White Ramie Cloth Song and Dance: Four Poems
白 纻 歌 舞： 四 时 词
四 月 以 后 五 月 前
麦 风 槐 雨 黄 海 天。
君 王 若 道 嫌 五 月
六 月 炎 蒸 又 何 说？
水 晶 宫 殿 冰 雪 山
芙 蕖 衣 裳 菱 芡 盘。
老 农 背 脊 晒 欲 裂
君 王 犹 道 深 宫 热。
Bai Zhu Ge Wu Si Shi Ci
Si yue yi hou wu yue qian
Mai feng huai yu huang hai tian.
Jun wang ruo dao xian wu yue
Liu yue yan zheng you he shui?
Shui jing gong dian bing xue shan
Fu qu yi chang ling qian pan.
Lao nong bei ji shai yu lie
Jun wang you dao shen gong re.
White Ramie Cloth Seasonal Songs and Dances: Four Lyric Poems
After the fourth lunar month, but before the fifth
Rains and winds blow through standing grains, scholar trees and a sky of yellow plums.
Like the Dao, our emperor dislikes the humidity of the fifth month
How can we suffer through the hot and steamy sixth month?
The palace enjoys cold water and ice like in the snowy mountains
Lotus-patterned clothes and skirts favor the plates of caltrop and Makhana starch.
Old farmers with wavy spines, split open skin in the hot sun
Still the emperor complains of the heated walls and pathways.
Notes:
Makhana also known as “fox nuts”.