Yuan Dynasty
小桃红 · 客船晚烟
盍西村
绿云冉冉锁清湾，
香彻东西岸。
官课今年九分办，
厮追攀，
渡头买得新鱼雁。
杯盘不干，
欢欣无限，
忘了大家难。
Translation
Green cloudlike evening mist slowly rises, locking the clear bay within it. Fragrance drifts through both the eastern and western banks. This year the official tax is assessed at only nine tenths. People call to one another and gather together, buying fresh fish and geese at the ferry landing. The cups and plates are not yet empty; their joy is boundless. For a while, everyone forgets the hardships of life.
Analysis
"Little Peach Red · Evening Smoke by the Guest Boats" portrays a riverside scene at dusk. Unlike the bright festival spectacle of "Water Lanterns on the Riverbank," this song focuses on ordinary life: evening mist, a quiet bay, ferry traffic, fresh food, drinking, and a temporary release from hardship. The opening image, "green cloudlike mist slowly rises and locks the clear bay," is the song's visual center. The "green clouds" are likely evening haze mixed with river vapor and the color of waterside vegetation. The verb "locks" gives the bay a calm, enclosed, almost sheltered feeling. "Fragrance drifts through both banks" adds smell to the scene. It may suggest plants, cooking smoke, wine, food, or the general atmosphere of waterside life. The landscape becomes sensory and inhabited. The line about official taxes shifts the song from scenery into social reality. "Official tax" refers to levies owed to the government; "nine tenths" suggests a slight reduction. This explains part of the people's joy: life is still hard, but this year the burden is a little lighter. At the ferry landing, people call to one another and buy fresh fish and geese. The scene is communal and practical, not aristocratic. It belongs to boatmen, villagers, traders, and ordinary families. The final line gives the song its depth: "For a while, everyone forgets the hardships of life." The joy is real, but so is the hardship. The people are not carefree because suffering has disappeared; they are happy because, for one evening, they can forget it. The poem's strength lies in this balance. It is fresh and picturesque, but not naïve. Behind the mist, wine, and laughter stands the pressure of taxes and daily difficulty. That makes the happiness more human, not less.
About the Author
He Xicun was a Yuan dynasty sanqu writer whose life details are uncertain; he is generally thought to have been from Xuyi. He was known for short scene-setting songs written in a fresh and natural style, especially on cities, waterscapes, seasonal scenes, and landscapes. His work also captures the atmosphere of common life in compact form. His representative sequence "Little Peach Red · Eight Scenes of Linchuan" portrays different views of Linchuan through short lyrical songs. The Ming critic Zhu Quan described his songs as "like a clear wind and bright music," emphasizing their refreshing sound and natural elegance.