唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
别韦参军
Parting from Military Advisor Wei
二十解书剑，西游长安城。
举头望君门，屈指取公卿。
国风冲融迈三五，朝廷欢乐弥寰宇。
白璧皆言赐近臣，布衣不得干明主。
归来洛阳无负郭，东过梁宋非吾土。
兔苑为农岁不登，雁池垂钓心长苦。
世人向我同众人，唯君于我最相亲。
且喜百年见交态，未尝一日辞家贫。
弹棋击筑白日晚，纵酒高歌杨柳春。
欢娱未尽分散去，使我惆怅惊心神。
丈夫不作儿女别，临歧涕泪沾衣巾。
I raised my head toward the sovereign's gate, counting on my fingers to grasp the high offices.
The kingdom's customs were harmonious, surpassing the Three and Five; the court rejoiced, filling all the world.
White jade discs were said to be bestowed on favored courtiers; a commoner in cloth might not approach the enlightened lord.
Returning, I had no fields by Luoyang's walls; eastward past Liang and Song—no land of mine.
At the Rabbit Park I farmed, the years brought no harvest; by the Wild-Goose Pool I fished, my heart long in bitterness.
The world treats me as it does the common crowd; only you, sir, have been closest to me.
I rejoice that through a hundred years I've seen true friendship; never a single day did you shun my poverty.
We played board games and struck the zhu at dusk; we drained wine and sang loudly in the willow spring.
Before our joy was spent we parted and went away, leaving me melancholy, my spirit startled.
A man does not make a woman's parting; yet at the fork of the road tears wet my collar and kerchief.
Meaning
Gao Shi recalls his early failure at court—arriving in Chang'an at twenty, confident of high office, only to find white-jade favors reserved for courtiers while a commoner cannot approach the throne. After years of landless wandering and bitter farming by the Rabbit Park, he celebrates the one friend who stayed true: Wei, who never shunned his poverty. The poem closes on a feigned manliness that dissolves into tears at the road's fork.
二十岁便通晓书剑，西游长安城。举头望君门，屈指算取公卿。国风冲融迈三五，朝廷欢乐弥寰宇。白璧皆言赐近臣，布衣不得干明主。归来洛阳无负郭，东过梁宋非吾土。兔苑为农岁不登，雁池垂钓心长苦。世人向我同众人，唯君于我最相亲。且喜百年见交态，未尝一日辞家贫。弹棋击筑白日晚，纵酒高歌杨柳春。欢娱未尽分散去，使我惆怅惊心神。丈夫不作儿女别，临歧涕泪沾衣巾。
Appreciation
Gao Shi's 'Parting from Military Advisor Wei' is a long seven-character archaic song that turns a farewell into a candid autobiography of failure and friendship. The first eight lines recount his youthful quest: at twenty he 'mastered brush and sword' and went west to Chang'an, fingers counting the offices within reach—only to learn that jade discs go to favorites while a commoner cannot reach the enlightened lord. [Structure] The middle four lines chart his drift: no fields by Luoyang, no homeland past Liang and Song, failed farming, bitter fishing. [Contrast] The poem's pivot is the line 'the world treats me as the common crowd; only you, sir, are closest to me'—setting indifferent society against one loyal friend. [Close] The final couplet stages a manly refusal of womanish tears that immediately collapses into weeping at the fork. Gao's plain, vigorous diction (质实) gives the poem a confessional honesty rare in farewell verse, making it both a record of unrecognized talent and a tribute to steadfast friendship.
