Seeing Off Master Lingche (送灵澈上人) by Liu Changqing

Meaning

The Bamboo-Grove Temple stands deep and dark; from afar comes the faint evening bell. Bearing his hat and girdled with the slanting sunlight, alone he turns toward the green hills and goes farther and farther away.

郁郁苍苍的竹林寺，远处传来渺渺的晚钟声。你背着斗笠、身披斜阳，独自向着青山归去，越行越远。

Appreciation

This poem uses poetry as painting, imagery clear and far. The first line 'Deep dark the Bamboo-Grove Temple' writes the temple's seclusion, the reduplicative 'deep dark' shows colour and stillness; the second line 'Faint-far the evening bell-sound' writes the sound's distance, the reduplicative 'faint-far' carries the long lingering tone, sight and sound blend. The last two lines 'He bears a hat, girdled with the slanting sun; alone toward the green hills he returns afar' move from far to near then push to far, sketching Lingche's back as he goes off in the glow. Throughout not one word of parting sorrow, yet with dark temple, evening bell, slanting sun, green hills it forms a pale, far picture; in scene-language one sees the clinging of parting and the chan looseness—most implicit.

【白话串讲】 “苍苍竹林寺，杳杳钟声晚”——刘长卿送灵澈上人：暮色中的竹林寺，传来悠远的钟声。“荷笠带斜阳，青山独归远”——他戴着斗笠、披着斜阳，一个人走回青山深处。一幅水墨画。【意象与手法】此诗艺术上以诗为画，意象清远。首句'苍苍竹林寺'写寺之幽深，'苍苍'叠字见色彩与寂静【情感与主旨】灵澈（746—816），俗姓汤，字源澄，会稽人，中唐著名诗僧，与皎然、刘长卿、柳宗元等皆有交游【名句点睛】中高考常考意象与以景写情。考点一：前两句'苍苍竹林寺，杳杳钟声晚'运用了什么手法？答

Background

Lingche (746-816), lay surname Tang, styled Yuancheng, from Kuaiji, a famous mid-Tang poet-monk, befriending Jiaoran, Liu Changqing, Liu Zongyuan. Liu's poem was likely written in the Dali-Zhenyuan period when the two toured; it writes seeing Lingche return from the plain to Bamboo-Grove Temple. Then Liu had weathered office's ups and downs, and Lingche was also a wandering cleric; the two saw each other off amid hills, waters and bell-sound—both the regret of a worldly friend parting a transcendent, and much looseness of form. Short as it is, it is a clean, elegant representative of mid-Tang monk-seeing poems.

此诗为刘长卿送诗僧灵澈之作。灵澈（746—816），俗姓汤，字源澄，会稽（今浙江绍兴）人，中唐著名诗僧，早年从严维学诗，后游历江南，与皎然、刘长卿、柳宗元等皆有交游，诗名颇盛。刘长卿（约726—约786），字文房，河间人，开元二十一年进士，官至随州刺史，是中唐前期重要诗人，以五言诗著称，自许“五言长城”。此诗写黄昏时分送灵澈归竹林寺：竹林寺苍苍，晚钟杳杳，灵澈荷笠披斜阳，独向青山而去。诗中不写送别之语、不写离愁之态，只以清远的意象画出送别的画面，是唐人送别诗中极富禅意的一首。刘长卿一生仕途多蹇，两遭贬谪，晚年与方外之交过从甚密，此诗正是其淡泊心境与佛门情谊的写照。送灵澈而不见悲，正因其人本属山水、本归青山，送之即归其所。

Art

This poem uses poetry as painting, imagery clear and far. The first line 'Deep dark the Bamboo-Grove Temple' writes the temple's seclusion, the reduplicative 'deep dark' shows colour and stillness; the second line 'Faint-far the evening bell-sound' writes the sound's distance, the reduplicative 'faint-far' carries the long lingering tone, sight and sound blend. The last two lines 'He bears a hat, girdled with the slanting sun; alone toward the green hills he returns afar' move from far to near then push to far, sketching Lingche's back as he goes off in the glow. Throughout not one word of parting sorrow, yet with dark temple, evening bell, slanting sun, green hills it forms a pale, far picture; in scene-language one sees the clinging of parting and the chan looseness—most implicit.

此诗艺术上以诗为画、意象清远，是“以境写情”的典范。首句“苍苍竹林寺”以“苍苍”叠字写竹林寺之幽深——苍翠而苍茫，兼有视觉的色彩与黄昏的暮色；次句“杳杳钟声晚”以“杳杳”叠字写晚钟之邈远——钟声从寺中传来，飘渺而不绝，由视觉转听觉，寺之幽与钟之远相映成趣。第三句“荷笠带斜阳”转写人物：灵澈头戴斗笠、身披斜阳——“带”字把斜阳写成可以携带的光影，人与夕阳融为一体，画面温暖而苍凉。结句“青山独归远”以“独”写其孑然，“归”写其归处，“远”写其渐行渐远，最终隐没于青山暮色之中。四句二十字，苍苍、杳杳、斜阳、青山，物象清冷明净；晚、独、远，情味淡远悠长。全诗不写一句离情，而送别之意、怅望之情尽在画面之外，是“不著一字，尽得风流”的唐人五绝神品。

