宋 Song · 诗 Poem
览九丹上化经寄南都王宣徽君贶
On Reading the Jiu Dan Shang Hua Scripture, Sent to Lord Wang Xuanhui of the Southern Capital
上清紫简世传稀，中有灵都妙旨微。
云雾披光丹凤出，风雷接势赤龙飞。
琴心三叠胎仙舞，籥筦双迎帝子归。
幸得九天真一诀，尘劳何事尚依依。
Through parting clouds and light a crimson phoenix emerges; on wind and thunder a red dragon flies.
With zither-heart triple-stacked, the womb-immortal dances; with double pipes the imperial son returns.
Blest to gain the Nine-Heaven true-one secret—why should worldly toil still cling to me?
Meaning
After reading the Daoist scripture Jiu Dan Shang Hua Jing, the poet marvels at its rare sublime teaching and envisions the wondrous immortals and dragons it conjures. He then rejoices at attaining the 'true-one' secret and asks, with a light rhetorical turn, why worldly toil should still trouble him—expressing a scholar-official's fondness for Daoist release.
上清的紫简在世间传本极稀，其中自有灵都的微妙旨趣。云雾披开光中丹凤飞出，风雷顺势里赤龙腾起。琴心三叠，胎仙起舞；籥管双双，迎帝子归来。有幸得此九天真正的「一」诀，尘世劳扰之事，又何须再自萦怀。
Appreciation
The poem is structured in four layers—reading the scripture, the vision it reveals, the inner communion, and liberation—moving from book to realm, realm to body, body to mind, mirroring the Daoist path of contemplation into truth. Its imagery is gorgeous (purple slip, crimson phoenix, red dragon, womb-immortal, imperial son) yet bound by an inner logic of practice, not mere heaping; its antitheses are fine and its tone 'written in splendor, resolved in clarity.'
【白话串讲】 张方平读《九丹上化经》寄王宣徽：“上清紫简世传稀，中有灵都妙旨微”。“琴心三叠胎仙舞，籥筦双迎帝子归”——“幸得九天真一诀，尘劳何事尚依依”——他写道家炼丹。 【意象与手法】诗以道教仙境意象（紫简、丹凤、赤龙、胎仙、帝子）为纬，以读经—感通—解脱为经，想象瑰丽而不失理路，是典型的道教题材诗。 【情感与主旨】表达对九丹经中所传「真一」要诀的珍重，及由此超脱尘劳的向往，寓寄友共契仙道之趣。 【名句点睛】云雾披光丹凤出，风雷接势赤龙飞以丹凤赤龙写经境之奇；幸得九天真一诀，尘劳何事尚依依于得诀后反诘尘劳，收束有力。
Background
This poem was written by Zhang Fangping after reading the Daoist classic Jiu Dan Shang Hua Jing, sent to Lord Wang Xuanhui (Jun Kuang) of the Southern Capital (Yingtian Fu, modern Shangqiu, Henan). The Jiu Dan Shang Hua Jing belongs to the Shangqing or Lingbao school; 'jiu dan' means nine kinds of golden elixir, 'shang hua' speaks of Shangqing's transformation and ascent arts—a secretly transmitted top-grade scripture. Wang Jun Kuang's full name is unclear; 'Xuanhui' refers to the office of Xuanhui Envoy or Academy; the Wang family of the Southern Capital was a Song gentry clan, and its member also loved the Dao, so Zhang sent his reading gain to share the immortal-way bond. Zhang Fangping (1007–1091) stood as a Confucian official through Renzong to Shenzong, yet was deeply steeped in Buddhism and Daoism; Northern-Song literati commonly studied Daoist books and liked transcendence lore—Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, Wang Anshi all touched the Dao, and Zhang's collection has many Daoist inscriptions, showing the era's mood. This poem was likely written when, having gained from reading, he sent it to a friend to enjoy together; the 'reading' in the title shows it was read and felt firsthand, not a vague ode. 'Zither-heart triple-stacked' comes from the Huangting Jing 'zither-heart triple-stacked, dance the womb-immortal,' a key Daoist meditation; 'Nine-Heaven true-one' is the Shangqing 'true-one' method, keeping the one to reach the nine heavens. Knowing the flourishing of Northern-Song Daoism (especially Shangqing), the literati's habit of consoling themselves with Daoist scriptures, and Zhang's clerical friendship with the Wangs, one can read the cultivational meaning and dedicatory intent behind the gorgeous imagery—it both shows off the scripture's rarity and invites the friend to savor the true-one together.
