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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

过丰

Passing the Feng

张方平

Zhang Fangping

山水Landscape 田园Pastoral life 送别Farewell 咏史History

刘季当年在古丰，芒砀王气已连空。
天机先露由啼妪，人意冥符自董公。
历数有归徒胜负，风云相会尽英雄。
不然樊郦萧曹辈，尽老屠商掾吏中。

Liu Ji, in, those years, at, the ancient Feng,
The kingly vapor of the Mangdang, already, connected, with, the sky.
The secret of the heaven, first, revealed, by, the crying old woman,
The will of the men, dimly, coincided, of, the self, the Duke Dong.
The numbers of the succession, having, the return, only, the victories and the defeats,
The winds and the clouds, meeting, all, the heroes.
Otherwise, the Fan, the Li, the Xiao, the Cao, the group,
All, old, in, the butchers, the merchants, the petty officials, among.

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Meaning

A poem of the recalling of the ancient, written by Zhang Fangping. Liu Ji in those years at the ancient Feng, the kingly vapor of the Mangdang already connected with the sky — the opening of the Liu. The secret of the heaven revealed by the crying old woman, the will of the men coinciding of the self the Duke Dong — the omens of the middle. The numbers of the succession having the return only the victories and the defeats, the winds and the clouds meeting all the heroes — the heroes of the middle. And the close's otherwise the Fan the Li the Xiao the Cao the group, all old in the butchers the merchants the petty officials among — the close's fate. The poem is the recalling of the ancient: the vapor, the heroes, and the close's fate of the group.

刘邦当年在古老的丰县，芒砀山间的帝王云气已经连天。天意先由那位哭子的老妪泄露，说他是赤帝之子；人事的冥契则自有董公的谋画，劝他伐项羽以顺民心。历数有归，胜负只是徒然的表象；风云际会，到此尽成英雄。若不是这样，樊哙、郦商、萧何、曹参这些人，都将老死在屠狗、贩商、掾吏的卑微行当之中。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Liu Ji, in, those years, at, the ancient Feng, the kingly vapor of the Mangdang, already, connected, with, the sky. The secret of the heaven, first, revealed, by, the crying old woman, the will of the men, dimly, coincided, of, the self, the Duke Dong. The numbers of the succession, having, the return, only, the victories and the defeats, the winds and the clouds, meeting, all, the heroes. Otherwise, the Fan, the Li, the Xiao, the Cao, the group, all, old, in, the butchers, the merchants, the petty officials, among. [Structure and Thought] The poem moves from the kingly vapor of the Mangdang and the omens of the heaven, through the numbers of the succession and the meeting of the heroes, to the close's the fate of the group without the meeting. [Key Technique] The poem's art is the close of the fate: the winds and the clouds meeting the heroes, and the close's otherwise the group old in the lowly — the recalling gathered in the omens and the close's fate. [Emotional Tone] Grand, reflecting, and philosophical: the poem is the vapor, the heroes and the close's fate.

【白话串讲】张方平路过刘邦的故乡丰县：“刘季当年在古丰，芒砀王气已连空”。“历数有归徒胜负，风云相会尽英雄”——“不然樊郦萧曹辈，尽老屠商掾吏中”——他写刘邦起兵。【意象与手法】诗以王气、天机、历数、风云等兴亡语象为干线，用「啼妪」「董公」二典坐实天人相契，末以「屠商掾吏」的卑微反衬英雄之成，是宋人咏史「翻空出奇、以论为诗」的笔法。【情感与主旨】慨叹英雄之成系于时运与际会，既肯定刘邦君臣乘势而起，亦暗含对「人才待时而显」的感慨，是过丰怀古、借汉论宋的兴亡之叹。【名句点睛】「历数有归徒胜负，风云相会尽英雄」以对句写兴亡之理，健拔有力；「不然樊郦萧曹辈，尽老屠商掾吏中」以反接见奇，最见翻案之致。

Background

Zhang Fangping (1007-1091), the statesman and poet of the Northern Song, wrote this 'Passing the Feng' of the recalling of the ancient — the reflection on the rise of the Liu. The kingly vapor of the Mangdang with the omens of the heaven, the numbers of the succession with the meeting of the heroes, and the close's the fate of the group without the meeting — the poem gathers the reflection of the poet, the philosophy of the rise. The poem is one of the works of the poet's poems of the recalling.

