明 Ming · 诗 Poem
送明卿之江西
Seeing Off Mingqing to Jiangxi
青枫飒飒雨凄凄，秋色遥看入楚迷。
谁向孤舟怜逐客，白云相送大江西。
Autumn hues, seen from afar, fade into the mist of Chu;
Who pities the exiled wanderer in his lonely boat?
Only white clouds see him off to the west of the great river.
Meaning
A farewell poem for a friend banished to Jiangxi, voicing sympathy for the exiled traveler amid wind, rain, and autumn gloom, and finding quiet solace in the company of white clouds.
青枫飒飒，冷雨凄凄；遥看秋色，迷入楚地。有谁向着那孤舟，怜惜这被贬逐的旅客？只有白云相送，直到大江以西。
Appreciation
The opening line sets a desolate tone with reduplicative sounds of rustling maples and falling rain. The second line widens the view into the misty distance of Chu, hinting at the far road of exile. The third line turns with a rhetorical question, asking who will pity the lone boat's banished passenger, deepening the loneliness. The closing line answers with a whimsical fancy: only the white clouds accompany him westward, making the heartless clouds seem tender and faithful. It is a farewell in the Tang manner, sorrowful yet restrained, with feeling lodged in scene rather than stated.
【白话串讲】 “青枫飒飒雨凄凄，秋色遥看入楚迷”——李攀龙送别被贬的朋友。“谁向孤舟怜逐客，白云相送大江西”——谁来可怜这个被放逐的人？只有白云，送他到江西。他写被贬之人的孤独。 【意象与手法】首句“青枫飒飒雨凄凄”以叠字状物，渲染凄凉；次句“秋色遥看入楚迷”以远景写路途迷茫。后两句以“谁向孤舟怜逐客”的反问，引出“白云相送”的奇想，将无情之物写得有情，深得唐人送别神髓。 【情感与主旨】写送别被贬友人（明卿，即吴国伦）的同情与孤寂。风雨、秋色、孤舟、逐客，层层写悲；末以白云相送作结，于凄凉中见笃厚交情，哀而不伤。 【名句点睛】“谁向孤舟怜逐客，白云相送大江西。”——以反问写无人相怜的孤寂，再以“白云相送”的奇想收束：白云本无情，却成了唯一的送行者。将同情与旷达揉在一处，最见唐风。
Background
Li Panlong (1514-1570) was a leading figure of the 'Later Seven Masters' who championed High Tang poetry. He wrote this poem to see off his friend Wu Guolun (courtesy name Mingqing, also one of the Later Seven Masters) when Wu was demoted and sent to Jiangxi after offending powerful officials in the affair of Yang Jisheng. The poem records the grief of wind, rain, a lonely boat, and white clouds seeing off the banished friend.
《送明卿之江西》为明代李攀龙所作，是写送别友人、白云相送的诗。李攀龙（1514—1570），字于鳞，号沧溟，历城人，明代诗人。此诗：青枫飒飒雨凄凄，秋色遥看入楚迷。谁向孤舟怜逐客，白云相送大江西。全诗写送别友人、白云相送，是李攀龙诗的名篇。
Art
The first line uses reduplicative characters (rustling, desolate) to render the bleak mood, and the second line uses a distant view to suggest confusion and distance. The latter two lines turn from the rhetorical question 'who pities the exiled wanderer' to the fanciful idea of 'white clouds seeing him off,' lending feeling to a heartless thing and capturing the implicit, deep tenderness of Tang farewells.
《送明卿之江西》艺术上以秋雨送别的描摹与白云相送的深挚见长。全诗四句：首写秋雨送别——“青枫飒飒雨凄凄，秋色遥看入楚迷”写青枫飒飒雨凄凄、秋色遥看入楚迷；末写白云相送——“谁向孤舟怜逐客，白云相送大江西”写谁向孤舟怜逐客、白云相送大江西。全诗以秋雨送别写白云相送，正是李攀龙诗深挚的笔法。
Allusions
Mingqing is Wu Guolun; 'the exiled one' (zhuke) means a banished man. 'Chu' refers to the Jiangxi region (ancient Chu territory), and 'west of the great river' means west of the Yangtze (Jiangxi). The green maples and cold rain quietly evoke the desolate imagery of 'The River is deep and clear, with maples above' from the Chu Ci: Summons of the Soul.
《送明卿之江西》用典在“青枫”“楚”“孤舟”“逐客”“白云”“大江”。“青枫”用青枫之典（楚辞招魂青枫）；“楚”写楚（楚地）；“孤舟”写孤舟；“逐客”写逐客（被贬逐之人）；“白云”用白云之典（白云相送，陶弘景“白云”之意）；“大江”写大江（长江）。全诗以这些意象写送别友人、白云相送，用典自然而深挚自见，正是李攀龙诗的笔法。
Commentary
The Later Seven Masters exalted High Tang poetry. This poem avoids argument and renders parting purely through scene; the line of white clouds seeing one off is especially ethereal. Ming poets imitating Tang often fell into mere imitation, but this piece keeps its own emotional resonance, which is why it is counted a fine work.
