唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
送李中丞归汉阳别业
Seeing Off Censor-in-Chief Li as He Returns to His Hanyang Estate
流落征南将,曾驱十万师。
罢归无旧业,老去恋明时。
独立三边静,轻生一剑知。
茫茫江汉上,日暮欲何之。
who once drove a hundred thousand men before him.
Dismissed, he returns with no old estate to his name;
old now, he still longs for this enlightened age.
He stood alone — and the three frontiers fell quiet;
he held life cheap — only his sword ever knew.
Vast, vast the rivers Jiang and Han;
at sunset, where is he going?
Meaning
The poem sees off Li, the Censor-in-Chief and once a general of the southern campaign, as he returns dismissed to his estate at Hanyang. Liu Changqing praises his past glories — commanding a hundred thousand men, standing alone till the three frontiers fell quiet — and mourns his present: dismissed without an estate to his name, old, still loyal to the court that discarded him. The poem closes on the vast Jiang-Han rivers at sunset and the unanswered question of where the old man can go — heroic sorrow for a loyal soldier thrown aside.
你这流落不遇的征南将军,当年曾统率十万大军。如今罢官归来,家无旧业,年老之际,仍眷恋着圣明之时。当年你独立一方,三边因而安定;你轻身许国,这份忠心唯有随身佩剑知道。茫茫的江汉之上,日暮时分,你又将往哪里去呢?
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] Before the poet stands a general fallen on hard times, who once drove a hundred thousand men. Dismissed, he returns home with no old estate to his name; old now, he still loves the enlightened age that let him go. Once he stood alone and the three frontiers fell quiet; once he held life cheap for the dynasty — and only his sword ever knew it. Now the rivers Jiang and Han stretch vast before him, the sun is setting — where is he to go? [Structure] Eight lines in the regulated form, four movements: the opening couplet sets present against past in one stroke — 'fallen' against 'once drove a hundred thousand'; the second couplet turns to his dismissed poverty and stubborn loyalty; the third, the poem's summit, praises the old general's merit and devotion; the closing couplet dissolves into landscape and a question. Past and present, merit and dismissal, sound and silence — the poem's power is in its contrasts. [Imagery] A hundred thousand men, the quiet frontiers, the lone sword, the vast rivers, the setting sun — the scale shrinks from armies to a single sword, then opens again to rivers at sunset. The old general's whole life is gathered into two images: the frontiers he pacified, and the sword that alone knew his heart.
【白话串讲】 刘长卿写《送李中丞归汉阳别业》:“流落征南将,曾驱十万师”——“罢归无旧业,老去恋明时”——“独立三边静,轻生一剑知”——“茫茫江汉上,日暮欲何之”——他送李中丞——曾驱十万师。 【意象与手法】 曾驱十万师、独立三边静、轻生一剑知,写老将当年之功业;流落征南将、罢归无旧业、老去恋明时,写老将今日之凄凉;结以“茫茫江汉上,日暮欲何之”以苍茫之景写其晚境之无归。于雄浑中见悲凉。 【情感与主旨】 刘长卿送别老将李中丞之作,既赞其当年之雄略,亦叹其今日之落魄,是唐人送别诗中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“罢归无旧业,老去恋明时”写老将之凄凉;“独立三边静,轻生一剑知”写老将当年之功业。
Background
Liu Changqing (c. 726–c. 786), courtesy name Wenfang, from Hejian, was the leading five-syllable poet of the Mid Tang, praised as the 'Great Wall of five-syllable poetry.' This five-syllable regulated verse sees off Li, a Censor-in-Chief who had served as a general in the southern campaign and, dismissed, was returning to his estate at Hanyang (near modern Wuhan). After the An Lushan Rebellion the dynasty declined; many meritorious generals were discarded through court intrigue or old age and ended their lives in exile and poverty. Liu Changqing, himself repeatedly demoted, wrote this poem as both a salute to the old general's merit and an elegy for a dynasty that wastes its loyal men — one of the great farewell poems of the Mid Tang.
