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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

送綦毋潜落第还乡

Seeing Off Qiwu Qian, Who Failed the Examination and Returns Home

王维

Wang Wei

圣代无隐者，英灵尽来归。
遂令东山客，不得顾采薇。
既至金门远，孰云吾道非。
江淮度寒食，京洛缝春衣。
置酒长安道，同心与我违。
行当浮桂棹，未几拂荆扉。
远树带行客，孤城当落晖。
吾谋适不用，勿谓知音稀。

In a sage's reign no man hides in obscurity,
all the gifted spirits come home to serve.
So the hermit of East Mountain
could no longer care to pick ferns.
You reached the Golden Gate — and stayed far from it;
who says our Way was wrong?
Through the Jiang and Huai you will pass the Cold Food feast;
at Jingluo they are sewing spring robes.
We set wine on the road to Chang'an,
a like-hearted friend now takes leave of me.
Soon you will push off on the cassia oar,
and before long brush open your wicker door.
Distant trees bear the traveler away;
the lone city faces the setting sun.
Our plans simply went unused —
do not say that those who know you are few.

Listen

Meaning

Wang Wei sees off his friend Qiwu Qian, who has failed the examination and is going home. Instead of dwelling on the failure, the poem opens by praising an age in which all talent comes forth, then defends the friend's worth: the failure was a matter of chance, not of his Way. The middle couplets describe his journey home and his family's waiting, and the last four lines set the parting scene, a landscape of departure, and a final encouragement — his talents are merely unused, and true friends are not few.

圣明之世没有隐居之人，英才贤士尽都来归附。因此令那些像东山客一样的隐士，也不得再顾念采薇之乐。既然已赴金门求仕而未能如愿，谁又能说我们的主张不对呢？你江淮度寒食，京洛缝春衣。置酒长安道，同心与我离别。你行将浮桂棹而去，不久便拂拭荆扉归家。远树带着行客远去，孤城正对着落晖。我们的谋略只是暂时不被采用，不要说是知音稀少。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] In a sage's reign no man hides in obscurity; all gifted spirits come home to serve — so even the hermit of East Mountain could no longer care to pick ferns. You reached the Golden Gate and stayed far from it; who says our Way was wrong? Through the Jiang and Huai you will pass the Cold Food feast; at Jingluo they are sewing spring robes. We set wine on the Chang'an road; a like-hearted friend now takes leave of me. Distant trees bear the traveler away; the lone city faces the setting sun. Our plans simply went unused — do not say those who know you are few. [Structure] Sixteen lines in four stanzas of four: consolation through the age's openness, defense of the friend's Way, the parting and the journey home, and a landscape of departure closing in encouragement. Each stanza reassures in a different register — public, personal, scenic, and finally friendly. [Technique] The consolation is layered, so the friend is never once pitied. The rhetorical question 'who says our Way was wrong?' carries the weight of the Analects, while 'distant trees bear the traveler away; the lone city faces the setting sun' is pure landscape: sorrow without a sorrowful word. [Emotion] The warmth lies in the poet's insistence on the friend's worth. The closing line is at once comfort and self-description — the poet himself is one who knows the friend, and that is the truest consolation.

【白话串讲】王维写《送綦毋潜落第还乡》：“圣代无隐者，英灵尽来归”——“既至金门远，孰云吾道非”——“置酒长安道，同心与我违”——“远树带行客，孤城当落晖”——“吾谋适不用，勿谓知音稀”——他送綦毋潜落第还乡——吾谋适不用。【意象与手法】圣代无隐者、英灵尽来归，以盛世无隐安慰落第；既至金门远、孰云吾道非，为友人落第辩护；江淮度寒食、京洛缝春衣，写其归途与家事；结以“吾谋适不用，勿谓知音稀”宽慰友人勿悲知音稀。于送别中寓深挚劝慰。【情感与主旨】王维送友人綦毋潜落第还乡之作，情意深挚而劝慰得体，是唐人送别诗中的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“圣代无隐者，英灵尽来归”以盛世无隐安慰落第；“吾谋适不用，勿谓知音稀”宽慰勿悲知音稀。

