宋 Song · 词 Ci lyric
高阳台·送陈君衡被召
Gao Yang Terrace: Seeing Off Chen Junheng on His Summons
照野旌旗，朝天车马，平沙万里天低。
宝带金章，尊前茸帽风欹。
秦关汴水经行地，想登临、都付新诗。
纵英游、叠鼓清笳，骏马名姬。
酒酣应对燕山雪，正冰河月冻，晓陇云飞。
投老残年，江南谁念方回。
东风渐绿西湖柳，雁已还、人未南归。
最关情、折尽梅花，难寄相思。
A jeweled belt, a golden seal; before the cup his fur-edged cap tilts in the wind.
The Qin passes and Bian waters are the lands he'll pass; I imagine his climbs all poured into new poems.
He'll roam in glory — layered drums, clear horns; fine horses, famous beauties.
Drunk, he'll face the Yan-shan snow; just as the ice river freezes under moon, dawn ridges cloud-fly.
Thrown to old age, who in the south will think of me, Fang Hui?
The east wind gradually greens the West Lake willows; the wild goose has returned, but he has not gone south.
What most concerns the heart: I break all the plum branches, yet cannot send my longing.
Meaning
Seeing off Chen Junheng who answers the Yuan court's summons, the poet outwardly praises his northern journey yet quietly voices his own lodged loyalty to the fallen Song and unease at his friend's serving the new dynasty.
旌旗照野，朝天的车马浩荡，平沙万里天低。你腰系宝带身佩金章，酒筵前茸帽被风吹斜。秦关汴水是你必经之地，想你登临时都付与新诗。纵情游历、叠鼓清笳，骏马名姬相伴。酒酣时面对燕山雪，正是冰河月冻、晓陇云飞。我已是投老残年，江南谁还念我这方回？东风渐绿西湖柳，雁已归来、人却未南归。最关情的是，折尽梅花也难寄相思。
Appreciation
The lyric sees off Chen Junheng (Chen Yunping) answering the summons to the Yuan capital Dadu. The upper stanza writes the farewell scene and the imagined northern journey: banners and carriages, jeweled belt and golden seal, imagining his poems over Qin passes and Bian waters, glory with drums, horses, beauties. The lower turns to himself: amid the Yan-shan snow he imagines his friend drinking, while he, thrown to old age in the south, is thought of by no one; it closes with 'east wind greens the willows; the goose returns but he has not; I break all plum branches yet cannot send my longing,' voicing lodged loyalty to the old country and a complex attitude toward the friend's serving the new dynasty, gentle and implicit. The image 'flat sands, sky hangs low' writes the openness of the northern road; 'fur cap tilts in wind' uses the Dugu Xin side-cap allusion for bearing; 'breaking plum to send afar' uses the Lu Kai allusion; throughout it praises nor blames, meaning beyond the words.
【白话串讲】 周密送朋友陈君衡应召北上：“照野旌旗，朝天车马，平沙万里天低”。“纵英游、叠鼓清笳，骏马名姬”——“投老残年，江南谁念方回”——他担心朋友在北地，也感伤自己留在江南。 【意象与手法】 “平沙万里天低”写北行空阔；“茸帽风欹”用独孤信侧帽典写风神；“折梅寄远”用陆凯典；通篇不褒不贬，意在言外。 【情感与主旨】 送别中暗含对故国的眷恋与对友人出仕异朝的隐忧，委婉含蓄，是宋遗民送别词的精品。 【名句点睛】 “最关情、折尽梅花，难寄相思”——以折梅难寄收束，故国之思与离别之痛交融，含蓄不尽。
Background
Zhou Mi (Caochuang) did not serve after the Song fell. Chen Junheng (Chen Yunping) answered the summons to the Yuan capital Dadu; Zhou Mi wrote this farewell, outwardly complimentary but implicitly lodging loyalty to the old country and a complex attitude toward serving the new dynasty.
