Listen to this article赵冷月 行书：韩愈《送桂州严大夫》
【释文】苍苍森八桂，兹地在湘南。江作青罗带，山如碧玉篸。户多输翠羽，家自种黄甘。远胜登仙去，飞鸾不假骖。
【款识】唐韩愈咏送桂州诗。鸳湖赵冷月书于沪。
【注释】八桂：古代传说月宫中有八桂，人们以桂林和月宫一样美丽，故桂林又称八桂。苍苍森八桂：即青葱苍翠的八桂，森然挺立。兹地在湘南：桂林在湘水之南。青罗带：青绿色的绸带。碧玉簪：美女头饰用的碧玉簪子。户多句：说桂林家家户户交孔雀翠鸟的羽毛作为赋税。输，缴纳。远胜二句：言游桂林远胜游仙境，连乘鸾上天都顾不上了。骖：乘。
【简析】
杜甫未到桂林而有咏桂林的诗（《寄杨五桂州谭》）。韩愈未到桂林，也有咏桂林的诗，这就是长庆二年（822）为送严谟出任桂管观察使所作的《送桂州严大夫》。可见在唐代，桂林山水也已名闻遐迩，令人向往。
诗一起便紧扣桂林之得名，以其地多桂树而设想：
“苍苍森八桂。”八桂而成林，真是既贴切又新颖。
把那个具有异国情调的南方胜地的魅力点染出来。“兹地在湘南”，表面上只是客观叙述地理方位，说桂林在湘水之南。言外之意却是：那个偏远的地方，却多么令人神往，启人遐思！以下分写山川物产之美异。
桂林之奇，首先奇在地貌。由于石灰岩层受到水的溶蚀切割，造成无数的石峰，千姿百态，奇特壮观。漓江之水，则清澈澄明，蜿蜒曲折。“江作青罗带，山如碧玉簪”，极为概括地写出了桂林山水的特点。是千古脍炙人口之佳句。但近人已有不以为然者，如郭沫若《游阳朔舟中偶成》云：“罗带玉簪笑退之，青山绿水复何奇？何如子厚訾州记，拔地峰林立四垂。”日人吉川幸次郎《泛舟漓江》云：“碧玉青罗恐未宜，鸡牛龙凤各争奇”等。不过，亲临桂林的人，对这种批评却未必苟同。桂林之山虽各呈异态，但拔地独立却是其共同特点，用范成大的话来说：“桂之千峰，皆旁无延缘，悉自平地崛然特立，玉简瑶簪，森列无际，其怪且多如此，诚为天下第一。”（ 《桂海虞衡志》） 而漓江之碧澄蜿蜒， 流速缓慢，亦恰如仙子飘飘的罗带。所以这两句是抓住了山水形状之特征的。“桂林山水甲天下”，其实只是秀丽甲于天下，其雄深则不如川陕之华山、峨嵋。桂林山水是比较女性化的。韩愈用“青罗带”、“碧玉簪”这些女性的服饰或首饰作比喻，可以说妙极，怎能说不奇，又怎能说“不宜”呢！
“户多输翠羽，家自种黄柑”二句则写桂林特殊的物产。唐代以来，翠鸟羽毛是极珍贵的饰品。则其产地也就更有吸引力了。加之能日啖“黄柑”，更叫宦游者“不辞长作岭南人”了，这二句分别以“户”、“家”起，是同义复词拆用，意即户户家家。对于当地人来说是极普通的物产，对于来自京华的人却是感到新异的呢。
以上两联着意写出桂林主要的秀美奇异之处，酝酿够了神往之情。最后归结到送行之意，严大夫此去桂林虽不乘飞鸾，亦“远胜登仙”。这是题中应有之义，难能可贵的是写出了逸致，令人神远。
韩诗一般以雄奇见长，但有两种不同作风。一种以奇崛见称，一种则文从字顺。这首诗属于后一类。
写景只从大处落笔，不事雕饰；行文起承转合分明，悉如文句。无论哪种风格，均为韩诗本色。
【Simple Translation】
Du Fu had a poem about Guilin before he arrived there (“Sending Yang Wu to Guizhou Tan”). Han Yu also had a poem about Guilin before he came to Guilin, which is “Sending Yan Dafu to Guizhou” (Sending Yan to Guizhou), which was written in the second year of Changqing (822) to send Yan Mo to be the observer of Gui Guan. It can be seen that in the Tang Dynasty, Guilin’s landscape was already famous and desirable.
The poem begins with the name of Guilin, which is envisioned as a place with many osmanthus trees:
”The eight laurel trees are pale.” Eight Gui and into the forest, really both apt and novel.
It brings out the charm of that exotic southern destination. “This place is in the south of Xiang”, ostensibly an objective description of geographic location, saying that Guilin is in the south of Xiang water. The meaning is: how fascinating and enlightening that remote place is! The following is a description of the beauty of the mountains, rivers and products.
The first thing that is strange about Guilin is its geomorphology. As the limestone layers are cut by the dissolution of water, it causes countless rock peaks, which are in a variety of shapes and sizes. The water of Li River is clear and winding. “The river is a green ribbon and the mountains are like jade hairpins,” which summarizes the characteristics of Guilin’s landscape. It is a popular line for thousands of years. However, there are some people who do not think so, such as Guo Moruo, who said: “The green mountains and green water are not so strange as the green ribbons and jade hairpins. The most important thing is that it is not only a good place to visit, but also a good place to be. The Japanese Yoshikawa Koujiro’s “Boating on the Li River” reads, “I am afraid that the jasper and green roses are not suitable, but the chicken, cow, dragon and phoenix are each competing for the wonder”. However, people who have been to Guilin may not agree with this criticism. In the words of Fan Chengda, “The thousands of peaks in Guilin are all standing on the flat ground without any extended edge, and they are all standing on the flat ground, with jade jade and yaozan. (Guihai Yu Heng Zhi) And the Li River, with its winding and slow flow, is just like a fairy’s floating ribbon. So these two lines capture the characteristics of the shape of the landscape. “The landscape of Guilin is the most beautiful in the world, but it is not as deep and majestic as Mount Huashan and Omei in Sichuan and Shaanxi. Guilin’s landscape is more feminine. Han Yu uses the metaphor of “green ribbons” and “jasper hairpins” as women’s costumes or jewelry, which can be said to be wonderful!
The two lines of “households are full of cui-hui feathers, and families grow yellow mandarin” are about the special products of Guilin. Since the Tang Dynasty, kingfisher feathers are extremely valuable accessories. Then its origin is also more attractive. In addition, the fact that one can eat “yellow mandarin” every day makes the eunuchs “not resign to be a long-time Lingnan man”. These two lines start with the words “household” and “family” respectively, which are used synonymously, meaning every household and family. It is a very common product for local people, but it is new to people from Beijing.
The above two couplets focus on the main beauty and wonders of Guilin, and brew up enough feelings of longing. Finally, it comes down to the meaning of sending off, that although Yan Dafu is not going to Guilin by flying luan, it is “far better than going to immortality”. This is the meaning of the title, and it is valuable that the poem is written with a sense of escape, which makes people feel far away.
Han’s poems are generally known for their majesty, but there are two different styles. One is known for its strange style, and the other for its submissive style. This poem belongs to the latter category.
It is written in a broad way, without ornamentation, while the lines are clear and clear, just like the text. In either style, Han’s poem is in its original form.
