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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

江夏别宋之悌

Farewell to Song Ziti at Jiangxia

李白

Li Bai

楚水清若空，遥将碧海通。
人分千里外，兴在一杯中。
谷鸟吟晴日，江猨啸晚风。
平生不下泪，于此泣无穷。

The Chu waters clear as empty sky,
Far off they join the blue sea.
Men part beyond a thousand miles,
Yet our spirit is in a single cup.
Valley birds sing in the clear sun,
River gibbons wail in the evening wind.
All my life I have not shed tears,
But here I weep without end.
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Meaning

Seeing off Song Ziti at Jiangxia, Li Bai opens with the vast river-sky, then shrinks the whole parting into a single cup of wine: though men separate by a thousand miles, their shared feeling is concentrated in that cup. Birds and gibbons heighten the evening's desolation, and the poet who 'never shed tears' weeps endlessly here — the deeper the friendship, the greater the grief.

楚水清若空，遥将碧海通。人分千里外，兴在一杯中。谷鸟吟晴日，江猨啸晚风。平生不下泪，于此泣无穷。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The Chu waters are clear as the sky and seem to flow to the blue sea; we part across a thousand miles, yet all our feeling is in one cup; valley birds sing in the sun, gibbons wail in the evening wind; I who never cried in life now weep endlessly. [Imagery] Clear waters, blue sea, singing birds, wailing gibbons: bright and sad sounds mirror each other, and the evening wind carries both the beauty and the desolation of the farewell. [Technique] The poem's power lies in contrast and understatement: the vast 'blue sea' against the tiny 'single cup', a lifetime without tears against 'weep without end' — reserve explodes into grief at the last line, which is why the ending lands so hard.

【白话串讲】 李白写《江夏别宋之悌》：“楚水清若空，遥将碧海通”——“人分千里外，兴在一杯中”——“谷鸟吟晴日，江猨啸晚风”——“平生不下泪，于此泣无穷”——他在江夏送宋之悌——人分千里外，兴在一杯中。 【意象与手法】 “楚水清若空，遥将碧海通”写楚水碧海；“人分千里外，兴在一杯中”写人分千里、兴在一杯；“谷鸟吟晴日，江猨啸晚风”写谷鸟江猨；结以“平生不下泪，于此泣无穷”写泣无穷。苍凉豪情。 【情感与主旨】 李白在江夏送别宋之悌之作，写人分千里而兴在一杯的豪情，以“平生不下泪，于此泣无穷”写深情，是李白送别诗中的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“人分千里外，兴在一杯中”写豪情送别；“平生不下泪，于此泣无穷”写深情。

Background

Song Ziti, an old friend of the poet's, was being sent into exile in the far south (Jiaozhi, modern northern Vietnam) around 740; Jiangxia (modern Wuhan) was the great Yangtze port where travelers embarked downriver. The poem belongs to Li Bai's early middle period, when disappointment at court pushed him into long wanderings along the river, and farewells to friends carried the extra weight of shared exile and wasted talent.

《江夏别宋之悌》为唐代诗人李白所作诗。李白（701—762），字太白，号青莲居士，陇西成纪人，唐代伟大诗人。此诗写送别豪情，为江夏送别宋之悌之作。诗中「楚水清若空，遥将碧海通」写楚水清若空，遥将碧海通；「人分千里外，兴在一杯中」写人分千里外，兴在一杯中；「谷鸟吟晴日，江猨啸晚风」写谷鸟吟晴日，江猨啸晚风；「平生不下泪，于此泣无穷」写平生不下泪，于此泣无穷。李白此诗以送别豪情、于此泣无穷写其送别之情，苍凉豪情，是李白诗中的名篇。此篇《江夏别宋之悌》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《江夏别宋之悌》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。

Art

The poem's craft shows in its economy and its contrasts. The first couplet opens wide: 'clear as empty sky' and 'joining the blue sea' dissolve the horizon into water and sky, establishing a vast stage. The second couplet contracts that vastness into a single cup — the famous 'men part beyond a thousand miles, yet our spirit is in one cup' — where distance and intimacy are held in perfect balance. The third couplet turns to sound: birds singing in the sun, gibbons wailing in the evening wind, two notes of parting echoing each other. The last couplet delivers the emotional detonation: 'all my life I have not shed tears' builds maximum reserve, so that 'here I weep without end' hits with double force — a proud man's tears are the measure of his love.

