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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

读杜诗

Reading Du Fu's Poems

张方平

Zhang Fangping

读杜on reading Du Fu 诗论poetic criticism

杜陵有穷老，白头惟苦吟。
正气自天降，至音感人深。
昭回切云汉，旷眇包古今。
万壑入溟海，一枝成邓林。
掩抑鬼神泣，寂寥星月沈。
珠凭罔象得，玉看晶采寻。
穰穰丰年谷，磊磊殊方琛。
病源问岐伯，兵畧须淮阴。
流寓四方路，浩荡平生心。
每览述怀篇，使我清泪淫。

In Duling there's a poor old man, white-haired, only bitterly chanting.
His righteous spirit descends from heaven; his perfect tones move men deeply.
His radiance wheels close to the Milky Way; his vastness embraces all time.
Ten thousand ravines flow into the boundless sea; a single branch becomes the Deng forest.
Restrained, they make ghosts weep; in stillness, stars and moon sink low.
Pearls found through Wangxiang; jade sought by its crystalline luster.
Abundant as grain in a bountiful year; heaped like tribute from distant lands.
For the root of illness ask Qibo; for strategy one must turn to Huaiyin.
Drifting through roads of the four quarters; a vast, surging heart through life.
Each time I read his self-revealing poems, clear tears wet my cheeks.

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Meaning

This poem is a reading of Du Fu's collected works, at once a homage to Du's poetry and a sympathetic account of his life as a poor, wandering, 'bitter chanter.' Through a dense cluster of similes it praises Du's righteousness, vastness, richness, and breadth, closing with the poet's own tears of kinship — an important 'Du-poem criticism' in the mid-Northern-Song canonization of Du Fu.

杜陵有一穷老（杜甫），白头唯有苦吟。其正气自天而降，至音感人至深。诗思昭回上切云汉，境象旷眇包举古今。万壑之诗汇入溟海，一枝之笔自成邓林。其诗掩抑令鬼神泣，寂寥使星月沈。如珠凭罔象而得，如玉看晶采而寻。丰年之谷穰穰，殊方之琛磊磊。病源须问岐伯，兵畧必藉淮阴。流寓遍四方之路，浩荡是平生之心。每览其述怀之篇，使我清泪沾淫。

Appreciation

Written as a five-character pai-lü (regulated octave expanded) of ten couplets, the poem follows a 'general–particular–comment' design, opening with Du's person and closing with the reader's tears. Its dense cluster of similes — heaven-sent righteousness, the Milky Way, the boundless sea, weeping ghosts, pearls and jade, grain and tribute, the physician and the general — turns critical judgment into vivid image, a grand Song-style 'essay in verse.'

【白话串讲】张方平读杜甫诗：“杜陵有穷老，白头惟苦吟”——“正气自天降，至音感人深”——“万壑入溟海，一枝成邓林”——“掩抑鬼神泣，寂寥星月沈”——他赞杜甫的诗感人至深。【意象与手法】此诗五言排律，十联一韵，章法以「总—分—评」为经。起联「杜陵有穷老，白头惟苦吟」总挈杜甫身世与苦吟；中幅以比喻群落写杜诗——「正气自天降」「至音感人深」写其忠正，「昭回切云汉」「旷眇包古今」写其境大，「万壑入溟海」「一枝成邓林」写其富与独，「掩抑鬼神泣」「寂寥星月沈」写其哀，「珠凭罔象得」「玉看晶采寻」写其珍，「穰穰丰年谷」「磊磊殊方琛」写其丰，「病源问岐伯」「兵畧须淮阴」写其博；后幅「流寓四方路」「浩荡平生心」写其遇；终以「每览述怀篇，使我清泪淫」收结，寄以同慨。通篇以赋体写论诗，比喻密集。【情感与主旨】此诗读杜甫诗集而作，既礼赞杜诗，亦写其「穷老苦吟」「流寓浩荡」的身世，寓同声之慨，与《读杜工部诗》互为表里，一重诗统、一重身世，是北宋中期杜甫经典化浪潮中重要的「杜诗论」。【名句点睛】「昭回切云汉，旷眇包古今」以「云汉—古今」的天地经纬框定杜诗气象，开后世「杜诗如海」「包罗万象」说的先声；结联「每览述怀篇，使我清泪淫」寄同声之泪，最见方平读杜之私语。

