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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

寄徐白久客襄汉

To Xu Bai, Long a Guest in Xiangyang and the Han Region

张方平

Zhang Fangping

寄赠dedication 羁旅sojourn 隐逸reclusion

避暑鹿门寺，虚斋风竹凉。
草连郧国远，水接汉川长。
寓客怀江表，骚人爱楚乡。
京尘诚可厌，君未舍名场。

I escape the summer heat at Lumen Temple; in the empty study, wind and bamboo bring cool.
Grass stretches to distant Yun; waters join the long Han River.
The lodged guest minds Jiangbiao; the poet loves the Chu land.
The capital's dust is truly loathsome, yet you have not left the arena of fame.

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Meaning

This is a poem sent to the friend Xu Bai, long a sojourner in the Xiang-Han region. The first part praises the cool seclusion of his dwelling—Lumen Temple, bamboo wind, distant grass, long rivers—while the latter part gently chides him: the capital's dust is hateful, yet he has not quit the arena of fame. Beneath the gentle reproach lies the poet's own yearning for reclusion and weariness of the worldly grind.

在鹿门寺避暑，虚静的书斋里风吹竹影生凉。芳草连延郧国辽远，江水接续汉川绵长。寄居之客怀念江表，骚人墨客喜爱楚地之乡。京城的尘土诚然可厌，你却还未舍弃名利之场。

Appreciation

A five-character regulated octave, the poem moves from scene to feeling, from counsel to mild satire, with clear layers. The first couplet sets the friend's cool dwelling; the second expands to the open Xiang-Han scenery; the third turns to the person, noting his sojourner's mind and poet's love of Chu; the fourth pivots sharply to contrast, revealing the counsel. The first six lines are all setup, the last two the point—concluding implicit yet forceful. The language is clean and natural, matching the secluded Chu scenery. Notably every scene secretly keys the 'sojourn–reclusion' theme: Lumen's cool is the heart's cool, Yun's distance is reclusion's distance, Han's length is longing's length.

【白话串讲】张方平寄徐白：“避暑鹿门寺，虚斋风竹凉”。“草连郧国远，水接汉川长”——“寓客怀江表，骚人爱楚乡”——“京尘诚可厌，君未舍名场”——他劝朋友别恋功名。【意象与手法】诗以寄赠为体，前半写徐白所居襄汉之地的清幽：鹿门寺、风竹、郧国草色、汉川水光，一派江南楚地风光；后半转入对友人的劝慰与微讽，「京尘诚可厌，君未舍名场」以对比收束，点出羁旅与仕宦的矛盾。全诗景情相生，由景入情，由劝入讽。【情感与主旨】主旨是寄赠久客襄汉的友人徐白，既赞其客居之地的清幽可人，又委婉规劝：京城尘嚣诚然可厌，你既有骚人爱楚乡的雅致，何不早日舍弃那名利之场、归隐山林？寄寓了作者对归隐的向往与对尘网的厌倦。【名句点睛】「京尘诚可厌，君未舍名场」是全诗点睛之笔，以「可厌」与「未舍」对举，直指友人心中的矛盾，也在规劝中寄寓了作者自身的出世之想，言浅而意深。

Background

Titled 'To Xu Bai, Long a Guest in Xiangyang and the Han Region,' this is a poem sent to a friend. Xu Bai is unrecorded in histories, likely a friend of Zhang's. 'Xiang-Han' denotes Xiangyang and the Han River basin, ancient Chu, with lovely mountains and waters, long a haunt of poets. Xu Bai, long a guest there, was probably a traveling official or retainer. Zhang writes both to depict the region's seclusion and, through 'the capital's dust is truly loathsome,' to voice weariness of worldly striving, gently urging his friend to quit the arena of fame. Lumen Temple was where the Eastern Han hermit Pang Degong lived, and Meng Haoran also retired there, so 'Lumen' became a symbol of reclusion—Zhang opens with it, deeply implicit. 'The poet loves the Chu land' quietly uses the Qu Yuan–Song Yu tradition, linking the friend's sojourn to Chu's cultural depth. The poem embeds reflections on office versus reclusion within clear scenery—a reserved piece among Northern Song dedicatory poems.

