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清 Qing · 诗 Poem

东郊行

A Journey to the Eastern Suburbs

施闰章

Shi Runzhang

田园pastoral 纪行travelogue 清初early Qing

旭日散鸡豚，村墟太古风。
锦江澄夕照，野寺动疏钟。
废圃寒烟外，孤城返照中。
平生江海意，萧瑟对丹枫。

The morning sun scatters fowl and swine,
The village still keeps an archaic air.
The brocade river clears in the sunset glow,
A country temple sounds its sparse bells.
Beyond the cold mist lies the abandoned garden,
In the reflected light stands a lone city wall.
My lifelong wish for rivers and seas,
Faces the red maples in desolate stillness.

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Meaning

The poem records an evening walk through the eastern suburbs, moving from warm, rustic village scenes to cold, desolate images, and ends by voicing the poet's lifelong love of reclusion shadowed by a quiet melancholy.

朝阳下散落着鸡群与猪豚，村落里还存着太古般淳朴的风气。锦江在夕阳里澄澈如镜，野外的寺中传来疏落的钟声。荒废的园圃笼在寒烟之外，孤零的城郭映在返照之中。我平生那番江海般的闲远心意，只对着丹枫一片萧瑟。

Appreciation

The poem unfolds like a painting, passing from dawn to dusk and from village to city while its breath never breaks. The opening couplet sets a simple, archaic village mood; the middle couplets turn cool and remote, then bleak and lonely. The closing line binds feeling to scene, letting the wish for rivers and seas meet the desolate red maples, leaving a lingering aftertaste. Shi Runzhang's style is gentle and restrained, and here a hidden sorrow lies beneath the clear and distant surface.

【白话串讲】 “旭日散鸡豚，村墟太古风”——施闰章写东郊：旭日照着鸡猪，村庄有太古的淳朴。“锦江澄夕照，野寺动疏钟”——“平生江海意，萧瑟对丹枫”——他望着丹枫，心里萧瑟。【意象与手法】以淡笔写景，由暖入寒、由闹入静。澄、动、外、中诸字炼得稳；结句以情驭景，江海之意与丹枫之萧瑟相映，含蓄有余味。【情感与主旨】表面记游，实写遗民式的心境：虽爱江海闲适，却难掩易代之后的萧瑟寥落。施闰章诗风温柔敦厚，此作于清远中藏隐痛。【名句点睛】平生江海意，萧瑟对丹枫——以景结情，闲远与苍凉并出，最见清初遗民诗人的含蓄笔力。

Background

Shi Runzhang was a famous early-Qing poet whose verse prized gentleness, depth, and a quiet remoteness. This poem was likely written on an outing to the eastern suburbs after a time of peace; amid the pastoral stillness it quietly conveys the aloof, self-contained mood of a literatus after the dynastic change.

施闰章字尚白，号愚山，宣城人，清初著名诗人，与宋琬并称「南施北宋」。顺治进士，康熙朝举博学鸿词，授翰林院侍讲，诗风温柔敦厚，近王维、孟浩然、韦应物、柳宗元一脉。清初易代，江南士人多怀出处两难之心，施闰章虽出仕新朝，诗中却常含易代之后的萧瑟寥落与江海闲远之思，于清远中藏隐痛。《东郊行》写诗人暮游东郊所见：村墟古风、锦江夕照、野寺疏钟、废圃寒烟、孤城返照，终以「平生江海意，萧瑟对丹枫」收束。东郊之地、暮行之景，本极寻常，诗人却于乡村质朴与江山清远之间，暗寄遗民式的心境——虽爱江海闲适，而难掩时代转换后的落寞。此诗正见清初文人「仕」与「隐」夹缝中的典型抒情，是施闰章温柔敦厚诗风的代表作之一。施闰章字尚白，号愚山，宣城人，清初诗人，与宋琬并称「南施北宋」。顺治进士，康熙朝举博学鸿词，授翰林。诗风温柔敦厚，近王孟韦柳一脉。清初易代，江南士人多怀出处两难之心，施闰章虽出仕新朝，诗中却常含易代之后的萧瑟寥落与江海闲远之思。《东郊行》写暮游东郊所见，于乡村古朴与江山清远之间，暗寄遗民式的心境，是施闰章温柔敦厚诗风的代表作之一。

Art

The four couplets read like a scroll, moving from morning to evening and from village to city, shifting space yet keeping a continuous spirit. The wording is exact and apt, and scene-speech carries feeling-speech, echoing the leisurely plainness of Wang Wei and Meng Haoran.

