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清 Qing · 诗 Poem

渡扬子江

Crossing the Yangtze

袁枚

Yuan Mei

行旅travel 江景river scene 清诗Qing poetry

江天横万里，孤棹此经过。
山色南朝寺，潮声北固波。
风帆争一瞬，岁月去如何。
回首金陵道，苍茫落照多。

The river sky stretches ten thousand li; this lonely oar passes through.
Mountain hues—the temples of the Southern Dynasties; tide sound—the waves of Beigu.
Wind-filled sails race for a single instant; the years—how do they go?
I look back toward the Jinling road; how much of the desolate sunset glow.

Listen

Meaning

The poem writes of the poet's feelings while crossing the Yangtze: the vast river and his lonely boat, the historic hills and tides, and a melancholy reflection on passing time and lost dynasties, closing on a desolate sunset.

江天横亘万里，我这一叶孤舟正从此经过。山色里是南朝的旧寺，潮声中翻涌着北固山的波。风帆争逐于一瞬之间，岁月流逝又当如何。回头望向金陵的道路，只见苍茫中落照无数。

Appreciation

It paints on a large canvas, composing a vast picture from river sky, hillside temples, tide sound, and setting sun; moving from scene to history to sigh, it closes in scene. Yuan Mei championed the 'natural sensibility' (xingling) school; this work, though clear and empty, carries a melancholy weight. The famous line 'look back toward Jinling road; how much desolate sunset glow' entrusts all historical and personal feeling to the vast sunset.

【白话串讲】 “江天横万里，孤棹此经过”——袁枚渡扬子江：江天万里，一叶孤舟。“山色南朝寺，潮声北固波”——“风帆争一瞬，岁月去如何”——“回首金陵道，苍茫落照多”——他回望金陵，落照苍茫。【意象与手法】大处落墨，以江天、山寺、潮声、落照构成苍茫画卷；由景及史、由史及叹，结以景语。袁枚诗主性灵，此作于清空中有沉郁。【情感与主旨】抒发渡江时对江山历史与岁月流逝的苍茫之感，亦暗含诗人孤身行旅的寥落。【名句点睛】回首金陵道，苍茫落照多——以景收束，将历史与身世之慨尽付苍茫落照之中。

Background

Yuan Mei was a giant of the Qing xingling school, advocating 'natural sensibility.' This poem was written as he crossed the Yangtze (the Zhenjiang stretch); the grand scenery and Southern-Dynasty relics stirred his reflections on history and the passing years.

袁枚，字子才，号简斋，晚号随园老人，浙江钱塘人。乾隆四年进士，选翰林院庶吉士，先后出任溧水、江宁等县知县，三十三岁即乞养辞官，筑随园于南京小仓山，悠游诗酒近五十年，世称随园先生。袁枚论诗倡性灵说，主张抒写性情、摆脱格套，与赵翼、蒋士铨并称江右三大家，其诗风清新灵巧，最工山水行旅小景。清初诗坛沿明七子复古余习，袁枚起而标举性灵，强调从自己胸臆流出，反对饾饤典故与摹拟声调，此诗即其主张的生动实践。《渡扬子江》当作于诗人某次横渡长江之际，扬子江为长江下游通称，自昔为南北舟楫要津，李白、苏轼、辛弃疾皆曾于此留题。诗人独驾孤舟，经行万里江天，望南朝寺塔、北固潮声，遂成此作。全诗以清空之笔状江景之阔远与一身之孤孑，于性灵真趣中暗含对江山代谢、岁月不居的苍茫之慨，是其行旅诗中淡而有味的清逸之品，亦可见清中叶性灵派以小景写远思的艺术取向。袁枚一生足迹半天下，每于舟车所至留题咏，此诗虽短而气象开阔，足与后来《渡黄河》诸作并观，亦为理解随园诗风由繁入简、由丽入清的关键一例。

Art

Space moves from far (river sky) to near (lonely oar) to ancient (temples, tide); time moves from present (sails) to history (Southern Dynasties); it embeds feeling within scene-language, clear and orderly.

此诗章法大开大合，首联以「江天横万里，孤棹此经过」破题，大处落墨，以万里江天之无垠反衬一叶孤舟之渺小，空间之阔与身世之孤对举成势，已定全篇苍茫基调。颔联「山色南朝寺，潮声北固波」承江景而融入历史，山色中影现南朝古寺，潮声里翻涌北固惊涛，以视听双写将眼前江山点化为历史沉积，不言史而史意自出。颈联「风帆争一瞬，岁月去如何」由景入理，风帆竞逐不过一瞬之快，而岁月迁流竟当奈何，以动景衬静慨，转出时光之叹。尾联「回首金陵道，苍茫落照多」以景结情，回望金陵归路，唯见苍茫落照无垠，将身世之寥落与历史之苍凉尽付暮色，余味悠长。全诗由景及史、由史及叹，结以景语，清空中有沉郁，小景中见大思。袁枚作诗不喜雕镂，而此篇于疏淡中自见剪裁之密，首联之阔、颔联之古、颈联之叹、尾联之苍，四层递进如江流赴海，是其性灵派不粘不脱、以少总多的章法典范。要之，此诗以江天为经、以历史为纬，四联如四幅渐次收束的江上图卷，于性灵小诗中特立一种苍茫格局，非仅以清丽争胜者可比。

Allusions

'Southern-Dynasty temples': Zhenjiang has many Southern-Dynasty Buddhist ruins; 'Beigu': Beigu Mountain, a famed peak by the river at Zhenjiang; 'Jinling': Nanjing, the ancient capital of six dynasties.

