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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

送冀州李太傅

Seeing Grand Mentor Li Off to Jizhou

张方平

Zhang Fangping

送别farewell 边镇frontier garrison

多君贵主子，材识乃名儒。
青海渥漥种，丹山鸾凤雏。
兵家左车后，书法右军无。
拥幄羞纨袴，怀章就隼旟。
亭台烟水阔，楼堞暮云扶。
析木元分冀，滹沱渐近胡。
双觥虽蕴借，重闭勿须臾。
谁道长城远，今观出上都。

I honor you, son of a princess, whose talent and learning mark a famed scholar.
A steed from Qinghai's Wowa waters; a phoenix chick from Crimson Mountain.
In strategy you follow Li Zuoche; in calligraphy none surpass the Right Army.
You hold the tent yet scorn silken heir; bearing the seal you approach the falcon banner.
Pavilions by broad misty waters; tower battlements leaned on by evening clouds.
The Xiemu aster marks Jizhou's bounds; the Hutuo nears the Hu tribes.
Though twin cups show restraint and grace, double the guard—not for a moment slack.
Who says the Great Wall is far? Now I see you issue from the capital.

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Meaning

This is a formal farewell to Li, a princess's son appointed to the frontier post of Jizhou. The poet praises his noble birth, scholarly fame, and dual mastery of war and calligraphy, then urges him to guard the border without slackening. The closing line reframes the distant frontier as the weight of the man himself, leaving the capital to serve.

您是贵主（公主）的公子，才识乃为名儒。如青海渥洼之神马，如丹山鸾凤之雏鸟，喻其英俊杰出。论兵略堪比李左车之后继，论书法右军王羲之亦无可加。拥帐幄而不以纨绔自羞，怀印章而就隼旗赴任。亭台烟水空阔，城楼雉堞有暮云相扶。析木之次本分冀州，滹沱河畔渐近胡地。双觥虽含蕴藉之雅，守备却不可须臾松弛。谁说长城遥远，今见李公出自上都而赴边。

Appreciation

The poem is a polished courtly send-off in tight five-character regulated verse, weaving praise with quiet admonition. Dense, apt allusions build a portrait of civil and martial excellence, while the turn to geography and border peril lifts it above mere courtesy into statecraft. The final couplet's reversal—'who says the wall is far'—gives the compliment weight and closure.

【白话串讲】张方平送李太傅赴冀州：“多君贵主子，材识乃名儒”——他赞李太傅。“青海渥漥种，丹山鸾凤雏”——“兵家左车后，书法右军无”——“析木元分冀，滹沱渐近胡”——他写北方的边塞。【意象与手法】全诗以「贵主子」起，先叙门第才识，次以「青海渥漥种」「丹山鸾凤雏」二喻写其英俊，复以「兵家左车」「书法右军」衬托文武双全，再写赴任之装与边镇之景，结以「谁道长城远」翻案作收。用典密集而贴切，属北宋馆阁应酬送别之雅制。【情感与主旨】此为送李太傅（贵主之子）赴冀州之作。方平既赞其门第才识、文武兼资，又勉其守边不可松懈（双觥虽蕴借，重闭勿须臾），于称美中寓期望，可见宋臣送武弁出镇之郑重。【名句点睛】「谁道长城远，今观出上都」以翻案语收束，将「长城」由地理之远化为人物之重，既呼应起句门第，又点出李公乃上都股肱、实边之倚，是送别诗中沉着有力的一结。

Background

Zhang Fangping (1007-1091), styled Daoji, known as Layman Lequan, was a famous Northern Song minister serving four reigns, rising to vice grand councillor. His poetry is classical and warm, much of it courtly exchange and send-off. This poem sends 'Grand Mentor Li' to Jizhou. Jizhou belonged to Hebei circuit, bordering the Khitan (Liao) in the north, a frontier garrison requiring a civil-martial official. The 'princess's son' denotes Li's noble birth; 'Grand Mentor' his honorary title. Fangping and Li were both courtiers; this parting speaks of both friendship and policy—during Renzong and Yingzong, Hebei's defense mattered, and border governors were often chosen from imperial kinsmen. The line 'double the guard—not a moment slack' is the minister's earnest warning to the defender. Read it in the context of the Song-Liao standoff, with Hebei as the gateway, to feel the anxiety beneath the praise. Fangping writes the frontier with a cabinet elder's warm steadiness, matching Northern Song Hebei defense policy—not mere courtesy. His apt local allusions and praise-with-warning make it a model of Song courtly farewell, valuable for studying mid-Northern-Song cabinet style and the ideal of civil-martial balance.

