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清 Qing · 诗 Poem

梅花

Plum Blossoms

张问陶

Zhang Wentao

一林随意卧烟霞，为汝名高酒易赊。
自誓冬心甘冷落，漫怜疏影太横斜。
得天气足春无用，出世情多鬓未华。
老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花。

A whole grove, at its own sweet will, reclines in mist and rosy clouds;
for your lofty fame the wine is readily had on credit.
I vow that my winter heart is content with cold neglect;
idly I grieve that your sparse shadows slant so wildly.
Drinking deep of heaven's vigor, yet of no use to spring;
so much feeling for the world beyond, and the temples not yet grey.
To grow old and die in empty hills where no one sees —
even so, better than the flowers of Luoyang!
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Meaning

This quatrain-sequence in regulated verse sings the plum blossom as a self-portrait. The plum lies at ease in mountain mist, famed enough that wine is freely offered it; it vows to keep a 'winter heart' content with cold and neglect, its sparse shadows slanting unchecked. Full of heaven's vigor yet useless to spring, detached from the world while its temples stay ungrey, it would rather grow old unseen in empty hills than rival the pampered peonies of Luoyang. Through the plum Zhang Wentao declares his own purity, independence, and disdain for worldly favor.

一林随意卧烟霞，为汝名高酒易赊。自誓冬心甘冷落，漫怜疏影太横斜。得天气足春无用，出世情多鬓未华。老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] A grove of plums lies lazily wrapped in mist and sunset glow; its fame is such that wine flows to it on credit. It swears a winter heart, glad of cold obscurity, and pities only its own wild-slanting sparse shadows. Sated with heaven's air, it is no use to spring; worldly feelings thin, its hair has yet to whiten. Old and dead in empty hills, unseen by anyone, it would still be better than Luoyang's flowers. [Structure] The eight lines rise from scene to vow to paradox todeclaration: the opening couplet establishes ease and repute, the second fixes the plum's austere character, the third turns on two elegant paradoxes, and the last couplet lands the poem's whole argument in one proud comparison. [Imagery] 'Mist and rosy clouds' wrap the tree in leisured grandeur; the 'winter heart' and 'sparse shadows' — an echo of Lin Bu's famous plum couplet — fix its lonely, angular beauty; and the 'flowers of Luoyang', the peonies long emblems of wealth and court favor, are decisively judged inferior. The poem is a classic of yongwu, 'singing the object to speak the self'.

【白话串讲】 张问陶写《梅花》：“一林随意卧烟霞，为汝名高酒易赊”——“自誓冬心甘冷落，漫怜疏影太横斜”——“老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花”——他写梅花——老死空山人不见。 【意象与手法】 “一林随意卧烟霞，为汝名高酒易赊”以卧烟霞写梅之闲雅；“自誓冬心甘冷落，漫怜疏影太横斜”以冬心甘冷落写梅之孤高；“得天气足春无用、出世情多鬓未华”写其超脱；结以“老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花”以对比写甘于寂寞。咏物言志、清峻高洁。 【情感与主旨】 咏梅而言志，以梅花甘于空山冷落、不求世人赏识写自身的高洁与独立，是张问陶借梅自况的代表作。 【名句点睛】 常考“自誓冬心甘冷落，漫怜疏影太横斜”以冬心甘冷落写梅之孤高；“老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花”以洛阳花对比写甘于寂寞。

Background

Zhang Wentao (1764–1814), courtesy name Zhongye, sobriquet Chuanshan, a native of Suining, Sichuan, was one of the most original poets of the High Qing, serving at the end of his career as prefect of Laizhou. Celebrated for a poetry of unusual freedom and personality — he was called the finest poet of Sichuan since the Tang — he often used flowers and landscapes to voice an unbending, unworldly character. This plum-blossom poem is his representative work in the yongwu (object-chanting) mode: the tree content with cold solitude and scornful of the pampered peony is transparently the poet's own ideal of integrity, independence, and indifference to official favor.