此诗题作「寄徐白久客襄汉」，是一首寄赠友人的诗。徐白其人史传无考，当是张方平的一位友人。「襄汉」指襄阳与汉水流域，古属楚地，地处江汉平原，山川秀丽，历来是骚人墨客流连之地。徐白久客于此，当是游宦或游幕之人。张方平写此诗相寄，一方面描绘襄汉的清幽风物，另一方面则借「京尘诚可厌」表达对尘世奔竞的厌倦，委婉规劝友人舍弃名利之场。鹿门寺是东汉庞德公隐居处，唐代孟浩然亦曾隐于此，「鹿门」因此成为隐逸的象征，张方平首句即拈出此寺，用意深婉。诗中「骚人爱楚乡」暗用屈原、宋玉等楚地骚人的传统，把友人的久客与楚地的文化底蕴联系起来。全诗在清幽的景物描写中寄寓了仕隐之间的感慨，是北宋士大夫寄赠诗中含蓄蕴藉的一篇。诗中寄意深婉：名为写景，实为劝隐，鹿门、楚乡的清幽，皆是归隐理想的投影，读之令人心向往之。

Art

A five-character regulated octave of eight lines and four couplets, organized from scene to feeling, from counsel to satire, with distinct layers. The first couplet points to the friend's secluded dwelling, setting a cool tone. The second expands the Xiang-Han scenery, open and far. The third turns from scene to person, noting identity and feeling. The fourth pivots sharply, concluding by contrast, counsel fully shown. The first six lines write scene and person as setup; only the last two reveal the intent, concluding implicit and forceful. Language is clean, unadorned, matching the secluded Chu scenery. Especially, 'scene words are feeling words': Lumen's cool is the heart's cool, Yun's distance is reclusion's distance, Han's length is longing's length—every couplet secretly keys the 'sojourn–reclusion' theme, layering to the final revelation. This 'carrying feeling through scene, seamless whole' is the high point of five-char dedication poetry.

此诗是五言律诗，八句四联，章法由景入情、由劝入讽，层次分明。首联「避暑鹿门寺，虚斋风竹凉」点出友人居所之清幽，以「避暑」「凉」二字定下全诗清冷的基调；颔联「草连郧国远，水接汉川长」扩写襄汉风物，草色连天、水势绵长，意境开阔而悠远；颈联「寓客怀江表，骚人爱楚乡」由景及人，点出友人的身份与情怀，寓客而怀江表，骚人而爱楚乡，既写实又含赞赏；尾联「京尘诚可厌，君未舍名场」陡转，以对比作结，规劝之意尽出。全诗前六句写景写人，皆是铺垫，末二句方露本旨，收得含蓄而有力。语言清丽自然，不事雕琢，与所写楚地风物的清幽正相契合。章法上尤其讲究「景语皆情语」：鹿门之凉是心之凉，郧国之远是归之远，汉川之长是思之长，四联的景物无一处不暗扣「羁旅—归隐」的主题，层层递进，卒章显志。这种以景载情、浑然一体的写法，正是五律寄赠诗以小见大、以淡见醇的高处。

Allusions

The allusions are few yet apt. First, 'Lumen Temple' refers to Lumen Mountain in Xiangyang, where Pang Degong retired with his family, and Meng Haoran also lived; 'Lumen' became a byword for reclusion—Zhang opens with it, secretly planting the poem's reclusion intent. Second, 'Yun' (Yunguo) was the ancient state of Yun, in present-day Anlu, Hubei, part of ancient Chu, used to describe Xiang-Han's distance. Third, 'Jiangbiao' means the south of the Yangtze; after the Jin court moved south, scholars often minded Jiangbiao—here the friend's longing for his southern home. Fourth, 'Chu land'—Qu Yuan and Song Yu were Chu poets, so 'the poet loves Chu' quietly uses the Qu-Song tradition, saying the friend, like the poets, loves Chu's hills and waters. All apt and traceless, fused with scene. Closer reading shows each allusion keys the intent: Lumen implies reclusion, Yun and Chu show locality, Jiangbiao bears homesickness, Qu-Song bear poet-feeling—each place an allusion building toward 'reclusion,' and the closing 'you not left fame arena' naturally grows from them. Using allusion to aid intent is a hallmark here.

