同舟行
A Song of the Shared Boat
Original Chinese with an English reading translation.
春申黄渡初来客，繁李萦堤波心澈。
A newcomer to Huangdu, in the land of Chunshen; plum blossoms wind along the banks, and the water’s heart is clear.
才辞杨浦何处去，忽闻龙吟同舟河。
Just leaving Yangpu, I wondered where to go—then heard a dragon’s cry upon the Tongzhou River.
战鼓轰天催浪彻，长呼裂岸挟潮过。
War drums thunder through the waves; long cries split the banks and ride the tide.
百桨齐开翻碎玉，一舟推水入烟波。
A hundred paddles scatter jade-white spray; one boat drives into the misty water.
少闻家翁争龙舸，千页翻残端午歌。
As a child I heard of elders racing dragon boats, and wore through pages singing of the Dragon Boat Festival.
学长笑言舟健骨，学姐称师堪作爹。
The older boys laughed: rowing makes strong bones; the older girls praised the coach as dear as a father.
乍见龙威动心魄，口牙一震试操戈。
The dragon’s force first shook my heart; with a startled shout, I longed to try the oar.
命轮暗转龙舟课，水引浮生入此歌。
Fate quietly turned toward a dragon-boat class; the water drew my drifting life into this song.
初逢于师身正直，虎背丰神气若戈。
I first met Coach Yu, upright and broad-backed, his bearing bright and sharp as a spear.
问舵偏时何处打，随答舵向即舟挪。
Asked where to turn the rudder when we drifted, I answered: where it points, the boat will go.
一语偶中天机破，懵然被点掌长舸。
One lucky answer unlocked the secret; bewildered, I was chosen to steer the long boat.
初试人舵心未和，左冲右荡满舱波。
At first my hands and rudder shared no understanding; we lurched from side to side, the hull awash.
旋从舵后归舱坐，方知划水真快活。
Then I left the stern and took a paddler’s seat, discovering how joyful rowing could be.
细柳拂堤伴云过，游鱼逐桨影相和。
Slender willows brushed the banks beneath passing clouds; fish followed the shadows of our paddles.
一船一息催潮起，群龙并浪竞如梭。
One boat, one breath, lifting the tide; dragons raced abreast like flying shuttles.
嘉园试棹初成阵，教头笑劝莫蹉跎。
At Jiayuan our first formation took shape; the coach smiled and urged me not to waste the chance.
初入龙社试此身，十六里奔百引磨。
I first tested myself among the dragon crew: an eight-kilometre run, a hundred pull-ups to grind me down.
气断臂软身欲折，举目群肩犹未歇。
Breath gone, arms weak, my body near breaking; I looked up—every shoulder beside me still worked.
愈痛愈醒心淬铁，愈疲愈奋血犹热。
The greater the pain, the clearer the mind, tempered into iron; the greater the weariness, the hotter the blood.
水势千钧横作阙，欲摧洪浪骨作戈。
The weight of water rose before us like a fortress; to break the flood, our bones must become spears.
束衣整桨临堤岸，潮男潮女相形色。
Clothes straightened, paddles ready by the bank—a vivid company, each with a style their own.
黄毛诡笑惊新客，姝队谈笑暖春泽。
A yellow-haired grin startled the newcomers; the women’s captain warmed our talk like spring.
首棹旁观睥四座，灵舵一旋弧影过。
The stroke paddler’s gaze surveyed the gathering; a deft turn at the stern traced an arc upon the water.
右舷言寡力满舱，摇滚长发逐舟波。
Few words on the starboard side, but strength enough to fill the hull; a rocker’s long hair followed the waves.
百斤却作千钧魄，四平艇手上龙舸。
A slight frame held a mighty spirit; a rower from Siping came aboard the dragon boat.
侦查兵王双门阔，肌肉型男自巍峨。
The veteran scout stood broad across the shoulders; the muscular young man rose like a mountain.
德王牌运压群豪，研辈无言气已迫。
The poker king’s luck outplayed the crowd; the graduate veterans commanded respect without a word.
火影少年承使命，烟酒小生亦挥戈。
The Naruto-loving youth shouldered his mission; the young smoker and drinker took up his paddle too.
闽粤双锋争领桨，西陲关外不让多。
Two strong paddlers from Fujian and Guangdong vied to lead; those from the far west and northeast gave no ground.
劲姊气盛人唤哥，歌王一吼众声和。
A spirited sister earned the name of “brother”; the singer’s shout brought every voice into accord.
闽舵百战弧犹稳，幻衣摇曳影婆娑。
The Fujian helmsman held his arc through a hundred contests; a cosplayer’s changing clothes danced through the scene.
催命长桨十二圈，一桨一桨到力竭。
Twelve punishing laps with the long paddle—stroke after stroke until no strength remained.
眼前白浪皆如雾，身外浮生渐不觉。
The white waves blurred like mist before my eyes; the world beyond my body slipped away.
忽尔长呼破寒雪，满船推我向前越。
Then a long cry broke through the cold; the whole boat seemed to push me onward.
