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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

淮中晚泊犊头

Mooring at Dutou on the Huai River at Dusk

苏舜钦

Su Shunqin

羁旅Travel 写景Scenery 沉郁Melancholy

春阴垂野草青青，时有幽花一树明。
晚泊孤舟古祠下，满川风雨看潮生。

Spring clouds hang low over fields, grass green and bright;
At times a tree of secluded flowers shines.
At dusk I moor my lonely boat by an old shrine;
In wind and rain the river swells before my eyes.

Listen

Meaning

The poet describes a spring scene: dark clouds hang over the green fields, with occasional bright flowers. In the evening, he moors his lonely boat under an ancient temple, watching the rising tide in wind and rain.

春天的阴云低垂原野，草木一片青青，不时有幽静的花朵在一树树间明亮绽放。傍晚把孤舟停泊在古祠之下，满河风雨中静看潮水涌生。

Appreciation

The first two lines paint a quiet yet vivid landscape; the last two shift to a lonely mooring and a vast scene of wind and rain, showing the poet's solitary yet steadfast spirit. The contrast between stillness and motion deepens the mood.

【白话串讲】春天的阴云压着野草，船在古祠下停泊，看满川风雨里潮水涨起来。苏舜钦写的是旅途中一个普通黄昏，却写出了“静看风云”的从容。【意象与手法】前二句淡笔铺景，「春阴垂野」写阴云低垂之沉，而「时有幽花一树明」于阴沉中突现亮色，章法跌宕；后二句「晚泊孤舟古祠下，满川风雨看潮生」以孤景对阔景，以人静对潮动，景中寓情，气象沉雄，体现其「豪放中有沉郁」之风。【情感与主旨】苏舜钦（1008—1048），字子美，北宋诗文革新先驱，与梅尧臣并称「苏梅」。其早年诗风豪放雄健，晚年遭贬退居苏州，诗风转向沉郁。此诗写舟行淮河、夜泊犊头（今安徽境内）所见，于孤泊风雨中寓身世之感，正是其贬后心境的艺术写照。【名句点睛】常考「一树明」的炼字之妙及前后景致动静、明暗对比；亦考孤舟夜泊中孤寂而沉静的情感，以及「看潮生」所体现的兀傲风骨。

Background

Su Shunqin was exiled in his later years and retired to Suzhou. His poetic style turned from heroic to melancholy. This poem depicts his journey on the Huai River and night mooring at Dutou, likely a travel piece after his demotion, expressing his feelings of solitude.

苏舜钦（1008—1048），字子美，梓州铜山人，生于开封，北宋诗文革新运动的重要作家，与欧阳修、梅尧臣交厚，诗风豪放雄健，有「苏梅」之称。苏舜钦一生仕途坎坷：庆历四年（1044）因「进奏院祠神案」被劾「监主自盗」，削职为民，退居苏州，筑沧浪亭以寄怀；庆历八年（1048）复起为湖州长史，不久病卒，年仅四十一岁。此诗写舟行淮河、晚泊犊头之景，「犊头」一说在今安徽境内淮河岸边。诗人于贬谪退居之后，往来于江湖之间，所见春阴垂野、孤舟古祠、满川风雨，无不与身世之感相契：春阴是压抑的心境，孤舟是漂泊的身影，古祠是荒凉的处所，而「看潮生」的静观中，又透出诗人历经风波后的兀傲与自持。此诗体现了苏舜钦诗风由早年豪宕向晚年沉郁的转变——豪放之气未消，而沉郁之致日深，正是其贬后心境的艺术投影，也是北宋士大夫「失意而不失志」的精神写照。此诗虽为绝句小章，而境界开阔，正可见苏舜钦于沧浪亭外的江湖之思。

Art

The first two lines use light strokes, with 'a tree of secluded flowers shines' suddenly brightening the gloom. The last two lines contrast the lonely boat with the vast river, stillness with motion, creating a grand and melancholy atmosphere.