此诗艺术上以「苍凉豪情、以水写情」见长。全诗共八句四联，由楚水清若空而人分千里外而谷鸟吟晴日。起「楚水清若空，遥将碧海通」写楚水清若空：楚水清若空，遥将碧海通；「人分千里外，兴在一杯中」写人分千里外：人分千里外，兴在一杯中；「谷鸟吟晴日，江猨啸晚风」写谷鸟吟晴日：谷鸟吟晴日，江猨啸晚风；结「平生不下泪，于此泣无穷」写于此泣无穷：平生不下泪，于此泣无穷。全诗以水写情，由楚水清若空而于此泣无穷，苍凉豪情，是李白诗中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。

Allusions

'Chu waters' refers to the rivers of the ancient land of Chu (modern Hubei-Hunan); the 'blue sea' is the eastern ocean toward which the Yangtze seems to flow, evoking the friend's distant journey. The wailing 'river gibbons' is a stock image of sorrow in southern travel poetry since the Han 'Gibbon Lute' songs, their cries in the evening wind long signaling exile and parting. The claim 'all my life I have not shed tears' echoes the convention of the proud poet unmoved by ordinary sorrow — so the final weeping measures the exceptional depth of this friendship.

诗中「楚水清若空遥将碧海通」「人分千里外兴在一杯中」「谷鸟吟晴日江猨啸晚风」「平生不下泪于此泣无穷」等语，皆含典故故实。「楚水清若空遥将碧海通」写楚水清若空遥将碧海通；「人分千里外兴在一杯中」写人分千里外兴在一杯中；「谷鸟吟晴日江猨啸晚风」写谷鸟吟晴日江猨啸晚风；「平生不下泪于此泣无穷」写平生不下泪于此泣无穷。诗人以楚水、碧海等语入诗，不着痕迹，而把送别豪情之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。

Commentary

This poem is prized as one of Li Bai's finest five-character regulated verses. Commentators particularly admire 'men part beyond a thousand miles, yet our spirit is in one cup' for combining heroic breadth with tender friendship — grand yet intimate, the hallmark of his farewell verse. The closing 'all my life I have not shed tears, but here I weep without end' has become a classic expression of deep friendship, quoted whenever one wishes to show that true feeling needs no ornament.

这首《江夏别宋之悌》，是李白写送别豪情之作，写楚水清若空、人分千里外、谷鸟吟晴日、于此泣无穷之情，苍凉豪情。起「楚水清若空，遥将碧海通」——楚水清若空，遥将碧海通。写楚水清若空：楚水清若空、遥将碧海通——清若空、碧海通；「人分千里外，兴在一杯中」——人分千里外，兴在一杯中。写人分千里外：人分千里外、兴在一杯中——千里外、一杯中；「谷鸟吟晴日，江猨啸晚风」——谷鸟吟晴日，江猨啸晚风。写谷鸟吟晴日：谷鸟吟晴日、江猨啸晚风——吟晴日、啸晚风；结「平生不下泪，于此泣无穷」——平生不下泪，于此泣无穷。写于此泣无穷：平生不下泪、于此泣无穷——不下泪、泣无穷。这「平生不下泪，于此泣无穷」，是全诗之结：以于此泣无穷写其送别。全诗苍凉豪情，以水写情，正是李白诗中的名篇。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。

Prosody

Form A five-character regulated verse (wulu), eight lines in four couplets.诗（五言律诗）
Rhyme The rhyme falls on tong, zhong, feng and qiong, level-tone words of the traditional eastern rhyme group; their resonant nasal endings give the poem its spacious, lingering cadence.此诗为五言律诗，共八句四联。押韵：「通」「中」「风」「穷」押东部韵。平仄相间，对仗工整，正与写送别豪情的苍凉豪情相称，也见其以律诗写送别的凝练。
Tone pattern The first couplet is broad and clear, the second taut with controlled feeling, the third modulated between the birds' high singing and the gibbons' low wails, and the last long-drawn and heavy. The rhythm moves from breadth to depth, matching the feeling from open river to broken heart.句式上，「楚水清若空，遥将碧海通」写楚水清若空，音节苍凉；「人分千里外，兴在一杯中」写人分千里外，音节豪放；「谷鸟吟晴日，江猨啸晚风」写谷鸟吟晴日，音节清朗；结「平生不下泪，于此泣无穷」写于此泣无穷，音节悠长。全诗音节随情起伏，由苍凉而豪放、由清朗而悠长，正合律诗「凝练」之妙，读来如送别豪情、于此泣无穷之音，苍凉而动人。
Reading note A model of Li Bai's five-character regulated verse: exact parallelism in the middle couplets, a single rhyme sustained through eight lines, and an emotional curve that stays broad and uncomplaining until the very last line, where the proud poet finally weeps. Read the opening couplets with open, river-like breadth, and the last couplet slowly and heavily, letting 'weep without end' fade like the evening wind.此诗为五言律诗，是李白写送别豪情之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「苍凉豪情、以水写情」：「楚水清若空，遥将碧海通」写楚水清若空、「人分千里外，兴在一杯中」写人分千里外、「谷鸟吟晴日，江猨啸晚风」写谷鸟吟晴日、「平生不下泪，于此泣无穷」写于此泣无穷。全诗苍凉豪情，以水写情。尤为精妙者，是「楚水清若空」写尽清若空；而「于此泣无穷」写尽泣无穷，正是李白诗「苍凉豪情」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《江夏别宋之悌》一诗之所以读来声情并茂，正在于诗人以声韵配合情思、以节奏烘托意境，音节之长短、平仄之起伏，皆与诗意相为表里，此亦可见中国古典诗歌声律之美与匠心之工。

