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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

送韩十四江东觐省

Seeing Off Han the Fourteenth on His Return East of the River to Visit His Parents

杜甫

Du Fu

送别Farewell 乱离Turmoil and displacement

兵戈不见老莱衣，叹息人间万事非。
我已无家寻弟妹，君今何处访庭闱。
黄牛峡静滩声转，白马江寒树影稀。
此别应须各努力，故乡犹恐未同归。

War has banished the old man's colored robe of filial joy; I sigh that all things in this world have gone awry.
I have no home left in which to seek my brother and sister; where now will you go to visit your parents' hall?
At Yellow Ox Gorge the rapids murmur in the stillness; on White Horse River the cold trees cast sparse shadows.
We must each strive well at this parting—yet I fear we may not return together to our native land.

Listen

Meaning

This is a farewell to Han the Fourteenth, who is returning to the east of the Yangtze to visit his parents during the An Lushan rebellion. Du Fu contrasts Han's filial journey with his own homelessness and separation from kin, weaving the grief of a broken age into a leave-taking. The closing lines urge mutual resolve while voicing a fearful doubt that they will ever reunite in their homeland.

兵戈不见老莱衣，叹息人间万事非。我已无家寻弟妹，君今何处访庭闱。黄牛峡静滩声转，白马江寒树影稀。此别应须各努力，故乡犹恐未同归。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Du Fu bids farewell to Han the Fourteenth, who is going east of the river to pay his respects to his parents. The poet opens with the image of war erasing the cheerful filial robe of Lao Lai Zi, sighing that everything in the world has turned wrong. He then contrasts Han's pious errand with his own homelessness—having no family left to seek, he asks where Han will find his parents' hall. [Structure] The first four lines dwell on the chaos of the age and the speaker's rootlessness; the last four turn to the journey itself and the parting. The middle couplet balances 'I have no home' against 'where will you go,' a poignant antithesis of two households. [Imagery] Yellow Ox Gorge and White Horse River map Han's cold, lonely road with the quiet of rushing water and sparse tree-shadows; the stillness sharpens the sense of departure. [Tone] The poem is archetypal Du Fu—'severe and restrained': public grief at the age's ruin fused with private affection, ending on a trembling note of uncertain reunion.

【白话串讲】杜甫写《送韩十四江东觐省》：“兵戈不见老莱衣，叹息人间万事非”——“我已无家寻弟妹，君今何处访庭闱”——“黄牛峡静滩声转，白马江寒树影稀”——“此别应须各努力，故乡犹恐未同归”——他送韩十四省亲——我已无家可寻弟妹了。【意象与手法】此诗写送别，以战乱写送别，是杜甫的名篇。前四句写乱离：「兵戈不见老莱衣，叹息人间万事非。我已无家寻弟妹，君今何处访庭闱」写兵戈不见老莱衣、叹息人间万事非——写尽乱离的感慨；后四句写送别：「黄牛峡静滩声转，白马江寒树影稀。此别应须各努力，故乡犹恐未同归」写黄牛峡静滩声转、此别应须各努力——写尽送别的感慨。全诗以战乱写送别，写尽乱离的感慨与送别的感慨，是杜甫的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写送别，以战乱写送别，是杜甫的名篇。此诗写送韩十四（排行十四）回江东探望父母。安史之乱后，杜甫流寓蜀中。韩十四欲回江东觐省（探望父母），杜甫作此诗送之。此诗以「兵戈不见老莱衣」写战乱之中再难见老莱子彩衣娱亲之孝，叹息人间万事皆非；杜甫自己已无家可寻弟妹，而问韩十四何处访庭闱；黄牛峡、白马江是韩十四必经之地，滩声转、树影稀写旅途之寒寂；末言此别应各努力，然故乡犹恐不能同归。此诗写乱离：兵戈不见老莱衣，叹息人间万事非——写兵戈不见老莱衣、叹息人间万事非，写尽乱离的感慨；我已无家寻弟妹，君今何处访庭闱——写我已无家寻弟妹、君今何处访庭闱，写尽无家的感慨；黄牛峡静滩声转，白马江寒树影稀——写黄牛峡静滩声转、白马江寒树影稀，写尽旅途的寒寂；此别应须各努力，故乡犹恐未同归——写此别应须各努力、故乡犹恐未同归，写尽送别的感慨。全诗以战乱写送别——那「兵戈不见老莱衣」写尽乱离的感慨，「故乡犹恐未同归」写尽送别的感慨，写尽乱离的感慨与送别的感慨，是理解杜甫送别诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「兵戈不见老莱衣，叹息人间万事非」写乱离的感慨；「我已无家寻弟妹，君今何处访庭闱」写无家的感慨；以及全诗以战乱写送别、以对仗写旅途的手法。