此诗艺术之妙，在「以小见大、以静写动」的章法与「明暗相映、动静相生」的意象经营。前二句写泊前之景：「春阴垂野草青青」以「垂」字写阴云低压原野，营造沉郁压抑的氛围，是暗色；「时有幽花一树明」陡然一转，于无边阴沉中突现一树明花——「时有」写其偶然，「一树」写其孤，「明」字写其亮，这株幽花如暗夜中的灯火，破阴郁而生生意，是亮色。一暗一明，一沉一活，章法跌宕，愁中见微喜。后二句写泊中之境：「晚泊孤舟古祠下」以「孤舟」「古祠」写漂泊之寞与荒凉之境，是静态的孤；「满川风雨看潮生」以「满川」写风雨之阔、以「看潮生」写潮水之动，是动态的阔。人静而对潮动，舟孤而对川满，以小对以大、以静对以动，气象由沉郁转雄浑。全诗四句，前两句是「行中所见」，后两句是「泊中所观」，由行到泊、由景到境，层层收紧而胸怀愈阔，正是苏舜钦「豪放中有沉郁」诗风的绝佳注脚。全诗二十八字，由泊前到泊中、由行到静，收放自如，是其短章中的精品。

Allusions

The 'old shrine' echoes Du Fu's desolate imagery; 'wind and rain on the river' continues the tradition of exiled poets watching the storm, showing implicit cultural resonance.

此诗用典极淡，以本色语写眼前景，然意象皆有渊源。「古祠」暗承杜甫《咏怀古迹》「古庙杉松巢水鹤」一类荒寂意象——古祠荒庙，历来是诗人写羁旅孤寂的经典场景，苏舜钦泊舟古祠之下，正是这一传统的延续；「满川风雨」化用唐人「满川风雨独凭栏」之意（一说晚唐许浑「山雨欲来风满楼」一类气象），写风雨满江、势不可挡，而诗人于其中静观潮生，暗合「任凭风浪起，稳坐钓鱼船」的定力传统。「看潮生」更有深意：潮水涨落，本是自然界的循环，而中国士人惯以「潮」喻世事之起伏、宦海之浮沉（如「江潮」「宦潮」），苏舜钦于贬谪之后静看潮生，是把身世的起伏置于自然的循环中来观照，以超然之眼化解胸中块垒。全诗不堆故实而气脉相通，正是北宋诗「以才学为诗」之前，「以性情为诗」的本色。此外『草青青』化用《楚辞·招隐士》『王孙游兮不归，春草生兮萋萋』的怀人意象，『幽花』承陶渊明『采菊东篱下』的幽独趣味，皆于不经意处见渊源。

Commentary

Ouyang Xiu praised Su Shunqin's poems as 'heroic and delightful'; Wei Tai commented that he 'excels in bold and unrestrained style.' This poem exemplifies his combination of heroism and melancholy.

此诗向为苏舜钦代表作，评家多称其「沉雄豪放，兼而有之」。欧阳修《六一诗话》称苏舜钦诗「以雄放为豪」，又谓其「笔下驱涛涌雪，直写胸臆」；魏泰《临汉隐居诗话》谓其「以奔放豪宕为主」；而此诗却于豪放中见沉郁，正是其晚年风格转变的明证。清人论苏诗，多谓「子美诗气格雄放，而中年以后，渐趋沉郁，如《淮中晚泊犊头》可见」。近人评此诗「于风雨孤舟中见兀傲」，以为与柳宗元《江雪》「孤舟蓑笠翁，独钓寒江雪」异代同调——同是孤舟，同是逆境，柳宗元以「独钓」写清高孤绝，苏舜钦以「看潮生」写沉静兀傲，一寒一雨，一钓一看，皆于孤境中见骨力。此诗篇幅虽短，却在宋人羁旅诗中独具气象，对后来陆游、杨万里等写「风雨孤舟」一路，不无沾溉。此诗在宋代诗话中多有称引，论者以为其『于风雨孤舟中写兀傲』处，直追柳宗元《江雪》而气象之开阔又过之；其明暗相映、动静相生的章法，更为后来的杨万里、范成大等写景小诗提供了借鉴，是宋人绝句由唐诗之浑成转向宋调之理趣的关键一环。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain七言绝句

Rhyme Rhyme characters: qing, ming, sheng (from the Eleventh Rhyme Category)韵脚「青、明、生」，属词韵第十一部（平水韵庚青韵通押），一韵到底，音色清亮悠远，与诗中春野明花的意境相谐。

