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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

送杨君西安

Seeing Off Gentleman Yang to Xi'an

张方平

Zhang Fangping

山水landscape 边塞frontier 时序seasons / time

君过严陵濑，扁舟入婺溪。
滩长秋日短，山乱暮云齐。
未探骊龙颔，聊羁骏马蹄。
吴江涛正恶，鸿鴈此东西。

You will pass the Yanling Rapids; a light boat enters the Wu River.
The shoals stretch long, the autumn day grows short; hills crowd in confusion, level with the dusk clouds.
You have not yet plumbed the dragon's chin for its pearl; for now the steed's hooves are tethered.
The Wu River's waves run fierce; the wild geese part, east and west.

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Meaning

Zhang Fangping sends off his friend Yang, who travels up the Zhejiang waterways toward Xi'an county in Quzhou (not modern Shaanxi Xi'an). The poem maps the water journey past the Yanling Rapids and into the Wu River, paints the cramped autumn travel, and laments that Yang—a fine talent—has not yet won distinction and is temporarily held in a low post. It closes on fierce waves and parting geese, blending travel hardship with the regret of unspent talent, in the Song farewell manner that 'comforts more than it grieves.'

你经过严子陵钓台下的滩濑，乘一叶扁舟进入婺江溪流。滩涂漫长而秋日苦短，山峦错乱与傍晚的云霞齐平。你虽未探得骊龙颔下之珠，也就是还未建立奇功，暂且如骏马被羁留蹄足。吴江波涛正自险恶，大雁从此东西分飞，我们便要离别。

Appreciation

The art is 'water journey as heart journey.' The first couplet fixes the route in real place-names; the second—'shoals long, autumn day short; hills confused, dusk clouds level'—is the finest, using length and shortness, brightness and dimness in antithesis to hint travel's hardship and time's pressure. The third couplet turns from scene to argument with the dragon-pearl and tethered-steed tropes, both consoling and regretting. The close gathers wave, goose, and parting in one, the regulated form 'substantial yet bony,' typical of Zhang's farewells.

【白话串讲】张方平送杨君去西安：“君过严陵濑，扁舟入婺溪”。“滩长秋日短，山乱暮云齐”——“吴江涛正恶，鸿鴈此东西”——他写送别的路途。【意象与手法】诗以严陵濑、婺溪、秋日、暮云、骊珠、骏马、吴涛、征雁构成水程与离思的双重意象，景中寓慨，以「未探」「聊羁」二词把送别写成对友人才干的惋惜与期待。【情感与主旨】既写水途风物之远，更写对友人沉沦下位、未展骊珠之憾，尾联归到雁阵分飞，离愁中见期许，是宋人送别诗「慰勉多于凄切」的一例。【名句点睛】「未探骊龙颔，聊羁骏马蹄」以骊珠、骏马双喻才士，把寻常饯别升为对人才屈沉的感慨；「滩长秋日短，山乱暮云齐」则以景之促迫写行程之艰。

Background

This poem sees off Yang, who is taking office (or passing through) Xi'an. Song's Xi'an county belonged to Quzhou (modern Quzhou, Zhejiang), not today's Shaanxi Xi'an; the friend likely went up the Fuchun and Wu rivers from Hangzhou-Tonglu. The Yanling Rapids at Tonglu are where Eastern Han hermit Yan Ziling fished—a Zhejiang landmark marking the friend's water route. Zhang Fangping (1007–1091) had wide friendships; his many farewell poems were mostly written during his official service in the capital Bianjing. Northern Song farewells stressed mutual expectation, differing from Tang's 'Weicheng morning rain' pathos. The line 'not yet plumbed the dragon's chin, for now tethered the steed's hooves' points straight at the friend's talent unused, temporarily held in a minor post—the pearl figures high rank and feat, the steed figures administrative ability, while 'not yet' and 'for now' betray a slight lament of non-recognition. This reflects the Renzong-Yingzong era's crowded bureaucracy and talent sunk low: Zhang, promoted for outspokenness, knew well the stagnation of selection, so he often touched this in seeing friends off. Geographically, Song's Xi'an county in Quzhou lay in the Zhejiang west mountains, a 'lower prefecture, remote county' far from the political center; such an assignment was often seen as demotion, hence both the 'long shoals' 'confused hills' travel hardship and the 'not yet plumbed the pearl' career humiliation.

