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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

赠郭诚思

Presented to Guo Chengsi

张方平

Zhang Fangping

方外Beyond the Mundane 修真Cultivating the Truth

壮志本桑弧，当年亦弃𦈡。
尘游谢京国，火记得酆都。
露气凝琼树，冰光澈玉壶。
世间出世法，胎食即天厨。

His bold ambition was rooted in the mulberry bow;
In those years he too spurned the border token.
From dusty wanderings he took leave of the capital,
In the Fire Record he was enrolled in Fengdu's immortal court.
Dewy vapor congeals on the jasper trees,
Ice-bright light is limpid in the jade pot.
The world's dharma and the dharma beyond the world—
Embryonic eating is already the celestial kitchen.

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Meaning

Zhang Fangping traces Guo Chengsi's journey from Confucian ambition to Daoist cultivation, praising his pure practice and affirming that the mundane and transcendent ways are ultimately one.

君本有桑弧蓬矢之壮志，当年亦曾弃𦈡请缨、立事有为。后游尘世而谢绝京国，于火记丹经中得证酆都仙都。露气凝结于琼树，冰光澄澈于玉壶，写其清修之境。世间法与出世法本一，胎食服气即是天厨仙供。

Appreciation

This five-character regulated verse moves through four thematic stages. The opening couplet uses Confucian allusions to establish Guo's youthful aspiration; the second couplet shifts to his departure from the dusty capital and his attainment of immortality through the Fire Record; the third couplet paints a limpid picture of his purified mind with jasper trees and a jade pot; the closing couplet unites the worldly and transcendent realms, declaring that embryonic eating is itself the celestial feast. The structure progresses from event to scene to principle, a hallmark of the Song-dynasty style that blends narrative with philosophical argument.

【白话串讲】张方平赠郭诚思：“壮志本桑弧，当年亦弃𦈡”。“露气凝琼树，冰光澈玉壶”——“世间出世法，胎食即天厨”——他写仙道之术。【意象与手法】此诗五言律诗，四联。起联「壮志本桑弧，当年亦弃𦈡」以二典写郭氏少壮志向与请缨之概，儒者气象；颔联「尘游谢京国，火记得酆都」转写其弃世入道，以「尘游」对「火记」、「京国」对「酆都」，一尘一仙，对照鲜明；颈联「露气凝琼树，冰光澈玉壶」纯写清修之境，琼树、玉壶皆喻心地莹澈，对仗精洁；尾联「世间出世法，胎食即天厨」以理语收，言世出一贯、胎食即仙供。章法由儒入道、由事入境、由境入理，层层转进。【情感与主旨】此诗赠方外之士郭诚思，既叙其由儒入道之迹，又写其清修境界，折射北宋儒道交融、士大夫喜谈性命胎息的时代风气，亦见方平晚年「乐全」豁达、不薄世功方见出世之真。【名句点睛】「冰光澈玉壶」暗用鲍照「清如玉壶冰」、王昌龄「一片冰心在玉壶」，以玉壶冰喻心地，是全诗最莹洁的一句；尾联「胎食即天厨」以「即」字肯断世出一贯，最见方外本色。

Background

Guo Chengsi is little known to history, but the poem reveals he once cherished Confucian ambitions and served in the capital before turning to Daoism. Terms such as Fire Record, Fengdu, embryonic eating, and celestial kitchen mark him as a serious Daoist practitioner. In the Northern Song, Daoism flourished under imperial patronage, and scholar-officials commonly exchanged poems with monks and adepts. Zhang Fangping, who styled himself 'Master of Complete Joy' in later years, moved easily between Confucian statecraft and Daoist cultivation. This poem reflects that era's fusion of Confucian and Daoist ideals.

