On the Lake (Riverside Town)
- Poetry of Su Shi

《江城子·湖上》

English Rendering

It turns fine after rain below the Phoenix Hill,

Waves and wind light,

Rainbow clouds bright.

A lotus flower past full bloom beams with smile still.

Where comes in flight 

A pair of egrets white 

As if inclined to care 

For maidens fair.


Suddenly on the stream music comes to the ear.

Who would not hear 

Such feeling drear?

Away clouds and mist clear;

The Spirit of River Xiang seems to appear.

When music ends,I would inquire for the lutist dear.

She seems to disappear,

Only leaving peaks clear.

On the Lake (Riverside Town) by Su Shi
On the Lake (Riverside Town) by Su Shi

Original Text (中文原文)

凤凰山下雨初晴,水风清,晚霞明。

一朵芙蕖,开过尚盈盈。

何处飞来双白鹭,如有意,慕娉婷。

忽闻江上弄哀筝,苦含情,遣谁听!

烟敛云收,依约是湘灵。

欲待曲终寻问取,人不见,数峰青。

Analysis & Context

Composed during Su Shi's middle years on a boating excursion near Phoenix Mountain, this cí crystallizes a moment where landscape, music, and mythology converge. The work's genius lies in its gradual dematerialization—from tangible scenery to ethereal sound to pure absence—embodying the Daoist ideal of "trace beyond traces" (象外之象). Written in response to Zhang Xian's original poem, it transforms a chance encounter with zither music into a meditation on artistic epiphany's fleeting nature.

Reader's Companion

The Essence of the Verse

Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.

Reading Between the Lines

Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.

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