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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

题杨大年集后

Inscribed at the End of Yang Danian's Collected Works

张方平

Zhang Fangping

文集题跋colophon on a literary collection 西昆Xikun style

天上灵仙谪，人间秀气涵。
朱弦清庙瑟，美干豫章柟。
富艳三千牍，从容八十函。
典纯追古昔，雅正合周南。
温粹琼瑶润，滋𬪩稼穑甘。
微中缄海蚌，巧处吐春蚕。
璀璨龙宫出，精深虎穴探。
机衡成臲尯，嵩洛入烟岚。
寂忍修禅智，虚柔慕史聃。
骥辕曾未骋，鸾驭不停骖。
岩庙登何数，承明入独三。
可怜经济意，旧客记高谈。

A numinous immortal banished from the heavens, by the world's finest essence reared;
The vermilion strings of the pure temple's se, fine timber of Yuzhang's nanmu;
Three thousand tablets rich and resplendent, eighty cases of calm collected ease;
Classic purity that reaches back to antiquity, elegant correctness in tune with the Zhou Nan;
Warm and pure, the sheen of jade; mellow-rich, the sweetness of the harvest;
In subtlety, pearls sealed in the sea-oyster; in craft, silk spun by the spring silkworms;
Dazzling, as if brought forth from the Dragon Palace; profound, as if fathomed from the tiger's den;
Yet the pivot-star of his name was left to totter; Songgao and Luoyang faded into mist;
In stillness and endurance he cultivated Chan wisdom; in yielding softness admired Scribe Dan;
The thoroughbred beneath its shaft was never given rein; the phoenix carriage halted its team too soon;
How few his climbs to the Hall of State; yet alone thrice he entered Chengming's gates;
Pity the ambitions he bore to order the age—old guests still remember his lofty talk.

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Meaning

This long regulated poem, written on the endpapers of the collected works of Yang Yi (style name Danian), leader of the Song Xikun school, first praises his heaven-sent genius and the classical purity and elegant correctness of his writing through a dense array of metaphors. It then mourns how his talent was never fully employed and his life was cut short at forty-seven. The closing couplet laments that what is most pitiable is not his literary fame but his unfulfilled ambition to govern well, preserved now only in the memories of old friends and their recollection of his lofty talk.

您如天上灵仙被谪，人间秀气所涵育。如朱弦清庙之瑟，如美材豫章之柟。文章富艳有三千牍，从容有八十函。典重纯正追远古，雅正之和合于周南。温润如琼瑶之泽，滋浓如稼穑之甘。精微之处如海蚌缄珠，巧妙之处如春蚕吐丝。璀璨如自龙宫而出，精深如探虎穴而得。文名机衡（中枢）终成臲尯（动摇），嵩洛之迹已入烟岚。寂忍以修禅智，虚柔而慕史聃（老聃）。骥辕未曾骋展，鸾驭不停骖驾（早逝）。岩庙之登能有几，承明之入独再三。可怜其经济之志，旧日门客犹记其高谈。

Appreciation

A twelve-couplet pentasyllabic extended regulated poem carrying a single rhyme throughout, it is a rare long piece in Zhang Fangping's oeuvre. Its structure runs general–particular–verdict: the opening couplet sums up Yang's natural endowment, the middle couplets characterize his literary qualities through clustered metaphors—temple zither and nanmu timber for substance, three thousand tablets for abundance, classic purity and elegant correctness for orthodoxy, jade and harvest for warmth, oyster-pearl and silkworm for subtlety and craft, Dragon Palace and tiger's den for brilliance and depth—and the final couplets turn to his thwarted career and early death, closing with regret. Using the manner of rhapsodic exposition to write literary criticism in verse, dense in metaphor yet never slack across its length, it is a grand specimen of Song poets discussing literature in poetry.

