唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
送李少府贬峡中王少府贬长沙
Seeing Off Vice-Magistrate Li, Banished to the Gorges, and Vice-Magistrate Wang, Banished to Changsha
嗟君此别意何如，驻马衔杯问谪居。
巫峡啼猿数行泪，衡阳归雁几封书。
青枫江上秋帆远，白帝城边古木疏。
圣代即今多雨露，暂时分手莫踌蹰。
I rein in my horse, lift the cup, and ask about your places of exile.
Gibbons crying in Wu Gorge will draw down rows of tears;
Geese turning back at Hengyang—how many letters will they bring?
On the Green Maple River the autumn sails go far;
By the wall of Baidi City the ancient trees stand thin.
In this sage age favours fall thick as rain and dew;
We part only for a time—do not stand hesitating.
Meaning
Alas, what must the two of you feel at this parting? I rein in my horse and raise the cup to ask what your places of exile will be like. The gibbons wailing in Wu Gorge will draw down rows of tears; will the geese that turn back at Hengyang bring me a few letters? On the Green Maple River the autumn sails grow distant; by the walls of Baidi City the ancient trees stand sparse. In this enlightened age the court's favour falls widely like rain and dew, so we part only for a while and there is no need to linger and hesitate.
可叹你们二人此番离别，心中是何滋味？我停下马来，举杯相问你们贬所的情形。巫峡的啼猿催人落下数行清泪，衡阳的归雁能否捎来几封书信？青枫江上秋帆渐远，白帝城边古木稀疏。如今圣明之世多施恩泽，暂且分手不必犹豫徘徊。
Appreciation
The plan of this poem is strict and its feeling rich. It opens with a question—what can be in your hearts at such a parting?—and the poet's gesture of reining in his horse and lifting a cup by the roadside stands before the eye. The middle two couplets divide the scenery between the two friends: the crying gibbons of Wu Gorge and the homing geese of Hengyang are written for Li in the gorge country, while the sails of the Green Maple River and the sparse old trees of Baidi City are written for Wang at Changsha. One pair is piercing, the other wide and desolate, and the parallelism is finely wrought. The closing couplet turns from grief to comfort: since the age is enlightened and favours fall like rain and dew, the two should not stand hesitating. That bright, generous consolation laid over real sorrow is the very key of High Tang farewell verse.
【白话串讲】 高适送两位被贬的朋友：一个去巫峡，一个去长沙。“巫峡啼猿数行泪，衡阳归雁几封书”——他劝他们：“圣代即今多雨露，暂时分手莫踌蹰”——朝廷还会有恩泽，别太难过。 【意象与手法】 全诗章法严整而情韵兼美。首联以问句领起，驻马衔杯之态如见。中二联交互分写二人贬所：颔联先写巫峡啼猿、后写衡阳归雁，颈联先写青枫江帆、后写白帝古木，交叉对仗，工整流转，一悲切一辽阔，情景交融。尾联以『圣代即今多雨露』劝慰，由悲转达。 【情感与主旨】 本诗为高适送别两位友人同时遭贬之作：李少府贬往峡中（今重庆奉节一带），王少府贬往长沙。诗人置酒道旁，驻马衔杯，既写离别之悲，亦以『圣代多雨露』宽慰，体现盛唐送别诗哀而不伤、豁达明朗的基调。 【名句点睛】 本诗常见于送别诗比较阅读。考点：①结构——首联叙事起，中二联分写两贬所景，尾联慰勉收，章法井然；②颔联『巫峡啼猿数行泪，衡阳归雁几封书』的用典与对仗。
Background
Gao Shi wrote this poem when two friends, Vice-Magistrate Li and Vice-Magistrate Wang, were demoted at the same time. Li was sent to the gorge country (the region of present-day Kuizhou in Chongqing) and Wang to Changsha. Both had fallen together, and the poet set out wine by the roadside, reined in his horse, lifted the cup and wrote this poem as a parting gift. High Tang gentlemen prized office and fame, yet demotion was a common thing; the poem writes the sorrow of parting and also offers the comfort that 'in this sage age favours fall like rain and dew'. It shows the sorrowful-but-unwounded, open and bright tone of High Tang farewell poetry, as fine as the farewell poems of Wang Wei and Li Bai.