此诗题「过丰」，丰即丰县（今江苏丰县），为汉高祖刘邦故里。张方平（1007—1091）行迹北至齐鲁徐泗，过丰而作此怀古诗。丰、沛一带自汉以来为「龙兴」之地，唐人已多题咏（如李峤《过故宋》、高适《封丘作》亦涉沛风），至宋而怀古咏史尤盛。诗中所述本事，皆出《史记·高祖本纪》：刘邦字季，初起丰沛起兵；亡匿芒砀山，「东南有天子气」，始皇东巡欲厌之，即「芒砀王气」所本。其母刘媪尝息大泽，梦与神遇，蛟龙其上，已而有娠生季；又刘邦为亭长，醉斩当道白蛇，后有老妪夜哭，言「吾子白帝子，化为蛇，今赤帝子斩之」，妪忽不见——此即「啼妪」泄天机之典，意在明刘邦为赤帝子、受命而兴。至汉王二年，三老董公遮说汉王，请为义帝发丧以讨项羽，汉王从之，遂有伐楚之名——此即「董公」成冥符之事。张方平过丰，把这些故实织为一诗，实是借汉家龙兴说「时运」与「人才」的关系，背后或隐然有对北宋士风、对「英雄待时」的感慨。背景虽只是一次途次怀古，却牵出宋人咏史「以古证今」的一脉。

Art

The poem's art is the art of the recalling. The vapor opens: Liu Ji, in, those years, at, the ancient Feng — the Feng of the Liu Ji; the kingly vapor of the Mangdang, already, connected, with, the sky — the kingly vapor of the Mangdang. The omens follow: the secret of the heaven, first, revealed, by, the crying old woman — the crying old woman of the secret; the will of the men, dimly, coincided, of, the self, the Duke Dong — the Duke Dong of the will; the numbers of the succession, having, the return, only, the victories and the defeats — the numbers of the succession; the winds and the clouds, meeting, all, the heroes — the meeting of the heroes. And the close gathers the fate: otherwise, the Fan, the Li, the Xiao, the Cao, the group — the group of the otherwise; all, old, in, the butchers, the merchants, the petty officials, among — the lowly of the close — the vapor, the heroes and the close's fate, gathered in the poem.

此诗为七言律诗，章法以「地—谶—理—反」四层写怀古。首联「刘季当年在古丰，芒砀王气已连空」由地起兴，点刘邦起迹与天子气，起得宏阔；颔联「天机先露由啼妪，人意冥符自董公」由谶入事，以老妪、董公二典坐实「天」与「人」的相契，对仗工而用事密；颈联「历数有归徒胜负，风云相会尽英雄」由事入理，以「历数」「风云」翻出兴亡之论，是全诗立意的高处；尾联「不然樊郦萧曹辈，尽老屠商掾吏中」以反接收束，把前面宏大的英雄叙事陡然拉回卑微的日常，翻案见奇。全诗妙在「以论为诗」：前六句铺陈天命人事，末二句以「不然」一翻，使英雄之成全系于「遇时」，立意顿深。张方平不以景物取胜，而善以兴亡语象与史实对举，是宋人咏史「翻空出奇」的典型；对仗尤称，颔联天人对举、颈联历数与风云对举，皆以虚对虚、以理对理，章法合律而意脉不断。更可留意其「反接」结法的奇崛：前六句一路铺陈王气之盛、天人之契、英雄之成，气势方张，尾联却以「不然」二字陡然折转，把樊郦萧曹诸公从云端拉回「屠狗贩商掾吏」的市井，一扬一抑之间，立意由「颂英雄」翻作「叹时运」，全诗的重心遂从庙堂之高坠入尘埃之微。这种「先扬后抑、以反衬见奇」的章法，正是宋人咏史最擅长的「翻案」手段。此外，诗中「已连空」「先露」「冥符」「有归」「相会」等词，皆含「预定」「冥契」的意味，层层递进地强化「兴亡有数」的主旨，使一首怀古诗兼具史识与理趣，是宋调咏史「以议论为骨」的范本。