张方平（一零零七—一零九一），字道济，号乐全居士，北宋名臣，历仕仁宗、英宗、神宗、哲宗四朝，官至参知政事。其诗典重温厚，多馆阁唱酬与送行之作。此诗送「李太傅」赴冀州。冀州属河北路，北邻契丹，宋时号为边镇，守臣须文武兼资。题中「贵主子」谓李为公主之子，门第清华，故称「贵主子」；「太傅」为其加衔。方平与李同为朝臣，此赠送行，既叙交谊，亦涉时政——仁宗、英宗之际，河北武备为朝廷所重，出镇者每择勋戚。诗中「重闭勿须臾」正是对守边者的谆谆之诫。读此诗当置于北宋与辽对峙、河北为门户的历史语境中，方能体会称美之下那一层殷忧。方平以台阁老臣之笔写送边镇，温厚之中自有边忧，与北宋河北边防之策相表里，非徒应酬之作。且其用典切地、称美寓诫，足为宋人送别雅制之样本，于研究北宋中期台阁诗风与文武并重之观念，颇有文献价值。读此诗可觇北宋台阁送别之体，称美之中自有边忧，非徒应酬之笔；其以温厚写边镇、以典雅用典故，亦见一代儒臣之交游分寸与边防之虑。

Art

This five-character regulated verse of eight couplets is tightly structured. The opening states birth and learning like a eulogy; the second couplet uses the steed and phoenix-chick metaphors for his brilliance; the third couples strategy and calligraphy, Li Zuoche and Wang Xizhi, civil and martial in neat antithesis; the middle writes his departure attire, scorning the silken heir and approaching the falcon banner; later lines turn to the garrison scene and geography, then urge grace yet vigilance; the close reverses expectation. Throughout, apt allusions and clear sequence make it a warm, proper piece of Song courtly farewell. Fangping uses the eulogy form—not rash—hiding admonition within praise, the proper hand of a minister seeing a warrior off. The geographic and peril turns lift it beyond private friendship into frontier counsel, showing Song poetry's reason-guided feeling and cabinet decorum.

此诗五言律诗，八联一韵，章法谨严。起联「多君贵主子，材识乃名儒」直叙门第才识，如赠言之体；颔联「青海渥漥种，丹山鸾凤雏」以神马、鸾雏二喻写其英俊，比兴并用；颈联「兵家左车后，书法右军无」分写文武，用李左车、王羲之二典，一武一文，对仗精切；腹联「拥幄羞纨袴，怀章就隼旟」写赴任之仪，以「羞纨袴」洗贵公子习气、「就隼旟」状领旌赴镇；后幅「亭台烟水阔」写送地之景，「析木元分冀，滹沱渐近胡」转入冀州地理与边患，「双觥虽蕴借，重闭勿须臾」勉其文雅而毋忘武备；结联「谁道长城远，今观出上都」翻案作收。通篇用典贴切、脉络分明，是宋人送别雅制中温厚得体的一篇。通观全篇，方平以赠言体行之，不事狂率，而于称美中暗藏戒勉，正是北宋大臣送武弁出镇之得体笔墨。中幅点出地理与边患，更使此诗超出寻常私谊，而具边防论政之意味，读之可见宋诗以理驭情之一斑与台阁之度。方平以赠言体写送别，称美寓诫而不峻，正北宋大臣送武弁出镇之得体笔墨，于短章中见台阁之度与以理驭情之法。

Allusions

Several allusions bear on the man's virtue and place. 'Princess's son' (guizhuzi): since Han, the emperor's daughter is a princess, her husband a consort, their child a 'princess's son'—marking noble birth. 'Qinghai Wowa breed': Wowa from the Han shu 'Heavenly Horse' song—Emperor Wu found a divine horse in Wowa waters, hence Wowa means fine steed, a metaphor for brilliant youth; Qinghai bred fine horses, together picturing Li's spirit. 'Crimson Mountain phoenix chick': Crimson Mountain from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, birthplace of phoenixes; 'chick' means young talent, his purity and nobility. 'Strategist Zuoche': Li Zuoche, early-Han tactician, Lord Guangwu, skilled in war—borrowing the surname Li to fit Grand Mentor Li, implying his strategic inheritance. 'Calligrapher Right Army': Wang Xizhi, Right Army General, sage of calligraphy; 'none' means none surpass. 'Xiemu': one of the Ten Celestial Lodges, corresponding to Jizhou's field; 'Hutuo': a river flowing through Jizhou near the border. Allusions each have a referent, not random. 'Falcon banner' (sunyu) from the Shi jing's 'birds and falcons make the banner,' used by Song farewell poems for departure; Fangping uses it aptly. Allusions from orthodox histories or ritual classics, not casual, prove the density of Song five-character allusion and the art of praise-with-warning.

