水上盥手[1]
[明]高启
盥手爱春水，
水香手应绿。
沄沄[2]细浪起，
杳杳[3]惊鱼伏。
怊怅[4]坐沙边，
流花去难掬[5]。
注释：
[1]盥手：洗手，古人常以手洁表示对人的敬重。
[2]沄沄：形容水流汹涌澎湃的样子。
[3]杳杳：渺茫的样子。
[4]怊怅：悲伤失意的样子。
[5]掬：用两手捧。
Washing My Hands
Gao Qi[1]
I love spring water where I wash my hand;
Its fragrant hue should dye both hands in green.
Its wavelets rise and fall towards the land;
The startled fish hide themselves deep, unseen.
Melancholy, I sit down on the sand.
How can I scoop up floating petals clean?
注释：
[1]The poet wrote satirical poems, offended the emperor and was put to death after false charges were brought against him.
“Washing Hands on Water” is a poem written by the Ming Dynasty poet Gao Qi. This poem describes a person washing hands by a river in spring, expressing his love for spring water and his praise for the beauty of nature.
The artistic conception of the poem mainly revolves around spring water. The first sentence “Wash your hands and love spring water, the water is fragrant and your hands should be green” expresses the poet’s love for spring water, combining hand washing with spring water, vividly depicting the clarity and fragrance of spring water. The second sentence “The fine waves rise, and the fish are startled and hide” shows the vitality and dynamic beauty of spring water by describing the fine waves and swimming fish on the water surface. The last sentence “Sitting on the sand with melancholy, the flowing flowers are hard to pick up” expresses the poet’s regret for the passing beauty. The flowers floating in the spring water are as difficult to pick up as flowing water, implying the flow of time and the brevity of beautiful moments.
The whole poem describes the beautiful scenery of spring water in concise and bright language. Through the description of details and the use of imagery, readers can feel the freshness and vividness of spring water. At the same time, the poet also expresses his awe of nature and love for life through praising spring water. This poem, with its concise and artistic expression, demonstrates the characteristics of Ming Dynasty poetry and gives people aesthetic enjoyment and space for thinking.