Allusions

'The Mangdang' (Mang dang) is the Mangdang — the mountain of the Mangdang, the kingly vapor of the Liu; 'the crying old woman' (ti yu) is the crying old woman — the old woman of the crying, the omen of the heaven; 'the Duke Dong' (Dong gong) is the Duke Dong — the Dong the elder of the omens, the will of the men; 'the Fan, the Li, the Xiao, the Cao' (Fan Li Xiao Cao) are the Fan, the Li, the Xiao, the Cao — the ministers of the Han, the heroes of the meeting.

诗中用典凡三处，皆汉初故实。一、「啼妪」用《史记》斩蛇妪泣之典：刘邦醉斩白蛇，后有老妪夜哭，言其子白帝子为赤帝子所杀，妪忽不见。诗中「天机先露由啼妪」即指此妪泄露「刘邦乃赤帝子、受命而兴」的天机，是为「王气」作谶。二、「董公」用三老董公遮说汉王之典：汉王还军栗，三老董公遮道说曰「顺德者昌，逆德者亡」，请为义帝发丧，以讨项羽；汉王从之，遂定伐楚之局。诗中「人意冥符自董公」谓人事之所趋，冥冥中与天意相合，而此合实由董公一言成之。三、「樊郦萧曹」用樊哙、郦商、萧何、曹参四人之典：四人皆汉初功臣，而初起皆微——樊哙屠狗、郦商贾竖、萧何刀笔吏、曹参狱掾，诗中「尽老屠商掾吏中」即概写其本业，言若非遇汉王、值风云，不过老死贱役。三典一谶、一谋、一反衬，皆围绕「天命—人事—时遇」三宝，恰在兴亡之论中撑起全篇，用典虽熟而绾合紧密，是宋人咏史「无一字无来历」的注脚，亦见其「以史为鉴、借汉论宋」的深衷，用常典而出新论，最见手段。

Commentary

This poem is one of the works of Zhang Fangping's poems of the recalling, quoted for the grandness of its vapor and the philosophy of its close. The kingly vapor of the Mangdang, and the group old in the lowly, are among the admired passages of the poet's poems. Critics praise the poem's philosophy: the rise gathered in the omens, to the close's fate.

张方平此咏史小诗，前人选本鲜及，然可置于宋人「过沛怀古」一体中观之。北宋士大夫过丰沛、咏汉兴者甚众，大抵借汉家龙兴论「天命」与「人才」之关系，此诗「不然樊郦萧曹辈，尽老屠商掾吏中」一联，尤近苏轼《郿坞》《题汉武》一类以反接见奇的翻案法。方回《瀛奎律髓》咏史类尚「有议论、不粘皮带骨」，此诗颈联「历数有归徒胜负，风云相会尽英雄」以理语作对，正合其选。与杜牧《题乌江亭》（「胜败兵家事不期，包羞忍耻是男儿」）相较，杜诗就项羽一人翻案，张诗就汉初群雄立论，一狭一广，皆咏史之翻空者；而张诗更多一层「人才待时」的感慨，近宋调「以理胜」。又，此诗与李白《经下邳圯桥怀张子房》（「子房未虎啸，破产不为家。沧海得壮士，椎秦博浪沙」）同咏汉初崛起，李以子房一人写「未遇」与「遇」，张以樊郦萧曹写「不遇则老死贱役」，皆以卑微反衬英雄，体气各宜。要之，此诗以常典写非常之论，是宋人咏史「以古证今」的典型，宜与张氏他作合观其「质而有骨」之貌。

Prosody

Form A regulated poem of the recalling (qi yan lü shi)七言律诗

Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level of the group — the cadence of the regulated poem that carries the grand reflection.押平声东韵（平水韵上平一东）：空、公、雄、中；首句「丰」在冬韵（与东通押，属平水韵上平一东/二冬旁通），次句以下「空、公、雄、中」皆东韵，一韵到底。

