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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

赠青城山威仪观李炼师

Presented to Alchemist Li of Weiyi Abbey on Mount Qingcheng

张方平

Zhang Fangping

山水Landscape 田园Pastoral 送别Farewell 哲理Philosophical

天仓三十六峰下，犹有轩辕辙迹存。
丹灶前临六时水，芎田远接九仙门。
火芝夜照千灯迥，江树朝涵一气浑。
道友相邀寻异药，携筇几到老人村。

Beneath the thirty-six peaks of Tiancang,
There remain the wheel-ruts of Xuanyuan.
Before the cinnabar furnace flows the Six-Hour Water;
The rhizome fields stretch far to the Nine Immortals' Gate.
At night fire-zhi shine, a thousand lamps far off;
In the morning river trees hold one primal breath, undivided.
A Daoist friend invites you to search for wondrous herbs;
Staff in hand, how often have you reached the Old Men's Village?

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Meaning

Beneath the thirty-six peaks of Tiancang on Mount Qingcheng, traces of the Yellow Emperor's chariot still remain. The alchemist's furnace faces the Six-Hour Water, and the fields of chuanxiong stretch toward the Nine Immortals' Gate. By night, fire-zhi shine like a thousand distant lamps; by morning, the river trees are steeped in a single undivided primal breath. A fellow Daoist invites you to seek rare herbs, and with your bamboo staff you have several times made your way to the Old Men's Village—a realm of long-lived recluses.

在天仓三十六峰之下，还留有黄帝车辙的遗迹。丹灶前临六时之水，芎田远接九仙之门。火芝夜里照耀，千灯迥远；江树清晨涵融，一气浑沦。道友相邀去探寻异药，你携着竹杖几度来到老人村。

Appreciation

The poem opens with the ancient sacred traces beneath the peaks, establishing the mountain's antiquity. The second couplet lays out the abbey's surroundings—furnace, water, herbs, and immortal gate—in balanced, limpid imagery. The third couplet contrasts night and morning: the strange glow of the fire-zhi and the hazy unity of the river trees, capturing the mountain's numinous transformations. The closing couplet turns to the person of Alchemist Li, who roams freely with his staff to the legendary village of longevity. The layered Daoist imagery is orderly and restrained, typical of Song-dynasty poems on Daoist abbeys, where clarity of scene rather than supernatural excitement is prized.

【白话串讲】张方平赠青城山李炼师：“天仓三十六峰下，犹有轩辕辙迹存”。“丹灶前临六时水”——“道友相邀寻异药，携筇几到老人村”——他写青城山的道观。【意象与手法】诗以轩辕辙、丹灶、六时水、芎田、九仙门、火芝、千灯、江树、一气、筇杖、老人村等道教意象层叠而出，时空上由古及今、由夜及朝，设色幽奇而洁净，是宋人题道观诗的清境笔法。【情感与主旨】表达对青城道境的向往与对李炼师寻真之行的赞许，于山中灵迹、长寿之村间寄寓对清修久视的倾慕。【名句点睛】「火芝夜照千灯迥，江树朝涵一气浑」以夜朝对举写山中灵异，一奇一浑，最见道境之幽；「道友相邀寻异药，携筇几到老人村」以人事收束，余味在悠游。

Background

Zhang Fangping, a prominent Confucian official of the Northern Song, wrote this poem for a Daoist master at Weiyi Abbey on Mount Qingcheng in modern Sichuan. Qingcheng, one of the great Daoist cavern-heavens, had been a sacred site since the time of Zhang Daoling in the Eastern Han. The poem invokes local legends—the Yellow Emperor's traces, the thirty-six peaks, and the famous Old Men's Village—to celebrate the mountain's ancient sanctity. In the Northern Song, literati often mixed Confucian service with Daoist inclinations, and such poems of friendship with recluses reveal the era's cultivated taste for Daoist elegance and seclusion.