Background

Du Fu (712–770), styled Zimei, was a Tang poet honored as the 'Sage of Poetry' whose work is called 'poetry history.' After the An Lushan rebellion he was displaced in Shu (Sichuan). This poem sees off Han the Fourteenth (fourteenth in his family's ranking), who is returning to the Jiangdong region to visit his parents (jinsheng). Written in the turmoil of the rebellion, the poem laments that war has made the filial ideal impossible while Han can still perform it. Du Fu, himself homeless and separated from his siblings, frames the journey through Yellow Ox Gorge and White Horse River as cold and lonely, and closes with mutual encouragement shadowed by fear of never reuniting. It is a key work among Du Fu's farewell poems.

此诗写送别，以战乱写送别，是杜甫的名篇。杜甫（712—770），字子美，号少陵野老，巩县（今河南巩义）人，唐代诗人，与李白并称「李杜」，被尊为「诗圣」，其诗被称为「诗史」。此诗写送韩十四（排行十四）回江东探望父母。安史之乱后，杜甫流寓蜀中。韩十四欲回江东觐省（探望父母），杜甫作此诗送之。此诗以「兵戈不见老莱衣」写战乱之中再难见老莱子彩衣娱亲之孝，叹息人间万事皆非；杜甫自己已无家可寻弟妹，而问韩十四何处访庭闱；黄牛峡、白马江是韩十四必经之地，滩声转、树影稀写旅途之寒寂；末言此别应各努力，然故乡犹恐不能同归。此诗写乱离：「兵戈不见老莱衣，叹息人间万事非」写兵戈不见老莱衣、叹息人间万事非——写尽乱离的感慨（兵戈不见老莱衣，叹息人间万事非）；「我已无家寻弟妹，君今何处访庭闱」写我已无家寻弟妹、君今何处访庭闱——写尽无家的感慨（我已无家寻弟妹，君今何处访庭闱）；「黄牛峡静滩声转，白马江寒树影稀」写黄牛峡静滩声转、白马江寒树影稀——写尽旅途的寒寂（黄牛峡静滩声转，白马江寒树影稀）；「此别应须各努力，故乡犹恐未同归」写此别应须各努力、故乡犹恐未同归——写尽送别的感慨（此别应须各努力，故乡犹恐未同归）。全诗以战乱写送别，写尽乱离的感慨与送别的感慨，是理解杜甫送别诗的重要篇章。