Background

Zhang Fangping wrote 'Reading Du Fu's Poems' upon reading Du's collected works; together with his 'Reading the Poems of Du Gongbu' it is a twin document of his reception of Du. Fangping lived in the mid-Northern Song, when Du's stature was rising — Wang Anshi called him 'the historian of poets,' Su Shi said 'Only Du Fu stands first.' This poem honors Du's verse and also writes of his 'poor old bitter chanting' and 'wandering, vast heart,' voicing kindred feeling. Likely written when Fangping had retired to study the Tang masters, it uses the pai-lü form — grand in body, careful in thought — and is an important 'Du-poem criticism' of the mid-Song wave that made Du canonical, complementing 'Reading Du Gongbu' (one stresses the poetic line, one the man's fate).

张方平《读杜诗》读杜甫诗集而作，与《读杜工部诗》同为方平杜诗接受的重要文献，而此篇十联，较彼二十联稍约。方平生于杜诗渐受推尊的北宋中期，王安石誉杜为「诗家之史」、苏轼谓「子美独为首」，杜之地位正升。方平此诗既礼赞杜诗，亦写其「穷老苦吟」「流寓浩荡」的身世，寓同声之慨。此诗当在方平退居读书、精研唐贤之时，以排律写杜，体大而虑周，是北宋中期杜甫经典化浪潮中一篇重要的「杜诗论」——与《读杜工部诗》互为表里，一重诗统、一重身世。方平生于杜诗渐受推尊的北宋中期，王安石誉杜为诗家之史、苏轼谓子美独为首，杜之地位正升。此诗既礼赞杜诗亦写其穷老苦吟、流寓浩荡的身世，寓同声之慨，与《读杜工部诗》互为表里，一重诗统一重身世。此诗当在方平退居读书、精研唐贤时作，以排律写杜，体大而虑周，是北宋中期杜甫经典化浪潮中重要的杜诗论，于研究宋人杜诗接受史颇有价值。方平生于杜诗渐受推尊之北宋中期，此诗礼赞杜诗亦写穷老苦吟流寓浩荡之身世，与读杜工部诗互为表里，一重诗统一重身世，是杜诗论之重要一篇。

Art

The five-character pai-lü of ten couplets rhymes throughout in one tone, its scheme 'general–particular–comment.' The opening couplet 'In Duling there's a poor old man, white-haired, only bitterly chanting' states Du's person and his bitter chant; the middle uses a cluster of similes for Du's poetry — 'righteous spirit descends from heaven' and 'perfect tones move deeply' for his loyalty; 'radiance wheels close to the Milky Way' and 'vastness embraces all time' for his grand scope; 'ten thousand ravines flow into the boundless sea' and 'a single branch becomes the Deng forest' for his richness and uniqueness; 'restrained, they make ghosts weep' and 'in stillness stars and moon sink' for his grief; 'pearls found through Wangxiang' and 'jade sought by its luster' for his rarity; 'abundant as grain' and 'heaped like tribute' for his fullness; 'ask Qibo for illness' and 'turn to Huaiyin for strategy' for his breadth; the later couplets write his wanderings and vast heart; the close 'each time I read his self-revealing poems, clear tears wet my cheeks' voices shared lament. Throughout it uses the fu mode to write criticism, with dense similes — a grand Song 'essay in verse,' tightly structured yet somber.

