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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

读穆天子传

Reading the Mu Tianzi Zhuan (Biography of King Mu)

张方平

Zhang Fangping

仙游immortal wanderings 穆王King Mu

八龙长鹜造昆丘，七萃前驱纵逸游。
遇雪自裁黄竹唱，捧觞喜答白云讴。
羽陵广奏随风逝，崦阜铭踪共日留。
惆怅璧台人不返，乐池遗恨素波愁。

Eight dragons gallop long to Mount Kunlun; seven bands lead the way in carefree roaming.
Meeting snow, he cuts himself the 'Yellow Bamboo' song; raising the cup, glad answers the 'White Cloud' lay.
At Feather Hill the wide music passes with the wind; on Yan Mountain his inscribed trace stays with the sun.
Wistful—the jade-terrace one returns no more; the Pleasure Pool's lingering regret, in the plain waves' sorrow.

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Meaning

Reading the Mu Tianzi Zhuan, Zhang Fangping sings King Mu's western journey to Kunlun and his idyllic communion with the Queen Mother of the West. Rather than the king's martial glory, the poem dwells on the joy of carefree roaming and the singing match with 'White Cloud,' then turns to loss—the music gone with the wind, only the inscribed trace remaining, and the jade-terrace one never returning. It closes in regret, turning the fairy-tale revel into a meditation on fleeting meeting, typical of Song 'writing regret from joy.'

八龙长骛而造昆仑，七萃前驱而纵情逸游。遇雪自裁黄竹之歌，捧觞喜答白云之讴。羽陵广奏随风而逝，崦阜铭踪与日同留。惆怅璧台之人不复返，乐池遗恨付与素波之愁。

Appreciation

The seven-character octet is structured like an immortal-travel fu: from setting out, to singing, to what passes and what stays, to final regret. The antitheses are exact—'Yellow Bamboo' against 'White Cloud,' 'wind-passing' against 'sun-staying'—and the close 'plain waves' sorrow' ends scene as feeling, condensing revel into desolation. It is a model of Song 'writing regret from joy,' deeper than a straight immortal-travel song.

【白话串讲】张方平读《穆天子传》：“八龙长鹜造昆丘，七萃前驱纵逸游”——周穆王八骏西游。“遇雪自裁黄竹唱，捧觞喜答白云讴”——“惆怅璧台人不返，乐池遗恨素波愁”——他写穆王与西王母的故事。【意象与手法】此诗七言律诗，四联，章法如仙游赋。起联「八龙长鹜造昆丘，七萃前驱纵逸游」以骏马前驱、纵游昆仑起，写其逸兴；颔联「遇雪自裁黄竹唱，捧觞喜答白云讴」以二典写穆王与西王母唱和之欢，黄竹、白云皆其歌诗；颈联「羽陵广奏随风逝，崦阜铭踪共日留」以「逝」「留」对举，写乐奏随风、铭踪长留；尾联「惆怅璧台人不返，乐池遗恨素波愁」以怅收，写欢会不返、遗恨素波。通篇由游入欢、由欢入留、由留入怅，对仗精切。【情感与主旨】此诗读《穆天子传》而作，不写其雄，而写其「逸游」之欢与「不返」之怅，寓一代儒臣对「帝王长生、欢会难留」的慨叹，亦见宋人咏逸史重「欢—怅」对照的学风。【名句点睛】「惆怅璧台人不返，乐池遗恨素波愁」以「不返」「遗恨」收束，以景结情，「素波愁」三字把欢盛凝为悲凉，最见宋调以景结情、以愁收欢的典型。

Background

Zhang Fangping composed this poem upon reading the Mu Tianzi Zhuan, celebrating King Mu of Zhou's western journey to Kunlun and his meeting with the Queen Mother of the West. Driving eight steeds and leading seven bands, Mu climbed Kunlun, composed the 'Yellow Bamboo' song in snow, and exchanged lays with the Queen Mother—lore later famed as an immortal jaunt. Zhang does not write Mu's martial glory but the joy of his carefree roaming and the regret of 'not returning,' voicing a Confucian elder's sigh that imperial immortality and joyful meetings are hard to keep. The Northern Song valued such 'minor-school' texts, and literati often lodged personal feeling in reading them; Zhang in later retirement may have shared the regret of 'the jade terrace not returning.' The poem, in seven-character regulated form, exhausts both Mu's roam and his regret, also showing the Song scholarly habit of 'joy-regret contrast' when reading immortal history.