Art

The artistry rests on four moves. First, an allusion to set the ruin: 'war has banished the colored robe of Lao Lai Zi' cites the sage who at seventy wore bright clothes to amuse his parents, here undone by war, condensing a whole world of lost filial joy. Second, an antithetical pairing: 'I have no home to seek my brother and sister' against 'where will you visit your parents' hall,' juxtaposing two households—one destroyed, one still reachable. Third, parallel imagery for the road: Yellow Ox Gorge and White Horse River form a matched couplet whose stillness and cold evoke the lonely journey. Fourth, an exhortation carrying deep feeling: 'we must each strive' turns parting into mutual encouragement. The poem moves from public turmoil to private leave-taking, and its single words 'still' and 'cold' pin the desolate mood. This is Du Fu at his representative best.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以用典写乱离。「兵戈不见老莱衣」以用典写乱离——那「老莱衣」用老莱子彩衣娱亲之典写乱离，以用典写尽乱离的感慨。其二，以对举写无家。「我已无家寻弟妹，君今何处访庭闱」以对举写无家——那「我已无家」「君今何处」写尽两家的对举，以对举写尽无家的感慨。其三，以对仗写旅途。「黄牛峡静滩声转，白马江寒树影稀」以对仗写旅途——那「黄牛峡」「白马江」写尽峡江的对仗，以对仗写尽旅途的寒寂。其四，以叮嘱写深情。「此别应须各努力」以叮嘱写深情——那「应须各努力」写尽互勉的叮嘱，以叮嘱写尽送别的感慨。此外，此诗前四句写乱离的感慨，后四句写送别的感慨，由乱及别，正是送别诗「以乱写别」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以战乱写送别，写尽乱离的感慨与送别的感慨，是杜甫的代表作。此诗还善于以「黄牛峡静滩声转」的「静」字写峡江之静——那「黄牛峡静」写尽峡江的寂静，正是静中闻滩的写照，以「静」字写尽旅途的寒寂。又善以「白马江寒树影稀」的「寒」字写江寒树稀——白马江寒，正见旅途的寒寂，以「寒」字写尽送别的惆怅。

Allusions

The language is rooted in the traditions of farewell and war. 'Lao Lai's robe' comes from the Lienu zhuan: Lao Lai Zi at seventy wore colored clothes to delight his parents; Du Fu laments that war denies such filial joy. 'Parents' hall' and 'kindred' evoke the imagery of home. Yellow Ox Gorge alludes to the Yellow Ox Rapids of the Three Gorges (Hubei), famed for turbulent, slow waters. White Horse River names a Shu stream. 'Weapons' summons the topos of war, echoing Du Fu's own 'beacon fires blaze three months.' 'All things wrong' recalls the motif of a world overturned. Through these allusions the poem writes farewell out of the materiel of ruin—characteristic of Du Fu's allusive, history-laden manner.

此诗的用语深植于送别与战乱传统。「老莱衣」典出《列女传》——老莱子年七十而穿彩衣娱亲，后世以老莱衣写孝养，杜甫以「兵戈不见老莱衣」写战乱中难行孝道；「庭闱」令人想到「庭闱」写父母的意象——也令人想到「亲舍」的意象；「黄牛峡」令人想到「黄牛峡」写三峡之峡——在湖北宜昌，也令人想到「三朝三暮黄牛如故」的意象；「白马江」令人想到「白马江」写白马江的意象——在蜀中，也令人想到「白马津」的意象；「兵戈」令人想到「兵戈」写战乱的意象——也令人想到「烽火连三月」（杜甫）的意象；「万事非」令人想到「万事非」写万事皆非的意象——也令人想到「城郭人民半已非」的意象。全诗化用老莱衣、庭闱、黄牛峡、白马江、兵戈、万事非的意象典故，以战乱写送别，正是杜甫「沉郁」而善用典、承送别传统写乱离之本领。「黄牛峡」典出《水经注》——黄牛滩江水湍急，舟行难进，杜甫以「黄牛峡静滩声转」写旅途之艰；「白马江」令人想到「白马江」写蜀中江水的意象——也令人想到「白水绕东城」（李白）的意象，以白马江写送别之地。

Commentary

The poem has long been ranked among Du Fu's finest farewells and a representative Tang treatment of parting in wartime. Qing critics praised it for writing farewell through war with 'severe, restrained power.' Modern readers single out 'war has banished the colored robe… all things gone awry' as its famous lines. Its special value lies in compressing both the grief of the age and the sorrow of parting into eight regulated lines—every image (the robe, the sigh, the homeless speaker, the quiet gorge, the feared reunion) belongs to Du Fu's vision. Paired with his 'To Wei the Eighth' (on reunion amid ruin) and in dialogue with Li Bai's 'Seeing a Friend Off' (on parting in peacetime), it shows two registers of Tang farewell. For today's reader it opens a window onto Du Fu's farewells and the classic of wartime leave-taking.