《高阳台·送陈君衡被召》为宋代周密所作，是送别友人应召北上、寄相思之情的词。周密（1232—1298），字公谨，号草窗、四水潜夫，济南人，宋代词人。此词：照野旌旗，朝天车马，平沙万里天低。宝带金章，尊前茸帽风欹。秦关汴水经行地，想登临、都付新诗。纵英游、叠鼓清笳，骏马名姬。酒酣应对燕山雪，正冰河月冻，晓陇云飞。投老残年，江南谁念方回。东风渐绿西湖柳，雁已还、人未南归。最关情、折尽梅花，难寄相思。全词送别友人应召北上、寄相思之情，是周密词的名篇。
Art
The Gao Yang Terrace is a double-tune lyric. The upper stanza spreads the farewell and the northern journey imagining; the lower writes his own desolation. It uses many allusions (side-cap, Fang Hui, breaking plum), implicit and endless, meaning beyond the words.
《高阳台·送陈君衡被召》艺术上以送别北上的描摹与相思之情的深婉见长。全词分两片：上片写送别北上——“照野旌旗，朝天车马，平沙万里天低”写照野旌旗、朝天车马、平沙万里天低，“宝带金章，尊前茸帽风欹”写宝带金章、尊前茸帽风欹，“秦关汴水经行地，想登临、都付新诗”写秦关汴水经行地、想登临都付新诗；下片写相思之情——“酒酣应对燕山雪，正冰河月冻，晓陇云飞”写酒酣应对燕山雪、冰河月冻、晓陇云飞，“投老残年，江南谁念方回”写投老残年、江南谁念方回，“东风渐绿西湖柳，雁已还、人未南归。最关情、折尽梅花，难寄相思”写东风渐绿西湖柳、雁还人未归、折尽梅花难寄相思。全词以送别北上写相思之情，正是周密词深婉的笔法。
Allusions
To court (chaotian) means audience with the Son of Heaven (Yuan Shizu); 'fur cap tilts in wind' uses Dugu Xin's side-cap allusion; Qin passes and Bian waters mean the old-country mountains and rivers; Fang Hui refers to He Zhu, the author comparing himself; 'breaking plum' uses Lu Kai's 'break a plum, meet the post' allusion to Fan Ye.
《高阳台·送陈君衡被召》用典在“秦关汴水”“燕山雪”“方回”“西湖柳”“折梅寄远”。“秦关汴水”写秦关汴水（故国之地）；“燕山雪”写燕山之雪（北地）；“方回”用贺铸方回之典（自称）；“西湖柳”写西湖杨柳；“折梅寄远”用陆凯折梅寄远之典。全词以这些典故写送别友人应召北上、寄相思之情，用典自然而深婉自见，正是周密词的笔法。
Commentary
The Qing critic Yu Biyun said 'the lower stanza only writes parting feeling, adding no praise or blame on Chen Junheng's course, merely saying in the south I am thrown to old age — meaning beyond the words,' a model of the loyalist lyric's implicitness.
《高阳台·送陈君衡被召》是周密词的名篇，也是宋末词中写送别北上的代表作。此词送别友人应召北上、寄相思之情，向为论者称道。论者多赏其送别北上的描摹与相思之情的深婉——“照野旌旗，朝天车马，平沙万里天低”写照野旌旗、朝天车马、平沙万里天低，深婉之极；“秦关汴水经行地，想登临、都付新诗”用秦关汴水之典写秦关汴水经行地、想登临都付新诗，更见其慨；“东风渐绿西湖柳，雁已还、人未南归”写东风渐绿西湖柳、雁已还人未南归，尤见其怅；“最关情、折尽梅花，难寄相思”用折梅寄远之典写折尽梅花、难寄相思，尤见其深。周密为宋末词人（遗民），此词正是其代表——以送别北上写相思之情，正是其词风。
Prosody
Line by line
照野旌旗，朝天车马，平沙万里天低。
Banners light the wild; carriages to court; ten-thousand-li flat sands, the sky hangs low.
照野旌旗，朝天车马，平沙万里天低。
Banners and banners brighten the plain; carriages and horses bound for the court; the level sand stretches ten thousand li, the sky hanging low.