张方平《读穆天子传》读《穆天子传》而作，咏周穆王西巡昆仑、会西王母之事。穆王驾八骏、率七萃，西登昆仑，雪中作《黄竹》歌，与西王母唱和《白云》谣，后世传为仙游佳话。方平此诗不写其雄，而写其「逸游」之欢与「不返」之怅，寓一代儒臣对「帝王长生、欢会难留」的慨叹。北宋重《穆天子传》等小说家言，士大夫读之每寓身世之感和，方平晚年退居，于「璧台人不返」或有同慨。此诗当在方平读古、慕仙之作时，以七律写尽穆王之游与怅，亦见宋人咏逸史重「欢—怅」对照的学风。穆王驾八骏率七萃西登昆仑，与西王母唱和，传为仙游佳话，方平读《穆天子传》而咏，不写其雄而写其逸游之欢与不返之怅，寓儒臣对帝王长生、欢会难留的慨叹。北宋重小说家言，士大夫读之每寓身世之感；方平晚年退居，于璧台不返或有同慨，此诗以七律写尽穆王之游与怅，亦见宋人咏逸史重欢怅对照的学风与慕仙之思。穆王驾八骏率七萃西登昆仑与西王母唱和，方平读传而咏不写其雄写逸游之欢与不返之怅，寓儒臣对欢会难留之慨，亦见咏逸史重欢怅对照。

Art

The seven-character octet, four couplets, is structured like an immortal-travel fu. The opening couplet—'eight dragons gallop long to Kunlun; seven bands lead in carefree roaming'—opens with steeds leading, roaming Kunlun, writing his逸兴. The second—'meeting snow he cuts the Yellow Bamboo song; raising the cup glad answers the White Cloud lay'—uses two allusions for the joy of Mu and the Queen Mother's singing match, Yellow Bamboo and White Cloud both their songs. The third—'at Feather Hill wide music passes with wind; on Yan Mountain inscribed trace stays with sun'—opposes 'passes' and 'stays,' writing music gone with wind, trace长留. The fourth—'wistful, jade-terrace one returns no more; Pleasure Pool's lingering regret, plain waves' sorrow'—closes in regret, writing the meeting not returning, regret in the plain waves. The whole moves from roam to joy, joy to stay, stay to regret, antitheses exact, typical Song 'writing regret from joy,' deeper than直写 immortal travel.

此诗七言律诗，四联，章法如仙游赋。起联「八龙长鹜造昆丘，七萃前驱纵逸游」以骏马前驱、纵游昆仑起，写其逸兴；颔联「遇雪自裁黄竹唱，捧觞喜答白云讴」以二典写穆王与西王母唱和之欢，黄竹、白云皆其歌诗；颈联「羽陵广奏随风逝，崦阜铭踪共日留」以「逝」「留」对举，写乐奏随风、铭踪长留；尾联「惆怅璧台人不返，乐池遗恨素波愁」以怅收，写欢会不返、遗恨素波。通篇由游入欢、由欢入留、由留入怅，对仗精切，是宋人咏逸史「以欢写怅」的典型，比直写仙游更深一层。起联以骏马前驱纵游昆仑起，写逸兴；颔联以黄竹白云二典写人神唱和之欢；颈联以逝留对举写乐奏随风、铭踪长留；尾联以怅收写欢会不返、遗恨素波。通篇由游入欢、由欢入留、由留入怅，对仗精切，是宋人咏逸史「以欢写怅」的典型，比直写仙游更深一层，章法由盛转衰、由欢转愁，脉络分明。起联逸兴、颔联唱和、颈联逝留、尾联以怅收，由游入欢由欢入留由留入怅，对仗精切，是宋人咏逸史以欢写怅之典型，章法由盛转衰脉络分明。

Allusions

Allusions come from the Mu Tianzi Zhuan. One, 'eight dragons': Mu's eight steeds (Red Charger, Dark Steed, etc.), 'long gallop' means dashing. Two, 'Kunqiu': Kunlun, Mu's western climb. Three, 'seven bands': Mu's seven bands of guards, vanguard. Four, 'Yellow Bamboo song': when Mu traveled north and met snow he composed the three-chapter 'Yellow Bamboo' poem to mourn the people; Zhang writes 'meeting snow cuts himself' for his impromptu. Five, 'White Cloud lay': the Queen Mother sang for Mu 'white clouds in heaven, hills and mounds self-rise,' Mu answered; 'raising cup glad answers' writes their singing match's joy. Six, 'Feather Hill': Mu's book-storing place (Feather Hill), 'wide music' the music. Seven, 'Yan Mountain': Yanzi, the mountain of the sun's entry, where Mu inscribed his trace. Eight, 'jade terrace' and 'Pleasure Pool': Mu's built pleasure places, later sighs for seeking immortality not returning. All revolve around 'Mu's west tour—joyful meeting—not returning.'

