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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

送邢遁山人

Farewell to the Recluse Xing Dun

张方平

Zhang Fangping

山水mountains and waters 田园fields and gardens 送别farewell 咏史reflection on history

忽悔轻抛云水来，便将鹤去指林斋。
生涯琴劔外无物，日逐醉吟中遣怀。
旧隐居常因梦到，尘游动是与心乖。
送君翻自嗟覉滞，木叶脱时还计偕。

Suddenly regretting having lightly cast away cloudy waters, you come,
And so with your crane you leave, pointing to your forest study.
In your livelihood, besides a zither and sword, there is nothing else;
Day by day in tipsy chanting you dispel your cares.
Your old hermitage you often reach only in dreams;
Your dusty wanderings always go against your heart.
Seeing you off, I in turn sigh at my own entanglement;
When leaves fall from the trees, I too shall plan to go with you.

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Meaning

The poem describes a recluse who, after briefly leaving his hermit life, suddenly regrets it and heads back to his forest retreat. The speaker admires his simple life of zither, sword, and chanting, but laments his own inability to follow, promising to join him when autumn leaves fall.

你忽然悔恨自己当初轻易抛开了云水生涯而跑到这里来，于是便带着那只鹤转身离去，径指林间的书斋。你一生的家当，除了一张琴一把剑再没有别的东西；每天只在半醉的吟咏之中排遣胸怀。旧日的隐居之处，如今只能常常在梦里回去；风尘中的奔走，动不动就与本心相违。送你上路，我反倒替自己叹一声被官事牵住的羁滞；等到树叶脱尽的时节，我也要打算与你同行。

Appreciation

The poem opens with a sudden悔悟, as the recluse decides to leave after regretting his departure from nature. The middle couplets contrast his sparse possessions and daily routine with his inner conflict between old seclusion and dusty wanderings. The final couplet turns the farewell into self-pity, as the speaker realizes he is trapped while his friend is free. The imagery of clouds and waters, cranes, zither and sword, and falling leaves creates two opposing worlds—one of freedom, one of entanglement—without a single scenic description, yet the concrete image of falling leaves grounds the poem.

【白话串讲】张方平送邢遁山人：“忽悔轻抛云水来，便将鹤去指林斋”——他后悔离开山林。“生涯琴劔外无物”——“旧隐居常因梦到”——“送君翻自嗟覉滞”——他送朋友归隐，反叹自己滞留。【意象与手法】云水、鹤、琴剑、林斋、旧隐、尘游、木叶，构成两组对立的意象群：云水与尘游相反，鹤与羁滞相反，林斋与官途相反。全诗不设一景，纯以行状与心迹推进，末以木叶脱时一个节候的具象收束，虚处顿实。翻自二字使全篇由送人法转为自送法，是章法上最险的一跃。【情感与主旨】表面是送隐者归山，实则借他人的归程照见自己的困守。诗人羡其能悔、能去、能舍，而自伤不能，故送人反成自嗟；末句相约同归，既是慰友，也是自许，读来有一种知其难行而仍要说出口的恳切。【名句点睛】「旧隐居常因梦到，尘游动是与心乖」以梦与乖二字对照，把归不得与违本心两重苦处说尽；「送君翻自嗟羁滞」一个翻字扭转全篇视角，寻常饯别遂成自我拷问。

Background

Zhang Fangping (1007–1091), courtesy name Andao, was a prominent Song official who served as Fiscal Commissioner and Vice Grand Councilor. His life was spent in bureaucratic toil, which made his poems about recluses and monks carry a subtle envy. This poem was written for a recluse named Xing Dun, about whom little is known. The opening line suggests that Xing had left his hermitage and come to the capital, but then suddenly regretted it and returned. This reflects the Song practice of honoring recluses, yet also the difficulty of adapting to official life. The season of farewell is autumn, as indicated by the falling leaves in the final line.