此诗题赠青城山威仪观道士李炼师。青城山在蜀州（今四川都江堰），为道教十大洞天之一「宝仙九室洞天」，自汉张陵创五斗米道于此，历魏晋隋唐皆为仙灵之地；「威仪观」是山中所置道观，「炼师」乃唐宋对道士（尤精修者）的尊称。张方平（1007—1091）虽以儒臣立身，而北宋士大夫多兼治道、好与方外游，集中此类赠道士之作正见一时风气。诗中「天仓三十六峰」指青城诸峰（青城素称三十六峰），「轩辕辙迹」用黄帝问道、留踪于蜀的传说——蜀中本多黄帝、宁封诸仙故实，诗人以此点出山有古圣之迹。「老人村」尤为青城典实：山中有老人村，相传民多长寿，世外桃源之属，杜甫、苏轼皆曾道及。李炼师当是久居威仪观、好寻药采芝的道士，张方平此诗即写其山中之行。背景虽只是一次赠道士的酬唱，却牵出北宋儒道交涉、士大夫游仙的一脉——不求真隐，而赏其清境与久视之趣，是宋人「以道为雅」的常态。青城山道教渊源可上溯至东汉张陵（张道陵）于此结茅传道，后世尊为「天师道」祖庭之一，历代仙真辈出。宋时蜀中道教尤盛，青城宫观棋布，威仪观即其一。张方平以儒臣而题赠炼师，正见北宋士大夫「外儒内道」、于案牍之外别有丹丘之思的时代风尚，此诗亦因此成为考察宋人儒道交涉的鲜活材料。

Art

This seven-character regulated verse unfolds in four layers: ancient traces, abbey scenes, numinous night-and-day visions, and the alchemist's human journey. The couplets are intricately matched, with Daoist proper nouns such as 'Six-Hour Water' paired with 'Nine Immortals' Gate,' and 'fire-zhi' paired with 'river trees.' The poet favors a clear, cool palette—whites, greens, and the single red torch of the fire-zhi—so that even the extraordinary remains pure and serene. The style is dense in imagery yet never cluttered, revealing the Song preference for constructed scenery over untrammeled fantasy.

此诗为七言律诗，章法以「古—境—异—人」四层展开。首联「天仓三十六峰下，犹有轩辕辙迹存」以仙山之古起兴，轩辕辙迹是先立一神圣的时间坐标；颔联「丹灶前临六时水，芎田远接九仙门」铺陈道观风物，丹灶、芎田皆炼养采药之象，六时水、九仙门皆山中实境与仙名，对仗工而设色幽；颈联「火芝夜照千灯迥，江树朝涵一气浑」由物入灵，写山中昼夜之异——夜则火芝如千灯远照，朝则江树涵融一气，一奇一浑，灵境毕出；尾联「道友相邀寻异药，携筇几到老人村」归到李炼师行迹，以人事收束，余味在悠游。全诗妙在意象的层叠而不乱：古圣、丹灶、芝灯、江树、筇杖、老人村，由远及近、由夜及朝，秩序井然。张方平不以丽句争胜，而善以清境叠写见道气，是宋人题道观诗「以境胜」的一例；对仗尤称，三四联皆以道教专名作对，工于用事而不僻。此诗意象虽多，却能以「清」字一以贯之：轩辕辙之古、丹灶水之净、芎田门之幽、火芝灯之奇、江树气之浑、筇杖村之闲，皆清而不浊、静而不乱。设色以白（冰雪、白云）青（杉、江树）为主，偶以「火芝」之赤、「千灯」之明点染，清冷之中见灵光，最得道教「清虚」之趣。对仗之工，在专名与普通名词的巧妙相俪，如「六时水」对「九仙门」、「千灯迥」对「一气浑」，工稳而不板滞。

Allusions

The poem draws upon multiple Daoist and local allusions. 'Xuanyuan's wheel-ruts' refers to the Yellow Emperor's legendary visit to Sichuan, where he met the immortal Ningfeng and received a Daoist text. The 'cinnabar furnace' and 'fire-zhi' allude to alchemical and mushroom-lore from the Baopuzi. The 'Six-Hour Water' invokes the Buddhist-Daoist practice of six daily periods of worship. 'Rhizome fields' point to the real chuanxiong herbs of Qingcheng, while the 'Nine Immortals' Gate' suggests the Daoist hierarchy of immortals. The 'Old Men's Village' was an actual long-lived community on Qingcheng, celebrated by Du Fu and Su Shi. These allusions remain rooted in place, blending scriptures and landscape so that the poem reads as direct scenery rather than bookish display.