Tone pattern The cadence is that of the recalling: the level opening with the vapor, the turning with the heroes, and the close's fall with the fate of the lowly.七言律诗平起首句不入韵（丰属冬韵，旁通东）体。首句「刘季当年在古丰」平仄平平仄仄平（刘平季仄当平年平在仄古仄丰平），次句「芒砀王气已连空」平仄平仄仄平平，三四句「天机先露由啼妪，人意冥符自董公」平平平仄平平仄、仄仄平平仄仄平，五六句「历数有归徒胜负，风云相会尽英雄」仄仄仄平平平仄、平平平仄仄平平，大体合七律平起式，粘对清楚。

Reading note The poem's sound matches its philosophy: the cadences of the regulated poem, and the close — 'jin lao tu shang yuan li zhong' — falls with the lowly, the sound of the fate of the reflecting poet.此诗为七言律诗，八句四联，押平水韵上平一东（首句丰属冬韵，宋人东冬旁通，无碍），一韵到底。东韵开口呼、声音洪亮舒徐，宜写怀古、兴亡那种宏阔而带论议的声情，与「芒砀王气」「历数有归」「风云相会」的气象相协。律诗严于颔颈二联对仗，张方平此作三四联皆以虚对虚、以理对理：「天机」对「人意」、「先露」对「冥符」、「啼妪」对「董公」，工于用事；「历数」对「风云」、「有归」对「相会」、「徒胜负」对「尽英雄」，工于立论。两联一写天人相契、一写兴亡常理，由事入理，章法合律。平仄上首句以冬韵旁通东，是七律通韵常格，中二联粘对无误，惟「芒砀王气」「历数有归」因专名与虚字略破常格，亦无伤。整体声情健拔奇警，无唐人怀古之慨叹，而有宋调「以论为诗、以翻案见奇」的质实，正宜于这类过丰咏汉的题材。

Line by line

刘季当年在古丰，芒砀王气已连空。

Liu Ji, in, those years, at, the ancient Feng, the kingly vapor of the Mangdang, already, connected, with, the sky.

刘邦当年在古老的丰县，芒砀山间的帝王云气已经连天。

Liu Ji, in those years, in old Feng; the kingly aura of Mount Mangdang already joined the sky.

此联为全诗起手，先立汉家龙兴之地与气。上句「刘季当年在古丰」点地与人，刘季即刘邦，古丰即其故里，七字把一段开国之史收于一地；下句「芒砀王气已连空」用芒砀山天子气之典（《史记》谓刘邦亡匿芒砀，「东南有天子气」），以「连空」写云气上接天宇，状王气之盛、天命之显。两句一地一气、一人一天，起得厚重。张方平以此起兴，等于先替全诗的「天命」一脉定调——丰是龙兴之壤，芒砀已有受命之征。一个「已」字最见分量：王气非后来方显，而是「当年」便已连空，强调兴亡之有素、非偶然。读此联当想丰沛苍茫、云气郁蒸之境，方知后文啼妪泄谶、董公成谋，都从此「王气连空」中引出。

The opening establishes the land and the aura of Han's rising. The first, Liu Ji, in those years, in old Feng, names the place and the man: Liu Ji is Liu Bang, old Feng his native place, seven characters gathering a founding history into one place. The second uses the allusion to the Son of Heaven's aura on Mount Mangdang (the Shiji says Liu Bang hid in Mangdang, and to the southeast was the aura of the Son of Heaven), and the words joined the sky write the cloud-breath reaching the heavens, meta-phoring the splendor of the kingly aura and the plainness of the mandate. The two lines, one place one aura, one man one heaven, rise with weight. Fangping's rising thus fixes the key of the whole poem's mandate thread - Feng is the soil of the dragon's rising, and Mangdang already has the sign of the charge. The single word already carries most weight: the kingly aura was not revealed later but in those years already joined the sky, stressing that rise and fall have their ground, not chance. Reading this, one should imagine the vastness of Feng and Pei, the cloud-breath steaming, to know that the later wailing crone revealing the prophecy and Lord Dong completing the plan all issue from this kingly aura joining the sky.