此诗八句四联，以淡笔写暮行，章法由暖入寒、由闹入静、由景入情，层次井然。首联「旭日散鸡豚，村墟太古风」以朝阳、鸡豚点出乡村的质朴古风，暖意可掬；颔联「锦江澄夕照，野寺动疏钟」转写景气清远，江澄如镜、寺钟疏落，视听相生；颈联「废圃寒烟外，孤城返照中」由暖转凉，废圃孤城笼于寒烟返照，苍凉渐生；尾联「平生江海意，萧瑟对丹枫」直抒胸臆，以情驭景作结。通篇炼字稳切，「澄」「动」「外」「中」诸字各得其所；结句以景结情，江海之意与丹枫之萧瑟相映，闲远中见落寞，含蓄有余味。全诗不事雕绘而气韵圆融，是清初五律「清而不薄、远而不晦」的范本。此诗八句四联，以淡笔写暮行，章法由暖入寒、由闹入静、由景入情，层次井然。首联以朝阳鸡豚点出乡村质朴古风；颔联转写景气清远，江澄如镜、寺钟疏落，视听相生；颈联由暖转凉，废圃孤城笼于寒烟返照，苍凉渐生；尾联直抒胸臆，以情驭景作结。通篇炼字稳切，结句以景结情，江海之意与丹枫之萧瑟相映，闲远中见落寞，含蓄有余味，是清初五律「清而不薄」的范本。

Allusions

The 'wish for rivers and seas' refers to a heart that withdraws into leisure and scorns fame and gain, drawn from the Zhuangzi's 'men of rivers and seas.' The 'archaic air' compares the simple folk customs to those of remote antiquity.

诗中用典虽少而皆有渊源。其一为「太古风」，太古本指远古之世，《礼记》有「太古之礼」之说，诗人以「太古风」形容村墟中存留的淳朴古风，暗用陶渊明「乃不知有汉，无论魏晋」的桃源意趣，以古朴反衬世变之剧。其二为「江海意」，化用「江海寄余生」「江海之士」之典，指隐退闲远之志，渊源自《庄子》「相忘于江湖」与后世「江海客」之称，写己身向往林泉的心事。其三为「丹枫」，枫叶经霜而红，自古为秋士迟暮、羁客思归的象征（如「枫叶荻花秋瑟瑟」），诗人以「萧瑟对丹枫」将身世之凉与物候之红相映。三处用事皆融化入景，不落迹相，正见施闰章「辞近旨远」的使事之妙，使寻常暮行兼具文化厚度。诗中用典皆有渊源：「太古风」形容村墟中存留的淳朴古风，暗用陶渊明桃源意趣，以古朴反衬世变之剧；「江海意」化用「江海寄余生」之典，指隐退闲远之志，渊源自《庄子》「相忘于江湖」与后世「江海客」之称；「丹枫」经霜而红，自古为秋士迟暮、羁客思归的象征，以「萧瑟对丹枫」将身世之凉与物候之红相映。三处用事皆融化入景，不落迹相，正见施闰章「辞近旨远」的使事之妙。

Commentary

Shi Runzhang and Song Wan were paired as 'Southern Shi, Northern Song.' This poem is plain yet solitary and taut, showing his line of pure and true song.

《东郊行》是施闰章五律中清远含蓄的佳作，素为论者所许。其胜处在能以极淡之笔写极深之心：不假奇警、不事铺张，仅以鸡豚、夕照、疏钟、寒烟、丹枫诸象，便将清初士人仕隐之间的寥落心境和盘托出。前人谓施诗「温柔敦厚，一唱三叹」，此诗正见其「厚」——表面记游，内里却是易代之后「萧瑟对丹枫」的遗民式低徊。结句「平生江海意，萧瑟对丹枫」以景结情，闲远与苍凉并出，最见清初诗人含蓄的笔力，与王士禛「神韵」之说异曲而同工。较之盛唐王维的冲淡、韦应物的清空，此诗多一层时代转换的隐痛；较之同代宋琬的雄健，又见施氏特有的温润。其为后世选家所重，正在于将政治变局中的个人怅惘，凝为可触可感的清远小景，是清初抒情诗不可多得的精品。《东郊行》是施闰章五律中清远含蓄的佳作。其胜处在能以极淡之笔写极深之心：仅以鸡豚、夕照、疏钟、寒烟、丹枫诸象，便将清初士人仕隐之间的寥落心境和盘托出。前人谓施诗「温柔敦厚，一唱三叹」，此诗正见其厚——表面记游，内里却是易代之后「萧瑟对丹枫」的遗民式低徊。结句以景结情，闲远与苍凉并出，最见清初诗人含蓄的笔力，是清初抒情诗不可多得的精品。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse (lüshi)五言律诗