《梅花》为清代诗人张问陶所作诗。张问陶（1764—1814），字仲冶，号船山，四川遂宁人，清代诗人，官至莱州知府。此诗写咏物言志，为咏梅之作。诗中「一林随意卧烟霞，为汝名高酒易赊」写一林随意卧烟霞，为汝名高酒易赊；「自誓冬心甘冷落，漫怜疏影太横斜」写自誓冬心甘冷落，漫怜疏影太横斜；「得天气足春无用，出世情多鬓未华」写得天气足春无用，出世情多鬓未华；「老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花」写老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花。张问陶此诗以咏物言志、也应强似洛阳花写其言志之情，清峻言志，是张问陶诗中的名篇。此篇《梅花》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。此篇《梅花》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 a cool, austere self-expression through the plum. The opening couplet is all ease and irony: the tree reclines 'at its own sweet will' in mist and glow, and its very fame turns the world obliging — wine on credit — a wry note that keeps the poem from solemnity. The second couplet then locks the character in place: a self-vow of a 'winter heart' content with neglect, and a loving pity for the shadows that slant too wildly — order embraced, wildness cherished. The third couplet states two paradoxes of the recluse: full of heaven's vital breath yet useless to spring, and rich in feeling for things beyond the world while the temples have not greyed. The close is a single proud comparison, choosing unseen decay over Luoyang's glory. Structure is exact, the couplets balanced, the imagery pared to essentials — a model of singing the object to declare the self, with the Qing taste for clarity and bite.

此诗艺术上以「清峻言志、以梅写情」见长。全诗共八句四联，由一林随意卧烟霞而自誓冬心甘冷落而得天气足春无用。起「一林随意卧烟霞，为汝名高酒易赊」写一林随意卧烟霞：一林随意卧烟霞，为汝名高酒易赊；「自誓冬心甘冷落，漫怜疏影太横斜」写自誓冬心甘冷落：自誓冬心甘冷落，漫怜疏影太横斜；「得天气足春无用，出世情多鬓未华」写得天气足春无用：得天气足春无用，出世情多鬓未华；结「老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花」写也应强似洛阳花：老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花。全诗以梅写情，由一林随意卧烟霞而也应强似洛阳花，清峻言志，是张问陶诗中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。

Allusions

The poem leans on two well-known allusions. 'Sparse shadows' (shuying) comes from Lin Bu's Northern Song plum couplet 'sparse shadows slant across clear shallow water', the canonical image of the plum's reclusive elegance; Zhang makes the tree 'idly pity' its own shadows as slanting too wildly, turning the borrowed image into a vow of untamed character. 'The flowers of Luoyang' refers to the peony, celebrated since the Tang — in Ouyang Xiu's phrase, 'the Luoyang peony is finest under heaven' — as the emblem of wealth, rank, and worldly favor. To rank the plum, which blooms poorest and coldest, above Luoyang's favorite is the poem's decisive gesture. The allusions are worn lightly, serving character rather than display.

诗中「一林随意卧烟霞为汝名高酒易赊」「自誓冬心甘冷落漫怜疏影太横斜」「得天气足春无用出世情多鬓未华」「老死空山人不见也应强似洛阳花」等语，皆含典故故实。「一林随意卧烟霞为汝名高酒易赊」写一林随意卧烟霞为汝名高酒易赊；「自誓冬心甘冷落漫怜疏影太横斜」用疏影之典（疏影写梅影），写自誓冬心甘冷落漫怜疏影太横斜；「得天气足春无用出世情多鬓未华」写㝌天气足春无用出世情多鬓未华；「老死空山人不见也应强似洛阳花」用洛阳花之典（洛阳花写牡丹），写老死空山人不见也应强似洛阳花。诗人用疏影、洛阳花之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把咏物言志之情写得真切可感，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。

Commentary

Readers have prized this poem as Zhang Wentao's purest self-portrait: the 'winter heart' content with cold, the disdain for the Luoyang peony, and the closing resolve to be better unseen in empty hills than adored in gardens have been taken as the credo of a poet famous in his day yet unwilling to flatter it. The middle couplets' paradoxes — 'useless to spring', 'temples not yet grey' — drew comment for their wit, rare in the usually solemn plum tradition. Anthologists of Qing verse have regularly included the poem, and its final couplet in particular circulates as a proverb of integrity. It stands in the great line of plum poetry from Lin Bu and Lu You, adding the Qing note of individuality: not merely aloof, but cheerfully, ironically aloof — a character rather than a mood.