诗中用典凡数处，皆关人物才德与地理。其一，「贵主子」：贵主谓公主，汉以来称天子之女为公主，其夫称驸马，子息即「贵主子」，宋人沿称，点出门第。其二，「青海渥漥种」：渥洼（漥同洼）出《汉书·礼乐志》「天马歌」，武帝得神马于渥洼水中，后因以「渥洼」喻良马、喻英俊子弟；青海古产良马，合言以状李之骏逸。其三，「丹山鸾凤雏」：丹山出《山海经》，鸾凤所生，雏谓少年英才，喻其清贵。其四，「兵家左车」：李左车，汉初谋士，号广武君，善兵略，此处借姓李以切李太傅，谓其兵谋有承。其五，「书法右军」：王羲之官右军将军，书圣也，「无」谓无可加。其六，「析木」：十二次之一，对应冀州分野；「滹沱」水名，流经冀州近边。诸典各有所指，非泛设。又「隼旟」一词本《诗经》鸟隼为旟之制，宋人送别诗每以旌旗写赴任，方平用得稳贴；「渥漥」合青海以状英俊，亦见铸词之雅。诸典或出正史、或出礼经，皆非泛设，足证宋人五律用典之密与称美寓诫之法。诗中隼旟、渥漥诸典皆有所指，或出礼经或出正史，非泛设，足证宋人五律用典之密与称美寓诫之巧，可觇台阁诗风。

Commentary

Though a ceremonial send-off, the poem shows Fangping's eulogy manner. Song farewells favor reason and allusion; this one especially 'praises yet warns': the first six couplets laud birth, learning, civil and martial skill, then 'though cups show grace, double the guard' suddenly turns, gently urging vigilance—showing the old minister's deep care for the state. The Qing Song Poems in Manuscript calls Fangping 'profound and elegant, keeping the manner of an ancient minister'; lines like 'princess's son' and 'falcon banner' show that dignity. The close 'who says the wall is far' reverses the wall's distance into the man's weight, unlike Wang Wei's gentleness or Du Fu's gravity—a typical Song cabinet send-off. Fangping's extant poems are few, yet this shows his five-character skill and eulogy measure, a sample for studying mid-Northern-Song cabinet style. His praise is not flattery, his warning not harsh—his true color; among Northern Song cabinet send-offs, with Wang Anshi and Su Shi each their own, Fangping is uniquely warm, revealing a minister's decorum and frontier concern.

此诗虽为应酬送行，却见张方平赠言之体。宋人送别诗多尚理趣与用典，方平此篇尤重「称美而寓诫」：前六联层层揄扬门第、才识、文武、仪范，至「双觥虽蕴借，重闭勿须臾」忽作转折，以温语劝其守边毋懈，足见老臣谋国之深。清人编《宋诗钞》收方平诗，谓其「气体渊雅，不失古大臣之风」，此诗「贵主子」「隼旟」诸语，正见其典重。又「谁道长城远，今观出上都」一结，翻「长城」之远为人物之重，与王维「红豆生南国」之轻婉、杜甫「千秋万岁名」之沉郁皆不同调，乃宋调馆阁送诗之常。方平诗传世不多，此篇可觇其五律功力与赠言分寸，于研究北宋中期台阁诗风颇有样本价值。方平诗传世虽不多，而此篇可见其五律功力与赠言分寸。清人谓其气体渊雅、不失大臣之风，此诗称美而不谀、诫勉而不峻，正其本色。置诸北宋台阁送诗之列，与王安石、苏轼之赠行各有体貌，而方平独以温厚称，可觇一代儒臣交游之风度与边防之虑。清人谓方平气体渊雅、不失大臣之风，此诗称美不谀、诫勉不峻，正其本色，置诸北宋台阁送诗之列可觇一代儒臣风度。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse (lüshi)五言律诗

Rhyme Level-tone Yu rhyme; rhyme words ru, chu, wu, yu, fu, hu, yu, du sustained to the end.平声虞韵，入韵字为儒、雏、无、旟、扶、胡、臾、都，一韵到底。

