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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

金陵久旱喜雨呈运使韩综学士提刑令狐挺祠部及示诸府僚

Joy at the Long-Awaited Rain after Drought at Jinling, Presented to Transport Commissioner Han Zong, Judicial Commissioner Linghu Ting of the Ministry of Rites, and Shown to the Prefectural Colleagues

张方平

Zhang Fangping

喜雨rain-joy 咏雨rain ode 忧民concern for the people

江城风日燥将燃，喜此滂沱仅有年。
诸泽气交阴压地，四溟水立阔围天。
廓开紫宙清凉界，顿去骄阳跋扈权。
须信化工人可代，傅岩才业在三篇。

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Meaning

After a long drought at Jinling (Nanjing), a welcome downpour finally arrives, and the poet rejoices at the sign of a good harvest. He uses the rain to celebrate his fellow officials and to reflect on the duty of rulers and ministers to act as Heaven's agents in benefiting the people.

江城的暖风烈日燥热得像要燃烧，欣喜这场滂沱大雨恰逢丰年之兆。各泽水气交会，阴云低压大地；四海之水涌立，阔大包围天际。廓然开辟紫霄清凉之境，顿时除去骄阳跋扈的威权。须相信造化之功人力可代，傅说之才业尽在《说命》三篇。

Appreciation

The poem moves from scene to principle and from rain to governance, opening with drought's scorching anguish and closing with a confident political ideal. Its middle couplets render the rain's vast, cosmic power through grand spatial imagery, while the famous line pairing 'cool realm' against 'domineering power' lifts a weather poem into a meditation on just rule.

【白话串讲】张方平在金陵，久旱逢雨：“江城风日燥将燃，喜此滂沱仅有年”。“廓开紫宙清凉界，顿去骄阳跋扈权”——“须信化工人可代，傅岩才业在三篇”——他写喜雨。【意象与手法】诗为喜雨之作，前四句写久旱得雨的景象，以「燥将燃」的焦灼反衬「滂沱」的欣喜，以「阴压地」「阔围天」的宏大笔触状雨势之磅礴；后四句由雨及人，赞雨之清凉「顿去骄阳跋扈权」，再以傅说之典落到对僚友的称美与共勉。全诗由景入理，由雨及政。【情感与主旨】主旨是金陵久旱逢雨的喜悦，以及由此生发的对僚友政绩的赞颂。既见作者对民生甘霖的殷切之情，也借「化工人可代」表达人君人臣当修德为政、代天泽民的政治理念，是喜雨诗中寄寓较深的一篇。【名句点睛】「廓开紫宙清凉界，顿去骄阳跋扈权」以「清凉界」对「跋扈权」，一开一去，写尽甘霖驱旱之快意，亦暗寓去暴政、泽苍生的政治期许，气象宏大而意味深长。

Background

This poem, titled 'Joy at the Long-Awaited Rain after Drought at Jinling, Presented to Transport Commissioner Han Zong, Judicial Commissioner Linghu Ting of the Ministry of Rites, and Shown to the Prefectural Colleagues,' is a rain-celebrating occasional verse. Jinling, today's Nanjing, was Jiangning Prefecture in the Northern Song and a major town of the Jiangnan region. Zhang Fangping once served as prefect of Jiangning, and this poem was likely written when, as a local chief, he celebrated with his colleagues after a prolonged drought finally broke. The figures named in the title—Transport Commissioner Han Zong, Judicial Commissioner Linghu Ting, and the prefectural staff—were his fellow officials. Because drought and rain bore directly on farming and the people's livelihood, local magistrates cared deeply about them, and rain-joy poems became a recognized genre for expressing concern for the people. Zhang's poem records a moment of shared joy yet also uses the rain to speak of governance; its last line, 'Fu Yue's talent and deeds lie within three chapters,' encourages his colleagues by invoking the Shang sage Fu Yue, linking a shower of rain to the Way of government. Only with this background can one grasp the civic compassion behind the poem's word 'joy.'

