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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

送马武

Sending Off Ma Wu

张方平

Zhang Fangping

咏史Reflecting on History 愁思Anxious Thought 哲理Philosophical Reflection 时序Passing of Time

才命相憎不相并，古来达者齐其中。
此君寂寞年虽暮，灵府峥嵘事甚雄。
鞴上鹰饥思掠草，车傍骥老尚追风。
丈夫掩棺始为了，是故南阳晚立功。

Talent and fate are foes and never stand as one;
The wise of old held both in equal view, undone.
This friend, though lonely and his years now steeped in dusk,
His spirit's peaks still tower—his enterprises bold.
The hungry falcon on the armguard longs to graze the plain;
The old steed by the cart still races with the wind.
A man's account is closed only when the coffin shuts—
Therefore Zhuge Liang of Nanyang made his mark so late.

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Meaning

The poem consoles Ma Wu, an aging friend, that talent and fate are often opposed, but the enlightened regard them as one. Although Ma Wu is old and obscure, his spirit remains grand—like a hungry falcon or an old steed, he still burns with aspiration. Since a man's life is not judged until the coffin lid closes, one may achieve great deeds late, as Zhuge Liang did at Nanyang.

才与命相互憎恶而不能并立，自古以来通达之人把二者等量齐观。这位友人虽寂寞而年岁已暮，胸中却仍峥嵘壮阔、事业心甚雄。臂套上的鹰饿极了思量掠过草野，车旁的骥虽老还能追逐风声。大丈夫直到盖棺方能算有了了断，所以南阳诸葛亮也是晚年才立下功名。

Appreciation

Opening with the aphoristic antithesis that talent and fate are mutually hostile, the poet then counsels the wise to treat them equally. The second couplet contrasts Ma Wu's lonely, aging exterior with his towering inner spirit. The third couplet uses the falcon and the old steed as vivid metaphors for undiminished ambition, and the closing couplet reinforces the theme with Zhuge Liang's late achievement. Through argument, imagery, and allusion, the poem exemplifies the Song dynasty's tendency toward philosophical verse—a farewell poem that is both inspiring and dignified.

【白话串讲】张方平送马武：“才命相憎不相并，古来达者齐其中”。“鞴上鹰饥思掠草，车傍骥老尚追风”——“丈夫掩棺始为了，是故南阳晚立功”——他写大器晚成。【意象与手法】诗以「才命相憎」起论，中段用鹰、骥两个动物意象写老而弥坚，尾以诸葛亮南阳晚成作结，议论、比兴、用典三者交融，是典型宋人「以理入诗」的送别之作。【情感与主旨】劝慰马武不必以迟暮自伤，壮心与才具俱在，功名虽晚、盖棺方了，与诸葛亮晚立功同一道理，充满对老友的激励与信任。【名句点睛】「鞲上鹰饥思掠草，车傍骥老尚追风」以二兽写壮心不已，意象老健；「丈夫掩棺始为了，是故南阳晚立功」收以格言与典故，掷地有声。

Background

Ma Wu is difficult to identify from historical records, but from phrases such as 'his years are dusk' and 'lonely,' he appears to have been an aging scholar-official who had long been unrecognized. In the Northern Song, many officials faced slow promotion and felt the anxiety of aging before achieving office. Zhang Fangping himself had endured a long and grinding career and therefore wrote with deep feeling. By invoking Zhuge Liang, who emerged from seclusion in Nanyang and accomplished great things at middle age, Zhang encourages Ma Wu not to despair: even the greatest talents may ripen late. The poem reflects the common Northern Song anxiety over the relationship between age and achievement, offering a resolute, almost existential acceptance that one's final account is settled only at death.

