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清 Qing · 诗 Poem

六月二十四日荷花荡泛舟作

Boating in the Lotus Creek on the Twenty-Fourth of the Sixth Month

舒位

Shu Wei

吴门桥外荡轻舻，流管清丝泛玉凫。
应是花神避生日，万人如海一花无。

Beyond Wu Gate Bridge we drift in a light skiff; flutes flow and clear strings float over jade ducks.
It must be the Flower God avoiding her birthday—
Among ten thousand souls like a sea, not a single flower to be seen.
Listen

Meaning

The poet boats the Lotus Creek on the Flower God's birthday, yet finds not one lotus bloom amid the crowds. He blames the Flower God for hiding away, turning disappointment into playful wit. The poem is bright and leisurely, typical of Shu Wei's nimble, humorous vein.

吴门桥外荡轻舻，流管清丝泛玉凫。应是花神避生日，万人如海一花无。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Beyond Wu Gate Bridge the poet drifts in a light boat amid music; he jokes that the Flower God must be avoiding her birthday, for in the sea of people not a lotus appears. [Structure] The first couplet paints the pleasure of boating with 'light skiff' and 'jade ducks'; the second turns to the absent flowers through the whimsy of the Flower God, resolving disappointment with a jest. [Imagery] Bright diction and a mischievous imagination: the skiff and jade ducks convey leisure; the 'Flower God avoiding her birthday' explains the lack of blooms with comic charm. [Famous Lines] 'It must be the Flower God avoiding her birthday' turns missed blossoms into a joke; 'Beyond Wu Gate Bridge we drift' captures boating joy with skiff and ducks.

【白话串讲】 舒位写《六月二十四日荷花荡泛舟作》：“吴门桥外荡轻舻，流管清丝泛玉凫”——“应是花神避生日，万人如海一花无”——他荷花荡泛舟——万人如海一花无。 【意象与手法】 “吴门桥外荡轻舻，流管清丝泛玉凫”以轻舻玉凫写泛舟之乐；“应是花神避生日，万人如海一花无”以“花神避生日”的想象写无花可赏的怅惘。语言明丽、想象诙谐。 【情感与主旨】 荷花荡泛舟之作，写赏荷而未逢花开的怅惘，以“花神避生日”的戏谑化解无花之憾，体现舒位诗的灵动与谐趣。 【名句点睛】 常考“应是花神避生日，万人如海一花无”以花神避生日写无花之憾；“吴门桥外荡轻舻，流管清丝泛玉凫”以轻舻玉凫写泛舟之乐。

Background

Shu Wei (1765–1816), courtesy name Liren, style Tieyun, of Daxing, was a leading poet of the Qianlong-Jiaqing era. This quatrain is a leisurely landscape poem written during a boat outing on the Lotus Creek. The first couplet pictures a light skiff beyond Wu Gate Bridge with flutes and strings over jade ducks; the second imagines the Flower God hiding on her birthday so that among the crowds not a flower shows. Bright and easeful, it is a celebrated piece in Shu Wei's corpus and often reprinted in anthologies.

《六月二十四日荷花荡泛舟作》为清代诗人舒位所作诗。舒位（1765—1816），字立人，号铁云，直隶大兴人，清代诗人，乾嘉诗坛名家。此诗写景闲适，为荷花荡泛舟之作。诗中「吴门桥外荡轻舻，流管清丝泛玉凫」写吴门桥外荡轻舻，流管清丝泛玉凫；「应是花神避生日，万人如海一花无」写应是花神避生日，万人如海一花无。舒位此诗以写景闲适、万人如海一花无写其闲适之情，明丽闲适，是舒位诗中的名篇。此篇《六月二十四日荷花荡泛舟作》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。此篇《六月二十四日荷花荡泛舟作》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。

Art

The poem's art lies in its bright ease and 'writing feeling through the boat.' Four lines in two couplings move from drifting beyond Wu Gate Bridge to the Flower God's birthday. The opening couplet sets the scene—light skiff, flowing flutes, jade ducks; the closing couplet resolves it—the Flower God hides, not a flower in the human sea. The whole is leisurely and luminous, a fine quatrain where sound and sight follow feeling, achieving much in few words.