Tone pattern Follows five-character lüshi level-oblique pattern; many antithetical couplets—e.g. the steed/phoenix, strategy/calligraphy, tent/falcon-banner, pavilions/battlements, Xiemu/Hutuo, twin-cups/guard pairs.五言律诗依律调平仄，中多联对仗，如「青海渥漥种，丹山鸾凤雏」「兵家左车后，书法右军无」「拥幄羞纨袴，怀章就隼旟」「亭台烟水阔，楼堞暮云扶」「析木元分冀，滹沱渐近胡」「双觥虽蕴借，重闭勿须臾」，平仄相对、词性相侔。

Reading note This eight-couplet five-character poem rhymes in level-tone Yu. The Yu rhyme belongs to the third-grade closed-mouth division of the Yu group; its full, open vowel best suits the purity of 'princess's son,' the dignity of 'falcon banner,' and the tone of praise—matching the poem's warm, proper eulogy. Fangping wraps eight couplets in Yu; head and tail 'scholar' (ru) and 'capital' (du) echo, the middle 'chick' (chu), 'none' (wu), 'banner' (yu), 'lean' (fu), 'Hu' (hu), 'slack' (yu) shift scene without changing rhyme, one continuous breath. Lüshi prizes the middle couplets' antithesis; here from second to middle six couplets are all parallel, only opening and close are loose—parallel and loose balancing, read as ordered not stiff. Notably the close 'who says the wall is far, now issue from the capital' loosens into a prose-like ending, suddenly opening amid the regular parallelism, like a free coda, giving the whole warm dignity with force. To grasp Song cabinet five-character lüshi, this is a model.此诗八联五言，押平声虞韵。虞韵属遇摄合口三等，元音洪亮、音色开阔，最宜写「贵主子」之清贵、「隼旟」之庄重与送别称美之调，与诗中温厚得体之赠言相称。方平以虞韵笼八联，首尾「儒」「都」呼应，中幅「雏」「无」「旟」「扶」「胡」「臾」层层换境而不易韵，声气一贯。律诗最重中二联对仗，此篇自颔联至腹联六联皆骈，唯起结散行，骈散相济，读来整饬而不板滞。尤可味者，「谁道长城远，今观出上都」以散句作结，于一律骈之中突然放开，如乐章收束之散板，使全篇在温雅中见力度。欲体会宋人台阁五律之格，此篇可资取法。读此诗当体会虞韵宏亮与温雅称美之相得，末联翻案作收，尤见宋调台阁五律章法之活与以理驭情之度。

Line by line

多君贵主子，材识乃名儒。

I honor you, son of a princess, whose talent and insight make you a renowned scholar.

您是贵主（公主）的公子，才识乃为名儒。

You are the son of a princess, yet your talent and learning are those of a famous scholar.

此开篇一联是全诗总挈，作法如史论起手。上句「多君贵主子」先立门第坐标，李为公主之子，门第清华；下句「材识乃名儒」方落到本题，一个「名儒」字是方平对李太傅的总体判定。常人送武弁多侈言弓马，方平独先叙其「名儒」之识，盖见其文武兼资、非徒冠剑之夫。更可味者，起手即「贵主子」三字，既点勋戚身份，又为后文「重闭勿须臾」的守边之诫伏下身份依据——正因其贵，故所托愈重。五言短联而能总揽门第与才识、定下称美基调，后文一切铺陈皆从此「贵主子」生发。

This opening couplet is the poem's whole frame, in the manner of a historical argument. The first line sets the coordinate of family: Li is a princess's son, the lineage pure and eminent; the second lands on the theme, and the two words famous scholar are Fangping's total verdict on Lord Li. Most who send off a military man lavish praise on horsemanship and archery, but Fangping first recounts his learning, seeing him as versed in both letters and arms, no mere sword-bearer. What is more to taste is that the opening begins with the three words princess's son: it names the kinsman's station and, later, grounds the warning to hold the border without a moment's neglect - precisely because he is eminent, the charge is the heavier. A five-character couplet that can take in family and learning, fix the key of praise, and from which all the later description grows.

析木元分冀，滹沱渐近胡。

The Xiemu lodge originally marks off Jizhou; the Hutuo River draws near the Hu tribes.

析木之次本分冀州，滹沱河畔渐近胡地。

The Branch-aster division is assigned to Jizhou; the Hutuo River nears the barbarian border.