【白话串讲】张方平题杨亿（大年）的诗集：“天上灵仙谪，人间秀气涵”。“富艳三千牍，从容八十函”——“微中缄海蚌，巧处吐春蚕”——他评杨亿的诗。【意象与手法】此诗五言排律，十二联一韵，是方平诗中罕见长篇。章法以「总—分—评」为经：起联总挈杨亿天赋；中幅以比喻群落写其文品——清庙瑟、豫章柟状质，三千牍、八十函状富，典纯、雅正状正，琼瑶、稼穑状润，海蚌、春蚕状巧，龙宫、虎穴状深；后幅写其遇之不偶与早逝；终以「可怜经济意，旧客记高谈」收结，寄以嗟惜。通篇以赋体写论人，比喻密集而各有所指。【情感与主旨】此诗题杨亿文集之后，极称其文而惜其遇，于西昆体领袖独赏「典纯雅正」一面，折射北宋中期对西昆「雅」的回护，亦寄一代文臣对才士不遇的同声之慨。【名句点睛】「典纯追古昔，雅正合周南」以风雅正声定杨亿，把西昆从「纂组雕琢」的时讥中救出，是北宋中期回护西昆「雅」的一脉纲领性判语；结联「可怜经济意」寄不遇之慨。

Background

Zhang Fangping inscribed this poem at the end of the collected works of Yang Yi (974–1020), style name Danian, leader of the Northern Song Xikun school, whose ornate, classically elegant style crowned the court of Emperor Zhenzong and who died at forty-seven with his gifts never fully employed. Zhang, of the succeeding generation, wrote it as a colophon, extolling the writing and lamenting the man's fate. In the mid-Northern Song, as ancient-prose writers increasingly derided the Xikun manner, Zhang alone honored Yang with this long regulated poem—evidence both of his admiration and of a current that defended the 'classical purity and elegant correctness' of Xikun writing. Composed as Zhang read Yang's collection and recalled his senior, its sigh over ambitions unfulfilled gives voice to a whole generation of court writers' grief for the unrecognized talent, and makes the poem valuable for studying the shifting of early Song literary styles and the disputes over literary form.

张方平《题杨大年集后》题北宋西昆体领袖杨亿（字大年）文集之后。杨亿（九七四—一零二零）文名冠真宗朝，主盟西昆，典丽渊雅，然未竟其用，四十七而卒。方平与杨亿后辈相接，此诗盖为杨集作跋，极称其文而惜其遇。北宋中期，西昆体渐受古文家讥，方平独以排律长篇隆礼杨亿，既见其赏爱，亦折射当时对西昆「典纯雅正」一面的回护。此诗当作于方平读杨集、追怀前辈之时，于「经济意」未酬深致嗟惜，寓一代文臣对才士不遇的同声之慨，于研究宋初文风流转颇有价值。杨亿主盟西昆，典丽渊雅而未竟其用，方平与之后辈相接，此诗盖为杨集作跋，极称其文而惜其遇。北宋中期西昆渐受古文家讥，方平独以排律长篇隆礼，既见赏爱，亦折射对西昆「典纯雅正」一面的回护。此诗当在方平读杨集、追怀前辈时作，于经济意未酬深致嗟惜，寓一代文臣对才士不遇的同声之慨，于研究宋初文风流转与文体之争颇有价值。杨亿主盟西昆未竟其用，方平独以排律长篇隆礼，既见赏爱亦折射回护西昆雅之一脉，于研究宋初文风流转与文体之争颇有价值。

Art

A pentasyllabic extended regulated poem of twelve couplets in a single rhyme, rare in Zhang Fangping's work. Its plan runs 'general–particular–verdict': the opening couplet grasps Yang Yi's endowment ('a numinous immortal banished from the heavens, by the world's finest essence reared'); the middle couplets write his literary qualities through a cluster of metaphors—the vermilion strings of the temple zither and nanmu timber for substance, three thousand tablets and eighty cases for abundance, classic purity and elegant correctness for orthodoxy, jade sheen and harvest sweetness for warmth, oyster-pearl and silkworm for subtlety and craft, Dragon Palace and tiger's den for brilliance and depth; the latter couplets record his unmet fortunes and early death; and the close ('Pity the ambitions... old guests still remember his lofty talk') seals the poem with regret. Throughout it criticizes a writer in the manner of fu exposition, its metaphors dense yet each precisely aimed; dependent on the shifting metaphor-scapes to avoid slackness in so long a form, it shows both Zhang's command of extended regulation and the elegance of the courtly encomium style.