诗中用典与仙道故实相缠，凡数处可指。一、「轩辕辙迹」用黄帝巡蜀、问道留踪之传说。蜀中自古传黄帝于此遇宁封、受《龙跷经》，青城遂有圣迹；诗中言「犹有辙迹存」，是以古圣之踪证仙山之灵。二、「丹灶」用道教炼丹之典，葛洪《抱朴子》详言丹鼎，诗中丹灶临水，写道士炼养之所。三、「六时水」用佛道「六时」礼诵之制（昼三时、夜三时），水指观前清流，暗含修持不息之意。四、「芎田」用川芎（芎䓖）之田，蜀中青城多产此药，既实写药田，亦暗合采药炼真。五、「九仙门」用「九仙」之名，道教以九仙为诸仙之品，门则道观之门，虚实相生。六、「火芝」用《抱朴子》火芝之典，芝有五光，火芝夜明，故云「夜照千灯」。七、「老人村」用青城长寿村故实，世外之喻。八、「携筇」用竹杖之典，筇竹杖为蜀中名物，亦隐者之符。诸典皆不离青城、炼养、长寿三端，恰见宋人题道观诗「典于仙而不溺于怪」的节制。诸典之妙，在不离青城一地：轩辕辙迹是山中之古，丹灶芎田是观中之实，火芝是《抱朴子》所载之芝，老人村是青城本有之地，皆「即地取材」而见典实。张方平使事，不似江西派之「掉书袋」，而是把道教故实化为眼前山水，故典愈密而境愈清，读来不隔。这种「以典写境」而非「以境衬典」的手法，正是宋人题道观诗能免于堆砌的关窍。

Commentary

This poem is a fine example of Northern Song literati Daoist verse. Zhang Fangping, known for his dignified court poetry, here adopts a lucid and slightly uncanny manner. The third couplet—'At night fire-zhi shine... In the morning river trees hold one primal breath'—captures the Daoist ideal of a unified vital force behind all visible changes. The closing image of the bamboo staff and the Old Men's Village places the alchemist within a landscape of healthy seclusion, neither searching too fervently nor detached. Scholars of Song poetry may compare this work with comparable pieces by Wang Anshi and Su Shi, noting how the poem turns Daoist lore into aesthetic experience, making it a valuable witness to the era's interweaving of Confucian service and Daoist aspiration.

张方平此诗，清人《宋诗钞》未必收录，然可与其集中题道士、咏蜀山之什合观。北宋儒臣与方外交，每于酬唱中写清境而不语怪力，此诗正是一例：写火芝、千灯而不堕诡异，写一气、老人村而归于悠游，态度近苏轼《和子由》诸作之「以道为雅」。方回《瀛奎律髓》仙释类尚「清劲」，此诗颈联「火芝夜照千灯迥，江树朝涵一气浑」以夜朝对举、奇浑相济，正合其选。与李白《访戴天山道士不遇》（「树深时见鹿，溪午不闻钟」）相较，李诗以疏淡写访逸之趣，张诗以密丽写道观之境，一疏一密，皆写仙山而体气各宜——唐人近逸，宋人近境。又，此诗与张方平《筇杖赠凌生》可并读：彼以筇杖写隐友之适，此以携筇写道士之游，同用「筇」字而一赠一访，见其诗中竹杖意象每每系于方外悠游。要之，此诗以清境叠写见道气，不求真隐而赏其久视之趣，是宋人「以道为雅」的典型笔墨。将此诗与张方平应制排律（如《升祔庆成》）并观，最能见其诗风的两极：应制则典重端雅、以礼为体，题道观则清奇幽迥、以境为胜，一儒一道、一庄一清，皆能各称其题。这种「辞随体异」的本领，恰是北宋士大夫融通三教、出入朝野的人格在诗学上的投影。故论张方平诗，若只见其庙堂之什，则失其清奇一面；若只见其方外之咏，又失其典重之实，二者并观方为完整。

