The Fisherman on the River (范仲淹·江上渔者) by Fan Zhongyan

Meaning

The poem contrasts diners who enjoy delicious perch with fishermen who risk their lives in rough waters to catch the fish, highlighting the hardship behind a simple pleasure.

江岸上来来往往的游人，只知道喜爱鲈鱼味道的鲜美。请你看那江中像一片树叶般的小船，正在风浪里出没起伏，多么危险。

Appreciation

In just twenty characters, the poem juxtaposes two scenes—carefree eaters on shore and a fragile boat amid the waves—to express deep sympathy for laborers, foreshadowing Fan Zhongyan's philosophy of 'worrying before the world's worries.'

【白话串讲】 “江上往来人，但爱鲈鱼美”——江上来往的人，只爱鲈鱼鲜美。“君看一叶舟，出没风波里”——可你看，那叶小舟，正在风浪里出没。范仲淹写吃鱼的人，和捕鱼的人。二十个字，是两个世界。【意象与手法】全诗以白描叙事，前两句写“往来人”之“但爱”，后两句以“君看”一转，推出“一叶舟”在“风波里”出没的惊险画面【情感与主旨】此诗为范仲淹所作五言绝句。相传他见江边酒楼食客争嗜鲈鱼，不知渔人冒风涛之苦，遂写下此诗以警世人【名句点睛】考点：一、前后两句的对比手法及其作用；二、“出没风波里”的画面张力与情感倾向；三、诗歌蕴含的民生关怀主题

Background

Fan Zhongyan is said to have written this poem after witnessing diners relish perch without knowing the fishermen's peril. As a statesman who prioritized the people's welfare, this short work reflects his concern for the common folk.

《江上渔者》为北宋政治家、文学家范仲淹所作。范仲淹（989—1052），字希文，苏州吴县人，北宋名臣，工于诗词散文，有“先天下之忧而忧”之名句。此诗写江上渔者之艰辛：江上往来人，但爱鲈鱼美；君看一叶舟，出没风波里。全诗以江上往来人爱鲈鱼之美，反衬渔者一叶扁舟出没风波之险，写渔者之辛劳，是同情劳动者的名篇。范仲淹身居高位而心系民生，此诗正是其“先忧后乐”精神的体现。

Art

The poem uses plain language and stark contrast: the first two lines describe the diners' indulgence, while the last two lines pivot sharply to a vivid image of a tiny boat tossed by waves. The visual contrast evokes empathy without explicit comment.

《江上渔者》艺术上以反衬的手法与深切的同情见长。全诗四句，层层写来：“江上往来人，但爱鲈鱼美”写江上之人但爱鲈鱼之美，“君看一叶舟，出没风波里”写渔者之舟出没风波之险。全诗以“但爱鲈鱼美”写世人之不知渔者之险，以“一叶舟”“风波里”写渔者之险，反衬有力：世人但知鲈鱼之美，而不知渔者之险；一叶小舟出没风波，正是鲈鱼之美的代价。以反衬写渔者之辛，正是范仲淹同情劳动者的笔法。

Allusions

'A leaf-like boat' (一叶舟) is a common metaphor for a small, fragile vessel. 'Perch' (鲈鱼) recalls the story of Zhang Han's homesickness, but here it ironically highlights the danger fishermen face to satisfy others' appetites.

《江上渔者》用典少而意象自明。“鲈鱼”为江南名鱼，出晋代张翰“莼鲈之思”之典，然此处写鲈鱼之美；“一叶舟”写小舟如叶，写渔舟之小；“风波”写风浪之险。全诗以这些意象写渔者之险，不用深典而同情自见。范仲淹为北宋名臣，其“先天下之忧而忧”的精神贯串其诗文，此诗写渔者之艰辛，正是其心系民生的体现。

Commentary

This poem is often included in elementary readers for its simple yet profound message. It resembles Li Shen's 'Pity the Peasants' in spirit, but its dynamic imagery makes it even more striking, showcasing Fan's early humanitarian vision.

《江上渔者》是范仲淹同情劳动者的名篇，也是北宋诗歌中的名作。此诗以反衬写渔者之险，向为论者称道。论者多赏其“君看一叶舟，出没风波里”的写法——以“一叶舟”写渔舟之小，以“出没风波里”写其险，形象而警策；“江上往来人，但爱鲈鱼美”写世人之但知鱼美，反衬更为有力。范仲淹身居高位而心系民生，此诗正是其“先忧后乐”精神的体现——世人但爱鱼美，而诗人独怜渔者之险。

Prosody

Form 五言绝句五言绝句

Rhyme 平水韵·上平四支（美、里非严格同韵，口语化宽对）《江上渔者》为五言绝句，押仄声韵。此诗用韵：美、里（纸部），一韵到底，音节短促。五绝句式短小，宜于写警策之作。

Tone pattern 首句不入韵，仄起仄收五言绝句以音节短促、含蓄隽永见长。此诗以“江上往来人，但爱鲈鱼美”起，音节平易如世人谈鱼；以“君看一叶舟，出没风波里”收，音节转险如风波起伏。全诗以仄韵贯底，声调与渔者之险相合，是五绝中警策有力的一路。

Reading note 语言近民歌，不尚雕琢，以意胜而非以律胜，宋诗平易之风初见。《江上渔者》为五言绝句，是范仲淹同情劳动者的名篇。此诗以“江上往来人，但爱鲈鱼美”写世人之但知鱼美，以“君看一叶舟，出没风波里”写渔者之险，反衬有力：鲈鱼之美，原是渔者以命搏来。范仲淹为北宋名臣，其“先天下之忧而忧”的精神贯串诗文，此诗写渔者之艰辛，正是其心系民生的体现。

Line by line

江上往来人，但爱鲈鱼美。

The folk who pass to and fro on the river love only the beauty of the perch.