Background

Wang Wei (701–761), courtesy name Mojie, was from Puzhou (modern Yongji, Shanxi). The greatest poet-painter of the High Tang, he rose to Right Assistant Minister of State and is known as Wang Youcheng; paired with Meng Haoran as 'Wang and Meng', he was famous for 'painting within poetry, poetry within painting' and for the Buddhist quiet of his later years. Qiwu Qian, courtesy name Xiaotong, was a poet and one of Wang Wei's close friends; after failing the examination he returned home. The poem was written while Wang Wei was in Chang'an, most likely in the 730s or 740s. The 'Golden Gate' is the Golden Horse Gate of the Han, where scholars awaited appointment; 'Cold Food' is the spring festival before Qingming.

《送綦毋潜落第还乡》为盛唐诗人王维所作五言古诗。王维（约701—761），字摩诘，蒲州（今山西永济）人，盛唐著名诗人，官至尚书右丞，世称王右丞，诗画兼工，与孟浩然并称「王孟」。綦毋潜，字孝通，唐代诗人，与王维为好友，此诗为其应举落第还乡时王维送别之作。诗中「圣代无隐者，英灵尽来归」写圣明之世贤才尽出；「遂令东山客，不得顾采薇」写隐士亦出仕；「既至金门远，孰云吾道非」为友人落第辩护；「江淮度寒食，京洛缝春衣」写其归途与家事；「置酒长安道，同心与我违」写送别之情；「行当浮桂棹，未几拂荆扉」写其还乡之况；「远树带行客，孤城当落晖」写送别之景；「吾谋适不用，勿谓知音稀」宽慰友人。綦毋潜落第，心情抑郁，王维此诗于送别之中，既安慰其落第之悲，又肯定其才学，勉其勿以一时失意为意，情意深挚而劝慰得体，是唐人送别诗中的名篇。此篇《送綦毋潜落第还乡》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 lies in its layered consolation. Four stanzas, four moves: first, the age itself is made the consolation — if a sage's reign draws all talent forth, one man's failure is only the arithmetic of a crowd; second, the friend is defended — 'who says our Way was wrong?' shifts blame from ability to chance; third, the parting is given concrete warmth — wine on the Chang'an road, the cassia oar, the wicker door brushed open by waiting hands; fourth, encouragement closes the poem — plans 'simply went unused', and friends who know him are not few. The middle couplets are strictly parallel ('through the Jiang and Huai' against 'at Jingluo'), yet the syntax stays loose and plain, like speech. The famous couplet of departure, 'distant trees bear the traveler away; the lone city faces the setting sun', moves without any verb of grief — the landscape itself sees the friend off.

此诗艺术上以「层层劝慰、深挚得体」见长。全诗十六句，可分四段。首四句写盛世无隐：「圣代无隐者，英灵尽来归。遂令东山客，不得顾采薇」，以圣明之世贤才尽出，安慰落第者本非无才，而是生逢盛世、才者甚众。中四句为落第辩护并写其归途：「既至金门远，孰云吾道非。江淮度寒食，京洛缝春衣」，既已赴金门而未能如愿，谁又能说我们的主张不对呢；江淮度寒食，京洛缝春衣，写其归途劳顿与家中候归。又四句写送别与还乡：「置酒长安道，同心与我违。行当浮桂棹，未几拂荆扉」，置酒送别，同心而别；行将浮桂棹归家，不久拂拭荆扉。又四句写送别之景与宽慰：「远树带行客，孤城当落晖。吾谋适不用，勿谓知音稀」，远树带行客、孤城当落晖，写送别之景；吾谋适不用、勿谓知音稀，宽慰友人。全诗由安慰而辩护、由送别而宽慰，层层推进，情意深挚，劝慰得体，是唐人送别诗中的名篇。