此诗艺术上以「明丽闲适、以舟写情」见长。全诗共四句两联，由吴门桥外荡轻舻而应是花神避生日。起「吴门桥外荡轻舻，流管清丝泛玉凫」写吴门桥外荡轻舻：吴门桥外荡轻舻，流管清丝泛玉凫；结「应是花神避生日，万人如海一花无」写应是花神避生日：应是花神避生日，万人如海一花无。全诗以舟写情，由吴门桥外荡轻舻而万人如海一花无，明丽闲适，是舒位诗中的名篇。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。通篇以少总多之法出之，章法严谨而用意深曲，意象凝练而情韵悠长，读之愈久，愈觉其构思之精与笔力之健，堪称同类诗作中不可多得之佳篇，足见诗人炉火纯青的艺术功力。

Allusions

The lines draw on classical reference: 'jade ducks' (yufu) is a waterfowl image, and 'Flower God' the deity who tends blossoms. The poet weaves these allusions seamlessly, making the leisurely scene feel real—an example of his skill in melting antiquity into the present without ostentation. Such restrained use of allusion shows both learning and tact.

诗中「吴门桥外荡轻舻流管清丝泛玉凫」「应是花神避生日万人如海一花无」等语，皆含典故故实。「吴门桥外荡轻舻流管清丝泛玉凫」用玉凫之典（玉凫写水鸟），写吴门桥外荡轻舻流管清丝泛玉凫；「应是花神避生日万人如海一花无」用花神之典（花神写司花之神），写应是花神避生日万人如海一花无。诗人用玉凫、花神之典入诗，不着痕迹，而把写景闲适之情写得真切可感，是善于熔铸典故的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。

Commentary

This 'Boating in the Lotus Creek' is Shu Wei's bright, leisurely landscape piece, picturing the light skiff, the Flower God's birthday, and the flowerless crowd. The opening couplet drifts the skiff amid flutes and jade ducks; the closing imagines the Flower God hiding, a single flower absent. That closing line is the poem's pivot, voicing ease through the human sea. Bright and leisurely, feeling carried by the boat, it is a gem of his work—truth, scene, and wit fused, embodying the classical ideal of saying much in little.

这首《六月二十四日荷花荡泛舟作》，是舒位写写景闲适之作，写吴门桥外荡轻舻、应是花神避生日、万人如海一花无之情，明丽闲适。起「吴门桥外荡轻舻，流管清丝泛玉凫」——吴门桥外荡轻舻，流管清丝泛玉凫。写吴门桥外荡轻舻：吴门桥外荡轻舻、流管清丝泛玉凫——荡轻舻、泛玉凫；结「应是花神避生日，万人如海一花无」——应是花神避生日，万人如海一花无。写应是花神避生日：应是花神避生日、万人如海一花无——避生日、一花无。这「应是花神避生日，万人如海一花无」，是全诗之结：以万人如海一花无写其闲适。全诗明丽闲适，以舟写情，正是舒位诗中的名篇。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。综观全诗，情真、景切、理深，三者浑融无迹，故能于短短数语之中寄无限深意，令人百读不厌。其含蓄蕴藉之处，正是中国古典诗歌以少总多、言有尽而意无穷的美学精神的生动体现。

Prosody

Form Poem (seven-character quatrain)诗（七言绝句）
Rhyme A seven-character quatrain of four lines in two couplings. Rhymes: 'ducks' (fu) and 'none' (wu) share the Yu rhyme. The first two lines rise, the last two turn and close; level and oblique tones alternate, suiting the bright leisure of the scene.此诗为七言绝句，共四句两联。押韵：「凫」「无」押虞部韵。前两句起、后两句转合，平仄相间，正与写写景闲适的明丽闲适相称，也见其以七绝写闲适的凝练。
Tone pattern The opening 'beyond Wu Gate Bridge we drift' is bright; the close 'Flower God avoiding her birthday' is light and nimble. Syllables follow feeling from brightness to lightness, fulfilling the quatrain's concise charm.句式上，「吴门桥外荡轻舻，流管清丝泛玉凫」写吴门桥外荡轻舻，音节明丽；结「应是花神避生日，万人如海一花无」写应是花神避生日，音节轻灵。全诗音节随情起伏，由明丽而轻灵，正合七绝「凝练」之妙，读来如写景闲适、万人如海一花无之音，明丽而动人。
Reading note This seven-character quatrain is a bright, leisurely landscape by Shu Wei. Its strength is 'bright ease, feeling through the boat': the first couplet drifts the skiff, the second imagines the Flower God. The whole is luminous and leisurely. Notably 'flowing flutes over jade ducks' uses the jade-duck allusion and 'Flower God avoiding her birthday' the Flower-God allusion—a model of his bright manner, often anthologized. Sound and rhythm match the mood throughout.此诗为七言绝句，是舒位写写景闲适之作，也是其诗中的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「明丽闲适、以舟写情」：「吴门桥外荡轻舻，流管清丝泛玉凫」写吴门桥外荡轻舻、「应是花神避生日，万人如海一花无」写应是花神避生日。全诗明丽闲适，以舟写情。尤为精妙者，是「流管清丝泛玉凫」用玉凫之典；而「应是花神避生日」用花神之典，正是舒位诗「明丽闲适」的典范，为历代选本所常收。《六月二十四日荷花荡泛舟作》一诗之所以读来声情并茂，正在于诗人以声韵配合情思、以节奏烘托意境，音节之长短、平仄之起伏，皆与诗意相为表里，此亦可见中国古典诗歌声律之美与匠心之工。

Line by line

吴门桥外荡轻舻，流管清丝泛玉凫。

Beyond Wu Gate Bridge we drift in a light skiff; flutes flow and clear strings float over jade ducks.

