From the Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi's "Cutting Wheat"
The Tian family has less leisure in the month, and people are twice as busy in May.
In the evening, the south wind rises and the wheat turns yellow.
Mother-in-law is rich in food, and children are full of pot pulp.
Go with Tian Xiang. Ding Zhuang is in Nangang.
Filled with the heat of the country, the back was scorched by the sun.
I don't know about the heat, but I regret the long summer.
There is another poor woman with her son in her arms.
Grab the ear with your right hand and hang the basket with your left arm.
Listening to his words of concern is very sad.
My family's taxes are gone, so I can take this to satisfy my hunger.
Today, I have no merit, and I have never worked in farming and mulberry.
There are three hundred stones in the land, and there is surplus food at the age of eight.
I am ashamed to read this in private, and I can't forget it every day.
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"Cutting Wheat" is a poem written by Bai Juyi when he was a county commandant in zhouzhi county, feeling that the local people were working hard and living in poverty. His works criticized the heavy taxes that caused people's poverty, and he felt deeply guilty that he had eaten and drunk enough and did nothing, showing the humanitarian spirit of a feudal official with conscience. This poem was written in the second year of Yuanhe in Tang Xianzong (807), when the poet was thirty-six years old. Zhouzhi county is located in the west of Xi City, Shaanxi Province. The county commandant is responsible for catching thieves and collecting taxes in the county. Because Bai Juyi is in charge of this matter; Therefore, he is also most aware of the disaster suffered by the working people in this respect: harvesting.
The whole poem is divided into four layers, the first layer is four sentences, explaining time and its environmental atmosphere. As the saying goes, "farmers have less leisure in January and people are twice as busy in May", and the following things will happen in May when people are twice as busy. These two sentences always affect the whole body, revealing the author's sympathy for the working people at the beginning; "At night, the south wind rises and the wheat is covered with yellow." There is a harvest scene, and the big picture is pleasing to the eye. But who can think of the sadness of farmers under this harvest scene?
Eight sentences on the second floor show this "busy" wheat harvest scene through specific families. Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are carrying rice baskets, while little grandson is carrying a kettle. They are going to deliver meals to people who work in the fields. Men go to the fields before dawn; After getting up, women are busy with housework before cooking; The little grandson went to the fields with his grandma and mom when they were delivering food. They will work with the men after supper. Do you think this family is busy? "It was full of the heat of the country, and my back was burned by the sun. I don't know about heat, but I regret the long summer. " These four sentences describe the wheat harvest positively. Their faces face the earth and their backs face the blue sky. The bottom is steamed like a cage, and the top is roasted like fire. However, they waved their sickles with all their strength and cut them all the way forward. It seems that they have completely forgotten the heat, because this is "the tiger's mouth grabs the food", and time must be seized! Reluctant to waste. The weather is so hot and the days are so long, but people work hard and are afraid of wasting a little time, which shows how much people cherish the wheat they are about to get. The word "pity" is well used here, which is a kind of writing that goes against human nature to highlight the emotional strength of people here and now. Bai Juyi's "Charcoal Man" has a saying that "poor clothes are simple, my heart is worried about charcoal, and my eyes are cold". The usage of the word "wish" is exactly the same as that of the word "cherish" here.
In three stories and eight sentences, the camera turned to a poor woman who was ruined by taxes. At present, she can only make a living by harvesting wheat ears, which is one level lower than the above-mentioned families who are busy harvesting wheat ears. Look at her image: a child in her left hand, a broken bamboo basket in her arms, and a fallen ear of wheat in her right hand. How tired you are, and how little you get! But what can we do? Now it's time to harvest the wheat, and there are still ears to pick. If you want to change, you must beg in the street. Last year and the year before last, her family also had land to plant and a family that Michael wanted to collect. It was only later that taxes were cornered and family property and land were changed, which led to this situation today. The fourth floor, six sentences, the poet feels guilty and ashamed of such a tragic scene under the bumper harvest.
The title of the work is "Watching the Wheat Harvest", but what actually appears on the screen is a wheat harvester next to the wheat harvester, and the author's attention is just more focused on the latter. At present, they are rich and poor in different degrees, but their fate is closely related. Gleaner, who is sad and poor today, was a hard and busy reaper yesterday; I also know that today's hard-working wheat harvester will not be reduced to miserable and miserable wheat pickers tomorrow. As long as there are heavy taxes, the working people will never escape bankruptcy. Here, the author sharply criticized the tax system that harmed the people at that time and expressed deep sympathy for the suffering of the working people. Moreover, it is not general sympathy, but further putting yourself in, feeling that you are too different from the working people and feel guilty. Bai Juyi's poems at this time truly reflect the thoughts and feelings of the working people and breathe out their voices.
The basic feature of this poem is to describe the real life scene truthfully, without exaggeration. He chose the busy family and the bleak gleaning scene, which made them form a strong contrast. Although the former is bitter and tired, there is still hope for them for the time being. As for the latter, it is completely broken duckweed, which is in jeopardy. The scenes, atmosphere, image and psychology shown by the two lenses are very good.
At the end of the poem is a comment, which is the same as many satirical poems by Bai Juyi. The discussion of this poem does not directly point to the root of social diseases, but shows my guilt, which is also a vague criticism of the whole bureaucratic aristocratic society. Bai Juyi is a 300-stone county marshal. Shouldn't those big bureaucrats and big noble feel more guilty? The emperor is in charge of taxation, and Bai Juyi can't openly oppose it. He can only use this ending to achieve the purpose of irony.