张方平（一〇〇七至一〇九一），字安道，号乐全居士，应天府宋城人，举茂材异等，历三司使、御史中丞、参知政事，以太子太保致仕，谥文定。他一生大半在案牍与朝议中度过，为三司使时综理天下财赋，晚年又与新法当事者往复争议，公务之烦重可想。正因如此，他集中那些送隐者、赠僧道之作，常带一点不自觉的艳羡；此诗末联的自嗟羁滞，正是这种心境难得说破的一次。山人是宋人对隐居不仕者的通称，多带敬意。邢遁其人，生平文献无征，连姓名是否本名亦难确考；遁字本有隐去之义，或即其自号。由诗中琴剑、醉吟、旧隐诸语看，他是那类兼有文士气与游侠气的处士：行囊里只有一琴一剑，日子过在半醉的吟咏里，本有固定的隐居之所，却曾一度出山。首句忽悔轻抛云水来，是全诗的本事所在。北宋优礼隐逸，真宗、仁宗两朝屡有召隐之举，种放、张无梦一辈皆曾被诏至阙下；然而山中人一旦入城，应酬、干谒、待选诸事随之而来，与云水生涯格局全异，因而中途幡然而返者亦不在少数。邢遁大约正是这样：来了，悔了，走了。诗人不问他为什么来，只记他忽然要走，且用忽悔二字把那一瞬的醒悟写得干脆利落。送别的时令则由末句透出。木叶脱时是深秋以后，此刻当尚未至，故约在将来。一个说走就走的人，与一个只能说等到落叶时节的人，两种处境在同一首诗里并置，这才是此诗真正的题目。

Art

The most notable feature is the sudden shift in perspective in the last couplet: the first six lines focus on 'you,' but with 'I in turn sigh' the speaker turns to himself, revealing that the description of the recluse was a mirror for his own condition. The use of the word 'turn' (fan) is the pivot. Another technique is the inverted opening, starting with 'suddenly regret' and the swift verb 'then,' showing the recluse's decisiveness. The imagery is built on contrasting pairs: clouds and waters versus dusty wanderings, crane versus entanglement, forest study versus official path. The poem uses no scenery but relies on abstract opposition, with the concrete 'leaves fall' at the end providing a tangible focus. The six function words (hu, bian, chang, dong, fan, hai) act as the poem's sinews, a characteristic of Song poetry.

此诗章法上最可称道的，是它的视角在最后一联忽然掉转。前六句一直在写你——你悔、你去、你的琴剑、你的醉吟、你的旧隐、你的尘游；到送君翻自嗟羁滞，主语突然换成我，读者才发觉前面那六句其实句句都在照镜子。翻字是这一跃的支点：本该替你难过，却反过来替自己难过；本是送人诗，忽成自遣诗。寻常饯别之作到此便有了重量。其次是首联的倒插法。诗从忽悔起笔，而所悔之事在诗外，所来之由不交代，所去之路只用便将鹤去指林斋一句带过。忽与便两个副词紧相衔接，一悔便走，中间不留犹疑的余地，把一个处士的决断写得干净利落。若依常法先叙相识、再叙其来、后叙其去，反不如这样陡然而起。第三是意象的两两相斥。云水对尘游，鹤对羁滞，林斋对官途，琴剑对无物；全诗不设一处风景，却靠这些对立项撑出了两个世界。尤须留意鹤字：便将鹤去，鹤是随行之物，也是他自身的化身——能带鹤走的人，本来就不属于这里。诗人自己身边没有鹤，只有羁滞，对照不言而喻。第四是虚实的调度。中二联全是概括之语：生涯、日逐、常因、动是，皆非一时一事，而是长年累月的总账。这样写容易空泛，诗人却在末句给出木叶脱时四字——一个可以看见、可以等待的节候。虚了六句半，实在最后半句，全诗于是落地。宋人七律的收法，常靠这种以一实压众虚的手段。用字方面，忽、便、常、动、翻、还六个虚字分领六句，皆担着转折与递进之责，几乎构成全诗的筋络。这是把散文的关节植入律诗的做法，也是宋调有别于唐音之处。

Allusions

The poem uses familiar allusions without being pedantic. 'Clouds and waters' (yunshui) is a common epithet for the wandering life of a recluse. The crane is a symbol of immortality and reclusion, as seen with Lin Bu and others. 'Zither and sword' (qinjian) are standard objects for a scholar-luminary, signifying a simple, self-sufficient life. 'Against the heart' (xinguai) uses 'guai' meaning 'to diverge,' drawing on classical usage. 'Ji xie' (计偕) comes from the Han Shu, originally meaning to accompany the annual report to the capital, but here reversed to mean planning to return to seclusion, a clever repurposing of the phrase.