此诗送马武。马武其人今已难详，从「年虽暮」「寂寞」等语看，当是一位年事已高、久未得志的士人，与张方平交谊不浅。北宋士人多有「晚达」之例，如种放、魏野之流，然更多如马武者，淹蹇至老而功名未立。张方平作此诗，正为慰其迟暮之叹。诗中「南阳晚立功」用诸葛亮事——诸葛亮隐于南阳隆中，刘备三顾而后出，辅蜀建功，年已不惑，故云「晚立」。张方平引此，等于告诉马武：古之伟器亦晚成，你又何须以老大自伤？此诗背景，折射出北宋中期士大夫对「年寿与功业」关系的普遍焦虑：科举与荐拔的漫长，使许多人「及第已老、致仕未显」。宋代铨选，进士及第后尚须守选、注官、磨勘，层层迁转动辄十数年，故「六十而试、七十而仕」并非奇谈，士人一生最好的岁月往往消磨于选海。张方平本人亦历经县吏、州佐的漫长磨勘，方致通显，故其写「才命相憎」，实有切肤之痛，非泛泛劝慰可比。他以「掩棺始为了」的峻语破之，既是安慰，也是鞭策——他把「了」（完成）推迟到生命的终点，从而把「当下的不遇」彻底相对化。这种近乎存在主义的达观，是宋人送别诗中极有力量的一类。

Art

The artistic brilliance lies in transforming a farewell into a manifesto of 'old age, still aspiring.' The opening gnomic couplet immediately introduces the eternal conflict between talent and fate. The second couplet contrasts the external loneliness of age with an inner spiritual grandeur. The third couplet, with the hungry falcon and the old steed, turns abstract ambition into two dynamic pictures—one flying, one galloping. The final couplet closes with a proverbial thunderbolt and an allusion, leaving a lasting impression. Structurally, the poem moves from principle, to the human portrait, to imagery, and finally to historical proof, all in a tight, unbroken chain. The language is crisp, powerful, and sonorous, with a heroic vigor rare in ordinary farewell verses.

此诗艺术之妙，在把一场送别写成一篇「老龄壮志」的宣言。起手「才命相憎不相并」以对仗式的格言破题，直揭「才」与「命」的永恒冲突，语带哲理而不枯燥；「古来达者齐其中」随即给出解方——通达之人把才命等量齐观，不为命屈。颔联「此君寂寞年虽暮，灵府峥嵘事甚雄」，以「寂寞」对「峥嵘」、「年暮」对「事雄」，一外一内、一衰一盛，写出马武形骸虽老而心神正壮的反差。颈联「鞲上鹰饥思掠草，车傍骥老尚追风」，连用鹰、骥二喻，把抽象的「壮心」化为两个极具动感的画面：饿鹰思掠、老骥追风，何等矫健！尾联「丈夫掩棺始为了，是故南阳晚立功」，以格言收束再以典证实，戛然而止而力透纸背。章法上，此诗由「理」发端，中经「人」之写照与「象」之渲染，终归「典」之印证，四层递进，环环相扣，无一闲笔。就语言气势言，通篇以格言短句推进，字字斩截，绝无拖沓；「徒匹夫」之轻、「一敌国」之重、「掩棺始为」之断，皆如断崖直落，读来有金石之声，正与其「以筋骨思理见胜」的诗风相表里。全诗议论、比兴、用典三者交织，老健苍劲，绝无寻常送别的衰飒之气。

Allusions

The poem contains three allusions, all centered on 'old but strong, late but successful.' First, 'talent and fate are foes' echoes the ancient lament that talent and destiny obstruct each other, as found in Du Fu's 'great talent is hard to use' and Li Shangyin's 'from of old, talent and fate hinder each other.' Second, 'old steed still chases the wind' transforms Cao Cao's famous line from 'The Turtle's Long Life'—'The old steed in the stable still yearns for a thousand li'—into an assertion of actual ability, not just aspiration. Third, 'Nanyang late achievement' alludes to Zhuge Liang, who hid in Nanyang and only later assisted Liu Bei, proving that late success is not exceptional. The falcon, too, follows a long tradition of hawks as metaphors for capable warriors, here sharpened by hunger.

诗中用典与化用凡三处，皆围绕「老当益壮、晚成可待」。一、才命相憎：化用自古「才命相妨」之叹（如杜甫「古来材大难为用」、李商隐「古来才命两相妨」），张方平反其悲慨为达观，谓达者能「齐其中」。二、骥老追风：化用曹操「老骥伏枥，志在千里；烈士暮年，壮心不已」（《龟虽寿》），及「千里驹」故实，写马武虽老犹有奔腾之志。三、南阳晚立功：用诸葛亮隐南阳、晚出辅蜀事，证「晚成」非独例而是常理。其中「鞲上鹰饥」之鹰，亦暗用汉魏以来以鹰隼喻爪牙之士的传统，写其虽困犹锐，与「骥老」一飞一驰，构成双璧。三处由理（才命）到象（鹰骥）到典（孔明），层层落实「老而可用」。值得玩味的是，张方平把曹操诗中那份「壮心不已」的悲凉，改写为宋人式的从容自信——不是「烈士暮年」的慨叹，而是「南阳晚立」的笃定。用典不僻，而每处皆扣「晚」字，布局之密，足见匠心。又「鞲上鹰」之鹰，本出《左传》「鹰鹯之逐鸟雀」与汉魏以降以鹰隼喻爪牙之将的传统，张方平取其「饥而思掠」，写困顿中的锐气，较曹操「老骥」之慨，更多一层宋人的自持与从容。

