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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

公子行

Ballad of the Nobleman's Son

韩琮

Han Cong

乐府yuefu ballad 讽喻诗satirical allegory 贵族aristocracy 中晚唐mid-to-late Tang 反讽irony

紫袖长衫色，银蝉半臂花。
带装盘水玉，鞍绣坐云霞。
别殿承恩泽，飞龙赐渥洼。
控罗青褭辔，镂象碧熏葩。
意气倾歌舞，阑珊走钿车。
袖障云缥缈，钗转凤欹斜。
珠卷迎归箔，雕笼晃醉纱。
唯无难夜日，不得似仙家。

Purple sleeves and a long gown of richest hue, silver cicadas blooming on the half-sleeve's embroidery; his belt inlaid with jade like still water, his saddle embroidered so he sits amid cloud and rosy haze.
In a separate palace hall he receives the sovereign's grace, and a Flying-Dragon steed from the Wowa waters is bestowed on him; silken reins on his prancing blue-black mount, carved ivory trappings dyed with azure blooms.
His high spirits pour out in song and dance, and as the revel wanes his gem-studded carriage rolls away; a sleeve veils the drifting mist, his hairpin's phoenix turns aslant.
Pearl curtains roll up to welcome him home behind the blinds, carved cages gleam through gauze dims with wine; only that there are no never-ending nights and days keeps him from being like the immortals.

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Meaning

The poem paints a Young lord of the Tang aristocracy in the full pomp of imperial favor: robed in splendor, granted a divine steed in a side hall, reveling through song, dance, and drunken carriage rides. Yet the final couplet turns a cold eye on all this glory — he lacks the immortal's endless days, so all this pleasure must end. What reads as lavish description closes as a veiled satire on the transience of worldly splendor.

在偏殿承受皇上的恩泽，又获赐渥洼所出的御马神驹。只可惜没有永不结束的长夜白日，到底比不上仙家那般永恒。

Appreciation

The poem is built on the piling method of fu-description, like a meticulous polychrome scroll of aristocratic pleasure. Costumes, favor, horses, revels, and the drunken homecoming are laid out in dense, layered imagery of purple, silver, jade, and azure, with verbs like 'carve' and 'veil' animating the gorgeous stillness. The sudden closing contrast with the immortals' eternity drops a note of chill into all the gold and green, so the piece transcends mere cataloguing and achieves the classical ideal of 'beauty with moral measure.'

【白话串讲】韩琮写贵族公子：“紫袖长衫色，银蝉半臂花”——他衣饰华丽。“别殿承恩泽，飞龙赐渥洼”——“意气倾歌舞，阑珊走钿车”——“唯无难”——他写纨绔公子的奢华生活。【意象与手法】以「飞龙」「渥洼」名马与「别殿」「仙家」铺陈富贵，末联陡转，于颂写中暗藏讽意。【情感与主旨】表面穷形尽相写豪奢，实则以「不得似仙家」收束，暗讽富贵无常、欢娱难永。【名句点睛】「唯无难夜日，不得似仙家」反话正说，荣宠愈极，落空之感愈深。

Background

'Gongzi xing' was an old yuefu title, first seen in Cao Zhi of Wei, usually depicting the luxurious life of noble scions; Tang writers kept it as a vehicle for satire or lavish description. Han Cong, styled Chengfeng, took the jinshi degree in 824 and rose to become drafter in the Secretariat and Military Commissioner of Hunan, with one juan of poems in the Complete Tang Poems. The poem's date is uncertain, but by subject and tone it belongs to the mid-to-late Tang, when the great clans were waning yet the fashion for aristocratic pleasure endured: young nobles rode out in brocade, basked in favor, and vied in extravagance. Writing with a fu-laden brush that renders everything to the full, Han Cong seemingly celebrates such favor, but the closing couplet — 'only that there are no never-ending nights and days keeps him from being like the immortals' — quietly reveals the satire: even the utmost worldly wealth cannot buy lasting joy. It shares the troubled social eye of Du Mu's 'Rhapsody on Epang Palace' and Bai Juyi's 'Song and Dance,' only delivered with gentle irony, gorgeous in diction and subtle in intent. His life spanned the world of aristocratic leisure, and his cold final stroke accords with the gentle, blameless instruction of the Book of Songs tradition.

