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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

赠终南李道人

To Daoist Li of Zhongnan

张方平

Zhang Fangping

抒情lyrical / expressive

神仙灵药自然功，五色光中一气通。
借问参同相类法，何如相类即参同。

The immortal's elixir works by nature's own power; in five-colored light, one vital breath flows through.
I ask of the Cantong's method of like-kind; how not that like-kind is itself the Cantong?

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Meaning

The poem addresses a Daoist adept on Zhongnan Mountain, asserting that the immortal elixir arises from spontaneous nature and that all things coalesce in one breath. It then turns a clever rhetorical question on the Cantongqi: rather than cling to its 'like-kind' method, why not realize that like-kindness itself is the Cantong? It gently warns against fixating on alchemical texts and favors direct, wordless awakening.

神仙灵药本出自然之功，于五色光中一气贯通。借问《参同》所谓相类之法，何如相类即是参同本身。

Appreciation

In only four lines the quatrain conducts a debate on alchemy, its structure extremely spare yet its reasoning deep. The first two lines establish the Daoist vision—elixir by nature, one breath through five-colored light; the last two pivot into argument with a palindromic flourish—'Cantong like-kind' vs. 'like-kind is Cantong'—a Chan-Dao style of 'roundabout awakening.' Pure idea, no scene-padding, it is a distinctly Song 'poem as argument.'

【白话串讲】张方平赠终南山李道人：“神仙灵药自然功，五色光中一气通”。“借问参同相类法，何如相类即参同”——他谈道家炼丹。【意象与手法】以「五色光」「一气」写丹道之境，后二句以回文式机锋收束，理致深长。【情感与主旨】推重道人自然得道、不泥丹经文字，含对滞于方术者的点醒。【名句点睛】「借问参同相类法，何如相类即参同」二句，以回文机锋点破丹经执著，为全诗眼目。

Background

This poem is addressed to a Daoist surnamed Li on Zhongnan Mountain. Zhang Fangping's collected works include several pieces on Daoism, alchemy, and sitting-forgetfulness (e.g., 'Reading the Treatise on Sitting-forgetfulness'), showing his interest in Daoist cultivation though a Confucian official, versed in the three teachings. Zhongnan was a Daoist holy mountain, gathering hermit-practitioners in Tang-Song; Li was likely an alchemist-meditator there. Northern Song literati moved between Confucianism and Daoism—Wang Anshi and Su Shi also studied elixir formulas—and Zhang's poem fits this 'talking mystery with elegance' climate. The title centers on the Zhouyi Cantongqi—Wei Boyang's Eastern Han work honored as the 'eternal king of alchemy texts,' whose core is the principle 'same kind draws same kind, like-kind generates.' The Northern Song was an era of flourishing Cantongqi commentary and inner-alchemy learning; Peng Xiao and Zhang Boduan both revered it. Zhang uses it to discuss the Way with the Daoist, showing respect and offering the 'like-kind is Cantong' insight—fitting the era's turn from outer-elixir ingestion to inner-alchemy cultivation. Zhongnan had been a hermit gathering since Tang; Zhang's addressing a Zhongnan Daoist also hints admiration for true reclusion over fame-seeking.

此诗赠终南山道人李姓者，张方平集中涉及道教、炼丹、坐忘之作数首（如《读坐忘论》），可见其于道家修养有所留意，虽为儒臣而兼通三教。终南山为道教圣地，唐宋隐修道士荟萃，楼观台、骊山老母殿皆在其麓，李道人当为山中炼丹习静之士。北宋士大夫多游走于儒道之间，王安石、苏轼皆曾习丹诀，张方平此诗即与这类「以儒雅谈玄」的风气相契。诗题「赠终南李道人」，内容围绕《周易参同契》——东汉魏伯阳所撰、被尊为「万古丹经王」的炼丹理论书，其核心在「同类相从、相类相生」的丹法原理。北宋是《参同契》注释与内丹学大盛的时代，彭晓撰《周易参同契分章通真义》，张伯端著《悟真篇》，皆推此书为丹经之祖，士人谈道必先及之。张方平借此与道人论道，既示敬意，亦以「相类即参同」的机锋点出得意忘言的体悟，正合当时由外丹服食转向内丹心性修养的风气转向。又终南山自唐以来即为隐者所聚，卢藏用「终南捷径」之讥、宋初种放之隐，皆在其地，张方平赠终南道人，于论道之外，亦隐有慕其真隐、异于沽名之流的微意。