此诗题作「金陵久旱喜雨呈运使韩综学士提刑令狐挺祠部及示诸府僚」，是一首喜雨酬赠之作。金陵即今南京，北宋时为江宁府，是江南重镇。张方平曾知江宁府，此诗当是其任地方长官时，久旱之后天降甘霖，遂作诗与同僚共庆。题中「运使韩综学士」指转运使韩综，「提刑令狐挺祠部」指提点刑狱令狐挺，「诸府僚」则是府中属官。久旱得雨，关乎农事民生，历来为地方官所系念，喜雨诗也因此成为古典诗歌中寄托忧民之情的专门题材。张方平此诗既记一时之喜，又借雨言政，末句「傅岩才业在三篇」以商代贤相傅说勉励同僚，把一场甘雨与为政之道联系起来。了解这一背景，方能读懂诗中「喜」字背后的民胞物与之怀。久旱得雨，关乎禾黍丰歉、黎民生计，故地方官之喜，实为「万家生佛」之喜，此诗便是把这一份官民同庆的心情，郑重地写进了诗里，遂成喜雨之佳篇。

Art

This is a seven-character regulated octave of eight lines and four couplets, structured to move from scene to principle and from rain to politics. The opening couplet contrasts drought's scorching dryness with the joy of rain, creating immediate tension; the second couplet depicts the rain's power through the vast spaces of 'all pools' and 'four seas,' with vigorous brushwork; the third couplet turns from rain to meaning, figuring the sweet rain as a force that clears away tyranny, open and philosophical; the closing couplet ends with an allusion, praising and encouraging his colleagues. The whole proceeds from 'dryness' to 'joy' to 'coolness' to 'talent and deed,' with a clear thread. It writes of rain without being trapped by rain, moving from rain to governance—the very hallmark of Song rain-joy poems.

此诗是七言律诗，八句四联，章法由景入理、由雨及政。首联「江城风日燥将燃，喜此滂沱仅有年」以久旱之燥反衬喜雨之欣，一抑一扬，开篇即见波澜；颔联「诸泽气交阴压地，四溟水立阔围天」写雨势，以「诸泽」「四溟」的宏大空间写水气蒸腾、云水相连的磅礴气象，笔力雄健；颈联「廓开紫宙清凉界，顿去骄阳跋扈权」由雨写意，把甘霖比作廓清炎威的力量，意象开阔而含哲理；尾联「须信化工人可代，傅岩才业在三篇」用典收束，落到对僚友的称美与共勉。全诗以「燥」起、以「喜」承、以「清凉」转、以「才业」合，脉络分明。写雨不粘滞于雨，而能由雨及政，正是宋人喜雨诗的特色。全诗又以「燥—喜—清凉—才业」四字为脉，层层转换：由久旱之燥，转得雨之喜，再转清凉之感，终转经世之思，一脉相承而步步生新。以「燥将燃」的强烈起笔，到「三篇」的悠远收束，情感的起伏与哲理的深化浑然一体，正是七律喜雨诗章法严谨、寄意深远的佳作。

Allusions

The poem uses few but precise allusions. First, 'pouring' (pangtuo) describes a torrential rain, from the Shi Jing line 'the moon lodges in Bi, sending down the pouring rain,' here marking the joy of Heaven's grace after long drought. Second, 'purple vault' (zizhou) means the sky; 'clearing open the purple vault' means the clouds part after rain, revealing a suddenly cool world. Third, 'blazing sun's domineering power' personifies the harsh sun; 'domineering' originally describes overbearing power, here the drought sun's tyranny. Fourth, 'transforming work' (huagong) is Nature's generative power; 'Heaven's work can be done by men' means rulers and ministers may enact it through virtuous rule. Fifth, 'Fu Yue's talent and deeds lie within three chapters' uses the Shang sage Fu Yue, who was raised from a builder at Fu Yan to prime minister under King Wuding, and whose words are recorded in the three chapters of the 'Sayings of Fu' (Shuo Ming) in the Shang Shu; the poet uses Fu Yue to encourage his colleagues, saying the Way to govern and nourish the people lies within those three chapters. All allusions serve the theme that rain nourishes the people and government benefits them.

此诗用典不多而精。其一，「滂沱」形容大雨倾盆，《诗经》有「月离于毕，俾滂沱矣」之句，此状久旱之后甘霖普降之喜。其二，「紫宙」指天空、苍穹，紫以状天之色，「廓开紫宙」谓雨过云开、天色豁然，一片清凉世界。其三，「骄阳跋扈」以拟人笔法写烈日，「跋扈」本形容强梁专横，此写旱日逞威，久不消退。其四，「化工」指造化的功用，即自然的化育之力，「化工人可代」谓天地化育之功，人君人臣可以德政代为施行。其五，「傅岩才业在三篇」用商代贤相傅说之典，傅说本版筑于傅岩之野，殷高宗武丁举以为相，国大治；《尚书·说命》三篇即记武丁命傅说之辞，此以傅说之才业勉励同僚，谓治国安民之道尽在《说命》三篇之中。诸典皆切「雨以泽民、政以惠民」之旨。而「傅岩」一典尤为全诗命意所在：傅说以版筑之身而为贤相，喻人臣虽出身微末，亦可代天泽民、佐君致治，此与「化工人可代」一脉相承，把一场甘雨最终引向了「贤臣辅政」的政治期许，用典之深，正在于此。

