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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

送杜山人

Farewell to the Hermit Du

张方平

Zhang Fangping

送别farewell 隐逸reclusion

到不说来处，去安知所之。
野云同自在，溪鸟与谁期。
虎伴闲行远，猿惊住啸迟。
相逢聊一醉，重见又何时。

On arrival he tells not whence he came; when he leaves, how could one know where he goes?
Like the wild cloud, he shares its freedom; like the stream-bird, with whom does he keep appointment?
Tigers companion his idle walk far away; apes startled, his lingering whistle comes late.
We meet and briefly share one drunk; when shall we meet again?

Listen

Meaning

A farewell to a hermit named Du whose whereabouts are unknown. The poet compares him to a wild cloud and a stream-bird, free and unbound, and paints his strange mountain travels with tigers and apes. Though the parting is lightly borne, a quiet regret at an uncertain reunion lingers.

你到来时不说从何处来，离去时又怎知将往哪里去。如野云般与你同享自在，如溪鸟般与谁相约归期。有猛虎相伴你闲行已远，猿猴惊起你驻啸声迟。相逢且共一醉，重见又要在什么时候。

Appreciation

The poem departs from ordinary parting sorrow, using clouds, waters, and beasts to set off the hermit's transcendence, achieving a clear, empty manner. Its opening double-question, the cloud-bird simile, and the tiger-ape mountain scene build a structure that opens then closes, empty yet not vague—a fine specimen of Song farewell verse.

【白话串讲】张方平送杜山人：“到不说来处，去安知所之”——来处不说，去处不知。“野云同自在，溪鸟与谁期”——“相逢聊一醉，重见又何时”——他写一位来去无踪的山人。【意象与手法】此诗送别隐者，章法以「问—拟—写—叹」为序。起联以「来处」「所之」双问，写山人行踪不定；次联「野云」「溪鸟」以物拟人，状其自在无期；三联「虎伴」「猿惊」写山行之奇，带有游仙意味；结联「一醉」「何时」归于人间别情。通篇不写寻常离愁，而以云水禽兽烘托隐者之脱俗，别具清境。【情感与主旨】主旨在于送别一位行踪飘忽的隐逸山人，既欣慕其野云般的自在，又于结处流露相逢难再的怅惘。诗中无涕泪之语，却于「重见又何时」的平淡一问中，藏着对高人易逝的深惜，是送隐者诗中清空一路。【名句点睛】「野云同自在，溪鸟与谁期」一联最见清空，以野云溪鸟双拟山人，不著色相而自在之态全出，是送别诗中难得的脱俗之笔。

Background

Zhang Fangping's Farewell to the Hermit Du—the Hermit Du was a man beyond the secular with unfixed whereabouts, dwelling in forests. Such recluses were common in Tang-Song poetry, mostly high hermits indifferent to fame. In mid-Northern Song, reclusive culture flourished; the court honored men of the mountains, and literati enjoyed befriending those beyond the secular as a way to cleanse the dust from their hearts. Zhang, an upright minister, favored such unusual men and often praised them. This poem was likely written when the two met somewhere and parted soon after. The lines on arrival he tells not whence and when he leaves how could one know where exactly write the hermit's unhindered, traceless comings and goings; tigers companion, apes startled carries a wandering-immortal mountain air. To read it, one must place it in the Song esteem for reclusion and pure ease, to feel the fate of an unexpected, unpromised meeting that one dares not expect to repeat. Northern Song literati esteemed those beyond the secular not merely for lofty talk but for their unburdened bearing; this poem is one example, showing the friendship custom of the time where literati and hermits met regardless of rank, valuing pure interest.

