宋 Song · 诗 Poem
上享郊庙 享庙
Offering at the Imperial Ancestral Temple
瑞雪清晨集，丹墀发策初。
德音闻彻盖，玉色望升车。
羽卫排阊阖，晴光溢紫虚。
琳宫陈玉币，疏屏宿旌旟。
祼献多仪备，弦匏九变徐。
太宫无盛举，掌次省先除。
灵鉴纷昭格，天心不自舒。
孝慈更答告，万福此攸储。
The virtuous sound is heard through the canopies; with jade-like countenance he ascends the chariot.
Plumed guards line the gate of Heaven; clear light overflows the purple void.
In the jasper palace are laid jade and silk; behind the lattice screens rest the banners and flags.
The libation and offerings are complete in every rite; strings and gourd flutes play the nine changes slowly.
The imperial pantry makes no lavish display; the Chamberlain of Tents has earlier reduced and removed.
Spiritual mirrors throng and brightly respond; the Heart of Heaven does not yet ease itself.
With filial piety and love we answer and report; ten thousand blessings are stored herein.
Meaning
This poem records an imperial ancestral-temple ritual held on a snowy winter morning. It follows the ceremony step by step: the auspicious snowfall, the reading of the ritual document, the emperor mounting his carriage, the array of guards, the offering of jade and silk, the slow performance of ninefold music, and a deliberate restraint in provisions. It concludes with the spirits responding to the sacrifice and the hope that filial devotion will accumulate myriad blessings. The poem combines courtly grandeur with a quiet admonition to frugality.
清早落了一场好雪，宫前的红阶上，祭礼的文册刚刚展读。德音随着乐声传透华盖，仰头望见皇帝玉一般的容色登上法驾。羽林环卫排开在阊阖天门之前，晴日的光华漫溢于紫虚高空。琳宫里陈设着玉璧与束帛，疏屏之上还留着昨夜驻宿的旌旗。祼祭进献，繁复的仪节一一齐备；弦管与匏笙奏起九成之乐，徐缓悠长。太官署并不铺张盛设，掌次之官早已省减、先行撤去多余排场。神灵的明鉴纷纷昭临，上天的慈心却仍未能自安；唯凭孝与慈去应答这次祷告，万般福泽，全都在此处蓄积。
Appreciation
A fine example of the court hymn, this poem employs straightforward narrative and ceremonial images. The opening couplet sets both time and auspicious sign; the middle couplets expand from the emperor's person to the heavenly precincts, vividly pairing sound and sight. The seventh couplet turns inward, showing a Heaven that is not yet at ease, thereby investing the outward rite with inner sincerity. The line 'The imperial pantry makes no lavish display' is especially weighty, inserting a moral note into ritual splendor and revealing the poet's conviction that the essence of ceremony lies in sincerity, not extravagance.
【白话串讲】 张方平写郊庙祭祀：“瑞雪清晨集，丹墀发策初”——瑞雪清晨。“羽卫排阊阖，晴光溢紫虚”——“琳宫陈玉币”——他写皇家祭祀的庄严。 【意象与手法】全诗以雪、丹墀、华盖、玉色、羽卫、阊阖、紫虚、琳宫、玉币、旌旟、弦匏、九变、太官、掌次、灵鉴、天心一串庙堂意象织成，几乎无一字涉私情。手法上是典型的赋体铺陈，依典礼次第逐联推进，由晨雪而发策，由升车而排卫，由陈币而祼献，由乐变而省除，最后归到天心与孝慈。红（丹墀）与紫（紫虚）相映，光（晴光、玉色）与声（德音、弦匏）相生，庄重而温润。 【情感与主旨】表面写郊庙之礼的整肃，深处却有一层克己恤下的用意。太宫无盛举、掌次省先除二句，特意写出典礼的俭约，暗示礼之本在诚不在奢；灵鉴纷昭格、天心不自舒则把天写得可感可通，末以孝慈答告收束，主旨落在以帝王之孝慈感格上天、储祉万方。这是一首颂中有箴的庙堂之作。 【名句点睛】「太宫无盛举，掌次省先除」于满篇繁文缛节中忽然写入俭德，是全诗最有重量的两句，可见颂圣之中未忘讽喻；「灵鉴纷昭格，天心不自舒」把不可见的天意写得如人般有待安慰，虚处传神，较之前六联的实写尤见笔力。
Background
Zhang Fangping (1007–1091), courtesy name Andao, was a Song dynasty statesman and writer. Orphaned young, he studied the Three Histories from borrowed books and became known for his outspokenness and fiscal expertise, serving under Renzong, Yingzong, and Shenzong. He opposed the New Policies in his later years. His collected works, the Lequan Ji, contain many court and ritual poems, reflecting his involvement in state ceremonies. This poem belongs to the tradition of ancestral-temple hymns stemming from the Zhou dynasty 'Hymns of Zhou' and later developed in the Han and Tang dynasties. In the Song, such poems were often composed by court officials for major rites, and a snowfall during the winter sacrifice was considered a heavenly blessing.