此诗为张方平送友人杨君赴任（或途经）西安之作。宋之西安县属衢州（今浙江衢州），非今日陕西西安；友人当自杭州、桐庐一带溯富春江、婺江而上。严陵濑在桐庐，乃东汉严子陵垂钓处，为浙中名胜，诗人以此点出友人水程所经。张方平（1007—1091）平生交游甚广，集中送别诗多写于汴京任官时期，此首或亦其时。北宋士大夫送行，重在相期相勉，与唐人渭城朝雨式的凄婉已别。诗中「未探骊龙颔，聊羁骏马蹄」直指友人才未尽用、暂屈末僚的处境——骊珠喻高第奇功，骏足喻干济之才，而「未」「聊」二字透露出不遇的轻慨。这恰折射仁宗、英宗之际吏路拥挤、才士沉下的普遍现象：张方平本人以直言进，深悉铨选淹滞之弊，故送友辄及此。就地理而言，宋衢州西安县处浙西山区，是远离政治中心的「下州僻县」，士人得此差遣，多视同左迁，故张方平诗中既有「滩长」「山乱」的行路之艰，亦有「未探骊珠」的仕途之屈。背景虽只是一次寻常水程饯别，却牵出宋人仕途「进难伸、退易屈」的真实底色，非泛泛游观之作。

Art

The art excels at 'water journey as heart journey.' The first couplet narrates, naming the Yanling Rapids and Wu River, grounding the farewell in a real boat route, not the empty 'long pavilion shorter pavilion.' The second couplet—'shoals stretch long, autumn day short; hills crowd, dusk clouds level'—is the poem's finest: 'long' figures the shoal's extension, 'short' laments the day's quick sinking, length and shortness contrasting, hinting the waterway's difficulty and autumn's pressing; the next 'hills confused' with 'clouds level' writes dusk closing in visually, already bearing travel's fluster. Both lines pure scene yet feeling secretly crosses—Tang's 'meaning beyond image' brush, language nearer Song clarity. The third couplet turns from scene to argument, using dragon-pearl and steed tropes to state the friend's plight, from real to empty, clear turn. The close—'Wu River waves run fierce; wild geese part east-west'—ends the water journey with dangerous waves and parts the geese for parting, scene, trope, feeling merging in the last couplet. Eight lines, rise-turn-fall clear, antithesis fine in the middle couplets, allusion not flashy—typical 'substantial yet bony' Zhang farewell. Note the words 'not yet' and 'for now' before the allusions make the third couplet both factual (talent held low) and consoling (endure a while)—one stroke double-binding, exactly the Song farewell 'comfort more than grieve' at the syntactic level.

此诗艺术上以「以水程写心程」见长。首联叙事，点出严陵濑、婺溪两处浙水地名，使送别落到实处的舟行路线，不做空泛的「长亭更短亭」。颔联「滩长秋日短，山乱暮云齐」是全诗最工处：以「长」状滩之延展，以「短」叹日之易沉，长短相形，暗写水程修阻、秋光苦促；下句「山乱」与「云齐」以视觉的错乱写暮色四合，景中已有羁旅仓皇之意。两句纯写景而情已暗渡，是唐人「兴在象外」的笔法，而语言更近宋调之净。颈联由景入论，用骊珠、骏马二喻把友人处境说破，由实转虚，章法上承转分明。尾联「吴江涛正恶，鸿鴈此东西」以江涛之险收束水程，以征雁分飞点出离别，景、喻、情三层在末联汇合。通篇八句，起承转合了然，对仗工于三四联，而用典不炫，是张方平送别诗「质而有骨」的典型。尤可注意者，诗人以「未探」「聊羁」两个带否定与姑且意味的词缀于典故之前，使颈联既是写实（才屈下僚），又是劝慰（且耐须时），一笔双绾，情辞相生，这正是宋人送别「慰勉多于凄切」在句法层面的落实。