【白话串讲】 高适写《别韦参军》：“二十解书剑，西游长安城”——“举头望君门，屈指取公卿”——“白璧皆言赐近臣，布衣不得干明主”——“归来洛阳无负郭，东过梁宋非吾土”——他写自己怀才不遇，与韦参军分别。 【意象与手法】 此诗写与韦参军的离别，以怀才不遇写别情，是高适的名篇。前八句写求仕的失意：「二十解书剑，西游长安城」写年少西游求仕，「举头望君门，屈指取公卿」写踌躇满志，「国风冲融迈三五，朝廷欢乐弥寰宇」写朝廷盛世，「白璧皆言赐近臣，布衣不得干明主」写布衣不得干明主；中四句写漂泊的困顿：「归来洛阳无负郭」写归来洛阳无田产，「东过梁宋非吾土」写东过梁宋非故乡，「兔苑为农岁不登」写务农无收成，「雁池垂钓心长苦」写垂钓心苦；后八句写与韦参军的深情：「世人向我同众人，唯君于我最相亲」写唯君最相亲，「且喜百年见交态，未尝一日辞家贫」写韦参军不嫌贫，「弹棋击筑白日晚，纵酒高歌杨柳春」写欢娱时光，「欢娱未尽分散去，使我惆怅惊心神」写离别惆怅，「丈夫不作儿女别，临歧涕泪沾衣巾」写临歧涕泪。全诗以怀才不遇写别情，写尽失意与深情，正是高适「质实」诗风的本领。 【情感与主旨】 此诗写与友人韦参军的离别。韦参军是高适早年游历梁宋时的友人，高适怀才不遇、漂泊困顿，唯韦参军与他相亲。此诗回顾求仕的失意与漂泊的困顿，写与韦参军的情谊与离别：二十岁便通晓书剑，西游长安求仕，举头望君门，屈指算取公卿，踌躇满志；然朝廷盛世，白璧皆赐近臣，布衣不得干明主，求仕失意；归来洛阳无田产，东过梁宋非故乡，务农无收成，垂钓心苦，漂泊困顿；世人以我如众人，唯君对我最相亲，且喜韦参军不嫌我贫，从未一日辞家贫；与韦参军弹棋击筑、纵酒高歌，欢娱未尽却要分散，使我惆怅惊神；大丈夫不作儿女惜别之态，临歧却涕泪沾巾。全诗以怀才不遇写别情，写尽失意与深情，正是高适早年求仕失意、漂泊困顿与友人情谊的写照，是理解高适早年心境的重要篇章。 【名句点睛】 常考「白璧皆言赐近臣，布衣不得干明主」写布衣求仕的失意；「唯君于我最相亲」写与韦参军的深情；「丈夫不作儿女别，临歧涕泪沾衣巾」写临别的深沉；「兔苑为农岁不登，雁池垂钓心长苦」写漂泊的困顿；以及全诗以怀才不遇写别情、直抒胸臆的手法。
Background
Gao Shi (c. 704–765), courtesy name Dafeng, was a premier High-Tang frontier poet, paired with Cen Shen as the 'Gao-Cen' school. Born poor, he traveled to Chang'an at twenty to seek office and failed; for decades he wandered the Liang-Song region (modern Henan) in straitened circumstances before finally entering government around fifty. Military Advisor Wei (韦参军) was a friend from those lean Liang-Song years. This poem looks back on the failed quest for office and the drifting poverty that followed, set against Wei's unwavering loyalty. It is a key document of Gao's early mentality and of the Tang archetype of the talented man thwarted by birth.
此诗写与友人韦参军的离别，是高适的名篇。高适（约704—765），字达夫，渤海蓨（今河北景县）人，盛唐著名边塞诗人，与岑参并称「高岑」。高适早年家贫，二十岁西游长安求仕未果，此后长期游历梁宋（今河南商丘一带）、燕赵之间，怀才不遇，漂泊困顿，五十岁前后才出仕。韦参军是高适早年游历梁宋时的友人，二人交谊深厚。此诗回顾求仕的失意与漂泊的困顿，写与韦参军的情谊与离别：「二十解书剑，西游长安城」写二十岁通晓书剑、西游长安求仕；「举头望君门，屈指取公卿」写踌躇满志、屈指可待公卿；「国风冲融迈三五，朝廷欢乐弥寰宇」写朝廷盛世；「白璧皆言赐近臣，布衣不得干明主」写布衣求仕失意——白璧皆赐近臣，布衣不能接近明主；「归来洛阳无负郭，东过梁宋非吾土」写归来无田产、漂泊非故乡；「兔苑为农岁不登，雁池垂钓心长苦」写务农无收、垂钓心苦的困顿；「世人向我同众人，唯君于我最相亲」写世人以我如众人，唯韦参军对我最相亲；「且喜百年见交态，未尝一日辞家贫」写韦参军不嫌我贫；「弹棋击筑白日晚，纵酒高歌杨柳春」写二人欢娱；「欢娱未尽分散去，使我惆怅惊心神」写离别的惆怅；「丈夫不作儿女别，临歧涕泪沾衣巾」写临歧涕泪。全诗以怀才不遇写别情，写尽失意与深情，是理解高适早年心境与友人情谊的重要篇章。
Art
Four devices carry the poem. First, retrospective narration frames the career arc—from 'twenty, mastering brush and sword' to 'white jade for courtiers'—compressing hope into disillusion. Second, place-names embody displacement: Luoyang without fields, Liang-Song 'not my land,' the Rabbit Park and Wild-Goose Pool marking genteel ruin. Third, contrast sharpens feeling: 'the world treats me as the crowd' versus 'only you are closest' isolates Wei as the sole confidant amid universal indifference. Fourth, the closing irony—'a man makes no woman's parting; yet at the fork tears wet my collar'—stages stoicism that breaks, deepening the leave-taking with unguarded feeling. The archaic seven-character form, shifting rhyme every two lines, lends the confession a free, unscripted momentum suited to direct speech.