此诗五言排律，十联一韵，章法以「总—分—评」为经。起联「杜陵有穷老，白头惟苦吟」总挈杜甫身世与苦吟；中幅以比喻群落写杜诗——「正气自天降」「至音感人深」写其忠正，「昭回切云汉」「旷眇包古今」写其境大，「万壑入溟海」「一枝成邓林」写其富与独，「掩抑鬼神泣」「寂寥星月沈」写其哀，「珠凭罔象得」「玉看晶采寻」写其珍，「穰穰丰年谷」「磊磊殊方琛」写其丰，「病源问岐伯」「兵畧须淮阴」写其博；后幅「流寓四方路」「浩荡平生心」写其遇；终以「每览述怀篇，使我清泪淫」收结，寄以同慨。通篇以赋体写论诗，比喻密集，是宋人以文论诗的宏制。十联排律以总—分—评为经，起联总挈身世苦吟，中幅以比喻群落写杜诗：正气至音写忠正，云汉古今写境大，溟海邓林写富与独，鬼神泣星月沈写哀，罔象珠晶采玉写珍，丰年谷殊方琛写丰，岐伯淮阴写博，后幅写流寓浩荡，终以清泪收。通篇以赋体写论诗，比喻密集，是宋人以文论诗的宏制，章法完密而气象沉郁。十联排律以总分为经，比喻群落写杜诗之忠正境大富独哀珍丰博，通篇以赋体写论诗，比喻密集章法完密而气象沉郁，是宋人以文论诗之宏制。

Allusions

Allusion and simile intertwine. 'Duling poor old man': Du Fu called himself the 'old rustic of Duling,' poor in late life. 'Righteous spirit': before Wen Tianxiang's famous saying, Fangping ascribed Du's loyalty to heaven. 'Radiance wheels the Milky Way': from the Shi-jing 'How vast the Milky Way,' meaning Du's thought reaches the heavenly river. 'Deng forest': from Kua Fu's staff becoming the Deng forest, likening Du's single branch to a whole wood. 'Wangxiang': from Zhuangzi, where Huangdi sent Wangxiang to find the dark pearl, likening the need to seek Du's treasure deeply. 'Qibo': Huangdi's minister, father of medicine, for probing the 'root of illness'; 'Huaiyin': Han Xin, for strategy. 'Self-revealing poems': Du Fu's 'Shu Huai' (Expressing My Heart) and the like. All similes fit the poetry and the man, not thrown in at random.

用典与比喻交错。其一，「杜陵穷老」：杜甫自称杜陵野老，晚年穷困。其二，「正气」：文天祥前已有「正气」说，方平以言杜之忠正禀于天。其三，「昭回云汉」：《诗》「倬彼云汉」，谓诗思昭明上接天汉。其四，「邓林」：夸父弃杖为邓林，喻杜诗一枝而成林。其五，「罔象」：《庄子》黄帝遣罔象得玄珠，喻杜诗之珍须深求。其六，「岐伯」：黄帝臣，医祖，喻杜诗「病源」须问；「淮阴」：韩信，兵略，喻杜诗「兵畧」必藉。其七，「述怀篇」：杜有《述怀》等，方平览之泪淫。诸喻皆切诗品与身世，非泛设。「杜陵穷老」谓杜甫自称，「正气」言忠正禀天，「昭回云汉」本《诗》谓诗思上接天汉，「邓林」喻杜诗一枝成林，「罔象」出《庄子》黄帝得玄珠喻深求，「岐伯」医祖喻究病源，「淮阴」韩信喻兵略，「述怀篇」谓杜有述怀之作。诸喻皆切诗品与身世，非泛设，可觇宋人读杜以博览喻、以经世眼读杜之巧。杜陵穷老正气昭回云汉邓林罔象岐伯淮阴述怀篇，诸喻皆切诗品与身世，非泛设，可觇宋人读杜以博览喻以经世眼读杜之巧，开后世定杜之先声。

Commentary

Read with 'Reading the Poems of Du Gongbu,' this is the twin jewel of Fangping's reception of Du: that twenty-couplet work stresses the 'elegant tone returning to the orthodox' (the correct line), this ten-couplet work stresses the 'poor old bitter chanting' and 'wandering vast heart' — one on the poetic tradition, one on the man's fate, together the two dimensions of mid-Song Du canonization. Fangping's pai-lü in praise of Du is more poetic than the Tang Yuan Zhen's funeral inscription. The Qing commentator Qiu Zhaoao, annotating Du, often cites Song readers; Fangping's 'righteous spirit descends from heaven' and 'turn to Huaiyin for strategy' anticipate the later framing of Du by 'loyalty' and 'grand manner.' Closing with 'clear tears' adds a layer of personal fate beyond mere praise — Fangping in retirement may have seen himself in Du's wandering. To read Du as poet-sage is the joint making of Song men (Wang, Su, Zhang); Fangping's twin poems are two hymns at the coronation.

