All poems

宋 Song · 诗 Poem

送李芝东归

Seeing Li Zhi Off on His Return East

张方平

Zhang Fangping

山水Landscape 田园Pastoral 咏史Historical Reflection 边塞Frontier

此君齐鲁之奇才，三十病废吁命哉。
来游京国动凄怅，东归泰山卧崔嵬。
支离攘臂福所倚，功名累身古共哀。
但恐人求骏马骨，未免却上黄金台。

This man, a rare talent from Qi and Lu,
At thirty, stricken ill—alas, what fate!
He came to wander the capital, stirring grief;
Now east to Mount Tai he lies among the crags.
Like the crippled master, he waves his arm—blessing leans on him;
Fame and rank burden the body, a sorrow shared through ages.
Yet I fear someone may seek the bones of a swift steed,
And he cannot but ascend again the Golden Terrace.

Listen

Meaning

The poem laments a gifted friend from the Qi-Lu region who fell ill at thirty and must retire to Mount Tai. The poet consoles him by suggesting that disability may be a hidden blessing, while fame and rank are true burdens. In the end, he hints that the friend's talent will still be sought, and he may be summoned back to serve.

这位朋友是齐鲁之间的奇才，可惜三十岁上便病废了，真叫人叹命。他来京城游历，满心凄怆；如今东归泰山，去卧在那崔嵬的山间。支离疏那样形残的人，反倒能倚着福气避祸；功名缠累身子，自古便是共同的悲哀。只怕有人来求千里马的枯骨，他到底免不了再上那黄金台。

Appreciation

The opening couplet praises Li Zhi as a marvel of Qi and Lu, then pivots sharply at the shocking news of his illness at thirty, juxtaposing brilliance and misfortune. The second couplet describes his sorrowful stay in the capital and his return to recline in the towering peaks of Mount Tai—a concrete picture of farewell. The third couplet uses the parable of Zhi-li Shu and the maxim that fortune leans on disaster to console, while lamenting that worldly fame has always weighed down the body. The final couplet turns outward: fearing that someone may seek the bones of a swift horse, the poet predicts that Li Zhi will inevitably be summoned once again to ascend the Golden Terrace. Through paired images—talent and illness, capital and Mount Tai, disability and uprising, horse bones and golden terrace—the poem moves from narrative to reasoning, from fact to metaphor, and in its concluding allusion silently promises that true worth will finally be recognized.

【白话串讲】张方平送李芝东归：“此君齐鲁之奇才，三十病废吁命哉”——李芝三十岁就病废了。“支离攘臂福所倚”——“但恐人求骏马骨，未免却上黄金台”——他写一个奇才的坎坷。【意象与手法】全诗以奇才与病废、京国与泰山、支离与攘臂、骏马骨与黄金台数组成对意象，正反相形。前半叙事带情，后半说理用典，由实入虚。泰山卧崔嵬以山之大反衬人之病废，静中蓄势；黄金台用燕昭王事，把个人的退隐与天下的求才勾连，收束有力。【情感与主旨】表面惜别，实为惜才。诗人不写寻常离别之泪，而写李芝之才不见用于世、又因病废归卧，字里是对命运的不平；颈联以庄老之达解其悲，尾联则以骏马骨、黄金台暗许其终将见用，主旨是：身虽废而名不没，真才终有人识。【名句点睛】「支离攘臂福所倚，功名累身古共哀」以庄老语对史家叹，把病废翻作福、把功名判作累，是对友人的最深宽慰，亦见诗人通达；「但恐人求骏马骨，未免却上黄金台」翻用求才典，于慰中藏期，是全篇最见起伏的两句。