本诗为高适送别两位友人同时遭贬之作。李少府贬往峡中（今重庆奉节、巫山一带），王少府贬往长沙（今湖南长沙）。二人同遭迁谪，诗人置酒道旁，驻马衔杯，作此诗以赠。高适为盛唐边塞诗大家，早年蹭蹬不遇，晚年方显达，故对仕途沉浮体会极深。此诗作年已不可确考，或谓作于其入河西幕府之前。盛唐士人虽重功名，然贬谪乃仕途常事，时人于送贬之作，多能以豁达语相慰，此诗即其代表：既以真切之笔想象二友贬地之荒远凄凉，又以『圣代多雨露』的宽慰语收束，哀而不伤，怨而不怒，体现了盛唐士人开阔明朗的精神气度，与王维《送元二使安西》、李白《赠汪伦》等盛唐送别名作并美，是研究盛唐送别诗情感范式的典型文本。全诗既见友朋相念之深，又见盛唐士人对待贬谪的通达态度，是理解盛唐送别诗情感范式与高适人格的重要篇章，历来为选家所重。
Art
The whole poem is strictly built and rich in feeling. The opening couplet leads with a question, and the pose of reining in the horse and lifting the cup stands before the eye. The second and third couplets divide the two places of exile between the friends: the crying gibbons of Wu Gorge and the homing geese of Hengyang write Li's gorge country, while the river sails of the Green Maple and the old trees of Baidi write Wang's Changsha. The two sets of images are matched with fine craft, one piercing and one wide, so that scene and feeling merge. The closing couplet consoles with 'in this sage age favours fall like rain and dew' and urges the friends not to hang back, turning grief into openness. Structurally the poem opens outward layer by layer, and within its exact parallels a flowing depth of farewell feeling moves.
全诗章法严整而情韵兼美，最见功力的是中二联交互分写二人的匠心。首联以问句领起：『嗟君此别意何如』以一声长叹与一问定下全诗情感基调，『驻马衔杯』写送别之态，如见其人。颔联『巫峡啼猿数行泪，衡阳归雁几封书』先写李少府所贬峡中的巫峡啼猿，后写王少府所贬长沙的衡阳归雁，一悲一盼；颈联『青枫江上秋帆远，白帝城边古木疏』则倒转次序，先写长沙青枫江的秋帆，后写峡中白帝城的古木，与颔联交叉成对。两联四句，写尽两地风光，对仗精工而不板滞，情语景语交融无间：啼猿催泪、归雁寄书，见相思之切；秋帆渐远、古木萧疏，见前路之遥。尾联以『圣代即今多雨露，暂时分手莫踌蹰』劝慰收束，由悲转达，于工整中见流动的送别深情，正是盛唐七律中送别题材的典范之作。全篇以情驭景、以景写情，章法之严整与情韵之流动兼而有之，足为七律送别诗的正格，也是高适七律中最为后世传诵的名篇之一。
Allusions
The poem transforms several geographical and legendary images. 'Gibbons crying in Wu Gorge' comes from the folk-song tradition of the Three Gorges at Badong, in which three cries of the gibbon wet the traveller's gown, and it colours the gorge country as remote and mournful. 'Geese turning back at Hengyang' joins the old belief that wild geese carry letters with Returning-Goose Peak on Mount Heng, where the geese are said to fly no farther south, hinting that news will be hard to send. 'Baidi City' is a famous site in the Three Gorges, and 'Green Maple River' draws on the desolate atmosphere of the line about deep river water with maples above it in the Summons of the Soul of the Songs of Chu. All these enter the scenery naturally, leaving no trace of effort while the feeling stands complete.
