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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

访朱先生值昼寝

Calling on Master Zhu, and Finding Him Asleep

张方平

Zhang Fangping

访道Calling on a Daoist 清静Quietude

一枕清风靖馆深，满庭公桧鬰交阴。
此时真境谁人见，月在泥丸日在心。

A single pillow, a clear breeze, the quiet chamber deep;
The whole courtyard, old junipers, their shade woven thick.
At such a moment who can see the true realm?
The moon within the Mud-Pill, the sun within the heart.

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Meaning

Zhang Fangping calls on a Master Zhu, a recluse of the Dao, and finds him napping at midday. Instead of disturbing his dream, the poet stands in the quiet courtyard and reads the scene as a lesson in the Way: the deep quiet chamber, the woven shade of old junipers, and the sleeper's 'true realm'—for the true realm is not in the clamor of things but within, 'the moon within the Mud-Pill, the sun within the heart,' the inner light of the Daoist's alchemy. A chance meeting with a sleeping hermit becomes a quatrain about where the true realm is to be found.

一枕清风里靖馆幽深，满庭古桧郁郁交织成阴。此时真境有谁人得见，月在那泥丸（丹田）日在那心头。

Appreciation

A seven-character quatrain whose chapter-plan gathers from outer scene to inner realm. The first couplet writes the outer world: 'a single pillow, a clear breeze, the quiet chamber deep' points to Master Zhu's daytime sleep—the stillness of the form; 'the whole courtyard, old junipers, their shade woven thick' writes the deep shadow of the old trees—the quiet of the place. The second couplet turns from outer to inner, from scene to Way: 'at such a moment who can see the true realm?' asks the question, and 'the moon within the Mud-Pill, the sun within the heart' answers in the words of Daoist inner alchemy. The question and answer draw the outer quiet back to the inner clarity, a classic Song poem of 'grasping the Way in an everyday event.'

【白话串讲】张方平去访朱先生，他正在午睡：“一枕清风靖馆深，满庭公桧鬰交阴”。“此时真境谁人见，月在泥丸日在心”——他写访道不遇、却见真境。【意象与手法】七绝以「外境—内境」两层收束。首联写访时清境：一枕清风、靖馆幽深，满庭古桧郁交成阴，烘托与世相隔的修真之地；后联由景转道，以「谁人见」设问、以「月在泥丸日在心」的内丹语作答，把外在清幽收归内在澄明。即事悟道，小诗有纳须弥于芥子之格局。【情感与主旨】主旨是访道悟真：写朱先生昼寝中所证「真境」，不在外物喧闹而在人心日月，寄寓方平静中观道、内外互映的修养，亦折射北宋士大夫访道于隐、与方外交游的静慧。【名句点睛】「月在泥丸日在心」最见道机，以体内日月的内丹语点化寻常昼寝，使访友小诗升格为证道偈颂。

Background

The title records that Zhang Fangping called on a Master Zhu, a recluse of the Dao, and found him napping at midday. Master Zhu is otherwise unknown, but was likely a Daoist or a recluse fond of the Way whom Fangping knew—for Northern Song scholar-officials had close relations with the world beyond the ordinary, as with Su Shi and Wang Anshi, and Fangping in his later years was especially devoted to quietude. The 'quiet chamber' and 'old junipers' point to a place of pure cultivation, and 'the Mud-Pill,' 'the sun,' and 'the moon' are terms of Daoist inner alchemy (the Mud-Pill is the acupoint at the crown of the head, the sun and moon the yin and yang of the body's true breath).

此诗题《访朱先生值昼寝》，写张方平拜访一位朱姓隐逸之士，恰逢其白日昼寝，遂就眼前清境与道友之眠写一首小诗。朱先生其人未详，当为方平所交的道士或好道隐者——北宋士大夫与方外之交甚密，苏轼、王安石皆然，方平晚年尤耽虚静，故此访带几分问道之意。诗中「靖馆」即静室、「公桧」指古桧（桧树，常植于寺观），点出所访乃清修之地；「泥丸」「日」「月」则是道教内丹术语（泥丸为头顶穴，日月喻体内阴阳真气）。方平不叩门惊梦，而静观其睡、领略真境，这「值昼寝」的偶遇，恰成一首写「静」与「道」的绝句。读懂北宋士大夫「访道于隐」的风尚与道教内丹的话语，方能体会此诗非闲适小品，而是一则关于「真境」何在的道机——真境不在外物喧闹，而在人心日月。再就内丹学补数端。「泥丸」「日」「月」皆道教内丹术语，其说源于《黄庭经》与《周易参同契》的体系。《黄庭经》谓「泥丸百节皆有神」「泥丸九真皆有房」，以泥丸为头部上丹田、元神所居；内丹家又以「日」「月」分喻阳魂与阴魄、真火与真水，修炼以「取坎填离」「日月合璧」为归，谓使体内阴阳交媾、结为金丹。方平以「月在泥丸日在心」写朱先生之眠，谓其上丹田（泥丸）有月、中丹田（心）有日，上下辉映，正是内丹「水火既济、阴阳和合」的至境之象。北宋士大夫好道者众，苏辙、黄庭坚皆精内丹，方平晚年「耽虚静」，此诗以丹经语入诗，正见其道教修养非徒慕其名，而能深入其术。又，「值昼寝」而作诗，本是一个极平常的日常片段，方平却能于其中悟出「真境」，正是「道在瓦甓」的宋型思维。