此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以追忆写求仕。前八句追忆求仕的历程：「二十解书剑，西游长安城。举头望君门，屈指取公卿」写年少西游的踌躇满志，「白璧皆言赐近臣，布衣不得干明主」写求仕的失意——那「屈指取公卿」写踌躇满志，「不得干明主」写失意，以追忆写尽求仕的由志到失。其二，以地名写漂泊。「归来洛阳无负郭，东过梁宋非吾土」以洛阳、梁宋的地名写漂泊——那「无负郭」写无田产（负郭田，靠近城郭的田），「非吾土」写非故乡，以地名写尽漂泊困顿。其三，以对照写深情。「世人向我同众人，唯君于我最相亲」以「世人」与「唯君」的对照写深情——那「世人向我同众人」写世人以我如众人，「唯君于我最相亲」写唯韦参军对我最相亲，以对照写尽友情的珍贵。其四，以深语收束。「丈夫不作儿女别，临歧涕泪沾衣巾」写丈夫不作儿女之态、临歧却涕泪沾巾——那「不作儿女别」写故作豪迈，「涕泪沾衣巾」写泪湿衣巾，以豪语与涕泪的对照写尽离别的深沉，以深语收束，余韵深沉。四重手法，使此诗以怀才不遇写别情，写尽失意与深情，正是高适「质实」诗风的本领。
Allusions
The poem is woven from the standard lexicon of frustrated ambition. 'Brush and sword' (书剑) signals the gentleman's twin arts of civil and martial service. 'The sovereign's gate' and 'enlightened lord' (明主) name the throne as the object of petition. 'White jade discs' (白璧) figure imperial favor, here monopolized by 'favored courtiers' (近臣); 'commoner in cloth' (布衣) is the self-image of the unpatronized talent—the 'cloth-garment minister' dream inverted. 'Fields by the city wall' (负郭) alludes to Su Qin's lack of arable land, marking pennilessness. The 'Rabbit Park' (兔苑) and 'Wild-Goose Pool' (雁池) evoke the Liang gardens of old, now sites of humiliation. 'Striking the zhu' (击筑) recalls Gao Jianli accompanying Jing Ke—friendship and valediction; 'willow spring' (杨柳春) evokes the parting-willow tradition. These allusions root Gao's personal grievance in a classical grammar of merit denied.
此诗的用语深植于怀才不遇与送别的传统。「解书剑」令人想到「书剑」写文武之才的意象——「仗剑去国，辞亲远游」，也令人想到「书剑飘零」的漂泊；「西游长安城」令人想到「西游」写入京求仕的传统，也令人想到「长安」作为帝都求仕之地的意象；「举头望君门」令人想到「君门」写帝王宫门的意象，也令人想到「宫阙」的帝都意象；「屈指取公卿」令人想到「屈指可数」的踌躇满志，也令人想到「取公卿」的求仕抱负；「国风冲融」令人想到「国风」写盛世风教，也令人想到「冲融」写和乐；「迈三五」令人想到「三五」指三皇五帝——「迈三五」写超过三皇五帝之世，写尽盛世的夸耀；「白璧皆言赐近臣」令人想到「白璧」写珍贵玉璧的意象，也令人想到「白璧无瑕」的贵重，更令人想到「赐近臣」写赏赐近臣的朝政；「布衣不得干明主」令人想到「布衣」写平民的意象——「布衣卿相」的求仕传统，也令人想到「干明主」写求见明主的失意；「负郭」令人想到「负郭田」写靠近城郭的田产——「苏秦无负郭田」的典故，写尽无田产、无立锥之地的困顿；「梁宋」令人想到梁宋作为高适早年游历之地的意象，也令人想到「非吾土」的漂泊；「兔苑」令人想到梁孝王的兔苑（梁园），也令人想到「兔苑为农」的落魄；「雁池」令人想到梁园中的雁池，也令人想到「垂钓」写隐居的意象；「世人向我同众人」令人想到「世人皆醉我独醒」的感慨，也令人想到「知音」的难觅；「交态」令人想到「交态」写交情的意象，也令人想到「贫贱之交不可忘」的友情；「弹棋击筑」令人想到「弹棋」写博戏、「击筑」写高渐离击筑（荆轲的知己）的意象——「风萧萧兮易水寒」的击筑送别，也令人想到「击筑高歌」的豪放；「纵酒高歌」令人想到「纵酒」写放达、也令人想到「高歌」的豪放；「杨柳春」令人想到「杨柳」写春色的意象，也令人想到「折柳送别」的传统；「儿女别」令人想到「儿女情长」的儿女之态，也令人想到「无为在歧路，儿女共沾巾」（王勃《送杜少府之任蜀州》）的送别名句；「临歧涕泪」令人想到「临歧」写临别的岔路，也令人想到「执手相看泪眼」的别泪。全诗化用书剑、君门、白璧、布衣、负郭、梁宋、兔苑、雁池、弹棋击筑、儿女别的传统意象与典故，以怀才不遇写别情，正是高适「质实」而善用典、承送别传统写失意的本领。
Commentary