此诗不以僻典自炫，所用皆熟事熟语，然而每一处都有来路，且都被使得妥帖。云水一语，唐宋习称隐者的行踪为云水，如云水生涯、云水身、云水人，取云无定所、水不常居之义。张方平集中另有诗以云水人称赵先生，可见这是他惯用的字面。轻抛云水来，等于说轻易舍了不受拘束的日子跑进樊笼，四字已把出山的得失判定了。鹤是隐逸的标志物。《相鹤经》以鹤为仙禽，林逋、种放一辈皆以畜鹤见称，宋人一见鹤字便知其人身份。便将鹤去比说携琴、携书更有神采：琴书是行李，鹤却是同伴，且能飞。琴剑并举，出于唐人行旅之诗的成规，如剑外琴中、一琴一剑之类，本指士人游学远行随身之物，后遂成清贫自守的象征。诗云琴剑外无物，是把行囊清点了一遍，也是把身家交代了一遍。心乖的乖，本义为背离，《左传》《汉书》皆有乖离、乖忤之用；与心乖三字，则把违背落在本心上，比说违世、违时更深一层：不是与人不合，是与自己不合。计偕出《汉书·武帝纪》所载诏举贤良与计偕，本谓被荐之士随郡国上计的吏员一同赴京，后世遂以计偕指举子应试之行。诗人却把它反着用：不指入京，而指出京；不为赴试，而为同归。计字又兼有打算、计议之意，故还计偕四字，一面借着旧典的偕行之义，一面直说我也在打算，语意双关而不见凑合。以应试的成语写归隐的约定，正是宋人夺胎换骨的常法。

Commentary

This poem, though not a famous masterpiece, stands out for its structural boldness. Most farewell poems keep the focus on the departing friend, but Zhang here turns the lens on himself. As a high-ranking official, his admission that he envies a recluse's freedom is remarkably honest. The poem exemplifies the Song preference for argument and rational reflection in poetry, yet it avoids dryness through the poignant words 'dream' and 'against the heart.' The final line, with its conditional promise, captures the tension between aspiration and reality, a common theme in Song literati life.

唐宋送别诗汗牛充栋，而能于末联翻转视角、由送人转为自伤者并不多。李白送友多写豪兴，王维送友多写深情，其笔始终对着行人；此诗却在第七句忽然把镜头调回自己，遂使一篇应酬之作有了自省的分量。就这一点而论，它虽非名篇，章法上却有可取。张方平的诗名向来不著。《宋史》本传重其识量与议论，苏轼为撰墓志亦极称其虑事之远，而于诗则少称许；历代唐宋诗选本罕见采录，《乐全集》四十卷中此类赠答之作更少人过目。原因不难推想：他生当欧阳修、梅尧臣提倡诗文革新之际，既不趋西昆之绮丽，也未能自立一格，语言干净而少警绝，遂被时代的大名家掩住。然而正因不立门户，他的诗少雕饰而多真话，此诗末联便是明证——一个位至执政的人，肯在纸上承认自己不如一个山人自在，这份坦白在宋人酬赠诗中并不常见。严羽《沧浪诗话》讥近代诸公以议论为诗，钱钟书《谈艺录》则谓宋诗多以筋骨思理见胜。此诗恰在两说之间：颈联旧隐居常因梦到、尘游动是与心乖，纯是判断语，不着一景，是筋骨；然而梦与乖两字下得沉痛，又非干枯的议论。可见宋人以理入诗，成败全在有无真切的处境作底。还有一点值得留意：北宋士大夫的仕隐之叹，多半停在慕隐而不去的层面，说得越恳切，行动越迟疑。此诗末句木叶脱时还计偕，把归期系于一个节候，看似确定，其实最不确定——木叶年年脱，而人未必年年能走。诗人未必不自知，仍要写下这句话，那种明知难行而仍愿许诺的意味，读来比慷慨的辞官之语更耐咀嚼。

Prosody

Form Seven-character Regulated Verse七言律诗

Rhyme The first line borrows a rhyme (lái, level tone in the tenth rhyme group), while the even-numbered lines use the ninth rhyme group (zhāi, huái, guāi, xié). This is the 'solitary goose entering the flock' pattern, where an adjacent rhyme is allowed in the first line.首句借韵，即所谓孤雁入群格：来属上平十灰，斋、怀、乖、偕四韵脚同属上平九佳（皆）韵。灰佳为邻韵，中古同在蟹摄，宋人于首句借用邻韵颇为常见，不以出韵论。