此诗为张方平读道教经典《九丹上化经》后，寄赠南都（应天府，今河南商丘）王宣徽（君贶）之作。九丹上化经当属上清派或灵宝派道书，「九丹」指九种还丹大药，「上化」言上清变化飞升之术，在道书中属秘传之上品；王君贶名虽不详，宣徽指宣徽使或宣徽院职，南都王氏为宋代世家（与王钦若、王洙等支脉或有关），其人当亦好道，故张方平以读经所得相寄，有共契仙道之意。张方平（1007—1091）以儒臣立身，历仕仁宗至神宗，而于释道二氏浸染甚深，北宋士大夫本多兼习道书、好神仙之说，欧阳修、苏轼、王安石皆曾涉道，张方平集中更多道教题咏，足见一时风气。此诗当作于其读经有得、寄友共赏之时，题中「览」字可见是亲读亲感，非泛咏。诗中「琴心三叠」出《黄庭经》「琴心三叠舞胎仙」，为道教存思之要；「九天真一」则上清「真一」法门，谓守一可通九天。了解北宋道教（尤其上清派）之盛、士大夫以道经自遣之风，以及张方平与王氏的方外交契，方能读懂诗中瑰丽意象背后的修习内涵与寄赠本怀——它既是炫示秘典之珍，也是邀友同味真一之邀。
Art
The poem's art is a four-layer structure of 'read scripture—manifest realm—inner communion—liberation' writing the Daoist cultivation experience. The first couplet 'The purple slip of Shangqing is rare in the world; within it lies the subtle intent of the Spirit Capital' first establishes the scripture's rarity and subtle intent—this is 'reading.' The second couplet 'Through parting clouds and light a crimson phoenix emerges; on wind and thunder a red dragon flies' writes with phoenix and dragon the immortal-realm vision the scripture reveals—this is 'manifest realm.' The third couplet 'With zither-heart triple-stacked, the womb-immortal dances; with double pipes the imperial son returns' writes with womb-immortal and imperial son the cultivation's inner communion—this is 'communion.' The last couplet 'Blest to gain the Nine-Heaven true-one secret—why should worldly toil still cling to me' closes with attaining the secret and transcending the dust—this is 'liberation.' The whole poem's imagery is gorgeous and dense (purple slip, crimson phoenix, red dragon, womb-immortal, imperial son), yet strung by an inner cultivation logic, not mere piling. The antitheses are fine (clouds-light vs wind-thunder, zither-heart vs double pipes), splendid in sound and color—typical Song Daoist-poem 'writing the profound in splendor.' Notably, the four layers are not parallel but follow the cultivation sequence 'from book to realm, from realm to body, from body to mind' deepening: the first couplet is at the 'book' (purple slip, subtle intent), the second at the 'realm' (phoenix, dragon), the third at the 'body's' communion (womb-immortal, imperial son), the last at the 'mind's' settling (true-one, leaving the dust)—from outer object to inner proof, the structure暗合 the Daoist meditation path from scripture to truth. In imagery, the poet pairs color and motion—'purple' slip, 'crimson' phoenix, 'red' dragon, laying the immortal realm in warm hues, while 'clouds part with light' and 'wind-thunder take the momentum' add light-shadow and sound-force to make them fly, animating the static scripture text into an inner alchemical wonder. The last couplet's 'blest to' and 'why still cling' form a light rhetorical question, suddenly gathering the gorgeous page into clarity—structurally a 'rise in grace, end in emptiness' wonder. Overall, the poem is splendid yet not decadent, profound yet grounded—among Song-toned Daoist poems, quite apt.