诗中用典不繁而切。其一，「鹿门寺」指襄阳鹿门山，东汉庞德公携妻子登鹿门山采药不返，隐居于此；唐代孟浩然亦曾隐居鹿门，有「鹿门月照开烟树」之句，鹿门遂成隐逸的代称，张方平首句即用此典，暗伏全诗归隐之旨。其二，「郧国」指古郧子国，在今湖北安陆一带，属古楚地，用以状襄汉之远。其三，「江表」指长江以南地区，晋室南渡后士人多怀江表，此指友人对江南故地的思念。其四，「楚乡」指楚地，屈原、宋玉等骚人皆出于楚，故「骚人爱楚乡」暗用屈宋传统，说友人如骚人般钟爱楚地的山水风物。诸典皆自然妥帖，不着痕迹，与写景融为一体。而细味之，诸典又无不暗扣题旨：鹿门寓隐逸，郧国、楚乡见地望，江表寄乡思，屈宋系骚情，一处一典，皆在为「归隐」二字蓄势，末句「君未舍名场」的规劝，正是由这些典实中自然生发出来的。用典而能「以典助意」，是此诗的一大特色。

Commentary

Dedicatory poetry prizes tact: it must show friendship and fit the recipient's situation. Zhang's poem to Xu Bai, long a guest in Xiang-Han, does not directly ask after his life but begins with his dwelling's scenery, setting it off with cool beauty, and ends with a light 'you have not left the arena of fame,' counsel without losing warmth. This inherits the Tang dedicatory tradition, like Wang Wei's 'To Pei Di, Idle Dwelling at Wangchuan' using scene to rise, feeling and scene blended. Yet beyond scene, Zhang adds a layer of thought on office versus reclusion; 'the capital dust is truly loathsome' is the shared Northern Song voice weary of officialdom, comparable with Su Shi's 'I ever resent this body is not my own; when shall I forget the striving?' Short as it is, the poem sets 'guest's seclusion' against 'officialdom's dust,' hiding a deep question of life's path beneath a light tone—a fine Northern Song dedicatory work. Its merit: 'dedication' that is more than dedication—turning exhortation of a friend into a shared reflection on office versus reclusion, gaining both friendship and philosophy, implicit and sincere.

寄赠诗贵在得体：既要写出对友人的情谊，又要切合对方的处境。张方平此诗写徐白久客襄汉，不直接问讯起居，而从其客居之地写起，以清幽风物相衬，末以「君未舍名场」轻轻一点，规劝而不失温厚。这种写法上承唐人寄赠传统，如王维《辋川闲居赠裴秀才迪》「寒山转苍翠，秋水日潺湲」，以景起兴、情景交融。然张诗于写景之外，更多了一层对仕隐的思考，「京尘诚可厌」是宋人厌倦官场、向往田园的共同心声，可与苏轼「长恨此身非我有，何时忘却营营」并观。此诗虽短，却把「客居之清幽」与「仕途之尘嚣」两相对照，在看似轻松的笔调下，藏着对人生道路的深沉追问，是宋人寄赠诗中的佳构。可以说，此诗妙处在于「寄赠」而不止于「寄赠」：它把对友人的劝勉，化作了一次对仕隐出处的共同思考，情谊与哲理兼得，含蓄与真挚并重，读来如见清幽楚乡、如闻故人絮语，余味悠长。

Prosody

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

Rhyme Rhymes with the level-tone yang rhyme; rhyming characters are liang, chang, xiang, and chang, one rhyme throughout.押平声阳韵，入韵字为凉、长、乡、场，一韵到底。

Tone pattern Five-char octave follows regulated level-oblique, first line not entering rhyme. Middle couplets antithesize: second couplet pairs grass-water, stretches-joins, Yun-distant–Han-long; third couplet pairs lodged-guest–poet, minds–loves, Jiangbiao–Chu-land—matching part of speech and level-oblique.五言律诗依律调平仄，首句不入韵。中二联对仗工整：颔联「草连郧国远，水接汉川长」以「草」对「水」、「连」对「接」、「郧国远」对「汉川长」；颈联「寓客怀江表，骚人爱楚乡」以「寓客」对「骚人」、「怀」对「爱」、「江表」对「楚乡」，皆词性相侔、平仄相对。

