Yuan Dynasty

鹦鹉曲·野渡新晴

Yīng wǔ qǔ · Yě dù xīn qíng

冯子振

Féng Zǐzhèn

Gū cūn sān liǎng rén jiā zhù, zhōng rì duì yě sǒu tián fù.

孤村三两人家住，终日对野叟田父。

Shuō jīn zhāo lǜ shuǐ píng qiáo, zuó rì xī nán xīn yǔ.

说今朝绿水平桥，昨日溪南新雨。

Bì tiān biān yún guī yán xué, bái lù yì háng fēi qù.

碧天边云归岩穴，白鹭一行飞去。

Biàn máng xié zhú zhàng xíng chūn, wèn dǐ shì qīng lián wǔ chù.

便芒鞋竹杖行春，问底是青帘舞处。

Translation

I live in a lonely village of only a few households, spending my days with old countrymen and farmers. They say that this morning the green water has risen level with the bridge, after fresh rain fell south of the stream yesterday. At the edge of the blue sky, clouds return to rocky caves, and a line of white egrets flies away. So I put on straw sandals, take a bamboo staff, and walk into spring, asking where a tavern’s blue curtain flutters.

Analysis

This piece captures a rural crossing after rain. The landscape is built from ordinary details — a small village, farmers, a swollen stream, a bridge — yet the fresh rain gives them clarity and brightness. The clouds returning to rocky caves and the egrets flying away open the scene into distance. The final search for a tavern’s blue curtain adds human warmth to the landscape. It is not austere reclusion but a relaxed spring walk through a living countryside.

About the Author

Feng Zizhen was a Yuan sanqu master whose short songs often combine landscape, historical allusion, and colloquial liveliness. His style balances learned elegance with everyday immediacy.