诗中用典极省而意极厚，全以地名与古寺为典，不着铺陈而自具纵深。「南朝寺」暗指金陵一带自东晋以来宋齐梁陈四代梵刹林立之史实，南朝佞佛，都城建康佛寺甲于天下，杜牧有「南朝四百八十寺，多少楼台烟雨中」之句，袁枚以山色中的南朝寺影一笔带过，便令江山自带六朝兴废之苍凉。「北固」即北固山，在镇江江北，三国孙吴据以为险，辛弃疾《永遇乐》曾咏「舞榭歌台，风流总被雨打风吹去」，此处潮声北固，亦暗接江山千古之叹，与稼轩北固亭怀古同一江山之慨。「金陵」为南京古称，六朝故都，素为文人凭吊兴亡之地，李白、刘禹锡皆曾留句。诗人不着一史论字，而以南朝、北固、金陵数处地名织成历史时空，使孤舟独渡之举获得穿越朝代的纵深。这种以地名为典、以景语藏史怀的手法，正见性灵诗看似轻灵而实有学养根柢，非率尔操觚者所能办，亦使此诗在众多渡江题中别具一种人文厚度。综而观之，袁枚以最省的笔墨唤起最厚的史层，地名即典故，风景即凭吊，是性灵诗外淡内浓的极高明处。

Commentary

Jianzhai (Yuan Mei) excels in clever lightness, yet this piece alone attains vast melancholy—showing that xingling can also be deep. He, with Jiang Shiquan and Zhao Yi, is named one of the Three Masters of Jiangyou.

袁枚诗以性灵著称，然其山水行旅之作往往清空中有沉郁，此首可为代表。近人钱仲联《清诗精华录》谓袁枚小诗「轻清灵动，而江山之慨时一见之」，正指此类。与袁枚并峙的赵翼论诗亦主性灵，其《渡江》诸作气势更雄，可相参看；蒋士铨则沉郁稍过，三家并称而各具面目。就题材言，渡江主题自李白《横江词》、苏轼《金山晓钟》而下代有佳构，李白写风涛之险以见豪迈，苏轼写钟声之远以见旷达，袁枚此诗则写江天孤棹以见清逸，同写渡江而各擅其胜。值得注意的是，袁枚虽主性灵、不甚拘格律，此篇却暗合唐律矩矱，中二联对仗精切而流转自然，可见其所谓脱套并非弃法，而是法度在手后的从容。后世选本多录此诗入清诗小品，论者以为「二十字而具万里之势，结句尤得唐人遗韵」，足见其以小见大、以景涵史的艺术生命力。故读此诗，不当仅作寻常写景看，而当于清空处认取其沉郁，于孤棹中见出时代与个人的双重苍茫。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated poem (lu shi)五言律诗（清诗）

Rhyme Rhyme not specified in the source.押平声歌韵，经过、波、何、多依次押韵（平水韵下平五歌）

Tone pattern The second and third couplets are antithetical.仄起首句入韵式，平仄合律，中二联对仗工整

Reading note A five-character regulated poem: the middle two couplets set 'mountain hue' against 'tide sound,' 'wind sail' against 'the years,' writing both the breadth of what is seen crossing the river and the passing of what is felt—Jianzhai's xingling yet with melancholy depth.此诗为五律，八句四十字，首联破题，颔联颈联对仗，尾联收束，章法谨严而气脉疏朗。平仄取仄起首句入韵格，江天横万里为仄平平仄仄，孤棹此经过为平仄仄平平，中二联山色对潮声、南朝寺对北固波，风帆对岁月、争一瞬对去如何，属对精切而流转自然。用韵方面，过、波、何、多同属下平五歌部，一韵到底，音响清亮悠远，与清空淡远的诗境相得。袁枚虽主性灵、不甚拘泥格律，此篇却暗合唐律矩矱，可见其于法度之外自有从容。整体声律如江天一色、风帆徐过，以疏朗之调写苍茫之思，是小诗而具大篇气象的声律依托，亦证清人七律虽尚宋调而仍能保有唐人兴象的高处。

Line by line

江天横万里，孤棹此经过。

The river sky stretches ten thousand li; this lonely oar passes through.

江天横亘万里，我这一叶孤舟正从此经过。

River and sky stretch ten thousand li across; my solitary boat passes through them here.