张方平（一〇〇七至一〇九一），字安道，号乐全居士，宋州宋城人。少孤贫，借书三史，过目成诵；举茂材异等，历知昆山、睦州、益州，入为翰林学士、御史中丞，官至参知政事，以太子太保致仕，谥文定，苏轼为撰墓志铭。他历仕仁宗、英宗、神宗三朝，以议论敢言、长于财计著称，晚年力诋新法。其诗文四十卷名《乐全集》，于唐宋诗选中不甚显，然集中颇多郊庙、朝会、应制之作，足见其尝预国家大礼。 郊庙之诗，源出《诗经》之《周颂》与《鲁颂》，汉魏以降列为乐府歌辞，至唐有《郊庙歌辞》专类，宋因唐制，南郊、明堂、太庙各有乐章，多由词臣撰进。仁宗朝礼乐屡修，郊祀尤重，大雪而祭尤被视作天贶之祥。此诗题作「上享郊庙·享庙」，享庙谓以活礼享献于太庙，与南郊祭天相对，属吉礼中之大者。 张方平作此诗，时在朝列，所咏当为某次冬雪中赴太庙行享礼的实录。诗中丹墀、升车、羽卫、琳宫、玉币、祼献、九变、掌次，无一字无来历，皆典礼固有之名物，故可读作一篇以韵语写成的礼图。其价值正在于以诗笔存一代郊庙之容，使后人得由字句想见北宋太庙行礼时光景。
Art
The poem is distinguished by its straightforward, descriptive style without metaphorical ornament. It follows the ritual sequence in strict order: time and beginning, sound and countenance, guards and light, offerings and music, and finally spiritual response and blessing—each couplet handling one stage of the ceremony. The poet skillfully balances visual and auditory imagery, such as red steps against purple void, jade color against clear light, and the sounds of virtue against strings and gourd flutes. Dense allusions drawn from the Rites of Zhou and classical texts are woven seamlessly into the description. The concluding couplet shifts from concrete detail to the inner significance of the rite, elevating the ceremonial splendor to an act of sincere filial communication with Heaven.
此诗最显著的特征是赋体直陈、不假比兴。八联之中，几乎全用叙述与描写铺排典礼程序，首联写时与启，颔联写声与容，颈联写卫与光，腹联写陈设与乐舞，尾联写感格与祈福，次序严整如礼官所执之仪注，这是庙堂颂体一贯的作法。 次在色彩与感官的调度。红阶（丹墀）对紫虚，玉色对晴光，德音（听）对弦匏（听），旌旟（视）对灵鉴（视），视听交织而不杂乱，因每一联只承担典礼的一个环节，读来如随仪仗自外而内、由地而天。 三在用典之密而化于无形。阊阖出《离骚》，紫虚本道家言天，祼献、九变、掌次、疏屏、玉币皆出《周礼》，然诗人不标举出处，只把它们当作眼前实事实物写来，故典不碍景、古不夺今。 四在尾联的虚实转关。前六联极实，写尽器数与仪文；至灵鉴纷昭格、天心不自舒忽作虚笔，把有形的礼引向无形的天心；结以孝慈答告、万福攸储，由虚返实，完成颂体「述礼以归诚」的收束。通篇无一句闲语，亦无一句私语，正是庙堂之诗的体段。
Allusions
The poem is rich in classical allusions. 'Changhe' (阊阖) comes from the Li Sao, originally meaning the heavenly gate, used here for the palace gate, likening the mortal court to the celestial realm. 'Zixu' (紫虚) refers to the purple sky, often found in Six Dynasties poetry. 'Guan' (祼) and 'xian' (献) are libation and offering rites described in the Rites of Zhou. 'Jiu bian' (九变) refers to the ninefold music that, according to the Rites of Zhou, summons the spirits. 'Zhangci' (掌次) is an ancient office managing royal tents and resting places, invoked here to suggest frugal preparation. 'Shuping' (疏屏) and 'yubi' (玉币) are ritual screens and jade-and-silk offerings mentioned in the Book of Rites and Rites of Zhou. These allusions are incorporated so naturally that they function as part of the scene rather than as literary display.