《送李中丞归汉阳别业》为中唐诗人刘长卿所作五言律诗。李中丞即李姓御史中丞,曾任征南将军。中丞为御史台长官之一。此诗送李中丞罢官归汉阳(今湖北武汉汉阳一带)的别业(田庄)。诗中「流落征南将,曾驱十万师」写其当年之雄略与今日之流落;「罢归无旧业,老去恋明时」写其罢官归来、家无旧业、老而恋阙;「独立三边静,轻生一剑知」赞其当年镇守三边之功与轻身许国之忠;「茫茫江汉上,日暮欲何之」写其归处之苍茫与晚境之无归。安史之乱后,唐王朝由盛转衰,许多有战功的将领或因朝局倾轧、或因年老被弃,流落江湖,晚景凄凉。刘长卿此诗正是以送老将归乡为背景,既赞其当年之功业,亦叹其今日之落魄,于雄浑中见悲凉,是中唐送别诗中的名篇,也是刘长卿「五言长城」风格的典型体现。此篇《送李中丞归汉阳别业》在历代选本中多被收录,其艺术价值与流传之广,正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事,遂使此作历千载而犹有生气,为后人所称赏不绝。
Art
The poem's art lies in 'present and past in contrast, heroic in sound, mournful in mood.' The opening couplet does in ten characters what a whole poem might: 'a general of the southern campaign, fallen on hard times' against 'who once drove a hundred thousand men' — collapse against glory, and the reader's sympathy is engaged at once. The second couplet balances his poverty ('no old estate to his name') against his loyalty ('still longs for this enlightened age'), and it is precisely this combination — poor and loyal — that deepens the pathos. The third couplet, the poem's summit, compresses a career into two images: 'he stood alone — and the three frontiers fell quiet' is the merit; 'he held life cheap — only his sword ever knew' is the devotion, and 'only the sword knew' implies that no one else did. The closing couplet dissolves everything into 'vast, vast the rivers Jiang and Han; at sunset, where is he going?' — landscape plus an unanswerable question, and the poem ends in boundless silence.
此诗艺术上以「今昔对照、雄浑悲凉」见长。全诗八句,前四句写老将今日之流落,后四句写其当年之功业与归处之苍茫。首联「流落征南将,曾驱十万师」以今昔对照起笔:流落不遇的征南将军,当年曾统率十万大军,「流落」写其今日之况,「曾驱十万师」写其当年之盛,一今一昔,对照鲜明。颔联「罢归无旧业,老去恋明时」写其罢归之凄凉:罢官归来,家无旧业;年老之际,仍眷恋圣明之时,「无旧业」写其家计之清贫,「恋明时」写其忠君恋阙之情。颈联「独立三边静,轻生一剑知」赞其当年之功业:当年独立一方,三边因而安定;轻身许国,这份忠心唯有随身佩剑知道,「独立三边静」写其镇守之功,「轻生一剑知」写其许国之忠。尾联「茫茫江汉上,日暮欲何之」写其归处之苍茫:茫茫的江汉之上,日暮时分,你又将往哪里去呢,「茫茫」「日暮」写尽苍茫之景,「欲何之」以问句写其晚境之无归。全诗由流落而感慨、由感慨而赞功、由赞功而叹归,今昔对照,雄浑悲凉,是中唐送别诗中的名篇。
Allusions
The 'three frontiers' originally named the three northern prefectures of You, Bing, and Liang, and came to mean the border regions generally; 'the three frontiers fell quiet' says the old general held the frontier alone and kept it at peace. The 'sword' is the soldier's emblem of both merit and loyalty, and 'only his sword ever knew' means his devotion was understood by no one but his own weapon — the finest, bitterest stroke in the poem, praising his service while exposing the court's ingratitude. The 'enlightened age' is the conventional name for a sage sovereign's reign; that a discarded old general still 'longs for' it shows loyalty unshaken by injury. The 'rivers Jiang and Han' name the region of his return to Hanyang. None of these are scholarly display; each is the standard coinage of border and farewell verse, fused here into a single mournful life.
