夏五月武昌舟中触目
[元]揭傒斯
两髯背立[1]鸣双橹，
短蓑开合沧江雨。
青山如龙入云去，
白发何人并沙语？
船头放歌船尾和[2]，
篷上雨鸣篷下坐。
推篷不省[3]是何乡，
但见双双白鸥过。
注释：
[1]背立：背人而立。
[2]和：唱和。
[3]不省：不知道。
Boating in Summer
Jie Xisi
Two bearded men, each with an oar, back to back row;
Their short straw cloaks in wind and rain up and down flow.
Blue mountains stretch like dragons far into the cloud;
Who are the white-haired men on sand-shore talking loud?
The boatmen fore and aft sing their song and refrain;
Below the awning I sit and listen to rain.
Pushing it aside, I do not know where am I;
What do I see but white gulls in pairs passing by?
“What I Saw on the Boat in Wuchang in May” is a seven-character regulated verse written by the Yuan Dynasty poet Jie Xisi. The first couplet of this poem describes the near view, with the boatman rowing and the rain on the river; the second couplet describes the rolling green hills and two old men chatting on the beach; the third couplet focuses on auditory perception, with the singing echoing on the river and the sound of rain on the bow; the last couplet describes the poet pushing open the awning and looking out, which is a countryside and flying seagulls, reflecting the poet’s contented state of mind. The whole poem does not use a single allusion, but closely follows the title “sight”, and the scenery in front of the eyes is included in the poem one by one, which is clear and spiritual, and has a profound taste and long-lasting meaning. In a few words, there is movement and stillness, sound and color, and distance and nearness. In simple language, a fresh and lovely ink painting is depicted, and the plainness is filled with a strong water town atmosphere.