阊阖：出《楚辞·离骚》「倚阊阖而望予」，本指天门，后用以称宫门或帝阍。诗中羽卫排阊阖，以天门写宫门，既状羽林环卫之森严，又暗将人间庙庭比于天阙，抬高典礼的气象。 紫虚：紫为天色，虚谓太虚，合指高空、天宇，六朝以来诗文中常用，如曹植「逍遥八纮外，游目历紫虚」。此处晴光溢紫虚，写雪霁天清、光满霄汉，是郊庙诗常见的仰望之景。 祼献：祼（灌）礼，以鬯酒灌地以降神，见《周礼·春官》郁人、鬯人之职；献谓酌献。诗中祼献多仪备，正写太庙荐献之节。宋郊庙仪注中祼为初献之首，最为郑重。 九变：出《周礼·大司乐》「九变而致鬼神」，指乐奏九成。弦匏指弦乐器与匏乐器（匏即笙竽之类），九变徐谓登歌与下管徐奏九成之乐，以娱祖考。 掌次：官名，见《周礼·夏官》，掌王巡守、会同、师田之次舍。诗云掌次省先除，借古官名写本朝典礼省约、先期撤去浮饰，暗含俭德。 疏屏、玉币：疏屏为明堂之屏（见《礼记·明堂位》），玉币指瑞玉与束帛，古者朝聘会同、祭祀交贽之币（见《周礼·小行人》合六币之制）。诗中琳宫陈玉币、疏屏宿旌旟，写祭所陈设与旗常留置，皆礼经所有之器数。 诸典同出一源，皆《诗》《礼》《骚》之绪，密布而不堆垛，因诗人以记事为用，非以炫博为能。
Commentary
Zhang Fangping is not a famous poet, but his ritual poems offer valuable insight into Song court ceremony and the mindset of its officials. This piece stands at the transition between Tang ornate style and Song plainness: while it retains colorful Tang imagery such as cinnabar, jade, and purple, it also anticipates the Song preference for understatement, especially in the frugality couplet. Su Shi, who wrote Zhang's epitaph, praised his principled and moderate approach to governance, a quality visible here in the subtle moral embedded in a celebratory text. Though later critics have often dismissed such 'platform' poetry for lacking individuality, this work is valuable as a mirror of social ritual and its poetic expression.
张方平诗名不显，然《乐全集》存诗不少，四库馆臣谓其文「疏畅明切」，诗亦近之。此类郊庙、应制之作，自来选家多所刊落，以为「台阁体」少性灵；但若换一副眼光，正可借此窥见北宋礼文之盛与词臣职守。 以《诗经》为衡，郊庙本有「美盛德之形容」的传统，《周颂》诸篇朴质无华，汉《安世房中歌》、唐《郊庙歌辞》渐趋藻丽。张方平此诗处在唐人藻丽之后、宋人尚质之前：太宫无盛举、掌次省先除已露宋人返朴之意，而丹墀、紫虚、玉色诸语仍存唐调。一首小诗，恰好卡在唐宋诗风转关处。 苏轼为方平撰墓志，称其「凛乎如千仞之松，不可以枝叶附」，又言其论事「言期于理，不为危激」。以此回看此诗，太宫、掌次二句写俭，正与其论事不尚虚文的一贯脾性相称；庙堂颂作而能藏一缕箴意，非偶然也。 至其体段，清《御选宋诗》收方平诗数首，虽未必录此篇，然以「赋体铺陈、典重尔雅」八字评之，可概其貌。后世论宋诗者每轻馆阁应制，实则此等作品是社会礼制之镜像，其史料价值常在诗法之上。
Prosody
Line by line
瑞雪清晨集，丹墀发策初。
Auspicious snow falls at dawn; on the cinnabar steps the ritual document is first unrolled. This sets the time and place, with snow seen as a heavenly blessing.