这首《梅花》，是张问陶写咏物言志之作，写一林随意卧烟霞、自誓冬心甘冷落、得天气足春无用、也应强似洛阳花之情，清峻言志。起「一林随意卧烟霞，为汝名高酒易赊」——一林随意卧烟霞，为汝名高酒易赊。写一林随意卧烟霞：一林随意卧烟霞、为汝名高酒易赊——卧烟霞、酒易赊；「自誓冬心甘冷落，漫怜疏影太横斜」——自誓冬心甘冷落，漫怜疏影太横斜。写自誓冬心甘冷落：自誓冬心甘冷落、漫怜疏影太横斜——甘冷落、太横斜；「得天气足春无用，出世情多鬓未华」——得天气足春无用，出世情多鬓未华。写得天气足春无用：得天气足春无用、出世情多鬓未华——春无用、鬓未华；结「老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花」——老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花。写也应强似洛阳花：老死空山人不见、也应强似洛阳花——人不见、洛阳花。这「老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花」，是全诗之结：以也应强似洛阳花写其言志。全诗清峻言志，以梅写情，正是张问陶诗中的名篇。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated verse (qi lü): eight lines in four couplets, with parallelism in the middle couplets.诗（七言律诗）
Rhyme The rhymes — xia (霞), she (赊), xie (斜), hua (华), hua (花) — belong to the Ma rhyme group, a bright open -a vowel that gives the poem its relaxed, ringing close. The scheme runs opening, development, turn, and close (qi, cheng, zhuan, he), with level and oblique tones alternating strictly in the regulated pattern.此诗为七言律诗，共八句四联。押韵：「霞」「赊」「斜」「华」「花」押麻部韵。首联起、颔联承、颈联转、尾联合，平仄相间，正与写咏物言志的清峻言志相称，也见其以七律写言志的工稳。
Tone pattern The couplets shift in cadence with the thought: the opening is easy and relaxed ('a whole grove at its own sweet will'), the second couplet clipped and austere ('a winter heart content with neglect'), the third sparser and airier on its paradoxes, and the final couplet proud and rising, resting on the open rhyme hua. The even seven-character measure keeps the whole poised, the 'stability and polish' expected of the form.句式上，「一林随意卧烟霞，为汝名高酒易赊」写一林随意卧烟霞，音节清峻；「自誓冬心甘冷落，漫怜疏影太横斜」写自誓冬心甘冷落，音节冷峻；「得天气足春无用，出世情多鬓未华」写得天气足春无用，音节疏朗；结「老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花」写也应强似洛阳花，音节傲岸。全诗音节随情起伏，由清峻而冷峻、由疏朗而傲岸，正合七律「工稳」之妙，读来如咏物言志、也应强似洛阳花之音，清峻而动人。
Reading note As a regulated verse the poem shows the High Qing mastery of balance: strict tonal counterpoint, exact parallelism in the two middle couplets ('a winter heart' against 'sparse shadows', 'heaven's vigor' against 'worldly feeling'), and a rhyme that opens the vowels precisely where the poet declares his superiority to Luoyang's flowers. Sound and sense are matched throughout — the cool vowels of the vow couplet, the bright close of the last — so that the poem reads as easily as the plum reclines in mist: prosody serving the ideal of effortless integrity.此诗为七言律诗，是张问陶写咏物言志之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「清峻言志、以梅写情」：「一林随意卧烟霞，为汝名高酒易赊」写一林随意卧烟霞、「自誓冬心甘冷落，漫怜疏影太横斜」写自誓冬心甘冷落、「得天气足春无用，出世情多鬓未华」写得天气足春无用、「老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花」写也应强似洛阳花。全诗清峻言志，以梅写情。尤为精妙者，是「漫怜疏影太横斜」用疏影之典；而「也应强似洛阳花」用洛阳花之典，正是张问陶诗「清峻言志」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《梅花》一诗之所以读来声情并茂，正在于诗人以声韵配合情思、以节奏烘托意境，音节之长短、平仄之起伏，皆与诗意相为表里，此亦可见中国古典诗歌声律之美与匠心之工。