Tone pattern Standard pattern: first two lines depict the scene before mooring, last two lines depict the scene after mooring七绝常格，平仄合律：平平仄仄仄平平（春阴垂野草青青），平仄平平仄仄平（时有幽花一树明）……前两句写泊前之景、后两句写泊中之境，章法由舒转沉。

Reading note Su's style is melancholy; this quatrain shows his proud aloofness amidst wind and rain.此诗为七言绝句，体制短小而气象沉雄，是苏舜钦晚期诗风的代表作。七绝以含蓄蕴藉为常格，而苏舜钦此诗却在二十八字中完成了「明暗相映、动静相生」的完整构图：前两句以「垂野」之阴与「一树明」之花对照，是画面内部的明暗节奏；后两句以「孤舟古祠」之静与「满川风雨」之动对照，是画面与情怀之间的动静张力。用韵上，「青、明、生」同属庚青部，音色清越明亮，与诗中「幽花一树明」的亮色呼应，使沉郁的内容读来不显滞重。章法上，前两句写行中所见，是「动中之景」；后两句写泊中所观，是「静中之境」，由行到泊、由景到境、由外到内，层层收束而胸怀愈阔。此诗在宋人七绝中别具一格——既有唐人的气象，又有宋人的理致，是北宋诗由唐音转宋调的过渡之作，对后来陆游「楼船夜雪」一类沉雄七绝不无影响。

Line by line

春阴垂野草青青，时有幽花一树明。

Spring clouds hang low over the fields, grass and trees are lush green; from time to time, a tree of quiet flowers shines brightly.

春天的阴云低垂原野，草木一片青青，不时有幽静的花朵在一树树间明亮绽放。

Spring clouds hang low over the greening fields; now and then, one quiet tree of flowers burns bright.

前二句写行舟所见，于沉郁中见生意。「春阴垂野」四字写阴云低压、笼罩原野，一个「垂」字把天空写重了——云不仅低，而且像要压下来，笼罩着行舟的诗人，也笼罩着它的心境；「草青青」写原野草木一片青葱，是春天本来的颜色，然而在阴云之下，这青也带着沉沉的湿意。第三句「时有幽花一树明」陡然一转：「时有」写其偶然一现，「幽花」写其幽静冷艳，「一树明」写其明亮醒目——在满野青阴的沉闷中，一树幽花粲然放光，如画龙点睛。这一「明」字是全句的诗眼：它不仅是花的颜色，更是诗人眼中的光——在压抑的行旅中偶遇一树明花，是黯淡心境中的一点亮色，愁中见喜，苦中得慰。明暗相映、沉活相生的章法，于此已见端倪。

The first couplet writes the traveler's sight, life within the somber. Spring clouds hang low writes the low clouds pressing over the fields in four characters, the one word hang weighing the sky — the clouds not only low, but as if pressing down, veiling the boat-bound poet, and veiling his mind; the greening fields writes the fields' fresh green, spring's native color, and yet under the clouds this green carries a heavy wetness. The third line, one quiet tree of flowers burns bright, turns sharply: the now-and-then writes the chance appearance, the quiet flowers the secluded, cool beauty, the one tree burns bright the vividness — in the gloom of the green fields, one tree of quiet flowers suddenly shines, like the dragon's eye on the painted eye. The one word bright is the line's poem-eye: not only the flower's color, but the light in the poet's eyes — in the oppressive journey, meeting one bright tree of flowers by chance, a point of light in the darkened mind, joy within grief, comfort within bitterness. The interlacing of dark and bright, of the somber and the living, is already visible here.

晚泊孤舟古祠下，满川风雨看潮生。

In the evening, I moor my lonely boat under an ancient shrine; amidst wind and rain over the river, I quietly watch the tide rising.

傍晚把孤舟停泊在古祠之下，满河风雨中静看潮水涌生。

At dusk I moor the lone boat beneath the old shrine; with wind and rain over the whole river, I watch the tide rise.