此诗与《读杜工部诗》并观，是方平杜诗接受的双璧。彼二十联重「雅音还正始」的诗统定位，此十联重「穷老苦吟」「流寓浩荡」的身世同慨；一论文统、一论人遇，合起来正是北宋中期杜甫经典化的两维。方平以排律咏杜，视唐人元稹《杜君墓系铭》更趋诗化。清人仇兆鳌注杜多引宋人评语，方平此诗「正气自天降」「兵畧须淮阴」诸喻，实开后世以「忠正」「博大气象」定杜的先声。结以「每览述怀篇，使我清泪淫」，于礼赞中寄同声之泪，比纯颂更多一层身世之感——方平晚年退居，于杜之「流寓浩荡」或有自况。读此诗，当知杜甫之所以为诗圣，宋人（王、苏、方）合力塑成，而方平此双篇正是加冕礼上的两篇颂词。此诗与《读杜工部诗》并观，是方平杜诗接受的双璧，彼重诗统此重身世，合为北宋中期杜甫经典化的两维。方平以排律咏杜，视唐人元稹墓铭更趋诗化；「正气自天降」「兵畧须淮阴」诸喻开后世以忠正、博大气象定杜的先声。结以清泪淫寄同声之泪，比纯颂更多身世之感，方平晚年退居于杜之流寓或有自况，读之当知杜甫成圣乃宋人合力塑成，而方平此双篇正是加冕礼上的两篇颂词。与读杜工部诗并观为双璧，彼重诗统此重身世，合为北宋中期杜甫经典化两维；结以清泪淫寄同声之泪，方平晚年退居或有自况，是加冕礼上之颂词。

Prosody

Form Five-character pai-lü (regulated verse expanded, ten couplets)五言排律（十联）

Rhyme Level-tone 'qin' rhyme (chant, deep, now, forest, sink, seek, tribute, Yin, heart, wet), one rhyme throughout平声侵韵（吟、深、今、林、沈、寻、琛、阴、心、淫），一韵到底。

Tone pattern Five-character pai-lü following level-oblique rules, with most couplets antithetically paired五言排律依平仄，中多联对仗，如『正气自天降，至音感人深』『昭回切云汉，旷眇包古今』『万壑入溟海，一枝成邓林』『掩抑鬼神泣，寂寥星月沈』『珠凭罔象得，玉看晶采寻』『穰穰丰年谷，磊磊殊方琛』『病源问岐伯，兵畧须淮阴』『流寓四方路，浩荡平生心』，平仄相对、词性相侔。