Background

Zhang Fangping (1007–1091), courtesy name Andao, was a native of Songcheng in Songzhou. He served under three emperors—Renzong, Yingzong, and Shenzong—and reached the post of Assistant Administrator, with the posthumous title Wending. His collected works, the Yuequan Ji, contain forty juan, mostly poems of friendship, farewell, and commentary on current affairs. This piece was written to see off Li Zhi, a man not recorded in standard histories. From the poem's description—'a rare talent from Qi and Lu,' 'ill and disabled at thirty,' 'returning east to Mount Tai'—we can infer that Li Zhi was a scholar from the Qi-Lu region, known for ability, struck by illness in his prime, who met Zhang in the capital and soon returned east, since Mount Tai lay to the east of the capital Bianjing. In the early Northern Song, Shandong was a center of Confucian culture, and scholars from Qi and Lu often bore reputations for classical learning. Yet the narrow examination quotas and congested official paths left many gifted men in obscurity. Li Zhi's downfall due to illness epitomizes the 'talented but luckless' class. Zhang Fangping was known for promoting younger scholars, including Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi, and this poem is another instance of his care for talent.

张方平（一〇〇七至一〇九一），字安道，宋州宋城人，历仕仁宗、英宗、神宗三朝，官至参知政事，谥文定。其《乐全集》四十卷，诗多交游送赠、感时论事之作，此首为送李芝东归之作。李芝其人，史传无考，由诗中齐鲁奇才、三十病废、东归泰山数语推之，当是一位籍贯齐鲁、少负才名而盛年遘疾致残的士人，与张方平在京中相识，旋即东归（泰山在宋京东路，于汴京为东）。北宋前期，山东为儒学与文化之邦，齐鲁之士每负经术文章之誉；然科举狭额、仕路壅滞，才士沉沦者多。李芝以病废归卧泰山，正是当时「有才无命」一类人的缩影。张方平一生奖借后进，欧阳修、苏轼皆出其推挽，此诗于李芝，亦是一例。诗题但云送归，不著年份，约作于方平在朝或出守期间。值得注意的是东归泰山卧崔嵬一句——泰山非仅乡里之山，更是隐逸与封禅象征（汉武封禅、道家洞天皆在泰山），卧崔嵬暗含退藏养疴之意，与尾联黄金台之被召形成退与进的对照。读此诗，当知宋人送别已不专写离愁，亦每借以论才命、道出处。

Art

The poem masterfully alternates between praise and lament. It opens with a burst of praise—'rare talent from Qi and Lu'—then immediately undercuts it with 'at thirty, ill and disabled—alas!' The third couplet again lifts: disability may be a blessing, while fame is a burden. The final couplet hides a lift after a downbeat, implying that Li will eventually be called back. This rhythmic play of rise and fall gives the farewell a dramatic richness beyond conventional parting verses. The allusions are likewise finely chosen: Zhi-li Shu portrays his physical disablement; 'fortune leans on disaster' explains his misfortune; 'horse bones' and 'Golden Terrace' promise future employment. The parallel couplets, though loose in the Song style, are carefully balanced: 'Zhi-li raises his arm' against 'fame and rank burden the body,' and 'people seek the swift horse's bones' against 'he ascends the Golden Terrace.' The conclusion is especially effective: instead of usual parting goodbyes, it frames the farewell as a prediction that the friend will return, leaving a lasting aftertaste.

此诗章法，妙在抑扬二字。起手此君齐鲁之奇才是一扬，盛赞其才；三十病废吁命哉骤然一抑，才与命对撞，先声夺人。以下颈联支离攘臂福所倚再扬（病废乃福），功名累身古共哀再抑（功名是累），尾联则于抑后暗藏一扬（终当见用）。通篇扬抑相间，情致顿挫，不落送别诗平铺直叙的窠臼。用典是另一长处。支离攘臂、福所倚、骏马骨、黄金台四典，分属《庄子》《老子》与燕昭王故事，而各司其职：支离疏状其形残，福所倚解其运蹇，骏马骨、黄金台许其将用。典不堆垛，步步应题，是宋人使事切题的工处。对仗亦见经营。支离攘臂对功名累身，以庄老之达对史家之慨；人求骏马骨对却上黄金台，以求者对受者，因果相生。中二联虽以意对为主，宽而不懈，与七律体段相称。结法尤好。寻常送诗结于叮咛或怅望，此诗结于但恐、未免，把送别写成一种预卜：你虽归卧，终当复出。慰语中带一分笃信，余味比直写后会可期厚得多。

