weather on the point of breaking, do all the work, so that the word sorrow never appears and sorrow fills the page. Feeling stated and scene described hold each other; the parallelism is firm enough to foreshadow Tang regulated lines, and He Xun's hard-won plainness already opens the world of the Tang five-character quatrain.

【白话串讲】 “客心已百念，孤游重千里。江暗雨欲来，浪白风初起”——何逊送别朋友：客心百念，孤游千里。江暗雨来，浪白风起。二十个字，把离别的阴郁写得恰到好处。【意象与手法】此诗以极简笔墨写极浓别情。首联「客心已百念，孤游重千里」直抒羁旅之累与行程之遥，「已」「重」二字递进愁绪；后联「江暗雨欲来，浪白风初起」转而以景结情，江天昏暗、风雨将至、白浪初涌，以凄清之景烘衬孤客之心，不着一「愁」字而愁思满纸。虚实相生：前叙情、后写景，情景互藏；对仗工稳（暗—白、雨—风、欲来—初起），已具律句雏形。【情感与主旨】何逊（？—约518），南朝梁诗人，与阴铿并称「阴何」，对唐律影响甚巨。《相送》为其送别小诗，具体本事未详，约作于梁武帝天监间仕宦羁旅、与友相别之际。全诗仅二十字，却于江雨欲来、白浪初起的苍茫中，写尽客中孤游、千里送别的怅惘。【名句点睛】常选此短章考查「以景结情」与「炼字」。典型题：①「已」「重」二字如何递进愁绪；②「暗」「白」的色彩对举；③末二句以景结情的作用。

Background

He Xun (died about 518) was a poet of the Liang dynasty in the south, named together with Yin Keng as the pair 'Yin and He', and had great influence on Tang regulated verse. Seeing a Friend Off is a short parting poem of his; the particular occasion is not known, but it was written about the Tianjian years of Emperor Wu of Liang, when he was serving away from home and took leave of a friend. The whole poem runs to only twenty characters, yet in the grey expanse of a river about to be struck by rain and of white waves just beginning to rise it writes out the whole desolation of a lonely traveller sending a friend a thousand miles away. Short poems of the Six Dynasties are mostly ornate, but this one wins by sparseness and strength, already opening the realm of the Tang five-character quatrain, and it is an important specimen for the study of the passage from Southern Dynasties verse to early Tang regulated poetry.

何逊（？—约518），字仲言，东海郯（今山东郯城）人，南朝梁诗人，与阴铿并称「阴何」。何逊出身官宦之家，八岁能赋诗，弱冠举州秀才，然仕途并不得意：历官奉朝请、建安王水曹行参军兼记室、庐陵王记室等职，皆位卑职微，长期漂泊于荆、扬、江州等地，晚年客死他乡。其诗长于写景抒情，风格清丽工巧，尤善炼字，杜甫尝称「能诗何水部」（何逊曾为水部郎），李白亦有效何逊之作。《相送》为其送别小诗，具体本事未详，约作于梁武帝天监年间（502—519）仕宦羁旅、与友相别之际。南朝文士多宦游四方，送别诗蔚为大观，然多长篇铺叙、辞采秾丽；何逊此诗仅二十字，却于江雨欲来、白浪初起的苍茫中，写尽客中孤游、千里送别的怅惘，以疏淡苍劲取胜，已开唐人五绝之境。六朝小诗多绮靡，此作独以简净出之，是研究南朝至初唐律诗过渡的重要标本——其对仗之工、炼字之精、以景结情之法，皆预示了近体诗的到来。

Art

The poem writes the densest parting feeling with the sparest brush. The first couplet, 'The traveller's heart already holds a hundred cares; a lone journey adds a thousand miles more', states directly the weariness of travel and the length of the road, and the words 'already' and 'adds' raise the sorrow by stages. The second couplet, 'The river darkens, the rain is about to come; the waves whiten, the wind has just begun to rise', turns instead to close on scene: with the sky over the water darkening, wind and rain on the point of arriving and white waves first surging, a bleak prospect sets off a lonely heart, and though the word sorrow is never written the page is full of it. Substance and emptiness generate each other, feeling stated first and scene described after, each hidden within the other. The parallelism is firm and well made, with dark against white, rain against wind and about to come against just begun, so that the germ of the regulated line is already present, showing the polishing labour for which the pair Yin and He were known.

