In rushed rouge, they flock to see,
Through bramble gates, giggling three by three.
Crimson skirts tear as they push—what glee!
Young and old to harvest rites proceed,
Crows whirl where village gods they plead.
At dusk, a drunk old man blocks the road—take heed!
旋抹红妆看使君，三三五五棘篱门。相排踏破蒨罗裙。
老幼扶携收麦社，乌鸢翔舞赛神村。道逢醉叟卧黄昏。
Composed in 1078 during Su Shi's governorship of Xuzhou, this cí forms part of a quintet written after successful rain prayers at Stone Pond. Following a devastating drought, the poems document village jubilation with ethnographic precision—marking a watershed in Sòng cí's shift from courtly romance to social realism. The second installment captures three vignettes of rural ecstasy, revealing Su Shi's revolutionary ability to find lyricism in everyday folkways.
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