此诗艺术上以「读经—现境—感通—解脱」四层结构写道教修习体验。首联上清紫简世传稀，中有灵都妙旨微，先立经典之珍与旨微，是「读经」；颔联云雾披光丹凤出，风雷接势赤龙飞，以丹凤赤龙写经中所现仙境异象，是「现境」；颈联琴心三叠胎仙舞，籥筦双迎帝子归，以胎仙帝子写修习之感通，是「感通」；尾联幸得九天真一诀，尘劳何事尚依依，以得诀超尘收束，是「解脱」。全诗想象瑰丽，意象密集（紫简、丹凤、赤龙、胎仙、帝子），却以内在修习逻辑贯串，不为堆砌。对仗精工（云雾对风雷、琴心对籥筦），声色绚烂，是宋人道教诗「以丽写玄」的典型笔法。值得留意的是，这四层并非平列，而是循着「由书及境、由境及身、由身及心」的修习次第层层深入：首联在「书」（紫简妙旨），颔联在「境」（丹凤赤龙），颈联在「身」之感通（胎仙帝子），尾联在「心」之安顿（真一脱尘），由外物而内证，结构暗合道教存思由经入真的路径。意象经营上，诗人善用色彩与动态的配合——「紫」简、「丹」凤、「赤」龙，以暖色系铺陈仙界之绚，而「云雾披光」「风雷接势」又以光影声势助其飞动，使静态的道书文字活化为一场内在的炼化奇观。尾联「幸得」与「何事尚依依」构成轻俏的反诘，把前面满纸瑰丽倏然收归澄淡，章法上有「起秀润、结清空」之妙。整体看，此诗丽而不靡、玄而有据，于宋调道教诗中堪称得体。
Allusions
The Daoist allusions in the poem are several, all from the Shangqing and Huangting scriptures, stringing a brief 'read scripture—alchemy—sense the true—gain the secret' immortal history. 'Purple slip of Shangqing': the Shangqing school transmitted secret intent by purple books and jade slips; the purple slip is the scripture written on purple silk or engraved on jade, 'rare in the world' marks its preciousness and also shows this is no street-side craft but a Shangqing secret. 'Spirit Capital': the capital where Daoist immortals dwell (as Spirit Capital Palace, Shangqing Spirit Capital), 'subtle intent' means the scripture's intent is deep and hard to fathom. 'Crimson phoenix, red dragon': auspicious birds and divine things in Daoist alchemy and meditation; 'through parting clouds and light a crimson phoenix emerges' depicts the outer elixir completed, the phoenix breaking the mist; 'on wind and thunder a red dragon flies' depicts inner lightning-method practice, the red dragon taking the momentum—one outer one inner, both images of alchemical ascent. 'Zither-heart triple-stacked': from the Huangting Jing 'zither-heart triple-stacked, dance the womb-immortal'—zither-heart means the heart harmonious as a zither, triple-stacked means the qi of the three cinnabar fields stacked and accumulated, the womb-immortal is the immortal formed by fetal breathing, the poem's pivot of meditation. 'Double pipes welcome the imperial son': pipes are wind instruments, the imperial son refers to the Shangqing immortal truth (or the Primordial's son), writing that with deep merit the immortal truth comes to welcome, reed-pipes guiding the return. 'Nine-Heaven true-one': the Shangqing 'true-one' method—keep the one and the nine heavens are reachable; the true-one secret is the essence of longevity. Worth adding: the name 'jiu dan' itself comes from the Shangqing nine-turn elixir method, layer upon layer of alchemy until 'shang hua'; the poem's images exactly unfold by this sequence, and Huangting and Shangqing cross-confirm, so phoenix and dragon are not mere ornament but each has its source. The allusions are dense yet grounded—enough to show the Song 'poetry as learning' Daoist-poem character.
