1. One year to clear the prefecture, one hundred thousand snowflakes and silver.
Interpretation: Even a "corrupt" prefect will have a gray income of one hundred thousand taels of silver in three years. It is a satire on being an official in ancient times.
2. The water in the mountain spring is clear, and the water in the mountain spring is turbid.
Explanation: The spring water on the mountain was originally clear, but it became filthy after it came out of the mountain. It refers to following the trend after becoming an official and gradually becoming less honest.
3. The rat in the official warehouse is as big as a bucket, and will not leave when someone opens a warehouse. The healthy children have no food and the people are hungry. Who will send the king to the king's mouth?
Explanation: The rats in the government granary are as fat as rice measuring buckets. They will not run away when someone comes to open the granary. The soldiers guarding the border have no food, and the hard-working people are starving. Who puts the food in the official warehouse into the mouths of you official warehouse rats every day? Using the official hamster alludes to corrupt officials and condemns corrupt officials, large and small.
4. The wine and meat in Zhumen smells bad, and there are frozen bones on the road.
Interpretation: The aroma of wine and meat wafts from the homes of the nobles, but the poor are dying of cold and hunger on the streets. It reflects the inaction of officials at that time and the huge gap between the rich and the poor in society.
5. There is no idle land in the world, and farmers are still starving to death.
Interpretation: There is no uncultivated field in the world, and hardworking farmers will still starve to death.