首写照野旌旗、朝天车马、平沙万里天低，是全词写送别北上的起点。“照野旌旗”写照野旌旗——“照野旌旗”写旌旗照野——照野旌旗；“朝天车马”写朝天车马——“朝天车马”写朝天而行的车马——朝天车马；“平沙万里天低”写平沙万里天低——“平沙万里天低”写平沙万里、天穹低垂——平沙万里天低。三句写照野旌旗、朝天车马、平沙万里天低：照野旌旗，朝天车马，平沙万里天低。以“照野旌旗”写旌旗照野、声势煊赫，以“朝天车马”写车马朝天、北上应召，以“平沙万里天低”写平沙万里、天穹低垂，正是周密词写送别北上的起点——旌旗车马，北望天低。
The opening writes the banners, the court-bound carriages, the low sky over the ten-thousand-li flat sand, the starting point of the ci's northern farewell. Banners and banners brighten the plain writes the banners lighting the fields; carriages and horses bound for the court writes the carriage and horse going north to the summons; the level sand stretches ten thousand li, the sky hanging low writes the flat sand's ten thousand li and the low-hung sky. Three lines, the banners brightening the plain with their pomp, the carriage and horse bound for the court and the northern summons, the flat sand ten thousand li and the low sky — the starting point of the farewell to the north, banners and carriages under the northern low sky. Rising on scene, the pointed brush of the ci's opening.
宝带金章，尊前茸帽风欹。秦关汴水经行地，想登临、都付新诗。
The jeweled girdle, the golden seal; before the cup, the fur hat tilted by the wind. The passes of Qin and the river of Bian — the roads you will travel; I think of your climbs, all given to new poems.
宝带金章，尊前茸帽风欹。秦关汴水经行地，想登临、都付新诗。
The jeweled girdle, the golden seal; before the farewell cup, the fur-tipped hat tilts in the wind. Over the Qin passes and the Bian river, the roads you will travel — I imagine your climbs, all turned into new poems.
中用宝带金章、秦关汴水之典写宝带金章、秦关汴水经行地，是全词写友人此行的深化。“宝带金章，尊前茸帽风欹”写宝带金章、尊前茸帽风欹——“宝带金章”写宝带金章、荣命所赐，“尊前茸帽风欹”写尊前茸帽被风吹欹——宝带金章，茸帽风欹；“秦关汴水经行地，想登临、都付新诗”用秦关汴水之典写秦关汴水经行地、想登临都付新诗——“秦关汴水经行地”用秦关汴水之典写秦关汴水、经行故地，“想登临、都付新诗”写想登临处、都付新诗——秦关汴水，登临付诗。四句写宝带金章、秦关汴水经行地：宝带金章，尊前茸帽风欹。秦关汴水经行地，想登临、都付新诗。以“宝带金章”写宝带金章、荣命加身，以“尊前茸帽风欹”写尊前风帽、临别之态，以“秦关汴水经行地”用秦关汴水之典写经行故国之地、河山旧景，以“想登临、都付新诗”写登临怀古、尽付新诗，正是周密词写友人此行的深化——宝带金章，汴水经行。
The middle four phrases use the golden girdle and the Qin passes and the Bian river, the deepening of the ci's account of the friend's journey. The jeweled girdle, the golden seal; before the cup, the fur hat tilted by the wind writes the honor's girdle and seal, and the fur hat tilted in the wind before the farewell wine; Over the Qin passes and the Bian river, the roads you will travel uses the Qin pass and Bian river allusions for the old northern lands, and I think of your climbs, all given to new poems writes the ascents and sights turned into verse. Four phrases, the girdle and seal of the imperial honor, the tilted fur hat at the farewell, the old lands of Qin and Bian, the new poems of the climbs — the deepening of the friend's journey: the girdle and seal, the Bian river road. Writing the journey through allusion, restrained and deep, the pointed brush.
东风渐绿西湖柳，雁已还、人未南归。
The east wind is turning the West Lake willows green; the geese have returned, and the man has not come south.