诗中化用多处地理与传说意象，皆切合二人贬所。『巫峡啼猿』本自巴东三峡民歌『巴东三峡巫峡长，猿鸣三声泪沾裳』的传统，写峡中荒远悲凉，猿啼催泪；『衡阳归雁』用鸿雁传书与衡山回雁峰的典故——传说大雁南飞至衡阳回雁峰即止，古人有雁足传书之说，故以归雁暗寓音书难寄、思念难传。『白帝城』为三峡名胜，刘备托孤之地，写峡中古迹之苍凉；『青枫江』化用《楚辞·招魂》『湛湛江水兮上有枫，目极千里兮伤春心』的凄清意境，以青枫写长沙江畔秋色。此外『谪居』点明贬所，『雨露』喻皇恩浩荡，为尾联宽慰张本。诸典自然融入景物，不着痕迹而情致宛然，地理与典故叠印，正是高适诗中『以实景运典故』的功力所在。诸典皆紧扣两地地理与送别情境，无一虚设，正见高适熔铸典故、以实运虚的功力，也使全诗于写景之中自含深远的文化意蕴，诵读之际尤耐寻味。此诗用典之妙，正在切地切景切情，三者无一处不合。
Commentary
Ming criticism took this poem as the orthodox form of High Tang farewell verse. Hu Yinglin called it 'wrought and close, yet with bone'. The opening line, 'Alas, at this parting, what is in your hearts?', may itself serve as an eye for the whole art of farewell poetry. Later ages found Gao Shi's seven-character regulated verse deep and stirring, and thought this piece warm and generous within its strictness, of one openness with 'do not fear that the road ahead holds no friend who knows you' in Farewell to Dong Da; the two have been handed down together as a happy tale of High Tang farewell poetry.
此诗历被推为盛唐送别七律的正格。明人胡应麟《诗薮》称其『工密而有骨』，首联『嗟君此别意何如』直可作送别诗法眼，一问而情意全出。中二联分写两人贬所、交互成对的结构，尤为后人所称道，被认为是送别诗中处理多人、两地题材的典范章法。高适七律向以沉雄悲壮著称，此篇却于整饬中见温厚，与其《别董大》『莫愁前路无知己，天下谁人不识君』同一旷达襟怀，并传为盛唐送别诗之佳话。今人读此诗，既能见盛唐士人于贬谪之悲中的豁达自持，又能赏其章法之精密、对仗之工巧，故历代诗话选本多录之，是研究高适诗风与盛唐送别诗的重要文本。此诗在文学史上向为送别诗比较阅读的常选篇目，其交互分写、两两对照的章法，尤为后学所称道，而尾联的宽慰之语亦成为盛唐送别诗的典型语调，至今仍具范本意义，历久而不废。足为后人取法，其价值不因时代而减。
Prosody
Line by line
嗟君此别意何如，驻马衔杯问谪居
Alas, at this parting, what is in your hearts? I rein in my horse, lift the cup, and ask about your places of exile.
可叹你们二人此番离别，心中是何滋味？我停下马来，举杯相问你们贬所的情形。
Alas, this parting of you two — what is in your hearts? I rein in the horse, raise the cup, and ask of your places of exile.
首联以问句领起，是全诗情感的总开关。『嗟』字一声长叹，叹二人遭贬之不幸，也叹此别之难堪；『意何如』设问直问对方心境，把送别的关怀化为一声探问，亲切而沉痛。『驻马衔杯』四字写尽送别场景：诗人勒马停驻，举杯相送，动作细节如在目前；『问谪居』则点明所问为贬所情形，既见关切之深，又暗含对贬地荒远的担忧，为下文想象两地风物张本。两句一叙一叹，叙事与抒情交织，起笔即把读者带入送别的现场。此联之妙，在于以问开篇，不写离别之泪而离情自见，正见高适以家常语写深情的长处，也为中二联的景物铺写提供了情感的逻辑起点。
The opening couplet opens with a question, the master switch of the poem's feeling. The word 'alas' a long sigh, grieving the two men's demotion and the hardship of this parting; 'what is in your hearts?' the question straight to the other's mood, turning the parting's care into an inquiry, intimate and grieving. The four words 'rein in the horse, raise the cup' write the parting scene to the full: the poet reining the horse, raising the cup to speed the guest, the action as before the eyes; 'ask of your places of exile' names the inquiry as the demotion's lot, at once showing the depth of care and secretly holding the worry for the exiled place's remoteness, the groundwork for the later imagining of the two lands' scenes. Two lines, one narrative one sigh, narrative and feeling interwoven, the opening leading the reader at once into the parting's scene. The beauty of the couplet is opening in question, no parting tears written and the parting feeling of itself, showing Gao Shi's strength of writing deep feeling through the household word, and providing the emotional logical start for the middle couplets' scenic layering.
