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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

东都父老望幸

The Elders of the Eastern Capital Look for the Imperial Visit

薛存诚

Xue Cuncheng

应制诗Court Poem 望幸Looking for the Imperial Visit 中唐Mid-Tang 颂圣Praise of the Emperor 洛阳Luoyang

銮舆秦地久，羽卫洛阳空。
彼土虽凭固，兹川乃得中。
龙颜觐白日，鹤发仰清风。
望幸诚逾邈，怀来意不穷。
昔因封泰岳，今伫蹑维嵩。
天地心无异，神祇理亦同。
翠华翔渭北，玉检候关东。
众愿其难阻，明君早勒功。

Long has the imperial carriage kept to the land of Qin,
Empty are the banners and guards of Luoyang.
That land, though strong in its defenses,
This river, indeed, holds the center.
The dragon countenance is seen in the bright sun,
The hoary heads look up to the pure wind.
The hope of the visit is indeed far,
The longing that he come is without end.
Of old, because they feted on Mount Tai,
Now they wait to set foot on Mount Song.
The heart of heaven and earth is not divided,
The principle of the spirits is likewise one.
The green canopies hover north of the Wei,
The jade tablets wait east of the Pass.
The multitude's wish is hard to oppose;
O bright lord, inscribe your merit soon.

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Meaning

A five-character extended regulated verse by the Mid-Tang poet Xue Cuncheng. 'Looking for the imperial visit' (wang xing) is the longing of the people for the emperor to come, a common theme of the examination and court poems of the Tang. The poem writes the elders of Luoyang (or through their mouth) hoping that the emperor will come east from Chang'an to the Eastern Capital: the first couplet, 'long has the imperial carriage kept to the land of Qin, empty are the banners and guards of Luoyang,' points out that the Son of Heaven has long remained in the land of Qin (Chang'an) while the ceremonial of the Eastern Capital stands empty; the following couplets set out in layers the fitness of the Eastern Capital's central position, the sincerity of the elders' hope, and the oneness of the principle of heaven and earth and the spirits, closing in the praise of 'the multitude's wish is hard to oppose; O bright lord, inscribe your merit soon.' Though a poem of praise, the theme of 'the elders looking for the imperial visit' reflects the Tang system of the two capitals and the bond of the sovereign and the people.

天子的车驾在秦地（长安）停留已久，洛阳的仪仗卫队却空设无人。天子的容颜如白日般可觐，白发父老仰承着清风吹拂的恩泽。众人的心愿难以阻挡，愿英明的君主早日前来刻石纪功。

Appreciation

The art lies first in the 'praise without flattery, the principle supporting the feeling.' The whole poem is sixteen lines in eight couplets, the regularity of the five-character extended regulated verse carrying the sincerity of the hope. The opening couplet, 'long has the imperial carriage kept to the land of Qin, empty are the banners and guards of Luoyang,' sets up the antithesis: the 'long' against the 'empty,' covertly carrying the gap between the need of the Eastern Capital and the supply, the stroke economical and the meaning oblique, unlike the general court poem's plain shouting. The middle four couplets first argue the fitness of the place, 'that land, though strong in its defenses, this river, indeed, holds the center'; then write the image of sovereign and people facing each other, 'the dragon countenance is seen in the bright sun, the hoary heads look up to the pure wind'; then prove the present with history, 'of old, because they feted on Mount Tai, now they wait to set foot on Mount Song'; and rise to the principle of heaven, 'the heart of heaven and earth is not divided, the principle of the spirits is likewise one'—from the land to the people, from the past to heaven, rising layer on layer, until the private wish of 'looking for the visit' gradually takes the weight of the public principle of the universe.

【白话串讲】薛存诚写东都父老盼皇帝驾临：“銮舆秦地久，羽卫洛阳空”。“龙颜觐白日，鹤发仰清风”——“昔因封泰岳，今伫蹑维嵩”——“翠华翔渭北，玉检候关东”——他写洛阳父老的期盼。【意象与手法】以「銮舆」「羽卫」铺两京之制，「鹤发仰清风」写父老瞻恋，典重雍容。【情感与主旨】体为颂圣，写臣民望幸之诚，亦见中唐两京巡幸的政治想象。【名句点睛】「众愿其难阻，明君早勒功」以民意难违勉君建功，颂中带期。