Art

Though only four lines, the quatrain writes a discourse on alchemy, extremely simple in structure yet deep in reasoning. The first two lines—'the immortal elixir works by nature's power; in five-colored light one breath flows through'—first establish the vision positively: the elixir is not forced but 'natural'; the alchemical sign is 'one breath' coalescing in 'five-colored light.' The two lines move from efficacy to scene, lifted by 'natural' and 'one breath,' economical yet rich. The last two—'I ask of the Cantong's like-kind method; how not that like-kind is itself the Cantong?'—suddenly argue, using 'I ask' to lead and 'how not' to counter-close, forming a palindromic flourish—'Cantong like-kind' and 'like-kind is Cantong' reversed yet deepened, the typical Chan-Dao 'roundabout awakening.' Rhetorically, 'I ask' feigns humility, 'how not' sharply turns to judgment—question and verdict together flip 'asking' into 'awakening,' giving a dedicatory poem the edge of a treatise. The poem eschews scenic elaboration, pure conceptual movement, a distinct Song 'poem as argument.' The first two lines' 'establishing the vision' and the last two's 'breaking attachment' form a positive-negative tension: first a verifiable alchemical scene, then a flourish dismantling attachment to the written method—four lines a complete argument, not two spliced halves.

此诗仅短短四句，却以绝句之体写丹道之辨，章法极简而理致甚深。前二句「神仙灵药自然功，五色光中一气通」先正面立境：灵药非外力强为，乃「自然」之功；丹成之象在「五色光」中「一气」浑然贯通。两句由功效说到景象，以「自然」「一气」二词提挈道家根本义，语约意丰。后二句「借问参同相类法，何如相类即参同」陡作议论，以「借问」领起、以「何如」反诘收束，构成回文般的机锋——「参同相类」与「相类即参同」字序颠倒而义转深，正是禅道常用的「绕路说禅」笔法。就修辞机制而言，「借问」故作谦抑之态，「何如」则陡转判断，一问一断，把「请教」翻转成「点醒」，赠人之诗遂有了论道之书的锋芒。全诗不事景物铺陈，纯以义理运思，于张方平诗中别为一格，近「以诗为论」的宋调。前二句的「立境」与后二句的「破执」又成一正一反的张力：先树立可证的丹境，再以机锋拆解对文字丹法的执著，四句遂成一完整的论理结构，而非两截拼合，短章而具起承转合之妙，且「五色」「一气」「参同」等语皆与道书相契，义理不空。

Allusions

One, immortal elixir: Daoist evasion-by-ingestion lore, meaning the elixir; 'natural power' stresses non-artificial, echoing Laozi's 'the Way models nature'—alchemy too follows things' self-transformation. Two, five-colored light: the alchemical sign of five-colored circular light; the Cantongqi speaks of 'five colors contending,' and the five phases match five colors—when the elixir forms, the five breaths face the origin and light radiates. Three, one breath: the Daoist cosmic view 'one breath coalesced,' from Zhuangzi 'all under heaven is one breath'—refining returns to the one. Four, Cantong: the Zhouyi Cantongqi by Wei Boyang; 'Cantong' means 'collating similarities, communicating the three powers'; the book uses the Zhou Changes' line-symbols to discuss alchemy, blending Huang-Lao and furnace lore; 'Cantong like-kind method' refers to its 'same-kind' alchemical principle. Five, like-kind: the Cantongqi's core phrasing 'same kind follows, mutually needing'—only same-kind things can generate. The poet reverses it: 'like-kind is itself the Cantong,' meaning no need to cling to words; being able to generate like-kind is the Cantong's intent. 'Cantong' here packs both the book's name-meaning and the Way's 'communing as one'; the poet makes it interplay with 'like-kind,' turning noun into verb, book into flourish—typical Song 'making allusion live.'