张方平《赠郭诚思》赠一位方外之士郭诚思。郭诚思史迹不详，据诗中「桑弧」「弃𦈡」知其少负壮志、曾游京师，后入道门；「火记」「酆都」「胎食」「天厨」皆道教术语，可知其为炼养之士，而非泛泛方外。北宋崇道，真宗、徽宗间尤盛，士大夫与道士交游为常，司马光、王安石、苏轼莫不有赠道流之作。方平晚年号乐全居士，虽儒臣而兼好养生方术，与陈抟、张伯端一脉道士多有往还，其集中赠道士、论丹经之诗不少。此诗当是其赠道士之作，既叙郭氏由儒入道之迹，又写其清修境界，折射北宋儒道交融、士大夫喜谈性命胎息的时代风气，亦见方平「乐全」豁达——不薄世功而赏其出世，正见其胸次之宽。读此诗当置于北宋儒臣喜谈丹经、与方外往还的语境中，方能体会其间「以儒起、以道终」的士人转途，以及宋人赠方外诗特有的「以理摄事」面目。郭诚思虽名不显，然正因其「无名」而可见当时方外之士流布之广——北宋道士不惟隐于山林，亦往来于士大夫之门，参与其清谈雅集，成为一种特殊的文化中介。方平以元老之身折节与之交，既见其个人之豁达，亦可见时代风会：儒臣谈道、道士论儒，界线渐泯。诗中「桑弧」「弃𦈡」属儒、「火记」「酆都」「胎食」「天厨」属道，一诗之中儒道俱陈而无扞格，正是这种三教调和思潮在诗歌中的缩影。学者论宋诗「以才学为诗」，方平此篇则以「以学识写方外」见长——若无对丹经、儒典的双重熟悉，便不能如此妥贴地写郭氏由儒入道之迹。故读此诗，不仅见一人之交游，更可见北宋士大夫精神世界中儒与道相互渗透的一角。

Art

The poem is a well-wrought regulated verse with exact parallelism. The second couplet contrasts 'dusty wanderings' with 'Fire Record' and 'capital' with 'Fengdu,' setting the mundane against the immortal. The third couplet pairs 'dewy air' with 'ice light' and 'jasper trees' with 'jade pot,' evoking a crystalline, pure state. These two couplets shift from conceptual antithesis to luminous imagery. The closing couplet abandons parallelism for a discursive statement, a typical Song-dynasty move that synthesizes the dual realms. The tone is restrained and elegant, avoiding arcane alchemical jargon, reflecting the Song aesthetic of intellectual clarity and moral purity.

此诗五言律诗，四联，章法由儒入道、由事入境、由境入理，层层转进，是宋人赠方外诗「以理摄事」的典型。起联「壮志本桑弧，当年亦弃𦈡」以二典写郭氏少壮志向与请缨之概，儒者气象，为后文入道作反衬；颔联「尘游谢京国，火记得酆都」转写其弃世入道，以「尘游」对「火记」、「京国」对「酆都」，一尘一仙，对照鲜明，是宋律中理对兼事对的好例；颈联「露气凝琼树，冰光澈玉壶」纯写清修之境，琼树、玉壶皆喻心地莹澈，对仗精洁，与前联的尘仙对照形成由浊向清的色温转换；尾联「世间出世法，胎食即天厨」以理语收，言世出一贯、胎食即仙供，章法由分而合。通观四联，脉络分明而转换自然，其写道士不落「铅汞」「炉鼎」之滥，而取琼树玉壶之莹洁、胎食天厨之简，颇见雅人深致，与唐人赠道诗之诡奇异趣亦自不同，亦宋调温厚之一证。若细味其章法，起联以儒典立人、颔联以道典写转、颈联以清境写修、尾联以理语写归，四联各有分工而气脉不断，是短章中极见经营者。其写道士而不涉「铅汞」「炉鼎」之滥辞，独取「琼树」「玉壶」之莹洁意象，既避唐人游仙诗之诡异，亦显宋人审美之温厚雅饬——唐人写方外多重奇情异貌，宋人写方外多重心地境界，此诗正其显例。对仗上，颔联「尘游」对「火记」、「京国」对「酆都」为事对兼理对，以世俗与仙境相形；颈联「露气」对「冰光」、「琼树」对「玉壶」为景对，以清物写清境，两联一理一景，换境而不换清，结构颇见匠心。尾联忽以散句理语收束，于骈偶中放散，章法乃活，亦合宋诗「以议论结」之常。要之，此诗短而法备，以五律之体容儒道之事，非率尔应酬可比。