Allusions

The 'Bamboo-Grove Temple' is real, said to be where the Jin monk Bo Daoyou dwelt, near the Ruoye Stream, long a famous Jiangnan monastery; 'bearing a hat' uses Zhang Zhihe's 'green reed-hat, green straw-coat' kind of fisher-hermit image, writing the monk's traveling posture. 'Bell-sound' inherits the Southern-Dynasty-to-Tang 'evening bell' tradition, like Wang Wei 'old trees, no man's path; deep hills, where the bell'—writing the temple's seclusion with bell-sound. The whole uses events naturally, not piled, showing mid-Tang monk-seeing clean elegance.

此诗几乎不用典，纯以白描与意象传神，而其深远处正在化用佛门与山水的传统意象。“竹林寺”之名本身即令人联想到“竹林七贤”的逸韵与佛门清净之境；“荷笠”是行脚僧的典型装束，自六朝以来即为方外之人的标志；“斜阳”与“青山”是中国诗歌中最富归宿意味的意象，山是隐者的归处，夕阳是僧人的晚课。全诗不着一典，而处处是禅意的符号——寺、钟、笠、山、暮，皆指向“归”与“静”。它与王维《送别》“但去莫复问，白云无尽时”同趣，皆以清远的意象写淡泊的别情，正是“山水诗”与“禅意”结合的产物。

Commentary

The Qing anthologist Hengtang Tuishi included this in 'Three Hundred Tang Poems,' praising its 'clear absolute.' The modern Yu Biansun in 'Shi Jing Qian Shuo' says 'this poem lingers inexhaustibly, full of painterly meaning,' comparing it with Wang Wei's Wangchuan pieces. Always when discussing mid-Tang parting poems, this is named with Li Bai's 'Seeing Off Lingche,' raised as a model of the clean-elegant school. Its method of using scene-language for feeling opens a new face among Tang parting poems, standing three-legged with Wang Wei's 'guest house blue-blue' deep feeling and Wang Bo's 'within the seas know a friend' openness.

此诗二十字，是刘长卿五绝中的名篇，也是唐代送别诗中极富禅意的一首。论者多赏其“清远”——清是意象之明净，远是境界之渺茫。清人评刘长卿诗“清刚”“高淡”，此诗正是“高淡”的极致：送别而无悲戚，独归而愈见其高。首句“苍苍”写色，次句“杳杳”写声，三句“斜阳”写光，结句“青山”写远，四句二十字，把送别的瞬间画成一幅水墨山水。尤其“荷笠带斜阳”一句，向为论者激赏：笠与阳、人与光，浑然一体，是唐人诗中少见的空灵之笔。全诗以景结情、以远写深，正是刘长卿“五言长城”中最见性灵的一首。

Prosody

Form Five-character quatrain五言绝句（仄起首句不入韵式）

Rhyme Ping-shui rhyme, upper-rising thirteenth Yuan group (afar) rhyming with 'evening', rising tone全诗押上声阮（或旱）韵，韵脚为“晚、远”，两句一韵。上声韵音调低回婉转，正合暮色送别的怅惘与淡远，声情与意境相契。

Tone pattern Ancient quatrain, level-oblique loose此诗为仄起首句不入韵的五绝。首句“苍苍竹林寺”平平仄平仄，“杳杳钟声晚”仄仄平平仄；三句“荷笠带斜阳”平仄仄平平，“青山独归远”平平仄平仄（“独”作平读）。五绝短小，此诗平仄自然流走，音节清缓，如暮色之舒展、钟声之悠远。四句一气，前二句写境、后二句写人，由寺及人、由近及远，声情与画面同步推进，是“诗中有画”的典型。

Reading note Clean-elegant representative of mid-Tang monk-seeing poems, same key as Wang Wei's Wangchuan miniatures; reduplicatives 'deep dark' 'faint-far' neat.此诗体制为五言绝句，以二十字写送别的瞬间，是“以少总多”的典范。五绝最重含蓄与意境，此诗四句皆景、无一情语，而送别之情尽在景中：前二句以“苍苍”“杳杳”的叠字写寺之幽、钟之远，后二句以“带斜阳”“独归远”的光影与动态写人之孤、行之远，由境入人、由近及远，层层展开一幅送别的水墨画卷。刘长卿自许“五言长城”，此诗正是其五绝中清远一路的极致——不写离愁而离愁自深，不写禅意而禅意自远，是唐人送别诗中不可多得的神品。

Line by line

苍苍竹林寺，杳杳钟声晚。

The dark green Bamboo Grove Temple; far off, the evening bell.

郁郁苍苍的竹林寺，传来渺渺的晚钟声。

The dense, dark Bamboo Grove Temple; faint and far, the evening bell.

