1. The wine and meat in Zhumen smells bad, and there are frozen bones on the road.
From: Du Fu of the Tang Dynasty, "Five Hundred Words from Beijing to Fengxian County".
Translation: The aroma of wine and meat wafts from the nobles’ homes, but the poor are dying of cold and hunger on the streets.
2. The rich have endless fields, but the poor have no place to stand.
From: Xun Yue of the Han Dynasty, "The Thirteenth Volume of Four Volumes of the Chronicles of Emperor Xiaowu of the Former Han Dynasty".
Translation: The rich people have vast land that is connected with alleys, while the poor people don’t even have a place to put down an awl.
3. Ten households hold hydrazine and a phoenix hairpin.
From: "Ancient Banquet Song" by Yu Zhi of the Tang Dynasty.
Translation: Ten families worked hard and their hands were covered with calluses, only to get a phoenix hairpin (which belonged to the maid at the banquet of a dignitary).
4. The city is bustling with acquaintances, passing by Zhao Li’s house day and night.
Who pities the Yue girl whose face is as beautiful as jade, and who is poor and lowly in the river?
From: "A Daughter's Journey to Luoyang" by Wang Wei of the Tang Dynasty.
Translation: The acquaintances are all the rich and powerful families in the city, and the people who come and go day and night are the families of noble relatives. Who pities the beautiful Yue girl who lives in poverty and has to wash her yarn alone at the head of the river.
5. When you are poor in the busy city, no one cares about you, but when you are rich in the mountains, you have distant relatives.
If you don’t believe it, just look at the wine in the cup. The cup is served to the rich first.
From: Anonymous "Zengguang Xianwen" of Ming Dynasty.
Translation: No one pays attention to a poor person in the busy city, but there are still people to look at a rich person even in the deep mountains and old forests. If you don’t believe it, just look at the wine in the glass. Every glass is served to the rich first.