此联由称美转入地理与边患，是全诗由人及地之关捩。「析木元分冀」用十二次分野之说，析木之次对应冀州，点明李太傅所赴之地的星野归属；「滹沱渐近胡」写滹沱河畔已近契丹（胡）边境，暗伏边忧。二句一古一今、一天文一地理，把「送冀州」一题坐实到宋辽对峙的实景。方平于此最见老臣之虑：前联极称其美，此联忽点「渐近胡」，不写送别之伤情而写边镇之紧要，恰为结联「谁道长城远」作地理解码。宋人送边镇诗好以分野、水系写形胜，方平此用「析木—滹沱」精切而含忧，是台阁送诗「称美而寓诫」的典型笔法。

This couplet turns from praise to geography and frontier danger, the hinge of the poem from man to place. The Branch-aster division uses the twelve astrological divisions: the Branch-aster sector corresponds to Jizhou, naming the star-field of the place Lord Li goes to; the Hutuo River nears the barbarian border writes that the banks of the Hutuo already approach the Khitan frontier, secretly planting the frontier worry. The two lines, one ancient one modern, one astronomy one geography, ground the title sending off to Jizhou in the real standoff of Song and Liao. Here the old minister's care shows most: the last couplet praised him to the full, then this suddenly points out near the barbarian, writing not the grief of farewell but the urgency of the frontier garrison, exactly decoding for the closing who says the Great Wall is far. Song frontier farewell poems loved to write the strategic shape through star divisions and river systems; Fangping's Branch-aster and Hutuo are precise and charged with care, the typical office farewell way of praising while lodging a warning.

谁道长城远，今观出上都。

Who says the Great Wall is far? Now I see you set out from the upper capital.

谁说长城遥远，今见李公出自上都而赴边。

Who says the Great Wall is far? Today we see him go out from the upper capital to the frontier.

此结联以翻案语收束，是全诗最着力的一笔。「谁道长城远」先设一反问，世人谓冀州北边如长城般遥远，方平却说「今观出上都」——今见李公出自上都（汴京）而赴此，则其人其事便不再遥远，长城之「远」化为人物之「重」。二句把地理之远与人物之贵对转，既呼应起句「贵主子」的门第，又点出李公乃上都股肱、实边之倚。尤可味者「出上都」三字，不写「赴」而写「出」，似李公携上都之重望而出镇，语气郑重。七律结联最重余味，此以翻案作收，于温雅中见力度，是宋调馆阁送诗沉着有力的一结。

This closing couplet ends in a reversal, the poem's most labored stroke. Who says the Great Wall is far first sets a rhetorical question: the world calls Jizhou's northern border as distant as the Great Wall, yet Fangping says today we see him go out from the upper capital to the frontier - seeing Lord Li go out from the capital (Bianjing) to this post, then he and his charge are no longer remote, and the Wall's distance turns into the weight of the man. The two lines turn the distance of geography against the eminence of the person, echoing the opening princess's son and pointing out that Lord Li is a bulwark of the capital and the reliance of the border. Most to taste are the three words go out from: he does not write go to but go out, as if Lord Li carries the heavy expectation of the capital out to the garrison, the tone solemn. The seven-character closing weighs most on aftertaste; this ends in reversal, showing force within grace, a steady, strong close of the Song cabinet farewell.

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Word focus

渥漥 Wowa—from the Han shu 'Heavenly Horse' song, a pool yielding a divine horse; here joined with Qinghai to metaphor Li as a brilliant, noble steed of a youth. 「青海渥漥种」之「渥漥」（漥同洼），本《汉书·礼乐志》天马歌「渥洼水」产神马，后以喻英俊子弟、良材。方平以青海（古良马产地）合渥洼，言李太傅如神马出于渊泽，喻其门第清华而骏逸不群。此词之妙在虚实相生：青海为实地名，渥洼为典实事，叠加而成「贵主子」之英才象，比直说「才俊」典雅十倍。且「种」字收束，暗承「丹山鸾凤雏」之「雏」，一马一凤，并写少年贵介之姿，使颔联对仗不流于板。宋人五律好以僻典铸词，方平此用浑成不涩，是温厚一路。

隼旟 Falcon banner—a banner painted with a falcon, from the Shi jing, used for high provincial officials' departures; here it marks Li's assuming his frontier command with composure. 「怀章就隼旟」之「隼旟」，指画隼之旌旗，古者州郡长官出行建隼旟，《诗经·小雅》「鸟隼为旟」，后遂以「隼旟」代指刺史、节度使等高官仪仗。方平以此写李太傅怀印绶、建隼旗赴冀州镇守，既点明其出镇之职，又以其「就」字见赴任之从容。与对句「拥幄羞纨袴」相配：上言其不矜贵介（羞纨袴），下言其能任边寄（就隼旟），一抑一扬，写出人物由贵公子到封疆之转变。此词是宋人送别诗中常见的「赴任」符号，方平用得稳贴，不着痕迹。