Allusions

Zhi-li refers to the story of Zhi-li Shu in Zhuangzi, 'The Human World.' Zhi-li Shu's chin was hidden in his navel, his shoulders higher than his head, yet because he was so deformed, he avoided conscription and enjoyed a full life. The poet uses this to suggest that Li Zhi's disability might ironically be a form of good fortune, echoing the theme of the useless being useful. 'Raises his arm' comes from the Daodejing, where it means to roll up sleeves and force others—here it suggests Li Zhi, though disabled, still has the spirit to act. 'Fortune leans on disaster' is from Daodejing, chapter 58: 'Disaster is that on which fortune leans; fortune is that in which disaster lies.' The poet uses this to console Li that his illness may be a blessing in disguise. 'Horse bones' comes from the Zhanguo Ce, where a king seeking a thousand-li horse pays five hundred gold pieces for a dead horse's bones, attracting real horses. 'Golden Terrace' refers to King Zhao of Yan building a terrace with gold to attract worthy men. These two allusions together form a sequence—the seeking and the responding—linking Li's personal retirement to the broader issue of recruiting talent.

支离：出《庄子·人间世》支离疏之故事。支离疏者，颐隐于脐、肩高于顶，形体残畸，却因无所可用而免兵役、得饱食、终其天年。诗人以支离况李芝之病废，意谓形体之残或反成全身之福，暗用无用之用之旨。攘臂：语本《老子》「上礼为之而莫之应，则攘臂而扔之」，原谓卷袖强拽；诗中支离攘臂连文，写其虽残而犹有奋臂欲为之态，与支离之静形成张力，见人物不肯全然颓唐。福所倚：出《老子》第五十八章「祸兮福之所倚，福兮祸之所伏」。诗人借此宽慰李芝：病废看似祸，或正是远功名、保性命之福，与庄语相表里。骏马骨：出《战国策·燕策》郭隗说燕昭王千金市马骨之典。有君欲求千里马，三年不得，涓人捐五百金买死马之骨，期年而千里马至三。喻求才者诚则贤士自至。诗中人求骏马骨，谓当世必有诚心求才如昭王者。黄金台：亦燕昭王事，昭王筑台置金其上以延天下士（见鲍照《放歌行》「将起黄金台」）。诗中却上黄金台，预言李芝终被征起，登台受任。两典相连，一求一应，把个人退隐纳入天下求才的大局。

Commentary

Zhang Fangping's poetry does not belong to a single school; the Siku editors praised his prose as lucid and incisive, which also applies to his verse. This poem uses a farewell to discuss talent and fate, exemplifying the Song style of 'poetry as argument.' Yet unlike the dry poems of Neo-Confucian writers, this piece balances emotion (grief), scene (Mount Tai's towering crags), allusion, and discourse. It is a standard scholar-official parting poem. Compared to similar pieces in his collection, such as 'Seeing Guo Chengsi off on His Return to Huaxia,' which stays purely in Daoist language, this one combines Daoist and historical references, moving between the abstract and the concrete. Critics of Song poetry sometimes complain about excessive allusion, but here every allusion serves a purpose: Zhi-li for the body, fortune for fate, horse bones for expectation, golden terrace for response—each linked to the next. Remove any one, and the poem would lose a dimension. This is the difference between skilled use of allusion and mere display. Su Shi, in his preface to Zhang's works, praised Zhang's sincerity, and this poem's confident prediction that Li will be called back shows his genuine respect for talent.