张方平此《送杜山人》，所送之「杜山人」当是一位行踪不定、隐居山林的方外之士。山人、处士之流，在唐宋诗中常见，多为不求闻达、寄情泉石的高隐。北宋中期，隐逸文化尤盛，一方面朝廷以「山林之士」为清议所重，另一方面文人雅好与方外交游，视作洗涤尘襟之举。方平以直臣立朝，而性喜奇士，于此类人物每加推许。此诗当作于二人在某处相逢、旋即送别之际。诗中「到不说来处，去安知所之」，正写山人飘忽来去、不知其所的无碍之状；「虎伴闲行远，猿惊住啸迟」，则带有游仙般的山林奇气。读懂此诗，须置之于宋人尚隐、重清逸的交游风气中，方能体会那份既不忍别、又不敢期的不期而遇之缘。北宋士人于方外多所推挹，不独以玄言相高，更重其脱略之姿，方平此诗即其一例；读之可见当时文人与山人往来，不以贵贱相隔，而以清趣相尚的交游风气。方平既与山人往还，其笔下山人居处行事遂有亲历之真，非悬空想象，此亦宋人纪交游诗之一大长处。

Art

This five-character lüshi of four couplets writes a farewell to a hermit yet sheds ordinary parting sorrow, opening a distinctive structure. The opening couplet breaks the theme with double questions—not telling whence, not knowing where—first writing the hermit's traceless track, already different from the concrete opening of ordinary farewell. The second couplet uses wild cloud and stream-bird to double-simile the hermit; the cloud's freedom and the bird's unappointed state both write his unbinding, the antithesis fine yet lively. The third couplet turns to the strange mountain scene—tiger companion, ape startle—with wandering-immortal air, space and time moving from near to far, from man to beast. The fourth couplet returns to human parting feeling, dispelling melancholy with one drunk and closing the regret with when. Throughout, clouds, waters, birds, beasts set off the hermit; without tears it is clear and distant—a pure mode of Song farewell verse, opening another realm beyond Tang's lone sail, distant shadow. The opening double question writes his traceless coming and going, already off the common pattern; the middle uses cloud-bird to simile his freedom, suddenly enters tiger-ape for the strange mountain walk, the close returns to humanity with one drunk and when—the structure opens then gathers, clear yet not empty, a superior farewell-to-hermit poem. Its question one drunk, when after opening returns to the human world; the structure seems scattered yet the spirit is not, clear within yet with closure—the excellence of farewell-to-hermit verse that can open and gather, not reached by careless brush.

此诗五言律格，四联八句，写送隐者而能脱去寻常离愁，章法别开。「到不说来处，去安知所之」起联以双问破题，不来处、不知去，先将山人飘忽之踪写得扑朔，已异于一般送别诗的实景起手；「野云同自在，溪鸟与谁期」次联以野云、溪鸟双拟山人，云之自在、鸟之无期，皆写其不系于物，对仗工而意活；「虎伴闲行远，猿惊住啸迟」三联转写山行奇景，虎伴猿惊，带游仙气味，时空由近及远、由人及兽；「相逢聊一醉，重见又何时」结联回到人间别情，以一醉遣兴、以「何时」收束怅惘。通篇以云水禽兽烘托隐者，不写涕泪而清空自远，是宋诗中送别一体之清格，较之唐人「孤帆远影」的怅望另开一境。起以双问写其来去无踪，已脱送别常格；中以云鸟拟其自在，忽入虎猿写山行之奇，结以一醉何时收归人世，章法放开又收拢，清空而不空泛，是送隐者诗之上乘。其「一醉何时」之问，于放开之后复归人世，章法似散而神不散，清空之中自有收束，是送隐者诗能放能收之妙，非率笔可到。

Allusions

The vocabulary mostly inherits the reclusive and Zhuang-Chan traditions, with few obscure allusions, yet the imagery all has sources. Hermit (shanren) originally meant one dwelling in forests; since the Southern Dynasties, poetry often pairs shanren with chushi (retired scholar). Fangping uses it for Du, first fixing his recluse identity. Wild cloud metaphor for unfixed whereabouts—many Tang-Song poems use cloud for the drifting reclusive body, e.g., wild cloud alone flies. Stream-bird paired with wild cloud takes the bird's innocence and the cloud's freedom, echoing Zhuangzi's eat and roam, floating like an unmoored boat of the unattached state. Tiger companion, ape startle carries wandering-immortal and mountain-spirit air, near Chu Ci's Mountain Spirit: thunder rumbles, rain darkens, apes cry, monkeys wail at night. The closing briefly one drunk transforms Tao Yuanming's calling at the gate they hail each other, with wine they pour and share of the farmer-friend bond. These images weave the meaning-net of reclusive culture, raising the farewell above parting sorrow into a celebration of a way of life. Wild cloud and stream-bird are old poet metaphors, yet in Fangping's hand still show new meaning—he not only depicts scene but uses them to write the hermit's spirit; tiger companion and ape startle tint wandering-immortal air, making a small farewell poem embrace both reclusion and forest-spring interests, with considerable craft in imagery.

