All poems

魏晋 Wei-Jin · 诗 Poem

桃叶歌

Song of Peach Leaf

王献之

Wang Xianzhi

爱情/相思love/longing 离别/抒情parting/lyric feeling

桃叶复桃叶，渡江不用楫。
但渡无所苦，我自迎接汝。

Peach Leaf, O Peach Leaf—again and again I call your name;
To cross the river no oar is needed at all.
Just cross, and let no sorrow trouble you—
I myself will come to the ford and welcome you.

Listen

Meaning

Peach Leaf, O Peach Leaf—I call your name again and again. To cross the river you need not even use an oar. Just cross, and take no grief to heart; I myself will go to the landing and meet you.

桃叶啊桃叶，一声声唤着你的名字。过江连船桨都不必用。你只管渡江来，没什么可愁苦的，我自会到渡口去迎接你。

Appreciation

This song is lovely for the way it pours deep tenderness into the very plainest folk speech. The opening line, 'Peach Leaf, O Peach Leaf,' repeats the beloved's name, showing both the intimacy of the call and the refrain-like charm of folk song; 'to cross the river no oar is needed' says, in an exaggerated tone, that the water is calm enough to wade, hinting at the speaker's eagerness to have her home and his wish to comfort her. 'Just cross, and let no sorrow trouble you—I myself will come and welcome you' is plain as talk yet lays bare the whole burden of 'you only need come, I will be there': a devotion and fondness complete in five words. The whole piece is unadorned and wins by its sincerity, exactly fitting the folk-lyric aesthetic of the Wu songs, 'spitting clear notes, turning bright and natural,' a fresh current against the ornate Six Dynasties manner.

【白话串讲】王献之送爱妾桃叶渡江：“桃叶复桃叶，渡江不用楫”——桃叶啊桃叶，渡江不用桨。“但渡无所苦，我自迎接汝”——放心渡江，我在这边接你。大书法家，也是深情的人。【意象与手法】此歌妙在以极简民间口语写极深柔情。首句“桃叶复桃叶”叠用妾名，既显呼唤之亲昵，又带民歌复沓之趣【情感与主旨】《桃叶歌》为东晋书法家王献之（子敬）所作，写与其妾桃叶渡江相迎之事【名句点睛】此诗入选较少但常为“六朝乐府民歌”单元例作。考点一：体裁辨识——属吴声歌曲（清商曲辞），区别于文人诗，语言通俗

Background

The 'Song of Peach Leaf' was written by Wang Xianzhi (Zijing), the Eastern Jin calligrapher, about ferrying across the river to meet his beloved concubine, Peach Leaf. In his later years Xianzhi doted on Peach Leaf, often seeing her off and receiving her at the Qinhuai ferry crossing (Peach Leaf Ford); because though the river was narrow, its wind and waves came now and then, he made this song to comfort her. As the Buddhist monk Zhijiang of Chen records in his Ancient and Modern Music Record: 'Peach Leaf was the name of Zijing's concubine; because of his deep love, he sang of her.' The song carries the flavour of a Wu-region folk song—colloquial yet lingering in feeling—and is an early example of a literatus using a short yuefu to write private passion; it also made 'Peach Leaf Ford' a famous love landmark in later literature.

《桃叶歌》为东晋王献之所作，是写迎接情人桃叶的歌。王献之（344—386），字子敬，王羲之之子，东晋书法家，与父并称“二王”。此诗：桃叶复桃叶，渡江不用楫；但渡无所苦，我自迎接汝。全诗写迎接桃叶渡江，是东晋吴声歌曲中的情歌名篇。

Art

This song is lovely for the way it pours deep tenderness into the very plainest folk speech. The opening, 'Peach Leaf, O Peach Leaf,' repeats the concubine's name, showing both the intimacy of the call and the refrain charm of folk song; 'to cross the river no oar is needed' says in an exaggerated tone that the wind is calm and one might wade across, quietly writing the speaker's eagerness to bring her home and his wish to soothe her. 'Just cross, and let no sorrow trouble you—I myself will come and welcome you' is plain as talk yet lays bare, whole and entire, the devotion and fondness of 'you only need come, I will meet you.' The whole piece is unworked and wins by its sincerity, exactly answering the folk-lyric beauty of the Wu songs—'spitting clear notes, turning bright and natural'—a fresh stream against the ornate Six Dynasties style.