张方平诗不名一家，四库馆臣评其文疏畅明切，移评其诗亦妥。此首以送别写论才，正见宋诗以议论为诗的一路。然与后来道学家诗之枯淡不同，此诗有情（凄怅）、有景（泰山崔嵬）、有典、有论，四者匀停，是士大夫送赠诗的正格。将它与同题之作并观尤有意思。方平集中送人之作甚多，而写法各别：送郭诚思归华下纯取庄语，此首则庄老与史事并下，一虚一实。可见其送别非套语，辄依对方身世下手。清代诗评于宋人使事每有微词，谓掉书袋。然此诗四典各有用处：支离写形，福倚写运，骏骨写望，金台写应，环环相扣，无一闲典。若抽去任一，诗意便缺一角。此即善使事者与掉书袋者的分别——典为意设，非为炫博。苏轼《乐全先生文集叙》称方平公于心，读此诗慰李芝终当见用数语，正见其待士以诚、许人以实的一贯心肠。方平集中此类惜才好士之作尚多，披读《乐全集》，往往于平淡叙述中见肝胆，此诗不过其一例而已。一首送别，亦可见风义。

Prosody

Form Regulated Verse (Lüshi), seven-character七言律诗

Rhyme Rhymes with the level-tone Hui/Hai group, first line rhymed: cai (才), zai (哉), wei (嵬), ai (哀), tai (台)—all in the same rhyme category. A single rhyme throughout, with no deviations.押平声灰咍通韵，首句入韵：哉、嵬、哀、台皆属蟹摄一等（上平十灰、十六咍），宋人灰咍本通押；首句奇才之才亦同部，起势已叶。一韵到底，无出韵。

Tone pattern The middle two couplets are parallel: 'coming to tour the capital' versus 'eastward returning to Mount Tai,' and 'Zhi-li raises his arm' versus 'fame and rank burden the body.' The final couplet forms a flowing parallel with 'I fear someone seeks the swift horse's bones' versus 'he cannot but ascend the Golden Terrace.' The tonal pattern generally follows the oblique-first-line style, though line one has a slight three-level ending, which is acceptable in Song regulated verse.七言律诗，中二联对仗：颔联来游京国动凄怅对东归泰山卧崔嵬，颈联支离攘臂福所倚对功名累身古共哀，方位、名物、情状两两相称。尾联但恐人求骏马骨对未免却上黄金台，以虚词领起，亦成流水对。平仄大体依仄起首句入韵式，起句此君齐鲁之奇才为仄平仄仄平平平，略带三平，然宋人七律起句三平调时或有之，不为大疵。

Reading note The sound conveys the feeling especially in the final couplet's function words 'dan kong' (but fear) and 'wei mian' (inevitably), both with falling tones, creating a low, hesitant pause that gathers the preceding ups and downs into a light but firm prediction. The open vowels of the rhyme words give a broad, slightly melancholic resonance that suits the themes of talent, illness, and the vastness of Mount Tai. The middle couplets rely more on semantic than strict verbal parallelism, showing Song style's preference for flexibility. The seven-character rhythm breaks naturally into four-three: 'this man from Qi-Lu—a rare talent' and 'Zhi-li raises his arm—fortune leans on him.' The third line's unusual 'yu ming zai' (alas, what fate!) after two double oblique tones breaks the evenness, revealing genuine emotion. 此诗声情，最宜在尾联的虚词上体会。但恐、未免四字皆为去声，读来低回一顿，把前面六句的扬抑全都收束成一声轻而笃的料定。灰咍二韵元音开口度大、收音于喉，本自带一种开阔而略带苍凉的音响，与「奇才」之慷慨、「病废」之沉痛、「泰山」之浑茫皆相凑泊；吟到台字收束，声虽平落，意却扬起，恰如黄金台在远处微光一闪。中二联虽以意对为主，未斤斤于字面对偶，然支离攘臂与功名累身，一动一静、一庄一史，气脉不断；人求骏马骨与却上黄金台，一求一应，因果自明。宋人七律本不尚纤密对偶，宁失之宽，勿失之滞，此诗正得其中。节奏上七言之顿在四三：此君齐鲁—之奇才，支离攘臂—福所倚，前四字铺人事或典实，后三字下判断或落感慨，句法整齐而不板。唯首句三十病废吁命哉于仄仄之后忽以吁命哉三字宕开，如一声长叹，破去律句的匀整，最见送别诗的真情流露。通篇以声运情，不以巧胜，是宋人七律中朴而能厚的一首。

Line by line

此君齐鲁之奇才，三十病废吁命哉。

He is a rare talent from Qi and Lu, but at thirty he is ill and disabled—what a fate, alas! This opening couplet sets up the tension between his talent and his misfortune.