诗中语汇多承隐逸与庄禅传统，虽少生僻用典，而意象皆有来历。「山人」本指隐居山林之士，南朝以来诗文多以山人处士并称，如「山人观气象」；方平以此称杜某，先定其隐者身份。「野云」喻行踪无定，唐宋诗词中以云喻隐逸漂泊之身者伙矣，如「野云孤飞」。「溪鸟」与「野云」对举，取鸟之无机、云之自在，暗合庄子「饱食而遨游，泛若不系之舟」的无待之境。「虎伴」「猿惊」则带游仙与山鬼之气，近《楚辞·山鬼》「雷填填兮雨冥冥，猿啾啾兮狖夜鸣」的山林幽奇。结「聊一醉」化用陶潜「过门更相呼，有酒斟酌之」的田父之交。诸象共同织成隐逸文化的意义之网，使送别超乎离愁，而成对一种生活方式的礼赞。野云溪鸟本诗人旧喻，至方平手中仍见新意，盖其不只状景，更以之代写山人之神；虎伴猿惊则染游仙之气，使一首送别小诗兼得隐逸与林泉两趣，意象经营颇具匠心。诗中云水野鸟本为诗人习用，方平点染之下，竟成山人自由之化身，典故与实景交融不分，足见其驱遣故实而不为所役的腕力。

Commentary

Though short, this poem shows Fangping's distinctive farewell manner. Tang farewell often writes parting sorrow and longing—Wang Wei's I urge you to drink one more cup, Li Bai's lone sail, distant shadow melts into blue void—deep in feeling; Fangping writes a farewell to a traceless hermit, without a tear throughout, using wild cloud, stream-bird, tiger companion, ape startle to set off his transcendence, hiding deep cherishing in the plain question when shall we meet again. This clear-empty manner fits the Song orientation of meaning foremost, valuing pale distance. Qing scholars' Song Poetry Anthology praises Fangping as clear, fluent, bright, brisk; this poem's plain description shows the most craft. Its opening double question whence / where, unanswered yet more showing his drift, is a step above direct narration of track. Fangping is famous as an upright minister, yet his poetry can write this clear-empty language, showing a rivers-lakes thought in his breast. This piece can be seen as representative of Northern Song farewell-to-hermit poetry, valuable for studying Song literati friendship and reclusive writing. Tang farewell stresses the lingering of feeling, Fangping stresses the clarity of scene; not moving with tearful parting but with clouds and waters—exactly the Song pursuit of pale distance and interest, opening a new face in the farewell line, able to stand beside Tang sound. Thus in Fangping's farewell, he does not fall into Tang's tearful commonness but opens the Song clear-distance vein; readers should seek his excellence here.

此诗虽短，却颇可见方平送别诗之别调。唐人送别多写离愁与瞩望，如王维「劝君更尽一杯酒」、李白「孤帆远影碧空尽」，情致深至；方平此作则写送一飘忽山人，全篇不着涕泪，而以野云溪鸟、虎伴猿惊烘托其脱俗，于「重见又何时」的平淡一问中藏惜别之深。这种清空一路，正合宋诗「以意为主、尚淡远」的取向。清人《宋诗钞》称方平「疏畅明快」，此诗白描处最见功夫。其起联双问「来处」「所之」，不答而愈见其飘，比直叙行踪更高一着。方平以直臣名世，而诗能作此清空语，可见其襟抱中亦有江湖之思。此篇可视为北宋送隐者诗的代表，于研究宋人交游与隐逸书写颇有价值。唐人送别多重情之缠绵，方平此诗则重境之清空，不以泪别动人，而以云水动人，恰是宋诗求淡远、尚意趣的体现，于送别一脉别开生面，足与唐音并峙。是知方平送别，不落唐人涕泪之常，而开宋调清远一脉，读其诗者当于此别寻其胜处。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated poem (lüshi)五言律诗