Allusions

Two allusions, both on 'talent unrecognized.' One, 'dragon's chin' from Zhuangzi—the thousand-gold pearl lies under the dragon's chin in the nine-fold deep; one must wait till the dragon sleeps; later 'plumb the dragon for the pearl' means seizing the essence, establishing supreme feat. 'Not yet plumbed the dragon's chin' says the friend has not yet reached high office or immortal feat, with regret. Two, 'steed's hooves' uses the steed for a talent, tethering its hooves meaning talent held low, paired with 'dragon pearl' forming a 'pearl unplumbed, steed tethered' picture of talent's plight. Also, the first couplet's 'Yanling Rapids' itself alludes: Yan Ziling refused Guangwu's summons and fished the Fuchun—symbol of lofty hermitage; the poet uses this place-name to evoke, silently linking the friend's trip to Yan Ziling's purity, though not explicitly saying retirement, first setting a 'pure stream' tone. The closing 'wild geese part east-west' is the conventional parting image since the Shijing 'wild geese fly,' used by Zhang to close—inheriting not obscure. 'Wu River' is not casual either: Wu is the Wu maiden star; Wuzhou anciently named for the star—implicit 'stars divide the regions' distance, opposed to the first line's 'Yanling Rapids' human antiquity—one place one history, one sky one man, the opening already grand. All allusions shallow yet useful, propping the two ends of 'pity talent' and 'parting' at the joints.

诗中用典凡二，皆关「才士不遇」之旨。一、「骊龙颔」用《庄子·列御寇》骊龙颔下珠之典。其言千金之珠在九重渊下骊龙颔中，必待骊龙寝方可得；后世以「探骊得珠」喻攫取精华、建立殊勋。诗中「未探骊龙颔」谓友人尚未致身通显、立不世之功，语气中不无惋惜。二、「骏马蹄」以骏马喻才士，羁其蹄足即屈才下位之意，与「骊珠」一喻相配，构成「珠未探、马被羁」的才士困顿图。又，首联「严陵濑」本身亦含典故：严子陵拒光武之召、垂钓富春，是隐逸高洁的象征；诗人以此地名起兴，暗把友人此行与严陵之高洁遥系，虽未明言归隐，却先立一「清流」的调子。至于尾联「鸿鴈此东西」，雁阵分飞乃送别诗惯用意象，自《诗经》「鸿雁于飞」以来即为离别与羁旅之候，张方平沿用以结，属袭故而非僻典。「婺溪」亦非泛设，婺即婺女星，金华古称婺州，以星名地，隐有「星分翼轸」的天象之远，与首句「严陵濑」的人事之古对举，一地一史、一天一人，起手便气象不凡。诸典皆浅切有用，恰在关节处撑起「惜才」与「离别」两端。

Commentary

Zhang Fangping's farewell poems, the Siku editors and Song Shichao selectors prized his 'not fine not floating.' This one can be read with his 'Seeing Off Su Academician to Qiantang': the Su poem comforts with Zhang Han's perch and Ruan Ji's leaving right-wrong, airy; this one pities the friend's non-recognition with dragon-pearl and steed, slightly depressed. Both from one man, one open one suppressed, showing his farewells are not formulaic but arise from the friend's circumstance. Fang Hui's Yingkui Lüsu values farewells 'written for a reason'; though this closes with parting feeling, the third couplet already sets the 'talent bent' lament, not mere pavilion-willow. Modern Song-poetry critics may fault its lack of Tang charm, yet this 'shoals long, autumn day short; hills confused, dusk clouds level' coup, with scene-language bearing travel's hardship and time's pressure, is no less implicit than Tang masters, only not competing in ornate lines. In sum, Zhang runs his memorial bone into poetry, so farewells too carry 'pity talent' tones, few 'hand-in-hand' postures; read him for bone within plainness. Compared with Wang Wei's 'Seeing Off Yuan the Second,' Wang wins by present warm cup, Zhang by expectant depression—a glimpse of Tang voice vs. Song manner.