Art

The art of the poem lies in its gathering from outer scene to inner realm. The first couplet writes the outer world—the sleeper's pillow and the woven shade, the stillness of the form and the quiet of the place, building a realm cut off from the world. The second couplet turns from outer to inner, from scene to Way: the question 'who can see the true realm?' and the answer 'the moon within the Mud-Pill, the sun within the heart,' drawing the outer quiet back to the inner clarity in the words of Daoist alchemy. The question and answer make a quatrain of twenty-eight characters a lesson in the Way.

此诗七言绝句，章法由「外境—内境」两层收束，先写访时所见之清，后写眠中所证之真，二十八字而成一则道机。首联「一枕清风靖馆深，满庭公桧鬰交阴」写外境：上句「一枕清风」点朱先生昼寝，枕上清风、馆宇清靖而深，是形之静；下句「满庭公桧鬰交阴」写庭中古桧郁然交荫，是境之幽。两句由人（一枕）及物（满庭），由风（清）及树（阴），烘托出一个与世相隔的修真之境。后联「此时真境谁人见，月在泥丸日在心」由外转内、由景转道：上句以「此时真境谁人见」作问，点出朱先生昼寝中所入非寻常睡境，而是「真境」；下句「月在泥丸日在心」以道教内丹语作答——泥丸（上丹田）有月、心宫有日，体内阴阳交媾、真气朗然。一问一答，把外在的清幽收归内在的澄明，是宋人「即事悟道」小诗的典型笔法。细按章法，此诗四句的收放关系尤为精妙：前两句是「放」，把笔触铺向外在的清景——一枕清风、靖馆之深、满庭古桧之阴，层层渲染出一个幽邃的空间；后两句是「收」，把笔触骤然收向内在的道境——以「谁人见」设问，以「月在泥丸日在心」作答，把外在的广袤收归体内的一点光明。这一「放」一「收」之间，完成了由「境」到「心」、由「外」到「内」的翻转，其章法如摄影之推拉镜头，先远后近、先大后小，最终聚焦于「泥丸」「心」这体内宇宙。又，前两句纯以景语，后两句纯以理语，景语之「清幽」正为理语之「澄明」作铺垫——唯有外境如此幽静，才衬得出内境如此朗然。此种「外境—内境」的双层结构，使一首二十八字的小诗有了「纳须弥于芥子」的格局，正是宋人七绝「以简驭繁」的极则。

Allusions

The poem's allusions and terms all belong to the cultivation of the Dao. 'The quiet chamber' is the Daoist chamber of cultivation. 'Old junipers,' ever green, are planted about temples and shrines as emblems of immortality, their woven shade deepening the solitude. 'The true realm' is the Daoist term for the real state in accord with the Way, different from what the common eye sees. 'The Mud-Pill' is the key acupoint of inner alchemy at the crown of the head, the upper elixir field where the primal spirit dwells; 'the moon' stands for the yin soul, the true water. 'The sun' stands for the yang soul, the true fire, dwelling in the heart. When the alchemy is perfected, 'the moon is within the Mud-Pill and the sun within the heart'—the light of the upper and lower elixir fields shines clear.