吴门桥外荡轻舻，流管清丝泛玉凫。

Beyond the Wumen Bridge we row our light boat; flutes and clear strings drift over the jade ducks on the water.

起句写吴门桥外荡轻舻，起笔即见其舻。「吴门桥外荡轻舻」写吴门桥外荡轻舻，「吴门桥外」写吴门桥外、「荡轻舻」写荡轻舻；「流管清丝泛玉凫」用玉凫之典写流管清丝泛玉凫，「流管清丝」写流管清丝、「泛玉凫」写泛玉凫。一句写吴门桥外荡轻舻流管清丝泛玉凫，以吴门桥外荡轻舻写荡轻舻、以流管清丝泛玉凫写泛玉凫，写尽吴门桥外荡轻舻、流管清丝泛玉凫之情。以桥起兴，明丽而闲适，是「以桥起兴」的妙笔。

The opening writes beyond the Wumen Bridge we row our light boat, the rowlock visible from the first stroke. Beyond the Wumen Bridge we row our light boat: beyond the bridge the place, row our light boat the light oar. Flutes and clear strings drift over the jade ducks on the water uses the allusion to the jade duck boat, flutes and clear strings the winding pipes, drifting jade ducks the floating craft. One line: beyond the bridge, the light oar, the flutes and strings afloat. Writing the light boat beyond the bridge, and the music drifting on the jade duck, exhausts the feeling. Rising on the bridge, bright and leisurely, the finest stroke of rising on the crossing.

应是花神避生日，

It must be the Flower God avoiding her birthday—

应是花神避生日，

It must be that the flower goddess is hiding away on her birthday,

此句写应是花神避生日，是全诗写花神之态的关键。「应是花神」用花神之典写应是花神，「应是」写应是、「花神」写花神；「避生日」写避生日，「避」写避、「生日」写生日。一句写应是花神避生日，以应是花神写花神、以避生日写避生日，写尽应是花神避生日之情。以神写景，明丽而闲适，是「以神写景」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

The line writes it must be that the flower goddess is hiding away on her birthday, the key to the poem's writing of the flower goddess. It must be that the flower goddess uses the allusion to the deity of flowers, it must be the surmise, the flower goddess the divinity. Hiding away on her birthday: hiding away the avoidance, birthday the natal day. One line: the goddess hiding on her birthday. Writing the flower goddess, and the shunning of her birthday, exhausts the feeling. Writing scene through the deity, bright and leisurely, the crowning stroke. The line writes deep meaning in few words, feeling and harmony together, the very eye of the poem; with undercurrents hidden between the characters, and turns lodged within the plain, it must be pondered again and again before its secret is found.

万人如海一花无。

Among ten thousand souls like a sea, not a single flower to be seen.

万人如海一花无。

ten thousand people like a sea, and not a single flower.

结句写万人如海一花无，是全诗立意的落点。「万人如海」写万人如海，「万人」写万人、「如海」写如海；「一花无」写一花无，「一花」写一花、「无」写无。一句写万人如海一花无，以万人如海写如海、以一花无写一花无，写尽万人如海一花无之情。以花写情，明丽而闲适，是全诗最动人处，也是「以花写情」的点睛之笔。此句以寥寥数语写尽深意，情韵兼胜，正是全诗点睛之笔。其于字句之间暗藏波澜，于平易之中寄寓曲折，尤当反复涵泳，方能得其三昧。

The close writes ten thousand people like a sea, and not a single flower, where the poem's meaning comes to rest. Ten thousand people like a sea: ten thousand people the crowd, like a sea the vastness. And not a single flower: a single flower the blossom, no the absence. One line: ten thousand like a sea, not one flower. Writing the sea of people, and the flowerlessness, exhausts the feeling. Writing feeling through the flower, bright and leisurely, the most moving passage of the poem, the crowning stroke. The line writes deep meaning in few words, feeling and harmony together, the very eye of the poem; with undercurrents hidden between the characters, and turns lodged within the plain, it must be pondered again and again before its secret is found.

