Fisherman’s Song: White Egrets
Before Mount Xisai, white egrets fly;
Peach blossoms drift on the water; the mandarin fish are plump.
A blue-green bamboo hat,
A green straw raincoat—
In slanting wind and fine rain, there is no need to return.
Notes
Yúgēzǐ is a tune pattern. The precise Mount Xisai is debated. Guìyú is a freshwater fish. A ruòlì is a bamboo-leaf hat, and a suōyī is a straw raincoat. The last line says there is no need to hurry home.
Meaning
Egrets fly before Mount Xisai while peach blossoms and plump fish suggest spring. Wearing a hat and raincoat, the fisher has no need to hurry home in the light rain.
Appreciation
The lyric gathers birds, water and a fisher into a spring riverside scene, ending with a sense of ease.
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Mountains and egrets appear first; peach blossoms and fish bring color and seasonal life to the water.
Two short phrases focus on the fisher’s clothing. Equipped for the weather, the fisher need not hurry home.
Find the colors together and make small gestures for flying birds and falling rain.
About the poet
Zhang Zhihe (c. 730–c. 810) was a Tang writer associated with the figure of a fisherman. Accounts differ on his dates.
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His Fisherman’s Song is among the works associated with his depictions of riverside life.
Sources
Poem and reading reference: Shicile · Poet biography reference · poems-db
Translation and explanations by Poetry Buds; review ongoing.