Line by line

一林随意卧烟霞，为汝名高酒易赊。

A whole grove, at its own sweet will, reclines in mist and rosy clouds; for your lofty fame the wine is readily had on credit.

一林随意卧烟霞，为汝名高酒易赊。

A whole grove lies at ease among mist and glow; because your name is high, the wine is easily come by on credit.

起句写一林随意卧烟霞，起笔即见其梅林。「一林随意卧烟霞」写一林随意卧烟霞，「一林随意」写一林随意、「卧烟霞」写卧烟霞；「为汝名高酒易赊」写为汝名高酒易赊，「为汝名高」写为汝名高、「酒易赊」写酒易赊。一句写一林随意卧烟霞为汝名高酒易赊，以一林随意卧烟霞写卧烟霞、以为汝名高酒易赊写酒易赊，写尽一林随意卧烟霞、为汝名高酒易赊之情。以林起兴，清峻而言志，是「以林起兴」的妙笔。

The opening writes a whole grove lies at ease among mist and glow, the plum grove visible from the first stroke. A whole grove lies at ease among mist and glow: a whole grove at ease, lying among the misty glow. Because your name is high, the wine is easily come by on credit: because your name is high, wine easily on credit. One line: the grove at rest in the mist, the wine easily owed for the blossom's name. Writing the grove lying among the glow, and the wine easily owed for the high renown, exhausts the feeling. Rising on the grove, austere and declaring the will, the finest stroke of rising on the wood.

自誓冬心甘冷落，漫怜疏影太横斜。

I vow that my winter heart is content with cold neglect; idly I grieve that your sparse shadows slant so wildly.

自誓冬心甘冷落，漫怜疏影太横斜。

I have sworn my winter heart loves the chill solitude, and idly pity the sparse shadows leaning too far aslant.

此句写自誓冬心甘冷落，是全诗写冬心之态的关键。「自誓冬心甘冷落」写自誓冬心甘冷落，「自誓冬心」写自誓冬心、「甘冷落」写甘冷落；「漫怜疏影太横斜」用疏影之典写漫怜疏影太横斜，「漫怜疏影」写漫怜疏影、「太横斜」写太横斜。一句写自誓冬心甘冷落漫怜疏影太横斜，以自誓冬心甘冷落写甘冷落、以漫怜疏影太横斜写太横斜，写尽自誓冬心甘冷落、漫怜疏影太横斜之情。以梅写情，清峻而言志，是「以梅写情」的点睛之笔。

The line writes I have sworn my winter heart loves the chill solitude, the key to the poem's writing of the winter heart. I have sworn my winter heart loves the chill solitude: sworn to a winter heart, content in the cold and lonely. And idly pity the sparse shadows leaning too far aslant uses the allusion to the sparse shadows, idly pitying the sparse shadows, leaning too far aslant. One line: the sworn winter heart, content in the cold, and the idle pity for the too-leaning sparse shadows. Writing the contentment with the cold solitude, and the pity for the shadows aslant, exhausts the feeling. Writing feeling through the plum, austere and declaring the will, the crowning stroke.

得天气足春无用，出世情多鬓未华。

Drinking deep of heaven's vigor, yet of no use to spring; so much feeling for the world beyond, and the temples not yet grey.

得天气足春无用，出世情多鬓未华。

Borne up by the season, spring is of no avail; with so much of the world-withdrawing feeling, my temples are not yet gray.