一、神仙灵药：道教服食成仙之说，指丹药，「自然功」强调非矫揉造成，暗合《老子》「道法自然」之旨，谓炼丹亦是顺物自化。二、五色光：丹道谓炼成时有五色圆光，《参同契》言「五色象夺」之景，又以五行配五色，谓丹成则五气朝元、光华外发，此处写丹光。三、一气：道家「一气浑成」「通天下一气」之宇宙观，出《庄子·知北游》「通天下一气耳」，指炼化归于一。四、参同：《周易参同契》，魏伯阳撰，书名「参同」即「参校同异、会通三才」，其书假周易爻象以论炼丹，兼纳黄老、炉火之学；诗中「参同相类法」指该书「同类相从」的丹法。五、相类：《参同契》核心句式「同类相从，相须相使」，强调唯有同类之物可相类相生（如铅汞相制）。诗人反其意而点化：「相类即参同」，谓不必执泥文字，能相类相生便是参同之旨。此「参同」二字，兼包「参校同异」之书名义与「会通为一」之道义，诗人以「相类」与之互文，遂使名词转动词、书卷化机锋，正是宋人以故实为活法、以文字为道场的典型。典由书名的文字游戏翻出新解，是此诗用典最巧处。

Commentary

Zhang Fangping's Daoist pieces (e.g., 'Reading the Treatise on Sitting-forgetfulness': 'straight to the nine-fold elixir art; without sitting-forgetfulness where to return?') all stress 'grasp the meaning forget the words, enter the Way through art,' same flourish as this poem's 'like-kind is Cantong'—showing his 'not clinging to words' stance on Daoist cultivation. Compared with Su Shi's health poems, Zhang's is shorter, sharper, nearer naked mystery, less literati play, more clear reasoning. His Daoist quatrains are little noticed, yet they reveal the Song literati's 'three teachings fused': Confucian simplicity, Daoist emptiness, Chan flourish in one furnace. The 'I ask…how not…' interrogative descends from Han-Wei mystery poems and Tang Chan gathas, while the palindromic 'like-kind is Cantong' reversal echoes Wang Anshi's 'seeming ordinary yet most strange' phrasing—showing the Song tendency 'words as play, play bearing理趣.' Though minor in reception, it is a precious vignette for studying Northern Song 'talking the Way in poetry,' to be read with contemporary Cantongqi commentators.

张方平论道诸作（如《读坐忘论》「便令直了九丹术，不到坐忘何处归」）皆然，重「得意忘言、由术入道」，与此诗「相类即参同」同一机杼，可见其于道教修养持「不泥文字」的立场。与苏轼《和陶》及谈养生诸诗相较，张方平此诗更短峭、更近玄言，少文人游戏气而多理清气。历来张方平诗以应制、送别见称，此类谈玄小诗少被留意，然恰能见出宋儒「三教融通」之一斑：以儒家之简、道家之虚、禅家之机融于一炉。就其诗学渊源论，「借问……何如……」的设问句法，远绍汉魏玄言诗与唐人禅偈，而「相类即参同」的回文式翻案，又暗合王安石「看似寻常最奇崛」的造语趣味，可见宋诗「以文字为游戏、以游戏寄理趣」的普遍倾向。其接受虽微，却是研究北宋士大夫「以诗谈道」的珍贵小品，可与当时《参同契》注家（如彭晓《周易参同契分章通真义》）的注解互参，显出诗人对丹经非徒耳食、而有自家会解。凡此，皆可见张方平虽以政事文章立身，于三教之学实能融会而自有见地。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (qijue)七言绝句