Allusions

'The hermit of East Mountain' alludes to Xie An, who lived in reclusion on East Mountain before serving the Jin court; later writers used 'East Mountain' for withdrawal. 'Picking ferns' alludes to Bo Yi and Shu Qi, who refused to serve the Zhou and lived on ferns on Mount Shouyang; it became the standard phrase for refusing office. Wang Wei says that in a sage's reign even such recluses must come forth — an ironic compliment that also comforts: your failure is not failure, the age is simply full of talent. 'The Golden Gate' (Golden Horse Gate) was where Han scholars awaited summons; here it stands for the examination and office. 'Cassia oars' come from the Chuci ('cassia oars, magnolia paddles') and became a poetic name for the homeward boat.

诗中「东山客」「采薇」「金门」「桂棹」等语，皆含典故。「东山客」用谢安之典，谢安早年隐居东山，屡征不起，后世以「东山」写隐居，「东山客」指隐士；「采薇」用伯夷叔齐之典，伯夷、叔齐不食周粟，采薇而食，后世以「采薇」写隐居不仕。「遂令东山客，不得顾采薇」，写圣明之世贤才尽出，连隐士也不得再隐居不仕，以反语安慰落第者。「金门」即金马门，汉代宫门名，为待诏之处，后世以「待诏金马门」写出仕求用，「既至金门远」写其求仕而未能如愿。「桂棹」以桂木为桨，出《楚辞·九歌》「桂棹兮兰枻」，后世以桂棹写归舟。诗人以东山客、采薇、金门、桂棹等典入诗，不着痕迹，而把对落第友人的安慰写得含蓄得体，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。

Commentary

This is one of Wang Wei's most anthologized farewells, valued for what critics call his magnanimity in parting — he never utters a word of pity. Later anthologists have repeatedly included it among the model consolation poems of the Tang. Readers have especially prized the couplet 'distant trees bear the traveler away; the lone city faces the setting sun' as an example of Wang Wei's ability to make landscape carry feeling. Set beside Gao Shi's 'Farewell to Dong Da' and Wang Bo's 'Seeing Off Prefect Du', it forms the classic trio of Chinese consolation farewells — each reassuring a friend in a different voice: bold, magnanimous, and warm.

这首《送綦毋潜落第还乡》，是王维送别落第友人綦毋潜之作，情意深挚，劝慰得体。友人应举落第，心情自然抑郁，王维此诗，不去多言落第之悲，而是层层劝慰，令人宽心。首四句「圣代无隐者，英灵尽来归。遂令东山客，不得顾采薇」，以盛世无隐起笔：圣明之世没有隐居之人，英才贤士尽都来归附，因此令那些像东山客一样的隐士，也不得再顾念采薇之乐。这既是写盛世气象，也是委婉地安慰友人——你并非无才，只是生逢盛世，才者甚众，落第亦是常事。中四句「既至金门远，孰云吾道非。江淮度寒食，京洛缝春衣」，为友人落第辩护并写其归途：既已赴金门求仕而未能如愿，谁又能说我们的主张不对呢？——这「孰云吾道非」，是为友人辩护，也是对其才学的肯定；江淮度寒食、京洛缝春衣，写其归途劳顿、家中候归，平实的语句中，透着对友人的牵挂。又四句「置酒长安道，同心与我违。行当浮桂棹，未几拂荆扉」，写送别与还乡：置酒长安道，同心与我离别；行将浮桂棹归家，不久便拂拭荆扉。再四句「远树带行客，孤城当落晖。吾谋适不用，勿谓知音稀」，写送别之景并宽慰友人：远树带行客、孤城当落晖，写目送友人远去之景，苍茫中含情；「吾谋适不用，勿谓知音稀」——我们的谋略只是暂时不被采用，不要说是知音稀少。这一结，既是宽慰，更是对友人的深挚肯定：非无才，非无识者，只是一时不用，切勿因此消沉。全诗由安慰而辩护、由送别而宽慰，层层推进，情意深挚，劝慰得体，正是王维「于送别中见仁厚」的诗风，读之令人温暖。