诗中用典与术语皆关道教修真。其一，「靖馆」即靖室、静室，道教修行之所（「靖」通「静」，亦为道士斋醮之室），点出所访乃清修地。其二，「公桧」指古桧树，桧常植于宫观陵园，以其长青象征不朽；「鬰交阴」写其荫浓，烘托幽寂。其三，「真境」为道家语，指与道契合的实相境界，不同于俗眼所见之境。其四，「泥丸」为道教内丹要穴，在头顶百会，为「上丹田」，内丹家以泥丸为元神所居；「月」喻阴魄、真水。其五，「日」喻阳魂、真火，居「心」（中丹田）。内丹学以「日月」、「坎离」喻体内阴阳二气，修炼至境则「月在泥丸、日在心」——上下丹田光明显现、阴阳和合。方平以之内化朱先生之眠：其昼寝非昏睡，而是入定见证体内日月。诸语环环相扣，把一次寻常拜访点化为一则内丹证道的偈颂，是宋人「以道语入诗」而能不堕神秘的例子。诸术语之外，尚可再辨数端。其一，「靖馆」之「靖」，除通「静」外，在道教语境中更有专指——道教「靖室」为道士存思、斋戒之所，唐人称「靖室」、宋人称「靖馆」，皆是清修之地，方平以「靖馆」点出朱先生的道者身份，一字而含「清静」「斋修」两义。其二，「公桧」之「桧」，即桧柏，因其四季常青、经冬不凋，古人植于宫观、陵寝，以象长生不朽，方平写「满庭公桧」，既是实景，亦暗寓「长生久视」的道家之旨。其三，「真境」一词，本道家语，指与道契合的实相境界，与「幻境」「尘境」相对，方平以「真境」许朱先生之眠，谓其非寻常睡梦，而是入定证道。此数语皆非泛泛写景，而处处暗扣道教修行之义，故前联之「清」与后联之「真」，实是一体之两面——外境之清，正为内境之真的显发。

Commentary

Zhang Fangping's poem belongs to the line of 'grasping the Way in an everyday event' among Song poems of calling on hermits, its pure, still tone akin to Su Shi's and Wang Anshi's, but richer in the terms of Daoist alchemy. Critics of the past valued the airy emptiness of Tang poems of seeking hermits, like Jia Dao's 'Seeking the Hermit in Vain'; Fangping's piece, by contrast, closes with the alchemical words of the Mud-Pill and the sun and moon, 'dense' with the mechanism of the Way. This is the difference between Tang and Song: the Tang poem seeks the hermit in the delight of the image beyond the clouds; the Song poem points out the principle of cultivation, writing an encounter as a lesson in the Way that can be expounded.

方平《访朱先生值昼寝》在宋人访道小诗中属「即事悟真」一路，与苏轼《书李世南所画秋景》、王安石《题西太一宫壁》之澄淡同调，而更具道教内丹色彩。历来论者多重唐人访隐诗（如贾岛《寻隐者不遇》）的清空，方平此首却以「泥丸」「日月」的丹经话语收束，显得「密」而有「道机」。这正见宋诗与唐诗之别：唐人访隐多在「云深不知处」的象外之趣，宋人访道则好点出修证之「理」——把遇合写成一则可解说的道机。又，诗中「值昼寝」而不惊、静观而领「真境」，这种「不扰方外、于无意中得趣」的态度，正是北宋士大夫与方外交游的得体分寸，亦折射其「静中观道」的修养。清人论绝句，每喜此诗后联之「奇」：以月日泥丸心宫的体内宇宙，对应前联之外在清风古桧，内外互映，小诗遂有「纳须弥于芥子」的格局。读此诗，当于清景之下，见内丹之秘。再进一步，此诗在「访道」题材中的独特性，尤在于它把「不遇」写成了「遇」。唐人贾岛《寻隐者不遇》，写的是「云深不知处」的怅惘，隐者高渺而不可即；方平此诗「值昼寝」，虽未与朱先生晤谈，却于其「眠」中见出「真境」，是「不遇」而反得「道机」——所遇者不是人，而是人所证的境。这种「于无所得处得道」的写法，比直写宾主问答更见超逸，也更合道门「无心合道」的宗旨。又，以「昼寝」这一极世俗、极慵懒的日常，反写「入定」「证真」的极神圣之境，一俗一圣、一弛一凝，反差之中见方平的幽默与哲思。宋人绝句尚理趣，此诗可谓理趣与道趣兼备的佳作。历来选家于宋人访道诗，多取苏轼、黄庭坚，然方平此首以二十八字而含「外境—内境—真境」三重，其精微处实不下于苏、黄。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain七言绝句

Rhyme The first line enters the rhyme; the whole rhymes on the level-tone qin rhymes, shen, yin, xin, one rhyme to the end, the sound clear and still首句入韵，通押平声侵韵，韵脚为「深」「阴」「心」，一韵到底，音清而幽。

Tone pattern Seven-character quatrain beginning on a level tone with the first line in rhyme; the first line 'a single pillow, a clear breeze' level-level-level-level-oblique-level, the second 'the whole courtyard, old junipers' oblique-oblique-level-oblique-oblique-level, the third ending on an oblique tone and the fourth on a level, matching the form七言绝句平起首句入韵体。首句「一枕清风靖馆深」平起平收，次句「满庭公桧鬰交阴」仄起平收，三四句「此时真境谁人见，月在泥丸日在心」平仄相谐，第三句仄收、第四句平收，合七绝格律。

