Early summer is the time when plums are golden and apricots are plump, ears of wheat are blooming with white flowers, and rapeseed flowers are almost gone and are forming seeds.
The days are long in summer, and no one passes by the fence. Everyone is busy in the fields, and only dragonflies and butterflies are flying.
Original text:
Pastoral Miscellany in Four Seasons·Twenty-Five
Song Dynasty: Fan Chengda
The plums are golden and the apricots are fat, Maihuaxuebaicai flowers are thin.
No one passes by the fence during the long day, only dragonflies and butterflies fly. (Wei Tong: Wei)
This poem describes the pastoral scenery of Jiangnan in early summer. The poem uses yellow plums, fat apricots, white wheat flowers, and sparse cauliflowers to describe the characteristics of the southern rural scenery in summer, including flowers and fruits, color and form.
Extended information:
"Pastoral Miscellany in Four Seasons" is a set of large-scale pastoral poems written by Fan Chengda, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, after he retired to his hometown. It is divided into spring, late spring, summer, There are five parts in autumn and winter, each part has twelve poems, totaling sixty poems. The poem describes the scenery of the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter in the countryside and the lives of farmers. It also reflects the exploitation suffered by farmers and the hardship of life.
"Pastoral Miscellany in the Four Seasons" (the title means: various pastoral interests in the four seasons) has 60 poems, which is like a long picture scroll of rural life. It is divided into four poem volumes of spring, summer, autumn and winter, including 12 pastoral poems in spring, 12 pastoral poems in late spring, 12 pastoral poems in summer, 12 pastoral poems in autumn, and 12 pastoral poems in winter. It describes different scenes in the countryside in four seasons and vividly draws a dynamic picture of rural farming.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Four Seasons Pastoral Miscellaneous·Golden Plums and Fat Apricots