张方平送别诗，四库馆臣与《宋诗钞》选家每以其「不纤不浮」为尚。此首与集中《送苏学士钱塘监郡》可并观：苏诗以张翰鲈鱼、阮籍离是非慰友适意，气脉疏朗；此首则以骊珠、骏马惜友不遇，辞气稍郁。二者同出一人，而一旷一抑，正见其送别非套语，乃依友人之境遇而发。方回《瀛奎律髓》送别类尚「有为而作」，此诗末联虽写离情，而颈联已先立「才屈」之慨，非徒悲亭柳者可比。近人论宋诗，或讥其乏唐人情韵，然此诗「滩长秋日短，山乱暮云齐」一联，以景语蕴行程之艰与岁月之促，含蓄不减唐贤，特不以丽句争胜耳。要之，张方平以奏议风骨行之于诗，故送别亦多「惜才」之音，少「执手相看」之态；读其诗当于质实中求其风骨，方不负其「文以载道」之本色。与王维《送元二使安西》相较，王诗以「劝君更尽一杯酒」的当下温煦胜，张诗以「未探骊龙颔」的期许沉郁胜，唐音宋调之分，于此可窥一斑。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated octet (wulü)五言律诗

Rhyme Rhymes with level-tone 'qi' rhyme (Ping Shui upper-level 8 qi): xi, qi, ti, xi; first line 'lai' in tai rhyme does not rhyme, the rest even lines (xi, qi, ti, xi) share qi rhyme, one rhyme throughout.押平声齐韵（平水韵上平八齐）：溪、齐、蹄、西；首句「濑」在泰韵不入韵，余四联偶数句（溪、齐、蹄、西）同押齐韵，一韵到底。

Tone pattern Wulü, oblique-opening, first line not entering rhyme. Mostly following wulü oblique-opening, tonal bonding clear.五言律诗仄起首句不入韵体。首句「君过严陵濑」平仄平平仄（君平过仄严平陵平濑仄），次句「扁舟入婺溪」平平仄仄平，三四句「滩长秋日短，山乱暮云齐」平平平仄仄、平仄仄平平，五六句「未探骊龙颔，聊羁骏马蹄」仄平平平仄、平平仄仄平，大体合五律仄起式，粘对清楚。

