Song Zhiwen Poem: Crossing River Han – 宋之问《渡汉江》

渡汉江^[1]

宋之问

岭外^[2]音书断，

经冬复历春。

近乡情更怯，

不敢问来人。

注释：

[1] 汉江：水名，是长江的一条支流，这里指襄阳附近的一段汉水。

[2] 岭外：这里指五岭以南的地区。五岭由大庚岭、越城岭、骑田岭、萌诸岭、都庞岭组成，是位于广东、广西和江西、湖南交界处的一座山脉，是长江与珠江的分水岭。

Crossing River Han

Song Zhiwen

I longed for news on the frontier

From day to day, from year to year.

Now nearing home, timid I grow,

I dare not ask what I would know.

This quatrain describes the contradictory mind of the banished poet.

《渡汉江》是唐代诗人宋之问（一说李频）创作的一首诗。这是诗人久离家乡而返归途中所写的抒情诗，意在写思乡情切，表现出诗人对家乡和亲人的挚爱之情和游子远归家乡时激动、不安、畏怯的复杂心理。前两句主要写追叙久居岭外的情况，后两句抒写接近家乡时矛盾的心情。全诗语极浅近，意颇深邃；描摹心理，熨贴入微；不矫揉造作，自然至美。

The poem “Crossing the Han River” is a poem written by Song Zhiwen (or Li Bin), a poet of the Tang Dynasty. It is a lyrical poem written by the poet on his way back to his hometown after a long absence. It is intended to describe his homesickness and expresses his love for his hometown and his relatives, as well as the complex psychological feelings of excitement, anxiety and trepidation of a wanderer returning home. The first two stanzas are mainly about catching up with his long stay outside the mountains, while the second two stanzas are about his conflicting feelings when approaching his hometown. The poem is very simple, but profound in meaning; it describes the psychology with great care and attention; it is natural and beautiful without artifice.