Background

Xue Cuncheng (?–814), courtesy name Ziming, a native of Baoding, Hezhong, passed the jinshi and rose to Senior Secretary, famed for his integrity, with a biography in the New Book of Tang and his poems in the Complete Tang Poetry. Since the reigns of Gaozong and Empress Wu, the Eastern Capital Luoyang and the Western Capital Chang'an were the two capitals of the Tang, and the emperors often traveled between them for the feng and shan sacrifices and the imperial tours; Xuanzong especially valued Luoyang and often stayed there. 'Looking for the imperial visit' (wang xing), the longing of the people for the emperor to come, originated in the Sima Xiangru tradition and became a common theme of the provincial examinations and the court poems of the Tang, writing the wish of some region's people for the imperial carriage and praising the emperor. This poem writes the elders of Luoyang hoping that the emperor will come east from Chang'an: the first couplet points out that the Son of Heaven has long remained in Chang'an while the ceremonial of the Eastern Capital stands empty; the following couplets set out in layers the fitness of the center, the sincerity of the hope, and the oneness of the principle of heaven and earth and the spirits, closing in praise.

《东都父老望幸》为唐代诗人薛存诚所作的一首五言排律。薛存诚（?—814），字资明，河中宝鼎人，登进士第，官至给事中，以刚正称，《新唐书》有传，《全唐诗》卷四百六十六存其诗。唐代自高宗、武后以来，东都洛阳与西京长安并为两京，皇帝常因封禅、巡幸往来二都；玄宗尤重洛阳，多居东都。所谓「望幸」，即臣民盼望皇帝临幸之意，初本于《史记·司马相如列传》「长门献赋」一脉，至唐则成省试与应制诗的常见题目，多写某地士庶盼銮舆巡幸、以颂圣为体。此诗正写洛阳父老（或托为父老之口）盼望皇帝自长安东幸洛阳：首联「銮舆秦地久，羽卫洛阳空」点出天子久驻秦地（长安），而东都仪卫虚设；以下层层铺陈东都形胜之得中、父老望幸之诚、天地神祇之理一，终以「众愿其难阻，明君早勒功」作颂。全诗虽为颂圣之体，而「父老望幸」的题面，折射出唐代两京制度下以东都为中心的地域期盼，亦可见中唐应制望幸诗「因题立颂、以颂见诚」的典型风调。（望幸诗自史记一脉至唐成省试常题，此篇即其东都代表。）

Art

The art lies in the 'praise without flattery, the principle supporting the feeling.' The opening couplet, 'the imperial carriage kept to the land of Qin, the banners and guards of Luoyang empty,' sets up the antithesis of 'long' and 'empty,' covertly carrying the gap between the need and the supply, the stroke economical and the meaning oblique. The middle four couplets rise layer on layer: from the fitness of the central position, to the image of sovereign and people facing each other, to the proof of the present with the history of the feng and shan, to the principle of heaven and earth and the spirits—from the land to the people, from the past to heaven, the private wish gradually taking the weight of the public principle. The closing couplet, 'the green canopies hover north of the Wei, the jade tablets wait east of the Pass... the multitude's wish is hard to oppose; O bright lord, inscribe your merit soon,' turns to the scene of the imperial carriage approaching and the hope of the jade tablets of the feng sacrifice, the praise of the sovereign and the longing of the people one body.

此诗艺术，首在「颂而不谀、以理辅情」的布局。全诗十六句，八联一贯，以五言排律的整饬承载望幸之诚。起联「銮舆秦地久，羽卫洛阳空」以对仗立势，一「久」一「空」相对，暗含东都望幸的供需落差，用笔经济而寄意宛转，不似一般颂诗之平铺直喊。中幅四联，先以「彼土虽凭固，兹川乃得中」论地理之宜，次以「龙颜觐白日，鹤发仰清风」写君民相向之象，再以「昔因封泰岳，今伫蹑维嵩」以史证今，复以「天地心无异，神祇理亦同」升为天理之辨——由地及人、由古及天，层层抬升，使「望幸」之私愿渐具宇宙公理之重。尾联「翠华翔渭北，玉检候关东。众愿其难阻，明君早勒功」收束于颂，以「翠华」「玉检」的典丽意象作结，既完题面，又归美于「勒功」的圣主想象。其章法之妙，在把一首本易流于干瘪的应制颂诗，组织成「地理—人情—天道—颂圣」的递进论证，情理相生，是唐人排律「以意运对」的熟练之作。（以地理—人情—天道—颂圣递进，应制体中见论证之力。）八联递进如论，使应制颂诗具论证之骨力，温厚而不失章法之严。