Reading note As a ten-couplet long pai-lü, its challenge is to sustain one rhyme without exhaustion. The 'qin' rhyme (chant, deep, now, forest, sink, seek, tribute, Yin, heart, wet) is an open third-class syllable of the deep sheng group, its vowel contracted and low, most suited to the somber, circling tone of reading Du and the shared lament, matching Du's 'ghosts weep' and 'clear tears' grief. Fangping encloses ten couplets in the qin rhyme; head and tail 'chant' (bitter chant) and 'wet' (clear tears) echo, while the middle runs through similes of the poetry: Milky Way and boundless sea for grandeur, ghosts weep and stars sink for grief, Wangxiang pearl and crystalline jade for rarity, Qibo and Huaiyin for breadth — all closed in the qin rhyme, one breath throughout. Pai-lü most fears a slack middle; this poem changes scene layer by layer through its simile cluster, upheld by the deep qin rhyme, so the long piece never loosens. Song long 'reading-Du' poems often bring prose method into verse; here sound and structure mirror each other, the depth of the qin rhyme being the outward form of its stature — to grasp the somber Song pai-lü, this piece well serves; with the 'grand rhyme' of 'Reading Du Gongbu,' one deep and one grand, a twin jewel.此诗既为十联长篇排律，音韵之长者，在一韵到底而气不竭。所押侵韵（吟、深、今、林、沈、寻、琛、阴、心、淫）属深摄开口三等，元音敛而沉，音色幽深回环，最宜写读杜之沉郁与同慨之调，与所咏杜诗「掩抑鬼神泣」「清泪淫」的悲概相称。方平以侵韵笼十联，首尾「吟」（苦吟）与「淫」（清泪）呼应，中幅连喻诗品：云汉、溟海状大，鬼神泣、星月沈状哀，罔象珠、晶采玉状珍，岐伯、淮阴状博，皆以侵韵收句，声气一贯。排律最忌中幅疲沓，此诗以比喻群落层层换境，赖侵韵的幽深托住，故长篇而不松散。宋人长篇读杜，每以文法入诗，此诗音韵与章法相表里，侵韵之沉正是其体格的外显，欲体会宋调排律之沉郁，此篇足堪取法——与《读杜工部诗》之豪韵宏阔，一沉一宏，恰成双璧。

Line by line

杜陵有穷老，白头惟苦吟。

In Duling there's a poor old man, white-haired, only bitterly chanting — the opening states Du Fu's person and his lifelong bitter art.

杜陵有一穷老（杜甫），白头唯有苦吟。

By Duling there is a poor old man, white-haired, with nothing but bitter chanting.

此起联总挈杜甫身世与苦吟，作法如史传起手。「杜陵有穷老」以杜甫自称「杜陵野老」立其身份，一个「穷」字写尽晚年困顿；「白头惟苦吟」写其至老不辍、唯以苦吟为事。二句一身份一行状，写尽杜之「老」「穷」「苦」，为后文「正气」「浩荡」张本——正因其穷老苦吟，故诗成至音。方平读杜不先写其诗之「豪」「雅」，而先写其人之「穷」「苦」，是宋人「诗穷而后工」论的先声（欧公《梅圣俞诗集序》同调）。五言短联而能总揽人物悲慨，后文一切比喻（云汉、溟海、鬼神泣、清泪淫）皆自此「穷老苦吟」生发，是长篇读杜诗稳当的起手。

The opening sums up Du Fu's lot and bitter chanting, the method like a biographical opening. By Duling there is a poor old man establishes his identity from Du Fu's self-named old man of the Du陵; the single word poor writes to the full his late indigence. White-haired, with nothing but bitter chanting writes his to the end not resting, nothing but bitter chanting as his work. The two lines, one identity one manner, write to the full Du's old, poor, bitter, laying the ground for the later upright breath and vastness - precisely because he was poor, old and bitter in chanting, his poetry became the ultimate tone. Fangping reading Du does not first write the heroism or elegance of his poetry, but first the poverty and bitterness of the man, the forerunner of the Song theory that poetry grows skilled after the poet's poverty (Ouyang Xiu's preface to Mei Shengyu's collection is the same tune). A short five-character couplet that can take in a man's grief, and all the later metaphors (the starry river, the dark sea, ghosts and spirits weeping, the running clear tears) spring from this poor old man bitter chanting, the steady opening of the long Du-reading poem.

昭回切云汉，旷眇包古今。

His radiance wheels close to the Milky Way; his vastness embraces all time — a couplet fixing the grandeur of Du's poetic scope.

诗思昭回上切云汉，境象旷眇包举古今。

His thought shines and turns, touching the Milky Way; his realm is vast and distant, embracing the ancient and the modern.

