Learn by Songs 1 — Day 5 — Pity the Farmer (II)
The second of Li Shen's two 'Pity the Farmer' poems widens the view: even when every field in the land is planted and the harvest is abundant, farmers can still starve — a sharp, direct criticism of the unfair taxes and exploitation faced by peasants in Tang-dynasty China.
Today's Vocabulary
种
to plant, to sow
春种一粒粟，
Chūn zhòng yī lì sù,
In spring, one grain of millet is sown,
秋收
autumn harvest
秋收万颗子。
qiū shōu wàn kē zi.
in autumn, ten thousand seeds are harvested.
四海
the whole land (lit. four seas)
四海无闲田，
Sì hǎi wú xián tián,
Across the whole land not one field lies idle,
田
field
四海无闲田，
Sì hǎi wú xián tián,
Across the whole land not one field lies idle,
农夫
farmer
农夫犹饿死。
nóng fū yóu è sǐ.
yet farmers still starve to death.
饿死
to starve to death
农夫犹饿死。
nóng fū yóu è sǐ.
yet farmers still starve to death.
Today's Grammar
The contrast between 'not a single field left idle' and 'yet farmers still starve to death' is the poem's punch — a simple structure (cause, then ironic result) that makes its social criticism land hard in just four lines.
春种一粒粟，
In spring, one grain of millet is sown,
秋收万颗子。
in autumn, ten thousand seeds are harvested.
四海无闲田，
Across the whole land not one field lies idle,
农夫犹饿死。
yet farmers still starve to death.