《桃叶歌》艺术上以口语的亲切与情意的真挚见长。全诗四句，层层写来：首二句写桃叶渡江——“桃叶复桃叶，渡江不用楫”写桃叶不用楫（一说桃叶是渡名）；三四句写迎接之情——“但渡无所苦，我自迎接汝”写但渡无苦、我自迎汝。全诗以口语写迎接之情，亲切真挚，正是东晋吴声歌曲写情的笔法。

Allusions

The poem uses no obvious allusion, writing feeling purely in colloquial speech, which itself shows the unworked nature of the Six Dynasties Wu folk songs. Only the matter of 'Peach Leaf Ford' was touched by this song and became a literary-geographic allusion: later Li Bai wrote 'Peach Leaf seeing off Peach Leaf, crossing the river without waiting for an oar,' Jiang Kui wrote 'Peach Leaf and Peach Root were both sisters,' and Qing poets left well over a hundred poems on Peach Leaf Ford, all growing from this song. The image of 'crossing without an oar' also opened the later motif of 'meeting at the ferry.' Thus, though it holds no classical or historical reference, its very speech, through deep feeling, sank into a cultural sign—proof that folk song could enter the refined.

《桃叶歌》用典少而意象自明。“桃叶”写王献之之妾桃叶，亦为渡口名；“楫”写船桨；“我自迎接汝”写我自会迎接你。全诗以这些口语写迎接桃叶渡江之情，不用深典而情意真挚，正是东晋吴声歌曲的笔法。

Commentary

The Anthology of Yuefu Poems, citing the Ancient and Modern Music Record, plainly states Peach Leaf was Xianzhi's concubine and the song was made from deep love—this is the settled verdict on the matter. Xianzhi's fame rests on calligraphy, yet this song excels by 'not binding itself to words'; Qing poets Li E, Wang Shizhen and others, in their poems on Peach Leaf Ford, all honour it as a model of love verse. The modern scholar Xiao Difei, in his History of Yuefu Poetry, says it 'writes a child's feeling with a calligrapher's brush, natural and free of ornament.' In sum, this song has survived a thousand years by its sincerity, proving that the deepest love need borrow no allusion to move.

《桃叶歌》是东晋吴声歌曲中的名篇，也是中国诗歌中写情歌、写迎娶之情的代表作。此诗写迎接桃叶渡江，向为论者称道。论者多赏其口语的亲切——“桃叶复桃叶，渡江不用楫”写桃叶渡江，口语亲切；“我自迎接汝”写迎接之情，更见真挚。此诗以口语写情、以情歌传世，正是东晋吴声歌曲写情的代表作，后世“桃叶渡”之地名即由此而来。

Prosody

Form Wu song (Qing-shang lyrics, Six Dynasties yuefu)五言吴声歌曲

Rhyme Folk lyric, loose rhymes, ancient ge/ma sounds roughly in accord《桃叶歌》为东晋吴声歌曲，四句，押仄声韵。此诗用韵：楫、汝（缉部），音节轻快。

Tone pattern Yuefu folk song, no strict level-oblique rule吴声歌曲以音节轻快、情致亲切见长。此诗写迎接桃叶渡江，音节轻快而亲切。全诗以五言贯底，声调与情歌的内容相合，是东晋吴声歌曲中写情的一路。

Reading note Wang Xianzhi imitates folk song to write private passion, opening literati yuefu love verse.《桃叶歌》为东晋王献之所作，是写迎接情人桃叶的歌。此诗以“桃叶复桃叶，渡江不用楫”写桃叶渡江，以“但渡无所苦，我自迎接汝”写迎接之情。以口语写情、以情歌传世，正是东晋吴声歌曲写情的代表作，后世“桃叶渡”之地名即由此而来。

Line by line

桃叶复桃叶，渡江不用楫。

Taoye, oh Taoye—crossing the river, you need no oar.

桃叶啊桃叶，渡江不用船桨。

Taoye, Taoye again—crossing the river, no oar is needed.

