Early Medieval China 13–14.

2 (2008) 79

THE AGE-TRANSCENDING FRIENDSHIP OF THE POETS

FAN YUN (451–503) AND HE XUN (ca. 470–519)

Richard B. Mather
University of Minnesota (Emeritus)

In He Xun’s biography, mention is made of the poet Fan Yun

having noticed He’s answers in his civil service examination:*
[Fan] expressed his admiration loudly, and accordingly entered
into a friendship [with He] which disregarded age. From then on,
whether it was an essay or a poem, Yun always expressed his
admiration and observed to his close friends, “Recently I have
noticed a writer whose qualities surpass those of ordinary literati,
and whose elegance puts to shame the common run—one whose
ability encompasses both clarity and obscurity and strikes a happy
medium between present and past. I see such a one in Master He.1

Although only a few poems exchanged between them have

survived, the general impression they leave is of the older poet
encouraging his young friend to produce more poems, while the
younger one seems to be saying that writing too much would only
be counter-productive. To begin with, Fan Yun’s biography in
Liang shu 13 describes him as outstanding in his generation.
Descended in the sixth generation from a famous general of the
preceding Jin dynasty, Fan Wang 范汪 (308–362), he was considered
an infant prodigy, able to compose poems extemporaneously when
he was only eight years old. “As soon as he set brush to paper, the

* The author wishes to express his profound gratitude to the editor, Cynthia
Chennault, for sending me a draft of her article on He Xun written for the
Dictionary of Literary Biography, though he still claims credit for any errors in
the present article.
1
Liang shu 梁書(Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1973), 49.693.
80 Mather: Fan Yun and He Xun

piece was complete without ever requiring editing of the draft. His
contemporaries often suspected that he had composed it earlier.”
His teacher, one Yuan Zhao 袁照, once patted him on the back with
the words, “You have the talents of a cabinet minister.” In 476 the
Qi Prince of Jingling, Xiao Ziliang 蕭子良, then Grand Warden of
Kuaiji 會稽 (in Zhejiang), led a group of courtiers on a sightseeing
tour of the commandery, and came upon the Qin Lookout (Qinwang
秦望), where there was a stone tablet originally set up by Qin
Shihuang 秦始皇(r. 246–210 BC), commemorating his conquests. It
was written in seal script, and no one in the group could read it. Fan
Yun alone recited it aloud.
Later, in 484, when the Prince became Director of Instruction
(situ 司徒), Fan joined his staff as Record-keeping Aide (jishi
canjun 記事參軍). Under Emperor Ming (Xiao Luan 蕭鸞, r.
494–498) he was appointed Cavalier Attendant (sanqi shilang 散騎
待 郎 ); still later he became Governor of Guang Province
(Guangzhou cishi 廣州剌史). After the fall of Qi in 502, he became
Palace Attendant (shizhong 侍中) under the Liang, and died the
following year as President of the Ministry of Personnel (libu
shangshu 吏部尚書) and Marquis of Xiaocheng Prefecture 霄城縣
侯.
Since He Xun’s family was relatively obscure, it was of
considerable importance in He Xun’s career that Fan had befriended
him. He himself is claimed to have been able to compose poems
when he was only seven—a year younger than Fan’s record at age
eight. At age nineteen he was nominated locally as a Flourishing
Talent (xiucai 秀才) and thus eligible for the state civil service
examinations at the Liang capital in Jiankang 建 康 (modern
Nanjing), where Fan had observed his answers.
What survives of the poetic correspondence between Fan Yun
and He Xun, as far as I have been able to ascertain, consists of only
the following five poems.2
2
Lu Qinli 逯欽立, ed., Xian-Qin, Han, Wei, Jin, Nanbeichao shi 先秦漢魏
晉南北朝詩, 3 vols. (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1983), 2: 1545–6, 1553, 1682,
1711.
Early Medieval China 13-14.2 (2008) 81

Fan Yun, Poem Presented to Flourishing Talent He

貽何秀才詩

桂葉竟芽荷 Leaves of the osmanthus in the end

push through the lotus flowers;
蒲心爭出波 Hearts of the bulrush struggle to
emerge above the waves.
有鷕驚蘋芰 “‘Yuyao,’ [the female pheasant
calls],” startling the duckweed
and the water-caltrops;3
綿蠻弄藤蘿 “How delicate [the yellow birds]” at
play in the wistaria vines.4
臨花空相望 Looking down above the flowers,
you vacantly behold them;
對酒不能歌 Facing the wine, you cannot sing.
聞君饒綺思 I’ve heard that you are well endowed
with marvelous ideas.
摛掞足為多 And, as for writing smoothly, you
are capable of doing much.
布鼓誠自鄙 [By beating] a cloth drum, you’re
surely being self-demeaning:5

