Song Dynasty
Die Lian Hua · Spring Waters Rise a Pole's Depth
Fan Chengda
春涨一篙添水面。
芳草鹅儿，
绿满微风岸。
画舫夷犹湾百转。
横塘塔近依前远。
江国多寒农事晚。
村北村南，
谷雨才耕遍。
秀麦连冈桑叶贱。
看看尝面收新茧。
Translation
Spring waters rise, adding a pole's depth to the surface. Fragrant grass, little geese, and green fills the breezy banks. The painted boat lingers and drifts, turning through a hundred bends of the bay. The tower at Hengtang seems near, yet remains as far as before. In this river country, cold often lingers, so farm work comes late. North and south of the village, only by Grain Rain have the fields been fully plowed. Fine young wheat spreads over the ridges, and mulberry leaves are plentiful now. Soon they will taste noodles from the new wheat, and gather the fresh cocoons.
Analysis
"Die Lian Hua · Spring Waters Rise a Pole's Depth" is one of Fan Chengda's poems of Jiangnan rural life. It combines landscape and agriculture: rising spring water, green banks, geese, painted boats, winding bays, villages, plowing, wheat, mulberry leaves, and silkworm cocoons. The result is not a decorative spring scene, but a complete seasonal world. The opening line is especially concrete. Instead of saying simply that spring water has risen, the poet says it has added "a pole's depth" to the surface. A pole is what boatmen use to push and measure in shallow water. The image comes directly from water-town experience. "Fragrant grass, little geese, and green fills the breezy banks" gives the spring scene a gentle freshness. This is not an extravagant spring of blossoms, but a moist, living spring along the water's edge. "The painted boat lingers and drifts, turning through a hundred bends of the bay" gives movement to the scene. The boat does not rush. It turns slowly through the curved waterways of Jiangnan. "The tower at Hengtang seems near, yet remains as far as before" is a subtle and realistic line. In winding waterways, a tower may look close, but the boat must follow bend after bend. The line gives the poem spatial depth and a slight feeling of amused delay. The second half shifts from scenery to farming. "In this river country, cold often lingers, so farm work comes late." Fan Chengda understands not just the beauty of the countryside, but its seasons and labor. Jiangnan's watery climate can delay agricultural work. "North and south of the village, only by Grain Rain have the fields been fully plowed." Grain Rain is the last solar term of spring, when rainfall increases and crops grow well. The line anchors the poem in the agricultural calendar. "Fine young wheat spreads over the ridges, and mulberry leaves are plentiful now." Wheat and mulberry connect food production with sericulture. "Mulberry leaves are plentiful" suggests that the silkworm season is arriving. The closing line looks toward practical abundance: tasting noodles from new wheat and gathering fresh cocoons. The poem ends not with abstract emotion, but with harvest and use. The strength of this lyric lies in its continuity between beauty and livelihood. Spring is not only something to look at. It raises water, greens the banks, moves boats, delays or begins farm work, grows wheat, feeds silkworms, and leads toward food and silk. Fan Chengda's rural vision is therefore both poetic and materially grounded.
About the Author
Fan Chengda was a major Southern Song poet, lyricist, and statesman. His courtesy name was Zhineng, and he was also known as Shihu Jushi. He is traditionally grouped with Lu You, Yang Wanli, and You Mao as one of the "Four Great Poets of the Southern Song." Fan Chengda is especially admired for his poems on rural life, seasonal agriculture, Jiangnan landscapes, and common people's labor. His writing is clear, observant, and grounded in lived detail, with his "Four Seasons Pastoral Miscellany" among his best-known works.