此联写杜诗境象之宏大，是最见方平论诗手眼的一联。「昭回切云汉」用《诗》「倬彼云汉，昭回于天」，言杜诗思昭明上切天汉，状其高朗；「旷眇包古今」言其境象旷远眇邈、包举古今，状其博大。二句一「高」一「大」，写出杜诗「上接天汉、下包古今」的气象，比泛言「雄阔」精确。尤可味者「切」「包」二字：一向上切、一向下包，空间张力十足，暗合杜诗「致君尧舜」之高与「穷年忧黎元」之广。宋人论杜每重其「气象」，方平此联以「云汉—古今」的天地经纬框定，开后世「杜诗如海」「包罗万象」说的先声，是排律读杜诗中极具纲领性的一联。

This couplet writes the grandeur of Du's poetic realm, the one most showing Fangping's eye in discussing poetry. His thought shines and turns, touching the Milky Way uses the Book of Songs' that starry river, shining and turning in the sky, saying Du's poetic thought is luminous above, touching the river of heaven, writing its loftiness. His realm is vast and distant, embracing the ancient and the modern says his realm is far-reaching and remote, taking in the ancient and modern, writing its breadth. The two lines, one high one great, write Du's气象 of joining the starry river above and embracing the ancient and modern below, more precise than the vague grand and broad. What is more to taste is the two words touch and embrace: one reaching upward, one gathering downward, the spatial tension full, secretly suiting Du's high of serving the lord to Yao and Shun and his breadth of grieving the people year after year. Song men discussing Du often weighed his气象; this couplet frames it in the heavenly and earthly warp of starry river and ancient modern, the forerunner of the later Du poetry like the sea and taking in all things, the most programmatic couplet in the extended Du-reading poem.

病源问岐伯，兵畧须淮阴。

For the root of illness ask Qibo; for strategy one must turn to Huaiyin — two similes (medicine, war) praising the breadth of Du's learning and bearing.

病源须问岐伯，兵畧必藉淮阴。

For the source of sickness, ask Qibo; for the art of war, you need the Marquis of Huaiyin.

此联以医、兵二喻写杜诗之「博」，是全诗比喻群落中最奇崛的一联。「病源问岐伯」以岐伯（黄帝臣、医祖）喻杜诗如医，能究「病源」——写杜诗洞察世病、忧国如医；「兵畧须淮阴」以淮阴侯韩信喻杜诗如兵，自有兵略——写杜诗沉雄有阵法、如韩信将兵。二句一医一兵，把杜诗由「诗人之诗」扩为「医国兵畧」之业，极言其用世之博。方平于此最见巧思：不以「忠爱」「雄豪」直颂，而借岐伯、淮阴二典，把杜诗的「忧世」与「沉雄」化为医、兵之象。宋人读杜好以博览喻（如「读书破万卷」），方平此联以「病源—兵畧」对举，正见其以经世之眼读杜，是排律读杜诗中别开生面的一联。

This couplet writes the breadth of Du's poetry through the two metaphors of medicine and war, the strangest in the whole metaphor cluster. For the source of sickness, ask Qibo uses Qibo (the Yellow Emperor's minister, the ancestor of medicine) to meta-phor Du's poetry as medicine, able to fathom the source of sickness - writing Du's poetry penetrating the sickness of the age, grieving the country like a physician. For the art of war, you need the Marquis of Huaiyin uses Han Xin, the Marquis of Huaiyin, to meta-phor Du's poetry as war, having its own art of war - writing Du's poetry deep and firm with battle array, like Han Xin leading troops. The two lines, one medicine one war, expand Du's poetry from the poet's poetry to the cause of physician of the state and art of war, saying to the utmost the breadth of its use in the age. Fangping here most shows his fine thought: not directly praising with loyal love and heroism, but borrowing the two allusions of Qibo and Huaiyin to turn Du's grieving the age and deep firmness into the images of medicine and war. Song men reading Du loved to use the metaphor of wide learning (such as having read ten thousand volumes); Fangping's pairing of source of sickness and art of war exactly shows his reading Du with statesman's eyes, the fresh-opening couplet in the extended Du-reading poem.

每览述怀篇，使我清泪淫。

Each time I read his self-revealing poems, clear tears wet my cheeks — the close voices the reader's shared, kindred grief.