Prosody

Form Five-character ancient-style verse (guti) — free-form verse in the old manner, not regulated verse五言古诗（古体，非近体律诗）

Rhyme Oblique-tone (ze) rhyme throughout, on gui, wei, fei, yi, wei, fei, hui, and xi — all in the wei rhyme group of the Pingshui rhyme dictionary; a single rhyme runs from start to finish, broad and steady, its ancient plainness matching the poem's conversational tone.全诗为五言古诗，押仄声韵，韵脚「归」「薇」（微部）、「非」「衣」（微部）、「违」「扉」（微部）、「晖」「稀」（微部）一韵到底，用韵宽稳。古体诗不拘平仄对仗，而以意运笔，此诗以「归」「薇」「非」「衣」「违」「扉」「晖」「稀」等字一韵到底，音节古拙质朴，正与王维「清水出芙蓉」的自然诗风相称，也见其作古体以畅写送别劝慰之情的用心。

Tone pattern The lines do not observe regulated antithesis; cadence follows sense — the opening quatrain opens wide, the second stanza rises on a rhetorical question, the travel and home couplets are plain and measured, the parting couplets are grave, and the closing couplet eases into consolation.句式上，首四句「圣代无隐者，英灵尽来归」写盛世气象，音节开阔；中四句「既至金门远，孰云吾道非」以反问振起，音节顿挫；「江淮度寒食，京洛缝春衣」写归途家事，音节平实；「置酒长安道，同心与我违」写送别之情，音节沉挚；末四句「远树带行客，孤城当落晖」写送别之景，音节苍茫；「吾谋适不用，勿谓知音稀」以劝慰作结，音节转舒，情调由苍茫归于宽厚。全诗音节随情起伏，由开阔而顿挫、由平实而苍茫、由苍茫而宽厚，正合古体诗「以意运笔」之体，读来如长者送友、娓娓劝慰，深挚而自然。

Reading note Written in the old manner, the poem borrows regulated parallelism in places — 'distant trees bear the traveler away; the lone city faces the setting sun' is strictly matched — while keeping free syntax throughout. Read aloud, it moves like an elder friend's unhurried consolation: no haste, no pressure, each layer of comfort laid in place before the next begins.此诗为五言古诗，是唐人送别诗中的名篇，也是王维「清水出芙蓉」自然诗风的体现。全诗的艺术特色在于「层层劝慰、深挚得体」：首段「圣代无隐者，英灵尽来归。遂令东山客，不得顾采薇」以盛世无隐安慰落第；中段「既至金门远，孰云吾道非」为友人辩护，「江淮度寒食，京洛缝春衣」写其归途家事；「置酒长安道，同心与我违」写送别之情；末段「远树带行客，孤城当落晖」写送别之景，「吾谋适不用，勿谓知音稀」以劝慰作结。全诗由安慰而辩护、由送别而宽慰，层层推进，情意深挚，劝慰得体。尤为动人者，是「孰云吾道非」为友人辩护的反问与「勿谓知音稀」的宽慰，既肯定友人才学，又自明知己之情，正是王维「于送别中见仁厚」的诗风，为历代选本所常收，也与李白《送友人》、高适《别董大》等劝慰之作并传。

Line by line

圣代无隐者，英灵尽来归。

In a sage's reign no man hides in obscurity; all the gifted spirits come home to serve.

圣明之世没有隐居之人，英才贤士尽都来归附。

In the sage reign, no recluse; all the heroic spirits come in.