Reading note A seven-character quatrain whose chapter-plan gathers from the outer scene to the inner realm, its closing line dense with the terms of Daoist inner alchemy.此诗为七言绝句之平起首句入韵体，四句三韵（深、阴、心），通押平声侵韵。侵韵属深摄开口三等，元音幽深、音色清润，最宜写靖馆清风、古桧交阴的幽寂与「泥丸日月」的内朗；方平以之笼全篇，读来声静意远，正与「值昼寝」的恬淡、证真境的澄明相称。中无对仗强制，而首联「一枕清风」对「满庭公桧」、「靖馆深」对「交阴」，自有当句之偶；后联以「谁人见」设问、「月在泥丸日在心」作答，问答之间气韵流走。七绝体短，最贵清空而有余味，方平以前联之外境清幽蓄势，后联以内证之奇宕开，赖侵韵的幽润之气贯串，使小诗有「纳须弥于芥子」的格局。较之唐人访隐诗多写象外之趣，宋人此调好点修证之「理」，侵韵之深正与其内敛道机相表里，欲体会宋调七绝以密语写玄理者，此篇可参。

Line by line

一枕清风靖馆深，满庭公桧鬰交阴。

A single pillow, a clear breeze, the quiet chamber deep; the whole courtyard, old junipers, their shade woven thick. (The first couplet writes the outer world: the sleeper's pillow and the woven shade, the stillness of the form and the quiet of the place, building a realm cut off from the world.)

一枕清风里靖馆幽深，满庭古桧郁郁交织成阴。

On a pillow of clear breeze, the quiet hall is deep; the whole courtyard of ancient cypresses grows dense and interwoven in shade.

首联「一枕清风靖馆深，满庭公桧鬰交阴」以凝静之笔写访时所见外境，是全诗「静」的底色。上句「一枕清风靖馆深」，「一枕」点出朱先生正当昼寝，枕畔清风徐来，「靖馆」即静室，一「深」字写出馆宇幽邃、与尘嚣隔绝，是形之静亦心之静。下句「满庭公桧鬰交阴」由人及物，写庭院中古桧（公桧，常植寺观之长青树）郁郁葱葱、枝柯交荫，「鬰交阴」三字以浓绿之色、交叠之态，把幽寂写到可触可感。两句一写风（清）、一写树（阴），一写人眠、一写物荫，由近（枕）及远（庭），烘托出一个与世相隔的修真之境。方平不写叩门、不写晤谈，只写「值昼寝」时的周遭，这种「不惊其眠、静观其境」的写法，恰见与方外交游的得体与静中观道的修养。前联之清幽，正是为后联「真境」之显现铺一层外在的洁净舞台。

The opening writes the outer realm seen on the visit, in a still brush, the ground of the poem's quiet. The first, on a pillow of clear breeze, the quiet hall is deep: the pillow points out that Master Zhu is taking his midday sleep, the clear breeze drifting by the pillow; the quiet hall means the quiet room, and the word deep writes the hall's seclusion, cut off from the dusty noise, the stillness of form and of heart. The second, the whole courtyard of ancient cypresses grows dense and interwoven in shade, moves from the man to the things, writing the courtyard's ancient cypresses (the evergreen cypress often planted in temples) lush and boughs interwoven in shade; the words dense and interwoven in shade, in their thick green color and overlapping posture, write the seclusion to the touch. The two lines, one writing wind (clear), one writing trees (shade), one writing the sleeping man, one writing the shaded trees, from near (the pillow) to far (the courtyard), setting off a realm of cultivating truth cut off from the world. Fangping does not write knocking the door or a meeting, only writes the surroundings at the midday sleep; this way of not startling his sleep and quietly watching the realm exactly shows the propriety of the friendship beyond the world and the cultivation of seeing the Way in stillness. The preceding line's clear quiet is precisely to lay an outer clean stage for the later line's appearance of the true realm.

此时真境谁人见，月在泥丸日在心。

At such a moment who can see the true realm? The moon within the Mud-Pill, the sun within the heart. (The second couplet turns from outer to inner, from scene to Way: the question asks where the true realm is, and the answer in the words of Daoist alchemy draws the outer quiet back to the inner clarity.)

此时真境有谁人得见，月在那泥丸（丹田）日在那心头。

At this moment, who sees the true realm? The moon is in the Niwan, the sun is in the heart.