每览其述怀之篇，使我清泪沾淫。

Whenever I read his pieces on laying bare the heart, it makes my clear tears run down.

此尾联收束全诗，寄同声之慨。「每览述怀篇」点杜有《述怀》诸作，方平每读之；「使我清泪淫」以「清泪」沾淫作结，哀而不伤。二句把前面「穷老苦吟」「流寓浩荡」「正气至音」的层层揄扬，凝为「清泪」二字——方平之泣非徒伤杜，亦自伤其退居同遇。与《读杜工部诗》结「耒阳三尺土，谁为翦蓬蒿」之身后不平不同，此篇结以「清泪淫」之当下同慨，更见身世之感。宋人读杜每寄同声（苏轼「一饭未尝忘君」之泣），方平此「清泪」正是台阁老臣读杜的私语。全篇由身世、诗品到同慨，至此一「泪」字收束，余韵如杜诗之「浩荡」，是排律读杜诗的稳当终篇。

The closing gathers the poem, lodging the sigh of like-minded grief. Whenever I read his pieces on laying bare the heart points out Du has his Laying Bare the Heart pieces, which Fangping reads again and again. It makes my clear tears run down closes with the clear tears running, grieving without injury. The two lines condense the preceding layer upon layer of praise - poor old man bitter chanting, wandering and vast, upright breath and ultimate tone - into the two words clear tears: Fangping's weeping is not only grief for Du, but self-grief at his own retired and like lot. Different from the Reading the Secretary Du's closing of the three feet of earth at Leiyang, who now clears the weeds? the injustice after death, this piece closes in the present like-grief of clear tears running, more showing the sense of a shared lot. Song men reading Du often lodged like-minded grief (Su Shi's weeping that not a meal passed without remembering the lord); Fangping's clear tears is exactly the private word of a senior court minister reading Du. The whole poem, from lot and poetic quality to like-minded grief, closes at last on this word tears, the aftertone vast as Du's poetry, the steady close of the extended Du-reading poem.

Study

Word focus

苦吟 In 'white-haired, only bitterly chanting,' the phrase 'bitter chanting' (ku yin) means composing poetry with painful labor; the word 'only' shows that through poverty and age nothing remained but verse, implying constancy uncarried by circumstance, and foreshadows the 'clear tears' of the close. 「白头惟苦吟」之「苦吟」，谓刻苦吟诗，唐人（贾岛、孟郊）以苦吟著称，方平以此写杜甫至老不辍。此词之重在一「惟」字——穷老白头，所「惟」者唯苦吟一事，既写其专，亦写其贫贱不移其志。与起句「穷老」相配，由境及行，写出杜之「诗是吾家事」的执守。宋人论杜每重其「集大成」「雄豪」，方平独标「苦吟」，补世人对杜「惟愁惟苦」的认知，亦暗合「诗穷而后工」之说。二字平实而重，是全诗身世写的锁钥，亦方平以同遇读杜的真切处——「苦吟」二字中，已伏结联「清泪淫」的同源之悲。

浩荡 In 'a vast, surging heart through life,' the word 'vast' (hao dang) is borrowed from the Chuci (where it once meant the ruler's inconstancy) and here revalued to praise Du Fu's broad, unbound, care-filled heart — writing both the width of his circumstance and the depth of his feeling. 「浩荡平生心」之「浩荡」，本《楚辞》「怨灵修之浩荡」，方平借以写杜甫平生心胸之浩荡不羁、忧国忧民之广。此词之妙在反《骚》用之：屈子以「浩荡」讥君心无常，方平以「浩荡」美杜心之阔，赋予新义。与对句「流寓四方路」相配，由迹（流寓）及心（浩荡），写出杜之困顿中自有天地。宋人读杜好以「浩荡」「忠愤」衡其心胸，方平此用「浩荡」既状其境之广、亦状其情之深，开后世「杜诗浩气」说的先声。二字宏大而含悲，是全诗身世写的收束处，与起「穷老」、结「清泪」呼应，构成「穷—浩—泪」的情感弧线，摄尽方平读杜之慨。

读杜诗