Tone pattern The poem follows the 'rising tone entering rhyme' pattern (仄起首句入韵). The first line is 仄仄平平平仄平, with a slight deviation at the fifth character, but the rest of the poem's crucial positions are correct, with proper adherence and contrast.仄起首句入韵式。首句忽悔轻抛云水来为仄仄平平平仄平，第五字当仄而用平，是小拗；此外八句的二四六字平仄尽合，粘对无失。旧隐居常因梦到为仄仄平平平仄仄，尘游动是与心乖为平平仄仄仄平平，两句尤为工整。

Reading note The prosody is exceptionally regular for Zhang Fangping. The rhyme group has a semi-open vowel quality, fitting the mood of unspoken thoughts. The four-three caesura is maintained throughout, giving a measured, almost methodical pace that mirrors the speaker's entrapment. The last three characters 'hái jì xié' suddenly release a promise, creating a breath of hope within the strict form.此诗格律的整饬程度，在张方平集中属上乘。除首句第五字一处小拗外，八句的关键位置无一失律，粘对亦无差错。这份规整并非炫技，而与题旨相配：全诗写的是一个人被职事牵住、动弹不得的处境，声调若跌宕纵横，反倒与羁滞二字相违；正因句句循规，那种被格式套住的滞感才与内容合一。用韵的选择很见心思。斋、怀、乖、偕属佳（皆）韵，韵母收在开口而略带前滑的部位，音色不像阳韵那样洪亮外放，也不似鱼虞那般幽闭，介乎其间，带一点悠然未尽的余音。这种半开的音色宜于写欲说还休的心事：怀是胸中所存，乖是心口不合，偕是尚未实现的约定，三个韵脚都指向没有落定的东西，声与义正相帮衬。首句以来字借用灰韵起头，音较宽敞，恰好承接忽悔轻抛的那股冲劲，随后四韵渐次收拢，全诗于是由决断转入低回。节奏方面，七言的四三停顿贯彻到底：生涯琴剑——外无物，木叶脱时——还计偕。每句前四字铺陈情境，后三字下判断，一句一顿，绝无跨句连读之处。这种一板一眼的节拍，把中二联那些概括之语一句句钉住，读来如逐条清算，而末句还计偕三字忽然吐出一个未来，节奏未变而气息一松，正是全诗的呼吸所在。

Line by line

生涯琴劔外无物，日逐醉吟中遣怀。

Suddenly you regret having lightly cast away the life of clouds and waters to come here; the word 'suddenly' captures a moment of awakening, and 'lightly' shows how casually the original decision was made.

你一生的家当，除了一张琴一把剑再没有别的东西；每天只在半醉的吟咏之中排遣胸怀。

In his whole life beyond a lute and a sword there is nothing; day by day he drives off his heart in drunken song.

这一联替山人报了一份家产清单，也报了一份日程表。上句清点身外之物，只有琴与剑：琴是文，剑是侠，两样都不生利，都不可换钱，却恰恰是一个士人不肯丢的两样。外无物三字最狠，不是少物，是无物——把所有可能的牵挂一次删尽。有了这三个字，首联的说走就走才有了着落：本来就没有东西要收拾。下句清点日子。日逐是天天如此，醉吟是半醉之中作诗，遣怀则透出这份日子并非全然安乐——有怀可遣，说明心里原有郁结。妙在诗人不说他遣的是什么怀，留白处正与颈联的与心乖遥相呼应。两句一物一事，一外一内，把一个处士的全部生活压进十四字里。语气极平淡，然而平淡之下有锋刃：琴剑之外无物，比多物者富；醉吟之中遣怀，比无怀者深。宋人写人物，最擅长这种以账目代形容的笔法。

