The poem goes:
Birds in thousands of mountains have disappeared,
Tens of thousands of people have disappeared.
A man with a coir raincoat in a lone boat,
Fishing alone in the snow in the cold river.
Creation background: The poem "Snow on the River" was written during Liu Zongyuan's exile in Yongzhou (805-815). In the first year of Yongzhen reign of Emperor Shunzong of Tang Dynasty (805), Liu Zongyuan participated in the Yongzhen reform movement launched by Wang Shuwen group, and implemented political measures to suppress eunuchs internally, control vassal towns externally, and maintain national unity. However, due to the joint opposition of the reactionary forces, the reform quickly failed. Liu Zongyuan was demoted to Yongzhou Sima and exiled for ten years. In fact, he lived a life of "prisoner" under control and under house arrest. The oppression of the dangerous environment did not crush him. Politically unfavorable, he showed the value of life and ideal aspirations through poetry. This poem is one of the representative works.
Literary Appreciation: The poet only used twenty words to describe a quiet and cold picture: on the river with heavy snow, an old fisherman in a small boat, alone in the middle of the cold river fishing. What the poet shows readers is the following: the world between heaven and earth is so pure and silent, spotless and silent; the fisherman's life is noble, and his character is aloof. In fact, this is a fantasy realm created by the poet out of his hatred of the Tang Dynasty society, which was declining day by day. Compared with the characters in Tao Yuanming's "Peach Blossom Spring", this is a fantasy realm that is more illusory and far away from the world.