天机先露由啼妪，人意冥符自董公。

Heaven's secret was first revealed by the weeping old woman; the human intent, darkly matched, issued of itself from Lord Dong.

天意先由那位哭子的老妪泄露，说他是赤帝之子；人事的冥契则自有董公的谋画。

Heaven's secret was first revealed by the weeping old woman; the human intent, darkly matched, issued of itself from Lord Dong.

此联承首联写「天」与「人」的相契，是全诗用事最密处。上句「天机先露由啼妪」用斩蛇妪泣之典：老妪夜哭，言白帝子为赤帝子斩，遂泄刘邦受命之天机；下句「人意冥符自董公」用三老董公遮说汉王之典：董公请为义帝发丧以讨羽，汉王从之，人事之所趋冥冥中与天意相符。两句对仗极工：天机对人意（天人对举），啼妪对董公（二人名），先露对冥符（时态），而一谶一谋、一显一隐，把「天命—人事」的兴亡逻辑坐实。张方平炼此联，使首联虚写的王气化作可征的故实：天意不虚，有妪为证；人意不妄，有董为公。一个「冥符」二字最见宋人咏史的理趣——天与人并非两截，而在关键处暗合。读此联方知兴亡非偶，而英雄之起实赖天人双凑。

The neck couplet follows the opening in writing the accord of heaven and man, the densest use of allusion in the poem. The first, heaven's secret was first revealed by the weeping old woman, uses the allusion to the crone weeping at the killing of the snake: the old woman wept by night, saying the Son of the White Emperor was slain by the Son of the Red Emperor, thus revealing the secret of Liu Bang's charge. The second, the human intent, darkly matched, issued of itself from Lord Dong, uses the allusion to the elder Dong who stopped the King of Han and urged him to bury the Righteous Emperor and attack Xiang Yu; the King followed, and the drift of human affairs darkly matched heaven's will. The two lines are most parallel: heaven's secret paired with human intent (heaven and man set against), weeping old woman paired with Lord Dong (two names), first revealed paired with darkly matched (tense), and one prophecy one plan, one manifest one hidden, grounding the logic of rise and fall, mandate and human affairs. Fangping's working of this couplet turns the opening's void writing of the kingly aura into provable allusion: heaven's will is not empty, the old woman is witness; human will is not vain, Lord Dong is proof. The two words darkly matched most show the Song historical poem's rational delight - heaven and man are not two separate pieces, but secretly accord at the crucial point. Reading this, one knows rise and fall are not chance, and the hero's rising really depends on the double concurrence of heaven and man.

不然樊郦萧曹辈，尽老屠商掾吏中。

Otherwise, the Fan, the Li, the Xiao, the Cao, the group, all, old, in, the butchers, the merchants, the petty officials, among.

若不是这样，樊哙、郦商、萧何、曹参这些人，都将老死在屠狗、贩商、掾吏的卑微行当之中。

But for this, Fan Kuai, Li Shang, Xiao He and Cao Cao would all have grown old among butchers and peddlers and clerks.

此联为全诗收束，以反接翻案，是全诗最见奇警处。上句「不然樊郦萧曹辈」以「不然」一转，设想若无汉王、无风云，则樊哙、郦商、萧何、曹参四人不过常人；下句「尽老屠商掾吏中」概写其本业——樊哙屠狗、郦商贩贾、萧何刀笔、曹参狱掾，皆贱役微职，言其将老死其中、湮没无闻。两句一虚一实，把前面宏大的英雄叙事陡然拉回卑微日常，翻出「英雄之成全系于遇时」的立意。张方平此处最见宋人咏史「以反衬见奇」的手段：前六句写天命人事之隆，至此以四人之「老死贱役」作反照，英雄与屠贩只在一遇之别。一个「尽」字力重，写尽不遇者的普遍命运；「屠商掾吏」四字以类相叠，见微贱之实。读此联方知全诗不止怀古，更在叹人才之待时——借汉论宋，其意遥深。