Reading note This is a five-character regulated octet of eight lines and four couplets, rhyming Ping Shui upper-level 8 'qi,' one rhyme throughout. The qi rhyme is a close-mouth initial, clear and slightly withdrawn, fit for the autumn-river travel's sparse ease and parting's faint distance, matching the pressure of 'shoals long, autumn day short' and the haze of 'hills confused, dusk clouds level' in sound. The regulated form strictens on the second and third couplets' antithesis; Zhang's third and fourth couplets are both fine: 'shoals long' vs 'hills confused,' 'autumn day short' vs 'dusk clouds level,' antithesizing length-brightness and dark-dim, fine in scene; 'not yet plumb' vs 'for now tether,' 'dragon's chin' vs 'steed's hooves,' antithesizing with allusion, fine in lament. The two couplets one scene one feeling, outside to in, structure lawful. In tone, the first line does not enter rhyme while the second does—a wulü oblique-opening norm; the middle couplets bond correctly, only 'not yet plumb the dragon's chin' slightly breaks the norm for the proper-name, harmless. Overall clear-strong not floating, without Tang farewell's哀艳, but with Song plainness—fit for such a 'pity talent and send afar' topic.此诗为五言律诗，八句四联，押平水韵上平八齐，一韵到底。齐韵为齐齿呼，声音清细而微敛，宜写秋江行旅的萧散与离思的悠淡，与「滩长秋日短」的促迫、「山乱暮云齐」的迷蒙在声情上相协。律诗严于颔颈二联对仗，张方平此作三四联皆工：「滩长」对「山乱」、「秋日短」对「暮云齐」，以长短、明暗作对，工于写景；「未探」对「聊羁」、「骊龙颔」对「骏马蹄」，以典实作对，工于写慨。两联一景一情，由外而内，章法合律。平仄上，首句不入韵而次句入，是五律仄起常格，中二联粘对无误，惟「未探骊龙颔」句因骊龙专名略破常格，亦无伤。整体声情清健而不浮，无唐人送别之哀艳，而有宋调之质实，正宜于这类惜才兼送远的题目。

Line by line

君过严陵濑，扁舟入婺溪。

You will pass the Yanling Rapids; a light boat enters the Wu River.

你经过严子陵钓台下的滩濑，乘一叶扁舟进入婺江溪流。

You pass the Yanling Shoal; in a small boat you enter the Wu Creek.

此联为全诗起手，以两个水地名把送别落到实处的舟行路线。严陵濑在桐庐富春江上，是严子陵垂钓拒仕的千古高迹，诗人以此地起兴，不费辞说先立一清流高洁的调子；婺溪即婺江，流经金华，乃友人此行所向。两句一由古贤遗迹、一由眼前江流，空间由名迹而入实境，叙事中已暗含对友人品格的期许——过严陵而不忘其风，则此行纵为末僚亦不失清操。扁舟二字尤轻，写友人轻装就道，亦见宋人送别不重排场而重意气的风气。张方平起法如此，不写长亭泪眼，先写水程风物，正其「以景引情」的一贯手段，读来觉江湖清气扑面，而非离筵俗态。

This couplet opens the poem, using two water place-names to ground the farewell in the actual boat route. The Yanling Shoal is on the Fuchun River at Tonglu, the immortal trace of Yan Ziling fishing and refusing office through the ages; rising on this place, the poet without argument first establishes the clear, pure key. The Wu Creek is the Wu River, flowing through Jinhua, where the friend is bound. The two lines, one from an ancient worthy's trace, one from the river before the eyes, move in space from a famous trace to the real scene, and within the narrative secretly hold the expectation for the friend's character: passing Yanling and not forgetting its spirit, then this journey, though a low post, will not lose its pure integrity. The two words small boat are especially light, writing the friend traveling light, and showing the Song farewell's habit of weighing spirit over pageantry. Fangping's opening like this, not writing tearful eyes at the long pavilion but first writing the water route's sights, is his constant way of leading feeling through scenery; reading it, the clear air of rivers and lakes meets the face, not the vulgar mood of the parting feast.

未探骊龙颔，聊羁骏马蹄。

You have not yet plumbed the dragon's chin for its pearl; for now the steed's hooves are tethered.

你虽未探得骊龙颔下之珠，暂且如骏马被羁留蹄足。

You have not yet plumbed the pearl beneath the black dragon's chin; for now the thoroughbred's hooves are tethered.

