show kindness to farmers
[ Tang] Li Shen
Original text
When weeding at noon, sweat drips down the soil.
but every grain of Chinese food is hard.
"Chuhe" (or "Compassion for Farmers") is a Tang poem, which was selected as a Chinese textbook for primary school (grade two). It was written by Li Shen in the Tang Dynasty, and some people think it was written by Nie Yizhong. This poem depicts the scene of working in the farmers' fields at noon in the scorching sun, summarizes the hard work life of farmers all year round, and finally expresses the poet's sincere sympathy for farmers with far-reaching aphorisms. The language of the whole poem is popular and simple, and the syllables are lively and catchy, which is widely spread and known to women and children. Among them, "Who knows that every grain of food is hard" is China's traditional "housekeeping motto", reminding people to pay attention to saving money and cherish the fruits of labor.
Before this poem, it was generally considered to be the work of Li Shen, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, and some people thought it was the work of Nie Yizhong.
Compared with those famous poems, this little poem is not a masterpiece in the Tang Dynasty, which is full of flowers, but it is widely spread, known to all women and children, and is constantly recited and tasted by people, which is not without reason.
First of all, what this poem describes is the most familiar thing that people often come into contact with. However, you don't really know what you are most familiar with. There are many things that you turn a blind eye to in your life. If someone tries to enlighten you, explain the essence, or point out some truth involved, you will feel very eye-catching and clear, thus deepening your understanding. This little poem has vitality, so it has this reason.
"On-the-plate Chinese food" used to be something that people contact every day and eat every meal. However, no one thought of associating this grain with the sweat of farmers under the scorching sun. The poet keenly observed it and condensed it into a poem "Every grain is hard". This enlightens people and makes them think about the truth, so that those who don't know how to cherish food are deeply educated.
Secondly, when the poet expounds the above contents, he does not talk and discuss in an empty and abstract way, but exposes problems and explains reasons with vivid images and profound contrasts, which makes people easy to accept and understand. In the first two sentences, the author didn't say how hard it is for farmers to farm and how difficult it is for crops to grow. He just made a vivid rendering of the plot of farmers sweating under the scorching sun, which made people make this kind of hard work and hard taste more concrete, profound and real. Therefore, it is very convincing that the poet finally said in a rhetorical tone that "every grain of food is hard." In particular, comparing grain to drip sweat is really subtle and vivid.
finally, the language of the poem is popular and simple, and the syllables are harmonious and lively, catchy and easy to recite, which is also the reason why this little poem has been circulated among the people for a long time.