The most famous lyric of "Yu Ge Zi" is "Yu Ge Zi: Egrets Flying in Front of Xisai Mountain" written by Zhang Zhihe, a poet from the Tang Dynasty.

Yugezi·Egrets fly in front of Xisai Mountain

Zhang Zhihe of the Tang Dynasty

Egrets fly in front of Xisai Mountain, and peach blossoms and flowing water make mandarin fish fat. Green bamboo hat, green coir raincoat, slanting wind and drizzle do not need to return.

Creative background:

In September of the seventh year of Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty (772), Yan Zhenqing was appointed governor of Huzhou and took office the following year. Zhang Zhihe went to pay a visit in a boat. It was late spring, the peach blossoms were in bloom, and the mandarin fish were beautiful. They sang an impromptu harmony. Zhang Zhihe sang it first and wrote five lyrics. This song is one of them. This poem was lost during the reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty. In the third year of Changqing (823), Li Deyu visited it and recorded it in his "Xuanzhenzi Fishing Songs", and it has been circulated to this day.

Word and sentence annotations:

① Xisai Mountain: On the Xitiao River in today’s Wuxing District, Zhejiang Province.

② Egret: a white water bird.

③Peach Blossom Flowing Water: The season when peach blossoms bloom is when the spring water rises, commonly known as Peach Blossom Flood or Peach Blossom Water. Mandarin fish: commonly known as "flower fish" and "mandarin fish". Flat, large mouth, thin scales, yellow-green, delicious taste.

④Ruo Li: A bamboo hat made of bamboo strips and Ruo leaves.

⑤Coir raincoat: a raincoat woven from grass or brown linen.

Vernacular translation:

The egrets are flying freely in front of Xisai Mountain, the peach blossoms are in full bloom on the river banks, the spring water is rising, and the mandarin fish in the water are plump. The fisherman, wearing a green bamboo hat and a green coir raincoat, braved the slanting wind and drizzle, fishing happily without having to go home.

Appreciation:

The first two sentences of this poem describe the fishing place and season. In these two sentences, mountains, water, birds, flowers, and fish appear, outlining a beautiful fishing environment and paving the way for the characters to appear. The last two sentences of the poem are about fishing on the smoke waves. The "slanting wind and drizzle" in the last sentence is not only a realistic description of the scenery, but also has a profound meaning. This poem expresses the author's yearning for a free life by praising the natural scenery and fishermen fishing.

Xisei Mountain is located on Xitiao River in present-day Wuxing District, Zhejiang Province. It was formerly called Dao Shiji. It is a large rock protruding from the river. Xitiao River leads to Taihu Lake in the north and Mogan Mountain in the south. The scenery is very beautiful. Zhang Zhihe's poem describes the scenery during the spring flood season and reflects the loveliness of the water towns in the Taihu Lake Basin.

The egret is the kind of water bird that people usually call herons. From a distance, it looks a bit like a white crane. Its legs and neck are particularly long, making it easier to find food in the water. "Egrets fly in front of Xisai Mountain", they spread their wings and fly in front of Xisai Mountain, making this land of plenty and plenty of life even more interesting. "Peach blossom flowing water" is peach blossom water. In the south, peach blossoms bloom in February and March every year, the weather is warm, and there is more rain than in winter. After a few spring rains, the river water will rise, and more fish will swim upstream. The author does not simply say that the spring flood is coming, but describes it as "peach blossoms and flowing water with mandarin fish fat", which can better arouse the readers' imagination, making people seem to see the blooming red peach blossoms on both sides of the bank; when the river water rises sharply, Jiangnan The unique mandarin fish jumps out of the water from time to time, how fat it is. "Mandarin fish" is a particularly delicious freshwater fish with a large mouth, thin scales and a yellow-brown color. When the spring floods come, of course the fishermen will not be idle, they are also busy. "Green bamboo hats, green coir raincoats, the slanting wind and drizzle do not need to return" are all written by them. "Go", go home. "No need to return" means that there is no need to go home. From the fisherman wearing a bamboo hat and coir raincoat, admiring the scenery of the spring water in the slanting wind and drizzle, readers can understand the fisherman's happy mood when fishing.

The author is a landscape painter. It is said that he once painted "Yu Gezi" into a picture. Indeed, this poem is full of picturesque meaning. Cangyan, egrets, bright peach groves, clear running water, tawny mandarin fish, cyan bamboo hats, green coir raincoats, bright colors, ingenious conception and beautiful artistic conception make readers seem to be looking at an excellent spring flood picture in a water town. .

This poem embodies the author's love for freedom and nature in the beautiful waterside scenery and the ideal life of fishermen. What is more attractive to readers in the poem is not the fisherman who is calm and contented with the wind and rain, but the picture of the spring river in Jiangxiang during the Peach Blossom Flood in February with rising water and misty rain. Green mountains in the rain, fishing boats on the river, egrets in the sky, and red peaches on both sides of the bank. The colors are bright but soft, and the atmosphere is peaceful but full of vitality. This not only reflects the author's artistic ingenuity, but also reflects his lofty, unconventional, leisurely and refined taste.