诗中「三边」「一剑」等语,皆含典制故实。「三边」本指幽州、并州、凉州三州,泛指北方边境,后世以「三边」指边地,「独立三边静」写老将当年独镇边地、使三边安定,语含雄略。「轻生一剑知」以「一剑」写老将之佩剑,暗含「剑」为军人功业与忠心的象征,唯剑知心,写其轻身许国而无人知赏之悲。「明时」指圣明之世,写老将年老而仍眷恋盛世、心系朝廷。「江汉」指长江、汉水流域,即其归地汉阳一带,「茫茫江汉上」写归地之苍茫辽阔。诗人以三边、一剑、明时、江汉等典制故实入诗,不着痕迹,而把老将当年之功业与今日之流落写得真切可感,是善于熔铸故实以写身世的体现。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
This poem, 'Seeing Off Censor-in-Chief Li as He Returns to His Hanyang Estate,' sees off a once-great general returning in disgrace, praising his past glory and mourning his present ruin, heroic in sound and mournful in mood. The opening couplet sets present against past: before the poet stands a general fallen on hard times, who once drove a hundred thousand men. 'Fallen' measures the whole of his present desolation; 'once drove a hundred thousand men' measures the whole of his past glory — one present, one past, and the reader's heart is wrung at the first line. The second couplet writes his dismissed poverty: he returns with no old estate to his name, and old now still longs for the enlightened age — honest in office and loyal to the end, yet dismissed and cast adift, which deepens the injustice. The third couplet praises his merit: he stood alone and the three frontiers fell quiet; he held life cheap and only his sword ever knew — the merit and the devotion, with 'only the sword knew' quietly grieving that no one else recognized it. The closing couplet dissolves into 'vast, vast the rivers Jiang and Han; at sunset, where is he going?' — landscape and an unanswerable question, ending a heroic life in boundless silence. One of the great farewell poems of the Mid Tang, it is the model of Liu Changqing's 'Great Wall of five-syllable poetry' style.
这首《送李中丞归汉阳别业》,写的是送别一位流落的老将军,既赞其当年之雄略,亦叹其今日之落魄,于雄浑中见悲凉。首联「流落征南将,曾驱十万师」,以今昔对照起笔:眼前是流落不遇的征南将军,当年却曾统率十万大军。「流落」二字,写尽老将今日之凄凉落魄;「曾驱十万师」,写尽当年之叱咤风云。一今一昔,对照鲜明,起笔便令人心酸——当年统十万雄师的将军,今日何以流落至此?颔联「罢归无旧业,老去恋明时」,写其罢归之凄凉:罢官归来,家无旧业,家计清贫;年老之际,仍眷恋圣明之时,一片忠心。「无旧业」写其两袖清风,「恋明时」写其忠君恋阙,清廉而忠心,却落得罢归流落,愈见其悲。颈联「独立三边静,轻生一剑知」,赞其当年之功业:当年独立一方,三边因而安定;轻身许国,这份忠心唯有随身佩剑知道。「独立三边静」,写其镇守边地之功;「轻生一剑知」,写其许国之忠——唯剑知心,言下之意,是这忠心无人知赏,功业无人记取,暗含对朝廷弃将的微讽。尾联「茫茫江汉上,日暮欲何之」,写其归处之苍茫:茫茫的江汉之上,日暮时分,你又将往哪里去呢?「茫茫」「日暮」,写尽苍茫悲凉之景;「欲何之」的一问,问得苍凉而茫然——老将军归乡,却不知何处是归宿。全诗由流落而感慨、由感慨而赞功、由赞功而叹归,今昔对照,雄浑悲凉,正是中唐诗人于送别中写尽功高而弃的老将之悲的典范,读之令人动容。
Prosody
Line by line
流落征南将,曾驱十万师。
A general of the southern campaign, fallen on hard times, who once drove a hundred thousand men before him.
你这流落不遇的征南将军,当年曾统率十万大军。
A fallen general who campaigned in the south; once he led a hundred thousand troops.
首联以今昔对照起笔,是全诗悲凉之调的起点。「流落征南将」写眼前这位流落不遇的征南将军,「流落」二字,写尽老将今日之凄凉落魄、漂泊无依;「曾驱十万师」写其当年曾统率十万大军,「曾驱」见其当年之威赫,「十万师」见其当年之势盛。两句一今一昔,以「流落」与「曾驱十万师」相对照,当年统十万雄师的将军,今日何以流落至此?一盛一衰,对照鲜明,起笔便令人心酸,也为全诗定下了雄浑悲凉的基调。
The opening couplet opens in the contrast of now and then, the start of the poem's desolate tone. 'A fallen general who campaigned in the south' — the before-the-eyes fallen, thwarted general of the southern campaign; the word 'fallen' writes to the full the old general's present desolation and drifting, no support; 'once he led a hundred thousand troops' — 'once led' his former might, 'a hundred thousand troops' his former power. Two lines, one now one then, 'fallen' set against 'once led a hundred thousand troops' — the general who once led a hundred thousand, how has he fallen to this? One rise one fall, the contrast sharp, the opening heart-rending, tuning the poem's grand and desolate keynote.
