[updated September 2022]
Wei River Farmhouses
渭 川 田 家
斜 光 照 墟 落
穷 巷 牛 羊 归。
野 老 念 牧 童
倚 杖 候 荆 扉。
雉 雊 麦 苗 秀
蚕 眠 桑 叶 稀。
田 夫 荷 锄 至
相 见 语 依 依。
即 此 羡 闲 逸
怅 然 吟 式 微。
Wei Chuan Tian Jia
Xie guang zhao xu luo
Qiong xiang niu yang gui.
Ye lao nian mu tong
Yi zhang hou jing fei.
Zhi gou mai miao xiu
Can mian sang ye xi.
Tian fu he chu zhi
Xiang jian you yi yi.
Ji ci xian xian yi
Chang ran yin shi wei.
Wei River Farmhouses
Slanting sunbeams fall to illuminate ramshackle homes
End of a narrow street, ox and sheep have returned.
Rural old man waiting for the child-herders
Leans against his cane at the bramble gate.
Pheasants eat the sprouted grain that have put forth sprouts
Silkworms dormant, mulberry leaves rare.
Field laborers arrive carrying a hoe on their shoulders
They talk with each other, reluctant to part.
I envy their attainment of this idle leisure and solitude
Disappointed, I chant “Shi Wei” .
Notes:
“Shi Wei”: A Chinese version of “Show Me the Way to Go Home”.