Allusions

The poem draws on both Confucian and Daoist allusions. 'Mulberry bow' comes from the Book of Rites, where a boy's birth is celebrated by shooting arrows in all directions, signifying ambition to roam the world. 'Cast-off border token' refers to Zhong Jun, who at eighteen threw away his pass at the frontier, vowing never to return until he had accomplished great deeds. 'Fire Record' is a key section of the Cantong qi, the classic alchemical text. 'Fengdu' is the Daoist immortal capital. 'Embryonic eating' refers to the Daoist practice of breath control and fasting on air. 'Celestial kitchen' denotes the immortals' food. The allusions trace a path from Confucian striving to Daoist transcendence, encapsulating Guo's spiritual biography.

用典多涉儒家出生礼与道教修真，由儒而道，正好写郭氏一生转途。其一，「桑弧」：《礼记·内则》「射人以桑弧蓬矢六，射天地四方」，男子生之礼，喻男儿志在四方，此处写郭氏本有壮志。其二，「弃𦈡」：终军年十八请缨，弃关𦈡曰「大丈夫西游，终不复还」，后果建节，喻少立事功；方平以言郭氏当年之锐。其三，「火记」：《周易参同契》有「火记」篇，言炼丹火候，为道教经典之要。其四，「酆都」：道教酆都山（今重庆丰都）为仙都所系，亦指上清仙籍，与「火记」对举，示其入道之证。其五，「胎食」：道家「胎息」「食气」之术，不食五谷而吸风饮露，谓修真之要。其六，「天厨」：仙家食供，道教谓得道者享天厨，与「胎食」呼应。诸典由儒而道依次铺展，「桑弧」「弃𦈡」写其曾为儒士，「火记」「酆都」「胎食」「天厨」写其归道，且「桑弧—火记」「京国—酆都」形成尘仙对照，使用典兼事对，足见宋律以典写人之巧，非堆砌可比。若就此诗用典之知识背景稍作推究，可见方平于道教典籍确有根柢，非徒掇拾字面。「火记」见于《参同契》，乃魏伯阳论炼丹火候之专篇，后世奉为丹经之祖，方平以「火记得酆都」一句将「读经」与「证仙」绾合，暗含「由学而入」的修真路径，与唐人「偶遇仙人」的遇合模式迥异。「胎食」语出《庄子》「真人息之以踵」一脉的胎息之说，汉魏以来演变为「食气」之术，谓不食五谷、吸风饮露即可长生，方平以「胎食即天厨」将其与仙供等同，实含「道在日用、不必外求」之意，近于宋儒「道不外索」的理趣。「天厨」一词则多见于六朝道书（如《真诰》谓得道者「食天厨」），方平信手用之，足见其于《真诰》一类道书亦所熟读。如此密集而准确的丹经术语入于五律，若无真积力久之学，断难如此妥贴；此亦宋人「以学为诗」在方外题材中的体现。

Commentary

This poem shows Zhang Fangping's ability to adapt his voice to the recipient. Unlike his official discourse, here he celebrates a private world of Daoist cultivation. The line 'Ice-bright light is limpid in the jade pot' alludes to the famous 'ice in a jade pot' metaphor for purity, used by Bao Zhao and Wang Changling. The closing couplet's assertion that embryonic eating is the celestial kitchen echoes Chan Buddhist non-dualism and Song Confucian 'the Way within everyday affairs.' The poem avoids the fantastic imagery typical of Tang Daoist verse, favoring lucid scenery and reasoned conclusion. It exemplifies the mature Song style of poetry as intellectual and moral commentary.