Rhyme Rhymes throughout with the level-tone zhi (支) rhyme; entering-rhyme characters: 之(zhī), 期(qī), 迟(chí), 时(shí), one rhyme throughout; a four-couplet short piece, the zhi-wei timbre is fine and delicate.通押平声支韵，入韵字为之、期、迟、时，一韵到底，四联短制，支微辙清细。

Tone pattern Five-character lüshi follows the regulated level-oblique pattern; the middle two couplets wild cloud shares freedom / stream-bird with whom appointment and tiger companion idle walk far / ape startled lingering whistle late are finely antithetical, level and oblique matching.五言律诗依律调平仄，中二联「野云同自在，溪鸟与谁期」「虎伴闲行远，猿惊住啸迟」对仗工整，平仄相侔。

Reading note This poem's four couplets, a short chapter, has its own prosodic method. The zhi rhyme belongs to the opening-third-class of the stop-initial group, its vowel fine and moist, its timbre clear and high, most suited to writing reclusive clear-empty feeling and the thought of parting regret. Fangping encloses the whole with zhi rhyme: opening 之, continuing 期, turning 迟, closing 时—four rhymes succeeding, the air even and pure, reading like clear spring washing stone, exactly matching the wild-cloud stream-bird scene written. The middle two couplets are antithetical: wild cloud against stream-bird by natural imagery, tiger companion against ape startle by beast, fine yet not stiff. Short regulated verse most fears rushed air; this poem is upheld by zhi's clear moistness; the opening whence/where drift and the closing one drunk/when regret correspond in sound-emotion. Song short poems value flavor; this piece has a narrow rhyme yet long meaning; zhi's clarity is exactly its stylistic outer manifestation, quite valuable for appreciating the pale permanence of Song five-character lüshi. The zhi rhyme is fine and moist, the air even and still, like listening to a stream in empty mountains, matching the wild-cloud stream-bird scene; a four-line short piece yet long rhyme, most suited to writing unbound farewell.此诗四联短章，音韵自有其法。支韵属止摄开口三等，元音细润、音色清越，最宜写隐逸清空之情与别后怅惘之思。方平以支韵笼全篇，起「之」、承「期」、转「迟」、合「时」，四韵相承，声气匀净，读来如清泉漱石，恰与其所写野云溪鸟之境相称。中二联对仗，「野云」对「溪鸟」以物象对，「虎伴」对「猿惊」以禽兽对，工稳而不板。律诗短章最忌气促，此诗以支韵的清润托住，首尾「来处所之」之飘与「一醉何时」之怅，声情相应。宋人小诗重味，此篇韵窄而意长，支韵之清正是其体格外显，于体会宋调五律之淡永颇有可取。支韵细润，声气匀静，如空山听溪，与野云溪鸟之境相称，四句短制而韵长，最宜写不系于物之送别。

Line by line

到不说来处，去安知所之。

On arrival he tells not whence he came; when he leaves, how could one know where he goes?

你到来时不说从何处来，离去时又怎知将往哪里去。

Coming, he does not say whence he came; going, how should we know where he is bound?

起联以双问破题，是全诗最见章法之处。上句「到不说来处」写山人到来不道姓名乡里，下句「去安知所之」写其去后不知所往，一来一去皆「不知」，便将一位行踪飘忽、无碍无著的隐者写活。寻常送别诗多先叙行者之籍里去向，方平反其道而行，以「不说」「安知」两个否定，制造出一种扑朔迷离的空白——正因不明，愈见其脱略形骸。此联之用问句亦妙：问而不答，留出余韵，与后文「野云同自在」的拟写相呼应，先悬其踪、后状其神。更可味者，「来处」「所之」对举，暗用《楚辞》「何处独无芳草」式的漂泊母题，为全篇定下清空不滞的基调。

The opening strikes the theme with two questions, the place where the poem's structure most shows. The first, coming, he does not say whence he came, writes that the mountain man arrives without telling name or native place; the second, going, how should we know where he is bound? writes that after he leaves no one knows where he went. Coming and going are both unknown, and a recluse whose traces are drifting, unbound and unattached, comes to life. Ordinary farewell poems first narrate the traveler's native place and destination; Fangping reverses this, using the two negatives does not say and how should we know to create a bewildering blank - precisely because unclear, the more showing his freedom from bodily form. The couplet's use of questions is also fine: asking without answering, leaving aftertone, echoing the later拟 writing of free as the wild cloud, first hanging his traces, then portraying his spirit. What is more to taste is that whence and where bound are set against each other, secretly using the Chuci wandering motif of where there is no fragrant grass, fixing the poem's key of clear void without clinging.

