English
French
Arabic
Bulgarian
Czech
Danish
German
Greek
Spanish
Finnish
Hungarian
Indonesian
Italian
Hebrew
Japanese
Korean
Dutch
Polish
Portuguese, International
Romanian
Russian
Slovak
Swedish
Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
柳宗元
五言绝句
Character Explanations
Click on a character in the poem to display its explanation here.
千
« mille » ; ici au sens hyperbolique, « d'innombrables ». 千山 = « les mille montagnes », un paysage immense.
山
"mountain, mount". With 千 forms 千山, the infinite expanse of snow-covered peaks.
鸟
"bird". Subject of the first line; its disappearance underscores the emptiness and silence.
飞
"to fly; flight". 鸟飞 "the flight of birds", a movement that has ceased.
绝
"to cease, to be cut off, to vanish entirely". Not a single bird flies: the absence is total.
万
« dix mille » ; hyperbole pour « tous, en nombre infini ». 万径 = « les dix mille sentiers ».
径
"path, narrow track". The countless paths, now deserted.
人
"man, human being". Here, humanity absent from the landscape.
踪
"trace, footprint". 人踪 "human traces".
灭
"to fade, to be extinguished, to disappear". Every human trace has vanished under the snow.
孤
"solitary, isolated, alone". 孤舟 "a solitary boat"; introduces the central figure.
舟
"boat, vessel". The only inhabited element in the frozen vastness.
蓑
"straw raincoat" (against rain and snow). Traditional garment of the fisherman.
笠
"conical bamboo hat". With 蓑 forms 蓑笠, the old fisherman's outfit.
翁
"old man, elder". 蓑笠翁 "the old fisherman in his straw coat".
独
"alone, in solitude". Reinforces 孤: the man's absolute isolation.
钓
"to fish with a line". The fisherman's singular, stubborn action.
寒
"cold, icy". 寒江 "the icy river"; the harshness of winter.
江
"river, great waterway". The frozen watercourse where the old man fishes.
雪
"snow". Key word and title of the poem; it covers the entire landscape.
Literal Translation
On a thousand mountains, not a bird flies,
On ten thousand paths, no human trace.
A solitary boat, an old man in a straw coat and bamboo hat,
Alone, he fishes in the snow of the icy river.
Historical and Biographical Context
This poem, 江雪 (), "Snow on the River", is a 五言绝句 written in the solitude of exile. Behind the winter landscape lies the poet's state of mind: total isolation, but also an unshakeable dignity.
Literary Analysis
Structure and Form
泟雪 is a 五言绝句 (), a five-character quatrain. Its construction has perfect symmetry: the first two lines, parallel (千山 / 万径, 鸟飞绝 / 人踪灭), drain the world of all life; the last two reintroduce a single human presence. A famous detail: the first character of each line, read together — 千万孤独 () — forms the expression "immense solitude".
Imagery and Symbolism
The poem paints an entirely white and frozen landscape. The absence of birds and traces creates an almost abstract void against which the fisherman's tiny silhouette stands out. The snow (雪) and the cold (寒) evoke adversity, while the old man fishing imperturbably symbolizes resistance and moral integrity.
Movement and Gesture
All movement has ceased — birds no longer fly, humans have disappeared. Only the patient and solitary gesture of the fisherman (獬钓). This general stillness focuses all attention on this single center of life.
Language and Tone
The language is spare and pictorial, close to ink painting. The negations (绝, 灭) establish an icy silence; the tone, initially desolate, becomes one of stoic serenity. In twenty characters, the poet composes a complete picture.
Main Themes
Solitude and Exile
Composed in exile, the poem conveys the isolation of the disgraced scholar-official. The fisherman alone in the frozen vastness is a figure of the poet himself, cut off from the world.
Resistance and Integrity
Despite the cold and emptiness, the old man continues to fish. This silent perseverance symbolizes moral firmness and the refusal to yield to adversity — the ideal of the Confucian scholar.
Communion with Nature
Reduced to the essential, the man merges into a grandiose landscape. The poem illustrates the ideal of a serene retreat within sovereign nature.