此诗五言排律，十二联一韵，是方平诗中罕见长篇。章法以「总—分—评」为经：起联「天上灵仙谪，人间秀气涵」总挈杨亿天赋；中幅以比喻群落写其文品——「朱弦清庙瑟」「美干豫章柟」喻其质，「富艳三千牍」「从容八十函」喻其富，「典纯追古昔」「雅正合周南」喻其正，「温粹琼瑶润」「滋𬪩稼穑甘」喻其润，「微中缄海蚌」「巧处吐春蚕」喻其巧，「璀璨龙宫出」「精深虎穴探」喻其深；后幅「机衡成臲尯」以下写其遇之不偶与早逝；终以「可怜经济意，旧客记高谈」收结，寄以嗟惜。通篇以赋体写论人，比喻密集而各有所指，是宋人以文论诗的宏制。十二联排律而以赋体写论人，比喻群落密集而各有所指，是宋人以文论诗的宏制。起联总挈天赋，中幅以清庙瑟、豫章柟状质，三千牍、八十函状富，典纯雅正状正，琼瑶稼穑状润，海蚌春蚕状巧，龙宫虎穴状深，后幅写不遇与早逝，终以嗟惜收。章法总—分—评，脉络分明，赖比喻换境而不松散，足见方平排律之功与台阁颂体之雅。十二联排律以赋体写论人，比喻群落密集各有所指，赖比喻换境而不松散，足见方平排律之功与台阁颂体之雅，是宋人以文论诗之宏制。

Allusions

Allusion and metaphor are interwoven throughout. 'A numinous immortal banished' borrows Li Bai's epithet of the 'banished immortal' to mark Yang Yi as a genius not of this world. 'The pure temple's se' invokes the 'Qing Miao' hymn of the Book of Songs with its vermilion strings, emblem of elegant correctness. 'Yuzhang nanmu' names fine timber for material excellence. 'Three thousand tablets' uses Dongfang Shuo's three thousand memorial slips to stand for prolific composition. 'Zhou Nan', with which the Book of Songs begins, grounds elegance in the orthodox tradition of the Odes. 'Sea-oyster' and 'spring silkworm' figure pearls sealed and silk spun—subtlety and craft. 'Dragon Palace' and 'tiger's den' figure the dazzlingly marvelous and the perilously deep. 'Scribe Dan' is Laozi, historian of Zhou, standing for his turn toward the Way. 'Thoroughbred shaft' and 'phoenix carriage' figure the talent never given rein and the immortal carriage halted by early death. 'Chengming' is the Chengming Lodge where literary officials served. Every figure fits either the writing or the man's fortunes, nothing set down at random—one sees how densely Song colophon-poems used allusion to characterize a person.

用典与比喻交错。其一，「灵仙谪」：用李白「谪仙人」意，谓杨亿天才不世。其二，「清庙瑟」：《诗》「清庙」为颂祖宗之乐章，朱弦疏越，喻文之雅正。其三，「豫章柟」：豫章、柟皆良木，喻材美。其四，「三千牍」：用东方朔「三千奏牍」，喻著述富。其五，「周南」：《诗》始周南，谓雅正之基。其六，「海蚌」「春蚕」：喻缄珠、吐丝，写精微巧妙。其七，「龙宫」「虎穴」：喻瑰奇深险。其八，「史聃」：老聃、史官，谓虚柔慕道。其九，「骥辕」「鸾驭」：喻才士不骋、仙驭早逝。其十，「承明」：承明庐，文学之臣所居。诸喻皆切文品与遭际，非泛设。「灵仙谪」用李白谪仙意，「清庙瑟」本《诗》颂章，「豫章柟」喻材美，「三千牍」用东方朔，「周南」谓风雅正声，「海蚌」「春蚕」喻缄珠吐丝，「龙宫」「虎穴」喻瑰奇深险，「史聃」谓慕道，「骥辕」「鸾驭」喻才士不骋、仙驭早逝，「承明」为文学之臣所居。诸喻皆切文品与遭际，非泛设，可觇宋人题集诗以典喻人之密。灵仙谪清庙瑟豫章柟三千牍周南海蚌春蚕龙宫虎穴史聃骥辕鸾驭承明，诸喻皆切文品与遭际，非泛设，可觇宋人题集诗以典喻人之密。