此联是全诗立意的核心，把寻常饯别升为对友人才干的惋惜与期待。上句用《庄子》骊龙颔珠之典，以「未探」写友人尚未致身通显、立不世之功；下句以骏马喻才士，「聊羁」写其暂屈下位、蹄足被縻。一珠一马，皆喻杰出之才，而「未」「聊」二字轻轻一顿，道尽才士沉沦、进身无路的轻慨。张方平本人以直言擢用，深悉铨选淹滞，故送友辄及此，非泛作慰语。尤可玩者，「聊」字含无奈与暂安两层：既叹其屈，又慰其且耐，情辞一并。宋人送别每「慰勉多于凄切」，此联正是注脚——不悲其去，而惜其未遇，于离情中寄期许，最见宋调面目。

This couplet is the core of the poem's meaning, raising an ordinary farewell to a regret and expectation for the friend's talent. The first uses Zhuangzi's pearl beneath the black dragon's chin, writing not yet that the friend has not yet risen to distinction and built unmatched merit; the second uses the thoroughbred for the gifted scholar, writing for now the temporary tethering of his hooves in a low post. One pearl, one horse, both metaphors for outstanding talent, and the two words not yet and for now give a gentle pause, exhausting the light regret of talent buried and the road to advancement closed. Fangping himself rose through direct remonstrance and knew well the stagnation of selection, so whenever he sent a friend he touched this, not empty comfort. What is most to taste is the word for now, holding both helplessness and temporary ease: at once grieving his bending and comforting him to endure, the feeling and word together. Song farewells often comfort more than they grieve; this couplet is the footnote - not grieving his going, but regretting his not being known, lodging expectation within the parting feeling, most showing the Song tone.

吴江涛正恶，鸿鴈此东西。

The Wu River's waves run fierce; the wild geese part, east and west.

吴江波涛正自险恶，大雁从此东西分飞。

The Wu River waves are fierce now; the wild geese fly apart, east and west.

此联收束全篇，由颈联的惜才回到离别的当下。上句「吴江涛正恶」写水程风涛之险，既实指浙水波急，亦暗喻世路艰难，与颈联「未探」「聊羁」的才屈之慨遥映；下句「鸿鴈此东西」以大雁分飞写二人从此东西，点出聚散之局。一「恶」字劲健，把江涛写得有威势，离愁遂不流于软媚；一「东西」二字淡而有余，不泣不号而别意自远。张方平以景结情，不另作伤情语，正是唐以来「一切景语皆情语」的遗法，而措语质实近宋。两句与前六句的水程、才叹绾合为一：友人既过严陵、入婺溪，又当历吴江之恶涛，终如征雁东西——一路写来，送别之远、惜才之深、离思之淡，尽在其中。

This couplet closes the poem, returning from the neck couplet's regret for talent to the present moment of parting. The Wu River waves are fierce now writes the danger of wind and waves on the water route, at once the actual swift Zhejiang waters and a hidden metaphor for the hard world's road, echoing from afar the neck couplet's not yet and for now. The wild geese fly apart, east and west writes the two henceforth east and west through the wild geese parting, pointing out the pattern of gathering and scattering. The word fierce is vigorous, writing the river's waves with power, so the parting feeling does not fall soft; the two words east and west are plain yet rich, no weeping or wailing, the meaning of parting of itself far-reaching. Fangping closes feeling in scenery, adding no mournful words, the legacy of the Tang saying all scenery words are feeling words, yet the phrasing plain and near Song. The two lines bind together with the first six's water route and sigh for talent: the friend, passing Yanling, entering the Wu Creek, and now braving the fierce Wu waves, ends like a wild goose east and west - as the journey is written, the distance of the farewell, the depth of regret for talent, and the lightness of longing are all within.

