Wang Anshi did not have an ancient poem about New Year's Day. Wang Anshi wrote about Yuan Day. "Yuan Ri" is a seven-character quatrain composed by Wang Anshi, a politician in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Full text: The sound of firecrackers marks the end of the year, and the spring breeze brings warmth to Tusu. Thousands of households always replace old talismans with new peaches.
Translation: Amidst the roaring sound of firecrackers, the old year has passed; the warm spring breeze brings the new year, and people happily drink the newly brewed Tusu wine. The rising sun shines on thousands of households, and they are all busy taking down the old peach charms and replacing them with new ones.
Creative background:
This poem was written when the author first paid homage to the Prime Minister and began to implement his New Deal. In 1067, Song Shenzong succeeded to the throne and appointed Wang Anshi as the prefect of Jiangning. He was immediately appointed as a Hanlin scholar and lecturer in order to get rid of the political and economic crises faced by the Song Dynasty and the constant intrusion of Liao and Xixia.
In 1068, Shenzong summoned Wang Anshi to "come into the right position over time", and Wang Anshi immediately wrote a letter advocating reform. The following year, he was appointed as the political advisor and presided over the reform. On the New Year's Day of the same year, Wang Anshi saw that every family was busy preparing for the Spring Festival. Thinking of the new atmosphere at the beginning of the reform, he composed this poem.