《公子行》为乐府旧题，始见于三国魏曹植，多写贵族子弟之豪奢生活，唐人沿用作讽喻或铺陈之体。韩琮，字成封（一作成胤），穆宗长庆四年进士，曾官中书舍人、湖南观察使，《全唐诗》存诗一卷。此诗具体作年难确考，然就题材与辞气观之，当为中晚唐时期作品。中唐以降，门阀虽渐衰而富贵游乐之风未泯，贵族公子衣锦策马、承恩斗奢，诗人以铺锦列绣之笔穷形尽相，表面极写其荣宠，末联「唯无难夜日，不得似仙家」却微露讽意——纵极人间富贵，终无长日之欢，不及仙家之永恒。此与杜牧《阿房宫赋》「秦爱纷奢」、白居易《歌舞》「岂知阌乡狱，中有冻死骨」同一忧世之眼，只不过韩琮以婉讽出之，辞丽而旨微。据《唐才子传》卷六载韩琮「有诗名，长于绝句」，然此篇五律铺排，亦见其律功。可参看《乐府诗集》卷六七「杂曲歌辞·公子行」题解，知此题自梁陈已然，韩作乃中唐一脉之继响。又《唐才子传》卷六记韩琮「有诗名，长于绝句，多咏物应制之作」，此篇虽为律体，而铺陈工丽一脉相承。中唐以还，门荫入仕与科举一途并存，贵族子弟凭荫得官、纵情声色，乃朝野共见之象；白居易《秦中吟》、杜甫《丽人行》皆其镜像。韩琮身处其中，既熟谙贵游生活，又能以赋笔曲尽其态，末联微讽，正合《诗经》「言之者无罪，闻之者足戒」的温柔敦厚之教，亦见元和诗风重讽谕之一面。

Art

Artistically the poem takes the piling method of fu as its skeleton, like a fine-brushed, heavily colored painting of a nobleman at play. First, it opens and closes with apparel and objects, advancing through 'receiving favor — indulging in pleasure,' its structure like the great Han rhapsodies' 'spreading colors, exhausting things, expressing intent': the opening couplets trace garments and horse gear along two lines at once, purple, silver, jade, and cloud-haze already setting a sumptuous tone. Second, its catalogue of rarities is orderly: dress (sleeves, gown, cicada, belt, saddle), favor (side hall, Flying Dragon, Wowa steed), revelry (song and dance, gemmed carriage, drunken gauze), homecoming (pearl blinds, carved cages), moving from outer to inner, day into night. Third, its diction is finely wrought: 'carved' and 'held' carry the craftsman's precision in 'carved ivory trappings dyed with azure blooms,' while 'veils' and 'turns' in 'a sleeve veils the drifting mist, his hairpin's phoenix turns aslant' animate the poses with living charm. Fourth, its color-language is dense — purple, silver, azure, cloud-haze, drunken gauze — gold and green across the page, one substance with the extravagant content. The closing contrast with the 'immortals' adds a thread of cold to all the radiance, so the poem rises above mere accumulation to the satirical character of 'beauty with measure.' The paired couplets are ingeniously varied — court space against imperial steed, horse harness against horse ornament — and 'his spirits pour out in song and dance, the waning revel rolls the gemmed carriage' sets the frenzy of motion against the quiet poses of sleeve and hairpin, one moving and one still framing the whole feast. Like a Court Music scroll slowly unrolled, color, sound, and attitude are displayed together: lacking High Tang grandeur, it yet has a richness proper to itself.

此诗艺术上以「赋体铺陈」为骨架，犹如一幅工笔重彩的贵族行乐图。其一，首尾皆以服饰器物起结，中间以「承恩—纵乐」递进，结构如汉大赋之「铺采摛文，体物写志」。首联「紫袖长衫色，银蝉半臂花。带装盘水玉，鞍绣坐云霞」从衣饰、鞍马两路并写入手，紫、银、水玉、云霞诸色交辉，已立绮靡基调。其二，善用名物堆垛而各有侧重：服饰（袖、衫、蝉、带、鞍）、恩宠（别殿、飞龙、渥洼）、游乐（歌舞、钿车、醉纱）、归宿（归箔、雕笼），由外而内、由昼而夜，层次井然。其三，炼字工致：「控罗青褭辔，镂象碧熏葩」以「控」「镂」两个动词撑起工艺之精；「袖障云缥缈，钗转凤欹斜」以「障」「转」写动态之娇，静物活写。其四，色彩语言学极浓：紫、银、碧、云霞、缥缈、醉纱，满纸金碧，与内容之豪奢互为表里。末以「仙家」反衬作结，于绚烂中忽添一缕清冷，使全篇不止于堆垛，而具「丽以则」之讽谏品格。再观其对仗机心，「别殿承恩泽，飞龙赐渥洼」以朝廷空间对御赐名马，「控罗青褭辔，镂象碧熏葩」以马具对马饰，皆两两相生而不重复，可见中唐律诗「组织工巧」的习性。又「意气倾歌舞，阑珊走钿车」写动态之狂欢，「袖障云缥缈，钗转凤欹斜」写静态之娇姿，一动一静构成宴游的全景。全诗犹如徐徐展开的《宫乐图》，色、声、态三者并陈，虽乏盛唐气象之宏阔，而密丽自有其体性。