Study

Word focus

羁 'Liao ji jun ma ti' — 'ji' originally means a horse's halter, extended to tether, restrain. The poem uses the steed for the friend's talent, and 'ji' its hooves, writing the talent held by a minor post, unable to gallop. The word's weight lies with 'liao' (for now, helpless): 'ji' is not perpetual imprisonment but temporary bending, carrying the poet's 'endure a while' comfort. If replaced by 'shu' (bind) or 'xi' (tie), though also tethering, it lacks 'ji's' 'thousand-li steed stuck at the manger' sense of fate—exactly Zhang's pity-talent code. One word serving both trope and attitude, writing the fact of bent talent yet leaving hope of release—refinement in measure. Song poets esteem 'words with source'; 'ji' though common, in this trope shows bone. 「聊羁骏马蹄」之「羁」，本义为马络头，引申为羁束、牵制。诗中以骏马喻友人之才，而「羁」其蹄足，写才士被末僚之职所縻、不得驰骋。此字分量在「聊」字相衬：聊者暂且、无奈也，故「羁」非永锢，而是暂时的屈抑，含诗人「且耐须时」的慰意。若易以「束」「系」等字，虽亦通羁勒之意，却少「羁」字所带的「千里马困于槽枥」的身世感——这正是张方平惜才诗常用的语码。一字而兼喻体与态度，既写才屈之实，又留伸张之望，炼字之妙在分寸。宋人尚「字有出处」，羁字虽常语，入此喻中便见骨力。

探 'Wei tan li long han' — 'tan' means take, seize, from Zhuangzi's 'plumb the dragon for the pearl.' The word's subtlety is the whole couplet's weight: the pearl under the nine-fold deep, beneath the dragon's chin, extremely hard to take, yet the poet says 'not yet plumbed,' seeming light but heavy—not unable, but fortune not yet come, fame not yet established. One 'tan' makes the abstract 'not yet high office' as if taking treasure in the deep abyss, vivid and tense, forming tension-release with the next line's 'for now tether.' Zhang refines this word to make the pity-talent lament not empty: it shows the friend's talent precious as the dragon pearl, and the regret it is not yet gathered. If 'not obtained' or 'not gained,' flat and tasteless; 'tan' writes circumstance by action—most showing Song 'making allusion live' skill. 「未探骊龙颔」之「探」，取也、取索也，用《庄子》探骊得珠之典。此字之妙在全联的轻重：骊珠在九重渊、骊龙颔下，探之极难，而诗人偏说「未探」，似轻实重——不是不能探，而是时运未至、功名未立。一个「探」字把抽象的「未致身通显」写得如在深渊取宝，形象而紧张，与下句「聊羁」的松弛形成张弛。张方平炼此字，使惜才之慨不落空泛：既见友人之才如骊珠之贵，又见其未得采撷之憾。若作「未得」「未获」，则平直无味；「探」字以动作写境遇，最见宋诗「以故实为活法」的手段。读此字当想见诗人对友人才华的肯认与对世路淹滞的不平。

恶 'Wu jiang tao zheng e' — 'e' here read as in 'fierce/dangerous,' describing the waves' fierceness and dread, an adjective used causatively (making one fear). This word in poetry since Tang describes dangerous waves, e.g., Du Fu 'waves cannot be crossed, truly dreadful'; Zhang follows. Its subtlety is ending the waterway's hardship in one word, and adding to the closing couplet a lament of the world's hard road—the fierce waves both literally the boating danger and暗喻 the friend's post's unsettled winds. If 'ji' (urgent) or 'xian' (dangerous), though also describing water, they lack 'e's' emotional weight of dread and worry. Zhang's farewell does not win by tears, but writes travel and world-road with such strong words—exactly his poetic bone. One word's choice concerns the whole couplet's sound-feeling, not to be lightly changed. 「吴江涛正恶」之「恶」，此处读如「险恶」之恶，状波涛之猛烈可畏，是形容词的使动用法（令人畏）。此字在唐以来诗中多用于写风涛之险，如杜甫「波浪不可涉，险恶实可畏」，张方平沿之。其妙在以一字收束水程之艰，并为尾联的离别添一层世路难行之慨——江涛之恶既实指行舟之险，亦暗喻友人所赴之任风波未定。若用「急」「险」等字，虽亦状水势，却不如「恶」字带出的可畏、可忧的情绪重量。张方平送别不以泪眼胜，而以此等劲健之字写行程与世路，正见其诗风骨。一字之选，关乎全联声情，不可轻移。