Rhyme Rhymes with level-tone 'dong' rhyme (gong, tong, tong), first line entering rhyme, one rhyme throughout; rounded, suiting the clear distance of talking mystery.押平声东韵（功、通、同），首句入韵，一韵到底，韵部圆润，与谈玄之清远相协，短章余味悠长。

Tone pattern Standard qijue; tones coordinated, turn-close natural.七绝正格，前二句「仄平平仄仄平平，仄仄平平仄仄平」，后二句「仄仄平平平仄仄，平平平仄仄平平」，平仄协调，转结自然。

Reading note Though only four lines, the phonology is carefully managed. The first two lines take level-tone dong rhyme (gong, tong), first line entering rhyme, rounded and unhurried, exactly the composure talking mystery needs, unlike the端重 of court odes—a 'clear, distant, spare' path. The last two lines end on 'fa, tong' still keeping dong rhyme, making the short piece round at both ends, its aftertaste resting in the flourish. 'Tong' is both rhyme-foot and meaning-eye, sound and sense united. In tone it basically follows the qijue norm, only 'I ask' slightly oblique, adding a tentative-questioning air fit for the interrogative. Overall the prosody follows the short piece's 'establish vision—raise question' logic: first half slow scene, second half quick反问, using sound's tempo for thought's turn—a Song mystery-quatrain 'carrying reason through sound' vignette.此诗虽仅四句，音韵却极见经营。前二句押平声东韵（功、通），首句入韵，韵部圆润不迫，恰合谈玄需要的从容气度，与应制排律的端重、壮别律诗的酣畅皆不同，走的是「清远简峭」一路。后二句「借问参同相类法，何如相类即参同」以「法」「同」收，仍守东韵，使短章首尾圆合、余味收于机锋之中。「同」字既是韵脚又是义眼，声情与理致合一。平仄上基本依七绝正格，唯「借问」二字微拗而反添吞吐问难之态，恰宜「借问」的探询语气。整体声律随「立境—发问」的短章逻辑起伏：前半舒缓铺景、后半急促反问，以声之疾徐写思之转折，是宋人玄言绝句「以声运理」的小品范例。

Line by line

神仙灵药自然功，五色光中一气通。

The immortal's elixir works by nature's own power; in five-colored light, one vital breath flows through.

神仙灵药本出自然之功，五色光中一气贯通。

The immortal's divine medicine is the work of nature; amid the five-colored light, the single breath penetrates all.

开篇二句正面写丹道之境，立全诗意脉之基。「神仙灵药自然功」破世俗「灵药必奇方外求」之见，归其功于「自然」——道家以道法自然为极则，炼丹亦是顺物之性、助其自化，而非强为矫揉，此句已暗含对执方术者的提醒。「五色光中一气通」承上写丹成之象：丹经言炼化时有五色光景，「一气通」则谓万象归元、浑然无间，正合《老子》「天得一以清」、庄子「通天下一气」之旨。二句由功效说到景象，由「自然」说到「一气」，层层扣住道家根本义，语约而意完。作为绝句之前半，它先铺陈一个可被「参同」检验的丹境，为后二句的机锋反诘蓄势，章法虽短却自有起承。

The opening two lines write the realm of the elixir in positive terms, laying the poem's current. The immortal's divine medicine is the work of nature breaks the worldly view that divine medicine must be sought in strange formulas outside, returning the merit to nature - Taoism takes the Way following nature as its highest rule, and refining the elixir is also following the nature of things and aiding their self-transformation, not forcing and twisting; this line already secretly holds a warning against those who cling to formulas. The second, amid the five-colored light, the single breath penetrates all, follows with the image of the completed elixir: the elixir classics say that when refined there is a five-colored light, and the single breath penetrates means all phenomena return to the one, blended without seam, exactly suiting Laozi's heaven attained the one and grew clear and Zhuangzi's the whole world is one breath. The two lines move from effect to image, from nature to the one breath, layer by layer holding the Taoist root meaning, words spare yet meaning complete. As the first half of a quatrain, it first lays out an elixir realm that can be tested by the Cantongqi, building force for the paradoxical question of the last two; the structure, though short, has its rise and continuation.