此诗历来被推为杜甫送别诗的名篇，也是唐诗写战乱送别的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：清人评此诗「以战乱写送别，沉郁顿挫」；近人更指出「兵戈不见老莱衣，叹息人间万事非」写乱离的感慨，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以八句的七律写尽乱离的感慨与送别的感慨——那兵戈，那不见老莱衣，那叹息，那人间万事非，那我已无家，那寻弟妹，那君今何处，那访庭闱，那黄牛峡，那静滩声转，那白马江，那寒树影稀，那此别，那应须各努力，那故乡，那犹恐未同归，都写尽了杜甫笔下的送韩十四；那「故乡犹恐未同归」更以忧虑写尽送别的感慨。此诗与杜甫《赠卫八处士》（「人生不相见」）同为乱离赠别名篇，一写「访旧半为鬼」的重逢（赠卫八处士），一写「我已无家寻弟妹」的送别（送韩十四）；又与李白《送友人》「青山横北郭」的送别传统一脉相承，可见中国诗写乱离送别的传统。对于今日读者，此诗是理解杜甫送别诗的窗口，也是唐诗写战乱送别的经典——那犹恐未同归的担忧，穿越千年，仍在诉说着送别的感慨。

Prosody

Form Poem · seven-character regulated verse (qilü)诗·七言律诗

Rhyme A seven-character lüshi rhyming on yi, fei, wei, xi, gui (the 'wei' rhyme, upper level tone 5), one rhyme throughout, with a grave, restrained tonality.七律，押「衣」「非」「闱」「稀」「归」韵（上平五微），一韵到底，音节沉郁

Tone pattern As a seven-character regulated verse the poem keeps level-tone rhymes throughout, one rhyme to the end, its grave music suiting the melancholy of parting.此诗为七言律诗，押平声韵，一韵到底，音节沉郁，正合送别的沉郁。

Reading note This is a seven-character regulated verse of eight lines—'war has banished the colored robe… I fear we may not return together to our native land'—rhyming on the 'wei' category (yi, fei, wei, xi, gui), one rhyme to the end, musically grave. The first four lines voice the grief of the age (the banished robe, the parents' hall), the last four the sorrow of parting (the quiet gorge, the feared reunion). In eight short lines it moves from turmoil to leave-taking and closes on uncertain reunion, displaying Du Fu's quintessential 'severe and restrained' manner. Read the ruin of 'all things gone awry' with gravity and the closing fear with lingering resonance.此诗为七言律诗，八句——「兵戈不见老莱衣，叹息人间万事非。我已无家寻弟妹，君今何处访庭闱。黄牛峡静滩声转，白马江寒树影稀。此别应须各努力，故乡犹恐未同归」，押「微」韵（衣、非、闱、稀、归），一韵到底，音节沉郁。全诗以战乱写送别：前四句写乱离的感慨（兵戈不见老莱衣、君今何处访庭闱），后四句写送别的感慨（黄牛峡静滩声转、故乡犹恐未同归）。八句短章，前写乱离，后写送别，以「故乡犹恐未同归」写尽送别的感慨，正见杜甫「沉郁」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以沉郁的语调读「叹息人间万事非」的乱离，以深情的语调读「故乡犹恐未同归」的忧虑，结句要读得沉郁而有余韵，方能传达出杜甫的沉郁顿挫。杜甫律诗以「沉郁顿挫」著称，此诗正是其送别诗的典范。

Line by line

我已无家寻弟妹，君今何处访庭闱

I have no home left in which to seek my brother and sister; where now will you go to visit your parents' hall?

我已无家寻弟妹，君今何处访庭闱。

I have no home left to seek my brother and sister; where, this day, will you visit your parents' gate?