我亦振声血复热，水引群心向终阙。
I raised my voice, my blood grew warm again; the water drew our joined hearts toward the finish.
初征肥西丰祥湖，五百长程试壮图。
Our first expedition: Fengxiang Lake in Feixi, where five hundred metres tested our ambition.
前宵结伴寻烧烤，举杯初识笑言殊。
The night before, we wandered out for barbecue; over raised cups, new voices became familiar.
烟火摊前同坐久，杯盘夜半话江湖。
We lingered in the smoke and glow of roadside stalls, talking half the night of life beyond the water.
明朝列阵胸中鼓，枪响群龙竞一呼。
Next morning we lined up, drums within our chests; the starting shot sent every dragon surging with one cry.
力尽还随群桨落，千声如浪托身浮。
Strength spent, I still dropped my paddle with the rest; a thousand voices buoyed me like the waves.
始知差距隔深谷，归来暗誓再追逐。
Only then did I see the gulf between us and the best; home again, I quietly vowed to close it.
铁人相约攀高杠，百引争多臂不休。
Training partners gathered at the high bar, competing through a hundred pull-ups, arms refusing rest.
小二夜话灯昏处，吃喝玩乐尽风流。
Late conversations in the dim upstairs canteen—food, drink, games, and all the pleasures of our youth.
身随舟律舒筋骨，清波暗度入心湖。
My body loosened into the boat’s rhythm; clear ripples quietly entered the lake within my heart.
桨桨倾身驱颓腐，半卷青春系此途。
I leaned into each stroke to drive despondency away; half my youth became bound to this course.
四海同舟归一户，始见天地为龙舒。
From every corner we came to share one home; through the dragon boat, the world began to open.
授桨铭名登战谱，愿携长楫共沉浮。
Paddles bestowed, our names entered on the roster; with these long oars, we pledged to weather rise and fall together.
苏州河畔天初朗，急水奔流势未央。
Morning cleared above Suzhou Creek; the swift current ran with undiminished force.
鼓手擂声催战响，舵借海洋尾波狂。
The drummer beat us into battle; the helmsman rode the fierce wake of the Maritime crew.
头桨稳拍收百势，动力齐推万里浪。
The stroke paddlers gathered every impulse into rhythm; the power seats drove us through wave after wave.
眼前忽作空明境，身随呐喊共悠扬。
Suddenly the world became clear and empty; my body rose and fell with all our shouts.
全船凝作一潮涨，老将摘银泪满眶。
The whole boat gathered into a single rising tide; silver won, the veterans’ eyes brimmed with tears.
末岁龙舟添后生，来去无常一舸横。
In my final year, new faces joined the dragon boat; people came and went, while one hull waited on the water.
昔日萌新今作老，方知身水两相忘。
Yesterday’s novice had become a veteran; only then did I understand how body and water forget their boundaries.
泰苏两役连折戟，银浪余辉尚梦萦。
Two defeats at Taizhou and Suzhou broke our charge; the afterglow of silver still haunted our dreams.
新老围杯歌未竟，前程隔雾正难明。
Old and new hands shared their cups, the song unfinished; ahead, the future lay hidden in mist.
人推舟行舟载人，我去此舟赴何程？
People propel the boat, and the boat carries people; when I leave it, toward what journey do I go?
收箱束箧别黉堂，远赴中山作终章。
I packed my belongings and said farewell to school; far away in Zhongshan, we would write the final chapter.
风雨倾江浑不挡，一身尽与水茫茫。
Rain poured into the river, and we let it come; my whole body belonged to the boundless water.
初来客梦安曾想，别绪偏随珠水长。
How could that newcomer’s dream have foretold this? Parting stretched as long as the Pearl River.
弃履抛镜轻尘障，只余人桨赴终航。
Shoes cast off, glasses set aside, small encumbrances gone—only bodies and paddles for the final voyage.
夹岸人潮声震荡，神凝长楫劈涛狂。
Crowds thundered on both banks; our minds fixed on the long oars cleaving the wild waves.
鼓化龙头凌雨上，舵成龙尾定洪荒。
The drum became the dragon’s head, rising through rain; the rudder its tail, steadying the tumult.
百桨入江身化浪，人随珠水作流光。
A hundred paddles entered the river, our bodies became waves; we flowed with the Pearl in streaks of light.
忽见长龙蹈江起，忘我凌空向远翔。
Suddenly a long dragon seemed to leap from the river; forgetting ourselves, we soared toward the distance.
一线冲开天地旷，前江不见别舟航。
Across one line, the world opened wide; no other boat sailed on the river ahead.
力尽犹擎长桨起，云开日出照天光。
Strength exhausted, we still raised our long paddles; clouds parted, and sunlight filled the sky.
莫辞更尽乌苏酒，旧事千端待细详。
Do not refuse another Wusu beer; a thousand old stories still await their telling.
因舟一遇成知己，天涯万里亦同堂。
One meeting aboard a boat made us trusted friends; ten thousand miles apart, we still share a home.
他年若问同济事，便说同舟这一章。
If someone asks, in years to come, about Tongji—tell them this chapter of our voyage together.