用典皆《穆天子传》。其一，「八龙」：穆王八骏（赤骥、盗骊等），「长鹜」言驰骛。其二，「昆丘」：昆仑，穆王西登。其三，「七萃」：穆王七萃之士（禁卫），前驱。其四，「黄竹唱」：穆王北游遇雪，作《黄竹》诗三章以哀民，方平以「遇雪自裁」写其即兴。其五，「白云讴」：西王母为穆王谣「白云在天，山陵自出」，穆王和之，「捧觞喜答」写其唱和之乐。其六，「羽陵」：穆王藏书所（羽陵之山），「广奏」乐奏。其七，「崦阜」：崦嵫，日入之山，穆王铭迹于此。其八，「璧台」「乐池」：穆王所筑游乐之所，后人以为求仙不返之叹。诸典皆围绕「穆王西游—欢会—不返」一旨。「八龙」谓穆王八骏，「昆丘」昆仑，「七萃」禁卫，「黄竹唱」穆王遇雪作歌，「白云讴」西王母谣、穆王和之，「羽陵」穆王藏书，「崦阜」崦嵫日入之山、「铭踪」谓铭迹，「璧台」「乐池」穆王所筑游乐之所。诸典皆《穆天子传》，方平以欢唱对照不返之怅，正见其以典写境、以欢写逝的巧思，可觇宋人咏逸史用典之密。八龙昆丘七萃黄竹白云羽陵崦阜璧台乐池，诸典皆穆天子传，以欢唱对照不返之怅，正见以典写境以欢写逝之巧，可觇咏逸史用典之密。

Commentary

This poem is Zhang's immortal-history piece, whose hand lies in 'writing regret from joy.' The first six lines exhaust Mu's roaming splendor, singing-match joy, and long-staying trace, then the closing couplet 'wistful, jade-terrace one returns no more; Pleasure Pool's lingering regret, plain waves' sorrow' suddenly turns, closing with 'not returning' 'lingering regret,' so the whole does not lapse into immortal-travel praise-song. This fits the Song historical habit of 'not writing the event but the regret,' and shows Zhang's deep regret at imperial immortality and meetings hard to keep. Unlike 'Reading the Qi Family Annals' which writes Taigong's 'deep machine forgetting machine' implicitly, this writes Mu's 'regret' more visibly. Qing critics said Zhang's 'air is deep and elegant'; this octet writes the singing match with 'Yellow Bamboo' 'White Cloud' two allusions, antithesis 'Feather Hill—Yan Mountain' 'wind-passing—sun-staying' especially shows craft. Reading it, know Northern Song immortal-history has turned from Tang's 'admire immortality' to 'sigh passing'—this piece is an example; 'plain waves' sorrow' three words are exactly the Song manner of ending scene as feeling, closing joy with sorrow.

此诗是张方平咏逸史之作，手眼在「以欢写怅」。前六句极写穆王逸游之盛、唱和之欢、铭踪之长留，至尾联「惆怅璧台人不返，乐池遗恨素波愁」忽作转笔，以「不返」「遗恨」收束，使全诗不流于仙游颂歌。这正合宋人咏史「不写其事、写其憾」的取向，亦见方平于帝王长生、欢会难留的深慨。与《读齐世家》写太公「机深忘机」之含蓄不同，此篇写穆王之「怅」更显情韵。清人《宋诗钞》谓方平「气体渊雅」，此七律以「黄竹」「白云」二典写唱和，对仗「羽陵—崦阜」「风逝—日留」尤见工力。读此诗，当知北宋咏逸史已由唐之「慕仙」转向「叹逝」，此篇可为一例——「素波愁」三字，正是宋调以景结情、以愁收欢的典型。此诗手眼在「以欢写怅」，前六句极写逸游之盛与唱和之欢，尾联忽作转笔以不返遗恨收束，使全诗不流于仙游颂歌，合宋人咏史不写其事写其憾之取向，亦见方平于欢会难留的深慨。清人谓方平气体渊雅，此七律以黄竹白云写唱和，对仗羽陵崦阜尤见工力；「素波愁」以景结情，正是宋调以愁收欢的典型，读之可觇北宋咏逸史由唐之慕仙转向叹逝。前六句写盛与欢、尾联转笔以不返遗恨收，使不流于仙游颂歌；素波愁以景结情，正是宋调以愁收欢之典型，读之可觇北宋咏逸史由慕仙转向叹逝。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated octet (qilü)七言律诗

