Charcoal Man describes the hardships of an old man burning charcoal to make a living.
From the beginning, this song took readers to Zhongnanshan near Chang 'an, the capital at that time, and let readers see that an old man who burned charcoal lived a very poor life. "Selling charcoal Weng, Nanshan cuts wood and burns charcoal." The old man who burns charcoal doesn't even have an inch of land. All he lives on is an axe, an ox cart and ten fingers blackened by fireworks. He has no wife and children, and he is alone. He cuts his salary and burns charcoal on Nanshan Mountain, making his face "dusty, smoky, with gray temples and black fingers". The hardships of labor can be imagined. Old people who burn charcoal have low demands on life. "What's the point of selling charcoal to make money?" ? He just wants to have food and clothing and maintain a minimum life. Arguably, it is not difficult for a person to support himself, but even such a wish is difficult for him to realize. Charcoal is what people use to keep warm. The old man worked hard to cut wood and burn charcoal, which brought warmth to others, but his clothes were pitifully thin. Thin clothes should have expected the weather to get warmer. On the contrary, the elderly forced by life "worry about charcoal and wish it was cold", and would rather endure double cold in order to sell more charcoal. This ambivalence profoundly shows the tragic situation of charcoal sellers.