Commentary

The poem is an important document of Song inscriptions on literary collections, honoring the Xikun leader with unusual fullness. Where ancient-prose men such as Ouyang Xiu and Shi Jie derided Xikun writing as 'pieced ornament', Zhang alone prized its 'classic purity reaching back to antiquity, elegant correctness in accord with the Zhou Nan', setting Yang Yi within the orthodox tradition of the Odes—evidence of the line of thought that defended the 'elegance' of Xikun. Its metaphor clusters for describing literary quality are denser than Tang precedents such as Du Mu's poem on reading the Han and Du collections. The Qing anthology Songshi Chao, collecting Zhang's poems, judged their 'bearing deep and elegant', and this long poem is the proof. Closing with 'Pity the ambitions... old guests still remember his lofty talk' gives the encomium the depth of history beyond mere praise: a court poet of the next generation crowning the master of Xikun, the poem is a small portrait of the conciliatory voice in the mid-Northern Song dispute over literary style—proof that Xikun was never mere splendor, and that Zhang had already spoken in its defense.

此诗是宋人题文集诗的重要文献，于西昆体领袖杨亿推崇备至。与欧阳修、石介等古文家贬西昆「纂组雕琢」不同，方平独赏其「典纯追古昔，雅正合周南」，以风雅正声定杨亿，足见其回护西昆「雅」的一脉。诗中比喻群落写文品，视唐人题文集（如杜牧《读韩杜集》）更趋密丽。清人《宋诗钞》收方平诗，谓其「气体渊雅」，此长篇即其雅证。结以「可怜经济意，旧客记高谈」，于礼赞中寄不遇之慨，比纯颂更多史深度。方平与杨亿虽隔一代，而同出台阁，此诗实是一代文臣对西昆宗主的正式加冕，亦北宋中期文体之争中「调和」声音的小影——读此当知西昆非徒靡丽，方平已先为之辨。此诗是宋人题文集诗的重要文献，于西昆领袖推崇备至，独赏「典纯雅正」以风雅正声定杨亿，足见回护西昆「雅」的一脉。诗中比喻群落视唐人题集更趋密丽。清人收方平诗谓其气体渊雅，此长篇即其雅证。结以经济意、旧客高谈，于礼赞中寄不遇之慨，比纯颂更多史深度；方平与杨亿虽隔一代而同出台阁，此诗实是一代文臣对西昆宗主的正式加冕，亦北宋文体之争中调和声音的小影。于西昆领袖独赏典纯雅正以风雅正声定杨亿，足见回护之一脉；结以经济意旧客高谈寄不遇之慨，比纯颂更多史深度，是西昆宗主之正式加冕。

Prosody

Form Pentasyllabic extended regulated poem (twelve couplets)五言排律（十二联）

Rhyme Level-tone tan/qin rhyme groups (han, nan, han, nan, gan, can, tan, lan, dan, can, san, tan), a single rhyme carried from start to finish平声覃谈韵（涵、柟、函、南、甘、蚕、探、岚、聃、骖、三、谈），一韵到底。