Allusions

The poem alludes sparingly but always to purpose, in service of its theme of nobility and favor. First, 'a Flying-Dragon steed from the Wowa waters' joins two allusions: 'Flying Dragon' comes from the Qian hexagram of the Book of Changes — 'a flying dragon in the sky; it furthers one to see the great man' — figuring the sovereign's towering grace, while 'Wowa' is the Wo-wa River of the Records of the Grand Historian and the Han annals, where Emperor Wu obtained a divine horse and composed the 'Song of the Heavenly Horse,' ever after a byword for an imperial gift of a fine steed. Second, the 'blue-black prancer' (qingniao) belongs to the stable of legendary mounts recorded in the Miscellany of the Western Mansion and the horse-judging classics, set beside the Flying Dragon to stress the steed's rarity. Third, the 'gem-studded carriage' recalls the 'gold-and-jewel carriage' of the yuefu tradition from 'Mulberry by the Path' through the Six Dynasties, standard equipment for aristocratic outings. Fourth, the 'carved cage' echoes Bao Zhao's 'carved cage' for precious birds, figuring the extravagance of the drunken homecoming. Fifth, the 'immortals' set against the mortal world draw on Emperor Wu's quest for transcendence and Taoist long-life imagery, the immortals' endless days throwing the nobleman's brief 'nights and days' of pleasure into relief. All these allusions, drawn from the traditions of emperor, steed, and precious ornament, are melted into the fu-style array without a seam, evidence of Han Cong's mastery of inherited material. The 'half-sleeve' was a fashionable Tang short jacket; the 'still-water jade' belt plaque marks official rank; the 'azure-dyed blooms' may refer to incense-infused fabrics — all details of material culture attested in tomb murals and records, giving the poem documentary value alongside its literary art.

诗中用典虽少而皆有所本，服务于贵族与恩宠主题。其一，「飞龙赐渥洼」合用二典：「飞龙」本《周易·乾卦》「飞龙在天，利见大人」，喻君宠浩荡；「渥洼」指渥洼水，出《史记·乐书》及《汉书·武帝纪》，武帝时于此得神马，遂作《天马歌》，后代指御赐良马。此句言公子得皇帝赐以渥洼神驹，恩泽优渥。其二，「青褭」即「青骦」类骏马，《酉阳杂俎》及相马经多载良马异名，与「飞龙」对举，极言马之珍。其三，「钿车」典出《陌上桑》及六朝乐府「金钿车」，指嵌宝之车，魏晋以来为贵族行游之标配。其四，「雕笼」语本鲍照「雕笼采禽」，指华美笼具，此处写醉归之奢华。其五，「仙家」对举人间，暗用汉武帝求仙、道教长生意象，以仙家长日反衬公子「难夜日」之短暂欢娱。诸典皆取自帝王、骏马、珍饰传统，融化于赋体铺排之中，不着痕迹而雅驯有度，足见韩琮隶事之工。又「半臂」为唐人流行短袖上衣，男女皆服，墓葬壁画与《事物纪原》多有载录，诗中「银蝉半臂花」写其纹饰之精；「盘水玉」指玉带钩，唐制官员以玉带为荣，「带装盘水玉」暗点公子身份。「碧熏葩」之「熏」或指熏炉香染，唐人衣饰尚香，此亦一时风尚。凡此名物，皆具实物可征的史料价值，使此诗不独为文学，亦旁证中唐服饰器物之华，学者治物质文化史者每取此类诗句与出土文物互证。