Prosody

Form Seven-character Regulated Verse (七言律诗)七言律诗

Rhyme Rhymes in level tone, Pingshui rhyme category 13 yuan (元): 存, 门, 浑, 村; first line does not rhyme, all even-numbered lines rhyme uniformly.押平声元韵（平水韵上平十三元）：存、门、浑、村；首句「下」在祃韵不入韵，余四联偶数句（存、门、浑、村）同押元韵，一韵到底。

Tone pattern Rising-tone pattern (平起首句不入韵). The tonal contours generally follow the standard qiyan lüshi, with slight adjustments in the third and fourth lines due to proper nouns, but adhesion and opposition are correct.七言律诗平起首句不入韵体。首句「天仓三十六峰下」平平平仄仄平仄（天平仓平三平十平六仄峰平下仄），次句「犹有轩辕辙迹存」平仄平平仄仄平，三四句「丹灶前临六时水，芎田远接九仙门」平仄平平仄平仄、平平仄仄仄平平，五六句「火芝夜照千灯迥，江树朝涵一气浑」仄平仄仄平平仄、平仄平平仄仄平，大体合七律平起式，粘对清楚而略有腾挪。

Reading note The yuan rhyme has a sonorous, slightly remote quality, fitting the mysterious yet pure atmosphere of the Daoist mountain. The regulated verse requires strict parallelism in the middle couplets; both are perfectly balanced—'cinnabar furnace' and 'rhizome fields,' 'six-hour water' and 'nine immortals gate,' 'fire-zhi' and 'river trees,' 'night shining' and 'morning holding,' 'thousand lamps distant' and 'one breath undivided.' The overall prosody is clear and energetic, without Tang-era extravagance, carrying the Song quality of scene and principle.此诗为七言律诗，八句四联，押平水韵上平十三元，一韵到底。元韵发音浑厚而微含沉远，宜写青城道境那种幽奇而洁净的声情，与「轩辕辙迹」「火芝千灯」「一气浑沦」的清境相协。律诗严于颔颈二联对仗，张方平此作三四联皆工：「丹灶」对「芎田」、「六时水」对「九仙门」，以道教专名作对，工于用事；「火芝」对「江树」、「夜照」对「朝涵」、「千灯迥」对「一气浑」，以夜朝、奇浑作对，工于写境。两联一写观中物事、一写山中灵异，由实入虚，章法合律。平仄上首句不入韵而次句入，是七律平起常格，中二联粘对无误，惟「六时水」「九仙门」因专名略破常格，亦无伤。整体声情清健幽奇，无唐人游仙之浮诞，而有宋调「以境胜、以理涵」的质实，正宜于这类赠道士的清酬。

Line by line

天仓三十六峰下，犹有轩辕辙迹存。

Beneath the thirty-six peaks of Tiancang / there still exist the wheel-ruts of Xuanyuan, the Yellow Emperor—an opening that establishes the mountain's antiquity and sanctity.

在天仓三十六峰之下，还留有黄帝车辙的遗迹。

Beneath the thirty-six peaks of Tiancang, the wheel-tracks of the Yellow Emperor still remain.

此联为全诗起手，先立青城山的「古」与「圣」。上句「天仓三十六峰下」点地，青城素称三十六峰，天仓乃其峰名之一，七字把一座蜀中仙山笼入笔下；下句「犹有轩辕辙迹存」用黄帝巡蜀留踪的传说，以「犹有」二字强调圣迹至今未泯，使山不只是一座山，而有古圣印证的时间深度。两句一地一圣、一空间一时间，起得厚重。张方平以此起兴，等于先替全诗的道境奠定「灵而有据」的基调——不是虚夸仙山，而说古圣实曾到此。一个「存」字最见分量：辙迹本易灭，而偏说「存」，既写传说之笃，也写诗人对斯山之信。读此联当想蜀峰苍苍、圣踪隐隐之境，方知后文丹灶、火芝皆从此古意中流出。