首二句写盛世气象，是全诗安慰落第友人的立论基础。「圣代无隐者」写圣明之世没有隐居之人，「圣代」称颂当世，「无隐者」见其盛世之象、贤才尽出；「英灵尽来归」写英才贤士尽都来归附，「英灵」指英才俊杰，「尽来归」见其争先出仕、荟萃于朝。两句以盛世无隐、英才来归，暗含对友人落第的委婉安慰——你并非无才，只是生逢盛世，才者甚众，此一落第，不足为悲。诗人不直言安慰，而以此盛世之象含蓄道出，得体而宽厚，为全诗的劝慰之旨定下了基调。

The first two lines write the prosperous age's air, the argumentative ground for the poem's comfort of the friend who failed the exam. 'In the sage reign, no recluse' — 'the sage reign' the praise of the present age, 'no recluse' the prosperous age's look, the talent all out; 'all the heroic spirits come in' — the 'heroic spirits' the outstanding talents, 'all come in' their vying to serve, gathering at the court. Two lines, the prosperous age no recluse, the talent coming in, secretly holding the tactful comfort of the friend's failure: you are not without talent, only born in the prosperous age, the talented many, and this one failure is no grief. The poet says not the comfort directly, but through this prosperous age's air, restrained and proper, generous, tuning the keynote of the whole's purpose of comfort.

既至金门远，孰云吾道非。

You reached the Golden Gate — and stayed far from it; who says our Way was wrong?

既然已赴金门求仕而未能如愿，谁又能说我们的主张不对呢？

Since you have come so far from the Golden Gate, who says our Way is wrong?

此二句为友人落第辩护，是全诗最见情谊处。「既至金门远」写既已赴金门求仕而未能如愿，「金门」指待诏求仕之所，「远」字见其求仕未遂、与金门尚远；「孰云吾道非」以反问为友人辩护——谁又能说我们的主张不对呢？着一反问，把友人落第归之于时运，而非才学或主张之不当，为友人辩护，亦是对其才学的肯定。两句一写求仕未遂之实、一写对友人主张之肯定，于反问中见深挚之情，是劝慰之语的精华，也是全诗情谊最深挚处。

These two lines defend the friend's failure, the part where the poem's friendship shows most. 'Since you have come so far from the Golden Gate' — 'the Golden Gate' the place of seeking office, 'far' the seeking's not fulfilled, still far from the gate; 'who says our Way is wrong?' defends the friend in counter-question — who can say our Way is wrong? The counter-question lays the friend's failure on the times, not on his talent or the rightness of his cause, defending the friend, and affirming his learning. Two lines, one the fact of the unfulfilled seeking, one the affirmation of the friend's cause, the deep feeling in the counter-question, the essence of the comforting words, and the deepest part of the poem's friendship.

置酒长安道，同心与我违。

We set wine on the road to Chang'an; a like-hearted friend now takes leave of me.

置酒长安道，同心与我离别。

We set out wine on the Chang'an road; hearts as one, now parting from me.

此二句写送别之情，是全诗由劝慰转送别的关目。「置酒长安道」写置酒于长安道中为友人饯行，「置酒」见其饯别之郑重，「长安道」写送别之地；「同心与我违」写同心与我离别，「同心」写二人同心之谊，「与我违」写友人将离我而去，一「违」字写尽离别之不舍。两句一写置酒饯别之景、一写同心相别之情，于平实中见深挚——同心之人，今将相别，置酒饯行，情意尽在其中。以「同心」写二人情谊，为全诗「勿谓知音稀」的宽慰作了铺垫，是送别之情的关键。

These two lines write the parting feeling, the pivot of the poem's turn from comfort to farewell. 'We set out wine on the Chang'an road' — the wine set out on the Chang'an road to speed the friend, 'set out wine' the solemnity of the farewell feast, 'the Chang'an road' the parting place; 'hearts as one, now parting from me' — 'hearts as one' the bond of the two hearts, 'parting from me' the friend's going away from me, the one word 'parting' writing to the full the reluctant care. Two lines, one the scene of the wine-feast farewell, one the feeling of the hearts' parting, the deep within the plain — the hearts as one, now to part, the wine set out to speed, the feeling all within. Writing the two men's bond through 'hearts as one', the groundwork for the later comfort of 'say not that those who understand are few', the key of the parting feeling.

吾谋适不用，勿谓知音稀。

Our plans simply went unused — do not say that those who know you are few.

我们的谋略只是暂时不被采用，不要说是知音稀少。

Our counsels were but for the time not used; say not that those who understand are few.

