Viewing the Cutting of Wheat
Author Bai Juyi Tang Dynasty
The Tian family has few free months, but in May people are twice as busy.
At night the south wind blows, 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.
It is full of heat and rustic weather, and the sky is scorching on my back.
I am exhausted and don’t know how hot it is, but it is 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, so I’ll just throw it away to satisfy my hunger.
What merit do I have now? I never did farming or mulberry farming.
The official salary is three hundred stones, and there is more food every year.
I feel ashamed when I think of this, and I will never forget it.