东风渐绿西湖柳，雁已还、人未南归。
The east wind is gradually turning the West Lake willows green; the geese have flown back, and the man has not returned south.
此二句写东风渐绿西湖柳、雁已还人未南归，是全词写相思之情的深化。“东风渐绿西湖柳”写东风渐绿西湖柳——“东风渐绿西湖柳”写东风渐绿西湖之柳——东风渐绿西湖柳；“雁已还、人未南归”写雁已还人未南归——“雁已还、人未南归”写雁已南还、人却未归——雁已还人未南归。二句写东风渐绿西湖柳、雁已还人未南归：东风渐绿西湖柳，雁已还、人未南归。以“东风渐绿西湖柳”写东风渐绿、西湖柳色（故园春回），以“雁已还、人未南归”写雁已还南、人未归来，正是周密词写相思之情的深化——西湖柳绿，雁还人未归。
The two phrases write the east wind turning the lake willows green, the geese returned and the man not, the deepening of the ci's longing. The east wind is gradually turning the West Lake willows green writes the east wind's greening of the lake willows, the home spring returned; the geese have returned, and the man has not come south writes the geese flown back and the man not returned. Two phrases, the east wind and the lake willows (the home spring), and the geese returned and the man not — the deepening of the longing: the lake willows green, the geese back, the man not. Writing longing through the willow and the goose, restrained and deep, the pointed stroke.
最关情、折尽梅花，难寄相思。
What most concerns the heart: I break all the plum branches, yet cannot send my longing.
最关情、折尽梅花，难寄相思。
What touches the heart most: I break the plum blossoms all, and yet the longing is hard to send.
末用折梅寄远之典写最关情、折尽梅花难寄相思，是全词写相思之情的归结。“最关情、折尽梅花”用折梅寄远之典写最关情、折尽梅花——“最关情、折尽梅花”用陆凯折梅寄远之典写最关情处、折尽梅花，“难寄相思”写难寄相思——“难寄相思”写却难寄出相思——折尽梅花，难寄相思。二句写最关情、折尽梅花难寄相思：最关情、折尽梅花，难寄相思。以“最关情、折尽梅花”用折梅寄远之典写折尽梅花、欲寄相思，以“难寄相思”写难寄相思、关山阻隔，正是周密词写相思之情的归结——折梅欲寄，相思难传。
The closing uses the plum-sending allusion, the gathering of the ci's longing. What touches the heart most: I break the plum blossoms all, and yet the longing is hard to send uses Lu Kai's plum-sending allusion for the breaking of all the plum blossoms and the longing hard to post. Two phrases, the most-touched breaking of the plum and the hard-to-send longing — the plum broken and the longing to send, and the longing yet hard to send across the barriers. The gathering of the ci's longing: the plum broken and the longing hard to pass. Writing feeling through the plum-sending allusion, restrained and deep, the most moving place of the ci, the pointed stroke.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
张炎《高阳台·西湖春感》写西湖春色、故国之感，与本首同为高阳台写故国之感。差异在情境：高阳台送陈君衡写送别北上；西湖春感写西湖伤春。一写“别”之思，一写“春”之感。两者并读，可见高阳台写故国之感的两种情境。
临江仙·送钱穆父 Linjiang Immortal: Seeing Off Qian Mu-fu 苏轼 · 同为宋词送别友人，一写送别北上相思一写旷达送别，一深一达 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
苏轼《临江仙·送钱穆父》写送别友人、旷达之情，与本首同为宋词送别友人。差异在情致：高阳台写故国相思；临江仙送钱穆父写旷达离别。一写“思”之深，一写“达”之宽。两者并读，可见宋词送别友人的两种情致。
解连环·孤雁 Unlocking the Link: The Lonely Wild Goose 张炎 · 同为宋末词写故国之思，一写送别北上相思一咏孤雁，皆哀婉 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
张炎《解连环·孤雁》咏孤雁、寄羁旅相思，与本首同为宋末词写故国之思。差异在主题：高阳台写送别北上；解连环咏孤雁。一写“别”之思，一写“雁”之孤。两者并读，可见宋末词写故国之思的两种主题。