江上往来的人们，只喜爱鲈鱼的美味。

All the people who travel back and forth on the river care only for the deliciousness of the perch.

首二句写江上之人的所爱。“江上往来人”写江上往来之人——“往来”写其来往不断；“但爱鲈鱼美”写其但爱鱼美——“但爱”写只爱，“鲈鱼美”写鲈鱼之鲜美。二句写世人但知鲈鱼之美：江上往来之人，只爱鲈鱼的鲜美。以“往来人”写江上人之多，以“但爱”写其只知鱼美，正为后文的渔者之险作反衬——世人但知鱼美，而不知渔者之险。这一起笔写世人之所爱，正是范仲淹为渔者之险作铺垫的笔法。

The first couplet sets the contrast that the poem turns on. The folk who pass to and fro on the river writes the throng of river travelers, the word to and fro emphasizing the endless coming and going; love only writes the exclusive love, the word but (only) showing that their world has room for one thing alone — the deliciousness of the perch. The couplet establishes the diners' side of the picture: the city folk, the markets, the tables, all united in appreciating the fish. The quiet force of the plain statement is the setup for the reversal: the more one knows that the world loves the perch for its taste, the more the second couplet's revelation strikes home — that taste is bought at a price no diner sees. It is the typical opening of the satirical lyric: first affirm the ordinary world fully, so that the following turn may overturn it.

君看一叶舟，出没风波里。

Look — a leaf of a boat, rising and sinking in the wind and waves.

你看那一叶小舟，出没在风浪之中。

Look at that boat, no bigger than a leaf, now rising, now sinking, among the wind and waves.

后二句写渔者之险，是全诗的警策所在。“君看一叶舟”写渔舟之小——“君看”写请君看，“一叶舟”写小舟如叶；“出没风波里”写其险——“出没”写时出时没，“风波里”写于风浪之中。二句以“一叶舟”写渔舟之小，以“出没风波里”写其险：一叶小舟，出没于风波之中，何等惊险。这一收束，把渔者之险写得形象而警策：世人但爱鲈鱼之美，而渔者却在风波中讨生活。以“一叶舟”写其小，以“出没”写其险，正是范仲淹同情劳动者的绝唱——鲈鱼之美，原是渔者以命搏来。

The closing couplet is the poem's point and its most famous image. Look addresses the reader directly, dragging the eye away from the dining table and out onto the river; a leaf of a boat compares the fishing skiff to a leaf, tiny against the water; rising and sinking in the wind and waves writes the danger — now up, now down, the skiff disappearing into the troughs and surfacing on the crests. The image of the leaf set against the vast water, and the rising and sinking set against the diners' calm, makes the fisherman's daily life visible as it is: a wager of life on every haul. The poem's moral is left unspoken — the beauty of the perch is bought with the fisherman's risk, and the word but in the first couplet is answered by the word look in the second. Only twenty characters, and yet a whole social contrast stands before the eyes, the most compassionate of Song lyrics for the working man.

Study

Word focus

但爱 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “但爱鲈鱼美”之“但爱”，写只爱、唯独爱，是全词反衬的关键词。“但”写只、唯独，“爱”写喜爱——江上往来人，但爱鲈鱼美。这一词写世人之所爱之单一：不是兼爱，而是但爱；不是知渔者之险，而是只知鱼之美。以“但爱”写世人，正是范仲淹为渔者之险作反衬的笔法——世人但爱鱼美，而不知渔者之险。

一叶舟 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “君看一叶舟”之“一叶舟”，写小舟如叶，是全诗写渔舟之小的关键词。“一叶”写其如叶之小，“舟”写渔舟——一叶小舟。这一词写渔舟之小之轻：不是大船，而是一叶舟；不是稳当，而是如叶浮波。以“一叶舟”写渔舟，正是范仲淹写渔者之险的笔法——舟愈小，险愈甚。

出没 appear and disappear; bob up and down (depicting the boat's perilous motion) “出没风波里”之“出没”，写渔舟时出时没，是全诗写渔者之险的关键词。“出”写浮出，“没”写沉没——一叶舟出没于风波之中。这一词写渔舟之颠簸：不是平稳行驶，而是时出时没；不是安然无恙，而是随时可没。以“出没”写渔舟，正是范仲淹写渔者之险的笔法——一叶舟出没风波，正是以命搏鱼的写照。

往来 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “江上往来人”之“往来”，写江上人往来不断，是全诗写世人之多的关键词。“往”写去，“来”写来——江上往来之人，来来往往。这一词写江上人之多之忙：不是偶有几人，而是往来不断；不是专程观景，而是行色匆匆。以“往来”写世人，正是范仲淹为渔者之险作反衬的笔法——往来之人只知鲈鱼美，而不知渔者险。

范仲淹·江上渔者