唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
江州重别薛六柳八二员外
Parting Again at Jiangzhou from Xue the Sixth and Liu the Eighth
生涯岂料承优诏，世事空知学醉歌。
江上月明胡雁过，淮南木落楚山多。
寄身且喜沧洲近，顾影无如白发何。
今日龙钟人共弃，愧君犹遣慎风波。
Should still receive a 'gracious edict' —
Of the world's affairs I know only
How to learn the drunkard's song.
On the river the moon is bright, wild geese pass over;
South of the Huai the trees shed leaves, Chu's mountains grow many.
I am glad my body is lodged near the sea-isle of reclusion,
Yet gazing at my shadow — what can white hair do?
Today, doddering and old, all men cast me aside;
I am ashamed that you alone still urge me
To beware of the storms ahead.
Meaning
Written when Liu Changqing, demoted once more, was passing through Jiangzhou and met two old friends before parting again. The poem opens with bitter irony — the 'gracious edict' is in fact an exile order — moves through the vast autumn river scene to the twin griefs of age and abandonment, and closes with shame and gratitude that his friends alone still care enough to warn him of the storms ahead. Plain words carry the heaviest sorrow of a demoted official's life.
我这一生的际遇，哪里料想得到还能蒙受圣上的优厚诏命；经历了官场风波，如今只知借醉歌以遣愁怀。江上月明如水，北来的胡雁掠过夜空；淮南木叶凋落，楚地的山峦愈发显得绵密。置身此地，可喜的是离那归隐的沧洲已近；然而顾影自怜，又无奈白发丛生、老之将至。如今我老态龙钟、为人所弃，承蒙你还不嫌弃，谆谆叮嘱我要提防前路的波折。
Appreciation
[Plain Paraphrase] I never expected my life to 'receive a gracious edict' — in truth a demotion — and of the world I know only the drunkard's song; on the moonlit river wild geese fly south, south of the Huai the leaves fall and Chu's hills multiply; I am glad to lodge near the reclusive sea-isles, yet my white hair answers nothing; now old and doddering, deserted by all, I am ashamed that you alone still warn me to beware the storms. [Technique] The poem's greatness is 'deep sorrow in plain words': irony ('gracious edict', 'glad'), scenery that carries emotion (moon, geese, falling leaves, many hills), and a final 'ashamed' that layers complaint, gratitude and self-pity into a single word. [Structure] Four couplets advance from lament, to scenery, to self-pity, to farewell gratitude — each turning the screw one more turn until the last line.
【白话串讲】 刘长卿写《江州重别薛六柳八二员外》：“生涯岂料承优诏，世事空知学醉歌”——“江上月明胡雁过，淮南木落楚山多”——“寄身且喜沧洲近，顾影无如白发何”——“今日龙钟人共弃，愧君犹遣慎风波”——他重别二员外——顾影无如白发何。 【意象与手法】 前两联以“承优诏”与“学醉歌”对举，暗含贬谪之愤；中两联借江月、胡雁、木落、楚山等苍茫秋景，寄寓身世飘零之叹；尾联“人共弃”“愧君”两句，愈见沦落之悲与友情感人之深。平淡语写沉痛情。 【情感与主旨】 刘长卿谪居江州重别友人薛六、柳八二员外之作，写尽宦海浮沉的感慨，是刘长卿七律中深沉浑厚的名篇。 【名句点睛】 常考“江上月明胡雁过，淮南木落楚山多”以江月木落写秋景；“今日龙钟人共弃，愧君犹遣慎风波”写沦落之悲。
Background
Liu Changqing (c. 726-c. 786), courtesy name Wenfang, a native of Xuancheng, passed the jinshi in the Tianbao era and rose to be prefect of Suizhou — hence 'Liu Suizhou'. Twice demoted in his career (first to a distant post in Nanba, then, for uprightness that offended superiors, to marshal of Muzhou), he wrote extensively of exile and misfortune and was proud of his five-character verse as the 'Great Wall of Five Words'. This seven-character regulated poem was written at Jiangzhou (modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi) when, demoted once more around 769, he met and parted again from two former colleagues listed as Xue the Sixth and Liu the Eighth.