此二句是全诗写无家的核心，以我已无家寻弟妹写无家，以君今何处访庭闱写访庭闱，写尽无家的感慨，是千古名句。「我已无家寻弟妹」写我已无家寻弟妹——那「我已无家」写我已无家，「寻弟妹」写寻弟妹，写尽无家的寻亲；「君今何处访庭闱」写君今何处访庭闱——那「君今何处」写君今何处，「访庭闱」写访庭闱，写尽访亲的何处。这句的深意在于：它以「我已无家寻弟妹」的无家与「君今何处访庭闱」的访庭闱，写尽无家的感慨——我已无家寻弟妹，那「我已无家寻弟妹」写尽无家的寻亲——我已无家，正是家破无依的写照，那「寻弟妹」写尽无家的感慨；君今何处访庭闱，那「君今何处访庭闱」写尽访亲的何处——君今何处，正是问其何处的写照，那「访庭闱」写尽送别的感慨；那「我已无家寻弟妹」写尽无家的寻亲，那「君今何处访庭闱」写尽访亲的何处，一写无家，一写访亲，写尽无家的感慨——我已无家而君犹可访，正是乱离中的对照；此二句以无家、访亲写尽无家的感慨，也为下文的旅途作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写无家的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我已经家破人亡找不到弟妹了，你还能回去看父母」，则失其沉痛；唯以「我已无家寻弟妹」写无家、「君今何处访庭闱」写访庭闱，写尽无家的感慨，也让此二句成为全诗写无家的核心。

These two lines are the core of the whole's writing being homeless, using I have no home left to seek my brother and sister for being homeless and where, this day, will you visit your parents' gate for visiting the parents, writing to the full the sigh of being homeless, the famous line of a thousand ages. The words I have no home left write the being homeless, and to seek my brother and sister write the seeking kin in homelessness. Where, this day, will you visit your parents' gate writes the where of visiting kin. The deep meaning lies in that it uses the homelessness of I have no home left to seek my brother and sister and the visiting of where, this day, will you visit your parents' gate to write to the full the sigh of homelessness - I have no home, exactly the picture of the broken home and no reliance. You this day where, exactly the picture of asking where; the visit to the parents' gate writes the sigh of parting. One writing being homeless, one writing visiting kin, writing to the full the sigh of homelessness - I homeless while you may still visit, exactly the contrast in the upheaval. These two lines write to the full the sigh of homelessness through being homeless and visiting kin, lay a ground for the later road, and make them the core of the whole's homelessness and a famous line of a thousand ages. If one instead directly said my home is broken and I cannot find my siblings, while you can still go back to your parents, one would lose the heaviness; only writing homelessness through I have no home left to seek my brother and sister and visiting the parents through where, this day, will you visit your parents' gate, writing to the full the sigh of homelessness, makes these two lines the core of the whole's homelessness.

兵戈不见老莱衣，叹息人间万事非

War has banished the old man's colored robe of filial joy; I sigh that all things in this world have gone awry.

兵戈不见老莱衣，叹息人间万事非。

Amid the spears, no more the colors of Old Lai; I sigh that all things under heaven are turned awry.

此二句是全诗写乱离的核心，以兵戈不见老莱衣写老莱衣，以叹息人间万事非写万事非，写尽乱离的感慨，是千古名句。「兵戈不见老莱衣」写兵戈不见老莱衣——那「兵戈不见」写兵戈不见，「老莱衣」写老莱衣，写尽不见的彩衣；「叹息人间万事非」写叹息人间万事非——那「叹息人间」写叹息人间，「万事非」写万事非，写尽万事的皆非。这句的深意在于：它以「兵戈不见老莱衣」的彩衣与「叹息人间万事非」的万事非，写尽乱离的感慨——兵戈不见老莱衣，那「兵戈不见老莱衣」写尽不见的彩衣——兵戈不见，正是战乱无孝的写照，那「老莱衣」写尽乱离的感慨；叹息人间万事非，那「叹息人间万事非」写尽万事的皆非——叹息人间，正是感叹人间的写照，那「万事非」写尽乱离的感慨；那「兵戈不见老莱衣」写尽不见的彩衣，那「叹息人间万事非」写尽万事的皆非，一写兵戈，一写万事，写尽乱离的感慨——兵戈之中而万事皆非，正是乱世的写照；此二句以彩衣、万事写尽乱离的感慨，也为下文的无家作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写乱离的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「战乱之中没法孝顺父母，世上什么事都不对了」，则失其沉郁；唯以「兵戈不见老莱衣」写老莱衣、「叹息人间万事非」写万事非，写尽乱离的感慨，也让此二句成为全诗写乱离的核心。