后联「此时真境谁人见，月在泥丸日在心」由外境转内证，是全诗道机所聚、亦境界升华。上句「此时真境谁人见」以设问顿住：朱先生昼寝中所入，已非常人睡境，而是与道契合的「真境」，这真境无形无相，俗眼谁能得见——一个「谁人见」把读者从外在清景拉向内在的证悟。下句「月在泥丸日在心」以道教内丹语作答，奇而确：泥丸为头顶上丹田（元神所居），以「月」喻阴真；心为中丹田，以「日」喻阳真；体内日月交映、阴阳和合，正是内丹修炼至境的显象。方平以此内化朱先生之眠：其昼寝非昏睡，而是入定见证体内光明。一问一答之间，把前联外在的「清风古桧」收归内在的「泥丸日月」，外静内明，内外互映。短短十四字，使一首访友小诗升格为一则内丹证道的偈颂，是宋人「即事悟道」以密语写玄理的典型，亦见方平佛老修养之深。

The closing turns from the outer realm to inner realization, the gathering of the poem's Daoist paradox and the sublimation of its realm. The first, at this moment, who sees the true realm? pauses in a question: what Master Zhu enters in his midday sleep is no ordinary sleeping realm, but the true realm of accord with the Way; this true realm has no form and no appearance, and what vulgar eye can see it? The words who sees pull the reader from the outer clear scenery to the inner awakening. The second answers in Taoist inner-alchemy language, strange yet precise: the Niwan is the upper cinnabar field at the crown (where the primal spirit dwells), and the moon meta-phors the yin truth; the heart is the middle cinnabar field, and the sun meta-phors the yang truth; the body's sun and moon shine on each other and yin and yang are harmonized, exactly the manifest image of the ultimate inner-alchemy realm. Fangping thus internalizes Master Zhu's sleep: his midday sleep is not lethargy, but entering samadhi and witnessing the inner light. Between one question and one answer, the first couplet's outer clear breeze and ancient cypress are gathered into the inner Niwan sun and moon, still outside, luminous within, inner and outer shining on each other. In short fourteen characters, a small poem of visiting a friend is raised into a gatha witnessing the Way through inner alchemy, the typical Song way of awakening to the matter and writing the mysterious reason in secret words, and showing the depth of Fangping's Buddhist and Taoist cultivation.

Study

Word focus

泥丸 The Mud-Pill. The key acupoint of Daoist inner alchemy at the crown of the head, the upper elixir field where the primal spirit dwells; 'the moon within the Mud-Pill' is the clear light of the perfected cultivation. 「泥丸」是后联下句的核心道术语，亦是全诗由「景」入「道」的锁钥。泥丸为道教内丹的「上丹田」，位于头顶百会之处，《黄庭经》谓「泥丸百节皆有神」，乃元神所居、众妙之门。方平以「月在泥丸」写朱先生昼寝入定时的体内证境：上丹田浮现如月之阴真，与「日在心」（中丹田之阳真）上下辉映，正合内丹「坎离交媾、日月合璧」的至境。此词之重，在把一次寻常的「值昼寝」点化为内丹证道的显现——朱先生之眠，非昏沉之睡，而是炼神还虚的入定。二字位置极巧：它上承「真境谁人见」之问，以具体的丹经语作答，使抽象的「真境」落到可指的人体宇宙；下与「日」「心」对举，构成体内日月的小宇宙。以「泥丸」收束，使访友小诗获得《黄庭》般的道密，是宋人「以道语入诗」而不堕神秘的例子。

靖馆 The quiet chamber. The Daoist chamber of pure cultivation; 'a single pillow, a clear breeze, the quiet chamber deep' points the poem to the place of the Way, cut off from the clamor of the world. 「靖馆」是首联上句的核心词，乃全诗清境的起点，亦所访之地性质的标示。靖，通「静」，靖馆即静室、靖室，本为道教修行栖神之所（道士斋醮、存思皆于靖室），后世亦泛称幽静的居馆。方平以「一枕清风靖馆深」写朱先生昼寝于靖馆之中，一「靖」字先立下全诗的修行语境：这不是寻常人家的卧榻，而是方外清修之地。更可味者，「靖」与后文「真境」遥相呼应——外有靖馆之静，内有真境之明，由外靖到内真，恰是修道「由境摄心」的脉络。且「深」字与「靖」字相生：靖则深，深则隔尘，为后联「谁人见」的真境铺垫——正因其深、其靖，真境才非俗眼所能窥。二字看似平淡记地，实是全篇「静—真」结构的地基，足见方平炼字之省净：不着道貌，而道气已盈。