《江州重别薛六柳八二员外》为唐代诗人刘长卿的一首七言律诗。刘长卿（约726—约786），字文房，宣城（一说河间）人，天宝年间进士，官至随州刺史，世称刘随州。他一生宦途偃蹇，两遭贬谪：先贬南巴尉，后因刚直忤上，又被诬陷贬为睦州司马，饱尝迁谪之苦，故其诗多写贬谪之思与身世之感，尤工五言，自诩「五言长城」，七律亦深沉浑厚。此诗作于刘长卿再次遭贬、行至江州之时。诗题中「重别」二字，说明诗人与薛六、柳八二员外并非初别，而是故人重逢又再度相别，别情自比寻常更添一层苍凉。江州即今江西九江，为唐时长江中游重镇。首句「承优诏」当是反语，实指自己又遭贬谪南行；「学醉歌」则写其借酒浇愁、以醉遣怀的颓放。诗中「江上月明胡雁过，淮南木落楚山多」点明时令与地望，正是深秋的江州。此诗以平淡之语写沉痛之情，将身世之悲、宦海之险、别离之苦熔于一炉，是刘长卿晚年谪宦诗中的代表作，也是研究其诗风与生平心态的重要篇章。
Art
The poem's art is 'plain words, deep sorrow'. The opening couplet pairs 'gracious edict' with 'drunkard's song', ceremony against self-abandonment: the 'gracious edict' is bitter irony for the exile order, and 'who would have thought' lets the weight of a wasted career into two words. The second couplet turns to scenery without one word of sorrow — moonlit river, south-flying geese, falling leaves, Chu's many hills — yet sorrow fills the horizon; 'pass over' hints at the haste of the journey, 'many' at the endless road ahead. The third couplet turns again: 'glad to be near the sea-isles' is forced contentment, but 'what can white hair do' drops the mask at once — glad and sighing, the exile's dilemma. The last couplet lands on 'all men cast me aside' and 'ashamed': the friends' warning 'beware the storms' is no politeness but hard-won care, so the poet answers with shame, gratitude and self-pity in one word. The poem never raises its voice, and that is why it cuts so deep.
此诗艺术上以「以淡语写深哀、情与景浑」见长。首联「生涯岂料承优诏，世事空知学醉歌」以感叹起笔：「承优诏」是反语，实指贬谪，着一「岂料」二字，写出命运的无常与自身的无奈；「空知学醉歌」则以颓放自嘲，把满腔愤懑化作一句苦笑，语淡而意深。颔联「江上月明胡雁过，淮南木落楚山多」陡然转写眼前秋景：月明雁过，木落山多，境界开阔而意象萧疏，以景语承情语，把宦途的飘零之感化为江天万里的苍茫之景，情景交融，不着痕迹。颈联「寄身且喜沧洲近，顾影无如白发何」再转一层：先以「喜」字写归隐之志，后以「无如」写衰病之叹，一喜一叹，进退失据的复杂心境跃然纸上。尾联「今日龙钟人共弃，愧君犹遣慎风波」以「愧」字收束：自己被世人厌弃，友人却犹以「慎风波」相嘱，这「愧」字既见友情的深挚，更反衬出自身处境的凄凉。全诗四联，由感怀而写景、由写景而言志、由言志而谢别，层层转进，语多含蓄而情极沉挚，是刘长卿七律中以淡笔写深情的典范。
Allusions
The 'sea-isle' (cangzhou), the waterside reclusion of the immortals, became a byword for retirement after Xie Tiao's line 'I rejoice in the career's pull, yet accord with the sea-isle's taste'; for the demoted poet, 'gladness' that exile has brought him 'nearer the isles' is a bitter joke that admits the wish to quit. 'Doddering' (longzhong), bent and aged, was a stock word for decrepitude (as in Du Fu's 'longzhong, crossing on horseback'). 'Storms' (fengbo) literally means wind and waves on the river, but since the Chuci it has stood for the dangers of official life — for a man twice demoted, the word carried his own scars.
