郡斋雨中与诸文士燕集

Meaning

Written while Wei Yingwu was prefect of Suzhou, this poem records a banquet held on a rainy day in his official residence with the scholars of the district. It moves from the cool, fragrant scene of the gathering, through a sudden confession that he has not yet seen his people prosper, to a toast of the region's literary glory. Its theme joins cultured pleasure with official conscience: the joy of wine and verse is deepened, not spoiled, by a Confucian sense of responsibility toward the common people.

兵卫森然，画戟陈列；宴寝之中，凝着清香。海上风雨到来，逍遥池阁之间一片清凉。烦闷的疾病近来消散，嘉宾又满坐一堂。自惭居处之尊崇，未能见到百姓的安康。理会了是非便自遣，性情旷达则形迹皆忘。鲜肥之味属时禁，蔬果有幸得品尝。俯饮一杯酒，仰聆金玉般的华章。神欢体自轻，意欲凌风飞翔。吴中之地文风鼎盛，群彦如今如汪洋。方知这大藩之地，岂只是财赋之疆。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The poem opens with the prefect's residence: guards with painted halberds, a hall steeped in fragrance. Rain and wind arrive from the sea, cooling the pools and pavilions; the poet's ailments disperse, and guests fill the room. But amid the pleasure he turns inward, ashamed of his own comfort while the people's welfare remains unseen. With the ease of one who has seen through right and wrong, he shares the simple fare of vegetables and fruit, drinking a cup while the guests' poems — precious as gold and jade — are read aloud. Light with joy, he ends by praising Wu's literary abundance and declaring that this great province is more than a treasury of taxes. [Structure] The twenty lines unfold in three movements: the first six set the scene, the middle eight turn from pleasure to self-examination and back to delight, the last six rise to praise of the region's culture, so that joy and conscience reflect each other. [Imagery] 'Wind and rain sweep in from the sea' gives the banquet its cool freshness, while 'chapters of gold and jade' and 'an ocean' of talents lift the room from mere feasting to a celebration of letters. The single line of self-examination is what gives the poem its moral weight: a feast that knows the poor are not yet at peace is no longer a commonplace merrymaking.

【白话串讲】 韦应物写《郡斋雨中与诸文士燕集》：“兵卫森画戟，宴寝凝清香”——“海上风雨至，逍遥池阁凉”——“自惭居处崇，未睹斯民康”——“俯饮一杯酒，仰聆金玉章”——他雨中宴集——自惭居处崇。 【意象与手法】 “兵卫森画戟，宴寝凝清香”写郡斋之气象；“海上风雨至，逍遥池阁凉”写雨中宴集之清兴；“自惭居处崇，未睹斯民康”写居官自省；结以“吴中盛文史”“方知大藩地”赞美吴中文风。于宴集中见雅趣，于雅趣中寓自省。 【情感与主旨】 韦应物任苏州刺史时于郡斋雨中与文士燕集之作，写宴集之乐与居官自省，是唐人宴集诗中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“兵卫森画戟，宴寝凝清香”写郡斋气象；“自惭居处崇，未睹斯民康”写居官自省。

Allusions

Several phrases carry classical resonance. 'Chapters of gold and jade' (jinyu zhang) echoes the Book of Songs, which praises a gentleman 'as gold, as tin, as sceptre, as gem'; later usage applied gold and jade to precious writing, so the poet looks up to his guests' poems as treasures. 'Ocean' (wangyang) comes from the Zhuangzi's 'Autumn Floods' — 'vast and boundless, following one's own bent' — and became a set phrase for the boundlessness of literary talent, here describing the assembled scholars of Wu. 'Great border province' (dafan) refers to a major regional commandery such as Suzhou, the great prefecture of the lower Yangtze. 'Rich meats fall under the seasonal ban' alludes to the Tang government's periodic prohibitions on slaughtering and eating meat, explaining why the banquet table holds only vegetables and fruit.

诗中「金玉章」「大藩」「汪洋」等语，皆含典故与故实。「金玉章」以金玉喻文章之美，《诗经》「如金如锡，如圭如璧」以金玉喻德美，后世以「金玉」喻文辞之贵重，「仰聆金玉章」写仰聆文士们金玉般的诗文；「大藩」指大的藩镇州郡，苏州为江南大郡，故称大藩；「汪洋」喻文才之浩瀚，语出《庄子·秋水》「汪洋自恣以适己」，后世以「汪洋」写文章才思之浩瀚，「群彦今汪洋」写群贤文思之浩瀚。此外，「鲜肥属时禁」写鲜肥之味属时令之禁，唐制有禁屠、禁食肉之时，见其宴集蔬果之俭。诗人以金玉章、汪洋等典入诗，不着痕迹，而把宴集之乐与吴中文风之盛写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。

Commentary

Critics have long treasured this poem as a masterpiece of the Tang banquet poem, valued for joining elegant pleasure to official conscience. Commentators single out 'I am ashamed to dwell in such splendor, not having seen my people live in peace' as the poem's heart: in the midst of a scholars' feast the prefect confesses that his own comfort shames him while the people remain unprovided for. This line is taken as the signature of Wei Yingwu's 'benevolent and refined' style and of his reputation as an upright, people-caring official. Later anthologists also praised the closing praise of Wu's literary culture, reading 'now I know this great border province — can it be called a mere land of revenue?' as a civilized rebuke to the view of the rich south as a mere tax base. The poem's sustained single rhyme and unhurried, plain diction are seen as perfectly matched to its mood of cultured ease under conscience.

这首《郡斋雨中与诸文士燕集》，是韦应物任苏州刺史时，于郡斋雨中宴集文士之作，写宴集之乐与自省之思，雅趣与仁心相映。开篇写郡斋雨中宴集之景：「兵卫森画戟，宴寝凝清香」——兵卫森然，画戟陈列；宴寝之中，凝着清香，写郡斋之肃然与清香，气象不凡；「海上风雨至，逍遥池阁凉」——海上风雨到来，逍遥池阁之间一片清凉，写雨中宴集之清兴，风雨添兴，池阁生凉；「烦疴近消散，嘉宾复满堂」——烦闷的疾病近来消散，嘉宾又满坐一堂，病愈宴客，兴致正好。中段写自省与旷达之怀：「自惭居处崇，未睹斯民康」——自惭居处之尊崇，未能见到百姓的安康。这是全诗最见仁心处：身为苏州刺史，居郡斋之崇，而自惭未能使百姓安康，居官自省，仁政爱民之心跃然纸上。此句一出，使全诗的宴集之乐平添一分深沉。「理会是非遣，性达形迹忘」——理会了是非便自遣，性情旷达则形迹皆忘，写其通达之怀；「鲜肥属时禁，蔬果幸见尝」——鲜肥之味属时禁，蔬果有幸得品尝，写宴集之俭；「俯饮一杯酒，仰聆金玉章」——俯饮一杯酒，仰聆金玉般的华章，写宴集之乐，一俯一仰，尽得其趣。末段写宴集之乐与赞吴中文风：「神欢体自轻，意欲凌风飞翔」——神欢体轻，意欲凌风飞翔，写宴集欢愉之极；「吴中盛文史，群彦今汪洋」——吴中之地文风鼎盛，群彦如今如汪洋，赞吴中文士之盛；「方知大藩地，岂曰财赋疆」——方知这大藩之地，岂只是财赋之疆，吴中不只富庶，更是文史之邦。全诗由宴集之景而自省、由自省而宴乐、由宴乐而赞文风，铺陈写景，雅趣与自省相映，正是韦应物「仁厚清雅」诗风的体现，也是唐人宴集诗中的名篇。

Prosody

Line by line

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