The closing gathers the poem, reversing in a turnabout, the strangest and most alert place. The first, but for this, Fan Kuai, Li Shang, Xiao He and Cao Cao, turns with but for, imagining that without the King of Han and without wind and cloud, the four - Fan Kuai, Li Shang, Xiao He and Cao Cao - would be but ordinary men. The second, would all have grown old among butchers and peddlers and clerks, sums their original trades - Fan Kuai killing dogs, Li Shang peddling goods, Xiao He the pen, Cao Cao the prison clerk, all mean services and low posts, saying they would have grown old in them, buried and unknown. The two lines, one void one solid, suddenly pull the earlier vast hero narrative back to the mean daily life, overturning the meaning that the hero's fulfillment depends entirely on meeting his time. Fangping here most shows the Song historical poem's way of winning through contrast: the first six lines write the splendor of mandate and human affairs, and here the four men's growing old in mean services serves as the reverse, the hero and the butcher-peddler only a meeting apart. The single word all carries weight, writing the common lot of those who do not meet; the four words butchers and peddlers and clerks, class upon class, show the meanness. Reading this, one knows the whole poem is not only mourning the past, but sighing that talent waits for its time - borrowing Han to speak of Song, the meaning far-reaching.

Study

Word focus

冥 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「人意冥符自董公」之「冥」，冥冥、幽暗不可见也，此处作「冥符」即冥冥中相契合。此字写人事之所趋与天意之所示，虽非显见而暗中吻合，是宋人咏史最爱说的「天人相与之际」。其妙在把「董公一言」提高到「天人之契」的高度：董公之谋看似人为，实则暗合天命，一个「冥」字便把偶然的谋画写为必然的符应。若易以「暗」「潜」等字，虽亦通幽隐之意，却不如「冥」字带出的「幽微难明而终相合」的哲理重量；「冥符」是理学术语入诗，最见宋调「以理语为诗」的手段。张方平炼此一字，使颔联「天机」对「人意」不只成对，更成「显—隐」的互补：妪泄为显，董公为冥，天人双凑。读此字当想兴亡之理幽微难测而终有符验，便知宋人咏史贵在「于事中见理」。

徒 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「历数有归徒胜负」之「徒」，徒然、空也。此字是全诗理语的发力点：上句言「历数」（天命所归）既已有定，则表面的「胜负」只是徒然的纷争，不足论也。其妙在翻案——楚汉相争，兵革胜负看似大事，而诗人以「徒」字一笔抹倒，归其本于「历数有归」。一个「徒」字含「表象—本质」的判别：胜负是末，历数是本；项刘之败成非关力之大小，而关命之有归。若易以「空」「竟」等字，则只写无谓，乏「徒」字所含的「本有定数、争之亦然」的必然感。张方平炼此一字，使颈联「历数有归」对「风云相会」的宏论立得住脚——既然胜负徒然，则英雄之成只在风云一遇。读此字当想兴亡如棋、胜负如戏，而局终有数，便知宋人咏史每于翻空处见骨力。

尽 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「尽老屠商掾吏中」之「尽」，皆也、全都也。此字在尾联收束处力重千钧：前面写樊郦萧曹四人，下句以「尽」字总括，说他们「全都」将老死在屠狗贩商掾吏的贱役之中。其妙在把个体的不遇推广为群体的命运——不是某一人，而是这一班后来的开国功臣，若不遇时便一概湮没。一个「尽」字以 totality 写人才之屈，与颈联「风云相会尽英雄」的「尽」遥映：同是一「尽」，一写不遇则老死贱役、一写遇则尽成英雄，对照最烈。若易以「俱」「皆」等字，虽亦通总括，却不如「尽」字带出的「彻底、无一例外」的沉重；「尽老」二字连读，尤见岁月消磨之悲。张方平炼此一字，使翻案结法落到「人才待时」的普遍感慨，最见宋人咏史「以常语写大恸」的节制。

过丰