野云同自在，溪鸟与谁期。

Like the wild cloud, he shares its freedom; like the stream-bird, with whom does he keep appointment?

如野云般与你同享自在，如溪鸟般与谁相约归期。

Like the wild cloud, he shares the great freedom; like the stream bird, with whom has he made a tryst?

此联以物拟人，是全诗清空之笔。上句「野云同自在」以野云之无绊写山人自在，云本无心，随风聚散，恰是其人生态度；下句「溪鸟与谁期」以溪鸟之无约写其不期，鸟飞无定，与谁有约？二句对仗，「野云」对「溪鸟」以自然物象对，「自在」对「谁期」以状态对，工而能活。方平不直说山人如何自在，而借云鸟二物曲写，便觉不着色相而神理自出，是「不写之写」的法门。此联上承起联之飘忽，下启三联之山行，在全篇中处于由「问踪」转入「写境」的枢纽。宋诗尚理尚比，此联以云鸟双拟一人，最简净处见最深远，是送别诗中脱俗之笔。

This couplet likens man to thing, the poem's clear-void stroke. The first, like the wild cloud, he shares the great freedom, writes the mountain man's freedom through the wild cloud's unbound state; the cloud is originally mindless, gathering and scattering with the wind, exactly his attitude to life. The second, like the stream bird, with whom has he made a tryst, writes his not-trysting through the stream bird's having no appointment; the bird flies nowhere fixed, with whom a tryst? The two lines are parallel, wild cloud paired with stream bird through natural objects, free paired with with whom through states, wrought yet alive. Fangping does not directly say how free the mountain man is, but borrows cloud and bird to write it circuitously, so that the spirit shows without taking on a color, the way of writing by not writing. This couplet follows the opening's drifting and opens the third's mountain journey, standing in the hinge between asking traces and writing realm. Song poetry prizes reason and analogy; this couplet uses cloud and bird to double-metaphor the one man, showing the farthest reach in the greatest spare-ness, a stroke beyond the common in a farewell poem.

相逢聊一醉，重见又何时。

We meet and briefly share one drunk; when shall we meet again?

相逢且共一醉，重见又要在什么时候。

We met and drank a cup for the moment; when shall we meet again?

结联由清空回到人间，是全诗情感落点。上句「相逢聊一醉」写二人偶然相遇、且共一醉，一个「聊」字见随缘任性，不作深惜状；下句「重见又何时」以平淡一问收束，问重逢之期，实已自答「难期」。二句将前面所有云水禽兽的清空烘托，统统收束为一醉一问，章法由放转收。尤妙在「聊一醉」的淡与「又何时」的怅形成张力：越是随缘，越见不舍；越不说愁，愁愈深。方平以直臣立身，此处却写得如此清空缠绵，正见其对隐者之交的由衷珍惜。全篇不著涕泪，而别意自远，此联收得最是宋调。

The closing returns from the clear void to the human world, the poem's emotional landing. The first, we met and drank a cup for the moment, writes that the two met by chance and drank a cup for the moment; the word for the moment shows suiting the chance and following the nature, no deep show of grief. The second, when shall we meet again? closes in a plain question, asking the time of reunion, really already answering hard to say. The two lines gather all the clear-void setting of cloud, water and creatures into one cup and one question, the structure turning from expansion to close. The beauty lies in the tension between the lightness of a cup for the moment and the wistfulness of when again: the more one follows the chance, the more one shows not letting go; the less one speaks grief, the deeper the grief. Fangping stood as a straight official, yet here he writes so clear and clinging, showing his sincere treasuring of the friendship with the recluse. The whole page carries no tears, yet the parting meaning is of itself far; this couplet closes most in the Song tone.