Rhyme Level-tone 'you' rhyme (qiu, you, ou, liu, chou), one rhyme throughout.平声尤韵（丘、游、讴、留、愁），一韵到底。

Tone pattern Qilü by level-oblique rules, middle two couplets antithetical: 'meeting snow cuts Yellow Bamboo song; raising cup glad answers White Cloud lay' and 'Feather Hill wide music passes wind; Yan Mountain inscribed trace stays with sun'—tones paired, parts matched.七言律诗依平仄，中二联对仗：『遇雪自裁黄竹唱，捧觞喜答白云讴』『羽陵广奏随风逝，崦阜铭踪共日留』，平仄相俪、词性相侔。

Reading note This seven-character octet rhymes level-tone 'you' (qiu, you, ou, liu, chou). The you rhyme belongs to the liu-she open third-class, its vowel幽柔回环, fit for immortal-travel's graceful, regretful low turn, matching 'carefree roaming' 'White Cloud lay' 'stays with sun' 'plain waves' sorrow's joy-regret. Zhang uses you rhyme to cage four couplets; the head 'qiu' (immortal roam) and tail 'chou' (lingering regret) echo, the middle 'you' 'ou' 'liu' carry-turn, sound from flowing to depressed, exactly holding the 'write regret from joy' structure. The regulated form stresses the middle two couplets' antithesis; this piece's second couplet 'Yellow Bamboo—White Cloud' 'cut—answer' antithesizes the singing match, third couplet 'Feather Hill—Yan Mountain' 'wind-passing—sun-staying' antithesizes passing-staying, both fine and embracing Mu's west-tour traces. The you rhyme's幽柔 cages this immortal-travel splendor and final regret, keeping the octet from floating amid dense middle allusions. The closing 'plain waves' sorrow' ends with a loose scenic line amid the parallel, its sorrow rhyme long. This piece shows the Song immortal-history face of 'writing regret through rhyme, writing traces through antithesis.'此诗七言律诗，押平声尤韵（丘、游、讴、留、愁）。尤韵属流摄开口三等，元音幽柔回环，宜写仙游旖旎、怅惘低回之调，与「纵逸游」「白云讴」「共日留」「素波愁」的欢—怅恰相称。方平以尤韵笼四联，首尾「丘」（仙游）与「愁」（遗恨）呼应，中幅「游」「讴」「留」承转，声情由畅而郁，正托住「以欢写怅」的章法。律诗重中二联对仗，此篇颔联「黄竹—白云」「裁—答」以唱和对举，颈联「羽陵—崦阜」「风逝—日留」以逝留对举，皆工切而包举穆王西游之迹。尤韵的幽柔笼住这番仙游的华赡与终怅，使七律不致因中幅典事堆叠而浮泛。尾联「素波愁」以散句景语收，于骈中放散，愁韵悠长。此篇可觇宋人咏逸史「以韵写怅、以对仗写迹」的面目。

Line by line

八龙长鹜造昆丘，七萃前驱纵逸游。

Eight dragons gallop long to Mount Kunlun; seven bands lead the way in carefree roaming.

八龙长骛而造昆仑，七萃前驱而纵情逸游。

Eight long dragons gallop to the Kunlun hills; the seven picked troops lead the way in a reckless roaming.

此起联以骏马前驱、纵游昆仑起，是全诗仙游的底座。「八龙长鹜造昆丘」写穆王驾八骏长驰而登昆仑，「八龙」用穆王八骏典，状其车马之盛；「七萃前驱纵逸游」写七萃之士前驱、纵情逸游，「七萃」用穆王禁卫典。二句一车马、一扈从，写尽西巡之壮与逸兴之豪。方平咏穆王不写其「荒」，而写其「逸」，先立欢游之调，为后文「不返」之怅反衬——正因其游之盛，故不返之恨愈深。七律起手以「八龙—七萃」的骈丽写仙游，色泽华赡，是宋调咏逸史「先扬后抑」的典型开篇，与《读齐世家》之含蓄隐写异趣而同归于「对照」之法。