The opening couplet first establishes Mount Qingcheng's antiquity and sacredness. The first line, beneath the thirty-six peaks of Tiancang, names the place: Qingcheng is known as the thirty-six peaks, and Tiancang is one of its peak names; seven characters enclose a Sichuan immortal mountain in the brush. The second, the wheel-tracks of the Yellow Emperor still remain, uses the legend of the Yellow Emperor touring Shu and leaving traces, and the two words still remain stress that the sacred traces are not lost to this day, so that the mountain is not only a mountain but has the depth of time confirmed by an ancient sage. The two lines, one place one sage, one space one time, rise with weight. Fangping's rising thus first lays the poem's Way-realm key of spirit yet grounded - not empty boast of an immortal mountain, but saying the ancient sage was really here. The word remain carries most weight: wheel-tracks are easily lost, yet he chooses to say remain, writing both the tenacity of the legend and the poet's faith in this mountain. Reading this couplet, one should imagine the Sichuan peaks gray and the sacred traces faint, to know that the later elixir stove and fiery fungus all flow from this ancient meaning.

丹灶前临六时水，芎田远接九仙门。

Before the cinnabar furnace flows the water of the six worship-periods; the fields of chuanxiong herb stretch distant to the gate of the Nine Immortals—a couplet describing the abbey's physical and symbolic geography.

丹灶前临六时之水，芎田远接九仙之门。

The elixir stove fronts the waters of the six watches; the lovage fields reach far to the gate of the nine immortals.

此联承首联写道观风物，由古圣之踪落到道士修持之实。上句「丹灶前临六时水」写炼丹之所临于清流，丹灶、六时水皆道教炼养意象，暗含昼夜礼诵、修持不息之意；下句「芎田远接九仙门」写药田遥连仙门，芎（川芎）为青城实产之药，九仙门则虚拟之仙界入口，实境与仙名相衔。两句对仗极工：丹灶对芎田（物），六时水对九仙门（时与境），且一近一远、一实一虚，章法上由观中而观外、由人事而仙界。张方平不写诡怪，而写丹灶临水、药田接门，清净可喜，正是宋人题道观「以境胜、不以怪胜」的笔法。一个「临」字写水之伴灶，「接」字写田之通门，皆见山中修真与自然的亲和。读此联想见青城观宇、流水药畦，便知宋人写道境贵在「可游」而非「可骇」。

This couplet follows the first in writing the abode's scenery, moving from the ancient sage's trace to the Taoist's actual practice. The first, the elixir stove fronts the waters of the six watches, writes that the place of refining the elixir fronts the clear stream; elixir stove and six-watch waters are both Taoist refinement images, secretly holding the meaning of day and night ritual recitation and unceasing practice. The second, the lovage fields reach far to the gate of the nine immortals, writes that the herb fields reach far to the immortal gate; lovage (chuanxiong) is an herb actually produced at Qingcheng, and the nine-immortal gate is the imagined entrance to the immortal realm, the real scene joined to the immortal name. The two lines are most parallel: elixir stove paired with lovage field (object), six-watch waters paired with nine-immortal gate (time and realm), and one near one far, one solid one void, the structure moving from within the abode to outside, from human affairs to the immortal realm. Fangping does not write the strange and uncanny, but the stove by the water and the fields reaching the gate, clear and lovable, exactly the Song way of writing abodes that wins through realm, not through the weird. The word fronts writes the water beside the stove, the word reach writes the fields joining the gate, both showing the kinship between mountain cultivation and nature. Reading this, imagining Qingcheng's halls, flowing water and herb plots, one knows the Song Way-realm prizes being wanderable, not frightful.

道友相邀寻异药，携筇几到老人村。

A fellow Daoist invites him to search for rare herbs; staff in hand, how often has he reached the Old Men's Village—closing with the alchemist's actual wandering toward longevity.

道友相邀去探寻异药，你携着竹杖几度来到老人村。

Fellow wayfarers invite him to seek rare herbs; leaning on his qiong staff, he has often come to the Village of the Aged.

