sù宿jiàn建dé德jiāng江

The Jiande River is the stretch of the Xin'an River that flows past Jiande, in today's Zhejiang. When Meng Haoran was about forty, he went to Chang'an hoping for an official post, but failed. Afterwards he travelled around the Wu and Yue region, today's Jiangsu and Zhejiang. This poem is usually thought to have been written on that trip, when his boat stopped near Jiande, around the year 730, though some say the date cannot be fixed.

建德江是新安江流经建德（今浙江建德）的一段。孟浩然四十岁左右到长安求官，没有成功，后来到吴越一带（今江苏、浙江）漫游。一般认为这首诗是他漫游途中坐船经过建德时写的，大约在730年前后，一说具体时间不详。

Meng Haoran (689–740) came from Xiangyang in today's Hubei. He was a famous Tang poet of hills, rivers and country life, often named together with Wang Wei. He never held an official post. He spent most of his life living quietly at home, and also travelled widely. His poems use plain, natural words and read like friendly talk.

孟浩然（689—740），襄州襄阳（今湖北襄阳）人，唐代著名的山水田园诗人，和王维并称“王孟”。他一生没有做官，大部分时间在家乡隐居，也常到各地游历。他的诗语言平淡自然，读起来像说话一样亲切。

The sun is about to set, and the poet ties his boat by a misty islet. Alone far from home, evening is when he misses home the most, so a fresh sadness rises. The last two lines stop talking about sorrow and only show the scene. The fields are empty, and on the horizon the sky seems lower than the trees. The river is so clear that the moon's reflection seems right beside him. The sky is far and huge, and only the moon in the water keeps him company. The sadness is never named again, yet we feel his loneliness even more.

太阳快落山了，诗人把小船停在一个雾蒙蒙的小沙洲边。一个人在外漂泊，到了傍晚最容易想家，所以说“客愁新”。后两句不再说愁，而是写眼前的景：原野空空的，望过去天边好像比树还低；江水很清，月亮的影子落在水里，好像就在身边。天那么远、那么大，只有水里的月亮来陪他。这样写，愁没有直接说出来，却更让人感到他的孤单。