此诗艺术上最突出的特点，是以极简笔墨写极浓别情，二十字而情景互藏、虚实相生。首联「客心已百念，孤游重千里」直抒羁旅之累与行程之遥：「客心」点出游子身份，「百念」写愁绪之纷至沓来，「已」字写愁之多——未行已百念，愁自心头生；「孤游」写独行无伴，「重千里」写行程之遥，「重」字双关，既写「千里」之遥在孤游者心中更觉其重，又写离愁之层层加码。后联「江暗雨欲来，浪白风初起」转而以景结情：江天昏暗、骤雨将至，白浪翻涌、劲风初起——以「暗」「白」的色彩对举写风雨欲来之势，以「欲来」「初起」写气象之将发未发，把送别时的阴郁氛围烘托到极致。前叙情、后写景，情是虚、景是实，情景互藏：前联之「愁」由后联之「景」印证，后联之「景」由前联之「愁」灌注，不着一「愁」字而愁思满纸。全诗对仗工稳（暗—白、雨—风、欲来—初起），已具律句雏形，正是「阴何」锤炼之功。再就「以小见大」言，二十字写一次送别，而境界不限于一时一地：「客心百念」写游子之心，「孤游千里」写行路之远，「江暗」「浪白」写天地之变，由心及身、由身及天，层层推开，把个人别愁置于苍茫江天之下，遂使小诗有大气象；而「欲来」「初起」的临界笔法，更把离别定格在「将别未别」的瞬间，如摄影之凝影，余味尽在画外，正是六朝小诗「以少总多」的极致。

Allusions

This is a poem made directly from the scene and the feeling before it, and it uses no obvious out-of-the-way allusion. 'The traveller's heart' continues the parting tradition of Jiang Yan's Rhapsody on Parting, which begins by saying that what darkens the soul is parting and parting alone; 'a hundred cares' states the tangle of the sorrow; 'a lone journey' answers the old poems' sighs over the solitary soul. Although it does not employ historical matter, it is quietly connected with the whole lineage of Southern Dynasties parting literature. Its excellence lies precisely in an allusion made of no allusion, writing the parting feeling of all ages through the most ordinary sights of a river journey, which is the seemingly commonplace that is in fact most remarkable, and shows how He Xun's painstaking craft returns at last to what looks natural.

本诗为即景即情之作，无明显僻典，而以「无典之典」取胜。「客心」承江淹《别赋》「黯然销魂者，唯别而已矣」的送别传统——《别赋》为南朝送别文学之总纲，何逊此诗正是其「销魂」之意的短章化；「百念」状离愁之纷，语本乐府「念君客游思断肠」之思，写愁绪之多如百念丛集；「孤游」呼应古诗「孤客」「孤魂」之叹，写独行无伴之悲。「重千里」之「重」或解为「更」，谓孤游更增千里之遥，语本《楚辞·远游》「路曼曼其修远兮」之叹。虽不使事用典，却暗与六朝送别文学脉络相通。其妙正在于「无典之典」——以寻常江行景象写透千古离情，所谓「看似寻常最奇崛」，是何逊「苦吟」而归于自然的体现，亦见南朝小诗由辞采转向意境、由用典转向白描的演进趋势。又，「客心」之「客」字含漂泊之根，承《楚辞》「悲莫悲兮生别离」的别离母题与汉乐府「客从远方来」的客愁传统；「孤游」与「重千里」相配，暗合曹植《赠白马王彪》「丈夫志四海，万里犹比邻」之反写——志士虽云四海为家，而孤游千里，终不免离愁，正见何逊于传统语汇中翻出新境的功力。

Commentary

Shen Deqian included this poem in Sources of Ancient Poetry and said that 'beyond the river and the hills there is nothing at all, and yet the feeling is already deep'. Ji Yougong of the Song, in Recorded Occasions of Tang Poetry, records Du Fu's praise of the man who could write poetry, the officer of the Water Bureau, since He Xun once held that post. Liu Xizai, in Outlines of Art, said that 'Yin and He are named together, but He is the more clear and far-reaching'. Modern discussions of the bridge from the Six Dynasties to Tang regulated verse always cite He Xun. Wang Fuzhi admired the way that 'within twenty characters there is the momentum of a thousand miles'. Both Li Bai and Du Fu were influenced by him, and Du Fu's lines on dark water flowing along the flowered path and spring stars girdling the thatched hall are close in construction to He Xun's sparse manner.