罢归无旧业,老去恋明时。
Dismissed, he returns with no old estate to his name; old now, he still longs for this enlightened age.
如今罢官归来,家无旧业;年老之际,仍眷恋着圣明之时。
Retired and returned, no patrimony; old and aged, still he loves the enlightened age.
颔联写老将罢归之凄凉,见其清廉与忠心。「罢归无旧业」写罢官归来,家无旧业,「无旧业」见其为官清贫、两袖清风,罢归之后,家无积蓄,愈见其清介;「老去恋明时」写年老之际,仍眷恋圣明之时,「恋明时」见其忠君恋阙、心系朝廷,虽被弃置而忠心不改。两句一写家计之清贫、一写忠君之深情,清贫而忠心,却落得罢归流落,愈见其悲。诗人不直写朝廷弃将之不平,而以此清贫忠心写之,含蓄蕴藉,暗含微讽,是五律中「以品写悲」的妙笔。
The neck couplet writes the old general's retirement's desolation, showing his integrity and loyalty. 'Retired and returned, no patrimony' — retired from office, returned home, no patrimony; 'no patrimony' his official poverty, sleeves clean of gain, after the retirement no savings, the more his clean integrity. 'Old and aged, still he loves the enlightened age' — in his age, still loving the enlightened times; 'loves the enlightened age' his loyal heart for the prince and the court, though cast aside, his loyalty unaltered. Two lines, one the household's poverty, one the loyal heart's depth, poor and loyal, and yet retired and fallen, the more the grief. The poet writes not directly the court's injustice in casting aside the general, but through this poverty and loyalty, restrained and lasting, holding a quiet satire, the fine stroke of the five-word regulated verse's 'writing grief through character'.
独立三边静,轻生一剑知。
He stood alone — and the three frontiers fell quiet; he held life cheap — only his sword ever knew.
当年你独立一方,三边因而安定;你轻身许国,这份忠心唯有随身佩剑知道。
Alone he stood, and the three borders were still; his light body pledged to the state, only his sword knows.
颈联赞老将当年之功业,是全诗最见雄浑处。「独立三边静」写当年独立一方,镇守边地,三边因而安定,「独立」写其独当一面的雄略,「三边静」写其镇守之功;「轻生一剑知」写其轻身许国,这份忠心唯有随身佩剑知道,「轻生」写其不惧生死、以身许国,「一剑知」写其忠心唯剑知之——言下之意,是这份忠心无人知赏、功业无人记取。两句一写功、一写忠,写尽老将当年之雄略与忠勇,而「一剑知」三字,于雄浑之中暗含不被知赏的悲凉,为尾联的苍茫作了铺垫,是「于雄浑中见悲凉」的典范之笔。
The following couplet praises the old general's former achievement, the most grand part of the poem. 'Alone he stood, and the three borders were still' — once standing alone, guarding the border, the three borders at peace; 'alone he stood' his strategy of holding one front, 'the three borders were still' his guarding's merit. 'His light body pledged to the state, only his sword knows' — his life lightly pledged to the state, and this loyalty only the sword at his side knows; 'light body' his fearlessness of death, pledging himself to the state, 'only his sword knows' the meaning between the lines: this loyalty no one knows or prizes, this achievement no one records. Two lines, one achievement one loyalty, writing to the full the old general's former strategy and loyal courage, and the three words 'only his sword knows', within the grandeur, secretly hold the desolation of the unrecognized, the groundwork for the closing vastness, the model stroke of 'the desolation within the grandeur'.
茫茫江汉上,日暮欲何之。
Vast, vast the rivers Jiang and Han; at sunset, where is he going?
茫茫的江汉之上,日暮时分,你又将往哪里去呢?