Commentary

Zhang Fangping's poem is a striking example of Song poetry's 'strength in reasoning and thought.' Unlike earlier Tang poems that often relied on imagery and atmosphere, this poem persuades by logic and allusion. The line 'a man's account is closed only when the coffin shuts' is almost Zen-like in its finality, pushing the completion of achievement to the end of life and thus relativizing all present setbacks. The poem avoids sentimental consolation, instead offering a tough-minded, edifying vision. The aged steed image, drawn from Cao Cao, is here transformed from tragic defiance to serene confidence. This poem stands as a spiritual monument to how Song literati coped with the anxiety of late success—through reason, history, and faith in ultimate justice.

张方平此诗，可与其《乐全集》中论老臣、论晚节诸文参看。北宋承平既久，仕途壅滞，「白发郎官」「老于选调」者比比，故宋人诗文中多「晚达」主题，欧阳修《送张生》、苏轼《送安惇秀才》皆然。张诗「丈夫掩棺始为了」一句，近于禅宗「末后一句」的峻切，把功业之完成推至生命尽头，既破迟暮之哀，亦含「但行好事、莫问收获」的韧劲。清人论宋诗尚理，或讥其「涉理路、落言筌」，然此诗之理，依托鹰骥之象与孔明之典，并非空头议论，与江西诗派「点铁成金」暗合。近人钱钟书论宋诗「以筋骨思理见胜」，张方平此篇即一证：它不靠辞采动人，而靠气势与道理服人。至若「车傍骥老尚追风」一联，老健直逼同题的曹操、杜甫，而温厚过之，是宋人送别中难得的「金刚怒目」式刚健之作。若再以「掩棺始为了」与杜甫「人生七十古来稀」对读，杜以慨叹消解，张以断语超越，一悲一旷，正见唐音宋调在人生主题上的分途，张方平此篇遂成为宋人化解迟暮焦虑的一个精神标本，其「以理破愁」的路数，实开南宋以后「老而弥坚」诗境的先声。

Prosody

Form Seven-character Quatrain (七言绝句)七言绝句

Rhyme Level-tone Eastern rhyme (平水韵上平一东): 中, 雄, 风, 功. The first line does not rhyme (并 is a departing-tone word); the remaining four lines all rhyme in the Eastern rhyme, one rhyme throughout.押平声东韵（平水韵上平一东）：并、中、雄、风、功；首句不入韵（并字敬韵去声），余四句入东韵，一韵到底。

Tone pattern Oblique-tone opening with first line unrhymed. The first line's pattern is 仄平仄平仄平仄, and the second is 仄平仄仄平平平. The middle couplets are largely metrically regular, with 'hungry falcon' matching 'old steed' and 'skim the grass' matching 'chase the wind'.七绝仄起首句不入韵体。首句「才命相憎不相并」平仄平平仄平仄，次句「古来达者齐其中」仄平仄仄平平平，中二联大体合律，「鹰饥」对「骥老」、「掠草」对「追风」工稳。

Reading note This seven-character quatrain proceeds in four layers—argument, portrait, imagery, and allusion. The middle couplets are antithetical yet natural. The Eastern rhyme has a broad, open timbre suited to the poem's vigorous, rising mood. The poet occasionally bends tonal rules for the sake of meaning, reflecting the Song preference for substance over rigid prosodic constraint.此诗为七言绝句，章法以「论—人—象—典」四层递进，中二联对仗（寂寞对灵府、鹰饥对骥老）工而自然，读来兼具律之整与绝之劲。用韵上，中、雄、风、功同属平水韵上平一东，东韵韵母宏阔开朗，宜于表达老健昂扬的声调；首句「并」以敬韵去声起，不入韵而先作一顿，恰似论理前的沉吟，随后四句东韵滚滚而出，声情愈转愈壮。平仄方面，张方平大体守七绝仄起式，唯「灵府峥嵘」「南阳晚立」等处略有变通，宋人作诗重意不重律，此类宽假正见其以气驭辞的倾向。整体声律如黄钟大吕，苍劲有力，与其「以筋骨胜」的诗风相表里，是宋人送别中少见的刚健一路。