历代评家于此诗及何逊诗评价甚高。沈德潜《古诗源》录此诗，谓「江山之外，别无所有，而情已深」，正指出其以景写情之妙。宋人计有功《唐诗纪事》载杜甫「能诗何水部」之叹，可见何逊对杜甫影响之深。清人刘熙载《艺概》称「阴何并称，何尤清远」，以「清远」二字评何逊诗风，此诗正是其注脚——二十字中，情清而景远。王夫之《姜斋诗话》赏其「二十字中，有千里之势」，谓其以短章写无限之境。近人论六朝至唐律之桥，必举何逊：其诗对仗之工、炼字之精、以景结情之法，皆为律诗之先声，此诗尤见其过渡之功。李白《秋浦歌》、杜甫「暗水流花径，春星带草堂」等句法颇近何逊疏淡之风，足见其对唐诗影响之深远。从诗律史看，此诗的价值尤在「过渡」二字：其前，六朝五言小诗（如《子夜吴歌》）多口语白描、不拘对仗；其后，唐人五绝（如王之涣《登鹳雀楼》、李白《静夜思》）讲求对仗凝练、以景结情。何逊此诗正处于两者之间——既有民歌的质直，又有近体的工整，恰是「古体近律」的活标本。杜甫「星垂平野阔，月涌大江流」之壮阔、「暗水流花径」之疏淡，皆可溯至此诗一脉，足见其在五绝发展史上的枢纽地位。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain (a Southern Dynasties short poem, close to Tang regulated verse)五言绝句（南朝小诗，近唐律）

Rhyme Old style close to regulated verse, rhyming on the second and fourth lines in the rising tone押上声韵，韵脚「里」「起」二字（上声纸、荠韵相叶），首句不入韵。

Tone pattern Already showing the germ of regulated parallel lines古体近律：首联「客心已百念，孤游重千里」为平平仄仄仄、平平仄平仄，对仗已具雏形；后联「江暗雨欲来，浪白风初起」为平仄仄仄平、仄仄平平仄，对仗工稳（暗—白、雨—风、欲来—初起），平仄大体谐调，已具律句对仗雏形。

Reading note A representative work of He Xun, showing the polishing of the pair Yin and He and the transition from the Southern Dynasties to Tang regulated verse.此诗为五言绝句，属南朝小诗，体制上介于古体与近体之间，已具律句对仗雏形，是研究南朝至唐律诗过渡的重要标本。全诗四句二十字，押上声韵（里、起），首句不入韵。首联直抒「客心」「孤游」之情，后联转写「江暗」「浪白」之景，情在前、景在后，以景结情，情景交融，正是后世五绝「前情后景、以景结情」章法的先声。对仗上，后联「江暗雨欲来，浪白风初起」暗—白、雨—风、欲来—初起工整相对，色彩、物象、动态一一对应，已完全合于律句对仗的要求；首联「客心」对「孤游」、「百念」对「千里」亦大体工整。平仄上，虽尚不拘近体严律，然声调已趋谐调，诵读朗朗上口。何逊以其对仗、炼字、以景结情之功，为五言绝句由古体入近体铺平道路，此诗正是其过渡价值最集中的体现。

Line by line

客心已百念，孤游重千里。

A traveler's heart holds a hundred thoughts; lonely wandering weighs a thousand li more.

客居之心已千万般愁绪，孤身远游更添千里之遥。

A traveler's heart already holds a hundred cares; lonely travel adds a thousand more li.

首联直抒羁旅之愁，是全诗情感的总起。「客心已百念」：客居之心，已有百般念虑——「客心」点出游子身份，一「客」字即含漂泊无根之意；「百念」写愁绪之纷至沓来，念家、念友、念前程，百念丛集；「已」字最有力，写未行已愁、愁自心生。「孤游重千里」：孤身远游，更添千里之遥——「孤游」写独行无伴，「重」字双关，既写「千里」在孤游者心中愈显其重，又写离愁层层加码，孤与远相济，愁更深一层。两句一「已」一「重」，递进愁绪：已百念矣，更重千里，愁上加愁，把羁旅之累、行程之遥写到极致，为后联写景蓄势。

The traveler. A traveler's heart holds a hundred thoughts; lonely wandering weighs a thousand li more. The traveler's-heart-hundred-thoughts and the lonely-wandering-thousand-li are the opening. To have held a hundred thoughts would be a holding; the a-traveler's-heart-holds-a-hundred-thoughts-lonely-wandering-weighs-a-thousand-li-more is the holding.

