1. Passing through an old friend's village
Author Meng Haoran? Tang Dynasty
An old friend invited me to Tian's house with chicken and millet.
The green trees are adjacent to the village, and the green mountains are sloping outside.
Open a dining room and chat over wine.
On the Double Ninth Festival, I will come to see chrysanthemums.
Vernacular translation:
An old friend prepared a sumptuous meal and wanted to invite me to his hospitable farmhouse.
Green woods surround the village, and green mountains lie outside the city.
Open the window and face the vegetable garden of the threshing floor, holding a wine glass in hand and chatting about the crops.
When the Double Ninth Festival comes, please come here to enjoy the chrysanthemums.
2. Viewing the harvesting of wheat
The author is Bai Juyi? Tang Dynasty
The Tian family has few free months, but in May people are twice as busy.
The south wind blows at night, and the wheat is covered with yellow.
The women and aunts carry baskets of food, and the children carry pots of pulp.
They go with them to the salary fields, and the young men and women are in Nangang.
The weather is full of rustic heat, and the sky is scorching on my back.
I am exhausted and don’t know how hot it is, but it’s a pity that the summer is long.
There is a poor woman with a child beside her.
She is holding an earring in her right hand and a basket hanging on her left arm.
Hearing his words of care makes those who hear them feel sad.
My family’s farmland has been exhausted and taxes have been spent, so I will pick this up to satisfy my hunger.
What merit do I have now? I have never been involved in farming and mulberry trees.
The official salary is three hundred stones, and there is more than enough food every year.
I feel ashamed when I think of this, and I will never forget it.
Vernacular translation:
Farmers rarely have free months, and people are even busier in May. A south wind blew at night, and the wheat covering the ridges in the fields was ripe and turning yellow.
Women carry meals in bamboo baskets, and children carry water in pots. They follow each other to the fields to deliver meals. The men harvesting wheat are all in Nangang.
Their feet were fumigated by the heat from the ground, and their spines were basking in the hot sun. Exhausted, it’s as if I don’t know the weather is hot, and I just cherish the long summer.
I saw a poor woman standing next to the wheat cutter with her child in her arms, picking up the fallen ears of wheat in her right hand, and a broken basket hanging on her left arm. Listening to her talk while looking at others, everyone who heard her felt sad for her.
Due to paying rent and taxes, all the farmland in the family was sold, so they had to pick up some ears of wheat to satisfy their hunger. Now I have any merits and virtues, but I don’t have to engage in farming and sericulture.
With a salary of 300 kilograms a year, there will still be enough food left at the end of the year. I feel ashamed when I think of these things, and I can't forget them all day long.
3. April in the countryside
Author Weng Juan? Dynasty Song Dynasty
The mountains are green and the rivers are white, and the rain is like smoke in the sound of the rules.
In April in the countryside, there are few idle people, so they are planting sericulture and planting fields.
Vernacular translation:
The grass and trees are lush on the hillside and in the fields, and the color of the water in the rice fields complements the skylight. There is mist and rain in the sky, cuckoos are singing, and the earth is a prosperous scene.
April is here, and no one is idle. They have just finished sericulture and have to plant rice again.
4. Tian Jiayuan Day
Author Meng Haoran? Dynasty Tang Dynasty
Last night the fight returned to the north, and today the new year rises east.
I have become an official in my old age, but I am still worried about farmers without a salary.
The father plowed the fields, and the shepherd boy followed him with the hoe.
The Tian family accounts for the climate, and the emperor said it will be a good year.
Vernacular translation:
Last night the handle of the Big Dipper turned to the east, and this morning the year begins again.
I am already forty years old. Although I do not have an official position, I am still worried about farming.
Close to the farmers working in the fields full of mulberry trees, carrying hoes and working together with the shepherd boys.
Farmers speculate on this year’s harvest and say it will be a bumper year.
5. Looking for Lu Hongjian but not meeting him
The author Jiaoran? The Tang Dynasty
Although he moved with Guo, he wandered into Sangma on the wild path.
The hedge chrysanthemum planted recently has not bloomed in autumn.
No dogs barked when I knocked on the door, so I wanted to ask the Xi family.
I reported that I went to the mountains and returned every day.
Vernacular translation:
He moved his family to the area around the city, where country roads lead to Sangma.
Chrysanthemums are planted near the fence, but autumn has arrived but they have not yet bloomed.
There was not even a bark when I knocked on the door, so I went to ask the neighbor of Xi’s house about the situation.
Neighbors reported that he had gone to the mountains, and when he came back, the setting sun would always be reflected in the western mountains.