Allusions

The allusions are mostly grounded in the system of the two capitals and the rites of the feng and shan. 'The imperial carriage' is the carriage of the Son of Heaven, 'the banners and guards' the imperial ceremonial; the first couplet's carriage in Qin and ceremonial empty in Luoyang writes the dislocation of the two capitals. 'Holds the center' transforms the meaning of the 'central region' of the Tribute of Yu and the 'measuring the shadow with the earth-gnomon' of the Rites of Zhou, saying that Luoyang lies at the center of the world, hence 'this river, indeed, holds the center.' 'Mount Song' is the central of the five sacred mountains, from the Ode 'Songs High is the peak of the mountain, towering to the sky' of the Great Odes; the Tang emperors' feng and shan and tours often reached Mount Song. 'The jade tablets' are the tablets of the feng sacrifice; the emperors of the Han and Tang performed the feng and shan, and the close's 'the jade tablets wait east of the Pass' writes the hope of the feng sacrifice at Mount Song.

诗中典故，多本于两京制度与封禅之礼。「銮舆」天子车驾，「羽卫」帝王仪仗，《南齐书·礼志》「羽卫陈于阶陛」可参，首联以「銮舆」在秦、「羽卫」空洛，写两京轻重之错位。「得中」化用《尚书·召诰》「厥既得卜，则经营」及《禹贡》「中邦」之意，言洛阳居天下之中，乃《周礼》「土圭测影」所定地中，故云「兹川乃得中」。「维嵩」即嵩山，《诗经·大雅·崧高》「崧高维岳，骏极于天」，嵩为五岳之中岳，唐帝王封禅或巡幸常及嵩洛。「玉检」为封禅金匮玉匣之检，《汉书·武帝纪》封泰山「登封泰山，降坐明堂」，玉检即封禅文书之封缄。「勒功」本《封禅书》「勒功中岳，以章至尊」，谓刻石纪功。凡此皆唐人封禅巡幸制度的雅化用典，薛存诚以「玉检」「勒功」收束，正把「望幸」坐实为「有望封禅勒功于嵩洛」的盛世想象，典故之用，贵在切合两京与封禅的双重政治语境。（銮舆、玉检、勒功皆两京封禅之典，切合政治语境。）銮舆羽卫玉检勒功皆两京封禅制度之雅称，薛存诚以之写东都望幸，典故切合长安洛阳政治语境而无泛设。

Commentary

This poem is in the Complete Tang Poetry under Xue Cuncheng's name, and also in the Finest Blossoms of the Literary Garden under the category of 'looking for the imperial visit,' a common theme of the Tang provincial examination and court poems. The Ming critics, treating the forms of Tang poetry, classed the 'looking for the visit' pieces with the 'praise' form; though the Graded Gems of Tang Poetry does not separately include this piece, its division of 'the correct beginning and the orthodox school' places exactly this kind of decorous, mild, and grand poem in the orthodox line of the court poem. The Qing compilers of the Complete Tang Poetry followed the Tang poetry of Ji Zhenyi and the imperial library, a proof that its source is founded and it is no forgery. The modern critics of the Mid-Tang extended regulated verse note that this 'court poem of looking for the visit,' in its strictness of form and its oneness of the principle of heaven, is a representative of the genre.

此诗载于《全唐诗》卷四百六十六薛存诚名下，又见《文苑英华》「望幸」类目，属唐代省试应制体的惯见题材。明人论唐诗体格，于「望幸」一类多归入「颂体」，《唐诗品汇》虽未单录此篇，而其「正始、正宗」之分，正以这类雍容温雅、因题立颂之作列于应制正宗。清人编《全唐诗》据季振宜《唐诗》与内府本录入，可见其源有自，非伪作。近人论中唐排律，每以「应制望幸」为观察两京政治心态的标本——此诗「銮舆秦地久，羽卫洛阳空」二句，被不少治唐史者引为东都地位与长安消长的诗证。要之，此诗虽非李杜名篇，而其「以颂为体、以理为骨」的写法，恰代表了一类中下层士大夫应制诗「庄重而不失温厚」的共性；读之可见唐人于颂圣题中仍能保持对仗精严、用典妥帖的技艺自觉，不宜以「台阁体」一笔抹倒。（虽非李杜名篇，其庄重温厚亦见唐人应制技艺之自觉。）此篇虽非李杜名构，而庄重温厚对仗精严用典妥帖，亦见中唐朝臣应制诗技艺之自觉，未可轻弃。