Tone pattern The extended regulation observes the tonal patterns, with parallel couplets throughout—e.g. 'vermilion strings of the temple zither / fine timber of Yuzhang nanmu' and 'classic purity reaching antiquity / elegant correctness according with the Zhou Nan'—tones opposed and parts of speech matched五言排律依平仄，中多联对仗，如『朱弦清庙瑟，美干豫章柟』『富艳三千牍，从容八十函』『典纯追古昔，雅正合周南』『温粹琼瑶润，滋𬪩稼穑甘』『微中缄海蚌，巧处吐春蚕』『璀璨龙宫出，精深虎穴探』，平仄相对、词性相侔。

Reading note Since this is a long extended regulation of twelve couplets, its phonetic virtue lies in carrying a single rhyme from beginning to end without the breath failing. The rhymes (han, nan, han, nan, gan, can, tan, lan, dan, can, san, tan) belong to the xian and tan groups with nasal finals, warm and unhurried in timbre, best suited to the mellow elegance of a colophon and the tone of remembrance, matching the literary qualities ascribed to Yang Yi—'warm and pure, the sheen of jade' and 'elegant correctness in accord with the Zhou Nan'. Zhang yokes twelve couplets with this rhyme: 'han' (endowment) at the head and 'tan' (lofty talk) at the close answer each other, while the middle couplets characterize the writing—temple zither and nanmu for substance, three thousand tablets and eighty cases for abundance, oyster and silkworm for craft, Dragon Palace and tiger's den for depth—all closing on the same rhyme, the sound unbroken throughout. Extended regulation most fears sagging in the middle; this poem shifts its metaphor-scenes layer by layer, supported by the mellow rhyme, and so stays taut over its full length. Song long colophon-poems often bring the methods of prose into verse; here phonetics and architecture are two faces of one thing, the mellow rhyme being the outward sign of the poem's style, and this piece well repays study by anyone seeking the mellow elegance of Song extended regulation.此诗既为十二联长篇排律，音韵之长者，在一韵到底而气不竭。所押覃谈诸韵（涵、柟、函、南、甘、蚕、探、岚、聃、骖、三、谈）属咸摄、山摄阳声，元音含鼻，音色温润而舒徐，最宜写「题集」的醇雅与追怀之调，与所咏杨亿「温粹琼瑶润」「雅正合周南」的文品相称。方平以是韵笼十二联，首尾「涵」（天赋）与「谈」（高谈）呼应，中幅连喻文品：清庙瑟、豫章柟状质，三千牍、八十函状富，海蚌、春蚕状巧，龙宫、虎穴状深，皆以是韵收句，声气一贯。排律最忌中幅疲沓，此诗以比喻群落层层换境，赖温润之韵托住，故长篇而不松散。宋人长篇题集，每以文法入诗，此诗音韵与章法相表里，温润之韵正是其体格的外显，欲体会宋调排律之醇雅，此篇足堪取法。

Line by line

天上灵仙谪，人间秀气涵。

A numinous immortal banished from the heavens, nurtured by the finest essence of the human world.

您如天上灵仙被谪，人间秀气所涵育。

A numinous immortal exiled from heaven; imbued with the fairest breath of the human world.

此起联总挈杨亿天赋，作法如列传起手。「天上灵仙谪」用李白「谪仙人」故实，谓大年如仙谪尘寰，天才不世；「人间秀气涵」言其复涵人间山川秀气，天人相济。二句一纵一收，写尽西昆宗主的家世才调。方平不以「文名」落笔而先写「灵仙」，是把杨亿置于「天才—修养」的双重坐标：上句重其来处之奇，下句重其涵养之厚。五言短联而能总揽人物神理，后文一切比喻（清庙瑟、豫章柟、海蚌、春蚕）皆自此「灵仙—秀气」生发，是长篇题集诗稳当的起手。

The opening sums up Yang Yi's natural gifts, the method like the opening of a biography. A numinous immortal exiled from heaven uses Li Bai's banished immortal, saying that Yang was like an immortal exiled to the dust, a genius beyond his age. Imbued with the fairest breath of the human world says he is also imbued with the fair breath of human mountains and rivers, heaven and man aiding each other. The two lines, one release one gathering, exhaust the family and talent of the master of the Xikun school. Fangping does not begin with literary fame but first writes the numinous immortal, placing Yang Yi in the double coordinates of genius and cultivation: the first weighs the strangeness of his source, the second the thickness of his nurture. A short five-character couplet that can take in the man's spirit, all the later metaphors (the clear temple's zither, the great camphor, the sea mussel, the spring silkworm) grow from this numinous immortal and fair breath, a steady opening for a long colophon poem.

