Tian Shang
Cui Daorong of the Tang Dynasty
The rain is high and the field is white,
Plowing on the grass in the middle of the night.
The strength of men and cattle is exhausted,
The east is not yet clear.
Translation]
Due to the abundant rain, the fields on the high ground were full of water and turned white. Farmers got up in the middle of the night, put on their straw clothes and drove their cattle to plow the fields in the rain. When both the man and the cattle were exhausted, it was still dark.
[Analysis]
This poem describes farmers plowing their fields in the rain before dawn. The contrast between "all their efforts" and "unclear" reflects the fact that farmers go out early and go out late. Return, a life of tireless hard work.
About the author
Cui Daorong’s birth and death years are yet to be determined. Poet of Tang Dynasty. He calls himself Dongou Sanren. A native of Jiangling, Jingzhou. Around the second year of Qianning (895), he was appointed magistrate of Yongjia County. Later he entered the court as Youbu Que, and soon moved to Fujian to avoid war. He is good at writing poems and became poetry friends with Sikong Tu and Fang Qian. There are 80 poems in existence, all of which are quatrains. Some of the works have more social significance. For example, "Xishitan" denies the traditional concept of "women are a disaster" and expresses injustice for Xishi. The poem says: "Zai? destroyed the Wu Kingdom, and Xishi fell into a bad reputation. The spring water in Huansha is rushing, and there seems to be a cry of injustice." ""Tian Shang" describes the hard work of farmers plowing in the rain at night. Poems such as "Sending People" and "Cold Food Night" are also excellent works.