诗中「沧洲」一词，典出南朝以来隐逸诗文的传统意象。「沧洲」本指水滨僻远之地，为隐者栖身之所，其源头可上溯至《史记》《汉书》所载范蠡佐越功成后「乘扁舟，浮于江湖」、飘然远引之事，此后经战国楚辞中渔父「沧浪之水清兮，可以濯吾缨」的逍遥意象浸润，至南朝谢朓《之宣城出新林浦向板桥》「既欢怀禄情，复协沧洲趣」，始以「沧洲」与仕宦对举，遂成弃官归隐、栖身江湖的代名词。唐代诗人如杜甫、王维辈亦多借以寄归隐之思，李白《宣州谢朓楼饯别校书叔云》更有「人生在世不称意，明朝散发弄扁舟」的呼告，皆承此绪。刘长卿此处「寄身且喜沧洲近」，以「喜」字写自己谪居江州，反觉距沧洲之隐更近，于贬谪之苦中聊寻自解，是故作旷达之语；然其下紧接「顾影无如白发何」，便又跌回衰病之悲，喜之愈勉强，悲之愈深至，正是反用「沧洲」之典而以进退两难之情出之。此典之用，不着痕迹而含意深曲，既见诗人用事之活，更见其身处逆境而强自排遣、又终难自解的复杂心境，堪称以典写心的妙笔。
Commentary
This poem is one of Liu Changqing's finest seven-character regulated verses, praised for 'deep sorrow in plain words'. Critics single out the middle couplets, where moon, geese, falling leaves and Chu's hills carry exile's desolation without a single word of complaint, and the ending, where 'ashamed' knots together desertion, friendship and the perils of official life into one syllable. Read alongside his 'Passing by Jia Yi's House in Changsha', it shows both faces of his exile verse: grieving through the ancients, and grieving through himself.
这首重别诗之所以沉挚动人，在于它把贬谪之愤、身世之悲与别离之情交织成一片苍茫的秋意。首联的「承优诏」「学醉歌」一庄一谐、一正一反，写尽宦海浮沉中身不由己的愤懑与自我麻醉的无奈，语极平淡，而波澜尽在其中。颔联境界骤开，江月、胡雁、木落、楚山，无一字写愁，而愁绪如江天般弥满，正是刘长卿「以景结情」的拿手好戏。颈联「沧洲近」与「白发何」的对举尤为精妙：贬谪虽苦，却近了归隐之想；可老病侵寻，归隐又岂能久待？一喜一叹，进退维谷，把中晚年谪宦的心境写得入木三分。尾联是全诗情感的高潮：「人共弃」三字，道尽世态炎凉与自身沦落的痛楚；而友人不弃，反以「慎风波」相嘱——这叮嘱不是客套，而是深知宦海险恶后的恳切关怀，故诗人以「愧」字报之，愧中有感，感中有愧，愈见沦落之悲与友情感人之深。全诗不事雕琢，而情真语挚，读之如闻谪宦江州、故人执手之语，千载之下犹令人恻然动容，是刘长卿七律中浑厚深沉、含蓄隽永的上乘之作。
Prosody
Line by line
生涯岂料承优诏，世事空知学醉歌。
Who would have thought my life's lot / Should still receive a 'gracious edict' — / Of the world's affairs I know only / How to learn the drunkard's song.
我这一生的际遇，哪里料想得到还会蒙受圣上优厚的诏命；经历了官场世事，如今只落得白白学会借醉酒狂歌来排遣愁怀。
How could I ever have hoped for this gracious summons; after all the world's ways, I have only learned to sing in drunkenness.