借问参同相类法，何如相类即参同。

I ask of the Cantong's method of like-kind; how not that like-kind is itself the Cantong?

借问参同之相类法，何如相类即是参同。

Tell me, of the matching method in the Cantongqi - how is it that matching itself is the Cantongqi?

尾联以问作结，是全诗眼目，亦最见宋人「以诗为论」的巧思。「借问参同相类法」就《周易参同契》「同类相从」的丹法发问，仿佛向道人请教；「何如相类即参同」却以反诘翻进一层：与其拘泥「参同」书里的「相类」之法，何如体认「能相类相生，便即参同本身」。这里玩的是书名与义理的文字回环——「参同」与「相类」字序颠倒而义转深，正类禅家「绕路说禅」之机锋。诗人借此点破丹经执文字之弊，主张得意忘言、由术入道。置于赠道人语境，既是论道亦是相契，短章而含玄解，足见张方平虽为儒臣，谈玄亦有自家会解，非徒沿袭方士常语。

The closing closes in a question, the poem's eye and the place where the Song cleverness of using poetry as argument most shows. Tell me, of the matching method in the Cantongqi asks about the elixir method of like seeks like from the Zhouyi Cantongqi, as if consulting the Taoist. The second, how is it that matching itself is the Cantongqi, reverses a step in a rhetorical question: rather than clinging to the matching method in the book Cantongqi, how much better to realize that what can match and generate each other is itself the Cantongqi. Here the play is on the verbal turning of the book title and the principle - Cantongqi and matching have their characters reversed in order yet the meaning deepens, exactly like the Zen school's paradox of speaking Zen by a roundabout way. The poet uses this to point out the flaw of clinging to the written word in the elixir classics, advocating forgetting the word once the meaning is gained, entering the Way through the art. Placed in the context of presenting to a Taoist, it is at once arguing the Way and finding accord; a short piece holding a玄 solution, showing that Fangping, though a Confucian minister, has his own understanding in talking of the mysterious, not merely repeating the alchemist's common phrases.

Study

Word focus

自然 'Ziran' (nature/spontaneous) in 'the immortal elixir works by nature's power' is adjectival, meaning unforced, self-so. It is the poem's lifting word for Daoist principle: the Way models nature, and alchemy too follows things' nature, not forced—implicitly warning against clinging to recipes. Zhang uses 'natural power' to sum the elixir's cause, breaking the folk notion that elixir needs exotic formulas. The refinement is in lightness: an ordinary mystery-term sets the piece's spine, grounding the later 'Cantong like-kind' debate. Phonetically it reads slow, matching the calm elixir scene; the word stands at the line's eye, seizing attention—a vigilant stroke in a short piece. 「自然」在首句「神仙灵药自然功」中作形容词，指不假强为、本然自成。此二字是全诗丹道义的提挈：道教以「自然」为道之极则，《老子》「道法自然」，炼丹亦顺物自化而非外力强合。张方平以「自然功」三字总括灵药之成因，既破「灵药必奇方外求」的世俗想象，又暗含对执泥方术、堆砌铅汞者的提醒——真功在自然之化，不在繁文。炼字之妙在举重若轻：以寻常玄术语立一篇之骨，使后文「参同相类」的辩论皆有了根基。且「自然」为平声删韵（自去声、然平声），读来舒缓，与丹境之从容相称。二字居句眼，先声夺人，是短章立意的警策之笔。

