The Fisherman
Liu Zongyuan
The Fisherman stayed near the Western Rock at night [1], and at dawn he burned the Chu bamboos in the clear water [2].
When the cigarettes are sold out and no one is seen at sunrise, there is a sound of green mountains and rivers[3].
Looking back at the middle stream under the sky, the unintentional clouds on the rocks are chasing each other [4].
[Explanation]
This poem was written by the poet when he was in Yongzhou (now part of Hunan). The fisherman described in the poem is actually used by the poet to describe his noble sentiments. The fisherman stayed near the green hills at night and boiled Xiangshui with Chu bamboo in the morning. When the clear smoke and thin dawn mist dissipated, no one could be seen. Following a melodious fishing song, the fisherman rowed his boat through the green mountains and green waters and crossed the middle stream. Then he looked back at the mountains and rocks far behind him. Only the white clouds were floating and rolling freely.
[Note]
[1] Xiyan: That is, Xishan.
[2] Qingxiang: clear Xiangshui. Burn Chu bamboo: Collect Chu bamboo to boil water.
[3] Ye Nai: Fishing Song. In the Tang Dynasty, there was a folk fishing song called "E Nai Qu".
[4] The unintentional clouds on the rock are chasing each other: the white clouds rolling and floating on the rock are completely natural, which alludes to one's own state of mind. This poem is based on the sentence "Yun Wuxin came out of Xiu" in "Return and Lai Xi Ci" by Tao Yuanming, a poet of the Jin Dynasty.