Commentary

Rain-joy poems have famous examples since the Shi Jing; their worth lies in whether they move from 'joy in rain' to 'concern for the people.' Du Fu's 'Joyful Rain on a Spring Night' writes spring rain's kindness with 'moistening things silently,' a model of the genre. Zhang Fangping's poem instead writes the torrent after long drought, using drought's scorching anguish to set off the joy of a good year, his concern for the people plain to see. Critics prize the couplet 'It clears open the purple vault into a cool realm; at once it strips away the domineering power of the blazing sun' for its grand weather and deep implication—it writes rain driving off heat yet implies removing harsh rule and blessing the people. The last line, encouraging colleagues through Fu Yue, raises a rain poem to the height of 'govern as sweet rain.' Northern Song literati took the world as their responsibility, so their joy in rain was not mere personal delight but 'what the people rejoice in, I rejoice in.'

喜雨诗自《诗经》以降，代有名篇，其高下之分，在于能否由「喜雨」而见「忧民」。杜甫《春夜喜雨》「好雨知时节，当春乃发生」，以「润物细无声」写春雨之仁，是喜雨诗的典范。张方平此诗则写久旱之后的滂沱大雨，以「燥将燃」的焦灼反衬「仅有年」的欣喜，忧民之情溢于言表。论者读此诗，多赏其「廓开紫宙清凉界，顿去骄阳跋扈权」一联，以为气象宏阔、寄慨遥深——写的是雨驱炎威，暗寓的却是去苛政、泽苍生的政治理想。末句以傅说勉励同僚，更把一首喜雨诗提升到「为政当如甘霖」的高度。北宋士大夫以天下为己任，故其喜雨，非止于个人的快意，而是「民之所喜，我之所喜」，此诗正是这种忧乐与民同之精神的生动写照。可以说，此诗之「喜」，喜在甘霖、喜在丰年、更喜在僚友同心以泽民，一雨而牵动天人之际、官民之情、为政之道，把一首即景的喜雨诗，写成了有怀抱、有识见、有温度的经世之作，这正是它高出一般酬唱喜雨诗的地方。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated octave (lüshi)七言律诗

Rhyme Rhymes in the level-tone xian rhyme; rhyme words are ran, nian, tian, quan, pian, one rhyme throughout.押平声先韵，入韵字为燃、年、天、权、篇，一韵到底。

Tone pattern As a seven-character regulated octave it follows the standard level-oblique pattern with the first line entering the rhyme; the middle two couplets are strictly antithetical—the second couplet matches 'all pools' with 'four seas,' 'vapors meet' with 'waters rise,' 'dark press earth' with 'broad ring sky'; the third matches 'clear open' with 'at once remove,' 'purple vault' with 'blazing sun,' 'cool realm' with 'domineering power.'七言律诗依律调平仄，首句入韵。中二联对仗工整：颔联「诸泽气交阴压地，四溟水立阔围天」以「诸泽」对「四溟」、「气交」对「水立」、「阴压地」对「阔围天」；颈联「廓开紫宙清凉界，顿去骄阳跋扈权」以「廓开」对「顿去」、「紫宙」对「骄阳」、「清凉界」对「跋扈权」，皆词性相侔、平仄相对。

