Riverside fisherman

Author: Fan Zhongyan? Song dynasty

People who come to the river often only love perches.

Look at those poor fishermen, floating up and down in the big waves and rocking in the boats.

Whole poem translation

Pedestrians come and go on the river, just like delicious bass.

Look at that small fishing boat, sometimes in the rough waves.

Make an appreciative comment

This poem points out that people who come and go drinking and having fun on the river only know how to taste delicious perch, but they don't know and don't want to know the danger and hardship of fishermen fighting with stormy waves. By reflecting the hardships of fishermen's labor, the whole poem hopes to arouse people's attention to the sufferings of people's livelihood and embodies the poet's sympathy for the working people.

The first sentence is about people coming and going on the river bank, bustling and very lively. Naturally leads to the second sentence. It turns out that the purpose of people coming and going by the river is "but love the beauty of perch". But love is only love. Perch has a flat and narrow body, a large head and thin scales, and is delicious. People gathered at the river in order to get there first. But no one knows that it is not easy to catch bass, and no one has observed the hardships of fishermen. The world only loves the delicious perch, but does not pity the fishermen's hard work, which is unfair in the world.

The last two sentences lead people's eyes to the surface of the water, showing readers the following scenes: in the undulating waves, a small boat, a fisherman on board is fishing, and a small fishing boat is swaying in the waves, flickering, surfacing for a while, and being covered by the wind and waves for a while. People coming and going on the river, you only know that you like perch because it tastes delicious. Look at that boat, how difficult and dangerous it is to fish in the wind and waves! Although the perch is delicious, it is difficult to catch, which expresses the poet's sympathy for the fishermen's sufferings and deeply exhorts the people on the shore who love the beauty of perch. The contrast between "river" and "storm", the two modes of "coming and going" and "leaf boat", and the two dynamics of "coming and going" show the theme of the whole poem.

In terms of expression, this poem has no flowery words, no difficult words and no axe marks. It uses ordinary language, ordinary people and things to express extraordinary thoughts and feelings and produce extraordinary artistic effects.

Keyword annotation

Fisherman: A fisherman.

But: just, just.

Love: I like it.

Perch: a kind of fish with a big mouth, a flat body and thin scales, a green back and a white belly, and delicious taste. Grow fast, big and delicious.

Jun: You.

A boat floats on the water like a leaf.

Lingering: looming. It means you can see for a while and you can't see for a while.

Storm: the waves.

Creation background

The specific writing time of this poem is unknown. Fan Zhongyan is from Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province. He grew up on the edge of Songjiang and knows this situation very well. When he was drinking fish and enjoying the scenery, he saw the boat ups and downs in the wind and waves, which reminded the fishermen of the hardships and dangers of fishing. He was so emotional that he quit his job and created Fishermen on the River.

Brief introduction of the author

Fan Zhongyan (10,989, 1- 1052, June 19) is a Greek. Originally from Yizhou, he moved to Wuxian, Suzhou. Politicians and writers in the early years of Northern Song Dynasty. Fan Zhongyan lost his father when he was young, and his mother remarried Changshan Zhu, so he changed his name to Zhu Yue. In the eighth year of Dazhong Xiangfu (10 15), Fan Zhongyan studied hard and awarded the commander-in-chief of Guangde Army to join the army. Later, he served as Xinghua county magistrate, manager of Secret Pavilion School, chief judge of Zhou Chen, and well-known in Suzhou. And has been repeatedly criticized for his rude remarks. In the fourth year of Emperor Yangdi (1052), he changed his knowledge to Yingzhou, and died on the way to help the disease at the age of 64. Tired of giving a surname, secretariat and minister of Chu, posthumous title "Zheng Wen", known as Gong.

Poetry Origin: Fan Wenzheng Gong Ji by Fan Zhongyan in Northern Song Dynasty.