此诗可见张方平赠方外之作的另一副笔墨。与送别诗之典重不同，此篇于「桑弧」「弃𦈡」见其曾为儒士，于「火记」「酆都」「胎食」「天厨」见其归道，尾联「世间出世法，胎食即天厨」更以禅道一贯之理收束，颇近宋人「真理通方外」之趣。苏轼《和陶》多有此类，方平此诗则更质实。清人论宋诗「以理入诗」，此尾联即是显例：不写景物兴象，而直陈修真之见。「冰光澈玉壶」暗用鲍照「清如玉壶冰」、王昌龄「一片冰心在玉壶」，以玉壶冰喻心地，是全诗最莹洁的一句。读此诗，可觇北宋儒臣与道士交游、性命之学流行的风气，亦可见方平虽老于吏事而胸中别有清境。其诗不事奇诡、不炫丹诀，而能以常语写修真，以儒典起、以道典承，使方外题材亦归于温厚雅饬，这正是宋调赠道诗区别于唐人之处，亦方平「乐全」心境在诗中的流露。置于方平整体诗风中考量，此篇与其壮岁论政之诗（如论天下事诸作）面貌迥异，却正见其人襟怀之广——既能在朝堂论兵论财，亦能在方外论道论仙，出入儒道而无碍。其《赠辰长老》写僧之「不学禅」、《寄三峰郭诚思》写道之「隐修」，与此篇写郭诚思由儒入道，三诗并观，可见方平赠方外之作并非一味称美，而是就对方本色立言：对僧则赏其脱，对隐则钦其修，对由儒入道者则叙其迹。这种「各还其人」的写法，正是宋人交游诗「有本」的体现。后世论宋诗者多重苏黄，于方平此类小诗著录甚少，然其以儒臣之笔写方外之理、以清雅之格避丹诀之滥，实开南宋道士诗（如白玉蟾）之前茅，亦足为北宋儒道交融诗史之一证。读此诗，宜与其文集及宋人赠道诸作合观，方能尽见其间消息。

Prosody

Form Five-character Regulated Verse (Wuyan Lüshi)五言律诗

Rhyme Level-tone Yu rhyme (fú, dū, hú, chú), one rhyme throughout.平声虞韵（𦈡、都、壶、厨），一韵到底。

Tone pattern Five-character regulated verse; the middle couplets are antithetical: '尘游谢京国，火记得酆都' and '露气凝琼树，冰光澈玉壶' match in tone and syntax.五言律诗，中二联对仗：『尘游谢京国，火记得酆都』『露气凝琼树，冰光澈玉壶』，平仄相俪。

Reading note This regulated verse rhymes in level-tone Yu (𦈡, 都, 壶, 厨) in a single rhyme. The Yu rhyme, with its clear and restrained timbre, suits the theme of pure cultivation. The middle couplets are meticulously balanced: the second contrasts 'dusty wanderings' with 'fire record' and 'capital' with 'Fengdu'; the third pairs 'dewy air' with 'ice light' and 'jasper trees' with 'jade pot.' The closing couplet departs from parallel syntax with a discursive assertion, enlivening the structure. This poem exemplifies the Song practice of using regulated verse for reasoned and allusive presentation.此诗五言律诗，押平声虞韵（𦈡、都、壶、厨），一韵到底。虞韵遇摄合口三等，音清而徐，宜写清修、出世之调，与「火记」「酆都」「玉壶」「天厨」的方外清空恰相称。方平以「𦈡」「都」「壶」「厨」四韵收四联，首尾「𦈡」（儒缘）与「厨」（仙供）遥对，暗合由儒入道之旨。中二联骈对精洁：颔联「尘游—火记」「京国—酆都」事对兼理对，颈联「露气—冰光」「琼树—玉壶」纯写景对而意象莹澈。律诗忌中幅平板，此篇以「尘—火」「露—冰」的清浊冷暖换境，赖虞韵的清徐托住，读来有去秽澄心之效。尾联以散句理语收，于骈中放散，章法乃活。此篇可觇宋人赠道士诗以韵写理、以清御典的面目，亦见五律短章以韵调统摄情思之妙。就格律细究，此诗五言八句，中二联「尘游谢京国，火记得酆都」「露气凝琼树，冰光澈玉壶」骈对精严，词性相侔、平仄相俪，是标准五律中间对联；首尾二联则以散行起结，起联叙事、结联说理，于骈中寓散，章法活脱。虞韵为遇摄合口三等平声，发音时舌位高、开口小，音色清敛徐缓，最宜写清修出世之调，与诗中诸方外清空意象恰相表里；方平以「𦈡」「都」「壶」「厨」四字押四联之尾，首尾「𦈡」（儒缘请缨）与「厨」（仙供流行）遥相呼应，暗合由儒入道之全诗主旨，是「以韵显意」的巧妙安排。律诗最忌中幅平板，此篇以「尘—火」「露—冰」的清浊冷暖交替换境，赖虞韵之清徐托住，读来有去秽澄心之效；尾联以散句理语收，于骈中放散，章法乃活。此篇可觇宋人赠道士诗以韵写理、以清御典的面目，亦见五律短章以韵调统摄情思之妙。

