"The Fisherman on the River" is a five-character quatrain written by Fan Zhongyan, a poet from the Song Dynasty.
Original text:
People come and go on the river, but they love the beauty of sea bass.
Look at the boat, which is in and out of the storm.
Translation: People coming and going on the river only like the delicious taste of seabass. Look at those poor fishermen, who are driving their boats up and down in the strong wind and waves.
Extended information:
Fan Zhongyan was able to care about the sufferings of ordinary people living in the lower classes of society, and wrote some poems that sympathized with the working people. He is a native of Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province, and grew up on the banks of the Songjiang River. "People who come and go on the river to drink and have fun only know the delicious taste of sea bass, but they do not know or want to know the dangers and hardships of fishermen fighting against the rough waves through life and death." This situation is well understood.
While he was drinking, tasting fish and admiring the scenery, he saw a boat undulating in the wind and waves, which reminded him of the hardships and dangers of fishing. He resigned emotionally and composed this simple poem. A meaningful little poem.
This poem has simple language and vivid images. Although the poem is short, it is intriguing. The whole poem reflects the hard work of fishermen through the description of the scenes seen on the riverside, arouses people's attention to the suffering of people's livelihood and the poet's thinking about human nature and the world.
The first sentence writes that people are coming and going on the river bank, which is very lively. The second sentence writes about shore, the master's mentality, revealing the reason for "coming and going". The strokes of the last two sentences - ~ turn, draw people's attention to the water, and point out the fishing boats that flicker in the wind and waves.
Although the sea bass tastes delicious, catching it is difficult. The poet's sympathy for the fishermen's plight contains deep advice to the people on the shore who "but love the beauty of sea bass." Ordinary language, ordinary people and things, express extraordinary thoughts and emotions, and produce extraordinary artistic effects.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Fisherman on the River