Qing readers praised the poem for voicing unrecognized talent 'with true feeling and plain speech' (情真语质), and the line 'only you, sir, are closest to me' is celebrated as the type of loyal friendship across poverty. Its literary-historical value lies in its candor: a twenty-four-line song that admits defeat and names the one friend who did not abandon him. It pairs with Gao's later 'Written at Fengqiu' (on the misery of petty office) as a diptych of early grievance, and stands beside Wang Bo's 'Seeing Off Assistant Prefect Du' as a Tang farewell in contrasting temperaments—magnanimous versus raw. For modern readers it opens a window onto Gao's early heart and the Tang poetry of thwarted merit.
此诗历来被推为高适的名篇，也是唐人怀才不遇送别诗的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以怀才不遇写别情，情真语质」；近人更指出「唯君于我最相亲」写贫贱之交，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以二十四句的长歌写尽怀才不遇的失意与友情的深情——那踌躇满志的西游，那不得干明主的失意，那无负郭的归来，那非吾土的漂泊，那兔苑为农的困顿，那唯君相亲的深情，那弹棋击筑的欢娱，那临歧涕泪的离别，都写尽了高适早年失意与韦参军的深情；那「丈夫不作儿女别，临歧涕泪沾衣巾」更写尽离别的深沉。此诗与高适的《封丘作》（「拜迎官长心欲碎」）同为早年名篇，一写求仕失意，一写作吏痛苦；又与王勃《送杜少府之任蜀州》（「无为在歧路，儿女共沾巾」）同为送别名篇，可见唐人送别诗既豪迈又深沉的丰富。对于今日读者，此诗是理解高适早年心境与唐人怀才不遇诗的窗口，也是中国诗写贫贱之交的经典——那临歧的涕泪，穿越千年，仍在诉说着怀才不遇者的深情。
Prosody
Line by line
白璧皆言赐近臣，布衣不得干明主
White jade discs are said to be given to favored courtiers; a commoner in cloth may not approach the enlightened lord.
白璧都说是赐给近臣，布衣之人不能接近明主。
The white jade, they say, is always given to favorites; a commoner may not approach the wise ruler.
此联写布衣求仕的失意，以「皆言」写世态，以「不得」写失意。「白璧皆言赐近臣」写白璧都说是赐给近臣——那「白璧」写珍贵的玉璧，「皆言赐近臣」写都说赐给近臣，写尽朝廷恩宠皆归近臣；「布衣不得干明主」写布衣之人不能接近明主——那「布衣」写平民之士，「不得干明主」写不能接近明主，写尽布衣求仕的失意。这句的深意在于：它以「白璧皆言赐近臣」与「布衣不得干明主」的对照，写尽布衣求仕的失意——朝廷的恩宠（白璧）都赐给近臣，那「皆言」写尽恩宠皆归近臣的世态；而布衣之士却不能接近明主，那「不得干明主」写尽求仕无门、怀才不遇的失意；那「白璧赐近臣」与「布衣不得干明主」的对照，写尽朝政的用人不公——恩宠归于近臣，寒士无由进身，正是高适西游长安求仕失意的写照；踌躇满志而来，失意而归，那「不得干明主」写尽布衣求仕的无奈与失意。若换作直说「我没机会当官」，则失其深婉；唯以「白璧皆言赐近臣」写世态、「布衣不得干明主」写失意，以对照写尽布衣求仕的失意，也让此联成为全诗写失意的核心。
Gao Shi writes from the disappointment of trying to advance at Chang'an. The white jade—royal favor, office, reward—is, everyone says, dispensed to the emperor's inner circle; meanwhile a man in plain cloth cannot even approach the throne. The contrast is social geometry: favor circulates among the already favored, while the untitled talent stands outside the door. "They say" is the word of the world, and "may not" is the wall. This is the voice of the self-confident visitor who came to the capital and found the gates closed. To have said he could not get an official post would be reportage; the jade and the wall are what make the exclusion visible.