This couplet presents the mountain man with an inventory of his estate and a timetable. The first line counts the things outside himself: only a lute and a sword - the lute is letters, the sword is chivalry, neither earns interest, neither can be sold, yet they are exactly the two things a scholar will not throw away. The three words beyond them nothing are harshest: not few things, but no things, deleting every possible tie at one stroke. With these three words, the opening's readiness to go has its ground: there was simply nothing to pack. The second line counts the days: day by day means every day so; drunken song means composing poetry in half-drunkenness; drives off his heart reveals that these days are not wholly happy - that there is a heart to drive off shows a knot within. The beauty is that the poet does not say what heart he drives off; the blank space echoes from afar the neck couplet's at odds with his heart. The two lines, one thing one day, one outer one inner, press a recluse's whole life into fourteen characters. The tone is extremely plain, yet beneath the plainness there is an edge: having nothing beyond lute and sword is richer than having much; driving off the heart in drunken song is deeper than having no heart. Song writers of people most excel at this accounting-instead-of-description brush.

旧隐居常因梦到，尘游动是与心乖。

And so, with your crane, you leave, pointing toward your forest study; the crane is a symbol of the recluse, and the swift action shows decisiveness.

旧日的隐居之处，如今只能常常在梦里回去；风尘中的奔走，动不动就与本心相违。

The old hermitage he can reach only often in dreams; his dusty wanderings are always at odds with his heart.

全诗的症结在这一联。上句写归不得：旧隐还在，人却回不去，只能靠梦。因梦到三字轻得像随口一说，其实极苦——若能走回去，何须托梦；一个常字更把这苦拉成了长年的习惯。下句写留不得：尘游即在风尘中奔走，动是犹言动辄、总是，与心乖则是与自己的本心相背。上句苦在身不能至，下句苦在心不能安，两面夹住，人便无处可去。两句的因果也须细看。正因尘游总与心违，旧隐才格外常入梦；正因夜夜梦回，白日的奔走才更觉不堪。互为因果，愈缠愈紧。更要紧的是这一联表面在说山人，实则已悄悄换成了共有的处境。山人今日既已决意归去，此苦便到此为止；真正还要日日承受与心乖的，是明日仍要回衙署的诗人自己。这一联埋下的伏笔，到末联翻自嗟羁滞才被点破，回头再读，方知句句是双写。

The crux of the poem lies in this couplet. The first line writes unable to return: the old hermitage is still there, yet the man cannot go back, and must rely on dreams. The three words reach in dreams are light as a casual word, really most bitter - if he could walk back, why lean on dreams? The word often pulls this bitterness into a year-long habit. The second line writes unable to stay: dusty wanderings mean rushing in the dust; always means constantly; at odds with his heart means against his own original mind. The first line's bitterness is that the body cannot reach, the second's that the heart cannot rest; the two sides clamp together, and the man has nowhere to go. The cause and effect of the two lines must be read closely: precisely because the dusty wanderings are always at odds with the heart, the old hermitage the more often enters dreams; precisely because night after night returns in dreams, the day's rushing feels the more unbearable. Cause and effect, wound ever tighter. More important, this couplet on the surface speaks of the mountain man, really has quietly turned to the common lot. The mountain man, having now resolved to return, has this bitterness done; the one who still daily bears being at odds with his heart is the poet himself, who tomorrow must return to his office. The thread this couplet plants is only broken at the close's turning to sigh at my own tethering, and reading back, one knows every line is double-written.

送君翻自嗟覉滞，木叶脱时还计偕。

In your life, besides a zither and a sword, there is nothing else; these two objects represent culture and martial valor, and 'nothing else' strips away all material attachments.

送你上路，我反倒替自己叹一声被官事牵住的羁滞；等到树叶脱尽的时节，我也要打算与你同行。

Sending you off, I turn to sigh at my own tethering; when the leaves are stripped, I will plan to go with you.

第七句是全诗的转轴。翻字意为反倒，一字之力，把六句的你彻底换成了我：送行的人本该宽解行人，此处却反过来自叹；本该说前路无恙，却说我走不了。羁滞二字下得极重，羁是被套住的马，滞是不能流的水，合起来就是一个人被职事按在原地的样子。与前面那个说走就走、带着鹤便去的人一比照，高下不待言而自明。末句则从自叹里挣出一点亮色。木叶脱时是深秋之后，节候明确而日期不定，正合诗人当下的实情：心已定，事未了。计偕本是《汉书》所载举贤良与计偕的成语，指随上计吏赴京应选，诗人偏拿它来说归隐，方向整个倒转；计字又可径读为打算，于是这三字既借着旧典的偕行之义，又不失口语的自然。以许诺收束全篇，语气是暖的，底子却是凉的——木叶年年要脱，人却未必能走。诗人不作辩解，只把这句话放下，读者自会替他掂量分量。