3
Book of Songs (Shi jing 詩經), 34: “‘Yuyao,’ the female pheasant cries; /
Though the ford is full, it does not wet the axle-ends. / The female pheasant cries
in search of her mate.” (有鷕雉鳴/濟盈不濡軌/雉鳴求其牡).The point seems
to be: “You are being called upon to write more poetry; what are you waiting
for?”
4
Book of Songs, 230: “How delicate the yellow birds / At rest upon the
mountain slope. / The road is long— / How tired we are!” (緜蠻黃鳥/止于丘阿/
道之云遠我勞如何). The speaker here is a tired conscript contrasting his sad fate
with the yellow birds at rest. Fan is implying that He is hiding his vast talents
when his voice is critically needed.
5
Han shu 漢書 76.2320 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1962): “Wang Zun 王尊
said, ‘Don’t hold a cloth drum when passing through Thunder Gate’” (毋持布鼓
過雷門). Thunder Gate of Kuaiji (in Zhejiang) was so called because it possessed
a drum which could be heard as far away as Luoyang (in Henan).
82 Mather: Fan Yun and He Xun

何事絕經過 What is it that’s preventing you from

crossing over?6

2. He Xun, In Response to Record-keeper Fan Yun

酬范記室雲詩
林密戶稍陰 Where woods are dense, the houses
will be somewhat darkened,
草滋堦欲暗 And where grasses flourish,
stepping-stones will disappear.
風光蕋上輕 But where the wind and sunlight
both fall lightly on the buds,
日色花中亂 The sunlit colors are then randomly
diffused among the flowers.
相思不獨懽 I miss you, and I am unhappy by
myself;
佇立空為歎 Standing here alone in hope, I sigh
in vain.
清談莫共理 “Pure Conversation” is not
understood by everyone,
繁文徒可玩 And “Complex Composition” only
good for self-amusement.7

6
I.e., crossing the stream is mentioned in Songs 34, quoted above, where the
female pheasant calls for her mate, and the girl waits for the young man to wade
across and bring her home to marry her. The argument here is somewhat difficult
to follow. He’s response to Fan’s first poem seems to imply that he does not want
to overdo it. Too much shade in the forest will darken the houses that are built
there, and too much grass on the ground will obscure the footpaths. On the other
hand, when the sun’s beams are slightly shaded, the colors are more evenly
distributed.
7
“Pure Conversation” (qingtan 清談) and “Complex Composition” (fanwen
繁文) were a fad among some Six Dynasties literati. They involved arcane,
semi-mystical ruminations of the so-called “Mysterious Learning,” (xuanxue 玄
學) with obscure quotations from rare books. What He Xun seems to be saying is
that he misses the stimulation of his friend—Pure Conversation and Complex
Composition are no substitute.
Early Medieval China 13-14.2 (2008) 83

高唱于自輕 In your lofty singing, you’re the

one who’s being “self-demeaning”;
繼音子可憚 With my following response, I am
the one who’s being awesome.

3. He Xun, a later poem, written after Fan Yun had become

Governor of Guang Province. A Wasteland Before Sunset:
Presented to Fan Yun, Governor of Guang Province.
落日前墟: 望贈范廣州雲
緣溝綠草蔓 I climbed a gulley where the verdant
grass was lush,
扶楥雜華舒 And leaned against a ju-willow8 where
varied flowers bloomed.
輕煙澹柳色 A light mist dimmed the willow’s color,
重霞映日餘 And heavy sunset clouds obscured remaining
rays of sunlight.
遙遙長路遠 Far, far, the lengthy road was distant;
寂寂行人疎 Lonely, lonely, travelers were few.
我心懷碩德 My heart still cherishes your boundless
kindness;
思欲命輕車 In my longing I would like to order a light
carriage [to visit you]
高門盛遊侶 But your lofty gates are filled with visiting
companions;
誰肯進畋漁 Who’d be willing to admit a farmer or
a fisherman?

