English Rendering
Each grain of millet sown in spring
Will by autumn harvest a myriad bring.
Across the land no fields lie vacant,
Peasants still found----starving, dying.
Pity the Peasants/Ancient Air, 1 of 2
- Poetry of Li Shen
《古风 / 悯农二首 其一》
Original Text (中文原文)
春种一粒粟，秋收万颗子。
四海无闲田，农夫犹饿死。
Analysis & Context
1- Each grain of millet sown in spring
Composed during the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty amid relentless warfare and oppressive taxation, this poem lays bare the struggles of peasants under an unjust social system. Li Shen, a scholar-official who witnessed their suffering firsthand, channels agrarian despair into these stark verses. Through deceptively simple language, "Sympathy for the Peasants" (《悯农》) becomes a piercing indictment of systemic exploitation.
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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