清早好雪落下，红阶上祭册刚展读。
Auspicious snow gathers in the clear dawn; on the red steps the sacrificial roll is first read out.
这是全诗的起手，也是整场典礼的时间与空间定位。瑞雪清晨集五字先安一个吉兆：雪在古礼中每被视为天之所赐，尤其冬雪与郊庙之祭相配，更被读作天贶祥应；一个集字写雪之纷纷而落、不期而至，既实写天气，也暗写天意之来会。下句丹墀发策初把镜头从天收到地、从景收到礼：丹墀是宫前涂红之阶，天子所履；发策初的策，或指祭文册书，或指礼官所宣读之仪注，一个初字点出典礼方启，万事从此张开。两句一虚一实、一天一人，已把「天降瑞雪、人举盛礼」的对位定下。此后六联种种铺陈，皆由这雪与这策生发，故起手虽只十字，却是全篇的总纲。
This is the poem's opening, fixing the time and space of the whole rite. Auspicious snow gathers in the clear dawn first sets an omen: snow in ancient ritual was regarded as a gift of heaven, especially winter snow fitting the suburban and temple sacrifice, read as a celestial response. The word gathers writes the snow falling thick and unforeseen, at once the weather and the coming of heaven's will. The second line, on the red steps the sacrificial roll is first read, draws the camera from sky to earth, from scene to rite: the red steps are the vermilion stairs before the palace, trodden by the son of heaven; first read points to the rite just opening, all things unfolding from here. The two lines, one void one solid, one heaven one man, already set the pairing of heaven sending auspicious snow and men holding a grand rite. The six following couplets all grow from this snow and this roll, so that though the opening is but ten words it is the total outline of the piece.
太宫无盛举，掌次省先除。
The imperial pantry makes no lavish display; the Chamberlain of Tents has earlier reduced and removed. This introduces a note of frugality, suggesting that ritual value lies in sincerity, not extravagance.
太官不铺张，掌次先省减撤去。
The grand kitchen makes no lavish show; the master of rites first reduces and clears away.
这两句是全诗最有骨力之处，也是颂体难得的一缕讽意。前六联写尽羽卫、琳宫、玉币、祼献、九变之盛，至此忽然一转，说太宫（掌膳羞之署）并无盛大陈设，掌次（掌次舍之官）反而先期省减、撤去浮文。表面是记典礼之俭，深处却隐含一种政治态度：礼之重在本诚，不在器物之繁。张方平一生以论事切直、不尚虚文自许，苏轼称其「言期于理，不为危激」，此二句正见其本色——即便在应制颂圣的文字里，仍不肯把典礼写成穷奢极丽。尤为可取的是写法：它不议论，只叙述「无盛举」「省先除」两个事实，俭德便从这事实里自己透出来，比直说「礼贵俭」高明得多。一首庙堂诗能于此稍留人间清醒，已非纯粹的台阁套语。
These two lines are the most backbone of the poem, and a rare thread of satire in the ode. The first six couplets have exhausted the splendor of guards, jade halls, silver offerings and the ninefold rites; then suddenly it turns: the grand kitchen makes no lavish show, and the master of rites first reduces and clears away the superfluous. On the surface it records the rite's thrift; in depth it holds a political attitude - ritual's weight lies in sincerity, not in the abundance of vessels. Fangping made his name on plain-spoken critique and disdained empty show; Su Shi called his words measured by reason, never reckless, and these lines show his nature - even in official, praise-the-ruler verse he will not write the rite as sumptuous excess. What is finest is the method: he does not argue, but narrates two facts, no lavish show and first reduces, and the virtue of thrift shines of itself from the facts, far better than saying ritual values thrift. A court poem that keeps a trace of human clear-sightedness here is no mere office formula.
灵鉴纷昭格，天心不自舒。
Spiritual inspections throng and clearly respond; the Heart of Heaven is not yet at ease. The unseen realm becomes present, and Heaven appears as needing reassurance.
