Yuan Dynasty
沉醉东风·渔夫
白朴
黄芦岸白蘋渡口，
绿杨堤红蓼滩头。
虽无刎颈交，
却有忘机友。
点秋江白鹭沙鸥。
傲杀人间万户侯，
不识字烟波钓叟。
Translation
Yellow reeds line the bank, white duckweed drifts by the ferry; green willows lean over the dike, red knotweed brightens the shoal. He may have no sworn friend ready to die with him, yet he has companions free from worldly scheming. White egrets and sand gulls dot the autumn river. This old fisherman among mist and waves, though he knows no letters, may look down on all the marquises of the world.
Analysis
This lyric does not merely praise a fisherman; it creates an ideal of withdrawal. The opening couplet paints the riverbank with four clear colors—yellow reeds, white duckweed, green willows, and red knotweed. The landscape is vivid but never heavy. The line about having no “friend ready to die with him” but having “friends without scheming” shifts the poem from scenery to ethics. The fisherman’s true companions are not political allies but creatures and elements of the river world: egrets, gulls, mist, and water. The final line reverses social hierarchy. A man who cannot read may still possess a freedom that officials cannot buy. The poem’s charm lies in its quiet contempt for worldly ambition.