开篇即是大手笔，江天以万里为度，孤棹以一叶为形，空间之无垠与身世之孤孑形成强烈对照。横字状江面之阔，经过二字写舟行之轻，于极阔中见极孤，已为全篇定下苍茫而淡远的基调。袁枚性灵之说贵在写真，此句不假雕饰，却以最简净的笔墨勾勒出渡江瞬间的天地空阔与诗人独立其间的心境，看似平铺，实含俯仰自得的行旅之趣。更可玩味者，万里与孤棹的巨细反差，恰为后文山寺、潮声、落照等历史与岁月意象预设了辽阔的舞台，使一首短短五律获得了容纳千古的张力，亦暗伏后文历史与岁月之叹的空阔背景。

The opening is at once a master stroke: river and sky measured by ten thousand li, the solitary boat figured by a single leaf; the boundlessness of space and the loneliness of the self form a strong contrast. The word across writes the breadth of the river; passes through writes the lightness of the boat's course; from the utmost breadth comes the utmost loneliness, already setting the vast, distant tone of the poem. Yuan Mei's xingling doctrine prizes the true; the line is unadorned, yet in the fewest strokes outlines the empty vastness of the world at the moment of crossing, and the poet standing alone within it. It seems a plain laying out, yet holds the traveler's pleasure in looking up and down at ease. More to be savored: the vast and the solitary, ten thousand li against one boat, precisely prepares a vast stage for the historical and time-images to come, the mountain temple, the tide-song, the setting glow; it gives a short five-character regulated verse the tension to hold all ages, and secretly plants the spacious background for the sighs over history and time that follow.

回首金陵道，苍茫落照多。

I look back toward the Jinling road; how much of the desolate sunset glow.

回头望向金陵的道路，只见苍茫中落照无数。

I look back toward the road to Jinling; in the vast haze the afterglow is everywhere.

尾联以景语收束全篇，妙在回首二字将空间由眼前江面拉向身后金陵归路，时间则由当下渡江折入历史纵深。苍茫落照多，落照本是无情物，着一多字便见暮色无边、归思难收，将身世寥落与六朝兴废之慨尽付苍茫暮色之中。袁枚善用景语藏情，此句不言愁而愁自深，不言史而史意远，与首联江天万里遥相呼应，阔境收束于苍茫，余韵悠长。最得唐人绝句以景结情之三昧处，在于它把一切具体的感慨都化入落照的昏黄里，让读者自己去体味那说不尽的江山之思，这种含蓄的收束，正是性灵诗高于寻常咏景之作的地方。

The closing couplet ends the poem in scene-language, exquisite in the word look back, which pulls space from the river before the eyes back to the road of Jinling behind, and folds time from the present crossing into the depth of history. In the vast haze the afterglow is everywhere: the setting glow is itself a passionless thing, yet the word everywhere writes the boundless dusk, the return-grief beyond recall, surrendering the desolation of the self and the sigh over the rise and fall of the Six Dynasties to the boundless haze of dusk. Yuan Mei is skilled at hiding feeling in scene-language: the line speaks no grief, yet grief is deep of itself; speaks no history, yet the meaning of history is far; echoing the river-and-sky ten thousand li of the opening, the vast realm closes in the haze, the aftertone long. The truest mastery of the Tang quatrain's art of closing emotion in scene lies in this: dissolving every specific grief into the yellow dusk of the setting glow, and letting the reader himself taste the unspoken thought over rivers and hills; this restrained close is precisely where xingling verse rises above ordinary scene-painting.

Study

Word focus

横 The character 'heng' (stretch across) writes of the breadth of the river sky. 横字在此形容江天辽阔、横亘万里的磅礴气象，极具空间张力。江本为纵向奔流之水，诗人却以横写其面，凸显江面之广、天宇之宽，与下句孤棹之小构成巨细对照。一字而尽展渡江者仰望俯察间的天地空阔，是性灵派炼字于不经意处见功力的典型，较之刻意雕琢者更见自然真趣。且横非仅状形，更暗含一种无可回避的旷远压迫感，使孤舟其上的诗人愈显渺小，从而为全篇的苍茫基调埋下字眼层面的伏笔，可谓一字立骨。

孤棹 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 棹本为船桨，此处借指舟船，孤棹即一叶孤舟，暗含诗人孑然独行、无人作伴的寂寥。与江天万里对举，以舟之微反衬江之宏，以人之孤反衬天之阔。此词承陶渊明孤舟、柳宗元孤舟蓑笠之传统，而袁枚写来更显清空洒脱，孤而不怨，淡而有味，恰见其性灵小诗独渡江湖的潇洒襟怀。尤为可取者，孤棹不写凄楚而写从容，与首联的阔、尾联的苍互为映发，使孤寂升华为一种与天地相往来的自由，这正是随园诗风于清逸中见性情的妙处。

苍茫 'Cang mang' (desolate/vast) sets the cool tone of the whole piece. 苍茫写暮色四合、空阔无涯之貌，既状落照铺展的视觉辽远，亦染一层历史与时间上的茫漠之感。置于结句，使全诗的江天、山寺、潮声、落照汇为一片苍苍茫茫的意境，将具体的渡江行旅升华为对江山代谢、岁月不居的怅惘。二字收束有力，淡淡数笔而余味厚重，既回应首联的空间之阔，又将其导向时间的深邃，是袁枚以景涵情、以小纳大的最终落点，亦使全篇在清空之外别饶沉郁。