Commentary

Though not one of the Tang's celebrated satirical masterpieces, Han Cong's ballad has generally been credited with 'gorgeous diction and subtle intent.' Hu Yinglin of the Ming judged mid-Tang regulated verse 'ample in craft, slightly lacking in bone,' and this poem's meticulous description fits that verdict, yet its 'beauty with measure' carries its sting. The Qing Complete Tang Poems prints Han Cong's poems without detailed annotation, but the same volume's 'Willow Branches' show his gifts for rendering things. Modern discussions of the 'Gongzi xing' title commonly set this piece beside those of Meng Binyu and Gu Kuang as a pictorial record of mid-Tang aristocratic life; a modern appreciation likens it to 'unrolling a scroll of Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair, a cold eye hidden amid the gold and green,' naming its doubleness of surface splendor and inner satire. In sum, whatever the angle, the consensus holds on its 'meticulous description with a faint closing satire,' ranking it a representative minor work of mid-Tang yuefu on the nobility. Its stance between Qi-Liang-style ornament and Yuan-Bai-style remonstrance gives it a place no other poem quite fills.

韩琮此诗虽非唐人讽喻名篇，论者亦多许其「辞丽旨微」。明人胡应麟《诗薮》论中唐律诗「工巧有余，风骨稍逊」，此篇铺陈工致正合其评，然「丽以则」处亦见讽意。清人编《全唐诗》录韩琮诗于卷五百六十五，于此诗未加详笺，然同卷《杨柳枝》诸作足见其工于体物。近人论唐代《公子行》一题，多举此篇与孟宾于、顾况之作并列，视其为中唐贵族生活之图像志；如《唐诗鉴赏辞典》「公子行」题下虽以他作为主，然于韩琮此篇亦肯定其「以赋为诗，穷极工丽」。今人撰《唐五代诗鉴赏》谓此诗「如展开一卷《簪花仕女图》，于金碧中藏冷眼」，点出表面绮靡、内里讽世的双重性。综之，诸家虽聚焦于不同侧面，而于其「铺陈工丽、末联微讽」的体例判断则基本一致，视其为中唐乐府咏贵之作的代表小品。今人撰《唐代乐府诗研究》论《公子行》一题，以为韩琮此作「承齐梁宫体之丽，而能于篇末寓讽，是中和之美」。傅璇琮《唐代科举与文学》述中唐贵族生活，亦间接印证诗中「承恩赐马」「别殿」等所反映的门荫特权。袁行霈《中国文学史》论韩孟诗派外围作家，以「工丽近俗」概括其体，移评此诗亦妥。要之，此篇在《公子行》传统中，以「丽以则」立于齐梁式铺陈与元白式讽谕之间，自有其不可取代的位置。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse (a yuefu 'Gongzi xing' cast into regulated form)五言律诗（乐府《公子行》入律）

Rhyme It rhymes throughout on the level-tone 'ma' rhyme of the sixth lower group (hua, xia, pa, xie, jia, and so on), one rhyme carried to the end.下平六麻韵（花、霞、葩、斜、家等）一韵到底

Tone pattern It follows the oblique-start pattern with the first line not entering the rhyme; the two middle couplets are precisely parallel and the tonal patterns conform to the rules.仄起首句不入韵式，中两联对仗精工，平仄合律