巫峡啼猿数行泪，衡阳归雁几封书
Gibbons crying in Wu Gorge will draw down rows of tears; geese turning back at Hengyang—how many letters will they bring?
巫峡的啼猿催人落下数行清泪，衡阳的归雁能否捎来几封书信？
The apes of Wu Gorge cry, and tears fall; the returning geese of Hengyang — how many letters may they bring?
颔联分写二人贬所，是交互对写的第一组。上句写李少府所贬的峡中：巫峡两岸猿声凄切，本就催人泪下，何况谪居之人远望故乡，闻猿而落泪，『数行泪』直写贬谪之悲；下句写王少府所贬的长沙：衡阳回雁峰下，北归的雁阵能否捎来几封家书？『几封书』以问句出之，见音书难寄之忧虑。两句一落泪、一问讯，一写听觉之悲、一写视觉之盼，对仗精工而情韵宛转。啼猿与归雁皆为传统愁苦意象，诗人化入对友人贬地生活的想象之中，既写景又写情，情景交融，把对两位友人的牵挂写得具体而深挚，是此诗最动人的一联。
The neck couplet writes the two men's exiled places apart, the first pair of the interwoven writing. The upper line writes Li's exile in the gorge: the Wu Gorge's two banks, the apes' cries grieved, originally moving tears, and how much more the exiled gazing home, the tears at the ape's cry; 'tears fall' directly writes the grief of demotion. The lower line writes Wang's exile in Changsha: below Hengyang's Returning-Geese Peak, the north-returning geese — may they bring a few letters of home? 'How many letters' in question, showing the worry that letters are hard to send. Two lines, one tears one inquiry, one the grief of hearing one the hope of sight, the couplet exact and the feeling lingering. The crying apes and the returning geese are the traditional grief images, and the poet weaves them into the imagining of the friends' exiled life, writing scene and feeling at once, scene and feeling fused, writing the care for the two friends concretely and deeply, the most moving couplet of the poem.
青枫江上秋帆远，白帝城边古木疏
On the Green Maple River, the autumn sail goes far; by White Emperor City, the old trees are sparse.
青枫江上秋帆渐远，白帝城边古木稀疏。
On the Green Maple River, the autumn sail grows distant; by White Emperor City, the ancient trees thin.
颈联继续分写两地，与颔联交叉成对：上句以青枫江写王少府所贬的长沙，下句以白帝城写李少府所贬的峡中，恰与颔联次序相反，两联交叉互文，章法极为精巧。『青枫江上秋帆远』写秋江之上友人舟帆渐行渐远，一个『远』字写尽前路漫漫与离思悠悠；『白帝城边古木疏』写白帝城边古木萧疏，一个『疏』字写尽峡中荒寒与岁月苍凉。两句皆以景结情：帆远是别情的具象，木疏是贬地的写照，景物之间不见抒情之语，而离愁别恨自在其中。此联与颔联共同构成一幅两地秋景的长卷，一江一城、一远一疏，对仗工稳而意境开阔，把送别的空间感与时间感同时拉开，为尾联的劝慰蓄势。
The following couplet continues writing the two places, crossing-paired with the neck: the upper line writes Wang's Changsha through the Green Maple River, the lower writes Li's gorge through White Emperor City, precisely opposite to the neck's order, the two couplets crossing and interweaving, the structure most exquisite. 'On the Green Maple River, the autumn sail grows distant' — the friend's boat on the autumn river going farther and farther, the word 'distant' writing to the full the long road ahead and the lingering parting thought; 'by White Emperor City, the ancient trees thin' — the old trees by White Emperor City sparse, the word 'thin' writing to the full the gorge's waste cold and the years' desolation. Two lines both close in scene: the distant sail the shape of the parting, the thin trees the portrait of the exiled place, between the scenes not one lyrical word, and the parting grief of itself. This couplet and the neck together form a long scroll of the two lands' autumn, one river one city, one distant one thin, the couplet exact and the realm open, drawing the parting's space and time at once, storing the groundwork for the closing comfort.