此句写得天气足春无用，是全诗写春无用之态的关键。「得天气足春无用」写得天气足春无用，「得天气足」写得天气足、「春无用」写春无用；「出世情多鬓未华」写出世情多鬓未华，「出世情多」写出世情多、「鬓未华」写鬓未华。一句写得天气足春无用出世情多鬓未华，以得天气足春无用写春无用、以出世情多鬓未华写鬓未华，写尽得天气足春无用、出世情多鬓未华之情。以春写情，清峻而言志，是「以春写情」的点睛之笔。

The line writes borne up by the season, spring is of no avail, the key to the poem's writing of spring's uselessness. Borne up by the season, spring is of no avail: having the season's force enough, spring of no use. With so much of the world-withdrawing feeling, my temples are not yet gray: world-withdrawing feeling abundant, the temples not yet gray. One line: the season enough and spring useless, the world-withdrawing heart full and the temples unwithered. Writing spring's being of no avail, and the temples' unwithered beneath the abundant recluse feeling, exhausts the feeling. Writing feeling through spring, austere and declaring the will, the crowning stroke.

老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花。

To grow old and die in empty hills where no one sees — even so, better than the flowers of Luoyang!

老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花。

To die of old age in the empty hills, unseen by men — that should still be better than the flowers of Luoyang.

结句写也应强似洛阳花，是全诗立意的落点。「老死空山人不见」写老死空山人不见，「老死空山」写老死空山、「人不见」写人不见；「也应强似洛阳花」用洛阳花之典写也应强似洛阳花，「也应强似」写也应强似、「洛阳花」写洛阳花。一句写老死空山人不见也应强似洛阳花，以老死空山人不见写人不见、以也应强似洛阳花写洛阳花，写尽老死空山人不见、也应强似洛阳花之情。以花写情，清峻而言志，是全诗最动人处，也是「以花写情」的点睛之笔。

The close writes that should still be better than the flowers of Luoyang, where the poem's meaning comes to rest. To die of old age in the empty hills, unseen by men: dying in the empty hills, unseen by men. That should still be better than the flowers of Luoyang uses the allusion to the Luoyang peony, that should still be better, the flowers of Luoyang. One line: to die old in the empty hills unseen, and still better than the Luoyang flower. Writing the unseen death in the empty hills, and the being better than the Luoyang flower, exhausts the feeling. Writing feeling through the flower, austere and declaring the will, the most moving passage of the poem, the crowning stroke.

Study

Word focus

烟霞 'Mist and rosy clouds' — the haze of mountain mist at dawn and sunset glow, the classic environment of the recluse. The plum lies 'at its own sweet will' wrapped in it, instantly establishing ease, leisure, and detachment from the dusty world; two characters conjure the poem's entire atmosphere of unforced freedom. 「烟霞」写一林随意卧烟霞，是写烟霞之态的关键。「一林随意卧烟霞」着一「烟霞」，写烟霞——着一「烟霞」，写一林随意卧烟霞，见其霞之烟。两字写尽烟霞之态，是「以词写霞」的妙笔。「烟霞」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
冬心 'Winter heart' — the plum's vow to keep a heart of winter: austere, cold-loving, content with neglect. It names the poem's central ideal, integrity that thrives in the cold season when other flowers fail, and by extension the poet's own chosen solitude; a striking coinage of character in two characters. 「冬心」写自誓冬心甘冷落，是写冬心之态的关键。「自誓冬心甘冷落」着一「冬心」，写冬心——着一「冬心」，写自誓冬心甘冷落，见其心之冬。两字写尽冬心之态，是「以词写心」的点睛之词。「冬心」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
疏影 'Sparse shadows' — the plum's thin, angular silhouettes, borrowed from Lin Bu's famous couplet 'sparse shadows slant across clear shallow water'. Here the tree 'idly pities' its own shadows for slanting 'too wildly': even in citing the canonical image of elegance, the poem asserts untamed, unregulated character. 「疏影」写漫怜疏影太横斜，是写疏影之态的关键。「漫怜疏影太横斜」着一「疏影」，写疏影——着一「疏影」，写漫怜疏影太横斜，见其影之疏。两字写尽疏影之态，是「以词写影」的点睛之词。「疏影」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
洛阳花 'The flowers of Luoyang' — the peony, famed since the Tang as the greatest flower under heaven and the emblem of wealth, rank, and favor. By judging the cold-nursed plum 'still stronger than' Luoyang's pampered favorite, the poem makes its decisive choice of integrity over glamour, of the empty hills over the garden. 「洛阳花」写也应强似洛阳花，是写洛阳花之态的关键。「也应强似洛阳花」着一「洛阳花」，写洛阳花——着一「洛阳花」，写也应强似洛阳花，见其花之洛阳。三字写尽洛阳花之态，是「以词写花」的点睛之词。「洛阳花」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