尾二句是全文劝慰之旨的归结，也是情谊最深挚处。「吾谋适不用」写我们的谋略只是暂时不被采用，「适不用」写其未用是偶然、是一时，非其谋之不当，「适」字见其偶然之意；「勿谓知音稀」写不要说是知音稀少，「知音稀」见友人落第后或有知音难觅之叹，「勿谓」以劝慰之语宽之——莫道知音稀少，你的才学自有识者。两句一写未用是偶然、一劝勿悲知音稀，把对友人的宽慰与肯定写得深挚而恳切。诗人与綦毋潜正是知音，此「勿谓知音稀」，既是宽慰，亦是自明——我便是你的知音。以劝慰作结，情意深长，是全诗境界最高的收束之笔。

The last two lines are the close of the whole's purpose of comfort, and the deepest friendship. 'Our counsels were but for the time not used' — 'but for the time not used' the non-use is accidental, for a moment, not the cause of the cause; the word 'but' the sense of the accidental. 'Say not that those who understand are few' — 'those who understand are few' the friend's possible sigh, after failure, that understanding is hard to find; 'say not' the comforting word to ease him — say not that the understanding are few, your learning has those who know. Two lines, one the non-use as accident, one the exhortation not to grieve at the few understanding, writing the comfort and affirmation of the friend deep and earnest. The poet and Qiwu Qian are precisely understanding friends, and this 'say not that those who understand are few' is at once the comfort and the self-declaration — I am your understanding friend. Closing in exhortation, the feeling long, the highest-realm close of the poem.

Study

Word focus

尽来归 'All come home to serve' — the 'all' writes the fullness of the age's gathering of talent, its inclusiveness; 'come home to serve' shows worthy men hastening toward court. The three words establish the opening premise that a sage's reign leaves no talent unused. 「尽来归」写英才贤士尽都来归附，「尽」字见其荟萃之盛、无一遗漏，「来归」见其争先出仕、归向朝廷。三字写尽盛世的用人之盛，为后文安慰友人落第作铺垫——才者甚众，落第非其才之不逮。着一「尽」字，写尽盛世气象，是首段立论的关键词。「尽来归」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。

非 'Wrong' — the key word of the rhetorical question 'who says our Way was wrong?' It turns the failure into a question of fate rather than ability: the friend's Way is not at fault, so his worth stands — the deepest affirmation in the consolation. 「非」字是「孰云吾道非」反问的关键，写为友人主张辩护。「孰云吾道非」着一「非」，以反问写谁也不能说我们的主张不对——友人落第，非其主张之非、非其才学之劣，只是时运未至。着一反问，把辩护之意写得斩钉截铁，既见对友人才学之肯定，亦见二人同道同心之谊，是全诗情谊最深挚处的关键词。「非」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。

同心 'Of one heart' — writes the friendship of two men who share the same aims. Because they are 'of one heart', the parting is a tearing in two; the word also prepares the closing comfort 'do not say those who know you are few' — the poet is himself the friend who knows him. 「同心」写二人同心之谊，是写送别之情的关键。「同心与我违」着一「同心」，写二人同心相知、情谊深挚，而今日同心之人即将相别，一「违」字见离别之不舍。同心之谊，为尾句「勿谓知音稀」作铺垫——诗人与友人正是知音同心，故劝其勿悲知音稀。两字写尽知己之情，是送别之情的枢纽。「同心」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。

适 'Merely, as it happened' — in 'our plans simply went unused', it reduces the failure to accident and chance: the failure was not the fault of the plans, only of the moment. One adverb defends the friend and urges him not to lose heart — the most carefully chosen word in the closing consolation. 「适」字是尾联劝慰的关键。「吾谋适不用」着一「适」，写其未用是偶然、恰逢其会，非其谋之不当——「适」字见偶然之意，把落第归之于时运偶然，而非才学或主张之不当。着一「适」字，既为友人辩护，亦劝其勿因此消沉，偶然而未用，非其才之过，是「一字见劝慰」的妙笔。「适」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。