Seeing Off Censor Liu Yuxi as He Leaves to Serve as Prefect of Lian

殷尧藩Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaJun 2024

Rating 3.2

Word count: 3.5K words
Chapters: 48

Summary

"Seeing Off Liu Yuxi, Attendant Censor, Going Out to Serve as Governor of Lian" is a book of miscellaneous writings by Yin Yaofan.

Editor's review

This is a Tang dynasty farewell poem in which the author, Yin Yaofan, takes as his subject seeing off his friend Liu Yuxi as Liu goes to serve as governor of Lianzhou. The poem expresses reluctant parting as his friend travels far, and also conveys concern and consolation regarding the setbacks in Liu Yuxi's official career. Yin Yaofan and Liu Yuxi both lived in the mid-Tang and moved in similar social circles; farewell works of this kind often incorporate reflections on personal circumstances and the ups and downs of political life within a brief compass, and they read as genuinely felt. For readers familiar with Liu Yuxi's life and the political environment of the mid-Tang, this poem can serve as a detailed sample for understanding literati interactions and attitudes toward official service at the time. It is short and suitable for interspersed reading while studying works related to Liu Yuxi or the topic of Tang farewell poetry, and can also serve as introductory material for training in the appreciation of classical poetry. It should be noted that a single work offers limited information; it is best read alongside background on the poet's social circles and other farewell poems in order to appreciate its emotional layers and the atmosphere of the era.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Classical literature enthusiasts interested in Tang dynasty farewell poetry
Readers currently studying Liu Yuxi's life and social circles
Poetry researchers needing material on mid-Tang literati gift-exchange poems
Beginners who wish to start with short pieces to practice appreciating classical poetry

Not a good fit for

In-depth researchers expecting long narratives or detailed annotations
General readers with no interest in Tang history or classical Chinese expression

Reading tips

First read the original poem through, then look up background on Liu Yuxi's demotion to Lianzhou to understand the farewell context.
Read it alongside Liu Yuxi's own farewell poems and compare how different authors handle similar subjects.
Extract the lines expressing consolation and reluctant parting, and briefly sort out their emotional layers.

About the publisher

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) China · Founded in 1901

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.

版权信息
【句】滕倪
【吴宫】殷尧藩
【久雨】殷尧藩
【郊行逢社日】殷尧藩
【过友人幽居】殷尧藩
【过雍陶博士邸中饮（一作赠陈十四）】殷尧藩
【游王羽士山房】殷尧藩
【署中答武功姚合】殷尧藩
【赠龙阳尉马戴】殷尧藩
【上巳日赠都上人】殷尧藩
【送沈亚之尉南康】殷尧藩
【奉送刘使君王屋山隐居】殷尧藩
【寄许浑秀才】殷尧藩
【送客游吴】殷尧藩
【陆丞相故宅】殷尧藩
【中元日观诸道士步虚】殷尧藩
【醉赠刘十二（一作寄岭南张明府）】殷尧藩
【早朝】殷尧藩
【帝京二首】殷尧藩
【宫词】殷尧藩
【郊居作】殷尧藩
【闲居】殷尧藩
【暮春述怀】殷尧藩
【端午日】殷尧藩
【九日】殷尧藩
【九日病起】殷尧藩
【寒夜】殷尧藩
【喜雨】殷尧藩
【春游】殷尧藩
【夜酌溪楼】殷尧藩
【旅行（一作金陵道中）】殷尧藩
【下第东归作】殷尧藩
【还京口】殷尧藩
【襄口阻风】殷尧藩
【潭州独步】殷尧藩
【金陵怀古】殷尧藩
【登凤凰台二首】殷尧藩
【韩信庙】殷尧藩
【访许浑】殷尧藩
【李舍人席上感遇】殷尧藩
【和赵相公登鹳雀楼（楼在河中府，前瞻中条，下瞰大河）】殷尧藩
【冬至酬刘使君】殷尧藩
【李节度平虏诗】殷尧藩
【金陵上李公垂侍郎】殷尧藩
【赠惟俨师】殷尧藩
【寄许浑秀才】殷尧藩
【送白舍人渡江】殷尧藩

FAQ

What is the background of this poem's composition?

This is Yin Yaofan's farewell work for Liu Yuxi as Liu went to serve as governor of Lianzhou. Liu Yuxi suffered repeated demotions in the mid-Tang, and the Lianzhou post was one stop in his official wanderings. The poem interweaves the meaning of farewell with concern for his friend's situation, and it needs to be understood in light of Liu Yuxi's life experiences.

What prior knowledge is needed to read this poem?

Knowing about the mid-Tang political environment, Liu Yuxi's experiences of demotion, and common approaches in Tang farewell poetry will help in grasping the emotional direction of the poem. If you are only appreciating the language, reading the original through with basic annotations is enough to begin.

Is a single farewell poem worth reading on its own?

A single work offers limited information, but it can serve as an entry point. It is best placed within the topic of Tang farewell poetry or Liu Yuxi's social circles and read alongside related works, so that both the shared emotions and the individual characteristics can be seen.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

殷尧藩 Author

Yin Yaofan was a poet of the Tang dynasty. Publicly available sources provide very limited information about his dates, native place, and life, making it difficult to describe his official career or social connections in detail. What can be confirmed is that the library holds one work by him, the poem "Seeing Off Liu Yuxi, Attendant Censor, on His Departure to Serve as Prefect of Lian." The title indicates that he had dealings with the mid-Tang literatus Liu Yuxi, and the poem belongs to the genre of farewell and parting verse, reflecting the everyday social exchanges among Tang scholars facing transfer or demotion. Judging from the surviving traces, he wrote mainly in regulated verse, in a clear and fluent style, skillfully using farewell scenes to convey concern for friends setting out on long journeys, with plain language that nevertheless carries feeling. Because many of his works are lost, later generations recorded little of his poetic reputation, and his influence survives largely through his association with mid-Tang poets such as Liu Yuxi. Today Yin Yaofan is known mainly from scattered poems and anthology selections, and further textual discoveries are needed to reconstruct the full shape of his writing.