4. Fan Yun, In Response to Blooming Talent He

答何秀才詩
少年射策罷 When you were young, your civil service
examinations done.
擢第雲臺中 You were selected to be among those on the
Cloudy Terrace.9

8
Ju liu 巨柳 is an alternate term for yuan 楥 of the text, which is described as
a type of willow.
84 Mather: Fan Yun and He Xun

已輕淄水耊 Already you have made the Greybeard

of the River Zi look unimportant;
復笑廣州翁 Furthermore, you’ve made a laughing-stock
of the Old Gaffer of Guang Province.10
麟閣佇讐校 In the Unicorn Pavilion11 you remained
comparing documents,
虎觀遲才通 Then, on Tiger Belvedere,12 you waited,
till your talents were mature.
方見調篆合 ‘Twas then you saw that “carving [worms
and cutting] seal-script is appropriate
[for you].13
誰與畋漁同 Who’s now being equated with a “farmer or
a fisherman”?
待爾金閨北 I’ll wait for you north of the Golden Portal,
于藝青門東 While I apply my arts east of the Azure
Gate.14

In a joint venture, in the form of two four-lined linked verses

(lian ju 聯句), the two poets wrote the Poem of Parting 別詩 which
appears, with slight variations, in both their collected works. He’s
title, Linked Verses [Composed at] the Residence of Fan Yun,
Governor of Guang Province 范廣州宅聯句 implies that the poem
was written during the 490’s while Fan was still Governor.

9
The Cloudy Terrace (Yun tai 雲臺) was originally the name of a building in
the Later Han capital in Luoyang, where the state library was housed.
10
I have been unable to identify the “Greybeard of the River Zi” (淄水耊).
The river is located in Shandong, and flows northeastward into the gulf of Bei Zili,
south of the Yellow River Delta. The “Old Gaffer of Guang Province” is certainly
Fan Yun himself, who was governor of that province at the time.
11
The Unicorn Pavilion (Lin ge 麟閣) was another Han palace building. In
this case, it merely refers to some Qi government building in jiankang.
12
The Tiger Belvedere (Hu guan 虎觀) possibly refers to the State Academy.
13
“Carving [worms] and [cutting] seal-script” (diao [chong ke] zhuan 雕蟲
刻篆) stands for writing state documents in elaborate style, the mark of an
accomplished official.
14
The “Golden Portal” and “Azure Gate” obviously refer to the imperial
palace in Jiankang, and the latter leads to the room for imperial audiences.
Early Medieval China 13-14.2 (2008) 85

洛陽城東西 East or west of Luoyang city wall,

卻(H)長(F)作 Is where (He) / Protractedly (Fan), we made
經年別(H) a year-long (Fan) parting /
經時別(F) a long-term (He) separation.
昔去雪如花 On that day, when you left, the
snow was like flowers;
今來花如雪 Today, as you return, the flowers are
like snow.

He’s contribution to the Poem of Parting follows. In the first

stanza Fan had recalled their last meeting near Luoyang in the
winter. In He’s response, he thanks his host, whose hospitality is not
based on fondness for a full house, but who has welcomed He who
has come a long distance to visit him because he enjoys traveling.
濛濛夕煙起 Densely drifting, evening mists are rising,
奄奄殘暉減 Faintly flickering, remnant sunbeams
disappear.
非君愛滿堂 It’s not that you are fond of a full house,
寧我安車轍 But only that I feel at home with carriage
tracks.

A heart-warming epilogue to this brief poetic correspondence is

He Xun’s poem, written several years after Fan Yun’s death in
503.15
Traveling Past Chief Administrator Fan’s Former Residence
行經范僕射故宅詩
旅葵應蔓井 Creeping mallows must by now have
filled the well,
荒藤已上扉 And unchecked ivy has already climbed
the cottage door.
寂寂空郊暮 How desolate the empty countryside
at nightfall!

15
Lu Qinli, 2: 1707.
86 Mather: Fan Yun and He Xun

無復車馬歸 Never again will horses and their

carriages return.
瀲灧故池水 Overflowing are the waters of
the former pool,
蒼茫落日暉 While far and wide the setting sun’s
rays spread.
遺愛終何極 Surviving feelings of affection—how
can they ever end?
行路獨沾衣 As I pass by along the road, alone, tears
soak my clothes.