Tang poem · five-character regulated verse唐诗 · 五言律诗

zǎo早hán寒jiāng江shàng上yǒu有huái怀

mèng孟hào浩rán然Meng Haoran · Tang唐

Early Cold on the River, Thinking of Home

mù木luò落yàn雁nán南dù度

běi北fēng风jiāng江shàng上hán寒

wǒ我jiā家xiāng襄shuǐ水qū曲

yáo遥gé隔chǔ楚yún云duān端

xiāng乡lèi泪kè客zhōng中jìn尽

gū孤fān帆tiān天jì际kàn看

mí迷jīn津yù欲yǒu有wèn问

píng平hǎi海xī夕màn漫màn漫

Underlined words have notes: tap one. The Pinyin button below shows or hides all pinyin. 一 and 不 are marked with the tone you actually say.字下有虚线的，点开有注释。下方的“拼音”按钮可以显示或隐藏全部拼音。“一”“不”标的是实际读出来的变调。

The corpus has the third line ending with "on the Xiang River". Common editions have "at the bend of the Xiang River" instead.

资料库正文第三句作“我家襄水上”。通行本作“我家襄水曲”，“曲”是河流弯曲的地方。

Line by line逐句翻译

木落雁南度Leaves fall, and the wild geese fly south;树叶飘落，大雁向南飞去，
北风江上寒the north wind blows, and the river is cold.北风吹来，江上很冷。
我家襄水曲My home is at the bend of the Xiang River,我的家在襄水拐弯的地方，
遥隔楚云端far away beyond the clouds of Chu.远远地隔在楚地的云彩那边。
乡泪客中尽Away from home, I have cried all my homesick tears;在外漂泊，思乡的眼泪都流干了，
孤帆天际看I watch a lone sail at the edge of the sky.我望着天边那一只孤单的船帆。
迷津欲有问Lost, I want to ask where the ferry is,我迷了路，想问问渡口在哪里，
平海夕漫漫but the evening river spreads flat as the sea, without end.只见傍晚的江面像海一样，茫茫无边。

Words字词注释

木落mù luò: mù luò: leaves falling from the trees.木落：树叶落下。
南度nán dù: nán dù: flying across to the south. Dù here means to cross over.南度：向南飞过去。度，通“渡”，越过。
襄水曲xiāng shuǐ qū: xiāng shuǐ qū: the bend of the Xiang River. The Xiang River is the stretch of the Han River that flows past Xiangyang.襄水曲：襄水拐弯的地方。襄水是汉水流经襄阳的一段。
楚云端chǔ yún duān: chǔ yún duān: beyond the clouds of Chu. Xiangyang belonged to the old state of Chu.楚云端：楚地的云彩那边。襄阳古时属于楚国。
乡泪xiāng lèi: xiāng lèi: tears of homesickness.乡泪：想家流的眼泪。
客中kè zhōng: kè zhōng: while living far from home.客中：在外地漂泊的时候。
天际tiān jì: tiān jì: the edge of the sky.天际：天边。
迷津mí jīn: mí jīn: lost, unable to find the ferry crossing. In the Analects, Confucius sent his student Zilu to ask where the ferry was. The poet borrows this story to say he has lost his way in life.迷津：找不到渡口。津，渡口。《论语》里孔子曾让学生子路去问渡口在哪里，这里借这个故事，说自己找不到人生的方向。
平海píng hǎi: píng hǎi: the river is so wide and flat that it looks like the sea.平海：江面很宽，平平的像海一样。
漫漫màn màn: màn màn: stretching on without end.漫漫：一望无边的样子。

How to read it读音

曲qū: Here it means a bend in a river, so it is read qū.曲：河流弯曲的地方，读 qū。
看kàn: Today it is usually read kàn. The poem rhymes on level tones, and the old reading was level, so some read it kān to rhyme with hán, duān and màn.看：现在一般读 kàn。这首诗押平声韵，古音读平声，所以有人读 kān，和“寒、端、漫”押韵。

Background创作背景

After Meng Haoran failed the top exam, he travelled through the Wu and Yue region along the lower Yangtze. This poem is generally thought to come from that time. In late autumn the north wind blew cold on the river. Alone and far from home, the poet thought of his family in distant Xiangyang, and he worried about his own uncertain future. Sources disagree on the exact year.

孟浩然考进士没有考中以后，曾经到长江下游的吴越一带漫游。一般认为这首诗就写在这段时间。深秋的江上，北风吹得很冷，诗人一个人在外，想起了远方襄阳的家，也为自己前途渺茫而发愁。具体写作年份说法不一。

The poet作者

Meng Haoran (689–740) came from Xiangyang. He was a Tang poet of hills, rivers and farm life, often named together with Wang Wei. He only went to Chang'an to seek office at forty, and failed. After that he travelled widely, then went home to live quietly. His poems use plain words and carry true feeling.

孟浩然（689—740），襄阳人，唐代山水田园诗人，和王维并称“王孟”。他四十岁才去长安求官，没有成功，后来到各地游历，又回家乡隐居。他的诗语言平淡，感情真切。

The mood意境

The first two lines set the scene. Leaves fall, geese fly south, and the north wind sweeps the river. The geese can fly back to the warm south, but the poet cannot go home. Lines three and four say home is very far away, behind layers of cloud. Lines five and six are the most moving. His tears have all run out, and he can only stare at a lone sail on the horizon. That lone sail seems to be the poet himself. The last two lines borrow the story of Confucius asking the way. The poet wants to ask directions, but all he sees is endless water. He is not only asking for a ferry. He is asking where his life should go.

开头两句写景：树叶落了，大雁南飞，北风吹过江面。大雁还能飞回南方温暖的地方，诗人却回不了家。三四句说家在很远的地方，隔着重重的云。五六句是全诗最动人的两句：眼泪已经流干，只能呆呆地望着天边的孤帆。那只孤帆，好像就是诗人自己。最后两句用了孔子问路的故事：诗人想问路，可是眼前只有茫茫的江水。他问的不只是渡口，也是自己人生该往哪里走。