世人向我同众人，唯君于我最相亲
The world regards me as it does ordinary men; only you, sir, have been closest to me.
世人看待我如同众人，只有你对我最相亲。
The world treats me as one more ordinary man; only you are closest, most affectionate to me.
此联写与韦参军的深情，以对照写友情的珍贵。「世人向我同众人」写世人看待我如同众人——那「世人向我同众人」写世人不了解我、视我如常人，写尽世人的漠视；「唯君于我最相亲」写只有你对我最相亲——那「唯君」写唯有韦参军，「最相亲」写对我最相亲，写尽韦参军的深情。这句的深意在于：它以「世人向我同众人」与「唯君于我最相亲」的对照，写尽友情的珍贵——世人看待我如同众人，不赏识我、不了解我，那「同众人」写尽世人的漠视与高适怀才不遇的孤独；唯有韦参军对我最相亲，那「唯君」写尽独一无二的深情，「最相亲」写尽知心的情谊——在世人皆漠视的境遇中，唯韦参军赏识我、亲近我，正是贫贱之交的珍贵；那「同众人」与「最相亲」的对照，写尽知音的难觅与韦参军的深情，也写尽高适对这份情谊的珍视。若换作直说「你是我的好朋友」，则失其深婉；唯以「世人向我同众人」写漠视、「唯君于我最相亲」写深情，以对照写尽友情的珍贵，也让此联成为全诗写深情的关键。
Against the closed court, Wei Canjun becomes the exception. "The world treats me as one more man" is the injury: no one recognizes the poet's worth, no one distinguishes him from the crowd. "Only you" is the counter, and the plainest possible compliment—among all, you alone. The double frame, everyone and only you, is the whole friendship: its value is measured by its rarity, and a friendship that survives the general indifference is the only prize the failed visit brought back. The line is moving because it asks nothing; it simply records what gratitude looks like when a man has been overlooked by everyone else. To have said you are my best friend would be thinner; the crowd's indifference is what makes the one friendship shine.
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Gao's 'Written at Fengqiu' laments the petty magistrate's life—'bowing to welcome officials my heart would break, flogging the people moves me to grief'—and turns to Tao Qian. This 'Parting from Military Advisor Wei' writes the earlier grievance of 'a commoner cannot approach the lord' and the solace of friendship. Together they trace Gao's path from thwarted ambition to reluctant office.
高适《封丘作》「拜迎官长心欲碎，鞭挞黎庶令人悲」「转忆陶潜归去来」写县尉作吏的痛苦，是高适的名篇。此诗《别韦参军》则「布衣不得干明主」「唯君于我最相亲」写布衣求仕的失意与友情。同为高适早年咏怀，一写「布衣不得干明主」的求仕失意（别韦参军），一写「拜迎官长心欲碎」的作吏痛苦（封丘作）；一以「临歧涕泪沾衣巾」写别情，一以「转忆陶潜归去来」写归隐。两诗对读，可见高适早年从求仕失意到作吏痛苦的心路历程。
送杜少府之任蜀州 Seeing Off Assistant Prefect Du to His Post in Shuzhou 王勃 · 同写临歧送别，一豪迈一深沉 Both parting scenes at the road's fork—one lofty, one raw.Wang Bo's farewell counsels 'do not linger at the fork where girls wet their kerchiefs' (无为在歧路，儿女共沾巾), turning parting into consolation. Gao's close echoes that very line yet breaks into tears—'at the fork tears wet my collar.' Read together, they show the Tang farewell in its two voices: Wang Bo's reassurance, Gao Shi's unguarded grief.
王勃《送杜少府之任蜀州》「海内存知己，天涯若比邻」「无为在歧路，儿女共沾巾」写送别时的豪迈与慰藉，是送别诗的名篇。此诗《别韦参军》则「丈夫不作儿女别，临歧涕泪沾衣巾」写送别时的深沉。同为临歧送别，一写「无为在歧路，儿女共沾巾」的劝慰（送杜少府），一写「临歧涕泪沾衣巾」的深情（别韦参军）；一以「天涯若比邻」写豪迈，一以「唯君于我最相亲」写知音。两诗对读，可见唐人送别诗一豪迈一深沉的两种情调。