典纯追古昔，雅正合周南。

His classic purity reaches back to antiquity; his elegant correctness accords with the Zhou Nan.

典重纯正追远古，雅正之和合于周南。

Classical and pure, he reaches back to the ancients; elegant and correct, he matches the Zhou Nan.

此联是全诗诗学定调，最见方平论文之眼。「典纯追古昔」谓杨亿之文典重纯正，上追古昔典范；「雅正合周南」直指其「雅正」合乎《诗》始周南的风雅正声。二句把西昆体从「纂组雕琢」的时讥中救出，以「风雅正声」重新定位，正合北宋中期回护西昆「雅」的一脉。尤可味者「追」「合」二字：一溯其源、一证其合，写出杨亿文统的正统性。宋人建构文统，此联是一句纲领性判语，与方平《读杜工部诗》「雅音还正始」同一手眼——皆以「雅正」定人物，开后世以正声论西昆的先声。

This couplet fixes the poem's poetics, most showing Fangping's eye in discussing letters. Classical and pure, he reaches back to the ancients says Yang Yi's writing is classical and pure, reaching back to the ancient models. Elegant and correct, he matches the Zhou Nan directly points out that his elegance matches the correct strain of poetry beginning with the Zhou Nan. The two lines rescue the Xikun style from the contemporary mockery of broidering and carving, repositioning it as the elegant correct strain, exactly suiting the mid-Northern Song current that defended Xikun's elegance. What is more to taste is the two words reaches and matches: one traces the source, one proves the accord, writing the orthodoxy of Yang Yi's literary lineage. The Song construction of the literary lineage; this couplet is a programmatic verdict, the same hand and eye as Fangping's Du Fu poem's pure tone returns to the Zhengshi era - both fixing the man by elegance and correctness, opening the earlier note of judging Xikun by the correct strain.

骥辕曾未骋，鸾驭不停骖。

The thoroughbred beneath its shaft was never given rein; the phoenix carriage halted its team too soon.

骥辕未曾骋展，鸾驭不停骖驾（早逝）。

The thoroughbred never broke free of the shaft; the phoenix team never checked its gallop.

此联写杨亿遇之不偶与早逝，由文品转入遭际。「骥辕曾未骋」以千里马未得骋于辕下，喻大年才士未竟其用；「鸾驭不停骖」以鸾车不停骖驾，喻其仙驭早逝（年四十七而卒）。二句一写「未用」、一写「早亡」，由「机衡成臲尯」的不遇推进到生命的夺去，沉痛渐深。方平于此最见史慨：前八联极称其文，至此忽作转笔，使颂扬不致虚美。宋人题集诗每于篇末寄嗟惜，此联以「骥」「鸾」二祥兽喻才与逝，工切而哀，为结联「可怜经济意」蓄势，章法由盛转衰、由文及人，脉络分明。

This couplet writes Yang Yi's ill fortune and early death, moving from literary quality to his lot. The thoroughbred never broke free of the shaft uses the thousand-li horse not getting to gallop under the yoke, metaphor that the gifted Yang did not fulfill his use. The phoenix team never checked its gallop uses the phoenix carriage not stopping the gallop, metaphor that his immortal team died early (he died at forty-seven). The two lines, one writing unused, one writing early death, advance from the ill fortune of the pivot's insecurity to the taking of life, the grief deepening by degrees. Fangping here most shows the historical sigh: the first eight couplets praise his writing to the full, then this suddenly turns, so that the praise does not become empty flattery. Song colophon poems often lodge sighs at the end; this couplet uses the two auspicious beasts thoroughbred and phoenix to meta-phor talent and death, wrought and sad, building force for the closing's pity the statecraft he meant to practice, the structure turning from splendor to decline, from writing to man, the current clear.