诗中道教典故凡数处，皆出上清、黄庭诸经，串起一部「读经—炼化—感真—得诀」的修仙简史。上清紫简：上清派以紫书玉简传秘旨，紫简即书于紫绢或刻于玉简的道书，世传稀言其珍稀，亦点明此非坊间方术而是上清秘典。灵都：道教神仙所居之都（如灵都宫、上清灵都），妙旨微谓经中旨趣幽微难测。丹凤、赤龙：道教炼丹与存思中的祥禽神物，「云雾披光丹凤出」状外丹既成、丹凤破雾，「风雷接势赤龙飞」状内炼雷法、赤龙乘势，一外一内，皆炼化飞升之象。琴心三叠：出《黄庭经》「琴心三叠舞胎仙」，琴心谓心和如琴、三叠为三丹田之气叠累积运，胎仙即胎息所成之仙，是全诗存思之枢。籥筦双迎帝子：籥筦为管乐器，帝子指上清仙真（或谓元始之子），写功深则仙真来迎、笙簧导归。九天真一：上清「真一」法门，守一则九天可通，真一诀即长生之要。值得补充的是，九丹之名本自上清九转丹法，层层炼化以至于「上化」，诗中意象正据此第次展开；而黄庭、上清二经互证，使丹凤赤龙非徒夸饰而各有所本。诸典密而皆有所据，足见宋人「以学问为诗」的道诗体格。
Commentary
Zhang Fangping's Daoist poems are best read with his other Daoist-themed works; a Confucian official able to write the profound realm exactly shows the Northern-Song literati's 'harmonizing the three teachings' cultivated grounding. Su Shi's poems matching Tao Yuanming and singing the Dao often wield rational interest through immortal language; Zhang's poem wields splendid images through profound intent, akin in spirit yet somewhat different in face. Fang Hui's Yingkui Lü Sui, in its Dao-Buddhist class, selected many Song 'writing the outer with talent' works; this poem's phoenix-dragon, zither-pipe antitheses exactly fit his selection. Compared with Tang excursion-to-immortal poems (as Li Bai's 'seeing immortals amid colored clouds' buoyant, Li He's 'gazing at Qi prefecture's nine wisps of smoke' strange), Song Daoist poems prefer citing scriptures and observing rules; this poem is an example—phoenix and dragon are not mere ornament but each grounded in Huangting and Shangqing, 'writing the profound in splendor' not 'writing the immortal in boast.' Modern scholars on Song poetry 'poetry as learning' note this poem's dense allusions all grounded, proving the claim; yet its splendid images save it from the Song-poem common dryness, balancing scholar's air and poet's imagery. In short, its merit is gorgeous yet not floating, profound yet grounded—showing cultivation's reality amid resplendent images, a fitting scholar's Daoist poem; read with Zhang's Chan-talking poems, one sees his fusion of three teachings—on Buddhism he is crisp in reasoning, on Daoism he writes the realm in strange grace, one Confucian official with two sets of clerical brush.
张方平道教诗宜与其集中其他道题材作并观，其以儒臣而能写玄境，正见北宋士大夫「三教调和」的修养底色。苏轼和陶、咏道之作每以理趣运仙语，张此诗则以丽象写玄旨，与之气类相近而面目稍异。方回《瀛奎律髓》道释类多选宋人「以才学写方外」之作，此诗丹凤赤龙、琴心籥筦诸对，正合其选。较之唐人游仙诗（如李白「遥见仙人彩云里」之飘举、李贺「遥望齐州九点烟」之奇诡），宋人道教诗更喜征引经诀、讲究法度，此诗可为其例——丹凤赤龙非徒夸饰，而各有《黄庭》《上清》之据，是「以丽写玄」而非「以夸写仙」。近人论宋诗「以学问为诗」，此诗用典密而皆有所本，足证其说；而它的丽象又使其免于宋诗常见的枯率，在学者气与诗人兴象之间取得平衡。要之，此诗之佳在瑰丽而不浮、玄虚而有据，于绚烂意象中见修习之实，是学者写道诗的得体之作；若与张方平谈禅诸诗合观，更可见其融通三教——谈佛则斩截辨理，谈道则幽奇写境，一儒臣而具两副方外笔墨。
Prosody
Line by line
上清紫简世传稀，中有灵都妙旨微。
The purple slip of Shangqing is rare in the world; within lies the subtle intent of the Spirit Capital.
上清的紫简在世间传本极稀，其中自有灵都的微妙旨趣。
The purple tablets of Shangqing are rarely transmitted in the world; within them lies the subtle purport of the spirit capital.
