Pity the Peasants/Ancient Air, 1 of 2
- Poetry of Li Shen
《古风 / 悯农二首 其一》
English Translation
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.
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.
中文原文( Chinese )
春种一粒粟，秋收万颗子。
四海无闲田，农夫犹饿死。
Pre： Toiling Farmers
Next：No Data
- Why Chinese poems is so special?
- The most distinctive features of Chinese poetry are: concision- many poems are only four lines, and few are much longer than eight; ambiguity- number, tense and parts of speech are often undetermined, creating particularly rich interpretative possibilities; and structure- most poems follow quite strict formal patterns which have beauty in themselves as well as highlighting meaningful contrasts.
- How to read a Chinese poem?
- Like an English poem, but more so. Everything is there for a reason, so try to find that reason. Think about all the possible connotations, and be aware of the different possibilities of number and tense. Look for contrasts: within lines, between the lines of each couplet and between successive couplets. Above all, don't worry about what the poet meant- find your meaning.