On the vast Han and Mian waters, at dusk, where will you go?
尾联写老将归处之苍茫,是全诗情感的高潮。「茫茫江汉上」写茫茫的江汉之上,「茫茫」写江汉之辽阔苍茫,亦暗含老将前途之渺茫,「江汉」即其归地汉阳一带;「日暮欲何之」写日暮时分,你又将往哪里去,「日暮」写时之将晚,亦暗含老将年暮之悲,「欲何之」以问句写其晚境之无归——归乡之后,又将何以为生?何以为终?两句以苍茫之景写其晚境之无归,融情入景,悲凉无尽,以问句作结,含蓄深远,是全诗境界最高的收束之笔。
The closing couplet writes the vastness of the old general's returning, the emotional climax of the poem. 'On the vast Han and Mian waters' — 'vast' the Han and Mian's boundless vastness, secretly the old general's vague future; 'the Han and Mian' his returning place, the Hanyang region. 'At dusk, where will you go?' — at the dusk, where will you go; 'dusk' the hour's late, secretly the old general's age grief, 'where will you go?' the question writing the late years' no home — after returning home, how to live? how to end? Two lines, writing the late years' no home through the vast scene, feeling fused into scene, the grief endless, closing in question, restrained and far-reaching, the highest-realm close of the poem.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Wang Changling's 'On the Frontier' — 'The moon of Qin, the passes of Han; men marched ten thousand miles and have not returned' — writes the border's unending war and ends with the hope that 'if only the Flying General of Dragon City were here, the Hu horses would not cross the Yin Mountains.' Liu Changqing's poem writes such a Flying General after his service is over: 'once drove a hundred thousand men,' 'the three frontiers fell quiet' — and now dismissed, 'at sunset, where is he going?' Wang Changling longs for the general who saves the border; Liu Changqing buries him alive on the river. One is High Tang heroic breadth, the other Mid Tang mournful depth: read together they trace the frontier poem's turn from confidence to elegy.
王昌龄《出塞》「秦时明月汉时关,万里长征人未还」,以秦汉明月关塞写边患未已、征人未还之悲,结以「但使龙城飞将在,不教胡马度阴山」,寄望良将御边,是盛唐边塞诗的名篇;刘长卿《送李中丞归汉阳别业》则以「曾驱十万师」「独立三边静」写老将当年之功,以「流落征南将」「日暮欲何之」写其今日之凄凉。两诗同写边关将士:一写征人未还之悲、一写老将被弃之叹;一为盛唐之雄浑、一为中唐之悲凉,并读正可见唐人边塞诗中将士命运从盛到衰的时代变迁。
凉州词 Song of Liangzhou 王翰 · 同写边关将士之豪情与悲慨,一写醉卧沙场之旷达,一写老将流落之悲凉,可见边塞诗豪放与沉郁两种情调 Both write the soldier's devotion and grief; Wang Han writes it as drunken heroism, Liu Changqing as old-age desolation.Wang Han's 'Song of Liangzhou' — 'Laugh at me if you like for lying drunk on the battlefield; how many men since ancient times have returned from war?' — writes the soldier's courage as heroic abandon, brave on the surface and sorrowful beneath, a High Tang frontier classic. Liu Changqing's poem takes the same soldier to the end of his life: 'he held life cheap — only his sword ever knew,' and now 'vast, vast the rivers Jiang and Han; at sunset, where is he going?' Wang Han writes courage at the moment of battle; Liu Changqing writes it after the reward should have come. One is High Tang bold abandon, the other Mid Tang quiet mourning — two lights on the same soldier's fate, at opposite ends of a life and of a dynasty.
王翰《凉州词》「醉卧沙场君莫笑,古来征战几人回」,以醉卧沙场写将士的旷达豪情,于豪放中暗含征戍之悲,是盛唐边塞诗的名篇;刘长卿《送李中丞归汉阳别业》则以「轻生一剑知」写老将之忠勇,以「茫茫江汉上,日暮欲何之」写其晚境之苍茫。两诗同写边关将士:一写征战之中醉卧沙场之旷达、一写功成之后流落江湖之悲凉;一为盛唐之豪放、一为中唐之沉郁,并读正可见唐人对从军命运不同阶段、不同时代下的观照与感慨。