Rhyme Rhyme category not specified in the source; the poem follows the conventional tonal and rhyme pattern of five-character lüshi.风、钟、中、枫，平水韵上平一东/二冬通押（风东、钟冬、中东京、枫东），首句入韵，二四六八句押韵

Tone pattern The second and third couplets are antithetical (parallel).平起首句入韵式。首联「旭日散鸡豚，村墟太古风」平仄为「仄仄仄平平，平平仄仄平」；颔联「锦江澄夕照，野寺动疏钟」、颈联「废圃寒烟外，孤城返照中」对仗工整

Reading note A five-character regulated verse that contrasts the quiet of village and temple with the desolation of abandoned garden and lone city, closing on the reclusive wish before red maples—understated yet faintly free and sparse, a small landscape poem of Yushan.此诗为五律正宗，声律严谨而气韵清远。首句「旭日散鸡豚」平起入韵，「旭」「日」皆入声仄收，起笔以两仄挟一平，先立质朴促节；次句「村墟太古风」平收东韵，古风之气入律，起手便定温厚基调。颔联「锦江澄夕照，野寺动疏钟」平仄为「仄平平仄仄，仄仄仄平平」，澄对动、夕照对疏钟，词性相俪而声情相协，清远之景与东冬通押的悠长韵脚相得益彰。颈联「废圃寒烟外，孤城返照中」以「外」对「中」、以「废圃」对「孤城」，虽「寒烟外」「返照中」为方位结构，对仗略宽而情致相称，不失律度。尾联「平生江海意，萧瑟对丹枫」仄平收放，以「枫」字平收一韵到底，余音如疏钟远逝。全诗八句四联，中二联对仗工稳而不板滞，用韵温厚，是清初五律声情与闲远寥落之怀相生的典范。

Line by line

锦江澄夕照，野寺动疏钟。

The brocade river clears in the sunset; a country temple stirs its sparse bells.

锦江在夕阳里澄澈如镜，野外的寺中传来疏落的钟声

The Brocade River lies clear in the evening glow; from a country temple comes the scattered striking of a bell.

此联为全诗景气清远之眼，视听交织，最见施闰章「清而不薄」的家数。「锦江澄夕照」写江水在夕阳中澄澈如镜，一个「澄」字炼得极稳，既状水色之清，亦含心境之静，夕照之暖与江面之澄相映，是一幅清远的暮江图；「野寺动疏钟」写寺钟疏落、声动野郊，一个「动」字以声破静，使静景顿生活意，与「澄」之静相生。二句一水一寺、一视一听、一静一动，对仗工稳而气韵圆融，将东郊暮行的清远之境写到极处。更深层看，「澄」之闲与「疏」之淡，暗寓诗人江海闲远之心，与尾联「平生江海意」遥相呼应，是景中已伏情脉的范例，亦施氏近王维、韦应物一脉的明证。

The couplet is the eye of the poem's clear, far-reaching scene, sight and sound interwoven, showing best the school of Shi Runzhang, clear yet not thin. The Brocade River lies clear in the evening glow: the river in the sunset, clear as a mirror; the word clear is laid with exquisite steadiness, writing at once the limpid water and the quiet mind, the warmth of the afterglow and the clearness of the stream mirroring each other, a clear, far picture of the evening river. From a country temple comes the scattered striking of a bell: the temple's sparse bell stirring the wilds; the word moving breaks stillness with sound, giving the quiet scene sudden life, responding to the stillness of clear. Two lines: one water, one temple; one sight, one sound; one still, one moving; the couplet matched yet the breath harmonious, writing to the utmost the clear, far realm of the evening walk east of the city. Seen more deeply, the leisure of clear and the lightness of sparse secretly lodge the poet's own far, unworldly heart, echoing the lifelong longing for rivers and seas of the closing couplet, the model of feeling already planted within scene; it is also the clear proof of the poet's descent from Wang Wei and Wei Yingwu.