水调歌头·明月几时有 Shui Diao Ge Tou: When Did the Bright Moon First Appear? 苏轼 · 同写咏物感怀、清峻旷达，一写人有悲欢离合、一写老死空山人不见也应强似洛阳花，皆于咏物之中见清峻 Both are object-songs of feeling with a clear, open-hearted temper: Su Shi on the partings of men and the phases of the moon, Zhang on the plum content to die unseen — each finding detachment within the object sung.

Su Shi's Shui Diao Ge Tou — 'men have their partings and reunions, the moon its dark and bright; such things can never be made perfect' — is the masterpiece of philosophical detachment in Song ci. Zhang Wentao's Plum Blossoms, with 'to grow old and die in empty hills where no one sees — even so, better than the flowers of Luoyang' and 'my winter heart content with cold neglect', sings the same clear-minded acceptance in a different key: Su Shi's is broad-mindedness about fate's incompleteness, Zhang's is austerity about the self's integrity. One consoles by embracing change, the other by choosing obscurity. Read together they show two manners of the 'object-song of feeling': both arrive at clarity through the thing sung.

苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全」，写咏物感怀、清峻旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；张问陶《梅花》则以「老死空山人不见，也应强似洛阳花」「自誓冬心甘冷落」写洛阳花、甘冷落。两诗同写咏物感怀、清峻旷达：一写人有悲欢离合、以悲欢写离合，一写老死空山人不见也应强似洛阳花、以梅花写言志；一为苏轼之旷达、一为张问陶之清峻，并读正可见诗写「咏物感怀」的两种笔法，皆于咏物之中见清峻。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Ba Sheng Gan Zhou: Facing the Soughing Evening Rain Scattered over River and Sky 柳永 · 同写空山凝望、清峻清丽，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写一林随意卧烟霞为汝名高酒易赊，皆于空山之中见凝望 Both fix a long gaze on an autumn landscape of cool clarity: Liu Yong on evening rain washing the river and sky, Zhang on a grove reclining in mist and glow — each finding stillness in what the eye surveys.

Liu Yong's Ba Sheng Gan Zhou — 'facing the soughing evening rain scattered over river and sky, one wash of clear autumn' — is the great Song lyric of the traveler gazing from a height, its coolness tinged with homesickness. Zhang Wentao's Plum Blossoms, with 'a whole grove at its own sweet will reclines in mist and rosy clouds' and 'the temples not yet grey', composes a different gaze: a mist-wrapped grove seen from within, serene rather than desolate. One is Liu Yong's limpid beauty touched by exile, the other Zhang's austere clarity of self-possession. Read side by side, they show two ways of giving 'stillness in the gaze': the rain-swept river sky and the mist-reclining grove are both autumn landscapes where the eye finds a mind.

柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「对潇潇暮雨洒江天，一番洗清秋」，写空山凝望、清峻清丽，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；张问陶《梅花》则以「一林随意卧烟霞，为汝名高酒易赊」「出世情多鬓未华」写卧烟霞、鬓未华。两诗同写空山凝望、清峻清丽：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写一林随意卧烟霞为汝名高酒易赊、以烟霞写言志；一为柳永之清丽、一为张问陶之清峻，并读正可见诗写「空山凝望」的两种笔法，皆于空山之中见凝望。