Line by line

壮志本桑弧，当年亦弃𦈡。

His lofty ambition was rooted in the mulberry bow; in those years he too cast aside the border token. The first line evokes the birth rite of shooting arrows to the four quarters, signifying his inherent aspiration. The second alludes to Zhong Jun's vow, showing his youthful drive to achieve merit. These two Confucian images establish the background against which his later renunciation gains weight.

君本有桑弧蓬矢之壮志，当年亦曾弃𦈡请缨、立事有为。

Your high will was once the mulberry bow; in those years you too cast off the silk to volunteer.

此起联以二儒典立郭诚思少壮之概。「桑弧」用男子出生射天地四方之礼，点其本有四方之志；「弃𦈡」用终军请缨故事，言其当年锐于立事。二句一静一动，写尽少年儒士的志气与行藏，为后文「谢京国」入道作反衬——正因其曾「弃𦈡」求功，后来的遁世才显分量。方平赠道士而先叙其儒缘，是宋人赠方外诗常法：不薄世功，方见出世之真。五言十字而能立人、立志，后文一切由儒入道之转皆自此生发。

This opening establishes Guo Chengsi's young spirit through two Confucian allusions. The mulberry bow uses the rite, at a man's birth, of shooting arrows to the four quarters, pointing out that he was born with the will for all the world. Cast off the silk uses Zhong Jun's request to lead the army, writing that he was once sharp on accomplishing things. The two lines, one still one moving, exhaust the young scholar's ambition and conduct, setting off the later decline to the capital and entering the Way - precisely because he once cast off the silk to seek merit, the later withdrawal from the world carries weight. Fangping presents to a Taoist yet first narrates his Confucian bond, the Song common way of presenting to one beyond the world: only by not belittling worldly merit does one show the truth of leaving it. Ten characters, standing up the man and his will; all the later turn from Confucian to Taoist grows from here.

尘游谢京国，火记得酆都。

From worldly wanderings he declined the capital; by the Fire Record he was inscribed in Fengdu. The couplet forms a pivotal contrast between the dusty mortal realm and the immortal register. 'Fire Record' refers to the alchemical classic Cantong qi; 'Fengdu' is the Daoist abode of immortals. The antithesis of 'dusty' and 'fire,' 'capital' and 'Fengdu' signals his complete turn from Confucian officialdom to Daoist practice.

后游尘世而谢绝京国，于火记丹经中得证酆都仙都。

In your dusty wanderings you bade farewell to the capital; in the fire record you found the immortals' city of Fengdu.

此联是全诗转关，「尘游」对「火记」、「京国」对「酆都」，一世俗一仙境，对照极明。上句写郭氏谢绝京师尘嚣，下句写其于丹经（火记）中证入仙都（酆都），由儒入道之迹于此定型。「火记」用《参同契》炼丹火候，「酆都」为道教仙籍所系，皆切修真。对仗之工在「尘」与「火」、「京国」与「酆都」的色温反差，读来有去浊向清之快感，是宋律中理对兼事对的好例。方平以一对仗写尽人物转途，章法由分而合之脉已于此处暗转。

