Category: Selected Poems of Political and Social Satire

Fan Chengda: Sixty Poems of Fields and Streams During All Four Seasons: No. 35

Sixty Poems of Various Fields and Gardens in All Four Seasons: No. 35

四 时 田 园 杂 兴 六 十 首 并 引

采 菱 辛 苦 废 犁 锄
血 指 流 丹 鬼 质 枯。
无 力 买 田 聊 种 水
近 来 湘 面 亦 收 租。

(35) Si Shi Tian Yuan Za Xing Liu Shi Shou Bing Yin

Cai ling xin ku fei li chu
Xue zhi liu dan gui zhi ku.
Wu li mai tian liao zhong shui
Jin lai xiang mian yi shou zu.

Sixty Poems of Various Fields and Gardens in All Four Seasons: No. 35

Gathering pungent and bitter water caltrop beyond the reach of hoes and government tax collectors
With bloodied fingers, their life forces withered.
Without enough resources, they can barely get seeds and water for their fields
Even with land along a river, cannot rent part of it for income.