1. "A Visitor"
Song Dynasty: Zhao Shixiu
It rains every house during the yellow plum season, and frogs are everywhere in the grassy ponds.
I didn’t come over at midnight because I had an appointment, so I knocked on the chess pieces and let the lanterns fall.
Translation: When the plums are yellow, every house is shrouded in rain, and the sound of frogs can be heard from the edge of the grassy pond. It was past midnight, and the invited guests had not yet arrived. I tapped the chess piece boredly, shaking off the knots that had formed on the wick of the oil lamp.
2. "Five Poems on the Basin" by Han Yu of the Tang Dynasty
Excerpts from the original text:
The frogs croaked all night until dawn, just like when fishing in Fangkou.
Interpretation:
The frog chirps from night to dawn, just like when fishing in Fangkou.
3. "Quequatrains"
Song Dynasty: Wu Tao
The wanderer's spring shirt has been tried on, and the peach blossoms have flown away, and the wild plum blossoms are sour.
The sound of frogs stopped all night, and the east wind blew for ten days and it was cold.
Translation: People traveling far away from home try to put on thin spring clothes. The peach blossoms on the branches have withered, and the wild plums have become sour. The strange thing is that suddenly the crowing of frogs stopped one night. It turned out that the east wind had picked up again, bringing several days of coldness.
4. "Living in Seclusion in Early Summer"
Song Dynasty: Lu You
The Weng family is placed in the scenic spot of the lake and mountain, and the path of the wild field is sloping in the shade of locust trees and willows.
When the water is full, you can sometimes watch herons, and there are frogs croaking everywhere in the deep grass.
The dragon has overgrown its bamboo shoots, but the wooden pen is still in bloom.
Sigh, old friends come and go, who will drink tea in the afternoon when you come to sleep.
Translation: The land of lakes and mountains is my home, and the paths are quiet under the shade of locust trees. When the lake is overflowing, egrets are dancing in the air, and frogs are everywhere on the grass growing on the lakeside. The new bamboo shoots have already matured, but the wood pen flowers have just begun to bloom. We didn’t meet each other back then, but before I dreamed about tea at noon, who was talking about those days?
5. Xin Qiji of the Song Dynasty? "Xijiang Moon Night Walk on the Yellow Sand Road"
Excerpt from the original text:
The bright moon scares the magpies on the other branches, and the breeze sings the cicadas in the middle of the night.
The fragrance of rice flowers speaks of a good harvest, and the sound of frogs sounds.
Interpretation:
The bright moon in the sky rose above the treetops, frightening the magpies perched on the branches. The cool evening breeze seemed to carry the distant chirping of cicadas. In the aroma of rice flowers, people are talking about the good harvest year, and there are bursts of frogs croaking in their ears, as if they are talking about the good harvest year.