The seventh line is the poem's pivot. The word turning means on the contrary, and with its force it changes the six lines' you utterly into I: the one seeing off should comfort the traveler, yet here he turns to sigh at himself; he should say the road ahead is safe, but says I cannot go. The two words tethering are laid on with weight: tethered is a horse hobbled, blocked is water that cannot flow, together the picture of a man pinned in place by office. Set against the man who goes at a word and takes his crane away, the high and low show themselves without being said. The last line earns a little brightness from the self-sigh. When the leaves are stripped is after deep autumn, the season clear, the date uncertain, exactly suiting the poet's present lot: the heart is set, the affairs not done. Plan to go with you is originally the Han-shu phrase of recommending the worthy and good with the annual accounting, meaning going to the capital with the accounting officers to be selected; the poet chooses to use it for retirement, reversing the whole direction, and the word plan can be read directly as intend, so the three words at once borrow the old allusion's going-together and keep the naturalness of speech. Closing on a promise, the tone is warm, yet the ground is cold - the leaves are stripped every year, yet the man may not be able to go. The poet offers no excuse, only lays the sentence down, and the reader will weigh its burden for him.

Study

Word focus

悔 A key expression in this poem; read it with the Chinese note below. 全诗第二字便是悔，起手极重。送别诗照例从别处落笔，此诗偏从对方的一念之悔写起，且加一个忽字，把那一瞬的醒悟写得又快又硬——不是渐渐厌倦，是忽然明白。悔字的分量在于它含着一个被省略的过去。悔什么？悔轻抛云水；抛得轻，所以悔得重。四个字里藏着一段出山、失望、决意折返的经历，诗人一句不叙，全交给这个悔字去承担。它同时替全诗定了向。有了悔，下句的便将鹤去才不是任性而是纠错；颈联的与心乖才有根，因为乖的正是当初那一念之轻；末联诗人的自嗟也才有对照——他悔而能返，我悔而不能。若把悔换成厌、倦、惫，只写得出情绪的消耗，写不出这种回身认错的决断；换成怅、恨，则又多了怨气，与山人的洒落不合。一个悔字，既立人，又立骨。

乖 A key expression in this poem; read it with the Chinese note below. 尘游动是与心乖的乖字，是全诗最锐利的一处。乖本义为背离、不合，《左传》《汉书》多用乖离、乖忤，皆指两物相违。诗人不说与世乖、与时乖，偏说与心乖，方向就从外转到内：不是环境不容我，是我做的事和我这个人对不上。前者可以怨天，后者只能自责，苦处深了一层。它与上句的梦字构成一对。梦是无力的补偿，乖是清醒的痛感；夜里靠梦回旧隐，白天在尘游中与心相违，一昼一夜，两头都不落实。这一联能沉得住，全靠这两个字各据一端。若换作违，意思相近而声调平顺，少了那种别扭卡涩的口感；换作背，则太直太重，成了道德的判语；换作违心二字，则是现成成语，一滑而过。乖字读来本就带点拗折，字形亦如两相背反，音、形、义三者同时在说不合，故不可移易。

翻 A key expression in this poem; read it with the Chinese note below. 送君翻自嗟羁滞的翻字，是全诗章法的枢机。它训作反倒、却，只此一字，就把六句蓄积的方向掉了个头：送人者变成自伤者，安慰之词变成拷问之词。律诗第七句本是转的位置，此诗的转不在景，不在事，而在人称，故格外见巧。翻字还带着一点自嘲的声口。它像是说话时忽然顿住，发现自己的话跑偏了：本要宽解你，怎么倒替自己发愁。这种当场察觉的语气，使一句沉重的自白不至于板滞，读来仍是活人的口吻。若改为却，意思不差而语气偏平；改为更、益，则成了程度的加深，失掉那种意外转向的动感；改为独，又把重心移到孤单上，与羁滞的本意不合。唯有翻字，能同时完成三件事：标出逻辑的反转、透出自嘲的声调、并把全诗从送别之作提升为自省之作。宋人七律善在虚字上用力，此处即一佳例。