These two lines are the core of the whole's writing the upheaval, using amid the spears, no more the colors of Old Lai for the colorful robe and I sigh that all things under heaven are turned awry for all things turned awry, writing to the full the sigh of the upheaval, the famous line of a thousand ages. The words amid the spears, no more write the no more seeing, and the colors of Old Lai write the colorful robe of Old Laizi, the symbol of filial piety. I sigh that all things under heaven are turned awry writes the all things turned awry. The deep meaning lies in that it uses the colorful robe of amid the spears, no more the colors of Old Lai and the all things turned awry of I sigh that all things under heaven are turned awry to write to the full the sigh of the upheaval - amid the spears no more, exactly the picture of no filial piety in war; I sigh that the world, exactly the picture of sighing at the world. One writing spears, one writing all things, writing to the full the sigh of the upheaval - amid the spears all things turned awry, exactly the picture of the age of disorder. These two lines write to the full the sigh of the upheaval through the colorful robe and all things, lay a ground for the later being homeless, and make them the core of the whole's upheaval and a famous line of a thousand ages. If one instead directly said in the war one cannot be filial to one's parents, and everything in the world is wrong, one would lose the melancholy; only writing the colors of Old Lai through amid the spears, no more the colors of Old Lai and all things turned awry through I sigh that all things under heaven are turned awry, writing to the full the sigh of the upheaval, makes these two lines the core of the whole's upheaval.

Study

Word focus

非 'Fei' (wrong, awry) in 'I sigh that all things in this world have gone awry.' A single 'fei' conveys that everything has turned amiss—both the fact of a world overturned and the poet's pained heart. It is the keynote of the poem's lament over the age's ruin. 「叹息人间万事非」之「非」字是写乱离的关键词，一个「非」字写尽万事的皆非。非者，不对、尽非也。杜甫以「叹息人间万事非」写乱离，这个「非」字至少有双重意味：其一，写事之非——那「叹息人间万事非」写叹息人间万事非，那「非」字写尽万事的皆非——万事非，正是诸事皆非的写照，那「非」字写尽乱离的感慨；其二，写情之痛——那「非」字更是写痛——非，正见对乱世的痛心，那「非」字写尽杜甫的沉郁。以「非」字写乱离，正是杜甫写送别的枢纽——若换作「变」「改」等字，则或失其与「兵戈不见老莱衣」「叹息人间万事非」的配合，或失其写非的意味；唯「非」字，以叹息人间万事非写尽万事之皆非与乱世之痛心，与「兵戈不见老莱衣」的兵戈相合，写尽乱离的感慨，也让「叹息人间万事非」成为全诗写乱离的名句。

恐 'Kong' (fear, dread) in 'I fear we may not return together to our native land.' This one word carries the anxiety of uncertain reunion—both the worry that they may part forever and the depth of the poet's affection. It seals the farewell with trembling doubt. 「故乡犹恐未同归」之「恐」字是写忧虑的关键词，一个「恐」字写尽未归的忧虑。恐者，恐怕、担忧也。杜甫以「故乡犹恐未同归」写忧虑，这个「恐」字至少有双重意味：其一，写归之恐——那「故乡犹恐未同归」写故乡犹恐未同归，那「恐」字写尽未归的忧虑——犹恐未同归，正是恐难同归的写照，那「恐」字写尽送别的感慨；其二，写情之深——那「恐」字更是写深——恐，正见对重逢的期盼与担忧，那「恐」字写尽杜甫的深情。以「恐」字写忧虑，正是杜甫写送别的枢纽——若换作「怕」「虑」等字，则或失其与「故乡犹」「未同归」的配合，或失其写恐的意味；唯「恐」字，以故乡犹恐未同归写尽未归之忧虑与重逢之期盼，与「此别应须各努力」的勉励相合，写尽送别的感慨，也让「故乡犹恐未同归」成为全诗写忧虑的名句。