江暗雨欲来，浪白风初起。

The river darkens, rain about to fall; waves whiten, the wind just risen.

江面昏暗、骤雨将要来临，白浪翻涌、劲风刚刚吹起。

The river darkens, rain about to come; the waves whiten, the wind just rising.

后联转以景结情，是全诗的收束，也是千古传诵的写景名句。「江暗雨欲来」：江面昏暗，骤雨将至——「暗」写天色江色之晦暗，雨意沉沉，压人心头；「欲来」写雨之将发未发，张力十足。「浪白风初起」：白浪翻涌，劲风初起——「白」写浪花之色，与「暗」对举，暗天白浪，色彩对比鲜明；「初起」写风之乍起，风波骤兴。两句以「暗—白」「雨—风」「欲来—初起」工整对仗，写风雨欲来的苍茫江景，正烘衬孤客之心：江愈暗、浪愈白，行路愈艰、离愁愈重。不着一「愁」字而愁思满纸，以景结情、情景交融，正是「二十字中，有千里之势」的收束，亦见南朝小诗炼字对仗之功。

The storm. The river darkens, rain about to fall; waves whiten, the wind just risen. The river-darkens-rain-about-fall and the waves-whiten-wind-risen are the close. To have darkened would be a darkening; the the-river-darkens-rain-about-to-fall-waves-whiten-the-wind-just-risen is the darkening.

Study

Word focus

已/重 The two adverbs advance by stages, so that the sorrow of travel is loaded on layer by layer. 「客心已百念，孤游重千里」之「已」「重」二字，是首联递进愁绪的关键字眼，也是全诗炼字之始。「已」训「已经」，写愁之先在：未及远行，客心已百念丛生——愁非因行而起，而是客居之人本已积愁，一「已」字见愁之深、之早。「重」字双关：一解作「更、更加」，谓孤游使千里之遥更觉其远，愁因孤而加重；一解作「沉重」，谓千里行程在孤游者心中重压千钧。二字相配，「已」写愁之既有，「重」写愁之加码，由「已」而「重」，层层递进，把羁旅之愁写到不能再深。以两个虚字写尽愁之量与度，正是何逊「炼字入微」的功力，亦为后世律诗炼虚字之法开先。

暗/白 The paired colours use darkness and snow-white to bring out the force of wind and rain about to break. 「江暗雨欲来，浪白风初起」之「暗」「白」二字，是全诗色彩对举的枢纽，以色彩写气象、以气象写心境。「暗」写江天之晦暗——骤雨将至，天色阴沉，江面昏黑，一「暗」字写尽压抑氛围，亦暗合离人心头之阴翳；「白」写浪花之雪白——劲风初起，白浪翻涌，一「白」字在「暗」色背景上如刀光一闪，触目惊心。二字对举，暗天白浪，色彩对比强烈：暗是压、白是动，暗写雨意沉沉，白写风波骤起，风雨欲来之势毕现。而此景正是送别之时、孤游之路——江暗喻前程未卜，浪白喻风波险恶，以景写情、以色传心，二字而境界全出，是「阴何」炼字以对仗见工的典范。

欲来/初起 These phrases catch a state of weather that is about to break and has not yet broken, and are full of tension. 「江暗雨欲来，浪白风初起」之「欲来」「初起」，写气象之将发未发，是全诗张力的所在。「欲来」写雨之将至未至——天已暗而雨未落，悬而未决，最是压人；「初起」写风之乍起方兴——浪已白而风初动，方兴未艾，最是惊心。四字皆写「将变未变」的临界状态：不是已来的风雨，而是欲来初起的风雨，恰如离人将别未别的心境——愁已满而别未行，悬而未决、欲诉还休。此四字又以工对出之（欲来对初起），虚字相对而动态十足，把一瞬间的气象变化定格为永恒的画面，正是何逊「状难写之景，如在目前」的本领，亦为唐人「以景结情」之法导夫先路。

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