Line by line

此君寂寞年虽暮，灵府峥嵘事甚雄。

This friend, though lonely and his years already late, still has a spirit-mansion rugged and grand, and his undertakings are heroic.

这位友人虽寂寞而年岁已暮，胸中却仍峥嵘壮阔、事业心甚雄。

This friend is lonely and his years are late, yet his heart is still a range of towering peaks, his enterprise most bold.

这一联是全诗的「人像」，专写马武形神的反差。「寂寞年虽暮」写其外在处境：孤寂、老大，是世人眼里的「失意老者」；「灵府峥嵘事甚雄」却陡然翻转——灵府（心）中仍是山岳峥嵘、事业心极雄。一外一内、一衰一盛，对比极其强烈。张方平不写「虽老犹健」的套语，而用「灵府峥嵘」这种带空间感的词，把抽象的雄心写成可见的壮丽山川，立意新颖。更重要的是，这一联为后文鹰骥之喻与南阳之典铺好了地基：正因为「灵府」未老，鹰才思掠、骥才追风，孔明才晚立。由人及象、由象及典，环环相扣，此联是枢纽。

This couplet is the poem's portrait, writing the contrast of Ma Wu's form and spirit. Lonely and his years are late writes his outer state: solitary, old, the disappointed old man in the world's eyes; then his heart is still a range of towering peaks, his enterprise most bold suddenly turns - within the heart (spiritual palace) the mountains still rise, the enterprise most bold. One outer one inner, one declining one flourishing, the contrast extremely strong. Fangping does not use the stock though old yet hale but the spatial phrase spiritual palace towering, writing the abstract ambition as visible, magnificent mountains and rivers, the conception fresh. More important, this couplet lays the ground for the later metaphors of hawk and steed and the Nanyang allusion: precisely because the heart is not old, the hawk thinks of sweeping, the steed of chasing the wind, and Zhuge Liang of rising late. From man to image, from image to allusion, link by link; this couplet is the hinge.

鞴上鹰饥思掠草，车傍骥老尚追风。

The hungry falcon on the armguard longs to sweep over the grass; the old steed by the cart still races after the wind.

臂套上的鹰饿极了思量掠过草野，车旁的骥虽老还能追逐风声。

The hungry hawk on the wrist thinks of sweeping the grass; the old steed by the carriage still chases the wind.

颈联是全诗最矫健的一笔，以二兽写「老而弥坚」。鞲（臂套）上饿鹰思掠草，写其饥渴求施展，锐气不减；车傍老骥尚追风，用曹操「老骥伏枥」意而更进一层——不唯「志在」，而且「尚能」追风，是行动力而非仅心愿。两个画面一飞一驰，动静相生，把上联「灵府峥嵘」的静态雄心，激活为具体的奔腾之势。尤为妙者，鹰与骥皆「老」「饥」却「思」「尚」，以「衰」写「健」，反差愈大，劲力愈足。张方平以动物意象代言，既避直白说教，又得比兴之趣，是宋诗「以象载理」的佳例。读此二句，迟暮之叹顿消。

The neck couplet is the poem's most vigorous stroke, writing growing firmer in old age through two beasts. The hungry hawk on the wrist thinks of sweeping the grass writes its hunger to be used, its edge undimmed; the old steed by the carriage still chases the wind uses Cao Cao's old steed in the stable yet goes further - not only its will is set, but it can still chase the wind, an act of power, not merely a wish. The two pictures, one flying one galloping, motion and stillness feeding each other, activate the static ambition of the last couplet's towering heart into a concrete rushing force. The beauty lies in that hawk and steed are old and hungry yet think and still can, writing vigor through decline, the greater the contrast the greater the force. Fangping speaks through animal imagery, avoiding direct preaching and gaining the delight of analogy - a fine example of the Song way of carrying reason through image. Reading these two lines, the sigh of declining years vanishes at once.