Reading note This poem rhymes in the level-tone xian rhyme; the xian rhyme belongs to the open fourth division of the mountain category, its vowels fine and clear, giving an open, bright, and lingering emotional color. The five rhyme words—ran, nian, tian, quan, pian—flow in one breath, well suited to the poem's vast weather of 'broad waters ring the sky' and 'cool realm.' The first rhyme 'ran' is short and urgent, matching drought's anxiety; the middle 'tian' turns distant, writing the rain's grandeur; the third couplet's 'quan' turns clear and firm, fitting the satisfaction of 'stripping away domineering power'; it ends on 'pian,' with long lingering resonance, settling on the three chapters' statesmanship. The whole follows tonal rules, its middle couplets neatly antithetical, its sound rising and falling with the emotion: from the urgency of heat, to the grandeur of rain, to the relief of coolness, to the distance of statesmanship—one rhyme throughout yet clearly layered. Zhang Fangping uses a bright rhyme to write long-drought joy, sound and scene in harmony, showing his mastery of the regulated octave's tonal music.此诗押平声先韵，先韵属山摄开口四等，元音细而清亮，读来有一种开阔、清越、悠扬的声情。五个人韵字燃、年、天、权、篇，声气连贯，与诗中「阔围天」「清凉界」的浩渺气象十分相称。首句「燃」字起韵，音短而促，暗合久旱之焦灼；中联「天」字承之，声转悠远，写雨势之磅礴；颈联「权」字再转，音清而劲，恰合「顿去跋扈权」的快意；末以「篇」字收束，余韵绵长，落到《说命》三篇的经世之思。全诗平仄合律，中二联对仗工稳，声情随情感起伏：由燥热之促、雨势之宏，到清凉之快、经世之远，一韵贯之而层次分明。张方平以清亮之韵写久旱喜雨，声与境谐，足见其律诗声韵之精。

Line by line

江城风日燥将燃，喜此滂沱仅有年。

The river town's wind and sun are so dry they seem about to burst into flame; I rejoice that this pouring rain promises a fruitful year.

江城的暖风烈日燥热得像要燃烧，欣喜这场滂沱大雨恰逢丰年之兆。

The river town's wind and sun are parched as if burning; I rejoice this pouring rain, a rare year.

此联开篇即写久旱得雨，一抑一扬，对比强烈。上句「江城风日燥将燃」，写久旱之苦，风是热的、日是毒的，连空气都燥得像要燃烧，「将燃」二字以夸张写酷热，把旱情之烈写得触手可及。下句「喜此滂沱仅有年」陡然一转，久旱之后忽降滂沱大雨，一个「喜」字直抒胸臆，是全诗的题眼；「仅有年」谓此雨恰是丰年的兆头，喜悦之中更见对收成的关切。两句以「燥将燃」之痛反衬「滂沱」之喜，先抑后扬，把久旱逢甘霖的快意写得酣畅淋漓。这「喜」不是一己之喜，而是「民以食为天」的官民同喜，忧民之情，尽在这开篇的一燥一喜之间。

The opening at once writes rain after long drought, one depressing one raising, the contrast strong. The first, the river town's wind and sun are parched as if burning, writes the hardship of the long drought: the wind is hot, the sun is fierce, the very air parched as if to burn; the words as if burning write the fierce heat in exaggeration, making the drought's severity touchable. The second turns abruptly, I rejoice this pouring rain, a rare year: after long drought, suddenly the pouring rain; the single word rejoice directly pours out the breast, the eye of the whole poem; a rare year says this rain is exactly the sign of a good harvest, the rejoicing carrying the concern for the crops. The two lines use the pain of parched as if burning to set off the joy of the pouring rain, first depressing then raising, writing the joy of rain after long drought to the full. This joy is not a private joy, but the official and people's shared joy of food is heaven; the grief for the people lies entirely between this opening's parched and rejoicing.

廓开紫宙清凉界，顿去骄阳跋扈权。

It clears open the purple vault into a cool and refreshing realm; at once it strips away the domineering power of the blazing sun.

廓然开辟紫霄清凉之境，顿时除去骄阳跋扈的威权。

It opens wide the purple firmament into a cool realm; at once it strips the fierce sun of its tyrant power.

此联由雨写意，是全诗气象与哲理的最高处。上句「廓开紫宙清凉界」，写雨过云开、苍穹豁然，一片清凉世界从此展开，「廓开」二字见其势之宏，仿佛乾坤为之换颜。下句「顿去骄阳跋扈权」，写炎威顿消，那骄横的烈日终于失去了逞威的权力，「跋扈权」以拟人写旱日，充满对酷热的怨怒与对甘霖的快意。此联之妙，在于「清凉界」与「跋扈权」的对举——一是甘雨带来的仁泽，一是骄阳象征的暴虐，一开一去之间，暗寓了去苛政、泽苍生的政治理想。写雨而不滞于雨，寄意遥深，气象宏阔，是全诗最见襟抱的一联。

This couplet writes freely from the rain, the highest point of the poem's气象 and reason. The first, it opens wide the purple firmament into a cool realm, writes the rain passing, the clouds parting, the vast sky opening, a cool world unfolding from now; the words opens wide show the grandeur of the momentum, as if heaven and earth change face. The second, at once it strips the fierce sun of its tyrant power, writes the fierce heat at once dispelled, the arrogant sun at last losing the power to show its might; the words tyrant power personify the drought sun, full of resentment at the heat and joy at the sweet rain. The couplet's beauty lies in the pairing of the cool realm and the tyrant power - one the仁 grace brought by the sweet rain, one the tyranny symbolized by the fierce sun; between opening and stripping, it secretly lodges the political ideal of removing harsh rule and blessing the people. Writing rain without being bound by rain, the thought far-reaching and the气象 grand, the couplet most showing the author's breast.