圣代即今多雨露，暂时分手莫踌蹰
In this sage age favours fall thick as rain and dew; we part only for a time—do not stand hesitating.
如今圣明之世多施恩泽，暂且分手不必犹豫徘徊。
In this sage reign, grace falls like rain; for now, part, and do not linger in doubt.
尾联以劝慰收束，是全诗情感由悲转达的枢纽。『圣代即今多雨露』言如今是圣明之世，皇恩如雨露般广施，言下之意，二位遭贬只是暂时，终有蒙恩复用之日，故下句劝道：『暂时分手莫踌蹰』，暂且分别，不必徘徊难舍。两句一宽慰、一劝勉，语气恳切而明朗，把前面的离愁悲绪轻轻托起，化为对友人的祝福与期许。这种以旷达语收束离愁的写法，正是盛唐送别诗『哀而不伤』的典型基调：不是不悲，而是以理性与温情化解悲情。『雨露』喻皇恩，语出温厚；『踌蹰』写徘徊，体贴入微。尾联与首联遥相呼应：起于问谪居之悲，结于劝莫踌蹰之达，全诗情感起伏有致，章法浑然一体。
The closing couplet closes in comfort, the pivot of the poem's feeling from grief to release. 'In this sage reign, grace falls like rain' — now is the sage reign, the imperial grace spread like rain, the meaning between the lines: the two of you are demoted only for a time, and the day of grace and recall will come; hence the next line exhorts: 'for now, part, and do not linger in doubt', parting for now, no need to linger in reluctant hesitation. Two lines, one comfort one exhortation, the tone earnest and bright, lifting up the parting grief above, turning it into the blessing and the expectation for the friend. This method of closing the parting grief in the broad word is precisely the typical keynote of the High Tang farewell's 'grieved without wounding': not that it does not grieve, but that reason and warmth resolve the grief. 'Grace' figures the imperial favor, the words warm; 'linger in doubt' the lingering, the care minute. The closing couplet echoes the opening from afar: starting in the question of the demotion's grief, closing in the exhortation to 'not linger in doubt', the poem's feeling rising and falling with measure, the craft one.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Wang's 'west of Yang Pass' writes the bleakness of the road ahead, while Gao Shi writes the two places of exile separately and adds consolation; compare the different lyric strategies of farewell poetry.
王维《送元二使安西》与高适此诗同属盛唐送别诗名篇，而抒情策略迥异。王诗以『渭城朝雨浥轻尘，客舍青青柳色新』写眼前之景，以『劝君更尽一杯酒，西出阳关无故人』写劝酒之语，以一杯酒浓缩全部离情，含蓄而深挚，重在临别一刻的缠绵；高诗则以问句领起，中二联想象两地贬所的风物，尾联以『圣代多雨露』宽慰，由实入虚、由悲转达，重在别后的牵挂与劝勉。一写送别瞬间的依依，一写别后贬地的想象；一以简淡胜，一以周至胜。二诗对读，可见盛唐送别诗或以景寓情、或以情化景的两条路径，亦可比较赠行与慰贬两种送别情境的不同抒情方式。
赋得暮雨送李胄 On the Theme of Evening Rain: Seeing Off Li Zhou 韦应物 · 同借景烘托离情 Same (both use scenery to set off the feeling of parting)Wei writes parting through evening rain, Gao writes banishment through gorge geese and river sails; both melt feeling into scene, so the correspondence of scenery and emotion may be compared.
韦应物《赋得暮雨送李胄》与高适此诗皆借景写离情，而取景与手法各别。韦诗以『楚江微雨里，建业暮钟时』起笔，通篇以暮雨贯穿，江帆、鸟、树皆笼罩于迷蒙雨幕之中，以一片烟雨写离愁之无边，是情景交融的极致；高诗则选取巫峡啼猿、衡阳归雁、青枫江帆、白帝古木四组典型景物，分写两地贬所，以空间的铺展写离情的深广，兼有对友人贬地生活的体贴。韦诗景中无我而情在景中，高诗景中有思而情随景转；一以氛围取胜，一以章法见长。二诗对读，可见中唐韦应物与盛唐高适在借景抒情上的一致追求与不同风貌。