首二句写桃叶渡江，是全诗情歌的起笔。“桃叶复桃叶”写呼桃叶——“桃叶”写桃叶（王献之之妾），叠用“复”字写其呼唤——桃叶啊桃叶；“渡江不用楫”写渡江不用楫——“渡江”写渡江，“不用楫”写不用船桨——渡江不用船桨。两句写桃叶渡江：桃叶复桃叶，渡江不用楫。以“桃叶复桃叶”的叠用写呼唤之亲，以“渡江不用楫”写渡江之便（或言桃叶渡水深，不必用楫），正是东晋吴声歌曲以口语写情的笔法——叠呼其名，情意自亲。

The song opens by repeating the beloved's name, Taoye, the concubine of Wang Xianzhi, a device of intimate address typical of the southern Wu folk songs of the Eastern Jin. The line 'crossing the river needs no oar' is tender reassurance: either the water is calm enough to cross easily, or the speaker's love is the current that carries her. The doubled name creates an effect of breathless closeness, as if the singer were calling out across the water. It establishes the plainspoken, vernacular tenderness that distinguishes these Yuefu love lyrics from formal poetry.

但渡无所苦，我自迎接汝。

Just cross, there is nothing to fear—I myself will be there to meet you.

只管渡江，没有什么苦处，我自会迎接你。

Simply cross; there is no hardship in it. I myself will come to welcome you.

三四句写迎接之情，是全诗情歌的归结。“但渡无所苦”写但渡无苦——“但渡”写只管渡江，“无所苦”写没有什么苦处——只管渡江，不必忧苦；“我自迎接汝”写我自迎接——“我自”写我自会，“迎接汝”写迎接你——我自会迎接你。两句写迎接之情：但渡无所苦，我自迎接汝。以“但渡无所苦”写安慰之情，以“我自迎接汝”写迎接之愿，正是东晋吴声歌曲写情意的归结——渡江无苦，我自迎汝，情意真挚。

The second couplet resolves the song's emotion: reassurance followed by a promise. 'Just cross, there is nothing to fear' calms the imagined anxiety of the crossing, while 'I myself will meet you' makes the pledge direct and unshakable. The first-person emphasis on 'myself' lends the words a man's earnest protection. Like the opening, it relies on plain, colloquial speech rather than ornament, which is precisely what gives the short song its lasting warmth—a lover's promise spoken as plainly as it could be.

Study

Word focus

复 Again, once more; repeating the beloved's name heightens the frequency of the call, a folk-song refrain device, showing deep attachment. “桃叶复桃叶”之“复”，写又、再，是全诗叠呼的关键词。“复”写又——桃叶啊，又是桃叶。这一词以“复”叠用其名，写呼唤之亲：不是一声之呼，而是复呼；不是生疏之名，而是亲昵之唤。以“桃叶复桃叶”写叠呼，正是东晋吴声歌曲以口语写情的笔法——叠呼其名，情意自见。

不用楫 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “渡江不用楫”之“不用楫”，写不用船桨，是全诗写渡江之便的关键词。“不用”写不用，“楫”写船桨——渡江不用船桨。这一词写渡江之便：不是艰难之渡，而是不用楫；不是需舟之渡，而是自然之渡。以“不用楫”写渡江，正是东晋吴声歌曲写情歌的笔法——渡江虽近，情意愈亲。

无所苦 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “但渡无所苦”之“无所苦”，写没有什么苦处，是全诗写安慰之情的关键词。“无所”写没有什么，“苦”写苦处——只管渡江，没有什么苦处。这一词写安慰之情：不是有苦而忍，而是无所苦；不是勉强之渡，而是安心之渡。以“但渡无所苦”写安慰，正是东晋吴声歌曲写情意真挚的笔法——渡江无苦，何须忧心。

迎接汝 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. “我自迎接汝”之“迎接汝”，写迎接你，是全诗写迎接之愿的关键词。“迎接”写迎候，“汝”写你——我自会迎接你。这一词写迎接之情：不是等待之迎，而是迎接；不是泛泛之语，而是许诺之迎。以“我自迎接汝”写迎接之愿，正是东晋吴声歌曲写情歌的归结——我自迎汝，情意深长。

桃叶歌