首联破题，先立经典之珍与旨微。上清紫简世传稀写九丹上化经为上清派秘传紫简，世间稀见，一「稀」字先标其珍贵，亦暗含诗人得读此经的庆幸；中有灵都妙旨微紧接，说经中藏有灵都（仙都）的微妙宗旨，妙旨微三字点出此非肤浅方术，而是幽微大道。张方平落笔极有层次：先以「稀」写其外之难得，再以「微」写其内之深奥，由表及里，把一部道经的身价与内涵一并托出。宋人论道书重「秘旨」而非「怪力」，此联正体现这种理性化的道教趣味——不是炫奇，而是究微。起手便为后文「幸得真一诀」的珍重埋下伏笔，章法缜密。
The opening breaks the title, first establishing the scripture's rarity and subtle purport. The purple tablets of Shangqing are rarely transmitted in the world writes that the Nine Elixirs Upper Transformation Scripture is a secret Shangqing purple tablet, rarely seen in the world; the single word rare first marks its preciousness, also secretly holding the poet's good fortune in reading it. Within them lies the subtle purport of the spirit capital follows at once, saying the scripture holds the subtle purport of the spirit capital (the immortal capital); the three words subtle purport point out that this is no shallow alchemical art, but the subtle great Way. Fangping lays down his brush in layers: first writing its outer difficulty with rare, then its inner depth with subtle, from the surface to the within, bringing out at once a Taoist scripture's value and content. Song men discussing Taoist books weighed the secret purport rather than the strange power; this couplet exactly embodies this rationalized Taoist taste - not boasting marvels, but seeking the subtle. The opening already lays the ground for the later treasure of fortunate to have won the true-One secret, the structure close-woven.
云雾披光丹凤出，风雷接势赤龙飞。
Through parting clouds and light a crimson phoenix emerges; on wind and thunder a red dragon flies.
云雾披开光中丹凤飞出，风雷顺势里赤龙腾起。
Cloud and mists part the light, the vermilion phoenix comes forth; wind and thunder catch its momentum, the red dragon soars.
颔联是全诗想象最瑰丽处，写读经时心目中所现的炼化异象。云雾披光丹凤出写云开光现、丹凤破雾而出，是丹成之象；风雷接势赤龙飞写风雷相借、赤龙乘势腾飞，是雷法与龙腾之象。两句对仗精工，云雾对风雷（自然之力），丹凤对赤龙（神物之灵），披光对接势（动态之姿），声色绚烂而法度森然。张方平于此不是单纯夸饰仙境，而是据道教炼丹、雷法之象落笔——丹凤赤龙皆有所本（黄庭、上清），故丽而不浮。更妙在「披」「接」二字写出一种主动的演化感：光披而凤出、势接而龙飞，仿佛经中之境正随读诵次第展开。以十四字写尽一场内在的炼化奇观，是宋人道教诗「以丽写玄」的范例。
The jaw couplet is the poem's most gorgeous imagination, writing the transmutation visions appearing in the mind's eye while reading the scripture. Cloud and mists part the light, the vermilion phoenix comes forth writes clouds parting and light appearing, the vermilion phoenix breaking through the mists, the image of the elixir's completion. Wind and thunder catch its momentum, the red dragon soars writes wind and thunder lending force, the red dragon riding the momentum and soaring, the image of thunder-rite and dragon flight. The two lines are parallel to a fine craft: cloud and mists paired with wind and thunder (the forces of nature), vermilion phoenix paired with red dragon (the spirits' numina), part the light paired with catch its momentum (the living posture), sound and color gorgeous yet the order strict. Fangping here is not simply praising the immortal realm, but lays down his brush from the images of Taoist elixir and thunder-rite - vermilion phoenix and red dragon both have their source (the Huangting, Shangqing), hence gorgeous yet not floating. What is more beautiful is the two words part and catch, writing an active sense of evolution: light parts and the phoenix comes forth, momentum catches and the dragon soars, as if the scripture's realm were unfolding in turn with the recitation. Writing an inner transmutation wonder in fourteen characters, the model of the Song Taoist poem writing the mysterious through beauty.
幸得九天真一诀，尘劳何事尚依依。
Blest to gain the Nine-Heaven true-one secret—why should worldly toil still cling to me?