The opening rises with galloping steeds and roaming Kunlun, the base of the whole immortal wandering. Eight long dragons gallop to the Kunlun hills writes King Mu driving the eight steeds on a long gallop to climb Kunlun; eight dragons uses the allusion to King Mu's eight steeds, writing the splendor of his chariot and horses. The seven picked troops lead the way in a reckless roaming writes the seven picked troops leading the vanguard, roaming to the full; the seven picked troops uses the allusion to King Mu's guard. The two lines, one chariot and horses one escort, write to the full the grandeur of the western tour and the heroism of the wandering. Fangping sings of King Mu not writing his wildness but his roving, first establishing the tune of joyful wandering, set off against the later regret of returns no more - precisely because his roaming was so grand, the grief of his not returning is the deeper. The regulated verse opening writes immortal wandering in the parallel splendor of eight dragons and seven picked, the color gorgeous, the typical opening of the Song tone on the roving history of first raising then depressing, different in taste from the implicit writing of the Reading the Annals of Qi but sharing the method of contrast.

遇雪自裁黄竹唱，捧觞喜答白云讴。

Meeting snow, he cuts himself the 'Yellow Bamboo' song; raising the cup, glad answers the 'White Cloud' lay.

遇雪自裁黄竹之歌，捧觞喜答白云之讴。

Caught in snow, he himself composed the Yellow Bamboo song; holding the cup, he gladly answered the White Cloud lay.

此颔联以二典写穆王与西王母唱和之欢，是全诗最旖旎的一联。「遇雪自裁黄竹唱」用穆王北游遇雪作《黄竹》诗三章之典，「自裁」写其即兴成篇；「捧觞喜答白云讴」用西王母谣「白云在天」、穆王捧觞相和之典，「喜答」写其唱和之乐。二句一雪中自吟、一觞边相答，对仗工而情韵浓，把《穆天子传》最动人的「人神唱和」写活。方平于此最见手眼：不铺陈游程，而撮「黄竹」「白云」二歌，以「裁—答」的施受写欢会。宋人咏史好以典写境，此联以「黄竹—白云」的清雅对举，正见其「以典写欢」的巧思，为尾联「不返」之怅蓄足欢势。

The jaw couplet uses two allusions to write the joy of King Mu's verse exchange with the Queen Mother of the West, the poem's most enchanting couplet. Caught in snow, he himself composed the Yellow Bamboo song uses the allusion to King Mu, traveling north and caught in snow, composing three chapters of Yellow Bamboo; self-composed writes his making a poem on the spur of the moment. Holding the cup, he gladly answered the White Cloud lay uses the allusion to the Queen Mother of the West's lay white clouds in the sky, and King Mu holding the cup and answering; gladly answered writes the joy of the verse exchange. The two lines, one self-chanted in the snow one answered at the cup, the parallel wrought and the feeling rich, bringing the most moving god-and-man verse exchange of the Chronicle of King Mu to life. Fangping here most shows his hand and eye: not spreading the itinerary, but gathering the two songs Yellow Bamboo and White Cloud, writing the joyous meeting through the giving and receiving of compose and answer. Song poets singing of history loved to write the realm through allusion; this couplet's elegant pairing of Yellow Bamboo and White Cloud exactly shows the fine thought of writing joy through allusion, gathering the joyous force for the closing's regret of returns no more.

惆怅璧台人不返，乐池遗恨素波愁。

Wistful—the jade-terrace one returns no more; the Pleasure Pool's lingering regret, in the plain waves' sorrow.

惆怅璧台之人不复返，乐池遗恨付与素波之愁。

Sorrowful, the man of the Jade Terrace returns no more; the Pool of Delight bequeaths regret, its pale waves in grief.

此尾联以怅收束，是全诗情韵的落点。「惆怅璧台人不返」写穆王所筑璧台之人（或指西王母、或指穆王仙游不返）终不归来，字字惆怅；「乐池遗恨素波愁」以乐池之水载遗恨、素波生愁收束，以景结情。二句把前面「八龙纵游」「黄竹白云」的欢盛，凝为「不返」「遗恨」的悲凉，章法由盛转衰、由欢转愁。尤可味者「素波愁」三字，以无情之水写有情之恨，景语即情语，是宋调「以景结情」的典型。七律末联最重余味，此以「不返—遗恨」的斩截与「素波愁」的纡徐相济，愁而不厉，正合台阁咏史「哀而不伤」之度，亦暗含方平对「欢会难留、盛世易逝」的深慨。