首联以感叹起笔，是全诗情感的基调。「承优诏」本是受恩的美事，诗人却以「岂料」二字出之，明褒实贬——这所谓的优诏，实为贬谪南行的诏命，反语之中透出命运的荒诞与自身的无奈。「世事空知学醉歌」紧承而来，「空知」二字饱含沉痛：历经官场倾轧，得到的不是功名，而是借醉歌麻醉自己的颓放，「学」字更见出这份醉歌乃是被逼出来的生存之道，而非真性情的流露。两句一庄一谐、一正一反，把半生宦海浮沉、壮志消磨的感慨浓缩于平淡的语面之下，语极含蓄，而愤懑与辛酸尽在其中，为全诗定下了沉郁苍凉的基调，正是刘长卿以淡笔写深哀的典型。
The opening couplet begins with a sigh, the tonal base. 'A gracious summons' should be a favor, yet with 'how could I ever have hoped for' he makes praise actually blame — the so-called gracious summons was in fact the order to go south in exile, irony revealing the absurdity of fate and his own helplessness. 'I have only learned to sing in drunkenness' follows, the words 'only learned' heavy with grief: after the official seas' intrigues, he gained no rank, only the dissolute art of drugging himself with song; the word 'learned' shows this drunken song was a forced survival, not his true nature. One solemn, one casual, one right, one turned, half a lifetime's official ups and downs and worn-down ambition compressed under plain language, setting a depressed, desolate tone.
江上月明胡雁过，淮南木落楚山多。
On the river the moon is bright, wild geese pass over; / South of the Huai the trees shed leaves, Chu's mountains grow many.
江面之上月色明亮，北来的胡雁掠过长空；淮南之地木叶凋落，楚地的群山愈发显得连绵众多。
Over the river, the moon is bright as northern geese pass; south of the Huai, leaves fall and the Chu hills stretch on.
颔联由抒情转写眼前秋景，是全诗最见气象的一联。江月、胡雁、木落、楚山，四组意象次第铺开，境界开阔而色调萧疏，正与深秋的时令、南迁的行程相合。胡雁南飞而自己亦南行，木叶凋落而楚山空廓，诗人不着一「愁」字，而以景语承情语，把宦途飘零、孤身远谪之感化为江天万里的苍茫之景，情景交融，含蓄深至。「过」「多」两个动词尤见功力：「过」字写雁行之迅疾，暗含行役之促迫；「多」字写楚山之绵延，暗喻前程之渺远。两句纯以白描出之，而愁绪如江水般弥满天地，正是刘长卿「以景结情」的拿手笔法，也是全诗由愤懑转向沉静的关键转折。
This couplet turns from lyric to present autumn scene, the most atmospheric lines. River moon, northern geese, falling leaves, Chu hills — four images unfolded in turn, the realm open and the palette sparse, fitting deep autumn and the southward journey. The geese fly south as he travels south; leaves fall as the Chu hills stand bare; not one word of 'grief', yet scenery carries feeling, the loneliness of office and exile turned into a vast river-and-sky desolation. The verbs 'pass' and 'stretch' are skillful: 'pass' the geese's haste, hinting the press of travel; 'stretch' the Chu hills' endlessness, hinting the long road ahead. Pure line-drawing, yet grief fills the world like the river — Liu Changqing's signature 'closing feeling in scene', the poem's key turn from resentment to stillness.
今日龙钟人共弃，愧君犹遣慎风波。
Today, doddering and old, all men cast me aside; / I am ashamed that you alone still urge me / To beware of the storms ahead.
如今我老态龙钟、为世人所厌弃，承蒙你还不嫌弃，仍然叮嘱我要提防前路的波折。
Today, old and infirm, I am cast off by all; ashamed that you still charge me to beware of storms.
尾联是全诗情感的高潮，也是点题之笔。江州重逢又重别，故人殷殷相送，诗人却以「人共弃」自道沦落之状，「共弃」二字，写尽世态炎凉与自身老病飘零的凄凉处境。而就在这一片弃绝声中，友人却仍以「慎风波」相嘱——这「风波」既指江行途中的风浪，更暗喻宦海的险恶，一句叮嘱，道尽过来人对仕途凶险的深刻体认，也见出友情的真挚与难得。诗人以「愧」字作答，愧中带感、感中含愧：既感故人未忘之深情，又愧自己龙钟无成、反累故人牵挂。两句之中，沦落之悲、友情感人之深、宦海之险，一并涌出，收束全篇而余味不尽，正是刘长卿七律以平实语写深挚情的力证。
The closing couplet is the emotional peak and the point of the poem. Meeting again at Jiujiang and parting again, old friends escorting him with warm concern, yet he describes his fallen state as 'cast off by all' — 'cast off by all' writing the coldness of the world and the bleakness of his old, sick, drifting lot. Yet in this universal rejection, the friend still charges him to 'beware of storms' — 'storms' both the river winds ahead and, deeper, the treachery of the official sea; one counsel reveals the seasoned knowledge of office's perils, and the rare sincerity of friendship. He answers with 'ashamed': gratitude within shame, shame within gratitude — moved that the friend has not forgotten, ashamed that, old and useless, he burdens the friend's concern. Within two lines rush the grief of decline, the warmth of friendship, the danger of office, closing the poem with an aftertaste unending.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
'Passing by Jia Yi's House' ('even Han Wendi's enlightened rule was thin in grace; how could the Xiang's waters know his grief?') mourns Jia Yi in order to mourn himself; 'Parting Again at Jiangzhou' speaks directly of his own desertion. One borrows the ancient's cup for his own sorrow, the other pours his own — different methods, the same grievance.