起句以工对写寺之幽深与钟之邈远。“苍苍”叠字写竹林寺的苍翠幽深，兼有暮色的苍茫；“杳杳”叠字写钟声的悠远飘渺，由视觉入听觉。两句一写色、一写声，色的苍与声的杳相映，寺的静与钟的动相衬——晚钟之声，正从苍苍的竹林寺中传来，越发显得寺庙的幽深与黄昏的寂静。这一联为全诗布下清冷的背景：送别之地是竹林古寺，送别之时是晚钟暮色，人未出而情境已深。

The opening line, in an exact couplet, writes the temple's depth and the bell's remoteness. 'Dark green' the doubled word writing the Bamboo Grove Temple's green depth, holding the dusk's dimness; 'far off' the doubled word writing the bell's distant vagueness, turning from sight to hearing. Two lines, one color one sound, the greenness of color and the faintness of sound set off, the temple's stillness and the bell's motion in foil — the evening bell's sound, coming from within the dark green Bamboo Grove Temple, the more the temple's depth and the dusk's stillness. This couplet lays the cold, clear background for the whole: the parting place the ancient Bamboo Grove Temple, the parting hour the evening bell and the dusk, the man not yet out and the mood already deep.

荷笠带斜阳，青山独归远。

Bamboo hat on his back, clothed in the setting sun; alone toward the green hills, returning far.

你背着斗笠、身披斜阳，独自向着青山归去，越行越远。

Bamboo hat on his back, robed in the setting sun; alone, he returns toward the green hills, farther and farther.

此联转写人物，是全诗的画眼。“荷笠带斜阳”写灵澈的装束与光影：头戴斗笠、身披夕阳，“带”字把斜阳写成随行的光影，人、笠、阳三者融为一体，画面温暖而苍凉——暮色中独自归去的僧人，恰是这幅画中最动人的一笔。“青山独归远”以“独”写其孑然一身，“归”写其归向青山，“远”写其渐行渐远，终将隐没于山色之中。两句不写一句别情，而送者的怅望、隐者的孤高尽在其中。以景结情、以远写深，正是唐人五绝的绝佳笔法。

This couplet turns to the figure, the painting-eye of the poem. 'Bamboo hat on his back, clothed in the setting sun' — Lingche's garb and the light: bamboo hat on the head, robed in the evening sun, the word 'clothed' writing the setting sun as the light that travels with him, the man, the hat, and the sun fused, the picture warm and desolate — the monk returning alone in the dusk, precisely the most moving stroke of this painting. 'Alone toward the green hills, returning far' — 'alone' his single self, 'returning' his going back toward the green hills, 'far' his going farther and farther, soon to vanish into the mountain's color. Two lines not one word of parting feeling, and the sender's gazing after and the recluse's loftiness all within. Closing in scene, writing the depth through distance, precisely the fine brush of the Tang five-word quatrain.

Study

Word focus

苍苍 The reduplicative 'deep dark' (cangcang) gives the Bamboo-Grove Temple both a colour and a hush, at once visual depth and solemn stillness, opening the poem's secluded, far air. “苍苍竹林寺”之“苍苍”，叠字写竹林寺的幽深苍翠，兼有暮色的苍茫。苍本是青色，叠用则色感愈浓；竹林之苍与暮色之苍合而为一，寺便不只是寺，而是一片苍茫幽深的境界。这个叠字为全诗定了清冷的基调，也使画面有了色彩的浓度。与下句“杳杳”对举，一写色、一写声，色苍声杳，寺之幽深、暮之寂寥，皆由此出。

带 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “荷笠带斜阳”之“带”，是全诗最见匠心的一字。斜阳本是无形的光，着一“带”字，便成了可以携带、随行的光影——灵澈荷笠而行，斜阳如影随形。这个字把人与光融为一体，写出暮色中归去者的温暖与苍凉，也暗含“斜阳伴归人”的深情。不写“披”而写“带”，更见轻灵与空明，是炼字的典范。

独 The word 'alone' (du) falls on the departing figure's back, and in that single stroke the parting's quiet clinging and the hermit's untroubled solitude both show themselves—the poem's tender, reserved centre. “青山独归远”之“独”，写灵澈的孑然一身，是全诗情味的关键。“独”字既写实——暮色中一人归山；更写意——僧人本孤、隐者本独，独归正是其本然的状态。然而送者眼中，这“独”里自有一份怜惜与怅望：山高路远，只影而行。一“独”一“远”，把送别的情味写得淡而深、轻而重。不说离愁，而离愁尽在“独”字之中。

杳杳 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “杳杳钟声晚”之“杳杳”，写钟声的悠远飘渺，与“苍苍”相对，一写色一写声。“杳杳”本形容深远昏暗，此处写钟声之邈远，仿佛从苍茫的竹林深处传来，若有若无、绵绵不绝。这个叠字把晚钟写得既有时间的长久，又有空间的深远，使黄昏的古寺有了声的回响与静的质地。与“苍苍”的视觉相配合，一色一声，把送别之地的氛围写得浓厚而清冷。

送灵澈上人