气 'Qi' (breath/vital energy) in 'in five-colored light one breath flows through' means the cosmic original 'one breath'; Daoism holds all things are born of one breath, and alchemy returns to its coalescence. This word is the core of the alchemical scene: the previous line tells 'natural' efficacy, this tells the 'one breath' realm—from function to substance, reasoning progressive. The refinement is 'tong' (flow) echoing 'yi' (one)—'one breath flows' writes all things unobstructed, exactly Zhuangzi's 'all under heaven is one breath' poeticized. Deeper, the poet closes the first half with 'one breath,' planting a seed for the latter 'like-kind is Cantong': since all things issue from one breath and same-kind generates, 'like-kind' is already the Cantong's manifestation. One word serving embodiment, scene, and foreshadowing. 「气」在「五色光中一气通」中指宇宙本原之「一气」，道家以为万物由一气化生、炼丹即返归一气之浑然。此字是丹道景象的核心：前句言「自然」之功效，此句言「一气」之境界，由用归体，义理递进。炼字之巧在「通」与「一」呼应——「一气通」写万象贯通无碍，恰是《庄子》「通天下一气」的诗化。且「气」为去声未韵，置于句腰顿挫，与「五色光中」的平仄相生，音节清圆。更深层看，诗人以「一气」收束前半，为后半「相类即参同」埋下伏笔：既然万物本出一气、同类相生，则「相类」本就是「参同」的显现，后联之机锋于此已伏根。一字而兼体道、写景、伏脉三用，是短章炼字的细密处。

同 'Tong' (communion/same) in 'how not that like-kind is itself the Cantong' is both the book's last character and the meaning 'communing,' doubly punned, the poem's flourish-gathering word. The Cantongqi's 'Cantong' means collating the three powers, communicating similarities; the poet reverses 'like-kind' and 'Cantong' into the palindromic 'like-kind is Cantong,' making 'tong' mean both 'book name' and 'sameness/communion.' The refinement is real insight in wordplay: no need to cling to the Cantong's like-kind method; being able to generate like-kind is the Cantong's intent—grasping meaning, forgetting words. Phonetically 'tong' faintly echoes above, reading round; the word stands at the closing line's eye, ending the whole mystery with its pun—most showing Song 'poem as argument' ingenuity. 「同」在尾联「何如相类即参同」中既是书名之尾字、又是「会通」之义，一字双关，为全诗机锋所聚。《周易参同契》之「参同」谓参校三才、会通同异；诗人将「相类」与「参同」对调，作成「相类即参同」的回文式命题，使「同」字兼指「书名」与「同一、会通」二义。炼字之妙在文字游戏中有真解：不必执《参同》书里的相类之法，能相类相生便是参同之旨，点出得意忘言。音声上「同」平声东韵，与「通」「功」遥协（绝句首句可不入韵，此处通、同暗合），读来圆转。此字居结句之眼，以双关收束全篇玄理，最见宋人「以诗为论」的巧思。

光 'Guang' (light) in 'in five-colored light one breath flows through' means the circular light appearing at elixir completion; Daoism says when refining completes there is five-colored precious light—the Cantongqi's 'five colors contending' is this. This word is the visual core of the alchemical scene: previous line tells 'natural' efficacy, this tells the 'light' scene—from function to image, giving the abstract 'one breath' a sensible glow. The refinement is 'five-colored light' opposed to 'one breath'—light scatters, breath gathers, scatter and gather same source. Phonetically it reads bright, fit for writing the clear elixir scene. One word serving image, principle, and sound-echo—the key word lifting the Daoist mood in the short piece. 「光」在「五色光中一气通」中指丹成时显现的圆光，道教谓炼化既成则有五色宝光，《参同契》言「五色象夺」即此。此字是丹境的视觉核心：前句言「自然功」之功效，此句言「光」之景象，由用归象，使抽象的「一气」有了可感的光色。炼字之妙在「五色光」与「一气」对举——光为散、气为聚，散聚同源，正合《老子》「抟气致柔」「五色令人目盲」之间辩证处理：丹家不废五色之光，而归于「一气」之本。且「光」为平声唐韵，与「功」「通」「同」遥协，读来清亮，恰宜写丹景之明。一字而兼写象、写理、声协三用，是短章中托出丹道意境的关键字。