须信化工人可代，傅岩才业在三篇。

Be sure that Heaven's transforming work can be done by men; Fu Yue's talent and deeds lie within these three chapters.

须相信造化之功人力可代，傅说之才业尽在《说命》三篇。

Believe the work of creation can be done by man; Fu Yue's talent and task lie in the three chapters.

此联收束全诗，由雨及政，寄意深远。上句「须信化工人可代」，谓天地化育万物之功，人君人臣可以德政代为施行，这是把一场甘雨与为政之道联系起来的关键一笔，「须信」二字语气笃定。下句「傅岩才业在三篇」用商代贤相傅说之典，说治国安民之道尽在《尚书·说命》三篇之中，以此勉励同僚，望其如傅说般佐君泽民。此联之妙，在于把「喜雨」最终归结为「为政当如甘霖」：雨能润物，政能惠民，二者的仁心是相通的。以典故收束，既是对僚友的称美与共勉，也把全诗从即景的喜悦提升到了经世的高度，见出作者以天下为己任的胸襟。

This couplet gathers the poem, moving from rain to governance, the thought far-reaching. The first, believe the work of creation can be done by man, says that the work of heaven and earth in nurturing all things can be carried out by the ruler and ministers through virtuous governance; this is the key line connecting a sweet rain to the way of governance, and the words believe are a firm tone. The second, Fu Yue's talent and task lie in the three chapters, uses the allusion to Fu Yue, the Shang dynasty's wise minister, saying the way of ordering the state and securing the people lies entirely in the three chapters of the Book of Documents' Charge to Yue, thereby encouraging his colleagues, hoping they will, like Fu Yue, assist the lord and bless the people. The couplet's beauty lies in gathering the joy at rain at last into governance should be like the sweet rain: rain nourishes things, governance blesses the people, and the仁 heart of the two is one. Closing in allusion, it is at once the praise and mutual encouragement of his colleagues, and raises the whole poem from the joy of the immediate scene to the height of ordering the age, showing the author's breast of taking the world as his own charge.

Study

Word focus

滂沱 In 'I rejoice that this pouring rain promises a fruitful year,' pangtuo describes a torrential downpour, from the Shi Jing; set against the line's 'about to burn,' it marks the contrast between scorching drought and saving rain, carrying the hope of a good harvest. 「喜此滂沱仅有年」之「滂沱」，状大雨倾泻、水流盛大的样子，语出《诗经·小雅·渐渐之石》「月离于毕，俾滂沱矣」，本指雨盛。张方平以「滂沱」写久旱之后的甘霖，妙在它与上句「燥将燃」形成强烈的对照：一边是烈火般的焦旱，一边是倾盆而下的豪雨，一燥一湿、一苦一甘，对比之下，那份「喜」便来得格外真切。此词之重，还在于它不止是形容雨势，更承载着丰年的希望——只有这样的滂沱大雨，才能彻底缓解久旱、润泽大地，故下句方有「仅有年」的欣慰。以叠韵联绵词状雨，声情浑厚，如闻大雨倾泻之声，一字而兼声、形、情三美，是此诗炼字的关键。

跋扈 In 'at once it strips away the domineering power of the blazing sun,' bahu originally means overbearing and despotic, used here to personify the harsh sun as a tyrannical minister, fusing natural heat with political allegory of removing cruel rule. 「顿去骄阳跋扈权」之「跋扈」，本形容骄横专横、肆意妄为，多用于贬斥权臣，如《后汉书》称梁冀「跋扈将军」。张方平以「跋扈」写骄阳，是化无情为有情的拟人笔法：烈日久旱不退、逞威肆虐，正如跋扈之臣专权横暴、不肯让位。此词之妙，在于它把自然现象与政治隐喻熔于一炉——写的是骄阳的酷虐，暗指的却是苛政与暴虐，「顿去骄阳跋扈权」便不只是雨驱炎威的快意，更是去暴政、泽苍生的理想。一词而兼两层意蕴，使这首喜雨诗超出了一般的即景酬唱，具有了深沉的政治寄托，见出张方平炼字中寄托遥深的功力。