齐鲁奇才，三十病废叹命。

This man is the prodigy of Qi and Lu; at thirty, disabled by illness - alas, what fate!

这是起手一顿，也是全篇的纲。上句此君齐鲁之奇才劈空而来，先立其才：齐鲁为孔孟之乡、经术之邦，以齐鲁冠奇才，分量已不轻；下句三十病废吁命哉忽作转折，才字刚落地，命字便压上来。三十而废，正是盛年挫折，最足动人；一个吁字是叹、也是问，把对命运的不平全托出。两句一扬一抑，才与命对撞，诗人不须多说，李芝一生的矛盾已凝在这十四字里。后来颈联以庄老解之、尾联以金台许之，都从此处的叹字生出。起手能如此简劲，是宋人七律少有的开门见山。

The opening is a sudden pause and the outline of the whole poem. This man is the prodigy of Qi and Lu comes empty of the sky, first establishing his talent: Qi and Lu are the land of Confucius and Mencius, the realm of classical learning, and to crown a prodigy with Qi and Lu already carries weight. The second line turns abruptly: at thirty, disabled by illness - alas, what fate! The word talent has just landed when the word fate presses down. To be disabled in one's thirties is a check in the prime of life, most moving; the word alas is a sigh and a question, laying bare all the resentment against fate. The two lines, one raised one depressed, talent and fate colliding; without more words from the poet, the contradiction of Li Zhi's whole life is condensed in these fourteen characters. The later neck couplet, which resolves it through Zhuangzi and Laozi, and the closing, which promises him the Golden Terrace, both grow from this sigh. An opening so spare and forceful is the rare straight-to-the-point of Song seven-character regulated verse.

支离攘臂福所倚，功名累身古共哀。

Like the crippled Zhi-li Shu, he raises his arm; fortune leans upon him. Fame and rank burden the body—a sorrow shared through all ages. This couplet consoles him by reversing the value of disability and fame.

支离乃福，功名累身。

Crippled limbs and swinging arms are where fortune leans; fame and office that burden the body have been grieved by all ages.

这是全诗的理脉所在，也是对友人的最深宽慰。上句用《庄子》支离疏之典：形体残畸者因无所用而全生，故病废或是福之所倚——把世俗眼中的不幸翻作保全性命的幸。下句功名累身古共哀则掉转笔锋，说世人追逐的功名，到头不过是缠累身体的枷锁，古来同悲。一正一反，把庄老的达观与史家的慨叹拧在一起：你失的是功名，得的是自在；世人得的功名，失的却是自身。这种宽慰不落「保重身体」的套语，而上升到价值观的重新安顿，最见诗人学养。更妙在支离攘臂四字，残与奋并写，使人想见李芝虽废未颓，宽慰中仍存一份敬意。

This is the poem's rational current and the deepest comfort to the friend. The first uses Zhuangzi's Zhili Shu: the crippled and deformed, useless to all, preserves his life, so disability may be where fortune leans - turning misfortune in the world's eyes into the luck of survival. The second turns the brush: the fame and office men chase are in the end but shackles that burden the body, grieved by all ages. One positive, one negative, twisting Zhuangzi and Laozi's detachment with the historian's lament: what you have lost is office, what you have gained is freedom; what the world gains in office, it loses in itself. This comfort does not fall into the stock be careful of your health but rises to a reordering of values, most showing the poet's learning. The beauty lies in the four words crippled limbs and swinging arms, writing the maimed and the vigorous together, letting one imagine Li Zhi undepressed though disabled, a respect preserved within the comfort.

但恐人求骏马骨，未免却上黄金台。

But I fear that someone will seek the bones of a swift horse, and he cannot but ascend again the Golden Terrace. The poet predicts that Li Zhi's talent will still be sought, and he will be called back to serve.