Reading note Though titled as the yuefu 'Gongzi xing,' the poem is in fact a five-character regulated composition, rhyming throughout on the 'ma' rhyme; the first line, 'Purple sleeves and a long gown of richest hue,' starts oblique and does not enter the rhyme, while 'hua' in the second line begins the rhyme, followed by 'xia,' 'pa,' 'xie,' and 'jia' in sequence, one rhyme carried through, the sound mellow and harmonious — a perfect match for its sumptuous content. The middle couplets — 'In a separate hall he receives the sovereign's grace, and a Flying-Dragon steed from the Wowa waters is bestowed on him'; 'Silken reins on his prancing mount, carved ivory trappings dyed with azure blooms'; 'His spirits pour out in song and dance, the waning revel rolls the gemmed carriage'; 'A sleeve veils the drifting mist, his hairpin's phoenix turns aslant' — all use exact parallelism, noun against noun (side hall against flying dragon, grace against Wowa) and verb against verb (receive against bestow, hold against carve), embodying the mid-Tang fashion for allusion-laden antithesis. In tonal patterning, 'In a separate hall he receives the sovereign's grace' runs oblique-oblique-level-level-oblique and 'a Flying-Dragon steed from the Wowa waters is bestowed on him' level-level-oblique-oblique-level, adhesion and opposition basically correct, with only a few places (such as 'only that there are no never-ending nights and days') varied slightly for the closing. Eight lines, forty characters, yet by fu method it arrays five layers — dress, horse, favor, revelry, homecoming — dense and compact: a typical mid-Tang case of 'using regulated verse as fu.'此诗虽题为乐府《公子行》，实以五律成篇，通体押下平六麻韵，首句「紫袖长衫色」为仄起不入韵，次句「花」字始入韵，以下「霞、葩、斜、家」依次押麻，一韵贯通，声情温润谐美，恰配其绮丽内容。中二联「别殿承恩泽，飞龙赐渥洼」「控罗青褭辔，镂象碧熏葩」与「意气倾歌舞，阑珊走钿车」「袖障云缥缈，钗转凤欹斜」皆用工对，名词对名词（别殿—飞龙、恩泽—渥洼）、动词对动词（承—赐、控—镂），体现中唐律诗重隶事对偶的风尚。平仄方面，如「别殿承恩泽」为「仄仄平平仄」，「飞龙赐渥洼」为「平平仄仄平」，粘对基本合律，仅个别处（如「唯无难夜日」）为收束略作变调。全诗八句四十字，却以赋法铺陈衣、马、恩、乐、归五层，密丽紧凑，是中唐「以律为赋」的典型。清人蘅塘退士虽未选此篇，然其「律细而辞丽」的体性，正可据《唐诗矩》所论中唐律法参看。

Line by line

别殿承恩泽，飞龙赐渥洼。

In a separate palace hall he receives the sovereign's abundant grace, and is further granted a divine steed from the Woa waters.

在偏殿承受皇上的恩泽，又获赐渥洼所出的御马神驹。

In the side hall he receives the emperor's grace; the Flying Dragon stable bestows Wowa steeds.

此联为全诗由服饰铺陈转入恩宠书写的枢纽，将公子的「贵」从衣饰器物提升至君恩层面。「别殿」点出宫廷空间，「承恩泽」三字直写沐皇宠之荣，语气庄重而不失矜夸。「飞龙赐渥洼」则用双重典故：飞龙喻君德在上，渥洼神马喻御赐之珍，一笔写出「天子呼来不上船」之外的另一种恩遇——不是狂士之宠，而是贵胄之宠。此联之妙，在将前面纯粹的物色堆垛注入政治温度，使「公子」形象由浮华子弟升格为皇权羽翼，从而坐实其豪奢的来由。艺术上，对仗精工，「别殿」对「飞龙」、「承」对「赐」、「恩泽」对「渥洼」，名词动词各得其偶，体现中唐律诗讲求隶事对偶的风气。末联「唯无难夜日」的讽意，正由此联的极盛反跌而出，盛极而难永，伏脉已见于此。

This couplet is the whole poem's pivot from clothing laying-out to favor writing, elevating the young noble's nobleness from clothing and objects to the royal-grace level. Side hall names the palace space; receives the emperor's grace three characters directly write bathing-royal-favor glory, tone solemn yet not without pride. The Flying Dragon stable bestows Wowa steeds then uses double allusion: Flying Dragon metaphorizes the lord's virtue above, Wowa divine steed metaphorizes the imperial-bestowed treasure; one stroke writes the Son of Heaven's calling-him-to-drink-yet-not-mounting-boat kind of another favor - not the wild scholar's favor, but the noble scion's favor. This couplet's subtlety lies in injecting political temperature into the previous pure thing-color pile, making the young noble image from flashy youth rise to imperial-power wing, hence grounding his luxury's origin. Artistically, parallel refined: side hall against Flying Dragon, receive against bestow, imperial grace against Wowa; noun verb each matched, showing mid-Tang regulated verse's allusion-parallel fashion. The closing couplet's only-no-hard-night-day satire precisely reverses out from this couplet's extreme prosperity; prosperity extreme yet hard to last, the hidden vein already visible here.

唯无难夜日，不得似仙家。

Only that he has no never-ending nights and days keeps him from being like the immortals, whose joys are everlasting.

只可惜没有永不结束的长夜白日，到底比不上仙家那般永恒。

Only there is never an endless night and day; we cannot be like the immortals.