丈夫掩棺始为了，是故南阳晚立功。

A true man is finished only when the coffin lid shuts; therefore Zhuge Liang of Nanyang established his merit late.

大丈夫直到盖棺方能算有了了断，所以南阳诸葛亮也是晚年才立下功名。

A man's work is not done until the coffin is closed; therefore the man of Nanyang won his merit late in life.

尾联收束，以格言加典故，把慰勉推到哲学高度。「丈夫掩棺始为了」是石破天惊的峻语：功业之「了」（完成），不在某次升迁、某岁及第，而在盖棺之时。此语一出，眼下所有的「不遇」都被相对化——你不过尚未到终点，何须以中途的落后自苦？「是故南阳晚立功」顺此逻辑引出诸葛亮：卧龙隐于南阳，至中年方出佐刘备、建不世功，可见「晚」非缺陷而是常理。一理一典，互为印证，收束得掷地有声。张方平不落「珍重加餐」的常套，而予老友以「信」与「待」，是送别诗中极有骨力的一篇。

The closing gathers the poem, raising comfort to a philosophical height through maxim and allusion. A man's work is not done until the coffin is closed is a startling, stern word: the completion of merit is not in some promotion or some year's success, but at the closing of the coffin. Once this is said, all the present not-being-known is relativized - you have simply not reached the finish; why grieve over a lag midway? Therefore the man of Nanyang won his merit late in life follows the logic to bring in Zhuge Liang: the crouching dragon hidden in Nanyang came out in middle age to aid Liu Bei and build unmatched merit, showing that late is not a defect but the common rule. One reason, one allusion, each proving the other, closing with a ring. Fangping does not fall into the stock take care and eat well, but gives his old friend faith and waiting - a most backbone piece among farewell poems.

Study

Word focus

灵府 The 'spirit-mansion,' a Daoist term for the mind or inner being; here it suggests a majestic, mountain-like inner world. 灵府一词出自《庄子·德充符》「灵府」谓心，张方平用于「灵府峥嵘事甚雄」，以道家语写儒者之志，别有新意。它指人的内在精神世界，与外在的「寂寞年暮」恰成对照。诗人不说「心雄」「志壮」而说「灵府峥嵘」，是把抽象的心境空间化、山岳化——一颗心如层峦叠嶂般壮阔，远比平直的「壮志」二字来得立体。一词而兼含「内」「高」「奇」三层意蕴，且带出庄子式的超脱底色，与北宋士大夫「外儒内道」的精神结构若合符节。若易以「胸怀」「心志」，便平弱无味。此字之炼，见其熔铸子史、以雅驭俗的功力。

尚 Still, yet—emphasizing that the old steed not only wishes but is still able to chase the wind, conveying actual vigor rather than mere desire. 尚字在「车傍骥老尚追风」中是劲力的凝聚。尚者，犹、仍也。骥已老矣，按常理当伏枥喘息，诗人却说「尚追风」——不仅志在，而且能行。一个尚字，把「老当益壮」从愿望写成事实，份量陡增。它与上句「思」字形成微妙对照：鹰是「思」（心中渴望），骥是「尚」（实际仍能），由内到外、由愿到行，递进一层。张方平炼此一字，既写马武之「能」，也暗写自己对其能力的笃信——不是安慰性的「你该行」，而是判断性的「你尚能」。小字见真性情，是送别诗中最提气的一个字。

了 To finish, to settle, to close—the key word of the poem, redefining life's completion as occurring only at death. 了字在「丈夫掩棺始为了」中是全诗的诗眼，担起全部的哲理重量。了，完成、了断。诗人把人生功业的「了」推迟到盖棺那一刻，等于重定义了「成功」的时间尺度：在此之前的任何不遇、迟滞，都只是过程中的插曲，而非定论。这个了字，彻底瓦解了「年暮即失败」的世俗逻辑，给马武（及所有晚达者）松了绑。在宋人诗学里，「理」常是治愈焦虑的良药，这个了字正是理的凝结——以终局的眼光看此刻，眼前困顿便不足道。若换作「成」「毕」，皆不如「了」字那般带有「一切方休」的峻切与释然。一字收千钧。

送马武