This couplet is the poem's turn: dusty wanderings paired with fire record, capital paired with Fengdu, one mortal one immortal, the contrast most clear. The first writes Guo bidding farewell to the capital's dust; the second writes his finding, in the elixir classic (fire record), entry into the immortal city (Fengdu), and the trace of turning from Confucian to Taoist is fixed here. The fire record uses the fire-stages of the Cantongqi in refining the elixir; Fengdu is where Taoist immortal registers are kept, both suited to true cultivation. The parallel's workmanship lies in the color-temperature contrast between dust and fire, capital and Fengdu, reading with the pleasure of going from turbid to clear, a fine example in Song regulated verse of a parallel of reason and event. Fangping uses one couplet to write the whole man's change of road; the structure's movement from division to union already secretly turns here.

世间出世法，胎食即天厨。

The dharma of the world and the dharma beyond the world—embryonic eating is the celestial kitchen. The final couplet uses a discursive statement to unify the two realms. It says that genuine transcendental practice is not other than the everyday way; the Daoist method of embryonic breathing is itself the immortal's food. The word '即' (is precisely) stresses the non-dual insight, a typical Song-dynasty blending of philosophy and religion.

世间法与出世法本一，胎食服气即是天厨仙供。

The worldly and the world-transcending are one; embryo breathing is itself the celestial kitchen.

此尾联以理语收束全诗，「世间出世法」谓世间法与出世法本无二致，化用佛道「世间即出世间」之旨；「胎食即天厨」更进一层，说道家胎息服气之术即是仙家天厨之供，不必外求。二句把前面「桑弧—火记」的儒道两段统于一理，章法由分而合。宋人好以议论结诗，此联不写景而陈见，正见方平「以理摄事」的赠方外体；「即」字吃紧，写出世出一贯的肯断。短章以理收，于清修之境后忽作玄言，正是宋调赠方外诗的典型面目。

The closing gathers the poem in a word of reason. The worldly and the world-transcending are one means that worldly dharma and world-transcending dharma are originally not two, transforming the Buddhist and Taoist tenet that the world is itself beyond the world. Embryo breathing is itself the celestial kitchen goes a step further, saying the Taoist art of embryo breathing and drawing breath is itself the celestial kitchen's offering, no need to seek outside. The two lines gather the preceding Confucian and Taoist segments - mulberry bow and fire record - under one reason, the structure moving from division to union. Song poets loved to close poems in argument; this couplet, not writing scenery but stating a view, exactly shows Fangping's presentation-to-one-beyond-the-world form of grasping events through reason. The word is is decisive, writing the affirmation that world and beyond are one. A short piece closing in reason, a sudden玄 saying after the realm of quiet cultivation, is the typical face of the Song tone presenting to one beyond the world.

Study

Word focus

桑弧 Mulberry bow; in the Book of Rites, a symbol of a boy's ambition to explore the four corners of the world. 「壮志本桑弧」之「桑弧」，出《礼记》男子生以桑弧蓬矢射天地四方，喻男儿志在四方。方平以此二字冠篇，写郭氏本具儒者之壮志，比直说「壮志」典雅且含出生受命之意。此词之妙在「本」字呼应——「本桑弧」谓其天性如此，与下「亦弃𦈡」构成少壮行迹的实写。宋人五律起手好用典铸志，方平此用浑成，不碍畅达，是温厚一路的炼字。其重在不薄世功：先写儒缘，方见后文入道之真，章法乃有反衬之力。

胎食 Embryonic eating, a Daoist method of breath-control and fasting. 「胎食即天厨」之「胎食」，道家术语，谓如婴儿在胎、息息归元之服气术（胎息），不假谷食。方平以此写郭诚思修真之法，并断言其「即天厨」——胎食所养即是仙厨之供。此词把抽象的养生术化为可咀嚼的「食」象，与「天厨」仙供对举，由人而仙。其重在不外求：世间修真不必饵丹，但得胎息即是天厨，含宋儒「道在日用」之意。二字冷僻而恰切，是全诗最见方外本色的一词，亦宋人赠道士诗以清语写修真的范例。