Line by line

楚水清若空，遥将碧海通。

The Chu waters clear as empty sky, / Far off they join the blue sea.

楚水清若空，遥将碧海通。

The Chu waters are clear as emptiness, reaching far to meet the azure sea.

起句写楚水清若空，起笔即见其楚水。「楚水清若空」写楚水清若空，「楚水」写楚水、「清若空」写清若空；「遥将碧海通」写遥将碧海通，「遥将」写遥将、「碧海通」写碧海通。一句写楚水清若空遥将碧海通，以楚水清若空写清若空、以遥将碧海通写碧海通，写尽楚水清若空、遥将碧海通之情。以水起兴，苍凉而豪情，是「以水起兴」的妙笔。

The opening line writes the Chu waters clear as emptiness, the start. 'The Chu waters are clear as emptiness' — the water transparent as air; 'reaching far to meet the azure sea' — far off, joining the blue sea. Rising through water, desolate yet bold, the start of the farewell scene.

人分千里外，兴在一杯中。

Men part beyond a thousand miles, / Yet our spirit is in a single cup.

人分千里外，兴在一杯中。

Men are parted a thousand li away, yet the feeling lives in this one cup.

此句写人分千里外，是全诗写人分之态的关键。「人分千里外」写人分千里外，「人分」写人分、「千里外」写千里外；「兴在一杯中」写兴在一杯中，「兴在」写兴在、「一杯中」写一杯中。一句写人分千里外兴在一杯中，以人分千里外写千里外、以兴在一杯中写一杯中，写尽人分千里外、兴在一杯中之情。以杯写情，苍凉而豪情，是「以杯写情」的点睛之笔。

This line writes men parted a thousand li away, the key parting image. 'Men are parted a thousand li away' — separated beyond a thousand li; 'yet the feeling lives in this one cup' — the whole farewell held in one cup of wine. Through the cup it writes the feeling, desolate yet bold, the emotional crux.

谷鸟吟晴日，江猨啸晚风。

Valley birds sing in the clear sun, / River gibbons wail in the evening wind.

谷鸟吟晴日，江猨啸晚风。

Valley birds sing in the clear daylight; river apes howl in the evening wind.

此句写谷鸟吟晴日，是全诗写谷鸟之态的关键。「谷鸟吟晴日」写谷鸟吟晴日，「谷鸟」写谷鸟、「吟晴日」写吟晴日；「江猨啸晚风」写江猨啸晚风，「江猨」写江猨、「啸晚风」写啸晚风。一句写谷鸟吟晴日江猨啸晚风，以谷鸟吟晴日写吟晴日、以江猨啸晚风写啸晚风，写尽谷鸟吟晴日、江猨啸晚风之情。以鸟写景，苍凉而豪情，是「以鸟写景」的点睛之笔。

This line writes valley birds singing in the clear daylight, the scenic key. 'Valley birds sing in the clear daylight' — birds in the valley warring in the sun; 'river apes howl in the evening wind' — apes on the river howling at dusk. Through birds it writes the scene, desolate yet bold.

平生不下泪，于此泣无穷。

All my life I have not shed tears, / But here I weep without end.

平生不下泪，于此泣无穷。

All my life I have shed no tears, yet here, I weep without end.

结句写于此泣无穷，是全诗立意的落点。「平生不下泪」写平生不下泪，「平生」写平生、「不下泪」写不下泪；「于此泣无穷」写于此泣无穷，「于此」写于此、「泣无穷」写泣无穷。一句写平生不下泪于此泣无穷，以平生不下泪写下泪、以于此泣无穷写泣无穷，写尽平生不下泪、于此泣无穷之情。以泣写情，苍凉而豪情，是全诗最动人处，也是「以泣写情」的点睛之笔。

The closing line writes weeping without end, the poem's landing. 'All my life I have shed no tears' — the unyielding man; 'yet here, I weep without end' — at this parting, tears flow on. Through weeping it writes the feeling, the poem's most moving point: the strong man's tears, proof of how deep this farewell cuts.