Prosody

Form Five-character extended regulated verse (eight couplets, sixteen lines)五言排律（八联十六句）

Rhyme One rhyme to the end, on the level-tone dong rhyme: kong, zhong, feng, qiong, song, tong, dong, gong全诗一韵到底，押平声东韵：空、中、风、穷、嵩、同、东、功

Tone pattern Beginning on an oblique tone, all eight couplets parallel, the tones apt, of the orthodox form of the early and High Tang extended regulated verse五言仄起，八联皆对仗工整，平仄妥帖，属初盛唐排律正格

Reading note 'The Elders of the Eastern Capital Look for the Imperial Visit' is a standard five-character extended regulated verse, its sixteen lines in eight parallel couplets, one rhyme to the end, the form strict and decorous, the orthodox court poem.《东都父老望幸》是一首标准的五言排律，全篇八联十六句，除首尾联外中间六联皆讲求对仗，体现唐人排律「联联对属、以对运意」的技法。其用韵极为严整：首句「銮舆秦地久」不入韵，自第二句「羽卫洛阳空」起，至尾联「明君早勒功」，通押平声东韵（空、中、风、穷、嵩、同、东、功），一韵到底，无换韵、无出韵，符合排律「束缚于严韵」的体式要求。平仄上，此诗为五言仄起式，各联平仄相黏相接，中二联「彼土虽凭固，兹川乃得中」「龙颜觐白日，鹤发仰清风」「昔因封泰岳，今伫蹑维嵩」「天地心无异，神祇理亦同」「翠华翔渭北，玉检候关东」皆为规范的对仗联，词性、事类、虚实一一相称。其声律之妙，在于以排律特有的匀整节奏，承载「地理—人情—天道—颂圣」的递进论证，声调从容端雅，与颂圣题材的庄重体性高度契合；虽乏李杜排律的奇崛，却正见中唐应制诗「法度森然、温厚不迫」的声律自觉，是观察唐人排律声韵规范的典型标本。

Line by line

銮舆秦地久，羽卫洛阳空。

Long has the imperial carriage kept to the land of Qin, empty are the banners and guards of Luoyang. (The opening couplet sets up the antithesis of 'long' and 'empty,' covertly carrying the gap between the need of the Eastern Capital and the supply, the stroke economical and the meaning oblique.)

天子的车驾在秦地（长安）停留已久，洛阳的仪仗卫队却空设无人。

The imperial carriage has long been in Qin; the feather guards stand empty at Luoyang.

此联为全诗起手，亦「望幸」题意的总纲。「銮舆」天子之车、「羽卫」帝王仪仗，二词一出即定下颂圣的庄重语调；而「秦地久」与「洛阳空」的对照，才是诗眼所在——长安（秦地）久驻銮舆，东都洛阳的羽卫便虚设以待，一个「久」字写尽天子不来的时日之长，一个「空」字写尽东都士庶的殷盼之切。对仗之妙，在「久」「空」二字以时间之长反衬空间之虚，不着「望」字而望幸之意已溢于言表。这种以「空缺」写「期盼」的笔法，比直说「洛阳望幸」更有张力，亦见唐人应制诗「婉而多讽（讽在空缺）」的含蓄。它既点明两京制度下东都的政治落差，又为下文层层铺陈「何以当幸」张本，起笔虽平，而寄意遥深，是排律「首联立干」的范例。

This couplet is the whole poem's opening, also the gazing-for-visit theme's general outline. The imperial carriage and feather guards, two words out at once set the praise-the-king solemn tone; yet Qin has been long and Luoyang empty's contrast is the poem eye - Chang'an (Qin) long holding the imperial carriage, hence the eastern capital Luoyang's feather guards standing empty waiting; one long character exhausts the emperor's non-coming years' length; one empty character exhausts the eastern capital's gentry-and-people's earnest expectation. The parallel's subtlety lies in long and empty two characters using time's length to set off space's void; not one gazing word yet the gazing-for-visit meaning already overflows. This using vacancy to write expectation brush, compared with directly saying Luoyang gazing for the visit, more tension, also showing Tang official-hymn poetry's graceful-yet-satirical (satire in vacancy) reserve. It at once names the two-capital system's eastern-capital political gap, and prepares the later layer-by-layer laying-out of why-a-visit-is-due; the opening though plain, yet the lodging meaning far, the regulated-long-poem's first-couplet-establishing-the-bone model.

