VERNAL SCENE ON A RIVER

Su Shi

(Northern Song Dynasty)

Beyond bamboos a few twigs of peach blossoms blow;

When spring has warmed the stream, ducks are the first to know.

By waterside short reeds bud and wild flowers teem;

It is just time for the globefish to swim upstream.

惠崇春江晓景

[北宋]苏轼

竹外桃花三两枝,春江水暖鸭先知。

蒌蒿满地芦芽短,正是河豚欲上时。

About the poet 

Su Shi remains one of the most well-known literati of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). He was also known for his artistic talent in painting and calligraphy.

About the translator 

Xu Yuanchong (1921-2021) was born in Nanchang in East China's Jiangxi Province. He was a professor of literary translation at Peking University.

About the book 

Golden Treasury of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Poetry Translated by Xu Yuanchong & Xu Ming Published by China Intercontinental Press, Beijing, 2018