Study

Word focus

楚水 The waters of the ancient land of Chu (modern Hubei-Hunan), the river reaches around Jiangxia; the old place-name gives the scene historical depth and southern vastness. 「楚水」写楚水清若空，是写楚水之态的关键。「楚水清若空」着一「楚水」，写楚水——着一「楚水」，写楚水清若空，见其水之楚。两字写尽楚水之态，是「以词写水」的妙笔。「楚水」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
碧海 The blue sea — the eastern ocean toward which the Yangtze's waters seem to flow, evoking the friend's long journey to the ends of the earth. 「碧海」写遥将碧海通，是写碧海之态的关键。「遥将碧海通」着一「碧海」，写碧海——着一「碧海」，写遥将碧海通，见其海之碧。两字写尽碧海之态，是「以词写海」的点睛之词。「碧海」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
一杯 A single cup of wine: the friends' whole bond is concentrated into one shared cup, making vast distance and intimate feeling meet in a single image. 「一杯」写兴在一杯中，是写一杯之态的关键。「兴在一杯中」着一「一杯」，写一杯——着一「一杯」，写兴在一杯中，见其杯之一。两字写尽一杯之态，是「以词写杯」的点睛之词。「一杯」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
泣无穷 'Weeping without end': the proud poet who never cried now weeps boundlessly — a final, understated explosion that measures the friendship's depth. 「泣无穷」写于此泣无穷，是写泣无穷之态的关键。「于此泣无穷」着一「泣无穷」，写泣无穷——着一「泣无穷」，写于此泣无穷，见其穷之泣。三字写尽泣无穷之态，是「以词写泣」的点睛之词。「泣无穷」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

水调歌头·明月几时有 Prelude to Water Melody — 'When Will the Moon Be Clear and Bright?' 苏轼 · 同写送别感怀、苍凉旷达，一写人有悲欢离合、一写人分千里外兴在一杯中，皆于送别之中见苍凉 Both voice parting and philosophical solace — one 'men have sorrow and joy, parting and reunion', the other 'men part beyond a thousand miles, our spirit in one cup' — each finding breadth in farewell.

Su Shi's 'men have sorrow and joy, parting and reunion; the moon has its dark and bright, its rounds and gaps' consoles with cosmic acceptance; Li Bai concentrates all consolation into a single cup shared before parting. Where Su Shi reasons his way to serenity, Li Bai holds the feeling in a cup and then releases it in tears — two ways of being 'broad' at a parting.

苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全」，写送别感怀、苍凉旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；李白《江夏别宋之悌》则以「人分千里外，兴在一杯中」「平生不下泪，于此泣无穷」写一杯中、泣无穷。两诗同写送别感怀、苍凉旷达：一写人有悲欢离合、以悲欢写离合，一写人分千里外兴在一杯中、以一杯写送别；一为苏轼之旷达、一为李白之苍凉，并读正可见诗写「送别感怀」的两种笔法，皆于送别之中见苍凉。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Eight Beats of Ganzhou Song — 'Facing the Drizzling Evening Rain over the River Sky' 柳永 · 同写江上凝望、苍凉清丽，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写楚水清若空遥将碧海通，皆于江上之中见凝望 Both gaze at the river with desolate clarity — one 'to the drizzling evening rain over the river sky', the other 'the Chu waters clear as empty sky' — each finding a pure gaze in the river view.

Liu Yong's 'drizzling evening rain washing the river sky' opens a wanderer's gaze at autumn; Li Bai's 'Chu waters clear as empty sky' opens a departing friend's gaze. Both begin with the river to hold a parting, but Liu Yong's is the traveler's tender sorrow while Li Bai's is the proud man's restrained grief — clear-eyed breadth against soft melancholy.

柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「对潇潇暮雨洒江天，一番洗清秋」，写江上凝望、苍凉清丽，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；李白《江夏别宋之悌》则以「楚水清若空，遥将碧海通」「谷鸟吟晴日，江猨啸晚风」写碧海通、啸晚风。两诗同写江上凝望、苍凉清丽：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写楚水清若空遥将碧海通、以楚水写送别；一为柳永之清丽、一为李白之苍凉，并读正可见诗写「江上凝望」的两种笔法，皆于江上之中见凝望。