有幸得此九天真正的『一』诀，尘世劳扰之事，又何须再自萦怀。
Fortunate to have won the true-One secret of the nine heavens; why still cling to the toils of the dust?
尾联收束，由境入理，是全诗立意之归。幸得九天真一诀写诗人（及寄赠对象）有幸得此上清真一要诀，幸字见珍重，真一诀是道教守一致神的核心法门；尘劳何事尚依依紧接，以反诘收束：既得真一，尘世劳扰又何足萦怀？依依本状依恋不舍，此处用于尘劳，是以轻嘲的口吻把世俗牵绊放下。张方平于此把前面所有瑰丽仙境都收归一个「诀」字——读经之价值，终在得诀而脱尘。一联之间，由绚烂归于澄淡，由仙境落回人间，却以「何事尚依依」的反问把超脱写得轻松俏皮。于寄友诗中作此收，既是自遣，亦是与王君贶共勉仙道之契，余韵不尽。
The closing gathers, from realm to reason, the poem's bent. Fortunate to have won the true-One secret of the nine heavens writes that the poet (and the recipient) is fortunate to have won this Shangqing true-One essential secret; the word fortunate shows the treasuring, and the true-One secret is the core Taoist method of guarding the One and fixing the spirit. Why still cling to the toils of the dust? follows at once, closing in a rhetorical question: since one has won the true One, what are the toils of the dust worth clinging to? The words still cling originally mean reluctant attachment, here applied to the dust toils, putting down worldly ties in a tone of gentle mockery. Fangping here gathers all the preceding gorgeous immortal realm into the single word secret - the value of reading the scripture lies at last in winning the secret and leaving the dust. Within one couplet, from splendor returning to clarity, from the immortal realm falling back to the human world, yet writing detachment lightly and playfully with the question why still cling. Closing a poem sent to a friend thus, it is at once self-relief and a sharing with Wang Junkuang of the covenant in the Way of the immortals, the aftertone unending.
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Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
二诗皆张方平写道家修习、寄赠方外之交。览九丹经诗写读上清秘典、得真一诀而脱尘劳，是道教丹法；寄郭诚思诗写结茅对幽禽、独入九圣心、试还金，是隐修炼丹。一写读经感通、一写隐居实修，而同归于「超脱尘劳、与道契合」的宋调理趣。合观可见张方平对道门的会心：或于经诀中求「真一」，或于山居中试「还金」，皆能以儒臣身份写出方外之趣。
赠琅邪智先长老 To Elder Zhixian of Langya Mountain 张方平 · 同出张方平、一道一佛之超脱 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
览九丹经诗以真一诀脱尘劳，赠智先诗以无尽灯、腾腾写禅家自在，一道一佛，而同写「解脱尘累、得大自在」。合观可见张方平三教调和的底色：对道则求真一、对佛则任腾腾，皆归于超脱执碍。其以儒臣写方外，身份不乱而情怀能入，正是北宋士大夫「外儒内道释」的写照。进一步看，二诗虽同写超脱，而取径有别：道诗以「得诀」为凭（真一诀是实法），佛诗以「任运」为宗（腾腾是放下），一有待一无待，恰见张方平对二教义理的分别会心——他并非笼统混同三教，而是各取其解脱之方。这种「同归而殊途」的写法，正显其学养之实，而非随口唱和。
和子由闻子瞻寻访道家 和子由闻子瞻寻访道家 苏轼 · 宋人道教诗之互参 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
苏轼兄弟多咏道之作，以理趣运仙语，与张方平此诗气类相近。苏诗好以旷达写仙凡之际，张诗则以丽象写经诀之感通，一偏理一偏象，而同出宋人「以学问写方外、以玄旨归日用」的趣味。读二家可知北宋士大夫道教诗的两种面目：苏以旷胜，张以丽胜，而皆不落唐人游仙的虚夸。这种分野背后，是宋人对待道教的不同姿态：苏氏兄弟多从庄子旷达处会仙，故语带诙谐超逸；张方平则从经诀法度处会仙，故语带典重温丽。二人同朝相善，诗风却各成面目，正可见北宋道教诗并非单一格调，而是在「理—象」之间各有侧重。合观二者，更能体认宋调道教诗整体「以学问为根、以日用为归」的品格。