Study

Word focus

轻舻 'Light skiff.' The 'light' conveys the boat's buoyancy and the ease of the outing beyond Wu Gate Bridge, lending the scene a relaxed, gliding quality that matches the poem's leisurely mood. 「轻舻」写吴门桥外荡轻舻，是写轻舻之态的关键。「吴门桥外荡轻舻」着一「轻舻」，写轻舻——着一「轻舻」，写吴门桥外荡轻舻，见其舻之轻。两字写尽轻舻之态，是「以词写舻」的妙笔。「轻舻」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
流管 'Flowing flutes.' Paired with 'clear strings,' it evokes music drifting over the water, painting the audible pleasure of the boat trip and the bright, festive atmosphere. 「流管」写流管清丝泛玉凫，是写流管之态的关键。「流管清丝泛玉凫」着一「流管」，写流管——着一「流管」，写流管清丝泛玉凫，见其管之流。两字写尽流管之态，是「以词写管」的点睛之词。「流管」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
玉凫 'Jade ducks.' A waterfowl image (often ornamental on boats); here it lends a refined, lustrous brightness to the scene, merging sight and sound in the leisurely drift. 「玉凫」写流管清丝泛玉凫，是写玉凫之态的关键。「流管清丝泛玉凫」着一「玉凫」，写玉凫——着一「玉凫」，写流管清丝泛玉凫，见其凫之玉。两字写尽玉凫之态，是「以词写凫」的点睛之词。「玉凫」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。
花神 'Flower God.' The deity who tends blossoms; personified as 'avoiding her birthday,' she becomes the playful excuse for the missing lotuses, turning disappointment into wit. 「花神」写应是花神避生日，是写花神之态的关键。「应是花神避生日」着一「花神」，写花神——着一「花神」，写应是花神避生日，见其神之花。两字写尽花神之态，是「以词写神」的点睛之词。「花神」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

Related Reading

水调歌头·明月几时有 Tune: 'Prelude to Water Melody' — 'When Will the Moon Be Bright?' 苏轼 · 同写泛舟感怀、明丽旷达，一写我欲乘风归去、一写吴门桥外荡轻舻流管清丝泛玉凫，皆于泛舟之中见明丽 Both write boating reflection, bright and broad—one 'riding the wind,' one drifting in a light skiff.

Su Shi's 'Prelude to Water Melody' ('I want to ride the wind home, yet fear the jade towers are too high and cold') is a famous Song lyric of bright detachment; Shu Wei's quatrain drifts a light skiff amid flutes and jade ducks with 'not a single flower.' Both voice boating reflection with brightness: Su rides the wind in transcendence, Shu drifts the skiff in leisure. One is Su's breadth, one Shu's luminosity—two ways of finding brightness on the water.

苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》「我欲乘风归去，又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒」，写泛舟感怀、明丽旷达，是宋词长调的名篇；舒位《六月二十四日荷花荡泛舟作》则以「吴门桥外荡轻舻，流管清丝泛玉凫」「万人如海一花无」写泛玉凫、一花无。两诗同写泛舟感怀、明丽旷达：一写我欲乘风归去、以乘风写超然，一写吴门桥外荡轻舻流管清丝泛玉凫、以轻舻写闲适；一为苏轼之旷达、一为舒位之明丽，并读正可见诗写「泛舟感怀」的两种笔法，皆于泛舟之中见明丽。

 八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天 Tune: 'Eight Beats of Ganzhou' — 'To the Rustling Dusk Rain on the River Sky' 柳永 · 同写桥外凝望、明丽清丽，一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、一写应是花神避生日万人如海一花无，皆于桥外之中见凝望 Both gaze beyond the bridge, bright and clear—one in dusk rain, one in the Flower God's absence.

Liu Yong's 'Eight Beats of Ganzhou' ('to the rustling dusk rain washing the river sky, once more cleansing clear autumn') is a famous Song lyric of travel; Shu Wei's quatrain watches beyond Wu Gate Bridge with 'not a single flower.' Both gaze beyond the bridge with clarity: Liu in dusk rain, Shu in the Flower God's absence. One Liu's crispness, one Shu's brightness—two ways of watching from the bridge.

柳永《八声甘州·对潇潇暮雨洒江天》「对潇潇暮雨洒江天，一番洗清秋」，写桥外凝望、明丽清丽，是宋词写羁旅的名篇；舒位《六月二十四日荷花荡泛舟作》则以「应是花神避生日，万人如海一花无」「吴门桥外荡轻舻」写一花无、荡轻舻。两诗同写桥外凝望、明丽清丽：一写对潇潇暮雨洒江天、以暮雨写清秋，一写应是花神避生日万人如海一花无、以花神写闲适；一为柳永之清丽、一为舒位之明丽，并读正可见诗写「桥外凝望」的两种笔法，皆于桥外之中见凝望。