《送明卿之江西》是李攀龙诗的名篇，也是明诗中写送别友人的代表作。此诗写送别友人、白云相送，向为论者称道。论者多赏其秋雨送别的描摹与白云相送的深挚——“青枫飒飒雨凄凄，秋色遥看入楚迷”用青枫之典写青枫飒飒雨凄凄、秋色遥看入楚迷，深挚之极；“谁向孤舟怜逐客，白云相送大江西”写谁向孤舟怜逐客、白云相送大江西，更见其情。李攀龙此诗送别友人（明卿贬谪），正是其代表——以秋雨送别写白云相送，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
青枫飒飒雨凄凄，秋色遥看入楚迷。
Green maples sigh; the rain is drear; viewed from afar, autumn colors melt dimly into Chu.
青枫飒飒雨凄凄，秋色遥看入楚迷。
Green maples rustle, the rain is drear; viewed from afar, autumn colors blur as they enter Chu.
首用青枫之典写青枫飒飒雨凄凄、秋色遥看入楚迷，是全诗写秋雨送别的起点。“青枫飒飒雨凄凄”用青枫之典写青枫飒飒雨凄凄——“青枫飒飒雨凄凄”用楚辞青枫之典写青枫飒飒、秋雨凄凄——青枫飒飒雨凄凄；“秋色遥看入楚迷”写秋色遥看入楚迷——“秋色遥看入楚迷”写遥看秋色、直入楚地而迷——秋色遥看入楚迷。二句写青枫飒飒雨凄凄、秋色遥看入楚迷：青枫飒飒雨凄凄，秋色遥看入楚迷。以“青枫飒飒雨凄凄”用青枫之典写青枫飒飒、秋雨凄凄，以“秋色遥看入楚迷”写遥看秋色、入楚而迷，正是李攀龙诗写秋雨送别的起点——青枫秋雨，遥看入楚。
The maples. Green maples sigh; the rain is drear; viewed from afar, autumn colors melt dimly into Chu. The green maples (the Chuci allusion) and the dim Chu distance are the send-off opening. To have sent the friend toward Chu would be a send-off; the green-maples-sigh-the-rain-is-drear-viewed-from-afar-autumn-colors-melt-dimly-into-Chu is the send-off.
谁向孤舟怜逐客，白云相送大江西。
Who pities the exile in his lone boat? Only the white clouds see him off to the west of the great river.
谁向孤舟怜逐客，白云相送大江西。
Who will take pity on the exile in his lonely boat? The white clouds alone escort him to the west of the great river.
末用白云之典写谁向孤舟怜逐客、白云相送大江西，是全诗写白云相送的归结。“谁向孤舟怜逐客”用孤舟逐客之语写谁向孤舟怜逐客——“谁向孤舟怜逐客”写谁向孤舟怜惜被逐之客——谁向孤舟怜逐客；“白云相送大江西”用白云之典写白云相送大江西——“白云相送大江西”用白云相送之意写唯有白云相送、直到大江之西——白云相送大江西。二句写谁向孤舟怜逐客、白云相送大江西：谁向孤舟怜逐客，白云相送大江西。以“谁向孤舟怜逐客”写孤舟逐客、无人怜惜，以“白云相送大江西”用白云之典写白云相送、直到江西，正是李攀龙诗写白云相送的归结——孤舟逐客，白云相送。
The clouds. Who pities the exile in his lone boat? Only the white clouds see him off to the west of the great river. The no-one-pities-the-exile and the white clouds escorting him are the close. To have only the white clouds as escort would be a loneliness; the who-pities-the-exile-in-his-lone-boat-only-the-white-clouds-see-him-off-to-the-west-of-the-great-river is the loneliness.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
王勃《送杜少府之任蜀州》写送别友人、天涯比邻，与本首同为送别诗写友人远行。差异在情致：李攀龙写白云相送之怅；王勃写天涯比邻之达。一写“怅”之情，一写“达”之怀。两者并读，可见送别诗写友人远行的两种情致。
黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵 Seeing Meng Haoran Off to Guangling at Yellow Crane Tower 李白 · 同为送别诗写孤帆远行，一写白云相送一写孤帆远影，皆深挚 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
李白《黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵》写孤帆远影、长江天际，与本首同为送别诗写友人远行。差异在情境：李攀龙写逐客之怜；李白写名士之游。一写“怜”之怅，一写“望”之情。两者并读，可见送别诗写友人远行的两种情境。
别董大 Farewell to Dong Da 高适 · 同为送别诗写慰别友人，一写白云相送一写莫愁前路，一怅一达 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
高适《别董大》写莫愁前路、天下谁人不知君，与本首同为送别诗写慰别友人。差异在情致：李攀龙写逐客之怅；高适写知己之达。一写“怅”之情，一写“达”之怀。两者并读，可见送别诗写慰别友人的两种情致。