Reading note The poem rhymes with the level-tone yang rhyme, of the dang group, with a bright, long vowel ideal for writing open, far river-country scenery like 'waters meet the long Han.' The four rhyming characters liang, chang, xiang, and chang are spacious in sound, reading as grass stretching to sky and river flowing endless, suiting the Chu flat-far scenery. Five-char poetry is concise and seeks refinement; the first couplet begins on 'cool' (liang), and the cool seems to seep in; the middle 'long' and 'land' (xiang) carry it, sound far; the closing 'arena' (chang) turns and sinks, aptly matching the counsel's slight depth in 'you have not left the fame arena.' The whole follows regulated level-oblique, antithesis tight yet not stiff, flowing natural. Notably the yang rhyme's brightness does not conflict with the scene's seclusion but forms a 'writing clear scene with grand sound' tension, letting the Chu flat-far show an open air—Zhang Fangping's five-char prosodic craft.此诗押平声阳韵，阳韵属宕摄开口三等，元音洪亮而绵长，最宜写「水接汉川长」般开阔悠远的江乡景色。四个人韵字凉、长、乡、场，音色舒展，读来如见草色连天、江流不尽，与楚地的平远风光十分相称。五律以字少而求精，此诗首联「凉」字起韵，即觉凉意沁人；中二联「长」「乡」承之，声情悠远；尾联以「场」字收束，音转而沉，恰合「君未舍名场」那一点规劝的深意。全诗平仄合律，对仗工稳而不滞，读来流畅自然。尤可称道者，是阳韵的洪亮与诗境的清幽并不相悖，反形成一种「以宏音写清境」的张力，使楚乡的平远之中透出开阔的气象，这正是张方平五律声韵上的匠心。

Line by line

避暑鹿门寺，虚斋风竹凉。

I escape the summer heat at Lumen Temple; in the empty study, wind and bamboo bring cool.

在鹿门寺避暑，虚静的书斋里风吹竹影生凉。

Escaping the heat at Lumen Temple, in the empty room the wind through bamboos is cool.

此联开篇即写友人居所，笔致清幽。上句「避暑鹿门寺」点明地点，鹿门寺是庞德公、孟浩然隐居处，一词便为全诗埋下隐逸的伏笔，「避暑」二字兼写时令与闲适。下句「虚斋风竹凉」写景，虚静的书斋、风吹竹影、满室生凉，一个「虚」字见斋之清空，一个「凉」字见境之清爽，视听兼到，仿佛能听见竹叶萧萧、感到凉意沁人。这两句纯是白描，却把友人客居之地的清幽脱俗写足，也把作者向往之情暗暗托出。以地名起兴、以景语定调，是全诗清冷意境的起点，读来令人暑气顿消，正见五律起笔以少胜多的功力。

The opening at once writes the friend's dwelling, the brush in a secluded and elegant key. The first, escaping the heat at Lumen Temple, points out the place; Lumen Temple is the retreat of Pang Degong and Meng Haoran, and one word already lays the reclusive ground for the whole poem; escaping the heat writes at once the season and the leisure. The second, in the empty room the wind through bamboos is cool, writes scenery: the empty quiet room, the wind in the bamboo shadows, the whole room cool; the word empty shows the room's clarity, the word cool shows the realm's freshness, sight and sound both reached, as if hearing the rustle of the bamboo leaves and feeling the chill steal in. These two lines are pure unadorned drawing, yet write to the full the secluded and unworldly air of the friend's lodging, and secretly bring out the author's longing. Opening with a place and fixing the key in scenery, the starting point of the whole poem's cold and clear realm; reading it, the heat seems at once dispelled, exactly showing the five-character regulated verse's opening power of winning with the few.

草连郧国远，水接汉川长。

Grass stretches to distant Yun; waters join the long Han River.

芳草连延郧国辽远，江水接续汉川绵长。

Grass stretches far to the state of Yun; the river joins the Han, unending.

此联写襄汉风物，笔力开阔，是全诗写景最见气象的两句。上句「草连郧国远」，写芳草连天，一直延伸到辽远的郧国故地，一个「连」字把视野推向极远处；下句「水接汉川长」，写江水与汉川相接，绵延不尽，一个「长」字写出水势之悠远。两句以「草」「水」对举，一写陆之远、一写水之长，勾勒出江汉平原平远开阔的整体风貌，也暗写友人客居之地虽好，却离故乡江表愈远。此联之妙，在于以景写「远」：草远、水长，既是地理之远，也是羁旅之远、归思之远，为下联「寓客怀江表」的张本。以宏阔之景衬细微之思，景愈远而情愈深，正是五律写景抒情的上乘笔法。

This couplet writes the scenery of the Xiang-Han region, the brush broad, the poem's two most气象-rich scenery lines. The first, grass stretches far to the state of Yun, writes the grass reaching the sky, extending to the far old land of Yun; the word stretch pushes the field of vision to the farthest. The second, the river joins the Han, unending, writes the river joining the Han, winding without end; the word unending writes the far distance of the waters. The two lines pair grass and water, one writing the land's distance, one the water's length, sketching the whole face of the Jianghan plain, flat and far, and secretly writing that though the friend's lodging is fine, it is ever farther from his home in the river-south. The couplet's beauty lies in writing distance through scenery: the distant grass and the long water are at once geographical distance, the distance of wandering, and the distance of longing to return, laying the ground for the later guest lodging and longing for the river-south. Setting the subtle longing against the vast scenery, the farther the scenery the deeper the feeling, exactly the first-class way of writing scenery and feeling in five-character regulated verse.