恐人求才，终上金台。

I only fear that when men seek the bones of the swift steed, you cannot but mount the Golden Terrace.

尾联是全诗最见起伏处，于慰藉中忽然翻出一层期许。骏马骨用燕昭王千金市骨之典：求千里马而不得，先买死马之骨以明求才之诚，真马自至。诗人说但恐人求骏马骨，是担心当世也有这般诚心求才的明主；未免却上黄金台便顺此一推，预言李芝终被征起、登台受任。前六句层层写其才、其废、其归、其福，到此忽然把退隐的静态翻转成将出的动态——你今日卧崔嵬，他日或立金台。但恐、未免二虚词用得极轻巧：不是断定，是料定；不是强劝，是信其必然。一首送别诗结于对友人未来的笃信，比结于泪眼更厚，也更符合张方平奖借士类的一贯脾性。

The closing is the poem's most rising and falling place, suddenly turning from consolation to expectation. The bones of the swift steed borrow King Zhao of Yan buying the dead horse's bones: seeking a thousand-li steed and not finding it, he first buys the bones to show his sincerity, and the true horse comes. The poet says I only fear that when men seek the bones, fearing there may be a ruler of such sincere seeking in the age; then you cannot but mount the Golden Terrace follows the push, foretelling that Li Zhi will at last be summoned and take his place on the terrace. The first six lines have layer by layer written his talent, his disability, his return, his fortune; here the stillness of retirement is suddenly turned into the motion of a coming out - today you lie among the rugged heights, another day you may stand on the Golden Terrace. The two empty words I only fear and cannot but are used with lightness: not a certainty, but a reckoning; not a forced urging, but a trust in what must be. A farewell poem closing on a firm belief in the friend's future is weightier than one closing in tears, and suits Fangping's constant habit of encouraging scholars.

Study

Word focus

废 The word 'fei' means 'disabled' or 'useless.' It is heavier than 'sick' (bing) because it implies a severing of the path to office. It contrasts sharply with the preceding 'qi cai' (rare talent), turning the line into a poignant juxtaposition of brilliance and brokenness. 三十病废吁命哉，全句重心在一个废字。废在此谓废疾、残废，指李芝盛年遘疾、形体有所损毁，不得不退出仕进之途。这个字所以沉重，在于它与上一字才正成对照：奇才之奇越是耀眼，病废之废便越是刺目。宋人重出身与仕履，废不仅伤身，更意味着功名之路断，故诗人以吁命哉承之，把个体的病上升为对命的诘问。若换作「病」「弱」「困」，都失其断途之意：病偏暂时，弱偏气力，困偏境遇，皆不如废字那般斩钉截铁地写出「路已绝」。一字之中，既有对友人的痛惜，也暗含诗人对当时才士往往不遇的整体的不平——废不是李芝一人的事，是一代士人的命运缩影。

卧 'Wo' means 'to recline.' It is not just 'to live' or 'to hide' but suggests a passive, restful posture. Placing a disabled man in the vastness of Mount Tai creates an image of smallness and acceptance, hinting at Daoist withdrawal and the peace of illness. 东归泰山卧崔嵬，最耐味的是一个卧字。崔嵬是山高不平之貌，泰山崔嵬极言其大其尊；而卧字把一个病废之人安放在这大山之间，姿态极静、极弱，却又极安稳。卧与归相应：归是方向，卧是落脚；归还带行役之感，卧则彻底歇下。更可玩者，卧字把人与山的关系写了出来——不是人登山、人倚山，而是人卧于山，人小山大，人被山收容。这既是写李芝退藏养疴的实况，也暗合道家「卧游」「隐于山」的超脱意趣。若作「隐崔嵬」，便坐实了隐士身份，反少了那份因病而退、无可奈何的柔软；作「入崔嵬」又太着行迹。唯卧字，静中带倦，倦中带安，把送别诗里最难写的「放下」二字，凝在泰山一卧之中。