平生江海意，萧瑟对丹枫。

My lifelong wish for rivers and seas faces the red maples in desolate stillness.

我平生那番江海般的闲远心意，只对着丹枫一片萧瑟

My lifelong longing for the rivers and seas — now I face it, alone, amid the bleak maples.

此联为全篇之结，以景结情，闲远与苍凉并出，是施闰章含蓄笔力的集中体现。「平生江海意」总括诗人平生的隐退闲远之志，渊源自「江海寄余生」之想，写其向慕林泉的本心；「萧瑟对丹枫」则以秋枫之红、萧瑟之凉收束，将抽象的「江海意」落为具体的对景之姿。一个「对」字极妙——人独立而枫萧瑟，物我相照，闲远之心竟只能与秋色相对，孤独与寥落尽在不言中。此句上承前文废圃寒烟、孤城返照的苍凉，将易代之后士人仕隐两难、无可归依的隐痛，凝为一片丹枫的静对。不直说悲，而悲自见；不直说隐，而隐意显，正是清初诗人「辞近旨远」的典型结法，余味悠长。

The couplet is the close of the whole, emotion closed in scene, leisure and desolate bleakness together, the concentrated showing of Shi Runzhang's restrained power. My lifelong longing for the rivers and seas sums up the poet's lifelong will to withdrawal and far wandering, descending from the thought of spending my remaining years by the rivers and seas, writing his inborn admiration for the woods and springs. Now I face it, alone, amid the bleak maples: the red autumn maples and the bleak cold close the line, turning the abstract longing for rivers and seas into the concrete posture of facing the scene. The word face is exquisite: the man stands alone and the maples are bleak, object and self mirroring each other, the far heart able only to face the autumn colors; loneliness and desolation lie between the lines. The line follows the desolation of abandoned gardens and cold mist, of the lone city and returned glow, condensing the hidden pain of the early-Qing scholar, after the dynastic change, for whom office and withdrawal are equally impossible, into the quiet facing of a sea of red maples. Not speaking grief, yet grief appears; not speaking withdrawal, yet the will to withdraw shows: the typical close of early-Qing poetry, words near and meaning far, long aftertone.

Study

Word focus

疏钟 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「疏钟」是诗中炼声之眼，亦清远意境的声符。疏者，稀落也，与「繁」「急」相对，写野寺钟声之断续悠远、不迫不促。施闰章以「野寺动疏钟」写暮郊钟声，一个「动」字以声破静，使静谧的野寺、澄澈的锦江顿生活意，而「疏」字更添几分萧散出尘之致，恰合僧人野寺、江海闲远之境。此词承王维「古木无人径，深山何处钟」、韦应物「遥比拟山僧，独坐鸣钟早」的钟声传统，以钟声写空寂，是唐宋清远诗脉在清初的回响。更深一层，「疏钟」之疏淡与诗人「江海意」之闲远同构，景之声即心之声，炼一字而景情俱活，是施氏「一字妥帖，通体生辉」的练字范例。

萧瑟 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「萧瑟」是篇末结情之眼，本状秋风寒木之声（如「秋风萧瑟」），后引申为凄凉寥落之心境。施闰章以「萧瑟对丹枫」收束全篇，将前文锦江澄照、野寺疏钟的清远，终归于一片秋色的凄凉——丹枫虽红，而「萧瑟」二字已定冷调，物之艳反衬心之凉。此词之妙在双关：既写丹枫在秋风中的摇落之态，更写诗人平生江海之志无处安放的寥落之感，景之萧瑟与心之萧瑟合一。与首联「太古风」的暖、颔联「澄夕照」的明相较，「萧瑟」如一声低徊的尾音，使全诗由暖入寒的脉络于此收束。一字之中，时代之凉、身世之孤、秋气之肃并出，是清初抒情诗以景写哀、含蓄见骨的炼字典范。

东郊行