尾联于满纸金碧中忽作冷语，是全诗讽喻的收束与点睛。「唯无」二字一转，由前面极写荣宠欢乐陡然跌入缺憾：人间富贵虽极，却无「难夜日」——即长明不夜、永昼无休之日，欢娱苦短，终有尽时。「不得似仙家」以仙家之永恒反衬尘世之须臾，表面羡仙，实则以仙之「长」刺人之「短」，含而不露地揭示贵公子享乐的虚妄与局限。此即《诗经》「人之云亡，邦国殄瘁」式微讽的变体，只不过韩琮以婉丽出之，辞愈美而讽愈深。艺术上，以「唯」「不得」两个否定词收束长篇铺陈，如急管繁弦后一记清磬，余韵冷然。可与杜牧「繁华事散逐香尘」、李商隐「夕阳无限好，只是近黄昏」同观，皆盛中唐转折期士人对繁华易逝的集体感喟，而此诗以「仙家」作比，更添一层道教色空的玄想。

The closing couplet in full gold-and-jade page suddenly speaks cold words, the whole poem's satire close and finishing stroke. Only never two characters turn, from the previous extreme favor-and-joy abruptly falling into defect: human wealth though extreme, yet no hard night and day - that is, ever-bright-not-night, endless-day-no-rest days; joy's brevity, ultimately having an end. Cannot be like the immortals uses immortals' eternity to set off the mortal moment, on the surface envying immortals, in truth using the immortals' long to satirize the human's short, reservedly revealing the noble youth's pleasure illusion and limit. This is precisely Book of Songs's when men perish, the state lies ruined-style micro-satire variant; only Han Cong speaks it gracefully, the more beautiful the words the deeper the satire. Artistically, using only and cannot two negative words to close the long laying-out, like a clear chime after urgent pipes and strings, aftertaste cold. Can be read with Du Mu's prosperity's affairs scatter with fragrant dust, Li Shangyin's the setting sun is infinite good, only it is near dusk; both are High-and-mid-Tang transition-period scholars' collective sigh over prosperity's easy passing, yet this poem's using immortals as comparison adds a layer of Daoist color-and-emptiness speculation.

Study

Word focus

镂 The word 'lou' (to carve) in 'carved ivory trappings dyed with azure blooms' is the poem's core verb of craftsmanship: paired with 'kong' (to hold the reins), it gives the static trappings the dynamic feel of the craftsman's knife at work, condensing the whole poem's ideal of exhaustive artifice into a single stroke. 「镂象碧熏葩」之「镂」字，是全诗工艺描写的炼字核心。镂本义为雕刻，与「控」（控驭）对举，一写马辔之精美、一写马饰之雕琢，二字皆以有力度的动词撑起贵族器物的精工。「镂象」谓以象牙为饰加以雕镂，「碧熏葩」则状其色碧如熏染之花，镂字在此不仅写出器物之珍，更写出人工夺天工的匠心。自修辞观之，「镂」与「控」形成「动词+名物」的并列结构，使静物获得制作过程的动态感，读者仿佛亲见工匠运刀、象骨成葩。溯其渊源，镂金错彩本为六朝宫体、初唐应制诗的看家本领，韩琮此字正承齐梁「雕镂相尚」之绪，而纳入中唐律诗的工稳对仗中。一字之炼，既见诗人隶事之富，亦折射诗中公子「穷极工丽」的审美趣味——器物的「镂」恰是全诗「丽以则」风格的微观缩影。

障 The word 'zhang' (to veil) in 'a sleeve veils the drifting mist' captures the nobleman's languid gesture of raising a sleeve — whether against the dust or in coy concealment — and pairs with 'turn' below to render, in one word, the idle grace and studied refinement of the aristocratic reveler. 「袖障云缥缈」之「障」字，写贵公子行乐时的一个微妙动作，炼字极见情态。障本义为遮挡、屏蔽，此处写公子扬袖而障，云气缥缈其间，既可能是障避风尘，亦可能是障掩娇容、故作矜持，一字而情态宛然。「障」与下句「钗转凤欹斜」之「转」相俪，一静（遮挡）一动（转动），将贵族公子的闲适娇慵写得活灵活现。其妙在「以物写人」：袖可障云，足见其衣袖之阔、云气之轻，更见其人举止间的从容矜贵；而「云缥缈」的虚景与「袖」的实物相映，营造出如烟似梦的行乐氛围。较之盛唐李白「袖拂紫烟去」的仙逸，韩琮此「障」字更贴近人间贵公子的真实姿态，少几分超脱、多几分绮靡，正合中唐贵族诗「工巧而近俗」的体性。一字之间，时代风气与人物身份了然可见。

公子行