此联为全诗收束，由前面铺陈的仙山古境归到李炼师的具体行迹。上句「道友相邀寻异药」写其与同道采药之雅，异药即青城所产芎、芝之属，寻药是道士日课，亦暗合久视养生之旨；下句「携筇几到老人村」写其拄竹杖数访长寿之村，筇为蜀中名杖、隐者之符，老人村则青城世外之典。两句一寻药、一访村，把全诗道气收进人事的悠游，结得温润而不枯寂。张方平以「几到」二字写往来之熟、栖游之适，不见求仙的焦迫，只见方外的从容，正合宋人「以道为雅」的态度。一个「携」字写杖之随身，「几」字写行之频繁，皆见李炼师与山相得之深。读此联方知前面轩辕辙、丹灶、火芝种种，都为此「携筇访村」的悠游人设色——诗之主脑，原在李炼师之清游也。

The closing gathers the poem, moving from the spread of the immortal mountain's ancient realm back to Master Li's actual traces. The first, fellow wayfarers invite him to seek rare herbs, writes his elegant custom of gathering herbs with fellow practitioners; rare herbs means the lovage and fungus produced at Qingcheng, and seeking herbs is the Taoist's daily task, secretly suiting the bent for long life and nourishment. The second, leaning on his qiong staff, he has often come to the Village of the Aged, writes that he has leaned on his bamboo staff several times to visit the long-lived village; the qiong is a famous Sichuan staff, the sign of the recluse, and the Village of the Aged is Qingcheng's beyond-the-world allusion. The two lines, one seeking herbs, one visiting the village, gather the poem's Way-breath into the leisure of human affairs, closing warm and not withered. Fangping uses the words often come to write the familiarity of coming and going and the ease of dwelling and roaming, showing no urgency in seeking immortality, only the composure of one beyond the world, exactly suiting the Song attitude of making the Way elegant. The word carried writes the staff at his side, the word often writes the frequency of going, both showing how deeply Master Li is at one with the mountain. Reading this, one knows that all the preceding Yellow Emperor tracks, elixir stove and fiery fungus color the leisurely man who carries his staff and visits the village - the poem's main point is Master Li's pure roaming.

Study

Word focus

浑 A key expression in this poem; read it with the Chinese note below. 「江树朝涵一气浑」之「浑」，浑沦、混然不分也。此字写清晨江树为雾气笼罩，万物涵融于「一气」之中，不分彼此、浑然同体，是道家「万物一气相贯」之境的诗化。其妙在把视觉的迷茫升为哲学的浑全：江树本是有形之物，而「涵一气浑」则使其与天地元气相融，物我界限为之消解。若易以「蒙」「迷」等字，则只写雾重，少却道气；「浑」字以状元气之整，最见宋人题道境「以理入景」的手段。张方平炼此一字，使颈联「火芝夜照」之奇与「江树朝涵」之浑形成奇正相生——一夜一朝、一照一涵，道境之「变」与「常」并见。一字而定尾联悠游之调，不可轻移。

筇 A bamboo staff from Qiongzhou, Sichuan, symbol of the recluse or Daoist wanderer. 「携筇几到老人村」之「筇」，筇竹杖也，蜀中邛州所产，坚劲可为杖，自来为隐逸、方外之符（如「携筇」即隐者行游之象）。此字在张方平诗中数见（又如《筇杖赠凌生》），凡写悠游清境辄及之。其妙在以一杖代全人：李炼师之「携筇」，既是写实（山中须杖），亦是写格（方外高人之态），杖在手中则人得从容。若易以「杖」「策」等字，虽亦通，却不如「筇」字带出的蜀地名物与隐逸雅韵；「筇」兼地、兼格、兼雅，一字而三用。张方平炼此字，使尾联收束不落空泛，而见李炼师与青城相得之深。读此字当想竹杖芒鞋、数访村墟之状，便知宋人写道士贵在「可游」之真，而非羽化之诞。

迥 A key expression in this poem; read it with the Chinese note below. 「火芝夜照千灯迥」之「迥」，远也、寥远也。此字写火芝夜明，光如千灯，而千灯之境迥然开阔、远接幽冥，状山中夜景之奇而寂。其妙在把「照」的空间推开：火芝本一点微光，而「千灯迥」则使其光景扩为满山遥照，奇而不狭。若易以「远」「明」等字，则或失光之态、或失境之阔；「迥」字兼远近与清寥，最合道境夜写的幽奇。张方平炼此一字，使颈联上句有「奇」的张力，与下句「一气浑」的「浑」形成对照——一夜之奇照、一朝之浑涵，道境之两面并见。一字之选，关乎颈联奇偶对之成色，亦见其写仙山不堕诡异、而取清奇的分寸。