The closing gathers in sorrow, the landing of the poem's feeling and tone. Sorrowful, the man of the Jade Terrace returns no more writes that the man of the Jade Terrace built by King Mu (whether the Queen Mother or King Mu himself in his immortal wandering) at last returns no more, every word sorrowful. The Pool of Delight bequeaths regret, its pale waves in grief closes with the waters of the Pool of Delight bearing the bequeathed regret and the pale waves breeding grief, closing the feeling in scenery. The two lines condense the preceding joyous splendor of the eight dragons' roaming and the Yellow Bamboo and White Cloud into the desolation of returns no more and bequeathed regret, the structure turning from splendor to decline, from joy to grief. What is more to taste is the three words pale waves in grief, writing feeling grief through the water without feeling, scenery words at once feeling words, the typical Song way of closing feeling in scenery. The regulated verse closing weighs most on aftertone; this balances the decisive returns no more and bequeathed regret with the lingering pale waves in grief, grieving yet not harsh, exactly suiting the courtly historical poem's measure of grieving without injury, and secretly holding Fangping's deep sigh that joyous meetings are hard to keep and the flourishing age easily passes.

Study

Word focus

八龙 'Ba long chang wu zao kun qiu' — 'eight dragons' refers to Mu's eight steeds (Red Charger, Dark Steed, White Meaning, Surpassing Wheel, Mountain Son, Channel Yellow, Hua Liu, Green Ear), recorded in the Mu Tianzi Zhuan. Zhang places these two characters at the head, writing Mu's steeds' splendor and west-tour majesty, more mythic than plainly saying 'eight steeds' (dragon figures the steed's divinity). The word's subtlety pairs with 'long gallop'—eight dragons dashing long, majestic, with 'seven bands lead' forming the opulent opening of steeds and guard. Song immortal-history likes mythic evocation; Zhang's 'eight dragons' both fits the Mu Zhuan story and暗启 the whole 'immortal roam' tone; the 'dragon's' honor also sets off Mu's kingly dignity, planting for the later 'jade terrace not returning' drop—the grander the roam, the deeper the not-returning regret. 「八龙长鹜造昆丘」之「八龙」，指穆王八骏（赤骥、盗骊、白义、逾轮、山子、渠黄、华骝、绿耳），《穆天子传》所载。方平以此二字冠篇，写穆王车马之盛、西巡之壮，比直说「八骏」更显神话色彩（龙喻骏之神）。此词之妙在「长鹜」相配——八龙长驰，声势赫赫，与下「七萃前驱」构成车马扈从的华赡开篇。宋人咏逸史好以神话起兴，方平此用「八龙」既切《穆传》本事，又暗启全诗「仙游」之调；「龙」字之尊，亦衬穆王王者之贵，为后文「璧台不返」的落差伏脉——盛游愈显，不返愈怅。

素波 'Le chi yi hen su bo chou' — 'su bo' means the clear white water waves, the Pleasure Pool's water. Zhang uses these two characters to close the whole poem, writing the wordless plain waves bearing the lingering regret, scene-language is feeling-language. The word's weight is the 'su' (plain/white) character—su means the water's clarity, also contains 'original, wordless,'暗写 the regret's depth yet hard to speak, only given to the plain waves. Paired with 'lingering regret,' from regret to wave, ending scene as feeling, typical Song octet 'closing sorrow with scene.' Most savored: 'plain waves' sorrow' three words condense the earlier 'Yellow Bamboo' 'White Cloud' clear joyful singing into the plain waves' sorrow—joy-sorrow contrast turns wholly in this one word's shift. Two characters cold yet feeling-bearing, the poem's most ingenious close, and a rare tender stroke in Zhang's 'deep and elegant' air. 「乐池遗恨素波愁」之「素波」，谓清白之水波，乐池之水。方平以此二字收全诗，以无情之素波写有情之遗恨，景语即情语。此词之重在一「素」字——素既言水之清白，亦含「本然、无言」之意，暗写恨之深而难言，唯付与素波。与「遗恨」相配，由恨及波，以景结情，是宋调七律「以景收愁」的典型。尤可味者「素波愁」三字，把前面「黄竹」「白云」的清雅欢唱，收束为素波之愁，欢—愁对照全在此一字之转。二字冷峭而含情，是全诗最见巧思的收束，亦方平「气体渊雅」中偶露深情的一笔。