Fisherman on the River is a five-character quatrain written by Fan Zhongyan, a writer and poet in the Northern Song Dynasty. This poem points out that people who come and go drinking and having fun on the river only know the delicious bass, 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 work, I hope to arouse people's attention to the sufferings of people's livelihood and reflect the poet's sympathy for the working people. The whole poem uses concise words, no flowery words, no difficult words, no axe marks, and expresses unusual thoughts and feelings in ordinary language, ordinary people and things, which has produced unusual artistic effects.

Name of the work

Riverside fisherman

author

fan zhongyan

Year of creation

Northern Song Dynasty

Source of works

Fan Wenzheng's Public Collection

Types of works

Four lines and five words of ancient poetry

Alias of works

Gift fisherman

original work

Jiang Shang Fisherman 1

People come and go on the river, but they love 3 bass and 4 beauties.

Jun 5 sees a leaf boat 6, and the wind and rain are 7 miles and 8 miles. ? [ 1]?

Annotation translation:

Sentence annotation

1. Fisherman: A fisherman.

2. But: Only

3. Love: Love

4. Perch: A kind of fish with big head and big mouth, thin and flat scales, white back and delicious taste. Living in shallow coastal waters, its meat quality is more plump after entering fresh water rivers in summer and autumn, especially in Songjiang.

5. Jun: You.

6. Leaf boat: a boat floating on the water like a leaf.

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

8. Storm: Waves. ? [2]?

Vernacular translation

People coming and going on the river only like delicious perch.

Look, the fisherman is driving a flat boat, going in and out in the wind and waves. ? [2]?

Creation background

This poem was written in the first year of Jing Shou in the Northern Song Dynasty (1034). At that time, Fan Zhongyan was 46 years old, in charge of Suzhou, and was inspecting the water situation in Suzhou-Changzhou area to control floods. I was filled with emotion when I saw a boat in the river, floating and sinking in the stormy waves. ? [3]?

works appreciation

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Literary appreciation

The language of this poem is concise and vivid. There are only 20 words in the whole poem, but the words are near and far, and the words are shallow and deep, which can trigger rich associations. There is a kind of "who knows that every grain in China is hard" (Li Shen's Two Poems of Compassion for Agriculture), which contains the author's idea of "worrying about the world first, and enjoying the world later".

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.

So in three or four sentences, the author constructs a vivid picture to reflect the hard work of fishermen on the river. A leaf boat, lingering in the wind and rain, is really "life is at stake, and the weather is unpredictable." The poet didn't make it clear why the fisherman had to take such a risk, so he came to an abrupt end, and readers could already understand the author's implication. This is: fishermen are completely forced by life, and the beauty of perch is bought by fishermen's suffering. This inexhaustible technique makes this poem meaningful and memorable.

This poem is full of the poet's concern and sympathy for fishermen sailing in rough waves, and also expresses the poet's advice to people who only love the beauty of perch on the river. In the sharp contrast between the two environments on the river and on the boat, in the two dynamics of "going back and forth" and in the two lives of fish eaters and fishermen, the poet's intention is shown. ? [4]?

Famous comments

Cai, Song Dynasty: There are differences in language between the Greek poem "Wind Encountering the River" and "To the Fisherman". (Volume 10 after "Shilin Guangji")? [5]?

Wuqiao at the end of Ming Dynasty and the beginning of Qing Dynasty: Fan's "A Gift to the Fisherman" (a brief poem). Would you rather make your child beautiful? ("Poetry Around the Furnace", Volume 5)? [5]?

Huang Gang, Deputy Secretary-General of Zhongshan Writers' Association: The success of this poem lies not only in its plain language, but also in its vivid portrayal of fishing boats on the river. More importantly, it shows the poet's sympathy and care for the fishermen who risked their lives in the storm. The author's thought of "worrying about the world first" is vividly displayed through the strong contrast between the two environments on the river and on the boat, the two movements of "going back and forth" and the two lives of eating fish and fishing. (the essence of song poetry)? [5]?

Zhang Xianming, vice president of People's Literature Publishing House: The original intention of this poem is to write about the hardships and dangers of fishermen's lives and warn people to cherish the fruits of working people's labor. However, the image of literary and artistic works is always greater than the thought, and readers can also read another layer of poetry: every achievement of labor always requires hard work. China's beautiful poems?

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Brief introduction of the author

fan zhongyan

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Fan Zhongyan (989-1052) was born in Greece. After his death, posthumous title, Shi called Gong. He was a famous minister, politician, strategist, writer and thinker in the Northern Song Dynasty. His ancestral home was Zhangzhou (now Bin County, Shaanxi Province). In the name of daring to speak, he repeatedly wrote to criticize the then prime minister, so he was demoted three times. Song Renzong was a deputy prime minister when he was an official. Because he lost his father in childhood, he deeply felt the pain of the lower class. Fan Wenzheng Gong Ji has been handed down from generation to generation. ?