唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
宴词
Banquet Poem
长堤春水绿悠悠，畎入漳河一道流。
莫听声声催去棹，桃溪浅处不胜舟。
The furrows join the Zhang River in a single stream.
Do not heed the stroke that urges the parting boat,
Where the peach stream is shallow, it cannot bear the boat.
Meaning
The poem sends off a friend by a green spring dike, then frames parting sorrow as too heavy for the shallow peach stream's boat. Bright scenery only deepens the quiet weight of leave-taking.
长堤下春水碧绿悠悠，田间的沟渠汇入漳河一道奔流。且莫听那一声声催促离船的棹歌，桃溪水浅，只怕载不动这离愁的小舟。
Appreciation
The long dike and green spring water flow on, careless of parting, while furrows merge into the Zhang River as one stream. The turn comes at the end, where the shallow peach stream 'cannot bear the boat'—sorrow made into a weight the water cannot carry. It is the plain-language depth critics praise: a few clear lines, a heavy unspoken ache.
【白话串讲】 “长堤春水绿悠悠，畎入漳河一道流”——王之涣写宴别：春水悠悠。“莫听声声催去棹，桃溪浅处不胜舟”——别听那催行的船桨声，桃花溪水浅，载不动这离愁。他写离别，写得含蓄。 【意象与手法】以“春水悠悠”起兴，以“催去棹”点离别，末句以“浅溪不胜舟”拟写离愁之重，化虚为实。 【情感与主旨】写春日送别，于明丽春景中暗藏深沉离愁。 【名句点睛】“桃溪浅处不胜舟”——以溪浅舟不胜，反衬离愁之重，构思精巧。
Background
Wang Zhihuan wrote this farewell poem, voicing parting feeling at a feast just before separation.
《宴词》为唐代王之涣所作，是写长堤春水、送别之情的诗。王之涣（688—742），字季凌，并州晋阳人，唐代诗人。此诗：长堤春水绿悠悠，畎入漳河一道流。莫听声声催去棹，桃溪浅处不胜舟。全诗写长堤春水、送别之情，是王之涣诗的名篇。
Art
It uses joyous scene (spring water) to set off grieving feeling, and the last line makes sorrow a tangible weight, turning the abstract into the concrete.
《宴词》艺术上以长堤春水的描摹与送别之情的含蓄见长。全诗四句：首写长堤春水——“长堤春水绿悠悠，畎入漳河一道流”写长堤春水绿悠悠、畎入漳河一道流；末写莫听催棹——“莫听声声催去棹，桃溪浅处不胜舟”写莫听声声催去棹、桃溪浅处不胜舟。全诗以长堤春水写送别之情，正是王之涣诗含蓄的笔法。
Allusions
No overt allusion; it takes the spring water and stream before the eyes as images.
《宴词》用典在“长堤”“春水”“漳河”“催去棹”“桃溪”“不胜舟”。“长堤”写长堤；“春水”写春水；“漳河”写漳河；“催去棹”写催去棹（催行的船桨）；“桃溪”写桃溪（桃花溪）；“不胜舟”写不胜舟。全诗以这些意象写长堤春水、送别之情，用典自然而含蓄自见，正是王之涣诗的笔法。
Commentary
Critics say of it 'in plain words one sees deep sorrow.'
《宴词》是王之涣诗的名篇，也是唐诗中写送别含蓄的代表作。此诗写长堤春水、送别之情，向为论者称道。论者多赏其长堤春水的描摹与送别之情的含蓄——“长堤春水绿悠悠，畎入漳河一道流”写长堤春水绿悠悠、畎入漳河一道流，含蓄之极；“莫听声声催去棹，桃溪浅处不胜舟”写莫听声声催去棹、桃溪浅处不胜舟，更见其深。王之涣为盛唐边塞诗人，此诗写送别而情致含蓄，正是其代表——以长堤春水写送别之情，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
长堤春水绿悠悠，畎入漳河一道流。
By the long causeway, spring waters run green and endless; a small channel flows into the Zhang River, one current with it.
长堤春水绿悠悠，畎入漳河一道流。
Beside the long embankment, the spring water flows green and unceasing; the field ditches stream into the Zhang River, one current with it.
首写长堤春水绿悠悠、畎入漳河一道流，是全诗写长堤春水的起点。“长堤春水绿悠悠”写长堤春水绿悠悠——“长堤春水绿悠悠”写长堤边春水碧绿悠悠——长堤春水绿悠悠；“畎入漳河一道流”写畎入漳河一道流——“畎入漳河一道流”写沟渠之水汇入漳河、一道而流——畎入漳河一道流。二句写长堤春水绿悠悠、畎入漳河一道流：长堤春水绿悠悠，畎入漳河一道流。以“长堤春水绿悠悠”写长堤春水、碧绿悠悠，以“畎入漳河一道流”写水入漳河、一道而流，正是王之涣诗写长堤春水的起点——长堤春水，一道漳流。
The opening writes the long causeway and the green spring water, the starting point of the poem. By the long causeway, spring waters run green and endless: spring water by the causeway, green and unending. A small channel flows into the Zhang River, one current with it: the ditch water joining the Zhang, flowing as one. One line writes the causeway's green spring, the other the water entering the Zhang in one current - Wang Zhihuan's starting point for the long causeway spring: causeway spring, one Zhang current. The green, endless water sets the farewell scene in soft motion; the small channel joining the great river is the first image of parting into one current - the parting itself written before it is named.
莫听声声催去棹，桃溪浅处不胜舟。
Do not listen to the oars, call after call, urging departure; where the peach stream is shallow, the water could not bear the boat.
莫听声声催去棹，桃溪浅处不胜舟。
Do not heed the oar strokes, call after call, urging the boat away; at the shallow part of the peach stream, the water would not bear the boat.
末写莫听声声催去棹、桃溪浅处不胜舟，是全诗写送别之情的归结。“莫听声声催去棹”写莫听声声催去棹——“莫听声声催去棹”写莫听声声催行的船桨——莫听声声催去棹；“桃溪浅处不胜舟”写桃溪浅处不胜舟——“桃溪浅处不胜舟”写桃溪水浅处、载不动舟——桃溪浅处不胜舟。二句写莫听声声催去棹、桃溪浅处不胜舟：莫听声声催去棹，桃溪浅处不胜舟。以“莫听声声催去棹”写莫听催棹、不忍离别，以“桃溪浅处不胜舟”写桃溪水浅、舟不胜载，正是王之涣诗写送别之情的归结——莫听催棹，桃溪不胜舟。
The closing writes the oars urging departure, the resolution of the farewell feeling. Do not listen to the oars, call after call, urging departure: do not hear the oars urging the boat away. Where the peach stream is shallow, the water could not bear the boat: the peach stream's shallow water unable to bear the boat. One line writes not hearing the urging oars and the unwillingness to part, the other the shallow peach stream unable to bear the boat - Wang Zhihuan's resolution of farewell: do not hear the oars, the peach stream cannot bear the boat. The fancy is the poem's pathos: the speaker begs not to hear the urging, then fancies the shallow peach stream could not carry the boat - as if the water itself loved the traveler and would hold him back. The impossibility is felt as a tender lie; the farewell pain hidden inside the pretty image.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
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