神灵明鉴纷来，天心却未自安。
The spirits' clear judgments come thronging down; yet the heart of heaven is not at ease.
尾联前一联由实入虚，是全诗最见虚笔功力之处。灵鉴谓神灵之明察，纷昭格言其纷纷昭临、降鉴于此；天心不自舒则把天写得像一个可感可通、却仍未舒展宽慰的存在。此前写礼，器物仪文皆实处着笔，到此忽然把不可见的「天」拟作有情的对方，仿佛人间的孝慈尚未足以慰其怀。这一转极要紧：它使整场铺排的典礼有了一个收束的落点——礼不是演给自身看的，而是人向天所作的一次应答。尤为妙者在不舒二字，不说天喜、天悦，而说天心未舒，留下余地与期待，于是自然逼出末联「孝慈更答告，万福此攸储」的祈愿。虚处传神，较前六联的密实更见笔力，是宋人庙堂诗中少有的能于庄重里透出温情的句子。
The last preceding couplet moves from the solid to the void, the poem's most masterly stroke of the void. The spirits' clear judgments means the discernment of the gods; come thronging down writes their bright descent and visitation; yet the heart of heaven is not at ease writes heaven as a being that can be felt and addressed, yet still not relaxed and comforted. Earlier the rite was written in solid vessels and ceremonial text; here the invisible heaven is suddenly cast as a feeling counterpart, as if human filial piety were not yet enough to console it. This turn is crucial: it gives the whole arrayed rite a landing point - the rite is not performed for its own sake but is man's response to heaven. The beauty lies in not at ease: not saying heaven rejoices or is pleased, but that heaven is not yet at ease, leaving room and expectation, which naturally forces out the final wish that filial piety may be answered and all blessings stored here. The spirit lives in the void; compared with the solid six couplets above, the brush shows greater force - rare among Song court poems in letting warmth shine through solemnity.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
杜甫此诗写谒玄元皇帝庙，开篇即「山河扶绣户，日月近雕梁」，中幅铺陈壁画、神鬼、冕旒，结以「世家遗旧史，道德付今王」，气魄沉雄而寄托深远，是老杜以庙庭写家国之思的力作。张方平此诗题材相近，亦写庙庭陈设、仪卫、乐舞，然一则沉郁，一则典重：杜诗于庄严中藏着对盛世将颓的忧惕，物象愈丽而心事愈沉；张诗则纯以礼官手眼铺陈，态度端凝，少个人慨叹。二诗并读，可见唐人谒庙每借以言志，宋人谒庙多止于述礼——同一题材，唐重兴寄，宋重法度，风气之异，一目了然。
奉和圣制从蓬莱向兴庆阁道中留春雨中春望之作 奉和圣制从蓬莱向兴庆阁道中留春雨中春望之作 王维 · 同写帝王仪卫行列，一融景一敷礼 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
王维此应制诗写从蓬莱向兴庆的阁道行春，中联「云里帝城双凤阙，雨中春树万人家」以景融礼，把天子仪仗化入春烟烟柳，温润空远，是唐人应制融景入制的典范。张方平此诗亦写羽卫、升车、阊阖、紫虚，却是逐联敷陈礼文，几无一笔闲景。王诗让礼在景中隐去，张诗让景在礼中退后，取向正相反。然二人同处馆阁，皆能于应制之体不失身份：王以画意胜，张以礼意胜。合观可知宋人应制虽被讥为「台阁」，其典重尔雅亦自成一格，未可一笔抹倒。
诗经·周颂·清庙 诗经·周颂·清庙 佚名 · 同源：庙堂颂体之祖，此诗为其宋调嗣响 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
《清庙》为《周颂》首篇，祀文王之歌，仅八句而「於穆清庙，肃雍显相」已立庙堂颂体之极则：辞质、意敬、声雍。张方平此诗正是这一传统的宋调嗣响——同为庙享之作，同以铺陈器数与仪文为体，同把重心放在「敬」而非「情」。差别在《清庙》朴至无文，张诗则踵唐人之后稍事藻绘，丹墀、玉色、紫虚、琳宫皆唐调色泽。由《清庙》到方平，可见庙堂颂体三千年间的因革：骨格未改，而衣冠渐华。以此诗回向《清庙》，方知颂体之脉未曾断绝，只是愈后愈丽而已。