京尘诚可厌，君未舍名场。

The capital's dust is truly loathsome, yet you have not left the arena of fame.

京城的尘土诚然可厌，你却还未舍弃名利之场。

The capital's dust is truly hateful; yet you have not left the arena of fame.

此联是全诗的点睛之笔，笔锋由写景陡转入议论。上句「京尘诚可厌」直抒胸臆，京城车马喧嚣、红尘扰攘，诚然令人厌倦，「诚」字加重了判断的语气，也道出了士人对官场奔竞的普遍反感。下句「君未舍名场」落笔到友人身上，一个「未舍」字，既是对友人久滞仕途的轻轻一劝，也透出惋惜之意。两句以「可厌」与「未舍」对举，构成内在的矛盾：既知京尘可厌，何不归隐？此联妙在不直接劝归，而把矛盾摆出，让友人自思，含蓄而有力。前六句写楚乡清幽，尽为铺垫，至此方点出「舍与不舍」的题旨，收束得深沉有味。

This couplet is the poem's eye, the brush turning abruptly from scenery to argument. The first, the capital's dust is truly hateful, directly pours out the breast: the capital's noise of carriages and the dusty turmoil are truly wearying; the word truly weighs the tone of judgment, and speaks the universal scholar-official aversion to the official race. The second lands on the friend: yet you have not left the arena of fame; the two words have not left are at once a gentle exhortation to the friend's long lingering in office, and透出 a sense of regret. The two lines pair hateful with have not left, forming an inner contradiction: knowing the capital's dust is hateful, why not withdraw to reclusion? The couplet's beauty lies in not directly urging return, but setting out the contradiction and letting the friend think for himself, implicit yet forceful. The first six lines write the quiet of the Chu countryside, all as preparation; only here does it point out the title's bent of leaving or not leaving, closing deep with aftertaste.

Study

Word focus

鹿门 Lumen, the typical symbol of reclusion culture: Pang Degong of Eastern Han retired there, and Meng Haoran lived there, so 'Lumen' became tied to hermitage; Zhang opens with it, seemingly only naming the friend's summer retreat but secretly implying reclusion, planting the seed for the closing counsel. 「避暑鹿门寺」之「鹿门」，是隐逸文化的典型符号。鹿门山在襄阳，东汉庞德公携妻儿登此山采药不返，遂成隐士的象征；唐代孟浩然又隐居于此，其《夜归鹿门歌》「鹿门月照开烟树，忽到庞公栖隐处」更使鹿门之名与隐逸紧密相连。张方平以「鹿门」二字起笔，看似只写友人的避暑之地，实则暗含深意：徐白所客居的，正是古来隐士栖迟的胜地。此词之妙，在「以地名见志」——不着一「隐」字，而隐逸之意已寓其中，为尾联「君未舍名场」的规劝埋下伏笔。二字看似平实，实是全诗立意的一粒种子，后文的清幽之景与仕隐之叹，皆由此生发。

名场 'Arena of fame' means the place of contesting name and profit—officialdom; the word 'arena' compares the career to a noisy contest ground, carrying a derogatory sense of scramble, contrasting with the secluded Lumen scenery and forming the poem's core opposition of office versus reclusion. 「君未舍名场」之「名场」，指争名逐利的场所，即官场、名利之场。「场」字用得极妙，把仕途比作一处众人角逐、喧嚷不息的竞技之所，暗含「奔竞」「扰攘」的贬义。与之相对，前六句所写的鹿门寺、风竹、草色、水光，则是一派清幽自足的天地。一「名场」一「鹿门」，两相对照，正是全诗「仕与隐」的核心对立。此词还暗用了佛道「名利场中」的出世语感，与「京尘」的尘世之义呼应，共同烘托出「尘网可厌、归隐可期」的主旨。二字收束全篇，力重千钧，把对友人的规劝与自身的出世之想一并托出，是全诗诗眼的落点。