后二句写夜泊之境，是全诗情感的凝聚点。「晚泊孤舟古祠下」连用「孤舟」「古祠」两个孤寂意象：舟是孤舟，祠是古祠，人泊于此，荒凉寂寞之感扑面而来；「满川风雨看潮生」笔势陡转，由小景写到阔景——满川风雨，水天茫茫，而诗人于孤舟之中静看潮水涌生。「看」字是全诗的诗眼：它写的是静观——风雨满川，潮水汹涌，诗人却不惊不惧，只是静静地看，这份静观中自有一种兀傲与自持，仿佛在说：人生的风波我已看尽，潮起潮落，不过是自然之理。孤与阔、静与动、人与潮的对照，使此诗由羁旅的寂寞升华为处逆境而不失定力的精神写照，气象沉雄，正是苏舜钦「豪放中有沉郁」的本色。

The second couplet writes the night's mooring, the gathering point of the poem's feeling. At dusk I moor the lone boat beneath the old shrine chains the two lonely images of the lone boat and the old shrine: the boat the lone boat, the shrine the old shrine, the man moored here, the desolation pressing on the face; with wind and rain over the whole river, I watch the tide rises turns the brush sharply, from the small scene to the vast — wind and rain over the whole river, water and sky one blur, and the poet within the lone boat quietly watching the tide rise. The word watch is the poem's eye: it writes the still watching — wind and rain over the river, the tide surging, and the poet neither startled nor afraid, only watching; within this stillness lies a pride and a self-possession, as if to say: the storms of life I have watched to the end, the tide's rising and falling is but the way of nature. The contrasts of lone and vast, still and moving, man and tide, raise the poem from the loneliness of the journey to the portrait of the spirit that keeps its poise in adversity, the somber boldness of Su Shunqin's bold-within-somber native.

Study

Word focus

垂 The word 'hang' in 'Spring clouds hang low' depicts clouds pressing down on the fields, creating a melancholy tone. 「春阴垂野草青青」之「垂」字，写阴云低压原野，是全诗营造沉郁氛围的关键字。「垂」本指物之悬挂下垂，此处移以写云——春日的阴云低垂，几乎要与原野相接，仿佛天空压了下来。此字之妙有三：一是写云之低——阴云不仅浓重，而且低垂，把天与地之间的距离压缩，人的空间感也随之压抑；二是写势之沉——云垂于野，如磐石压顶，人的心境也如被阴云笼罩，沉甸甸地透不过气来；三是写景之静——垂云之下，草木青青，天地凝滞，唯有一片沉静的阴郁。「垂」字与下句「一树明」的「明」字构成全诗最要紧的对照：云愈垂，则花愈明；境愈沉，则光愈亮。一字而境界全出，炼字极省而力极重，是宋人炼字的典范。

明 The word 'shines' in 'a tree of secluded flowers shines' breaks the gloom with bright color, showing contrast. 「时有幽花一树明」之「明」字，是全诗由沉郁转生意的诗眼。「明」本写光——花的颜色明亮鲜艳，在阴沉的原野上粲然放光；而此字的深意在于与「春阴垂野」的暗色对照：满野青阴，唯此一树幽花是亮的，如墨池中的一点丹青，如暗夜中的一盏孤灯。这个「明」字至少有三重妙处：一是写花之醒目——「一树明」把整株花写得通体透亮，花瓣仿佛在发光；二是写诗人之惊喜——在长久的沉闷行旅中骤见明花，目光为之一亮，心境为之一开，这「明」是诗人眼中的光；三是写境之转折——前句「垂野」之沉，至此被「一树明」打破，章法上由抑转扬，愁中见喜。若易为「红」「艳」等字，则只写颜色而失其光亮；唯「明」字能同时写花之亮与心之亮，是炼字的点睛之笔。

看 The word 'watch' in 'watch the tide rising' expresses calm observation amidst turmoil, showing the poet's composure. 「满川风雨看潮生」之「看」字，是全诗精神之所在，写孤舟中的沉静兀傲。「看」不是「望」，不是「观」，而是一种从容不迫的注视：满川风雨，潮水涌生，天地间一片动荡，而诗人只是静静地「看」——这份静看中，有历经风波后的从容，有对世事沉浮的洞悉，也有不随波逐流的自持。此字的妙处在于「以静写动」：风雨是动的，潮是动的，唯「看」的人是静的，动与静的对照，凸现出人的定力；又「以窄写阔」：人在孤舟之中，目之所及却是满川风雨，身之小与境之大相映，更见胸怀之阔。若易为「听」「叹」等字，则或失其从容，或失其沉静；唯「看」字最见苏舜钦于逆境中的兀傲风骨，与柳宗元「独钓寒江雪」的「钓」字异曲同工，是炼字的千古名例。