可怜经济意，旧客记高谈。

Pity the ambitions he bore to order the age—old guests still remember his lofty talk.

可怜其经济之志，旧日门客犹记其高谈。

Pity the statecraft he meant to practice; an old guest still remembers his lofty talk.

此尾联收束全诗，寄一代文臣之嗟惜。「可怜经济意」谓大年胸中经济（经世）之志可惜未酬；「旧客记高谈」以「旧客」（方平自谓或杨门故客）追记其高谈，收束于「记」字，余韵悠长。二句把前面「骥辕未骋」「鸾驭不停」的遭际，凝为「经济意」三字——杨亿之可憾不在文名，而在经世之志不伸。方平以「旧客记高谈」作结，不直抒悼，而托于「记」，使哀思含而不露，正合台阁赠言「哀而不伤」之度。全篇由天赋、文品、遭际到经济之志，至此一「记」字收束，余味如烟岚之渺，是排律题集诗的稳当终篇。

The closing gathers the poem, lodging the sigh for a generation of ministers. Pity the statecraft he meant to practice says that the statecraft (ordering the age) Yang carried in his breast is, alas, unfulfilled. An old guest still remembers his lofty talk uses old guest (Fangping himself, or an old follower of Yang's school) to recall his lofty talk, closing on the word remember, the aftertone long. The two lines condense the earlier lot of thoroughbred never freed and phoenix team never checked into the three words statecraft: what is regrettable in Yang Yi is not his literary fame, but that his will to order the age was not extended. Fangping closes on an old guest remembers his lofty talk, not directly uttering grief, but entrusting it to the word remember, making the grief contained and unshown, exactly the office-dictum measure of grief without injury. The whole poem, from natural gifts and literary quality and lot to the will to order the age, closes on this word remember, the aftertone faint as mountain mist, a steady close to the regulated colophon poem.

Study

Word focus

雅正 'Elegant correctness' (yazheng) was a core category of Northern Song literary criticism; by declaring Yang Yi's writing 'in accord with the Zhou Nan', Zhang removes it from the contemporary charge of mere ornateness and roots it in the orthodox tradition of the Odes—the weight lies in the word 'accord': not only elegant but conforming to the orthodox lineage. 「雅正合周南」之「雅正」，谓典雅纯正，北宋论文核心范畴。方平以此二字定杨亿文品，直承《诗》「周南」正声，把西昆从「靡丽」时讥中拔出。此词之重在一「合」字——不只「雅」且「合」于风雅正统，写出杨亿文统的正当性。与对句「典纯」相配，一正一纯，构成西昆「雅」的双重证明。宋人论文好以「雅正」衡人（如欧阳修论文「简而有法」近雅），方平此用「雅正合周南」尤为堂皇，是北宋中期回护西昆、以正声论骈文的代表语，二字之中寓一代文体之争的立场。

臲尯 'Nie-kui', an obscure term from the Image hexagram of the Book of Changes meaning unstable and imperiled, describes how Yang Yi's name at the pivot of court was left to totter—rendering 'unmet fortunes' with classical indirection and a sense of fate's unfathomability, two characters compressing the whole tragedy of 'high name, perilous footing'. 「机衡成臲尯」之「臲尯」（nie kui），危动不安貌，出《易·困》「困于臲卼」。方平以此写杨亿文名虽居中枢（机衡），终成动摇不偶之局，喻其遇之不偶。此词冷僻而恰切：以「危动」状名位之摇，比直说「不遇」典雅且含天命难测之慨。与下「嵩洛入烟岚」的渺远相承，由「臲尯」之危转「烟岚」之散，写出盛名转瞬、身世如烟的史感。宋人排律好以僻典铸境，方平此用浑成不涩，是温厚一路的炼字，二字摄尽「名高位危」的悲剧性。