刘长卿《长沙过贾谊宅》「汉文有道恩犹薄，湘水无情吊岂知」，借凭吊贾谊自伤身世，以古人之不幸写己之沦落，是吊古诗中寄慨遥深的典范；《江州重别薛六柳八二员外》则于送别之际自叹「今日龙钟人共弃」，直写自身贬谪飘零、为世所弃的处境，是送别诗中抒写身世之感的名篇。两诗一借古人酒杯、一浇自己块垒，手法不同而情怀相通，皆饱含刘长卿两遭贬谪后对宦海风波、世态炎凉的深沉感慨。并读二诗，可见这位「五言长城」在七律一体中同样深沉浑厚、寄慨无穷的艺术造诣。
闻乐天授江州司马 On Hearing That Letian Was Made Marshal of Jiangzhou 元稹 · 同以江州谪宦为背景，一闻贬而惊、一别友而叹，可见迁谪题材之不同写法 Both take a Jiangzhou demotion as their ground — one shocked for a friend, one sighing for himself — two ways of writing exile.Yuan Zhen's 'dying in bed, I start up in shock; the dark wind blows rain into the cold window' is the cry of a friend's pain; Liu Changqing's is the quiet grief of the demoted man himself. One writes another's sorrow in order to voice his own, the other writes his own in order to show the world's coldness.
元稹《闻乐天授江州司马》「垂死病中惊坐起，暗风吹雨入寒窗」，写闻知挚友白居易贬谪江州司马时惊坐而起、忧从中来的情状，是悼友之作中至情至性的名篇；刘长卿《江州重别》则是自身贬谪行至江州、与故人重别时的自叹，一为代人忧、一为自悲身世，情感指向不同而皆以江州为背景。两诗一写旁观的惊痛，一写亲历的苍凉，并读之，正可见唐代诗人于迁谪这一共同命运下，或以他人之悲写己之痛、或以自身之难见世之险的不同笔致，皆动人心魄。
送灵澈上人 Seeing Off the Monk Lingche 刘长卿 · 同为刘长卿送别之作，一清空悠远、一沉郁苍凉，可见其送别诗风格之多面 Both are farewell poems — one clear and far-reaching, one grave and desolate — showing the range of his farewell style.'Seeing Off the Monk Lingche' ('straw hat on, in the slanting sun, alone he goes far into the green hills') is the height of emptiness and distance; 'Parting Again at Jiangzhou' is the depth of exile sorrow. The same farewell, one serene as the mountains and one heavy as the river — Liu Changqing's two registers.
刘长卿《送灵澈上人》「荷笠带斜阳，青山独归远」，以极简之笔写送别僧人的清空意境，寥寥数语而余韵悠长，是五绝中淡远之致的代表；《江州重别薛六柳八二员外》则以七律长调铺写贬谪途中与故人重别的沉郁情怀，语多感慨、情极深挚。一送僧归山，意境空灵；一别故人，情调苍凉，题材相近而风格迥异，足见刘长卿既能以淡远之笔写清空之境，又能以沉郁之调抒身世之悲。并读二诗，可以更全面地把握这位诗人于送别题材中收放自如、风格多样的艺术功力。