POEM
惠崇春江晚景Huì Chóng Chūn Jiāng Wǎn JǐngOn Huichong's Painting 'Evening Scene on the Spring River'
- Dynasty
- Song
- Author
- 苏轼 Sū Shì (Su Shi)
- Genre
- 七言绝句
- Lines
- 4
- Era
- c. 11th century
THE POEM — LINE BY LINE
Tap a line for word-by-word gloss.
#1竹外桃花三两枝Zhú wài táo huā sān liǎng zhīBeyond the bamboo, a few branches of peach blossom;word by word
竹zhúbamboo外wàibeyond; outside桃táopeach (桃花: peach blossom)花huāflower; blossom三sānthree (三两: a few)两liǎngtwo (三两: a few)枝zhībranch#2春江水暖鸭先知Chūn jiāng shuǐ nuǎn yā xiān zhīthe river water warms in spring — the ducks are first to know.word by word
#3蒌蒿满地芦芽短Lóu hāo mǎn dì lú yá duǎnThe riverbank is covered with artemisia; the reed shoots are short —word by word
蒌lóuartemisia (蒌蒿: a wild riverbank herb)蒿hāomugwort (蒌蒿: a wild riverbank herb)满mǎnfill; cover地dìground芦lúreed (芦芽: reed shoot)芽yáshoot; sprout短duǎnshort#4正是河豚欲上时Zhèng shì hé tún yù shàng shíit is just the season when the pufferfish run upstream.word by word
正zhèngjust; exactly是shìto be河hériver (河豚: pufferfish)豚túnpufferfish (河豚: pufferfish)欲yùabout to上shànggo upstream时shíseason; time
POEM IN PLAIN ENGLISH
A plain-English guide, not a literary translationBeyond the bamboo, a few branches of peach blossom; the river water warms in spring — the ducks are first to know. The riverbank is covered with artemisia and short reed shoots: it is just the season when the pufferfish run upstream. The poem 'reads' a painting for us — and then goes beyond it, since no painter can show water warming or fish about to run. That extra, imagined life is exactly Su Shi's gift. This is a plain-English guide, not a literary translation.
BACKGROUND & IMAGERY
Su Shi wrote this as an inscription for a river scene painted by the monk-painter Huichong. Two of the poem's lines have gone far beyond the painting: 春江水暖鸭先知 ('the ducks are first to know the river has warmed') is the standard saying for the people on the spot who sense a change first, and the pufferfish line is famous among food lovers, since pufferfish — delicious and dangerous — run up the Yangtze in early spring.
TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
Sources
- 《宋诗鉴赏辞典》（上海辞书出版社）通行文本；部编版语文教材同文
- 本站飞花令语料 feihualing.db（poem 214752） — 文本以通行本为准，库本仅行级参考（库本与通行本一致）；库题作'惠崇春江晚景二首·其一'，此为第一首
- Original English paraphrase & gloss — 本站原创学习释义，非文学译本（plain-English guide, not a literary translation）
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