龙颜觐白日，鹤发仰清风。

The dragon countenance is seen in the bright sun, the hoary heads look up to the pure wind. (The image of sovereign and people facing each other: the people see the emperor's countenance and the hoary heads look up to his pure wind, the bond of the sovereign and the people.)

天子的容颜如白日般可觐，白发父老仰承着清风吹拂的恩泽。

The dragon face is seen in the white sun; white-haired elders look up to the clear breeze.

此联写君民相向之象，是全诗最见「父老」题面的温厚一笔。「龙颜」本《史记·高祖本纪》「隆准而龙颜」，代称帝王之容；「白日」喻君德之明，与下「清风」对举，构成「日—风」的光景对仗。「鹤发」点出「父老」之年高，与「龙颜」的君、相对照，写出一副「君明臣（民）老、仰望恩风」的升平图画。其艺术之要，在以景物写伦理：不写父老如何吁呼，而写其「仰清风」，把政治期盼化为自然恩泽的体受，温雅而免直露，正是颂诗「主文谲谏」的变体——此处是「主文谲颂」。一个「仰」字，既写身姿之敬，又写心向之诚，与篇首「空」字的殷盼呼应，完成了从「洛阳空」到「父老仰」的情感转换，使望幸之私愿具象为可感的君民图景。

This couplet writes the ruler-and-people facing-each-other scene, the whole poem's most elders-theme warm-thick stroke. Dragon face comes from Records of the Grand Historian, Gaozu Annals' high bridge and dragon face, standing for the emperor's countenance. White sun metaphorizes the lord's virtue brightness, set against the later clear breeze, forming sun-wind scenery parallel. White hair names the elders' advanced age, set against dragon face's ruler-minister contrast, writing a ruler-bright, minister(old)-gray, looking-up-to-grace-wind peaceful picture. Its artistic key lies in using scenery to write ethics: not writing how the elders plead, but writing their looking-up-to-the-clear-breeze, converting political expectation into natural grace's bodily reception, elegant and avoiding directness, precisely the hymn poem's main-text-subtle-remonstrance variant - here it is main-text-subtle-praise. One look-up character at once writes the posture's reverence, and the heart's sincerity; echoing the opening's empty earnest expectation, completing the emotional conversion from Luoyang empty to elders looking up, making the gazing-visit private wish concretize into a sensible ruler-people picture.

众愿其难阻，明君早勒功。

The multitude's wish is hard to oppose; O bright lord, inscribe your merit soon. (The close of the praise: the wish of the many cannot be opposed, the bright lord should come soon and inscribe his merit—the praise of the sovereign and the longing of the people one body.)

众人的心愿难以阻挡，愿英明的君主早日前来刻石纪功。

The people's wish is hard to withstand; may the wise lord soon carve his merit.

此联为全诗收束，亦「望幸」题意的最终落脚。「众愿其难阻」五字，把前面所有地理、人情、天道的铺陈，凝为「众愿」二字——东都父老之盼已汇为不可阻遏的民意；「难阻」一词，于颂体中暗藏几分恳切乃至隐隐的敦促，使颂圣不致沦为全然被动的谀词。「明君早勒功」则把「望幸」上升为「勒功」的盛世想象：愿君主东幸嵩洛、封禅刻石以纪至德。其妙在收结有力而不嚣：不喊「速来」，而说「早勒功」，把地域期盼包装为对圣主功业的成全，既完题面，又归美君王。此联与起联「銮舆秦地久，羽卫洛阳空」遥应——首言「空」之待，尾言「勒功」之期，首尾圆合，使一首应制望幸诗具备「提出问题（空）—论证当幸—许以功业（勒功）」的完整逻辑，是排律「尾联收颂」的稳健之作。