Study

Word focus

自在 In wild cloud shares freedom, freedom (zizai) is the poetic eye writing the hermit, also the spirit gathering of the whole poem. It means unhindered, natural, from Buddhist canon later entering poetry for expansive ease. Fangping uses it for the wild cloud, and thereby for the hermit—the cloud's freedom is the man's freedom. Its excellence lies in transferring the object's attribute to the man, not directly saying how expansive the hermit is, but indirectly conveying through the cloud's freedom, thus without color yet the principle shows—the method of writing without writing. It pairs with the not knowing of whence / where: not knowing comings and goings, precisely therefore free; free, precisely because unbound. One word sketches the core of the recluse's character. Song poetry values principle; this freedom also holds some Chan machine: unbound by things, one gains freedom. The later one drunk / when parting feeling all takes this freedom as background, the more showing the purity of the friendship. 「野云同自在」之「自在」，是写山人的诗眼，亦全诗精神所聚。自在者，无碍无拘、任运自然之谓，本出佛典，后入诗文写旷达之境。方平以此状野云，亦以此状山人——云之自在即人之自在。此字之妙，在以物之属性移于人，不直言山人如何旷达，而借云之「自在」曲达，便觉不着色相。与「来处」「所之」的「不知」相表里：不知来去，正方能自在；自在，正因其无系。一字而勾出隐者人格的核心。宋诗尚理，此「自在」亦含几分禅机：不系于物，方得自在。后文「一醉」「何时」的别情，皆以此「自在」为底色，愈见交情之清。

期 In stream-bird with whom appointment, appointment (qi) is the poetic eye writing the hermit's unappointed state. It means to covenant, to await; paired with whom, it says the stream-bird has no covenant, the hermit no await—going with the wind, gathering by chance. Its weight lies in revealing a form of friendship meeting by chance, parting without fixed date: precisely because no appointment, the meeting is precious, thus hard to meet again after parting. It echoes the opening when he leaves how could one know where—leaving not knowing where, naturally no appointment to keep. One word runs through the whole's drifting tone. More tasteful: appointment at line end, closed by a question, leaving endless blank: with whom appointment? No one to appoint, nor need to. Song poetry values pale distance; this appointment with empty question writes real scene, most showing economy. The closing when is precisely forced out by this no appointment, structure front and back echoing. 「溪鸟与谁期」之「期」，是写隐者无约的诗眼。期者，约也、待也，与「谁」连用，谓溪鸟无所约、山人无所待，随风而往、遇缘则聚。此字之重，在揭示一种「不期而遇、不定期而别」的交游形态：正因无期，故相逢可贵，故别后难再。与起联「去安知所之」呼应——去不知所之，自亦无期可约。一字而贯穿全篇的飘忽基调。更可味者，「期」字置于句末，以问收束，留白不尽：与谁期？无人可期，亦不必期。宋诗重淡远，此「期」字以虚问写实境，最见省净。结联「又何时」正是由此「无期」逼出，章法前后映带。

聊 In we meet and briefly one drunk, briefly (liao) is the empty-word eye writing parting feeling, also the hinge of the whole's emotional close. It means for the moment, just, containing the ease of going with circumstance, not deepening attachment. Fangping writes the two meeting, not deeply drink or freely drink, but briefly one drunk, thus showing a non-clinging, light-friendship bearing: gathering and parting like clouds, drunk to dispel cheer is all. Its excellence lies in writing deep feeling with a light brush—the more briefly casual, the more true the friendship, unlike the solemn pretension of common feasts. It is of a vein with the hermit's opening tells not whence unburdened: the man thus, the friendship thus. More tasteful: briefly one drunk against the next when—one temporary one eternal, one gathering one parting, tension fully shown. One word settles the tone of parting feeling, the most fitting method for the closing line. 「相逢聊一醉」之「聊」，是写别情的虚字眼，亦全诗情感收束的枢纽。聊者，暂且、姑且也，含随缘任性、不加深执之意。方平写二人相逢，不云「痛饮」「畅饮」，而云「聊一醉」，便见一种不粘不滞的淡交之态：聚散如云，醉以遣兴而已。此字之妙，在以轻笔写深情——越是「聊」得随便，越显交情之真，不似世俗饯别之隆重做作。与起联山人「不说来处」的脱略一脉：其人如此，其交亦如此。更可味者，「聊一醉」与下句「又何时」相对，一暂一永、一聚一散，张力全出。一词而定别情之调，是结句最得体之法。