This couplet is the whole poem's close, also the gazing-for-visit theme's final landing. The people's wish is hard to withstand five characters, gathering all the previous geography, human feeling, heavenly-way laying-out into people's wish two characters - the eastern capital elders' expectation already converged into irresistible public opinion. Hard to withstand one phrase, within the hymn secretly holding a bit of earnestness and even faint urging, making praise-the-king not fall into wholly passive flattery. May the wise lord soon carve his merit then elevates gazing-for-visit into merit-carving prosperous-age imagination: may the lord visit east to Song-Luo, perform feng-shan and carve stone to record the utmost virtue. Its subtlety lies in the close forceful yet not clamorous: not shouting come quickly, but saying soon carve merit, packaging regional expectation as the completion of the sage lord's achievement, both completing the theme and returning beauty to the king. This couplet echoes the opening couplet's the imperial carriage has long been in Qin; the feather guards stand empty at Luoyang from afar - the opening speaks the empty waiting, the close speaks the merit-carving expectation; head and tail roundly closed, making an official-hymn gazing-for-visit poem hold the complete logic of raising-question(empty) - arguing-a-visit-is-due - promising-merit( carving); the regulated-long-poem's closing-couplet-returns-to-praise steady work.

Study

Word focus

銮舆 The imperial carriage. The carriage of the Son of Heaven; 'long has the imperial carriage kept to the land of Qin' writes the emperor's long stay in Chang'an, the opening of the dislocation of the two capitals. 「銮舆」即天子车驾，以车铃（銮）代指帝王之乘，是唐诗中称颂皇权的标准雅词（如杜甫「銮舆播越」、王维「銮舆迥出」）。薛存诚炼此一词开篇，不直称「皇帝」「天子」，而借车驾之「銮」立象，既合应制诗的庄重语体，又暗含「车驾所至即皇恩所临」的巡幸语义。其妙在「銮舆」与下句「羽卫」形成车驾与仪仗的对举，一虚（銮舆所指之君）一实（羽卫所陈之礼），共同撑起「两京望幸」的政治空间。更可味者，「銮舆」置于「秦地久」之前，主语是君、谓语是「久」，一个「久」字把堂皇的銮舆写得近乎「滞留」，于颂体中暗藏东都视角的微词——可见炼此雅词并非一味谀美，而是以庄重之象承载殷盼之实，是应制诗「以雅写切」的炼字典范。

望幸 Looking for the imperial visit. The theme of the poem: the longing of the people for the emperor to come; 'the hope of the visit is indeed far, the longing that he come is without end' writes the elders' sincere hope of the emperor's coming east. 「望幸」为全诗题眼，本指臣民盼望皇帝临幸或恩宠，语脉远绍《史记》长门、上林诸赋的「望幸」传统，至唐则固化为省试应制的常题。炼此二字为诗题，等于先定了全诗的颂体基调与「因题立诚」的写法——诗人不必另觅主旨，只需把「望」的过程写得恳切、「幸」的理由铺得堂皇。其妙在「望」与「幸」的施受关系：「望」是臣民之主动期盼，「幸」是君王之被动恩临，二字已暗含唐代君臣政治中「下望上、上施下」的礼法结构。薛存诚通篇围绕此二字展开，从「羽卫空」之望，到「众愿难阻」之望，再到「早勒功」之幸，把题眼层层坐实。一个「望幸」，既是题材标签，也是全诗的情感中轴，是小题中见大礼制的炼字枢纽。

勒功 Inscribe the merit. To carve the record of merit on stone, as in the feng and shan; 'O bright lord, inscribe your merit soon' is the close of the praise, the people's wish that the emperor come and inscribe the merit of the feng sacrifice. 「勒功」谓刻石纪功，本于《史记·封禅书》汉武帝「勒功中岳，以章至尊」及《后汉书》「勒功金石」之典，是帝王封禅巡幸的最高功业象征。薛存诚以此二字收束全诗，把一首「东都父老盼皇帝来」的望幸诗，托举为「愿明君东幸嵩洛、封禅勒功」的盛世吁请。炼此一词，分量极重：它使地域性的殷盼，获得了超越性的政治正当性——不是东都私心要君，而是圣主当于中岳勒功以告天地。其妙在「勒功」与篇中「封泰岳」「维嵩」「玉检」诸典一脉贯通，共同织成封禅叙事的网络，使尾联不孤。一个「勒功」，把应制颂诗的结尾从「歌功」升格为「请功」，既完题又尊君，是唐人排律「以典收颂」的炼字佳例。